Wisc

Chapter 2

The occasional clink of fork to plate was the only noise being made in the dining room. Though most of them were a tad glad that they didn't have to see the interviews right then, they were still down a bit from seeing the two Warners be reminded of the event months prior.
The silence was beginning to irritate his nerves, so the eldest Warner decided to arise conversation. "What did you mean... With the s-heads I mean..."
It took a moment for Blam to realize he was talking to him, "Oh yeah, I meant those cupboard-head brothers. The red one's a jerk, and the blue one's a clumsy dunce."
"You mean.. Cuphead and Mugman? They're not so bad.. to me at least," Yakko disagreed, he twirled noodles onto his fork simultaneously.
The Comical snorted, he closed his eyes in an egotistical manner. "Once you get to know them, they never leave ya alone - that's when they become a pain in the ass."
Yakko frowned a bit at the last word but decided it wasn't worth arguing about. He moved his gaze over to Oswald, "I'm sure Oswald is glad he didn't have to hear his younger brother talk about 'im."
Oswald raised a brow at him, "What? I'm not glad.. well, maybe a little - but not for the reason ya think."
"Last time you were with him, I saw you smack him in the head with an umbrella," Tails objected, softly chuckling.
The rabbit was a bit impressed that he had joined in, considering how introverted he was. He guessed he had finally gotten used to them (and it only took a few years of them being together constantly). Nevertheless, he protested, "Yeah, as a joke. It was a friendly gesture, really."
He picked up his glass to take a sip, then continued. "Besides, as long as he didn't say anything questionable... I really wouldn't care."
"What would be questionable?", Hatty asked, patting the sides of his mouth with a napkin he had neatly folded.
"Well, ya know... Uh... If he said anything about some personal... things," his sentence wavered more towards the end.
"What things?", Blam questioned, saying the word almost in disgust.
The Toon became surprisingly quiet, before looking off to the side. "Nothing..."
The table became silent yet again.
"I.. I think I should call my brother-"
"Don't!", Oswald cut the skeleton off.
Papyrus looked at him with a hurt expression, "I haven't talked to him in so long.. He's probably terribly worried about me. I mean, you saw how.. upset Mettaton seemed when he had to bring up me. I couldn't bear to imagine what my other friends are feeling.... Don't you miss your friends and family..?"
Oswald just picked and stared at his food, "No.. I don't."
"Not... Not even in the slightest?"
"No," he repeated, more firmly this time.
The Monster's "mouth" opened slightly, but then clicked shut. He looked down at the table, tapping his index finger on the surface. Papyrus snuck a glance at Wakko across the table, he was surprised to see that he hadn't touched his food in the slightest. He hadn't even picked up his fork.
Yakko glanced over at the feline at the other end of the table, he saw him doing the same motion he had been doing for the past five minutes; whirling his forefinger in a small circle on the tablecloth. What made him concerned though, was the definite depressed look on his face.
"What's bothering ya cous'?", he asked.
The cat's eyes shifted upward, "Nothing."
"Your tone says otherwise, what's wrong?", Yakko wasn't buying it, and he had an idea of why he was like this. He didn't want to immediately point a finger though.
Not yet, anyway...
Felix sighed, which sounded more like a wince. "I said I was fine."
Yakko thought for a moment. Well, what is there to think? He hasn't been like this since...
Nevermind what he had said...
"It's because of her, isn't it?"
The cat blinked, the motion with his finger stopped. He looked up at the Warner.
That was indubitably it.
Felix's ears drifted down a bit, "Wh-Who?"
"You know who," Yakko's voice was getting a bit louder, stern.
A few that were sitting at the table looked up at the two. More started to feel uneasy.

Something was about to go down.

Felix stayed silent after Yakko's statement.
"You still can't stop thinking about her? Felix, it's been years," Yakko started again.
"I-I-I'm not thinking about her," the other Toon stammered.
"Then what are you thinking about?"
Felix once again went quiet, he couldn't think of an explanation.. a lie rather...
He accepted it, "Yes, okay? I am. I am thinking about her.. I just- I knew someone was going to mention her... But the fact that we didn't see, yet... It just made me feel even worse."
"Sheba died twenty years ago."
"I-It doesn't matter, I.."
"Yes, it does matter!", Yakko's voice getting close to a yell.
"Yakko, I don't think-", Tails intervened.
He swiftly lifted up his hand to stop him, momentarily looking at the fox, "This doesn't include you."
Felix was getting more and more distressed by the second, "I can't help it, Yakko."
"If just thinking about her makes you this upset... Then there's a problem, and you can help it!"
That's when Felix snapped, "Well, someone was certainly very quiet when they mentioned Dot!"

The room became dead silent.

Wakko's eyes had jolted up and looked at his brother. The eldest sibling had his mouth partly open in shock, his eyes were widened. Wakko began trembling.
Felix soon realized what he had just said, his face quickly softened. "Y-Yakko, I'm s-so sorry... I didn't mean.."
Yakko whispered something under his breath.
"Wh-What..?"
"I SAID HOW FUCKING DARE YOU!"
He had gotten up from his seat, slamming the table - hard enough to where just about everyone's plates let out a sharp clank. Everyone jumped in startlement, Felix especially.
He started shaking, mostly in fear. "I-I-I s-said I w-was.."
"You don't get to say fucking 'sorry'!", Yakko's voice was most definitely a yell now, "You have no excuse! No excuse! You thought about her nonstop, and you refused to talk to anyone!"
Felix had stood up as well, tears were gathering in his eyes. "You're being a hypocrite! You did the exact same thing when Dot died!" He pointed an accusing finger at him, "You were stuck up in your room for weeks, and you didn't eat, you didn't sleep! You ignored your brother - who needs you! You tried to kill yourself!"
Yakko faltered for a second, glancing over at his brother. Tears were filling his eyes as he was watching the scene unravel. Yakko shook his head, a hateful expression glued back onto the feline. Hot streams started going down his face. This wasn't Yakko, this was anything but Yakko...
"At least I wasn't the one who caused her to die! You - ignored her! She was suffering, and you did jack squat! I did everything I could, even if it risked killing me! You were too much of a coward to do anything!", his voice was now breaking at how loud it was getting.
"Yakko that's enough!", Tails involved himself once again.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!", Yakko screamed back.
"Don't talk to him that way!", Felix's voiced cracked.
"Why?! Because he's your replacement for Sheba?!"
Felix's face went blank, he stared at him in utter disbelief. It wasn't long until his expression was switched to one of pure anger.
"GO TO FUCKING HELL YAKKO WARNER!!!"
That was the last straw.
"That's enough!"
A new voice made the two stop dead in their tracks of enragement.
Oswald raised his voice, it was filled with harrowment. "God.. can't you two see what you're doing?"
The two stopped.
When they did... new whimpering and crying were heard. Eyes broke off and went to the small ball that was Wakko. He was pressing his ears down onto his head, eyes were squeezed shut with streaks coming from them.
"P-Please... no more... no more yelling...", his voice quivered in a sobbing whisper.
Yakko and Felix's faces almost immediately softened. They did realize. They realized their arguing was hurting others... and they hadn't even bothered to even think of it...
"Well don't just stand and gawk at each other, sit!", Oswald ordered the two.
They blinked out of their trances, doing as they were told.
"Sorry Wak," Yakko apologized, full of guilt.
"S-Sorry...", Felix mimicked, he was still blinking away tears that threatened to spill.
After the words were said, Oswald took a deep breath. He massaged his temples, "Okay... today has been nerve-racking... I understand. I was a bit nervous and anxious too. But that does not give you two the excuse to scream at each other."
He paused, whilst he did... Wakko was beginning to calm down. His weak eyes had opened, but his hands still remained on his sensitive ears.
The rabbit continued, "There's a time where you need to stop talking. But that doesn't just pertain to you, Yakko. I could say that, with disappointment, to Felix here as well," he glanced at the two interconnectedly, "It's been months... months since we've had a nice, quiet, relaxing, and peaceful meal. I think it would do us all a huge favor... if we tried that out."
Yakko and Felix were thinking to themselves a bit. It took a moment or two until Yakko chuckled.
He said with a smirk, "I'd love to...", but the smile went just as fast as it came, "but not here."
Yakko stood up from his chair, then afterward ramming it into the table. Oswald caught his drink before it fell from the quake, he then scowled at the other Toon.
The eldest Warner picked up his plate, then swiftly turned towards the exit.
"Come on, Wakko," he commanded.
The younger sibling gazed at him stilly. He hesitated a little, before grabbing his plate as well - then solemnly following his brother.
The group watched them as they left.
Felix's hands shook apprehensively, he hid his face, so revolted in his own being. Tails wanted to ask him if he was okay... but that would be a rhetorical question.
"I've lost my appetite...", his words were so faint that barely anyone understood him.
He got up from his seat, stiffly escaping the dining room, through an opening different from the one the siblings had taken before.
An awkward silence once again plagued the room. No one looked at each other.
"That was... something else," Hatty muttered.



***
The argument at dinner was nothing like anyone had seen before. The two Toons had never even snapped at each other in the time that they had been friends. Not to mention when they finally did, they let everything out.
And when they let everything out, it was... everything.

Tails tried talking to Felix after the fight, but he had locked himself in his bedroom (and everyone else on the outside, including Tails and Papyrus; the ones who shared the space with him). He almost began to beg him to open up, but he thought pushing his friend wasn't going to do either of them good. It would probably just make it worse, considering how the cat handles things that mess with his emotions. The kitsune had breathed a sigh, and given up. He proceeded down the hallway, to which he noticed Papyrus sitting cross-legged next to the Warners' door. Curious, he approached him. The Monster was holding a clipboard and pencil.
"What are you doing?", Tails whispered, being sure the two on the inside didn't hear him - or more precisely, one of them.
"I'm writing to Wakko," the skeleton replied noiselessly. As he concluded, a sheet of paper was pushed out from the space under the door. He picked it up with care and laid it on the board. He resumed as he wrote, "When Yakko got all quiet and demanded him and him alone, Wakko needed someone besides his still brother to talk to. I took the proposition... he does need comfort as well..."
He finished and returned the sheet to the crack. The tips of fingers from a small, gloved hand retrieved the paper. Soon after, a stifled giggle was heard on the other side. Tails smiled at the sound, glanced back at Papyrus, who also had the expression.
"We're telling jokes right now," he clarified.
Tails started to think. What if he tried talking to Yakko? Sure, he'd have a harder time... but he had to get through to someone. It was going to drive him and everyone else crazy if there were two children that were holding forbearing grudges against each other. He felt that he had to - at the very least, try.
"Is this unlocked?", he asked, focusing his eyes towards the wooden barrier.
"Yes... but-"
"I want to get Yakko to see through," Tails stopped him before he could oppose.
Papyrus looked at him with desperate and troubled sockets, "Tails, friend, you know how Yakko is when he is upset. You should let Wakko do his thing, and bring him back."
"Papyrus, this is turning into an endless cycle. Yakko gets mad, he goes to his room, he stays in there for hours on end with his brother... then he forces himself to leave, being just a sliver better than how he was when he went in."
"Tails... you... you do know how intense he can be..."
The Digi sighed, "And you know how this doesn't really help him... at all."
Papyrus became reserved for a moment, twiddling the pencil between his fingers.
Tails' ears drifted down, "When you're in a situation like this, it's better to talk it out... Maybe I could convince him to speak to Felix. It's healthier that way."
The paper from before was shoved back underneath the door. Papyrus put the canine's suggestion on hold. He picked up the sheet once again, reading it. The hand and paper fell from his face a bit later, he looked up at Tails.
"Wakko was listening in, he... he agreed. He accepted that his brother could use a little... push," Papyrus explained.
"Alright," Tails replied, glad that someone picked up what he was putting down. "But... I hope that you understand where I'm coming from."
"O-Of course I do, I just... I don't want to risk you getting hurt," Papyrus revealed to him, his voice still showed uncertainty to the plan.
"I'll be fine Papyrus, if I need help, you'll know."
Tails then wrapped his hand around the knob and gingerly turned it. He opened it to two figures on a single queen-sized bed. The Warners' room had certainly changed, not just in a visual standpoint, but atmospherically as well.
Wakko looked at him, his face looked tired and timid. Tails felt a spike of what even amazed him: anger. How could Yakko force this onto his younger sibling? With how much he worries for him with every breath he takes, you'd think he'd consider things like these and how they would affect him.
The younger brother watched him as he marched over to stand in front of Yakko. He was met with a definitely-more-than-irritated pout. The Warner had his knees up and crossed arms in front of his face, he rested them and his head on the peak of the bent legs. He did not look up at him, nor did he even acknowledge his presence.
Tails crossed his arms and frowned at him. If he had kept going with Felix, he probably would've gotten him. But Yakko was the crux of the whole thing. If Felix was forgiving - but not him - it didn't even matter. Plus begging wasn't exactly going to sway with Yakko...
"Alright, enough is enough, Yakko. You and Felix have to make up."
Yakko didn't budge. He kept that grouchy scowl on his face, and his furrowed brows seemed like they were beginning to freeze.
"Yakko, neither of you were in the right. The things Felix said were uncalled for; I'll admit that from him to you. But you've gotta fess up too."
Still nothing. But he wasn't moving until he did.
"Yakko... Both you and he have gone through a lot. It doesn't matter when or what happened. You both lost people you loved... why can't you see that he understands?"
Without moving his eyes, the hunched Toon finally spoke, "Leave me alone."
His words were spread out, they grumbled in a meaningful way that he didn't want anything to do with what he was insinuating.
Tails was still standing his ground, "I'm not leaving until you get over yourself."
Yakko's eyes locked with his, giving him a cold and intimidating stare. "I said leave, now."
"Please, if you'd just-"
It took just a second for Yakko to get up and shove Tails against the wall. He pinned him by grabbing fist-fulls of his shirt, he was almost picking him off of the floor. Yakko's nose almost touched his.
He said through clenched teeth, "What about leaving me be... don't you understand!"
Tails couldn't reply, he was frozen in fear... for the second time today. The Toon's dark eyes didn't move from his, and they sent ripples of panic through him.
"Yakko- please stop!"
Wakko tugged frantically at his brother's pant leg. Yakko removed his eyes from the fox for a moment, looking at the terrified expression on the shorter Toon's face. Yakko's brows raised and relaxed, and his mouth's snarl eased. He then looked back at Tails, who just about had the same expression as his brother. His eyes soon became lighter, and he gazed down at his hands - which still grasped at the kitsune's rending shirt. Shivering, the hands let go. Yakko backed away, and Tails had let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. The other two watched as the tallest fell back onto the bed, covering his face with his gloved palms.
He shuddered, "God... fuck... keep it together Yakko."
He felt as if he was about to murder the Digi. His friend had a point, this isolating wasn't helping anymore... in fact, it was just making him feel worse.

"S-Sorry... I shouldn't have...", Tails started.

"No... I'm sorry, I acted wrongly. You're right- you're right... I can't keep d-doing this."

The eldest Warner took a deep breath, uncovering his face. He slowly sat up, glancing at the two in front of him. Wakko looked back at him cautiously, as Tails was fondling with his snagged shirt.

"Sorry about your shirt...", Yakko murmured, he rubbed the back of his neck in guilt.

"It's fine... really. I'm sure Felix can tidy it up..."

"Felix...", the Toon paused, "...I... I need to apologize to him." He slung himself off the bed, only for him to go down again. Yakko looked at Tails tensely, he then gave a nervous and breathy chuckle. "H-heh, I th-think I should lay down for a bit... I'm a little l-light-headed..."

"Alright... well... I'll say sorry for you. Don't worry, you get yourself some rest," Tails replied.

He had started making his way towards the door, but before he could place his hand on the knob, a tall figure flung it open.

"I HEARD SCREAMING- I WAS JUST GONE FOR A FEW MINUTES!!! IS ANYONE HURT?!", Papyrus garbled loudly.

"Papyrus- Papyrus it's okay! Everything is fine!", Tails reassured.

The skeleton's bugged eyes relaxed a bit, his gaze shifting between the fox and whats-it. He then let out a heavy sigh, his pupils going back to normal.

"O-Okay... splendid. Everything is okay now?"

"Yeah, Yakko just needs a bit to recollect."

Tails looked back at Yakko, who was pinching the bridge of his snout... He was probably beginning to have a migraine... Papyrus let out yet another sigh, but softer this time.

"Alright... I guess it was a good idea to let you get involved after all."

"I guess it was..."

They both then looked at the siblings. The younger had sat next to the older yet again, resting his head against his shoulder. The room felt a lot less tense.

Papyrus leaned over slightly towards the fox, he spoke quietly. "I think we should let them be now."

"Yeah...", Tails replied, knowing now that Yakko wouldn't repeat his bad habit this time.

The two silently slipped out, leaving the siblings to themselves.