Chapter Text
The participants that won in the second game filed out of the hallway back to the dormitory to wait for the announcement of the money accumulated. The buzz of adrenaline caused by their survival was pulsing through everyone's body as they stood by the groups of people they just played with. Most people haven’t attuned their mind and bodies to the torture of the games yet, leaving their legs shaking, barely able to stand. The new white shoes that were adorned by every player soaked with the blood of the failed participants, marking them with a grueling sense of mortality. Echoing voices and footsteps could be heard coming from the hallway connected to the exit of the room, signaling another group of 5 have passed the game. Out comes two pink armed soldiers, escorting the other winners back into the dormitory before closing the exit door behind them.
A yell could be heard from one person in the group that just walked in. Yelling and screaming was normal in this place, people begging to be let free despite voting to play the games once more. This yell was different. It was more like a whoop of excitement, than anything. Gazes from the other players fell onto a player with the bold coloring of purple on the top of their hair who seemed more energetic than the rest of his team.
Hopping around a bit, Thanos starts walking back to the bedside, followed by 4 other players, three men and one woman. “Let’s go!” Shouted Thanos in English, the purple headed man flopped onto the nearest bed to their chosen corner, not caring if it was his own or not. Legs dangling childishly off the edge as he starts to hum to the song was playing in the game prior. Rolling her eyes, Se-mi turns to sit on the stairs to the upper bunkbeds, following her lead, Minsu sits on a step lower in a crouched position beside her. The other man, Gyeong-su, moves fast to climb the stairs to plop himself next to Se-mi with an anxious excitement plastered onto his face. On a slower descent, the final member, Namgyu, falls onto the bench near Thanos, the two seemed to have a share of a funny joke that other members couldn’t figure out from the game earlier.
Se-mi, the more observant one out of the bunch looks around the eerily empty dormitory. There were some groups that finished before them, all spread out to different sections of the large room but nowhere near the 456 players that they started with. Turning back to face the people she was forced to team up with, she understood here it was better to be in a group then alone. But the more Thanos and Namgyu talked made her wish she got paired up with someone smarter than these two.
It was easy for everyone else to miss the way Namgyu ticked his head to the side to brush away hair from his face, the jerking motion more sudden than his calm, confident movements from earlier. On his right hand, middle finger holds a snake-like ring that Namgyu’s other hand subconsciously spins and twirls around in his lap. While speaking to Thanos, Namgyu had to tilt his head up just a bit to look at him sitting on the bed. The black hair man’s eyes kept drawing down to Thanos’s neck as he talked. Licking his lips as he could feel himself become more antsy. What the rest of the group didn’t know of were the pills locked away inside Thanos’s hidden cross necklace. Namgyu wasn’t willing to reveal the secret to anyone else to share the already limited pills.
During the 6 legged race, seeing all the bodies fall on top of each other after getting shot, Namgyu realized maybe he would rather go back to his trash life outside these death games. Go back to working long, never ending shifts at his part time at The Pentagon. But he was here, next to a group of strangers and the guy he saw a few times while bartending at the club. Watching him more closely he could see how the purple hair man rocked side to side as if dancing in his kneeled position. Even with blood splattering just a few inches away from where everyone was huddled, Thanos showed no sign of fear of dying here, something Namgyu was jealous of. The reason why soon became apparent when Thanos looked around to see if any guard was paying attention to then pull out a cross from underneath the green tracksuit. Looking closer, Namgyu could see an assortment of different colored pills stashed in the small compartment. Thanos digs around fastly before pulling out a blue one, popping it in to swallow just as fast.
Now, Namgyu wasn’t dumb, he was a stellar student back in high school before his life went downhill because of that bitch MG Coin. He knew what those pills were, and more importantly, what they could do. A perfect distraction to all the blood and gunshots in the background. Just the thought of the high that those dang pills could give him made Namgyu desperate. So sucking up his pride, the raven haired tugged lightly on the other’s tracksuit to capture his distracted mind.
The look that Thanos gave him once he showed his scarred arm from all the needles injected into him made Namgyu’s stomach turn. He didn’t like being this open to someone, especially not to an egotistical guy like Thanos but he really needed a fix right about now if they wanted to win these games.
After successfully winning over one of Thanos’s ecstasy pills, what would happen if they would lose the game soon became a distant thought. All the gore and tension relaxed out of Namgyu’s body, making him feel lighter than ever. As the games continue, locked arm in arm with Thanos, the two could only giggle out their winnings once they past the first few sections of the race. To anyone else, the two looked completely crazy as they shuffled the group along the rainbow track. Gyeong-su glanced up a couple times, confused about what got those two in such light-hearted moods as people scream at the sidelines.
Now that the high was finally wearing down, the weight of survival starts to seep into the back of Namgyu’s mind only making his fingers fidget with his ring even more. Looking around at the other team mates that Thanos collected around them, he knew damn well he didn’t trust anyone there. His throat started to itch as his right hand moved to try to scratch at it. Stopping before connecting, Namgyu swiftly moves to tuck another strand of hair behind his ear. Looking up, he suspected that Thanos was still riding out his high but peering up he could see his eyes already on him. “Shoot, had he seen me freeze just now?” Namgyu curses in his mind to be more aware of his movements as he tries to relax against the metal bed poles.
Thanos’s eyes were still a bit blown out from the drugs running through his system. He was in his own world looking around the gray walls with weird looking people dancing along them till he caught something moving out of the corner of his eye. Turning, he was faced with the back of his raven head teammate's hair. Tilting his head curiously, he scanned his blue eyes down the lanky frame of the other man who seemed to be playing with his rings while staring at the other people in the room. His movements showed his antsyness but Thanos didn’t seem to care, more fixated on how Namgyu’s hand lifted up to tuck at the stray strand of hair that fell into his face.
Their little group that they formed seemed fine but even Thanos could get the feeling that Namgyu didn’t like the others all too well. Everytime he caught Namgyu glancing at him when he wasn’t looking there was something in his solid eyes that Thanos couldn’t place. Namgyu didn’t give away much of what he was thinking other than blatant signs of annoyances or anger. Other than the given, his face was stuck looking impassive, like those Greek statues he saw online. In many ways Thanos thought of Namgyu like a house cat: Likes being alone, grooms himself constantly, has a hissy fit when things don’t go his way. Even his hair gave off an annoyed cat ears. The image he conjured in his mind made Thanos chuckle to himself. Gyeong-su, to the left of him, gives him a look of confusion on what he was laughing at but chalks it up to Thanos being Thanos.
Pulling him out of a bizarre drug induced cat dream, the rapper could feel a little tug on his tracksuit pant leg. It was small enough to where he hardly felt it till he felt a stinging pain of being pinched. “Ow! What the hell man?” Thanos complains in English, tugging his leg away from Namgyu who was a step below him. All he got back as a glare that if aimed at anyone else would have started a fist fight. He knew not many people here understood English, that's the fun of it. Plus seeing people roll their eyes at not knowing what Thanos might be saying gave him a pretty good laugh. Thanos glares right back at the black haired man, challenging him. The action only made Namgyu sigh and made a popping motion with his hands to receive a blank face from Thanos. Namgyu almost facepalmed there if he could get his nerves under control. In another attempt, Namgyu makes a show of untucking his own necklace from around his neck to tug to the front of him and pretends to open a compartment in it. This got Thanos attention as he looked around to see if anyone else was watching the two of them.
Fortunately, Se-mi had just about enough with those two and went back to minding her own business while Gyeong-su hums a song that Thanos is pretty sure is his own. Min-su, however, was looking openly at the two as if they were acting just for him to watch. Namgyu follows the others gaze which landed on the shy boy. From the looks of it, Namgyu might actually bully Min-su away from the group if he had the chance. The poor boy was shaking like a leaf under both of their gazes despite not being too much younger than them. Acting quickly, Thanos places a hand to hold Namgyu down in his seat to prevent him from making a scene about the boy and just shakes his head at Min-su as a warning to not tell anyone. Wide-eyed Min-su just curled more into himself. Looking back at Namgyu he only clicked his tongue, irritated as he shrugs off Thanos’s hand, standing up to leap off the stairs.
More second game participants walk back into the big room, shaking from just surviving another death game. Namgyu places his hands in the pockets of the tracksuit before motioning to the door on the opposite side to the game’s entrance. Catching his hint, Thanos grunts as he hops up from the bed, waving at the others as he moves to leave. “Try not to miss me too much, señorita.” Thanos jokes, wiggling his eyebrows which received a middle finger from Se-mi in the attempt. Not minding it, Thanos jogs up to Namgyu who already made his way to the door with a small window. Lifting a hand up, Namgyu carefully knocks on the medal door. His rings make the sound louder than normal. They look at each other while they wait. Thanos could see how the raven hair man moves to put his hands in his pockets quickly after but he wasn’t fast enough for the purple headed rapper to see the shaking in the other’s hands.
Eyes drawing back up to Namgyu’s face, there was no sign of anything amiss in his stoic expression. Before he could think more of it the window slider opened to the mask of a triangle soldier. Straightening up, Namgyu coughs out an excuse. “I have to use the bathroom.” Following his lead Thanos nods along with him, crossing his arms as if to look intimidating. The guard just stands there for a few seconds before a buzz could be heard. The door slowly opens as the pink soldier waits for the two to follow them. The two players give each other a glance again before walking through the door.
The walk up the disorientating staircase was quiet. The occasional gunshots could be heard somewhere in one of the game rooms where the race was finishing up. Thanos kept glancing back at Namgyu who had his head down most of the way, hands tucked securely in his pockets.
Once the pair made it to the men’s bathroom with two guards stationed on either side of the door, they got a warning from the one who brought them up there. “Don’t take too long, the money accumulated will be announced soon.” Said the monotone man through the mask. “Yeah, yeah, whatever- let’s go piss now bro.” Thanos waves off the armed guard and tugs Namgyu by the arm inside the bathroom with him. As the door slams behind them, Thanos looks around the empty big room, arm still linked with Namgyu’s as the other sniffles quietly. Another tick Thanos spotted the other has is rubbing his nose. Judging from what Thanos got a glimpse at the race track, he was willing to bet it was a side effect of Namgyu taking hard drugs too much. The sight worried him when he first saw it. Thanos was all about not telling someone how to live their life but the thought of Namgyu trading drugs for money often didn’t sit right with him.
While the rapper was eyeing up the other, Namgyu seemed a bit out of it. Swaying on his feet like standing up straight was a chore. He could feel his legs getting shaky along with the rest of his body. Cursing under his breath, Namgyu knew these symptoms all too well. With the high all the way done and the adrenaline along with it, Namgyu was left vulnerable without anything to will his body to move how he wanted it. The only reason why he wasn’t crashing and burning right there in the bathroom was the person who was looking at him strangely. Namgyu hated that look in people’s eyes, it was too much like concern for his well being. His mind likes to trick him into thinking he deserved it. It was something that he wanted for so long but when he finally got it, it felt more like a pity throw than anything. Growling from the headache he could feel egging its way to the front of his head, Namgyu brushes past Thanos to walk into one of the stalls to sit on the toilet. Putting his head in his hands as he waits for the rapper to join him.
After a few seconds alone in his swirling thoughts, two new pairs of shoes came into Namgyu’s blurring vision. Looking up from his seat, Namgyu locked eyes with Thanos. “You seem really out of it, Namsu.” The rapper starts with that annoying name that wasn’t his own. It only made his head spin more as Namgyu closed his eyes to try to stop the world from going upside down. “Pills…” Muttered out the shorter. Hands creeping upwards to start tugging lightly on his hair instead of smoothing it back like normal. How he hated to beg but he needed something, anything to keep himself going in these games. He could feel the looming figure that was Thanos standing high and mighty holding the cross of his sanctuary like a god before him.
Namgyu swallows hard in his throat as he tries again, speaking louder this time so the other could hear clearly. “Please, man- shit, I need one.” Namgyu’s hands were now full on shaking in front of him as he balls them up in a fist to try to make them relax. Thanos watching the raven hair seemed to be going through a bad trip, his eyes were a soft color of red due to the drugs reaction. Leaning down, Thanos grabs the other’s hands in his own to pry them apart from their balled up posture. The indents of nails came off of the palms as Thanos cups them together with his own. Slowly pulling Namgyu out of the dancing black spots in his vision he feels the warmness around his palms as he looks up to find purple hair everywhere. “You here, buddy?” Thanos says in a joking tone as he keeps a firm grip on both of Namgyu’s hands in his to prevent him from tugging at his own hair. Nodding without saying a word, Namgyu starts to try to follow the other’s breath. Taking one in every time Thanos does as the dark imagery starts to dissipate but the itching sensation on the back of his throat still stings. He wanted to keep asking Thanos for the drug but the serious look on his face stopped him every time he opened his mouth.
Once Namgyu’s breathing started evening out, Thanos pulled away from him slightly. The action put the other back on alarm which just made Thanos laugh. “Relax, Nams, I just need to take some of the pressure off my knees.” The new name made Namgyu only squint his eyes at the other but nonetheless stayed silent. When Thanos’s hands pulled off his own, the coldness of the bathroom air hit him again, realizing how cold he really was. Namgyu’s hands had stopped shaking so violently but the humming sensation continued to run through his body. Tightening his hand, Namgyu flexes his fingers to see if his body finally went back to listening to him but finds a single blue pill in his open palm. Thanos already had his hands on his knees ready to get up as the door to the bathroom could be heard swinging along with groans of other men walking to the sinks to turn them on– complaining about the blood on their hands and face from the dirty floor of the race track.
The voices flooding into the echoing bathroom made both of the players freeze in their spots. Thanos, still in his half kneeling position raised slightly higher to a crouch. Namgyu squirms on the seat before popping the pill in his mouth hastily. Tugging on Thanos’s jacket to pull him closer so he could whisper without worrying his voice might echo. “Dude, what do we do? We can’t be caught taking drugs, they might confiscate it!” “Whisper” yells Namgyu, the ecstasy not quite kicking in the moment of panic. “Relax, bro! I got this. Follow my lead.” Thanos brushes off Namgyu’s concern about being caught before standing up to his full height. Namgyu’s hand grips the other’s jacket so tightly it moves him to stand up after him as they open the stall door. Thanos just struts out of the stall like he owned the place, sighing in contentment as he pushes past the others to wash his hands. Ignoring the weird glances from everyone there like it was no problem at all. Namgyu, trailing behind him, puts his hands back into his pockets, avoiding the men’s eyes on him as he fiddles with his ring.
Straightening himself up, Thanos looks around the large area seeing most eyes being drawn to the two. “What’chu looking at, huh?” Thanos starts, sizing up the nearest person to him. The man looked to be in his 40’s but his height was barely up to Thanos’s nose making him look intimidating. “Got something to say?” The purple headed man says tauntingly as he leans down to stare at the man in his eyes. Quickly the other shakes his head no, keeping his wide eyes on Thanos as he tries to lean his head back. The action only made Thanos chuckle, sensing the fear running through the man’s stature. Looking back at the group of 4 standing off to the side, they all stared off into the distance, looking at the walls or going back to washing their bloody hands. Silences fell against the room other than the echoes of Thanos’s words in everyone's mind.
Rubbing his nose, Namgyu just huffs out a sigh before getting Thanos’s attention to get out of there. While shutting off the sink, a loud knock could be heard from the door. The same monotone voice of the guard shouted at the group inside. “The game has ended and we request everyone back to the sleeping quarters for the money count.” Shrugging his shoulders, Thanos gives the men in the bathroom one last annoying smirk before shoulder checking the older man he was talking to earlier he starts humming out a new rap he just thought of. Namgyu turns to the mirror to fix his messy hair, flatting the stray strands sticking out and moving them behind his ears. Thanos shouts out his name to make sure he is following him from outside the door. “Geez, Namsu, you're like a girl doing her nighttime routine in there.” Thanos laughs at Namgyu who just rolled his eyes at the comment.
While the group of men made their way down the spiraling staircase, the walk down felt less tense than the one up. Namgyu could feel the ecstasy hitting him slowly as the pink walls and stairs became brighter. The steps going down seem to move and swerve away from his foot making him stumble a few times. Noticing how giggly his teammate is holding onto the side of the stairs more often in fear of falling, Thanos looks at the other behind him. While continuing to follow the pink soldier down the steps, Thanos keeps his eyes on Namgyu who seems to be having fun with his high, which made him briefly think about popping a pill alongside him. Looking past him through and seeing the other men on the stairs behind him, he thinks otherwise. Plus, someone needed to make sure his cat wouldn't slip and crack his head open on the stairs. “I’ll catch you if you slip, Nams. Trust me, you’ll be fine.” Thanos says with as much confidence as he does anything else. He watches as Namgyu’s blown out pupils try to focus on him in front of him. Once a cheshire-like grin appears on his face for recognition, Thanos turns around to start picking up the pace to follow the guard already a few steps ahead.
Once the group makes it to the hallway back to the dormitory, the door opens up to the hot air of a room full of people. The guard pushes the players into the room roughly to Namgyu’s matched annoyed face with his own. Thanos scans the people sitting on the beds and the upper stairs till he lands on a set of people. “Min-su, my boy! Miss me?” Walking over to the 3 players, their positions didn’t change much of how the two left them. Se-mi had her normal exasperated expression when she saw both of them walking back over to them as she rolled her piercing in her hand. Gyeong-su beamed at the sound of Thanos’s loud entrance, waving him over to the beds they saved for the other. Namgyu rolls his eyes at the guy’s eagerness as he follows just a few steps away, eyeing up the shy boy to judge if he said anything about the cross necklace to anyone.
When they first met in this hell hole, Namgyu and he bonded over their shared reason why they were here, that scammer MG Coin, and formed an unspoken alliance with each other. Namgyu mentioned seeing him before these games had started but with Thanos’s mind still in the clouds he couldn't recall much of what he was talking about. Now that he looked, like actually looked at the guy he could feel something nagging at the back of his head to remember him from somewhere.
His life as a beginner rapper was going well, he had a loyal starter fan base that liked the wildness that Thanos brought to his music. His ability to be his unforgivable self made not many people forget about him so easily. Thanos likes to be bold, the center of attention; it's one of the reasons why he dared to color his hair purple and paint his nails such odd colors. Many saw what the rapper was doing as taboo in Korea but that only sent more eyes being on him, boosting his music career. Still, he hadn’t recalled meeting someone like Namgyu when his fame was at the highest it's been, before the whole debt thing came into play. Squinting his eyes at the back of Namgyu’s head, at first Thanos started to think the guy just made up the whole thing to get closer to him. But then the words from earlier popped back into his mind.
The Pentagon.
That's where the man said they first met. Bits and pieces of memories fall back into place as Thanos finally remembers what the black haired man was talking about. Back when Thanos wasn’t a really popular rapper yet, back when his hair was still that boring brown, Namgyu had been in the background, giving him drinks ever so often, listening to him whenever he started on a nonsense rant about the lyrics in his up and coming songs that made no sense. That snarky, sharp tongued bartender…