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A single thought runs through Jay’s mind as he sees a smiling man in armor. Outside the tavern, the war rages on, with the enemy army closing in even more. But inside, in the warmth of the tavern, all Jay wants to think about is Jake.
The brunet has always been the hero. It is an unquestionable fact. Jake would save them from everything. Jake would create the nation anew if it was ravaged. Jake, Jake, Jake. The world only revolved around him.
Jay just had to sit by and be saved.
Except his conscience couldn’t allow the same as he saw a sword create a gash in Jake’s thigh.
“Jake!” he cried out. His brain screamed at him to not break out of his character anymore. He was supposed to stand in the tavern. Jake would fight the war, Jake would save them.
But something seemed off. “Jake!” he cried out again as he leapt out of the bar counter.
He hurriedly blasted open the door and rushed to Jake’s side. A shower of swords almost interrupted him.
“Jay-ah…” Jake called out weakly, “what are you doing here?”
Jay’s eyes widened at the sight of the deep wound. He sat down with uneasy exhales. He wasn’t an expert in first aid, after all. All he could do was tear off a piece of his clothing to wrap around a groaning Jake’s thigh.
“Is this because…” Jake attempted to speak, his eyes squinted in pain, “because your heartbeat would stop… if I die?”
Jay could only stare at Jake’s face for a few minutes before his own contorted into anger. “Fuck you. Fuck you for being a savior of this damned world. Fuck you for entering a world you had no prior business in. Fuck you for thinking I only care about you because of selfish reasons.”
“I didn’t mean- ah!” Jake groaned in pain again. Jay felt his own breath becoming shallower. “I didn’t mean that.”
“What did you mean then?”
A sword clanged above his head. Jake bravely fought off the enemy. Or so Jay assumed as he heard the sword being driven through human flesh.
“The details in this game are so real,” Jake scoffed as he laid down on the cobblestone. For now, there were no more enemies in sight.
“Jay-ah,” Jake started with effort, “when I first saw you in this game, I knew something was off.”
And Jay remembered that time. Excited but determined puppy-like eyes meeting his own in the tavern Jay owned.
“You seemed to move and… talk differently. Not like a typical NPC, you know,” Jake groaned in pain again. “There was an air around you - of autonomy and freedom.”
“Why are you telling me all of this right now?” Jay asked. He hated the fact that he wanted to tear up.
“Because if I could, I’d give you true freedom.”
True freedom? Oh.
The control of his heartbeat.
“For now, I’m dying. But I’ll revive again. Things would start over. I’ll meet you again. We’ll kiss under the moonlight again. We’ll make love at midnight in your empty tavern again. I’ll do everything to get back to you-”
“Shut up! You’re not dying!”
“I am. And your heartbeats would stop again. But I’ll come back, Jay. It’s my promise. I’ll always come back.”
Jay could almost see the red of a lowering HP bar.
“Until the day I free you.”