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Many survivors were injured, enough to at least warrant Builderman giving up his bed for the night. He gladly allowed for someone else to take it, after all he put in the hard work to make that bed comfortable. Knowing he was still helping someone out was nice, yet there was one issue. He was exhausted, a bit bruised, and on top of that already on not so great footing with Shedletsky. Although he went to his room in hopes to share a bed, part of him was still miffed about what happened in the round against 1x1x1x1. Knowing the other man didn’t want a single shred of help despite needing it in the match, Builderman had to do generators all on his own as Shedletsky ran around doing hell knows what. Regardless, he was already standing there with his arms crossed as the other man sat in his bed with a raised brow.
“You, after arguing with me all round, want to really sleep in my bed with me? The Builderman asking? Why can’t you just build your own bed again” Shedletsky rolled his eyes, scoffing.
“Because I’m tired, bruised, and you can’t just whip out beds like it’s nothing, Shed! That’s not how it works” The tired man replied.
Under his own breath, the half chicken made clucking noises out of annoyance. “You can always take the couch” Shedletsky said as the other man walked a bit closer. “The couch is taken, I rather not sleep on the floor with the amount of times my ribs got hit” He replied with a bit more of a direct tone “Will you let me sleep here or not?” he asked. The other god-like being shuffled a bit, crossing his own arms as he looked spitefully into the others eyes. “What do I get for letting you sleep here?” His tone matched the others, though a bit more petty. Builderman’s hands went up to his face, grumbling within them as he felt like this was going to go nowhere. Too stubborn to back down, he asked one more time.
“Shed, will you let me sleep next to you or not”
Instead of replying to him with a verbal response, Shedletsky motioned the other man to come to the bed and lay down. He laid there himself now, waiting for the man to come join him as he temporarily decided. “Come here before I change my mind” He spoke. Satisfied with that response, the builder went to lay next to the other. Taking off his shoes before getting in, he placed his hard hat on the ground next to it. He grit his teeth, sucking in a bit of air as he laid next to the other while in pain. Feeling a bit around his own ribs under his hoodie, he definitely slightly snapped something. Wincing when touching it caused Shedletsky to notice. He looked at Builderman, going to reach a hand to his ached area as he wanted to say something– comfort the other man, yet he pulled back, still upset with him. In a way, Builderman wished that Shed had put his hand on the rib that hurt. Sure it would’ve done absolutely jack all, but it would’ve shown at least a BIT of care coming from the other. It was a bit irritating the lack of care that the two were sharing between one another. Lacking the correct moves only made the situation more tense between the two as they yearned for the other to make at least the first move in apologizing for the events that transpired. Maybe things would mend between them in the moment if the wrongs they had done were accounted for. The two men refused to admit their wrongs, blaming the other fully and refusing to even speak on it.
Pulling the blanket up to cover the two of them felt a bit strange. They were both very much heaters at times. However, they still enjoyed the comfort of a soft blanket when times came that they had one. The two men laid in silence, Builderman closing his eyes as he tried to fall asleep on the soft pillow. The other man stirred a bit, moving around and causing Builder to grumble about that. Finally finding the most comfortable spot, Shedletsky could finally get some rest himself. Yank. The blanket was partially taken by the chicken man, the other being pissed and trying to yank it back. Shedletsky made some irritated noises as he tried to take the blanket back from Builderman who he originally stole it from. “Give it back” he spoke as the construction worker grumbled “You’re the one taking the whole damn thing!” he argued back in a bit of a whisper. The two were trying to keep their tone down for the survivors who were resting. At least in the tiny argument they were thinking about how other people were trying to heal. Though, the two were even trying to heal themselves. Shedletsky had a gash on his leg that was patched up, his arm scuffed and a bruise on his right shoulder. He made it out pretty unscathed compared to Builderman’s broken ribs. That was the most luck the chicken man was going to get during that round. “Yeah well you were trying to take it too” he replied to the other man. Giving up, the other man allowed him to just have the blanket so as to not start arguing. Oh, how wonderful of a thought that was.
Things became quiet again, yet he was a bit chilly compared to the chicken who now had 90% of the blanket all to himself. Shivering a bit, he put his hands in his hoodie pockets. His head snuggled into the warm part of the hood, the soft fuzzy texture on the inside keeping him a bit more calm. He always enjoyed the feeling of his hood, having gotten the hoodie custom made just to have that inside it. That and well, the Roblox logo plastered all over it. It was hard to keep warm without the blanket despite being a bit of a heater. To him, it may have been all the damage done to him that made him so cold at the moment. Having a cold might be in the question considering he had been running the day prior in the rain. It didn’t help that today the ground was still completely wet when running through it. Shaking his head, he tried to not think too much about it. Overthinking it could lead to a placebo where he thinks he’s sick when he’s not. The bed was starting to hurt again, the ability to even stay still becoming harder as he tried to lay there without moving an inch.
Trying to stay comfortable, there was this irritating push to him. For some reason or another, the tail feathers of the other man kept getting in his face as the physical pushing began. Slowly, he kept getting nudged off the bed. The other man moved a bit to get more cozy and snug. Inch, he tried to just ignore what was going on. Maybe it was just himself thinking he was getting pushed off. Shedletsky already had the blanket, why would he start doing this now? His thought of trying to chalk the stupidity of the situation to nothing was purely wrong. There was a fight that day, he was getting pushed off the bed “by accident” if the other man had anything to do with it. It didn’t help that Builderman laid on the side with the floor, Shedletsky sleeping right next to the window. He was nearly going to fall off, eyes wide as he bawled his fist, leg off the bed as his hair flowed to the side behind him. He had to do something before he fell on broken ribs. Builderman tried to put together a coherent string of thoughts in an attempt to do anything before he got hurt worse. If he did get hurt worse, he would only blame Shedletsky more and yell at him for the absolute asshole move that he was committing in that very moment. In a soft tone, Builderman tried to plead “Shed, can you move a bit?” he asked. The other man smirked, moving a bit and causing the other man to get pushed a bit further off the bed. All the sudden, Builderman’s yell could be heard throughout the entire damn building.
“SHEDLETSKY MOVE YOUR FAT CHICKEN ASS OVER I SWEAR TO GOD”
The entire cabin had to have heard it. Shed’s eyes went wide hearing it, scoffing as he hit Builderman one more time with his butt trying to get him to fall. Builderman retaliated, scooting back onto the bed as he rammed himself against the other, wincing in pain as he tried to forcefully push the chicken man with their backs together. Gritting his teeth, he pushed as hard as he could, causing Shedletsky to get smushed against the wall. Angry clucking started up, Shed’s arms against the wall as he attempted to push himself away. The more pushing against their backs only hurt Builderman worse. Having broken ribs, this was a risk he was taking. At any moment he could hurt a lung considering the force of the two fighting. They always fought, they would never stop fighting. It was a constant battle in a way, yet not as bad as Shedletsky and 1x1x1x1. The two kept fighting, the verbal altercation starting up. It was loud, rang through the entire cabin, and was not helping the situation whatsoever.
“Move MY oh I don’t know what you said… FAT CHICKEN ASS over?!” He clucked “HOW ABOUT YOU MOVE YOUR DAMN BODY ONTO THE FLOOR”
“Oh ho ho so NOW we’re talking about sleeping on floors? Rich coming from the man who can’t even sleep on anything but the most cozy surfaces or else he complains about ‘discomfort’ in his damn feathers” The other man spat back.
“You work with wood all day, how about YOU sleep on it? Oh wait YOU ALREADY DO”
“That was only a few times during projects! You’re aware I hate sleeping on wood– it makes my damn back ache!”
“Then why do you want ME to sleep on it?”
“BECAUSE YOU’RE BEING THE DAMN ASSHOLE HERE” Builderman groweld.
He never really cursed this much, it was interesting when he did. Normally, the only cursing he did was when he was in severe pain or having an extremely horrible argument with his ‘best friend’. Sure the two were tight knit best friends and had their good times, though this was just one of the many sour moments throughout. Maybe it was being stuck in this hellhole that caused the worst to even come out of the two. Before all of this, their arguments were never that bad. It was like the entire friendship shifted when it was all about survival. It wore down on the two like pavement in winter. Sometimes it was an easy repair, at other times it was nothing but pure annoyance on both ends. Deep care was still in there somewhere, though this wasn’t about their deep care at the moment. This was about a fight that happened and was about to continue into a snowballing path.
A balled fist got tighter, Builderman shutting his eyes tight as he yelled. “Maybe you should’ve done generators when I asked you to! You knew I was building a dispenser for you! You didn’t need Elliot’s pizza!” His voice echoed as Shed rolled his eyes. “The pizza healed me way faster than your stupid dispenser even does! I was out of fried chicken– what was I supposed to even do in that situation?” He yelled back, rolling over to look at the other. Turning around to face him, words flew again. “Two Time needed it more than you! They were down one life and were going to die that round! You could’ve waited a bit longer” Builderman spat. Shedletsky’s eyes stared deep into the other man’s eyes with anger. “Maybe if your damn dispenser healed faster I wouldn’t have taken the pizza! Maybe if you continued to do generators like you were supposed to we could’ve been fine but it’s all about BUILDERMAN” Shed’s cheeks were starting to burn a bit from getting overworked with his anger. “All about me? TALK ABOUT YOURSELF! I swear it’s your fault I got hurt back there it’s your fault 1x1 even did the bullshit that they did!” Builderman yelled back. At this point, tensions were at the midpoint. Next words had to be chosen carefully, though these two weren’t going to back down at all. Strong headed in their own ways, this was a match made in hell for arguments. “How is it my fault? I was leading 1x1x1x1 around the map! I was TRYING to get him away from everyone!” the chicken tried to bawk in his defense. Builderman rolled his eyes, scoffing. “And how did that work for you? How did that work for ANYONE in our group?” he spat back.
“I was doing my best to protect them, it’s your fault they got hurt– we made a promise to take care of everyone!”
“We made a promise, YOU were following your own petty grudge!”
Shedletsky was nearly going to punch Builderman in the face. Instead, he opted to just bawl his own fist and furrowed his brows. “You’re the least damaged out of any of us! I got my leg cut open! I have bruises! If you built your damn sentry right and put the dispenser in a better place, we’d have our own beds tonight” he hissed. “You’re joking! You’re fucking joking Shed! I have bruises, scrapes, and a FEW BROKEN RIBS! ” the construction worker yelled at the other. Shed was taken aback a bit. His gaze softened, yet only for a moment. He was going to say something– anything– but instead his brain always opted to go back to bickering with Builderman. The two were best friends, they had so much care for one another in the beginning and now they’re husks of their former selves in an endless sea. The void of anger, restlessness, and fighting only called to Shedletsky deep within like his days as Telamon. Given, he still is that same man, just decades later with a lot more anger built up. Fighting wasn’t as fun anymore and Builderman knew it. Builderman knew that fighting the creation of hatred that Shedletsky himself brought upon Roblox gnawed away at his heart. It used to be fun fighting 1x1x1x1 in the heights, now it felt like pure agony and the same shtick running loop through loop. “At least you’re not fighting the damn embodiment of hatred you made!” He argued a bit more in a whisper. It was like he still wanted to yell, yet didn’t want anyone but Builderman to even know about this. Given, it still took him a long time to even admit to his best friend that he was the one that made that being come to in the first place.
“Then why don’t you just stop? Why don’t you just step back and take a break if fighting isn’t bringing you joy anymore?” Builder yelled.
“It makes me feel like I’m doing SOMETHING USEFUL!” His anger yelled back.
There was a dead pause in the air. Heated breaths were all that rang to the ears as outside lightly tapped rain onto the window. ‘Great….rain’ Shedletsky grumbled. It could’ve been raining the entire time they argued, before they even argued, anything. Maybe it had just started, but the two sat up. Shedletsky brought his knees to his chest as he hugged them. Tears started to well in his eyes as he just wanted to do anything to slice through Builderman with words. Maybe then, Builderman would understand the feelings he was going through. Maybe then, he would feel something other than anger and resentment. “Then why do your damn sword slashes miss EVERY TIME” Builderman broke the pause with more fighting. How loud they were could’ve given off to the others that there was a whirlwind of bad friendship going on and it was going to hit everyone around them. “How many times does your damn sentry hit before it gets DESTROYED by whoever!” he hissed back. All this was doing was creating more tension between the two. If they just gave themselves a moment to think, collect their words and just talk things out then maybe another story would be told. “At least my sentry hits” Builderman said in a hiss. Shedletsky shook his head, offended at the slightest thought that Builderman dared to go there. He shook his head, grumbling to himself as he hit his head to his knees, then started to wave his hands as he yelled.
“At least my attacks stun! Your sentry just puts a few bullets in the damn enemy we face instead of actually making the robloxian have to take a moment!”
“Efficiency that at least sometimes saves your damn ass!”
“Yeah, SOMETIMES is the key word here. I rather go with Chance’s gun exploding on him all the time because that does something MORE than your gadgets! I told you to bring the ban hammer but no. Builderman just forgot his ban hammer at home because he thought he could go back”
“I didn’t think I would forget it! I didn’t mean to leave without it!” Builderman tried to speak in his own defense.
“ I DIDN’T EXPECT TO GET STUCK HERE WITH YOU! ”
Shedletsky’s words cut through Builderman like a dagger. Hurt filled his face like nothing before. Usually in their fights, they never went that far. It was always something petty, never anything that sounded so serious and weighted. He felt his throat choke up, tears starting to well in his own eyes as he grit his teeth. Was Shed being serious? Did he really hate Builderman that much? They were both terrified at first getting stuck here, yeah. The fear of being trapped somewhere with no way to teleport home ate away at the two of them until they became the husks of their former selves. Builderman used to smile a lot more, crack open a can of beer and drink it on the heights with Shedletsky as they talked for hours about their emotions. What they were doing now felt elevated. Like every other fight before crumbled onto itself causing pent up emotion and the stray feeling of being trapped. The construction worker wished that the only thing he was yelling at Shed for was not doing his damn job. Even just yelling at him that he has to remember to pluck his wings in his god form or else they get sore. On Shed’s end, he wished the only thing he yelled at Builderman for was overworking and chasing a coworker around the office with the ban hammer.
Almost as fast as he said it, Shed tried to back track. His mouth couldn’t stop running as he tried to put his hands out a bit. “N-No I didn’t….I didn’t mean that I–” he tried to speak, though got shushed by Builderman. “Shed, if you felt that way you should’ve told me…” Builder sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he let out a grumbled sigh. The chicken man’s face dropped. He felt terrible for the words he said. Sure he wanted Builderman to feel like shit, but he went way too far. “I was upset you…ran around today– that you caused so many damn people to get hurt! You went careless– you were being stupid” Builder spoke, his tone frustrated and wanting to just angrily cry at how stupid the situation was. He knew that downstairs were people injured. The people in the house that weren’t them were just trying to rest after a long day of pain and getting their asses beat so hard that they had to tend to serious medical issues. The sheer fact that teleporting back to the cabin didn’t fix the problems was what scared Builderman the most about it. Then the anger boiled up again. Not by much this time, yet still enough to call for one more comment.
“Why don’t you think before you speak? Why don’t you think before you do anything!?” His voice broke.
The feathered man was known for just jumping into most things without a plan. Most of the time he spoke was him purely going off what his mind said– not his heart. He was so quick to act that yeah, he fucked up. Builderman had done similar things in the past, the two being parallels to the others actions. When one does it, it’s almost certain in some way the other will or has done it too. That was life for them, the odds stacking in such a way that caused nothing but pure annoyance sometimes. On the heights, it was where they were able to let out a lot of pent up anger without yelling so much at one another. It was free, open, and when they did physically fight, they always ended up laying and watching the everlasting sunset on the existence given to them. Two godly beings, yet unable to leave the place they were in feeling like they were trapped inside a box. The box made their anger fester, pent up and stress the two out more than the heights ever had. In a way it felt more freeing in a platform fighting against whatever came next than it did right here and now in something that felt more solid in state. Not thinking before speaking wasn’t too much of a concern until now, at least in Shedletsky’s mind. He’s fucked up before with Builderman, though didn’t want this to be a deal breaker for the two still being in the presence of the other.
“I don’t always have a damn plan like you do, Build. You always have your own damn plans– how you perfectly calculate things to every little detail while I..” His voice trailed off.
“It’s like the heights, you just want to have what you had there”
“I fought alongside you there…we didn’t fight then”
“We weren’t trapped in what feels like purgatory”
There was truth to that statement. It did feel like for every sin they had committed as gods against the world, this was their punishment. It half made sense to the two, though was frustrating as well coming to the idea that even trying to set a portal to somewhere else would only land them back here. There probably was no escape from the land they were set in. Shed leaned himself a bit onto Builder, then pulled back when Builder hissed. Muttering a sorry, he brought his hands to the other man’s ribs. Softly brushing his hands in the area, he looked up into Builderman’s eyes. They were pretty this time of night. The soft glow of the window through the rain with the rumbling of the sky. His face contorted in discomfort as he heard Builderman hiss, his face looking like it was the worst pain ever. “I should’ve just slept on the floor….I’m….sorry about your ribs” he said as Builderman brought a shaking hand to Shed’s shoulder. “I…actually am kinda glad you didn’t sleep on the floor…sorry for…yelling at you to move your ass over…” He weakly spoke as Shed let out a small chuckle. He shook his head, taking his hand away from Builderman’s ribs as he rested it instead on the man’s front chest. He was making sure there were no more broken areas, the other man allowing him to do so.
“I was treating it like the heights today…I got caught up in fighting, you’re right. I did cause our group to get seriously injured…I…I’m sorry Builderman, I’m sorry I..” His words trailed off, not realizing how close his face got to Builderman’s. It’s been a long time since their faces got close enough to feel the other’s breath on it. Builderman brought a hand up to Shed’s cheek, softly rubbing a cut that healed as he paused in place. Shed decided in the moment to go for it. He leaned in, closing his eyes as a soft kiss was placed upon Builderman’s lips. Surprised at first, the man went wide eyed. He started to ease into it, closing his own eyes as he allowed himself to kiss the other man. This comfort was what he wanted to allow himself, they both were allowing themself. After screaming, arguing, causing a whole goddamn commotion in the cabin for everyone to hear. They finally took a step back, giving themself a moment of bliss. Shed’s lips were more rough than Builder’s, something that Builder found entertaining. Maybe it was his own habit of using chapstick after the entire annoying situation of his lips cracking and bleeding every time the heaters turned on for the winter in Roblox HQ. He kinda missed it there, missed having softer moments with Shed. The last time they kissed was years ago, before they got forsaken. Pulling away, the chicken man trilled as he gave a soft look to the other. Builderman couldn’t help but crack a bit of a smile.
“Does that make up for my shitty behavior lately?”
“Only if It made up for mine” he half heartedly joked.
Shedletsky lowered his legs from his chest at this point, softly trying to get Builderman to lean on him for comfort. He knew that his body heat would probably help the other fall asleep eventually. The two were tired, beaten from the day, and had a lot of apologies to make in the morning. That’s what the two got for fighting. They wouldn’t stop their bickering arguments on how the other was being annoying, far from that. In the moment, neither of them wanted to disrupt the peace that they were finally getting. Hearts thumped as the two laid staring at the ceiling and listening to the rain patter against the window. The chicken let out a sigh, hand on his head as the other was around Builderman. He had brought up the blanket to cover both of them this time, a tired smile worn onto his face between bruises, cuts, and stubble.
“I think I’ve fallen for you, Builderman” the words came out of his mouth, leaving the other to raise a brow.
“Elaborate?” Builder was a bit confused at what Shed was getting at. Yeah, it made sense with the ‘falling for’ part– but why bring it up now? The construction man didn’t quite understand.
“Have you ever thought that maybe we should..date? It sounds crazy but…heh this isn’t the first time we’ve kissed, won’t be the last and we sleep in the same bed all the time and–” So many thoughts swirled through the chicken man’s head. In a way it all flowed out from years of thought and penting emotions up. Over every little moment he knew the other, his heart felt a pang of love but it was never the right time. It felt like he was never going to get to even speak his peace on what he thought about Builderman other than when they spewed annoyance at one another and threatened to pull the other’s hair out. They fought like hell against each other, yet pulled together so close like magnets.
“We have feelings for one another” Builderman shook his head “If you wanted to label it, go ahead. I would like to label it too– I mean…I guess it’s just I’m surprised we’re doing this after our screaming match”
“Kiss and make up” Shed snickered, causing Builderman to scoff a bit like he was holding back a laugh himself.
“Are we going to stop fighting if we decide to label who we are?” His question was genuine, the other man pondering as if he had to think on it for a long time. Despite the fight, there was something to be had there. Of course, they should probably have talked more about the whole ‘being trapped here with you’ comment. It was a pretty harsh thing to say and Shedletsky was going to bring it back up in the morning to explain what led to him saying something like that.
“I don’t think so, it isn’t who we are….I swear I hear Elliot say we sound like an old married couple sometimes” the man snickered.
Rolling his eyes, Builderman made sure to not hurt his ribs as he continued to use Shedletsky for comfort. He wasn’t entirely upset at Shed anymore. They were both fairly homesick and relying on one another’s emotions to let out anger, sadness, anything to keep them going through the hell they were put into. Sure, their arguments could be comical in a sense. After all, they had known each other for a very long time. It was only a glimpse into their entire friendship people got to see. Now they were deciding to take it to the next level as the chicken man ran fingers through Builderman’s soft locks. The other man in turn ran his rough hands over the other’s jawline. The two laid in silence for a little bit. Giving into the comfort of the situation, it was fair to think that they had forgiven the other for what had happened. There wasn’t much else to really argue about unless they really wanted to get nitpicky with the other’s style of existing. Shed looked down to Builder, their eyes locking as Builderman gave a soft peck onto Shed’s lips.
“We’re going to fight more tomorrow, I’m calling it already”
“That’s if we even go out to the field….maybe we should just lay in all day until your ribs are healed enough” Fair amounts of concern were being brought up. Going out in a state like this without a full team seemed more like a risk than anything that could reward them. Even for all the free pizzas and bloxy cola’s being put around, it just wasn’t worth it.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah”
Shed wrapped his other arm around Builder. He wanted to make sure that he wasn’t going to hurt the other as he rested his head on the top of the long haired man’s head. The warmth of the two together was entirely tiring. If they weren’t about to fall asleep after a screaming match already, this was going to do it for them. Builderman’s arms drooped as a hand laid on Shed’s side. Closing his eyes, the soft trilling of the chicken was the only thing to be heard left. Final words were to be spoken, the soft cuddling of the two laying together comforting in the air.
“Night Shed” Builderman yawned as he allowed himself to fall asleep.
“Night Build” He replied.