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The round started as many others do, but with a surprisingly quiet atmosphere to it, compared to the eerie feeling that usually settled over it all.
It was…unfortunately, that map. The one that was a horribly overgrown version of the cult’s village. Two Time would have preferred this to have been a one-time map, but it seemed like they wouldn’t be so lucky. Instinctively they reached to fidget with their necklace, grumbling with annoyance upon remembering that they had ripped it off after yelling at Dusekkar.
“Y’ doing good, Times?”
Two Time was shaken out of their thoughts, turning around to see Chance standing there.
“Ah–quite fine, my luck,” they laughed, scratching at the back of their head, “It’s just…this map…”
Chance hummed sympathetically, coming to stand next to Times, “Well, I’ve got your back. Nothing we haven’t been through before, right?”
Chance suddenly seemingly adjusted to look at something in the distance, and Times could tell from the way his face moved that he was squinting under his glasses. They turned to follow his gaze, seeing…Azure.
…Poor Azure, having to be on this map again.
“Huh, he doesn’t have his hat,” Chance observed, “Passive round, you think?”
“Considering he’s not running but rather simply walking towards us, I’m inclined to agree on that assumption,” Times nodded, raising a hand to wave.
Azure ever so slightly raised a tendril to wave back as he got closer, eventually stopping a few feet away. When he spoke, he sounded…dizzy, almost. Like he always did when he worked himself up over something. The tone was puzzling to Times. Just what was he getting worked up over that would result in a passive round?
“Can I…speak to you two elsewhere?” Azure seemed nervous, almost. Two Time blinked at him a few times, trying to figure out exactly what he was going for and why he’d need to speak to them both.
Chance spoke before Times did, nodding, “Yeah, sure! Lead the way!”
Azure hesitated for a moment, and Times came to the realization that he was worrying about them being behind him, but after a moment he took in a breath and began to walk away, with Two Time and Chance quickly following after. Times was…shocked at where they were being led as Azure pushed open the gates, the shock reaching an apex upon realizing he had stopped just at the edge of the mirror of the flower field. He sat down at a tree, patting the ground next to him, and soon enough Chance and Two Time had settled down as well.
Azure only looked more and more nervous. If their brain had been going in clearly the wrong direction, they’d have remembered a time many years ago when the two of them had a conversation in the actual flower field that The Spectre’s creation was mimicking. When they glanced at Chance as if to ask what he thought, he had a distinct grin on his face, like he was hoping for something. Just what was he…?
“...This is stupid,” Azure suddenly groaned, putting both his hands on his head and raising his elbows up to the sky, “Trap was wrong, what am I doing!?”
Chance tilted his head, grin not disappearing, “What exactly is stupid, ‘Zure?”
Two Time narrowed their eyes at him, mouthing “What’s going on?”, confused on why Chance seemed to know more of what was going on then they did.
“This is probably the worst place ever to realize it, and I was going to wait until we got out of here,” Azure huffed, moving like he was going to adjust his hat before remembering he didn’t have it on, “But someone keeps insisting that if I don’t do this, he gets to make fun of me!”
“Trap is good at getting people to do what he wants,” Chance laughed, “But c’mon! Out with it!”
“Whatever’s bothering you, I’m sure it’s no big deal!” Times trilled, curling their tail.
“It is a big deal, that’s the issue!” Azure tugged at his capelet, grumbling.
“Surely it’s not, Zuzu!” they laughed, “Why, you’re acting like you’re…”
…Wait, was he…?
“And now you’ve figured it out before I could even tell you!” Azure grit his teeth, growling, “This is so stupid!”
Oh.
Oh.
Times sat there, eyes wide open and tail thudding against the ground as they slowly raised a finger, “...Can you say it plain before I jump to a possibly wrong conclusion?”
“I love you still!” Azure threw his hands into the air, “I love you, and I love your stupid gambler, and–”
“SCORE!” Chance abruptly shouted, pumping his fist and laughing, “AND ELLS SAID I COULDN’T DO IT!”
Startled by both the confession and the outburst, Times sputtered, “P-Pardon?!”
“I have had this…grand plan ever since those stupid two weeks back in January and February were over,” Chance started to explain, hands spread out like the plan was a physical spherical object he could hold, “Where I thought I could get both of you to be okay with loving each other again, but for you both to also like me! Elliot said I was insane and the plan would never work for multiple reasons, but he was wrong and it worked!”
Times stared at him for a solid few moments, glancing to Azure after they felt Chance had been adequately stared at.
“...And this is why I think he’s cute,” Azure motioned to Chance.
“I’m very much so inclined to agree,” Times nodded.
“But now it’s…” Azure sighed, “It’s not like I can just be passive every round. We know how that’ll end up. How can I say I love you two and then do…that?”
Times paused before humming sympathetically. That…was a good point. That’d put a toll on everyone involved.
“Well,” Chance leaned against the tree Azure was against, “It’s a matter of…we’ll get out of here, you know? We’ll get out of here, and there’ll be a place for us all. I have quite the lavish house, you know, and it gets awfully lonely. We’ll share it.”
“Haven’t you spoken about how large the backyard is, Chance?” Times questioned, also leaning up against the tree, “Perfect for a massive sprawling garden.”
“Tended to by the best gardener I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting!” Chance nudged Azure, grinning when Azure’s unsure look turned into a grin of his own.
“And you…like rabbits, right?” Azure looked at Chance, “I presume you do, considering Spade.”
“Do you want more rabbits?” Chance questioned, “We’ll get more rabbits.”
“Plenty of rabbits!” Times assured, taking a risk and leaning against Azure, gently trilling when he didn’t pull away at all.
“A lavish house, a sprawling garden, and a whole warren of rabbits?” Azure questioned.
“Sounds like a jackpot to me!” Chance leaned against Azure’s other side.
Azure took in a heavy breath before Times felt him shift, wrapping his arm around them to hold their head to his chest, right at nearly the exact same spot they had once stabbed.
For a moment, there was a pit in their stomach, expecting a terrifying distinct lack of heartbeat, just another reminder of what they had once done, once been led to do by someone they thought they could trust to destroy the person who they could actually trust.
The pit rapidly disappeared when they were greeted with the soft, distinct ba-dum of Azure’s heart.
It took everything in them to not burst into tears then and there. Their Azure. Their Azure. Their Zuzu. He still loved them, he still wanted to hold them like this, and he also wanted the person that they had fallen in love with in this horrible place.
“My Nightshade and my Oleander,” Azure breathed out, and Times never wanted to pull away from the way his voice rumbled in his chest.
“I adore a good love story,” Chance laughed, and Times reached out for him, trilling when he grabbed their hand in his own, “I’ll have to figure out a cute name for you too. Can’t just be calling you ‘Zure!”
“I think it’s cute,” Azure rested his head on Chance’s, “Two Time calls me Zuzu, you call me ‘Zure.”
“Tch,” Chance scoffed, “Sounds too close to just your name! I need something fancy, something with a good ring to it! Something like…Azzy! That’s a cute one!”
Azure hummed and Times leaned into the noise, closing their eyes.
“Something about that just feels right.”
“Then Azzy it is!”
Their conversation might have trailed on for longer, or maybe it had stopped there. Two Time couldn’t particularly tell, nor did they particularly care. Now more than ever they had something to look forward to when they got out.
A lavish house, a sprawling garden, and a whole warren of rabbits.
That sounded good to them.
Azure slammed open the door, perhaps a bit too harshly. They regretted their actions right away, especially when a certain someone fell right off his bed and to the ground. They grimaced, mumbling an apology.
“Don’t worry about it,” Trap wheezed as he got up, “You seem excited.”
“You’re not allowed to make fun of me for the plants in the garden,” Azure grinned, laughing, “And I still get to make fun of you for what we talked about in the garden.”
Azure could see Trap thinking over what exactly that could mean, until his look of confusion quickly split into a giant grin, “You’re kidding.”
“I’m not!” Azure threw his hands into the air in celebration, “You’re looking at the face of a man who is no longer single!”
Trap cheered, laughing, “Let’s go, Snapdragon! I told you, you just needed to go for it!”
“I thought your advice was stupid, but I just…felt like I had to listen to it!” Azure tugged at his hat, adjusting it, “And it worked! I really should trust you more often, y’know.”
For just a split second, just a single moment, an expression that…Azure couldn’t put words to flashed across Trap’s face. Regret? Fear? Maybe a tinge of horror? Before they could question it, Trap shook himself off, that grin quickly returning.
“So am I to assume that you’re going to bully me until Sonne and I end up together?” Trap tilted his head.
“Considering you told me last night that the pining is mutual, yes!” Azure’s voice was smug, and he leaned forwards ever so slightly, “So what’s it gonna be, Wolfsbane? Me making fun of you until you stop being a coward? Or you manning up and going for it right away?”
“I’m not a coward,” Trap’s voice was a good-natured growl.
“Then prove it, coward,” Azure goaded him.
“For a man raised in a cult, you talk back very often,” Trap’s gaze narrowed, though he kept his smile.
Azure shrugged, “I learned to talk back. Keeps my wits about me. That’s one of the things they drive from you the most. Plus, you’re just pretty easy to talk back to.”
Trap made a loud dramatic scoff, splaying his hand against his chest, “How rude! I spend months being your friend and giving you advice and you repay me like this?!”
“Oh nooooo, Wolfsbaaaane! Wolfieeee!” Azure made an equally dramatic whine, “Did I hurt your feelings?”
“Direly!” Trap shouted, turning his nose up into the air, “I demand an apology!”
“Awww, how could I ever make it up to you?”
“Fresh baked banana bread!” Trap crossed his arms with a ‘humph’, “I’ll accept nothing less than bread from the best baker I know!”
“Be careful about calling me the best baker you know,” Azure lifted a finger in warning, “1x might get peeved.”
“Oh stop it,” Trap waved a hand, “She’s the best cook here. You two have different specialties.”
“But fiiiine,” Azure sighed, like it was the most difficult thing in the world for him to agree to, “I’ll make you banana bread.”
“And,” Trap peered at him, “I want to help. And I want you to tell me every single detail of how your confession went.”
“You are so lucky I’m a good friend,” Azure grinned, “But it’s a deal.”
Finally, for once, things were really looking up.