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It was a lovely night out.
Rounds hadn’t been ongoing for…about two whole weeks. Two whole weeks of their tormentor being silent, brought on by what was one of the worst rounds experienced in recent times.
Nearly daily, everyone scrambled to either prepare for when The Spectre returned, or to try to see if they could find any weakness in The Realm. So far nothing had been located, and it was…late. Late enough that most everyone had most likely piled into the cabin again.
Instead of being in the cabin with almost everyone else, 007n7 was outside on the grass, staring up at the sky on a hill that overlooked the lake. If he could ignore where he was, it was almost…beautiful.
And the best part was that he wasn’t enjoying it alone.
Sev hadn’t initially intended to be leaning against his companion, but that was where he ended up, with the other pressed against the ground, laying casually much like the animal he looked the most like–that being an elk, which Sev fondly remembered seeing when he took Kidd camping one year.
The smell of roasting pumpkin, which Sev had become oh so fond of, wafted into the air.
“Are you sure you’re comfortable being on the ground like that?” Sev peered over.
Dusekkar hummed, raising his helm-head off where he’d rested it on his arms, “Quite comfortable. Are you comfortable as well?”
Sev didn’t ever think he’d get used to Dusekk speaking without the rhyme in what he considered ‘casual’ scenarios. He sort of readjusted himself, sliding down further to rest his head against Dusekk’s side.
“...As comfortable as I can get here,” he shrugged, “but as of right now? Very comfortable.”
He knew he’d regret laying on the ground when he got up, but right now he didn’t care. The grass was soft, and the air was comfortingly cool. Not so cold he wished he had a blanket, but not so hot it felt overbearing. He just wished he had his glasses so he could see the stars properly. Maybe then he could point out constellations and be reminded of back home.
“The silence from our captor has been nice,” Dusekk settled his head back down, “I’m quite sure everyone is enjoying the lack of rounds.”
Sev paused and grit his teeth, momentarily digging his claws into the grass. Sure, yes, he of course enjoyed not dying every day multiple times a day, especially when he knew that at this point none of the main group of killers wanted to kill, but…
Dusekk seemed to get where Sev’s mind had drifted, and he made a hum of sympathy.
“I apologize that you have not been able to see your son,” Dusekk shuffled a bit, like he was trying to get himself closer to Sev.
“I…should be thankful, I think,” Sev sighed, “Not seeing him means that he’s not having to kill people. It’s still just…even when I was dying by his claws, that was still my son’s face I was seeing.”
“Rest assured that we know they’re taking very good care of him over on the other side of the lake,” Dusekk moved to place a hoof-hand on Sev’s own hand, “Perhaps if you’re worried you could speak to Noli directly at the barrier?”
Something about that settled a pit in Sev’s stomach. He knew Noli was working to be better, and he knew Noli was better now, but part of him still remembered that serpentine voice whispering in his ear, eager claws pointing to targets and commands but never selecting them itself, forever adoring to string Sev along to give in to his worst traits and desires.
And yet another part of him remembered the serpentine voice now turned soft, quick information about Kidd’s safety passed over before Sev would be swiftly snuffed out in a round like a candle in a sudden downpour.
“I’ll think about it,” Sev shrugged, sighing as he grasped at Dusekk’s hand, “It’s just…difficult, really, to see him now. To know that he’s taking care of my son because I can’t take care of my son. I should be the one making my child breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I should be the one making sure he’s getting enough exercise and getting to bed on time. Instead it’s my ex doing that, and the only time I ever see my son, he’s tearing me apart or trying to light me on fire, or if he’s not after me, he’s after one of the others in the cabin.”
“If it makes you feel a bit better,” Dusekk spoke, and there was an unnatural tinge of nervousness, like he was trying to figure out how to navigate the conversation, “I hold no grudge against Kidd when he does what he has been tricked into doing, and I’m sure no one else does either.”
Sev blinked, and made a noise like a single note of a bitter laugh, “I’m sure no one has a grudge, but I still have to watch it.”
“...I understand,” Dusekk nodded, the flame in his helm crackling, “If it were my little crow who were to be doing this…”
There was a momentary string of silence as Dusekk seemed to try to figure out how to finish his thought.
“...I believe you are a stronger man than I in that way, mentally speaking.”
Sev was taken aback for a moment, “Me? Stronger than a god?” he was baffled at the mere thought.
“I would not be able to handle seeing Taph in the state that Kidd is in,” Dusekk shook his head, “You are far stronger than I.”
“I…have to handle seeing him like that,” Sev blinked, “If I give up, then who’ll take care of him when we get out? No matter what happens, I have to stay strong for him.”
“Admirable,” Dusekk made a sort of strange whining kind of noise, echoed by his flame crackling, “I enjoy how determined you are, and are certainly glad you have not given up hope of escape.”
“Of course I can’t give up hope,” Sev gently squeezed Dusekk’s hand, “Hope is one of the few things we have here. One of the few things that it can’t take from us, no matter how hard it tries.”
The two drifted into silence, simply…staring at the stars.
“...If Taph and CK get along outside of this place,” Sev started, face vaguely grim but with a good humor to it, “We’re doomed.”
“Your child is not allowed to be a Demolitionist,” Dusekk laughed, though Sev was sure that he was fully being serious. However, that actually did bring up an interesting question.
“Are you guys…really planning to restart the Demolitionist program after this whole thing?” Sev questioned, tilting his head, “Jane and Veeronica told us the program had been wiped out, and with how we know the world is out there right now…”
“...And the program was started by…Doombringer,” Dusekk sighed, flame crackling low and wafting much more smoke than normal.
Sev hummed, trying to figure out if he should ask what he was thinking of, only for him to decide that it was a risk he wanted to satiate his curiosity, “You…talk about Doombringer in a certain way sometimes. It…almost reminds me of the way I talked about Noli before I became alright with him again.”
Dusekkar was silent for a long while. Long enough where Seven nearly frantically apologized for seemingly overstepping bounds. Eventually, however, Dusekk finally spoke again.
“Sometimes relationships just…fail to work out,” Dusekk simply explained, turning his head away like he was ashamed, “Sometimes you find yourself with different viewpoints on what matters the most to you.”
Sev gave a sympathetic sigh, squeezing Dusekk’s hand again, “I know what that’s like. Noli and I just…couldn’t see eye-to-eye anymore, so we broke it off.”
Dusekk made a sort of hum that trailed off into a more upbeat tone than he previously had, gently moving his hand to grab back at Sev’s own.
And that’s how they sat for a long, long while, neither talking nor moving much, just…staring up at the stars and occasionally at each other, as the night continued onwards. Maybe they should have gotten up at some point, to head back and make themselves comfortable on the couch of the cabin that everyone else was most likely settled in by now. Maybe at some point someone would head out into the woods looking for them. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to settle down on the ground considering how old Sev was and how poorly he felt like his bones fit together at times.
However, at some point, Sev found himself quietly slipping into sleep. He didn’t dream of much, just some strange distant calling that he couldn’t answer no matter how hard he tried. It bothered him to no end, but it wasn’t like the calling was angry or scared or desperate, it was just…a call.
At some point during what he guessed was still the middle of the night, he blinked open his eyes, still frustrated from the calling that he couldn’t reach no matter what he did. Next to him, Dusekk made a hum of questioning.
“Sorry,” Sev mumbled, “Did I wake you up?”
Dusekk shook his head, “I have not slept.”
Sev blinked in confusion, “Are you…worried? About sleeping out here?”
“I do not need to sleep.”
Immediately that struck Sev with a series of incredibly concerning thoughts as he thought through every time he’d seen Dusekk awake in the middle of the night.
“...Dusekk,” he mumbled, “When was the last time you slept?”
“I do not need to sleep.”
“Dusekkar,” he grumbled, with perhaps a bit too much growl for an exploiter speaking to an Admin, “When was the last time you slept?”
Dusekk’s flame crackled for a moment, almost like he was angered by the audacity of being growled at, only for him to settle with a sigh, the crackle dying down almost immediately.
“I have not slept since before the large round on Halloween,” he admitted, seemingly ashamed.
“DUSEKKAR?!” Sev sputtered, “That–that can’t be healthy! It’s July! That’s eight months without sleeping!”
Sev had pulled a few all-nighters in his life, and every time he felt miserable afterwards. He couldn’t even begin to imagine not sleeping for eight months.
“I do not need to sleep,” Dusek repeated.
“I don’t care that you think you don’t need it,” Sev put his head in his hands, exasperated, “I don’t care that you’re a god. You’re a living being, Dusekkar. You ARE life! If you–”
He wasn’t being listened to. He knew that Dusekkar was just going to file this away and still not sleep.
“If you don’t sleep,” Sev began to threaten, narrowing his eyes, “I’ll tell Two Time that their god isn’t taking care of himself.”
“...You wouldn’t,” Dusekk sounded vaguely shocked.
“I will,” Sev huffed, “They might have been pulled mostly out of their deep-seeded mentality, but how do you think they’ll react to being told the man they know is Spawn isn’t doing things he should be doing like sleeping?”
“You are horribly devious,” Dusekk mumbled with a bit of humor to his voice.
“Your fault for falling in love with an exploiter and making him fall in love with you in turn,” Sev waved a hand with a smirk, laughing.
“Fine,” Dusekk hummed, curling himself further around Seven, “You’ve won. I shall try to at least get some rest.”
Satisfied, Sev settled back down himself.
It was a long while before Sev guessed that Dusekk had fallen asleep, with the flame in his helm running low and his breathing having steadied. He couldn’t tell very well, and he merely had to hope that it wasn’t a ploy considering the fact that the eyes of Dusekk’s helm never fully closed, merely squinted nearly shut.
But…it was enough for him. Enough for Sev himself to curl up a little more on the soft grass under the stars, thinking back to when he was younger and horribly lonely, wishing that one day he could do exactly this with a partner of his own.
He just never thought it’d be someone so powerful.
It was strange, but…it was comfortable. It made him happy.
And that was enough for him. More than enough.