Just a little characterization piece, please let me know what you think! :)
It Only Takes an Apocalypse by jorktastic
"You have to lighten up, Fluggerbutter." Gloyd Orangeboar is leaning against the doorway – or at least what used to be a doorway. Its metal hinges are rusted and the icing has long since cracked off. There's no door, either, just a chunk of almond brittle left over from when the Cy-Bugs devoured all the candy buildings. All that's left of their bright world is a bunch of empty frameworks and semi-functional karts. It's miserable and dark and chaotic.
Gloyd honestly does not want to know what it feels like to be Rancis, who's so wrapped up in the neatness and clean precision of the past that he can't take the shock. It's like he's shut down completely.
It's not so bad for Gloyd, who's used to messes. But Rancis looks completely devastated.
The blond clenches his jaw so tightly that Gloyd wouldn't be surprised if it shattered. "I know I should be taking this better," Rancis hisses, his voice breaking a little, "and that's what makes it worse. You just – I can't handle it right now, okay?" Rancis has never been the sweetest racer in the game, but he's never been this bitter, either.
Gloyd cocks his head, pumpkin hat slipping a little over his eyes. "They're worried, you know," he says, jerking a thumb toward the racers in the next room. They look almost as jaded, huddled together and barely saying a word. Gloyd expects that Taffyta will be organizing some 'grand master plan' eventually... once her mascara stops running.
"Candlehead is really upset, and Taffyta told me to, um, tell you that she'll beat the shit out of you if you don't stop this. I think that means she cares, right?" He forces out an awkward chuckle, hoping that Rancis will at least pretend to laugh with him.
As expected, Rancis says nothing. His blue eyes are stony and they just stare blankly ahead. The stubborn silence is really starting to set Gloyd on edge. He doesn't like silence. It means his jokes aren't working and his pranks aren't funny.
The brunet sighs. Of all the people he's tried to cheer up, Rancis Fluggerbutter has been the worst. Because of course he doesn't take jokes well, and of course he hates pranks. That's why they've never gotten along. That's why Rancis hates him.
Rancis has his face buried in his arms right now, and his knees are tucked into his chest. He's trembling in a way that looks suspiciously like he's crying. Gloyd can hear tiny shaking sobs coming from the boy in front of him and he can hardly believe what's happening.
Not so much of a blazer-wearing boy wonder now, is he? Gloyd feels a spiteful sense of triumph stir in his code; after years of their programmed rivalry, it feels like he's finally won something. It's an empty win, though, because he wasn't even trying. Rancis might be a stuffy little prick who deserves getting pranked a hundred million times, but that doesn't mean Gloyd wants to see him crying in a corner by himself.
"Look," Gloyd says, shifting on his foot uncomfortably. He can't stand seeing Rancis like this. It's so pathetic, and seeing his biggest rival so crumpled and sad isn't exactly lighting the pathway to victory. "I know this isn't, well, your favourite situation ever, and I'm not your favourite person, but... we're all here for each other now." Are those even the right words? What is he supposed to say? This isn't something he knows how to do.
"You must be loving this," the blond mumbles, amidst a series of sobs that Gloyd winces his way through.
"No, I'm not." He takes a cautious step toward Rancis, racing shoes crunching over the remnants of the Rocky Road Turnpike.
He sits down next to the blond, and they just stay there in the dark and in the silence, listening to each other's breathing.
Gloyd reaches out, uncertainly, to take Rancis' hand in his own. It's soft against his palm. "I'm here. Okay?" He doesn't know why his heart is hammering in his chest.
Rancis lifts his head to give Gloyd a tired, tear-streaked smile. He takes a shaky breath and squeezes his hand. "Okay."
For that one moment, Gloyd feels like a hero.
-fin