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Cellbit is once again in his office, drinking stale coffee to try and alleviate the pounding headache that had come on a few hours ago. He knew he’d likely missed several meals at this point, but the only thing his body would tell him is that his head hurt and his knees and back ached from sitting in the same position for so long. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been working for, but he was on a roll, pen gliding across his notebook paper as he worked to solve the newest code from the federation. The light from his computer sent pinches of pain through his head whenever he glanced up to squint at the screen, but he couldn’t allow himself to stop and rest. He was focused for once, mind racing faster than his hand was able to write, and for once he seemed to be getting somewhere with the new material he’d been able to gather.
His thoughts are interrupted by the sound of his front door opening in the house above him and he freezes, listening intently. It wouldn’t have been the first time he’d hallucinated footsteps or the sound of a door opening, far from it. Unfortunately, it also wouldn’t have been the first time he’d looked up expecting to see one of the other islanders standing in his doorway and was instead met with Cucurucho’s blank stare. Heart beginning to pound, he hears footsteps approaching the back of the house above him and he braces himself for who, or what, might come down the elevator. He’s about to reach for his sword when the elevator is activated and Forever materializes in the doorway.
“What are you doing? It’s the middle of the night, man, are you ok?” His voice is as loud as ever and Cellbit hangs his head lower to hide his grimace as his head throbs.
He decides to ignore the last question, and instead tries his best to brush him off. He feels bad for doing so, but the sooner he finishes solving the puzzle, the sooner they’ll all be safer. “I know it’s the middle of the night, but I’m so close to getting it,” he lies. He wasn’t close to getting it, he could probably stay up for the next several days and still be no closer to the end, if there even was one. He pushes the thought away before it can send him spiraling.
Forever is still lingering silently in the doorway, brows furrowed and his arms crossed over his bare chest. He opens his mouth to say something, before sighing and dropping his hands to his sides. “Just- just take care of yourself, ok? I worry that the next time I come down here you’ll be dead at your desk or something.”
Cellbit grips his pen harder, trying to ignore the flash of hurt that runs through him at the thought of his friends having to worry over him. “I’ll be fine Forever, you know I always am. The sooner I get this done, the better.”
“Okay,” Forever says, sounding unconvinced. “Good night then.”
“Good night,” Cellbit mutters, not taking his eyes off of his computer as he hears Forever teleport back up to the surface.
An indistinguishable amount of time passes before he once again hears the door to the house above his office open, and footsteps as the person enters. He freezes again, pausing with his pen hovering in the air above his notebook, listening closely for the sound of the elevator or continued footsteps above him. The silence is long, much longer than when Forever had arrived earlier, and his heart begins to pound again as he braces himself for what’s probably coming. He drops his pen as the silence drags on and instead grips the handle of his sword with sweaty hands under his desk, every muscle tensed as he prepares to launch himself at Cucurucho the moment the monster materializes-
“- Gatinho ?”
A wave of relief crashes into him, so strong it nearly knocks him over as Roier appears in the doorway.
“ Guapito , you scared me,” he scolds, sheathing his sword as Roier laughs. He again tries to hide his grimace at the loud noise, and he must have been unsuccessful because Roier’s smile immediately drops into a frown.
“ Gatinho , when was the last time you slept?” he asks, significantly quieter, and Cellbit’s heart squeezes at the gesture. “Or ate? Or bathed?”
“Uhh,” he says intelligently, trying his best to avoid looking into pretty brown eyes that he knows from experience will evaporate every remaining thought in his head. He glances at the clock; not that it would help, he doesn’t even know what day it is. He notes that it’s nearing 2am, which is strange for Roier to still be out so late. The other man looks nearly as exhausted as Cellbit feels. “When’s the last time you slept?” he chooses to ask to avoid answering, just as he’d done with Forever. Unlike Forever, Roier was significantly harder to just brush off. Whether that was due to Roier’s own stubbornness and persistence or due to Cellbit’s deep-down desire to stay near him, he wasn’t sure, and he was in no position to analyze that any time soon.
“You answer my question first,” Roier says with a half smile, leaning against the doorframe.
“Honestly? Probably far too long for any of those things,” Cellbit answers, scrubbing at his face. “But I’m so close, I can’t stop now.” He forces himself to open his eyes and pick up his pen, the words on his notebook page blurring before him.
Roier sighs, and Cellbit looks up to see him watching him with an expression far too fond for his poor, overworked heart. “Don’t go anywhere, okay? I’ll be back in a bit,” Roier says, and before Cellbit can respond, he’s disappeared up the elevator.
It takes a moment for his brain to snap back to reality, but he decides to trust in whatever Roier had planned. As he returns to writing, he can hear Roier singing to himself, clattering around in the kitchen above.
He writes about a page and a half more of sloppy notes before Roier reappears in the doorway and makes his way over to stand in front of Cellbit’s desk.
“Your meal awaits,” he announces with a grin, extending one hand towards Cellbit and sweeping the other towards the doorway in a grand gesture. Cellbit gratefully notes that he’s still speaking quieter than usual.
“My- what?” he asks, accepting the hand that was extended towards him and allowing the other man to pull him to his feet. His body immediately objects to the sudden movement after so long sitting in his chair, and his vision momentarily goes black as the blood rushes from his brain. Before he can react, his knees are buckling and he’s falling forwards and face planting into a warm, sturdy surface. When his vision returns, Roier is gripping his biceps, holding him upright.
“Woah, are you drunk, man?” Roier laughs, and Cellbit realizes he basically just fell into the other man’s arms. He almost blacks out again as blood rushes to his face in embarrassment, looking up to see that Roier’s face was also dusted pink, inches from his own. He stares up at him in stunned silence, feeling as though he might as well be drunk with how the room is spinning and warm he suddenly feels. He allows himself a few moments to admire the view from his position, before straightening up and apologizing.
“I’m sorry, I think I was just sitting for too long,” he says awkwardly, dragging his eyes away.
“No worries, it’s ok! Let’s go upstairs and eat before you fall over again,” Roier says with a smirk, letting go of Cellbit’s arms and turning back towards the doorway. Cellbit immediately misses the warmth of his hands, and has to stop himself from reaching back out.
“It’s nothing fancy, but I made soup and bread,” Roier says when they re-materialize upstairs in the main room. The small table is set with two bowls and a plate with several loaves of bread.
“Nothing fancy, but at least it’s not avocado toast,” Cellbit jokes as they sit down, and Roier laughs. They begin eating in relative, comfortable silence, and Cellbit doesn’t mind the occasional remarks Roier makes about his day or his plans for the week. Roier makes sure to keep his voice quiet, and Cellbit knows that he doesn’t expect him to respond. The whole thing is achingly domestic, and part of him wonders if they could find a way to be like this forever when this is all over. He thinks he’d like that, to be able to just exist together, to not have to worry about fighting or escaping or code breaking. To be able to raise their sons together in peace, to spend their days cooking and exploring and building and living however they wanted.
He’s wondering and worrying if Roier would even want that kind of life with him when he’s abruptly torn from his spiraling thoughts by a warm hand settling on top of his own on the table.
“-all right, Cellbo?” Roier is asking, a worried look on his face.
“Huh? Oh, I’m sorry, I was just uh- thinking,” he says, eyes glued to where their hands connected. His brain short-circuits as Roier turns his hand palm up to lace their fingers together, butterflies exploding in his chest and rushing to light his cheeks.
“I worry about you, you know,” Roier says softly. Cellbit can’t bring himself to look up because he knows he won’t be able to handle the overwhelming affection he knows he’ll find in the other’s eyes. He chooses to give his hand a gentle squeeze instead, hoping it would convey the emotions he’s unable to say out loud.
“I do know,” he replies, just as softly. “But I’ll be ok, I promise. I’m so close to the end, we’re so close to making it out of here. I can feel it.” He desperately hopes he sounds more confident than he feels.
“And even if it’s not the end and there’s more to come, there’s nothing my gatinho won’t be able to do, eh?” Roier says slyly, and Cellbit, like so many other things that night, rolls his eyes and chooses to ignore the implications of Roier referring to him as ‘ my gatinho’ .
“You’re right, I am pretty capable. But only if I have you by my side,” he adds, noting with satisfaction the way Roier’s cheeks darken again as they both laugh. Roier gives his hand a final squeeze before standing up to take their empty bowls to the sink.
“Now it’s time for phase two,” Roier says, and Cellbit looks at him in confusion. “Phase one of the plan was food. Phase two, if you’re not too tired, is a relaxing bath. I brought extra bubbles, and the only rule is you’re not allowed to use your brain at all. This is not for thinking, it’s for relaxing only,” he explains, looking proud of himself.
Cellbit’s brain must have, unfortunately, already been abiding by the only rule, because before he can stop himself, he’s blurting out, “Join me.”
“Uh-” Roier begins to say after a stunned silence, eyes wide and cheeks even redder than before, before Cellbit interrupts.
“Not like that, not like that I swear,” he rushes to explain, horrified, face feeling like it was on fire. “I just meant- I just thought, you look as stressed and exhausted as I feel, not that it’s a bad thing or that you look bad, but-”
“Are you trying to see me naked, gatinho ?” Roier says with a smirk, regaining his composure much quicker than Cellbit.
“No!” he says quickly, burying his face in his hands. “I just mean, if you wanted- The bathhouse in the favela is huge, and if we went at the same time, we could go to bed sooner-”
“Oh, so you’re trying to get me into bed with you quicker then?”
“No-!”
“Relax Cellbo, I’m joking,” he laughs. He walked back to the table to stand in front of him, extending a hand just as he had done before in the office. “Come on, let’s go. Together.”
* * *
“It’s going to take time to fill up, but it won’t be too long,” Cellbit says when they arrive. The building itself was small, benches lining the windowless walls. Moonlight spilled in from a skylight in the ceiling, illuminating a sunken pool in the center of the room that was several blocks wide. Roier watches as Cellbit turns on the many faucets to begin filling the pool, and he removes his socks and shoes to sit on the edge and dip his feet into the warm water as it slowly rises.
They had walked to the bathhouse hand in hand, and Roier couldn’t help but notice how much better Cellbit looked after just a meal and some time away from his computer screen. Forever had messaged him earlier that night, worried, and Roier had teleported to the favela the moment he saw the message. He hadn’t been sleeping well lately either, so he was more than happy to rush out and go care for the poor codebreaker regardless of how tired he was.
There had been a strange sense of peace while they ate together in the kitchen, a sense of calm that Roier hadn’t felt in weeks. The world had narrowed to just the two of them for those moments, and the fond smile Cellbit gave him while he rambled about his day was enough to make him dizzy. As much as he worried about rejection, his desire outweighed his nerves and he couldn’t stop himself from reaching out and taking Cellbit’s hand at the table. Logically, he knew he had no reason to be worried; he held his friends hands all the time for god’s sake.
But Cellbit was different, and Roier knew it. No amount of resisting in the world was going to stop him from falling for the other man. The only thing he could do was delay the inevitable, holding himself back from bombarding Cellbit with affection in fear of scaring him off. He knew he had a tendency to come on too strong; he’d been told that by many people in the past, and the last thing he wanted to do was ruin the friendship and trust they’d so carefully built. So he’d started small, throwing around flirts and dirty jokes and casual touches to test the waters. They’d grown closer as friends, developing a deep trust forged after many adventures and hours upon hours spent together with their sons. Cellbit quickly got over his initial shock and awkwardness whenever Roier would push the boundaries between friendship and something more, and lately had been flirting back just as strongly. It was enough to fluster Roier, who usually prided himself on being relatively unshakable when it came to pursuing romantic partners.
He was startled out of his thoughts by Cellbit returning through the doorway; he’d been so distracted that he had no idea he’d even left. He watches as he tosses a stack of clothes and two towels onto one of the benches.
“This should be good enough, you think?” Cellbit asks, and Roier realizes that the pool was now completely filled with bubbles and hot water, soaking the bottoms of his pants where his legs dangled over the edge.
“I don’t know, do you think you need more bubbles?” he giggles, sweeping his hand through the thick layer of bubbles that sat atop the water.
“Oh, shut up,” Cellbit responds, rolling his eyes. Roier stands up and pulls off his shirt, not missing the way Cellbit freezes, eyes wide.
“Come on, turn around,” Roier says, smirking. “Or don’t, gatinho .” He laughs as the other turns so quickly he almost loses his balance. He makes quick work of the rest of his clothes, tossing them somewhere off to the side before sliding into the warm water.
“Okay, your turn,” he says, facing the wall to give him the same privacy. He feels the water shift as Cellbit gets in, and turns to see him reemerge from the water after immediately dunking his head. Cellbit looks at him with wide eyes, wet hair plastered to his forehead, and Roier can’t help but laugh again, quiet giggles bouncing off the walls of the bathhouse.
“Oh my god,” he manages to get out, “You look like a wet cat!” Cellbit’s expression changes from confusion to mock offense, and he scoffs and splashes him repeatedly with water,
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry! It’s cute, you’re cute,” he says, raising his arms in a vain attempt to protect himself. The movement had dissipated the majority of the bubbles, but the moonlight reflecting off the surface of the water made it impossible to see underneath.
“Fine,” Cellbit grumbles, leaning against the side of the pool and pretending to pout.
“See, you’re just a little kitty,” he coos, stretching out to grab a shampoo bottle that was resting at the edge of the pool. “Now come here.”
“What- huh?” he stutters, sounding confused and unsure. Roier drops the mocking act immediately, offering a small smile and extending his hand.
“Will you let me wash your hair?” he asks gently, and is immediately rewarded with a soft pink blush spreading across Cellbit’s face. This time, however, instead of it disappearing into the collar of his shirt, Roier gets to watch in awe as it spreads beautifully across his shoulders and down his chest.
“Of- of course,” he says hesitantly, taking his hand and allowing Roier to pull him closer and spin him around so his back was to Roier’s chest. He made sure they were close enough for him to actually be able to reach him, but not so close that it was weird or uncomfortable.
“Is this ok?” he asks, delicately running his fingers through Cellbit’s hair.
“Yeah,” he sighs, pushing back into Roier’s hands like a cat. Roier gets to work, taking his time lathering his hair in the sweet-smelling shampoo and spending a lot longer than was probably necessary massaging his scalp and gently rinsing the suds out. As he works, he notices the tension slowly drain out of Cellbit’s shoulders, the other man relaxing to the point of practically purring.
Unwilling to break the comfortable trance they were both in, he stalls as long as possible, rinsing his hair several more times before finally deciding to call it done. Cellbit was nearly asleep, head tilted to one side, exposing a long stretch of beautiful, freckled skin from his jaw to his shoulder. Running his hands through Cellbit’s hair one last time, he decides he can’t help himself. Before he even registers what he’s doing, he’s pressing a tender kiss to the inside of Cellbit’s neck.
Cellbit tenses immediately, and Roier’s stomach plummets as he jerks away. The calm atmosphere of the room snaps, and Roier rips his hands away from where he’d been holding his shoulders. He curses himself for crossing a line after treading so carefully for so long.
“Oh god, I’m so sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking, I-” His rambling is cut short as Cellbit’s hand, wet and pruned from being in the water for so long, reaches up to cup his cheek.
“It’s ok,” he breathes, and Roier is acutely aware of how close they suddenly were. His eyes dart down to Cellbit’s lips, and they’re both leaning forwards, and then-
“Wait,” Roier yelps, slapping one hand over Cellbit’s mouth and planting the other on his chest to push him away. Cellbit makes a muffled noise of confusion from behind Roier’s palm, his eyebrows scrunching adorably together. “I don’t want our first kiss to be while we’re both naked, wet, pruney, and sitting in lukewarm water,” he says, dropping his hands. Cellbit stares at him for a beat, mouth hanging slightly open in shock, before bursting out laughing.
“Oh my god, you’re absolutely insane,” he laughs, splashing him again with water. “You could’ve just let me kiss you, instead of giving me a heart attack thinking you were about to reject me!”
“I’m sorry,” Roier whines. “I just wanted it to be the perfect moment.”
Cellbit just rolls his eyes and shakes his head fondly. “Let’s hurry up and finish then so we can go to bed.”
Roier nods, and rushes through the motions of washing his hair and face. The two get out and towel off together, carefully averting their eyes as they get dressed. Cellbit had brought an extra pair of boxers, shorts, and a t-shirt for Roier to change into, which he happily did, even though the clothes he’d arrived in weren’t at all dirty. The possessive part of him was extremely pleased to smell like him, to be wearing his clothes, to be led by the hand back to his room. Cellbit gives him a spare toothbrush when they arrive and they take turns brushing their teeth in his small bathroom. It’s late and Roier knows he should be exhausted, but he’s never felt more awake in his life. Every glance sets off butterflies in his stomach, an electric shock running through his body whenever their hands brush as they get ready for bed.
He’s finishing his turn in the bathroom when Cellbit comes to stand in the doorway, watching him rinse out the remaining toothpaste with the most lovesick smile Roier’s ever seen.
“Is this the perfect moment?” He asks, and they both know it’s not exactly. Both of their eyes were rimmed with purple, both with half-dry hair sticking up oddly on all sides. But Roier takes a step closer, wrapping his arms around Cellbit’s neck, and thinks he’s never seen a more beautiful man in his life.
“I think it’s perfect enough,” he says with a half smile, leaning in closer. Cellbit’s cheeks were pink as he wrapped his arms around Roier’s waist, but he wasn’t backing down.
Their faces are inches apart, butterflies flapping desperately against Roier’s rib cage, before he closes the distance and their lips finally meet. His lips are soft, and almost immediately he’s tangling his fingers in his hair and pulling their bodies flush together. Cellbit groans into the kiss as Roier tugs on the loose strands, and they stay like that for several minutes before it takes everything in him to pull away before it gets too heated. Roier rests their foreheads together as they spend a few moments panting into the same air, giggling, high off adrenaline.
“I’ve been waiting to kiss you like that for so long,” Roier breathes, and Cellbit laughs.
“Let’s go to sleep guapito , we can kiss all we want in the morning. We can take the day off and maybe plan a date for tomorrow too?”
“You’re willing to sacrifice an entire day of potential code-solving?” Roier gasps in mock surprise, but his fingertips are tingling and his heart is melting at the thought of it.
“Anything for you,” Cellbit responds without hesitation, pulling Roier into bed beside him. They settle on their sides, Cellbit’s back against Roier’s chest and Roier’s arms around his waist. Roier notes that though they’ve never slept so closely before, they fit together perfectly, like puzzle pieces.
“Good night, gatinho ,” he says softly, hearing a quiet “good night” as Cellbit drifts off to sleep. Roier can’t help pressing another kiss to the side of his exposed neck, just as he’d done in the bath, before snuggling down against him to sleep with the promise of a date in the morning.
Richarlyson found them curled up together only a few hours later, snapping a picture before running off to tell Bobby.