Work Text:
BANG BANG BANG
Scott had just sat down. It was literally the day after Wild Life ended, and Scott had made plans to spend the whole day on his personal, private server. He just wanted to decompress with spaghetti and a movie before getting back to work organizing MCC again, and, usually, on a private server, people were unlikely to be bothered. However, the banging, which was not on Scott’s front door but in fact on his server gate, indicated that someone had urgent business with Scott. This had better be worth it.
With a sigh, Scott summoned his admin panel and checked to see who was so interested in seeing him. He had expected Shelby or Katherine to be checking in on him, though they usually waited a little longer after a Life Series season before barging in. It also could have been Cleo, Gem, Pearl, Lizzie, or Joel wanting to gossip post-season. Though irritating during a recuperation day, Scott supposed the caller also could have been Owen or fWhip with a new SMP idea, at which he would tell them to send him a memo and he’d get back to them in a few days. Worst case scenario, it was Grian coming to tell him something was wrong, though everything had seemed okay throughout Joel’s after-party.
What Scott did not expect was to see the name “EthosLab” on his request list.
Well, wasn’t that interesting, and who was Scott to turn down an urgent request from such a handsome, tempting, exciting renown and elusive player? And so, of course Scott approved Etho’s request. Maybe his day wouldn’t be as relaxing as he had anticipated, but it was hardly every day that the EthosLab showed up on the doorstep of someone outside of his typical social circle. If Scott was being honest with himself, though, as much as he enjoyed the thrill of the idea of someone famous and special thinking that he’s so special himself, he knew that things were different between himself and Etho, now. They’ve known each other for a while, but there was always a distance between them that Scott had never known how to cross. It turned out that the answer was to let Etho come to him, almost as if he was taming a cat. Once Etho had crossed that distance, Scott had found that he really liked Etho, and he was quite pleased that he had apparently sought Scott out.
Since Scott was the only player to regularly be on the server, he had set the world spawn right in front of his house. After all, what were other players doing on Scott’s private server if they weren’t interested in visiting Scott? However, this also meant that Scott had to immediately be ready for every approved guest, so he shoved the blankets off of himself onto the couch and stood. He was very grateful that he stayed presentable just for himself, today.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
Okay, Etho was clearly not in a playful mood, and now Scott was starting to worry if everything was okay. When Scott had first heard the banging, he had assumed the matter was urgent, but Etho also could have just been excited or in a rush. Now, though, Scott could hear him panting at the door, like he had gotten to Scott as soon as he possibly could. Discouraged from keeping Etho waiting, Scott picked up the pace to the door to find a very sweaty Etho with a bouquet of blue orchids.
“I, uh, hi. Hi, Scott,” Etho panted, catching his breath. His posture was hunched with nerves, and his eyes were squinting from the sweat dripping into them. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Scott said, blushing furiously. So, like, and like, okay, so, okay, Scott might have liked Etho more than he expected to, during Wild Life. Maybe Etho had made puppy eyes at Scott, begging him for a trident like a sad puppy dog, and Scott had cursed internally at finding yet another golden retriever man unbearably cute. It was entirely possible that Scott saw Etho let his guard down during his first Gs meeting and got attached. There’s some possibility that Etho had shown a gentle side, and Scott had internally melted. “I’d love to go out with you.”
“What?” Etho looked up, baffled.
“What?” Oh god, were the flowers not for Scott? Did he completely misread Etho’s affections towards him? Where was Cleo when he needed them? “Is that- the flowers are my favorite color, and bright blue is literally my whole thing, so- I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed anything. I thought, um, I thought we had a moment or something in Wild Life, and you looked so nervous. I, uh, I’m so sorry-”
“No! No, um, no, I’m sorry. I, uh, this was- this was an apology, um, bouquet,” Etho stumbled through his explanation, his posture shooting upwards. “But that’s! We can get to that!”
“Oh!” Scott was definitely putting a pin in the dating talk. “Is the apology for me?”
“Yes! Of course,” There was a clear disconnect between how the two men viewed their relationship, and, once again, Scott felt lost trying to find Etho. Really, it wasn’t that Scott didn’t know how to reach Etho. He just couldn’t figure out where Etho stood. Once again, Scott would have to wait for Etho to close the distance.
“What for?” Scott asked, honestly unable to recall a reason for Etho to apologize to him, particularly a reason so devastating and so recent that would have Etho sweating on his porch with flowers that were clearly chosen because they’re Scott’s favorite color. Etho, on the other hand, just stared at him.
“I killed you,” Etho said as if it were that simple, which really didn’t make much sense. Okay, sure, Etho took Scott’s final life, but Etho hadn’t truly promised Scott his loyalty. There was always an unspoken understanding that Etho never prioritized promises.
“Lots of my allies have killed me, Etho,” Scott shrugged, unsure of how to proceed. “That’s kind of my whole schtick.”
“But this was different. I should’ve been closer, or I should’ve trusted you to handle Joel. I’m so sorry,” Etho apologized, and that made Scott’s eyebrows raise.
“Wait, did you shoot me by accident?” Scott cocked his head. Etho froze for a moment, his eyes darting all over Scott’s face.
“Mhm, I’m sorry,” It was the quietest Scott had ever heard Etho be. “I would never hit you on purpose.”
“Etho, come inside,” Scott whispered. He reached out to gingerly touch Etho’s arm, but Etho passed him the flowers instead. “I made spaghetti. You can help yourself, while I put these in water.”
As Etho scooped what would have been Scott’s leftovers into a bowl, Scott fished out a curvy white vase from his kitchen cabinet and filled it with water. He invited Etho to sit on the couch, and he opened a couple of drawers before finding the scissors. Once the orchid stems had been cut and the flowers arranged, Scott washed off his hands, wet a towel, and joined Etho on the couch. Etho hadn’t taken off his mask. He just picked at his food with a fork.
“I didn’t take it personally,” Scott started. “It was just a part of the game. Besides, you told us when you joined that we shouldn’t expect you to be, y’know, a ‘good teammate’. It wasn’t exactly a Martyn-level surprise. Um, that being said, I wouldn’t say that ‘missing a shot’ counts as being a bad teammate. Plus, when I thought it was on purpose, I forgave you anyway. I couldn’t blame you, when I thought you were trying to save Joel. I know you’re close with Joel and Gem, and they, y’know, they clearly had the best shot at winning. I definitely won’t blame you now that I know it was an accident.”
Etho looked up at Scott, and the haze in his eyes faded just a little. His twitchiness died down, and he stopped fidgeting with his fork. On the edge of Scott’s perception, he could see the bob in Etho’s throat as he swallowed. His breathing was lighter. Scott held up the wet towel and rubbed it gently across Etho’s eyes, trying to relieve the sting of the sweat. Etho’s nose scrunched up from the cold when Scott wiped over it, and Scott’s lips quirked up. Once Scott had finished wiping Etho’s forehead, Etho brought his hand up over Scott’s to take the towel.
“Thank you,” Etho murmured, and Scott wasn’t sure what exactly Etho was thanking him for. With Scott still reaching towards Etho’s cheek, Etho pulled down his mask. Startled, Scott turned away, unsure of what the correct reaction was. He could feel his heart pounding in his ears. “You can look.” When Scott looked back at Etho, his heartrate picked up. Etho was smiling bashfully at him and wiping away the sweat on his neck that his mask had accumulated. The scar on his left eye traveled down across his lips, and Scott tried not to stare, tried to act as though he earned the privilege of Etho’s trust. “You said you wanted to go out with me?”
“I didn’t say I wanted to,” Scott flushed, his head ducking down a little. “I just meant that if you wanted to, then I would enjoy it.”
“Oh, well, I’m not picking up on a lot of enthusiasm here,” Etho grinned, his eyes crinkling at the edges.
“I mean, I’m usually the one being chased, not doing the chasing,” Scott smiled back, as he found his flow again. He didn’t yet really know how to best talk to Etho about complicated feelings, but he could flirt. Flirting was easy.
“You agreed to go out with me when you saw I brought you flowers. For the first time ever, I don’t think you were hard to catch,” Etho propped his elbow up on the back of the couch, opening himself towards Scott.
“I give the pretty ones lenience,” Scott smiled and batted his eyes.
“You didn’t know what half my face looked like.”
“Oh my god. Shut up,” Scott pulled Etho into him, and it was like falling onto his own bed after a long day. When Etho reciprocated eagerly, his focus suddenly narrowed to one thing and one thing only, Scott sighed through his nose, suddenly weightless against Etho’s mouth. All of the tension evaporated from his neck and shoulders, and he melted into Etho’s arms. Scott clutched Etho’s collar desperately, and he could feel Etho’s hands, sweaty through his gloves, running up his back and pulling him closer. The kisses were short and hot, and each parting was followed by one chasing the other. With great care and affection, Etho leaned into Scott until Scott was laid on his back on the couch, gasping and pressing his forehead to Etho’s. Only then did they pull apart. “Is that enough enthusiasm for you?”
“Mmm…” Etho hummed into Scott’s neck, both of his hands on Scott’s hips. His voice was husky with longing, and he looked up at Scott with a half-lidded, worshipful gaze. “One more time?”
Scott laughed and brought his hands up to hold Etho’s face, his thumbs rubbing Etho’s cheekbones. Etho was smiling at him, and that was surely a sight that Scott would be so honored to get used to. With Scott’s fingers drifting up into Etho’s hair, Etho closed his eyes with a content exhale, leaning into Scott’s touch. Scott kissed Etho’s forehead, mumbling low and gentle.
“You’re forgiven,” he promises. “You’re forgiven.”
“You’re the kindest person I’ve ever met,” it’s barely a whisper. “I don’t understand you, but I want to.”
“I hope you like what you find,” Scott mumbled earnestly, his lips still pressed to Etho’s forehead.
“I think I will,” Etho kept his ear pressed to Scott’s chest, right over his heart, reminding himself where he is and the impermanence of what he’s done. “From what I’ve heard, it’s hard not to.”
The two men laid like that on the couch for several minutes, basking in this new ground they had to explore and relishing in the kindness of the other. Warmth and safety swelled in Scott’s chest, as grief and shame drained from Etho’s. Eventually, Scott murmured about their pasta getting cold, and Etho heaved himself up, beating down the resentment of being even so slightly further from Scott’s warmth. Luckily, Etho wasn’t alone for long. Scott was quick to nestle into Etho’s side and throw a blanket over their laps. Happy to be able to feel Scott beside him, Etho threw an arm around Scott’s shoulders, keeping the side of Scott’s head within kissing range.
“What were you watching?” Etho asked, picking his bowl of room temperature spaghetti back up.
“I was going to put on the old school Disney Cinderella. I just wanted something I didn’t have to think about too much,” Scott shrugged.
“Cool. What’s it about?”
“What?”