One Killer Maze

Epilogue: Ticci Toby

The knock was quick and in different tones. The door opened with such force that Y/N was sure it'd be ripped off its hinges. A brunette with a mouth guard over his, well, mouth, stepped in the room. His usual, orange-tinted goggles were somewhere else, but he wore a black t-shirt, his brown hoodie gone.

"Y-Y/N!" His brown eyes squinted, he was smiling under the mouth guard. The male quickly hurried over, looking at the female all across to see if she was hurt in some way. He then zoned in on her face and reached forward, placing both hands on her cheeks. "Were y-you crying?"

The undersides of her eyes were pink and her face was probably still a bit damp. Y/N only smiled back in return, "only a little bit. I'm...fine now, Toby."

Toby blinked a few times, examining her face for a bit longer, then released her, crawling onto the bed to sit next to her cross-legged, across Y/N. He placed his hands in his lap, clenching onto his legs once and a while, his body twitching only slightly once and a while, which shook the bed only barely; like hiccups.

"Hey...Toby..?" She tugged at the edges of the hoodie, which bunched around her waist. Toby blinked expectantly, "where...are we?"

It didn't...seem like she was home at all. Her mind was fuzzy, where exactly was her home? Her mind throbbed at the thought of such a thing and she winced, rubbing the left side of her temple.

"Uh-um, the forest! A ca-cabin in the forest...boss supplied it f-for uh-us!" Us? "I-it's to keep us s-s-safe, he said."

"Us?" She rubbed the cloth between her fingers.

"Y-yea! Just the t-two of us."

Ah.

Y/N could feel her ears burn. Why did she feel so nervous all of a sudden? Toby tilted his head, leaning to the side to try and see the expression on the female's face. He then straightened.

"O-oh! Right I, u-uh, got you suh-something to eat." He scrambled off of the bed, his feet thumping against the floor in a hurry as he rushed out the door. Y/N watched, then rubbed the soft cloth that hung loosely from her body. Toby's brown hoodie with the greyish blue hood. It was warming and felt comforting. Something...she hadn't experienced since she had gotten out of that hell hole.

Toby hadn't really explained much about where they were, only that they were in a cabin out in the forest. And this... "boss", was that the tall entity that appeared right before she passed out? Y/N winced, her head beginning to pound due to all the thoughts just now swarming into her brain. Her body was just now beginning to wake up. Even with this sudden pain, she couldn't help but notice something sweet wafting from down the hall. Her stomach growled in response.

Y/N scooted over to the edge of the bed, leaning onto it when she slowly began to stand. Her legs felt weak and the wood felt odd under her bare feet, but she grew used to the uncommon feeling and b-lined for the door that still sat open. The smell only grew stronger as she approached the end of the hall.

Toby's messy, brown hair was the first thing she saw when looking at the kitchen (which was to the right). It took up half the front living space, the left housing two couches and what looked like a new TV. The male sensed her presence quickly and whipped his head over to her.

"Y-Y/N! Yo-you shouldn't be stan-standing." He hurried over, taking the girl by her shoulders in a gentle hold, and ushered her over to the couch, tapping her back with fidgety hands. Y/N allowed him to do so with a small smile.

"I'm fine, Toby," she spoke softly, her voice still quite hoarse, "I just need something to eat."

Inhaling, he stared at her for a moment longer, then nodded. He entered the kitchen again and the sound of a toaster going off pierced the silence. It caused her to jump, not exactly expecting such a normal sound.

She heard the sound of chuckling and glared down at her feet.

After waiting a few more minutes, a plate of two toaster waffles appeared in her view. The waffles were a golden brown, butter already melted on the heavenly products. There was syrup drizzled on them as well.

"Oh," she took the plate, a fork lying facedown on the waffles the second thing she noticed.

"I didn't kno-know what you l-liked to eat..." Toby murmured, entering the front of her vision, then leaving the right, his weight sinking into the couch. He had sat next to her. Y/N shook her head, tucking back H/C strands of her hair that would most definitely get in her food if she had not done so.

"No, no! This is fine," she took a greedy forkful of the waffle, inhaling the sweet scent, and chowed down. After swallowing, she glanced over to the male, "do you not like waffles."

Toby blinked, as if he was lost in thought, and shrugged, "they're okay. I-I'm not obsessed with the-them."

Y/N nodded in understanding, finishing the first waffle quite quickly. Her stomach no longer growled, but she was most definitely going to eat the other toaster treat that sat on her plate. The silence between them was a comfortable kind of silence, a few times it was broken with her fork scraping against the plate, causing both of them to flinch at the noise.

Not too long after, she finished, settling the plate on the small table in front of her.

"Ah..! That was so good..." She mused, feeling in much better spirits than before. Toby's brows raised.

"R-really?"

"Yep! What kind of syrup was that?" Y/N craned her head over to Toby, "it was really.."

Immediately, she had noticed Toby had gotten closer than before, his eyes watching her intently, but with awe as well. One of his hands was raised to the side of his face, scratching at the mouth guard that was strapped around his face, as if he was debating about doing something that required removing it.

"Toby?" She whispered, her own eyes watching him in the same way.

"Y/N, ca-can you close your e-e-eyes?" He began to nervously bounce his foot, looking away.

"Why?" Y/N looked to his foot, then back up again to see he had averted his eyes. He stayed silent. She sighed quietly and nodded, shutting her eyes slowly. Y/N could hear nothing until Toby shifted in front of her, twitching as something clattered to the floor.

"Ca-"

"Keep yo-your eyes cl-closed." He quickly interrupted her.

Y/N nodded, suddenly feeling the hovering of Toby's hands against the top of her own. She shifted, moving both of them over palms faced up. He lowered them slowly and grasped onto her tightly.

Then, she felt something cold against her lips, but their breath was warm. Goosebumps began to crawl up the back of her neck. Then, the coolness retreated away.

"Sweet.."

She heard him whisper something and Y/N's lips parted, "wh-what?"

"The syrup..." His voice was now closer than ever. She noticed he had moved closer to the middle of the couch, behind her, "it's...s-sweet."

Y/N licked her lips, ears turning red. So...he had kissed her...

She was about to turn her head, but Toby quickly stopped her with the side of his hand, gently, and shifted behind her so she was now (basically) sitting in his lap, long legs on the outside of her own. He lowered his head, nose brushing the nape of her neck which caused her to shiver and her back to straighten on instinct.

"P-please don't look," he whispered, leaning his forehead against the back of her neck. Y/N stared forward but relaxed. She couldn't help the pounding in her chest though, or the tingling warmth that now spread to her neck and to her fingertips.

Y/N nodded, "I won't."

Toby's hands wrapped around Y/N's torso, bringing her closer to him, nuzzling more and more into her hair and neck until the two of them slowly drifted off into their own world.

~

Route completed.

[Up next; Masky]