When Sabre woke up next, it was late in the afternoon. He was usually against sleeping so much(it was the opposite of productive), but his body didn't seem to agree with him. The bed was warm, and his head was full of cotton. A nice feeling, when all you wanted to do was laze about. Not too nice when you were stuck worrying about another Steve you weren't even supposed to worry about.
All he could think about was Rainbow and Light. Light's clingy hugs, Rainbow's unneeded kindness. He probably wouldn't be here if it weren't for both of them. Light protected him from Dark, Rainbow saved him from that cave. Sabre gripped the sheets, almost ashamed that he was indebted to Steves. Embarrassing.
At the bedside sat another bowl of rabbit stew, waiting. Sabre sat up in the bed, still feeling sore but a lot better, and grabbed the bowl, breathing it in. It was lukewarm in his hands; Sabre assumed it had been sitting there for a while. Still, he ate it quickly like he hadn't been fed in a million years.
While eating, Rainbow Steve had crawled into Sabre's sight. He said nothing(mostly because his mouth was full of rabbit meat and broth) and Rainbow didn't either. Eventually, Rainbow got closer, standing between the armor stands and continuing to watch Sabre eat.
When he was done, Sabre set the bowl down on the bedside table, making a small clunk sound of wood against wood. Rainbow blinked. Sabre did too, underneath the blindfold. Then Rainbow made his way further closer to Sabre, standing over the foot of the bed, still at a decent distance.
"Nice stew." Sabre said softly. Rainbow nodded a little.
Sabre couldn't blame Rainbow for being weary. Sabre wouldn't have trusted his abuser, either. Still, it made for a quiet, awkward moment. Sabre didn't know what to say, what to do to make it up to him, if he could or should try to make it up to him at all.
"I was planning on going to find Light." Sabre said, breaking the silence. Rainbow looked curious, a bit confused. Sabre remembered that Rainbow and Light hadn't met at all, and Rainbow wasn't even aware Sabre had created Light after destroying him. He cringed a little. "You haven't met Light. You and him are a lot alike." Sabre said, and god, with the proper knowledge, it made him sound like a jerk.
Rainbow nodded along. He approached Sabre further, incredibly carefully, then snatched the empty bowl of stew and ran out of Sabre's reach again.
"I'm not going to hurt you." Sabre sighed. "I know you won't believe me, but it's true. I don't have a reason to."
"You didn't have a reason before." A small voice matched itself with blue eyes and rainbow hair. Sabre froze when he heard him speak, but didn't get a chance to ask him about it or say anything as the Steve stepped away to clean the dish. Sabre was left alone.
It hurt Sabre's heart to be alone, but the words hurt him worse. The worst part was, Sabre knew he had a reason, but when he tried to think back on it...he couldn't think of anything. The small excuses he could think up felt weak and unfair. Why had his logic switched up on him? What was wrong with him?
Rainbow had every right to hate him. But when he was rightfully blamed for what he did, that's when it hurt, because he had to face what he did. Maybe a month ago he would have argued it was justified. A month ago, he probably wouldn't even feel the need to argue with himself about this. Why? What changed?
...he couldn't sit there and drown in self-pity. Light could be hurt. What if Dark found him? The idea made him hurt in a different way, more fearful and worried. He tore the blankets away and removed himself from the warmth. He contemplated grabbing a set of armor, but the last thing Sabre wanted was to make Rainbow upset. If he wasn't already upset.
Sabre walked down the stairs cautiously, watching for Rainbow. He wasn't in the house, to Sabre's surprise. He stepped outside, eyes focusing on the garden. It was a beautiful bunch of different colored flowers, dancing in the breeze. Sabre never had much of an appreciation for flowers, but they definitely caught his eye.
