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Ewron never had the chance to realise that his actions have consequences. He thought of himself too highly as the biggest manipulator, always thought everything he'd say would have a positive outcome. For him, of course. Jeremy on the other hand, never did anything to face consequences that would hurt him. Or at least, so he thought. It's been becoming abundantly clear that their minds were… Differing from reality.
Ewron woke up in an empty, white room. The light was almost blinding, he put his hand up to cover his eyes and looked around. After his vision came back to normal, he realised where he was seated and a gasp left his mouth involuntarily. This place looked awfully similar to what he'd seen on his little adventure with Fariis.
“What… The fuck?” he turned his head to his right, as he heard a familiar voice. Next to him, just a few meters away, was Jeremy, wiping his face.
“Jeremy!” Ewron exclaimed. His heart rushed, seeing his card dealer in such a place couldn't be real. This was all a dream, so he could basically say anything and the real Jeremy wouldn't know.
“Ewron?” Jer looked even more surprised. “What are we doing here? I don't have cards on me, if that's what—”
“No, Jeremy!” Ewron, still convinced he was dreaming, came closer and sat down on the floor next to him, so their shoulders were touching. “I'm not here for cards,” Jeremy looked at him, concerned.
“So are you the one who got us in this place?” he glanced at him weirdly, noticing how close the annoying panda hybrid was to him. “Why is this like… A padded room in a psych ward? You think I'm crazy as well?” Jer backed away with a betrayed look on his face. “Everybody already thinks I'm going nuts, but I promise you, there's something in the woods, it's waiting for us, it's…”
“I never said anything about it?” Ewron shrugged. “I think this is a Federation building. Do you have a camera?”
“...No, I don't have anything on me. Do you?” Jeremy seemed not to realise where they actually were.
A few seconds passed by, as Ewron rummaged through his pockets. He only found some crumbs, a piece of paper and an old apple.
“...Jeremy, pinch me really hard. You can hit me, actually,” Jeremys eyes opened wide.
“What?! Not only are you a gambling addict, you're also a masochist?!”
“Stop being so vanilla and do it, man! If you do, I'll wake up from this weird fucking dream and forget about this…”
“Ewron, I'm so sorry to inform you, but this is real.”
They both looked at each other in silence for a minute.
“I don't understand. Why would you be here then? You didn't do anything to anger the Federation…”
“This is a Federation place?!” Suddenly it was Jeremy clinging closer, finally hearing the word ‘Federation’.
“Well, what else would it be?! I already told you!”
“I don't know, I thought you decided to put me in a psych ward of some fucked up sort! Why are you here then?!”
“I broke into their prison a few days ago…”
Silence from Jeremy again. He blinked slowly, staring into Ewrons soul.
“And why the hell would you do that?” He finally gathered some words to utter.
“I was curious! Wouldn't you do the same if someone came to you and told you they found the Feds prison?”
“You're bigger of an adrenaline junkie than I thought…” Jer leaned on the wall with his back and sighed. “What do we do now?”
“Try to get out!”
“...How?”
“I don't know, think with me, smartass! I'm the looks here, you should be the brains!” the Dutchie rolled his eyes with annoyance. From all the people on this island, he has to be stuck with HIM? The loudest, most talkative, most energetic, narcissistic, handsome, funniest, and— What? What was he even thinking? Was Ewron talking in the meantime? Was he even listening to him or did he drown in the depths of the sea of weird feelings? He brushed his hair with his fingers nervously.
“We don't even have anything on us. If only we had our warpstones…” he murmured, but the more he said, the more panic was setting in. They were stuck, with no way out, no food, except Ewrons singular apple, no drink and no idea what to do.
“Might as well just sit there and wait for someone to greet us. I mean, it's the Feds after all, they definitely have something to tell us if we're here!”
That made Jeremy spiral even more. What has he ever done for the Federation to kidnap him? Is he a criminal? Did he break the rules and didn't even realise? But why is he here with Ewron?
“Hey, you good?” The red panda hybrid put his hand on his shoulder and looked at him with slight worry. “You're shaking like a leaf, are you cold?” Ewron started taking his coat off, but Jer stopped him and shook his head.
“No, I'm just surprised why… Us two. I mean, you're definitely guilty, you've broken into their building, but I don't know what I've done!”
“Ah, not so kind of you! I'm your special customer, that's the only thing I'm guilty of!” Jer giggled awkwardly. So Ewron remembered words that slipped out of his mouth after all. “Anyway, get up. Let's look around.”
They looked through every corner – not that there were many, as they were stuck in an empty, rectangular room – and the only thing they managed to find was dust. And cameras, all the way up under the ceiling. Cameras that saw their every move, that turned in the direction of wherever they went. In one of the walls, there was an iron door with no window and no handle. When Ewron tried slamming his entire body into it, he just bounced off of it and groaned in pain. In the place they last sat, they left the pathetic looking apple and paper.
“Alright, I give up,” Jeremy kneeled on the floor and looked up into one of the cameras' eyes. “We're not getting out of here,”
“Not for now, at least…” Ewron agreed, laying down next to him. The floor was cold and rough.
After less than an hour of nonsensical conversations on the uncomfortable floor, the ‘door’ opened. It was loud, they heard a bunch of alarms and rumbles, and there he was – a Federation officer. Not Pepino, not Tomate, not any of the ones they knew. Just another faceless worker with a sign and a knife hanging from his belt. He was silent, eerily silent, just like all of them. The sign he put before their eyes read:
“All actions have consequences. The Federation is bigger than you.”
Ewron and Jeremy looked at each other unconvinced, but definitely distressed.
“Yeah, but what have we even done?” Asked the latter, deciding to risk it all.
Next sign.
“Breaking into private properties is prohibited. Looking too deep and too hard into things out of your sight is prohibited.”
Next sign.
“Do not dare to try running away. The Federation is all-seeing and all-knowing.”
“Duncan and others will definitely start looking for us, it's not like you're never going to let us out–” Jeremys words were cut off with a slap on his face. The Fed officer barely moved, his arm was long enough to reach the Dutch's cheek. Ewron shoved Jeremy aside, ready to fight the faceless man.
Next sign.
“Obey the Federation and you'll be free.”
“We are never going to be free on that island,” murmured Jer, still grimacing after the unexpected hit. He could see the officer clenching his fist, he bit his lip, ready to take another punch, but Ewron stood in front of him and took it himself.
Next sign.
“Do not fight. It's a battle you physically can not win.”
After that, the officer left. The door closed, rumbling again and making too much noise for a door in general.
“Are you okay?” Jer could see a big, red mark forming on Ewrons face. “That's going to leave a bruise,”
“It's whatever,” he shrugged. “I'm so fucking angry, I could kill that guy.” Jeremy didn't recall seeing the Pole this furious ever before. He wasn't screaming, he stood still, his voice steady and quiet. That was somehow scarier than the vision of Ewron yelling. However… It was also heartwarming that he wasn't this angry at him.
“I'm sorry, I shouldn't have commented. He probably wouldn't have done that if I hadn't,” he put his hand on Ewrons shoulder.
“At least now we're both certain what we've done to make them lock us in here,” their gazes met, both serious and focused on each other. With matching bruises forming on their faces, they stared at each other for a while. “I didn't think they'd hit us,” Ewron added quietly.
“We should try falling asleep,” the Pole suggested, as he normally would. “Liege wie?”
They lied down next to each other, with Ewrons fluffy tail as a cover for Jeremy.
“You'd fall asleep anywhere,” he remarked, burying his face in the fur. The warmth coming from Ewron was unexpected, but very comfortable.
“It's a great skill!”
Jeremy couldn't sleep. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how hard he shut his eyes, how deep he breathed, he just couldn't fall asleep. The feeling of being watched was unbearable. And the blindingly white walls weren't helping. He turned and turned, frustrated. Ewron didn't seem to mind it that much, he pulled his hood over his face and dreamed peacefully. The first night in the prison was spent on sighing and moving from side to side by Jeremy. He was so exhausted, he wanted to cry. He missed the Dutch cafe so much. This room was completely silent, except for Ewrons breaths, it was driving him insane. He missed the frogs, their melody and warm lights at home. He missed feeling at least a little safe, homely. All the cameras were aimed directly at them, stalking every move, every breath, every blink. God, he hated this so much.
Ewron woke up like normal, stretched and yawned.
“You look awful,” were the first words he decided to say to Jer.
“Thanks! I didn't sleep all night! And I'm so hungry I could rip the paint off these awful walls and eat it!”
“I doubt there's any paint on them, they're stone. Quartz, or whatever,” Ewron pet his own tail calmly. “We can share the apple!”
“Oh yeah, because that's going to make me full,”
“Stop being so negative!” Ewron groaned, biting into the fruit. “At least it's something,” Jeremy just stole it from his hand and also took a bite. It wasn't the best apple he's ever had, but he decided to shut up and be grateful for it. “Think they'll starve us intentionally?”
“They're Feds,” Jer gave him the fruit back. “Of course they will. They're probably going to kill us as well…” Worst scenarios started appearing in his mind, slowly taking control. He could feel himself spiraling, his vision blurring, Ewrons words disappearing into the background and becoming a whisper. The cameras observed them pathetically sharing the apple, he could sense something evil awaiting as he stared right into them.
Ewron looked at him concerned, carefully fixing his hair away from his eyes. Because that's what friends did.
Actually, he didn't even know if Jeremy considered him a friend. Maybe he was only just a ‘special client’ to him. But that mattered outside, where they had other people. Here, they only had each other, so Jeremy shall think of him as a friend, whether he liked it or not.
“They're watching…” Jer whispered, pushing Ewrons hand away slowly.
“Yeah, that's kinda their entire thing, you know,”
“You don't understand,” he turned his gaze to him. “They're always watching,” he emphasised ‘always’, looking deep into Ewrons eyes. The Pole didn't seem impressed.
“Yeah, they're the fucking Feds!”
They didn't get to start arguing, as the door alarms cut them off.
“What do you want?” Ewron stood up. “To beat us up again? What for, you fucking—”
Again, he didn't get to finish his sentence. The officers punch landed exactly between his ribs, making him gasp for air.
“What the fuck?!” Jeremy wanted to push him away, but instead, he felt a cold blade on his neck and warm breath from behind.
Two. There were two.
And they were planning to kill them.
Jeremy froze up in panic, the knife was caressing his skin, turning warm from it and the blood it drew.
“Jeremy!” Finally, Ewron could breathe and he made it count. He kicked one of the officers in the stomach, making him fall back a couple of steps. The closer the Pole got to Jer, the closer the blade was to his neck. He was already bleeding, he didn't want to be decapitated right there and then!
“Don't!”
Tears of pain streamed down Jeremys face. Not only was he on the verge of being killed, but also he couldn't do anything about Ewron being beaten up to a pulp right in front of him. Because when he kicked the officer, he only angered him more, now tasting the consequences. He was bleeding from his mouth and nose, groaning in pain, barely standing, as the Fed continued to punch and kick him.
“Ewron, just apologise, stop this madness,” Jeremy whispered. The Pole was too proud and full of himself to apologise to anyone, but he wasn't ready to die.
“Fuck! Go away! Fuck off! Sorry for kicking you, but it was fully deserved!”
“Congratulations, you've just made it worse for yourself,” Jer sighed, but he was still shaking. The officer seemed bored already, so he gave Ewron one last slap, reopening his face wounds and gave a signal to the one holding Jeremy.
They left, leaving a sign behind.
“Obey.”
When they cooled off and sat down again, Jeremy took off his scarf and started wiping the blood off of Ewron.
“Why do you keep provoking everybody all the time?”
“It's funny! …Most of the time, at least,” he admitted. He grimaced in pain every time Jeremys hand touched his face. “You're wounded too,” he pointed out. “Your neck.”
“It's a scratch, I think they wanted to use you as an example… They wanted to show me… What will happen if I don't listen and— And maybe the cameras, they're showing it to everybody to make them scared, and—” Ewron suddenly took his hand and held it tight, in a reassuring gesture.
“You need to stop losing yourself in your thoughts. The world is much less complex than you think. They're using us as playthings, they're bored, that's all. We're toys, used as an entertainment. I hate it. I'm not a fucking punching bag!”
“Do you hate the Federation now too?”
He felt Ewrons grip on his fingers tightening.
“Yeah. Yeah, you could say so.”
“Stop angering them. I don't know how long we'll stay here, maybe for the rest of our lives, but that doesn't mean we have to end them early…”
“I'm not staying here for the rest of my life, hell no! I'd rather go to the Regime and tell that idiot Ash that I want to be friends!”
“Aren't you friends already though?” Jer, still holding his hand, came back to cleaning his face carefully.
“Who the hell do you think I am?! Friends with the Regime? Sometimes, they can be useful, that's it. They think they have insane amounts of aura, but they keep losing it every day, continuously,” he giggled, making Jeremy smile. The casual mention of the outside world was grounding. Ewron was like an anchor, if Jeremy was locked up like this all on his own, he would've completely lost it already. The Pole put his tail around them.
“Doesn't it get in the way and irritate you?” Jer put down the scarf.
“Yeah, but it's also a really warm blanket. Or a pillow. Or a plushie,”
It really was, the Dutch remembered how comfortable he felt under it.
That prison stay was becoming more and more intimate…
Because why were they still holding hands? Jeremy pulled his hand away, nervously, and Ewron didn't ask questions. Why would he?
“I'm so fucking hungry,” the panda stated, rolling on the floor. “Hey! Hey, feed us, would you?!” He sat up and waved to one of the cameras, Jeremy pushed him on his back once more.
“You moron, they won't give us food, if anything, they'll come beat the shit out of you again, this time for bothering them!”
“Not my fault I'm fat and half an apple doesn't make me full for the entire day, stick-boy!”
The alarms already made them flinch and get ready to wipe blood off of each other, but instead of an armed officer, a guard came in. In his hands – two bowls of some stew – they could see meat, carrots and potatoes as he put them down in front of them. Then, he left, sealing the door behind himself again.
“I didn't think they'd actually listen, damn!” Ewron, without a thought, decided to dig right in.
“No, wait!” Jer grabbed his wrist, panicked. “Think for a second, would you?! It's the Federation, they probably poisoned it!” He almost yelled, frustrated at Ewrons idiocy. “Smell it first or something, you idiot!”
“And people tell me I am dramatic!” Ewron sighed and put the bowl up to their noses. “Can I eat now?” They looked each other in the eyes again, this time the only things that separated their faces were the steam coming from the soup and the bowl itself. Jer caught himself rolling his eyes again as he pulled away and, unconvinced, stirred the stew. Ewron didn't wait for him and greedily swallowed the contents of his bowl. “See, I'm not dying,”
“Not yet,” Jeremy really didn't want to eat that. The Feds weren't to trust. “You can eat mine as well. I'd rather starve for a bit than believe the Federation,”
“You do know that this might be the only meal we'll get in the coming days, right?”
“I don't trust them. I don't trust their food. They beat you to a pulp and you see no problem with eating something they gave you?”
“I mean, soup is soup. As long as it fills up my stomach, I'm good,” Ewrons carelessness was about to drive Jeremy up the wall. With one last look at him, he dug into the seconds.
They spent the rest of the day coming up with word games and folding the one piece of paper they had in various ways.
“We're gonna stink so bad when we come back,” Jeremy giggled, snuggling up Ewrons tail.
“Feds fault,” he whispered, closing his eyes. “Liege wie. Goodnight”
Waking up on the hard floor was making their bodies sore, so they took turns trying to massage the pain out of them. Ewron couldn't help but notice how exhausted Jeremy looked. Dark circles under his eyes, slowed down movements, messy hair and bruises on his face and arms. His scarf was left on the floor, covered in Ewrons blood. This entire situation was just so depressing, Ewron didn't like thinking about it. If he wasn't, the reality wouldn't get to him. As long as he doesn't let himself think about it, he'll be safe.
“How are you feeling?” He asked, carefully caressing Jeremy's cheek with his fingers.
“Hungry. Tired. In pain.”
“This is starting to piss me off,” Ewron wanted a hug so bad. And he could see Jer needed it too. “How long are they going to keep us here?!”
“I'm sick of them, I want to go home, this is inhumane, this is just… Torture!” They clung closer to each other, the Pole finally got the courage to wrap his arms around Jeremy, as he was still sitting behind him. “I'm glad I'm not alone though…”
Their sweet time together wasn't about to last too long. They flinched, as the door opened again and an officer marched in.
“Not again…”
“It's just one of them, I'm sure he's not that big of a threa—” the Fed pulled Jeremy up by his hair, making him squeal. “Fuck!”
“What the hell?! He didn't do anything, you bitchass! Fuck off!” Ewron ended up kicked in the ribs again, falling on the floor with a groan. He could only watch. The officer held Jeremys head above his raised knee. The Dutchie already knew what was coming, he closed his eyes, shaking with fear. Next thing he felt was his nose being smashed against the Feds knee. He could taste his own blood, the metallic flavour, the warmth of it. Tears were streaming down his face, mixing with the dark, red fluid. He didn't even get to snap out of it before he was punched, his hair was pulled and his stomach was kicked. He tried to cover his head, yelping.
“Leave him alone!” Through the banging in his head, Jeremy heard Ewrons voice. He looked at him in between his fingers, the pandas ears were completely flattened on his head, his tail puffed up, hands clenched and up in the air, ready to fight. He looked so much like an actual panda, it was almost adorable. Almost, because the officer swung at him too. “What did we even do to you?!”
One singular sign was left in front of them.
“Ungrateful.”
The officer wiped his bloody hands in Jeremys clothes, as a final way of showing disrespect, and left.
They sat in silence that was broken only with the sound of their sobs. Jeremy was covered in his own blood, trying to stop crying. Ewron crouched closer with the paper they folded the day before. He started cleaning Jeremys face carefully. The tougher the touch was, the louder his reactions were.
“Is your nose broken?” Ewron ignored the pain in his ribs for Jers sake.
“I don't know,” his voice was shaky and quiet. “It hurts so bad,”
“I know, I know… I need to touch it to wipe the blood off, so be ready, okay?” Jeremy nodded. Ewrons touch was softer than expected, but his, most probably, fractured nose ached too much. He grabbed the Poles free hand and squeezed it, wailing. “Sorry, sorry! Clench your teeth, hold my hand, I just need a second,”
Jeremys face was already bruised, it pained Ewron to see it in such a state. The prettiest Dutch boy was now beaten up and crying in front of him. Jer saw sparks of appreciation in his eyes, even through the tears. Being cared for by Ewron felt weird. The guy that always screamed about cards in his face, that wouldn't get off his counter, that seemed to only care about himself, was now… Cleaning his face carefully and tenderly. With a soft, gentle look in his eyes.
“I didn't know you could be so… Sweet,”
“I told you multiple times I want you to stay alive. Did you think I lied?”
“If I'm honest… I thought you only cared about the cards most of the time,” Jer sniffed, still holding onto Ewrons hand.
“Well, if you're not there, who's going to support my addiction?”
“Oh…”
“I'm joking, I'm joking! After all this… I definitely don't want you to die for different reasons than just cards,” Ewron interlinked their fingers, smiling. “But when we come back, I need you to make a new set!”
“Oh my gooood, you only think about gambling! You addict!” Jeremy wanted to laugh, but his face hurt too much. He looked up at Ewron, who also seemed unable to let out a giggle. He had his arm wrapped around himself, biting his lip. “What's wrong?”
“Nothing, don't worry about it. I must've fallen in a weird way and done something to my ribs, it's whatever,”
“Is it?”
“It's definitely not as bad as your nose, I doubt anything's broken,” Ewron assured him, caressing the top of his hand with his thumb.
“We should still check you out. If not here, then outside, when we go home,” their position was more romantic than he imagined earlier… Except they were still locked up. He couldn't let his face go red or let himself get nervous. It was just Ewron, after all. He had no shame. He might've as well kissed him and he'd act normal afterwards. He acted like that with every person. Flirted with, touched, even kissed out of nowhere. That was just his nature, so he couldn't get his hopes up. And, why would he? He's a straight man. Why would he have any hopes for another man? Sure, said man was quite handsome… And witty, hilarious even. Obviously, he was also kind of annoying sometimes, but Jeremy realised he stopped caring about it a long time ago. Ewron was so charming, he made friends instantly, clicked with everyone the moment they started talking, it was no surprise he was flirty. But their situation here was different. He wasn't pushy, he wasn't just giggling about. He seemed to genuinely care.
A few more days passed by, with more beatings if they disobeyed, but generally, they were less severe than the previous ones. Unfortunately, what's been done to them before affected them enough for Jeremy to have trouble breathing properly and Ewron moving quickly. He could only sit and lay down in very specific positions. They flinched every time the alarms sounded, covering each other, hiding in each other's arms. The only time they were let out was if they begged to use the toilet, and even then, they were guarded. They couldn't leave together at the same time, of course.
The day they were let out home started with them waking up to the sound of the door opening. Instinctively, Ewron moved his puffed up tail to cover Jeremy. The Fed that let himself in, put down a chest, in it all their belongings. Next to it, a sign.
“Keep quiet or you'll never see the sunlight again.”
They got their warp stones so quickly, Jer heard Ewron squeak in pain from standing up too fast.
“Let's meet each other at home,” he suggested.
“You know it!”
Ewron instantly found himself in the Polish Cave. Home.
No one was awake yet. He ran up to the waystone and within seconds, he was standing in Holland, where Jeremy just walked out the café.
“Ewron! You're safe, oh my god, we're both safe!” He felt tears in his eyes again. He was so happy they found each other again, because at first, he was worried they would be dropped off somewhere far away from their bases.
“Jeremy!” Ewron opened his arms for the other guy to run into, and so he did. The Pole sighed in pain when Jeremy hugged him a little too tight. He looked up at him, his little fangs showed. Jeremy found this grown man too cute. And it seemed like they had the same idea at the same time, because as Jer pulled Ewrons head closer, so he did with his.
Their lips met, Jeremys hands cupped Ewrons face, carefully tasting what felt like ages of waiting. Ewrons tail wrapped around them, tickling the Dutchies side just enough for him to let out a giggle. They finally felt safe. This one time Ewron wasn't screaming about going to sleep. And good, because the sun made itself seen from behind the horizon, rising. The breeze from the water caressed their hair slightly, and with the first rays of sunshine, the Dutch frogs woke up from their sleep. Their melody sweetened their already sweet moment.
This kiss wasn't like the ones Ewron had been sending everyone. It wasn't a smooch, like the one he gave Jeremy some time before. It was gentle, loving, long. Intimate. Like it was the only thing on his mind. Which, Jeremy didn't know, but it was.