perfectmatch | week three

[It's very beautiful. The stroll is a lengthy and vibrant one, lit up even at night with so much color, and it's a shame they have the camera crew trundling along behind them.]

And we have it all to ourselves.

[He hooks his arm with Nico's.]

Well. Mostly.

Mostly.

[ He nudges around one of the crew members taking up space on the path. With Verso’s arm linked with his own, it’s easy to lean in and whisper, ]

I wonder if you might want to play hooky for a bit, hm? I am surely much faster than they are.

[Ohh? Just as conspiratorially back-]

What, do you want to outrun them?

[They are in the way. (And ultimately, a little thought sings in the back of his mind: he does need to speak to Nico about weightier matters, and the threat of a camera always at their heels does them no favors.)]

Mon ami, I am a man of many talents. I will do more than simply run.

[ He can fly, baby. ]

Do you trust me?

Trust you? Of course.

[And it's because he does that this sounds more exciting than ominous.]

Then hold on tight. [ ~~Spider monkey.~~

Nico swiftly scoops Verso into his arms like he weighs nothing at all and leaps, weaving through the branches of a tree hanging over the path to fly them over to practically the other side of the gardens.

They touch down on a small, isolated path lined with twinkling, soft white lights. ]

How is this, mon ami?

Aah-!

[Holy shit. Granted, he's not afraid of heights or the sudden lift-off, but he's not sure this is what he expected.

When they land, he huffs, the adrenaline fading.]

Since when could you do that?

Since always.

[ He sets Verso back down, letting his feet find solid ground again. Then Nico just sort of... tucks his legs up under himself, sitting cross-legged and floating in the air. ]

Must be handy.

[Flight is such an enviable trait to have. He's lucky he got to experience secondhand, and so often, with Esquie.]

Though I'm sure that camera crew will be catching up with us soon. They're quick like that.

They are. We should make the most of this time while we have it then, non?

[ Nico puts his feet back on solid ground, offering his arm to Verso again. ]

Talk to me, mon ami.

[He takes this arm again, with little hesitation, but there is a pause as he thinks on what to say. How to start.]

Well, my friend, I hope you know that my hesitation when it comes to our likely future in the booth has more to do with me than you. I think it's time you understood why, so that whenever we do make that walk...

[He exhales.]

I don't want to feel guilty about lying to you.

I know, but please know I do not hold it against you. Some things are hard to talk about, it is okay.

[ With his free hand, he gives Verso’s hand on his arm a pat, smile warm in the twinkling of LEDs. ]

I am all ears. No judgement, I will only listen.

[No judgement. He wonders precisely if that notion will remain steadfast in all that he wants to say. Verso sets his jaw, steels himself, then speaks.]

I didn't wish to be confirmed with a match who didn't know the full scope of myself, with the expectation that we were "perfect" for each other. That there might lie a future with someone who doesn't even truly know the real me.

[This is less of a pressure point now that romance has bloomed between Nico and Aventurine, and that their match might be more of good friendship than romantic expectation, but even so.]

I'll start with the first thing that destroys prospects between me and anyone here.

[ ... ]

I'm not supposed to exist any longer. For all intents and purposes, once this game is over, I'm dead.

[ Nico almost points out, not for the first time and likely not for the last, that “perfect” only means what the showrunners want it to mean. They’re under no obligation to even like each other if they don’t want to.

But, well, Nico does like Verso, thinks that the way he keeps people at a distance is a tragedy. He wants to be his friend if nothing else. ]

Mon ami… you had mentioned wanting to be done with your long life. Does this mean you have already met your end? Or… will, I suppose, after you return home?

[He nods, his gaze keeping to the trail ahead. As much as he's committed to being truthful, the shame and guilt still clings to him, hanging over his head like a funerary veil.]

I should not exist at all. My entire world is gone, and thus my right to be in it, as well. When this is over, no doubt I was fated to just... fade away again.

And should I choose to continue living by the power of my wish, even that feels... exceedingly like a selfish thing to do.

[ Nico is quiet as they go, letting Verso muddle through this confession of his at his own pace. They have enough of a ticking clock hanging over them, knowing the crew will probably catch up soon. He wouldn’t dare add to it.

He has questions, naturally. He thought that Verso’s world was saved after the demise of the Paintress, but it’s clear he doesn’t have all the details. Whatever Verso has told him before, this is the truth. ]

If you have found the will to keep going, I do not think it is selfish to want to do so.

week three | dates

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spoilerssss againnnn!!

is there anyone still reading this... e33 spoilers will be here for the rest of the thread prob!!

looking at you, random person still stalking flatview

👁️