Work Text:
The challenge had ended a good while ago. They were both fairly tired, as expected. They were lying down on the grass, right by each other. Birthday Cake's eye was closed, as Whisky's were more half-open, holding onto Birthday Cake's jacket-cushioned arm, staring up at the sky above them dreamily. Sleep was slowly getting to the both of them, but none of them said a word. It felt simply peaceful to just lay down, especially with someone you trust fondly. Birthday Cake's breathing was a simple rhythm that Whisky listened to, along with the distant chatter of other contestants that he couldn't care less about. After a few minutes, Birthday Cake had gone rather silent, to which Whisky shook their arm lightly to wake them up, their eye fluttering open with noticeable tiredness, leaving it half-lidded after blinking a ton to wear the sleep off. "Birthday Cake," Whisky whispered to them, to get their attention. "Ugh, one sec.." Birthday Cake said sleepily, and slightly delayed, rubbing their eye with their left hand, instead of the one that Whisky was holding.
"Okay .. What is it, Whisky?" they said, turning their head to look at him, gaze gentle. "We should probably get up if we're gonna sleep." Whisky answered. "Doesn't everyone sleep outside, though?" Birthday Cake gently reasoned. This caused Whisky to think for a bit. "... Y- yeah! I just think it'd be better to sleep in the office, y'know. While we have the convenience. Besides, I think two ants already bit me..." Birthday Cake gave him a gentle smile, and a small nod. Whisky sat himself up, placing their arm over his shoulder, expecting them to lean on him, per usual. He didn't mind that much; he didn't mind at all! It felt nice to help someone you really loved being with. He stood up, attempting to bring Birthday Cake up with him,
to which didn't work, accidentally causing Whisky to fall down, and hit his head with Birthday Cake's on accident. "Ouch— sorry, Birthday Cake." He blushed nervously, pushing his glasses back up. "All good. Sorry, I didn't use my leg yet. That's on me." Whisky gave them a reassuring smile, getting up and attempting to carry them once more, to which, this time, it worked. He strained, using all of his strength to ensure they got up, until they were standing with him... before becoming quickly unbalanced, holding onto Whisky. Whisky glanced nervously at them, seeing how clearly unbalanced they were. "Where'd your crutch go?" Whisky asked, like the question could topple them over. "Looong story..." "Do tell once we get to the office, please." "Okay."
After a long walk of cautious steps, and a little bit of potential tripping, they made it to the office, at last. Whisky opened the door for the both of them, the familiar office air not far away. "You first," Whisky insisted, Birthday Cake walking the both of them in instead, to which they both eventually made it to the big, basically a mini couch, chair behind Birthday Cake's desk, sitting down close together. Birthday Cake didn't take their arm off of Whisky's shoulders, to which neither of them minded. Whisky turned to look at Birthday Cake, a gentle smile on his face. "So, about your crutch! Where'd it go?" he asked, tone unrushed. Birthday Cake glanced away briefly. "Okay, so... What had happened was I was using my crutch, right? Until Potato Battery just runs right by, followed by Stickman and Billboard, and they all ran over it, and it was all dented. I'm not that strong, so I didn't get to bend it back into shape, and just threw it away."
Whisky's smile turned into a frown, expression somber. "Oh no! I'm so sorry about that, Birthday Cake!" "You didn't do anything, don't apologize..." They reassured, voice a bit quiet, smiling sheepishly. "But still, that's awful! I wouldn't wish that upon anyone! Well, except maybe for Money Man." They quietly laughed together. "But I'll try my best to get you a new crutch, alright? I don't mind you leaning on me, though, for the time being. I'll ask Bean about it later." Birthday Cake smiled warmly, blushing slightly. "Aww, thanks Whisky." "It's no problem! I'm always happy to help you out." They both sat in comfortable silence for a while. Whisky enjoyed it — Birthday Cake's company always felt so... cozy, in contrast to anyone else. They were so caring. Whisky admired them a lot.
... He liked them, a lot.
A crush wasn't exactly the right label for his feelings. A friend crush, he supposed? He didn't know what to call it. He just really valued them, in short. He got excited whenever people brought them up. For some odd reason, people seemed to find Birthday Cake really bland without their detective stuff going on, which Whisky couldn't disagree with enough. He thought they were really cool. They made him realize a person doesn't have to be edgy to be cool, they just... have to be themselves. And he really valued the fact that they felt comfortable enough to be themselves. He got excited whenever they talked to him, too. It was one of the things that made his day every time. It was fascinating, how someone's simple presence could bring so much light into someone's world.
Whisky gently bumped his head against Birthday Cake's, to which their eye opened slowly, looking at him. "Hey," they said, smiling at him sleepily. Whisky couldn't help but smile back. "Hey. Sorry if this is a weird question, but... you got any blankets in here?" Birthday Cake's expression looked confused, but in an amused kind of way. "Blankets? Well, of course not, silly... but," They took off their outer jacket, causing Whisky to stop leaning on them for a brief moment, before they wrapped the jacket over their shoulders, hood hanging from the front. Whisky smiled warmly. "Will this work?" Birthday Cake asked. He nodded. Birthday Cake smiled back, taking off their hoodie as well; the office didn't have the best air conditioning, having a simple, cut-off-collar, plant themed t-shirt with white mushrooms and leaves on it. They wore it frequently. Birthday Cake just put the hoodie on the armrest, as throwing it on the ground was an idea they didn't really like. They both sat upright comfortably for a while, before relaxing. Birthday Cake was trying to go back to sleep again, while Whisky was watching the dust motes float in the air.
He worried about Birthday Cake a lot, scared people were going to target them for their whole detective act, and get them eliminated. He would be petrified if they ever got eliminated. He hoped that he wouldn't ever have to worry about that. Deeply and completely, hoped. Oh, the amount of tears he'd cry. It was saddening to even think about. While in thought about this, he gently rested his head against their shoulder, and traced a prosthetic finger against their bare outer wrist. The texture of their slight body hair was something he'd grown accustomed to, and he never really minded it to begin with. Whisky didn't see it, but Birthday Cake smiled softly while their eyes were still closed, enjoying the small acts of affection. Whisky's mind was kind of just drifting everywhere. He stared outside, through the curtained window. It was almost dark, considering the fact that the sun had began to set a while ago. He stopped thinking about the possibility of Birthday Cake not surviving in the competition. It was just worrying him for the worse, so he just put his focus on the present.
The office had a calming smell to it. It smelled of paper, the faint scent of coffee, chocolate and coconut, minimal cardboard, and whatever general kindness smelled like. If anything, Birthday Cake smelled like the office more than the office smelled like them. It was a little untidy as of now — a few cabinets were opened, and a few sheets of paper were scattered around the room. He didn't care, though. It was another small thing that he had grown to associate with them, and find a sense of comfort in. Really, if he could find an association with Birthday Cake in something, he'd learn to enjoy it a little more. Birthday Cake lit up his world. It was a realization he made everyday, and was thankful for every day. He looked up at them, seeing the small smile still on their face, and his heart ached. Why? Again, he couldn't help but smile back, even if they didn't see it. He knew his appreciation is to the point of no return. Oh dear. He leaned his head back on their shoulder after looking at them for a while, thinking again.
Was that all he wanted to call it? Appreciation? It felt too... regally formal. Not necessary. Was love a better word? He didn't know what to call it. ... He loved Birthday Cake. That sounded right. But he would prefer to just stay as close friends. Simply a number one friend? Was that it? Did that make sense? It felt more comfortable to be affectionate with a friend, was all. Or was it? He just saw it a certain way. He sweat slightly on his forehead, and blushed slightly. He didn't really want to think about this anymore. The more he questioned it, the more obvious it would become to Birthday Cake. And he was worried they wouldn't get It made his heart hurt even more with every thought that came. God, he felt like he was running a fever. He needed to calm down. He felt like all of his thoughts were rubbing together and heating him up. He hated it. He rubbed his hand against his cheek, covering up the immense amount of blushing to calm himself down. Whatever it was, he wasn't sure what to see Birthday Cake as. Their value meant more than just silly relationship generalizations. He just wanted to stay close to them. That was all he wanted, in short. Nothing else, not that he knew of asides from a few hugs. That was what felt right. He wanted to tell them he never wanted to leave their side, but that sounded like something out of a cheesy romance movie. He just wanted to be there. Why did words have to make it weird?
After a little while, he had calmed himself down. He didn't like his mind. Why was he being so difficult about this? Birthday Cake would probably understand what he meant, if he explained how he felt. It felt creepy to admire someone this much and keep it a secret, anyway. But this wasn't a love confession. ... Well, it was. It was a love confession. But not a romantic love confession. What, a platonic love confession? 'I love you' could be seen wrong. He loved THEM. As a person. That was all 'I love you' meant, in reality. It was an appropriate declaration, platonic or romantic, but it was so romanticized now. That was what he was scared of. Screwing up and romanticizing things when that wasn't what he wanted. It was dizzying. He sighed softly, gazing over at Birthday Cake's sleeping form and smiling warmly to himself. He didn't need to worry about this right now.
He moved a little closer to them, eventually easing into a simplistic hug, careful not to wake them up completely. The right side of his face was against the gentle fabric of their t-shirt, listening to their heartbeat, and he simply savored the closeness. Birthday Cake adjusted slightly for him, so that they were both laid out horizontally, Birthday Cake holding Whisky close underneath the jacket that covered the both of them. Their eye was still closed, and Whisky's eyes fluttered shut as well, his breathing evening out. Even in sleep, they cared for him. It made him blush slightly. Too legitimately kind.
Sleep began to catch up with him quickly, and he surrendered to the pull. His worries faded in their warm embrace. He breathed in the scent of them one last time before sleep came, hearing the quiet voice of Birthday Cake.
"Goodnight, Whisky."
And for tonight, that was enough.