Unlikely Alliances (The Pack)

Five - They Came Back

'I mean, we could try and find-'
'He won't be there. It's been what, four years? He probably forgot about us.'

Brandon frowned at his friend, but nodded anyway and pulled his cloak hood up against the rain. It was a chilly spring morning, with bright greenery as far as the eye could see.
He'd missed this.
'Even so, we could try and find him. He wouldn't have forgotten about us.'
'Where would we start? He could be anywhere- He could be dead, Pete.'
'We don't know that! Please Mat, we can at least try. It's what he would have done.'

The half-robot paused, turning back to see that his friend was almost in tears already. He sighed, walking back and pulling him into his torso. 'Hey, hey, I'm sorry. We can go and find him soon, alright? We should go and find the village first though, I remember it being around here.'
'...Promise?'
'I promise, we'll find Jerome soon. C'mon, we can see if the bakery's still there.'

+
Once they found the village, it was late in the afternoon. Thankfully it was rather quiet, so they were able to get a room at the nearby inn before setting off for the bakery.
The innkeeper had said that it was basically the same, but the owner had retired and handed ownership over to his son, who the village agreed was a better baker overall.

'It really hasn't changed much, huh... I remember we came here for Jerome's birthday once.' Pushing the door open, Mat led his friend inside and gestured for him to find a booth before heading to the counter.
'Hi, welcome to-'
'Ian?'
'MAT?!' The young adult practically choked, almost vaulting over the counter before stopping himself and staring at the hybrid. 'Dude, it's so great to see you- Where've you been? Jerome's gonna be so stoked when he sees you. I'll see if I can find him later, actually.'

'Good to see you to, Ian. Honestly, it's a long story.' Mat grinned, drumming his fingers against the hardwood counter as he spoke. 'But it's great to be back.'
'Is Brandon with you?'
'Yep.'
'Dang. Right, go sit with him, I'll bring something over in about five minutes.'

Finding his friend sitting down inna secluded booth, Mat slid in beside him and gave a slight smile. 'Turns out Ian's taken over. He's gonna contact Jerome later, see if he's busy.'
'That- would be nice, yeah.'
'...You alright?'
The slime hybrid just nodded, hugging himself tightly while glancing around. Yeah, this was his home village, but it felt awkward being back after so long. 'Yeah, I'm fine.'

'You definitely don't sound like it.' Appearing out of nowhere with cake for the duo, Ian pulled up a chair and sat with the back against his stomach while draping his arms over the top. 'Hey, Brandon. Long time no see.'
'Hi Ian, good to see you.'
'Same dude, same. How've you been?'
'Pfft, long list of events, but I'm alright now. What about you?'

'You're both changing the subject, but I won't pry. Me and my family have been pretty sound the past few years, even with dad passing the business over. The team split up, which sucks, but most of us stay in contact. Jerome kept to himself for a while after you guys were declared as missing, but eventually got back into his usual spirit. He comes in every so often with Mitch, actually.'

'Who's Mitch?'
'Close friend of his. He saved his life, and they've stuck together ever since.' The baker explained, smiling at the thought. 'It's actually quite cute.'
'D'aw, they grow up so fast.'

A group of bells chimed softly as somebody walked through the door, a voice telling their friend to grab a table by the window as they walked up to the counter.
'Yo Ian, are you in or do I have to go get cake from your mom?'
'My mom is a terrible baker, and you know it! Be right back- It's Jerome. D'you want me to call him over?'

'Uh, maybe in a few minutes?' Brandon suggested, unusually nervous as Mat shrugged. 'I don't mind. Whenever you think he's at a break will be fine.'
'Sure... Aye Jerome, what can I do for you?'

As the (strangely fashionable) baker walked away, Mat turned back to his friend and rubbed his arm calmingly. 'You don't need to panic, it's okay.' He assured, with the younger hybrid sighing in response while nudging his cake with a fork.
'I'm not panicking, I just feel - Really, really awkward. What if he really doesn't remember us? What if- what if he remembers one of us, and not the other?'
'It won't come to that. From what Ian said, it doesn't sound like he forgot us.'
'If you say so.'

They ate in silence for the next few minutes, though Mat had to keep nudging the slime hybrid to stop him from a; staring into space or b; falling asleep. Eventually Ian came back over, a goofy look on his face as he sat.
'Jerome has no idea. I told him that there's a surprise somewhere in the bakery, so he might come over here to try and find it within the next few minutes.'

'IAN WHERE IS IT?!'
'I wouldn't particularly call the surprise an "it" Jerome. Keep on looking!' He called back, a sly smirk on his face. 'Like I said, clueless.'
'Wow.'
'I know, right? Let's see how long it takes him.'

+
It had almost been an hour, and Jerome hadn't bothered to check the corner of the bakery that the duo were in. Ian just kept supplying his friends with cake, having closed the bakery for this "event", and by this point Jerome was ready to give up.

'I literally can't find anything. Have you been trolling me all along?'
'I'm not Bodil. The surprise is in here, you just haven't looked for it... To be fair, you don't know what to look for.'
'Can you just tell me where it is?'
'Yet again, not an " it". If they want to be found, I'm sure they'll make some kind of noise to let you know where they are.'

Clearly hinting at the boys to come out, Mat and Brandon glanced at each other, one confident while the other was... Even more confident.
Dang, he was hyper.
'Ready?'
'Totally.' The slime hybrid practically jumped up, waving excitedly at his slack-jawed friend as Mat pulled a face. 'Brandon? Nooch?'

'Hey Jerome!'
'Ian, did you like, drug my cake or something?'
'Nah dude, they're real. They came in this morning.'
The bacca stood still for a few seconds, glancing between his old friends before a stupid grin made it's way onto his face. 'You came back.'
'Yeah, we did. Sorry it's been so-'
'You came back!'

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RIP Nooch and Pete's eardrums smh.

Thanks for over 100 reads already, guys! <3

QOTC - Favourite Netflix show?

AOTC - I don't have Netflix, but I'll say Voltron: Legendary Defender anyway. My boi Lance deserves better, season 8 better give him therapy.