Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Mafioso has left the Soldier-raising up to his trusted employees, though the toll it's taken on them —more so on the one who seems to have decided to take it upon himself— has not gone unnoticed. He decides it's time for a change, maybe he would appreciate a little bit of action after so long, while he himself should take this opportunity for a break.

It was a warm day, just the cozy amount in temperature, although the sky was clouded and the sun concealed as consequence. Mafioso's men were taking this opportunity of an uneventful day to relax, Mafioso himself being outside running smaller errands with a member of lesser importance and rank. The day was quiet and peaceful, so the boss didn't seem to need a tedious amount of protection, the market is not that dangerous after all, plus, he wasn't planning on doing any official business that day.

(Enter drawing of their living space, "abandoned" building)

Contractee, approximately 4 hours ago, decided he would sleep in for "just 5 more minutes", and with Consigliere looking into other tasks of his elsewhere, Caporegime was left in charge of the baby Soldier. He stood in the middle of the empty —aside from sleeping Contractee— "living room", arms crossed in front of his chest, thinking. He didn't mind the kid most of the time, he's surprisingly quiet and has learned some manners, but he is still a very young kid, being way too energetic, screaming up and down the place, it's just what they do sometimes. Feeling an excited tug at his pant leg, he let out a sigh knowing he was in for a long day, then looked down at the young boy struggling hold a sports ball the size of his small torso.

"Cap! Can we go play ball? I'm hungry... Where is the others?" The child looks up at him, expectation and hope clear in his eyes. Caporegime was left with a blank expression, staring back at the kid with confusion. He had, by that point, grown accustomed to how kids would say a bunch of unrelated things at once but he still couldn't help but be shocked at times. He blinked a few times, slightly chuckling at how the child blinked back ...like a frog, one eye at a time. That's, uh, normal, right? He hoped so...

"Sssure. Yeah, let's go make something to eat and then we can go play. The boys are busy.." please let this be easy, he thought to himself. They hadn't moved, still looking at each other, the boy seemed to think. "What is he busy with? Where's Consy?" He lets go of the pant leg and points to the sleeping body on the couch. Caporegime looks at where the boy pointed, then turned back to him while sucking a breath through his teeth. This might not be easy...

"He's resting, we shouldn't disturb him, maybe he's tired" "Consy?" The man pursed and twisted his lips, trying to come up with an answer that would keep the boy satisfied for at least a couple of hours. "He has to do some ...very boring paperwork. Let's leave him be so he can be done fast." "Ugh, paperwok is boring..." the young Soldier states with the exasperation of a man 20 years past the retirement point. "Go play ball?" He quickly goes back to the original subject

Caporegime let's his arms untangle from one another, resting them at his hips while he slowly looks around the room contemplating his options. He turns back to the boy once more "Alright, buddy, let's go" feeling he's forgetting something...

The boy grabs the taller man's leg as he jumps up and down, excitement overwhelming him like a victorian boy surviving the common cold. The ball fell out of his grasp when he hugged the leg, he lets go and quickly goes to retrieve it, skipping along as he moved.

Chapter Text

"...and after all that, when I received my order, it was wrong! Can you believe it?" Two Time finished off a long rant, shaking their head left and right in playful irritation.

"🤬. 👇🚔😠." (Crime. They should be arrested for the disrespect.) Taph said, crossing his arms over his chest, his words final. Two Time giggled at his response, pulling him closer to them until he was sat on their lap, leaning onto their chest. Two Time themself was sad at the top of their bed, back shielded from the uncomfortable headboard by a decent amount of pillows.

"They shall face my wrath! I'll make sure of it!" Two Time shook a fist in the air, declaring war upon the poor, oblivious minimum wage worker. They felt Taph shift on top of them, now turned to lay stomach to stomach, Taph's hands wrapped around Two Time's waist as he moved a bit lower to comfortably cuddle up to them. Two Time opened their legs, making space for Taph to fit his own between, just to avoid any bruises or cramps from squishing them for too long. It had happened before, many times, and it was one of the most uncomfortable 30 minutes in Two Time's life.

"You know, your hair..." Two Time brushed a hand through Taph's long hair, slowly, avoiding any tangles as their hand went through. They were both dressed in nightwear fit for summer temperature, with Two Time wearing a dark blue tank top and a pair of long shorts, and Taph wearing a black t-shirt with a pair of shorter shorts. Nothing else, he did not feel the need to hide from Two Time. He tilted his head to the side, requesting a continuation. "It's really soft, and it smells very nice."

Taph felt Two Time's other hand reach to play with the hem of his shirt as they lowered their head to place a small kiss dead center at the top of his head. He kicked his feet on the bed, face burried in Two Time's chest and hands gripping them more securely, to show his enjoyment at the actions. Two Time giggled in response before going for another kiss, this time the target was Taph's forehead. Pale fingers tapped on dark hair, getting Taph's attention and causing him to raise his head— that's when Two Time went for the hit.

Bullseye, a smile as bright and warm as the sun confirmed so. But Two Time was feeling adventurous, and Taph made no move to protest yet. Their smile grew mischievous, and for a second, Taph's expression turned to worry and confusion. Soft lips met lightly marked skin in quick succession, spreading comfort and affection on their way. Forehead smoothed over as eyebrows stopped furrowing, eyes squinted and closed as the pecking trailed lower. Taph giggled when Two Time paused to softly rub their noses together, soundlessly, and their smile widened in a way they didn't know they could manage genuinely. They resumed their kiss assault to Taph's face, now heading to his cheeks, first right and then left right after. The hand going through his hair was now gently cupping his face, while the other sunk under his shirt before any of them could process it, their minds too lost in the moment.

Taph immediately froze as he felt the hand reach up his back, and his hold on Two Time's waist tightened. A chill ran up their spine, they abandoned whatever they were doing upon seeing Taph's expression— taken aback, unsure, and very likely scared. Dear Spawn By the heights, did they manage to mess up such a sweet moment?

"Taph, my love, what happened? Did I do something I shouldn't have? I'm sorry, that was so inconsiderate of me." Worry and concern laced their words, they reeled their hand away at the same time. They held their breath, eyes flying all over Taph's figure for any clue or hint of his reaction.

"Pst." Taph booped their nose playfully, and they held back an exaggerated sigh, nearly collapsing from relief. He smiled at them, that little prankster.

"😯. 👆😘." (Just surprised. I didn't mind it...) He laid his head back down on their chest, a little embarrassed. He still wasn't used to close contact and physical affection, and Two Time found it so adorable.

"Oh, is that so? Well then..." Two Time decided to tease the poor guy, knowing he wouldn't know what to do about it. Their hand returned down to his waist, softly circling the center with their index as they scanned Taph's face for any signs of discomfort. The only thing worth noting, and one they'd try their best to burn into their memory, was the light blush spreading on Taph's cheeks. "Would you mind if I indulged in some exploration?"

Taph swallowed down his insecurity, suddenly feeling like he was losing a friendly fight. He was determined to show his love to Two Time as much as they showed their to him, and that meant teasing right back.

"❓🫵🤔💭?" (What do you have in mind?)

[AUTHOR HERE TO TELL YOU THAT THIS ISN'T SUPPOSED TO BE FREAKY IT'S JUST BODY WORSHIP OR WHATEVER IT'S CALLED THEY LOVE EACH OTHER VERY SOFTLY ❤️]

Chapter Text

It disgusted him, they took initiative for such personal actions as if it was in their nature, a familiar instinct they were all no strangers to. All of them but him.

He didn't know why he was like this, why his body mixed up human contact and surgery without anesthesia as if they were the same thing. Not like he knew what that felt like, but he was cursed with a jaw dropping ability to imagine anything and everything at all, so he basically did.

And as per Taph usual, it wasn't a stable feeling. Which is what ruffled his metaphorical feathers the most. He didn't even get to have the stability of routine in his emotions, just an idea and hoping it goes as he expects. He had managed to work around this by learning and recognizing the signs before it got too bad, so he knew to accommodate himself. But just because he did, didn't mean that others would too. That is what lead to his current predicament.

The blame ultimately fell on him and his inability to communicate his feelings effectively.

It was about two hours ago by now. He had just entered the main cabin to grab a few things and maybe hand around until he got bored, if they called him over. Shortly after he collected the few items he went there for and put them in his pouch, Chance called him to join the game they were playing, which he politely declined due to how uncertain the duration would be. He hovered over those who chose to play, namely Chance, Two Time, Noob and Guest, who was somehow dragged into this.

They started a round and soon after, Noob was out by a less-than-honorable loss. They playfully ran to Taph, faking being upset and crying, and dropped into his arms. Taph, who had been leaning over the couch all the while, caught them and held them up. His body reacted, the first hint of an incoming issue.

Something crawled in his veins, the contact was nauseating to his skin, but the uncomfortability was slight— he kept holding on. It was Noob after all, he could bear their touch, since he knew they'd let go if he wanted them to. They were predictable, safe. Too respectful, if that were even possible.

Laughter bounced off the walls and filled the cabin, the spirits were high, they were all having fun. Noob eventually let go, but stuck nearby, Taph now feeling much lighter.

After a while, the game was over, and Chance had won with Guest running close behind in second place.

Chapter Text

It wasn't a rare occurrence, not at all, but with his weirdly functioning memory, it might as well have been. Everything felt off, every move of his body felt foreign, alien, as if he was only parading as a human rather than being one. Anxiety built up inside him, manifesting in the form of a chill constantly running through his body, with a small swirl of nausea nesting in his gut at every twitch of muscle.

Other than the physical consequences of existing that day, he was also plagued by blurs and bits of images, faint and far away yet so, so real. Memories from years ago, in which he found himself lost with particular ease that day. He could feel himself slip away, until it all tuned out and he was left staring at nothing in particular, mind far farther than he could reach.

It was confusing him, and it hurt. He didn't understand things he should be able to on any other day, this unidentified restriction to his brain function overwhelming him. But he had to persist, he had to make it through the day. Then he'd be fine. Hopefully, at least— he can never be certain about anything.

Chapter Text

It was a calm night, the harshest thing being the winds stiffly brushing through the forest. The lights had grown dim, an indication that it was now night time in this realm where the sun never showed, and the survivors should've been asleep.

Keyword: should've.

Chance was laying with their back on the bed, arms raised to be squished between their head and the pillow. Taph, who's room they were currently in, rested his head on their chest, curled up by their side as he calmly listened to the rhythm of their heartbeat. His cloak and robes were discarded hours ago along with Chance's jacket and tie, thrown somewhere on his desk, useless in the safety of his cabin.

There was a certain tension in the air that neither had yet acknowledged aloud, a hungry one that took form and swirled in their guts. Both of them had chosen to ignore it in favor of not disturbing the other. Until Taph's eyes ventured lower than they appropriately should have, and they noticed a little something hinting at a future similar to the fantasies that currently ran through his mind.

Chance felt a tap on his chest, and they turned their head down to look at Taph, cheeks burning pink at the sudden sensation of something hard in their pants. Something that was connected to them, reacting to secret desires about the person currently stuck to their side. A part of them hoped he didn't notice, in fear of making this lovely time they were spending together turn awkward. But another, hungrier one, wished more than anything that he had, and perhaps.. that they could do something about it.

"🫵🤏😛👋👆." (Your little guy is greeting me.) Taph visibly held back a giggle at his own phrasing, raising a hand to cover his mouth as he innocently looked up at Chance. He knew exactly what he was seeing, but he did not feel like admitting it right away. It was almost like a part of him was... Ashamed? The feeling was far away and vague, so he didn't pay it too much mind.

"Oh that, heh..." Chance's hand shot to grab the coin in their pocket, frantically flipping it a few times. Heads, tails, tails. Aw man, what? Whatever, one win is enough, they'll go for it. "Of course little guy is greeting the most gorgeous thing I've ever laid my eyes upon. Is he bothering you, my king?"

Though their uncertainty was well hidden behind their poker face, it did not slip past Taph that there was hesitance behind their words.

"🚫. ↩️, 👆🤔." (No, he's not. Quite the opposite, I'd say.) Chance slowly moved their arm to wrap around Taph, resting just lower than the usual spot at his back.

Taph wasn't too sure about making bolder moves yet either, so he settled for the next best thing, and let his hand slip low and fiddle with Chance's belt, noting how their breathing changed slightly. The coin flew in the air thrice more. Heads, heads, and- the coin fell onto the floor with a piercing clink, Chance forgetting all about it once Taph shifted to push closer to them. Their breath hitched, and they felt like the luckiest person in the world in that moment.

"Would you like to, uh... Y'know.." Their hand trailed further until it finally stopped at the dip of Taph's waist, the touch feeding a confusing mix of need and something else in Taph's stomach. A weird, needy combination he could not yet decipher, but it should be fine.

"🫵?" (Would you?) The belt was abandoned, Taph's hand reaching for the next spot to hold onto. That happened to be Chance's thigh, and they liked it, very apparent by the mad red blush spread on their face and the twitch of their dick. Taph was overjoyed at drawing out such reactions from the gambler, especially since they seemed to enjoy experiencing them too.

Hopefully they were both about to enjoy another pleasant experience soon...

"A-Absolutely, yeah- but only if you also want to." Chance coughed away their verbal fumble, turning their body to face Taph's and shyly pressing up against him. The demolitionist's peculiarity with physical touch was a matter Chance was well aware of, so they did their best to go slow and steady, giving Taph as many opportunities to communicate his dislike as possible. They'd never forgive themself if they somehow ever made Taph feel uncomfortable. "Do you?"

A pair of hands wondered over their body gently, carefully, as if they were memorizing every piece and part of them by sight alone. In a way, it was similar to someone memorizing a map before walking those same roads. One hand lightly rested on Chance's firm chest, noticing the way it rose and fell slightly off, the other rubbed circles on their lower back with it's thumb. They could very well compare what they felt with how they assumed melting to feel like, though this was much more metaphorical and pleasant. Taph nodded, and they had to use all their strength not to squeal like a dying kettle from excitement.

"Then I suppose you wouldn't mind me..." They swiftly pushed Taph on his back, straddling his lap in that same motion. Each of their hands were placed on each side of Taph's head, carefully set so as not to accidentally pull any of Taph's hair. Something he had a lot of, inconveniently for their situation. But Chance would do anything for him, and that included being careful, a trait rarely ever associated with them. They smirked down at a flustered Taph with their usual confidence rushing through their veins. "Doing this?"

Taph turned his head to the side, he could only assume it was as blushed as it felt warm. Now that they were in this much more ___ position, they realized that a bit of clearer communication was in order.

"So... What would you like to do? Do you want me to top, or should we start by just touchin' an' rubbin' and figure it out on the way?" They used one hand to cup Taph's cheek, gently turning his head to look him in the eyes. "Have you done anything like this before?"

Taph shook his head, negative. Maybe they had some room to make a few mistakes, Chance thought, although by no means did that mean they wouldn't try their damn hardest to make Taph's first time one to remember. They didn't have much experience under their belt either, or rather they didn't have a variety of it, considering that Itrapped was the only person they had ever been with. For obvious reasons, they pushed that thought aside.

"No problem at all. We can just, uh, try the things you like to do when masturbating and branch off of that!" Their jaw dropped when they saw Taph awkwardly look to the side, scratching their neck with one hand as if to say "Well, about that...". There was simply no way that man was in his 20s and had never touched himself, they just couldn't believe it.

"Have you not- ever?"

"🤣🚫👆, ☝️👆😰. 🤗👆✔️, ☝️... 🚫💯. 😔." (Don't make fun of me, but I was scared. It's not like I've never touched myself at all, just... Never properly did it or ever... Finished. I'm sorry.) Taph covered his face with his hands, ashamed.

"What are you apologizing for, it's okay! We'll figure it out, together." Chance held onto Taph's hands with their own, bringing his head closer until their lips connected with the fingertips on his forehead. They peppered sweet kisses all over their covered face, until Taph was a giggly mess. His sounds were as intoxicating to Chance as the kisses were for him, gentle warmth blooming between them stronger than before. Eventually, he playfully pushed Chance's offensive lips away and uncovered his face, returning to their subject at hand. Or... At pants? Stop me.

"Would you be okay with me touching you? Or eating you out?" Their legs were starting to hurt, so they sat down on Taph, careful not to fall on them and possibly crushing them. The erection in their pants struggled against the fabric, but they would not rush Taph— until they knew if he was okay with it or not, at least.

"🚫👅⬇️🙏." (No mouth to genital stuff, I'm sorry.) Taph felt a little pit of shame stir in his stomach, but he wasn't sure of what. Shame was a common unexplainable feeling for him, so he had assumed it might've been from simple things that made equally as little to no sense, such as existing and setting boundaries. What if Chance liked doing oral stuff? And he was denying them what they liked? That was selfish, he wanted to give them as much as they would want to give him and even more.

'So the aversion to mouth touching isn't just about kissing, noted. Must be the autism.' they thought.

"Got it, no oral stuff! I can try something else. Can I touch you?" Chance asked again, making sure they had consent for each big step of the way. Smaller steps could be consented nonverbally, but Chance would still make sure along the way with what they know about Taph, and also asking him.

"👍, ☝️🤗👇, 🙏." (Yes, just touching for now, please.) Taph hesitated before shyly adding, after a brief moment of consideration. "☝️👆👅..." (Although I wouldn't mind trying...)

Not only had Chance seen that bold and clear despite their signing being vague on purpose, it nearly caused their brain to short-circuit on the spot. By the heights, this man was going to be the end of them, except unlike the last time this was such a case, they might just let him. Their cock ached under the restrictions of their clothes, but they set their personal needs aside for now in favor of making Taph comfortable first and foremost.

They moved lower until they could slip their body between Taph's legs, effectively turning the tables on him. Taph seemed slightly uncertain, but disregarded that as just not being used to this position yet. Their erection was lightly pressed up against Taph's clothed hole, but instead of grinding on him, they decided to take a smaller step by reaching a hand to rub Taph's now sensitive spot instead.

They use three fingers to gently massage Taph's ___, eyes locked onto the man beneath them to absorb any reaction they could draw out of him. They noticed as his breathing grew heavier as he tried to maintain his composure, his eyes looking around the room while he tried to understand what his body was trying to communicate to him. The urge to shut his legs closed was strong, but he kept them open, even spreading them open slightly more in order to give Chance more access.

Should I draw something to add to this fic once it's posted? (Most likely NSFW)
Feel free to drop suggestions/relevant requests (not if you're a minor pls tho)

Chapter Text

It was the usual day— wake up, go through the same old, boring routine, gather up in the main cabin, eat breakfast, await the rounds start, enjoy whatever break you're given between rounds, rounds end, eat dinner, disperse to do God knows what, and then finally, sleep. Just to wake up and do it all over again.

Taph threw himself upright with a heavy sigh, this was getting pretty boring lately... He should find something different to do. One day...

He sat at the edge of his bed, long enough to assure that his vision wouldn't black out once he got up entirely. Raising himself on wobbly legs, still tired from sleeping, he made his way to the clothes draped over the chair across the room.

He felt oddly lighter today, literally and figuratively, but his eyes were nearly shut closed from sleeping just minutes ago, so he ignored it and kept going with his routine. He changed from his pajamas to his usual outfit, securing his robes with his belt and lastly, raising his hood to cover his head after putting his hair in a ponytail with all the grace of a falling ragdoll.

'This should be presentable enough, not like we'll have much time to worry before being sent to the slaughter grounds...' Taph giggled internally, as if it was a joke, which it sort of had grown to now that they'd gotten used to this.

Ding, ding, ding.

Taph jolted at the sudden ringing of the bell by his door, frantically looking up at the sky through his window. It had grown darker, taking a shade of nearly blood red— a sign of the rounds nearing their start. The bell usually meant "breakfast is ready", but seeing that he had gotten up so late it might as well have meant "if you don't come over and eat now, you won't be able to at all".

His hands ran over his body, quickly double-checking that everything was were it was supposed to. After confirming such, he half-jogged half-ran to the main cabin, only to find everyone but him already sat at the table, breakfast served. Nice going Taph, they were waiting for you too, you might've just doomed us all.

He bit his tongue and swiftly made his way to the kitchen, finding and taking his seat at the table after throwing apologies every and each way, being met with dismissal and understanding.

Breakfast was over shortly, everyone spreading out to do Spectre knows what before the rounds start, the sky getting bloodier by the minute. Taph found himself chatting away with Chance and Noob, though it was mostly them doing the talking as he nodded along. At some point, after a playfully mean comment from Chance, Noob started the theatrics, throwing their hand on their forehead and faking a fainting. They leaned onto Taph, their "savior" from Chance's "inexcusable verbal offenses", but upon their head landing on his chest, they paused abruptly.

"👇🚫?" (Something wrong?) Taph asked, hoisting them upright. To the surprise of all three of them, Noob extended an arm and pat Taph around his chest area as if searching for something.

"Taph, um, sorry to ask- are you wearing a binder today?" They kept their hand over his chest for no particular reason other than forgetting to move it.

"🚫... ❓🫵🤔?" (No... Why do you ask?) Gears started to turn in Taph's head, his brain working overtime, but for some reason the pieces weren't connecting. What was he missing? He was too sleepy still for his mind to work it's full potential.

"Are you sure..?" They slowly peeled their hand away from Taph. He didn't mind it being there, currently he was more confused than anything.

"...💯." (...Yes, I'm sure.) He raised an arm to also search the area, only to find Chance touching the place already. At this point he was extremely bamboozled, the answer was at the tip of his tongue. Just what could be wrong about his...

"Taph, where are your boobs?" Chance asked, hand shamelessly groping him still as if they couldn't believe it.

Taph now shot both hands up to pat at his own chest, suddenly being very aware that some part of him was missing. Seriously, how did he not notice sooner? That's not something he in specific just forgets.

"👆💣💣... ❓📍?" (My boobs... Where did they go?) A chill ran up his spine, but at the same time he was enveloped by a strange feeling of euphoria.

"You better not be asking me." Chance joked, chuckling a little at the absurdity of the situation. His hands were still on Taph, but now sat stationary over his heart, feeling it pulse under Taph's skin and clothes, just because he hadn't swatted them away, yet.

Builderman and Shedletsky walked past the scene, and rightfully stopped dead in their tracks. Their jaws hung open, their eyes not believing the sight in front of them— Taph, Chance and Noob all patting around Taph's chest as if searching for gold. They shared a look that more or less said "Are you seeing this? What do we do?" before Shedletsky decided to speak.

"Hey, how about we don't grope the demolitionist-"

"The Spectre gave Taph top surgery." Even more shocking, it was Noob that interrupted. They also had half a mind to take their hand off of Taph.

"WHAT?!" Shedletsky screamed just before Builderman put a hand over his mouth.

"Shush, you. But do share, what the 'ell?" Builderman was just as confused by this, looking over to Taph to gage his reaction.

"👆🔍👇, 👆🤔⏰👇." (I didn't notice until now, I think I woke up like this.) Taph finally decided to push Chance's hand off of him, seeing the gambler make a playfully disappointed expression out of the corner of his eye.

"That it?" Builderman asked, entirely perplexed.

"Well, congratu-"

The sky suddenly glitched into sands of blinding white and pitch black, bold red dominating most of the sky still. In the blink of an eye, they were somewhere unfamiliar.

"-lations...?" Shedletsky finished, finding himself all alone in some sort of forest. He looked around once before shrugging and running off, although he'd be lying if he said he wasn't curious.

[Location: Planet Voss]
[Killer: Jason]
[0/5] - [10:00, 09:59, 09:58...]

Taph opened his eyes inside a structure that resembled a rocket. It would be a very nice spot to set up a nest in and sleep, if there wasn't a beast on the loose, hunting for their heads, he considered. He shakes off the thought, quickly getting to work on setting up a tripmine inside before darting through the map.

The plan was to find a teammate or two and stick close, maybe set up a few tripwires on the way. He couldn't help but notice how much easier and most importantly comfortable running was today. Maybe their captor had decided to do a good thing for once.

Run and run more is all he did, not counting the breaks in between the sprinting to catch his breath, but he had still found no one. With a defeated sigh, he checks the round status, already unfortunately aware of what he might see.

[Shedletsky, Taph, Dusekkar, Noob, Two Time, Builderman, 007n7, Elliot]
[2/5] - [2:57, 2:56, 2:55...]

'What the #### could have possibly happened out there.' Taph had stopped running by now, his curious walking turning into a halt of perplexity. Was it even worth it to set up more traps? Going in blind, while not knowing where anyone is and if they'll benefit from his guessing placements?

Taph switched paths. Instead of moving around the border of the game grounds, he now headed straight for the center of the map, keeping an eye and ear out in case he heard, well, literally anything. It was oddly quiet, considering Shedletsky is in this round.

Taph checks the round status again.

Shedletsky was in this round, yes.

Okay, maybe he should give up and find somewhere to wait the game out. Taph walked

Chapter Text

It was 14:09 on a beautiful sunny day, only slightly too warm when in front of the fan.

Taph was sorting through yet another pile of papers, and it seemed as if each one was unrelated to one another. It was his fault alone, he shouldn't be throwing anything and everything sent to him on his table carelessly as he had, but what's done is done.

It's not like there was anything urgent in the pile, he made sure to breeze through the mess for any bills and such pretty often. Letters from people were always carefully set somewhere else and looked at as soon as he had a chance, complementary result from the protests and the aftermath of... What should he even call it? Death games? That time he was forsaken? Hell? Whatever, he'd rather not think about it now.

They had managed to escape through a slip in the realms code a few months ago, and everything was pretty much back to normal for all but a few of them. The admins were slaving away at the torturous amount of work this entire ordeal had caused them, taking care of the missing person cases, making sure the realm was gone for good, assuring <>everyone> had made it out and was doing well, along with a million other things on top of their usual workload.

'Escaping hell to be dragged into another...'

Their biggest trouble would probably be the reporters, he'd even go as far to say that it was worse than the trauma caused to them. Taph had gotten used to being chased and harassed due to the protests, and he didn't miss it at all. Speaking of which, the admins had managed to quell them enough for the demolitionists to return to work, and even though they still had a long way to go before things returned to normal, many of them had found themselves hiding way less than before.

If Taph said that this hadn't brought tears to his eyes, he'd be lying.

A few minutes later, a series of excited knocks at his door snapped him out of his thoughts. He hesitantly headed towards the door, still unsure if it'd be safe to open, but he had learned to expect a bit less hatred from the world in small steps. His hand paused over the door handle as he gave himself time to mentally prepare for what could be outside his door. The nauseating pit in his stomach was there no matter how hard he tried to ignore it.

"Taph, it's us!" A voice announced from behind the wooden barrier keeping him safe, the customer service tone still not entirely gone even after her shift was over.

Suddenly filled with excitement and curiosity, Taph threw the door open to find Elliot and Noob standing outside his home, the latter of which had their hand still midair as they went for another round of knocks. However, instead of their first meeting the door, it landed on top of a soot-covered flame resistant fabric, aka Taph's cloak over his chest. They shriek and tear their hand away as if they had just killed him and paraded his body on the streets, and both Taph and Elliot had to hold back laughter.

"👋. 🫵❓👇?" (Hi. What brings you here?) He decided to ignore the fact that they could've messaged him instead of showing up right at his door, considering the unpredictability of his work.

"Uh- sorry-sorry, Taph! We um, we wanted t-to ask if-"

"Want to come on vacation with us? Actually, can we come in?" Elliot interrupted Noob, getting straight to the point.

'No, I'll just leave you out here.' Taph held back the sarcasm, deciding that today was a day too nice to ruin with unnecessary attitude.

"👍, 💯." (Yes, of course.) He stepped to the side, eagerly motioning for the others to join him in his home, which they did with equal excitement. Truth be told, he was very glad he didn't have more time to think by himself, that never ends well.

"❓👇❓?" (So, what's this about?) After they had all taken a seat around his kitchen table and had been served at least one snack and drink each at Taph's insistence, he went straight to the point.

"Mfe an' Ellyoth kheim ofer to-" (Me and Elliot came over to-) Noob attempted to ask after bitting more fruit than they could chew. Elliot grimaced lightheartedly at the sight, shaking his head before taking over.

"Us and some of the others thought to go on a trip for a few days, so we came over to ask you." Taph comically raised an eyebrow at that. It was really out of the blue, although the idea really didn't sound that bad. After some careful planning, it could even be perfect, though the process depends on who the "some of the others are".

"😎, 👉❓🗨️?" (Sounds cool, who are we talking about?) Taph chewed on a ridiculous amount of grapes as he signed. Man did he love grapes.

"Uff, Thoo-Thime an' Thance." (Us, Two Time and Chance.) Elliot shot a sharp glance at Noob, causing them to pierce their gaze into the big bowl of fruit. "Sho'y..." (Sorry...)

"👍, ❓👇? ☝️🫵💭🏃💨→👇?" (Yeah sure, what do you have so far? Or did you just think about it and rush over?) Taph giggled at the image of that.

"Well, we just have the destination and some vague plans about activities. We haven't planned a lot, I admit." Elliot raised her hands in surrender. "Brookhaven. The place is in the lower parts of Robloxia, nearby Ghost Simulator and that roleplay one."

'I have no idea where that is.' Taph nodded nonetheless.

"Iff shee-" Noob gulps down the rest of the food in his mouth, not chewing it thoroughly as apparent by the next minute or so of them choking. After a few good whacks to their back, the blockage was dislodged from their throat and they could breathe again.

"Uhm... As I was saying, or try-trying to- Anyway, I've seen a fff-few things we can do around the place, um. I'll-I'll just make a list?"

"🤔💭📝🍕, 🫵🗨️✖️😥🫵↩️. 🤔🍕🥤🫂." (Maybe leave the planning to Elliot, you've said before that keeping track of multiple things stresses you out. Maybe you can do it together.) Taph offered an idea since apparently he had been deemed the idea man.

"Yeah, don't worry Noob. We can handle it later. But first," Elliot turned to look at Taph "we're leaving tomorrow at 10am."

Taph's blood ran cold, and he struggled to string along signs as his mind hadn't yet processed the sudden announcement.

"❓? 👆👷- 👆🗨️🧰- 🫵🚪🏠? 👨‍👨‍👦-" (What? I have a job- I need to talk to Builderman- Have you rented a room? The boys are-) he attempted to "voice" a few of the million questions and objections running through his mind, but all that came out was unfinished messes.

"About that-" Taph's communicator suddenly buzzed to life, a familiarly robotic voice echoing throughout the house.

"Head demolitionist Epitaph, your presence is required at the office of Builderman at Roblox Headquarters building C after the completion of your current or next assignment. You will be expected. Thank you."

...

"❓❓❓"

"So, we might've um- alr-already talked toBuildermanI'msorry-" Noob slammed their head on the table, raising their hands up and clasping them over their head.

"❓"

"Mhm. Anyway, vacation tomorrow? Don't worry about any expenses, Chance is handling all of that and not hearing any of our objections." Elliot seemed unphased by Taph's evolving confusion.

"❓❓"

"Great! I'll come pick you up first thing, then we'll get the others on the way." Noob stole a few grapes from Taph while Elliot was still throwing new information at him. Taph let them.

"❓❓❓"

"Good! See you tomorrow!!" Elliot suddenly stood up, grabbing Noob by the arm and dragging them outside as they tried to stuff as many fruit in their mouth as possible.

"Um- sorry- Bye bye!"

"...👋?"

Before he could fully process what had happened, Elliot and Noob were gone, accidentally—he hoped—slamming the door behind them.

...This would be a hectic day. But first, he must get to Builderman.

(The cut here is the change to next day, you're not getting that one yet)

Chapter Text

First time he got his period in this forsaken hellhole, it was a nightmare and a half. Though he couldn't help but be grateful for that disasterous day—if things hadn't gone as they did, would he have the information he had gathered so far? If he hadn't bled through his pants on the ground, would he have been let known about the appearance of menstrual products? If he hadn't been an utter mess, would he have found out that he wasn't the only one going through such experiences in this place?

He couldn't know, so he felt safe in how things went, and he wouldn't change them even if he could.

Although one thing was for certain, and it was that nothing could be certain in this place of torture and despair. He himself was already unstable enough, but his body added a whole other issue, especially during his bleeding days. For example, he couldn't know how much he would be bleeding until he saw it in the morning—though thankfully that has stayed within certain limits.

Another, more cunning factor was the physical torment. Sure, his period cramps also stayed within relatively specific bounds, but despite it not only being very painful and distracting, they were also not the only pain he had to anticipate.

Though not as bothersome usually, physical pain all over his body was one mighty for to go against while you're constantly bleeding from your most private areas. And as if that wasn't enough, it could get much, much worse during those days.

The "normal" amount of pain for him would be simple discomfort at best, with painful spiking sensations in his spine and knees at worse. During his _________, best would be strong discomfort in his joints, with one foot leaning on the definition of pain. That was what happened every time...

Every time but this.

This time he was really thrown under the bus, followed by a couple cars, and then thrown on the train tracks. The second he moved after waking up, all he could feel was pain. His skin and muscles felt as if they had been ran over and haphazardly thrown back on his weak bones, the poor skeletal parts of him only suffering the ache of existing in his body. His joints were not on his side either, he would soon discover once he tried to stand up on his two legs, only to quickly need to catch himself before he met the ground.

He felt everything and nothing at the same time, a thin layer of numbness coating his body just enough to seize even more control from him. This was... It was unexpected, never had it gotten this bad before. And if he were to be honest, the cold rushing through his veins wasn't due to the temperature.

Regardless of how he felt, he had to get moving. The other survivors must be waiting for him to join them at the table for breakfast already. He could make it to the main cabin, right?

...

He could only hope so.

His clothes were put on sloppily, movements sluggish and barely coordinated enough to place them on him decently enough to be seen. For that to be possible, he had to sit on his bed and do most of the work with his arms, since his legs felt too heavy to move around as casually. The biggest trouble of this part in his routine had to be his cloak and his belt, those damned tiny buttons and zippers proved a real challenge for his weak and aching limbs, and it took a lot more fumbling than he'd like to admit before he eventually managed to wear them.

Finally, it was time to head out. But this wasn't going to be easy, far from it. He took a few steps until he reached his door, where he stopped to think. Yes, he managed to reach his door, but that was only because he had walls and furniture to support himself with. What would he do with all that empty space that is the way to the main cabin?

'Man, why must it be me?' He thought as a chill ran up his spine upon a sudden realization. How was he supposed to perform in today's rounds like this? If he had to fight his clothes on, drag his way to the door, and hesitate leaving his cabin, how was he going to survive out there?

'I can do it, I should be able to do it. I'm a grown man, this shouldn't be this big of an issue.' he slowly turned the door handle, struggling to put strength in his hand. 'I'm probably being a baby about it, it's not that bad.'

Four, just four. That was the number of steps Taph managed to take outside his cabin before his knees buckled, forcing him to grab onto the stair railing to keep himself up. Nonetheless, he kept going after a few silent curses. His body screamed at him with every move, each step causing a splatter of ache, pain and sting to shoot through the affected area—that being all of him.

He made it down the stairs thanks to the help of his arms holding most of his weight, tightly holding onto the wooden railing. After that, there was nothing more to aid him on his way to the main cabin. He blinked back a few tears, took a few deep breaths to try and calm himself, then started moving again.

He tried, he really did! And he was doing so well at first. But soon, he couldn't stop himself from weakly limping, balance quickly being lost due to the cacophony of unpleasant sensations tearing through his body. On top of all that, he had started to feel sick, a combination of not having yet eaten, and simple nausea.

He was almost there, halfway to the next wooden railing that would save him, providing the support he so much needed. But of course, that wouldn't happen today. His knees gave one last signaling pierce of pain before letting him go, throwing him to kneel on the ground like some lost animal. He attempted to get up again, but to his horror, he couldn't. Every trial resulted in error, and he continuously found himself awkwardly landing on the ground again. The world felt as if it was working against him, even something as simple as existing caused his skin to crawl uncomfortably. He really was pathetic.

Just as tears started to leave his eyes, he heard the door of the main cabin burst open, and a pair of familiarly heavy footsteps rushing to his side. It was none other than Guest 1337, the war veteran thrown in this hell along with the rest of them right in the middle of said war. He was always the first to run when someone needed help, as if it were in his blood to provide it.

"Taph, what's wrong?" Guest had reached him in seconds, having ran like his life depended on it. Maybe he thought Taphs did. "Are you hurt?"

Taph considered it. Yes, he was in pain, but he wasn't hurt by anything physically, his body just decided to do that today. He shook his head, negative.

"Are you sure? What happened?" Guest was already helping him up, his expression souring with every failed attempt to get Taph standing on his own. Technically they had succeeded in doing so, but Taph was trembling and swaying, clearly in pain and unstable, so Guest didn't count it.

"🤕🔥🔁, 👆👍." (Pain is worse than usual, I'll be okay.) Apparently that was the wrong thing to say, because Guests face immediately contorted into concern, not missing any of the implications behind Taph's words.

"What do you mean 'than usual'? Have you been in pain?" Guest dragged helped Taph walk towards the main cabin, even though he was practically carrying him with the way Taph used him as a living crutch.

"👍☝️🤏, 😓→🩸☝️👇🤕🚫." (Yes but is not much, worse during period but never this bad.) Taph gave up on signing with the usual quality, instead opting for whatever got the message across quicker and let his hands rest.

"You're on your..?" Guest asked with the shyness of a highschool boy discovering a specific page in his biology book. Taph didn't have the capacity to think enough to comment.

" (Yes, you help me to bathroom, please?) A small spark of shame was quickly put out by the sheer amount of numbness and pain taking over Taph.

"Of course, come on."

Taph was more or less hauled up the stairs, having refused Guests kind offer to be carried. He thought he'd be able to make it up the stairs, and he had! For a singular, sad step before slumping against the railing and nearly toppling over if it weren't for Guest catching him. It was clear as day that if it were up to Guest, Taph would've been lifted all the way to the bathroom like a fragile package on the road for delivery— something that he wouldn't have minded as much if there weren't any other survivors around.

Once they entered the cabin, Taph's eyes immediately landed on a familiar duo sat comfortably in front of the fireplace, chatting away without a care in the world despite their circumstances. Chance was currently talking poor Buildermans ears off, rambling on and on endlessly about something Taph's ears were ringing too loudly to pick up. They didn't seem to notice them, or their condition, for now.

Reaching the worn stairs of the cabin, their last obstacle before the desired bathroom, Taph took a moment to prepare before pushing forward. He held himself up by grabbing onto the railing, while Guest helped him ascend the steps with an arm wrapped protectively around his back. By the time they made it upstairs, Taph was struggling to breathe just the slightest, but he ignored it in favor of completing his purpose.

Guest had insisted that he wait for Taph outside the room while he changed, just in case something went wrong while Taph was in there. It was mostly unnecessary concern, Taph had thought, until he suddenly loses what little balance he had gathered and crashes right onto the the washing machine while attempting to make his way out. Guest immediately barged and without missing a beat helped steady him again. Bless his soul, he's almost too quick to help others.

The plan was going to be Taph taking some painkillers and then retreating back to his cabin, but Guest was adamant about him not straining himself any further, so he took him back to his cabin and laid him down. He wouldn't be denied pain relief, of course. Guest had that covered, swiftly preparing Taph's usual paracetamol effervescent tablet and water, then bringing it to him along with a straw.

Just as Guest had thought, Taph struggled to drink the medicine straight from the cup, his hands unstable and movements stiff. He gratefully accepted the straw and forced himself to drink all the contents of the cup—now placed on the nightstand next to his bed—in seconds, aching to get this over with. To no ones surprise, Taph decided to go back to sleep. Even if he wanted to protest to himself, to mention the upcoming rounds, he wouldn't, as he had forgotten all about them while drowning in blurs of uncontrollable numbness and shooting pain. It was a disorienting swirl of consciousness he'd rather not experience, opting to do what he always would to avoid his problems. Sleep through it.

Forcing Taph to stay up or waking him never crossed Guests mind, not even as a passing thought. He had taken it upon himself to make sure Taph stayed put and rested as much as possible. So, to complete that task with utmost efficiency, he dragged a chair next to the bed Taph was currently passed out on, and kept watch.

They had been very lucky for the next few hours, ridiculously so, to the point where even Guest gave up hope that luck would last. Neither of them had been taken to battle yet, but the timer was ticking down, and it turned less metaphorical once Guest started to hear it. Regardless, he kept his eyes locked onto Taph, looking out for any movement that could clue him in on what's going on with him. He found nothing.

Eventually, it was time. Guest was given no time to process anything, finding himself in a different location in the blink of an eye. His eyes swiftly scanned the area, only meeting trees and odd structures here and there— unmistakably, he had landed on Planet Voss.

With one swift motion, he checked the rounds status, looking for one thing in particular, or rather one person. To his relief, Taph had not been taken into a round, but that was soon replaced with the same concern as before, much stronger now that he wasn't there to stand guard over his bed. Screams and cries rung out into the open air, he could only hope Taph remained safe while he was fighting out here.

Back in Taph's cabin, the

...

The 😨