Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“So I did all this work to fix the mechanism, and then the doors snap closed out of nowhere! And then who do I see? Bennett.”

Sometimes a part of Bennett’s bad luck was overhearing conversations he wasn’t meant to. He rubbed his arm and stood next to the wall, knowing Royce and Jack were discussing him just around the corner.

“We were trapped in there for hours waiting for help.” Royce groaned. “We did get out, which is better than it could have ended up, but after all that time and effort we left with nothing and I know who’s to blame.”

Bennett winced.

“But do you want to know the worst thing about being around Bennett?”

Royce’s snarl made Bennett’s chest twist. He should walk away but his feet stayed glued to the ground and his ear close to the corner. His morbid curiosity wanted to know how much worse it could get. He scrunched his eyes closed, ready for whatever Royce said.

“I know that he’s got it worse.”

Bennett opened his eyes and touched his chest.

“The Honorary Knight pointed out that his bad luck isn’t his fault, and they were right,” Royce said, sighing. “Bennett has to live with that bad luck. There’s no escape from Benny’s Adventure Team for him.”

Bennett didn’t want to escape.

He wanted his Team to work.

“Did you know he was happy to see me?” Royce asked. Bennett wanted to round the corner so badly to see his face, but he knew better than to interrupt or bring his bad luck closer. “I literally left his team without telling him. I stopped showing up to commissions, knowing full well he’d be stuck going alone into dangerous situations, and he still thought we were friends.”

“Bennett does have a bad habit of being overly optimistic to compensate,” Jack said. “Well, it’s either optimism or serious denial.”

“It was hard to tell, but he sounded sincere enough that I felt bad for leaving his team,” Royce said. A thump and the sound of clinking metal meant he’d taken off his pack. “He even shared his food to try and make amends, but his bad luck struck again and I passed out from food poisoning. There’s no winning.”

Bennett needed to apologize about that, too. The Traveler had tried to tell him something was wrong with his provisions, but Bennett hadn’t believed him. His bad luck almost always left his food alone, save for a burn here or there! Bennett’s cooking was one of his strong points! Everyone loved his eggs and Razor ate everything he made.

“Look out!”

Bennett turned his head up in time to see Amber crash into the stand next to him. Her glider smacked him in the chest, knocking him over. He tumbled around the corner and landed on his back with his head at Royce and Jack’s feet.

“Bennett?” Royce’s face twisted in guilt. “Were you listening?”

His bad luck struck again.

“Oh, no! Are you okay?” Amber asked. She picked up the pieces of her broken glider and held out her hand to help Bennett off the ground. “I don’t know what happened! One minute I was fine and the next one of my glider wings had snapped off.”

Twice.

Bennett’s bad luck had struck twice at the same time—possibly three times if he counted overhearing the conversation to start with. That might be a new record for him.

“It’s okay,” Bennett said. “Accidents happen.”

“If you’re sure.”

The Outrider frowned at her broken glider and held the pieces under her arm as she walked toward the Knights of Favonius Headquarters. Bennett made a mental note to himself to slip her some Mora later to help cover the cost to fix it.

“We should go inside and get that looked at,” Royce said. Bennett sent him a questioning look and Royce pointed at his arm. “You’re bleeding.”

So he was.

“I didn’t even notice,” Bennett said. He laughed and inspected the small cut on his upper arm. He really hadn’t noticed it and could barely feel a sting. “That is one benefit to my bad luck! My pain tolerance is super high.”

“That isn’t a good thing,” Jack said under his breath. Bennett heard him, of course, but pretended that he didn’t. Jack spoke up louder and fixed his pack. “I’ll leave you two to it. I need to meet up with Stanley at the Angel’s Share.”

“Bye!” Bennett said, waving. Once the other adventurer left, he turned to Royce. “Thanks for offering to help, but I can take care of a little scrape like this myself. I’m pretty sure I’ve got bandages leftover from the last time I saw Barbara.”

“No, I’ll help,” Royce said. His shoulders were low and his smile looked…odd. It was a weird mix of fond and sad, and Bennett wasn’t sure how he felt about it. “I wanted to talk with you, anyway.”

“You did?”

“I really shouldn’t and I’ll probably regret it,” Royce said, forcing a brighter smile. “But I did have something to tell you.”

“Okay then!”

Bennett followed Royce inside the guild’s main building, wary but he still clung to a spark of hope.

“Razor!” Bennet crashed into Razor’s cave, tripping as he rushed inside. The boy fell on his chest with a small cry, but got up just as quickly. Razor had gotten used to his human friend’s clumsiness in the time that he’d known him. Bennett grinned so bright that Razor’s mouth hurt looking at him. “You won’t believe it!”

Razor waited for Bennett to keep talking.

“Benny’s Adventure Team is back up to two members!” Bennett threw his fist in the air and jumped. “Officially! It’s on the books and everything!”

“That is good,” Razor said, judging by Bennett’s excitement. “Yes?”

“It’s awesome!” Bennett exclaimed. “And best of all, it’s not even a stranger or a rookie! It’s one of my old teammates! He came back!”

Razor nodded as a reply. He knew very little about Bennett’s associations with the Adventurers’ Guild, outside that he was a member and they left him alone a lot. It was easier to agree with what he said concerning them than to ask questions.

Some human things were far too complicated.

“I want you to meet him!” Bennett said, putting his hands on his hips with another bright grin. It crinkled the skin around his eyes, drawing more attention to the pretty green irises. “It’ll be good for you two to know each other in case we go an on an adventure together!”

“Okay.”

Andrius wanted Razor to make more human friends, so he could start there.

“Great!” Bennett walked backwards to the cave entrance. “I’ll go get him! Wait right there.”

Bennett left in a flash, sliding down the mount that led up to Razor’s home. He weaved through the Wolvendom trees, only tripping twice, before he stopped at the bottom of the hill. A man waited in the green outfit he saw many travelers wear and greeted Razor’s friend when he stopped. He followed Bennett up the hill, giving Razor a better look at the new stranger.

The man was older and taller than Bennett with brown hair. He looked like a nervous rabbit the way he glanced around the trees as they walked. The worried frown did not look pleased, but the man only wore it when Bennett wasn’t looking at him.

The two met Razor at his cave entrance and he sniffed. The stranger smelled like Bennett.

“Razor, this is Royce! Royce, this is Razor!” Bennett introduced the two and then laughed. He crossed his arms and held his head up. “How about that! Both of your names start with R! I didn’t even realize before now.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Royce said. His eyes looked scared, but he sounded polite enough. The smile was forced. “Bennett has told me a lot about you.”

“Bennett talks a lot,” Razor confirmed. He paused—oh, he was supposed to say something else first. “Hello.”

“This is going to be so cool,” Bennett said, hooking his elbows with Razor and Royce’s arms. “We are going to have the best adventures! They’re going to be so good not even my bad luck is going to mess with them!”

Royce shook his head, but he did smile a little at Bennett.

“I mean it!” Bennett said, letting go of Razor’s arm. He turned to Royce and hugged him, squeezing tight enough that he lifted the larger man off the ground. “I am so happy you came back!”

“Oof!” Royce said, patting Bennet’s arms. He wriggled, but couldn’t dislodge himself from Bennet’s encompassing hold. A scared weakling. Royce huffed. “Easy there. You’re stronger than you look, you know?”

Bennett giggled and set Royce down. He didn’t let go, though and held Royce’s waist. “Oops. Sorry!”

Is that why the stranger smelled like Bennett?

Razor watched Bennett chat with Royce, the other nodded and saying short words to keep the conversation going. Bennett continued to smile and wave his arms, talking about all the things they would do together in the Adventurers’ Guild.

With or without Razor.

A weird feeling grew in his chest, like a sharp tugging. The last time he’d felt it, Razor had watched his Lupical snuggling together in a way that he couldn’t. They had a bond that he could not experience being only half wolf.

Would Bennett and Royce have something he couldn’t because he was only half human?

“I think we should celebrate!” Bennett exclaimed. He gave Razor a thumb’s up and put his hand on his hip. “What do you think about camping out tonight? I brought enough eggs for everyone!”

Razor nodded. “Like Bennett’s cooking.”

“I hope you don’t mind if I make my own,” Royce said, his hands over his stomach. “I’m not sure I’ve completely recovered from the last time.”

“No worries!” Bennett said, scratching the back of his hair. “I get it.”

“That’s a relief.” Royce glanced at Razor and grabbed the straps of his backpack. “I guess it’s the three of us then.”

“Yeah!” Bennett turned and ran down the hill again by himself, leaving Razor and Royce alone on the hill. “I’ll find us a great spot! You guys get some wolfhooks for juice!”

“I have no idea where he gets his energy,” Royce said, exhaling. He looked at Razor and asked, “Is he like this all the time with you, too?”

Razor didn’t answer and followed Bennett down the hill. It was rude, but he didn’t feel like talking to Royce for some reason. He did not need him as a friend.

He’d be fine with just Bennett.

“Okay then,” Royce said behind him. “Looks like it’s going to be a long night.”

Razor agreed.

Chapter Text

Razor may have been the single most unflappable individual Royce had ever met. He brushed off everything with so much calm and ease, Royce couldn’t help being envious. He wanted that calm spirit in the face of Bennett’s bad luck instead of the anger that threatened to boil over each time Royce tripped, found an empty treasure chest, or experienced the terror of a sudden lightning storm.

Razor? He yawned at the storm.

The empty chest? Razor picked berries and ignored the lack of Mora for their trouble.

Tripping—actually, Royce had never seen Razor stumble or trip. His natural athletics and balance were great enough that Bennett’s bad luck didn’t bother to trip the Wolf Boy.

None of Bennett’s bad luck fazed Razor. He took each bad thing in stride, his worst reaction being a huff or a small “Sorry.”

But not only was that impressive, Razor had one other benefit at his disposal that Royce had given up on long ago: A Vision. Royce felt out of place between the two capable Vision users as they unleashed the raw, elemental energy. Bad luck or not, Bennett was skilled with his sword and put his Pyro abilities to good use.

Bennett’s Vision was what drew Royce to Benny’s Adventure Team in the first place. The chance to work side by side with a Vision user that had a sensible head on their shoulders was too good to pass up. But then the bad luck started, Royce saw his lifespan shrinking by the moment, and then not even getting to work with a Pyro Vision user was worth sticking around.

(The burns he’d received hadn’t helped, either.)

Watching Razor and Bennett fight side by side, though, brought the awe back. Razor’s elemental burst took the form of a great Electro Wolf. When the wolf’s sparking victims met Bennett’s Pyro flames, the explosive overload blew everything away. They left little in their wake of destruction.

“Nice one, Royce!” Bennett shouted when an arrow struck a hilichurl behind him in the head. He turned and slashed it with his sword, kicking the stunned hilichurl away. “Three to go!”

Royce didn’t have a Vision, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t pull his weight in the fight. He aimed his next arrow from his perch in a nearby tree, aiming for opponents in Bennet and Razor’s blind spots. He didn’t do enough damage to wound them or take them out, but it distracted them well enough.

Before long, the last of the hilichurls had either fallen or run away. Razor’s claymore and Bennett’s Pyro engulfed sword had done most of the heavy lifting, and Royce made a note to visit the blacksmith to see what he could do to improve his weapon’s damage output.

“Wow,” Bennett said, wiping his forehead off. He knocked his goggles and laughed. “I didn’t think there would be hilichurls on this path!”

If Bennett hadn’t been there, there wouldn’t have been, but Royce bit back the comment and counted to ten before he spoke. “At least they were no trouble. You and Razor work well together.”

“Bennett friend,” Razor said. Royce had learned he was one of few words. “Fight well.”

“You weren’t so bad yourself!” Bennett said, tapping over. He poked Royce’s bow and grinned. “You told me you started archery lessons, but this is the first time I’ve seen you use a bow in the field!”

“I wanted to be more prepared.” Royce carefully moved his bow away from Bennett. The last thing he needed was for the string to snap—he hadn’t learned how to fix that, yet. “I still have a lot to learn, though.”

“I could introduce you to Fischl if you want.” Bennett crossed his arms and smiled wider. Razor rolled his eyes behind him and crossed his own, a tiny spark along his arms. Bennett was friends with two Electro Vision users—Royce wondered if he had an affinity for the element. “She’s one of the best archers around, and she’s a princess!”

Royce debated telling Bennett that his princess friend was a girl named Amy that liked a certain fictional book series far too much to be healthy, and that her Vision only increased her growing delusions by gifting her a real life Oz. Bennett’s eyes sparkled in delight as he continued to talk about Fischl’s princess qualities and deeds to both Royce and Razor.

Bennett could believe what he wanted—it probably made Amy happy, too.

“It’s okay,” Royce said. He smiled and cleared his throat before putting his hand on the back of his neck. “Fischl and I used to be neighbors. It might be weird to ask her for lessons.”

Besides, Royce had his hands full mitigating the damage from Bennett’s bad luck, he didn’t need constant glaring threats to keep childhood knowledge to himself from a talking bird.

“If you think so, but I’m sure she’d be glad to help if you want it!” Bennett gave Royce a thumbs up and gave him a side hug. He let go after a quick squeeze and threw his fist in the air. “Come on! The hilichurls are defeated and we have a commission to finish!”

He shot off down the hill at in a light jog. Royce moved to follow, tripping when Razor knocked into his shoulder as he pushed by. Royce stared up from the ground at the back of the Wolf Boy’s head. That fall hadn’t been due to Bennett’s bad luck.

Razor hit him on purpose.

Bennett forced himself to smile. They reached the site of the commission with only a handful of bad luck: Two hilichurl camps, spontaneous wind that almost knocked Royce off the cliff they climbed to get there, and one empty treasure chest along their path.

It had been a good day.

He was not prepared at all for another set of Adventurers to be assigned the same commission and to have beaten Benny’s Adventure Team to arrive.

“There must be a mistake,” Royce snapped. Bennett flinched behind him, not used to that voice being aimed at someone other than him. “I triple checked the commission board.”

Jack stuffed the last book into his bag and threw it over his shoulder. “I’m sorry, but Stanley and I already took care of this one. We didn’t spend two hours cleaning and packing up this camp to go back empty handed.”

“The fastest Adventurer reaps the rewards!” Stanley said, taking a sip from a flask. “Sorry, boys.”

Bennett gritted his teeth. It’d been a simple commission. Royce picked it because it was so easy the amount of things that could go wrong were next to none. A researcher had been forced to abandon her camp after she tripped and broke her ankle. She put out a commission for a team to go retrieve her belongings and get her research.

Royce had picked out the commission, and Bennett hadn’t been in the Guild building when he picked it up!

“Jack, this is ridiculous,” Royce said. He put a hand in his hair, tipping his had aside as he gripped the back of his head. “That commission was claimed and spoken for when I left the Guild. It’s not our fault that you didn’t read the board.”

“I don’t know what to tell you.” Jack shrugged. He lowered his shoulders and looked apologetic, but he held tight to the researcher’s gear. “We’re already done here and headed back. If you have an issue, you should take it up with Katheryne.”

Jack secured his pack and turned to walk away with Stanley. About five steps away, Royce looked ready to chase after Jack in fury.

Bennett grabbed Jack’s arm and pulled him back. “It’s okay! I’m sure this is my bad luck’s fault. I’m sorry.”

“This is not your fault!” Royce snapped back. He pointed at Bennett’s face and exhaled with a heavy huff. “Your bad luck had nothing to do with it. Those two would have been here and stolen that commission whether you were here or not.”

“How do you know?” Bennett asked, still holding Royce’s arm. “Bad luck is bad luck, right?”

“From what I’ve observed, your bad luck is normally contained within your presence, and are always an immediate threat of some sort.” Royce scowled in the direction Jack and Stanley had left. “Which is why I took extra precautions and made sure you were nowhere near the Guild when I picked out commission. Your luck can’t rewrite reality and things that have already happened.”

That Bennett was aware of. It sure felt like it did sometimes.

Royce sucked in a breath and exhaled after clearly counting to ten in his head. He had started to do that a lot since he came back to Benny’s team. “I’m sorry, Bennett. I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that.”

“I don’t know. It’s kind of nice having someone angry on my behalf instead of at me,” Bennett pointed out. “So no worries!”

“Still,” Royce said. He slipped his arm out of Bennett’s hold and rubbed his arm. “Let’s head back ourselves. I do want to take this up with Katheryne. There’s no excuse for double booking a commission, and you worked much too hard to walk away with nothing this time.”

Bennett hugged Royce. “Thank you!”

“Oof!” Royce wheezed. Bennett had hugged him too hard, but was that ever a bad thing? “Thank me after!”

“I will.” Bennett dropped Royce and rubbed under his nose. “Let’s not let this get Benny’s Adventure Team down!”

Royce nodded and straightened his backpack. He jerked up with a nervous expression, staring at something over Bennett’s shoulder. Was there danger? Bennett turned, but he only saw Razor with a blank face.

Razor!

“Ah, buddy! I’m sorry!” Bennett said. “We left you out of that entire conversation.”

“It’s fine.” Razor licked his lip. “Razor is tired. Talking is…hard.”

“How about I make you dinner to say thanks?” Bennett offered. “Just in case we don’t have anything else to show for today. It’s the least I can do for your help!”

“I can contribute, too,” Royce said, swallowing. “Razor and you did most of the work.”

“We all did the work!” Bennett insisted. Royce might have been older, but he didn’t have a Vision. He was sure to feel left out during the fighting, even if he did have an awesome new bow! “Let’s all make a dish and share!”

“That’s a good idea,” Royce said, smiling—Smiling! A real one! “My Pile ‘em Up has only improved since you last tasted it.”

“I can’t wait!” Bennett laughed and trotted over to the leftover cooking fire from the researcher’s campsite. “And wait until you taste Razor’s hash browns! They’re amazing!”

The three went to work cooking, and Bennett’s heart swelled with joy the entire time. The oil burn on his hand couldn’t even break his mood or the fact half of Royce’s sandwich fell on the ground.

Benny’s Adventure Team was still together and he prayed to Barbatos they stayed that way.

Chapter Text

“I don’t think your friend Razor likes me,” Royce said, splitting a sandwich in half. He handed one part to Bennett and sighed. “Maybe I should sit out your next trip.”

“No!” Bennett shouted. He dropped his sandwich half and scooped it back off the ground. It was fine. Bennett took a bite and wiped a bit of mustard off the side of his lip. “Razor isn’t used to company for long. That’s all.”

“He’s fine with you.”

Bennett took another bite with his sandwich. He had noticed the tension between Royce and Razor, but he’d hoped it would pass or was just his imagination. They were two very different people so it’d take time for them to find common ground. It would be Bennett’s bad luck that his two friends didn’t get along.

“It’ll work out,” Bennett said. He patted Royce’s arm and grinned. “He just needs to get to know you better—Oh! I know!”

“You know what?” Royce asked, ripping off a piece of crust. He chewed it and narrowed his eyes. “You look like you’re excited about something.”

“You two should hang out alone!” Bennett said, proud of his idea. “That way you don’t have to worry about my bad luck and you can focus on learning about each other!”

“I don’t know if being alone with Razor is a good idea,” Royce said, swallowing. He winced and turned his head. “He really doesn’t like me.”

“Razor just looks scary.” Bennett waved his hand back and forth. “He’s sweet as a puppy when you get to know him. I swear!”

“I’m still not sure.”

“Please?” Bennett clasped his hands together. “I won’t even be there, so you know that nothing bad will happen.”

Royce bit his lip. “I guess if Razor is up for it—”

“Great!” Bennett said, cutting Royce off before he could change his mind. “I’ll set everything up. Don’t you worry about it!”

Bennett smacked Royce on the shoulder and ran out of the Guild mess hall, heading straight for the Mondstadt main gates. He would make sure that Benny’s Adventure Team had nothing in their way and stuck together!

Razor wanted to push Royce off the cliff edge.

But that would make Bennett sad, so he suffered the nervous chatter from the older human. Razor collected wolfhook berries and hoped the sun would set soon. Bennett said he’d be back in the evening with dinner they could share. Until then, he had to collect berries and do his best to ignore Royce to keep from shoving him over a ledge.

“Okay, I get that you don’t like to talk, I really do,” Royce said, snapping louder at Razor. He sucked in a breath and rubbed his forehead. “But I feel like I’m the only one making an effort and trying to meet you halfway. Could you at least tell me why you don’t like me?”

“Bennett,” Razor said. He narrowed his eyes and huffed out his nose. Razor stood up straight and put his basket of berries on a rock. “When you are here, he only looks at you. I don’t like it.”

Royce groaned and rubbed his face with both hands, digging his fingers into his eyes. “Well, this is new. I’ve never had anyone be jealous of me before, and over Bennett? I didn’t think that was possible.”

Razor grabbed Royce’s shirt and growled, lifting him off the ground. “Do not speak bad about Bennett!”

“I’m not!” Royce threw his hands up in an early surrender. “But you have to know Bennett’s bad luck means most people don’t want to be around him! You and I are exceptions!”

“Bennett’s bad luck is not that bad.” Razor snorted through his nose and dropped Royce. “Annoying, but not bad.”

“You are a levelheaded teenager who was raised by wolves in the wild and probably got used to almost dying everyday growing up,” Royce said. He put his hand over his forehead and breathed out through his nose. “Your idea of what counts as ‘bad’ is a little skewed from the rest of us.”

“Adventurer.” Royce stabbed his finger in the center of Royce’s green uniform. “Supposed to like danger.”

“Maybe if you’re Cyrus or Bennett looking for the sort of adventures that get your name in the history books.” Royce rubbed the back of his neck and sighed, but he smiled at Razor with a warm look. “But most of us joined to explore and help people out. Or at least that’s why I joined…well, that and treasure hunting. I’m pretty fond of that, too.”

“Bennett loves treasure hunting.” Razor licked his lip. “He never finds any though.”

“I know,” Royce said. He dropped his arms by his side and watched Razor. His gaze was steady and Razor held it. Royce asked, “How much do you like Bennett, Razor?”

“Lupical,” Razor said. He put his hand over his chest and closed his eyes, thinking of the bright boy he’d gotten to know. “Friend. Family. Bennett is important.”

“Do you get this jealous over any of your other friends when they pay attention to people other than you?”

Razor frowned.

He was fine when Varka was with the Knights. Lisa always had others around. Amber and Klee were both surrounded by others and loved ones. Razor sometimes envied his wolf lupical when they had each other, but it didn’t make him feel the same anger he felt when Bennett hugged Royce.

“No,” Razor said. “Just Bennett.”

Royce crossed his arms and smiled. “It sounds like you might have a crush on Bennett.”

“Crush?” Razor knew that word. Bennett had talked about how he thought he had a “crush” on Barbara a little while ago. Razor hadn’t been happy about that either. “Like when humans wish to be mates?”

“Yes,” Royce said. “It’s that or you’re super territorial, even with friends.”

Razor shrugged. “Might be both.”

Royce laughed and the sound was loud and happy. He mumbled “teenagers” under his breath and shook his head back and forth. Royce patted Razor’s shoulder and smiled. “Let’s help you figure out which one it is, okay? That way we can all have some clarity.”

“Okay.” Razor nodded. “That will be good.”

“Sure will,” Royce said. “And you don’t have to worry about me stealing Bennett either way. He is all yours.”

Razor crossed his arms. “Glad you understand.”

“I do,” Royce said. “Let’s finish gathering these wolfhook berries before Bennett gets back.”

“Okay.”

Razor picked up his basket and went back to work. Maybe he wouldn’t have to shove Royce off a cliff.

“What do you mean you’re not coming?” Bennett asked, holding the commission information slip. “We’re a team now!”

“Sorry, Bennett,” Royce said. He sounded apologetic but Bennett had been fooled before—no, he couldn’t think that way! Royce put his hands together and shook his head. “Today’s the only day that Fischl can help me with my archery. Her schedule is pretty busy, which means it’s just you and Razor for this one.”

“I thought you didn’t want her help?”

“I changed my mind.” Royce licked his lip and looked to the side. “Your advice was good and I shouldn’t let embarrassment stop me from learning from the best.”

“But it’s just for this one time, right?” Bennett hated the crack in his voice. The desperation made him sound pathetic. “You’re not joining her team or anything?”

“I’m getting archery lessons, not going on an adventure.” Royce squeezed Bennett’s shoulder. “Have fun with Razor. This commission might take a couple days depending on your luck, so you two should have a lot of time together.”

“It has been a bit since we were out by ourselves.” Bennett swallowed his fear and took a breath. He had to trust Royce. “We’ll have it covered!”

“I know you will.” Royce picked up his bag of archery gear and threw it over his shoulder. “Have a safe trip.”

“You, too!” Bennett hugged Royce goodbye. “Don’t let Oz peck you!”

“I won’t.” Royce hugged Bennett back and let go. He patted Bennett’s shoulder and tripped when he stepped back. Bennett winced as he fell over a flower pot and his back hit the ground. Royce sucked in a breath and dropped his head back and got back up. He brushed off his pants. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Bye.”

Bennett crossed his arms and stayed in place while Royce walked down the road toward the Mondstadt gate. He was meeting up with Fischl somewhere out in the fields, and Bennett wished him luck.

“I guess I better head out to grab Razor.” Bennett looked at the commission slip again and folded it to put away. “I wonder how he’ll feel about collecting Cecilia flowers at Starsnatch Cliff. That place is crawling with couples on dates this time of year.”

Bennett made a note to ask Royce why he picked that commission when they got back.

Chapter Text

Not a single flower.

Bennett groaned and fell back into the grass with his limbs spread out. Razor and he had searched all of Starsnatch Cliff and couldn’t find a single Cecilia flower left behind. They were plucked clean from the field by the other couples around, and no one was willing to give up their flowers.

“How long does it take Cecilia flowers to grow?” Bennett asked. He stared at the sky and counted the clouds rolling over their heads. “We only need fifteen, right?”

“Good wind, a few days,” Razor said. He leaned over Bennett and sniffed. “Bad wind and it could be a week.”

A crackle of thunder tore above the sky and Bennett cursed under his breath. His bad luck was doubling up on him! He sat up and looked out over the field. The groups of couples that were out heard the thunder and packed up their picnics. He watched them scurry to seek shelter and crossed his legs.

Bennett and Razor stayed put. They were both used to the rain.

“Want to keep looking?” Razor asked. He tugged on his hood and licked his lip. “Less people now.”

“We might as well.” Bennett hopped up and brushed off the back of his pants. “Even if we can’t complete the commission entirely, I want to go back with something!”

“Okay.”

Razor followed Bennett up the hill, quiet as always. However, Bennett had noticed he appeared more distracted than usual. Razor would look at Bennett and stare before turning away and looking at the ground with his lips pressed together. He was deep in thought for most of their trek over the clifftop, but Bennett wasn’t sure if he should ask about it or not.

His friend had always shared if something was bothering him. If he hadn’t told Bennett, then it was something he didn’t want his friend to know.

Bennett’s stomach twisted. Being left out of things was always the first step to being left behind—Bennett smacked his cheeks. He couldn’t think like that! Razor wasn’t like his old teammates and even one of them had come back!

Razor probably didn’t know how to say what he was feeling. Words always came so hard for him. Bennett could wait until he got his thoughts in line.

As the headed further up the hill, the rain poured over their heads. The lightning flashed above, but neither paid it any mind.

“There has to be one left somewhere,” Bennett said. He stopped near the cliff’s edge and got on his knees in the grass. Bennett had seen Cecilia flowers there before and the couples couldn’t have taken all of them! “Come on!”

“It’s okay.” Razor put a hand on his back. “We have time.”

“But the commission—”

“Can wait.” Razor cut Bennett off and grabbed his hand. The wolf boy squeezed and pointed down the hill. “We can wait out the rain in the temple. There’s no flowers here.”

Razor continued to hold Bennett’s hand.

“Are you okay?” Bennett asked. He should have waited to ask until they reached shelter at the Thousand Winds Temple, but Razor’s behavior was so odd he blurted out the question before he could think about it. “You’ve been off today.”

“Off?” Razor tilted his head and frowned. “What mean?”

“Uh, acting odd. You’ve been distracted,” Bennett raised his voice to be heard over the rising winds. He practically shouted, “You’re holding my hand!”

“Do you not like it?” Razor tried to pull his hand away but Bennett grabbed his hadn’t and locked their fingers together. He hadn’t meant to make Razor feel bad. Razor shook his head. “I’m confused. Do you like or not?”

“I like it!” Bennett called and squeezed Razor’s hand. A bold of lightning shot across the sky, followed by a crack of thunder. “But you haven’t done it before!”

Another bolt of lightning struck the ground near their feet. The blast split them apart and Bennett lost his footing. He fell back and tumbled down the hill with Razor calling after him. Bennett rolled and tried to cover his head, falling off the side until he smacked into the ground.

“That’s broken,” Bennett said, wincing. He sat up and held his shoulder with a huff as a new spike of pain joined his usual aches. Razor climbed down the side of the cliff with worried eyes and ran up to him. Bennett smiled and laughed to help ease his worry. “Who knew flower picking could be dangerous?”

“Was supposed to be nice.” Razor crouched near Bennett and pulled off his hood to hold it over their heads and block a little of the rain. “Let’s go home. Get your shoulder fixed.”

“What about the commission?” Bennett asked. He knew Razor said they had time, but Bennett was tired of failing. Flower picking was such an easy job. How could he possibly go back to the guild empty handed with a broken arm over that? “We haven’t found a single Cecilia.”

“You’re hurt.”

“I’m always hurt,” Bennett said. He tugged a long bandage out of his pack. “I’ll secure my arm and we can keep looking on our way to shelter.”

“No.” Razor said. “Royce won’t care! Help you now!”

“Royce?”

Razor covered his mouth. That was supposed to be a secret, but then again, the flower plan also hadn’t worked. Razor didn’t feel any different about his friend and Bennett got hurt again.

“I wanted to spend time with Bennett,” Razor said. He looked down and rubbed his hands together. “Royce made the commission.”

“He did?” Bennett asked. He wrapped his arm and sat in the grass. Razor’s hood hung loosely over both their heads, getting soaked with water. “Wait. What do you mean? We spend a lot of time together.”

“Time alone,” Razor muttered. “No Royce.”

A crack of thunder startled Bennett and he hit his arm against Razor. He sucked in a hiss and grabbed it. Razor whined. He hated seeing Bennett in pain, but there wasn’t much he could do to stop it.

“Maybe we should find shelter,” Bennett said. He forced a smile like he always did and Razor’s heart hurt. “Then we’ll talk, okay?”

Razor nodded. “Okay.”

Bennett squeezed his hand and they got up. The two jogged near the cliff face until they found a small outcropping in the rocks large enough to block out the rain. Razor and Bennett huddled close under it and sat on Razor’s soaked coat to keep out of the mud.

Razor sighed.

They were supposed to have a nice day picking flowers and talking. Royce had said it’d be like a date, which is something you were supposed to do to figure out if you had a crush. Razor didn’t know if he had a crush, but he knew he felt bad that it was going so poorly.

“So Royce made a commission for us to spend time alone?” Bennett asked and Razor nodded in return. A genuine smile split his face. “Did you two come up with it together?”

Royce made the plan, but Razor had helped pick a location and tell him the best places to get flowers. That counted as working together, he supposed.

“That’s great!” Bennett shouted. He laughed and grinned as he looked back out over the rain. “I’m so happy that you two are getting along. Royce was convinced you don’t like him, but I’m glad it’s not true. That means the next time we all go out together, it’ll be even better!”

Razor wrapped his arms around his knees and watched the rain.

They were alone, but Royce was still getting in the way.

Chapter Text

Royce hoped Razor and Bennett fared better than he had with Amy. He couldn’t doubt her skill with a bow, but “Fischl” was horrible at giving instruction. Oz did his best to translate the flowery language, but it still proved to be a frustrated affair when all Royce needed was simple, straight forward answers.

By the end of their training session, Royce hadn’t learned much, but he did get a new bow.

Amy had been so happy he’d asked for her help and advice, she’d given him one of her spare bows. She named it “Mitternachts Waltz” and it resembled a raven, matching Amy’s chosen color scheme to a T.

“I have acquired a new weapon of the same type,” Amy said, waving her hand in the air. She placed it over her face in a pose. “Therefore, as an act of charity, I shall grace you with this old bow for your practice and training.”

“Thank you, Fischl.” Royce put the bow away and smiled. “This has been an enlightening trip, bu I should head back and check on my team.”

“Give the young man cursed by fate my greetings,” Amy said. Oz added, “Say hello to Bennet for me as well.”

“Will do.”

Royce finished his goodbyes and headed back to the main guild headquarters. If he were lucky, he’d have beaten the other two back and had a day to himself to relax and not have to worry about trying to translate what his friends were saying or deal with crushing teenagers.

“Royce!” Bennett called. He waved at the other member of his team as he entered the gate. “Welcome back!”

“Hey,” Royce said. He put his hand on his hip and joined Bennett at the side of Kathryne’s booth. “You’re finished with that commission already?”

“Not yet,” Bennett said, rubbing the back of his hair. He scratched at his scalp and thought of the best way to put things. “I’m sorry, but Razor let it slip that you made the request.”

“I guess you caught us.” Royce crossed his arms and huffed. “Sorry for the deception, but Razor really wanted to spend time with you alone. He didn’t know how to ask without hurting your feelings since you were so excited about our team.”

“It’s fine!” Bennett patted Royce’s arm. “I’m just happy you two are getting along.”

“Where’s Razor now?”

“He went home,” Bennett said. Razor had made sure he was okay and then left with a droop in his step. Bennett didn’t get a chance to ask him what was wrong. “He left after Barbara healed me.”

“You were hurt again?”

“Oh! Yeah!” Bennett shrugged and rubbed his arm. “That’s why we came back early.”

Even without giving him the details, Royce stared at Bennett with a familiar look of pity that made his stomach twist. Royce shook the expression off his face and muttered, “New plan.”

“Plan?”

“Do not move from this spot,” Royce ordered. He pointed at the ground for emphasis. “I will be right back.”

Bennett snapped to attention in place and waited as he was told.

Royce returned twenty minutes later with a wrapped basket. He took Bennett’s hand and shoved the handle into his palm.

“There is bread, cheese, and a cut of salami in this basket.” Royce poked the blanket covering the goods on top. “Take it to Razor and you two can make sandwiches together and have dinner.”

“Okay?”

“And stay the night,” Royce added. “Razor misses you.”

Royce crossed his arms once more and held his shoulders back. He didn’t seem like he was doing it to get rid of Bennett for the evening, but he was still confused.

“You don’t want to come?” Bennett asked. “It’ll be more fun if we all hang out.”

“Bennett.” Royce grabbed him by his upper arms. “Razor likes you and wants to spend time alone with you. As in he has a crush on you and is trying to figure out his feelings.”

“No,” Bennett said, shaking his head. “That can’t be right. We’re just good friends.”

Razor having a crush on Bennett would be like Fischl having a crush on Bennett—it just wasn’t possible!

“Go on the picnic,” Royce said. “Ask Razor how he feels.”

“But—”

“Bennett, you have low self esteem and Razor was raised by wolves,” Royce snapped, cutting Bennett off. Royce spun him around and shoved him toward the main gate. “Communication is the only hope for either of you. Go see Razor.”

He stumbled forward a few feet and almost dropped the basket. Bennett turned around and saw Royce looking entirely too serious with his arms crossed and blocking the main gate.

“I guess I’m going to see Razor,” Bennett said, swallowing. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”

“You sure will,” Royce said. He smiled softer and held up his hand. “I’ll show you the new bow Fischl got me when you get back.”

“That’s so cool!”

“You can only see it if you talk with Razor.”

“Right.”

Bennett chuckled and clutched the picnic basket tight.

He would talk with Razor about their feelings!

Chapter Text

“Bennett?” Razor asked. His lupical stood with a broken basket in his arms and held a towel over the top. Razor didn’t like Bennett’s frown. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Bennett said. He sighed and fidgeted in place, twisting the tip of his shoe into the dirt. “Royce made us a sandwich basket for dinner, but the handle snapped off on the way here. I only saved half the food after a little weasel stole what I couldn’t grab fast enough.”

“Half better than none.” Razor pulled Bennett into his cave by the side of his arm. “What’s left?”

“A little bit of cheese and some bread.” Bennett lifted the blanket and showed off the bread. A few leaves stuck to part of it. “I can’t believe that weasel stole all the meat. Royce put so much in here…”

“I have boar.” Razor took the basket and set it on the ground near his cooking fire. “It’s okay.”

“Thanks, Razor.”

Bennett stayed in place, staring at the ground. Razor tugged on his arm and pulled him further inside. His friend stayed quiet, even as Razor pushed him to sit down near the fire. Razor’s worry grew with every silent minute that passed. Bennett always had enough words for the both of them. He loved talking.

Razor pulled out the salted boar he had in storage and watched Bennett light the cook fire with his Vision. They fixed the sandwiches and ate in suffocated silence. Razor would even be relieved if his lupical talked about Royce.

A quiet Bennett shouldn’t exist.

“Bennett okay?” Razor asked, touching the other boy’s shoulder. “You haven’t said anything.”

“I’m sorry, Razor.” Bennett dropped his head. He played with his sandwich, tugging at the crust on the bread. The cheese fell out and hit the ground, but Bennett didn’t appear to notice. He didn’t pick it up. “I have so much I want to ask, but the words don’t want to work.”

Razor knew that feeling well. “Try. I’ll figure it out.”

Bennett smiled and Razor’s chest squeezed. “Royce said you have a crush on me.”

“I don’t know.” Razor put his hands in his lap and licked his lip. “I like Bennett more than other humans. Is that a crush?”

His throat felt tight from saying so much.

“Maybe,” Bennett said. He ripped off a piece of bread and shoved it in his mouth. “Do you want to kiss me or anything like that?”

“No,” Razor said, shaking his head. He didn’t think that way about anyone. Bennett bit his lip and nodded to himself; he looked disappointed. Razor leaned closer and blurted, “But I would kiss you if you wanted me to.”

Bennett snorted and rubbed his cheek. “Yeah?”

“I like making you happy,” Razor said. “And spending time with you. You’re my lupical.”

“I like making you happy, too.” Bennett put his sandwich down and took Razor’s hand. He held it between his own and turned toward Razor. “You’re my best friend!”

Razor put his other hand over Bennett’s and held it tight.

“I didn’t believe Royce when he said you liked me.” Bennett’s soft voice filled Razor’s ears. “I’m a lot of trouble to be around. Being friends is often too much to ask of others and all I can hope for.”

“Feelings are hard.” Razor pulled Bennett’s hands into his lap and held them there. “Confusing.”

“Ain’t that the truth.”

“I want to know,” Razor said. He squeezed Bennett’s hand. “If what I feel is a crush or not.”

“I’m pretty sure I have a crush on you…or did.” Bennett licked his lip. “I probably still do. Whenever I like someone a lot, I shove those feelings down and ignore them. My bad luck ruins so much, I don’t want to get hurt. Losing friends is already hard, how much worse would it be to lose a boyfriend? So when I started to like you in a different way from a friend…I forced myself to stop.”

Razor pouted. “You told yourself not to like me?”

“Just romantically!” Bennett shouted. “I like you a lot! I did the same thing with Fischl and Royce!”

Razor frowned and growled under his breath. He remembered when Bennett liked the Electro girl and her bird too much—but that Adventurer? “You have a crush on Royce, too?”

Bennett held his hands up defensively and sat back. Razor looked ready to bite someone he was gritting his teeth so hard and growling. Bennett flushed red and waved his hands back and forth.

“Not anymore!” Bennett clarified. “It was back when Royce first joined my team! He was this cool older guy and I had a tiny crush but that’s all gone now. He’s my teammate and friend and I don’t like him in any other way!”

Razor huffed and crossed his arms over his knees. “I want to be more important than Royce. Is that a crush?”

“It’s jealousy.” Bennett scratched the side of his head. “But friends can be jealous, too. Relationships are as confusing as emotions.”

Razor scooted over and leaned on Bennett. He smelled like wolfhook berries and fresh grass. Bennett shivered under his warmth and the spark of static from his body. Razor bumped into him with a huff. “Like me more than Royce. Other stuff later.”

Bennett laughed and leaned back against Razor. “I already like you more than Royce. I’ve never had to be scared of you leaving me.”

“Good.”

The two continued to sit next to their half-eaten dinner—none eaten in Bennett’s case. He reached down and picked up the fallen cheese and tossed it into the fire. It’d been covered in so much dirt there was no saving it.

Razor kept leaning on Bennett, smelling good. He dropped his head on Bennett’s shoulder.

“Do-do you want to try kissing?” Bennett asked. Razor’s firm, determined pout he still wore made Bennett’s heart beat even faster. “Maybe?”

“Okay.” Razor tilted his head up and their noses brushed. “Let’s kiss.”

Bennett grabbed Razor’s face and kissed the other boy before his bad luck could strike. Razor grunted as their lips connected and held Bennett’s arms.

The long kiss ended and they both shared heavy breaths and pink cheeks.

“That was good, right?” Bennett asked. He looked down and chuckled out of nerves. “I mean I liked it, but did you—”

Razor kissed Bennett again and shoved him onto his back. He crawled on top and Bennett yelped.

“What happened to you this time?” Royce asked. Bennett wandered into the Guild headquarters with his shirt ripped clean in half, barely hanging off him. His arm had been wrapped with leaf-bandages and his shorts looked torn. “Are you okay?”

“I’m better than ever!” Bennett laughed. “Razor and I are boyfriends now!”

Royce choked and stepped back. “Razor did all of that!”

He told them to spend the night together, but he didn’t think anything like that would happen!

“What?” Bennett looked at his torn clothes and lifted his arm, showing off a few new bruises. “Oh! No, this is from when I got struck by lightning and knocked off a cliff edge. A tree branch nabbed my clothes and tore it all.”

“Okay,” Royce said. He rubbed the side of his head and exhaled. “So it was a good night otherwise?”

“Yup! We talked about our feelings like you said and worked everything out.” Bennett tackled Royce at the waist in a firm hug that nearly toppled them both over. “Thank you so much!”

“You’re welcome.” Royce rubbed Bennett’s back and smiled. “You two are good for each other.”

“I really mean it.” Bennett buried his face in Royce’s chest and squeezed harder. “Thank you, Royce.”

“I’m glad you figured everything out.” Royce hugged Bennett back. “I really am.”

“Enough hugs.”

Razor stood behind Bennett with a pout. He pulled his boyfriend away from Royce by the back of what was left of his shirt. Razor hugged Bennett from the back and rested his chin on Bennett’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to keep you waiting.” Bennett gave Royce a thumb’s up and put his hands on his hips. “As soon as I changed clothes, we were going to get you for a new commission. It requires four people so Fischl is coming, too!”

Royce crossed his arms. “So it’s time for Benny’s Adventure Team to assemble?”

Bennett’s face split into the widest grin Royce had ever seen. He jumped with his fist in the air and exclaimed, “Yeah!”

He also hit Razor in the face with his elbow, tripping them both. They collapsed in a heap on the ground with a thud, and Bennett broke out into a laugh as he sat on top of Razor.

“I’ll meet you two outside.”

“Okay, Royce!”

Bennett tried to get up, but tripped again and hit his face on the floor.

Royce shook his head and left the two alone as he fetched his gear. They’d untangle themselves and be fine. Once he got outside with his new bow and pack, he caught Razor sneaking a kiss from Bennett.

Amy and Oz caught them, too.

Royce let Oz sit on his shoulder while Amy demanded more information on their change in relationship. Poor Bennett looked confused without Oz to translate and Razor held Bennett’s hand without a care.

“Quite lively, aren’t they?” Oz flapped his wings. “How delightful.”

Royce agreed.

Benny’s Adventure Team felt complete, and Royce was lucky to be there.