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Feet were hammering on the ground. Heavy pants filled the air. Gekko’s head ached with every step he forced himself to take. He had managed to escape, though barely. And god, the looks on their faces. Their bodies on the ground. How had it come to this? How had he let it come to this? Everything had gone so well. But how he had been forced to leave them behind.
The thin air made his head spin around. He really fucking hates heights. Why had they even decided to send him on this mission. His fear wasn’t exactly a secret. He had been teased about it often enough by the other agents.
The same one’s he had just left behind to bleed out. He shut his eyes tightly to force himself to concentrate. Sage’s last words still rung in his ears. “Save yourself, Mateo!” A last, desperate scream. And he had looked away just in time. A second later, a singular shot had rung through the air. That was when he had taken off. He had the spike. He could do this. He couldn’t have let his friends die for nothing and nothing again. He had to do something at least. He had to plant the spike and collect the radionite. His hands tightened on his gun. He would avenge them. Sage, Phoenix, Yoru, Brimstone, he would avenge them.
His back hit the wall roughly. The narrow alleyway he was in was hardly the ideal place. He had no where to hide if he advanced further, and there could always be someone hidden around the corner in the end. But he needed to keep going. It wouldn’t take the other team long to realise he had run off to the other site. He needed to get the job done.
His mouth opened to call his little creature friends until he painfully realised he had to leave them behind as well. Only mosh did he have left, and the little guy gave him an encouraging little blink. If they went down, they went down together.
He took a last, deep breath, then turned the corner. It all looked clear, but Gekko was well aware on how much that impression could mean the death of him. He raised his gun to the right level and carefully checked each corner, finger always on the trigger, always ready to shoot. No one was there. It was so quiet, Gekko actually dared to hope he could do this.
He crouched down beside a large metal wall and took out the spike. Killjoy had told him exactly how to do this. He knew how to do this, and yet his fingers trembled so hard he could hardly push the buttons. And why did it even have to beep so damned loudly? But it was ok, this was okay. Now he just needed to put it down on the ground and the bomb would go off in—
“Got you. Zuò hǎo.”
Gekko froze. He didn’t just stop moving, every muscle in his body locked in horror as the voice sounded behind him. Because he knew that voice. He knew it really damn well. It was the same voice that told him he loved him every night, that has stammered out a confession two years ago. It was a voice he had heard laugh and moan more times than he could ever count. “Iso.”, he choked out.
“Ah—I see they taught us our profiles before coming here. But recognising me on voice alone, quite impressive. Now turn the bomb off and put your hands where I can see them.” Gekko swallowed roughly at the tone in Iso’s voice. Could he really kill him? Were they not a thing in this world too? They had to be, right? Gekko’s mind was racing as he turned the bomb off. It would make no sense to disobey and plant it. Even if he did manage, Iso would just kill him and turn it off himself afterwards. No, he had to be smart about this. So he did exactly what Iso asked of him. And when he stood up and turned around, the pistol shoved in his face hardly made him flinch. His own gun was out of reach. Still, he was sure that even if it was in his hand, if their positions were reversed and Iso was at Gekko’s mercy, he wouldn’t manage to kill him.
Even with his gaze cold and unrecognising, that was still his boyfriend, somehow. A sharper, more brutal version of him, but that was still his Iso, his Zhao Yu.
“Listen, man, we can talk about this.” But Iso just scoffed and nudged Gekko with his gun.
“There is nothing to talk about, xiǎotōu.” Iso’s face was in a scowl, his finger never leaving the trigger. Gekko was growing desperate. He knew that at least one other was still alive and well. If he didn’t take Iso down quick, he wouldn’t get out of here alive, let alone get revenge for his friends. But when he looked at that face, those lips that had kissed him just earlier today, told him good luck and smiled at him, he knew he couldn’t kill him. No one had told him an alternate Iso would be here. Perhaps for exactly this reason. “You will die right here, just like your friends did.”
Save yourself, Mateo.
Sage had always been so kind to him. Had told him it was fine to not want to kill people when he had thought he wasn’t fit for the job. Had been his shoulder to try on when he told her about his crush on Iso, and how he was sure he would get rejected. He could not let here die for nothing.
His back was against the wall now, Iso towering above him, the cold metal of the gun inches away from his forehead. There was nothing that could stop Iso from killing him now. No reason to hesitate. And so a desperation built up inside of him. A desperate, futile attempt at survival. He shut his eyes, and,
“In another life, you love me!”
There was nothing gunshot. His world did not fade to black, no blood sprayed on the ground. And when he opened his eyes, Iso was staring at him. His eyes were wide, his mouth slightly open. Even the gun had dipped ever so slightly. “You—what?”
“Your real name is Li Zhao Yu! You hide the name well, but you told me. You actually prefer dogs over cats, but you would never admit it. Your favourite food is mapo tofu, and you have a little mole on your inner thigh that you’re embarrassed of.” Gekko really had no idea what provoked him to add that last fact, but it worked. A slight dusting of pink appeared on Iso’s cheeks, and he let his gun sink down.
”In your world—we are…?” Iso never finished the question, but Gekko nodded.
“For two years now.” He let out a little chuckle, which was insane, given the situation, but he couldn’t help it. He always laughed when he thought about Iso. “And you’re a really good boyfriend, to be honest.”
Iso clicked his tongue, but the pistol vanished into his belt. Gekko’s heart made a little jump. “We have five minutes until Sova comes to this site. He is a patient man, and the spike hasn’t been planted yet, so he has no reason to hurry.” Gekko nodded very slowly. He honestly had no idea what that meant. Did Iso really plan on letting him go? He couldn’t possibly, right? So he wanted to have a little chat before killing him? Squeeze as much information from him as possible?
“I don’t really…”
“You don’t get a chance to talk to your mirror-selves boyfriend often, right?”
Once again, Gekko nodded slowly. He did kind of get where Iso was coming from, but did he really believe him this easily? For all Iso knew, Gekko could be bluffing. “Right, uhm…” He desperately rummaged through his mind to find something to say, but Iso already posed a question.
”For two years you said? Who confessed first?”
“You did.”, Gekko answered truthfully, once again, a tiny smile slipped on his lips. “It was really cute.”
“Cute?” Iso frowned, and Gekko had to keep from bursting out laughing. Because when he frowned like that, Iso looked so damn sweet it hurt his teeth. But at the same time, this Iso acted like no one had ever called him cute before.
“I mean, yeah! You’re always cute, but when you confessed you were especially cute.” Iso clicked his tongue again, looking away from Gekko until he seemed to realise that looking away from his target was probably not the best idea. The blush on his cheeks had intensified.
“I suppose you are not horrible to look at either.”, he grumbled, but couldn’t meet Gekko’s eyes as he said it. He chuckled.
”Wow, you really are nothing like your mirror self! Except for the looks, of course.”
Iso frowned, “Why? How would my other self have reacted?”
Gekko wondered for a moment. What would his Iso have done? “Probably covered his face with his hands and grumbled something about unfair weapons… you’re quite shy, you know?”
”I am not shy.”, he retorted. Gekko just accepted it. The less room he gave this Iso to get angry, the higher his chances for survival. And he really would like to return to his own Iso this evening. “So, eh”
Gekko’s attention snapped back up to the man in front of him. He was properly blushing now, the redness expanding over his ears the way it always did, and Gekko found his heart swell a little before he remembered that this was not his Iso, and he needed to get a hold of himself.
“I guess… I do understand why I—why my other me—fell for you.”
Now it was Gekko’s turn to blush. Because he definitely had not expected that. And he had expected the words Iso uttered next even less.
“So—fuck, if protocol finds out about this… take the goddamn bomb and leave. Don’t let me see your face ever again and I guess you can go.” Gekko’s jaw literally fell open. He was actually letting him leave? The brief idea he had immediately stamped as an unreal fantasy was becoming the truth? Or was this just a mind game? Did Iso want him to think he was safe, just to drive a bullet through his brain the second he rounded the corner? But Iso looked sincere. His brows were slightly furrowed and he was chewing on his lower lip. A face that in any other situation, would have made Gekko jump him, take him by the shoulders and ask him to take him right here right now, but now he was just glad to see it. Iso really meant it, he was free to go.
”But—why? I mean, you don’t even really know me. I mean, you, this you.” Oh, great, yeah that made sense to ask, thank you Mateo. Hadn’t they always said to run before someone changed their mind? And here he was, engaging in further conversation that made the man who had his life in his hands question whether he should take it or not. Wow, I am so smart.
Iso was silent for a moment, then shrugged. “I don’t really know, I—” He hung his head low, and Gekko could have sworn there was a new blush spreading. What was he so embarrassed about?
“Hey, you can tell me, mi amor.” The name slipped from his lips before he could stop it. Iso’s eyes widened slightly. Even without speaking Spanish, it really wasn’t hard to realise what those words meant.
But it had just been muscle memory for Gekko. Iso and his insecurities were nothing new for him, so he had spoken that exact sentence at least a million times before. And even now, with Iso shocked from the nickname, it worked. He sighed and palmed his face, then,
“If you’re seeing me—the other me—you probably already know this, but I’m not really good at the whole, uh, dating thing.” No, no Gekko had not known that. He has guessed it, from the awkward glances his way, and the way Iso had freaked out the first and hundredth time Gekko had taken his hand. But he had never told him directly in his face. “So if my other me found someone, someone like you, then I don’t want to take that away. Call me selfish, but I’m keeping you alive to help myself.”
A little smile slipped on Gekko’s face. Iso looked so damn adorable as he said that, he honestly couldn’t believe it.
“Just told tell anyone about this! Think of something else, never mention we talked like this, ever! And don’t come back stealing radionite…” Gekko knew that Iso was aware that he couldn’t promise that last part. So he didn’t even try. He just nodded and said,
“I won’t tell.”
Two minutes later, he was clutching both mosh and the deactivated spike against his chest. Just the second he had decided to leave, that they had talked for long enough, Sova’s voice had rung through the air. Iso had panicked, had practically thrown the spike at him and shoved him into a little alley. “Just—run, okay?”, he had hissed at him.
But like the idiot he was, he didn’t run immediately. He just watched how the light danced through the leaves above him and closed his eyes for a minute. If both Iso and Sova were here… perhaps he could go back for his friends. Maybe someone was still alive? His heart sank. It was hopeless, he knew that, but he had to try. His feet were already preparing to keep moving, when a voice spoke up.
“You haven’t found him here?” It was Sova. Gekko’s heart skipped a beat, and he shifted the spike in his arms so he could get a hold on his gun. This was when Iso was tested. Would he tell his friend and finish the mission, or would he keep quiet on having met Gekko. There was a silence that followed that might have been just three seconds, but it felt like hours to him.
“No. He was no where to be seen. Must have fled and surrendered.”
When Gekko fell into bed that night, his entire body felt like it was made out of something heavier than flesh and bone. He had managed to save his friends, after Iso had held his word. When he had come to the site, Sage had already been sitting upright, slowly healing her wounds. She looked barely conscious as she did so, but had used her own power to heal what was most fatal. Phoenix had done the same when he had woken up. With his flames he had healed the most damage, and had been kneeling above Yoru with a blood-soaked cloth when Gekko had come back. Yoru had been conscious as well, but his eyes were trained on Phoenix’s like they were saying goodbye. Him and Brimstone were in the worst conditions.
Neither of them were in the condition to ask Gekko where he had been, and why he barely has a scratch, so he just slowly collected all of his creature friends and human friends, taking them back to the airship they had come from.
And now he was lying in bed, with his very own Iso, the Iso from this world, slowly running his hands through his short hair. He felt like he could fall asleep any second now. “You seem different”, he finally mumbled, “Did something happen, wǒ de ài?”
And for a second, he contemplated telling him. The other Iso would never know, right? Still, it would feel wrong. Iso had kept his promise, he should do it too.
He turned his head towards his boyfriend and smiled a lazy smile. “Nope, all good. Just tired.”