Archive of Our Own ^beta

The wind blew softly against his face, the gentle lift of it moving his hat a little to the right.

The night was quiet, and not the weird quiet where it felt like millions of eyes stared right at him.

No, today was the comfortable quiet where you could hear grasshoppers have rap battles and birds discuss their things.

Back resting against the bark of a tree, the admin let his eyes go shut. It had been too long since he last could feel free from this torture.

He could feel the wind tug at his jacket, the gray clotch vibrating against his body. The tree he leaned on was sturdy, an old oak that probably had seen stuff he could only imagine.

The admin could hear soft laughter and chatter from far away, perhaps from the main cabin. He speculated the round was won, but he wouldn't know. His peers always celebrated over small victories.

The sound of grass being stopmed on carried over to him, bringing him out of his safe space and having his perring over his helmet to check out the newcomer. Suddenly a fist bumped against the latters headgear, having his slightly jump at the sudden contact.

The admin looked annoyed as he tried to figure out the intruders identity, "Hey, what's yer problem?".

The man over him laughed and practically shoved his face against his, the familiar brown locks tickling his nose and forehead. Shedletsky's grin was big, stretching across his whole face.

The small wings near his ears perked up, softly waving up at down like the tails of excited dogs.

The sword-fighter spoke, his warm breath falling on his face, "Was looking for my best buddy, why are ya hiding here?".

Builderman pushed the other away, gaining back his personal space. With a grumble he sat up straighter, rubbing his temples. "Could ye be a little more respectful towards your ol'buds personal space. Yer locks were nearly killing me".

The other admin laughed, leaning against the same tree as the other. His eyes never left the builder's face, the huge grin on his face not once disappearing. "Oh come on builder, your such a buzzkill," The fighter whined. Builderman could only shake his head, pushing his body up to a more respectable position. His eyes still regaining their use after being closed shut for such a long time.

He scratched his stuble, the somewhat there beard making a srunchy noice against his hard-worn gloves.

His attire was the same as always, the big fluffy grey jacket, underneath a plain white T-shirt without a stupid "blame John" text. The same'ol jeans he wore every day at the HQ. A yawn tugged at his jaw, having his muscles tense up.

His eyes opened up to a familiar sight. His friend now standing right infront of him, a hand held out for him to grab. "Would ya like to take a walk with your old bud".

The builder hesitated, the smirk on the other's face screamed nothing but trouble, but truly, he was feeble. Shedletsky had in no better words grown. He was chubby, but not like he cared. The more he had of the other-wait what.

Builderman shut his eyes tight, yep, he was going insane. He would 100% blame Spectre not his dirty mind. With hesitence he grabbed the others hand, gripping it tight. The sword-fighter beamed at him like a cat who got the cream.

Soon enough he was dragged along with the other trough the dark forest. He could only drag his body, making sure he'd match the other's walkspeed. Yet his friend didn't mind, happily taking the lead.

The first few minutes were quiet. The wind still blowing as soft as ever, the night not so cold it bit at them. Wild animals making noise here and there but not bothering the duo. Hell even the moon looked nice today, not covered by thick clouds this time. But as he knew Shedletsky had to chat.

"So, how are the rounds treating you old buddy".

Builderman sighed and removed his helmet, letting it latch onto his tool belt with a soft click. The new freedom letting his run his free, gloved-hand trough his unruly hair.

"The killers are bastards as always, never let me but down my sentrys nor dispenser." he complained, tugging at an extremely annoying glump that had probably formed thanks to the debris and dust.

The man that held his hand scoffed, "Man i feel bad for ya, atleast i can finally hit my slashes, those idiots are easy to read nowdays". Builderman looked at the other but turned out Shedletsky had had the same idea, the 2 now staring at eachother. It was impossible to stop the blush rushing up to his cheeks.

"Ya bastard, it's only a matter of time before yer dead".

The other laughed, hard to know if it was from his expression or the sentence. The warm laughter was sweet, a lullaby he could listen to for years, the only light in this dark hell.

He spared to throw a glance over his shoulder, giving him a glare that he hoped would be one of annoyance. He knew it didn't work when the hand that held his tightened and the ex-god leaned onto him, his head resting on his shoulder.

"You know, i miss the others, I bet Brighteyes and Doombringer are having a blast".

Builderman placed his other hand on Shedletsky's head, ruffling his hair, "Let's hope Clockwork hasn't caused too much bugs in the newer systems, i'd have a lot to fix then".

The man on his shoulder let out a few chuckles, the vibration carried over his arm like a sting. But this was a sweet sting.

So the duo walked down the gravel path, one leaning on the other, hand glutched into one. Soft jabs at eachother exchanged trough nothing more than the quiet air. If it meant suffering hell to experience this once a while, then maybe, just maybe, it was worth it.