Out Of The Birdcage • Limited Life Fanfic

.°• Chapter 6: The Husband •°.

"SCAR!" Grian cursed, pacing, "It was a trap, of course it was a trap"

Jimmy could barely hear Grian for his heartbeat, pounding at his ribcage like an angry prisoner. His world was spinning. This is bad. This is all so bad. They died and for what? A trap. A stupid, stupid, trap. Grian grabbed Jimmy's wrist, holding him in place and looking at him in the eyes. "Breathe, Tim". He looks as shaken as Jimmy feels, but he's trying to feel in control of himself.

Jimmy lets out a deep breath, for Grian's sake.

"How much time have you got left, Tim?"

They both pulled up their sleeves groaning when they saw the time. 1:06:34.

"We're getting them back right now" Grian said, gritting his teeth and picking up a TNT Minecart. He began to storm across the bridge, eyes narrowed.

They only had an hour. Even if they didn't take any risks, they'd be gone soon. They had to make up the time they had lost. Jimmy gripped his sword before following Grian across the bridge.

The family were assembled on their end of the bridge.

"Did you seriously fall for something that stupid?" Cleo smirked.

"It worked perfectly!" Scar grinned.

"You... you really thought you could walk away with a victory here, huh" Jimmy yelled, pointing his sword at them as he spoke.

"Yep" BDubs flashed his teeth.

"You thought that we wouldn't come back for you, huh?" Jimmy continued.

"Yep" BDubs ennunciated the 'P'.

Scar patted BDubs on the shoulder, "Shhh, he's monologuing"

Cleo snorted.

"Well guess what" Jimmy snarled, "We're back. And it won't be so easy for you this time"

"Boohoo" Cleo said in a baby voice, "We're so scared"

From behind Jimmy, Grian let out a cry of rage and frustration, hurling a TNT minecart on rails and letting it collide with the Clockers. They all blew up in smithereens, BDubs and Cleo exploding in a crackle of lightning.

BDoubleO100 has ran out of time.
ZombieCleo has ran out of time.

Grian panted, all his energy set in their deaths. That cry released emotions he was never fully aware he had bottled, and their mockery was the last straw.

The message in chat was gratifying. Only one more Clocker was left, and poor Scar was all alone. Jimmy knew he had to keep pushing so all of this would be over.

Grian swiped on his wrist, giving Jimmy half an hour. "I'm done with this." His shoulders were tensed, "Lets go, Tim"

It was night again. Jimmy could finally have some rest. Nobody was on his back right now. It was just him and Grian, and they were silent, and the world could just stop moving on at night. Everyone got some well deserved quiet. He felt his bed sink slightly.

He rubbed his eyes and Scott's wide blue eyes were staring right back at him.

"Boo" He whispered softly.

"SC- Scott!" Jimmy lowered his voice, scrambling back in his bed. He felt his heart beat faster. This was it. He was done. "What are you doing here, at this time? You wouldn't-". His hand instantly reached for the sword beside his bed.

"Jimmy, relax. I just came to see you. You're so far away from me and Martyn, you know" Scott eyed Jimmy's hand, smiling sadly. "I don't blame you, you can't trust anyone, it's okay. I think- I'm sorry. I should've come at a different time"

"No" Jimmy burst out, moving his hand away from the side of his bed, "No, Scott. Please stay"

Scott's eyes traveled the length of Jimmy's face, ever observant. The corners of his lips upturned as he shuffled up.

"I'm sorry, it's just, you know, I've been busy trying to- trying to break the cycle"

"Oooooh" Scott beamed, turning to lie on his stomach, his legs flicking back and forth, "Breaking the cycle, how intriguing. Tell me about it"

Jimmy grins, relaxing. He missed this. He missed Scott. His eyes, his accent, that adorable little thing he did where he batted a strand of hair out of his face but it always fell back down and he was just there, swinging at it like a cat. Jimmy giggled as he did that while explaining to him about his ambition to win. He didn't mention the watchers, that was irrelevant. There were no voices in his head to worry about right now, just Scott's. And that's all he wanted to hear.

"Well aren't we all trying to win? That's what this is all about right, or did I miss something?"

Jimmy nodded in response, waving his hands. "Its just I'm sick of this constant cycle of life and death, and ticking clocks and lives and whatnot. Every time it resets, a bunch of people die and no progress is made. I just want to be free of it, you know. I want to live a normal life. I want to win the game and have it done for good"

Scott's previously perky voice faded, instead he looked sorrowful. "You know we can't do that, Jimmy"

Couldn't they? I mean, that's what the watcher said he could do. It could work, surely? Was he wasting his time on something impossible. Jimmy itched the back of his neck, Scott's words bringing an uncomfortable amount of reality.

"Do you remember" Scott began, now sitting up and swinging his legs from the bed, "The first time. You know, when we were in love?"

Love.

"I was- I wasn't ready for you to go, Jimmy. I'm just so glad you're still here." He wrapped Jimmy in his arms, squeezing him like he'd just slip away. Jimmy looked slightly taken aback, his hands awkwardly patting him on the back. A tear slid down his face.

"How do you-" Scott shuffled away, "How do you feel about Joel's death?"

"I- I don't know how to feel" Jimmy felt more tears coming, heat pricking his eyes, "On one hand, his death, you know, changed the game. Changed my fate. But on the other hand, he founded the bad boys. There's am empty space I could've never imagined him not being in"

Scott nodded, his eyes trained on him again. He took a second to look at the breaking dawn. "I'm gonna go before Grian sees me and panics"

"Yeah, that'd be for the best. Just, be careful, alright?"

Scott hopped off of his bed, grinning. "You know I will".

He was out of eyesight in a couple of minutes, just as Grian began to slip out of bed. Jimmy stood up, addressing him. "What now?"

"There's no chance we're finding Scar at this point. We have to go for the Mean Gills, Scott and Martyn"

Word count: 1122

I hope you liked the cheeky bit of flower husbands! Please tell me if you find any spelling errors (my new phone has terrible autocorrect). Have a lovely day ♡