TORD X ONCELER ONESHOT WHUMP

Cold.

The Onceler stares at the barren wasteland below him. The barren wasteland stares back.

The wind whistles past him, threatening to blow his hat off. As if to accentuate his heavy heart, his top hat doesn't blow away. Just like its owner, it lingers. It stays and lingers.

Wordlessly, Tord comes out to stand next to him. He isn't stupid. He sees the guilt and anguish The Onceler is going through. On the other hand, he finds it hard to blame the other man. They had thought this would be a great new start, and nothing could go wrong. At first, it didn't. But then, Tord lost his arm, and The Onceler was corrupted by his greed. A tinge of sadness watches over the pair. Deep down, they blame each other. They say they don't, but Tord blames The Onceler for bringing them there, and The Onceler blames Tord for not stopping him.

Nevertheless, the silence between them perserveres. Empty eyes filled with regrets stare on. Maybe in another timeline, they would've been able to prevent this - to save each other. Not here, though. There's no point in wishing. No point in hoping. They have everything they could ever want, and they should be happy about it, right?

"I'm sorry."

Except neither of them say it. The words lose their meaning after so long, and after so many times being said, so they don't say it.

"I regret coming here."

If they hadn't travelled all the way here, would they have all this money? This power? No. So they don't say it.

"I wish we could've been more than this."

What they have now is good. It's fine. They're both fine with it. So they don't say it.

"I miss you."

What's the point in saying it when you're standing right next to each other? So they don't say it.

"I wish you would talk to me."

Only if you talk to me first. So they don't say it.

Neither of them let the other in. They don't apologize, or get vulnerable, or even try to. Their hearts are far past frozen over, and there's nothing they can do to change that fact. Nothing they'd even care to do. They're happy as they are.