[Synopsis: It's been exactly one week since Player and Angel secured their Impostor victory, and it's time for their planned date...Player's a little nervous about the ordeal at first, but as long as they both have a good time, things should go alright.]

[Location: Polus Outpost]

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Okay, Player. You can do this, the red crewmate said to himself as he straightened out his beanie and dusted himself down for the third time in a row. It's gonna be simple. Donut, coffee, stroll through the snow, then we do our tasks together...Nothing should go wrong. It'll be fine.

"You good, man?"

The sound of Veteran's voice right behind him made Player jump a bit, and he turned around o face him...smoothing himself down yet again.

"Oh, hey Veteran. Sorry, I'm just making sure I look halfway decent for when Angel gets here. Don't wanna make a bad impression, y'know?"

"Oh...Right. Today's your little date," he remembered, frowning a little. "Man, of all the things I had to be reminded of today..."

Player rolled his eyes. Veteran did mean well; after what Noob had done, it made sense that he didn't want Player to have his heart broken all over again by someone who only wanted to take advantage of him. But the red-clad crewmember had a good feeling about Angel, and Veteran's disgruntled concerns felt a bit unwarranted...Hopefully, he would begin to trust Angel soon.

And hopefully, his suspicions didn't get in the way of their date somehow.

"Just calm down, Veteran. Not every girl is like Noob, y'know," Player told him. "The one thing they have in common is that they both live up to their names."

"Hm...well...Just know I'll be keepin' tabs on you guys every so often today," the yellow crewmate nodded.

"Can you maybe not do that? If I know someone is watching me the whole time, it'll probably mess with me too much."

"You sure you don't want me lookin' out for ya?"

"Positive."

"Well...Okay. Good luck out there."

"Thanks..."

The sound of someone else joining the lobby sounded off, and Player dusted himself down one more time.

"I think that's her! Okay, everyone, wish me luck."

"You're gonna need it, heh heh," MrCheese snickered, earning himself a glare from TheGentleman.

"Oh, don't bog him down, MrCheese. I say he's doing quite well so far for a commoner."

Player rolled his eyes again; at least TheGentleman's comment had some merit...hopefully.

Surely enough, a familiar-looking banana crewmate with a bright golden halo hovering over her head appeared in one of the seats, and as soon as she spied Player, she hopped on over, wearing the sweetest of smiles on her face.

"Hi, everyone," she greeted. "I made it, just as planned."

"Angel!"

Player was the first to approach her, and she met him halfway, each of them enveloping one another in a soft embrace and tapping their visors together.

"I'm so glad you could make it today," he smiled. "You ready to start?"

"I certainly am. Captain, do you want to start the game now?"

"Sure thing, Angel!" the white crewmate nodded as he started the countdown. "Alright, everyone. I'm just gonna say this once. Whoever the three Impostors end up being, do Player and Angel a huge favor and spare 'em till the end. Today's kind of important for them."

"Thanks, Captain," Player said to him just before the screen went black...He was a crewmate, just as he'd hoped; he didn't want to be the one Impostor who wasn't killing anybody off, that was for sure.

After everyone inserted their keys, Player offered his hand to Angel, which she gladly took, and the two of them headed out of the dropship and made their way south to the Office.

"So, Angel. How'd your harp lesson go last Saturday?"

"It was lovely," she smiled. "You know, if you want, I could play for you sometime; I'm having a performance in two months, so you can be my practice audience. Hee hee..."

"Aw, sure! I'd love that! Seems like you're pretty good."

"I suppose I am...You don't happen to play any instruments, do you?"

"Well...I used to play the piano. But my legs didn't want to grow in tune with my body, so I ended up getting kicked out of the jazz class at school; my legs couldn't reach the pedals anymore."

"Oh, I'm sorry..."

"It's okay...I don't really play any instruments anymore, but I do take karate lessons. I alternate between different days of the week, so my schedule can be a little unpredictable, but I really enjoy it; makes me feel...capable, y'know?"

"I think you're capable," Angel said to him as they turned into the east entrance to the Office building. "...Especially now."

"Aw, well...Thanks, Angel. That means a lot coming from you."

They turned into the Office and passed by the vital monitor and ID scanners, making their way into the meeting room and over to the coffee station.

"So, how do you like your coffee, Angel? Strong? Weak?"

"Usually somewhere in the middle...But I usually drown it with cream," she giggled. "I only put in a tiny amount of sugar, though...What about you?"

"Kind of the same, but switch the cream and sugar around. Ha ha!"

They both giggled some more. Things seemed like they were off to a good start.

"You go ahead and get yours first, Angel," Player offered, grabbing the platter of donuts off to their left and showing it to her. "Care for one of these, too?"

"Oh, you go ahead and choose first," she told him. "You offered to let me use the coffee machine first, so it's only fair, isn't it?"

"I suppose," he nodded, grabbing the strawberry-glazed donut covered in sprinkles off the plate. "Man, I can't believe Captain hates these so much; they're the best."

"Well, that's one less person who'll snag your favorite," Angel giggled, grabbing the chocolate one from the plate as her coffee finished brewing. "...You know, to be completely honest, I drink a lot more tea than I do coffee, or things like that. I usually only make myself a cup when something special is going on."

"Oh, really? You mean, like...today?"

"You could say that," she smiled, stepping aside and handing him an empty cup before preparing her own drink. "All yours, Player."

"Thanks, Angel," he chirped as he started the machine back up. "...So do you like bubble tea, or do you prefer it the way TheGentleman does?"

"Oh, I love both, but my preference might change depending on the temperature outside."

"Well, that does make sense, heh heh..." Player replied. "So, uh...Are there any other games you play besides Among Us?"

"You could say I've got a thing for indie games. Hollow Knight, Undertale, DDLC...That one was a doozy. Hee hee hee..."

"Oh, yeah. I never played the game, but I watched a playthrough of it," Player nodded, his visor widening a little. "Hey, maybe we can hang out at my place sometime and play a few things together."

"That sounds like fun," Angel replied. "So, tell me. Just how good are you at karate?"

"Well, I've got a green belt, so I'm about halfway up the ladder. If I keep it up, I should be promoted to a blue belt by the end of the year."

"Ooh, that does sound good. I hope you get promoted, too."

"Thanks, Angel."

Player flashed her a small smile, then grabbed his coffee and stirred in the cream and sugar.

"So, uh...I know there aren't really any chairs here at the meeting table right now," Player noticed. "Do you want me to look for some folding chairs, or do you wanna sit somewhere else?"

"Oh, you don't need to go looking around for chairs," the banana clad crewmate told him, taking a seat on the floor up against the wall with her beverage and donut. "Why don't we just sit next to each other here on the carpet?"

"I guess that'll work; we'll be closer to each other," Player nodded, doing the same right beside her. "Let's dig in."

As they began to munch on their breakfast, a silence began to hover over them...And Player wasn't sure whether the lack of conversation between them was welcome or awkward.

Should I say something else? he wondered. Or will she think I'm talking too much...? God, am I overthinking this?

He glanced over at Angel as he pondered what his next move should be, and she just so happened to do the same thing at the same time. The next thing he knew, they were making eye contact.

Oh, God, oh God, what do I do? What should I say?

Angel didn't seem bothered by the quiet. She simply gave him a smile...And it was enough to make Player's heart skip a beat.

Instantly, his worries seemed to melt away.

Wow... he said to himself. ...How did I not notice just how pretty she was before?

The soft banana color really suited her well, perhaps even better than her original bright yellow. He analyzed her facial features next. Her soft gaze, those small, dainty eyelashes...Were those freckles dotted across her cheeks? They were small, but they were there.

...Cute.

He found himself smiling right back at her, their gazes locking...However, the moment didn't last for very long. A meeting was abruptly called, and everyone was transported right to the Office.

____________________________________________________________

DEAD BODY REPORTED

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"Where was the body?" MrEgg inquired first.

"Dum and I found Stoner's body in MedBay not far from the scanner," Captain answered him. "I suspect he may have been trying to clear himself, only to be stabbed in the back..."

"Gracious...This had to have been a very recent death," the maroon crewmate told him. "I just saw Stoner enter the lab not long before the report."

Captain's eyes narrowed at him a bit.

"Oh, really? So, you admit you were nearby?"

"That's a little sus," Dum remarked, agreeing with her boyfriend's suspicions.

"Yeah, that is a little sus, MrEgg, not gonna lie," MrCheese added.

MrEgg sighed deeply before continuing.

"Captain, I swear, I don't know anything about what happened in the lab. I never even went inside; I was fueling the engines when I saw him go in."

"Can anyone confirm this?" Captain asked the crowd.

"Is not Egg man," a coral crewmate wearing a pair of diving goggles spoke up in a thick Russian accent. "I saw him fueling ship while I repair node. He does not lie."

"Whoa, whoa, wait a sec," MrCheese interrupted. "Who the heck are you?"

"Erh...My name Snorkel. Am new to lobby, so I do not-"

"A'ight, that settles it! Everyone kill the outsider!" MrCheese exclaimed. "The dumb dork moron STOLE MY CATCHPHRASE!!"

"May I interrupt?" TheGentleman asked firmly. He had the attention of everyone in a matter of seconds.

"I think we should skip this vote for now. There isn't enough hard evidence to vote anybody out yet, and we can't just blindly accuse someone just because they're new here...I think we should give Snorkel a chance and keep at it with our tasks for the time being, lest I have to remind everyone of what happened with Wizard that one time...Does everyone agree?"

There was murmuring among the meeting room for a few moments before he got an answer.

"Alright. Maybe TheGentleman has a point," Captain nodded lightly. "I'll vote to skip."

"Well, if you ask me, the russki's givin' off some bad jubies," Bro decided. "I'm castin' my vote for Snorkel."

It wasn't long until everyone had voted, and the results came in.

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Player:
Veteran:
Captain:
Dum:
Angel:
TheGentleman:
MrCheese:
MrEgg: ***
Snorkel: ****
Bro:
Engineer:
Gnome:
Ninja:
Mother:

Skipped: *******

____________________________________________________________

No one was ejected(Skipped.)
3 Impostors remain.

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With the meeting settled, everyone followed Captain's order to scatter once again...Everyone except for Player and Angel, at least.

"I just hope the Impostors will be nice enough to spare us today," Player said to her. "I mean, I know Bro's not a great Impostor, but he'd probably be pretty ruthless if he got the chance."

"I can imagine...unfortunately," Angel teased. They both giggled.

"Heh heh...eh...Hey, Angel?" he said to her as he took another sip of his coffee, looking over her soft features again.

"Yes, Player?"

"I, uh...I like your freckles."

He saw her visor widen a tad more, and she shrank back just a tiny bit.

"...You do?" she asked him, looking ever so slightly ashamed.

"Sure I do!"

"Oh. W-well, ah...Thank you, Player. I-I guess you could say I'm a little self conscious about them, so...It's nice to know someone thinks they look nice."

"Aw, you don't need to feel that way," the red crewmate assured her, resting a hand against her back. "I think they look great on you."

"You really think so?"

"Of course I do; they're adorable."

As soon as Player realized what he'd said, his blush deepened.

"Heh heh...uh...Not that you look, like, small and feeble, or something like that, because I know you're not, 'cuz I've seen it and worked with you a-as an Impostor, and ah, asaewdjvr..."

He continued to turn more and more red as he continued, eventually not even able to produce anything coherent due to how embarrassed he felt about the whole ordeal...Angel giggled again, then brought her finger up to his lips.

"...I know what you mean, Player," she said to him when he finally fell quiet. "And I'm really flattered you think that about me."

"...You are?"

"Of course," she smiled, her visor shimmering a bit...She was genuinely touched by his remark, even if he had a bit of trouble putting his thoughts into words.

"Well...I-It's no problem, Angel," he replied, taking another sip from his coffee cup. "Sorry I'm such a verbal klutz."

"It's okay, Player. It might just be your nerves."

"Uh, maybe," he admitted, scratching the back of his head a bit. Angel handed his donut to him, and he gave her a look of gratitude before taking another bite from it.

"Just relax, Player," Angel said to him quietly. "Everything should be fine, okay?"

"Ah...okay," he nodded lightly, taking another sip from his cup...There wasn't much else said between them until they got close to finishing their refreshments, but there were still a few smiles being given to one another, and they made eye contact nearly every five seconds.

When they finally finished, got up and threw out their paperware, Player spoke again.

"Welp, we better head out," he said to her. "There isn't a whole lot that needs to be done this round, so once we finish everything, we should probably still have some spare time left."

"I should think," Angel agreed. "Come on, Player. Let's go."

They headed into the other room, and Player scanned his boarding pass before doing anything else.

"You gonna scan yours?"

"Oh, I scanned it really quick when we came in this way."

"Oh. Okay. You ready to go, then?"

She nodded, and they both went out the east door and headed up north side by side. They went to the lab first, and Player was able to prove his innocence to Angel with a MedBay scan before she headed over to the sample inspector. When they were done in there, they made their way over to Electrical.

"There's plenty of snow on the ground," Player remarked. "Maybe once all of our tasks are done, we can take a break and have some fun with it. You game?"

"Ooh, that sounds lovely!" she beamed as they entered the building. "I only have to download the Electrical data and monitor the tree in here, then fix a weather node after that. Then we should be good to go."

"Alright, great!"

"Heh heh heh...And nobody ever saw a thing."

Player froze when he heard muttering coming from inside the security room up ahead, and he pulled Angel around the corner with him when he saw someone's shadow moving from inside, their silhouette dancing across the back wall.

...A familiar blue figure stepped out of the room twirling his bloody knife in his fingers, and he turned around and jumped backwards into the vent in the corner, thinking he'd just gotten away with the perfect crime.

"...Wow," Player remarked. "Man, I almost feel bad. If we'd taken a bit more time coming here, he might've actually gotten off the hook somehow."

"Yeah..." Angel nodded, looking a bit sympathetic herself. "Um...should we report him?"

"Well, a crewmate's gotta do what a crewmate's gotta do, right?"

Angel nodded once more as the two of them headed into Security and found the fresh body of Engineer lying there, sitting in a slowly growing pool of its own blood.

Man. Bro is gonna get an earful from Gnome, that's for sure, Player said to himself as he pulled out his megaphone and reported the poindexter's death.

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DEAD BODY REPORTED

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When the meeting went into session, it was revealed that Veteran was dead, too.

"Good gracious!" TheGentleman exclaimed. "Two more people have died that quickly!?"

"What'd you guys see?" MrCheese asked.

"Angel and I found Engineer's body in Security," Player explained, to which Gnome burst into hysterics.

"ENGIE!! No, no, Engie, why did I leave you by yourself...!?" she lamented, tearing up as she spoke. "This is all my fault, I had to go fuel the other engine while he looked at the cams, what'd they do to him...!?"

"Uh, Gnome. You've killed Engineer before and put on a show like this," MrCheese pointed out. "You're not off the sus list just because you're mourning."

"No, she's not lying this time," Player said to his orange-clad companion. "Angel and I both witnessed the killer in action."

"That we did," Angel nodded. "...Sorry, Bro, but it turns out you didn't go completely unseen."

The blue Impostor spluttered a bit before producing a coherent sentence.

"What?" he responded. "I wasn't anywhere near Security, that's bullcrap."

"Language, Bro!" Mother chastised him, covering Timmy's ears.

"Oh, come on. Mother, you believe me, right?"

"I'm not so sure about that," she answered him, shaking her head in disappointment. "Last place I saw you was in O2, and there's a vent connecting the tree room and Security in there."

"There's a VENT in Security??" he asked, really putting on the stupid act.

Player facepalmed.

"Yeah. You know. The one you hopped into before the meeting was called. Playing dumb isn't going to help you, now."

"All in favor of casting Bro into the fiery sea of pain and torment, say aye!" Captain ordered.

"Aye!"

Pretty much everyone agreed to vote him out, and as they were casting their votes, he made one more statement.

"Wow. Some lousy partner you are, MrEgg. You didn't even TRY to step in."

"Bro, if I were an Impostor, Snorkel here would have been dead a long time ago," he defended himself calmly. "She's been following me all round trying to keep me safe."

"You are, eh, not so bright, it seems," the coral crewmate remarked. "I clear Egg. Blue boy is trying to frame."

"Oh, COME ON!"

"No. YOU come on and use your brain."

MrEgg chuckled at his defender's response, and everyone's votes came in.

____________________________________________________________

Player:
Captain:
Dum:
Angel:
TheGentleman:
MrCheese:
MrEgg: *
Snorkel:
Bro: ***********
Gnome:
Ninja:
Mother:

Skipped:

____________________________________________________________

"Then the vote masses!" Captain announced. "We'll be seeing you in the fiery pits of the planet's molten core, Bro."

Bro let out a frustrated grumble as he was tossed into the lava pit, and he emitted a loud, blood-curdling scream a moment later.

____________________________________________________________

Bro was An Impostor.
2 Impostors remain.

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"Welp, that's one down, and two to go!" Captain nodded. "Player! Angel! Nice catch back there."

"Thank you, Captain," the banana crewmate replied, her eyelashes fluttering a bit as she blinked and smiled. Player's heart melted at the sight of it.

"Alright! Everyone SCAT-!"

"Um...Captain?" Gnome interrupted.

"Oh. What is it, Gnome?"

"...Would you mind if I stayed with you and Dum?"

"Oh, of course not," Captain smiled. "Seeing that we're down to two Impostors, we should be safer in a group. How's that sound, Dum?"

"Sure, Gnome! We'll keep you company until the end of the round, okay?"

"Thanks, you guys," the lime crewmate smiled gratefully as she joined their party.

"Okay. NOW everyone scatter!" Captain finally said as they all dispersed again.

"Onward, egg comrade," Snorkel said to MrEgg. "We've a tree to tend."

"Tally-ho!"

Everyone was gone in an instant, once again leaving Player and Angel the last two in the Office.

"So, what do you have left to do, Player?"

"I've got to fill the O2 canisters, open the waterways and reboot the wifi. Let's go to Communications first so I can get the reboot started and have it ready up while we do our other tasks, okay?"

"Good idea."

They left through the western door, heading to Comms, then to the Boiler Room and up into the main part of O2 to fill the canisters and monitor the tree.

"Man, Angel. I know I don't do my tasks super duper fast, but we're keeping a pretty good pace here."

"Thank you, Player," Angel smiled again. The moment they made eye contact, she saw him go bright red again.

"You okay, Player?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, heh heh..." he replied, slightly sheepish. "...You have a really pretty smile, y'know."

"Oh, thank you so much," she cooed, her smile only growing. "...Come on, let's go up into Electrical and finish up in here so we can go back to Comms."

"Sure thing."

They headed back up the north hallway, where Angel stood by the download screen for a short while before they headed back down into Communications. They both started the second steps of their tasks at the same time, so Angel only took a few seconds to flash Player the thumbs up after the wifi was rebooted.

"All done, Angel?"

"Yes indeed."

"Great! Now all I have to do is open up the Office waterway, and we'll both be done!"

They headed further southeast and made it back to the Office door. Player turned the wheel and let the water flow through the pipes, completing the last task on his list.

"Okay! Everything's done!" he chirped, turning back again to face Angel...just in time to see her falling backwards onto the ground.

"ANGEL!!"

He panicked as he knelt down to where she was lying, fearing that one of the two remaining Impostors might have sniped her with their pistol...But the soft laughter he heard coming from her a moment later put his fears to rest, and he sighed with relief when he saw her waving her hands and legs across the ground.

"Oh...Oh, phew. I thought something happened to you," he said to her.

"Nope...Just decided to make a snow angel."

"Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all."

He chuckled a bit as he plopped down into the snow right beside her and started making one himself. They both got up after about a minute to look at their creations...Angel's impression in the snow looked slightly more neat than Player's, as he'd waved his arms in the snow quite a bit more quickly.

"Hmm...Yours is missing something," the red crewmate remarked, thinking of what that missing something might be for a moment before snapping his fingers.

"I got it."

He headed over to the top of the snow angel, then used two of his fingers to trace an oval above its head, giving it a halo.

"There. NOW it's perfect," he said as he stood up. Angel giggled again as she moved in beside him, each of them looking down and admiring their creations.

...And once again, their quiet moment was interrupted by yet another body report.

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DEAD BODY REPORTED

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Snorkel was dead. And MrEgg was FUMING.

"IT WAS MOTHER!!!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. "We were just leaving Communications...Snorkel told me to stay inside while she made sure the coast was clear, and when she left the building, I saw a blood spatter. I rushed outside just in time to see her and her two bloody DEMON SPAWNS fleeing the scene."

"MrEgg, watch how you speak to people!" the cyan crewmate exclaimed. "Me and my boys did no such thing!"

"Then how do explain THIS!?!"

Without missing a beat, he pulled out one of the murder weapons he'd retrieved from the crime scene before the report...It was a tiny knife. Small enough to fit in the hand of a baby.

No doubt, that was Franklin's knife.

"Franklin, did you drop that?" Mother asked him, turning to MrEgg again. "MrEgg, there was no body anywhere when we were passing by; Franklin might have just dropped it in the snow by mistake. He takes is everywhere with him on these maps."

"Well then, would you care to tell us why it's covered in Snorkel's BLOOD?"

"He likes to open ketchup packets with it sometimes," she said to him softly. "That's how he lets off steam."

"I for one, believe MrEgg," TheGentleman nodded. "He knew that if he killed Snorkel that he'd be the first suspect, since the two have been together so much this round. And he's not one to make a mistake like that."

"I think I'm gonna side with TheGentleman on this one," MrCheese nodded, already casting his vote.

"Guys, are you forgetting that I helped to get Bro out?" Mother reminded them.

"Everyone knew it was Bro, Mother," Player added. "You probably just went along with it to make yourself look innocent."

"But if you vote me out, who's going to take care of my children!?!"

"They've fared well enough by themselves when you've died before, Mother," Player told her. "Don't get your oxygen tank in a knot...Angel, do you have anything to say about this?"

"Hm...No. Not really."

"Oh...well...Okay. I think we've all made up our minds, anyway."

She didn't really say anything during the last meeting either, Player realized. ...Maybe she's scared that someone's gonna try to frame her, like Bro tried with MrEgg...They probably won't, but you can never be too sure about what someone might say.

Ninja could see tears welling up in MrEgg's eyes, and he rested a hand against his side comfortingly.

"お悔やみ申し上げます、エッグさん," Ninja said to him quietly. "シュノーケルちゃんはいい乗組員でした. あなたは彼女の次のラウンドを見るでしょう."

"Well...Whatever it was you just said, Ninja, thank you," he replied, turning to look the grey-clad crewmate in the eye and sighing.

"...Let's vote out Mother."

The votes were cast, and the decision was made.

____________________________________________________________

Player:
Captain:
Dum:
Angel:
TheGentleman:
MrCheese:
MrEgg: *
Gnome:
Ninja:
Mother: *********

Skipped: *

____________________________________________________________

"But my CHILDREN!!"

It was too late for Mother, though. She was cast into the lava pit, and she burned to a crisp with a scream that cut through the air like a knife.

____________________________________________________________

Mother was An Impostor.
1 Impostor remains.

____________________________________________________________

"Welp, that's another down!" Captain announced. "Things are lookin' good for the crew this round; even if we don't find out who the last Impostor is, we should be able to get the rest of our tasks done before they can thin the herd enough to make much of a difference. Gnome. Are you still staying with Dum and I?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Gnome nodded. "Thanks for being there for me."

"Hey, you'll see him again when we all spawn back into the lobby!" Dum assured her, cheering her up a bit.

"Erm...Ninja, would you mind if I partnered up with you?" MrEgg asked.

"全くない," he answered, flashing him a tiny smile.

"Um...O-okay. Thank you."

The two of them headed out next, and the rest of the crew followed. Player and Angel went back outside, not far behind Ninja and MrEgg, and they watched as their two companions carefully made their way around the snow angels as they headed through the outpost, not wanting to mess them up...Player smiled at the gesture.

"You know, some of the people here might be a little rough around the edges," he said to Angel. "But they really do mean well...E-except maybe Bro. I still don't know about him."

"Me neither."

They both snickered a bit; if anyone in the lobby was rough around the edges, it was definitely Bro.

"You wanna go back out in the snow, Angel?"

"M-hm," she nodded, taking him by the hand again as they both made their way back outside.

It was a really good snow day on Polus; there was plenty of it on the ground, and it packed easily, so it was PERFECT for making snowballs and building things with. There were a few snowball fights scattered in between them making their four snow crewmates(made to look like mocking caricatures of MrCheese, Bro, Stoner and TheGentleman,) and once those were done, they combined their skills to build an impressive snow fort from the ground up.

"Ha ha! Let's see Captain top this!" Player exclaimed as the two of them admired their work. "What do you wanna do with it? Add on some more walls and make more rooms?"

"You can never have too big a fort~," Angel smiled at him, and the two started to expand their creation even more.

...When they were patching up the gaps of their third extra room(which was a dome-shaped structure not unlike a small igloo,) Player noticed that Angel's cheeks were slightly red, and she was rubbing her hands together a bit more often than she'd been before.

"You cold?"

"Just a tiny bit, maybe," she assured him. "I'm alright."

"I don't want you to catch anything, though...Let's see if the dome we made if warmer than it is out here."

He let Angel head in through the crawl space first, and he followed her. Once they were both inside, they sat on the snow-covered floor, sighing a bit; despite the cold ground, the inside of the igloo was warmer than it was outside, seeing that it blocked out the breeze.

"Here, how 'bout I lend you this?"

Player pulled his beanie off of his head and loosely placed it atop Angel's beneath her halo, patting the top of it a little...The banana-clad crewmate turned even more pink in the face as she turned to look him in the eye.

"Oh. Uh...Sorry," he apologized. "Am I being, like, overprotective?"

"Does this answer your question?"

She leaned forward and got up on her tippy toes as she planted a gentle kiss against Player's temple, and he turned even redder than he was before.

"...You like giving me surprise kisses, don't you?" he asked, unable to hide the smile stretching across his face.

"Don't expect it to be the last," she teased him lightly. "Oh, I shouldn't have two hats and leave you with nothing. Here, you take this."

She grabbed her halo and stuck it over Player's head, and it stayed there, hovering just above him.

"It suits you better than I expected," she remarked, giggling a bit.

"You think so?"

"Of course."

"Heh heh, well...Thank you, Angel. Hey, maybe I'll get one of my own, and we can match each other."

"Oh, that sounds wonderful," she grinned as she straightened out the beanie on her head a bit, pulling it on a bit tighter as well. "I might consider getting a hat like yours myself; it's really soft and warm, isn't it?"

"Yep. Perfect for Polus," he nodded. "Though it's not just that...The whole beanie thing in my family goes back a few generations."

"Really?"

"Sure does. My grandpa and great grandpa lived in Alaska pretty much their whole lives, and my dad grew up there. And if there's one thing for sure about Alaska, it gets COLD in the winter...Heck, the sun doesn't even come out much, since it's so far north. But anyways, they were always wearing their beanies to keep their heads warm. Even in the summertime; I guess they thought they looked good in them, so they kept at it. Heck, sometimes, when we went to visit there during the winter when I was younger, I'd see my grandpa double up!"

"Kind of like TheGentleman and his top hats?"

"Ha ha, yeah!"

They both chuckled a bit at the though.

"Heh...Well, anyways, when I was eight and we went down to visit him, my grandpa gave me that hat; told me it was his prized possession, but since Dad already had one of his own, he figured he'd pass it down to me. He said it was the same one his grandpa had, and he'd kept it in good condition ever since he'd gotten it."

"Wow, really?"

"Yep. Really...I rarely ever took it off after that. And the following year, I still had it, and I could tell he was happy to have given it to me...He and I spent a lot of time together that year. The last thing I did before we left was thank him for the hat, and...and I told him I loved him."

The smile on his face began to falter a bit.

"I'm really glad I said that when I did...He passed away the next fall, just when we were planning our annual trip up there...We did go to the funeral, though; he was buried right next to where grandma was."

"Oh, Player, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, Angel...I'm sure he's proud of me, wherever he is," he nodded. "And I've got the hat to remember him by."

"And...you trust me with it?"

"Aw, don't worry, you're not gonna hurt it."

"Probably not," she agreed. "But...I think it should go back on its owner's head."

She pulled the beanie off and handed it back to Player.

"Well...okay. But I've gotta give you this back too, then."

As he stuck the beanie back on his head with one hand, he used his other to remove the halo from above him and place it back overtop of Angel, making sure it was straight.

"There ya go."

"Thank you, Player."

She felt a chill go up her spine, and she beat her invisible arms together again. Removing the hat allowed the cold to catch up to her, even inside the shelter they'd crafted.

"Do you wanna go back into the Office, Angel?" Player asked her, resting his hand against her back. "It's a lot warmer in there."

"W-well...okay," the banana crewmate nodded, heading back out the exit. "Let's go."

When they were both outside and standing up straight again, Player wrapped Angel into a side hug, making sure she stayed warm as they walked back to the Office. When they made it there, Player made sure the sliding doors shut behind him. He was beginning to shiver a bit himself, so he was glad they decided to go back in when they did.

"There we go...Do you want a cup of tea, Angel? That should warm you back up."

"Oh, I'm doing a lot better already. You don't have to put trouble yourself with that," she said to him as she rubbed her hands up and down herself one last time to sufficiently raise her body temperature. "Thank you so much, though, Player. You're really sweet."

"Y-you think so?"

"Sure do."

"Aw, well...Thank you," he replied, scuffing his foot against the ground as he turned pink in the face. Angel approached him again and took him by the hands, giving him another visor nuzzle, which he gladly returned.

"...You're really sweet too, Angel," he said to her, sitting down on the floor against the wall. "Man...Everything went pretty well today, didn't it? I was kind of afraid the Impostors might decide to take us down for a double kill, but I guess I had nothing to worry about."

Angel sat down beside him and turned her head his way, but she made no eye contact with him.

"...Something wrong, Angel?"

Finally, her eyes met his.

"Well...I should probably tell you."

"Tell me what?"

Angel sighed, casting her glance off to the side in a guilty manner.

"...It's me," she confessed. "I'm the last Impostor. I was hoping to be a crewmate this round, because of our plans, but...I guess it didn't go quite the way I hoped."

"Oh...So that's why you didn't say much during the meetings."

"Yeah...And I knew that if I suddenly left you somewhere on your own in order to kill someone, the others would notice, and...I'd have probably been voted off. So I decided to just let Mother and Bro do what they could."

"Huh...Well, that's okay," Player said to her, smiling a little as he rested a hand against her back. "What matters is that we're having a good time. Doesn't matter to me if you're an Impostor or not. 'Specially since it's pretty obvious you're not gonna kill me...Heck, if anything, that means I trust you even more."

"Really?"

"Sure! If it was Noob in your spot right now, she'd have probably been thinking about when and where to kill me the entire time we were out. She might even be killing me right now, heh heh...Eh...But it seems to me like I was never even on your list."

"You weren't," she confirmed. "Besides, today was meant to be between the two of us. There's always next time, right?"

"Sure is," Player nodded. "...Say, the task bar is almost full. I'm finished with what I have to do, so...Do you wanna just stay here for a little bit longer? Just the two of us?"

Angel smiled, then scooched in closer.

"I wouldn't ask for anything else."

She leaned her head up against his, very lightly nuzzling it. She felt him lean his own head in, and their hands slowly intertwined with one another as they relaxed in each other's hold...After a minute or so, she tilted her head back up to plant another peck against his cheek, and she heard him giggle softly.

"...You mind if I return the favor?" he asked.

"Nope."

Player smiled again, then lightly kissed her on the forehead, hugging her close...As the two of them sat there with one another, it dawned on him that the way he and Angel displayed intimacy with one another wasn't the same as what it'd been with Noob. With his ex, the two of them would constantly nuzzle each other's faces out in the open, and there were always nicknames, blown kisses and baby talk being thrown around. At the time, he'd enjoyed it, but looking back, it seemed so over the top to him, as though they were trying to exaggerate their feelings toward one another...as though they weren't really as strong as they made it out to be.

But this was different. They didn't need to go over the top with super mushy PDAs. They were just taking it slow and steady, cuddling up to one another in the Office and simply enjoying each other's company. It felt so much more genuine than what he'd experienced before...It sparked a feeling of warmth in his chest, spreading out across him. He never felt anything quite like that with Noob...Was this what love was supposed to feel like? It certainly seemed that way.

"...Angel?"

"Hm?"

"I...I know this is only our first date, and I don't want to make it sound like I'm rushing into anything," he said to her. "But I think I...Well, what I want to say is that..."

He sighed deeply, then tilted his head to look her in the eye.

Just say it, Player, he told himself. She won't be upset...Go ahead.

"I...I love you, Angel," he finally said to her. "...And you make me happy."

The look in her visor changed subtly as she gazed into his eyes...What was she thinking? Had he caught her off guard?

"I...I-I'm sorry, Angel," he quickly apologized. "I just-"

He got no further than that. Without any warning, Angel leaned forward again and connected their lips, silencing him. Player was a bit surprised at first, but when he realized what was happening, he melted right into the kiss and held her just a bit tighter...Everything suddenly felt so peaceful. As though they were the only two people on the entire planet right then and there. The only sounds the two of them could hear were each other's soft breathing and the synced beating of their hearts.

...It was wonderful.

Finally, they gently broke away from one another to look into each other's visors again...They could see their own reflections in the other's gaze.

"...There's no reason to be sorry, Player," Angel whispered, cupping his warm cheek. "I feel the same way...Everything's okay now."

Player smiled again, then leaned in and touched their foreheads together...He felt a tear pricking in the corner of his eye, and he sniffled quietly as he took in the moment.

"...Is something the matter?"

The banana-clad crewmate gently brushed away the tear standing in the corner of Player's visor with her thumb.

"Nothing's wrong, Angel," he replied, nuzzling closer and tenderly kissing her cheek. "In fact, everything feels perfect right now...It was a happy tear."

"Awww, Player..."

They tapped their visors together again, closing their eyes as they gently held one another...Player wished that what he felt would last forever.

"Heh heh, wow. Up to tier 2 already, huh?"

They both jumped at the third voice, and looked up to see an unwanted witness to their quality time together.

"MrCheese!" Player exclaimed. "Why'd you have to barge in on us like that!?"

"Cheese louise, take a chill pill, Player," the orange crewmate told him. "That was supposed to be a compliment. Heck, I'd even go as far to say that you two make an adorable couple."

Player sighed.

"Yeah, well...I-it could have at least waited until after the round ended," he replied. "We were having a moment."

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that. I came over because I had to replace the water jug. It's my last task, then we're home free, baby!"

He headed over to the water jug in the meeting room, and Player and Angel looked back at one another.

"...Was I too hard on him, Angel?"

"Oh, no, no. I actually thought the same thing as you."

Player nodded lightly, glancing over at MrCheese again.

"...You know, Angel," he told her quietly. "Since you're the last Impostor, I wouldn't mind if you wanted to..."

"You wouldn't?"

"Nope. Go ahead and get yourself a kill. I don't mind at all."

"Tee hee...well...If you insist, Player."

Angel stood up and approached him disarmingly, then just as MrCheese was about to tip the full container into the empty jug, Angel pulled out her pistol and shot him in the back of the head, killing him on impact.

"Ha ha, nice one Angel!" Player cheered.

"Thank you, Player," she smiled innocently at him, as though there were no bloodied corpse sitting right in front of her. "I know you guys are gonna win anyways, but it did feel pretty good."

"Hey. It's the least I can do, isn't it?" he replied as the two of them met each other halfway and took one another's hands again.

"Aww, you're so modest."

Player blushed again as they pulled one another into one last embrace, staying like that until the screen faded to black, and they were each met with a different screen. Player's displayed victory, while Angel's showed her defeat...She didn't care, though. She'd earned a different kind of victory.

Everyone spawned back into the lobby, surprised by the fact that Angel was the final Impostor standing at the end of the game.

"Man. And I was starting to believe it was TheGentleman," Captain remarked. 

"I thought it was MrCheese at first, but when I saw him clearing the asteroids, I was lost," MrEgg replied. "I guess it was a good thing Angel had other plans today, isn't it?"

 MrCheese was the only one who wasn't caught off guard.

"Yeah, Player decided to let her take me down at the last minute for the heck of it. I just went ahead and filled up the water jug as a ghost, heh heh."

Player and Angel giggled a bit themselves.

"Man...That was fun, wasn't it, Angel?"

"I loved every minute of it."

"So, uh...When do you wanna get together again after today?"

"Hmm...Well, I'm free tomorrow, too," she told him. "How about you?"

"I'll be busy during the main part of the day with a couple things, but I'm free in the evening! How about we head down to the park to watch the sunset and stargaze?"

"Ooh, I love that idea. I can do that."

"WHOA, HEY!" Dum suddenly shouted. "I just had a great idea!"

Player tensed up.

"Um...What would that be?"

"You, me, Captain and Angel could all go on a double date! Captain and I can pack us up a picnic dinner, and then we can bird watch, and throw the frisbee around, and-!"

"Whoa, whoa, hold on, Dum," Player interrupted her, already overwhelmed. "I think YOU might be the one rushing into things, now."

"Aw, come on, Player, it'll be fun!"

"Actually, I kind of like that idea myself," Angel chimed in.

"Oh...You do?"

"It does sound like a lot of fun...And if things get too crazy, the two of us can always find somewhere quiet, can't we?"

"Huh...Well, I...I guess so," he nodded. "Okay. Guess we can give it a go, if you're game. Does everybody wanna meet up there at, say, 6:30 tomorrow evening?"

"Sounds like a plan, compadre," Captain replied, taking Dum by the hand. "Okay, everyone! Last round for the day! Just let me adjust some of the settings here!"

As Captain tweaked some of the game settings to shake things up, Player looked around the dropship...He saw TheGentleman and MrCheese exchanging pleasantries, Gnome running up into Engineer's open arms as they reunited, Captain and Dum discussing what to make for their picnic dinner...And what was transpiring between MrEgg, Ninja and Snorkel?

"Ninja. Why do you look at me like that?"

"ご存知のとおり..." he said to the coral clad crewmate. "真の美しさは、見た目ではなく、個性の中にあります。彼らの本当の性質を視覚化するために、束縛を完全に受け入れる必要があります."

"...I'm not sure what he just said," MrEgg remarked, keeping his voice hushed. "But judging by the faint blush on his cheeks, I have a feeling he might have a thing for you, Snorkel."

"A thing? For me?" she rasped back, to which the maroon crewmate nodded.

"Hm...I feel cheeky. Watch this..."

Snorkel stepped forward and looked him in the eye, then took a deep breath and responded to him.

"Вы хотите встретиться вместе и демонтировать капитализм со мной когда-нибудь на этой неделе!?"

"ん-何!?"

The grey crewmate staggered backwards in shock, earning a laugh from MrEgg and his Russian friend...Player giggled a bit himself as he witnessed the scene before turning his head again to look back at Angel.

She saw him looking her way, and she gave him yet another smile. And once again, he felt his heart flutter.

Man...I sure am lucky, he said to himself.

"Well, well, well."

Player jumped a bit at the sound of his best friend's gruff voice coming from behind him.

"Oh...uh...Hey, Veteran. Sorry you got killed so early on in the game."

"Eh, don't sweat it, my man," he replied, not sounding particularly upset. "Thanks to my invisibility to the living and the power to fly through walls, I was able to check in on you every so often without bein' a nuisance."

"Oh, come on, Veteran! I told you not to spy on me!"

"Chill, chill, man. I wasn't spying on you; just checkin' up on things every so often. And you'll be pleased to know that I think Angel's moved up a few places in my book...You were right. Someone like Noob probably would have milked you for all the attention they wanted, then stabbed you in the back when you least expected it...That's not what I saw back there. I can tell that Angel legit cares about you, Player; I just needed to get a bit more observation in."

The red crewmate sighed deeply, noticing that the countdown had started.

"Well, I guess that's good you trust her more now," he replied. "But since you do, can you please not watch us during our one-on-one time?"

"Oh, sure. I don't think I need to do that anymore."

The screen faded to black, and just a few moments later, Player was met with his role.

...He was an Impostor.

...With Angel and Ninja.

Dang...Today just keeps getting better and better.

____________________________________________________________

I'm torturing Bootieos16 up in here. XD (oh, and they also came up with ninja's pickup line, so credit to them.)

Yeah, I know Snorkel's gender is typically nonbinary/ambiguous à la Frisk, but I just kinda got stuck hearing an angry lady Russian voice whenever I imagined them speaking, and it became my personal headcanon.

Also, NEW CRACKSHIP. I mentioned Snorkel x MrEgg to someone not long ago, but as I was finishing this up, Snorkel x Ninja dawned on me.

...Yes, I am insane. I know. XD