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Conkers was freaking out, which wasn’t an unusual thing for him to be doing, but it currently was at a much higher level than usual.
The three finalists singing a duet with another Mask was tradition, it happened every year without fail. But Conkers hadn’t been expecting to make it to the final and thus was very unprepared for his upcoming duet with Snail.
“What if I forget my lines? What if I mix up the timing? What if I accidentally hurt her? What if I fall off the stage? What if I-?”
“Overthinking again, are you?” A voice suddenly called out, causing the knight to jump slightly as Moth appeared beside him with an amused smile on her face. Conkers shot her a lighthearted glare when his heart rate returned to normal, but that just seemed to amuse the bug further. “I bet you’re going to be fine!”
“You don’t know that, there’s so much that could go wrong!" Was Conkers’ immediate response, crossing his arms as he paced back and forth across the stage. How Moth could be so calm about her upcoming duet with Lionfish, he didn’t know… he was definitely envious. “Ugh… I’m so not ready for this!”
“Why don’t you practise the duet first?” The bug suggested as the knight felt her gently rest a hand on his shoulder, which did help relax him a little. “That might help ease your worries!”
“I… guess I could do that,” Conkers muttered quietly as he slowly nodded. Practising would probably help, but he soon realised a problem, his duet partner wasn’t even in the studio right now. “But Snail isn’t here yet, who could I practise with?”
Moth let out a thoughtful hum at that as her eyes scanned the room, though something about the hum felt a little off to Conkers. It was a hum that sounded like she didn’t even need to think, like she had someone in mind already.
Before he could ask about it, the other Mask suddenly pointed to Can of Worms who was currently helping decorate the studio for the upcoming grand final. Conkers glanced between her and the bundle of worms with wide eyes… did she know how he felt about Can of Worms? If so, how did she figure it out?!
“How about Can of Worms?” Moth asked casually which caused Conkers to rapidly shake his head in response, cheeks heating up as the bug gave a seemingly innocent yet also knowing smile. If the knight had to perform a love song duet with his crush, he might just pass out. “He’d be perfect!”
“No, not Can of Worms!” He hissed quietly as he glanced over at the other mask, who was chatting to Disc Jockey about what bunting they should use. Thank god he was distracted, hopefully it meant he wouldn’t overhear any of this. “I’d probably embarrass myself in front of him!”
“You’re exaggerating,” Was the bugs response, rolling her eyes with an amused huff. Conkers opened his mouth to argue, but before he could say anything Moth turned to face Can of Worms’ direction. “Hey Can of Worms! Could you come over here for a minute?”
As the bundle of worms turned to face the duo, Conkers briefly considered running off and hiding amongst the spare props. Unfortunately he couldn’t even turn around before Can of Worms was suddenly standing before them both, preventing him from escaping the situation.
“What’s up Moth?” The other Mask asked curiously, giving a friendly smile which had Conkers blushing. Moth returned the smile before she glanced down at Conkers, who was keeping his gaze fixed to the floor to avoid Can of Worms seeing his flushed cheeks.
“Conkers is really nervous about his duet with Snail,” She started as the knight slowly lifted his gaze up once the blush had died down. Somehow he managed to give a nervous smile of his own before Moth continued her explanation. “I think practicing it would help him tons! I figured you’d be a good partner since you’re able to sing a wide variety of songs!”
Conkers wanted the stage to open up and swallow him, surely Can of Worms would be weirded out by the idea of singing a love song duet with him! Though he was shocked when the bundle of worms nodded in response to the offer, even more shocked that the other Mask looked pleased to have been asked.
“Sure, I’m down to practise with you!” Can of Worms replied as he nodded towards Conkers, smiling at him before stepping up onto the stage and holding his hands out. Moth gave a victorious grin as she headed off backstage, presumably to set up the music and Conkers silently vowed he would get her back for this one day as he watched her go.
But for now he had other priorities and took a deep breath before gently resting his hands on top of Can of Worms’, blushing furiously as the familiar notes of “The Time of My Life” started to ring out across the studio… this was going to be the longest few minutes of Conkers’ life and he really hoped he’d be able to hold himself together.
“Now I’ve had the time of my life,” Conkers started, voice soft as he gently swayed from side to side, Can of Worms copying the motion with a warm smile. “No, I’ve never felt this way before.”
So far so good! Now Conkers just hoped the rest of the song would go this smoothly as he returned that warm smile before continuing to sing.
“Yes I swear, it’s the truth,” A blush was slowly beginning to form on Conkers’ face again as the song progressed and he prayed the other Mask wouldn’t notice. “And I owe it all to you.”
“‘Cause I’ve had the time of my life,” Can of Worms sang, his beautiful voice making Conkers’ cheeks heat up even faster, the bundle of worms really could sing anything perfectly. “And I owe it all to you.”
As the music picked up, the knight started to move his legs back and forth as an improvised dance. Can of Worms was quick to follow his lead, the two managing to dance perfectly in sync as they continued the song.
The longer the song went on, the more confident Conkers started to feel about performing the duet. He really was having the time of his life right now! Not many people would get the chance to both sing a love song duet and dance with their crush, so Conkers considered himself to be the luckiest Mask in the world.
As the song drew to a close Conkers decided to be a little bit bold and get down on one knee, gently kissing the top of Can of Worms’ hand. He heard the bundle of worms giggle and when he stood back up, the knight noticed the other Mask was blushing with a giddy smile.
“That was great!” Can of Worms exclaimed happily, his infectious excitement causing Conkers to crack a bright smile as he nodded in agreement. Everything had gone perfectly, so surely the knight had nothing to worry about when the time came for his actual duet with Snail!
“Yeah, I guess I can handle duets!” Conkers confirmed, his feet rocking back and forth as the room lapsed into a comfortable silence. It was during this silence that Conkers realised Can of Worms and himself were still holding hands and that the other mask was gazing at him warmly.
Before Conkers could say anything else, Can of Worms stepped forward slightly and brought up a hand to cup Conkers’ face, the knight leaning into the touch immediately with a soft hum. They were very close now… almost close enough to…
“Can I kiss you?” The bundle of worms suddenly asked, stunning Conkers into silence for a few seconds before he eagerly nodded. Visibly brightening upon being given permission, Can of Worms leaned forward and suddenly his lips were upon Conkers’.
The feeling was incredible, Conkers couldn’t quite believe he was actually kissing Can of Worms. But he wasn’t going to complain, closing his eyes as he moved to wrap his arms around Can of Worms’ neck. Conkers felt the other Mask wrap his arms around his waist in response and he smiled into the kiss.
Nothing else mattered to Conkers in that moment, he wanted it to last forever… but unfortunately for him, he forgot that Can of Worms and himself weren’t alone. A sudden cheer caused Conkers to jump and pull away, Can of Worms letting out a startled yelp as the two turned to face the other Masks, who had gathered at the front of the stage.
“I told you getting them to sing together would work!” Moth exclaimed joyfully, pumping her fists in the air before she turned to Toastie with a smug grin. “Also Can of Worms made the first move, so you owe me twenty bucks!”
“Ugh, fine, I’ll get that to you asap.” The sandwich lightheartedly rolled her eyes in response, but Conkers could see there was a grin on her face as she turned her attention back to them. Conkers felt like he was about to implode, he glanced over to Can of Worms and was unsurprised to see him regain his composure quickly.
“You were placing bets on us?!” Conkers eventually squeaked out as he turned to face the crowd again, moving his shell up slightly to hide more of his face as he held onto Can of Worms’ arm. The shell was moved up even further when all the Masks watching nodded in tandem, the knight didn’t think it was possible for him to get even more flustered, but somehow he managed it. “I can’t believe this!”
“I respect the hustle.” Can of Worms eventually responded with a chuckle, which only served to fluster Conkers further. Briefly he considered simply running off backstage, but luckily it seemed the others sensed he was overwhelmed and the smug smirks softened into genuine smiles.
“In all seriousness though, we’re happy for you two!” Moth said as Conkers watched her step onto the stage and give both Can of Worms and himself a hug, which the duo happily returned before she pulled away.
“But take it backstage, other people need to practice their duets.” She scolded playfully, crossing her arms with a giggle as Lionfish stepped onto the stage and stood next to her, an amused smile on his face.
“Alright alright, we’re going!” Can of Worms exclaimed with mock fear, which caused Conkers to giggle as he was gently led away from the stage by the bundle of worms. After today’s events, Conkers felt like he could tackle any duet that was thrown at him!