Typical matches, surprise post-match confessions

“Of course it’s this map. Can the hunters stop putting in complaints so we wouldn’t get stuck here..”

Hearing Luca quietly grumble on how he hated Lakeside, the map they were on for their match, Ashe put a hand on his shoulder. The two had queued up together to piss off the hunter like they normally do (and most of their matches were successful in that case) but Lakeside was the worst for pissing off the hunter due to the map’s size and they both knew that. Despite that, the well-known kiter still kept a smile on their face.

“Even if it’s this shitty map, we can still piss off the hunter. Just leave the kiting to me!”

“Yeah well, if you get chaired don’t come crying to me to save you” Although that would seem malicious to anyone else, Ashe could still see the slight smirk on his face indicating he was partly joking and they rolled their eyes before lightly nudging Luca’s side.

“Oh I won’t-though we both know you’d save me anyways cause you love me.” Noticing Luca get a bit flustered, Ashe mimicked his smile half-heartedly and couldn’t help but let out a chuckle as said prisoner lightly shoved them, gesturing for them to go before getting to work decoding the cipher they were bantering near.

All the kiting-loving survivor could do was laugh as they ran off to find the hunter. Decoding was never their speciality and they knew that (especially since they got chaired cause they fell asleep out of boredom while decoding the last match they tried to decode) but pissing off the hunter was something they could do all too well.

Luckily for said kiter, it didn’t take too long to find the hunter. Hiding behind a rock near the hunter, they had a mischievous look in their eyes. The hunter this round? Luchino. Although he was hard to kite sometimes since he could always jump over the pallets, he was also the easiest to piss off much to the survivor’s amusement.

Quietly tapping their belt and feeling the flare gun that they had gotten from a chest, the mischievous look in Ashe’s eyes only got bigger and they grabbed the gun, getting out of their hiding spot disappointed the hunter didn’t notice their right away. However they weren't too bothered since they knew exactly how to change that.

Pointing the gun at Luchino’s back, the kiter let out a loud enough laugh to get him to turn around and glare then immediately pulled the trigger, sending the flare charging right into Luchino’s face. Most would’ve ran away as soon as they flare-gunned the hunter but Ashe spent way too much time trying to find him to run away like that.

“Sup Luchibitch?” Hearing a growl out of the reptilian’s mouth, Ashe smirked and ran in the opposite direction. As they heard rapid footsteps behind them, they let out a cheerful laugh at how the match was now way more exciting as they vaulted over a few windows and pallets to get to their favorite kiting spot on the map. Normally the map they were on was shitty for kiting but Ashe knew exactly how to kite, or at least how to make the kiting entertaining.

Hearing the sound of a finished cipher nearby as they managed to bait Luchino to the boat, they let out a quiet sigh in relief knowing they wouldn’t be leading him to anyone and quickly dodged an attack as they navigated up to the boat deck. Stopping right near the hole in the boat that led to the lower level, they stepped closer to it and said nothing, waiting for Luchino to strike.

Not to Ashe’s surprise, he took the bait and they backflipped down the hole they were near. Hearing the reptilian hunter swear above them, they ran out of the boat towards a nearby pallet and all they could do was smile, satisfied that the kiting session was being entertaining instead of a bore this time around.

Although they had heard a few ciphers pop already, Ashe grumbled as they really wished they knew how many were left. They spared a quick glance around, not surprised they were near the exit gate considering somehow their kites always led to being near one of the gates. What did surprise Ashe whatever is that they noticed Luchino was gone. Normally he chased the kiter the whole match whenever they pissed him off.

The shock didn’t get to last long however when they heard a thud behind her and a mocking laugh. Quickly turning around, Ashe managed to dodge the knife that the hunter had with him. Backing away to prepare to run, their foot collided with something and they ended up tripping backwards, falling right over the pallet that was downed near them and twisting their ankle in the process.

Hearing the siren indicating the exit gate was active, Ashe didn’t even try to move as the hunter looked down on her with an agitated look in his eye and the knife spinning in his hand. Instead, all Ashe did was smirk up at him to piss him off more and they kept that smirk even when the hunter made his move to attack.

However, Luchino didn’t get the chance to attack as he quickly got distracted by the sound of the exit gate he & the wounded survivor were near. Although the reptilian managed to quickly brush off the distraction, he froze as he felt like he was getting electrocuted as a jolt of electricity hit him.

Knowing of only one survivor that could essentially electrocute people, Ashe smirked as the same survivor they were thinking of ran over from behind the hunter and picked the injured kiter up, running out of the gate. Although the survivor that had saved Ashe was amused at their ramblings on how the kiting went, he was also agitated for a reason only said survivor knew and he kept quiet until he & the injured survivor in his arms got back to the manor.

~Time Skip~

“Alright so everything seems fine other than you need to take it easy and no matches for about a week” Ashe quietly grumbled at the thought of no matches for a week but they merely smiled and nodded and left the infirmary as soon as the doctor gave them the okay. They were used to injuries like this so that wasn’t their biggest concern.

What they were concerned about was the survivor that had shut themselves in their room immediately after getting Ashe to the infirmary. Normally the two celebrated their post match victories so the former shutting themselves out was concerning even if they did know where said survivor was.

Arriving at the door to one of the bedrooms in the manor, Ashe heard a loud noise that sounded like electricity. Not thinking much of it, they knocked-pausing for a second when they heard the noise abruptly stop.

“Hey Luca, can I come in?” They were about to knock again after no response when the door suddenly opened and although Ashe sent a light smile Luca’s way, they could tell he was off and seemingly way more tired than usual.

Getting the signal that it was okay to go in, they walked in and closed the door behind him as Luca sat on the edge of his bed tinkering with something. They didn’t really know what to say so they quietly sat on the bed near him, being careful to not put too much weight on the ankle they sprained earlier. It was silent other than the noises coming from the invention Luca was working on but Ashe didn’t mind-it was a comfortable silence for them and they grew to love it.

“Luca are you okay? Seriously. You hardly ever shut yourself out away from me. Whatever I did I’m sorry”

“..You should be. I know I said to get something done but that didn’t mean kite the hunter where no one could find you then get injured and almost bleed out!” The worried tone in Luca’s voice as well as the sudden loudness surprised them but Ashe kept quiet and gently took the invention out of the prisoner’s hands and moved it aside so he wouldn’t accidentally break it as he ranted.

At a loss for words for the 2nd time since entering the inventor’s bedroom, Ashe quietly reached over and gave Luca’s hand a gentle squeeze in hopes to calm him down.

“I appreciate the worry but I get injured all the time kiting. It comes with the territory.. And besides, I kited him for 5 ciphers and we got the win so maybe it’s just me but i don’t see the issue.” Feeling Luca shaking, Ashe quickly started to realize that was the wrong thing to say and she braced for more of him being loud but that never happened.

“The win isn’t what’s important. I legitimately thought Luchino was going to actually kill you when I finally found you all the way across the map.” Noticing tears form in Luca’s eyes, Ashe squeezed his hand tighter. Seeing the tears definitely caught Ashe off guard but it hurt to see them at the same time. Their biggest concern though was comforting the prisoner in front of them who seemed to have no problems with the kiter’s attempts to comfort him.

“Sorry I didn’t ping you or anything.. Even if I don’t understand why you’re worried about that-” Before they could continue, Luca’s eyes got a serious look to them which concerned Ashe but instead of yelling or doing anything similar, the prisoner merely gripped both of their shoulders making Ashe look him right in the eye

“I’m worried about stuff like that when it comes to you cause I love you dammit!” At the confession, time seemed to freeze as both Ashe and Luca were processing what the prisoner had just blurted out. After he realized what he said, Luca let go of Ashe’s shoulders and quickly grabbed the invention he was working on just so he’d have something to keep him from getting restless.

Nervously toying with the invention, he ended up missing the smile that fell on Ashe’s face as they got closer to him, cupping his cheeks in their hands before giving them a quick peck on the lips.

“I.. you just kissed me..Why?” Picking up on the confused look in Luca’s eyes, Ashe didn’t say anything and simply leaned in to give him another kiss, slightly tilting their head before their lips connected. Noticing Luca even more confused when they pulled away for the second time, their smile got bigger as they kissed his forehead.

“I kissed you because I love you too” At Ashe’s confession, Luca grinned and tackle-hugged them, grinning even more when they hugged him tight and even started playing with his hair. The fact that they were now seemingly cuddling on his bed did fluster the prisoner a bit but at the moment he was too happy he had his feelings returned to care. He didn’t get flustered for long though since both either of them knew it, they were out like a light snuggled in each other’s embrace.