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It was a late Friday night, Phoenix, Jett and Neon had decided they wanted to throw a party. The younger duelists had managed to persuade Brimstone after many - many - attempts throughout the week. It’s only on the last day that the older man eventually gave in and allowed for the event to happen. As soon as the green light had been given, the three duelists sprinted to their friends to announce the news, barging into the common room.
A couple of the agents were hanging out in the common room, as they usually would on Friday evenings. The agents were divided into two groups across the room - Yoru and Kronos sitting at the kitchen counter, watching as Sage and Iso were preparing that night’s dinner (a chinese dish that Iso had insisted on cooking with Sage), and Skye, Gekko, and Deadlock were sitting around on the couches, engaged in a conversation while Skye’s dog and Wingman chased each other around the room.
“Guys, guess what—“ the fire radiant began, entering the calm room only to be shoved aside and cut off by Jett.
“HE SAID YES!!!” she enthusiastically yelled while dashing into the room, closely followed by Neon.
All heads turned their way, the once tranquill room abruptly interrupted by the upbeat radiants. A multitude of surprised, content, or confused expressions now facing them. Skye was the first to speak.
“Who said yes ‘bout what?” She asked while Jett quickly made her way to the couch and let herself fall next to her, Neon doing the same.
“Brimstone said yes to throw a party tonight!” Jett answered, a huge smile on her face.
“No way! Brimmy boy said yes?” Kronos asked with a smirk on his face, turning on his stool to face the three new agents in the room, quite surprised by their boss’s answer.
“Yup! Finally managed to convince the guy,” Phoenix responded, a grin on his face as he made his way to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water.
Yoru could see all of his fellow agents getting hyped about the news, voicing out their excitement about the upcoming party. The commotion in the common room gained the attention of other agents who were close by,
“Dude, we’re gonna throw the sickest party ever!” Raze said as she popped her head out of the TV room, a controller in hand, followed by Breach and Killjoy, thrilled about the news.
“Alright so what’s the plan?” The pokemon trainer (A nickname given by Kronos) asked, laying back onto the sofa, his arm resting on the upper cushions.
“Get as wasted as possible!” Jett declared with a proud grin.
“But still in a responsible way, please.” Sage finally spoke, turning to look at the younger agents,
“Awn, come on Sage, don’t be a party pooper,”— Kronos dramatically turned on his stool once again to face the healer, —“Come have fun with us!”
“I’m not trying to be a ‘party pooper’, I just want you all to have fun in a responsible way. I don't want to have to resurrect one of you tonight from an overdose.” She explained with a faint smile, her hand resting on her hip, giving a look at the young initiator.
“Fair point” the Riftwalker broke his silence as he glanced at the time traveller.
“I feel very targeted by this answer, and I would just like to remind everyone,” he turned on his stool once again, now facing the entirety of the room, “That only happened once, ”
“Still, better not happen again, because this time I won't revive you.” The older woman replied, turning her attention back to the pot, taking the wooden spoon that Iso was handing her.
The young time controller gasped dramatically, clutching his shirt where his heart was, “How could you say that Sage?! You know you wouldn’t go a day without me, you love me too much!” he declared in an overly dramatic way, a visibly fake, hurt expression covering his face.
“I think I’d survive” She said, sending him a playful smile, the room erupting in laughter at the exchange between the two agents.
Those types of moments were always Phoenix’s favourites, when the work field was filled with death and worldwide stakes, it was always nice to just hang around the common room with your friends and pretend like you weren’t a bunch of super-humans in a constant world saving mission. Which was also why everyone always seemed excited when they were allowed to throw parties. It was a way for them to relax and just let loose and have fun with their friends. To feel like normal people for just a night.
“You guys let me, Jett, and Neon take care of the preparations, just be here at.. let’s say, nine tonight, and enjoy the party! Our treat” Phoenix said the last sentence with his usual bright smile, raising his glass.
“Oh- oh! Can I help you guys!?” Raze asked enthusiastically, finally putting down her controller and taking a seat on the couch next to Jett.
“Sure,“ The wind radiant answered her, elbowing her in the shoulder as she did.
“Do you guys want us to bring anything?” Skye asked as her dog jumped onto her lap, Wingman mirroring it, jumping onto Gekko’s lap.
“Gekko and I got the good stuff covered” Kronos winked at Phoenix, a mischievous grin on his face, making the taller man chuckle.
“Alright well other than that , just yourselves! We’ll take care of everything else.” The firebird stated as he began to walk back into the common room area.
“Oh! And dress nice! We don’t have many occasions to so might as well use the opportunity!” Neon finally chimed in, clapping her hands.
—
Slowly, more agents began to make their way into the common room, soon being dinner time. Everyone gathered around the dining table, getting ready to eat.
“Smells good! What did you cook for us today, Sage?” Harbour asked, already ready to devour whatever the healer had prepared for them.
“It’s a Chinese speciality, Hong Shao Rou, or braised pork belly. Iso helped as well,” She explained to her fellow agents as she sat down to eat, motioning to the new duelist as she did so. The bulletproof agent simply nodded his head with a small smile, sitting down to eat as well.
“Well thanks to you both, It smells amazing,” Brimstone added, the others agreeing with him.
After a couple of ‘thank you for the meal’s had passed, everyone began to dig in and enjoy their dinner, engaging in different conversations all around the table. There was the usual banter in between the blue and orange pair, some ignoring them, others taking sides and fueling their dispute. Some agents also just enjoyed a quiet meal, focusing on the food in front of them instead of whatever was going on beside them.
It was basically a normal meal for the protocol, luckily this time, everyone was around the table. Often there would be missing agents out on missions or just preferring to eat on their own, but tonight everyone had managed to make it to dinner. It was during those dinners that the protocol felt the most like a big family, arguing, talking and eating around the same huge table.
Once everyone seemed to have finished their meal, Jett stood up, bringing the attention of everyone on her,
“Alright everyone, tonight me and some other agents,” she motioned towards Phoenix, Raze and Neon, “are throwing a party! Thanks to our dear Brimstone for allowing it! Everyone is invited and we’d be happy to see you all there!”
The room erupted in cheers, everyone seeming to be thrilled about it.
“Dress nicely and we’ll be expecting you all in the common room for nine!” Phoenix said as he got up followed by the three other organisers of the event, taking their plates with them.
The rest of the agents finished their food and everyone went their separate way, getting ready for the party.
—
Nine came quickly, all of the preparations for the party done, Phoenix managed to sneak away to go and get prepared for said party. When he came back, most of the agents had already gathered in the common room, beginning to drink and chat along to the music. Once he made his way further into the room, he got pulled into a group by Jett.
“Ooh, looking good, pretty boy!” she says as she eyes him up and down, sending him a wink.
That made him smile brightly, if he was honest, he really liked getting compliments on his looks, who can blame him? He wasn’t wearing anything over the top, but he still put some effort into it. He was wearing an orange button up shirt, leaving the two top buttons undone, matched with beige dress pants. A golden chain laying nicely around his neck, complimenting his golden earrings. He finished the look with one of his many pairs of sneakers, mostly of a matching beige colour adorned with orange details. He added a nice watch to his right hand and a particular blue bracelet on his other wrist. The firebird was pretty proud of his outfit, having spent a good amount of time picking it out.
“Thanks, you look good as well!” he replied, flashing her a bright smile.
Jett was wearing a greyish blue dress that ended mid thigh, accompanied by a cropped sweater of the same colour. She had painted her nails white, and was wearing a couple of silver rings. She had her hair up in her usual ponytail, allowing her silver earrings to be seen. She was wearing light makeup with a dark lip colour which suited her perfectly. She paired her outfit with her favourite mismatching blue sneakers, making the look slightly more casual. She wasn’t really a big fan of high heels anyway.
Phoenix quickly noticed Neon as well, dressed in black bodysuit tucked into her white baggy pants. She was wearing dark blue sneakers with yellow details, complimenting her hair, which she had put up into two buns, leaving out face framing bangs. She also had a simple necklace with a lightning rod pendant on it. It was a simple outfit but it worked, and she looked good.
“Everyone looks tight tonight!” Raze chimed in, followed by Killjoy. The duelist had a black cropped shirt with baggy low-rise pants, covered with splashes of colours, suiting her explosive self. A couple of bracelets decorated her wrist, multiple matching ones with KJ. On the other hand, Killjoy was wearing a black graphic sweater tucked in a yellow skirt, on top of black tights. She wasn’t wearing her usual cap, having decided to let her hair loose. The two were wearing matching yellow and black sneakers, of course.
“We’re the better dressed here though,” she added with a grin as she swung an arm around her girlfriend, earning a chuckle from her and the others.
“Alright, lets go join the others and get fucked!” Jett said overjoyed, pulling Phoenix towards the rest of the group.
The four agents made their way towards the sitting area where Kronos and Gekko were having a face off, finding out which of the two could take the most shots. Other agents were encouraging the two young men, everyone seemingly already tipsy. After what seemed to be their sixth shot, Gekko raised his hand in surrender with a drunken chuckle, having reached his limit for now. That made the time traveller rise to his feet in victory, making the others surrounding him and cheering.
His gaze fell on the fire boy, his smile widening,
“Phoenix! My man! Was wondering when you’d show up!” he says loudly, making his way to him,
“Was getting ready, there had to have at least one person looking good at this party” Phoenix answered him, giving him a slight punch in the shoulder.
That was obviously a lie, as everyone at the party was looking their best, Kronos as well. He was wearing his signature sleeveless turtleneck, tucked into ripped jeans decorated with multiple patches and hand painted details. If Phoenix had arrived earlier, he would’ve seen him wearing his red puffy jacket, which was now discarded on the couch where he was moments prior. His shirt enhanced his arms, covered with his radiant markings which glowed a deep red. He had a couple of bracelets around his wrists, complimenting the many rings on his fingers. He finished the look with his black boots, unlaced at the top per usual.
“Please remind me to never do a shot duel with this maniac ever again,” Gekko said as he swung an arm around the other initiator, closely followed by Iso.
The younger man was wearing a dark green shirt over a white sweater, paired with baggy pants. He wore his usual sneakers, and had a couple of necklaces around his neck. The duelist was wearing an oversized white shirt covered by a black jacket. He wore black pants which had many pockets with multiple dangling straps and purple details, his usual shoes complimenting the look. He didn't wear any other accessories as his clothes were already very charged on their own.
“You did this to yourself, you can’t complain” Iso added, sending a smirk to the pokemon trainer which made the other agents laugh at his comment.
“Speaking of complaining,” Phoenix began, his gaze scanning the room, “has anyone seen Yoru yet?” The others looked at each other for a second, all trying to see if anyone had.
And almost as if they just needed to mention it, the man in question walked into the room. He was wearing a dark blue button up shirt under a black leather jacket, the top buttons undone allowing a beautiful view of his collarbones. He paired it with tight ripped jeans which, let's be honest, enhanced his well sculpted thighs, no one would argue on that. He had his gloves on accompanied by a familiar orange bracelet and had painted his nails black. He was wearing his hair in his signature way, pulled back and gelled up. If you paid close attention to his face, which they definitely didn't do, you could see a dark blue wing of eyeliner, making his eyes pop. He was absolutely stunning - he always was - but tonight was another kind of stunning. If you were brave enough, you could call him gorgeous.
They were all staring, but Phoenix certainly was the one with the most intensity behind it, which earned him an elbow in his side and a grin from Jett.
“You’re staring ,” she stated, dragging the word to emphasise her statement, her shit eating grin only growing bigger when it made the other’s cheeks change into a light shade of red.
“Shuddup.” Was all the fireboy could utter.
The riftwalker’s gaze finally settled on the group and made his way towards them.
“Liking the view?” Yoru asked them as he crossed his arms in front of his torso, a teasing grin glued to his face.
“Meh, you don’t look half bad,” Kronos said, obviously lying, but that was just his way of complimenting his friends. He only earned a scoff from the older man.
“Nah you look good as fuck dude,” Gekko stated, giving a pat on Yoru’s shoulder with a smile, Jett nodding her head in agreement.
Yoru looked at Phoenix, raising an eyebrow, half expecting a compliment from the man,
“Yeah, you look good, mate” he finally said after clearing his throat. He’ll need a couple of drinks to get through tonight.
“Alright!” Raze broke the tense silence that had settled by clapping her hands, “let’s get wasted!!”
The group made their way towards the kitchen where all the drinks were and began their night.
—
The party was a total success, everyone was enjoying themselves, chatting and dancing along the music. Everyone was pretty drunk, except for the ones who chose not to drink. It was getting late into the night, and a couple agents had left to go sleep, not being big party animals like certain people.
The remaining agents were divided into two groups, one was situated in the sitting area, chatting and drinking, whereas the others, our seven favourite sillies, were doing karaoke in the gaming room. Neon had been the one to suggest it, and everyone had enthusiastically agreed. They were loudly singing along the songs, drunkenly slurring on certain words, but nonetheless having a blast.
It was Yoru’s turn to choose a song, he settled onto a favourite of his, which was in japanese. He put in the name of the song and it began, immediately earning a big gasp from Kronos,
“I fucking love this song!” The time traveller announced loudly, gaining laughs throughout the room.
Yoru began to sing, very badly, and was hyped up by the others, Kronos accompanying him with the back vocals. The two agents were quickly jumping together along the beat, laughing in between sentences. They were joined by the others, also jumping and dancing with them, cheering and laughing.
The song finished quickly afterwards, everyone still laughing. Yoru handed the mic to Phoenix, who pulled Gekko with him to sing the next song. When the music started, Gekko erupted in laughter, recognizing the song. It was one of Phoenix’s favourites, which he had forced Gekko to listen to one too many times. Phoenix began to sing, giving it his everything, Gekko singing the back vocals. Once again, everyone danced to the beat of the song, signing along for those who knew the lyrics.
It went like that for a couple following songs, until it was Jetts turn to choose the song.
“Alright you guys, I have a song for you” she motioned to Gekko, Phoenix and Kronos, handing them the mic and putting on the song with a mischievous grin.
All three of them had the same reaction when they realised it was a Kpop song,
“Oh shit!! It’s in korean!!” Gekko exclaimed, making everyone laugh.
The three of them then proceeded to (almost) flawlessly sing the whole song, gaining cheers and impressed applause from their fellow agents. Jett was pissing herself, listening to them mess up her mother tongue, and dancing along to the song. She tried singing with them but was laughing too much to do so.
Once the song finished, Gekko grabbed the mic, dragging Iso and Neon to the ‘stage’ and putting on the next song. They put on a show for their friends, earning cheers and applause. They sang another couple of songs before they started to get exhausted from singing at the top of their lungs and dancing around for the last couple hours. The alcohol - now well into their systems - wasn't helping either.
“Alright, I'm overheating here, wanna go get some fresh air outside?” Phoenix suggested, which everyone agreed to.
—
After refilling their drinks, they all made their way outside. It was late into the night, most agents having gone to bed already. There was a cold breeze outside, refreshing the agents as they settled on the couches out on the patio. They could still hear the faint music coming from inside, setting a nice ambiance.
Kronos, without wasting a second, pulled out his stuff from his pockets and set them on the table. This earned him a laugh from Phoenix, who simply rolled his eyes with a smile.
“Was wonderin’ when you were gonna pull that out”
"Ah, you know me, it was only a matter of time,” he replied with a chuckle.
He started to roll them a couple of joints while the others were chatting, some looking at what he was doing, slightly impressed.
“Oh! I almost forgot!” Gekko announced as he stood up and went back inside for a couple of seconds before coming out with his colourful bong.
“Yess my mann!” the time traveller cheered at that, handing him a few buds before grinding some himself.
“I still wonder how you two can still run around on the field and shit while constantly fucking up your lungs.” Jett said, no bite behind her words, just pure wonder.
“I’m just better.” he answered her with a mocking smile,
“Don’t come crying to me once your lungs give out” Jett responded playfully, earning an eye roll from the initiator.
“Yet you’re still sitting here, waiting for me to finish rolling so you can take a few drags yourself” Kronos defended himself with a laugh, making the wind radiant shrug.
“The duality of a woman.” she answered, sticking out her tongue to him.
“Alright, alright, less arguing, more rolling” Yoru chimed in, lying further into the couch.
“Yes sir” he said mockingly with a salute.
“I’m done if anyone wanna take a hit?” Gekko commented, holding out the bong to the others.
“Ooh, who’s gonna be the lucky one to have the first hit??”
“Me. I am.” Yoru simply stated before taking the bong from Gekko, obtaining a laugh from him and the others.
“Someone’s eager to get high.” The silver haired girl gave him an amused look.
The riftwalker motioned to Phoenix to light up the bong, it was quite useful to have a fire radiant in these situations.
“Am I just you guys’s walking lighter?” He asked as he ignited a flame on the tip of his finger, a fake pained expression to his face.
“Yup”
“Yup”
“Absolutely”
“Pretty much”
They all said in unison,
“All right, I see how it is” The fire radiant simply answered, lighting up the bong, making everyone burst out laughing. After Yoru took a hit, he gave the bong to Phoenix who hit it as well before motioning to the others, Neon and Iso passing their turns, so he simply gave it back to Gekko.
“Alright ladies and gents, I'm finally done!” Kronos exclaimed while holding up the joints proudly. “Not my best work but that’ll do”
He placed one of the joints in between his lips, scooting closer to Phoenix so he could light it up. The firebird held up a flame at the tip of his thumb, carefully not to burn the time controller. He thanked him before taking a big drag, keeping the smoke in his lungs for a couple of seconds before exhaling. He took another one before handing it to Jett, who took a hit too. They passed the joint and bong along, everyone taking a few hits. When the joint made its way back to Kronos, he had the smartest idea ever.
“Wait- guys watch this” he said, eyeing Gekko to see if he had the same idea in mind, which he did.
He took a big drag, keeping it in his lungs before reaching over the table to Gekko, gently grabbing his face in one hand and bringing it closer to his. The younger man slightly opened his mouth, allowing the other to exhale the smoke into it, inhaling it in the process. Everyone kind of stayed silent for a second, Jett was the one to break the silence.
“That was so disgustingly gay- my turn.” the group erupted in laughter at her comment.
“Alright, just keep your mouth open and inhale,” Kronos turned towards her, positioning himself slightly higher than her to make it easier. He took another drag, holding it in then exhaling into her mouth. She inhaled the smoke, holding it in for a second before exhaling with a laugh,
“Yall gotta try this, it's insane” laughter erupted in the group once again, everyone highly intoxicated at this point.
“Alright then, who wanna go next? Get in line, ladies!” That only made everyone laugh more,
“Omg, we should do a chain” Gekko suggested, everyone agreeing between laughter.
Kronos gave him the joint, of which he took a long drag, getting as much as he could into his lungs. He turned to Iso, carefully grabbing his face and pulling him closer. He exhaled the smoke into his mouth, the taller man inhaling it before turning towards Kronos and doing the same thing. The time traveller inhaled the substance, keeping it in his lungs as he faced Neon, gently blowing into her mouth. She in turn held it in, and blew the smoke into Jett’s mouth, who then exhaled into Phoenix’s.
The fire radiant then turned to face Yoru, who carefully grabbed him by the back of his neck. Phoenix would be a liar if he said his heart didn’t skip a beat right there. He couldn’t quite get why, he had just done it with Jett, but somehow being that close to the riftwalker made his stomach curl. It was the closest they’ve ever been, and he already could feel the heat rise to his cheeks.
He needed to pull himself together, it wasn't like they were actually kissing, but Phoenix’s heart still wouldn't settle down. He closed his eyes, forcing his poor heart to calm down and brought his face closer to the other duelist. He opened his mouth, the other mirroring him, and exhaled the smoke into Yoru’s mouth. Phoenix could faintly feel their lips brushing against one another, feeling his whole body heating up.
They stayed like that for a few seconds, but it seemed like eternity to him. His body refusing to move away from the older man, but his mind yelling at him to pull away. Yoru was the one to pull away, reluctantly, and blew out the smoke into the air. There wasn't much left, after being passed through so many people, but there was still enough left to do its job.
The other agents looked at the pair as if they had just witnessed the birth of christ, Gekko clearing his throat to break the tension building,
"Well, that was a lot gayer than I had anticipated” and the group was back in hysterical laughter. The joint got passed around once more, Gekko preparing the bong for another round as well.
While the others were finishing the first joint, Phoenix handed another one to Yoru, who placed it in between his lips, waiting for the firebird to light it up. Another flame ignited from his fingertip, carefully starting the joint. Yoru took a hit, before blowing it into the other’s face, earning a slight punch in the arm. He took another one, before slightly sitting up and softly holding Phoenix’s chin, making him look up in his direction. He could feel the warmth of the fire radiant through his gloves, making him chuckle quietly. The older man brought their face closer, opening his mouth and waiting for the other to do it as well. He felt a hand gently resting on his thigh right above his knee. Phoenix parted his lips, allowing Yoru to blow the smoke into it, maintaining eye contact. In that moment, they almost forgot the outside world, it seemed as if they were the only ones alive.
That feeling quickly went away when they heard Jett fighting for her life, coughing violently. They both quickly turned their attention to the commotion, Kronos and Gekko on the floor, clutching their stomach, laughing, Neon patting Jett on her back while she frantically tries to look for an non alcoholic drink and Iso just witnessing the whole scene, trying not to laugh.
Yoru just sighed and quietly laughed with Phoenix.
“Never hitting a bong ever again- what the fuck is this torture device?” That only made the two initiators laugh even more, Iso finally cracking and joining the others in their laughter. Neon just gave up and handed Jett her drink, which she downed in a second.
That kind of put an end to the Party, everyone way too intoxicated, and getting more and more tired. They cleaned up their mess and decided to go to the TV room to watch a movie, grabbing snacks and non-alcoholic drinks on their way.
Yoru and Jett sat on the couch with Phoenix in the middle, cuddling up against him, making him act as their personal heater. Kronos, Gekko and Iso squeezed themselves onto one of the bigger bean bags in front of the couch, Iso’s head resting on Phoenix’s knees while Gekko and Kronos laid against him.
Neon laid down on one of the smaller bean bags, her head resting on the couch in between Jett's knees, allowing the wind radiant to play with her hair. All of them got comfortable under the many blankets, and started the movie. After another argument between the blue and orange pair, they settled on watching “Shrek”.
It was in these moments that Phoenix felt the most alive.
Halfway through the movie, they had all passed out.
The other agents found them the next morning all bundled up against Phoenix for warmth.