Requested by: my angry ass
Lore: it takes place before the ancients show up n stuff, alternate universe type shit. I'm just really sad and not in the mood rn. IM ANGSTY GRRRRRRR.
TRIGGER WARNING: IMPLIED SUICIDE, EXTREME MENTAL DRAINING, MANIPULATION, VERBAL ABUSE AND A LOT OF SWEARING! IM NOT RESPONSIBLE IF YOU GET SAD I SWEAR :((
~
"How's the work coming along?" Madeleine asked, walking through the doors of Espresso's place of work.
"It's gettin' there. I feel a bit woozy, I might go home." He replied, placing his palm to his forehead. "What do you want?"
Madeleine's heart sank. The question seemed passive-aggressive, and it caught him off guard. Espresso had always acted like this, but he could always tell that he didn't mean it. But it seemed like this time he did. "What do you mean?"
"What. Do. You. Want?" He said annoyedly. "I'm already pissed off and I don't need anymore of your annoyance."
It was like the key had turned, unlocking something in Madeleine. Power, control over his own body. "Fuck you."
Espresso was now the one caught off guard. "W-What?"
"You heard me." Madeleine stepped back and took another breath. "Fuck. You."
Espresso just stared at him, dumbfounded with the words he had just heard. Madeleine barely even swore around him. Now he was just telling him what he had wanted to tell instead? "Are you okay?" He asked stupidly.
Madeleine chuckled. "I'm better than ever. Here's your flaw, Espresso darling: you think you're better than EVERYONE because you can mix fuckin' potions. You act like I'm the stuck up one, like I'm the issue. How much money have you donated to charity? How much have you actually helped the ancients? Do you help people in Mud Town, help the elderly survive muggings and help children find their parents?"
"Well I-"
"Exactly. So you shouldn't have the goddamn nerve to try and act like I'm the problem. I help out this republic, I protect their most prestigious figures and donate most of my paycheck to help out those in need. One of my greatest mistakes in life is thinking that I could fix you, help you out of the gutter while making you love me in the process." He sighed. "Guess that was just my delusion. It's a shame, but at least my kids won't be stuck-up fuckheads."
Espresso was flabbergasted at what he had just heard. And the thing is, Madeleine was mostly right. He was an ass. "In all fairness, you protect those same people that give me below minimum wage. And, okay, so you help people. But you're just a clingy little bitch behind the scenes, you couldn't live without me if you tried. I'll let you blame it on alcohol if you wanna just forget this?"
Madeleine scowled. "Fuck no. Are you insane? I want you to live with this. You somehow managed to drive even the clingiest 'little bitch' away. You used to comfort me, through all of my moments, and even before I came out of the closet."
"Who's fault is that if you confided in me?"
This fact brought the room to silence. Espresso was also right, it was Madeleine's fault. But he wouldn't stand for it. "I take responsibility for that, but you should've stopped me if you knew you couldn't handle it. Plus, you're emotionally manipulative. You use pain to drive people to become addicted to it."
"Explain how that works, if you're so smart."
"You tell people what they don't want to hear so they can change it about them. They slowly just turn into an image of you! 'Oh, you'd look better with glasses.' 'Oh! Cut your hair, its too long.' That sounds familiar, doesn't it? You told me that TWO DAYS AGO!" He yelled, balling his fists. "YOU AREN'T HOT SHIT!"
Espresso rubbed his eyes. "Aren't you doing the same thing you just explained you hated me for doing?"
"I don't do it to get people in my pants. This time, I'm doing it because it's true."
"That's not what I'm hearing." Espresso smiled wickedly. "What I'm hearing is that you don't like my personality, and that it should be more like yours. Now, doesn't that sound familiar?"
"I'm not a hypocrite."
"Didn't say you were."
"You implied it goddamnit!"
Espresso continued his work. "Come back to me when you have a compelling argument as to why you're so much better than me."
"That's not the point! The point is that I'm done with your bullshit."
"That's not a point, that's your opinion. Life is weird, because you didn't really have to say that. But you did, most likely to feel better about yourself as you left because you know that as soon as you walk out those doors, your feet are going to shuffle you right on over to a bar to get shitfaced."
"I..."
"I've been done with 'your bullshit' from the beginning. But I haven't pointed out every single flaw with you, have I? I've tried to let you down slowly, drift myself away as you sit there still with a sparkle in your eyes. But you are now the one that took away that sparkle, so who is really to blame here?"
"That doesn't make sense... how could you be of such hatred yet still make the executive decision to cuddle with me from time to time, or hell, even have sex with me!?"
"I'm good at lying."
"But you instigated-"
"You're just furthering my ACTUAL point. I instigated everything to get to the point where if this had happened, you'd actually still believe that I felt some way for you. But I don't."
Madeleine's face lit up with realization. He'd been played the entire time. Espresso chuckled at his face of hidden horror, knowing he had won.
"Do you still want to blame it on the alcohol?"
Madeleine didn't answer. He swiftly turned around and left, desperately trying to hold his tears in. As he ran through the crowded republic, bumping into people left and right, his mind flooded with thoughts. It all added up, every single word he said. He couldn't believe it, but he had to, that was Espresso's want, and he had to go against it.
~~~
Instead of going to a bar as Espresso predicted, he went right home. He ran past the piles of clothes he had thrown for the maid to wash, past the men's gay magazines and up to his room. He opened the closet and pulled out a box, then he input a code and opened it.
~~~
911, what's your emergency?
"M-My son shot himself! H-he's bleeding badly, please send someone! Quick! Oh divines... oh no..."
