Domestic ❧ Skephalo AU

Chapter 21.) Ameliorate

Warning: Themes of depression (briefly mentioned.)

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The situation was hilarious, if not a bit concerning.

BadBoyHalo had Sapnap for more than a decade, so when he brought Sapnap to the Overworld (Skeppy insisted Bad refer to the Surface as such), he knew it would be within his best interests to focus more on Sapnap so the Fire Spitter didn't do anything irrational.

For a couple of days, it worked like a charm. He kept his eye on Sapnap, left for a few hours to get some 'work' done, and came back to do the dishes or laundry. It was an unusual change in routine that left him little time to spend with Skeppy, but he assumed the human didn't mind.

And as per usual, he was sorely mistaken. He hadn't noticed it before, but every time he waved goodbye to his family, Skeppy gave him a strained smile and a half-assed, two-finger salute. Never before had Bad seen such plastic, such faux reassurance in a single expression. It made him wonder if he was hurting his friend by paying more attention to Sapnap.

Looking deeper, Skeppy needed just as much attention as Sapnap. Both of them thrived off healthy attention and interactions, so by shoving Skeppy aside to focus more on his explosive child, Bad had been neglecting the very man that coaxed him out of his shell.

That was where Bad's concerns took an unusual turn.

To the demon's surprise, the roles had been reversed, with Sapnap relatively calm with the situation and Skeppy progressively growing more and more jealous. It should have made him laugh, but it didn't. His failure to balance out his relationships resulted in one of his closest friends distancing himself.

The realization of his harmful actions prompted him to stop combing through Sapnap's hair, an action that caught the attention of the aforementioned Fire Spitter.

"Dad, why'd you stop?" Sapnap asked, tilting his head upright to meet Bad's gaze. He took notice of his forlorn expression and immediately asked, "Is something wrong? Is it another sad day?"

Days where anger and shame left him crippled in bed, days where despair came in waves before being chased off by insensibility, days that had him questioning how worthless and pathetic of a demon he truly was—those were 'sad days,' and it had been a while since he had one of those.

Bad shook his head.

"No, honey, not a sad day. I do need to talk to Skeppy, though."

Sapnap's expression became unreadable for a few moments before softening.

"He's in his room."

"I know," Bad sighed and lowered the brush to the floor. Sapnap jumped to his feet and ran his fingers through his hair, a thankful smile gracing his features when his fingers failed to locate any knots.

"Are you going to play outside?"

"Ew, the outside world. That's even nastier," Sapnap shuddered at the thought.

"The neighbors' have a boy around your age, Sapnap. You could make a friend," said Bad, but Sapnap quickly dismissed the idea.

"I have Dream and George. They're all I need," Sapnap retorted with a pout. Gears could be seen turning and clicking in place, and after a few moments of silence, he then murmured, "but a break from being the third wheel does sound nice."