The night was a rather energetic night out in the suburbs of SimCity. Chloe Curious, the town's professional party guest, lead the queue of over a hundred and fifty Sims into the renowned nightclub, P.U.R.E. Her roommates, Lola, Kristen and Erin stood behind her and further down the queue stood the three Curious brothers, Pascal being the eldest, Vidcund being the middle child and Lazlo being the youngest.

"Man," The Harry-potter lookalike also known as Pascal proclaimed as he stared over a hundred dozen heads. "We'll be here for hours. Chloe still hasn't stopped wooing the bouncer."

"Can you believe we're related to her?" Vidcund uttered, standing on his tip toes to see the bottom of the line. "God, this is hopeless."

"We could say the same about Lazlo, Vid," Pascal affirmed, glaring at their younger brother who took a leftover slice of pizza from his jacket pocket. "Isn't that from yesterday night?! Gross, man!"

Lazlo smirked and shrugged as he scoffed the day-old pizza. Vidcund sighed and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"Now, now, Lazlo. We know what tonight is all about, don't you?" Pascal folded his arms, moving slowly down the line. Lazlo looked up, a finger to his lips as he thought for a moment.

"Happy hour?" He answered, a hint of certainty in his dark chocolate eyes. "No? Well, alright. What are we doing here again?"

Pascal sighed, facepalming. "We're helping our dear brother find a new man! Because he can't cope without a relationship," he exchanged glances with their blond brother.

Vidcund snapped his head to his older brother. "What?!" He argued, his hands jumping out of his pockets in protest. "I am more than independent, Pascal!"

"Mhm," Pascal nodded, a mocking tinge to his expression. "Whatever you say, Vid."

"I was dumped by Loki Beaker, so what?" Vidcund huffed, toughening himself up though he was going through a tragic heartbreak.

"He dumped you on Valentines Day, bro. That's not cool. You had that hotel room booked. Which, by the way, Nervous and I LOVED! Thanks for keeping that deposit—"

"Whatever, man," Vidcund stared down at his feet. "Let's just get tonight over and done with."

The queue moved along ever so slowly and Lazlo's girlfriend, Crystal, had joined the trio. "Chloe wanted me to jump in the queue with her, but I chose not to," she conversed with Lazlo and Vidcund sighed, folding his arms uncomfortably.

"Do we really have to do this?" He kept his voice low and exchanged a glance with his older brother. "I'd rather go home and play chess with you."

"Aww!" Pascal held a hand to his chest with honour. "That's very sweet of you. But unfortunately, you need to get out more, so here we are."

"Great," Vidcund's lips formed a straight line and he rested his arms by his sides. "You know, the last time I went out to a club, it didn't end well."

Six months ago - Vidcund is sitting at the counter of the infamous Strangetown saloon waiting for his boyfriend Loki to arrive. His phone buzzes in his anxious hands as he awaits his arrival — he was already thirty minutes late. Vidcund unlocks his phone and glances at the recent message from Loki: "I love you, but it's over."

"When you punched that Ajay dude in the face next to you? Hmm, yeah. I see," Pascal put a hand to his curious chin.

"I apologised to him so much, Pascal. I was just... angered, that's all... from that message..." Vidcund's stomach tied in knots as he remembered Valentine's Day earlier that year at the saloon.

"Whenever I go out to grab the mail, he runs and shrieks back indoors. He's scared of us! You know, the Neighbourhood Nobodies?!" Pascal exclaimed, leaning forward, making jazz hands. "Alright, finally. We're at the front of the queue. Vid, take out your ID."

"No need, he looks about eighty," the bouncer flicked his head up with charm and cracked a smile. "In you go."

Vidcund entered and Pascal furrowed his eyebrows at the young man on the door. "Come on, dude. He can pull it off, right?"

"Him? Pull off what? He's eighty!" The bouncer laughed hysterically and Lazlo face-palmed from behind Pascal. Pascal shook his head in disbelief and held up his ID before following his brother into the noisy nightclub.

"I reckon Lazlo and Crystal are gonna wander off and do something else!" Pascal shouted over the bass. "Let's find you a new man!"

"Great," Vidcund spoke inaudibly but quite evidently sarcastically. "Just what I want."

Meanwhile, whilst Pascal and Vidcund are rummaging through the nightclub in search of singles, Vidcund's ex-boyfriend is front of center of the crowded dance floor in his best partying fit: a classic leather jacket, black shirt and black jeans. He is dancing with two women latched to his side and a bottle of alcohol in his hand.

"So, you're the richest guy in the neighbourhood?" The brunette to his right questioned him loudly, smiling. The redhead at his left let go to grab a drink.

"I'm the richest," Loki grinned in a daze and stumbled away towards the bar. He sat down at the counter and slammed his phone down onto it, looking up at the bartender.

"Another round of what I just had," he ordered and a redhead in a zebra print jacket took a seat next to him.

"Hey, Loki," Chloe greeted Loki and ordered herself a drink of her own. "You been here long?"

"Long enough," the bartender noted, scrubbing a white cloth into a glass. "He was here yesterday night, the day before that."

"Damn," she raised both eyebrows and thanked the bartender for her drink. "So, what are you gonna do here?"

"Get pissed as hell," he chuckled, chugging his drink. "Forget everything," he slammed the glass down onto the marble counter and he took his wallet out. He took out some notes and placed them down in front of him. The bartender took it, placing it in the cash register.

"You seriously carry that much cash on you?" Chloe raised an eyebrow, rather concerned since the place was packed with people. He shrugged and pointed to the slots machine.

"I was on that. First try and won nine hundred simoleons," he grinned and Chloe nodded, in a little shock.

"Tell me, Loki. How comes you're now a party guy? I thought you were a scientist?" Chloe ordered another drink, taking her purse out too.

"Not anymore," Loki laughed lightly and took his drink. "I quit my job a long time ago," he giggled. "I'm just living the dream," he smirked to himself.

He opened his wallet and took the photo of Vidcund he had inside somewhere near the back. "Heh," he chuckled and reached into his pocket and took his lighter, setting the corner of the photo on fire.

"Dude!" Chloe exclaimed as she watched him burn a photo of her brother in a nightclub. "You're gonna cause—"

"Look at his face melt," he laughed over and over as the photograph burned in between his thumb and pointer finger.

"Uh, what the hell?!" The bartender snatched it from him and dashed to the sink, extinguishing the flames. "Come on, dude. This is my bar. No setting fires, you fucking pyro," he shoved the half-scorched photograph at him. Loki stood up and left the photo where it was to find something else to do.

"Look, Vid. It's okay that nobody wants to date you. Maybe you're just destined to be alone," Pascal and Vidcund made their way to the bar.

Vidcund rolled his eyes and sat down. "You're telling me," he sat down and Pascal ordered them both some drinks.

"That's odd," Pascal muttered to himself, a piece of paper in his hand. Vidcund looked at him and was met with a photograph of himself, only the top half of the photo was no more and the edge were burned.

"The hell?" Vidcund took it and he investigated it. The back contained handwriting in blue ink, which once said: "You are the best thing that happened to me."

"This is the photo that Loki kept in his wallet," Vidcund blinked, the photo very damp. The ink was washing away onto is fingertips. "That means he's here."

Vidcund stood up and left the bar, going outside for some peace and quiet as well as some decent cool fresh air. The air indoors was thick and warm.

He closed the door behind him and saw someone outside yelling to several cars that passed. "Come on! I'm fucking stranded, asshole!"

Vidcund froze in position as he watched Loki try to hitchhike. He had been here all along. "Faen ta deg!"

Another car zoomed past him fast and he put his arm down, giving up trying to signal cars. "Faen i helvete."

Vidcund chewed his lip and words came out of his mouth before he could decide whether it was a good idea or not. "I can take you home."

Loki turned around to see Vidcund and he wobbled on the spot, raising an eyebrow. "Hva pokker gjør du her?"

"I don't know what you're saying, Loki. Let's just get you home before something you'll regret happens," Vidcund reached for his keys. "Loki, are you listening to me?"

"I don't neeeeed a ride home," his voice was slurred and dramatised. "I have legs," he spoke and went to walk but immediately fell down onto the pavement. "Ugh..."

"Come on," Vidcund went up to him and picked him up. "You're going home."

"I don't wanna go home," Loki tried to push himself out of Vidcund's arms like a child. "Stop!"

"Come on," Vidcund placed his down briefly as he opened the back door. "Just sit down, alright? And don't puke on the seats."

Loki fell down onto the back seats of the car and Vidcund closed the door, then opening the drivers door. He glanced at him in the mirror. "What happened to you?"

"I live at Sentinel Apartments, it's not hard to miss," he muttered in the back and Vidcund turned, raising an eyebrow.

"What happened to the house?" He was in shock, that house was Loki's life. "You know, the castle?"

"Sold it," he turned on his back. "Doesn't matter why."

"Okay," Vidcund nodded and turned back to the wheel. He put the key in the ignition and began driving down to the apartment block Loki now claimed to have lived in.

Vidcund parked outside of the apartment block and Loki was staring up at the roof of the car melancholically.

"We're here," Vidcund spoke and Loki sat up, rubbing his eyes. Vidcund stepped out of the car and opened the back doors, Loki stepping out too. "Which floor?"

"Third," he muttered and gave Vidcund a strange look. "I've got it from here, thank you," he nodded briefly and walked across to the glass doors.

"Loki?" Vidcund started just before he went inside. Loki stopped and was hesitant to turn.

He turned around with a cocked brow, waiting for him to finish.

"It... doesn't matter," Vidcund brushed it off and got back into the car without another word.

Loki woke up barely out of the doorway the next morning. His ribs pressed down hard into the carpet and he groaned, rolling on his back.

Loki opened the front door to the apartment, vision blurred and slow. He tried several times to unlock the door but his hand-eye coordination was off. "Come on!" He yelled and the door finally unlocked. He shut the door and called it a day by falling down to the floor, the world around him going silent and black.

The hallway was bright with the early morning sun gaping through the curtains. He rubbed his eyes as well as his aching forehead before sitting up with a grunt.

Standing to his feet, Loki opened the kitchen door and opened the first cupboard to his left. He took a bottle of pain relief out for his headache from hell and filled a glass up with water.

He had no recollection of the night before. Loki placed the now half-empty glass of water on the side and went to his bedroom; it was a mess, of course. Empty bottle of whatever seems to intoxicate him well lingered on his bedside cabinets and his usually-neat bedding was unkempt.

He fell down onto his bed and fell back to sleep almost straight away.

Vidcund hadn't slept that night and found himself lingering outside Sentinel Apartments, a series of questions queued up in his mind to ask his former partner. Why did you move? Why did you leave me? Why did I have to take you home last night? Why do you live in a shitty suburb?

Vidcund got tired of just standing outside. He walked inside and went up in the elevator to the third floor. "Okay, he's definitely going to be living in the apartment that looks like nicest," he made a mental note.

Ding. The elevator doors opened.

Quietly, as it was eight in the morning on a Sunday, he walked down the hallway and saw one door that had mountains of mail stuffed into the letterbox. That wasn't Loki's; too scruffy.

He found an apartment that had a doormat and everything. It said 'go away' and it definitely screamed Loki. Vidcund nervously knocked on the door and it opened pretty quickly. A redhead stood there and gave him a daft look. "Can you not read the mat?" He growled, slamming the door in his face.

"Great," Vidcund muttered and tried the next one. No answer. He then approached door 306, knocking and an Asian woman answered.

"Do you happen to know where Loki Beaker lives?" Vidcund began, scratching his bony wrist apprehensively.

"He's in 301," she gestured to the right. "Next to the elevator."

"Thank you," Vidcund thanked her and she simply nodded, shutting the door. He read each metal three-digit number on the oak doors and finally reached 301 - the apartment with the mail stuffed in the letterbox; the scruffy one.

"Here goes nothing," Vidcund muttered and pressed the doorbell. He heard it ring from the inside and waited for a moment before he heard the chain on the other side being pulled away.

"I'm not buying any— oh," Loki was startled. "Um... hi?" As far as Loki knew, he hadn't seen Vidcund at all since the breakup. "Got my text?"

"Hilarious," Vidcund stated at his stupid remark about the breakup. "I was making sure you were okay. I have a few questions."

"Why wouldn't I be okay?" Loki muttered and let him in.

"Because you live in this dump," Vidcund gestured to the apartment. It wasn't that bad; just bad in comparison to Loki's former luxurious estate.

"What about it?" Loki folded his arms defensively. "It's fine.

"But... you loved your castle," Vidcund was honestly baffled. "You really loved it."

"I wanted a change, I wanted somewhere smaller. Big deal!" Loki snapped and Vidcund stared at his feet. "Big fucking deal, Vidcund! What do you want?!"

"Why did you leave me, Loki?" Vidcund avoided eye contact. "What went wrong? What was the problem?"

Loki just stared at him and turned around to walk into the kitchen. Vidcund followed him and noticed how many dishes were in the sink. "Do you need help cleaning?" Vidcund pointed to the sink. "Loki?"

"Do whatever," he sighed and threw a nearby tea towel at him, going to his bedroom. Vidcund put the tea towel aside and rolled up his sleeves to wash up.

"Ugh, why didn't you keep the dishwasher?" He muttered as he turned the hot tap on. "Loki, you don't have any washing-up liquid!"

The former-physicist opened the door and went into the bathroom, tossing a new bottle of shower gel at him.

"Alright," Vidcund chuckled at the item in his hand, opening it and squirting it over the mess.

Loki sat on his bed with his head in his hands, shaking as he didn't know what to do. Vidcund was causing him an unnecessary amount of anxiety and he had yet to find out why.

A knock came from the other side and Loki didn't want him to see the state his room was in. He leapt up and opened the door, quickly stepping out and closing it again. "What?"

"I finished cleaning," he gestured behind him. "Loki, lets do something you're shit at."

Loki raised an eyebrow. Vidcund chuckled: "Let's actually hold a conversation for longer than thirty seconds."

Loki sighed and Vidcund took his hand. "Your hands are freezing cold."

"Yeah," he tore his hand away from his and pulled the sleeves of his sweater over them. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Why we're not together and not talking," Vidcund frowned. "Come on, we used to be so close, you were even talking marriage at some point. What was it I did? Did I make you uncomfortable—"

"It's that," Loki pointed at him, a hint of spite in his tongue. "It's that constant self-doubt and you thinking it's all your fault."

Vidcund raised an eyebrow. "Really?" He squeaked. "That's why we're done?"

Loki was defiant to truly say what the issue was; of course, it was himself. "Yes, it is. That is why we're done. I want a partner who loves themselves. Who's as into themselves as I am."

"You want a partner that's self-obsessed like you?" Vidcund chided, his face puzzled. "You know, it's maybe for a split second that I forget who you really are. I did so much crap for you, Loki, only for

you to throw it back into my face with your—"

"With my what?" Loki snapped, anger boiling inside of him in an attempt to stop his cold heart from bleeding. "With what? What did I do?!" He once again rebuked. "Because if I remember, Vidcund, I was the one keeping that stupid relationship upright! I was the one that was making sure we didn't get into any fights! I was always ready to compromise even when you did some shit I didn't agree with—"

"—yet you were the one to call quits, Loki," Vidcund blurted, interrupting him and Loki's face went soft. "You were the one who dumped me over text," Vidcund held up his smartphone. "Because you secretly don't want to see the damage you do to people because you're afraid of turning soft, or letting your true colours show. Because you're an innocent, gentle person that's in conflict and trapped in this body of a monster. Because you desire to be looked at as a strong figure, is that right?"

Silence filled the room and Loki just gave him a strange look before shaking his head. "You have some twisted idea about me, Vidcund," he let out a light chuckle. "Very twisted."

"It's true, Loki. Your masculinity is toxic and it's taken over you completely. I can read you inside out; you're miserable. You're completely miserable inside and you just play it cool by putting on the front of a strong man. Loki, I think it's time you just let go."

Loki clenched his fists and looked at his former partner in the corner of his eye. "You don't know anything, Vidcund," he insinuated what he thought was his naive personality. "You think it's all rainbows and daisies but it's not. There are some things that can be fixed and some that cannot."

"What are you saying?" Vidcund folded his arms, insisting he elaborate. "You're telling me the truth now? That you're corrupt inside?"

Loki's body just itched each time his soul begged to be set free, and this moment was one of them. "I— I'm broken," he threw his hands up. "I'm just broken, I don't know what else to say," he sighed, lamenting. "But I've tried, Vidcund. I've tried for a long time to see within myself and work on it, fix it. Nothing works. Most of the methods are like glue; they work in the short-term but never in the long-term. I've given up now, I'm permanently broken. I'm sorry if that upsets you but it's the truth."

"You're not permanently broken," Vidcund dismissed it as bullshit. "Get that out of your head. I bet you've never been to therapy once in your life."

"Yes, I have!" Loki argued, furrowing his eyebrows which made him look angrier than ever. "Talking doesn't work, Vid."

"Alright. I bet in those sessions you just sat there and didn't say anything," Vidcund smirked, knowing him very well. Loki just rolled his eyes and turned around. "Well, that just summed my point right up. Get dressed, I'm taking you to the doctors."

"I don't need a doc—"

Vidcund put a finger to his lips and shook his head. "Loki, you've just explained to me that you need help. Let me help you, please?" he raised his eyebrows hoping for approval. "Loki? Will you please let me?"

"What are you going to gain out of helping me?" Loki took ahold of Vidcund's raised hand and returned it to his side. "Achievement? Something to brag about? Put on your CV?"

"No," Vidcund shook his head. "I'll get my best friend back," he smiled sheepishly as he placed his hands on his shoulders.