Chapter Text
“Pico, I need your help!”
A few minutes ago, Pico was sitting on his couch, not having too much to do, only watching the TV and eating whatever he found on his fridge, that’s when someone knocked on the door. Pico wasn’t expecting any visitors today, and he was even more surprised by the boy in front of him.
It was Boyfriend, who surprised Pico again due to the look on his face, he was desperate and started begging for help.
A not so long time ago, Boyfriend got a new girlfriend, she was quite interesting, specially because her name matched Boyfriend’s. The problem was her parents, they evidently didn’t like Boyfriend, not even a single bit. Their beloved daughter was everything for them, she is the prettiest girl around and her parents know there are people interested in her, either because of her body or because of their fortune, and of course, Boyfriend was a victim of the circumstances. In order to keep their dear daughter away from Boyfriend, they organized a rapping contest, not only Boyfriend and his girlfriend's parents would be part of it, but also other rappers, from beginners to famous professionals, the reason why was simple, the prize was nothing else but their daughter’s love.
Boyfriend couldn’t even imagine himself losing against that bunch of nobodies, but the reason why he was here, now, at Pico’s house, it was because of his incoming battle.
His blue hair was a mess, his face was pale, and his eyes looked like if he hadn’t slept in days. Boyfriend almost passed out just by talking about his situation with Pico, who had to help him to sit on the couch, listening to what Boyfriend had to say while bringing him a glass of water.
“... I don’t think I can win this time” Boyfriend said in a sad tone.
He was desperately trying to find some type of comfort, it’s unusual, but for personal reasons he couldn’t tell his girlfriend about it.
Pico started to wonder how dangerous the next rival could even be, boyfriend is always confident about his abilities, Pico even gets mad at him when he can’t recognize what’s threatening his life or not thanks to his stupidity. Boyfriend would do anything for his partner, but at this point, he was being drowned by the pressure that his own words put on him.
The atmosphere became more serious once Boyfriend started rambling about his new opponent, about how he listened to his songs, about how he couldn’t even complete the lyrics no matter how hard he tried. He was out of tune, his breath would leave him at crucial points, and there were some notes he couldn’t reach. All of his confidence fell into the abyss, and a new set of worries replaced it. It was so overwhelming that he couldn’t find a way to sleep at night. At first, he thought of telling his concerns to his girlfriend, she tried to cheer him up with things like “You can do it Boyfriend! You have never failed me!” words that managed to keep him sane for a while, but eventually made his situation worse as time went by.
It was easy to notice the fear in Boyfriend’s words, Pico knows about that, more than anyone. Then he decided to ask why Boyfriend needed his help in the first place, he now understood how important this was, but there was nothing he could do for Boyfriend besides comforting him. His rapping skills aren’t even that good, trying to teach Boyfriend anything wouldn’t be helpful at all, he wasn’t even worth a practice session. But what came out of Boyfriend’s mouth caught him by surprise.
“I… want you to, to kill him”
In that instant, a lot of things went through Pico’s mind, it wasn’t exactly the petition what caught him off guard, but the person asking for it.
There’s no way Boyfriend would need him for something like that, he should never need it. Boyfriend had talent, courage, even his girl would get him out of trouble if he wanted to, a request like this is totally unnecessary, or that’s what Pico forced himself to believe.
Pico didn’t like talking too much about his job, it’s just a thing he does for a living, he has killed people in front of Boyfriend, only for his safety of course, but he still considered it a vile act. Challenging human life and thinking that you have the power over it is absolutely disgusting, specially when you feel like you can end it whenever you want to. It’s true that Pico couldn’t care less about the people who required his services, he doesn’t need to know why someone wants another person gone, the problem now was that he does care about the person who needs him.
The most important and only thing Pico felt when he killed someone for the first time was nothing else but the feeling of getting out of there alive, no matter what.
How could he even ignore it?
He tried to think of an excuse, something that may impulse Boyfriend to reconsider his options, yet he could feel how nothing he could say would change his mind, there was only one thing who he could think of right now.
“You know… I don’t want to be rude but, that’s still a job”
Boyfriend understood immediately what Pico meant, money. Everyone knew his girlfriend was daughter of two famous singers, but there is no way Boyfriend can ask her to give him that amount of money, his main reason to be here was to make himself sure his girlfriend wouldn’t know about his insecurities, but paying this type of service wasn’t going to be cheap.
As a first impulse, Boyfriend tried to think of a way to get money, and sadly he realized it was too late for that, the day for his participation on the contest was almost here, in conclusion, it was impossible.
Pico told Boyfriend that he could help him practice, trying to lighten the mood, but Boyfriend didn’t even want to listen to him. His girlfriend was telling him the same thing over and over again, he wanted some real help instead of insignificant words, he doesn’t need another person to repeat them, specially not Pico, who noticed it. He hated seeing Boyfriend like that, it’s been a while since his personality hasn’t been the overconfident bastard everyone knows and loves.
Both of them were trying to find the correct words for the situation, but between every whisper, something finally came out of Pico’s mouth.
“I guess you can always pay with your body”
Boyfriend looked directly at Pico after hearing his last line, he didn’t know if he should take it seriously of it was just a cruel joke. Pico tried to apologize after fully processing what he just said, he explained how it was involuntary and didn’t want to actually say something so gross like that. What he didn’t know is that Boyfriend wouldn’t forget it.
Everything went into deep silence, they both stood up quietly from the couch while Boyfriend started thinking about what he would do next, but after a while he walked directly to the door.
“I’ll find a way to pay you” he said before leaving.
The house remained in silence for a little more, with Pico standing inside, thinking about what he just did. His poor management of words lead him to a horrible state, it’s not the first time it happens. He remembers the exact day when his emotions became the detonator for his break-up with Boyfriend, it took a while, but they finally managed to end like good friends, even though Pico never stopped blaming himself for that.
Meanwhile, Boyfriend was walking down the street, looking at his own steps, thinking about how much time he had left before the next rap battle.
Two days.
His next opponent and him would have to show up on stage, on Friday. He felt stupid for thinking he could actually find a way to make money that fast, yet he has to stick to that idea because if he didn’t, he would lose everything he has been working for. His beautiful girlfriend would be gone, in some stranger’s arms, against her will. That scenario was totally horrifying for Boyfriend, but after thinking about it, his mind started to make him feel worse, the best thing he could wish for was for someone kind that wouldn’t hurt her.
He was so in love with her that there was no room for disappointment. He has to be the perfect boyfriend, a boyfriend she would be proud of. Not only that, but he learned a lot of new things just to impress her, it’s hard to believe his rapping skills were below mediocre before they met.
In the end, it would be for nothing.
The first day had to come to an end eventually, and yet, Boyfriend had nothing, getting money was beyond impossible. But there was that still small voice of hope that wanted to convince him that maybe, and only maybe, his girlfriend and Pico were right, a little practice would be all he needed. Trying to keep himself motivated, Boyfriend wanted to start practicing once again, but his worst fear appeared in the perfect moment. It doesn’t matter how hard he tries, he isn’t on the right level for the contest. Sometimes, Boyfriend had to recognize that the only thing he does almost all the time during battle is copying his opponent’s verses, and today it was one of those times.
Right now, he was still thinking about his promise, how he would do anything for his lover, how there was no room for failure. The rest of the day was most of the same, practicing over and over again, failing every time, thanks to his lack of sleep his singing got worse, and by singing worse, he was getting more tired. The entire thing just was filling him with more anxiety, perhaps that’s how things must go, that’s what the universe wants, but he wouldn’t give up so easily.
It was already Friday, just a couple of hours before the night, before the big show starts. Boyfriend usually meets his girlfriend at her home, against her parents will obviously, but this time Boyfriend wanted her to wait for him on the scenario. She didn’t understand why Boyfriend was acting like that, she knew about how he was feeling recently, but it was still odd to arrive to the contest location without Boyfriend. Even so, he wanted her to feel a little better by telling her about some type of surprise, she got so excited that her doubts disappeared and hoped for him to come as soon as possible, patiently waiting for him.
Before the contest, a few hours earlier, Boyfriend was running directly to someone else’s home. He opened the door abruptly, finding his friend Pico, who was surprised by his second visit of the week and how his door wasn’t locked.
Boyfriend looked even worse than the last time they met, he was heavily panting and also was covered by his own sweat, it’s fun to think how he normally doesn’t go around walking thanks to his girlfriend’s limousine, but that doesn’t matter.
Boyfriend only cared about one single thing.
“Pico… Is the second offer still up?”