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Wemmbu had been sitting in this sunflower field for a while. 2 hours. Egg was beside him, staring at nothing in particular. It was hard to focus on anything else other than the stifling silence between them.
Most times, this silence would be fine. Wemmbu would say something snarky like he needed a break from Egg’s yapping, but would egg him on to keep talking anyway.
Or the times when they were both feeling fatigued and just needed a couple moments to rest, take it all in.
Egg knew a lot of things. But out of all the things he knew, he knew the most about Wemmbu.
Therefore, he knew this silence wasn’t just fatigue. It wasn't just a playful moment. It wasn't just appreciation of a fragile moment.
It was the weight on Wemmbu’s shoulders that commanded his entire body to be quiet. As if gravity itself was pushing down at him, and any slight movement would cause him to cave in.
A lot of things had happened. Betrayal. Loss. And yet, no grief.
Wemmbu didn’t have time to grieve. Not when they were constantly on the run. Constantly needed. Constantly hungry. Fight.
Fight to survive, to prove yourself and feed those hungry thoughts of self-doubt til they vomited and relented you were enough. But not just that. He needed to protect. Protect the people he trusted. Loved.
But how could he do that if they’d just betray him too? Past wounds and bruises ached. Remnants of the Zam Empire, and the betrayal he faced from someone he thought he could call a friend.
If he had the power, he would have shown them all wrong. They would have never betrayed him. Even if it was just for his strength, they would have kept him there.
And yet when Zam blew up his empire, he could do nothing but struggle like a worm. Able to bark, but not bite. When facing Flame, all he could do was tuck his tail between his legs and run. When facing Manepear, all he was, was a mere lost cause.
And when faced with Rejoice…
He couldn’t even do anything. All he needed to do was kill Wardens. Kill Jaden. But he couldn’t. Because he was too weak.
Because of that, Rejoice was dead. Because of him Rejoice was dead. He wasn’t gonna come back. He wasn’t gonna see the sun. He wasn’t gonna see the fields where sunflowers grow. He wasn’t going to travel with him and Egg.
And what would he do if Egg was injured, if he died? Wemmbu was going to spiral even more, blame himself even more, but he felt something warm, something steady leaning against him. Egg.
“Wemmbu, bro, you’re thinking too loud. I can’t catch any shut-eye like this.” Egg’s head was resting on Wemmbu’s shoulder, and his hands were searching for Wemmbu’s.
Not because he wanted to hold his hand, but because he knew his habits. He knew that the fighter was clenching his talons into his own flesh, in anger at himself.
When Wemmbu didn’t respond, Egg sat up and sat in front of him.
“Listen, bro. I don’t know what you’re thinking about, but it better not be about anything stupid.” Egg had taken on a more humanoid form instead of his one-eye form, it didn’t matter much right now since he was just looking at Wemmbu right now anyway.
There was a pause. The angel's baby blue eyes stared at Wemmbu's dark irises.
Egg inhaled and spoke.
“You’re not weak.” Egg said bluntly, and watched Wemmbu react. And Wemmbu surely reacted. “I am.” He snapped back.
Egg sighed, “You aren’t. If you’re weak, what am I, bro? I can’t hold any of your maces. My max sight in this form is like 4 chunks. If you’re a chud then what am I?” Wemmbu chuckled, but it was full of self-pity.
“I know all of the things you’ve gone through because I was right there with you. But I can’t read your mind, Wem. Just because you’re my best friend doesn’t mean we have that freaky twin telepathy.” Egg leaned against him.
Wemmbu’s shoulders didn’t drop. Even as he took in a deep breath, his frame seemed to just whistle in the wind with exhaustion and hurt.
Egg didn’t like this. Wemmbu usually was confident, fierce with untamed emotion.
However, Egg guessed that being ecstatic also meant his other emotions must have been heavy as well. Egg opened his arms. “You don’t need to pretend to be anything with me, bro.”
The demon knew it was wrong. Looking at the angel, he knew that he needed to pretend.
He needed to pretend to be strong, even though sometimes, he was terrified. He needed to pretend to be confident, even though he felt doubtful. He needed to hide every single negative thing about himself because he was scared. Scared that his weakness would drive the angel away from him. Like it did with everyone else.
With every mistake Wemmbu made, he was terrified that it would be the breaking point.
The proof that Egg needed that Wemmbu wasn’t as strong as he thought he was. But maybe that was the truth. Wemmbu wasn’t the strongest. He was even doubting if he was strong at all. But then, Egg said it.
“You don’t need to be strong for me.”
Those words caused everything that he’s been trying so hard to keep down, come out. The demon clenched his teeth, feeling his heartbeat in his ears.
“But I do, Egg!” He yelled. He had never yelled before. Not at the angel. Blind because of his anger, he continued.
“Everything I do— Everything I touch— I ruin! The empire, my mace, my armor— My friends! Rejoice– You!” The demon’s voice cracked, embarrassment and shame threatened to spill from his eyes.
“I always put you in danger! All while knowing that I know that I’m not damn near strong enough to protect you!” Manepear’s words echoed in his ears. So much so that he started to believe it.
“Manepear was right, Egg! I am a fucking lost cause! And you should just leave! You'd be safer..—” Wemmbu’s voice broke off, his tears poured down his cheeks, hot with embarrassment.
“..Safer with Flame and Mane anyway.” His voice shook. Wemmbu hated how weak he sounded. Egg was quiet.
Wemmbu looked up from where he was looking, and noticed that Egg was… Crying.
“I wouldn't.” Egg's tone was firm. The angel came closer to Wemmbu. “I fucking wouldn't, Wemmbu!”
“You're my best friend. My best friend on the whole server. You're the person who invited me to the server. You are the person who I've followed this entire time!” Wemmbu wanted to interject, but the angel didn't let him.
“Do you think Flame would do that?! No! I guess we get along— But don't you think I'd just annoy him and be a burden on him?!”
The devil's eyebrows furrowed, “You're not a burden, Egg!” Egg responded back. “You're not a lost cause either.”
The two went quiet.
Egg was the first to break the silence. “You're not a lost cause because you're not hopeless to me. All of your efforts keep me alive on this server even if I'm a chungie.” Egg wiped his eyes. "If it was anybody else, I would've been dead the moment I spawned. But I survived because you were there."
Wemmbu was quiet. He swallowed his pride and wrapped his arms around the angel, who sighed and relaxed in his best friend's arms.
“Rejoice trusted you because he knew you were strong. Zam made a mistake and we made him pay for it. And I trust you because I just do. Because you're Wemmbu. And you're my best friend.” Egg murmured.
He felt Wemmbu deflate, and tears stain his suit. And the sobs that were ripped out of Wemmbu's throat was something Egg would never want to hear again.
He pulled Wemmbu closer to him. They stayed in the sunflower field a little longer. Both of them felt just a little closer to each other, and the one that they can no longer see anymore.
When they got home, they didn't cook dinner, both of them just went to their room and fell into their usual rhythm.
They didn't need to talk if they didn't want to.
Wemmbu was watching Egg's back, and Egg seemed to notice. He turned around and opened his arms. Wemmbu hesitated, but he was too tired to fight himself.
Their bodies sunk into each other. Hooking their legs together, Wemmbu's long, purple hair was tucked under Egg's chin. Egg rubbed the fighter's back, especially when he felt hot tears sink into his pajamas.
Wemmbu closed his eyes, his mind slowly shutting down as Egg continued to rub his back, scratch at his horns and massage his wings.
Before he fell asleep, he needed to tell Egg something. “..Thank you.” He said softly. Egg smiled. “Any time bro. You're my best friend.” Egg mumbled.
“D'alright, buddy. No need to get mushy. Just go to sleep, chungie.” Wemmbu mumbled. Egg scoffed and closed his eyes.
They fell asleep under the warmth of their own bodies and the blanket that kept them safe. A potted sunflower sat on their windowsill, where the sun could shine the brightest on its petals.