#but off the cuff my soul says NOPE NOPE NOPE WE ARE STICKING WITH MAGIC so there’s clearly some fucked up potential here

[britcision]

So like it’s not gonna be soon or consistent but I’ve done it before and I’ll do it again so this is your One Warning Delicious in Dungeon crowd

Magic Lube Thursday may be making a comeback.

We even get the new anime episodes on Thursdays it’s perfect

[breakingsomething]

an average night out on the town

basic summary: no one knows the real identity of vigilante "jbm". at least, not until now.

trigger warnings: stabbing, blood, mentions of drugs

tagging @its-ethan-bro cause hey it's your fave side character! here he is, at long last!

it was starting to fucking rain.

of course it was. why wouldn't it? everything else was going wrong in jackie's life. all he needed was a bit of rain to put a damper on his evening.

he considered just going home. he was barely even patrolling anyway; just wandering the city with his MAAS bot on his shoulder, not bothering to keep to the alleys because no one was fucking around. he wasn't even in uniform. he'd given up on that months ago. all he needed was his thick red hoodie, his bag, his goggles, his mask, and his cuffs, along with a few assorted weapons scattered about his person. might as well. as the saying goes, you never know when your brainwashed brother might pop out of the shadows and try to kill you. or something like that.

no one around. jackie stopped under a streetlamp, glancing around the empty streets. nope, not a single soul. that was odd, but really, he wasn't in a state to question it. he was just gonna recharge his bots and go home. he couldn't be fucked dealing with anything else. nothing else mattered. not anymore.

he kept walking. his boots splashed through the rising puddles, soaking the bottoms of his cargo pants and making him shudder with the cold. he hadn't even brought a coat with him, like a goddamn idiot. henrik was going to kill him.

jackie had long ago memorized the locations of each of his bots, having programmed them to stick to dark, secluded areas where he could easily get to them. and there was only so many of them in the city. for instance, jackie could see one glinting in the piping of an alleyway next to a convenience store. he casually made his way over, waiting for the bot to float down and land on his hand. it did so. this bot was smaller than his main one- painted a dark green, a camera with a glowing red light built into the centre, a thick tail trailing behind. jackie's face twitched into a smile as his hand lit up with a magic yellow glow, causing the bot to chirp as its light turned blue. after it was charged, it darted back up to its previous position. jackie shook the light from his hands and kept going.

there were exactly one hundred bots hidden around the city, not including the larger one he kept on him at all times. he didn't technically have to charge each of them individually, but it was good for them to receive extra attention, wasn't it? get a special checkup, make sure they were ok? jackie almost laughed at himself. god, what a load of bullshit.

he just didn't want to go back home.

eventually, ninety nine bots were checked. the last one was also in an alley, this time next to a busier street- there were a few people walking around here, though what they were doing out at two am in the pouring rain was beyond jackie. it didn't matter, anyway. once he'd checked this last bot he could go home and face henrik's worry and disappointment. once he'd checked this last bot.

there was a man lying in the alley.

jackie slowly made his way over to him, his breaths quickening. the man was wheezing, clutching his chest- drunk? hurt? his hood was up so his face was hidden, so jackie couldn't make out his expression. "um, sir?" he croaked, his voice cracking from hours of disuse. he took another step, his boots splashing in the water. "are you alright?"

the man jerked his head round, revealing narrowed green eyes and clenched teeth, but his expression changed upon seeing who he was. "ah, jbm," he murmured. "th'fantastic hero, here to save…" his eyes closed and his arms slipped from his chest, revealing, to jackie's absolute horror, a thin knife wedged between his ribs.

"fuck, fuck," jackie hissed, immediately swinging his bag down and falling to his knees. "shit, lie down, i'll help you."

jackie gently pulled the man down, ignoring his whines of protest as his hood fell and his back came into contact with the puddles of water. he wasn't bleeding a lot, but maybe the bleeding was more internal, that would be harder to see and could kill him in minutes- jackie flapped his hands, only allowing himself a moment of panic before regrouping. he'd dealt with worse than this. he'd dealt with worse. he just hadn't been expecting to deal with it tonight. "i'll call the hospital."

"no!" cried the man, suddenly trying to sit up, clawing at jackie's arm. jackie pushed him back down, fearing he'd quicken the blood loss. "no, no, can't go to- not like this- no hospital, no, no hospital-"

"shit, fuck, ok!" jackie cried, his stress level rising. god, he hadn't wanted to go home before, but he'd rather sit in deafening silence with henrik two rooms away than do this right now. "i'll call my friend, ok? i'm gonna call him, i'll keep pressure on the wound and when my friend gets here he'll help you, ok? he's a doctor, kind of, you'll be ok, it's ok."

the man ignored his ramblings and moaned in pain, still babbling under his breath about hospitals. ok, ok, this was fine. jackie tapped the back of his gauges five times in quick succession and waited for the dinging noise that signified he was starting a call. "curro," he demanded.

there was a moment of pained silence while it just rang, and jackie pressed both hands on the man's chest, listening to his agonized cries. to take his mind off the pain, jackie decided to ask the man questions. "what's your name?" he asked.

the man said nothing, just whimpered and held onto jackie's hands. ok. never mind.

"jb?" came the deep, reassuring voice, and jackie nearly burst into tears.

"curro!" he exclaimed, relieved. "radreaoch ave, the alleyway. there's a guy here, stab wound to the chest, not super deep, and yes, i'm putting pressure on it. knife's still in. how soon can you get here?"

"ten minutes," curro said, and the call ended. simple as that. jackie liked that about curro- he didn't ask questions. unlike a certain other doctor he could mention. actually, jackie doubted henrik would have picked up the phone at all if jackie had called him.

curro drove up ten minutes later, right on time. jackie sobbed the second he threw his car doors open and raced over, his blue jacket bright in the darkness. "c, i don't-" he started, not taking his hands off the man's chest, but curro stopped him.

"we need to get him into the car, take him back to mine. you drive, i deal with him in the backseat. there's no police around as far as i can see, we should be fine." he said all this with such authority that jackie immediately found himself nodding frantically, and then they were lifting the man carefully between them and laying him across the seats, and jackie was driving to the place he always drove to when he was feeling this sense of urgency and panic, and then they were at curro's place again. he lived in a very small area so there were barely any people around, so it was easy to get the guy inside without being noticed; less easy to get him inside without hurting him. it took about five minutes to get him past curro's kitchen and living room to the room under the stairs where he kept all his supplies. five cabinets chock full of anesthetics and pills and bandages, and a padded table where jackie laid the man as curro sped round, gathering stuff into his arms and dumping it onto another small table next to him.

"can i help?" jackie offered, feeling rather useless.

"no, you're ok, this should be fine." curro waved his hand away.

jackie took that as a sign that he should go elsewhere. he left the room and took off his mask and goggles, brushing his hair with his hands. he was sure the man would be fine - curro was a great doctor. he'd only had his license revoked because he'd been possessed one too many times while working - surprisingly unrelated to anti, actually. there had been a ghost had been haunting curro for a couple years, although jackie was yet to see them. still, he trusted curro. trusted him with his life. yes, the man would be fine. he would definitely be fine.

jackie had spent enough time in curro's house to feel comfortable, especially as of late. he shrugged off his heavy red hoodie and sauntered into the kitchen, drinking several glasses of water before sinking into the couch in the living room, exhausted. he considered calling henrik and telling him where he was, but he doubted he'd even noticed he was gone. henrik had been so distant lately, leaving the room whenever jackie came in and avoiding talking to him whenever he could. it kind of hurt, really. it made jackie feel as though he was alone again, back in the days before he knew any of his brothers and anti had no name or face to him, when he was just a human shaped static cloud that tried to kill him every day. he hadn't felt like that in so long.

eventually, curro came out with a tired smile on his face. "he's alright," he said, shaking out his hands. "should be fine in a little while. why couldn't he go to hospital?"

"dunno," jackie said, shifting over to make room on the couch. curro's house was very small, although it was decorated very nicely, especially his kitchen. while curro was a learned doctor, he was also an extremely good cook. "i don't even know the guy, just found him. i'm glad he's ok." he hesitated. "can i… stay the night?"

curro crossed his arms. "why?"

jackie looked away and didn't respond.

curro sighed and leaned back against the couch. "jb, you can't just hide from your brother here."

"why not? he hides from me, too. he didn't come home a few nights ago, said he was staying with a girl named ellie." jackie scoffed. "load of bullshit, i think. like henrik's social enough these days to be getting any action."

curro laughed. "so rude."

"well, it's true. i don't want to talk to him right now anyway. he's been avoiding me. missing chase, i guess, which is fair. i miss marvin." jackie bit his nails anxiously and kept his eyes fixated on the wall.

there was an awkward pause.

"how long have you been wearing your binder?" curro asked as a way of breaking the silence.

"only a couple hours, man." jackie replied truthfully. "don't worry about me. is that guy gonna stay here overnight?"

curro nodded, obviously sensing jackie's need for a subject change. "i would suppose. he'll probably be unconscious til tomorrow, but who knows when he'll wake up." he poked jackie's side. "precisely why you can't stay tonight, unless you're planning to stay in costume all night."

"i could."

"you could not. that stuff looks uncomfortable."

"watch me, dick. just cause you have a low pain tolerance doesn't mean i do."

"yeah, i think your pain tolerance is a bit too high, jb. don't you remember when you sprained your wrist and didn't realize until i x'rayed you?"

"hey, shut up!"

they were so busy bickering and laughing that they didn't hear the door opening and the unsteady footsteps down the hall until -

"hello? i - oh!"

jackie and curro's heads snapped up to see the blonde man standing in the doorway, bandages wrapped around his bare chest. he was staring at jackie with wide eyes, clinging to the doorway to keep himself upright. "holy shit, are you jbm?" he grinned, his words slurring slightly.

jackie yelled and covered his face with his arms, unfortunately a bit too late. curro immediately jumped to his feet. "man, go lie back down, you just got stabbed!" he hollered. "the hell are you doing, walking around - fuck!"

"is that jbm?" the man said loudly as curro pulled him back down the hall. "he's hot, tell him he's hot."

jackie felt his face burning, for multiple reasons. he kept his face covered until the man was gone, then grabbed his mask, goggles, and hoodie, putting them back on despite it being a bit too late. well, maybe the man was so off it on pain meds he wouldn't remember jackie's face the next day? he hoped so. he wrote a quick note for curro and then left. he was sure he'd understand.

it was dark when he got home. dark, and quiet. his heart pounded, as it had the whole way there while he thought about what had just happened. he hoped the guy would be ok. fuck, he couldn't believe he'd allowed himself to be seen like that.

jackie had never intended to become a vigilante. he supposed he had been, once, in the time before his memory loss; his very first memory was standing on top of a building in his first stupid red jumpsuit, right before fighting anti for the first time. but the thing was… he hated confrontation. he hated fighting. he did like saving people, and he did a lot of that, and eventually had come to the realization that he didn't have to always "stop crime," he could help clean up the aftermath. and there always was an aftermath, and he was always there for it. he was a good medic. he hadn't intended to be a vigilante.

but man, did the cops hate him. why, he didn't know, but they did seem to dislike how he did their jobs better than they did. which was partially the reason for the mask and goggles, along with his immense social anxiety. and now, the fact that someone knew who he was - he shivered.

be reasonable, he thought. what's he gonna do, go to the police and say "here, i know what jbm looks like?" no, no, he doesn't know your name. you're fine. as long as he doesn't know your name, you're fine.

henrik was waiting for him.

"jackie," he said as he came into the dark kitchen, lit only by the city light coming through the window. jackie jumped.

"fuck, hen, you scared me," he laughed nervously, trying to make this situation seem normal. maybe henrik wouldn't notice what he was wearing in the darkness. "i didn't, uh, expect you to be up."

well, if he hadn't sounded suspicious before, he did now. both of them knew how bad henrik's insomnia got; there was no reason for jackie not to expect him to be up. henrik raised an eyebrow and stood from his place at the table he'd been sitting at. "that's a lie. where were you?" he walked over and stood in front of him. "drinking again!"

"henrik!" jackie protested, stepping back. "that was one time!"

it wasn't one time. jackie had been going out and getting drunk for weeks, just because it numbed his mind for a little while. but henrik didn't need to know that. "i was charging the bots, ok? that was literally it." it wasn't that far from the truth, really.

"you're covered in blood." henrik said flatly, crossing his arms. jackie's heart skipped.

"it's not mine!" he hurried to say, waving his arms in front of him. "i met a guy, he got stabbed, he was already like - i didn't see who it was -"

henrik suddenly let out a small, bitter laugh, startling jackie. "whatever," he muttered, marching towards the door and leaving the room. "you do you, jackieboy man."

the door didn't slam behind him, and that's what hurt the most.

he hadn't even asked if he needed medical attention. not that he would have said yes even if he did. he did that himself these days, when curro didn't.

they didn't speak the next day. barely spoke the next.

they were missing their brothers. that was understandable. but fuck, if jackie didn't a hug and someone to talk to.

he missed marvin more than he could even put into words.

three days later, he was back out on patrol.

just watching his bots. just keeping a lookout. just walking around, just avoiding henrik, just hating himself and wanting to die. just vibing, really. just the usual. just the usual.

"jbm!"

no fucking way.

he didn't turn. he was too afraid to look. no way the guy had recovered that quickly and somehow found him. no way, no way, no -

"hey! hey, jbm, wait, i want to -"

jackie broke into a run. he was not dealing with this, not tonight, not today, not ever. he raced down the street, legs pumping, the wind rushing past his ears and filling up his hood beneath his goggles.

he turned and darted down an alleyway, not even pausing to catch his breath until he was three streets down and everything was silent. he stopped to lean against an alley wall, sinking to a crouch for a brief second and wheezing. he fumbled in his bag for his inhaler and shook it, taking three puffs of the medicine and trembling slightly. fuck, that was nerve wracking. he was suddenly excited to go home and sit in awkward, grieving silence with henrik.

"hey down there."

a pair of legs in front of him. please, no.

he looked up. the man flashed him a crooked grin, light green eyes glowing like a cats in the streetlight. he was wearing a black tracksuit with red linings, looking like he was just out for a one am run. jackie couldn't breathe. fuck's sake, it was bad enough that this guy already knew what he looked like, did he have to see him on the ground taking his asthma inhaler too?

the man stretched out a hand to help jackie up. he just stared at him before slowing pushing himself up without help. just to prove he was still in charge of this situation. he was not blushing under his mask at this pretty blonde bastard smiling confidently at him, nope, he was not. he was definitely not.

the man tilted his head, his grin ever widening. "wow, you're a hell of a lot shorter than i thought you were."

jackie didn't give him the satisfaction of a response. instead, his eyes darted to the end of the alley, already calculating an escape route that'd get him as far away from this guy as he could.

the man saw him looking. "ah, ah, ah, not today, red," he sing songed, stepping even closer to jackie. he pressed him up right against the wall, leaning an arm against it and blocking jackie's path. "i legit do just want to talk. to say thank you, for saving my life. and apologize, for calling you hot in my delirium. that's not me saying i wouldn't still find you hot in my normal state, by the way. but i'm sorry if i made you uncomfortable."

jackie felt his cheeks burn. "you're making me uncomfortable now," he snapped before he could stop himself.

the man took two quick steps back, raising his hands besides his face. "ah shit, sorry. didn't mean to - ok, yeah, sorry. i get carried away."

jackie stood up straight, crossing his arms henrik style. "tell me this. why couldn't i take you to hospital?"

the man hesitated, both hands still at the sides of his head. "ah, well. the thing is, you're like a hero type guy, and i really don't know if i should be telling you."

a sudden rush of rage and irritation rushed through jackie, and he felt his eyes warning up with burning light. he made a noise that was practically a growl and stepped towards the man until he was pressed against the opposite wall. "fucking tell me, or i will burn your goddamn face off."

the man whistled nervously. "ok, ok, let's not get testy." he exhaled, lowering his hands slightly. "i may or may not have had a few illegal drugs on me - woah, woah, careful!"

jackie grabbed the front of the man's shirt, suddenly furious. "you - you had illegal drugs - and you got stabbed - what did you do, what did you drag me into?"

the man swatted jackie's hands off of him. "nothing, man, seriously!" he protested. "i swear, you'll not be involved at all, i swear! it was just some guy i pissed off, he's a bit of a rival, but it's cool! he doesn't have to know you were ever there, ok? come on, man -"

jackie shoved the man away, disgusted. "you didn't think to fucking - you couldn't have mentioned?"

"well, first of all, if i had, would you have just not saved me?" the man said, and jackie deflated. he was right. "and second, i was very delirious -"

"you were coherent enough to call me hot!"

a smirk crept back onto the man's face. "well, you must be pretty enough that i could see it even after having been stabbed and on painkillers, huh?"

jackie scoffed, heat rising. "fuck you."

the other man laughed, evidently more comfortable now that jackie had backed off. "you're absolutely welcome to if that's what -"

jackie took off before the other man could finish his sentence. he didn't follow him.

what an asshole. what an asshole. what would happen if jackie ended up involved in this - what was it? a fight over drugs or something that was apparently worth attempting to kill a man over? that was the last fucking thing he needed. what a douchebag. what an arrogant, pretty douchebag. no, not pretty. jackie wasn't lowering his standards that far down.

although, when he got home and leaned against the door, catching his breath before he was forced to go inside and face henrik again, he found something in his hoodie pocket. a scrap piece of paper. the man must have slipped it inside when he has him pinned against the wall. the memory made jackie blush and scowl, and he quickly read it.

"dearest jbm. i don't know your name, so i'm gonna call you red. unless your name is jbm, in which case -" the line "what were your parents on and can i get some?" was scribbled out and replaced with simply "what the fuck?" it continued. "unless those are initials or something. i'm still calling you red. anyway, thank you, and i'm sorry. here's my number, in case you should ever need it. very sincerely, aaron."

there was a string of numbers underneath the message.

jackie crumpled up the paper and threw it down angrily. why would he need to call him, for fuck's sake? hadn't he gotten the hint? adrenaline still rushing through his veins from running, jackie unlocked the door and headed inside the house.

it was a moment before he stopped, doubled back, and picked up the piece of paper. wouldn't want to litter. also, maybe he did want to keep the number. just in case he felt like yelling at the guy again once angry criminals inevitably started hunting jackie down for helping out their "rival." just in case.

it was difficult to get to sleep that night.