high rise hearts ☆ lifesteal smp au

𝐑𝐔𝐈𝐍𝐒 ✧✯

𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲: normal oneshot
𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀: none
𝘁𝘄: n/a
𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆: N1lifestealfan
𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁: the city's destroyed again, and zam and planet take a moment to reflect (on all the times it was like this before)

─── ⋅☆⋅ ───

𝐏𝐎𝐕: none

"it's strange how zam's character still smiles after all he's been through."
- random edgy ahh quote from discord

Smoke twists in skyward-bound wispy tentacles, slowly rising from the gaping holes carved into the skyline. The sun sinks behind the teetering towers of metal as if ashamed to show its face so close to the crime scene, illuminating giant chunks of metal and concrete, hanging on to the totaled skyscrapers by string-thin wires.
Zam watches it from the rooftop of a modest brick building, an island of solace in the sea of chaos. Amber-gold rays dance in the reflections of his faux gold crown, which slips lopsidedly down over his wheat-blonde chevelure.
It takes him a moment for him to realize it, but when the blunted base tips just slightly over his eyes, he reaches a hand subconsciously upwards to right the accessory-
But cool fingers brush his own, and before he can lay a single touch on his crown, someone else does it for him, and the crown is ever-so-gently tugged straight again. Surprised, he turns and finds himself face-to-face with Planet, midway through withdrawing his hand from his head.
"Oh. Hey." He pastes his usual sunny smile over his face, the mask any good superhero (or supervillain) needs. It does its job well; that of hiding.
"Hey." Planet greets him back, offering a small smile of his own, and it looks just as fake as Zam imagines his own face to look. They both have a thousand things to say, but for a while, only silence is spoken.
"So." Zam clears his throat, attempting to restart what was not a conversation in the first place. "Did you, uh, need something?"
"Oh. Yeah." Planet's shimmering eyes have drifted away from him, towards the horizon, towards the golden halo of sunlight that splinters between the wrecked buildings. "Uh..." He struggles to scrape up the words to describe what he's thinking of, but Zam is patient.
"Do you think..." Planet gives up on trying to face Zam, shifting his head to face the sunset head-on. So Zam looks too, but all he sees is the glimmering of dusk on broken windows, and that is not what Planet sees. "Do you think this was the right thing to do?"

The first time it happened, it was an accident. Affairs and grudges get out of hand sometimes, tis the way of the world. Even now, Zam can't distinguish the incident from all the others, because in a way there was nothing different about it. Blood-red monotony, smog threading its way around his head like the halo of a fallen angel.
The first time it happened, Planet wasn't there. It was just him, left to stare out at the shattered sunset through the curtains of splattered crimson and dull metal. Destroying a city could be considered an accomplishment, but looking at it then, it felt like a waste of time. He wondered where it all went wrong.
Nobody else seemed to know the meaning of the word "regret." Zam was left to peruse that knowledge alone. Not today.

He sighs, and moves his gaze away from the sunset. He can see what Planet sees just by looking at the expression on his face. "Not really. But it happened, you know?"
"Yeah." Planet sighs too, and distant clouds of grey swirl behind his fluffy white hair, demanding attention and getting none. "Time goes on, I guess."
This time, they both manage to smile, and it's just a fraction more genuine.

─── ⋅☆⋅ ───

𝗮/𝗻: sorry this oneshot was so short D: i'm experimenting with quality over quantity though so (this entire oneshot was not an excuse to use the word chevelure) oh and editor bk here: this was requested and not labeled correctly  oopsie ☆ bk

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓: 676