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fountainpenguin · 2 years ago

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Cover image for a super self-indulgent Double Life songfic of mine... The final chapter went up this morning, so here's its Tumblr post!

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"Here's to the Health of Married Men"

... and their lovers! (x)

❤️ Read on AO3

💛 Complete! - 7/7 chapters - 42k words

💚 More Pixels Imperfect 'fics

Inspired by the song "The Duel" from the musical Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812

Ballroom fluff, introspection, and angst <3

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Synopsis: Scar guides us through an end-of-series party held in the server hub, where everyone's a little tipsy. While the desert duo may not always get along, they do their utmost to enjoy themselves...

... until Ren challenges Grian to a duel over his secret soulmate affair with BigB. Scar watches from the sidelines... and lets it all play out.

Check it out! (First 1,000 words under the cut)

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Here’s to the Health of Married Men

“… and their lovers~”

- “The Duel” - Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812

💙 🧡 💚

Ren and BigB arrive at the ballroom in colors that complement, but don't quite match. Maybe that should've been the first clue that trouble still lurked in paradise, tucked underneath the visible lingers in their touch… BigB's hand less steady where it lies pressed against Ren's chest than Ren's firm arm behind his lower back.

(It's not a real ballroom. More of a convention center? Two floors: one of them full of dancing party guests and the mezzanine balcony a floor above. It's shady in here and lit with several dozen tiny lanterns strung on leads. Honestly, Scar isn't sure. It's a Jimmy event, or at least a Jimmy invitation. No one pulls the strings and gets a party or game night together quite like Jimmy; don't worry about it.)

Eyes turn to track the Box Boys as they make their way up the curled stairs together. BigB's vest is dark purple and accented in faint silver leaf patterns with a bow at his neck to match - rip him open like a present; expose bare stomach and rip that open too - and his wild curls are actually tamed back today. He trimmed his beard. Fancy-schmancy moth hybrid of a man. Not hard to tell what Grian sees in him. Scar leans his arm a little farther over the balcony. One of Ren's ears twitches in his direction, as do both BigB's fluffy antennae… though Scar's pretty sure he didn't make a noise. At least, no noise louder than the sweep of feet and skirts down below.

Aw, Ren's all sunshine and phoenix fire. He's dressed just as nice. Look at him, so snug and comfy in that outfit! The pale yellow vest hits like buttercream and cake frosting. The sleeves are rolled up to his elbows. He matches the light walls, though his dark brown hair sets him apart like a statue full of shadowed creases. Took his shades off and everything, but replaced them with neat spectacles.

Scar half-turns, addressing everyone either standing or sitting around the tables behind him. "Hey! Our guests of honor have arrived. Let's make them feel welcome, shall we?"

No one's really listening. Maybe a couple of his friends, who nod absently or turn to catch sight of the stragglers in question. The conversations carry anyway. Their volume doesn't falter. Neither does the music, but that's only fair. The piano's downstairs. And a trumpet? There might be a trumpet; he isn't sure. So Scar doesn't grab his cane or push away from the banister. This position gives him a nice angle to oversee the room anyway.

I'd like to see Grian make a move on his 'secret soulmate' tonight of all nights…

Scar almost dressed in yellow too. For a while, he toyed with the idea of a light shade to match his zookeeper shirt… but this is a Double Life afterparty. Tonight, he and Grian are freshly on their red lives (after a doozy of a session with back to back deaths). While Jimmy had confessed he suspected at least one person to get knocked out of the series today, he probably hadn't anticipated four perma-deaths and the last greens of the server getting knocked down to red.

So in the sparse moments between logging out and arriving here, he switched to wearing black. It's thumb- thneed- thematically appropriate! The shirt cuts a V straight down his chest, exposing at least a little of his pecs. It's actually lacy, showing a lot more of his torso and his arms beneath his sleeves than anything most of his friends are wearing. And he didn't skimp on the fake silver gemstones either. Blue and purple flowers coat one side of his hair, mostly attached with barrettes.

Is this the right fit for a ballroom party? Probably not. But it's accented with black and white, like his on-server red life skin, and that's good enough for him. Scar lifts the wooden cup in his hand to his lips again. Raw binary code prickles on his tongue. He went half and half on this fill, working his way out of 0s and up to 1s. Some of his friends are drinking their 1s straight already. No surprise. They've been here 40 minutes, chatting and laughing even without BigB and Ren around. Maybe the Box Boys feared they'd be overshadowed by Jimmy and Tango. Those two have certainly stolen the evening tonight. But then, Jimmy deserves to. Out of everyone here tonight, he does.

BigB and Ren aren't even halfway up the staircase yet. They take every step together, moving in their ghostly whispered way. Ren keeps a light grip on BigB's wrist. BigB's antennae roll inward. They glint silver in the lantern light. Scar watches his eyes slip sideways. How strange to see him with his chocolate-brown eyes here in the Between dimension, no longer under the influence of a life either yellow or red. It's been a while.

Maybe tonight, he and I can finally talk face to face… without him trying to kill me.

Scar takes another sip of binary, this time more slowly. The 1s prickle and pop against his lips. Why not? BigB's out of the game now. No further need to dance around it, delaying his own gratification with pretty lies of I'll catch him next time; I'll do it on-camera; I want Grian to be around for this.

… He'd maybe like Grian to be around. Just, y'know… if it comes up. Grian's two tables away, one leg stretched out pretty far. His twin's with him… They've been talking for ten minutes by now. Scar can't help but wonder if it's all a front to prevent anyone else starting a conversation.

Or at least one person from starting a conversation.

You know… He and Grian never really did sort out the whole red life thing. If, like, he's mad.

BigB's fingers close around the collar of Ren's vest. He pulls him down, speaking words Scar can't make out from here. They look as though they're spoken through gritted teeth. Ren listens, pointed ears twitching, and finally rasps his tongue up BigB's cheek. BigB sighs, but doesn't say anything else. He leans that cheek on Ren's shoulder. Ren pats his arm, leading him up the stairs again with all the grace of a king.

I wonder if he's told BigB anything about his status as a king back on Hermitcraft. BigB's into history or something, right? Maybe he'd find that neat.

Scar isn't the only one watching the Box Boys from the balcony. As Scar tilts his wooden cup back and forth, debating whether it'd be a bad idea to get another refill, a finger reaches out to tap his shoulder. Oh? Scar turns his head. He's greeted by a face similar to his own, smiling grimly… Similar buff body, well taken care of, though this man's dressed in silver instead of red. He's partly translucent, flickering when you look at him head-on… but then, he sort of always is.

"What?"

BadTimeWithScar tips his head towards one shoulder. He lifts his wrist, indicating his communicator. Scar's eyes fall to his own.

"Oh. Sorry, hang on…"

He presses a couple buttons, pulling open the messages on his comm. The swelling music's incredibly loud right now. But there's a note from BadTime waiting for him, plain and simple. Scar studies it for several seconds, rearranging the blurry letters in his mind.

BadTimeWithScar: tag team the grians? BadTimeWithScar: i mean if youre not going to make a move for us… BadTimeWithScar: I will ;)