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Description
Now..you weren't expecting to celebrate the new year with these sorts of people.

But here you were, surrounded by the dark egos of your friends, who were all hooping and hollering as the clock struck midnight. Yet you smiled, clinking glasses of champagne with Natemare.

"Glad you decided to celebrate the new year with us losers?" The singer chuckled as he downed his drink.

You nodded in response. "Yep. New year, new ways to take over your creator's channel?"

"That's the plan, sugar." He grinned.

For a few minutes or so, you and him simply talked about various things, and soon enough Infelix was roped into the conversation. The maniacal laughter and flashes outside the windows told you that Virus and Mad Cry were having a blast shooting off fireworks and electricity into the skies. And, finally, Anti and Corroded were in the corner having a small chat, with the latter asking him for advice on how to start up fires in a community.

But it was then you realized that the only ones who were absent were Blank and Dark..

Hearing footsteps and shaky breathing, you glanced over to see the black-eyed ego of Ethan stumble into the living room, looking rather scared. "Hey, Blank..everything okay?" You stood up and walked over to him, but he was staring off into space and mumbling incoherently.

"Hey."

Gently shaking his shoulder, you snapped Blank out of his trance. "What's wrong? Where's Dark?" You asked him calmly.

"I-I..." He began. "..I w-went to check up on him..he hasn't come out of his room e-ever since the new year s-started...I-I tried to ask him what was wrong but he just yelled at me togetoutsoIdon'tknow-"

"Alright, Blank..alright," you hushed him as he started getting choked up. "I'll go see what's up with him."

He shook his head. "I-I'd advise that you don't....his aura..it's...it's impenetrable...y-you won't be able to get through without-"

"Then I'll find a way...Anti?"

The glitch looked over upon hearing his name, frowning slightly. "What is it?"

"Would you kindly take me to Dark's room? I wanna see if he's alright."

Anti's previously annoyed expression morphed into one of confusion as he took a look around, raising an eyebrow. "Wait..MCR ain't here?" He muttered with surprise before looking back at you and sighing. "I swear if he's up in that room writin' nothin' but fuckin' poems-"

"Well, we don't know for sure unless we see for ourselves," you huffed. "Now come on."

With a small grunt, he looked back at Corroded, telling him they will continue their conversation later, before he stood up and walked over to you. "Alright. Hang on now." He grabbed your wrist as the two of you glitched out of the living room.

Immediately upon arrival, you felt a shiver wrack up your spine. As it turns out the room was almost entirely monochrome and a distinct ringing filled the air, although after being around Dark for so long your ears have adjusted to the noise.

It didn't take long for you and Anti to figure out just what the large lump of blankets on the king-sized bed was.

"Holy shit it's..dark in here," the glitch snickered lightly, although when he heard no response from the other demon, he frowned slightly. "Oh come on, Darkie..you're not gonna rat me out or strangle me for makin' that joke?" He frowned at the lump, his knife glitching into his hand. "Are ya just gonna not say anythin' and hide away like a pathetic little-?"

The sound of a loud firework going off outside made Dark let out a small, shaky gasp, and he seemed to curl up even further on himself. "I-If you're only h-here to insult me...l-leave..." He spoke in a trembling, hoarse voice that did not sound like him at all.

"Dark?"

The demon tensed upon hearing you call out to him, but he dared not show himself. He was simply emotionally compromised at the moment, and he'd rather not start out the year looking so...weak and vulnerable, especially to his rival.

You and Anti exchanged confused glances, before you understood what was going on.

Was...Dark afraid of fireworks?

With a sigh, the glitch whispered something to you, before he stepped back and teleported out of the room, leaving you alone.

Looking back at the bed, it was then you noticed only a faint, blue glow radiating from his form, which indicated that only one of...them was in control now. "Damien?"

"Damien"'s breath hitched slightly upon hearing the name that he hadn't heard in ages. He then felt the bed dip and a gentle hand rest on his shoulder. "It's okay," he heard you reassure him. "He's gone. You can come out now."

Slowly, but surely, he pushed aside the pillow and blankets that covered him, before he sat up and stared at you with a slight frown.

Your heart snapped in two when you saw his awfully disheveled appearance. His hoodie was drawn over his head, and even in the darkness of the room you could still see his puffy eyes and heavily smudged eyeshadow.

"Oh Damien.." You sighed sadly, reaching over and gently cupping one of his cheeks, wiping away a stray tear that rolled down his pale face.

Another loud boom from outside made the demon shudder and lean his head into your palm. "I-I'm sorry you had to s-see me like this...." He murmured. "I-It's so..humiliating..a-and-"

"No it isn't," you told him, scooting closer and wrapping your arms around him. "I was worried about you..when you didn't come out for a few hours. You missed the big celebration."

For a few seconds, "Damien" did not do anything, but he was about to respond to you when out of the corner of his eye, he saw a bright flash illuminate the closed curtains. Following that was a loud gunshot-like noise. A small whimper escaped his lips as he returned the embrace, squeezing his eyes shut as a few more tears began to slip from them, dampening your shoulder.

He did his best to get his breathing under control and just listen to your comforting words. He was too prideful to admit it that he was grateful you were here...and that you understood why he was acting the way he did.

Yes, he remembered you being there at that...cursed house, watching the madness unravel. But even after all these years, there were little things such as simple, harmless fireworks that would bring back unwanted memories. And although he did his best to hide his fear from you, it seemed now his efforts were in vain.

At that point, though, he didn't care. He didn't care that he was practically crying into the arms of a mere human over something that anybody else would simply laugh at.

Damien was free for a little while and, in his time of need, turned to you for comfort...just like he always did back when he was alive and when the stresses of being a mayor became too much for him. And here you were now, holding him close and murmuring sweet nothings to him to drown out the traumatic thoughts that plagued his mind.

"Do you want me to ask Virus and Mad to stop?" You asked him after a few moments, pushing his hood away and combing your fingers through his raven locks.

"N-No.." He mumbled against your shoulder, shaking his head. "..I..I-I wouldn't want to spoil their fun. I'm just over-"

"Dar...Damien," you quickly corrected yourself. "Don't you dare say you're overreacting."

"..but-"

"You're not the only person in the world who's afraid of fireworks, you know. Everyone's got their reasons...and you have yours. But that doesn't mean you have to suffer in silence." Pulling away a little bit, you gently cupped his face with your hands. "I'll tell them to stop, without mentioning your name, how does that sound?"

"Damien" frowned slightly, although he did not say anything.

"Listen.." You sighed, your gaze softening. "It's not a pathetic fear. What happened back at...that place was a horrid, traumatic experience. Even I'm still shaken up hearing those fireworks...you aren't alone in that...and you never will be." Then you brought him back into another hug. "I've always been there for you guys...and I will continue to be until the end. So please...let me take some of the burden, okay? You've been through so much...you deserve to have someone to lean on, too."

For a few moments, his eyes were slightly wide with shock. But after your words sank into his mind, he relaxed in your arms, his own wrapping themselves tightly around your waist. The former mayor's cold, bitter shell was fractured for a second as tears gathered in his eyes.

"I-I....th..th-thank you, [y/n]," was all he could muster as he snuggled his cold, grey face into the crook of your neck. "Thank y-you..."

"Of course." With a small smile, you rubbed his back and began to hum a gentle song, which calmed down the demon and distracted him from all the noises outside.

It felt as though the two of you have been holding each other for hours, but only a few minutes had passed before you both broke apart. The aura condensed, turning the rest of the room back to normal. His red and blue outlines gradually returned, and you knew that for now....Damien was gone.

"You alright, Dark?" You asked him softly, to which he nodded his head in response as he wiped whatever tears remained away. But before he could speak, Anti reappeared with what appeared to be headphones in his hands.

"I'm back and....oh.." He raised an eyebrow. "Wow..ya look even more fuckin' emo than I imagined." He cackled.

Dark huffed and rolled his eyes. "What's... that you have there?"

"Noise-cancellin' headphones," the glitch replied as he tossed them to the elder demon. "Took me forever to convince Jack to lemme borrow 'em so ya better fuckin' wear 'em."

"Only if you don't tell anyone about that you saw."

"......deal."

With a sigh, Dark wiped his eyes with his sleeve, before he then slipped on the headphones, adjusting them a bit until they were comfortable. "Thank you, Anti.." He glanced up at him. "I..suppose you're looking for some kind of repayment.."

"Ya know damn well I am."

You simply chuckled, shaking your head with amusement at their odd relationship.

But nevertheless, you were glad to see that he was feeling better and that, even if it didn't look like it on the surface...he still had the heart of an old friend of yours.

Description
Now..you weren't expecting to celebrate the new year with these sorts of people.

But here you were, surrounded by the dark egos of your friends, who were all hooping and hollering as the clock struck midnight. Yet you smiled, clinking glasses of champagne with Natemare.

"Glad you decided to celebrate the new year with us losers?" The singer chuckled as he downed his drink.

You nodded in response. "Yep. New year, new ways to take over your creator's channel?"

"That's the plan, sugar." He grinned.

For a few minutes or so, you and him simply talked about various things, and soon enough Infelix was roped into the conversation. The maniacal laughter and flashes outside the windows told you that Virus and Mad Cry were having a blast shooting off fireworks and electricity into the skies. And, finally, Anti and Corroded were in the corner having a small chat, with the latter asking him for advice on how to start up fires in a community.

But it was then you realized that the only ones who were absent were Blank and Dark..

Hearing footsteps and shaky breathing, you glanced over to see the black-eyed ego of Ethan stumble into the living room, looking rather scared. "Hey, Blank..everything okay?" You stood up and walked over to him, but he was staring off into space and mumbling incoherently.

"Hey."

Gently shaking his shoulder, you snapped Blank out of his trance. "What's wrong? Where's Dark?" You asked him calmly.

"I-I..." He began. "..I w-went to check up on him..he hasn't come out of his room e-ever since the new year s-started...I-I tried to ask him what was wrong but he just yelled at me togetoutsoIdon'tknow-"

"Alright, Blank..alright," you hushed him as he started getting choked up. "I'll go see what's up with him."

He shook his head. "I-I'd advise that you don't....his aura..it's...it's impenetrable...y-you won't be able to get through without-"

"Then I'll find a way...Anti?"

The glitch looked over upon hearing his name, frowning slightly. "What is it?"

"Would you kindly take me to Dark's room? I wanna see if he's alright."

Anti's previously annoyed expression morphed into one of confusion as he took a look around, raising an eyebrow. "Wait..MCR ain't here?" He muttered with surprise before looking back at you and sighing. "I swear if he's up in that room writin' nothin' but fuckin' poems-"

"Well, we don't know for sure unless we see for ourselves," you huffed. "Now come on."

With a small grunt, he looked back at Corroded, telling him they will continue their conversation later, before he stood up and walked over to you. "Alright. Hang on now." He grabbed your wrist as the two of you glitched out of the living room.

Immediately upon arrival, you felt a shiver wrack up your spine. As it turns out the room was almost entirely monochrome and a distinct ringing filled the air, although after being around Dark for so long your ears have adjusted to the noise.

It didn't take long for you and Anti to figure out just what the large lump of blankets on the king-sized bed was.

"Holy shit it's..dark in here," the glitch snickered lightly, although when he heard no response from the other demon, he frowned slightly. "Oh come on, Darkie..you're not gonna rat me out or strangle me for makin' that joke?" He frowned at the lump, his knife glitching into his hand. "Are ya just gonna not say anythin' and hide away like a pathetic little-?"

The sound of a loud firework going off outside made Dark let out a small, shaky gasp, and he seemed to curl up even further on himself. "I-If you're only h-here to insult me...l-leave..." He spoke in a trembling, hoarse voice that did not sound like him at all.

"Dark?"

The demon tensed upon hearing you call out to him, but he dared not show himself. He was simply emotionally compromised at the moment, and he'd rather not start out the year looking so...weak and vulnerable, especially to his rival.

You and Anti exchanged confused glances, before you understood what was going on.

Was...Dark afraid of fireworks?

With a sigh, the glitch whispered something to you, before he stepped back and teleported out of the room, leaving you alone.

Looking back at the bed, it was then you noticed only a faint, blue glow radiating from his form, which indicated that only one of...them was in control now. "Damien?"

"Damien"'s breath hitched slightly upon hearing the name that he hadn't heard in ages. He then felt the bed dip and a gentle hand rest on his shoulder. "It's okay," he heard you reassure him. "He's gone. You can come out now."

Slowly, but surely, he pushed aside the pillow and blankets that covered him, before he sat up and stared at you with a slight frown.

Your heart snapped in two when you saw his awfully disheveled appearance. His hoodie was drawn over his head, and even in the darkness of the room you could still see his puffy eyes and heavily smudged eyeshadow.

"Oh Damien.." You sighed sadly, reaching over and gently cupping one of his cheeks, wiping away a stray tear that rolled down his pale face.

Another loud boom from outside made the demon shudder and lean his head into your palm. "I-I'm sorry you had to s-see me like this...." He murmured. "I-It's so..humiliating..a-and-"

"No it isn't," you told him, scooting closer and wrapping your arms around him. "I was worried about you..when you didn't come out for a few hours. You missed the big celebration."

For a few seconds, "Damien" did not do anything, but he was about to respond to you when out of the corner of his eye, he saw a bright flash illuminate the closed curtains. Following that was a loud gunshot-like noise. A small whimper escaped his lips as he returned the embrace, squeezing his eyes shut as a few more tears began to slip from them, dampening your shoulder.

He did his best to get his breathing under control and just listen to your comforting words. He was too prideful to admit it that he was grateful you were here...and that you understood why he was acting the way he did.

Yes, he remembered you being there at that...cursed house, watching the madness unravel. But even after all these years, there were little things such as simple, harmless fireworks that would bring back unwanted memories. And although he did his best to hide his fear from you, it seemed now his efforts were in vain.

At that point, though, he didn't care. He didn't care that he was practically crying into the arms of a mere human over something that anybody else would simply laugh at.

Damien was free for a little while and, in his time of need, turned to you for comfort...just like he always did back when he was alive and when the stresses of being a mayor became too much for him. And here you were now, holding him close and murmuring sweet nothings to him to drown out the traumatic thoughts that plagued his mind.

"Do you want me to ask Virus and Mad to stop?" You asked him after a few moments, pushing his hood away and combing your fingers through his raven locks.

"N-No.." He mumbled against your shoulder, shaking his head. "..I..I-I wouldn't want to spoil their fun. I'm just over-"

"Dar...Damien," you quickly corrected yourself. "Don't you dare say you're overreacting."

"..but-"

"You're not the only person in the world who's afraid of fireworks, you know. Everyone's got their reasons...and you have yours. But that doesn't mean you have to suffer in silence." Pulling away a little bit, you gently cupped his face with your hands. "I'll tell them to stop, without mentioning your name, how does that sound?"

"Damien" frowned slightly, although he did not say anything.

"Listen.." You sighed, your gaze softening. "It's not a pathetic fear. What happened back at...that place was a horrid, traumatic experience. Even I'm still shaken up hearing those fireworks...you aren't alone in that...and you never will be." Then you brought him back into another hug. "I've always been there for you guys...and I will continue to be until the end. So please...let me take some of the burden, okay? You've been through so much...you deserve to have someone to lean on, too."

For a few moments, his eyes were slightly wide with shock. But after your words sank into his mind, he relaxed in your arms, his own wrapping themselves tightly around your waist. The former mayor's cold, bitter shell was fractured for a second as tears gathered in his eyes.

"I-I....th..th-thank you, [y/n]," was all he could muster as he snuggled his cold, grey face into the crook of your neck. "Thank y-you..."

"Of course." With a small smile, you rubbed his back and began to hum a gentle song, which calmed down the demon and distracted him from all the noises outside.

It felt as though the two of you have been holding each other for hours, but only a few minutes had passed before you both broke apart. The aura condensed, turning the rest of the room back to normal. His red and blue outlines gradually returned, and you knew that for now....Damien was gone.

"You alright, Dark?" You asked him softly, to which he nodded his head in response as he wiped whatever tears remained away. But before he could speak, Anti reappeared with what appeared to be headphones in his hands.

"I'm back and....oh.." He raised an eyebrow. "Wow..ya look even more fuckin' emo than I imagined." He cackled.

Dark huffed and rolled his eyes. "What's... that you have there?"

"Noise-cancellin' headphones," the glitch replied as he tossed them to the elder demon. "Took me forever to convince Jack to lemme borrow 'em so ya better fuckin' wear 'em."

"Only if you don't tell anyone about that you saw."

"......deal."

With a sigh, Dark wiped his eyes with his sleeve, before he then slipped on the headphones, adjusting them a bit until they were comfortable. "Thank you, Anti.." He glanced up at him. "I..suppose you're looking for some kind of repayment.."

"Ya know damn well I am."

You simply chuckled, shaking your head with amusement at their odd relationship.

But nevertheless, you were glad to see that he was feeling better and that, even if it didn't look like it on the surface...he still had the heart of an old friend of yours.