Chapter Text
Octavio
Octavio had started dividing his life into eras of Pre-Kitty and Post-Kitty. Before ever meeting his wife Octavio Stenburg was better known as Goofy, the withdrawn and mysterious street racer. He tucked himself safely behind the protection his aloof, distant and blunt personality gave him and kept everyone, even his closest allies in Los Santos at arm's length. He had made peace with the fact that the safety his perfectly constructed persona offered meant he was often alone, left with seemingly insurmountable gaps between his peers and himself. He had thought the walls he was locked behind were a fact of the life he was living and the only personal freedom he could ever afford was when he was behind the wheel of a car, speeding through the city limits.
Then he met Kitty Dream.
Suddenly Octavio found a warmth growing in his chest that surpassed even the greatest highs he could ever feel in a race. For the first time in a long time, Octavio Stenburg let his persona slip. He opened up, pulled raw by a woman so fierce and clever and kind she burned so blindingly. It scared him to the core sometimes, that the exuberant woman had chosen overly stoic him of all people, but he had also never known a greater thrill than loving her. She gentled him when he had been convinced Goofy was all he would ever get to be. She complimented him perfectly and now he got to be Octavio Stenburg-Dream, a fact he would vehemently cherish until his death.
He had practically forgotten about the cigarette balanced on his lips watching her now. She was tossed over Yuno's shoulder, head thrown back, shrieking and rolling laughter bubbling forth from her rose-coloured lips. Her arms braced against Yuno's lower back as he paced the pock-marked tarmac of their southside street, the flickering golden light of the streetlamp bounced off the cascade of her jet black hair as she struggled in Yuno’s grasp.
Octavio knew her attempts were half-hearted at best. Kitty was far too kind-hearted to want to hurt someone, but Octo knew first hand if she felt the need she wouldn't hesitate to defend herself and the people she cared for. She was known to fight dirty when she felt like it, so he knew he didn't need to intervene as Yuno held his wife in the middle of the road at two am. It also helped that he knew Yuno would never dream of intentionally hurting her.
“That's it! No more mister nice guy,” Kitty laughs, twisting in Yuno's hold and grabbing the base of Yuno's motorcycle helmet. She shoves it off his head and it clatters on the asphalt in the silent night.
“My helmet!” Yuno exclaims, disbelief and surprise colouring his laughter.
“Yeah, yeah, that's right, I'm not done,” she continues, awkwardly twisting her arm to paw at Yunos head. “I'm taking the mask too you little jerk.”
“Not the mask!” Yuno cries in the pleading lilt he often used to disarm whomever he wanted to. Kitty, however, was doubtlessly immune to his begging- her own tendency to bat her lashes and plead granting her immunity to Yuno's own skills.
Octavio can't help his smirk when his wife manages to pull the tactical mask off of him. Pre-Kitty, Goofy had practically lived behind a helmet and mask and while he still relied on their protection, he no longer wore them constantly, often choosing a bare face when among friends in public. However rare it had been for Goofy to be unmasked in public, it was somehow even rarer for Yuno to ever be seen sans face covering. It was a distinct privilege if you were trusted enough for Yuno to be comfortable with an exposed face around you and while Yuno seemed startled and disarmed about being suddenly unmasked, Octavio was glad to note he didn’t seem uncomfortable.
Yuno’s brief moment of shock is enough for Kitty to wiggle loose of his hold and dance out of his reach after a stumble when landing on her feet. Her prize of Yuno's mask is still in her grasp.
Yuno turns into the glowing streetlight to follow her movement and Octavio suddenly can't seem to move his gaze away from the playful glint in Yuno's eyes. Octavio had long since learned nearly everything about him was intoxicating, but it seemed especially true in the early hours of the morning when his tousled, rich brown hair was practically a golden amber halo under the incandescent bulbs on the road.
“Now that was just unfair.”
“Nuh uh-” Kitty disagrees, “Fair's fair.”
She might have her back to Octavio now, but he knows how her lips are quirked and the exact way her eyes crinkle when she grins.
Yuno's sudden mischievous grin at her words is entirely new to him, but the sudden heat behind his sternum and the twist of his gut are familiar experiences. Yuno takes off toward Kitty and as the two of them begin a game of cat and mouse, the blue glow of Yuno's sneakers mixes in the night with Kitty's own pink shine.
Octavio is frozen.
“Give it back,” said around breathless laughter. His heart stutters.
“Come and get it,” sing-songed in bright tones. The same hitch in his chest.
Suddenly Octavio can't ignore the feelings he's been burying in an attempt to not have to put a name to them. The burning tip of his forgotten cigarette hits his fingers which hang loose at his side. He drops the stub and steps on the remains purely due to habit as his head swirls, fitting together puzzle pieces he'd rather be left apart.
He'd barely managed to brush off the feelings when Yuno had let him drive the Itali Rsx the first time. With Octo in his happy place behind the wheel of a car and Yuno babbling about the new car's specs and handling, Octo had nearly choked on the flood of warmth that washed through him. He hadn't wanted to leave that car- and not just because it was stunning to drive.
The knot in his stomach flips while watching Yuno catch Kitty when she stumbles trying to evade his grasp. She doesn't stay in the grip for long as Yuno lurches away from her with a yelp, trying to avoid her finger jabbing him just under his ribs.
Goofy had vaguely known Yuno Pre-Kitty, he knew him better Post-Kitty but at the time Yuno was far too caught up in being the most notorious bank hacker the city had ever seen to keep up with his old friend Kitty and her then-boyfriend. But after the city recovered from the economic crash and familiar faces finally started to return, Yuno had seemed different- less single-mindedly focused on bank robbing and far more generous with his time and newly devoted to his friends, both old and new. Despite Yuno's ID saying he was somehow younger after the five years spent away from the city (a fact Octavio was sure was due to Yuno misfiling his paperwork when reapplying for his ID no matter what the other man said) Yuno seemed more mature. He was no longer so reliant on hiding behind his fun-loving never serious persona and was far more willing to take things slow and find moments of genuine connection with his peers. The man had still retained his adrenaline junkie tendencies, a fact Octavio secretly loved, but he was also learning more about parts of Yuno he had never seen before.
And now, with Yuno and Kitty's friendship stronger than it ever had been, Octavio found he was not just Yuno's getaway driver and old acquaintance but that he was quickly becoming one of Yuno's most trusted allies and friends. He didn't know how it happened- maybe between Yuno's wild attempts to crack Octo's often unflappable exterior and the adrenaline-filled getaway chases that made both of them crave further thrills- but it had, and suddenly Octavio was discovering he wasn't just Post-Kitty, he was also Post-Yuno.
If Goofy had been alone before meeting Kitty, and Octavio had been the happiest he'd ever been after meeting her, then Octo had felt the most alive after Yuno.
Kitty had taught him how to be human, how to feel again after so long locked away and now Yuno was teaching him how to live, how every moment in life was a gift he couldn't let slip by. That every second could be special- even the boring and mundane ones. He was learning Yuno burned just as bright and hot as Kitty did.
He wasn't sure what that would mean for him. Or what it would mean for his relationships.
He had been scared as hell loving Kitty at first. Turns out the same held true in regard to Yuno. He wasn't sure his heart could handle loving them both.
“Octo, Octo,” a voice calls in his direction, “help me, your wife is crazy, man.”
Octo focuses to find Kitty stuck to Yuno’s back, her legs locked around his hips, an arm wrapped across his chest and the hand still clutching the mask tucked behind her back.
Kitty splutters, “don't bring him into it!”
Yuno cranes his neck to glance at her, “You said it yourself! Fair's fair.”
Kitty's attention immediately turns to her husband, eyes wide and pleading, “Babe, you'd side with me right? As my husband?”
“No- he'd side with me as his trusted partner in crime. Right, Octo? You'd side with one of the boys over your wife right?” Yuno's eyes are alight again, corners of his mouth twitching as he intentionally stirs up Kitty. Octo can't help it, a laugh bubbles up from his chest, low and husky. He misses the way the pair's eyes lock onto him, unwavering.
Yeah, he was right. His heart wasn't going to survive this.