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Surrounded by their supposed friends- all of them laughing and giggling, poking and prodding him with question after question- but he was innocent, he rejected him- they were loud, suffocating, and he couldn’t breathe!
Bad predictably had a shit-eating grin from ear to ear, “More like amor.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Maximus’s eyes were narrowed, looking at him like the next mystery to solve.
“Or more than friends?” Roier got in his face, brows wiggling suggestively.
Jaiden’s eyes widened, “Woah….”
“No, no more than friends!” He cried, back pressed to the wall as Roier didn’t budge one bit from his accusation. He was like a deer in headlights, frozen in the face of this and after hours of trying to defend himself with no help.
“Eh , eh, eh!” Suddenly, unexpectedly, the man was meant to be proving himself to, smack them all away, “Foolish, Foolish-” He shoved Roier back first and so hard the man stumbled and nearly fell while the others were smart enough to start backing up before the man shoved them anyways.
He wasn’t sure what to expect, the translations had started going haywire amongst this and he feared his explanations were lost in the process, so panicked, he stuttered out, “What?”
Vegetta was in his face now, and for a moment he feared he’d feel suffocated again, but instead his eyes were drawn to the other’s and he found himself lost in a sea of violet instead of struggling with his lungs. “Foolish…” The man began and he paused, making him wait with baited breath, “is my friend.”
Friend.
He’d failed, he’d failed- Of course he believed the others, of course! Why would a man like him believe stupid Foolish? Laughing stock of the island?! His shoulders slacked, and he felt himself slip on the wall behind him as his knees weakened.
How were they going to tell Leo-
“Don’t worry, don’t worry, Foolish.” Calming warm hands wrapped around his own as though he could see him start to slide down the wall. They were clasped tight, strong, unbreakable, “You and me, only, together in this life.” His voice was like silk caressing him as he leaned forward and Vegetta’s smile was gentle, so gentle, like he was scared to spook him. “You and me.”
And Foolish’s heart swelled as his lips parted instinctively, “Aww, I’d like that, I’d like that, Vegetta.” All the doubts and fears and worries evaporated at the sight of his beloved in this moment.
There were cheers around them, cheers from a crowd wishing for their downfall only moments ago, but he ignored them, enraptured by his love as he was pulled from them with a simple, “Go, go with me.”
And they did, going back upstairs while the others waited below so they could whisper sweet nothings to one another and exchange their earrings. A relationship formalized, a bond forged, a love only together.
It was this same earring Foolish still wore today, his fingers playing with it as a nervous energy buzzed in his head. It had been a year later from the night they first confirmed their feelings for all to see. It had felt so magical at the time, like a fairytale.
It took too long to realize he was in a tragedy.
Fobo was… quaint. The town was bustling now as Tubbo had done a lot of work on the trains and warehouses and- and- It wasn’t a tower surrounded by a dragon statue, a tower made of cobble and lava, it wasn’t home.
But then again… every once and awhile sitting with his daughter in her room, he found he could close his eyes, hear her saying one thing or another and for a moment, a very brief moment, it did feel like home again. Leo doing her own thing as he and his love watched her fondly from afar…
Then he’d open his eyes, see the new room and the illusion shattered like glass, painful glass that he’d have to pick up every time, pricking his fingers and making him bleed all over the place- but Foolish was smart, he was crafty and he cleaned up his emotional messes long before anyone had even a hint of how much broken glass he’d cleaned.
At least, he did until he told Tubbo he was retired from building.
In front of Bad.
The only person close enough to know him, the real him, not his son, his daughter- Bad.
Today was April twentieth. That’s why he was even thinking about the earrings in the first, why his fingers were still fiddling with them in the first place, a habit he didn’t typically have, but one Bad caught instantly.
“Anniversary?” He went for his gut, and Foolish stumbled, letting go of the earring as he stumbled over his own feet. They were in the Fobo basement, the storage space, just talking, it was a simple conversation, that’s all Bad said-
He glared at the man, “Anniversary of what? Don’t tell me we met today or some shit.” Foolish scowled and crossed his arms. He wouldn’t mess with the earring if he did that.
“Always playing dumb~” Bad sing-songed. He was sitting on a chest and kicked his feet playfully, “Oh come one, don’t give me that face, it wasn’t that long ago for us.”
It felt like eternity- “And you’re as vague as ever, be specific or get out of my house.” Foolish didn’t want to deal with this, not right now- not ever.
“Hmm…” Bad grinned and he cursed this bastard internally, he read him too well. “I mean… if you really don’t remember… maybe it’s a good thing he’s gone…”
Foolish reacted.
Bad squeaked as the sword was thrown, hitting where he’d been sitting on the chest only moments ago now embedded a few inches deep into the wooden surface. He gestured wildly at the sword, no doubt full of a list of complaints alphabetically and chronologically but he was done.
“Get out.”
Bad’s ears fell and he straightened up, adjusting his jacket a bit as he muttered out, “I know when I’m not wanted.” now that was a lie- “Keep on bottling it up, I’m sure it'll end well.”
“Pot, kettle.” He snarled, gestured to the glass door so the man could really leave immediately, but Bad would always have the last word.
“Tell him I said hi.”
Foolish resisted saying anything else, his eyes only narrowing more as the demon finally left with a little pleased swish of his tail.
He took a big breath, a steadying one as his knees wobbled and he collapsed over the storage console. Foolish bit into his palm as he closed his eyes and recalled warm hands saying him from a fall, hoisting him up in a moment so low and loving him.
A year later and his knees hit the floor as a deep sob ripped itself from his throat.
He’d asked Tubbo to take the kids out, wanting this one day to be alone, and so he didn’t fear the repercussions of his thin facade shattering. like all the broken glass he’d swept away and collected over the past year, it was now releasing all at once into a mess on the floor called himself. He was on his back now, shuddering and sobbing and-
Seconds, minutes, hours, he wasn’t sure, but when his throat became parched, his eyes dried and his mind blank, he finally turned back around and hoisted himself back up against the console with a scowl directed not at Bad this time but himself.
He had a plan for today and his feelings be damned, he was going to execute it.
Reaching into storage, he pulled out an amethyst crystal and a violet tulip. Just two simple items- but they felt so heavy in his hands. He took a deep breath, a long one, and turned to go deeper into the house, specifically to his room.
The moment he cracked the door open, there was the beeping of a heart monitor.
His heart monitor.
Pale skin, paler than he’d ever seen it before but still etched in mostly familiar scars, a few new ones that sent worse worry down his gut, but it wasn’t like more worry would fit there anyways. Hair as dark as Phil’s crows, all messy but kept brush, well-maintained because it would be a shame for him to wake with matted hair. These were familiar features, comforting even, but no matter what he did, nothing caused those violet eyes he missed so dearly to finally reveal themselves to him.
Instead, his only solace was the steady rise and fall of Vegetta’s chest.
“Buenas tardes, mi amor.” He whispered, walking around to where there was a chair and small table next to an assortment of machines provided by the Federation. Provided only because he was still employed under their thumb he presumed.
The only reason he had Vegetta at all. None of the other islanders who’d been suffering from this… this… illness had remained. It was a… a perk of his allegiance.
He wasn’t so sure after all these months.
Somehow not knowing hurt less.
Before Vegetta was going on a grand adventure, coming home any day now with gifts to give, stories to tell and love to be shared. It had been a beautiful lie for himself and his daughter when in reality unlike his first trip, the man had disappeared without a single note.
Foolish sat down in the chair beside his love, preferring it over sitting on the bed. Foolish slept next to him, careful not to jostle him too much as he got comfortable every night for months. What a lovely perk of his chosen career.
He looked to the table where a picture of their family- no, not a picture, their pictures were gone, a portrait of their family, courtesy of Richas, sat. There was a wilted tulip in a vase, once a vibrant purple, not dull and gray. He quickly swapped it out, frowning at the old dead flower and tossed it mindless into his bag to be rid of later.
This was the normal ritual, but today…
“You know… you’re just like our daughter.” He mumbled fondly, pushing the chair up so he could cradle Vegetta’s stiff hand. “Or I should say she’s so much like you.” Foolish squeezed his hand, biting his lip and paused as though his love was going to respond.
He did not of course.
This was no fairytale, he was in a tragedy after all.
“You said it first.” He continued, and with his free hand starting to trace the back of Vegetta’s hand, along the natural creases, the scars, the hints of hardship and hard work he knew his love had gone through. “It’s only fair that I finally say it back.”
He took the amethyst crystal, a crystal so similar to the one on the wall, and placed it in his hand, letting them both clasp it tight. Always Juntos was not etched into its surface, no, this phrase, the meaning this one would hold, it would be their little secret, the only tell this crystal was different was the little heart he carved with their initials. It was childish, sappy, and well… something Vegetta would have adored.
“Tú y yo, solo juntos en esta vida.”
It felt fitting to say their vow to each other on a day like today, a whole year after Vegetta defended him against everyone else and stood by his side. Unconsciously, his free hand went to his earring, fiddling with it like he so often did when no one was around.
He wasn’t sure how long he was like that, waiting, watching, hoping , the fiddling stopped and so did the grip he had around their crystal.
Because he was not in a fairytale.
The monitor continued to beep in the same steady rhythm, unchanged, unyielding, unforgiving- Foolish pulled back, letting go of his love’s hand, when the man hadn’t done for him when he needed him most- and that made it sting all the more. He should be better, be able to handle this situation no matter how much it hurt because you and me only-
Something cold wrapped around his throat and he reached for it immediately, confused- something metallic was- there was the jingle of a chain and his eyes widened as a matching collar appeared around Vegetta’s neck, the chain connecting them together.
“W-what-” But he was interrupted as the chain was tightened somehow, yanking him forward, closer to his love, but too close, so much so their lips could touch- but- but this was wrong- The chains, they were wrong- Not because they uncomfortable or appeared from nowhere even- but because this wasn’t how he felt about this situation.
His mind was playing tricks on him, a trick that didn’t even make sense.
“You’re not a burden to me.” Foolish whispered, “Never.”
He wasn’t a liar when he said he would wait and keep waiting, even if the waiting was tearing him apart piece by piece. He didn’t care, because the left dozen times he felt as though was falling apart piece by piece- Vegetta put him back together again- and so if he was the one to tear him apart all over again- he would let him.
“Te amo.” He whispered as the chain tightened and his neck cracked.
Foolish woke with a startle, jolting upward with wise terrified eyes, only to find he was still in their bedroom. The monitor was beeping away mindlessly, but more surprisingly, his hand was still holding Vegetta’s, their crystal still between their palms.
“Oh… nightmare.” He whispered, turning to the serene face of his love.
Waking from one nightmare to the next.
Foolish smiled despite the fresh tears building in his eyes, threatening to fall even as he thought those sobs were finally out of his system.
“I wonder if you’re dreaming.” He mumbled, tilting his head with a sad little smile. He started to rub the back of the man’s hand and looked down at it as he did. Seeing his love so still for so long was too much sometimes. “I bet it’s epic adventures, you probably have no idea you’re ill. Maybe you’ve built yourself a whole kingdom in there, a gorgeous castle even bigger than Cellbit’s old one.” He shook his head, rolling his eyes at the mere thought of his son-in-law.
“Or maybe you’re with us there. You, me, Leo and our hjio tonto. The four of us are together again.” He said, “Roier’s taking great photos, Leo’s wearing her best clothes and both of them are complaining we can’t take our eyes off each other.” Foolish’s lip trembled but he continued to talk, continued to rub the back of his love’s hand, “And you’ve finally finished the train and we’re all on it, riding it together as a family. Just like you wanted.”
He closed his eyes and leaned in, “Or maybe it’s a nightmare like me, your ex is back, you’re fighting or our wedding is ruined and you can’t bear it. Maybe it’s not pleasant, and you’re stuck on an island with no boyfriend, no son, no daughter, only a rag-tag group of deranged cannibals and you do what you have to to survive.” Foolish is still, frozen as the memories of purgatory rush over him like a toxic fog, and sometimes in his darkest moments, he feels the weight of that gas mask over his face.
“But that’s not my Vegetta…” Foolish mused, placing his love’s hand back down to rest at his side, but Foolish still can’t face him and he finished with one last stuttering sentence, “My Vegetta is strong, he’s brave, he’s fearless, he’s kind, he’s generous, he’s sweet, he’s sassy and so very dramatic, but most importantly, he’s… he’s…” Foolish choked, looking up at the ceiling, “He’s the love of my life.”
It was quiet, deathly quiet save for the monitor.
Beep, beep, beep.
His life was not a fairytale, it was a tragedy and this was his fate.
Waiting and keep waiting.
At least, that’s what he thought, until in a hand now a bit sweaty, an amethyst in its center, there was a squeeze back.
If he’d had a monitor of his own, it would have stopped beeping at that moment.
He wanted to quickly look, quickly confirm he was being delusional, but a stronger part of him wanted to savor the delusion a little longer and so slowly his head lowered and with it, so did his eyes until finally-
Green met Violet.
“Te extrañé.” Vegetta whispered in the weakest voice he’d ever heard him speak with, “Me diste hermosos sueños y una terrible pesadilla.”
Foolish’s lips quivered upwards, “I’m experiencing the best dream of all right now.” Any second there would be a twist and he’d wake up, his head back on Vegetta’s static lap.
“No, my love…papi vuelve.” And the man had the gall to smirk.
No, no, this was real, this had to be real because only the real thing would be so brazen.
Foolish’s face crumbled and he couldn’t tell if he was crying or smiling or laughing as he let Vegetta’s hand go, setting their crystal on the table so he could get in his face and clutch his cheeks. He was breathless, words coming and going in his mind, all the things he’d wanted to tell him, to say after all these months- gone.
So he did the only thing he could to express himself.
Foolish leaned in and captured his lips, a desperate sloppy affair as it’d been months since he’d last kissed and that had been in a filthy prison imagining the man before him. This was the real deal and he realized he hadn’t imagined well enough at all.
Vegetta easily matched his enthusiasm, his hand running through his hair, the other hand over his waist as he was suddenly pulled up onto the bed with him and Foolish didn’t fight it. All he did was giggle a bit in between their kissing and Vegetta giggled back, the two sounding like high schoolers and less like the grown men they were.
The heart monitor was going crazy, and annoyed, Vegetta tore the instruments off his body with a huff making the thing flatline. Foolish threw his head back with laughter, “Now look what you’ve done!”
“It was loud!” Vegetta defended himself, scowling at the thing.
Foolish rolled his eyes and reached over his love back to the table, reached into the drawer and set it off with a remote with a sassy flick of his wrist. He put it back and immediately laid back down along Vegetta’s chest, making his fingers walk along it teasingly with a coy little smirk and tilt of his head, “Now where were we?”
“No sé, tú eres el que me besó.” Vegetta smirked back, but he had a hand cupping Foolish’s cheek now, “A kiss instead of an explanation.” His brows furrowed and all the feisty energy Foolish had savage flatlined harder than the monitor.
He sighed, his shoulders slacking as he rolled over off of Vegetta to the other side of the bed. Vegetta sat up as he did, looking down at him as he faced away from him.
Months of waiting and now Foolish didn’t want to look at him.
What was wrong with him?
“Foolish…” Vegetta whispered, voice sounding more like a man who’d been in a coma for months, “Foolish, my Foolish… what happened?” His hand landed on his shoulder, and like how Foolish had rubbed his hand lovingly before, now his love was doing the same for him.
Foolish didn’t like lying, but he hated spilling the truth more.
“So much.” He said instead, saying nothing and everything.
Vegetta was quiet for a moment, and his hand left his shoulder making Foolish tense for a moment, his split-second doubt telling him Vegetta had had enough, he’d decided to leave- only to be proven terribly, terribly wrong by warm hands wrapped around his waist. Foolish was taller, but in bed that didn’t matter as he was pulled close, protectively.
His love was right by his ear when he whispered, “Tell me.”
So he did.
Every last detail from the fun and light hearted to the wretched and depressing.
Running for KELP, dropping out from an accident. Hired by the Federation at long last, to be interrogated and tortured and distrusted to this day. All the time he spent with Leo, the two of them against the world, but not being there on her final day, losing the one thing he’d promised Vegetta. Finally becoming the King of the Capybaras, only to have no Queen or Princess to share the title with.
Purgatory- He struggled to speak of what he thought was Leo’s final moments and Vegetta tensed as he did, but he didn’t interrupt him once, letting him tell his tale without a single interruption.
Then came more bliss, then came their daughter back safe in their arms and of course a new grandchild… Leo’s best friend Pepito. He mentioned telling the child about his sword made of love, of his other grandfather and that was when Vegetta did finally interrupt.
“Estoy listo para conocerlo.” He mumbled into his ear, causing a little shiver down his body.
“He lives here.” Foolish said, and he had wrapped his hand over the one around his waist, holding on as they, mostly he, talked. “He’s going to be so happy.”
“Where is… here?” Vegetta raised a brow to the… completely Tumblr coquette interior of his room. “It’s hideous.”
“It’s our bedroom.”
“It’s… unique.”
Foolish pursed his lips together, “No, no, no, speak with your heart-”
“Well my heart is with you, so if you designed this- clearly I was mistaken.” Vegetta fumbled out.
“Oh no, I heard you the first time.” Foolish pouted, but secretly he was smiling, they didn’t bicker often, but damn did he miss it. At the other man’s exasperated sigh, he spared him further harassing.
“We went to prison- Leo and I saw your body in a cell- and pressed a button, our homes exploded and we ended up here in the middle of nowhere. I'm staying with a guy named Tubbo, just friends, no allegations here, haha! No sir! And his daughter, she’s a sweet kid, but here and Leo used to hate each other, you know Leo said you would hate her too- but they’re getting along now so don’t ruin the peace. Anyways we’re in Fobo, a town, really quaint. Has trains! You’ll love it! You love trains! Maybe not building them anymore but still-” There was a hand over his mouth and Vegetta was shushing him.
Oh, he was rambling.
“You saw me in prison?” Because of course Vegetta plucked that out of all the things Foolish said. “ I never…”
Foolish turned around in bed, finally facing him, “You’ve been in a coma for a very long time.”
Vegetta’s brows raised, then furrowed, then… he looked away, the sorrow etched into his face like he etched things into amethyst crystals. “How long?”
“I don’t know, but… at most nine or ten months.” Foolish whispered.
Vegetta groaned, “That’s not…” He shook his head, “Leo… she must be so grown.” He mumbled, looking the most pained he’d ever seen.
“She is.” Fooligetta admitted softly. She’d never even worn her dog beanie around him.
“And our anniversary…I must have missed it.” Vegetta looked up at him, “Our vow- I broke-”
“You didn’t break a damn thing.” Foolish shut it down immediately. “First off, anniversary is today, you’re not late, second…” He pulled Vegetta in and now that they were facing each other it was easy to lean his forehead against his, “What happened to tú y yo, solo juntos en esta vida ?”
Vegetta paused, eyes wide as the words were no doubt hitting him worse than the coma. It was… adorable, finally making a man seemingly so infallible… be so terribly, terribly shocked.
“You and me, only together in this life.” He finally repeated, smiling from ear to ear, “Lo dijiste en español…”
“Mi español es muy bueno.” Foolish winked.
“And my English is very bilingual.” He said but the little giggle was inescapable.
And terribly infectious.
He didn’t know how long they laid there in that bed, just… talking. Kissing every here and there, but after so long apart… they needed each other.
An indescribable amount of hours later, Tubbo returned home with the kids.
Leo burst into the room holding some shiny toy she’d either found or was given only to drop it immediately as Vegetta sat up in the bed. His first words to her were, “Oh, mira cuánto has crecido.”
And her’s were, “Te extrañé mucho, cómo te atreves a dejarme!”
It was a very dramatic night, to say the least.
Foolish wouldn’t have had it any other way and as he watched his love and his daughter embrace, he realized… maybe… maybe his life was a fairytale after all…
And this moment, this snapshot of time…this was…
Their happily ever after.