#THE DUB IS FULL OF ANECDOTES AND I'M A SUCKER...

[checkurselfb4umachuwreckurself]

Shinji, Dub: "I haven't seen Sector Security this riled up since you let all of the air out of their runners" Crow, dub: "Come on! It's me! I'm always careful!"

“You Steal The Air (Out of My Lungs)” 3k

Crow does some dumb things when he’s younger, but he gets to meet Shinji, so it’s all fair, right?. (Warning: Meet cute)

Jack and Crow looked past the wall corner they were hiding behind. The soot from the Commons marked their skin, just as the gold had marked Crow. “I’ve explained this to you before,” Jack whispered, “this is stupid, and we’re going to get in trouble.”

The threat did not deter Crow. “Trouble is my middle name,” he said flashing a smile up to his big brother. He snuck around, scoping out a new angle.

A sigh came from the accomplice. “Your middle name is “Robin”, idiot,” he said, following him.

Crow looked at his prize. A fancy D-Wheel, with “SECURITY” slapped across the side. It was sitting in the middle of the alleyway, the owner probably inside the building bullying a Commoner. “There she is,” Crow chirped.

“I don’t get it,” Jack whispered, looking around for the Sector Security member that was sure to jump out any time. “Why are we stealing the bike? Neither of us can drive one anyways.” Jack already stated he wouldn’t help any more than just being lookout, but he couldn’t help himself from trying to stop Crow.

With a flick of the wrist, Crow’s pocketknife came out. “Who said I was stealing it?”

Jack’s hand grabbed Crow’s dominant wrist. “No! No etching into the fucking police bike!” He hissed, staring Crow directly into the eyes. “I know you’re pissed that they marked you, but they’ll know who did this.” He poked the gold marker on Crow’s forehead. “We don’t both need these things. Let’s go.”

Once Crow’s hand was released, he shook his head. “I didn’t say I was gonna mark them.” He pouted, looking down to the left. Great. Now he had to come up with a Plan C. Jack looked at him expectantly, as Crow looked at his blade. “I’m popping the tires.”

The look on Jack’s face was ludicrous. “H-how is that any better? It’s still vandalism and illegal!” Jack held firmly onto the back of Crow’s collar. “You want to get taken away like Yuusei did!?”

The mention of their other brother made Crow’s blood run still. “I… I’m careful.” He whispered, more of a reassurance to himself than anything. “You’ll still have your baby brother after this. I promise.”

Jack sighed, staying stationary for lookout. “That’s just what Yuusei said.”

Crow sneaked over to the lone bike. Very gently, he tapped the wheel with his boot. No response. So they weren’t trapped like everyone said. He crouched down, turning back to Jack, flashing a smile and a thumbs up, like he half expected his brother to snap a photo then and there. He jabbed a few stabs of the knife into both tires and snuck back to his brother. “Easy!” he said, clapping Jack on the shoulder.

“Congratulations,” Jack drawled, “you really stuck it to The Man”

A nod. “Direct action.” Crow walked by, scoping out any more lonely bikes looking for a cheap stab.

“Wait,” Jack said, grabbing Crow’s collar again, “you’re not done?”

A sheepish look accompanied his shrug. “You know me, I can’t just have one.” He wriggled out of Jack’s grip once more and handed the blade to Jack. “You try it. You’ll understand.”

Despite the absolute lack of interest, Jack humoured Crow by taking the knife. “One,” he stated, “I will pop one tire.”

Half an hour passed, and 16 D-Wheel tires were absolutely destroyed. “I-I told you dude,” Crow panted, rubbing his hand under his headband. “Very very cheap and rewarding thrills.”

Jack had to cover his face to stop himself from laughing. Their backs were pressed to a wall of a dark alley, collecting the gross soot once more, but neither of them cared now. The black was sure to never come off Jack’s white clothes, but it didn’t bother him. “T-this is so fucking childish, but I’m enjoying myself too much to care,” he choked out.

The Man had been stuck to, and they assumed that was it.

Until a searchlight switched on nearby them.

“We know you’re out there!” A loud faraway voice announced. The helicopter’s blade that Crow and Jack hadn’t noticed, picked up to the speed of their heartbeats. “Come out quietly!” The boys’ doe eyed legs didn’t move. Was it too late for them to sneak the opposite way of the search light? “…Sir, I don’t think they’re threatened.”

“Of course not!” A gruffer but still loud and faraway voice barked. “The stupid kids jacked up all of our bikes! All we have are the helicopters!”

‘All of’ was a good phrase to hear now. Crow sharply turned to Jack, who was probably thinking the same thing: Run.

While splitting up could be efficient for the brothers, there was safety in numbers, and Sector Security would have to drag them apart before either could be taken away. They wouldn’t make the same mistake they made with Yuusei.

Darkness came quickly and harshly in the Commons. They were so deep into the labyrinth of alleyway that the broken lamps’ light couldn’t illuminate their path. They just kept running, running, hoping to hell they wouldn’t trip or slow down too much. Maybe the helicopter didn’t pick up that they had left?

“Hey,” a boy’s voice whispered, popping out of a doorway. The lights to the house weren’t on, causing the two to suffer a little confusion to where the voice came from. “Come here,” the voice continued once the two found the voice, “you’ll be safe here.”

Commons usually worked together to keep each other safe, but there were always those that used their fellow duelists as a stepping stone to get in touch with the Tops, or to rob them blindly. “It’s safer to keep going,” Jack whispered to Crow, “we don’t know his motivation.”

Unfortunately, Crow’s heart was filled to the brim with love and hope. “He sounds about our age, so I trust him.” He stiffened, looking into his brother’s eyes. “Plus, are you seriously saying you couldn’t take him on if he was bad news?”

As much as he didn’t want to take on another one of Crow’s challenges today, he conceded. “Fine,” he said with a bite of regret, following his brother to the sound of the voice.

“My name is Shinji,” the boy said, pouring weak tea into cups that he slid to the brothers. His face was highlighted by the candle on the table. He looked a bit older than Crow, about Yuusei’s age. The two accepted the drinks as the boy spoke up. “What are your names? Or should I just call you “Spikey” and “Punky”?” he asked with a quick laugh.

‘Spikey’ spoke first. “My name is Crow. This is my brother, Jack.” Crow sipped some tea. He was not sure what the flavour was, but at least it was hot.

‘Punky’ didn’t say anything for a while. He just looked around as subtly as he could. “Do you live alone?” Jack finally asked.

Shinji rested his cheek into his palm, looking off to the side. “You could say that.” His gaze lowered. “My old friend used to live here with me, but… Security got him.” The grip on his cheek tightened, dull fingernails digging into his soft cheeks. “I can’t stand Sector Security.” After noticing neither wanted to respond, he decided to change the conversation back to them. “So, Crow and Jack, why are you on the lam?”

The two looked each other, Jack harshly jabbing Crow with his elbow, Crow’s blush getting engulfed by the candlelight. “We… maybe kind of let all the air out of all their tires? …With a knife.”

Despite his face being covered, Shinji laughed through his hands. “You what?”

Jack’s arms crossed. “Exactly what he said, even the unfortunate “we” part.” He shook his head in disapproval of both his and his brother’s actions.

Shinji caught the sides of his face with his hands, cupping both of his cheeks now, looking at Crow with a goofy childish grin. “Good thing I found you. You would have been in a lot of trouble if they found you first, huh.” Jack quickly picked up that Shinji was only talking about Crow. He was staring into Crow’s grey eyes happily, like he could be told Crow’s whole life story and sigh dreamily with each and every line.

Crow, however, just looked up to the patched ceiling listening to the buzz in the night. “The helicopters are still out, huh?” He drummed his fingers on the wooden table as he downed the rest of his tea. “Jack, how far are we from home?”

Neither of them knew the streets that well in the dark. They barely knew where this house was on the map. “I don’t know, Crow.” Sector Security wouldn’t be an issue since they could only travel on foot. Could they even track Crow’s marker without their bikes? If so, they’d find out soon enough.

“You could stay the night,” Shinji offered with a warm smile. “As I mentioned, I’m alone right now.”

The two were wary, but too tired to protest well enough. “If it’s not a bother…” Crow whispered.

Shinji shook his head. “It really isn’t.” He gestured the others to follow, blowing out the candle.

There was only the one bed, and Jack didn’t care about it, sitting on the nearby chair. It wasn’t his abandoned throne back home, but it would do. “Crow,” Jack ordered, looking up to his little brother, “bring in one of the chairs from the kitchen.

Crow went to head out, but Shinji stopped him with a laugh. “You don’t have to, you can share the bed with me. It’s totally fine.”

He looked to Jack, getting nothing but rolled eyes. “I really don’t want to be a bother…” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. He complied anyways, getting into the bed with Shinji. They faced away from each other, back to back on the small bed. Crow fell asleep quite quickly, but the other two couldn’t manage to sleep.

“You have a crush on Crow.” Jack firmly stated, unexpectedly, snapping Shinji out of the state of almost sleep.

His face had a twinge of red, but he was holding himself together the best that he could. “Oh, what makes you s-say that?” Shinji was facing Jack already, so he propped himself onto his elbow, trying his best not to shift the bed and wake Crow.

Jack slowly blinked, somewhat to adjust to the dark, but mostly in apathy. “Making goo-goo eyes at him was obvious enough, but being so hospitable? It’s either that, or you want his kidneys.”

Shinji laughed quietly. “Maybe I think he’s a little cute. Nothing too big, I haven’t even seen him in daylight yet.” He looked up to Jack’s face, which had some moonlight shining on it, showing his somewhat annoyed expression. “Fine, should I just cut to the chase and call you Jack-niisan now?” he whispered, his fake yet piercing smile growing as Jack’s annoyed expression grew in rhythm.

“Go to sleep, you pest,” Jack said, crossing his leg over the other knee. Shinji just nodded, sliding off his elbow to sleep.

Jack had insisted the two of them leave the second he woke up, so Shinji woke up to the empty room. He saw a scrawled note, thanking him for the tea and a place to sleep, with a small drawing of a bird as a signature. It was definitely Crow’s note. …he had sort of terrible handwriting.

Jack must have done great job of hiding his brother, since Shinji hadn’t seen the two after their shared night. Unless… Sector Security caught them. He was a fool. By taunting Jack, he let him get mad and let the two of them walk into danger. Crow was gone. Shinji would never be able to tell him his feelings. He’d never be able to act on them if Crow had known the whole time either. Shinji sunk into the chair of his homeless house. Damn his helpless self.

“Still hung up on Crow?” Tony asked Shinji, whose chin was to the table. It had been about three years since the meeting, yet cupid’s arrow was still firmly lodged into Shinji’s fragile heart. He managed to convince Tony and Damon to move in with him a while back, making their own group to watch out for each other. Sure, Sector Security would probably refer to them as a gang, but a gang needed matching jackets, right? They would simply be just bros being bros until they decided on a colour scheme.

Shinji lifted his chin to rest his hands under his head. “I never really got to know him. His likes, his hair colour, hell, I don’t even know his deck!” Shinji functioned fairly well, but sometimes things that reminded him of Crow sunk him to a sad low he couldn’t break from for some time. “I just want to see him again. If he turns out to actually be a douche, I’ll be able to get over him better than where I am now with Mr. Uncertainty.”

It wasn’t a frequent topic, but Tony handled it the same way every time. “I’m sorry dude,” he said, placing a hand on Shinji’s hand. The two heard a rattle at the door, both looking over to it, expecting their third member to show up… Or possibly Sector Security

It was just Damon, luckily enough. “Hey, amigos,” Damon said, popping his head through the doorway. “Found a guy at the market. I think he was doing tricks for spare change or something. He did a sweet double backflip and I was so lost for words that I invited him back to the pad for a cup of coffee.”

Shinji laughed. “You fall for any guy with killer legs and a nice core.”

Damon rubbed his neck sheepishly, a faint blush forming. “Maybe so. Plus, I think he’s homeless”

“I’m literally right behind you,” a familiar voice said, as a similarly familiar face popped in. “And I have a name… Also, I’m not homeless.” It was a boy, slightly younger than any of them, a few inches shorter as well.  He had powerful spiked tiger coloured hair, but the most obvious thing about him was his many markers. He looked out to the two sitting. “Yo. My name’s Crow-sama. You want to introduce yourselves over coffee as well?”

Coffee could wait. Shinji jumped up, slapping his hands onto the wood table. “Crow!?”

Crow laughed nervously. “It’s… not a common name.” He winked. “Don’t tell me you’ve heard of my amazing feats?”

“You asshole!” Shinji shouted. He vaulted over table, Crow squeaking out in surprise, backing against the door frame as Damon got out of the way. Shinji ended up right in front of Crow, glaring down at the other boy.

“Geez,” Crow hissed, staring up at Shinji. “You some sort of undercover cop? That sucks- Wait… are you… crying?”

He was. Shinji’s olive eyes were bubbly, small tears gliding down his face. “You left me… With barely so much as a goodbye.” He aggressively wiped away at his tears, walking away rummage through a drawer. “Jack made you leave, didn’t he?”

Crow’s eyes narrowed. “Do I know you-“ Crow paused. “How do you know Jack?”

Shinji returned, handing the slip of paper with the scrawled note on it. “I met him three years ago,” he said flatly, as Crow looked over the paper.

“You…” Crow paused, racking his brain to remember the name. “Shinji, you kept this over all these years?” Crow wasn’t exactly sure what to say; everything was happening so quickly. “Man, my handwriting sucks.”

There was a gentle pause, Crow slowly looking back up to Shinji, the note obscuring his face, his eyes only barely grazing above the top. “I really didn’t expect to see you again, so I kept it.” Shinji was done crying, but the splotches of red still remained on his face. “It’s weird seeing you now.” Another pause. “You grew up.”

“So did you.” After the tender moment passed, Crow handed back the note, Shinji pocketing it.

Coffee was slid onto the table, the strong aroma breaking the two boys’ focus. “Coffee’s done…” Damon whispered, he and Tony feeling awkward for being present during the thorny reunion.

Crow slapped his forehead. “Where are my manners!?” He walked to the sink to wash his hands. “And don’t dare do the dishes, ya hear me?”

Shinji went to sit down, Damon taking the seat next to him. Both he and Tony looked over to Shinji, who simply sniffled. “So? Is he all he’s-“

“He is,” Shinji whispered, “I’m a little mad at him, but still like him, and I want to get to know him.”

Damon laughed quietly. “There goes my shot I guess.”

Shinji glared. “I called dibs three years ago, pal.” He looked up, calling to Crow. “Hey! You just gotta tell me and my buddies about how your run in with the police bike popping went!”

“Yeah!” Tony added in. “Shinji tells us all about it, but we never did find out how it ended!”

Crow toweled off his hands, walking over to the table, taking the last remaining seat. “Sure sure, I can tell you alllllllll about it.” He placed his heart over his chest. “I think that fun made up for the marker they gave me- The first one. The other ones I haven’t made up for yet.” He sat kitty-corner to Shinji, yet faced him the whole time. “Maybe I should start? Okay so, three years ago, my stick-in-the-mud big brother…”

Shinji’s eyes were hazy. Hearing his voice again was the melody of angels. He didn’t have to catch everything the first time, Crow looked ecstatic to tell the story, and he looked as if he’d want to tell it a million more. And Shinji would surely let him. As quietly as he could, he sighed dreamily. He could convince Crow to stay for dinner, but now it was time to think of how to convince Crow to stay forever.