Archive of Our Own

Tripwire peers up at their target from the alleyway. Trying to figure out the easiest way to get up there.They’re just… well, not the breaking-and-entering type of inphernal, you know?

Still, they suck it up and get on top of the apartment complex’s dumpster, summoning their gear, pulling out some wire, and… well, the simplest way to describe it is ‘cowboy lasso’. The wire snags around the opposing building’s… thing. Look, they know nothing about infrastructure, or what anything is. This is actual ignorance, not something they can blame on the amnesia, but they’re still not going to learn. They have better things to do. Like crime.

Speaking of which, they use, um, physics to get them scaling up the wall. AKA, retract enough wire to make the line tight, and start walking up the wall, leveraging the weight of the object being heavier than them.

They’re tired, okay? Give them a break for being a little choppy in their explanations!

After a little bit of that, they grab onto the wire itself, notching their gear into their bracelet, and cut it off. So they can still hold onto it, and can repeat the process above the window they want into. It works, same process, no point in repeating it.

Wait. How are they supposed to open a probably locked window, while holding a wire? Hm. Is it too late to break in the main way…?

Nah, this is their style. Their modus operandi. Their bit, for the brainrotted.

Idea! They tie the wire around their foot, gear smacking them in the leg like three times as they very dangerously dangle in front of the window. Nobody in sight! Um, so he’s not in bed. Why? Whatever, they’ll find him once they’re inside.

Pushing the window up and open, they note that it isn’t locked. It will probably be locked after tonight. They get their hands inside, and de-summon their gear once they’re certain they won’t fall. Their leg does painfully smack against the building in the process, but they don’t fall! And they quickly climb inside, making sure to land as quietly as they can.

Unfortunately, Slingshot comes back about that time. Probably because there was a loud sound right next to his window, and he wanted to check it out. As a result, he gets treated with the sight of his vaguely-annoying pseudo-maybe-friend (titles pending, they keep forgetting to ask) frozen in panic right in front of his open window.

Yeah, they need to explain fast before he assumes the worst. “Happy Spawnday, Slingshot!”

He makes a face of pure disgruntlement, and slight bewilderment. “...Why the fuck did you…” Gesture towards the window. “Could it not wait?”

“Nope! Skip sleep, come hang out with me? I made a whole plan for it, and I have a gift for you. I have some stuff to do, so I can’t do it later today, and doing it a different day isn’t the same!”

Honestly, they figure he’ll say no and tell them to leave, maybe even to never come back and ban them from talking to his siblings or coming to Thieves’ Rest. Instead, he sighs, going over to his door and grabbing his shoes. “Why not? I’m not working today, I guess I can handle being a little sleep-deprived.”

They mimic cheering, being quiet out of fear that maybe the other two are sleeping. “I’m so glad! I have some ideas, but I don’t mind not doing some things if you don’t want to do them.”

“Where to first, then, Tripwire?”

Despite their honest answer, apparently ‘fireflies’ is too vague. Because he still looks all bewildered upon being led to a pond absolutely glowing with the bugs.

“...This… isn’t what I was expecting,” he mutters, flinching when one firefly gets too close to his face. “How, exactly, did you find this?”

They shrug, watching a firefly get too close to the water and get eaten by a fish. “Took Vine Staff out here once after a stressful day, we messed around in the woods until it got a bit dark, followed the fireflies here. I didn’t know there were so many different types of moss in one little area.” You wouldn’t expect to find any woodlands so close to Crossroads, but Playground has some small areas along the route to it. So does Thieves’ Den, but, uh… a bit more hostile flora around there. Vine Staff could—theoretically—keep them safe, but that wouldn’t be de-stressing for her.

He makes a noise and nods, looking suspiciously casual. The way his fingers twitch as he tracks one of the bugs is enough for them to make a guess.

So they spring into action, catching an unsuspecting bug between their hands, a gentle cupping. It still manages to startle him, but he grins and makes a face at them. “I bet I can catch more than you.”

With a laugh, they shake their head. “Absolutely not. Who’s the one with wire, again, Slingshot? I could make a bug net and cage. Any profit you make in that time it takes, I could easily triple in the same amount of time.” He laughs, and they fake offense. “I’m serious! I could!”

“‘Profit’, Tripwire? Really? They’re bugs, not bux!” Ohh, he thought of a joke. No, it’s kinda funny, actually.  Bugs and bux, sounds pretty close.

They wink and walk over to him. “I could sell ‘em. Plenty of Crossroads and Lost Temple inphernals probably have never seen one. Hold your hands out.” When he eventually follows their instruction, they place their hands over his, ignoring the small stiffening, and part their cup, layering their hands on top of his, palms touching, turning their right hand over to coax the bug to walk onto his hand. They pull back, even take a step back, and… why isn’t he…? They look up at him, all confused, only to be met with a strange expression. He’s looking at them, completely frozen up. Not even the bug crawling onto his other hand, or the brief glowing, snaps him out of it. If they could see better, or if it was brighter… they could tell if he’s blushing or not. It might just be the color of their surroundings? He’d blush blue, after all.

“Slingshot, close your hands! It’ll…” disappointment. “...fly away.”

Incomprehensibly, he lowers his hands and looks away, then crosses his arms, then tucks his hands behind his back. “Whatever. It was your firefly, I didn’t want it.”

Ouch. “Really? Not even if I caught it to give it to you?”

He tenses, opens his mouth, but doesn’t say anything. Sighs harshly, then eventually gets something out. “You didn’t. So what’s the point in saying that?”

“I did! Why else would I give it to you?”

The silence makes them feel all awkward. They’re entirely certain he’s blushing now, but they’re going to assume he’s embarrassed over his incorrect assumption. They aren’t sure why he’d blush otherwise.

Eventually, he turns around. They aren’t sure why, but they eventually hear the faint sound of skin hitting skin, and he’s turning back around, holding his clasped hands out in front of them. “Here. It’s not the same bug, but…” he trails off as they get all excited, lifting their hands up. They’re sure they’re making some dumb expression. “...But it’s only fair for me to give you one back, right?” Is he more blue now? Mm, whatever.

They squeal, embarrassingly enough, when he opens his hands and guides the firefly to go on them. Unlike him, they immediately close their hands when he pulls back, bumping him with their shoulder as a temporary replacement for a hug. “Thank you, Slingshot!!!”

All that excitement makes him a bit bashful. “It’s… really nothing. You did the exact same thing for me.” No, he’s definitely more blue. Why? And hesitant. “Did you… talk about your plans… with anyone else?”

Um… did they? “Maaaybe? I don’t remember. Why?”

“Because Shuriken was talking a lot about fireflies recently.”

“Oh! Oh, yeah, I did! I was talking about it with him and Vine Staff. I wanted to make sure my plans weren’t things you’d hate to do. What was he saying about fireflies?”

He’s awful quick to shake his head and shrug, and that sheepish smile says plenty. “Oh, not much. Just… ah, symbolism? It’s his usual sentiment nonsense.”

Whoa, whoa. Slingshot NEVER calls it ‘sentiment nonsense’ unless he’s downplaying something! They just have no clue what fireflies might symbolize. If Slingshot’s embarrassed and Shuriken’s been hyping it, they assume it’s something big. “Oh, okay.” They’re going to act like they don’t realize that, though. It goes better that way.

Suspicious how he relaxes after they dismiss it.

“This isn’t all I planned, by the way. I just thought it’d make a good first stop, in case you didn’t want to keep going.” Honestly, they expect him to call it quits early. His siblings also planned a lot, when they were all sharing plans. “Obviously, I’ll give you your gift even if you want to go home right now. I wanted to give it to you at the next stop, though.”

Oddly, he looks a little frustrated. “You’re talking like I’m going to leave. I said I didn’t mind, didn’t I? I’ll stick around, even if you have me out until the sun’s out.” That’s… a pretty strong statement. He looks a little nervous after saying it, but they can’t tell why.

So they just. Cluelessly nod. “Okay. Yeah. Sorry. Um…”

Inexplicably, he grabs onto their hands, levering his fingers under theirs… “Hey! My firefly!” They’re forced to watch it fly out. He doesn’t immediately let go, but he does as soon as they look down at their hands again.

He laughs and flicks them on the forehead. It’s… very gentle, honestly. They still flinch when he does it, though. “Oh, drat. I guess I’ll have to catch you a new one.”

Oh, competition opportunity. “Not if I catch you one first!”

That repeats for a little while. The two catching fireflies for the other, then letting it go. Tripwire optimizes it, just showing Slingshot that they caught him one before letting it go, but he still insists on giving it to them every time. They let him, not even registering that it might be an excuse to touch them. Despite them usually being paranoid about touching others. Probably because he’s one of the two or three people they can trust to actually keep on top of washing his hands.

“My arms hurt,” they complain, then blink a few times, realization slamming into them. “...Did you keep track of the scores?”

“Quitting already?” He teases, but also stops. If their arms hurt, there’s usually a reason. And it’s usually their hands. “I didn’t keep track. But I think I won.”

They stick their tongue out at him, then loosely shake their hands. The way he stares as they do it makes them a little nervous. “I think I won, since I gave you the first firefly. That’s worth, like, fifty points.”

He snorts, but it’s decently subdued. “Yeah, but I know how to get a million points.”

“Oh, really? How?”

That gets answers when he walks over to them, gently grabbing onto one of their hands, and… rubbing it? Oh! Massage. They hold still, vaguely confused as to why he’s doing it. Sure, it feels nice, and it helps with the pain, but surely winning a competition isn’t worth all that effort? They wouldn’t do all that, since it would hurt… oh. Yeah, giving a massage probably doesn’t hurt for him, huh? So it isn’t as much effort. That’s weird. How do people just… not hurt when doing these things?

They aren’t sure how long the two stand there, while he works at their hand, but he eventually switches to their other hand. Not once in this whole process does he make eye-contact. He’s… looking down at their hands, for the most part. But they’re certain he’s specifically trying to not look at them. 

Once he eventually pulls back, glancing up at them with what seems like anxiety for whatever reason, they smile at him. “Fine, I guess you win.” They flex their fingers, curl them in a few times… “Huh, more like a billion points. I can’t remember the last time it was this painless to move my fingers.” 

He gets all smug, looks concerned for a brief second, then gets smug again. No need for all that. “I’ll put it as a special on the Thieves’ Rest menu, then. Raving review: cures arthritis. Three thousand bux per minute.”

“Daamn, I’d pay that! If it can even temporarily allow me to hold pens and pencils without hurting, that’s so worth it.”

The firm shake of his head makes them tilt their own. “I won’t make you pay. …Because… you’re my biggest source of positive reviews that actually draw people in.” A larger head tilt. “...Look, Tripwire. You get so visibility excited that others stare at you. That’s why shops keep giving you freebies. Your enthusiasm makes others interested.”

Horrifying! They reorient their head, only to tilt it the other way. “Does my enthusiasm make you interested?” The brief panic in his expression is… confusing, to say the least. “I’d assume not, since you only ever see me at your own cafe. Unless it makes you crave your own baking, or something. Skateboard’s starting to associate me with your cafe, though, and he gets hungry when he sees me. I’m afraid he might try to eat me one of these times.” 

With a slightly awkward tone, he corrects them. “I see you before and after some Phighting matches, too. And people shove their products at you all the time.” But then he clears his throat, and looks all enthusiastic again. “Glad to know my free, walking ad is working! No wonder I’ve been seeing Skate show up more… I just wish he wouldn’t bring him with him.”

Coil. “...I bring Coil with me, too, though?”

He winces, looking awkward again. “That’s different. Skate knows what he’s doing when he brings him. You do it because you’re nervous to show up by yourself, despite knowing all the staff.”

Ouch. Did he have to say that last part? “How do you know I don’t find what Coil does funny?”

“Because you tell him to stop.”

Wait, does Skateboard not? Why does Coil listen to them, actually?? They’re smaller and weaker, and that usually is a big cause for him disrespecting and not listening to someone. The weak part. Or is his definition of weak in that instance not related to physical strength? Wait, they’re physically strong. They forget, since it isn’t too obvious. But it can’t be physical strength that makes him listen, that doesn’t fit him. It’s not like they tell him to stop every time he does something to annoy Slingshot, either. 

Hand on their shoulder! “We should go to the next place soon. I’m super impatient, and I want to know what you got me.”

They grin and nod, putting their hand over his on their shoulder, once again ignoring the way he stiffens. With a small bit of fumbling, they manage to get their fingers between his, pulling his hand off and adjusting their grip. “Let’s go, then!”

Simple trip, simple plan. “...What are we doing back here?” Apartment complex! His, technically.

“We’re going up. To the roof.”

“There’s no way up…” Realization hits him pretty fast, and he grins. “Ohh. You won’t be able to keep up, though.”

“Yeah, but you’ll slow down for me, won’t you?”

His silence is pretty telling. He doesn’t want to admit it, but he will. “I guess I do need to make sure you don’t slip and crack your head open.” Delivered a bit too late to seem like his actual reason.

They don’t call him out on it, though. Instead, they jump onto the same dumpster they did earlier. “We can make a competition out of it.” He does need to take breaks frequently in his climbing. His shoes can only do so much at once. If they get a good enough angle, they might actually be able to win! “What do you want if you win?”

“A kiss.”

Obviously, they choke on air, coughing way more than they need to, because it’s dramatic. “WHAT?!” Despite the fact they aren’t taking it seriously, as is made known by their small laugh, they are blushing a little. Or is it oxygen deprivation? They can’t tell.

He laughs as well, stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets. “I’m joking, Tripwire! Chill! I need a minute to figure out what I want.” There’s silence while he thinks, for the most part, except for their occasional relapse back into giggles. They are so, so tired, they’re a little delirious.

“Hey, if you can’t think of anything, you can pick a kiss. I’ll be fun with it, no boring, like, cheek or mouth kisses.” Entirely offered out of delirium; not entirely coherent enough for all this. Awake, yes, capable of rational thought, but they’re very irrational right now. Aware that offering to kiss maybe-friends is weird, but also thinking of it as something silly.

Though they note the hesitation, they aren’t sure of what it means. “...Nah, I just need a minute.” He ducks his head down while he thinks, but they swear he goes a little blue again. This time, they don’t exactly have poor lighting to excuse it. They stopped by their apartment to snag their goggles (why did they not bring them in the first place, honestly?), so they can tell for certain that there’s a color difference. It’s just… hard to know for sure since he’s so blue all over. Maybe he’s considering their offer, and is embarrassed by it? “Mm, I know what I want. I’m keeping it a secret until I win, though.”

“That’s so boring!” Tripwire whines, kicking some loose piece of something on top of the dumpster. “I want to know! I’m gonna base my want off of it!” Their favorite strategy. It keeps the other inphernal from being upset, and is still something they want. It also makes others pick something that isn’t too uncomfortable, because they don’t want to do it.

His shrug makes it clear they can’t do that this time. Which is terrifying.

So they actually have to think. “I’ll keep mine secret, too, then.” They’ll decide on the spot when they get up there! “Time to start! Bye, Slingshot!” Cheating, yeah, sure, but he stands there and watches them hop to reach the tripwire they set up to get to his window.

“I can’t believe that’s how you got in there!” He calls out with a laugh, then runs off. Huh. Just curious to see how they did it, then?

Admittedly, they don’t think much on the way. At one point, they do (almost literally) bump into Slingshot, but that’s the most they see of him. Oddly enough, they don’t even hear him for a little while, then the noise picks up way below them. Still, they don’t even check for him, since they’re focused on winning. That story of the tortoise and the hare briefly creeps into their brain, but it doesn’t count, since they’re both hares (fast), so it’s definitely not that. Actually, now they’re nervous that he’s doing something intentionally.

Still, they win. It’s jarring to them. No way they beat him. He’s so fast, and thinks even faster. He could get up here so fast, what do you mean they beat him? That doesn’t stop them from celebrating when he does show up. “Yay!! I win! I beat you, Slingshot! Somehow!” They jump a few times, waving their arms, acting silly on purpose. Waiting for him to laugh. Which does happen.

“Yeah, yeah. You only won because one of my shoes fell off!” He walks over to them and presses a hand down on their shoulder, only letting go when they stop jumping. “Maybe it’s a good thing, though. I had no clue what I was going to ask for.”

“Crap.”

Snickers from him, like he wasn’t the first to admit he had no clue what to ask for.

They sit there and think for a minute. “...I’m too tired to figure all that out. I might as well just…” he looks all excited, briefly, but quickly tries to smother it, “not pick anything?” Very blatant disappointment.

“That’s so boring, though! Anything!?” Oddly excited, a little desperate sounding. He clears his throat, looking a little embarrassed. “Sorry. I got… caught up in the competition aspect.” That doesn’t fully explain all of it, but it explains enough of it.

But it’s enough to make them feel pressured into thinking more. “If I have no idea, and you have no idea… do I just recycle the kiss idea, or do some dumb dare like we’re kids?”

“Dumb dares are dumb.” They kind of feel shoehorned into the kiss idea, here… “I could get more creative with kissing than you could.”

Instinctively, they scoff. “No way! I breathed, read, and wrote—” NOT SAYING THAT! “So much. I know all the creative kissing ideas.”

His silly grin almost makes them finish their accidental confession about fanfiction. “Sounds like our next competition.”

Miraculously, Tripwire manages to miss the fact that Slingshot seems way too interested in kissing, grabbing onto his shoulders. “Sounds like a competition that needs lots of rules.”

“No mouth, horn, or cheek kissing.”

They quickly snag the first turn, rubbing their cheek against his. Cat strat. Since they’re both well-versed in that language. For a brief moment, he tenses, then waits for them to pull back, kissing their forehead. “Are we just getting the obvious ones out of the way, Tripwire?”

Without even responding to his taunt, they get all up in his face, foreheads pressed together. Big, wide eyes, like he’s all startled and clueless. Huh, no wonder they never can tell if he’s blushing, it’s so… faint, and concentrated around his eyes. Speaking of which, once he relaxes a little, they get their eyes all close to his, until their lashes are touching. And they bat their eyes a few times. Sort of niche. “Is that one obvious, Slingshot?” They question as they pull back, absently noting that he looks nervous again.

“...Does that count?” He counters, fingers tapping against their shoulders. “I don’t think it does.”

“Why not? It’s intimate, isn’t it? Or are you just trying to cheat and get me out of ideas faster?”

With a sigh, he kisses their chin. “Fine, whatever. I’ll still win.”

“I doubt that.”

Surprisingly, it actually manages to continue for a while. Tripwire sticks with facial kisses that are a little odd until Slingshot moves elsewhere, and they keep up the competitive pace.

Eventually, though, he caves. “I’m out.”

Victory! “I could keep going, I think.”

He shrugs. “Eh, it’s getting boring. I guess you’re just a big winner tonight, though, eh?”

“Ye—oh!” They unzip one of their coat pockets, rummaging to get a good grip on the box, and offer his present to them. “Here. What my original plan was.”

Slowly, he takes it, looking a bit bashful. “Right. Totally forgot about that. Thanks, Tripwire.” He opens the box and pulls it out, only to snort and laugh. It’s a little cat made out of wire. A little ugly, too. Which makes it even better.

“I totally messed it up, I know, but I fell asleep and kept doing it in my sleep, and kept my results. So ugly that it’s cute, right?”

“I love it! Going right on the shelf in the cafe!”

Wow, really? “Not your bedroom? Darn, guess I’ll have to make something else that you’ll put in there.”

“You already have something that I want in there.”

…They have no clue.

“Well, I guess I have it now.”

Mixed signals here, buddy.

“...Deities, you have a TERRIBLE staring problem, Tripwire. I see what Shuriken means now by your ‘stare that makes you want to confess all your wrongdoings’.” Literally any stare can do that if you maintain it long enough. Shuriken is just weak, and apparently Slingshot is, too.

Not that they’re going to say something like that. “Happy Spawnday, Slingshot.”

He snorts, flicking them on the forehead again. “Yeah, yeah. Thanks, Tripwire.” It’s so… disgustingly soft. Which is odd, coming from him. He’s all witty and sharp, only ever bubbly when high on adrenaline, and composed. But he hasn’t been very composed tonight. Does it have to do with being tired?

Pointing that out would just be rude, though. “You’re welcome.” Hm, how to approach the ‘friends’ thing… “You can call me Trip, if you want. Or Wire, if you’re weird like some inphernals are.”

A snicker this time. They are NOT that funny. Oh, no, wait, a disbelieving laugh. “Really? I can?” He’s blue again! If they have a staring problem, then he has a blushing problem. They have never seen him so embarrassed in such a short time (about an hour) before! “I mean… Wire is ridiculous. So is Trip.”

“Well, if you’re going to diss on my nickname options, I’m gonna take back my offer.” What, does he want to call them Ipwi? Trre? Wiwi? Ipip? They don’t HAVE good options. Nothing like Sling, or Skate, Shuri, Vine, nothing that sounds cool. Trip or Wire. It makes them sound like more of a dork than they are.

With yet another small laugh, he shakes his head. “No, no! Please, I need to flex on everyone that I got the privilege before most of them, despite you being so scared around me.” Once he realizes what exactly he said, he freezes. After a few seconds of staring at each other in bewilderment, he explains, a little hesitantly. “You’re just… very open and bubbly with Shuri and Vine. And stiff around me. Except for when we’re competing.”

Awkward. Busted. Whatever. “...Well, they’re… openly silly. All the time. Very… open about how they feel. You’re honest, but not open.” Open doesn’t feel like a word anymore. “So I… maybe try to match that. But I’m a super duper ultra open person, so it’s hard. So I sit there all nervous trying not to ruin anything by acting the wrong way.”

Slingshot fiercely shakes his head, forcibly grabbing onto their forearms, but eases his hold upon realizing how intense it is. “I like the Tripwire I see with my siblings, and I like the Tripwire who falls over themself trying to help despite being useless at best in a kitchen. You’re weirdly nice for someone so… chaotic, putting it lightly.” Yeah, not exactly violent, but everything has a violent sort of passion behind it.

Still, it’s ALARMING. Being liked? For more than the person they are around a specific person? Terrifying! He likes them for two different acts! That usually doesn’t happen! Or, well, three? Four? Considering the meshes are different acts, and happen around specific people… five! Terrifying! “Um, that’s scary. And I’m not really all that nice, people are just mean.” Cruelty is oddly common, all across the Inpherno. Tripwire still doesn’t get why. Does it not make everyone feel super sick to hurt someone else? Like they need to tear off their skin or maybe bite themself a little?? “I like being around you, Slingshot. I just… try to match how people act. And I don’t know how to act like you.”

“You don’t have to act like me.”

“...I kind of do? I don’t know how to interact otherwise. I gotta… get into the Slingshot ‘sigma grindset’.”

“...Never use any language that Coil teaches you ever again.”

“Yes, boss.”

Both of them laugh, and Tripwire assumes that this is the end of the moment. Especially when he pulls back, a little slowly, and gestures towards the expanse of Crossroads. “You want open, Tripwire?” Oh, so not the end of the moment. A continuation, where he’s the vulnerable one. “I’ll be open, but! You’re going to help me feed a ton of stray cats in return.”

“Sounds like a fair deal. Shoulda known the ‘Slingshot Sigma Grindset’ would involve free labor.” His groan makes them laugh, actually feeling a bit more open after all that embarrassing talk. “It’s sticking. I’m introducing your siblings to it. Will you have the heart to tell Vine Staff to stop saying it, when it becomes her favorite saying?” He won’t. She’s his favorite sibling, and they know it. Out of the trio of siblings, she tends to be everyone’s favorite, as far as they can tell. Except for customers. She’s not as intimidating as Shuriken, but people tend to prefer Slingshot’s nice smile and charm over her stiff fear.

Instead of dignifying their teasing with a response, he jumps off the building. It briefly startles them, until they hear the light ‘thump’ of his feet hitting something. Oh, race back down. They have the disadvantage here, unless… They find a good point to make a general route down, since they have no fancy shoes, just some wire to slide down gaps faster, and go between buildings, if necessary.

As expected, he beats them. When he doesn’t lose a shoe, he’s still faster than them. Busted shoes. No, they will not get a pair. Ugly ass shoes, also they need the friction from theirs. It is funny to be able to win tug of war with ease, especially against those like Slingshot, with shoes that provide much less friction.

But he doesn’t gloat, just reaches for their hand, and leads them into an alleyway. His hand is warm, like, stuck-it-in-an-oven warm. And his shirt is stretched and loose just right and his jacket fallen down enough from all the action… is his shoulder blue, too? That’s so ridiculous. No, his knuckles are just ever so faintly more blue than they should be. Hm. He was going to bed before they snagged him, and now neither of them are going to sleep good.

Immediately, there’s a small squeak of a meow, and an absolute fatty of a kitten stumbling over. Like, BURGER of a kitten. Tripwire almost bursts into tears with how fat this kitten is. Does it have worms, or is Slingshot overfeeding his strays. Both options make them feel a little emotional.

CW: VAGUE description of syringe-feeding medicine to a kitten, VAGUE mentions of kitten in pain, worms discussed, maggots brought up in passing; TLDR at end. I promise the kitten is fine and lives, happy life and future under Slingshot’s care, kittens are just prone to evils occurring.👍

The small sound he makes twists something in their stomach, and it feels a little funny. So does the way he bends down to pick up the kitten, gently prodding at its stomach, wincing at the reaction of pain. “Aw, I probably do need to bring you back to the vet, if the dewormer isn’t working…” He glances at them, and they’re stuck between feeling so horribly empathetic towards the kitten that they go have a mental breakdown and throw up, and dying to the feeling in their stomach from being around him while he’s so… like this. “Trip, can you…” his voice briefly dies out, probably from actually calling them the nickname, but he doesn’t have the time to get all embarrassed over it. “Reach into my pocket, and grab out the bottle and syringe? I-Inner pocket, left side. My left.” He adjusts his hold on the kitten, still managing to blush a little, despite the situation. They’re starting to feel that it might not be from embarrassment.

“Sure. Um, you…” their voice dies off as they still pull up their hands to figure out their right and left, then almost reach for the wrong pocket, despite his very clear instructions. But they do it, being very careful about unzipping the pocket, and making sure they don’t manage to impale themself on the needle he has in there (he’s probably not as insane as some people they know who carry around needles, though). “How long has the kitten been medicated? It might not be the right type of dewormer.” Hesitantly, they add, “I’m not… a kitten worm expert, but I might know something. Even though I know more of… corpse worms. Uh, maggots.” They hold out the items for him to receive, trying not to burst into tears again. Feeling so terrible for the kitten, to the point they literally cannot think about it without almost gagging.

After Slingshot takes the bottle and syringe, he sets the kitten into Tripwire’s hand. “Hold them still. A little feisty, so just scruff them.” As they follow that instruction, waiting to scruff until necessary, he fills the syringe with liquid. Not all the way, exactly, but a very specific measurement. “Scruff.” Once they do, he gently forces the kitten’s mouth open, sticking the needle into its mouth. “It’s the right dewormer. Kitten just had worms… really bad. They’ve improved significantly, but… well, it’s not likely they’ll live, even still. I have an area set up for all these strays, you know? Cozy and warm, I feed them, enough space for a lot of them. It costs a bit to run, but they make up for it. All friendly, and they’re great in the cafe once they’re socialized. A few of them get adopted. Kittens especially, but nobody wants to adopt a kitten with worms. But that’d be the best way to get them the care they need; an owner that can afford more treatment. It’s… part of why one of my life goals seems too hard to reach.” He chuckles, but it’s a bit bitter. By now, the syringe is long away from the kitten, being stuck back in his pocket, as he gently takes it back from them.

TLDR; Slingshot calls Tripwire Trip, they start feeling a little 😳about that and his love for cats, Slingshot admits to taking care of strays and that being expensive. (you can read that part from here but I did all this work for you!)

“I want to bring Thieves’ Rest to the first layer of Crossroads. I’m already this far, but this layer is full of strays, I swear. The others aren’t much better, but so many inphernals get cats just to abandon them when they want something, or aren’t perfect.” He sighs, all harsh and reasonably upset, gently petting the squirmy kitten before walking towards… probably the discussed stray shelter. They follow, partially out of a desire to see this haven. “It’s not fair. And why I am actually trying a little to win the Phighting tournament. I can make Crossroads better for all animals, not just cats. Legally enforce it. Or, at least, just… bring more attention to it, since I’m decently popular. Brings more attention to Thieves' Rest, too.”

Gently, they move to walk right beside him, shooting him what they hope is a decent enough smile. “I think you’re really cool, Slingshot. And that what you’re doing is admirable. I don’t think a lot of inphernals really consider any of that. I can’t take care of a pet, I don’t get one. Using a pet to fill a void in your life is ridiculous, I think. They aren’t a miracle that will cure your problems, just a companion with their own issues, and you learn to love each other for being massive weirdos. A new part of life, not a prosthetic for an old one. Square peg, circle hole.”

He laughs at that, but it stutters a few times. His embarrassment seems pretty reasonable this time. “You’re… weird, Trip. But… smart. You do have that going for you. I just wish more people thought like you do. Swords, I… really do.” He sighs and stops as they reach an enclosed area, fitted with some bowls, spots with newspapers laid down, and… mini-houses. Wow, these cats live just like they do. Damn. “I think… Pets are commodified for money. It could be so much worse than it is, but there’s been a weird push for pets lately. People coming to me about adoptions, then getting all weirded out by the requirements and leaving.” Awkwardly, he glances at them, going a bit more blue. “I have hand sanitizer in that little box over there. We both need it, since we don’t want to contaminate any other cats, or ourselves.” He gestures towards it with his head, bringing the kitten over to a separate area, basically locking it in a specific house with some newspaper, a bit bigger than the others. Must be the sick house. Uh, hospital? Vet…? Sick house.

Tripwire moves towards the box Slingshot mentioned, only to realize that the box is the sanitizer. It’s an automatic dispenser. And they have to fight for their life to get it to register them. Yeah, that’s pretty typical for these damned things. Doesn’t register them, like those social media filters. And other stuff, those are just the two examples that make them the most mad. By the time they get it and turn around, they’re basically face-to-face with him. Ha, the boots make them tall enough for that. Not really, he’s just slightly hunched over, clearly about to try to scare them before they turned around. “Damn,” he grumbles, standing back up, waiting for them to move out of the way to put sanitizer on his hands as well. “You’re a ghost, huh, Trip? The machine will go off if a leaf blows past it, I swear, but not you?”

Well… technically… “Um, hah, it’s… a talent, that’s for sure.” To divert the topic, they point towards a cat staring them down. “I’m being judged, Slingshot. Save me!”

“Nope~... I’m judging you too, now.” He… has a really similar stare to that cat. Except it’s more silly coming from him. They can’t decide if it’s cuter coming from him or the cat.

Actually, that’s a great way to win. “Hm, being judged by two cuties. Not the worst thing in the world, at least you’re looking at me.” The way he freezes makes them keep going. “But I’m sure there’s other things I could do that’d make you look at me a bit more nicely, right?”

He laughs, ducking his head off to the side. Bingo! “Sure. Like give me a few thousand bux.”

“Or another billion points? Just for being so cute?” They make up for him turning away by angling themself to be in his sights again. “You know, cute things are my favorite.”

“You say that a lot,” he weakly claims, as if that changes the value. “I won’t refuse a well-deserved win, though. Being so good-looking is hard work.” Trying to distract them by being playful, huh? No way.

“I’m sure it is. You’re an expert on that, I’m well aware. If I had a collection of cute things, you’d be my prize possession, you know.” Are they really thinking about what they’re saying? No. Do they ever? Nope! So, you know, if they say something crazy, they won’t even realize it. “I’d even temper my curiosity and not dissect you, not even one little cut!”

Obviously, they figure out that they’re being weird again once he stares at them for a few seconds. Not long enough for them to get too guilty or stumble through an apology, and he genuinely laughs. Not out of nerves like before, but like they made a funny joke. “Trip, you are ridiculous!” He ends up wiping at his eyes, getting rid of tears, just from how much he’s laughing. “You have no reason to be so weird! But, hey, thanks for not dissecting me!” More laughter, and he ends up leaning against the wall next to the sanitizer box, taking some time to calm down. Admittedly, Tripwire does zone out during this time, trying to figure out why their heart is racing. They know they’re nervous, but it doesn’t feel like the same anxiety over fumbling an interaction. Eventually, they snap back into reality, being greeted with an oddly soft grin from Slingshot.

It takes an odd amount of effort to not lean over and kiss him, or think about it. And it doesn’t feel like an intrusive thought, more of an impulsive one. They’ve… never impulsively wanted to kiss someone before? That’s so weird. Now they feel bad, like they’re trying to turn their friendship into something else out of a desperate desire to be loved, or something.

To get past that, they force another burst of energy into their actions, grabbing onto one of his hands, clasping it between both of theirs with an intensity that maybe hides their anxiety, and starts tugging him along. “C’mon, Slingshot! I’m starving, let’s go eat something insanely unhealthy so I can regret it later! I’ll pay!”

He laughs again, following along without an ounce of reluctance. “If you’re paying, who am I to refuse?”

Admittedly, navigation takes them pulling out their phone and looking for anything open nearby, then following map instructions as he nags them for never knowing where anything is, and also refusing to help them know where anything is.

…And he has to order for them. They don’t know what, like, anything in here is. It’s burgers with stuff on it. They end up getting the same thing he does, and it’s ready unsurprisingly fast, since not many people are out and about so late. The only problem is…

“...There’s mustard on this.”

“What? Really? I said no mustard… mine doesn’t have mustard. Huh.”

Nervously, they check theirs for anything else different. Nope, just mustard. They look up to see him doing the same thing, except looking less than satisfied. “Mine has pickles. You’d think the customer service would be better, considering there’s no rush so late.” Well, the burgers came a little squished and vaguely fallen apart, so… maybe there’s still no care. Fair. Working at 3 AM on a weekday? They’d be slacking too.

Oh, lightbulb! “Would you rather have mustard or pickles on yours?”

With a sigh that sounds suspiciously fond, he holds his burger out towards them. “Fine. I’d rather have mustard. Don’t you like pickles, anyway? Sounds like I’m not getting a fair deal here.”

“What, you want a kiss, too? Greedy.” They take the burger from him and place their own on his hand, but he’s too busy shooting them an incomprehensible look to eat. “...What? I don’t know what you want, Slingshot.”

He grins, looking all sorts of smug for no reason. “Yeah, thought so.” No explanation. What is his problem. Just takes a bite of his burger. They timidly follow suit, regretting every choice they’ve made. They hate fast food, they hate fast food burgers, and they hate grease. They’re going to be nauseous within the next hour.

Absently, they register the almost-shouted words “THE PHIGHTERS?!” from the… food-prep area, kitchen, or whatever. Sort of forgot the two had fame. More Slingshot than them, since Tripwire is still in the Noob League or whatever Rocket calls it, but they had that whole… “missing for seven years then shows up on Flipside’s tournament with no recollection of the past” thing. Made them pretty popular, along with all the others newbies that debuted in the same match, since a Sword Event happened, despite being prohibited in debut matches. Still, though, they have a tenth of Slingshot’s fame at best, since he’s in the Pro League (also a Rocket Name™).

Tripwire flinches at the sudden contact. They swing their legs when sitting, mostly because their feet usually don’t touch the ground, which typically doesn’t happen, since they sit with their legs up, but they can’t in public like this—anyways, they hit Slingshot’s leg, and it startled them. “Sorry,” they mumble, still staring at the burger in their hands, one bite taken out of it. They’ve lost their appetite, to be honest. They want to go to sleep. They’re exhausted.

Apparently, he’s a master at reading all that, or is making a guess based on the fact they aren’t eating despite claiming to have been starving. “Mm, you don’t look too hot, actually.” That’s not a saying they’ve ever heard him say before. “Well, you do look hot, but…”

It’s their turn to freak out over the joking flirting. Their cheeks burn a little, and they can’t find it in them to make eye contact. Not that they usually can, though. “Shocking, since it’s not too hot in here.”

Whatever he was going to say? Down the drain. He looks appalled. “‘Not too hot’? Trip, it’s freezing. Are you running a fever, or something?” Despite it not being where you check for a fever, he places his hand on their cheek. “Daaamn. You are warm.” His fingers skim over their jaw and neck, deliberately not touching their throat, only to end up on their shoulder, over their shirt. His grip is oddly firm. “Like, real warm. Are you always this warm?” They nod, a bit frozen under the crushing feeling of being touched, and he scoffs. “No way. Screw heated blankets, how much do I have to pay to get you to sleep with me?”

Sleep? In his bed? Scary. They’ll get hot and sweaty really fast, and it’s a new place full of new smells, sounds, and feelings. No way they’d get to sleep. “A quadrillion points.” Still, they have a commitment to the bit.

“Mm… not worth losing. I’ll put a pin in those plans, for now.”

For some strange reason, one of the staff members comes by with a tray and… a very excited expression. Honestly, Tripwire would place them at maybe twenty at best; they look insanely young. They’re an expert, considering that they also look pretty young. “Hi! Oh my deities, you two really are Slingshot and Tripwire!” Pretty reasonable age to be so excited over a celebrity. “Um, haha… us in the back, we’re all pretty big fans. We play the matches on the crummy TV right there, and you two are definitely some of our favorites...” Maybe a bit rudely, Tripwire’s going to assume it’s because the two have criticized how minimum-wage jobs treat employees, and maybe because Tripwire loudly celebrated no longer having to work a 9-5 after being paid after their first few matches. And whatever else Slingshot's done that they don’t remember or haven’t seen.

Much better at handling fans than they are, Slingshot winks. But he instantly feels more artificial than he did mere seconds ago. “Yep, that’s us! Nice to meet fans, even so late at night!” So… ‘excited’. It’s jarring and wrong, watching him act like this. His excitement is so warm, and this is so cold.

“Oh, right! Here, someone definitely ordered this and then cancelled their order, and we don’t want it to go to waste.” The employee winks and sets down one of those plastic cylinders of ice cream. Generic vanilla with chocolate stuff on it. Whipped cream, cherry. Two spoons.

Unfortunately, about the same time, Tripwire yelps and flinches back a whole foot in the booth. Both the employee and Slingshot flinch at that, looking at them in alarm. “Sorry! I, um, fly in my face.” They scratch at their arm, then shift to brush over a spot on their leg, then their back, and then scratch their arm again, brain trying to convince them that there’s bugs on them.

Terrifyingly, the employee squeals. “O-M-D. You really do do that! We had a fight in the back a few weeks ago about if you played up your reactions for the camera or not.” Sounds like this employee was on the ‘real reaction’ side, then. Either way, weird, why are they being told this. They glance up at Slingshot uncomfortably, and he narrows his eyes at them, then slightly tilts his head towards the… order-area. Why…

For once, being paranoid might be useful. Cameras? Are they being recorded? It doesn’t sound too out of the question, honestly. He’s famous, they’re getting there, and people are all too comfortable recording each other. The amount of times it ends in confrontation and violence, though, since everyone is so violent, is insane. Yet fame is an obsession, and worth the risk.

Sure, they’ll go with that being the assumption (that, or maybe the two are being watched by the other employees). Despite how it makes their skin crawl, despite the fact they don’t act for cameras. They’re decently genuine, just… acts a little different around different people. Cameras don’t count. “Yeah, I-I’m… really that skittish. It gets a little annoying sometimes, you know?” They’re going to assume the employee doesn’t know, considering how they’re acting.

“Really? It’s so cute, though!” Yeah, they were expecting that. How their mental problems seem cute, they’ll never quite understand. Being short and somewhat nice… kind of sets them up to never be taken seriously. “You know, I come from Suburbia, too!” Ohhh, this is not the type of thing they want to talk about right now. “Not the area you come from, though, unfortunately. I would’ve loved to be your friend growing up! You’re only three years older than me, so it’s not too impossible, right?” Nineteen. Not too far off from what they assumed. With a gasp and wince, the employee shakes their head, far too animated to not be chronically online. “I’m so sorry! I forgot that you…”

If there’s one thing worse than people talking to them about the past, it’s people who get all weird when they realize. “Hehe, it’s fine! Maybe we could’ve been friends. I was super shy back then, from what I hear, though, so you’d have to try real hard~” It was so much more than that, and still is, but they’re not going to be emotionally open with some stranger.

…Why are they blushing. “Eek! I would have, I promise!” Bashfully holding the tray to their chest, the employee gives them a weirdly shy smile. “You’re even cuter in person than you are on TV!” An odd thing to blurt out, and it makes them blush all the harder. “Sorry! That’s weird to say!” Yeah, it really is. They are… not comfortable with this.

Still, who are they to shut down someone so passionate? “It’s fine. You’re pretty cute yourself, you know?”

Convenient time for Slingshot to cut in. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but we have some stuff to talk about. And it’s late; Tripwire looks like they’re going to pass out any minute, right? I love rushing around, but we do actually need to talk about this, so…”

“Oh! I’ll get out of your way, so sorry!”

Tripwire watches the employee scurry off, face exploding with color, in mild confusion. “...What was all that about?” They quietly ask, upon deeming them far enough away to not overhear.

Slingshot shrugs, looking slightly impatient. “Trip, they very, very obviously have a crush on you, and that was one of the most awkward, borderline-parasocial interactions I’ve seen in a while.”

“They WHAT?!” It’s a squeak more than anything else, but they can tell the employee heard, considering they drop the tray on the ground.

“...Most inphernals don’t call others ‘cute’ as a general compliment. It usually means something, Trip. Remember, you’re the weird one for that.”

They wince. “Oh, right. Yeah, okay, that makes more sense.” Embarrassing, still.

A bit awkwardly, he messes with one of the spoons in the ice cream. “...I do have something in mind, for what I want.” To clarify, since their vacant expression makes it pretty clear they have no clue what he’s talking about, he adds, “for taking the losing deal on the burgers, since you like pickles.”

“Ohhh! What is it?”

“I’ll tell you when we leave.”

Okay, definitely some sort of watching going on, possibly recorded. And whatever he’s going to ask for, it’s going to get a reaction out of them. “Well, I’m not going to eat my burger, so…”

He sighs, a bit absently. “Yeah, figured. Going to assume you don’t want ice cream either, and you want to leave?”

“Well, that sounds like you’re projecting, but, yeah.”

Proving their point, he stands up, unzipping a jacket pocket and pulling out his wallet, fishing out a few bux before shoving it back in his jacket, zipping it back up. “Yeah, let’s ditch.” On the way out, he puts the money in the tip jar, and they keep their eyes on the floor, in case the earlier employee is at the register. He doesn’t say anything until they get far away from the… uh, they’ll be honest, they don’t know what the place is called. 

Once he stops, he looks all nervous. “What I want…” He stops and takes a deep breath, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets. “Look, sorry if I’m overstepping or misunderstanding. I’m going off of mixed signals, even though I don’t think you can give obvious ones anyways.” Um…? He fidgets a little before continuing. “I want a date. A proper one. It’s what I wanted if I won the race earlier, too, but I chickened out and made sure you won, because I wasn’t sure if you’d be okay with it.” He laughs and turns his head to the side, bright blue again. “...But we had that whole… kissing contest, and I assumed that was good enough proof that you would be. Even if it was us both being caught up in competing. So, uh…”

Well, this is unexpected. Tripwire blinks a few times, trying to puzzle out if there’s any obvious hints that they missed. They… can’t remember, honestly. “That… doesn’t seem like a fair exchange for a burger, Slingshot.”

He sputters into a laugh, shaking his head lightly. “Swords, Trip. You are ridiculous.” He’s said that so many times tonight. “Fine. I’ll use my cards. One, burger exchange. Two, I won tonight's general contest, since I have a million points or something. Three, it’s my birthday.”

“I got you a gift!”

“Still my birthday. I get to make unreasonable demands.”

“...Fair enough, I guess.”

But with a bit more staring, and his expectant (but terrified, honestly) expression, Tripwire sighs and relents. “I guess I’ve taken enough IOUs. Just… text me about it, so I can remember. And we’ll have to find a day we’re both free.”

“Lucky for me, my siblings will jump at the chance to cover my work. If I mention what I’m doing, and they’re going to be nosy…” he sighs, “but, at least Shuri will probably actually work that day, instead of sleeping on his shift and being awful to customers.” Slingshot smiles at them, looking overly relieved. “So it’s whenever you’re free. Which is most days, so tell me when you aren’t. I’ll figure out when Vine is free, and there’s the rare chance that Shuri isn’t free… I’ll pick a day off of that.”

They nod, stifling a yawn. “Happy Spawnday, Slingshot. Do you want me to walk you home?”

“Nah, I need to run to get all my energy out. Stay safe, Trip. I’ll… see you soon, whenever you show up at Thieves’ Rest next?”

“...Uh, the day after tomorrow, probably. I won’t bring anyone this time. I’ll brave ordering by myself, but you can’t get mad at me if I get too scared.”

He laughs, flicking them on the forehead again. “Of course. See you in two days, Trip.”

…Yet he isn’t walking off. “Ugh, fine. I’ll go first. Bye, Slingshot.” They turn around, sheepishly, moving a bit awkwardly, since they know he’s watching them leave. Embarrassing!

“Bye, Trip!”

“Bye, Slingshot!” Moment of realization. “We are NOT doing this! Turn around and walk off!” He laughs, and they take the opportunity to book it while he can’t beat them.

Still, once they make it out of his sight, they end up mumbling, “bye, Slingshot,” fully aware he would likely do the same. For good measure, they repeat it again, just to make sure they beat him.

It’s easy to fall asleep tonight, but they’re going to assume it’s because it’s around five by the time they get home.