Camo had woken up with regret. He was frustrated. Although Camo is usually angry, today was especially worse, much like the past week had been. Recently, Camo and his fellow members of the Criterion Crew were humiliatingly defeated by Breeze, a small and silent corgi, alone. As a result, the Criterion's plans of polluting their surroundings had ultimately failed. While everybody else moved on from losing their last big fight, Camo was very upset about losing to a puppy who was way smaller than he was.

Camo got up from bed and put on a buttoned shirt that didn't really fit the size of his torso. He then went into the dining area. As per usual, it was a mess: Raggoons were throwing kitchen utensils everywhere; a small fire burned on the remains of the carpet; unclean dishes were piled in the sinks.

"Ugh, why is this place ALWAYS SUCH A MESS?!" Camo growled. "Aren't you guys supposed to clean this mess up, or what?!"

"Well, the Raggoons always mess everything up after we clean, and we don't have all the time in the world to just clean this place up," replied T.O, who was attempting to cook while the Raggoons were running around the tables.

"And you never help ol' Nono!" exclaimed Nono.

"Yeah…It's not fair!" added Peb. "You don't even help us at all!"

"I have to deal with running my own car business every single day. Making deals with others is difficult for a person like me," Camo explained with a negative tone of voice.

"You know, you could help us at least once in a while," said T.O. "We have so much to deal with, including these two."

"What about Sodo?" asked Camo.

"Sleeping, most likely."

Nobody in the Criterion was really surprised by this. Sodo slept longer than the others either because he stayed up late at night doing who knows what, or because he was simply lazy. Most of the time, none of the Criterion members had an issue with this; they didn't like Sodo's odor, and sometimes he was usually quiet and introverted, so even if he wasn't there, there weren't really any differences to point out.

"Should we wake him up?" Camo asked reluctantly.

"I'll wake him up once I'm finished with these guys' meals," T.O answered. "Gosh, it's only the morning and I'm already tired."

The Raggoons continued to commit to their messes, while Nono annoyingly demanded food on the table. As for Peb, he was busy sewing different varieties of clothing. Camo just sat down at the table, still contemplating his defeat. He was exhausted simply thinking about it, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't stop worrying. He was ashamed.

"Isn't there anything else I could put my mind on?" Camo thought to himself. Despite the obnoxious noises surrounding him, he was completely focused on thinking about something else that didn't involve getting his butt kicked by a tiny corgi. Then Sodo came into his mind. Sodo was still asleep, Camo thought. He wanted to wake him up, but T.O had just finished serving the members their food, and needed a break.

"Maybe I can cook something to get my mind off of Breeze for a while."

Camo had finished making his breakfast. Buttermilk pancakes and crispy bacon lay on his plate. He placed his fork and knife down beside the plate onto a ripped up napkin. He was about to eat his breakfast, but he suddenly emerged curious.

"How come Sodo hasn't woken up yet?"

Before Camo insisted on visiting his bedroom, he decided to prepare a meal for Sodo as well, without knowing why he did. He set down coals that were found in the corner of the filthy kitchen. He placed the rocks on a dented plate and placed it on the wooden table.

Afterwards, Camo went to go check up on the hyena. Camo insisted on knocking, but noticed that the scratched door was slightly open. He peeked inside the room and noticed that Sodo was actually wide-awake. He was apparently giggling at whatever was on his phone.

"Hey, Sodo?" said Camo.

"Huh?" Sodo replied, clearing his throat to talk in his tough-guy voice.

"Your breakfast is ready," said Camo. 'It's 1 in the afternoon and you haven't left your room. How long have you been awake?"

"Uh, since the sun came up, I guess," Sodo answered.

"O...kay then," Camo said with a confused voice. "Anyways, like I said, your rocks are ready, hehe."

"Alright," Sodo yawned. "I'll be there in a bit."

Camo walked back to the kitchen table and started to eat. Sodo immediately made his way into the room, and sat down where his plate was. The annoyance that was occuring in the room had come to a brief close: the Raggoons had passed out on a slumbering T.O, and Nono and Peb were playing video games. An awkward silence debuted between the two as they continued to chew and gulp down their meals. Camo wanted to say something, but he couldn't bring himself to do so.

So there they were. Sodo continued to eat his breakfast, and by listening to his noises, he definitely enjoyed what Camo had prepared. At last, Camo had finally found a moment to not dwell on the past, and instead focus on the present. He finally came up with something to say.

"So, Sodo," Camo began.

"Hmm?"

"How do you like the food?" Camo asked.

"It's great," Sodo answered. "Thanks for making it. I... a-appreciate it."

Camo smiled a bit. He proceeded to take a bite of his pancake. Sodo was nearly finished with his breakfast, but he had gotten up to fetch himself a drink. Camo needed to finish his breakfast so he could go back to doing business.

Sodo returned to the table with a drink for the anxious-looking possum. "Here, for you."

"Thank you," Camo said.

"No problem," Sodo replied. "So what's up with you? You seem off more than usual."

"I kid you not, I've been like this all week…"

"Care to talk about it, or?"

Camo felt like he should talk about why he was acting weirdly for the last few days, but he was very hesitant, since he thought it was pointless, regardless of the possible outcomes. "No, I think I'm good, actually. But thanks for asking, anyways."

"How come?" asked Sodo.

"Meh, I just don't feel like it," Camo answered honestly. "It'd be pointless to talk about anyways." He continued to consume the leftovers on his plate. One of the Raggoons woke up and snatched a rock off of Sodo's plate.

"Hey!" Sodo exclaimed. "Pfft, whatever. I'll let him have it."

"You ain't gonna take it back from him?" asked Camo.

"No, it's fine," Sodo explained.

Silence befell again. Camo and Sodo both finished their meals, and they were stuffed. Camo intended to get back to work, but his mind was too tired to even focus on it. As for Sodo, he wasn't really in the mood for video games or sleeping like a pile of rocks; he just wanted someone to talk to.

"Do you w-" Sodo and Camo both said simultaneously.

"Oh, I'm sorry, y-you can go," stuttered Camo.

"No, you can," Sodo responded quickly. "You say what you were gonna say first."

"Alright," Camo spoke. "I was gonna ask if you wanted to talk for a while longer. I don't have the energy to get my work done, and I don't want to waste my day doing nothing."

"Uh, sure," Sodo accepted. "It's funny, because, uh, I was gonna ask the same thing." Sodo blushed a bit.

"Hehe, really?" Camo asked with curiosity.

"Yeah."

"That's very rare," Camo added in using a quiet voice. "I hope you don't mind, but, I don't think I want to talk around the others."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I want to go somewhere else that isn't here. Like my bedroom, for instance. I don't really want anyone else around. Don't tell the others, but I find them a tad bit obnoxious. And you, well, you're usually quiet so I don't have much to say about you, which is why I want to get to know you better than I ever have before. Besides, it would make me feel a bit better."

"Oh, um, alright then," Sodo responded. He, alongside Camo, began to make their way towards Camo's bedroom, where he slept alone. Camo introduced Sodo into his room, which appeared a bit unorganized.

"So, this is my bedroom", Camo said. "It's a bit messy, but it's all fine anyway."

"It looks nice," Sodo complimented. He sat on the bed, which made a loud creak when he did so. Even when the hyena slightly moved, the bed would make noises. The floor also creaked when Camo moved his feet around a bit. It was like traversing through an old, abandoned household.

"So, uh, what did you want to talk about again?" Sodo asked.

"I want to get to know you more," Camo answered. "What kind of things are you into?"

"Uh…" Sodo began to say. He wanted to talk about the things he was looking at on his phone, but he didn't want anybody to know that he looked at images like that. He continued to think about other things he liked to do, but nothing could come to mind.

"Are you into television shows, or cars?" Camo asked him. "Or things like that?"

"Uh, sure," Sodo guessed.

"Ooh, that's great!" Camo exclaimed. "I got some movies you'll definitely enjoy!"

"Okay," Sodo said.

"Great!"

Six hours had passed after they began their social bonding. The two watched two films and binged an entire series, which had episodes that were basically the same thing repeated with different people. Although Camo enjoyed what he was watching on the television with ease, Sodo felt no interest in any of the things Camo liked whatsoever. He was bored out of his mind.

"Hey hey, I found a new series we could watch together, bud," Camo told the frustrated hyena. "It's called Pickle In A Jar. There's these 15 minute episodes, right? They're about a man who transforms into a pickle after eating one that was mutated, and then he goes on adventures with this kid who manages to find him on the street. The twist at the end is mindblowing, too. I really want to tell you about it, but I don't like spoiling things. If you don't mind spoilers, I can tell you, though."

Camo proceeded to get up and place the disc onto the player. "Man, I loved this show when I was a kid! So glad I managed to recover it."

"Do, I, uh, have to watch this?" Sodo asked grumpily.

"Why are you asking me like that?" Camo responded immediately.

"It's just-" Sodo said.

"It's just what?" Camo asked aggressively. "Hmm?"

"I didn't really like the things you showed me," Sodo answered. "I mean, the Ripper of London City was good, but the sequel sucked, and the car show was pretty boring. It was people driving cars in a circle again and again for three seasons. I'm pretty sure anybody reading this fanfiction would agree that even that's boring."

"Well, if you didn't like them, why DIDN'T YOU TELL ME BEFORE?!" Camo yelled. The noises in the other rooms went silent for a moment, before they continued once again.

"I'm sorry, I just, I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want to get you mad, and you were having such a nice time watching it, so I figured I might as well have let you watch it," Sodo explained.

"So he's telling me that we wasted three hours watching crap he didn't even want to see at all?!" thought Camo. He began letting dangerous fumes out. "All that time I thought me and him were enjoying a nice time together and he apparently didn't like most of the things I showed him AT ALL?! God, he reminds me of my mother, honestly…"

Camo sat down in tremendous frustration beside Sodo, and took his phone out to ease his enraged mind a bit. "It's fine, but you could've told me earlier," Camo said. "I wouldn't have minded."

When Camo unlocked his phone, a loud meow was heard, and Sodo immediately attempted to catch a look at the video. Camo looked back at his phone and realized he had actually clicked on a short video of a cat playing with a ball of yarn. Camo looked back at Sodo, who was mesmerized by the sight. He stared into the hyena's eyes for a moment.

"Wow, his eyes are… beautiful. They're so pretty," Camo thought to himself. The longer he looked into Sodo's eyes, the more red the possum's face had gotten. "Am I blushing?"

"Do you, um, like this?" Camo asked. The hyena nodded.

"Y-you want me to send it to ya?"

Sodo tried to play it cool, but he was unable to wait any longer to have that image within his grasp. "Yeah, sure."

Camo sent the image to Sodo. "Are you into cute things?" the possum asked.

"Y-yeah," Sodo blushed. "Yeah, I do like that kind of stuff. Eh, I know it's weird, but, you know, I like stuff like that anyways."

"I don't think it's weird," Camo said. "More like surprising, to say the least."

"Why does it surprise you?" he asked.

"Well, you have this tough bad guy persona, and you just so happen to be into this kind of stuff."

"Oh."

"No wonder you lost to the corgi so easily," Camo whispered.

Sodo chuckled. "Y-you got anymore?" the hyena asked calmly.

"Not really," Camo responded. "Maybe I can get more later."

"Can I see some pictures you have, anyways?"

"So long as you're into it this time."

Sodo took a look in Camo's gallery. There were many pictures of fancy suits, cars, recipes for food, and pictures with members of the Criterion from recent hangouts. He eventually found some very old pictures, which included pictures of Camo and his old-looking mom. He stumbled upon a photo of Camo and Sodo together back when they had first joined the Criterion as young individuals. Sodo remembered this moment especially well. It was the first time he ever met Camo, and all of the others, too. It's been years since they first met, and in a way, they all grew together as a family: that one big, dysfunctional family one would see in an unoriginal and cheesy sitcom.

A bittersweet emotion of nostalgia hit the hyena. He felt as if he was going to cry. It had been so long.

"This was from when we first met," Sodo spoke quietly.

Camo took a look at the photo. "Oh, you're right!" he exclaimed. "This was like, what, 6 years ago? Yeesh. Look where we are now."

Sodo began to cry a bit. He didn't care if he looked bad due to his masculine appearance while sobbing. He wanted to let it out, since he's never felt like this way before in his life.

"Hey, you alright?" Camo asked with concern.

"Yeah, it's fine," Sodo sobbed. 'It just hurts to think about something that happened a long time ago. Um, I know I usually don't act like this, but it just makes me sad. Makes me wish I could go back and relive that moment again ya know?"

Camo didn't know how to respond to this. The only time he's ever had to deal with other Criterion members crying was when one of the Raggoons were bawling over the fact that they lost their handkerchief, even though it was tied around their waist.

Camo placed his arm around Sodo and gave him an awkward back rub. "There, there, friend," he told him. "It's okay to cry once in a while."

Camo and Sodo just stayed there in their positions. Sodo let his emotions out while Camo was there to aid him supportively. Camo felt nice being with Sodo at this time. He was finally able to get his mind off of self-humiliation, and instead focused on what was occurring around him now. This moment alone also opened a new perspective for Camo, where he realized that Sodo wasn't just another roommate. He was a friend, a friend who was into cute things and kept his emotions hidden from everybody else in order to conceal his real personality via an alternative persona.

"Thank you," Sodo said.

"You're welcome," Camo responded.

Sodo slowly got up and proceeded to leave Camo's bedroom. Before he was able to leave, however, Camo called out. "Hey, Sodo.."

"Y-yeah?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out some other time," Camo asked.

"Oh, um, yeah, sure, I guess," Sodo answered.

"And hey, I'm sorry about earlier, when I got mad."

"It's fine. No hard feelings."

Sodo left back to his room. Camo lied down on his bed, thinking about what was to come tomorrow. He was a bit eager. Although he needed to get back to work in the morning, he was okay. In addition to this, he was also confused as to how he felt when he stared at Sodo's eyes for a long period of time. Only time would tell. For now, it was time for Camo to rest.