Together At Last

Chapter 14

X was cooking breakfast in his kitchen, distracted by his own thoughts.

Four had been stopping by less and less frequently, and now there was a two week gap between the present and the last time he saw the demon.

Was Four mad at him?

Maybe he was distracted by his own life.

The supposedly comforting idea did little to soothe X's worries, and X frowned as he poured his ramen into his bowl.

That was, until he heard Two give a startled yelp from his living room.

X turned around to see Four, and his gaze immediately lit up.

Four, on the other hand, looked like he was about to explode.

The demon strode over, hands slamming to either side of the counter, trapping X. The human looked up at him, startled and confused by his sudden brash behavior.

X also caught Two edging out the front door in his peripheral vision, but his main focus however was on his partner best friend.

"Four?" X squeaked, staring up at the deity with wide eyes. The demon's gaze softened and they let out a shaky exhale, slumping down to lay his head on X's shoulder. X let out a sigh of relief.

"Foury?" X asked in a softer tone. The demon adjusted their hands, now hugging the human against the counter. X reciprocated the hug tentatively, patting Four's back.

"Stressed?" X questioned. Four nodded, staying silent. X hummed in reassurance.

"Do you want some blueberries? I saved some for you- Two hates them anyway." X offers. The demon is silent for a moment.

"...That'd be great, thanks." Four muttered, releasing the human from the hug. X grabs the blueberries from his fridge, handing the deity the whole box. Four accepts it, leaning against the counter. X takes his ramen and sits on the countertop, eating it quietly.

The two eat quietly for a while, until X decides to ask a question. The human sets down their food beside them.

"So...how's your life going? You haven't really stopped by in a while, and I was a bit worried." X questions. Four sighs.

"I was a bit busy sponsoring a soul, they are QUITE the handful. They're becoming a demon today, and I'm hoping they'll get to keep their memories." Four admits. "They died in a...less fortunate case. Their dying wish was to reassure a loved one."

X nods. That did sound pretty important.

"I'm sorry for asking," X responds quietly. "I thought it was because you were mad at me or something." Four chuckles, spreading a wing in offering, and X accepts, scooting over to lean on him.

"Pretty hard to get mad at you, darling. But no, I promise you I was just busy. It takes quite a deal of time to verify a ghost, especially when they're so difficult about it." Four assures the human. X nods, closing his eyes with a sheepish smile.

"CAN I COME IN YET???" Two shouts from the other side of the front door. Four growls at the sound of the green demon, and X pats his hand.

X leaps down from the countertop, walking to the door and opening it.

"Nobody forced you to leave, Two. You can come in whenever you want." X tells the twitchy deity. Two laughs nervously.

"Yes, well, I wasn't exactly sure what was going on in the situation, Four kind of just appeared and looked very tense-" Two rambles, stepping back into the roomy abode. Four narrows his eyes at the other demon, impolite as always. X notices the glance and sighs.

"Well, I have to go to work. Four, please refrain from bullying Two, and Two, please refrain from annoying him." X requests. Four mutters something under his breath, and Two gives Four a dubious smile.

"I have to leave soon anyway to supervise the new demon. Guess what Two, you're getting a new playmate." Four announces dryly. Two frowns at him, sticking out his green tongue.

"Well, I'll see you guys sooner or later." X murmurs, exiting his house.

-

X was sitting at his empty lunch table during work, finishing up his tray of lunch, when he got a text from Nine

'Come over. Please.' it read.

X frowned at it, but he didn't want to doubt Nine. They sounded desperate. And he had to go home soon anyway, so a quick detour wouldn't do anything.

He packed up, heading for Nine's house.

-

15 minutes later, he was at Nine's small house. Oddly enough, it seemed dull and empty, which wasn't normal for someone as bright as Nine. He knocked on the door, and then waited.

A short moment later, the door was unlocked, and Nine peered around the corner of it. On sight of her yellow friend, her eyes teared up, and she threw the door open, hugging X. X was stunned, but he hugged back as Nine cried on him.

"Nine, are you- nevermind, it's very obvious you're not okay. What happened?" X questioned softly. Nine lifted their face from X shoulder, tears rolling down their face. The pale human pulled X into their house, and X closes the front door, taking Nine's hands in his own as a comforting gesture.

"Six-he- '' Nine struggles to talk, sobs of desperation replacing their words. X hugs them, rubbing their back in a calming manner.

"Shhh," X says quietly. "It's okay, take your time, and start bit by bit." Nine slowly calms down, breathing slower.

"Six-he-he's gone." Nine whispers. X pats Nine's back, trying to comfort her, but inside, he was also broken.

Six was the one person he had left who had been there for him when he lost Four, and now even they were gone.

Six, his best friend.

But X held his tears behind a sad smile. He had to stay strong for Nine.

So he held Nine, hiding his own heartbreak to calm her down.

-

X was in Nine's kitchen, making her some soup to calm her nerves while she watched TV, bundled up in layers of blankets.

It was at moments like this when X felt loneliest.

Moments when Four wasn't around, and X was forced to grapple with the reality of his death.

Usually he slept it off, but today he couldn't. He had to stay strong, and bear the burden of both sets of grief.

X stared into the bubbling pot of soup, until he saw salty drops of water fall into it.

He was crying.

X backed away, rubbing furiously at his eyes. He couldn't cry. Not now.

Especially not now.

---------------------------

haha I love angst

writing sad ppl is so fun bc I am a sad person :D

but I hope all of y'all r happy ppl bc you all deserve to happy. <3

(I sound kinda annoying NGL. maybe I should stopping yapping about positivity like a kindergarten teacher :/)

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