(just for clarification, the first part happens 2 weeks after Tom arrives in Inertia, the second 3 weeks, and the last 5 weeks after his arrival)

Also theres some mild gore in the last section,,,, im sorry

Tom tapped on the wooden door, cautiously glancing around the dingy corridor. When he saw no one, Tom slipped into the room, shutting the door quietly behind him. The chair that he had left in Rupert's cell was still here, sitting in the exact same spot that he had left it. Rupert himself was asleep, laying on his back, an arm thrown across his stomach. He looked peaceful. Smiling slightly, Tom sits down, watching the other man's chest rise and fall.

"I'm sorry I didn't come to see you earlier." Tom's voice is barely above a whisper, swallowing before he continues. "Dianite... He wants me to do bad things and I..." Hanging his head, Tom feels a couple of tears starting to sting at his eyes. He blinks them away quickly, taking in a couple of calming deep breaths. He can't cry, not now. He'll be fine. He must be. "I don't want to be Dianite's champion anymore." Tom whimpers, arms curling around his middle, breath starting to hitch with sobs. Shit. This was not what he came down here to do, damn it.

Tom let a few hot tears stream down his cheeks, before wiping them away with the back of his hand. Get a hold of yourself. Dianite's voice rang around in his head, taunting him, making him face the truth that he could never be what Dianite wanted, that he could never be what anyone wanted that he –

"Tom?" Rupert asked, raising himself so that he was sitting up straight. Tom felt himself snap back into reality, breathing slowing. Huh. He hadn't even realized that he'd been hyperventilating. Gods, he must have woken Rupert up.

"I'm sorry for waking you." Tom replied, his voice hoarse. Rupert only seemed to get more concerned from there, brow furrowing. His mouth made a funny little frown that Tom would have found cute if he wasn't so damned taken with Jordan and Katherine.

"Are you alright?" Rupert's voce was much softer this time, his eyes reflecting his worry for Tom. Tom himself merely straightened in his chair, giving Rupert the most charming smile he could muster.

"Of course." Tom said, lying through his teeth. Rupert had his own worries; it would only make those worries worse for Rupert if Tom told him what was wrong. So, Tom stayed silent.

-

"- And so he and Davey – Who was piss drunk by that point – Scampered off into the woods, bare as the day they were born." Rupert chuckled, his hands gesturing about as he spoke. Tom listened with an enraptured smile, watching Rupert tell him another tale about his adventures as a pirate. He had come back to Rupert's cell the day after his... Erratic behavior, expecting to find a furious Rupert. Instead, he was welcomed back in with open arms, and now he visited as often as he could. Rupert had seemed happy at his return, though Tom still couldn't wrap his mind around why. Titling his head to the side, Tom eyed Rupert, his eyes shining in excitement.

"You've got great stories." He said, a wide grin on his face. Rupert snorted, a lopsided smile showing on his face. He had never had too many close friends – especially after he had to support himself and his sister. Working that much left very little time for socializing. Though he was somewhat close to a few members of the crew, that was it. Maybe he could find a new friend in Tom.

"Probably not as good as some of the ones you must have, especially during your time as a champion." Rupert replied, his grin fading a little when he saw Tom's nose wrinkle, a foul look appearing on his face.

"Not really." Tom rubbed his arm, feeling almost embarrassed to be talking He wanted to be friends with Rupert so badly. The red-head was funny, charming, smart, basically everything Tom wasn't (and easy on the eyes if Tom was being honest). Not being able to tell Rupert with interesting stories was damaging that friendship. "Being Dianite's Champion is different than being another god's champion. It's a lot of paperwork and meetings and training. Getting to go on a boat to a meeting was a luxury." Tom shrugged slightly, his face starting to get flushed. "I'm sorry." He added quietly, not meeting Rupert's eyes.

"It's fine, Tom." Rupert replied softly. He had been trying to get Tom to open up to him more after he had woken up to Tom basically having a panic attack. It worried Rupert, if he was being honest. He only got more worried after Tom hadn't spoken about the incident. After a couple of days, Rupert had figured that it would be better to just let Tom get more comfortable with him. Maybe then he would open up more. "What about when you're not Dianite's champion. Anything interesting there?" At that, Tom perked up.

"Yes, actually. I've got an older sister. Alice." Tom replied, not realizing the loopy smile spreading across his face as he rambled on about his sister. Rupert's smile returned as Tom talked, fondly watching the younger man as he enthusiastically described one summer day where he and his sister had stolen an entire heard of sheep.

-

Tom was out of breath by the time he reached Rupert's door. Without knocking, he rushed in, horrified, but not surprised at what he found inside. Furia had gloated throughout the afternoon of what he had done, and Tom had just now been able to slip away with some meager medical supplies. He had felt sick as he raced down the hallways leading to the cells. Over the last few weeks, he had grown close to Rupert. They were friends now, or at least, that's what Rupert had called the, Right, Rupert. Rupert needed his help. The redhead was on the floor, curled into a ball on his side. Tom fell to his knees beside him, carefully turning Rupert over onto his back, and wincing slightly as he saw the damage that Furia had caused.

Where Rupert's right eyes used to be, there was now a gaping hole, blood covering most of Rupert's face. Other, less severe injuries littered his unconscious body, but Tom quickly got to work on the worst area. He had never been more thankful for the field medicine training he had gone through, as he was quickly able to clean and cover the wound. Huh. One thing that Dianite did to be thankful for. Using a wad of bandages, Tom covered up the hole, wrapping a gauze-like material around Rupert's head to hold it in place. While Tom was considering waking him up, Rupert let out a groan, his head rocking from side to side.

"No.... please.... Stop...." He moaned out, breathing speeding up. Rupert let out a sob, his one remaining eyes opening, a few tears trickling down his face. He was shaking, Tom realized. "Please.... Stop." Rupert was begging, now. Tom blinked back his own tears, instead focusing on Rupert. He was the one in pain. He was the one who was scared.

"Rupert. It's me." Tom replied, carding a hand through Rupert's hair. It succeeded in calming Rupert down and after a few minutes, Tom pulled him into a hug, letting the pirate sob into his shoulder. 

"It hurts.... Please make it stop..." Rupert sobbed out. Tom only held him tighter. He was going to get justice for this. Rupert was his friend. Anyone that hurt his friends would get what they deserved.

Hey y'all. Sorry that this chapter took so long ;-; I'm starting school (ugh) in a few days so updates will probably slow down (though I'm going to try and write as many as possible between now and then and post them through September). Thanks so much for being patient with me :)