Work Text:
It was getting late. The sky outside had darkened, leaving only last traces of sunlight bleeding out beyond the horizon. Inside, the room had grown dim, shadows clinging to the corners of the walls. Yet Azure was still here, trapped in another endless, and unwanted conversation with Amarah.
A thought had been clawing at Azure’s mind for weeks. He had been planning on leaving, escaping. Slipping away from the group and never coming back. But such thoughts were dangerous- they were forbidden. No one left the group. No one questioned the rules. You stayed, you served, you obeyed.
And yet, that urge had grown too loud to silence. He couldn't ignore it any longer.
Finally, it escaped him.
"You don't understand!" Azure’s voice cracked, raw with desperation. "I wish to leave this place, Amarah. Forever."
For a long moment, Amarah said nothing. Then their expression stiffened, hardened into something cold and unreadable. His face turned into stone, his tone now dismissive.
"You want to leave? After everything we've done for you?"
"No, it's not like that-"
"No, of course not." They moved forward, his tone filled with sarcasm. "It's about them, isn't it?"
Azure knew exactly who he was referring to… they were talking about Two Time.
"They've been corrupting you, Azure, by filling your head with nonsense. Poisoning you with their little ideals- freedom, choice, self-worth." He spat the words like curses. Their gaze narrowed, and his words dripped with disdain.
Amarah stepped in close, close enough that Azure could see the contempt twisted into every line of his face. His voice dropped to a snarl.
"You’ve gone soft. Weak. Just like them."
They jabbed a finger into his chest, hard. "And I won’t let them drag the rest of us down with you."
Azure clenched his fists, warning rising in his chest.
"Don't talk about them like that," he snapped.
They only sneered. "Why not? You think they care about you? Two Time is a parasite. Manipulative. Cunning. They’re using you, Azure, and you're too blind to see it."
That was it.
Something in Azure snapped.
Rage surged through him. There was no thought, no hesitation in his actions- only instinct. Without thinking, he grabbed the nearest object- a heavy glass bottle from the side table- and he swung, bringing it down hard across Amarah’s head.
The crack of the glass meeting skull echoed through the room. A sickening sound.
"Wh-"
Kill him. You have to. You know it's the only way.
The voice- his voice, or something darker- pressed him forward. Again, and again, the bottle came down, in a blur of red and fury. Until Amarah was no longer speaking, no longer moving, no longer anything but a broken mess sprawled across the floor.
Azure backed away, chest heaving, the bottle slipping from his blood-slicked fingers.
Oh Spawn… What had he done?
"Azure?"
The voice was soft, almost gentle, but it still made him flinch. He turned sharply, breath caught in his throat.
Two Time stood in the doorway. They were surrounded by the shadows, making their eyes unreadable. The blood drained from Azure's face.
They didn't even look shocked.
"Oh..." was all they said. They sounded calm- too detached. As if they had just stumbled across a spilled glass of water, and not a gruesome murder scene.
Azure's knees nearly buckled beneath him. His voice was soft, his words were fragile and shaking.
"What... what should I do?"
Two Time didn’t speak right away. Instead, they walked over to him with quiet, deliberate steps. An eerie precision followed their ever movement. They reached out, plucked the bottle from his trembling hands, and placed it carefully in the sink.
Then, wordlessly, they took his hands in theirs, gently wiping away the blood with a dish towel. Their touch was firm, but tender. Almost like a parent cleaning up a frightened child.
"I'll deal with this," they said simply.
Everything after that felt like a bad dream. The next moments bled into one another, losing all sense in his mind. Azure obeyed numbly, too stunned to resist. He followed silently as Two Time took charge, dragging Amarah's body out into the garden.
He could hear the scraping noise the shovel had made along the ground, how it had bitten into the soil below. The weight of the corpse, hauled through the tall grass, and the sound of earth hitting flesh as the hole was filled. Even the chill of night air against his clammy, sweaty skin, and the rising guilt in his chest.
He remembered standing beside the open grave, watching as Two Time buried what remained of Amarah without a word.
And then, as the final clumps of dirt settled, Two Time knelt onto the ground. They folded their hands, and closed their eyes.
"For the most honourable Spawn, we humbly offer up this sacrifice," they whispered.
Azure stood still, frozen in his footsteps. He only felt hollow.
With that, Two Time rose and turned to him. Their expression had softened. They touched his cheek lightly, before gently brushing a smear of blood from Azure's cheek with their thumb.
"Look at me, Azure," they murmured. "It'll be okay."
They stood tall, underneath the pale moonlight. The grave was lying there, right behind them. And yet, their eyes still remained focused on Azure.
"I promise."
They had said it with such conviction, such certainty, that Azure could almost convince himself that everything would be okay. That the burden weighing down on his chest would finally lift, that the rising doubt would silence itself.
Then, without warning, Two Time hugged him, their arms wrapping around him, enveloping him in a tight, consoling hold. It felt warm, and familiar- like always. With that, Azure could feel the worry that had been clawing at him began to dissipate.
Yes. Things would be okay. They had to be.
Azure closed his eyes. The world outside felt distant, almost irrelevant. The only thing that mattered was Two Time. And for a moment, he almost forgot. Forgot the blood, the severity of his actions, the shattered relationship that would never be repaired.
But then, the clarity returned.
Everything he had done... it may not have been right, but to him, it had been the only way. All of this- every action, every choice he has made- it was all for the greater good.
For the Spawn, for their freedom... this had been a necessary sacrifice.
Azure had only done this to protect Two Time.
And now, they were finally safe. They could be with one another, and find comfort in each other's embrace.
In the end, wasn't that what mattered most?