Archive of Our Own

The repeated sound of an axe striking trees echoes throughout the forest, causing birds to flee their nests and sleeping animals to stir.

The man chopping down said trees, Scott Major, is a contestant Wild Life, an eight-week long death game. Every contestant is given six lives before they’re eliminated from the game, and every week a new random event known as a Wild Card takes place. This week, which is the seventh week, every contestant has their own unique superpower, and Scott received the ability to transform into animals and a few types of monsters. It was quite fitting for Scott to have this power, as he’s quite observant and he tends to eavesdrop on the other contestants. Who would suspect a wandering chicken to be listening to their murderous plans, anyways?

Unfortunately for Scott, as well as every other contestant, this was the final day of this week’s Wild Card. Tomorrow morning, every contestant will lose their superpower and the next Wild Card will take its place.

So as a last ditch effort to take out a particularly troublesome contestant, Scott’s teammates, most notably Cleo who could summon the undead as servants, set out to take one of the lives of a man named Tango, who had been gifted the power of super speed. The drawback of his power is that he becomes exhausted rather quickly, so Cleo hoped to take advantage of that drawback tonight. She ordered Scott, as well as everyone else they were teamed up with, to disperse and prepare to take Tango out.

So to help craft more weapons, Scott set out underground to mine ores, then towards the forest near their base to gather wood. Scott had already finished mining, so all he had left to do was collect wood. After repeating the process of chopping down trees and replanting the saplings they dropped for a while, Scott takes one last look at his inventory to check how much wood he’s collected.

“Three stacks of logs should be plenty.”

Scott turns to leave the forest, recounting his team’s plan to kill Tango as he walks through the trees– he’s almost too focused to hear a twig snapping behind him.

Someone’s following him.

And whoever it is, they must be quite clumsy to make such a mistake. It takes Scott no time at all to recognize who it is– the man who’s failed to kill him countless times over the past week.

“...Jimmy, do you mind?”

Jimmy, more formally known as Solidarity, was given the power to turn invisible on command with there being a few tells of his location, like faint sparkles around his body when his powers are active; in theory, it’s the perfect power to make up for his natural clumsiness and lack of stealth, but it’s not very effective in practice.

Not against Scott, at least. Somehow, Scott always manages to sense when Jimmy is nearby, even when he's being completely stealthy. Scott has affectionately called this his ‘sixth sense.’

Jimmy had died five times before, meaning he was now on the brink of being eliminated from the game. And due to having his power of invisibility, Jimmy has made it his mission to kill Scott this week, which would grant him an extra life, but he’s not once been successful. He and Scott have interacted many times before, and Scott has always proven that he’s superior in dexterity and combat. Jimmy’s failed attempts at murder and short-lived sparring sessions with Scott have become a routine for the two men at this point.

Despite Jimmy’s murderous intentions, he and Scott are actually good friends. In a more casual setting, they’re often seen gifting each other flowers– specifically poppies, giggling to each other over complete nonsense, and flinging little compliments at each other.

Even when Jimmy tries to kill Scott and inevitably fails, they go their separate ways with wide smiles and rosy cheeks; Scott always found Jimmy’s clumsiness to be charming.

But this was Jimmy’s last chance to take one of Scott’s lives before he would lose his powers the next day. He had to make this count.

So when the invisible man is questioned by Scott, he doesn’t respond; instead, he slowly tiptoes through the trees to try and get behind Scott, but he ends up stepping on another twig. He can hear Scott suppressing a laugh.

“Argh! Forget it!” Jimmy hollers.

Without another word, Jimmy equips his sword and attempts to attack Scott, but his attack is easily parried by Scott’s shield. Scott pushes the other man away, causing him to tumble and his invisibility to fade upon impact. Scott walks over and looks down at Jimmy with his arms crossed.

“When are you going to give this up?” Scott teases.

“Never!” The blonde shouts with a mischievous smile.

Jimmy swiftly jumps to his feet and goes invisible again before disappearing into the trees. He weaves through the dense forest for a while and attempts to jump at Scott from the side, but the other is quick to react once again. Scott dodges to the side and transforms into a chicken, now making a beeline for the edge of the forest. 

“GET BACK HERE!” Jimmy shrieks.

Jimmy chases after him, but Scott’s much smaller size proves to be difficult to catch. Jimmy’s heavy and frantic footsteps eventually catch up to Scott though, and he’s able to scoop the chicken into his arms.

“No more running away, Scott! If you really want me to give up, then fight me!”

The chicken starts frantically flapping his wings in Jimmy’s face, but the blonde simply tightens his grip on him.

“Fight me, Scott!” Jimmy repeats, his tone of voice being a mix of mania and desperation.

Jimmy’s plea makes Scott stop struggling entirely; he stares directly into Jimmy’s eyes, then transforms again. Now he’s something much bigger… much heavier. The sudden weight shift is enough to get Jimmy to drop him and fall on his face; his invisibility fades once again upon impact.

Scott, who’s now a pig, lets out an onslaught of loud oinks and squeals which Jimmy can only assume is laughter. Jimmy slowly raises his head from the ground and scowls at the pig, then he rises to his feet once more and wipes at his nose, which is now dripping blood.

After Scott settles down from his laughing fit, he morphs into his human form and equips his sword and shield.

“You want a fight, huh? Well, in that case… I won’t hold back.”

Jimmy’s mischievous smile returns to his face. “Good.”

Jimmy wipes at his nose one more time before going invisible again, once again trying the strategy of weaving through the trees and jumping at Scott from an angle. However, Scott keeps perfect track of his location, and is able to dodge when Jimmy lunges at him.

The invisible man grunts in frustration and tries to attack Scott head-on this time. The tip of his sword is met with Scott’s shield, then pushed away a few moments later. The impact causes Jimmy to stumble backwards, but he manages to keep his balance.

Scott scoffs. “Why are you trying to kill me in particular, anyways?! I assumed you would give up after nearly a week of failing!”

Jimmy charges forward and hits Scott with an onslaught of slashes from his sword. “You’ve still got three lives left, and you’re the strongest guy I know! If I kill you, everyone will know not to mess with me!” he shouts between swings.

The sudden compliment makes Scott giggle amongst the chaos.

“Aww, do you really think so?” Scott coos as he effortlessly parries Jimmy’s attacks with his shield.

“...I know so. Now stop dodging so I can kill you!” The invisible man exclaims.

Jimmy attempts to slash at Scott’s stomach, but the other dodges backwards just in time. Scott retaliates by cutting Jimmy’s bicep with his sword, causing Jimmy to yelp and cover the wound with his hand, but he quickly regains his composure.

“A little cut isn’t enough to get me to give up, you know,” Jimmy hisses.

“Oh, I know it isn’t,” Scott replies. “This is purely for my entertainment.”

“You won’t be laughing without a pulse!” Jimmy hollers with a wicked laugh.

Jimmy leaps forward with his blade held high in an attempt to slice Scott in half, no longer caring to use his powers to go invisible. Scott moves out of the way of Jimmy’s attack which causes his sword to get stuck in a nearby tree instead. As Jimmy tries to pull his weapon free from the tree’s trunk, he looks up into the leaves. A few apples hang on the tree’s branches, their stems on the brink of breaking.

This gives Jimmy an idea.

After Jimmy finally pulls his sword out of the tree, he goes invisible and stands with his back facing the tree. He attacks Scott, Scott obviously parries, and the impact causes Jimmy to get sent backwards into the tree.

And just as Jimmy expected, the impact is just enough for the apples in the tree to come crashing down onto the top of Scott’s head.

“Oww! What just hit my–”

Scott’s momentary confusion lets his guard down just long enough for Jimmy to leap towards him with a roar and tackle him to the ground.

“Whoa– Jimmy!”

The two men tumble through the dirt for a few seconds, scratching themselves on twigs and rocks on the way. They eventually come to a stop, and Jimmy keeps both of Scott’s wrists pinned to the ground and his legs tightly straddled around Scott’s waist.

“AHA! I’ve finally got you!” The invisible man declares through pants. 

Scott’s eyes widen in shock as he processes the weight of the other man on top of him, holding him down.

“Jimmy… how did you–”

Scott turns his head in the direction of the tree they were standing under a few moments ago and sees the apples on the ground. He slowly pieces together Jimmy’s strategy, then turns his attention back towards the invisible man.

“W-wow, I… well done,” Scott gasps. “...Did you come up with that plan on the spot? That was genius. …I knew you had it in you!”

As Scott continues to ramble, Jimmy takes a moment to catch his breath and relish in his victory– his mischievous smile from before slowly transforms into a prideful one.

“I’m quite the impressive man, aren’t I?” Jimmy remarks.

Scott chuckles. A slight blush is visible on his cheeks and he’s slightly out of breath– he seems like he’s still a bit dumbfounded by his sudden defeat.

“Yeah, that was… remarkable. I didn’t think you would actually win a fight against me.”

Jimmy huffs in satisfaction at Scott’s compliments, then turns his head to gaze at the setting sun to the west; everyone in the game would be losing their powers tomorrow, so his timing at finally catching Scott couldn’t have been better. This would be the most satisfying end to any week of this death game for him by far…

“Sooo… there’s only one thing left for you to do now, Jim.”

Scott’s sudden words pull Jimmy out of his thoughts, so he turns his attention back to the man beneath him to get one last look at his face.

…

Scott, who had always been the stronger, more dominant man of the two, lays completely helpless under Jimmy’s grasp.

Light from the sun filters in through the trees and perfectly illuminates his face; his hair is a slight mess, and the light reflects off it perfectly, especially the singular streak of ginger that runs through the middle of it.

His orange eyes are practically glowing in the light… They've always reminded Jimmy of amber.

Small scratches and cuts are scattered around his arms from when they tumbled through the foliage a few moments earlier.

Scott has fully accepted his death at this point, so he lays in the grass, face slightly flushed, waiting patiently for Jimmy to plunge his sword into his chest.

Jimmy stares.

He stares for far too long.

In the very back of his mind, there’s a voice begging him to stare at Scott in this vulnerable position for the entire night.

It’s not long before Jimmy feels a warm feeling in his chest and face.

Once Jimmy becomes self aware, however, he rapidly shakes his head as if to force all of these strange thoughts out of his mind. Before he gives himself any more time to think, he removes his hand from one of Scott’s wrists, equips his sword and raises it high above Scott’s chest. Jimmy takes a deep breath, and–

“...You’re going to stay invisible?”

Scott’s sudden question causes Jimmy to lose his focus. Despite being invisible, Scott can tell Jimmy is tilting his head.

“...What?”

Scott huffs in annoyance. “Can I at least see you before you kill me? …I miss seeing your face up close; especially your eyes.”

Scott’s statement wasn’t meant to be a tease to distract Jimmy– it was a genuine question.

Even so, it doesn’t stop a warm and hazy feeling from completely overtaking Jimmy’s mind. He nearly drops his sword, and he can feel his face rapidly heating up.

“Wha– Uh– I…” he stammers.

Out of all of the compliments Scott had given him in the past, his fondness for Jimmy’s eyes stuck with him the most. Jimmy could swear Scott was always trying to maintain eye contact for as long as possible whenever they crossed paths, and the sight of Scott staring at Jimmy so intently made the blonde’s head spin.

He thinks about the times he and Scott have wordlessly gazed into each other’s eyes in the past, then he thinks about the praise Scott gave him after being pinned to the ground a few moments ago. And of course, he thinks about how he’s on top of Scott once again. The fact that this is Jimmy’s first time seeing Scott so content with being in such a vulnerable position makes him feel a way he can’t quite describe.

It’s a good feeling, though. A really good feeling.

But he can’t give Scott what he wants now. He can’t let Scott see his face– not when he’s struggling so badly to maintain his composure.

Jimmy continues to stammer before eventually letting out a frustrated sigh.

“No.”

Scott frowns.

“Alright, fine. …You’ve always been so stubborn.”

Without another word, Jimmy raises his sword once again and takes another deep breath. Just as he’s about to stab Scott, however…

“...Wait, hold on. One more thing…” Scott mumbles.

Jimmy groans. “What now?”

Scott wordlessly brings his free hand up to Jimmy’s face and wipes at the blood leaking from his nose. The sudden contact makes Jimmy flinch at first, but then he makes sure to not move again until Scott lowers his hand.

…

Scott’s hands are so soft… and so warm. Jimmy didn’t realize how cold the air around him was until Scott’s hands came in contact with his face.

Jimmy wished Scott’s hands were on his face for just a little while longer. How would it feel if Scott were to caress his cheek, or hold his chin? Is it just Scott’s hands that are warm, or is it his entire body–

“...That was actually a little gross,” Scott mumbles as he glances at his now bloody hand. “But I’m gonna die anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”

Jimmy blinks a few times in an attempt to bring his mind back to reality.

“Why did you do that anyways?” Jimmy questions. “How did you know I was bleeding?”

Scott raises his eyebrows. “You didn’t know your blood isn’t invisible?”

That single sentence was enough to make Jimmy’s jaw drop. “It’s not?!”

Scott instantly bursts into laughter. “Oh come on, Jim! I thought you would’ve noticed after a week of having your power!” he snickers.

“W-well, I didn’t! Because no one bothered to tell me!” Jimmy hollers as he throws his hands in the air in frustration. “Stupid Scott… Always teasing me!”

Jimmy’s whining causes Scott to laugh even harder. “Sorry, not sorry– it’s just too easy! It’s fun, too.”

Jimmy pouts and crosses his arms. “Whatever. Are you done interrupting me now? Can I kill you yet?!”

“Ugh, I bet I look terrible right now…” Scott mumbles to himself after settling down. “Good thing you’re the only person here to see me like this.”

Jimmy’s eyes widen. “Wha– What does that– Ugh! Just answer my question.”

Scott blinks a few times and gives Jimmy an innocent smile. “Mm? Oh, yeah. You can kill me now.”

Jimmy nods and raises his blade high above Scott’s chest for the third time, taking a few deep breaths to calm the nerves that have built up over the past few minutes. His hands are shaking.

Scott closes his eyes tight to brace himself for Jimmy’s killing blow.

But Jimmy’s hands won’t stop shaking. His grip on his sword isn’t secure at all.

Why is he hesitating so much? He’s killed people before, and he’s been chasing after Scott for nearly a week now. He finally catches the man, and now he can’t bring himself to kill him?

There was no better time than now to take his life. They were alone in the forest. The sky was getting darker by the minute, making it difficult for others to spot them. Scott is the most vulnerable he’s ever been.

…

Scott is vulnerable. Jimmy is on top of Scott. Scott praised Jimmy. Scott said Jimmy has nice eyes. Scott touched his face. Scott teased him.

…

Jimmy can’t help the defeated sigh that leaves lips. No matter how hard he always tried to keep his cool, Scott always found a way to make him feel weak in the knees, whether it was intentional or not.

“...There’s a weird lack of stabbing going on right now,” Scott whispers with his eyes still shut. “Is something wrong?”

Scott slowly opens one of his eyes once he feels Jimmy’s body trembling slightly.

“Jimmy?” Scott calls out. “Are you okay?”

The invisible man sighs again. “...I’m fine–”

He’s promptly interrupted by the sound of someone kicking a rock in the distance. A few moments later, the same sound is heard again, but closer. Approaching footsteps are heard soon after, which then turns into three sets of footsteps.

“Scott? Scott, where aaare youuu?!” One of the intruders calls out, who could now be identified by the two men as Cleo. A zombified Mumbo and Skizz-two contestants who had lost all of their lives during previous weeks-follow closely behind her; they also seem to be searching for Scott.

Jimmy gasps, drops his sword, and covers his bleeding nose and bicep with his hands to avoid being seen as Cleo and her minions finally reach them.

“Ah, there you are,” Cleo says. “...Why are you on the ground?”

Scott glances at the invisible man above him and gets the sense that he doesn’t want to be exposed here.

“Oh, ehm… Jimmy was just here,” Scott replies. “But y’know, he messed up trying to murder me again. Now I’m just… catching my breath.”

Cleo squints and leans forward slightly– they seem skeptical. “That’s weird… Normally you don’t break a sweat during a fight with Jimmy… and what if he tries something again while you’re resting?”

Cleo’s concern causes Mumbo and Skizz to step closer to Scott to check on him, but Scott simply holds his palm up, a gesture to make them stop in their tracks.

“Good point,” Scott remarks. “But you’re forgetting I can always sense when he’s nearby.”

Cleo nods slowly. “Right… W-well, we were just on our way to set up traps for Tango. Are you coming?”

“Go on without me for now,” Scott says. “I’ll catch up. Take this stuff I got, though.”

Scott retrieves the wood and ores he collected earlier from his inventory and tosses them in Mumbo and Skizz’s direction. The two zombies swiftly pick up the materials and hand them to Cleo.

“Ooh, this’ll help…” Cleo says as Mumbo and Skizz give her the materials. “Alright, I’ll see you there.”

Scott watches as the three of them leave the forest and waits until they’re fully out of earshot to turn his attention back to Jimmy.

“You’re welcome for not ratting you out,” Scott says to the invisible man. “Now, where were we…”

Scott grabs Jimmy’s sword from where he dropped it earlier and hands it to him. With shaking hands, Jimmy takes the weapon from Scott’s hands, but he doesn’t dare to try to kill him again. Instead, he slowly stands and walks away without saying another word.

“Wha– Jimmy, why didn’t you…”

After watching Jimmy walk away, Scott swiftly jumps to his feet and follows closely behind the other, who had let his invisibility fade for good. Jimmy walks over to a tree stump and sits down.

“Jimmy,” Scott calls out from behind. “Why didn’t you kill me? You’re on your final life…”

Jimmy doesn’t respond, so Scott steps closer in hopes of getting a good look at the other man’s face; and when he does, he’s even more confused than he was just a few seconds ago.

Jimmy’s face is a deep red color, and he’s completely silent; Jimmy’s only this quiet when he’s really concentrating on something, so he must be deep in thought.

Scott takes a moment to question why Jimmy is behaving so strangely.

…

Oh.

Oh.

Jimmy was on top of Scott. Scott praised Jimmy. Scott touched Jimmy’s face. Scott teased Jimmy.

…

But Scott’s words and actions didn’t have that intention. He understands how it could be misinterpreted as such, but that shouldn’t have been enough to make Jimmy back down from killing him; he’s on his final life, and the two men are nothing more than good friends.

No matter how badly Scott wanted otherwise.

…

But instead of dwelling on his feelings, Scott decides to laugh the entire situation off, something he always tends to do to avoid causing further complications.

“Congratulations on being on top for once, Jimmy,” Scott says with a smirk. “I hope you really took it in, because it’s never happening again.”

Scott’s statement causes Jimmy to gawk and whip his entire body around to be face-to-face with him. The blonde’s face is somehow redder than it already was, his eyes are open wide, and his mouth is slightly agape.

“...Sh-shut up.” Jimmy sputters. “Shut up, you!”

The blonde swiftly draws his sword and points it directly at Scott’s face, causing the other man to back up slightly.

“Oh, come on,” Scott coos. “You should be proud! I really didn’t expect you to beat me back there.”

Jimmy huffs and lowers his weapon slightly– his grip on it is so unstable and shaky.

“You won fair and square,” Scott adds. “Now, are you going to kill me or not?”

Jimmy squints and points his sword at Scott’s face again, but he hesitates. His enchanted weapon glows and gives off just enough light to illuminate Scott’s face; he’s just as gorgeous as he was when he was pinned to the ground earlier.

Jimmy swallows hard to force a forming lump down his throat, but it stays; he swallows again and again, but the nerves won’t go away. Eventually the blonde sighs and lowers his weapon.

“I’m not killing you,” he mutters as he turns to walk in the direction of his base. “I’ll just… find someone else.”

Jimmy tries to end the conversation there and leave with his weapon still in his hand, but as soon as he starts walking, Scott follows closely behind him.

“Do I need to remind you that you're on your final life?” Scott questions as they walk together. “If something goes wrong, you’ll–”

“I know!” Jimmy shouts, not caring to stop walking. “I’ll find someone else! Jeez, you’re acting like you want me to kill you!”

Scott sighs and drops the playful tone he had been using. “Am I not allowed to be worried about my best friend?” he asks.

“You weren’t worried about Mumbo or Skizz,” Jimmy points out. “What makes me so different? Do you think I can’t handle myself?”

Scott sighs again, this time out of frustration. “I never said you can’t handle yourself, Jim, I…” he trails off.

“You what?” Jimmy hisses. “If you have something to say to me, then say it.”

Scott stops walking, then firmly places a hand on Jimmy’s shoulder to get him to stop as well. 

“I don’t need to say it. You should know exactly how I feel about you.”

Scott’s words stun Jimmy into complete silence. His entire body stiffens, and he can feel butterflies crashing around in his stomach. But despite Jimmy being so tense, Scott continues to speak.

“And I know how you feel about me, Jim. And no matter how badly you or I want to act on these feelings, they’ll only get in the way. The least I can do is help you survive a little longer…”

Jimmy’s grip on his weapon tightens and his body tenses up even more. He knows everything Scott is saying is true, but hearing it out loud is crushing.

“But… if you don’t want to kill me, then I’ll leave you alone.” Scott finally adds before removing his hand from Jimmy’s shoulder and gently wrapping his arms around his waist instead, hugging him from behind. 

Jimmy flinches at the sudden affection. “Wha– I– What are you doing?” He stutters.

“This is just in case this is the last time I see you,” Scott whispers as he rests his head on Jimmy’s shoulder.

Jimmy nods and silently allows himself to adjust to Scott’s touch. His mind and heart are both racing, quickly filling with thoughts of the man behind him. The spontaneous thoughts and urges bubbling within him are so intense; he was in denial of it before, but now he needs to be more than a friend to Scott more than anything. His desire to be close to the other man was once a quiet voice in the very back of his mind, but now it feels like his entire body is screaming at him.

His overwhelming desire to be with Scott leads him to do the unthinkable.

“This won’t be the last time you see me.” Jimmy declares, his mouth running before his mind can process what he’s doing.

Scott hums and lifts his head from Jimmy’s shoulder. “Oh? What are you–”

Scott’s words are abruptly cut off as he inhales sharply, and is forcefully pushed back. His eyes are open wide, and his gaze slowly trails down to his abdomen.

It takes Jimmy a moment to realize he whipped his entire body around and pierced Scott’s body with his sword, and when he does, his heart immediately starts beating out of his chest and his breathing becomes frantic. But instead of backing out, Jimmy slowly drives his sword deeper through Scott’s abdomen, causing the other man to gasp and cough blood onto Jimmy’s shirt.

A completely fatal blow. Scott only has a few seconds before his body turns into stardust and he’s sent to respawn.

So with what little strength he has left, Scott grips Jimmy’s shoulders and slowly pulls their bodies closer together, pushing Jimmy’s blade even deeper through his body in the process. 

Jimmy’s breathing becomes even more unsteady, and a deep red blush spreads across his face. Scott leans in close as if to kiss Jimmy, but much to the blonde’s disappointment, he doesn’t. All he does is fondly gaze into Jimmy’s eyes, allowing himself to get lost in his red orbs during his final moments.

The atmosphere is so tense and hazy, but the two men don’t dare to break eye contact. Scott lets his hands slide off Jimmy’s shoulders and travel down his biceps, then to his sides.

“I got to see your eyes again after all.” Scott whispers, his face only a few inches away from Jimmy’s.

And… Poof.

S. Major was slain by Solidarity.

And with that, Jimmy was left alone in the forest with blood on his shirt and blade, wide-eyed and dazed.

“I… Scott, I…” Jimmy pants as if the other man was still there. He looks down at his sword and stares intently at Scott’s blood, replaying the moment of ending his life over and over in his mind.

A bashful smile forces its way onto Jimmy’s face; despite how gruesome the moment was, it was also beautifully intimate. The sight of Scott pulling himself closer to Jimmy during his final moments made the blonde feel all sorts of ways inside.

Even in death, Scott always knows how to get Jimmy worked up; stumbling on his words, red in the face, and desperately trying to divert Scott’s attention to avoid becoming even more flustered.

Jimmy wanted to wait for Scott to respawn and run back to him, but now that it’s dark out, it would be much safer for the blonde to return to his base, much to his dismay. So before he has any more time to think about what just happened, he turns and sprints back towards his base on a distant mountaintop.

However, as he runs, he can’t stop his mind from wandering…

Tomorrow marks the final week of this death game. If he and Scott end up being the final two contestants alive, Jimmy would love nothing more than to spar with the other man again. Another chance at being close, no distractions, no one else to interrupt them, with all the time in the world and the entire arena to themselves.

No matter what it takes, Jimmy will make it happen.