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"Bendy!" Cuphead called, as he walked through the forest. He's been searching for what felt like hours yet in reality was only 30 minutes at the most. He wants to… apologize? Is that the right term? To Bendy, he remembers the expression he made right before running away and the tears in his eyes. It still hurt for him to think about, but he knew running after him wouldn't have worked. In fact, from experience he knew it was likely to only make it even worse if one of them is still feeling high-strung on their emotions. As he was searching for him, he ended up finding a nice, cozy-looking stream. He decided to sit near the river bed to try and calm back down before he works himself back up. He sighs, thinking about what happened again as he clutched his legs to his chest.
After it had happened, he ran back home to Mugman. He SLAMMED their bedroom door open, and before Mugman could protest about the treatment of the door he blurted out 'DO YOU KNOW IF THERE'S SUCH A THING AS A ONE-SIDED SOULMATE BOUND?!' Tears started to gather in his eyes as he remembered what Mugman had told him, how, yes, a one-sided bond is possible, just extremely rare. He wishes he could be normal for Bendy, how he deserved an actual soulmate- No. We're getting off track here! He's supposed to be looking for Bendy to help him feel better, not making himself feel worse. He lets his legs fall onto the dirt as he uses his hands to wipe away the few tears that started falling, letting in a few deep breaths to help him calm down again before pushing himself up off the ground and turning around to continue his search for the other.
--
After a while of fruitless searching, he ended up back at the riverbed, but this time he wasn't alone. On the other side, he could see Bendy, curled up and crying into his legs as his tail wrapped around himself. He walked to right before his feet would meet the water and called out for him. Bendy's head snapped up from his legs at his voice, and their eyes locked together as tears were still streaming down his face.
"What are you doing here?" Bendy manages to get out,
"I was looking for you-"
"Why? To- To embarrass me further? To make fun of me for thinking you were my soulmate?! For thinking I could have a soulmate when I'm a demon!?"
"What?- NO! No! I would never do that! I swear!"
"Then why? Why are you here in front of me?!-"
"BECAUSE I'M SORRY!" Cuphead blurts out, catching Bendy off guard as he sees the tears that started to form in his eyes start falling down. "I'm sorry I don't have a soulmate mark to go with yours! A bond. I- I never thought I would ever want one in my life so I never told you about it!- It didn't seem like something important before. But now your soulmate is me and I still don't have one." Cuphead's breath starts getting shaky, but he manages to force out the rest of what he wishes to say, "You have no idea how badly I wish I could say it's appeared now. How- How much I wish I was normal, how the bond isn't one-sided after all. But I can't say that, not in a way in which it's true. and I'm so sorry."
-
Bendy got up from his spot, doing his best to rub the tears out of his eyes as he tries to get closer to Cuphead. He's still upset, but… he can't bring himself to listen to Cuphead talk about himself in such a way. He wasn't upset with Cuphead, not really. Rationally, he knew that too; he was just upset, and Cuphead happened to be the easiest target for him to blame. As he reaches the river bed, right as his shoes get drenched from the water as he wades through the water to get to Cuphead, "God, I was supposed to be the one making you feel better, not cry as well. All I'm doing is making it even worse-" he hears Cuphead say in a shaky voice as he reaches up in a futile attempt to wipe away his tears, for every tear he gets two more take it's place. It makes Bendy's heart break hearing this, even more so than when he found out his bond wasn't requited.
"No, you're not." He finally speaks up, his voice raw from all the crying he's been doing all day. As he reaches Cuphead, he reaches out his hands to grab the other to help him stay. "You're not making it worse." His tail flickers before wrapping around Cuphead's leg. He needs him to be present for what he says next, needs him to be able to hear him. "You never needed to apologize-"
"But-" Bendy's hands grip Cuphead's arms tighter as he does his best to look at him. It's hard, but he needs to say this.
"I wasn't upset with you, not really. I was more-" He takes in a deep breath, closing his eyes momentarily before reopening them as he lets it out. "I was more upset with myself." There's a moment of silence as the words register in Cuphead's mind, as his body freezes, as he is finally given a moment to breathe after Bendy's confession. As the words finally click for him, all he can get out is a shaky laugh before asking:
"We're just a big mess, aren't we?" Bendy gives a weak smile in return,
"We wouldn't be us if we weren't."
There's still more for them to talk about; this isn't a finished conversation. Just one being put on pause for the time being. They're not perfect, and they never will be, but for now…
For now, they're feeling a little better about this. They have an idea of how to move forward.