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"Y-you're pulling my leg here, Mapicc! Y-you? Really?" Spoke's laugh is a loud, grating thing, but it quickly turns to a drawn out wheeze when Mapicc pushes aagainst his neck. His heart hurts, for once. He can't remember the last time it hurt Rose this much, twisting and pulling and tearing itself apart. "You couldn't-"
"Stop playing dumb, Spoke." The words are a growl, something low and agitated, and it was so unlike Mapicc, so like… him, that Spoke's thoughts stutter to a stop. He grabs his face gently and pulls it closer until the only thing he can see is Mapicc and the pure adoration in his face. "I am."
Spoke, despite his efforts, despite knowing he absolutely shouldn't, leans into the hand while his eyes flutter shut. A weary smile forces its way onto his face, a soft coo espcaing his lips without his knowledge. He can't help but refuse to believe it—Mapicc? His best friend Mapicc who was always by his side? There was no time for Mapicc to even leave, he didn't disappear once, and during all their fights and escape attempts, Mapicc was there.
And he never left him for dead once.
Which was unlike-
Spoke laughs once more as he cracks his eyes open once more. The hand on his neck presses painfully into skin, and he wheezes his words out, stuttering and coughing between them. "N-no, my b-best friend could n-never! You-"
"Best friend?" Mapicc scoffs and presses his body closer to Spoke's, chest to chest as he peers up at the taller. "You said we were more than that at one point."
"Y-yeah!" He feels dizzy, and he doesn't know if it's the lack of oxygen, the blood rushing downward, or the confusion filling his head. "We are! We're Spoke and a Mapicc! You can't be- be him when you were always-"
"There? Right by your side like a good puppy?"
"Well I wouldn't put it like that! You're more than that to me dude!"
The room is tense as Mapicc suddenly falls quiet, and Spoke shuts his eyes once more. He can't bare the thought that his best friend, his almost boyfriend, could do a betrayal of this size. Sure, Spoke has lied and manipulated and betrayed everyone, but he would never- not Mapicc. Not the person he trusts more than anyone in the world.
"I can hear you thinking, Spoke. Telling yourself lies again?" Spoke shakes his head and squeezes his eyes together, needing to make sure Mapicc can't force them open. But that works against him when he can feel Mapicc's breath against his ear, the wolf's hair brushing against his skin and making him shudder, "I did it, Spoke. All for you."
His ear is wet.
It makes him blink open his eyes in pure shock and tilts his head away from Mapicc. The hand on his neck lets up, only a bit, as if allowing him to do so, and it takes a moment for Spoke to realize that the wolf licked him. His gut feels tight, suddenly, and he wants tries to struggle out of the grip to get space, to get a moment to himself, but he doesn't have the strength.
He hasn't… it's been a few days since he's been able to do much of anything except laying low. He regrets it now, knows he should've still been trying to exercise, but he trusted Mapicc, and Mapicc told him not to worry about it.
He should've known.
"Spoke, look at me." His eyes snap open and catches Mapicc's eyes, something inside him unraveling at the contact. Unlike other Voidlings, Spoke deeply enjoys eye contact. He's questioned others about it, but most simply shrugged him off and said he was just like that. "I am. I did it. I'm the Director. I kept you entertained, made sure you stayed by my side, because Spoke?"
Spoke hums absently instead of giving a proper response.
"You're dangerous. And I'm here to keep you in check."
Spoke swallows.
For a minute, they stared at each other, pure smugness in Mapicc's eyes as the wolf's tail wags at a successful catch. It was something Spoke loves about him, how pretty and happy and instinctual Mapicc let himself be around Spoke. Was it all a lie? Was it a trick to lure Spoke in and keep him to himself?
His feet kick out before his mind follows, but he doesn't dare stop. "M-Mapicc, let go of me, we can talk about this!"
"No, Spoke." And the no feels final, like the key to his chains being tossed away forever. Mapicc presses him impossibly closer to the wall, his hands moving to pin Spoke's hands instead of his face and neck. "I won't let you leave, not now, not ever."
A small whine forces its way out of Spoke's throat at the exertion, and he slowly stops his struggles. He doesn't… how did this happen? Why is Mapicc acting like this? What did he do to deserve this sort of thing? Why can't Mapicc just let him go? "I'm not that bad! I don't need to be babysat!"
The wolf nuzzles into his neck and laps along the skin there, a purr rumbling out of his throat the second Spoke seems to accept his fate. "It's not babysitting if I keeping you safe, right? I-I'm not the best either, Spoke, we both know that, but you? I can keep you here, with me, and we'll be okay. We'll be happy. That's what we wanted, isn't it?"
Spoke huffs another whine and tries once more to struggle, only to give up at the sharp—were they always this sharp?—teeth nipping at his neck. He doesn't quite know what to say, but he knows he can't… he can't stay here. He has things to be doing! He can't stay under Mapicc, where it's more comfortable than he'd like to admit, and he certainly can't be locked away like Mapicc wants. "I don't- I don't need this, Mapicc. C'mon, we're buddies! You can let me go and I- I won't tell a single soul who you are! We can keep adventuring! Nothing happens when I'm bored, you're overreacting!"
Mapicc leans back enough to make eye contact once more and Spoke falls limp in his arms. He huffs, something more akin to a growl or a whine, or maybe a combined noise of the two. "We both know that's not true, Spoke. The chunkban? The Mafia? You sent Flame on a goose chase to Wemmbu bro, how is that nothing?"
The grip on his wrists is starting to hurt. He whimpers and watches as Mapicc's eyes dilate, his breath growing heavy and fast the second Spoke lets another tumble out of his mouth. "But that's okay. I'm here to help you. That's what I set out to do in the beginning: I stay by your side, and I keep you and this whole server safe."
I'm keeping the server safe from you is what Spoke hears, and something about that hurts. His whole plan, everything he does, was an attempt to keep the server safe, good, a nice little area where Spoke and others can have fun! For Mapicc to say that?
He whines again. "How's that gonna work? You can't- I can't be pinned under you forever, Mapicc. Someone's going to come across us! You need to sleep and we need to eat! We'll starve!"
"That's okay," Mapicc returns to his place on Spoke's neck, lapping, licking, and nipping at the skin there. "I already have that settled. Don't- don't worry your head about it, bro, I got us."
"How? How?" He sounds more desperate than he'd like, his voice cracking and quiet all at once. "What are you-"
Something clicks around his neck.
He reaches a hand up with a noise of confusion, a finger brushing against a thick leather band around his neck. Spoke blinks. He feels a little stupid, which was strange. He hasn't… he's never…
Is that a collar?
"Did you-"
"I got you, Spoke. We'll be best friends, forever, and I'll take good care of your entertainment."