Lio

Boris slowly walked down the sidewalk, a bouquet of flowers cartoonishly wilted in his hands, and his bag was hanging off his shoulder lazily.

He wasn’t really good at stuff like this, romance that is. He had crushes here and there, but within weeks he usually gave up on them, since he knew he could never make a move first, but also because most girls steered clear of him..he didn’t know why anymore. It could be because he wasn’t funny enough probably, he chose to be reserved.

But he was confident that make this particular person he really liked, maybe liked him back..

But it was all a lie, a silly hurtful act, since he was just humiliatingly rejected in front of other kids his age, school was rough, life at the orphanage was even more rough..

So now here he was, slowly walking down the dirt road, heading to the only person who offered him the tiniest bit of respect and served as some safe space for him, even if they had a bit of some loose screws in their head.

He slowly walked up the road, his long tail lazily brushing against the ground, and his ears sank against his head. His body language was heavily off. He approached the gate of the cup Brothers house and looked around, checking to see if anyone was home.

Cuphead didn’t go to school, only mugman, so he should be here…

“Cuphead?” Boris called out loudly, his voice cracking awkwardly. Puberty was Hell, his voice was deeper now, deeper than his older brothers, and he sounded awkward at times fue to his voice cracking.

He waited a while, listening out for any sound that gave away someone’s presence in the house. Just then, there was the sound of footsteps running around the second floor, down the stairs and going straight for the door. And when the door opened, there appeared Cuphead, with a surprised look on his face. 

“Boris? Whatcha doin’ here?” Cuphead says as he got a bit to close, his hands braced on the gate as he looked up at the wolf, a big fat grin on his face, even as he tried to gain back his breath.

“I uh..I left school.” Boris mumbled “I told the girl and..” He began to stammer before completely going silent, as he kept remembering what happened, he could feel his eyes well up with tears, thankfully his bangs covered his eyes from Cupheads sight..

But Cuphead could read him, and get the hint that he was crying.

Without a moment to spare, Cuphead closed the door, and Boris’s head looked up. Inside he could hear a lot of things being moved around. And in the meantime of waiting, Boris put the bouquet of flowers in his bag.

The door opened after five minutes of waiting, and Cuphead emerged with a coat on, and a spare coat for Boris.

“Put this on! It fits ya, but don’t ruin it! Elder kettle will kill me if he finds a hole in it.” Cuphead whispered as he tossed the coat to Boris.

And by his order, the wolf began to slip on the coat, but it was a bit bigger on his  thin lanky frame.

“Where are we going?” Boris asked awkwardly as he wiped his eyes, he carried his bag over his shoulder while his feet guided him to trail behind the Cup in front of him.

“We’re gonna go on a grab and run.” Cuphead smirks “y’know what that is?” 

Boris shook his head, his ears flicking and tag wagging as he waited for an explanation.

“A grab and run is where we walk into shops in town, pocket something we like, and run before anyone notices. It’s easy! I haven’t been caught at all!”

His explanation left Boris a bit nervous, his tail stopped wagging,

“But thats bad, the nuns at my school always told me that we shouldn’t steal because the celestials is always watching us, and if we get caught Im sure I’ll get—“

“Relax wolfy! It’s only bad IF we get caught.” Cuphead grins

And off they go, their first shop was filled with trinkets. Boris hadn’t pocketed anything, Cuphead took plenty. However by their 3rd shop that they visited, Boris began to warm up and break the invisible barrier that held him back.

By evening, they had successfully completed 12 Grab and Runs, and as they ran down the sidewalk, they avoided any police and authority to avoid being suspects of suspicion.

They ran till they reached an empty park. They settled among the spacious and quiet area of grass in the park, and slowly set down the things they had pocketed in their coats.

Cuphead pocketed many things, bracelets and rings, candy and sweets, a couple of trinkets, and even some clothes..somehow. And lastly, a pack of cigarettes

Boris had pocketed trinkets, a watch, and three books.

“My stuff is better,” cuphead exclaims with a laugh as he opened up his pack of cigarettes, he lit it up with a lighter and brought the cigarette to his mouth, slowly inhaling and exhaling. 

Boris’s nose wrinkled at the smell of the cigarette, and he brushed his bangs away from his eyes as he searched his pocket for his last thing, a comb.

“Do you have to smoke around me, it stinks.” Boris frowned. Cuphead rolled his eyes as he places his stolen items in a bag. 

“Aw don’t be a baby like mugsy,” Cuphead mumbled around his cigarette “it’s not even that bad.”

Cuphead eyes moved down and found the comb in the wolfs hand, and a small smile formed on his lips. “Hey, let me comb ya hair, I ain’t ever styled hair that wasn’t foam before, come on let me!” Cuphead grins as he begged excitedly.

Boris grumbled under his breath as he handed the comb to the cup, but when he leaned in to hand the comb, he pulled the cigarette from Cupheads mouth and put it out, letting it fall and be lost in the long grass.

“Hey what gives!?—“ but before Cuphead could finish his sentence, Boris shoved a heart shaped sucker in Cupheads mouth, to replace his addiction.

“I don’t wanna have your cigarette smoke near me, I’ll get in trouble at the orphanage if I return smelling like that.” Boris explained. Cuphead reluctantly chewed on his lollipop, and adjusted the comb in his hand, before moving closer to Boris. He raised his hands close to his hide, and began to brush the fur back, to reveal his eyes that hid under the bangs. 

It took a lot of patience and dedication to comb Boris’s fur, for Cuphead to not just stare and admire his eyes.

Once he had adjusted his bangs correctly and away from his eyes, Cuphead leaned back on the heel of his feet and admired his work.

“Done,” cuphead says. Boris slowly smiled as he downed down in the reflected glass of his newly stolen watch, but his heart sank when he realized what time it was.

“Shoot, I should get back to the orphanage” Boris cursed under his breath as he stood up and scrambled to put his things away. Cuphead watched the wolf panic, a rosy tint of blush dusting his face as he played with a button on his coat.

“Wait..before you go..” 

“Huh, what is it?” Boris asked as he spun around to face Cuphead, and once he did, he couldn’t help how quickly his tail began to wag.

In Cupheads hands was a small plush that resembled a wolf, and almost looked exactly like boris, with its long and curly fabric that was supposed to resemble fur.

“I saw this and I thought it looked like ya, so I pocketed it.” Cuphead says as he gave Boris the plush, ever so careful, as if he was afraid that the stuffed animal would rip or tear if he was being to brash with his movements.

Boris stood there with a look of shock on his face, to be thought of, and to be gifted was a dream come true in his world. He glanced from the plush and to Cuphead, and before he could think, he was moving.

He set his bag down and opened it up, and pulled out the bouquet of flowers, before placing them in Cupheads arms, and giving the porcelain boy a hug, his tail wagging excitedly.

“Thank you cup” Boris says. The hug was gentle, and warm. Once he pulled away, he smiled at Cuphead, but Cuphead only looked at him in shock, he was very unused to kind romantic gestures by anyone, let alone his best friend.

“Wait what are you—“

“I call this a Give and Run” Boris chuckled goofily, before placing the stuffed animal in his bag and quickly running off.

“See you tomorrow after school!” Boris yelled as he ran, looking over his shoulder to see Cuphead one last time before heading back home.

Cuphead stood there in shock, with a flustered look on his face, and he looked down at the bouquet of flowers in his hands, and softly smiled.

“I better not tell mugs, he’ll lose his handle if he finds out I got flowers before he ever did,” cuphead giggled to himself, bringing the flowers closer to his nose so he can appreciate the smell of something else that was more lovelier than cigarette smoke.

———

It was the last day of school, and Boris was excited, excited to get his final grade report and finally leave school. This year was so boring and slow, but now with summer just a bell away, he could spend time with his only friend other than his brother, Cuphead.

His tail wagged quickly, his eyes on the clock as every minute passed, and with every minute gone, is when the hour was closer to finishing.

Finally, the bell rang, and Boris quickly grabbed his bag, and was the first to rush out the door. He let his legs guide him through the packed hallways, he never really participated in P.E often, but right now, he was running to reach his homeroom, get his report, and leave.

He reached the room, looked over the teachers desk, snatched his report and quickly ran out, he kept on running, even when he left the building, he was rushing to reach his escape, not a place or thing that brought him comfort, but a person. Someone who made getting up worth it.

He ran all through town, down the dirt path, and up to the gate where Cuphead’s home was. His tongue hung out his mouth as he panted, trying to gather his thoughts, his breath and his sense. 

“Cuphead!” He called out, hoping that the Cup was here. There was no reply, but, before he could open the gate, he felt someone tug him backward, by his tail. It had brought out a whine of pain from his mouth, he didn’t immediately snarl, assuming it had been Cuphead, maybe he snuck up on him, but instead, he turned around and faced another porcelain that wasn’t exactly Cuphead..but they almost looked alike. He was just..Blue. And a mug.

“..Hello?” Boris said quietly, and the blue porcelain boy onky fixed his backpack over his shoulder. Maybe they went to the same school, Cuphead mentioned having a brother who also went to Boris’s school.

“Afternoon.” Mugman said, looking at Boris with a slightly judge mental look on his face, as if he was suspicious of the wolf.

“what are you doing Here, and how do you know my brothers name?” The boy asked, his hand reaching up to fix his glasses correctly against his face.

“I uh..I’m His friend..” Boris said, his face holding a look of nervousness and awkwardness already. He held his hand out to shake his hand, thats how you introduce yourself right?…

However Mugs wasn’t having it. He only stared at Boris’s outheld hand and looked back up at him.

“I’m Mugman, and who are you?” Mugs asked as he raised an eyebrow at him, the boy was cautious of strangers, people that could be a bad influence to his brother..even if his brother was already a loose cannon, he didn’t want him to be around people who could potentially be snakes, or even another loose cannon who could get him in trouble.

“Im Boris,” Boris answered as he slowly moved his hand down, figuring it’s no use to keep it held out if he wasn’t gonna shake his hand. When he opened his mouth to speak, maybe ask a question, he was silenced before he could make a sound.

“I don’t know who you are, but I know my brother likes you. And if you hurt my brother, I promise I’ll give you a piece of my mind.” Mugman said, his suspicion and threat was almost comical, but his attitude was definitely judge mental. He got that a lot, being a big wolf for his age and all. 

He only nodded, and watched Mugman open the gate and walk past him, not bothering to let him inside. And at this point, Boris was bothered, annoyed and frustrated. He ran all this way to just get some lame threat. He began to walk down the dirt path, but when he felt another tug on his tail, his ears struck up and he looked over his shoulder, baring his teeth and letting out a snarl, but his demeanor quickly changed when he realized it wasn’t the mug, it was Cuphead. A now slightly frightened but intrigued one.

“Sorry,” the wolf  mumbled as he turned around to face him completely. “I thought you were..someone else.” Boris lookrd down at his feet, before looking back at Cuphead to meet his gaze.

“Schools finished,” Boris said with a small smile, and Cupheads eyes widened, a excited look forming on his face as he reaches for the wolfs hand and pulled him forward, running ahead of him already.

“Well come on then, I already had this idea in mind for your last day!”

And for some time they ran, even when it felt like their legs were going to give out, their chests ached and their lungs burned. They didn’t run back to town, but Cuphead had guided Boris through yards of trees, until they were in an open field of talk grass, the sun was nearing to set. 

“Come on, theres a patch of grass uphill thats a bit more shorter.” Cuphead said as he began to walk uphill, meanwhile Boris trailed far behind him, his chest heaving as he tried to not pass out from running so much today. Once they reached the patch of shorter grass, is where he took a seat on the ground, right next to Cuphead. They both sat there in silence, not trying to say another word, not because they didn’t wanna talk, but because they both were still trying to catch their own breaths. Besides, the sound of each others breath comforted themselves, it was proof that they were alive, in the moment, living, and that they were together.

Once Boris had calmed down, he reached for his grade report inside his bag. He looked over each grade for each subject, and everything seemed fine…

Till it reached English. He wasn’t bad at English, he just didn’t understand the dang old hags way of teaching. His ears pinned back as he grew frustrated at the sight of a bold C staring back at him.

“Whats wrong?” Cuphead asked as he noticed his sour expression.

“Bad grade is all..I’ll probably get in trouble with the nuns at the orphanage..My teacher don’t got a clue of what she was talking about..” Boris scoffed as he shoved the report back into his bag.

“I ain’t dumb, but They always make me feel as if I am.” 

“You’re real smart to me, I mean, you’re good at math, and know a whole lot about cars.” Cuphead mumbled, and Boris’s ears picked back up, his head turning to his left to face the cup.

“It’s a letter, big deal, don’t change how I see you, nor do it change what you’re worth.” Cuphead said, his eyes tracing over the shape of the sun as it set beyond the horizon, he looked over at Boris, momentarily only, but felt flustered to only realize Boris was already looking at him, so he looked back forward.

“Well what do I know..I don’t go to school anyway.” Cuphead mumbled in slight embarrassment.

“Whatever, i ain’t too worried about it.”

“I could teach you,” 

“What?”

“I could teach you, how to Read and write. Those are real important skills to have my teacher said,” Boris spoke. A smile slowly forming on his face as he watched Cuphead face him again, his bright red colored eyes staring back at his Hazel ones.

“You’d do that for me?” Cuphead asked with curiosity, but his expression also held the look of someone who couldn’t believe that someone else was willing to help him, even if it was one of his closest friends that offered it.

“Of course,” Boris nodded.

Then there was silence. It was dark out, already past Boris’s curfew, but here he was, here with Cuphead, instead of back at the orphanage. 

Then, light appeared. Little bits of light that flickered on and off slowly, and it didn’t take long before he realized..there was fireflies all around them. Lighting up the area around them in their beautiful light, Boris had never seen so many before, and his tail began to gently thump against the earth beneath him.

Cuphead couldn’t help but watch, with amusement on his face, to see Boris seem so happy and mesmerized, the sight made his own heart pump a bit faster. And In that moment, Cuphead swallowed his pride and faced whatever internal obstacle held him back times before, and he scooted closer to Boris before speaking,

“Boris?” Cuphead whispered

“Yeah?” Boris replied as he faced the cup, now noticing how awfully close he got. 

And thats when Cuphead slowly leaned in, a rosy color tinted his cheeks as he held the Wolfs face in his palms, and brought his face closer to his..until he finally pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Boris’s whole world stopped, and he felt as if the earths rotation had been knocked backwards, as he felt Cuphead press his lips against his fur. When the cup pulled away, Boris leaned back in and hugged him tightly, burying his face into the cups bandana that was wrapped around his neck.

“Be my best friend forever cup,” Boris mumbled, his tail wagging crazily quickly now, and nothing seemed to matter anymore, not the grades, not the judgement he received on a daily basis, not the nuns, nothing.

Cuphead was ecstatic , quiet, but ecstatic.

For the night, they talked and remained seated in that spot, watching the fireflies dance above them in the field, hand in hand. And it wasn’t long till they both fell asleep.

The next morning, as the sun rose and basked them in a warm glow, Boris sat up, rubbing his eyes as he gathered his senses…

He forgot, his curfew last night!

He quickly woke up Cuphead, he practically shook him awake as he panicked.

“I gotta go..the nuns will notice if Im not in bed..I gotta go Cuphead!” Boris whispered in a panic, and even though Cuphead was slowly waking up still and barely had any idea of what was going on, he seemed to already get the message that Boris was in trouble.

The wolf looked around before tightly hugging Cuphead again, breathing in his scent of gunpowder, tea, and a faint trace of cigarette smoke, before he pulled away and ran.

“See you tomorrow!”

Only he wouldn’t see him again tomorrow. Boris had been caught sneaking back in, and he was already seen as a troubled child by the nuns in the orphanage..so much so, that for the entire summer, they sent Boris away, but just before he went, he dropped off a letter to the mail office, a letter for Cuphead, before he was sent away to some camp far away from inkwell. A letter that begged Cuphead to write to him over the summer, even if he was gone.

For the entirety of the summer, Boris spent his time just completing chores at a more grand sized orphanage, it seemed like the nuns here were more strict and mean. They usually forced Boris to talk when he didn’t want to, trim his fur to a length that was unnatural, and to rarely even write to his brother..or Cuphead for that matter.  And despite this awful torment, he still lied awake at night, thinking of Cuphead, his scent, his gap teeth, his red eyes and his crooked straw. He waited for weeks for just one letter, but the only letters he received were from his brother, Bendy.

Just a week before the final week of summer, he was returned back home in inkwell, and the moment he got off that bus, he ran down the familiar dirt path, eager to at least find Cuphead and get why he never wrote him one letter..

But when he arrived to that same familiar home..it was empty. He could tell, the fence paint was chipping, there was no light inside, and on top of that, the goat was missing..

And nearby lay a grave, marked by the name “Elder kettle” in stone.

Cupheads guardian. If he was gone..then he could get the message that Cuphead was gone too.

————