It was just supposed to be a simple game.
Nothing all too serious, just a bit of fun. It would have also helped both Zane and Gene get a feel for their new home.
Zane hadn't really been excited about living with just Gene, but he would have to deal with it. He had had roommates before, and he knew just how annoying they could be. But he had also lived by himself before, and he wasn't ready to go back to that. He was tired of being alone.
Gene had been thankful to all the Divines that he would finally get to live with just Zane. A bit too thankful, in Zane's opinion. Ever since they had moved in he had been more clingy to him than before. He would get upset with him every time Zane tried to be in a different room than him, unless he was getting a shower or using the toilet. It... honestly scared Zane.
Then one day he had enough.
Going back to the game of Hide & Seek, Zane had run off and hid in the laundry room, between the washer and dryer. He had sent a text to Gene, telling him to come and find him. When Gene did find him, however... it wasn't pretty.
"You don't hide from me, do you understand!?" He yelled in Zane's face, one of his hands wrapped around his throat.
Around two weeks had passed since then, and Gene had become more and more obsessed with being around Zane. It had gotten to the point where Zane wouldn't be allowed to leave the house, one the worst days the bedroom they shared.
Zane had sent a quick call to Laurance, the husband of his older brother. He trusted the brunette a great amount, and had practically begged him to come get him away from his own husband. Laurance, after hearing the full story, made sure that Garroth knew about it too.
Garroth, being the overprotective older brother he was, had personally gone and looked for Gene. Keyword being "looked". Gene was nowhere to be seen, and the place looked like an absolute wreck. Zane could easily, but painfully, remember how seriously Gene had taken that game... he had stolen Garroth's job, breaking down the door to the laundry room.
Zane had taken to living with Garroth and Laurance for the time being, and he had gotten to talk with Aphmau again after that long period of isolation. Everyone had become horrified at what Gene had done to Zane, especially poor Dante, Gene's younger brother. The blue haired had looked as though he wanted to crawl in the deepest hole in the universe and die at the bottom of it.
"Zane, are you sure you want to do this?" Garroth asked, concern on his face as Zane got out of the car.
"I'm not going to live in fear of Gene all my life." Zane replied, looking at the house he used to live in. "And he isn't here anymore."
"Alright... but I'm keeping a track of time." He said in a warning tone. "You're going to grab what you have to and come right back out, got it?"
"Yeah, I know." He nodded, walking into the house.
Nothing had been touched since the day Garroth went in there, looking for Gene. Everything really was a mess, every room with the furniture moved or broken. It hurt Zane, to see what had been caused. But Zane's happiness and survival was more important than his other feelings... right?
When he opened up the bedroom door, he was expecting to see Gene laying on the bed. He had been hesitating when as he pushed the door open, fearing that his old lover would be there, waiting for him to return. He remembered that Gene was gone, and opened the door as a normal person would.
Going over to the bed, Zane got onto his hands and knees, looking under it. When he spotted the locked up box, he reached under and pulled it out. He had kept some of his most prized belongings in here, and one of them was his grandmother's ring. It had been passed down to his mother, and his mother gave it to him.
