Vermillion sat on a wooden bench. He was slotted in between a tall teenager with a hood over his head, his dark purple eyes shining in the darkness of the shadows covering his face, and a shorter teenager with thick brunette hair and a black gas mask positioned over his lower face. Vermillion was leaned back against the rest of the bench, a metal screw digging into his shoulder blade and his limbs were starting to ache. He couldn't even think about moving, though, not when the sun was setting so beautifully right in front of him. He was tempted to tell his friends to stop doing what they were doing in order to watch with him. He didn't tell them, instead allowing them to do what they wanted. The taller teenager was watching the shorter one fiddle with a metal cube designed to open after a series of puzzles were solved.

The shorter one sighed, lowering the cube back into his lap. The sigh turned to steam as it pushed through the metal tubes inside the gas mask. Vermillion's eyes flickered over, and the taller teenager looked up at his friend. The shorter one threw his arms over Vermillion's shoulders, pressing his entire weight into Vermillion's side. Vermillion fell to the side, the taller teenager helping support some of his weight. "I'm so bored."

"Fucking hell, mate," Vermillion muttered, wrapping his arms around the smaller teenager's shoulders to keep him in place. "You're gonna fucking knock me off the bench."

"Ender would never let us fall," The short brunette said airily, his voice drifting as his eyes closed beneath his goggles. The metal cube nearly rolled out of his lap, but Vermillion caught it before it could hit the sand beneath the bench.

"Ender would totally let us fall," Vermillion deadpanned. He felt Ender's grip tighten around him. Ender reached to pluck the cube out of Vermillion's hand, lifting it up to his eye level. Vermillion's eyes trailed after it, watching Ender start to fiddle with the mechanics using his one hand.

"I would probably let you fall," Ender agreed. Vermillion felt the rumbling in Ender's chest as the hybrid laughed, and he couldn't resist the smile that stretched across his face. He couldn't see, but he knew that the brunette was smiling widely.

"See? I'm always fucking right because I'm a Big Man," Vermillion said, lowering his head back down to see the shorter stretch out across the bench like it was a comfortable bed instead of rough wood. Vermillion had thought about coming out to sand it once more, knowing the last time it had been sanded was its creation more than a decade ago. He never did, though, too busy training, patrolling, and hanging out with his new friends (his family, in some ways). He knew that he should soon since he, Ender, and Kamikaze- the short teenager- frequently came out to relax on the bench. Vermillion couldn't remember the last sunset he had seen that wasn't on the bench. But, he concluded, he also didn't know the last time he had seen a sunset on that bench that didn't make his back and tailbone ache afterward.

"And I'm Big K!" Kamikaze cheered, tilting his head up to show Vermillion that his eyes were practically glowing with how happy and comfortable he was. The faded orange sunlight filled them, making the blue streaks in the green eyes pop.

"Why don't I get a cool nickname?" Ender complained. The three of them started to tilt backward as Ranboo leaned back against the bench, allowing most of the weight to fall on top of him. "All you guys call me is shit and sexy."

"I have never called you shit," Kamikaze said with what sounded alarmingly like a pout in his voice. Kamikaze could be terrifying if he wanted to be, but he usually resorted to more childish antics when he was with his two best friends. It would not be the first time that Kamikaze began pouting or crying in their company in order to get his way.

"I have never called you sexy," Vermillion clarified, his nose scrunching up in slight disgust at the thought.

"You have called him hot," Kamikaze said with a laugh already building in his voice even before he got the words out.

"Fuck you! I meant hot like the temperature because he was wearing red!" Vermillion said, the blush painted on his face evident in his voice. His embarrassment grew when he heard Ender and Kamikaze laughing on either side of him. He started hitting Kamikaze in the back, and his heel slammed into Ender's calf.

"Gods, why is your first instinct always to fucking hit people!" Kamikaze said, trying to grab both of Vermillion's hands. Ender groaned in pain, wincing badly when Vermillion finally struck his target. "It's like the first minor inconvenience turns you into a toddler having a tantrum!"

"I will fucking punt you," Vermillion said, calming down. His hands fell loosely around Kamikaze's body. His feet fell dormant, hanging off the side of the bench with a slight swing to them. Despite his threat, he allowed himself to relax between his two friends. It had been a long day of fighting crime, after all, and he enjoyed these precious moments more than he would ever admit.

"You know," Kamikaze began, "When me and Ender become full-fledged heroes, we should te-"

Vermillion's eyes opened, his hand reaching up into the empty air for memories that weren't there. He felt the sharp sting of tears in his eyes as he tried thinking past the memories he had been confronted with.

Vermillion sat up. He was lying in a bed with a heavy red comforter and thick white sheets. There was a sliding wooden door that possibly led into a closet, and a sturdier door that definitely led into a hall or outside. There was a candle in a black lantern case on the wooden bedside table. The candlelight flickered in the room, though it was unnecessary with the pale sunlight streaming through one of the windows. Vermillion turned to look out the window. It was filled with a gray sky and lapping water. The sound of sea birds and crashing waves breached through the thin walls. Vermillion reached for the window, pressing the back of his fingers against the bitterly cold glass.

Wood creaked as one of the doors opened. Vermillion whirled his head around to see a short brunette in a bulky brown coat lined with white fur. He was holding a tray balancing a plate of food and a plastic cup of something. For a moment, Vermillion felt an arrow slide firmly into place inside his heart. A pain that was unrecognizable in its familiarity made the tears rush right back into his eyes.

He wanted to identify the source, but the rest of his body began to ache painfully. He hissed as he looked down, finding that his arms were wrapped in blistering white gauze. The figure was the doorway rushed into the room, setting the tray down on the nightstand. They tried reaching for Vermillion's hand, but he slapped it away with a tight expression pulling on his face. Instead of getting upset, the person merely put their hands up as a sign of innocence. Vermillion wanted to screech at the person, but he recognized the person in front of him. This was Tubbo Underscore, someone who came to the hotel a few weeks prior.

"What do you remember?" Tubbo asked, tilting his head to the side as he asked. The mannerism was definitely familiar, but Vermillion had already given up on trying to figure out how he knew Tubbo. The only place they could have crossed paths was the hotel, after all.

"I..." Vermillion stumbled for his words, his voice ripping out of his throat like a knife was shredding his vocal chords. Tubbo helpfully took the cup of the tray. He tried bringing it to Vermillion's lips, but the vigilante grabbed the cup before that could happen. He drank it by himself, downing the whole thing before he was really ready for that much liquid to be in his stomach. He felt himself gag, and Tubbo reached to grab a small trash can underneath the nightstand. Vermillion pressed his lips together, forcing the nausea back down. He refused to puke in front of Tubbo. He refused to show that sort of weakness.

"I was fighting a villain in a nearby warehouse with my sidekick Passerine. We had gotten hurt... fuck, is she okay?" Vermillion reached to grab Tubbo's shoulder as he demanded an answer. It was Tubbo's time to flinch back. Tubbo took a step off the bed, and took another one to put a little distance between him and Vermillion. His eyebrows tightened together, and his lips began to wobble. There was a sourness in his complexion that couldn't have come from being in the chilly room.

"Sidekick?" Tubbo said. There was something in his voice. It was, in simplest terms, pain, but Vermillion didn't know what kind. He couldn't even make an educated guess. Why would a civilian and resident of Snowchester like Tubbo care if Vermillion, the REd Angel of Logstedshire, had a sidekick?

"Yeah, my fucking sidekick. What the hell did you do to her?" Vermillion snapped, trying to push the comforter out of his way to grapple with Tubbo. The brunette sighed deeply, taking a step forward. He gently nudged Vermillion back into the bed, pulling the comforter up as far as he could with Vermillion sitting up instead of lying down. It seemed a little too kind for a stranger to do, and this confusion completely stumped Vermillion. What was he supposed to do in the face of someone being this effortlessly kind to him? Someone who seemed to understand him a little too well?

"She's fine. Still asleep, but it won't be long. All of her injuries have been bandaged, and she will make a speedy recovery. She's in the other room. You should stay in bed, however. Your calf endured a lot," Tubbo said, gesturing towards Vermillion's legs that had been covered with the comforter. Vermillion tried to move his legs, but he felt a lot of resistance from his right leg. Tubbo looked at him with a brief smile on his face, a sort of look on his face like he was humorously calling Vermillion a fool. That look would have made him angry if it was anyone else, but this... this was Tubbo, and Vermillion felt like those words meant something. Perhaps it was some leftover emotions from his dream fading into real life as his nightmares usually did.

"You should eat. I'll come check up on you later. If your... your sidekick wakes up, you'll be the first to know," Tubbo said, lifting up onto his feet with a tiredness in his stride that only came from an exhaustion coiled around someone's bones so tightly that you were no longer sure what your limbs were made from.

Tubbo shut the door behind him. Vermillion reached for the tray on the nightstand. To his surprise, it was mushroom stew. It was his favorite food because it was something he got to eat every time he came to eat dinner with the Blade, Crowfather, and Banshee (he went by Siren now... but he had been Banshee then). Vermillion used his spoon to stir the stew, and he discovered that there weren't any potatoes in the stew. He hated potatoes because it was the only food he ever got back when he was younger. That, and artificial nutrients. Vermillion found apple slices and warm bread surrounding the bowl. It was as if someone had made his favorite food with all his preferences thought of and considered. Vermillion's tears finally slipped out of his eyes as he enjoyed the meal he thought he would never be able to have again.

—

The day was slightly warmer than usual. The sun was streaming past the fuzzy white clouds that usually downpoured with snow. Some parts of the snow had melted away to reveal patches of permafrost across the green grass. Someone had shoveled away enough snow to reveal a cobblestone that would have been covered by the night's snowfall. The cobblestone path cut through most of the wooden buildings that populated the seaside area of Snowchester district.

Vermillion was wearing a jacket that was made for someone much taller than him. It was made from the same brown material and white fur interior as Tubbo's jacket, but it definitely wasn't Tubbo's. Vermillion lightly chuckled as he thought about what Tubbo would look like in the jacket. If Vermillion looked a little strange, Tubbo would look downright ridiculous.

"What are you laughing about?" Ranboo said from in front of Vermillion, the tall man looking over his shoulder at Vermillion.

"I thought about Tubbo wearing this jacket," Vermillion said, taking a few steps to catch up with Ranboo. He walked right beside Ranboo, trying to avoid stepping in the snow as he walked down the side of the cobblestone path.

"He would be swallowed by it," Ranboo said, a light chuckle brushing out of his lips as they continued walking. Vermillion had been staying at Ranboo and Tubbo's house for a few days as he healed. Passerine had woken up not even an hour after Vermillion had, and the two of them were convinced to stay until they were completely healed. Vermillion made sure that he was progressing as much as he could, so he took a walk every morning once the sun had risen enough for it to be slightly warm. Ranboo came with him on the walks to make sure that nothing happened. It wouldn't, but Vermillion found that it was impossible for him to deny Ranboo. He kept trying, but there was something about Ranboo and Tubbo that was messing with Vermillion's head. He wondered if he had gotten weak.

"No fucking doubt," Vermillion said, his head supplying him with how Tubbo would reply. He would probably threaten to cut their legs off for making fun of his side yet again. That prompted Vermillion to start howling with laughter. As tears began to fill his eyes from how much he was laughing, he was pretty sure he saw something melancholic in Ranboo's eyes. He didn't know where it came from, so he assumed that he was seeing things.

Vermillion looked away from that expression, his own heart beating in the same woeful way. As he turned, he caught a flash of color in the snow. He stepped onto the snowbank, ignoring the weird look Ranboo gave him. He found the source of the color fairly easily. He grabbed onto the stem, plucking the flower out of the frigid temperatures. He cradled the allium to his chest. The flower was an orchid purple with thousands of tiny flowery spindles extended from the stem. They were soft to the touch as Vermillion held his bare hand against the tips of the petals. He turned around with a soft smile on his face. He held the allium flower in front of him at Ranboo. "For you."

Ranboo's face fell with a deep grief. Vermillion almost pulled the flower back to him with an apology on his tongue. Ranboo gently took the allium, grasping the green stem in between two of his fingers. Ranboo pulled the allium flower close to his chest with such care that Vermillion could have mistaken it for a baby. He wondered why Ranboo was treating this like a much bigger thing than it was. Vermillion had merely found a flower in the snow, and he was giving it to Ranboo instead of keeping it to himself. Vermillion wouldn't have given the allium away if he didn't have his own memories associated with the flower. The memories seemed sweet, but every time he saw that shade of purple, he thought of the way Ender's eyes burned as he tried consoling one best friend as he learned the other was dead.

"Thank you," Ranboo whispered, bowing his head over the allium. Vermillion rushed forward, unsure what he was doing until both his arms were around Ranboo's shoulders. He suspected that he was going to be pushed away. He was pretty sure Ranboo would continue on his path with an awkward chuckle and an insistence that he needed to leave. Instead, Ranboo tucked his head between Vermillion's neck and shoulder. Vermillion felt Ranboo's chest move as he allowed a vulnerable whimper to escape his lips. Vermillion didn't like the feeling, but how could he walk away when Ranboo needed him?

—

Vermillion stacked colored cubes on top of one another until he had an upright tower. He smiled at it with pride, lifting his hands up to showcase it. He turned his gaze to look at Passerine sitting on the couch. She was flipping through different channels on the television, barely paying attention to him. "It's the Tower of Intimidation! Do you feel intimidated?"

"He doesn't," Passerine shrugged, pointing at something with the remote. Vermillion turned to watch Michael knock Vermillion's tower down with a mischievous smile on his face and bright light in his eyes. Michael looked at Vermillion without an ounce of remorse on his face.

"You little shit," Vermillion said, grabbing onto Michael. He brought the boy against Vermillion's chest, and he started tickling Michael's sides. The zombified Piglin-hybrid started squealing with laughter as Vermillion kept him from escaping. Eventually, Passerine dropped the remote onto the couch to dive into the fray. She pulled Michael away from Vermillion, and the two of them teamed up to tickle Vermillion. The vigilante began laughing uncontrollably as he swatted their hands away.

Vermillion caught sight of Tubbo and Ranboo standing at the doorway. Vermillion tried pleading for help, but he was met with Tubbo's cruel smile and Ranboo's apologetic eyes. Vermillion tried saying 'traitors', but he couldn't get anything out as his breath was stolen away from him. He eventually slammed his hand against the playmat. Passerine quit tickling him. Michael flopped down onto Vermillion's chest as the vigilante heaved in for breaths. His hand came up to play with Michael's hair as he turned his head to look at Tubbo and Ranboo.

He wanted to yell at them for leaving him by himself, but he found his smile dropping at the looks on their faces. Tubbo looked bittersweet, leaning more towards bitterness, with arms crossed over his chest and grimace distorting his face. Ranboo remained smiling, but there were unshed tears in his eyes. Vermillion wanted to wipe that expression off both their faces, making them laugh as hard as he had just laughed, but he didn't know why they were looking like that in the first place. He rarely knew why Tubbo and Ranboo shared emotional expressions when they saw Vermillion do something that he had always done. It felt like his habits had more significance to them than they really did, and Vermillion wanted to know why. He wanted to make those faces stop coming.

"Hey, Vermillion, can I talk to you for a moment?" Tubbo said. Ranboo entered the room to play with Michael, and Vermillion found that he was trading places with Ranboo at the doorway of the kitchen. Tubbo ushered them both inside, allowing the door to fall shut behind them.

Tubbo turned to Vermillion with a determined look on his face. "Ranboo and I have found a way to... to send a message to the heroes Ender and Kamikaze... I know that you're trying to go solo, but you talk about this villain like she's powerful. Plus, if she's going to destroy Snowchester... Kamikaze will want to protect his district. You said you and Passerine are leaving tomorrow, right? Well, they'll be there to help you. And you can't argue this. The decision is out of your hands."