Work Text:
Roier felt empty. More empty than he had every felt before.
His son just died right in front of his eyes without him being able to do anything about it. He told Bobby that he was too tired to go into the dungeon. He told him that it was dangerous because his reaction time wasn’t as quick as usually since he was exhausted and tired. He hadn’t slept well the past few nights which is why he couldn’t react in time when he was shot by a pillager. He tried to get up again after falling to the ground but his body refused to move out of pain. He really tried to get up to safe Bobby but it wasn’t enough and shortly after Bobby was lying on the floor as well. He couldn’t even see his son as he died because he got shot behind a shelf. He knew that Bobby was dying because could hear his son’s cries and screams of pain. He tried his best to talk to him while his screams were getting quieter and soon he could only hear whimpers of pain before he himself passed out.
Bobby didn’t make it. Roier did. He broke his promise. He swore that if Bobby died, he’d die too. But he was still alive and he didn’t know how to handle it. Telling Jaiden about what happened was devastating, especially since he tried to hope that it was all just a nightmare. Multiple children and parents had told them about the terrifying nightmares of their children loosing a life or dying completely. He was really hoping for this to just be an awful nightmare.
That hope increased when Cucurucho told him to gather his friends and go to the place where Bobby died. Maybe it was just a bad nightmare, he thought as he ran through the field with his boyfriend and best friend by his side. Everyone else was scattered around them, running with them.
All of their hope was shattered soon enough though. Bobby was actually gone. They said their last goodbye to the small boy who wore the halo with pride. They wiped his tears away and tried to hide their own. Their last moments were filled remembering their time together and all of the happy moments they had. The three of them cried a lot but so did other people like his boyfriend. The whole event was an emotional disaster and Roier was way too exhausted.
He teleported home after saying his goodbyes to everyone and took his bed up to the tower where Bobby usually slept. He made his bed and went to sleep.
The days afterwards Roier spent grieving with his boyfriend. Jaiden was gone, no one really knew where to but she had left him a letter, reassuring him that she was fine.
So it was just him and Cellbit left. Of course there were other people as well but out of the important people, there was only Cellbit. Well and his dad but Vegetta has been working and the two of them haven’t really been talking lately as both of them were busy. That left Roier with just his boyfriend and not really anyone else he could trust.
—————————————————————
And as if someone was trying to punish him, said boyfriend got kidnapped by the federation just a few days after Bobbys death. When he found out about this, he went back to Bobbys old room where his bed was still standing. He lied down and buried himself in blankets. It took him only a few seconds after being fully engulfed in darkness before he started to sob. He cried and cried until he fell asleep from exhaustion.
The next day he woke up from someone sitting on the edge of his bed. A second later a hand found its way into his hair and started softly combing truth it. Solely by that action he could tell who it was. Vegetta had always woken him up like that, even when he was younger.
“I know you’re awake”
And just like when he was younger, Vegetta could always tell when he wasn’t asleep anymore and was just pretending to. He knew that there was no point in still pretending so he opened his eyes to look at his dad.
“Good morning sleepy head, how are you?”
He sighed and rubbed his eyes before sitting up a little.
“Shit. I feel like shit. My son is dead, my boyfriend got kidnapped, my best friend disappeared.”, he could feel the tears welling up in his eyes again.
Vegetta nodded and pulled him into a hug, caressing his back while he cried again. His eyes were hurting and his throat was dry so he didn’t cry for too long as it seemed like there were no more tears left. When he stopped crying, Vegetta offered him a glass of water that he chugged down while he was still caressing his back as if he was a child again.
“Come home with me. Let me take care of you Roier.”
Roier knew better than to argue with his dad, so he just nodded and stood up. Unfortunately his body seemed to have other ideas as his legs gave out and he would’ve fallen on the ground if it wasn’t for Vegetta catching him.
“Careful, come let me help you. I brought some food.”, he said as he sat him back down on his bed. A second later, a piece of avocado toast was shoved in his hand. He laughed quietly.
“Wow thanks dad! You’re such master chef!”, his voice was dripping in sarcasm.
“Just eat it you little brat.” Vegetta playfully rolled his eyes as he ruffled his sons hair with a soft smile.
“Where’s your husband? And Leo?”
“They are preparing a room for you in the tower. Also Foolish and I are not married”
“Yet.”
“oh shut up”, he shoved him lightly before sitting down next to him. Roier rested his head on his father’s shoulder while slowly eating his toast and taking sips of water. A comforting silence surrounded them as Roier was eating and Vegetta was holding him.
“I don’t know what to do, dad. I am so lost right now.”
Vegetta sighed softly. “I wish I could help you but I don’t think there is anything you can do for now. I know that people are already getting ready for a rescue mission but I think you need to take some time for yourself. You’re not doing well and there is no use in destroying yourself even more.”
Roier nodded quietly as he finished his meal and stood up slowly. Vegetta put a hand on his back to guide him out of the room. The other hand was carrying a bag of Roier’s stuff that he had packed beforehand.
“Let’s teleport to Hogar”
—————
At first the thought of having Roier live with them was a little weird to Foolish.
Their relationship was a bit complicated because when they first got to the island, Roier and him became good friends pretty quickly. Partly because he had the younger man before the island, just like Mariana and Spreen. The three of them still had memories of fighting together in an arena. It also helped that Roier was one of the people who were better at English which made communicating a lot easier for him.
Additionally even though Foolish was a lot older than people thought, he still had the personality of a young man with a lot of energy just like Roier. It just made sense that the two got along immediately.
The first thing that made their relationship awkward was when Roier found out about Mariana breaking up with Foolish. He was their mutual friend and had witnessed them being together for a while. The time afterwards was very uncomfortable for all sides since Mariana and Foolish didn’t talk to each other but both wanted to hang out with Roier. It got better over time though and eventually Mariana and Foolish could talk to each other normally again.
During that time the other awkward thing happened with Roier, which was Foolish falling in love with his dad. Now to be fair, Foolish did not know that Vegetta was Roier’s dad. He did not just knowingly start flirting with his friend’s dad. He first met Vegetta when he stumbled upon his house with Bad. There had been rumors about the man mostly fueled by Quackity. He kept on telling him how this man was going to be his biggest rival and how they should be immortal enemies. Because of that , he was a little bit nervous to actually talk to the man in purple.
He was very surprised when he was greeted by a high pitched voice and a bright smile calling him “my little friend” with a thick accent. That moment might have been the one where he’d fallen in love with Vegetta but he would never tell that to anyone. It didn’t take long until the flirting between them had started but it took them flirting in public until he found out that he was crushing on his friends dad.
Roier, Quackity, Missa and Vegetta had visited him while he was building his dragon, telling him to take a break. Quackity joked that he was going to force him to rest and that they could continue building. He loudly protested and said that only Vegetta could build, which earned him a small kiss on the cheek by the builder. The others were too busy being offended by his statement to even notice but then Quackity and Missa left for a few seconds. Vegetta started to come closer to him and put his hands on his shoulders, Foolish got really excited but they were interrupted by a cough and a “Really dad? In front of your son?” by Roier.
Safe to say, Foolish was very shocked to find out who he’d been flirting with but he quickly got reassured by Roier that he didn’t mind. “Just try to keep it in your pants in front of me”
Later on he told him that he was actually very happy for both him and Vegetta. “He’s been lonely for a while. He hasn’t been tried to get in a relationship for years. You’re good for him.”
So when Vegetta and him officially started dating, it wasn’t that big of a deal to Roier since he saw him more as a good friend rather than a father figure. And technically him and Vegetta weren’t married so it didn’t really matter, Vegetta was the father figure to Roier so he didn’t need to be like a parent to him.
Though when he found out about everything that has been going on in his friends life, he felt more and more the need to take care of the younger man. He just didn’t know how to since Roier had shut himself off in his castle and he didn’t know how far he could go as someone who wasn’t that close to him. Sure they were good friends but they were definitely not as close as Roier was with Spreen or Marina, who both have been away for a while. All of those thoughts left his mind the moment he appeared in Vegetta's house.
The normally very bubbly and loud sunshine of a person that Roier was seemed to have completely vanished and left was an empty shell. He looked a lot younger and smaller. His eyes were swollen red, indicating that he’d been crying for a while. He also looked like he was about to break down. It felt only natural to pull the younger man into a tight hug when he saw the sad look on his face.
He could feel Roier trying to fight against the hug for a few seconds but he gave up quickly and leaned into the warmth that Foolish's body naturally gave of. Even in his human form, Foolish was still a lot taller than most of the members of the island and he was also pretty broad and muscular, which combined with his natural warmth, made his hugs the best on the islands, according to Leo and Vegetta. Roier had his face buried in his chest and Foolish stroke through his hair the way he had watched Vegetta do it.
As Leo slightly tapped his leg, he was ready to get scolded since his daughter tends to get jealous easily. But as he pulled away to look down at her, he saw her standing next to them with open arms, signaling Roier that she wanted to hug him to. In theory Leo knew that Roier was her brother but he had been so busy with his own child, that the two had barely spent any time together. Additionally Leo had a bit of social anxiety and preferred to just stay with her parents rather than anyone else. That’s why Roier was a bit surprised to see his little sister offer him a hug but he obviously accepted and picked her up to hug her properly.
Behind them Vegetta finally came up through the elevator smiling as he saw him. His partner walked over to them and put a hand on Roier's shoulder. Foolish watched them quietly talk in Spanish before Roier followed Vegetta up to Leos room, with his little sister still in his arms.
Vegetta would explain to him later on that Roier would sleep in Leos room since he didn’t want to sleep alone but also didn’t want to disturb the two of them. And since Leo wanted to spend more time with her brother, it seemed like the best decision for now.
It was still pretty early in the day so a few minutes after the three of them went up to Leo’s room, Leo and Vegetta came back down. “He’s going to sleep a bit more. Will you take care of him while I’m away?” Unfortunately right when his son needed him the most, Vegetta had to leave the main land of Quesadilla Island for a while to do what Foolish called “magic wizard shit”. So it was Foolish’s task to take care of Roier but Vegetta trusted Foolish with his son without any doubts. His boyfriend confirmed that feeling as he eagerly nodded in response to his question. “Of course, he’s my friend after all. Don’t worry, mi amor!”
After gathering his stuff and saying goodbye to Foolish and Leo, Vegetta left with the promise of returning soon.
A few hours later Foolish went up to Leo’s and now also Roier’s room to wake up the latter. He and Leo had been working on Cellbit’s castle for hours and had left a note for Roier to message them once he was awake. No message came through even after most of the day was over so Foolish got a bit worried and decided to check on his friend. He entered the room and spotted a Roier buried in blankets with only his hair peaking out at the top. He sat on the edge of the bed and was about to start waking him up when Roier suddenly moved the blanket from his face to look at him. He was crying quietly.
They both didn’t say anything for a bit, just looking at each other but Foolish could feel all the pain that was hidden in his gaze and nodded a little bit. He slowly lifted his hand to carefully dry the tears on Roier’s face. “Come on let’s eat something.”, he almost whispered while offering a hand to Roier.
He could see the hesitation in the younger man’s eyes but eventually he took his hand and let Foolish help him stand up. He was still feeling weak and dizzy so he continued to hold onto his friends shoulder as they went down to the main living space. Leo was by the fire on one of the chairs, curled up and presumably taking a nap.
Foolish helped Roier take a seat at the table and then brought him something to eat. Leo helped him make some tacos earlier and while it wasn’t the fanciest thing, he knew that Roier would appreciate it regardless. And he did, wordlessly mind you as the younger man still had not said anything but he didn’t need to. Having a mute child himself and meeting mute children everyday has trained Foolish to be able read looks a lot better, so he knew what Roier was trying to say when he looked at him as he sat down the plate in front of him. He also brought him some water.
He sat down next to him and signed to him “Do you want me to stay with you?”. He used the island’s sign language because he didn’t want to wake Leo and also because he knew that sometimes it could be very exhausting to translate in your head and unfortunately his Spanish wasn’t on that level of fluency yet. The island’s sign language was easier to use since everyone was on the same level of fluency. It also wasn’t unusual for one of his friends to go non verbal, they had all been through a lot after all. That and their children all being mute lead to everyone knowing the islands sign language, making communication a lot easier in every situation.
When Roier nodded hastily, Foolish smiled a little and signed again. “Do you want me to talk?”, Roier just shrugged so he signed again “Touch?”. While Foolish himself wasn’t that big into physical affection he knew that it was not only Roier’s love language but also something that helped ground him. He personally didn’t mind it at all, just didn’t need it as much at others like Roier who was a very touchy person. Roier shook his head though and pointed at his food and then looked at Foolish again. “After eating?”, Foolish signed and smiled satisfied when Roier nodded.
Roier and Foolish sat in silence while the younger of them was eating until Leo woke up from her nap. She excitedly ran over to the table and to climb on Foolish’s lap. She signed a greeting the both of them before settling in her father’s lap. Roier put on a smile for her, it was obvious that he didn’t want to worry his sister even more but Foolish was sure that Leo could see right through it. While she struggled with talking to the other kids sometimes, she was just as observant as her fathers and a master at reading body language. So if she noticed that the smile on Roier’s face was fake, she didn’t mention it and just signed with her dad about what she dreamt.
A few minutes later Roier was finished and stood up to wash his hands. He dried his hands and turned to look at Foolish who was already looking at him. He slowly signed “Can you hold me please?”, Foolish waited until Leo climbed off his lap to then stand up and take Roier to the sofa in front of the fireplace. They sat down and Foolish wrapped his arms around his friend while Roier leaned against his shoulder. Leo climbed the sofa on the other side of Roier and pressed herself against her brothers side, grabbing one of his hands and holding it in between her own small hands. That action seemed to remind Roier of someone, probably Bobby, because just seconds later, he started to tear up again.
They sat like this for a while in complete silence apart from the quiet sobs of Roier. After a while Foolish began to slowly caress Roier’s hair in an attempt to calm him down a little bit. The younger one instantly leaned into his touch and actually started to breathe properly again. As Foolish noticed that Roier had stopped crying he sat up a little and asked him softly
“Do you want to keep me and Leo company at the castle?”,
Roier looked up at him and signed slowly “What castle?” with a confused look on his face.
“Cellbit’s castle that I’m building for him. I want to continue working on it a little while he’s away.”
He purposefully tried not to use the words ‘gone’ or ‘kidnapped’ because he didn’t want Roier to start crying again.
“If you want you can just sit down somewhere at the castle while we build. I think it would be good for you. But if you don’t want to, we can also stay here”. Roier nodded after a bit of hesitation and started to sit up.
They ended up spending the rest of their day exactly like this. With Roier exploring the castle or sitting somewhere while spacing out. It would mostly just be Foolish, Leo and Roier but sometimes Richarlyson would pay them a visit. Foolish noticed that in the beginning Roier would try to avoid the Brazilian boy, probably because he reminded him of two people he loved and lost. But with time the two of them bonded over their common losses.
The first few days of Roier moving into Vegetta’s house were filled with unusual silence. Roier was practically non verbal for the first days so Foolish was the only one taking, sometimes to himself and sometimes to Leo or Roier. On the forth day though, Roier started to speak again.
It was still in the middle of the night, sometime after midnight, when Foolish got woken up by someone shaking him. When he opened his eyes he was greeted by complete darkness but he could sense that someone was standing in front of him. He automatically assumed it was just Leo who had a nightmare again so he mumbled
“Hey little one, come get in here. Did you have a nightmare?” while lifting his blanket.
“Dad it’s me” a quiet voice interrupted the silence that Foolish was so used to.
That jolted Foolish awake and he promptly hit his head on the headboard of the bed. “Jesus fucking christ Roier, warn a man.” Roier breathed out a laugh before sitting down on the edge of the bed. Sometimes Foolish forgot that Roier was a spider hybrid that could see incredibly well in the darkness.
“What’s going on? Are you okay?”
Foolish blindly felt for Roier in the darkness a bit before the latter took pity in him and took his hand. “Had a nightmare but I didn’t want to wake up Leo.” Foolish nodded while humming “Okay well little one, come under the blanket.” Foolish giggled a little at his own joke and lifted his blanket again for Roier to slip under.
Foolish couldn’t see it because of the darkness but Roier was rolling his eyes before grinning and then doing as Foolish requested. He was immediately engulfed by the warmth under the blanket and he could feel a hand on his neck guiding his face into Foolish’s chest.
“Well little one do you want to tell me about your nightmare or would you rather just sleep?”
Roier sighed a little. “It was just the usual stuff. Bobby dies just seconds before I can safe him. Cellbit disappears just before I can reach him. Jaiden dies or also disappears. And then I’m alone and it’s just that emptiness again. The same emptiness I’ve been feeling for days.”
“Sounds pretty shitty.”
“yeah I’m not a big fan of it either to be honest”
“but you’re not alone anymore. You have me and Leo now”
They continued to whisper to each other quietly before they fell asleep again. And if that was the first time Roier called Foolish dad then they both would never mention it. But starting from that day, Roier would go on to call Foolish his dad more and more. Foolish would usually respond to him the same way that he would respond to Leo just because he thought it was funny to call his adult son “little one” or “young man”. In the following days Roier did still not talk a lot but he was slowly getting better. It’s been almost two weeks since Cellbit had been kidnapped and even though Foolish could see the energy return to Roier, he could also see that he was getting impatient and slowly loosing hope. The order under Forever’s lead tried to find signs of Cellbit and Felps with the help of Sophia but it has been unsuccessful so far. Foolish would go to the meetings and report back to Roier since he still wasn’t ready to be in settings with more people.
It was almost three weeks after the kidnapping occurred, that they got a message on their communicator. It from Cellbit and the message contained coordinates.
Immediately they all gathered and went to the location. They fought a hard battle in the dungeon where Cellbit and Felps had been trapped and in the end it was Foolish who was able to make an entryway into the room that they were trapped in. They got out with only minor injuries and fortunately not a single death.
After making sure that both Cellbit and Felps were as okay as they could be in these circumstances, they went to the roof top of the hotel to celebrate the successful mission.
It was at that time that Foolish called Roier his son for the first time.
“Cellbit I would like to introduce you to my new son Roier”
“Yes Foolish is my dad”
The confusion on Cellbit’s face was a 100% worth it and they both burst into laughter. They cleared it up afterwards.
“So technically he’s not my son because me and Vegetta aren’t married-“
“Yet” both interrupted him.
“yet. But to me I’ve already adopted him so who cares about the technicalities. He’s my son now and you’re my future son in law”
Somehow Foolish’s words caused an actual marriage proposal between the two and they got engaged on the spot. They were both incredibly happy and Foolish felt his heart swell in pride.
Thinking back to when he just came to the island, he couldn’t believe that just s few months later he would sit in the front in the front row of his son’s wedding with his boyfriend and daughter by his side and his grandson in front.
But he couldn’t be happier to see his son smile so brightly after all the tears he shed. Roier was one of the strongest people he knew and to be able to say he was his son made him even more proud.