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Post by Joker on Apr 28, 2023 0:57:22 GMT
"Don't say awful things like that. You deserve to be happy." Nico said, and kissed Felix on the cheek.
"Are you feeling any better?"
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Post by Collin1002 on Apr 28, 2023 2:44:32 GMT
"A-A bit," Felix replied. "S-Sorry, I just... I know you've been going through a lot, too. I-I mean, you were close to Yugi and Calvin, or... Xhuli and Darren, or whatever. You just have so much on your plate and I feel bad for adding to it..."
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Post by Joker on Apr 28, 2023 10:00:43 GMT
“Don’t apologize!” Nico protested. “I was serious when I said your problems were mine as well. You didn’t make anything worse. If anything I’m glad I got to help you, even if only a little bit.”
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Post by Collin1002 on Apr 29, 2023 8:52:11 GMT
"Sorr--"
Felix bit his tongue in a desperate bid to stop himself from apologizing yet again, and he simply nodded.
"O-Okay. I'm glad that you're so caring... B-But please, if there's anything you wanna get off your chest either, um... just let me know, okay? You're there for me, and if you're ever feeling down, I wanna be there for you. I-It's only fair, right?"
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Post by Joker on Apr 29, 2023 14:23:33 GMT
“Well, I think I’ll take you up on that offer if you don’t mind.” Nico said. “There was something on my mind, and that’s why I couldn’t sleep…”
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Post by Collin1002 on Apr 29, 2023 20:19:15 GMT
Felix wiped the tears from his eyes, now focusing on Nico. "What was it?" he softly asked.
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Post by Joker on Apr 29, 2023 22:08:57 GMT
"Um... I don't really talk about them much, but I was thinking about my family." Nico admitted. "Ever since my talk with Calvin, or Darren or whatever you want to call him, I've been thinking about them a lot more."
"My relationship with them has been kind of rocky since the, uh, accident." He said, raising up his prosthetic hand. "Not to sound cliché there. But I was wondering how they were doing and if I'd ever be able to patch things up with them. And if my brother will ever be able to overcome his trauma. Y'know, just simple stuff like that!"
Nico sighs. "Sorry, that's probably a lot to digest, huh? You've been through a lot and you're exhausted. This can wait until some other time."
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Post by Collin1002 on Apr 29, 2023 22:32:16 GMT
"N-No, no, it's fine! Heh, now I'm the one telling you to not apologize..."
Felix weakly chuckled at the irony, but his face was one of concern.
"If you don't mind my asking, um... what exactly happened in the accident you're mentioning? Y-You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, though. It's up to you."
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Post by Joker on Apr 30, 2023 1:18:52 GMT
"Heh, I guess you are." Nico chuckled.
"I don't mind telling you. I've heard a lot of your past and a good part of that wasn't from you, it was from Hawk..." He frowned. "But it's kind of a long and depressing story. I'll try to keep it short, if you want to hear it."
Nico takes a deep breath to prepare himself. "Remember how I told you I used to explore the caves near my house with my best friend? His name's Leon, and we did it without our parents knowing. It used to be just the two of us, but one day my little brother, Jasper, followed us and threaten to tell our parents if we didn't start taking him with along us. So we did. Things were fine for a while, but one winter day while the three of us were playing hide and seek my brother got lost in a cave. We had to tell our parents and there was this whole search and rescue operation to find him." Nico frowns, looking a bit sad and uncomfortable, but he forces himself to continue.
"On the fourth day of the operation they said if Jasper wasn't found by the end of the day, he was going to be assumed dead... Leon and I tried to help where we could, and we split up as we searched our final cave for the day. I ended up finding Jasper, but unfortunately he had managed to fall in a pit and got stuck. It wasn't too deep, but since Jasper was both younger and weaker than us he couldn't climb out on his own." He paused to catch his breath and wipe his forehead, which at some point a cold sweat started to form. "He was starving and beat up pretty badly... I was scared he'd drop dead at any point, so instead of getting help from Leon or an adult, I climbed down into the pit and tried to get him out on my own by climbing up with him on my back. My arm slipped into crevice on the way up and we got stuck until Leon found us. He took Jasper from me and brought him to safety, then the rescue crew tried to save me instead."
"My arm was stuck pretty good and they risked a cave-in if they used any heavier equipment, so... You can probably guess how things turned out." He rolled up his right sweatshirt sleeve, to fully show the prosthetic. "All I remember was them breaking my arm to make the amputation easier, and the pain from that combined with the exhaustion of the past few days caused me to pass out. Next thing I knew I in the hospital. Jasper was there too, and while he recovered physically, he's never been the same mentally since then..."
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Post by Collin1002 on Apr 30, 2023 19:43:52 GMT
Felix listened intently to Nico's story, frowning as he played out the events in his head.
"Nico, that's... that's horrible. I'm so sorry that happened to you..."
He reached out to gently take Nico's hands into his own.
"B-But it isn't your fault. You couldn't have anticipated any of that happening. You were just trying to spend time with your friend and brother and... things went wrong. S-Still, it's awful things turned out that way..."
He shook his head.
"But still, you did the right thing. You put yourself at risk to save your starving, scared brother. In your shoes, I don't think anyone would've waited to get help -- they would've just acted."
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Post by Joker on Apr 30, 2023 22:09:29 GMT
Nico smiled weakly as he gently squeezed Felix’s hands.
“I know it’s technically not my fault, but I still can’t help but blame myself for it. If we let Jasper tell our parents none of it ever would’ve happened.” He said. “And although my parents never said it, I feel like they blame me for what happened to him as well. They were too busy balancing work and Jasper, so they never had time for me anymore. I was only 11 when it happened, and once I recovered and got the prosthetic I was pretty much ignored. I-It really messed with me at the time…”
He was trying to put on a brave face but the facade was quickly broken as he kept talking. Tears started forming again in his eyes, and streamed down his cheeks.
“Oh, dang it…”
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Post by Collin1002 on May 3, 2023 2:19:29 GMT
"A-Again, you had no idea any of that would've happened. I know it's easy to blame yourself, a-and believe me, I'd probably be doing the same thing in your shoes..."
Felix gave Nico a little, reassuring smile.
"Once we get out of here, you should see if they're willing to talk about it with you. I-I know it's an uncomfortable subject, but... I think that closure could be what you need. I-I'm not gonna force you to do it, though. That's just my opinion."
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Post by Joker on May 3, 2023 3:11:33 GMT
"Y-You're right..." Nico smiles back weakly through the tears. "I have to try! It's not like I have anything to lose. If I have your support, I know I’ll be able to do it."
He takes his left hand out of Felix’s grip and uses it to wipe his eyes. "Hehe... I’m feeling a bit better about it now. Thank you, Felix. You're the best."
[Post game edit: oh god oh fuck everyone can see this now, things will be wrapped up soon™️]
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Post by Collin1002 on May 4, 2023 0:30:58 GMT
[no no let's keep it going for weeks on end, it can be like a romcom everyone will watch]
"I-I'll definitely help you however I can, I promise," Felix replied, hoping that his own tears would dry soon enough.
"... I'm glad that you're still alive, Nico. I-I mean, I'd rather no one have died at all, obviously, but... yeah."
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Post by Joker on May 4, 2023 0:41:10 GMT
[screams]
"I don't plan on dying on you anytime soon." Nico replied. He uses his free hand to wipe Felix's tears as well. "So don't you go dying on me either, okay? I... I don't know what I'd do without you."
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Post by Collin1002 on May 4, 2023 4:03:11 GMT
"Same for you. I-I don't even wanna think about that possibility... so, um, I-I'll do everything in my power to keep you safe, okay? I mean, the others too, but... y-you get my point, heheh."
Felix meekly grinned at Nico, opening his mouth to say something else, though he stopped himself and cleared his throat, his blush growing more heavy.
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Post by Joker on May 4, 2023 4:12:31 GMT
"Same here! We'll do our best to protect each other!"
Nico raises an eyebrow. "What's up? Did you have something else you wanted to say?"
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Post by Collin1002 on May 6, 2023 3:32:46 GMT
"Y-Yeah, we-- we will! It's a promise."
Felix bashfully smiled, though at Nico's question, he hesitated a bit before speaking.
"O-Oh, um, it's nothing... super important..." he said before shaking his head. "Geez, you'd think I'd be a better liar due to my training..."
He sighed as he looked back up, meeting Nico's eyes.
"... I-I, um, I like you, Nico. A... A lot..."
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Post by Joker on May 6, 2023 14:08:06 GMT
“O-Oh!” Nico smiled, as his face flushed as well. “Hehe... I really like you a lot as well, Felix. Was that what you were nervous to say...?“
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