FNF Multiverse

Chapter 21.1 - It's you or me, pt. 2

Why did no one tell me pencils don't actually use lead T-T.

Reth took a firm hold of Reco's arm and dragged him out of the warehouse, ignoring the alarmed grunts from the workers that Reco quieted. He stopped walking once they were a far enough distance away and faced Reco eye to eye. He nervously fidgeted with his fingernails, something he did when he wasn't sure what to say.

"Damn it, Reth, why are you here," Reco groaned, hitting his fist against the wall.

"I already know about your other job," Reth deadpanned, trying to keep his cool when really he wanted to give Reco a piece of his mind. "So, it was only a matter of time until I found out about this."

Reco chuckled, shaking his head. "That's what I love about you," he said, leaning forward to plant a kiss on his boyfriend's forehead, but Reth stepped to the side.

"Don't do that," he grumbled. "Don't avoid it. You know what I'm going to say."

Reco's cover smile turned to something of a scowl. "Yeah, and I'm not going to do it. You can't control what I do, bi-"

"But I have to!" Reth interrupted, covering Reco's mouth with his hands. "Or you'll funking die! I just want you to be safe, Reco..."

"You think I was already safe?" Reth smirked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm a killer on the loose, for heaven's sake. I've already 'funking died'," he mocked.

"Just quit!" Reth shouted. He was losing his patience with this stubborn man. "Why won't you just listen to me for once! Trust me to make the right decision!"

Reco gently held Reth's arms and let them drop from his face.

"Because your decision is probably wrong, and I've learnt to follow my gut instinct," he said in an frustratingly calm tone, patting his chest. "So that's a no. And I'm done with this conversation. Go home, Reth."

With a yawn, Reco stuffed his hands in his pockets, slumped over, and walked back inside the warehouse with a half-minded wave. Reth gave him an incredulous stare which he did not catch as he left.

"It's now or never, Reth, now or never-" Reth thought, his mind going wild at the memories of Andrea being shot, of Reco getting arrested, the possibility of them breaking up...

"Are you really," he started, causing Reco to turn around and look at him with a bored expression, "putting your little side-time over me?!" Reth tipped his cap over his eyes. He didn't want Reco to see the collection of tears steadily blurring his vision.

Reco rolled his eyes in response. He opened his mouth for a sarcastic retort, but paused as he contemplated Reth's words.

"...I mean, I guess I am," he shrugged, also refusing to meet Reth's gaze. "You're slowly killing me anyway. We'll have to break things off eventually and guess this is the first step."

"I know that already," Reth whispered to himself as Reco left his line of sight. "I don't believe it though. Not with this...not with this new tool..." He thought about the time machine he had left back at the shelter. Without hesitation, he ran through the familiar paths to his "house" in order to use it, to go back in time and rewrite the future. This wasn't how things were supposed to turn out. Reth hated this new timeline, where nothing changed, except for the fact that the organization would probably have someone stalk him for the next couple of days and that Reco was already starting to float away from his grasp. At least no one was physically hurt this time.

He was out of breath by the time he reached the tattered shelter. He set his foot through the makeshift doorway, freezing when he heard a familiar voice from within.

"Ah, you're finally back. If you're such a thief, then me breaking into your house is not such a crime, huh?"

Reth knew he had heard this voice before, but from who? He started to panic, thinking the trespasser was someone from the organization sent to finish him off, maybe by Reco himself. No, if Reco wanted to kill him, he would do it himself with his double set of katanas. But that didn't eliminate the possibility of danger lurking inside the "house".

The stranger stepped forward into the light, revealing himself to be Reth's look-alike, the owner of the time machine that Reth had bumped into the other day. And he was holding the very key Reth needed to unlock the gateways of time.

"I'd like my time machine back," the stranger said, with a tight smile, tossing and catching the small remote in his hand like it was a ball. 

"I didn't...steal it," Reth stuttered, finding himself at a loss for words. There was a low chance this man was here to kill him, but with the power of the time machine, he could be of equal danger. Reth's mind was on guard as he stepped back for every step forward the stranger made.

"You don't recognize me? I thought the whole world knew me by now, but I guess news doesn't travel fast around the back alleys, huh?" the stranger smirked, which quickly turned to a frown. "Well, you lied. That you're my other self in a timeline. But I knew you were lying, I thought I'd give you a chance. And you've wasted it, I say," the man grumbled, clutching the remote and holding it there. Was this man an expert on time-travel? Maybe he was the crazy man who built the time machine. But he looked more like a street rapper than a distinguished scientist. "I'm gonna give you...two more chances," the stranger laughed evilly, holding up two fingers. There was obviously a catch. "If you still can't manage to get the happily ever after ending you want, I'll trap you in the worst timeline of the four."

"Wait-!" Reth shouted, moving to grab the time machine, but the stranger had already pressed the single button with a wild look in his eyes. "Oh, how I love ruining one's life, it's almost like a game!" Reth heard the stranger exclaim excitedly, before his surroundings swirled to darkness.