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English
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Published:
2024-03-05
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1,438
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1/1
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21
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135
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Yellow Roses

Summary:

Almost everyone the twins know had been invited to the house for a party. It’s a well-deserved break from the neon lights and noise of the Pizzaplex, and Solar wasn’t ashamed to say he was enjoying himself. Everyone was.

So why was Ruin halfway across the island, pulling weeds?

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Work Text:

“I didn’t know you liked gardening.”

Ruin is nearly startled out of his casing, standing and turning to face Solar. “Oh, hello, Solar. Yes this- this is technically gardening, isn’t it?”

He nods. Just a moment ago, Ruin had been crouched in front of the flowerbed, weeding the large area by hand.

They were on Sun and Moon’s island, in a lightly shaded area a fair distance from the house itself. There was a bench nearby, underneath a large tree. Flowers ringed the area, vibrant shades complimenting the dark green of the grass. It was about evening, the sky many vibrant shades of red, orange and yellow. Not a cloud in sight.

”Any specific reason you’re out here?” Solar asked, voice purely questioning. Ruin thinks for a moment before speaking.

“Well, I figured I’d make myself useful and do some tasks around the property.” They gesture vaguely at the surrounding area. “Moon commented on the less-than-ideal state of the flowers, so I…uh…” They trail off, embarrassed, no doubt. Solar could tell by the way their rays retracted slightly.

Everyone had been invited over for some sort of party. Of what type, Solar didn’t remember. It was just a general get-together for everyone and even Frank was there.

Originally, it was just supposed to be Sun, Moon, Lunar, Monty, Earth and Solar. But then Jack had to be there because Lunar was, and then Foxy got invited by Monty, and it just went on until it was a house party of mass proportions.

Solar was the one to invite Ruin, as obviously no one else was going to, and Solar did admittedly feel bad about leaving them out of Christmas. Nobody really saw them as part of the family. Solar was…still wary of them, just a little. But it’s not like he disliked them. They’d been obviously shocked to receive an invitation to the ordeal of course, but had accepted without hesitation.

About halfway through Ruin had disappeared somewhere, and Solar went to go find them. And here they are, gardening.

“So, this is where you’ve been, all this time?” Solar asks. 

“Well, no. Originally I was trying to help Sun with his cats, getting them fed and whatnot, but he seems to be very particular about their care. So, he suggested I clean up the basement.” Ruin was swaying side to side slightly now, fidgeting. “So I did that. Then I attempted to rejoin the festivities, but it seemed everyone had gone outside. So I caught up with them.”

Solar frowned internally. He had an idea of where this was going.

“Moon seemed rather…exasperated when I found him, in a way. Then he mentioned how the flowerbed needed to be tended to, and here I am.” Ruin finished, looking at Solar expectantly for some sort of response. He sighed. “So what I’m hearing is you’ve been running around, doing chores all afternoon?” “Er…yes, I suppose so.”

”And Moon sent you over here, on the complete opposite side of the island?” Solar crossed his arms, making an internal note to have a conversation with Moon later. Ruin seemed to shrink inwards a bit. “Well-it was more of a suggestion…”

”Right, whatever. You realize you don’t have to do any of this, right?” Ruin avoided looking Solar in the eyes, focusing on the branches overhead. “Yes, yes I know. I just, um, well.” There was brief silence. “You just wanted to make yourself useful, right? Pull your weight?” Solar supplied. Ruin looked at him, surprised.

”That is…a way to put it, I suppose.” Solar recalled Ruin’s recent activity of trying to repair every single machine in Fazcade, and suddenly it made a little more sense.

”Okay,” He uncrossed his arms. “You realize that’s not- you don’t need to do that, right? Nobody’s going to kick you out, or whatever.”

Ruin looks far past guilty now, rays twitching in and out sporadically. “Yes- yes I know, it’s just that I don’t wish to intrude upon you all. You seem quite happy, and I don’t want to..eheh..’Ruin’ it.”

Solar laughs quietly at the pun, if only to try and put the other bot at ease. It seems to work, even if only slightly.

”I understand. Hey, I’ve been there,” Solar shrugs. “But I’m just saying that it won’t be the end of the world if you stop and take a break. It took me a while to understand that.”

”Right, but you all just seem so…complete. And I can’t see myself fitting into that. That jigsaw.”

Solar wonders if Ruin was even aware of the joke-slash-reference they just made. “Huh. Yeah, I get that too. I guess it’s one of the emotional perks of being from a different universe.” Ruin laughs slightly at this, still obviously tense.

Another minute of silence. Ruin began to avoid his gaze again, looking down. They cross their arms.

”I know when I’m not wanted, Solar.”

This gives Solar pause, looking at the fused bot with a mix of shock and concern. Though he altogether expected this, it was still jarring. “What are you talking about?”

”Moon sent me over here so I’d cease to be an annoyance. No one has spoken- or, or even looked in my direction since I arrived. This is the first conversation I’ve had all day, besides Moon and Sun’s dismissal.”

Solar feels like an idiot. He’d been oblivious to all of this, hanging out with Lunar and trying to convince Jack not to go near Sun’s cats. How could he completely ignore Ruin, when he himself invited him? “I didn’t even know they moved out of the Pizzaplex until now. And I don’t expect to be told everything, Solar, but I just…”

They wiped their eyes with the back of their hand, the other clenched at their side and trembling noticeably. “I suppose their actions are justified. After what I did, and- and-”

“Ruin.”

”And all the pain I caused. I brought back Bloodmoon-“

”Ruin, listen to me.”

”I destroyed the daycare! I tried to kill them!” Their voice breaks on the last syllable, now making no attempt to wipe away the dark tears streaking down their faceplate. “Ruin, stop.”  They press their palms to their eyes, stifling the sob that threatens to overtake them. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be emotional.” The misery practically engulfs their words.

”No, I mean stop blaming yourself.” Solar reaches out, placing a hand on their shoulder. Ruin lowers his own hands, trying their best to meet Solar’s gaze. He sighs.

”Let’s get one thing straight. None of that was your fault.” Ruin looks surprised at the words. Solar keeps speaking. “I know it, you know it, everyone does. You can’t beat yourself up over something you obviously had no control over. I’m sure Sun went through the same thing with…with July Sixteenth. And that whole Eclipse situation.”

“I have bits of memory. Corrupted, but hardly visible nonetheless. They’re- Solar, they are horrifying. I spent fifty years under that virus. The things I’ve done—I watched the channel. I saw how I was.“

”Again, that wasn’t you.” Solar assures, bringing his hand down. “Now we can go back and forth like this all night, or you can actually accept that we don’t hate you. I don’t hate you.”

And then the dam breaks.

Ruin openly cries now, sobs tearing through them. Solar is unsure, trying to recall if the bot was uncomfortable with too much physical contact, like Moon usually was. Christ, he doesn’t know how to do this.

His questions are answered when Ruin steps forward, and suddenly Solar is wrapped in a hug.

He places a hand on Ruin’s back, muttering reassurances. They appear to try and pull themself together, tightening their hold on the orange bot slightly. The two stand like that for a moment, before Ruin pulls away as if he were burning Solar. 

“I’m terribly sorry- I don’t mean to overstep boundaries, I…” Solar shakes his head, dismissing their worries. “It’s not an overstep. Plus, you probably need it.”

Ruin nods a bit, trying to wipe the rest of the tears from their face. It was around dark now, and Solar wouldn’t be surprised if Moon and the others were looking for him. The thought stirs something dark in his mind, when he thinks about how everyone was so uncaring when Ruin was nowhere to be seen.

“How about we get back to the others, okay?” Solar says, once Ruin has regained most of their composure. They nod again.

Solar catches a glimpse of the flowers behind Ruin.

Yellow roses.

Notes:

Sorry the ending is kinda eh, I wrote this all in one sitting.

Thanks for reading!