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Erio whined as he fell to his knees, punching a gasp out of Bee. The scientist stood in front of Erio, hands shaking as they stared at the sword in Erios chest.
“ Erio- “
The other let out a soft sound at Bee’s cry, lightly pulling them down into a small hug. The two sat there together, in pain. Erio shook as he held in sobs, not wanting to be seen crying in front of bees, not even when dying. He leaned against Bee, moving to close his eyes before noticing a soft light from Bee’s hand. He watched as Bee seemed to put all their focus into the light, realizing it was…a communicator? Was Bee going to try calling for help? Erio forced himself to stay awake now, wanting to just…make sure Bee didn’t put themself in danger…one last time.
Though…that wasn’t the case.
Erios' eyes went wide when he realized what Bee was typing. It was code. His mind didn’t understand it, but he picked up on a few things. Bee wrote both their names in the code, mentioning something along the lines of ‘world override’ and ‘source new’.
“I’m going to fix this-”
The scientist softly mumbles, hand shaking as he pauses above the send. Bee stared at the code before looking over at Erio, a loving (yet pained) look in his eyes.
“Let me do this. Let me create a world to protect you.”
Erio let out a pained, weak laugh at it. Nodding lightly, before leaning heavily against Bee. He watches as Bee sends the command-
Then the world is black. For a moment, Erio feels as if he's floating. Numb. The feeling of his wounds are dull now, just a thought and memory, not there anymore.
And then the world was bright.
Erio didn’t open his eyes until he felt a hand shake him by the shoulder. He slowly opens his eyes, glancing around the bright room…or airport? It takes Erio a moment to gather his surroundings. A desk with something that sounds like two children(?), a few chairs, some weather report playing in the background, and Bee standing in front of him. Bee. He starts to sob a bit, trying to cover his face. It may have been from the sudden change of scenery, dying in his lover's arms to be standing in an airport. What did Bee do, HOW did Bee do it? It was overwhelming, to the point that the weather broadcast and the feeling of cold stone beneath him was starting to overwhelm him. Too much all at Once.
“Oh- Erio, Erio it’s okay. We’re fine.”
Bee quickly responds, crouching in front of their partner and waving his hands a bit. They lean forwards to try and wipe away Erio’s tears, providing a calm smile. This seems to calm Erio down a little, reducing cries to sniffles. He takes a moment to stand up, waiting for Bee to follow suit before reaching for his hand.
They can’t lose each other.
The other smiles at this, happily taking Erio’s hand before walking towards the airport's front desk.
“So…what did you do?”
“Huh? Oh- uh…I used to do this a lot to kinda…get away. Learned a small hack that could disconnect us from the company's test, and put us in our own little place, safe from others. I made sure to have good firewalls set up for this-”
Bee chuckles a bit at that, before noticing Erio’s still confused look.
“I’m not able to disconnect us to the point of forcing us awake…so I did the second best thing? The world I’ve sent us doesn’t have any real threats, it’s completely safe! It may get…boring over time…but we’ll have each other at least?”
The scientist seems almost anxious at the end, giving Erio a worried glance. They were nervous, realizing that Erio…might’ve wanted to Die instead of being stuck in these worlds. Though that doesn’t seem the case, as Erio almost bursts into tears again and holds Bee close. Bee may have put them into another world, but they were together.
They were alive.
They were safe.
“Come on goof, we gotta go check in. We have to actually play the game.”
Erio lightened his grip on Bee when hearing ‘game’ , confused once again before Bee started pulling him towards the Check in. Everything in this world seemed completely fine, so Erio’s reaction to two small Tanuki children being a startled “what the fuck-” is perfectly fine. It still draws out a giggle from Bee.
“Hello There!...Hello there!”
The two children chime, happily looking up at the couple. They listen as the children explain that they have a voucher for some type of island getaway, before two little screens appear in front of them…just like in the other world…
“ Each simulation the company ran had a reason behind it…Ours was for the higher ups personal mission, this? Was made to help Members of the simulation department stay sane. “
Erio chokes back a laugh at how happily Bee chimes the last few words, giving Bee's hand a little squeeze. Bee laughs a bit before waving his free hand.
“ It was also developed to help those who struggled in the real world, mainly for children but older people could enter too. It’s very peaceful, easy daily life type things with…AI that we can interact with. Nothing is really harmful, so we’re completely safe. “
Bee finishes explaining as He types his name into the box, tapping enter before glancing over at Erio. He follows suit, typing his name before mimicking Bees motion and tapping enter. The two children start speaking again, before four maps appear in front of them.
One map had a small area sectioned off by a lake, seeming only reachable by bridge…and Erio reached out to tap it.
“ oh, you wanna do that one? “
Erio pauses when hearing Bee, looking over. The other smiles and happily nods, giving him a little boost before he taps it. The edges light up for a minute, before disappearing as the children continue to speak.
This process of entering information continues for a bit, before the tanuki’s hand them two tickets with a smile.
“ Have a safe flight! “
Bee gives a soft ‘ thank you ‘ before pulling Erio towards the boarding gate with a smile.
“ Hopefully you’ll enjoy this world, Erio. We can’t really go mining like the last one, but we can break open rocks to get crystals and dig up fossils! “
“ wh- really? “
“ mhm!! We can go fishing too, and oh!! After a few days pass, we’ll be able to build a museum! We should try finishing it together! “
Erio smiles at the idea of collecting things with Bee, squeezing Bee's hand softly. Bee squeezes back.
“Yeah I’d…I’d like that Bee.”
The two continue to walk hand in hand to the airplane, Bee happily telling Erio about what this world would be like. All AI would be based on animals, and they’d be able to find more by exploring other islands. The idea of them being the Island reps of the island gave Erio a thump of anxiety, but Bee’s warm smile melted it away. They’d sit together hand in hand, Bee letting Erio sit near the window so he could view the world around them…and time passed.
Almost like a child, Erio shook Bee awake when seeing the island.
“ Bee! We’re here. “
The scientist wakes up with a soft groan, rubbing away the sleep before giving Erio a soft look.
“ Alright Erio, you ready to start over? “
“ I am. “
“ Then let’s go. “
===
Erio groaned sleepily as he felt Bee move away and the sound of someone knocking at the couples door. Bee chuckles softly, placing a kiss on Erios head before slipping out of the bed.
“ Good morning Island Rep Bee! I was wondering if you’d be at the bug off today? I need to know if I need to bring my A-Game, grooof! “
A lower voice speaks, almost making it feel threatening, but the ending draws a soft chuckle out of Erio, the repetitive catch- phrases of the island members never getting old to him.
“ Mhmm , I will be there Teddy. You better be ready, I’ve got a 5 time win streak at bug offs! “
Bee responds with a sleepy tone, glancing at the clock. 8am… god, he wanted to crawl back into bed with Erio.
The Bear nods happily, shooting back with ‘I'll win this month!’ before rushing off. Bee closes the door with a soft ‘thud’, laughing a bit.
“ Sorry Dear, We have plans now. “
Erio whines loud enough for Bee to hear it from across the room, getting another Laugh from Bee as they made their way towards the bed. They carefully crawl onto the bed, making his way towards Erio.
“ Come on, the event starts in an hour. You can get up with me now, or deal with a cold bed as I do our daily tasks. “
The threat of a cold bed has Erio sitting up, glaring at Bee a bit for having him get up this early in the day. Though it turns soft as Bee plants a soft kiss on his forehead, then moving to slide off the bed again.
Erio watched from the bed as Bee walked around the room, buttoning up a long sleeved shirt with puffy sleeves before buckling overalls over his shoulders. He watched this simple task with a soft, loving look. Erio thinks a bit, but his thoughts all wind up in the same place.
Thank god He’s still alive, and , thank god he’s safe with Bee.
“ Come on Erio! I can’t lose my wonderful win streak because my island co-rep is making me late! “
Bee lets out a soft yelp as he dodges a pillow thrown by Erio.