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The wheat fields were flooded, and they were beautiful.
The sun was setting over the ruined remains of Bread Bridge, casting an ethereal gold glow over the entire server. The water itself glittered, catching the dying light and reflecting it on the burned shell of what had once been the mansion. The tips of the wheat were almost transparent with that light, looking too picturesque to be real.
Of course, it was far from picturesque. The wheat was living on borrowed time – couldn’t survive for long in water that deep. And that was saying nothing of the bridge itself. Even as Etho walked, he could hear the precarious groaning of the struts, could see wood – laid a few precious weeks ago – already reaching the end of its life.
Etho had certainly helped it along.
He didn’t regret it, even if it had turned a few – scratch that, a lot – of people against them. Honestly, he didn’t really regret anything that he had done with TIES. It had been one hell of a ride, and more importantly, it had been fun.
And yet.
He always seemed to forget how it felt at the end. When people started getting desperate. When every second counted, when everyone was clinging on to life, teeth bared and swords drawn.
Or, worse, when they just… gave up.
He didn’t want to think about Skizz. He knew he would see him again, he knew he knew that eventually they would all be reunited. But in this moment, knee-deep in a river that had once been a farm, he felt like he may drown with the sorrow.
So he didn’t think about it. Instead, he drew his sword, slowly approaching the lone figure at the edge of the bridge.
The spikes on Joel’s silly new jacket were also glowing in the setting sun, golden hour turning them into blinding points of brilliance. His body language, on the other hand, was anything but overwhelming. He was sitting, hunched over, legs slung over the side. He looked so different from the firecracker that Etho knew him to be.
Well. That wasn’t entirely true. He had certainly seen his fair share of Joel’s quieter side.
“If you’re trying to sneak up on me, you’re not doing a very good job of it.” Joel scoffed, though his voice lacked any real bite. “Could hear you from a mile away with all that sloshing.”
“Not trying to sneak.” Etho cocked his head. “Just testing your hearing.”
Joel snorted at that, but didn’t turn back to look at him. His hair was blowing softly in the breeze, green streak vibrant as ever.
“I would honestly say I’m disappointed that you were trying to get a cheap shot like that, but I’m not sure what I expected.” Joel leaned back on his hands, gaze rising to the sky. “You were always a bit of a coward.”
“A coward?” The hurt in Etho’s voice was just a touch too real, and he knew that Joel could hear it too. “Just because I’m not crazy like you.”
“Mm. I wouldn’t go that far.” Joel finally turned around. His glasses sat low enough on his nose that Etho could still see his eyes. The normally dark brown had been illuminated by the sun, and Etho could see all the warm honey tones only reserved for the most intimate of gazes. “I think you’re a bit off you’re rocker as well.”
“Mm. Maybe so. Could even be the boogeyman, for all you know.”
That got Joel to smile, that all too familiar sharp-toothed grin glinting menacingly. “Think it’s a bit late for the boogeyman stuff, don’t you? It’s just me and you.”
“Oh, really?” Etho said, as though he didn’t already know that. As though he hadn’t been dreading this since the moment that Scott had run out of time, leaving just the two of them.
This moment – this reunion – was unavoidable.
“You know, you could’ve avoided the trouble entirely.” Joel sighed, tapping his finger against his chin. The black paint on his nails was as messy as ever – even from a distance, Etho could see where Joel had smudged it on his cuticles. “I’ve only got a few minutes left anyhow. If you had just taken a bit longer to get here, you would’ve won by default.”
Etho blinked, surprised. “Really? Why weren’t you hunting me down, then?”
Joel shrugged, letting out a bark of a laugh that rang a little too hollow to be genuine. “Maybe I just didn’t feel like it. A lot of effort when I knew you would be coming to me.”
Etho didn’t know what to say to that.
Joel had always been the needy one, approached every moment of every day like he had something to prove, had thrown every inch of himself into every fight, into every stolen moment, into every… into every kiss.
And yet, here the two of them were. Joel sitting, calmly waiting for the end, while Etho had his sword in hand.
And the strangest part was, it didn’t even feel wrong.
Their ending had been so abrupt. The madness they had fed to each other, Joel’s wild edge of violence opening Etho up, letting something wild out of him – it had all come crashing down so suddenly, so… unsatisfyingly.
Which, if Etho was being honest, was how it tended to go. Most of the endings in these games felt raw, unfinished, a song suddenly cut off, a life ended without fanfare.
But he couldn’t deny that the last one had haunted him.
Had made him feel frustrated, directionless. Had made him feel that the changes that had been wrought in himself were for nothing.
Etho actually felt giddy with the revelation. Here Joel was, acting as the perfect bookend to an imperfect story – one last moment of fierce, frightening loyalty before the end.
Though of course Joel couldn’t make it that easy.
Joel stood, dusting his pants off before equipping his axe. He held it loosely in his hands, as though he were just preparing to chop some wood.
“Did you miss me?” He asked, Cheshire grin spreading across his face.
What an odd question. Of course Etho missed him. Of course he didn’t. Joel was a headache, a flash in the pan, lightning in a bottle, a loyal dog, a conniving betrayer. Full of contradictions. A damn good kisser.
So instead of answering, Etho just asked “Did you?”
“Nah.” Joel laughed. “Had my boys, may they rest in peace. Little angels of death, the two of ‘em – though in opposite directions.”
“You three suited each other.” Etho cocked his head. “Jimmy dies a lot, Grian kills a lot, and you do both.”
Joel spread his arms. “Well, I’m here, aren’t I?”
“Only because you turned on Grian.”
Joel’s expression turned dark. “Only because he turned first.”
Which was true. Etho knew firsthand, after all.
“Sounds like maybe you three weren’t exactly in paradise after all.”
Joel just shrugged. “It was good until it wasn’t.”
“Is that how you felt about the two of us?”
“What do you mean?” Joel scrunched his nose. “Oh, you mean like last time?”
Joel was lying, and Etho could see straight through it. There was no way that he hadn’t understood what Etho meant, no way that he had forgotten. But Etho let it slide.
“Yeah, like last time.”
Joel smiled. “Nah. That was a lot of fun, don’t you think?”
“It was certainly a ride.” Liar, liar, liar. After that initial trepidation, Etho had loved it. Joel had set him free in a way that no one else could, made him give into his wildest instincts, turn his back on humanity and succumb to pure madness.
Whatever reservations that Etho had on calling Joel out, they were apparently not reciprocated. “Oh please.” Joel laughed, slowly beginning to pick his way towards Etho. He had to resist the urge to back away. “You loved it. Loved getting wild with me. Following through on all those silly threats you like to make. Getting past all that fear you have and just letting loose.”
“Fear?”
“Sure.” Joel was close enough now that Etho could see the pale red smears on his face where he hadn’t properly washed away the blood. “Dunno if it was fear of retribution or just a kind of social anxiety, but you always hold yourself back. Play it close to the chest. And I made you drop those damn cards.”
Etho couldn’t help it – he laughed. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Ridiculous?” Joel squawked, his voice cracking on the end of the syllable. “I’m trying to have a serious moment here. Make a dramatic speech.”
“I know.” Etho rolled his eyes. “It doesn’t suit you. You’re more a man of action.”
“Then shut me up.”
And before Etho could even begin to process what Joel was implying, Joel surged forward, pressing his lips against Etho’s.
It was a hard, fast kiss – little more than a forceful clash of skin. And yet, Etho still felt his heart sing at the touch.
And when Joel pulled away, Etho could see that he felt the same.
“I’ve only got a minute left.” Joel breathed, peering at Etho over his dark sunglasses. “Wanna make it count?”
“If you insist.” Etho smiled, drawing his sword.