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Cole turned the TV on to an NGTV News broadcast he’d paused previously, annoyed. Plundar started fidgeting nervously with a pair of fidget cubes the Earth Ninja had bought him a few weeks prior after noticing Plundar throwing away his dice also took away something he used to fidget with, something that had still been affecting him over a year and a half after getting rid of them. As Cole played the broadcast, Plundar’s fidgeting got more and more intense.
Cole had brought Plundar to the relaxation room telling him he “needed to discuss something with him.” Plundar couldn’t bring himself to even glance at the TV, staring wide-eyed at the fidget cubes in his hands instead. The woman he recognized as Gayle Gossip was reporting on the incident, and Plundar was on the verge of tears just listening.
“Multiple thefts have taken place all across Ninjago City, but nobody knows who’s behind them. The culprit is doing extremely well hiding their identity, so will we ever know who’s behind it?”
Plundar blocked everything else out. He didn’t even realize he was crying until Cole put a comforting hand on his shoulder, tilting his chin to look up at him.
“Hey, look at me,” the ninja said quietly, looking at Plundar with an expression that almost sent Plundar into a sobbing mess. “I … I didn’t know how else to bring it up, I’m sorry. But you can’t keep doing this. You’re gonna get arrested eventually.”
“I-I can’t help it,” Plundar said quietly, shoving Cole’s hand away from his face. “I-I’m like a fucking magpie. I see something shiny or something I like and I have to steal it. I fucking hate it. It gives me an adrenaline rush and it makes it addicting. It’s an impulse I can’t control, and I fucking hate it.”
“Have you considered getting help for it?”
“What, and be arrested when they find out I’m the one who’s been committing all these fucking thefts? It’s not like I can help it, Cole!”
“Plundar, calm down. I’ll help you.”
“How?!”
“Would it make you feel better if I sat in on your first few therapy sessions?”
“Like that’ll do anything!”
Cole rubbed his temples exasperatedly.
“Plundar, Plundar, do you know what therapist-client privilege is?”
Plundar hesitated.
“N … no?”
“It prevents your therapist from telling the police about your crimes unless you’re threatening your life or someone else’s. You aren’t gonna be reported because legally, you can’t be.”
Plundar sighed.
“Think about it,” Cole said gently, kissing Plundar’s cheek before leaving the room. “I love you.”
Plundar watched Cole leave, flinching when he felt a nudge at his hand.
“Oh, hey, Adam,” the thief said quietly, smiling weakly. He sighed again. “Cole’s right, I’m gonna get caught eventually.”
Plundar flinched again when Zane walked into the room. The nindroid yelped when he noticed Adam.
“O-oh, it’s just you two,” Zane said with relief, smiling. “Sorry, I didn’t think anyone would be in here.”
“It’s all good, Frosty,” Plundar said with a smile, rubbing Adam’s head; the spider had panicked when Zane yelped, so Plundar was trying to calm him down.
“Are you doing alright by the way?”
“What do you mean?”
“I … I’ve seen the news,” Zane said, remembering when Wu had told him to handle the situation delicately before interrogating Milton Dyer’s parents. While he hadn’t necessarily understood exactly why at the time, he now understood that jumping to accusing someone of a crime wasn’t a productive way of going about conversations like this, and the last thing he wanted was for this conversation to go badly.
“I ….”
“I may be able to help you get therapy, if you wanted,” Zane said with a gentle smile, walking over to sit next to Plundar.
“Really?” Plundar asked hesitantly.
“Yeah,” Zane said happily. “Pixal helped me reprocess some memories, so I am sure she would be willing to help you with your mental health.”
“No offense, but I can’t be plugged into a computer program to have my memories reprocessed,” Plundar pointed out, not looking at Zane.
“Not what I was referring to,” Zane said with a nervous chuckle. “Pixal and I are both more analytical than most, but I still have things to work through before I can comfortably help others with mental health problems. I’m recommending you go to Pixal for that reason. I’m basically recommending one of the team’s personal therapists.”
Plundar looked at Zane with a mildly confused expression.
“‘One of the team’s personal therapists’?” he repeated, pausing his rubbing of Adam.
“The other two are Dareth and Vinny Folson,” Zane explained. “We generally go to Dareth for the things that aren’t as serious. Pixal and Vinny help us with the more serious stuff, and usually alternate between who’s playing therapist.”
“And … you’re sure they’d be okay helping me out?”
“I am positive,” Zane assured the thief with a smile. “If you’re worried about what you’ve been through bothering them, I was manipulated into overthrowing the king of an entire realm after losing my memories. Jay and Nya claim to have been tortured in an event that only they remember happening. Cole was turned into a ghost for some time. Kai had to raise Nya on his own. Don’t even get me started on Lloyd.”
Plundar sighed. Then his eyes widened when he fully registered what Zane had just said.
“Hold on, Cole what?”
“Relax, he’s fine now,” Zane said a little nervously. He sighed exasperatedly when Plundar started to stand up. “Plundar, seriously, calm down. It happened several years ago. My point is Pixal, Dareth, and Vinny have heard and seen much worse than you think.”
Plundar hesitantly sat back down, but Zane’s clarifications still rang in the back of his mind.
Cole was turned into a ghost? He … he’s died before?
“If you’re okay with it, I can tell Pixal to set up a time for you to talk with her,” Zane said, pulling Plundar out of his thoughts.
“Oh, uh, yeah, sure,” Plundar said absent-mindedly. His mind was still on Cole. He was still worried – more worried than he was willing to admit. He knew Cole was doing fine but he’d had his fair share of near death experiences, and he couldn't imagine what actually dying was like.
“In that case, I’ll go talk to Pixal,” Zane said with a smile, getting up to leave. He sighed and glanced at Plundar before walking out of the room.
The scent of whatever it was that Zane had made for dinner – from what he heard, some sort of stir fry – was making Plundar’s mouth water. His appetite wasn’t there though, so he was laying on his back in the courtyard. He quickly turned on his side when he heard footsteps approaching.
“Are you doing okay, babe?” Cole asked, and Plundar heard him put a plate or bowl down.
“I’m fine.”
“C’mon, you’ve never turned down Zane’s stir fry. What’s on your mind?”
Cole chuckled, a noise somewhere between amused and nervous.
“I know I could’ve been more tactful with how I confronted you earlier, but –”
“I told you, I’m fine.”
“Plundar, you need to at least eat something.”
“Cole, I’m not hungry.”
Cole sighed.
“Alright, I see I’m not winning this one,” he said, laying down next to Plundar. “At least tell me what’s on your mind. I’ve been around you enough to know when something’s bothering you.”
Plundar sighed and sat up.
“Zane talked to me for a few minutes after you left the relaxation room,” he started. He glanced at the plate of stir fry Cole had brought, opting to ignore it for now. “He mentioned being able to talk to Pixal about giving me therapy, and mentioned that you guys have been through some shit to assure me that what I’ve gone through won’t be off putting to Pixal or Vinny.”
“This being Zane, I’m assuming he gave examples,” Cole said with a smirk.
“Yeah.”
Plundar hesitated.
“I wasn’t really bothered by any of them but he mentioned ….” Plundar’s voice drifted off. Cole gave him a concerned glance and grabbed the thief’s hand. “He mentioned you were turned into a ghost at one point. It’s just been gnawing at my mind all day.”
Plundar sighed again, though it was more shaky.
“I know you’re fine, I mean, you’re obviously not a ghost anymore, but it just … worried me.”
“Well, it had its perks but I’m happy to be immune to water again,” Cole said with a smile, trying to comfort Plundar. “And I wouldn’t be able to do this if I hadn’t been turned into a ghost.”
Cole punched his fists together, activating his Earth Punch.
“There were plenty of inconveniences to being a ghost, sure, but it wasn’t without its perks.”
Cole’s arms went back to normal and Plundar cuddled up next to him, grabbing the stir fry that had now cooled down significantly.
“I know who can fix that,” Cole said with a smile. “Hey, Kai!”
“Yeah?”
“C’mere!”
Plundar looked up to see Kai running toward him and Cole.
“What’s up?”
“Think you can warm up Plundar’s stir fry?”
Kai smirked.
“Is blacksmithing a family business for Masters of Fire?”
Cole and Plundar gave him a confused look. Kai responded with a laugh, rolling his eyes.
“Let me see your food, Plundar,” Kai said, grabbing the plate from Plundar and lighting a fire underneath it. “Should be warm now.”
“Thanks, Firecracker,” Plundar said, smiling as he grabbed his food back from Kai. He curled up against Cole, eating his stir fry. “Wow, you’re warm,” he told Cole between bites.
“I did just come from inside,” Cole said, laughing a little.
“Well, I’ll see you two later,” Kai said happily, walking to the monastery doors.
“Where are you going?” Cole asked.
“I told Skylor I’d meet her at Chan’s Theater,” Kai replied.
“Goin’ on a date?” Plundar said, smirking.
“Hey, in my defense, the only ‘date’ we’ve ever been on was defeating a giant fire serpent,” Kai said with a laugh.
“Don’t you go to her noodle place, like, all the time?” Plundar asked.
“She said that doesn’t count.”
Plundar shrugged.
“Well, have fun.”
Kai smiled and left.
“You can tell me anything, Plundar,” Cole said quietly, gently kissing Plundar’s shoulder. The thief shuddered involuntarily in response. Considering he’d already pressed Plundar about one thing – and pretty tactlessly at that – he decided to ignore it for now. “I promise.”
Plundar sighed, deciding not to answer. He instead opted to stay huddled up against Cole’s chest.
“I don’t like seeing you in emotional distress,” Cole continued, his voice nearly a whisper. “I just … I want to know when something’s bothering you, okay?”
Plundar nodded against Cole’s chest. He could feel his eyes starting to water.
“I … I’ll try to be a bit more open,” Plundar said quietly, wiping his eyes. He chuckled, although it was more bitter than amused. “No promises though, Rocky.”
Cole looked up upon hearing footsteps, finding Pixal in the doorway into the monastery. Despite having lived with Zane, whose eyes had glowed since he met the nindroid, for over a decade at this point, seeing Pixal’s eyes glowing was still an eerie sight.
“Hey, Pix,” Cole said, trying to sound cheerful. “What’s up?”
“Is Plundar with you?” Pixal asked, looking around.
“Yep.”
Plundar looked over Cole’s shoulder at Pixal, then proceeded to tighten his hold on the Earth Ninja.
“Plundar, I can speak to you now if you’d like,” Pixal said gently. “You can bring Cole with you.”
Pixal laughed a little.
“If not, that’s fine too. Just figured I’d ask.”
Plundar opted to tighten his hold on Cole again, stubbornly glaring at Pixal over the Earth Ninja’s shoulder.
“I’ll take that as a no,” Pixal said, continuing to laugh.
“Maybe tomorrow,” Cole said with a chuckle. “I’ll let you know if he lets me know.”
“That should be fine,” Pixal said. “For now I’ll leave you two alone.”
Pixal left. Cole looked at Plundar the best he could given his position, confused.
“That seemed oddly aggressive,” Cole said with a raised eyebrow. “Is everything okay?”
Plundar didn’t respond, making Cole more concerned than he already was.
“Plundar, what’s bothering you?”
“I don’t even know if I’m ready to get help,” Plundar said almost silently.
“I think that’s how everyone feels at first,” Cole said quietly. “But if you don’t get help, you’re eventually gonna get arrested, and I don’t feel like waking up to someone telling me I need to bail you out of Kryptarium. Pixal just wants to help you, Plundar.”
Plundar sighed.
“I … I know.”
“Think about it, okay?”
“Yeah.”
Plundar was sitting on his and Cole’s shared bed, sharpening one of the daggers he’d found in the dungeons in Shintaro that Kai had helped him restore. As he was doing so, a voice in the back of his mind started screaming at him.
Make yourself bleed, it’ll make you feel better.
Plundar stared at his reflection in the dagger. He looked around, deciding if he was going to go through with this, he was going to go through with it where he wouldn’t get blood everywhere. He quickly ran to the bathroom, putting the dagger in a sheath he’d started carrying by habit on his hip. The thief shut the door, quickly locking it, and grabbed his dagger again, putting the blade against his forearm. His eyes started watering.
This is why Cole wanted me to get help, now I’m about to fuckin’ cut my own arm with one of my own fuckin’ daggers ….
Plundar pushed the dagger’s blade into his arm a little harder, watching with wide eyes as blood started to bead around it. Removing the blade from his arm, he noticed that there was still a little bit of blood on the blade. He opted to lick it off, cringing at the metallic taste.
He watched as a tear fell from his face to the cut, immediately diluting the blood. He gave himself a few more cuts before putting the dagger back in its scabbard and moving to clean up the cuts. Making sure he wasn’t bleeding through his honestly messy bandaging, he left the bathroom, only to find a concerned Cole staring back at him.
“What?” Plundar asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
“Plundar, you have one of your daggers on you and your arm is bandaged,” Cole said, reaching for Plundar’s hand. “I’m not dense.”
Plundar’s eyes widened and tears started to fall down his face again, tears Cole quietly wiped from the rogue’s cheeks.
“I love you so, so much Plundar,” Cole said quietly. “I don’t like seeing you in pain like this. Can I see how bad the cuts are?”
Plundar looked away from Cole nervously.
“I promise I won’t be upset,” Cole assured him with a gentle smile. “We can go to our room and I’ll lock the door so nobody walks in.”
Right, their door did lock.
“O-okay. You promise you won’t be upset with me?”
“I already told you I wouldn’t, Dice,” Cole said, playfully rolling his eyes. “Now let’s go get these checked.”
Cole quickly picked up Plundar, something the thief was tempted to object to – for more than one reason – but he opted to cuddle into the crook of Cole’s neck instead. Cole gently put Plundar down on their shared bed, grabbing his arm to remove the bandages Plundar had wrapped it in. Plundar quickly pushed Cole’s hand away, earning him a confused look from his partner.
“What?” Cole asked, staring at Plundar.
“I … I wanna unwrap it,” Plundar explained quietly. He quickly but gently unwrapped his arm, taking off the gauze he’d put on his cuts.
“Plundar …,” Cole started, trying and failing to stop his eyes from watering. Plundar planted his face in the crook of Cole’s neck again, allowing Cole to inspect the cuts.
“I … I’m sorry, Cole,” Plundar said quietly.
“Relax, it’s not your fault,” Cole said, continuing to inspect Plundar’s arm. As much as Plundar wanted to argue with the ninja, he was too tired emotionally to even bother. “If Vangelis hadn’t thrown you in Rock-Bottom you could’ve gotten help a lot sooner, for both your kleptomania and your self-harm.”
Plundar looked at Cole with a confused expression.
“I’ve lived with a mentally unstable ball of anxiety for the better part of a decade, Plundar. I know what self-harm scars look like and you have a ton.”
Cole let out a shaky sigh. The sound broke Plundar’s heart.
“I’m honestly surprised you didn’t die from an infection while you were in Rock-Bottom,” Cole said quietly, hugging Plundar tightly. “At least here on the surface you can properly take care of any injuries you get.”
“Fungus’s magic combined with being in the mines where we had supplies around us proved to be pretty helpful in that regard,” Plundar said quietly. “Without Fungus or those leftover supplies, I absolutely would’ve died from an infection.”
Cole sighed again. This time it was less shaky, allowing Plundar to relax a bit. He curled tightly into Cole’s touch, resting his ear next to the earth ninja’s heart.
“Plundar … I’m not gonna stop you from continuing this,” Cole said gently, rubbing the fresh cuts on Plundar’s arm. “Like I said, I’ve lived with a mentally unstable ball of anxiety for years. I know your intent is just to inflict harm. You’re an adult so I don’t feel like it’s my place to stop you, but I want to know when you do hurt yourself, okay? Think of it as a form of harm reduction.”
Plundar hesitated. So Cole wasn’t going to stop him from taking a dagger to his wrists and forearms, but he wanted to know when he did it for “harm reduction” purposes? Even if Cole did have ulterior motives though, it’s not like Plundar had any reason to distrust him.
“O-okay.”
“Plundar, I’m not okay with you hurting yourself,” Cole clarified. “There’s just not really much I can personally do to stop it without risking traumatizing you more, and that’s not really a risk I’m willing to take when I can tell suicidal intent from non-suicidal intent.”
“So what I’m getting from that is you’re more concerned for my mental well-being than my physical safety,” Plundar asked skeptically. Cole’s face flushed.
“Sure, yeah, we’ll go with that,” Cole said with a nervous laugh. “I can tell you from personal experience that if you end up more traumatized in a psych ward, you’ll be more likely to relapse, whether that be through self-harm or your kleptomania. Neither of those are outcomes I want to see, so I think it’s safer if I just keep an eye on your riskier behavior.”
Plundar bolted upright.
“You have personal experience in a psych ward?”
“Not myself, no,” Cole said quickly. “I’ve just seen people who go into psych wards and when they get out, they relapse and it’s worse than they ever were before going. That’s the last thing I want to see happen to you.”
Plundar glared at him, grabbing one of his arms; luckily for Plundar, Cole never wore anything with sleeves if he could help it, something about wearing black attracting heat and not wearing sleeves mitigating it.
“Cole, I know you want to help me but we won’t get anywhere if you’re not honest with me,” Plundar said as he examined Cole’s arms.
“What the hell does that mean?” Cole said, annoyed; Plundar didn’t miss the slight anxiety in his voice though.
“I might’ve been stuck underground for a decade and lost most of my social skills as a result but I definitely know you and you answered me asking if you’ve been to a psych ward way too fast for my personal comfort,” Plundar explained.
“Alright, you got me,” Cole said with a defeated tone, although there was a playful glint in his eyes. “It happened a really long time ago though. Last time the Overlord was defeated. Zane sacrificed himself to get rid of the Overlord, and as a result, Kai, Jay, Lloyd and I went our separate ways. I became a lumberjack. A few days into working there, I took a pretty nasty hit with an axe. Found it cathartic so I kept letting it happen. Eventually some colleagues noticed a pattern and a few times it was so bad I was sent to the hospital so those concerned colleagues sent me to a psych ward. I think I was around 18 at the time.”
Plundar gently rubbed what he could only guess were scars from when Cole was hit with the axes. Cole sighed, wiping his eyes.
“When I was released from that psych ward, the trauma was so bad that it made my tendencies worse. I don’t want anyone to have to go through that so I just keep an eye on anyone I know is struggling with those types of tendencies.”
“Rocky, have I ever told you how much I love you?” Plundar mumbled against Cole’s neck. Cole glanced at him, a little caught off guard. He opened his mouth to respond but the words caught in his throat; Plundar had started kissing his neck. Cole let out a high pitched whimper, one that caused Plundar to pause so he could laugh a little.
“I did not know I was capable of making a sound of that pitch,” Cole mumbled awkwardly.
“I bet I can get a higher pitched sound out of you,” Plundar said quietly, and, without warning, he bit Cole’s neck. As Plundar was hoping, the next sound to leave Cole’s mouth was higher pitched than the last, making the thief chuckle a little.
“Are you done experimenting with my vocal cords?” Cole asked with a laugh.
“For now.”
Cole rolled his eyes. Plundar curled up next to him, yawning.
“Love ya, Rocky.”
“Love you too, Dice.”
Plundar had locked himself in the bathroom again. It had been a few weeks since Cole found him leaving the bathroom after taking a dagger to his arm, and now the thief was even worse off.
In those few weeks, he’d committed several more thefts fueled by his kleptomania, only serving to worsen his mental state, and he still hadn’t taken Pixal up on her offer for therapy, despite Cole’s growing concerns. Now, Cole’s concerns were being proven right.
Fresh tears ran down Plundar’s face as he held the tip of his dagger a few centimeters above his navel.
He was actually doing this.
But if he couldn’t control his impulses, he was a criminal. What was the point?
The thought drove him to push the dagger into his belly. He started sobbing, something he’d been trying to control so he wouldn’t alert anyone. He took the dagger out of his belly, causing him to immediately start bleeding intensely.
Wait, I – I don’t want this!
Plundar’s sobbing intensified, alerting everyone in the monastery.
“P-Plundar, what’s wrong? You need to open the door,” Kai said shakily. “Cole’s out with Wu, but Jay, Nya, and I are here and we’ll do our best to help y –”
“H-hospital,” Plundar managed to get out.
“For what?” Jay asked cautiously, although Plundar didn’t miss the hint of anxiety in his voice.
Plundar got up the best he could, stumbling to the door. He struggled a little to open it due to blood loss. Kai, Jay, and Nya took one look at him and went into a silent panic.
“Jay, Nya, go call Cole and Wu,” Kai ordered. “Tell them to meet us at the Ninjago City hospital. I’m gonna make sure Plundar makes it there without losing too much blood.”
“How?” Jay asked as he ran down the hall.
“If I can cauterize some of these vessels I can stop the bleeding, now go tell Cole and Wu what’s going on!”
Plundar leaned against the doorway and shook his head, trying to clear the dizziness that was starting to settle in. He heard running and looked up to find Zane running towards the doorway.
“Kai, don’t do anything until I can assess the damage,” the nindroid said sternly. “Plundar, can you sit down? It’ll be easier on me and easier on you, and you look like you’re probably feeling pretty lightheaded too.”
“Y-yeah.”
Plundar sat down on the tile of the bathroom floor, allowing Zane to inspect him.
“You’re oddly compliant with him considering you just presumably tried to kill yourself,” Kai commented, looking at Plundar with a raised eyebrow.
“Cole – Cole’s been trying to get me to be more o-open with my riskier behaviors,” Plundar said, panting. “A few weeks ago he – he caught me walking out – out of the bathroom after cutting myself with a dagger.”
Zane looked over Plundar. His gaze immediately landed on the thief’s skin. It was blotchy, and indicative of quickly developing sepsis.
“We need to get him to a hospital now,” Zane said quickly, picking up Plundar, who winced in pain. “He’s developing sepsis, if we aren’t fast he’ll go into shock.”
“How’d he end up with sepsis?” Kai questioned, staring at Zane intensely.
“He must’ve nicked his intestines,” Zane explained as he ran toward the hangar bay. “Grab his dagger, the hospital’s probably gonna wanna know what he stabbed himself with.”
Kai left but was quickly back to running next to Zane.
“Plundar, stay with us, buddy.” Kai’s voice was distant. Whether it was as a result of the rapidly spreading infection in his abdomen or the blood loss, Plundar couldn’t tell.
“We’re lucky the commissioner likes us,” Zane said anxiously. “We wouldn’t have the Bounty otherwise.”
Plundar could vaguely feel Zane’s movements pause, then continue once they were in the hangar bay. Pixal was quick to join them.
“Everything’s ready for you in the Bounty’s infirmary,” Pixal said; as with Kai’s voice, Pixal’s sounded distant, although hers was more distant than Kai’s. “You should hurry, he doesn’t look like he’ll last much longer if you’re not fast.”
“Thanks, Pix,” Kai said as he ran onto the Bounty; Zane gave Pixal a quick kiss and followed the Fire Ninja. Zane quickly got Plundar stabilized in the Bounty’s infirmary, releasing a relieved sigh when the thief’s vitals started to level out and indicate that he and Kai didn’t have to put the Bounty in full throttle to Ninjago City.
“Feeling any better?” Zane asked quietly, sitting by Plundar’s feet.
“A little,” Plundar responded; his voice was slightly muffled by the oxygen mask Zane had put on him to hopefully help stabilize his system. “I’m definitely taking Pixal up on that therapy offer once this sepsis is taken care of though.”
Zane couldn’t help but laugh a little at that comment.
“We might be able to arrange a prescription to help you with your impulses too,” Zane said, smiling. “Opioid receptor antagonists have shown some results in helping with impulse control.”
“Whatever helps prevent me from stealing so much I end up suicidal,” Plundar mumbled.
“We’re in Ninjago City,” Kai said, running into the infirmary. “Cole and Master Wu are already at the hospital.”
“Cole ain’t gonna be happy with me,” Plundar said quietly.
“Cole’s going to be happy to see you alive,” Zane assured him, smiling. “Let’s get you in the hospital so your sepsis can be taken care of.”
When Plundar woke up next, Cole was sitting next to him. Rhythmic beeping was sounding throughout the room. A heart rate monitor.
“What happened?” Plundar asked; the only movement he made was turning his head slightly to look at Cole.
“You stabbed yourself above your navel,” Cole explained. “The dagger perforated your intestines which resulted in you quickly developing sepsis. Zane and Kai made sure to get you here as fast as they could. You got out of surgery about an hour ago.”
“Surgery?” Plundar attempted to prop himself up on his elbows, but quickly laid back down when it proved to be too much physical effort.
“Like I said, your intestines were perforated which resulted in you developing sepsis. You had to go into emergency surgery to get it repaired.”
Plundar moved his blanket and lifted his hospital gown, examining the fresh stitches where he’d stabbed himself a few hours prior. He sighed shakily.
“Cole, I …,” Plundar paused. “I hope you can forgive me.”
“Forgive you? Forgive you for what?” Cole asked with a confused expression.
“Stabbing myself,” Plundar said bitterly. “I did it on impulse and immediately regretted it.”
“You don’t need to apologize, Plundar,” Cole said gently. “I assure you, I love you regardless. Nothing’s gonna change that.”
“Quite frankly, I hurt you,” Plundar said quietly, looking away from Cole. He started fidgeting with his IV. “Whether it was intentional or not.”
“Plundar, you’re human,” Cole said. “You aren’t perfect. You make mistakes. If you don’t make those mistakes, you won’t learn. Nobody’s perfect, not even Zane or Pixal. Everybody makes mistakes. You don’t need to apologize for this one.”
“This … this wasn’t a mistake, Cole,” Plundar mumbled, trying to keep himself from crying. “I had every intention of going through with it, but something – something stopped me and I don’t know what. Something told me to tell Kai and Jay to get me to the hospital.”
“Well, sepsis is a painful way to go, I’ve heard,” Cole said, trying to ease the tension. Plundar laughed.
“After doing that, I definitely think I’m ready to talk to Pixal,” Plundar said, looking back at Cole. “I do not want to feel like the only way for me to stop stealing is to kill myself.”
“I think I hear a pair of panicking adventurers coming our way,” Cole said with a smirk.
“Wha – “ Plundar’s eyes widened as Korgran and Fungus bolted into the room.
“Plundar, what happened?!”
“Plundar is injured?!”
“Cole, is he alright?!”
“Whoa, calm down!” Plundar said loudly. “Both of you, sit down! I’m alive, the sepsis was taken care of, and I don’t have a perforated intestine anymore, I’m fine!”
“We had Vania bring us as soon as we heard,” Fungus said, still a little panicked.
“Wait, who told – “
“Cole and Zane did,” Fungus said before Plundar could finish.
“They’ve basically been your legal guardians for however long, I figured they should know and Zane agreed,” Cole said sheepishly. “I hope that’s okay.”
“Yeah,” Plundar said, relaxing.
There were a few minutes of silence before Plundar spoke again.
“Thanks, Cole.”
“For what?”
“Everything.”
“You’re gonna have to elaborate on that, Dice.”
Plundar laughed.
“Encouraging me to get help. Not forcing me to talk to Pix if I don’t want to. Letting me take care of my emotions however I want. Calling Fungus and Korgran and letting them know I’m here. You’re taking care of me while still letting me be independent. I appreciate it a lot.”
Cole ran to Plundar’s bed and hugged him tightly, making him wince slightly.
“Hey, I’m still recovering from a surgery to fix my intestines,” Plundar said with a lighthearted scowl. He pulled Cole back when Cole started to let go of him. “I didn’t say you could leave.”
“Well, I don’t want you to be in pain,” Cole said with a confused smile. Plundar stared at him with a hurt expression.
“Cole, I just tried to fuckin’ kill myself. I need you.”
Cole’s confused smile immediately fell.
“Plundar –”
“It’s fine.”
Cole sighed, hugging Plundar again. After a few minutes Cole fell asleep next to the thief.
Plundar’s gaze went back to Fungus and Korgran, who were sitting by the window in Plundar’s room.
“Plundar, is it – is it alright if Korgran and I ask you some things?” Fungus asked with a sad expression.
Plundar sighed and thought for a minute.
“On the condition that you don’t turn it into an interrogation and Cole can stay, sure,” Plundar said quietly, burying his face in Cole’s neck.
Fungus and Korgran glanced at each other.
“Okay.”
Plundar did his best to sit up so he could more easily converse with Korgran and Fungus.
“What … what drove you to stab yourself?” Fungus asked cautiously, watching how Plundar reacted to the question closely. While Plundar knew Fungus’s focus on his reaction was purely for the sake of not overstepping the boundaries Plundar had set, he couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy and almost paranoid.
“After the Overlord was defeated my kleptomania started to act up again,” Plundar started explaining. “It started with mild self-harm then escalated from there.”
“Are you going to start seeing a therapist when you’re released?” Fungus continued, opting to stop watching Plundar.
“Yeah.”
Plundar sighed.
“Fungus, you look like you’re disappointed and I don’t like it,” he said with an almost aggressive tone. Korgran anxiously looked between Plundar and Fungus.
“I’m not,” Fungus assured Plundar, although he was still refusing to look at him.
“I can’t help my kleptomania, Fungus!” Plundar said frustratedly. “We’ve been over this, and we discussed it how many times while we were stuck in Rock-Bottom?! Why do you keep blamin’ me for bein’ a victim of circumstances as a fuckin’ teenager?!”
“Plundar, I –”
“No, leave,” Plundar said bitterly. “I don’t want someone who’s gonna blame me for bein' a victim of circumstances in my ICU room.”
Fungus sighed with watery eyes, getting up to leave. Korgran hesitated before following him.
Plundar held onto Cole tightly, ignoring the pain in his surgical site, and allowed himself to cry.