Learning To Swim
Chapter Six: The Confrontation…s
Sylvia has pulled Hater aside for a private talk, and now Peepers has done the same thing to Wander, only more literally. Let's see how our conversations go.
Wander and Peepers really don't get much interaction time together in the show, same with Sylvia and Hater. I would actually love an episode where Sylvia and Hater have to band together to save Wander and Peepers or vice/versa. In any case, they're getting some time together now!
I tried to communicate the 's' slowly appearing on the end of the title card the way it does sometimes in the show. Not sure I succeeded.
Enjoy!
Hater grumbled under his breath as he followed the zbornak out of the foyer and into the corridors of the skull-ship.
He hadn't seen Wander since the fair, a week ago, and seeing him again now had been…surprising. His mind had flown back involuntarily to their last night together and he'd felt inexplicably nervous at just the sight of the nomad. He'd managed to maintain his confidence during the entrance he'd planned out, and Wander had seemed impressed, which was good, but once that was over, he hadn't known quite what to say. Wander had been smiling up at him the way he always did, and Hater had felt an absurd urge to yell at him or try to blast him, simply because that was what he always did. Merely greeting Wander was…odd. He'd felt a strange fluttering where his stomach should be when he looked at Wander's gentle smile, and his tongue had seemed slightly too big for his mouth.
Then Sylvia just had to butt in with her stupid mocking comment before demanding that he have a private discussion with her. As if it was in her rights to demand anything of the Lord Hater!
He'd barely gotten to see Wander and now here he was, being forced to follow the big, brutish alien through the corridors, away from where the nomad was waiting. It wasn't enough that Sylvia had to tag along with Wander and try to ruin Hater's dramatic entrance by making sarcastic comments, now she was elbowing her way into his plans for the evening; delaying them, after he'd spent all that time preparing. What exactly did she have to talk to him about, anyway? Though he supposed it made sense that she was wary of him, as the greatest villain in the galaxy, he should be intimidating.
Unlike Wander, Sylvia had always acted more like a good guy facing off against a villain, although he hadn't had a lot of direct confrontations with her. She had usually been fighting Peepers and the other watchdogs while Hater chased after Wander. She'd rarely seemed intimidated, except at the very beginning, but she at least treated him as a threat, which was a step in the right direction. She was always breaking into the skull-ship to rescue Wander from his destruction schemes, or busting them both out of prison, causing a truly insane amount of property damage while she did so. Whereas Wander had always been happy to be captured by Hater, and never been frightened about his own safety, Sylvia was at least somewhat concerned, inevitably charging in to save him. So, it probably made sense that she was worried about leaving Wander alone with the skeleton lord, given how many times he'd tried to destroy the nomad in the past. Still, Hater couldn't help feeling indignant.
Things had changed between him and Wander, after all. He wasn't trying to kill Wander anymore, as he'd all too painfully admitted to Peepers. Sylvia must be aware of that. He knew Wander had told her about everything that had happened at the fair and before it. He'd probably told her in a lot more detail than Hater would like.
Apparently, that wasn't enough for her.
She'd actually gone far enough to threaten him; him, Lord Hater. She'd threatened to take Wander and leave, ruining all of Hater's plans for a romantic evening. He wouldn't put it past her either, so he'd felt like he had no choice but to humor her a little.
And now here Hater was, even letting her take the lead on his own ship. The skeleton lord ground his teeth at the thought. Well, at least that was something he could put a stop to.
Pushing his way past Sylvia, Hater opened a door at the side of the corridor into what looked like an office of some kind. Stomping inside, he leaned against the black desk, tapping his fingers on the dark, shiny surface to show his impatience and glaring as the zbornak shut the door.
Fine, he reiterated to himself grudgingly. He'd listen to what she had to say, so long as it was short. But then she'd better keep her word and leave them alone. He had better things to do today than face off against Wander's best pal.
"So, quite a show you put on out there, Hater." Sylvia started, still with that mocking edge to her voice that set Hater's teeth grinding again. "Anyone would think you were trying to impress someone, though I guess that's pretty common for you. Don't look so upset; I think Wander liked it."
Hater felt his cheeks heat slight and his glare darkened.
"And just what business is that of yours, zbornak?"
Sylvia leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms casually.
"You know, people keep asking me that and I'm not sure why. It shouldn't really be a hard concept. Wander is my business. His safety is my business, his happiness is my business, helping him help others is my business. If it wasn't for that, do you think I'd take time out of my busy schedule to come hang out on this ship with you creeps? To get all up in your ugly face? Fat chance, pal. I'd much rather be relaxing on a beach somewhere, drinking something fruity with a tiny umbrella."
"Well then, why don't you?" Hater snapped. He was nearing the end of his very minimal patience. "I'm sure you know where the door is, or the vents, at least," he muttered sarcastically. "You don't have to worry about Wander's 'safety,' or didn't he tell you I'm not trying to destroy him anymore?"
"Oh, he told me." Sylvia leaned forward towards Hater. "He told me a lot of things." Hater gulped, suddenly nervous.
"Oh?" He asked warily.
"Yep." Sylvia's eyes narrowed on his face. "And I trust what he said. You and I both know Wander doesn't lie. But we also know he can sugar-coat things, and he trusts people a little more than he should sometimes, so I want to hear it from you, and until I do, you're not spending any more time with my buddy."
"Hear what?" Hater was doing his best to appear merely annoyed, but the spaces between his bones were clenching unpleasantly. "That we're not enemies anymore? That I'm not going to destroy Wander? I already said that."
"Not exactly." Sylvia looked down her nose at him. "I want to hear what happened under the trees that night." Hater blanched, his bones going cold, but Sylvia wasn't finished. "I already know what Wander told me, but now I'd like to hear your side of it. What did you say, what did you do and why? And I want the truth. Then we'll see whether I trust that you're not going to hurt Wander again like you did at the beginning of all this." She smirked triumphantly at Hater, no doubt enjoying his apparent discomfort.
Hater opened his mouth, then closed it again. He brought his hands together, clasping and unclasping them as he tried to find something to say. All the wind seemed knocked out of him, the indignant anger gone.
She wanted Hater to tell her about the kiss, to tell her what he had said to Wander and why. In short, she wanted to know how Hater felt about Wander. That was a bit of a tall order, even if she hadn't been one of his most despised enemies. He hadn't even been able to bring himself to discuss it with Peepers, not properly anyway. Hater was kind of still figuring all of that out. He hadn't even talked to Wander about it all yet. His cloak suddenly felt stifling, and he tugged at the collar.
"So, uh, you want to hear about me and…and Wander?"
"Yep." Sylvia was still watching him levelly. She seemed settled, calm, as though she had all the time in the world. Of course, it wasn't her plan that was being delayed by this awkward encounter.
Hater felt another wave of annoyance sweep over him at the thought, overriding his uneasiness. She thought she could dictate terms to him, just because she was Wander's friend. Unfortunately, being Wander's friend meant he couldn't zap her or throw her in the dungeon, both more appealing options than standing here and listening to her mocking. Not to mention that if he got into a fight with her that would really mess up the cloak he'd picked out especially for tonight. Wander probably wouldn't be that happy about it either.
That said, he wasn't about to let the zbornak intimidate him on his own ship. He drew himself up slightly, meeting the challenge in her eyes.
"What Wander and I did and said that night is between us," he stated firmly. "We said a lot of things, but nothing I feel like sharing with you, whether you're his best friend or not. You think it's your business because you want Wander to be 'safe' and 'happy' and 'helping people'?" He scoffed. "It's Wander. I spent almost two years trying to destroy him and he's still perfectly fine, not to mention perpetually happy." Hater couldn't stop the bitterness that crept into his tone at that recollection.
"Oh, I'm well aware," Sylvia retorted, glaring back at him. "And don't get me wrong, I'm under no illusions that you jokers could actually kill Wander. The little guy's tough. If you had any shot at destroying him it would have happened ages ago. But if all that at the fair last week was for real, I'm here to make sure you don't break that big heart of his, because if you do, I'm going to break you." It took everything in Hater to keep glaring and not to back up at the menace in her eyes. "So, help me out here," Sylvia continued after an ominous moment, apparently cool as a cucumber again. "Why'd you kiss him that night? Did you mean it?"
Hater felt his non-existent stomach drop down to his shoes. He finally broke the stare down, glancing down at the polished floor as he scuffed the toe of one sneaker across it.
"I-I meant it," he managed, voice much softer than before.
"Really?" Sylvia sounded slightly incredulous. "Because, correct me if I'm wrong, but you were trying to murder him with a giant laser cannon a week before that."
"I saved him from the giant laser cannon!" Loth as he still was to admit to that, Hater found the indignation creeping through him again.
"The giant laser cannon you fired at him!" Sylvia stopped herself abruptly, taking a long breath. "Look, Hater, Wander told me all about the destruction ceremony, visiting you on the ship and going to the fair. I'm not denying things have changed, but how much is the question, because let's get one thing clear; I don't trust you. You're a self-proclaimed 'planetary conqueror,' even if you haven't been conquering all that much lately, you've got a nasty temper and a long history of hunting us down and trying to kill us. So, if you want me to believe you care about Wander now, you're going to have to do some convincing. Otherwise, we're leaving, whether Wander wants to or not."
The ultimatum hung in the air for a moment, while Hater dithered, not knowing how to respond. Because things had changed between him and Wander, but even he wasn't sure how much, let alone how to convince Sylvia of what he was feeling for the little pest when his own feelings were still so confusing to him.
They were still facing off when they heard running footsteps down the corridor. The footsteps skidded to a stop outside their door, and both of them turned, their discussion on hold for the moment.
The door slid open partway, a watchdog poking his eye cautiously through. He seemed uncomfortable, but looked slightly relieved when he sighted Hater.
"Sorry to disturb you, Lord Hater sir," he said. Hater noticed he sounded slightly out of breath. To be honest, he was a little relieved at the interruption, but he scowled anyway, tapping his food.
"Well, what is it?" he demanded. "Can't you see I'm in the middle of something?"
"Of course, sir." The watchdog nodded hurriedly. "And, like, normally I wouldn't bother you with something like this but, were you being serious when you said nobody was supposed to capture Wander today?"
Sylvia gave Hater a pointed look and he ignored her. A thread of anxiety was starting to wind its way up his spine.
"Of course I was being serious," he growled. "The most serious."
"That's what I thought." The soldier definitely looked uncomfortable now. He rubbed the back of his eye self-consciously with one gloved hand. "Then, theoretically, would it be a problem if Commander Peepers…uh…did that thing?"
"He what!?"
Wander yawned, opening his eyes and finding that he was sitting up. Chains clinked as he shifted, and he blinked his eyes a few times, but the room he was in was very dark, so it didn't make much difference. He seemed to be chained to the chair he was sitting in with his arms at his sides. It wasn't that unusual a way to wake up, all things considered, but he hadn't exactly been expecting it today.
For a moment, he wondered whether this had been Hater's idea; if he'd gotten embarrassed to be getting along with Wander with all of his soldiers watching and decided to have him captured again. Then he brushed the notion away. Hater had clearly been excited for this evening. Just look at all the preparations he'd made!
In that case, it might be something Mr. Peepers had done on his own. Wander wasn't sure how the watchdog was dealing with all of this, or even how much Hater had told him about what was going on today. Even as he had the thought, a bright light snapped on, directed at his face. Too bright. Wander squinted past the glare and saw the watchdog commander standing on the other side of a narrow metal table with his eye narrowed, hands clasped behind his back.
"Hi, Commander Peepers!" Wander smiled and pulled one hand loose to wave, slipping it back into the chains afterward. He saw the commander's eyelid twitch at this action, but Peepers didn't comment on it.
"Hello," Peepers said sternly, "Wander. Do you know why you're here?"
Wander shifted slightly, trying to get a better angle past the bright light.
"'Fraid I'm not exactly sure. Didja want ta talk to me? I've got a few minutes to hang out while Hatey an' Sylvia are chattin'. Not sure this is real necessary." He shrugged with a smile. "But who'm I ta say what's what. What did you wanna talk about?"
Peepers had stood stiffly as Wander talked. Now he narrowed his eye further, peering at Wander from behind the light.
"You and Lord Hater," he said, voice cold.
"Oooooh." Wander's smile softened and he gave a little hop, making the chair jump so that it was slightly closer to the watchdog. "I figured ya might. I know me 'n Hater've been pretty busy lately, and you 'n me haven't gotten to spend much time together. An' I know Hatey's not the best when it comes ta sharing…"
Peepers strode abruptly forward a pace, slamming his hands on the table so it rattled.
"Quiet!" he yelled. Wander closed his mouth obligingly. "I didn't bring you here to hear excuses or put up with your inane chatter. I want the truth, and you're not leaving here until you give it to me!"
Wander waited for a second after this declaration to make sure Peepers wanted his input.
"Well, I'll be happy ta help any way I can, Mr. Peepers. That's what friends 'r for! An' of course I'll tell ya the truth. What didja wanna know?"
Peepers' eyelid trembled slightly as though trying to hold back some emotion. His voice was strained when he spoke.
"I want to know what exactly you think you're doing with this whole ridiculous game you're playing."
Wander tilted his head, considering.
"I'm not sure what game ya mean…"
"Don't think I don't know what's going on here!" Peepers snapped, interrupting again. He leaned across the table, practically shaking with rage. Wander knew he'd been under too much stress lately. "I know what you're up to! You've been dogging us from day one, messing with my plans, distracting Lord Hater at every opportunity, sticking your meddling furry fingers into our every scheme, and why? Because you're after Hater! You think I don't see it? You've been trying to soften him up, lure him away from villainy. That's what it's always been about. This is just the next step in your master plan. Trying to be Lord Hater's 'friend' didn't work to turn him into a good guy, so now you've upped your game. You've been sneaking around behind my back, trying to seduce him, getting him alone and vulnerable so you can work your weird wiles on him!"
"Well, golly." Wander felt himself flushing just a little. He hadn't expected that accusation, although maybe he should have. His eyes trailed down to his toes, then up again. He gave Peepers a gentle smile, trying not to squint at the bright light. "I figured Hatey hadn't told ya everything that happened. I know we've been spendin' a fair bit of time together recently. 'S been real nice ta be honest. But this isn't some trick ta turn him into a good guy." The chains were getting in the way of his gesturing, so he pulled his arms out. He hoped Peepers wouldn't mind. He put one hand on his chest, taking a breath before he continued. He wanted the watchdog to know he was being sincere. "Sure, it'd be nice if y'all didn't feel tha need to be conquer the galaxy an' hurt other folks anymore, but I ain't about ta trick or force you into it. I really do just wanna be friends. An' if ya do need some help with it all someday, well, I'll be here ta help you, you an' Hatey both."
"Don't play dumb with me, you ginger weirdo!" Peepers' voice squeaked in his agitation. "I know you've been sneaking around ever since that doom ceremony you planned together! I know you dragged Lord Hater with you to the fair last week and I know you kissed him!" He paused, panting for breath after his outburst. The room seemed to echo slightly with the words. Wander almost clarified that Hater had kissed him, not the other way around, but now didn't seem like the moment to correct the watchdog. In any case, Peepers wasn't wrong. He had kissed Hater back after all.
"I won't deny we kissed, Mr. Peepers, an' it was real nice." Wander smiled across at Peepers, who recoiled slightly at the admission. "But it wasn't some kinda plan of mine, honest. I'd never do that. When I hug my friends, or gosh, even when I kiss them, I always mean it."
"And what did you mean exactly?" Peepers demanded. He leaned forward again, across the table between them, hands clenching on the smooth surface. "That you meant it when you kissed him? That you like lord Hater?" Peepers scoffed under his breath, but he still looked strained, and he gave a brief shudder before continuing resolutely. "I don't care what you were feeling. I want to know what you did to him. Why didn't he take your revolting orange head off for a stunt like that?"
"I can't speak for Hatey." Wander was worried this conversation wasn't going well. Peepers seemed to be getting more agitated, not less. "But he didn't seem ta mind spendin' time with me. Smoochin' wasn't somethin' I planned on, an' I'm afraid you'll have ta ask him how he felt, but he's never been shy at showin' how he feels about somethin' or lettin' ya know when he's upset. He didn't have ta be there with me an' he wouldn't have stayed if he didn't wanna."
That answer didn't seem to make Peepers feel any better. He was still glaring, hands tense and trembling slightly as though he wanted to fasten them about Wander's throat. He seemed to be gearing up for a response, and Wander didn't think it was going to be very polite, when there was a sudden thump and the muffled sound of running feet from somewhere nearby. Wander perked up slightly at the noise, and Peepers froze, turning in the same direction. Then there was a bang as the door was slammed open and light flooded into the room, revealing Hater and Sylvia, shoulder to shoulder, looking slightly out of breath and thoroughly angry. Peepers gave an audible gulp, and Wander shot him a sympathetic look, though it was nice to see that Hater and Sylvia seemed to be getting along.
"Peepers! What do you think you're doing?!" There was a level of anger in Hater's voice Wander hadn't heard in a while. He wondered if he aught to say something, but it seemed like his best friend needed his attention more.
Sylvia was across the room in an instant, snapping the chains holding Wander to the chair and interposing herself between him and the two villains. Hater had stormed across the room and was glaring down at Peepers, voice raised as he yelled at the watchdog. That whole thing surprised Wander a little. Hater hadn't been worried about him, had he?
He ignored that thought for the moment though, turning to Sylvia. She still looked a little upset.
"Hi, Sylvia," Wander said brightly. He wrapped his arms around his friend's neck, giving her a brief hug. Sylvia was busy glaring across the room, but he felt her arms wrap around him as well, eyes finding his own.
"You okay, Wander?"
"I'm fine," Wander reassured. He looked past Sylvia's neck, several conflicting emotions flickering through him. "But I don't think Mr. Peepers is havin' the best day."
"No kidding." Sylvia didn't sound particularly bothered about that.
"Peepers, did I or did I not explicitly say that no one was to capture Wander today?"
Peepers flinched slightly, fingers tapping together nervously under Hater's glare.
"Ah, technically, sir, you said not to do anything dumb."
"Anything dumb like capture Wander!"
"Oh, come on Lord Hater, you're not seriously worried about the furry orange freak, are you? He's fine; he's waving at us right now." They both glanced over to where Wander was indeed waving happily past Sylvia's neck. "You know Wander," Peepers continued reasonably. "He's used to getting captured. He practically enjoys it."
"That's not the point, Peepers!" Hater's glare darkened as he glanced around the makeshift interrogation room. He felt strangely confused, his emotions clashing inside him. When he'd heard Peepers had captured Wander, an unexplained worry had jumped inside him. Unexplained because he shouldn't be worried about Wander, even now that Wander's untimely doom was no longer something he wanted. After all, the only thing he and Sylvia had agreed about was that Wander was always fine. No matter what dangers were inflicted on Wander, he invariably came out on top, happy and completely unharmed.
And yet, Hater had felt strangely anxious as they followed the watchdog through the corridors to where he'd seen Peepers take Wander. Maybe it was because Peepers had disobeyed his orders not to go after the nomad today. Maybe Hater was anxious about what Peepers was interrogating Wander about, and what Wander would say in response. Maybe it had even been worry over whether Sylvia would make good on her threat to take Wander and leave, and despite all the trouble that had already happened since Wander arrived, Hater didn't want him to go.
Hater narrowed his eyes on his commander's face, food tapping in time with his bony fingers. At least Peepers had the awareness to look uncomfortable as he met his boss' bright green glare.
"Look, sir," Peepers said. His voice was conciliatory. "He didn't get hurt, and this was barely even a kidnapping, although I'm still not sure why you care. I just decided to have a word with him while you were…busy. No harm done, right?"
"Fine then," Hater growled. Like the anxiety he had felt before, he wasn't entirely sure why he was so angry. Everything Peepers had said was perfectly true, after all. "Then let me spell it out for you, Commander Peepers; no more stupid stunts. Leave Wander alone. We can talk about this whole thing tomorrow, but for tonight, back off, got it?"
"Fine, sir. I've got it." Peepers didn't look happy, but the watchdog seemed to realize that Hater was not in the mood to be pushed.
Hater sighed, turning reluctantly from his commander. He was pretty sure Peepers would follow his orders, at least until they had their talk tomorrow. Now he had to try to salvage this situation, and hope the night hadn't been entirely ruined.
"Seriously, buddy, you sure you don't want to just call it a night? We can head out and find a cozy planet somewhere. Hater and Peepers look like they still have some stuff to sort out. We can try this again another day."
"Leave?" Wander's lip quivered, eyes going wide and sad. "But we just got here, an' I know Hatey's been lookin' forward to getting together tonight." He craned his neck slightly so he could look around Sylvia again at the squabbling villains. "I know Mr. Peepers got a little…overzealous gettin' me to come with him, but we were just havin' a little chat, that's all. Ya didn't have ta worry."
"Wander…" Sylvia paused, glancing across the room to where Hater looked like he was reaming out his commander, not that unusual a sight, if you ignored the context of the situation, but add that context back in and the situation felt just a little surreal.
She'd had to pause her confrontation with Hater when they'd heard that Wander had been captured. She'd been upset at the news; this was exactly the kind of thing she'd been afraid would happen. She was all set to storm over there, send Peepers face first into a wall, grab Wander and leave without a word. But, well, things had changed a little. Sylvia had never gotten satisfactory answers to her questions, at least verbal answers. Yet, she did find herself with some more evidence than she'd arrived with, most notably Hater's reaction to what Peepers had done. Sylvia had expected the overlord to be annoyed at Peepers for disregarding his orders, but she hadn't expected him to actually look concerned, or to have to hurry to keep up with him as they raced through the corridors.
He really had been worried about Wander.
Would wonders never cease.
The zbornak sighed, casting her eyes upward as though looking for help in the ceiling tiles. She'd still feel better if they left now, found a planet to relax on and cuddled up by a crackling campfire. But…she supposed she was a little less worried now about Wander spending time alone with Hater tonight, even if she still wasn't happy about it, though she did make a mental note to keep an eye on Peepers for the rest of the evening. He was owed a few punches as far as she was concerned.
"Fine, we'll stay," she conceded with a huff. Wander's arms tightened around her as he let out an excited squeal. "Just, please try not to worry me any more tonight. I think we've both earned a little break, okay?"
Wander nodded happily. Releasing Sylvia's neck, he stepped around her, starting towards Hater and Peepers, who seemed to have mostly stopped arguing, even if they didn't look entirely happy with each other.
"Hey there Hatey-bo-batey!" he called out. Hater turned, looking frazzled and slightly surprised, and Wander gave him one of the widest smiles Sylvia had ever seen. "You ready to get this evenin' going?"
Sylvia just hoped the food court had a good selection of drinks. She was pretty sure she deserved one by this point.
Hater was kind of saved by the bell in his conversation with Sylvia. It'll probably still have to happen later. Neither of the talks were very satisfying for those involved, and they didn't manage to resolve all the issues plaguing our characters, but at least Hater and Sylvia made a little progress.
Our get-together is finally a go! We will see what happens with that next chapter. I hope you will enjoy it!
My next update is probably for Never Hurts to help. It will probably take me a week or two, but I am working on it, promise!
See you soon!
