Chapter Text
The deep dark ink of what ‘the shadows’ are is a mystery, even to those who live within it. An endless limbo of unknown futures or pasts surrounded by people you may never physically see. But, within those hollow echoes, voices can be made out, people are alive in there despite all the odds. The cold, lifeless odds.
“If I hear you two trying to play I-spy in the corner for the fifth time this season, I will bring down an ump myself,” Donia Bailey spoke into the empty, letting the feeling of her body float like in a bath.
“Don you need to-” a deeper more relaxed voice began
“Donia”
“Oh I know,” Becker Solis cuts back in and a snicker rumbled from behind them, “But what I was saying, you need to cut loose a little bit. We are stuck here and you need to accept that. We’ve both been here longer than you and my damn brother is out there, you’re fine dude. Just chill.”
Donia wanted to snap at Becker like she has done so many times before, but the feeling of floating was so therapeutic. Randomly Donia has succumbed to the abyss in the past and now began to fail to non-existence.
“They’re gone for a while, she deserves a break,” Becker took her attention away from the fading out Donia over back to Emmett Tabby. They couldn’t see it, but the warming feeling next to them let them know that it was there.
“She’s right, you know?” Emmett’s voice was soft as it normally was, a tiny mewl to Bex’s ear.
“What do you mean?”
“If you try to start I-spy again there will be an umpire down here within the minute,” they bat at where they would assume Becker would be and feels a wave of heat glaze over their paw. Contact made, bringing a small smile to Emmett’s face.
“Woah and hitting me too?!” Becker mocked knowing what that warm swipe ment from the void. “If we ever get out of here it is over for you. On the gods I will-”
“You’ll what?” Emmett teased, “Maybe I'm 6'7 and ripped to hades and back? What will you do then, huh? What will you do? I’ll beat you up!” Emmett whipped their tail around, accidentally swiping through Berker in the process. “Oh! Sorry I know you don’t like that I didn’t mean to.”
Becker let out a hearty laugh, a hand clutching their chest.
“If you were really as big and mighty as you say, then you wouldn’t apologize for that!” She tipped her head back into a deeper laugh.
“Maybe I’m just nice to you! You get pretty privilege. Idiot.” That only made Becker laugh more.
Emmett loved when she was in this type of mood. The type of mood that if the two of them were somewhere else, maybe watching a movie swaddled in blankets, that they would be curled in on eachother cackling til they are light headed.
The amount of times Emmett has dreamed about that ideal was a little bit sad, it has never even seen it’s partner… well ‘partner’. The two players have sat in the void together, starting as lost souls but over the tens of years they have grown close. Most of the trapped folks kept to themselves, but Emmett was too noisy for their own good and Becker was willing to put up with it.
But that first form of friendship quickly spiraled into joking hatred and dumb jokes. Becker wouldn’t ever say it, but they were glad that this little idiot clung onto them. They both held the utmost admiration for the other, and for the bond they formed.
A small silence fell over the two as the laughing infection dyed out.
“Do you really believe that?” Emmett spoke softly, like tiptoeing into the silence.
“That you are too nice to be tall? Of course.” Becker kept up with the laugh that still called their chest home.
“No, no,” it starts with a scoff, “that we’re stuck here. I've heard from places that folks are getting out, and maybe we can actually see each other !” The mystical hope was almost infectious.
“I…” Bex started but paused for just a second. “Gods I want to see you. Hell, sitting next to you like this is being in a long distance thing. And gods we deserve to play, get out, feel the world again.”
All Emmett could do was fall into the heat at their side, “But do you really believe that we are stuck, that we can’t get out?”
“I wish I didn’t because damn, I’d love to give you a kiss.” Berker said freely. If Tabby could see how bright red Bex’s face was they would probably think it was a laser pointer.
“That would be really nice,” it curled deeper into the warmth, and Becker fell into the heat that covered their side. “Hold your hand and not just something that’s meant to be your hand…”
“You want to hold my hand? Isn’t that a little bit gay, dude?” Becker almost whispered, knowing that she was probably close enough to its ear for it to hear her.
Emmett groaned, not wanting to leave from the warmth. “Didn’t you just say you wanted to kiss me?”
“Shh, shh, that’s different because I’m cooler than you. I get to say I want to kiss you and that's perfectly fine, but yooou that’s a different story. You did say I have pretty privilege.”
“If you keep talking like that I will lay on you and say we are cuddling.”
“You think this isn't cuddling?”
“Let me have the upper hand, okay?” Emmett shifts from the position and crawls straight into the warmth. The feeling wasn't unpleasant being close to another person, but the feeling of warmth wasn’t the most comfortable either. Emmett felt warmth stroke their hair, a soft pur begins at its repetition.
“You don’t need to pet me.” they muttered but secretly not wanting it to stop. “But how can you even tell where my head is?”
“I was just going to guess and check until you said it was good. I’m glad it was my first try at least.” you could hear the contentedness in her voice.
There was a shift in the warmth surrounding Emmett as Backer’s had moved away from it’s head, only to be replaced by a soft press on the pot of its head. It took a moment for it to process what that was.
“Did you just try to kiss me?” their tone was much more accusatory then it was meant to be.
“I… I’m sorry, did I mess up? Did I not read the situation right? I’m sorry, do you need me to leave? I can… I can go if you want me to-” Becker stumbled over her own words, racing to clean up anything that she could have damaged. It made Emmett’s heart drop.
They fumble their paws, searching for the warmth that had just felt them. Emmett knew they were holding Becker’s face as soon as she stopped her spiral of sorries.
“Is this okay?” Emmett looked into the black void, god how they wished to see her face right now, to look into her eyes and know home.
“It’s more than okay…” Becker said softly, breathless. A glimmer would be in their eyes if Emmett could see them.
And then Emmett kissed them. It was sweet and short and told over 20 years of unspoken words in only a few seconds.
“We will get out of here, and then i will actually kiss you and not just press my face into nothing. And I will hold your hand, and see you smile, and hug you, and be next to you.”