Fortunately Unfortunate, Chapter 1/8 (Genshin)
Bennett sighed, inhaling the smell of cool earth. The only silver lining to the current predicament he was in was the fact it was NOT in the middle of summer. If it were to have been, he would have surely died from heat stroke by now. His eyes wandered all over the small box they were currently imprisoned in. He shook his head when yet another wave of disbelief came over him. He exhaled as he leaned his head on the metal behind him. He's used to being in these unfortunate situations alone due to his notorious bad luck, but this time he wasn't alone. He heard shuffling coming from behind him before he felt the weight of Razor leaning against him. He looked down at his hands, tracing over old scars with his fingers. What kind of sick person creates a cage within a cage? He picked up a pebble near his leg, throwing it at the bars in front of him out of frustration. Silence had fallen between the two for some time now; both were exhausted from being trapped there all day. He felt so alone, despite the fact he could feel the rise and fall of Razor's chest behind him. The bars that separated them made him feel useless. What if something were to happen to Razor? He wouldn’t be able to help him. What if they were never found? He wouldn’t even be able to hug his friend goodbye because of the damn bars. The silence was broken when muffled sobs echoed through the small space. Bennett jolted from his thoughts, turning his body to face the other.
"Razor?" he reached his hand through the bars, wincing as he scraped it on a protruding piece of metal. He placed his hand on his back, his face contorting with concern.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He nudged him, waiting a moment for a response.
"Razor?"
The wolf boy let out a drawn breath, before slowly turning to face him. Tears streamed down his face as he avoided Bennett's attempts at making eye contact. He was taken aback by his expression. He had never really seen Razor so upset before- his eyes were red and tear streaks ran down either side of his cheeks. Razor was usually so stoic around him. Out of all the people in his life, Razor was the one who had to watch him experience life-threatening situations the most. He thanked the archons that Razor hadn't been injured yet while adventuring with him. He avoided most other people like the plague- one of his worst fears was hurting those he loved. Now he feared he might've just done that very thing.
He reached his hand up, wiping away the tears with his thumb. "What's wrong Raz? Talk to me."
Razor remained silent for a few moments, leaning into the touch.
"Razor is sorry. So sorry," he gnawed on his lip, bringing his fingertips up to the back of Bennett's hand, "I was not thinking. I... trap you. You tried to help me... but got stuck...." He pulled away, burying his face in his own hands in an attempt to hide the guilt and new tears falling down his face.
"Hey-" he reached out, gently turning his head back to his own again, and settled both his hands on either side of his face, "It's not your fault. You did nothing wrong. I rushed in without considering the consequences. I should've made sure the cell was secure first. I wasn’t going to just leave you there! I- I-" he took a breath, lowering one of his hands to his own chest, trying to calm his increasing heartbeat, "I just wanted to make sure you were safe. Leaving you here alone was not an option." Razor looked up briefly to meet his friends gaze, then leaned forward, placing his forehead against his.
He inhaled slowly, composing himself before responding.
"You are reckless. Rushing to save me... not even thinking about own safety."
He chuckled, pulling back to look at him, "Then so be it. I'm reckless. I'd do it all again- over and over if it meant I had a chance at saving you. You are worth being a little reckless over. Though with my luck, it might take a few hundred attempts."
He leaned forward once more, resting his head back in the previous position, and shut his eyes. Razor was grateful for this, because it meant Bennett couldn’t see how red his face was. They remained that way for a few minutes; Bennett had settled his arms on either side of his shoulders, and clasped his wrist behind his neck to keep them in place. They sat like this until both of their heart rates had returned to normal. Razor was the first to pull back. His tears had ceased, and he gave him a weak smile. Bennett returned it with an enthusiastic one. His eyes darted across his face briefly, reassuring himself that Razor was okay before fulling pulling away, returning to the back-to-back position they were originally in. He stretched his legs out, positioning himself so he was resting on his hands behind him. The bars dug into his shoulders- it was uncomfortable, but better than the cold ground. He closed his eyes, humming a soft tune as he rested. He felt a weight on his hand, and glanced down to see Razor had put his on top of his own between the bars. He grinned to himself, turning his palm upwards so their fingers could interlock, before drifting off to sleep.
A few hours had passed before he was startled awake by a low rumbling sound. He bolted upright, glancing around for any danger.
"Razor? Are you alright?"
He stood up, turning to look into his cell. He stumbled forward, reaching out for the bars to grab onto.
Razor was pacing back and forth, clutching his stomach as he walked.
"Oh- sorry. I am fine. Just... hungry. Painful." He stopped pacing and gave Bennett a look that mirrored that of a sad puppy dog.
"Gah stop looking at me like that-" he averted his eyes, looking at his backpack instead, "I might have some food. Hold on, lemme check."
He bent down, rummaging through his bag in search for any snacks.
"Ah! An apple!" He snatched it from his pack, and tossed it to him.
Razor mumbled a brief thanks before scoffing the fruit down.
"Slow down- you're going to choke. I can't help you if that happens," he said, gesturing at the barrier between them, before spotting a flash of white that had fallen out of one of the zippers.
"Aw drat, my poem-" he bent down, picking up the incomplete piece. He sighed, sinking back down to the floor. The paper was covered in ink splotches and crossed out lines of poetry he felt weren't quite right.
Love poem. That definitely was not one of his strong suites. It's not that he hasn’t loved anyone or doesn’t understand it- he's just terrified of love. Becoming close to someone is one of his biggest fears. Loving someone was one of his biggest fears. Razor was one of his biggest fears. People get hurt when they're around him- it's not something he can control, but he can't help but feel responsible. He feels guilty for not wanting to adventure alone; most adventures he goes on he is alone... because no one wants to adventure with him. He can't blame them though- it’s the only rational thing a person could do. So he can't fathom how Razor can tolerate him, and even seems eager to hang out with him. He's not sure how it makes him feel. He's terrified. All the time for his friend. But he can't help but feel like he's on top of the world; someone wants to be on his team- to be around him. Someone cares enough about him to worry about his wellbeing-
"Bennett?"
He blinked a few times, pulling himself out of the spiral he was just having.
"Yeh Raz?"
Razor watched him for a moment before making his way over to the bars and plopping himself down in front of him.
"You..." He paused, furrowing his brows trying to find the words to say, "Are you okay?"
He chuckled in response, "Yeh I'll be fine. Venti the bard is trying to teach us about the meaning of Windblume- and he thought the best way to do that would be to write a love poem. So here I am- struggling over something that’s supposed to be simple," he shook his head, skimming over the crossed-out lines. He looked up from the paper before asking, "What do you define a Windblume as? What is Windblume to you?"
Razor seemed a bit perplexed by this question at first. He fiddled with the fabric of his pants, contemplating a response.
"Windblumes...unique. Bennetts's Windblume unique. Mine unique. Mine Wolfhook. It heals, and provides food. Color... is also nice. Windblume to me- means hanging out with you. Makes me feel... warm."
Bennett stared wide eyed at him. He was speechless. No one had ever said anything nice about him before.
Razor noticed his reaction, and seemed panicked by it.
"Bennett? Did I say something wrong? Words... I'm sorry- Razor isn't good at it- I-"
He cut him off before he could finish, "No, Raz. It's not that. That was beautiful. Do you mind if I used that in the poem? Would you mind helping me write it?"
He beamed at this proposal. Despite the fact he wasn’t good at conversation all the time, it didn’t mean he didn’t enjoy it. He mostly listens to Bennett ramble about various things- and a lot of the time he doesn’t quite understand what he's saying- but it didn’t matter. In fact- he loved listening to Bennett's enthusiasm. The way he talks with his hands, the sparkle in his eyes when he talks about something he loves, the way he will just jump mid walk when he can't contain his joy- and his laugh when he gets embarrassed about rambling. His voice is a comfort to listen to. He doesn’t like many people- he's just not used to being around them. But Bennett is an exception from this. Bennett makes him feel heard, even if he's not the one talking. He always seems to be able to tell what he is feeling, even if he doesn’t communicate it.
"I'd love that." Razor said, grinning, as he waited for him to continue. Bennett fetched an ink and quill from his bag, groaning as he grabbed it.
"Aw some of the ink spilled in my pack! That’s never coming out." Bennett heard Razor chuckling at that as he sat himself down in front of him.
"Keep laughing and I'll dump the ink on YOU." Razor just smirked at him, but complied none-the-less. In all likeliness, if he were to try and dump the ink on his friend, it'd probably only end spilling on himself.
They spent the next hour brainstorming and writing verse variations. Razor ended up being a sounding board for what sounded good. Bennett had a tendency to be wordy- his words creating chaos on the paper. So every time he came up with a new line, he would read it to Razor. If Razor was completely lost after he said it, he would simplify it to make it have better flow and cohesiveness. When he re-read the revised version and Razor smiled, he concluded the line was finished and moved on to the next one.
"Alright-" Bennett said, skimming over the lines a final time, "I think it's finished." He took a deep breath, before finally reciting the finished work.
"You and the Mare Jivari
So close yet so far
One at the edge of the world
The other in the center of my heart
Wolfhook and dandelion
My Windblume offering to you,"
He glanced up at Razor, trying to get a feel for his reaction. His cheeks were flushed and his was grinning at him.
"Poem... is beautiful. Makes me feel happy." He shifted his gaze to his lap; he could feel the intensity of Bennett's stare on him.
"Do you really think so?" He asked, sheepishly laughing as he messed with the corner of his paper.
Before he could get a response, the sound of his named being called echoed through the cell.
He jerked his head up, looking in the direction the noise came from.
"Did you hear that Razor?"
"BENNETT!"
He scrambled up to the cell bars leading to the outside world, clutching them as he peered out.
"WE'RE HERE!" He shouted, desperation creeping into his voice.
"WE'RE HERE!" He could see the traveler rushing over to where they were trapped.
"Bennett? Is that you? Razor? Oh my archons- are you guys alright?" They pulled the lever mechanism that was just out of Bennett's reach, and the cell's metal barriers began rising back into the ceiling.
Bennett turned around, rushing over to Razor and embracing him with a hug. The force of the hug nearly made him topple over; he was shocked for a moment, but quickly recovered and returned the embrace. He buried his face into the crook of Razor's neck, trying desperately to hold back tears of relief.
"I was so scared when I first found you in here. And then what if something were to have happened to you while we were trapped? You could've had a heart attack! Or what if you choked on the apple? With my luck anything could've happened! Or what if-"
"Bennett."
Razor pulled away, his eyes darting across his frenzied features,
He cupped his face, trying to get him to slow down, "I'm okay. You're okay. Breathe, Benny."
Bennett brought one of his hands to his chest, taking a few uneven breaths as his pulse remained rapid.
When he noticed Bennett wasn’t calming down, he closed the gap between them once again, wrapping his arms around him.
"Breathe. We're okay."
He sobbed against his shoulder, releasing all his frustrations and fear from the last 24 hours. He'd never been more scared in his entire life. When he saw Razor trapped like that- he thought he never be able to get him out. To hug him again.
They remained that way until he was finally composed. Razor didn’t budge until Bennett was the first to let go. Bennett wiped the tears from his face, "Let's get the hell out of here."