Anytime something silly that I do to amuse myself incidentally amuses someone else.. it reminds me of why we are ✨ alive ✨

Just so you know, this is how I found out about it 😂😂

Rhett is sitting in their office early on Monday morning when Link charges in, slamming the door behind him, only to charge over, urge Rhett to stand up and - before Rhett can even get one word out - kisses him full on the mouth.

The moment is so bizarre, so unexpected, that Rhett can do nothing more than simply experience it. He can't react - not with awe or with disgust or with-? Well, it's impossible to even know how he's going to react because he can't even absorb what's happening.

Link's lips press to his - hot and full and desperate and one quick swipe of his tongue (as if just for the fun of it) and Rhett's own lips might part, he's not sure, but it doesn't matter anyway, for even as quick as it happens, it's over and Link just pulls away with a frustrated, "There! Finally did that!"

Rhett stands there, shell shocked and lost, and Link just flops down into his own office chair, sighing gravely, "Figured why not? You know? I mean, even if you hate me now or want to end our friendship or whatever, it won't matter! Hell, even if its awkward as fuck now, it's no big, cause come tonight I'm just going to die again and this day's just gonna repeat and you won't even remember this!"

... Link's just...laid out a lot.

With both his words and actions.

Rhett blinks and tries to compute...all of this.

Link, however, has no trouble whatsoever continuing, "Besides, I've always wanted to know. You know? I've thought about it. Shit, know you probably have too - everybody gets those crazy thoughts now and then, but thanks to impluse control most of us never act on 'em."

He smacks the arms of his office chair in a musical way, twisting it this way and that as he rattles on, "But why shouldn't I? I mean, I've already done a whole slew of wacky shit in this unending time loop - jumped off a bridge, drank bleach, burned down the Mythical building, told everyone on a live Instagram to quit the Society, killed Chase with a dart, asked Christy for a divorce - did all of that, but not the kiss thing! No, not that! Never that! So, I figured this go around was as good a time as any!"

Rhett can't follow along. He doesn't even know where to start. Not that that bothers Link.

"Keep in mind too, lot of this is your fault, because you've told me a couple of times that maybe if I do something completely outrageous that'll snap me out of it. Or that if I find out who's killing me that might work and let me tell you, buddy, I've looked into just about everybody we know and none of them are the culprit!"

And it's with this that Rhett finally manages to say something, "Someone's killing you?"

Link rolls his eyes, "Yeah, Rhett, come on - keep up! So sick of explaining this to you every dang gum time!"

Rhett balks at that only for Link to jump up and open the door. Stevie stands there with wide eyes, clearly not expecting Link to be waiting for her, much less for Link to speak for her, "You we're just going to knock. Yes, it's my birthday, thanks. You've got the reports from the last upload, filming starts soon - yada, yada."

He shuts the door neatly in her face, which Rhett would normally object to if it wasn't for the fact that he's still bowled over by every single thing that's happened so far.

More so as Link moves swiftly over towards his cell phone which barely starts to ring before picking it up, "Hey, Josh - yeah, I'm the birthday boy, I knew you were going to call. No, I don't have time to do that and put gas in your car, you'll thank me later."

He hangs up, resumes his seat, and then looks expectantly at Rhett - as if Rhett can sort out this insanity. The last few minutes it's as if Link knew exactly what was going to happen before it even happened. He runs through Link's earlier comments and rubs at his temples, "Okay, okay...let me get this straight. You're stuck in a time loop."

Link holds up a finger, "That's number one "

"It's your birthday."

A second finger joins the first, "That's number two "

"And every night...someone kills you?"

"And that's number three, my friend," Link raises a third finger and waggles it along with the others he has pointed upwards, "Although I've also done the job myself now and then - y'know, just to spice things up."

"...and how many times has this happened?"

Link actually looks thoughtful here, his chair twisting picking back up again, "Think this is-? The thirteenth time?"

Rhett's jaw drops, but Link is just as cool as can be, "Yeah, thirteen - maybe fourteen, but pretty sure thirteen. Definitely more than ten."

"...you've repeated this day thirteen times?"

"Yup," Link pops the 'p' and picks up a nearby rubix cube, toying with it, "Everything is exactly the same every single time. 'Less, of course, I change it - but the changes don't matter, 'cause once the night comes, someone in a beast mask kacks me and I'm back at the beginning again."

"A beast mask?!" Rhett asks, still thunderstruck by all of this, but as of now, Link seems almost bored, resolved to his fate, " Yeaaaaah, think it's a beast. Some sort of reference to the Mythical Beasts, I'm sure, but it's not some kind of beast I recognize. Pretty scary to be honest. Or, well, it was the first couple of times. Now it's just annoying."

He tosses the cube to one side and Rhett just eyeballs him. Link sighs, "At this point, you usually start to believe me a bit, because you're a good friend like that, but I've also never opened with kissing you, so..."

"Do I?" Rhett questions and Link actually looks confused for once, which is something of a relief, "Believe you?"

"Like I said," Link shrugs, "Usually."

"Take it I don't always."

"Normally I prove it," he points to the door, "Stevie," he points to his phone, "Josh."

He leans back, his bones audibly cracking, "Occasionally I take you out to the studio, say word for word what Emily has to tell us before she does it, point out that Matt's about to trip over his untied shoelace, let you know Jessie's going to text you about having Chinese takeout for dinner..."

Rhett nods along with all of this as if it makes sense only for Link to look at him with earnest blue eyes, "But, again, never kissed you first."

Rhett swallows and Link looks wildly uneasy, "You haven't said by the way...what you think about that."

"I...?" Rhett tousles his hair, "It happened so fast. Didn't have enough time to think about it."

Link licks his lips and his voice is damn near a whisper, "Wanna do it again?"

...does he sound-? Hopeful?

"Link, we're married."

"I know."

"To other people."

"I know," Link stresses, like Rhett's stupid for even pointing it out. Rhett scowls, "It's cheating."

"Is it?" Link asks so innocently and before Rhett can blow up at him, he rushes on, "No, seriously - it's a serious question. Since my birthday is an endless loop and 'tomorrow' (he air quotes) you won't remember this, does it count?"

Rhett opens his mouth, closes it, then finally, "Alright, but you remember, right? So it counts."

Link looks unhappy, eyes casting down, "I guess..."

An uncomfortable silence settles between them. Rhett continues to try and unravel everything Link's confided in him, is trying to come with the terms that he actually does believe him, no matter how crazy it sounds only for Link to say quietly, "I guess I just wanted to."

Rhett looks at him, heart thumping hard in his chest at Link's tone, at his words. More so as his lifelong friend admits, "I wanted...to kiss you "

His prominent Adam's apple moves as he looks at Rhett, eyes misted behind his glasses, "Before I die again."

A bitter laugh escapes, "After all...no real guarantee I'll come back again. Even if this is the thirteenth time..."

And that's all it takes.

Rhett walks over to Link, he carefully kneels down near him, and then he cups his face in his hands and kisses him.

It's soft, gentle - lips caressing lips. He can feel the slight scratch of Link's stubble, he can feel the rush of gasped air against his mouth, he can feel hot heat and a delicious thrill of slick wet closeness.

Rhett's eyes are heavy lidded, but open, as he regards Link up close and they've been this close before but this is... different. More so at the swish and click of their lips and that hint of tongue again and Rhett pulls back, groaning.

Arousal, guilt, confusion, desire - it's all a massive ball of conflicting emotions within his gut but, more than anything, there's a blind love. Platonic, romantic - it doesn't matter. It needs no true definition. No outline. No explanation.

It's love.

And that love only needs one thing, Rhett's voice is rough with determination, "Let's find out who's killing you. And put a stop to this "

Lally, that’s horrible! How could I ever? 😱

Just look at them, so pretty!

But, if I must choose, it’ll be this one:

“There you are,” he says softly. “Hi.”

Hi.

It's so soft and it makes me tear up, and then I always start bawling at this part:

“There’s a name… I’m afraid to say it. Because if it’s not you—” Link’s swallows hard and lets out a hollow laugh. “It’s not you. I know it’s not. Why would it be? How could it—”

And then I just continue crying until the end. I love it soooo much 😭❤

Lallyyyy! 💜

I love that part too (with the soft hi). The funny thing is that when I think about that fic, I think about you. 🥰

Aww! Same to you, @mythicalllamaxo @lallyloo & @twistedboxy!!!

Hello lovely lally!

Least favorite food: grapes. Don't see the appeal at all.