Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The ground beneath his feet was definitely a surprise. 007n7 expected a void, anything but the feeling of being alive again.

It didn't matter how he felt about it though, he was still here. 007n7 inhaled the dust polluted air, coughing profusely before swatting in front of his face.

Different broken down structures surrounded him, one in particular behind him was a two story house with the doorway completely gone and windows lazily boarded up.

The eerily silent place drove 007n7 insane, he felt like the only one— but it also didn't feel like it; someone was watching, who or from where he couldn't tell. All he could do was run towards the building in hopes of hiding from whatever was eyeing him.

007n7 looked down as he ran, and noticed a unique black watch with a blue ring on his wrist that wasn't there previously.

Once he reached the second floor of the building, he slumped down with his back leaning against the wall and tapped the screen of the watch a few times.

A loud glitchy sound made 007n7 flinch before it enlarged into a projection of sorts. On the projection, it showed 5 things. Circular profiles with different people's faces along with their name, their health on percentage scale, abilities, stamina, and health.

The abilities caught 007n7's attention the most. Clone and C00lgui. As he stared in disbelief due to how long he hasn't seen that name, the projection closed and a new one appeared, but now, not from his watch.

This time, it was a block screen with red outlines, the text in the middle saying 'W3lc0m3 b4ck, 007n7!!' before splitting to two different boxes, one saying 'Cl1ck m3 t0 Cl0ne!' and the other said 'Cl1ck m3 t0 T3l3p0rt!!"

007n7 was almost hesitant to use C00lgui again, as it was the same thing that killed and injured multiple people, but curiosity got the better of him.

Tapping on the clone, another 007n7 phased out of his body and started running around mindlessly.

"Hey— Wait! Come back!" 007n7 reached a hand out to the clone who've already jumped off the building. As soon as he did so, the clone obeyed and began running towards the center of 007n7's vision.

In 007n7's eyes, this was more unique than he's ever seen when he used C00lgui before.

"New guy! Watch out!" It was a distant shout that 007n7 didn't quite register until the ground trembled and numerous spikes rose seemingly from no where in a perfectly straight line headint towards his clone.

007n7 could only watch in horror as his clone got pierced straight in his chest. He put his hand over his mouth as his eyes widened from the fear of what creature could've caused that.

A voice in his head announced:

"Tricked the killer: $3"

007n7 didn't dwell on what that meant because of how fearful he was. It got so bad it triggered his fight or flight mode, opting to open his C00lgui again and press teleport.

The music emitting from the killer was getting louder and louder as the bar slowly filled up.

Cmon... cmon! It never took this slow before...

It didn't help that the loading made a loud whirling noise that could be heard by anyone from a distance.

007n7 looked around as it was loading, memorizing this place in case he'll need to come back to it later. He tried to move around just to realize he was extremely slow while doing so.

The last few seconds are almost up as 007n7 saw a crowned figure with a monstruous corrupted claw drag himself up the stairs of the building.

The killer— assumingly— slashed at 007n7 with his claw, disabling the C00lgui and made the area the killer slashed to be corrupted, a strong, stinging sensation that shook 007n7 to his core.

He had to run— and he had to do it fast. 007n7 wasn't the most athletic, but he was able to outrun the killer just by a bit.

Looking at his watch, he watched his stamina slowly drain while his health was at a pretty unstable 72 out of 100.

Finally, after what felt like forever, 007n7 managed to lose the killer and spot another person.

007n7's vision was blurry with tears as he limped towards the person.

"Woah are you oka—" recognition flashed through their face, "You're 007n7?"

"Yeah, I— I'm sorry for interrupting you but—" 007n7 took a deep breathe, refusing to look at the person in the eye, "but I don't know where I am— and I have changed— but you don't have to trust me! I just want to know what's going on, please."

"I was the one that banned you." 007n7 looked up to see what relation he had with this person. It was Builderman.The Builderman. "But look— if you say you've changed, then I trust you— unless proven otherwise at least."

"Th— Thank you for that. I just want to know what's going on, because I died, and then I ended up here." It felt like being interrogated, no one trusted him— he doesn't even know if he trusts himself.

"Here," Builderman pulled out a pamphlet from his jacket's pocket, "Here's a guide on what to do."

"Thank you so much! I'll be heading.. somewhere now." 007n7 pointed behind him awkwardly, turning around.

"Actually," 007n7 stopped, shoulders stiffening. It felt like walking on eggshells around here. "Stay with me. Its far too dangerous and you don't know how anything works."

007n7 just nodded and stayed with Builderman, but keeping a respectful distance. He started looking at the small pamphlet describing what was happening. The pamphlet was a pink and white, cutesie design with cute cat stickers and a lot of doodles to look aesthetically pleasing.

It included the basics such as every survivors' basic introduction and role, how they were stuck in eternal damnation to play these so called 'games' and their basically in purgatory between life and death, and how stamina works and a few tips.

007n7 found it a bit strange how in the middle they just began to talk about the eternal damnation part with the same cute aesthetic, but he found it pretty funny otherwise.

"Builderman! Build a dispenser, Guest and Shed are low, and I'm on cooldown," the cheerful voice from afar— the same one that yelled for the 007n7 clone to watch out.

007n7's blood ran cold. He wasn't certain— but it sounded so much like him.

"On it, Ell!" Builderman yelled back, kneeling on the ground and creating a dispenser in the span of a few seconds.

Ell. Elliot. The person C00lkidd killed.

The great fire of Work at a Pizza Place. The infamous event where the mascot of Builder Brother's Pizzeria died in a fire along with customers and coworkers alike.

007n7 started hyperventilating, he couldn't face anyone now. He was expecting to be an outcast— sure, but the reality of actually being one? It felt unsettling— especially for an eternity.

—

"Builderman! Build a dispenser, Guest and Shed are low, and I'm on cooldown!" Elliot yelled from afar while trying to dodge John doe's attacks. Builderman replied shortly after which gave Elliot a peace of mind for a while.

Elliot ran away, just to be met by a dead end from John doe's trap.

"God damn it... of course I have to distract. Yeah, great..." Elliot muttered under his breath as he ran through one of Taph's tripwires.

That person beside Builderman... I could've sworn I saw him die via John doe's spikes. Elliot shrugged, Probably an ability like Two time's respawn. Man, they freaked me out the first time that happened.

That thought distracted Elliot from realizing John doe almost sliced his arm using corrupt energy. At this point, Elliot was unphased by whatever damage that got inflicted on him; his altruistic ideals, despite being a healer makes him a strong backup unit incase most of the sentinels are low.

Elliot felt John doe's claw scratch his back as his stamina ran lower and lower. He checked his watch, he was on 10. One hit and he's dead. Rush hour was used up and his stamina was running low.

As John doe was about to get his kill, Two time backstabbed him, allowing them both to escape.

"Thanks Two time!" Elliot thanked before running to hide somewhere and wait the 15 seconds out.

I swear I've seen that new guy before... doesn't him and 007n7 have the same hamburger hat? But he seemed so... timid? Maybe they just have the same prop— no way that spawn of devil would be here.

Everyone had a role in making sure everyone stayed alive. They were a team— there was order and upped their chances of survival against the killers. Nothing needed to change here, Elliot was happy with the arrangement.

After the 15 seconds were up, they were teleported back to the warmth of the cabin. All of Elliot's torned clothes and scars were healed as they sighed in relief.

"...So I just watch from afar?"

"Yeah, basically. Your clone ability can be useful."

Builderman was talking to the new guy. Turning around, he was met with the familiar face. Elliot wasn't overthinking— they were the same person. The same person that set him and his pizza place on fire.

"007n7," Elliot stated, in slight anger and confusion. 007n7 turned to see the same thing, but more of an accepting sadness.

"Elliot," 007n7 spoke so softly it was almost like a whisper. "Look, I know I did so many bad things in the past— and I'm not asking for forgiveness— I just, I'm sorry. If you believe it, I have changed."

No one spoke for a while. Builderman snuck himself out of the tense situation as they just stared at eachother, not knowing what to say.

Elliot bit his lip, "I don't think I can forgive you."

"I understand."

"You killed me— and multiple people at that."

"I did."

Elliot crossed his arms, "You raised that monster to walk in your footsteps."

All 007n7 could do is look down and take it in silently. There was no defending himself except the excuse of being changed.

Elliot was about to ask 007n7 to walk away, but he decided to do the honorable thing and turn around himself; after all he felt slightly guilty for repeating his crimes and making him feel regretful— but he felt like he was in the right for this. It was consequences of his own actions in the end.

Elliot found a group of Builderman, Chance, and Two time.

"Hey! My pamphlet design is amazing!" Chance argued, crossing his arms.

"Yeah no, pink and white with cat stickers? Come on." Builderman shot back like a disappointed dad.

Elliot gasped dramatically, popping into the conversation, "The cat stickers were my idea!" he put a hand to his heart, "I feel so sad that you think they were bad..."

Builderman sighed and muttered:
"You two troublemakers..."

—

"You raised that monster to walk in your footsteps," Elliot seethed, reminding 007n7 of everything he's done wrong. Even in purgatory, he couldn't escape his sins.

007n7 had sweat dripping down his forehead as Elliot walked away. His legs were shaky and his heart raced, he was about to faint from how anxious he was.

Walking out, he found his cabin and creaked the door open. The admin that 007n7 had came across previously— named Dusekkar, was reading a book and looked up from the sound.

"I have been informed that you are my house companion, you may relax as I am not fond of conflict. I wish for the feeling to be reciprocated if that is alright."

Caught off guard from the formal greeting, 007n7 could only blurt out:

"Uh— yeah, I'd rather not have conflict either. Thanks for uhm, understanding."

007n7 found a door into his own bedroom. He hopped on to the bed, and laid down cautiously.

He tried to relax himself and stared at the wooden ceiling.

Today was the day he was supposed to die, but he was given a second chance— by who or what he didn't know, but he had a goal to redeem himself through whatever it takes.

No one's gonna forgive you.

He just had to be good and gain everyone's trust. He wouldn't be an outcast anymore.

These are the consequences of your actions, stop trying.

He already changed, he just had to convince everyone else—

Stop trying.

He's already on semi good terms with Builderman, only if—

Stop trying.

Hopefully—

Stop.Trying.

...

He will never stop trying.

Chapter Text

There was always this distinct scent of fire. Maybe it was teasing 007n7 about what he'd done— maybe it was just the area that smelled like it.

007n7 spawned atop a castle along with a few other survivors. Apprently there were generators all over the place that needed to be completed, so he split off from the group to find one.

Even if he knew what was happening, that didn't stop him from being extremely anxious about the whole situation. Every small sound make him jump despite not even being remotely close to it. One in specific was this metal chain sound that goes on for a second or two.

Finally, he found one of the generators accompanied by a quiet hum.

007n7 knelt down and opened the small flap. The wires were meant to be connected to another with the matching colors four different times, each time a new set of wires appeared.

It was confusing at first, but 007n7 quickly got the hang of it. No one was around, so he fixed the entire generator.

As he proudly stood up and brushed off the dirt on his knees, that metal chain sound started again.

007n7 didn't realize what was happening until he turned around and saw a flash of green coming towards him at light speed.

He couldn't even react before there was a large slash across his chest, even stretching out to his arms. It hurt like hell— worser than that other monster claw guy did— his name was John doe apparently.

The wound was green. There was blood— it was red, of couurse, but the clothing and outline of the wound were green.

Plus with every second, he felt weaker and weaker, which was not normal.

Before long, the killer came into his view and started charging at him, but was stopped by a gunshot.

"007n7, run!" Chance, another sentinel shouted from a distance.

007n7 did just that. He ran until the castle was in view. He ran until he saw someone— anyone. Checking his watch, he was sitting at 38 health with the killer still on his tail.

With all the rationality gone from his head, he did what seemed to be the most logical thing at the moment— standing still.

The killer approached 007n7 with no hesitation.

As soon as the killer slashed, 007n7 cloned himself, and ran the opposite direction.

The same voice rang in his head:

"Tricked the killer: 3$"

007n7 sighed in relief as he saw Elliot peeking from a wall from afar.

"Elliot! Elliot, I'm so sorry to bother you— but may, may I have a pizza? I'm really low... and I'm so sorry again." 007n7 blurted out as he reached Elliot.

"..." Elliot took a pizza from his pizza box and handed it to 007n7. No arguement, nothing.

"Thank you, so much!" 007n7 replied between breaths.

"Just get going."

007n7 nodded understandingly and walked away, eating the pizza and getting his health restored enough.

He decided for the rest of the round to just hide— maybe he just wasn't cut out for it.

There was a quiet place with shipping containers in the corner of the map.

007n7 wanted to help out someone, but he couldn't. His abilities didn't allow him to help anyone to escape but himself.

All he could do is hide like the coward he is while everyone else is out there sacrficing their lives for one another.

007n7 sat down on the soft grass and put his knees up to his chest, watching the projection on his watch mindlessly, watching everyone die one by one.

Useless, so useless.

—

Panicky footsteps approached 007n7's area, his ears perked up and he peeked out of the edge of the container just to see Builderman.

"Builderman! You looking for a place to hide?" 007n7 waved over.

"Yeah, thanks, 007n7."

007n7 moved over to make space for Buikderman before checking his watch again.

Noob, another one of the survivors along with Builderman were low. The only difference was that Noob was with the killer, and actively taking more damage.

And then, his profile turned red. He was dead.

007n7's arm was shaking as he closed the projection, looking at Builderman to see if they saw the same thing, except 007n7 was significantly more anxious.

Without realizing, 007n7's C00lgui started. The loading screen— the same one that teleported him. He'd leave Builderman to fend for himself. No matter how selfish he was, he just couldn't do this.

"Wait stop— fuck! No, nonono... how do I stop this!?" 007n7 angrily swatted at the stupid C00lgui screen as it teleports around him like an annoying fly.

"Builderman I'm so sorry! I, I don't know how to shut it off! I—"

One second he was talking to Builderman, the next, the wall.

How did he accidentally activate C00lgui? There was no way— he knew how to activate it, he— he...

007n7 tried to relax himself. He rolled his shoulders backwards before he heard it.

The pamphlet talked about this— when someone is in last man standing, a specific music plays no matter how far they are from the killer.

This was it— Builderman died and 007n7 is left to fend for himself.

It was that metal chain sound again. 007n7 just barely dodged it before getting hit with something else.

5 Pop ups flashed in front of him, he couldn't move. 007n7 clicked the boxed shakily before pulling out a bloxy cola he got earlier.

Come on... come on! Drink faster!

Thankfully, 007n7 timed it exactly right since the killer came into view.

007n7 started running the opposite way, leaving the killer.

1 minute remained. He just had to survive a singular minute.

007n7 couldn't think clearly, he was guilty for leaving Builderman to die— and he shamelessly asked Elliot for a pizza.

All he cared about was himself and now he had to reap the consequences of his actions.

His vision was blurry as he could only focus on running. 007n7's shoe pushed on the dirt, using up all his energy to not die.

007n7 was about to reach a wall, he cloned himself and turned the corner, leading the killer astray.

It was a bit risky, but 007n7 decided to do it anyways. He pulled up his C00lgui and started the teleport.

.

007n7 recovered his stamina.

..

Halfway there— the voice announced that the killer killed his clone.

...

Rapid footsteps were approaching him.

....

The surroundings changed as 007n7 took a faux sigh of relief, trying to convince himself he was fine.

30 seconds left.

007n7 had a bit of downtime before the killer knew where he was— even he didn't know where he was.

He felt panic rise in his chest— he was sinking, drowning, lightheadedness taking over as he felt himself becoming more and more hopeless.

10 seconds, the killer found him.

007n7 made a run for it, as his stamina drained, he murmered:

"Take me back take me back take me back.."

Its surprising that 007n7 hasn't shed a single tear yet.

As he ran, he tripped over a pebble. A pebble.

007n7 tried to scramble to his feet, he was wheezing and gasping for air desperately.

Before he knew it, he was back in the lobby. 007n7 knelt down and caught his breath, no one helped. They just stared and watched him like a circus animal.

He couldn't look at anyone. No, not at all. Builderman hated him— everyone hated him. There was no changing that at all.

I'm selfish... so selfish.

—

"I wish I got variations of pizza and not just cheese pizza, ya know?" Elliot had his hands out on the table with Chance on the other side doing his nails.

"Yeah, it'd be so cool if one day I get mushroom, and the next, hawaiian! Would make my day so much better!" Chance replied, squinting and applying some more details.

"You like pineapple on pizza?" Elliot grimaced.

"Hey now, I can ruin your nails right here, right now," Chance threatened with a nail filer while still looking down.

"Okay, okay! I raise my hands up in defense."

"...What is this roleplaying your doing?" Chance switched the applicator to his left hand, "by the way can you move your arm a bit to to left?"

"Sure— My hands are occupied! What else am I supposed to do?" Elliot shrugged, shifting his position slightly.

"Just say anything BUT that," Chance shook his head slowly in disappointment.

"Aw man!"

A few knocks came from the front door, startling Chance and messing up a detail.

"God damn it!" Chance took out a tissue and carefully wiped it off.

As he was doing so, Elliot turned his body to the door and yelled:

"Come in, Guest!"

The door swung open as Guest came in with a small bag filled with snacks.

"Ah, you brought the goods," Chance stated, adjusting his shades while still looking down.

"Stop making it sound like we're smuggling drugs," Guest chuckled.

"Make sure to lock the door! Or else someone will see the goods..." Elliot added on menacingly, motioning with his eyes for Guest to sit down.

Guest rolled his eyes while locking the door, sitting down after.

As he settled in, a question popped up in Elliot's head.

"What do you think is an item you have that you cannot live without? For me its definitely my visor. I've been wearing it forever, and will wear it forever."

"I bet its nailpolish for Chance," Guest teased.

"Hey, if you want me to paint your nails you could've just asked," Chance shot back, applying more nail polish.

"Oh I'd love to have my nails painted by you."

"Get a room, you too! Jeez every single time I'm with you two it feels like I'm third wheeling!" Elliot commented annoyingly.

"Speaking of," Chance coughed conspicuously, "relationships, I've noticed that Taph and Dusek are... closer than everyone else."

"Didn't Dusek learn sign language purely for Taph? I think Shedletsky pointed it out once or twice," Guest mentioned, Leaning on the table lazily.

"Wait that's actually so sweet! I wish someone did something like that for me..."

"Woah Elliot, never pinned you for a romantic," Chance put down the nail polish and pulled out the blue light.

"Me neither," Elliot shrugged, "I just blurted it out."

"How does the blue light work— where did you even get that?" Guest asked, but Chance just put a finger up to his mouth to shush him.

"Elliot, put this over your nails— I'm gonna do Guest's," Chance scooched over slightly to right.

The crackling of the fireplace was the only sound in the comforting silence while Elliot's mind was somewhere else.

"...Am I selfish for not forgiving 007n7?"

"Nah, he killed you and burned down your pizza place. If you don't wanna forgive him for your peace of mind, that's your choice," Chance replied, moving his head closer to Guest's hand.

"I expected anyone but you to give out actual advice."

Elliot sighed in relief.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Chance replied in fake offense.

"Well..."

"Uhuh, go on," Chance pushed as he grinned.

"Is my nail hardened yet? My arm is getting sore," Elliot whined, butting into their conversation.

Chapter Text

Everything outside of the rounds were blurry and uneventful. All he did was stay in his room fighting with himself on wether or not he could face the world.

That numbing pain in the back of his mind stuck, ringing in his head and blocking out the injuries the killers have caused him.

All he did was hide, hide, and hide. Nothing else he could do, just leave it up to the rest of the people.

007n7 reminisced about the times where he was so hopeful he could change after adopting C00lkidd, that people would realize that he changed. But karma follows him around everywhere— even in purgatory, is it even purgatory? Hell is a more fitting description.

It was the same old same old either way— at this point he'd lost hope on everything, everyone. He'd lost hope on himself.

This was one of the rare times 007n7 was out of his cabin, he was only in the main cabin for a simple refill of his drink is all.

Thankfully, he was alone. He didn't have to deal with anyone.

007n7 took a deep breath, his eyes heavier than usual.

Someone started tapping on his shoulders frantically, startling him.

Turning around, he saw the cloaked avian, Taph who seemed panicked.

"Woah, are you okay?"

Taph shook his head frantically as he started rapidly using sign language, his hands shaking profusely as he did so.

007n7 knew a bit of sign language, sure, but he wasn't able to decipher it at this speed and sloppiness.

"Sorry... bother... lost?" 007n7 was about to reply with something cold like 'Can't help you.' or 'I have something else to do', but Taph's head wing's erratic movements along with him hearing sniffling come from beneath his mask made him bite down the reply.

Taph tried again, signing more slowly.

"Sorry to bother, I lost... the bomb?" 007n7 tried his best to decipher, which was given a reply with Taph's frantic nodding. "You lost your subspaced tripmine and you want me to help you find it?"

Taph nodded again, signing 'Thank you' repeatedly a few times.

It was too late to give an excuse now— he was already under the assumption that 007n7 was gonna help him.

"Okay! We'll try to find it. Where did you last see it?"

Taph pulled 007n7 by the wrist to him and led him downstairs to the main cabin.

Once they reached there, Taph started signing again, but 007n7 wasn't able to understand.

He knelt down slightly to Taph's level and gently asked:

"I'm sorry, but I'm not that good at sign language. Are you able to use your emojis?"

Taph nodded and replied with, "‼️🕒" (I need it before next round)

"Ah, okay. Let's split up and search around, okay?"

"✅" Taph excitedly flapped his wings before turning around and searching the bookshelf beside the cat with great detail.

007n7 sighed in relief, scanning around the room to see if theres anything remotely close to a subspaced tripmine.

He groaned in annoyance after realizing it was going to be a hard task.

"Taph, I'm gonna go ask around if that's okay." At this point, 007n7 wanted to do anything rather than pointlessly looking around.

Taph gave a thumbs up, and 007n7 walked out the door in the dark atmosphere they were forced to call home.

Walking towards a random cabin, he knocked. It could've been anyone— after all he wasn't very familiar with everyone's rooming.

Whoever opened the door, he just had to hope that it wasn't Elliot or Builderman.

The lock clicked and the door creaked open, Guest leaned against the doorframe before asking why he came here.

"I just wanted to ask if you've seen Taph's subspaced tripmine? He's been really worried and asked me to help him to find it."

Guest's expression remained neutral, "Oh I'm roomed with Taph, I think I know where it is— give me a few minutes." he turned around and shut the door, leaving 007n7 with himself.

As he did, 007n7 took off his burger prop, looking and fidgeting with it. It reminded him of what he used to be— it was the only thing that he wore consistently.

This horrible nostalgia kept on telling him that this was him— and theres no changing that no matter how much he tried.

He took a deep breath and put the burger prop back on his head. He waited for a few moments, every time getting more anxious that Guest forgot him— or worse, has ignoring him for whatever reason.

007n7 was about to leave, until he heard Guest's footsteps approaching the door.

"Is this what he was looking for?" Guest held up the bomb in perfect condition.

"Yeah, thank you so much!" 007n7 took the subspaced tripmine carefully, worried that one wrong move could break it.

"Also, thanks for body blocking with your clone that previous round. Didn't get to thank you since you just headed straight to your cabin."

This was a surprise. He couldn't recall doing anything of such in that round— or any round at all. Maybe it was just bad memory from Guest, since all he did was hide and run away.

"A— ah, thank you...? I really didn't do much though..."

"No need to downplay your achievements— in fact you did so multiple times with different people, I'm surprised your not getting more recognition," Guest complimented, making 007n7 more confused.

"Thank you... I, uhm, I'm gonna be going now." 007n7 waved goodbye to Guest as he headed to find Taph in the main cabin.

Taph was still searching, and once 007n7 peaked inside and waved his subspaced tripmine around, he jumped up and ran towards 007n7.

Finally, this could be over and he could go back to his room.

"🙏" (Thank you) Taph happily took it and headbutted 007n7 to show his affection before looking up, "🫵🧑‍🍳🍫🍰?" (Do you want to bake brownies with me?)

Caught off guard by the question, he just blurted out 'yes'. A part of him wanted to bake brownies with Taph— but he was so anxious that this was some kind of trap, or he'd somehow disappoint Taph. He felt his stomach ache from anxiety, but he had to swallow that feeling.

As Taph dragged 007n7 into the kitchen, he could've sworn he felt someone watching him from afar.

Either way, the actual process of making the brownies along with the comforting silence due to Taph not being able to speak was peaceful.

As they were done mixing, Taph took off his glove, put a finger in the batter on the side of the bowl. As he was about to taste it, 007n7 interrupted with:

"Wait— you could get salmonella with the raw egg and flour."

Taph tilted his head, "❓" (How?)

"Well... uhm, I'm not sure," 007n7 replied sheepishly, "My ki— friend tried it once when I was alive..? And he got really sick a few days later."

—

"Dad, dad! Can I just eat it raw? I don't wanna wait for it to bake!" ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ whined, pulling at 007n7's shirt.

"Sure, but only one spoonful, alright?"

—

"Dad its so hot! Can you turn on the fan?" ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ sniffled, feverish and nauseous.

"I'm sorry, but you have to stay like this until the fever is over, alright?"

007n7 had a kid. He didn't remember his name nor his face. It must just be bad memory.

—

Taph nodded solemnly, moving to the sink to wash off his finger and put his glove back on.

The smell of the freshly baked brownies filled the room as it was pulled out the oven. 007n7 placed the tray atop the stove, and removed the oven mittens.

"🕒✅❓" (When is it done?)

"Maybe 10 or 15 minutes until its cooled," 007n7 turned the knob of the oven and the oven door as he pulled a seat from the island table and sat down.

Taph nodded, and pulled a seat up beside him.

Not wanting to make it awkward, Taph asked a few questions about 007n7's past, which 007n7 replied with in long rambles.

It felt nice, finally having someone to keep him company, even if its for a little bit.

"I was pretty evil when I was younger, I regret it now, of course, but you can never change the past."

"👉🔄" (I believe you changed)

"Well, thank you, but its hard for anyone else to say the same..." 007n7 looked down disappointedly, after that day the blazing fire rose was when 007n7 fell. After his first time killing people and not just trolling, the people's view in him changed from an unserious troller to a menace that must be contained.

Taph thought for a moment before replying, "👉🚪🧍‍♂️🍫🍰❓" (Do you want to give people brownies?)

"Yeah, sure, but I don't think that would help." 007n7 said yes without hesitation, which is a bit of a surprise considering how indifferent he was a few moments ago. "I think the brownies have cooled by now speaking of which."

Taph nodded, jumped off the chair and pulled out a knife from one of the cupboards to begin cutting.

"Do you like the edge or the center?" 007n7 asked as he pulled out a plate.

"❤️1️⃣" (I like the edge/first option)

"Oh nice! I personally like the center."

Taph nodded as he percisely slices the piece into 9 seperate ones, slowly stacking them on the plate 007n7 placed on the counter.

Once he reached the last piece, he grabbed it with his hand, split it in two, and offered the one with no crust to 007n7.

"That's very nice of you," 007n7 patted Taph's head and took the brownie, "shall we go now?"

The best way to describe Taph is probably the friendly neighborhood cat.

They walked to each cabin like a door to door salesman until there was only one brownie on the plate left.

"❓👉🚪❌" (Who have we not asked?)

"Uhm... we've went to every cabin, so someone must be hanging out somewhere else."

"🍕❌👉🕶️" (Elliot wasn't with Chance.)

"You wanna check the main cabin again?" 007n7 asked, noticing the movement of a shadow from the light in the doorway to the main cabin.

—

Elliot was planning to bake some pizzas before the round started.

That was the original plan— before he realized that the kitchen was already occupied.

He expected Guest, as sometimes he cooked for the team— or even Two time or Noob for the matter, but certainly not Taph and 007n7.

After a little contemplating at the doorway, he decided to sneak upstairs and wait it out, keeping an eye on if anything would happen between the two in a private setting.

As he snuck upstairs, trying to be as quiet as possible, 007n7 turned to look behind at where Elliot was. Thankfully he escaped before being able to be spotted— hopefully.

Sitting down on the beanbags beside the DDR pads, he listened intentively to Taph and 007n7's conversation from downstairs— except he had to decipher what Taph was asking based off of 007n7's talking. It almost sounded like he was talking to himself.

Before long, he found himself half asleep while staring at the ceiling.

"Don't eat that— it could cause salmonella!"

Elliot sighed in relief. Taph is in good hands.

—

His visor was just below his chin, his eyes were still closed. Elliot didn't recall the area being so dim.

It was when he opened his eyes that he found 007n7 and Taph looking down with a plate in hand. The fresh smell of brownies caught his attention.

"I'm sorry for waking you up, but me and Taph made brownies— and I know were on bad terms! But Taph insisted that we give one to you too," 007n7 rambled on awkwardly as Taph kneeled down and handed Elliot a plate with a singular brownie in the center and crumbs surrounding it.

"You... you two made this?" Elliot questioned out of pure curiosity, still barely registering what was happening.

"Yeah, but its mostly Taph. I didn't do much, really," 007n7 insisted.

Elliot bit his lip. The sincerity in his voice was something he didn't expect. It was everything 007n7's past wasn't. He remembered the reckless maniac who, on multiple occaisons, ruined the pizza place and trashed it.

When the devil started following in his footsteps, 007n7 had a scared look on his face. Maybe he didn't register it at the time— but he could've sworn that was the same look Mia makes when trying to cover up for someone else's mistakes.

Elliot took the brownie hesitantly, "Thank you, both of you," he smiled, looking mostly at Taph. In his peripheral vision, he could see a surprised glint in 007n7's eye.

The two left while Elliot was still processing 007n7's actions. Looking down at the brownie, he was reminded of the time he tried to guide Mia towards making her first pizza.

It was in the shape of a heart— very befitting for her. The duo that gave him the brownie seemed so familiar in that moment.

Elliot didn't want to get his hopes too high though, after all, he could change in any moment.

After eating the brownie— which was a bit cold due to being the last, he put his visor back on, stretched, and got downstairs to start making the pizzas.

Chapter Text

Elliot wiped the sweat off his forehead with his forearm, he just got done baking 3 pizzas, which should last 2 rounds if everything goes smoothly.

Putting his hands on his hips, he looked proudly at his work, the same cheese pizza he has perfected after thousands of employee of the month awards.

He'd been super busy, drowning himself in work to distract himself from everything. There were noticeable eyebags, and he'd catch himself dozing off in various places.

Carefully sliding each of them in boxes, he closed them up and checked his watch. There was just around 30 seconds before the round started.

Perfect timing!

Elliot noticed 007n7 and Taph walk through the main entrance. They've been closer ever since Dusekkar was burnt out these past few days.

If Taph trusted 007n7 that much, maybe he really did change.

As the round started, Elliot had to shake that thought off. Guest and Two time were feverish, while Dusekkar was burnt out. He'd have to work harder to keep everyone alive.

It was Jason, and on Planet Voss. Jason always made Elliot feel uneasy while doing generators. He was vulnerable and could easily get attacked, especially since Jason's chase music radius is way smaller.

After finishing the third panel of wires, he looked around to check if anyone has taken any damage. Surprisingly, no one did. Elliot went back to finishing the last one hurriedly, worried that something was wrong.

Finally, after connecting the last wire, he ran to find someone. Checking his watch again, his blood ran cold as it showed Taph on 14%.

What.? How'd I miss that...

Elliot searched for a while— until Taph finally came into view. Without a second though, he threw his pizza.

He glanced to who was distracting the killer, just to see 007n7's clone taking a gashing wound.

Thinking nothing of it, he was gonna run up to start distracting when he realized that the watch showed 007n7's health going lower and lower.

That wasn't a clone. He ran out of pizza. 007n7 was at 3%.

Elliot froze in place as he realized his mistake, his freeze instinct kicking in.

007n7 ran away, but not towards Elliot, no, in fact, he turned a corner and disappeared.

All he could do was stand there, a part of him wanting to follow 007n7— another tried to force him to move, to distract the killer, and anither wanted him to escape.

"ELLIOT! RUN!" a familiar voice, Chance's voice, finally reached his mind as he snapped back into reality. Jason was charging towards him, but Elliot just barely dodged as Chance shot, stunning Jason.

Out of instinct, he immediately went the direction 007n7 went. Elliot tried searching for him frantically, but he was no where to be found.

"C'mere pretty boy! Chase me and see what happens!" Elliot heard Shedletsky's teasing voice in the distance, but he couldn't care less about what was happening.

Finally, he saw the shadow of a person hiding behind a wall.

Rushing over, he pulled 007n7 out by his left hand that was peeking out.

"Elliot!? Wh—"

"What were you thinking !?" Elliot dug his nails into 007n7's wrist, emotions boiling over. It wasn't all anger. There was something underneath. Worried, scared.

"I'm sorry— my clone was on cooldown and—"

"Why did you sacrifice yourself for Taph? You know all the better that you didn't have to do that!" Elliot's face flushed red as he shot back aggressively. 007n7 could see his eyebags, and the way he was holding back tears.

007n7 was badly scarred, three, deep slashes were visible on his stomach from gashing wound.

"It, it was the most logical thing i thought of at the moment..." 007n7 was still bleeding from practically everywhere in his body, trying to move away as to not dirty Elliot's clothes.

"You know how low your pain tolerance is— so why do you still do it!?" Elliot shot back with more intensity than last time.

"How... how do you know that?" 007n7 almost whispered in shock.

"You, mentioned it while your kid was burning down my... my building," Elliot gulped, clenching his fist as he looked 007n7 straight in the eyes, breath shaky.

007n7 tilted his head, confused. "... How do you remember that?" That was years ago, there was no way that line stuck with him.

"I don't know— I don't care! Just please... do something.. anything but that... you know how much you scared me!?" Elliot's grip on 007n7's wrist became tighter and tighter until it felt like he was gonna cut off his blood circulation. Yet, he didn't flinch or let go.

"I'm okay now, Elliot. There's no need to panic." 007n7 didn't get angry, didn't yell or try to control him. He was just... there.

"You were— you..." His legs gave up on him as he held 007n7's shoulder for support with his other hand. He looked down as his entire body started trembling, looking down and going dead silent.

007n7 just let him. Tears streamed down Elliot's face, and fell on to the withering grass, but 007n7 didn't know what to say or do.

Elliot held on to 007n7's waist, ignoring all the blood going on his clothes, hair, everything. Even if it hurt 007n7 to an excruciating degree, he allowed Elliot to stay. He held on to Elliot's back gently, worried to break him.

Elliot took a bit to catch his breath, "You... you could've died!—"

"I know."

That caught Elliot's attention. He tilted his head up, sniffling as the person above him was gazing down, not out of judgement, nor of hate or pity. Just a genuine, empathetic look, as if he'd been there before.

Without skipping a beat, 007n7 began speaking, "You distract the killer, you lead them away from survivors and allow everyone to survive. you could've died multiple times from multiple rounds— and yet you still choose to do so. Don't worry about me," 007n7 stroked Elliot's hair as he grinned weakly, "worry about yourself a little as well."

Elliot felt tears wash over him again— but for a completely different reason. He was a mess, blood, sweat, and tears stained his entire body— but he couldn't care any less.

For once, he felt seen, heard for the more extreme things he'd done aside from healing everyone. Every single sacrifice he made was not in vain. He felt like there was someone who understood him— who was the same as him. Sacrificing themselves for people they care about.

They were two sides of the same coin, but only one side is rusted. Even so, both sides are still as pure as ever.

Elliot's face scrunched as he sobbed on 007n7's chest, his arms around 007n7's waist tighter than ever.

"Woah— I didn't make it worse, did I? I'm, I'm sorry for... what I said?" 007n7 panicked as he thought his attempt at comforting went horribly wrong.

"No! No... its just," Elliot sniffed, "...can we stay like this for a while?"

007n7 paused, then smiled warmly, "Sure." It felt unreal, it must be a dream— Elliot finally forgave him for what he'd done, and— his train of thought was cut off by the sharp pain he had long forgotten about. "By the way, I'm a bit low, so would it be okay if you gave me a pizza..?"

Elliot, seemingly not in the mood to talk, pulled a pizza from who knows where, and handed it to 007n7 while still having his face buried.

Taking the pizza, he healed up, and the wounds stitched themselves back up.

As 007n7 promised, they stayed like that for a bit, none of them speaking a word.

007n7 tried to stay as still as possible, not wanting to make Elliot uncomfortable despite being uncomfortable himself.

—

"Elliot! Elliot where are you!? Jason— fuck off! I'm sorry for calling you pretty boy so mockingly!" Shedletsky called out from the distance, barely dodging the silent maniac.

Elliot immediately jumped up like a sleeper agent, wiping his tears frantically and disappearing to where the scream came from.

"Thank you Seven!" Elliot waved before leaving to take care of the disaster that is cocky Shedletsky with no healer.

007n7 couldn't even say bye after registering who 'Seven' was. He felt his face flush and his mouth open involountarily at getting called a nickname, looking at the distance while his mind was in confused shambles.

A goofy grin spread across his face as he giggled, the warmth of being loved, through not the searing pain of sacrifice but the recognition of it that makes it all seem worth it.

Elliot was the picture perfect player. Anyone who knew him would say the same. He's the face of the biggest pizzeria chain in robloxia, and even after death, he continued to push himself harder and harder until he physically couldn't.

He worked himself from the ground up, and he was always on good terms with everyone he meets.

007n7 remembered his days after getting out of college. He did nothing but slack off, hacking, and getting so much benefits, underserved.

Even if he had recieved so much more control and infamy, it never felt genuine. All those people he hurt— killed. It was all for a dopamine hit atop another. It was only when a child was abandoned at his doorstep was when he felt the desire to 'love'. Wether that'd be platonically or romantically, it was there, and it was the first flame to ignite the spark in him.

Even after 007n7 killed Elliot, Elliot still forgave him after barely any time. It didn't seem like any flat, innattentive forgiveness though. It was raw and emotional, caring for someone that didn't deserve it.

007n7 didn't want to admit it, but he looked up to Elliot a lot— he'd even go as far as to say that he has started to catch feelings for him. Though, it'd never be reciprocated.

—

Elliot stirred the pot of mushroom soup for Guest and Two time while Chance stared at it intensely.

"...Can I try?"

"No."

"Whaat, whyy?" Chance whined, elongating his words for emphasis.

"Remember last time I let you set the oven timer— which by the way how do you even mess up!?" Elliot turned to Chance like a single mother raising her child.

"Hey! How was I supposed to know it was Celsius and not Fahrenheit? I thought I was doing you a favor by changing 235 to 455!"

Elliot groaned, "Chance, I swear to god, I'm gonna throw you so hard against the wall you'd be in bed rest just like Guest and Two time!"

Before Elliot could say anything, the soup started to boil over.

"Shit..." Elliot muttered, turning off the electric stove and moved the pot over to the other stove.

"HA! Now look who's mistaken!" Chance teased, tilting his head down and looking at Elliot, making sure he saw his eyes clear as day.

Elliot scoffed playfully, "Shut up."

"Can I at least try the soup?"

"Not with that attitude your not— just kidding. You will burn your tongue if you try though," Elliot warned, scooping up the soup using the ladle and pouring into two seperate bowls.

"Oh speaking of attitude, what happened with you a few rounds ago? You just.. froze up completely!"

Elliot bit his lip, "Nothing really, honestly just got scared." He put a singular piece of mushroom as garnish on each dish.

"Oh come onn, what really happened? You can't just leave ya best friend in the dust!" Chance pushed, "Your eyes were red— that's not normal."

The conversation shifted to a more tense undertone.

"I, I was just concerned for Seven— he body blocked for Taph and was really low..." Elliot avoided eye contact with Chance like the plague, feeling his suspicous glare.

"You were so worried for him you cried? Honestly I'd believe that. Your pretty emotional," Chance pointed out, leaning down on the counter.

"Hey, what did we say about being blunt?"

"Oh yeah— sorry. My bad, I kinda just be blurting out whatever— I still stand true though!" Chance raised his hands up in defense. "By the way, since when did you start calling him Seven?"

Elliot shrugged, "Just recently. I'm too lazy to say his full name."

"...Is this your way of forgiving him?"

"I guess so."

Chapter Text

It was another morning, the team just finished eating breakfast and 007n7 was about to return to his room to wait for the round to start when Shedletsky tapped on his shoulder.

"Hey, 007n7, do you know any languages other than english? Builderman wants to see if he recognizes any languages because you know... first robloxian n' all?" Shedletsky asked, pointing to Builderman who waved at him politely.

He could've sworn all the other survivors were more friendly towards him after that round with Elliot, but he just brushed it off as nothing.

"Yeah! I know a few languages. What do you want me to say?" 007n7 tilted his head cheerfully.

"Say... your favorite food! Aside from burgers," Shedletsky decided.

"Okay! Uhm, mon aliment prefere est le chocolat!" 007n7 cringed at his own pronounciation, "Sorry if the pronounciation is a bit off, I haven't talked in that language in forever."

"Nah your good, seemed pretty decent to me actually," Shedletsky turned to Builderman, "Builds, any thoughts?"

"Uhm, it could be Italian or French... their pretty similar languages."

"C'mon, just pick one!"

"Then... Italian. Is it Italian?" Builderman looked over at 007n7, who was just standing there awkwardly.

"Nope! Nice try though."

"Ah, that's a shame," Builderman sighed before Shedletsky dragged him to the next person he saw.

007n7 took a deep breathe before he turned around, continuing to head back to his cabin.

—

Chance tried everything. Lockpicking, using force, and even trying the credit card slid tactic— but bothing worked. He had successfully locked both him and Elliot out of their cabin.

Elliot was right beside him, crossing his arms in disappointment.

"Just.. just give me a few more tries!" Chance tried to bargain, but Elliot, after tending to sick people and cooking more stuff than usual since Guest is out of the kitchen, was worn out. He shook his head, looking at Chance as if he burned down his pizzeria.

"Well, we're going to Guest's cabin to crash. I do not have the energy to deal with this," Chance exclaimed, dragging Elliot by the wrist to the cabin next door.

The rest felt like a fever dream— maybe he was getting a fever too?

Chance knocked on the cabin door, Taph let them in, and they have a nice comversation where Elliot did not pay attention at all.

His mind was somewhere else, he'd try to pay attention, or at least contribute a few times, but the words got stuck in his throat.

Elliot had a few breakdowns ever since he'd been here, but nothing was as strange at this one. It wasn't the most intense, or the most emotional, it just felt so different.

It'd been a few days since then, but it was stuck to his mind like glue. He couldn't just let it go.

Standing up from his seat, he announced:

"I'm gonna go outside to get some fresh air, I'll be back after a few minutes."

Elliot left without another word, ignoring what Chance and Taph were saying.

After finding 007n7's cabin, he stepped on to the porch. The dark atmosphere, this living hell was what they were forced to live.

Raising his fist to knock, he hesitated for a second— he didn't know what to say, or do.

Elliot lowered his fist again.

He turned around to head back to his own cabin.

Chapter Text

The heat from the oven was unbearable. It was the middle of the night and there were 3 pizza boxes stacked atop eachother. Usually Elliot only baked one per round, but the final round of today was a different story.

Elliot recalled to that round, he ran out of pizza as Shedletsky was on 1%. Everyone else was dead; it was just them two left.

He didn't make it in time. Shedletsky died to 1x because of Elliot.
And although he apologized profusely to Shedletsky, Elliot still felt so guilty for not being able to do anything. That's why he was here, baking all these back up pizzas so it won't happen again.

Elliot shivered at the thought of 1x pulling his sword out of the avian, knowing he couldn't do the only thing he does.

It takes around 15 minutes for the pizza to be ready. Elliot sat at the island kitchen waiting for those 15 minutes to be up; his visor was beside him, and his eyes feel heavy.

Despite Elliot desperately trying to keep himself awake, one thing led to another and Elliot was there, his arms cushioning him from the cold countertop as he dozed off.

—

The quiet whirling of the oven from the kitchen was the first thing 007n7 heard when he snuck into the main cabin.

Every step of the half broken wooden floor creaked loudly. 007n7 had his eye on the kitchen, squinting and trying to check who it was from the faint light coming from the oven. As he came closer, Elliot's bright red visor laid beside him as he seemed to be in a deep sleep.

Looking at the peaceful sight, 007n7 was about to leave him alone until his eyes locked sight with the burnt pizza in the oven.

Sighing, he rushed over to the oven mittens on the counter beside the stove, pulled the oven door open, and slid the tray of the pizza out.

Turning off the oven, he turned back to the sleeping Elliot, admiring his hard work and dedication to the group. It was beautiful, really. Having not a lot of useful abilities to help himself. (especially after the update) (im sorry i had to voice my frustration)

Without thinking, 007n7 sweeped Elliot off the chair and into a bridal carry in order to carry him back to his cabin.

007n7 was pretty strong. He had a lot of body weight and often did the heavy lifting when it came to moving stuff around.

He prayed that Chance was gonna open the door as he approached Elliot and Chance's cabin.

007n7 was about to knock when he realized that their cabin's lock broke recently and Chance was crashing with Guest 1337.

He groaned and headed back to his own cabin. As 007n7 headed there, he wondered what to do with the pizza boy in his arms.

Elliot's hair tie was loosely tied around his hair, his uniform was wrinkly, and there were noticeable eyebags. It was clear how exhausted Elliot is from what happened.

Elliot's passion for keeping everyone alive exceeds any ounce of care for himself. He never cared how difficult it was— nor how much of a toll it took out of him.

It was one of the reasons 007n7 looked up to him, he just wished Elliot didn't push himself so hard.

Before he went to his room, he made a detour and snatched Elliot's visor from the kitchen and headed back.

Laying Elliot in his bed gently, 007n7 absentmindedly reached a hand torwards Elliot's face, but he retracted it before he did anything. He turned around and slumped on the side of the bed.

He took a deep breath and closes his eyes, exhaustion taking over him entirely.

—

Every room was formatted the same. The bed was left of the door and the door to the bathroom was on the far right; The closet was in front of the bed.

Opening his eyes to the wooden ceiling, the dizziness, the confusion, and the only memory before falling asleep was the smell of fresh pizza. The warmth from the bed was at least better than the kitchen counter, but his entire body still felt sore and weak.

Despite that, he forced himself up and rubbed his eyes. Looking around, his visor was on the bedside table. A plastic burger accompanied by brown hair was visible on the edge of the bed.

He was in 007n7's room. Elliot looked around before realizing his pizza would still be in the oven. As he was about to get up to check up on the fire hazard, 007n7 muttered half-asleep:

"Go back to sleep, Elliot. I took the pizza out."

Elliot hesitated before he relaxed slightly. If the cabin wasn't up in flames by now, them 007n7 was probably saying the truth.

"Why did you bring me here? You know I was fine with falling asleep on the kitchen counter." Elliot pushed his knees up to his chest and glanced at the guy who gave up his bed for him.

"You were overworking yourself. You had eyebags and all that, this was the least I could do," 007n7 shot back almost immediately. Elliot smiled fondly. There didn't seem to be any ulterior motive behind it.

A brief moment of silence passed between the two.

"Thank you, Seven."

007n7's shoulders stiffened after hearing that. He slightly tilted his head down before replying:

"Uhm, I— you should go back to sleep."

Apparently 007n7 didn't realize his own ears flushed red.

"Sure, Sev," Elliot replied with the most amused and teasing tone he could mutter before plopping down on the bed and turning his back to 007n7.

After a few seconds, 007n7 put both his hands on his hand trying to grasp what Elliot just said to him. His heart was beating out of his chest as he just sat there silently.

It was Seven, and now Sev. 007n7 really didn't know how many nicknames Elliot's gonna come up with for him, either way, every single one of them would be one that he'd cherish.

After what seemed like a good 30 minutes, Dusekkar knocked on 007n7's door to announce breakfast.

007n7 got up to nudge Elliot awake, but he mumbled something about sleeping in before pulling the blanket over his face.

He didn't argue with that— it seemed like he needed it.

—

Elliot stretched, preparing for the next round. There should be enough to last one round, but he will be baking more after to make up for falling asleep.

Chance yawned while waking towards Elliot, "Ell! Where'dya crash last night?"

"Oh, hi! I slept with Seven last night. You went with Guest, right?"

"Yup! Surprised you didn't join us." Chance pointed out.

"Yeah, well, baking pizza's in the middle of the night doesn't exactly give you the luxury to choose," Elliot shrugged as if it was normal, but Chance just looked confused without the context.

"Wh—"

Before Elliot could hear rest of the sentence, they got teleported into Yorick's hiding place with C00lkidd as the killer.

From what 007n7 described, he seemed to not know he raised C00lkidd, nor did he remember having any relation with him.

The round progressed like normal, doing generators, healing, running away, and distracting.

Elliot was just waiting on the cliff with a well, overlooking Guest guiding the child away.

He was on a 30 second cooldown, and was still slightly burnt out from doing so much while half the lobby was sick.

It was when he looked down at his watch, for one second. One singular second, then looking back up to see Chance's gun blow him up, and him promptly falling limp.

Not even after a few seconds, C00lkidd walkspeed overrides into Guest, killing him as well.

Elliot groaned, Two time and Builderman was also down, and C00lkidd was most likely gonna start chasing Dusekkar next.

At this point, he couldn't help anyone. When Dueskkar dies, its gonna be him, 007n7, and Noob left with four whole minutes on the clock.

Elliot jumped off the tower and headed towards Dusekkar's direction, but he was pretty certain he was gonna die before he gets there.

As soon as Dusekkar managed to get behind Elliot, C00lkidd throws his stud brick, and kills the admin while Elliot barely dodged.

"God damn it..." Elliot muttered as he started to panic before making a u-turn.

It was only a matter of time he was gonna die— there was no way he'd be able to distract this hyperactive kid for 4 minutes 30 seconds.

Elliot felt his shoulder get set on fire as he gained a temporary speed boost. He frantically patted at the burnt piece of clothing to stop it from spreading.

Despite his heart racing, he tried to hard to stay calm, taking deep breaths over and over that did nothing.

Either way, after looping for what felt like forever, they were finally down to 2 minutes, just a bit less than halfway there.

Elliot panted, he was on 8 hp— he wasn't gonna last any longer.

As he turned a sharp corner, he felt a grip on his right arm pulling him away. Elliot yelped before his mouth got covered.

The familiar father with a strict look on his face shifted his hand until his index finger rested over Elliot's mouth while they were both crouched down.

Elliot held his breath, worried if he breathed too loud that he'd get caught. His heart raced faster— he felt more light headed.

007n7 looked at him like a deer in headlights as sweat dripped down his face. He seemed more worried for Elliot than Elliot himself.

It felt like the world stopped for Elliot. 007n7 was still looking around to see where C00lkidd is, but all Elliot could look at was 007n7 in front of him.

He was caught in a trance, unable to take his eyes off the guy that didn't allow Elliot to do all the work.

007n7 looked back to Elliot once the coast was clear. That goofy, innocent grin he wore. That careful, genuine act— the act he did to everyone.

He was the person Elliot looked up to. Determined, stubborn, unrelenting. Not as someone who holds a grudge, or someone who convinces himself he's right, but one who pushes himself repeatedly to change himself for the better; who's patient enough to wait the process out. It didn't matter how excruciatingly painful the process can be, it just mattered that he didn't give up.

Elliot was constantly fighting for other people's approval, quick and easy. He always had to be good, he had to seem good, overworking himself constantly, since that was the only way he was even acknowledged.

007n7 wasn't someone who was good from the beginning— no, it was someone who saw the light at the end of the tunnel, and crawled towards it slowly, despite how far it seemed, how out of reach. He never needed any approval to keep going, he just did.

The realization hit him like a freight train. Elliot wasn't just caught up in the moment. He was scared. Scared for 007n7, that he would end up just like Elliot. Sacrificing himself constantly, seeking for approval constantly until his hardwork became an expectation.

"Elliot... Elliot?" 007n7 called out in confusion, his finger still rested on Elliot's lip. He slowly put it down, waiting for him to speak.

"You're so beautiful," Elliot blurted out barely above a whisper, still zoned out.

007n7 flinched backwards, "What!?"

Elliot leaned forward, one hand leaning on his thigh and the other to his cheek, wet from the sweat build up.

He carressed 007n7's face gently, watching 007n7's movements like it was the only thing that mattered.

Elliot always believed he had changed. Ever since the start, when he saw the devil whom he cursed at was just a meek father who's too fearful to do anything, he believed it. He tried to swallow it down. He told himself, over and over that he wasn't ready to forgive 007n7. At one point, it felt selfish to feel so. Maybe he was ready, maybe he was just feigning ignorance.

Guilt. Guilt, shame, embarrassment. It was all he felt when he even heard 007n7's name. He watched as everyone else grew to like him while Elliot felt too ashamed to forgive him. He wanted to play victim for people to feel pity for him— that internalized fear of his controlling every one of his movements.

Elliot didn't want to think about that right now— all he could think about was how he was finally able to let that go.

"...Can I?" Elliot leaned in closer, the pain from his back didn't matter in this moment, nothing mattered.

007n7 nodded slowly, expecting a hug— but Elliot used his other hand to grab ahold of his face and pulled him in for a kiss.

For a second, 007n7 panicked, unsure of what to do, then he hesitantly laid his hand on Elliot's shoulder and waist.

All his problems seemingly melted away, he didn't have to keep up this stupid charade any longer.

"Mmh—" Elliot bit on 007n7 bottom lip until he tasted something metallic.

007n7 lost balance, falling back with Elliot following behind, not once breaking the kiss.

It's a surprise the killer hasn't found them yet.

Elliot pulled away, panting softly as the saliva string connecting the two broke.

Snapping back to reality, Elliot got off of 007n7 and exclaimed while avoiding eye contact, "Oh my god— I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to do that... I, I should get going now—"

Before Elliot could get up, 007n7 grabbed him by the wrist, stopping him in his tracks.

007n7 leaned back up and with that same grin, peppered kisses all over Elliot's face, making Elliot giggle uncontrollably out of both embarrassment and nervousness.

"I— you," Elliot tried to say between laughs, weakly jabbing at 007n7's chest.

"You still have to get going?" 007n7 teased heartwarmingly, his hand still holding on to Elliot's wrist.

"Well no since your so insistent," Elliot, borderline flirting replied.

007n7 paused for a bit, "...Do you like me?"

"What do you think?" Elliot jumped on to 007n7, laughing as he squeezed 007n7 tightly.

They were so caught up with what was happening that they didn't realize the round was already over.

Looking up, Elliot was met with Chance with his hand over his mouth in... distraught.

Not shock, distraught— and amused.

"Hey heres a bright idea ya lovebirds... maybe dont kiss during rounds? You know how weird it looked when I was spectating seven?" Chance grinned, amused at their position.

"Yeah! Get a room you two, I see the bleeding on Seven's lip!" Shedletsky yelled from the couch.

Elliot hurriedly got off of 007n7 muttering some apology no one can decipher in embarrassement.

Guest sneakily slid beside Chance, whispering in his ear smugly:

"20$ Chance, pay up."

"Aw man! I was hoping you won't bring that up.." Chance's amused face faltered as his shoulder's slumped in theatrical acting.

"I didn't expect neither of you to pull anyone— especially each other." Builderman's shadow loomed over the two that were sitting down.

"Yeah no. I'm gonna go bake some more pizza before anything more happens." Elliot jumps up and rushes out of the group, his face probably completely red.

"Yeah, go bake your pizzas and leave your boyfriend in the dust!" Shedletsky called out mockingly, still on the couch.

—

Knock knock!

"Come in!" 007n7's muffled voice from the door gave Elliot the permission to open the door.

"Hey, the lock in my cabin is still broken— can I stay here for the night?"

"Of course!— I was just about to go to sleep anyways," 007n7 replied, getting off the bed as Elliot approached him, shutting the door behind him.

"No, nono. You're not sleeping on the floor Sev," Elliot said as he dragged 007n7 back on to the bed, chuckling as he did so.

"It's a single bed— you won't have space though!" 007n7 tried to pull out of Elliot's grasp, nervously laughing with him.

Elliot liked this side of 007n7 more than his timid side or... past side. He was relaxed, wasn't walking on eggshells, cracking jokes, and still cared for everyone.

"So? I don't want you to sleep on the floor." Elliot latched on to 007n7's arm, muffling his voice.

007n7 sighed, looking down at Elliot gently. "Fine, fine, but don't complain when you wake up groggy tomorrow." 007n7 pulled his arm out of Elliot's grasp to turn off the light before walking back to the bed.

"I won't." Elliot made space for 007n7, and once he got in, Elliot wrapped his arms around his waist and pressed his face into the back of 007n7's neck; the scent of vanilla shampoo and pizza on the both of them. "Love ya..." Elliot mumbled half-asleep.

007n7's breath hitched, "I... I love you too." he covered Elliot's cold hand with his own.

"Your hand is warm," Elliot commented.

"Yours is cold," 007n7 squeezed his hand tight.