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it wasn’t the most abnormal thing for sword to experience night terrors.
a lot of the time, sword’s brain would subject him to horrific nightmares that left him a mess when he awoke. his brain was always scrambled with confusion considering how little sense the dreams usually made.
usually the dreams involved him losing those he loved in very elaborate ways.
a particular dream left him startled and restless, so he was practically unable to function properly the next day, which was noticed by some of his peers. particularly his close friend, rocket.
“hey man, you alright?”
sword was put on the same team as rocket, which he considered to be lucky. he really was fumbling today, tripping over his own feet and barely dealing out any damage to the opposing team.
rocket’s words suddenly registered in sword’s brain. “oh, uh.. y-yeah, sorry..”
“it’s alright, just be careful, okay? you didn’t even notice that guy coming up behind you a sec ago!”
sword nodded quietly, still unable to formulate many coherent words. his brain was really not going to stop kicking his ass today, huh?
-
after the match ended, sword bounded himself in the direction of his home. not without stumbling into nearly 10 people on his way, though. with many mumbles of apologies for this, sword was finally in the home stretch for the main road.
“god damn.”
he grumbled to himself, rubbing at his head. he couldn’t believe how weak he was being. usually he was able to push through whatever challenges were thrown his way, but for some reason it really got to him this time. it felt like his chest was tight whenever he got to focus on breathing, and he really didn’t like this migraine that began coming on. then..
“sword!”
a familiar voice from behind him. he turned his head and mumbled out a “huh”, only to find himself looking back at rocket.
“hey dude! you, uh, looked really rough today. you good?” rocket inquired concernedly.
sword tried his best at a reassuring smile, waving his hand about as he continued walking ahead. “ah, i’m fine, rocky..”
“..right..”
“i really am.” sword insisted.
rocket rolled his eyes. “you just called me rocky. anyways, listen, i don’t really know what’s up with you, but i do know that you need some help right now. can i walk you home?”
all sword could muster up was a groan, before he stopped walking and began to massage his head. it felt like utter shit now. like, actually the worst. what the hell was going on? sword didn’t know, and he really, really didn’t like it. obviously he had lost sleep, but that wasn’t usually that much of an issue for him before.
rocket would walk up next to him, offering an arm for support. “please? it’s really doing me a favor to help, you know.”
“pfft, rocket, its just a little headache, i’ll be fine..”
“sword! you ran into over 20 phighters today!” rocket exclaimed.
sword rubbed his jaw. “oh, yeah, you kinda right.” rocket beamed with pride at this. “fine.” sword finally accepted.
*
by now, the sun was gradually going down. the small path the two of them began treading on was hard to see through the dim sunlight shining through the trees.
sword didn’t really have enough energy to protest rocket’s assistance anymore. he sort of rested his head on rocket’s shoulder as they walked, relying most of his weight on the other phighter.
“you really don’t know what’s wrong?- oh, sorry, do you not wanna talk right now?” rocket spoke as sword began rubbing his head again.
“nah, it’s okay, uh.. i think that some dreams i’ve had in the past couple’a weeks have really been messing with me, so i’ve barely slept..”
rocket nodded, “ooh, yeah. night terrors?”
“..heh, yeah.”
“hate those.”
“right? just trying to get my beauty sleep for real!”
rocket laughed a little at that, though it was clear most of his expression still carried concern. sword really didn’t like how seriously this was being taken, but he couldn’t fault his best friend for caring about him.
eventually, the road to sword’s house was discovered, and a wave of relief washed over him.
“bless.” sword sighed.
“want me to walk you in?” rocket asked, to which sword would shake his head. rocket stared, unconvinced, which led to sword nodding sheepishly. he felt bad for taking so much of rocket’s time. he felt like such a burden right now, but he knew rocket was too nice to tell him that.. hell, he was too nice to even think of it like that, probably.
the two would approach sword’s house. climbing up the stairs towards the door, sword would groggily grab his keys and unlock it. the two of them would walk into the house, rocket assisting sword to sitting on his couch.
“can i get you anything?”
“rocket, please ..”
“what?”
“i feel so bad! you’re practically serving me right now..” sword frowned. he’d feel a pinge of pain in his head from raising his voice. “gah, shit..”
“hey, hey.. i’m your friend, i’m more than happy to help you, buddy.” rocket smiled warmly.
sword’s headache held him from arguing back. “..okay, if you insist.. uh, i could use an icepack.”
*
after about an hour or so, the clock would hit 7. the two phighters would be sitting on the couch and watching a horror movie. the icepack did actually help with sword’s migraine quite a bit- not to mention the ramen that rocket made for him. despite its lack luster, microwave ramen quality, it felt like the best meal he’d ever had. that may have been because it was his first meal of the day.. huh, maybe that also contributed to why he felt like garbage.
“hey, thanks again dude..” sword said quietly. he still felt a bit of embarassment over the whole ordeal.
“no problem!” rocket beamed, “do you like it?”
“hm?”
“your ramen!”
“oh! uhm, yeah, i do!” sword blinked, looking down at the food and feeling his face rush with heat. welp, even though he felt better, he still had a hard time thinking it seemed.
“good! i added some extra stuff in there.. i like to doctor it up a bit usually.” rocket beamed still. his smile warmed sword’s heart a lot. rocket was a really good friend. like, really good. he always knew what to say when sword felt down, always able to offer an anecdote or just comfort.. he obviously cared a lot about him. even when the two were put on opposing teams, they would always have fun phighting against one another.
sword really didn’t want to lose him.
the two of them continued watching the movie into the night, laughing and joking back and forth and not paying any particular attention to the time passing by. at one point, the two of them fell to a comfortable silent standstill. they watched the movie with intrigue, actually following along with the plot and having some kind of hook to it.
“come on, sword.. do you like, genuinely think that they’re going to make it out of there?” rocket teased.
“i’m serious! she seems smart!” sword exclaimed.
“glasses don’t equivilate intelligence.”
“dude, ‘equivilate’?”
“what?” rocket blinked.
sword tapped rocket’s goggles. “you’re proving me right here.”
“that’s such a normal word..”
“uhuh.. next you’re gonna tell me somethin’ about onomonomatatopoeia..” sword teased him back.
“..it’s onomatopoeia.”
“BAHAHAHA!”
rocket nudged him, “shut up and watch the movie.”
sword would oblige, only to whisper a few moments later, “i said that wrong on purpose.”
“i’m sure you did, big guy.” rocket smirked.
the two of them laughed together, now barely retaining anything from the film. that moment of silence was short lived, and now that he thought of it, so was sword’s headache. it seemed like the two’s friendship was a good cure for more than just bad vibes.
*
after the movie had ended, rocket had been getting himself ready to leave. it was around 8 now, and the two had been full of smiles all around.
“hey, uh, thanks again, man.” sword rubbed the back of his neck.
“for?”
“hanging with me!” to that, rocket smiled.
“pfft! of course! i had fun, dude!” rocket grinned, nudging sword’s side. the two of them would smile at each other for a few moments, their stares lingering in another comfortable silence. they had a lot of those.
“well um.. bye! see you tomorr-”
“hey, uh, wait!” sword started. rocket turned back to him and quirked an eyebrow. “so..”
“yes?”
“i was uh, wondering.. s-so like, you know how i’ve been having like, night terrors?”
rocket blinked at him.
“um, like.. i was wondering, like, ‘oh, if i had someone else there to talk about it with when i wake up from that dream- uh, nightmare.. maybe i’ll feel a lil bit better?’ and.. like.. uh..” sword began to stammer, “y-y’know, like, nevermind! i think i’ve been asking too much of you today, and i feel really bad about it and i’m sorry and-”
“dude, dude !” rocket put a hand on his shoulder, “i would love to have a slumbie with you.” he would offer a genuine reassuring smile.
sword blinked down at him. “oh!” his heart immediately felt less tension and his chest loosened up.
“i got nothin’ else to do.” rocket laughed.
“oh. oh! okay!” sword cleared his throat. dude, chill. “i mean, cool. sounds tight!” tight? sword hoped rocket didn’t notice how embarrassed he felt.
*
the two of them laid in sword’s room, a small little futon set up on the ground for rocket.
“you sure you don’t wanna sleep up here? i know that futon’s old as hell.” sword asked worriedly.
“nah!” rocket grinned widely, “i’m a toughie.”
“you’re fragile.” sword teased.
“what the hell.” rocket threw his pillow at him, “shut up!” he laughed.
“HEY, i’m joking!” sword caught the pillow, boomaranging it back to rocket. “i only say that to piss you off, you know. you’re one of the toughest friends i have.”
rocket caught the pillow with ease, “good!” he’d throw it below his head, now resting on it. sword watched him for a few moments, then turning onto his back and looking at the ceiling.
sword kept glow stars on his ceiling. rocket noticed this.
“cute.”
sword blinked, “hm?”
“the stars.” rocket beamed, lifting his arms into the air and reaching out for them. “i used to love space.. still do.”
“yeah?”
rocket nodded. “practically my favorite topic when i was a kid.. besides rockets, obviously.” sword snickered. “but uh.. it’s also why i liked rockets so much. i loved watching videos of them blasting off into space.. i liked making them a lot as a kid. i fucking ACED my soda-rocket experiments in school, so you can only assume how much of a baller i was at making rockets after that.”
sword chuckled, “also the uh, abundant amount of rockets you use in battle?”
“oh, yeah, that too.” rocket smiled awkwardly, rubbing his neck.
“i’m just teasin’ you, man.. that’s really cu- uh, cool.” sword cleared his throat. “Really Cool.”
rocket smiled, “what about you?”
sword hummed questionably.
“what’s up with you and swords?”
sword blinked. “oh, uh..” he ruffled his hair, “i really enjoyed sword fighting with my mentor. we did a lot of that when i was young.. i also watched a lot of old medieval movies.. those were always a blast. i remember i used to always get hurt and cry about it, but i eventually just was like, ‘oh well’.. but i used to be a big crybaby.”
“pfft, that’s adorable-” rocket laughed to himself, turning onto his side and looking up at sword. sword’s face immediately rushed with heat. “uh-” rocket coughed, “like, uh, you and your mentor. that’s really..” rocket nodded distinctly, trying to avert his gaze from sword who, by now, was looking at him with wide eyes. “..cool. it’s uh, admirable?” his face was also flushed by now, a light shade of blue. sword found it admittedly kind of, sort of, just a little bit cute.
sword also felt the blush practically attacking his cheeks, though. he didn’t understand why such a small comment left him so flustered, but he shook it off. “y-yeah, i guess so.. i don’t really know how he had the patience to deal with me, to be honest.”
the two of them laughed together, now feeling the comfortability to be able to look at each other again. phew.
“y’know..” rocket began. sword stared with full attention, barely realizing that he was practically hanging off of the side of his bed at this point to look down at the other phighter. “i never really, uh.. like, expected to be able to have a friendship like this.”
sword smiled at him, “yeah?”
“yeah.. like! i don’t know, usually people think i’m too much, i guess?.. i kinda get how my obsession with explosions can be offputting, but.. they’re just so fucking cool. ” the two of them laughed quietly, now feeling that wave of exhaustion hit them.
“i’m glad too, dude. it’s really nice. i don’t feel like i have to fake my personality around you, you know?”
rocket’s eyes lit up, “d’aww.. do you love me, sword?”
“ugh, shut up..” sword casually threw his pillow at rocket’s face.
“HEY!” rocket shouted muffledly, throwing the pillow back at sword. the two would go on like that for a while, hitting each other back-and-forth playfully. their laughter entirely filled the room, until rocket finally got up and slammed himself onto sword’s bed, now practically batting at his face with the pillow. it seemed that wave of exhaustion was fading away fast.
“PAH! GET THAT OFF M-” sword’s words were cut off by the pillow again, “that does it..”
rocket stared at him as he spoke, smiling mischeviously. sword grabbed the pillow. then another one? uh oh.
“uhh.. hey, wait-” rocket started, but he was immediately cut off by two soft pillows slamming directly into all four of his horns. “OW!”
“oh, now it’s a problem?” sword mocked, to which rocket kicked at him with his legs, to which sword would roar with laughter.
the two of them went back and forth, gradually bickering more and more, but the two would always erupt into laughter each time they had ran out of breath. by now, sword didn’t even feel any of the worries he had felt earlier on in that day. he really was just content and happy. he really liked rocket. they just.. clicked.
the two of them laid down on their respective beds after a bit, staring up at the ceiling again. they were entirely tuckered out by now.
“hey, rocket?” sword spoke into the darkness. he had been laying on his back, his hands held together nervously. he had been thinking about earlier, wondering if it was going to make things awkward to admit something, but.. he felt it was okay to.
“hm?” rocket hummed back.
“..i, um..” he cowered, “..i do love you.” sword admitted, smiling to himself. the two would remain in a silence that felt like an eternity, and sword began feeling an immense amount of regret. despite how long the two had been friends, they never really explcitly told each other they loved one another. this was new, and it was fucking terrifying. usually people would be extremely weird about this kind of thing with sword, and he was suddenly filled with so much anxiety that he began to sweat, and..
“i love you, too!” rocket said in his usually cheerful voice. relief washed over sword, he felt entirely calm and comfortable again, and that tenseness that built up was entirely gone now. most of all, his face felt fucking boiling hot again, and he didn’t know why. the two of them would talk back and forth about practically nonsense, before eventually drifting off into sleep.
*
sword awoke in what he assumed to be his old house. venomshank was outside, facing away from him. it felt a lot like a childhood memory, as everything around him appeared hazy, and his height and general stature was entirely different- every piece of furniture towered above him menacingly. it felt really.. unfriendly.
every time he tried to speak, he couldn’t hear his own voice, and his words felt incredibly slurred. the sky outside had three suns, and there were a bunch of eyes in the surrounding bushes. there were a lot of screams in the distance, as well, which made for an all the more unsettling environment. he made his way through the house, approaching the front door. upon opening it...
“SWORD! GET OUT HERE!”
a distant voice yelled at him. upon rubbing his eyes, sword now saw that he was in doomspire. he remembered having a match here one time and getting pretty seriously injured, but the worst part was that rocket was the one who did it. they had been on opposing teams, and it looked like that was the same case, here.
“sword!” rocket called out from in the distance. sword couldn’t see him, but he could hear him calling distinctly to the right of him, so he would follow his voice. around him, many other phighters would approach him. it was a very gloomy day, and despite the haze that followed him wherever he went, he could see some pretty distinct faces. boombox, katana, slingshot.. a lot of them were fighting by his side- but moreso of them were opposing him. he noticed that by now, his own apparel was red.
after dodging and phighting a few of them, sword finally approached where he heard rocket’s voice. above him, he saw the other phighter positioned with his rocket. he tried calling out his name, but his voice wouldn’t work. upon squinting his eyes, sword now saw that rocket was pointing his weapon directly at him. he also noticed that the other phighter was wearing blue.
“hey-o!” uh oh. “eat THIS!” rocket yelled, now propelling a large rocket bullet towards sword. his heart sank, his entire body rushing cold. before he could even breathe, he jumped out of the way. sword looked up at rocket with confusion, while the other phighter just carried no expression. he only seemed to care about defeating sword.
oh well, he could take some good competition.
sword unsheathed his blade, rushing up the mountain and rapidly approaching rocket. rocket would blast basically all around sword, never being able to fully hit him. the two would do that for a bit, all the while, the distant screams of other phighters began to fade gradually. eventually, overtime was announced, and the two were still dueling along this long mountaintop. sword had gotten a good few slices here and there, and rocket had been able to injure sword’s arm pretty bad.
“GET BACK HERE!” sword yelled, to which rocket levied himself onto a higher platform. the other phighter now had a more distinct face, carrying a mischevious cat-like grin and again pointing his weapon directly at sword. “damn it..” sword whispered to himself, finally being able to speak at least a little bit. he could feel himself gradually getting more and more sluggish and tired. he was finally able to back rocket up against a cliff-edge. “TAKE THIS!” rocket would shoot at one of sword’s arms and missing, now levitating to another higher platform using the rockets on his boots.
“do you have any other lines?” sword mumbled.
“hey! shut up!”
“how did you hear.. gah! nevermind!”
rocket would rapidly approach the edge of the cliff that he was on. sword would begin to climb gradually, now noticing rocket just as he would knock off a chip of the cliff and lose his footing.
rocket yelled with fear, and just before he fell, sword was filled with a rush of determination to save his friend. he jumped up and rushed at rocket, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. the two looked at each other in silence for a moment.
“sword!” rocket looked a little shocked, but fully grateful. “thank you, man! i wasn’t sure if i was going to get my boots working in time..”
“of course! you alright, buddy?” sword was grateful to be able to fully speak now, and everything around him was finally feeling real.
“yeah! thanks to you!” the two would laugh, punching each other’s shoulders and dusting themselves off.
“well, i think the game is over, now..” rocket said with relief.
“phew.. i was starting to get really exhausted there..”
for a moment, the two would stare at one another, both beaming brightly.
“well..” rocket began, to which sword stared at him. “we still got a few more seconds.” he said, then quickly whipping out his rocket gun.
“oh, COME on!” sword yelled with frustration. rocket roared with laughter, pointing his weapon at sword.
“c’mon, i gotta win for my team!” rocket exclaimed. he began revving up a large blast, directly aimed at sword.
sword would back away slowly, holding his blade in front of him and shaking. “shit..”
then, just as the gun was about to blast, he felt a large boost of energy. he would stampede towards rocket, holding his sword in front of him..
shnk.
he impaled him with his sword directly in his abdomen.
for a moment, there was silence all around him. rocket let go of his weapon and dropped it to the dirt, falling to his knees.
oh shit, fuck, oh god, no, no, no.. what did he do? what did sword just do?
“rocket!” he exclaimed, falling to his knees and quickly grabbing ahold of the other phighter before he could topple off of the cliff.
“hgnhh.. h-hey..” rocket laughed, now coughing up some blood. sword’s heart ached. he couldn’t believe that this was happening. it felt like his heart was going to explode from fear. he would panickedly hover his hand over the wound, shaking violently.
“r-rocket, i’m so sorry, i didn’t- i wasn’t thinking- i.. oh, fuck ..”
rocket shook his head, now carrying a mournful expression due to sword’s panic. “sword..” he would cough up some more blood, gasping for some air.
sword applied pressure to the wound, looking around. he tried calling for help, but every time he yelled, his voice sounded muffled. it was fucking torture.
“rocket?” sword looked down at the other phighter, who was gradually closing his eyes for longer and longer, “rocket, rocket .. s-stay with me, buddy! i can patch you up.. i g-guess everyone went home, huh?-”
“why did you do this, sword?”
sword froze, looking down at rocket.
“wh.. i-i didn’t m-mean to.. i’m so s-sorry, rocket, please..” sword trembled, tears now beginning fall down his face. they collected on his chin, all falling to the dirt. a distant rumble of thunder was heard. “you’re m-my best friend, please..”
“why?” rocket would mumble. he began repeating the word over and over, gradually beginning to breathe slower and slower. sword’s heart practically broke in his chest, as he would lean over, heaving out sobs and clutching onto rocket’s shirt for dear life.
*
“sword?”
sword would awake to see rocket sitting beside him, shaking his shoulder. tears were falling down his face, and he felt so overwhelmed that he was shaking. he could barely see rocket in the dark.
“rocket? rocket, y-you..” he would begin, his voice breaking mid-sentence. his chest felt extremely tight, and he would begin rubbing it, “hel-help..”
“hey, hey, i’m right here, sword.. what’s wrong? do you need water?” rocket asked, to which sword would nod quickly. rocket would rush himself to the kitchen, coming back with a glass of water that sword would chug down.
“panic attack?” rocket asked, to which sword nodded again.
despite the lack of light in the room, the illumination from the window outlined a deeply worried expression on rocket’s face. he would hover a hand, seemingly asking if he could touch. sword nodded.
rocket would hold sword’s hand in both of his palms, rubbing the middle of it with his thumb. “shh.. hey, hey..” sword’s tears kept coming, but his chest gradually loosened. the tears were beginning to burn his eyes.
“i..” sword began, sitting up completely and wiping his face. “can.. can i-i hug you?”
rocket was silent for a moment, before moving in to embrace the other boy. the two of them held onto each other silently, sword crying into his shoulder. he was shaking so bad, and he felt like his chest was gradually relieving tension the longer he held on.
rocket soothingly rubbed his back in circles, hushing him every time his breathing choked up. “breathe..”
sword felt himself calming down with ease, clutching onto rocket tightly. “i d-didn’t mean t-to..” he whispered into rocket’s shirt.
“sword?”
“i did.. didn’t mean.. i.. i’m s-so sorry, rocket.. i didn’t m-mean to hurt you..”
“sword, you didn’t do anything wrong!” rocket reassured him. “i’m okay, you didn’t hurt me at all!”
for a moment, sword didn’t believe it. the dream had felt so real. he still felt that feeling of mourning inside of him, and every time he breathed, he felt his chest tighten. rocket holding him kept him calm, though. sword leaned out of the hug for a moment, wiping at his eyes. rocket held the side of sword’s face, which would make sword’s cheeks flush a little. they had never really been this close physically before.
“bad dream, right?” rocket inquired, rubbing the side of sword’s face with his thumb.
“y-yeah.. it felt, uh.. really real.” sword would laugh and sniffle, but rocket’s face remained concerned.
shit..
“what was it about?”
uh.
how was sword supposed to explain that?
“it was, um..”
“i-if you don’t mind me asking!” rocket suddenly subtracted his hands, waving them around assuringly.
sword paused for a moment, realizing that really there was no point in lying, now. “i, uh.. hurt you on accident.”
rocket blinked at him, “oh.. oh!”
“y-yeah.. it was a really bad nightmare.. i don’t really-”
“it’s okay! we don’t have to talk about it. maybe we can tomorrow, if you’re up for it?” rocket interrupted, which sword was actually a bit grateful for.
sword smiled weakly, “sure.”
now staring at rocket directly, sword felt that his face was still warm even after the other boy’s touch had left him. the other phighter just stared back at him now, fidgeting with his hands anxiously. sword thought it was really cute.
“..i.. don’t know if i can sleep again.. at least for a bit.” sword said, switching to laying on his back. he’d be sniffling a bit, but he felt far calmer than before.
“i can stay awake with you.” rocket smiled warmly.
“you sure?”
“positive!”
*
an hour had passed, and the two had resulted to laying next to one another on sword’s bed. they talked here and there, having on and off conversations every 10 or so minutes. sword’s mind was still wide awake and entirely turned off from the idea of sleeping, but rocket seemed extremely tired. he was yawning just about every other word.
“you sure you don’t wanna sleep, rocky?”
“god..” rocket nudged his shoulder, “i swear, if you call me that one more time..”
“whaaat? you don’t like it?”
“not even a little!”
the two would laugh quietly with one another, their hands both laying close to one another. a few more moments of silence would draft between them.. usually, after a nightmare like that, sword would feel entirely like shit. for whatever reason, rocket made it extremely easy to feel content again, though.
“sword?”
“hm?” sword hummed.
“do you..” he started, then scratching at his jaw, “um..”
sword turned his body entirely onto his side, facing the other phighter with a cartoonishly quirked eyebrow.
“PFFFT!!! don’t look at me like that!” rocket shoved him.
“sorry! go on.” sword felt genuinely curious now. rocket’s face flushed blue, and sword tried his best to hold in a laugh.
“..have you ever liked somebody?”
rocket’s question rang through sword’s ears. it took him a moment to comprehend just what he was asking, but when he did, he felt his heart practically leap into his throat. why was he asking this?
“uh-”
“i’m just curious! i always sort of thought of you as a romantic kind of guy.” rocket smirked.
sword rolled his eyes, “pssh.. i’ve never even had a partner.. i don’t, uh, really know much about it?”
rocket nodded, humming along. “i’ve only really had one, but.. it was kind of a fling.”
sword felt a weird sort of pain in his chest, but he ignored it.
“they were a jerk, anyways.” rocket noted.
ah, now it’s gone.
“so uh.. practically no experience either, heh..”
sword stared silently. “why do you ask?” he’d ask, only to see that rocket was now averting eye contact with him.
“haha, uh..” rocket waved his hand, “i-i already told you! i’m just..”
sword smiled a little at him, feeling his heart flutter in his chest. he didn’t really know why he was smiling, and he felt a bit like an idiot for it. rocket noticed it, and began fidgeting with his hands again.
“..i-i.. uh..” rocket covered his face with his hands, “god, this is so embarassing..”
sword’s heart felt like it could practically fall out of his chest with how on edge it was. he didn’t say a word, just watching rocket contently- which probably made his anxiety worse. whoops.
“i think..”
oh.
rocket would choke up a little on his words, now looking to sword fully. his face was entirely flushed now.
oh.
“i, uh.. like.. someone.” rocket blurted out, staring to the side again.
sword felt his heart drop. “..o-oh?”
“yeah..”
the two were silent again. the silence felt entirely uncomfortable, but at the same time, it was curious. the two were too scared to say anything to the other. sword felt the urge to ask who, but to some degree, he felt he might know the answer.
and it terrified him.
did rocket like him? he didn’t really know. the two of them had been best friends for a couple of years now, and in his mind, everything had been completely platonic! sure, the two would exchange some hand holding every now and then, but they hadn’t even said i love you to one another until that night. obviously there was nothing there.
right?
well, sword knew he always felt different around rocket. he always felt comfortable and safe.. he really felt like he could be himself around him without fear of judgement, and not to mention his chest always felt really weird around him.. sword rested his hand next to him as he thought, now looking up at the glow stars on his ceiling. it was almost a way of comfort, at this point.. an escape from awkward conversations. sword felt a feeling of warmth on his hand, as rocket placed his hand on his.
“..i-is this ok?” rocket practically whispered, his voice cracking near the end. he sounded so anxious.
“y-yes!” sword blurted out, then retracting. “i-i mean, yeah.”
silence again.
god , it as killing him.
sword turned his head to look at the other phighter, who was still averting his gaze. they caught eyes, and sword felt his heart pounding in his chest once again. his hand was sweating now, practically gripping on for dear life to rocket’s hand, who, was simply rubbing his thumb into his palm. it felt really nice.
“sword?”
“y-yeah?” sword gulped.
rocket suddenly turned entirely to face sword. his eyes were wide, but his mouth remained shut for a few minutes. sword felt sweat beading down his face, and his face felt like it was on fire. the two would stare at each other for another moment, then.
rocket leaned in, sword felt his heart drop for the hundredth time.
oh, god. it’s happening, okay, calm down, calm down-
rocket kissed him.
it was extremely soft, and fast. sword closed his eyes and leaned in, holding the other’s face. it lasted for a few seconds, before they’d both move away from one another. they’d continue staring, the both of them breathing heavily and carrying extremely shocked expressions.
“w-woah..” sword mumbled.
“oh, oh no.. i-i’m sorry, sword! i don’t know why i did that! i really-”
“rocket!”
sword snapped him out of it. he placed his hands on the sides of rocket’s head as they’d stare at each other for another moment. then, they’d kiss again.
and again.
and again, and again, and again..
*
“..so.. were you trying to say that you liked me, or-”
“ yes , sword.” rocket groaned, rubbing his eyes with frustration, “you can be real dense, sometimes.”
“hey!” sword gasped, to which rocket would laugh at him.
the two of them would be holding hands, checking in with one another to see if it was okay, still. physical touch was new to the both of them, but sword was willing to be patient.
“..i’m sorry.” rocket said suddenly.
“huh?” sword blinked at him.
“i-i’m sorry that you keep having these dreams, sword..”
rocket spoke right next to swords ear, speaking very quietly. it sent shivers down his spine.
“i-it’s okay.” he’d pause, “..i, um..”
“we don’t have to..”
“i know.” sword assured, “..i just.. i get really worried everything is my fault, you know?”
a pause, then a quiet nod from rocket.
“i always feel like.. i have such a huge amount of responsibility, y’know? in battle, i’m always charging in. i’m in charge of making sure my team is safe, and if we fail, i-it’s my fault, somehow..”
rocket frowned, “oh, sword..”
“i know, i know.. we all have equal responsibility. it’s just..” sword looked down at his palms, releasing his hand from their embrace. he’d back away a bit, staring down at his hands. rocket would look at him sadly. “..in the dream, you told me it was my fault, a-and that’s not me trying to make you feel bad! i just.. i really thought.. i really thought that i made you hate me.”
rocket shook his head immediately, “sword, hey, no, no.. it was just a dream!”
“i stabbed you, rocket. i-i tried to kill you!”
“you didn’t , it was an accident, and it wasn’t even real! besides, if anything like that happened, i-in the impossible scenario that it does- i would never blame you.”
sword felt his lip tremble, looking up at rocket with saddened eyes. god, they felt like they were watering again, and it pissed him off just a little bit.
“you wouldn’t?” sword shivered.
“i promise.”
“i don’t want to lose you, rocket.” he said, feeling his voice break again.. and there were the tears.
rocket put his hands to sword’s face, wiping away the tears, “shh.. i ain’t going anywhere, alright, big guy?” he’d reassure him, holding his face gently.
sword snorted, nodding his head. he’d place his hand on top of rocket’s. after a few moments, sword’s tears would gradually go away, and rocket would plant a small kiss on top of his head.
“hey, maybe we should try to get some rest? all this crying is going to knock you out eventually..” rocket teased lightly, finally witnessing a yawn from the other phighter.
“hmm, maybe...” sword smiled a little, now resting his head into rocket’s shoulder. he felt a sense of relief and comfort washing over him. despite his small hiccups from the tears, he began to feel the exhaustion finally hitting him.
he loved rocket.
he really, really , loved him. he knew he would do anything he could to keep him safe. and deep down, he really didn’t know what the two of them were officially, but he knew he was in love. this must’ve been what it was.
“go ahead. i’ll keep watch, yeah?” rocket beamed.
“yaaa.. love you..” sword mumbled out, resting his head and body weight entirely onto rocket’s shoulder.
“pfft.. i- sword?”
silence.
“swooord?”
a snore.
rocket would blink, then laugh under his breath. “i love you, too.”
breath. “i love you, too.”