Work Text:
Azure hummed a small tune as he carefully tended to the marigolds that he had recently planted. They were growing beautifully under his care and blended nicely with the rest of the flowers in his garden. His mind began to drift off as he continued the familiar routine of watering plants, checking for weeds, and pruning any overgrown leaves.
While inspecting his peonies, his blissful musing was abruptly shattered by the sound of muffled shouts emanating from inside the house. The sudden noise startled him, breaking him out of his trance and causing the flowers to sway from where he jolted.
They turned curiously as the distinct voice of their partner carried through the house. Azure tried to ignore it and finish up their work until they heard a barely audible sound of profanity from inside. That was strange; Two Time didn’t normally curse. Just what was happening in there?
Quickly, Azure changed out of their dirty gloves and into a fresh pair, casting a final glance over the colorful garden. Satisfied with their handiwork, they headed inside to see what all the commotion was about. If Two Time didn’t stop soon, they might get a noise complaint from their neighbors again. Azure could feel their face heat up as they recalled the first time that happened.
Walking through the living room and into the hallway, they passed various pictures of them and Two Time hanging on the wall as they made their way to their shared bedroom. They gently pushed the door open to a familiar sight. Inside, Two Time was hunched over the computer, eyebrows furrowed and their face twisted in anger. Low, fast-paced music played from the speakers while their headset lay forgotten on the table.
“I WAS 10 FEET AWAY! HOW DID THAT EVEN REACH ME?!” Two Time screamed, slamming their hand onto the desk softly despite the irritation radiating off them.
Azure couldn’t help but smile as he watched the scene in amusement. At least they knew not to damage the furniture, he thought as he took a step inside and silently shut the door. Before tending to the garden, he had checked in on Two Time to ask for their help and saw that they were engrossed in their monitor.
While that wasn't exactly a surprise– Spawn knows how many hours they spent on it– Azure had decided to leave them be. He knew that Two Time would drop everything for him if he asked, but it looked like they were having a lot of fun. Whenever they developed a new game obsession, he would let them indulge and leave them plates of food to eat at their desk. Seeing them so frustrated, however, piqued his interest.
“Two Time?” Azure interjected, cutting off whatever unsavory words they were about to say next.
Two Time froze, slowly turning their head towards him like they were caught with their hand inside a cookie jar. “Sorry! Was I being too loud?” They quickly backpedaled, straightening their posture in an attempt to regain composure and look natural. If Azure didn't know any better, he'd think they were embarrassed by their earlier outburst.
“Yes, please try to keep it down,” Azure replied gently, walking over to peer at their monitor. “What's all the commotion about?”
He saw a dark blocky character with a crown on its head slashing its two swords at another player(?) with the words ‘spectating’ at the bottom of the screen and a timer at the top. Its torso was green, with a visible skeleton inside and a glowing red eye. Azure thought they looked kinda cute, not to mention the very attractive deep voice they had.
“Oh, uh–” Two Time stammered, caught off guard by the sudden interest. They began explaining the game's premise, pointing to each button to describe its function and the basics of each character, until a new round started.
Azure nodded at every information given, his eyes fixed on the screen. The designs and graphics looked good, and he could feel an adrenaline rush as he watched Two Time dodge an attack from a new killer– this one being able to shoot spikes from the ground as it targeted the closest survivor.
“This player isn't that good; they'll probably only get a few kills in before the time runs out,” Two Time said as the two watched it miss multiple of its attacks while chasing a suit-wearing survivor– an unusual design choice, considering the amount of running involved.
“Do you think I can give it a try?” Azure asked aloud. The survivor ran to a healing item thrown his way, healing himself as the killer missed again. The two players looked as if they were engaging in a dangerous dance together as they spun and twirled.
“Absolutely! I can set up an account for you and we can play together!” Two Time excitedly rolled their chair closer and grabbed Azure’s phone from his pocket, tapping on it furiously.
“Jeez, you could've asked me out to dinner first before getting in my pants,” Azure teased playfully, grabbing a nearby chair and seating himself next to his partner.
Two Time chuckled. “My apologies for such impudence. I promise to come prepared with roses and a steak dinner next time.”
After a few moments, Two Time handed Azure their phone back and then returned to their game. “I already added you as a friend, so now you can join me whenever I'm playing!”
Azure looked down and saw a pop-up asking if he wanted to join a game called ’Forsaken’. He clicked yes, and his avatar suddenly dropped into the lobby of a two-story cabin. The first floor was nicely furnished with a fireplace and dining area, while the second floor had a TV and a dance machine. When he finished exploring the cabin, he clicked on the survivor icon to see which characters he could play. He had only three options: a survivalist, a healer, and a stunner.
“Anyone you want to try out?” Two Time asked, looking over at what Azure was doing when the round ended and their avatar was spawned back into the lobby.
“I want to play a healer. Is that okay?”
“You'll have to be careful since the killer will target you first,” Two Time informed. “Don’t worry, I'll do my best to protect you.”
The screen darkened as a cutscene played of the next killer named 1x1x1x1. Azure recognized them as the same killer that Two Time was spectating before. They heard a loud groan from their right and turned to see Two Time staring at their monitor with an annoyed expression on their face.
“Another 1x player…” they mumbled exasperatedly.
The animation faded as everyone got teleported to a new map—a flat grassy field with white walls and trees scattered around. Azure wandered around as he searched for a generator to complete. Two Time mentioned that they were useful in reducing the game timer, with each taking approximately 16 seconds off the clock.
While walking, a blue rocket ship came into view, accompanied by a nearby generator. Azure sprinted to it and immediately started working on the puzzle. He smiled as he matched the colors together, but a nagging curiosity poked at him when he finished.
"Is there a reason you don't like 1x?"
Two Time simply shrugged dismissively. "I just think his entanglement is annoying, and that too many people use him."
"He does look pretty handsome, I can't blame them for that." Azure mused.
Two Time’s head snapped towards Azure so quickly, it was surprising they didn't give themselves whiplash. " What? " They deadpanned, looking over at their shorter lover sitting beside them with what appeared to be a mix of disbelief and… was that jealousy?
Azure smiled slyly at the amazing discovery presented to him and decided to tease them further. An opportunity like this was the equivalent of finding buried treasure, "I'm just saying, they're exactly my type. Tall, dark, and mysterious."
"He's a killer, though! He'll only hurt you!"
"I wouldn't mind if his face was the last thing I saw."
Two Time’s eyes narrowed as their expression darkened. Before Azure could react, they leaned in and pressed their lips against his with such intensity that it caught him off guard. "I don't want to share you," they murmured, their gaze intense and unwavering.
Azure felt his face flush with heat at Two Time’s words as he pulled his hat down to hide his embarrassment. "Hyacinth, I was only joking..."
"I'm not."
Azure blinked, his mind racing as he tried to process the sudden shift in his partner’s behavior. This wasn't like their usual banter together. It felt like Two Time was serious about this. "They're just a video game character. Even if they were real, I wouldn't leave you for them."
Two Time's eyes widened as they jerked back in their seat, the chair rolling away slightly as they seemed to snap out of their thoughts. "Y-yeah, that's right."
They focused their attention back on their monitor and saw that they were back in the lobby. Turning their camera around, they noticed Azure’s avatar standing beside them, just as Azure said that he had died too when he looked down at his phone.
A few rounds passed with Two Time protecting Azure. Neither of them mentioned the odd moment that transpired between them. Two Time acted as if nothing had happened, casually bumping shoulders and talking with him. Azure wasn't sure whether he should pry. Maybe Two Time was just in a bad mood? It was the only thing that made sense.
When the round ended, Two Time checked the leaderboard to see who the next killer was and discovered that it was tied between them and Azure.
“Lookie here! We're tied on who's the next killer,” Two Time said, grinning at Azure. “You must've done the generators just like I told you.”
Azure nodded happily at the praise, but their smile faltered slightly at the thought of what would happen in the next round. “Everyone's going to make fun of me when I'm the killer.”
“It'll be fine,” Two Time reassured them, gently taking hold of his hand before tenderly pressing a kiss against his palm. “I'll kill them if they do.”
Azure sighed as he calmly pulled his hand away to fidget with his hat. “That doesn't exactly help.”
“Don't worry so much. I'll go easy on you.”
Azure rolled his eyes at the blatant lie and turned away from Two Time’s view, making sure they couldn’t peek at his screen to cheat. As the next round started, he looked down at his phone and saw his character holding a machete with a variety of different abilities on the screen. Oh no.
“I don't even know what these abilities do…” Azure muttered as he ran forward, quickly searching for any survivors. He spotted a person standing still and slashed them, testing each button on them as they remained still before eventually killing them in an animation of his character running a chainsaw through them.
“That was quick,” Two Time remarked, sounding almost impressed.
“Hey! Why do you sound so surprised?!” Azure pouted as they looked for other survivors.
“Oh, nothing.”
“I'm killing you next.”
Two Time grinned at his words, “Let’s see about that.”
Azure soon found a graveyard area where many of the survivors were crowding together. He ran toward the group and did a big slash, hitting them all at once. Azure clicked on his last ability when they started to run, highlighting everyone but slowing his movement speed. He tried to sprint, but his character only kept walking.
Confused, he tapped the slash button to try and reach a nearby survivor. Luckily, one was close enough for him to land his attack. “Which one of them are you?” Azure questioned, chasing after the person he had hit. But it seemed as though they had somehow gained a super sense because they were able to dodge his attacks now. In frustration, he halted his pursuit to look around for a different target.
There, standing behind a tree, he noticed a grey character with a hamburger atop its head. Azure sprinted at the survivor, who took off running as soon as he got close. He continued chasing them, trying to slash whenever he could, but kept missing.
“This is too hard!” Azure complained while Two Time giggled from behind.
“Here, I’ll stand still for you,” Two Time said in between laughs as the character that Azure had been after suddenly stopped moving.
“That's you?!” Azure exclaimed, running towards the now motionless survivor and swinging his weapon, only to miss horribly. Two Time burst into laughter, their wheezing bordering on a dying seal.
“How'd you miss that?!”
Azure’s face flushed bright red as he spun around and roughly kicked Two Time’s chair, nearly toppling them over as they careened away. “SHUT UP!”
Two Time yelped in surprise as their chair hit the wall, but even as they righted themselves, laughter continued flowing out. “Aw, don't be like that, my love! I was just trying to help.”
Azure glowered at them, his arms crossed over his chest. “Yeah, well, your ‘help’ made me look like an idiot,” he grumbled, turning back around to finish Two Time off while they were distracted. But even with the added time from their death, Azure couldn't get anyone else before the round ended with him losing.
“You did great for your first time,” Two Time reassured him as they moved back to their desk. “Now, it’s my turn,” they winked playfully as Azure stuck his tongue out at them.
He wasn’t overly upset about what had happened, but knew Two Time would never let it down. How embarrassing. He’d blame the internet connection if he could. A cutscene of the next killer played as the round started, and Azure found themselves in the graveyard on the same map they had been in previously.
“Hold on, I thought you didn’t like 1x?”
“They’re pretty easy to play. Plus, I still haven’t forgotten what you said about them.” Two Time replied, their tone taking on a dangerous edge that sent a shiver up Azure's spine. He didn't have a good feeling about this.
By the time he finished repairing a generator, he glanced down and saw nearly half of the players were already dead. How was that possible?!
A survivor highlight appeared, and Azure rushed towards them to help. Running up a small hill with a house on top, he threw his pizza and successfully healed them.
“Hey, don't help them,” Two Time frowned as they swung at him.
Azure squeaked when he got hit, running inside the house and into the dining room to put distance between them by using the table as a barrier.
"You know, I would suggest we take this upstairs, but I saw it was blocked off." Azure started.
"Oh, I’m definitely killing you for that."
"Hold on, we can talk about this! Spread love, not violence," he pleaded.
Two Time snorted at their words. "Well, since you're so in love with this guy, I'm going to kill you as them.”
They chased Azure around the table, all the while he pleaded and begged them to stop. When he was one hit away from death, Azure thought of a last-ditch effort to survive. It was a big gamble, but he was willing to do anything at this point.
“H-how about we have dinner here? Eat some pizza and drink soda?” Azure proposed.
Two Time paused, making a thoughtful ‘hum’ noise as they stopped their assault. “Okay! I'll leave you last for our date,” they said enthusiastically before running out of the house.
Azure sighed in relief when they left, saying a mental prayer for the person he had just unintentionally sacrificed. If Two Time kept their word, he might have a chance of winning, but he wasn't sure how long they'd be willing to play along.
Hopefully longer than 30 seconds.
Frantically scanning around the house and– like a blessing from the gods– spotted a medkit lying innocently on the floor. Bingo! He snatched it up and hurriedly used it, silently hoping he had enough time before Two Time returned. Just as he finished, the music picked up as a red highlight appeared, showing Two Time heading back toward his location.
“Oh, Azure~ I'm back for our date.”
“That's great! Here's some pizza just for you!” Azure exclaimed as he attempted to throw the pizza onto the table, but it bounced off and onto the floor in front of Two Time instead.
“I see you've healed yourself,” they said, stepping over the pizza and walking closer to him.
“Oh, you know, I thought it would be rude if I were limping on our date.”
“But I like it when you can’t walk properly…”
Azure slowly backed away as Two Time advanced nearer, his heart racing as adrenaline started to kick in.
“I think I left the stove on–” Azure blurted out before hastily sprinting away, “Gotta go!”
He dashed out of the house with Two Time right on his tail. He tried to dodge some of their attacks, but his skills were mediocre at best. They threw an entanglement at him, which hit, causing him to stop in his tracks as he clicked off the pop-ups as fast as possible. The sound of a wind-up played, but before it could go off, the screen faded to black before revealing Azure as the sole survivor of the round.
“Ohoho, I'm not letting that slide, Azure,” Two Time said, turning to look at him with a big grin.
Azure laughed nervously as he got up from his seat. “Would you look at the time! I should go get started on dinner.” Just before exiting, he opened the door and paused to shoot Two Time a light-hearted smile. “Have fun.”
Two Time watched the door close, an unreadable expression on their face as they stared blankly at the wooden texture in front of them. Minutes passed without them moving, their heavy breathing the only sound that could be heard over the distant noise from the computer.
Slowly, they brought a trembling hand up to cover their mouth, replaying the image of Azure's smile in their mind, causing a surge of euphoria to course through their veins. A sense of intoxicating madness began to dance in their eyes, their laughter threatening to spill out uncontrollably as a wave of exhilaration washed over them. The radiant warmth that he brought into their life was both a blessing and a curse.
The things I would do for you…