Chapter Text
Recluse had been kicked out of Sage's lab six hours ago and was laying outside the door holding some of Sage's clothes in a pile of blankets. He felt a push on the door and scurried up, moving his blankets. Sage was finally coming out!
“What are you doing? I thought you left?” Sage asked, confused. He didn’t look excited as Recluse had hoped he would. He never did.
“Waiting for you because I love you. I don’t like when you're alone.” Recluse replied.
“I’m sorry you feel that way, Recluse. It's the potion making you think you love me. I’m working on a cure, you know that.” Sage said tiredly. There were bags under his eyes and Recluse felt guilty.
“I do love you.” Recluse sadly told him. “Can you cuddle me?”
“I know you want that now, but you won’t want that when you're cured.” Sage said. Recluse wished Sage didn’t want to cure his love for him, and that he would believe him. “Why don’t you go to sleep? I’m sure it’s not very comfy on the floor.” Recluse nodded and got up as Sage walked off. As much as Sage did want to cuddle him he would feel guilty and knew Recluse would hate that when he was cured.
Recluse bent down and stuffed his blankets in his arms, trying not to fall down as he stood up. He heaved them to the room Sage had given him when he was first affected by the potion, how generous of his love. He rearranged his nest on the bed, and wove some of Sage's clothes into the blankets gently.
Recluse settled down and closed his eyes. Why didn’t his Sage love him? He was such a burden, causing Sage to be tired and annoyed all the time. He wanted to cure his love for him! Was Recluse too clingy, too desperate? He was such an annoyance to his love and he wished he wasn’t. If he revealed he had loved Sage for so long after he was cured, would Sage be mad? Would he be alone forever?
He barely noticed that while he was thinking these things, he was creating deep gashes in his arm with his claws. Feeling the pain, he opened his eyes and took a look. He deserved that, didn’t he? He clawed again and again, as punishment for ruining Sage’s life.
The door creaked open.
“Hey Clusey, you seemed really sad earlier, so I thought one hug wouldn’t be that bad, you..” Sage stopped, looking at Recluse's arms. “Clusey what is this?!” He exclaimed, running over. He sat next to Recluse in his nest, and summoned bandages with a flick of his hand. As he started wrapping them around Recluse's arms, Recluse flushed red in embarrassment.
“I’m sorry.” Recluse cried. “I’m such a burden! You should be getting rest and have a smile on your face! My love stops those things!” Recluse sobbed harder as Sage finished with his arms.
“Oh my poor Clusey, it’s the potions fault, not yours. I don't mind skipping sleep if it means I can help you.” Sage said, holding on to Recluse by the shoulders. Recluse knew though, the potion didn’t make him love, so it really was his fault. He reached for Sage and wrapped his wings around the blue cookie, pulling him into the nest and cuddling him.
In the morning though, Sage had left. Recluse tilted his head in confusion before sulking due to the realization his love had left. God he was really just digging himself deeper into his grave, was he?
He headed downstairs to the kitchen and found a hurried Sage packing his bags.
“Sage?” Recluse asked.
“Recluse.” Sage sighed heavily. “I’m leaving for the Garden of Paradise to find you a cure. I trust you can handle yourself? I really don’t want to take you.” It broke Sage's heart to say those things, but he knew Recluse would understand when he was cured.
Recluse stopped in his tracks. Leaving? Didn’t want to take him? Trusted him to handle himself? Did he forget last night due to the lack of sleep fogging his brain?
“Alright Recluse, I’ll be back tomorrow.” Sage said. He looked back longingly at the sad Recluse and hurried out because he just couldn’t stand seeing Recluse like that.
Recluse, once Sage left, sat by the door of which he had left like a sad pathetic puppy waiting for his owner. Tears streaked down his cheeks. Hours later, Recluse stood up
If he was going to be stuck as a burden and weight on his love, he’d leave. He would leave to some far away town so Sage could relax, sleep, and teach like he used to before Recluse got potioned. He walked to his room and grabbed one of the Sages spare suits and wrapped it around his waist.
Soon he was outside in the snow. Since when had it started snowing? Recluse ran as fast as he could for hours and hours, before stopping due to short breath. In the middle of a rural town he sighed, wiping one of the many tears that had not stopped falling from his stardusted eyes.
Townsfolk in their windows stared, none had the heart to go and help and the crying man atop the cold winter snow. Except two. A small girl with pigtails and two red candied apples on her head and a taller boy wearing all black and purple.
“Sir, I know a place out of town you can seek shelter in.” The smaller cookie said.
“Thank you, but I’d rather find somewhere I can be alone.” Recluse said.
“It’s quite far from everything, and no one lives there.” The taller cookie told him. He reached a hand out to Recluse, and Recluse grabbed it.
The three wandered seemingly on a random made up path, made to strand someone as far away from cookiekind as possible. Recluse noticed the two kept eyeing him, and they also seemed to never get cold. He on the other hand was freezing.
Not much long after he noticed the strange behaviors of the two, he asked to sit down. As he sat, freezing cold, the purple one waved the apple cookie away, and she dissipated into the snow. Reclus became confused and looked at the cookie in front of him.
“If only there was someone who loved you, Recluse.” He said.
“How do you know about him?” Recluse asked.
“I-I know lots of things. I also know that you need to leave.” He laughed, before running off.
“What? Wait! Wait!” Recluse shouted. He would have ran, but his strength was depleted, so he had no option but to freeze in the cold. He wrapped Sage’s suit around his shoulders and closed his eyes.