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When all machines in the Workshop are running at maximum capacity and all corners of Sandrock have repeatedly been checked for troublemakers, a local Builder and Civil Corps Member go on a much-deserved evening stroll. Enjoying each other’s company after a long day of hard work is an important reminder that there is more to life than labor, no matter how important their tasks are.
Hand in hand, the couple follows the railway across the bridge towards the desert. Unsuur’s hand feels somewhat cold. It always does. His grip is loose as if he’s trying not to break an uncooked egg, though his fingers are rather stiff. His hand has a unique feeling to it that the Builder wishes to never get used to. Only one thing feels differently today. Usually, Unsuur’s hands are rather dry, despite his occasional use of lotion. But today, his hand is noticeably sweaty. The Builder can tell despite only feeling his fingers, as the rest of his hand is covered by a rough fingerless glove. The last time it felt like this was when the two began their relationship and Unsuur felt nervous about the unfamiliar, yet pleasant sensation of hand-holding.
“Sweetie?” the Builder asks, and Unsuur meets their gaze, listening quietly, “Is something stressing you out?”
Unsuur doesn’t flinch, but his hand turning even colder betrays him. “A bit, I guess.”
“Want to talk about it?” the Builder offers and gently rubs the back of his hand with their thumb.
One of the few things that can scare Unsuur is uncertainty. It showed strongly when he first began developing feelings for the Builder. He cowardly sent them unsigned letters and ran away from them to hide in his closet when he was caught one day.
Usually, love is the one thing Unsuur can recognize without it being spoken out, like when he knew immediately that the mole Ged was in love with the rat Princess. And yet, his ability to detect romantic affiliations used to draw a line when he was the recipient. However, that no longer is the case. These days, almost two years after the closet incident, Unsuur knows the Builder inside out. He especially knows how they feel about him. In his mind, there is absolutely no doubt about their love for him. But what he doesn’t know is what they think.
With their relationship going well, Unsuur has recently started to think about their future. It’s something he has never done before. How would they even move forward in their relationship? What's above love? As usual, when he was at a loss, he consulted his other best friend Justice. He remembers what Justice said to him.
“Huh…” Justice rubbed the back of his neck after listening to his colleague’s lament. “I mean, maybe you wanna propose? Y’know, get married? You two seem to get along great, right?”
Unsuur’s eyes widened at that suggestion. Never would he have thought that he might get married one day, since he used to struggle just making friends.
The more he thinks about it, the more it is something that he would like. Not that he minds staying where they currently are as partners, so long as they are both happy and love one another.
But here lies the problem: Unsuur never talked to the Builder about marriage before. He has heard of people opposing marriage, like Pen. He doesn’t know if the Builder might feel similar. A failed proposal could be the doom of their relationship. And Unsuur wants to avoid that at all costs. All he needs to do is ask a simple question. It’s not about proposing right now, but just a confirmation for a proposal. He pulls himself together, focussing on thinking of a subtle question to get the information he needs and maybe dropping a small hint about his feelings.
He turns his head to face the builder and looks them dead in the eye, startling them with his intense gaze. “What rhymes with ‘let's get buried,’ but is a million times better than getting buried and also makes a lot more contextual sense given our current relationship status?” Very subtle, he thinks proudly.
Completely caught off guard, the Builder's jaw drops a bit. “Let’s get…” Their cheeks turn red. They can’t help but smirk. “...married?”
“Yep,” Unsuur says. Their willingness to speak it out and their smile give him a feeling of certainty that lifts a weight off his chest. And just like that, his palms begin to dry up. ”Well. I didn't say it, you did.”
“One day, hopefully,“ the Builder suddenly adds and gives his hand a squeeze, ”When things here in Sandrock are more stable. We have a lot of trouble ahead, but… Yeah. I think I’d love that, actually.”
“Right. We’re kind of about to be attacked,” Unsuur says, “And I don’t really think Duvos will delay their plans for a wedding. Welp. We’ll just have to fight them until they leave again, I guess.”
The Builder agrees, though they aren’t as optimistic about the simplicity. Only recently three traitors were exposed. Pen, Yan, and Miguel. And who knows, maybe there is another? The Builder is not surprised that this isn’t what has been bothering Unsuur. Physical or political threats rarely seemed to budge him. That is, so long his precious rocks aren’t in danger. They can’t flee or defend themselves, after all, unlike he and the Builder. And with the hope of a life together on the horizon, their determination to make it through fills the couple with strength.
As expected, Sandrock soon was under attack. And indeed, there was another traitor among them. No one saw it coming– Matilda had been nothing but kind and supportive. Her betrayal was the turning point of the battle that facilitated the capture of all of Sandrock’s present offenses. And now they are forced to stay in the lone prison cell of their own Civil Corps Headquarters.
Justice may look only annoyed, but he is not taking it well. His pride is shattered, and the absolute helplessness and frustration drives him crazy. The Sheriff wonders if the civilians are alright. He firmly believes that they could have succeeded in driving the enemy forces out, had it not been for Matilda destroying the air cannon. And as the fighting resistance, their fate is now fully up to the enemy. All they can do is hope that imprisonment is the only punishment they get and that the reinforcements from Atara arrive quickly.
Unlike Justice, Unsuur doesn’t feel too stressed out at the unexpected turnout. It’s not like he can do anything while locked away, he thinks. They all did their best. He also remembers that he locked the door to his house before the attack. All of his precious rocks and gems are in there. But most important of all, Wilson is safe behind the locked door. The Civil Corps Member also has his two best friends right at his side. Selfish as it may be, knowing about the Builder’s and the Sheriff's condition through having them in jail with him gives him a considerable amount of reassurance.
Next to Unsuur, the Builder has been quietly staring at the floor without moving much, though visibly feeling tense. As Unsuur tries to take his partner's hand to comfort them, they pull away. “We shouldn’t,” they whisper with remorse, “They might use it against us if they know about us.”
He understands and nods.
The quiet tension is disrupted when suddenly, the enemy commander appears with one of Sandrock’s traitors now on the loose– Yan. Justice is certain that if it weren’t for the prison bars, the Builder would tear Yan to shreds right then and there with their bare hands. And neither of the Civil Corps Members would intervene if they did. As if seeing Yan back and with authority wasn’t bad enough, he and Commander Lefu are here to take the Builder out for forced labor.
The air grows thick when the prison cell opens with a slow, squeaky noise. Unsuur’s eyes are glued to his partner as they step out with clenched fists and then are escorted out of the Headquarters with a regular Duvos soldier following their every step. And with the sound of the main door shutting behind the Builder, dread suddenly begins to gnaw on Unsuur.
It’s impossible to tell what will happen to the Builder out there. They are even more vulnerable than he is right now. Out of sight again. Only a few weeks ago he swore to protect the Builder when they returned to Sandrock after falling off a cliff and being declared dead. And now they are separated once more, but this time, he can’t even try to help them as he did assist in the search for their remains. As his mind begins to spiral, just as it did when he thought he lost his partner forever, a big and warm hand touches his shoulder firmly. Unsuur turns to look at Justice, who suddenly looks more hopeful.
“They’re gonna be fine, bud,” the Sheriff whispers, “Takin’ the Builder outta here was the worst move they could’ve come up with.”
Justice’s confidence reminds Unsuur that he shouldn't underestimate the Builder. He does worry about them, especially when they are apart. It’s the reason why he always asks them to tell him where they go during sandstorms. He doesn’t quite like how the love he feels also makes him feel fear, because it's irrational and there is no actual need to. But he does understand that he feels that way because he cares.
Unsuur straightens his back, raises his head, and takes a much-needed deep breath. All he can do is wait. The Builder will come back for them. For him. Because they care, too. That thought relaxes him.
He slips his hand in his pocket. The ring he had put there recently is luckily still present. Almost immediately after he got the confirmation from the Builder that they too wanted to get married one day, he commissioned Mi-An, the only other Builder he would trust to do it right, to make an engagement ring. She put her heart and soul into it, which Unsuur greatly appreciated, even if he didn't quite understand why she tried extra hard. It wasn't for her engagement, after all. Unsuur has been carrying this ring in his pocket ever since, waiting patiently for the time to be right. It reminds him of how he used to carry the heart-shaped rock around for weeks, waiting for a good moment to give it to the Builder. The couple has come a long way ever since– from a heart-shaped rock as a gift on their first date to an engagement ring after thirty-two dates. He keeps count of them.
After a whole day in the cell, Unsuur begins to feel uncomfortable. He is used to hours of walking during his waking hours. So much so that his muscles almost move on their own simply out of habit. Yearning to walk. But he can barely take ten steps before reaching the end of the prison cell. While not moving so much is also acceptable, he would much rather be outside on patrol. As he wonders what kind of trouble his partner is up to, a faint banging noise can be heard.
“Did you hear that?” a Duvos Soldier asks nervously.
“Something’s not right!” another shouts, “Screw these guys, we have to go and check!” The guarding Soldiers rush outside.
“Phew! Thank the Light those buffoons are finally gone!” Cooper complains the very moment he gets the opportunity to, ”Can’t even have a normal conversation with my fellow prisoners with those stuck up Duvosian Savages shootin’ all words down like I shoot any livin’ being that gets too close to my precious Yakmels!” He goes on and on. Justice audibly groans, which doesn’t stop Cooper. Unsuur on the other hand was growing tired of the enforced silence and gladly listened to the incomprehensible rambling.
Lucky for Justice, it doesn’t take long for the Headquarter’s door to open again. This time, it’s not Duvos Soldiers. It’s Ged the mole, Logan, and the Builder. They all are armed to the teeth and in a hurry. The very moment they unlock the prison door, the Builder pulls their boyfriend into a very tight hug.
“Sorry we took so long!” they say and shower Unsuur’s face with kisses.
“It wasn’t so bad, I guess. Mostly boring,” Unsuur comments as he accepts his partner’s affection without a move. Such clear displays of love are moments that he greatly enjoys.
Logan tries not to pay the reunited couple too much mind. While he respects their relationship, he still fails to comprehend just how it could come to be. Logan will never admit it, but he used to feel heartbroken when he realized that the Builder was serious about their love for the odd, rock-obsessed man that Logan never warmed up to before he became an Outlaw. But luckily, his early crush began to fade away when he realized just how unavailable the Builder was.
“Save it for later, y’all,” Justice says and hands over weapons and ammunition to Unsuur. “It’s time to reclaim Sandrock.”
The remaining Soldiers that the Builder had not yet dragged into a fight are gathered near Matilda’s house where the previously heard explosion took place. The house is unrecognizable due to the damage.
An unexpected figure pushes the Soldiers out of his path, completely enraged. “Builder! You betrayed me!” he shouts at the top of his lungs.
“Commander Lefu?! How are you alive?” the Builder asks surprised, “We blew you up!” They don’t expect an answer and draw their weapon to defeat him for good.
This time with Logan on the battlefield, the Duvosian forces stand no chance against the highly motivated Sandrockers. And as soon as the Commander is incapacitated, the Soldiers slowly close in around him. A Soldier familiar to the Builder is the first to drop his weapon, and his allies soon follow suit. “We surrender.”
“Stev…” The Builder puts their weapon away immediately.
Sandrock is finally reclaimed. But this is not the end– Matilda and Pen are still out there. The enemy airship is moving suspiciously and must not be ignored. The fighters only get one night of rest until they continue the battle approaching the airship. Right at dawn, Unsuur, Justice, Captain, Logan, Grace, and the Builder gather on the Yakmel Farm to travel closer to the airship with the help of the giant duck Daisy.
They successfully reach the Northern Plateau and the Spaceship Ruins. The massive Duvos airship lingers right above. Justice assigns the task of securing the outside area to Captain and Unsuur.
“You can’t be serious!” The Builder begins to curse the Sheriff out and almost jumps at him. “The heck do you need to be secured out here? I’m not letting you leave him behind!”
“W-Woah, there!” Justice flinches at their sudden anger. Never before have they yelled at him.
“Hey, don’t worry about Captain. I’ll watch his back,” Unsuur argues, not realizing that his partner was referring to him and not the cat, “We gotta split up to make sure no one ruins the mission. We’ll shout if we’re in trouble. You should, too.”
Captain loudly meows in agreement. When the Builder decides to finally back off, Justice sighs audibly.
“Well, uhm, let’s get ready and get this over with,“ the Sheriff says as he gathers himself again, ”Stay together at all costs. We gotta do this together. This is the most important mission of all so far, so we can’t afford to screw this up. All clear?”
Each one present checks their gear one last time. After the couple exchanges one last quick kiss, the Builder, Justice, and Logan infiltrate the Starship Ruins for the final confrontation.
“Welp. There they go,” Unsuur says after the heavy front gate closes behind his allies, “Alright, Captain. You’re the Deputy. What do we do?”
The cat climbs on top of the Ruin gate to look around the area from the high ground. He lifts his nose in a slow rhythm to sniff. Then, Captain lays down with his paws hidden below him but keeps his eyes open.
“No danger? Cool. Let’s wait, then,” Unsuur says and sits down on the dirt. The large and dark shadow from the massive airship above them taints the beautiful landscape with a threatening aura. Unsuur doesn’t let it distract him from keeping his head up for enemies, though. What does distract him, on the other hand, are rocks in the dirt. He trails his hand along the ground and fishes out any rock he can feel. While he likes the few he finds, none impress him enough that he would consider them a good gift for the Builder.
After merely a few minutes, Captain begins meowing loudly and jumps down the Ruin gate.
“Enemies?” Unsuur asks while the cat frantically pulls him with his fangs. “Right behind you.”
Unsuur follows Captain up one of the sand hills that the wind built up at the high Ruin wall over many years. It makes it possible for him to stand right atop the entrance that his allies through earlier.
“Oh, hey. Looks like you were right,” Unsuur says when he sees Dovus soldiers approaching.
“Hey! Are you one of the intruders? You are not allowed to be here!” one of them shouts at the Civil Corps Member.
“I know,” Unsuur says. He remembers that he brought thirty bullets. Before him are twelve soldiers. That means that he can afford to miss more than once per foe. More than enough, he thinks. His aim is decent.
“Surrender now! We have you outnumbered!” one of the Soldiers warns as he draws his sword.
“That’s the only advantage you have, though. I have two advantages,” Unsuur argues while checking that his gun is loaded, “You guys brought swords to a gunfight. And I have the high ground. It’s kind of over for you guys. But sure, you can try. I’ll let you go if you give up.”
Though he doesn’t mean to sound smug, the Soldiers feel even more provoked and initiate the attack.
Their first mistake was hesitating when they wondered how they would get up to him in the first place. By the time they got the idea to split and use the sand hills on each side of the gate, Unsuur had already used the six bullets in his revolver, incapacitating, but not fatally injuring, four enemies. Two soldiers stand behind to tend to the wounds. That leaves only half of the group. Unsuur keeps his eyes on the three to his left while reloading. They run faster than the three on the right. Their quick steps cause the sand to slide them down the hill again.
“Sand can be slippery even if it’s dry. Rookie mistake,” Unsuur comments as he manages to hit all three of the Soldiers with four bullets. He reloads again, now focussing on the remaining three. But they stand still. They know Unsuur is ready for them. If they are slow, he will shoot them. If they hurry, they will slip and then he will shoot them. There is no winning.
“Soldiers, retreat!” one of them decides, “Call for reinforcements! And bring guns!”
As he promised, Unsuur doesn’t attack the fleeing enemies, even if it could endanger him and his group. Shooting soldiers who are retreating and not surrendering is not considered a war crime, but Justice still taught Unsuur that he shouldn't do it. He doesn't quite agree but obeys.
It plays out in his favor– soon, Unsuur hears the aircrafts of the Alliance approach swiftly and watches them attack the Duvosian airship. Then, the gate to the Spaceship Ruins opens again. Though injured, the Builder, Justice, and Logan made it back out. The Builder limps towards Unsuur and practically falls into his arms. He barely manages to catch them when they trip at the last step.
“Woah, take it slow,” Unsuur says and inspects the bloody makeshift bandage around their left leg.
“It’s not as bad as it looks. I’m glad you’re ok, at least,” the Builder says and looks at the ground confused, “But what’s with all the blood around?”
“Some Soldiers came here to sneak up on you guys from behind. I didn’t let ‘em. No one’s dead, though.”
Justice glares at the Builder with an unspoken, yet very loud I told you so. They only sigh in response.
After defeating Pen and Matilda vanishes into space, all found enemies are captured and taken away by Commander Avery. Then, the battle with Dovus is officially declared over. The alliance is safe again.
To celebrate this massive victory, Leaders from all over the Free Cities gather in Sandrock. Family members of residents join in, too. It marks a fitting end to all the hardship that this little town in the desert had to endure for many, many years.
“There you are!” the Builder says when they finally run into Unsuur on the evening of the last celebration day. The dark circles under his eyes are more prominent than usual, but he manages to give his partner a little smile. The Builder lifts his brand-new Deputy hat to take a better look at his face and caresses his cheek. “Are you ok, Unsuur? You look very exhausted.”
“I am,” he admits and rests his hands on their back, “To be honest, I don’t know how to feel about this all being over. All of those adventures have been a lot of fun. Right?”
Only recently, the two had a similar conversation when Unsuur had somewhat of an emotional crisis after finally being promoted to the rank of Deputy, that could only be tamed through lots of affirming words and kisses. And even if war isn’t exactly fun to the Builder, they understand what he means. It was the many challenges that brought the two together in the first place. “We’ll find trouble to keep us entertained for sure.”
Unsuur simply nods weakly in response.
The Builder thinks quietly for a moment about how to cheer him up. Then, they get an idea. “Sleepover at the Workshop?”
“Sure. Let’s go,” Unsuur answers quickly, suddenly seeming much less tired. The quick change makes the Builder giggle. Hand in hand, they make their way toward a much-needed night of rest.
It's quiet inside the Builder’s house. A very welcome change. Only now the couple notices the faint ringing in their ears from all the music and talking.
Even though Unsuur doesn’t live here, he has some clothes stored in the Builder’s closet for nights like this. The two help each other remove their heavy gear and slip into the much more comfortable and light cotton pajamas. Getting changed together is something intimate that Unsuur wishes they could do every evening.
As they lay in bed under the warm blankets and share one last kiss for the night, the Builder chooses his shoulder as their pillow. Even if they would love for him to lay on them instead just once, Unsuur cannot fall asleep when lying on his side. A reality that the Builder has accepted by now. While they listen to his slow heartbeat and Unsuur enjoys their weight, the two fall into a slumber deeper than any other night.
It’s long past seven in the morning when Unsuur wakes up first. He is glad that Justice encouraged him yesterday to rest properly after the celebration.
It doesn’t take long until the Builder wakes up with a long yawn while stretching their legs.
“Mornin’,” they mumble and wrap their arms around him.
“Hey, Darlin’. I think this is the first time you slept in,” Unsuur says while running his hand through their messy hair.
“You too. And we earned it,” they say, “It’s finally peaceful and calm enough that we can take it slow for once. Nothing needs to be fixed, and no trouble in sight.”
The Builder notices that for a moment, Unsuur’s heart beats faster and harder. They brush it off.
“Yeah. Feels kinda nice. Just tell me when you’re ready to get up.”
"Mhm."
Since they are not used to simply lying around like that, it doesn’t take long for the Builder to roll out of bed. As they stretch their muscles more, Unsuur moves towards his pants, seemingly grabbing something from a pocket. His partner watches him curiously as he then walks up to them with his beautiful brown eyes completely fixated on theirs. It’s an intense but calm gaze that they cannot escape. Their heart skips a beat. Then, when he stands right before them, he takes their warm hand in his and slowly lowers down on his knee. Adrenaline rushes through the Builder when they realize what he is doing.
Unsuur holds up a beautiful golden ring decorated with a fragment of crimson painite. The precious gem that reminds him of the Builder.
He is proposing. This man is proposing in his pajamas. He holds the ring without a hint of trembling like an experienced surgeon holds his trusty scalpel. This is the plain confidence of someone who has zero doubts about the answer he will get to the question that he is about to ask.
“Do you want to sign a license together for written proof of our unconditional love, that’s gonna bind us together legally and help us save taxes?”