Chapter Text
The sun had set and the foggy night appeared once more, the rain had thankfully died down, but the fog didn't.
It's been a week since he reunited with Ghostwalker, and nobody had knocked on his door except for his landlord. No new notes, just silence from the deity. Did he forget? Did he change his mind?
Hyperlaser has thought all about their interaction the week prior, yet Ghostwalker seemed to have gotten over him.
I might just call Katana tonight.
As he places a bottle of whiskey down on his balcony table, knocks sound through the door to his apartment, he turns to it, and Princess meows as she trots over and stares up at the handle, assuming it's Katana at the door again.
He hums, unsure of who it could actually be, considering his landlord showed up earlier this morning. Moving to the door, he opens it to reveal the grey, unveiled Inphernal standing at his door. He wears quite casual wear, compared to his earlier outfits. He appears more like a young librarian, wearing a dark grey blouse and white jumper underneath, with black dress pants and polished shoes. His round glasses have silver eyeglass chains, small pendants hang off them.
"Are you still open for drinks?" Ghostwalker asks, as if his disappearance for a week meant nothing. Princess sniffs his ankle.
Hyperlaser pauses, expecting literally anyone else, "Uhhh," It's a bit sudden, but then again, he never gave a date. "I-I suppose." He opens the door fully, moving out the way.
Ghostwalker walks past, "Sorry I wasn't able to appear earlier in the week, I had troubles to attend to." Princess meows and brushes against his legs, "Ah, who's this?" He asks, looking down at the cat who seemed to already like him.
Hyperlaser notices the cat butting her head against his legs and purring, "Oh, that's my cat, Princess." He answers, closing the door behind him.
Ghostwalker shrugs his coat off, folding it over his arm, he mutters something about one of his notes, but doesn't say it to Hyperlaser. He looks around the apartment, taking in every little feature, from the lack of décor and abundance of cardboard boxes that have cat scratches in them and the dust-covered cat tree. "I see you must really like her." He hums, noticing the amount of thrown around cat toys Princess discarded randomly on the ground.
"I didn't think you were coming, so I didn't have time to clean up." Hyperlaser mutters, kicking a few toys back to the favoured cardboard box. "What kind of alcohol do you like?" He's less tense around Ghostwalker, but nervousness still creeps into every word and action he does.
Ghostwalker reads the bottle currently on the table, "Do you have any Riesling?" he asks.
Riesling was an expensive branch of low ABV wine, it was nearly seventy bux just for one bottle. Ghostwalker clearly wanted a low-alcohol drink, and has expensive taste, but Hyperlaser was the opposite, it feels like water if he's not drinking a hard, tasty liquor like whiskey. Usually whiskey is around fifty bux, but the small liquor shop he goes to sells it for thirty. The closest thing to any Riesling was champagne, which was a gift from a co-worker on his 'birthday' (They were 2 weeks late.) "Uhm.. No, but I do have champagne."
Ghostwalker hums, "It'll suffice." he responds, stepping over the cat rubbing her scent over him to get to the table on his balcony. Princess abandons him for her cardboard box.
There's two chairs facing outwards with a small square table in the middle, a set-up game of chess in the middle and a bottle of whiskey on the side. When Hyperlaser walks out with the other bottle and two glasses, Ghostwalker looks back at him, "You play chess?"
"Hm?" Hyperlaser walks around him to sit the glasses and champagne down, "Ah, no, not really. It's more so decoration." He does play with Katana occasionally, but the two both find the game a little boring. He's not sure how he actually got the game into his house. "Do you?"
Ghostwalker walks past him as he sets down the drinks, "When I was younger, yes." He responds, sitting down in the chair furthest to the balcony entrance.
Hyperlaser sits down in the other chair, pouring his own drink, "I don't even know how to play it." he lightly chuckles, as most people at least have a basic understanding of chess and how to play. The nervousness still soaks in his words, but he tries to seem calm.
Ghostwalker turns to face Hyperlaser, "I can teach you, if you'd like." he tosses one leg over the other, leaning forward to pour his own glass.
Hyperlaser lifts up his visor to reveal his lips, but still be able to see, and takes the first sip of alcohol, "Sure."
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It's a smooth game, Ghostwalker explains the roles of each piece, offering advice and even clear sights of where Hyperlaser can take a piece or check him. He's barely taken a few sips of his drink, while Hyperlaser takes small sips every time he plays.
Ghostwalker wins the third game in a row, and as he sets up the next game, he spots Hyperlaser pouring himself another glass, "You're not going to drink that whole bottle, are you?" He asks, knowing how much ABV is in whiskey.
Hyperlaser chuckles a bit, even with that monotone voice, it's still nice to think Ghostwalker is worried for him. "No, I don't like to waste whiskey fast." Hyperlaser hums, "Just three glasses." The glasses they have are pretty small, so three glasses is practically a third of his whiskey bottle. "I suggest you drink as much as of that as you want, champagne's not really my stuff, so it'll rot in my cabinets. Take it home, if you want." Hyperlaser points to the champagne, gifting it to Ghostwalker.
"..Alright."
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Ghostwalker definitely got more loose with how much of the champagne he was drinking. How was he even drinking it? It seemed to just phase through the area his mouth should be. They continue to play chess, with Hyperlaser barely coming close to winning one, but Ghostwalker still beats him each time.
He furrows his brow, finding the game is starting to get boring the more Ghostwalker wins. He looks up at the deity, whose deciding where to move his rook. He looks entertained, as much as an emotionless deity could be.
He can remember finding his face uncanny, but, the more he's snuck small looks through his peripheral vision, the more he gets used to it, in fact, he's so focused at looking over Ghostwalker's features, he doesn't realise Ghostwalker decided where to put his rook.
"Checkmate." Ghostwalker hums, placing his rook aligned to Hyperlaser's king, looking up at him, finding Hyperlaser wasn't even looking at the board. "What are you looking at?"
Hyperlaser looks down at the board, a bit embarrassed, the visor hides the faint blush on his cheeks, "You." He admits, not bothering to lie. As much as the game is starting to bore him, he sets up another round, knowing it's entertaining his companion.
"..Pray tell, why are you staring at me?" Ghostwalker asks.
Hyperlaser chuckles a bit behind the visor, "No reason, you're just.. interesting." Ghostwalker's oddly cute, with the small round glasses and distant expression always on his face, its hard not to find him at least a little adorable. He kind of reminds him of a Messenger Lovedove, not sure why.
Ghostwalker doesn't understand still, "Is.. Is that meant to be a compliment?"
"Yes?" Hyperlaser sighs, "I'm saying you look..." It'd be a bit weird to call a deity 'cute'. "..nice."
"Thanks.. I think."
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At this point, Hyperlaser's on his third glass and Ghostwalker's finishing up his third, the two are a lot more comfortable with the other, leaning on the table as they play.
"So.. how do you plan to get home?" Hyperlaser asks, not knowing how Ghostwalker got here in the first place, as it's probably not safe to walk the streets as a Sword deity, but would he care about that?
"Teleportation." Ghostwalker answers, moving his pawn and taking out Hyperlaser's knight. "It's how I got here, I mean, I don't really want to walk all the way back to Lost Temple."
"You can teleport?" Hyperlaser inquires, finding the new information interesting. He moves his bishop to take out Ghostwalker's pawn, specifically the one that killed his knight.
"Yes, most the Sword's can." Ghostwalker responds, taking out the bishop with his other pawn. He takes a sip of his champagne, looking at the glass for a second, "Yet, we don't recommend teleporting under the influence, I learnt that the hard way."
Hyperlaser lifts his rook up, but pauses, looking up at Ghostwalker. "...You're under the influence right now."
Ghostwalker pauses, looking back at Hyperlaser, before slowly setting down him glass, "...Ah, that is.. true." He didn't seem to take that into consideration prior to teleporting here.
"..You can stay the night, if you want?"
"...I suppose I might as well."
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Finally, Hyperlaser wins a round, he celebrates by pouring himself a sixth glass. Ghostwalker doesn't mention the fact Hyperlaser said three glasses would be enough, and now Hyperlaser has finished half of the bottle. But, it's not like he can say much, he's on his seventh, and despite the low alcohol, he can barely tell what chess piece is what from how tipsy he is.
They don't even fix the game up, everything's too blurry to tell what is what.
"I might've gone a bit overboard." Ghostwalker admits, putting the half-finished seventh glass down.
Hyperlaser sits back in his chair, facing the dark night sky, "Live a little, this is probably the most amount of alcohol you've let yourself have in forever." Hyperlaser grins, sipping his glass.
"Ah, that's true, but I think if I have more I might be regurgitating it all." Ghostwalker hums, sitting back in his chair, leaving his glass on the table.
Hyperlaser laughs a little, "That's the best part."
Ghostwalker raises his brow, "You like puking?" He asks.
"No, but you know you've let yourself have a good night when your throwing up into some public toilet." Hyperlaser corrects, "I mean, makes more room for more alcohol!" He lightly jokes.
"..Your liver must love you."
...
Ghostwalker hums, noticing the other apartments with their lights on, some people staring out into the night as well, "Don't you think the balcony is a bit open?"
Hyperlaser chuckles, head rested on the table between them. "My neighbours won't care, you could be killing someone on the balcony and they wouldn't bat an eye or even ask you about it."
"You must put a lot of trust in them, if you are brave enough to have a deity on your balcony." Ghostwalker points out.
Hyperlaser lightly teases him, "You think you're some celebrity?"
Ghostwalker looks at him, "Well, I practically am. Considering my infamous family."
Hyperlaser thunks his visor against the table, starting through the balcony railing, "Don't worry, you're a celebrity in my eyes."
"And that's a compliment?"
Hyperlaser chuckles, "I mean, you're as handsome as some film actors."
Ghostwalker pauses, taking the compliment, "Says you." He retaliates.
Hyperlaser looked back at him, "You think I'm as handsome as a film actor?"
"I meant what I said back then." Ghostwalker responds, referring to the reunion they had.
Hyperlaser laughs quietly, hiding a already hidden face in his arm.
...
He's not sure when he began holding hands with the other, it sort of just happened.
They've been silent for a while, Hyperlaser shuffling around to get comfortable, yet unable to because of his helmet. When it starts to get annoying for him, he leans back up, and unclasps it, Ghostwalker watches him as he takes the helmet off once more and place it on the ground next to his whiskey that he put down cause it was in the way.
Ghostwalker continues staring, watching as he rests his head on his arm. He reaches over and gently cups his cheek, brushing it with his gloved hand.
Hyperlaser grins, flipping onto his back to get comfortable, making him lean against the table so he can look upwards.
Ghostwalker leans over, face directly above Hyperlaser's. He rests his head against his hand, which is supported by his elbow digging into the chessboard.
Hyperlaser brings Ghostwalker's head closer, placing a soft kiss on the others forehead. He chuckles afterwards, like it was a prank.
Ghostwalker doesn't say anything, keeping his head closer so Hyperlaser can kiss him whenever he likes. He brings his hand to Hyperlaser's jaw, feeling his scruffy, poorly shaven beard.
"I'm gonna get so pissed if you let those glasses fall on me." Hyperlaser chuckles.
...
"What time is it?" Ghostwalker mumbles, looking out at the moon in the sky
Hyperlaser separates his lips from Ghostwalker's face, "I dunno," He grumbles, "you tired?"
Ghostwalker looks back at Hyperlaser, "We can't be awake all night."
"Yes we can." Hyperlaser argues, impatiently wanting to get back to kissing all over Ghostwalker's face.
That earns a sigh, "Well, you can, but I don't want to."
Hyperlaser groans and grumbles something, "Fine. You can have my bed, I'll take the couch." He states, standing up from the chair and supporting himself via the balcony door.
"No, I'll take the couch, it's your home anyway-"
Hyperlaser loudly groans, "Just take the bed!" not wanting to argue and annoyed Ghostwalker wanted to already go to bed.
Ghostwalker sighs, standing up and walking back into the house, Hyperlaser following behind. He doesn't want to argue either. Hyperlaser shows him to his bedroom, closing the door behind the deity as he goes to plod himself onto the couch.
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When he wakes up, his head throbbing and muscles stabbing all over, — just as they do every morning — he's not met with the soft purring of Princess on his chest, waiting for him to wake up and feed her, no, she's sleeping at his feet, yet, there's another weight on his chest other than hers.
His vision is terrible, and his helmet is not on his bedside table to aid him.
He turns to his right, spots of grey and white create a bulge in his bed... Ghostwalker?
Whatever happened last night, his mind is too hazy to remember. He grumbles, head aching more than usual, knowing he went well far beyond three glasses.
Fuck, his muscles are too sore to try go back to sleep, he has to get up.
looking down, he can barely tell that Ghostwalker's arm is the weight on his chest. He lifts his sore arm — which was originally waving around trying to find his helmet — and gently pries it off, trying not to wake the deity (Which he's successful in doing)
He quietly groans as he shuffles out of the bed, Princess wakes up to it, but doesn't follow him out, rather, she curls up next to Ghostwalker instead.
...He won't be mentioning this to the deity.
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"Good morning."
The tired, sore voice scares him from behind as he swallows his pills, nearly choking on them. "G-Good morning to you too." He stumbles, half from the surprise and half from worry, shit, did Ghostwalker wake up when he moved out of the bed, or just after? Ghostwalker doesn't seem to ask about Hyperlaser's presence. Hyperlaser can at least remember sending Ghostwalker to his bed while he planned to pass out on the couch. He turns around, finding the deity standing directly behind him, clothing dishevelled from their originally tidy and ironed look, and a tired expression on his expression-less face. He had grabbed his helmet and brought the left out bottles in (Ghostwalker's half-finished champagne having dead bugs in it from being left overnight.) so he can now see him.
"Uh, sleep well?" Hyperlaser asks, reaching behind him to start the coffee maker. Ghostwalker now seemed so much taller closer up.
Ghostwalker doesn't answer, "Thank you for the drinks, and for letting me stay overnight." Ghostwalker thanks, voice sounding as rough as a smokers.
"Oh, that's fine." Hyperlaser shrugs, "Are- Are you gonna be able to get home safely? You seem quite tired still."
Ghostwalker was slouched, his attention on Hyperlaser. His glasses about to slip off his nose and his mascara rubbed off. If that's on my pillow, I swear to YOU. Hyperlaser thinks to himself.
"I'll be fine, I just... haven't had a night like this in forever." he mutters something afterwards, probably to himself. "...Some time again?"
Hyperlaser pauses, "Oh," He seems surprised Ghostwalker actually liked the night, assuming the deity would just dine for one night and never speak to Hyperlaser after. "I mean, sure, I had fun too."
Ghostwalker hums, "I'll see you again soon then. Nice talking to you." His body slowly shimmers away, teleporting out of the house.
"Oh! The champagne-" It's too late, Ghostwalker's already gone and he's left with his thoughts.
...Dear Swords, he hopes Ghostwalker returns.
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then they all exploded and died and hyperlaser was subjected to lvl 900+ biograft sweat