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The weather was absolutely miserable. It was cold and damp, the sky was depressingly overcast, and a thick fog had surrounded the Party Boat and dropped the visibility to almost zero. In other words, it was the perfect setting for six supernatural forces to stand out on the main deck of the ex-military vessel and spend some time together.
They'd had a productive morning; after almost running directly into a passing cargo ship they'd taken the opportunity to stock up on supplies and enjoy some much-needed refreshments in the form of most of the freighter's crew. Spirits were high as they watched the ravaged ship drift away back into the fog.
Excited, still buzzing on adrenaline from the hunt, Max jumped up onto Sam and wrapped his arms around his neck. Not one to let an opportunity pass by him, Guybrush had turned it into a group hug and dragged Nelson in along with him, then snaked an arm around Manny's ribcage to complete the set. The skeleton shook his head at the impromptu get-together, but ultimately he'd still patted Guybrush's arm and joined in on the embrace.
It was a heartwarming scene - or it would've been without the wholesale slaughter that had immediately preceded it - and Eddie was glad they were all still together even after everything that had happened. Secretly though, whenever something like this happened he couldn't help but feel a twinge of resentment. Watching everyone stand around enjoying their close proximity to each other felt just a little too much like they were rubbing it in his face, and if he was entirely honest with himself he kind of wanted them to stop.
That sounded bad, and he knew it, but he also couldn't help but feel left out. Which was ridiculous; they didn't exclude him because they didn't like him or anything, it was for their own safety - even the slightest contact with him was enough to cause terrible burns, so something as simple as a hug or even just a handshake was entirely out of the question. He always gave everyone a wide berth to prevent accidents, and they knew he'd never forgive himself if anything happened to them. After so many months, though, this rational explanation didn't do much to soothe the bitterness poisoning his heart.
Pushing away from the railing, he decided to head to the galley and find something to eat. There was no sense in torturing himself with what he couldn't have. The quicker he got away from his friends and found something to distract himself with the sooner he'd be able to relax and stop feeling so negatively about the only people he had left.
He'd only taken a few steps away from the group, however, when Guybrush called out to him.
"EdDie??" His voice sounded questioning and concerned, like Guybrush was only just now noticing that he only had four people in his arms instead of five. The look on his face was troubled and sad, as if he could tell exactly why the roadie was leaving. "WheRe aare yOu goIngg?"
Had he been thinking too loud? He hoped not, he didn't want to have to explain whatever feelings his friends might have overheard. How pathetic would that be - 'every time you guys show any kind of physical affection it makes me sad because I can't have any'. No, that just sounded pitiful and selfish. His circumstances definitely warranted a pity party every now and then, but within earshot of his friends was not the time or the place. Quickly, he tried to excuse himself.
"Oh, sorry, I guess I should've asked. I was heading downstairs to find something to eat; I can get started on lunch if you guys are hungry."
"MaayBe latEr, riigHt nOw yoU neEd a huG." Resolutely, the pirate extracted himself from the tangle of people on the deck and started approaching Eddie, quickly crossing his customary perimeter and invading the safety zone with reckless abandon. As soon as he realized his partner's intentions, Nelson had tried to take hold of his shoulder and stop him, but the avatar of the spiral had looped away from him and continued advancing on his Desolate friend.
"Wh- no, Guybrush you can't-"
For a moment he was paralyzed; had Guybrush lost his mind?? Had he forgotten all the terrible things that happened to people who got close to him?! What was he thinking?? The next moment, however, when Guybrush was still striding towards him with his arms outstretched and grinning like a madman, Eddie made the only sensible decision and took off into the lower decks to try and get away.
There was only so far he could run. They were out in the middle of the ocean, and The Philadelphia Experiment was Guybrush's home turf, so sooner or later he was going to run out of places to go. His only chance was to outrun him and find someplace to hide until he lost interest.
He could hear the swirly pirate's warped voice echoing down the hallways behind him in pursuit, and as he charged into the darkness at full tilt eventually the walls began to twist and contort into an endless maze of darkened walkways full of locked doors. At last he turned a corner and came face to face with a dead end. As he turned around and started heading back the way he came to try a different fork, his heart leapt into his throat when he saw Guybrush blocking his escape down at the other end of the hall.
He thought he'd been farther ahead - he knew Guybrush was behind him, but he'd thought the pirate's warped sense of movement would give him the time he needed to get somewhere safe. It was too late now, as Guybrush was still drifting toward him with that stupid grin on his face.
"Guybrush!" The avatar of the spiral had him cornered; there was nowhere else he could go to escape him and his noodly arms - arms that would get savagely burned if he allowed them to touch him. "Seriously, man, back off! I don't wanna hurt you!"
"OoOhhhH edDie… yOou cooUld neveR huRt meee," Guybrush said, still floating down the hallway, "buuUt Now yuo'Re huuUrtiNg, soO leT me hElpp."
What to do what to do… think, Eddie, think! He couldn't convince him to just leave him alone, that much was obvious. Saying no and running away had both had zero effect on his friend's intentions, and fighting him wasn't an option. Maybe… maybe he could distract him? Guybrush's attention span was short these days, if he could interest him in something else maybe he'd forget all about this nonsense.
"Wait!! Did you forget about Manny's birthday?" He asked, hoping the abrupt change in subject was enough to get Guybrush to switch tracks. He winced at his own bad lie; no one really kept track of the days anymore, and odds were it wasn't actually the skeleton's birthday.
Guybrush stopped only a few paces away, puzzled. "It'S…MaaNny's biRthdaY?"
Come on, come on, take the bait. "Yeah, yeah it is. It's okay if you forgot, we said we weren't doing gifts, but we are doing a party tonight and you're supposed to be distracting him while the rest of us set up."
Guybrush appeared to stop and think. Folding his arms, his right curled all the way around his chest before his hand came to stroke his goatee, lost in thought. "HhmmmM…" At last, his face brightened. "YessS… YEah, I caN doo tHat!"
"Really? You can?" Eddie asked, hopeful. If he could pawn him off onto Manny, his partner would probably realize what was going on and keep the pirate otherwise occupied.
"YyyeaH! A paaRty llikE tHis shoould bE a sUrpriZe, aanD nO onne is bEtter aT diStractionss thAn meee!"
Guybrush continued to ramble about all the ways he could grab and hold onto Manny's attention. Cautiously, Eddie took an experimental step away from him, slowly and discreetly, to see if his distraction was working. Guybrush didn't seem to notice. As they'd been talking, the walls had shifted around them and uncoiled back into this deck's regular layout. It seemed the new goal had entirely captured the pirate's attention, and now his only focus was on their skeletal friend.
"Yeah, yeah that sounds great," Eddie said, smiling weakly. He felt a little bad about misleading Guybrush like this, but it was necessary for his own good. "Why don't we go find Manny so you can get started, and I can get to work."
Guybrush nodded, and they'd just started to head back towards where they'd left their friends on the deck when his memory snapped back on target. "OoH! I allmOst fOrgoT!"
Before Eddie could register his friend's sudden epiphany, Guybrush moved faster than he could blink and coiled both his arms around Eddie's chest and shoulders. Pulling himself flat against the roadie's chest, he wrapped him tightly in the hug he'd tried so hard to avoid. Icy panic instantly coursed through Eddie's veins. Desperately, he started struggling in his friend's hold to try and shake him off before he could injure himself. One after the other, horrific images of the pirate screaming in agony as his flesh burned away flashed through his mind, the wails of pain echoing alongside those of all the other people he'd had to set alight just to stay alive. NO NO NO GUYBRUSH-
Now that he had a good grip on him, getting rid of the avatar of the spiral was next to impossible - Guybrush was essentially made out of goo and rubber bands in this form, and nothing Eddie did came even remotely close to dislodging his malleable limbs. Still trying to twist away from his warped friend, he tripped backwards, fell against the wall, and slid down onto the floor.
His heart was racing, and he was panicking, and Guybrush just kept stretching and shifting around every attempt he made to push him off, and there was nothing he could do to stop the Desolation from taking his friend away from him and this was ALL HIS FAULT AND-
And- and… and Guybrush still hadn't burst into flames. He didn't even seem lightly crisped, nothing had happened.
"HuuUgs!" Guybrush was still leaning into him, unbothered by the attempted rejection and seemingly enjoying the warmth radiating off his leather jacket. Warmth that should've set him on fire several minutes ago. Sensing the shift from blinding panic to confusion, the pirate peered up at him. "SeeEe? Izn'T tHiss beTteR?"
Guybrush was fine. He was okay, and Eddie hadn't hurt him, and one of his friends was Touching him without getting burnt, and he could touch him back-
The overwhelming relief hit him with the force of a freight train. He wasn't trapped in complete isolation anymore. It had been so long since he'd had any real human contact he couldn't stop himself from almost crushing his friend as he returned the embrace. He pretended to himself that his heavy breathing was a result of the long chase he'd had with Guybrush, and not from the revelation that at least one of his friends was apparently immune to his powers of death and destruction. The adrenaline still coursing through him was making his limbs shake, and he was glad he was still wearing his helmet; the tinted visor hid the tears that had started to roll freely down his face.
"Thank you." He whispered, and he felt Guybrush pat the top of his helmet in response.
The two of them stayed like that until the rest of the altered Wildcards finally tracked them down. They'd been just as concerned about Guybrush forgetting that physical contact with Eddie was dangerous, but it seemed their concern was unnecessary after all. By this point, he'd had time to let any residual panic burn itself out and relax. He was still mildly worried that the powers of the Desolation would find other ways to punish his friend, but for now Guybrush was here and he was going to take what he could get.
When Guybrush noticed Manny among the group of bystanders, he squeezed Eddie one more time before winking at him and jumping up to do his promised duty as the skeleton's minder. Ignoring the astonished stares of his friends, he laid an arm across Manny's shoulders and started leading him down the hallway. Reluctantly he allowed himself to be swept away by the pirate, though he wouldn't stop hesitating and looking back over his shoulder until Eddie telepathically told him he was okay.
Nelson was looking between Eddie and the retreating figure of his partner in confusion. "What just happened?"
To be honest, he didn't quite know. Touching him was supposed to be off limits, yet Guybrush had done it without any apparent problems, and Eddie was still reeling in the wake of the embrace. The knowledge that physical contact wasn't entirely lost to him was enough to banish most of the dejection he'd been feeling before Guybrush's impromptu hug session, and though no one could see it behind his helmet, he was smiling contentedly and relishing in the fact that he wasn't totally alone.
He certainly wasn't going to push his luck by trying to see if the rest of his friends had gone fireproof - in fact, he had to pull his arm away from Max as the lagomorph inquisitively tried to poke him - but the revelation that he still had someone within his reach was enough to inspire just a little bit of hope for his situation.
After another moment to let the lingering sentiment finish healing some of the deep cracks in his heart, he got up and started walking toward the main deck. He'd told Guybrush there'd be a party tonight, and he wasn't about to make himself a liar.
This was the Party Boat, after all, and in his opinion they definitely had something to celebrate.