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He gripped the handle of Gambit with both hands, the once shiny surface now completely covered with blood. Wemmbu grits his teeth, the force of the attack sending him high into the air, bright green particles of his opponent’s totem popping momentarily blinding him.
There’s a flash of orange and red on his left, as yet another death message appears on his communicator. Slowly lowering himself onto the ground he rolls his shoulders, letting the core of the mace rest on the grass.
Flame looks around, (well, at least turns his head around) and clinks his sword against Wemmbu’s weapon, giving him a small nod before launching himself in the air, elytra fluttering as he flies towards the statue once again.
“Chungus idiot” Wemmbu mutters before spreading his wings, windcharging himself up and after the other.
“Okay so we are aurafarming bro” Flame snickers, flicking the blood off his blade, face smug underneath the setting sun.
“Theres another guy before you can get cocky, d’alright?” The taller clicks his tongue, as one of the last guys standing, a man named Vent, pulls himself up onto the roof.
The fight that follows is quick, but balanced, Vent holding long against the both before stumbling back. Which lets Flame use that opportunity and deliver a final blow to his side, sword slicing quickly through skin and flesh.
Vent stumbles back, slamming into the wall and sliding down, eyes fluttering before he slumps against it, the final message appearing in chat.
/__ventthatguy was slain by Flamefrags using [Fragger]]/
Wemmbu groans, letting himself plop down onto the ground, mace resting beside his leg. Flame walks over to him, but instead of another playful insult, he also drops down, leaning his back against the prismarine wall.
“That was-”
“Yeah”
Wemmbu giggles, delivering an elbow into the shorter man's rib, receiving a weak slap over his face.
Their armour clinks together as they idly wrestle, smearing the blood of their enemies even more over each other.
The duo ends up on the ground, thighs touching as they pant, chests heaving up and down.
“So, this is where we part,” Wemmbu states, pulling himself into a seated position with a groan.
“i guess it is, old man” Flame smirks, watching the latter scramble up onto his legs.
The purple haired man kicks Flame in the ribs, earning a pained groan and a middle finger.
“All things aside this was- I mean- um- kinda fun, I mean, fighting beside you was- enjoyable…” Wemmbu says, running a hand through his long hair, which is now matted and covered in blood and grime.
Flame perks up, pushing himself onto his elbows, armour groaning as he does so.
They stare at each other for a while, amethyst eyes meeting amber even through fabric, and Wemmbu swears the caramel colour of his cheeks darkens. Just slightly and for just a moment, before Flame idly rubs his cheeks, masking it as readjusting his blindfold.
“This doesn't mean I'm done fighting you tho!” The purple haired man adds, crossing his arms over his chest, looking out at the ruined statue.
“Of course bro” Flame chokes out, suddenly full of energy as he pulls himself up onto his legs, grabbing his sword off the ground. He walks towards Wemmbu, looking at the battle ground as well.
..
“Wemmbu?”
“Hm?”
“I- do you have a place to go to, tonight?”
Wemmbu turns his head towards Flame, who's yet again looking away from him, drawing shapes into the ground with his sword.
“Ill probably go visit Egg in the End, I don't really have a base. You know, at the moment..” the taller says, shifting weight from one leg to another, as he watches the sun dip behind the horizon.
“Oh i forgot you are- an ender dragon hybrid, you probably love it there” Flame mutters, looking up at Wemmbu, or more directly at his wings, which are folded against his back. Then down at his thin tail, the tip flicking from time to time, scales glinting under what's left of the sun.
A small smile appears on Wemmbu’s lips as he flexes his wings, tail flicking a bit more now, showing off.
“Alright, no need to show off” Flame mutters but keeps staring, studying the black wings with newfound interest, before forcing his eyes away.
“You can stay the night at mine, I have a few spare rooms, if you want. I guess. You've saved my ass a couple of times through the fight.” the shorter says, crossing his arms over his chest, making it puff out even more, as his tiger tail flicks behind him.
Wemmbu opens his mouth a couple of times, resembling a fish out of water, before nodding.
“i would- appreciate that, a lot” he murmurs.
The only sound between them for a while is the wind, gently toying with their hair.
The taller brushes his fingers against the others, and for a moment they stand there, hands resting too close to be accidental, blood and grime drying on their skin.
-~♡~-
“You can take a shower i guess, the bathroom is around the corner” Flame says, unfastening his armour with practiced speed as Wemmbu looks around, nodding quickly.
“Thanks” the taller mutters, and for a moment they make eye contact, which the shorter immediately interrupts, throwing clean clothes in Wemmbu's general direction before disappearing into his room.
“D’alright” Wemmbu laughs, catching the clothes and pressing them to his chest, watching the closed door for a bit longer, before walking towards the bathroom.
It's really not anything special, just a small bathroom with a walk-in shower, toilet and a sink in the corner. Wemmbu drops his change of clothes on the closed seat, beginning to peel off his own.
Cringing at the stiffness of the dried up blood he shreds his blazer and dress shirt, studying his reflection in the mirror.
He’s definitely seen better days, he thinks, before removing the rest of his clothes and hopping in the shower.
Two things Wemmbu finds out later that day.
First, dried up blood of your enemies is really hard to get out of your hair, and it takes an unnecessary amount of shampoo.
Second, Flame is surprisingly a great cook. And he does mean it.
Wemmbu finds himself seated on Flames couch, a bowl of vegetable soup in his lap, with steam still coming from the top.
He wants to dig in immediately, but his brain is still alert. Flame isn't anywhere nearby, probably feeding the three billions of dogs he owns, leaving Wemmbu by himself.
Nothing is really stopping him from standing up, robbing the place and fleeting immediately, but something in his gut is telling him that just for once he can allow himself to be vulnerable.
Lifting the spoon to his lips he stares at the piece of carrot like it owes him money, before he closes his eyes and brings it into his mouth.
The warm and rich flavor hits his taste buds instantly, stomach churning as he swallows and eats like a starved man.
“Yo bro chill out dawg you're gonna choke” Flame says, appearing out of nowhere as he drops to the opposite side of the couch with his own bowl.
Wemmbu grumbles something intelligible, turning his back towards Flame as he eats. Probably just from instinct.
Flame stops in his tracks, watching as the taller practically inhales the food, tail flicking wildly behind him. He may not be an expert in dragon nature, but this was a clear ‘i won't hesitate to attack’ if you asked him.
“There's um, more in the kitchen. I made a lot, accidentally” he says, pulling out his comms to cancel the hangout plans with Lomedy.
Wemmbu lets out another growl, tail whooshing around as he looks over his shoulder at the totally disinterested Flame.
He has a bowl of his own, except his was filled with rather uncooked looking meat and two lonesome baby carrots.
“You're not eating?” Wemmbu asks, voice rough as he watches, the blacks of his scleras almost blending in with the darkness around them. He still looks wild and unruly, irises pulled into small slits, but way more relaxed than before.
Flame smiles, quickly undoing the small clasp on the back of his gloves, before pulling them off finger by finger.
“Im not really a uh, soup person” He says, stretching his hands and wiggling his fingers before curling them in. A faint shing echoes through the room as black claws extend from his fingertips, right on the end of his fingers.
The shorter one lifts the piece of meat and rips it off with his claws, bringing it up into his mouth, chewing like it's the most common thing ever.
Wemmbu openly stares at Flame’s hands, claws glinting under the lonesome lantern, dark caramel skin unscarred but rough from years of fighting.
“Close your mouth, I'm not aware of dragons eating raw meat” Flame comments, that annoying smirk appearing on his lips.
“Shut it” Wemmbu growls, turning his head away, placing the now empty bowl on the small table in front of him.
His tail curls itself around his ankle, flicking slightly from time to time.
“Ya don't have claws?” Flame asks, idly cleaning his ones after practically inhaling his food.
The taller one shakes his head, now awfully conscious of the state his own hands are in. Rough and littered with more scars than actual skin. All of his nails are broken, and for some reason he's missing one on his little finger.
“no.”
Flame extends his hand towards the taller, wiggling his fingers in the other direction.
“Come on dawg, i dont bite” He says softly, in a tone that makes Wemmbu shiver.
He eventually grabs the shorter’s hand, their palms and fingers fitting together like two puzzle pieces. Flame scoots closer to Wemmbu, placing their joined hands in the middle.
Silence fills the room, only Ashen the dog softly snoring somewhere under the couch.
A smell of ash and something far more warmer and sweeter fills the air, wrapping around Wemmbu like a cozy blanket. Like a promise of comfort and protection if he lets his guard down.
“This never- happened, for the record” Wemmbu mutters, before letting his head drop onto Flames shoulder, the captivating smell getting even stronger as he presses his nose into his hoodie.
A few moments later there are strong arms around him, gently guiding him lower, and soon enough he ends up laying on Flame’s chest.
“Wha-”
“Never happened dawg, dunno whatchu about” Flame tuts, claws gently tracing shapes into Wemmbu’s spine, right between his wings.
The taller shivers, face pressed into the washed out hoodie, hands gripping the fabric like a vice. Wemmbu lets out a small whine before melting into the shorter man's embrace, wings relaxing completely, moving up to cover them both.
Flame finds himself trapped under the dragon, a pair of slim but strong arms wrapped around his middle, the taller’s tail circled over his ankle.
“Sleep. We’ll continue this rivalry some other day” the shorter murmurs, hands gently running through Wemmbu’s hair.
“... you smell like raw meat”
“Come on dawg i dont”
-~♡~-
“Oh my god- i i- dont take my camera for once!” Lomedy shrieks as he opens the main door, almost dropping the basket with vegetables he's carrying.
Flame wakes up first, immediately pressing his finger to his lips.
“Lomedy dawg, do you not know how to knock bro?” He hisses, placing his hands on Wemmbu’s back to reassure him he can stay where he is.
“Well sorry I wanted to check up on you!! Do you know how late it is?!” the farmer whisper-screams, setting the basket down and placing his hands on his hips.
“Late? How late? Wait, what's the time?” Wemmbu asks, drowsily pushing himself onto his elbows, arms still encircled around Flame’s waist as he blinks away the sleep.
“Bro it's like 3 pm” Lomedy says, double tapping on his communicator to check.
That wakes Wemmbu up, making him spring upwards into a seating position.
“You saw nothing Lomedy” Wemmbu says, jumping onto his feet and running towards the chest he placed all his stuff into, quickly pulling on his armor.
Before Flame can react the dragon is out of the front door, launching himself up and quickly flying off.
Flame places his hands over his face, painfully reminding himself of the fact he pulled off his gloves, as he scratches his forehead.
“Lomedy, bro, dude, dawg..” Flame starts, letting out another groan, pressing his fingers against his eyes.
“What did I do?!” the farmer shrieks, readjusting his hat.
“I had him opening up bro, he slept on me the whole night. Then you decided to barge in like an idiot and scare him off!! With my luck our next meeting will be another fight!”
Lomedy raises his hands above his head, casting his yellow eyes downwards.
“I had no idea he was still here! Besides, I thought you hated him?! Why do you suddenly want him to open up?” Lomedy asks, hoisting himself up onto the counter, yellow eyes narrowed.
Flame exhales, sitting up and stretching, before starting to pull on his gloves again.
“Listen dawg, I don't have to explain myself to you, of all people. Now please get out of my house, I have to feed my dogs” Flame says, fishing the keys to the doghouse (as he calls it) out of his pocket.
Lomedy whines again, throwing his hands up before leaving, knowing better than to argue with the latter.
Flame sighs as he hears the farmer leave, leaning back against the door, the phantom feeling of two strong arms wrapped around him still haunting his mind.
-~few days later~-
A couple of new things happened since the fight and the following night.
Wemmbu hasn’t slept since, he can not get the warm and ashy scent out of his nose, and he’s been twitchy. And when he says twitchy, he means it to the word.
Flying has been especially hard, since with every little twitch he falls down just a little bit, so he returned to using his elytra, wings held uncomfortably against his back. First thing he did, was obviously visit Egg in the End, asking the angel if there was anything he could do to stop it.
After finding out absolutely nothing even with Minute’s help, he decided to spend the night in the End, hoping to get rid of whatever this random symptom he got.
Wemmbu let out a long sigh, hands twitching as he sat on the edge of one of the islands, the cold air of the dimension carrying the stale but familiar scent of it.
“What even- what is wrong with me?” Wemmbu whined, moving his hands up to tug at his hair.
“Where did you go after the fight?”
Wemmbu dropped his shoulders as Minute crouched by him, his all white eyes gentle in that parental way. The silence stretched for a while as the end guard moved to sit beside him.
“You stayed with Flamefrags.” Minute stated and Wemmbu looked up, amethyst eyes tired and glossy.
“Yeah, I didn't want to burden you and Egg. God this sounds so uncharacteristic of me, but you’re doing a lot for me just by protecting him and-”
Minute nodded, arm wrapped around the purple haired man’s shoulders.
“I was so tired after the fight, it lasted for genuine hours, and Flame was just there. I decided to trust him for that one night because- I- I am tired of our rivalry Minute. Im so fucking tired” Wemmbu whispered, tears threatening to spill out if he talked too loudly.
“Wemmbu. Now, I’m not an expert on hybrids, but Flame is a feline, correct?” Minute asked and the other nodded, eyes cast down on his still trembling hands. “Okay, that means his pheromones are way stronger than mine or yours, but the only difference between me and you is, that you can smell them”
Wemmbu looked up, tilting his head slightly to the side, meeting Minute’s gentle gaze. A small smile appeared on his lips, before he leant closer, whispering.
“Your body is missing his pheromones, because he chose to comfort you with them.”
-~♡~-
One thing Wemmbu had to admit was that the messa was truly beautiful at night, but that's obviously not why he was there in the first place. In Flame’s messa.
The fire banner was swaying gently in the wind, which made Wemmbu pissed off even more. He clenched his hand into a fist before throwing the front door of Flame’s base open, storming in like a wild animal.
“Ay! Wemmbu?! The fuck you doing here bro?” Flame shrieked, quickly pulling out his sword but lowering it slightly when he sees the dragon’s shrunken irises. “Aw hell nah, I’m not ready for a rematch you dawg!”
Wemmbu lunges forward.
Their swords collide with a loud clang as Wemmbu immediately gains the upper hand, pushing Flame into a corner with quick and aggressive hits.
“You are actually the most devious bastard I’ve ever met” Wemmbu says through gritted teeth, using the moment where the shorter is blocking his attack to pull out his dagger, slamming it hard into Flame’s thigh.
The tiger lets out a mewl of pain as the obsidian blade nearly misses his bone, blood immediately gushing out of the wound. Flame gasps for air, sword wavering in the air as he tries to push the taller off him.
“What did I- what did I do?!” Flame asks, letting out another pained gasp as the blade in his thigh twists before retracting and sliding home again, this time near his hip.
“Wemmbu Wemm- Wemmbu- stop stop please-” Flame cries out, claws digging into the place between the taller’s shoulderplates and his chestplate.
“Look what you did to me!” the dragon screams, grabbing the tiger by his collar and slamming him into the chests behind him, making the shorter one let out another pained cry.
They eventually end up on the ground, Flame writhing under Wemmbu’s grasp as blood pools under his thigh, the taller’s hands wrapped around his throat.
“You knew what you were doing. Being nice my ass” Wemmbu growled, choking the shorter even more, as bloodlike ichor spilled from his own wrists where the tiger's claws dig into his skin.
“Tell me how to get rid of this. Tell me how to get rid of this or I’m going to kill you right now and get rid of it myself” the dragon says, irises shrinking even more when he feels Flame’s trachea collapse under his hands. Flame goes limp, the only sign he’s still conscious being the set of claws digging into his hip.
“R-rid of what Wemmbu? I have n-no idea-h” Flame chokes out, a trickle of blood travelling from his cut lip towards his ear.
“You know! This whole- whole- pheromone thing! You knew what you were doing!” the purple haired man says, flicking his hair over his shoulder while keeping his other hand around Flame’s neck.
The tiger goes still again, the claws in his hip retracting just slightly as he tries to escape Wemmbu’s hand by turning his head to the side.
“Look at me when I speak!” Wemmbu spits out, reaching up and ripping the blindfold from his eyes, making Flame genuinely hiss, revealing his sharp teeth.
Amethyst meets spessartine orange, as Flame squints against the low light coming from the lantern in the corner. The hands around the shorter’s neck waver for a moment, before the sweet ashy scent fills the air once again.
Wemmbu grits his teeth, heartbeat picking up as Flame stares at him, eyes unmoving and sharp. His lips part as he breathes shallowly, still staying quiet.
The dragon’s hands twitch again before he instead presses on Flame’s collarbones, holding him down. His head drops between his shoulders, wings going lax, all the weight suddenly leaving his back.
Wemmbu’s chest heaves up and down as the scent wraps around him, making his mind all foggy and mushy. Flame finally catches his breath, tilting his head to the side as he lays beneath the other, arms by his side.
“I never knew you could smell it.”
Wemmbu looks up, eyes wide.
“And- I just wanted to calm you down, you were all stressed and tired. Lastly, to answer your question, it’s not a bond. It should’ve left your head the moment we stopped touching” the tiger says, turning his head back as his eyes flutter.
“What?” Wemmbu whispers, pressing down on Flame’s collarbones again for good measure as he sees the other drift in and out of consciousness.
“Flame bro, you’re not passing out on me!” the dragon says, still a bit woozy from the scent. The tiger smiles before his eyes roll back and he goes limp, Wemmbu cursing underneath his breath as he feels the others blood soak into the fabric of his pants.
-~♡~-
When Flame wakes up there’s no annoying light shining in his eyes, he’s not laying in a pool of his own blood, and Wemmbu is not sitting on top of him with hands around his neck. He sits up with a bit of struggle, coming to a pleasant realization he got his blindfold back. Having sensitive eyes was quite a pain in the ass.
The tiger managed to pull himself onto his legs, limping back into the kitchen (yes, his thigh was bandaged, but it still hurt like a bitch). However as he opened the door, the realization hit him like a brick when he saw the purple haired man sitting on his counter, head supported by his hand as he stared at the screen of his communicator.
But despite looking totally unaware he shoots forward, making Flame stumble back grasping his spare sword in both hands.
However instead of attacking, he stops an arms length away before grabbing the shorter by his collar and pulling him into a hug.
Flame freezes as the strong arms wrap around him, the other visibly tense before the tiger repeats his gesture, gently resting his arms around his waist.
“I'm sorry Flame, I was so pissed at something stupid. I’m so tired of our rivalry, because- I don't want you to see me as a competition anymore.”
Flame exhales, squeezing the taller just a bit more, face hid in the other's chest.
“Dawg you’re getting emotional” He says, voice muffled by Wemmbu’s clothes. The dragon laughs, pulling back just slightly, his eyes still tired and sad.
“Maybe I can afford to be with you” Wemmbu murmurs, face gentle in a way Flame never saw before, sharp features not so prominent anymore.
Maybe he can blame the tiredness for his actions later.
Flame reaches up, careful to keep his claws retracted as he presses his palm against Wemmbu’s cheek, bringing the dragon’s head down, until their foreheads touch.
“..?”
“Apology accepted” Flame whispers, sliding his hand back into the other's hair, tilting his head to the side, lips just a hair's length apart.
“Oh” Wemmbu whispers, voice shaking as the tension between them builds up, thick enough to slow down time.
Flame is not sure if he is the one who closes the gap, but soon enough he's pressed into the wall behind him, the taller ones lips latched onto his.
A mixture of the bitter taste of golden apples and grapes (?) hits Flame’s taste buds as his hands settle home in Wemmbu’s violet hair, twirling and tugging on the silky strands.
The two sets of sharp canines cling together, blood rolling down Flame’s chin as he chases the others' taste, before locking in and also leaning back.
Bringing his other hand up he catches the droplet on his fingers, raising his eyebrows when it appears more of a goldish colour.
“Still mad you bleed ichor bro, like you are not an angel my guy” Flame smiles, idly licking the droplet away before Wemmbu gently slaps his cheek, leaning away and walking off murmuring something about ‘stupid decisions”
-~♤bonus♤~-
Flame barks out a sharp laugh as one of the opponents dies under Wemmbu’s mace, idly standing nearby while watching the dragon fly through the air.
Minute is somewhere nearby. Flame can basically feel the end guardians intimidating presence as he studies his beloved fight (wait what?).
Next second the dragon is chasing some poor chungie, and Minute is on his throat. Literally, as an obsidian blade presses into his skin, before there's a rough head pat landing in his hair.
“Cover up the hickeys boy, everyone can see you drooling over him anyways” The voidling comments, making Flame stammer a response before the older man is gone again.
The tiger unconsciously pulls the collar of his hoodie upwards, already plotting something equally humiliating for Wemmbu to endure.
“You’re royally fucked bro” Flame comments as Wemmbu lands beside him, eyes glinting in that post fight haze.