Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

– They're pissing me off. – Bendy put the newspaper aside and lay down on the table, pulling his hat over his face. He really wanted to finish off this maniac once and for all, but everything was stacked against him. On the one hand, the idiot reporters were right: the theft of souls must be the work of the demon. No other creature on the island needed a second soul, and even if they did, they simply wouldn't be able to handle it. The soul is a vital organ, one small mistake and it would vanish into thin air as if it had never existed. Demons know how to keep a soul intact, using magic known only to them or special capsules. But the capsules are banned and factories stopped producing them long ago, and magic... well, that's difficult, you can't ban magic, it's an integral part of the lives of many creatures. If you ban magic for one group, you'll have to restrict others as well, so that's not an option. The only thing left to do is to interrogate all the demons on the island and try to keep people sane.

Bendy turned his head, resting his cheek on the table, and picked up the newspaper again, reading aloud the loudest paragraphs. His gaze fell on a panel where the word "demons" was written in red letters. I wonder what evil they will pin on them this time?

It seemed he had given this newspaper a chance for nothing; the tabloid press had never been a good thing, and Boris had told Bendy many times to stop reading it. But what can you do? He needs to keep track of public sentiment, give interviews alongside his superiors, and reassure the people. He has to say, "Everything is under control, we are doing everything we can, and stop panicking, stay at home and look after your children."

Bendy banged his head against the table. A second time. A third time. Soon he would become like that toy bird on Boris's desk that drinks and drinks that damn water and never gets enough. Bendy needed to calm down, pull himself together, and piece together all the known facts about this killer in his head. Everything they had on them... THERE WAS NOTHING.

They were elusive! They left no clues behind! Nothing! No clues as to how they got into the victims' homes or workplaces, no clues as to how they could have killed them, whether they had accomplices or worked alone, maybe it was a gang or... or... Bendy would soon start climbing the walls if he didn't find at least one clue, anything, one small detail that could lead him to the killer.

How he wanted to pin this rotter against the wall and put handcuffs on him, but alas.

A sudden knock on the door interrupted Bendy's thoughts, but he didn't bother to answer because he knew that if it was the person he was expecting, Boris would open the door himself. The younger brother didn't need a special invitation; he knew he could enter Bendy's office at any time.

Boris opened the door immediately, noticing his brother slumped over the table. This wasn't the first time Boris had seen him in this state; it would be easier to say when he hadn't seen him like this. The younger detective entered the office and approached the table with a stack of documents, which he threw right next to Bendy's ear. This delightful sound echoed in the demon's ears, causing him to straighten his tail.

– Stop slacking off, – Bendy responded to the wolf's words with a tired moan. Boris leaned his palm on the table; it would have been easier to use his elbow, but unfortunately, the table was too low for someone like him. – The information about demons that you requested personally. There are about 50 citizens here, 23 have already been questioned by officers, they are not included in these 50, so don't relax.

Bendy thinks his brother will kill him faster than this murderer.

– There are only 73 demons living on the island? Not including me? Wow, the press is blowing this up as if half the population of the island are demons. Maybe 20 years ago they would have been right. – Bendy took the top file and began reading the information about the random guy. George, 52, married, two children, farm worker, blah blah blah.

– Oh yes, this guy definitely killed all these people while preparing formula for his baby, – Bendy smirked as he continued reading the information, becoming even more convinced that he was just wasting his time. Like everyone else in this place. – Do we really need to call all these people in for questioning?

– That's what the higher-ups want. They're sure that this way we'll be able to find the soul thief faster, and also, according to them, – Boris rolled his eyes and demonstratively crossed his arms over his chest. – It will reduce public anxiety.

After which he snorts at the nonsense he has uttered. Bendy chuckles at the obvious satire in his brother's tone. Many would say that Bendy and Boris are biased towards society's fears, and perhaps you would be right. Again, as mentioned earlier, only demons can steal souls, but when the situation escalates and attitudes towards a certain species become unreasonably aggressive, it is impossible not to be biased. To clarify, just last week, there was an argument between neighbours on the street that almost ended in a fight. The reason: a child from the house across the street, a demon, accidentally hit a window with a ball. The window did not break, but the owners of the house were convinced that the boy did it on purpose. And the day before yesterday, when Boris and Bendy were returning from work, the detective heard a couple of unflattering comments about himself from a drunk on the porch of a bar. Boris said not to pay attention, but it's hard when even the newspapers are already publishing theories that the police are covering up for the killer, because the chief detective is a demon.

– All right, – Bendy stood up from his chair and slammed his palms on the table. Boris flinched, and the stack of folders fell apart, scattering papers all over his workspace. Boris hurried to gather the papers back up, knowing full well what had come over his brother. Insight. A state when Bendy looks at the situation through rose-coloured glasses in order to organise his thoughts. – If people want us to question all the demons, please, let's give them that, the sooner the better. Tell the officers and detectives to interrogate the remaining 50 demons and do it as quickly as possible. The sooner we announce that none of them are involved, the sooner the excitement on the island will subside and it will be easier to find the killer!

– The last one is unnecessary. You're being too optimistic about the situation for someone who was just lying face down. – Boris gathered the stack together and looked at Bendy with displeasure. His brother's old job was making itself felt; an actor may leave the stage, but the stage will not leave the actor, and sometimes... Bendy thought too big, as if everything had to go according to the script, and when the script turned out to be different from what he had imagined, he lost his way, the spotlight frightened him, and improvisation did not save.

Bendy shrugged at Boris' accusations. He didn't care that he was looking at the whole situation from a slightly positive point of view, but if not him, then who exactly would do it?

– Yes, yes, in any case, let the guys deal with the suspects. Shelly won't mind if I take charge for a bit... By the way, – Bendy got up from the table and walked over to the corkboard standing in the middle of the room. On this board was a sheet of paper with a question mark in the middle. The sheet represented the murderer. Strings stretched from it to various names and surnames, but as we know, none of them even came close to being the murderer. They were on the board just to fill the empty space that annoyed the demon so much. – Are they asking questions about magic? It comes in many forms, and since we haven't found any bullets, it's likely that our criminal is using it. Their own soul, potions, amulets, I don't know? Anything to shoot people and remain undetected.

– Yes, that's one of the main questions. Do you think the officers are complete fools? – Bendy shrugged, seeing no problem with the question. – But wait... – Boris walked over to the board and unhooked a piece of paper with the words "five murders – five souls" written in large letters. – Can't they... I don't know, since they use alternative weapons... can't other people's souls be theirs weapons? – Boris looked at his brother in confusion, waiting for a reaction.

Bendy squinted at Boris. There had never been a recorded instance in history of anyone using someone else's soul as bullets instead of their own. Not only that, it seemed impossible! But what if Boris turned out to be right in the end, and Bendy wanted to grasp at any straw...

– Write this down and add it to the board. It's unlikely, but the theory doesn't sound crazy. But it's just a motive, and a motive without additional evidence won't lead us to the killer. – Bendy picked up a pen from the table with his tail and handed it to Boris. While Wolf wrote down the motive, Bendy continued to stare at the board, tapping his finger on his chin. – I can't understand what we're missing. How do they manage to remain invisible? We have no evidence, but there must be witnesses, at least one...

Boris finished writing on the back of the sheet and nailed it back to the board, then turned to look at Bendy with a gloomy expression. His brother was burying himself in this case, spending almost the entire month at work. The office had become his second home, and Boris often had to call Bendy's boyfriend to take him home. His brain needed a break, even if only for 10 minutes, so Boris grabbed Bendy's coat from the hanger and threw it at the demon. The coat hit its target, hanging on the detective's horns and swaying from side to side. Boris smiled and took a cigarette out of his pocket.

– Let's go for a smoke, at least you'll get some fresh air, otherwise you'll be sitting in this office without a window forever. I bet you were reading the newspaper again?

Bendy frowned, looking away so he could quickly grab the newspaper from the table with his tail and throw it into the bin standing nearby. Then he looked at the wolf with a fake smile.

– Nooo...

– Bendy.

– I can't not read it, I need to know what's going on in society! Even if the loud headlines are written to attract attention and instil panic in people, – Bendy put on his coat and grabbed a couple of cigarettes from Boris's pack. He had recently run out of his own, so he was making do with his brother's cigarettes. He didn't particularly like them, but he wanted to calm his nerves. – And stop worrying so much about me. Who's the older brother here, me or you?

But before Bendy could step outside the door, he bumped into someone's chest. Laughter rang out from above, and he didn't even have to look up to know who it was, which made the detective mood improve with every passing second. It seemed he had completely forgotten that just a minute ago he had been indignant about the murderer.

– Am I late? It seems someone forgot about my break, – Cuphead put his hands on Bendy's shoulders, pushing him away from his chest, and smiled at the demon. – Someone missed me, huh?

Bendy didn't have time to respond to Cuphead's inappropriate flirting because he noticed Mugman standing awkwardly in the doorway behind him, not knowing where to look. Three months ago, Cuphead told Bendy that Mugman MIGHT have feelings for Boris, but he hasn't decided to confess them yet. Bendy isn't going to tell his brother about it; he's having too much fun watching the show. Especially since it became clear why Cuphead drags his brother here during the break.

Mugman cleared his throat standing behind his brother, his slightly furrowed brow impossible to miss, so Cuphead hastily moved himself and Bendy out of the way, allowing his brother to enter the office. Mugman said "thank you" and stood near the filing cabinet, glancing out of the corner of his eye at Boris, who seemed to have gotten used to the arrival of the cups and had stopped "hello" to them.

– What? No, wait, your break wasn't supposed to be for another hour. Did something happen? – Bendy glanced quickly at his watch to check if he was mistaken. No, it was only two o'clock in the afternoon, and Cuphead's break was usually at three.

Cuphead pressed his lips together in excitement, trying not to spill the beans prematurely. He let go of the demon's shoulders and folded his arms behind his back, swaying slightly.

– You got me! But no, nothing serious happened except, you know... he want to promote us!

The demon's eyes lit up at these words. He couldn't believe his ears. Was Cuphead really telling the truth, or was he trying to trick him? He had done this a couple of times before, so Bendy wouldn't be surprised. But Bendy knew when Cuphead was lying, and now he had a smile from ear to ear and was pleased with himself, which meant that what he said was the absolute truth.

– Are you serious?!

– Yep!

– I wouldn't let him joke about it again, because you're not the only one who's been the victim of his stupid joke. – Mugman looked at his brother with dissatisfaction and sighed wearily, but all his negative vanished when he heard Boris's quiet chuckle. The wolf hastily covered his mouth with his fist and whispered, "Sorry," but Mugman wasn't upset at all.

Cuphead raised his hands in a defensive gesture, then returned to the topic of conversation with a cheerful grin.

– So, what was I saying? Brineybeard wants to make us something like owners or caretakers of the ponds? Mugman, what do you think...

– We'll be his deputies, Cuphead.

– That's it! Yes! Exactly! Basically, we no longer cut up fish or pack it, go fishing, and so on! No, we'll be closer colleagues, and now it's our turn to decide who will pack the fish and who will catch it! They will call us Mr Kettle and, well, Mr Kettle... Mugman, you need a new surname! – Cuphead grabbed his boyfriend by the arms and started bounce slightly.

– And when exactly do he want to promote you? –Boris, who until then had preferred to just listen, joined the conversation. He shared the twins' optimism, but still wanted specifics. And for that, he obviously turned to Mugman, who immediately straightened up when the wolf's gaze touched his face.

– Yes, that's exactly what I'm talking about. Brineybeard said he would talk to us about it in two weeks. Basically, he's already decided everything, so all we have to do is agree, sign some papers, and find out more details about what we're responsible for.

Cuphead nodded vigorously at his brother's words; he seemed to be the only one in the room who was so excited about the whole promotion idea. Bendy just hoped that Brineybeard wouldn't change his mind; after all, he was... an emotional man. Sometimes he would say one thing and then change his mind and say something completely different. But Bendy didn't want to upset his boyfriend, so he wore a peaceful smile on his face. It seemed that this news allowed him to relax for the first time in a long time.

The sudden click of heels interrupted the joyful atmosphere in the room, and Bendy pulled his hands out of Cuphead's grip. Cuphead frowned involuntarily as he glanced at the door, knowing that no one should find out about their relationship, which made him feel even more nauseous.

The sound grew louder; it seemed as if their carrier was running rather than walking. Finally, the door flew open, and in the corridor stood a breathless junior detective who needed time to catch his breath. But he didn't allow himself that, muttering barely intelligible words under his breath, and the fact that he was leaning forward made it even harder to understand what he was trying to say.

– The-ey.. found it there...

– Felix? – Bendy pointed his tail at the water cooler. Boris got the hint and hurried to fill a plastic cup with water, while the demon approached the man, helping him to stand up, holding his arm. – Felix, what the fuck with you? Did something serious happen?

A million answers to this question flashed through Bendy's mind. Someone escaped from prison, hostages were taken, something happened to their colleague, terrorism, oh God, maybe the mayor died?! Boris held out a glass of water, and Felix snatched it from the wolf's hands, gulping down the cool liquid, then clenched the glass in his fist. It seemed he could speak now, because instead of mumbling, a loud words escaped from his mouth.

"We found evidence! I just came from the crime scene, there, in the theatre, evidence was found! This... this is the first evidence, Bendy, I thought I would collapse before I reached your office! Couldn't you have stand outside? – The man seemed to have finally come to his senses and was now acting as if he were Bendy's good friend. Well, that wasn't far from the truth. Felix was one of the first people, apart from Boris, that Bendy had spoken to at his new job.

But Bendy didn't hear his remark; he couldn't hear anyone except his own thoughts at that moment. It seemed as if time had frozen for the detective, and he couldn't believe what the cat had just said. Evidence. After a month of searching for even a single clue, they had finally found evidence! Without thinking about anything else, Bendy grabbed Felix by the shoulders and began shaking him as if letters would spill out of him and form a word.

– What!? What is the evidence? Speak up, or I'll throw you out of this office by your tail! – Bendy's words sounded like a real threat to the others, but the demon smiled broadly and spoke in a cheerful tone. It seemed that he was now the most excited person in the room. Boris was speechless, and the cups exchanged glances. Mugman's face clouded over, while Cuphead tried to force a smile.

– Easy, Bendy, easy, I won't spoil the surprise, okay? Go with your brother to the site, I'll tell the guys and Shelly that you've gone for identification. They're going to cordon off the area again because the reporters have already found out. And it seems that someone told the victim's husband about it, but that's just a rumour. – Felix twitched his tail as he watched the demon's face quickly change to disappointment at the mention of reporters. He had a long-standing feud with them and would have been happy not to give interviews to any of them.

– Like flies to shit...

– Exactly. – Felix made a pistol shape with his index finger and clicked it, pointing towards Bendy.

Then Felix smiled, adjusted his belt, tipped his hat in farewell to everyone in the office, and left to inform the others. The room fell silent for a moment, until Boris and Bendy began rushing around the office like lightning, gathering their things. Bendy took out his suitcase, throwing out unnecessary items and leaving only important papers, gloves, transparent bags, tweezers, and other odds and ends that would be needed if the evidence was in poor condition. And just so he could touch it. Boris checked his gun for ammunition and made sure there was a second pack of cigarettes in his coat pocket; today he would need it more than ever. The brothers exchanged questions about whether Boris had forgotten anything, whether Bendy had taken it, while the two cups stood in the middle of the room, not knowing where to go, surrounded by the turmoil of the two detectives' thoughts.

– Um, ahem, Bendy? – Cuphead reminded them of his existence, drawing the attention of the two men. It seemed that for the first time, Cuphead was embarrassed by the excessive attention, especially Mugman's gaze, which pierced right through him. – I'm on my break... don't you want to spend it with me..? Evidence isn't going anywhere..

Bendy threw Boris his suitcase, and Boris caught it with ease. Wolf decided not to interfere with the lovers and went out into the corridor, not straying far, his shoulder visible from the doorway. Then the demon approached his boyfriend, cupping his cheeks with his hands and pulling him closer for a kiss on the forehead. Cuphead placed his hands on top of Bendy's and squeezed them lightly. It wasn't a gesture of "I want you to stay," but rather a plea of "don't go..." as if everything would change if Bendy stepped over the threshold of the office.

– Cuphead, I'm sorry, this is incredibly important to me... You know, there hasn't been any evidence in this case for a month. A month without any real evidence, and now... now this one piece of evidence could change everything. The course of the investigation, the motive and the killer's goal. Maybe I'll finally be able to track him down, Cuphead. I can't let this slip away. I won't be able to sleep peacefully if I'm not one of the first to see this. – Bendy looked affectionately at Cuphead, which made the cup's chest tighten. Cuphead closed his eyes, pulling Bendy's hands away from his cheeks and pressing them against his chest. Bendy thought it was cute; his boyfriend was a grown man, but he was acting like a teenager.

– All right, all right, fine! But you owe me an evening. No, two, and on the third, Boris, Mugman and I will get together, understand?

– We always get together on Fridays anyway. – Bendy smiled warmly, not understanding why Cuphead couldn't just let him go.

– But do you understand or not?

– Yes, Cuphead, I promise I'll devote two days to you personally, and on Friday we'll play board games.

– Thank you, – Cuphead folded his arms across his chest, still standing with his eyes closed. But Bendy didn't go anywhere. It seemed like he was waiting for something, and he waited until Cuphead opened one eye and then quickly closed it. – What are you still standing here? Come on! You said yourself that it was urgent!

Bendy laughed, but then he ran to the doorway, snatched the suitcase from Boris's hands, and with the words "I love you!" bolted out of the office. Boris looked into the office and limited himself to waving his hand and saying a quiet "bye," after which he also disappeared into the corridor. Now the two cups stood alone in the detective's office, where the only sound was the ticking of the clock.

– We need to talk.