#stubbroken

It can be platonic or romantic, either is fine

I just really adore your writing! You put so much emotion into the voices and I love it so much! I also really loved reading Tongues and Teeth!

(I'm so behind on these because I know I've done a stubbroken prompt but I'll never say no to more. Thank you for your nice comment! I'm so happy that Tongues and Teeth was enjoyed by so many people, and I hope you enjoy this one too!)

Stubborn groaned as he stretched his aching limbs, his eyelids drooping as exhaustion started to weigh him down, and he couldn't wait to go to sleep.

But when he opened the door to his bedroom, he froze-and anger instantly spiked within him as he noticed a familiar lump already under the covers of his bed.

"Get out," he demanded, and the lump shifted, but remained in his bed.

Stubborn clenched his fists as he marched over, the only reason he wasn't yelling because he didn't want to wake the whole house up.

"I said get out," Stubborn hissed, ripping the blanket up to reveal a bleary eyed Broken curled up in his bed.

Broken lifted his head, but still snuggled into Stubborn's pillow and whispered, "I couldn't sleep."

"Not my problem. Get out."

Broken groaned, as if moving was an impossible task for him, hiding his face into the pillow but Stubborn could still hear the muffled, "Please?" he let out.

"No. Go into literally anyone else's room."

"Why not yours?" Stubborn sighed, closing his eyes as he tilted his head up to the ceiling. He just wanted to go to sleep.

"Because this is the third time you've done this, and last time I checked, we don't share a bed," Stubborn hissed, and Broken twisted his head to peek one eye out at him, and Stubborn could feel his resolve breaking at the sight of those eyes.

That, coupled with how tired he was, was enough for him to sigh in defeat, whispering to the other, "Fine. But this is the last time."

He ignored the twinkle in Broken's eyes, climbing into bed with a huff, and Broken predictably slid over and snuggled into Stubborn's chest, settling down instantly.

Stubborn rolled his eyes and said, "Feels like all you need is a teddy bear to fix your problems." Broken made a soft noise and shook his head.

"I don't like being in my room sometimes."

"Yeah but why do you have to pick my room to crash at?" Stubborn whispered, waving an arm through the air. "Surely Hero or Smitten would be a better pick to sleep at."

Broken didn't respond right away, instead pressing his face further into Stubborn's chest feathers. Then, an almost inaudible, "Yours feels safe."

Stubborn sighed, feeling some of his anger disappear at that response. Try as he might, he couldn't get genuinely mad at Broken, no matter how much he got annoyed at his unexpected appearance in the night.

He fought the urge to lift his arm and wrap it around Broken, gazing around at the darkness around them and muttered, "You're a pain in my ass, you know that?"

"Is that why you let me into your room?"

Stubborn snapped his head down to glare at Broken, even if his eyes were closed peacefully as Stubborn hissed, "I'm letting you stay the night because I'm too tired to fight for once."

"What about the other times?"

"What other times?"

"The other times that you've taken care of me."

Surprise took over Stubborn, but not at what Broken was implying, but at the fact that he was bringing it up.

He looked away from the other. "I only do the bare minimum so that you don't fucking die," he mumbled, and then he felt Broken chuckle against him. Just for that, Stubborn pinched Broken's side, grinning at how he squirmed and whined in pain.

Still, it didn't stop Stubborn from thinking about what he had just said.

Yeah, sure, Stubborn finds himself looking out for the sad lump of feathers, but that was only because he was so weak and small-he knew Broken would waste away without someone keeping an eye on him.

So he just made sure to ask if he was doing okay every now and then.

Or drag Broken to the kitchen to make him eat something before he forgot.

Or wrap him up in blankets on days that he looked extra gloomy.

Or stick with him in case he needed company but didn't want to admit it.

Or-okay, Stubborn was starting to see it now.

Stubborn glanced back down at Broken, noticing how relaxed and calm he looked against Stubborn's chest. Safe, he had called Stubborn's room.

He focused on the feeling of Broken curled up around him, so warm and soft, and noticed how relaxed Stubborn was with Broken's presence here as well.

He sighed in defeat, wrapping an arm around Broken protectively and bringing him even closer to his side.

"Maybe we can share a bed," Stubborn mumbled shyly, "if you want."

broken wants you to be safe, yes, but gives up his body as a form of submission. quite literally rolls over and expects to dies most of the time. meanwhile stubborn gives up his body in pursuit of domination, of winning, of going out in a blaze of glory. both are so comfortable with dissolving into the wilds because why wouldn't they be? they've lost nothing but gained an eternity of connection forever.

Lovely writtings btw! I really enjoy your STP works<3.

(Yes! I was just thinking that we don't have a lot of Stubborn stuff in here, and I've really wanted to do a stubbroken one, even if there's already a lot of Broken ones here. Anyway, enjoy!)

"Go away."

"Why?"

"I don't wish to be near you."

Stubborn rolled his eyes and ignored the pathetic glare Broken was shooting at him, glancing around his room in boredom. Hell, does he not think he has enough drawings of the Tower?

Broken's room was just sad, in Stubborn's opinion, and the bird himself even more so.

Stubborn's attention was brought back to Broken, who was kneeling at the end of his bed, his glare never once leaving Stubborn, although Stubborn barely felt the heat of it.

He crossed his arms just as Broken said, "Leave." Stubborn barked a laugh out and sneered, "Trust me, I don't wanna be here more than I have to be. I just came to get something through your thick head."

Broken was silent, but his stony expression told him all that he needed to know-not that Stubborn cared about what a weakling like Broken thought.

Stubborn took a step forward, and although Broken flinched, he didn't move from his spot, not even when he was being drowned in Stubborn's shadow.

Stubborn's lips pulled back into a snarl as he hissed down at him, "Don't fucking ever call me a monster again."

"I didn't," Broken averted his gaze, his hands clenching in his lap. "I was just saying how I felt."

"Oh believe me, we know how you feel. You never bloody shut up about it." Broken's glare hardened, and this time he looked at a random feather on Stubborn's chest as he said, "Still, I didn't call you a monster."

"Oh yeah? Is that what you're telling yourself?"

Finally, Broken looked Stubborn right in the eye as he said, "I called you a mindless animal."

Stubborn's anger flared within him, and his wings suddenly snapped out wide in a show of dominance-not that he needed it. Broken would probably thank him if Stubborn killed him.

Broken flinched, and although he could no longer hide the fear on his face, he only pushed himself further onto his knees so that he could glare at Stubborn more easily.

Stubborn resisted the urge to smack the look off of his face, as Broken tried to keep his voice firm as he said, "I wasn't insulting you. I was just being honest."

Stubborn chuckled lowly, flexing his fingers, watching as the fear slowly grew in Broken's eyes. "You and I both know that there's a big difference between being nice and being a fucking asshole."

Broken wrapped himself in his wings. "Shame you can't tell the difference then." Stubborn's rage was thrashing within him, begging to be unleashed, but he knew how much of a mess it would be for the whole flock if he were to start physically attacking the others, so he forced himself to hold back.

"Listen," he gritted out, "I know we can't stand each other, but I know that Hero boy isn't gonna be happy when I pummel you to the ground. So how about you keep your mouth shut around me, and keep worshipping your stupid princess in silence, so that we stay out of each other's way?"

That was probably the most reasonable Stubborn has and will ever be, and he watched as Broken didn't respond right away, too busy with glaring at him and taking long, deep breaths, no doubt upset at Stubborn insulting his princess.

"You're the one that came barging into my room," Broken pointed out bitterly, looking away from him finally, his hands twisting in his lap. "I'm not the one getting in your way."

They both knew that was bullshit. Broken had been throwing more insults at him recently, and while Stubborn was happy to shoot his own venom at the other, he knew that a lot of their arguments seemed to happen completely at random.

Judging by the way Broken now looked uncomfortable, he realised that as well.

Stubborn smirked, tilting his head to the side as he taunted, "Careful, little birdie. It almost sounds like you're obsessed with me."

Broken sent him a warning glare, but Stubborn could now see the panic flashing in his eyes. Stubborn kept going, "Picking fights with me, making me angry for no reason-it's clear you want something from me."

"I want you to leave me alone," Broken pleaded desperately, and Stubborn's sadistic smile grew wider. "Are you finally getting sick of that princess of yours? Is her love finally wearing off?"

"If it were," Broken snapped at him, "I'd rather worship a measly stone than you-at least the stone seems more sensible than your barbaric behavior."

Stubborn clenched his fists, and Broken's gaze instantly flicked down to his hands, almost as if in anticipation.

Stubborn took a deep breath in, but it did little to cool his temper. Instead, he leaned in closer to Broken, right up until their foreheads were almost touching, and Stubborn could see how the other was shaking.

They held vicious glares for a few seconds, and then Stubborn asked, "What the fuck is wrong with you now? What bullshit did I say to get your feathers in such a twist? You're not usually this-riled up."

Broken was silent for what felt like forever, until he simply shrugged and said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Stubborn laughed right in his face, leaning back slightly. "Oh sure you don't. If you've always been this petty and spiteful, I would've been picking fights with you a lot sooner, but that's not what's happening. So what the fuck is wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong," Broken insisted, but his voice was sounding weaker by the minute.

"Isn't your head full of devotion to your little princess? Isn't she all that you care about?"

"She is," Broken said, an urgency now in his tone.

"I don't think she would be thrilled if she knew that you spent more time fighting with me than actually worshipping her. Hell, I can't even remember the last time you actually mentioned her."

"Shut up, Stubborn," Broken whispered, but the answer was slowly dawning on Stubborn. He glanced around at Broken's room again, taking in all the drawing of the Tower. All the sketches looked the same-messy, erratic, hastily drawn almost. There didn't seem to be a lot of care or love put into any of them.

He glanced back at Broken, who was refusing to meet his eyes now-and when the answer dawned on him, Stubborn couldn't help but grin wickedly.

"That's it, isn't it?" he said, "You are getting bored of the Tower. You just won't admit it."

Broken's head snapped up to glare at him, wild and panicked. "Don't," he gritted out, but how could Stubborn stop now?

"Her influence on you is going away, and you hate that-but not as much as you hate me."

"Shut. Up."

Stubborn chuckled in amusement at the fear in the other's eyes. "You like hating me. You like hating anything, because it's not her anymore, and your sorry self can't fucking get enough of it. That's why you're being such an asshole to me. You're looking for something to hate."

"Shut up!" Broken yelled, but Stubborn was too giddy to stop now. He grinned down at the pathetic bird before him. "Why don't you roll over, Broken?" he taunted, "Why don't you be a good little slave and do as you're told, because that's all you know how to-"

"I said shut up!" Broken screamed, and the next thing Stubborn knew, Broken had clutched the sides of his head and crashed their lips together. But it wasn't a kiss, not when Stubborn immediately felt teeth biting down on his bottom lip, and the taste of sweet blood on his tongue.

Broken pulled away instantly, gasping at what he'd just done. Stubborn meanwhile, was staring into nothing, letting his split lip spill blood down his chin.

Then, his eyes met Broken's-which were alight with excitement and disgust.