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Jongler was in a situation that had basically become routine for them, just like tying their bandana every morning and giving Tenna his eye drops.
They were sinking on the beanbags surrounding their boyfriend’s theoryboard, while said boyfriend talked and talked, and rambled and rambled endlessly, occasionally taking a few steps back just to stare at the corkboard in total silence before darting forward to aggressively shift a few pins around.
Normally they tried to pay attention, they really did, but today, after almost 2 whole months with no new information about Mike, Battat had stumbled onto something, Jongler would have loved to know at least what it was,but trying to piece it together from Battat’s fragmented mumblings was an impossible task.
Suddenly, a cold face nudged the side of their face, a familiar carefree smile met their gaze. Their other boyfriend was also there, silently sitting on an adjacent beanbag with his legs resting draped across Jongler's lap, he had propped himself up with one arm to get Jongler’s attention, clearly bored.
Jongler spoke in a whisper to avoid distracting Battat "Hey buddy, wazzup?" Pluey shrugged before nuzzling deeper against their flat face, He wasn’t wearing his mike suit but his fedora was purposefully hung over the bag chair, which was a clear sign that he was waiting for pets. Jongler began scratching the top of his head , making Pluey begin to purr “aww, dat’s cute…”
As Pluey settled into being held, no longer blocking their entire field of vision, Jongler's eye drifted back to Battat who was still mumbling while re-reading his own notes, one finger mindlessly pressing down on a red pin.
Jongler leaned closer to Pluey “uhh…say Plues, did ya understand, like, any of what da boss’s saying?” he shook his head, then signed “he'll explain later, let him talk for now”.
he was right, Battat always explained everything to them once he had actually figured it all out, this was still a work in progress, and as long as it didn’t drag for too long and spiral into him neglecting his needs or like, ripping the couch out of frustration, there shouldn’t have been any issues.
They went back to petting Pluey, both sinking deeper into the bags, almost laying down completely, they found Battat's muffled mumbling mixed with Pluey's purrs to be weirdly soothing… they could almost…
“HEY! HEY! Are you two even listening to me?!?” Battat snapped his finger pointedly
whoops- they had drifted off a bit, Pluey let a out a music note to which Battat replied by dragging his hand over his own face with a lengthy “urggg whatever” turning his head back at the board, “not like there much to even listen to, i really hoped i could have FOUND SOMETHING BY NOW!! but noooo” he slumped slightly while staring at the strings, seeming almost defeated “nothing connects to nothing…”
It was pretty sad to see him like this, especially knowing how incredibly excited he had been just an hour ago. “oh… boss, uhh.. maybe ya should take’a break?” Jongler suggested “let da ol’ theory juice re-charge a bit” Pluey patted the bean bag next to them, “ ‘nd deez pea bag’s pretty comfy ya’know?”
Battat waved a hand dismissively “nah, i just need to think a bit longer…” he stopped in the middle of the sentence, “...wait- bean bags?!” he said as if he was just now discovering their existence, which was weird considering they had been there even before they moved in.
“uh.. yeah, pea bags? No waits its bean! right, sorry's” Jongler responded simply
Battat seemed incredibly confused “but… we didn’t-” suddenly, his expression shifted into pure realization “Oh… OH ANGEL! RIGHT! THE BEAN BAGS” He launched himself on his knees in a way that could not have been painless “WHY DID I NOT THINK OF THIS BEFORE??”
He began frantically reading the label of the one on which Pluey had been sitting just a minute ago, smiling and giggling as he wrote the information down on sticky notes.
“yes…yessssss it’s all coming together nowwwww!! eh eh eh” He scrambled back to his feet and ran at the board again, slapping note after note down and connecting them each to a string and, acting in a way that made his partners worry, more than a bit.
oh, he had gotten into one of those moods again.
Pluey put on a worried pouty look, normally whenever something like this happened, it was him who took the responsibility to snap Battat out of it, by biting him of course. but last time he unfortunately got a bit too rough and accidentally broke Battat’s skin. He hadn't meant to hurt him, and Battat forgave him immediately, but they could understand why he didn’t want to try that method again.
so the responsibility fell upon Jongler, fortunately, they already had a plan in mind.
Pippins, in general, are very easily excitable Darkners, that gamblers high was one they chased pretty often. and Zappers were the ones tasked with getting them back to reality before they poker their way into bankruptcy (or into fist fights), it wasn’t something they were taught to do in training but the other zappers had a pretty straight forward procedure to calm the little freaks down, just spin their heads.
1)Go behind them 2) give their head a few spins 3) guide them to a safer (gambling free) space while they were dizzy
They did it all the time, never with Battat though, there was never the need to.
He had always been very different from the other pippins, not only in physical appearance but in his demeanor. He didn't have that “malevolent puppy running and jumping around” energy all the time, mostly keeping to himself, Jongler didn’t think they ever even saw him playing any casino game with the others.
Still, he was a Pippin, and everyone knew Pippins loved having their heads spun. It always made them burst into fits of laughter. Jongler assumed it must have been a similar feeling to being tickled. Some Pippins had even walked up to them on occasion to ask for a spin, so Jongler was confident this would work perfectly
They go up, much to Pluey's discontent and confusion mixed curiosity. They got behind Battat and placed their hands on his head, giving him just enough time to understand what was going to happen, before giving his head a firm, solid spin.
the slap that their hand made was much louder than they expected.
Jongler would have worried about it, but their attention was instantly seized by the gut-wrenching scream that tore from Battat.
His dice head spun inconceivably fast, so much that Battat couldn’t get it to stop, even when he desperately locked his arm around his head, pressing it against his own chest, digging his pointy fingers into the skin, nothing, nothing worked.
The stunt caused him to lose his balance and crash hard onto the floor.
The flat surface should have stopped the spinning, it always stopped the other pippin's head, but Battat's head kept its momentum, causing his body to dangerously skip and bounce against the floorboards.
Jongler froze, they got down on their knee but couldn’t say or do anything, not like they even knew what to do, that shouldn’t have happened, it never happened before and the cries of pain from his boyfriend surely weren’t helping keep the panic down.
without any warning Battat’s upper body was elevated so that his head was spinning in mid-air. Pluey had moved in and was now holding Battat for his torso, Jongler followed his lead placing both hands on his back to steady him, giving Pluey the opportunity to take hold Battat’s hands.
Feeling the familiar contact, Battat couldn't help but cry out for him “P l u e y… *hick* P l u e y m a k e i t s t o p…”, his scattered sobs were so painful to hear.
Pluey gently rubbed his hands and began humming a soothing song, consoling him was all he could hope to do.
The entire ordeal likely lasted less than a minute, but each second that passed only made them more worried about the Battat’s condition,
his head had almost made it completely still before Pluey took him from Jongler’s hold into the gentlest carry they had ever seen form him. The two moved out of Jongler's vision, who obviously just sat there, being completely useless. The sound of Battat being physically sick from the intense dizziness echoed from the hallway, making Jongler's stomach turn as well.
Of course, such a tumble would give anyone nausea, let alone someone as small, as fragile, as the small pippins that was Battat, especially after being… well Jongler could only think of words like “beaten” “hit” "abused” “assulted”, how could they not? with that guilt that was eating them up from the inside, creating the perfect pit for their heart to sink into as they caught the movement from the bathroom towards their shared-bedroom, they managed to stand up, now seeing Pluey wrapping a blanket around the shaking green figure, patting his shoulder before parting towards the living room, passing next to Jongler on his hurry way and only sparring them a pissed look.
He was mad, and oh sweet angel did he became scary when he was mad.
he had stopped at the medicine cabinet where Jongler followed him, they tried to speak but they couldn’t get much of a word out before he started yelling, strangled musical notes that they couldn’t hope to understand and when Jongler couldn't decipher the sound, Pluey’s frustration only escalated.
“Pluey please! i’s can’t understand what youse saying!” jongler pleaded
Pluey let out a sharp note, looking around and picking up the first piece of paper and pen they found, writing in bold messy handwriting “WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM?!?!”
Jongler put their hands up defensively “I’s had no idea das was gonna happen! Really! I’s swear!!”
Pluey was fuming, cat ears pressed flat against his head and feline tail swiping around, on the same piece of paper they wrote “YOU KNOW HE'S SENSITIVE!!”
the words pierced right thought them, he was right, how could they have been so incredibly reckless? They knew Battat was more delicate and sensitive than the other Pippins, he had explicitly explain it before, Jongler felt sick to their soul, the weight of their own thoughtlessness crushing down on them
“Plue… I’s.. uh… i-it never happen with any other pippins so.. Uh. I don't know! i just didn't think it was gonna be a problem!” Jongler hated how weak the defense sounded the moment it left their mouth, they cursed themself, were they actually trying to defend themself? after what they did?
Pluey stayed silent, almost looking shocked before letting out another shout of notes, it sounded like he was asking them something, he wrote again with even less restraint this time “YOU MORON HE’S NOT LIKE OTHER PIPPINS!!! YOU SHOULD FUCKING KNOW THAT BY NOW!! WHAT? DO YOU SERIOUSLY NEVER LISTEN TO HIM WHEN HE TALKS??? ARE YOU STUPID OR DO YOU JUST NOT CARE?!?"
Jongler read that note, over and over again, almost weirded out by how accurately it mirrored the things they were already telling themself, Pluey didn’t continue arguing and went back into searching around the cabinet
“How is he now…?” Jongler asked quietly.
Pluey stopped for a moment, clearly debating something in his head before handing them the first aid kit and pointing to their bedroom, he was telling them to go help him out, Jongler nodded silently and walked in.
Battat was curled up on the edge of the bed with a blanket draped over his head, which he was holding still with a hand, the other cupping his own cheek, whipping the tears that quietly streamed down his face.
Jongler stood next to the weeping figure, they almost couldn’t handle watching him, all the energy from before completely drained, leaving him with those hollow, exhausted eyes, the only sign of life was his shaking.
Jongler walked to the open side of the bed. Battat’s glassy eyes tracked their movement.
“Can I…?” Jongler asked softly.
Battat gave a weak murmur to give his consent. Jongler sat down, neither knew what to say, so they sat in near silence if not for the distant musical notes Pluey was unconsciously growling out.
“Do youse need anything?”
Battat weakly pointed to the first aid kit. Angel, he wasn't even talking, that was the most unnatural.
Jongler almost wished Battat would yell at them, chew them out for being irresponsible or tell them he never wanted to see them again, anything would be better than seeing him this broken down, trembling hands struggling to open the case, and even worse, how he flinched when Jongler reached to help.
“Please Boss… just, uh, let me help you out ok?
Battat looked so small, like a puppy who just beaten up, giving out the smallest “ok”
They slowly, gently dropped the blanket down to be sitting on his shoulders, revealing that the forced rotation had left what looked like an abrasion burn that spanned all around his neck.
Jongler stared at the raw, red ring, taking in a slow breath to calm their nerves before they reached into the kit “I'm gonna clean it up, it may burn a bit, youse alright with dat?”. another nod from Battat
They moved slowly, the wipes didn't contain any alcohol so it didn't sting but they were still dragging it with a feather light touch in circles to minimize the pressure, to not hurt Battat even more than what they already had. It was a miracle he was even allowing them this close, their gaze moved to his face.
There were a few of those same burns on the sides of his head but they couldn't focus on those, for a brief moment all they could think about was how beautiful their boyfriend looked.
He was glowing, like, Literally glowing! A somewhat faint green light just below his white skin, it seemed to leak easier through his freckles as those glowed brighter, making his face look like the night sky. Oh Angel, he was gorgeous.
Their trance was cut when they noticed a shadowy arm moving to hug Battat, Pluey had slipped into the room like the shadow he was, with a bottle of water and some pain medications that were placed on the nightstand without a word.
Pluey silently sat next to Battat, pulling him ever so slightly closer. Jongler pulled out a tube of afterburn cream, squeezing a tiny amount on their finger tips, “It'll feel cold at first, ok?” Battat leaned on Pluey's chest, giving another nod.
as Jongler began spreading the cream all over the swollen area, a low constant melody came out of Pluey's pursed lips, he wasn’t a particularly skilled healer but the magic help to bring up Battat's HP to a safe level, as a plus the music mixed with the cooling effect of the cream helped the tight tension in Battat's shoulders to ease, he released a breath was holding for probably far too long as his two partners worked together to put a gauze around his neck.
When they were finished Jongler put everything back into the kit, Pluey singing had stopped and the click for the case seemed so loud in the suffocating quietness, air thick with Jongler's lingering guilt.
They got ready to speak, to beg for forgiveness, but Battat beat them to it.
looking down at his own lap, voice so tight, Battat murmured “I'm sorry…”
Jongler was completely caught off guard “Wh-What? Boss, what're ya talkin' about?”
Pluey loosened his grip on Battat letting out a few questioning notes, he repeated himself “i’m so sorry guys… really.”
Jongler's heart tightened a bit as Battat continued to speak
“I didn't mean to react like that” finally looking up, but not looking them in the eyes “it’s just that, my head, it has this… liquid inside so… you know, when it spins it doesn’t just stop.” he was running his fingers along the edges of his skull
The explanation helped lift some weight for Jongler's shoulders for sure, but they couldn’t help but feel uneasy because, why was he apologizing for it?
“it wasn’t your fault Jon, it just surprised me, and i overreacted… so yeah, I'm sorry about that”
oh that couldn’t be true, Jongler was sure for a fact, he was literally screaming in pain.
they wanted to talk to him but they couldn’t before he spoke again “it was my fault for not telling you, and i mean… i get why you did it, i was acting like a complete lunatic i probably needed to be knocked down a peg ”
Pluey sang out a distress tune that sounded like he saying something similar to (Honey no, no no no, don’t say that) while shaking his head, nuzzling it a bit in Battat’s back before pulling back and signing “not your fault”
Battat frowned a bit “listen. I know I scared you and I'm sorry, but really IT IS my fault!” his tone started sounding harsher, gesturing around himself pointedly “I should have warned them before they did anything! Told them to stop or at least keeped some self controlled!! Instead I started screaming and crying like a child! I looked ridiculous… ”
Hearing him take the blame for his own pain made Jongler's heart break completely, they tried to push back those thoughts but they hit them like a train, it was THEIR fault if he was like this, THEIR FAULT if he was berating himself like this, THEY DID THIS TO HIM.
"No stop! Battat please don't say dat!" Jongler blurted out, their voice cracking as the dam finally burst, electric tears swelling up for their visor as they shook their head “don't you dare take da blame for dis! look at what I's did to ya! I's... i's a total monster!"
Battat and Pluey were completely taken aback by their emotional response, mouth open, pluey’s ears drooping down, He gently let go of Battat to grab his notebook, while the other moved toward the now full blown sobbing Zapper.
he tried reassuring them again “no. Jon, come on, you’re not a monster! you just didn’t kno-”
“But looks at ya! you's my boyfriend, 'nd I hurt ya so badly you were throwin' up and cryin' from pain! How could I's do dat?! I's supposed to protect ya! instead i treat youse s-so uncarelessly! I’m so fuckin’ sorry Battat… ”
The room fell silent as Jongler continued crying, Battat tried to reassure them but not a word came out, didn’t know what could possibly calm them down more than knowing it wasn’t their fault.
a loud musical meow resonated in the room, Pluey put a firm hand on Jongler’s trembling frame, with the other he held up his notebook, a page filled with fresh ink
“I’m so, so sorry for yelling at you like that, I was terrified. Seeing Battat in that much pain scared the absolute hell out of me, and I took all that panic out on you. I reacted out of fear, not logic.
You are NOT a monster Jongler, nor are you a moron, yes you can be oblivious sometimes, but angel knows! We all have flaws! yes, you made a reckless mistake, but you didn’t do it out of malice, you’ve never been cruel.”
he took a moment to look into his partner’s tear stained face before flipping to another page
“Look at you right now, you’re tearing yourself apart for guilt, how can you call yourself uncaring? That is proof that you care for him. So please, please, stop acting like you are a terrible, unforgivable person. I love and care for you just as much as I love and care for Battat ,don’t forget that now, ok?”
Jongler stared at the page, words blurring a bit because of the tears pooling on their visor, they blinked, Battat reached over to wipe their wet face, getting their attention, “Pluey’s right, i know you’d never hurt me on purpose”
his touch didn’t linger on their face, instead he reached to hold their hand “i never thought you knowingly went out of your way to hurt me Jongler, not even for a second…i trust you, i love you, you know?”
They swallowed hard, tightening their hold on Battat’s hand “... for reals boss, you really think dat…?” Pluey placed his hand on their, leaning his head on Jongler’s arm, Battat responded “of course i do… as i said, it’s not you fault…not at all…” Pluey’s ears twitched slightly, already anticipating what he was going to say, letting a low but firm note out.
he wrote in his notebook while Battat gave him a completely baffled look “stop right there mister! don’t you dare apologise, it’s not your fault either.”
Battat responded tilting his head down just a bit “come on Pluey… you’ve seen how I acted. I made a scene for nothing- ” Pluey sang a sharp note cutting Battat off
“but i made them feel bad-” another sharp note while he wrote, “just let me talk! it’s my fault ok?!”
Pluey shoved the notebook in his face “STOP IT”
Battat flinched slightly at the harshness of the ink, but Pluey was already flipping another page, already filled with a pre-written message
“Stop taking the blame for being hurt! You didn’t ask to get hurt! Do you think we want you to just swallow it up and act fine?! This self-blaming nonsense isn't helping anyone Battat. It’s not helping Jon, it’s not helping you, and it’s driving me insane! so just stop it! Please let's just talk about this without hiding!”
Battat could only stare, it was true but, agonizing. His mouth opened to offer another defensive apology, but the words died before they could even by thought of.
He let his hands drop to his lap “i just…” his voice cracked and he forced his eyes shut before almost screaming his next phase “I JUST HATE IT OKAY!? I HATE BEING THIS FRAGILE!!”
The confession made the rest of the words tumble out of his mouth like heavy steel. “I hate that I can’t just take a hit and laugh it off like the other Pippins! I hate that I can't keep my cool! I hate that I make people worry! I don't want you to treat me like glass…but I am! AND IT SUCKS! IT’S PATHETIC!! PATHETIC AND EMBARRISING!!”
Pluey retreaded the notebook after the shout, both him and Jongler stayed silent as the reality of the situation was slapped in their face.
The lingering guilt inside Jongler dimmed into deep empathy, they placed their hand on his tear stained knee, Battat’s tears glowed like his skin leaving fabric also sparkling. “oh Batts… dats not true. a mean, you bein fragile is, but… pathetic and embarrassin’? nah boss…it’s not..”
They rubbed his knee soothingly, he let out a shaky breath, they continued “i mean… look at me!” Battat lifted his head slightly expecting them to continue and when they didn’t he asked with a voice choked with tears “w-what? What about you? you’re great…”
Jongler’s expression softened, biting down an instinctual loving chuckled at how apparently oblivious Battat was about his own treatment of them, they would have to spell out for him.
“well…you two always have ta explain stuff twice, because i just don’t get it da first time! youse has ta remind me of things and events, help me re-practise how to be Mike, even we’ve doin it for years! but you never make me feel bad for it!”
Before Battat could say anything, they added “and, we both always wait for Pluey to find his notebook or we wait and watch carefully when he uses that sign language, because he’s a shadow guy! and dey have a harder time speaking than making music! But we’d never make’im feel bad for it right?”
Battat seemed to immediately grow defensive “What are you talking about?! of course not! it’s not his fault he’s a shadow guy! and he can communicate just fine! and you’re not even.. that bad! otherwise why would i let you be mike?!”
Pluey sang a happy tune while signing “exactly!”
"See?" Jongler said, their voice softening into a rumble “so… same thing should apply to ya too, dont’cha think?”
Battat sat like a fish out of water, mouth open, clearly trying to come up with some come back.
Jongler’s other hand gently held his face up, in that same soft rumble they reassured “we really don't mind, Boss.”
Pluey also moved his hand to hold the other side of Battat's face.
Being held like this destroyed what was left of Battat’s defensive wall.
Feeling the way he leaned into their touch, seeing how much trust he had in them, made Jongler’s guilt dissipate almost entirely.
Pluey picked up his notebook “We have to communicate better, no more hiding, no more assuming, ok?”
Jongler gently cradled Battat’s face “deal?” Battat took a deep breath “yeah yeah deal. I-i'll try”, his voice hitched when Pluey passed his thumb over his cheeks. The shadow guy tilted his head in confusion.
“Iii- i-i'm not really, used, to this, k-kind of thing, could you… not, do that please?”
Pluey nodded and took his hand off his face, Jongler following, both extremely happy that he was already following their advice.
Battat leaned back and shot a look at the medication, he reached for the water bottle and the foil containing the pills, swallowing it with one gulp of water. "Thanks..." his voice still raspy from crying. He pulled the blanket tighter around his shoulders, burying half his face in the soft fabric. "For... all of that”
“oh, don’t even worry about it boss! we all look out for each other." Jongler said while moving towards the center of the bed “now… i ain’ no doctor but i think ya should rest a bit ” they sat on the bed resting their back on the headboard “an keep probably keep ya head up’s too right?” they opened their arms invitingly. Battat after a bit of consideration crawled carefully to be laying on Jongler’s chest, Pluey followed immediately laying next to Jongler.
After a while of just sitting there in silence,each doing their own things.
Jongler, who was half day-dreaming about the recent episode of the western that they had been watching, was caught by what Battat was looking up on his phone, old newspaper ads about bean bags?
they chuckle slightly “still thinkin’ about them pea bang boss?”
oh… Battat had been waiting for them to notice so he could start talking. for. a. while. now.
he grinned, “oh, well you see…” he began very formally only to imminently turn back to his normal theory-explaining tone “We never bought those bean bags! which means, someone put them in here, and it only makes sense that they belonged to the original Mike!”
He got pluey’s attention, who rolled over.
Battat turned to him, with his whole body, you know with the neck situation.
“NOW… i know what you may be thinking…” he started doing air quote and changed his voice to be deeper and more intoned “ ‘Battat but how can you be sure they belonged to Mike?’ and ‘even if they did why would it matter’” he put up his pointer finger and a lot of confidence began the explanation of the theory of a century “WELL LET ME TELL YOU-”
Jongler rested their arm draped over Battat’s stomach while they listen… they loved it when he got passionate like this, he was always so smart, so charming, they couldn’t help but love him, Pluey had an equally loving look of his big mouth.
They all still had stuff to talk about, apologies to be met, boundaries to be set, but for now, this was nice.