Work Text:
It was late. Very late. Around two in the morning. BranzyCraft was tired, but he was almost done with this project. He had a radio set up next to where he was working, playing some random upbeat song. A little too upbeat for 2 AM. But it helped him from passing out, so he hummed along. For the most part, he was zoned out, so he didn’t notice someone sneaking up behind him, not til they whispered in his ear.
“Couldn’t sleep?
Branzy nearly jumped out of his chair, almost knocking over the mechanism he’d been working on, but he steadied it. “Oh, oh my, C-Clown! Scared me there.”
“I noticed. You should be more aware. This is Lifesteal, BranzyCraft. Some dangerous psychopath could sneak up on you and you would never know until they stabbed you.” ClownPierce said before he hopped onto a ledge nearby and sat down cross legged.
“You, um…just- just going to watch?” Branzy asked nervously, tapping his fingers together. Clown simply shrugged, unmoving for the most part, his smiling jester mask giving away nothing. “O-okay. Cool. Yeah- yeah, that’s fine.” After a moment he turned back to his project, slightly on edge now, but he supposed it couldn’t be helped. On this server in particular, that’s a good thing. Being on edge keeps you alive. Helps keep your hearts.
It was quiet for a few minutes, save the sounds of the radio and Branzy’s tinkering, before Clown broke it. “Whatcha workin’ on?”
Branzy jumped a little at the sudden voice, his catlike purple and gray tail quickly curling around his leg before he replied. “One of the last parts of the mechanism for the roulette table. It wasn’t connecting to the control panel, but I’ve almost fixed it.”
Clown’s head tilted a little, his own lionlike tan tail flicking where it lay next to him. “What have you had to fix?”
Branzy’s eyes lit up a little as he was allowed to do one of his favorite things. Infodump about his projects. Again, being on Lifesteal, a server full of cheats, betrayals, and murderers, there wasn’t much opportunity to gush about redstone mechanics. He worked while he talked, his hands moving almost as fast as his mouth, which had curved into a small smile. Clown asked questions every couple minutes to show he was still listening, and Branzy answered said questions with thinly veiled fervor.
Branzy ended up talking for a good forty minutes, longer than it really took to finish the mechanism, and for most of it he almost forgot he was talking to a psychopathic killer clown with a kill count higher than his age in months. Half of the time was just him talking while checking and rechecking the same spots on the redstone until he held it up, examining it thoroughly, then sat it back down on the messy table with a hum of approval. His tail swished happily behind him, brushing his legs. Clown noted that Branzy didn’t care when his tail swished close to him.
“Done?” Clown asked.
Branzy nodded, sitting back to admire his work. Which, if he was being honest, he was quite proud of. Sure, it took…seven to ten hours, but he did it. That’s something worth being proud of! He then took out a rag, cleaning up the stray redstone dust off his hands and the table.
“Do you trust me, Branzy?”
Branzy’s train of thought came to an abrupt and screeching halt. He dropped the rag and turned to face Clown, blinking at him for a moment. “P-pardon?”
“Do you trust me?” Clown repeated simply, tilting his head slightly.
It was a simple question. Four words. But it managed to make Branzy’s thoughts circle. Yes or no. There had to be a right answer. There almost always was, with Clown. One answer would be correct, earning him a nod and dismissal, and the other would be wrong, earning him a quick expiration date on his life. Problem being, he didn’t know which was which. No would be the most logical option. Trusting someone is a weakness, and weakness is death. No is what Branzy should say. But yes is what he wants to say, because it’s the truth. As much as he’d hate to admit it, Branzy trusts Clown. He feels safe around him. Protected in a way he didn’t feel with anyone else, even Rek.
Yes or no.
Logic or truth.
Which did Clown want?
He should say no. Say no. Say. No.
“…yes. I do. I trust- I trust you.” A beat of silence. “Why- why do you ask? I-if I may?”
Clown uncrossed his legs, letting them hang off the ledge where he was perched, and he kicked them in an almost childish manner. “I just wanted to know the extent of this…partnership, BranzyCraft.”
“O-oh. Yeah, okay, that’s- that’s fair. That’s fine, yeah…do- do you…” Branzy trailed off, his throat tightening as Clown jumped down from the ledge and strode closer to him. There was a calculated and catlike feel to how Clown walked, like every step was carefully planned beforehand. He stopped just shy of Branzy, a few feet away.
“Words, Branzy.” Clown reminded him, head tilting again. “Haven’t we talked about that?”
“R-right. Um, do…” Branzy bit his lip. “Do you trust…me?”
Clown froze a little, his tail, which had been swishing lazily, stilled.
Oh, gods. Branzy was dead. He was going to die, probably in some slow painful way and he’d lose a heart and be weaker than he already was. Then Clown would decide he wasn’t worth keeping around, and he’d either ban him off the server or leave him for the other ruthless players of the server, because Branzy had asked an absolutely stupid question, and-
“Yes, BranzyCraft. I trust you.”
What.
“Wh-why would you- I- I’m not- you shouldn’t-“ Branzy stammered as Clown stepped a foot closer, now only about two feet away from him. Which he should be very worried about, because that should be far too close, and stupid, stupid, brain relaxing in the comfort of the psychopath’s proximity!
“I trust you. And you trust me. By technicality, neither of us should. I could easily kill you now. But we do trust each other. Correct?” Clown edged a few inches closer. Branzy’s face flushed involuntarily, but he nodded.
Branzy’s heart was racing, as if it were a rabbit and Clown was a fox. Or a wolf. That felt more accurate.
Mind you, Branzy wasn’t scared of Clown doing…the court case of To Kill a Mockingbird. He knew Clown was as ace as he was. Clown simply didn’t get the feelings, and Branzy…was wildly uncomfortable with the thought of it. Why would anyone want that? He knew why, of course. Pleasure, for the most part. It just sounded painful to him.
But anyways. He wasn’t scared of that happening. Didn’t mean it wasn’t scared of Clown in general, he certainly was, and- he is very close.
Clown was now only a foot away and Branzy was frozen on the spot. “What are- are you doing, C-Clown?” Branzy asked shakily, tail curled tightly around his leg.
“Trusting you.” Clown said, then reached up and removed his mask.
Branzy was truly dead now. He was going to die because no one saw Clown’s face. That simply did not happen. But it was. Clown took off his mask, and- wow he’s handsome. Branzy took a moment from panicking to just…study his face.
Clown’s face was very round, his chin pointed slightly. He had pointed ears, similar to Branzy’s but his left ear had a divot cut out of it, the edge of the divot slightly scarred. His hair was similar in color to Branzy’s silver hair, though Clown’s was slightly brown tinted, versus Branzy’s purple tinted hair. His hair was cut to his jawline, and the locks were very messy, likely due to being under his mask all the time. His eyes were chocolate brown, deep, rich, dark chocolate, the expensive kind. There was a faint scar on his right cheek, faint enough that it’d probably been there since he was a kid, but still undeniably there. Under his eyes were eye bags, suggesting he didn’t get much sleep, but that was something Branzy had already assumed.
Branzy swallowed.”Why are you so close?” He whispered, his tail not any less tense, but it wasn’t around his legs anymore.
“Because you, Branzy, make me think things I don’t normally think.” Clown sighed and his gaze flicked down to Branzy’s tail. His own moved to brush gently against it, a halfhearted attempt of comfort. “Things I thought I was incapable of thinking. You’re endearing, you’re funny, you’re talented. You get a spark in your eyes when you infodump. You don’t necessarily care about hearts unless you’re in danger of getting banned. You’re different from almost everyone on this hellscape of a server. You’re excellent at redstone, you tie your hair back when you’re working on heavy machinery, your tail swishes against your legs in a certain way when you’re happy, I could go on. I think you’re interesting, BranzyCraft. I like that. I like you.”
Wow. That was probably the closest thing Clown got to a declaration of love. Which should be concerning. Very concerning, considering the deadliest person on this server thought he was interesting.
Getting noticed by dangerous people was a constant fear of Branzy’s, because on Lifesteal, that usually ends with him getting killed. Stay quiet, stay uninteresting, stay alive. That’s what he always told himself. But he wasn't quiet around Clown. He wasn’t loud, but he wasn’t quiet like he was with everyone else. Clown thought he was interesting. And he was still alive. The math wasn’t mathing. None of this made sense. He would never say it out loud, but the idea of Clown in particular noticing him…was enticing.
And Clown was getting closer, now only half a foot away. Five inches. Four. Three. Two. Stop.
“Branzy?”
“Y-yes?”
“May I?” He didn’t have to ask what. They both knew.
“...yeah. You can.” Branzy leaned a hair closer.
Which Clown took as permission to kiss him.
It was gentle, testing the waters, and hardly more than skin on skin contact. Clown was clearly seeing what Branzy was comfortable with, which was so sweet of him in Branzy’s eyes. One of Clown’s hands went around Branzy’s back while the other cradled the back of his head, moving them to a less awkward position. Branzy kissed back, and Clown took that as a sign to deepen the kiss. One of Branzy’s arms went around Clown’s neck and his other hand cupped the other terragenus’ jaw and got the edge of Clown’s left ear between his fingers, tracing the scarred divot there. Their tails intertwined tightly, providing more contact to focus on.
The kiss barely lasted twenty seconds, but when they parted for air Branzy felt like he’d reached heaven on earth. He also had a hell of a confidence boost. And ego. Ego was sky-high because he kissed ClownPierce.
“Hey, Clown?” Branzy asked while they took a moment to breathe.
“Yes, Branzy?” Clown replied after pressing their foreheads together gently.
“...can we dance?”
Clown deadpanned. For a good ten seconds. “You…want to dance. With me.” He repeated, blinking slowly at Branzy.
“Yeah.” Branzy smiled at him. “I mean, the radio’s still here. Might be something good playing. Something dance-worthy?”
“I…I don’t…” Clown hesitated, something unknown flickering on his face. That’s another thing that doesn’t happen. Clown doesn’t hesitate.
Branzy grinned teasingly. “Does the great ClownPierce not know how to dance?”
“I do.” Clown said quickly, a small scowl edging into his features. “It’s just…formal dancing. Not exactly what you would consider fun, I believe. And not excellent memories with the experience.”
“Well, in that case,” Branzy’s grin softened into something gentler, less teasing. “We can figure it out together. We’ll improvise. Okay?”
“...okay.”
“Great!” Branzy turned away from Clown to fiddle with the radio until he found a suitable song. The moment he moved away, his body yelled at him for the loss of contact and warmth.
Silence touch-starved brain! More later. He promised himself.
It didn’t help that his love language was physical affection. And he hadn’t properly cuddled with someone in…too long. Anyways! Focus! Task at hand. Find a suitable song. After a moment he landed on a good one, then stood and held out a hand to Clown, grinning with all the confidence of an absolute dork.
“May I have this dance?” Clown rolled his eyes, but took Branzy’s hand.
‘We were victims of the night. The chemical, physical kryptonite. Helpless to the bass and the fading light,’
Branzy pulled Clown closer, one hand on Clown’s hip and the other behind his back.
“How come you get to lead?” Clown muttered.
“Because you don’t know how to dance for fun,” Branzy twirled the other terragenus, then pulled him close again. “Didn’t you say that yourself?”
‘Oh, we were bound to get together. Bound to get together.’
Their tails intertwined for a moment, then Branzy took both of Clown’s hands and moved back and forth across the room while continuing to hold his hands. He spun him again, then dipped Clown, both hands securely on his back, one between his shoulder blades and the other wrapped around his whole back.
‘She took my arm. I don’t know how it happened. We took the floor and she said…’
Branzy pulled a slightly flustered Clown up from the dip, grinning, then began to sing along to the song while continuing to dance with Clown. “Oh, don’t you dare look back, just keep your eyes on me. I said, you’re holding back, she said, shut up and dance with me!” He spun Clown again, but Clown was less tense. He was getting into the rhythm and went along with the dance smoother.
‘This woman is my destiny! She said, ooh, shut up and dance with me!’
Branzy pulled Clown closer, hugging him from behind and holding Clown’s back against his chest. He nuzzled into his hair, sighing contentedly. “I don’t know about you Clown, but I’m tired. Bed?”
“Bed.” Clown agreed, leaning back against Branzy slightly. Branzy let go and moved to the radio, turning it off with a click. He then turned off the lamp on his desk and Clown took his hand, leading him down one of the many halls of their casino.
It was an area Branzy hadn’t been in, for he thought he wasn’t privy to it. It was Clown’s area. You don’t go into Clown’s area unless you have either a death wish or an invitation.
Branzy had an invitation. And hoped he wouldn’t die. That’d be preferable. And he’d come down from his confidence high. But he trusted Clown. So he kept following, like an obedient puppy.
Clown led him into a room and shut the door behind him. Branzy was in Clown’s room. Clown’s bedroom. Clown gestured to the bed and Branzy sat down quietly. Clown kneeled down, taking off his netherite boots, then his socks. When he stood again, he was…significantly shorter.
That was unexpected, but Branzy wasn't complaining, considering he was now an inch or two taller than Clown. Branzy leaned down to take off his own shoes to find Clown taking them off from him. Again, he wasn't complaining. He didn't have a thing for that, but it was nice not to have to lean over.
After both of their shoes and socks were removed, Branzy took off his vest. Clown stood up. ”I‘m going to change. I'll be right back.” Then in an instant he was gone, leaving Branzy with his thoughts.
So. This wasn't how he thought tonight would go. At all. But he wasn't mad about it. Far from it, he was happy. He'd gotten to kiss Clown. He'd gotten to dance with Clown. And now, he got to sleep with Clown and cuddle with him. That, to Branzy, was something to get excited over. He loves cuddling, he adores physical affection, and he loves Clown.
Huh. He loves Clown. He hadn’t really voiced that, mentally or otherwise, but it was true. He was also about to get all three of those things, so today was a win for BranzyCraft. Or night. Or technically morning. Whatever.
After a few minutes, Clown returned in shorts and a t-shirt and dropped his jester costume to the floor. He then crawled into the bed next to Branzy, who had laid down. Clown then proceeded to wrap his limbs around Branzy like a clingy octopus. Branzy hugged him in return and nuzzled into his hair again. Their tails wrapped around each other contentedly.
“...hey, Clown?” Branzy asked. When Clown made a hum of acknowledgement, he continued. “...I love you.”
Clown stilled for a moment, and only a moment, before murmuring back, “I love you too, Branzy.” They both relaxed a little before Clown added, “And you’re sleeping in here now. Permanently.”
Branzy blinked. “O-oh. Okay. Th-that’s fine.”
Clown hummed again and they laid there in comfortable silence. Eventually, Clown listened as Branzy’s breathing evened out in sleep. He looked up at him, studying his features for a minute, before kissing his neck a few times and resting his head on his collarbone.
“...goodnight, BranzyCraft.”