The Sugar Thief (G/T) (Completed)

12 - Still Home

Here it is everyone, the last chapter of The Sugar Thief! What a journey!! Thank you all for sticking around, and indulging in these boys' adventures these past four months. The overwhelming support I've received from this has changed my outlook on writing entirely, and the quality of my work has improved as a result of creating this.

So thank you, thank you all so much for being here. And with that being said, read on!
(art by @hiddentiny on tumblr!)
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The two brothers venture back home, only to find the place in utter disarray thanks to the wildlife helping itself.

Carter blames himself, and Damien struggles to accept their only other option of residence.

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The first thing Carter noticed was the cold. 

He shuddered, his arms coming to wrap around his sides to preserve any amount of heat. He'd forgotten how much cooler it was in the walls after being surrounded by warmth in the dresser for a few days straight. Honestly he had loved it up there, and was missing it more and more with every step he took.

It didn't take long for the dust to settle back onto his clothing like it usually did, as they pushed their way through the now mostly unused tunnels. The pace they traveled was slow, as Damien was hindered by his injured foot, but they'd get there eventually.

Eric had brought him some small strips of a soft white material to wrap his ankle properly, and had even given him part of a crushed up ice cube to help the swelling. As for a crutch however, he'd been completely out of ideas. He considered just snapping a chopstick, but then Damien would have nothing to grip it by. 

At a loss, he'd asked the older borrower if he had any ideas as well. Damien had told him to just go grab a stick from outside, so Eric had brought back many different options. Most of them were either too long or too short, but eventually he'd found one that worked. He was able to put a little bit of pressure on it now that it was wrapped, to better the healing process even though it hurt. 

Carter walked behind his brother the whole time, silent for a few minutes. But his thoughts could only swell and fester inside of him for so long before they spilled out.

"So what are we gonna do now..?" He asked, breaking the tense silence. "...I don't wanna move."

Damien stared ahead, not slowing his pace. 

"But we should." He replied flatly. "The less humans who know about or have evidence of us, the better." 

Carter's face crumpled in frustration. "But that doesn't make sense! If we move into some other house then we're just exposing ourselves to more humans, when Eric already promised not to tell anyone!" 

"Humans always lie." Damien snapped.

"No, not all of them!" Carter retorted. "He wasn't lying when he said he'd let you go when you were healthy, was he?" 

Damien fell silent.

"And he wasn't lying about wanting to help us.."

" Enough." The elder brother grumbled. He didn't understand Carter's obsession with this human. While he'd admit that being under Eric's care was far better treatment than any other human encounter he'd had, he still didn't trust him. Nobody was that nice for no reason. He'd want something out of the two of them eventually.