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Very, very boredly, Regect had its limbs sprawled out on the couch, eyes staring onto the ceiling. Moe was already out — most definitely doing rehearsals with her clown friends, leaving Regect behind solemnly with Ze. Ze that wasn’t even awake yet. The entity found itself yawning, aloof, painstakingly scanning around the living room for any signs of life. However, without much difficulty, it ended up finding itself staring at the ceiling, once again.
Waiting for Ze to wake up was like waiting for a sloth to wake up: awfully slow and time consuming. It could be twelve in the afternoon, and you’d find Ze, freshly crawled out of bed, eating what he’d call breakfast. It’s not to say that Ze was a lazy man. Infact, he was far from being one. It's just his sleep schedule was pure dogshit, probably from insomnia, it guessed.
Regect inattentively rolled his eyes, imagining when Ze could've possibly slept last night and just how late he decided to stay in bed till. Then, like the flickering of a lightbulb, an idea formed in its head.
A stupid one, sure, but an idea is an idea — and Regect knew exactly what to do. It absentmindedly flashed a small grin at no one in particular before making its way up the stairs.
Instead of playing a stupid waiting game that neither had signed up for, why couldn't Regect just bother Ze from his bed? That way, the man wouldn't have to get up, and the entity wouldn’t have to wait.
Tentatively, the entity raised a hand towards the doorknob, twisting it slowly, carefully, quietly–
“I know you’re there, dipshit.” A deep voice called out, hoarse in a way it usually wasn't. Regect’s hand flinged away from the doorknob, retreating behind its back like it’d do anything.
It let out a small, wordless gasp. “What the fuck. That scared me.”
Then, for what felt like seconds too long, neither spoke. Regect waited for Ze to speak, comment on whatever the fuck’s going on, while Ze waited for Regect to continue.
Regect scoffed. This was just like the waiting game from before, but part two. The entity grew impatient, yet he decided to take a slower, calmer approach. “Are you coming to eat breakfast or not?”
It heard a little grunt. “I don't wanna eat your burnt bacon. Go away.” Ze shuffled in his sheets.
“Geez, dude.” Regect backed up a little, unsure whether it was for dramatic purposes or not. “Are you sure you don't want some water?-- Or like, I could-”
“Just leave.” Ze hissed, sharp with something unnamable.
At first, Regect wasn’t much concerned about Ze’s voice and state. But now, after his odd change in behaviour, it was obvious that something was going on.
Maybe Ze was upset again for some unknown reason – but that didn't explain the hoarse voice. Perhaps he was just really dehydrated for some reason? No, no. Regect saw him carry a bottle of water up to his room the night prior. So what could possibly be the reasoning behind his.. hostility? Avoidance?
Then, Regect clocked it.
“Oh. Are you sick?”
Against the door, Regect could hear even more shuffling. From what he could interpret, Ze was probably sitting up at his bed now; Regect imagined him staring straight through the door. It almost got worried that holes would go through the door with how hard he was probably staring.
“Yes. I am sick. Now leave.” Ze spat aggressively, before shifting in his bed again. Regect concluded he was probably getting off the bed, as it heard a soft thump on the floor. The entity crossed its arms.
Well, if he couldn't be let in normally, then he would have to do something to be let in. Right?
“I’ll be right back!” Regect chimed before running down the stairs.
Regect had taken a few critical hits regarding its cooking. The most recent one was.. well, around 5 minutes ago, burnt bacon. But he didn't take any of them to heart because deep down, he knew that he was a seasoned cook, cooking up five star Michelin meals.
It could smell smoke — was something burning?--
Oh, the eggs. Right.
The entity threw the burnt egg out the window and a smal void opened up beneath the ground and ate it. It didn't question that; their world was weird enough.
“Okay, c’mon. Round two.” It hissed.
This time, it monitored the eggs closely, and switched off the stove when the eggs turned into beautiful sunny side-ups. Regect silently congratulated itself before taking the toasts out the toaster, and generously buttering them.
Stood proudly, Regect was admiring the very own plate he conjured up himself: two toasts, overlapping one another in a presentable manner, two sunny side up eggs with golden yolks, and perfectly crisp bacon. It smelled really tempting, and Regect didn't even have a sense of hunger unlike humans. One final step, and the meal would be done.
Steam was coming out of the kettle rapidly, and that was the signal that the water was boiled. It poured the water in a mug, a unicorn mug that was gifted to Ze by one of his sisters ages ago, and stirred it with the teabag.
Elderberry tea is packed with antioxidants, Google said, and Regect had no reason to disbelieve it considering that was somehow the only tea they had in their cupboard. It finished stirring and left the teaspoon in the mug.
Plate in one hand and mug in the other, Regect made its steady ascend up the stairs.
Regect knocked against the door with its tail, not really having any other options.
“Open the door.”
Ze scoffed, voice souring from somewhere to the corner of his room. He was probably going over his gun collection. “Why exactly should I do that?” he said, voice not any better than before.
“Dude– just open the door. My hands are full.” Regect yelled again, patience running thin.
Normally, Ze wouldn't have opened the door. He was the most stubborn guy you could meet, and honestly, he didn't want to open it either. But something pulled him to — maybe the urgency in Regect’s voice? Or the want for human(?) contact from himself?
Regardless, Ze looked towards the door.
“The door was unlocked the whole time, y’know?”
“Ze. I legitimately have no hands right now. I don't know how you want me to open the door. Do you want me to–”
“Wait, how’d you knock then?”
“–morph a new hand out? How’d I– I knocked with my tail!”
A shuffle from behind the door. Then a click of the doorknob, the door opening.
Regect stood numbly at the doorframe, eyes staring straight into Ze’s which reciprocated. Then it dropped to the contents in Regect’s hands. His hand was still tightly gripping the side of the door, using it like a leech to support him.
Ze’s mouth dropped open. Closed. Then opened again.
“It’s not burnt?” is all he said.
Regect almost wanted to burst into flames before remembering where he was.
“Does it look burnt to you, dipshit?”
The man’s mouth was still agape. “No– no it doesn't. You made tea?” he asked, expression somehow soft with what looked like shock.
Hand shaking with pure impatience, Regect replied. “Yes. I made tea. Are you too sick to take it or what? Do you need me to hand carry it to your desk?”
Ze picked up the plate and carefully placed it on his bed, climbing into the bed himself. Regect took this as a cue to follow him in and it stationed the tea just beside his bed, on his nightstand. It sat on the edge of his bed, tail limping beside it, and silently hoped Ze wouldn't cuss at him. His plan was working perfectly.
Ze looked at Regect and didn't comment, before picking up the tea and subconsciously stirring it. “What tea is this?”
“Uhm. Elderberry. It should help with your cold, or fever, or whatever disease you have.” It said absentmindedly.
It was calm. Ze’s windows were wide open, cool air gushing in, yet the curtains were closed and kept the room fairly dim. The only sounds that occupied the room were the teaspoon hitting the sides of the mug, cutlery clinking, Ze eating his food and the strong sound of wind above all. Neither spoke for a while — and for once, it seemed like everything was normal despite this weird world they lived in.
Once the dishes were set aside, the room was once again silent. Ze held the mug in his hand, and Regect turned his head over.
The entity looked at Ze.
“How was the food? Be completely honest, by the way. I actually have a lie detector built in that senses lies-”
Ze snorted. “Dude, you just explained what lie detectors do.”
Its hands flew up defensively. “Okay! Whatever! Humans these days don't even appreciate my explanations. So, like, is my cooking good?”
The other side was silent. Ze hesitated, looking at the wall, then the floor, then the ceiling fan, before his eyes landed on the drink in his hands. “Yeah. Whatever.”
Yesss, Regect not so discreetly muttered beneath its breath like a student who just passed their test. Ze rolled his eyes. He already knew this would get Regect’s ego at an all time high, but he still felt like he was missing something. Something, like…
“...Thank you aswell.”
Regect drastically whipped his head towards Ze. Its eyes blinked once, twice, then just stared. Its tail swayed to the left a bit, then went limp again. This made Ze reconsider his choices — was he really that ungrateful? But he didn't complain. It’s not everyday you see Regect caught off guard, and Ze was surely enjoying the view, even smiling to himself.
“Bro, are you like, actually Ze.” Regect spoke in a dead serious manner.
He scoffed half heartedly. “I don't know. This sickness is making me nice to you, and I don't really like that.” That was a clear lie, and the smile you could hear through Ze’s words showed. Regect chuckled before turning his head back around.
It picked at its claws. “How did you even get sick, anyway?”
Ze leaned back against his bedframe, the bed creaking. His vision flickered up to the ceiling and hesitated, thinking. “I was in the rain last night and didn't dry off immediately,” he said, the words tickling against his throat.
Regect batted its eyes towards Ze’s direction without turning its head. “It rained last night?”
Fully succumbing to the sheets now, Ze finished off his tea and put the empty mug on his nightstand before slumping down to his pillow. “At midnight. I forgot what time, but I couldn't sleep.”
The entity widened its eyes. “So it was you!”
Ze raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“I heard the door open, but I thought it was like… a stray cat coming in so I didn't check.”
“Are you actually stupid? You thought a cat opened our door? Holy shit, dude.” Ze almost laughed from the mere stupidness of that sentence paired with Regect’s stuttering.
Regect crossed his arms. “The hell, man! You – You actually never know, okay? There’s like– kinda– there’s weird shit going on in this world. Can you even blame me?”
Ze couldn't fight back. There was indeed weird shit in their world and no one could deny it. It goes from cave dwellers to robot speedrunners to eldritch eye entities. Quite a range, he’d say. His instinctively went to touch his bandana, fiddling with the ends of the tied knot.
His head sank into his pillow, and he was going to succumb to sleep anytime soon. Just when he was about to close his eyes, a voice–
“You sleep with your bandana on?” Regect asked, genuine curiousity seeping through.
“..Yeah?” Ze answered like that was a normal thing to do. Regect should’ve known that Ze wasn't really an ordinary guy. His voice was cloudy, the rasp from the sickness and the energy taken from his half asleep state audible.
Regect continued picking at its claws, tail occasionally thumping against the mattress with no rhythm. It looked at Ze, face covered by blankets, then back to its nails. Its gaze diverted back to Ze.
Was he really about to fall asleep now? He was fine with Regect being here?
Might aswell appreciate the moment. It’s not everyday Ze willingly had you in his room, let alone not curse your entire existence. Regect would say it was doing well. It hadn’t gotten (seriously) yelled at, hadn’t got hit, and hadn't got kicked out. He had objectives, and it was to keep it that way. And when the perfect moment comes, Regect would strike.
But when Regect was about to do another take at Ze, a voice rang out.
“Are you just gonna.. like, sit there?”
Regect was dumbfounded. It understood the implications of that, and didn't know what to do. Does it say yes? Does it disagree? Does it ask why? Which option was the safest with Ze?
Now isn't the time to play safe, really. It could feel its face, warm all over, probably flushed with yellow. Then the realisation hit hard. Ze meant for him to leave. It could work with that. The opportunity can wait, then. Tomorrow has a better chance.
“Uhm, I’ll go. Yeah.” Regect awkwardly muttered, already stood up and about to reach for the door. It should've known better.
Ze sat up abruptly in his bed. “No– I meant, if you wanted to, you could.. join me? Wait no, that sounded very wrong.” He instantly fell back onto his bed, hands covering his face. “Okay– okay. Nevermind. I’ll get you sick. You should go. Yeah.” Ze was certain his face was red.
“Uh,” Regect stopped, now facing Ze. “I don't get sick. Not from human sickness, at least.”
Removing his hands from his face, Ze was going to reply — he was instead greeted with Regect approximately a step away from his bed. He instantly turned to his side, away from Regect. “Oh, that’s fine then,” was all he could mutter.
He could feel the weight dip on his bed when Regect climbed in. Next was the shuffling of blankets, then the rearranging of a pillow. Ze could make out that Regect was probably sat up with blankets pulling at his waist, back supported by the pillow.
Ze coughed, before burying his face in a blanket. He was going to sleep, and not get distracted by his own actions. That meant ignoring Regect, ignoring the stare he could feel on the back of his head, ignoring the soft smell of rain it constantly carried, and ignoring the very entity that brought breakfast in his room.
Regect looked at Ze, then his room. Ze had posters scattered around his room, from games, shows, medias he liked, and some ripped straight from magazines. Now Regect was thinking. Wasn’t it’s initial purpose here to annoy Ze anyway? It has now turned into.. whatever this was. It was scarily calm and somewhat intimate, and that started digging into Regect’s skin. The feeling where you couldn't quite name, but crawls under your skin in a borderline good way.
It stared off for a second longer before something beside it shifted. Eyes darting towards the source of the sound, Ze had turned over, now facing up, eyes meeting Regect’s. It wasn't long before the neutral gaze turned into a more aggravating frown. Regect assumed it was his staring and looked away rapidly. Then Ze nudged his side, and the entity’s attention instantly reverted to him.
Ze closed his eyes, eyebrows still furrowed. “Your tail. It’s touching my back.”
“Oh– sorry, dude.” Regect hurriedly said, shifting it to its own side. But Ze looked at Regect, a stern look that made it instantly doubt its actions.
His eyes closed again, eyebrows more relaxed this time. Turning towards side Regect wasn't at again, he muttered, “you don't need to move. I didn't say it was a complaint.”
Regect was still. Okay, Ze absolutely had to be delirious from whatever sickness he had — presumably a cold along with a fever from the way he kept shuffling in the sheets, unable to find a comfortable position. That explained a lot: the thank you, the compliment, and the current position it was in in his bed.
Delrium. That was the reason behind all this!
Was the delirium also meant to affect Regect? Why was it now slowly sinking into the bed, head comfortably laying on the pillow? Regect couldn't tell you the answer — or he could, but would rather not
And just when Regect caught itself in the act, about to sit back up, it froze. Ze turned over, and was now looking at Regect with something unnameable beneath his eyes. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed not in an annoyed way, but instead a more… hesitating way. Regect was once again silent, still, painfully aware of the gold flushing over his face.
The entity was expecting a harsh remark to come out of his mouth when it opened. But all that it heard was: “Regect, you don't get sick, right?”
Dumbfounded, Regect nodded his head, now turned towards Ze. Out of everything it could've been doing on a tuesday afternoon, why was laying down face to face beside Ze in his bed? Was this a thing humans did regularly — was this something casual? If it was, then why was it still flushed golden?
Its thoughts were cut short. Ze lifted a hand, and it fell limp just infront of his face. It twitched one, then twice, then it landed on the side of Regect’s face. This was the part where he finally lost it and slapped it.
Correction.
His hand was cupping its face.
Regect’s eyes were squinted shut to brace for impact, but now there seems like there are bigger things to brace for. Like how Ze seemed to be inching closer, and closer, and–
“..Can I?”
Ze’s head was half sunken into his pillow, close enough to trespass to Regect’s. He was red. Very red. Regect is sure its face wasn't any better, and with his mouth and mind playing a game of tag, words would not come out normally. It resorted to nodding, almost too frantically for it to not look desperate. Problem was it was desperate.
The last thing that played in its mind was a quick don’t mess this up before Regect felt something against its face. Its lips, to be precise. The kiss didn't land exactly on its lips, and Regect let go for a small moment before taking hold of Ze’s face, redirecting where his lips should’ve landed.
The kiss wasn't perfect. When their lips finally met properly, Regect could swear its heart was thumping faster than it ever had. The kiss wasn't long, wasn't deep, they didn't make out, but it was enough to quench the small part of its mind that was yelling, screaming at it to do something. When they finally pulled away, the warmth on their skin still freshly layered, Regect’s hand didn't leave his face just yet.
“Oh my god, you're nasty. Did you have to kiss me while you’re sick?” Regect said, hand still touching Ze’s face like if he was to let go Ze would disappear. It had an undeniably smug smile on his face.
Ze furrowed his eyebrows, frowning. “You just fuckin’ told me you don't get sick?” he muttered, genuinely confused whether he did the wrong thing or not.
“Dude, chill. I’m just playing.” The moment Ze heard those words, his face became impossibly redder. His mouth opened, about to spit some harsh words out before he felt a familiar sensation against his face again.
The kiss was short. More of a shut-up kiss, and to say the least, it did its job well. Ze was still, extremely still, not a singular muscle moving. His eyes were the only thing with life, staring holes into Regect — who was flushed golden. Its eyes looked more gentle than teasing if anything. Ze didn't have much of a choice other than to let go of his half flustered, half frustrated feelings.
Regect turned its body upright to face the ceiling. Then a quick: “Oh shit. Sorry, man. I should've asked you before I did that.” Its voice carried genuine guilt, and Ze aswell turned towards the other side of the room with the back of his head facing Regect. It was mostly to hide his (presumably) extremely red face.
“I genuinely couldn't care less," Ze replied, scoffing light-heartedly. He put his hands on his face, voice muffled. “Man, this is so fucking weird. When I stop being sick and I wake up tomorrow, I’m genuinely gonna die from embarrassment." His chest was doing that thing, where it gets all warm and unexplainable.
The other was silent for a bit. “Why tomorrow? Why not now.”
“Uhm, ’cause,” he hesitated, “because that wasn't… bad.” His voice quieted down towards the end and Ze internally kicked himself. Fuck, that was so corny wasn't it. But it was true, and it would just be a blatant lie if he were to say he hadn’t been thinking of initiating something with Regect. He hadn't actually thought so far ahead because he didn't think he’d proceed with it; the slight delirium from the fever definitely helped.
The entity cleared its throat. Ze was expecting anything other than what came next. “Yeah. Yeah– uh, I agree.”
Hold on.
Ze’s eyes widened. The unsettling weight on his chest had now loosened. He bunched the blankets closer towards himself, head half sunken in the sheets. Regect wanted this? Wait, wait, bigger fish to fry. Ze had just realised — he felt Regect’s lips? That entity had lips? That was a stupid question, since Ze quite literally just felt them. The feeling of curiosity muddled with the warmth from the fever and newfound thrill wasn't the best, nor the easiest to regulate. Ze felt like he was about to explode.
And just like his mouth forgot to listen to his brain, he dumbly muttered, “Regect, you had a face all along?”
Regect continued to stare up at the ceiling. “Uhm, yeah. You just can't see it. But– but yeah.”
Ze hummed in acknowledgment, then recollected all the times he threw punches on Regect’s face and… they did land on something. Then his mind thought about how many bruises he must’ve formed, and how it would look if he could see it. He internally punched himself. He’s meant to be asleep right now, resting, getting better from this illness. But then… how was he even meant to fall asleep after impulsively kissing Regect, and now that it was laying beside him?
There was probably a way out there.
“Shut up,” Ze spat harshly at the silence. He was going to sleep, and nothing was going to bother him. Regect, too, seemed to catch on onto whatever Ze was trying to do and it allowed him to. It was dim, fine, and whatever talk they were going to have to do can wait until later.
And simply, sleep took him in just like that. Both Ze and Regect, the latter only falling asleep until it made sure the other’s breathing was even. The initial plan could wait until he got better.