Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

007n7 skidded across the pavement, shifting his foot to attempt and regain his bearings. Damn, running while typing was harder than he thought. He heard Noli’s choppy voice glitch over his GUI.

“G-go for— for the alleyway n-near Build— Builder Brothers,” it instructed, its voice stuttering and glitching over its words. “The— The cam—cameras won’t s-see yo— you.”

“Noted,” 7n7 replied, continuing to type a command out on the c00lGUI. If this didn’t work, he swears to whatever god that happens to be out there, he will… burn something down or something, he actually doesn’t know.

He took another sharp turn, probably pulling a muscle in the process. He couldn’t really tell, he was currently running on adrenaline and pure spite. He pulled himself into the alley, making a clone of himself so he wouldn’t get immediately caught.

He held his breath for a moment before sighing, continuing to type out his unfinished command. The familiar loading screen popped up and he leaned against the brick wall, waiting for the line to fill. Six seconds, five seconds, four, three, two, one.

He felt himself teleport to his home and he nearly collapsed from exhaustion, the adrenaline leaving his body the second he was out of danger. He forced his limbs to trudge to the couch, where he then proceeded to take off his glasses and pass out for the next hour or so.

When 007n7 woke up, it was nearly midnight. Damn, he slept for a while. The sky was a dark blue and the stars were showing, the moon nothing but a small crescent in the dark. He rubbed his eyes, resisting the thought of just going back to bed and pretending nothing happened. That sounded really nice right now.

He pulled himself into a sitting position, a dull ache behind his eyes. God, did he have Tylenol or something? This was bound to be annoying. He collapsed back onto the couch, covering his face with his hands. He’ll just go back to sleep. That was a good idea, wasn’t it? He told Noli he’d go hack with it again, and he isn’t one to break a promise like that. 

There was a knock on his door.

He jumped, looking at the piece of wood that separated his house and the outside world like it personally offended him. Was Noli fucking with him? Again? He was going to brush it off, opening his GUI to go yell at it for scaring the hell out of him for the fourth time this week, but then he heard another knock.

Was this not Noli? 

He rolled his eyes, forcing his limbs to cooperate with him to drag himself to the door. He opened the door, expecting a package or delivery person at the wrong address, something. He blinked, his eyes struggling to adjust to the darkness without his glasses. He looked down, squinting to try and better his sight.

Nothing. Wait, no. What the hell was that?

He reached down and picked up the thing, staring at it. What the fuck is that?

Seven nearly dropped the blob-shaped creature when it stared back up at him and started crying. He could swear he jumped out of his own skin.

“What the fuck?!” He exclaimed, which only made the baby cry more. He put the thing in his arm, pulling out the c00lGUI with his free hand. “Noli?!”

Noli, who was obviously interrupted from its oh-so-important beauty sleep, replied groggily. “Yeah— Yeah?”

“Did you put a baby on my fucking doorstep?!”

“Is— Is it blue?”

Seven took a glance at the blurry creature in his arms, squinting his eyes to try and make it out. Nope. Normal baby. Maybe? Did it have horns or is he going blind? “No?”

“Nah. Was— Wasn’t me,” Noli replied, its voice glitching over the speaker.

“Why is there a baby on my doorstep then?!” He said, nearly dropping the child for the second time in that five or so minutes.

“Beats me— me, man,” it said. 

“Well, thanks for your help,” Seven retorted, rolling his eyes.

“An— Anytime, man.”

“I was being sarcastic, dumbass.”

“Oh. D-damn.”

“Whatever, I need to— What the fuck do I do with a kid?” He rambled, entering his house and beginning to pace. This was not good. This was not good at all, actually.

“Just— Just drop it o-off at a— a police s-station or— or some— something,” Noli said, its glitchy voice still groggy from being so rudely woken up. 

“And risk being arrested?! Are you crazy?!” Seven exclaimed, starting to fidget with his shirt. “Sorry, I just… What the hell do I do?”

“Fig— Figure it out, I— I— I guess,” it replied.

“You’re no help,” he grumbled before hanging up the call, turning on ‘Do not disturb’. 

He grabbed his glasses off the coffee table and put them on, turning on the lamp. Now he could get a better look at this thing. They looked really young, like really young. Like their parents just gave birth and decided to drop them off on someone’s doorstep. Their skin looked redder than it should be, but then again, he knew nothing about babies. They looked… pretty normal and— 

Holy shit were those horns. 

This kid had horns?

What the fuck is this thing. 

Should he be concerned?

Is this a trap or something?

He considered Noli’s idea, just dropping them off at a nearby police station, but their teary, beady black eyes made him change his mind. He couldn’t just pawn them off, could he?

Okay. He has a kid now. Temporarily. How do you calm a baby down? Was that something he was supposed to know?

He rocked the kid in his arms, staring at it like it would jump away. “Uh… good… baby. Yeah. Stop doing that. No crying.”

After an absurd amount of time, the kid finally calmed down, going back to sleeping like they were originally. Huh. Kids are weird.

He glanced at the baby and then back at the c00lGUI, which he forgot to close, and then back at the baby again. “Fuck it, I’ll name you c00lkidd.”

Chapter Text

Being a dad was harder than 007n7 thought. He had to deal with tantrums, nightmares, days where c00lkidd would get sick, days where he wouldn’t stop clinging to his father’s leg. But despite all of that, being a dad was better than being a hacker ever was. 

He retired over nine years ago, a few months before he formally adopted c00lkidd, and although he still has much scrutiny from the public and the admins would 100% ban him if he so much as stole as an apple, his life was pretty normal. He worked three jobs to support his son, and despite his daily exhaustion, he would give anything to watch his son as he scribbled with crayon on a ripped paper towel.

They couldn’t afford a lot of things that normal children had, and 7n7 felt extremely bad about that. He couldn’t send his kid to school, he couldn’t afford toys that didn’t look like they were mauled by a dog or something. c00lkidd didn’t mind. though. He seemed content with his crayons, doodling away.

That was exactly what he was doing right now, laying stomach-down on the carpet, kicking his legs and joyously colouring a picture. He was giggling to himself, drawing with his favourite red crayon. He really liked red, Seven quickly learned. It’s been his favourite colour since he learned what colours were. 

“Whatcha drawing, kidd?” He asked, taking a sip from his coffee. 

“It’s a surprise!” c00lkidd replied. “You can’t see it yet!”

Seven chuckled. “Alright. I can’t wait to see it.”

He giggled, continuing to doodle. He hummed to himself, grabbing another crayon and drawing with that one instead. After twenty minutes or so, he picked up his drawing and skipped up to his dad with the biggest smile on his face.

“I finished!” He said, showing 7n7 like it was the best art piece made ever. “Do you like it?”

And that’s exactly what Seven treated it as. “Oh my goodness! I love it! C’mon, let's go put it on the fridge.”

“Okay!” c00lkidd replied, walking ahead of his dad and trying to reach the magnets. Unfortunately, he was too short, but 7n7 grabbed one for him. He stuck it onto the fridge next to another drawing he made.

The fridge was mostly covered in his drawings, besides a calendar still three months behind and a to-do list that hasn’t been updated since March last year. 7n7 reached out and ruffled his son’s already messy hair, making him giggle and smack his hand away. 

c00lkidd tugged on his dad’s sleeve, looking at him with those big, beady eyes he’s had since he was a nothing but a baby placed on Seven’s doorstep. “Dad? Can we go outside?”

Seven glanced at the time. 6 PM. Screw it, they had nothing better to do. “Sure. C’mon, let’s go before it gets dark out, yeah?”

“Okay!”

He carefully took c00lkidd’s hand, allowing himself to get dragged to the door. The kid put on his shoes much faster than 7n7 did (probably because he didn’t have laces) and waited in front of the door for his dad to finish, bouncing off the balls of his feet. 

Seven finished tying his shoes and grabbed c00lkidd’s hand again, taking him outside the house. They didn’t spend much time in their house, frankly. Seven had his jobs, c00lkidd couldn’t be left alone, so they spent most of their time in other places. 

7n7 didn’t get to spend as much time with his kid as he wanted to, he worked three jobs and he was exhausted half the time, so he treasured all the time he got with him. This was one of the times they got to spend with each other, taking a short walk in the forest near their house.

“Oh! Dad!” c00lkidd said, picking up yet another cool rock and holding it up to show his dad. “Look! Look!”

“Whoa.” 007n7 smiled, taking the rock and storing it in his pocket like the other nicknacks the kid found. c00lkidd was a very bubbly child, always bouncing off the walls and picking stuff up and pointing this out. Despite how tired Seven was all the time, he enjoyed the joy and whimsy brought around. 

c00lkidd stopped in his tracks, pointing out the leaves that were turning shades of orange and red and yellow, looking at them like they were the coolest thing he’s ever seen. He’s always liked autumn.

“The trees are pretty this time of year, aren’t they?” Seven pointed out, pausing alongside c00lkidd.

“Uh-huh!” He replied, going on his tippy-toes to try and reach the branches. 7n7 grabbed one, handing it to him. “My favourites are the red ones!”

007n7 chuckled. “Thought so.”

“Dad? Why do the leaves turn red?” He asked, holding onto the leaf like it would run away from him. He tugged on his dad’s hand, ushering him to keep going.

“There’s less sunlight in the fall and the temperatures lower, so the leaves stop making their food. Then they turn red, or orange, or yellow,” Seven explained, letting his son drag him along. 

“Ohhhh. I don’t get it.”

“It’s less sunny out and it’s colder so the leaves don’t make themselves food anymore,” he said, hoping c00lkidd got it. He was never good at explaining things simply, which made it hard when he had a curious nine year old.

“ Ohh . Okay!”

7n7 chuckled, reaching out and ruffling the kid’s hair. c00lkidd giggled, holding up the leaf still.

“It’s really pretty,” he said.

“It is.”

“Why don’t the leaves stay red?”

“Because the sunlight comes back and it gets warmer. They make themselves food again.”

“Oh. Okay!”

7n7 sighed, looking up at the sky. “Alright, kid. Let’s go back. I have work soon.”

“Awwhhh,” c00lkidd whined, letting go of the leaf and watching it flutter to the ground. “Do we have to?”

“Yeah, kidd. We have to,” he answered, turning around and walking back with his kid practically dragging him. 

“Awhhhh. Okayyy,” the kid said, skipping back to their house.

Chapter Text

007n7 paced around his cramped living room, checking the news on his c00lGUI. Despite not using it often, he still kept it. It was too valuable to just get rid of, even though he quit hacking long long ago. He scrolled lower and lower to see if he could find something about c00lkidd, about his son. Yet, no matter how much he looked, there was nothing. He was gone without a trace. 

God, this was all his fault. He should’ve done something to protect his kid, but he didn’t and now he was gone. It’s been a week now. His birthday was a few days ago. He wasn’t there for it. He wasn’t there for something he was so damn excited for. He wasn’t there for when he’d finally hit the double digits. 

He’s such a terrible father.

Despite his guilt, he pulled through. Putting up missing posters, filling police report after police report, but no one seemed to care. No one has found even a trace of c00lkidd. It was terrifying and he was running out of things to do. 

After yet another failed attempt at finding his kid, his hope was lost. c00lkidd was the only thing his life was good for. With c00lkidd, he wasn’t just an ex-hacker who may or may not have set fire to many fast food establishments, he was a father. A dad.

He didn’t have that anymore. He didn’t have his son anymore. Now, he was nothing. He was nothing but an ex-hacker, someone no one liked, someone people barely tolerated.

He opened his c00lGUI, typing in a command and closing it once he felt the cold steel of a gun in his hand. He lifted it to his jaw, and after some hesitation, he pulled the trigger.

***

007n7 awoke in a panic, his head throbbing and his memory fuzzy. Where was he? He seemed to be in a forested area, the sky dark and starry. He pulled himself into a sitting position, his limbs feeling like lead. He rubbed his eyes, trying to figure out where he was; more importantly, why he was here.

The ringing in his ears dissipated and he heard someone walk outside, and then shout something like “We have another one!”

He blinked, pulling himself up on shaky limbs. Once he was standing, he took a better look at his surroundings; a forest, a couple cabins, a board with papers on it—he couldn’t distinguish what they said—and a place blocked off with yellow tape.

He was jumpscared by several people coming out of a cabin. He recognised a few people, Guest 1337, Dusekkar, and… Elliot. This wasn’t a fun reunion. However, some he didn’t know. Someone with yellow hair, someone with wings, someone wearing a fedora and someone with a cloak. 

“Uh… hi,” he greeted awkwardly, still trying to recover from his splitting headache. 

“Hello I say, what a coincidence you came today,” Dusekkar said, clasping his hands together. 7n7 forgot he spoke in rhymes. That’s going to be fun to decipher. 

“I’m going to bed,” Elliot mumbled, walking right past 007n7 like he wasn’t even there.

“Elliot, wait,” the guy with the fedora said, taking the pizza worker’s hand and stopping him from walking off. “There’s a new guy, Elli. Can’t you wait?”

007n7 took an anxious step back, trying not to get in the way of their conversation. He didn’t want to be rude within the first ten minutes of him being there.

“I know this guy, Chance,” Elliot spoke softly, like he was speaking to a close friend. Chance, that was the fedora guy’s name. Noted. “He’s not a good guy.”

Ouch. 007 clasped his hands together nervously, glancing at the others. He didn’t really like the fact they were talking about him when he was right there, but he wasn’t going to say anything about it. 

“Can’t you give ‘em a chance, Elli?” Chance asked, holding Elliot’s hand with both of his. “Maybe he’s changed.”

“I doubt it,” the pizza man replied, finally shifting his gaze to the fedora guy’s face. His expression softened, and he sighed. “Okay, sure. Just… make it quick. I’m tired.”

“Thanks, man,” the guy with the fedora replied, dropping one of his hands to his side and bringing Elliot back to the group.

007n7 could feel multiple judgemental gazes on him and he took another step back, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. This was not good for his self-esteem. 

He cleared his throat, trying to dislodge the lump in his throat. “Uhm, so… hi… again. I’m 007n7, and uh… yeah.”

Guest 1337 smiled and walked up to him. “Why don’t I show you around, yeah? This place can be a bit of a maze when you don’t know what you’re doing.”

7n7 was a bit shocked that someone actually wanted to do something with him, but he accepted, nodding his head. “Oh, yeah. That would be lovely.”

Guest brought him to one of the cabins and he shoved his hands in his pockets, hoping he didn’t look as anxious as he felt. “So, there are five cabins and each cabin has two beds. Most of us get a solo one, but some people gotta share one. Elliot and Chance, and Dusekkar and Taph are the only ones who share one currently. You’re gonna have to share one with someone, if that’s alright with you.”

“Oh, no, that’s fine,” 007 replied, trying to walk at the same speed. Damn, this guy walked slow. Or maybe he walked fast? 

“Alright, over here are the woods,” 1337 said, gesturing towards the vast forest. “We suggest not going over there. Shed said that’s where the killers are.”

“Shed?”

“Shedletsky,” he elaborated, “the one with the wings.”

“Ah. Wait, killers?” 7 asked. Did he hear that right?

“Oh yeah, you don’t know yet,” Guest said, brushing aside some branches and looking into the forest, presumably checking for something. “Every day or so, we all get put into some damn ‘round’ or whatever. There’s a killer, and we gotta survive. There’s three of ‘em so far.”

“Who are they?” 007n7 asked, squinting his eyes to try to see better in the darkness. 

“Azure, 1x1x1x1–we call her 1x for short, and c00lkidd.”

c00lkidd? His c00lkidd?

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Hopefully we don’t have a round tomorrow. You can never tell in this hellhole.”

“…yeah. Yeah, hopefully we don’t.”

“Let’s head back to the house, yeah? I’ll introduce you to the others,” Guest said, and 7n7 nodded.

“Yeah, yeah, alright.”

Chapter Text

007n7 has been here for… how long already? Days? Weeks? Months, even? He’s not sure, time works weird in this place. He’s already been in his fair share of rounds, luckily none of them having c00lkidd. Yet, at least. 

He sighed, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. He usually shared a cabin with Guest 1337, since no one else really wanted to share a cabin with him for one reason or another. He knew he wasn’t well-liked, but damn. Oh well, at least he got somewhere to sleep.

He heard commotion from outside and he stood up, slowly walking towards the door. He didn’t want to intrude on anything, but he was curious. He stepped out on the porch, getting just close enough to hear them properly. He saw the others, crowded around someone he couldn’t recognise. 

“Oh Spawn,” they said, reeling back when Guest 1337 tried to put a hand on their shoulder. “What am I doing here? Who are you people?!”

“Calm down, we’re not gonna hurt you,” Guest said, raising his hands and stepping away from them. “We don’t know how we all got here, but all of us are harmless.”

“And how am I supposed to confirm that?” They took another step back, clearly trying to distance themself from the group. “I do not know anything of you people!”

Elliot took a step forward, separating himself from the larger survivor group. He clasped his hands together, keeping them in view. “Hey, take a breath. Please. We’ll explain everything we know, but you have to calm down first. Can you do that?”

They took a deep breath, bringing a hand up to rub their eye. “My apologies. I was startled.”

“No worries,” Elliot reassured. “It’s quite stressful the first time coming here. Don’t worry about it!”

“Very well. I am Two Time, who may you be?” They— Two Time. Noted— said, gesturing lightly towards the group.

“I’m Elliot! This is Guest 1337, we usually just call him Guest for short. That’s Shedletsky. That’s Chance! And over there is Dusekkar and Taph,” Elliot listed, pointing at everyone he named. “Oh! And there’s 007n7, but he’s not here right now.”

007n7 didn’t like how he was basically an afterthought, but he wasn’t going to say anything about it. He put himself in this predicament, anyway.

“Couldn’t care enough to show up,” Shedletsky mumbled, getting elbowed by Guest. “Sorry, said that out loud!”

007n7 sighed, leaning against the porch railing—is that what they were called?— and resting his head in his hands. It’s not like he didn’t like the people he was with, he did! He enjoyed their company and they were all great teammates. It was more so that they didn’t like him.

It was unstandable, if you asked him. He terrorised Elliot’s workplace many times back in college, and his kid caused some chaos there as well. He was a pain in the ass for the admins and demolitionists, so it made sense why Dusekkar and Taph didn’t like him. He was invading Guest’s space, so that’s a reason he wouldn’t like him. He wasn’t a very useful teammate either, so it made sense why Noob and Shedletsky didn’t like him. He was all-around unlikable, he couldn’t even do anything to make them like him more.

He saw the edges of his vision blur, and he pulled himself off the railing. Great, a round is starting. He groaned, standing up straight and watching as the other survivors did the same. 

***

007n7 felt the round start and he inhaled sharply, trying to shake off the lightheadedness he was left with. He’s done this before, might as well get it over with. Who was even the killer?

He approached the nearest generator, crouching down and beginning to do the simple puzzle, reeling his hand back when he mixed up the colours. He’s colour blind, cut him some slack.

He finished the generator fairly quickly, standing up and brushing off his pants. He heard Shedletsky hit a slash, successfully stunning the killer.

“I’m telling dad!”

What.

What the fuck.

What the fuck. 

Why is c00lkidd here? 007 knew he was here, but why was he here now? Why was he here in the first place? He was never religious, but he always assumed this was a hell of some sorts, since he did arrive after shooting himself. Why was a child here—his child? Was this just a way to fuck with his head?

He didn’t realise he was getting approached until his son was standing in front of him, giggling and circling around him like a shark would. He was much taller now, his limbs appearing charred and stretched out unnaturally. That must hurt so much, his poor baby.

“Dad! Dad!” c00lkidd said, continuing his little ring around his father. “I’ve been waiting for you! You took foreeeeverrrrrr!”

“Did I?” 7n7 asked, raising his hands to absentmindedly braid some strands of his hair. It was a habit he picked up from Noli back in college and never really dropped. He thinks he passed it on to c00lkidd as well.

“Yuh huh! It was so booorrriiiinnggg!” The kid drawled, waving his hands dramatically. “But you’re here now, right? You’re not gonna leave again?”

He was looking at him with those big, beady eyes that he’s had since he was an infant, and he couldn’t bring himself to let him down. Not again.

“No,” 007n7 replied, taking one of his son’s clawed hands in his own. “I won’t.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

“I love you dad.”

“I love you too, kid.”

The edges of his vision began to blur, the colours around him getting more muted, but he didn’t dare let go. He waited for the timer to count down, Ten seconds, eight seconds, six, five, four, three…

“I’ll see you soon,” he said, tightening his grip on c00lkidd’s hand. “I love you.”

“Wha— Dad? Dad?!”

He opened his mouth to speak, but he, alongside the other survivors, were teleported back to the cabins—dazed and disoriented and frightened, but safe.

Two Time broke the silence first, seeming so utterly bewildered. He forgot this was their first time. “What in Spawn’s great name was that?!”

“7n7,” Shedletsky said, brushing off his wings. “You have some explaining to do.”

Chapter Text

007n7 stepped into the cabin, his hands balled up into nervous fists. His head still felt light from the recent round, his legs still shaking from a mix of adrenaline and exhaustion. His vision was a bit blurry, the edges darkened.

He trudged after Shedletsky, who had his steps as confident as ever. He didn’t care enough to try and mimic him. Not today, not right now. He had to force his limbs to cooperate with him, awkwardly taking a seat on the couch. He wasn’t entirely sure what to do, he never really went in the main cabin besides for the occasional dinner that he’d pull himself out of his pity party for.

He crossed his legs, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt, the fabric twisting between his trembling fingers. He avoided everyone’s gaze, despite feeling the piercing stares on his back. 

Two Time sat next to him, a comfortable distance away from him on the couch. They inhaled, folding their hands in their lap. “Okay… Again, what in Spawn’s great name was that?”

“We didn’t really have much time to tell you,” Chance said, shrugging their shoulders. “Every day—or every other day, I’m not sure—we get put into these fuckin’ ‘rounds’. There’s a killer and the main goal is to survive. It’s usually not as easy as that one.”

“Speaking of which,” Shedletsky started, showing up behind the couch out of nowhere. Since when could he do that? “You still gotta explain that, 007n7.”

“Ah,” Seven replied. “Right.”

“c00lkidd called you ‘Dad’, is there a relation to be had?” Dusekkar asked, also appearing out of practically nowhere. Can everyone do that but him?

“Well duh,” Chance rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. “There’s gotta be a reason the kid’s callin’ you ‘dad’.”

“What if it’s some kind of memory loss? Or distortion?” Two Time suggested, sitting far too straight for 007’s liking. How they sat like that all the time was beyond him. 

“That could be possible,” Guest said, nodding his head.

“But we’ve never seen that happen before,” Shedletsky argued, waving a hand absentmindedly.

“But we’ve never dealt with a personal connection before,” the war veteran replied.

An expression of guilt flashed onto Shedletsky’s face, and he shifted his gaze to the floor. “True.”

“So, the kid’s misremembering things?” Chance asked.

“Probably,” Guest answered simply, shrugging.

“Wait,” Two Time interjected, balling their gloved hands into fists. “We should speak to 007n7 himself about this, should we not?”

007n7 didn’t appreciate being pointed out, but he wasn’t going to speak up about it.

“We should,” Guest said, the thought clearly not a priority for him. It made sense, 7n7 wasn’t a priority for anyone, honestly. “Do you know c00lkidd, 007n7?”

“Uhm, yeah, I do,” 7n7 said, keeping his hands busy by curling them around the scratchy fabric of his pants. “He’s my son.”

“That explains it,” Shedletsky mumbled, his eyeroll practically audible from where 7 was sitting. 

The father felt himself curl inwards, a sigh forming in his throat. If he could choose to disappear at any moment in time, he would choose now.

“Ah. That was anticlimactic,” Chance said, getting up and brushing off their shirt. “Well, I’m gonna go. Let me know if something happens.”

Everyone bid them a farewell, and Chance left, 7n7 managing to slip away not long after.

He sat on his bed, falling against the stiff mattress and covering his face with his hands. “What have I gotten into?”

***

007n7 heard a knock on his door and he sat up, rubbing his arm with the palm of his hand. Whoever was on the other side of the door knocked again, and he stood up. How long has he been sitting here?

“Coming!” He called out when they knocked again, forcing his limbs to drag him to the door. He put his hand on the knob, the cold steel making him hesitate for a quick moment before he regained his senses and threw the door open. 

There stood Elliot, holding a plate with a slice of pizza on it. He practically shoved it into his hands, crossing his arms after making sure 7 was holding the plate right. 

“You haven’t eaten anything in three days,” the pizza boy said. “We don’t want you to starve so figured I’d get you something.”

“Oh,” 7n7 replied simply, not quite knowing what else to say. What could he say? He was convinced this guy hated him—he had good reasons to hate him!— and yet, he was giving him food like he was actually worth something. “Thank you.”

Elliot’s expression softened, and he looked away. “Don’t sweat it. Starving to death isn’t a good way to die.”

“Bring the plate back to the main cabin, by the way,” he said before turning around, leaving as swiftly as he arrived.

What the fuck.

***

Eating was actually not terrible, 007n7 remembered. He forgot what food tasted like. After he finished eating, he brought the plate back to the cabin as he was asked. He washed it in the sink, the water cold on his hands. He wiped them off on his pants, because, if he was being honest, he’d rather shoot himself again than go look for a towel.

The main cabin was empty, he checked—he didn’t want to fuck up anyone’s schedule or anything. He sighed, exiting the cabin and letting the cool evening breeze hit him. He yawned, covering his mouth with his hand.

“Hello,” a voice said, startling 7n7. 

007 yelped, and he could swear he jumped out of his skin. He shifted his gaze to the person, seeing grey hair and a hard hat. Ah. Builderman. The Builderman. The guy whom he’s evaded. Multiple times. Wonderful. “Oh, hi, hi, hello.”

“Do you know where anything is in this place? I don’t know why I’m here—”

“Builder!” Shedletsky exclaimed, appearing behind the CEO out of literally nowhere—why can he do that so well?—and pulling him into a hug, swinging him around like he weighed next to nothing. “I didn’t— I missed you!”

“Shed,” Builderman replied, disoriented and confused, but also relieved. “I didn’t think you’d be ‘ere.”

007n7 felt like he was intruding on something, but he couldn’t really leave without just walking past them and undoubtedly ruining the moment. He didn’t want to be rude. Was just standing here being rude? Should he go stare at the fireplace or something?

“God, I— I’m so glad you’re here,” the bird said, his wings fluffing up just a bit. “C’mon, I’ll tell you everything!”

He then took Builderman away, dragging him by his wrist like an excited child. 7 used to have a partner who’d drag him around like that. He sighed, placing his arm over the porch railing and resting his chin in his free hand.

“Whatcha thinkin’ about?” Chance asked, stepping next to him and leaning over the railing as well.

“Hm? Oh, I don’t really know,” he answered, looking up from the patch of grass he was staring at. “I have… a lotta things going through my head.”

“Me too,” the gambler replied. “It gets a lot here, doesn’t it?”

“Definitely.”

“I wonder how many people we’re gonna get,” they commented, waving their hand halfheartedly. “We’ve gotten three survivors in five days. According to Elli, it used to take a while before a new survivor showed up. When I came in, it took like two months for you to appear.”

“You guys have time here?” 007 asked, perking up slightly. He was always under the impression that they just kind of guessed what day it was.

“Yeah, Dusekkar made a calendar when he first came,” Chance answered. “Time works weird here, but we make it work.”

“Huh. Never knew that.”

“Yeah, pretty useful,” they said, standing up and brushing off their shirt. “Well, I should get goin’. See you around?”

“Yeah,” 007n7 replied. “Yeah, see you.”

Chance waved and he waved back, returning to zoning out while staring at the grass. Do people actually like him here? He hasn’t had an actual conversation with someone in… however long. Chance probably just tolerated him since he had no one to talk to. He’s a pretty good person to rant to. Noli used to talk his ear off all the time.

He sighed, standing up and making his way back to his cabin. Today… wasn’t terrible.