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something about this specific world in the M64 game always.. unnerved sword. that’s not to say it also unnerved rocket (because it didn’t) but he never liked it. the odd skybox, the relaxing yet off putting music to go along with the way the level was structured.. it gave him shivers.
and that’s not even mentioning the fact that there was an entire town beneath all that water. he knew there were stupid rumors floating. something about personalization but he felt that was too stupid. maybe it was dreadful nostalgia.
“sword?”
he blinked. he turned to look at the source of the voice, rocket. ah, right. rocket had invited sword over for the day since zuka had dug up his old N64 along with games, and rocket wanted to play them and see what they were like. neither had anything going on that day, no phights to attend or any hangouts they were supposed to be at and it was also supposed to be raining later that day, so sword agreed.
now here he was, spacing out on a level he didn’t particularly enjoy. he blinked again.
“yeah? sorry if i spaced out, this level.. it gives me the creeps.” he shuddered. rocket looked at the tv screen then back to sword.
“ah, yeah. i can understand that. i think it’s more so the implication of the town under the water for me..” rocket adjusted the camera of the level to get a better look at the houses, as they had already entered the “downtown” area. sword grimaced as he looked.
“bleeh.. i know this is supposed to be a game for kids or whatever, but.. yeesh.” the melee phighter said, taking a minute to lay his back against the bed frame. rocket had continued through the level, before blinking.
“.. i forgot what i was supposed to be doing here.”
sword couldn’t help but snort. he was always so forgetful.
“either you were supposed to grab the red coins, or try to get the star behind that fence— you see it over there?” he pointed at the screen, where the star was spinning. rocket let out a little ‘ooh’ before thinking to himself.
“the red coins might be easier. i can get that star later.” rocket replied, starting to run around the level seeking the red coins. sword only nodded, watching as his boyfriend traversed the odd level. the rain had started a few minutes ago, and it didn’t seem like it would stop.
sword leaned on rocket, listening to the music of the level, the sounds of buttons tapping and respective ‘yahoo’ and other noises corresponding to the buttons. the sound of the rain falling eased him, almost lulling him into a sense of peace. his eyelids became heavy and then..
rocket nearly jumped when he felt sword’s full body weight drop onto his shoulder. when he looked over, he saw the melee phighter quietly dozing off. he rolled his eyes endearingly and pecked his forehead, continuing to play his game as quietly as he could so as not to disturb his sleeping beauty.
a memory. a long suppressed memory, or was it a nightmare? he couldn’t be sure.
there was one thing he was sure about, though. sword had been here before, right?
it was raining. he was on his tablet watching gameplay videos of the exact game they were playing moments earlier. however, this time something was different. the level didn’t discomfort him.
not in the slightest. it was just another level in the game, another stepping stone to getting closer to the end.
at least, that’s what he used to think of it.
in a quick moment, he heard his dad yelling downstairs. he jolted up. he gently set aside his tablet, forgetting to pause the gameplay video. the young phighter opened the door to his room ever so slightly to creep out and peek at what was happening from the top of the staircase.
he carefully looked between the bars of the railing. it was hard to make out, but there were 4 figures. one of which was (obviously) his dad, but he couldn’t tell who the other 3 were. he tried to squint to get a better view of the figures, but failed, eventually settling to see if he could hear what they were talking about.
he thinks they were talking about him.
he sat by the railing and tried to listen more, but was foiled. one of the figures noticed the small yet familiar phighter by the railing, and (hesitantly) pointed him out to the others. almost immediately, the yelling stopped, and they all turned to look at him.
panicked, he jolted up and scrambled back inside his room, closing the door and hiding under his bed. he would be in so much trouble— would he be punished? grounded? he didn’t know, he couldn’t be sure.
he covered his head with his hands, all the while a familiar song playing in the background. the rain fell harshly on his window. soon, there was a knock at the door.
lightning struck nearby, and sword screamed. very loudly. the combination of the sudden lightning strike as well as his boyfriend suddenly screaming startled rocket. his hands jolted, and as a result the controller he was holding flew up and landed on the floor. rocket wanted to ask what had happened, but the expression on sword’s face told him everything he needed to know.
“bad dream?” he asked, sword only nodding in response. the lightning definitely didn’t help, rocket thought to himself. sword trembled like a leaf, hugging himself as he attempted to take deep breaths (to no avail).
rocket reached a hand out, to which sword clasped tightly. he was shaking as if it was the end of the world, however the only thing it was the end was the power. apparently, the lightning had struck a nearby utility pole, so all the lights had gone off.
‘just great.’ rocket thought. he shook those thoughts off for now, his main priority at the moment was making sure sword was okay. rocket held his boyfriend close to him, petting him and hushing him.
sword clung onto rocket like there was no tomorrow, as if letting go would mean going back to the nightmare. rocket did everything he could to reassure sword, but decided maybe it would be best if he just let sword feel his emotions.
and so, the two sat there. the melee phighter had his face buried in the ranged phighter’s shoulder, tears welling up in his eyes. rocket rubbed sword’s back, letting him know he was there for him. it was quiet, but not for long.
sword hiccuped slightly, tears finally streaming down his face. he felt so stupid. why was he so upset over a stupid level in a game? it wasn’t like he had any bad memories associated with it.
.. aside from that one, but that didn’t count! it was just one bad instance out of a dozen good memories, so then why? why did it feel like he could never play or see that specific level ever again? normally, at least.
or maybe it was the combination of the lightning and the level and the bad dream. that could be it.
regardless, he didn’t know. quite frankly, sword didn’t want to know, however he knew that he already did. he didn’t want to think about it though. he just wanted comfort.
rocket held him close, slowly beginning to pet him and rub his back again as sword sobbed quietly. he gently gave sword a few pecks on his forehead, the latter leaning into the touch. soon, rocket brought his good hand up to cup the side of sword’s face gently.
the melee phighter leaned into the touch, the ranged phighter slowly and gently wiping away any tears sword had. a few deep breaths later, and sword was in a stable enough condition to breathe normally.
“you had a bad dream?” rocket asked again. sword didn’t respond.
“memory?” he asked. sword didn’t respond again.
“both?” he asked one final time. sword shrugged. to be honest, he wasn’t really sure. he didn’t feel great knowing that the possibility it was a repressed memory was very real, but putting it under the label of nightmare didn’t feel quite right to him.
“yeah, i get it. i have those too, sometimes.” rocket replied, resting his head on top of sword’s gently and carefully. sword hummed in acknowledgement. he turned his head over to the tv, which had shut off. he frowned slightly as he looked up at his boyfriend.
“hopefully you saved before i woke up.” he managed to croak out, voice groggy from having been woken up so abruptly. rocket glanced at the blank tv screen before shaking his head and kissing sword’s forehead.
“you’re insane if you think that’s all i care about right now..” he buried his face into the melee phighter’s hair, still using his good hand to cup his cheek. sword chuckled weakly.
“you made good progress in the game. it would suck if none of it was saved.” sword smiled. truthfully, he knew rocket didn’t really care about the game at that moment, but he needed something to joke about. coping mechanisms are weird.
“well, if it makes you feel any better, you know i always save after getting any star.” rocket replied, playing along with the little joke sword had set up.
“yeah, i know. you’re always cautious about games but never about things in real life, haha..” he chuckled lightly. he realized the irony of what he had just said, considering that rocket was cradling him in his arms, but he just didn’t say anything.
“at least i get retries in games, alright?” the ranged phighter retorted, laughing slightly. the melee phighter couldn’t help but snicker lightly. he took a deep breath, and (hesitantly) let himself go from rocket’s grasp. he took a deep breath and rested himself on the bed frame as rocket wrapped an arm around his shoulder.
“..sorry.” sword mumbled, looking away. rocket tilted his head. “what are you sorry for?”
sword didn’t respond. rocket frowned, gently bringing up his hand to cup his boyfriend’s cheek and gently tilt his head towards him. as he did, sword’s eyes were visibly welling up with tears again.
“oh, sword..” rocket whispered gently. he gently rubbed his thumb over sword’s cheek, the latter leaning into his hand. sword sniffled before wiping his eyes.
“sorry for making you deal with me..”
“don’t say that, you know i don’t mind and you know that i’m always here for you, right?”
silence. sword stifled a sob before nodding. rocket smiled sadly at him, leaning in and kissing him on his lips. the melee phighter smiled and closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend and kissing him back. the ranged phighter wrapped his arms around sword’s neck, pulling him closer.
the two could’ve stayed like that forever, but sword pulled away first, instead opting for cupping his boyfriend's face and kissing him wherever he could. rocket squeaked, then giggled.
“ehe- sword!-” he squeaked out, sword continuing kissing his face all over. sword smiled as he did, planting kisses everywhere he could and occasionally planting a kiss on his lips.
“hehe, alright alriight, i’m done!” sword said, pulling away and giving rocket a smug smile. the latter took a minute to catch his breath, and glared playfully at the former.
“you’re so evil..” he said playfully, crossing his arms and pouting. sword chuckled and rested his head on rocket’s shoulder. “maybe, but you know you love me!”
the ranged phighter giggled, planting a kiss on the melee phighter’s cheek.
“of course i do, you’re my everything..” he smiled. sword hummed in contentment. he pulled away from his boyfriend’s shoulder and kissed his forehead. the two leaned in close, and were about to kiss again, until-
“hey, you two okay?” zuka opened the door, not phased at all by what was going on.
sword and rocket, on the other hand, tumbled over in surprise. they had both landed on the floor, scrambling to sit up as if nothing had happened.
“uhh, y-yeah- we’re okay! thanks for, uh.. checking in! aha..” rocket laughed nervously. zuka blinked, unamused as he always was.
“sorry if i interrupted something, but i made hot cocoa. come and get it before it gets cold.” he said, keeping the door open as he turned to walk to the living room. both sword and rocket looked at each other before sighing, kissing each other again.
this one was much more shortly lived, as they really did feel as if hot cocoa would be appreciated right now. they both got up and walked out of the room, closing the door as they did. zuka, sword, and rocket all sat down on the table drinking their hot cocoa while talking about fond memories.
sword couldn’t help but think about the dream he had, or if it even was a dream. it could’ve been a suppressed memory, one he hadn’t dug up until now. whatever the case though, he didn’t care right now. he would take this moment to relax, he’d worry about it later.
the tv in rocket’s room had turned on again. the player character had already collected the star, and hopped out of the wet dry world painting. the tv turned off again.