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Martyn lifted up one piece of steak with a spatula he’s found leaning against the side of the barbecue. It hadn’t quite reached the level of char he was waiting for, so he let it drop back onto the grill. He walked back to the lounge chair, resuming his seat. The chairs were well made, Impulse and Bdubs clearly had too much time on their hands if they could waste it on sanding down lounge chairs. Martyn reflected on the duo; they were becoming far more of a nuisance than they should’ve, what with their rumor-spreading tendencies and lack of care about the actual threats the rest of the server was dealing with. They seemed to spend more time playing house than concerning themselves with upgrading tools and armor. Nevertheless, they did seem content with how everything had played out thus far. Maybe in upcoming days, as more fell into the Red, they would be forced to come to terms with the dangers around them, but at least for the moment, they did seem to have found happiness; unlike himself and Cleo. For a moment, he let himself indulge in the thought of what his time in this place could’ve been like if he hadn’t become so entangled in Pearl’s issues from the start. If he too could’ve been able to hold some sort of domestic peace.
His thoughts were interrupted by the faint sound of splashing. He bolted back upright, blinking the sun from his eyes, to see Ren paddling in the deep end of the pool. He waved to Martyn with one hand holding a notepad above the water.
“Hello, Martyn. How are you, sir?”
Ren was dangerous. That was made all the more clear by the bright red shades he pushed up into his hair as he noted something down in his book. Martyn should probably grab his steak, rare as it was, and get out of the sleek mid-century modern house before it became more of a scene from a run-down haunted house.
Martyn waved him over, stepping into the pool himself. “Oh, hello! Come to the shallow end, it’s only knee deep here, you’ll be fine.” He offered his hand to the Red name.
Ren chuckled, finished whatever he was writing down and swam over with his free arm, “Hi.”
Ren clasped the hand Martyn had extended once he was within reach and Martyn pulled him up to stand in front of him. “Oh, hello.” They stood chest to chest for a moment before Martyn let go and gestured toward the notebook. “Tactician on the cards, huh?” Ren’s face twisted slightly as he stuck the little book in the front pocket of his comically patterned shirt. If he didn’t want to tell Martyn, that was fine. They weren’t supposed to be friends here. “How are you feeling?”
This, at least, seemed easier to answer and Ren heaved a sigh, turning from Martyn to stare over the hill. “I’m not happy.” He started up the steps out of the pool, “To be fair-”
“Yeah! I can imagine, so.” Ren turned back to look at him for one moment, red eyes burning through him. Ren was seeing more than Martyn wanted him to. This was getting too close. Ren smirked at him, showing a few too many teeth.
“I mean… I’m lookin’ snazzy!” This was joking. This was familiar. Martyn relaxed infinitesimally.
“I’ll be honest, yeah!” He said, pushing himself out of the pool to check back on the steaks. “You’re really fitting the uh, summertime vibe that we’ve got in this little… cookout that we’re having. Right now.” He trailed off a bit, seeing Ren stiffen and glance toward the house.
“When you say… we…” Ren set his hand on the pommel of the sword at his hip and Martyn quickly waved a hand in the air. He was slipping up too much. Ren was too on guard. He wasn’t on guard enough.
“I mean! Just this place. I’m not with these guys…” Martyn was pulling out every stop; he had to keep his tone casual, he had to keep himself on guard, he had to make sure Ren felt safe with him. (Maybe he shouldn’t have that last one.) “I’m just using their facilities!” Ren’s smile was back, and that, that, was something Martyn could work with.
“Oh, I love it!” He laughed. He laughed. Ren leaned back onto the other lounge chair. A lounge, a pool, and a barbecue. This was good. They were good at sets of three. “Oh, you’re just squatting… Amazin’...” Ren trailed off, looking up at the position of the sun. Something shifted in his face and his smile began to look more sad than anything else. Ren stood up, stepping away from Martyn toward the low hedge planted around the pool. “Well, you know, I don’t really want to talk…” Martyn sat a little more upright in his chair. “Because, I have plans with B- the- for the swimming pool.” He stuck a foot in, sending more ripples across the water. It had hardly had time to even become calm from his last venture in it. “And, you never know when these two.. might return.” Ren said quietly, gesturing toward the house as he made his way back to Martyn.
“Oh.” That was sensible. Ren was a smart guy. Ren was dangerous. Ren hadn’t stopped moving until he was right in front of him. Ren was standing far too close. Ren was still looking at him like there were too many things he had to say. Ren was looking for something Martyn didn’t think he had.
“Let’s just say that uh: I’m not happy.” Ren took a half step away and Martyn could breathe again. He glanced back at the house, “and revenge is on the cards.”
Ren was more than a tactician, Ren was a killer. He wasn’t surrounding his words with flowery speech, but he wasn’t telling Martyn everything. It was just enough knowledge to keep trust between them. They were feeding off each other. A dog and his stick to chew on.
“As long as you tell me when to not go near the pool.” Martyn could deal with this. The minimum to keep each other safe.
“Oh, I like to think that our uh, frog-log-dog alliance still stands strong.” He placed a hand on Martyn’s shoulder. “I am certainly not going to kill you.” That’s not an easy promise to keep, but Ren’s grin turned teasing again as he tacked on, “I mean, lemme just review the rulebook real quick…” He started pantomiming flipping through a book, “Uh, ‘Can kill anyone at any time.’ Oh!” He leaned forward, knocking his forehead against Martyn’s to show him what the ‘page’ had written on it. “Well you know I could literally just kill you now.”
“Oh.” Martyn’s eyes widened a bit and he laughed it off, trying to keep everything okay, “Hm, what’s- that doesn’t sound right.” Martyn stepped back, ignoring the soft, “but I won’t, I won’t,” Ren tacked on the end of his statement, like he honestly believed that was a promise he could keep. Martyn turned slightly, careful to not fully show his back, to take the current batch of steak off and toss on the last few he had. “I think: there’s a sub-clause in there! What’s a.. paragraph five, section A, C1?” He stepped back into Ren’s space, avoiding looking at his amused grin but instead tapping against his hand where the rulebook is. “Here- actually says that if your trio alliance consists of a Red, Green, and Yellow, then you’re all good!” He leaned back a little to catch Ren’s gaze, both of them grinning at each other. He continued, “Luckily for us, I’m Yellow, You’re Red, and Pearl’s Green! So I think, um,” he shifted his weight, pulling back, as Ren looked out over the pool. “For now it’s like the holy-”
“That’s true” Ren sounded proud.
“The holy trinity.” Martyn nodded, turning away. “I don’t think we can disturb that balance.”
Ren moves back to him, grabbing his upper arms, “Yeah! Absolutely!” but Martyn flinches just slightly at his touch and he moves back again, brushing it off.
“Now, listen,” Ren seemed more uncertain here. “I think that there is, probably, flexibility in the rules. If you want to, shall we say, assist-” Martyn paused, tilting his head, there’s only so much flexibility a rule can take. But the two of them are here now, together, and it all seems okay. Maybe they can break rules, if it’s just them. Maybe they’re allowed to work together. The previous games have little impact on present ones, but if some people are allowed to be together over and over again, why shouldn’t others be?
“Okay,” Martyn was having trouble with breathing again. “With what?”
“With a potential kill today, you are welcome. I have a… plan for, potentially, what might be... the greatest kill the server has ever seen.” Ren locked eyes with Martyn again. This is why Martyn had followed him in the first game. Those grandiose gestures. A chance for a moment of glory. Something behind those eyes begging to be recognized as great. And Martyn had never been able to see him as anything but.
He smiled back. “Okay.”