Chapter Text
Oh, I get it now. I’m still in the hole
***
The moment Z came to the realization that everything around him was false, the world he was standing in glitched. Soon he realized he was standing back in that dark hall. He turned around abruptly searching for the door. Praying that this time there was indeed an exit and not just a stupid hallucination.
Suddenly a robotic voice echoed through the entire hall. Z sought to find out who was talking to him, but the only thing he was able to see were dark walls of bedrock surrounding him. The voice kept talking to him until he finally reached the door, after that only an agonizing silence remained.
However, a certain thing the voice had said stuck to him, echoing in his head loudly causing his head to hurt even more than it already did: “Until we meet again. If you even make it that far.” Something about that part didn’t feel right. Was that thing…entity letting him go for now? It was pretty clear that whatever that thing was, it was planning on tormenting Z in the future, but…was it REALLY giving him a break and letting him go back to the real world?
When Z stepped out of the hall he heaved a quivering sigh he didn’t know he was holding. Each second that passed by, an exhaustion took over his body. God he was trembling…like a lot. How long has he been in there anyways? He actually felt like he hadn't eaten for weeks.
Z tried to gain some composure leaning against the cold stone behind him while he tried to think how he was going to manage to get out of this hole. He had nothing in his inventory and there was no way he had enough strength to go up the waterfall. He could try to scream, but due to how weary he was and how deep the hole was he heavily doubted someone was going to be able to hear h-
“Z!...Z come back, please!”
A sudden voice resonated in the entire hole. Someone was calling out for him. Regect. Wait, so when he heard Regect shouting his name in the fake world, that was real? It didn’t sound like Regect, though. That voice was worried…desperate and his friend would never sound like that. Especially for him.
“Where are you, Z?!..Z!”
Once again Regect’s voice echoed, cracking at the last part. Z pushed himself away from the stone he was leaning on and staggered to his feet heading toward the tiny circle of light at the top. He looked up, but the only thing he managed to see were tall trees peering out and a tinged red sky slowly darkening, hinting that night wasn’t that far.
“Z, please! I can’t lose anybody else…I can’t lose you.”
Suddenly something in Z kicked in and gave him the slightest but enough strength to scream. And so he did. He filled the entirety of his lungs with air and let out a strained scream. It didn’t sound like him, it was pathetic and broken “Down here! Regect!”
Wait, what was he thinking? What if this was just another fake world that entity put him in? He was giving away his location to the fake Regect, wasn’t that dangerous?
On the other hand, it could be useful. Z could pretend to not know that this was the fake Regect and ask him to get him out of this hole. After that, he would run away as far as possible from this imposter pretending to be his friend before it tried to do anything to him.
“Z?! W-was that you? Down where?”
Gradually Z started hearing fast steps approaching. ”In the hole, Regect help me!” Z shouted at the top of his lungs making him feel a bit lightheaded afterwards.
Finally he saw a dark spot peering into the hole, Regect, he found him. Z sighed in relief. Even though this was probably all fake he really needed to get out of here and breathe some fresh air.
Just as Regect appeared, he vanished only to reappear in front of Z. Z was taken aback not expecting him to be able to teleport. The fake Regect wasn’t able to use any of his friend’s powers, meaning…maybe this really was his friend. This really was the real world and that thing did let him go. Either way, Z stepped back from his friend, still skeptical.
When he glazed up at Regect he noticed something different in him. Despite the fact his friend’s body had several invisible parts, he could perceive a new emotion he had never seen on the entity. He seemed…shocked. Regect was shaking and he seemed to be trying his best to not step towards Z after seeing him back away.
“Z, is it really you?” Regect’s voice rised, cautiously. “I swear if you are another asshole imitating my friend I will kill you.”
What?
Why was Regect questioning him? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Unless…while he was in the hole, an impostor had been posing as him so his friends wouldn’t notice he was missing.
Fine, then Z needed to think of a way to prove he was the real Z. Think, think...he got it. Z looked down and grabbed a rock lying next to his foot and without any further thought he threw the rock towards Regect. The entity cried, letting out a loud “Ow!” as the rock hit his chest.
“Okay, okay, it’s really you.” Regect sighed as he caressed the spot of his chest where he’d been hit.
After a few minutes of them just standing there Regect’s voice broke the silence ”Z are you alright?...y-you look like shit, dude.” It came out soft, trembling slightly as if he was on the edge of tears.”You’ve been in this hole the entire time? Moe and I-”
Regect kept talking only to be interrupted by Z who now felt unable to speak louder than a whisper,”How can I know that it’s really you?”
At that the entity let out a confused “what?” ”Prove you are really Regect and not that thing pretending to be him,” Z said quickly feeling an anxiety creeping through his veins.
The entity paused for a few seconds, realizing it was now his turn to prove he was the “original” and so he replied while trying to steady his nerves.
”I-I um…okey, do you remember that time we were walking in the forest with Moe and we found a huge cave. We were so scared of going down there to explore, but Moe didn’t care and went for it. Of course we couldn’t just leave her alone exploring and so we both jumped in the cave. Gosh it hurted so much when I hit the floor and you instantly nagged me, reminding me that I could fly.”
Z let out a soft chuckle remembering that crazy adventure they had that day. He really missed those days. Just Moe, Regect and him exploring. No hallucinations, no creepy eyes, just the three of them getting into together, having squabbles from time to time only to end up with them laughing it off and having a nice dinner together.
“Or the time we were looking for Moe, and when we found her, I accidentally fell from the building. You said that I had actually run off it...but that was completely stupid, because I clearly just tripped,” Regect recalled, and he couldn’t lose the opportunity to once again defend himself about the fact that he did “fall” off the building that day.
Once again Z couldn’t help but let another choking chuckle, this time louder and with more ease.
This was really Regect.
He was safe.
Without thinking it twice he hurriedly threw himself to Regect’s arms. His hands wrapped around the other’s waist as he sagged against him, embracing him in a tight hug. “I-it’s really you…it’s really you,” Z muttered close to the entity.
He never thought he’d ever hug Regect, but for some reason this time it felt…right. The warmth radiating from the other was the only thing that helped him stay grounded. A muted sob escaped his lips and just like that all his walls broke down. Tears poured down his eyes and hit Regect’s visible shoulder as Z pressed himself closer and hid his face between the crook of the entity’s neck.
Not even a second passed that he felt Regect hugging him back. It was tight, maybe a bit too tight, but calming. It seemed like the other was also trying to ground himself by holding him like his life depended on that.
After a few silent seconds of them holding each other closely Z heard a low muffle coming out of Regect “I thought I’d never see you again. I thought you left us... you left me.”
It was a bit hard to understand at first, but the moment Z got it he squeezed him closer (as if that was even possible). Regect sounded like he was also in the middle of fighting back tears and a quiet weep escaped his lips. Now it was pretty obvious how much they were both shaking.
“I would never do that,” Z managed to mutter between hiccups. “Moe and you are the only ones I have. Shit, Moe! How is she?” he asked, pulling scarcely away from Regect, just enough to look him in the face. Well, more like to look at his two floating eyes and mouth.
The entity looked away as he answered “She’s…she’s not okay, Z. Since you disappeared, she rarely left the house. She’s just waiting on the couch all day hoping you would come back. Rarely do I hear her honk anymore.”
Z felt his heart shutter hearing about his clown friend. He promised to himself to never leave her side ever again when they reunite.
“And you?” Z asked
“I-I’ve been looking for you every day. I tried teleporting to you several times, but it didn’t work so the only option I had was flying around hoping I would spot you,” Regect’s voice faltered as he spoke. “What were you doing in here anyways? Couldn’t you tell us where you were going before you left?”
Z opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out as flashbacks of the fake world came back to him. Then he only let out a strangled sob and broke down in tears again. At this point he couldn’t care less about the fact that he was crying like a baby in front of the other man. He really needed this.
Thankfully, Regect seemed to understand that he wasn’t ready to talk about it yet and just held Z tightly trying the best to soothe him.
Once again, they just held each other in silence. “Thank you for not giving up on finding me,” Z mumbled.
Now it was Regect’s turn to pull away to look at him. He looked like shit if Z had to be honest, the entity looked like he hadn’t slept in days. Then the pair of floating eyes in front of him locked with his. Those yellow tired eyes held his gaze, unwavering, as Regect answered with a simple “of course” which was almost inaudible.
Then it hit Z just how close he actually was to Regect. His arms still wrapped tightly around Regect’s waist, while the other grasped Z’s shoulder with one hand and with the other his back.
Any other day Z would have pushed and even punched the entity back if they were even less close than this. However, right now, something deep inside of him told him that this was fitting, it was home.
Z didn't know what was happening to him. Maybe the desperation, the relief of being back home, but he couldn’t help but lean in closer to the entity’s hovering facial features. To his surprise the other didn’t pull back, in fact, he leaned in as well bashfully. Actually, maybe this was just the last thing he needed to realize, the moment when everything clicked into place, that he liked being this close to the other… and perhaps much closer.
Just like that, Z let his body decide and close the remaining space between the two. He brushed his lips sheepishly against the other’s, giving them a try. He had to admit kissing a floating mouth wasn’t on his list of things to do before dying, but god, now he regretted not doing it sooner.
The moment their lips touched, Regect didn’t hesitate and deepened the kiss, squeezing Z’s shoulder bringing him closer. Hushed, shaky breaths mingled with gentle kisses as they poured all the bottle-up feelings into one thing, the other’s lips.
A few minutes passed by and Z pulled away to catch his breath. He took the opportunity to admire the entity who was panting after the long make out session.
Crazy to think that this was the same entity that, just a few days ago, Z used to see as nothing more than a burden, someone he’d constantly fight with over how annoying they found each other. Wait, a few days? Or maybe months? God he didn’t actually want to know. Instead he focused on Regect.
“Z, can you walk on your own or…?” Regect asked but immediately cut off noticing how much Z was shaking. “Nevermind, dumb question, hah,” He let out a faint chuckle.
Then, without warning, Regect bent down and lifted Z on his arms, bridal style. Z let out a surprised noise and quickly grasped onto Regect’s shoulders. And just in a blink of eyes, they appeared inside their house.
Z was certain Regect was definitely not playing around with this whole thing, he’d never seen him use his powers more than once in a single day.
The house looked exactly the same as the day he went into the hole. It was all dark but he managed to catch a glimpse of a red-headed girl in a clown’s costume sleeping on the couch.
Moe!
Noticing Z’s excitement over their sleepy friend, Regect guided him to the couch and laid him gently next to her. Z whispered a soft “thanks” to Regect and turned to look at his friend.
Moe seemed to be in a deep sleep. Her clown make up was all smudge, with dry tear marks on her cheeks. She looked so sad. Z had a strong urge to wake her up to let her know he was back, but he held back letting her rest. They could talk tomorrow. Z laid further on the couch, resting his head on the back cushions next to her, ready to get some sleep himself.
As he started to drift off, he noticed Regect standing in front of them, just watching. The softness in the other’s eyes, which he’d seen back in the hole, still present.
With the last strength in his muscles, Z scooted over on the couch to make room for him and patted the cushion beside him, a silent invitation. At that, Regect gave him a coy smile and settled next to Z.
Despite the fact that the entire room was dark, Z could see Regect’s golden eyes staring at him from the corner of his eyes. Carefully, so he wouldn’t wake Moe up, Z turned to his side to be face to face with the entity.
Back in the hole, he’d kissed this guy.
He’d kissed Regect.
Z still couldn’t believe it, but he knew, deep inside of him, that he didn’t regret it at all.
A warm hand on his cheek pulled him back from his thoughts. He reached out and placed his own hand over Regect’s and let his eyes finally give in to the exhaustion.
“I really thought I’d lost you…forever” it came out gently out of Regect’s lips, and Z, even with his eyes closed, could tell the entity was fighting back tears.
Z let go of the other’s hand and placed it on Regect’s waist. That seemed to be Z’s favorite spot to hold him. Locking his grip on the entity, Z pulled him closer and rested his head right next to where Regect’s head would be. And as a response, Regect stretched his arms and wrapped them around Z’s shoulders.
“The only way you can lose me is if something manages to end me for good,” said Z softly. “And that’s not possible.”
Regect’s arms tightened around him.
“Hey…sorry,” muttered Z, giving Regect’s waist a gentle squeeze. “That came out harsher than I meant.”
Silence took over and they let themselves drift into sleep. Holding onto each other, their breath gradually synched.
Finally everything was back into place.
Until we meet again.
At least for now.
But it was alright. With his team they would find a solution. They always did, and at the end of the day they always laugh it off,
Together.