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Black was acting weird.
Black was always acting weird, but he had been acting especially weird for the past few weeks or so. He’d been asking Gram weird questions about Eugene and looking at Sean the way he used to look at Gram.
Gram prided himself about being the “not jealous type.” But when Black started paying 0 attention to him all month aside from class (and that weird-ass study session that Gram had been convinced was the old Black giving him a booty call, but no, he had literally just wanted to study) and instead focusing all his energy on his ex and enemy, well, Gram wasn’t a saint.
Even now as he watched Black scrubbing something out of his tshirt he couldn’t help but wonder if he had done something wrong. Gram wasn’t sure exactly when Black had started acting weird but he did remember having a huge fight with his… whatever Black was to him… the night before Black had disappeared. But Black had seemed to conveniently forget days later that they had even fought. In fact there was a day at university where Gram dared to smell him, sure he’d be slapped away and instead got… a minor cringe. (He hadn’t smelled like himself then. Black never smelled that clean . Gasoline and cigarette smoke. Black didn’t smoke but somehow that’s what he always smelled like. Perhaps it was to do with the general biker gang aesthetic.)
“Black?”
That was another thing about Black. Everything Gram said to him seemed to catch him off guard. His eyes were big and bright like the world hadn’t corrupted him yet. It didn’t make sense and didn’t really suit his Black. Black’s eyes held sorrow behind them.
Well, sorrow and fire.
“Are you mad at me?”
Black scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. “Why would I be mad at you?”
Gram couldn’t tell if Black was acting dumb because he really didn’t want to talk about it or if he was just… clueless. But he didn’t seem like he was going to punch Gram.
So Gram moved closer.
“I just feel like you haven’t—”
Gram really doesn’t want Black to make fun of him, but he wasn’t backing away.
“Haven’t what?” Black asks, genuinely confused.
Gram kissed him and FUCK did Gram miss kissing Black.
But this?
This wasn’t kissing Black.
Gram could feel Black’s face scrunch up like he was allowing Gram to kiss him. When Black kissed he kissed like he was trying to win. Even if there was no competition. Even if Gram has been down bad from the moment he met Black.
Gram pulled away and grabbed Black head.
“Ow, what the hell—”
“Do you have a concussion or something? What’s wrong with you?”
Black shoved Gram’s hands away from him.
“What’s wrong with me? You just suddenly kissed me
“I kiss you all the time!”
“You do?”
“Uh, yeah?”
Black was silent. Then, “I have to go.”
Gram grabbed his arm. “Black, please. Tell me what I did.”
“It’s nothing you— I just— I have to—”
Black never stumbled over his words. He was the most articulate person Gram knew.
Gram couldn’t do anything but watch as Black packed up his stuff and escaped to the room that he and Sean were staying in.
He touched the pad of his finger to his lips.
“That’s not Black,” he murmured. “That’s not him.”
“So you think so too?”
Gram turned suddenly to see Sean leaning against a beam.
“How much did you see?”
“Enough, he’s been acting weird all month and now he’s obviously giving you the cold bucket.”
“How long have you known?”
“About Black being weird?”
“About Black and me.”
Sean rolled his eyes.
“You two were constantly giving each other ‘fuck-me’ eyes. We all just kinda assumed there was something going on.”
Gram felt his face redden a little at that.”
“What?” Sean continued. “Are you embarrassed now?”
“Hell no, I just didn’t realize that Black and I’s relationship was common knowledge.”
“Are you kidding me? You guys are like rabbits. Yok said he once nearly walked in on you hooking up in the bathroom, completely traumatized him. So. Let me ask you. What’s wrong with your boyfriend and is it going to affect my mission?”
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Seriously after all that you two are just fuck-buddies?”
Gram cringed, “well no. I mean. No? Not really. We haven’t really talked about labels but that’s not what I mean.”
“You’ve lost me.”
“I think something happened to him. Something he’s not telling us. You saw what happened. Usually if Black and I went this long without… y’know… he’d have me bent over the—”
“I don’t need to know the details,” Sean interrupted, raising an eyebrow almost comically.
“But as you can see,” Gram continued. “He just… ran away again.”
“Did you guys have a fight?”
“You know Black, he’s always fighting.”
“I mean specifically. You two.”
“That’s why I don’t think he’s acting like himself! Usually if he’s mad at me we’ll just fuck it out.”
“ Dude , seriously I don’t need to hear about your sex life.”
“Sorry, but it’s true. The best sex I’ve ever had was after that mission you botched like 4 months ago. I have to thank you for that.”
“Gross.”
“You’re the one who’s suddenly so interested in Black. I’m just telling it like it is. My point is that something’s up.”
“Sean? Gram? Black? Yok? Where is everyone” Gumpa called from across the hideout.
“Yok’s aware but not a word of this to anyone else, okay?” Sean told him. “If Gumpa knows we suspect Black of something he’ll ask me to do some major introspection that I am not interested in.”
“What? Why?”
“Guys!” Gumpa yelled again. “Meeting! Now!”
“Gram?”
“Yeah, yeah I got it. Not a word.”
Black came down from his and Sean’s room, features smoothed over and cold like nothing had happened.
But something had happened, it must’ve, and Gram was going to get to the bottom of it, no matter the cost.