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The moon shined upon the small campsite in the middle of the forest, the wind wistfully blowing as the trees danced alongside the soft gusts. The flames rose higher and higher, as the younger twin began to put a bit more coal and logs into the fiery inferno, which sat right in the midst of the small, abandoned campsite.
“… How’s the eye treating you?”
“Shit.”
Coolman hissed, clutching it as he grumbled, ashamed of the scar that began to develop. He couldn’t see much out of it, his vision worsening with each moment.
Swagman just nodded in silence, trying to wrap up his own wounds, struggling slightly as he did so. The tip of his tail gently swayed, focusing on bandaging himself.
Coolman took notice of this struggle, standing up before propping himself beside his younger sibling, snatching the bandage from his grasp with quite a bit of force, causing Swagman to jump slightly.
“What are you doing?”
“You clearly don’t know how to wrap a wound up, do you?”
“… Of course I do! I was just…” He was at a loss for words, furrowing his brow as he tried to think of an excuse. Coolman glared at him with a face of unamusement, but had to at least crack a small grin and chuckle at his brother’s stupidity.
“Did you even disinfect it?”
“… No.”
He rolled his eyes, exhaling from his nostrils as he began to rummage through the stolen First Aid kit, grabbing disinfectant and a bit of cotton. He unwrapped the stained bandages, slipping one claw under his brother’s calf and holding the leg up, getting better access to the cut.
“This may hurt.” He mumbled, before applying the disinfectant to the soft fluffy material, before pressing it against his brother’s open wound.
“G-Gah! A-are you serious?!” He yelled, jerking his leg back and kicking his older twin in the face in the process, his eyes widening as he realised what he’d just done. “… Sorry.”
Coolman clutched his nose, snorting out of it as he groaned in a bit of pain, not expecting such a reaction from his sibling.
“… It’s.. Fine. Just hold still, and don’t kick me. Or I’ll have to tie you down to something.” He grumbled, before pressing the cotton against the wound again, watching as the blood began to soak into it, the disinfectant mingling with the crimson fluid.
Swagman fought hard against the urge to pull away, gritting his teeth and biting into his lip constantly. His tail slammed against the soft grass of the ground, as he shut his eyes.
Coolman kept rubbing the soft material against the large slit, before throwing it into the fire, allowing it to incinerate.
“There. Disinfecting done. Now, watch closely. I’ll show you how to properly bandage a wound.”
“… A-ah, alright..”
The older twin grabbed the roll of bandage, beginning to wrap it around the wound several times, making sure to tighten it. The white cloth began to stain with red, as he wrapped and wrapped, the grip on his leg getting tighter.
He finally grabbed medical scissors, cutting the excess material, and finishing it off with a bit of tape.
“See? Easy.” He smirked, nudging his brother a little. “Don’t overcomplicate it.” He got up to walk back to where he was resting, before hearing a soft yawn escape his younger twin.
“You tired?”
“Yeah. Today exhausted me.”
Coolman nodded, sitting back down as the two brothers sat by the fire, staring into the dancing flames. Swagman quickly looked away from the fire, observing his slightly taller twin.
“You gotta dye your hair again. I can see a bit of blue coming out.” He laughed softly, catching the attention of his brother, who just adjusted his straw hat and sighed.
“… I’ll do it once this shit is all over.”
Swagman nodded, laying down on his twin’s lap, stretching as he yawned, using his leg as a makeshift pillow. “… As much as this whole thing is a nightmare, I’m quite glad we were able to… Meet again.”
“… Missed me, huh?” He chuckled, ruffing his hair, messing it up quite a bit as Swagman tried to fight back in a playful manner. The play fighting began to escalate, the two of them rolling around on the grass and trying to hit each other, like they always used to do as children.
“S-stop it, dude!” Swagman laughed, an overwhelming sense of joy radiating from him as the two battled in such a childish way, their tails wagging.
“Gonna getcha. Watch out!” The other yelled, pouncing and tackling his younger counterpart to the ground, the two of them just embracing and laughing themselves off.
They laid there for quite a while, the crackles of the fire breaking the silence, along with the harmonic panting of the two, exhausted from their little encounter.
“… No, but seriously. I really did miss you.” He propped himself up, brushing whatever dirt was on him as his tail curled up, the older twin doing the same.
“Eh.” He shrugged, staring into the flames once again, a sense of drowsiness hitting him like a freight train. “… Good job on tiring me out.”
“Ha! I never get tired.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah.” He replied smugly, once again resting his head on his brother, this time, his chest. “… Never.. Ever..” He mumbled, his eyelids drooping as Coolman ran his sharp claws through his cerulean hair, causing the smaller male to drift off even faster.
All hate and resentment of his brother soon began to fade away, dissolving and being replaced by redemptive love. He brushed his soft fringe out of the way, staring down at his sibling’s sleeping form.
He gently lifted the smaller man up, opening one of the tents and propping him inside. He placed the sleeping sibling atop a makeshift bed, covering him up with blankets.
“… Coolman? One more thing…” He mumbled from his light slumber, a small smile spreading across his face.
“… Hm?”
“… I forgive you.”
Coolman just went silent, the sounds of crickets chirping echoing in the background as he heard the shuffling of the blankets, while Swagman got more comfortable in the makeshift bed.
“… Go to sleep.” The older auburn haired man replied, taking off his straw hat and sighing softly.
“Mhhmph, whatever…” Swag responded cheekily, cuddling close with a pillow as he quickly drifted back into the slumber he was once in, a light snore coming out from him.
Whilst his brother slept, Coolman walked to a nearby stream of water, staring at his reflection, trying to get a sense of who, or what he was. His claws reached into the light stream, soaked with the fluids of the natural water source, as he sighed angrily to himself.
‘I forgive you,’
Oh how those words just replayed in his mind, lodged in there like a knife, looping over and over, like a broken record player. Staring at the distorted reflection of himself, watching as it morphed into one of his younger self. He reached out towards this reflection, yearning, almost begging to go back in the past and make things right.
But, the things he’d done... They cannot be undone. The younger self quickly faded, again presenting Coolman with his present self, that scar on his eye tormenting him constantly.
His brother forgave him, but he never forgave himself. He couldn’t.
He propped himself up, approaching the campsite once again, his hair flowing in the wind as he kept that thought in mind. He noticed the fire was finally dying down , not bothering to fuel it even more, as he opened up the zipper to the inside of the tent. Swagman was now fully asleep, his loud, obnoxious snores unable to be missed.
Coolman sat down beside his brother on the bed, his tail curling ground the younger twin, listening to him murmur in his sleep. He couldn’t help but be reminded of all those times, back when the two were younger. Back when things weren’t so complicated.
He relaxed himself down beside the cerulean haired male, snuggling close and feeling his body heat. The sleeping man seemed to acknowledge his presence, wrapping his arms around him as the two brothers cuddled on this cold, dark night.
“… Glad you forgive me, Swag.”
He smiled softly, a rare occurrence from Coolman, as he shut his eyes, drifting off into his own dreamscape as the two siblings, for the first time in months, were finally close together again.