Chapter Text
007n7 had just finished a gruesome match, him, Elliot, and Guest 1337 being the only ones to survive. Even then, all of them were in critical condition before the round ended. He felt drained of all his energy, he just wanted to sit down and relax...
He looked around the cabin before settling his eyes on the bookshelf to the right of the fireplace... huh. He kinda forgot that was there. He hasn't read a good book in a while, 007n7 wondered what selection was there?
He walked over to the bookshelf and skimmed through the titles, guiding his finger tip across each spine of the books as he browsed. Eventually, he came across a book that looked interesting. At least, to him. Others would find it nerdy.
'Advanced Coding: Volume VI', he's read a few of these books before, but only made it to volume five. Convenient. He's been needing to fix some of the coding on his c00lgui anyway.. maybe the book could help.
He picked it up with a certain sense of carefulness, feeling the weight in his palms as he opened to the table of contents. He looked through what was inside the book as he slowly walked over to the fire place, sitting down on the armchair, and getting comfy.
He went to the first chapter, humming to himself as he began reading. 007n7 sighed contently, this was just what he needed. He continued reading for a while, going through page after page. Eventually, a certain pumpkin headed individual walked up behind the armchair, looking carefully at what 007n7 was reading.
007n7, feeling a presence behind him, craned his head back, meeting his eyes with Dusekkar's blue jack-o-lantern head. Dusekkar seemed a little lost in thought, so 7n7 cleared his throat, gaining the administrator's attention.
"Ah, my apologies, Seven. I just... had a question."
"Well.. what is it?"
Dusekkar paused, wondering how to phrase it. In all honesty, he... may or may not have a crush on 007n7. He's had this feeling for quite some time now. Ever since being here actually. He used to hate 007n7 for exploiting, but... seeing him here? So different? It did things to Dusekkar's heart.
He wanted to confess his feelings, but he didn't know how to. He barely interacted with 007n7, he wasn't even sure if 007n7 liked him in general. 007n7 kept to himself a lot, while Dusekkar admired that, it also made it hard to tell what his emotions were most of the time.
"Dusekkar?"
The pumpkin-headed administrator flinched at his name being spoke, immediately panicking. "I- I- What is that book you're reading? Ignore the fact that I'm sweating." The retired exploiter just looked at him, confused "I-... what? Whatever- The book I'm reading is 'Advanced Coding:', volume six of it's series."
"Ah.. interesting, is it..? I also dabble in coding, but just a bit." Dusekkar spat out nervously. There goes all his confidence... "Oh, I didn't know you did some coding? I guess we have something in common, hah.." 007n7 seemed weirdly just as awkward.
They both sat there in silence, seconds feeling like minutes as neither of them could think of what to say. 007n7 eventually gave up on the conversation, turning his attention back to the book. Although, it felt like a hard task to do so. He couldn't focus on the book at all.
Dusekkar sat there, he still didn't know what to say. He watched over 007n7's shoulder, looking at his book again. "...Is it alright if I read with you? It's okay if you don't want to..." 007n7 pondered this for a moment, eventually shrugging his shoulders and shifting his position, leaving a clear view for Dusekkar of the book.
Dusekkar leaned in, resting his arms on the top of the back of the armchair and placing his head on his arms. He looked at the boring text on the book before slowly starting to pay his attention to 007n7. He didn't really want to read something like that, but he only said it to be closer to 007n7.
As he gazed at him, he took in every detail of his face. The way his glasses sat so nicely on his nose, the way stubble dusted his chin, the way his stare was so enamored on his book, the way his brows furrowed as he focused.. Dusekkar couldn't get enough of this man.
He thought back to when he first met 007n7 here, 007n7 had arrived before him, but he saw how he behaved here. It was so much more different than how he used to act. 007n7 had care for the people around him. 007n7 was calm, relaxed, it's a drastic change from the wild exploiter he used to be.
007n7 must've felt something was off, because his next question threw Dusekkar off guard "Okay, are you alright? You've been staring at me intensely this entire time."
"...007n7, I love you. I don't care if you don't love me too. I just wanted to get this off my chest. And I mean it seriously, this is not a jest." Dusekkar quit leaning on the armchair.
"...Oh." faint blush dusted the retired exploiters cheeks and he gently closed his book and set it down on his lap. 007n7 thought about it, he hasn't really thought of Dusekkar like that, but... he didn't dislike the idea now that he was thinking about it. It's been a while since he last dated someone too...
"Well, I'm sorry for pestering you. I'll be leaving now, see you in a few-"
"Wait."
Dusekkar was moving towards the door, but looked back at 007n7, who was now standing. "I-... I might.. like you... too."
"...Really?"
007n7 stared at Dusekkar, staring at the light emitting from his pumpkin head. This was the first time 007n7 heard the administrator say something that wasn't a rhyme.. It felt a little odd. "I- yeah.. Really." 007n7 slowly walked over to where Dusekkar was, to which the latter seemed surprised.
Dusekkar wrapped his arms around 007n7, holding him tightly in a hug as he buried his head against his shoulder. 7n7 seemed stunned for a second before hugging back, he pressed a hand against the back of Dusekkar's head and his other arm around the administrator's shoulders.
After a while, they let go. Dusekkar awkwardly chuckled, shifting his gaze from 007n7 to elsewhere, too nervous to stare at him. 007n7 did the same, both of them standing there in awkward silence.
But this time, it was accepted.