Work Text:
"We are going to the therapy box now." Reddoons stated as he grabbed onto 4C's wrist. It had been a while since he had shown up and he finally felt comfortable on the server and the default person he went to was 4C due to that first day.
4C didn't ask questions as the pair went to the therapy box. 4C knew he couldn't until they got into there, since it is safer to talk in the therapy box then to talk out in the open, at least from what the ground rules Reddoons set.
When the pair reached it, 4C covered the entrance so nothing could be overheard easily, another thing Reddoons suggested. Once that was dealt with, went down the deepslate brick stairs, going into the room to see Reddoons already on one of the spruce chairs- they were really just prettied up spruce stairs- just staring off into space.
4C looked around at his work, the spruce log pillars outlining the room and wrapping around the top, with the tiled deepslate floor transitioning to a bottom trim of deepslate bricks. It made the mangrove wood that made up the walls pop out a bit.
Sea lanterns were hidden in bits of these spruce log pillars using mangrove trap doors to hide them. The roof above them was cleverly terraformed into a skylight, which Reddoons did approve of after they tested if any sound could get through the glass.
The slime walked onto the red carpet surrounding the spruce chairs, lighting a few of the red and light blue candles around the room. "So, what is it you want to talk about?" He asked the demon, once the slime sat down of course.
"Well, I am dealing with… an episode of something? I don't know how else to describe it," Red chuckled out. "I have never talked about my problems well, properly. The most I did was just seek comfort in someone, vented every now and again. It also doesn't help that someone I know actively watches the "show" I was a part of," Red continued. "But that isn't that relevant right now. The episode I think I just was in."
Red took a deep breath, as if to prepare himself for whatever he was about to share. "You see, I went over the basics of the Maze but of course that isn't all. There was a guy I was very close to- Apo was his name- and uh, they died by the hands of someone he thought of as a best friend." He had grabbed onto the green, bloodstained scarf he always wore. "And these episodes normally involve me being stuck in the mindset I was in during the Maze, and due to that I tend to isolate myself, and uh… yeah. You can probably tell I did get a bit better, but I am fighting with myself to tell you this if it makes sense."
4C nodded, a bit distressed but he could manage. He could manage to give Reddoons the support he needed. "May I ask you a question, Red?"
Red paused for a moment, before nodding. "Yeah go ahead."
"What exactly happened in the Maze?" 4C asked.
"Are you sure you want to know?" The demon asked.
With a nod from 4C, Reddoons started to explain. "Well, without going into the… awful details. We were pretty much put up against each other and forced to fight for our lives. The more people started to gain their memories, the more violence seemed to happen- at least that's what Magic told me. Some people, like Owen, remembered their pasts and either acted out as a way to cope or they tried to repress everything in fear that others would figure it out. I am going to spare you the details but… what they did was very fucked up."
4C kind of froze up, taking in this information with wide eyes. After a moment, he let out a sigh. "Red, you definitely will need to go to the world hub to get some proper therapy. I can't give proper advice as to how to deal with this, but remember you aren't alone. You have the people you can trust as well as people who care about you. I am sorry for your loss with Apo, but who's to say he didn't re-"
"You can't respawn in that world." Reddoons cut 4C off and gave him a glare, causing the slime to flinch. He stood up with a small growl. "At least not in the same sense as the normal respawn since I've seen him, 4C. They don't remember me."
The tension in the air was thick. "I'm going to go, we can continue this later." The anger wasn't hidden in Red's tone as he left 4C alone in the therapy room, leaving the other with his own thoughts and regrets.
4C took a moment to calm down, since he felt a bit of genuine fear towards Red at that moment. The way that the demon stormed off made the slime know how he messed up. He thought about what he can do to make it better for Reddoons next time, and he did have a plan.
It was simply to show Reddoons that he listened to his concerns, not track down where Apo is now, but make sure Reddoons felt comfortable.
Eventually, Reddoons came back. The slime turned towards the demon with a small smile. "I'm sorry for being insensitive, I hope you can forgive me."
"Don't worry about it, that's not the worst thing I've had said to me," Reddoons sighed.
4C just nodded. "Is there anything else you want to talk about?"
"Not really, I just would rather not be alone right now."
With that, they peacefully sat on their own seats, just relishing in each other's company.