sweet talk

and open the sky

chapter ten

"Rigby! Rigby, can you hear me?"

The raccoon's eyes opened to darkness, but Mordecai's voice was louder than the world, echoing in his brain. He looked around for the tall blue jay, his throat closing up and his eyes fire. "Mordecai!" He croaked, "Mordecai, I'm scared!"

"Oh, but he can't save you," a different voice spoke, chilling and familiar. The demon.

"Stop talking!" Rigby screamed. He turned, and started to run, Mordecai's voice was echoing around him, mixing with the voice of Delliao. His head was throbbing in time with his feet, and he was terrified.

And suddenly, the world slowed and his vision grew fuzzy and gray. Mordecai's voice was louder and louder, and he could feel the ground shake beneath him

Looking up, the sky tore open, the darkness ripping until he saw bright, bright lights.

And then he was awake.

"Rigby! You're awake! Thank God--"

Mordecai choked on his words, and he ran his hand over his face. Rigby could almost believe he had been crying.

"I-I can't breathe--" Rigby rasped.

"Don't talk, please. Just... you really scared me, dude. You scared us both."

"Both?"

"Margaret was here. She had to go, though..."

"Oh."

Surprisingly, Rigby felt himself lifted from the ground and engulfed into a hug, the blue jay's wings wrapping around him with ease. It was even more shocking when the other started shaking with tears.

Slowly, Rigby lifted his arms to hug back. But they were too weak, so he let them hang down. "I didn't mean to scare you-- that's not my fault," he snapped, weakly, "I--I... I'm scared."

"Of what?" Mordecai pulled away, and looked at him.

Suddenly, Rigby didn't know how to reply. All he could do was stare at the other, and feel his face heat up in longing. He reached out, and gently stroked Mordecai's face, before quickly flinching away.

"You didn't go to the pond, did you?" He rasped.

Mordecai frowned. "Dude, you're being confusing..."

"Did you go to the pond," Rigby repeated, firmly.

"I didn't-- why? Why are you scared?"

"I just am, okay?! Look, I saw... I saw a demon." He pressed his chops together and Mordecai crossed his arms, raising a brow.

"A demon?"

"You have to believe me! He wants to kill me, and by doing so, he wants to lure you towards the pond. I don't know why--"

"Look, you're making zero sense. I think you hit your head, dude." His voice was grave, almost scared. Rigby was scaring him. The raccoon sprang to his feet.

"Well, I... I saw you kissing Margaret the other day! How come you're keeping that secret, huh?" His eyes glossed over, and he inwardly cringed at himself. Why would he say that? Of all things-- that wasn't even the subject at the moment, and Mordecai knew that.

They both did.

And the blue jay was silent after that, pissing Rigby off even more.

Limbs aching, hands sweaty, he turned and ran to the window, throwing it open. He climbed out onto the roof, into the golden light of the sky, and rubbed his face, slowly bringing them up to his hair. What am I going to do?

"Rigby! Be careful!" Mordecai called. He climbed after him.

"Just leave me alone! Go! You don't believe me, so why should you care?" Rigby turned to the other, his eyes widening. Something was feeding his anger slowly, and a low voice in the back of his head began to work.

Hurt him. You can. You're on the roof. Give him fear.

Rigby curled his hands into fists. He didn't realize he was crying until he could feel the hot tears rolling down his face, his breath hitching. The voice, quite frankly, was scaring the shit out of him, and he didn't know what to do. He liked Mordecai. A lot more than he should have.

"I'm... I'm not leaving you, Rigby. I just need more of an explanation--" Mordecai started. Seeing that the raccoon was crying, his tears catching the golden light of the sun, his eyes widened.

Instead of replying, however, Rigby turned away from the blue jay, and sat down.

"Rigby?"

Rigby was seething with anger; he wanted to be left alone so he didn't hurt Mordecai more than he has. More tears poured down his face, but he didn't sob. He wouldn't allow that. He just waited for the other to go.

But he didn't. He walked over, ever so slowly, and stood next to the raccoon. And then he grabbed his hand, and Rigby flinched, eyes wide.

But they didn't speak, only gripped each other's hands so tight one would believe it was a contest between them to see who could hold on the tightest. And then, a sob escaped Rigby's mouth. He curled up, his other hand covering his eyes, letting himself cry into the golden void of the sky.

"Rigby I-- I didn't mean to make you cry."

It's not you, Rigby wanted to say. It was the anxiety pooling in his stomach, the words he wanted to say, the fear of the pond, the demon, the nightmares. But he couldn't bring himself to say that. So he just sat, and waited for the pressure to come.

Mordecai opened his beak, shakily, then closed it. It seemed he had nothing to say either.

"M...Mordecai?"

The blue jay kept his gaze on Rigby. "Hm?"

The raccoon didn't know what he was going to say, but the words seemed to form itself.

"I'm scared."

Mordecai scooted closer to him, keeping his grip.

"I know," he said, "And I want you to face your fears."