Kitten: Hey guys! I've just been in love with this game since it came out, and Cuphead and Mugman, so I decided to create a little Drabbles series!
Kitten: Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy! Please ignore any grammar mistakes if there are any.
Kitten: Disclaimer-I only own this story, not the actual game.
Kitten: Enjoy!
~Chapter 1-Acrophobia~
It was a sunny day outside, and Cuphead, along with his brother, were walking off to defeat the next monster. If they wanted to be honest with themselves, they weren't really in the best shape. Mugman was only a little scraped and bruised, a crack on his head, but Cuphead had many bruises all over his body, bloody cuts, and there were at least 3 cracks on the side of his head.
But Cuphead was tough. And he had one hell of an ego, so he wasn't really one to admit that he was in pain. Mugman was a little different, willing to confess when he was hurting, but not too often. He wanted to look just as tough as Cuphead. Their whole lives, Cuphead was always protecting Mugs, being the strong brother and always sticking up for him, and always getting hurt for him.
However, Mugman wasn't like that. He was always the weak, sensitive crybaby who could barely do anything. He always felt like he was in his brother's way all the time, no matter how much Cups stated that he wasn't. Mugs felt like he was holding Cup back; like Cup was holding back because of him.
"You're being ridiculous, Mugs," Cups would say, throwing an reassuring arm around him. "You're my brother! Why would ya think you're in the way?"
"Well, everyone else thinks so, and... I dunno... I always feel like I'm too weak to even be your brother." Mug would retort honestly and miserably, avoiding Cuphead's eyes. Until Cups would force him to look at him.
"C'mon! Who cares about what those morons think? They're just haters who are trying ta bring us down! Don't let it get to ya, Mugsy. Besides, if it weren't for you keeping me in check, I'd be getting into all kinds a' trouble right now! Just don't pay attention, will ya? I love ya."
He would then kiss Mugman's blue nose affectionately, and Mugs would find it hard to not mouth, "okay", and smile.
"Mugs? Hey, Mugs! Ya in there!?"
Mugman jolted back to reality due to his brother shaking him. "S-Sorry, Cups." He apologized sheepishly.
Cups gave him a look, "Ya know, ya happen ta be spacing out a lot more than usual lately. Anything up?"
Mugs smiled, shaking his head. "Nah, it's nothing. I'm fine!"
"Ya sure?"
"Yup"
"Okay, I guess. Anyways, what's the next monster we gotta fight?"
"Uhh..." Mugman said, pulling out the long list full of the devil's debtors. "...Someone named... 'Grim Matchstick'. I'm pretty sure he's just around the corner past the carnival." He said, rolling up the list and putting it away. He glanced towards his brother nervously, "S-So, how strong do you think this guy is?"
Cuphead shrugged, "Eh, I don't know... can't be that strong, I mean, we beat the last few didn't we? We'll beat this one then, too." He smirked. "I can't wait ta kick this guy's ass! The sooner we collect all these contracts, the sooner we get ta go home! Then all of Inkwell Isle will be saved!"
Mugman grinned at his enthusiasm. His brother was always so determined. Another trait to be admired when it comes to him.
"Hey, look, Mugs!" Cups beamed, pointing, "I see it! Looks like we're here, bro!"
Mugs gazed at where Cups was pointing at; his eyes widened to the size of saucers and he gulped. The tower was just so... so... high. For some reason, his heart was going a mile a minute and his head felt heavy.
Cup chuckled, beginning to run off. "C'mon, bro! I'll race ya! Last one there has ta do the other's laundry for a week when we get home!"
Mug's eyes widened. "H-Hold up a minute, Cups! Wait up!" He exclaimed, and sprinted after his brother.
"Geez, it's about time we made it out here! I thought that stupid staircase would never end!" Cuphead panted once they reached the top of the tower.
Mugs slowly walked out behind Cups, beginning to shake a little bit. "Y-Yeah..." He mumbled, standing close to Cuphead, leaning into him a little bit, hoping that Cups wouldn't notice. And he didn't. Mugs didn't want his brother to worry about him and wonder if something was wrong with him when what he should be concentrating on was battling the enemy.
"HEY!" Cups called out into the vast skies. "UHH, GRIM MATCHSTICK, SIR? MY NAME'S CUPHEAD, AND MY BROTHER MUGMAN. WE'RE HERE TO COLLECT YOUR-"
"My soul?" A loud voice boomed out from the blue sky. "Oh, please! You have no need to introduce yourselves to me. I know exactly who you are! You're those little brats who have been stealing people's souls!"
Cuphead narrowed his eyes. "Hey, first of all, we ain't stealin' people's souls! They owe us their souls anyways! We'd rather it be your souls than ours anyways! It's not like we're wanting to be doing this in the first place! We don't have a choice!" Mugman gulped, hiding behind his brother.
"Say what you want! If you want my soul, you're gonna have to fight me for it! ...Unless you're too scared."
"Why, you...!" Cuphead snarled, stepping forward. "C'mon, Mugs! Let's go kick that dragon's ass!"
"Um...y-yeah..." Mugman swallowed. He finally looked up and he felt his heart plummet into his stomach. It was so far up in the sky... just like when they were little... it was so high...
Mugs felt his adrenaline run and he began trembling all over as he felt his childhood fears return to him. He abruptly reached out and gripped Cuphead's shoulder, holding it like it was his lifeline.
Cuphead jumped, startled, and turned to his brother. "You okay, Mugs?" He asked, concerned. "Something up?"
Another tremor shook Mugman's body and his heart pounded a mile a minute. His eyes were wide and some sweat trickled down the sides of his face. Letting his anxiety get the best of him, he gazed up at Cups guiltily.
"C-C-Cups," Mugs stammered, his breaths beginning to come out shallow and fast. "I-I c-c-can't...I-I can't do th-this..."
Cuphead's frown deepened, and he reached up, gradually prying his brother's hand off his shoulder. "How come, Mugs?" He asked calmly, though he was beyond worried about him, wondering why he was panicking so suddenly. "What's wrong?"
Mugs didn't answer, and it took Cup a minute, before finally... it clicked. Cuphead's eyes widened once realization hit him like a ton of bricks. Of course. The incident when they were little. Mugman wouldn't stop crying, and he refused to let go of Cuphead the whole time, no matter how much the elder brother comforted him.
Mugman sobbed uncontrollably, gripping onto Cuphead's shirt, his whole small body trembling.
"Mugs," Cup said softly, holding him close. "Hey, Hey, it's okay. We're almost down. C'mon, just a little more…"
"No!" Mugman exclaimed, startling Cup. "I can't! I can't do it! Cuppy, please don't make me! I'm gonna fall! I'm gonna die!"
He wailed, and sobbed afresh.
"Mugsy, c'mon now. It's okay. I won't let anything happen to ya. Ya ain't gonna die, alright? Not as long as I'm around. I'd never let that happen. Look at me, Mugs." The cupling said, and lifted his brother's face up, which had tears rolling down his face and Cups wiped them away.
"We have ta get down, alright? Ya wanna see Elder Kettle again, don't ya? The ol' man's probably worried about us now. C'mon, let's go see him. I won't let you fall, alright?"
Mugman, who was still sobbing, sniffled. "P-Promise?" He choked out.
"Yeah, of course I do."
"O-O-Okay…"
Cuphead smiled a little bit and slowly but surely climbed down, holding his brother all the while. He helped his little brother jump down, and immediately pulled him into his arms, beginning to walk home. Mugman buried his face in Cuphead's chest and sobbed, holding onto him like his lifeline. Despite the fact that they were down, he was still petrified.
When they got home, Mugman's sobs had slowed down into sniffles, whimpers, and small cries, but he still hugged Cuphead.
Elder Kettle asked Cup what happened, and Cuphead explained everything as he sat down on the couch.
Cuphead allowed Mugs to let out his remaining tears, while petting his back and whispering soothing words to him, and the younger did, eventually falling asleep, leaning into him.
Mugman's fear of heights.
Cuphead had forgotten all about his brother's fear. During the incident, he had forgotten as well, and they climbed up too high. So high to the point where Mugman was scared to death to go back down.
Mugman was petrified after it. He didn't even want to go outside to play for a long time, wouldn't eat or sleep, and he barely talked to anyone, not even Cuphead, unless it was to mutter, "Cuppy, I'm scared...", or to constantly beg or ask Cups to stay by him or sleep with him in case he had a nightmare about it, or began to panic at the very thought of remembering what happened.
Cuphead didn't want to see him like that again. He never wanted to see him like that again. And now won't be an exception.
Cups smiled softly, resting a reassuring hand on Mug's shoulder. "Don't worry, Mugs! I get that you're scared. Ya know, ya don't have ta go. I can handle that ass."
Mugs was both relieved and scared even more by this. "S-Seriously?" He choked. "I-I don't know, Cups... will you be okay fighting him on your own? I-I mean, I can just suck it up and-"
"No. I'm sure, Mugs. I don't want ta see you like that again. I'll be fine, alright? Promise!"
"D-Do you really promise? You'll come back not too hurt?"
"Yeah, sure I will!"
Mugs looked down uncertainly. He took a few seconds before silently nodding for his brother to go. Cups grinned and ran off, hopping from cloud to cloud and eventually disappearing into the distance. As Cups moved out of view, Mugs couldn't help but feel like he had made the worst mistake possible.
Mugs waited anxiously for his brother to come back down, wincing at hearing attacks being fired high up in the skies. He knew it wouldn't take long-Cups was the strongest person in Inkwell Isle there was. He beat all the other enemies without breaking a sweat, so he just knew that his brother could do the same thing with this one.
Something snapped Mugman out of his thoughts. It wasn't noise that did so. It was silence. An eerie silence. Mugs was confused. Did Cups win? Did he lose? Either way, why wasn't he climbing down at all? The young boy felt an uneasy feeling settle itself in the pit of his stomach. He had to go see if Cups was alright! He would never forgive himself if Cuphead got hurt because he was too scared to go with him!
Mugs gulped. He walked towards the clouds high up in the sky. Without even thinking, he freely jumped across three of them in a big rush. He glanced behind him, smiling a little bit. "H-Hey... that wasn't so bad... it was kinda fun, actually..." He said. He then shook his head, returning to reality. "Focus, Mugs. Let's just find Cup and get out of here."
Once he reached a certain peak in the sky, that feeling returned to him. Why hasn't he found his brother yet? He went exactly to where Cups was battling the monster, and yet...
"CUPHEAD!" Mugman yelled loudly, beginning to panic. "CUPS, WHERE ARE YOU!?" No answer. "C'MON, CUPS, THIS ISN'T FUNNY! WHERE ARE YOU!?" Still no answer. Mugs swallowed hard, "CUP, COME OUT! I'M SERIOUS, BRO! COME ON, WHERE ARE YOU? YOU'RE STARTING TO FREAK ME OUT!" A final no response. Tears welled up in Mug's eyes and he fell to his knees. Was... Cuphead... gone...?" Mugs shut his eyes tightly and he buried his face in his gloved hands, beginning to sob.
A few minutes passed, and Mug was still crying, but his head shot up when he heard someone screaming.
"INCOMING!" Screamed a monster falling from the sky, and Mugman yelped, jumping to his feet, and quickly moving out of the way as what looked like Grim Matchstick continued to plummet through the skies.
"W-What?" Mugs muttered, scratching his head in confusion. "Wait, that means..."
"Hiya, Mugs!" Greeted a familiar voice. Mugman spun around to see Cuphead on his knees, peeking from around the cloud above him with a big grin. He had some rips and tears in his clothes, and bloody scratches and bruises. But for the most part, he was okay, just like he had promised his brother.
"Cuphead!" Mugman exclaimed with immense relief, tears filling his eyes, a smile plastering across his face. "You're okay!"
Cups grunted, getting to his feet. He jumped from the cloud he was on and down onto his brother's, walking over to him. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" He asked, grinning. "I promised ya, didn't I?" He paused, his expression turning to surprised. "Wait, you're up here. Does that mean your not afraid anymore?" He asked hopefully.
Mugman chuckled, nodding his head yes. Cup grinned, pulling his brother into a tight hug. "Nice job, Mugsy! I'm so proud of ya! Ya faced your fears after so long! Just wondering, what made ya finally do it?"
"You" Mugman admitted, burying his head in Cuphead's shoulder. "You were taking longer than usual to defeat the boss, so I got worried. I decided that no fear is worth losing you, so I came up to find you. I'm just glad that you're alright."
Cup's grin grew and he stroked Mug's back. He then said, "Hey, guess what?" Mugs pulled away and Cups smirked, "I finally managed to get that selfish prick's soul! He was stubborn, I'll tell ya! But I got it! We've only got a few more monsters to fight left, but what do ya say we get outta here and take a break first?"
Mugs sniffed and grinned, "Yeah! Let's go!" The two brothers walked out, Cups holding Mugs close and Mugs resting his head on his brother's shoulder.