Chapter Text
The air is too stifling for Mococo to breath properly. Her collar chafes at the sensitive skin of her neck, and the only thing keeping her sane is the barely-there cool touch on her shoulder, and her sister's tail brushing against her shin. Nerissa's wings occasionally twitch, pressing against the tip of her tail, and Bijou's voice is loud in the soft laughter around them.
The crackle of the campfire is a good enough distraction, blue eyes staring daggers into the flames as if they were the ones that burned her. Instincts claw at the skin under her fur, and as Mococo licks along her gums, her teeth are crowded in her mouth, far too large to sit press lipped.
"Moco-chan?" Fuwawa rests her chin on Mococo's shoulder. There's a cup of juice in her hands that Mococo takes with shaking paws.
"Mmmhm?" The liquid tastes like ash down her throat, and Fuwawa makes a soft noise, brushing fingers through her pressed ears, featherlight and soft.
"I need to go to the dog's room, Moco-chan. Will you be okay on your own? Just for a bit?" Fuwawa asks, and Mococo shrugs, humming. Fuwawa nods, pressing a kiss to her temple as she briskly walks inside.
Mococo can't quite smother the whine building up in her throat, a small noise that Nerissa shoots her a worried look at. Mococo waves her off. Shiori isn't pressed up against her back at some point, and Mococo is curled into the collar of her jacket, the soft cacophony of talking sounding too loud in her ears.
She's trying her best to breath when Gigi tucks herself closer to her. There's a half eaten hotdog in the gremlin's hand, and the smile that she sends smells of garlic and olive oil.
Mococo tries her best to shoot back a smile of her own. She thinks it looks more like a grimace with the way Gigi's grin gets smaller, just the slightest bit.
"So," she starts, taking a bite of her food, tail drawing circles behind her. "Not a big fan of the crowds?"
Mococo shrugs. Gigi laughs like she understood perfectly.
"I getcha! This ain't exactly my scene either, much prefer beating Ceci is Mario kart than this. No offence." She adds belatedly. Mococo's next smile is less tense, and her ears perk up, ever so slightly.
Gigi talks enough for the both of them, and Mococo is content to just stand there, listening. At some point, Gigi is pressed to her side, phone out as she shows Mococo something on the screen. It's a nice enough warmth, and Gigi isn't pressing too much onto her, even her tail behaved as it busies itself digging holes in the ground.
Mococo isn't entirely sure how it happened. One minute, she's leaning against Gigi, chin resting on her shoulder as she talks a mile a minute. The next, Gigi's tail slithers up her back, gripping at the elastic of her collar, claws brushing at a bundle of scars.
One moment, Mococo was standing slouched. The next, she was crouched on the ground, hunched over a screaming Gigi. Nothing quite registers in that moment between one heartbeat and the other, Mococo floating somewhere over her body, feeling everything distantly. Then the sharp, metallic taste of blood coats her tongue, sliding down her throat, and she's wrenching herself away, finding the tip of Thorn resting against her throat.
She finds she can't breath, chest tight and light-headed, despite how desperately she's panting. A cool palm rests on her bare shoulder, and Mococo whirls around with a snarl on her face, growling through her teeth.
"Woah there, fuzzy. Just us." Shiori brings her hands up, palms visible, and tears prick at the corner of her eyes at the realization.
"Hey." Shiori murmurs again, stepping closer, movements soft, slow. Mococo shakes her head at how much it brings back unwanted memories. "It's okay, Mococo, you're okay. Everything's gonna be okay, I promise you that."
Shiori doesn't touch Mococo, puts a few inches between them as she stands, hand outstretched, smile patient. She looks calm, eyes crinkled along the corners, and Mococo knows she's worried with the way ink is rippling just under the surface, the quirk of her mouth tense.
"'m sorry." Mococo finally says, ears perking up at the familiar paws walking ever so closer.
Fuwawa doesn't hesitate to brush past everyone to stand next to Mococo. The younger hound sniffles, leaning to curl into the open space between Fuwawa's shoulder and neck. Her sister's palms are steady as they rub circles on her back, expression blank despite the rage swimming in her eyes.
"What happened?" She asks, and Mococo shudders, turning and tucking closer, staining the collar of Fuwawa's shirt with blood.
"'m sorry." She says again, and doesn't know what she's apologising for. It doesn't stop the distressed noise in her throat, the way her ears press almost painfully to her head. "'m sorry. Did'n mean to."
There's a harsh breath, and Mococo knows it's Shiori when cool hands brush her bangs from her eyes.
"What happened." Fuwawa repeats, and Gigi limps forward, guilty. The blue hound zeroes in on her, and Mococo can feel the way she buries a growl fighting to claw up her throat.
"It was me." She admits, guilty, wincing between every word. "More specifically, my tail."
Mococo whines a low noise, apologies bubbling in her mouth.
"I didn't mean to, and I didn't even know it'd do that. That's no excuse, I know that, and I'm sorry for the trouble."
Silence, and during that moment, Nerissa and Bijou stalk closer. The raven's wing is a comfortable weight that presses over her waist, and Bijou's murmured words are a welcomed reprieve from the deafening silence.
"That's great an' all," Shiori drawls, and the smile on her face is mean. "But that still doesn't tell us what happened."
"She touched my collar." Mococo rasps out, and Fuwawa's growl echoes in the space. Her lips are curled, and her tail moves a slow lash.
"What." Her voice is ice and anger.
Gigi opens her mouth to apologize, unable to get the chance with the way her vision of Mococo is cut, Nerissa stepping in between the twins and the members of Justice. The smile on her face is pleasant, even as her wings twitch in agitation and her horns glow a furious blue.
"Well then. Liz," she inclines her head towards the leader, gaze locked on the weapon still in her hands. "This has been a fun evening, but, unfortunately, we ought to get going."
"C'mon baby, I got you." Bijou whispers, herding the two distressed twins away. There are hints of violent red swimming in the soft blue of sadness, and the smile Bijou sends over her shoulder is a cold one, vengeance and bloodshed painted in the disgusted curl of her lips.
Shiori steps forward, clasping Nerissa's hand in hers. Both their eyes are locked onto to Gigi, violence in the the quirk of their smiles.
"Welp, as my girl said, it's been fun, but we got more important stuff to do." She grins over her shoulder, meets Gigi's pink eyes with her glowing gold ones. "I gotta say, you're pretty lucky we're not enemies anymore."
The archiver doesn't say anything further, and the two disappear into the shade of the trees, right behind their three other girls.
"Gigi? Are you okay?" Raora murmurs when the oppressive feeling of eyes boring onto them finally fade.
Gigi just shakes her head, whining guiltily into Cecilia's shoulder.
"No. But I'm so glad looks can't kill, 'cause I don't think I'd have survived if it did." Gigi shivers.
"Actually, Gigi." Elizabeth speaks up, voice low. "I am very sure she just decided not to. Perhaps thought that it was too much of a hassle."
"Oh." Cecilia breathes out. "Well fuck."
"Well, fuck." Elizabeth agrees, and Gigi gapes, in shock more at the swear than the near death.
"Liz!?"
.
..
...
....
.....
"So," Bijou drawls, kneeling next to the huddled duo in Nerissa's nest. She pays no mind to the soft, warning growl Fuwawa lets out as she reaches to card her fingers through Mococo's hair. "Do we want the dude dead, or not? 'cause, I know I'm not the only one that'll make her regret touching you, Moco."
Mococo sighs, tail brushing at a crack on Bijou's arm. Fuwawa has her bundled up in a blanket, and the usual collar around her neck has been swapped for her sister's. "No, Biboo. She didn't mean it, and I overreacted."
"Well, I dunno 'bout that, fuzzhead." Shiori murmurs into the soft fur of Mococo's shoulder, half lidded eyes peering up at her. The smile on her face is absent, and not even the press of soft lips makes her stop frowning. "But, between me an' you, you wouldn't even hurt a fly 'less you thought it deserved it."
"Or hurt us." Nerissa adds, to which Shiori nods to. The raven looks half asleep, slumped against the tense of Fuwawa's shoulder. It doesn't stop her from murmuring soothing nothings into the older hound's clenched jaw, pressing soft kisses along the peach fur. "Face it darling, nothing that happened was your fault."
"You two are a little biased, if we think about it." Mococo mutters, but the pout doesn't stay long with the tittering agreement the gem muffles into her neck. "Even then, I shouldn't have hurt Gigi. I was lucky she's not human. I could've killed her."
"But you didn't." Fuwawa speaks up, soothing a hand down shaking shoulders. "Moco-chan, that's not how you are anymore. You've changed, we both have. You didn't even graze her throat, you went straight for the shoulder. You wouldn't have done that before, and we both know it wasn't because you missed."
Mococo sniffles, and Shiori cups her cheeks, turning to look at liquid gold, smile soft and adoring. "Face it baby, it's not your fault. No buts." She adds, leaning in to silence the protests with kiss.
"You suffered so much in the Cell, you both have." Nerissa murmurs, huffing at the twin shake of heads. "Don't argue. We all have, I know, but you both," she curls her wings around the hounds, sighing sadly into Fuwawa's neck. "There's so much we don't know about you, from before. We can only imagine the pain you both went through."
Fuwawa's claws prick at the raised seams of a pillow, cheeks pressed to the cool smoothness of Bijou's shoulder. The gem brushes a kiss to a bent ear, and Mococo leans forward to bury back into the skin of Fuwawa's collar.
"You don't have to talk about it, Baelz knows Shiori has a shit ton of baggage she refuses to open." Bijou whispers, expertly ignoring the offended noise the archiver makes.
"Wow, Beebs. Cursing? Not even gonna try to censor yourself, huh, in front of my book?" Shiori grins, usual sharpness replaced by aching fondness.
"Please," Bijou huffs, taking the offered ink stained hand with a kiss pressed to the knuckle. "Its probably heard worse, being with you."
Nerissa giggles, and any possible argument is cut off by the twins pulling them all closer. Mococo's chin rests on dual toned hair, and Fuwawa's tail is curled around rough, coarse skin. Large wings wraps around everyone, and the press of soft lips against everyone's foreheads have them all swallowing complaints.
"Enough sad talk, I say we bury the twins with our love!" The demon declares, punctuating the words by stealing the pink hound's breath from her mouth.
"Bury in love, or just bury in general?" Fuwawa raises a brow, humming happily at the softer kiss Bijou presses to her neck.
"Yes." Shiori answers, and Mococo's voice is a hoarse rasp when she complains in her ears. "C'mon, you know you love it." She mutters, letting the hound rake her teeth across the ink stained skin of her jaw.
Fuwawa giggles, and despite the way she's using Shiori as a chew toy, Mococo's tail wags languidly behind her. The other two share soft looks, and the evening sun drapes them all on soft yellow as it dips below the clouds, the night spent curled up together as gentle hands chase away dark memories, soft kisses painting over them with pink tinted happiness.