Chapter Text
“So, I’ve heard that our lil bro managed to mess up his job on his first day!”
Serval chuckles as she rummages through her workshop cabinets, while Gepard lets out a groan and sets his head on the desk, dying of shame.
“..I know I messed up, and I’m taking full responsibility for it.”
He mumbles under his arms before Serval walks over to the blonde, ruffling his hair in a playful manner.
“Hey, hey! I was only joking around, there’s no need to be so hard on yourself, Geppie!” Servals chuckles as she takes a seat right next to Gepard, giving him a reassuring pat on the back.
“If you must know, when I used to work as a Silvermane Guard, I didn’t do well either in the beginning.” Serval lets out a sigh as she looks out through the workshop, watching the hustle of people walk and about in the city.
Even despite the eternal freeze, the city is crowded, with heaters on every single corner warming up not only the people, but their hearts as well. In the administrative district, everyone knows each other and respects one another, which may have been the eternal freeze that brought people closer together. But the same isn’t the case for the people of the underworld, Gepard thinks as he looks out through the window as well.
“People learn from mistakes, you know? It’s only natural we can screw stuff up, the only important thing is that we learn to adapt to not do it again.” Serval gives Gepard a big grin and ruffles his hair once more, which slightly annoys Gepard as he tries to swat his sister’s hand away with a grumble.
“Well, then how was your experience when you were in the silvermane guards? Before you, you know..fell out of touch with Supreme Guardian Cocolia..”
Serval’s expression immediately switched to one of irritation, balling up her fists in anger.
“That damned woman—I don’t really understand how you could be so loyal to her, she’s..changed.” Serval lets out a sigh as he leans back on her chair and crosses her arms, looking back over at Gepard. Gepard only stared at his older sister with a confused expression—what did Serval mean by that?
Serval let out another sigh as she walked over to a drawer, revealing an old photo of her and Madam Cocolia. She continued to stare at the ragged picture, before the grip on the photo tightened.
“..She and I were close, as you may know. She was so ambitious in everything, and she told me that when she becomes supreme guardian, she’ll make everything right—but she didn’t. She changed; it’s just not, the Cocolia I used to know anymore.”
Gepard stared in awe at Serval, which began to rise with a familiar feeling of guilt and pity. It wasn’t everyday that his bright sister acted so sorrowful—it pained the blonde haired man to see her like this.
Serval however, after looking at the picture for a couple moments, immediately shoves it back into the drawer where it came out, before walking over to Gepard to sit next to him. She gives her brother a wide grin, as if trying to reassure the blonde to not worry.
“Hey, Geppie! Don’t look so down—I may not have my best friend anymore, but at least I still have my adorable little siblings!” Serval chuckles as she locks her brother into her arms, jokingly messing up his hair to tease him. Gepard face immediately softens, the blonde now attempting to shove himself away from his sister’s grasp.
“Hey, I’m not little or adorable anymore!” Gepard grumbles as he straightens himself up, smoothing out his hair and clothes.
Serval just continues to snicker beside him.
“..I beg to differ. You may be taller and stronger than me now, but you’re still the little kid who always clung onto his big sis for reassurance.”
And Gepard knew that. Unlike his sister, he wasn’t able to fight back against his parents—he was too afraid. And he was to this day. Serval always stood her ground, and even though she managed to ruin her reputation as a Landau, she was still proud to do so.
She managed to cut out both their parents out of her lives, giving her free will to do anything she wanted. That was part of the reason she had left the Silvermane to start her career as a singer.
Gepard knew—he may be stronger in power than his sister, but she was stronger in will, her desire to break free of other’s opinions and to live out her own life. And he admired that.
The blonde smiled warmly as he looked over at his older sister, chuckling and shaking his head in disbelief.
“Yeah, you’re right, but—“
Gepard pauses when he looks out through the window, and sees a familiar blue hair. It couldn’t be—was it him? It couldn’t be, Gepard thought. He had the audacity to show up in the overworld after their last encounter?
Gepard grit his teeth as he quickly grabbed Serval’s guitar case, swinging it over on his shoulder before running out of his sister’s workshop.
“Sorry Serval, but I gotta run! I have to catch this criminal!”
Serval stares at Gepard in surprise when she sees her brother running out, causing her to let out a soft chuckle. She then yells out toward her brother, enough for him to hear.
“..Go get him, Geppie! I believe in you, go make yourself proud as a silvermane guard!”
And with that, Gepard was gone with a quick wave, immediately closing in towards the conman.
It was strange, really—what was Sampo doing out here in the open, where there were silvermane guards everywhere? But that didn’t matter to Gepard. Right now, the only thing that was set on his mind was to catch the blue haired man—it was the perfect opportunity!
Gepard quietly follows behind Sampo in a quicker pace, and when he was in a closer proximity, he grabbed onto his handcuffs, yelling out a the conman.
“..Sampo Koski!”
The blue haired man jerks his head around to the direction of Gepard’s voice, and his eyes widen in surprise—not from fear, but more from joy and anticipation. As if he expected the blonde to chase after him.
“Ah, Geppie! It’s so nice to see you again, did you miss little ol’ Koski?” Sampo chuckles as he tilts his entire body to the side, giving Gepard a cocky and smug grin.
Gepard’s eye twitches at the nickname—only his sisters called him that, why was this criminal using it so freely as if he were some friend? He grits his teeth in anger as he takes another step, fully taking the handcuffs out of his back pocket.
“..Enough of your tricks, Koski. You have nowhere to run anymore, as you are under arrest for thievery, scamming, and—“
“Hold it right there, Geppie!” Sampo chuckles as he extends his hand out in an arrogant manner, grinning as he did so. “..I only came here to give our dear silvermane a lil gift!”
“..a gift? For what reason would a criminal give a guard a gift? Just so you know, bribing won’t relieve you of your crimes.”
Sampo snickers as the conman shakes his head, before reaching for something behind his back. Gepard immediately flinched backwards, expecting another smoke bomb. However this time, Sampo extended his hand out towards the blonde, which was presented with a bouquet of roses.
“Well, I heard through the grapevine that our dear Geppie loves flowers, so how about it, eh? It compliments your skin tone and outfit—it matches you so well!” Sampo’s grin only grow bigger as he takes a step forward to the silvermane guard, who was frozen in place. The conman then spoke in a low, almost inaudible tone, with the grin still plastered on his face.
“..A beautiful flower for a beautiful man like yourself.”
This was dangerous. Very dangerous. Gepard could feel the heat rise up to his face, and as he stared down at the extravagant roses, he couldn’t help but stare at the flowers in awe. He felt his heart skip a beat—the blonde was blushing—and he knew it as much as the conman did. Several thoughts raced across his mind as he tried his best to form a coherent sentence at the criminal: how did Sampo know he liked flowers? Why was he here right now, to bribe the guard? He was sure the roses weren’t there earlier, did it appear out of thin air?
Gepard lets out an awkward cough as he tentatively accepts the bouquet, his face red as he continued to stare at the flowers.
“..t-this gift is of no use, Koski, this only will add onto your list for attempting to bribe a silvermane guard, and for—“
A strange smell was present, and it wasn’t the smell of the flowers—it smelled as if something were burning—like a bomb. Gepard’s eyes grew wide as he looked down at the flowers once more, and there was a small, black object hidden in there. Shit.
Almost immediately, the bomb blows up in Gepard’s face, causing the blonde to let out a ghastly cough as he tried to see through the thick smog of gas, his vision beginning to blur. Sampo was heard laughing in front of the guard, who leaned down and gently smiled at Gepard, before quickly walking away.
“..I’ll see you soon, Gepard Landau.”
And soon after, Gepard was knocked out cold from the gas once more. Sampo chuckled as he ran towards an ally to hide himself, before letting out an inhumane-like laughter.
It was too amusing, the way the blonde reacted. Aha was having too much fun, and they wouldn’t be stopping now. They found their entertainment, and they planned to use it as much to their heart’s content.