Chapter Text
It's mentioned offhandedly, like most of the tidbits Corpse shares. Another block crumbles under his pickaxe, his friend's voice coming from somewhere off behind him. Probably gathering flowers.
"I uh, I miss going outside. Sometimes."
Sykkuno blinks slowly, grateful for the fact that he isn't streaming today. "Oh, uh," he stumbles over his words a bit, awkwardly clearing his throat. "I-I thought you hated leaving the house? You know, because of all of the people and... stuff."
Corpse snorts, "Yeah, that part's right. But I used to go exploring in abandoned buildings and shit before all the health crap and covid went down."
He nods along, realization growing. "Oh, right! Horror YouTuber and all that, it's like a rite of passage for you guys, right Corpse?"
His friend downright chuckles at that, low reverb vibrating through his headphones. "Yeah Sykkuno, rite of passage."
Sykkuno makes a soft noise, pulling his gaze away from the screen to find his water bottle. Then, he sees it.
A GoPro camera sitting innocuously at the end of his desk.
He blinks slowly, brows knitting together. Reaching out with tentative fingers, Sykkuno wraps it in his hands and fiddles with the buttons, the tiny device lighting up when he hits the 'start' button. "Huh," Sykkuno mumbles, hunching over to investigate more. "I... got this to do Vlogs with Lily, I-I think? How long ago was that..."
All of a sudden, an incredibly stupid and possibly insane idea unfurls in his head. His mouth drops open, hanging by the hinges as it forms a small 'o'.
"-kuno? Sy?"
He jolts and nearly drops the camera, nearly squeaking when the GoPro almost escapes his slippery fingers. "C-Corpse! Sorry, I, uh, I got distracted trying to find my water bottle and found something else instead, but then I forgot about how thirsty I am so I haven't even taken a sip yet, I'm so sorry--"
Deep bouts of laughter fill his ears and something in his chest unclenches. "It's okay Sykkuno, calm down. What'd you find?"
"It's, uh, just s-something stupid. When I used to live with everyone, I was going to join the Vlogs and stuff but..." Sykkuno cuts himself off with a sigh, running the pad of his thumb over the camera's pristine surface. Despite all the money he spent on it, no amount of hyping himself up could bring him the courage to use it.
"Lily was always better at it anyway," he says instead, putting the device away when his hands started to shake. "Her and Rae, that is."
There's a moment of silence before Corpse huffs. "Sy, you still haven't said what it is. And we both know that if you started Vlogging, every other Vlogger wouldn't stand a chance."
Sykkuno can't help the pleased smile that curls his lips, quickly smothering it with his hand. "T-that's not true! Leslie's cat would steal all of the viewers! But, then again..." He hums in mock consideration, tapping his chin. "...I do have Bimbus."
"Praise Bimbus," Corpse adds drily, "A video dedicated to a cloud in fishnets and Chillkuno. I'd fuck with it."
A laugh bubbles up from his chest, warmth lighting up his cheeks. "Oh jesus, you really would too! Fishnets are your, um, you know."
"My what." Corpse drawls.
Sykkuno clears his throat. "I-I mean. You know."
The shit-eating grin is almost audible, "Nah, pretty sure I don't. My what, Sykkuno?"
He pauses for a moment. Looking over his shoulder to check for lurkers in his empty hallway before, suddenly, remembering that he lives alone. Sykkuno coughs weakly into his hand to mask his embarrassment and then, in a dramatic manner, leans in close to his microphone.
"Your kink, Corpse!"
The low rumbling laughter and wheezes echo in his ears, making the world just the littlest bit brighter. Sykkuno practically beams at his monitor, joining in with his own quiet laughter that he half-heartedly tries to muffle behind his palm. The warmth in his chest builds into a pleasant thrum, vibrating through his veins and making his fingers twitch. His brain almost short circuits as a single thought loops in his mind's eye.
'I'd do anything to make him laugh.'
The realization isn't anything new or groundbreaking, but...
His eyes fall to the camera sitting innocently on his desk. It has plenty of storage and a DCIM in it already, fully charged. His car's petrol tank is still topped up too...
Sykkuno gingerly picks the GoPro up again. "Hey uh, Corpse?"
"Y-yeah?"
"...D-do you have anything to do today?"
"W-well, uh," Corpse stuttered, obviously struggling to regain his footing. "Nah? I-I mean, no. I don't."
A smile stretches over his face and Sykkuno's barely able to keep a lid on his excitement. "Do you, uh, maybe want to go and, uh, have a Vlog with. Um. Just us?"
The answering silence is almost heartstopping.
Sykkuno's smile slowly drops away as his nerves light on fire. Suddenly, he really wants to hide. "I-I mean," he hurriedly tacks on, far too conscious of Corpse's unnerving quiet. "Y-you said you missed going outside a-and I know it's really hard for you, so I just thought that I could, you know, go outside for you? I have a GoPro that I never used and I saw it and I just thought t-that I could stream it to you..?"
For another long minute, the silence drags on. When Corpse finally speaks, his voice is tinny and hoarse over the microphone. "I-I, uh. I-I'd fuck with that. You sure, Sy? It's a, uh, pretty fucking big thing to do for someone."
Sykkuno hurriedly swipes the keys off his desk and starts to set up the GoPro. His hands are shaky with nerves as they turn the camera on and he tries to calm himself down with a couple of deep breaths. "If it's enough to make you happy," Sykkuno responds absently, too busy trying to hold onto his cowardly resolve, "Then nothing would be too big."
The call goes quiet. Sykkuno's eyes whirl around in his head at the mind-boggling amount of options. What even is an establishing shot, like... what? Underwater settings? Oh jesus, how much money did he spend on this thing?!
Suddenly Corpse pipes up again, voice raspy. "F-fuck, Sykkuno. That's either heavy as fuck or the first dick size joke I've heard you make. Mad respect."
He hums blankly, mumbling a mindless response. "Just want to hear you laugh more; anyone would do it too." Oh cool, it has night settings too. Neat!
There's a strained gag that comes through his headphones and Sykkuno raises his head in alarm. Is he... choking or something? "Corpse? Corpse! Are you okay?"
"I-I uh, y-yeah?" Corpse clearing his throat. "I mean. Yeah, I'm good. Just getting my ass beat. Water fucking sucks."
"Oh, you swallowed wrong?" Sykkuno hums quietly, looking away from the camera long enough to level Corpse's username with an empathic look. "I choke on water sometimes too, but that's usually because I get distracted reading Twitch chat. You have a weird way of phrasing it, though."
Corpse huffs through his nose, the air hitting his microphone like a freight train. "I hear that often, yeah. Honestly, I'm just surprised you didn't say--"
"-Choke me like you hate me but you love me--!"
Laughter plays in his ears, Corpse's fist smacking against his desk. "Oh my fucking god, Sy!"
Sykkuno beams directly at the camera lenses, the feed syncing up with their Discord call. It takes a minute before he sees Corpse's icon pop up into the screen share, but when it does he doesn't even have a hand free to hide his smile. "I had to do it! Rae would've killed me in spirit!"
There's a moment of quiet before a soft "Y-yeah," answers him. Corpse's voice is almost deathly quiet and Sykkuno can't help but shift around.
"..Corpse? You can, um-- y-you can see me right?"
Something on Corpse's side rubs against the microphone. He listens to his friend hurriedly correct the headset, mic ruffling all the while. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, I can! Fuck yeah, private stream. This where I can support your OnlyFans?"
Sykkuno stumbles a bit at that, shutting off his computer and toeing into his sneakers. "C-Corpse!"
Corpse's answering laughter is lower than anything but, Sykkuno swears by any god that exists, that it's the brightest sound he's ever heard. With red cheeks and a tied tongue, he busies himself with shouldering on a thick coat. The keys clink away in his hand as he sets up Bimbus' dinner, double and triple-checking to make sure the doggy door hadn't jammed, again. He levels the coffee table with a considering look before finally shrugging, leaning over to swipe the black face-mask off it.
He hopes Corpse doesn't want to go anywhere populated but... doesn't hurt to be safe.
Just in case.
"You're serious? For real?"
Raising the camera to point at his face, Sykkuno lets him see the warm smile that unfurls. "When it comes to you, always. Unless if I'm Jester, then all deals are off."
Corpse chuckles. "You're chaotic as fuck, Smoothkkuno."
"For this stream, I'm Walkuno," Sykkuno states matter-of-factly, "It's my new branding."
"Uh-huh," Corpse deadpans. "Is this a merch drop leak? I'm posting this on Twitter."
Scrunching his face up, Sykkuno pulls his front door open and squints suspiciously at the camera lens. "You're on thin ice, mister! No spoilers or I'll be upset, deal?"
There's a melodramatic sigh and then a low, "Fuck. Fine, deal."
"Perfect. And, with that..." Sykkuno descends the front steps and gets into his car, balancing the camera on his dash.
"So, Mr. Corpse," he says cheerily, starting the engine. "Where to?"