Why Must I Work For You...?

by mintysuqasa

Summary:

LOADING...

1...2...3...

LOADING COMPLETE...

-

Azure had been positively surprised upon waking up from his sleep and receiving a letter which informed him that the application he had sent to be a butler had been accepted, although what he hadn't expected was who his employer would be.

-

in which, SWAP!AU Azure gets accepted to work as a butler for the royal family, although he hadn't expected for the members of the royal family to be his sworn enemies.

moreover, he didn't expect for his employer to be Two Time out of all people.

Notes:

I honestly got this idea while I was dealing with a particularly bad stomach ache, but just to clear some things up before we start;

1 / in this alternative universe, everyone's roles are swapped, although instead of the SWAP!AU killers killing the SWAP!AU survivors, they mainly just get into sparring matches with one another.

2 / Azure and Two Time used to be under the influence of spawn, although Two Time's desire to gain a second life began to spiral out of control, so they attempted to kill Azure.
Azure had suspicions in correlation to Two Time's plan before they decided to act it out, so once he knew what Two Time's plan was, he killed them, which meant that Azure gained a second life instead of Two Time.

3 / although Azure was the one who ultimately ended up killing Two Time, they did manage to stab Azure beforehand, just not where they had intended.

4 / after Azure unintentionally sacrificed Two Time, he cried for hours.
Azure did eventually muster up the energy to stand up, but it was only to gather some nightshades from nearby, before he began planting them around Two Time's deceased body.

5 / Azure couldn't see spawn the same after Two Time's death, so he decided to run away.
Azure eventually found himself at the gates of a kingdom, and that was where he met 1x4 and the others.

6 / after Two Time died and came back to life, they were immediately forced to take over the kingdom that Azure found himself living within.

7 / Two Time feels nothing but anger, betrayal, and resentment towards Azure because of what had occurred in order for the aforementioned latter to gain his second life, and so, they desperately want to get revenge on him.

Chapter 1: With Trembling Hands; Drive That Dagger Into The Source Of My Love

Azure had always found himself cherishing the way his life functioned, no matter what happened in order to make him feel otherwise.

but if Azure had to be completely honest with himself, he cherished his significant other, who goes by the name Two Time, more.

Two Time was, by far, the best individual that Azure had ever come across, and they always managed to find a way to leave the botanist awestruck and impressed.

the two of them basically did everything together, and to see only one of them was a rather rare occurrence.

although, Two Time had started to pull away from their close-knit relationship, and Azure was left desperately scrambling to pick up the pieces of their rapidly deteriorating relationship.

Azure had absolutely no idea why Two Time was beginning to pull themself away from their relationship, although he had a suspicion that it had something to do with spawn.

spawn was known to be the starting point of a religion that Two Time had gotten Azure involved with during the beginning of their relationship, although Two Time was the most devoted follower of the aforementioned religion yet, as not even a single follower could compare to Two Time's devotion.

at some point in time, Azure had started to feel a sense of unease due to the ratio silence from Two Time's side, and so, he decided to confront the cultist about it, but it only resulted in his concern falling on ears that were unwilling to take in Azure's words.

so Azure eventually gave up.

-

"Azure..."

Azure had just been watering a couple of plants within the community greenhouse when a voice suddenly rang out from behind him, and he immediately turned around, noticeably alarmed based on his body language, before he gradually relaxed upon realising that it was just Two Time.

a smile soon made its way onto his face, and he immediately checked Two Time's appearance out from head to toe before he quickly opened his mouth to speak in an attempt to conceal about how pleased he was.

"my nightshade!"

Azure exclaimed, his tone containing unbridled joy at finally being granted permission to see his lover again after an agonisingly long period of radio silence.

"what brings you here?"

he queried as his hands dropped to his sides.

"I...—"

Two Time hesitated, their hands trembling from where they had decided to hide them behind their back, before they spoke up again.

"I was going to ask you a question, but it appears that your occupied at the moment, so I might just come back another day—"

"no!"

Azure interrupted with a desperate facial expression, and Two Time startled, the aforementioned individual clearly caught off guard by Azure's desperation.

"I'll always have time for you."

Azure stated with an uncharacteristically serious tone of voice before he converted back to the compassionate tone of voice that Two Time had become familiar with as time continued to pass.

"so, what is it that you wanted to ask me?"

"...are you willing to accompany me to the flower field that we used to visit tomorrow?"

Two Time questioned with an unreasonable facial expression, and Azure's desperation immediately melted away into excitement upon hearing Two Time's words.

"of course, I'd be delighted to!"

Azure exclaimed, although he soon remembered how the cultist had been radio silent for a decade before deciding to question them about why.

"is there a justifiable reason as to why your asking me this after all of the radio silence that I had been made to endure by your hands?"

Two Time flinched at the botanist's words, a pang of guilt making it's way into their heart as they acknowledged how immoral they had been behaving towards Azure for the past couple of weeks, although they quickly turned around in order to hide their reprehensive facial expression before whispering something that was just about comprehendible for Azure to process.

"...I'll explain once we get there."

and with that, Two Time walked out of the community greenhouse, leaving Azure all by himself to grasp as to what just happened.

'...they invited me.'

Azure contemplated as he slowly brought one of his hands up to cup his cheek, which had become boiling hot without him even realising.

'that means everything's going to be okay.'

Azure's smile subconsciously widened at the thought, and he just set the watering can that he had been holding onto throughout the entirety of his interaction with Two Time aside before deciding to sit down on the floor that had been padded with wooden planks.

'that means tomorrow is the day where things can go back to how they used to be.'

-

as of right now, Azure was humming a familiar tune under his breath as he followed the trail that would lead him towards the flower field where he had agreed to meet Two Time at yesterday, and upon arriving, he immediately started to look around for the aforementioned individual.

a feeling of unease soon made itself present against Azure's body upon realising that Two Time was no where to be found within the flower field, and Azure continued to look around before he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen.

"ugh!—"

Azure choked out as he instinctively clutched his abdomen due to the fact that his pain was originating from there, and instead of being met with the soft fabric of his sleeveless turtleneck, he was met with an uncomfortable stickiness.

...was he bleeding?

but what was causing him to bleed?

Azure's mind raced as he thought about what could've caused this form of devastation to him, and after a while, he managed to connect the dots.

Azure immediately turned his head around before making eye contact with Two Time, who evidently indicated that they felt no remorse, even with the fact that they had just stabbed their significant other.

"I'm sorry, Azure."

Two Time murmured as a crazed smile slowly made it's presence known on the cultist's face.

"but I must do this for spawn."

Azure let out a hiss of agony as Two Time suddenly unsheathed their dagger from where it had been embedded within his abdomen, and without even thinking as to what he was about to do, the botanist lunged at Two Time, which resulted in the both of them collapsing onto the ground.

Two Time had been caught off guard by the unexpectedness of Azure's actions, and because of this, their dagger was emancipated from their hold.

Azure immediately took this moment of vulnerability from Two Time's perspective to straddle the aforementioned individual so that they wouldn't attempt to carry anything out, and his eyes shone with a hint of something unreadable as they landed on Two Time's momentarily abandoned dagger before he quickly took a hold of it.

soon afterwards, Azure shoved it into Two Time's chest, his hands shaking violently as he did so before he decided to speak up.

"I'm so sorry, my nightshade."

Azure whispered as he stared at Two Time's face, which was already starting to drain of it's conventional complexion.

"but I'm not going to let you do this to me."

Chapter 2: Death Surrounding Death

Notes:

can you tell I miss them 💔

Azure's hands continued to shake in an undeniably violent manner as the rush of adrenaline from being stabbed gradually dissipated into thin air, and Azure just glanced downwards without thinking coherently before he released a gasp of mortification upon seeing the now deceased body of Two Time.

"oh my god."

Azure whispered almost soundlessly, the aforementioned latter immediately scrambling off Two Time's body with what could only be considered as a horrified look on his face once he realised the significance of his situation.

"oh my god."

he repeated, and his eyes just brimmed with tears before he let out a scream which contained both devastation and trepidation.

"what have I done?"

Azure questioned with an ashamed tone of voice, and he shakily crawled towards where he had left Two Time's deceased body after killing them before he decided to cradle the aforementioned individual to his chest.

"I'm so sorry, my nightshade..."

Azure wept, tears of anguish and desolation cascading down his face uncontrollably as he took a quivering breath in before he tightened his grip on Two Time's body.

"please forgive me."

the botanist whispered.

"I wasn't thinking coherently."

-

Azure had continued to cradle Two Time's dead body until an estimation of 3-4 hours had passed, and he reluctantly pulled away from his deceased significant other before standing up.

tears still streamed down Azure's face as he walked away from the flower field and into the forest, although his facial expression was unreadable.

-

as of right now, Azure was wandering around the forest that he was currently located within, his eyes scanning his surrounding environment in pursuit of a specific flower, although he was starting to feel frustrated due to the fact that the aforementioned flower was nowhere to be found.

"where are they...?"

Azure queried, and he just took a moment to recompose himself because his stab wound decided that it was the perfect moment to send a ripple of pain through him, before his eyes suddenly landed on a plot of nightshades.

Azure immediately collapsed onto his knees at the sight of nightshades, and he scrambled to gather as many of the aforementioned flower as he could before he started to cry again.

it had been a while since Azure's tears were minimised into residue, although upon seeing the flower that Two Time had once adored due to the fact that it reminded them of him, he couldn't help but cry again.

"oh, how remorseful I am for killing you..."

Azure sobbed as he slowly brought the expeditiously made bouquet of nightshades up to his lips, almost as if he was attempting to imitate how he would've kissed Two Time if he had been given the opportunity to, although he soon realised what he almost enacted, and the hand which contained the flowers stilled.

"please forgive me..."

-

"Two Time..."

Azure whispered as he slowly closed the distance between him and Two Time's deceased body, and he just got down onto his knees before he eventually started to plant the nightshades that he'd gathered from approximately 30 minutes ago around the aforementioned individual, who remained unresponsive throughout the entire ordeal.

"nightshades were your favourite flower."

he recalled with a melancholic tone of voice as he continued to plant the consignment of nightshades that he'd gathered around Two Time until there were no more of the aforementioned flower left for him to plant.

"was I your favourite person, then?"

the botanist questioned as he stared into Two Time's lifeless eyes, and he just brushed a strand of obsidian black hair out of their face before releasing a sigh.

"...will you still love me after this?"

-

"almighty spawn."

Azure began.

"please grant this one's beloved a second life."

Azure's eyes were noticeably glazed over, although he pretended to have absolutely no idea in favour of continuously praying until he realised that the moon was beginning to rise.

using that knowledge, Azure decided to stand up, before he started making his way towards a nearby tree, the aforementioned latter immediately slumping against it once he felt his back pressing against it.

his eyes soon became lidded, although the botanist couldn't find tranquility in sleep due to the fact that he now has the second life that Two Time had been so desperate to receive.

his second life is now Two Time.

his second life was meant to be Two Time's.

Azure's hands started trembling vehemently at the thought of Two Time being transformed into the thing that they wanted the most, and the aforementioned latter just brought his hands up to conceal his face before letting out a sigh.

"I'm so sorry; I didn't want this to happen..."

Azure mumbled with what could only be considered as a sorrowful tone of voice, the botanist removing his hands from his face before staring upwards at the night sky.

"why did we have to end things off like this?"

Azure's eyes soon departed from the night sky, and he just released an exhausted sigh before he finally managed to succumb to sleep, although he knew for a fact that he wouldn't be sleeping for long due to what had occurred approximately 6-7 hours ago.

Notes:

1 / each and every single time Two Time managed to come across a nightshade, they would stop to shower it with affection, although it was because they reminded them of Azure.
once Two Time got resurrected, they didn't know how to feel about nightshades anymore, because it makes them think back to their death.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of FORSAKEN