Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

   Kazimyr and Aziraphale were lost. There's no other way to put it. They've been walking for a long time, so long that the sun, previously shining on the miryad of green leaves, was now setting over the horizon. A break was in order.

   The sky was a gorgeous array of yellows, oranges and purples, barely visible from where they sat, in the cold embrace of the shade from the tall trees.

   The ground was no less impressive, covered by beautiful flowers, and the occasional mooshrooms and lichens. Some of the trees' barks were covered with moss and thers had just a few patches.

   The pair was situated under an old pine tree, leaning on their bags, which contained just some clothes, their phones, chargers, snacks and water.

   Kazi was deep in thought, slouched agains the tree, their light blue eyes glazed over, appearing almost white. Every few seconds, they'd rub their eyes, or run their hands through their red hair, making it even messier than usual. Azi knew that'd be a pain to brush later.

   Their companion sat upright, pretending to be observing a lichen-covered tree farther away from them. However, he was staring at the redhead from the corner of his eye.

   Their state concerned him, they were only like that in the morning, after a restless night plagued by nightmares they refuse to talk about, or after seeing something that reminded them of a bad memory.

   Just as he was about to open his mouth to speak, a raindrop fell on his hand.

   And another.

   And another.

   Soon enough, it was raining, the once colourful sky a dull, melancholy-inducing grey, the once beautiful scenery gone.

   The sudden rain threw Kazimyr out of their phase, and the two quickly got up, not wanting their pants to get dirty.

   "We should find some shelter, before it gets even worse," Azi stated, his cold emerald eyes already searching the place once mor.

   Kazi simply nodded, motioning for Gabe to follow them as they started walking im a random direction.

   The black haired male noted that they were walking quicker than usual, probably to make sure that he wouldn't outpace them. He would make a joke about their short legs, but he felt it wasn't a good time, judging by their tense shoulders.

   As the wind picked up, Azi took note of his friend's clothes: some baggy black jeans, a black mesh undershirt and a queen t-shirt. They must be freezing.

   "Aren't you cold? You should put a sweater or something on." He tried to seem indifferent, but his voice betrayed his concern.

   "I didn't bring any..." Kazi muttered, apologetically. They felt bad for concerning him, he really shouldn't worry about that.

   "Ah, that won't do." He tutted, as he took of his own jacket and their messenger bag, and put the jacket around their shoulders, prompting them to put it on, and then giving them their bag.

   "And don't even try to argue or ask about me, I have warm clothes underneath."

   His tone left no room for argument, so they just thanked him, continuing with the search for shelter.

   About 20 minutes of walking later, they arrived in front of a seemingly abandoned hotel. Having no better option, they decided to stay there until it stopped raining.

   Aziraphale  headed to the door, opening it and motioning for Kazi to go in.

   "After you..."

Chapter Text

   This particular hotel was quite peculiar, its layout different from any other, yet that did not deter the two. They were determined to escape the storm, Aziraphale more so, to make sure Kazimyr won't get sick. 

   Kazi's motives were much the same.

   The building was big, so tall that you could not even see the top, obscured by thick fog. So long that it'd be the only thing you'd see if you looked to the left or to the right.

   Its exterior was pleasing, the walls were made of bricks, all painted in warm colours. They were adorned with big windows that emanated light from the inside. In the unforgiving rain, it looked very cozy.

   Weirdly enough, its entrance was not a door, but a couple of elevators, ones you'd see in a very building, but they looked to be in good shape.

   This time, the redhead took the lead, going in front of the elevator and pushing the call button. The doors opened almost instantaneously.

   They both stepped in, water dripping from their drenched clothes, making the floor wet and slippery.

   Kazi was lost in thought, staring at Azi's eyes, noticing they were the same shade as the walls, complementing them beautifully and making him stand out even more. If it were their way, he would've been named Lucifer. They always thought the Devil had green eyes, especially with Samael, Satan's former name, meaning "Poison of God".

   Ironically enough, Kazi was the one that beared more resembles to the devil, having been told countless times that they looked just like the portrayal of Lucifer in "The Fallen Angel", by Alexandre Cabanel. Even their eyes looked just like his.

   One can imagine how people treated them in school, especially when they told everyone they were an atheist, as they never had the energy to actually explain their beliefs to a bunch of random strangers.

   "...myr.."

   "Kazimyr!" Azi yelled, startling his friend out of their haze. "What's up with you?"

  The other let out an akward laugh, more to fill the silence than to express their amusement. "I'm sorry, I guess I was just lost in thought. These walls are so pretty, amd this window is really clean for an abandoned hotel's elevator... Oh, we're at the reception already?" 

   "Yes, we are. That's why I've been calling you. Let's go," the ebony haired male said, grabbing his companion's hand and leading them out.

   The lobby was disproportionately small compared to the size of the hotel. Next to their elevator, there were two others, one by a big window, another by a wall. In front of them was the reception counter, sorounded by a few suitcases.

   Azi went and ringed the bell on the desk, while Kazi was still looking around.

   Out of curiosity, they opened a drawer, finding a lighter inside. Making sure Azi wasn't looking, they took it and hid it in their pocket.

   "Nobody's coming. I think this place really is abandoned. Let's look around and see if we can find some non-perishable food."

  "Y'know, it's kind of weird that this hotel is completely unhabituated, but the electricity's still on. Also, look, a key! I think it's for that door," Kazi exclaimed, pointing to a key behind the desk and a locked door, with a big "001" sign over it.

   They quickly went and took it, also looting the drawer adjacent to it, but finding nothing.

   The pair went on, Azi in front, and Kazi staying behind, looking around. Beyond Door 001, there was a room full of closets littered around.

   "Should I make a coming out joke?" Kazi giggled.

   "Please, offer me that honour," continued their companion, in a royal tone.

   "Wait, you're gay?" The redhead asked, something akin to hope twinkling in their ice blue eyes.

   "You didn't know? Damn, I thought you loved me!" Aziraphale exclaimed overdramatically, putting a hand on his heart and wiping a fake tear from his eye.

   Kazi blushed brightly, but their face also lit up. ''Maybe I have a chance,'' they thought to themselves, trying to contain their smile.

  The duo moved on. Door 002 was similar to the first one, albeit with a few differences.

   So was Door 003.

   And 004.

  And 005. And 006. And 007.

  Until Door 008.

   There, when they entered, the lights flickered, and a distant, glitchy kind of screeching could be heard.

  Using basic commom sense, they hid in a closet, squishing themselves in so that they could both fit.

   Aziraphale's arms were wrapped around Kazi's waist, their legs tangled together. They could feel eachother breathing and hear eachother's heartbeat.

   "HaH, tHeSe TwO aRe cUtE tOgEtHeR," they heard a voice screeching. It sounded similar to what they heard when they hid, only it was louder, accompanied by the sounds of breaking glass.

   They heard their closet rumble, as if chuckling at the rushing entity's quip, and then get tighter and tighter, as if pushing them closer together. After calling it a pervert, asshole, and many other things, they shuffled out of it, the reality of the situation just now dawning on them.

   "WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK"

Chapter Text

Kazi flinched, not expecting Zira to yell so loudly.

   "Ah, sorry Kaz, didn't mean to startle you," The male said, apologetically, then huffed amusedly. "Kaz sounds like a dog's name!"

  The readhead laughs, somewhere between amused and still flustered.

  They started looking around, now that the threat passed. They were in a big room, with big bookshelves and some cabinets. Kazi was tempted to go through all of the books, but now, knowing that the hotel was actually not so abandoned, they feared that they would anger the entities. That didn't stop their Romanian ass from looting the drawers and finding a flashlight, which they handed to Aziraphale.

   The male just chuckled at their antics, thanking them, and motioning for the duo to move on to the next room.

   Door 9 was also quite peculiar. It was engulfed by darkness. You could barely see your hands in front of your eyes.

   Before they traversed in the shadows, Azi stopped them.

   "We should hold hands, y'know, so we don't lose eachother," he suggested. He was quite lucky for his darker complexion hiding his blush. That did not, however, stop his cheeks from getting hotter and hotter.

   Kazi was not as lucky. Their face was a beetroot red. They quickly grabbed the other's hand and went in, not wanting the male to say anything about their blush.

   While the readhead was trying to find the next door, Azi was focusing on the other's hand. It was smaller than his, but with longer fingers, due to the piano lessons and fencing classes, littered with small scars and scratches. It still felt nice to hold it.

   Eventually, Kazi found a door, but it wasn't the door to the next room.

   Suddenly, they stopped and let out a heavy sigh. "Fuck! We're so fucking stupid! We had flashligts for fuck's sake!" They exclaimed, exasperated.

   The other just chuckled, and went to turn on their flashlights, but a noise suddenly rang out.

   "Psst"

  Azi, startled, started looking around. To his left, there was a goopy, ball-like creature with tens of tentacles and sharp, cat-like teeth.

   "Oooo, you're the two lovebirds Rush was talking about. Well, good luck," it said, then screeched in their faces.

   Aziraphale remained silent, not knowing what to say, so Kazi filled the silence with an akward giggle, that soon erupted into laughter.

   "What even was tha..."

   Before they could finish their sentence, they started laughing again, tears coming to their eyes, making Azi laugh too.

   "Come on, haha, we should get going," He chuckled, extending a hand to wipe his friend's tears, trying his best to ignore the little flinch.

   Door 010 was also quite weird. It looked like a fragment of a library, filled with bookshelves. In front, between some bookshelves, there was a guarded door, with a level on the left wall, which opened it.

   The next few doors were much the same, short corridors and the occasional dark room, this time lacking the goopy entity they decided to call Screech.

   Door 015 however, was another peculiar one.

   The second they entered it, the lights flickered again, this time for longer, and a faint, albeit unfamiliar screech rang in the backround. They managed to hide in a little bedroom inside.

   Just like last time, as the entity past, it commented on their relationship.

   "Rush was right, you to really are cute together," it glitched as it ran past.

   They didn't have time to leave the room, as they heard the screech again, announcing the entity's return.

   "Name's Ambush, by the way. You're lucky I find you two quite cute."

   "My name's Kazimyr..." Kazy akwardly half-shouted, trying to be polite.

   This time, after it left, Ambush didn't come back. "Probably went to talk to Rush. I bet it's got a crush on him," Azi stated, making fun of them.

   They slowly left the room, noticing they're in a long hallway, filled with barren room.

   "I feel like there's something important behind that door."

   "Or maybe just cowebs. Or spiders."

   "But IMPORTANT spiders."

   "Whatever you say, Kaz."

   And they started trying to pry the boards barricading them, succeeding after some time.

   "Ok, let's hope there's something actually interesting behind this door."

   And they both reached their hands to open it.

Chapter Text

Neither of them expected it. You could not expect nothing, after all.

   All that you could see was black. Black everywhere, on the walls, furniture, floors, windows. There were no other colours in that endless abyss. However, there was a floor, and there certainly was furniture. It was just black, so black that even the darkness would shine.

   Said darkness stood in the middle of the room, towering over them, its one gigantic eye contrasting its surroundings, the too-dark pupil twitching constantly. Yet, the creature seemed calm.

   Unmoving.

   Unnerving.

   Before Aziraphale could grab Kazi and make a run for it, the entity looked at them, and they could feel some kind of static in their heads, forming into distorted words.

   "Oh, I apologise, lovebirds. This room's occupied. Go find another one, before I change my mind make you part of it." Its voice was weirdly polite, making it seem like a friendly friend of one of their parents. But their parents were dead, and they were well aware that the entity wanted them to follow in their footsteps.

    Zira pulled Kazi behind him with shaking, pale hands, trying to shield them from the personified darkness.

   "What's your name?" Kazimyr's voice rang in his ears, making his heart beat out of his chest and his hands tighten aroun them.

   "You're a brave one, aren't you? Well, if you must know, my name is Seek, Kazimyr. Now leave, your boyfirend over there doesn't look so well."

   And they scampered, closing the door tightly.

   Kazi put a few planks back to close it, then turned to Aziraphale.

   He was pale, even paller than he'd be if he saw a ghost. He was avoiding their gaze, trying to pry open another door to look for the exit, but his eyes were moist, even half hidden behind his dark locks, and his hands were shaking so badly that the rattle of the doorknobs rattled throughout the entirety of the room.

   The redhead approached him cautiosly, taking his warm hands in one of their colder ones, using the other to cup his cheek. He was sweating all over, his hair almost sticking to his forhead.

   He leaned into the touch, calming down slightly, yet still trembling.

   "Oh dear, what happened there to scare you so badly? Did that thing remind you of something?"

   Silence, and then a sniffle.

   "You don't have to talk, but you need to know I'm here for you. You can tell me anything, I swear."

   "I... It's stupid."

   "No. It's not stupid if it's bothering you so much. Even if it were, I wouldn't judge you for it," Following those words, they got on their tippy toes and kissed his forhead, pushing theirs against it afterwards.

   Aziraphale let out a sob, freeing his hands and throwing them around his friend's -Can they even be considered just his friend anymore? He didn't know- middle and squeezed them like his lofe depended on it. And it probably did.

   "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sor..."

   "No, no, don't be. You did nothing wrong."

   Kazimyr started running their hand through his hair, wiping his tears with their thumb.

   Slowly, he stopped crying, his tears drying.

   "Ah, what did I ever do to deserve an angel like you? I must've killed baby Hitler 2.0." He joked, feeling better.

   "One would say you're in love with me, " Kazy smirked. 'I hope he is...'

   Azi laughed, letting go of them and going to open another door, this one being the right one.

   As they entered room 016, Zira had only one tought circling around his yead.

   'Maybe I am in love with them..."

Chapter Text

Room 016, much to both of their hearts' content, was plain. No monsters, no darkness, none of those nerve-wrecking things.

     Aziraphale entered it first, after looking to make sure of all of those things. He was really considering turning around and going back, but he didn't want to see that tall figure again. It reminded him too much of someone he'd much rather forget. 

     If you were to ask him, he'd tell you it's unfair how Kazi always stays so calm. Though, he would quickly regret that. He knows they're pretending. He knows they're joking and laughing just to make him feel better. He knows they refuse to show their pain. They didn't know how else to react. They used to not even have other options. His heart breaks for his friend everytime he thinks about it, but he's glad that they're opening up to him, even after everything he did.

    "Are you okay?"

    The soft voice broke him out of his thoughts. Kazi was squinting at him, looking concerned. Their eyebrows were furrowed, and all Zira wanted to do was kiss their forhead until all the stress was wiped from their face.

    "I am, don't worry yourself over me," he spoke, trying to twist his features into something resembling a smile. 

    "You know you can talk to me," his red-headed menace of a friend started, coming closer to him and grabbing one of his hands with their much smaller ones, "I'm always willing to listen to you, Aziraphale."

    He tried to focus on their words, but he found himself enraptured with their hands. They were much smaller than his, but they were thin, with long fingers and well-groomed nails. White bandages wrapped around them, hiding the scars he was already familiar with. He wrapped them up himself, after all.

     Admiring their many rings, and thinking back to each story they told, he finally looked them in their eyes. "I know, really. And you can bet everything you have that I'll always return the favour, okay?"

     His companion didn't answer this time, just closed their eyes and nodded, making their hair fall in their face.

     In a bout of confidence, Zira pushed a piece behind their ear, afterwards esting his hand on their cheek. Kazimyr leans into the touch, and Aziraphale thinks he'll melt and become one with the ground. He noticed that they were still holding his hand, now even tighter.

    If he had one wish, he would use it to get another arm, so he could also hug them. But, for now, he would appreciate what he got. Another smile made his way onto his face as he watched the redhead nuzzle into his palm. They looked just like a cat lazing around on a sunny day.

    A loud crash interrupted their moment. Kazi jumped away quickly and Zira could swear he heard a snicker coming from somewhere in the room. 'Damn every one of you little pieces of shit!'

    "We... we should get going," Kazi murmured, still a bit shaken up by the sudden loud noise.

    Zira agreed, and moved to open the next door, labeled as 017. This one consisted of a hallway, with four rooms adjacent to it, and four doors at its ends. The one labeled 018 was locked. Maybe the key was in one of the rooms?

     "My feet hurt," The redhead complained, "Can we sit somewhere for a few minutes, please?"

    "Of course, let's see if we can find a couch im one of the rooms. My shoes are starting to hurt my feet, too."

     "That's because you're wearing such thin socks. I told you to get some thicker ones!" They tried to be serious, but you could hear the giggle in their voice a mile away.

      "Says the one wearing Docs. No wonder YOUR feet hurt, you haven't even broken them in yet."

    The blue eyed teen just rolled their eyes, grinning and going forward to open the door leading into one of the four rooms.

Chapter Text

The room was nothing special, and they both couldn't be more grateful for it. Just a bed, a desk, a closet, and an armchair.

   Kazimyr let Azi take the armchair, sitting on the desk, loosening their purple and yellow laces. They lean back and close their eyes, sighing contentedly. "It's so nice to finally rest a bit," they smile.

    Aziraphale hums in agreement, taking the opportunity to examine his companion's face. From the arch of their brow to the upwards curl of those lips he'd give anything just to kiss once. Gods...

    His eyes fall to their hands, seeing that some of the bandages started falling apart, probably from trying to pry those doors open.

    He rises from his chair, the movement making Kazi open their eyes, their gaze following him.

     "Let me see your hands," he says softly, moving to stand between their knees.

    They offered him their hands, calloused fingers exposed by the unraveled gauze, rings adorning each one of them. Aziraphale gently takes the pieces of jewelry off, holding their hands as if he's holding the most delicate of porcelains.

     He asks them if they hurt and gets the answer he always does. A shake of their head, an all too familiar bounce of red curls. He takes the bandages off, pulling up the sleeves of his hoodie that they're wearing so he can get them off fully. His thumb rubbed at the exposed skin.

     He felt the urge to kiss each and every one of the scarred fingers, as he always does when he fixes their bandages.

      This time, he doesn't fight it.

      He presses his lips to every knuckle, as if his kisses will heal years' worth of damage. And they just might, with the way the redhead is smiling down at him, their cheeks red.

     They pull their hands away, and Aziraphale almost chases after them, but then he feels the cold palms pressed on his cheeks, tilting his head up to look towards them. He nuzzles into the left one, turning his head to kiss their inner wrist.

     "Are you feeling better?"

     The question takes him by surprise. Is he?

      He decides he is. He's with them, after all. "Yeah. I'm okay now. Don't worry," he murmurs, resting his hands on the middle of Kazi's thighs.

     "You know I could never stop worrying about you," they say softly, rubbing his cheek with their thumb, feeling the small acne scars under their finger.

     Aziraphale just smiled, his gaze falling on their lips. Oh, what he wouldn’t give.

    "Let's go look for some bandages," he says, to stop himself from pulling them down and ravashing them.

      He pulled away, smirking at their pout.

    They tighten their laces, then get off the desk.

   After looking through some drawers, they ended up finding another flashlight and a bandage they couldn't bring themselves to touch. The key to door 017 was in a drawer under their desk.

    Weirdly enough, there were two locked doors, 017 and 018. They decided to just go through the one they were supposed to.

     The next few rooms were nothing special, and they only encountered Rush one more time. It didn't say anything to them, however.

     Everything was fine, until they reached room 25. What was that on the wall...?

Chapter Text

"What the fuck..." Kazimyr murmured, looking up at what seemed to be a black, gooey eye twitching on the wall..

They reached out to poke it, but Azi grabbed their wrist before they could. "Don't," he murmured, making the redhead pout.

Their expression quickly got serious, however, when they noticed how stressed he looked. Right... black goo entity thing.

"Look, seems like we need to move the paintings in the right spot," Aziraphael pointed, noticing the small square one in a spot that looked to have been made for an oval.

Together, they got to putting the art pieces in the right spots, which opened up a door hidden behind the fireplace.

In the next room, more eyes littered the wall, making both of them cringe. They looked disgusting. But before they could complain, that irritating static overcame the room as they hid in one of the closets, pressed together tightly.

"H–H–ElloOoO LovE BIrdSssSs. SeeK cAaAAan'T waaAaaAiaT tO sEEeE yOu A–A–AgAinNn" Rush screeched, making Myr groan. "Hate this guy and his annoying speech," they whispered.

Zira's hands squeezed their hips gently in agreement before they got out of the closet, squinting to navigate the dark room. The next one was another puzzle of sorts, the same twitching eyes following them as they searched for a lever to open the door, struggling to navigate the winding corridor.

"God, I need a cigarette," the brunette muttered, and Myr couldn't help but agree.

"I got a few left, we'll break a window or something on the next room," they suggested.

But the next room wasnt what they expected, not in the slightest. At first, it seemed normal, even lacking the twitching eyes, just a long corridor. However, when they got about halfway to the door, that dreaded black entity seemed to pop out of nowhere, emerging from the ground and starting to chase after them.

With adrenaline burning in their veins, they both took off running as fast as they could, avoiding the black hands reaching for them until they got to a circular hallway with three doors. Aziraphale ran and picked the right one, luckily.

But Kazimyr didn't. They grabbed the knob of another one, and it didn't open, the entity closing in on them. They made a run for the right one, but the black tentacles slashed at their calf, making them cry out in pain.

The next set of three doors, Aziraphale yelled out the answer in advance, and they both made it through to the last hallway, where they had to dodge tentacles and small flames.

As they finally made it out and slammed the door into the entity's face, Myr collapsed on the ground, clutching their calf and breathing quickly and heavily.

Aziraphale held the door closed tightly, gasping at every bang the entity made on it, until they all stopped. "Oh, you escaped me now, children, but don't you worry. Figure will be much, much harder to fool," the smooth, too-polite voice rang out before all of the sounds fell to silence.

He held the door for a few more minutes until he was sure all was safe, then dropped to his knees next to Kazimyr, gently taking their leg into his lap and examining the wound.

They were lucky that they were smart enough to keep the bandages and not use them too soon. Aziraphale made quick work of the wound, wrapping it up securely.

"Are you okay?" he whispered, his eyes wet and full of worry.

Kazimyr didn't reply. They simply moved their other leg to his lap and curled close, their head resting on his shoulders as small shudders ran through them.

They wordlessly pulled out a crumpled pack of cogarettes, not bothering to open any windows anymore as they lit one up and brought it to their lips