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Ren ducked into a lit-up cave that some other Player must have used for mining at some point as soon as the mid-day break was called on their communicators. He was grateful for the break because he knew he could only run around like he was for so long without taking a breather. The Watchers may grant them increased endurance, stamina, and resistance to pain, but that only went so far in the grand scheme of things. Ren put his hands on his bent knees, letting his head hang as he processed everything that has happened in the session so far.
Secret Life wasn’t like the previous Life Games he’s gone through before, and he was way out of practice. The last game the Watchers forced him through was Double Life, and then They went ahead and switched Ren out with Tango on Session Six! At this point, there was so much information “Tango” was supposed to know that Rengo didn’t! Imitating the blazeborn was difficult, but he must be doing decently, right?
He had to be, he reassured himself. If They found out he failed, who knows what They would do next? They said They would hurt Martyn if he didn’t comply, that They would hurt his friends… hurt them more than they already are hurting. Ren feared They may cause permanent damage to their code, if not figure out some way to destroy them completely. It was a lose-lose situation, one where he had to choose the lesser of the two evils.
It took everything in his power not to run to Martyn and kiss him, hold him tight enough to hopefully never lose him again. Void, did he want to, but Ren didn’t think Martyn nor Tango would appreciate Rengo making moves unexpectedly. Ren just had to wait for the Watchers to get Their fill and reunite them once more, reunite them until the Watchers needed to feed off of their pain and suffering again…
Suddenly, someone called his name, Tango’s name, causing Ren to almost jump out of his skin. He hadn’t expected anyone to follow him in here! He spun to face the voice, his body tense as his heart beat harshly in his chest. “Oh my goodness gracious, dude! You’re givin’ me heart palpitations!”
“Ah, sorry, mate,” Martyn stopped approaching, putting his hands up by his head to show Rengo that he didn’t mean any harm. “Don’t worry, don’t worry. I’m not gonna hurt you. I just want to have a bit of a chinwag with you, that alright?”
Ren cleared his throat, attempting to prepare his vocal cords to speak at a higher pitch than he normally did on his own. He pushed up his– Tango’s sunglasses. Thankfully, Tango decided to wear sunglasses this time around. Ren wasn’t used to going without them. “Yeah, sure, no biggie. Sit down?”
Martyn nodded his agreement to the offer, but he didn’t sit or stand beside Rengo, which Ren couldn’t help but be disappointed by it. It made sense for Martyn to want to keep distance and stay across from Tango– they were a part of different factions, after all– but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt, even if just a little bit. Martyn never actually sat down, but he leaned against the parallel wall, so Ren copied him.
They stared at each other in silence for several moments, Ren enamored by his lover who couldn’t remember him and Martyn studying Rengo’s features. The Watchers had decided to give Martyn hybridity this time around to accord with The Big Dogs branding.
Ren couldn’t help but wonder if They did that on purpose, knowing that Ren would see Martyn with features like his. Did They know that They would need to switch Tango out with Ren for a session? Did They predict that Tango’s code would suffer from the stress and need tending to? Did They do this to mess with him?
"Hey,” Martyn started, hesitant. He rested his curved pointer finger against his chin, resisting the urge to bite the knuckle. Ren knew that look well. He often bit his finger like that when he was trying to work something out. “I don't want to sound like a stalker, but I think I know you. Like, know you, from whatever our lives are like away from this game.”
Ren sucked in his lips briefly before shaking his head, letting his gaze fall. “I know just as much as you do, dude. I don’t remembericate much. Bits and pieces of my past, sure, but nothing concrete.”
“You’re lying,” Martyn stated confidently, Red Life eyes narrowed into slits. There was no question in his tone, but Martyn has always been fairly good at identifying lies and pretending that he wasn’t just as scared as everyone else. His detection skills were nowhere near perfect, but Ren couldn’t claim to be a decent bluffer. “You’re not Tango, are you?"
“Not Tango?” Ren sputtered, waving his hands out in front of it. “Don’t be crazy bonkers, Martyn. Who else would I be?”
“For someone claiming to be Tango, you sure don’t sound like him.” Martyn pulled out his sword, casually adjusting and then readjusting his grip on it as if the movement wasn’t meant to be a passive threat. “Do you want to tell me the truth or do I need to drop another anvil on your head?”
“You said you wouldn’t hurt me,” Ren reminded him, slowly slinking toward the mouth of the cave. His heart ached like a dagger was stabbed through his chest. Having Martyn look at him with such a whirlpool of mixed emotions was almost enough to break Ren, make him throw all caution to the wind. All he wanted to do was hold him close like they did on quiet nights back at Dogwarts, but that wasn’t his right as Tango.
Martyn pursed his lips before sheathing his sword once more, the strong persona he put on faltering. “You’re lucky I can’t bring myself to kill you right now– plus, it’s against the rules– but if I see the opportunity to take hearts from you once the session starts again, I will take it, so watch your back.”
Stay near Love Island or teammates, got it. Ren gulped as he tried to formulate a response. He was saved by a sound pinging on both of their communicators, announcing that the session was starting soon. He hated that he was relieved to get away from the man he loved way too fiercely. “I’m gonna go findificate Skizz and BigB. See ya!”
With that, Ren darted out of the cave, running as fast as Tango’s lithe body would allow him. Ren was used to having longer legs, but Tango’s shorter, smaller frame meant there was less weight he was having to carry. He would be curious to race Tango some other time and see who was truly faster.
While Ren refused to turn back, refused to look Martyn in the eyes after fleeing like a coward, he could feel Martyn stare hopelessly after him. We’ll reunite properly one day, me hand. I promise.