A year of isolation makes itself known in the Andromeda lounge. Agoti tries to understand the actions of a recently-rescued Tabi, while the other makes his resentments known.
shit hits the fan. wear goggles.
Soft lamplight illuminated the lounge, the Andromeda home dead silent. The only sounds that could be heard were the distant low chatter of Solazar on the phone, and Tabi's own heart thumping in his ears. Every beat made his broken and bruised head pulsate, bony hands gripping the blanket around him. The blanket that hid the full extent of his injuries.
The blanket that hid his monstrosities.
The image of their faces was burned into his mind. Tabi had seen the way they had all looked at him when the brothers had pulled him out of the smouldering wreck of the restaurant. Fear, concern, bewilderment, all phasing in and out of view. It was their shock that had struck Tabi the deepest. Shock, and—especially in the youngest brother—outrage. Most likely at him.
Could he blame them all after what he had become?
Tabi couldn't see himself in his blurred vision, what lay beneath the blanket and the (now dirty red) bandages. It was for the better, the thought spoke aloud against the rush in his ears—
"Hey."
Tabi snapped upright. Agoti stood in front of the couch, holding a bowl of soup and shifting on his feet. "I've never been the best at cooking, and I bet I'm even worse now–" he spoke as if he was desperate to vanish from the spot. "–but you shouldn't go hungry right now."
Tabi's body subtly relaxed. Agoti lowered the bowl enough for him to take it with (shaky, hesitant) hands, the warm ceramic feeling so foreign. The rich, dearly missed scent of spiced broth and vegetables made his stomach flip, the spoon laid still in his clammy hand.
Tabi stared at his old friend. "Why aren't you looking at me?"
Agoti started. "What d'you mean? I am–"
He narrowed his eyes. "You're looking around me, not at me." The digidevil folded his arms; Tabi angled his head towards the landing. "Don't pretend you wanna be near me if you can't even look me in the face. There's the door."
Why would you want to look at a monster?
Tabi shoved the soup on the coffee table and tilted his body away. Then a hand grabbed his shoulder, thrusting him back.
"What the fuck was that?" Agoti hissed between his teeth. "Back there, in the restaurant?" Furious white eyes bore into Tabi's, seeking answers.
Tabi wrenched Agoti's hand away, voice taut. "You don't know a thing about that—"
"I know the entire building came down and that you'd be dead had we not been there."
"You weren't supposed to be there."
"So I was supposed to just let you burn?!" Tabi recognized that same look of shock and anger on Agoti's face. He turned away, but the digidevil shifted in front again. "Was I supposed to leave you among the other casualties?—"
"Nobody was supposed to die."
"And it's amazing that nobody—" Agoti stopped.
Now Tabi couldn't look at him. Shame and conviction clashed beneath his skull. Agoti did not appreciate the silence, so he grabbed both his shoulders and seethed.
"So that was you? "
"What were you thinking?! All those people– why did you–"
"I had my reasons–"
"To bomb innocent people?!" Both of them were shouting now.
"I would've gotten my revenge!" Tabi snapped. "I said you don't know anything about that, and why would you? Any of you?!"
He dropped the blanket around himself. "You don't even know why I look like this, do you?" He raised his arms, forcing Agoti to see his marred body. "Maybe you would've been able to stop this had you not been gone."
"I've been gone?" Agoti fought the urge to laugh in disbelief. If only you knew why. "I thought you were dead, Tabi! All of us did!"
"So where were you on my last day alive, Agoti?" Rage and hurt flared under his skin.
Tabi ignored the raw nerves in his wrapped ankle, jabbing a finger in Agoti's chest. "Where were you when I needed an escape from my demonic ex girlfriend who kept her lies—her 'love' from me? Where were you when that demon came breaking down my door? When he took everything I had? When he killed my cat and killed my humanity?!" Images flashed in a train of treachery: that girl, her father, a body that was no longer his.
It's not my fault. Agoti slapped Tabi's hand away and held his wrist tight. "You didn't see the flyers, Tabi? MY flyers, about MY disappearance?! Or did your girlfriend keep that from you too?—"
"Oh, you disappeared? " Tabi spat. "Conveniently when my life went to shit, you just disappeared? D'you think I'm fucking stupid?!"
"Stop it, Tabi!" Agoti's grip tightened, but his old friend staggered back and stood fast.
"You ghosted me when i needed you the most. You, Aldryx, from either of you I got nothing. Now— when I become the ghost, NOW you come back?!"
"You think I didn't try to come back before?!"
Agoti lunged.
"Well, maybe you didn't TRY hard enough."
"Hey!—"
"Cool it, lil' bro!"
"Get off of me—!"
Aldryx had restrained his little brother from behind, their father standing between them and Tabi with a cold glare behind his glasses. Agoti thrashed against his brother, spouting further grief and frustration. Fear flickered on his face as Aldryx held him tight.
"He took me," the digidevil gasped, "and ask me who!"
Tabi's nails dug into his palms. "And who am I supposed to believe took you away and made you leave me in the dirt?"
Agoti's last sentence before Aldryx had him out the door sent Tabi right back into the restaurant.
"The same demon who kicked you down to the dirt."
Silence settled over the house once more, but this time it suffocated everyone inside.
—
Neither Agoti nor Tabi spoke another word. Not even as Aldryx dragged his brother away and slammed the door, cutting the two off from each other. Not even as Solazar, his composure frayed and smoking at the edges, informed Tabi about the doctor he had privately hired to treat him properly, since it was far too risky to send him to the hospital. It slowly dawned on Tabi that staying in their home didn't make him less of a liability.
Agoti hated Tabi. The rest of them should hate him too, given what he had done. He couldn't trust any of them not to turn their backs on him again, especially not after tonight. Agoti didn't know the first thing about what he had endured, why he did what he had to.
But Tabi didn't know the first thing about Agoti's disappearance. Why he fought against Aldryx's restraints out of fear over rage.
He was hardly worth saving now. Whatever was left of his humanity had crumbled to ash in the restaurant.
He needed to leave.
Tabi wobbled on his feet, Agoti's soup left cold and forgotten on the coffee table.
Agoti shrank against his bedframe, shaking all over. As the last hour circled in his head, after having shut Aldryx out of his room the moment his arms were free, he struggled to put a label on his feelings. Was it hatred? Grief? Guilt? Frustration? Definitely guilt. He felt angry too. However, it was becoming less towards the man downstairs, which left room for more guilt to flood in the gap.
—
Tabi hit first. He shouldn't feel guilty.
But why didn't he listen?
His old friend was right. Where was he when he needed him?
Damn it, damn it!
Agoti watched as Tabi limped for the front door, blanket and bandages ripped away and strewn across the lounge. Although his body may now have been invisible, it didn't extend to the blood trailing down his limbs and stomach. A floorboard creaked beneath Agoti's foot and they both flinched, Tabi frozen like a cornered animal at the base of the stairwell.
Agoti cursed out loud and punched his mattress. As his head began to clear, he heard shuffling from downstairs. Uneven, unsteady. Everything told him to stay put ('It wasn't their business anymore,' Aldryx had told him), but he swiftly forsook his inhibitions and hauled himself out of bed. Quietly, he made his way to the stairwell.
The digidevil couldn't muster anymore anger towards the cursed man below. Cautiously, he descended in a manner that the other seemed to interpret as a hunter standing over its prey, for Tabi bolted—
—and instantly collapsed under the fragility of his broken ankle.
Tabi cried out sharply, too overcome by pain to notice Agoti hoist him up by the shoulders and, with a care that felt all too alien, carry him back to the couch. Agoti was no first aid professional, but still he grabbed the roll of gauze and made messy—but gentle—work of Tabi's bleeding wounds. He didn't pause when Tabi came to, tense once more in anticipation of harm or hostility, golden pinpricks watching his every move. Instead, as he patched up his friend, Agoti began rambling.
"It was a void. I spent an entire year in there. There was nowhere else I could escape to, everything was just white and empty. I may as well have come out of there a lunatic. Succumb to insanity for the crime of becoming popular."
Tabi silently processed every word, unsure of what to make of it. He didn't interrupt Agoti, listening to the experiences of the other that had forced them apart in his time of need.
"I tried to escape. I would've thought the idea would've at least crossed your mind." Tabi averted his gaze, but Agoti continued. "I knew that if he had done this to me, he would've gone after you next."
He lowered Tabi's hoodie as he finished the last gash in his side. His gaze fell with the hem. "When I finally escaped, I believed he'd gotten you too. Your grave had already been dug, and–" he faltered. "–your obituary torn off the stone. How could I have expected you in the middle of a burning restaurant, having blown the whole thing up to get back at my captor?"
"You couldn't." Tabi's voice quivered, little more than a whisper.
Agoti stood back up, gazing upon his old friend. The words died on his tongue, so many questions yet so little to muster. He spun around, moving to leave, but a faint noise stopped him.
A sniffle.
Agoti bit his lip and squeezed his arms tight. He heard Tabi begin to crack behind him, their shared yet separate suffering finally come to light. It was far too much for either of them to handle.
The man on the couch barely had time to lift his head before it was crushed against Agoti's shoulder in a tight hug.
"Damn you, Tabi," he choked. That was all it took.
Subtly, then picking up speed and intensity like a cinder to flame, the two fell apart. The sobs that wracked Tabi's thin frame gave way to Agoti's own tears, and two old friends mourned together. They mourned each other, what had been taken from then both, and what they could never get back.
"I'm sorry—"
"Shut up."
"I'm– I'm such an idiot—!"
"I said shut up..."
Tabi's hands came up to grapple the front of Agoti's hoodie. The digidevil's tail coiled around the other, securing him in place so they could never be pulled apart again. They both wept as one.
An eternity seemed to pass before the two broke apart. Tabi wiped his eyes with his sleeve while Agoti sat pleasantly numb. Something had begun to stitch the cracks together, both in themselves and in the withered bridge between them.
Agoti abruptly stood, picking up the bowl of soup. He flashed a weak smile at Tabi as he waved, "I should heat this back up for you."
As the digidevil left for the kitchen, Tabi felt himself smile back.
so new developments. this is no longer an au this is gonna be a fully fledged series and im gonna be documenting every little step
all my gijinks and other redesigns are getting entirely reworked to be their own individual unique characters outside of fnf bc i both left the fandom (ish) and am also about to start art school so stay tuned for fun art and lore shit :3
woo!! big hc post again this time for the other weirdo im in love with /silly ⚠️⚠️ once again i'll be discussing some very heavy topics (pertaining to trauma, self harm and general mental illness) and it'll be highlighted so yk to skip over those if u aint wanna read allat ^^ (i lowkey stole a few hcs from bae bc theyre too peak also i agree w em too much) also THIS ISNT SUPPOSED TO BE SEEN AS CANON this is just a way for me to share my interpretation of my favs take everything i say w a mound of salt
selective mute goti. HEAR ME OUT – for like most of his childhood he was dead silent primarily communicating thru sign language and written word, never really verbally unless with immediate family (starparents + aldryx) or around tabi (they're childhood friends to me) however by their teens this bastard became an absolute BLABBERMOUTH. they wouldn't ever shut up (well. at least until after he returned from the void. whoops!)
extremely temperamental. no kidding if you even look at him the wrong way you're getting slapped
at some point in his high school years he was taken to an optometrist and was told he was legally blind and therefore unable to drive – because of this they exploit the fuck out of it thanks to literally everyone else they know being able to drive (they rarely leave the house anyway)
has a crazy high pain tolerance. that paired w/ dermatillomania (skin picking disorder) and a pretty bad self harm problem is not great!! he often times does it as a way to self soothe when overstimulated despite knowing its not a healthy coping mechanism, and feels like a hypocrite for coaxing tabi and ayana out of hurting themselves but not doing the same when they voice their own concerns
insanely bad at maths and refuses to admit that they probably have dyscalculia. this bitch is STUBBORN
struggles a lot with admitting he needs help mentally, despite literally everyone he knows trying to get him back into therapy. hates the very idea of asking for help because they know everyone else has their own shit going on and they dont wanna seem like a burden
developed severe agoraphobia when he returned home after the longest year of his life. (ahem. the void.) for the first couple of months agoti locked himself in his room, persistently being woken up by nightmares, refusing to come out and eat, the lot. it wasnt until after tabi started staying w/ the andromedas that they actually started trying to spend more time out of that confined space
video game nerd. in an effort to start leaving his house more (and also to get another certain someone out of the house too wink wink), he started collecting pokemon cards and has a massive shared collection with tabi >0<
was raised w the knowledge that capitalism sucks and society sucks harder, and no matter how much people dont wanna accept their identity, what matters is that they love themselves no matter what. also has a leather battlejacket with handmade / stitched patches on them because #punkicon
HUGE mama's boy. amora came into agoti's life when he was around 7 years old and from then they were inseparable, goti loves her to bits :,3
abnormally flexible on account of not having the bone/organ structure of an average human, it does mean they can contort their body however they please but it puts them in a really bad amount of pain .. he mainly does all these tricks to gross everyone out for the hell of it
has no concept of romance at all and doesn't understand how other people fall in love. "falling in love" for him is typically finding every aspect of a person charming or beautiful, yet wanting something that's more than friendship but not traditionally romantic. eventually found out about queerplatonic relationships when he saw aldryx bring someone home (more context for this soon btw) and had the entire concept explained to him right then and there
genuinely cannot be trusted with money. he spends all of on gifts for his loved ones (birthdays are his favourite. he goes all out)
does his own hair and changes it up every so often. faux locs, twists, leaving it out curly, its a fun way of self expression >0<
fuck yall agoti's fat and proud and loves his body and himself :3 his body is defo on the curvier / more feminine side despite being on T but he dgaf bc he's #sexy (also they've got plenty of tattoos all over their body to help combat the dermatillomania, u cant pick ur skin when u got cool tats /silly)
took up a part time job fixing tech and doing maintenance for a local music studio because he wants to try implementing healthier routines throughout his day (plus he's a tech nerd /aff)
yes im doing these kinda posts again no i dont regret it. i love ayana so much nobody gets it @alex-dontknow waves .. also bit of fair warning i will be talking in depth about stuff like self harm, suicide and mental illness so pls be cautious when reading this ⚠️⚠️
she comes from a rather large family, comprising of both parents, two older siblings (hiiro and amita), an older twin brother (andy) and four younger siblings (they have names i just cant remember them).. she's very close with them all and she loves them to death
LOVES sweets. has a massive sweet tooth and often forgets to eat proper meals because shes busy eating random candies (she's a hypocrite bc she's ALWAYS on tabi's case about not eating enough... smh girl the call is coming from inside the house)
had a lot of trouble with getting into new relationships ever since being with bf. she's the kinda girl who plans her entire life revolving around the people she dates truly believing it'll last and when it doesn't she's a total wreck. ayana is VERY bad at emotional regulation she sees everything in black/white
when aya first started dating dalia, the former appeared more standoffish and was a bit too prepared for the worst to happen, spoiler alert dalia was (and very much still is) head over heels in love and would literally kill for that teeny woman
works like three different jobs.. full time musician, part time pastry chef at a local bakery chain and a teaching assistant at her old high school (her mum works there as a music teacher) so as you can imagine shes very overworked. girly needs to take a break
her favourite pokemon is steenee :3 silly little mangosteen thing
she is in extensive recovery for a self harm addiction. somehow never got put in the ward but went through a LOT of therapy .. its not easy but her loved ones make it manageable
first realised she was trans when she started high school. her twin brother had already came out at that point but she was so worried about potentially being kicked out that it drove her to actually start cutting herself. it even got to a point where she almost ended her life over it (thankfully her dad found her before her pulse was completely gone wails) (she ended up coming out in the hospital and it was super emotional, both her parents and all her siblings were incredibly supportive, especially amita bc she always wanted a little sister to dress up all pretty with)
loves music! shes in a band (s!otr beloveds.. iykyk) and it helped a bit w her debilitating depressive episodes, and even gave her some newfound confidence emm ceeing some gigs :3 she plays the bass btw teehee
incredibly close w the band (thats code for theyre all secretly in love w her somehow and the same is vice versa. this band is secretly one big polycule /silly) :3c somehow has common ground with everybody in one way or the other, even the passive aggressive grump that is tabi /aff /silly
speaking of tabi. those two actually got hella close bc of how bad their exes messed them up, on one instance of seeing boyfriend and girlfriend in public aya straight up kissed tabi in front of them both.. needless to say they had a. rather long and uncomfortable conversation about their secret deep-rooted feelings for each other lol
the (second) most high maintenance person in the world. she and agoti will legit spend hours getting ready together using some fancy ass skincare products whenever the gang decides to do something nice. it pisses the other three AWF
wears hair extensions because she made a routine of cutting her hair regularly to remind herself that she is constantly changing, and in charge of her own life :,3 leaves two little tail strands long bc its cute
master of wearing heels, has legit ran a solid two miles in them once
DOG MAMA!! she has a rottweiler named chewy and a german shepherd named moony who she loves dearly (she had another dog called matzah who ended up passing due to health complications)
before pursuing music, she wanted to be a professional pastry chef or a photographer like her older sister, eventually she ended up teaching herself how to play the bass and the piano, in case neither thing worked out
very affectionate, she's compensating for the lack of affection she got earlier in life /silly
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