A month of Payjay fluff!

[PRE-RELATIONSHIP, POST-S1]

"Okay... is everyone who wants to live in the hotel here? Other than Balloon, of course."

OJ looked around the cast of crazy characters, who all seemed to be chatting among themselves, seeing if they could spot their friends in the small group that'd gathered here.

He had just finished construction on the hotel, and it was ready to be inhabited... but he had to do a check to make sure everyone on the show was here. He'd hate it if right after his big speech on community, he ended up leaving an innocent contestant out of his hotel plans by mistake.

"We got everyone? Good, let's-"

"Wait!" OJ, Apple isn't here."

It was... Marshmallow who spoke up, surprisingly. Weren't they enemies or something? Eh, it didn't really matter.

OJ looked around, and realised she was right - Apple was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, shoot! You're right! Where is she?"

"...Probably still on..."

Marshmallow glanced at Paper, shivering a little and choosing her words carefully.

"The eliminated contestant Island right? I mean, where else could she be..."

OJ nodded along to that idea, sighing to himself. It was the only explanation that made sense, after all.

"Ookay... well how do we get there?"

He could hear whispers among the crowd, the comments anything ranging from 'she's a goner' to 'No fallen trees around this time'...

But Pickle had an idea that stuck out to him.

"Why don't you take the boat? The one from that challenge with the coin?"

He thought about it for a few moments, before coming to the conclusion that it was worth a try. He was pretty sure he still knew where it was, if MePhone hadn't moved it since that challenge.

"Alright, sounds good. C'mon Paper, let's go."

Paper seemed a little startled at the mention of his name, his eyes focusing on the glass in front of him.

"Wait, me? Even though I literally almost killed you last time we were on my boat?-"

"Hey, that was Evil Paper, not you. And yeah, of course I want you to come with me! I'm not going out there alone, I don't know what it looks like... let alone where it is."

He took a few steps towards Paper, lowering his voice so the others couldn't hear him.

"And honestly, I think I'd go insane if I had to be on a boat with anyone else for too long..."

Paper nodded along, understanding what he meant.

"So...are we leaving now, then?"

"Mhm."

OJ started walking towards the edge of the island, and before long he spotted the small wooden boat. It was still perfectly intact. Which he was extremely thankful for, since he didn't exactly have a plan B.

The two flipped the boat over, sliding it into the sea and jumping in.

"How long do you think it'll be till we get to the island? Y'know, I've never been."

Paper stopped rowing for a moment to ponder the question, shrugging to himself.

"It didn't seem that far when I went. Plus, if all the eliminated contestants sailed the distance - on a tree - we could probably make it there too."

OJ nodded, moving to sit down in the boat. Once he was sure the boat would steer in the right direction, Paper sat with him, looking around at the vast ocean around them.

"It's... sorta nice, being here again. When we're not in any sort of challenge, when he can just... admire the ocean, with nothing else to do..."

OJ nodded along, a calm, awestruck smile on his face. It was rather beautiful...

"Yeah... I know we're not the biggest fans of swimming, but it'd be hard to deny that the ocean's really pretty."

An innocent, happy smile formed on Paper's face, letting his gaze linger on the way the waves ebbed and flowed, guiding them on their journey...

"Well... now that we're here, maybe we could discuss plans for my hotel?"

Paper's attention drifted back to the man beside him, shifting on the boat to face OJ once he'd heard his voice again.

"Yeah... yeah, that sounds good..."

He knew exactly what was coming next... OJ was really passionate about his new hotel, and Paper didn't mind listening to him ramble. Not one bit.

"Okay, so here's what I'm thinking... we should pair people up based on their friendships in the season, or like, who gets along better... because otherwise it'd be total chaos in there, imagine the complaints! It's just easier if everyone is happy with their room so we don't have to deal with all that..."

Paper stopped paying attention at some point in OJ's explanation. He couldn't help it... but his mind focused on... something else...

OJ looked adorable like this. Ranting about hotel affairs, wearing that determined, hopeful grin... and the way his glass seemed to catch the sunlight at just the right angle, beautifully illuminating his entire frame. It looked like he was quite literally radiating light and joy.

And the way he spoke so confidently, so certain of his plans... OJ was so organised and level-headed. No wonder he won the season; nobody else could even compare to how hard he worked, on or off the show.

But Paper soon realised where his mind was wandering, quickly snapping his focus back to his ally - no, his... friend? His... his...

"...And then of course we'd be together, because like- duh, I'm the manager and I there's no way I'm rooming with anyone else. Whaddya think?"

...Why was his heart starting to race at the mere idea of sharing a room with OJ?

"I think that sounds perfect..."

"Great! Don't worry, you're gonna be a great co-manager. We'll make an awesome team, yeah?"

"...Yeah..."

...His crush. OJ was his crush. That's what he was...

Everything seemed... so much clearer once he'd had that realisation. He was... well he was in love with OJ.

At first, when he'd seen him, he thought OJ was... cute, yeah, and so of course he'd asked to join that alliance of his... why shouldn't he take that opportunity?

But... being in a boat together, alone, while OJ talked his ear off with that giddy smile on his face... that was when he realised just how deep his feelings for him were.

He wanted... more moments like... like this. A happy, perfect life, running a hotel by OJ's side. He wanted to go on dates together, maybe even marry OJ... hell, he honestly wouldn't mind adopting kids and raising them with him if they agreed on it...

The rest of the journey wasn't all that eventful. The two talked about the hotel for a while, until they eventually reached the island and Apple headed with them back home.

Home... that mess of a hotel was now home. Because it was OJ's home.

And Paper knew now... that his home, was nowhere but right by OJ's side.