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Rounds sucked. For everyone, yes, but especially foolish Guest 1337.
007n7 got to see his son (and both his slightly-pathetic-situationships) during and outside of rounds.
Two Time got to see their ex during matches, same with Noob (though them and Guest 666 are friends, maybe together, no one really knows, they break down at the mention of her), Chance as well, Jane too.
Veeronica had Noob, those two were basically inseparable.
Shedletsky, Builderman and Dusekkar had each other.
Taph and Dusekkar had each other alongside the other admins.
Elliot got along with - well, everyone but 007n7, but both of them never seem to talk about that.
Not many really got along with him either due to his past, but they just avoided him, Elliot seems to have something entirely different against him compared to everyone else.
Who did Guest have from his previous life?
Sure, he talked to Elliot in the cabin, but he didn’t have his wife nor his daughter there.
Everyone else had some form of ‘family’ there.
Sure, he was glad his own don’t have to experience this, but he’d be a liar to say he didn’t miss them.
“Guest? You good there man?” Chance questioned, sounding concerned about the man loathing in the bed across from the one they were currently leaning on.
He jumped slightly, caught off guard by their voice, making them jump slightly too, not expecting his jolt.
“My ‘pologies for interrupting your thinking, but Elliot wants us in the main cabin, it’s meal time.” They informed, “Also, feel free to not answer, but is something wrong? You’ve been jumpy recently.”
He shook his head as he got up, “Nah, I’m good. Let’s go.” He answers, slightly evasively.
Chance just nodded and began departing to the large, lit-up cabin in front of the one they’re exiting from, Guest trailing behind.
Inside, everyone was chatting with each other, and Chance just headed to help and chat with Elliot enthusiastically.
Guest watched them head over momentarily from where he stood with them just seconds earlier before then heading to his seat, keeping an eye from there.
Chance noticed, giving him a look before redirecting back to him.
“Builderman is already helping Elliot,” Extended truth, he was, but that’s not why they’re back to him, “Wanna hit the slots while we wait for our portion?” They invite, gesturing to the row of slots machines at the second floor, there curtesy of them.
“I suppose. It couldn’t hurt.” He accepts, untucking his chair and following them to the desired location once more.
This time, they wore a large, smug grin.
They looked like when you give a child a screen with neon, bright colours, but instead of a child, it’s when you give a grown adult with an addiction a screen with neon, bright colours (financially damaging edition).
“Just this, I’m going back to our quarters after.”
“Jjjjjeez, old man. Loosen up a little, will you? It doesn’t hurt to socialize with your peers.” They tease.
“You aren’t even that much younger… whatever…”
Guest wasn’t as enthusiastic about gambling, but it was hilarious to see Chance’s reactions to a loss versus a victory, and his expressions were even funnier when they were in suspense. That was moreover what he paid attention to rather than the machine itself.
Meanwhile, downstairs, Elliot was trying to gather everyone, which was harder than herding sheep, especially when everyone was so spaced out.
“Dusekkar, go get Taph. Shedletsky, for ####’s sake, sit down. Builderman, bring this to the table please. Vee, go get Two Time. Noob, you got get 007n7.” He ordered before heading to the stairs to yell:
“Oi! Addict and Mr. One-of-the-only-four-responsible-ones, get your ###es down here!”
“Yes sir.” Mocked Chance, hopping up and reluctantly leaving the machine behind, sliding down the railing with speeds while Guest walked down them for maturely.
“You act like a 12 year old sometimes, I swear to 2x2…” muttered Elliot about them.
“Heard that! At least I’m not a mature grump like most of you guys!”
“HEY! I’M NOT A GRUMP??” Called Shedletsky from the table. <— p.s, when i write telamon, He uses We instead of I, it’s intentional. His pronouns are also capitalized since He’s technically a deity in a way?
“You’re friends with two though!” They shot back, referring to Builderman and Dusekkar. “Plus, you aren’t all too responsible either!”
“HEY! That isn’t true!” He grumbed.
Guest shook his head at their chaos, but returned to his seat silently, waiting for everyone else.
-~ Author is a lazy bum and refuses to write this part, skip to after ~-
Guest, like he said he would, returned to he and Chance’s cabin, while they went to help Elliot clean up.
“Hey, Elli? Ya notice somethin’ up with Guest recently?”
“Not really, just assumed it was nightmares like the rest of us. Why? Think somethings wrong with him?”
“I guess not. He’s just been jumpy n stuff lately, y’know? Kinda like he’s constantly fearing something, even outside of rounds when killers physically can’t hurt us.”
“You’ve got some valid points, I’ll talk to him.”
“Mmmmmmmmmmmkay, thanks.”
“Yeah, no problem. Thanks for bringing it up, I see it now.”
-~~-
Later, it was time for sleep, and Chance hadn’t seen Guest since dinner. He wasn’t even in their shared cabin. Odd.
They checked the docs, not there.
First forest? Nope.
Forest of Connection (<— forest that connected killer cabins and survivor cabins if you’re like me and need specification)? Nah.
He was basically gone, no one else knew where he was, and they weren’t gonna snoop through other people’s cabins - plus, Guest wouldn’t do that either, why would he be in one?
After a bit, they had no other choice than to interrupt Jane’s conversation with Two Time outside the two’s cabin. He hung out with her if they recalled correctly.
“JANE! Have you seen Guest?? I have no idea where they are! I’ve searched everywhere!” They frantically asked, not wanting one of the biggest essentials to their team gone.
“Check the library.” She suggested.
“We have one of those?” They asked, genuinely not knowing.
“Yes?! You didn’t know?” She surprised them by laughing at their obliviousness.
“I didn’t! Where is it?!”
“Main cabin, second floor, it’s a medium sized nook. There’s a television there as well.” She pointed before continuing with Two Time, who looked… oddly at ease around her for someone like them.
“Thanks!” They said while jolting to where she pointed.
-~~-
“Guest?” They called, keeping rather silent to not startle him like they’d done earlier.
“Here.” He called back, on the ground, reading a novel they couldn’t identify, looking… oddly saddened. That was uncomfortable, they were not used to seeing the normally stoic man so… shattered, if you will.
“Woah… what happened with you?”
“Oh, no, nothing.” He says, waving them off, “Just got bored sitting around alone, thought I’d come read something.”
“Without telling anyone? Looking like this? Are you sure it’s nothing?”
“…” Guest was dead silent at that, you’d think he fell asleep. “Elliot talked to me.” He began, marking his spot in the book and setting it down beside himself.
“Uhh-huhhh?” They urged him to continue, slightly eager to know what was so wrong. They took a seat beside him.
“I told him what was bugging me, he told me his sister talked to him.” (<— p.s, Mia is a killer. She visited him through the Forest of Connection).
“Turns out there’s a new killer, her names Charlotte, yeah?” (another p.s, im pretty sure Charlotte is an upcoming [maybe scrapped] killer in forsaken i think i dont know dont count me on this)
Chance had heard of Guest in their previous life, they knew about him and his family and all that stuff, it was on the news during the war constantly and even after. It took them a hot minute, but they managed to do the connection. They were basically speechless. Sure, Chance had a similar reaction to finding out iTrapped was there, but oh boy were the reasons different.
This is his daughter, what did they know about losing family? Let alone losing a kid of their own, or rather finding out their child was stuck in the looping Hell you were caught in.
“I’m sure you’ve heard of her, she’s my daughter, it’s not hidden information.” He continued, surprisingly yet also unsurprisingly tearing up slightly, “I don’t know why she’s here, she shouldn’t be here. I can only imagine how Daisy feels, losing both of us. Charlotte is probably so confused, Telamon knows what the killers are gonna teach her—“ He cuts himself off abruptly before he starts ranting, knowing they probably don’t want to (nor do they need to) hear his dumping.
“Keep going, it’s not good to hold stuff in, especially not stuff like that.” They said, like they knew anything about comforting or sharing their feelings.
“No, no… I don’t have much to say…” He said, full on crying now.
Chance wasn’t surprised he was sobbing, they’d be too if they were in his situation, it was just… so odd to see.
“I just don’t know what to do anymore. I’m supposed to be put together, helping others, finding a way out of this place, and instead of getting people out, more people are getting dragged in. Now it’s my own daughter getting stuck in this hellhole. I failed as a person. I-I failed as a father, Chance.”
Well, now they were entirely speechless now.
“You didn’t fail as a father, you’re doing what you can. If you’re a failure, wait until you find out the #### I’ve done.” They say, getting up to grab a tissue from the box on the coffee table in front of the TV Jane mentioned, handing it to him to fix himself.
“We’ll all contribute to finding a way out of here, don’t think you need to do it all alone.” They assure, sounding uncharacteristically cheesy and assuring, sitting back down.
Guest accept the tissue and blinked at them momentarily.
“I suppose… I just hope we can find a way soon, if there’s even any hope left.”
“Don’t think that way, take back that last bit of your sentence. There is hope. Jane’s researching, we all are, but her especially. We’ve come far.” They assure.
“You’re oddly optimistic in this scenario.”
“It’s my charm, right?” They joke, knowing full well this wasn’t a good time.
“I suppose.” Guest agrees, shaking his head at their joking.
“Look, the killers won’t teach your daughter anything bad, Mia’s there. And Elliot said 1x1 is… surprisingly maternal towards the kids.” They inform, sounding slightly doubtful about the last part.
“If you say so…” He agrees again, seeming less upset than previously and no longer crying, seeming more worn out - especially from sobbing (<— im pretty sure this happens to everyone, even when you arent like breaking down level, crying just exhausts you, or thats just me).
Chance was pretty proud of themselves for managing to cheer someone up when they’re disturbed for such a reason.
They think for a few minutes as to a lighter thing they can change the topic to before feeling a weight on their side.
They glance over to see Guest dead asleep on them. He’d fallen asleep, leaning back before sliding left onto Chance.
They would wake him up, but seeing how tired he looked, it’d be better not to and better to accept he was stuck there.
He was lighter than they’d thought he’d be, but then again, he never really thought about Guest’s weight until now.
He’s definitely warm, warm enough for them to feel it through their coat.
His cheek was pressed against their shoulder, smushed slightly.
Even in sleep, Guest’s eyes were red from tears, and he had visible eye bags when his face rested instead of him looking like his usual disgruntled self.
Chance internally shrugged and said #### it, if Guest was gonna sleep, so would they, it’d make it less awkward for him if they were asleep when he woke, so they didn’t have to talk about it.
-~~-
Later, they woke up in their bed, likely carried by Guest when he woke up before them, him being in the bed across, asleep again.
Let’s pretend that never happened, yeah?
-~Bonus, like all my fics get cause I like writing silly little things at the end~-
“H-…Hey Guest?” Chance snickered loudly.
“What.”
“G-Guest what’s up…” They said, stuttering since they were interrupted by their laughter.
“…”
“CHICKEN ###” They bursted out into laughter.
“Go to sleep, you child.”
-~~-
“Chance? Was Guest alright yesterday? I found you two asleep on each other in the library.” Questioned Jane with a knowing look.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Mmm, alright then, dear. I’m glad you two are getting along.” She said (<— Jane is like the mom of the group if that makes sense idk??)