We Taught Ourselves to Smile

Part 6

Kobra

The day before they were set to leave, Kobra found Poison in the kitchen, sobbing as they sat huddled in a corner. Tears spilled out of their eyes, streaming down their face and into the mug of coffee they were clutching to their chest. Kobra rushed to their side, pulling the mug out of their shaking fingers before they dropped it.

"Poison, what's wrong?" His voice was soft and comforting, and they looked up at him, their golden eyes full of pain. "Are you and Ghoul fighting again?"

"No, but- but he's... Sandman said something and it's fucking with his head. He- he's doubting that I still love him after the fight and I think he's... I think he's pushing me away. I can't lose him, Kobes." They threw their arms around his neck and Kobra held them as they sobbed. "I can't lose him. It would kill me."

"I'm sure you'll work it out, I've never seen two people love each other as much as you two do."

"But what if we don't? What if this is it?" They sounded so hopeless, it broke Kobra's heart. They clung to him desperately, eyes wild. "What if-"

"Hey. Stop. You're just going to drive yourself crazy. I'll talk to Sandman, you need to talk to Ghoul, make sure you work this out. You will work it out. No force in this world could keep you two apart for long. Not even your own stupidity. Just hold on to hope and work through this." Kobra took hold of their shoulders in an effort to shake sense into them, but they just stared numbly past him. "Poison. Listen to me." Their eyes focused for a moment, and Kobra nearly slapped them so they would stay focused. "You're going to work this out. Don't give up on him. He'll come around." Poison nodded and began to clean off their face. "Are you okay?" They nodded again and Kobra pulled them into another hug. He squeezed their shoulder for a moment before leaving them to collect themselves and find Sandman.

Kobra found Sandman sat on the counter while Jet changed his bandages. His face lit up when the taller boy walked in the room but quickly fell when he saw his expression.

"What did you say to him?" Kobra's voice was hard, angry. He stopped right in front of Sandman, the smaller boy's face inches from his own.

"What? Who?"

"Ghoul. What did you say to him? I just found Poison sobbing in the kitchen. They said Ghoul was doubting their relationship because of something you said to him." His eyes widened and he scrambled back a little before he spoke.

"I may have pointed out how unlikely it was that they were still in love considering how bad the fight sounded?" Kobra stumbled back, running a had through his blond hair.

"Fucking hell, of course. Of course you would say something like that."

"Hey!" Sandman shouted defensively, "It didn't seem like they were having issues after I said it! They seemed almost clingier than before!"

"You don't know them ! Of course they seemed clingier! When Ghoul's insecure, he gets flirty and affectionate. What you've been seeing is their normal shit ramped up to about eleven!" Sandman had the decency to look apologetic, so Kobra calmed down a little bit. "You can't really do much about it now, what's done is done, so at this point the only one who could talk Ghoul out of this is Poison themself. But you really should apologize to both of them. They've been through hell recently, and unfortunately you've had a pretty big hand in that." Sandman nodded, as if he were afraid to say anything else. "Don't go right now, because I have a feeling that Poison is actually willing to kill you right now, but don't just wait until you see them again. Their room is the first one on the left, so sometime before we leave tomorrow, go talk to them, and make sure you let Ghoul know you didn't mean it. If they figure this out, I'm willing to forgive you, but if you're the reason they break up I will personally hunt you down so Poison can gut you, do you hear me?" Sandman nodded again, and Kobra relaxed. "Good. I hope you're feeling better?"