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TW: MENTION OF DEAD RELATIVES

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The blowing gusts of wind pushed OJ and Paper back, neither of them able to consistently hold their ground as the air from within the room betrayed them. Nickel was able to keep his position however, but it was still hard to keep balance if he wasn't careful.

OJ struggled to keep his footing as the wind grew stronger and more frigid. The snow blew in his face and his eyes hurt from the cold "W—What the hell is all this WIND?!" OJ exclaimed as the wind pushed him back...

Nickel didn't slide back as easy because he was made of metal, therefore heavier. "What the heck happened to him?! Is HE causing that?!"

Paper had to hide on the other side of the wall to not get blown away. Literally. "I-I don't know! I—It's possible...! If he magically grew W-WINGS whos to say this won't happen too...?!" He stammered as he shivered from the cold. For all they knew, this was a supernatural event beyond the three of their comprehension.

OJ sighed. He doesn't think he could get in any further without falling and spilling... He turned to Nickel. "Do you think you can help...? I don't want him to freeze the hotel..." OJ grumbled.

Nickel looked at Balloon and then sighed. "Yeah... I'll go help winged Elsa over there calm down..." He said as he began to carefully walk over to Balloon. He didn't want to slip on the ice...

Balloon was wailing and hugging himself in the embrace of his feathery limbs. The reminiscent memories of his beloved mother and father rang through his head, along with the tragedy  that befell their demise. his wings ached from the cold and he was still a bit out of it from the pain meds... his wings were curled around him and he pulled them closer. Like a blanket.

Nickel looked a little guilty. He walked up and sat next him. "Hey uh... you okay?" Nickel softly asked, immediately thinking it was dumb because he knew what the answer was. He looked at the pined expression on the other boy's face as he shrieked and cried with pain and grief.

"NO!!!" He yelled, as he hurried his face into his knees. "I'm a FREAK! E-everyone hates me! S-suitcase doesn't r-really talk to me anymore! It's always MY fault when things go wrong! I—It's just too much! It's all just too much!" He cried and sniffled.

"Yeah... That... That kinda sucks, huh..." Nickel mumbled. He was really sure what to do... Or what to say... God he must have sounded so rude! He recoiled at the thought of how his own words sounded.

"I have nobody left... I feel so alone..." he vented, tears running down his face as he shivered from the cold he'd caused. His wings tightly pressed against his body.

"Well... I mean..." Nickel thought back to his own past. Those dreaded memories. His back aches from the obvious dent he had. He didn't want to think about... Them. "What we're your parents like?" He asked.

"They were... really nice... I couldn't ask for better ones..." he chuckled through sobs. "My mom and dad always cared for me... Like I was the centre of their being... I can't believe I took that for granted... I loved them so much...!" his face then darkened. "It should've been me...! I should've died! Why did they have to save me?! I'm NOTHING! I've amounted to NOTHING!" he shrieked, his eyes filled with guilt and despair as tears fell more rapidly down his face.

"D—..." Nickel paused. "Don't say that..." He mumbled worriedly, the pin in the other's face made Nickel grimace. Usually he tried not to show sympathy, but there are times when you witness another person in so much agony that... you just can't not react. It's physically repulsing in a sense, and not like he was disgusted, more of feeling the pain reflect in himself.

"They died saving me...! I... I shouldn't have gotten on that stupid train! We should've just taken the bus like my dad suggested! I hate it...! I HATE IT! I HATE IT SO MUCH!!! ITS ALL MY FAULT!!! WHY CANT J JUST BE A DESCENT FUCKING OBJECT?! I ALWAYS FIND A WAY TO MESS EVERYTHING UP!" Balloon screamed tugging on his feathers, and wincing as he ripped some out. Blood trickled out of the wounds and all he could do is cry and rock himself back in fourth.

"H-HEY! Hey! Calm down...!" Nickel Wh iced, nudging Balloon. "I mean it's not— it's not all bad?" He chuckled nervously, Balloon's pathetic display was hard to respond to...

"I JUST WANT TO BE NORMAL! I WANT TO BE LOVED! I WANT SOMEONE TO JUST HOLD ME AND SAY THAT THEY LOVE ME... AND... Care about me...! Is that so much to ask?" He sobbed, a whimper now barely escaping his pour soul as he cried.

Nickel didn't even know what to say at this point. The answer here was obvious... But he was so scared to let down his walls to provide the answer Balloon so desperately required in that moment. He stood there frozen. "You're... Here now..."

"Not like I want to be..." He whined in response, a tremble in his lip, as he hugged himself again. Balloon didn't bother to look at Nickel through the gaps in his feathers.

"Where did you go? A-after they uh... Died I mean..." Nickel asked, immediately worried it would push Balloon's boundaries— But he tried not to show it.

"Some old foster near the coast on the mainland..." Balloon answered in a whisper. "They didn't treat me that well... And I was only like... Six maybe? I had to walk to the park by myself..." Balloon muttered with tears flowing out of his eyes simultaneously.

"At six?!" Nickel flinched, he then looked down, it was better than nit getting to go at all, but that was still incredibly irresponsible. "Was the park fun at least?" Nickel asked, trying to change and brighten the subject.

Balloon recoiled and tightened his body, firmly closing and curling his legs closer to his body with discomfort. "I never even made it that far..." he choked out, letting tears fall out of his eyes once more... before just straight up crying again.

Nickel flinched, was it something he said?! Oh jeez... "What happened...?!" He asked worriedly.

"..." he didn't answer. This is as much as he was comfortable saying. Balloon shivered more from the memory of trusting that stranger... he should have never took his hand.

Nickel knew he wasn't getting anything else out of Balloon so instead he gently pushed Balloon's wing down to look at his face. "M-maybe things can get better...?" He gave a small face of reassurance. But... He felt a bit guilty... about how he treated Balloon. He could see why Balloon was so clingy. And he had to admit... If he was in Balloons shoes, he'd probably do the same.

"You and I both know that's not true..." he mumbled into his knees. He sniffled and curled his wing back around him with a whine that followed.

Nickel was silent. He really didn't know what to do... He couldn't tell him that he knew how it felt. He just couldn't. It could ruin every wall he had built to keep the memories out. "Well... you're not gonna get any better sulking at the ground." He said with a bit of a louder voice. Refusing to face his past.

"What else is there to do...?! I cant let people see me like this!" He shouted. As he covered his head with his hands. Crying more at the thought of being outcasted more than he was already. His hands and body trembled with anxiety and fear.

"Why not? I wasn't joking before... you look awesome. You shouldn't be insecure about them. I wouldn't be." He lied, but smirked a semi confident glare in his eyes.

"You're lying..." Balloon groaned as he looked at the feathery limbs attached to his back. Curling them in front of his face as he sniffled, which was shortly accompanied by a hiccup.

"Nah... I'm telling the truth. If people make fun of you for this... In all honesty it's probably because they want em too." He boastfully laughed.

Balloon giggled a bit involuntarily, but still evidently pouted. "I don't know... I feel like...something is not right..." He returned to his scared frown. Tears slowed however.

"Probably your brain panicking about the blood loss and your- uh- I dunno, massive wings?" He looked at them again. "I think they're still growing! How the hell does that even work?!" Nickel said in a dramatic tone.

Balloon laughed a bit. The snow died down from the blizzard it was before. "I don't know... I guess they just... are?" He touched them gently. Feeling the feathers on his wing. It was still very sensitive, but it was adjusting.

Nickel stood their nervously. "Uh. Is it okay if I— uh... well, uhm..." he awkwardly gestured if he could touch them he was curious about them... Maybe they were soft? But the blood— he didn't know! But he knew he wanted to touch them.

Balloon sniffled and then flinched at the question. "O-oh... I guess." The snow had stopped and the wind wasn't blowing that much anymore. Balloon still felt horrible, But this was a helpful distraction from his sorrows.

Nickel rubbed the feathers on the wing closest to him. "Woah. They're kinda soft- UH. I mean— Th-They are feathers after all! D-don't make this weird...!!! Ahahah..." He did the awkward smile thing he does and just stood there frozen.

He was smiling. "Oh...! H-hahah..." He didn't wanna say it out loud. But it felt kinda nice. The wind stopped and he seemed quite a bit better.The howling wind could no longer be heard it was quiet for a moment.

Nickel backed up and turned to OJ. "PROBLEMDEALTWITHOKAYBYE." He left and sat behind the wall where Balloon couldn't see him. His face embarrassed... He felt like an idiot.

Paper looked over to him. "D-Did it go well? The wind made it hard to hear." Paper tilted his head in a worried manner.

"YUP! Totally fine... hah..." Nickel did his best to cover his face, not wanting Paper to see his clear embarrassment.

Paper noticed something was off, And blinked a few times. "Are you okay...?" He asked in a concerned tone.

"YUP EVERYTHING IS NORMAL." He blurted loudly, trying to get Paper's attention OFF of him, so he could have a moment to cease his panic.

Paper stared for a moment or two, trying to asses the situation, but gave in, "If you say so..." Paper sighed. Not believing him, but he didn't push it.

OJ watched Balloon stand up and get tidy up his stuff that was blown off his shelves. His movement was slow as he organized his belongings and whined at the wetness the snow caused his poetry books to get. He seemed to slump around generally slower. Eventually Balloon sat down in his bed.

Balloon's eyes met with OJ. Balloon looked away immediately, whining and spilling up the blanket as he curled up in it along with his feathery limbs.

"Balloon... I just wanted to say I'm sorry." OJ told him his tone sounded sincere. But there was just... something about his eyes.

Balloon was silent. He didn't know what to say. It be rude to not a accept his apology right? But he was still upset... he didn't want to have a bigger confrontation then necessary. So he just slightly nodded his head. "It's fine..." it was NOT fine.

OJ smiled and turned to Paper. "I'm gonna go wait for Test Tube." OJ informed and he left, not bothering to look back.

Paper looked upset. He felt like OJ needed to make it up to Balloon a bit more then he did. But he decided he'd talk to OJ about it later.

After all he didn't really wanna have a fight in front of Balloon since... Balloon already seemed upset. Loud noises wouldn't help the situation, so it would be pushed aside for now... But not dropped.

Nickel sat there thinking about the conversation... About Balloon... and the weird things that were happening. He tried to look frustrated. But he was concerned. What should he even do? It's not like he could apologize the wings away! But maybe... the wings weren't what needed an apology.

Paper got up and turned the corner into the room. He walked over and sat on the side of Balloon's bed. "Do you need anything...? I-I don't think you got breakfast this morning..." Paper gave a nervous, but reassuring smile to match his tone.

"I'm not hungry..." Balloon whined in response, barely managing to keep his tears from resurfacing. Balloon rubbed the side of his arms and clutched his blanket tightly.

"..." Paper sat there for a moment not knowing what to say. He thought about what he could possibly do in this moment. "My parents died when I was little too..." he finally said. And placed a hand on Balloon's shoulder. "I understand what it's like... To... Feel the way you do... And I don't mean that in an invalidating way either. Losing the people you live isn't easy... It never is and never will be."

The smaller object looked sadly at the blanket and didn't answer... he knew if he spoke up he'd cry. He might cry regardless...

"But... I taught myself to think that, even if they aren't with us anymore... Where ever they are... I'm sure both of our parents still love us..." Paper smiled. "You've lived through so much Balloon, and you've grown as a person. You should be proud of that. And I'm sure they're proud of you too."

Balloon smiled a little. But started to tear up, his body now trembled again,m.

"It's okay to cry... j-just.. uh... try not to freeze the room again... heh..." Paper was still nervous about that.

Balloon choked out a small sob... But it wasn't small for long. He soon began to cry loudly again, and just let his feelings out. He didn't say anything. But... it felt good not to bottle up his tears. And... to not let it explode into a blizzard like before. Though energy that felt like it was resonating in his body felt like it wanted to escape him, and freeze his surroundings once again.

Paper pat his head and gave him the comfort he needed. "I'm proud of you too." Paper reassured.

Balloon felt happy by this... He felt like he finally had some people to talk to... that cared. That's really all he ever wanted. "Th-th-Thanks Paper..." he said quietly, and sniffled.

Paper wrapped his arms around Balloon and gently pet his head in a fatherly manner. "It's going to be okay......Just let it all out..." He comforted softly.

Balloon turned and hugged Paper back, crying into him softly... his wings curling up around him further, as he nuzzled up into the bigger object's comfort.

Nickel listened to this happen from outside the door. He sighed quietly. He knew he'd never get that sort of comfort.

God he wished he could tell Balloon how much they were really alike.

To stop faking who he was...

Maybe they would be friends.

He knew he was a hypocrite.

But what else could he do?

He could never change.

Maybe if he keeps lying...

Running from his past.

It'll all just...

Go away.

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