Keegan rested in his room, it was bleak, to say the least. There was a simple wood nightstand with a dim lamp, a twin-sized bed where this tall man rested, and a desk across from him which was placed against a wall with scattered papers, his room seemed so dark and lonely. Keegan rose from his small nap, he was exhausted, but he couldn't place what exactly made him feel that way, maybe it was how this last mission played out, how Elias was actually gone, or how he got injured, maybe it was because he was rejected or at least it felt like a rejection. Truth be told the second they hit base he wanted to talk to Y/CN about the kiss and how he felt that it was natural, but Y/CN rushed off, too upset about Elias and concerned about how the Walker brothers must be feeling. He gritted his teeth remembering how upset Y/CN got, "Why couldn't I have fucking read the room? They were hurting! And all I could think about was kissing them?!" he said to himself, his throat felt as if a hot barbed wire has been coiled around it, his eyes bored outside of the small window in his room, he was staring into the blue moon that shined out in the black sky, a few stars dusting around it. His eyes which were said to look as if he were lifeless, trickled a tear, one single tear. Keegan hasn't cried since he was a child, and when he realized it was over them. His body began to gain goosebumps, he was afraid, afraid of not being strong enough, afraid of not being this lifeless robot he convinced others that he was, he was afraid to love... them. He slowly got up, grabbed his mask and a coat, he decided to go for a walk tonight and clear his head.
Keegan had made his way to the forest before hearing footsteps behind him, he grabbed his knife from his belt and threw it in the direction, it seemed to have missed as he heard it hit the ground sinking into the inch of snow, but he had gotten a gasp out of the person. "What the fuck, Sarg!" cried out an all too familiar voice, it was Y/CN. Just when he decided he needed to clear his head from them, when he thought that maybe he was doing what he was doing in the heat of the moment, they appeared, following him. "Not my fault, you should know that I would be on edge since I'm injured, what do you want." He hissed, he didn't want to sound as harsh as he did right now but it was for their own good. He needed to get some space away from them before it was too late. "I saw you walking out and decided to keep you company, you know back up?" they said, they're voice ringing into his head. "Thanks but I got it, kid." Keegan walked along the border between the forest and open field. Y/CN didn't take his answer as a no, not one bit, they ran up to catch up to him and handed his knife back. "Please, let me walk with you." Keegan smiled under his mask slightly and slowed down to match their pace, silently indicating that he would let them walk alongside him. Keegan continued to walk, his boots crunching softly against the snow. The silence between them was palpable, broken only by the occasional gust of wind rustling the trees. He could feel the weight of Y/CN's gaze on him, their concern unspoken yet evident. "You really don't know when to give up, do you?" he muttered, keeping his eyes ahead.
Y/CN didn't flinch at his words, instead taking a few steps closer. "Why be alone when you have a partner?" they said softly, their tone laced with a mixture of determination and empathy.
He clenched his jaw, struggling to keep his emotions in check. "I know how to handle myself," he replied curtly. "You should be focusing on your own problems, not trying to fix mine."
But Y/CN was undeterred, stepping into his path and forcing him to stop. "You think I don't know that? I'm not here to fix you, Keegan. I'm here because you think you have to be alone. I'm here because..." they hesitated, their eyes meeting his in a moment of raw honesty, "because you're going to die Keegan. In that stupid fucking mask, you're going to die if you keep acting like this"
Keegan's grip on his mask tightened. He had spent so long perfecting the act of detachment, convincing everyone, including himself, that he was better off without emotional ties. Yet here Y/CN was, standing before him, threatening to unravel everything he had tried to bury. He opened his mouth to retort, but the words caught in his throat. Instead, he just shook his head and walked past them, leaving the conversation unfinished.
Y/CN sighed, they stared at him and watched him get away. Y/N looked up at the moonlight, and around the base, and then at the masked man, his figure slowly shrinking into the distance.
(Ooooh was that a drastic change? Yes yes it was ahaaaaaaaa. I'm sorry y'all ✋💀)
