Slenderverse One-shots

Surprise Encounter ⊗ MH

Request: Interaction between Masky and Jay

It had been a long day and one that started horribly at that. First, he'd gotten into an argument with Tim over their dwindling funds and then, after leaving to go 'play detective'—as Tim had snappingly called what they were doing—he'd ended up breaking his camera. So he'd gone to buy a new one before heading back to the hotel.

He found it empty. For half a second he feared Tim had abandoned him before calming down enough to realize the man's bags were still next to his bed. The chest mount camera was still tossed in one of the uncomfortable hotel chairs and, of course, it was turned off so he had no idea when Tim might've left.

Jay pulled out his phone and dialed Tim, mumbling impatiently under his breath as it rang. "C'mon... pick up, pick up..."

A vibrating sound came from the bedside table and he frowned as he ended the call. Why would Tim leave his phone here? Jay's unease increased. "Something must've happened."

Fearing Alex had something to do with this, Jay made sure to grab his folding knife as some form of defense before heading back out. There wasn't much of a trail to follow but he had a vague idea of places Tim might've gone.

The masked man watched Jay leave the hotel. By now he was sure the lanky cameraman had figured out he was gone and it was confirmed by the look of confusion and mild panic on his face as he began searching. It would've been easy for him to walk out now and let Jay know he was safe... but he didn't.

He was still pissed at Jay. It wasn't even that single argument that ticked him off, though his traveling companion had a way with pushing all the wrong buttons. It was everything. All their small fights and the little irritating things Jay tended to do, not to mention the guy would probably be dead by now if it wasn't for the fact he was helping.

"Let's see how this goes." Part of him still wanted to just run out and punch Jay in the face to get it all over with... but he didn't want to listen to him complain all night about his jaw hurting or a bloody nose. Letting him wander around a few hours was good enough.

Masky silently stalked after Jay, the hair on his arms raising as he recognized the direction they were headed in. Of course Jay would be checking Rosswood. He wondered if he should stop him. Nothing good ever happened there.

"Tim?" Jay turned at the sound of movement and called out before running down a side street.

He bolted after the man, adrenaline coursing through his veins like it had replaced his blood. Whoever Jay had found most certainly wasn't him and given their luck, this probably meant trouble. As usual, the masked man was correct judging by Jay's shout that was followed by a loud clattering sound.

Anger surged through him. Masky's main goal was always to survive and keep himself alive. However, he wasn't going to sit by and let one of his friends get killed either. He clenched his teeth and barreled around the corner, charging the figure standing over Jay. While shorter than the assailant, he was stronger and a strong blow to the temple sent them reeling backward. Masky didn't let them recover and tackled the figure to the ground, barely registering the knife clattering onto the pavement. He pinned them with a hand clamped over their throat while his other fist pummeled their face. Nails clawed at him and they squirmed to get free.

A lucky retaliation caused his grip to loosen and they finally managed to push him back enough to struggle to their feet and flee. He grunted and shook off the pain before standing to give chase. It wasn't like it'd be difficult to catch the figure even if his years of smoking had damaged his stamina. When he got into this state, he felt unstoppable.

"Tim?" Jay's uncertain voice gave him pause.

Masky turned silently, his stance looming over the other man and the dark sockets of his mask bore down at him.

Jay swallowed loudly, inching backward. "I-I'm sorry..."

"Hah..." He considered asking which part Jay was sorry for but kept his mouth shut. Conversation wasn't something he particularly liked engaging in.

His lack of sound only seemed to further scare the man. He wanted to enjoy it, and probably would've if that person hadn't gone and ruined the mood. Masky yanked Jay to his feet and began hauling him back to the hotel. The masked figure practically threw him to the floor of their room before shutting and locking the door behind him. He walked to his bed without a word, letting Jay pick himself up.

Eyes stared into the side of his skull and he turned to stare back, watching Jay's hesitant movements with faint amusement. He was also checking that the guy was actually okay. Aside from a cut on his arm and probably some bruises from getting tossed around, Jay didn't seem badly damaged physically.

"Uhm..." His friend trailed off to regather his courage before speaking up again. "Thanks, uh, for saving me back there."

Masky let out a huff and leaned back into the pillows.

"Are you... Erm, I mean, do you know if Tim is still mad at me?"

As an extension of Tim brought on by the Operator's influence, he knew everything Tim did and therefore knew how he felt—Tim on the other hand couldn't remember anything Masky did for his own protection. The man caved and answered Jay with a shake of his head.

That seemed to relax his companion a little. Jay's bed creaked as he sat down on the edge of it while digging through his bag for something to treat the long cut on his arm. "I thought you'd ran off to Rosswood."

"Obviously." The retort went unspoken; he let Jay continue his little speech.

"I'm sorry I got us into trouble again... I should've known it wasn't you."

Yeah, he should've. Jay also should've taken his flashlight with him instead of relying on his camera's night vision feature. It probably would've been more useful in seeing who he was looking at.

"Can you please take that mask off? It's creeping me out." Jay frowned, shuddering as Masky once again turned to stare at him. "I already know who you are."

Normally, he'd ignore the request. But Jay had a point and he was tired. Sleeping with the mask on would be painful if it was pressed into his face during the night... Not to mention he wasn't fond of the idea of potentially drooling in it. The masked man pulled it off and tossed it aside, his expressionless dark eyes burned into Jay for a second before he broke eye contact.

"Happy?" He muttered under his breath, his voice barely loud enough to hear.

But Jay caught it. His eyes widened; he'd never heard the man talk while in this state. Occasionally he'd grunt or growl but speak? The closest he'd heard was the snarled 'no' when he'd first tried to take off the mask entries before they officially teamed up. "So you aren't mute? Why don't you ever—"

His glare silenced the man. Masky kept it up a moment longer before turning off the light and settling back down again, rolling over so it was clear their conversation—as one sided as it had been—was over. There was a few more minutes of Jay shuffling around before the other light flickered off. He waited until he heard Jay's breathing deepen in sleep before allowing himself to drift off as well.