1. Vander/Silco Hurt/Comfort
"Even if you have to climb out of the bedrock, covered in blisters."
-
Silco sighed as he wandered through the streets of the Lanes, a bottle of vile liquid in hand. His best friend's child, dead. The one they swore to protect. How could that happen? How did they let it happen?
A loud crash of broken glass was heard, as Silco found himself staring at the opening to a mine shaft, covered in glowing fungi. How did he end up here?
He stared at the edges of the shaft, as well as he could with one injured eye. A hand graced the edges of the earth as he took a step forward, memories of he and his friends flooding back to him. What he once had, that was completely lost now.
Or so he thought.
On a whim, Silcco forced his tired feet to move forward, dragging himself through the familiar darkness. He didn't need to see well to know exactly where he was heading. What he did when he got there, though, was still in the air.
Many winding paths and sharp turns later, and Silco found himself face to face with a doorway that he had not seen or even thought of in many moons. He didn't even realize his hand was moving to push it open unti the room behind the door was revealed, covered in dust and glowing fungi.
Sighing, Silco took the first steps inside, the sound of his boots bouncing off the walls and lighting up the fungi. Looking around, not much had changed in the room, aside from a layer of dust that had appeared over time, everything was still in the same place it had been.
On one wall, a set of coats hung, one inside the other. Siclo instinctively moved towards them, his hand reaching out and tracing the small 'V' embroidered on the larger jacket. Flashes of memories buzzed behind his eyes. images of the two men laughing together.
Tears suddenly filled Silco's uninjured eye, as he ripped Vander's coat off the hanger and wrapped it around himself. Dust flared around the room, but Silco didn't care about it, instead focusing on the warmth from the familiar jacket flooding his senses.
The phantom feeling of a hug allowed Silco to close his eyes, his nose burried in the collar of the jacket of who was once the most important person in his life. Before they betrayed each other.
"How did we end up here..." Silco muttered to himself, taking a breath as he opened his eyes slowly. One glance around the room and his eyes landed on a freshly set piece of paper on the desk, with a familiar glass set on the corner.
His eyes not leaving the paper, Silco reached to pull out the chair, sitting down with a huff, a cloud of dust reacting to his movements. Familiar scribbles lined the paper, and as he slowly moved the glass to grab at it, words started to become clear.
-
"I've looked everywhere, but it's clear you don't want to be found. God I'm shit at this. I'm sorry. When she died...I lost my head. I told myself what I did to you was for the greater good, that you deserved it, but the dirt was on both our hands. Anyways, you know where to find me.
Blisters and Bedrock,
V."
-
Tears once again welled in Silco's eye as he took in the meaning of Vander's words, his grip crumpling the paper. He quickly wiped his cheek, taking a breath to compose himself as he folded the letter into his pocket.
Without even making up his mind, Silco started out of the room, slamming the door closed behind him as he trudged out of the mineshaft, the glowing fungi lighting his way.
He didn't even realize where he was going, until he was face to face with The Last Drop doorway, Vander's old mining jacket still around his shoulders. Silco didn't have a chance to knock before someone fell out of the doorway. He just barely managed to jump out of the way as the owner threw a thug out of the bar.
"Stay out of my bar until you learn to be a decent human." A gruff voice sounded, and Silco watched as the thug scrambled to their feet and ran off into the distance.
Silco glanced up and towards the door, his thoughts silenced as he found the man he was looking for, standing in the doorway.
"Silco..?"
---
This wasn't exactly what Silco had planned. Though, he didn't think he'd really had control over his limbs when they took him to this place. Now, he was just sitting in an empty room, just waiting. For what, he wasn't quite sure.
-
"Silco..?" Vander's voice sounded from the doorway into The Last Drop. He looked like he saw a ghost, though thinking back, Silco guessed he may have looked it, his only substance having been alcohol the last few days, mourning the death of his best friend's kid.
He had no words, staring back at Vander with wide eyes. The only thing he could think to do, was pull out the note from his pocket.
He watched as Vander's eyes drifted towards the piece of paper in his hand, before snapping back to Silco's face, "You... you found it..." He muttered, his demeanor changing ever so slightly.
Silco just nodded in return, still stunned into silence at the sight of his ex-friend. No, ex-love.
"I did..." He finally spoke, his voice cracking from not properly speaking in days. "I... I'm sorry, V..."
Strong arms suddenly wrapped around his thin physique, enveloping him in a bear hug so strong, Vander practically lifted him off the groun. Fear flittered through Silco's eyes at the sudden touch, their last interaction having ended very poorly.
Vander must've felt the sudden tension under Silco's skin, as he let go of the smaller man with a hesitant sigh.
"Er-... Sorry..." Silco watched as Vander took a step back,looking almost sheepish. "Will... Will you come inside..?"
Silco blinked, confused for half a second. "You- you want me to come inside..? W-why?"
"To talk? Apologize? Catch up..?" Vander offered, gesturing to the door into the bar. "P-please..?"
Silco didn't even think before nodding slightly at Vander's offer, overwhelmed by the amount of vulnerability in Vander's voice.
"O-okay..."
-
No, Silco hadn't planned to stay. Hell he hadn't even planned to be here in the first place, but here he was. Sitting in an empty room, just waiting.
Waiting left room for his thoughts. Stupid thoughts, at that. Memories of their fight, of the riot on the bridge, the weeks of pain and despair, the injuries.
This was a mistake. "I need to leave," he muttered, holding his head as images flashed behind his eyes. Water. Blood. Screaming. Fire. "Fuck..."
Shakily, silco stood, making his way to the doorway to leave. Just as he reached for the handle, however, the door swung open, revealing Vander holding a tray of food and some water. Silco should probably eat something.
"Leaving already, Silk?" Vander's voice cut through his thoughts, through the panic. His gaze snapped to the taller man, the fear evident behind his irises.
"Shit, Silco, what happened?" Vander closed the door behind him, setting the tray of food down on a cabinet. Silco must have been holding his breath, because he was suddenly hyperventilating. When did that happen?
The feeling of a chair under him made Silco startle, his gaze flitting around the room. He couldn't get his breathing under control, and he couldn't help but notice the edges of his vision fading out. Not that he could do anything about it, however.
"Silco!" Vander's voice cut through once again. Silco stared back at the man, their eyes locking as he shook with shallow breaths.
"That's it, Silco... Focus on me..." Vander spoke, but Silco's breathing only quickened. He shakily shook his head, trying to speak through his panic.
"Hey, hey... It's okay, Silco... Can you try to breathe for me?" Silco sniffled as he tried to focus on Vander's voice, but he couldn't help but hear their past arguments instead, loosing himself in the memories. He never should have come back here.
A hand touched his own, rough with calluses. Silco gasped as he stared at Vander, his body searching for the air he so desperately needed.
"V-Van..." He croaked, gripping Vander's hand with strength that quite frankly shouldn't have been possible, with how little he'd eaten lately.
He watched as the corner of Vander's lips tiwtched towards the ceiling, a little sigh of relief as Silco seemed to ground himself with their touching palms. "I'm here, Silk... You're safe now... No one's going to hurt you here..." He spoke softly, waiting patiently as Silco's breathing slowly calmed down.
Silco blinked at his old friend a few times, spluttering as he tried to think of the right words to say. Could apologies be enough to atone for what they had done to each other, many moons ago? Words couldn't erase the betrayal, could they?
"Shh, it's okay, Silk... You don't have to say anything right now..." Vander spoke gently, like he was soothing a child from a nightmare. Though, that comparison probably wasn't too far off. "Here, I brought you some food and water. You seem like you need it, Silk..."
Silco glanced at the tray Vander gestured to. He couldn't deny, the slimey fish skewers actually looked appetizing. As did the water, he was suddenly very parched.
Vander hummed quietly as he grabbed the tray, sliding it closer to him. SIlco couldn't help it as he desperately dug into the meal, his body screaming at him for not eating for as long as he had. Vander watched for a second, before standing slowly. "I'll leave you to eat up, Silk... Come find me-"
"Stay." Silco croaked, jumping to grab Vander's wrist with slimey fingers. "Er- p-please..."
Silco watched as Vander studied his face, and he hoped the man would stay. After the emotional rollercoaster he'd been on all week, he didn't think it was wise to be alone, even if his company was the man who'd betrayed him.
Vander sighed, nodding as he sat back down. "Okay. I'm not going anywhere, Silk... Eat up, now..." Silco sat back down after Vander did, glancing at the man one last time before digging back into the food. It was frankly quite disgusting, actually, but Silco was too hungry to care, as he practically cleared the tray in record timing.
Silco downed the water from the glass, swallowing the liquid in large gulps. When he finished, he wiped his lips and set the glass down, sighing in relief as his body immediately felt quite a bit better, like all he needed was some actual food.
A huff from Vander brought him back to the present, and he opened his uninjured eye to stare at the man, seeing a small smile on his face. "What are you smiling at?"
He watched as Vander shrugged, leaning back and lighting his pipe. "You cleared that plate faster than I'd ever seen, Silk... You must've been really hungry."
Silco sighed, shrugging his shoulder's in return, glancing at his hands in his lap. "I guess I was... I haven't- haven't properly eaten in days..." he muttered, fidgeting with the edges of the old mining coat he was wearing.
Vander hummed, taking a puff of his pipe. "Silco, you can't go days without eating like that... I mean, you looked like a ghost when I first saw you!"
"I know, I know... I just-" Silco cut off, shaking his head as he pulled his knees to his chest. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come..."
"What?!" Vander raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by Silco's regret, but his outburst made Silco jump a little. "No, this is exactly where you should be, Silk... I-if you want to be here."
He heard Vander sigh, but he couldn't bring himself to look at the man, even when he started speaking again. "Look, I know we... had our differences... in the past-" Silco huffed, that was an understatement.
"But, I've never forgiven myself for what I did to you, Silco... If... If I could go back in time and change what happened, I would've in a heart beat."
Silco sighed as he listened to Vander's words. He glanced up for half a second, not directly at Vander, but in his general direction. "Do you think... Do you think we could ever have what we used to, again...?"
Vander hummed as he took another puff of his pipe, before offering it across the table for Silco, incase he wanted some. "I think... If we work to rebuild our trust... We could have something similar..."
Silco graciously accpeted the pipe, thankful for something for his hands to hold. He sighed, staring at the contents inside the pipe. "It will never be the same, though... Will it?"
He didn't need to see Vander's face to know he was shaking his head. "No, it wont, Silco... So much has changed since then... Er... V-Violet's dead, Silco..."
"I know." Silco spat, his eyes squeezing shut, memories of a little girl with red hair running around, laughing and giggling as she tried to punch Vander the way he taught her to. "I know she is, Vander... How the hell did we let that happen? We... We were supposed to protect her... And Powder..."
Silco hadn't taken a puff from the pipe, but as Vander reached for it, he took a quick whiff before handing it back. "I couldn't do anything about this one, Silco... Aside from never letting her out of my sight, anyways. SHe and the others were trying to rob a penthouse, in Piltover... The guy had some explosive type things, and in their panic to leave, one was set off... And, well, you know the rest now..."
Silco clenched his fists as he listened to the story, tears welling in his eye once again. "And the others? Did... Did they-..?"
"No, it was jsut Vi..." Vander sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Silco nodded in response, instinctively pulling the mining jacket tighter around himself.
"I remember when you used to wear that in the shafts, Silk," Vander's voice cut through his thoughts, and he opened his eyes to stare at the man. He glanced down at himself, as if he just realized he was wearing the jacket.
"O-oh..." Silco shrugged, not knowing how to respond to that. He sighed, fidgeting with the sleeves once again as he felt an odd awkwardness settle between them.
Vander sighed quietly, an awkward chuckle sounding in the air. "Do you want to come see Powder? I'm... I'm sure she'll love seeing you. You two always got along quite well..."
SIlco glanced up at Vander, before shrugging slighting, untangling his limbs from the chair. "I guess... A-Are... Are you sure I'm not too much of a mess...?"
Vander huffed a laugh out, offering a smile ad a hand to help Silco to stand. "I think we're all a bit of a mess right now. If anything, she's more of a mess than you, even if you reak of alcohol." He teased, getting the tiniest smile out of Silco.
"Alright, alright... Don't tell me I stink, V..."
---
THE END