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The sound of heavy rain hitting the roof of the little abandoned house gave The Batter pause more than anything else.
“You know,” Zacharie was saying, “it might not be a good idea to go out in a rain storm.”
The Batter turned ever so slightly to look at Zacharie, who had, it seemed, changed his mask his again. “It would be cowardly of me to stay in just because of a little rain, Zacharie. I have an important mission to complete.”
“Cowardly,” Zacharie nearly scoffed the word. “Amigo going out in a storm would be stupid at best.” He crossed his arms, and The Batter could only imagine the way the other might raise an eyebrow with the posture. Might look at him like he really was stupid.
The Batter hesitated there for a moment, listening to the rain and looking at Zacharie, turning fully towards him. He weighed his options, narrowing his eyes a little at the other in a half glare. He wanted to challenge Zacharie, wanted to see if it was one of those things he would just back off about. Wanted to see if Zacharie really did care about the rain.
“Think about it.” Zacharie was unfolding his arms, letting them rest uselessly at his sides. “What if the rain makes you look away, just for a second? What if your bat slips out of your hand because of the rain and a ghost kills you for it? It's a risky situation, buddy. It would be a shame if you couldn't complete your mission because of something so small, wouldn't it?”
“I suppose it would be a shame,” The Batter said quietly. It was silly to think that something like that could happen, but he also figured that Zacharie was right. That it could happen and The Batter should take precautions.
“Besides,” Zacharie went on, almost as if he were just trying to comfort The Batter now, “The Elsens are all safe in their little homes away from the specters, hiding from the rain just like you are. They're probably making tea. You don't need to protect them.”
“I know I don't have to protect them.” The purification wasn't for the Elsens. Not really.
“Then why not stay dry? Ensure your survival to complete your all-important task by not taking unnecessary risks?”
The Batter considered that a moment longer. He considered the rain and the possibility of him making a fatal mistake due to the rain when it all could have been so easily avoided. He considered the Elsens he supposed he should be saving, but didn't really care too much about. Considered Zacharie there in front of him with his silly sweater.
Eventually The Batter nodded, hand raising to remove the cap from his head but stopped. Even if he were going to sit out the storm, he didn't quite want to completely relax in front of Zacharie. Not really. Especially not when Zacharie was standing there trying to take the place of The Judge. The Batter straightened again. “I suppose you're right,” he said, still feeling a little silly but also comforted that his mission wasn't necessarily immediate
“Why don't you find something to pass the time,” Zacharie said in a low tone and it was again that The Batter hesitated at the sound of him. He gripped his baseball bat a little tighter, tried not to remember just what Zacharie looked like under that mask. Tried not to turn away from him.
“And what,” The Batter started, gesturing around the small room, “do you propose we do, Zacharie? There's hardly anything here anymore.”
“I know that.” It was at this point that Zacharie started moving closer to The Batter. Started approaching slowly, almost as if The Batter were some small critter that would get spooked and flee at the slightest provocation. “Since when did anyone need things to keep themselves entertained, Batter?”
The Batter tensed with the other moving towards him. Tensed with the thought of what his Fill-in Guide had in mind for their pasttime.
“Zacharie,” he tried, tone low; careful and a little threatening.
And Zacharie's hand was moving up and towards The Batter's face. He nearly jerked away from the contact, nearly went into a more defensive posture. Instead he stayed where he was, muscles tense as the other placed his hand over his eyes.
“I know,” Zacharie said quietly. “I'm disgusting, right? Then just don't look.”
There was a tiny exhale of breath as Zacharie leaned up to press their lips together, evidently already rid of any mask he had been wearing. And The Batter accepted the gesture, albeit a little hesitantly. He relaxed his shoulders ever so slightly, returned the gesture by the barest amount.
The air in the room seemed to have changed, then. It seemed so much less like a thing of hesitation and tense curiosity, and so much more like something of relief on one part and acceptance on another.
They kissed for some indiscernible amount of time, The Batter not at all caring about the time or the fact that the rain could stop soon. He didn't care about a whole lot in the moment, aside from the fact that he couldn't see what had become of Zacharie, and that he was kissing him. The Batter's heart beat loudly in his chest, his free hand going to the back of Zacharie's head.
It was Zacharie who pulled away first. Zacharie who let loose that low, honey coated chuckle, hand still over The Batter's eyes. “My friend,” he said quietly, followed by the sound of him licking his lips, “ I do believe it's time for our time killer to come to a stop, don't you?”
The Batter hesitated, swallowed, and listened to the silence hitting the roof rather than the rain. Oh.
Very slowly, he pulled away from Zacharie's hand over his eyes, his own hand moving away from the other as he did so. “I do believe it is.”
“Go on, then. Purify this world. That is what you're here to do, isn't it?”
The Batter opened his eyes again as the destruction of Zacharie was hidden again by the mask of the cat caught in his own miseries. He gripped his bat tighter, looked away. “It is.”
The Batter turned away again, not entirely sure if he was angry that he had something else to do than lose himself in what Zacharie had to offer, or if he was angry that Zacharie had pulled him from his path of purity, however brief. Maybe he was fine with it. Maybe he was more upset with himself than anything.
“Meet me later on, my friend. I will Guide you through the maze of this place.”
The Batter only nodded again as he left the small house, bat in hand and Add-Ons following close behind. He didn't look behind him as the door closed between him and Zacharie, only ahead at the challenges set before him on his mission.