Heart felt themself getting pulled out of the hole they called “Apathy” by Soul. They knew it was Soul, they had memorized his and Mind’s footsteps long before… this. They had memorized a lot of things about Soul; their footsteps, their disappointed sighs that could be periodically heard in between the fights of logical and emotional, the way they hummed whenever they felt particularly happy…
Heart had missed those little quirks, in the week they were in Apathy. They missed the home cooked meals, their soft bed, their vintage tarot cards from the 90s, their mirror, their plushie, their walkman… They missed everything so, so much.
They were pulled from their nostalgic and melancholic trance was they felt one of Soul’s hands slip under their knee and the other wrap around their shoulder. They were being picked up bridal style. Weird… Soul usually only carried them in a piggyback, saying bridal carry was somehow harder.
He felt how oddly cold Soul’s hand was as it held his upper arm. It concerned them. Had Soul been taking care of themself during the week he was gone? He really hoped they were. He was sure Mind was doing just fine. He was certain the bastard was cheering the entire time.
But, back to the present. He needed to ask Soul about their hands, they were getting concerned.
“(Soul?)” They called out, their voice a little raspy from lack of use other than their cries of pain and regret. No answer, other than a hum of recognition. Right, Soul was probably nonverbal again. That made sense, this was probably the most stressful period of their life. If only Mind weren’t vain enough to steal a crown that wasn’t his… if only he had checked the gun wasn’t loaded beforehand…
“(Are you okay? Your hands are cold…)” They said. They received back a hum of confirmation. Now that they heard Soul’s voice more, they realized it sounded hoarse and damaged almost. Had they been crying too? Probably.
A small beat of silence followed, before Heart pressed his head closer to his third’s chest. “(… Well, either way, you should take care of yourself.)” They felt themself being pulled closer. It felt nice, both the pressure and the affection. “(This wasn’t your fault. Okay?)” They said. No response, not even a sound.
…
Mind felt his bottom lip tremble a little at the last part of Heart’s sentence. Those words would have been much more reassuring if they were actually directed at him and were true. This was his fault. Or at least a major part of it. And he was sure if Heart could actually see him, they’d say that exact thing.
He brought Heart closer, pressing a small kiss on their forehead. It left a small blue lipstick mark on the space where the two bangs split. He saw them nuzzle further into his chest.
He tried to keep his breathing steady as he walked back to the house. He looked down at his feet, making sure they were following Soul’s step pattern. He had already gotten this far, he was not fumbling this right as he reached the back door.
