the moon is bright enough (LUNCH CLUB) DISCONTINUED

unseen tragedies in distant galaxies

go read the extra chapter where cooper reacts to travis' betrayal at my ao3 account "wheelsonthebus"

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-=-

Ty and Connor arrive just as Schlatt wakes up.

They walk in to the sound of breathless laughter and unfamiliar British voices mingling with a deeper one.

That must be Technoblade. He's the only twenty-year-old they know that sounds like a middle-aged man.

As they walk past the main room, Ty catches a glimpse of a tall man with wavy hair and one with blond, both chuckling at something Technoblade says. He longs to join in with them, to forget about his worries, but Connor tugs on his arm and makes a pained noise.

"You're the worst," Ty jokes, helping an exhausted Connor along. His leg twinges slightly – he's bleeding from where Travis had grazed his ankle – but bites back a wince. Connor needs more help than he does.

Connor smiles tiredly at him. "I ought to give you a raise."

Just as they round the corner to the bedrooms, Ty catches sight of Schlatt. He's dressed in loose-fitting clothes, comfortable and sleepy-looking. Charlie's there, too: he's shivering and covered in some weird green goop, leaving behind a sticky trail back to the spare room.

"What the fuck are you doing? Why are you dripping?" Schlatt tries to sound angry, but yawns halfway through his sentence. It's like watching an angry puppy.

Charlie pushes his fringe out of his eyes, a bewildered grin on his face. "I don't know what's going on, man. I woke up freezing cold with this gooey shit all over me. You could call me a slimecicle!" He beams, then pauses, squinting at Schlatt. "Didn't you try to sell me an apple earlier?"

Schlatt's face contorts at the horrendous pun. "What, when I screamed 'apple' at you?" He asks. "Yeah, that's me. I kinda knocked you out, too. That happens when I'm feeling a bit extreme."

"I never even got my apple," Charlie frowns, "That's not an a-peel-ing way to get customers, dude."

Schlatt rubs the space between his eyebrows. "One more pun out of you and I'll do it again. Now go get washed, I don't want to see any more of that drip on my floor, Charlie."

"I never even got your name! Isn't it a core belief that one should introduce themselves?"

"How are you making so many apple puns?!"

Charlie smiles, cocking his head to the side. "What can I say? I'm pretty punny." He offers a hand to Schlatt, who inspects it carefully before taking it. "You know me," he says.

"I'm Schlatt." The faun rolls his shoulders, inspecting the shorter man. "You keep those puns to yourself, alright?"

"Gotcha!" Charlie sings, then prances down the hallway, where he nearly bumps into Ty and Connor. He blinks, wide-eyed. "How long were you guys there?"

"Long enough," Connor says, voice thick with exhaustion. "Thanks, Ty. I'll manage from here." He nods a greeting to Charlie and trudges down the hall to his room. 

Schlatt begins to speak when Connor shuts his door, and the faun backs up, hurt flickering across his face. "What's wrong with him, Ty?"

Ty raises an eyebrow in disbelief. "You left us to walk back by ourselves, and we got ambushed by a group of people who tried to kill us. One of them helped us escape and now he might die because he betrayed his friends. Of course Connor's mad. In fact, so am I," he says. He shoots a quick smile at Charlie, then disappears into his own room.

Once they're both gone, Charlie winces, giving Schlatt a pitying glance. "Sheesh. Good luck with them."

"No kidding," Schlatt says, still staring at the closed doors as one might do when folks don't respect other's wishes to not fucking witch-hunt people. 

From behind the closed door, Ty listens as Schlatt sighs and leaves, hooves clicking against the marbled floor. He feels bad, but Schlatt has to learn that he and Connor aren't as powerful as he is. They really could've died.

He thinks of Travis.

Travis will be okay. He's sweet and friendly – it must be enough to convince the others, right?

The next day, Ty waits by the rock. He has a basket of food and drinks, and a fluffy hooded cloak as a welcoming gift for Travis. He knows he might be waiting a while – the sun has barely risen yet – so he has plenty of sandwiches and snacks, plus spare for the adlet.

He keeps the basket atop the rock and walks around, picking colourful flowers. He brushes the dirt off of their leaves, then uses his healing powers to restore them to their prime. That morning, the tall guy – Wilbur –  had taught him how to make daisy chains, and he makes one to tie the bunches of flowers together. They look especially pretty, surrounding the base of the rock and the basket like a present.

It looks lovely, if Ty does say so himself. It'll help Travis feel at home.

In fact, he feels so light and happy that his palms glow with a pink light. He can feel magic running through his veins, sparking at his finger-tips. It's like his powers are just as pleased as he is. 

He shoots pink sparks into the air when he's finished, sitting with his back against the rock, one leg up and the other stretched out. Connor comes to sit for a while, then leaves to finish off some work. Technoblade comes by to compliment Ty's handiwork before setting off to escort his friends home. Even Schlatt comes to apologise and they shake hands, no harm done. 

"It looks beautiful, Ty," Schlatt says, and Ty smiles so wide it hurts.

"You think he'll like it?"

"Of course he will. You made it. I'm honestly jealous." Schlatt ruffles Ty's hair, the pride in his eyes unmistakeable. "You've grown so much, Ty. You're like a son to me, you know that?"

Ty gives a short huff of a laugh, batting at Schlatt's hand. "I don't like how nice you're being," he says, teasing. His voice turns serious. "Thank you. It's been a pleasure working with you."

Schlatt smiles. "I'm going to see Connor now. Come find us when all's done, yeah?" He makes sure he doesn't ruffle the flowers when he flaps his wings. Ty waves him goodbye, then settles back down. He's never been so happy in his life.

Travis doesn't show up.