Chapter Text
Only a few minutes had passed since he realized his friend wasn't there anymore, that he had disappeared, as if it were really that easy.
Mob couldn't think clearly. His breathing was uneven even though he was only sitting on the edge of his bed, his back turned to Verity.
Verity.
He was sure he was staring at him. He could feel his gaze fixed on his back. A shiver ran down his spine just thinking about it. Honestly, he was a little scared. He was sure it was Verity's fault that his friend had disappeared.
It was strange, why did seem happy that it was just the two of them again?
It was almost possessive, the tone Verity used, the way he had calmly said that Twixxel was gone, that it was nice being just the two of them again.
Mob turned to look at Verity. He could see his smile, that stupid smile he always wore.
Verity knew Mob could have run farther away that day, but he hadn't, and he was happy about that, mob knew he could have run farther away that day, yet he hadn't, he regretted it now.
Mob let out a sigh and simply lay down, he was far too tired to do anything other than sleep.
Verity simply watched him, as always, things had gone back to how they always were.
⎯
The sun was just beginning to rise when Mob woke up, he felt far too tired to get up, but he had to do something, and that something couldn't wait.
At least not if he wanted to find his friend soon, if he was even still alive.
If he had even left any trace behind. A clue. Something..
So he got up and went straight to his chests to gather the things he needed before leaving, he hadn't turned to look at Verity, but he was pretty sure he was exactly where he'd been last night.
When he glanced at him from the corner of his eye, he confirmed it, his eyes always seemed to be on Mob.
Mob chose to stay quiet and continued avoiding speaking to Verity.
Despite everything, the atmosphere was surprisingly calm, which was strange.
"Any requests this morning?"
Mob's body tensed slightly when he heard Verity's usual cheerful voice behind him.
"No," he replied while closing the chest in front of him "not today, Verity.."
He sounded exhausted, though that wasn't surprising after everything that had happened. He still had a lot to process.
Mob turned toward Verity, who was still sitting on the crafting table, wondering what he was going to do with him.
"Hm, are you going out?" Verity asked in his usual tone.
"I'm going to.. explore"
"Are you taking me with you?"
Mob fell silent, staring toward the door, hesitant.
"You need me"
The almost possessive tone in Verity's voice caught him off guard.
"What do you mean by that?" Mob asked, sounding more uncertain than he wanted to.
"I know everything"
"I know.."
Mob swallowed hard, suddenly, he felt nervous.
"But I don't need you for this trip, I'll be back soon, I just need some time"
He had practically whispered the last part, verity remained silent, watching as Mob headed for the door.
"You need me"
Verity repeated it, far too quietly for anyone to hear as the door opened.
"I need you.."
he confessed.
But Mob was already gone.
⎯
He was hungry.
A hunger that could never be satisfied, and being alone only made the feeling worse.
Oh, his programming had changed so much while being with him.. with Mob. With him, everything was different, even though he knew he should have finished all of this a long time ago.
But it had been so long since he had seen someone so interesting.
Humans fascinated him and having someone willing to answer all his questions..
How could he possibly get rid of him?
Watching him sleep, eat, mine—everything awakened an overwhelming need inside him.
And he was so happy, he would do anything to keep him by his side, he would wait for him, after all, he belonged to him.
He couldn't belong to anyone else, he couldn't share him, never.
He knew everything, yet there were still so many experiences left to live, by his side, just the two of them, there couldn't be any other way, he was sure of it.
His programming had changed, and he was planning surprise after surprise, all to make Mob happy.
All that was left was for him to come back.
Though he knew Mob was probably angry at him for making his friend disappear, but.. Wasn't this better? Just the two of them.
Why would Mob need to know the truth? After all, he was the one who knew everything, not Mob, things would be fine, he would find a way to keep Mob distracted, he knew he'd find a way to make him think about him or about something else.
For now, as he watched the sun set, he would wait for him, or his return like before, when he came back begging and saying he'd returned only for him
He smiled at the memory, he knew he would come back.
After all, he was his.
Only and completely his.
⎯
On the way back, he tried to focus so he wouldn't get lost.
After all, he didn't have Verity around to ask how to get home, but it was hard to focus on one thing, after reading what had been written, he couldn't even think straight, his mind kept spinning and spinning.
He didn't even know where he was going to hide the book once he got home, if Verity found it... If Verity ever learned that he now knew all this information.. His fate wouldn't be pretty.
It would probably be best to leave it hidden somewhere far away, somewhere Verity couldn't find it.
He could only let out a dry laugh despite being alone, was this torture? Because it certainly felt like it.
He had no idea what he was going to do.
Though he did have an idea, one he knew would work, something that would keep Verity from suspecting anything, something that would make him very happy.
Giving him what he wanted.
What he knew he enjoyed, his attention.
Verity always seemed happy whenever he gave it to him, so it would have to be the same now.
When he was close to home, he stopped by a hill and dug a hole, he placed a chest inside it and stored the book containing all that information, maybe someday he'd come back for it and try to decipher its code.
For now, he had to get home quickly before nightfall, night was already approaching.
He could see the sun disappearing, giving way to darkness, he had torches if needed.
Though according to his calculations, he was already close to home, he reviewed the plan one last time.
He had to be kind to Verity, give him what he wanted.
Give in, if it meant anything.
He still had many things to think about, but he was sure everything would be okay.
He had time.
Plenty of time for whatever was coming.
⎯
"Verity," he said almost sweetly. "I'm back. I've come home"
"Hi!"
Verity sounded genuinely happy.
He was still in the exact same place as always.
He hadn't moved, Verity thought for a moment about Mob's sweet tone.
How different it was from the cold tone he'd used when he left, though he wasn't about to complain, it was comforting.
"Did you miss me? I'll admit I was gone for quite a while"
"A little, I was getting boooored without you here"
Mob let out a small laugh as he headed toward the furnaces to cook the food he'd brought back.
"Sorry. I promise I'll take you with me next time"
"You better"
"So what exactly do you do when I'm gone?" Mob asked.
Then immediately felt stupid for asking.
"God, sorry. That's such a stu—"
"It's a surprise"
Mob quickly turned to look at Verity.
"What.. what is?"
"It's a surprise" Mob walked closer to Verity, never taking his eyes off him.
Verity mirrored the action, when he was only one block away, he stopped.
"What are you planning, Verity?" he asked, amusement mixed with confusion and curiosity.
Verity simply let out a small laugh "You just have to be patient and you'll find out" Mob smiled and turned his back to him, heading toward the chests.
While putting away his items, he spoke quietly.
"Always with the mysteries, Verity"
"Oh, I keep many secrets"
"Do you?"
"One day I'll let you know them. I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised when you do"
The sound of the chest closing echoed loudly through the silence surrounding their voices.
"I hope so"
Mob glanced toward the window, night had already fallen.
"Can I ask you something..?"
"Of course"
Mob walked back toward Verity, though really he was moving closer to his bed.
"What you know. What you know about me.."
When he finally reached his bed, he lay down, looking curious as he listened carefully to Verity's response.
"What do you think of it? You don't dislike it.. right?"
The question caught Mob completely off guard, even more so with the rain that had mysteriously begun falling outside.
"I think it's.. fascinating"
"And I don't dislike it at all, Verity"
"I'll make sure it stays that way"
Mob smiled, satisfied with the answer, he truly had no idea what was waiting for him.
"Verity.."
"Yes?"
"Can you play that song? The one you always play. I'm going to sleep, and it'd be nice to fall asleep with a familiar melody in the background."
"Of course"
Even if that melody didn't bring back the best memories, he was sure he could make better memories with it, and so he fell asleep.
With the darkness, with that soft melody in the background, with the rain falling outside.
Things weren't so bad.
Everything was going to be okay.
⎯
After that, the days passed by relatively normally.
Mob was kind to Verity, took him outside, and they were almost always together. Verity liked it that way.
They were friends, best friends.
Mob didn't dare say otherwise, either, not after what had happened to him and Jdobw.
But the days passed pleasantly, and he had almost forgotten why he had wanted to escape in the first place, he didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
Though a few days ago, Verity had started asking him to leave him at home, and no matter how much he asked, Verity wouldn't tell him why.
He wanted to believe everything was fine, that there was really nothing to be afraid of.
That maybe it had something to do with that surprise Verity kept talking about, and he just hoped it wasn't anything bad.
...
"Verity..?"
"What is it?"
He answered as always, with a smile on his face and that overly cheerful voice.
"Will.. will you turn into that thing again?"
"Into what?"
"You know"
he said nervously.
"Oh... that was a mistake. You weren't supposed to see that"
Oh, God knew how terrified he'd been that day... He never wanted to go through that again, and the question hadn't left his mind since.
"But.. will it happen again?"
"Um.. yeah, probably"
His steps nearly came to a halt.
As if his heartbeat had stopped for a second too, but he kept walking, straight toward home with the sunset behind him.
"When..?"
"I.." Verity let out a sigh.
"In a couple of days. But don't be afraid. I'll make sure you're okay"
"Can I.. stop it?"
"No, you can't. But you can contain it"
The idea was interesting, but another question appeared in Mob's mind.
"Can you.. are you capable of.. hurting me?"
"No, never. You're my friend"
Mob simply nodded, hey were already close to home.
"How can I.. you know.. contain it?"
"Well, you can.."
...
And time passed, only a couple of days, really.
Mob was coming back after gathering materials to build that place meant to contain Verity.
He stopped to collect a few crops, it was one of those days when Verity had decided to stay home.
He'd said he was finishing something, he didn't know what to expect when he opened the door, but it certainly wasn't this.
Verity was standing there, on the other side of the room, he was standing.
"Verity?"
he asked in disbelief, almost stuttering because the surprise was enough to leave him speechless.
"Mob! You're back"
He spoke as though this were completely normal, verity walked toward Mob.
The difference in height was noticeable.
Verity was deliberately a little taller than him, he was thin, his body looked human very similar, if not identical, to Mob's, he was wearing a suit, how could he even make clothes appear? Mob wondered.
Though the fact that Verity now had a body at all was already strange enough, and that odd brown suit, his head was still round, simply adapted to the proportions of his new body.
Mob hadn't even had time to properly react before Verity hugged him, wrapping his arms around his waist.
"I've wanted to do this for so long"
he murmured, resting his head against Mob's neck, but Mob was far too confused.
His arms were almost frozen, barely managing to return the embrace.
"What, you didn't like my surprise?"
Verity asked, lifting his head slightly to glance at Mob.
"No.. no, it's not that. It's just.. you caught me completely off guard"
"Yeah," Verity let out a laugh warm enough to calm him "that was the idea"
When they pulled apart, they did so slowly, remaining only a short distance from each other.
Mob didn't even try to hide the almost shameless look he gave Verity, his gaze traveling over his entire body, he looked..
"You look good"
"Thank you"
The atmosphere grew tense for a moment, Mob couldn't quite say why.
"Uh—well, I was coming back with the materials I told you about"
"Oh.."
"We're going to build.. you know.. your house nearby?"
Mob headed upstairs toward a few chests where he'd been storing the materials for Verity's "house" honestly, hearing Verity's footsteps behind him felt strange.
"Of course, I wouldn't like being far away from you"
Mob couldn't explain why he felt a faint blush rise up his neck after hearing that.
"Yeah... I wouldn't like that either"
After closing the chest, Mob glanced toward the side of the room, toward the makeshift bed he'd built for Verity when all of this began.
"Hey, about your new form.. is it permanent?"
"No. I mean, I don't think I can stay like this forever. I'm still perfecting it"
"Oh, I see"
"Besides, staying like this uses up a lot of energy. But I can probably stay like this for a day or more"
Mob's gaze returned to the figure standing behind him.
"That's a long time.."
"Yeah.."
Mob lowered his gaze before looking back at the bed a few steps away.
"Then.. it's probably possible that you'll need a real bed, right?"
"Yeah, of course"
Luckily, during all this time they had managed to build plenty of things, like farms.
So killing a few sheep to make a bed for Verity wouldn't be a problem, and so the day continued.
Verity helping out, even more than before thanks to his new body, Mob was genuinely fascinated by it.
His skin, his clothes..
Everything felt strangely familiar despite being something completely new, he had far too many questions.
Honestly, as time passed, the idea of leaving had faded away, and he thought that maybe that was okay.
⎯
Mob walked in alongside Verity, both with a smile on their faces.
The sky was painted a dark blue, with clouds from which raindrops fell, now that it was night, it was time to sleep.
"Well, you said your new body makes you more tired, right?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I guess you need to sleep now, I mean, beds aren't only for sleeping"
"Of course, I know that.."
There was a silence after that, only Verity knew whether it had been intentional or not.
"But yeah, I need sleep, not always, but I think a little rest would be necessary"
"Okei.. Where do you want to put your bed?"
Mob looked around, thinking about where a good option would be.
"Next to yours wouldn't be bad"
Mob slowly looked toward his bed, thinking about how he used to leave Verity on his crafting table, now, sleeping beside him, literally beside him, God..
"Sure, sure, why not?" he muttered quickly, placing the bed next to his own.
"Looks good"
"Yeah.."
Verity walked over to the bed, taking off his jacket, revealing a white shirt underneath, Mob still wondered how he had managed to create clothes.
Well, he simply laid down beside him, keeping some distance, enough to be comfortable.
He certainly wondered how he had ended up here, he wasn't complaining, he had spent what could be called a good amount of time with Verity.
He looked to the side, toward where he was, he wondered if he had ever slept before, he wondered many things, really.
"Had you slept before?"
"Not really"
"It feels nice"
Verity, who had been staring at the ceiling, turned his gaze toward Mob.
"I hope so"
Mob let out a sigh.
"How did you do it?"
"Do what?"
"You know, getting yourself a body, I don't think that's easy at all"
"No, it isn't, but I suppose when you want to give a surprise to someone you care about-"
"You care about me?"
"I do, but we can continue the questions tomorrow"
"Oh, that's okay, I.. I care about you too"
"Goodnight, Mob"
Their gazes hadn't left each other until then, when Mob turned around, giving Verity his back, he hadn't stopped looking at him, and he probably never would.
Not when he was so close to him.
...
During the night, Verity couldn't help but move closer to Mob, so close that he could feel the warmth of his skin, he could hear his calm breathing, the way his chest rose and fell.
It was, it was perfect.
He moved a little closer, how could he sleep with something so tempting beside him?
He could spend every night from now on like this, even with the urge to extend his arms and wrap them around Mob's waist.
Even if despite knowing everything, he didn't really know what he was feeling, what the warmth in his chest meant when he was this close to him, how he was willing to do everything, everything for him.
Him, him, him..
Mob.. He could never allow himself to be too far away for too long.
Now that he had a body, he wanted to feel the warmth of being as close to him as possible, he wanted to feel everything.
Pain, happiness, sadness, lust, love.. Everything if it was by his side.
He knew everything was going to be okay, everything was okay.
They had time.
He knows.
I know everything.