He couldn't believe who he saw standing outside his workshop door. He wanted to reach and pinch himself from seeing who it was and make sure it was not just a dream, or maybe just to do just that and hope he was dreaming. But it was real and he knew it. His breath got choked up in his throat and his face just wore a surprised and shocked expression frozen in place as he saw who it was. Ziggs. Of all persons he could meet upon Runeterra right now, it was Ziggs. The brown-furred cat-like Yordle was standing right outside his door and giving a wry smile towards Rumble. His cheek had returned to normal after the swelling from the punch yesterday and as his teeth showed through his smile Rumble did not see a gap in that smile of his. The tooth must've been replaced. The Summoners had their way with healing magic, didn't they? Case-point being he looked as good as new… and he was standing right upon his porch.
"Um… heya, Rumble!" he soon spoke out with a chuckle as Rumble was still trying to find words for seeing Ziggs like this. So far from Piltover just to be here in Bandle City, and more exactly at his home. This was just too good to be true, yet it was true. His jaw was slack and his words did not know where to go as his poor little brain just got more and more jumbled up from the mere presence of the Hexplosive Expert in front of him. "Um… R-Rumble? Mind if I, y'know… come in?" Ziggs was carefully waving a hand in front of Rumble's face as if he has seen a ghost, and Rumble would quickly snap out of his little trance as he shook his head a bit and then looked at Ziggs. "W-Wha, uh… s-sure, I guess…" he'd slowly back up to let Ziggs inside as the other Yordle merely smiled widely as usual as he looked around. "Wow! You've sure made yourself a living here! A lot better than my study dorm back at Piltover!" the moment Piltover was mentioned Rumble felt a fist sinking into his gut again, but this time… he managed to ignore it for some reason. Because Ziggs was literally complementing his living conditions, where his workshop was literally his home. The blue-furred Yordle had never thought of actually getting his own house because he felt it was too much work to be put into such a project. "Y-Yeah, heheh, it's not much… but it is my home, right?" Rumble asked with a nervous chuckle.
Ziggs was now grinning brightly again as he turned to Rumble, patting his shoulder firmly. A wince came from the mechanic as he did so, and Ziggs seemed to catch onto it as he slowly let his shoulder go. "Oh, right, ehe… don't like being touched right?" he asked with a more nervous grin now, but Rumble merely shook his head and smiled slightly. "N-No, it's okay… back then I was just…" he sighed. He did not know how to excuse his crude behavior back then, so he just went with what sounded best. "I-I'm sorry for that, okay? I didn't mean to be so-" however, he was cut off with something he didn't expect, and that was Ziggs speaking up with something he did not expect at all; "No Rumble… I'm the one sorry here." Rumble was totally baffled by Ziggs' sudden apology as he just stood there and thought about pinching himself again… what did he just say? Did he seriously say it was his fault? Ziggs would merely scratch the back of his head a little before looking around for a spot to sit down so he could explain properly. Rumble caught up on his gaze as he would quickly motion for his bed which was basically just a thick mattress stuffed away in a corner of the workshop.
"Thanks…" Ziggs mumbled as he and Rumble walked over to the mattress and sat down upon it. "Heh… I think you found the infirmary beds more comfy than this, eh?" he asked with an awkward chuckle as Rumble would still be quite shocked of Ziggs' words, yet he'd manage a nod. "W-Well, actually they… were too big for me. This one's just perfect…" he'd mumble, to which Ziggs merely nodded as he sighed. "Look… this whole ordeal's my fault Rumble. I know when I've done a mistake… an' thinking back on our days I kinda started to realize it's sorta my fault the most." He began his confession as he began to pull off his goggles. "Y'see, back then I wasn't really the most considerate Yordle… I'll say that right now." His goggles slipped off his head as he put them in his lap, his own green eyes now being fully visible. "I always thought of what was best for myself even when you an' I were fooling around… I always had plans for my future, and one day the opportunity presented itself, and I… well, I just couldn't let it slide!" he could hear Rumble let out a soft 'Tch' as he heard the truth being revealed as he was sure the blue-furred boy was just judging him for choosing Piltover over their friendship as he sighed. "Make whatever judgment ya wish, Rumble… but that won't stop the fact that I… I too felt really upset over it." This actually made Rumble turn to face him for a while. "Y'see… back then, I…"
"F-FINE! THEN YOU KNOW WHAT, JUST GET OUT OF HERE!"he remembered those words of his friend like it was just yesterday, yelling at him that he was no longer welcome in Bandle City, his words so full of anger and hatred. Ziggs didn't know how to cope with this sudden amount of anger literally steaming off of Rumble as he just stared at him with complete shock. "R-Rumble, wha-" he was interrupted as a rock whizzed over towards him which he barely blocked with his arm, his elbow flaring up in pain as it was hit as he gasped and held it tightly. "W-What the heck!?" he called out, only to see Rumble pick up a second one. "G-GET OUT OF HERE! J-JUST TURN YOUR TAIL AND LEAVE!" was he really saying this? Rumble, his best friend wanted him… out of his life? Just like that? It couldn't be true! But as the second rock sailed through the air and bounced off of his helmet, Ziggs knew that he was no longer welcome, so he would quickly just duck and make it to the front of his trolley.
"T-THAT'S IT! JUST RUN! Y-YOU'RE JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!" Rumble's screams still echoed after Ziggs and it ached him for some strange reason just to hear these words over his back. He quickly pulled the trolley with him as he decided to just leave before things got worse. With how loud Rumble was being right now it'd only be a matter of moments before someone came and noticed them. But then, the final nail struck the coffin; "Y-Y-Y-… YOU BASTARD! Z-ZIGGS, I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!" This made Ziggs literally stop in his tracks for a while before just gritting his teeth in a soft hiss and dragging the trolley off with him, leaving Rumble's field of sight, and Bandle City behind him.
When he finally was quite a distance away from Bandle City he would feel a drop of water hit his shoulder as he felt it begin to rain, and in a matter of moments it was streaming down in a soft but thick trickle as he felt his footsteps begin to drag a little bit in the mud quickly forming beneath his feet, and before he knew it he slipped in a large mud-puddle and fell right on his face. He lost his grip on the trolley but it stayed stuck in the mud as he fell down, mud splashing all over him as he just wanted to push off of the ground and keep trekking towards Piltover… but for some reason he could not. His body just felt too heavy and burdened for some reason, not wanting to respond to his mind's commands as he just stayed stuck in the mud. He felt most of the weight locating itself in his chest as he felt his heart nearly turn into a clump of lead, managing to turn himself to the side and clutch his chest tightly as if fearing his heart would turn so heavy it'd tear itself right out of his body. Then finally, his eyes welled up with tears as they soon streamed out and along his cheeks, quiet sobs being heard from Ziggs as he laid there, realizing he had not only turned his back on his past home… but his best and possibly only friend.
"So… you were not the only one… who had no one to call a friend…" Rumble spoke softly as he tried to wrap his head around that Ziggs too shared his mixed emotions, as Ziggs merely nodded. "The first few days at the Academy… it was all hell to me… especially at my first demonstration…" he sighed. "Damn invention o' mine blew up prematurely… almost blew me up in tha' process even with all tha' calculations I've made… an' I had no one else to blame but myself. And I just… got laughed at." He'd grit his teeth again and clutch his chest just like he had done in the past, and instantly Rumble reacted to it as he would reach out and hold Ziggs' arm. He didn't know why he did it, his body just… acted on its own! But he was now holding Ziggs' arm, looking at him in a very concerned manner as the two of them would just… look at each other. Both of them realized now… they had both lost their whole worlds and their view on it, but had slowly gained a lot of new experiences and life-views. But one thing still remained within them, no matter how broken it was; their friendship. Upon realizing this, Rumble was the first one who reacted as he just had his face contort to that of hints of joy, his frowning mouth turning into a small smile, and his eyes once more flooding with tears… but not tears of sadness this time. For the first time in a long while, it was tears of joy.
"Z-Z-Ziggs…" he began, words stumbling out of his mouth as his hand squeezed firmer around Ziggs' arm, making the Dean smile a little bit. "Yeah?" he asked in response, trying to contain himself a bit better than Rumble even if his own tears too filled up with tears.
"Z-Z-Ziggs, I…" finally Rumble could not take it anymore as he just let go of Ziggs' arm only to literally throw himself onto Ziggs, surprising the other male Yordle as he was hugged oh-so tightly by the blue-furred boy, but before he could hug him in return he was shocked once more as he heard Rumble sob out loud; "Z-Ziggs I'm sorry! I-I-I'm so sorry for everything! I didn't know you… y-you had it just as hard as me! I just… I-I just…" his words were reduced to slurred bawling and sobbing as he just clutched tightly onto Ziggs, refusing to let go from his being as if he thought that if he did he would lose him forever. But Ziggs remained sitting with Rumble, having the boy wrapped around his body and his arms hesitantly hanging in the air and waiting to return the embrace… which he eventually did, his own tears falling down his brown-furred cheeks as he just pressed his chin to Rumble's head, embracing him after such a long time apart.
"Hush, Rumble… c'mon, it's gonna be alright… I'm right here… always."
Whee. Finally the two of 'em are able to speak their minds out, eh? And next chapter will be... THE M-RATED ONE~
So looking forward to write it~