Thief and the Hero

Chapter One

"Splendid! Splendid!"

Splendont jerked awake from his room. The screams for his brother jumpstarted his adrenaline and he raced out of his room to Splendid's. He kicked open the door, fearing the worse, only to see Splendid holding his boyfriend, Flippy. He gasped a bit from the air returning to his lungs as he watched Splendid rock Flippy slowly. His ears picked up his brother murmuring apologies and comfort.

"Hey, hey, I'm here. You're okay. I'm sorry for leaving."

Splendont frowned at the intelligible words from Flippy, who was hyperventilating and crying.

"I had to use the bathroom. I'm didn't think you'd wake up so soon."

Splendont rubbed his head, awkwardly standing there until Splendid looked over by chance. The brothers locked eyes as Flippy began to calm down. Splendid gave an apologetic smile to Splendont, who nodded before putted Splendid's door back up and leaving the two alone. It's been about five months since the takedown of General Tiger Stripes and the rescue of Flippy. Since then, the retired veteran had been entirely too dependent on his brother. He was so glued to his brother, that Splendid actually quit the Happy Tree Friend Times to be with him as much as possible. At first, he was understanding, but now he was annoyed.

Stop clinging to my brother, you leech...

Splendont went back into his room and let himself fall onto his bed. He had been up and out since five in the evening to three in the morning. Splendid would be heading out to start patrol at seven soon. He was working on three hours of sleep right now and he didn't want to be up anymore because Flippy had an attack when Splendid needed five minutes to himself. It was about time Flippy got a therapist now. There were a few here in town, but considering Flippy's reputation and Fliqpy, it was obvious no one but Lumpy would take him. He did feel bad about that, but his constant night-terrors and panic attacks were wearing down his patience and, while he wouldn't say, he knew Splendid was getting exhausted from providing that emotional support. Then again, Splendid was a kind soul compared to him, he wouldn't have put up with it for more than a month.

He stared at the ceiling, listening to Flippy's cries and Splendid's murmuring. It stopped after another twenty minutes and things went silent. Three options came to mind at this as he grabbed his headphones: they went back to sleep, they were about to have sex, or Fliqpy took over and they would have sex. Splendont plugged in his iPod and started his "Blocking Out the World" playlist to avoid any surprises. He grimaced at his thoughts. Since Flippy came back and they got back together, Fliqpy and him had been overly sexually active with Splendid and he wasn't sure why. Splendid wouldn't tell him and he since he didn't have x-ray vision like Splendid, he never saw what Splendid saw that day.

He watched his brother smile and lift off the ground. They had found a remote island that had a dot on the scanner. They almost missed it had Splendont not stopped just a few yards away from him to take a breather. Splendid wasn't going to stop until he found Flippy. Splendont understood that now.

Once they managed to get on the island and they discovered a base they had not been aware of, Splendont encouraged Splendid to use x-ray vision to scout out the base to find Flippy before storming in blindly. He never told Splendid he couldn't use x-ray vision. So when his brother suddenly looked horrified, he tried to ask him what he saw. He didn't even get a chance to because Splendid launched himself from their spot and basically shot himself threw the doors. Splendont couldn't even chase after his brother. He barely managed to run up and follow when he stopped and watched in shock as he brother literally ripped soldier's in half and punched his way through the base. He had to fly over and guess where Splendid was heading because his brother was firing lasers and using his ice breath to stop his foes.

He had never seen his brother so... bloodthirsty.

In the end, Splendid found Flippy and Splendont helped them escape the building by providing a surprise attack. Since Splendont hadn't seen Flippy since the incident when Flippy broke up with his brother, he only saw Flippy looking decently okay. The aftermath of the event left Splendid with some other superhero friends, reuniting with his boyfriend, and becoming recognized as a real hero. But for Flippy, he was... damaged.

Splendont jerked awake again when he felt a hand poking his cheek. He rubbed his eyes and took out his headphones, to see Splendid standing over him with a smile. He gave a weak one back as he sat up.

"Hey, I'm leaving on patrol. Go eat some breakfast before you go back to sleep and miss a meal again."

Splendont nodded and slowly sat up, "Thanks, bro."

Splendid nodded and then walked out. Splendont followed after him, scratching his stomach as he made his way downstairs lazily. Just as he turned to go into the kitchen, he saw Splendid standing beside Flippy, who was already seated and eating. He stopped in the doorway and stared at the green bear. The second he saw green eyes, he walked to the table and grabbed the red plate of food for him and began to eat. It wasn't that he hated Flippy or anything, but he absolutely could not stand his other self, Fliqpy.

Flippy looked over at Splendont as Splendid was finishing cleaning up and he gave a small smile, "Good morning."

Splendont glanced at him and looked back at his plate dismissively, "Morning."

However, his eyes followed his brother, who put a few things away before going over to Flippy and kissing his forehead. They whispered some things to eat other as Splendont tried not to stare. He felt an ugly feeling rising in his chest as he watched him. They were so close now and he hated it. Again, he secretly wished they had never met.

"I'm heading out now! Bye, bro. Bye, Flipp."

Splendont waved Splendid as he rushed out the door and left him alone with Flippy. By now, he wasn't tired anymore and didn't want to go back to sleep, but he also didn't want to be in the same house as Flippy. They didn't really talk or interact and Splendont only played nice when Splendid was at home. He already knew that if he spent any more than thirty minutes with Flippy he'd get irritated and mean. Once he finished, he got up and put his plate in the skin and went outside. It was a beautiful day like always, and like always, someone was going to die today. He didn't really care, but his thoughts went to his brother. Splendid had really come into his own after a few years of being quite a crummy hero. He tried not to worry though. His brother made it clear that he didn't need Splendont to check up on him every single time he felt Splendid needed him. Splendont rubbed his head once more and laid down on the grass, trying not to be irritated at his brother's desire to be independent. He wanted to baby his brother. He was the oldest and always took care of him, so it was natural. But Splendid was right, he was an adult. It was just hard to come to terms with.

Splendont stared at the sky. His mind going numb as he lost himself in thought.

What to do today...? Maybe I should take a break. I think a vacation would be nice. The house is getting stuffy with Flippy and I'm sure they'd like the house to themselves for a few days...

Fliqpy was obsessed with his brother in a... very romantic way now, so he didn't have to worry about another incident that involved scarring his brother.

But where would I go...?