Archive of Our Own

The End is never fully quiet. 

There is always a faint humming in the background, like the void is trying to make itself known, as if it isn't crowding your vision anytime it can. It is dark and black and cold, and to MinuteTech, it is home. He's always been a solitary kind of person, and the End is a perfect example of solitude. It is barren and empty. To others, it's boring. There is nothing to find except long abandoned cities, the creatures that inhabit them, and Enderman. Not that there are any Enderman around anyway. 

Minute inhales, sitting on the edge of the island and staring out at the void. Now that he’s made friends with Wemmbu, who most people on the server are scared of and don’t want to antagonize, there is less threat to anyone coming in and taking his dimension from him. He gets to relax, check on the spawn platform box every once and a while, and not worry. Even so, when he hears soft footsteps behind him, his immediate reaction is to tense for a moment, hand twitching to go for his sword. When he turns his head, Eggchan is coming his way, arms full of books and papers and... a fishing rod?

"I want to see what'll happen if I toss the line in the void." Egg says cheerfully, most likely seeing the confusion on his face. It honestly just makes him more confused. Egg sits down next to him with a grunt, his things spilling out onto his lap. He moves them to the endstone on the side opposite Minute. 

"You don't think anyone's tried that before and come back empty handed?" Minute asks. Egg shrugs. 

"Probably." He replies, and casts the line out anyway. Minute sits back, confused, but he'll let him do his thing. He knows Egg likes fishing. He probably misses it. 

For a while, they sit there in silence and let the End's constant hum wrap around them. Egg has a book open on his lap, so Minute's pretty sure he doesn't actually expect anything to happen. He might just be holding the fishing rod for a sense of normalcy. 

The voidling leans back on his hands and allows himself to get lost in his thoughts. 

He's never really cared for the Overworld, if he's being honest. It's too bright, too loud, too chaotic. Even though his family lived there, and that's where he was born, on a regular old city server, he doesn't hold onto any sense of fondness for it. He knows he's definitely one of, if not the only person who thinks this. He doesn't mind. 

Even Spoke, a fellow voidling, didn't seem to like the End very much. 

That was fine. That meant more for Minute, and it also meant he didn't have to compete for territory. 

...Even so, a part of him was glad Egg was here too. He wasn't glad that he was stuck, of course not! But Egg matched his energy. It was nice to have a friend like that. 

It was interesting then, that Egg's best friend was Wemmbu. 

Wemmbu was the opposite of Egg. He was loud, reckless, pushed people around to get what he wanted, and practically lived on violence. An angel and a demon being best friends. What a concept. 

"Hey Egg?" Minute asked. Egg looked up at him. "How did you end up friends with Wemmbu, anyway?"

Egg huffed a laugh. "We basically grew up together, dude. Met in kindergarten and have been attached at the hip since." He looked unhappy for a moment. "I miss him. It's weird not being able to be at his side." 

"I can't imagine the amount of loyalty in a relationship like that." Minute said thoughtfully. 

"I don't remember a time without him." Egg confessed. "He's always been there. He knows I would never betray him. I don't have any doubts in my mind about that either." 

"Interesting." Minute hums. "So you know like. Everything about each other."

Egg sets his fishing rod down, but the line is still hanging off the island. "Yeah." He confirms, looking thoughtful. "As far as I know he's never kept any secrets from me. At least not for long." 

Minute opens his mouth to respond, when a crash comes from the spawn area. He's on his feet immediately, sword drawn. Egg stumbles up after him and follows him to the box. 

The glass has shattered, and Wemmbu is lying flat on his face, blood seeping out from under him on the obsidian. Minute activates the redstone door immediately, not thinking about how the missing blocks could mess it up. Egg rushes in at once, carefully turning him over to see the injury better. Minute helps sit him up and gently keeps his head from lolling down so his hair doesn't get in the wound. His chestplate has a large hole in it, burnt around the edges, and there's a gaping cut going from his chest down to his right side. 

"Shit." Minute gasps. He can see the man's ribs. "Help me carry him to the main room, I'll get some medical gear." 

Egg's face is tight with worry, but when he speaks, his voice is steady. "Alright." 

It takes longer than Minute would've liked, and they have to hold him at an awkward angle that has Wemmbu wincing even in his unconscious state, but they manage to get him onto the couch. 

"I'll be back as soon as I can, keep pressure on the wound." Minute tells Egg, and rushes off as fast as he can.

***

Eventually, they're able to stop the bleeding. 

They've gone through an entire roll of bandages, and Wemmbu's armour is lying cracked and broken on the floor after Egg had managed to pull it off of him and Minute pressed bandages over the injury. 

The demon hasn't woken up during this entire sequence of events, breathing still uneven, but less shallow than before. 

Egg's panic has died down. Wemmbu is relatively stable, and both he and Minute have decent medical skills. Plus, Minute has started to stitch the cut. He'll be fine. 

His wings, which have been permanently puffed up, finally start to smooth down.

Minute stitches the wound with steady hands, and Egg decides he should probably get Wemmbu’s hair out of the way, so he stands and gets a hair tie. 

He pulls the purple locks of hair behind the man’s shoulders and starts to brush. It’s knotted beyond belief, but Egg has had nearly two decades of experience dealing with it, so he doesn’t falter. 

The rhythmic feel of the brush sliding down Wemmbu’s hair, which is slowly detangling, calms Egg even more. It’s normal. Safe. Wemmbu is safe. 

Fifteen minutes later, when Minute is finishing bandaging up the wound and preparing to fix up all the other scrapes and cuts, and Egg is about seventy percent done with his hair, Wemmbu stirs.

He lifts his head with a whine that he would definitely deny later, and brings a hand up to press against the side of his face.

“I feel like I got stabbed.” He complains, voice scratchy. 

“You did.” Minutes says, deadpan. “Don’t move to much or you’ll tear up my stitches.”

“Yes dad.” Wemmbu snarks, and looks up, blinking. Egg continues sorting through his hair, unphased.

“Hold your arm out.” Minutes tells him. Wemmbu obeys. “What happened?”

Minutes cleans up one of the cuts and Wemmbu winces.

“Got jumped.” He said simply. “I was tired from running all over the place and wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings. I managed to kill the guys camping the portal but they used this… I don’t know what it was, but they threw this potion on me and it literally started melting the armour.”

“That explains the hole in your chestplate I suppose.” Minute mused. “Some of it might have gotten on your arms. I was wondering what those burns were.”

“Hole in my-“ Wemmbu’s gaze snapped over to his armour discarded on the floor. “Really?” He complained, slumping.

“Stop moving.” Egg grumbled, pulling a bit harsher when he ran the brush through it. Wemmbu mumbled an apology and went still.

“How’d you think you got stabbed?” Minute asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

“I wasn’t- ok.” Wemmbu huffed.

Minute let out a rare chuckle. “It’s not the worst one I’ve seen.” He assured. “But I’m going to be watching you like a hawk to make sure you don’t rip those stitches because I spent like twenty minutes on those.”

Wemmbu sighs. “Egg can you braid my hair?”

Egg nodded, and then realized his friend couldn’t see him. “Sure. I’m done brushing anyway.”

Braiding is even easier than brushing. He’s been doing it for as long as Wemmbu’s worn his hair past shoulders. It hardly takes him five minutes, even with the amount of it. He pats the man’s shoulder when he’s done and moves from behind his back. “I’m glad you’re ok.”

Wemmbu smiles at him. It’s a smile he doesn’t give anyone else. Egg does the same.

Minute finishes one arm and moves to the other. “You’re probably hungry.” He stated, and Wemmbu’s stomach grumbles at the same time. “Egg can you make him some soup while I finish this?”

“Yep.” Egg affirmed, over Wemmbu’s loud exclamation of “soup?!”

Minute glared at the demon hybrid. “You have a big hole in your chest. I’m not risking anything. Besides, you passed out when coming through the portal, so I want to make sure there’s nothing else wrong, and soup is safe since it’s not solid.”

“I’ll put in some health and regen pots.” Egg says.

Wemmbu rolled his eyes and grumbled.

***

Minute finished up patching him up and sat back with a sigh. His hands were kind of cramping, but it was worth it, because his son Wemmbu looked a lot calmer. No that wasn’t the right word. He looked softer.

His tail flicked calmly behind him occasionally, his shoulders weren’t hiked up, and his eyes were more lidded than open.

Minute was glad. He felt safe enough here, in his dimension, to not be tensed and ready to fight. He felt safe around him.

The warmth he felt was consuming him, and he did not want to start asking if he could hug the other man, so he busied himself with cleaning up.

“Minute.” Wemmbu said.

When the voidling looked at him, he looked awkward, but like he was trying to cover it up with confidence. “What’s up?”

Wemmbu faltered for a moment, and then broke. “Thank you. For patching me up.”

Minute didn’t let his surprise stop him from speaking, because the demon looked like he had just swallowed a lemon and wanted to sink into the ground. He smiled. “Of course.” Minute stood up, medkit in hand. “Do you need anything else?”

Wemmbu stared at him with an unreadable expression, before his gaze skittered over to the floor. “…Just like. I don’t know. You don’t have to leave.”

The implication was an obvious; “I want you to stay.” He’d let Wemmbu keep up his uncaring facade though.

“Wasn’t planning on it.” Minute assured casually. He moved over to a cupboard at the entrance of the room and set the medkit inside. In the corner of his eye, Wemmbu settled.

Egg walked in with a bowl of steaming soup. Wemmbu practically lit up at the sight of him.

“Bro, did it have to be soup?” Wemmbu complained, slumping against the wall as Egg sat down next to him. But there was a hint of a smile on his face and he took the bowl without being told.

“Soup’s good for you.” Egg stated matter-of-factly, poking his friend on the non-injured side. “Plus, it’ll make you feel better, trust.”

Wemmbu rolled his eyes dramatically. “Whatever you say.” He sighed, and put the spoon in his mouth.

Minute, who had been watching the interaction, moved over to the desk Egg was in ninety percent of the time and turned the chair around so he could face them while he sat. He then promptly pulled out the blanket he’d been crocheting.

Wemmbu’s eyes bulged out of his skull. “You crotchet?” He demanded.

Minute shrugged. “It’s something to do with my hands.”

“The great Guardian of the End.” Wemmbu teased, but he looked curious. “What else have you made?”

“He made a sleeve for my fishing rod so my hands don’t freeze off when I fish.” Egg interjected, not looking up from where he was preening his wings. “I didn’t catch anything by the way.”

Wemmbu and Minute both looked at him like he’d grown a second head. Egg gave them a flat look. “I left my fishing rod back at the edge of the island remember? I remembered it when I went to make the soup and had to go get it. What if, like, a great giant void monster pulled into the void.”

At their stunned silence, Egg huffed and then said fishing rod materialized in his hand, glowing with enchantments.

“…You were trying to fish in the void?” Wemmbu asked sceptically.

“I miss fishing, and believe it or not, you get a little sick of reading when it’s the only thing you can do.” Egg grumbled. The rod went back into his inventory.

Wemmbu looked a little sad and picked at the couch under him. His bowl sat half finished next to him. “We need to find a way to get you out of here.” He said, voice quieter than normal. Egg picked up on it immediately.

“Dude, this is not your fault.” He said, bumping their shoulders together. “I willingly got myself shot into the portal. I don’t blame you or anything.”

Wemmbu’s mouth twisted and he didn’t say anything, but it was clear he didn’t agree.

“Finish your soup, Wemmbu.” Minute said after a small bout of silence, hoping to steer the conversation away from Egg’s situation.

Wemmbu did so without any whining, which definitely meant he was upset.

Egg continued preening, and Minute continued working on his blanket. They would figure something out.

***

At some point, Minute had to leave to do his rounds of the island (read: stand at the spawn box for a disturbing amount of time) and Wemmbu took over preening Egg’s wings after they transferred to the angel’s nest.

It took a long time, the man had three sets of wings for goodness sakes, but Wemmbu loved his best friend, and his instincts were humming in the back of his head about safety, so he tried to make them as nice as possible.

Egg was slumped over, leaning dangerously backwards, so Wemmbu gently nudged him forwards again and his friend made a disgruntled noise, wings fluttering. Wemmbu shifted a feather back into place and he relaxed again.

“Feels nice?” Wemmbu teased lightly, brushing a clump of dirt out. Egg shuddered.

“S’fire.” He mumbled. Wemmbu bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing.

Wemmbu preened and preened, and his hands started to cramp but he kept on regardless. His instincts were shouting at him, safe, home, family, brother, mine, mine, mine.

He was keeping his family safe and protected. He didn’t need anything else. Something was still missing though. There was an absence of someone important.

Minute entered the room as Wemmbu finished with Egg’s wings, and abruptly that feeling was gone.

“Minute.” He grumbled. He’d pulled Egg backwards against him. The man snored softly. “Come here.” He didn’t care about keeping up a facade now. He was family. He needed to be in the nest.

Minute seemed to sense that as well. This wasn’t the first time it had happened after all. “Just give me a sec to get my armour off.” He assured.

Wemmbu groaned, pulling Egg with him as he settled onto his side. He closed his eyes and buried his head in soft hair. Egg shifted in his sleep, wings no doubt flaring out behind him, and pressed against him.

A few minutes later, and a comforting presence appeared behind him, lying down with a grunt. A big wing draped across Wemmbu and Egg.

The purple demons tail wrapped around Minute’s waist contentedly. “Sleep.” Minute’s deep voice rumbled. He sounded like a father.

“Yes sir.” Wemmbu slurred, and knew no more.

***

He awoke the next morning in pain. His stomach and head hurt, and he couldn’t breathe.

An involuntary whine escaped him and he reached out for the angel that was supposed to be there. Panic flared in his chest when he didn’t find anyone, but his eyes wouldn’t obey and open.

“Shhh.” Someone hushed, settling a gentle hand in his hair and scratching his scalp. “I’m right here. You’ve got a fever.”

Wemmbu swallowed and winced. “How?” He croaked.

“Minute says it’s because of some sort of adrenaline/stress crash. Also paired with all your injuries. He’s making you soup.” Egg explained calmly.

“More soup.” Wemmbu grumbled, but he didn’t mind that much because it would make his throat feel better. He floundered around for the angel and his friend caught one his hands in his own. He hummed, satisfied. The rhythmic motion of Egg’s other hand in his hair, soothing his headache, lulled him to sleep again.

***

Sometime later, Egg shook him awake to eat.

“You gotta sit up, Wemm.” The angel murmured apologetically. “So you don’t choke. Come on, up you get.”

Wemmbu, tired to the bone, didn’t even complain. He felt too awful for that. At least this time his eyes worked, and he stared blankly ahead.

Egg sat beside him holding the bowl. He was feeding him. Wemmbu was too out of it to care, especially because the weight of his friend’s wing across his back was a much nicer thing to focus on.

Minute had gone back on patrol, which was quite unfortunate, because Wemmbu would’ve really liked to tuck himself in those big wings and arms where he didn’t have to worry about being hunted down or being the strongest or what was going to happen next.

The annoying side effect of being sick; he was a lot more emotional and clingy. Case in point, when Egg set the bowl down after he’d finished with it, Wemmbu immediately crawled onto his lap, curling his tail around the man’s left wrist.

Egg, who had been his friend since they were really little and was used to all of his antics, didn’t falter or hesitate. He simply wrapped his arms around and held him.

Wemmbu dozed for a while. At some point he’d grumbled as Egg had shifted so they were lying on the couch instead, but he’d calmed when he’d ended up on top of the angel, clinging to him like a barnacle.

He remembered Egg giggling like mad, and trying in vain to quiet himself. He didn’t know what was so funny. Other than that, he was a very good pillow.

When Wemmbu came to, Egg was speaking quietly to MinuteTech. He blearily opened his eyes, vision catching on a wall of fluffy white.

He shifted, brushing the wing away. It went easily.

“Ah.” Minute said with a warm smile. “It seems he’s awake.”

Wemmbu blinked at him. Why wasn’t he- he was supposed to-

He stretched his arm out to try and reach for him, and when he couldn’t touch him, he pouted.

“Brother might be the clingiest guy on the server right now.” Egg teased. Wemmbu was too out of it to care about what was being said about him. Minute shuffled over and sat against the couch.

Wemmbu cooed at him in thanks, and relaxed again.

“Awww.” Egg fawned.

“What?” Minute asked. “I’ve never heard him make that noise before.”

“It means he feels very safe. I’m one of the only people who gets to hear it.” Egg explained.

“Oh.” Minute looked startled, and then looked over at him with an unreadable expression on his face. It was very soft though. “Thank you.” He ruffled the purple demon’s hair. Wemmbu let his eyes drift closed again.

“Who else has he done that to?” Minute asked.

“I think Flame’s gotten to hear it once.” Egg mused.

“Flame?” Minute gaped. “Aren’t they like. Rivals?”

“Yeah, but they trust each other. They wouldn’t want the other hurt really bad because they like fighting with each other, but beyond that, they’ve both helped the other through some stuff.” Egg said.

“Flame’s nice.” Wemmbu mumbled, tail flicking. “To me. When he wants to be.”

Minute chuckled incredulously. “Well isn’t that something.”

***

It was warm.

The End wasn’t supposed to be warm. That’s where he was, wasn’t he?

Wemmbu’s head was hurting again, and the wound in his chest throbbed. He felt like throwing up. Oh gosh, he was going to throw up.

He rolled over off his back at once, and someone made a startled sound. The voice was very familiar. Why was it so familiar?

He threw up. All over the floor. Thankfully, it seemed he’d missed the fabric of Egg’s nest. Was that who was with him? No, Egg wasn’t that warm. Who was…

“Oh, bro.” Flame said, holding back his hair.

What.

“Whu-“ he tried to say, and then threw up again.

“Dude, don’t try and talk bro. How did you even end up sick anyway?” Flame teased. “The great warrior, Wemmbu-“

“Shut u-“ The next bout of vomit came out his nose as well. He sobbed as it burned his nostrils.

“Hey, you’re ok.” Flame soothed. “It’s alright. Jeez that’s gotta hurt, huh.”

Thankfully, it didn’t last that much longer. His rival friend helped him sit back on his knees.

Flame took out an elastic and manoeuvred Wemmbu’s hair into a ponytail.

“…Egg?” Wemmbu managed to ask. Flame seemed to understand what he meant, somehow.

“Minute’s put him in charge of the spawn box. The “Guardian of the End” is out in the Overworld looking for healing and regen stuff.”

“Hm.” Wemmbu grunted. He leaned to the side and pressed against the wall of warmth sitting next to him.

Flame helped him back into the nest. “How do you feel?” He asked, choosing to ignore that the demon hybrid was slowly curling further and further into him.

“Mmgh.” He grumbled, now fully trying to cuddle up onto the other’s lap.

“Bro, oh my-“ Flame huffed, leaning back for him. “Clingiest guy of the century right here. How’d you even get sick?”

“Stabbed.” Wemmbu mumbled.

“Did it get infected??” Flame asked, bewildered.

Wemmbu shook his head. “Warm.”

Flame muttered something that vaguely sounded like “end of that conversation.”

“Yeah, I am bro. I’m a fire demon what do you expect?” He said.

Wemmbu pressed closer. “Good.”

Flame was saved from his struggled attempts at a response when Minute returned.

“Bro, why would you put me in charge of him bro. He’s so clingy.” He complained immediately.

Minute sounded like he was smiling when he responded. “He said he trusted you and we needed someone to watch him.”

“Did not say that.” Wemmbu denied, but he was sprawled over the fire demon’s front, head tucked under his chin. His tail had twined around Flame’s, who had reluctantly consented to it.

“How do you feel, Wemmbu?” Minute asked then, switching back into dad-mode. He came over and kneeled down, gently shifting the purple demon’s head so he could feel his forehead. Wemmbu leaned into him as well.

“Bad.” He admitted. His throat felt like sandpaper and his stomach, now that he wasn’t focused on throwing up anymore, was throbbing. “H’rts.”

Flame rubbed his back. Ha. He did care.

“Where does it hurt?” Minute asked.

Wemmbu gestured to his throat and then pulled up his shirt where the cut was covered in bandages.

Flame winced at the sight of it when he craned his neck to look. “Dude how deep is that?”

“I could see his ribs.” Minute says worriedly. “I don’t know if it’s healing very well.”

“Potion?” Wemmbu rasped, tilting his head up hopefully.

“At this point that’s probably best. I’ll be right back.” And then Minute was gone. Wemmbu turned his head back into Flame’s neck with a huff. The tip of his tail flicked irritably.

“On a scale of one to ten how bad does it hurt?” Flame asked, lowering his voice. He couldn’t be sure the man wasn’t hiding a headache.

“Seven maybe.” Wemmbu murmured. “Not the worst in the world, but I still feel terrible and like I want to die. Sorry, I can-” He felt some clarity come back to him, and started to pull away. He couldn’t believe he’d been cuddling someone who was supposed to be his rival. With Egg it would be fine, even with Minute, but Flame? Why was the man even putting up with it? Didn’t he-

Flame pulled him back. “Dude, relax. You’re injured and sick, I don’t mind if you want to hold onto me bro. It’s because I’m warm right? It’s comforting?”

Wemmbu relented, nodding. “This never happened though.” He grumbled.

“Obviously, bro.” They lapsed into silence.

Cautiously, Wemmbu gently let the purr trapped in his chest spill out.

Flame didn’t say anything about it. He just squeezed him.

By the time Minute came back, Wemmbu was purring loudly, half asleep.

Flame glared at him. “This never happened.”

Wemmbu could hear Minute’s eyeroll. “Sure.”

Minute sat down in the nest, holding a health pot, regen pot, and some buttered bread.

“You need to eat something too. You threw up, so it’s not good to have the potions with an empty stomach. Speaking of, I’ll have to clean that up later.” Minute explained.

“Sor-“ Wemmbu tried to apologize, but Minute and Flame both shushed him.

“You’re sick, bro. People throw up when they’re sick. It’s not a big deal.” Said Flame.

“I’ve had to clean up worse.” Offered Minute. “One time, Egg was moving some of his ink around and he tripped. It went everywhere. The ink stains were there for days.”

Wemmbu smiled. “I remember that. It took ages to clean his wings.”

“I would’ve just moved.” Flame muttered.

“Well I had to replace most of the blocks cause the ink wouldn’t come out.” Minute mused, handing Wemmbu the plate of food. The purple demon took a tentative bite.

Minute and Flame chatted as Wemmbu ate and drank. Eventually, he started to doze off again.

He latched onto Minute’s arm and held it to his chest like a teddy bear, eyes shutting. He started to purr again.

Minute barely reacted, besides shifting so he was closer. He’d moved onto another story about when he was a kid, where he’d gone to a birthday party and they’d all gotten slime.

He fell asleep to the sound of his voice, and Flame’s heartbeat.

***

Egg was there when he woke up. He was sitting with Wemmbu’s head on his lap, reading.

Wemmbu closed his eyes again, content.

He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed his best friend’s presence, even if he hadn’t really been awake for most of his absence. Flame and Minute were both great, but this was Egg.

And, having known him for so long, Egg could sense that he was awake. Fingers started to scratch his scalp. Wemmbu rolled over from his back to his front so he could bury his face in his friend’s lap, already purring.

“How do you feel?” Egg asked quietly, setting his book down.

Wemmbu pouted a bit, not really wanting to focus on his body right now, but-

He felt. Fine, actually. Not fully of course, he was still aching, and his stomach seemed to be holding some sort of revenge plan against him, but the healing and regen pots had seemed to do their job.

“Much better.” He said, reluctantly pulling himself up. Of course, that was when his body decided to throw him into a coughing fit.

Egg’s eyebrows rose, disbelieving.

“I mean it.” Wemmbu complained when it was over. “It’s not my fault my lungs decided to stop working for a second.”

Egg laughed. “Minute wanted to check your wound when you woke up.” He informed.

Just like that, his good mood was down the drain. He groaned, whining and complaining, and Egg just sat there calmly and waited for him to lock in.

Minute entered the room, medkit in hand, looking every bit like a tired father. Flame, apparently still here, trailed after him. He grinned. “I wanted to learn how to patch up people the proper way.”

“I am not letting him near my wound.” Wemmbu snarled, skittering away to hide behind Egg, who was trying valiantly not to laugh.

“Wemmbu don’t be a baby.” The angel said. The purple demon cuffed him over the head. Egg giggled.

Eventually, and mostly because no-nonsense-MinuteTech was scary, they managed to get Wemmbu sat down with his shirt off.

Minute undid the bandages and peered at the cut. “It seems the potions I gave you did their job, but it should stay stitched up. Let’s look at all your other cuts.”

Flame’s brow furrowed. “There’s more-?” He asked as Minute rolled up Wemmbu’s sleeves and pant legs.

The potions had healed up nearly all of them. Minute looked satisfied as he discarded the bandages.

“This might be one of the worst stab wounds you’ve ever gotten, Wemm.” Egg mused as Minute started to clean it gently. Wemmbu’s tail thrashed.

“Great, thanks for the info.” He gritted out, glaring somewhere up at the ceiling.

“Does it hurt that bad, or are you being dramatic?” Minute asked.

“Eight out of ten.” Wemmbu grunted.

“Hmm.” Minute peered closer at the cut.

Flame looked worried now. “Why in the world does it hurt that bad?”

“Wemmbu, what happened when you got stabbed? Your armour was melted right?” Minute asked.

“I don’t really remember, the memory is pretty blurry.” He responded over Flame’s “what?”

Minute pulled out a weird tool, and when he flicked a switch on the side, a tiny light came on.

Egg, Flame and Wemmbu stared at it.

Minute ignored them, pointing the light at the cut. He frowned, shifting around, and at some points, gently tugging at the skin around the cut (Wemmbu made sure his displeasure with this was very known), before his eyes widened.

“I have no idea how I didn’t see that before.” He said, voice tight with panic. “There’s chunks of netherite stuck in it. It’s probably from your armour. The potions must’ve been closing the skin around them.”

“Great.” Wemmbu snarled.

“Wemmbu, I’m so sorry-“

“Shut up, MinuteTech, seriously. It’s not your fault.” Wemmbu huffed, tilting his head down so he could see.

“I’m going to have to take out the stitches and open the wound further so I can try and get them out.” Minute said anxiously.

“Am I going to be awake or asleep for this impromptu surgery, doc?” Wemmbu asked sarcastically.

“…You should probably be asleep.” Minute responded.

“Ok.” Wemmbu sighed, and then reached forward and pulled the older man into a hug. “Dude, it’s ok. I know your dad instincts are going crazy or whatever, but I’ll be fine. I’ve gone through worse. When Egg and I were in the Farlands, I had so many injuries because we were getting hunted down, and they froze up in the snowy biome. It hurt like hell. Egg tried to heal them before we were out of it, and it just froze up more. I had to pick out ice shards for days.”

“Did we really have to bring that up.” Egg grumbled. Wemmbu smirked.

Flame shifted uncomfortably next to him. Oh yeah. He’d been one of said people hunting him down. Wemmbu let his tail lay on the man’s lap. I forgive you. It’s chill dude.

Minute let out a shaky breath.

Wemmbu let Minute keep hugging him until the pain in his stomach got unbearable, in which point he leaned back and hunched over himself. Unfortunately, they had to move him to the couch so it was easier for him to stay up. The cut throbbed so bad Wemmbu actually felt like crying for a moment.

“Should we give him anything for pain?” Egg asked after they’d all gotten into their new positions.

“Well we’ll need to get him asleep somehow after I take these stitches out. I have some slowness and weakness in my e-chest.” Minute said, standing up.

“You’re getting drugged, bro.” Flame bumped his shoulder cheekily. “Never thought I’d see the day.”

Wemmbu made sure his eye roll was very obvious. One of Egg’s wings draped over his back.

“Ok.” Minute breathed, sitting back down. “Hold still Wemm.”

Wemmbu did as told. Taking the stitches out wasn’t terrible, but the cut did immediately start bleeding, which wasn’t great. At some point, he’d discarded his dignity again and latched onto Flame’s hand. The warmth took his mind off the pain.

Once all the stitches were out and Egg was holding bandages over it (he’d had to move from beside Wemmbu to in front of him to help Minute, something the demon hybrid wasn’t very happy about), they had him drink the potions.

They were disgusting, but it distracted him from what was happening, so that was good.

Immediately, he felt the effects of them. He couldn’t seem to hold up his head anymore, blinking blearily.

He mumbled something even he couldn’t decipher, and then passed out.

***

It was really weird, seeing Wemmbu like this.

His head lay back against the couch, and his body was limp. It made Flame uncomfortable.

Wemmbu was supposed to be loud and annoying, flying up in the air with his mace over and over again, swinging its weight around carelessly. He wasn’t supposed to be passed out on a couch, looking like one breeze would cause him to topple over.

Minute poked around the cut when it stopped bleeding. “Alright.” He sighed. “I need to figure out how to start this.”

“We’re probably going to have to widen it.” Egg suggested. “To get the chunks out. I’m worried about the fact that the pots we gave him made the skin close around them. There might be pieces of netherite fully incased somewhere.”

Minute poked around with more vigour. It didn’t take him long to find a lump. “Fuck.” He swore.

“It’s alright.” Egg interjected, gently pulling the voidling’s shaking hands away. “We found it now, that’s what matters.”

“But how many- what if-“

“Brother.” Egg wrapped a wing around Minute and pulled him into his side. “Wemmbu will be fine. He is fine. He was just awake and being himself a few minutes ago. This isn’t the worst injury he’s ever had.”

“But I made it worse.” Minute stressed, voice muffled behind feathers.

“And no one blames you for it.” Flame butt in. “Wemmbu especially.”

Minute had to spend a bit longer pressed against the angel, but eventually he stopped shaking.

Egg let him go. “We should probably start. We don’t know how long he’s gonna be asleep for.” He said.

The next half an hour was a blur of activity. They got out the one piece Minute had found fully embedded in the skin, and then widened the wound to have more access to the inside.

Wemmbu was quiet and motionless for all of it (Flame checked his pulse multiple times, paranoid), until the biggest netherite piece had to be taken out.

He jolted when it was jiggled, a loud, pained whine escaping him. Flame reached over and held his hand, trying to swallow past the lump in his throat.

Weak sobs and cries continued as Minute and Egg tried their best to be gentle. Flame got up and sat down on the couch next to the purple demon, gently wrapping an arm around him above the cut (it was more of a hole now), tucking into his side.

“You’re ok, it’s ok.” He soothed. “I’m right here. You’ll feel so much better after, I promise.” He rose his body temperature a bit, hoping that would help. Miraculously, Wemmbu calmed. Flame twined their tales together and squeezed his hand. “I’m not leaving you until you’re in tiptop shape, I swear.” He said.

There was a cheer from the ground, and then a curse.

Flame twisted his neck around the best he could to see Minute holding out a big chunk of netherite. The size of it made his stomach turn.

Egg was pressing copious amounts of bandages to the hole. “That better be the last of it.” He said. “We better pray he’s not bleeding internally.”

“That’s the last one.” Minute exhaled. “We need healing and regen pots.” And then he hurried out of the room.

Egg looked up, brow creased with worry. “Is he ok?”

Flame felt a little bit guilty. Egg was Wemmbu’s best friend. He should probably be the one sitting here instead. “I think he will be.” He said. “I can move if you want to sit here with him instead.”

He had a feeling Wemmbu would like that as well. Even in his unconscious state, he’d leaned towards the angel when he spoke.

Egg nodded. “You need to come here and hold this first though.”

Flame peeled himself away, heart breaking a little bit at Wemmbu’s confused panic, and took Egg’s place, pressing the bloodied fabric for pressure.

Egg sat down next to his friend, lifting him slightly to put his wing around him. He seemed to know what to do immediately. …It was a much better job than what Flame had been doing.

“Shhh.” He hushed, smoothing a hand down his hair. “You’re ok. Everything’s going to be fine. You’re safe. Minute and Flame are here as well as me. All the netherite is out now. You did such a good job Wemm, I’m so proud of you.”

The demon hybrid calmed, whimpering a little, and turned his head into his friend’s shoulder. Flame tore his gaze away.

Minute rushed back into the room, bottles clinking. He barely faltered at the swapped positions.

“Alright this is good actually. You wanted to learn how to stitch properly, right Flame?” Minute said. Flame perked up.

“Oh yeah!” If he couldn’t help one way, he could help like this!

Minute dribbled some of a healing potion in the wound (it had finally stopped bleeding), and then walked him through the steps. In no time, the hole was cleaned up and stitched.

They sat back, relieved. Wemmbu chose that moment to stir.

“Egg?” He mumbled.

“Hey dude.” Egg smiled, relief palpable in his voice. “How are you feeling?”

“Hmm.” Wemmbu grumbled.

Minute stood. “Here you need to take these.”

Wemmbu peered at him from where his face was still against Egg’s shoulder. He whined, turning away again.

“Wemmbu, please.” Minute said, holding out the potions.

“Give him some space.” Egg said suddenly, a warning note in his voice.

That was all they got before Wemmbu suddenly started to cry. Egg pulled him to his chest calmly.

“What’s wrong?” Flame asked quietly.

“Not sure. He’s probably uncomfortable and in a bit of shock.” Egg responded.

Wemmbu nodded, head buried in his friend’s chest. The sobs weren’t loud, but they still hurt to hear. Egg kissed his hair and covered him with his wings to give him some privacy.

Minute kneeled down, setting the bottles on the floor. He reached forward and Wemmbu took his hand under Egg’s wing.

“…Scared.” Wemmbu sniffled.

“What’s scary?” Minute asked gently.

“Felt weak. Couldn’t move. Dark. Hurt.”

“Well it’s all over now.” Egg assured. “All the netherite is out. The hole is all stitched up and can heal up properly now. And Minute has some healing pots for you to take the pain away.”

The wing was lifted away, and there he was, face a bit wrecked from crying, looking at Minute with a hopeful expression.

“Just like before, you should eat something as well.” Minute said.

“I can go get him so-“ Flame started, and was then interrupted.

“No." Wemmbu interjected. “Flame stays.”

The fire demon blinked. “O-kay, but what abou-“

“I can do it.” Minute sighed. Wemmbu pouted a bit, but let it happen.

He wants me to stay instead of Minute?? Someone he considers family?? Why???

Minute left the room and Wemmbu looked over at Flame, who was having a bit of a mental breakdown. “Um.” He said. “Um.”

Wemmbu ignoring his stuttering, stretched so he could reach him. He snagged his shirt collar and dragged him forward with surprising strength for someone who was just unconscious. But then again, his whole brand was the mace, aka, the heaviest handheld weapon there was.

Egg didn’t say a word during this entire exchange, but there was an aura of amusement around him, even if Flame couldn’t see his face. “I’m not putting both of you on my lap, Wemm.” He said.

Wemmbu didn’t seem to mind. He held one of Flame’s arms to his chest like he had Minute’s a while ago, twined their tails together, and cooed.

Huh. It had been a while since he’d heard that.

Egg’s hair covered his eyes, but it didn’t cover the giant grin on his face he wasn’t even trying to hide. “Welcome to the family, Flame.” He sang.

Flame, bewildered, couldn’t find anything to respond with.

***

After eating and taking the potions, Wemmbu passed out and didn’t show any signs of waking up for the foreseeable future.

Flame helped Minute clean up, and despite their history (he regretted his attack on the End more and more, even though it was in the past), things were fine between them. They both cared about Wemmbu, therefore Flame was allowed to stay in the End, and Minute was allowed to tease him. Mainly, about his crush on said purple demon that he had swore he was getting better at hiding.

“Am I that obvious?” He grumbled one time while they walked the perimeter of the island.

Minute laughed. “I’m surprised he doesn’t notice.”

Flame’s face went hot. “We’ve already talked about it. We’re not… he doesn’t like me in the same way.”

Minute paused, face shifting through a bunch of unreadable expressions. “Oh. I’m sorry.”

Flame shrugged. “It’s ok. I know he cares about me, even if it’s not romantically. I think he still feels bad about it. He offered to try dating for a while but I didn’t want him to be forced in a situation he didn’t want to be in.”

“I… don’t think he would’ve felt forced. He offered right? Maybe he wants to try and see if he’ll develop is own feelings. Maybe he just doesn’t notice them yet.” Minute said.

Flame stopped. He hadn’t thought of it that way.

“This is just advice, I’m not like… wanting to lead you on or anything.” Minute turned to face him. “Wemmbu cares about you. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have let you see him so vulnerable. I offered to have you here for a reason.”

“I should talk to him.” He said. Minute nodded.

“You should talk to him.” He agreed.

Flame sighed. “Thanks bro. And I’m sorry about uh, raiding your dimension.”

Minute waved him off. “It’s all good. That’s how I met Wemmbu actually. He’d been told by these guys who wanted to spawn the Ender Dragon back in that they needed me dead. But after he realized that the people who were fighting me were people he also didn’t like, we joined sides and fought them off. And then a few months later Egg came through the portal and the rest is history.”

“And now you’re his dad.” Flame smirked.

“I’m n- …I guess I am.” Minute sighed. “I should also probably talk to him about that.”

Flame bumped his shoulder. “Yeah. We’re both facing our feelings today I guess.”

***

Egg was sitting in his nest, writing in his journal. Wemmbu, still out cold, was practically snoring, sprawled across his lap.

Flame and Minute entered, murmuring to each other. Minute looked up and smiled. “How is he?” He asked.

Egg looked down at his best friend. The purple demon’s face was half buried in his waist and he was drooling. His tail flicked contentedly back and forth every few minutes.

“Seems to be having some good dreams.” He said lightly, running his fingers through his hair. In his sleep, the taller leaned into his hand with a soft coo. It must’ve been the dozenth in the past few hours.

Flame wandered over, and with a glance at Egg (who nodded approvingly), he stepped into the nest and sat down next to Wemmbu.

Wemmbu sensed the new arrival of warmth and rolled over so he could tuck into his side as well. His tail drifted over to lay on Egg’s wrist. He gently moved it to his legs instead so he could keep writing, but his friend was a stubborn bastard, and it went right back to his wrist. Egg sighed and put his journal down.

Minute sat down with them as well. Egg smiled, containing his happiness to his wings fluffing up slightly. Everyone was in the nest. Good. That’s how they should be.

He was always happy when both Minute and Wemmbu were in the nest. Recently, only Minute was able to be here with him, which was nice (and Minute gave great cuddles), but having everyone in the nest settled an important instinct in his brain that had been lacking.

And he didn’t mind that Flame was here too. With the way he and Wemmbu had been the past few weeks, he was practically family.

Minute laid a wing over Egg’s shoulders and leaned over to ruffle Wemmbu’s hair.

Though he was sleeping, the purple demon appeared to be absolutely delighted that everyone was here. Egg could definitely relate.

“Wemmbu of all people being a cuddlebug is something I never would have imagined.” Flame huffed at one point.

“Ever since we were little.” Egg sighed. “He’d be all tough outside at school and at the park, and then he’d stay over at my house to have a sleepover and he just wouldn’t let go of me.” He smiled down at the purple demon, who had leaned toward him, likely hearing his voice.

A wave of possessiveness washed over him, but Wemmbu was happily sprawled out on all of their laps and he wasn’t going to take that away from him. There would be plenty other times they could be alone in the nest.

Besides, they’d had an entire childhood together. Egg was glad that his best friend had more friends.

***

Wemmbu finally woke up two days later, and he felt like he’d just got run over by a minecart.

He groaned, cracking his eyes open. His head was pounding. His throat felt like it had ballooned in size. His whole body ached.

There was a warm hand in his hair and it moved to his forehead. “Jeez you’re burning up.” Flame murmured behind him.

Wemmbu whined, turning his head into the lap underneath him.

“How’re you feeling?” Flame asked.

“Bad.” He croaked.

“I’ve got some regen and health pots here if you want some.” The fire demon said.

“Kay’.” Wemmbu mumbled. “Don’ wanna get up though.”

“Unfortunately you’re gonna have to.” Flame chuckled.

Wemmbu grumbled, but obliged.

His head ached so bad it felt like it was going to explode. He curled into a ball, squeezed his eyes shut, and pulled at his hair.

“Hey, don’t do that.” Flame admonished, but his voice was soft and his hands were gentle as he pulled Wemmbu’s own away.

Wemmbu gulped down the potions as soon as they were handed to him, wanting them in his system as quick as possible. Flame rubbed his back with barely concealed concern, and he let it happen.

“Hey, you’re awake!” Egg exclaimed when he entered the room.

Wemmbu set the bottles down and smiled at him. “That I am.” Then he frowned. “How long was I asleep?”

“About two days now.” Minute said, coming in after Egg. They both came into the nest.

“Two days?” Wemmbu gaped. His stomach growled loudly before anyone else could respond.

Minute smiled and pulled a bowl of fuckass soup out of his inventory.

Wemmbu groaned, falling dramatically back against a very confused Flame, and then wincing when pain racked through his stomach. Ok, so not a good idea.

“I’m never eating soup again after this.” He grumbled, taking the dish when Minute passed it to him, chuckling. Wemmbu narrowed his eyes at him. He was sure that man wanted to watch him suffer.

And Egg. The angel was giggling quietly to himself. Betrayal. Only Flame was normal. Wemmbu leaned a bit more into him.

He ate the soup, making sure to exaggerate his pout, and was even more upset when it turned out to be really good.

Darn MinuteTech and his kitchen skills.

"Are you feeling better now?" Flame asked when Wemmbu finished his meal.

"Yeah." Wemmbu said, relieved. He set the bowl down and decided he wanted a cuddle. Flame was very warm and nice, but then he glanced over and saw Egg shift, his best, best friend in the whole world and he loved him very much.

Dang did Minute put like. An affection drug in that soup? Wemmbu wondered, but he was already moving.

He curled up on top of Egg with a contented hum. Egg already had a book on his lap, typical, but he accommodated for him easily, slinging an arm around him without even looking up.

He cooed appreciatively, and hazily looked over to where Minute was sitting. It was too far away. The man thankfully got the message and shuffled over.

Wemmbu glanced over at Flame next.

“You haven’t left much room for me bro.” Flame said, a dumb smirk on his face.

Wemmbu gave him puppy dog eyes because he was very mature.

“Oh, actually.” Minute perked up. “I’ve got to go on duty. Egg, you should… come with me.”

“Now?” Flame said for some reason, looking bewildered.

“Sure dude.” Egg responded over him. He gently moved Wemmbu off his lap (the purple demon grumbled unhappily but the angel ruffled his hair and murmured that he’d come back later for more cuddles, so all was forgiven) and he was deposited next to a grumpy fire demon.

Wemmbu blinked over at him, confused, and Flame avoided his gaze, face heating up.

When Minute and Egg left (with a cheeky looking wave from the voidling directed at Flame) they sat in an awkward silence.

“So. Uh. Are we gonna explain what that was about?” Wemmbu asked, before breaking out in hacking coughs. Ugh.

Flame winced, finally looking at him as he rubbed his back. Wemmbu definitely didn’t lean into him. “I thought he meant, you know, after this guy recovered bro.” The man muttered to himself nonsensically.

Wemmbu swallowed after the fit was over, and then turned and gave his companion a very pointed look. Flame grimaced.

“So… you know when I told you about how I… like… like you?” He said.

Oh. So that’s what they were starting with.

“Yeah?” Wemmbu cocked his head. “Are you… have you stopped feeling like that?”

He would honestly kind of be disappointed if that was the case. Logically he knew it didn’t mean his friend wouldn’t care for him as much anymore, but…

“No! No, no, no, uh.” Flame squeezed his eyes shut, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but here. “So back then you offered to… get together with me and I told you no because I didn’t want to pull you into anything, but recently someone uh, someone helped me realize that I might not be?”

Man, how did he suddenly start losing all the “bro’s” in his vocabulary whenever they had a conversation like this. …Why was that what he was focusing on??

“Are you asking if I’m still willing to date you?” Wemmbu asked bluntly. Sue him, that was the easiest way for him to deal with these sorts of situations. Unless it was Egg. (But most things were an exception when it came to his best friend).

“Yes?” Flame squeaked (wow, he could do that? Focus!), cracking an eye open.

“Can I think about it?”

“Yeah.” Flame sighed, relieved.

“Ok. Because the answer isn’t no, it’s just not “yes” either.” Wemmbu assured. And then he leaned forward and kissed him quickly.

His face burned and he looked away. Flame froze for a couple seconds, before breaking into immediately making fun of him. Classic.

“Awww.” He cooed. “The big bad Wemmbu.” He poked at him repeatedly. The purple demon shrieked and swatted him away.

Flame was laughing at him, but it wasn’t a mean one.

His stomach was still throbbing, but Flame was smiling, and Wemmbu’s lips were tingling, and he was glad they had this conversation.

***

(He had a long cuddle with Egg afterwards, in which Wemmbu laid there with a red face, whining about what he would do, and Egg sat with him quietly and listened. He would have to do something for him to show how much he appreciated everything his friend did).

***

Minute tracked him down for a one on one conversation next. Had they planned this? What was going on?

The Guardian of the End somehow looked even more awkward and uncomfortable than Flame had, which was kind of funny, but Wemmbu was honestly just mostly confused.

“Ok what is going on here?” Wemmbu asked, laughing nervously. “First Flame, and now you? What’s next, Egg?”

Minute chuckled. “No, just us. As far as I know, Egg doesn’t have any important relationship things he needs to sort out with you.”

Wemmbu narrowed his eyes at him, tail flicking. “Please don’t confess your undying love for me, because my answer is no.” He said.

Minute fully laughed this time. It actually took a little while for him to calm down. “No, no, it’s just…” He sighed, and leaned forward. “Wemmbu. I really care about you and Egg. I’ve already mentioned it to him before but I’m… uh… to me you’re like my-“

“I’m like your son, yes.” Wemmbu nodded. Minute stared at him. 

“What?” He demanded, shocked.

“Was that… not where you were going with that? Um, if not then that’s really awkward.” Wemmbu winced.

“No that’s- exactly what I was leading up to actually.” Minute sat back and just stared at him.

“Oh, ok good. You can like- be my dad. If you want. I don’t mind. I don’t really have one anyway.” Wemmbu offered. “Just know that I’m not gonna start “changing my ways” or “following rules” if so.”

“Oh.” Minute said, taken aback. “Yeah, that’s. Yeah. I want that.”

“Ok.” Wemmbu agreed cheerfully, standing up. He trotted over and gave the man a hug. “Thanks dad. Love you.”

And with that, he left the room.

***

Wemmbu was so very glad he had Egg in his life. He was so glad they’d accidentally bumped into each other in kindergarten and then just hit it off from there.

Because now he got to have someone he trusted with his life. Someone he could open up his heart to. Someone who knew all his secrets and vice versa.

It also meant he didn’t need to put up any facades because there was no reason to.

He and Egg were on the couch. Wemmbu had buried his face in the man’s waist and was purring loudly, and the angel was dragging his fingers through his hair, scratching lightly at his scalp.

Egg wasn’t reading for once, he was putting his full attention on him. Wemmbu’s heart was so warm it was nearly uncomfortable.

He was trying to figure out how to ask for praises (hey, half the reason he had wanted to be “the strongest” was because he wanted to know he was good at something), when his friend spoke up.

“That feel nice?” Egg asked.

“Mmm.” Wemmbu mumbled, pressing closer. He came across a dilemma; he had no energy to speak, but he still wanted to ask-

Egg moved his hand and rubbed around the base of his broken horn. “There you go, hey? You’re so pretty.”

Ah. He should’ve known Egg could read his mind.

The purring increased in volume. Egg chuckled.

“That’s what you want?” His friend trailed his hands through his hair. “Ok, I can do that. You did such a good job during the surgery. And you’ve been really brave this entire time. I’m so proud of you, Bu.”

Wemmbu cooed, nuzzling him. He didn’t have any feelings of embarrassment. This was his best friend. He didn’t need to play himself up, or keep himself on his toes, or be anyone else.

He just needed to be him.

This lasted for a while, but eventually, Wemmbu being Wemmbu, started to get restless. He sat up and they both adjusted so they were against the back of the couch instead of the arm, and the purple demon leaned against his angel friend.

…He’d missed him so much.

“We really need to get you out of here.” Wemmbu mumbled into Egg’s shoulder.

Egg, who was busy braiding the taller’s hair, hummed in acknowledgment.

“It’d be nice, yeah.” He said. “I miss fishing. And staying around you, rather than just short visits.”

Wemmbu picked at his pant leg. “Why did you do that, bro. I had it handled.”

“You have eyes in the back of your head?” Egg asked sarcastically, knowing what he was talking about without any prompting. “Wow that’s insane. We can match.”

Wemmbu scowled at him.

“Anyway dude, it’s not that deep. I’m not gonna be in the End for the rest of my life.” Egg continued, tying off the braid. “We just gotta brainstorm a little bit, you know?”

Wemmbu ran his fingers down his friend’s handiwork. It was perfect, as it always was. It was hard not to be, for someone who had been wrangling Wemmbu’s hair just as long as he had.

He gnawed at his bottom lip, not really liking this response. “You’re taking this a lot better than I am, and you’re the one stuck here.”

“Wemm, look at me.” Egg forced his head up without even waiting for him to comply.

“Well you’ve kinda already done it for me.” He tried to joke, but he couldn’t figure out how to smile and his voice was traitorously shaky.

“It going to be fine.” Egg stated firmly, squishing his cheeks. “It is not your fault. And it’s not like I’m in mortal peril either. This is probably the safest place I could be, considering what we’ve heard about the Law so far.”

“But I miss having you with me, all the time.” Wemmbu’s voice cracked as he forced the sentence out. “And I know you’re safe because the End is safe, and if s-something were to happen then Minute would be there, but it’s- different, not being able to like. See you. Easily, at least.”

“I know.” Egg murmured, stroking his face. “And I worry about you too, doofus. I feel like out of the two of us, I should be the one more worried. You’re always getting into trouble, fights, people wanting to kill you, fights, big bad organizations wanting to take over the server, did I mention fights?”

“Alright, alright, I get it.” Wemmbu grumbled, cheeks heating up.

“The point is, I’m safe, you’re safe when you’re here, and we’ll figure out a way to get me out of here. Worst comes to worse, I go through the portal and walk all the way back from the Farlands.” The angel suggested.

Wemmbu shuddered. “No. Then I really wouldn’t be able to protect you, and Minute wouldn’t be there either. Also, we don’t know what’s left of the Void Civilization, and if they won’t just kill you on sight.”

“Then we just stay here for now.” Egg said.

“Yeah.” Wemmbu sighed. “I guess we do.”

***

Flame left the End the next day.

The four of them stood in front of the portal, all saying goodbye.

“Sooo, see you another time?” Flame asked, giving them a small wave. He was fully decked out in armour again, sword in its sheath but his hands nowhere near the hilt.

“Yeah. I’ll talk to you later.” Wemmbu said.

Flame grinned at him. “See ya!” And he stepped through the portal.

“Ok.” Minute turned to him, and Egg followed suit. “What’s wrong?”

Wemmbu blinked. “What?”

“You’re upset.” Minute explained calmly. “I can tell.”

“I am?” Wemmbu asked, genuinely confused.

Minute gave him a look. Wemmbu took a moment to really pay attention and-

Huh. He was.

“How did you know I was upset before I did?” He gaped.

“Call it dad instincts. What’s wrong?” Minute said.

“Um. I’m not sure yet.” Wemmbu winced.

Minute led them inside to the couch.

Wemmbu sat down awkwardly on the edge, but Egg and Minute plopped down on either side of him and manhandled him closer.

“Ok, bro ok-“ Wemmbu wheezed. “I’m not sick anymore bro we don’t need-“

“Shhh.” Egg hushed patronizingly. “Tell us your woes.”

“I don’t know my woes yet!” Wemmbu whined. “Get off me!”

Minute was making a very valiant effort not to laugh.

“Oh yeah, you think you’re sooo funny MinuteTech.” Wemmbu snarked.

“I do actually, thank you.” Minute agreed cheerfully. Wemmbu rolled his eyes.

His friends settled down to let him think (good riddance) and Wemmbu huffed, crossing his arms.

It reminded him of when he would come back for a day or two after his escapades as the Invisible Knight, and-

Oh.

Yeah, he knew why he was upset now.

Anger swelled up, hot and fast.

“I just wanted a fresh start!” He blurted out. “And I got hunted down for it! Why would Parrot- and Flame-“

“Woah, what’s this about?” Minute cut in, setting a hand on his back.

“My freaking identity was revealed if you don’t remember.” Wemmbu snarled. “I wanted people to not be scared of me anymore! I wanted people to not see me and jump to get all their gear ready for a fight, or worse, hunt me down for one instead. But now what? I just go right back to being a target and a threat at the same time? That’s not fair. No, it’s not fair! Why am I the one who everyone started thinking was suspicious when I started wearing invis?! And Parrot, that stupid bird, when I see him again-“

Minute and Egg waited patiently as he ranted, occasionally glancing at each other with increasingly concerned expressions.

Wemmbu shut up, mouth snapping closed. He leaned back against the couch and pulled his knees to his chest angrily.

“I’m not really sure how to unpack all that but uh, it’s good you got it out I suppose.” Minute began cautiously. Most likely not wanting to set him off again.

“We don’t need to go over it, just-“ Wemmbu sighed harshly. “Thanks for listening I guess.”

Egg put his fist over his heart and declared “It’s my duty.”

It was so stupid Wemmbu started cackling, which seemed to be his friend’s goal because the angel beamed. Minute shook his head, an amused expression on his face.

“Well, you’re always welcome here. You won’t ever be anyone else but yourself to us.” He said.

“Awww.” Wemmbu teased immediately, poking him. “Thanks dad.”

“Except a menace.” Minute finished flatly.

“Who’s the favourite child?” Egg asked.

“I would say the one who doesn’t ask that question-“

“Ha!”

“-but as previously stated.” Minute patted Wemmbu’s shoulder and shook his head with mock disappointment. “Menace.”

“What?!” Wemmbu cried over Egg’s excited crows and him throwing his arms up. “How could you?!”

“Minute, you’re my favourite too now.” Egg cheered.

“Oh my gosh, I’m actually going to move away to a far island where no one will ever find me again. You guys can both live in peace being each other’s favourite without me.” Wemmbu grumbled, but there must’ve been a hint of bitterness in his voice (or they were just weird), because they both turned and piled onto him.

“Nahhh, you’re always gonna be my favourite, Wemm.” Egg cooed, nuzzling his hair obnoxiously. Wemmbu jerked away in disgust right into Minute, who pet his hair affectionately.

“My favourite menace.” He said in an overly soft voice.

“Stoppp.” Wemmbu complained, but there was purr building up in his chest. Egg only had to wrap his wings around the three of them and scratch around his horn before it spilled out of him.

They both giggled at him because they were evil, but he was smiling too.

His family. He had a family.

“You guys are so weird.” He accused, but he was pressing into both of their arms, purrs increasing in volume.

“Love you too.” Minute said, crowding in on him as if he wanted to suffocate him.

“Love you three!” Egg butt in, all six of his wings forming a cocoon around them.

Wow. Why were his eyes already getting heavy?

“Sleepybu.” Egg chuckled. Wemmbu huffed and fumbled to hold his hands. His tail wrapped around Minute’s waist.

“Go to sleep now, you two.” Minute said, putting on his dad voice. “I’ll protect you.”

“Yes sir!” Egg chirped, ducking his head to use Wemmbu’s shoulder as a pillow.

“Mmph.” Said the purple demon eloquently, tucking himself in as close as he could get.

Flanked on either side by his two best friends, it wasn’t hard to obey Minute’s command.