Round 5 (previous)

Ah, camping. There’s nothing better than a trip to the mountains. Sleeping in icy cold weather with nothing but the thin walls of a tent and a flimsy sleeping back to keep you cozy–who could ask for more? And what better way to end off the trip than another elimination!

Refreshed and revived, Cash now has a difficult choice to make. Will it all end in heartbreak? Let’s see.

🌸🌸🌸💀💀💀💀💀

The drive back wasn’t
nearly as peaceful as the drive there had been. Cash found it difficult to
appreciate the sprawling fields and green mountains when his soul felt heavy
with guilt. He was thankful that Twist had at least scheduled the elimination for
after their return. Cash wasn’t sure he’d have been able to endure a five-hour
car ride back with everyone after the ceremony.

Although the trip was
uncomfortable, it felt far too short. Cash had fallen asleep in the back seat
with Stretch after Edge had volunteered to drive. He was awoken by the familiar
grind of gravel beneath the car’s tyres. He slowly opened his socket to find
the car pulling up in front of the manor. Though home was normally where Cash
felt most comfortable, there was no place he’d less like to be right now.

The ceremony was
delayed further to give everyone time to unpack and shower after the cramped
car ride. Cash gathered his belongings from the trunk and headed inside. He was
stopped at the foot of the stairs by a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, Patches,”
Twist said, turning him around. “You alright?” There was a note of worry to his
tone. For Twist to be expressing concern, Cash’s troubles must have been more
obvious than he’d thought.

“fine,” he said, his
voice flat. Twist lifted a brow bone and Cash shook his hand off. “gonna
shower.” He hurried up the stairs without waiting for a response.

All too soon, he was
coming back down. The four remaining contestants were awaiting him in the front
hall, Twist hovering at the foot of the stairs. For once, he didn’t look
excited. That alone was enough to sink Cash’s spirits somehow further. “Ready?”
Twist asked, squeezing his arm when he reached the bottom of the stairs.

Cash eyed Edge,
Stretch, Slim, and Papyrus, and swallowed. As always, they looked far too
cheerful (Edge aside, perhaps). Cash hated this. “i guess,” he muttered,
summoning the first bone.

No one looked
surprised when he handed it to Slim—though he did so with a twisting nausea in
his chest. Slim accepted it with a smile—a smile that might have made Cash’s
soul flutter under normal circumstances, but right now, it only deepened his
guilt. Slim joined Twist, who tucked him under his arm. Cash’s gaze lingered on
them for a few moments; there was a warm affection in the way Twist held Slim,
as if he was… comforting him.

Twist gave Cash a nod
of reassurance and Cash tore his gaze away, shutting his socket. He held it
closed for a few seconds, breathing slowly. Knowing he was only delaying the
inevitable heartbreak, he summoned two bones at once and handed them to Stretch
and Edge.

There was a ringing
silence in his ear canals. He was certain everyone had been anticipating it,
but now that he’d done it, he felt ashamed. He turned slowly to face Papyrus.
He was smiling—because of course he
was smiling. “pap…” The word barely left his mouth, half a choked whisper. “i’m
sorry.”

Papyrus approached
him, still smiling. Cash could feel the others watching them. He wanted to melt
into the marble floor tiles. “Wealthy M—Cash.” Papyrus’ voice was soft and
kind. He tilted Cash’s chin and met his eye, looking earnest. “May I?” he
asked, opening his arms in offering. Stiffly, Cash nodded, and Papyrus hugged
him. “It’s okay,” Papyrus whispered, stroking Cash’s spine and cradling his
skull. “I know you’ll be happy. That’s all I want.”

Cash couldn’t reply.
He couldn’t think of anything to say. Nothing seemed right. So, he just… leaned
into Papyrus’ arms. He let himself be held. Papyrus was projecting—comfort,
affection, compassion—and Cash soaked it in. He wasn’t sure if he deserved it,
but for just a moment, he let himself have it.

****

Cash made no protest
when Twist lay down beside him on the bed. He was staring at the ceiling,
flicking his lighter on and off and watching the flame shudder in the wind let
in by the open window. He had a self-imposed rule against smoking in his own
bedroom. He normally didn’t mind the smell, but it wasn’t the type of thing he
liked waking up to in the morning. At the present, watching the flame of his
lighter seemed like the next best thing.

He felt Twist
shuffling across the mattress to get closer to him, but he didn’t chastise him
for it, as he normally might have. “Three left,” Twist remarked, and Cash
hummed his acknowledgement but didn’t reply. He could feel the yellow of
Twist’s eye-light on him. “Ya lookin’ forward ta the next round?”

Cash paused his
flicking to give Twist a deadpan look. “has the answer to that question ever
been yes?” he asked, dryly.

Twist chuckled. “Think
you’ll like this one.”

“forgive my lack of
faith in your judgement on the matter.”

Propping himself up on
his elbow, Twist leaned in—his face almost intimately close. “Figured I’d heat
things up a little after that cold trip to the mountains.”

That was ominous. Cash
frowned, mistrustful. “meaning…?”

Twist was already
climbing off the bed. He shot Cash a wink when he reached the door. “Since
we’ve narrowed it down ta three, I figured we could spice things up a bit,
y’know? Three’s not too many for ya, is it? What’s the number before ya start
considerin’ yerself promiscuous?”

“promiscuous?” Cash
echoed, startled. Realisation slowly dawned on him, and he gaped. “twisted—are
you going to make me—?”

“Not gonna make ya do
anythin’, sweetheart,” Twist assured him. “I’ll only be providin’ encouragement.
And snacks.”

Cash closed his eye
and inhaled, swallowing back his barrage of retorts. “and… how am i supposed to
pick one, if i’ve…?” He made a
gesture that extracted a snicker from Twist.

Winking, he said, “Hey,
it’s yer game, Patches. No one said ya had ta play by the rules.”