A few hours have passed since then. A few long hours. Driving in the rain made Edge think about his decision. Edge didn't take Puff to the police station. Instead, he brought Puff to his home. Edge has never faced such a difficult downer. He had to be honest, Puff made his job more interesting. Though everything Puff did came with headaches. First he was hit in the stomach then kicked in the face. Then had to fight Puff in the mud.
Tik tok tik a clock tik away. 11:00...Edge couldn't believe it was so late already. He already showered and changed from his uniform to comfy clothing. Two hours ago he brought in puff, carrying him over his shoulder. He put Puff on the couch and cuffed his wrist to a nearby coffee table. After a quick examination, he tended to Puffs physical state.
The bruise left of Puff's cheek got darker,"Did I really hit you this hard...?", He mumbled to himself. Guilt was eating at him, however he shook his head to dismiss the thought.
'This was needed. You shouldn't feel guilty about this. Puff will learn sooner or later.', he thought. The bad feeling was pushed back, he had to focus on tending to Puff's wounds. Those horrid, bold, dark bruises.
His thumb softly touched over Puff's cheek, he'll have to add ice and bandage that in order to control the swelling. He lifted up Puff's shirt, checking the rest of his body. A few bruises but thankfully nothing severe.
He pulled away from Puff, getting an icepack and bandages. Going upstairs and into the restroom. He pulled out some bandages.
"There. This will at least protect the bruises...", Edge heard the couch creek from downstairs,'Puff must be awake now...'
Puff started to shift,"Mmng?", Puff slowly opened his eyes, looking around. Ringing was in his head as his eyes adjusted.
Before him was a nicely decorated home. The walls were white while the furniture was black. The shelves were decorated with small animal skulls, candles, and a few photos. The bookshelves were filled with cooking books, astrology, and various science themed books.
"Wow...at least he has tastes...", Puff shakes his head, there was still a faint ringing in his head.
"You're awake? I expected you to be out until morning.", Edge walked down the stairs and kneeled by Puff, looking him over.
"Well...you do have style.", Puff chuckled. Puff went to bring up his hand, however the chain clinked. He sits up, looking at his cuffed hand.
"If it wasn't obvious enough, you're at my house. You're not leaving anytime soon...", Edge reached over, pressing the cold ice pack on Puff's cheek. He grumbled to himself.
"You're house?", Puff tensed from the cold ice against his cheek.
It was soothing, the ice eased his aching bruise,"Why am I at your house? I thought you would've thrown me in a cell. Considering....I ran off and basically assaulted an officer.", Puff looked away. He couldn't look at Edge. He deserved a worst punishment after what he's done.
"Well...you see Puff, you've caught my attention.", He started. The ice was pulled away from Puff's cheek as he shifted.
"My job has been boring lately. I get called for backup, I come, I drag the troublemaker away. I shove them in a car, take them to the station. End of story.", His red eyes looked up for a moment with a smirk,"But you? It's not that easy. You got off easy with a house arrest. Then you're always fighting me about your pills. You ran away, pretty far towards the park. I'll be honest, I thought I lost you for awhile.", Edge continued to tend to Puff's wounds, icing up the bruises on his chest and spine.
Puff nodded, whimpering as each wound was cared for. His bruises sting and ache.
"However Puff...", Edge twitched and pressed harder on the bruises.
"Ow! H-Hey-", Puff quickly silenced as Edge glared at him.
"However despite you, obviously scared, you ran off into the park when I was so close to dragging you by the neck. I chased you into that playground and towards the fence. You're strong when you want to be, my nose is still aching from when you kicked me...."
Puff looked away,"S-Sorry...", He whimpered.
"Save it. I jump the fence and try to track you down, only to be lost. It starts raining hard and I find you a few alleys down. We fight and I knock you out. I drag you back to the car and I'm cold, soaked, and dirty. While driving, I get a thought. I could easily throw you into a cell but where's the fun in that? You've provided me with entertainment so far. Besides...I'm going to do my own experiment with you.", Edge finished up Puff's wounds and finished bandaging them.
"An... experiment? What do you mean by that?", Something in Puff's chest sinks. His soul pulsed. He didn't like how this sounded at all.
"Well...I'm trying a different approach. Nothing bad...just different. I'm going to do a little experiment with you. If it succeeds, well, then your life will go back to normal. If not, then I have to take you to jail and let the higher officers deal with you."
Puff felt better...until he mentioned the higher officers,'Oh no. Please no.", A shiver was sent down his spine.
"I-I would rather not meet the higher ranking officers. I wouldn't want to mess with them."
"Damn right! Even I have to give them all my respect when they step foot into my office. Even if they are a little...heavy handed. You think I'm bad? You should see one of the officers from the parade district. He's the worst cop in the whole district, a much different attitude then the rest of the officers. Whatever he wants, he gets. Him and two others."
"Well...let's hope it doesn't come to that...", Puff bites his lip. He'll have to stop his attitude and plans of running off again if he wants to never see those officers.
Edge gets up, going towards the kitchen,"I'll be making honey tea. Something to soothe yourself. We shouldn't be staying up too late, we're getting up early tomorrow.", A few clicks came from his oven as he turned it on. He gets his kettle and tea, now waiting for it to boil.
While Edge was busy, Puff looked over the photos. Many of them seemed like photos of him and his brother. A different scene was in each photo.
In one photo, Edge was young, perhaps a teen with, assuming, his brother. It looked like christmas morning and the two seemed happy. Edge was holding up a new toy while the other held books. Many astrology books.
In another photo, it was a picture of, assuming, his brother. They looked like they were in a bar. The skeleton had a flashy golden tooth and a collar around his neck. He looked absolutely wasted as he gave a smile to the camera. He was surrounded by shot glasses, some even knocked over.
In the last photo, it looked very old and worn out. The colors turned into shades of brown. Papyrus and the other skeleton were clearly young. Maybe preteens. Behind them was a tall figure, placing a hand on each child. Perhaps the father. He had sharp teeth, and cracks around his face. On his left eye, a crack extended up his skull. While on the right eye, a crack moved down towards the corner of his mouth. He looked intimidating. The smile in the photo...it didn't seem like a 'family friendly' smile. It was almost.... sinister. It made Puff uncomfortable.
"Hey Edge...if you don't mind me asking, who are these people in this photo? The one with the tall skeleton and...I guess your brother?", He asked. He could hear Edge stop moving in the kitchen. Fuck. Did he hit a sensitive topic?? Edge stepped out, looking at the photo. He huffed and looked away, glaring at the air.
"That's my family. My brother and my deadbeat of a father. He was absolutely useless.", His clamped his hands into a fist. Puff nodded, then thought of an idea. Maybe he can use this time to try to get personal with Edge. After all the stunts Puff pulled, he needed something to talk about. Something to pull a sympathy card.
'That's right...when I first met Edge he sounded very sorry when I talked about my father in the alley.', he bites his lip. He'll have to be very careful what he brings up.
"A deadbeat huh? Well...I feel sorry for you. My father was never around. I think I brought this up with you. He was so invested in his work my brother basically raised me. It was just me and him at the time. If he did come back from work it was very late at night."
Edge's eyes flashed at Puff for a moment before looking away,"Is that so?.....My dad was never there for me either. His priorities were alcohol and cigarettes. I can't stand either now it just reminds-", he stopped then waved his hand,"Nevermind!! Forget I said anything."
Puff fidgets with his hands, he was on to something. He had to dig a little deeper.
"My father's priorities... mostly work. When he was stressed he did drink a little alcohol. The most I remember is that he really liked whiskey... Though I'm lucky I have a few other memories. When he was home, he played with us and took us out to eat."
"You're lucky...you had a father who at least tried to be in your life. Taking you out and trying to bond...mine just treated us like mistakes. I never had a mother, maybe things would be different if I did have one. My father treated me and my brother like little chore boys. We fetched his alcohol and cigarettes. You'd think we were bartenders by how many recipes we knew. He liked his alcohol a certain way. Fucking beer based alcohol with lime or tomato juice. Tequila with a lime and ice. I can remember those stupid drinks boldly. He's the reason I can't stand bars and smoking.", Edge twitched, biting at his nails. He seemed deep into thought.
"Your father was awful and you deserved better. It's awful that you went through this. I can't imagine having a father figure that doesn't care about me. But... whatever happened to him?"
"My father? I can gladly say he died!", The mood in the room shifted. From depression to...a creepily happy mood.
"He's dead and I couldn't ask for a better wish! He's finally gone! I fucking stomped on his dust once he was gone! He deserves the disrespect after he abandoned me and my brother. We deserved much better but NO! We had to suffer from his fucking abuse and punishments and drunk behavior! Ever since he was gone I felt happier.", He twitched,"We were finally taken into a good home and raised like we fucking should. We just-", Edge suddenly stopped and blink. He didn't realise how much he was spilling out. He was venting so much he forgot Puff was even in the room.
"....You didn't hear anything from me. Nothing! We're stopping this conversation now.", Edge looked a little better. He looked like he finally got something off his shoulders that he carried for a long time.
Psssssst! The kettle hissed, steam pouring out. Edge goes back into the kitchen quickly, getting two cups and preparing the tea.
Puff was left in shock. He knew Edge must've had trauma but he didn't expect Edge to suddenly pour out to him. Though, Puff did dig a little deeper to get a connection with Edge. He found out a few... interesting things about Edge.
A moment later Edge came out with tea,"Here, it has a little sugar and honey. Expect it to be sweet.", he said. He sits by Puff and sets the two cups
"Yeah uh..thanks...", Puff shifted, he had to sit in an awkward position since his other hand was cuffed. There was an awkward moment of silence. Edge avoided looking at Puff, as did Puff.
"You...must be wondering about my brother? The other skeleton in the photos.", Edge asked.
"Your brother. Actually yes...he looks nice enough."
"Nice? Ugh...if you can call 'used me and ran off' nice then yeah. He was ok for a while then just ran off once he got money. To the Parade District. That place is hard to get into, the fucker could've brought me along with him.", He muttered.
"Used you? Your brother was awful to you too?"
"Well, no. Most our lives, he was actually...eh decent person. He had an attitude problem and loved cussing every other sentence. Very snappy and huffed at every little thing.", He waved his hand,"But despite that, he did help me out during our childhood. He had to steal some food when my dad never bought any but...I'll always be grateful. However, I will still be pissed that he took money and ran.", He stirred his tea, looking into the spinning liquid.
"I had a brother too. He was sweet as pie but lazy. Always left his socks everywhere. About a year or two ago he left this place. He always sends me letters and occasionally calls but never visits. It's hard to remember what he looks like now. I don't think I have photos of us except one on my Fridge. However it's when we were younger..."
"He ran too? Hmph. Selfish is what I think that is. My brother worked late nights at his old job. I guess it wasn't good enough for it. He dipped into my money and got a house in the Parade District. Two years ago. Fell was always sneaky but I didn't think he'd turn on me like that. Not after what we went through."
Puff perked up at the name. 'fell'... Before Classic left he often talked about him. In a romantic way. After work he'd always come home, gushing about this skeleton.
'He's beyond perfect for me, paps.'
'He's so wonderful and sweet to me. He makes me have butterflies.'
'I'm so in love with Fell~! Eventually I'll move in with him.', Classic would gush every night.
Edge noticed Puff thinking about something,"What's on your mind?", He brings the cup to his mouth, sipping.
"Well....you see, a few months before my brother disappeared, after the holidays actually, he would come home and gush about someone named Fell."
"Is that so...? Better be a coincidence...", He muttered,"Tell me more about him."
"He'd always tell me how sweet and loving Fell was. I...I think I even saw him a few times. Classic brought him over to introduce Fell. Golden tooth? A red collar and a few small cracks on his skull?", Puff looked over the pictures. Now that he thinks about it....the brother in the photos looked like who Classic brought over.
Once Puff described Edge's brother he choked,"What?! That sounds exactly like him!", He set the cup down quickly and grabbed Puff's shoulder's,"What was your brother doing with mine?!", He growled.
Puff flinched, spilling some of the drink onto himself,"Ow, hot!! Oww! All I know is that my brother was in love with him. He always said that he wanted to live with him and other gushy stuff. I swear I don't know where he went, he just left one day! Maybe he's...with Fell?"
Edge pulled away,"Oh..oh he ran away with a little 'lover' isn't this wonderful?!", He twitched,"He snatched the cup from the coffee table and from Puff's hands. He goes into the kitchen, slamming down the cups on the counter. One shattered, though Edge didn't seem to care.
"Fell ran off to Parade just so his lover can be a little leech and take the easy ride out! I won't stand for this!", He comes back into the living room, uncuffing Puff and snatching him by the wrist,"Change of plans. We're going on a little trip! To Parade and visit my brother. He better be prepared for a rude awakening!", Edge didn't bother waiting for Puff to stand. He started to drag the other off.
"Ow ow! Hey, let me get up first, please!", Puff followed as Edge tightened his grip on Puff.
"He left me! I can't believe this! He left me for some rat! I bet he expects everything to be handed to him!"
"Hey! That's enough! My brother may be lazy but he would never let things be handed to him! He works hard when he wants to and would never just leech off of anyone. He probably provides to the household just as much as Fell does!"
"I'll be the judge of that. Now get inside the car! Front seat.", Puff was shoved in. Edge quickly goes to the other side, getting in and speeding off.
The car drives down the crooked streets. The old buildings slowly turned more nice as they drove through town. The buildings were tall, nicely painted a clean white and bright decorations around the streets. Concrete road turned to bricks.
Puff looked out of the window and gasped,"Wow...it's so nice here."
"Yeah...the buildings here are much more updated. Large buildings, decorations everywhere, everything looks nice and fancy. There's a reason why people love this place, this is one of the reasons."
The car turns down into a neighborhood. Each house seemed to have its own style. White, black, grey and yellow houses, flowers of every type in each yard, some houses have two floors.
"Do you know which house is Fells...? Is he even awake this late?"
"When I found out where he lived...I went to visit him. However I could never bring myself to knock on the door so I left. If he isn't awake, he's about to be.", The car pulled into the driveway. The house had two floors, grey, and many windows.
"Well...this is a nice house... I wouldn't mind living here."
The two stepped out, Edge quickly walked towards the door, immediately pounding on it. Each time his fist hit the door it got louder. A few lights turned on and shadows moved by the window.
"Edge, maybe you should calm down. We wouldn't want a fight-"
"Shut up! Shut. Up! You're just here. You have no say so in any of this!", Edge growled.
The door unlocked, quickly opening. A shorter skeleton opened it, angry. A red eye glowed brightly as sharp teeth bared.
"What the hell do ya' want-", he paused, seeing Edge. He hasn't seen him in years.
"Edge...? I haven't seen-"
"Seen me in years I know! I came to have a chat.", Edge pushed his way into Fell's home.
"Hold it! I didn't say ya could enter! Ya got a warrant?"
" 'ya got a warrant'", Edge repeated sarcastically,"I don't need a warrant, you're my brother! My brother that RAN OUT ON ME!!"
"Did you come here for an argument?! And here I thought ya were gonna come here with open arms. At least hug me or something before snappin' ya mouth."
"Hell no! You abandoned me! Like our dad!"
"Don't being up that prick-"
"You took MY money and now have a little leech under your roof! Where is he?! This house is far too big for just you!"
"I don't know what ya talkin' 'bout! I have nobody else here. Just get out of here...and who's this guy?!", He pointed at Puff.
Puff felt uneasy, seeing the two argue and bicker,"I-I'm Puff... I was dragged here."
"Puff is a little downer that didn't take his pills. It's making me pissy now and- wait a minute. YOUR OFF THEM TOO! You never learn!! I told you to stay on them! Just because you're in Parade doesn't mean you're free from the law!"
Fell's eyes were normal, not wide like most people. He sighed, waving his hand away at Edge. A glare came from him.
"Yeah, yeah, pills and downers. So is Puff your prisoner or boyfriend? Maybe if you got one you'd be less pissy."
"Are you even listening to me?! Stop jerking the conversation sideways! Where is that little leech that you took with you?!"
"Well you're not denying he's your boyfriend? How'd ya meet?"
"He's NOT!! I have high standards!"
Puff watched the two bicker and banter, his eyes going back and forth between the two like a ping pong match. Upstairs, footsteps come down the hall. Out comes a sleepy skeleton, wrapped in blankets.
"What's the deal? Why is everyone up so late?"
The three turn to the skeleton upstairs. Classic yawned, barley keeping his eyes open.
"HIM?! Really Fell?! He looks horrible and you need to raise your standards."
"Don't talk shit to my fiancé like that! At least I have one. You're wrapped up and work and just as sad as I left you! Cut the shit, what did you come here for?!"
"I came here because I want to just punch you right now!!"