A few words before this chapter starts. I never watched TFC's content aside from a few clips here and there, but he was a part of this community, and it's very sad to know he's gone. It took me longer to write this chapter because of it, and although i've processed it and dealt with those emotions, I won't ever forget it. he might be gone, but he will never be forgotten. Rest in Peace TFC. Go mine those caves wherever you are, ok?

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"Mr. Chef, we have a problem."

"I told you kiddo, you don't have to call me "Mr." anymore."

"Oh uh right-.. Uh, Tin, we have a bit of an emergency." Xisuma repeated. He was holding his phone towards the edge of the campsite, closer to the building a few minutes walk away, catching just enough WiFi connection to make a call.

"Is it an emergency that can wait for me to get there, or one you need me to talk you through this second?" Tin asked, voice slightly crackling through the phone call.

"It can wait- I think. Bdubs sprained or broke some part of his foot. We're not really sure, but he said it hurts to put any pressure on it." Xisuma explained.

"Is he in screaming pain right now?"

Xisuma looked to where Bdubs was sitting on the old creaky bench to the side of camp. He had uncomfort ridden slightly on his face, but under the tired eyes and messy hair was a smile.

"No."

"Good." TFC said calmly. It was gentle and kind, and was helping Xisuma relax a little as well. "That means I can just drive over now with a first aid kit and some of my personal supplies, and he'll be ok. Is that correct?"

"I think so-" Xisuma said. He looked towards Bdubs, who was talking with Keralis softly without too much pain on his face. "No- yes. Yes he will be ok." He said more surely.

"Ok. Are there any other pressing matters to tell me about?"

"Uh...everyone's tired? Or uh half the camp is. And we have tweezers, but not good ones. We might need some of those."

"Are you included in the group that's tired?"

"Not for the same reasons, but yes, in a way." Xisuma replied honestly.

"I'm packing my supplies while I'm talking, so feel free to talk about whatever you need to. I'm all ears kiddo.

"Oh no, are we interrupting your day off?"

"No no, I'm still at school. I just made it here actually. And even if you were, or ever need to contact me on a day off, it's nothing to apologize for and I will happily come to help." Tin said, "I'm just in the janitor's closet, getting my secret stash of supplies."

"Why is it secret?"

"I'm not sure the staff would approve of me hoarding bags of candy for sad highschool students. Might be some sort of "health code violation". If you don't tell on me, I'll give you 2 pieces."

Xisuma giggled, lightening up. "I won't tell, I promise."

"Do you want to explain why half of everyone is tired and Bdubs is hurt now? You don't have to if you don't want to, but I'll have to know eventually."

Xisuma sighed. "A lot of unsupervised teenagers decided to do something stupid at a stupid time. And- I should have been there. To stop them from doing it in the first place, or- or-.... I don't know."

"Hey don't blame yourself alright? You're already responsible for so much, it's fair that maybe something was out of your control for better or worse. Just tell me what happened to the best of your ability and I'll listen ok?" TFC said so sincerely that Xisuma couldn't protest. "I have the keys and I'm getting the bus as we speak."

"Thank you."

"No problem Xisuma."

A small crowd was gathered around the table Bdubs and Keralis were resting at, slowly growing as more hermits woke up and heard the news about what happened while they were peacefully asleep.

"Woah woah- you went into the woods at night?" Pearl asked, sitting at the table with Bdubs and Keralis across from her, and Gem listening intently as well.

"Heh, yeah." Bdubs rubbed his neck, "Looking back, I wish I just slept through all their crazy adventures."

"Is your foot ok?" Gem asked.

"I can't walk on it."

"Then how did you get out of the woods?" Grian popped in from the side, clearly having eaves dropped thus far. "I mean, we were looking for you two for- well I wasn't completely keeping track-, but for a number of hours."

A few more hermits were gathered around, curious as well.

Bdubs blushed, looking down at the table in front of him. "Oh uh y'know. Uh. Well I had a walking stick, and uh-"

"Bubbles used a perfect walking stick we found, and then held onto my shoulder with his other hand." Keralis interrupted.

The others nodded, taking that as an answer. Bdubs looked at Keralis, a "You didn't tell them?" written in his gaze. Keralis just smiled back, and Bdubs took that as an answer, to which he replied with his own soft smile.

 "How did you get back?" False asked in disbelief, joining the group. "We couldn't see a trace of either of you for miles in a tree me and G climbed, and some of us ran down the trail to see if you went back to camp before."

"Wait, did you go off the trail?" Pearl gasped, leaning forwards slightly.

"Well we fell-" Keralis started, before he was quickly interrupted.

"Beef found a piece of your hoodie on a branch, is that where you fell?"

"Uh maybe-" Bdubs tried.

"How did you fall off the trail? Did you do it on purpose?"

"No! Not on purpose!"

"You see, Bubbles-"

More hermits were crowding around, asking too many questions for the pair to answer.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Scar walked in, yawning a little. "Why's everyone huddled around this table?"

A few people turned towards him, asking if he had heard yet, to which he shook his head slowly.

"Mhm!" A person cleared their throat loudly outside of the circle forming, getting everyone's attention really quickly. Xisuma was standing there, expecting the group to disperse with a single look that had the guilty ones fleeing, and the normal, well-rested hermits politely leaving.

"Wait what happened?" Scar asked again sleepily. He was actually still in his pajamas.

Grian tugged his arm. "I'll explain it, come 'ere."

The group left, only Keralis and Bdubs hanging back as Xisuma motioned for them to stay.

"Ok, I called TFC and he's on his way with real first aid supplies." Xisuma sighed, taking a seat and turning towards Bdubs first. "How does your foot feel?"

"Better now that I can sit down!" Bdubs chuckled. "Hopping on one foot through the woods in the darkness is not a hobby I would recommend."

"Me neither." Keralis said. "Next time we'll be sure to bring an extra flashlight."

"Next time?" Xisuma panicked.

"I kid, Shashwammy Void, I kid!" Keralis giggled. "The look on your face."

Xisuma chuckled as well. "You got me. I'm still a little high strung, it seems."

"You look like you could use some sleep X." Bdubs mentioned, sympathetically.

"Not as much as the likes of you. The sleep master stayed up all night? I didn't know it was possible." Xisuma joked back. "I'm glad you're doing somewhat better though; that's a good sign."

"I know you're probably mad, Shashwammy, and that's fair-"

"Well-"

"Ahp! Not done." Keralis smiled. "But if we could take a nap before our lecture on the definitions of what good ideas are versus bad ones, and another lecture on peer pressure, that would be much appreciated."

Xisuma sighed and gave them both a smile. "Yes, I can work with that."

"So, that was something huh?" Ren tried joking, standing to the side of the camp. Doc was looking forward, refusing to make eye contact with him.

"Yeah. I'm such an idiot."

Ren wanted to protest the statement and give Doc reassurance, but he knew it would just lead to some sort of argument. "What were you doing out there anyways? Was it to see the waterfall?"

Doc suddenly turned to him, makinging painful eye contact for a second too long before looking away. He was looking somewhere clearly specific towards the edge of camp, but when Ren tried to find the same thing, he came up blank. It was near the edge of the forest, but there was nothing special about it compared to the rest of the area.

"It's nothing. Uh yeah- the waterfall." Doc lied horribly. Ren saw him gulp, moving away from where Ren stood. "I have to go, sorry man."

"Oh ok." Ren tried, but Doc was gone before he could finish it. "Oh. ok." He whispered to himself again.

More hermits were waking up, moving around and getting ready for the day as normal. Word spread very quickly among them, and pretty soon, most of the camp was whispering about it between things they had to do.

"I feel guilty." Tango said plainly, huddled in their little corner of the camp while they talked.

"I feel tired." Impulse added, leaning on his hand while he sat criss cross on the ground.

"I feel-...you guys took the good ones." Zed joked, getting exhausted chuckles from the other two.

"At least they're both ok." Impulse said through a yawn.

"Yeah. I would feel god awful if they weren't." Zed said.

"I don't even know what to say. I just want to say sorry and then pass out where I stand." Tango sighed.

"I might want a bed or something first, but yeah." Impulse said, and paused slowly. "Maybe you're right. Might not even need a bed."

The conversation slipped into silence; No one knew what to say next. They were all too tired to do much more than pick at the grass they were sitting on and lean on their arms to rest their heads.

Xisuma figured he should wait where the bus would show up when TFC arrived. A few other hermits came with him to keep him company, but only half of them knew what was going on. The parking lot was near the bathroom, so Hermits in pj's joined the group to get changed and ready while everyone else hung back to talk.

It didn't take long for the bus to arrive, surprising most of them who didn't really listen to the explanation Xisuma told some of them.

"Hey kiddo's!" The door of the bus opened, and a smiling TFC was sitting in the seat. "I heard you guys needed a little assistance."

"TFC! What are you doing here?" Some of the hermits were running over to say hi, waving and grinning as he showed up.

"Wait, we don't have to leave early do we?"

"No no, none of that. Just bringing a top up on your medical supplies." TFC grabbed a white box on the seat closest to him and walked down the steps, leaving the door open for now. He'd get back to it later.

"Hello Mr.- I mean, Tin. Hello Tin. Thank you for coming." Xisuma waved, cutting through the crowd.

"Of course." TFC tapped the side of the box. "Now where's our patient?"

Bdubs was still sitting at the table by the time TFC, Xisuma, and half of camp got back. The other hermits respectfully stayed clear of the scene, giving the group what privacy they could in the open area

"Hey TFC!" Keralis waved.

"Hello!"

"Hey you two! Seems like you both had a rough night huh?"

"You could say that." Bdubs chuckled, and Keralis nodded too.

"Ok, I need to assess the uh- damage to your foot," TFC started. "Do you think you can take your shoes off easily?"

Bdubs stiffed, face twisting into a frown. He hadn't really thought about what "fixing his foot" might entail, and now...

"Uh, I can try." Bdubs answered. He tried to slip them off normally, bending his ankle slightly and inhaled sharpest as the faintest twist. Keralis was watching him worriedly, not sure if leaving or staying would make him more comfortable.

"Ha, nope." Bdubs mumbled, very cautiously going to untie the laces instead. He loosened the top, wincing more as he knocked his foot slightly downwards. His expression was stiff and painful, and TFC felt some pity for him.

"How about I take it off, kiddo? Just sit there and try to relax."

Bdubs sat back up and nodded quickly, tensing shoulders in fear. Keralis scrunched his face and made a decision. He took Bdubs hand, prompting him to look up at him, with eyes that were asking what he was doing.

"Just look at me, Bubbles. My eyes, and nothing but them?" He added a little smile and wink to it, making Bubbles laugh softly.

Bdubs sharply inhaled, and tried to look down at TFC, trying to very carefully take off the shoe, but Keralis quickly lifted his hand and grabbed the other too, pulling Bdubs attention back to him

"Nuh uh, just me Bubbles, ok?"

Bdubs looked at him, full of trust and fear mixed together. The adrenaline of fear and exhaustion of walking through the woods was starting to wear off, which was probably making this more painful than before, when it was all he could focus on now.

"Hey can you tell me about all of the photos you've gotten?" Keralis prompted. "You got one of Eefo right? That's impressive. Anyone else?"

"I uh-" Bdubs grit his teeth, and took a second to breathe before he could continue. "I got Pearl and Gem, talking on the trail before they noticed. The uhm- the first trail I think? Or was it the second or-" Bdubs was starting to stutter more, so Keralis took over.

"Oh I'm sure it's beautiful! Just those two or anyone else? Can you list them?"

"Then uh- Scar."

"Uh huh, and what was Scar doing in the photo?"

"Holding up a fuzzy caterpillar. The orange and black ones."

"Oh did it curl up into a ball or crawl on Scar's finger?" Keralis asked, trying to keep Bdubs thinking about something else.

"I can't remember."

"Well good thing you got a photo then! We'll check back when this is all over ok?" Keralis spared a glance at TFC, who had gotten the shoe off without much pain from Bdubs, from what he could tell. He wasn't touching Bdubs foot for now, and was instead grabbing supplies silently from his case.

"Oh and I got that selfie with Ren and Doc on the bus. Remember?"

"Of course I do! I hope they turned out well-.... well, they must've actually; you were in them."

Bdubs froze, and for a moment Keralis was afraid he was in pain, but a-quick-nother glance at TFC showed he hadn't touched Bdubs foot yet.

"Uh- thanks." Bdubs whispered.

"Ok kid, this won't hurt, but it's going to be cold. Don't panic and move your foot or that will hurt." TFC instructed, putting a cold pad on Bdubs foot and pressing on it lightly.

Bdubs winced, slowly relaxing into the feeling.

"You're gonna have to hold it there for 10 minutes, and then the swelling should go down enough for me to put a bandage on." TFC instructed Bdubs to take the cold pack from him to hold it on himself carefully. It was a slightly awkward position, but not uncomfortable or painful.

Bdub gave him a fearful look, and TFC smiled kindly. "I won't have to pop it into place or anything if that's what you're worried about. It's nothing terribly serious, although you might still want to see a doctor after the trip."

"Ok, thank you."

"Of course. I'm going to tell your class president about it and I'll be back and I'll make it quick and simple alright? And then you can get some well needed rest."

Bdubs nodded.

"That wasn't too bad, was it Bubbles?" Keralis asked sincerely. "You didn't look too bad but I'm not sure-"

"Yeah I'm ok." Bdubs stopped his worrying. "Hurt more than I expected at first, but I'm ok."

"That's-...well I wanted to say good, but it's not exactly good is it?" Keralis tried with a smile.

"It's better with you here." Bdubs said.

"How is he?" Xisuma asked when TFC walked over.

"He's ok, it's not too bad of a sprain. If I had to guess on how he reacted, a very mild grade 2, or a slightly severe grade 1. He'll be just fine."

"That's a relief."

"He just needs some ice on it for a few minutes to stop the swelling- which is almost already gone I have to say, it's been awhile since he sprained it I'd assume- and then I'll put the elastic wrap on it."

"Ok, is there anything you need for help, or...?"

"I'm all good X. just relax a little yourself and let me take care of these too. Go handle the others."

Xisuma nodded, and whispered an extra thank you before rushing off to corral his hermits. It was a little messy, getting them all together in the early morning with all of the gossip floating around being way more interesting, but Xisuma could manage. TFC checked his watch, and slowly made his way over to the two sitting on the bench talking.

"It's already been 10 minutes?" Bdubs asked in disbelief.

"Time flies with good company. Trust me on that one." TFC took the cold pack back and tucked it back into the first aid kit.

TFC started quickly, not wanting the anxiety to freak Bdubs out by waiting longer. He grabbed the bandage while Keralis was thoroughly distracting Bdubs, and started to wrap it under his foot as carefully as he could. Bdubs winced, but didn't react more than that, which was a good sign.

The hardest part was about to come, wrapping the elastic around his foot twice more to securely get his whole foot before wrapping it up his ankle.

"So xB, princess, was about to-"

"Ah!" Bdubs gasped, squeezing his eyes shut quickly. TFC felt bad, but he had to keep going or he would have to start over. He gave Keralis a firm look and kept going steadily.

Keralis squeezed Bdubs hands tightly. "Focus on me Bubbles. Look into my eyes and nothing but my eyes."

Bdubs obliged, only managing to peek up for a second before squeezing them shut again. He was gripping Keralis's hands as tightly as he could, which hurt a little, but only prompted Keralis to talk more.

"We'll get to sleep right after this ok? I asked Shaswammy about it, remember? And then you can dream of flying to the moon, and get ideas for pictures of all of the hermits in your dreams."

Keralis was grasping at straws, trying to think of something to keep the one-sided conversation going as much as he could. "Oh! And we could put little emojis and stuff on the silly ones, and draw horns on Grian and a really dramatic moustache on Mumbo and a glowing flower crown for Stress, how does that sound Bubbles? We could put Bubbles around you too!"

"I also got a photo of Iskall, and Cleo." Bdubs answered, and Keralis felt relieved that he could at least talk again. He loosened the grip on Keralis, letting him assume the worst was over.

"How about slime- or uh iskallium dripping on Iskall? Or we could do a project where we mix them up and everyone draws something on another hermit!"

"That might-" Bdubs let out a strained chuckle, "- That might get us extra credit in Art huh?"

"Yeah," Keralis smiled at him.

"All done!" TFC announced, snapping the lid on his kit after taking out a plastic bag.

"That wasn't- it wasn't too bad!" Bdubs smiled in relief, finally letting go of Keralis's hands. He relaxed back into the bench a little bit. "Thank you TFC."

"No problem kiddo. You'll have to rest it for a day or two, but then it might be good to slowly start putting pressure on it so it heals quicker. If it hurts to walk on it now, then don't, but it shouldn't make it any worse."

Bdubs nodded, taking mental notes of the information. Keralis was too, just in case Bdubs forgot.

"And for doing so well, and holding still.... candy!" TFC held up the bag filled to the brim with candy. "Don't tell the others, but you both can take two."

Keralis and Bdubs beamed, giggling as they grabbed two pieces of candy. TFC nodded to them, before standing up, presumably to hand out candy to the others too.

After Bdubs had finally settled down with his new elastic brace and calmed down, Xisma came back over, sitting down with them with new information.

"So we know that you both are tired."

"Understatement."

"Ok," Xisuma sighed, "Understatement. But I think you've both learned your lesson about going behind my back to do impulsive and risky things?"

"Yes Shashwammy."

"Learned the very hard way." Bdubs added.

"So instead of getting the punishment the others have, you guys get to sleep for the day."

Keralis and Bdubs glanced at each other, guilty looking on both of their faces, before they turned back to Xisuma.

"What's the punishment they're getting? We feel guilty getting out of it; They're all tired too."

"Oh don't worry, they just have to clean up the empty tents and supplies. I promise it's not as hard as it seems, and afterwards they can choose to sleep or do the activity we have planned, and if they choose to sleep, they can keep as many tents as they need up."

"That's not too harsh?" Bdubs said.

"I believe that the scare of you two being missing was plenty of a lesson in itself. And being lost in an unfamiliar place in the dark was enough for both of you as well, I assume?"

"Yes."

"Definitely."

"Then it's time for you both to get some sleep. I think a few hermits have a small surprise for you." Xisuma finished, standing up from the rickety table. "If you'll follow me..."

Xisuma led them over to a certain handful of hermits, standing awkwardly and avoiding eye contact. He figured they wanted to do this more privately, so he left them with a whispered "Goodnight friends." and was off to help hand out today's breakfast from the storage bins, as well get some candy from TFC.

"We don't know how to say we're sorry completely." Beef started, standing at the entrance of a tent repositioned to be in the shade of a tree. It had a thin black blanket over it, and through the only half opened door, Bdubs could vaguely see blankets and pillows inside.

"So uh, we set this up. So you two could sleep." Doc said stiffly.

"And uh, we're really sorry." Etho rubbed his arm, shrinking on himself. "We're really sorry we pressured you into that."

"And even more sorry that we lost track of you there." Doc said. "I should have paid attention to where everyone was at all times instead of blindly running forwards."

"Thank you for the apology," Bdubs smiled at them.

"Spank you very much. It was our fault too for agreeing to join and letting ourselves fall behind, but this is very nice of you." Kerails added.

They tried smiling at one another, but some smiles were forced and others were too tired to put the effort in. Beef quickly opened the rest of the tent, trying to fill the awkward silence with something.

"Zed, Tango, and Impulse got all of the cozy stuff. Blankets and pillows to sleep and you can just sleep on top if it gets too hot. They wanted to say sorry too but didn't want to form a crowd and attract other people." Beef said.

"The blanket on top is to block out the light a bit." Etho explained. "Zed thought of that."

Bdubs smiled and hobbled forwards, wrapping the closest one to him, Etho, in a tight hug.

"I forgive you guys." He said quietly, but everyone there could hear it. Etho squeezed him tighter for a second, partially to make sure Bdubs was there and safe and not wandering in the woods anymore. He hoped Bdubs could feel the worry in the hug, combined with another thousand apologies.

When they let go, Bdubs looked at the other two expectantly. "Well? Don't make a crippled old man walk to both of you too!" Bdubs laughed.

Doc and Beef rushed over, both hugging Bdubs as well. Keralis hugged Etho and gave a quick hug to Beef and Doc when Bdubs let go.

Keralis went into the tent first, moving to the side so Bdubs could get in next. It was one of the bigger tents for 3 people which was appreciated, especially because it must've been harder to move.

"Thanks guys." Bdubs said once more, heading into the tent with one quick smile back to the rest of.

"Sleep well." Doc said, bending down to zip up the tent for them.

It was much darker in the tent, but that was better considering they were here to sleep after all. It was still pretty early in the morning for most, so it wasn't too hot yet, but if they slept till midday, they both hoped the shade and blanket would protect them from the heat.

"I think I could sleep for a thousand years..." Bdubs chuckled softly, turning to Keralis.

"I'll wake you up after 1 year, Bubbles." Keralis chuckled. "No following in the steps of sleeping beauty just yet."

"Hey!"

"Well, get cozy Bubbles. Because once I hit this pillow I'm going to pass out and I might have to drag you down too."

Bdubs fluffed Keralis's pillow, a silent thank you for everything he had done, and bunched the blankets at Keralis feet so they were easy to kick up or kick off depending on the temperature.

It was too warm to be snuggled under the heavy covers, even with the shade and the blanket over the tent keeping out most of the harsh sun, and making it dark enough to fall asleep. A little stuffier, but that was the price to pay for joining in the adventure it seemed.

Keralis fell backwards, dragging the thinnest blanket loosely on his own body up to his torso as he tried to get comfortable in the mass of pillows they had. He was already falling asleep, splayed out with his limbs stretching out, which was reasonable considering he was the one to carry Bdubs most of the night.

Bdubs wanted to fall backwards and pass out too, but something was nagging on the back of his mind. He pulled out his phone, dimming it before he opened his photos.

Keralis had stolen Bdubs's phone right before they left the waterfall, insisting on one last selfie before they left. Bdubs said they had enough already, but didn't really fight it either, saying goodbye to his storage as a joke.

Keralis took the phone to do it- he probably knew Bdubs might be too in shock to click the button actually, now that Bdubs thought about it- and he held it up, smiling brightly, before betraying Bdubs trust completely-

-by kissing him on the cheek as he snapped the photo. Bdubs had been in shock too much to do anything, but when he finally regained his senses, all that came out was a blubbering blushing mess.

Bdubs thought fondly on it for a moment, before turning his phone off and dropping it on the side next to him. He wasn't sure how he was going to hide that one from Etho quite yet.

He laid down finally, and resting of his aching muscles felt so good it almost hurt. He couldn't really move his one leg much, but his other limbs adjusted to get comfortable in the spacious tent.

Bdubs sighed softly, knowing it would be way too uncomfortable for both of them if he snuggled up to Keralis's side or even tried to move his body closer without hitting his foot painfully.

He stretched out his arm, and found Keralis's hand near him. Heart pumping in his chest, afraid Keralis would pull away, he carefully put his hand over his, holding it loosely.

Keralis adjusted, and Bdubs was ready to pull back immediately in case he made him uncomfortable. As he started to slip his hand back to his side Keralis reached out more, and grabbed his hand better instead.

Two boys, side by side, holding hands one foot apart cause they're not gay. (lol)

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(4700 words)

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