Chapter Text
Ranboo wakes up in a cold sweat.
His t-shirt and sweatpants are sticking to his skin uncomfortably (to be honest when would that be comfortable?) and his head is spinning. Mellohi is running through his head.
They can't help but wonder what would drive him to do that? How could he hurt so many innocent people and not feel any remorse? The thing about Ranboo is; he is not very good at seeing the best in people.
But what was such a harmful person's best?
He pushes the thoughts aside as he glances at his wristwatch. 4:52am. Not too bad. They can still patrol.
He pulls his usual suit on before sliding his window open and climbing out. The smell and almost taste of rain and dew is immediate. It makes them remember the way that harsh drops of water were pounding against the walls last night.
It's fine. Patrol is still very on and Ranboo is still very annoyed by Mellohi.
Ranboo has always liked lists. Since he got a job, a main investment has been monthly notebooks. Notebooks on notebooks full of vital and useless information alike. It's honestly surprising that they held off on making one about Mellohi until now.
Okay. 'What I Do Know' and 'What I Don't Know' are the mental titles of this one.
What I Do Know
- Pretty Tall
- Annoying Irritating Destructive Reckless
What I Don't Know
- Literally Everything Else
Ranboo sighs before pulling his mask on and climbing up the fire escape. The air bites at their nose and ears. They can almost feel the water on the roof soaking through their shoes-- something that is definitely not currently happening. Ranboo just has a weird thing with certain touches and stuff like that.
But Ender doesn't, so they jump from the roof and onto another.
Ender and Ranboo would not get along if they existed seperately.
Ranboo is laid back, but also a strong worker. He's acts paternally because he's always had to. With his Mother working long shifts since he was a young, their older sister being long gone off to some college, and his two younger siblings needing care– he had no choice but to act as a parent in a way.
Ender, however.. well to put it kindly, Ender is an asshole. If Ranboo were honest with himself, he'd say that Ender is the truest version of him. They're calculated, easily irritable, dramatic, quick on his feet. But they were kinda forced into that role as well. Being Ender is a way for Ranboo to express all of the negativity that he holds back for the sake of his family.
But also, one slip-up and he's out.
So, yeah. Ender, Ranboo, two different people. So where Ranboo has told himself to try and understand why Mellohi is doing all of this, Ender is having absolutely none of it. He needs to find Mellohi and put a stop to this– by whatever means necessary. But they knew that this couldn't be a one and done thing.. they knew that before taking any action, they'd need to learn more.
His eyes scan the streets below, looking for any signs of distress. A sketchy figure in an alley, a speeding car, anything. But they see nothing. Boring, but good, they think. They step to the edge of the building and go to jump, their target a building that's close enough to be comfortable. They jump, and as they land they spot something in the corner of their eye. They jolt towards it without even thinking, resulting in them almost falling 15 stories.
It's a person. A girl, by the looks of it. She's just sitting on the edge of what looks to be a 30-something story building. There's something metal in her hand. Ender wonders what she's doing.
There are tears running down her pinkish cheeks. Her clothes are very modest; a pair of sweatpants, some Vans, a hoodie. He sees that the metal object in her hand is scissors. They watch silently as she places them next to her on the concrete and wipes her cheeks. She stands and–
Oh.
Oh.
Ender doesn't have time to wonder how she got up here without some type of door. They don't have time to think about what to do. Instincts are their only direction, and they follow it without a second thought. He whispers, "No." Before he knows it, his body is dissipating into mere purple particles and in a split second, he's right behind her. There's no time to worry about what the hell that was either.
"Hi." She says quietly. He doesn't approach just yet. The wind whips her long blond hair around wildly, and he guesses that it's being pushed out of her face. "You're early. Paparazzi isn't really active this early. They're barely clocking in around now, if that." They note her voice. It's laced with a British accent, and it seems naturally deeper than most girl's voices are.
"I don't care about that. I just care about getting you down from here." He says, taking a hesitant step forward.
"Mhm." She hums. "I've got no place to be anymore."
"We don't have to leave right away.. we could talk if you'd like. Just please step off of the ledge." They try to reason, taking another step. She suddenly turns around, and the action gets her the smallest bit closer to the edge. He holds and hand out. "Please."
She has beryl blue eyes, the edges of which have been rubbed to a point of redness. Her face is so uniquely structured, and Ender can't seem to pull his eyes away. She can, however, and doesn't seem to ever look at him. He's not too upset about it. They stand in silence, the cold creeping up in spite of the adrenaline that is still tingling throughout both of them. She steps off of the ledge without the help of Ender, and he sighs in relief.
The two sit down beside each other. The lights of the city turn on one by one and soon the black sky fades into a denim blue. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"No."
"Okay. Well do you want to tell me how you got up here?" They ask her.
"I'd rather talk about it." She reaches for the scissors. Without another word she starts chopping at her hair. "I don't know where my father is. He left last night and didn't come back. And I was actually kinda.. happy? Like I would've been actually happy if he never came back. It almost felt like a sign. Like the universe was showing me how much of a shitty person I am before giving me an opportunity to leave and get here. I took that opportunity, as you can see." Her.. his? His. His hair becomes shorter as the moments pass.
"What's your name?"
"Tommy." He says, looking down at the pile of blond strands.
"Well, I'm sure you're not a terrible person, Tommy. You don't just hate someone for no reason. Is your dad.. nice to you?" They look up to him, scanning his face for any trace of emotion. His eyebrows furrow and he shakes his head. He notices the difference in length of hair at the back of his head. "Here." They hold their hand out and Tommy places the scissors in their palm. He turns around and Ranboo starts evening it out.
Eventually the sun rises and Tommy needs to go to work. Ender wishes him well and asks him to get some type of help. He nods and slightly smiles before heading on his way.
Funny thing is... this is the most Ranboo's felt like himself in their suit for a long time. He goes about the rest of his day, thinking not of Mellohi, but of Tommy.