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"Sharp, could you pass me the chocolate pudding?"
Sharpness craned his head, his eyes searching for the cup of pudding. He tried peering into the main shelves of the fridge, then to the door that Jude's head was leaning against, but he ultimately came up empty.
"It's right next to your head," Jude tiredly said.
Turning his head to the left, he didn't see anything at first. When he turned his head over to the right, he was met with the small plastic cup holding the brown chocolate pudding.
"Oh," he replied as he set his fork down to grab it for Jude. His arm reached up to try and grab hold of it despite it being bent and flexed at an awkward angle. It was uncomfortable, but the discomfort hadn't lasted long because once his fingers curled around the lid of the container, Sharpness handed the pudding over to Jude, who accepted greedily with a smile.
"You're an idiot," murmured Jude.
Sharpness only rolled his eyes and picked his fork up again, turning the metal silverware on its side in order to cut off a small piece of cake, before stabbing into it and bringing it to his mouth.
"That's not how you say 'thank you'," Sharpness mumbled with a mouthful of cake, "have some manners."
The rabbit only chuckled, uncapping his pudding and scooping a hefty amount with his fork, the lid clattering on the ground after being tossed carelessly. "This guy thinks he can talk about manners while he has food in his mouth…"
In retaliation, Sharpness kicked Jude's ankle with the heel of his foot. And to his dismay, Jude elbowed Sharpness's side in return, where his ribs lay beneath a healthy layer of fat and muscle. The action caused him to choke as he emergency-swallowed down his bite of dessert, fixing a soft glare at the man.
With the help of the white lights coming from inside the fridge, he was able to see the way Jude's eyes crinkled in an amused smile as he looked at him, his lips quirking up while his fork was in his mouth. It made him look extremely young. Well, maybe less physically and more sentimentally, because Jude was, in fact, young. But for whatever reason it hadn't really dawned on him that Jude was still only a young adult with a whole life ahead of him. They both were. Sharpness tore his eyes away before that thought could travel anywhere deeper, choosing to watch himself section off another piece of cake from the white, cardboard tray in his lap instead.
"Jude—where did you even get chocolate pudding from?" Sharpness asked, risking a glance over to Jude's satisfied form as he brought the piece of sponge cake to his mouth. It was extremely sweet and fluffy, packed with enough sugar to potentially rot his teeth with cavities. The vanilla flavor was extremely satisfying as it practically melted into his mouth. There were hints of buttercream as well, and strawberry jam, the perfect combination if you were to ask him.
He shrugged, scooping more pudding with his fork, "I dunno," he mumbled, "LettuceK found this recipe and wanted me to try it. It's actually really good, you should have some."
Sharpness sighed as he leaned against the open fridge, his eyes dry and tired as his sweaty skin soaked up the cool air radiating from inside. "I'm good, I think I already ate enough cake to become obese."
"I feel like you don't give yourself enough cheat days. I mean, sure, there's nothing nutrient rich in desserts, but does this—not make you happy?"
Soft vanilla, fluffy butter cream, ripe strawberry. It was Sharpness's turn to shrug, "Yeah, I guess it does make me feel good, but that doesn't mean it's healthy."
As he licked the edges of his teeth, the tip of his tongue fishing out the remaining flavor of sugar, vanilla, and strawberry, he decided that it did make him happy. It made him further enjoy life knowing that delicious pastries and desserts existed in the world, and it led him to despising whoever invented these things. Because once he got a taste, he'd never stop chasing after the memory of sweetness and comfort. He would even be willing to trade his health for just another bite, an extra second with the crumbling sponge cake or the soft flesh of strawberries. He would do it a thousand times over to feel the rush of dopamine for even a fleeting moment.
His eyes locked onto Jude's, and Jude's locked onto his.
The rabbit set down his cup of pudding, the weight of the metal fork immediately weighing the mostly empty plastic cup down until it hit the quartz floor with a soft thump, almost in slow motion. It was mostly empty because you can only work so hard to eat pudding with a fork. But then again, they managed to eat ice cream with just forks earlier, so supposedly, if you're determined enough, then you can achieve just about anything. Jude didn't pay it any mind, instead darting his tongue out to lick any remnants of chocolate remaining on his lips as he vaguely gestured towards Sharpness with his pointer finger.
"You should take that shirt off, it might help with the heat," he said, reaching over to snatch the blond's fork from his hand to get some cake for himself. Sharpness didn't struggle, he basically just let Jude take his fork without question, even though his perfectly good one was on the ground beside him.
Sharpness watched as Jude reached for his lap and stabbed into a chunk of cake, taking a piece of cut strawberry with him, before raising it into his awaiting mouth. From the other side of the kitchen wall, he heard Jude's turtles shuffle around. They were a constant reminder of how he got into this mess with Jude in the first place, but deeply, he hadn't had any regrets. If he were given a choice, Sharpness would willingly fall for that trap over and over again if it meant that he could end up fat and happy on Jude's kitchen floor.
"Why, do you wanna see me shirtless that badly?" he asked, his voice laced with something almost akin to curiosity.
"It's just me, Sharpness. You don't have to if you don't wanna, I'm just saying that it might make you feel better," Jude murmured softly as he swallowed down his share of the cake.
The trapper happily continued picking off more cake, licking up the fork that was in Sharpness's mouth just a minute ago. It left a fuzzy feeling in his chest that he didn't know how to describe—almost as sweet as the strawberries and frosting, enough to rot his heart just like his pearly white teeth.
They were both grown men who sat almost shoulder to shoulder by an open fridge, with room between them being so scarce that their legs were forced to cross over and tangle together, while their elbows occasionally knocked against each other. Every time Jude would lean in closer to help himself with more cake, Sharpness could intimately feel the heat radiating from his skin—making the cold fridge almost useless. The skin of his bare torso shone with a thin sheen of sweat, reflected by the light from the refrigerator, with his arms and neck visibly tanner than the rest of his body, creating a tan-line from the t-shirt's he took to wearing out in the sun.
It was an oddly charming characteristic to him as his thoughts traveled back to his arms.
It was no surprise that Jude had really nice biceps, and he could almost be jealous of how they looked. Because he worked out less than Sharpness due to the difference in their pvp style, the trapper's figure had a much softer look, with more bulk and plush edges. Sharpness himself was more lean and athletic, with most of his physical strength being commonly underestimated. It made him admire Jude all the more intensely. He was unique compared to what he had known all his life, due to the fact that the rabbit earned his figure through constantly working with different mechanical components such as pistons and redstone, rather than physical exertion.
Well, since he was already in his boxers, it wouldn't hurt to lose his shirt, either. And Jude did serve a point. His shirt stuck to his skin uncomfortably, making the humid fabric cause his skin to itch, which he hadn't felt until he took the moment to pay attention to it.
Hooking a thumb on the back collar of his shirt, Sharpness pulled the fabric to glide over his head, his shirt coming off in one smooth motion. His long, loose hair produced a series of quick, tiny sparking sounds from the friction caused by the shirt, with some strands falling messily over his face. He brushed his hair with his sugar-coated fingers to even out the disrupted strands before haphazardly tossing his shirt away. It must've landed somewhere outside of the kitchen, but he never checked.
If anything, he'd just pick it up later, presumably if he ever decided to get off of Jude's kitchen floor, soaking in the cool air of the refrigerator. His silver necklace fell against his chest like a familiar weight, the metal already warm from being against his bare skin, and the pendant settling just above his heavy, pounding heart.
"There, happy now?" Sharpness asked, looking up at Jude.
To put it lightly, the man looked almost dumbfounded. If he had secretly been admiring Jude earlier, then the man had just now one-upped him. There were a bit of cake crumbs on the outer corners of his lips, and when Sharpness looked closely, some managed to travel down his chest and sit on his slumped midriff. His hand stayed frozen in the air with the metal fork clutched in his hand, his knuckles turning white with how hard he held onto the silverware. Sharpness only raised a brow and reached a hand out to carefully pry the fork away from Jude's grasp, their fingers accidentally brushing together.
That hadn't helped tame his heart whatsoever.
There was a piece of strawberry, with a bit of jam and buttercream frosting on the top as Sharpness brought it to his mouth, licking the remnants of sugar and crumbs with his greedy tongue before parting ways with the fork.
"Holy shit, I can see why you are disciplined with your diet," breathed Jude, although delayed, "bro how are you so fucking pale…"
"I don't—I literally don't go out in the sun without covering every inch of my skin, and you know that."
There was a pause, like the cogs in Jude's brain were shifting around to form a foreign thought. Sharpness let out a tender snort.
"So wait—am I like—the only person who gets to casually see your legs, and I guess you without a shirt?"
"Well who else do I share a bed with and—and eat fucking cake on the floor with?" Sharpness replied with a scoff, melting into the junction of the fridge where the fridge door met with the actual refrigerator itself. The cool temperature was a relief to his overheated skin, like a balm to sooth his nerves as he absently chewed and nibbled on the fork.
Raising his eyebrows, Jude turned to search for his own fork again, sliding it out of the container of chocolate pudding and licking the rest off with his tongue. "I guess you have a point. Hey—are you done with this? There's not a lot left, I can just finish it all if you don't want it."
Sharpness hummed, the sound eliciting a low vibration in his throat, "Mm… save me the strawberries, I want those."
"Okay," Jude beamed as he took a bite from his fork. He began to eat so quickly that Sharpness almost worried that he would choke because he's not chewing enough, or something. But playfully, he kinda hoped that Jude would choke. That would be funny to watch.
Craning his neck to look up into his half of the fridge door, Sharpness searched for a water bottle to help ease the lump in his throat. There were a few lined up in a row above his head, and he reached up with an arm, grabbing onto a cold bottle. He struggled to carefully remove it because there was a panel of glass that acted as a fence over the shelf that left him with no choice but to lift it up and then retrieve the water. It was annoying, and Sharpness was already restless enough, so he ended up making an unnecessary amount of clattering noises before finally freeing the water out of the fridge.
From beside him, Jude snickered at the sight, and Sharpness was tempted to drive his foot into him again, but the rabbit already sensed what he was aiming to do and released a leg from under Sharpness' to pin his two lower legs down. Sharpness huffed and struggled against the tangle of their limbs, but Jude's legs were stronger than he let up, so the swordsman had no choice but to choose to be smart and admit defeat before he really riled up Jude.
Not for the first time that night, he shot a glare towards a familiar smug face as he uncapped his water bottle and gulped down the cold liquid. The condensation on the outside of the plastic bottle left his fingers wet, which didn't help his cause of sugar-sticky hands. Sharpness set the bottle down with a satisfied sigh once he was done. He glanced over to the bottle as he looked down to poke his fork into the strawberries that Jude left behind for him, noting that it was already half empty. The sweat on his skin didn't make the future of that water bottle sound long, either.
"If I could be any fruit, I would be a strawberry," Sharpness declared randomly.
Jude only raised a brow and shot him a sideways stare, "Okay? Nobody fucking asked, dude."
"Hey, that was mean. Be nice," he complained, in the same tone that a whining child would, really wishing that Jude would just choke on cake and die. Sharpness did so as he bit into the last slice of strawberry, the biggest one yet, saved best for last. Slice of strawberry from heaven…
"What fruit would you be?" he questioned, blinking multiple times to stay awake.
Jude narrowed his eyes and hummed in thought, "Hm… I would be a cucumber," he said.
Sharpness put down his fork onto the now empty cardboard tray that once held a small cake, before dropping his hand to rest against his side, frowning at the rabbit.
"Now why the fuck would you want to be a cucumber…" the blond groaned.
"Dih."
"You're actually so weird."
Jude set his own fork down onto the cardboard tray in Sharp's lap, before wiping away the sweat beaded on the tip of his nose. His cheeks were flushed pink like how they always were, but due to the heat, the blush appeared more intense. It traveled across his ears, his neck, and then to his shoulders as well. Sharpness wondered if he always blushed so much like that, and he simply just hadn't noticed it before.
Sighing to himself, he moved the empty cardboard tray off his lap and to the floor beside him, where he will worry about the mess later. Jude reached over and grabbed the water bottle that Sharpness had recently drank out of, before unscrewing the lid and downing the remaining half of the water left inside.
"Sharp, I'm tired. Tell me a story?" Jude asked as he screwed the lid back on the bottle and rolled it away. Sharpness only shook his head and turned his eyes to the other side of the base, where the aquarium was sitting.
"You promise you're not gonna—fall asleep on me here? Because I'm gonna make you sleep on the floor if you do."
"I won't," promised Jude.
He ran his tongue over his teeth again, lapping up the lingering flavor of cake and strawberries that clung to his enamel.
"Okay. Have you ever been to the farlands?" Sharpness asked.
Jude only followed the swordsman's lidded eyes, looking at the same aquarium, but from a different spot on the floor. "No," he responded quietly. "I don't think I could've even if I wanted to, most of the places that I've been around have the world border set to where I can't have access to anywhere that far."
"Well, it was kinda bad. I don't think you'd like to be stuck there," he didn't clarify much, rather choosing to get straight to the point, "Food is not a guarantee in the farlands. Everything is so—corrupted, or dysfunctional that life just can't exist. When I was like your age, a few—a couple years ago, I had to survive there for months," he added, blinking his tired eyes awake. They followed the slow path of the swimming fish, and the outline of colorful coral.
"Some days I'd get lucky and find people or structures, whereas on other days I had to learn what hunger felt like for multiple nights on end. I was really naive and gullible. I think—I—looking back on it now, I deeply regret the choices that I made leading up to those few months."
Sharpness chose to end his short story off there. He hadn't explained who, or what he may or may not have done with them, or why he was even in the farlands in the first place. Instead, he trusted that Jude would be smart enough to connect or imagine a few dots on his own.
"Cool," muttered Jude, "that was when you were in… unstable, right?"
He looked away from the aquarium to face Jude again. "Yeah I—how did you know? I don't think I've ever mentioned that to you."
"Just—heard the word go by, is all. I think Spongs was with you, no?" he said, "and Lettuce was, too, but I don't think you guys have met in that universe despite being in the same timeline."
Sharpness huffed in agreement, shifting in his spot to get a better view of the aquarium, "Let's not talk about Spongs…"
Between them, the fridge hummed behind them to fill in the silence. It was almost protesting against being kept open for a little over an hour. His eyes were dry and every blink became more frequent and slower, the lack of sleep by this hour finally affecting him. The cool air wafting from inside the machine, soft vanilla, fluffy butter cream, ripe strawberry, shit that diabetes are made out of—but what good can any of it be next to someone like Jude?
Sharpness ran his tongue over his teeth again. The taste was no longer there, had already been licked clean long ago, even.
Next to him, Jude hadn't said anything either. Fearing that he had fallen asleep, the blond turned to check the state he was in, but he found that Jude had already been looking at him.
It was quiet.
The sound of the fridge was quickly forgotten, the shuffling of the turtles a room over fading out into nothing, and his eyes losing everything but the face of the man merely two feet away. It made his heart speed up, something that no amount of sugar can achieve. His hands increasingly became clammier and empty, like he didn't know what to do with them, but in a way, he should've. Though, Sharpness never got the chance to do anything about it besides endure it; wondering if it meant something more than the empty pints of ice-cream scattered about, the plastic cup of pudding, or the crumbs of vanilla sponge cake.
Like always, Jude was the first to break the spell.
"Do you—do you think that if you ever got the chance, would you go back to unstable?"
It wasn't the question that stunted him, but rather his tone, laced with a mix of curiosity, interest, and something more… something rather forbidden. Sharpness tried to distract himself with the bits of butter cream that Jude couldn't reach with his his tongue, raising a gentle thumb up to wipe it away for him. He hadn't said a word. Still waiting for a response.
"I—" Sharpness stuttered, shyly adverting his eyes away, "No, I don't think I would. I mean—I do miss the people that I met like… like my old friends, you know?"
He wiped sweat off his forehead using the back of his hand, "Not just unstable, either. I would probably not return to any other places for some time."
"Why?" Jude mumbled quietly.
Ice cream, pudding, cake, a place to stay—what more could he ask for? Why bother reaching for the past when he had everything he could ever ask for right next to him; a past, present, and foreseeable future? Jude made him feel giddy and alive in a way he had never been, yet it stung him like a wound and spread like an infection. Unhealthy but addictive, like sugar.
"I guess because… you wouldn't be there, with me," he answered honestly.
The rabbit sighed and leaned against his shoulder, "I guess a world without me would suck. What would you ever do without me, Sharp," he giggled breathlessly. The contact burned against his skin, but Sharpness blamed the feeling on the stuffy air combined with the warm blood that flowed through their bodies.
"Jude, sit up, we're not sleeping on the floor."
"Five minutes," he drawled out, "and who said we? You're not sharing my bed tonight."
"Fuck you too."
But he didn't mean those words, wouldn't ever dream of it, either, never did in the past and never planned on it in the future. Suppose he was naive and gullible. Dishonest, too, and especially stubborn. Though he kept it all to himself; between him and the summer heat, the fish swimming about in the aquarium staring back from the other end of the base, and the restless turtles through the other side of the wall. They were the only witnesses to this 'cheat day' of his, as the man against his side described, but it had nothing to do with sugar or calories.
It never did from the start, had it?