Archive of Our Own ^beta

Yuno knew something was wrong.

Everything about Benji screamed that he was waiting for something, maybe the universe at large, to jump out and attack him. It was written in the coiled lines of his body, in how he couldn’t quite focus on the conversation and how he kept glancing in the rearview mirrors.

When Yuno reached over to grab something, Benji jumped.

Benji Ramos, hardened criminal, jumped.

That confused Yuno more than anything else. He wanted to ask what was wrong but he also didn’t; there was a certain thrill to not knowing, to wondering at what Benji could possibly be so worried about, and so he said nothing. Not even when Benji received a phone call.

His fingers went white around the phone.

Afterward, he suggested they go to Chilliad. Claimed he thought the weather was particularly good for a mountain trip and Yuno had been all too happy to agree. It was nice to be able to fall back into old routines and let the mountain guide him, traversing its paths with ease and a speed that might’ve worried Benji if he wasn’t so lost in his own thoughts.

But Yuno knew what he was doing.

It might seem like he was wildly careening past stones and sticks, barely avoiding the trees that periodically popped into their path, obstructing the road, but even in the chaos, there was control. There was no path on this mountain that he didn’t know, no rock that he hadn’t committed to memory over countless trips to the top, so of course when they crested the summit, he immediately knew that they weren’t alone.

He said nothing.

Not to Benji—and his slit second distraction, they ran into a tree. Yuno was thrown forward, his head banging against the dashboard hard enough for him to see stars. Thankfully, his helmet absorbed the worst of the impact but Yuno still took his time crawling out of the smoking car.

It was the cold that hit him first.

It struck the bare skin of his face—he’d taken off his helmet in the aftermath of the crash and now he stood there, taking it all in. There was no wind; in fact, there was a curious absence of it. He strained his ears to hear the birds, to hear anything at all, but there was nothing. The birds that normally inhabited the nearby trees had fled, retreating to their nests, and the insects, the cicadas and mosquitoes, that liked to annoy any humans who found their way up here, were avoiding them. Staying away like even they sensed something was amiss.

Yuno glanced down the mountain.

He could just barely make out Los Santos beneath them, cast in golden light as the sun slowly winded its way toward the sea. It was altogether unhurried, meandering downward, oblivious to whatever had caused Chilliad to fall silent, and there was a thickness to the air that Yuno wasn’t used to. It wasn’t rain or even the promise of snow; instead, it was a dry heaviness. A brittleness that caused him to lick his lips, his gaze falling to the single inconspicuous thing that had drawn his attention and had caused them to crash to begin with.

There were two bikes.

Just sitting there, innocently, about a dozen feet away from them, but it wasn’t the bikes themselves that were unusual. They’d been abandoned there for a long time, had been there every time Yuno had crested the peak before, and he knew exactly where they rested, which rocks their tires had claimed as their own, which was why he knew they’d been moved.

Hardly enough to notice.

Barely perceptable—but Yuno knew.

Someone else either had been or was still here. He was lingering in that comforting thought when Benji all but exploded out of the wreckage, having finally untangled himself from his seatbelt, and he cut through the silence with all the precision of a chainsaw.

“Shit, shit, fucking shit! Life is such a pile of unceremonious shit—” Benji raked a hand through his hair, wincing when his elbow graced the door. He kicked the car in retaliation, and Yuno stifled a laugh. Benji’s gaze immediately shot to him and narrowed. “You did this.”

Yuno lifted his hands. “Woah, slow down—

“You probably find this funny, huh?” Benji glared at Yuno, and Yuno couldn’t help another laugh that burst out of him. He had to stifle it with his hand, and Benji could only shake his head. “Fucking hell, Yuno,” he muttered. “I should’ve known better than to let you drive.”

He cast a disgruntled look at their car.

Only to seemingly remember, in real time, why they came to Chilliad. His phone. The call. Light bled from Benji’s eyes and he stiffened. He scanned the mountain top, searching for anything out of place, searching for anything that might explain whatever call he’d gotten, but he came up empty-handed. He didn’t know what Yuno did; he didn’t know about the bikes.

But Yuno had no intention of telling him.

Whatever was happening, whatever threat Benij was obviously anticipating, Benji hadn’t deigned to tell Yuno about so Yuno felt no obligation to do anything differently. Besides, he didn’t even know if it was a threat or not. The people could be gone or they could be friendly. There was no reason to worry Benji for no reason, especially with Benji already so alert.

Ready.

His hand had gravitated toward his gun.

Yuno pretended not to notice and said, brightly, “At least we have a way back down!” He didn’t give Benji the chance to lay into him again as he beelined for the bikes. He wanted to check them out and see if there were any clues about who’d been here, but he never reached them.

Benji caught his wrist.

“Wait—” he pulled Yuno back. “Don’t go over there.” His fingers were tight, bruising, around Yuno’s wrist and there was something wild, panicked, in Benji’s gaze. It made Yuno hesitate.

“Why?”

“You can’t just get on random bikes. It’s not—safe.” His lips pressed into a thin line even as he grimaced, and Yuno knew that’s not what Benji wanted to say. He just couldn’t bring himself to admit the true reason he didn’t want Yuno to leave his side.

Yuno decided to play along.

He cocked his head. “What’s not safe about it?”

Tiny beads of sweat coalesced on Benji’s forehead, and a gust of wind swept through them, nearly blowing Benji away. He stiffened against it, ignoring how it tugged at his clothes, as if urging him to speak, to voice whatever had him so conflicted.

Yuno waited.

But Benji’s mouth didn’t move. It remained in that line, refusing to budge, and Yuno shrugged. “Fine,” he said. “Stay here if you want, but I’m going down the mountain." He tried to tug his arm free without much success. Benji’s grip was too firm. “Benji,” he said, after the fourth time of trying—and failing—to break free. “This really is unnecessary—”

“What if the owners come back for them?”

“They won’t.”

“But what if they do—?”

“Then we’ll deal with it.” Yuno shrugged. “It’s hardly a big deal. We steal things for a living and besides—” he offered Benji a crooked grin. “That’s what I have you for.”

Benji frowned. “What—”

“You’ll protect me, right?”

The question hovered in the air, and something shifted in Benji’s face. He cast one more look at something behind Yuno, at something Yuno couldn’t see, before his fingers fell from Yuno’s wrist. “Right,” he said, letting Yuno finally break free of him but still sticking close.

He followed Yuno to the bikes.

Yuno rummaged for keys in one and grinned when he found them. He slipped easily onto the seat and revved the engine, letting the sound envelope him. It was loud in the quiet of the mountain but not loud enough to drown out Benji.

“Fucking hell,” he muttered, holding up keys to the other bike. “Just my luck.” Yuno squinted at them and realized that they were bent; they wouldn’t be fitting into the ignition anytime soon. “Of course nothing can ever go fucking right for me.”

Yuno grinned.

“Good thing we have two bikes then.” A small smile peaked out onto his lips, and something flickered in Benji’s eyes. Maybe surprise, maybe panic, but it was quickly stifled. After a moment of Yuno staring at him expectantly, he began picking his way over to Yuno.

His footsteps were soft.

Padded by the dirt.

Once he reached Yuno, he carefully positioned himself on the very edge of the bike behind Yuno with all the delicacy of if he was handling the trigger of a gun. It wasn’t lost on Yuno that Benji intentionally set his hands on the seat itself, careful not to touch any part of Yuno.

Yuno huffed a laugh.

“Benji,” he said. “You’re going to have to hold on better than that.” Benji would break his neck if he really went down the mountain like this, and Yuno wasn’t interested in cleaning up his body.

“I’ll be fine.”

Yuno shook his head. He figured Benji wouldn’t understand until he showed him, so he shot forward. They only went a few feet but in those few feet, Benji nearly went flying off the back. He only saved himself at the last second, his arms snaking out around Yuno’s waist.

He clung to Yuno’s back.

And the bike jolted to a halt.

“Motherfucker,” Benji breathed. “You did that on purpose.” He was breathing hard, pressed against Yuno’s back, and his breath curled around the shell of Yuno’s ear, warming the back of Yuno’s neck, making him shiver. He hadn’t been this close to Benji in a while.

Yuno gave a soft hum.

Not confirming, nor denying.

He was feeling a little breathless himself, and it took a great deal of self-control—in a man who had very little of that in the first place—for Yuno not to retreat into his own head. He’d no doubt analyze every tiny detail of this moment later, committing it to memory, engraving the feel of Benji’s body pressed into his back, the steady heat of his skin, into the folds of Yuno’s brain.

Not really because it was Benji.

Although that was a part of it—but because Yuno rarely let anyone touch him like this. He shoved that thought aside, buried it in an unmarked grave, and only then did he start the bike forward again. He was already anticipating the ground giving out beneath them, the wind that would spring to life suddenly and violently, and the adrenaline that would flood his veins.

All of it a delicious delicacy.

One he so rarely let himself indulge in these days.

He’d promised himself that he’d be better, that he wouldn’t throw himself off cliffs just for the hell of it, and he’d been better for a while. But there was something about Chilliad that always dragged him back, something he couldn’t resist, and when Benji had suggested Chilliad, Yuno had known they’d end up on this cliffside, even if Benji had brought him here for another reason.

Because Yuno was impatient at heart.

He wouldn’t wait around here for something that might never happen; instead, he’d chase the much stronger high of free-falling off the side of the mountain, and he had to admit that this was Benji’s best idea yet—truly something worth dying for.

***

Ray would kill Benji.

He’d called him to get his attention—even though he hadn’t said anything—and he’d sent Benji that anonymous ping to Chilliad mainly just to fuck with him. He hadn’t expected Benji to actually show up, and he would’ve followed through with the ambush if it wasn’t for the familiar figure stumbling out of the crashed car: Yuno.

He’d taken off his helmet.

His face was flushed, and his laughter broke the cold mountain air, effectively shattering Ray’s plans as well. Ray had sent the rest of Exodus home after that. The only one left beside him had been Perez. The two of them had crouched in a nearby bush, their legs going numb, and their fingers freezing around the triggers of their guns. They’d yet to put them away.

Even though they had no intention of using them.

Not with Yuno here.

He simmered in quiet anger. It grew wings inside him, collecting feathers and wax, lodging bitterly in his throat, because Ray knew that Yuno wasn’t here by mistake. Benji had intentionally brought him—probably because he knew this was a set up.

That Ray was behind this.

He’d deliberately dragged Yuno into their mess, breaking the unspoken rule that whatever happened between them, they’d leave Yuno out of it. Ray would’ve shot Benji for that alone—disregarding everything else that had happened—but he couldn’t do that to Yuno.

Couldn’t put him in a position where he’d have to choose.

So Ray resolved to simply watch. He watched as Yuno strode over to the bikes that Ray and Perez had inspected earlier. They’d wanted to make sure that whoever left them wouldn’t return and it seemed like Benji had that same concern.

Yuno didn’t seem worried though.

He clambered onto one of them—finding keys and sliding it into the ignition. The bike had roared to life and after a moment, Benji had gotten on as well. Ray’s fingers had tightened around his gun, his entire body tensing, as Benji’s arms slid around Yuno’s waist.

Something twisted in Ray.

Something sharp and ugly, something Ray knew he had no right to feel, but something he couldn’t help but feel anyway. He wanted nothing more than to rip Benji from Yuno, to break his arms for daring to wrap them around Yuno. It took everything in him to keep himself from launching across the mountain and tearing them apart with his bare hands.

It must’ve shown on his face.

Perez cleared his throat—softly, and Ray’s gaze snapped to him. He was staring at Ray with that look that he said he knew exactly what Ray was thinking, and that thing inside of Ray twisted again. It made Ray scowl. “You can leave.”

He didn’t need Perez’s judgment.

Not in this.

Perez didn’t move, and Ray’s scowl deepened. “Leave,” he repeated, the command quiet but unmistakable. He was the only one who needed to be here. He’d tolerated Perez’s presence up until now, even when Perez ignored his first order for everyone to leave, but no longer.

Perez hesitated.

Eventually, he really did leave, but not before he gave Ray a look—full of warning. Caution. He knew how unpredictable Ray could be, how easily this situation could escalate. Ray watched him creep off down the side of the mountain, but his gaze was quickly pulled away at the sound of an engine starting up again. Ray’s gaze cut back to the two people on a bike.

His eyes narrowed.

Benji’s arms had found Yuno’s waist again. Ray watched as the bike began to inch forward, hyperaware of every inch of Benji pressed against Yuno’s spine, and when Benji’s chin fell to Yuno’s shoulder, just resting there, not moving, that thing inside Ray snapped.

His control shattered.

He didn’t think, and his body moved. It was muscle memory that had him lifting his arm, muscle memory that had his fingers tightening around the trigger, and it was muscle memory that steadied his hand. Two gunshots followed—breaking the mountain air with a bang.

Yuno flinched.

But there was no time to react. Ray’s bullets found their target nearly instantly, and Ray watched as the bike swerved wildly, both of its tires blown out by his own hand.

The bike hit a rock.

Yuno and Benji went flying.

Ray grimaced. He was seconds from getting up, from apologizing to Yuno—he really hadn’t intended for the bike to send them flying—when he stilled. His muscles tensed, his legs locking beneath him, and he could see nothing beyond the thing he’d inadvertently caused.

In his haste to break them apart, Ray had achieved the opposite.

Yuno and Benji had landed in a position that was, to put it mildly, compromising. It was the kind of thing that Ray would’ve expected to see in the Vanilla Unicorn, not on the top of a mountain, and his fingers dug into his own thighs, unable to tear his gaze away.

It was an uncomfortable sight.

Yuno was sprawled between Benji’s legs, his arms on either side of Benji, his head level with Benji’s waist, and Benji was laying down, unmoving, with Yuno on top of him. Ray could see how Yuno froze, how his eyes widened, at their unfortunate situation. He didn’t move, not even when Benji groaned and slowly propped himself up with his elbows. He blinked rapidly before his eyes focused on the man in his lap, and then, he too, froze.

As if realizing the position they were in.

He stared down at Yuno, and Yuno gave a tiny laugh. “Jesus,” he said. “Maybe you were right about it being dangerous. I really never expected the bike to swerve like that. I could’ve sworn I heard a gunshot even.” Yuno’s gaze found their discarded bike, looking anywhere but at Benji.

Benji, however, seemed unable to tear his gaze away.

His eyes were fixed on the man between his legs. They did something strange, something that made Ray’s fingers dig harder into his thighs, when Yuno laughed. Almost as if they were tracing the curve of Yuno’s lips, hyperaware of every expression Yuno made.

Every word he spoke.

“We should probably see if the bike still works.” The suggestion was quiet, intentionally light, and Ray could tell that Yuno was determined to pretend that nothing was wrong. That this was a perfectly normal situation to be in. He started trying to get up—which was a mistake.

He didn’t account for how tangled up they were.

His efforts only made it worse, and Benji sucked in a breath when Yuno accidentally put his weight on the spot between Benji’s legs. His hands flew out instinctively, stopping Yuno, stilling him, and they didn't let go. They held Yuno there.

Ray’s vision flashed red.

His hand went to his gun, and the only thing holding him back was that if he shot Benji now, he was just as likely to accidentally shoot Yuno.

“Sorry,” Yuno said, the word just barely reaching Ray’s ears. It was quiet, tense, and it didn’t help that both of them were still trying to catch their breaths. Benji just stared down at Yuno, and the longer his hands stayed there, not moving, on Yuno’s hips, the colder Ray became. “Benji, I uh—I kinda need to get up?” Yuno said it like a question, like he was asking permission, even though he was pointing out the obvious, but Benji’s brain must’ve malfunctioned.

He just kept staring at Yuno.

Naturally, Yuno kept talking. He always rambled when he was nervous. “Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you uh there—” he winced. “I swear I didn’t intend to end up in this situation—”

“Stop.”

Yuno’s mouth snapped shut.

His face was burning.

“Right,” he said. “Sorry, I should just shut up—”

“No.”

Yuno paused. “No?”

It seemed to pain Benji to speak, to form words, but for Yuno’s sake, he did. “No,” he said, and Yuno finally met his gaze. It sent an electric shock through Ray, his body stiffening, especially when Yuno’s breath caught at the look on Benji’s face. “You don’t need to stop talking, or to apologize, or to do anything for me.” Benji’s fingers loosened, and he eased himself back, even as his gaze never left Yuno’s. “Let’s just forget about this, alright? No harm, no foul.”

For a moment, Ray relaxed.

He figured Yuno would nod, and they’d untangle themselves, that this horrible situation would end and Benji would drop his hands, would drag himself to his feet, and they could forget about this ever happening. It was the best possible conclusion.

But Yuno hesitated.

Instead of pulling away, he glanced down. He glanced down and even from here, Ray could see the bulge in Benji’s pants, the thing pressing against Yuno’s leg—impossible to ignore, impossible to miss. It made Yuno’s eyes widen, and Benji immediately dropped his hands as if burned, but it was too late. Ray had already seen it.

Blood roared in his ears.

He stood on trembling legs, stood even as his rage threatened to drag him back down. It was everywhere, pooling in his veins, liquid hot, heavy, humming, at the sight of that thing, the evidence of Benji’s desire, Benji’s betrayal, spelled out for all to see.

His body moved.

It surged forward, and there was no moving aside in time, no avoiding the full overbearing force of his fury, as it collided with Benji. As he collided with Benji. Yuno was already in the process of scrambling away which made it easy for Ray to tackle Benji out from under him.

Benji grunted as Ray slammed his face into the dirt.

Ray held him there, one hand on the back of Benji’s head, the other one strangling his gun. He shoved it between Benji’s ribs, enjoying how Benji inhaled sharply at the cold press of the barrel, and Ray’s fingers dug into Benji’s hair. “You made a mistake bringing him.”

Benji tried to say something.

But Ray only shoved his face further into the dirt, making him eat a mouthful of it. Benji’s body shook in response, and Ray didn’t know if it was from anger, from rage, or something else.

He also didn’t care.

“You should never have dragged Yuno here—”

“Ray?”

That voice knocked the wind from Ray’s lungs. He glanced up, and that was all it took. That was all it took for Benji to take advantage of his moment of weakness. His head slammed back and collided perfectly with Ray’s temple. Ray recoiled, but he wasn’t fast enough. He wasn’t fast enough to stop Benji, and a moment later, he was tossed to the ground.

His ribs throbbed.

He blinked blurrily up at Benji, wondering at how quickly their positions had been reversed. He was now the one on the ground, the one with his wrists pinned above his head, with Benji’s entire body pressing down on him, but at least Ray wasn’t eating dirt.

Benji laughed.

The sound was bitter, manic. “Really?” he asked. “I never should’ve dragged him into our mess? I wonder what you’d rather I do instead, lay down and let you kill me?” The suggestion was sardonic, mocking, and Ray knew he was at a disadvantage, that he was trapped.

His lips moved anyway. “Great idea—” Benji kicked him hard in the shins, cutting Ray off. Ray bared his teeth, his eyes flashing. “At least you’d die with honor then.”

“Honor, really?” Benji laughed again. “Gods, I forgot how annoying you are.” He leaned closer, forcefully crushing Ray with his weight, making Ray breathless against his will. “I suppose you’d rather I hold your hand as you pull the trigger too? Guide your fingers to the very spot you’d use to kill me?” Everything was burning. Ray’s face, his blood, his lungs—all of it was on fire.

He wanted to shake his head.

But he was trapped. Helpless, and Benji’s grin turned wild. “Well, here I am—your sacrifice, ready for death.” A gun was forcefully shoved into Ray’s hand. “Time to be the hero. Shoot the villain when he’s defenseless, that’s what you wanted; that’s why you dragged us up here.”

His gaze bore down on Ray.

Even as he loosened his hold on Ray’s wrists, as he dragged Ray’s hand—including the gun—up to his chest. “Shoot me.” Ray did a double take. He tried to let go of the gun but Benji’s fingers wouldn’t release him, wouldn’t let him let go. “Shoot me,” Benji repeated. “And this war can be over. You’ll get what you want, and I can go back to living my life.”

Ray had wanted this.

He’d wanted this chance so badly but now that Benji was serving it up to him on a silver platter, Ray no longer found the idea as appealing. He recognized that shooting Benji would bring him nothing. It would only satisfy his own pettiness, his own selfishness.

“Do it already,” Benji snapped.

Ray realized his fingers were trembling, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t do it.

“Don’t tell me the great Raymond Romanov is scared of a little bit of blood?” Benji pressed the gun harder against his own chest, the barrel bruising his skin. Ray had to fight to keep his hands from accidentally brushing the trigger, from giving in to Benji’s demands.

“You’ll die,” Ray reminded.

Because it really seemed like Benji had forgotten that crucial detail.

Benji shrugged. “We all die eventually.” His gaze continued to pin Ray, but something in it had dimmed. Perhaps he really had forgotten in the heat of the moment and now his pride wouldn’t let him back track, wouldn’t let him admit that maybe this wasn't a good idea after all.

Ray looked away first.

“Benji,” he said, with more calm than he felt, “I’m not going to shoot you.”

There was a long moment of silence. Ray thought Benji would press his fingers against the trigger himself, that he’d make good on his words, but he abruptly released Ray. “Fine,” he spat. “Don’t shoot me then. Be a stubborn bastard and make this difficult for everyone.”

Ray’s arm fell back by his head.

He let the gun drop from his fingers. He half-expected Benji to pin him again but Benji didn’t. A frown crossed Ray’s features, and he shook his head. “I’m not doing this to be difficult.”

“Then why—”

“I refuse to kill you like this.”

On a mountain sprawled in the dirt, with Benji practically begging him to do it. He wouldn’t shoot Benji when it was what he wanted, when it’d only be falling to his ploy. He wanted Ray to shoot him because then Yuno would have no choice but to choose, and there was no way Yuno would choose Ray—not with Benji’s blood staining his hands. Not with Benji begging him to end it.

“Let me guess,” Benji said with a derisive laugh. “It’s something about honor and all that useless bullshit, that’s why you won’t kill me—”

“No, I just don’t want to get blood on my clothes.” He said it so flatly that even he didn’t know if he was joking or not. All he knew was that he was done with this. “Get off.”

Benji didn’t move.

He glared down at Ray. “And why would I do that?”

“This isn’t accomplishing anything—”

“I don’t care.”

“Well then start caring, asshole—”

“What if I like you where you are?” There was something in Benji’s gaze, a spark, a challenge, that wasn’t there before. “What if I like seeing you pinned beneath me?”

Ray stiffened.

He could feel Benji’s gaze drilling into him, making his heart speed up against his will, making his stomach do a strange traitorous flip. Ray swallowed back the words trying to escape him, the biting and the scathing and beneath all of that—impossibly—a confession.

Ray opened his mouth.

But nothing ever escaped him because Benji chose that moment to collapse on top of him, that moment to slam his head straight into Ray’s nose. Ray cried out, whatever he was going to say forgotten, as Benji’s lower half collapsed on him as well, stealing the air from his lungs, making it impossible for Ray to think. All he knew was that he could feel Benji—everywhere.

“Benji,” he said, half-strangled. “Get. The. Fuck. Off—”

“Can’t.”

“I said—”

“I can’t.” Benji let out a frustrated breath, and it tickled Ray’s neck. He could feel how warm Benji’s breath was, how warm Benji was, where his head rested on Ray’s chest, and if Ray so much as breathed wrong, it’d result in a mouthful of Benji’s hair.

He was stuck.

There was nowhere for him to go, nowhere to escape.

Someone giggled above them. It was the same person who’d taken the opportunity to throw himself on top of them, effectively knocking them all to the dirt, interrupting something—what, Ray didn’t know—and he wanted to be upset. He really did.

But Yuno was smiling down at him.

“Sorry,” he said. “I tripped.”

It would’ve been a perfectly reasonable explanation—if it made any logical sense as to why he’d trip onto them and if Ray couldn't see the grin peaking out from the corner of Yuno’s lips.

But Ray couldn’t be mad.

Not at Yuno.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, Benji was more than mad enough for the both of them. “Yuno,” he said, his voice strangled, seething. It tickled Ray’s neck again. “If you needed something, you could’ve just asked, you didn’t have to throw yourself at us—”

“I tripped.”

“You are not— that clumsy.”

Yuno shrugged. “Whether I tripped or not, this is a lot more fun.”

Benji scowled. “How is this more fun? We were in the middle of something—”

“That was kinda the point.”

“The point of what?”

“Tripping, obviously.”

Benji gritted his teeth. “Yuno, this really isn’t—”

“Necessary?” Yuno cocked his head, and then abruptly, he laughed. It must’ve been the look on Benji’s face that set him off but once he started, he couldn’t stop. He laughed and it sank into the cold distant parts of Ray, the pieces he’d striven to bury, and it unearthed them.

Made Ray feel dangerously off-kilter.

Like his foundation had been shifted and he didn’t know which way was up and which was down. Not that it particularly mattered right now—he was stuck either way. Benji muttered something against Ray’s chest, something that caught Ray’s attention, and his fingers dug into Benji’s shoulder in response. Benji sucked in a breath.

“Ray, what the fuck—”

Ray ignored him, and Benji tried to throw Ray off him, but with Yuno on top of them, it was impossible. He was trapped between Yuno and Ray, and he scowled. “Ray,” he said through clenched teeth. “Is there a reason you’ve decided to skewer my arm—”

“Take it back.”

“Let go—”

“Apologize first.”

Benji blinked. “Apologize for what?”

“Apologize,” Ray repeated, stubbornly, refusing to explain. He was fine if Benji cursed himself, Ray, and the entire universe, but Ray drew the line at cursing at Yuno.

“Why would I—” He dug his nails deeper, and Benji’s mouth slammed shut. He refused to say anything even as blood welled beneath Ray’s fingers, and for God’s sake, it was like dealing with a child. Benji was stubborn to a fault, but Ray could be stubborn too.

He wasn’t moving.

Not until Yuno got an apology.

Yuno gave a nervous laugh. “Ray, it’s really fine—”

“No.”

Ray was never good at tolerating things and he’d been quite generous so far; Benji was lucky he hadn’t shot him on sight. It was asking too much of Ray to let this go too, to let transgression after transgression slide when every one lodged like a blade beneath his heart.

“Fine,” Benji snapped. “I’ll apologize, but not for you.” He couldn’t lift his head to look at Yuno, so he stared straight ahead instead. “Yuno—” he gritted his teeth. “I’m sorry.”

Immediately, Ray let go.

His fingers left tiny angry gashes in Benji’s shoulder, but he couldn’t bring himself to feel sorry about them. They were necessary. Benji seemed to be waiting for something, and after a moment, he frowned, his gaze flicking down. “Yuno, I apologized. You can let us go now—”

Yuno chuckled.

It made Benji frown harder.

“Who said I’d let you go if you apologized?” Yuno asked. “Those were Ray’s terms, not mine.”

Ray shivered. He didn’t like being trapped either. He couldn’t move other than his fingers, not with both Benji and Yuno on top of him, and he wondered how he’d drawn the short end of the stick. If anything, it should be Benji on the bottom—not him.

“Fine.” Benji scowled. “What are your terms?”

“They’re simple.”

“I’ll be the judge of that—”

“Call off the war.” Silence fell over them. An ocean rising up to swallow the mountaintop, and Benji wasn’t the only one speechless. Ray couldn’t find words either.

Both of them had stiffened.

Eventually, Benji said, “Not everything can be solved with a snap of your fingers—”

“Of course it can.”

“That’s not how it works.”

Yuno cocked his head. “Surely the great Benji Ramos can figure out how to end one measly war?” He lifted a brow at them, and Benji shut his mouth. He was probably wondering how the hell he’d let himself get into this situation, and Ray was wondering the same.

He should’ve just taken care of Benji from the beginning.

“Habibi,” he said. “There has to be something else you want—”

“Nope.”

“What if we buy you a new car or maybe that Vinewood house—”

“I’m prepared to wait here all day.”

Benji snorted. “It’ll take us longer than that—”

“A week, then,” Yuno surmised. “Or perhaps a month. It’s not like anyone will come looking for me; I’ve vanished for longer before.”

Ray stiffened.

They couldn’t stay like this for a month.

Benji must’ve shared his thoughts. “People will come looking for us,” he warned. Sooner or later, one of their gangs would notice they were gone and would come searching.

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that.” Yuno laughed again and said brightly, “We’ll starve to death by the time anyone thinks to look on Chilliad.”

Ray and Benji exchanged a look.

It was the look of people who knew otherwise, who knew that people would think to look on Chilliad. If Ray didn’t return soon, his gang would return for him—if they hadn’t already. Benji must know that they were here at one point too; he’d known this was a set-up.

But Yuno didn’t know that.

And Ray realized that Yuno was serious. He really would keep them here until they starved if it meant they’d get along again. It was funny because Ray had thought he was luring Benji into a trap, and Benji had thought he was setting a trap for Ray by bringing Yuno, but in reality, it was Yuno who’d managed to trap them both.

“Yuno,” Benji said. “How exactly are we supposed to end the war from here?”

“It’s simple.”

“Not this again—”

“Surrender.”

Benji’s eyes widened and he physically recoiled. Well, he tried to.

“I’m not fucking surrendering,” he snapped, and Ray rolled his eyes.

“It’s not like you’d win even if we continued.”

Benji bristled. “You don’t know that—”

“Actually, I do. You fell straight into our ambush—”

“And yet, somehow, I’m still alive.” Benji raised an eyebrow. “What’s the point of an ambush if it doesn’t do anything?”

Ray scowled. “It would’ve done something if you hadn’t cheated—”

“Cheated?” Benji laughed and it grated on Ray’s nerves, making him want to dig his nails in again. “How is it cheating to hang out with a friend?”

“It’s cheating because you know I won’t do anything! Not with him here—”

“With who here?” The question came from above, making Ray instantly swallow all the words threatening to explode off his tongue. They built in his throat instead, forming a lump there.

“Nevermind,” he said.

But it was too late. Yuno cocked his head and Ray saw the gears turning in Yuno’s head. He could only imagine how nervous Benji must’ve been coming up the mountain, how ominous the phone call must’ve been if Yuno was with him, and everything that had happened since. How Benji didn’t seem surprised to see Ray, how it was almost like he knew he’d be here.

He watched Yuno realize.

Watched as the light faded from his eyes.

“Oh.” His voice was small. Too small. “I see how it is.”

Ray knew they’d fucked up. He knew that it must hurt Yuno to realize that Benji had brought him here specifically to be a pawn, a shield of some sort, in their twisted war. Once again, anger sparked. At Benji for bringing Yuno here, but also, deep down, at himself. He was the one who went through with this ambush, who forced Benji to make that choice; they were both at fault.

“Yuno, it’s not like that—”

“Right,” Yuno cut Benji off. He was staring at something over Benji’s shoulder, and Ray knew, even without looking, that there was nothing there. “It’s fine, honestly, it’s fine.” Yuno tore his gaze away and forced a smile—but it was shaky. Uneven. Like the effort cost him.

Ray’s chest tightened.

He watched Yuno struggle, watched him fight to regain control, to knock all these unexpected emotions back to their graves, so he could forget about them again. So he could pretend like they’d never existed at all. But still, they persisted, and Yuno said, quietly, “I don’t blame you. If I was in a war, I’d probably use me too.”

The admission broke Ray.

It broke his brain, his heart, and even, belatedly, his body. He felt like someone had dropped a mountain on top of him and he didn’t know how to crawl out from under it, how to offer Yuno any form of comfort when he was partially at fault for the tremble in Yuno’s voice.

For the faraway look in his eyes

For how his body deflated on top of them.

Ray’s fingers found Benji’s shoulder again. Benji only winced in response. Perhaps he knew that Ray wasn’t trying to hurt him—he just needed something to grab onto.

Something to anchor himself.

“Yuno,” Benji finally said, his voice soft. “Stop.”

But it was like Yuno couldn't hear him.

Ray swallowed the lump in his throat. “Yuno?”

His voice made Yuno shudder. He slowly came back to them, retreating from his own mind. He blinked at the dying sun, at the golden light falling on his face, and then, he looked down.

At them.

His mouth formed a tiny oh.

He offered a sheepish grin. “Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to—”

“I’m the one who's sorry.” Benji let out a breath, and the tension fled his body. He went boneless on top of Ray, and Ray grunted. He was forced to shift to accommodate Benji and they sank further together, melting into the ground. It was hard to tell where Ray began and Benji ended. Benji was everywhere but strangely enough, Ray found he didn’t mind it. “Ray was right,” Benji said. “I never should’ve brought you here.”

Yuno shook his head. “It’s fine—”

“No.”

“No?”

“You have a right to be upset, Yuno.” Yuno blinked at Benji. He didn't seem to know what to do with that, if he should really be angry at them or not. “I fucked up.”

Ray swallowed past the lump in his throat.

He’d wanted Benji to apologize, to feel bad about dragging Yuno into their shit, but the longer this apology dragged on, the more his own guilt grew. “I’m sorry too,” Ray admitted, and in the silence that fell, in the quiet, a tentative peace was born. It was born out of their mutual respect, mutual love, for the man on top of them, but then, that peace shattered.

Benji scowled. “You just can’t be outdone, can you?”

“What’s that supposed to—”

“If I apologize, you have to apologize too. Gods, is everything a fucking competition to you?” Benji was glaring at him from his chest, and Ray scowled.

“That’s not why I—”

“Admit it. You just can’t live with Yuno seeing me as a better person—”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

They glared at each other, and above them, Yuno laughed. He seemed to have recovered, his emotions carefully shoved back under control, under the mask he always wore, and Benji’s jaw flexed. “Yuno,” he said. “What will it take for you to kindly get the fuck off?”

Yuno gave a light hum.

“I already said what it’ll take.”
Benji fixed him with a look. “You’re crazy.”

Ray scowled, his fingers finding Benji’s arm again. Benji grimaced. His glare turned on Ray. “Can you stop fucking doing that?” he snapped. “I didn’t even do anything—”

“Watch your tongue.”

“He deserved it—”

Ray graduated to scraping his nails this time. Some part of him enjoyed the sharp inhale he got in response, and Ray expected Benji’s mouth to slam shut, expected him to become sullen and annoyed with no way to retaliate, but this motherfucker actually found a way.

Even while pinned between them.

Honestly, Ray should’ve seen it coming.

He froze when he felt it—the first scrape of teeth against his skin. “Benji—” his words were cut off when those teeth sank into his skin. It sent a shiver through Ray, pain flaring in his neck but also something dangerously close to pleasure, and a groan escaped Ray.

It made Benji instantly break away.

He panted against Ray’s neck, and when he propped himself up as much as he could, he stared down at Ray. Stared down at him like he was some creature he didn’t recognize. Like it was some weird hybrid mix of Ray and the person who’d made that noise beneath him.

Both of them were at a loss.

It was Yuno who broke the silence with a laugh.

“Benji,” he said. “What did I say about biting people?”

Ray stiffened. Had Benji done this before? Was Yuno there? His fingers curled into Benji’s skin, almost without thinking, and Benji didn’t even seem to notice. He was too busy trying to smooth the panic from his expression. He cleared his throat and averted his gaze.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about—”

“Oh, nonsense. We had a whole conversation about it—right after you said you wanted to sleep with my sister.” Yuno raised an eyebrow. “My twin sister.”

Ray frowned.

“Don’t bring that up,” Benji said. His expression had turned dark.

Yuno shrugged. “It seemed relevant. She was right, you know? You really shouldn’t do these kinds of things without asking—”

Ray didn’t know what came over him.

Maybe the scratching and the biting had made him bold. Maybe he just couldn’t help himself when it dangled there, so perfectly, practically begging him to fix it. It was a single strand of hair that had fallen into Yuno’s face, and Ray reached around Benji, tucking it behind Yuno’s ear.

Yuno’s lips parted in surprise.

Ray stared at his own hand for a long moment, wondering what he’d just done, but Yuno, thankfully, didn’t seem mad about it. He tilted his head. “Ray?” he asked. Ray let his hand fall to the dirt beneath him, and he cleared his throat.

“Sorry,” he said. “I don’t know why I did that.”

He was suddenly all too aware of the body pressed down on him, how he could feel every part of Benji against him, how Benji’s knee was digging dangerously close to the space between Ray’s legs, and how Benji’s lips hovered over Ray’s skin, waiting, even as his hands closed around Ray’s wrists. He pinned Ray again, leaving him entirely at his mercy.

But it didn’t bother Ray.

Not as much as it did moments before.

“You really can’t help yourself,” Benji said.

Ray bristled. “I didn’t mean to—”

“You’ve never known how to keep your hands to yourself. I would’ve thought you’d learn some self-restraint over the years but now you’re even dragging Yuno into it.”

Ray had no idea what Benji was talking about.

He might’ve dated half the girls in the city but he was pretty sure he’d never touched Benji—not like this—and he was certain he’d never done something like this to Yuno before; he would’ve remembered it. It would’ve been something he’d have to try to forget.

“You’re the one who dragged Yuno into it,” he reminded. “You brought him here—”

“Becuase I didn’t want to fucking die, alright?”

Ray blinked. “What?”

“I knew you’d kill me if I didn’t bring him with me.”

“You could’ve fought back—”

“I’m tired of fighting, Ray.”

Ray frowned. “You can’t be tired of it. We’re at war—”

“For a stupid fucking reason that doesn’t even matter.”

“Of course it matters.”

“Does it?” Benji asked.

Ray couldn’t believe this. “If you really think this war is so pointless, then why the hell did you start it—”

“I didn’t start anything.” Benji glared at him. “You’re the one who left.”

“Because you were going to kick out Perez.”

“He househeisted another gang—”

“That was a misunderstanding.”

“Right, that’s what he’d tell you.” Benji scoffed. “You’re still as hopeless as ever.”

Ray stiffened. “I’m not hopeless—”

“Everything was going to be fine until you decided it wasn’t enough.”

“I—what?”

“You decided you weren’t satisfied with half of everything—”

“I never said that!”

Benji glared at him. “You didn’t have to. I agreed to split everything and then that night, while I was asleep, you went and started a war anyway.”

Ray opened his mouth. Closed it.

He shook his head. “That’s not what happened.”

“Then what—”

“You said you’d consider giving us half of everything.”

“Motherfucker, that’s the same thing—”

“I thought you’d change your mind,” he admitted.

That’s why he’d launched an attack first. Benji’s face darkened. “So you didn’t trust me.”

Ray blinked. “That’s not—”

“You didn’t trust that I’d keep my word—”

“I didn’t trust that I could handle it if you said no.” He grimaced. “On the off-chance that you did decide you didn’t want to share everything after all.” That was the true reason he’d attacked. He didn’t think he could handle Benji rejecting their offer, rejecting him—

“You’re an idiot.”

Ray bristled. “I’m not—”

“Why the fuck would I say no to that?”

“Well, I just thought—”

“Stop fucking thinking! You’ve never been good at that so I don’t know why you suddenly decided to start now.” Benji glared at him, and Ray hesitated. He realized Benji was pissed. Not because of the war but because Ray had thought he’d reject him.

“You were really going to split everything?”

“Of course,” Benji said. “Hades was as much your gang as it was mine.”

Ray winced, realizing how badly he’d fucked this up. He could’ve avoided a whole war if he’d just waited to hear what Benji would say. “You’re an idiot,” Benji repeated, just in case Ray hadn’t heard him the first time, and above them, Yuno laughed again.

“I think you’re both idiots here.”

They scowled.

But neither of them could really disagree. Yuno beamed down at them. “But now that you both realize it was just a misunderstanding, you guys can stop fighting and we can leave—”

“We’re still at war,” Ray protested.

Yuno frowned. “Why? You both agreed it’s stupid.”

“Ending a war isn’t that simple—”

“Ray, we might as well listen to Yuno.” Ray blinked. “It’s not like we have much of a choice.” Benji huffed a laugh and Ray had to admit he had a point. If they didn’t end the war now, they’d be stuck here until either Yuno got bored, they starved to death, or one of his gang members returned to check on them, in which case he could only imagine their reaction to seeing Ray pinned beneath Benji; that’d be harder to explain than ending the war.

“Fine,” he said. “We can call it a truce.”

The second the words left his lips, a weight lifted off him. Benji sighed in relief and sat up, leaving Ray in the dirt. Eventually, he offered Ray a hand, and Ray stared at it. He caught Yuno giving them an encouraging smile and a thumbs up, and Ray couldn’t help but laugh too.

He took the offered hand and let Benji haul him to his feet.

His body swayed, unsteady after being on the ground for so long, and Benji steadied him with a hand to the forearm. Yuno’s grin widened at the sight. “See,” he said. “This wasn't that hard—”

Ray and Benji exchanged a look.

A moment later, they tackled Yuno to the ground. Yuno let out a little shriek as he went down but he didn’t put up a fight, letting them pin him beneath them. He even laughed again, and Benji returned his grin. “Got you now,” he said. “It’s our turn to hold you hostage.”

Ray leaned in close, his body pinning Yuno more firmly, and Yuno’s breath caught. His smile turned nervous. “Ray—” Ray’s hand found Yuno’s hair. He stroked the soft strands and Yuno tried again, a slight frown on his face. “Ray, what are you—” Ray gave a sharp tug.

It was enough to shut Yuno up.

His mouth snapped shut, and Ray admired them. He admired Yuno’s lips, inches from his own, and he closed the remaining distance, pressing a soft kiss to the corner of Yuno’s mouth. Yuno squirmed under them but Ray held him in place. Next to him, Benji did the same.

His grin was fierce.

“You brought this on yourself.”

His words were rough, sending a shiver through Ray. Yuno didn’t seem to know what to say. He’d stopped struggling and was now just staring up at them, his eyes wide. “I really don’t—” Once again, Ray silenced him. This time with a kiss to the bridge of his nose.

But Yuno was stubborn too.

He swallowed and tried again. “This really isn’t necessary—”

“Of course it is.” Benji’s hand joined Ray’s, tangling itself in dark strands. “You’re the one who started this game.” Yuno tried to shake his head, to refute them, only to realize that even that was caught firmly in their grasps. A frown tugged at his lips again.

He turned to Ray, probably knowing he’d be the easier one to convince. “Ray,” he said. “I thought you were trying to keep your hands to yourself?” He looked pointedly down at the arm wrapped around his waist, at Ray’s hand in his hair, and Ray knew he should probably be embarrassed but he just shrugged.

“There are always exceptions, habibi. Besides—” his gaze found Benji’s and his lips curved into a wry smile. “You should be happy. We’re finally getting along.” It just took them teaming up on Yuno to do it and Yuno frowned in earnest now.

“Ray, this really wasn't what I had in mind—”

“Too bad.” Benji’s fingers curled in Yuno’s hair. “If we can’t have a war, we’re going to have to find other ways to entertain ourselves.” His gaze traced Yuno, lingering on his mouth, and Yuno’s eyes widened. Maybe he’d just realized what exactly they were implying.

“Ray, Benji—”

“Shush, habibi.” Ray pressed another kiss to Yuno’s face. “Aren’t you always disappearing because you’re bored?” He kissed him again, this time letting his tongue snake out. It flicked across Yuno’s cheek and Yuno shuddered in response. “Maybe it’s time you tried something new.” Ray let his gaze climb to Benji. “Maybe it’s time we all tried something new.”

His suggestion hovered in the air.

Ray didn’t know if Benji knew what he was suggesting, if he was actually down for it—Benji could’ve easily just been going align with it until now—but Benji grinned. “For once,” he said. “I like how you’re thinking.” Ray frowned and opened his mouth, which Benji took as an invitation.

He kissed Ray.

Not subtly but hard and passionate. He dragged Ray in by the collar, ignoring Yuno’s surprised squeak beneath them, and they were a clashing mess of heat and tongues. They kissed the same way they argued—with all of themselves, all in, neither of them letting the other win.

When they broke apart, he and Benji stared at each other for a long moment. Then, Ray laughed. It burst out of him and Benji froze only to slowly relax. The corners of his lips lilted.
“What’s so funny?” he asked. “Did you hit your head on the way down—”

“Sorry,” Ray gasped. “It’s just your face—”

Benji raised an eyebrow. “I kissed you and now you’re insulting my face? How cruel.” Ray didn’t bother responding. He just pulled Benji in for another kiss, effectively silencing him, and Ray didn’t know why he’d never tried this before. This was so much more effective than his usual methods of silencing people. When they pulled apart again, Benji said nothing.

Ray didn’t either.

He admired the sight Benji made. His cheeks were flushed, his lips swollen from the kissing, and it was such a devastating sight, Ray almost leaned in to kiss him again. He would’ve done it too had he not heard Yuno’s faint oof beneath him. Ray realized he’d accidentally shifted so his elbow was digging into Yuno’s ribs. He quickly removed it, and Yuno flashed him a smile.

“Thanks, Ray–”

He didn’t have the chance to finish before Ray was kissing him again. This wasn’t a fleeting teasing kiss either. It was directly on Yuno’s lips, although it wasn’t forceful. Not like it was with Benji. Ray gave Yuno every chance to pull back but much to Ray’s surprise, Yuno didn’t.

He actually kissed back.

Yuno Sykk, the same man who’d always declined anything and everything to do with romance, kissed back. Ray was momentarily stunned. He stopped functioning and just let Yuno kiss him. In the background, he heard Benji laugh. It made Ray’s fingers tighten in Yuno’s hair, tugging softly, and Yuno groaned. That sound snapped Ray out of it.

He tried to kiss back but Yuno was already pulling away.

Ray tried to follow, of course, leading to Yuno settling a hand on Ray’s chest. Ray stilled under that hand. He was barely breathing as he stared at Yuno. There was a soft teasing smile on Yuno’s lips, and he tilted his head. “What?” he asked. “That’s what you wanted, wasn't it?”

Ray’s mouth was dry.

Words failed him.

He wanted to say that yes, this was what he’d wanted, what he’d imagined, for so long, but the words never left his lips. There was a sharp pressure on his neck, followed by something warm and wet sliding over his skin, and Ray shuddered, a sound escaping him.

It made Benji bite down harder.

Hard enough where Ray felt the world threaten to slip away. If he wasn’t already laying down, his legs would’ve given out on him then and there. A heady rush filled his stomach and he groaned. Yuno, ever the opportunist, tugged Ray in by his collar, pressing their lips together again. It was almost too much for Ray, the sweet heat of Benji’s mouth lapping at his neck, and Yuno’s tongue, gently exploring the crevices of Ray’s mouth.

Ray was distracted.

Too distracted to realize that Yuno had slowly started creeping upward. It was only once Yuno was sitting before him that Ray realized this whole time, Yuno had been gradually chasing him back with his tongue. Yuno finally broke away, and Ray’s gaze found him.

“Habibi,” he said. “Get back down.”

“No.”

Something in Yuno’s eyes shone; he knew what he was doing.

“Habibi—Yuno.” Ray didn’t have the chance to say more because another open-mouthed kiss, more teeth than tongue, found his neck. It chased the words away, distracted Ray enough to make him forget what he was saying. He was too distracted by the tongue lapping at his skin, by Benji’s mouth on his body, working its way up his jaw, and when Benji went in for another kiss, Ray caught his mouth instead. The kiss dissolved from there—their teeth scraped against each other, their tongues fighting for control in a sloppy, messy, battle of wills.

But Ray didn’t mind.

He was so distracted he almost didn’t hear it. The dull roar of an engine behind them. It was Benji who broke away, Benji whose eyes flicked behind Ray and landed on something, widening on something Ray couldn’t see, and Ray’s stomach dropped.

Yuno was no longer in front of him.

Benji was already throwing himself to his feet. “Wait, Yuno, don’t—” Ray’s heart shot into his throat and he knew what he’d find even before he turned around. His gaze landed on Yuno. He was on another motorcycle, dangerously close to the edge of the mountain. His clothes were whipping dangerously in the wind as he stood on the precipice. Ray scanned the ground frantically for his gun, but he didn’t know where it’d gone, and he knew, as his eyes shot to Yuno again, that he’d be too late. He wouldn’t make it to him in time.

Neither would Benji.

He was running toward Yuno—full on sprinting—but Yuno didn’t seem to notice. He was staring at something over the horizon, and his bike started forward. Ray’s heart shot into his throat, and even though Ray knew Yuno had jumped off Chilliad many times before, that if anyone could survive the trip again, it’d be him, that didn’t stop him from picturing it.

Yuno’s broken, bleeding body.

Splattered onto rocks and snow far below.

Yuno’s front tires left solid ground and a gunshot rang out. It exploded into the night and Yuno gave a yelp as his bike, once again, spun out of control. Ray watched Yuno tilt, watched his body tip over the side, primed to fall to his death, when Benji lunged.

His hand caught Yuno’s arm.

His fingers dug in, and he dragged Yuno back from the precipice. He pulled him so hard they went sprawling onto the dirt, but all Ray cared was that Yuno was alive. He was safe, tucked into Benji’s arms, and while Benji heaved, Yuno frowned slightly.

“Benji,” he began.

But he never finished.

Ray reached them in that moment, and his hand shot out, wanting to cradle Yuno’s face, but Yuno flinched. Ray’s hand stalled in the air between them, his breath catching, but in the end, he couldn’t keep his body to himself. Not when Yuno kept trying to get away from him.

He let his hand drop.

Instead, he warped Yuno in his arms, pulling Yuno against his chest in a crushing hug. Almost as if he was trying to mold Yuno into his body, to keep him in the safety of his arms forever, and Yuno was stiff, uncompromising, at first, but after a few long moments, he patted Ray’s back.

Awkwardly.

Like he couldn’t figure out why Ray was holding him so tightly, or why Benji continued to hover near them, a silent tension radiating from him, like he was fighting the urge to do the same thing as Ray, and that’s when Ray noticed the figure standing next to him.

He didn’t have the capacity for shock.

For anger.

His arms tightened around Yuno. Perez stared at the ground. His face was lowered, and there was a gun in his hand. It seemed like he’d followed in Ray’s footsteps and had stepped in when it became clear Benji wouldn’t reach Yuno in time. For that alone, Ray would forgive him for disobeying orders and sticking around after Ray told him to leave.

“Perez,” he said.

Perez finally looked up, and Ray gave him a tiny nod. Acknowledgement. Thanks. Forgiveness. It was all Ray could manage right now, and Perez must’ve known that too because he hesitated. His gaze flicked to Benji but he said nothing. Nothing even though their enemy was before him. Perhaps he’d overheard that the war was over, or he just knew Ray couldn’t care less about the war right now. Not when he’d almost lost Yuno.

His chest tightened.

Perez cast one last look at them before he left. He probably sensed that his presence wasn’t welcome, that now was the best time to make his escape—when they were both distracted by Yuno. Benji had stiffened as soon as Perez arrived, and he didn’t relax even when he was gone. His gaze turned to the bundle in Ray's arms, and Ray glanced down. He realized that Yuno had been watching him, studying his face. Ray heated under the attention.

He cleared his throat. “Yuno.” It came out firmer, steadier, than he’d thought it would. “Please—” his fingers curled into Yuno’s hoodie. “Never do that again.”

Yuno blinked.

He shivered in the harsh wind, suddenly looking a lot smaller than he had moments before. He opened his mouth but words failed him when Benji placed his own jacket over Yuno’s shoulder. Benji followed his jacket, settling down behind Yuno. He buried his face into the crook of Yuno’s neck and said, “Ray’s right.” His voice was hoarse, muffled. “Please—never do that again.”

Yuno only frowned.

He obviously didn’t understand what he’d done to warrant such a reaction. He was at a loss and his gaze flicked back to Ray. Ray took pity on him. His voice was surprisingly even. “If you needed excitement that bad, habibi,” he said. “You should’ve said something.”

Yuno must’ve grown bored while they were kissing each other, and Ray’s heart twinged. He waited for Yuno to get what he meant, but Yuno just stared back at him blankly. Ray realized he’d have to make himself a little more clear so he lifted a finger to Yuno’s jaw. He titled up his chin, his gaze falling to Yuno’s mouth, and it formed a tiny perfect o.

Ray had to refrain from kissing it again.

Kissing him again.

He’d already pushed it enough tonight and he had a feeling that if he did anything more, Yuno would run from him. From them. It was a miracle he hadn’t run already, although to be fair, it wasn’t for a lack of trying. Ray refused to be guilty about that fact.

Yuno averted his gaze.

But he didn’t pull away, and Ray took that as a good sign.

“It wouldn’t have done anything to me,” Yuno said. “I’ve jumped off Chilliad so many times, it’s as easy as hacking a bank. It comes second nature to me.”

Ray swallowed. “That doesn’t make it better.” He was trying so hard to be gentle, to be understanding, when he really just wanted to shake Yuno upside the head and make him promise to never do something like that again—even though he knew that was unreasonable.

This was just who Yuno was.

Benji’s gaze met his from Yuno’s shoulder, and something silent passed between them. Understanding, maybe. Agreement. Neither of them liked the idea of Yuno needlessly throwing himself into danger and if they could do anything to do that, to keep Yuno entertained, to give him that spark, that thrill, he was always after, then they would.

Ray let his hand fall from Yuno’s face.

“Habibi,” he murmured.

His hand found Yuno’s and he brought it up to his lips. He pressed a soft kiss there, to Yuno’s fingers, tasting salt. “Habibi,” he repeated, the word a reverence. Yuno didn’t move. His gaze tracked Ray’s every movement, watched as Ray planted kiss after kiss on his fingers.

His frown faded some.

It softened in the face of Ray’s kisses.

“Yuno,” Ray finally said, planting one last kiss on Yuno’s hands before letting go. Benji didn’t though. He turned his head into Yuno’s hair, breathing in the soft strands. There was a flicker of jealousy in Ray, a fleeting murmur, before it was gone.

“What do you say about robbing a bank—for old time’s sake?” Benji asked.

Yuno perked up. “Really?”

“Yeah, and maybe afterward, we can go back to Ray’s place.” Ray watched Yuno’s face closely, looking to see reluctance, hesitation, and Yuno cast a glance at Ray. Not searching, not anymore, not even looking for agreement or permission. Just looking.

Eventually, Yuno nodded.

“That sounds perfect,” he said.

Ray’s heart warmed and instead of untangling themselves, he swept Yuno into his arms and stood up, all in one motion. Yuno protested but not nearly hard enough to free himself. He seemed mostly content to let Ray carry him with Benji leading the way, and when Benji caught Ray looking, he grinned. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s show him how to really have fun.”

For once, he and Benji were in agreement.