Chapter Text
“13 DAYS?!” Regects voice erupted into shock, but it died down quickly, replaced by a long, hollow silence. He went very still, his visible shoulder dropping.
“Ze, I had no idea.” Regects voice was soft now, devoid of its usual unseriousness.
“Right, okay. 13 days. We can.. we can make up for that.” Regect began to move, his pace measured yet hurried. He approached the turtle sanctuary, his eye scanning the structure intensely.
“Moe the lanterns from the storage, the blue, not the regular ones. It’ll look better with the sunset.”
Moe tilted her head, letting out a soft, questioning honk, but Regect was already moving past her. He started adjusting the bordering blocks Ze had placed around the sanctuary.
“Regect, what are you doing?” Ze asked, his tone flat. The relief of confessing was already being swallowed by a new, familiar irritation.
“If we’re doing this, we’re doing it right. We’ll have a fire, and I’ll… I’ll get some discs and a juke box! We’ll make this the official 14th day celebration. It’ll be better than the actual day would’ve been- I’ll make sure of it.”He reached out to adjust the entrance of the sanctuary.
“Don’t touch that,” Ze said, his voice cracking.
“I’m just making it sturdier, man. If we’re going to-“
“I said don’t touch it!!” Ze stepped forward, stature subtly shaking before he continued. “I just told you I’m sick of following your plans! I built this. Me. And the first thing you do when I finally open up to you is ‘fix’ it?! You’re not even listening to me, Regect!“
Regect froze, his hand paralyzed above the entrance. The silence that followed weighed heavier than before.
As Moe returned, the clinking of the lanterns felt like a deafening intrusion. She didn’t honk, didn’t make a move to intervene this time, just simply lowered the blue lanterns into the sand, their glow bleeding into the natural scheme of the sunset.
Ze’s chest was still heaving, his breath coming in soft, jagged hitches. His anger faded, diluting into aching exhaustion.
He waited for Regect to snap back at him— to berate his ingratitude or turn the whole thing into a joke, like his usual behavior, but the retort never came. The lack of noise was worse than anything Regect could have mustered up. He felt suffocated, like this entire situation was his fault.
He stared at his shoes and the sand that built up on the sides of his socks, trying to keep his mind from spiraling even deeper into the guilt scraping at his throat.
Regects hand finally dropped back down.
The glow from the lanterns caught the edges of Regects frame, casting long, cold shadows that stretched toward Ze.
“I don’t-“ Regects tone wavered before he paused, something shifting in his demeanor, “I’ll stay out of your way.”
He didn’t use the familiar, abrupt teleportation ability of his. Instead, he began the slow, heavy walk across the sand. Each step intentional, a choice to endure rather than take the easy way out. He didn’t want to come off more of a dick than he already had, but each slow step felt like a further drift in their bond.
A part of Ze wanted to call out, to explain the difference between him needing space and wanting him gone. But he stood his ground instead, jaw tightening as he reconsidered. Why was it that when Regect was leaving, he was still the one deciding how this ended? Each step taken ignited another spark of irritation within him, it just felt like another way for Regect to control the situation.
Ze stared at the empty space where Regect had been until his vision began to blur. He remained frozen, occasional hitches in his breath. For a moment, he forgot Moe stood beside him. She picked up one of the lanterns, holding it with a quiet, steady patience—no plans, no interruptions. The sudden, singular focus of her attention felt unnatural to him.
“I..” his voice cracked, sobs caught in between each word “I just want us all to sit by the beach together.. and.. and really enjoy it.”
Moe listened to what he said carefully, her expression gentle and understanding. Once he finished choking out every syllable, Moe began to walk. Not directly towards where Regect had retreated, but towards the shoreline. She stopped halfway, looking back at Ze until he finally had the strength to follow her.
***
As they walked beside the water, the silence was comforting. He managed to calm himself down and really think about what erupted between them. After a considerable amount of time, Ze caught a glimpse of Regect. He was leaning against a wall of the sanctuary. His gaze seemed to be shifted down, shoulder slumped and hands covering where his head would be.
He took a deep breath, wiping his face before he approached. He stopped a few feet away.
“Regect.” Ze said, his voice steadier but still thin. “It doesn’t need to be perfect.”
Regects gaze stayed shifted down. “I know. I just-“ he paused, not sure how to word his response.
Ze waited patiently, just like Moe did for him. He gave Regect the time to properly articulate what he wanted to say.
“I messed up the timing. And- I.. I want to- I wanted..” he paused, embarrassed about what he was about to say.
“…I wanted to impress you.” Regects voice dropped significantly.
Instead of Ze making fun of him like he anticipated, he said something that really eased the tension.
“I don’t need perfect,” Ze replied, taking a step closer. He reached down and picked up one of the lanterns Moe had left. The light casted a cold, calming glow that blanketed over them. “I just want you guys here, 13 days late or not.”
Regect looked up, his expression stabilizing. He let out a long, ragged exhale. “14 days late, technically. If we are counting the fact that midnight just hit.”
A small, genuine smile tugged at the corner of Ze’s mouth. “Whatever, just.. come with us?”
They moved together towards the shoreline, where Moe had already laid out blankets and lights. They both sat down, Regects shoulder brushing against Ze’s.
The three of them sat in a line, watching the moonlight highlight the ocean. For the first time in weeks, the racing scenarios in Ze’s mind went quiet, replaced by a simple, grounding weight of his friends beside him.
“How cute.”
The atmosphere around them grew cold, the unfamiliar, distorted voice echoing throughout the atmosphere.
“WHAT THE HELL?” Ze abruptly stood up, staggering as he caught his balance.
Oh.
This isn’t real is it? He’s still in his room, lying there. As the realization dawns on him, he abruptly sits up. It’s dark outside, 12:16.
Happy belated birthday.