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After a moment of thought Petra nodded enthusiastically. "Count me in, I'd love to see some of the wildlife here." I'd follow this unit to the ends of the earth. Joseph and Misha agreed as well. Nothing could tear their unit apart, not even death.
Arin and Sergei both nodded, the latter agreeing along with Joseph and Misha. The former tacked on a short "been a while since I've gone birdwatching, may need to brush up on the various fauna." Training's well overdue for all of them. No doubt they've gotten rusty. Joy seals everything with a nod. "Sounds like a plan, I had assumed you all would agree." Their unwavering loyalty remained reliably consistent over the twenty years. "I'll let you all gather the things you need to, then please meet back here in a couple days so we can discuss travel." Call people, send letters, do what you must with your former lives. Once Saturday rolls around, their fates are sealed in stone. She gives another nod to the group, asking them all for confirmation of their understanding.
Joseph and Misha nodded. So did Petra, though something laid under his expression. He turned to Arin once Joy seemed to be done. "Would you want to come back to where I'm staying after this? I'd love to catch up." This is the last week we have together. Please spare me a conversation?
Sergei and Arin both nod as well. "Well then, I leave you all to your devices, and trust you'll stick to the plan." You're dismissed, meet back here, same time, Saturday. She gives a curt nod, like one of the final nails in all of their coffins. If they'll even be awarded a burial. Joy and Sergei both leave first, Joy having prepaid their tab before any of them arrived. Arin turns back to Petra, softly nodding. "Of course, lead the way." Once Arin stands and moves to leave with Petra, the hornet on the latter's hand finally buzzes off, squirreling it's way back into the bag. Once everyone departs, the only signs that anyone was left were half and fully empty glasses, including one shot glass.
"We'll walk, it's only about two miles. I'm sure your swarm won't mind the fresh air," Petra added as they both stepped outside. Once they were out of earshot of anybody, Petra grimaced slightly. "So this is it, hm?"
"Sounds like a plan." He unzips the bag, the swarm gratefully leaving, although remaining close to the both of them. A few hornets lay on the both of them, seemingly willing to just hitch a ride. Arin frowns under his mask, hairless brows furrowing. "It seems so." A portion of the swarm pick up on both of their feelings, hovering around nervously as the pair walk. A few paces worth of silence, if you ignore the consistent buzzing of the queen's hive. "Tour guide, hm? Seems very up your alley." He breaks the silence. "Freak anyone out with the get up?" He asks with a fondness in his eyes, the get up referring to the slit pupils, long tongue, and near-contortionistic double jointedness.
His tongue briefly poked out of his mouth, much longer than the average person's. "Definitely. It's very entertaining, catching people off guard." His nerves were soon replaced by a longing he hadn't felt this strongly in 20 years. "What about you- What do you go by these days, anyway? It's Petra for me."
"I'd bet, I know you've startled me more than enough times." Even with the balaclava on, a smile is still visible on his face. "Arin." A slight pause, as his eyes light up with recognition. "Did we both name ourselves after each other?" His own nerves buzzed just under his skin, not unlike his swarm buzzing around them both in delight.
Petra cleared his throat. "Guess we did." A pause. "I've really missed you, Arin. Nice to see you again." A slightly sad laugh. "Even if we don't have long."
"I've missed you too, Petra. Wonderful to see you once again, no matter the time we have left." A pause. "You know, I picked up gardening as a reminder of you. Thought I'd see more spiders." A very soft admission, tone almost unfitting on the towering man.
"I'm not surprised," Petra mused, almost bashfully. "I thought of you every time I saw a wasp." He slung an arm around Arin's waist as they walked, much too short to go for his shoulders. The wasps shifted happily.
"Ha, funny how even when we're miles apart, and twenty years between proper contact, we still find a way to see each other, even in the smallest things." A hand rests in between Petra's shoulder blades, a comfortable silence falling between the two.
The two arrived at the place, somebody's old house they were allowing Petra a week in for a hundred bucks. Not like the money he was spending meant anything anymore. He opened the door, ushering Arin and his wasps inside. "Come on in. We can sit on the couch if you'd like?"
He ducks under the doorframe, very little being built to accommodate his stature. He stands around just a little, surveying the place. "I'd enjoy that. Will the owner of this house be alright with the swarm?" He can tell this place is nowhere near anything Arin would ever live in, even in a live or die situation. The dark irony of that sentence makes him internally laugh.
"Eh. If they're not I'll send them more money. Not like we have any use for it anymore," he mused darkly. Petra sat on the couch, patting the spot next to him. "Does your swarm need sugar water?"
He sits, promptly opening up the bag, the swarm flying out. He hims an affirmative, setting the now empty bag on the floor beside his feet. "I'm sure, they also could benefit from some proper food. Do you know if the house has anything?" The swarm floats around them, centralizing moreso around their queen, but still including Petra in their exploration.
"Wait, give me a moment." Petra stood up, heading to the backdoor. He left briefly, returning with two overripe and nearly rotten peaches. "Peach tree outside." He set them on the floor in front of the two, sitting back down and wrapping an arm around Arin.
"Ah, convenient." The swarm happily descends upon the feast, the travel having made them rather hungry. He leans into Petra, watching his hive eat quite eagerly. After a bit of silence, and enough of the peaches eaten to satisfy the swarm, he breaks the silence. "You know, I've never stopped loving you. Even with the miles and the twenty years apart." A wry smile creases his eyes, more somber than anything. The hornets around them shift in tune with their queen's emotions. "I fell in love with you on the battlefield, and it seems it's never left."
Oh. Petra's hand shifted to take Arin's. "Me too. I've loved you for years. Shame we're only being honest now, hm?" They could have had a life together, but now they'll only share a brief moment before their deaths.
He takes Petra's hand in return, gently squeezing it. "What is it, a deathbed confession?" He dryly jokes. "Still. I'm happy to have met you when I did. Maybe after all of this, we'll still find ways to see eachother in everything, no?"
"Of course. I hope I'll see you on the other side. But... we're not dead yet. Could I see your face properly? I've never had the chance." Petra rubbed a thumb against the hand in his grip.
"We can still hope, no? Death can't take that from us, no matter how close he looms." He pauses, before gently untangling his hand from Petra. He shifts slightly, now directly facing the spider soldier. He gently grabs Petra's wrists, leaning down and guiding them to the edge of his balaclava. Yes, the unsaid words rang out, the action alone speaking volumes of his trust and adoration in the other man. You can.
At the gesture Petra hooked his fingers under the fabric and gently pulled until Arin's gnarled skin was visible. He immediately pressed a kiss to Arin's nosebridge, listening as the buzzing around them increased a tad in volume.
The action disarmed him in a gentle way, lashless eyelids fluttering just barely. He expected something with more abrasion, sharpness, grit, anger, fear. How ironic is it that the man who identifies closest with fear entirely defies his expectations, and is far gentler than even himself?
As if reading his mind Petra trailed a kiss lower, kissing the corner of the man's lip. "I'm not afraid anymore, I think. Nothing to be afraid of when I know what's to come. I've made peace with it."
The buzzing increases a little bit more, some of the swarm flying exceptionally close to the two to investigate. Arin gently slides his hands from Petra's wrists to hold his hands, leaving his mask between the two. He pulls back just a smidge, enough to take one of Petra's hands and use it to cup his own cheek, delicately pressing a kiss into the palm of it. "You're allowed to touch, you know. The sensations are dulled, but I still feel," he rasps quietly, looking into Petra's eyes. If he were closer to 'normal', one would say he were looking through his lashes right now.
Petra nodded, flustered, tracing the fingertips of his free hand against the rough skin. It felt strange under his fingerpads, but he adored it. "You know I'm in love with you. I love you. And I'm not afraid to admit it, Pain. Not anymore."
"I love you too, the feeling is more than mutual. And, if you'd let me, I'd love for you to be a part of the hive for as long as I can have you, Fear." The hand on his face was foreign, hardly anyone minus himself and his swarm having made him register touch. The sensation wasn't unwelcome, though. He lets his eyes fall half-shut, wishing time would slow for the both of them, in just this moment. A greedy thought, he knew, but if it meant a second longer with Petra, the spider that caught him in a web, than what was already cut out for him...
More tracing, loving fingertips pressing against skin, seeking the new sensation as they danced across the expanse. "I hope we can spend time together before we have to... do our mission. I can stay with you and the swarm." Panic and fear was finally gnawing in his gut at the grim realization. No life together, no happy ending. Not even a week together.
"We'd appreciate that, a lot. I'm certain we can find the time together." The hornets pick up on Petra's unease, buzzing nervously around him. Arin delicately traces over the webbing of scars over Petra's arms, in hopes to draw him back down to earth. "These are new," he gently speaks, like anything louder would startle Petra away. "Did something happen when you were in Brazil?"
Petra winced. How was he going to admit this?" He took a deep breath. "I wanted to look more like a spider. One late night and my hunting knife and..." the silence spoke volumes.
Arin nodded, thumbing along where scar tissue meets unmarred skin. "It's nice. Not that the action was done, per se, but." We match, a bit. The hand moves from Petra's arms to his chin, very delicately tilting the head up. A kiss. "Indulge me?"
"As long as I'm safe from your bullet bees," Petra quipped, though he was slightly nervous about it. He leaned in and gently kissed the hardened lips, letting the years of bottles up emotions bubble up to the surface. Tears pricked at the corner of his eyes.
"They'd do you no harm." Arin kisses back, the hand on Petra's chin coming up to gently cradle his cheek. The years spent apart, the love from even longer, all crash into this one kiss. Arin's side gets a little desperate in the kiss.
The two were kissing hard, and a small moan slipped out from Petra. He was embarrassed and a bit afraid- he wasn't aroused, no. This was just everything he'd ever dreamed of.
A tear slips down Arin's scarred cheek, making contact with Petra's hand. The realization dawns on Arin, the truth of their lives hurting him more than anything ever could.
It was beautiful at this moment, but utterly terrifying that they'd lose each other. Days passed, and they said their farewells as Petra headed back to Brazil. He pawned off and gave away most of his belongings, giving the house away to someone less fortunate. Not like he'd ever be coming back. He arrived in Russia and was brought to the base with nothing but the clothes on his back, old military fatigues that didn't quite fit anymore due to his gut. Hopefully he had enough time to lose that.
Arin bid his goodbyes as he went home himself, giving everything to the locals around him. He knew his bees would be in good hands under the care of his sweet neighbor, he just hoped they would treat her kindly. He arrived as well, having little with him except the strictly needed. It seemed the other members of the unit thought similarly, as he spotted The Boss in her own gear, hair held up under a bandana, The Sorrow wearing clothes that reminded Arin of times long past.
After settling down and walking the base a bit Petra spotted Arin. Giving a kurt nod and a shout at first, he glanced around before walking over and hugging the man tightly. Here we are together, in the morgue.
The shout catches his attention, although it always seemed to hover around Petra no matter, nodding in return. He hugs him back just as tightly, leaning down to brush his masked lips on the top of Petra's head. A kiss. At least we are together once again, even if it's our last.
"Arin. Or, I guess it's Pain again. Do you have training scheduled for today?" Petra pulled away from the hug, eyes bright but oddly solemn.
He pulls away from the hug, opting to keep a hand on Petra's shoulder. "I do. Do you, as well, Petr- Fear?" The Pain- his name now and for the rest of his life- has a bit of an unplaceable expression on his face, although a longing remains deep within his gaze.
"I do. I was hoping to brush up together, if you'd be keen to that," Fear replied. Fear and Pain, just like the old days, although they felt anything but their namesakes when they were together.
"In what universe would I ever say no?" And with that, the two make their way to their allotted training grounds to get back into the groove of their life-long missions.
The two trained together, sticking by each other's sides as they went through the motions. Nobody cared to tell them no. Not like it mattered to the outside world, when they were walking bombs. Fuses lit and all. Time passed, the two spending as much time together as possible. Until the day before The Pain's assignment. In Arin's quarters Petra held him, head buried in his neck. "This is it, hm?"
The days scratched off the calendar, until it reached his final one. An hourglass, with little sand left in the top. If The Pain focused enough, he swore he could feel the explosive quietly ticking down, in time with his heartbeat. The two were practically attached at the hip, much like The Boss and The Sorrow. Up until the day the two left, yet she returned silently weeping, her ring finger bare, clutching their wedding bands. Everyone knew what had happened, The Pain knew it best. He knew his fate would wind up similarly to that of the medium. Arin held onto Petra, as if clinging to a buoy could stop the snapping jaws of fate. "Regretfully so." They both had seen the man, Jack, when he and The Fear aided in kidnapping Sokolov on the bridge. He was progressing uncomfortably fast, The Pain being sent first to hinder him. "...I wish things had played out differently. Will play out differently." He gently pulls Petra's face from his neck, looking at him with watery eyes. "But no matter, I believe in every universe- every time, we will meet. Spider and wasp, Queen and King." Arin kisses Petra, for the last time.
Petra kissed back, starting to cry softly. This was it, the hourglass's sand had run out. Game over for the two lovers. The Five of Cups had been drawn. He pulled away. "We will. You'll be my Queen in death, my dear. I'll see you soon."
The day after, Arin's quarters were cleaned and straightened, very little of him remaining in the room. In Petra's, a lone hornet buzzes on the windowsill.