Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Slingshot sat up suddenly, clutching his heart- it beat at rapid pace, beneath skin, beneath clothes, there was no sign of stopping and-

There was darkness all around him. Slingshot blinked a few times as even through the dark, he felt the familiar blankets and pillows around him. He felt his heartbeat finally begin to slow as he closed his eyes, better darkness. Pitch black, nothing left to the imagination as he took in shaky breaths.

These shaky breaths became steady ones.

He was fine.

If he wasn’t fine now, he would BE fine.

…

He was fine…

“Morning Sling!-... Geez… What happened to ya?” Shuriken started with a chirp at first, but it didn’t take long for it to fade into concern. He couldn’t help but wince either, as a visibly sleep-deprived Slingshot stepped into view.

Slingshot blinked slowly, his eyes lagged behind each other and his brow was slightly furrowed, like he was facing some sort of headache. Despite all of that-

“I woke up… In the middle of the night…” He muttered, throat raspy with audible exhaustion. There was a lace of irritability brewed in the back of his throat.

Shuriken faltered, nervous, hesitant. “...Again?” He finally managed, though nothing more than a quiet mumble, really… Slingshot narrowed his eyes slightly, and his brows furrowed just that little bit more. “Again…” he confirmed through a mutter- or maybe a growl…

Shuriken couldn’t help but fidget slightly. Nervously. Awkwardly. He, Sling, and Vine had unfortunately all gotten used to these kinds of mornings, but somehow, they never got LESS uncomfortable… For… Pretty much everyone involved. Finally, he managed; “Ah… Okay…”

…

“You want some coffee?”

Slingshot paused, as if having to process the sentence, before letting out a long sigh and holding his head. “Please…” He muttered under his breath, and Shuriken was quick to get going on that. He gave a quick (hopefully comforting) pat on Slingshot’s shoulder as he walked by, but… Slingshot didn’t really react to it.

Either that, or Shuriken missed it…

Shuriken tried his best to focus on getting Slingshot’s coffee ready- and not on the poor guy sitting slumped over the counter… Geez… He was really going through it this morning… Shuriken couldn’t help but glance over, but Slingshot still didn’t seem fazed by it.

He’d been keeping his eyes shut, holding his head the entire time… “Was it… Just insomnia or something?” Shuriken had to ask as he poured some water into the right compartment. Slingshot was silent. This didn’t help Shuriken’s concern. “...Sling?” He checked as he opened a drawer and grabbed a coffee pod.

“Slingshot,” Shuriken cut in a little sharper, looking over at Slingshot suddenly, who jumped a bit, blinking his eyes in some kind of panic. “Wh- Sorry- H-Huh?”
“Dude… You wanna take a nap or something??” Shuriken muttered, furrowing a brow in worsening concern. “Wha- Shuri. I can’t just take a nap, we’ve got work today…” Slingshot almost snapped in response, holding his head- wait… “Uh… No… It’s the weekend…” Shuriken corrected, going back to putting the pod into the machine.

He kept looking back at Slingshot, though. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t waiting for the guy to collapse…

“N-No… It’s… A work day…” Slingshot answered carefully. His voice was cautious, and he looked at Shuriken with narrowed eyes- like he thought Shuriken was pulling his leg or something… Shuriken had to stop what he was doing to look over at Slingshot. “Okay- hold on… What day do you think it is?” Shuriken asked, now leaning back against the counter.

Slingshot raised a brow in confusion. “...Thursday?” But then he broke into a nervous sweat as Shuriken once again failed to hide the worsening worry. “Uh… No… It’s… Saturday…” Shuriken corrected, albeit a little awkwardly. Both seemed kinda… Sheepish…

Slingshot’s tongue was tied. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he couldn’t even open his mouth to say it, starting to hold his head in disbelief. “S-... Saturday…” He ‘checked’. Shuriken gave a slow nod. “Saturday,” he confirmed. Shuriken then turned back to the machine and shut the lid. Slingshot was still stunned silent.

“Guess you… Lost track?” No response. Shuriken opened a different drawer and pulled out a white mug. He slid it under the machine, hit a button, and went back to leaning against the counter when the churr of the machine began. “I… Guess so…” Slingshot finally answered, before letting out a shaky sigh. He looked genuinely troubled…

Shuriken hated to say it was becoming normal…

The two stood in awkward silence, but eventually, the machine stopped whirring. Shuriken turned his head to look at it as the drizzle of coffee eventually came to a stop. “Anything outside of the usual?” Shuriken wondered as he opened a drawer to grab a spoon. “N-No…” Slingshot stammered, letting out a sigh as he rested his head on folded arms. Shuriken felt a slight stir of anxiety as he heard the response, but tried his best to move on from it.

Just… The way he sounded so tired…

And that there wasn’t much Shuriken felt like he could do… Coffee and prayers, basically… Shuriken let out a sigh of his own as he poured in three spoons of sugar and then poured a regular amount of milk. He took the same spoon he was using and started to stir the added features in with the coffee, and when it was all one color, he passed the mug to Slingshot.

“Th-Thanks…” Slingshot mumbled, taking the mug in his hands. He held it like his hands were cold… “Sure thing, Sling…” Shuriken responded. He walked around the counter and sat down, back in his old seat.

Shuriken perked up when he heard the floorboards creaking. Vine Staff walked in, still looking a bit sleepy as she stretched out her arms behind her. “Hey guys-”

She faltered mid-stretch as she noticed Shuriken’s quick nervous ‘abort’ signal, and Slingshot’s very obvious lack of response. “What’s going on?” She whispered over to Shuriken, walking over to him and leaning over on the counter slightly. “Sling had a rough morning… Again…” Shuriken mumbled, looking over wearily.

“Oh… I see…”
Both she and Shuriken glanced over to Slingshot.
But all he did was sit there and look down at his drink.
He didn’t even seem to be there…

Chapter Text

Slingshot felt himself spiraling-

He couldn’t spiral…

Not now…

Not in front of the-

He shook his head, shook himself out of it, let out a held breath. He had to look fine… He knew he’d be it, at the end of the day, he just… Had to do better… Be better… Perform… Function for just… Just five more hours…

The time… It moved slow…

His breathing, it paced quick,

No matter how much he tried to settle his nerves,

To swallow down his anxiety-

His body wanted rest…

He wanted home…

Slingshot’s hands trembled with every action, no matter how much he scolded it in his mind. Every single button press on the register was done with shaky hands. Usually, the customers ignored it- thank god…

Usually the customers were people who knew better than to question or interrogate some random person just trying to do their job… Slingshot still couldn’t help but beat himself up about it though… Gee. Clearly this manager with a horrible sleep schedule and crippling anxiety BECAUSE of it was very capable for the job…

That being said, Slingshot DID pride himself on separating from the manager stereotype. He swore he’d never let himself slack off. Never put overtime on his workers, never leave all the work for one person, that he’d actually take responsibility and be- well, a GOOD manager.

Even if Slingshot didn’t have the best track record of managing himself, he managed the business well. His respect for his workers was what often kept them there, rather than some desire to survive.

A desire to survive… It was what most people hung onto for dear life, because it was the only thing that everyone, no matter their race, gender, or anything really- could relate to…

They all wanted to live…

Slingshot did too- or… He liked to think he did… Though lately he’d have to admit he was struggling to find the balance. Sometimes it felt like he gave up. No matter how much he tried to get a good sleep and doze off at a decent time, he’d still wake up and 2 in the morning.

No matter how much he tried to set times to take a break, it still felt like nothing really changed…

No matter how much he tried to bring a bottle of water everywhere he went, his mind just couldn’t focus on it, too pre-occupied with work performance-

His job was his life…

It… Felt controllable…

Much more than- this…

Slingshot glanced down at his hands, which still still trembled against the counter. He held one up, and the tremble seemed to worsen. He tried to stop it with the other hand, but… Of course that wouldn’t work…

That wasn’t how it worked…

When was the last customer…?

Slingshot could have sworn he had just been serving someone, but suddenly, the production stopped.

He had no more customers-...

Was everyone served? Was he overthinking this?

WHY was he overthinking this??

“Uh… Hey, man… You okay?”
Slingshot looked up suddenly- across the counter… It was…

“Skateboard-?” He asked in confusion. Stupid question, all things considered. Of COURSE it was Skateboard. He was standing RIGHT there-

“Yeah…” He mumbled, leaning on the counter with his elbows now as he looked at Slingshot… Strangely… Slingshot felt himself faltering, nervous, confused. He didn’t know what the look was for and-

“Dude, seriously. Have you been getting sleep?” Skateboard checked, furrowing a brow and gently poking Slingshot in the arm, though quite gently… “Uh-... T-Trying to… S-sorry- Skate, what are you doing here?” Slingshot tried to answer and ask, though his voice stuttered and he had to hold his head as another wave of headache came along. Skateboard’s worry worsened-

Great…
Great act…
This is going ‘swimmingly’...

“I just… Wanted the check up on ya… Shuriken said the insomnia’s been coming back…” Slingshot couldn’t help but tense slightly. Shuriken’s been talking about it… He didn’t KNOW Shuriken’s been talking about it… “W-Worse than insomnia…” Slingshot couldn’t help but stammer, mostly to himself. “Oh geez…” Skateboard whispered, sending Slingshot that oh so familiar look of sympathy…

It made him uncomfortable…

It was… Wrong…

Slingshot was fine…
He didn’t NEED sympathy…
Or… Maybe he just didn’t want it…

There were people with worse out there-
Slingshot was- all things considered, fine…

“Sling-... Hey- seriously, are you listening?-”
Slingshot shook his head as he tried to get his mind back to the present, and when he looked back-... Skateboard looked… Well… It was far more concerned than before. Which meant Slingshot was butchering this. Badly.

“S-Sorry-”

“N-No no, it’s… It’s okay, man…” Skateboard tried to reassure, holding up hands in some kind of peace gesture? “But, like… You SERIOUSLY need a day off, Buddy… You’re looking worse for wear…”

Slingshot and Skateboard both faltered, and Skateboard looked off with a wince as he muttered; “Aaaactually, that might be kind of an understatement…”

“I’m perfectly fine-” Slingshot cut in almost immediately, almost… Indignantly. He couldn’t help but let out a huff at Skateboard’s comment, despite knowing how absolutely right he was. Didn’t change the fact- the facade- The look was everything. It didn’t matter if it was true, he had to be-

“Slingshot, are you serious? Look at yourself…” Skateboard muttered, furrowing a brow in what seemed like a mix of disbelief and frustration. An emotion Slingshot couldn’t help but feel bad for causing, but regardless, he only tensed further, and looked off.

Anywhere but at the eyes. He couldn’t do the eyes right now… “Look, I’m not great, but… I’m fine… I’m functioning-”

“By a damn thread…” Skateboard snarked, rolling his eyes. “Are you really debating this-” Slingshot cut in, but just as fast. “I didn’t think I needed to. I mean, you’ve got SERIOUS eyebags, and don’t think I didn’t notice the trembling…” Skateboard shot back with annoyance.

“Yeah well that’s basically normal by this point,” Slingshot muttered, already beginning to give up on this argument. “That SHOULDN’T be normal, man!” Skateboard pointed out with-... It sounded like… Desperation… A quick glance over, Skateboard looked to genuinely care-...

Geez… Was Slingshot losing brain cells too? Of course Skateboard cared… Friends tend to care about each other… That’s kind of how this went-

“Slingshot… Come on… Be honest with me. When’s the last time you’ve genuinely taken the weekend off to relax a bit?” Skateboard just HAD to ask, looking at Slingshot right in the eyes. Slingshot couldn’t meet his gaze.

“I-... Guess a while…”

Skateboard must have moved his hand to touch Slingshot’s… He must have done that as an attempt to comfort… Regardless of that, it felt like a small spark… Like some kind of quick sting… A shock… Slingshot felt the urge to pull back immediately-

And then… He felt himself untensing…

It was Skateboard… He didn’t mind Skateboard… He never did… Everything made him feel tense today, though… It took a mental effort just to stay somewhat calm… “S-Sorry… Was that too much?” Skateboard asked suddenly, starting to pull his hand back.

Slingshot felt his heart beat a little bit quicker, and before he could really stop himself, he took Skateboard’s hand in his own- “N-No, it’s… It’s okay- S-Sorry… Everything’s making me feel jumpy today…” Slingshot stammered quick and nervous, looking off.

Despite that, he could feel Skateboard’s eyes on him. He could see him soften in the corner of his vision… Slingshot felt a comforting squeeze from the hand he held, and he squeezed it back as his heart finally began to slow down again…

The contact had startled him initially, but now he found himself depending on it… Funny how that worked…

“Hey… You’ve got nothing to apologize for, kay?” When Slingshot looked over, SKateboard looked almost a little… Sheepish. Slingshot was hesitant, but looked back to the counter, giving a short shaky nod. “K-Kay…”

Slingshot heard a sigh nearby, no doubt Skateboard’s slight relief. “H-Hey… Uh… Unrelated, but Boombox and I were thinking of checking out a new arcade that just opened up in Playground-”
“Playground…?” Slingshot suddenly asked, raising a brow at the faction. A slight nervousness… He always felt a bit… Nervous… About that faction… It was one of the rowdier ones, admittedly… “Uh… Y-Yeah, but we can stick together and we’ll be fine- I mean- if you’re even interested,” Skateboard chirped with a sheepish chuckle.

“When were you guys planning on doing this?” Slingshot asked, absent-mindedly rubbing his thumb into Skateboard’s palm. He felt the other inphernal start to relax a bit, thankfully… “Uh… Some time this weekend? We’re pretty flexible…” Skateboard answered squeezing Slingshot’s hand again. Slingshot couldn’t help but smile slightly.

He… Wasn’t used to Skateboard acting so sheepish. It felt unfamiliar, but… It was kind of nice not being the only one who was nervous-

He’s nervous because of you…

He’s nervous FOR you…

Slingshot felt a wave of nervous nausea roll past him again, and he couldn’t help but shiver at the thought… The guilt, it was… Almost immediate. “H-Hey… You don’t have to do it if it makes you uncomfortable, man. It’s just an offer…” Skateboard mumbled, his voice worrisome again…

“S-Sorry… It wasn’t about that, I just-...” Slingshot cut himself off early, sighing. No… It was another held breath… “Maybe you’re right… I FEEL worse for wear…” Slingshot chirped with a weak nervous chuckle, leaning over the counter slightly. He felt Skateboard’s sympathetic gaze again… And once again, he felt his stomach twist in knots…

“It’s… It’s okay, Sling… You don’t have to… Perform for me... Okay?” Slingshot let out a quiet sigh. “Th-thanks…” He stammered. Skateboard nodded. “Of course, man…”

Chapter Text

Slingshot waited…

And waited…

And continued to wait…

He stood alone at that stop…

Waiting for a shuttle that would never arrive…

Waiting… Alone…

He felt himself breaking into a shiver-
It was snowing…

But he felt anxious, too… That had to be part of it, right? He always trembled… He was just better at hiding it some days, and worse on others…

He hated the looks…

The glances…

They made him sicker…

Sick in the stomach…

But then, something felt different-

It was… Sharp…

Not a dull ache…

Not like usual, no, this…

This was painful-

Slingshot fell to his knees, his breath now shallow and shaky as he held his stomach, his breaths had a whimpery lace to them, no matter how much he tried to swallow the noise down… Hurt, hurt, hurt. Oh, how it hurt…

Slingshot sat up suddenly.
He broke into a cold sweat-
Oh.

Now he understood… Another nightmare? But this one… It was so painful. How unusu- still hurts…

Slingshot held his stomach again- actually? It felt closer to his side, like some kind of-... Cramp… That probably wasn’t good- but it went away before… It would go away again…

“Oh, hey Sling,” Shuriken chirped with a small smile and wave. Vine Staff, also waved to him as he walked into the room. There was an interesting look they both had… But one Slingshot was used to by this point. He managed a small wave in return, but he knew how tired he looked…

He felt the sharp pain again, but with a shaky breath, he moved on like nothing happened- Was that a flash of worry in his friends’ expressions?-... Oh who was he kidding… Of course it was…

“Slingshot…” Vine Staff began, quite cautiously… “Are you-”
“Yes…” Slingshot muttered in response, failing to hide his slight annoyance at the familiar script. The script he’d heard about a thousand times. The script he was frankly SICK of… Vine Staff seemed to falter at his response, though, and part of him felt almost immediate remorse.

…

“S-Sorry-”
“It’s okay…” She reassured him with such a soft voice, even a small smile, still that look of pity. She pitied his hostility, but it wasn’t okay- nothing about it was okay… Slingshot was getting worse… He was lashing out-
Lashing out at the people who cared about him most…

“Dude, seriously…” Shuriken cut in- the movement was a blink. Truly, because Slingshot blinked, and suddenly his companions were standing by his side, holding him by the shoulders, looking at him like he just died and got resurrected all wrong- wincing at him like he was some kind of pitiful disaster- that’s exactly what he was…

Wasn’t he…

“S-Sling…?” Vine Staff checked, also looking worried- right, present. Slingshot was supposed to be present… “S-Sorry- s-sorry…” He stammered, holding his head, snapping his eyes shut, trying his very best to at least BREATHE normally… It couldn’t be helped-

“H-Hey, hey, it’s okay… It’s alright… Just try to get your breathing back,” Vine Staff reassured as she squeezed Slingshot’s shoulder, an attempt to bring him back-... He tried to follow her advice, he really did…

But every time he got close to stable, he was-

He was back in that old scene…

Standing on an icy road as snow fell, dampening his clothes- cold, cold cold… He could feel himself starting to tremble again as it came rushing back like an avalanche- a horrible avalanche you could only watch…

Your legs are already frozen stiff, your fate sealed. Too late, nothing to do but stand and watch as you fall apart like the fringes of a weathered cliff-

Suddenly, there was a rush of warmth- comforting warmth, like being wrapped up in a blanket… Slingshot let out a shaky breath, slowly cracking open his eyes, only to be greeted to a comforting hug from his friends…

He needed it… They knew he needed it…

But then- then came the whispers. “Should we call work off?” Shuriken whispered, trying to keep his voice low, but Slingshot’s hearing was better than that… “I dunno… You know how he gets when he starts thinking it’s hand-holding…” Vine Staff… She knew him well- he hated it…

“Y-Yeah, I get that. But when do we draw a line? I mean, the poor guy can’t even go a day without spiraling-” He wasn’t wrong either… Slingshot wished he was, but… Slingshot wasn’t- stupid… Or, he liked to think he wasn’t. And pretending that wasn’t true would be pretty stupid.

“Shuri… I understand your concern, but I don’t think he would just let us call off work for that…” Vine Staff mumbled in a weary tone. Slingshot felt… Something… Stirring in him again. He was usually the reason for Vine Staff’s weariness. He was usually the reason for…

Everything…

Those two felt…

And yet, he just couldn’t-... He couldn’t get his life together-

Back in the snow… He stood there, alone- but at least when he stood alone, there was nobody to hurt… Nobody who pitied. Nobody who he could burden…

He felt a tremble coming back again. He felt himself going limp. Numb… “H-Hey… Hey… It’s okay…” He heard Vine Staff comfort him again, hugging him tight… Shuriken did, too. It was… A nice pressure comfort…

“Sling, you sure you wanna head out with Skate today? You’re… Really not lookin great…” Shuriken couldn’t help but- wait-
“...What?” Slingshot muttered in honest confusion. He furrowed a brow, looking off as he tried to remember what Shuriken could have been referring to.

“You know… The uh… You, Skateboard, Boombox, checking out that new arcade? In… Playground?” Shuriken attempted, breaking into a slightly nervous sweat, paired with a shaky grin. Even Vine Staff fell quiet, her doubts were obvious. And Slingshot? He recalled the event immediately. The moment Shuriken mentioned the arcade, it all clicked. And clicked for the worst…

“I- uh… Y-Yeah-” Slingshot lied. He lied through his teeth. It was so obvious. Shuriken faltered, almost seeming to look at Slingshot in disbelief- it was almost funny.

Almost.

“Riiiiight… You’ll uh… Be fine?” Shuriken checked again, gently nudging Slingshot with his elbow. There was a lump beginning to form in Slingshot’s throat, but he swallowed it down. “Y-Yeah. I’ll be fine… J-Just need coffee…”
“O’course…” Shuriken muttered, looking off with a slight… Annoyance? Slingshot WAS starting to use coffee as a crutch, but he really didn’t think it was… That… Obvious…

“We should get ready for work…” Vine Staff gently prodded, causing the other two to get moving.

Slingshot stood at the counter, letting out a sigh at no customers. They usually made a nice distraction…

At one point, he crossed his arms on the counter and put his head down. It wasn’t like there were any customers to take in his sorry state, anyway…

No… Bad idea…

He was already starting to feel the heaviness again… The heaviness in his eyes, his lungs- he could rest all he wanted, but sleep? Anything unconscious, really… He wouldn’t be able to control it-

Slingshot tried to push himself up- and he did, but why did it take so much effort? He felt his arms trembling as he did so… He leaned on the counter, on his elbows, an improvement, but he still felt dizzy- he looked dizzy.

Staring at the counter so intently, taking in every detail, secretly praying he wouldn’t fall over-

Collapse- he felt like he was gonna collapse-

“Shit- you okay?” Someone- from the other side of the counter, rushed over to him- wait, a customer? Oh god this was so unprofessional, the manager can’t even sit up straight in front of a- Skateboard?

“Hey, hey man. It’s okay, it’s just me,” He chirped with that familiar sheepish grin- oh, that grin… How Slingshot missed that silly sheepish friend of his… His face felt all funny… He must have been smiling, considering Skateboard’s soft snicker. It probably WAS a bit amusing,

Watching someone try so desperately to keep a straight face, to absolutely no avail. “Missed you too, man…” He chirped, pulling Slingshot into a more casual hug. The counter made it a bit tricky, but Slingshot appreciated it nonetheless. He still felt… A little dizzy… But definitely more stable with Skateboard holding onto him.

But then something made Slingshot’s throat choke up-
“Where’s Boombox?-”
“I told him to wait outside.”

Relief was immediate. Slingshot couldn’t help but sigh in it. Skateboard snickered again, Slingshot should have found that worthy of an indignant huff, or some silly revenge plot, but he almost didn’t care. RELIEVED, that Boombox wouldn’t have to see his unfortunate state…

“Yeahhhh… I figured you’d prefer that,” Skateboard chirped with that sheepish grin again. “Anyway, you want a few more minutes, or-”
“N-Nah, I’m okay,” Slingshot quickly cut in, waving his hands back and forth in some kind of fretful sheepishness. This made Skateboard raise a brow, though. “You sure?” Slingshot faltered, but only for a moment. He then nodded, as he walked out from the other side of the counter. Skateboard seemed to hesitate…

But then, he just walked up beside Slingshot…

Not making a fuss…

It was… Kinda nice…

He hesitated further, then timidly held his hand on Slingshot’s shoulder. He cared so much about NOT making Slingshot uncomfortable. It was… Really sweet… Regardless, though… Slingshot leaned into him a bit. It seemed to help, with Skateboard visibly relaxing as he held Slingshot in more of a side hug now.

Skateboard smiled. Slingshot had just noticed it… Slingshot’s face felt… Funny… Again. This time though, he just tried to let it happen. It felt less weird when he did that… A soft smile back. It felt… Natural…

“Hey, Boombox,” Slingshot chirped as the two left Thieves Rest. “Hiya, Slingshot! Been a while, huh?” Boombox chirped back, cheerful as ever. Slingshot always found himself appreciating that. The guy was practically the inphernal equivalent of a ray of sunshine…

And his cheerfulness was often infectious. Wonderful. It’d help with the anxiety… Slingshot already felt himself beginning to relax, his heart beginning to calm, as the three of them began to make their way to the lift that carried inphernals to Playground.

“So… Wait… Why’s Playground a sky island again?” Slingshot couldn’t help but ask offhandedly as the three walked through Crossroads. “I heard from somewhere that Windforce was the cause of it,” Skateboard recalled. Boombox nodded. “Yeah, she always favored Playground the most. Lifted our region up as a ‘gift’? I guess it DOES help keep bad people out… But…”

“Also keeps good people out, too… Or, at least, it makes it a lot harder,” Skateboard muttered, furrowing a brow in clear annoyance. “Hm… I bet it’d impact the culture, too…” Slingshot wondered, partly to himself as they walked. Skateboard nodded, though. He seemed to grow a little nervous there. “Uh, huh… With very few outsiders, even I have to admit it. Playground’s got some pretty bad faction favoritism…”

Boombox also nodded, looking just as weary as Skateboard. “Yup… Them and Blackrock… Neither of them like the other factions, and they both tend to attack those outsiders on sight…” Skateboard couldn’t help but scoff. “Blackrock’s still the WORST, though…”

“Hard to disagree…” Boombox stammered with a nervous grin. Slingshot let out a huff, feeling a smile coming on. Eventually though, the three made it to their destination. The line was short, and it didn’t take long for the trio to reach one of the lifts, stepping inside and sitting down.

Boombox waved his hand dismissively, pulling out some coins and sliding them into the slot to pay for the ride. “Thanks, Boom,” Skateboard chirped. Slingshot nodded. “Yeah, thanks for the ride.” Boombox, in his typical cheery fashion, gave a friendly grin and a thumbs up. “Sure thing!”

The three sat quietly in that ride for the first few minutes. It was hard to keep the conversation going, admittedly. It had been a while, and… Despite the fact that there was never any actual conflict between the friends, it still felt… Awkward…

Slingshot felt himself glancing out the window, beginning to fidget… Nervous… But just as suddenly, there was a soft touch. A soft touch, a firm squeeze against his wrist. It wasn’t too tight, though. Just, a comforting weight…

Slingshot glanced over, subtly, only his eyes moved, down at his hand. Around the wrist held Skateboard’s. He was subtle, too. A glance over at Boombox, and he didn’t even seem to notice. He just looked out the window, also quiet, yet much more peaceful and Slingshot or Skateboard…

Slingshot pulled his hand back a bit- Skateboard immediately let go, almost seeming nervous- awkward? But Slingshot was quick to shut that down, taking Skateboard’s hand in his and holding it. He gave it a familiar squeeze, he hoped it was comforting? Slingshot was kind of new to this thing… But…

Skateboard did soften. Yes… Soft… He seemed ‘softly’ relieved. He had been keeping it quiet and subtle, and he still was. It was nice… There wasn’t a need to bring attention to any of it. They could-... Get through this…

Right?

Slingshot tried to shake away the doubt, holding Skateboard’s hand in his, they shared a quiet comfort. A comfort that came from the mutual respect of the two, and… The silence didn’t feel as awkward.

And then came the destination. Slingshot gave Skateboard’s hand a last squeeze, before letting go. Slingshot felt… That presence again. Sure enough, when he turned, Skateboard was looking at him again. He smiled. He looked appreciative… Huh… Regardless, Slingshot managed a sheepish smile back, silent acknowledgement.

But of course, they couldn’t sit around all day. Boombox stood up, then Skateboard, and then Slingshot. They all stepped outside of the lift, and with that, they began to follow Boombox. “So, where’d you see this place again?” Skateboard wondered as the three walked.

“Oh, yeah, Hover and I were just walking around. He had an unexpected day off, and neither of us had plans. Didn’t actually go in, cause I wanted to go there with you guys first. Us and arcades, kind of our thing, you know… Heh,” Boombox mumbled all of this, very offhandedly, and going down all sorts of side tangents along the way.

But it was kind of charming. And him waiting for the two? That was… Really sweet. “You didn’t have to do that, Boom…” Skateboard responded, echoing Slingshot’s sentiments. “Well, yeah… But come on, you guys are like, the gang. Of course I’d wait,” Boombox chirped, sheepish. He rubbed the back of his head as he said this.

The three stopped before the Arcade, and already, the exterior was… Amazing? It felt like a love letter to all things retro. It had the funky colors, patterns, everything- that was one of the things Slingshot DID like about Playground. It was always about color.

LOTS of color.

“Wow, is it pretty…” Skateboard churred with a satisfied hum, holding his hands on his hips. “I know, right? Stellar!” Boombox agreed, nodding with starry eyes. “Whaddya think, Sling?” Skateboard asked, nudging Slingshot in the arm ever so gently. It pulled him out of his thoughts, blinking and shaking his head, before registering.

“It’s… Really nice…” He mumbled, a bit sheepish, but… Looking up at the place- it was probably pretty obvious he was a fan. He could hear what SOUNDED like an amused sort of huff beside him, but he ignored it, focused on other things. “Well, we should check out the inside,” Boombox chirped, pointing over at the building entrance with his thumb. “Sure! I’m good with whatever,” Skateboard offered with a shrug. Slingshot nodded, following along.

The trio entered the arcade, and… Right off the bat, it was just as gorgeous inside as it was on the outside. It had the necessary arcade carpet, of course, but the walls were covered in retro deco, and it was cluttering in the best way possible. Overwhelming, as a compliment. Chaotic, but wonderfully so-

Oh…

AND there was a crowd…

A bad crowd…

“Yikes… Looks like everybody had the same idea…” Skateboard muttered with a wince. Boombox nodded, suddenly stepping over to the side to get out of the way of a random walker. They didn’t even say anything. “Yeahhh… Guess it DID just open…” Slingshot… Said nothing…

His mind was a little bit… Preoccupied…

‘Don’t get overwhelmed.’
‘Don’t get overwhelmed.’
‘Don’t get overwhelmed.’

“Sling? You good?”

Slingshot looked over suddenly, a bit wide-eyed, but trying really hard to at least LOOK like he wasn’t on the verge of a panic- he dug his shoe into the floor, a small (hopefully subtle) movement. “Y-Yeah?”

There was silence…

“Y-Yeah…”

Even Boombox looked a little nervous, but Skateboard let out a quiet nervous sigh, before switching up immediately. “Well, alright. How we doing this?” Slingshot felt an immediate rush of relief, and even more so when Boombox seemed to pick up on the energy and also move on. “Well, we could look around together, or we could branch off in our own directions…”

Skateboard nodded, putting a hand on his chin, thinking. “There’s a lot of stuff to look at- but… I dunno… Could get lost pretty easily with this crowd…” Boombox pulled out his phone, turning it on and looking at it. “Well, we’ve all got our phones, right? Why don’t we just split up for a little bit and then meet up after a coupla minutes?”

Skateboard raised a brow at the idea, but then something made him falter… Nervous again… “I-... I dunno…” Slingshot walked up closer to the two, partially to get out of another person’s way, and partially for his own security- “I mean, Boombox’s plan makes sense-”

‘You can handle alone time. Don’t be a baby about it…’

“I’m fine with whatever,” Boombox confessed with a shrug. “Sling- are you sure…?” Skateboard had to ask, still nervous- oh. Oh… It was about… Him… Slingshot felt that familiar gut wrench again… He ignored it.

“Yeah, I mean. Then everyone can kinda do their own thing. Not have to worry about different interests,” Slingshot chirped with a sheepish grin- sheepish, because sheepish was better than nervous…

“That’s… True…” Skateboard mumbled, genuinely failing to hide his hesitance. He was so good about subtly, about keeping Slingshot’s… Issues… Under the rug- why was this different? Slingshot felt a brow furrowing… “I mean, what’s there to be worried about?” Boombox mumbled, seeming to pick up on Skateboard’s nervousness.

He froze, his eyes moving up and tracking Slingshot. Skateboard furrowed a brow in turn… Serious…

“Nothing… I guess…”

They all walked off in their own directions- kinda.

Slingshot walked over in one direction. Skateboard and Boombox were- sort of… Going on their own? Though Boombox was starting to feel like there was something else going on. Despite the plan of splitting up, Skateboard walked quite close to his route-

Until suddenly walking up to him and pulling him by the wrist-
“Woah- Skate- What’s-”
“Listen…” Skateboard started, cautious, but… Nervous?

Boombox quieted down, waiting for Skateboard to continue, and after a second or two, Skateboard let go of his wrist. “I-... I’m sorry for the pulling- I… Wasn’t gonna get into it, but I really dunno about-... Geez…” Skateboard starting holding his head by the end, seeming… Stressed out about something. “Hey, Skate. Come on. Just tell me what’s wrong. You know I’m all ears,” Boombox tried his best to reassure. Skateboard seemed to hesitate, but he definitely heard Boombox.

He let out a careful sigh, easing the nerves, so it looked. “Slingshot… He’s been… Going through a lot these past days…” Skateboard began, looking off at the crowd. “Did something happen?” Boombox couldn’t help but ask. Skateboard was… Oddly silent. Eventually; “I don’t think anyone’s fully sure… Shuriken and Vine Staff started telling me about how Slingshot’s been struggling for sleep, but no matter how many times they’ve talked to him, they can never get a straight answer on what it’s about…”

“Gosh…” Boombox also looked to the crowd, feeling a slow-growing guilt starting to build up. Somehow, he’d never noticed that from Slingshot- “And, like, I think he’s getting super depressed, too… I don’t know what’s going on, but he just really lacks confidence nowadays, you know?” Skateboard continued, speaking quickly as his nervousness began to come back…

“And- And now with this I just- I dunno… I don’t want him to get hurt or-”
“Skate.”
Skateboard fell silent at Boombox’s call, but it didn’t stop the anxiety. It was… Foreign… The way his hands trembled a bit… His expression, a broken nervous mess. “You gotta give him a chance…” Boombox added, though with a gentle tone. “I don’t know the whole situation, but… Slingshot seemed pretty sure of himself back there…”

“Besides.” Boombox pulled his phone out again and held it up with a reassuring smile. “As long as we all got our phones on us, we should be fine. Right?” Skateboard hesitated, though then pulled out his own phone, glancing at it nervously, before nodding, and putting it back.

“Right…”

Boombox let out a quiet sigh, and pulled Skateboard into a side hug, taking him by surprise and causing him to let out a sheepish snicker. “Hey, I was gonna look around and see if they got some of the classics. You wanna come along?” Boombox offered, giving Skateboard’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Y-Yeah, actually. That sounds really fun. Thanks, man,” Skateboard chirped with a soft smile.

Boombox couldn’t help but soften in response, nodding, before beginning to walk. Skateboard was walking right with him. The two were silent- until;
“Thanks, by the way. For uh… The reassurance…”
“Sure thing, Skate…”

Slingshot was walking around for a little bit- but at one point, he began to linger. Leaning against one of the walls of the gift shop, standing near some claw machines, Slingshot stood… Nervous… He fidgeted with his hands as he was already beginning to break into a nervous frantic sweat.

On one hand, being alone meant he could afford to look like he was spiraling, without setting off someone’s alarm bells. He didn’t have to waste the energy trying to look ‘okay’. On the other hand- holy shit, he was alone, in a giant arcade, with SOOOOOO many people-

Too many people-

Seriously, WHY were there SO MANY PEOPLE?!

Slingshot’s eyes darted around, quick, panicked, taking in the surroundings- what was this? What was so great about-... Slingshot’s eyes focused on… Some sign… With purple and yellow wording- honestly the color clash was kind of abysmal. Everyone knows yellow and white are too closely colored to stand out well-

Oh. Flipside…

Some kind of event? That would explain the crowd being THIS bad. It was… It was hectic, even for a new opening…

Did…
Did Skateboard and Boombox know about this?

It didn’t seem like they did. Neither mentioned it-

Well, this was… Just a good excuse to get back into the swing of things. Slingshot wasn’t ALWAYS a mess- maybe he just…. Had to get used to it?

Slingshot tried to shake himself out of these thoughts as he pulled out his phone. As long as he had that with him, he was okay. He was safe… He could just… Text…

Skateboard already knew Slingshot’s problems. He wouldn’t even have to get Boombox involved- it was perfect. Slingshot took in a deep breath, before looking forward again.

‘Okay Slingshot. You’re at an arcade. What do you like to do at arcades?’-...

It’s been so long since Slingshot was at an arcade…

With Thieves Rest booming, there wasn’t much time for arcades…

…

So what was the big deal? Now was the chance…

Slingshot pushed off from the wall and began to walk-
Sudden sharp pain… Sharp, knife-slice pain… In his side, again… Slingshot couldn’t help but stop and hold himself. It was… Abrupt… A stop so sharp, his friends would have surely noticed-

‘Well they aren’t here… Isn’t that just lovely?’

Yes…

Yes it was…

Slingshot took in a cautious breath, before taking a step- it hurt. It hurt so bad… But he tried his best to keep walking despite the agony- pain, pain, pain-

And then it became dull. A dull pain was better than a sharp one, and eventually, Slingshot was okay-

…

…Okay?

The definition was starting to get fuzzy-

“OH MI GOSH- IS THAT FLIPSIDE?!”

Slingshot took in a sharp breath, his eyes widening and pupils constricting as a swarm of inphernals rushed forward. Slingshot quickly rushed forward, just barely dodging the crowd, and whipping around as he rushed, pressing his back to the wall closest to him-

Raw fear…

That’s what it was-

His heart beat still quickened, but it did so as he realized how… How silly… It was…

Silly… To be afraid of ordinary people-
Were they really ordinary? More like die-hard fans of a pop idol group to the point that they MUST call out and start a commotion at the rare chance of-

Stop…
Slingshot snapped his eyes shut, took a deep breath, and then opened them again. He felt… Slightly calmer? Not much, but it was progress, even if little.

Slingshot pulled out his phone. So what if he was a wuss. He knew this was his line. He needed to meet up now. It was early, and Slingshot knew Skateboard would know immediately, but at this point, he was going into survival mode. He pulled out his phone, and texted a quick ‘wya’.

Silence… Static began to grow in Slingshot’s mind. The thoughts began to wander back to the land of fear. ‘What if their phones died?’ ‘I should have asked them what their batteries were-’ ‘Am I stupid? Did that even send-’ ‘It had to have- right? Right?!’-

“Racing games”
“U ok?”
Relief- but only at the response. It only SLIGHTLY dampened the anxiety- someone had their phone alive, there was still hope- Was he okay? God no he wasn’t-

Slingshot forced himself to take another breath, though. A nice, deep, hopefully somewhat calm one. There was no reason to let Skateboard know COMPLETELY how much of a wreck he was right now. Slingshot could be calm.

Slingshot thought for a moment, before beginning to type-
Someone bumped into him.

He jumped- he fumbled, he didn’t expect it- he was as far as he could be from the swarm, how did he-
His phone-
It clacked against the ground, Slingshot’s breath got caught in his throat, he choked, as he was about to grab it- someone almost pushed him over, another person, the swarm… Their foot kicked his phone deeper into the thick of the swarm-

Slingshot turned around. The person kept running, seeming completely oblivious to Slingshot’s existence-

He was alone-

Crack…

Slingshot turned around again-
He knew.
He knew what that sound meant.

“Uhhh… Slingshot just stopped typing…” Skateboard muttered, a slight bit of that familiar worry seeping in again. Skateboard was good at keeping his head, he and Boombox both knew that, but… This whole Slingshot thing had him tense… For-... Understandable reasons…

Nonetheless,
“Maybe he’s just thinking it over. You know how he is. Gotta rewrite a text five times till it’s perfect,” Boombox chirped with a slight chuckle. Skateboard faltered, before sighing. “R-Right. Yeah. You’re probably right…”
He looked up at Boombox, who was eying a few of the games down the aisle, before feeling Skateboard’s look and turning. Skateboard smiled slightly, looking… Relieved? Aw… Poor guy- “Th-Thanks, Boom…”

Boombox let out a soft chuckle, before nodding. “Sure thing, man. Just remember, it’s not always the worst outcome.” Skateboard nodded. “Yeah. Real words, man,” Skateboard chirped, also chuckling as the two walked.

Five minutes go by-

“S-So you know how uh… You said ‘it’s not always the worst outcome’?” Skateboard checked with- a NERVOUS smile… Boombox faltered, also beginning to feel nervous as he nodded. “I think this might be the worst outcome-” Skateboard continued, breaking into a very nervous sweat. Boombox hesitated, stopping to think…

“Skateboard?”
“Yeah?”
…
“Call him.”

Slingshot swallowed, but it didn’t rid his throat of the lump that began to form. His phone… Screen black, cracked. Slingshot was already beginning to spiral, his heartbeat racing, his hands clamming up, his body breaking into horrible uncontrollable tremors, fear.

Fear flooded through his systems- he tried to shake himself out of it. It hardly worked. He leaned back slightly, reaching his leg forward, his foot, trying to reach the phone- there- he dragged his phone closer to where he was- and he had it. He bent down to grab it fast, before pressing so hard against the wall it was starting to hurt-

The moment he got it, he tapped on the screen so profusely, unabashedly frantic because he did not have TIME to be bashful about it. Nothing worked. He pressed down on the power button so many times the button left an imprint on his finger- hurt- more hurt.

Dull hurt, not enough to really notice in the fear of the moment, but the red mark looked ugly-

He was stuck- he was lost- he was alone.

“This service is not available.”
“Shit. Shit shit shit- Boombox, we gotta-”
“Breathe.”
Skateboard faltered, eyes wide. He felt… Frustrated. Confused. What the hell did Boombox mean by-
“If you’re an anxious mess, you won’t think straight… And also that would be really bad. For many other reasons…” Boombox tried to reason, breaking into a slightly nervous sweat. Skateboard almost wanted to argue, but he thought for two more seconds before it clicked.

He let out a shaky breath.

“His phone is off… What do we do?”

“We DON’T split up…” Boombox muttered, pulling Skateboard close and eying the crowd cautiously. “Wh- Wouldn’t that make it go faster?” Skateboard guessed, still a bit confused. “Maybe, but also faster to lose each other, too… Who knows what happened to Slingshot’s phone. But if that happened to yours too…”

“Cut off…” Skateboard realized, and Boombox nodded. “Okay, so… That still leaves the question of what we SHOULD do…” Skateboard pointed out. Boombox furrowed a brow, looking around again.

“How mad do you think Slingshot would be if we got help from the staff?” Boombox wondered a bit sheepishly. Skateboard let out a nervous chuckle. “Pretty mad.” Boombox sighed a bit tiredly. “How bad do you think this situation might be?” Skateboard now paused, thinking, before wincing with a nervous grin. “Pretty bad…” He sort of echoed, but with much more exasperation.

Boombox looked over again, sympathetic, but pulling Skateboard gently by the wrist as they approached one of the guards to ask for help.

Slingshot slid down-
His (sort of) steady breathing, gone.
His (sort of) steady composure, gone.
His (barely strung) sanity, gone.

He was in too deep-
Stuck. He was stuck as he slowly sank to the bottom of the sea… Dark… Terrifying… Filled with who knows what-

He began to panic, it was too fast, everything was too fast, too loud, not enough air- it was too much but not enough and he couldn’t stop shivering- oh for the love of god would you just STOP SHIVERING-
It was pathetic, it was stupid, it was akin to a child throwing a tantrum, minus all the anger, only all the remorse, the angst, the tragedy, all of the worst things but anger wasn’t anger, it was self hatred, it was a sappy form of frustration, exasperated frustration in himself for being such a damn baby, all the while he was panicking and people- too many people-

The pain in his side came back, sharper than every- he wanted to cry- was he crying? Somehow it didn’t feel like it was enough- it didn’t feel like anything- just his eyes flooding without his permission- he wasn’t crying- he was just- falling apart… Falling apart at the seams with-

No one there to stop it…

Was that good?

Part of him felt like this was what he wanted. To have this happen when his friends WEREN’T there…

But part of him- despite hating the pity… Did like having someone to hug. Someone to get comforted by, someone to tell him that everything would be okay, as long as he could put in the tiniest effort of recovery-

He could tell himself that-

He… Could have… Told himself that…

Maybe it was a skill he has yet to master…

Strangely enough, he felt his heart beat beginning to slow- but his chest… It hurt so bad… Felt like an ache in his lungs- because of his breathing…

He had stopped breathing-

It felt… Difficult…

Like learning to swim, all over again…

He couldn’t get himself to do it-
He couldn’t breathe…

“We found him- he’s in Quadrant 6!” Came a voice from one of the staff members’ walkie talkies who stood nearby. “Quadrant 6?” Skateboard echoed, a bit quieter, looking around. “Go straight in that direction. It’s that corner over there,” instructed the security guy.

Skateboard and Boombox both nodded, firm and serious as the two began to rush over as quickly as they could. The security guard left behind perked as the radio cut in again. “Make sure they get here fast. That guy ain’t lookin so good…” That made the man feel a wave of dread.

He raised the radio to his mouth as he spoke.
“Trust me. They’re a hurryin…”

Skateboard and Boombox struggled at first, now standing in the quadrant supposedly, as the two walked around, trying to find their friend. “He’ll probably be trying to stay far from the crowd. As far as possible,” Skateboard guessed as the two looked around frantically. “Soooo… Walls?” Boombox commented.

Skateboard nodded. The two quickly rushed over, walking down the back wall until- there…

Slingshot held himself, shaking, nails digging into his sleeves as he cried, looking down with watery eyes, visibly spiralling… The two worried friends walked over, and as they got closer to Slingshot and further from the crowd, there was a mumbling they began to hear-

Mumbles of failing reassurances-
“They didn’t leave you-”
“Th-they wouldn’t l-leave you-”
“Th-they-...” His eyes snapped shut as tears continued to flow. He looked so-... So scared…
“They wouldn’t do that…” He whispered to himself, a desperate plea to convince his mind-

But his mind was already convinced, and not of the truth.

Skateboard sat down next to him, Boombox on his other side, both nervous- not knowing what to say- “He isn’t breathing-...” Boombox realized, a whisper-

Slingshot didn’t hear it.

“I-... I don’t wanna startle him more- but-” Skateboard faltered, both were unsure what to do- this was a new experience- Slingshot… He didn’t HEAR them… He wasn’t- He wasn’t THERE- But seeing him break down like this, crying, hurting so so bad… It was… So bad…

Boombox reached a hesitant hand. It hovered over Slingshot’s shoulder- he didn’t know. Neither of them knew… This wasn’t… Neither of them knew what they were doing here, and-

Boombox placed his hand on Slingshot’s shoulder, gentle, slow- that didn’t change the fact that Slingshot jumped immediately, eyes widening in panic, causing Boombox to also jump in slight worry, pulling his hand back and immediately rushing into stammered apologies.

Skateboard broke into a nervous panicked sweat, his heart beating as Slingshot held himself tighter, looking between the two- he-... Was registering?

Slowly but surely… The grip on his sleeves loosened, as he looked between a very concerned Boombox and Skateboard, registering… He was registering them… Registering what was happening-

“He’s still not breathing-” Boombox realized in a whisper. “S-Sling, w-would contact upset you?” Skateboard stammered, offering his hands up in a sort of surrender- peace. Peace offering-

Slingshot faltered, before opening his mouth to speak-

He broke into a coughing fit…

He forgot how much swallowing air could dry up your throat… “D-Don’t waste your breath- just… Just nod or shake your head, okay?” Boombox cut in, worriedly. Slingshot took in a careful shaky breath, trying to recover- it felt like if he breathed in too fast, he’d break into a coughing fit all over again…

Nervously, shakily, he shook his head. He couldn’t-... He couldn’t afford to guard himself anymore… Even Slingshot knew when he couldn’t… Handle it… Anymore…

Boombox and Skateboard exchanged glances, it was… Hard to read… Slingshot was already feeling his vision darken, the static was growing louder- he shut his eyes as a throb in his head began. A painful throb…

Suddenly, he felt a warmth- he knew what it was. He hugged them back as relief already began to seep in… Slingshot felt his breathing begin to slow down and steady. His heartbeat calmed, his eyes were still snapped shut, but he hugged his friends tightly, and they hugged him back-

Everything was gonna be okay…

He could tell…

Chapter Text

Slingshot still shivered, the lingering anxiety clinging onto him like he just walked out from the deep blue sea-

Though, not once did his friends truly address it. Not once did they point it out, did they get all worry-wart, or start babying him for it.

No, what they did instead, was help him up onto his two feet, pull his arms over their shoulders, and help him stumble out of that place as quickly as possible-

And despite the blazing heat, Slingshot felt immediate relief when he was greeted to a lower-volume environment. The open streets hummed, but it was NOTHING compared to the yells and screams and laughs of… Of that place… The arcade that loomed behind him.

He let out a shaky breath, the trembling already beginning to fade… “You okay?” Oh no, here comes the worry… Slingshot looked over wearily as he heard Skateboard’s voice- and the sheer exhaustion that was already replacing the original fear made it hard for him to perform at the moment- maybe that made things worse…

The trio all stopped, standing before the arcade entrance. Slingshot wanted to speak, he really did- but he felt… Heavy again… That faintness in him, it didn’t quite leave… Though he wasn’t entirely sure why. Skateboard’s expression shifted. Of course it did. Skateboard looked over to Boombox, and the two seemed to-... Talk…

They spoke without tongues…

Before Slingshot knew what was happening, Boombox let go of Slingshot, and Skateboard pulled Slingshot into a hug, keeping him up and steady. Slingshot didn’t even really process it fully, but he was already starting to feel that same feeling he felt back at the cafe.

The heavy drowsiness that started taking over…

He was trying really hard to stay alert- at least present, but the numb feeling was already settling in-

Skateboard and Boombox, they were talking- their voices sounded… Fuzzy… There was a strange static sound starting to form- it made Slingshot’s head spin… He felt dizzy- “Sling-” That word managed to get through… That name. He felt Skateboard hold him a little tighter, he could feel anxiety radiating off his friend, but for the life of him he couldn’t- the pain. The pain came back, a sharp stab in his side as he let out a muffled hiss against Skateboard’s shoulder as he felt himself starting to hold on for dear life-

He hoped he wasn’t hurting his friend too much… No grip or cling felt like it would stop him from falling- maybe it was in his head. He felt like he was gonna fall over, but that didn’t make sense, did it? Skateboard- he was holding onto him so tightly… There was no way he was falling over… Right? Didn’t stop the vertigo…

The fuzzy words…
They became clearer when they became louder.

Still… It was bits and pieces to Slingshot, who felt himself slowly shutting down- it didn’t feel slow…

“B-Boombox- I don’t know what to do-”
“J-st. H-ld -n…”
“I-... I th-nk h-’s -n -ain.”
“-h g-sh…”

Slingshot felt another sharp stab of that agony… That misery… It made him want to keel over… Hard to do when he was being held so closely- but part of him was relieved by being held onto like that… His friend was likely the only reason Slingshot hadn’t fallen over and split his head open yet-

Now it was a fresh wave of nausea…

The speaking stopped- or maybe it just got fuzzy again, muffled, as Slingshot felt himself getting shifted around- carried-... Like a child… Slingshot already felt his face flushing red as he squirmed slightly- fruitlessly really…-

“Sling- stop- I’m just-”
The grip got tighter.
“Look, we don’t have to make it weird, okay? Can you even walk right now?” Skateboard’s- fuzzy… Fuzzy silhouette… Seemed to ask him…? Slingshot felt his movement stilling again. Admittedly, he didn’t think he COULD move much, if at all… His silence might have been telling… “Yeah… That’s what I thought…” Skateboard seemed to mutter… Slingshot couldn’t really figure out his expression- his vision was too fuzzy…

But he sounded annoyed…

And Slingshot felt… A little guilty for it…
Because of that, Slingshot stayed quiet. He tried his best to push past the part of his mind that screamed to keep fighting, to get set back down so he could walk by himself like the 22 year old adult he was…

It was hard… And the slight jostling made the nausea feel a bit worse- but maybe Skateboard sensed that, as Slingshot began to notice the jostling lessening a lot, and the pacing slowing as his friend seemed to try his hardest to walk steady… For Slingshot’s sake…

Things began to unfuzzy, as Slingshot was given a chance to recover slightly. To focus less on trying to stay up steady and more on breathing, and just… Staying awake… The edges of things still looked… Not right… But the static sounds were fading into the background more and more.

“How much longer is it?” Skateboard asked nervously, glancing over to- Boombox… Right… He was there too-

“Not much further. It’s that building right there,” Boombox said, still walking but pointing to an orange building with a sign that Slingshot couldn’t read. “Should we- go into there?” Skateboard asked, sounding… Nervous… Though as Slingshot began to think about it, he felt his heartbeat quicken. He understood Skateboard’s logic about being unable to walk, but the idea of getting carried around and looking as pathetic as he did at the momen-

“You and Sling should probably stay outside… If we can find a shady area it should be fine.”

Slingshot felt immediate relief, and he even heard a bit of it from Skateboard, with that quiet sigh. “You’re gonna be okay,” Skateboard reassured with a soft grin, holding Slingshot a little closer to his chest and looking down at him. Somehow… For some reason… Slingshot trusted it.

Boombox and Skateboard split off at one point, with Boombox waving a quick goodbye, before walking into the orange building in question. Skateboard, on the other hand, continued to walk. Around the side of the building stood a black metal fenced area, with a bunch of tables and chairs. There was a gate, though, and Skateboard stopped before it. Skateboard seemed to try pushing open the gate with his foot, and it actually worked. He let out a quiet huff, before pushing the gate open the rest of the way with his hip, and stepping through.

Pretty much the entire outdoor seating area was empty, and as the two looked around, there was a table with four chairs, all in the shade of a large tree that was planted on the outer rim of the fence. Skateboard began to make his way toward it, and stopped when he got close enough. “Alright, you’re gonna have to trust me on this, okay?” He asked, glancing down at Slingshot with what looked like a bit of nervousness…

Slingshot felt himself falter, looking around a bit, but nothing really clued him in on what Skateboard meant by it. “Okay…?” He managed- his voice was kind of croaky… “Kay, just… Hold on, alright?” Skateboard muttered as he readjusted his arms a bit. Slingshot stayed quiet, letting Skateboard do whatever it was he was trying to do-

“Oh-... Uh… I mean ACTUALLY hold on…”
“O-Oh…” Slingshot chirped, suddenly feeling a sheepish grin as he timidly wrapped his arms over Skateboard’s shoulders, trying to make sure he wouldn’t accidentally choke the guy. Skateboard let out a quiet chuckle as he responded like that, before letting go of Slingshot’s legs- for a split second, he thought he would fall- andddd he just forgot to trust Skateboard, who quickly held onto him with both arms, pulling him into a hug to keep him steady again, catching him before his stumble could turn into a fall…

Of course Skateboard wouldn’t let him fall- “I told you to trust me,” He teased with a snicker. “Oh, shush…” Slingshot muttered, rolling his eyes with a slight grin. Skateboard glanced over, before looking back at Slingshot. “Alright, uh… Just watch your feet, okay?” He suggested, the two looking down at the ground. Skateboard stepped his left foot back, and Slingshot started getting the gist, stepping forward with his right foot.

The two took it slow and careful, till they got to one of the chairs. Skateboard stopped and nudged it over with his foot, getting it to face away from the table. He helped turn Slingshot around and helped him ease back into the chair, where Slingshot couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. “See? I told ya you’re gonna be okay…” Skateboard chirped with a soft grin. Slingshot felt a smile coming on, letting out another held breath.

“Y-Yeah… I know… Thanks…” Skateboard gave a nod, before stepping back and pulling one of the chairs over, then sitting down in it himself. The two were silent for a moment… Until they weren’t. “So… What was that about?” Skateboard just HAD to ask… Slingshot already felt a nervousness settling in again, as he sat up ever so slightly- he hoped it was subtle-

“Sling- I just… Wanna know what’s going on, okay?” Skateboard quickly stammered, seeming to grow just as nervous… That didn’t stop the tremble. “It’s- hard to- I don’t-... I don’t know…” Slingshot lied, looking off, holding himself, he didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t even sure he knew half of what went on with him… He wasn’t sure he knew half of why these things happened.

“You… Sounded like you were hurting a bit ago…” Skateboard mumbled, worried. He looked so worried… “It… Did hurt…” Slingshot stammered-

‘Stop talking.’
‘Stop talking.’
‘Stop talking.’

“What… Kind of hurt?”
“I don’t… Know…”

Skateboard faltered, looking off, thinking… Slingshot fidgeted with his hands, taking in shaky breaths. “You don’t know… What kind? Like… It didn’t feel like anything you’ve dealt with before?” Skateboard asked, a bit hesitant- doubtful. He didn’t believe him… “I’ve- had it happen before…” Slingshot confessed sheepishly- nervously…

‘Shut up.’
‘Shut up.’
‘Shut up.’

Skateboard looked at him, a bit stunned silent. Had he not expected that as an answer?- “But I n-never figured out what it was from- n-not really…” Slingshot quickly stammered. His hands fidgeted again- he began to dig his nails into the back of his hand- it hurt, but… It felt better than the pain in his stomach that was starting to come back… Anxious twisting kind of pain…

“It just… Kinda happened?” Slingshot fell silent at Skateboard’s words. He looked off- he couldn’t… He couldn’t look… To try to tell the truth… It still sounded stupid… It sounded like a lie… “Y-... Yeah…” He whispered- he didn’t mean to whisper… The trembling worsened. He felt that bad feeling in his gut. That familiar tensing, holding himself, expecting that horrible thing to happen again…

He looked down at the ground taking in a shaky breath.

“Sling- you… You okay?”

Skateboard’s voice barely registered… Slingshot snapped his eyes shut- he dug his nails into his arms. No amount of pain would- it happened… That sharp agony came back, clawing at his side- he took in a sharp breath- he could see in the corner of his vision… Skateboard caught it immediately- there was no way he missed it, with how he paled immediately, recognizing the signs…

The oh so familiar signs…

Slingshot felt his breathing going shaky…
He held himself tight, he tried to breathe carefully- none of it helped. There was a whimpery lace to his breaths as he tried to cover up the pain but failed miserably-
“Slingshot- h-hold on- just-” In a blink of an eye, Skateboard was beside him. He was so scared… So unsure… The guilt in Slingshot’s stomach worsened- god he was gonna be sick- Skateboard pulled him close, helped him ease up- he fell into him immediately. Slingshot’s legs were giving out and he couldn’t stand for the life of him.

And yet, Skateboard refused to let him fall. Skateboard held him tight, despite the fear. “Wh-Where’s it hurt?” Slingshot looked down at his side again, digging his nails in again, he couldn’t speak- his throat was getting all choked up and his eyes were already starting to water. “Shhh… Shh… It’s okay…” Skateboard eased, his voice soft… Quiet… He rubbed at Slingshot’s aching shoulder, Slingshot’s breaths were still whimpery, but there was a slightly lessened shakiness to each one…

Skateboard carefully pulled Slingshot back with him, holding him against him as the two sat down. Skateboard wouldn’t let him go… It was kind of nice… Skateboard turned him a little… Slingshot managed to let go of himself, holding tightly to his friend, resting his head against Skateboard’s shoulder… He felt the guy’s hand hover over the area he was holding. His side- the source of the pain. “I-It’s okay…” Slingshot managed to stammer.

Skateboard took in a nervous shaky breath, before carefully resting his hand there. Slingshot shivered slightly, still struggling to hold back the agony… The way Skateboard softened, like his heart was breaking in two… He could probably tell… Skateboard seemed to hesitate further, trailing his hand down, till it was at the hem of Slingshot’s shirt. He faltered again, glancing at Slingshot.

“I-Is it okay if I-”
“Y-Yeah…”

Slingshot hugged him a little tighter as another wave of pain ran through him. Skateboard, his movements all slow and gentle, careful, held Slingshot a little closer and began to pull up the hem of his shirt. “W-Wait… There’s… N-nothing there-…” He mumbled- the confusion- the concern in his voice… The lack of a physical injury…

Slingshot couldn’t help but hide his face against Skateboard’s shoulder, his breathing getting shakier-

It would have been so much easier, wouldn’t it? Just a cut… A bruise, some kind of straight forward, logical answer to the problem… “Sling- what did-... How-”
“I don’t… Know…” Slingshot answered quietly, hugging Skateboard tighter. Skateboard froze- he seemed… Unsure of what to say… But then a second or two later, Slingshot felt him hug back… Just a little bit firmer…

“That… Really worries me, you know?”

Slingshot was silent for a moment, thinking about his words, before… “Yeah… You’ve been making that pretty obvious…” There was more silence. But then, he heard a slight chuckle. Slingshot couldn’t help but let out a sigh as he began to feel gentle hands rubbing at his back. “Y-Yeah… I guess I kinda suck at hiding that stuff, huh?”

“Mhm,” Slingshot hummed back, even with a slight smile of his own. There was more silence, though… “But s-seriously… I didn’t see, like… A mark or anything…” Skateboard confessed, his voice still weary. Slingshot was about to respond- until there was more pain…

Worse pain…

The worst pain…

He couldn’t even hide the yelp, and he felt Skateboard tense immediately, holding him tight in seconds- Slingshot’s eyes were already starting to water- and apparently, absentmindedly, began to tighten his grip on Skateboard’s shoulders, because- “Ow- ow, ow… Sling… Nails…” Skateboard stammered with a slight wince. Slingshot almost didn’t hear it- Skateboard had been mumbling it…

But when he did… “S-Sorry- I- I’m sorry-.” Slingshot let out another cry as he felt his nails dig in again- “It’s- It’s okay-” Skateboard stammered, pulling him close. Fake… He stammered that through the pain. He was horrible at faking it… “L-Look- I can… I can take it. If- If it makes the pain hurt less, I can… Take it.. Okay?” Skateboard mumbled rubbing at Slingshot’s back again-

His hands trembled as he did so…

“N-No… N-Not okay…” Slingshot stammered, his voice choking up. “S-Skateboard that’s not… Okay…” Why did part of him- the selfish side of him… Want to keep going, then? It wasn’t… That bad- it didn’t feel that bad… At first… Before he realized it was causing the other pain…

More like scratching a bed, or… A table… Or… Some other thing that didn’t have thoughts and feelings… But the moment he realized he caused misery… “Sling…” The voice pulled him from his thoughts. “It’s-... It’s alright…” He heard Skateboard mumble, quiet, strained…

Slingshot just let out another shaky breath- a held breath… He needed to stop doing that… He had gotten himself to stop, despite the pain… But he was just waiting for his resolve to snap… It felt close to breaking at any point… Maybe Skateboard could tell…

“I-... I’m so sorry…” Skateboard whispered, continuing to run a hand up and down Slingshot’s back… Why-... Why was he sorry? That-... Didn’t make any sense… If anyone should have been apologizing, it was Slingshot… He had been an emotional mess from the start of this day to now, and…

He was just… A constant living burden…

He closed his eyes, letting out another held breath…

He felt Skateboard’s hand falter.

Slingshot’s mind wandered back to that snowy place… That bus stop… Alone… Freezing… But burdening no one but himself… It sounded miserable… But wonderful…

How could something be both wonderful but miserable?

How was that even-

“Slingshot… You’re… Breathing, right?”

Slingshot opened his eyes, torn from his daydream…?
He glanced over to Skateboard, the two’s eyes locking for a moment. Slingshot let out another held breath, looking away. Skateboard continued to rub at Slingshot’s back, and Slingshot had to force himself to actually breathe again… He felt himself sagging against Skateboard slightly, growing heavy again… It was harder to sit up…

Yet Skateboard hardly seemed to mind…

Another wave of pain… It was relentless… Slingshot already found himself falling into that old habit as he heard Skateboard’s breaths get shaky- shaky because of pain Slingshot caused… It hurt worse to pull his nails off, to force himself to stop- he managed it…

“Sl-Sling I said it’s okay-”
“B-But it’s not… I shouldn’t-... I can’t just-...” Slingshot’s head was getting dizzy, his vision was starting to darken- he couldn’t tell if it was over the pain or the distress, but Skateboard seemed to realize this too. There was… A sort of panic… Slingshot could feel the poor guy getting shaky over it. “S-Slingshot, stay with me, okay?”

“M-Mhm…”

“N-No- I-... I’m serious, man. Don’t you dare pass out on me, okay??” Skateboard cut in, almost snappy, if it weren’t for the complete unabashed worry in his tone. Slingshot let out another shaky breath, strained beyond normal. “I can handle it, okay? I promise I-... I wouldn’t lie to you-... I would NEVER lie to you…” Skateboard stammered, hugging Slingshot so tight- it was almost too much… Slingshot let out another shaky breath, his brain already foggy…

He shouldn’t…
He couldn’t…

Slingshot shuddered, the pain causing a quiet whimper… Slingshot felt a hand squeeze his shoulder slightly, an attempt to comfort… But then a particularly bad crash of pain had to ruin it… Took it too far, as Slingshot felt that similar urge-
‘He said it was okay… So… It was okay, right?’
‘It wasn’t like you were just-’...
Using him like a goddamn scratching post…
…

Slingshot let out a shaky breath.
And then…
He listened…

The nails began to dig in, and he just had to hope and pray that Skateboard was being honest about his promise because this felt like all types of wrong…

And yet-... Skateboard did seem to handle it? His breathing got shaky, understandably, and he even trembled a bit… But he just kept holding onto Slingshot, and he didn’t draw any attention to it. And each time he seemed to ‘handle’ it, Slingshot’s nails dug in a little deeper, testing the waters… The pain wasn’t at the uncontrollable level, thankfully.

But still, the pain seemed to be slowly piling, each wave leading to a higher and higher threshold. A worse and worse kind of agony… Shaky hands still rubbed at Slingshot’s back, Skateboard’s attempt to comfort… It was nice… Though it felt undeserved…

All of the horrible things Slingshot had done…
The nails went deeper…
All of the burdens he had been putting on… Everyone…
Deeper still…
All of the agony he FORCED onto these people-
Knives slicing into flesh…

Why did they care-
Skateboard’s heartbeat… It was going faster than normal, his breaths, shakier… Too shaky… Slingshot had found the poor guy’s limit and now he was daring to push it further… What kind of monster would-
‘Just let go…’

He faltered, this thought lingering in his mind.

He nervously unlatched his claws- nails… He pulled them back, and whether Skateboard wanted to confess to it or not, his relief seemed immediate. “Y-... You said you wouldn’t lie…” Slingshot whispered, his voice shaky.

Slingshot didn’t hear an immediate response. Skateboard’s hands had gone still… Slingshot almost didn’t notice… “I-... I hurt you too much… W-Why didn’t you… Why didn’t you st-stop me?” Slingshot stammered, already feeling his heart begin to hurt, his eyes already starting to well up in tears. “S-Sling… It wasn't that-”
“Stop… Lying to me…” Slingshot practically pleaded, snapping his eyes shut as more pain… So much pain…
“I’m sorry-... I… I’m sorry, Sling… I w-wasn’t lying, okay? I… I would have told you if it was-”
“You were hurting…” Slingshot snapped slightly, pushing Skateboard back against the chair, frustrated. “...Intolerable…” Skateboard finished in a whisper. Slingshot faltered, his eyes going wide with realization.

Skateboard… He was… He was just putting up with it until…
He couldn’t bear it anymore…

Slingshot didn’t know what that point was, and…
He had a feeling Skateboard didn’t either…

Slingshot hesitated, looking between Skateboard, and looking away… He was caught speechless…

This was… Destructive…
This was horribly destructive…
For both of them…

Slingshot took in a shaky breath, before pushing away, stumbling onto his own two feet. His legs were shaky- he would have to get over it… “S-Slingshot, where are you-” Skateboard stood up, immediately nervous…

Scared…

Slingshot scared him…

Somehow, he was only now remembering this…

Remembering the impact of his existence on others…

Fear…

Slingshot took a nervous step back.

Pain… He should have expected it. He felt himself sway slightly as his breath hitched- falling- he was gonna fall-

Someone caught him- Skateboard, of course. He eased him down, down onto his knees, onto the ground… “Please breathe…” Slingshot struggled at first, his breaths coming in fast and short, shaky, unstable, going between not breathing, and swallowing air- but then he felt Skateboard’s hand rubbing at his shoulder, and Slingshot had to force himself to slow down…

But it got easier…

Slingshot opened his eyes, looked over and… Noticed Skateboard was looking at his side again…
“Slingshot?”
“Wh-What…”
“When was… The last time you ate?”

Slingshot fell silent.
He fell still.
Strangely… That question disturbed him.

Strangely, it made his stomach tie in knots…

“I don’t… Remember?”

He caught Skateboard furrowing a brow slightly, but then he simply asked; “Genuinely?” Slingshot faltered, before nodding. Why was he so nervous about this? It didn’t help him look the least bit trustworthy, that was for sure… “You… Genuinely don’t remember…” Skateboard had to check, even his voice in slight disbelief.

Slingshot looked off, already feeling his face flush red… “Y-Yeah…” Skateboard faltered, the nervousness settling in on his face again… He reached his hand over again… Hovering over Slingshot’s side, again… The constant source of this… Agony… He let out a nervous sigh, before finally resting his hand there. He rubbed his thumb into Slingshot’s side, the motion ever so gentle… Slingshot let out a weary sigh, leaning into Skateboard slightly. “You think it might be cramps?” Skateboard’s question…

It took Slingshot by slight surprise.

“Cramps…?”

“Yeah, you know… Like… From not eating enough?”

There was a sense of dread already seeping in.
It was almost instantaneous to Slingshot…

And no doubt his silence was making Skateboard just as concerned. He heard Skateboard shifting a bit, before pulling his phone out of his pocket and typing something, possibly to Boombox… Though that made a question pop up in Slingshot’s mind… One that… Felt so casual that it was almost silly to ask it when the two were so nervous.

Regardless, call Slingshot curious as a cat…
“Why here?”
Skateboard looked over, raising a brow slightly.
“S-Sorry…” Slingshot stammered, looking off. “Why… Did you guys specifically walk to this place…”
Skateboard had a guilty look. Great start… “Boombox had… A hunch…” He answered carefully, before glancing back at his phone. “A hunch?” Slingshot echoed.

Skateboard paused, before letting out a weary sigh.
“Well… Kind of… We were both kinda hoping it WASN’T about that… But… he also figured food would be a good idea for you, after all of that… You know what…”

Slingshot blinked in surprise, before glancing over at the orange building again- oh…

Jorrts Food…

It sounded… Familiar…

“Yeahhhh… Honestly, he was supposed to be bringing something out by now, and part of me is kinda wondering if he’s like- okay?” Skateboard stammered a bit sheepish. Almost as if on cue, Skateboard’s phone buzzed, and he and Slingshot exchanged surprised glances, before looking at it. “Sorry this is so late… The line was AWFUL :(“

“Huh… Well… That explains it,” Skateboard chirped, still sheepish, but grinning slightly. “That message was supposed to send 5 minutes ago… What the frick man” Boombox also texted, causing both Slingshot and Skateboard to snicker slightly. “Was the wifi that bad?” Skateboard texted, and before they got a response, the front door of Jorrts swung open-

And Boombox walked out with three drinks barely held in one arm and a bag held with the other- poor guy… “Uh- okay, I should probably give him a hand,” Skateboard chirped with a chuckle, before wrapping his arms around Slingshot and helping him up.

“W-Wait- Skate, what about-”
“Look…” Skateboard started with a nervous breath, cutting Slingshot off. “We can… Talk about it… But… Let’s do it later, okay? You’re stressed, I’m stressed, and… For all I know, you might not have even had breakfast, okay?”

Slingshot couldn’t help but furrow a brow slightly-
“But we WILL talk about it. I swear…” Skateboard quickly reassured. Slingshot forced himself to let out a breath, before nodding. Skateboard seemed a bit relieved by that, quickly helping Slingshot sit down, before rushing over to Boombox to grab the bag and one of the cups, allowing Boombox to hold the other two with no risk of dropping them.

The two chatted in the distance as they began to walk over, and all Slingshot was given were the expressions they shared… Something told him the two were talking about him, though… Which… Shouldn’t be surprising…

It didn’t make the guilt lessen…

But eventually, they walked over- and then it registered for Slingshot… That he’d have to… He let out a shaky breath, trying his best to cover up the anxiety as well as he could. But the idea of food right now-

It wasn’t logical. If he really WAS getting these cramps because of his hunger, it would make sense to eat food. But that didn’t change the fact that the sheer thought of it made him nauseous… He felt his hands already beginning to tremble- they would be expecting him to, especially Skateboard. Skateboard knew now…

He also knew how important it was for Slingshot to eat…

Which was bad…

“Sling- you okay?” Skateboard asked a bit nervously, picking up on the anxiety immediately… The silence… All of it… “I-... Y-Yeah…” Slingshot stammered, looking off, starting to hold himself again. Why even try… It was impossible to hide… He looked back, just in time to catch Boombox and Skateboard exchanging a glance, and Boombox whispering a rather quiet; “Go ahead…”

“Got stuff to take out and set up, anyway…”

Skateboard nodded, before walking over and bringing over a chair and sitting down. He glanced over at Slingshot, but Slingshot couldn’t meet his gaze, instead rubbing at his arm… “What’s going on, man…” Skateboard asked with a sigh, and that tone… Slingshot felt his own nails digging into his sleeve in response…

“Sling…”

“I don’t wanna eat…”

Slingshot waited for a response… A response that never came… And when Slingshot finally mustered the courage to look over, it was just as he expected, Skateboard struggling to come up with something to say, left… Speechless… Slingshot was getting really good at that…

“But… You know you-”
“I know, Skateboard… I just…”

“I can’t…”

“Wait- Won’t or can’t?- Wait, actually…” Skateboard cut himself off, holding his head and sighing slightly. “Okay, Slingshot… Seriously… What’s going on?” He asked nervously. Slingshot’s gaze shifted from a distant wall to the floor. Not much of an improvement, really…

“It… Makes me feel anxious…”

Because it did… Slingshot was already starting to feel something bad brewing in his stomach… Skateboard was silent… “I-... I’m sorry, Sling…” He finally mumbled. It sounded genuine. “I… Uh… Got some white rice, just in case that might be a problem… I mean, you can’t get simpler than plain white rice, ” Boombox chimed in with a sheepish smile. Slingshot looked up, already feeling the guilt seeping in, and mixing horribly with the nausea…

“Safe food… It shouldn’t mess with your stomach much,” Skateboard added with a nervous yet attempting-to-be reassuring smile. “I- just… I dunno…” Slingshot mumbled, falling quiet towards the end. “Okay… Just… Take little bites, and go at your own pace… And if it gets too bad, you can stop and take a break… That sound good?” Boombox offered with a softer voice…

They were both trying so hard…

Slingshot sighed, before nodding…

Boombox continued to unpack the food. There was quite a bit of stuff in that bag, since he had also picked up food for himself and Skateboard. But he was quick to grab a fork and one of the white rice boxes to make sure Slingshot would get to eat first (hooray…)

And of course, Skateboard wasn’t gonna let Slingshot off very easily. They were both… Polite… About it, but Slingshot could tell they wanted him to get something in his stomach and they were gonna make sure he did just that… While Boombox was busy unpacking stuff and handing it out, Skateboard would glance over at Slingshot occasionally, every so often ask if he could help, only for Slingshot to unhelpfully answer “Not really…”

Slingshot tried… he really did…

He grabbed his fork, and he took little bites, as Boombox suggested, but each bite felt nauseating… Weirdly enough, it wasn’t quite the ‘I’m going to throw up right now’ feeling, but it got pretty close quite a few times…

And maybe he looked that way too, frequently getting sympathetic glances from Skateboard and Boombox as the three ate… With Skateboard even trying to nudge him slightly, or give him a comforting shoulder pat, anything to attempt to make him feel better-

It didn’t do much…

Eventually though, Slingshot did manage to finish the takeout box, even if it was torture to get to that point.

Wisely, Boombox and Skateboard decided to call it a day after this, with Skateboard and Slingshot walking Boombox home, before starting to walk in the direction of Thieves Rest… And here they were…

“You didn’t have to walk me back, you know…” Slingshot attempted to cut in, though it was a very mild form of a ‘just so you know’. “Yeahhh… Figured I probably should, though…” Skateboard admitted with that familiar sheepish grin. Slingshot couldn’t help but let out a sigh. “That’s… Fair, I guess…” Skateboard seemed to pause at Slingshot’s words- though the two kept walking…

“Look, Sling. I know this is annoying, but we’re really worried about ya… You know? You gotta understand it to a degree…” Slingshot had to fight back the urge to roll his eyes, instead letting out another quiet sigh.

“I live with Shuriken and Vine Staff. It’s okay. You don’t have to spell it out…” He couldn’t help but mutter, but felt the remorse the moment he saw his friend’s apologetic expression. Or the way he looked away in a shyish sort of way. Slingshot felt himself falter, too…

Falter, because there was no way Skateboard would stay quiet about Slingshot’s little ‘incidents’ today…

Not if he was given the chance to spill-
But he probably wouldn’t do it in front of Slingshot…

Which meant Slingshot had to do everything he possibly could to make sure he didn’t leave Skateboard’s side until Skateboard left Thieves Rest…

That… Shouldn’t be TOO hard… Righ-

“Slingshot? You still there?”

Slingshot blinked a few times, trying to remember where he was, before he looked over to Skateboard, who looked at him… Funnily… He had his head turned to the side a bit, seeming a little confused? Maybe some nervousness, too… That was a common one.

“Y-Yeah… Sorry… Just… Thinking…” Slingshot mumbled, looking forward again and trying his best to stay neutral.

He saw Skateboard in the corner of his vision, who looked forward as well, but didn’t seem to particularly like Slingshot’s answer. He didn’t try taking another, though, so Slingshot decided he wouldn’t either…

And then the silence began to linger…

Until it didn’t-

“So… Today was kinda… Crazy, huh?” Skateboard attempted, the sheepish grin was… Painful to witness. “Yeah…” Slingshot answered as quickly and quietly as he could, while the two continued to walk. Skateboard definitely picked up on Slingshot’s energy…

He just hoped he would accept it. Just fall silent. NOT talk about what just happened- “Look… I know you wanted to talk about it, Sling… I dunno why you’re being so dodgy about it-” Of course he wouldn’t…

“We can drop it,” Slingshot quickly countered, wincing as he looked off, causing… SOMETHING… To flicker in Skateboard’s eyes for a moment. A very brief moment. Maybe a poor choice of words, but… “Wh- Slingshot-... what are you talking about?” Skateboard shot back, definitely TAKEN aback, but Slingshot tried his best to swallow down the feelings that came with that.

“It’s… Not important, okay? We can just… Drop it. Pretend this never happened-”
“Sling, are you being serious right now?”
“Yes, actually…”

“Slingshot, you could have passed out back there!” Skateboard suddenly snapped, causing Slingshot to falter, both falling still in silent…

Even Skateboard seemed to pause, his face one of some kind of nervousness, almost like regret… Did he think he took it too far-

‘You’re driving him mad… He should have taken it farther…’

Slingshot tried to swallow down that thought, just like every other thought- was it getting colder?
‘We were in the middle of August, yet it hadn’t quite felt like it for all of the entire month’s running…’

Slingshot shook himself out of these thoughts…

And then he took a step back.

A nervous step back…

Skateboard picked up on it quickly, forcing himself to let out a sigh. It was… A very forced sigh…

“Look- I don’t want this to ruin our friendship or something, but like… I care about you. Boombox cares about you… Shuriken and Vine Staff? They care about you a lot… We all do…”

It was a script…

“Skateboard-”

“I don’t know what’s been going on, lately,” Skateboard continued, fidgeting with his hands slightly. “And it sounds like no one really does. Not even yourself-”

“Skateboard…”

“A-And that’s okay, Sling… Really, you don’t… Have to have all the answers-”

“Skate-”
“But you gotta trust us…”

Slingshot… Cut himself off…
Skateboard also fell silent…

He… Looked at Slingshot funny…
It was like… He was desperate.

Pleading to be given a chance.
Pleading for Slingshot to just… Trust him…
To trust to talk to him, to rely on him…

Skateboard…
He wanted to be there for him… So, so badly…

Yet every time Slingshot felt that nagging feeling…

That desire to trust… To rely…

He just remembered that horrible place…
That snowy place… He already felt himself slipping into it again, shivering amongst the freezing winds, the isolation of the dark night sky- yet somehow there wasn’t an astral object, no moon, no stars, to light the way…

He was alone, his legs going stiff, slowly freezing-
Freezing…

Cold…

He trembled slightly…
“S-... Sling?”
He wanted to speak- he wanted to breathe, he felt his throat closing up, rendering him useless…
“Slingshot- what’s…”

Why was everything getting all fuzzy again?
Why was it coming back-
He was almost home…
Why now?

Why-

He finally managed to let out a shaky breath, though his heart hurt like it had been beating too fast-

Was it?
…
He hadn’t been paying attention.

He saw Skateboard walking over- that WAS Skateboard, right? It was kind of hard to tell… He was… A little fuzzy…

Nonetheless, he felt his breathing slow down, and presumably his heart began to steady as Skateboard pulled him into a hug he didn’t dare fight.

He still couldn’t speak, but he hugged him back-

About all he could do…

The two finally made it.

They stood before Thieves Rest…

There was darkness all around…

“Are you… Gonna be safe walking home?” Slingshot couldn’t help but ask wearily, his voice quiet and… Maybe a bit more broken than he’d like… Skateboard, thankfully, ignored it, instead nodding. “Yeah… I’ve been through Playground at night hundreds of times. As long as you’re paying attention, it isn’t that bad…”

Slingshot let out a quiet breath, before turning to look at the door. “I… Guess I… Uh…” Slingshot felt his brain already turning to mush as he sheepishly pointed over to the door. Skateboard, also sheepish, nodded with a grin.

It was… Man, were they both awkward.
But it was almost kind of funny…

Almost…

Skateboard and Slingshot both seemed to pause though, words that should have been shared, tensions that should have been addressed, just left to sit… Rotting on the floor. Maybe they should have just… Talked it out…

Slingshot knew he could leave right there…

It’d be so easy…

And yet…

He remained still, nervous, quiet…

He finally mustered the courage to look over at Skateboard, only to find him looking over at Slingshot just as nervously. It would have been so nice to just…

“I’m sorry I hurt you-”
Slingshot quickly stammered, breaking slightly, already feeling himself break into a nervous sweat, speaking fast, holding his arms and praying this embarrassing tremble would finally just cease, but it didn’t.

“S-Sling…” Skateboard seemed to mumble, heart practically breaking- you could hear it in his throat, he looked at Slingshot in such a… Horrible way… That pitying glance, it made Slingshot’s stomach tie in all sorts of knots…

“Sling, it’s okay- it’s probably not even that bad…” Skateboard mumbled, trying on a nervous grin, before looking over at one of his shoulders, hesitantly pulling down the sleeve slightly-

There were the scratches…

Pink, raw, exposed…
A bit of dry blood at the edges-
Skateboard shuddered at the image, possibly remembering the pain- Slingshot felt himself paling at the sight. The sight of scratch marks… Like from an animal-

The pain HE inflicted…

Skateboard seemed to falter and fidget, nervous and unsure of what to say, but then he forced a chuckle…

“G-Give it a day or two… It’ll probably be gone by then…”

“G-Gone…” Slingshot whispered under his breath, the idea of it… Horrifying-... He didn’t want it to scar, of course he didn’t… But the idea of all the pain he caused Skateboard ‘disappearing’ in a day or two…

At best, it felt dismissive to everything Skateboard had to go through, and at worst, it was downright disgusting…

Disgusting and horrible and revolting and-

“Sling, seriously… It’s okay…” Skateboard suddenly stammered, his smile looking more and more strained as he tried and failed over and over to convince Slingshot that THIS was okay- this wasn’t okay-

‘He wants you to believe it is…’
‘If you don’t… He’ll know…’

Slingshot forced himself to swallow down the lump in his throat… “O-Okay…” He croaked. Skateboard’s gaze seemed to linger. Maybe Slingshot wasn’t very… Subtle…
“Please don’t beat yourself up about this, okay?” Skateboard… Pleaded… There was that desperation, again… Slingshot could feel Skateboard’s hand rubbing at his shoulder again, that attempt to comfort… A constant…

“O-Okay…” Slingshot answered quieter.

He heard Skateboard sigh.

He sounded tired…

“Come on… Let’s get you inside…”

“You’re startin to feel a lil cold…”

Slingshot and Skateboard finally stood before the door, and Skateboard gave a small wave and a small smile. Slingshot couldn’t match the smile, but waved back, before pushing open the door, and stepping through.

Skateboard stood where he was…

Unmoving…

And then…

He turned to leave.

Chapter Text

Slingshot stood in silence for a few moments-

The lights were dark, there was nobody in sight, as it had gotten dark outside, the cafe was in its wrap-up stage…

By the looks of it, the tables had been cleaned down- it was probably just some last minute kitchen clean up-...

Slingshot stood in the dark, silent, wide-eyed, processing…

Processing… Everything…

His mind already began to get fuzzy, his head heavy, his hands trembly, his heart beat was slow, but it was also SLOWLY starting to speed up as everything- too many things, began to sink in. All the events of the day.

Everything…

Everything REGISTERED…

And then he began to reali-
“Oh- hey, welcome back, Sling.”

Slingshot blinked once or twice, before looking over at the voice, Shuriken. He just… Appeared, right? He wasn’t there before, but now he was, just left the kitchen and now stood leaning his back against the counter-

“How’d it go?”
The arcade-

“Good,” Slingshot quickly answered, maybe a bit too quick… Shuriken seemed to falter, confused but then… Suspicious… As he furrowed a single brow.

“Yeah?” He wondered, cautious, seeming to listen and observe carefully, which made Slingshot more nervous somehow… “Y-Yep…” Slingshot confirmed, a bit shakily.

He looked away, and then looked back, but Shuriken still stood there, looking at Slingshot… Trying to puzzle something out… “Okay… How was the place?” He asked, seeming to try and get Slingshot to talk more-

Which was bad, because Slingshot’s brain was already starting to fry… “F-Fine… It was fine…” Slingshot chirped with a nervous grin, looking off. Shuriken remained silent.

“Okkkkayyyyy…” Shuriken mumbled, narrowing his eyes slightly. Suspicious… Slingshot was being very suspicious-

“I- Uh… Gotta wash my hands- you know- cause public places- and stuff-...” Slingshot stammered, again with the awkward gestures, starting to walk off, and point to where he was going, the nervous grin did no favors…

“S-Sure thing, buddy…” Shuriken mumbled, seeming genuinely concerned now- okay yeah, it was time to go.

Slingshot tried to stay calm and look calm as he left for the bathroom, and when he walked in and pushed the door behind him, he felt immediate relief.

The relief was short lived, however, when he looked down… Down at his hands… The sight made him tremble-

How much of this was real-

Was- Was it really that bad?

Did he really scratch him up that bad-

That was… A lot of blood- Had Shuriken noticed that-

So much- Okay, it was fine, it was fine.

Slingshot turned on the faucet, and the water began to run. All he had to do was wash it off… It wasn’t that-

The water began to run a little pink, and eventually, it went back to clear… Clear water-

…So why was there still blood?

Slingshot felt his throat starting to close, but he tried to ignore it, and all of the trembling that began, but when he put his hands under, the blood didn’t leave…

The blood clung on… Like… Like it was stuck there-

Part of him-

An imperfection-

A constant memory-

Don’t forget what you did- No…

‘I won’t let you FORGET what you did…’

His breathing may have gotten a little funny, and the tremble may have gotten worse… He might have looked a little more frantic, maybe crazy, maybe terrified, as he rubbed at his nails under the water, as the blood continued to remain, to stay, to latch on and linger-

He was wasting water…

Why wasn’t it coming off-

Why wasn’t the blood coming off-

Why-

Why why why why why-

No matter how much he rubbed, no matter how much soap he used, the blood wouldn’t leave it wouldn’t go away. The rot clung onto his skin his flesh, a constant reminder of his sins, his horrible crimes, the pain and the misery, his hands were red, so much blood… Too much blood…

What had he done to his friend to get this bad… If you didn’t know better, he was crazy… A psycho- no… A psycho was a compliment, he must have been a wild animal to inflict the damage that this evidence showed-

And no matter how hot the water was, no matter how much he scrubbed, how much it hurt and stung and burned-
“Slingshot- stop!” he heard a panicked voice as he was getting pulled back, his breathing still hyper, his heart still racing, but now a new anxiety taking form-

Attack…

He squirmed and thrashed against the person holding him, but they didn’t let go until he threw a bad jab at the attacker’s stomach- they stumbled back, letting go. There was a quiet whine as they held their stomach in pain- Pain that Slingshot caused…

It made him falter, and blinking a few times made the shadows lighten up as he realized-...

Shuriken…

He hurt Shuriken-

“G-Geez, man… That was… A really good punch…” He stammered with-... A shaky grin…

He was grinning- Why was he grinning-
‘Nervousness, probably…
You’re acting kinda manic, you know-’

Slingshot let out a shaky breath as he pushed himself up against the wall opposite to Shuriken, and maybe he looked as disoriented as he felt, because Shuriken’s expression switched to concern quite quickly.

He seemed to falter, too, realizing things…

He glanced over to the faucet, the water still running…

To Slingshot’s soaked hands-

Slingshot was realizing water had splashed onto his shirt a bit- just a few drops, but… He hadn’t even realized this fact himself until forced to slow down….

“Can-... Can I turn that off?” Shuriken mumbled a bit nervously, nodding to the sink-

Which was between the two of them…

Slingshot gave a nod, but it came off shaky…

Shuriken walked over to the sink, though his pace was slow and careful, each movement as smooth as it could be, not the least bit jumpy, as he turned the knob. The water finally stopped… So much wasted water…

Slingshot looked down at his still shaking hands-

There was no blood…

What did…

“Are you… Okay?”

Slingshot looked up at Shuriken, hearing his voice, and…. He was confused… Why was he feeling so confused… Each sentence seemed impossible to tie to the other…

This shouldn’t be so hard-

“I’ve… Never seen you that panicked before…” Shuriken confessed. Slingshot still couldn’t respond.

Shuriken seemed to shift slightly, fidget a bit…

Slingshot was making him uncomfortable…

“D-... D’you wanna talk about it?”

That one was easy. Slingshot shook his head no, almost immediately. Shuriken paused, before letting out a weary sigh. “O-Okay… Don’t have to talk about it…”

…

“Can I come over?”

Slingshot thought for a moment, before nodding as he looked off. Shuriken took a careful step forward, and then another. Eventually, he stood beside Slingshot, standing, thinking. He looked back at the sink, before grabbing the hand towel from the hook, and hesitantly taking one of Slingshot’s hands.

Though he flinched for a second, he already felt himself calming a bit as Shuriken helped him dry his still soaked hands… “Geez, Sling… This looks kinda red…” Shuriken couldn’t help but mumble with a wince, and Slingshot quickly felt the instinctive urge to look off.

Maybe Shuriken sensed he wasn’t getting a good response, though, sighing and taking the other hand and drying it. “Just not feeling talkative?”

Slingshot shifted his footing slightly, feeling a small bit of guilt, but before it could fester, Shuriken seemed to wave it off. “It’s okay, man… Don’t push yourself, alright?”

Slingshot felt… Reluctant, but eventually nodded.

Shuriken let go of Slingshot’s hand when pretty much all of the water had been wiped off, and he stuck the hand towel back on the hanger. He looked over, seeming to soften slightly, before pulling Slingshot in for a hug.

Slingshot had, admittedly, not expected it, but he returned it, and already felt his heart slowing down again.

“You’re gonna be okay, bud. Alright?”

Slingshot hugged Shuriken back a bit tighter.

“I dunno what happened…”

“Sounds like you don’t wanna get into it, which is fine…”

Shuriken fell silent, and Slingshot waited…

“But… We’ll take care of ya… Make sure you end up alright. Kay?”

Slingshot let out a quiet sigh.
“K-Kay…”

Chapter Text

Slingshot slept- or… He tried to sleep that night… Just as he had the other nights. And like those other nights, he wasn’t left to peace… Peace was never an option in his mind’s eyes… So instead, Slingshot would awake in a dark shadowy void… He pretty much EXPECTED to be greeted with that chilly bus stop again…

Yet strangely enough… The void persisted…

Slingshot waited, and waited, and waited, in silence…

Yet the void persisted…

And then, he heard a familiar voice…
“Hello, Slingshot…”

He turned to see an outline of someone… Someone lit in red… Skateboard… But something was… Wrong about it all.

He had long gashes in his shoulders-

The ones Slingshot inflicted…

He already began to feel the sinking feeling in his gut-

This wasn’t… Right…

There was something wrong with this… Void…

Skateboard approached-

He walked slow, yet it didn’t seem like the careful steps he took when he was with Slingshot that day.

It wasn’t slow out of a sign of peace-

There was something… Menacing… About it…

Wait… Menacing?
This was getting… Stupid… It was just Skateboard-

But this was also Slingshot’s mind… Not reality…

For just being a dream, Skateboard looked very… Lifelike… Weren’t dreams supposed to be fuzzy? Contorted? Even the face looked clear-

The face was never clear…

Slingshot felt his heart start to beat a little too fast…

He took a step back-
Instinctive…

Skateboard took a step forward-

Those gashes were ugly…

Those gashes Slingshot caused…

“Why are you acting so odd?” Skateboard asked with almost a chuckle- Wrong…
It felt wrong…

“You almost look… Scared...”

“Frightened by a friend? Now that’s just ridiculous!” He chirped with another chuckle, a more confident one. Slingshot would have called it a straight-up laugh-

A mocking one, at that…

It seemed to... Echo... Reverberate- it sounded like there were hundreds of laughs to go along with it... A horrible melody-

Yet still, Slingshot took a step back, nervous, as Skateboard took a step forward… Determined…

He furrowed a brow, almost seeming annoyed…

“Unless… There’s something else that scares you…”

He reached one of his hands, and pulled down his sleeve ever so slightly- the gash seemed to glow… Three thick ragged lines against his shoulder… The attack of a monster… “Is it this?” Skateboard asked-

His voice sounded… Wrong…
There was no gentleness in it…

Devoid of everything that Skateboard was…
Everything that made Slingshot feel safe…

He was mad-
That was understandable…

“I mean, you DID this to me. I don’t know why you act so shy about it,” Skateboard snarked, taking two steps forward. Slingshot was about to back up further- but then he hit a wall… A shadowy invisible wall-

How did voids even HAVE walls? That wasn’t- right…

Skateboard got closer…

Slingshot had no way of getting farther…

“Hell, if I didn’t know better, I woulda thought you LIKED it… You LIKED pushing your pain, your misery, onto someone else… I was willing to take it…” Skateboard continued grinning wide- uncomfortable…

Slingshot felt uncomfortable…

His fight or flight instincts were already kicking in-
Fight wouldn’t make sense… He wasn’t getting attacked… He WANTED to take flight, to get as far away from this horror show as much as possible, but his wings were pinned to his side… He didn’t have wings…

Skateboard stood before him, no longer smiling.

No, he looked down at him, with all of the expressions Slingshot never saw on Skateboard’s face before…

Frustration, annoyance, confusion, exasperation, a complete lack of patience-... Disappointment…

Slingshot’s throat began to close up- breathing became difficult. “You did this to me…” Skateboard muttered, voice low and full of hatred… So much hatred… He glared…

He pulled down his sleeve as much as he could, showing Slingshot a full wound he didn’t want to see…

Slingshot knew the other side was just like it…

“Look at your hands…” Skateboard continued, narrowing his eyes, furrowing his brows… The hatred… It made Slingshot’s stomach tie up in knots…

Despite how much he just wanted to shut his eyes and disappear, he couldn’t… He looked down…

Down at his hands…

Stained with red… Skateboard’s blood…

His act… His crime… The evidence of his cruelty…

Slingshot felt his breathing stop…
He wasn’t able to focus on his heart beat anymore, as it continued to thud beyond his control… His hands shook so bad… Just like the rest of him, a broken mess as he was forced to face his worst guilt, his worst shame…

So much blood…

His hands were red with his faults…
Dripping…

Drops of red on the floor…

He looked up as he shuddered, Skateboard stared back, wide-eyed and silent, waiting… Waiting for Slingshot to say something… Anything… Argue his case, apologize-

Slingshot couldn’t speak…

His voice was gone…
Just like his breath, just like his mind…

Lost to the void…

“And you can’t even defend yourself…”

“Pathetic…”

Skateboard’s stare, it was piercing… Unblinking…

Slingshot stood, staring back, trembling…

“You DID THIS TO ME! And WHAT do you have to say for yourself?! Nothing! You have absolutely NOTHING to say!” Skateboard suddenly snapped, causing Slingshot to flinch, to step back- he couldn’t step back- he was pressed to the wall and there was no further escape he could manage- forced to grapple with this fact-

He felt his eyes beginning to water as he looked down at his hands again, he heard his own quiet whimpers as this truth sunk in… As his own affected friend stood before him, calling him out on everything he hated most about himself- he was a hazard to everyone who existed…

He either caused them the greatest grief or the greatest agony, and Skateboard was a case of both…

He was ruining- tainting everything he ever touched…

A filth... A parasite, and yet people still got too close…

They still tried-

Slingshot blinked-
He laid in his bed, sweating to death and dragged back to the present so quickly that for a moment, he almost believed he had fallen deeper into the void…

A moment or two later, it all began to sink in…

His breathing was still shaky, as was he…
Knowing it was a dream… Helped?
But only slightly…

Slingshot pushed himself up, and his arms trembled as he did so… He managed to sit up at one point, but it took him effort… Effort he was already struggling with before he started trying to move… He looked down at his hands…

Bloody…

He closed his eyes, and against his own mind’s torment, he took a deep breath in, and then let it out…

He opened his eyes. His hands were no longer bloody…

It was just…

…

Slingshot looked over, a bit lazily, his mind still hazy…

He looked over at the door…

Closed…

If he wasn’t careful, he could easily slip back into that daydream… It was… Too easy to imagine Skateboard slamming the door open, glaring at him with that… Manic grin… Though it was quite ironic Slingshot kept thinking of how… Crazed… His friend’s look was…

He had been acting a bit ‘crazed’ himself lately-

…

Understatement of the year…

Eventually, Slingshot managed to get himself onto his own two feet, but he almost swayed a bit, struggling to maintain steady footing… He stumbled up to his bedroom door, held onto the handle tightly, an imprint of it likely forming against his palm as he tried to open it as quietly as he could- his mind wasn’t… Quite there…

‘He should turn around… And go back to sleep…’

But he didn’t…

He opened the door, took a step outside of his room…

Looked around at the dark empty living room kitchen…

And there…

There was the front door…

Slingshot’s gaze rested on it…

‘Bad idea…

You know this is a bad idea…

Turn around…

Go to sleep…’

Slingshot approached the front door…

His hand held the doorknob, but he didn’t move…

He stood there, for a few seconds, before hesitantly turning it… Turning it as quietly as he could…

And then he stepped out…

And shut it quietly behind him…

Shuriken glanced over at the glowing red analogue alarm on his night stand. It shown ‘2:43 AM’...

Perfect…

Shuriken sat up rather lazily, stretched his arms out in front of him, and let out a yawn.

Evil never rests, so why should he?

Shuriken looked down at the bottom bunk, where his sister still slept soundly. Shuriken knew the bunk bed tended to creak, especially on the top bunk, so he made sure to slowly, carefully walk down the bunk steps, before landing silently on the ground.

He had been through this a couple hundred times, so he was used to it… Shuriken quickly walked over to his dresser, kneeling down onto the ground as he carefully pulled out the lower drawer, which held… Ah, there it was.

Silver Shadow’s time to shine…

Shuriken let out a quiet chuckle as he grabbed for the uniform, and then shut the drawer, before standing up and getting ready to leave. He left his room and was about to head to the bathroom to change, when-...

Slingshot left his door open…?

Usually he liked it shut…

Shuriken felt… Something… Was that a bit of suspicion? He couldn’t quite help it… Slingshot was so obsessed with doing things the same way every time, so for him to break pattern like that was-...

Shuriken couldn’t help but walk over slightly, but… Wait…

Slingshot wasn’t… There…

That… That suspicion was turning to panic.
Quite quickly, too. Quicker than Shuriken would have preferred… He set down his outfit on the couch, walking over to the front door, and…

It was unlocked…

The front door was unlocked…

Shuriken had-...

He had SEEN Vine Staff lock it. How was it unlocked unless someone had-... Oh… No…

No no no… This was bad-

Shuriken felt his breathing quicken ever so slightly as in a rush of motion, he grabbed his outfit, walked back into his room, shoved it into the bottom drawer and shut the drawer a bit haphazardly, before walking over to his sister's bunk-

He felt bad for it, just a bit, but… There was no other explanation- and the idea of Slingshot wandering Crossroads in the state that he was last night-

It was too much… He had to keep reminding himself as his breath began to turn fast-pace, his heart beat beginning to thud, as he shook his sister- “V-Vine- Vine… Vine Staff- please-”
She blinked, confused, still processing things as she began to wake up. “Sh-Shuri…? D-D’you know what time it is-”

“Slingshot’s gone-”

She faltered, seeming to pick up on Shuriken’s concern almost immediately, before letting out a breath as she sat up, holding her head slightly. “Sh-Shuri, what do you mean ‘gone’?” Shuriken tried his best to swallow down the anxiety that was already starting to affect him…

“G-Gone… Like… Not in bed… His door was wide open- and- and the door was unlocked-”

“Oh-... No…” She whispered, realizing it all.

She quickly got up, took Shuriken’s hand, and led him out of the bedroom, taking action immediately…

“Come along, brother…”

“We’ve got a city to cover…”

Chapter Text

Slingshot stumbled- he walked on a tilt, down the road- aimless… Where was he going? Even in this nervous frantic state, he understood this was… Foolish…

He stopped mid-step, standing, holding himself, shivering…

Where…

Where to go?

He could go home, back to Thieves Den, where he and-...

He was leaving them all behind…

Even Shuriken and Vine Staff- the three had been friends for so long, and he was just…

…

It wasn’t abandonment… It was… For their sakes…
They could hire staff to replace him… Find a better manager, who doesn’t break down like an old rusting car… Find someone who actually knows what he’s doing and-...

Isn’t losing his goddamn mind…

Slingshot took in a shaky breath, and closed his eyes again… His mind went to that snowy bus stop…

There…

His mind kept going to this place, and he wasn’t sure why, but… Maybe that was the point… Maybe that was his purpose.

The only place he knew had snow was Blackrock…

…

Part of him didn’t want to GO to Blackrock…

He never liked it… Neither did… Well… Any of his friends…

The people seemed just as cold as the place itself. Not to mention the fact that the ethics of Blackrock always seemed particularly… Dodgy…

Maybe he was questioning fate.
Maybe he SHOULDN’T question fate…

Maybe it would make sense when he got there…

Slingshot looked up, still shivering- he couldn’t stop shivering… He wasn’t even cold yet…

Why was he shivering…

Though eventually, he noticed the sign reading Blackrock… That direction… He began to walk through these empty streets, making his way to the bus stop.

Vine Staff and Shuriken stepped out from the apartment and into Crossroads’ open streets…

Neither of them knew what they were doing, or how to go about it, besides the fact that they NEEDED to find Slingshot… Vine Staff wouldn’t admit it, but she had a feeling they were on some kind of invisible timer…

Slingshot wouldn’t just… Leave like that…

Something had to have gotten to him, and part of Vine Staff wondered if he might have gotten some dangerous stunt in mind, leaving at this hour-

But no matter how many times Shuriken would ask what she thought Slingshot was wandering Crossroads for, she could never bring herself to give him a proper answer… The last thing she wanted to do was give her brother a reason to panic-

“Vine, what now?” Shuriken asked as he began to scale one of the walls of a building nearby- “Shuri, please be careful…” Vine Staff couldn’t help but cut in with a nervous glance, her protective sister mode already engaging. Shuriken let out a sheepish chuckle though, continuing to scale with only an; “I’ll be fineeee!”

Vine Staff crossed her arms, giving him a look, and he quickly looked away, much more sheepishly. “I-... I’ll be careful…” Vine Staff let out a quiet sigh, before mustering a small smile. “Thank you…-

And, uh… I’m not quite sure…”

“We could split up, but I don’t want us getting lost either…” Vine Staff mumbled wearily, looking around Crossroads from where she stood. Before she knew it, a quick glance back and Shuriken was already standing on the flat roof of the building he was scaling.

Admittedly, the bird’s eye view wasn’t a bad idea…

“Well you brought your phone, right?” Shuriken called from the roof as he scanned the city from there. “Well- yes, I did, but-”
“But what? I brought mine, too. Let’s just text or call or somethin,” Shuriken answered rather casually, before pacing to the other side of the roof.

Vine Staff let out a mildly frustrated sigh as she walked to the opposite side of the building from the ground, just so Shuriken had a chance of hearing her. “Well, yes. I know THAT! But something could still happen!” She called up at him. Shuriken looked down at her with… Mild annoyance-

It was a classic look Vine Staff’s seen before, when Shuriken believed her to be getting too worrisome… She and Shuriken had always been on opposite sides when it came to that thing, her more careful, him more reckless. Shuriken leaned over the rim of the roof...

Vine Staff’s heart skipped a beat-
In Vine Staff's humble opinion, Shuriken was being rather careless... She just hoped he wouldn’t slip and fall from up there…

“Vine… If we split up, we cover more ground.”

“I know that, Shuri, but-”

“Who’s gonna be out here at 3 in the morning?” Shuriken muttered, rolling his eyes. “People who shouldn’t be…” Vine Staff shot back, her look slightly scolding as she crossed her arms. Shuriken dared to let out an exasperated groan at Vine Staff’s words. “Yeah! People who should be sleeping, cause running around at 3 in the morning is CRAZY!” He muttered with a scoff.

Vine Staff furrowed a brow, already feeling a headache coming on at this ridiculous bickering. She let out a sigh, pinching her brow, before pulling away and looking back at the streets. “Alright, brother. Fine.”

“We can split up, but keep your phone on you…” She cut in with a tone of utmost seriousness. Shuriken slid down one of the downspouts of the building he had climbed, landing rather casually and giving a quick determined nod. “You got it, sis!” He chirped with a grin.

Vine Staff let out another sigh, but she couldn’t help but smile at her brother. Sometimes irritating to no end- she’d never stop putting up with him, though. He was still her brother. The two always had each other’s backs, and that would never change…

She pulled him into a quick hug, which he returned, before the two broke off in different directions.

“Please don’t get up to trouble, brother…” She muttered with a grin and playful eyeroll, and she felt a chuckle come on at his dramatic gasp. “I would NEVER!” He chirped back with a snicker and that silly grin of his.

Oh brother…

Slingshot felt like he was going to fall over- he held his stomach, trying his best to swallow down the pain that he felt… The sharp pain that would appear and vanish like the stab of a knife- right in his gut… But oh how it ached…

His head was splitting just as bad-

The knife parallel worked quite sufficiently with most of the pain Slingshot was experiencing… A splitting headache, a stabbing stomachache… Not to mention the heaviness that was already settling in- he felt so weak…

The trembling was worsening, it definitely was…

There was no denying it, even though Slingshot tried so hard to pretend it didn’t exist…

But then he saw the sign- the pain didn’t leave, neither did the heaviness, but his heart thudded a little faster-

Like relief…

But relief of getting hunted- stalked by some horrible thing, only to finally see the exit door.

The getaway…

The escape…

Slingshot stumbled forward- but then his foot skidded-

His legs trembled-
Falling-

There was no Skateboard, no Shuriken, no Vine Staff or Boombox to catch him… Slingshot felt his instincts suddenly kick in as he landed on his palms, he felt like he was bleeding-

But he wasn’t…

He rolled onto his back, laying there, head spinning as he held up his hands, and there was no blood… Marks of where the pavement had pressed into skin- but no blood…

Slingshot let out a shaky breath, his arms flopping down as he tried to recover from the onslaught-

The static was so loud… His vision was darkening-
He took a shaky breath in, and let a shaky breath out… It took pretty much all of his willpower, but he managed to get himself to breath deeper, longer, slower…

Eventually, the dizziness began to fade, and Slingshot pushed himself up, trying to ignore the way his arms trembled. He sat there, on the pavement, breathing shakily and lurching forward a bit as the pain continued- but it was back to how it was before…

Which wasn’t great…

But it was tolerable…

Slingshot suddenly saw a bright light, having to cover his eyes quickly with a hiss- but when his eyes adjusted, he realized… It was the bus… His escape-

Boombox walked down Crossroads with a friend, the two chuckling about something as they walked and talked. “Man, I’m sorry to keep you so long, Boom,” The other inphernal, a red jacketed, sportsy-looking inphernal chirped rather sheepishly, despite his friendliness.

“Aw, come on, Hoverboard. I said it was fine,” Boombox responded with his own kind of sheepishness. “You told me the store clean up might take a while. I knew what I was getting into,” He continued, before giving a friendly nudge. Hoverboard let out a sigh, smiling a bit. “Heh, yeah… Just didn’t mean for it to take this long…” He muttered, looking off rather sheepishly still.

“Hey, like I said. No biggie at all. Wasn’t even that far. Not like I’ve got anything big going on tomorrow,” Boombox added, hoping his words would sound more convincing. He really didn’t mind helping a friend out, and man did Hover’s wheel shop get busy that day…

“Well, all things considered, I really appreciate it…” Hoverboard chirped with a soft grin, giving Boombox a grateful pat on the shoulder. Boombox nodded with a smile of his own. “Of course, man.”

But then… Boombox spotted something-

Something that… Took him out of it for a second-
Like the kind of thing you’d have to wipe your eyes to make sure you weren’t seeing things-

Was that Slingshot?

Boombox felt himself falter- and Hoverboard seemed to notice, letting out a quiet “Hm?” raising a brow. “Uh- S-sorry-” Boombox quickly stammered, before clearing his throat and willing his usual casualness. “Just remembered something I was supposed to do today. Gonna have to break off here, if that’s alright-”

“Sure thing, Boom,” Hoverboard answered with an immediate nod. Boombox couldn’t help but soften with slight relief. Hoverboard was always so easy-going…

“Thanks, Hover. See ya tomorrow?”
“Sure, man! You’re always welcome to pay a visit, you know,” Hoverboard chirped, waving goodbye as Boombox did the same. Hoverboard continued to walk forward, but Boombox turned to walk down the road leading to-

Blackrock?

Wh-...
Why was Slingshot-...

Well… It was already weird that Slingshot was out at this time… But to be standing at the Blackrock bus stop was even- there was a bus. Slingshot looked around, nervously- suspiciously… Before stepping inside-

Boombox wasn’t completely sure what it was, but something told him there was something REALLY not-good going on… And also that it’d probably be bad to miss that bus-

Boombox quickly hurried over to the bus, before stepping inside, and-

“Sling?”

The other guy went still, rigid still…

But then, he turned around, and…

He had some kind of look…
He looked… Tense… Nervous, but also a bit… Frustrated?

He was shivering pretty bad…
That… Was probably something worth worrying about…

“S-Slingshot…” Boombox tried again- his voice was shaking a little… Geez… “What are you… Doing here?” Boombox asked carefully, trying his best not to sound as nervous as he felt… Slingshot hesitated to respond, and the hesitation furthered the concern that was building.

“I don’t… Know…” Slingshot finally confessed. It left… More questions… “You don’t-... know?” Boombox echoed, tilting his head slightly. It was getting harder and harder to mask the anxiety… “I just…” Slingshot trailed off, the frustration fading for his own personal nervousness.

“It doesn’t make sense- I just… Have to-”

There was a cough as the driver suddenly cleared their throat. “Hey. I’ve got a route to follow, and times to meet. So either leave or sit down…” Boombox and Slingshot both looked over at the driver, before exchanging glances.

“Sling- maybe we talk about this… Outside?” Boombox attempted, but Slingshot furrowed a brow, almost immediately. Oh gosh… He wasn’t gonna budge easily, was he? “A-Actually… We don’t… Have to talk…” Slingshot muttered, looking off in a mixture of sheepishness and returning frustration. This… Wasn’t going anywhere.

“Sling, I don’t know what you’d want with Blackrock, but…” Boombox trailed off, looking away and letting out a shaky breath. “Look, we can do this somewhere else, okay? Whatever’s… Going on in your head right now… I think you should give it some extra thought first-”

The driver cleared his throat again-

They were running out of time-
BOOMBOX was running out of time.

Slingshot faltered, looking between Boombox and the driver, before quietly- silently… Not a word stated, sitting down in the seat closest to him.

…

Boombox hadn’t PLANNED to be taking a bus trip this late at night, but he REALLY didn’t like the idea of Slingshot wandering around on his own… So he took a seat next to him, just as silently, just as awkwardly…

The doors closed, and the bus began to move…

…

That definitely could have gone better…

Vine Staff and Shuriken met up about 30 minutes later- and when Shuriken saw Vine Staff just as lost and empty-handed as he was, the anxiety that was starting to stir up DEFINITELY got worse…

“Vine, I didn’t see him anywhere…” Shuriken started, not even trying to hide it anymore. “H-Hey, hey, it’s okay- it’s-”

“You don’t know that-” Shuriken couldn’t help but interject, the lines between frustration and fear starting to muddle. He knew immediately though, the moment he heard his own words- “S-Sorry-” he quickly stammered, but Vine Staff pulled him into a hug, quickly cutting him off.

He hugged her back.
There was no hesitation. Why would there be- “D-Don’t worry about that… We’re both worried about him, okay?” She responded with a soft tone. Gentle, and soft, and comforting, which was nice, but… How she could stay so level-headed right now was a mystery…

“W-What if he got hurt-”
“Listen, we can’t let our minds go there right now…” She quickly cut in, though still gentle as before. “We can’t-... We can’t get lost in the ‘what if’s, okay?” She mumbled almost a bit wearily. “B-But Vine-” Shuriken almost argued, till he felt a buzz in his pocket. He paused, looking down at his pocket, before pulling his phone out… “Shuri?”

“It’s… Boombox…” Shuriken answered… Hesitantly. He was kind of… Pulled out of it a bit. He didn’t expect a text from him- definitely not at this time- yet…

“What’s it say?” Vine Staff asked looking over a bit curiously. Shuriken could feel her hand rubbing at his shoulder gently, idly, and it got him to let out the breath he was holding. “Uh… He found Sling…”

Vine Staff raised a brow, a bit surprised at that news. They both were… But sure enough… Shuriken lifted up his phone so Vine Staff could read it.

‘Heyyy… I dunno if you guys realized this, but I ran into Slingshot, and he’s actin kinda weird…’

Another buzz, as a new text was sent.

‘I’m working on bringing him back. He’s not hurt or anything, just… I dunno… Gonna try and talk to him’

‘See if I can figure out what’s going on’

Vine Staff and Shuriken were both still silent, before exchanging a glance. “Okay… He’s alright… That’s good at least, isn’t it?” Vine Staff eased with a soft smile. Shuriken gave a quiet shaky nod.

Vine Staff let out a long sigh, sounding a bit relieved. Shuriken felt similarly, the anxiety already starting to fade a bit. “Why don’t we… Head home for now. Alright?” Vine Staff offered, still holding Shuriken in that side hug. “Okay…” He responded back, still a bit quiet, but keeping close. The two began to make their way back to the apartment. It sounded like it might be a bit of a wait…

Slingshot and Boombox sat on the bus, both quiet, anxious, admittedly very awkward… Slingshot looked over, and it felt like every time he did, Boombox just happened to catch the movement, and meet his eyes every time-

Whichhhh made Slingshot want to look away almost immediately. “Sling… What’s going on?” Boombox finally mumbled with a tired expression. Ah geez, here we go…

“L-Look… I told you… I don’t-... Know…” Slingshot muttered, but his mutter turned into a mumble towards the end. His explanation sounded like complete bullshit…

“Somehow, I struggle to believe that…” Boombox confessed, looking off and then sighing… Slingshot felt a lump starting to form… He cleared his throat, it did little to help… “I don’t… Know completely… That good enough?” Slingshot couldn’t help but snark, but it lacked any flare.

Boombox still stared… Slingshot could feel it… The look of nervous confusion as he furrowed a brow- he didn’t UNDERSTAND…- Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in Slingshot’s gut- and he tried to keep it down…

His breath still hitched- he saw in the corner of his eye, Boombox’s concern worsening. “You’re hurting-”
“It’s fine…” Slingshot almost growled, the frustration starting to bubble up, but more out of a sort of desperation. Though Boombox’s silence made Slingshot falter. There was now a guilt beginning to form alongside it. It was a nagging guilt that fought the frustration for attention…

“When’s the last time you ate-”
“Boombox, could you stop?” Slingshot suddenly snapped before he could stop himself-

The frustration won…

Boombox seemed to pale, looking off… Guilty…

Why was HE guilty?-

“I-... I just… Skateboard mentioned-”
“I’m sure he did…” Slingshot couldn’t help but mutter quietly, looking off and darkening. Course Skateboard would spill. If not by word of mouth- Slingshot forgot about text…

Though the guilt was worsening… Every time he felt Boombox falter… Speechless… Unsure…

Gosh, they were just WORRIED! They had a RIGHT to be worried, considering all the stupid shit Slingshot got himself into-

‘Which is exactly why you’re on this bus…’

Slingshot swallowed hard.
The lump in his throat still didn’t budge…

“I’m… Sorry…”

“It’s okay…” Boombox responded, voice soft, caring.
It was… Almost tragic, how quickly Boombox dismissed Slingshot’s remarks… He was… So focused on trying to make sure Slingshot was alright, that he just-

It was stupid…

“I… Need to be on this bus…” Slingshot finally answered.

Boombox paused, quiet. It was different from the other pauses though. More of a reflection, so it seemed. “Why’s that?” He finally asked. Slingshot felt conflict stirring…

Tell the truth?
Tell a lie?

There was a chance he’d try and stop Slingshot if he knew what was going on. A high chance, in fact…

But if Slingshot lied, there was also a chance of Boombox not believing him. Catching the lie…

Even worse, Slingshot couldn’t think of a good excuse to go to Blackrock-

Because who in their right mind would actually WANT to live in Blackrock???

…

“Slingshot?” Boombox checked. “I keep… Seeing this place…” Slingshot started, nervous… Was the shaking getting worse. “I don’t… Know why… It’s in my dreams, it’s… Just in my mind… It just keeps coming back up, k-kinda randomly…” Slingshot continued. He glanced over, and Boombox was looking at him, careful, taking in every word.

It was… As comforting as it was unnerving.

Slingshot never really got himself to just… Talk about this…

He took in a shaky breath, before continuing.
“It was a bus stop, but… Snowy… The only place I could think of that’s snowy is…”
“Blackrock…” Boombox finished, realizing where Slingshot was going. “But… Why leave?”

Slingshot dug his nails into his arms slightly. He couldn’t meet Boombox’s gaze… This always seemed like it’d be the hardest part to talk about, and sure enough, it was…

This was the part where he could set off alarms…

“I… I just… I dunno, I feel like-” One stammer after another, at first just talking, then trying to gesture with his hands, nothing was working- because god damn it, if he just spit it out, he knew it’d make everything worse-

“Slingshot…” He looked over, finally meeting Boombox’s gaze… Boombox looked… Pitying-

It made Slingshot’s stomach twist up… Slingshot looked away, maybe too quickly. “It’s… It’s okay… Just be honest…” Boombox continued, before sheepishly, hesitantly putting his arm over Slingshot’s back, his hand on his shoulder. Slingshot leaned into the embrace, he needed it…

More than he realized…

His breath was getting all shaky, and he didn’t dare look up at Boombox again, knowing full well what kind of face he was making… Boombox was quiet, though. He didn’t ask for anything. He pulled that side hug into a full hug, and Slingshot was already starting to hug him back…

“I.. I’m t-trouble…” Slingshot finally managed.

“Trouble?”

Slingshot faltered, nervous, he felt himself tensing.

‘Stop talking-’

“I… I cause people trouble… I s-see the way people look at me- and I h-hurt them- and-”
Boombox hugged Slingshot a little firmer, and Slingshot let out a shaky breath, and hugged him back just as firmly.

“Slingshot, listen…” Boombox started, but trailed off, before letting out a cautious breath. “We’re here because we want to be… We… We want to make sure you’re okay, and these past few days…”

“I… I dunno, man… Seems like you haven’t been feeling too great…” Boombox mumbled, weary. Slingshot felt the knot in his stomach worsening… “I-... I don’t know what’s wrong with me…” Boombox gave him a pitying pat on his back…

It was supposed to be comforting…

“Sling… There’s nothing wrong with-”

“B-But there is-” Slingshot cut in- the nervousness was coming back. But now it was frantic- just as he’d imagined, Boombox… He… He wasn’t believing any of it… Slingshot suddenly pushed, and-

Boombox let go.

He didn’t fight it…

Slingshot wanted out of the hug, and Boombox just…
Let him…

But he looked concerned, for sure…
This was going horribly…

“H-Hey, listen. Everything that’s been happening-”
“Boombox. There is something WRONG with me…” Slingshot cut in, glaring slightly. Boombox went silent-

‘You’re not doing a very good job at looking ‘okay’...’

That… Stupid… Inner voice…

Slingshot let out a held breath- it sounded more like a huff. A frustrated huff. “ E-Everything that’s been happening…” Slingshot echoed, but with the tone of someone spitting on the road. A frustrated mutter.

“N-Nothing is OKAY. There is s-something wrong, and-”
Boombox said nothing. He looked… So sympathetic-
Slingshot felt ill…
Boombox stayed silent, though… Letting Slingshot talk…
That somehow made everything worse…

“I-... I’ve been struggling to sleep… S-Struggling to eat, t-there’s this stupid shiver and… I- I’m h-hurting- e-everything hurts…” Slingshot stammered, it was a frantic ramble. At one point he had started to hold his head- the throbbing in his skull was returning… How lovely…

“M-My head hurts all the time and I f-feel like I’m gonna fall over- NOTHING is OKAY…”

The bus stopped…

The driver was silent.

Slingshot blinked in surprise, before looking out the window- the bus stop… It was covered in snow… Soft snow falling… Slingshot trembled. He grabbed one of the hand rails, used it to push himself up into standing. He took a step- but felt like he was falling…

That familiar vertigo-

That Boombox saved him from.
He caught him. Then he pulled one of Slingshot’s arms and slung it over his back. He stabilized him. Slingshot and Boombox shared a glance. Boombox was the first to look away… Looking forward… At that bus stop Slingshot kept muttering about. “C-Come on…” Boombox cut in, though his voice gentle, despite the slight tremble…

The two stepped off the bus, together…

The snow made a soft yet crisp crunch under their feet. The soft falling flakes were… Kind of pretty…

The two walked over to the bus stop, and Boombox helped Slingshot sit down, before sitting down beside him. The two watched as the bus slowly drove off, and Slingshot couldn’t help but let out a quiet sigh…

Boombox still held his arm over Slingshot…

After a few moments, Slingshot leaned into the side hug.

The two were quiet…

They didn’t share a word…

Not one word, just…

Sitting in the cold…

Chapter Text

“You didn’t really prepare much for this… Did you?” Boombox mumbled a little wearily, glancing over at Slingshot, who sat next to him… Shivering…

Slingshot looked pathetic. He knew he did. He held himself in the cold, keeping his teeth grit against each other so they wouldn’t chatter, even with his jacket, shivering cold.

“I just… Wanted to get away as soon as possible…”

Boombox was silent…

It unnerved Slingshot…

But then he finally responded; “What made you do it?” Slingshot had to think for a moment, before piecing it together. “Bad dream…” Boombox let out a quiet sigh, then pulled Slingshot a little closer- the coldness died down, just a bit. “Is that what they were talking about? You dealing with bad sleep? Heard from Skate they weren’t sure if it was insomnia or somethin else…”

“It’s… Never the same…” Slingshot carefully answered. But the moment it was said, it felt wrong. “I mean- sometimes it's the same. Never’s a strong word to use… But… I struggle to fall asleep as much as I struggle to get a full night of it…” Slingshot managed to rephrase. “I see…”

The two were silent again.

“What was the dream about?”

…

“If you don’t mind me asking…”

Slingshot faltered. “I… Kinda do, but… I guess we’ll be stuck here for a while, huh?” Slingshot mumbled with a faint grin. He felt himself soften at Boombox’s quiet chuckle…

“Yeah, I suppose so…”

Slingshot leaned into Boombox’s side hug a little more, and Boombox gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze in turn. “W-Well… I don’t know if you, uh… Noticed…” Slingshot trailed off, the smile starting to fade as he suddenly realized what talking about that nightmare would entail…

“Deep breaths, buddy…” Boombox mumbled a bit sadly, bringing his other arm around Slingshot’s front to hold him better. Slingshot hardly hesitated to lean into it more- the two were basically just regular hugging now…

It felt a little less cold…

“R-Right…” He finally stammered, before letting out the breath that was held back for so long. “W-When you were getting food the other day… Skateboard and I were… Talking a bit…” Boombox gave an acknowledging hum, inviting Slingshot to continue.

“The-... The pain came back at one point… And… Skateboard got really worried, I think…” Slingshot went on. “Yeah?” Slingshot nodded, then let out another shaky breath. “Y-Yeah… And I guess he was trying to make me feel safe… The hug was nice, but… I kept digging my nails- k-kinda without realizing it…” Slingshot finally spit out, but he almost didn’t realize how quiet his voice had gotten, till he felt Boombox rub at his shoulder, looking down at him with pity, but not daring to interrupt it…

Slingshot let out another breath. Was the tremble getting worse? “H-He kept saying it was fine, that it was tolerable- and- and he’d tell me if he couldn’t handle it… B-But I felt bad… I was h-hurting him… And he was just… T-Taking it without a single complaint, and…”

The tremble was definitely getting worse…

“I- I think I made him bleed…” Slingshot whispered- his throat felt like it was lined in ice- he probably swallowed down too much cold air… It made speaking more challenging, though… Was he speaking to the void-

It made speaking easier when he imagined himself there, alone, speaking his fears to the wind…

“I… I hurt him so bad… And he-... He just blew it all off…” Slingshot stammered- his eyes stung. Before he knew what was happening, Slingshot was being pulled close, Boombox hugging him so comfortingly close, that it almost felt like they weren’t out in the cold.

Freezing to death…

The two were just sitting there… Freezing to death…

“Guessing that was what the dream was about, huh…” Slingshot gave a shaky nod. There was a quiet nervous sigh he heard from his companion. Slingshot was… Really bad at this… Regardless… “He was so mad…” Slingshot felt himself whispering before he could stop himself.

He let out a held breath when he felt a gentle hand running up and down his back, and he shifted to rest his head against Boombox’s shoulder. The other guy didn’t seem to mind… Not in the slightest…

“Was he mad when it happened?”

Slingshot paused, furrowing a single brow. “Like… In real life?” He checked. “Mhm…” Boombox hummed back, continuing to hold Slingshot close. “I-... I mean, no… But… I think he was more scared than anything…”

“Did he seem scared in the dream?”

Slingshot blinked, the words beginning to register. There was a point Boombox was trying to make… Slingshot could tell… Even if he didn’t know exactly what it was… Nonetheless, he shook his head. “N-No… He wasn’t… He just seemed… Mad…” Boombox took a breath in, and then let it out. Slingshot felt himself doing the same…

“Look… I’m not… Sure what the Skateboard in your dream said… I’d imagine it wasn’t too nice, though…”
“It wasn’t…” Slingshot couldn’t help but mumble wearily.
Boombox looked down at him, Slingshot could feel the gaze… He just looked off, not meeting those eyes…

“You think Skateboard would ever say any of that?”
…
“No…” Slingshot confessed, feeling almost sheepish about the whole thing. “He really wouldn’t…” Slingshot felt a gentle pat on his back, and Slingshot squeezed Boombox in the hug a bit, a silent sign of thanks- a gesture he at least hoped Boombox would understand. “Look, Sling…”

“It’s… Too easy nowadays, to get stuck in your head with stuff like that… I know it’s hard, but… You gotta remember that stuff… And you gotta remember it when it counts…” Boombox mumbled. “Whatever ‘damage’ you’ve done to Skateboard will heal… With time, it goes away…”

“Isn’t that… Worse?” Slingshot felt himself asking. “That it just… Disappears like that? Isn’t it… Kind of insensitive?” Boombox seemed to falter at that question, and part of Slingshot started to wonder if it’d be better to go back on all of it. To pretend he said nothing-

“If… If you’re still nervous about all of it, you could always just… Apologize…” Boombox finally answered. “I mean- it’s not good to use apologies as an excuse- but you’ve never seemed like that kind of person to me, Sling…” Boombox confessed sheepishly. “A genuine heartfelt apology… That’s all you can really do by this point… If you keep beating yourself up about it after that, then you’re just beating yourself up about it… We’re all still… Inphernal, you know?”

…

It would be too easy to blow off those words. To dismiss them, and claim that it was never enough- that HE was never enough… But even Slingshot could tell when it was getting destructive… It was what made him so flighty when Skateboard was just letting himself get hurt…

If Slingshot was that adamant about avoiding those destructive paths, then maybe he owed it to himself too…

‘That’s stupid…’

But… Why?

‘Why wouldn’t it be? Clawing up someone’s shoulders and holding yourself accountable are two different things-’

But wasn’t holding yourself accountable and beating yourself up about something ALSO two different things?

‘You’re being stupid…’

Why-

“Slingshot? You okay?”

Slingshot blinked, shook his head in confusion, shook himself out of his thoughts, before looking up at Boombox. He looked back down, down at the ground… The snow looked soft… But that was just appearances…

Slingshot… Didn’t think he liked the snow…

‘Weren’t you just saying it was pretty?’

Maybe… But it was also cold…
A bit uncomfortable…

Slingshot let out a quiet sigh…

“Boombox.”
“Yeah?”
…

“I wanna go home…”

Boombox paused, going still and silent.

Somehow, he hadn’t expected it… He figured there would have been more back and forth, but… Seemed like Slingshot was more open to reasoning than he thought. That was… Good… “Okay, buddy… Let’s get you home,” Boombox chirped softly, feeling a smile coming on.

His heart melted a bit more when he looked down at Slingshot, and saw the guy had a smile of his own. Something told Boombox- he wasn’t sure what, but…

Something told him everything would be okay…

Carefully, Boombox stood up, and then he turned to the bus stop seat, and helped Slingshot stand up. The inphernal wobbled for a second- but Boombox was quick to pull him close, bring one of his arms over his shoulders, and help the guy steady his footing.

Boombox didn’t wanna say it, but he wasn’t completely sure how getting back to Crossroads worked… The bus had left, and he wasn’t exactly sure when that was, or when it would be back… He knew the first bus stops weren’t TOO far from the Crossroads’ four entrances, but there was still a walking distance to worry about.

Slingshot was already starting to get cold.

Concerningly cold.

“I-It’s okay… W-We can walk…” Slingshot stammered, seeming to sense Boombox’s thought process. “You sure you can handle it?” Boombox couldn’t help but mumble a bit nervously. Slingshot gave a nod, but… It was shaky…

Though with not many options, Boombox would have to trust him. And thus, the two began to walk…

“It’s taking forever…” Shuriken muttered, his tone a mix of clear nervousness and also that typical Shuriken impatience… It was a line Vine Staff had heard many times, but had admittedly learned to tease him for or tune out… This was one of those rare times that she felt an obligation to take the complaint seriously…

It was obvious how much Shuriken was getting worried about all of this. Vine Staff let out a sigh as she continued to stand at the kitchen counter, Shuriken laying his head down on folded arms against the opposite side of the counter, sitting at one of the stools placed there.

He let out a quiet groan, burying his face in his arms.

“I know, brother… We’ve just got to be patient…” Vine Staff tried to reassure, but even she knew how weak her argument was… It had been about thirty minutes since Boombox’s last text, and neither of them truly knew what the situation was…

All Vine Staff had to do was glance once at Shuriken to know he was spiraling into all of the possible ‘what ifs’... When there was a problem, Shuriken never quite liked sitting around… “We could be helping!” He muttered, sitting up and yapping in frustration, gesturing shaky hands-

Shaky…

Vine Staff let out a quiet sigh, taking Shuriken’s hands in her own, and she had to hold back another sigh, one of relief, when the shiver began to die down.

“I-... I just…”

“I know…” She mumbled softly. She wanted to pull him into another hug… To tell him everything would be okay… Would that come off as insensitive? Would he think she was just telling him things? Telling him things that aren’t true?

More than anything, above all else, Vine Staff just so desperately wished she could make her brother feel better. Feel safe… Comforted… Assured that Slingshot would be fine, that he would come home in one piece, and they would all hug it out, and that by tomorrow, everything would go back to the safe normalcy that it was before, but just as much she feared to lie…

She feared to lie to his face, to hurt him further when that sometimes wasn’t the outcome they were met with…

Vine Staff… Pulled her hands away…

Shuriken looked up at her, quiet and nervous. “I’m… Going to make myself some tea… Would you like some?” She offered, keeping her voice as soft and steady as she could. Vine Staff was already walking to one of the cabinets, opening one of the doors and grabbing a mug.

“Tea… While Slingshot’s out there-... Who knows where…” Shuriken mumbled, looking down at the counter, furrowing a brow- “Shuriken, you know we can’t do anything besides wait… We’ve just got to make the best out of the situation we’ve been given…” Vine Staff attempted.

Shuriken was silent.

Vine Staff let out an exasperated sigh. She glanced over at the other cabinet, shutting the one with the mugs, and opening a new one and picking up a small metal box. She opened it, and in there were various types of tea bags. She grabbed for one that she liked, but her eyes rested on a particular one. She paused on it…

“We’ve got one more bag of mint…” Vine Staff offered, before looking over with a small smile. Shuriken did move his head up, raising a brow. He’d never admit it, but she had a feeling he was at least a little bit interested. From what Vine Staff remembered, he always liked that one…

He faltered, looking off with a slight sigh, before putting his head back down. “That… Sounds nice…”

Vine Staff had to fight back the grin as she grabbed one of the tea bags out that particular section, and went back to grab another mug. She filled both mugs with water, heated them in the microwave, and in minutes, had two hot mugs of tea.

“Still hot, so be careful…” She said as she handed Shuriken one of the mugs. “Th-Thanks…” He stammered, before bringing the mug up to his face and taking in the aroma. He couldn’t help but let out a quiet sigh… Vine Staff nodded quiet as she raised her mug and blew on it a bit.

The two sat and stood in the silence…

But there was something a little more comforting settling in…

Boombox and Slingshot were just walking…

It was cold… A bit miserable, but they were making progress at least… That was… Until Slingshot suddenly went stiff- actually it was very concerning, the way he suddenly took in a sharp breath, hugged Boombox tight, shuddered, but wasn’t able to take a single step…

“Slingshot- hey, what’s wrong?” Boombox cut in, quickly turning to pull Slingshot close in case he was about to fall over. He didn’t… Respond… “Sling-” He just shivered, snapping his eyes shut, his breath going shaky.

“I-Is it hurting again?” Boombox wondered quietly, nervously. Still no response- “D-Doesn’t feel the s-same…” He finally stammered. Now Boombox went silent. The words were said, Boombox heard them, but… Somehow they didn’t quite line up for him. “D-Doesn’t… Feel the same?” He echoed, before looking down at Slingshot in worry. “N-Not the same f-feeling…” Slingshot mumbled.

“So… It DOESN’T hurt…” Slingshot furrowed a brow, looking off. That didn’t… “Or-... It does?” Boombox attempted again, tilting his head slightly. “Sling, just tell me what’s going on…” He tried to comfort, starting to run a hand up and down Slingshot’s back.

Gosh he hoped that helped… Boombox wasn’t quite sure what to do… But then Slingshot squeezed Boombox a little tighter, the shivering worsening… “F-Feel sick…” He stammered. It was almost a whisper, almost so quiet Boombox missed it- wait.

“Sick- like… Like vomit sick?” Boombox asked carefully, as he already felt a growing anxiety. Slingshot gave him a quick shaky nod. “W-Wait, like right now?” Another shaky nod… “Oh-... No…” that anxiety was definitely getting worse... “Okay- okay, no worries… Let’s just…” Boombox held Slingshot and readjusted him, helping get him down into a better position for it… Last thing he wanted was the poor guy getting sick on his jacket or something…

Slingshot’s shivers understandably worsened when the two weren’t able to huddle up anymore, but Boombox still made sure to stick close so he could be there if Slingshot needed him. Either way, this wouldn’t be pretty…

“Just… Take your time… Make sure you’re breathing…” Boombox mumbled, moving his hand up and down Slingshot’s back… He managed a choppy nod in response, but he was getting quieter… That was… Normal… Right?

Boombox let out a shaky breath, looking off at the road again. But he looked back at Slingshot the moment he started hearing the coughing- the poor guy sounded miserable…

Boombox gave Slingshot’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Easy… Easy…” He wished he could do more… He felt stuck… Watching from the sidelines as Slingshot suffered… Inevitably, the coughing got worse…

So much worse…

Boombox had to swallow down the wave of sick he felt when Slingshot finally gagged. What came up was- gosh, Boombox had to look away. He felt bad for it, but him trying to comfort Slingshot only to end up sick himself was NOT what Slingshot needed at the moment.

Nonetheless, the sound was… Horrible… The sick that came up was… It was horrible… Boombox kept catching himself glancing over out of concern, only to wince and look off immediately as the stuff came up.

It looked to be mostly clear vomit. Maybe not as rough- or so Boombox liked to hope… It still didn’t sound nice, though… That kind of stuff never tended to be ‘pleasant’… Boombox continued to rub his hand up and down Slingshot’s back, hoping it would offer some kind of comfort… Slingshot’s breathing was shallow… Shaky…

But then when it seemed like he got it out of his system, when his stomach seemed to finally settle down… Boombox looked over, and… Something… Something was wrong about the sight… The… The vomit was dark… It wasn’t… It didn’t… Look like vomit… It looked like this horrible dark inky sort of- Tar… It looked like tar…

Slingshot said nothing… His eyes were snapped shut… He took in shaky shallow breaths… He sounded weak… “S-Sling- W-What-...?” Boombox’s own voice. It was choked up so bad. He couldn’t figure it out- was he crazy? Was he seeing things? Why did it look like that- was it blood? No… Blood was red- this wasn’t-

It wasn’t red…

Part of Boombox almost wished it was. Throwing up blood wasn’t good, but at least it was in the realm of normal-... Normal? That wasn’t- well, it SHOULDN’T be normal, but it was realistic at least-

“Y-Yeah…?”

Boombox blinked a few times, having to process Slingshot’s voice. It was so quiet, still just as nervous and trembly as before… And then he realized he needed an actual question… “U-Um… W-... What did you eat…?” Boombox started. It wasn’t the BEST kind of question, considering Slingshot’s ‘vomit’ didn’t even look like vomit, but-

“I… Wh-What…? Why’re you-” His breath hitched… Boombox looked over, and Slingshot was motionless, shivering… Looking down at- the… Was he just seeing it for the first time? Boombox was still huddled close, it wasn’t hard to hear the nervous swallow… “D-Don’t look at it…” Boombox quickly cut in. Quick, but gentle. He didn’t want Slingshot making himself more sick…

Slingshot took the suggestion, looking off with a shudder. He seemed nervous and lost… Boombox hated to say he felt the same. “Th-That’s not… Right… R-Right?” Boombox let out a shaky breath at Slingshot’s stammer, before continuing his hand movement. Slingshot seemed to let out a shaky breath at that. “I… I will say, Sling… I’ve never seen someone throw up black vomit before…” Boombox confessed. It was blunt honesty, but… Maybe that wasn’t the most reassuring thing to say…

Slingshot was still silent… He almost seemed scared.

“W-When I said something was w-wrong with me, I… I was k-kinda meaning something wrong in my head… Not…” Boombox had to let out a shaky breath of his own. “Y-Yep… I assumed…” He glanced back at the stuff, and he had to look away just as he saw it.

It didn’t make a whole lot of sense, considering ‘tar’ shouldn’t look as nasty as throw up, but… It was sickening… Maybe in a different way… A different kind of ill… This wasn’t- this couldn’t have been good…

“Wait… Vine Staff’s a healer, right?” Boombox realized, looking over at Slingshot, who furrowed a brow in response. “I… I mean, yeah? What about it?” There was a quiet sound of something, maybe skidding pavement. Boombox looked over at the road, but it didn’t seem like there was anything there… “She can probably fix whatever’s going on, right?” Boombox pointed out.

Slingshot blinked, seemingly in recognition, before wincing and looking off. “K-Kinda… I dunno about this, though…” Boombox couldn’t help but raise a brow at that. “What would make this different?” Slingshot let out a nervous sigh, as he shifted to get into a more comfortable sitting position, facing away from- yeah… The sick…

Boombox did the same, sitting beside Slingshot and glancing over at him, waiting for his response. “I just… I dunno… This seems like… More complicated for some reason…” Boombox tilted his head slightly. “Okay- sure… It’s not exactly a paper cut, but… I didn’t realize it mattered…”

Slingshot looked off, almost seeming sheepish as he scratched the back of his head with a worried expression. “Y-Yeahh… Healing stuff gets kinda complicated… Neither of us know why this happened- or what it’s from or- gosh, do we even know it’s like… Not a one-off thing?” Boombox couldn’t help but wince. “Sling… You just threw up black goop…” Slingshot faltered… Kinda awkwardly.

“I-... I mean YEAH! But I- I dunno man, what if it’s nothing? What if we worry her for nothing- h-heck, what if this IS a thing but she can’t fix it-”
“Well then we’d have to find a new solution… Slingshot- I-...” Boombox had to stop himself, letting out a held breath. “Look… We don’t KNOW how serious this is… But I don’t think dismissing it or- or ignoring it is the right move here, bud…” Boombox mumbled a bit softer, a bit more ‘boombox’. He looked up at Slingshot, and…

He fidgeted, anxious…

“C-Can we at least just-... See where it goes?”
“Sling, I really don’t know if-”
“If it gets worse, or starts coming back, then fine-”

Boombox looked off, that anxiousness starting to bubble up again… He almost forgot it after a while… This whole situation… It just made him so… Anxious… Boombox looked over, and… Slingshot looked desperate… Nervously desperate. But the idea of lying to someone’s face, especially to people who cared about and worried about Slingshot… It felt wrong… Definitely not something Boombox would do-

But Slingshot would…

Boombox was realizing that now…

He contemplated further, before letting out a frustrated weary sigh… “Alright…” Slingshot sighed in relief, too early… Too blatantly. Boombox was already starting to have his regrets… “Th-Thank you…” Slingshot stammered sheepishly grinning, taking Boombox’s hands in his own.

He sounded so… Relieved…

Boombox took in a careful breath…

Willing himself not to be sick…

Shuriken and Vine Staff had been enjoying their tea.

Trying to, anyhow… Vine Staff could still sense that Shuriken was tense, but that had been starting to fade as he drank more of his tea. That was good.

But she also began to notice him seeming sleepier. He was a lot quieter, and seemed to be struggling not to doze off. She couldn’t help but let out a quiet huff. The poor guy could probably use some sleep after that whole ordeal. He looked up at her, though, furrowing a brow. “What…?” She faltered, but shook her head with a smile. “N-Nothing really… You just sound tired…”

He paused, having to process the words, before looking off. “I’m-... Not tired…” He muttered quietly. Vine Staff chuckled softly. “Course not… I must be seeing things,” She chirped. Shuriken seemed to falter, before letting out a weak chuckle, himself, looking over before looking off again. “Y-Yeah… P-probably…”

The silence returned, however…

Vine Staff thought over things in her mind, before sighing quietly. “Shuri, it’s okay… I can pick up Sling…” Shuriken grew nervous again… Vine Staff could tell, with the way her brother’s hands began to tremble. “N-No, I… I can stay up-” Vine Staff took Shuriken’s hands in hers, giving them a gentle squeeze, and felt a bit of relief when Shuriken took a breath again… “You can, but you don’t have to…”

“It’s okay… Really…”

“But Vine-”

“You’ll wake up, and he’ll be there in the morning…”

Shuriken was silent, again faltering like before… He looked up at her, not even hiding the anxiety anymore… “Y-You promise…?” Vine Staff gave a quick, firm nod. “I promise… By morning, Slingshot will be here…”

Shuriken let out another shaky breath. “O-Okay…” Vine Staff felt herself softening, and she gently pulled her hands back, before walking over to the other side of the counter. Shuriken slid off of the chair and landed alright- but swayed a bit… He must have been drowzier than he realized. Vine Staff was quick to pull him close, though. Making sure he wouldn’t fall over.

“Let’s get you to bed, Sleepyhead…” She mumbled with a small smile, pulling one of Shuriken’s arms over her shoulder and giving him a gentle pat on the head. “Vineee…” Shuriken whined slightly, a light-hearted sort of thing, paired with a sheepish snicker in response to the tease. Vine Staff gave a playful eyeroll, chuckling quietly along to it as she guided him back to bed.

“Alright, alright… It’s time for rest, little brother…” She said, voice calm as usual. Vine Staff stood by the ladder to the bunk, watching carefully and keeping near in case Shuriken would fall, but he managed to get up alright. “Yeah, yeah… Just make sure you get some sleep too, you know…” Shuriken muttered as he reached the top and pulled a blanket around himself.

But then he blinked, realizing. “Wait… Whaddya mean ‘little’? We’re the same age-” He added, a tone of confusion. “Maybe by the date, but there was still a two hour difference,” Vine Staff recalled with a slight smirk. “Ugh, you will NEVER let that go, now will you?” Shuriken muttered with a huff. “Numbers don’t lie, brother,” Vine Staff continued to tease. “Oh, go away… Let me sleep,” He cut in, snickering. Vine Staff chuckled along, then waved him goodbye. “Alright, alright… I’ll let you be…”

Vine Staff was about to leave, but turned around to meet Shuriken’s gaze for the last time that night. “Night night, brother…” She mumbled, a soft smile present. Shuriken let out a quiet sigh, smiling back. “Night, sis…”

With that, Vine Staff left her brother to rest.

Boombox and Slingshot were walking again, but the icy winds were worsening, and they were too far to walk back… It was nothing in driving speeds, but to walk back to that stop was- well, a complete time waster…

Though Slingshot wasn’t stupid… He knew Boombox wasn’t either… So with that, Boombox must have been pretending. Pretending everything would be fine, because how were they going to walk all the way back to Crossroads- Boombox looked up at the road suddenly.

“You keep doing that… What is it?” Slingshot couldn’t help but ask, raising a brow. Boombox paused, and Slingshot stopped alongside him. “I… I dunno… I keep hearing something… Not sure what it is, though…” Now Slingshot felt himself glancing over at the road, and after a second or two of silence, he heard it too…

Like gentle rumbling…

“Hold on…” Boombox mumbled, helping lean Slingshot against a tree and then letting go to wander closer to the road. He stood there, listening… Quiet and… Looking kind of confused. “Anything new?” Slingshot called out over the growing winds. Boombox turned to look at Slingshot, shaking his head sadly as he approached.

“I… I’m not sure… I think we should keep walking…” Slingshot gave a nod, allowing Boombox to help him walk again.

So much for that…

Vine Staff sat quietly in the kitchen… Alone…

She was glad her brother could finally get some sleep, and hopefully with the tea, a good rest…

But Vine Staff would have been lying if she said she didn’t miss his presence… They were both anxiously waiting… But now? Now Vine Staff waited alone…

She took in a careful breath, urging herself to remain calm, as she always tried to do. She pulled out her phone, and found Boombox in her contacts list. She clicked on his name and began to type out a message…

It wasn’t anything fancy, just a quick hello. A check-in… Asking him if he was okay, any luck on bringing back Slingshot- something of that sort… But she sent the text, and the seconds went on, which turned into minutes-

It would turn into hours, sitting here…
She couldn’t help but think this…

So with that, she decided right then and there… That she was going out. She wasn’t sure where, somewhere in Crossroads… Maybe just a walk… She took her phone with her, and with nothing more than a quiet leave, locking up the front door behind her, Vine Staff moved on.

Boombox wasn’t sure what to do…

He didn’t know…

He wanted to lead Slingshot to safety…

Bring him back to Shuriken and Vine Staff- gosh, the two were probably worried sick. It was never supposed to take this long… Worse yet, because of this weather, his phone completely froze over. It’d probably go back to normal once they were out of this snow, but who knew when that was- the sound again…

Boombox stopped… Slingshot stopped too-

Seemed almost a bit annoyed, though… Boombox couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty for that one- but he looked over at the road again. He quickly turned around, spotting a tree and guiding Slingshot to it. “S-Stay here…” Slingshot gave a quiet nod, and with that, Boombox turned and approached the road… Carefully…

Something was different about this sound… It sounded… Louder…

And then it clicked.

Wheels…

It was the sound of wheels, rolling against the road-

The headlights confirmed it, the bus was about to drive by- but wait… The bus stop… It was too far… There was no way they’d be able to make the distance and still get there on time… Boombox took a step back from the road, and turned to glance over at Slingshot.

He was wide-eyed too… He heard what Boombox heard, and he had to have known what the source was now…

But…

The only way they’d catch that bus was if…

There… Boombox spotted the bus driving down the road. He quickly waved his arms at it- the driver seemed to look forward. The bus drove by- but it was slow. The speed limit was a saving grace. Boombox quickly ran alongside it waving desperately through the bus door window- something caught him- he was falling.

There was no way- it was too late- he missed his chance as he took a face fulla snow… He even could have sworn he heard a quiet crack of his visor, and sure enough, when he looked up, there was a small line in his vision-

But when he turned to the left- the bus was there…

It had stopped…

Boombox quickly stumbled up to his feet-
“Whaddya want…” The driver muttered in annoyance. Boombox faltered, before shaking himself out of his frantic state. “W-We- We need help! We’re stranded here and we need to get to Crossroads,” Boombox explained quickly. The bus driver raised a single brow. “We…?”

“M-Me and my friend. He’s… Over there…” Boombox mumbled, pointing to the tree where Slingshot stood, watching the whole interaction.

The driver was silent, seeming to mull this over in their head. “You know I still gotta drive to the stop, right? Kinda by law…” Boombox nodded. “Th-That’s fine, we just… It’s a long walk from here…” The driver let out a frustrated sigh. “On foot? Yeah… It would be…”

They pinched their brow in seeming annoyance, but muttered an annoyed; “Get your friend and hurry up… I got a busy schedule…” Boombox felt himself light up in relief, quickly stammering ‘thank you’s, before rushing back to Slingshot and helping him out.

“Wait- the guy actually stopped?” Slingshot couldn’t help but ask in surprise. “They did. Believe me, I didn’t expect it either,” Boombox chirped with a chuckle, pulling one of Slingshot’s arms over his shoulder again. “But uh… We should probably hurry. The guy seems cranky…”

The two stumbled over, and eventually, they got in and sat down in one of the many empty seats. At this hour? Boombox wasn’t surprised there was no one on board. Honestly, he was surprised the bus drivers even pulled late night hours like this… Eventually, the doors shut, and the bus began to move. Boombox let out a sigh of relief.

He felt his friend seem to relax as well.

“We’ll be home before you know it,” Boombox reassured with a grin, giving Slingshot a comforting pat on the shoulder. Slingshot smiled back, leaning into the hug a bit, squeezing Boombox’s arm rather gently in response.

“Thanks, Boom…”
“Any time, Sling…”

Vine Staff walked down the sidewalk, admittedly a bit aimless. Usually a walk was a great way to settle her nerves… But even now, she walked along the quiet city pavement, and… She felt just as antsy as she did when she left… That was, until she heard a buzz in her pocket.

She pulled out her phone, and felt a heavy weight leave her shoulders when she saw who it was from…

‘Hey. So sorry for the late response. Got into a bit of a situation, but we’re both fine and on our way back!’

Boombox…

Vine Staff let out a long relieved sigh, then feeling a smile as she typed back a quick;
‘Sounds good. Thank you.’

And with that, she turned to walk back to the apartment.

The bus slowed down, and finally, they were back where they started. A bus stop with no snow… Slingshot was already feeling relief as he and Boombox stepped down from the bus and watched it drive away.

“Good to be back, huh?” Boombox asked with a small smile. Slingshot gave a quick sure nod. “Definitely… Screw Blackrock,” He couldn’t help but snark, earning a chuckle from his friend. The two walked in the direction of home-...

So why was the anxiety beginning to come back?

“Sling… You okay?” Boombox asked, probably picking it up immediately… Slingshot rubbed at his arm, looking off. “It’s… Gonna be weird… Isn’t it…” He mumbled wearily. Boombox thought. He was taking too long to respond…

But then finally; “Maybe?” Slingshot blinked in slight surprise, before looking over. “Maybe.”He echoed, a bit confused. Boombox nodded. “Maybe. Shuriken and Vine Staff, they had to have worried about you…”

Slingshot remained silent, the nervousness worsening-

“But hey, it’s not like they’ll be mad…”

Slingshot looked back at Boombox, who looked… Concerned… “Sling… Please try not to get in your head again… Promise me that, at least. Alright?” Slingshot faltered, looking off again, but then sighing quietly and nodding. “O-Okay… I’ll… Try my best…”

Boombox gave a gentle pat on Slingshot’s shoulder, and Slingshot leaned into the touch slightly. “That’s all I can ask, buddy…” Boombox mumbled with… A faint smile… Slingshot felt himself wanting to return it… And then he did…

It was small… A bit forced, but-

Vine Staff.

Slingshot and Boombox both looked over as Vine Staff stood at the door of their apartment building. Slingshot and Boombox quickly crossed the street-

The moment they did, Vine Staff rushed over and pulled him into a hug- gosh it was such a nice hug… A firm, warm, comforting hug that he never realized he needed so badly until that point, and he returned it almost immediately. His breath was already getting shaky as he felt a rush of relief at the whole thing-

“I’m so glad you’re okay…” She mumbled, voice full of relief as she held him. Slingshot didn’t even have the words- if he did, they were probably wobbly… His eyes were already welling up in tears… “V-Vine I’m s-sorry-” He stammered, before he could think over the words…

Vine Staff pulled back the hug just enough to look at him- he was probably acting like such a kid right now… “Hey- Hey… Listen to me…” She cut in, though voice calm. Slingshot hesitated, but managed to meet her gaze.

“You have NOTHING to apologize for… Alright? Just… Breathe… You’re here, you’re safe, it’s gonna be okay…” She reassured in that comfortingly familiar voice… That voice that always put Slingshot at ease. His breath was already beginning to steady out as he hugged her tight, and she hugged him back, just as tightly…

He heard a whisper- a quick glance over and it seemed like she was thanking Boombox, who held up a friendly thumbs up. Slingshot let out a sigh as he felt a hand rubbing at his back. “You wanna head inside?” Vine Staff offered, and Slingshot was quick to nod.

They waved their goodbyes to Boombox as they all broke off from there.

Slingshot walked up the stairs with Vine Staff, keeping close to her. She didn’t seem to mind in the slightest… No, instead, she kept a comforting hold, pulling his arm over her shoulder as the two walked together… She stopped at the door, pulling out her keys and unlocking it, before opening the door and holding it open for Slingshot.

He stepped inside, and he couldn’t help the sigh of relief. He turned to look back at Vine Staff, who shut the door and locked it, before turning to smile softly at him.

“Welcome home…”

Chapter Text

Slingshot sat up suddenly, quickly, choppily…

He hated to say he was becoming more and more used to it. And still, he refused to speak about it.

Everyone knew that it happened, and that was about all they knew. Slingshot wasn’t intending on changing that.

So now he sat up in his bed, trembling like a broken mess (of which he WAS one…) and already he found the nausea coming back worse than before.

Slingshot REALLY didn’t want to be sick in his own bed for… About a hundred reasons or more. As such, he got up. He stumbled a bit, almost falling over- there seemed to be some kind of light-headedness that was paired with this horrible stomach churning. How pleasant.

Slingshot leaned on the wall pretty much the entire way to the bathroom, but there was no one awake to judge.

He stumbled into the dark room, only lit by the soft night lights plugged into the wall, quickly shut and locked the door behind him, and stumbled to the toilet a bit too quickly.

Or perhaps not, considering the moment he knelt down, the sick suddenly worsened. He emptied his stomach too quickly, his body a little too eager to rid itself of whatever horrible THING lived inside of him.

Hot black soup rushed up from within his throat as he hurled. It smelled of disease. A dark horrible sick scent, reminiscing some kind of pollution. A quickly growing parasite existing within him that his body knew more than he, was absolutely NOT something that should be there.

The moment this round ended, he swallowed the air he was swimming in like he wasn’t sure he’d get the luxury to breathe again. He wasn’t quite sure- it felt long… Perhaps longer than it truly was. A mind’s trickery.

It felt like uncomfortable torture-

Uncomfortable was a PERFECT word.

Truly, his face was dripping with sweat. His whole body, likely. At least, if his clothes sticking to his skin was any evidence of it. Or the way it made him itchy all over, something prodding him with needles of mild discomfort.

And just when he was ‘enjoying’ his relief, another sickening urge bubbled up, another horrible churn in his stomach, another round of vomit rushing through his throat and out his mouth, leaving his tongue with the flavor of revulsion and the epitome of disgust.

Just like the time before, Slingshot was quickly swallowing air and shuddering like he’d just been thrown into a snowstorm with temperatures in the negatives-

When in fact, he felt scorching.

Scorching and sweaty and overheating like hell-
No, he was IN hell…

Someone threw him into the deepest pits of hell with how much of a mess he was, taking in those breaths and praying it’d end soon- his eyes were watering, just great.

But the churning… It did stop.

Slingshot was realizing this, and eventually his breathing was slowing down to normal. He was realizing he wouldn’t be vomiting anymore, at least for that night.

He COULDN’T vomit anymore…

Not when there was nothing left to vomit.

He sat there, leaned over against the toilet as he felt himself weaken. His stomach hurt for a different reason now, and that light-headedness returned in full force. He needed to get out of here…

He needed to get to bed, before he could fall over and give himself a damn concussion.

But when he managed to push himself up, against shaky arms, his legs wanted to buckle immediately.

His eyes darted, and he quickly stumbled to the bathroom counter to lean on it, taking shaky breaths, shutting his eyes and willing himself to stay calm despite the circumstances. Don’t pass out.

Don’t pass out.

Do NOT pass out.

…

Eventually, he felt himself stabilize again, and walking slowly, carefully, he left the bathroom. He kept a hand close to the wall the entire time, though. Just in case.

He was about to go back to his room, but his eyes tended to wander. They lingered on the front door again, and it didn’t take long for the memories to start rushing back. Immediately, Slingshot was reminded of all of the horrible things that happened the other day.

And he shuddered.

But then his gaze shifted, and he couldn’t help but walk over to the small drawer by the door. Opening it up were quite a few things. A small flashlight, a few pairs of spare keys- a small gun. A pistol, really. Good for self-defence… At first, Slingshot couldn’t quite remember its purpose, but only a second or two later, he was able to recall how ‘useful’ having an actual weapon was.

Sticks and stones could only do so much against an intruder. While he and his roommates liked the idea of avoiding such a violent confrontation, it really couldn’t hurt to have a backup plan if worst came to worst-

Slingshot found himself picking up the pistol.

Even daring to turn it in his hands, though in a way like he didn’t fully register what it was.

In his hands he held a gear capable of murder.

One good shot to the skull could end it all…

Nicely aimed, and it could be quick.

Certainly not painless- Nothing was really painless, was it…

‘A matter of perspective though…
Sometimes the best way to end the hurt is to hurt one more time…’

A horrible thought. One that should stop right there…

‘A thought you wouldn’t have, unless…’

Silence your mind, before you think of something you’ll regret… This is what Slingshot thought, even as his hands trembled, holding that gun-

But eventually, he put it down.

Because even with something so drastic, he knew the repercussions. He knew the people he would hurt, possibly even kill, by even suggesting taking that plunge.

Pulling that trigger was powerful.

In all the worst ways.

So then he put the gun down, shut the drawer, took a shaky step back as the faint feeling came back…

And decided to go back to the original plan.

He needed to sleep this off…

Whatever… ‘this’... was…

Slingshot walked back into his room, he still trembled, but he walked anyway. He flopped down onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling. His heart thumped, quick as a rabbit’s… The nausea was already coming back, much to Slingshot’s slight terror, but when he rolled onto his side, it seemed to ease down. He took in a shaky breath, before shutting his eyes, finally letting the dark take him.

He just hoped he’d be out sooner than an hour…

Chapter Text

Slingshot opened his eyes to the void.

Great start…

He sat up, blinking wearily as the drowsiness clung to him like wet cement. To lay back down and close his eyes, it felt so much easier… He couldn’t let himself. Eventually, finally, Slingshot managed to push himself up onto his feet. His legs trembled, almost wanting to bring him down again, but against his own instincts, against his own exhaustion, against the void itself, Slingshot kept standing.

Horrible things were starting up again, like every moment that hit a little too close to consciousness was a moment of failure… The nausea, the splitting head ache, his mind was a mess of thoughts, and it would be so much easier to simply stop…

Which made it all the stranger that he wanted to keep going. He wanted to leave this void- it had sounded so quiet when he first woke up, yet now there was a horrible static. It screeched and grained against his mind, and it definitely made the headache worse…

What was wrong with him?

He couldn’t help but wonder that question as he held himself, hands gripping- clawing, at his arms as he tried his best to brace against the noise. The distraction.

The agony…

This was a prison.

It was living agony.

He wasn’t even alive right now-

Was he?

Was this life?

Was he even awake?

Surely this wasn’t what was fated for him, just endless suffering on loop. Every instance of peace was fake, a fraud, false comfort that would get ruined in the next moment, often immediate. Everyone kept telling him things would get better, that he would be ‘okay’-

So why was he still here?

Why did he still suffer?

Why-... Was his vision so blurry…?

He blinked, and that void was looking less… Void…

He blinked a few more times, and though his vision still seemed fuzzy- watery… The darkness began to lessen and greaten in certain spots, seeming less and less like a void, more and more like a veil. A veil of darkness…

And as he moved his hands to his face, wiped away the tears, he was sitting up in a bed… It felt cold, but real.

Realler than the void…

Yet no more peaceful than it, unfortunately…

He wanted to throw up again.

Get rid of the sick in his stomach.

Yet it didn’t seem… Possible, this time.

Everything felt bearable, but just barely so.

Not enough to be fixable-

Was he fixable?

Was THIS… Fixable?

Slingshot shivered and shuddered as he began to hold himself again, no longer in a void. Strangely, it didn’t feel far off… He glanced at the analogue clock in the corner of the room, and to his horror, it was early…

Too late to fall asleep, too early for work…

It was that horrible time, three in the morning…

All he could do was wait…

He dreaded the idea of having to wait…

Not now. Not after… That…

Slingshot faltered, shivered, and took in a shaky breath.

His gaze drifted off to the ground at the side of his bed. He wanted to get up, maybe make himself a mug of coffee, but… His legs were shaky when he was in the void. He stood by a miracle- would that happen here too?

…

What was he doing, comparing his life to the void…

The void was fake… It wasn’t real…

Slingshot took in another shaky breath, before pushing himself off, and falling onto his feet- there was immediate vertigo, and he almost instinctively leaned against the wall. His breath quickened, it became shakier as he fought off the sensation of falling.

He was going to fall.
…Was he going to fall?
He FELT like he was going to fall…

This was stupid- he was being stupid. He shook himself out of it, before pushing off from the wall and taking a nervous step- and felt that rush of feeling.

The anxiety that tried to yank him down, the stubbornness, insisting this was ridiculous- that HE was ridiculous- he was being ridiculous…

He took another step- the feelings didn’t leave, yet he still stood, whether he trembled or not. He WAS trembling… It wasn’t lessening, even as he continued…

He got to his door, opened it, and he was already halfway there. The kitchen was in sight, and he could probably make it, but just as much as that determination was fear, fear that he should turn around while he was ahead, but…

‘You’d still have to walk half the distance to get back.’

That was true. And maybe it was the only thing keeping him going anymore. Why go back? There was a distance, but it didn’t matter if it was backward or forward.

His state hadn’t been worsening, necessarily- that is… Until now… Or maybe it used to be subtle. Considering that Slingshot could have sworn every step he took was fine. Now it felt like each one made every horrible feeling worse-

His heart was thudding too fast… What WAS this??

What was WRONG with him?

He was going to fall- he could swear that he was going to fall… He needed to stop- he needed to turn around- go back before its too late-

He couldn’t help it-

His legs finally locking up as he took in a sharp breath, as his eyes teared up and snapped shut on their own, as he fell to his knees, as he held himself up with one hand, and held himself with the other- as the static began to build up worse and worse- he wanted it to end.

He wanted it to stop.

He wanted to stop.

Shut your eyes and see nothing but darkness.

Hear nothing but nothing.

Smell nothing but nothing,

Taste nothing but nothing, FEEL nothing but nothing…

He was getting lost in it, the void being an anchor he never asked for- keeping him under, drowning, spiraling, and unable to reach the surface again…

There was no coming back- this was it for him-

Somewhere, a door must have opened,

Somewhere, a person must have gone through,

Somewhere, far far away from Slingshot’s mind, as all he could focus on was not blacking out here and now…

He didn’t even notice it- that was, until he felt someone rush to his side. Someone who shouldn’t have even been aware of his presence- but maybe that fall was louder than he realized- and there was the guilt… Seeping in like water through the cracks of a broken vessel…

How long had Slingshot been broken?

He couldn’t help but wonder that as he began to think about it. Thinking too hard… Those thoughts were starting to dissipate when he felt the warmth of another person, pulling him, holding him, keeping him close… Was he getting sleepy? Or was this it… Was this his final breath?

Was this really it? All of the sounds and feelings were starting to fade, but Slingshot couldn’t even afford relief- it felt like he was losing control- against everything, he leaned into the embrace, even hugged back as he continued to slip deeper and deeper into whatever deep dark void this was- it didn’t feel the same-

Thoughts felt more difficult...

EVERYTHING… Felt more difficult…

He heard whispers- or… He knew there were whispers… He wasn’t really sure what they meant…

Those whispers were getting quieter and quieter…

He couldn’t-

He couldn’t do it anymore…

He couldn’t stay living anymore…

Before he knew it, the darkness overtook him…

Chapter Text

Slingshot woke up slowly, softly… Everything sort of faded in, oddly peaceful- though Slingshot didn’t really register it as such, still trying to recover from a distant sleepiness. He remembered the way there was a soft warm light, or how a warmth wrapped around him nicely, keeping him warm… Fuzzy… His thick heavy blanket-
It was peaceful…

He almost sighed in a sort of relief as he snuggled into it-

Until blinked his eyes open and saw his surroundings, his room-

A splash of cold water. He sat up-

Work.

His eyes darted to his nightstand- and then he paused in… Confusion. There was a note. Slingshot hesitated, before leaning over to grab it to take a look.

‘Hey Sling. Before you do, don’t sweat it. We went and opened up the cafe for ya. Didn’t seem like you were doing too well, so we’re giving you the day off. Don’t try and argue, we’re already gone ;)’

Slingshot blinked in wide-eyed disbelief as he looked down at the note, rereading it a few times to make sure he heard out. He couldn’t help but furrow a brow at a small arrow at the bottom corner of the page… He turned the note over, and on the back was a bit more text.

‘By the way, Skate said he’d check in on ya. So keep your phone nearby.
Shuri and Vine’

Slingshot wasn’t sure what to say. He found himself silent for a long time, staring at the note- and then jumping when his phone buzzed against the wood of the nightstand. Slingshot looked over in slight alarm, but started to deflate when he saw it was just a text.

Sure enough, a text from Skateboard.

‘Hey Sling! You awake?’

Another buzz as Slingshot grabbed his phone and pulled it from the charger. ‘Well, if you are, let me know when to come over. Shuriken told me he was giving you the day off, so… Yeah :D’

Slingshot, against all odds, couldn’t help but chuckle. Skateboard was acting just as goofy as he always was. Maybe it was what Slingshot needed-

But then he just kept remembering… He lost the smile as he realized again- Shuriken and Vine Staff opened the cafe without him- he’s the manager. He should be able to manage. He was leaving them to do all the work while he was laying in bed at- shit, it was already ten in the morning?? Slingshot was losing himself to this.

He was being everything he never wanted to be…

He quickly got up and out of bed, and that vertigo almost hit him again, but he steadied himself out, and took his phone with him as he walked to his closet and pulled it open. He looked back down at his phone and began to type back a response.

‘Yeah, against my will. Thirty minutes?’ He typed and sent, before focusing back on his closet and grabbing a comfy looking hoodie and a pair of jeans to go with it. Slingshot was about to walk to his bed but stopped halfway to gaze out the window.

The trees… They were looking gorgeous today…

Mixes of orange and yellow and red and all the sort.

Autumn always looked pretty like that… All the warm colors of the sun and its rays, or a cozy fire.

Slingshot shook himself out of it, before setting the clothes at the end of the bed and glancing once more at his phone. Just in time, there’s another buzz.

‘I mean, hey. If it’s what you need, no harm in taking a day to yourself, right? But yeah. Sounds good!’

Of course he’d say that… Slingshot could almost chuckle, but fought off the smile instead, focusing on getting ready now as he tossed his phone aside.

Slingshot, now dressed and ready to leave, grabbed his keys, wallet (just in case), and phone, walked to the door, opened it and stepped out. Greeted to the smell of the outside as Crossroads buzzed with weekday activity.

Slingshot breathed in the fresh fall air, before catching a whiff of car smell and coughed a bit with a wince. He quickly turned to lock up the front door and headed for the stairs. The metal creaked and clonked under his shoes, a familiar set of sounds.

At the bottom of the stairs stood Skateboard, who looked over in slight surprise, before giving a cheeky grin and friendly wave to boot. Slingshot returned it, but it was admittedly a bit more quick and dismissive.

His mind was still bogged down by the events of today.

He wasn’t supposed to be here, and he knew that. All he was left with was ‘get over it’, and that wasn’t something he could easily do. “You okay?” Skateboard cut in, a little sheepish, yet still smiling for some reason.

He was making such an attempt… Slingshot couldn’t help but let out a weary sigh in response, nodding. “Yeah- yeah… It’s not you.” Skateboard let out a thoughtful hum at Slingshot’s confession as the two began to walk the streets of Crossroads. “Don’t like having the day off, huh?” He finally chirped, and Slingshot scoffed.

“I shouldn’t be getting a ‘break’ from work… Here I am, waking up at brunch time while my roommates are workin their asses off…” Slingshot snarked with a slight grimace. He felt Skateboard’s knowing look almost immediately, yet he ALMOST didn’t care…

“Slingshot…” Skateboard continued, narrowing his eyes at his friend, causing Slingshot to awkwardly chuckle with a forced grin as he looked off. “Whaaat…? It’s true…”

Skateboard only sighed. Exasperated, so it sounded.

“Bud… What Shuri said… It REALLY didn’t sound good.”

Slingshot felt himself pause, and he stopped, and then glanced at Skateboard, his quiet concern already seeping in. He knew Shuriken had probably talked, but… Considering the fact that Slingshot barely remembered last night, himself, that didn’t bode well…

“What- did he say…?” Slingshot had to ask, furrowing a single brow, but being served nervous silence in response. Skateboard hesitated. Why was he hesitating?

“Sling, he-... Actually, I shouldn’t.” Skateboard began to walk, leaving Slingshot with that mutter as he almost immediately tried to dismiss the entire thing. Slingshot would be lying if he wasn’t beginning to get just the SLIGHTEST bit agitated by that, but began to walk as well. Walking shoulder-to-shoulder with Skateboard.

“No, hold on. You don’t get to just- Skate, what’d he say??” Slingshot insisted again, probably sounding more frustrated than he meant to. “L-Look, man… It don’t matter, kay? Just forget it,” Skateboard attempted, gaining that nervous sheepishness again as he looked off.

“W-What? No! Skateboard, it matters to me! Okay?!” Slingshot cut in, frustration bubbling up further as he suddenly cut in front of Skateboard and held him by the shoulders, keeping an eye contact Skateboard was struggling to meet. “Slingshot… Seriously…” Skateboard stammered with a-... A guilty sigh…

Slingshot faltered, a bit of hesitation slipping through as he looked at Skateboard, really looked at him for a moment… Saw something new… Guilt…

“You-... You won’t like it… So let’s just not talk about it, alright?” Slingshot looked off for a moment, yet still kept his hands on Skateboard’s shoulders as he thought it over. He let out a sigh of his own, silently venting out some of the frustration, or so he hoped.

“Skateboard, I… P-Please… I gotta know…” Slingshot mumbled, looking back at the other inphernal, who now met his gaze. It was that sickeningly familiar look of sympathy, but Slingshot tried to meet that gaze anyway.

“Ask me in, like, an hour?” Skateboard attempted, a sheepish grin on his face. Slingshot blinked, looked off, mulled it over in his mind, before giving a short nod.

“Kay… Fair enough…”

Skateboard’s sigh was immediate.

Slingshot almost felt a little bad, but before that feeling could fester, Skateboard pulled him into a friendly side hug. “Come on, man. There’s somewhere I wanna take ya,” He chirped, getting that cheeky grin back.

So comfortingly familiar, Slingshot couldn’t help but chuckle a bit. “Alright, alright, I’m movin…”

Slingshot wasn’t really paying attention, getting lost in the scenery again.

It’s been a while since he’d really gotten to just… Enjoy the scenery… Inphernals walking along, the crunch of leaves underneath his and Skateboard’s feet, the gentle blow of wind against trees, the smell of the autumn air-

And of course the occasional motor or barbecue smell that drifted alongside it… Slingshot breathed it all in.

He felt Skateboard’s gaze, but he couldn’t be bothered to care-

Skateboard suddenly yanked him back-

“Woahhh buddy- I know it’s nice out, but let’s not walk into poles,” he chirped with a slight snicker, it all happening so fast that Slingshot was blinking in confusion before letting out an awkward sheepish snicker of his own.

“Y-Yeah- sorry- uh… Thanks…” He looked over at Skateboard with an equally sheepish grin, and Skateboard returned it. “Sure thing, Sling.”

After that awkward encounter, Slingshot made sure to at least glance forward occasionally, and thankfully, he was already starting to do a bit better.

So far, a near head bonk was the worst part of today. Maybe he really DID need this? Maybe his roomies would be okay without him… It was just for a day, right?

Slingshot didn’t realize how much he was starting to lean on his friend till he felt Skateboard’s hand squeeze his shoulder, a gentle squeeze. A comforting gesture.

“S-Sorry- is this too much?-”
“Don’t sweat it, Sling… Seriously…” Skateboard mumbled with a soft grin. It almost looked amused. Slingshot probably should have felt a little defensive about it. About the idea that him being so awkward was ‘funny’-

He couldn’t care if he tried. All he could feel for that guy was appreciation- maybe a tad bit of relief.

Slingshot gave Skateboard a slight subtle nuzzle, and Skateboard nuzzled him back without hesitation- Slingshot couldn’t hide the slight snicker.

Slingshot took a deep breath in, and let a deep breath out as he and Skateboard entered…

“The park?” Slingshot realized, looking around the place.

“Mhm,” Skateboard hummed. There were grassy fields that went for distances. “It’s nice…” Slingshot mumbled as he took in the sights. There were some fountains around, with some people tossing in coins, and others sitting on the rims. “Eh, you know Fall makes everything look nice,” Skateboard chirped with a cheeky grin.

Slingshot gave a playful eyeroll as the two began to walk again. “Yeah, but some places ALWAYS look nice!” Slingshot argued, though rather lightly. It was silly banter with no heat between the two. That was obvious.

As if to further that point, Skateboard chuckled. “Is the park one of those places?” In the distance, a bird landed on the ground and pecked at some crumbs of bread that were left. “I think so,” Slingshot churred with a smile as he watched the bird peck, hop, and then peck some more.

Skateboard let out a relaxed sigh. “You’re probably right…”

It was actually kinda relaxing…

The two talked.
They joked.
They chilled.

Really took it all in.

Now they sat on a bench, quiet, but… It was a peaceful sort of quiet. They sat there, on a bench, just… Listening.

Listening to it all…

Slingshot glanced over, but Skateboard still looked forward, before realizing and meeting Slingshot’s gaze. He smiled. Slingshot’s face felt funny again- probably that smile instinct again. He chuckled a bit, looking off, sheepish, but smiled too. He smiled too…

“What’s up, Slingshot?” Skateboard asked with a slight smirk as he leaned back into the bench and crossed his arms. Slingshot gave a playful eyeroll, smirking too, but still feeling a bit too shy for eye contact.

And probably also cause of the thoughts in his head-

‘If… If you’re still nervous about all of it, you could always just… Apologize…’

“...Sling?”

“-I’m sorry-” Slingshot suddenly cut in, a flash of nervousness. A nervous sweat even as his hands trembled a bit. He waited. He waited with shut eyes and bated breath- but no response came… Just silence. He faltered, the nervousness worsening as he eventually mustered the courage to open his eyes, but…

Skateboard just looked at him a bit confused- almost concerned?

“For…-”
“Y-Y’know- the-...” Slingshot trailed off awkwardly, waving at his own shoulder, and Skateboard suddenly blinked in surprise, but also recognition as he looked over to his own shoulder. “Oh- that?”

He chuckled- why did he chuckle??

“Sling, it’s already scabbing over,” He chirped with a grin, seeming hardly bothered. Slingshot shook his head in disbelief, blinking a few times. “Wait- seriously?”
“Yeah, dude!” Skateboard continued to yap with a chuckle, a disbelieving chuckle, as he lightly punched Slingshot in the arm. “Heck, I don’t even feel pain anymore! Not unless I touch it, that’ll probably be gone, too.”

Slingshot… Wasn’t sure what he felt-

There was definitely some relief in there as he let out a long sigh. Especially considering how unbothered Skateboard seemed. Like he genuinely forgot about the whole incident. But there was something in Slingshot that made him feel silly about it all. He chuckled too, a bit of a disbelieving smile on his face as Skateboard pulled him into a side hug. “Man, I’m okay… Seriously…”

“You don’t need to worry about it, kay? Promise me you’ll let it go…” Skateboard mumbled softly smiling as he pulled him a little closer, and Slingshot couldn’t help but hug back with a sheepish snicker, looking off. “Yeah yeah… Alright…”

Skateboard let out an affectionate huff, giving Slingshot a bit of a noogie, though it was a gentle one, and Slingshot only chuckled at it and nudged his face against Skateboard’s shoulder in response.

Skateboard paused, though seemingly more from a slight distraction, glancing up at the sky- wait… When did the sun start setting? “Dang… Time flies, I guess. Should probably get you back home, huh?” Skateboard chirped as he looked down at Slingshot and grinned a bit. Slingshot gave a sheepish nod in response.

The two broke off the hug momentarily to get up, but when they started walking back, it didn’t take long for them to pull each other into side hugs again as they walked. It was friendly. Playful. Comfortingly familiar.

Slingshot let out a relaxed sigh as he stepped into the dimly lit apartment and locked the front door behind him. He took a step, and- oh no…

That familiar tremble came over him again, and he let out a nervous hiss as he held his side with one hand and his head with the other- horrible static… Why was this becoming familiar-

“Sling-”
“Hey, you okay?” he heard Shuriken and Vine Staff’s voices amongst the static, and in an instant, they were holding him steady and close. “I- I’m okay-” He stammered. “Ugh, it’s still going, then… Huh…” Shuriken muttered, furrowing a brow in annoyance, though clearly annoyance not directed at Slingshot. “I thought the break woulda helped…” he muttered, but as Vine Staff started rubbing at Slingshot’s shoulder, the static WAS dying down a little… He let out a quiet sigh, and then a sheepish chuckle. “Actually… This was the first time it came back today…”

Slingshot’s companions were silent- stunned?

Shuriken slowly narrowed his eyes. “Riiiight…”
But Vine Staff blinked wide-eyed. “Shuri- I think he’s telling the truth…” She cut in, her voice echoing that surprise. Shuriken shook his head in favor of slight disbelief. “Wait-”

“Yeah. You could ask Skate,” Slingshot confessed with a shrug. Shuriken and Vine Staff exchanged a glance.

Andddd broke into those hushed whispers. “He’s saying it with a straight face…” Shuriken whispered in shock, like it was the craziest news heard all week. “Yeah, and he wouldn’t mention Skateboard unless he was serious. He KNOWS we could ask- I think he’s actually serious-”

“I AM serious!” Slingshot chirped with a bit of a snicker.

Shuriken and Vine Staff looked back, almost… Relieved?

And then, before Slingshot knew what was happening, the two were pulling him into a hug again, sighing or snickering in relief. “Seeeee?! I KNEW it was a good idea. Knowing you, you’d just try and stop me!” Shuriken chirped paired alongside a playful huff. “We all need a day to recuperate sometimes, you know,” Vine Staff mumbled with a soft smile, both smothering Slingshot who continued to chuckle. “Yeah yeah! I know, I know…”

He blinked for a second, before sending Shuriken a playful eyeroll. “I probably would have,” he confessed, a sheepish grin and awkward look-off. Shuriken couldn’t help but scoff, smirking as he nudged Slingshot playfully.

“We’re glad you got to take a breather,” Vine Staff muttered, but the tone was sweet. “Alright, alright… Just hope work wasn’t too rough on you guys,” Slingshot snarked, giving a playful eyeroll, keeping the mood light despite the back-of-mind concern he always had.

“Oh yeah, don’t worry about that, man. It was fine!” Shuriken cut in quick and assuring. Vine Staff nodded. “There was a lot, but between the two of us, we handled it well.” Shuriken shrugged as the three walked. “Besides! It was just a day! We can handle a day, no sweat!”

Slingshot let out a sigh, before nodding. “Yeah. Well… I uh…”

He paused, causing Shuriken and Vine Staff to stop to turn and face him. “I… Really appreciate it…” Slingshot confessed as he rubbed the back of his neck and looked off. “It… Actually did kinda reset me a bit…”

When he looked back, both of his roomates were… Well… Soft. They smiled soft, almost seeming relieved.

Relieved that Slingshot seemed to be doing better.

Far better…

“Glad it helped,” Shuriken replied, giving a quick thumbs up. Vine Staff nodded again. “Sounds like you had a nice time, then. Happy to hear it.” Slingshot faltered, before nodding with a new smile on his face. He felt… More sure this time.

“Yeah… Yeah, I did. And tomorrow, I’ll actually function,” He joked with a snicker. Quieter, more to himself…
“I can feel it… It feels… Different. Good different…”

Tomorrow’s another day…

Chapter Text

The distant buzz of the city late at night…
His fingers, his nails, digging into the sheets…
Shaky breathing, reassurances… Were they true?

‘You’re okay…’
‘You’re okay…’
‘You’re okay…’

He didn’t think sleeping would be difficult. Not anymore. Not after that day. He felt so… Fine. He felt so okay.

But now he wasn’t?

Nothing made sense anymore…

Slingshot took another shaky breath as the memory came rushing back-

“Skate… Can I- uh… Ask you about that thing now?”

Skateboard paused, and then let out a sheepish chuckle. “Yeahhh… Guess I DID say an hour, huh?”

No- no no no… Breathing was becoming harder to keep up with again- Slingshot forced himself to stop, to pause, to hitch- and then let took in that shaky breath, slow. He wanted to swallow air, but he forced himself to go slow. He HAD to go slow… And then he let it out, just as slow.

He shut his eyes as he kept that rhythm.

‘You’re okay…’
‘You’re okay…’
‘You’re okay…’

Skateboard fidgeted a bit. He seemed almost… Nervous.

Poor guy… And here Slingshot was, demanding he give answers… What kind of friend- “So what he told me…”

All of Slingshot’s thoughts were suddenly silent.

“It didn’t sound good…”

“He said he heard a thud- actually, he and Vine Staff both. But he offered to go out and see what happened, so…”

Skateboard looked off, his nervousness was worsening.

“Said he found you, sitting on your knees… Looked like you were starting to spiral again- but he’d… Never seen it before… It was new to him…”

‘But I know what it looks like… And so do you…’

Slingshot could practically hear Skateboard’s unspoken words, the inevitable, implied thoughts of his friend.

They both knew how bad Slingshot got when he spiraled.

“God, he- he said you weren’t even there. You weren’t reacting to anything he was saying, like you were completely out of it, Everything completely out of your control…” Skateboard mumbled, clearly concerned beyond belief. The way his hands trembled…

Slingshot had never seen him so nervous-

‘Nervous, nervous, nervous.

You made him nervous. AGAIN.

You made Shuriken nervous. AGAIN.

Don’t you see it? Even after they throw themselves into the deep end for you, you’re still unfixable.

An unfixable BURDEN.’

These thoughts… They were like cats’ nails on a chalkboard- somehow, it hurt his eyes like he was staring at the sun, hurt his ears like he’d been forced to listen to a high-pitched scream for hours on end. Hurt his heart, like he was suffering from heartburn-

How much of these were from the thoughts?

This felt… Like another wave of that horrible…

What was it?

Black snow…

Slingshot shuddered against the cold as the only warmth he got was his friend, holding him close- his friend he roped into this horrible icy misery, now looking down-

Down at the black snow-

Snow, white like dove’s feathers, innocent, pure-

Tainted with his filth… His disease… Black sticky tar-like in design- His horrible insides which likely still resided in him…

Sick.

‘You. Are. Sick.

A sick thing, with something so clearly WRONG about you.

How many days will go by where you avoid the question.

Where you avoid the problem.

You have something WRONG with you.

And you think ignoring it day after day…

That it will just go away?’

Slingshot shuddered against his bed, his face was pale and nervous, the static was coming back- it always did when he was alone. When he was alone and vulnerable…

No one to protect him…

No one to save him…

No one to hold him close…

The infection was coming back…

The horrible thoughts, twisting in his mind…

This can’t be it, can it?

Will he just keep going until his death?

Was death inevitable?

Only Boombox knew…

Everything would be fine… Right?

…

Right?

“I’ll… Be completely honest, Sling… I’m… Really worried about you…”

“Shuriken is, too. So is Vine-...”

“Boombox has been acting weird… Every time I ask him why, he gets all… Nervous… I’ve never seen him like that before. He like… Actually shuts down…”

‘Like you do…’

Slingshot shuddered again amongst the storm-

His eyes watered without his permission…

He was going to DIE here… Wasn’t he…

He was going to die here… All alone…

Chapter Text

Slingshot leaned against the front counter, taking in shaky breaths as he watched his hands tremble, as he held himself up only by his own elbows, his last line of defense. There were no customers. Shuriken and Vine Staff were busy doing deliveries… Slingshot could afford this.

He could afford to not be okay…-

That was, until he heard that horrible little bell, the front door- a customer- seeing him barely functioning- it was the worst kind of impression- in a panic, Slingshot tried to sit up and look like he was okay for once in his life-

“Woah- Sling- it’s okay!” Skateboard’s voice- Slingshot felt a rush of relief as the inphernal- Skateboard, hurried up to the counter and caught Slingshot before he could slide off the counter itself- his entire body was trembling… What was he thinking trying to sit up again? Was he a moron? Of course he couldn’t take that right now-

“Easy, easy… Just try and breathe for me, okay?” Skateboard reassured as he pulled Slingshot close, hugging him, even over the counter- his focus on him… “I-... I’m a mess…” Slingshot felt himself whispering, confessing, losing his filter. Skateboard faltered before chuckling rather wearily. “A little… But we’re all a mess…”

“Just some people are better at hiding it… You know?”

Slingshot gave a shaky nod as he hugged Skateboard back. He didn’t know what to say for a while, just taking in the hug, the trembling was dying down, his breathing was slowing down. “It’s… Not as bad when you’re here…”

Why-

Why did he say that?

His face was already flushing red as he realized, and he pushed his face into Skateboard’s shoulder with a shaky breath. “Sorry- that was-”
“H-Hey- no- it’s okay, Sling- really-” Skateboard quickly stammered, but he sounded sheepish. “I- I mean-... It was…”

“Kinda sweet…”

Slingshot and Skateboard stood in that awkward silence for a while. A bit too long for Slingshot’s tastes, admittedly… But then… “I’m glad I can make it better…”

Slingshot couldn’t help but let out a slightly relieved sigh when he felt Skateboard’s hand, running up and down his back, a comforting motion. Slingshot, against his own instincts, shut his eyes and hugged Skateboard a little tighter. “I’m… So sorry…”

Skateboard paused in his movement, but then let out a huff as he kept going. “You apologize a lot more than you used to…” Slingshot opened his eyes and blinked, looking off behind Skateboard as that realization sunk in.

“I… Am sorry for that too…”

Skateboard chuckled. “Pfft- Sling, no! Quit apologizing, you dork,” Skateboard chirped as he gave Slingshot a playful noogie, causing Slingshot to groan slightly and push away, just a bit. “I’m sorryyyyy! I can’t help it! It’s just a thing I do!”

“Yeah! I can tell!” Skateboard continued to tease with another snicker, before pulling Slingshot close again and nuzzling his face, causing Slingshot to turn pink again and let out a sheepish flustered snicker.

But eventually, Skateboard sighed, easing up on the teases and smiling at Slingshot as he continued to hold him close. It was… Almost adoring- and strangely, Slingshot didn’t mind as much. He let out a soft sigh of his own, and then snuggled his face into Skateboard’s shoulder again and hugged him tight.

He was so lost in all the comfort that… He didn’t realize until now. The static… it was gone.

Maybe… He just needed a distraction…

A comfort…

Some company…

But he could never ask that of Skateboard.

It was the next day, and Slingshot was acting his usual exhausted and weary self at work. He was trying his best, but this just wasn’t working for him…

The bell dinged, and Slingshot sat up to greet the next customer-

“...Skateboard?” Slingshot couldn’t help but mutter with slight surprise, almost a disbelieving chuckle. Skateboard smiled in response and gave a quick wave. “Hey! Just thought I’d check in, see how you’re doing.”

…Seriously??

Slingshot had to shake himself out of it. Out of the confusion- but there weren’t any customers right now. It wasn’t like he was getting distracted from his job. There was this moment of nothing so-

So he talked.

He caught up with Skateboard, and Skateboard caught up with him-

And then a customer came by, and Skateboard moved aside and fell silent. Let Slingshot take care of the customer, and when they were taken care of, Skateboard was back to-... To making sure Slingshot was okay. To chatting. To filling that quiet void…

And when Slingshot closed the store…

He felt better.

The next day.

Slingshot’s feeling his body weakening… Broken… Trembling… His mind feels close to splitting open-

There’s Skateboard.

Slingshot’s still hurting, but there’s a muffle to his pain. He and Skateboard talk… Things feel okay again…

Another day… Same thing as before…

Why was Skateboard doing this?

He even brought Boombox along, and Slingshot was sure it’d be awkward- but it wasn’t. Slingshot just did his normal thing, but… He wasn’t alone.

He was okay. He did okay-

He had a support, and he was going to be okay…

Maybe-

Maybe he wasn’t unfixable…

Maybe he just… Needed someone…

Needed company…

Someone to fill the void.

Slingshot was opening up the cafe, but he did so cheerfully. He knew he wouldn’t be-

His phone buzzed. ‘Sorry, I can’t make it today. A lotta stuff going on :(‘

…

Skateboard wasn’t gonna be there…

Slingshot took in a shaky breath.

That was fine.

He would be fine…

This was… His chance to prove himself.

To prove that he could handle a single day-

Why did he feel nervous? As the customers came in, he could function while they were there, being given something to focus on, but… Every time he was alone, in the quiet, with no one to speak to, nothing to distract him, he felt… Anxious… His nails kept scratching against the counter, clicking to a non-existing beat. Antsy.

He felt antsy…

It was going to get bad- it was going to get worse-

Shuriken walked up beside Slingshot, rested his folded arms against the counter. Slingshot blinked in surprise, having gotten stuck in his mind a little, but then looked over. “Hey… If you want me to take over for a bit, I can do that, no sweat…” Shuriken started, looking off a little sheepish. Slingshot paused, but after a while, nodded.

“That… Would be appreciated. Thanks…”

Shuriken gave a quick sure nod, sat up straight, and pulled Slingshot in for a brief side hug, before breaking the hug and heading to the register. Slingshot still hesitated, but then turned to head for the kitchen.

Vine Staff was standing in there, looking at order tickets. When she realized Slingshot was there, she gave a quick greeting. “Lotta orders, huh?” Slingshot realized. Vine Staff nodded. “Yeah… But uh… If you can make it, I can read it out.” Slingshot nodded. “Solid plan.”

Vine Staff grabbed a few tickets, and Slingshot got his cooking set up going.

And… They did exactly that…

The void was harder to notice.

Slingshot missed having Skateboard or even Boombox, of course, but… Company was company… And…

He was learning how to move past this issue of his…

Seemed like his companions were too…

It was still a struggle, but it was doable.

Slingshot even felt a smile as he slid a tray of cookies into the oven, and Vine Staff walked over to watch the cookies rise from the heat, standing next to Slingshot.

She rested a hand against his shoulder, and he leaned into it a bit. This… This was doable. He could… He could do this.

Chapter Text

It was the weekend.

Slingshot had actually started looking forward to weekends again.

It was difficult for him initially, considering his instincts were to always continue checking those items off the list, to work from dawn to dusk, to never stop moving till you can’t move anymore…

Whenever he tried to get himself to finally take a break, it seemed like every waking thought was about how productive he could be, and how guilty he should feel for even daring to stop, even if it was just a few minutes.

Thankfully, that feeling had been less and less impactful.

It was like he was starting to get used to pushing those thoughts away. He did it once, and each time seemed easier and easier. Not to mention times where his friends, his family would DEMAND he stopped and take a breather. That helped too.

It even got to be a little amusing at times, seeing Vine Staff puff out her chest, cross her arms, and give him that VERY familiar look. How could he refuse?

And here it was. Another weekend to breathe. To step back. With Slingshot working so hard during the weeks, starting to feel better than ever, he’d been able to stay on top of it. Feeling guilty for enjoying the weekend was even less persistent when you weren’t behind, it turns out. And now, cause of it, the whole gang was here.

Slingshot, Shuriken, Vine Staff, Skateboard, Boombox, and Coil. They were all gonna meet up at an old diner that they used to all hang out at years back. Somehow, the name always slipped Slingshot’s mind… But he remembered it looking like your ordinary retro diner.

The funky checker floors, the zany-styled wallpaper, crazy with all kinds of deco and flowers all over… Slingshot remembered the place itself quite well. There were booths and stool seats- though he and his company usually stuck to the booths. They could sit three people one each side easily, and even up to five, if a bit snug.

Slingshot felt those memories rushing back as he, Shuriken, and Vine Staff got there early to check their reservation. Had to do that with how many people always came to this diner. Groups of varying numbers. Perhaps Slingshot wasn’t the only one with a love for the past…

Either way, Slingshot and his roomies walked inside and were greeted with the smells of all sorts. Toast, pancakes, pizza, burgers… With so many different items, you’d think the smells would clash, but somehow it just made Slingshot all the more hungrier.

Food sounded great. He’d been putting off eating again- just so he wouldn’t be full when they got here. He always made sure to specify that if he brought it up. His friends were still a bit guarded about it, though for understandable reason… Slingshot shook himself out of his thoughts as Vine Staff walked up to the register and began to talk to the cashier.

Shuriken and Slingshot both waited, letting Vine Staff handle it. Their eyes met for a brief moment, with Shuriken giving a cheeky grin and wave, and Slingshot snickering a bit as he waved back.

After Vine Staff confirmed the reservation, the cashier grabbed six menus and led them all to a good sized booth. They all sat down on one side, with Vine Staff closer to the window and Slingshot on the outside.

Slingshot opened up his phone when the cashier left to head back to their booth. Slingshot opened his messages with Skateboard, and couldn’t help but smile a bit when he saw the newest text. ‘Omw with the gang :D’

It wouldn’t be much longer…

Sure enough, about ten minutes later, they saw Skateboard, Boombox, and Coil walking in. They found the booth Slingshot and co. were situated at, and quickly sat down as well, with Coil sitting closest to the window, Skateboard next to him, and Boombox at the end.

It didn’t take long for the group to start chattering again, talking and catching up between ordering drinks.

Slingshot was mostly listening idly, feeling less talkative, but engaged nonetheless. No one seemed to mind either, focused on their own conversations.

“Hey Skate. You ever pull off that ‘triple kickflip’ thing you were yappin about the other day?” Shuriken chirped with a smirk. Skateboard blinked in surprise, before looking off and chuckling awkwardly. “Yeahhhh… Working on it-” Coil snickered, “He fell off his board again,” he cut in, grinning as he looked off towards the window.

Skateboard flushed red almost immediately and let out a gasp. “Dude! I did NOT!” Coil pulled Skateboard in for a playful headlock and noogied him against his will as he let out an indignant squeak. “Boom, he TOTALLY fell off his board, right?” Coil continued to tease between chuckles, which were starting to blend in with Slingshot and Shuriken’s snickers. Boombox looked off with a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of his neck. “Y-Yeah…” He mumbled.

Skateboard managed to push Coil off of him with a scoff. “You know how embarrassing it is to have your gear be a SKATEBOARD and to still fall off?” he muttered, and then crossed his arms.

Despite the ‘glare’ there was a smirk behind it, and considering the way Coil smirked back at him, giving him a playful eyeroll, the two were messing with each other.

By this point, everybody had their food already.

It was a strange mix of breakfast and lunch for the most part, with some of the group ordering things like pancakes or eggs, and some ordering things like burgers or tacos. Slingshot was always a breakfast fan even at odd times like- He checked his phone for a moment.

2:37…

They were doing fine on time.

It wasn’t like anyone had anywhere in particular to be. It WAS the weekend, after all. That being said, Slingshot still had his habit of checking the time-

The lightheadedness wasn’t helping either.

Slingshot figured he just wasn’t drinking as much water as he thought he was, but it seemed like every sip made it worse somehow- and it… Made his stomach kind of hurt… Which was weird? But so help him if Slingshot ended up being the reason this weekend hangout went south. Everyone was almost done with their food.

It wouldn’t be-

“Sling, hey. You okay? You’re kinda zonin out there…” Shuriken mumbled quiet, so only he and Slingshot could hear. A gentle nudge to the arm, jolting Slingshot out of his thoughts. He glanced down at the table, where he had his arms folded subtly on the table and…

His hands were already starting to shake?

No- no this wasn’t… This was bad…

Slingshot urged himself to take a slow calm breath in and out, and glanced back at Shuriken and gave him a steady nod. He looked surer than he felt, but Shuriken didn’t need to know that… But maybe he did.

Shuriken wasn’t backing down at first, looking at Slingshot for a long time. “You… Know you can let me know if something’s going on… Right?”

Slingshot’s hands fidgeted, one grabbing the other and holding it nervously, but he nodded.

Shuriken still faltered-

He wasn’t stupid…

But he turned back to the conversation and hesitantly got back into it again, even if Slingshot could feel his gaze on him every so often. Slingshot just had to get through a few more minutes… He’d be fine…

He was not fine.

Slingshot’s stomach was churning and all he could do was pray that it wasn’t obvious- but between him clawing into his arm, subtle or not, or the way his eyes kept moving around the room, instinctively looking for exits, getaways-

He wasn’t fine…

His fight or flight was already getting triggered, and that static was coming back as well. He could have sworn he cracked the case to why this happened, how to stop it-

So WHY was this HAPPENING to him NOW???

“Sling- hey-”

Shuriken again-

Don’t panic- stop panicking-

“I’m fine-”

Too forced-

“I just-”

He stood up suddenly, stepping out- his hands were shaking so bad it was so obvious- he shoved them in his pockets. “Gonna head to the restroom real quick-” He stammered with a shaky grin- he didn’t dare meet anyone's gaze. He knew what they looked like…

Before anyone could argue, he hurried off.

One good thing about having history with the place? Slingshot knew exactly where he was going. He quickly hurried in, and took in a shaky breath as he stepped inside- it was a private room. Slingshot quickly shut the door behind him and locked it, walked up to the sink-

He leaned against it, shuddering bad- so so bad…

When did he get so pale? So sweaty? Did they catch that? Oh gosh, all the possibilities, all the tells… Every time he thought he was getting better he just got WORSE-

Something… Crawled up his skin suddenly…

Something dark, and shadowy-

Crawl wasn’t the right word… It slithered…

It was under his skin, yet it darkened it, spreading up from his shoulder blade- up his neck, up and around his eye like a strike of lightning, but as fast as a black mamba… Slingshot shuddered- the nausea worsened-

WHAT is that…?

He hovered a shaky finger or two over the mark as he stood there, looking in the mirror, breath hitching and stopping- he was scared to touch it- it didn’t look… Right… The more he looked at it, the less it looked like it was UNDER his skin, and the more it looked like it was OVER. Like a coat of paint- but it wasn’t paint…

It was tar…

He was scared it would hurt him…

What if it did?

Slingshot finally took in a shaky breath and let it out. His two fingers gently touched the mark, so lightly it shouldn’t have stung- but it did. He pulled back with a hiss, but there wasn’t anything on his fingers, and the mark didn’t worsen- why did it feel like-...

It was wrong…

It felt slick, like slime. Wet but with no trace.

Cold.

It felt cold-

Slingshot was shivering- he felt cold.

A thought suddenly occurred to him…

Slingshot brought his hand to the collar of his hoodie, and gave it a gentle tug-

The mark extended… It covered his shoulder, a bit of his upper arm, and the area where his closest ribs were… It must have spread from there, and if it just suddenly slithered all that distance, either it was working in bursts, or Slingshot had a new problem to worry about.

But as Slingshot stood there, staring at his new problem with wide, terrified eyes, the mark didn’t spread. And after about a minute, Slingshot sighed in relief as the better outcome seemed true. There were bursts of spread. Which… Was still spreading, but a little less scary.

Or maybe it was more scary?

It was less scary in the moment-

There was a knock.

Skateboard couldn’t help but feel anxious.

“Sling? You okay? You been in there for a while…”

Skateboard could feel something was off. Everyone was acting weird about it, and Skateboard couldn’t tell why. Boombox staying nervously silent, something that was becoming normal. Coil saying it wasn’t any of their business, in a gentle truthful sort of way, but Skateboard KNEW he was concerned too- not to mention he didn’t know the situation as well as the rest of them did. Shuriken and Vine Staff had seen how bad it had gotten, but for some reason they seemed to want to give Slingshot space, like- what, were they scared he’d get mad at them or something?!

Already, Slingshot was taking too long to respond…

Skateboard gave another firm knock against the bathroom door. “Slingshot- seriously. Are you okay?” Skateboard was failing to hide his nervousness for the life of him as he stammered.

“S-Sorry- yeah- uh…”

Skateboard almost sighed in relief at Slingshot’s voice- he sounded weary. But geez, at least he was alive…

“C-Can you get Boombox?”

…

What?

Skateboard shook his head and blinked a few times, wondering if he heard right- that was… A weird request, right? Skateboard was right here- he could help! Right?

Maybe his silence was loud-

“It’s not- anything against you or- anything… He just- it’s hard to explain…”

Skateboard paused, thinking over Slingshot’s words- confusion still lingered. Being completely honest, it sounded like a weird cop-out.

…One that may have to do with Boombox’s recent awkward behavior…

“Hit me,” Skateboard couldn’t help but snark in response, crossing his arms and leaning against the door.

Slingshot was silent for an uncomfortably long time, causing Skateboard to slowly slip into concern again. When he glanced back at the door, though- “Boombox wouldn’t know how to explain it to you either…”

So he did know…

He knew something Skateboard didn’t know- possibly something even Shuriken and Vine Staff didn’t either…

Skateboard opened his mouth, but he found himself closing it. Thinking longer. “...Skateboard?”

“Can you unlock the door?” Skateboard quickly cut in, interrupting whatever Slingshot was about to ask, but tried his best to keep his voice gentle, even through the firmness- it was kind of hard, considering Skateboard had no idea what kind of state Slingshot was in-

Which definitely made his anxiety worse.

Slingshot was silent for another pause.

But then the door clicked as it unlocked, causing Skateboard to leap back in surprise, before starting to reach for the doorknob-

“Don’t panic, okay?”

Slingshot’s words didn’t bode well.

“Or- at least… Try not to…”

Even worse.

Skateboard opened the door slowly, but the moment it was open enough to sneak him inside, Slingshot did the favor for him, yanking him by the arm and slamming the door behind him so fast that everything was a blur.

Just for a second or two.

Wait- Sling-

He didn’t look good… He looked quite horrible, actually. Pale, sweaty, trembly as hell- worse than that day he wasn’t eating… Skateboard was already feeling the concern slither into his heart- his heart, which was starting to break into two-

And then he saw the mark-

His breath hitched, his voice choked, he took a panicked step forward- “Sling- what-”
“I said don’t panic-” Slingshot stammered with a nervous shaky grin. Skateboard blinked, wide-eyed, and then…

“How am I supposed to be NOT-PANICKING right now?!”

Shuriken, Vine Staff, Coil, and Boombox all sat awkwardly, the equivalent of nervously twiddling their thumbs. Shuriken was starting to feel suspicious. He couldn’t even lie. Especially with how Boombox seemed to be getting more and more nervous as the seconds ticked on, more like he was a ticking time bomb about to explode.

Vine Staff cleared her throat, before mumbling quietly; “Should we…?-”
“I’m on it-” Boombox suddenly stammered, quickly getting up with a shaky grin and heading off in the direction of the restrooms… The three remaining all blinked in slight confusion, and DEFINITELY some awkwardness.

“So that was suspicious, right?” Coil chirped with a grin-

Great company…

There was another knock on the door. Slingshot and Skateboard exchanged an anxious glance. “W-Who is it?” Slingshot asked, walking up to the door and hesitantly putting the side of his head against it.

“Uh… Slingshot. D-Did you see Skate?”
“Yeah. He’s- uh… He’s here.”

There was silence as Boombox processed this, no doubt confused. Slingshot and Boombox agreed a long while back to keep everyone out of this, including Skateboard.

This secret was becoming harder and harder to keep quiet about though, and thus, here we are.

“He’s- he’s in there? With- uh- can I-”
“Y-Yeah, hold on…” Slingshot answered, then took a careful set back, looking cautiously at the front door. Slingshot’s eyes briefly moved to Skateboard, and then back to the door. “You open it…” He muttered under his breath. Skateboard blinked in surprise, and turned to face Slingshot fully, very evidently put-on-the-spot.

“W-Wait- me? Why-”
“Because I don’t want MY face to be the first thing he sees…” Slingshot snarked with a glare, waving a hand at the mark, which quickly shut Skateboard up. After a few seconds, he let out a frustrated sigh, and then approached the door. He paused, but then reached his hand for the knob, opened the door, and quickly pulled Boombox inside. He shut the door fast, but slowed it at the last second to avoid slamming it.

The reaction was instant-

Boombox let out a panicked eep as he saw the mark on Slingshot’s face. “It got worse?!” He yelped in panic, before blinking and staring wide-eyed as he registered what he said- and Skateboard registered too-

“Wait… You knew about this?!” Skateboard yelped in equal disbelief, almost glaring at boombox, but feeling guilt when Boombox seemed to shrink. “H-He told me not to tell-” Skateboard face palmed and groaned in his hand. “And you LISTENED?” Skateboard pulled his hand away to look at Boombox with this sort of exasperated worry.

Boombox couldn’t meet Skateboard’s eyes for the life of him, looking off and nodding sheepishly. “It… Was a lot… And he was very convincing…” Slingshot stood between the two, and admittedly, he was struggling to untense through the arguing the two were at for a moment.

“But- I swear, it wasn’t doing that! He was just- not feeling great-”

“Not ‘feeling great’?” Skateboard echoed in slight judgement. “He kept throwing up…” Boombox finally confessed with a sigh. “That still happening?” Skateboard asked as he glanced at Slingshot, who knew when a secret was a lost cause. He gave a weary nod.

“It’s not still- you know… Weird looking… Right?” Boombox had to ask, with Slingshot shrugging in response. “Last time it was like, three in the morning. I haven’t got a clue…” Skateboard turned to look at Slingshot sharp. “Geez, Sling! What are you doing up at three in the morning?-”

“It was a WHILE ago, Skate… My sleep schedule was fucked back then…” Slingshot cut in and gave Skateboard that annoyed look. Skateboard raised his hands in mild surrender, but the worry was still there.

“Okay- but it wasn’t- like-”
“All over my face?” Slingshot wondered sarcastically as he gestured to the mark again. Skateboard gave a shaky nod. “Yeah… It wasn’t like THAT back then, either. Right?” He asked. Boombox nodded and hummed in response. “Yeah, this is definitely new…” Slingshot confirmed with a nod as well.

“And who knows?”

Slingshot paused, and put a hand to his chin, furrowing a brow. “Pretty much everyone besides Coil’s seen me as a wreck, but Boombox was the only one who knew about the weird- uh, you know what… And I guess…” He looked up at Skateboard. “I guess you too, now.”

Skateboard faltered, nervous, and then let out a long sigh while leaning back against the wall and crossing his arms. “You DO realize this is gonna have to get shared. Right?”

The room fell silent.

There was an awkward tension between the three people in that room, and the implications of Skateboard’s words did NOT make it any smoother for either of them.

Slingshot fidgeted nervously, and eventually, he just couldn’t stay silent any longer. “Skateboard… I don’t think that’s a good idea…” Skateboard scoffed. “Course you don’t. Dude, this needs to get fixed. It’s clearly doing a number on you.” Boombox looked off and rubbed the back of his head as he thought for a moment.

“Y-Yeah… But Slingshot said Vine Staff wouldn’t be able to help…” Slingshot nodded. “Knowing this next stage of whatever’s going on with me? I’m even MORE certain of that.” Skateboard let out a scoff of seeming disbelief as he looked between the two.

“Are-... Are you two hearing yourselves?! Alright if Vine can’t help. Doesn’t mean we should just give up! Sling, I’m not even sure how much more of this you can handle-”

“I’ve been wanting to hurl for the past five minutes… Trust me, Skateboard… I am VERY aware of how much I CAN’T handle…” Slingshot growled through a gritted-teeth grin. It was forced and pained beyond recognition.

Skateboard furrowed a brow in response, however. He was almost unfazed. “Right. Yeah. So we need to find a solution. Sitting around and watching it get worse isn’t doing you any favors. That much is obvious.”

“But where would we even start with stuff like that?” Boombox started wondering, and his question left the room in silence again. Because truly, what even WAS this? It was a cripple no one’s ever seen-

Wait…

“It looks like a curse to me,” Skateboard pointed out, and upon another glance… Yeah. The way it spread over Slingshot’s skin like that- but it was so much more than just appearance… It AFFECTED him… And he shuddered at the thought. “So we need a curse doctor?”

Skateboard nodded. “Yeah. I’d say that, or any doctor who works with weird, not-normal diseases.”

“How are we gonna find THAT?” Slingshot couldn’t help but ask, raising a brow. “Isn’t that stuff like… REALLY underground?” Skateboard dimmed a bit, and Boombox did too. “Slingshot, I hate to say it, but… This is where telling everyone what’s going on is probably a good direction.”

Oh great-

“I mean, if we all know about it, we can all keep our ears open. Follow leads. Figure out where we need to go-”

“Yeah. And have everyone looking at me like I’m made of glass. No thanks…” Slingshot snarked almost as soon as Skateboard’s voice died out, causing him to flinch.

But then he flared.

“Slingshot- what are you so SCARED of? It’s NORMAL for your friends to worry about you, y’know!” Skateboard almost snapped, but cut himself off at the end, holding his face in his hands and groaning again-

Slingshot was causing that-

Slingshot was causing his frustration…

Every moment Slingshot thought he was doing better, helping them, doing them a favor and being considerate, he was making it worse-

“I know that look… Don’t even start it…” Skateboard muttered, looking at Slingshot with a mix of weariness and almost… Affection… Pained affection… He sighed, then leaned against the wall again. “It’s the ‘I feel like a screw up again and like I’ve ruined everything for everyone’ look, and once you start going down those thoughts, it’s always hard to yank you back…”

With that TOTALLY not-a-callout remark made, it DID pull Slingshot out of it for a moment, him staring at Skateboard with a mix of shock and impress, and then looking off with a sheepish expression.

He already felt his defenses starting to soften after Boombox walked up to him and gave him a big bear hug, and he cuddled into it almost immediately. Skateboard let out a huff, before pushing off from the wall and walking over to join the hug sesh.

For a moment, the three just kind of stayed like that.

No one broke the hug, but Boombox paused nervous again. “Wait- so… What now?” Skateboard and Slingshot exchanged a glance, and Skateboard sighed.

“Look. I’ll tell them everything… Boom, get Sling outta here, and we’ll be right with ya after I’m done explaining things and paying for the check n alla that. Kay?” Boombox gave a nod as they broke the hug.

“Wait- but Skateboard- what about the…” Slingshot gestured at his face, anxious, but was caught off guard when Skateboard pulled up his hood and adjusted it to cover his face. “Just keep your hood up, don’t let it fall down. Might be a little suspicious, but if you don’t start lookin like you’re about to rob someone, you two’ll probably be fine…”

Slingshot mulled over Skateboard’s words, and then nodded as he pulled his hood over a little closer.

“Hey. Listen…” Skateboard cut in again, resting a hand each on Slingshot and Boombox’s shoulders.

“We’re gonna get through this, okay? Might be a little messy, but I swear. We’ll get through this, and everything’ll go back to normal. You two hear me?”

Slingshot and Boombox exchanged a glance, and both nodded.

They were gonna get through this…

On Skateboard’s word.

Chapter Text

Their plan was in motion. Boombox pulled Slingshot close and they walked slow and careful, towards the front door to leave. Skateboard walked back to the booth where they were all originally sitting.

Slingshot’s eyes darted around nervous and panicked, and he kept close to Boombox. Sure enough, everything went fine. He wasn’t exactly sure where in his mind he thought it wouldn’t be, considering leaving an establishment wasn’t a crime, but his stomach still churned with anxiety-

And probably whatever this horrible curse was…

When they stepped out, Slingshot felt a weight leave his shoulders, and instinctively pulled Boombox closer and into a full hug. Boombox hardly resisted, quickly hugging him back. There was a definitive pressure comfort to it…

Eventually, Boombox broke the hug and led Slingshot to a bench, and when the two sat down, the nausea was already starting to ease up, much to Slingshot’s relief. They’d wait there until Skateboard and the rest of the group got back. Things would be fine… Probably.

“So what the heck’s going on?” Coil couldn’t help but ask, his curiosity starting to kill him as he held his head up on folded arms. “Yeah, is Slingshot okay?” Vine Staff asked with her own nervousness, and Shuriken nodded quickly, wondering the same thing. Skateboard let out a long anxious sigh as he sat down and pulled out his wallet.

He’d offered to pay for the lunch visit in advance, and though it was frankly a war to convince them all, none of them tried to stop him now. Everyone at the table had different priorities at the moment, and Skateboard had already expressed his stubbornness on this matter.

Even with that fact, he felt a flicker of relief when he only had to worry about explaining Slingshot’s state, which was already a difficult conversation to have WITHOUT distractions. He put down the bux needed on the checkbook, and leaned back in his booth seat.

“It’s a lot to get into, I’ll warn ya. Sling’s really not doing great…”

There was understandable silence at the table, everyone feeling their own form of ‘oh no’...

“I-... I thought he was startin to do better…” Shuriken stammered, looking off and rubbing at his wrist, seemingly an anxious stim. Skateboard nodded. “He was. Is, actually… Just, whatever’s infecting him is getting worse…”

Vine Staff furrowed a brow at Skateboard’s words. “You said ‘infecting’...” Skateboard nodded again, a bit sheepishly. “Yeahhh… Apparently Slingshot and Boombox have been keepin quiet about somethin. The likely cause for all of what’s been going on. It’s news to me too…”

More silence, as this fact sinks in. Once again, Coil, Shuriken, and Vine Staff all experiencing their own forms of dread. Sinking dread, that Skateboard hated to say he was becoming familiar with.

“Something tells me it isn’t the flu…” Coil mutters, leaning back and crossing his arms. Skateboard looked off and rubbed the back of his head, feeling that sheepishness return. “Slingshot's convinced Vine Staff can’t cure it. Guessing one of the reasons he persuaded Boombox to go all hush hush bout it…” Vine Staff and Shuriken exchanged a knowing glance.

“You think it might be a curse?” Shuriken offered, folding his arms on the table and leaning forward a bit. “That’s what we’re all kinda thinkin, yeah. It’s… Not normal…” Skateboard confessed with a wince. “How ‘not normal’?” Vine Staff asks, her tone cautious.

Skateboard hesitates. He knew he’d have to talk about the scarier parts of this whole thing, but he hadn’t really afforded himself the time to think about it. He didn’t want to. The idea of talking about it was scary enough.

“Uh… According to Boombox, he was throwin up a whole lot… And uh…” Oh gosh. Skateboard was already starting to fidget. “Come on. Spit it out, man…” Coil muttered, though his eyes were sympathetic. Skateboard took a breath in and then let it out. “The curse part? It’s… Spreading. I don’t know what the pace is, or how far it’s progressed, but… Man, it’s covering one of his eyes already…” The silence at the table was to be expected.

But it wasn’t as bad as Skateboard thought it would be.

Sure, he expected the nervousness, the understandable dread. But he also expected SOMEONE to get upset, to start bombarding him with dozens of questions he didn’t have the answer to. This? This was okay. Sorta.

“So we need to find someone, and preferably fast…” Vine Staff cut in after the silence had gone on for longer than it should have. That was such a Vine Staff response. Always trying to get into action and make a plan when there was a problem that needed it.

“Anyone happen to know a curse doctor?” Skateboard asked with a nervous grin and shrug. “That feels weird…” Coil muttered, looking off and furrowing a brow. A fair response, considering Skateboard had no idea where to even start, and he was sure he wasn’t the only one. But then, Shuriken nodded. “Lost Temple’s pretty weird.”

“I-... I suppose?” Vine Staff mumbled, not very convinced and more confused. Shuriken shrugged. “I’ve heard about a lotta weird things and a lotta weird people from that place.” Now Coil and Skateboard couldn’t help but exchange a glance. “You have?” The both asked in surprise.

“When you’re a guy like me? Definitely!” Shuriken chirped with a cheeky grin as he leaned back and folded his arms behind his head rather casually. “Now what on Inpherno is THAT supposed to mean?” Vine Staff asked with a chuckle. Shuriken simply shrugged. “If you know, you know. So anyway! I hear there’s this inphernal who has ties to the afterlife and fate and alla that junk.”

“And that would help how exactly?” Coil wondered as he raised a brow. “Heard their stuff actually works. Even heard that some of these good luck charms have saved peoples lives,” Shuriken offered. “Okay, sounds kinda sketchy though. You’ve gotta admit…” Skateboard pointed out, furrowing a brow and putting a hand to his chin as he thought. “I guess? But like, worst case scenario, what. We tried?” Shuriken ALSO pointed out, making Skateboard pause.

He glanced over at Coil, and Coil unhelpfully shrugged.

Vine Staff sighed. “I’m not one for black magic, but if there’s a chance that it could at least slow down or pause the process, that could buy us more time-” Shuriken sat up suddenly and smirked- “IF it works…” Vine Staff cut in early, smirking back but narrowing her eyes skeptically.

“Alright, so we have a plan. At least for now. Where’s Boombox and Slingshot right now?” Coil asked, turning to face Skateboard. “Had em head outside and wait for us there while I explained things to you guys.” Shuriken paused. “Should we worry about someone seeing the curse?” Skateboard shook his head immediately. “We kept Sling’s hood up, and they’re quiet people. They’ll be fine.”

“But we should probably join em and fill them in, come to think about it…” Skateboard realized, as he got up from the booth. The others followed suit, nodding.

Skateboard, Coil, Shuriken, and Vine Staff all left the diner to join Boombox and Slingshot. They, of course, filled the two in, but Slingshot was quickly feeling anxious about the idea. “Woah- hold on. Traveling to and through another faction? One no one here has ever been to? I mean- not mention I’m sure you guys have your lives and whatnot. I mean- what about the cafe?”

“I can stay behind to take care of things. It’s okay, Slingshot,” Vine Staff quickly offered with a smile. “Vine- you know I couldn’t ask that of you…” Slingshot responded, furrowing a brow in evident concern, but Vine Staff’s look shut him up almost immediately. “I’m sorry, Slingshot. But I’m not budging on this. The cafe’s not that hard to manage, either. So no excuses!” She chirped with a chuckle, causing Slingshot to let out an exasperated sigh.

“I don’t think Coil or I really have anything going on in the next week or two, so…” Skateboard chirped, glancing over at Coil with a smile, and Coil crossed his arms and nodded, smiling back.

“Yup, clear schedule. We’ll come along to make sure you two don’t get picked off by vultures~” Skateboard snickered at Coil’s snark, and sent a light punch to his arm causing him to step back and snicker as well, before pulling Skateboard into a playful headlock.

“Wha- hey, no! That was totally deserved! Let go!” Skateboard yapped between laughs, trying to push Coil off. Boombox couldn’t help but snicker as well, and gave an affectionate eyeroll, then glanced over at Slingshot.

“Good thing about my music career is that it’s very travel-friendly. I’m coming along as well.” Slingshot paused but then smiled and nodded. He gave a gentle 'thank you' nudge, and Boombox returned it.

“Sis, you want me to stay and help you out?” Shuriken checked, a bit nervous for the same reason Slingshot was. Vine Staff let out a soft huff, smiling at her brother and shaking her head lightly as she squeezed his shoulder, a comfort gesture he was used to. “Nah, you should go with him too. Sling’s right about Lost Temple. It’s a place none of you have gone and it’s bound to be dangerous. You’ll be stronger in numbers.”

Shuriken looked hesitant, but eventually nodded, and then he sighed as he got back into serious mode.

“Okay, to recap… Vine’s staying at Thieves Rest. So it’s Slingshot, Skateboard, Coil, Boombox, and myself. Right?” Everyone nodded at Shuriken’s recap. “Cool… Cool…” Shuriken muttered, but the idea of this long trip was slowly starting to sink in, and so was his growing anxiety.

He was breaking into a slight nervous sweat, and rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh… We should probably do a day of packing. We don’t know how long this trip’ll take…” Coil nodded. “Not a bad plan. I hear Lost Temple’s a desert. We’ll wanna bring lots of water for the road ahead.” Skateboard also nodded. “Probably dress light too.”

They all discussed various things to pack, and with that, they all broke off to their respective places to prepare. They scheduled that they’d start heading to Lost Temple early in the morning to get a head start.

All they could do was prepare to the best of their ability.

Chapter Text

The morning of the next day came before Slingshot realized it. He woke up early, though a bit groggy. It was like every blink was a fast forward of time. One moment, he was sitting in bed, wanting more than anything to just flop back down and sleep for a couple more hours…

Blink.

Now he stood in the kitchen still tired, but on his own two feet at least, as he watched Shuriken and Vine Staff talking, hugging goodbye, soon he would too-

Blink.

Now he stood outside the door of his apartment. He still felt tired, and the weirdest thing is that he couldn’t remember how last night happened. Did he get a good sleep? Did he struggle like he used to before? He wasn’t sure-

Blink-

He almost fell… Only held up by Shuriken, who quickly stepped forward and wrapped arms around Slingshot’s middle as Slingshot blinked blearily at the ground, his arms dangling. “Geez, Sling… We’re just starting and you’re already feeling out of it?” Shuriken mumbled nervously, he was worried, even as he pulled Slingshot up again and slung one of Slingshot’s arms over his shoulder.

“S-Sorry…” Slingshot could only stammer, leaning against Shuriken a bit more than he’d like as they eventually managed to walk. “It’s-... It’s fine, man. Nothing you can control… Just… Hold onto me, kay?” He mustered, holding Slingshot close to make sure he wouldn’t fall over again.

Shuriken pulled out his phone and looked at it, and then glanced at Slingshot. “You wanna get some coffee on the way or somethin?” Slingshot thought for a moment, but then nodded. “Yeah… Coffee sounds great, actually…”

Slingshot and Shuriken finally made it to the meeting spot, a small outdoor seating area near the Lost Temple gate. They found a spot to sit and were drinking some coffees, and already, Slingshot was starting to feel like his normal self. He dreaded the inevitable crash, but this caffeine rush would last him most of the day, and most of the day was probably going to be a monorail ride anyway. There was quite a distance, and the walking only began once they were in the actual region.

And as such, Slingshot took another sip of his coffee and sighed in momentary content. “Feelin better?” Shuriken asked with a small smile as he took a sip of his own drink, and Slingshot quickly nodded, smiling back. “Yeah, much better.” There was a brief moment of, well… It was almost awkward silence, mostly from them both running out of things to say.

They both sat in that silence for a bit. Then Shuriken broke the silence. “So… Uh… Was it nightmares again?” The silence lingered again. Slingshot felt his gaze drifting off, eyes watching the inphernals walking by. “No… Not really,” He answered, voice quiet. He sounded uncertain, and he felt so as well. “I don’t think so, anyway…?”

Shuriken’s mind seemed to pause, and he slowly turned to look at Slingshot, even going so far as to turn his head to the side a little, confused. “Don’t think so?” Slingshot shrugged, but still couldn’t meet Shuriken’s eyes. “It feels like a weird blur… Can’t really remember last night…”

“Not even if you had a good sleep?” Shuriken couldn’t help but mumble, audibly a bit concerned. It was fair, but Slingshot didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know how to respond. All these weird things that kept happening to him were starting to feel more and more normal.

That wasn’t a good thing…

Slingshot sighed.
“Yeah. Not even that.”

The silence returned again, and now Shuriken couldn’t meet his eyes either. They both watched the people walking by, and then Slingshot caught in the corner of his eye, Shuriken pulling his phone out. “Looks like Skate’s on his way. They’re picking up Boombox first though.”

Slingshot gave a nod as he turned his cup in his hands. Most of the cup was empty by this point. “They got an eta on it?” He asked as he carefully got up and walked over to one of the nearby bins, chucking it in. Shuriken scrolled down on his phone, and raised a brow.

“Ten minutes.”

Even Slingshot couldn’t help but blink in slight surprise. “That’s not too long,” he realized, and Shuriken nodded. “Not long at all. Sounds like we’ll be on the rails soon.” Slingshot heard Shuriken’s words and instinctively turned to look at the giant building with the Lost Temple symbol on it. They’d go and check-in with their tickets, get on board, and… Just like that, their journey started there.

Slingshot walked back to the table and sat down.

They both waited… Silent.

Soon this would all be over…

Hopefully.

Skateboard and Coil walked through Playground. They were quickly approaching the Crossroads gate.

Leave Playground, pick up Boombox, head to Lost Temple gate. That’s all they had to do, and then the whole gang was together- almost… The whole gang…

Skateboard felt a little bad that they were all leaving Vine Staff to tend to the Cafe, Slingshot especially looking guilty about it, but Vine Staff assured them all she could handle it no problem. Still feels weird though…

This whole thing felt weird.

Skateboard felt a nudge from the person who walked beside him. A glance over, Coil was looking at him, almost worried. It wasn’t a familiar look, and Skateboard couldn’t help but glance off with a quiet sheepish chuckle.

“I’m alright. Just thinking…” Coil seemed to falter, as if thinking over Skateboard’s words, and then nodded. “Okay… I know it’s a lot. You just looked a lil lost…” Skateboard let out a quiet hum, thinking for a moment, but then smiled and nudged Coil back.

“It is, and I kinda am… But I got you guys, and you guys got me. That’s all we need, right?” Coil blinked, but then snickered and nodded. “Got that right…”

The two walked through the front doors of the gate, and as the doors shut behind them, they continued to walk. It didn’t take them long to get their tickets, head to the Sky Lift, and get seated. Crossroads was right there. It wouldn’t be long till they were all together again.

Boombox was packing the last of his things, his mind swimming with all kinds of thoughts. There were many thoughts. Some were admittedly pretty ordinary. ‘Am I forgetting anything?’ ‘Did I pack enough?’ ‘I hope this all fits’. But some consisted of those familiar worries he’d been getting a lot of lately. ‘I hope Sling’s okay…’ ‘What if something bad happens to one of us?’ ‘Coil was joking about those vultures- right…?’ He shook his head as he zipped up one of the pockets of his backpack.

He grabbed it by one of the arm straps, slung it over one arm, and brought it to the kitchen area. He set it down on the counter, and left it there as he opened a cupboard, grabbed a tall water bottle, and filled it with ice water as high as he could before putting on the cap and twisting it shut. Air tight so no water would leak.

He brought the bottle with him as he returned to the backpack, and with some pulling and stretching, he managed to get the bottle into the water bottle holder. It was a bit snug, since this was one of the bigger bottles he had, but it fit well, and it’d be a good source of hydration for sure.

Boombox pulled open a drawer and grabbed his wallet, and then opened one of the smaller pockets of the backpack, before tossing the wallet inside and zipping it closed. Boombox took the backpack and slung it on both arms, then grabbed his keys off of the counter. He was just about to approach the door when he heard a knock.

“Perfect timing,” Boombox mumbled to himself with a small smile as he walked up to the door and opened it. Skateboard and Coil were standing there, as Boombox predicted. “Ready to go?” Skateboard asked with a grin and a thumbs up. Boombox nodded with a smile of his own, and then walked through, turned to shut the door, and lock it up. With that, the three started walking again.

To the Lost Temple gate they go.

Everyone was together now. They all said their greetings, walked up to the ticket booth, got their tickets checked, and walked through the small metal gate. They all walked up on the monorail and found a booth. Before anyone knew, they were all sitting down at this booth, watching as the last of the inphernals get on board, and the monorail begins to move. Everything in the window becomes a blur. Slingshot already feels himself zoning out, drifting off, mind going silent as his eyes linger on the window, the blur, everything becoming colors-

He feels a nudge. Only his eyes move, down to the source of the touch. Shuriken next to him nudged his arm with his own. Slingshot quietly takes Shuriken’s wrist in his and squeezes it. ‘I’m fine’. Shuriken squeezes back, a small smile, but a smile nonetheless. He’s relieved. So is Slingshot. No one else notices, it’s just their unspoken words. Their silent communication, and the reassurances that follow those words.

Slingshot forces himself to take in a deep breath and then let it out. He starts to tune in again as he notices Skateboard, Coil, and Boombox having a conversation, and even Shuriken joins in too. Slingshot lets out a quiet chuckle as he begins to listen to their chatter, quietly enjoying the energy that was present. It gave him something to focus on.

Slingshot glances at the window again, and he can’t help but smile as the world moves.

They’d get there, get him fixed, and everything would finally go back to normal. They were almost done with this whole thing. He could feel it.

Chapter Text

The void…

Slingshot’s least favorite place…

He hardly got to think this thought, before searing ache suddenly flared. He was already falling to his knees, already letting out a cry of pain, already clutching his side, his flank, eyes snapped shut as he cried and cried.

It started loud, but broke into quiet whimpers-

HE broke into quiet whimpers from the sheer pain of it all- it was like getting stabbed, the knife sliding through his flesh with ease- there was no blood… He wasn’t getting stabbed- this was irrational. He opened his eyes to see… Eyes. Eyes everywhere, watching him cry out- shadows emerged from the void, outlined in red light, watching him.

Their words were muffled, but it sounded like eerie little coos, little awes, sounds of sympathy, but they did nothing. They just watched and watched and watched. Some got closer, he could have sworn it was to get a better look… He snapped his eyes shut again, but now there was a nauseating sickness telling him that the stares continued, whether he could see them or not.

“Sling- Sling it’s okay-” a familiar voice suddenly called out, and Slingshot opened his eyes with a quiet nervous gasp as- darkness, darkness everywhere-

His head and arms were down against the table, and he heard a scratch as one of his hands dragged against the table, an instinctive panicked motion, but the nails kept dragging against wood anyway, the pain was still continuing and it was his only brace-

He felt arms wrapped tightly around his middle, almost muffling the pain if it weren’t so agonizing- it had to be Shuriken. He was the one who sat next to Slingshot, so it had to be-

He looked up to see the three Playgrounders still asleep- thank god, but also oh no, because another wave of pain already had him whimpering again as he snapped his eyes shut and shoved his face against the table. It hurt. It hurt so bad. “S-Shit- you’re hurting?” He heard Shuriken whisper, nervous, scared for him.

Slingshot felt like he was going to die.

So far, Shuriken was the only other person awake. But with the state Slingshot was in, with how hard it was keeping the cries quiet, how long would that truly last? He wouldn’t be able to keep it down forever, but there was no way he could walk, let alone stand…

Not unless…

“S-Shuri-” He stammered, quiet, shaky. Shuriken squeezed his shoulder almost immediately. “W-What is it? What’s up?” He asked quickly. He was so quick about it, trying to help where he could. If Slingshot weren’t in so much pain right now, he could have almost enjoyed, it, stopped to appreciate his roommate- his family, being there for him…

But he was in so much pain…

So much, and…

“P-Please- Sh-Shuri- I d-don’t wanna wake th-them up…” He managed, just barely, it was hardly above a whisper, and full of pain. Barely maintained sanity. Shuriken faltered. Slingshot couldn’t see it, even as he opened his eyes. His vision was blurred with tears. But he could feel the way Shuriken hesitated.

But then, Shuriken pulled Slingshot’s arms over his shoulders. “Got it,” he instead spoke, firm. He pulled Slingshot up, and kept his arms wrapped tightly around Slingshot’s back. He pulled Slingshot’s legs up, and admittedly, Slingshot didn’t have the energy left to feel sheepish about it. He hugged Shuriken tighter, pushed his face into Shuriken’s shoulder as Shuriken carried him.

He felt Shuriken walking, seeming to try and keep the movement as smooth as he could. Slingshot was more worried about the shivers he felt- he was probably scaring him- but then another wave of pain forced Slingshot to forget that, pushing his face harder and trying so desperately to muffle the whine.

He felt Shuriken stop, and knock carefully, softly. Shuriken seemed to sigh in relief when there was no answer, and he pushed the door open. An empty bathroom. Shuriken let the door fall behind him, turned the light on, and locked the door so no one would walk in on them. “Easy… Take it easy… Don’t rush yourself,” Shuriken mumbled, voice soft and quiet as he helped Slingshot get down onto the ground.

Shuriken sat down with him and pulled him close, hugged him tight, as Slingshot whimpered from the pain of it all. His eyes were still watering without his permission, but he couldn’t stop a cry when a stab of pain came back, and he hugged Shuriken tighter- his nails must have been digging in a little, considering Shuriken’s slight wince, but he couldn’t afford to let go, and Shuriken only pulled him closer, despite the sharp breath he let out.

Another stab, Slingshot let out another whimper- no, it was more of a whine. A long, broken whine… “I-... I’m so s-sorry…” Shuriken stammered, his voice was a broken whisper, and Slingshot almost didn’t hear it. When he did, though, his heart practically broke.

Shuriken… He must have felt so bad… So useless, as all he could do was hold Slingshot and watch him suffer. Offer him words he may not even hear. Slingshot didn’t even notice until then, how fast and unstable his breathing had gotten- geez, it sounded like a damn panic attack-

Slingshot squeezed Shuriken tighter. “S-Sling-” He stammered. It sounded panicked. Slingshot tried to ignore the anxiety that came from hearing it, and forced himself to breath slower- it was only a little bit slower. It wasn’t by much, but it WAS slower…

Shuriken paused, maybe noticed, and began to rub at Slingshot’s back. Slingshot forced himself to breathe out slower as well, and it matched his inhale. Just a little slower… He ignored every instinct to swallow it down. To breathe like he’d never breathe again.

“Y-You’re doing good-”
“I’m doing horrible…”

Shuriken paused, before letting out a weary chuckle. “Okay, correction. You’re doing BETTER…” Slingshot also faltered, before also chuckling- it hurt… He took in a fast sharp breath at the pain- “H-hey- hey… Easy…” Shuriken quickly cut in, having to swallow down his own panic and force himself to sound calmer than he and Slingshot knew he felt.

Slingshot forced himself to breath slow again, and this time was slower. “Doing better…” Shuriken mumbled, soft, gentle, as he rubbed at Slingshot’s back still. His movement was slow, almost soothing amongst the panic and the pain. “D-Doesn’t feel better…” Slingshot managed, whispery though. “It won’t till you calm down…” Shuriken pointed out, and Slingshot knew there was truth to those words. He forced himself to take another breath.

Each breath was steadier, slowly but surely, he was getting ‘better’ now… Better at doing it, anyway.

Eventually, his slow breaths caused the pain to roll off of him, his body reluctantly relaxing as the stabbing began to ease up and even stop after a while. Shuriken blinked in what looked like surprise, before mumbling. “Holy shit, we live…” Slingshot snickered, but braced for the pain- that did not come. A relieved sigh, and he nods.

“We live…”

Shuriken helped Slingshot walk back to the booth, and- Boombox was awake. He looked off at Skateboard and Coil, but fidgeted nervously as the two leaned against the wall, snoozing pretty heavily, so it seemed.

His eyes moved to Slingshot and Shuriken, and he blinked in almost immediate relief. “Oh- you guys are back- is everything okay?” He mumbled quiet, still nervous as Slingshot and Shuriken sat down at the booth again.

Shuriken looked over to Slingshot with a small smile. “Hoping so…” Slingshot nodded quickly, hopefully a bit more affirmative. “Y-Yeah. Definitely.” Shuriken and Boombox both looked relieved by it. Slingshot couldn’t help but fidget though, and Shuriken gave him a slightly nervous nudge. “Sling…” He warned slightly? It was his, ‘what’s going on, man?’ voice, and Slingshot let out a sheepish chuckle at it.

“I- I’m okay, seriously. Just… Feeling tired. Don’t really wanna sleep though…” Shuriken hesitated, and Slingshot only realized then, as he broke into a nervous sweat at this thought, he should be bracing for a question or two. But instead of that, Shuriken sighed, and squeezed Slingshot’s hand. “If you fall, we’ll be there to catch ya, okay?” Slingshot blinked a second, and then looked over.

Shuriken met his gaze, and so did Boombox, who nodded as well. Slingshot let out a sigh of his own, but then scratched at the back of his neck. “Yeah… But-”

“Sling. It’s okay.”

Slingshot shut up. He let out a huff of a laugh. “Alright- alright,” He muttered with a weak grin as he folded his arms on the table and put his head down and sighed. He looked off at the window- his eyes were already starting to feel heavy. Shuriken and Boombox were quiet.

Slingshot felt a darkness begin to settle into his vision, and before he knew it, his mind went quiet…

Chapter Text

Shuriken glanced over at Boombox, but Boombox looked off, avoiding his gaze. He’d been acting anxious ever since they got back. Shuriken had admittedly expected for him to calm down once he realized Slingshot was okay, but even after everyone knew about the two’s secret, it was like Boombox never really moved on-

“Shuriken- s-sorry… Is there something you wanna say?”

Shuriken blinked, shaking himself out of his thoughts and looking off, but then looking at Boombox again. “Uh… I- kinda…?” Boombox seemed to worry more. Or was Shuriken imagining it…

Just spit it out, Shuriken.
Make it easier for the both of them.
No more beatin around the bush.

“You seem anxious…”

Boombox hesitated, and yeah. There was no way around it, and Shuriken DEFINITELY wasn’t crazy. Boombox was getting MORE worried by these questions.

He fidgeted with his hands, and he let out a shaky breath. “I… Wish it were less obvious…” Something in Shuriken just really wanted to pull the poor guy into a hug. It seemed like he could use it. He was acting like he’d seen a ghost.

“So you are then?”

Boombox nodded, looking off. “I guess, yeah.” Shuriken blinked at Boombox, offering him to continue, but he didn’t. The two sat in silence, just for a bit. “If I might ask why-”

“D-Did something happen? Is he okay? Seriously-” Boombox cut in, before Shuriken could even finish his question, causing him to jump back slightly. “Boom- he’s fine! Seriously! Everything’s fine! We worked it out,” Shuriken cut in back, trying his best to seem sure.

“You can breathe, man. It’s okay now-”

Shuriken looked off and let out a nervous chuckle. “...I mean, sure. We MAY need to pick up some pain meds along the way, but uh…” Shuriken trailed off as his eyes met Boombox’s, immediately picking up on the nervous-sweated stare. “He-... He was in pain?”

Shuriken paused, as he was beginning to think he probably shouldn’t answer that. Regardless, he nodded quiet, starting to feel nervous himself. Boombox held his face and sighed. “I-... Thought we were past that point…” Boombox mumbled quiet, looking off.

Shuriken’s heart sank.

“He was feeling pain back then-”

“Shuriken, it was agonizing- it was agonizing for all of us…”

Shuriken swallowed hard.

He had no idea Slingshot was that bad for that long-

What kind of brother was he?

How could he let that slip by so easily??

“D-... D’you guys know the last time he got somethin to eat?” Shuriken quickly nodded, already forming the answer in his mind. “Yeah. Recently. Skate told us Sling’s been neglecting his needs a lot, like, a while ago… We’ve been holding him against it and he’s been doing a lot better.”

Boombox paled.

“But- he still felt pain…”

Now Shuriken was starting to feel pale. When Boombox spelt it out like that… They both KNEW it couldn’t have been from a lack of taking care of himself, but that only left them with- “The curse…” Shuriken realized. “It’s… Unavoidable…?” Boombox mumbled nervous, registering.

The two sat in nervous silence, and then Shuriken broke it with a tense sigh. “First thing when we arrive, we’re finding a place to stock up on painkillers…” Boombox nodded. “A-Agreed…” Shuriken looked up at him, and man was it hard to not stare.

Boombox still looked stressed out from the whole thing, even when he wasn’t a part of it… As if…
“You still hold yourself accountable, don’t you…” Shuriken suddenly remarked, raising a brow at the revelation. “Even now, even with all of us tryna help out…”

Boombox was silent. He STILL refused to speak, and he STILL refused to meet Shuriken’s glance. He fidgeted with his hands, grabbing and squeezing his palm and releasing, a nervous stim, so it seemed.

Finally though, after a while, he let out a shaky sigh and looked over at Shuriken. “When Slingshot and I went through with keeping it a secret, I was… The only person he could go to… I have no idea what it was like for him when it was just him or Skate… Or just you guys, or-...”

Shuriken leaned forward against the table slightly and nodded, prompting Boombox to continue. With another shaky breath, he continued to speak. “Skateboard kept asking me if I was okay, if there was something wrong- heck, if I needed a hug… I wanted to say yes so badly…”

And then the sinking feeling in Shuriken’s heart began to return… “I don’t- I don’t like lying to my friends… But I also don’t like betraying their trust, and-... It was one or the other- everything was telling me to just-” Boombox was starting to hold his head, and there was a flicker of panic in Shuriken’s chest. He couldn’t help it, recognizing the signs all too well…

Slingshot had looked like that before-

As much as he loved his friend, Slingshot’s anxiety had definitely started to rub off on Boombox, if this were any indicator. “Boombox-”
“T-Telling me to just- Just TELL him what was going on. I- I shoulda put my foot down, shoulda told Slingshot this was stupid. That hiding it from everyone was just gonna make it worse, and-”
“Boombox. Stop.”

Boombox did indeed stop, confused and… Scared… As Shuriken suddenly held him by the shoulders. Held him tight- he hoped not painfully so, but geez, was he spiraling… “Look-” Shuriken began, keeping his words slow, cautious, trying his best to keep the frustration, the slight anxiety, the pity out of his tone.

“Look… What’s done is done. You both had to have been stressing out. People don’t-... They don’t make their best decisions under pressure. Alright?” Shuriken continued carefully, and began to ease up on his grip a bit. Boombox didn’t look as panicked, which was good?

But he still looked nervous.

“Y-Yeah, but still-”

“Boombox. We’re moving on…”

“Shuriken-”

“What’s done is done…” Shuriken cut in again, furrowing a brow. “Now we’re all tryna undo this. We’re all trying to figure out a cure for this whole thing, and mark my words, we’ll do it. There’s… No reason to keep beating yourself up about it… So quit it, kay?”

Boombox paused, but then the guilt came back as he looked off, quiet. “I… Could have done better.”

“Maybe… But you need to be kinder to yourself…” Shuriken mumbled, honestly instinctively. It hurt watching someone beat themself over the head over and over again. Especially someone like Boombox…

This was nothing like the guy Shuriken knew-

Well, yeah. Shuriken didn’t know Boombox much. But based on the way Skateboard and Slingshot always talked about him, Boombox always seemed like such a chill and lighthearted guy- so did Skateboard…

This whole thing was pulling EVERYONE to their wits’ ends.

Driving them all mad and causing them all the worst kinds of anxiety. Everyone needed this problem gone…

Not just Sling…

Shuriken let out a long sigh as he tried to keep himself level-headed. “If you wanna ‘make it up to us’, just… Help us make sure Sling’s alright… Kay?” Boombox paused again, this time seeming to be thinking over Shuriken’s words.

And then he sighed. Then he nodded. He even dared to smile a little. “Okay… I can do that.” Shuriken smiled back and nodded in return. “Great. That’s all I ask.”

Shuriken glanced down at Boombox’s hands, resting on the table. He was still a little anxious, so it seemed. He still fidgeted a bit, and before Shuriken could stop himself, he took Boombox’s hands and gave them a gentle squeeze. Boombox glanced down too.

And then he let out a light huff of a laugh.

“T-Thanks, Shuri…”

Shuriken couldn’t help but smile back.

“Sure thing, Boom.”

Chapter Text

The monorail rolled to a stop. With a hiss, the doors slid open on their own, and the sun blazed bright.

If the sun didn’t blind you, the scorching flames certainly would. They rose as tall as a damn forest. Skateboard couldn’t help but wince at it all. “Yeesh! I knew they said the Scorch was like, a BIG deal, but I didn’t realize it was like… THAT big of a deal!” Coil gave a playful eyeroll and lightly punched Skateboard in the arm causing him to let out a slight “Uff-”.

“Damn, really dude? The SCORCH, an event that single-handedly caused a change in perspective on the entire Swords Family would be a big deal? Who woulda thunk it?!” But then he snickered as Skateboard groaned.

“Alright, alright. Come on, guys. Let’s get moving…” Shuriken muttered with a huff as he led the group, with Slingshot and Boombox walking after him. “We gotta make a quick pitstop.” Skateboard blinked in surprise, and Coil raised a single brow. “Wait- for what?”

“Meds,” Boombox cut in. “Just some painkillers- you know… In case Sling’s pain starts, uh… Killin him again…” Boombox finished with a wince, and Slingshot, also wincing, quickly nodded. Coil grimaced slightly, and Skateboard let out a nervous chuckle. “Ah- rightttt… Yeah… That was- uh… Pretty bad, actually…” He mumbled, recalling the event.

The one where Slingshot scratched up his shoulders? Yeahhhh…

That was bad…

Slingshot let out a shaky breath, also remembering, but Skateboard was quick to walk up beside him and nudge him in the arm with a firm look. “Don’t…” He muttered, warning Slingshot off immediately.

He knew the guy was quick to fall into that self-hate spiral, and Skateboard was VERY determined to not let that happen. Slingshot let out a quiet, slightly forced snicker, and nodded. “R-Right right… Thanks…” Skateboard nodded in response, mustering a small smile and pulling Slingshot into a gentle side hug.

But he couldn’t help but turn a little pink when he noticed Shuriken’s gaze, at first curious, but then looking ‘humored’, so it seemed. Skateboard couldn’t get himself to let go of Slingshot, though. Not when he seemed to appreciate the gesture so much, snuggling up beside him a bit. Skateboard’s smile felt a little more natural.

It took them a bit of walking through the desert, but eventually, after half an hour of passing ancient pillars, side stepping dangerous ravines, and crossing over some sandy dunes, the gang all made it to a small side shop.

It was… Very modest.

Like a little rectangle of a building for travelers. Walking inside, it gave off ‘temporary grocery store’ vibes, and they all split up, looking around at various things.

Coil walked along the snacks area, and they had the typical stuff- and also weirder stuff. Like…

“Vulture tongue chips…?” Coil muttered with a grimace. “Ewwww!” Skateboard yapped and made a gag face. “Ooh! Ooh! Coil! Look at this!” He chirped, grabbing a bag of SOMETHING, and shoving it in Coil’s face. Coil took a step back with a mildly-humored look of annoyance, and snatched the bag out of Skateboard’s hand to read.

“Mouse brittles, made from real desert mouse meat… Hey, you think we should get this for Sling?” He wondered suddenly with a grin. Boombox stuck his head out from one of the aisles, paling. “MAN has Lost Temple got some WEIRD taste in snacks.” Skateboard shook his head though, crossing his arms. “Come on, Coil. Lay offa him, will ya? He’s sick…” There was definitely a smile he was trying and failing to hide, causing Coil to snicker a bit.

Meanwhile, Slingshot and Shuriken were walking up and down the shelves of medication. “Found some aspirin over here…” Slingshot said as he grabbed a bottle and read its label. “For how much?” Shuriken wondered offhandedly as his eyes zoned in on a sale tag. “Shit… 10 bux…” Slingshot answered, wincing at the price tag.

Shuriken turned to look over, nervous as he did so… “For how many?” Slingshot let out a tense breath. “500 milligrams?” They both grimaced. “Yeesh… Talk about expensive…” Shuriken muttered. “Keep looking?” Slingshot checked, and Shuriken nodded. “Can’t hurt to…”

Eventually, the group all left after they found what they were looking for. Pretty much everything was jacked up in price, likely because of the ‘tourism’ aspect… Slingshot and Shuriken could afford a bottle of painkillers fine, considering Thieves Rest was so successful, but it didn’t make the burn of lost cash sting any less…

Now the group all walked through the desert again, looking for a town where they could ask for further directions. That was the plan, anyway. That being said, the terrain was still rough and dangerous, and there were QUITE a few times Skateboard almost walked face first into eternally burning flames, but Slingshot was getting better at yanking him back, thankfully.

The sun was blazing bad… Slingshot could feel himself melting from it, and glancing around at the rest of the gang, he wasn’t the only one. Shuriken kept nudging him, pestering him, asking him if he wanted water, which was REALLY sweet… But also REALLY annoying…

“S-Shuri, I’m fine. Seriously…” He stammered quiet, trying to bite back the ultimately rather mild frustration to the best of his ability. It should have been mild, anyhow. It was a stupid thing to get frustrated about, especially considering Shuriken knew that Slingshot had a habit for overestimating his endurance…

Shuriken let out a quiet sigh, possibly also feeling that frustration- though ALSO possibly for a different reason. The opposite, very likely. The group kept walking- the sun kept scorching, the nausea kept worsening-

‘Shut up shut up shut up, you’re FINE.’

Slingshot just had to keep telling himself that. He was fine. He didn’t need to stop and rest, and he certainly didn’t need to use up whatever quickly-depleting water the group had left. He was FINE.

So he just kept telling himself that, and kept on walking.

…That was, until he started feeling a cramp in his side.

He flinched, his hand going to his side as he went rigid, and Shuriken was, of course, by his side in seconds. “H-Hey, it’s okay. Just hold on, we can rest-”
“Shuri I’m fi-”
“No you’re not.”

Slingshot went silent almost immediately. The tone was unfamiliar. Sharp, yet somehow not… Cold… Slingshot let out a shaky breath, and reluctantly paused. Shuriken also let out a breath, and then looked over at Slingshot again.

“What’s going on?” He asked quick, direct. “Cramps again… I think…” Slingshot answered, not bothering to dodge the questions anymore. It was starting to feel counterproductive, even to him…

Shuriken glanced over at the open desert, weary. “You think it could be from the heat?” Slingshot followed Shuriken’s gaze, and it took him a second to register. “Uh… Probably?” Shuriken immediately sent Slingshot a look, and quickly shoved a water bottle into Slingshot’s hands. “Shuri- it’s really not a-”
“Slingshot, don’t even…” Shuriken snarked back. He was putting his foot down, so it seemed…

Slingshot faltered, before letting out a long sigh in slight annoyance, and taking the bottle, but he looked down at it, frustrated, though also nervous. “We don’t have much of this, you know-” Shuriken groaned into his hands, and there was a flicker of guilt in Slingshot’s heart. “Sling, I KNOW! But you’re no use to us passed out from heat exhaustion, for fuck’s sake!”

The rest of the group stopped, quickly picking up on the tension that was uh,,, quickly settling in.

“Hey- what’s going on?” Coil asked, furrowing a single brow. “We can stop for a bit-” Skateboard also cut in, a nervous grin plastered on his face. Boombox gave a shaky nod at Skateboard’s words.

Shuriken and Slingshot exchanged glances, both tense, both wanting to oppose the other.

“Slingshot… We’re taking a damn break…”

Slingshot let out a short frustrated huff.

“Fine.”

They miraculously found a rock. A very LARGE rock, that had a very NICE cast shadow. The group sat down in the sand, and this was the only place where it felt like Playground temperature again. Skateboard, admittedly, was relieved to give his legs a break as he sat down with an equally relieved sigh. Boombox sat down next to him with a tired grin, and Coil decided (for SOME Swordforsaken reason-) to lean against the wall instead.

Shuriken and Slingshot also sat, but man were their energies WEIRD! Whenever they exchanged glances, those glances were glares. They were dead silent, and then-

“So are you at least gonna take some pills?” Shuriken muttered with barely-hidden annoyance, pulling out the bottle he bought back at the store, and starting to open it. “Those are limited too, in case you’ve forgotten…” Slingshot pointed out, deciding Shuriken didn’t ‘deserve’ eye contact… “Yeah, but we bought them for you…” Shuriken shot back, a growl deep in his throat.

Shuriken wasn’t exactly… Patient… From what Skateboard gathered anyway. And knowing Slingshot as well, Skateboard knew when Slingshot got like THIS, patience was the only way through… He couldn’t help but watch the exchange, and felt a nervousness revving up.

When he glanced at the rest of the group, Coil seemed to be trying his best (awkwardly) to ignore it, and Boombox kept doing a weird look-over look-away thing.

“Yeah, but we also know there’s not many in that bottle, it cost us 10 bux, which really isn't cheap for only 500 milligrams when you think about it…” Slingshot hissed with a strained grin, gritted teeth, barely restrained annoyance. “So what? You’re in pain. They’re PAINkillers…” Shuriken snarked, sending Slingshot a look. “I’ve gone through worse…” Slingshot shot back short and sharp.

Shuriken fell silent-

But OHHH was he MADDD… His expression darkened even when his face paled, and he looked at Slingshot for a long time, and even Slingshot couldn’t help but break into a nervous sweat, still looking off- looking AWAY…

Skateboard winced, and he heard a nervous whisper from Boombox who quickly began to laser-focus on the grains of sand beneath his feet instead.

“Say that again.”

Slingshot faltered. The nervousness was definitely worsening for him, and Shuriken’s mutter was pretty telling of his current mood. Which wasn’t a pleasant one.

“I… Don’t think that’s necessary…” Slingshot mumbled instead, practically walking around egg shells. His voice came out much quieter, meeker, as he tried to avoid the very quickly approaching confrontation of this all.

“Oh. Really now?” Shuriken asked, a forced grin. Slingshot rubbed at his arm, and let out a shaky breath as he did so. “L-Look. I’m not- it’s-... This’ll pass, okay? That’s what I meant- when I said that-... It’s… It’s gonna pass…” Shuriken paused at Slingshot’s ‘correction’...

And thank god for it, considering the fact that Skateboard, Coil, and Boombox all let out quietly relieved sighs. Breaths that were held. No awkward witness to personal, private, VERY heated confrontations?

Shuriken then let out a sigh, and while there still seemed to be a bit of agitation, he was definitely calmer- or maybe just a bit more nervous. “Alright, fine. But what if it doesn’t?” Now Slingshot paused, contemplating, but still looked off and said nothing. “Heck, what if it worsens? Is it really worth taking that risk?” Shuriken continued, now looking at Slingshot, who still couldn’t meet his gaze.

That frustrated him.

“S-Sling- come on, man. Look at me…” Shuriken mumbled, the desperation seeming to worsen. Slingshot did NOT, however, look at him. He was silent for a long time, as if trying to will himself to say something he didn’t wanna-
“Shuri, I know you’re trying to help, but I can take care of myself.”

Oh…

No…

Yeah, that was bad.

In a matter of three seconds, all of Shuriken’s finally-eased agitation came rushing back.

In a matter of three seconds, Skateboard, Coil, and Boombox were all holding their breaths again.

In a matter of three seconds-

“Really?! Really!” Shuriken snapped loud and sharp but with a VERY forced grin. “You’re currently dying from heat exhaustion, refusing to hydrate, to accept any kind of help, even when we are OPENLY offering it, practically BEGGING you to take it, and you’re going to look at me and tell me that you can take CARE of yourself?!-

…

..You can’t even do that…” Shuriken realized suddenly, the grin still present, but there was nothing to say that it was genuine. It was nothing but complete and utter disbelief. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing, what he was hearing. “You can’t- You can’t even LOOK at me when you say it…” Shuriken registered again, his gaze drifting off to the ground as he… Slowly began to hold himself.

He was holding himself, just like Slingshot.

This… Was a complete and jumbled mess…

Slingshot was trembling. His nails were digging into his sleeves so badly- Skateboard wanted more than nothing to rush over there and break up the tension, get Slingshot to stop, get Shuriken to calm down-

He was VERY afraid of what would happen if he tried that.

“I… I’m gonna go for a walk…” Shuriken finally muttered, his voice quiet, broken, that smile faded a while ago… Shuriken got up, and no one tried to stop him-

Though to be honest, it all happened so fast that everyone may have still been processing.

Because when Shuriken left, the silence didn’t end there.

No, it still lingered.

It awkwardly lingered…

Skateboard, Coil, and Boombox all exchanged nervous glances. Skateboard sighed, getting up and then lending a hand to Boombox to help him too.

They both looked to where Shuriken had walked off, and he was already becoming a small figure in the distance.

“Go after him, settle things down for me, will ya?” Skateboard asked, and Boombox gave a quick nod, before starting to walk in the direction Shuriken was heading. Skateboard looked over to Slingshot, who still sat there, holding himself, digging his nails hard-

If Skateboard didn’t know better, it’d look like Slingshot was already starting to spiral-

…Or maybe that was EXACTLY what was happening…

Skateboard walked over, slowly, admittedly nervous, and sat down next to Slingshot, who faltered at his presence, but then went back to studying the dirt quite intently. And also spiraling. He continued spiraling.

“Slingshot…” Skateboard began, still nervous, still quiet. Slingshot said nothing. “Hey… Slinggggg…” Skateboard mumbled, turning to face Slingshot and nudging him.

Slingshot shuddered again, before pulling his up legs closer to his face and planting said face into his knees. “Whaaaat?” He almost whined, sounding like… A lot of things. There was the immediate frustration, there was also a dash of anxiety, because of course there was, but you couldn’t forget the aftertaste of exhaustion. There was always an aftertaste, wasn’t there…

Skateboard felt himself speechless for a few moments, just at that response alone. His heart was sore. Sore for his friend, as clearly, there was something VERY wrong about pretty much all of this.

“What was that about?” Skateboard finally asked, more curious than ‘mad’, really. Slingshot didn’t move at first, but then he managed to pull his head up enough so Skateboard could see his face, even if Slingshot still failed the eye contact. “What does that even mean?”

Skateboard furrowed a brow. “Seriously?? Dude, none of what you said even- you just- completely sabotaged yourself back there!” Skateboard yapped- though he had to pull himself back and let out a forced sigh to calm himself down. Getting mad CLEARLY wasn’t the answer. He saw second-hand how bad that went.

Not to mention Slingshot’s immediate guilt- shit, that was panic. There was panic behind those eyes- the guy looked like he was close to throwing up his guts out… “I- I don’t know why it happens…” What was that? A heartbeat starting to race? Those feelings of ‘wrongness’ about this situation were DEFINITELY escalating…

“What- do you mean by…?” Skateboard trailed off, shook his head, blinked a few times, and then looked back at Slingshot with renewed focus. “You say that like it’s outside of your control…” Slingshot swallowed hard.

That didn’t bode well at all, actually.

“I-it… Doesn’t feel like it’s in my control.” Skateboard blinked a few times, and felt himself instinctively turning his head in confusion. “How so?” The reply was slow. Delayed. It took Slingshot far too long to answer, but one wait and a shaky sigh later; “S-Sometimes, there’s a voice in my head, telling me what I should say… Or do… Or both?”

Oh no…

“A-And usually I can just… Ignore it. Because honestly, most of what that inner voice tells me is, w-well… K-kind of bullshit?” Slingshot stammers. Suddenly, all the pieces were starting to get put together, and… Skateboard wasn’t liking the picture. “...But it’s getting harder to ignore, isn’t it?” he replied back, and Slingshot nodded.

Skateboard forced himself to pause, to think, and only after doing that did he let himself speak… It was a miracle every time he got Slingshot to just say what was going on, and so he’ll be damned if he was the reason this confession blew up. “What was that voice telling you? Like just a few minutes ago.”

Slingshot was slowly beginning to slide his legs back. Slowly beginning to unlatch his nails. Skateboard couldn’t help but sigh when he noticed it. This was salvageable. “Just… ‘deny, deny, deny’...” Slingshot mumbled wearily. Skateboard winced. “I… Didn’t wanna say it, but y-yeah. It did seem like you were kinda… Gaslighting him back there.”

Slingshot winced as well. “Great Swords, I feel so bad…” Skateboard pulled Slingshot into a hug before he could really process what he was doing. The poor guy needed it, and he hardly hesitated to hug Skateboard back.

“Look. Boombox is workin on it. We’ll have this whole thing sorted out, kay?” Skateboard mumbled, trying to keep his voice soft and hopefully soothing? Thankfully, it seemed to work, as Slingshot nodded, then nuzzled him. Skateboard felt a smile on his face, and nuzzled Slingshot back, causing him to snicker.

Which made it hurt all the more to have to ruin this moment… “But what was Shuri talkin about with you being in pain?” Skateboard had to ask, furrowing a brow. Slingshot let out a chuckle, and it sounded awkward. Fake. Appropriately nervous. “Um… Just heat cramps?” He attempted, looking over with a sheepish grin.

Skateboard sighed. It was becoming instinctive by this point. “Sling, I know you’re not gonna like this, but Shuriken wasn’t wrong about what he said… If you’re dealing with that, it could definitely get worse…”

“Alright fine… I’ll take the dang meds…” Slingshot muttered, looking off, probably paired with a forced grin. The entire group’s been seein a lot of those lately.

Funny, that.

“Okay… Maybe you should drink some water first, though. Not good to take meds if you’ve been neglecting that…” Skateboard spoke, putting a hand to his chin in thought. Slingshot was starting to lurch forward, looking visibly exhausted now, but nodded and sighed, then took the water bottle Skateboard handed him.

The two exchanged (albeit tired) smiles, and Skateboard felt a bit of relief when Slingshot actually drank-

And then he shuddered and gagged as he pulled the bottle back suddenly. “G-Geez-” he stammered, panicked and anxious, and- yeah, some of that panic was flooding through Skateboard, who winced at the sound. “Woah- take it easy?” Slingshot nodded nervously, and let out another shaky breath- shit, was he even breathing?-

“I-... Uh… Regret not drinking water now…” He confessed nervously, as he subtly, or not-so-subtly started holding his stomach. “I know it sucks, man. But you really gotta get some water in your system… Just drink it slow, alright?” Skateboard attempted, and felt immense relief when Slingshot nodded.

Now they just had to wait for Boombox and Shuriken…