Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

The cashier scanned the products quickly, movements smooth and fast, there was no doubt about his experience.

Honestly, the guy looked completely ordinary aside from the intense staring issue, which made things even more awkward.

Blake sighed heavily while looking outside, clearly not wanting to have any sort of eye contact.

’Seriously, is he also related to Myles in some way? At this point I need to check the blueprints for this area.’

Even while thinking that, though, Blake couldn’t say he felt particularly shocked.

Deep down, the answer already felt obvious.

"Fourteen pyollars."

The cashier finally looked up again after saying the total.

And once more, his eyes landed directly on Blake.

Again, they weren’t particularly aggressive or hostile. Just... a bit too sharp.

Myles paid calmly beside him with absolutely no reaction or acknowledgement.

Blake grabbed one of the grocery bags automatically while they walked out of the store together.

For a few seconds, he stayed quiet.

Then he glanced sideways at Myles, visibly conflicted.

"Do you know the cashier from earlier?"

Myles looked down at him briefly.

"No."

The way he said it, to Blake’s ears, it sounded completely shameless, so he stared at him for a second longer.

"Eh. Okay."

Honestly, he shouldn’t have expected much else.

Anyone outside Blake’s situation probably would’ve let it go immediately. Myles had answered so naturally there wasn’t even room to doubt him.

Unfortunately, he existed specifically inside the situation, which meant he absolutely doubted his answer.

Still, there wasn’t much he could do about it. Most probably he was right, either way.

Blake sighed quietly and followed Myles toward the bus stop instead.

A few minutes later, they sat side-by-side near the back of the bus.

Blake rested his head lightly against the window, watching the city slide past outside.

’ I hope he isn’t one of the two people from that night.’

If that were the case, there was no way the guy had recognized him, Blake was confident about that much.

Still, he couldn’t deny the stare left him feeling slightly uneasy.

Between the two masked people from that scary day, though, Blake would absolutely bet on the cashier being the one in blue.

Something about the vibe matched, probably the attitude.

Or maybe Blake was just becoming paranoid.

Honestly, both options were equally possible at this point.

He exhaled slowly before suddenly turning toward Myles and poking lightly at the side of his head.

"Next time, I’m paying."

Myles calmly caught Blake’s hand mid-poke.

"Hm."

Myles only held onto his hand loosely instead of replying.

Blake sighed dramatically before letting his eyes close for a second.

If he really thought about it... why had all those people gathered around Myles in the first place?

People willing to destroy the world together wasn’t exactly a casual friend group.

Was it some shared ideology?

A common goal?

Or were they simply a bunch of deeply unstable people who somehow found each other naturally?

Blake honestly couldn’t tell anymore.

The more time he spent with Myles, the harder it became to picture him inside all that destruction.

The bus eventually slowed to a stop.

Myles stood first, still carrying the grocery bags while Blake followed him outside.

Fresh air greeted them immediately.

Blake stretched his arms overhead while walking.

At some point, he really needed to buy character information from the system. He’d only ever gotten it once as a reward, but if it existed as a reward, then logically it had to be purchasable too.

’Jeez, it’s probably expensive, though.’

Eventually the city faded behind them completely.

Now they stood at the entrance of a narrow mountain trail, greenery stretching upward endlessly ahead.

There were no people or noise, just wind moving softly through trees.

Blake blinked slowly.

"How do you even know about a place like this?"

It was beautiful and quiet.

Myles looked ahead calmly. "I came here often as a child."

Blake’s eyes immediately brightened.

"Really? Then you must’ve had a lot of fun here."

Myles hummed once, but there was no expression.

With no happiness behind them.

Pressing his lips, Blake immediately understood not to push further.

So instead, he simply smiled faintly and started walking beside him up the trail.

The path climbed steadily higher as they went.

Occasionally Blake bent down to pick up flowers scattered along the edges of the trail, mostly ones already snapped off naturally by the wind.

Small white flowers.

Purple ones too.

It was nothing fancy, but they still pretty.

"You’re collecting those?" Myles asked eventually.

"They’re really cute. Nature appreciation is timeless."

Myles glanced toward the tiny bouquet growing in Blake’s hands.

"Hm."

The higher they climbed, the cooler the air became.

Sunlight filtered through trees overhead in shifting patches, warming their shoulders every few steps before disappearing again.

At one point Blake crouched briefly beside a cluster of flowers near the trail.

Unfortunately, the universe immediately punished him for it.

His foot snagged against a thorned stem hidden near the ground.

"Ah!"

Blake stumbled awkwardly, hissing under his breath as pain shot sharply through his ankle.

The same ankle that bled for the same exact reason just a few days before.

Wasn’t that such a coincidence?

He sat down immediately with a grimace.

Blood already welled faintly where the thorns had scraped against exposed skin near the old injury.

Myles knelt beside him almost instantly.

"Let me see."

"It’s fine, it’s fine," Blake muttered automatically.

Myles ignored him entirely.

His hand slid carefully around Blake’s ankle, then paused.

His gaze lowered toward the bandages still wrapped faintly underneath.

"Why is it bandaged?"

Blake stiffened slightly.

’Right, that...’

He scratched awkwardly at the back of his neck.

"I scraped it against a wall before."

Myles looked up at him silently.

Blake smiled innocently. "Clumsy accident, you know how I am, by now."

A few long seconds passed before Myles stood again.

Then, he pulled Blake gently upright against him.

Blake blinked.

’Actually... isn’t this perfect timing?’

He looked shamelessly up at Myles. "Can you carry me? It hurts too much."

Honestly, he expected at least a stare.

Instead, Myles simply bent down and picked him up bridal-style immediately. More importantly, effortlessly.

[ Mission complete. ]

Blake burst out laughing from pure surprise.

"Woah, okay, you’re way too experienced at this."

Myles adjusted his grip slightly beneath him, not saying a word.

’Why so silent today... must be feeling shy or something.’

Still laughing softly, Blake reached up and absentmindedly stroked through Myles’ hair once.

Myles didn’t react much beyond glancing briefly at him.

"Ah..."

He slowly pulled his hand back.

Eventually the trees opened into a wide field.

Blake genuinely went quiet for a moment.

It was beautiful.

Tall grass moved gently beneath the wind, patches of wildflowers scattered naturally throughout the open space. Farther ahead, the mountains stretched endlessly beneath the afternoon sky.

No crowds.

No noise.

Just calm.

Myles finally set him down carefully near a flatter area.

Then, he unpacked everything they’d bought earlier.

Blanket, food, drinks, tissues and water.

Blake sat cross-legged nearby watching him.

Honestly...

This felt strangely unreal.

The moment Blake settled down fully, though, Myles crouched in front of him again.

Without a word, he took out tissues and bottled water before carefully cleaning Blake’s ankle.

Blake immediately felt his heartbeat speed up slightly.

It hurt, but that wasn’t the main reason.

This tenderness, would it continue to get even warmer?

"Thanks," Blake mumbled quietly.

Myles didn’t answer.

Blake looked down at him for a second and then, acting mostly on impulse, leaned forward and buried his face briefly into Myles’ hair before leaning back again.

That smell, it was the same as his now.

But then why did it still feel so weird, if they used the same exact product?

’This is so unfair.’

Myles stilled, his hand pausing lightly against Blake’s ankle.

Then his gaze lifted slowly upward.

Something in his expression shifted.

It wasn’t anger or surprise.

Just, that classic intense impression he gave from time to time.

Like he was restraining something beneath the surface.

For one strange second, Blake genuinely thought Myles might suddenly grab him.

The atmosphere tightened instantly.

Blake’s chest felt oddly warm.

"Sorry," he started awkwardly.

Before he could continue, Myles covered Blake’s mouth lightly with one hand.

Then simply sat beside him instead.

As if nothing had happened.

Blake blinked several times before slowly relaxing again.

’Okay, fine...’

Eventually they started eating their simple sandwiches and apples, along with nacks spread casually across the blanket.

Blake handed Myles a small plastic cup filled with water, smiling brightly.

"I really like it here," he admitted. "With you."

Myles accepted the cup quietly.

Then looked down at the water instead of answering.

After lunch, they wandered farther through the open areas together.

At some point Blake started taking pictures of birds with his phone despite being objectively terrible at photography.

Every image came out blurry.

"This one looks so possessed, ugh," Blake complained while showing Myles a horribly timed picture of a pigeon mid-blink.

"You aren’t good at this."

"I know, okay..."

Later, they spotted rabbits hiding near the grass, and one surprisingly didn’t run immediately.

Myles crouched calmly nearby before carefully lifting it.

Blake stared in disbelief. "What the hell? Why do animals trust you?"

"I’m just holding it."

’Come one, bunny, you should know better than to trust him, he might eat you...!’

Still, he carefully reached out and touched the rabbit’s soft fur.

The tiny creature twitched slightly beneath his fingers.

Blake immediately melted emotionally.

"Ack, no, this is adorable."

Myles watched him quietly.

For some reason, Blake got the strange feeling Myles wasn’t looking at the rabbit anymore.

By evening, the sky had already started dimming.

The path downward looked darker beneath the trees now, shadows stretching long across the trail.

Myles held Blake’s hand while they walked.

"Because of your ankle," he’d said earlier.

They were nearly at the end of the trail when Blake suddenly stopped walking.

"Hm?" Myles glanced back slightly.

Blake bent down carefully near the path, picking up one final flower that had fallen beside the grass.

Then, after adding it to the small bouquet he’d collected throughout the day, he held it out toward Myles.

"For you."

Myles looked down at the flowers silently.

The evening wind moved softly between them.

Then Myles looked back up at Blake.

Something about his expression made Blake’s chest tighten unexpectedly.

Just the sight itself hurt.

"Are you ever going to stop?"

Blake’s mouth parted slightly.

For some reason, his eyes stung.

No.

That reason, yes, that dreadful reason was clear in his heart.

Still, he forced a small smile.

"What do you mean?"

Myles’ jaw tightened.

Then suddenly he stepped closer. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Blake instinctively stepped back once, only for Myles to grab his shoulders firmly.

And before Blake could react properly, Myles pressed his lips against his.