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Joel had always considered Jimmy to be his younger brother. He wasn’t, technically. He was a close friend, a bit younger than him, but they always annoyed and bothered each other as if they were family. He loved Jimmy as much as he loved his actual family, if not more.
It didn’t take much to get Jimmy on his toes. It was easy to rile him up, easy to get him to do exactly what you wanted him to do. Too easy. Which was why Joel would always be there to protect him.
When he heard about Grian’s new ‘game’, he knew without an ounce of doubt that Jimmy would be participating. These games were nothing but death and loss for anyone involved, yet somehow people always went along with the boss. Maybe it was for money, maybe fame. Whatever. It didn’t matter to him, it only mattered that Jimmy got out alive.
Which was why he accepted his own invitation as soon as his suspicions were confirmed. With a foul look and a gross taste on his tongue, he signed the letter with the blood of his thumb. He refolded the letter and handed it off to be sent in his name.
With a little bit of luck, he and Jimmy would be paired up for this game of Double Life. If not … Well, he had the money and resources to get them both back out.
It was wishful thinking.
Once the game started, he received word of being partnered with Etho; a name which he’d only heard muttered in the shadows. A second after reading that letter, a ribbon was wrapped around his heart. Tied to it, a green line leading towards his new soulmate.
An anxiety flooded his chest along with it. A foreign kind of distress, distant and not his own but there nonetheless. It was uncomfortable and he needed a moment before he could actually welcome the feeling. There was no use in fighting it.
And so the game began. Tensions in the city were at an all-time high. Not a day went by that Joel didn’t carry double the weapons he usually would or didn’t make sure to keep Jimmy as close as he could without breaking the rules of the game.
On a fateful evening, five weeks into the game, his attention slipped.
His string along with a few others had turned red with blood. Bloodlust coursed through his veins, powering him through sleepless nights and haunting fights more than food or even adrenaline ever could. His fingers constantly itched for a gun or knife.
The one thing stronger than this need for violence was his protectiveness over Jimmy. Etho had complained about it once and only once after seeing just how much Joel cared. So when Jimmy called him in a panic, Etho already felt the worry tightening around their soulbond. The moment Joel rushed out of the building, his soulmate stood by the wall already waiting. Without a word muttered between them they ran to help his friend.
He found Jimmy in the back of an alley. Tango was nowhere in sight. Joel approached carefully. Though when he saw the blood seeping from a wound where Jimmy clutched at his side, he threw all caution out the window.
Curses slipping from his lips faster than he could count, he helped Jimmy lean against the brick wall. “You bloody idiot, what happened?”
“Got stabbed, ‘s not too serious.” He groaned and lifted his hand to look for a second. The street light didn’t reach all too far into the alley, but it lit up enough to see the blood coating his hand. “Please tell me you’ve seen Tango around.”
He shook his head, not having to look at Etho to know he hadn’t seen Jimmy’s soulmate either. “We need to get you somewhere safe first, then we’ll find Tango. Now, tell me what happened.”
Jimmy groaned, letting his head fall against the wall. “Got ambushed. Lost Tango in the chaos.” His eyes were unfocused with pain and if that wall hadn’t been there, he definitely would’ve crashed onto the ground. “Thanks for coming to get me. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“You’re lucky you have me. You’re supposed to rely on your soulmate, remember? Come on.” Joel wrapped his arm around Jimmy’s shoulder to get him to stand up. He wanted to scold Etho for not helping, but found the man anxiously staring at the street where they’d come from.
Jimmy coughed and a noise between shocked and confused escaped his mouth. “Wait, something’s wrong-”
At that exact moment three men with heavy weapons rounded the corner, not hesitating to open fire the moment they set eyes on them. More curses falling from his mouth, he dragged Jimmy back down the alley to escape the other way.
“Wait, Joel! It’s- no, Tango!” Jimmy’s nails dug into his skin. Joel barely had the time to look down at his terrified face before his body jolted in his arms. He instantly went limp, almost dragging him down to the ground.
“Jimmy!” Weight in his arms doubled, he struggled to get him back up. He wheezed for air, ducking his head after a shot and pulling Jimmy closer to his chest. “No- gah, come on!”
“Joel! We need to move!” Etho dragged him away and his grip on Jimmy slipped. Jimmy’s eyes had greyed over, even his skin seemed to become as lifeless as the ground he rested on. “Let him go, he’s gone!”
“No!” In a shout of rage he tried to get back to him. But Etho was stronger than his tall and lanky physique gave credit for. He dragged him back, behind cover just before the ground they’d stood on was hit with a bullet. Not stopping there, Joel was pulled further and further from the body.
He couldn’t leave him there. If there was any chance he could help Jimmy, could save him, he had to go back and try. “Let me go, you bloody bastard! I’m not leaving him!”
When the strangers rounded the corner, one of them toeing at Jimmy, he couldn’t stop the blood-curdling scream from ripping from his throat. They couldn’t have him, they couldn’t stop him from tearing them apart if they touched him again, they couldn’t-
The world went black as his head was rammed against the brick wall.
It was a weird kind of sleep. He couldn’t move, couldn’t open his eyes or try anything, but he still felt the faint rushing of the wind against his face. His heart nearly beat out of his chest. Exhaustion made his throat sore, or maybe it was because of the screaming.
When he finally woke up again, he sat on the chair in his office. He groaned, rubbing at his forehead where it throbbed in pain. The world twisted and turned around him. He had to stay put for a minute before it finally steadied.
He found Etho pacing by the door, expression strained with the same pain he felt. He opened his mouth to ask him what had happened, but no words left his mouth. A cough bubbled in his chest and only then did he realise just how much his throat hurt.
“Maybe try not to talk.” Even Etho’s voice sounded rough.
He shook his head. He needed to find Jimmy and bring him back home. When he stood, the world went back to twisting around. Before he could even walk to the door Etho had already pushed him back down.
“Don’t move too much. I had to knock you out.” At Joel’s puzzled look, he sighed. “I knocked you out before you could get us killed. And before you scold me, I knew it was a risk. But we’re here now, aren’t we? We’re here and we’re safe.”
He swallowed the lump in his throat. “Jimmy?” His voice was barely above a whisper.
Etho shook his head. “It was already too late. I’m sorry.” His hand rested on his shoulder and while that usually didn’t do as a comforting gesture, it came from Etho and it was more than he expected to get.
“Gone?” Tears pricked in his eyes. Rage swirled in his guts, but most of all a void. A pit devoid of joy.
“Yes, he’s gone.” Even Etho seemed shaken up by the fact. He could only really blame that on the soulbond.
He closed his eyes for a moment. How could he let this happen? A shaky sigh left his lips. Whoever did this to Jimmy and Tango, he would find them. He would find them and make them pay.
Opening his eyes again, he was faced with the same determination in Etho’s eyes.