🕸𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚍🕸 | Hazbin Hotel OC

Chapter 7 | The Water Tower

The smells of the decaying neighborhood marinated in the air, causing both Leeroy and Tajín's noses to crinkle in response. Whatever "extermination" was, it must've been awful. Corpses of sinners who would never come back from the dead dotted the ground, brown, dried blood cooking in the heat around them.

Tajín continued looking back at Leeroy, his eyes shifting from the road ahead to the fly. He sped up a bit when Leeroy got too close to him. Leeroy slowed a bit.

"We should be nearing the water tower soon," Tajín disclosed. "Then we'll head back, and we'll get to get back to cleaning." He continued walking at a quickened pace, his eyes never failing to shift back towards Leeroy. "I'll sleep on the couch again tonight."

"Isn't the couch uncomfortable?" Leeroy asked, catching up with the mouse. "There's plenty of room on the bed, plus I don't mind."

Tajín looked back again, raising an eyebrow. He rubbed a sore spot on his back and pressed onward. "I hope you're not thinking that anything is happening between us," he dragged.

"I wouldn't dream of it. I've already got someone special, anyway," Leeroy replied. Tajín slowed his pace just a bit. Looking up in the sky, Leeroy saw the bulky shape of the water tower. He buzzed his wings. "I could probably fly both of us the rest of the way. Climbing up that rusty ladder looks like a one-way ticket to the hospital for the rest of your afterlife."

Tajín stopped and gave the ladder a better look. Rust coated every rung on the ladder, and though it was far away, he could make out little slivers just waiting to cut into his skin. Only if he squinted, though. Leeroy didn't seem to need to squint at all to get the visual information. He just stood there with his big red bug eyes.

Another wave of soreness pushed its way through Tajín's back, and so the mouse rubbed it away accordingly. He looked back and forth between Leeroy and the water tower, evaluating his options. "I think I'll be fine getting up there by myself," he said, turning his back and walking towards the water tower.

Leeroy frowned, "I wouldn't drop you, Tajín." He followed the mouse to the base of the water tower. Tajín didn't say much as he grabbed the first rung and pulled himself up. He took care not to stab himself with the rusted metal parts that stuck out. The ladder creaked and moaned under his weight, but Tajín was dead set on doing this himself.

The entire thing would surely collapse if Leeroy added his weight to the ladder, so he flew up to the top, sticking close by Tajín to ensure he didn't fall. Tajín huffed.

"You don't need to babysit me, it's not like I've never climbed a ladder before," he finally said, wiping rust off his hands onto his open blue jacket. "It's freaky having you stare at me while I climb if I'm being honest."

"Oh, sorry," Leeroy droned, his voice small. "I'll just meet you at the top, then." Leeroy flew higher, though made sure he could still see Tajín with his super-human peripheral vision. They ascended in silence for a moment, until something snapped beneath Tajín's weight.

Tajín lost his footing, and the added weight of his unsteadiness caused the other rung he was grabbing onto to snap as well. Leeroy reacted quickly and caught Tajín before he hit the ground, though he may have overestimated how capable he was of flying with another person.

"Sorry, sorry, let me just..." Leeroy strained out, adjusting Tajín as best he could to make the position both dignified and simple. Doing so seemed near impossible, so Leeroy settled on a bridal-style where the bottom arms supported Tajín's weight while the top ones ensured he wouldn't fall out. Tajín wriggled around in protest until he realized the other option was falling a good 20 feet to a painful splatter. Leeroy worked double time to get them both to the top of the water tower, eventually reaching it with a huff.