Martyn is a rat, but he has not always been a rat. Today is his last day as one, and he never expected to be given such a perfect opportunity to leave, or for it to hurt as much as it’s going to. As confusing as that all is, he is soon going to be a human again. And a large part of him doesn't want to be. But it is a part of his mission, a part of his one goal, so he must. His wants seem to not matter in this situation, and yeah, that might be a little frustrating at times. And by “at times” he means right now, and he stands in the cold snow, a little ways away from the others.  

He can see the other rats just a foot or so ahead, all cluttered around each other for the most part. A few, like Oli and Tubbo, are off to the side a little, but for the most part they are all together. The ones that made it anyways, for none of them have any idea where Lizzie and Shelby have gone. Martyn’s heart aches for them for a second, worries over if they’re okay and if they’re alive. Lizzie did get shot with that crossbow after all. 

Martyn knows he should get to leaving soon, before they notice that he’s lagging behind. But he can’t force himself to look away just yet, not until he’s etched all these peoples faces into his memory permanently. He’s going to miss these rats so much . More than he’d ever thought he could miss anyone ever before. 

He’s going to miss Garbage Rat the most he can tell, mainly because he can’t tear his gaze away. Little rat Martyn had to fall in love with like, probably the scummiest NPC out there, because of course he did. Of course his tastes were garbage. 

Martyn remembers the scuffles they’d been in together, how they’d offered to literally die for that guy, all the late nights at the bar together. He wishes he’d said I love you at least once. He has a feeling Oli already knows. 

Before he gets too sentimental Martyn turns his back, still somehow unnoticed. He goes to where the portal out of here supposedly is, because if he stays any longer he won’t be able to leave. His insides are twisting and shattering into a million pieces, but he has to leave. He just has too. 

Martyn jumps into the swirling purple vortex, and hopes his next mission is quick and easy. 

__________________________________

A few missions later, Martyn is dropped into the middle of the ocean. He is not a rat, hasn’t been for a while now, and doesn’t think he’ll ever be again. This time he is a human, a pirate, and he is soaking wet. Which is the annoying part, thanks a lot for that one, Doc. 

Once he stumbles onto shore, there’s quite a few people that catch his eye. The Kestrels they call themselves, the pirates who love treasure the most and are absolutely very rich. Because he’s in pirate land now, apparently. Compared to the other three factions Martyn learns about, this seems like the best shot at finding whatever L.O.O.T is hidden in this world. When it came to deciding which a faction to join, the choice was an easy one

And maybe it’s because, amongst all the other familiar NPCs, there is one in the Kestrels that catches his eye. A man called Oliver, from a place called Sheffield on Sea. A man lost to the sea, who’s supposedly trying to return to his wife and son. A man that reminds Martyn of a very particular rat. 

He even goes by Oli as well, funnily enough. If NPCs were the same across missions, Martyn might even believe he’d run into the same guy again. Oh, a man could dream, couldn't he?

Martyn is drawn to Oli, and that latter seems equally as drawn to him. He gives him the same nickname he had all those months ago, calls him Marty. Martyn calls him Ponytail in return. The two are thick as thieves by the end of quite a harrowing and dangerous day, and Martyn decides to indulge in this world while he could. Indulging didn’t hurt his L.O.O.T quest last time, so he sees no reason why it should now. 

He finds himself falling in love again, to no one's surprise. He falls fast and hard too, being enamored with Oil before even a week had passed. Martyn just can’t stop himself, even when he knows it’s going to end in disaster. Though Oli does seem to return the feeling just a bit, so Martyn will pretend that this wasn’t going to end in heartbreak, and will let them get closer and closer with every passing day. 

Pirate life for Martyn gets better one day, when it’s just him and Oliver alone at the Kestrel base. The others had gone into town, or on a quest, leaving the both of them all alone. The blonde was feeling rather frisky that day, a little flirtatious even. And maybe Oli returned his advances, and flirted back. 

Martyn, feeling a little encouraged after an hour of flirting (and many more prior moments of holding each other far too tenderly to be anything platonic,) gets bold. Oli’s standing on the second floor when Martyn walks up the stairs, back to the stairwell. At one point, before the blonde had landed in the ocean, Sausage had made him the faction's treasurer of sorts. Oliver seemed to be finishing up that job right now, money being scooped off the table and back into its usual places of storage, wherever that was. 

In a second Martyn has crossed the room, letting his feet fall loudly so as to not startle his friend. His fellow Kestrel does not turn, just finishes what he was doing as Martyn stands behind him, chest pressed against the small of his back. 

He wraps his arms around Oli’s waist, and the other Kestrel huffs in amusement. “Forward aren’t you?” He muttered, Martyn’s head resting on his shoulder.

“I thought this faction was normally very forward.” He muttered in response, nuzzling his face into the crook of Oli’s neck. And maybe Martyn smirked as well, knowing how the other would melt for such an action. 

“You have a point, sadly.” Oli huffed, leaning into the touch fully. 

“Good!” Martyn said, a giggle escaping him before he could stop it. A moment later Oli was yelping, his fellow Kestrel picking him up and dragging him onto the couch alongside him. The man shrieked out some string of words, but Martyn paid his protest no mind. The blonde was sitting in his lap soon enough, clinging onto the other for dear life. 

“What a rude man you are!” Oli exclaimed with light indignation, arms unconsciously being draped over Martyn’s neck. 

“C’mon, you know you love me~!” He teased, arms wrapping around the other’s torso again and holding him close. The other didn’t respond, only gave him an annoyed glare. The look held amusement as well, and maybe something a little more fond right next to it. So Martyn took it as a chance to move their faces closer, until they had to go cross-eyed to meet each other's gazes. Their lips brushed together for the smallest of seconds, and Oli was moving back to look at him properly. 

“I have a wife, Marty!” Oli huffed in protest, yet didn’t try to break free of his grasp. It was a weak protest, anyone could see the way his eyes kept flicking down towards Martyn’s lips, almost in anticipation. 

“Never stopped you before.” He muttered, leaning in more. Oli blinked, a little hesitantly, before moving to meet him in the middle. The blonde smiled into the kiss they shared, delighted by how familiar it felt. For all his protest, Oliver kissed him quite messily, like he was more desperate for this than Martyn was. Which wasn’t possible, by the way. 

Martyn moved to grab the back of Oli’s head, deepening an already quite passionate kiss. He couldn’t help himself really, he’d missed this for far too long to have any sort of restraint. And as long as his partner didn’t protest, the blonde was very content to go to town. 

Oliver ended up straddling him, kissing him roughly into the back of the couch. They’re both making a fair share of noises, sharp teeth catch on tongues and biting at each other’s lips desperately. When they pull away for air both men are flushed bright red, and diving back in for more as soon as they can. Martyn never wants to stop this, drunk of the feeling of kissing this wonderful, wonderful man. 

His kisses start to move downwards after a bit, slowly moving from Oli’s mouth to his jawline. The blonde makes a noise at that, but again does nothing to stop him. So Martyn continues, all the way down until he’s pressing open mouthed kisses to his lover's neck. At some point he’d tugged the other’s collar away, unbuttoning his partner’s shirt for better access; and maybe a peak at his chest while he was there. One of Martyn’s hands, the one not gripping at dyed blonde hair, goes to rest on Oli’s waist after that; steadying him in his lap. His fingers sometimes slip a little…. downwards as well. Not very far though, just enough to tease, enough to fiddle with a waistband even. 

Maybe they’re getting a bit too handsy in the Kestrels' usual hangout spot, but it’s fine. Martyn had picked a time when no one was home for just this reason. He’d known how far he would inevitably be trying to take this when they’d started. 

“ Oh , you’re very forward.” Oli hums, the first word coming out as more of moan than anything. Which sends a pleseant thrill through the man under him. 

Martyn smirks against his warm, sun-kissed skin. “It’s my specialty~” He bites down again, teeth sinking into the other’s neck delicately. Oli whines at that, and cranes his neck back to give Martyn better access. The blonde knows he’s lived too long without this guy then, because he’d forgotten how easily Oli folded at any sort of affection, and was just now remembering. Almost unconsciously, he grinds his hips against the others, and the action is a little returned as well. 

He works a good few marks onto Oli’s neck, before there’s a distinct sound of voices and footsteps on the floor below. Their fellow Kestrels have returned it seemed, and Martyn is a little more than startled. Either that was a quick treasure hunt, or they’d made out for several hours straight. And honestly, he wouldn’t be surprised if either of those options were true. 

Oli moves away at the sound, running a hand through his hair hastily to fix it. Martyn makes a disappointed sound, and gives the other the best puppy dog eyes he can muster. “C’mon~” He says slyly, catching Oli by the hips before he’s able to stand. “They might not come up here~” 

“I literally just heard Sausage asking about us.” Oli huffed, wriggling away slowly. Martyn isn’t one to give up easily though, and keeps the man tied to him for a little bit longer. 

“This ain’t anything they’ve haven’t seen before.” He protested, positive that Kyle and Sausage have done much worse in this building than both of them could do in a single night. 

“I don’t think they want to watch, Marty!” At that he finally let Oli stand, because fine, he supposed that was fair. They had been getting a bit too heated, probably. He stands after, taking a moment to stretch. Oli fixes his collar best he can, though Martyn doubts that will hide much. He looks obviously dazed, and bit more than he usually does.

Before Oli makes it to the stairs Martyn catches him by the wrist. His chest is pressed to the small of Oli’s back, breath landing on his ear. He hopes it’s as effective as he intended, and that it’s making the other Kestrel turn scarlet. “We can always continue this later, right Ponytail?” He whispers, maybe a little hopefully. He really doesn’t care what continuing it would mean under this context, he just needs to kiss Oli some more. Needs to kiss him d esperately , he’s going to lose it if he doesn’t. 

“Naturally~” Oli purrs, turning around to place a small peck on the blonde’s cheek. He leaves Martyn standing there, obviously lovestruck, and makes his way down the stairs. Martyn waits a minute, mostly to not look too suspicious (and because he’s a lovesick fool ,) before heading down after him. 

 Even despite his tardiness the other two still catch on, Scar making a few jokes about the suspicious marks peaking above Oli’s shirt collar, about the way they stand far too close. But it’s all between Sausage’s exaggerated tale of the adventure they went on, one Martyn is content to sit and listen to for a while. Maybe he’ll have the drinks that are offered to him as well, and even whisper sweet nothing to Oli when he’s far too wasted and his thoughts are all astray.

And maybe Oli will whisper in return, and they’ll wake up in the same bed together the next morning, rumors about how they’d drunkenly run off together already festering around the Kestrel base. They’d both be far too hungover to confirm or deny any questions later, but that doesn’t matter. Not when Martyn can hold Oli close to his chest and never let go, until they have to get up, that is. Not when Martyn can admire his beloved during a slow morning, brushing hair out of his sleeping face gently and loving the way the morning sun shines onto his lover’s face. (And maybe he’ll pepper gentle kisses against his skin as well, in a rare moment of overwhelming affection.) 

And maybe every night they fall into the same bed, one of their rooms only being used for storage after a certain point. A certain someone even stopped lamenting over his wedding ring one day, and that is when Martyn knows Oli will not sail off and leave him one day (even if everyone does think his wife is a crab.) Maybe they share a room every night, Oli begging for cuddles plaintively and Martyn happy to oblige. Happy to hold him just for another night longer. 

Maybe they do this every night, until Martyn finds that treasure he’s looking for. And then he has to leave. He has to leave the love of his life again, after even more months spent with the man. And Martyn would be a liar and a fool to say he isn’t tempted to stay here, to abandon his whole life's mission just for one bloody stupid man. One man who’s probably some stupid NPC anyways, but he can’t help it.

It’s a stormy night, the night he has to leave. Most everyone that's still alive is at their own faction bases, or getting hammered in the pub. It’s dark, it’s rainy. There’s barely any light to see him in, and there will be no traces of his footprints in the morning. If Martyn can get out of the isles undetected, the only clue should be one missing ship at the Kestrel base. 

But he’d waited too long, and hadn't seen Oliver at all that day. It was on purpose, because if he saw him Martyn didn’t think he’d be able to leave. But sadly his lover was not a fool, and knew it was weird to not receive any sort of loving words from the blonde. Sometimes Martyn would regret how much he indulged, only for a second though. 

He’d only made it out of the Kestrel’s main building, pockets full of L.O.O.T and anything he thought the Datastream would maybe let him keep. He’s barely out the front door before he hears footsteps behind him, and Oli is standing in the doorway. 

“Martyn?” He asks, and that the first time in so many months he’s dropped that silly nickname. The nickname Martyn will soon be aching to hear again. “What’s going on? Where are you going in this weather?” 

“Just out on a little quest! I’ll be back in the morning!” The blonde smiles, lying through his teeth. His voice is full of forced cheer, and so is his expression, and it doesn’t even work for a second. 

“You’re leaving, aren’t you? You found that big treasure you needed, and know you’re leaving.” Martyn feels his heart shatter into thousands of pieces at the sound of his beloved’s voice. There’s so much pain in it, pain the other is clearly trying not to show. The rain has picked up, soaking Martyn and falling on his face. He can not tell if the wetness on his cheeks and the blurriness of his vision is from that, or tears he’s unaware of shedding.   

He wants to see Oliver’s face one last time, just as he did last time, so he wipes the wetness away from his eyes. “I’ll see you again one day, yeah?” To him the words have some truth, because maybe they will meet elsewhere, in another world. To Oli they are a lie, a meaningless promise. They both know Martyn will never return to the pirate's life, he will never see this version of his friend ever again. 

He wants to give Oliver one last kiss goodbye, but knows if he does so leaving will be impossible. So when the other man does not respond, he turns away and continues down the path and towards the portal location. Oli watches him go, not moving to stop him, until his ship has disappeared into the night. The Kestrels’ door is slammed shut in a fit of grief. 

Martyn sails back to his destination, replaying memories when a departure last hurt so much. He remembers being small, and remembers running through snow. He remembers staring into the face of Garbage Rat, who little rat Martyn had never seen scared before, and committing his face to memory. He commits all the rats' faces to memory as best he can, and runs onto a frozen lake to leave them. He even thought he heard Jimmy and Garbage Rat calling out for him before he left, but that had to be his ears playing tricks on him. 

If the universe gave him a choice between being a rat again, or finally leaving the Datastream, Martyn knows he would choose to be a rat again. Every single time. He would choose to be a pirate again too, even if this adventure had been far too dangerous for his liking.

Back on the isles, Oli sleeps in a bed by himself for the first time in months. It is not his bed, it is Martyn’s old one, because that is the one they used to share every day. A few days later, when the others start asking where Martyn is, Oli says he is gone. The only clarification he gives is that Martyn isn’t dead, he’s just never coming home again. No more poking and prodding will make him speak more on the manner, even if his friends start getting concerned for his mental state. So what if he’s acting all depressed? His lover had just left him because of some stupid treasure . He knows Kestrels are supposed to love money the most and all, but this is different. This time it hurts . 

He even takes out the ring again. Before, Oli had no reason to sail home to his wife, but now there is nothing keeping him here. He is healthy, he is richer than when he first washed up on shore, he has a ship and all the supplies he needs, this place is getting far too dangerous to stay anyways, and there is no Martyn to tether him down.