Treebark Title Swap

Martyn knows he is in love with Ren.

He knows this, as the knowledge comes easy to him, as easy as breathing does.  Martyn is in love with Ren, and he knows it like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. Like it’s been taught to him since the moment he was born. He is in love with Ren, fully and with all his heart. He loved him like he had never loved anymore before.

But he doesn’t know if Ren loves him back.

He thinks Ren might, by the way their interactions go. Or, well, more like Martyn hopes he does. It's the beaming smiles he's given that make him think that. It's the way Ren is always laughing at his jokes, the way he's always looking out for him, the way he'll reach over and just hold Martyn’s hand for no reason. Or any of the casual touches they share, touches that neither of them exchange with their other friends. They've only known each other for a few weeks, and despite the bad start they had, Martyn finds himself very attached. He thinks Ren is attached as well. Someone who's not attached wouldn’t be so close to him right now, letting Martyn sleepy rest his head on his shoulder.

He thinks Ren is attached, because he has recently let Martyn share his bedroom with him. Martyn had his own room before, of course, but it had been a small thing. A small thing that was rather unkempt, and Ren had said it wasn't fit for anyone to sleep in. Let alone Martyn. And he says it's far too cold for anyone to sleep by themselves, since winter is now steadily approaching. The blonde just thinks he wanted to share a bed, and simply could've asked to do so.

Martyn feels a hand run through his hair, and he glances upwards. Ren is humming something quietly to himself, his claws playing with the blonde's hair. It's….pretty nice, Martyn has to admit. Despite now sharing a bed, and cuddling every night, and being practically glued to each other every hour of the day, they're not….intimate like this very often. Even if Martyn wants them to be. Even if he wants soft mornings like this one. Even if he wants it like he wants nothing else in the world right now. 

Maybe he should just bite the bullet, and admit that to Ren. Say that he wants to be something more, to define their relationship, to stop dancing around each other and finally talk about everything. 

Maybe, in a rare spur of longing and desperation, he decides to do it now, as they rest in bed together. Before the day starts, or something else happens, and the small burst of confidence disappears to never come back every again. Or before something bad happens, like an attack on the base or something, and they don't get another moment like this for a little while, and there's no other time to say it but now

“Hey.” Martyn murmurs, lifting his head up. Ren removes his hand from the blonde's hair, his tail starting to flick against the bed in curiosity. It’s always so cute when he does that…. 

“Hi.” Ren responds, pressing a delicate kiss into his hair. Martyn feels himself blush cherry red for a second, as he always does when Ren is delicate with him. Which ends up being most of the time with Ren, actually. 

He takes a breath, and just….asks it, his eyes focusing on the wall. He doesn't want to see Ren’s expression right now, a little scared of what it might be. A little scared of the rejection that might be hiding there. “What are we?”

“What do you mean…?” Ren shifts under him, his voice hesitant. And a little puzzled. He already knows the dog's ear is twitching in concern without even looking up at him. 

“Like, our relationship, what is it?” Martyn asks again, shifting away. He removes his head from Ren's shoulder, still a little scared to meet whatever expression he's about to. Even if it's one he doesn't want to see. “What are we?”

Ren pauses before speaking, as if not sure what to say. Like he wants to consider how words before he says something wrong and makes everything worse. “I….dunno, really,” He says, tail flicking in thought. He seems to draw Martyn closer as he speaks, despite the fact that they’d been literally leaning on each other just moments before. “But….I think we're something .” 

Martyn goes to respond, but can't even get a squeak out. Ren, on a spur of the moment decision, leans in, and makes part of how he feels about the two of them both very clear and also muddied as hell at the exact same time. 

Ren places a soft kiss on his lips, his hand cupping the blonde’s cheek a little hesitantly. Like he isn’t too sure about doing this. Martyn blinks, surprised, but he does try to kiss back, for the briefest seconds that their lips are connected. It’s not really a deep kiss, or a long one, but it’s a kiss regardless. A kiss Martyn instantly wants to savor forever.

Ren pulls away as quickly as he’d leaned in, his gaze unreadable thanks to the sunglasses. But the rest of his expression is clear as day, and the frown starting to form is plenty readable. Martyn places a hand over his, holding it, and doesn’t really know what to say. There’s a lot he wants to say, though, he just isn’t really sure how to word it.

(He thinks I love you is one of them…)

“Sorry.” Ren mumbles, moving away from him. “I just…wanted to do that.” There’s a flush on his cheeks, and the blonde can’t tell if it’s because he’s embarrassed or flustered. He thinks the color looks quite pretty on the other, and wants to see it way more often.

“It’s fine…” Martyn mumbles, reluctantly letting his hand go. He doesn't want to, but Ren doesn't want to stay. Not right now, anyways. He doesn't want to force him to stay if doesn’t want to, he doesn't want to ruin them like that. 

“We should start the day.” Ren clears his throat, starting to move away from Martyn and off the bed. Off their bed, though it doesn't feel like it is the both of theirs right now. “Make some breakfast.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Martyn says, scooting away from him as well. He swings his legs over the floor, and knows the breakfast will be horrible and award before he even enters their makeshift kitchen area, and finds Ren reluctantly making a plate for only one. 

Well then. That talk could've gone better, and the kiss that followed it is just making him want it more. Even if he thinks there will never, ever be another one between them again. 

(He thinks he's just ruined everything about them , and now has to figure out how to live with it, and without his beloved Ren.) 

_____________________________

The next time it happens, despite all of Martyn’s doubts and worries, they are sitting on Ren’s bed together. It’s been a few weeks since then, and a lot has changed. For one, he has been crowned king, and his beloved's hands have been stained with his blood. A crown sits atop his head most of the time now, except in the private moments with Martyn, the one time where he takes it off and lets the worries of the world go; content to be alone with his favorite person for just a little while. His favorite person who, ever since his own beheading, Martyn is now the Hand of the King. His right hand man, the one person he'd trust to slice his head right off his body. The one person he'd trust to die and kill for him then come home and mutter sweet nothings into his ear and hold him softly when they wake up in bed together. His right hand man, his sweet beautiful Martyn who means the entire world to him and then some. 

A lot has changed, because Ren is a bit more certain on his feelings now. He has thought it over, mulled over it for hours upon hours in his mind, and has come to a conclusion. Ren is in love with Martyn, and has been for weeks now. He just wasn't sure of it the last time, when Martyn had asked what they meant to each other. 

He really wishes he was, so he could've given his hand a proper answer. So he could've kissed him correctly, in the way he's been wanting to for a while now. He wishes he was, so they didn't have to sit in slight awkwardness and fleeting, unsure touches until they had the confidence to right themselves again; after Martyn cut off Ren’s head on his own request and cleaned his hands of the blood. 

He thinks he's been in love with Martyn the whole time, ever since they first laid eyes on each other all those weeks and days ago. Ren wonders if Martyn’s been in love with him for just as long, and feels like that answer might be yes , the longer they are together and the more soft looks they share. 

One morning, a few days after he realizes he's in love with his hand, they are laying in bed again. It's the same as they start every morning, lazing around in bed and doing nothing but exchanging soft words and touches. One morning they are laying in bed together like normal, and Ren decides he's finally ready to talk about them again. 

“Hey Martyn?” He mutters rather softly, the blonde clutched in his arms and comfortably held against his chest. Ren has his face buried in Martyn’s hair, and nuzzles into him even further. There's a lot of affection pouring out of him right now, as there Always is when they spend time together, and he needs the blonde to know just how he feels. He needs to tell him he loves him, to hold and kiss him to his heart's desire, and cannot do that unless they talk about them once more. 

Martyn hums, moving his head and, a little sadly, dislodging Ren. “Yes, m’lord?” He asks, meeting the King’s eyes. His gaze is curious, and piercing, and Ren feels his breath hitch a little upon meeting it. 

“You don't have to say that when it's just us, darling.” Ren mumbles, a frown forming on his face. He doesn’t want that to define their relationship, the stupid personas and things they play up when around other people. When they are in private he wants them to just be them , to just be Ren and Martyn and nothing more. He doesn't want the raging war outside to contaminate even their bedroom and their special mornings together. 

“Sorry.” Martyn mumbles, his brows furrowing just a little bit. Ren decides they can talk about that later, on a different day, when their relationship has been defined better and is more separate from their stupid little personas. “What were you saying?”

“I think I know what we are now.” Ren says, sounding a little hesitant even to his own ears. He really just spits it out, gets it over with, and for a few precious seconds, waits with bated breath for his hand's response. 

Martyn shifts out of his hold in surprise, and Ren lets him go easily. He doesn't move very far though, still relatively sat in the dog's lap. “......You do?” The blonde asks after a minute, sounding unsure. Like he doesn't believe it. Like he might be dreaming or something. His eyes search Ren, looking a little wild and desperate, and the King can't help the rush of sadness and affection that hits him all at once. 

“Yes, I do.” Ren says, grabbing Martyn’s arm gently. He pulls him closer to his chest once more, properly back in his lap. He sees the way his hand's breath hitches, the way his eyes widen in what has to be hope, and knows it's time to make up for past mistakes. To right a wrong and finally do what he's been longing to do for so many days now. 

“I didn’t kiss you right the last time,” He muttered, drawing Martyn in even closer. His hand just blinked up at him, looking as mesmerized as he had the last time. And just as pretty, but Martyn always looked pretty, every second of the day.  “Let me make up for it?”

“Please.” Martyn says, eyes wide and hopeful. It’s all Ren needs to close the gap between them, and kiss his hand absolutely stupid. Martyn kisses back with the same eagerness, and the two of them get lost in it for a few minutes.

It’s a proper kiss this time, not just a brief peck on the lips. Ren thinks he’s in heaven during the whole thing, even if it is for the briefest of seconds. Martyn tastes like citrus, like spring and what Ren thinks warmth and love might taste like. It's wonderful, it's lovely, it's everything he's wanted and more. Ren almost doesn't want it to end, but sadly, both of them will need air to breathe. 

When they pull away Martyn’s eyes are wide and shining, his lips all puffy and his cheeks red from the kiss. Ren thinks his hand looks gorgeous like that, and wants to lean in and kiss him again. And again and again and again until the world itself falls apart. 

“I love you.” Martyn says, a smile stretching across his face. It's a smile of true happiness, one pure and full and just so bright and pretty to look at. Ren wants to snap a picture of it and frame it on his wall so he could admire it forever. 

“I love you too, my darling.” He mumbles, bumping their noses together sweetly. He goes to hold Martyn’s face in his hands, a happy giggle leaving him. His hand, no, his boyfriend now (because there's something in Martyn's eyes that tells him they're on the same page, that they are now something, and Ren thinks he's the happiest man in the world,) is so beautiful, so pretty. Just the most wonderful man to ever exist, and Ren has never been glad he'd met anyone before.

Martyn giggles as well, leaning into the hold on his face. “Kiss me again?” He asks, leaning in even more, because he already knows what the answer will be. 

Martyn is currently really, really fucking miserable . Like, so stupidly miserable he thinks he should win an award for it. But that’s not really new, not for this death game at least. He's been miserable basically the whole duration of it so far, and he doesn't think that will be changing anytime soon. Maybe that's how he's doomed to be, miserable for the rest of his stupid little life here. That seems pretty par for the course anyways, all things considered.

Maybe, he thinks, as he stares at the ceiling of his Bleeding Heart Bastion, he's just being overdramatic. Maybe moping around in bed, because he didn’t really wanna get out of it that morning, and thinking about how miserable he is is a little overdramatic. Maybe that’s why he’s so miserable, because he sits there and wallows in his own misery. Or maybe this is justified, he wouldn’t know.

Maybe him being this upset isn't really justified, actually, now that Martyn does some more thinking. He'd probably brought this all on himself, made himself feel more like shit by just laying in bed for half the day and reflecting. And now he was being overdramatic to compensate, because what else was he supposed to do? Actually get up and solve his problems? Hah, fat chance. Martyn was a master of doing just the opposite of that, actually, and making everything ten times worse for himself in the process.

He thinks he's done this exact thing a lot over the past few weeks, laying in bed and thinking. Thinking about how lonely he is and how his soulmate didn't want him over something so bloody stupid. (It was one nether trip Cleo, one! ) Thinking about how everyone else, sans Pearl, had someone to go home to and how they would walk around all happy and in love. How every time he saw a happy couple it felt like the world was rubbing it in his face, the fact that Martyn couldn't be happy with someone. Not anymore, not here.

He was happy with someone, once upon a time, many months ago. The same someone he often found himself thinking about. He was happy back in the first game, back with Ren in their kingdom made of cobblestone walls. Martyn had been so happy with that man, he hadn't known what to do with all the emotion. So he'd press loving kisses into Ren’s hair, to his face and to his lips. He'd spend hours with him just doing nothing, or gathering materials or mining. He was so happy with his king that he'd die for him, he'd burn the world if he had too. Martyn would chase people through the desert, running unsteadily on the sand and dodging deadly arrows, all because Ren had said to.

If Ren told him to run, he'd have run until he was told to stop. If Ren told him to kill all their enemies single handedly, Martyn would've done it gladly. And when Ren had ordered his hand to cut off his head, he had, and the tears and breakdowns that followed had been a thousand percent worth it.

And reminiscing about all of that caused Martyn to feel a lot of things. One, was longing. Longing for Ren, for their stupid little enchanting room and the carrot field and the ugly as hell cobblestone walls. A longing to go back to a time that doesn't exist anymore, to a home that isn't real anymore. A home that's probably destroyed and can't be remade.

It also makes him feel a little less lonely, in some weird way. He supposes it's because he's burying himself fully in the memories, and imagining Ren beside him once more. Imagining the two of them cuddled up in bed together on a lazy morning, Ren’s gentle snores filling the room and Martyn playing with his sleeping boyfriends hair, entirely at peace.

The blonde groans, and turns over until he can bury his head into his pillow. He needs to stop thinking about things he can’t have, he needs to stop longing. It’s not helping his situation get better, though he’s not sure anything will. Nothing will actually happen, if Ren keeps dating BigB even though the damn server knows he’s cheating. And nothing will get better for Martyn either, not if he just buries his head in his pillow and cries like some whiny child. So he decides he should stop doing that, and maybe do something productive before the day’s over.

He looks up and outside the Bastion’s singular window (because the other side faces Cleo’s house and he doesn’t want to look at that,) and by some chance, spots Ren and BigB holding hands. The two of them are walking together, closer to the edge of the ravine then they should. And Ren is laughing. He's laughing and giggling and smiling at BigB like some idiot even after he'd been cheated on and lord Martyn just wishes he would look at him that way-

The blonde tears his gaze away from the window as quickly as he thinks the last bit, whipping his head around to stare at the red wall opposite it. Great, now he's even more miserable than he was before. Absolutely lovely. Just a joyous day for old Martyn Littlewood everybody, no need to worry. He was doing just peachy in fact!

It was a good thing he didn't have to see anyone today, and could just spend the rest of it locked in his Bastion. He can feel his emotions swirling inside him like a storm, unstable and unpredictable. Martyn’s very glad he doesn't have to see Scott today, or Cleo, or even wonderful, wonderful Ren (who he would normally be trying to talk to right now, considering how close to his house the dog is,) because just one snarky remark would probably lead him to lashing out-

And oh fuck, nevermind that train of thought, he'd just remembered something. They have a Broken Hearts club meeting that day. Goddammit. Of course they do. Fuck. And it’s almost afternoon, which means the meeting is less than an hour. He has to go and actually see Ren, and try not to let all his emotions peak through. Which is gonna be really hard if Pearl doesn’t show up, and he doesn’t have another presence there to keep him in check. (It's not Pearl that keeps him in check, for the record, it's the reminder that there's another person there, and the want to not publicly embarrass himself. Also because if he did, Pearl would go tattle to Cleo and Scott and he'd never hear the end of it for the rest of his dumb little life. Even when they went to a new game.)

So Martyn sighs, and after a few more minutes of laying there, finally gets up for the first time that day. He stretches, quickly finding his body restless from the hours of inactivity, and heads towards the Bastion's front door. He makes sure his sword, bow, and other tools are on him, before he descends down his water stream and into the ravine. They're at the point in the game, where it's not safe to just run around making friends anymore, and Martyn isn’t counting on being caught off guard if anyone tries anything. Plus, there is still a warden hanging around the river somewhere (Thank you very much, Timmy and Tango,) and he doesn't want to possibly face that thing with no defense.

As soon as he leaves his house and climbs his way out of the ravine, a familiar voice is calling his name. There’s also the sound of barking, a sound that seems to be getting nearer, and Martyn has a pretty good idea of who that could be. Miss Scarlet Witch herself is coming around the bend, as if his earlier thoughts of the woman had summoned her. Like a true demon lady would be.

“Martyn!” Pearl’s voice calls out to him, Tilly trailing loyally behind her owner as she always is. Her owner, who sounds a lot less crazy than she did a few days ago. Which is good, because Martyn feels like the woman is going to stab him half the time they interact, despite still not being a red name. “There you are!”

“Hi Pearl.” He says, turning his head to where her voice was. She'd just come from Scott’s house, it seemed, and he could only guess what horrors and torment had gone down between those two just minutes before. He takes a moment to mentally send his condolences, and starts asking questions before Pearl can even ask him how his day had been going, or even get another hello in.

“Please tell me you’re going to the Broken Hearts meeting today.” He says, and makes a point to sound just a little desperate. Not as desperate as he really feels, but enough to maybe tug on whatever remains of Pearl's heartstrings.

“To watch you be jealous about Ren? Count me out.” Pearl snorts lightly, crushing all his hopes for the meeting right then and there. He is pointedly ignoring the loud bark of agreement from Tilly. “I have more important things to do.” “You’re really not helping your image by dodging these things, you know that.” Martyn retorts, tone just as light as he crosses his arms over his chest.

“Maybe I like my crazy person image.” Pearl smiles, the particularly insane one she's gotten pretty good at doing recently, and the blonde resists the urge to roll his eyes. Tilly barks again, and Martyn decides to keep ignoring the dog, like he always tries to do. Because messing with her in any way was a free ticket to being hunted and bowed down for sport, and he liked keeping his head. (Also, he was a cat person. Sorry not sorry to all the good dogs out there.)

“Of course you would.” He snorts, fighting back a bit of amusement. The blonde is glad he can joke with her again, her mood often being far too sour to do that ever since the first few days. Though maybe she's happy because she just tormented Scott, or stole an item from him or something. Martyn doesn't know what she was doing in his house, and also doesn't want to find out either.

“At least my image is just bloodthirsty and not hopelessly crazy over someone.” Pearl shoots back, intending for it to be a friendly tease. And also thinking Martyn knows how people think of him. Unfortunately for her, that topic is at a bit of a sore spot, especially today, and Martyn never really knows or cares what people's opinions of him in the goddamn death games are.

“That is not my image on this server!” The blonde protests immediately, a frown stretching across his face. He doesn't really know if Pearl’s telling the truth, or just trying to get a rise out of him, but he doesn’t like it regardless. That's not what people think of him, it can't be! He's not that obvious, is he?

“Eh, I don’t know. Jimmy and Tango said it was, and so did Bdubs, and Joel.” Pearl sing-songs, a smile on her face. Tilly barks again, in what sounds to be the dog version of laughter, and is promptly ignored again by an increasingly grumpy Martyn.

Martyn scowls at all the names listed, and huffs in annoyance. “Like they have any room to talk.” All four of those people had been obsessed with their soulmates since they got them, so much so that Martyn was surprised Jimmy hadn't been married within the first day again. Though Bdubs had, claiming him and Impulse to be loving husbands as soon as they'd discovered their bond together. Joel was actually the worst of the people listed, somewhat surprisingly, with that dumb shirt he wore. The one with Etho’s face plastered on it….

“I don't know, you sounded really jealous right there.” Pearl keeps teasing him, leaning on her axe’s handle. Because of course she'd hand it out the whole time, since she never seemed to put it away. And of course the thing was now tall enough for her to comfortably lean on. That wasn't terrifying and intimidating at all.

“And you’re not jealous of anyone's relationship? Huh?” Martyn fires back, kinds regretting the words as he says them. He really doesn't want to make things worse with Pearl than they already are, he really doesn't, especially when they're finally having a normal conversation. But he's not in the mood to go back on his word, not today, not about this topic. He can say sorry later, when the game is over and everyone magically stops hating each other. Like he's been saying he can for every other person he upsets this time, considering how well it had worked before…

Pearl’s face drops into a frown immediately, and Tilly growls at him, matching her owner's mood perfectly; like their emotions are in sync or something. It is the one time the dog isn't ignored. “Low-blow man. Low blow.”

“Then don't comment on my love life like you know me.” He snaps back, already done with this conversion. It was a very short one, and one of the nicer ones the two of them had had this whole game, but still, he was over it. One of the many, many things he was simply over today, it seems.

“I thought I did know you, but whatever.” Pearl says, no longer leaning on her axe. She takes it in her hands again, and for a split second Martyn thinks he’s about to get hit with it. “Go to your stupid meeting with your stupid ex-boyfriend and work it out there.” Thankfully, he is not attacked. Pearl just takes her axe and turns away, her voice now a lot sour then it previously was. Tilly growls, but thankfully follows her owner in the opposite direction; back towards poor Scott’s house.

“Fine, I will!” Martyn says, starting to head the opposite way. He doesn’t care what Pearl, or Jimmy or Joel or what anyone on this dumb server says about his love life. He doesn’t care if he’s hopeless or obvious or trying too hard or whatever Pearl had been implying. All he cares about right now is going to the stupid Club meeting like he said he would, because he would feel bad about leaving Ren by himself, and getting it over with. All he cares about is seeing Ren again, and getting to pretend he doesn’t miss him terribly for a few hours, and their back in the good ole days of winter; sitting around a campfire for warmth and talking. That’s all he bloody cares about.

When Martyn arrives at their small meeting space —a small clearing with three logs and an unlit campfire—he is not the first one there. He was kinda hoping he would be, so he had more time to get his emotions in check, but Ren was always there first. This is probably where BigB had been walking him too, actually, before disappearing off to who knows where. Probably going to further cheat on his boyfriend further, but whatever.

Ren smiles at him, catching sight of the blonde in an instant, and a lot of things flutter in Martyn’s gut at once. The first one is warmth, the warmth he always feels when Ren smiles at him; or looks at him far too kindly. The second thing he feels is a sharp pang of jealousy. He hates that he can’t look at Ren without feeling nothing but warmth anymore, he really really does. But he can’t help it, can’t help but remember how he’s tied to BigB, and that Martyn can no longer hold his hand the way he used to before.

“Martyn! How are you!?” Ren’s voice shakes him out of his thoughts, the dog patting the oak log next to him. An invitation to sit together, right next to each other. Martyn blinks, shoving down the jealousy best he can, and returns the glowing smile he’s being given.

“I’m doing good!” He says, sitting down where Ren had indicated, and promptly ignoring their proximity. The lie slips out far too easily, and doesn’t even leave a bitter taste in his mouth that lying to Ren used too. He wonders when doing so stopped bothering him, and slightly wishes it still did.

“Good, good!” The brunette smiles, still cheery as he normally is. If he can tell that's a lie, (like he probably can, like he can tell everything about Martyn with just a glance, a testament to how close they used to be,) Ren doesn't show it, and carries on with Club business as normal. “Do you know if Pearl’s coming?”

“Nah, said she had more important things to do.” He says, leaving out the fact that they’d argued not even twenty minutes ago. Ren doesn’t need to know that, like he doesn’t know how just sitting next to him is making Martyn feel all flustered and clumsy. Ren doesn’t need to know a lot of things….

“Aw man.” The dog says, a frown momentarily crossing his face before it vanishes as quickly as it had appeared. “Guess we’re having a boys night!” He says, acting like it’s actually night time and that the summer’s sun isn’t currently beating down on both of them. Like it isn’t hot enough to warrant a quick dip in the river.

Despite everything, Martyn felt a giggle slip past his lips. “Yeah, a boys night.” He agreed, and felt a friendly arm slip around his shoulders. Ren laughs in return, a sound as familiar to Martyn as his own voice, and a flush starts to spread across his cheeks. He figures it will be very easy to pretend to feel less lonely, with that laugh filling the air and his ex boyfriend’s arm wrapped around his shoulders.

He just wishes they were really back in Dogwarts, and that he could turn around and kiss his love and feel no guilt about doing so.

By the next Broken Hearts Club meeting a week later, a lot has changed. Including how many lives a lot of people have, including Ren’s own, (which was a given really, people were bound to die at least once a week. Especially with the new soulmate gimmick.) and also Ren’s opinion of his boyfriend. That especially had soured a lot in the past few days, which was a little impressive, he had to admit. He went from loving him nearly wholly one day, and then to feeling soul crushing despair not even twenty four hours later.

That soul crushing despair had come with the news that he was being cheated on. That BigB was seeing another man. Something the dog had kinda begun to suspect. Okay, well, suspect was the wrong word there. He'd known there were rumors about his boyfriend cheating on him, it was the whole reason he'd made the Club in the first place. He'd just finally found out who he was being cheated on with, killing his denial about the whole ordeal entirely. it's a person he probably should've guessed sooner, with all the extra bread lying around the base. Bread he didn't remember him or his partner making. Bread that only one of their friends was associated with. Plus, there was also his partner's weird behavior every day. How he would sometimes sneak away for long periods of time without a word, and dodge the question whenever Ren asked about it. How he always seemed to be looking out for a certain person, more than a friend would, whenever they went by a certain base. How his eyes would light up upon seeing them…..

Ren shouldn't have been surprised as he was to find out, really, especially with all the signs. But hindsight was twenty-twenty, or whatever people said, and all he could do now was think. All he could do was lay awake at night, the bed empty beside him for the third time in a week (another sign he also should've taken note of, but brushed off as nothing, not wanting to assume the worst of his boyfriend,) and ponder over every detail of their relationship. Of all the time they spent together and if it meant anything to BigB. If it meant anything at all, or if he was just keeping up appearances. So neither of them ended up like Martyn or Pearl: desperately alone and insane because your soulmate rejected you and with no place in the world anymore.

Though all the wonder he does ends up upsetting him, but that can't really be helped. He feels his heart twist in pain every time BigB does something as simple as smile at him, so the good memories they had together were bound to bring him pain. And longing. Like, a ridiculous amount of longing for a soulmate. For something he had. Or, something he thought he had, but had never really owned at all.

And whenever the longing gets too bad, Ren decides to let his mind wander back to happier times. He shuffles through memories from months and months ago, the ones that always make him feel better on his low days, and remembers his old kingdom. He remembers all the wonderful friends he had there, despite the war and the carnage and the death. He remembers how he and BigB had been allied back then, and how he knew that wasn’t fake. How that had been a real and true friendship, even if their current relationship is a lie. It makes him feel slightly better about the present to know that, at least at one point, BigB had truly valued him. Enough to die for him and his silly war. (Part of Ren wonders where all that friendship and that value went, and supposes he might never know unless he asks the man himself.)

But most importantly, he remembers Martyn, and the relationship they'd used to have.

Back then, in the winter, Martyn had been his everything. His sunshine, his loyal hand, his wonderful boyfriend, the thing to melt a king’s frozen heart. The blonde had been his reason to fight, his reason to live and keep going even when things seemed truly bleak. Martyn had been his everything, his world, and his hand had agreed. They were each other's worlds, if only for the briefest of times, and nothing else mattered but them and making it to the end. (He can only mourn that he and BigB couldn't be each other's worlds. Though maybe the Gods had made a mistake with their pairing, and their worlds were off elsewhere, with other people. That seemed like a better explanation to Ren, especially since the other was that BigB just didn't care. Which, considering what he knew and remembered about the man, felt wrong to assume.)

He would lay awake at night and remember when Martyn would lay next to him, both men snuggled comfortably against each other. Perfectly at peace in their bed, in their room and in their kingdom they'd made from scratch and an enchanting business. He would remember the soft kisses they would press to each other's skin, how Martyn would lovingly scratch behind his ears and help braid his hair every morning when he asked. How before every battle they would hold hands and whisper sweet nothings and I love yous , in case the war finally claimed one of them.

(He also remembered the more gritty parts of their relationship. How it took Martyn a week after the beheading to be able to look at an axe again, let alone even hold one. How he'd cried and broken down in Ren’s arms that night, his king blood staining his skin and clothes, and how Ren could do nothing but wait out the tears and help him wash the red off. But he tried not to think about all that stuff very often, lest he start getting nightmares again….)

Eventually, the night before the Club meeting, Ren would find himself wondering if he ever loved BigB at all, and if he was just going along with it. If he too was just trying to mask the want of somebody else. He didn't like how the answer seemed to veer towards yes with every passing day.

The next day, just a little past noon, he finds himself back in their little log circle. Ren is there first there, again, and Martyn shows up a few minutes later. Their normal arrival times, ones they haven’t broken since Club’s foundation a few weeks ago. Pearl isn’t here either, again, and Ren assumes that this is the new normal. That Pearl will not be coming back, and that these are now just the Ren and Martyn weekly meetups. The brunette is not very opposed to losing their most insane members, he finds.

Martyn is in a somber mood today, as he always is on Club days. Ren does not feel much like talking today either, only having shown up here because it was a part of his weekly routine now. (And it got him away from BigB and their too quiet base, and he got to see Martyn again…) Neither of them say a greeting, or anything, for several long minutes. Martyn just sits down on the log, in his normal seat next to Ren, and it feels like an eternity passes.

“I know who BigB’s cheating with..” He says into the silence, nothing around them to fill it but the sound of crickets chirping and other summer time bugs moving about the grass. He says mainly to get some things off his chest, and because he longs to hear his friend's voice once again.

“Oh.” Martyn sounds surprised, taken off guard, but he doesn’t say anything else. Not for a very long few, and slightly awkward minutes. As if turning the words over in his head, and choosing them carefully before he opens his mouth. And when he does speak next, his voice sounds a little strained. Like he’s holding back something, or maybe a lot of things. Ren desperately wants to know every thought swirling through his head right now, for a reason he can’t quite name. “How’d you find that out?”

“I just…..heard it on the grapevine.” He mumbles, gaze momentarily becoming fixed on the unlit campfire in front of them. He doesn’t want to think about how he found, how he was told. He doesn’t like the memory. The thought of it has kept him up on far too many nights than he’d want to admit.

“Who is it?” Martyn asks. The dog is kinda surprised he doesn’t know already. He was under the impression that everyone had either figured it out, or been told, ages ago, and had never bothered to inform him. Maybe to spare him from the pain, just a little bit…. “Grian.” Is all Ren says, wringing his hands together. His gaze doesn’t leave the ground, and he doesn’t know if he can face whatever expression the blonde is now wearing.

“…..Yeah, that feels about right.” Martyn mumbled, likely remembering all the disputes between Ren and Grian in the past. It’s no surprise really, that the latter would be the one Ren’s boyfriend was cheating with. The universe just liked pitting them against each other, for some reason, and made them hate each other when they should be friends.

“I still love him, I think…..but it hurts.” Ren admits, looking up from the grass just a bit. He hasn’t really said that, out loud or in his head until now. He likes to think Martyn’s presence is what gives him the strength to do so. But maybe he’s just being crazy on that one…

“I’m sorry.” Is all Martyn can offer. He’s being oddly silent tonight, and the fact hadn’t escaped Ren’s notice. He has to wonder what the blonde thinks of everything, of this whole situation, of the soulmates thing, of him right now.

“Thinking of you makes me feel better, you know.” He admits that as well, while he’s at it. He wants to get everything off his chest today, since he already started doing so. Plus, he’s been holding himself back around Martyn for weeks now, wanting to stay loyal to his partner. Though he supposes loyalty means nothing to their relationship now, and never really had before….

The blonde whips his head around quicker than Ren thought was humanly possible. “What!?” He exclaims, so surprised by the admission. Ren can’t even blame him. If his ex basically said “my boyfriend cheated on me but thinking about you makes me feel better about everything, actually.” He would also be pretty caught off guard. That’s not a very normal thing to say to someone under like, any situation ever. But being in a death game with an ever-changing gimmick also isn’t normal, so he supposes it's an okay level of weirdness for this situation.

“I dunno, man, it just does.” He shrugs, now looking at the blonde in the eyes again. Eyes he always forgets the beauty of, and how easy it is to get lost in them. “Like I think about when we used to be together and feel less….lonely.”

Martyn is quiet for a few minutes, his hand tightly gripping the edge of the log he’s sat on. But eventually, his face morphs into something lighter, something relieved and almost happy. The happiest he’s been at one of these meetings, especially when a real and genuine grin forms on his lips. Instead of those fake ones he’d gotten far too used to giving, and acting like Ren wouldn’t notice when they weren;t real.

“Doing that….makes me feel less lonely as well.” He admits, and it sounds like a weight has lifted off his chest by doing so. For a split second, Ren wonders just how lonely he's been all the time, especially without a soulmate, and feels a pang of sympathy go straight to his heart. Without him knowing, his tail starts to wag, and a thumping sound occurs as it hits the log. Martyn is immediately snickering at that, like he always does when Ren’s tail does something particularly silly.

The blonde scoots closer to him with a hesitant little giggle, close enough until their knees can brush. Ren resists the urge to pull him into his lap and never let him go. “I can’t believe you’ve been missing me too….” His voice is so full of disbelief, but a happy kind. Like he thought he wasn’t missed by anyone, let alone Ren. The brunette wanted to kill the train of thought entirely, if it was even real at all, because he'd just re-remembered the joy of being around this guy and was cursing himself for ever forgetting it.

“How could I not?” Ren says, an earnest smile stretching across his face. He gives into the want to hold him, and goes to cup both of Martyn’s cheeks. He finds that he missed doing that a lot more than he had realized. “You’re you .”

“And you’re still a big sweetheart.” Martyn snorts, leaning into the touch more than he probably should be. “B doesn’t know what he’s missing out on.” There’s a light blush starting to spread across the blonde’s face, all the way to the tips of his ears. Ren’s tail wags again, and feels his face burn with a similar color at their newfound proximity.

“We could make this whole fiasco worse, if you’re up for it.” He suggests after a moment, a pretty bad idea popping into his head. Bad in the sense that they shouldn't do it, even if it would be fun. Even if it would fill the gaping hole of loneliness in both their chests. But, despite the knowledge that he shouldn't, Ren turns to face Martyn, waiting for what he has to say.

Martyn seems intrigued by what he has to say, raising a curious eyebrow at his friend. “And how would we do that?” He asks, legs kicking idly against their log seat and disturbing a few of the nearby bugs hiding in it.

“Try and make BigB a little jealous too.” Ren hums, not so subtly moving their faces closer. Not too close, of course, but…close enough for his friend to get a pretty good idea of what he wants. “If you’re pickin’ up what I’m putin’ down.”

A small grin stretches across Martyn’s face once he realizes, and he leans in as well, doing half the work for Ren. “I think I am.” He mumbles, nose bumping when Ren’s snout just a little but. His tail wags, and thumps against the log under them in joy.

“Good.” The brunette giggles a bit, only feeling a tad bit guilty as he shifts their bodies closer together. He knows he probably shouldn't be doing this, that what he's about to do makes him no better than Grian and BigB. The rest of him, however, is not thinking about that. Instead he's focusing on how bad he's been missing Martyn, and how much he wants this. Ren can say sorry to BigB later, when the whole cheating thing is behind both of them, even though he will go to bed guilty and upset tonight; but not really regretting it. He can apologize when this game is over and they have to quickly heal before being thrown into another one. He will apologize when BigB says sorry first, for being the one to cheat in the first place. Even if Ren doing so right back to him isn't the kindest thing in the world either.

Martyn leans in even further, capturing him in the kiss they've both been wanting for weeks now, and the world around them goes quiet again. The chirping crickets are left to fill it once more, and the night feels a lot less lonely than it had before. Not just for Ren or for Martyn, but for the both of them.

Martyn hums, listening to the other hum of the elevator as it descends. Ren stands beside him, his tail flicking idly against the blonde’s leg every so often. His boyfriend holds two towels draped over his arm, and Martyn holds a swim bag full of miscellaneous little things they both thought to bring. The couple was currently headed down to their hotel’s pool, something neither of them find themselves doing often.

They’ve booked this hotel for a few days, being in this city for two mutual friend’s wedding. And they could’ve booked the hotel where most of their other friends were staying, but Martyn had conveniently not seen the messages in the group chat discussing hotel agreements. It wasn’t often he and Ren got to travel, and maybe the blonde just wanted to spend some time alone with Ren on a nice trip for once. Without having to worry about any of their friends hanging around. For as much as he loves them all, their group tends to be three things: loud, nosey, and very clingy. Besides, everyone else's hotel was literally across the street anyways, they could just walk over if they really needed anything.

Martyn is in a simple outfit, a faded green t-shirt and his swim shorts. He's also wearing his cross, the ones with all the stupid charms on them. He was wearing them for the whole trip, minus the wedding festivities, to annoy several of their friends. His fashion sense would not be deterred by any naysayers, not on his watch.

Ren was in similar clothes, a gray shirt and his own swim trunks. Though the shirt is much newer and nicer than Martyn's is, with considerably less holes around the collar too. He'd only worn the old thing for swimming anyways, and didn't really care how other hotel goers looked at them, especially this late at night. Though the poor employees probably wouldn't appreciate the late night swim.

Ren’s tail thumps against the elevator wall next to him, now moving rather rapidly. Martyn holds back a giggle once he sees it’s moving faster. He doesn't know if his partner is excited to spend time with him, or if he's excited about the pool. Either way, it's really cute.

“What are you laughing at?” Ren asks, fully unaware of what his tail is doing. He raises an eyebrow, right as his tail thus against the elevator wall again. Martyn has to hold back an amused snort, a hand reaching up to cover his mouth.

“Nothing, Nothing!” The blonde giggles, catching a glimpse of his boyfriend’s tail. It’s still wagging and thumping against the wall, just at a much slower rate now. He wonders how Ren hasn’t heard the noise yet, or if he’s just so used to his tail smacking things it has become white noise. The latter seems far more likely.

Ren lets out a sad sounding little whine, the one he knows always tugs on his boyfriend’s heartstrings. “Martynnn, c’mon.” It doesn’t really have the desired effect this time, only making the blonde giggle harder. His tail is now flicking with faux upsetness, and it's just really really funny today for some reason. Or this pool adventure is just making him unusually giddy.

Martyn manages to finally calm his laughing fit, moving his hand away from his mouth. Though a chuckle or two still slips out after his words. “Sorry! Your tail’s just really cute.”

“I suppose it is, if it makes you laugh so much.” Ren sighs, letting out a small laugh of his own. Martyn lets out another snort at the comment, reaching over to give his boyfriend a quick peck on the cheek. A happy sound comes from the back of Ren’s throat at the peck, but before either of them can say anything the elevator beeps, and the door slowly slides open. It seems they’ve reached the ground floor, then, much to Martyn’s surprise. He kinda forgot they were in an elevator during that whole exchange, if he had to be honest.

“C’mon!” Ren says, getting all excited again, his tail hitting the wall again. Martyn holds back yet another giggle as his hand is grabbed, and he’s slightly dragged out of the elevator. He puts one hand over the bag, making sure none of its contents spill in their haste, and lets his boyfriend excitedly drag him around like a ragdoll.

It was pretty late at night, the hotel’s lobby being bathed in a mix of darkness and artificial light. It was warm and cozy, a few other vacationers sitting on plush looking couches. No one really paid the couple any mind, nothing more than an amused glance, as they moved through the lobby; Martyn’s boyfriend still dragging him along. Their fellow hotel goers just continued their conversations, or whatever they were doing, and soon enough the noise of the lobby faded.

The noise was quickly replaced by the strong smell of chlorine, indicating their new proximity to the pool. From what the signs said it was actually just a few doors down from where they currently were. The blonde just wrinkled his nose at the smell, knowing he'd adjust to it sooner rather than later. Well, more like he'd have to adjust to it, considering Ren was already pushing the pool door open, and gave him another large whiff of the chlorine. The smell was always a necessary evil when it came to swimming, he supposed.

The two of them walked into the room, one brighter than the lobby had been. The pool was a few feet away, and down a few steps as well, its interior lights bathing the whole room in a white glow. But a good kinda white glow, one that reflected nicely off the water and made the room feel a bit homey, just like the rest of their hotel seemed to feel. For the most part anyways, the elevator not included. Though it was a little hard to make an elevator feel homey, Martyn had to admit.

The pool area, from what Martyn can see, is actually pretty big for a hotel. Usually they're a little small, cramped, and crowded, but this one seems to be able to hold over ten people comfortably; and with room to double that number and then some. Though maybe the lack of people is making the room feel bigger than it actually is. Their hotel isn't exactly fancy anyways, the fancy one is across the street with all their dumb friends.

The pool was closing in thirty minutes, which was great, because all the little kids and the sane, normal people were leaving. He and Ren were just now arriving, like the maniacs they were. He says a mental apology to anyone who has to close and clean up the pool, and pushes the glass door open. Ren follows behind, his tail wagging as soon as he sees the water. Though it’s not thumping against anything, so he is spared of his partners giggles this time.

“Looks like we have the pool all to ourselves, eh.” Martyn remarks with a smile, setting down his small bag of swim goodies. Ren places the towels beside it, and sets his sunglasses on top of them.

“Indeed we do.” He agrees, blue eyes scanning over the empty pool area. The completely empty pool, actually. Martyn would've expected at least a few people to still be hanging around, a few kids who didn't want to leave just yet. But it seems everyone had retreated for the night, and left the best part of the pool empty and free. What a lucky coincidence that had to be.

“Any indication how deep it is?” Martyn asks, crouching next to the shallow side. His voice echoes off the walls, filling the empty room entirely. It makes it sound like the two are in a cave, just a little bit. A cave just for them. And he can swim, by the way, it's just been a few years since he really did. He also isn't a big fan of drowning, and would like to know how far he can go in this thing.

Ren scans around the dark pool area for a minute, before shrugging. “I dunno, but it can't be more than six feet.” He crouched next to Martyn with a small shrug, dipping a hand in the water experimentally. “It feels kinda cold, though.”

“It’s always cold when you first get in, silly.” Matyn says rather fondly, scooting back from the edge a bit. He slips his crocs off, not wanting to ruin them or lose their accessories in the water, and places them next to the towels and bag. Ren does the same with his own shoes after a moment, when he gets done testing the water's temperature.

Martyn’s the first one to actually get in the water, stepping in at the shallow end. Ren stays on the side, watching a little carefully as his partner wades into the pool. The most he does is dip his feet into the pool, despite his earlier enthusiasm for their small venture. Martyn wonders what that earlier tail wagging was for, and also wonders if Ren is too tired for swimming right now. Which would be understandable, it was pretty late and they’d had a long two days before this. But that wouldn’t stop The blonde from teasing him, though.

“You were so excited to come but you won't even get in.” He teases with a smirk. Martyn wades over to where Ren is sitting, kicking against the pool’s floor idly. “What happened to all that enthusiasm, huh?”

The dog gives a lame excuse, his ear twitching in amusement. “I don’t wanna get my fur cold!” He says, a small but playful pout on his face. His partner immediately interprets that as a challenge to him in the pool by any means possible. They only have a limited time down here, after all, why waste it?

“I'll splash you if you don't get in.” Martyn threatens, standing right next to the water’s edge. He feels a grin stretch across his face, and he rests his chin on the concrete edge of the pool, a few inches away from where his boyfriend sits. “Or worse.”

Ren snorts lightly, like he underestimates his boyfriend’s words. A foolish thing to do, indeed, he should know better than that by now surely. “No you won’t”

“Really? I won’t? ” Martyn’s grin becomes a cheeky one, and he imagines it stretches across his face like the Grinch’s did in the movie. The old animated movie, ya know, the good one, that iconic Grinch smile.

“Nah.” Ren says breezily, as if daring Martyn to do exactly what he’s thinking. He kicks at the water with his feet, as if care and worry free. Like his boyfriend currently isn’t preparing to drag him underwater like some ancient sea beast.

“That sounds like a challenge!” He exclaims, and then surges forward to grab Ren by his waist. He lets a loud laugh spill out, and drags both of them down and into the water. Whatever Ren is about to say is cut off with a loud yell, and Martyn has to move to the side as they fall in, so his boyfriend doesn’t fall on top of him and accidently drown him.

“Martyn!” Ren yelps out, as he falls right into the pool. The blonde giggles at his successful work, swimming out of the impact zone. Ren falls into the pool with a rather big splash, struggling to right himself in the water. Which is exactly why Martyn hadn't done this in the deep end, neither of them were the best swimmers in the world, admittedly. He’d made sure not to do it exactly in the shallow end though, in case it would’ve made Ren hit his head.

His partner’s head re-emerges after a minute, his hair all wet and sticking to his face. He looks very silly like that, endearingly so. “I'm gonna get you for that!” Ren exclaims, and pushes the soaking wet blob of brown away from his eyes, revealing an amused expression underneath it all.

“Are you now?” Martyn giggles, a cheeky little tease escaping his lips. His partner had a pouty look on his face, and the blonde fought the urge to swim over and kiss it off. He can do that when he’s not in danger of being dunked underwater. “You look like a wet dog.”

“I am a wet dog! And it's your fault!” Ren exclaims, clearly flailing to stop his own laughter. Though it is interrupted by him (rather unflatteringly) coughing up some pool water. Though that is Martyn’s fault, to be completely fair.

“You know you love me~” He teases, watching as Ren starts to swim closer, till they are both in the shallow end. Normally he would swim away, fearing a retribution for his attacks, but figures he won’t mind it much this time. It’s not often he gets to mess around in a pool anymore, and kinda misses doing so with his friends during their younger years.

The brunette sighs, wrapping his arms around Martyn’s shoulder once he can reach him. “Yes, I do.” He nuzzles his nose into Martyn’s cheek, and the other can’t help but melt just a little bit. He always found it adorable when Ren did that.

“You big sap.” He mumbled fondly, moving in. Ren smiled and met him halfway, letting Martyn lead the kiss. The blonde reaches up and cups his partner’s face, thumbing against his cheek. He feels Ren melt into the touch a bit, and gets held tighter for it.

As soon as they move away, Ren’s taking his chance for revenge. He momentarily dunks Martyn underwater, moving before the blonde can even process what’s happening. Martyn cuts off a noise just in time, managing to get in some air for the minute or so he’s under the water. He’s a bit disoriented, so it takes a minute to get his bearings and right himself in the water. The blonde’s pretty sure Ren is laughing at him too, even if he can’t hear him.

“Hey!” Martyn coughs, head above water once again. There is also pool water in his mouth, and it’s his turn to spit out the nasty tasting stuff. There’s no malice in his voice when he yells out, just coughs and cut off giggles. Ren’s laughing, just as he’d thought he was, and the sound of it fills up the whole room. That makes the moment even more special, Martyn thinks, even if there is chlorine in his lungs.

“I said I would get you!” Ren says, sounding so joyful. And that’s really all Martyn had been aiming for by throwing him in the pool, getting him to sound happy, especially since he’d ended up too tired and unsure about the pool trip. If his plan took a bit of pool water in his ears and mouth for it to work, then so be it.

“You did..” He admits with a rather dramatic sigh, and swims over till he can kiss his boyfriend again. Ren lets him do so with a soft smile, and moves them to the steps at the start of the pool, so they can comfortably sit there while they kiss, and so he can move Martyn into his lap during it, and draw him in even closer.

A few minutes later, a hotel worker opens the pool area’s door. They call out to the two of them, saying the pool is closing in less than fifteen minutes, and the two of them need to go. Ren calls back, sounding overly apologetic as he does so, and assures the worker that they’ll be going. Though according to hotel rules, they have to make sure all guests are out of the pool before they can begin closing it for the day, so the couple decides to take their leave; neither of them want to trouble the staff anymore than they have too.

The two of them pick up their stuff, towels being thrown over their shoulders. They dry off the quickest they can, not wanting to ruin the hotel carpet they’ll inevitably have to walk over to get to the elevator. Even though they certainly aren’t the first or last people to drip pool water all over the building, but still. Ren gives a friendly wave to the hotel worker as they leave, while Martyn just smiles sheepishly and drags him back towards their room.

They get in the elevator again, a small trail of water being left in the couple's wake. He steps through the door, and gives an internal apology to whoever has to get that out of the carpet. Ren cringes a bit at the sight, and follows him into the machine, sunglasses quickly being flicked back over his eyes.

They’re not even in the elevator a minute before Martyn’s earlier giggles come back, Ren’s tail thumping against the elevator’s wall once more; but this time it’s out of happiness rather than excitement. It takes his partner a minute to notice, but the laughs earn Martyn a light shove once he does. The blonde just laughs again, louder, and pushes Ren right out of the elevator door when it lands.

Ren is opening their room’s door a few minutes later, after totally not fumbling with the room key. Martyn totally didn’t have to use it for him, nope , not at all. The brunette mumbled an thanks as he shouldered the door open, and how this hotel had weird doors and whatnot; which earned an amused snort from Martyn.

Ten minutes after they return back, both of them are flopped on the queen sized bed. Their swim clothes were thrown into the bag, the one full of all that pool stuff they ultimately hadn’t needed in the end. Ren’s sunglasses are delicately placed on one of the nightstands, while Martyn’s headband has been thrown carelessly somewhere. He’ll probably be able to find it in the morning, probably . In an almost comedic contrast, his crocs were gently placed by the door, like they were his most prized possession ever, while Ren’s sandals where lost in the abyss of their bags for the next little bit.

“What is it, darling?” Ren asks, looking down at him with a smile.

“I want cuddles.” Martyn says, moving closer. He lazily rests his head on Ren’s abdomen, like a cat might.

“We need to go to bed, Martyn.” Ren puffs sensibly, pressing a delicate kiss into his hair. Though his words aren’t lacking something soft and fond underneath all the sensibility. “We have a wedding tomorrow.”

“You have a point.” Martyn grumbled, conceding quicker than he normally would. He was pretty excited for the wedding, and wanted to be fully awake for the whole event. So yeah, he guessed some sleep was a little necessary, especially since it was past ten at night; and the wedding was at noon the next day…

“Doesn’t mean you can’t cuddle me though.” He mumbles, pressing his face into the crook of Ren’s neck. No one said they couldn’t cuddle while they sleep, after all. That was the whole point of them sharing a bed; sleepy cuddles and no other reason. Not because they loved each other or anything, nah, that’d be ridiculous.

Ren presses another kiss into his hair, and lets out a found chuckle. “I suppose I can.” He slips his arms around Martyn, and holds him tight against his chest. The blonde makes a content sound, and snuggles up closer to his boyfriend, very comfortable in this position. His partners like one big pillow, soft and lovely all the time. And always willing to go along with his nonsense, which is why Martyn loves him so much.

As he begins to drift off a few minutes later, he feels Ren’s breathing start to even out. His boyfriend had to be pretty tired to fall asleep that easily. Usually Ren would lay around, failing to sleep for ten or so minutes before something actually worked. Which made sense, considering the light stress that came with getting here and the jet lag from their flight two days ago. Martyn smiles as he lays there, already able to hear the gentle snores rumbling in his chest. Ren really is just a bug puppy, innit he?

The blonde, equally as exhausted from the past few days, does not stay awake much longer. It’s probably the easiest time he ever had falling asleep in a hotel, all of that credit going to his wonderful boyfriend. He thinks the rest of their small vacation will be just as wonderful too, especially if Ren is by his side. He always makes everything a hundred times better, being a never ending beam of sunshine in Martyn’s life since they meet. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Martyns throat is dry. It hurts to breath, that's one of the first things he notes. Well. It's more like the 200th thing tonight. But it's the thing that's bothering him the worst. It's the icing on the cake right now.

Ren stands next him, sunglasses having slid down his nose, sitting on he edge ashe stares at the dark, plastic bag in front of him. Marty isn't quite sure what he feels. But it isn't fun. Rens hair is down from its normal bun, messy and in his face he runs his tongue over his teeth. And Martyn can see a look of acceptance cross his face. They did it. This is something they did. Something they can't take back. Staring at the black bag infront of them makes them feel sick.

It's long, and thighs with rope round it in various places so what's in. Doesn't, under any circumstances. Move.

Martyns once night green hoodie and normal blue jeans sprinkled in red. Rens suspenders, and blue jeans only red to match his shirt. Not completely. It looks more like a black. As the liquid soaks in, it becomes tacky.

There is a hole just to the side of them. Deep. Deep into the ground. And Martyn looks at Ren. The other man has old tears streaking down his face. But he doesn't look away from the form, and the silence filled with only their shuddering breathing makes ren feel sick to his stomach.

He can't look away from it. He can't truly believe it to be real. He'll. He knows for a fact if they were ever found out, then this is the end of the line. The last moment they get as people. But he supposed that they tool its last moments as a person away from it too.

To call it a he, or she, or them, we'll it would be to let reality sink in. And there's one thing Ren and mrtyn are good at. And that's not letting themselves believe whats real.

“we need to burry it.” martyns voice is shakey. And he just stares at Ren, the woods is so quiet around them, nothing more then the shakey breathing and slowly after they stood quietly for a while, they could hear the birds. And that's somehow more unsettling then half of this. That the wildlife has moved on. Has ignored the fear in their chest. Can still go about their night without worrying about the humans feeling pure fear.

“I know.” Ren finally looks at martyn. And the blonde haired man only nods as they both move closer, bending down. Martyn decides to save Ren just a little bit of pain, by picking it up by the head, leaving Ren with the feet.