Shadows- a Danplan fanfiction

What friends are for

Stephen almost smiled at the joke, he had to admit Hosuh really had a way to cheer people up.

"That's not what you're upset about though, is it?" Hosuh questioned after a while.

Stephen shook his head, but didn't answer.

"Why can't you tell me?" The healer pushed.

Stephen sighed once more. "I might be slightly scared." Stephen muttered quietly, it was almost inaudible.

Hosuh gasped. "Wow so the brave Stephen has fears too? Who would have guessed?
No but, seriously, being scared is normal Stephen, no need to be embarrassed."

Stephen shrugged. "That's easy for you to say. I'm just not that kind of person, I don't like the idea of, you know, being afraid and stuff." The violet haired male mumbled.

"Stephen I get that, I swear. I just feel like you've changed, since we went to that village. And you wanted us to head into the wrong direction. Almost as if you knew about it.
I just don't want you to keep this kind of stuff from us. I want you to be happy." Hosuh concluded softly.

Stephen's eyes went dark. All the humour that Hosuh had brought to them before, disappearing immediately.
There it was again, that unreadable expression that Hosuh admired, as well as feared.
"I do know that place." Stephen said simply.
"And of course I didn't want us to freaking go there." He proceeded more loudly.
"Of course I tried to lead us into the wrong direction, and to look for food to save time.
You're so smart Hosuh congratulations! You totally got me!" His voice was even louder.
"But I could hardly just tell you? Am I right...?" He silently added, in a softer tone of voice.

Hosuh was baffled by the flow of replies he got, but he understood Stephen wasn't angry. He just needed to vent, and Hosuh was gonna let him do that.
"Well, why did you know that place?" Was the final, most important question he asked.

Stephen looked him dead in the eye, as if to check he could trust him.
"Most people know the place they were born in." He replied quietly, his voice almost cracking.

Hosuh nodded slowly, it made sense, after all. Now he had yet to find out why that place triggered his friend so much. Though he could easily imagine, with all the negativity against magic, that was part of the place.

Stephen looked at the ground. "I don't know how to function in that place." He muttered. "It's always been like that. It's always been so empty, even when there were people around." He mumbled sadly, and clearly trying to contain the incoming wave of feelings.
"And when you're lonely. Then you start wanting for others to be as miserable as you are." Stephen whispered.

Hosuh wasn't expecting that much emotions, from the usually nonchalant necromancer, but tried his best to be supportive.
He put a hand on Stephen's shoulder softly.
"We all feel that way." He tried to comfort him.

Stephen shook his head. "No. While some people just feel it, I actually do it. I actually made  people's lives miserable and lonely. I...I took away things they couldn't take back.
The difference between me and you, is that I kill people." With that all of the voice cracks that had been almost, became as real as the ground beneath them.

Hosuh was touched by that, though he strongly disagreed with some of the points his friend had made, he could feel and comprehend the others misery all too well.
"I've made mistakes like that." The healer stated.
"I've killed people." He continued.

Stephen looked at him wide eyed. "I don't believe you." He mumbled.

"Well, I killed my family, in a way." Hosuh continued.

Stephen laughed bitterly. "Want me to say same?" He asked ironically.

Hosuh shook his head. "You see, when my brother died. I could have saved him. I could have been brave. But I wasn't, I let him die. And I did so because I did know I was capable of saving him." Hosuh explained.

"How does that connect with me at all?" Stephen asked, slightly annoyed.

"You didn't know you could stop killing, you didn't know and you didn't try to change." Hosuh continued.

"If you're going to say that it's fine, and what I've done is justified, then I swear-" Stephen began to complain.

"Let me finish what I was saying. We both did terrible things because we didn't know better. And those things will always remain terrible things.
But we have to move past them anyways, because we aren't terrible people, just because we did terrible things.
I know that I changed, and I am sure you dis too. You've become a different person, just like me.
And you should give the new you a chance to have a better life than the old you."
Hosuh finished what he was saying, while he smiled slightly.

Stephen looked at Hosuh quietly, trying to imitate that smile of sorts, though his version looked a bit crooked.
"I really don't get you. But thanks I guess." He muttered.
He didn't truly know why he felt so much better. Or why he wasn't even really embarrassed anymore. He just felt glad for a moment, for having friends like Hosuh.
Because even as a single tear ran down his cheek, he knew Hosuh wouldn't judge him.

Hosuh smiled. "Don't even worry about it. That's what friends are for."

Author's comment:
Ughhhh, this was strangely emotional to write.
But this story really just needs some more fluff and happiness.
At least a bit, before shit really goes down.

Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, and that it helped you understand Stephen's point of view a bit better.

See you next time, girlfriends boyfriends and none binary lovers!