BaBita world :3

ITS FINISHED I CAN FINaLLYY MOVE ON WITH MY LIFEEE!!!!

~

They were all pretty banged up after their latest rough patch on their journey.

The porcelain brothers had taken the brunt of the physical damage. Again. No shattered calix or empty heads this time round, but they were low, and if not addressed, the cracks wouldn’t heal right, and they’d be prone to easier shattering later on.

Seeing that Mugs was one too loud a breath away from snapping another person's neck, Bendy was tasked with helping the usually chatty Toon that is Cuphead by the fire, while Boris helped Mugman in a tent on the furthest edge of camp. Those two needed some quiet after the cacophony of insane ludicrousness of the past week. Shelly and Pebble were out gathering wood for the slowly dying fire.

Mercifully, the only sounds were the chirps and buzzes of insects, the crackling of firewood, and the rummaging through and application of medical supplies.

It was peaceful, and Bendy could actually process his thoughts, going over the last couple of days' events in his head, letting it all sink in and file away. At least until-

“Why does your tail keep doin that?”

The question jars the demon out of his autopilot, fumbling with the gauze he just took out of the medkit sitting open next to the porcelain toon. He manages to catch the roll before it drops to the forest floor.

“Oh, sorry, didn’t mean ta scare you,” Cuphead teases.

Bendy playfully flicks the side of the toon's head for his trouble, earning an indignant sound and playful bat to his own hand, followed by soft, amused chuckles.

“Let me work my healing magic in peace, Cups. Unless you wanna trip and end up with a hole in your side,” he arches a brow.

Cuphead groans, bouncing his leg restlessly, “Fine, but could ya hurry, my legs are falling asleep with how long you're takin.”

Sighing, Bendy reassessed where exactly he left off. Oh, right, patching up a currently shirtless debt collector. He'd finished cleaning the wound in Cupheads left side. Cracks that had been bleeding marked across the majority of the area in a cracked spiderweb pattern, with the center origin caved in slightly. He'd been hit clear across a factory floor into boxes of heavy supplies. It's a miracle he walked away with this being the worst of it. Clawed fingers lightly trail some of the pattern.

“Bendy?”

“Huh?”

“You were spacin’ out again. You sure you're alright? I know you took a pretty hard hit-” Cuphead moves to glimpse over his shoulder.

Bendy placed a hand on his shoulder to keep him from turning all the way. Can't have him aggravating his side. “Hold still, gotta wrap ya like a mummy first.”

The cup chuckled, shaking his head, keeping his gaze forward.

“And m’fine, must be more tired than I thought. Promise I'm not concussed or anythin.” And he sure as hell can't handle that look of concern he knows is lying there beneath that cocky exterior.

He lightly taps Cupheads shoulder, “Arms up, troubleshooter, mummification time.”

Cuphead hums in simple acknowledgment, raising his arms to give the demon easier access to wrap the gauze, “still haven't answered my first question.”

Trying to avoid thinking too hard about their current position as he begins wrapping the gauze around the man's torso, Bendy indulges, “And what question was that?”

He can practically feel the taller toons eyeroll, “Your tail, it keeps doin that thing.”

“Doin what thing?” he grunts, pulling a little tighter on the second wrap around to make sure the wrap will stay in place properly, fiddling with it to see there's still enough give for the man to move around without too much constriction.

Then he yelps, feeling a pinch to the tip of his tail. It's quiet for a horrifying moment, then his eyes trail slowly over across the expanse of Cupheads decorated back, up the muscled bicep of his right arm to find wrapped around the cracked porcelain forearm is his tail, the tip caught between fingers that fiddle with it almost soothingly, as a quiet apology for the pinch.

“Oh-”

The traitorous appendage had been doing its damn best for weeks to communicate what he never wanted-no couldn't say out loud—trying to latch onto the collector whenever it got the chance.

He'd been so careful; maybe the hit to the head he took broke what little decency he had left.

Oh, celestial, and he's noticed it happening before. Of course, he's known the guy was actually more observant than people give him credit for, but now that he's bringing it up when they're alone, damn, he made him uncomfortable, didn't he? Is he trying to spare them both the embarrassment of telling him off in front of the others? He doesn't know what it means, right? But what if he does? What if that's why he's so-

“Sorry, didn't mean to pinch too hard.” Cupheads soft tone broke Bendy out of his spiral into panic.

Blinking a couple of times, he shakes his head of the thoughts that threatened to bombard him. Clearing his throat, he continues with the gauze, his hands ever so subtly shaking, “Yer fine, just surprised me is all.”

“And uh sorry,” he adds quietly, “I don't mean to make you uncomfortable…it has a mind of its own sometimes, I'll make sure it doesn't happen again.” Taking a steadying breath, he wills the damn thing to unwind, starting to pull back, grazing against the warm porcelain in its slow retreat.

“I didn't say that.”

That halts the demon's movement.

“What?”

Cuphead twirls his fingers around the demon's tail, smiling softly, “I don't mind it, Bends. It's a good thing, isn't it?”

“A good thing?” Bendy parrots dumbly, a flush creeping up his neck as his tail is gently toyed with.

What is happening right now?

“Yeah, means ya trust me or something, right? It's a vulnerable part that tells a lot of what you don't say. I notice you grab it when you're really anxious or squeeze it when you tell a fib. Curls round yourself or another for comfort or to provide it, wags when you're happy, twitches and flicks when ticked off. It's your honesty basically. Mugs and I had tails when we were little, unlike yours ours fell off naturally as we got older. Unless, uh, well, unless for demons, there are totally different meanings for those kinda quirks?” his gaze looks off to the distance as if he's just now realizing that was a possibility.

…Is he actually concussed, and this is some head trauma-induced madness?

He continues his wrapping, hoping to finish and get the heck out of this conversation as soon as possible, “You both had tails?”

“Yup! Lil tea bag tails,” he trails the pen-like indent across the tip of Bendy's tail, reminiscing on childhood memories.

Bendy hums unsteadily, a bead of ink dripping nervously down the side of his face. Tugging the gauze securely and taping it off, he does a once-over, checking for any dangerous flaws in the wrapping. Seeing nothing, he gives Cupheads back a shaky pat, “all done,” and moves to put everything back into the medical kit. Cuphead lowers his arms, rolling his shoulders and stretching slightly.

Med kit packed, Bendy goes to pick it up and place it with their other supplies, but Cuphead hasn't let go of his tail.

Bendy glances back, “Um, you mind letting go?”

Cuphead hums in mock thought, “not until you answer,” he grins back.

“You seem to have me figured out well enough. Why don't you draw your own conclusion?”

The grip on his tail tightens subtly, “cause I wanna make sure I'm understanding you right.”

Golden-tinted eyes search red, unsure, nervous. Sighing shakily, Bendy looks down at his hands, scrubbing at the ink that dripped down and fiddling with the medical kit, “You once said a gambler ain’t got nothing but their word. Well, a demon ain’t got their word, no one trusts a demon's word. You know that. We've got our actions,” glancing up he meets the red gaze again.

Cuphead doesn't look away, listening intently.

“You weren't far off, my tail can be quite…expressive even when I don't want it to, and it can be infuriating and risky. I wish I didn't have it sometimes, but it has its uses,” Bendy chuckles awkwardly.

Cuphead glances at the scars leading to the base of the demon's tail, years of damage caused by claws gripping it too tightly, and markings caused by others.

“So yeah,” the cup's gaze snapped back up, “it means I trust you to some extent and stuff.” Bendy averts his gaze again.

“And stuff?” Cuphead pushes gently.

“Ya know, like, offerin comfort, showing affection, and whatever.”

A great fanfic! You should read it!

This scene isn't in the fanfic, but it's something I imagine every time I'm reading it, and Cuphead has a problem because of his soul (I won't say more because it could be a spoiler.)