Let's say that Shadow and Four... grew up together, in the shit circumstances they found themselves in. In the same way that Time and Dark are opposites, so are Shadow and Four--sans medical intervention to alter anyone's appearance. Except that Shadow was meant to be a prodigy, and Four was supposed to be nothing more than a victim.

“You seem like a really nice guy,” She says, “And I happened to notice that you always stick around for my whole shift even though you don’t buy anything other than your coffee. So… do you want to grab something later?” Four sticks around because the cafe lets him sit as long as he wants and he gets unlimited refills of his small black coffee for just three rupees a day. The place is dry and warm and gives him a space to work on applications. It helps that the staff is nice, but Four stays here for hours because he doesn’t have anywhere else to go. He didn’t even realize he tended to come in when this woman was here. But he can’t tell her that. He doesn’t want to embarrass her. So he smiles back, eyes flickering down to check her nametag. Erune. “Yeah, actually. I’d love to.” --- AKA the fic where i put all my aroace dating experiences onto my fav lil guy and Four gets to feel my pain, but also my catharsis.

Omg there are literally a thousand ways to look at Four's character, there is no need to apologize. Especially as the boy that I have fleshed out the least for you guys, you are absolutely within your right to let your imaginations run wild.

Honestly, in this situation I'm not sure Shadow is the very best person to reassure Four. Shads was there for things that were... less than pleasant for Four to experience. But Four wouldn't say anything to him about it. He'd just shut down. And Shadow can tell the INSTANT that dissociation sets in, because he's unfortunately seen it before and perhaps even caused it. And so he makes a phone call.

And the murder man™ who lives across the street knocks on the door less than 15 minutes later wearing his studded leather jacket and most menacing boots like he's about to go out on a messy job. Shadow gestures into the living room, and Dark doesn't make a big deal about it. He sits down on the floor right in front of the end table Four has wedged himself beneath, leaving enough room for him to get out if he wanted to, and he gets as comfortable as he reasonably can. He and Shadow banter like normal, Shads orders takeout as payment, and eventually the table and lamp stop vibrating now that Four feels like he has someone else watching out for him.

It'd be interesting heartbreaking if he got appendicitis in the current day. I feel like he'd try to ignore it until it bursts and the infection gets so bad he's hallucinating, barely conscious, and can't fight back when Twilight drags him to the hospital

Poor guy's probably lost in Trauma, I doubt even Twilight and Shadow combined could keep him properly comfortable and calm (something something stripped of bodily autonomy once again something something surgery and recovery and hospitals triggering his trauma) until Dark's back home and being nursed back to health by a nervous but very sweet Twilight

Dark would also probably be pissed that the scars mess up whatever tattoos he has on his stomach

The Dragmires wouldn't have had the interest in removing things like wisdom teeth, tonsils, or appendix. They're not even sure Dark can survive his mission, why waste the time and money? Besides, cosmetic surgery is enough to heal from, let alone an abdominal procedure.

If Dark had to be dragged to the hospital, unfortunately he is going to fight. Cue the restrains, which is only going to set him off worse. Our tatted-up murder man has worked through a lot of pain in the past such that the adrenaline may override what he's going through, but he's still going to be uncoordinated and he might lash out at loved ones in his feverish haze. That's when the sedatives come out.

I'm not sure Twilight would ever be freaked out enough by the situation to call his uncle for help. But Time might be one of the few people who can safely get Dark restrained enough so that he can be sedated. Twilight has the strength but not the technique--and I doubt he'd have the heart to do it to Dark anyway. He's already going to feel bad enough bringing him to the hospital.

Dark is going to be G-R-U-M-P-Y after discharge. Not only is he still drugged, which he hates, but yes to the scars-messing-up-tats comment. He's going to have a mini fit struggling to tear off his hospital band (listen, those little shits hold up to A LOT), and he's going to try and muscle through the pain until Shadow threatens to take him BACK to the hospital if he doesn't start taking his fucking oxy.

But the ensuing conversation when Twilight apologizes for putting Dark through that, only for Dark to admit "You shouldn't apologize. This is my thing to deal with. You have nothing to do with it."

is there an age difference between dark and twi? and if there is, what is it?? 👀

also in the same vein, since we currently know very little about them, what about shadow and four??

Dark is younger than Time by about 4 years. So the age difference between him and Twilight is somewhere around 11-12 years, if my fuzzy math serves me. Dark's maturity level, however, is easily on par with a 20-something-year-old, given how much time he lost in prison.

Who has the weirdest sleep-talking lines that the other quotes constantly?

Shadow once sat straight up in bed, turned to look at Four, and said perfectly clearly, "Paper or plastic?"

".... I brought my own bag."

"Okay." And with a solemn nod, Shadow went right the fuck back to sleep. He doesn't remember it to this day.

Four doesn't talk in his sleep.

What’s the most chaotic thing they’ve done together on pure impulse?

They bought one of these bad boys:

Well. Shadow was the one who had the money for it. Four claimed he could fix "anything and everything" that was wrong with it, and he did a lot of learning on that car. Shads still drives it to this day, although he repainted a much more demure dark purple.

What nickname do they have for each other that would mortify them if others heard?

Four went by several different names when Shadow first met him, and Shadow simplified it all down to one nickname: Rainbow, or Rain for short. Four doesn't like many people to know about that name. (In LMTCOY, Dark and Twilight are both familiar with it, and Four doesn't seem to mind. But Shadow doesn't share it with everyone.)

Shadow has a number of nicknames--"Asshole-in-chief", "my dumber half"--but Noodle is the one name he would simply stab others if they knew about. Even Dark.

What’s the darkest “we’ll never tell anyone” thing they’ve done together?

Buried a body.

What’s the most embarrassing thing they’ve walked in on the other doing?

Four looks rather undignified when he's truly resting: gigantic sweatshirt, tall fluffy socks, hair all askew, eating cheese puffs out of the bag with chopsticks so he doesn't get his fingers all yucky. He was rather embarrassed when Shadow caught him in such a state one day in the basement in Termina.

Shadow was once walked in on as he was crouched on the top of the refrigerator chucking shoes and bowls and boxes of dry goods at a bug on the floor. Four easily relocated the offending insect outside. He says it was a ladybug; Shadow is convinced it was a scorpion.

If they had to run away together tomorrow, where would they go?

Shadow is totally a beach guy. Like, 'Caribbean island so remote no one will ever find him' kind of guy. As soon as he's done with his undercover work, that guy is GONE, and Four is very likely going with him.

What’s their favorite way to hold each other when words aren’t enough?

Well, Four is touch averse so 'holding' is kept to a minimum. On those occasions when touch does happen, it's through layers of clothing, never skin-on-skin. Four was happy to park himself partially in Shadow's lap after the Four/Twi chapter in LMTCOY--although if Shadow laid a hand on his back, Four would bolt. He doesn't want to feel held down.

Shadow thought nothing of it when Dark mentioned that he'd brought some guy home from the bar. But he laughed his entire ass off when Dark revealed Twilight's relation to Time--so much so that he choked on a piece of popcorn, and Dark made him do the heimlich maneuver to himself in order to get it back up.

Near-death experiences aside, Shadow has some mixed feelings about the arrangement. He's glad to have a new friend among their small group. Twilight's kind and friendly, he doesn't judge, and he's always up to try new things. It's a gullible trait, really, that Shadow would absolutely take advantage of if Dark didn't watch him like a hawk. He's happy for Dark, too, that he has found something other than drinking and jacking off and being a nuisance to fill his time. Twilight has brought some positive change to Dark's life, as have their kittens, and Dark is leaps and bounds ahead of where he was during incarceration.

But Shadow also has a healthy amount of skepticism about whether this relationship will last. Dark and Twilight have fallen hard and fast, but at the end of the day they don't have a ton in common... from the outside looking in, at least.

“Hey Shads?”

From somewhere in the apartment came a grunt.

Shadow’s place was treacherous to navigate on a good day with how low he kept the lights. Dark stepped carefully down the hallway, his hands on the walls to guide him. He cursed as a nest of ethernet cables tangled around the toe of his boot, nearly taking him out before he made it to the living room.

Shadow didn’t acknowledge him as Dark entered. He sat hunched in his desk chair, all of his attention glued to his computer screen. A box fan hummed where it sat aimed at the hard drive.

Dark paused in the doorway, hesitant to approach. This was worse than he thought.

“So, I don’t know,” Dark tried to be disarming as he leaned against the door frame for balance, folding his arms across his chest, “doesn’t all this seem… a bit drastic?”

Shadow’s chair creaked like the groan of a coffin door echoing in a catacomb as he turned just his head, slow and stiff, to stare at Dark. The angle looked… unnatural.

And if Dark didn’t know better, he would have sworn that the pinholes of Shadow’s pupils were as red as the ReDead.