#tabpix

“Well, I am a demon.”

Pixel wasn’t sure when it had happened, but at some point, that phrase had gone from being an excuse to being something of an inside joke between friends.

He wasn’t sure when they had gone from being rivals to being friends either. But here they were, lying on a hill in the Canvas Plains, their bodies outstretched in opposite directions and their heads next to each other. His companion was Tablet, the former prince of the demons. Overhead, cotton ball clouds drifted through the sky, each one having a unique shape that the two boys had spent all afternoon identifying. In a different world and a different time, it would have been strange – taboo even – for a human and a demon to be friends. But this is how the world was now, how it had been for… How long?

Three years, thought Pixel. It had been three years since Pixel had accidentally released the ruler of the demons, Medium, from the seal that had imprisoned him for centuries. Throughout Pixel’s journey to undo his mistake (or get out of undoing his mistake, as it were), Tablet was there, being a general nuisance and a total creep.

When exactly did I start being friends with this weirdo?

It had to have been after Pixel defeated Medium, since that’s when everything started to change. Demons started to integrate into human society not long after Pixel’s victory, an idea that was not well received by every human. Eventually humans learned to see demons less as a threat and more as inhabitants of the town. The only demon who hadn’t learned to cope with the change was, not surprisingly, Medium. His continuous efforts to reestablish the demon kingdom lessened over time as Pixel time and again foiled the Devil’s plans.

Tablet’s face suddenly filled Pixel’s vision. “Are you even paying attention to me?” Tablet asked. “That is so rude, I thought we were friends.”

Pixel couldn’t help but snicker a bit. “Sorry. Guess I had my head up in the clouds.”

Tablet laid on his stomach and propped his head up with his hands. “I did not think that last cloud looked like you.”

Pixel laughed even more, which earned him a bit of a stern look from Tablet. “No, I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant… I was thinking about something.”

“Oh, I see. What were you thinking about?” Tablet asked.

Pixel sat up and spun around to face his friend. “I was thinking of when we became friends.” Pixel gathered up a handful of grass and started letting the blades go one by one.

“Hmm, as I seem to recall, we became friends shortly before my sister killed me,” Tablet said.

Pixel winced a bit. “Okay, first of all, your sister didn’t really kill you.”

“A mere deception on my part,” Tablet said with a tiny shrug. “We demons accept deception as the way things are.”

Pixel clenched his fist, crushing the grass that remained in his hand. Even though Tablet hadn’t truly been killed by Palette, the memory stung Pixel deep down. It wasn’t even the deception that bothered him; he could forgive that. Watching Tablet fade away was hard, though. Harder than it should have been. Now that they were closer, it only hurt more to think about it, and that bothered Pixel in ways that he would never admit.

“And second of all,” Pixel said, “that was just you demanding to be my friend.” Before Tablet could protest, Pixel added, “What I’m talking about is… When did things to get to be like this?”

“Does it really matter?” Tablet asked. He smiled warmly at Pixel, his hair swaying in the warm breeze.

Pixel’s stomach was instantly filled with the sensation of butterflies. “Eh, I guess not,” he said. But it did matter because what he was feeling now was… Disgusting. This was the crux of Pixel’s problem: he wasn’t sure when, but at some point, somehow, someway, he had gone from feeling friendship for Tablet to feeling…

Pixel abruptly stood up and said, “Come on, let’s go back to the castle. If we don’t, Pastel will probably have an even bigger lecture in store for me than her usual.”

Tablet nodded and stood up as well. “Very well,” Tablet said, smoothing out the long scarf that he wore. “We would not want to deprive Pastel of her favorite activity, would we?”

 And, of course, Pastel had a lecture ready for Pixel as he strode into his room.

“Pixel, you’re the prince of the kingdom! You can’t keep skipping school like this!” Pastel said.

Even though she balanced out her fun moments with plenty of moments where she seemed determined to be as annoying as possible, Pastel was Pixel’s best friend. It was Pastel that introduced Pixel to the world of graffiti. It was Pastel who cheered (and sometimes berated) Pixel toward victory during his journey to free the kingdom from the clutches of Medium. And it was Pastel who Pixel always turned to when he needed counsel. She was three years his elder (give or take a millennium, Pixel guessed) and a skilled graffitician. Her skill with a graffiti wand was matched only by her skill at nagging.

Pixel waved his hand as he walked past Pastel. “Ah, come on Pastel, it’s not that big of a deal!” Muttering under his breath, Pixel added, “Not like I care about what that teacher has to say anyway.”

“It is a big deal though. What are you going to do when it’s time to ascend to the throne and you don’t know the first thing about making a law? Or the history of your kingdom?”

“Pastel, that’s so far away, it won’t matter for a while.”

Pastel started to say something more, but Pixel tuned it out and flopped unceremoniously onto his bed. These lectures were more of a routine for the two friends than anything else. Though at one time they had been conducted with earnest concern, like everything else, somewhere along the way it had changed. Pastel knew that Pixel would stop listening at some point and Pixel knew that Pastel would finish what she wanted to say eventually and give up, which she would punctuate with a sigh.

Sure enough, after her tirade was over, Pastel exhaled sharply. “Where were you anyway?”

“Hanging out with Tablet.”

“Again?” Pastel was silent for a moment. “It seems like you two spend a lot of time together these days.”

“He’s fun to hang out with.”

“I didn’t think you liked him that much.”

Pixel felt his stomach twist into knots. Disgusting, Pixel thought, the word echoing in his mind, each reverberation becoming louder. “What’s that supposed to mean?” The words tumbled out of his mouth with more venom than he had expected them to have, catching both Pixel and Pastel off-guard.

Pastel blinked a bit. “N-nothing, nothing at all. I just thought… you thought he was weird.”

“He is weird. He is such a weirdo, but he’s also my friend.” Pixel thought for a moment of opening up, telling Pastel that he wanted Tablet to be so much more, but his stomach twisted tighter and he abandoned that idea. “Besides, hanging out with him is more fun that whatever boring lesson I’ve got to sit through.”

Pastel sighed. “Your job as the prince of this realm is important. People are going to look to you for leadership and protection. I’ll admit you have the protection thing down pretty well, but…”

“Pastel, you make it sound like it’s the hardest thing in the world. It can’t be that bad! All my parents do is sit there all day, and it’s not like they even care about where I am or what I’m doing.”

Pixel had a point there. His parents were lenient — perhaps too lenient — with their son. They were calm people in general, but when it came to Pixel their patience seemed to be limitless. Their expectations of him couldn’t have seemed more nonexistent. Maybe they were partly to blame for Pixel’s laziness, but at the same time Pastel at least hoped that Pixel would show some initiative on his own. Even during Medium’s take over three years ago, when circumstances were dire, Pixel had proven to be a difficult person to motivate. At the end of the day, Pixel was a boy who did things by his own schedule, and if your item wasn’t on his agenda for the day, he wasn’t going to get to it.

While Pastel sat quietly and wondered how to get the crown prince to have more interest in actually being the prince, Pixel had turned his attention elsewhere. He idly waved his graffiti wand through the air, drawing out random patterns and shapes. As soon as they would materialize, he would dematerialize them just as quickly, only to start over on something new.

Pastel huffed when she saw this. “Pixel, the graffiti wand is an important tool! It’s not for doodling!” This comment earned no reaction from Pixel. “Maybe you and I should start training more.”

Pixel sat up, and the shape he had been drawing suddenly materialized and dropped beside him onto the bed. “Training?! What for?”

“Well, if you’re going to be a graffitician, you might as well hone your skills.”

Pixel scratched his head. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Pastel, but my skills have been more than enough to keep Medium in check.”

“But, but… there’s so much more to being a graffitician! It’s not just drawing things and using them to fight, you know!”

Pixel shrugged. “But it’s all I’ve ever needed. Why bother with learning something new when I’m not going to need to use it?”

Pastel shook her head; her patience had reached its limit. “Forget about it. I’m not going to try to keep wasting my time like this.” She turned on her heel and left the room, slamming the door shut behind her.

Stupid Pixel, she thought. She normally didn’t react like this to Pixel’s indifference, but the fact that he was getting so close to Tablet had set her on edge. She knew she couldn’t tell him about everything that had happened in the past, but she also felt like she was betraying him by leaving him in the dark. As uncomfortable as the war had been, she knew that one day all the details would spill out, and her friend would learn the truth about everything that had happened. How exactly would he react when he learned about where she had failed, when he learned about what Tablet had done? Her thoughts were interrupted when a familiar voice called to her.

“Hello, Pastel.”

Speak of the devil, Pastel thought. Or at least speak of his son.

His arms were folded and he was leaning against the wall. “Are you finished lecturing the prince?”

“No, I- wait, what do you mean lecturing? Ugh, is that what he calls it?”

Tablet laughed. “He calls it many things. If you are done with him though, I think I may go see him myself.”

“Look, Tablet. Just… promise you’ll be careful with him.”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

Pastel rubbed her arm a bit. “I don’t want to see him getting hurt. Not like… you know…”

Tablet’s eyes narrowed. “Like who, Pastel?”

Her lips moved as she tried to say a name, but the sound was lodged in her throat. Despite this, Tablet knew exactly what she had said.

“This is nothing like that! Why do you insist on keeping the past alive when it’s over with?”

“Over with? Pixel has been dealing with the aftermath of what your father did for three years now! Maybe you two are friends now, but how long is that going to last? How long before you betray him to help the demons?”

Tablet’s voice was usually level no matter what was going on, but now he found himself getting louder. “Do not accuse me of betrayal! I was doing what I needed to do. Everyone knew whose side I was on!”

Tears had started to drop down Pastel’s face. She hated remembering the past and she hated discussing it even more. Their heated debate had attracted the attention of several guards who looked ready to pounce on Tablet, but Pastel had no intention of letting things get that far. “He thought he knew whose side you were on, but I guess he was wrong,” she said in a low voice. “Don’t ever do that to Pixel. If you do, I will make sure that you are completely erased from this world.” She took off running down the hall, not even looking to see Tablet’s reaction.

Tablet grumbled and, after shooting a glare at the watching guards, made his way for the castle exit.

 Night had fallen on the kingdom and almost everyone was getting ready for sleep. Deep in the tunnels beneath the village, however, Medium paced about restlessly. In one of his hands he clutched an old book, its cover too faded to be read. The paper was tattered and yellow, and the paint used for the illustrations was chipping. He thumbed through the pages, sometimes turning them too hard and tearing them even more.

“The answer has to be here!” he said.

The book was one of the oldest books in the castle library and detailed the events of the original Graffiti War. He had pilfered the book, which earned the wrath of several guards, but the information in this book was well worth the price. Or so he had hoped. Unsatisfied with the contents of the page he was currently on, he roared out in frustration and slammed the book against the tunnel wall. A few pages scattered, and what remained bound to the spine was laying open on the dirt.

“Every time I try something, I’m always stopped by that boy. Look at me, the great Devil, reduced to this! And it seems to me like my servants don’t even care, like they’re actually happy to live among the humans! Even my dear, sweet Palette is eating out of their hands…”

And then there was his son. Tablet’s betrayal still aroused an anger in him that was almost matched by his hatred for Pixel. Part of him couldn’t help but be proud, in a way. After all, it was in the nature of demons to deceive, and Tablet’s deception had proven to be a fine piece of work, even going so far as to fool the boy. He learned after the fact that the two had fought, and that Pixel had soundly defeated Tablet. Instead of the whole affair ending with bitterness over the deceit though, they shared a moment laughing together, and that’s what Medium hated the most. His own son, the would-be heir to the demon realm, befriending a human, the very human who was responsible for preventing the rise of the demons.

Ah, but you shouldn’t be surprised, Medium thought. After all, it’s just like… Well, no. The first time, things were different.

Having calmed down a bit, Medium went over to the book and stooped down to pick it up. He lifted it up to see what page it had landed on, and immediately the meticulously painted images on it caught his eye. They depicted events that were very familiar to him. In fact, he knew this scene by heart; he had, after all, seen it with his own eyes. It was when humans pleaded with the gods for a way to defeat Medium and his demons as they razed the lands. After countless bloody battles that often ended with humans as the clear losers, humanity turned to the gods as a last resort. The gods answered their plea by bestowing several humans with the power of graffiti.

Suddenly, an idea formed in Medium’s mind. “Yes. Yes! That’s it! It’s perfect!” Medium bellowed out in laughter. “Why didn’t I think of that before?”

It seemed so obvious. A way to conquer humanity once and for all, without the interference of that detestable boy or any other so-called graffiticians. All he needed would be one thing.

“Yes, yes, this will work. As long as I can get there fast enough, even the boy won’t be able to stop me.” Medium tore the page out of the book and slinked off into the darkness, eager to set his plan into motion.

 Pixel yawned as he pulled back the sheets to his bed.

A familiar voice called from his room’s balcony. “Going to bed so soon?”

Pixel jumped and spun around to meet the source of the voice. “Tablet! Ugh, how many times have I told you about coming up here like that?”

“If I surprised you, I am sorry. That was not my intention.” Tablet smiled.

Pixel’s stomach was overtaken by the sensation of butterflies again. “Yeah, well, stop doing that. What are you doing up here anyway?”

“I wanted to know if we’d be hanging out tomorrow.”

Pixel raised an eyebrow. “You came all the way up here, at this time, just to ask me that?” He crossed the room to where Tablet was standing.

Tablet chuckled a little. “Well, maybe I wanted to see you again.”

Pixel swallowed hard and looked into Tablet’s eyes. He wanted so badly to move closer to Tablet, to throw his arms around him. The space between them simultaneously felt too large and too small and Pixel felt torn between his desires to either close the distance or increase it. If he was too forward, he’d lose Tablet, and if he was too cold, he’d also lose Tablet. His mind screamed at him that it was wrong to be attracted to Tablet, but his heart screamed back just at hard that he wanted to be close to Tablet.

“Aren’t you going to tell me I’m weird?” Tablet asked, finally breaking the silence between them.

Pixel blinked a bit and took a step back. “Sorry. Uh, yeah, we’ll hang out tomorrow. Want to meet at the usual place?”

Tablet nodded. “But of course. I hope you sleep well, Pixel.”

Pixel took a few steps back into his room and took a hold of the balcony door. Tablet’s words warmed Pixel deep inside, though he made every effort to hide that. “Yeah, thanks.” He started to shut the door, but stopped himself. “Oh, and Tablet?”

“Yes, Pixel?”

“Stop being so weird.”

Tablet beamed and said, “Never.” With that, he back flipped off the balcony and down to a rooftop below, where he’d surely continue his overly acrobatic route out of town.

Pixel shut the door, trying his hardest to ignore the fluttering in his chest and the protests in his mind. It had been months since he had started feeling like this and to his dismay nothing had changed. If anything, the feelings had intensified.

Why couldn’t I have been attracted to Pastel instead, Pixel wondered as he climbed into bed and pulled the covers up around him.

Then again, what’s so wrong with liking Tablet? Pixel laughed a bit at the obvious answer.

Pixel: >.> ...Anyway...* Flops back down on the bed* Speaking of you "Almost killing me", we're gonna have to take it a bit easier with the sparing matches, Mom and Dad are getting suspicious about me coming home every night with bruises while limping when Palette or someone else hasn't caused a commotion.

Tablet: *getting the completely wrong idea* DD| What kind of sick parents do YOU have?

Pixel: WHAT!? They're worried SOMEONE'S trying to ASSASSINATE me! What the HECK were YOU thinking!? O_O'

Tablet: OH they're paranoid. Well, I take back what I said.

----------------------------- Pixel: *Nods* As do I. Hmm, well I know that I've heard Father and the Minister talking about extending the castle into two sides, but for now it seems like their preferring you guys to stay in your colosseums during dark hours, but that's not exactly the safest place for you if I'm not mistaken, thing are still a bit dicey?

Tablet: Well, I'm sure Father is angry with me... and I cannot exactly lock the door.

Pixel: Yeah, seeing as he personally vowed revenge and all...Say, do you toss or turn much when you sleep?

Tablet: No... actually, when I had a sitter, she would always wake me up becuase she thought I had died. It was kind of annoying.

Pixel: *tries not to laugh at the mental image* Well, have you noticed that huge stain-glass window in my room? I'm pretty sure that if you apply enough pressure to it, you can make it swing open, you could use the windowsill after the guards leave the room and use that one blind spot and fly up there *Shrug*

Tablet: *smiles* ... Thank you, Pixel.

-----------------------

Pixel: Yeah, but I guess that the fact that this is the highest tower and it had METAL railing...so yeah, having a LIGHTNING ROD attached to the room wasn't the best idea, so I can see WHY they got rid of...it... * Eyes drift off to the side* *Quickly runs to the side of the room and shoves some plush toys into the closest and shuts it, then just stands there as if nothing happened.*

Tablet: *sits up* *smirks* Pixel, is there something you wanted to tell me?

Pixel: What? No! No! Nothing at all! * Blocking the closet door*

Tablet: *laughs* Let me see. *stands up*

Pixel: * Eyes widen slightly* Whaaat?! There's nothing to see!

Tablet: *walks over to him* Move, please. *smiles*

Pixel: I told you there's noth-! * waves arms in the air, making the door suddenly spring open as a small pile of stuffed animals avalanche out* ......Say anything to anyone and you die...

Tablet: *smiling* *holds one up* Your secret is safe with me, Pixel.

Pixel: Eh-heh, heh... * Grabs and armful and darts around putting them back in their proper places*

Tablet: ((Maybe I could take one later. Would he care?)) I didn't think you'd be the organized type, Pixel.

Pixel: Well, their just in places I rigged so I can hide them before Pastel or anyone else can see them without them getting damaged or anything, and incase there's ever a thunder sto-Ahhh, I mean-...

Tablet: *chuckles in his throat* I think it's sort of adorable. *smiles*(

------------ Tablet: I am a bit hungry...

Pixel: Right...I, uh, assume you eat the same things as us? Cuz if you eats souls or raw dark energy or something like that I'm not sure how I can help you...

Tablet: *laughs a little* I can eat human foods. Souls are like... vitamins.

Pixel: Oh, Okaaaaay...That's, um, a little disturbing to know, but OK, I'll see what's in the ice room * Takes out the Cheegonfly from the card holder and starts to take a brief look through his deck of cards and pulls out a seemingly blank card and places it into the holder* *Turns invisible* Anything particular in mind?

Tablet: It doesn't matter.

Pixel: Kay. * Sounds of fading foot steps* * A few minutes later* Pixel: * Suddenly reappears holding a few different things* Don't be surprised of one of the maids starts running around talking gibberish to try and ward off "lost evil ghosts" * Puts the stuff down on the table* I forgot how to turn stuff I'm holding invisible for a second.

----------- Tablet: *one arm brushes his cheek, and the other wraps around him* *footsteps heard outside* Tablet: *small gasp* Mother: *still outside* Perhaps he has made it home by now... I do wish he would tell me where he was going... Tablet: *whispers* I'll be outside *kisses his cheek* *teleports away, forgetting his shirt*

Pixel: *Notices he forgot his shirt* Cruuud! * Quickly changes into the winged wolf Graffiti and grabs both his and Tablet's shirts as he rushes towards the bed** having to do a single paw-stand on the end border of the bed in order to get the shirts in a place behind the end wall where no one can see them** Sees the door knob turn a knows he doesn't have time to move into a different pose without it having look suspicious**forces himself to hold his balance as if he had been doing this for hours*

Mother: *opens the door* Pixel? I thought I heard you in here... What are you doing? Tablet: *just outside the cracked window to listen* *bird form so no one knows he's shirtless*

Pixel: I was told I need to be more agile, so I thought I'd start with the balance part *Half tempted to sprout his wings to take the weight off his one paw*

Mother: I understand... but it's a little weird seeing my son as an animal... a fake one at that. I don't want Canvas Kingdom thinking that you have become a demon while the territories are still being negotiated. Why don't you change to my normal human Pixel and come downstairs with me? It's tea time. Tablet: *mumbles* and just what is so wrong with us demons?

Pixel: * Ears fall back slightly**Idea* Why, of course mother, but, my clothes got rather dirty during some of my lessons this morning, so how about you go ahead of me and I'll go change? I need to wash up anyway, right?

Mother: Oh my, you really are growing up. *smiles* Very well. I will be downstairs. *shuts the door* Tablet: *flies up to the window slowly to make sure she's gone* *teleports inside* *changes to normal* That was ... a little too close. *looks for his shirt*

Pixel: * Fishes it out from behind his bed and throws it at him* Yeeeah, I would say so too..*Finally caves in and falls off of the bed end* Ow... *Gets back up, turns normal and goes into the closet and pulls out another shirt and such*

---------------- Tablet: *starts flying* *looking behind every two seconds to make sure Pixel is still near him*

Pixel: *notices* *raises eyebrow* Tablet: *looks back and doesn't see him* Pixel: * ABOVE him**tap tap* Hel-loo?

Tablet: *swoops down a bit from shock* *looks back up at him* I was just trying to make sure I wouldn't leave you behind so you wouldn't yell at me again. ^ ^

Pixel: Psh, leave ME behind? It'd take A LOT more then that to get rid of me *Sticks tongue out*

Tablet: Oh really? *laughs a little* *swoops over him* We shall see about that* *Starts flying a little faster*

Pixel: Psh! No comp-a-tis-ion! *Changes into the Cheegonfly* *SONIC BOOM!*

Tablet: That's better *starts flying much faster than earlier*

*SONIC BOOM!*

Pixel: * Starts flying back and forth and flies once in a circle around Tablet before zipping forward again*

Tablet: You no longer have the right to complain about me leaving you behind! XD *tries to catch up with him*

*SONIC BOOM* Pixel: Sure I- *SONIC BOOM* Pixel: Can! You- *SONIC BOOM* Pixel: Can freaking- * SONIC BOOM* Pixel: Teleport!

Tablet: Well, I just figured that was cheating. *teleports from building to building, cause teleporting straight home would be boring. 8D*

Pixel: YESITISYOUCHEATER! >.< * Stops fooling around and starts going at near top speed*

Tablet: *teleports back to Pixel's room* Why should I play fair? *crosses his arms, waiting* I am a demon.

Pixel: * Quickly changes into the winged wolf Graffiti**SHOOTS though the open window and nearly crashes into the wall* * Mutters something as he rubs his wrists*

Tablet: *laughs a little* It looks like I win, Pixel. *smiles at him*

Pixel: Psh, only cuz you cheated. In speed, I still have no comp-a-tis-ion! *Sticks tongue out*

Tablet: Well, you kept using Sonic Boom. I hardly see how that's fair. *walks up to him, still smiling* *gives him a red soul for his wrists*

Pixel: Cuz I was actually FLYING and not just poofing *Takes it and heals the bent bones*

Tablet: *kisses his nose* *poofs to his side and kisses his cheek* *poofs to his other side to kiss the other cheek* *poofs in front of him again and kisses his lips* But is it really all that bad? *smiles*

Pixel: * Changes normal* I dunno, never kissed a wolf before myself, you tell me.

Tablet: Not as satisfying as this *kisses his lips* *smiles*

Pixel: Pft, oh you. *Kisses back*