Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Silence.

That was what filled his boyfriend's living room while they were in the bathroom, taking a shower. Red sat on the couch, fingers shakily tracing the new scars he's gotten as a result of... that. Moving his right arm hurt – surely because of what Orange—

No. That was not Orange. That was The Second Coming. Orange wasn't a monster.

But was "monster" the right word?

It felt dehumanizing. Wrong on Red's tongue.

But anyway, his right arm and chest hurt. Like hell. Those are the ones that suffered the most.

Red traced his fingers across all the new scars: on his right collarbone and upper arm, as well as on both forearms. Cursors, Second really fucked him up.

Sure, he's died and gotten nasty scars multiple times before, but it's never gotten this bad.

He's never gotten so injured that moving around hurt like a bitch. He didn't even dare to look at the healed wounds.

Because he did the moment he respawned.

Never again.

His chest suffered the most. Adding to the already huge and nasty scar that The Dark Lord left him as well as his top surgery scars (he was proud of them, unlike the ones which killed him), his skin was messed the fuck up. His ribs and heart hurt too. Especially when he took deep breaths.

Cursors, he's going to need to ask Blue for some pain surpressing potion later, becuase there's no way he's going to thug this out like he always does.

His eyes subconsciously darted to the folded knife Orange left on their table, and his stomach twisted at the sight alone.

Red winced as Second leaned over to the deep stab wound and licked around it, smearing the blood around. They bit at the side of the wide, gaping cut, biting some flesh off along with some muscle tissue. 

Red shook his head to snap himself out of the memories. But he couldn't! All of this happened a mere half an hour ago.

He's never been so shaken up after respawning.

A part of him wished he never did this time in the first place.

Sure, he's the one who offered for Orange to literally eat him alive, but... He'd never get that image of a feral, bloodthirsty Second towering over him with teeth sinking in his flesh. The worst thing is that it was not out of love, but out of pure hunger and desire.

Red was snapped out of his train of thought when he heard the old, spruce, bathroom door open with a loud creak, causing his head to jolt upwards at the sound. The air was thick with tension, Red and Orange just staring at each other for a few awkward seconds. Red swore he could feel the other's eyes land on the damage to his skin.

"...Um. Hey."

"I'm sorry."

The two said in union, catching each other off guard. Red didn't expect them to be actually sorry. Well, he knew that they were — he just didn't think they'd straight up say it out loud. He parted his lips to speak, but was interrupted by Orange:

"Red, I'm– I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I– I didn't think..." They stuttered, words catching it their throat. Red noticed how their entire mood shifted when they saw how he was covered in scars. He must've dissociated, because the next time he blinked, Orange was sitting next to him with a worried expression.

"Red?" Orange breathed out, their voice wavering the faintest amount.

"It hurts." Red blurted out, and he found himself being wrapped in Orange's hold immediately after. He shakily returned the hug, a deep sigh escaping his lips. Sure, it hurt even more to be moving around, especially being hugged, but it was Orange. So it's okay.

"I think Blue has some pain surpressing potions for her chronic leg pain, no? Maybe she'd lend you some." Orange suggested, pulling away from the embrace to let Red breathe.

"But how would I explain why I need them?"

"You could say... Hm. Maybe for the uh... Scar The Dark Lord left?"

Red paused to think about the idea, mentally wincing at the memory.

"That could work."

"Do you need a moment, or do you wanna go back to the PC already?" Orange asked again, their hand finding Red's and giving it a gentle squeeze as an attempt to ground him.

"I can try."

"Let's go, then?"

"Yeah."

Chapter Text

"Blue?"

Red stepped into his sibling's room, the floor creaking underneath his feet. The cold air of Blue's "bunker" as Red liked to call it made him wince, even despite wearing a hoodie. He had to be careful to not trip over any leftover glass bottles, or the netherwart stash right next to the doorway. Why did she need so much of this?? The red stick noticed that Blue had to take a moment to register his presence, too busy with brewing some potions. He couldn't help but pray that it was their pain surpresants.

"Oh, hey Red! Where were you?"

"Ah, um..." Red panicked a little, trying to make something up. "I was in Minecraft with Orange. They wanted to show me their old house." He soon replied, his voice lacking the usual excitement. Blue seemed to pick up on this, because they tilted their head with a small frown on their face.

"You want something from me. I can tell."

Red sighed. Their words weren't too far-fetched. It's not like he wanted the potion. He wanted to ask if he can have it.

"Do you have any spare of those pain surpressing potions?" He finally broke, another sigh leaving his lips. "I think I might need some..."

"Sure! I have them in that chest next to that scratch post for your cat, there should be two left." Blue replied, almost not paying attention to why Red needed them. She soon realized her brother's request, because she turned away from the brewing stand, attention now fully on their brother.

"Hold on, why do you need them?"

Red paused.

"Um. The scar– Y'know." He hesitated, knowing well that Blue still was very sensitive to the memory. "That Dark Lord left. It's been bothering me lately." He explained, careful to not trigger his sibling.

"Oh. Go on, then." Blue dismissed his concerns, although he couldn't help but feel like...something was off. Red would never lie to him, would he? "Let me know if I need to double the production for them."

"Will do, thank you."

"Of course, always."

Red was ready to leave the room, yet he heard Blue call out his name again.

"Wait, Red?"

"...Hm?"

"Y'know I'm here for you, right?" Blue's voice softened, his gaze not leaving the other. "You can tell me anything."

Red's lips parted at the sudden affection, the stick not sure what to say.

"...Thanks. I know." He tried his best to sound truly genuine, and hoped he succeeded. He opened the door with a creak, closing it shut behind him.

Let's just pray the potion works.