Wren looked up at him with teary eyes then stood on his tiptoes to pull him into another kiss. He savored it, committing every moment to memory before placing small hands on his chest and pushing hard.
Teddy stumbled back, caught off guard, and Wren dove into the machine.
Just as he suspected, the door closed behind him, trapping him inside.
“WREN!” Teddy bashed on the glass helplessly.
He looked distraught, and Wren hated that he was responsible for it.
Wren didn’t have a death wish. He wasn’t sacrificing himself for no reason. He simply knew that if he had left that helpless creature in there alone, he wouldn’t have been able to live with himself after. It would have haunted him forever.
He had to try.
Fishing the snake out wouldn’t have worked. As soon as anything crossed that threshold the door had closed too fast to act just like he’d known it would.
He had to figure it out from the inside.
He had never given up easily.
Wren laid a hand on the glass. “It’s okay.”
Teddy covered the area from the other side, tears starting to well and fall. “How can you say that?”
“You need to get you, Saint, and Blu out. I’ll meet you.”
“I’M NOT LEAVING WITHOUT YOU!” Teddy shouted, his voice echoing around the space. “I can’t,” Teddy finished, much quieter, sounding devastated. “Don’t ask me again.”
Wren nodded, feeling acceptance pass between them despite the glass. This was who they were. This was why they had fallen so in love.
Wren bent down and coaxed the snake into his hand. The darling was terrified, hissing and tense, but Wren managed to get it to settle. He could feel Teddy watching him, pride and love mixed with sadness in his expression when he glanced up.
Teddy then stepped back and began examining the machine, his tear-streaked face filled with grim determination.
Wren tried to stand up with the snake wrapped around his arm, but he swayed.
“Wren? Are you okay?” Teddy asked quickly.
Wren put a hand to the glass to steady himself and nodded.
The weight of the magic was concentrated in here, almost as if it were magnified. Wren could feel his strength leaving him by the second, sweat beading on his neck and under his arms. “Maybe we should speed this up though?”
Teddy glanced around more fervently than before.
He tried one thing after another. Seams. Searching for hidden switches. The broken computers. They yielded nothing. From the inside, Wren did the same, searching for anything that could hint at how to open the machine.
“It’s got to be those conduits,” Teddy said.
“The ones we were expressly told not to touch?” Wren asked, voice growing weaker.
“When did you start listening to orders?”
Wren laughed faintly, not having the energy for anything else, and Teddy grew more anxious.
“I’ll dismantle the whole fucking thing if I have to. Screw it.”
Teddy looked for something to stand on to help him reach while Wren lolled against the glass, trying to stay upright.
A sharp noise had him stiffening. The machine began to whirr on its own like it knew Teddy’s intentions.
