Dysfunctional (A Cuphead Devildice Fanfic)

An Apology

Dice was taken aback by the question.

"No! of course not... well... I used to, but... that all changed when I met you."

He gave the Devil a soft smile and continued to brush his fur. The Devil sighed softly.

"But... well, there was one other time... back when we had that big fight, years ago..."

The Devil tensed up. He'd tried his best to forget about that fight. It had taken them a couple weeks to get back on good terms after that.

"I'm sorry, Dice... that was all my fault. Just like... just like this..."

The Devil began to cry. Thick red tears of mortal blood dripped down his cheeks. He slumped over and put his face in his hands. Dice scooted over to sit next to his husband. He wrapped his arms around the Devil.

"Bubba... don't be so hard on yourself..."

"Why shouldn't I?! My family hates me and it's all my fault! Our son is missing and it's all my fault..."

Dice rubbed the Devil's back with his hand. A look of worry plastered onto his tired face.

"Oh, Bubba... I know you may have made some mistakes but listen to me: This is not your fault."

The Devil whimpered and leaned his head on Dice's shoulder, his vision blurred with thick red tears. Dice sighed softly and began to hum to his husband. The Devil sighed and wiped his eyes. He rested a hand on his stomach and winced slightly. He felt something strange.

Kicking. The baby was kicking.

"Bubba?"

"Yes, Dice?"

"Would you mind... telling me about your nightmare?"

"I-I didn't have a nightmare..."

"Don't lie to me, Bubba. You were tossin' and turnin' something fierce. Plus, you were cryin'."

The Devil turned his head away from Dice, not wanting to meet his gaze.

"It... it was nothing."

Dice frowned and grabbed the Devil's hand, using his other hand to tilt his chin back to face him. The Devil whimpered and tried to avoid looking into Dice's emerald-green eyes.

The very same as Snake-Eyes.

"Bubba, please. Look at me. You know I'm here for you. I need to know how you're feeling. Besides, too much stress is bad for the baby."

The Devil whined softly and finally met Dice's eyes. But just looking into the eyes inherited by his son was enough to get his tears flowing again.

"I-I'm sorry Dice... I can't look at you... Every time I look into your eyes all I can see is him... I-I just want my baby back..."

Dice's heart ached. He missed his son more than anything in the world. He had always been there for the boy, comforting him after he'd been scolded, tending to his injuries, consoling him whenever he cried. And now... Snake-Eyes was gone.

"I know, Bubba... I miss him too. But you can't blame yourself. You couldn't have known..."

Dice knew he wasn't telling the complete truth. There had always been a distance between the boy and his mother. He reminded the Devil of himself when he was younger, when he was an angel, when he was holy. The singing, the empathy, the childish tantrums. It disgusted him. He'd hated that whenever he looked at his son, he only saw himself.

So he tried to force his son to do worse, trying to shape him into a proper heir to the throne of Hell. But the distance between them only grew when Snake-Eyes begged for his sister to inherit the kingdom so he could work at the casino instead.

No matter how many times the Devil had yelled at him, no matter how many times he was hit for misbehaving, Snake-Eyes bounced back with unfaltering determination and a strong sense of rebellion.

The Devil growled slightly. He knew Dice was lying to him.

"I don't need your fucking lies of pity, Dice. I know it was all my fault! I-I... I just..."

The Devil was interrupted by his husband's soft, smooth lips against his own. He whimpered and closed his eyes, leaning into the kiss. Dice reached one hand up to cup his cheek softly, stroking his fur with his thumb. The Devil grunted slightly as he felt the kicking again. He broke from the kiss and sighed softly, laying his hand back on his stomach. Dice smiled softly and placed his hand on top of the Devil's.

"I can't wait to see our baby boy..."