Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chance always loved gambling, and nothing changed that. Well. One thing did. Paperboy wasn't expecting his boss to try and murder him for making newspapers. It was his job. But his boss had always been sort of a psycho. Actually, scratch that. His boss WAS a psycho. He used to throw KNIVES at the wall. KNIVES! Who does that!? Some psycho on meth!?

But that isn't the point. Chance wasn't expecting to have someone run into their casino, slam the door, and have a panic attack. Actually, they didn't expect anything at all. But despite this, they ran over and helped the stranger up. 

Paperboy felt nauseous. First he ran into the 777 casino and now the owner was staring at him. Oh god. What did he get himself into.

Chance found the fellow interesting, to say the least. Definitely not the strangest person they met. Then they heard a pound on the door.

Paperboy almost threw up on the spot, leaning against the counter. The owner stared at him in worry. He felt anxious. His stomach had this pit in it, like the Bermuda Triangle. He felt like the world was gonna open up and swallow him whole. He then felt a hand on his shoulder. It was the owner. He was checking up on him?... 

Chance stared at the stranger, worried. He didn't seem to good. They helped him sit down. "Are you okay, bud? How'd you get here?"

Paperboy didn't know how to answer the owner. How do you explain your boss trying to kill you? You can't! It's not normal! It's not natural! What normal boss would ever try to kill their employee!? 

"N-No, I'm not...my boss is trying to kill me because I snuck 1 message into my newspaper, and now he's out for blood...I'm scared, sir..." Paperboy responded nervously. 

Chance chuckled. "I'm non-binary, kid. But about your boss. He doesn't sound very mentally stable. He sounds like he should be in an asylum."

Paperboy started sweating. "Oh my god, I'm sorry!!! I misgendered you...dammit... "

Chance just shook their head and pulled the latter close. "Don't apologize, kid! Everyone makes that mistake."

Chance loaded their gun, pointing it at the door. The stranger was texting someone, but they couldn't see who. Suddenly, the door broke down. Chance pulled the trigger, and—

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ϟ ⚡︎ ϟ ˖ ݁ 𖥔.

Paperboy stared in horror as the owner of the Casino dropped to the floor. Their head was bleeding, and—holy shit—it was cracked open. It was fucking CRACKED OPEN. OH MY GOD. Paperboy called the hospital when his boss dropped dead on the floor. The ambulance came and quickly loaded the owner into the truck.

"Do you know them, young man?" A doctor asked.

"Not really, no. But they were helping me escape from my boss, and their gun exploded on them..." Paperboy responded worriedly. 

"They'll be fine, bud. The casino owner has always been tough." The doctor replied. 

"Okay..." Paperboy muttered. But he wasn't convinced. He wouldn't be convinced until he saw for himself. As he got into the ambulance, he finally saw the owners name. Chance Lucky. It was ironic. Chance Lucky was more Unlucky. 

They would be okay. They would be okay...they would be okay...

Chapter Text

Waiting in the hospital took painstakingly long for Paperboy. He could hear the whirr of the machines, and it pained him. Then came the nurse. He quickly shot up, question after question pouring out behind him.

"Is Chance okay!? How bad is it!? Can they function!?" Paperboy asked. He couldn't help himself. He was just so worried... 

"Well...we have good news and bad news, buddy." the nurse said.

Paperboy's panic spiked. Good news and Bad news!? GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS!? FUCK!

"W-What's the good news?..." he asked quietly. He hoped it wasn't so bad...

"They're alive and breathing." the nurse said. When Paperboy heard that, he almost yelled for joy. Then he remembered.

"...what's the bad news...?" Paperboy asked. But he had a feeling he already knew. Nobody could survive an explosion to the head without a repercussion.

"Chance has brain damage to the frontal lobe."

Paperboy's world crumbled in an instant. He knew it was coming. The cruel punch line of the world. Chance had brain damage. They could never be the same again...

"Can I see them?..." Paperboy asked shakily. The nurse smiled sadly. "Yes, you can...lets go..."

When they got there, a doctor spotted them. "Are you Paperboy? Chance has been asking for you." the doctor asked him. 

"Yes, I'm Paperboy...they've been asking for me?" he responded.

"Yes, they have. Something about being worried for their " Paperpal"."

[CHANCE PERSPECTIVE]

Paperboy ran into the room, and stared at Chance. They were wide awake, looking around the room. Then they spotted Paperboy.

"Pal! Pal!!!" Chance said excitedly. They couldn't wait to see their friend again! And they survived!! It was a miracle!!! Their brain felt weird, but not so weird. They couldn't think of a lot of things though.

"H-Hey there, buddy..." Paperboy whispered. Was he crying? Chance didn't want that!!!

"Nuuu, don't cry!!! Please don't cry, or I'll cry! I no wanna cry..." Chance pleaded. Paperboy stopped his tears and sat by their bed. He looked sad.

"Why are you sad, Pal?..." they asked him. Paperboy sniffled and chuckled sadly. "It's nothing, buddy...it's nothing..." Paperboy responded. But Chance knew better.

"Liar! Liar! You're not okay!!! You were crying!!!" they exclaimed. Paperboy stared at them with a pained expression. "I'm...I'm okay now, buddy. Don't worry." He said. "Let's get out of the hospital, okay?"

Chance nodded, getting out of bed. They almost fell, if Paperboy hadn't been there to catch them. Paperboy carried them out the door. Where were they going?

"Where are we going, Pal?" they asked curiously. "The casino. We live there, remember, bud?" Paperboy asked. Oh, Chance DID remember!!! And Paperboy was living with them now! Yay!

They reached the familiar setting, and Paperboy turned on the light. Everything looked normal. Nothing was out of place! "It's perfect!" Chance exclaimed. Paperboy placed them down on the couch. "I'm glad, bud."

[...]

Chance didn't seem to notice the blood on the velvet counter.

Chapter Text

Paperboy was sitting at the table, using his typewriter. He was writing the next newspaper when he heard a buzz from his phone. It was his best friend, Contractee.

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗲: 𝖧𝖨 𝖯𝖠𝖯𝖤𝖱𝖡𝖮𝖸!!!

𝗣𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗼𝘆: 𝖧𝖾𝗅𝗅𝗈, 𝖢𝗈𝗇𝗍𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗍𝖾𝖾.

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗲: 𝖧𝖮𝖶 𝖧𝖠𝖵𝖤 𝖸𝖮𝖴 𝖡𝖤𝖤𝖭!? 

𝗣𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗼𝘆: 𝖨'𝗏𝖾 𝖻𝖾𝖾𝗇...𝗀𝗈𝗈𝖽. 𝖶𝗁𝗒?

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗲: 𝖨 𝖣𝖴𝖭𝖭𝖮 𝖬𝖠𝖭! 𝖸𝖮𝖴'𝖵𝖤 𝖢𝖧𝖠𝖭𝖦𝖤𝖣! 𝖤𝖵𝖤𝖱 𝖲𝖨𝖭𝖢𝖤 𝖢𝖧𝖠𝖭𝖢𝖤'𝖲 𝖦𝖴𝖭 𝖤𝖷𝖯𝖫𝖮𝖣𝖤𝖣 𝖮𝖭 𝖧𝖨𝖬!

𝗣𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗼𝘆: 𝖯𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗌𝖾 𝖽𝗈𝗇'𝗍 𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍. 𝖸𝗈𝗎'𝗋𝖾 𝗈𝗇 𝖼𝖺𝗉𝗌 𝗅𝗈𝖼𝗄. 𝖠𝗇𝖽...𝗂𝗍 𝗐𝖺𝗌 𝗊𝗎𝗂𝗍𝖾 𝗍𝗋𝖺𝗎𝗆𝖺𝗍𝗂𝖼.

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗲: 𝖮𝗁...𝗌𝗈𝗋𝗋𝗒, 𝖯𝖺𝗉𝖾𝗋𝖻𝗈𝗒...

𝗣𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗼𝘆: 𝖭𝗈, 𝖽𝗈𝗇'𝗍 𝖺𝗉𝗈𝗅𝗈𝗀𝗂𝗓𝖾. 𝖨'𝗅𝗅 𝗀𝗈 𝗍𝗈 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝗉𝗅𝖺𝖼𝖾 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗐𝖾 𝖼𝖺𝗇 𝗐𝖺𝗍𝖼𝗁 𝖺 𝗆𝗈𝗏𝗂𝖾. 𝖩𝗎𝗌𝗍 𝗀𝗈𝗍𝗍𝖺 𝖼𝗁𝖾𝖼𝗄 𝗎𝗉 𝗈𝗇 𝖢𝗁𝖺𝗇𝖼𝖾...

Paperboy looked at Chance, who was drawing with their stomach to the ground and legs kicking. They sorta looked like a kid.

𝗣𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗼𝘆: 𝖳𝗁𝖾𝗒'𝗋𝖾 𝖽𝗋𝖺𝗐𝗂𝗇𝗀. 𝖳𝗁𝖾𝗂𝗋 𝖽𝗋𝖺𝗐𝗂𝗇𝗀𝗌 𝗁𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝖻𝖾𝖾𝗇 𝗀𝖾𝗍𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖺 𝗅𝗂𝗍𝗍𝗅𝖾 𝖼𝗈𝗇𝖼𝖾𝗋𝗇𝗂𝗇𝗀...

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗲: 𝖢𝖺𝗇 𝖨 𝗌𝖾𝖾? 

𝗣𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗼𝘆: 𝖧𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝗂𝗍 𝗂𝗌

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗲: 𝖮𝗁...𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗂𝗌 𝖼𝗈𝗇𝖼𝖾𝗋𝗇𝗂𝗇𝗀...𝗂𝗌 𝖢𝗁𝖺𝗇𝖼𝖾 𝗈𝗄𝖺𝗒? 

𝗣𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗼𝘆: 𝖨...𝖨 𝖽𝗈𝗇'𝗍 𝗄𝗇𝗈𝗐. 𝖤𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗒𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗁𝖺𝗌 𝖻𝖾𝖾𝗇 𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖽 𝗅𝖺𝗍𝖾𝗅𝗒. 𝖶𝖾'𝗋𝖾 𝗋𝖾𝗅𝗒𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗈𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗀𝖺𝗆𝖻𝗅𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖺𝖽𝖽𝗂𝖼𝗍𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗇𝖾𝗐𝗌𝗉𝖺𝗉𝖾𝗋 𝖺𝖽𝖽𝗂𝖼𝗍𝗌, 𝗁𝖺𝗁𝖺...

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗲: 𝖮𝗁...𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍'𝗌 𝗌𝖺𝖽, 𝖨'𝗆 𝗌𝗈𝗋𝗋𝗒 :(

𝗣𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗼𝘆: 𝖭𝗈, 𝗇𝗈, 𝗒𝗈𝗎'𝗋𝖾 𝗈𝗄𝖺𝗒. 

Paperboy stared at his unfinished newspaper. It'd have to be done later...

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗲: 𝖤𝗎𝗇𝗈𝗂𝖺 𝗐𝖺𝗇𝗍𝗌 𝖢𝗁𝖺𝗇𝖼𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝖾

𝗣𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗼𝘆: 𝖶𝖾'𝗅𝗅 𝖻𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝗂𝗇 𝖿𝗂𝗏𝖾.

He turned off his phone and turned to Chance. "HEY, BUDDY! WE'RE VISITING CONTRACTEE AND THE OTHERS! GET READY!" Paperboy exclaimed.

Chance looked up, their eyes shining with excitement. "YAY!!! SOLDIER!" they exclaimed, jumping up and getting their flower Fedora on. They looked really pretty. Now, Chance's favourite mafia member was Soldier. They honestly looked up to him.

They finished their outfit: A dark pink suit with a dark pink Fedora and flowers. They had been in a pink phase for a life bit now, and they were honestly rocking it. Paperboy was pretty sure some random fainted in love when she saw them. 

Paperboy felt tugging on his arm. "LET'S GO! LET'S GO!!!" Chance exclaimed. His eyes were full of joy and whimsy Paperboy would never achieve again. He smiled solemnly. "Alright, bud. Let's get in the car."

Chapter Text

They stopped at the local bakery. Someone who worked there, their name was Meurte, let them take fudge for free, because they felt sympathy for Chance. It was so cool!!! And eating fudge was new for Chance! Paperboy and Chance bowed in thanks and took the fudge. On the way, they passed the supermarket, Bloxmart. 

"Pal! Pal! Can we please get them a gift for saving us!?" Chance asked innocently, shaking Paperboy. He sighed and parked. "Yeah, bud. Let's go."

As the two entered the shop, they went to the candy section first, for Contractee. Then they got candles for Capogremie. Then they got notebooks for Consligere. Then they got comfort plushes and a bunny plush (Chance insisted) for Soldier. They got Mafioso more swords, and they got Elliot a 10 pound thing of hot chocolate powder.

"I hope they like it!!!" Chance said happily. Of course they would! It was from Paperboy!!! They loved Paperboy!!!

After paying, they hopped back into the car. Paperboy started up the engine, and they drove to the lair. They knocked on the door. Consligere opened it. "Oh, hello Paperboy and...Chance. You look like a flower decorated you."

"HIIII! WE BROUGHT GIFTS!" Chance exclaimed, holding up 7 gift bags. "Heh...we also brought fudge. Want some?" Paperboy questioned. He seemed very tired.

"Oh, sure. Chance looks very pink." Consligere said as let them inside. "He's going through a pink phase. Next thing you know he'll be wearing white." Paperboy said jokingly. Chance placed the gifts on the table. "SOLDIERRRRR" they exclaimed, running to find their favorite member of the mafia.

Paperboy smiled tiredly. "Their excitedness is gonna be the death of me one day, haha..." he said, wiping his forehead. "You look tired. Are you okay?" Consligere asked as Paperboy walked in. "You know you can talk to us, right Paperboy?"

Paperboy smiled. "Yes, I do. Chance is just really energetic, haha..." he lied. He wasn't okay. The incident really fucked him up. But he couldn't let them know that. It would tear the others apart. No, he needed to keep it a secret. Just for now.

After all, not all secrets could be taken to the grave.

——— ☆ • ♧ • ♤ • ♧ • ☆ ———

Chance ran around, trying to find Solider. They finally found him sitting at the table, drinking some coffee. "SOLDIER! SOLDIER!!!" they exclaimed, tackling him into a hug. Some of the coffee fell on the floor.

"Woah. Calm down." Soldier said calmly, gently hugging Chance back before letting go of them. He grabbed a paper towel and cleaned up the mess.

"Sorrryyyyy" Chance said, frowning sadly. "No, you're okay. It's good to see you. How have you and Paperboy been?" Soldier asked. "Oh!!! I've been awesome! I was drawing!!!" they said happily. Then their tone dropped. "But Pal has been tired lately. Is it because of me?..."

Chance felt like a bad person. Was it their fault? They felt tears well up in their eyes. They felt a hand brush their tears away. "Hey, bud. I'm sure it isn't your fault. He's probably just stressed from his job." Soldier said.

Chance didn't think of it that way.

"Oh! Makes sense! Thank you!!!" they said. But they knew.

It was all their fault.

——— ☆ • ♧ • ♤ • ♧ • ☆ ———

The headache started at around 9 PM. They were standing in the hallway, talking to Contracted and Eunoia. Paperboy stood next to them, silently writing in his journal. It was where he kept notes of all the important stuff, for his newspapers.

Chance suddenly felt a sharp pain through their brain. They tried to hide it. "Hey, Pal? Can you get the fudge?" They asked Paperboy. "Sure, bud. Be right back." Paperboy responded, walking off. Chance turned to face Eunoia.

"I have a headache...mmm...please don't let Paperboy know..." they asked. They suddenly saw themselves getting stabbed by ITrapped. When they snapped out of it, they saw Eunoia staring at them in worry. "H-How long? What happened?" they asked.

"3 seconds. You collapsed into my arms. Blacked out." Eunoia said, dead serious. Chance was worried. "I saw ITrapped stabbing me...mmm...I'm scared...it was on a winter solstice...mmm..." Chance mumbled. Eunoia helped them onto the couch.

"Did Pal notice?..." they asked. "He's been overworking himself to death lately...you noticed how tired he is, right?.."

Chance felt like crying again. It was all their fault, right? Before anyone could answer, Paperboy walked in, holding fudge.

"I'm back. Sorry it took a bit. I was talking to Caporgrime." Paperboy said. He sat down next to Contractee and Chance, handing them fudge. Eunoia had left the room, for some reason. Contractee turned on Netflix, and they watched K-POP Demon Hunters.

In the end, Contractee had fallen asleep. It was just Chance and Paperboy now.

"...Are you okay, Pal?" Chance asked sadly, clinging to his arm in the dark. "...yeah, buddy. I am. Just exhausted from work..." Paperboy responded.

"When will you take a break? I miss you...you're always on the typewriter..." they mumbled, curling up against Paperboy. Paperboy held them close. "I miss you too, bud. But I need to work to get us money, okay? That Casino isn't gonna pay itself..."

Chance got an idea. "Wait! What if I help you make newspapers? I can draw comics!" they exclaimed. That surprised Paperboy. "We can a give it a shot." he said, kissing Chance on the Fedora like a parent would to their child. Chance giggled. Then Paperboy fell asleep.

Chance was the last one awake. Eunoia and Mafioso arrived. Chance flinched seeing the Mafia Boss, but drew him a Gubby. Mafioso took it, an unreadable expression. Then he left.

"...did you kill ITrapped?" Chance asked Eunoia. She didn't respond. Just put a crown on their lap.

ITrapped's crown.

"...thank you, Eunoia..." they said. Eunoia just smiled and walked away.

Chance fell asleep shortly after that.

Chapter Text

Chance happy skipped around the Casino, before grabbing a piece of paper. They smiled and lied down on their stomach, before grabbing some pencils and drawing. They drew a giant tornado heading for a little house. A bunch of robloxians were running around the place.

Pure, unbridled bedlam. Beautiful. It was so exciting! Then they felt a familiar touch, and looked up at Paperboy. He smiled softly.

"I've been thinking. Maybe I should change my name to Paperpal, since you seem to love calling me pal. Sound good?" He asked. Chance nodded wildly. "YES! YES!!! PAPERPAL ^^"

Paperpal chuckled. "I'm Paperpal now, I suppose..." he said. Then he went quiet. "I...also don't feel like a male. But I'm not female either. Uhm...I think I'm genderfluid? Non-binary? This is confusing..."

Chance jumped into the air and hugged them. Paperpal chuckled and hugged back. The two just stood there for the next two minutes. It was sweet. 

"What are you drawing, Chance?" Paperpal asked, sitting down next to try them. "Natural Disaster Survival!" Chance responded happily. Paperpal smiled and hugged them close. "That's great, buddy. Your drawings are wonderful."

Then the ground shook. Paperpal fell to the floor, surprised. Chance fell onto the couch. "WHAT'S HAPPENING!?" they yelled, terrified. Paperboy gets up, grabbing them and hiding under the table. The shaking soon stopped.

"Is it over?..." Chance asked. They had been crying. Paperpal held them close, rubbing their back. "I think so, bud." Paperpal responded.Then the ceiling fell. Paperpal's first instinct was to hold his hands out. But they held Chance close under the table and clenched their fist.

The ceiling piece stopped. Froze, in mid air. It had snapped the table open. But they were alive. Paperpal had a crazy idea. Carefully, they focused on the ceiling chunk, and attempted to slowly bring it back to the roof. It worked.

After they did that, they held it there while fixing the ceiling. They DID it. Unclenching their fist, it stayed. They didn't know what they had done. Nor how they'd done it. 

But they did.

Chance stared in awe. That. Was. AMAZING! "PAL!!! PAL!!! HOW'D YOU DO THAT!?" they asked, practically beaming. Paperpal stared, their eyes wide.

"...I don't know."

This was a miracle. What'd they have??? Telepathy??? Telekinesis? They crawled out from under the table, with Chance, and looked up again.

"We have to figure this out, Chance. You up for it?" Paperpal asked their little buddy. Chance nodded wildly. "YES! LET'S GET THIS STARTED!!!" they exclaimed.

This was the start of Section "Abilities".

Chapters 6-10.