Chapter Text
Acorn was in love. At least he thought it was love. He didn’t have much to compare it to but what he did know was that when he looked at Marty it was like he was looking at the stars.
They’d been friends for years now and their graduation from Anakt was right around the corner. They’d be competition after graduation and Acorn could not bear the thought of going against his best friend turned love. He sensed that ‘Alien Stage’ would change things and not for the better so he vowed that he would tell Marty before then.
It happened during a moment of silence. Marty had once again invaded his cramped dorm, laid belly down on his bed while he doodled away with his tongue sticking out and a mischievous look. Acorn had been observing the other boy from his desk. He was so nervous he nearly sweat through his shirt.
“You gonna stare at me like that all day? Anakt, man, you look like shit. You gotta put a different shirt on man, I can see your skin from how damp you look. Wet ass cat…” Marty spoke up after having scanned the other boy's body. Without speaking a single word, he nervously stood up and walked to his closet where he pulled a clean shirt and quickly changed into it.
“How would you know what a wet cat looks like? We’ve only seen 'em’ in books, Mart,” He mumbled back. “Well, I don’t know what a wet cat actually looks like but I’d imagine they look an awful lot like you,” Marty laughed quietly to himself but when he noticed Acorn hadn’t joined him in laughter, he faltered.
“Hey, man. I didn’t actually mean anything by it, Peanut-”
“No, I’m not upset at you, I swear!” Acorn responded, flattening his shirt out and taking a seat next to Marty on the bed. “Then what's wrong? I haven’t seen you like this before,” Marty poked at Acorn’s side playfully.
“Why is this so hard,” Acorn brought his knees up as he rested his hands that cupped his face.
“Hey, it’s okay. There’s nothing that you could say that would make me walk out this room, alright?” Acorn peaked out through his fingers and nodded into his hands.
“Okay. Okay,” He sighed, “I think I’m kinda sorta in love with you,” The words came out so quickly that Marty glared at him, trying to process what he’d just been told.
“What?” Was all Marty could respond. “Oh my- I can’t believe I just said that just forget it!” Acorn made his move to leave his room, his foot had already touched the floor. Before he could get further, Marty wrapped a hand around his wrist.
“Excuse you! Where the shit do you think you’re going?” Marty yanked him back, Acorn landing back on the bed with a small ‘oof’ sound.
“Give a guy a moment after you spring the ‘L’ word on him, will ya?” Acorn had no clue what to do with himself. He’d done it. He’d confessed but the tension in the air is exactly what he had feared.
“I already told you. There is nothing you could say that would make me leave this room. Peanut, for such a smart guy, you’re a fucking dumbass,” Acorns face contorted into a pout that would’ve been cute to Marty had the circumstance been different.
“Are you just gonna let me sit here while I wait for you to acknowledge it or do you want me to die of embarrassment,” Acorn muttered out.
“Man, you are so oblivious. I obviously love you too,” Acorn looked up to get a good look at Marty’s face but he had turned his head away from him, the tips of his ears a bright shade of red.
“You… love me back?” Acorn squeaked out as he cupped Marty’s face and made him look at him. Marty’s eyes were twinkling and his cheeks were flushed.
“Are you really gonna make me say it again?” Acorn looked at him, waiting for him to speak. “Fine! I said I love you too-” Acorn cut Marty off with his lips.
Marty was startled by the impact before he relaxed into it. Acorn let out a happy hum as he felt Marty reciprocate. Kissing him was everything he’d ever wanted and more. It felt like being seen. It felt like dancing below an endless sky. It felt like home. Acorn never wanted it to stop but they eventually had to pull away from one another to catch their breaths.
“That was my first kiss,” Acorn blurted out as if Marty hadn’t known. “Yeah, it was mine too,” He laughed brightly as he ruffled Acorn’s hair.
“I cannot believe you confessed first,” Marty admitted. “Well, I wanted to tell you before things changed. Before we left. I didn’t want you to-”
“Even if you hadn’t just given me a mind-blowing kiss and confessed your love for me, nothing would ever make me forget you and not want to be next to you. Peanut, you are everything. I’m sorry if I didn’t make it clearer before but you are my best friend. You are my family. There is nowhere that you will go where I won’t follow. It has always been you. Even when you were just that annoying little shit when we were kids. I have loved you for years. I just never said anything because I thought you didn’t feel the same way. Especially after how obvious and loud you were about your feelings for Ivan. He never once talked about me like that. I was and still am just happy that I can be alongside you as a friend,” Acorn wasn’t sure when he had started crying but he lunged towards the other boy and squeezed him in a tight hug.
“How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t like Ivan anymore! I swear you never stop repeating yourself. I was a kid who saw this guy that seemed perfect but you? You’re far from perfect,” Marty snorted.
“Gee, thanks. That sure cleared things up,” Marty slumped with disappointment.
“You’re not perfect. You’re real. You get angry and you’re so passionate. You ramble on and on and fill up every bit of silence. You piss me off. You make me laugh. You’re my friend. You see me. You’re my everything too, Marty. If you think that what I had for Ivan was anything close to what I feel for you then I promise I will remind you forever if you let me,” Marty erupted into laughter, making Acorn's face even redder than humanly possible.
“Fuck, if I knew you like me this much I would’ve said something ages ago!”
“Shut up!”
“Why would I? You like when I fill the silence, remember,” Acorn rolled his eyes. “Get out of my room you asshole,” Acorn said, not really meaning it.
“But you like when I piss you off.”
“I swear, why did I even tell you? This is gonna be the rest of my life with this asshole,” He muttered.
“Be you love meeeee,” Marty sang out.
“Get out of my room!”
It had been years since they became lovers that the competition rolled around. Acorn had this deep feeling of despair about it. Not just competing against his lover at some point but that there was more going on than the aliens were letting on.
“Marty, I’m scared. I feel like this isn’t going to end well,” Acorn voiced his concerns.
“Peanut, we’ve been working for this our entire lives. It’s okay to be nervous about it but nothing bad is gonna happen. If you get eliminated, you get eliminated. That's the worst that can happen,” Marty comforted.
“Mart, I’m up against Till,” Marty stilled. They both knew they’d have to go against the big four at some point but Acorn having to go against Till first seemed unfair.
“It’s okay. It’s gonna be fine. You’ll show them that you’re a worthy opponent. Even if you don’t win, they’ll see how good you are,” He planted a soft kiss on his boyfriend's forehead.
“Yeah… Yeah. I guess you’re right. Who are you up against?” Acorn asked genuinely.
“Ivan,” Marty said with a snarl.
“You’re gonna kick his ass, Mart!” Acorn responded cheerfully, smacking a kiss to his cheek.
“You’re damn right I am.”
Marty and Acorn stared at the tv screen from backstage with wide eyes full of fear.
It had been round one and the sound of the gun and the thud of her body seemed to echo through the vibe.
“Marty- Marty!” Acorn screamed out, shaking his lover out of his paralyzed state.
Marty's eyes found Acorn’s and his fear only intensified. “Acorn?” The lack of a nickname startled the other boy.
“I’m up next, Marty. I can’t do this. Marty, I’m gonna die. Marty, they’re going to kill me,” He blabbered out, his entire body shaking with tears spewing out his eyes.
“No. No! You aren’t going to die. You’ve worked so hard for this. You’ve practiced this song so many times. No…” Before Marty could continue, Acorn got dragged out by two aliens, taking him towards the stage.
“Marty! Marty! I love you, Marty!” Acorn yelled out as Marty chased after him and fought off the aliens enough to press a kiss to Acorn's lips.
“I love you too!” He screamed out as the aliens continued to drag away the man he loved.
All he could do was watch the screen as the next round continued. The sound of unknown rock music had blurted out from the tv speakers. Marty’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. This hadn’t been the song he heard Acorn practicing.
No- had the bastard Till changed the song?
There Acorn stood on stage, helpless as his opponent sang lyrics to a song he didn’t know. It was all it took before the camera panned its focus away from his lover. It stayed on Till for the rest of the song. It wasn’t until it was over that Marty saw the lifeless body of his boyfriend on the floor, blood pooling around him. The aliens lifted his limp body and tossed it into a waste container and they wheeled him out.
Acorn had meant nothing to them. Marty’s everything had just died and no one else seemed to care. He felt like he’d been split in two. He felt his entire world tear apart and the bastard Till had lost his mind on stage and killed the alien known as Freddie. For what? He’d already won? And he had the audacity to pass out like he had lost something.
Before he even had time to adjust, he was being pulled away for his round. He stood there, side by side with Ivan who glared at him like he was nothing, too.
What did any of it mean? None of it meant nothing without Acorn. Not to him. The only thing that kept him from forfeiting right then and there was the idea that if he died, no one would remember Acorn.
So he sang to the best of his abilities but it hadn’t been enough. He, too, fell with the force of the bullets that pierced his body.
This was what was always destined for him. To be nothing. To be an extra for the big four. A part of someone else's narrative. No matter how much he’d tried to fight it, he was never going to be good enough.
He and Acorn would die and no one would care. They’d move on from the two boys who loved one another. The two boys who created a world of joy built just for them. The two boys who found home with one another. No one would ever know. No one would ever care.
They just died, and that was the end of their story.