Michael felt like he was on pins and needles. The various emotions he hadn’t even realized he had been restraining were now trying to run rampant as he paced around the parking lot. But every time he stepped into the shade of a tree it only intensified his feelings, making it seem like he was about to explode. Quickly, he headed towards a large open park close by. Under the rays of the sun, he felt his rage dampen a bit. Even though he felt sticky and hot, it was better to focus on that then his desire to hit something.

“Fucking idiot.” Sprawling on a bench with no shade, Michael absorbed the heat as he covered his eyes with his hands. “Dumbass.” He kept grumbling various curses though he wasn’t sure if they were for Alexander or himself.

“He’s probably right.” Michael sighed and sat up.

The sun beat down on the back of his head as he leaned forward and tried to think of anything he might have missed when he tried to get into contact with Overworld. While their personal connections weren’t making it, there had to be other ways. But they were all escaping him. He didn’t know what would happen if they just trashed the world. There was a chance they would be completely lost without someone on the other end to quickly recover them. The best they could do was as Alexander said, stabilize the world and that would hopefully get them a connection.

“I hate it. I don’t want him to be right.” Biting his lower lip, he violently chewed for a few moments before he felt the skin break. Only then did he stop and wipe it off. He felt only a little better as he continued to melt in the humid heat. Through half closed eyes he watched the scenery.

These worlds were contradictions. Real and fake. New and old. An ever-changing existence. A few days ago, from his perspective, most of these people hadn’t existed. This place hadn’t existed. Just nothing but a few key points and people. Now the world was lively and none of them knew that they were newborns in his eyes.

A mother pulled along two small children while a pair of teens were running around avoiding responsibilities at home so they could play in the summery outdoors. Cars drove by like nothing happened and people chatted, laughed, and enjoyed themselves on a hot summer day.

Something about it soothed him. Closing his eyes, he sank into the atmosphere. He had enjoyed his work. After a long existence taking life, it had been fun to create it. Even if these places were originally just fragmented thoughts and half-finished ideas, they turned into their own ecosystem, growing and branch into fully developed beings.

It made him feel less lonely.

“You’re going to get a sun burn like that.” A charming voice broke through his appreciation of the atmosphere.

“It hasn’t even been 30 minutes.” Michael growled back, not opening his eyes as he felt the sun suddenly blocked from his face. Alexander waited for him to open his eyes and was relieved to see they had returned to Hunter’s green.

“You bit your lip too hard again.” Alexander sighed and pulled a napkin from his pocket to clean the small wound on his lover’s lip as Michel glared.

“Next time I’ll bite your face instead.” Even with his harsh words, he didn’t move as Alexander carefully cleaned away the excess blood before resting a hand on Michael’s cheek. Alexander was still cool from the diner as it prickled against Michael’s sun-soaked skin. It felt nice, but Michael instead stubbornly looked away.

“I’m fine with that.” Leaning forward Alexander softly kissed him. It was their first kiss in this world and while a brief encounter Michael still went along before he was pulled up out of his seat. “You still shouldn’t be sitting directly in the sun. Sunburns are painful.”

“Sure.” He followed Alexander’s lead into a shaded patch under a large banyan. Against the tree, Michael sat in Alexander’s offered lap while he ate the slice of pie bought from the diner. It wasn’t as good as the grease of sausage and eggs in the morning, but it would do.

“I’m sorry.” Michael chose to break their peaceful silence as he finished the slice off and wiped the crumbles off his hands. “I don’t think it’s all your fault.”

“So, it’s still a bit my fault?” Alexander chuckled, quite happy with their current position.

 Michael looked back at Alexander with a scowl before he sighed. “Even if you chose to go on, I should have been sent back to Overworld. It was ridiculous of me to think something like that would strand us. I shouldn’t have snapped at you.” With food and his husband, Michael felt a bit calmer. “It’s just frustrating. I don’t know what caused this.”

“Hmmm.” Alexander hummed as he readjusted a hand on Michael’s waist, making it a little bit more comfortable for the both of them.

“On top of that, not being able to contact Overworld makes no sense. By this point, we are high tier developers. Normally we contact them with only our personal energy. Something must have gone wrong during transfer. Do you remember anything strange?” Even though there shouldn’t have been anything, Michael still felt like he was forgetting something. Something important.

“Do we have to keep this conversation up?”

“Don’t you want to go home?”

Alexander took a few moments to answer as he looked down somewhat lazily at his lover. While the face was different than his true one, it was still cute. For Alexander, he really didn’t care. “Everywhere is home as long as I have you.”

“I should have punched you.” Michael let out an exasperated groan as he buried his face in his hands.

“All we can do is our job and wait. There’s no need to panic. We have plenty of time. We’re only in our twenties and we have a few more years compared to other because of my supernatural status. Let’s just leisurely work our way through the problem. Anyway, there are more pressing issues such as making sure what story is plotted doesn’t cause us troubles and that the world doesn’t collapse on accident.”

“Ugh, plot.” Michael hadn’t forgotten Hunter’s miserable end. He knew things wouldn’t happen like the creator originally planned, but he still couldn’t help but feel a small flicker of concern.

“The bigger issue is I only know the story for Neil.”

“It’s the same for me. I only have Hunter’s plot.” They were so used to get the entire story from their System Administrators that it felt odd to be without it. Like they technically had no solid confirmation of who the main character was, who the side characters were, villains, side plots. All they could do was guess. At least they had many years of experience under their belts which gave them a general idea of who was who.

“I don’t think the creator knew what they wanted to do with Neil. He’s only got a handful of scenes and then fades into obscurity. I’m not even sure if the murdered pack plot line has much bearing on anything.”

“Ha, better than dying like a cannon fodder bitch within three scenes.”

They chatted for a bit longer under the tree. It was easy to bemoan their respective roles as they swapped everything they had learnt from those around them. While it was far from the full picture, they felt a bit more comfortable with the expanded information. Without Home Team they couldn’t remotely find out information, so they had to rely on their own personal skills.

Now it was time to work out the most important part. After confirming that they had open time in both of their characters’ past, they began to work on their interpersonal story. After all, if everything worked out properly, they would eventually leave Neil and Hunter behind as independent individuals. There needed to be a solid reason for their relationship. So, the husbands got to work as they built a long-distance relationship that had been going on for over 5 years ago. Their separation fueled by busy schedules brought on by work and college.

When the sun disappeared behind clouds, the two decided it was time to leave.

“Do you feel better now?”

Michael patted the dirt from his jeans. “Yes.”

“Good, good.” Alexander snaked an arm around his shoulder as he pulled Michael closer and kissed his forehead. “You scared me early.”

“Sorry.” It was embarrassing for Michael. How long had he been a master of his own emotions and powers and yet here he had nearly lost it over the matter. Such a tantrum.

“It’s fine. Just remember to tell me if things get like that again. Even if we don’t have Overworld, I still have control over the contract.” The danger of breaking the world was constantly there, Michael couldn’t just let his energy run rampant like that.

“I know. I will.”

With that wrapped up they decided to enjoy the rest of day and explore a bit. Marine’s Call was a beach town and while neither had a swimsuit they could still walk along the beach. Between building shitty sandcastles, chasing off the birds and jumping over the large rock piles that jutted out from the sand into the ocean, they entertained themselves. Since Neil had more money than Hunter, Alexander paid for their lunch at a small sushi place and then finished up by buying Michael a new phone to replace the crushed mess that was his old one. Michael quickly fiddled with the new device as he downloaded everything including the Hunter Organization’s archive. It had become his favorite thing to read in his free time.

Walking under the streetlights around dusk, Michael had his one of his hands in his pockets as his other held Alexander’s waist. He leaned softly against the taller Alexander. A cool ocean breeze curled around them bring the calming scent of the sea. The last of his pent-up frustration drifted away leaving him only sleepy and content.

“Where are you staying?” Michael asked as they waited for the streetlight to change.

“I hadn’t gotten a place yet. Was too focused with meeting you.”

“Good, I’ve already rented a room for the evening.” He smoothly looked over at Alexander who didn’t need to be told twice.

“I’ll follow you.”  

A/N 

Haha, the beginning scene is actually the first scene I wrote when this story’s idea came to my head. I wanted two experienced world hoppers lost. One more serious and the other more relaxed and a long drink scene. The composition of the scene and the reason why they are stuck changed a lot, including Alexander's name (it was originally Jim), but I wanted to keep part of it in there since I liked it so much.