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Erik was resigned to his fate. There was no way he would win The Business Venture and get the glove now. It was the only way out of this, and he was in no position to win it.
If he had known that this was going to be the end, he wouldn't have stepped foot on this cursed ship. Erik knew he wasn't really liked by anyone, so he was doomed from the very start. He had just played a fuckery of a game, and it was all while he was slowly dying without his knowledge. All that was left to do was to make sure as many secrets died with him. That was the only way his business would ever have a chance at succeeding without him. He hadn’t been particularly a good boss, some would even go so far as to say downright egregious, but he figured he could give them one thing of solace.
At least it was a beautiful ship to die on. Erik, only recently coming into wealth, hadn’t had the chance to go on many cruises draped in utter elegance. The gamemaster truly didn’t spare any expense. One could do that if everyone and everything was going to burn up in flames soon anyway. Erik thought that he might as well lie back on one of the chairs as he watched his impending doom. The red star slowly but surely kept getting closer, and it was then that Whitman walked up alongside him. He seemed to be quiet and resigned along with Erik. He took a breath before speaking as he also looked out at the approaching star.
“Well we both know, no matter which way you twist it, we’re not getting out of here.”
He eyed him out of the corner of his eye. His hand went instinctively to his throat. There was no evidence, but the arrow being shot through his throat still had phantom lingerings. Every time he swallowed, a jolt was sent through his body, but one not of pain. He could remember the arrow piercing through the skin, through the muscle, through the bone, and the warmness of his blood suddenly being released from his vessels and oozing down his body. The air struggled at that moment as it burned going down. His chest felt like it was collapsing. The spike of pain traveled outward through his body as his hand tried to hold the blood inside his neck.
It was when he was falling to the ground that everything felt like it was in slow motion, and Erik remembered looking up at Whitman who was standing tall and smug and simply thinking, “Damn he is beautiful.” Erik would keep telling himself that it had to obviously be the blood loss that simply made him hysterical, but he couldn’t deny that at that moment Garrick looked as if he had this angelic glow around him. What he would keep denying, especially to himself, was that the image sent a shiver of arousal through him.
“Nah,” Erik agreed as he forced his hand away. He tried not to focus on his rapidly increasing heart rate.
“You know, I really think that uh… if we weren’t in each other’s way all the time, perhaps in different lines of work…I doubt you’re that bad of a kid. Just uh… wrong place wrong time.”
It was then that Garrick held out a whiskey to Erik. He looked up at the dwarf and definitively took the drink from his hand. Erik looked down at the whiskey before he held it up to toast him.
“Wecland boys,” Garrick said before accepting and clinking their glasses together.
Erik then took his drink and shot it down his throat in one swift motion. He could feel it slightly burn again. He then flipped over his glass and slammed it down in finality. These were going to be his last moments of life, and out of everyone he would die next to, it seemed that fate was funny enough to let it be Whitman. His sworn enemy and someone who, he started to realize, he had grown very attached to. With nothing left to lose, he made a decision.
“You know how I knew all the information that I leaked to the press?" Erik began slowly.
“Yeah, yeah, that was kinda messed up.”
“You wanna know how I got so specific?"
“Sure."
“It’s 'cause that’s what we did."
Erik wasn't sure if he felt relief, but it felt like his story was finalized. He had spent years fighting with Garrick only for their time to fizzle out in the sun, and now his truth was out. He told his arch nemesis his dirt. He exposed himself before they died. It didn’t matter. They weren't going to be alive to deal with the consequences.
It was then suddenly that Erik heard Garrick laugh. It was the most guttural laugh one could have, filling his ears. He had heard him laugh before, but it was always in mockery. This was a genuine sweet laugh to Erik's ears which was definitely not the reaction he was expecting. He was a little taken aback. Ignoring the warm feeling the laugh sent through him, he looked up at him with a confused look on his face before Garrick explained.
“You know what’s the worst about it, we was actually doing the same shits too," Garrick replied. “These caves caving in. People dying. I mean what do you wanna us to do? We got jobs."
Erik just slowly hummed in agreement while the information sank in. They really were kindred spirits after all.
“You know what, I know you drank already, but… I commend you. Excellent play. Excellent play."
Erik turned his face away because even if no one could tell he was blushing due to his crimson skin, he was starting to feel overwhelmed.
“Thank you," he replied softly trying to get himself under control. "Thank you."
Garrick sipped his whiskey in contentment. Erik just kept staring at him. That action felt like the confirmation that this truly was the end. There was nothing left. His business would go on as much as possible. Whitman had Smirk still running theirs, so their legacy would live on. After years of fighting both physically and verbally, their story had come to this one moment of camaraderie. He should feel, not necessarily happy, but satisfied. He played the best game he could and it was just simply that these were the results of someone who outplayed him. Yet there was something that kept stirring in him.
This was his last moment to do something….anything, and there was this feeling that told him to make a move before they both went up in flames. It was the feeling that he refused to put a name to. The feeling that caused his heart to pound whenever he was in the same area as Whitman. The feeling that made him constantly poke at him knowing that Whitman could sock him at any moment and maybe secretly hoping that he would. The feeling that gave him multiple fantasies about the very same dwarf constantly.
Erik was never brave enough to process it. Despite everyone who tried to tear him down, it seemed like Garrick was the one who only ever did because he respected him. Respected him enough to be a threat, and not look down on him for being so young. He made himself who he is, and throughout all his annoyances, Garrick was trying to buy him out because he knew that Erik’s company was worth something. It was only after that thought process that Erik realized that Garrick was one of the few people in his life who actually gave a damn about him.
Erik would blame it on the whiskey later, but it was all those thoughts swirling in his head that made his legs push his body off the chair and start lunging at the dwarf.
Garrick was taken aback as he thought they had ended on a friendly note since they were going to die in the next few hours. However, he still was always ready for a fight, so when he saw that, he immediately went on the defensive. He swiped the tiefling’s legs from under him and used his momentum to roll him under. They both fell hard with Garrick slamming Erik down still gripping his upper arms. He looked down at the tiefling whose eyes were wide and whose breath was ragged. Whitman stared down at him in confusion because this wasn’t the usual energy that Erik had in trying to fight him. He was trying to process it when suddenly Erik surged forward and kissed him so very softly.
The taste of whiskey filled Erik’s mouth as it pressed against Garrick’s. He could feel Garrick inhale in surprise and it took his breath along with it. Tingles rippled through his skin immediately, and he felt his heart leap for joy. He was now satisfied. He did the last thing he thought he would ever do, and now he could die without anything left unfinished.
Garrick pulled back and then grabbed Erik by his neck pushing him back down to the floor, which definitely was painful. However, it only caused Erik to shiver and inhale sharply which confused Garrick even more.
“What the fuck was that? What ya trying pull here?”
Erik closed his eyes and gave a playful laugh. “It was a kiss dumbass… what ya don’t know what kissing is? Didn’t think you was that slow on the uptake.”
Garrick narrowed his eyes and squeezed Erik’s neck tighter causing him to gasp. “Bold words coming from someone under my thumb. I know what kissing is, what I’m tryna figure out is why you kissing me.”
“Awww well, I thought we was havin’ a connection, Whit. We ‘bout to die anyways, so I figured to give out the last secret before I died.” Erik said it very cautiously.
Garrick could tell he was nervous and raised an eyebrow as he looked down at him. “You sweet on me, Statton?”
A blush couldn’t form on Erik’s face, but the turn of his head to look away was a good substitute for telling the dwarf that the tiefling was embarrassed. His eyes raked down his body before coming back up to his face. He saw where his hand was still around his throat and decided to test a theory. He squeezed the tightest he could and immediately felt Erik arch under him. A smirk came across his face.
He then leaned forward so his mouth was next to the tiefling’s ear. “Well damn. If I had known there were other ways to shut you up and convince you to leave, I would have done those instead of continuously hurting you. Unless…” Garrick then put his thumb exactly where the arrow pierced his throat and pressed hard. He was rewarded with Erik letting out a high-pitched whine. Garrick could see a tiny tear come out of his squeezed-shut eyes. “...that is exactly what you want me to do, little demon.”
Erik shrunk in himself as much as possible with the dwarf still on top of him. He could feel his cheeks warm. He was fighting hard not to break out into a smile.
“I remember you kept calling me that because you thought I must’ve been sent to give you hell.”
“And it seems like I was right,” he said with a soft chuckle.
Garrick then surged forward and claimed Erick’s mouth. Unlike Erik’s one of scared hesitation, this one was hard and possessive. The hand that was not lovingly rubbing the center of his throat went to the back of his head and pulled him against his body. It was then that Garrick bit the teifling’s bottom lip hard enough to draw blood.
Erik pulled back as much as he could and hung his head back as he touched his lip. “Motherfucker you bit me.”
Garrick lick the blood that clung to his lips. “Sorry darling, you just bleed so pretty.” His voice lowered like he was telling him a secret. “I still dream about Fight Night. That moment when you fell on your knees and looked up at me, all I could think about was how I wanted to make you kneel again for me.”
He went back to claiming Erik’s mouth a moment later, and Erik could only cling to Garrick’s upper arms as he felt his heart sing in satisfaction. They only stopped when their lungs needed to breathe, and they almost didn’t as they were going to die anyway. It was certainly a more pleasant way to die.
“I honestly thought it would take more convincing you, Mafia.”
Garrick moved both hands up to the tiefling’s horns and softly stroked them. “Well…” he lowered his mouth to Erik’s neck and gave a very solid bite to the side of his neck causing Erik to squirm while whimpering. “... I won’t deny that I have had… quite a few fantasies. Originally they were just tearing you apart to see you suffer. You are such an annoying little devil, but they soon twisted into a new shape. One that still made me want to hurt you, but not necessarily ‘cause I hated you. I mean you still an annoying little shit, but for some reason… I’ve come to respect your mind. And also, I’m handsome and you’re pretty, so it make sense that you’d want me.”
All of a sudden out of the corner of their eyes, they saw an object soar over their heads off the side of the ship. It floated out into space towards the red sun, and as it did, they could just recognize it as a skull. They stare at it for a second before looking at each other confused. They both then looked up at the top balcony where a seemingly manic Arliss was at the edge.
They both started to remember that they were very much in public. It seemed they had forgotten their surroundings during their little session but figured it didn’t matter since they were going to be dead fairly soon. It was then that the entire ship suddenly glowed brightly. Before either of the two Wecland men could process, the blackness overhead vanished and the loud splash of ocean water resounded in their ears. The salty air hit their noses; they could hear birds chirping beautifully; the blue skies were overhead filled with clouds.
Garrick finally stood up from his straddling position on Erik. He went to the edge looking over the view stunned. Erik, a bit annoyed that their session was interrupted, followed behind also in a bit of a haze. He then took in their surroundings and recognized that they were back on the shores of Gadaco. Which means that they were back in the Sublime Gulf… back home. What he expected to be their final moments suddenly was changed in an instant.
The last few moments came to the front of Erik’s mind, and he was slowly becoming more and more mortified. He couldn’t believe that in his last moments of supposed life that he chose to kiss Whitman. The hysteria of death coupled with the whiskey must have gotten to him. He clung to the rails and faced away from Whitman determined not to look at him. Now that they were going to be living after this, he felt like running away. He wanted to do so at the very moment. Flinging himself off the boat into the cool water seemed like a good option. There was no way that Whitman was being serious. He must have just been entertaining him.
Before Erik could actively start trying to scramble over the rails, the gamemaster burst through the door and fell to his knees on the top deck of his ship catching their attention. He looked so defeated as he was on the ground utterly sobbing. His whaling that seemed to come from his very core resounded through the gulf. Many onlookers from the shoreline were steadily gathering.
“No, no this wasn’t how it was supposed to go!”
They watched as Skog came out and essentially restrained the gamemaster in his arms. With Skog’s size, strength, and skills, the gamemaster could not fight his way out of it, and he seemed to only be a shell of a man left. He was followed by Juniper, Arliss, Twist, and Sariya who all surrounded the captured gamemaster. Arliss immediately started sending out psychic messages to the ship’s passengers and to the public that were on the shore asking that someone contact the authorities. Police were coming for the gamemaster. The world got their communication cut off and several multi-millionaires were on board so there was no way for him to get out of it. The world was going to judge the gamemaster and it would not be kind.
As that was happening, Erik got back into his business headspace. He kept telling himself that he had a lapse of judgment before facing death. This would not do as the face of First Class Faces LTD. He had to make sure the gamemaster not only died but died with their secrets. Since he was going to be surviving this, he needed to get back to what he did best. He straightened his tie and tucked in his loose shirt that had come undone. Surely there were going to be reporters coming in to talk to the victims of this heinous kidnapping. He looked everywhere other than Whitman who still stood next to him.
“Well…” Whitman cleared his throat while fidgeting with his own clothes. “Seems like we’ll survive another day, ay Statton.”
“Yea… and we know the dirt on each of us.”
Whitman gave a little chuckle. “That we do, but with this new enlightenment, I don’t see why we… can’t perhaps… work together.”
Erik looked down at the dwarf who, at some point, got close enough to press against his side with his face at his shoulder. He gave the teifling a daring look. One that Erik had to turn away from quickly before he did something impulsive again, and he couldn’t be sure if he would stop before someone nosy came along and saw them.
“Well, in that case, I need to make a retraction statement, don’t I? I’m sure I can come up with something about… I dunno… the fault lines creating sinkholes.”
Garrick laughs as he puts his arm around Erik’s waist and squeezes him affectionately. “I’m sure a pretty boy like you is gonna do great. Them reporters definitely like hearing what you got to say.”
Erik’s face warmed slightly as he looked around shyly to see if anyone was watching them.
“It’s so funny that you actin’ like a shy damsel when you the one who put the moves on me… Erik.”
Erik took a sharp inhale at Garrick using his first name for the first time. It sounded lovely to his ears. “To be fair, I thought we was ‘bout to die and was expecting to end it there and wouldn’t deal with all this. But… I guess since we livin’, …we could… Garrick… work out a deal between us without the companies?” He could feel his tail swing around in nervousness.
Garrick’s other hand that was free came up to the side of Erik’s face forcing them to face each other. He smirked while looking him dead in his eyes. “You have yourself a deal, little demon.”
Garrick then pulled him down for a kiss while sirens, helicopters, and other random noises of commotion got steadily closer and closer to the ship. It was a kiss that, even though they had teleported away, made them feel as if they still ended up burning in that red sun.