Work Text:
Where Did We Go Wrong?
“Don’t be scared, Saps. Why the hesitation?” The words rang in his ears. Sweat beaded on his brow and slid into his eyes.
The grip he had on the diamond axe tightened, its edges millimeters away from breaking the skin of the man below him.
Saparata fixed his gaze on the man’s eyes, those indigo pools kept drawing him in, so much so that he wanted to throw the axe away and left the arena with this familiar feeling.
“What are you waiting for Saps? Cut that treacherous leech down!” A voice yelled from the sidelines, a leader, a woman, a friend. Saparata knew her from the very beginning, a wise and patient leader, who had known how wicked the acts of the man below him. He looked to the sides, finding her between those standing up to him in the Colosseum.
The man below him shifted his attention as well, a smile adorning his bloodied face.
“Pity, I failed to get rid of her. She turned out to be such a pest in the end.” He scoffed, voice hoarse and came out in coughs.
Fluixon watched the axe tremble and turned to the man above him. He smiled — a small, crooked thing — because a friend was straddling his broken body with an axe to his throat. Once, perhaps, he might have welcomed that.
“Well, aren’t you going to finish me, buddy?” He chuckled, a trickle of blood flowing out of the edge of his lips.
“Come on Saps! Before he pulls another dirty trick!” Another voice echoed throughout the arena, and it rang inside Saparata’s head again.
He swallowed his own saliva and hoisted the axe upwards, ready to swing it down the man’s neck. He could feel his own fingernails digging on his palms, his black eyes focusing on those indigo pools yet again.
Sap could feel the trembling in his own fingers and the taste of iron from inside his mouth, how could he bring himself to behead Fluixon, his friend, his best friend? He wouldn’t, but he knew of Fluixon’s deeds. He knew how Flux framed him into everything, made him into a criminal, a fake warmonger, a dupe mastermind, a man with a bounty on his head. He knew how much of a bastard Flux is, but that’s just how Flux is, unpredictable.
Saps had always been the more reserved one, the more welcoming one, the more accepting one, but could he accept what Flux had done to him? Could he welcome the target Flux put on Saps’ back? Could he even stay reserved when all Flux did was to lure him out of his bubble?
“Go on, Sappy. End it, isn’t this what you wanted?” Fluixon whispered, but his voice dripped with venom, almost like a lethal temptation.
God how Saps hated that nickname, it made him feel so vulnerable, but he knew better. This isn’t the Flux he knew, this is the Flux he never knew, a side that his best friend never showed to himself.
The scent and taste of iron invaded Saparata’s senses, frowning in disbelief still. He gritted his teeth, then he screamed a broken cry as he swung the axe.
The crowd cheered, but the axe hit only the sand next to Flux’s head, its head burrowed beneath the surface.
Fluixon’s head shifted, eyeing the axe inches away from his face before turning to look at the man on top of him again. He carved a gentle smile onto his face, one that Saparata knew too well the purpose of it, just as a drop of water hit his bloodied face.
The man on top of him had blood and sweat adorning his face, but what fell onto his face had originated from those very dark eyes. Flux could see Sap’s emotions, the man was angry, confused, sad, betrayed, and defeated.
“You know Sap? You have always been so soft, you can’t even swing an axe properly with your opponent below you.” He scoffed, a sputter of blood threw themselves out of Flux’s lips.
“Damn it Sap, don’t give him time!” One shouted,
“Saparata, do it!” Another one rang,
“This is the only way Sap, come on!!” One more followed through, and Sap knew that it originated from Cass.
Saparata’s fingers grasped Flux’s collars, eyes focused on Flux’s own as he held back his tears. Sap could feel his own nails digging onto his own skin despite the cloth, and how the grasp still trembles.
“You know Flux? I have always adored you despite your unpredictability. I miss when it was just the two of us, Flux. Where did we go wrong? Why did you frame me? How could you, Flux?” Sap barked.
Fluixon did not reply, instead he shifted his head towards Cass. He stared at her indifferently, in which Cass cast daggers towards Fluixon with her eyes.
“Maybe that was just how I am, Sap. Maybe I just wanted to do that. Or maybe…” He shifted his attention back to Saparata.
“I wanted you to be on my side in every scenario, be it as my company, or my enemy. Still just the two of us, right?” He continued, flashing a familiar grin.
There was no sound, except for the crowd’s chanting and insults. There were only the two of them, one pondering about how all this happened, and one pondering whether the other is brave enough to take action.
It felt like their own world, just the two of them inside the arena, clothes littered with sand and blood and sweats and tears. Not one did they make any sound, the moment was theirs and theirs alone.
Flux’s surprise ended in a soundless gasp. The grip loosened. A diamond blade slid itself between his ribs and ripped the breath from him. All the while, he was lost in those pairs of dark lights on Saparata’s face. The last of which he saw, how the sunlight glistened in the pools under Sap’s eyes, and how beautiful it looked.
Blood flew from the wound inside his chest and his lips, staining Saparata’s face, their life mingled in the filth of a harsh truth. Yet, the man still managed to smile in his last moments and a fleeting touch on Saparata’s cheek as he could feel Flux’s arms went limp the millisecond it touched his face.
The crowd cheered, and they ran towards Saparata as they reprimanded those who had sided with the one who fell. The first to reach Sap was Cass, who kneeled beside the man as he suddenly threw himself onto her, hugging Cass with tears flowing down his face, sobbing heavily.
The sun was still high, but the bloodshed made sure the day had ended. Minutes passed, the crowds dissipated, but the three of them were still there. Saparata was mourning, Cass was helping him shoulder it, and Fluixon was the cause of it all.