⋆｡°✩ I'll break your bones (with all the love I carry)

by the_inky_unkn0wn

Summary:

Noli, the god of chaos, built his power by himself. Brick by Brick. The cult surrounding them feeds them plenty, and they enjoy watching the chaos their followers will spread for them. But what if they got tired? What if the god of chaos missed causing it himself?

In a desperate attempt to chase the thrill of chaos, Noli disguises themselves among robloxians. desperate to feast upon chaos as they once had years ago. Where better to find chaos incarnate than College!

There, Noli meets a new face. One that will embed itself into their every thought, action, and emotion. One that he will hold countless fond memories with, memories soon to echo throughout his head laced with a bittersweet tone.

TLDR: Noli goes to college to be hella chaotic, meets chaos incarnate (007n7) and shenanigans ensue.

Notes:

(Title based on Sleep Talking by Indigo De Souza) (go listen to it, banger song)

Chapter 1: We have found ourselves in quite the situation.

Summary:

This is just straight ( these two could never be straight) exposition. Uhm yeah.

No skipping… i see you SKIPPERS. READ THE DAMN EXPOSITION 🗣️

Notes:

Uh yeah this is my first ever fic... yay. I'm posting this at 11:30 pm the day after I got into an accident so... the author's curse. 7n7noli have fully taken over everyone of my functioning brain cells, so have this while i question why I even decided to actually post it and not leave in to rot in my school word account.

Ill post as frequently as I finish these chapters, senior year of high school is a bitch already. Uh yeah, tags to be added as I add more to the story. Hope you enjoy, I can't tell if my writing style is ass or not.

Chapter title from Inarticulation by Rio Romeo

.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. 

 

Noli was a god. 

 

Imposing. 

 

Dangerous. 

 

Powerful. 

 

He held all the power possible for a god of his popularity, the Void Star that delicately adorned his head simply displaying this fact. The sleek black crown formed perfectly sharp spikes that decorated the entire circumference of their head, with the spike in the dead center of his forehead embellished with a floating rotating white star. The crown was intimidating by itself, its dangerous beauty perfectly describing the savage power held within. Noli could feel its power echo throughout his entire body, a sensation they had grown quite used to within the years of his ownership over the crown. The crown held its own chaotic aura within its power, an accessory perfectly suited for a god of chaos. It presented his authority on a silver platter. It was an extension of him and him alone. 

 

He had built this power himself. They grew their cult himself, and now they reaped what they sowed; a lovely set of believers that would kill for them. Kill for the slight chance to be blessed by his gaze. Do anything in the name of the Void Star. And yet, despite his overwhelming power and his influence over his concerningly devoted followers, Noli found himself looking for more. For something different. 

 

They were bored. 

 

Extremely bored. 

 

His followers offered him excess amounts of chaos for him to feast upon from his sleek obsidian throne. They praised him, followed his words down to the most minuscule of meanings. They tracked chaos throughout Robloxia which every step of their feet, all of it credited directly back to them. All of it caused in the name of the Void Star. 

 

The chaos they provided to him was... sufficient enough but still left him feeling lacking. Empty. Bored. They wanted more. They created every order, placed every brick of chaos to tumble perfectly in sequence for him to watch. He had a direct hand in the actions of his followers; he could command them to blow up the Roblox HQ, and they would simply ask when. 

 

 Yet he felt as though he didn’t have a real effect within the chaos happening in honor of his name. They wanted to cause the chaos with their own hands, not just for it to be created from other’s labor as they watched lazily from a cold quiet throne - eyes half lidded, and attention only half paid. It was never enough. Would never be enough for him. Their hands itched for the thrill; his mind ached in the silence of his chambers. He wanted a direct hand. They needed to feel the thrill of directly destroying a building or spreading a computer virus throughout the city’s most important data centers. 

 

They chased the thrill of the chaos caused by his own hands, the itch of adrenaline under his skin, and yet here he was, allowing all the fun to his mortal followers as he sat through the boring cult meetings and debriefings. A noble follower was planted in front of him, their pale white robing flowing softly around them while they explained their troupe's most recent shenanigans. 

 

The follower had bowed her head low upon entry into the throne room, hood covering most of her face in shadows – though her face wasn’t needed to recognize her status within the cult. Her flowing white robe was embellished with silver threading depicting many stars and constellations across the entire surface of the fabric. The silver threading shimmered slightly in the dimmed throne room, the only light to be seen coming from the stained-glass windows and pale candles adorning their sills. The silver thread placed her around the status of a newer priestess; she had likely not yet completed her training rituals. 

 

Her voice was soft yet full of authority as she recounted her missions, but it carried a slight hint of excitement laced in. Noli just sat in his throne, legs crossed, gazing at the priestess that stood before him. He wasn't really paying attention, but he tried to at least make it appear that he was. They propped their head upon one of their hands as they finally tuned into her ramblings. 

 

“Your Divinity, the recruitment efforts are going swiftly. It’s highly likely we will have met our quota within the week.” She spoke in consciously hushed tones, as though she was trying to protect a form of tranquility that often harbored itself deep within the empty throne room. 

 

“Very well. You’ve done your job excellently, Priestess.” His voice echoed across the empty marble walls, replacing the unnerving silence with something more bearable, in his opinion at the very least. The silence wasn’t something he was very prone to preserving within the empty hall. His response – or more likely the abrupt volume change within the hall – had seemingly startled the young priestess. Noli watched her jump slightly, earning a slight chuckle from them. Maybe she hadn’t actually expected such a response from him directly. Perhaps she thought her unfinished status made her unworthy of a direct response from the god themself. She looked up at the god, smiling softly. 

 

“Thank you. Is there anything else we can do for you today, your divinity?” She asked softly, hope laced between each word that fluttered out of her lips. Noli still didn’t quite understand these mortals; their devotion to him seemed to overrule all their instincts. They watched many of his most devoted followers collapse from sleep exhaustion, each of them spilling excuses from their lips that all pointed to their need to prove their devotion. To do something for Noli directly. To prove themselves to his divinity. It was honestly very confusing to him, most things that mortals did regularly did. Why did they love him enough to sacrifice their everything for his approval? Perhaps it was just based in mortal desires and feelings, things that he as a god simply haven’t and likely couldn’t experience for himself. 

 

He noted the exhaustion that laced itself across the now revealed priestess’s face. Though they would love more chaos to fill the mind-numbing emptiness of the throne hall, they decided they’d rather not see another follower pass out from sleep deprivation so soon. The last one was only a few hours ago. So Noli simply waved the woman off. 

 

“No need, Ophelia. You and your trope please rest.” Noli sighed, returning his hand to its usual placement of lying lazily upon the cold throne’s arm rest. Ophelia simply nodded – her tired smile plastered across her face never wavering – before turning on her heel and exiting the dim throne room, leaving Noli accompanied only by deafening silence and the clack of a closed door. 

 

The silence hurt. He was accustomed to it of course, but that didn’t make his patience for silence any less thin. They dragged their hands down their mask, the cold eating itself through their gloves and throughout the flesh of their hands. The cold kept him awake. Kept them thinking.  He couldn’t tell if that was a blessing or a curse disguised in a decorative bow. 

 

He was the god of chaos, he wanted the thrill, the dramatics, the noise. Yet, more often than not, Noli was left solely with their own thoughts as mind-numbing silence eats away at the corner of every single thought. His followers took care of everything, only leaving behind the boring tasks for Noli to complete. All tyhe had to be was an example of a good deity, whatever that means. Loyal. Full of authority. Powerful. Quiet when needed. 

 

He was everything but quiet. They demanded noise, fed off it as though it was a four-course meal. His followers – Hell, Robloxia as a whole – presented everything he wanted on a silver platter, placed directly in front of him. Chaos. Noise. Thrills. Noise and chaos was etched into the very coding of the mortals’ beings. All of it was placed before him in an intricate manner. It was a buffet. Plates stacked upon plates until it was almost overwhelming. All of them appetizing. All of them practically within his reach. Yet they couldn’t be touched. Meals meant to be observed. Meals meant to be forgotten. Cuisine he wasn’t even allowed to even glance at sometimes. All of them tempting him. Tempting their senses, their desires, fishing for a reaction. Fishing for anything out of them. The other gods sat around the table with him, eyes glued to him as though he would dart from the seat if they didn’t. As if they would just disappear. Glares shot across the table, full of disgust and malice. Full of anger. Glares just looking for someone to blame. Glares that studied his every moment, his every thought, until they could pinpoint another one of Noli’s flaws.  

 

They hated him for his desires and his occasional selfishness.  

 

How ironic. 

 

Why was it that they were thrown such ugly looks? Why did the others present him with a feast made distinctly for him and expect him to only admire? Why was he expected to stand back and watch the others indulge their selfish desires? He watched them feast personally, saw them “bless”  Robloxia themselves. Watched them experience mortal life, fulfilling each and every desire they could’ve possibly had as a mortal.  

 

Their greed was palpable. Their selfishness the very binding of their being.  

 

And yet Noli was shamed? They were held at a higher standard, expected to be the moral example of a perfect deity. Him? The god of chaos, reduced to a concept of what a god should be. Following guidelines, hitting every quota and mark, while they broke code after code. Laws set by themselves, governed by themselves, and now broken by themselves. Every code surrounding mortals had been broken. Yet the god of chaos of all deities was the most law-abiding of them all. 

 

He sickened himself now. 

 

Hell, even Telamon himself had feasted upon mortal experiences. Fulfilling his greed with mortals while leaving his entire post as a god. Locking these mortal experiences behind a gate bolted closed, trying to block his sin from the eyes of his fellow gods. He was practically retired, and yet nobody else had a problem with it. They need someone to blame, some to point their finger at when they felt guilt over their own actions. Someone to uphold the mortals’ beliefs in the capacity of their gods. After all, what is a god without his followers? A shell. They're nothing at all but a concept long forgotten to time. A story only grazed upon by dust on a shelf. They needed a standard. Someone to point at as both the righteous and the worst. Both the standard and the sinner.  

 

But what is the point now? Why was he still following laws swallowing held down desires itching their way out of his flesh towards the surface? Why not just... give in? 

 

And that’s what they did. For an entire year Noli had found himself sneaking away during his quieter hours, aching to fill the itch that had become ever-present in his daily life. Within Robloxia he wasn’t some larger-than-life god, he was just “Noli.” No bearer of the Void Star, no claims of his divinity. They were allowed to wander, causing chaos without persistent eyes studying his every moment. He quelled the persistent itch slowly; it was a stable method, a quick fix. Yet they still wanted more. He had plenty of information, enough to completely integrate himself within the population of Robloxia without any questionable glances. So that was his plan. Drop off the grid until every Sunday, live a second life. One where they had a direct hand in everything. 

 

 Quench his thirst for knowledge and chaos. 

 

 His plan was already in motion, pieces set through subtle mentions of “important solitary work” he needed to complete. It was all set, all they needed was to slip away silently, and now was the perfect time to execute his plan. The cold within the room etched itself across every surface. The silence was thick and off-putting. The room was empty. It was perfect.  

 

Noli rose from his throne, robes flowing gently around him as once crinkled fabric straightened itself once again. He took a couple of steps away from the platform, now placing himself in front of a silver framed mirror. His reflection echoed back at him; his pale mask etched in a smile, reflecting his genuine emotions perfectly.  The Void Star floated above their head, catching the dim silver light occasionally within its rotation. The robes that adorned his body embellished with constellation after constellation, all of which he could name exactly. His appearance was perfect of course, fit for a powerful deity such as himself, but it was intimidating. Scary. Almost eldritch, if he removed his mask that is. His stature severely overshined the average height of a robloxian, he was extremely tall. There were things that they would need to “fix”, things they needed to change to not arouse suspicion from the gods and mortals.   

 

So, he got to work. They already had their “mortal form” planned and easily available for their use. His height shrunk from terrifying to a humble 5’6, just below the average male height. His Void Star changed itself, manifesting itself as a simple star hair pin clipped to his head. Their clothing changed significantly, from royal robes that adorned their body like waves to something more “mortal;” a purple hoodie with stars adorning the end of the strings, a pair of dark jeans, and sneakers. His change of hood allowed his hair to be visible; it’s pale purple – almost white – color deeply contrasting the dark shadow of the hood. He glanced at himself in the mirror, checking for any missed “godly” attributes. They looked like a textbook example of a college student. 

 

Perfect. 

 

He turned away from the mirror, allowing his nova to manifest within his hand. The cold within the room had made itself known, his lessened layers allowing the cold to etch itself through all his flesh. They shivered slightly, hastening their pace. If he was going to successfully “disappear” for the remainder of the week, he needed to do it now: and preferably without frostbite eating away at his skin. They flicked their hand slightly, the nova floating above it recognizing their silent command. A portal flickered to life before him, displaying green grass and trees, bushes covering the ground, and leaking heat into the otherwise deathly freezing hall. The portal rippled at the edges; the stability of its connection left uncertain. Without a second thought, Noli stepped quickly into the portal, letting the warmth of the world gently embrace him.  

 

This was going to be fun. 

 

.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁..  

 

The city bustled at its usual pace. Voices echoed down streets, laughter reverberated across buildings, shuffling of feet could be heard for miles. The start of the fall semester had brought in swarms of people, families all of varying blood relations, the sight of hugs and crying mothers seemed more prevalent than ever.   

 

The sight stung, rubbing salt into 007n7’s already annoying wounds. He never actually expected his parents to approve of his decision – he was far too risky with his actions than they would’ve liked- but now it just felt like Telamon himself was rubbing it in his face. The sea of sorrowful goodbyes seemed to be never-ending, though he did suppose there would be a lot of students attending the fall semester. He wove himself through the crowds of people, his belongings lugging heavily with him. He should’ve just paid the damn bus fee and not had to walk but it was far too late to do that now. He knew that well enough, and his ego wouldn’t let him do anything other than what he was doing now. Who needed a bus?  

 

By the time he had arrived at the dormitory building, 007n7 had concluded that a slightly bruised ego would’ve been significantly better. His arms and legs ached, to a point he didn’t even know was physically possible. He decided that next time, he was taking the damn bus. Lugging this amount of shit around at this point had to be considered physical torture, but he continued anyway. The halls of the dormitory building echoed with voices and were cluttered with appliances scattered lazily across the vinyl wooden floor. Move in day chaos reverberated through the air, loud crashes mixed with hushed arguments coming from the open pale doors. However overstimulating the current events surrounding him were, 007n7 focused only on finding his dorm. He made his way down the long hallways, narrowly avoiding people and a random toaster laying in the center of the hallway. 

 

After a significant amount of lazy dodging, 007n7 found himself standing in front of his supposed dorm. He unlocked the door quickly, desperate to just lay down and nap after the hike he took to just get here. The door swung open and 007n7 slipped inside, still dragging all of his things with him. The room was dark except for the light coming from the window and a light from what he supposed to be the kitchen area. The room didn’t look devoid of any life; there were posters and a string of lights hung above one of the beds, the bed was slightly unmade, and there was the faint light of a laptop on the desk. He had known he would have a roommate, though he wished he got a choice in the bed picking. More karma from deciding to walk to protect his fragile pride he supposed. He shrugged lightly; the action was more for himself than anyone else because it seemed his roommate was out for now. He dropped his things near the end of the empty bed before flopping himself on top of the stiff mattress. The bed creaked slightly, a fact he took note of swiftly. That would be annoying to hear through the night, but he simply brushed it off. The strain of the day wore on him, his eyelids feeling as though they were actively being dragged down.  007n7 sighed, shifting so he could place at least his burger hat on the table beside him before napping.  

He figured he would wake up before his roommate returned. A cat nap surely wouldn’t hurt, at least not as much as it would help. He closed his eyes before slowly drifting off to sleep. 

 

.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. 

 

Noli had only been in this new “dorm” of his for about 2 hours, but they felt as though they had decorated his side perfectly. Of course it was nothing like their monumental archaic style temple, but it felt homey in an unusual way. Satisfied with his work, he stretched lazily; their back cracking slightly. They swiftly decided on taking a shower while they waited for their roommate to actually arrive. The concept of a roommate intrigued them to a curious extent, to an extent he even thought was odd for themself. Perhaps they would get lucky, and their roommate would be the chaotic fix they so desperately searched for. But for now, he needed a relaxing shower. They shut and locked the door behind them, taking slight notice of how dark he had left the dorm. Maybe they should turn more lights on later. 

 

A while later, Noli exited the bathroom, a bit of water still clinging to their skin and hair as they dabbed at it with a towel. Nothing had notably changed in the dorm, except for the now fully asleep person on the bed opposite his and the large bags placed at the foot of the bed. Noli sighed, of course they would show up when he wasn’t there. They turned, placing the towel down on the desk chair next to him, before making their way towards the slumbering Robloxian.  

 

Noli leaned down, gently poking the person’s shoulder. No response. The slight rise and fall of the Robloxian noted that they were still alive. That was good at least. Noli took the till moment to quickly study their new roommate. The man had chesnut brown hair that laid messily across his entire head. Noli noted that he had fallen asleep with his glasses on, odd. His skin was dusted with freckles, laid upon the skin although they roughly represented constellations. Noli stood back up, before shaking the man slightly. 

 

“What?” the robloxian hissed, slowly opening his eyes. The realization that he had fallen asleep in a new place danced across his face, his eyes widened before he spoke again. “Who the fuck are you?” 

 

“Y-You know, I should be the 0ne asking you t-that.”  Noli responded quickly, their mask displaying a slight smirk. The robloxian only stared at him blankly, Noli simply inhaled before continuing. “I m3an, you’re the 0ne r-randomly sleeping in my d0rm.” Their voice glitched and stuttered regularly, just another symptom of the void star that was often displayed by mortal bodies. He crossed his arms over their chest, still staring at the now slightly embarrassed man before them. It seemed like the robloxian wasn’t about to start talking again, so Noli just decided to take the conversation in their hands again. 

 

“Alright, le-let's start 0ver. My nam3’s Noli.” 

“007n7, you can just call me 7n7 though.” The man in front of him replied. Noli nodded in acknowledgement. 

 

“So, I’m a-assuming y0u’re the roommat3 I was t0ld ab-about?” The glitches in their voice didn’t seem to go unnoticed by their other, 7n7 squinted his eyes before glancing over Noli. It was only fair, Noli had done that to him only a few minutes earlier. 

 

“Yep.” 7n7 replied harshly, Noli understood it to be laced with annoyance.  

 

“Sick, 0-okay.” Noli responded. He wasn’t about to press the buttons of a man he just met and will have to live with for the next year. Noli shrugged, walking back to his bed before placing themselves down on it. 7n7 had seemed slightly shocked by the lack of pushing from Noli but seemed to silently accept before turning back over to continue sleeping. Noli just continued their work quietly, the only noise in the dorm room being the clacking of his hands on the keyboard and the low hum of the air conditioning. They would just have to wait till 7n7 was in a slightly better mood to figure out their opinion on him. If there was one thing Noli knew about themselves, it was that they could be patient. Scarily patient sometimes.  

 

They could wait. They would prefer calmer answers, anyway, not answers fueled by annoyance and overstimulation. 7n7 reeked of annoyance, there was no good opinion one could form while being annoyed. So Noli left it alone, they would continue their work until 7n7 awoke himself. Noli shifted themselves in their bed and continued typing.  

 

This might take a while. 

Notes:

Exposition chapter... yay... they'll actually talk in chapter 2 i prommy.

Chapter 2: Electric Boogaloo

Summary:

(Chapter title was meant to be a placeholder, but I got attached.)

After a... odd first interaction, these two finally get to have a normal conversation. Normal is a bit of a stretch though, since they both accidentally spill a secret that could get them in terrible trouble. (Kind of a lot for a first conversation but I like the drama so...)

Notes:

Can you tell I'm AWFUL at writing summaries? Anyways, second ever fanfic chapter yayyayayay. 007n7 swears a lot in my mind, there's no way around it. I hate these little freaks.

Slow burn might be a stretch, I just want them to kiss already oh my god.

A couple fun facts:
I've decided to make 7n7 trans (FTM). Why? Totally not cause I'm fully projecting onto him at all, hahah why would you think that. He is fully transitioned though.
7n7 only uses He/Him for Noli rn cause Noli has yet to tell 7n7 about them being good with They/Them. So if you wonder why the pronoun balance is odd, that's why.

Anyways hope this chapter isn't complete ass. Had a super busy week so i kind of speed ran it a little.

.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. 

 

It had been hours since 7n7’s... strange first encounter with his roommate and yet he had yet to calm down. The sight of a dark figure lingering over you after you’ve first woken up, eyes still foggy with the echos of heavy sleep, would be enough to frighten anyone.  But for some odd reason, 7n7 had found himself completely unable to return to his desperately wanted nap. He figured the sight had just frightened him, and rightfully so, leaving his body on edge and unable to rest.  

 

But as minutes faded into hours, 7n7 found himself still lying in his bed and now fully awake. The clacking of a keyboard and the faint ticking of the clock the school so humbly hung above his bed were the only noises that seemed to ride through the air. The knowledge of him needing to unpack his stuff rattled itself through his brain, practically screaming at him to be productive in any sense of the word. He refused to listen, opting to zone out on the blank light grey wall in front of him. Besides, he assumed there would be more conversations with his roommate in his near future if he got out of his bed.  He didn’t have the energy to discuss anything at the moment. The only energy he had left in him fueled the thoughts swirling through his head.  

 

Thoughts of things he had to do; chores he simply did not have the energy to complete. Mixed between these tiring thoughts, 7n7 thought about his roommate. The thoughts were just faint echos laced between the laundry list of chores he needed to get done. As more time passed, the echos gradually grew louder.  

 

His brain dissected the memory down multiple times. He felt compelled to. Drawn to the imagery of his roommate. Drawn to think about the way the other’s theatrical mask placed upon their face seemed to fluctuate through emotions and displayed their every thought like any face would. How their hair, pale purple in color and held in dreads, cascaded around their face as they looked down at him – though studied him would be a more accurate description. How his hair and skin – also purple in color – were lightly brushed in water droplets that shone slightly in the light that filtered through the blinds on the window. He noted their clothing, a simple black tank top and purple pajama pants plaided with black lines. How they were clearly fresh out the shower. How their face – or mask – lit up with shock when they noticed that he was awake. How he- 

 

Okay so most of his thoughts were about Noli and their recent encounter. Sick. Great. 

 

 It was perfectly normal for him to observe the man he was about to live with for the next year. He would have to eventually, kind of hard not to when living together. What’s the problem with getting it over with now? He was simply being productive. Yep. Observation is an important skill to have in life. You observe everything and everything after all, whether you mean to or not. 

 

Okay, he really needed to get out of his brain.  

 

He hugged his pillow to his face briefly; the scent of clean but almost dusty fabric overwhelmed his senses and shook him quickly out of his thoughts. He shifted out of his bed, flinging his legs off the bed and standing up; the sudden lack of weight making the bed creak loudly. Well, if Noli didn’t know he was up, he definitely did now. 7n7 exhaled, he was acting like a child caught sneaking out for snacks. He was being ridiculous. He stretched for a long while, bones popping, before turning away from his bed. Noli was still sitting on their bed, back against the wall and knees to their chest, while typing on their laptop. He looked up from the screen to glance at 7n7. 

 

“O-oh. Y0u’re up?”  Noli asked, though it seemed more like an observation said aloud than an actual question. 7n7 chose to answer anyways, after a brief yawn. 

 

“Yep.” 7n7 responded, his tone coming out slightly harsher than he truly meant. He was tempted to correct himself but simply found himself too lazy to. He sleepily lugged himself around to the end of his bed, beginning to search through his pile of bags.  

 

“S-slept w3ll th3n?” Noli snickered, turning to bury his nose back in the blue screen in front of him. “Y0u lo-look like y0u sl3ep every blue m00n.” 7n7 scoffed, rolling his eyes. He was already teasing him. 

 

“You ever been told you’re nosy?” 

 

Noli fake gasped, head whipping from his laptop to look at 7n7 and dramatically clutching his hand over his chest- like it was some outrageous accusation. 

 

 “Am n0t.” 

 

“Dude, you were literally watching me sleep earlier.” 7n7 replied; one eyebrow raised, and arms crossed. Noli appeared genuinely shocked that 7n7 actually noticed him earlier. Maybe he thought 7n7 was too tired to actually pick on the way he was studying him. No matter, he had to know by now. 

 

“T0uché.” Noli shrugged, opting to remove his nose out of 7n7’s business and placing it back into whatever he was typing. 7n7 was curious, but his need to shower had to come first. He’d ask later if he even remembered to. His memory for tasks was... sketchy to put it lightly. 

 

 7n7 silently snickered, gathering the rest of his things before escaping to the bathroom to shower. He probably should’ve before laying on his once clean bed sheets, but he was simply too lazy. He’d just have to add washing them to his ever-growing list of things he’s likely to never remember to get done. He entered the bathroom, locking the door swiftly behind him.  

 

He flipped the light switch to his left on; the bathroom was lit by a single bright white light built into the roof. He blinked, eyes taking a while to adjust to the sudden change. The bathroom was decently sized, and the walls were painted a surprisingly dark beige. He expected every wall to be painted the same boring grey as the bedroom; the school had beaten his expectations – for now.  

 

7n7 placed his change of clothes on the counter across from the shower, glancing quickly at the mirror that hung above the sink. Noli had been right, he looked like shit. He simply sighed, turning the faucet knob in the shower to make the water just warm enough. The steam rolled off the shower of water, it was relaxing. He shrugged his clothes off, making the conscious decision not to glance at the mirror once his shirt had been removed. He never liked those scars; it was better for him not to look at all. Upon stepping into the shower and feeling the warm water rush down his body, he sighed. The water relaxed all of his muscles, which apparently included his brain. The thoughts that had seconds earlier plagued every corner of his brain were now gone, replaced by welcome relaxation. He sunk into the water, allowing himself to finally relax fully since his long hike up to the dorm. It felt super refreshing. 

 

He was going to take his sweet ass time. 

 

.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. 

 

The soft patter of the shower water flowed gently from behind the bathroom door. The patter only adding to the constant repetition from the clock hung above the other’s bed and the low whine of the air conditioner above his. It had been quite a while since their last conversation – since 007n7 had left to shower – Noli wondered if he had fallen asleep in the shower. The thought made them snicker lightly. They had long forgotten about the work that now stared back at them from their dimming laptop screen, the monitor in constant threat of falling asleep. 

 

Truthfully they weren’t working per say. It was more of a passion project they had decided to pick up. Just a bit of code, or at least to them. They had learned code quite a while ago, it was the foundation of Robloxia after all. What kind of god would he be if he couldn’t manipulate the very matter of the universe?  

 

A very weak one, that’s what.  

 

They figured their history with code would be beneficial if they majored in something like computer science, something dependent on coding. They weren’t here to learn after all, just to cause a bit of chaos within an environment ripe with it to begin with.  

 

The screen in front of them darkened to black. With a quick jostle of the track pad, the screen burst back to life, brightness hurting their eyes slightly.  They debated just laying down for the night, it was like 10 pm at this point. The sudden halt of water grabbed Noli’s attention fully. 

 

Guess he didn’t fall asleep then.  

 

Noli turned back to the keyboard and continued typing; if they were going to wait for 007n7 they would at least be productive in their wait. Just for a bit longer. Their fingers glided across the keys, the slight echo of the keys accompanying the repetitiveness of the ticking clock. Noli found getting too focused on his work very easy, he often found out he tuned out his surroundings while extra concentrated. Of course, he only knew this because people told him; his friends he often hung out with over the past year told him it was oddly hard to grab his attention sometimes. Tuning out noises and voices just helped them focus. 

 

Noli didn’t hear when the bathroom door unlocked and swung open. They didn’t hear whatever 007n7 was asking them, only registered there was now a voice in the repetitive sounds they had been hearing. They just kept typing. It wasn’t until his laptop screen came down quickly, closing on his fingers and causing him to jump back, that he zoned back in.  

 

“0-0uch dud3, what the h3ll?!” Noli hissed, slipping their hands out of the now closed laptop. Their voice glitching a slight bit more with the pain. 

 

007n7 was standing before them, one hand on the top of his laptop and the other placed lazily in his pocket. Noli shook his hands, trying to shake off the invisible pain while 007n7 simply smirked. 

 

“Had to get your attention some way or another, you know?” 007n7 slipped both his hands into his pockets, shrugging slightly as he spoke. Noli glared, their hands still slightly aching. He didn’t need to slam it that hard to get their attention, a simple shoulder tap would’ve worked. 

 

“I’m sur3. T0tally n-n3cessary.” Noli said, moving their head to resemble an eyeroll. Their mask didn’t have pupils, so the gesture would have to be enough. 

 

“Trust me, it was.” 007n7 snickered, his smile displaying his teeth. They were... sharper than most Robloxians’ Noli had seen. Though, the sharpness made sense on the man before him. 007n7 had two devil shaped horns on his forehead and a long sharp tail that hung lazily behind him, flicking side to side ever so often. How had they missed that earlier? The horns and tail were so prevalent, how did he just glaze over their existence earlier? How distracted were they? 

 

“You’re staring again. Damn, we just met a couple of hours ago and you’re already star-struck?” 007n7 laughed, placing his hand lazily behind his head. His tail swung steadily now, he seemed content with his own joke. Noli sighed, moving the laptop so it sat next to him on the bed rather than his legs.  

 

“What3v3r man.” Noli responded, the glitches in his voice unable to drown the amusement that laced his voice. The man in front of him was going to be interesting, that was for sure.  

 

“What’d y0u ev3n w-wanna talk ab0ut?” Noli asked, resting his head on one of his hands. “I m3an, assuming y0u had som3thing imp0rtant enough t0 mak3 an attempt to c-cut my fing3rs 0ff.” 

 

“Well, I was asking about your code.” 007n7 replied, pointing one finger at the laptop that now lay closed. “Oh, and I guess also what your major is.” His hands return to their places in his pockets with swift precision. 

 

“T-Talk ab0ut n0sy...” Noli teased, to which 007n7 just smiled smugly “C0mputer sci3nce.”  

 

“Oh shit, me too. Didn’t expect you to be in computer science though.” 7n7’s grin never left his face. At this point, he might as well have had it painted on. 

 

“What’d y0u e-exp3ct then?” Noli gasped, slightly offended. 

 

“I don't know? Like theater or something like that.” 007n7 waved his hand through the air as he spoke. “With your mask and all of that.”  007n7 had leaned in slightly, cocking his head to the side as he studied Noli’s mask.  

 

“Where did you even get that? Gotta be like... mega rich for something that precise.” 

 

“Mad3 it mys3lf.” Noli shrugged smugly, “A little bit of c-c0ding g0es a l0ng way.” they smirked. 

 

 007n7 stood back up, trying to decipher if Noli was lying. Eventually, probably due to the poker face the mask gifted them, 7n7 seemed to decide Noli was telling the truth. And he was. For the most part.  

 

“That’s sick as hell.” 

 

Noli just hummed, leaning back against the wall by their bed. 7n7 plopped down next to him, like he belonged there. Noli scoffed, reaching for their laptop to begin coding again. 7n7 yanked it from them, hiding it swiftly behind his back while still grinning devilishly. Noli groaned, they weren’t going to get any work done at this rate. 

 

“D-dude.” 

 

“You never answered me.” Noli just stared at him, puzzled. 7n7 simply sighed, smile still not wavering. “The coding one. Surely your code can’t be like that illegal or anything.” 7n7 snickered. Apparently Noli’s internal panic was displayed perfectly on their face because 7n7’s smile dropped for a second before widening in a way Noli wasn’t even sure was humanly possible. 

 

“Oh shit. It is, isn't it?” 7n7 cackled. 

 

“Th-That’s n0ne 0f y0ur business, y’know?” Noli defended, dragging his hands down his face. They could still hear 7n7 laughing while they buried their face further into their hands. Did he really look that much like a hacker? Perhaps a lucky guess. Yeah, it had to be a lucky guess. 7n7’s laughter slowed, but his smile was still audible with each of his words. 

 

“Alright dude, I’ll leave you alone.” the weight on the bed shifted, bed creaking in relief. Noli slowly removed their hands off their face, their laptop was placed next to them and 7n7 was stood stretching with his hands behind his head. 7n7 yawned before turning back to the panicked mess, who was now staring at him with a raised eyebrow. He had backed down rather quickly. 

 

“I mean, hey, I ain’t an admin.” 7n7 murmured, averting his eyes, “They’d take me too if I even thought of reporting you.” he snickered, his grin returning quickly to his face as he made eye contact again.  

 

“Can’t have them taking both of us. That’d make their job far too easy.” 

 

Noli just stared, shocked. Sure, he had already understood the man in front of him to be chaotic, or he at least predicted him to be. But a hacker? That went far beyond their expectations. Why was he even telling them this? They’d barely known each other for 12 hours and yet here he was, spilling a life-ending secret to a complete stranger. It was idiotic at best, detrimental at worst. Yet as he stared at the man before him, his demeanor seemed no different. There was no obvious tension in the way he stood, his devilish grin still adorned his face with sharp teeth with no hint of wavering. He seemed confident, like he knew. Knew that Noli wouldn’t report him. After all, wouldn’t reporting him just put Noli further in danger? Noli couldn’t tell if this was some advance mind game attempt, or if 7n7 truly had some sickening form of trust in a complete stranger. Either way, it was a stupid move to pull. Anybody else and 7n7 would be in the Banlands by daylight.  But Noli had something to protect, something that would keep him quiet. His freedom, or the lack of it when caught by the admins. Sure, he wouldn’t be fully caught and definitely not sent to the Banlands – he could just escape anyways – but he would be spotted. His cover blown. He’d be under even more supervision by the gods who still kept themselves from the mortal realm. He would lose all of their freedom, reduced back to the boring life of a deity. The thought made Noli’s stomach drop, the dread was overwhelming. His thoughts swirled, as they so often do in silence. Their questions remained unanswered and unspoken. What could they do? Walk up to a man they’ve just met and ask “Why’d you spill such a detrimental secret to me? Why even trust me?” That wouldn’t work. Of course it wouldn’t. 

 

.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. 

 

 

The silence stretched across the entire room, 7n7 shifted uncomfortably under its tension. Noli was still staring ahead, hands fidgeting at his cuticles. He was clearly deep in thought, perhaps spilling that secret was too much for a first conversation. 7n7 didn’t care though, Noli had no reason to report anything to the admins – let alone even believe his story to begin with. 7n7 had never claimed himself to be a trustworthy man, at least not to Noli. For all Noli could know, 7n7 made that lie up on the spot in order to lull him into a false sense of security.  

 

Of course he didn’t lie. But Noli didn’t know that. There was no way for him to be sure. And now he was sat there, seemingly genuinely contemplating 7n7’s seriousness. Welp, there was no backing out now. 7n7 cleared his throat, breaking Noli out of his thoughts. 

 

“You’re thinking about me too much, knock it down a peg. Wouldn’t want me becoming every single one of your thoughts, would you?” 7n7 fluttered his eyelashes at the slightly startled man, who just laughed in return. “I mean I know I'm star-strikingly handsome, but it’s a bit too early for crushes, yeah?” 

 

“Gu3ss y-y0u're right. Y0u d0n’t need anym0re b00sts to your 3go.” Noli snickered, head resting on one of his hands. 7n7 gasped, which just received more laughter. 7n7 rolled his eyes, turning to face the door.  

 

“Imma grab something to eat.” 7n7 announced. “You probably need to eat too, hacker boy.”  Noli only rolled his eyes or at least made an attempt at a movement that resembled it. He had no pupils to roll on his mask, but that didn’t stop him from trying. He didn’t disagree though, so 7n7 took it as an agreement.  

 

“I’ll m33t y0u in the kitchen, I gu3ss.” That was good enough for 7n7, who swept out the room and into the kitchen. Yeah, his roommate wasn’t that bad. 

Notes:

Uhhh yeah. I'm planning on having all the other chapter titles be song lyrics, all from my 7n7noli playlist (GOD I'm so brainrotted). Hope you didn't think this was completely ass.

Notes:

Uh if you want to, follow my art instagram @the_inky_unkn0wn. I'll likely post art of my interpretation of these two FREAKS once I actually escape art block. I hope you didn't throw up in your mouth at this one.