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Four hears his name called by X, so he picks his attention up from rearranging the dirt. The brown color looks way better than yellow grass.
Two's stupid Bathrooms structure is a short walk that ways. Where else was he supposed to play, the Pillary Ruins? There's nobody there, not since his show was finished.
His short yellow buddy is standing over him casting a shadow on his work. "I have to go to the equation playground today."
"Oh.. I'll really miss you." He looks deeply consternated by this development. X notices his frown and frowns too.
"It's only for a couple hours." His best buddy absent? Just a couple days after his whole, integrating with the sun debacle? He won't have it.
"You should stay. We can play mudcakes together! We can even arrange them into fractals like you like to." It's not effective communication, he's really kicking himself. It wasn't assertive enough.
"Wellll... Five kinda went missing again.. Everyone's blaming Seven, but I know exactly where Five is."
"And they didn't ask me!?!?!" Four responds reflexively, quickly, angrily.
"Four, you know you keep-"
"Yeah, they'd probably think it's me, too." he grumbles. As hilarious as that would be, to get into an argument with those guys, now isn't the time. X is actually sparing him in his time of need, he realizes.
"I gotta go. I'll be back soon!" X prompts to end the conversation, he must be in a rush.
"Yeah! See you later." Four gives him a fake smile. X says to him "Bye-bye!" then charges up energy but it only takes a second. He launches into space.
X is gone? Right at the moment when he was dwelling, wallowing on how his contestants hated his guts. How everyone does. His integer friends, his contestants, even X! Because of his violent tendencies, his playful maiming, he's chased everyone away with only himself to blame. Sniffle.
Two is in the middle of speaking to Gelatin about his steakhouse ideas, which he speaks of excitedly and with great passion. He's really impressed. Yet, the other half of his thoughts are occupied on Four and X and their conversation going on a half mile away.
Up until this moment, he was satisfied with how Four was taking his mind off of things with creative work. He can't read his thoughts of course, but it only took some asking around to know what he's up to.
But when he heard his friend start to cry a little? Two audibly gasped mid sentence. "Yeah I know, I have it all mapped out!" Gelatin hops with pride.
"Oh, sorry, it's not about that. I actually have something I have to deal with. Be back in fifteen!" Two disappears without any fanfare.
Gelatin mopes off with a pout, but he's not all that bothered.
"Now we can't have that can we?"
Four looks up with tears on his face, but he looks otherwise unbothered. Yet, the proof is right there. "Great, its the last person I wanted to see." he growls.
He continues on regardless as there's nothing rightly worth saying to that. "Didn't X say he would be right back? Why the waterworks?"
Two sits down across from his dirt structure he's crafted with his hands. Four just grumbles and wipes his cheek, and it really pains him to see that.
But he knows Four well enough to know he just can't find the words. "Are you feeling like everyone hates you?" Watching him closely, he's hoping for an opening by laying it all out plainly.
"Yes," Four croaks out of his strained throat and he stiffens up. He covers his tightly closed eyes with his hands. "Hey, hey now." Two shuffles over to his side on his knees and puts a hand on his shoulder, sitting down on his heels.
"Where's the Four we all know and love? Nobody can get enough of your bottomless energy. Don't you see that?"
He thought reassuring him would cheer him, but what he got in response was like an explosion of tears. "That's not-!!! True!!!"
Two knows that someone who struggles to talk and think rationally, whether temporarily or always, really responds well to a little platonic affection. But, this sitting here and moping all day was a cry for help this whole time?
"Hey, heyy." Two puts both hands to his shoulders, now kneeling up behind him. He's trying to put some weight on him, really not letting him forget he's there.
It almost seems like he's just making it worse since Four is only sobbing. "C'mere." But he takes a chance and sits behind him and hugs him. He startles but quickly relaxes into his hold, even enough to pull him to lean back on him. He even quiets.
Four has this softened look on his face, albeit sniffling. Somebody who doesn't like this touch would harden up and look alert.
"Isn't that better?" Saying that was pure reaction, even Two's shocked that worked so well for him. No one's ever held Four this way, thats blatantly clear. That brief thought makes him flush a little.
Four lolls his head to the side to tuck his forehead under his chin, it must be too personal to have Two's face in his peripheral. They just sit that way for a moment.
"They all-" then he gets choked up again. He's silent, he's so tensed up again. His sobs just sound like a cough or two.
It's just a reflex but Two puts his arms around his arms, closing him in, it just seemed like the next step to take. His hands are naturally up on his head. "No, no of course they don't. I know for a fact."
Well, from that it takes a second, but Four quiets again. "How could you.." he expresses skepticism. That's great progress! Even with his face shaded behind Two's hands, he's completely receptive.
"Because they told me of course! They say, Two you're so annoying, you don't even tell us the rules! At least Four made it fun!"
"Mheh." He's muffled and squished but he just laughed. Two tugs at the pelt on his head with a playfulness knowing he's still emotionally sideways. Opening and closing two pinched hands.
"And they've been saying team Death Pact Again is so boring, it's not any fun to prevent deaths. Imagine that!" To tell him they were wrong and he was right practically absolves his concerns of their contestants.
His thoughts get stalled when Four stretches out, he takes his hands away but the way he nuzzles his head into him is like a silent plead to bring them back. He must be ashamed to appear so vulnerable, he decides.
With his fingernails he's scrubbing over the top of his head, and they just sit like that for a few minutes, really wrapped up in eachother. There's no other way to word it.
It's clearly platonic. Four might've just become his best buddy though.
He can feel his expression when he's mushed under his arm, he must like it, he wouldn't personally though. Four's not smiling, he grimaces sometimes but he seems nearly calmed, sounds like a job well done.
A minute longer of this and Four's relaxed body starts rumbling on him. He's purring! It's a quiet popping sound, of course he's congested so he's late to realize what he's doing. His hands pause on his head and Four sits up quickly, half-turned to face him. Two's mouth is open.
"Sorry." he glares like the sunlight is too bright. "I'm fine." He scoots out from between his legs. His head isn't red from crying anymore.
"Glad to hear it, friend!" Two misses a beat but smiles, it's a real genuine smile.
"Don't tell anyone I did that. Any of it!!!!" Four fixes himself onto his feet. He wipes his face thoroughly.
"Glad to have ya back, Four." He gives him a thumbs up and a wink from where he's sat.
Four turns to walk toward the Hotel and notices Cakey, Naily, and Taggy on the horizon eavesdropping. They move to run with laughter, but Four is quick on their heels with rampant zappies. "YOU THREE GET BACK HERE!!!!!"
Two looks down at the little structure his buddy made in the dirt. Maybe he's imagining it, but it kinda looks like the Hotel he built?