Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The first time King notices the color change he’s too busy tending a table to question it.

The second time he’s not quick enough to catch either boy before they disappear into the devil’s office.

The third time, however, is his lucky charm and he manages to get a hold of one of the energetic young cups before he can vanish again.

“Hey!” Cuphead’s annoyed shout causes a few heads to turn, but the patrons of the casino never pay attention for long. It’s also just as well that the red clad boy wasn’t putting up too much of a fuss at being held in place.

But King isn’t too worried about anyone watching them. If anyone has a problem he can kick them out. No, for now he’s more interested in getting to the bottom of the color changing mystery. Today there’s a dark brown liquid sloshing around in the boy’s head and the faintly sweet smell of cherries catches King’s nose when he leans closer.

Noticing the manager take note of the top of his head brings a curious expression to the young man’s face and his head tilts slightly to one side.

“What’re you starin’ at my head for?” he asked after a moment.

“Hmm?” King Dice pauses before simply putting on a charming smile and releasing Cuphead’s shoulder. He’s pleased when he doesn’t immediately take off. “Just a bit of curiosity. I’ve noticed a difference in color a few times in both you and your brother and I wanted to ask one of you about it.”

Cuphead raised a brow and gave the manager a look like the answer to his question will be so simple that he’d be an idiot not to have already known.

“We can swap out the drinks. Kinda thought that was obvious?”

Oh. Considering the brothers did have literal cups for heads and he’d seen them spill before, perhaps King should have thought of that answer himself. But that raised another question while he thought about it.

“I’m incredibly sure I smelled alcohol strongly on you the other night, Cuphead. Were you... full of drink?” An awkward way to phrase the question, but judging by the slow grin forming on the boy’s lips he understood just fine.

“I’m always full of drink, Mr. King Dice.”

Or perhaps he just wanted to joke around. His snickering died down at least when the manager made it clear he wasn’t amused.

“Yeah, I had vodka the other night. But I wasn’t drinking on the job! Just after the casino closed in the morning.” Cuphead said after a sigh. “Some nights give you a real need for a stiff drink.”

“Oh, I know the feeling.” King allowed a soft sigh to slip his lips as he made the comment, smiling just a bit. “Ah, but we should be returning to work now. Though I would like to talk to you a bit more after hours.”

The young cup raised a brow questioningly, but nodded his head in agreement.

***

“He really didn’t know?”

“Nope! I don’t think he ever even thought about it!”

Cuphead laughed aloud as his brother shook his head slowly and handed him another glass to dry. The two had been dismissed from running drink orders for the night and had been put on dish washing duty instead. For the moment there were only a few glasses to take care of so they had a bit of leisure time to chat.

“You think he’s going to ask more about it later?”

“Well, I mean, there’s not much more to tell beyond ‘we can swap the drinks’? I can’t be any clearer than that.” With a dry glass in hand, Cuphead moved a few steps away and hung it up to wait for the bartender to pick up. “He’s probably gonna scold me for the alcohol the one night.”

“I did tell you that was a bad idea.” Mugman shot a smirk toward his brother, chuckling when the older cup frowned.

“Yeah, yeah.” he grumbled. “Just gimme the next glass, Mugs.”

***

When the last of the patrons were ushered out King allowed himself to sigh heavily. There had been a high stakes gambler that night who’d almost gotten the boss to show up and start betting souls, but they’d cut too early and sent a ripple of disappointment through the skeleton crew. With that and the brawl he’d had to stop there had been quite a bit of excitement for the manager.

Now that the doors were locked and only the employees remained, though, everyone could relax.

King hummed quietly to himself as he made his way back to the kitchen and stepped through the doors, his dress shoes clicking smartly on the tiled floor. Standing at the sinks and finishing the nightly dishes while chatting and laughing were the two cup brothers. The manager stood around and waited until the final dish was cleaned, dried, and put away before clearing his throat to get their attention.

Quick as a whip both boys’ heads turned to face him and both a polite smile and a grin greeted him.

“Good morning, Mr. King Dice.” Mugman greeted.

“Mornin’, Mr. King Dice.” Cuphead chimed.

“Good morning, boys.” King greeted back politely. “Mugman, you’re free to go to your room. I’d like to speak with you now, Cuphead.”

The two exchanged a quick glance, Mugman smiling a bit more while Cuphead rolled his eyes and scoffed, then the younger brother was off on his own.

“Alright, King, you’ve got my attention.” Cuphead piped up once his brother had left the room. “What’s up?”

Without a word King motioned toward the doors and soon made his way through them. He stood nearby and waited for a moment until Cuphead joined him and began leading the young cup around.

“First of all, as I’m sure you knew I would say, you’re no longer permitted to carry alcohol for yourself while on the job. Even if you don’t plan to drink until after hours.” King stated. It earned him a heavy sigh and he chuckled at the sound.

“Yeah, okay. No alcohol at night, got it.” Cuphead agreed in a grumbling voice. “Anything else? Or do you wanna talk about my head some more?”

King paused and raised a brow at the younger man then smiled slightly. “I had another question or two about the topic, yes.”

The red clad cup seemed amused at the answer and took his handle in hand to tip his head over slightly, a bit of the dark liquid within sloshing out.

“Ask away!” he chirped.

King sighed softly, but refrained from making unnecessary comments.

“What do you have in there right now?” he questioned after the scent of cherries hit his nose again.

“Cherry soda. It would’ve been coffee, but I missed out on the pots.”

“What did your brother have? I noticed his was different too.”

“Mugs had chocolate milk.”

“Now where in the world did he get chocolate milk in the casino?”

Cuphead snickered at the slightly surprised tone in King’s voice. “The chef had some extra milk and Mugs played up his cute routine ‘til he got it and some chocolate syrup. It was great. You should’ve seen him. Wish I could do that sometimes.”

King chuckled at the thought and made a mental note to tease the chef about it later. There was no harm done if Mugman had only taken a bit of extra and the manager liked to tease the staff if only to keep himself entertained.

He was suddenly pulled from his thoughts by the sound of slurping and he paused mid step to glance back at his companion. Sure enough, Cuphead was the source of the sound. He’d reached up to curl the straw in his head toward his mouth and was noisily drinking the soda he held. He stopped in his tracks when he noticed that King had stopped too and he released his straw with a raised brow.

“What?”

King shook his head slightly and let out a quiet chuckle. “I’m used to seeing Mugman do that, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen you take a drink. Of yourself.” It was an awkward phrasing again and Cuphead’s grin gave the manager a twinge of embarrassment. Then, just to make things worse, King opened his mouth again without thought. “How’s the taste?”

The question wiped the grin off Cuphead’s face in a split second. A minute passed between them where nothing was said and the words he’d spoken caught up to King. At that moment, try as he did, he couldn’t stop the embarrassed red color from crawling onto his cheeks.

“You wanna taste for yourself?”

A small grin had returned to the young man’s lips, but he wouldn’t quite meet King’s eyes. He was trying to brush the manager’s words off with a joke, trying to save them both the embarrassment.

His joke wasn’t working too well considering King had suddenly decided that leaning closer and taking Cuphead’s straw between his fingers was a good idea.

The young cup went silent and still at the contact, eyes going wide and freezing just off from meeting the other’s.

As King began to lean closer he noticed the boy’s breath catch.

He’d barely touched his lips to the straw when the boy let out the tiniest of whimpers and when he drew in and got a mouthful of cherry sweet liquid Cuphead practically moaned and-

And King suddenly found a pair of trembling hands fisted tightly in the front of his coat.

Cuphead’s whole body had begun to tremble and his eyes were tightly squeezed shut. His lower lip was caught between his teeth and King took in as much as he could even as he stayed close enough to pull in another mouthful. The taste of cherry cola was thick on his tongue, but the muffled moans hitting his ears were much sweeter to him. Something swirled around with the taste of the drink this time. Not another flavor, but more... a taste of emotion, in a way.

Confusion. Curiosity. Overwhelming warmth.

A sudden flash of too much, too much!

King hummed softly and took another sip before pulling away from the straw and smiling down at Cuphead. The poor boy was still trembling and he looked about ready to fall apart. He let the younger cling to him and gently stroked his fingers down the other’s back until the worst of the tremors subsided a bit.

“Cuphead?” he questioned with a soft voice. “Are you alright?”

Cuphead, for the most part, stayed silent. After another minute one of his eyes cracked open and he stared up at King with a strange expression. “...’m fine...”

King chuckled softly. “Come on then.” He carefully scooped his companion into his arms and cradled him close to his chest, surprised when Cuphead let out a soft sigh and nuzzled closer. As a soft smile tugged at his lips and he turned to carry his cargo in the direction of the brothers’ room he wondered if he was going soft. He wondered how things would play out from here after what had just happened between them.

When he glanced down and noticed Cuphead peeking up at him, lips slightly upturned in a tiny smile, he wondered if he’d just brought an interesting twist into his life.

Chapter Text

It had been odd seeing King Dice carry his brother into their room and tuck him into bed. It had been even stranger when Cuphead hadn’t put up a bit of fuss and had, instead, grinned as if the two had shared a secret. Mugman hadn’t questioned things, but his curiosity had eaten at him all morning until he’d finally been able to fall asleep.

Now that evening had fallen and the casino was starting to liven up, he wanted to see if he could get some answers out of his older brother.

Getting time to question Cuphead would be tough that night though seeing as he’d been put on kitchen duty and the older cup had gone off to take orders. The only time the boys would see each other for longer than a glance would only be while Cuphead dropped off paper orders or while Mugman ran the orders out or bussed tables. On nights like these the two were lucky if they got to say “hello” to each other, let alone have a conversation. It left Mugman slightly frustrated, but he knew he couldn’t exactly argue with his boss over shift schedules.

When it came to kitchen duty he wished he could though.

It had originally been the brothers’ idea to serve food along with the drinks at the casino, but Satan’s choice for a chef had surprised them. Out of all the casino employees the boys had had to face during their battle with King Dice, neither would have pegged the magician for a chef. But nothing had gone wrong since Hopus Pocus had begun to cook and the things the rabbit could whip up were almost magical.

“Heads up, kid! Order up for table three-he-he!” Hopus laughed as he began to sling things around, somehow managing to always land food exactly where it needed to go. Mugman chalked it up to magic and left it at that.

The crazy eyed rabbit wasn’t bad to work with, but he added insane laughter to every sentence and he liked to pull pranks in the kitchen. In the times Mugman had worked in the kitchen with him he’d grabbed a buzzer attached to a serving tray, had pies fly at his face, tripped over Hopus’ feet, and had to parry potatoes that had been hurtled at him.

Mugman checked his serving tray for joy buzzers before picking it up and eyed every plate suspiciously as he loaded them onto the tray. He could never tell if they were hiding spring loaded pies anymore. Thankfully nothing was rigged this time. The food got to the right table, served to the right customers, and one of the regular ladies even slipped the thankful brother a few bucks for a tip. It wasn’t like he could leave the casino to actually spend it anyway, but he appreciated the thought.

That was how most of the evening was spent. Help fix orders, deliver orders, and clean tables. Nothing out of the ordinary. Up until he was stopped at the door by Hopus and directed toward a covered golden tray resting on a counter off to one side.

“Boss called in an order, so hop to it! Hoo hoo!” The chef had told him.

Mugman had frowned in confusion and just stood there staring at the tray for a minute. When Hopus turned again to look back, noticing the tray and the young mug still there, he’d started thumping his foot rapidly on the floor in irritation.

“What’cha waitin’ for? Amscray!”

“Oh, uh...” Mugman shrunk back slightly and looked slightly apologetic. “Sorry, but don’t the demons usually handle that? Shouldn’t one of them take the tray?”

Hopus groaned out loud and pinched the bridge of his nose as if in physical pain. “Oh for the love’a... Do you see an imp present and handy? Just take the tray, kid!”

The young man hesitated again up until Hopus began to levitate the kitchen knives in unavoidable rows.

Soon Mugman had left the kitchen with the heavier than usual tray and carefully navigated the casino floor to the hall blocked by King Dice’s craps table. He paused for just a moment to watch a new player throw his come-out roll then side-stepped around the manager’s legs to keep going. The golden tray he carried was enough to avoid being asked why he was headed to the devil’s office.

Once he stood before the doors to his boss’s office he paused. It was always intimidating having to deal with the owner of the casino and Mugman found himself fidgeting. He reached up to his straw reflexively and curled it around for a drink, relaxing a bit as cool coffee slid down his throat. It wasn’t his favorite drink by far, but coffee was usually readily available to early risers and he’d added so much cream and sugar that it was sweet enough. The important part was that it relaxed him enough to take a step into the devil’s office.

Instantly he noticed Satan turn and grin at him in the doorway. His boss stretched in his seat and leaned forward over his desk, a taking a drag from a cigar and blowing the smoke at him.

“Well it’s about time you got here.” he growled as Mugman coughed and tried to wave away the heavy smoke swirling around his face. “Been waiting for my meal too long. If I send for you again and you’re as slow as this, there’ll be hell to pay!”

Threats were nothing new coming from the devil. He’d been holding the brothers’ soul contracts over their heads ever since the day they’d lost to him.

“S-Sorry, boss. It won’t happen again.” Mugman managed between coughs.

“See that it don’t. Now hurry up with that tray.”

Happy to get out of the cigar smoke cloud, the young mug quickly and carefully made his way closer to his boss’s desk. The top of the desk was just a bit taller than he was and he had to both stand on the tips of his toes and balance the tray on the tips of his fingers in order to get it onto the stable surface. By the time he’d managed to scoot it away from the edge his arms had begun to burn from the strain.

Satan, for all the help he’d been, chuckled in amusement at the display. It sent a wave of irritation through Mugman, but he knew it was better if his boss was happy versus upset.

“If that’s all, sir...?” Mugman started slowly, hoping he’d be dismissed. Unfortunately the devil had other plans for him.

“Stay put.” he commanded. “You can take these dishes back once I’m done.”

The young man nodded silently and shuffled his feet as he prepared for a long wait.

The domed lid to the tray came off with a puff of steam and Satan hummed in content at what he found waiting for him. With Hopus Pocus in charge of fixing the meal, Mugman knew whatever it was would suit his boss’s taste so there was no worry about getting chewed out for a messed up meal. That didn’t stop him from squirming a bit when the devil turned his attention back to him, grinning wickedly and spearing a chunk of meat violently with one claw.

“Wonder if you’d cave in around my claws that easy.” Satan casually said. “I’d love to test out the theory sometime, wouldn’t you?”

Mugman gulped when gold eyes focused on him again. He knew the devil was just trying to get a reaction out of him. He hated that it was working a bit more than he tried to let show.

“W-With all due respect, sir, I’d rather keep my body, uh, un-holey...”

Satan’s grin slipped slowly and his brows furrowed into a slight scowl. “Was that a pun, boy?”

“Uh... Y-yes?”

A moment ticked by where Mugman seriously thought he was about to meet his end. Satan was going to kill him for a dumb joke. But then the devil’s grin returned and he barked out a laugh, slapping the table and surprising the terrified mug.

“Hah! It’s been a while since any of my lackeys joked around with me like that besides Dice. They’re all too scared ‘r somethin’.”

“Y-Yeah.” Mugman was gaining a little confidence seeing as the devil had reacted to his joke positively. “The way some of them act you’d think they thought you were literally the devil.” That earned another laugh and Mugman felt a hesitant smile creep onto his face. After a moment Satan sighed and a chipper smirk replaced his usual malicious grin.

“You know somethin’, kid? You’re not half bad.” the devil complimented. “Get on outta here. Back to the kitchen where you should be. I’ll send for these to be picked up later.”

The young mug’s smile widened a bit and he gave a sharp nod. “Yes, sir!” Later he’d reflect on how he’d sounded a bit too cheerful, but for the moment he wasn’t thinking. He was just glad that he was being let free early and that the short time with the devil hadn’t been bad. It had almost been pleasant actually.

***

As the night came to a close and the last of the patrons left the casino, Mugman finally caught up with his brother as the older boy cleared off the last table. Now he could finally get some answers!

“Hey, Cups!” he called out, jogging to his twin’s side and smiling.

“Hey, Mugs.” the other replied with a tired voice. “Heard you had to deal with the boss today. How’d that go?”

Mugman sighed and shrugged his shoulders. “Not that bad actually. Better than most other meetings, that’s for sure. But, hey, I need to ask you something about yesterday.”

Cuphead finished wiping off the table he’d been cleaning and dropped his rag onto the clean surface. Then he turned to face his brother and the two started off for their room, both wanting to curl up in their beds. “What about yesterday?”

“Why was Mr. King Dice carrying you? And why in the world did he tuck you into bed? Why did you let him?”

They were valid questions and it wasn’t like it was a huge secret or anything, but for some reason being called out made Cuphead’s heart jump.

“Uh...” The red clad brother began to fidget and wouldn’t quite meet the other’s eyes. “Well, uh, well here’s the thing... I... I think King Dice might like me? A little?” He wouldn’t tell Mugman about the incident involving his straw just yet. “A-and I guess I was a little tired so he carried me back to the room instead of leaving me in the hall.”

Mugman didn’t look like he fully believed his brother, but he didn’t press the issue. “So,” he started instead, “you think he likes you?”

Cuphead groaned quietly and ran a hand slowly down the front of his face. His brother could be such a gossip sometimes.

Chapter Text

“Honey?”

King Dice raised a brow as his eyes flicked over the bottom of the paper he held in his hand, his own neat handwriting replaced with a quickly written word that he’d struggled a bit to read. There were really only two people he could think of who might decide to write on his notes and he already knew what the devil’s handwriting looked like so he was off the list. Mugman respected the manager’s possessions and had yet to touch anything he wasn’t told to. That left Cuphead as the most likely culprit.

Rather than going off and waking the boy up to ask him why he’d requested honey, King merely shrugged and set off. A little something extra wouldn’t hurt.

Errand runs were usually only once or twice a month and the manager was more than glad to get out of the casino to pick up whatever was needed. He loved the casino, but some days he liked taking a walk away from it too. Especially when the days were warm and bright like it was now.

The trip to Inkwell Isle always took the better half of the early morning since King didn’t like to rush. He had no reason not to take the time to enjoy the scenery and no one ever stopped him to waste time. When half the Isle’s residents had sold their souls and most of the rest were too goody-goody to think of raising their fists there weren’t too many left to challenge him. The few people he ever spotted on his trips would usually flee at the sight of him anyway.

It made for a peaceful morning.

It also made for a slightly lonely morning.

At the stray thoughts of loneliness King found himself imagining bringing someone along with him on his next trip. The skeleton crew couldn’t step foot outside of Inkwell Hell without turning to dust and many of his underlings were too unstable to bring outside of the casino walls. But the cup brothers might be the perfect company. King smiled fondly at the thought of the two and chuckled. Maybe he was finally growing soft.

It was hard not to like the two though, in his defense.

Mugman was polite and respectful and King could tell it wasn’t just an act. The boy was genuine and wore his heart on his sleeve. Sure sometimes he was overly nervous and he couldn’t handle pressure well without crying, but he was also tougher than King gave him credit for and he had a good eye for cheating gamblers.

Cuphead, on the other hand, was a little spitfire. He was bold and didn’t seem afraid of getting into anyone’s face if it got him what he wanted, but he had enough sense to know when to stop pushing his luck. When push came to shove he could give as good as he could take. His sense of loyalty seemed deep and woe be to those who messed with anyone he deemed worthy of that loyalty.

They hadn’t been on the friendliest of terms for the first few weeks of their employment at the casino, but they both had enough sense to realize just how lucky they’d been. Challenging Satan and losing their souls only to be spared and thrown to the mercy of the manager they’d just beaten. Then finding out that said manager still had a heart somewhere deep down and wasn’t about to bend them to the breaking point even if he’d been mad as hell. They’d been allowed to hide away and heal for a day before being dressed up and put to work. Eventually they had realized that they weren’t in such a bad situation and after that things had gotten much easier.

King found it nice to have the two youngsters around. They kept him on his toes and regularly surprised him. Even Satan seemed to enjoy their company in his own way.

Maybe he would bring them with him on his next trip. They’d been cooped up in the casino for several months now. Almost a full year in fact. King was sure the brothers would appreciate getting outside again even if it was only for something as simple as a grocery run. Speaking of which, it seemed that he’d reached his destination while lost in his thoughts.

The little bell above the door chimed when King stepped in and the deep voice of the shopkeep welcomed him. The casino manager’s lips turned up in a relaxed smile and he pulled his little list out of a pocket to see what he’d need. In no time he had everything, minus the honey, and made his way to the counter with the supplies. As King set down each item, Porkrind took note on a small paper pad and packed the supplies into a sack for him.

The shopkeep was one of the only people living in Inkwell Isle that King would consider a truly neutral party. The man had never treated him any differently from any other customer who came through his doors. Maybe it was because he never came to the casino and thus had no real reason to spite the manager. King figured it was that and because he was a regular customer who never tried to cheat payment.

“I don’t suppose you’d happen to have a jar of honey tucked away somewhere?” King asked after dishing out what he owed for the groceries. “I didn’t notice any on the shelves.”

“Nope.” Porkrind answered. He always spoke with as few words as he could and King knew he wouldn’t get more of an explanation than that one word.

“Nevermind then. Good day, sir.”

“Goodbye.”

With his bag in hand the casino manager stepped back out of the shop and turned his heels in a new direction. Since the shop had been minus the requested honey, it seemed like it was time to visit a certain contract-bound queen bee.

***

An easy grin slid across Satan’s face when he spotted the young mug standing in his doorway, waiting patiently to be invited in. With a wave of his hand Mugman entered and quickly reached his desk.

“Here you are, sir.” A freshly collected soul contract was extended and the devil gladly plucked it from the younger boy’s hand.

“Excellent.” the devil rumbled as he deposited the rolled parchment in his hammerspace. “You’ve done well, boy. Gettin’ faster at collectin’ from these saps.”

Mugman let a small smile tug one corner of his lips up and he nodded minutely. “Well when the saps make a sticky situation I need to be quick or else I’ll get stuck, sir!” he chirped.

His jokes weren’t great, in his opinion anyway, but they always seemed to amuse the devil no matter how bad they were. It seemed like making his boss laugh was getting easier with each joke told too. And having Satan in a good mood was always a good thing so Mugman was glad his awful jokes were effective.

Satan, for his part, enjoyed having someone who joked around with him. King Dice could be a pal, but even he was too reserved to really joke around. It was... nice.

“Alright, back to work. Keep an eye out for cheaters, yeah?”

Mugman nodded and spun on his heel, turning toward the door and walking out. Satan found himself watching the young man as he left. There was a slight swing to the boy’s hips that he found appealing. There were quite a few things about him that Satan found appealing once he got down to thinking.

He was tough enough to hold his own against some of Inkwell Isle’s roughest, but he remained looking like an innocent little thing. He had an adorable face and his personality was so sweet it made syrup look bitter. Now that he was relaxing around his boss and that sugary personality was aimed toward him, well, it made Satan want a taste. He wouldn’t mind taking a literal taste of the young mug either.

Satan grinned as the familiar embrace of lust seeped through him and his thoughts drifted toward lewdness. A flash of greed tinted the edge and he quickly reached into his hammerspace to take hold of Mugman’s soul contract, the sight causing him to purr. This tightly rolled parchment gave him ownership of one of the two most powerful mortals to live in Inkwell Isle and the knowledge gave him a burst of pride. He allowed his thoughts to drift back toward dangerous waters while stroking the contracts edge with the tip of a claw.

Chapter Text

King Dice hummed as he entered the kitchen and began to put away the groceries he’d picked up, not quite trusting them to sit out for Hopus Pocus to find. That rabbit was a good chef, but he was known for his tricks while off the clock. A jar of golden honey sat out on the counter when all else was packed away and King found himself staring at it silently. It hadn’t been hard to get, but he’d walked away from the hive with a stinging side.

While having her soul bound by the devil meant that the queen bee herself couldn’t harm the devil’s right hand man, Rumor’s workers were bound by nothing but their queen’s words. One of them had been daring and angry enough to take a stab at King and had ultimately succeeded, catching the manager off guard. The result had been a dagger to the ribs in the form of a bee sting and a whole heap of pain.

King had managed to gain a jar of the hive’s finest honey after the fiasco and had called it even. Even if he’d wanted to tear that bee in half for the trouble he’d caused. Lucky for the worker King wanted to leave the hive as soon as possible.

He sincerely hoped that whoever had asked for the jar was grateful.

Sure of who had requested the sweet, King grabbed the jar on his way out of the kitchen and made his way down the hall toward the living quarters. His stop was at one of the last doors at the end of the hall and he paused for a moment, hearing the boys chatting with each other, before gently rapping his knuckles against the wood. He only had a moment to wait until someone answered.

“Hey, King.” Cuphead greeted with a smile. A few seconds later he caught sight of the honey jar and his brows shot up in surprise. “You actually went and got it?”

King, in return, raised a single brow and curled his lips in amusement. “You seem surprised. Didn’t expect ol’ King Dice to do you a favor?” With a soft chuckle he held the jar out for the young man.

Cuphead’s fingers lingered a bit longer than necessary when they brushed the manager’s hands to take the honey.

“Um... Not really... Don’t get me wrong, but you don’t strike me as the type to go outta your way for little things like this, King.”

That caused the older man to stop for a moment, amused smile fading quickly. Now he tilted his head slightly in thought.

“Hmm.” Slowly a smile tugged his lips upward once again and he reached out to pat Cuphead’s head. “Maybe you don’t really know me.”

The head pat seemed to have stunned the young cup for a moment and he stared up at King with an open expression of awe. It was enough to feed the manager’s ego and cause him to puff up, touched by a bit of pride. His preening seemed to bring Cuphead back to his senses though for in the next moment the awe was hidden away again and a simple smile replaced it.

“Maybe not.” he said quietly. “Maybe you’re not so bad.”

King chuckled quietly at the other’s words, his breath catching in a soft hiss and his hand coming up to cover his side as the still sore spot sent a jolt of pain through him. He caught the look of surprise turning to mild worry on Cuphead’s face and waved a hand as if to dismiss words the boy hadn’t yet spoken. Not that it helped since he opened his mouth to speak anyway.

“You alright?”

“Copacetic, my boy.”

By the way he had yet to lower his hand from his side and the way he’d grit those words through his teeth, Cuphead knew he wasn’t quite telling the truth. The boy wasn’t going to let go of it either.

“Level with me, King.” Was that a grumble in his tone? The casino manager sighed and frowned slightly before deciding that it wasn’t a battle worth fighting.

“...fine. If you must know, someone tried to pick a fight with me in the beehive. They managed to get a good shot in is all.” he admitted.

Cuphead took his word, thankfully since it was the truth, and turned to step back into his room. For a moment King thought that that would be the end of it and it was his cue to walk away, but when he turned to leave he felt the coattail of his suit tugged on. When he turned again he found his conversation partner clutching his suit and frowning up at him.

“C’mon, get in here.” Cuphead commanded with another tug.

It took King a moment, pinned by surprise. “In where?”

The younger man sighed and pointed to the open door to his room. “In here. The bedroom. Bees aren’t a joke, King, and I wanna make sure you’re alright.”

Now this was definitely a surprise. Where had the sudden interest in his wellbeing come from? As far as he knew the boy wasn’t that big on King at all. Why did it suddenly matter if he was alright?

Instead of argue, however, King found himself stepping into the room wordlessly and sitting on the edge of one of the two beds within.

He watched as Cuphead closed the door after they entered and as the boy went fishing around beneath the bed he currently sat on. Some shuffling around was heard, King growing curious as to what the two kept under there, then a box with a small red cross drawn on it was fished out. Hoarded medical supplies by the look of it. Where had they gotten their hands on that? There wasn’t much in the way of first aid kept in the casino, after all. Having no souls meant they wouldn’t die within the casino walls and every injury would eventually heal. Maybe the boys were making deals or calling favors with the gamblers.

Fingers being snapped right in front of his face made King jump slightly and he realized he’d been zoning. He turned his head in Cuphead’s direction and hummed questioningly. The boy rolled his eyes in response.

“I said take your shirt off. There’s a hole in your suit so I wanna make sure you’re alright.”

King stared at the young cup for a solid minute before shaking his head minutely. “I can take care of myself, you know.” he finally said.

“Yeah, can. But you’re here right now and I wanna make sure you’re alright.”

When King still didn’t move Cuphead huffed, put on a determined face, and practically tackled the taller man as he set his hands to work tugging the buttons on the manager’s vest loose.

Mugman had appeared seemingly from nowhere, though King knew he’d been in the room the whole time, and tried to stop his brother. Cuphead wasn’t having it and somehow managed to both keep his younger sibling at bay and pop open both of the buttons on King’s vest to expose the white dress shirt beneath.

King just sat in stunned silence up until the boys yelling at each other finally reached him.

Quicker than either could react King knocked Cuphead off his perch and onto the bed, stood up, and turned with a frown. Now he had both of their attention. Mugman looked hesitant, struggling to either speak up or keep his mouth shut. Cuphead just glared with a combination of frustration and determination while wringing a loop of purple silk between his hands. King wasn’t even sure when his bow had come off.

“Cuphead-” King began, but was quickly cut off by the other.

“Save your breath, I don’t wanna hear it!”

Without waiting for a reply the young man jumped up and dashed out through the door, King trying and failing to grab hold of him on the way past. For a while he and Mugman were silent and both stared at the open doorway as if expecting Cuphead to turn back at any moment. Eventually a soft sigh escaped the younger brother and King turned his head to glance at the boy. Mugman’s shoulders were slumped and a look of worry painted his expression as he eyed the forgotten jar of honey sitting on a small table nearby.

“...what was that all about?”

King’s question brought the worried young mug’s eyes up for a moment. Then he went back to looking toward the door.

“Cups is... I dunno...” Mugman reached a hand up as if to grab his straw, but let his arm flop down after a moment without taking action. “I think he’s just a little upset since he... I mean he... I dunno if he’d want me saying anything, now that I think of it...”

The older man raised a brow curiously. “Oh? Well, I wouldn’t want to go prying secrets out of anyone. If I don’t need to know then I don’t need to know, hmm?”

“Um... yeah, I guess...”

King watched as Mugman began to fidget and bit the side of his lip while his expression rapidly flitted from one emotion to another several times. He looked like he was at war with himself. Eventually he seemed to make up his mind and turned his body to face King.

“Cups... I think he’s carrying a torch for you, Mr. King Dice.”

Out of everything the young mug could’ve said, King would not have expected that. The casino manager stared at Mugman silently for a good minute, searching his face for any hint that his words weren’t truthful and finding nothing but sincerity. After a while longer he silently turned and headed for the door.

“Where are you going, sir?” Mugman called after him with a note of worry.

“I’m going to look for your brother.” King paused to speak just before stepping through the door. “...he still has my tie.”

***

Cuphead was angry, but not entirely sure why.

He’d been trying to help and his help had been turned down, but was that really a reason to get so bent out of shape? His help had been turned down by others before and he’d never gotten a bit mad at them. So why did he get so mad at King?

He groaned and let his head fall forward, staring down at the tie stretched between his open palms. He wasn’t sure why he’d run off with it and now the sight of it was making him upset. He wanted to toss it away, but at the same time he didn’t want to loose it. The conflicting feelings were making him even more upset.

“Stupid King Dice...” he grumbled. “Thinks he’s too good for my help, I bet. Prob’ly thinks I’d mess somethin’ up. I outta bop him in the nose.”

Cuphead raised his head and puffed out his chest a bit as he clutched the fabric in his hands. “Yeah, I’ll bop him in the nose! That’ll show him!” A moment later he began to deflate and let out a long sigh. “No... Then he prob’ly won’t talk to me anymore...”

He went quiet as he stared down at the tie again and rubbed a thumb over the silk slowly. Why did it have to be King that he was starting to like? The man would probably never even look at him twice with the amount of ladies and gentlemen who flirted with him on a regular basis. The manager was good looking, had a great voice, and was smooth enough that Cuphead was sure he could land anyone he wanted as a partner. Why would he choose someone like him over everyone else?

“There you are!”

The sudden voice jolted Cuphead out of his thoughts and he whipped his head around so fast that a good amount of the liquid in his head sloshed out. Wide eyes stared up at King as the man stood in the now open pantry doorway looking down at him with concern. Cuphead flinched when the other leaned toward him, but King wasn’t backing down.

A gentle hand cupped his cheek and King’s thumb brushed beneath one of his eyes. Cuphead fought not to shiver at the touch, but failed. When King’s hand moved back slightly the younger man noticed the trace of wetness on the thumb of his glove and he reached his own hand up to wipe away a tear from the opposite eye. He hadn’t even realized that he’d been starting to cry.

“...what’s the matter, Cuphead?” King asked, voice soft and gentle. It made something in the young cup’s chest clench tightly.

For a while he wouldn’t, couldn’t, speak. Then, in the tiniest voice King had ever heard him use, “I’m... I’m balled up, King...”

“How so, my boy?” The space on the pantry floor was narrow, but King managed to fold his legs beneath him comfortably enough as he settled down beside the teary-eyed young man. Cuphead just watched him quietly with an unreadable expression. Something in there looked pained to the older though and he hesitantly reached out to lay a hand on Cuphead’s shoulder.

The boy looked ready to cry again, but held it back as best he could. His voice cracked in places when he spoke next, but King pretended not to notice.

“I... I got a c-crush on... on someone and I a-ain’t ever gonna catch their e-eye. They... they’re smart and e-everythin’ about them is... is just swell. I don’t know ‘em that much, b-but they’re star-startin’ to grow on me...”

King hummed softly to let Cuphead know he was following along. Knowing what Mugman had told him, his heart was going out to his conversation partner.

“B-but they got suitors’a all types and e-everyone else’s so much better than m-me... Who would e-ever see anything good in me, right?” He paused there to give a bitter sounding laugh. “I’m just... j-just a pathetic little cup...”

“Bushwa.” King snapped. It seemed to surprise the other for Cuphead suddenly looked up at him with watery eyes filling slowly with hope. But that hope was quickly snuffed out and Cuphead’s eyes rolled down to stare at the tie still clutched in his hands.

“Th-then why...” His eyes screwed shut and he swallowed thickly. “Why don’t they pay me any mind?”

“I’m sure he does, my boy.”

“No he don’t! A-and he should!”

Now King’s lips curled into a slight smile of amusement. Cuphead didn’t seem to notice the change in pronoun and he found it cute that the young cup was getting heated up.

“Tell me... What’s the reason that he should give you attention?”

When Cuphead suddenly jerked himself off the floor to stand tall, glaring daggers through tear-filled eyes and pointing a finger in King’s face threateningly, the manager realized he’d said something wrong. Slowly he raised his hands in surrender and forced his eyes from that pointing finger to Cuphead’s angry eyes.

“Don’t play with me, Dice!” Cuphead’s voice dripped with venom and King flinched. He was called by his last name only only when someone was well and truly enraged. “The other night when you... When you... M-my straw...” His eyes flicked away for a brief moment in embarrassment before darting back to the older man. “You act like that never happened!”

“I-it did happen.” King hated how his own voice caught, but he’d had enough of the boy’s weaponized fingers already to last a lifetime. “I just didn’t think it meant so much.”

“You didn’t think...”

For a few moments Cuphead stared at him dumbly and everything about him drooped.

Then the rage came back full force and he fired off a shot that grazed the side of King’s head, the man yelping and slapping a hand to the hot line now searing through his three spotted side. His eyes widened in shock and he stared at Cuphead in a new light, all trace of composure lost when that finger pointed at him again.

“You didn’t think it meant much?! You had me moaning, Dice! When does that mean nothing?!” Cuphead was shrieking in rage and King knew that if he kept it up he would summon someone to investigate the noise. But how could he calm someone down while they were threatening him? He felt anything that he tried would only cause more harm. Yet he needed to do something.

Quick as a whip he shot a hand out and caught Cuphead’s wrist, dragging the boy close while shoving his pointed finger toward the ceiling just in time to avoid being shot. King’s heart was jackhammering in his chest at this point and he wrapped his arms tightly around the younger man’s body while he shrieked and thrashed. Just as he felt he wouldn’t be able to hold him much longer, Cuphead suddenly fell slack against him and released a loud sob. Inwardly King sighed in relief. He may have sighed outwardly in relief too, but much softer.

With the boy’s emotional dam broken, the pantry was filled with loud wailing. King let his hold loosen and almost felt guilty for tensing when Cuphead’s hands clenched in the front of his suit and the young man pressed close against him.

“I-I’m sorry!” He cried between sobbing fits. “I j-just... I liked you be-before the other night! B-but then... y-you made it worse! A-and then you act l-like nothing ha-happened!” It seemed like that was all he could manage before his voice cracked too badly to continue.

King’s hold on him tightened as he felt his chest clench.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you, Cuphead.” He said firmly. He refused to fault the younger for the violent episode, but he also wouldn’t be entirely soft anymore. “You weren’t doing much pursuing either, but I suppose it was wrong of me not to at least talk to you about this. I’m sorry too.”

A long while afterward was spent just holding each other and Cuphead slowly winding down. Once his sobs were reduced to quiet hiccups and sniffles King pulled him to sit in his lap. Cuphead didn’t complain and simply leaned against the taller man. Amusingly, he still held King’s tie in his hand.

“Can we start over, King?” Cuphead’s voice was barely above a whisper and he had to tilt his head up to meet the other’s eyes. “I... I wanna try again if that’s okay...”

King smiled softly and wrapped his arms gently around his companion, finding that he quite enjoyed the feeling already. “I would like nothing better, my boy.”

"Thank you." Cuphead sighed softly, the sound of someone having a weight lifted from their shoulders. "...so... Now will you let me check your side?" A pause. "...and your face. I think I left a mark..."