Six becomes five… it’s time for the round three elimination!
After a wild night of kisses, cuddles, and a few dirty jokes, Cash must now pick a third contestant to eliminate. But as the competition draws on, the task becomes more and more difficult for our poor bachelor. What will his decision be this time? Let’s find out!
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The morning broke dull
and gloomy, heavy grey clouds hanging in the sky over the gardens. Cash had
little energy to drag himself out of bed. For once, he was thankful for Twist’s
assistance. His constant supply of chatter drowned out the unpleasant reminder
of the day’s upcoming ceremony that plagued Cash’s thoughts. As he pulled on
his jeans, a soft rain began to patter against his bedroom window.
“Nice weather,” Twist
commented, his gaze respectfully averted. Cash offered him little more than a
soft grunt in response. “Ya decent?” Twist asked.
“yep.”
Twist turned, a grin
unfitting of the mood plastered across his face. “Wanna grab some breakfast b’fore
the ceremony?”
“nope,” Cash said,
tying his shoelaces and standing, shoving his hands in his pockets.
“Oh. Alrigh’.” Disappointment
briefly flickered across Twist’s features, but it quickly gave way to his
typical bright enthusiasm. “Well, ya’ve got some time ta kill b’fore the bonin’—”
Cash rolled his eye-light, but didn’t interject “—wanna, uh, hang out maybe?”
Cash shrugged. “sure.
guess so.” Delighted, Twist took his arm and led him downstairs. Cash hesitated
when Twist opened the front door, casting a dubious look at the heavy rain that
now fell over the gardens. “i was, uh, kinda hoping we’d be able to stay dry,”
he remarked.
Twist slowly lifted a
brow-bone, the corner of his mouth twitching upward. “Since when’ve ya cared abou’
stayin’ dry?” He chuckled as Cash elbowed him roughly. “Alrigh’, alrigh’,” he
conceded. “We’ll take an umbrella.”
“that’s… not quite
what i…”
Twist ignored Cash as
they walked onto the front porch, grabbing an umbrella from the stand. Cash
sighed, shaking his head with a roll of his eye. Twist only beamed, putting the
umbrella up before guiding him onto the soaked lawns.
They didn’t speak,
only the pattering of raindrops above them filling the silence. The air smelled
fresh and clean, a tint of citrus touching it when they reached the orchard. “Hold
this,” Twist said, handing Cash the umbrella before he crouched, picking a
fallen orange off the dirt. He peeled it as they walked, the juices flowing
down his fingers.
“So,” he said, taking
a bite of the entire orange after giving up on trying to peel it properly, “who’ve
ya got yer mind on?” Cash lifted a brow-bone. “Fer the ceremony,” Twist clarified.
“Not jus’… in general.” He shot Cash a wink.
“why do you care?”
Cash asked, nudging a stray orange off the path with the toe of his shoe.
Twist shrugged, wiping
some of the spilt juice off his chin. “Jus’ lookin’ out fer ya.” Cash regarded
him dubiously. “An’… wanna know what ya thought a’ last night? Ya had some…
interestin’ experiences.”
Cash blushed at the
memory of how Stretch had tasted beneath his tongue, and Slim’s fingers
intertwined with his own. He didn’t offer Twist more than a stiff grumble,
keeping his eye downcast. Discarding what remained of his orange, Twist wrapped
an arm loosely around Cash’s shoulders, pressing a gentle kiss to the crown of
his skull. “Ya know, some of ‘em ‘re more worthy of ya th’n others,” he
murmured. “I jus’ wanna make sure yer… gettin’ what ya deserve.”
Cash nodded, accepting
the gentle embrace. “don’t worry. i am.”
An hour later, Cash
found himself faced—once again—by a row of the remaining contestants. The
absence of Slim’s usual ruffled jacket was noticeable, and Cash had to suppress
the magic that threatened to colour his cheekbones as he recalled last night’s
events.
He glanced over his
shoulder at Twist, who winked. Inhaling heavily, Cash summoned the first bone,
scanning the group. He took the plunge and approached Slim first, his eyes
downcast as he muttered, “i, um, owe you a hoodie too, i believe.”
Slim blinked as he
took the bone, his cheekbones turning a pale shade of amber. “r-right,” he
stammered, before hurrying to Twist’s side.
Though Cash was
relieved that was out of the way, the next part was no less flustering. Swallowing
down the burn of magic in his throat, he handed the next violet bone to
Stretch. For a few seconds, Stretch didn’t move, his eyes nervous but fixed on
Cash. At last, Cash cleared his throat. “well? what do you want me to do? kiss
you again?”
Blushing brightly,
Stretch scurried to stand beside Twist, who tugged him against his side,
leaning in to whisper, “Shoulda’ said yes,”—loud enough for Cash to hear. Over his
shoulder, Cash threw Twist an unsavoury salute, which was only met with quiet
laughter.
He gave the next bone
to Edge, who looked surprisingly embarrassed. Cash smirked, tilting his head. “thinking
about how good it felt to have my hips—”
“Shut up,” Edge said
sharply, marching past him to stand beside Stretch. He received a deliberate
look from Twist, which he firmly ignored, despite the red glow on his
cheekbones.
Looking over the three
remaining contestants, Cash formed another purple bone. His grip was tight
around it, and he was perhaps a little too forceful when he handed it to Razz,
scowling. Razz took it slowly, holding it delicately between two fingers. The
corner of his mouth turned up as he watched Cash, and he cocked his head. “Why
so glum, precious? You’ve made a wise decision.”
Behind him, Cash could
practically feel the tension coming
off Twist—or perhaps it was the low growl he emitted. Regardless, Razz fell
silent, striding confidently to stand beside his brother. Cash flexed his
fingers until his knuckles cracked, tipping his head back and breathing in to
compose himself.
He summoned the final
bone and turned to Red and Papyrus. The look on Red’s face told Cash that he
already knew what was coming—which didn’t help quash the guilt he felt at giving
the bone to Papyrus. Red’s smile remained lax, but Cash could see the
disappointed slump in his shoulders. Something shrivelled inside him, and he
closed his eyes. “red…”
“hey, relax, pal. flattered
i even made it this far.” He reached up, squeezing Cash’s arm lightly. “it was
good a’ ya ta humour me, y’know.”
Cash’s soul plummeted,
and he shook his head profusely. “n-no. i wasn’t…”
“besides…” Red glanced
up at Papyrus, who was looking at him sympathetically. “yer not really my type,”
he said, turning back to Cash. He considered for a moment, his gaze wandering
over Cash before he shrugged. “eh, well. not completely.”
“thanks for, um…” Cash
frowned, staring at the marble floor. “tolerating me.”
“ya sell yerself short,
pal,” Red said. “it was fun.” His eye flickered over Cash’s shoulder to Razz,
sockets narrowing briefly before his casual smile returned. “pick a good one,
bud.”
Cash was silent,
simply nodding. He turned when he felt Twist’s hand on his shoulder. Offering
him a small smile, Twist nodded in the direction of the stairs. Sighing, Cash followed
him without a word, trying not to listen to the words of consolation Papyrus
and Edge were whispering to Red.
When they reached Cash’s
room, Twist sat them down on the bed, watching Cash as his shoulders sank. He pulled
him into a one-armed embrace, holding him steady. “’S alright, Patches,” he
murmured. “I know this is hard.”
“red was…” Cash sighed,
tired, despite the hour. “he didn’t deserve that.”
“He’s fine,” Twist
said, unconcerned. “What I wanna know is—why didn’ ya eliminate Razz? He ain’t
exactly… well, he’s a piece a’ shit.”
Cash shook his head,
wearily resting his head on Twist’s shoulder. “he’s the only one who doesn’t…”
“Treat ya like an
actual person?” Twist suggested, dryly.
“he’s honest with me,”
Cash said. “the others… they’re all…”
“Nice?” Twist sighed,
drawing away for a moment so he could look Cash in the eye. “Patches, have ya
considered tha’ maybe they actually like ya?”
Cash stared at him,
deadpan, before rolling his eye-light. “hilarious, twisted.” Twist frowned, but
drew him back into his arms, patting his back soothingly.
“Yer worth more than
ya realise,” he said, quietly. “Do me a favour, Patches, an’ remember that.”
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