Chapter Text
The room was dark and damp and cool, and it smelled faintly of mold. In the corner, far from where he woke, tied to Larry-Boy with a coarse rope, Dark Crow could make out the faintest shape of boxes. They were in a basement.
“I cannot believe this! Larry-Boy, what is wrong with you? If you had just let me -” He stopped himself, cutting off as he felt the superhero’s body convulse against his back, and a soft hiccuping sob followed. “Larry-Boy… are you crying?”
“No,” Larry-Boy squeaked out. “Heroes don’t cry.”
Dark Crow sighed. He relaxed his body as best he could, though the rope still held taught. “Heroes cry,” he said quietly, “Everybody cries. Don’t be silly.”
“You’re right. If I didn’t get us into this mess, I - I messed up, D.C. I shouldn’t have… wasn’t trying to sabotage your suit, you know? I was jealous, but I’d never -”
“It’s okay. I know.”
“And then I should’ve let you drive. I shouldn’t have tried to be the only hero.”
“I was being a jerk. I knew you were feeling… inadequate, and… instead of building you up, I tore you down. You felt like you had to prove me wrong, right?”
“I just wanted… to impress ya, ya know?” Larry-Boy said, sniffling. “But I… I just proved ya right.”
Dark Crow’s cheeks burned with embarrassment, and he bit his lower lip, contemplating what to say. “You know, you never had to prove yourself to me. I already was impressed by you. I have been for a while.”
“Really, D.C.?” Larry-Boy’s voice perked up hopefully.
“Really,” Dark Crow answered, and he sighed. “My name, by the way, is Raul. I… I wanted you to know that.”
“Your secret identity,” Larry-Boy gasped softly. “You’re not supposed to tell anyone that! Not even your closest friends!”
“I would say we’re very close right now,” Raul teased, laughing slightly as he nudged his head back into Larry-Boy’s.
“Mine’s Larry,”
“Hm?”
“My… my name, it’s Larry.”
“Oh, I… I figured,” Raul said, “But thank you. That means a lot.”
“You… knew?”
“Larry… Boy. Larry.”
“Oh.”
“Larry’s a very common name, though! There’s like six Larrys in Bumblyburg alone!” Raul assured him. “You could be any one of them.”
“Yeah… or like, maybe two.”
“What?”
“Never mind. Uh, ya know, when we get out of this, maybe… Raul and Larry… should get a coffee sometime. I think they’d be really good friends.”
Raul snickered. “Yeah. what’s your order, caramel mocha frappe with sprinkles?”
Larry gasped. “How’d ya know?”
The moment was warm despite the chill in the basement. Raul pressed himself into Larry’s back, trying to take in some of his body heat. “You seem like the kinda guy who likes sweet things. Lucky guess.”
“Well, we ought to be gettin’ out of here, right?”
“Oh? You have a knife hidden in those boxers of yours?” Raul asked with a teasing smirk.
“Don’t need one. These knots are terrible!” Larry stood up, and Raul fell backward onto the box. He could see Larry smiling sheepishly down at him. It was too dark to make out much detail, but the smile stood out even in the dim lighting. “Oh, sorry, hah, guess the guy who did your knots was a little more careful.”
Raul stared up at him in surprise. “This whole time?”
“I mean, not until after you told me your name, but… I didn’t want to break the mood.”
Raul tested the knots on the rope around his hands. Tight. Sturdy. It figured as much. Larry knelt down next to him and took the rope, testing if he could find where to untie it.
“So, uh, we’ll just go up those stairs,” Larry said as he undid the knots, “And find out whose house we’re in. Then we’ll know who we’re fighting!”
“Actually, I think… if you don’t mind my suggestion, we should go through that window up there. They’ll expect us to try the door.”
Larry helped Raul to his feet, and Raul stiffened when Larry threw an arm over his shoulder in a hug. “Those dastardly villains won’t know what hit them! They may be prepared for Dark Crow and Larry-Boy, but wait until they see what Raul and Larry have in store for them!”