Work Text:
Wifies woke up on his desk. However long it’s been since he passed out, after seeing that place is beyond him. A pounding headache blurred his vision. Had he seen the Leviathan? What was that place? What happened to Hummer? How many classes and assignments did he miss? Despite his swirling thoughts, the knock at the door didn’t pass him. Stumbling up away from his desk on legs that felt numb with ache, he checked the peephole. Someone he couldn’t recognize. Light hair, almost a rusty color, a white collared shirt, tie, strikingly orange eyes. Some kind of cosplayer doing a bit? An advisor he’s yet to meet? A classmate for a project he missed? So many questions, his head throbbed even harder, like there was a bullet in it.
The person knocked again, seeming anxious for a response. Wifies opened the door, anticipating the worst. The individual’s face lit up, “Wifies!”
The face was beyond him, but the voice? That was Hummer, without a shred of doubt. That voice he had spent so long with, that voice he had made a nearly futile journey with on a basis of hope, that voice he feared he lost forever despite it being a game. When you only know someone digitally, it feels real when they’re gone without a guarantee of respawn or a simple join back, especially not after that place.
In his shock, Wifies had forgotten to respond. “...Hummer?”
The other grinned like a little kid on Christmas morning, hugging the investigator tight and twirling him. When Wifies was set back on the ground, he staggered back, “How are you here!? Why do you know where I live Hummer I-”
“I’ll explain inside, just trust me.”
Well, just trusting Hummer has gotten Wifies this far. At this point, what’s the point in not? He backed up, inviting Hummer into his dorm. The both settled on the couch, the mysterious guest making the decision to be well within his personal space, practically on top of him, not that Wifies opposed. Hummer twiddled his thumbs, before starting;
“I am not exactly a normal player.”
Wifies released a breath he didn’t even recognize he was holding. “Well, then can I know what you are?”
Hummer averted his gaze, pupils of his orange eyes shrinking from the room’s tension. “Simply put, I am the Leviathan.”
The investigator’s expression did… something. First shock, confusion, transitioning to thought, before settling on a sort of awkward neutral, as if communicating ‘alright that makes sense’ before confusion returns.
“How are you here right now.”
“It’s a whole bunch of eldritch multiverse universal travel b-s, we ought to save that for another time.”
“...well then, why are you here? How do you know my dorm?”
“You’re the first person who fully believed in me, the first person I could fully trust my true form with. That’s why I’m here now. As for how I know where, I managed to grab some information from your computer while you were passed out.”
Wifies laid back on the couch, putting his face in a pillow. Hummer glanced him up and down, taking it as a cue to also lean back, ending up partially against the brunet. Wifies did bat an eye, but said nothing on it.
Hummer eventually, in their silence, picked up on the fact Wifies was not happy about his information being grabbed. “Do you want me to go?”
The investigator shot up, grabbing Hummer’s arm, “NO!”
The both paused, neither breaking the eye contact between them. Wifies loosened his grip on the others’ arm, face flushing.
“I mean, you can stay if you want.”
Hummer nodded, suddenly seeming fascinated by the coffee table.
“So since you’re the Leviathan and all, can you prove it? Not to say I don’t trust you, just that is a massive claim.”
“...show me your bathtub.”
And Hummer was sitting in his bathtub fully clothed with no shoes on. When the water turned on, the fins hidden in his hair flared, and as the water rose and he got settled in the tub, soon tentacles began to replace limbs. By that point, Wifies had seen enough, he did not want to get into body horror today.
Picking up on the others’ distressed eyes, he turned off the water and got out of the tub, clothes completely soaked. Worriedly, he asked, “Was that enough? Are you okay?”
“…yeah, definitely the leviathan. Also yeah, yeah, I’m fine.”
“If you’re sure.” He pauses, unsure of the validity of the investigator’s words, before taking a breath and carrying on. “Well then, now I sort of need a change of clothes!”
Gaze still averted, “Yeah, one sec.”
Wifies left the room, and made his way to the wardrobe in his room to grab some clothes. They seemed about the same clothing size, Hummer maybe being a size smaller? He quickly grabbed some gym shorts and a white shirt, bringing both items back to the bathroom to place them on the counter, before closing the door..
Hummer, having stepped out of the tub and limbs being returned to humanoid, threw them on, looking down disappointedly at his new attire, however refraining from words. Once the door opened once more, Wifies immediately noted the fish’s dismay. He knew it was likely just due to this not being Hummer’s usual attire, but what can be done at the moment. The investigator didn’t exactly have dress clothes on hand that would fit, despite how it ate at him to see Hummer’s grief, hence the Wifies deciding to take the wet clothes and go put them in his dryer.
This left Hummer alone in the common area of Wifies’ dorm. This really gave him a moment to sit down and think. Wifies finally, truly believed in Levi; in him. He wasn’t some sailors’ tale or conspiracy anymore, at least not to someone. There was someone who truly believed. Someone who, because of them, he is able to live on. If he ever loses that, when he truly loses that, Hummer doesn’t know what he’ll do. But really, what can he do, besides look for another. But would another person truly fill the gap in his being? The need for believers? Or at least, will it ever be this fulfilling? Will someone ever care this much again?
Hummer’s train of thought was cut short by Wifies returning. “So like… you hungry or something? I mean we’re like 6 miles from the beach and I’m assuming you don’t have a car.”
Hummer hesitantly nodded and muttered, “A meal would be nice.”
“Then call it done. Got anything you can’t eat?”
“Not particularly. But uh, preferably no fish.”
“Kinda figures. You alright though? You’re pretty quiet.”
“Oh, yeah, no worries!” Hummer perked up, grounding himself from his previous train of thought by tapping his fingers on the nearby counter, skipping his ring finger. A stress relief tactic he’d heard about, he had never tried it, but felt it was worth a shot in that moment.
“...if you’re sure man.”
See, Wifies did not know how to cook. He lived off microwave meals. But this was Hummer, he couldn’t just throw something in the microwave. Therefore, time to cook.
Straight shit in a pan. Good god. In Wifies’ defense, all he had was pasta, tomato sauce, and a random assortment of vegetables of questionable freshness. Long as nobody dies.
And so dinner was served! Feigning confidence, the detective brought forward a plate of the pasta-vegetable amalgamation before Hummer, who was sitting at a table by the kitchen. “Bon appetit!”
The fish looked down, before taking a fork and reluctantly putting the food to his mouth.
Across from him, Wifies also took a bite, a large one. This sucked so bad. The vegetables were all over the place in texture, the pasta was overcooked, and the tomato sauce was barely beyond room temperature. He smiled through the disgust, looking to Hummer.
Hummer had just taken a bite as well, his face immediately souring, before masking as neutrality. The detective’s shoulders’ tensed, before the tension in the room blew the gasket.“It’s… good.”
Like a pendulum, the tension bounced back. Wifies shifted in his chair, admitting defeat. “You wanna get takeout?”
“Sure.”
“I guess shrimp won’t be frying this rice, huh?”
“God fucking dammit Wifies.”