Chapter Text
The sound of your alarm startles you awake, and you grope around your bed blindly, struggling to find your phone. Did it fall off again? You sit up and look over at the nightstand where a phone you don’t recognize is sitting, threatening to vibrate off the table. It doesn’t look like yours, but the custom ‘MeGaLoVania’ alarm you had set is what’s blaring, and it accepts your unlock pattern when you swipe.
Your phone chimes with the ‘Rupee Get’ sound from ‘Twilight Princess’ as a text pops up; a simple smiley face from a contact named ‘Killer’, which further confirms your running theory that they did, in fact, find your phone for you. You get a little misty-eyed at the thought that they went through the extra effort instead of just handing you a new phone, and your little sniffle session is interrupted by Killer shortcutting in and waving at you from the end of your bed.
“hey babycakes, like the gift?” He crawls up the desk and lets himself flop face-first onto the bed, and you give him a watery chuckle. “Babycakes?”
He rolls over and props his head up on his hand, a shit-eating grin on his face. “yeah, cause you’re crying. and…uh…you’re…sweet??” He actually blushes a little, rolling onto his back. “anyway…” You snort and give him a small shove. “That was weak, but yes, I do like the gift. Thank you.”
“sick.” He tilts his head towards you. “your old phone was kind of shit, so I transferred everything to the phone cross got you and upgraded it. it’ll work no matter where you are. added everyone’s contacts and shit.” He pauses, and his soul wobbles for a moment before stabilizing again. “so uh…you doin’ anything later? ‘cause i thought we could go on a…hang out. somewhere else.”
You blinky owlishly at him. “Somewhere else? Did you have something in mind…?” He sits up again and nods eagerly. “yeah! i’ve got a few aus i could take you to. if you want! no pressure.” He picks at a seam on your comforter, trying his best to look uninterested in your response, but you can very faintly see his eyelights dart between you and his hand, and it makes you laugh softly. “That sounds fun, Killer. Can we go after I eat? I’ve been dying to do literally anything outside of this place.”
“yeah! i mean, uh. sure, whatever. text me when you’re ready.” He’s gone before you can respond, his sudden absence causing the mattress to wobble slightly as it adjusts to the lost weight. You pop your phone into your inventory and throw on a simple outfit consisting of a pair of black cargo pants, a black t-shirt, and your boots. Opening your door to leave, you nearly run into Horror, who has one hand up to knock, and the other carrying a tray of what’s probably muffins.
He looks surprised to see you, and slowly looks you up and down before glancing at the tray. “thought killer seemed to be…in a good mood. how’re you…feeling?” You flash him a smile and move to let him in. “Tired and hungry. Is that for me? I was just about to come find you.”
He nods, and sets the tray down on your desk. “yeah. you need to eat…before you leave.” You huff out of a laugh. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Wore myself out training again, but I’m sure Cross told you that already.” Grabbing a muffin, you sit down on the edge of the bed and take a small bite. It’s some sort of fruit blend, a little buttery, and very good. You tear through the first and grab another while Horror watches intently, and once you’re done that one as well, he relaxes a little.
“i’ll leave them here…easier to grab.” He reaches over and gently ruffles your hair, a soft look on his face. “have fun, percy…let me know if you guys…need dinner after.” You return the smile and nod, giving his hand a squeeze before he can fully pull away. “Thanks Horror. I really appreciate you keeping me fed. I tend to forget to eat, and with all of…this–” You gesture around. “Going on, it’s harder to remember.”
Horror gives you a small nod and takes your smaller hand in his giant one. He just looks at you for a minute, and then lets go and leaves, leaving the door ajar. You grab your phone and throw a text to Killer, who leaves it on ‘read’ and simply shows up several minutes later in your doorway, struggling to keep the giddy smile off his face while he bounces on his heels.
“Oh good, mischief incarnate is here.” You cross your arms and lean on the doorframe, and he makes a show of looking you up and down with a low whistle. “you got dressed up for me?”
“I'm wearing normal clothes, Killer.” You deadpan, sighing. He shrugs, holding out a hand. “guess you just look good all the time, then.”
When you put your hand in his, he leans forward to press a light kiss to your knuckles, and you snort while trying to pull away again. “Okay, whatever nerd. So where are we going?” He grips your hand tighter and pulls you forward so he can put his other hand on your waist. “it's a surprise.”
The two of you vanish, reappearing in a small, grassy clearing surrounded by dark, dense forest. The trees are more sparse toward the south, and you can see the distant sparkle of a city skyline beyond the edge of a cliff. What really gets your attention, though, is the sky itself. It's a beautiful array of purples on a blue-black background, splattered with twinkling stars. You don't think you've ever seen such a clear night sky, and it takes your breath away.
“Killer…” You finally breathe out, looking back at him. “it's nice, right? we're on mount ebbot in the main timeline. i think outside of outertale, the stars look the best here.”
You hum, looking up again. “It's amazing.” He tugs on your hand again, prompting you to follow him, and you turn to see he's got a blanket laid out in the grass. “i've got other places planned out if this isn't your scene, but…i noticed you admiring the sky back home, so…” He trails off, looking up at the sky again. “here we are.”
You drop his hand and settle onto the blanket, patting the spot next to you. “Here we are.” When he joins you, you grab his hand this time, your grip loose enough that he could pull away if he wanted. “I'm…really bad at this stuff. Expressing my feelings. It always feels…I don't know, forced? Insincere? But this is really nice. It feels like…stuff like this didn't happen to me often. I don't have any memories to go off of right now, or maybe ever, but…”
You take a shaky breath, and he threads your fingers together, giving them a gentle squeeze. “Ugh, I'm sorry. Thank you for doing this. For me.” Letting out a quick sigh, you turn your head to blink away tears. “I'm gonna scare away the hoes if I keep crying.”
Killer barks out a laugh, caught off guard by your attempt to lighten the mood. “the only hoe here isn't going anywhere anytime soon. you're stuck with me.” You hum in response, turning back to just…look at him. The soft smile on his face, the way the moonlight makes his bones glow in contrast to his dark sockets, he's…handsome. That realization makes you blush, and you're praying he can't tell in the dark. You can't fall for the guy who's been jokingly flirting with you since day one.
“Bummer. And here I thought this was going to be a nice night out.” You stick your tongue out at him, and he does the same, his glowing red tongue poking out from between his teeth. You snort in response, bumping him with your shoulder. “Forgot you guys can do that. Weird.”
“wanna see what else i can do with it?” He waggles his browbones at you, and you blanch, pulling away from him. “Hard pass. I'm not looking to get my feelings hurt.”
He gives you a confused look, leaning in to close the distance you made. “huh? why would i hurt your feelings?” You frown at him, brows furrowed with frustration.
“Because you're clearly joking with me, and I'm not looking for a…a situationship or whatever! I'm tired of people playing with my feelings like that.” You move to get up, and he panics, partially tackling you. “no!”
You squirm in his hold, trying to push away from him. “What the fuck do you mean ‘no’?? You've been doing this from the get-go!” He manages to pin your shoulders to the ground, looking panicked.
“i mean i was joking at first, but then the shit with your soul happened, and you're-you're nice! and funny! and really pretty! and cool and i–” He lets his head drop to your shoulder with a sigh. “you make me want to make you happy. all i can think about is how excited i am to see you again.” When he looks up again, his faint eyelights are little hearts in that sea of black. “please let me love you.
You swallow hard, tossing your head back so you don't have to look at the vulnerability in his face. You force yourself to take a few shaky breaths before whispering ‘You don't want this’. He gives you a pained look, shaking your shoulders gently. “i do, though. i really, really do.”
“I'm not worth the effort, Killer. I struggle with intimacy so much I don't know if I could ever give you what you want, and then you'll leave like everyone else. I'm tired of having my heart broken by people convinced I'm someone I'm not.” A sob escapes you before you can stop it, and you shake trying to keep from breaking down. He pulls back and then hauls you up into his lap, pressing your head to his shoulder before wrapping his arms around you.
“i'm not going anywhere. even if you won't have me, i'm not leaving. if loving you means we're just friends, then i'll take it over losing you entirely.” He presses several small kisses to the side of your head. “but please give me a chance to try.”
You pull back a little, lip quivering, and nod slowly. “Okay…yeah. I'm sorry for…this.” He chuckles, grabbing your face in both hands and planting quick kisses all over your blotchy, tear-streaked face, making you giggle in response. “you don't need to be sorry for explaining yourself, sweetheart.”
His eyelights are hearts again, and your face heats up as he stares at you like you hung the moon. You slide your hands up his chest to his shoulders, tracing little circles onto the fabric of his hoodie. “I…can I kiss you?”
He lights up, leaning in to meet you in a surprisingly chaste first kiss. When you pull away, he hums happily, face dusted in a pretty red blush, and you press yourself closer for another one, deepening it slightly. He returns it eagerly, one hand tangled in your hair while the other squeezes your waist. You sigh into the kiss, letting yourself relax against him as the two of you make out. When you do finally pull apart, he looks completely wrecked; eyes half lidded and breathing heavily. “you're amazing. stars, i like you so much it's crazy.”
You laugh, hiding your face against his shoulder, and he pulls the two of you back so you're laying on top of him. You scooch to the side and snuggle in with a content sigh, letting yourself relax in his arms.