Chapter 1: Prologue
Chapter Text
The city was cloaked in darkness as three individuals went on a chase, sights of passerbys and awake civilians obscured by the darkness and the way the individuals seem to be camouflage due to their clothing. Once aware that they were far from any eavesdropper and innocent people, one of the individuals had decided to call out to the one they were chasing after,
"Stop trying to hide yourself, Shuffller!" Said the man in the cloak, hand over his hat as he ran after the individual that had been causing so much chaos and destruction within the city for the past two years. Multiple cases of innocent civilians being kidnapped and brainwashed, turned into victims of their own destruction, either crimes or death within itself.
"Pfft~ try and catch me, detective!" Shuffler retorted with a hint of sarcasm in his voice as he kept running and jumping over the roofs of buildings, someone close behind his tail, but not enough to get him in severe trouble. The two people who have been on him for the past six hours— The city's best detective and the city's most beloved hero— The two individuals who have been constantly pursuing him. Detective Mumbo Jumbo and Merchant.
Reaching the end of an alleyway, Mumbo had to come to a halt, a scowl on his face as he ponders there, silently and deeply, who in the world could be behind that mask the Shuffler wore? Was it somebody they knew personally? Was it a teacher? A well respected individual within the city? Well despite the identity that lies behind the sinister actions, he still has to do his job and put the man behind bars.
Merchant dropped down to stand beside the detective, an expression of annoyance and defeat present on his masked face, "I lost him, again." He stated, sighing while running a hand through his chocolate brown hair, other hand on his hips as he looks up at the night sky, the detective merely stayed silent as he was still stuck, pondering. The hero seemed to have noticed that the detective seemed to be out of it, yet again, with an exasperated sigh he nudged the young detective that stood next to him, "Detective." He called.
Mumbo looked up from the floor, eyes locking with the hero's own— "Ah, my apologies." He murmured, voice still slightly heard as Merchant nodded, looking both ways before his gaze moved to the Detective's watch, with a finger pointed to the ornament that adorned his wrist, he peeped a question, "What time is it?" The detective then raised his arm so he could answer the question the Hero had inquired him.
"It's 1:37." He responded, Merchant hissed at the response, expression turning to one of worry and realization, "Ah, crap. I should get home." He announced, he turned a heel to start leaving, but before he did, he took one glance over his shoulder to say one final thing to Mumbo— "Get home safely, Detective." He wished, before leaving the man with his thoughts.
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The night passed as if it never came, Mumbo being woken up by his alarm, hand sluggishly moving to make the device cease it's insistent ringing and buzzing, the noise already having been a grating sensation within his mind. "Mumbo! Get up! We're gonna be late for class!" Scar called out from the doorway of their shared dormitory, his messenger bag already over his body. The tired man grumbled in bed, having hissed out something about 'staying in' for a couple more minutes.
Scar let out a breath, slightly moving his head over his shoulder to call out for Grian, but by some miracle— Grian was already there, holding an ice pack. Wordlessly, the shorter male dragged his feet on the floor to Mumbo's bed, placing the ice pack on his exposed skin, causing the man to jolt awake with a yelp of surprise, "WUH— Cold, cold, cold—!!" He shrieked as he shot out of bed, raising his hand to rub the area Grian had basically assaulted with the rather freezing packet.
Mumbo's expression was one of betrayal and drowsiness as he turned his head to look at Grian, who's expression was smug and proud, "Wakey wakey, Mumbo. Classes are about to start." He stated simply, striding off to leave the area before the other male could even respond to the statement. Scar, who had mostly been quiet throughout the whole ordeal, couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle, bringing a hand to his mouth.
"Right, you should probably get ready for our classes before Grian comes back in here with a bucket of ice water." Scar chuckles out before humming, telling Mumbo that he'd wait outside for him so that three of them can walk to the main campus of their university. Mumbo let out a long sigh of slight frustration, getting up from his bed as he let his feet drag to his closet, his mind blank before realizing he should probably take a short bath before changing into something more decent than his usual outfit.
A few minutes passed, the amount of times Scar and Grian knocked on his door, calling his name, it was starting to grate on Mumbo's ears before eventually he came out, bag slung over his shoulder, his mustache slightly needing to be shaved, but the amount of time they lacked said otherwise. "Come on, Mumbo! We're gonna get scolded, yet again." Grian basically uttered out with a snarl on his face, eyes full of playful harshness. Mumbo shot a glare at the shorter male, his knuckles clenching at the strap of his backpack, "Hey, I was out of working last night. Don't get all snarky with me when I'm the one who mostly pays for our dormitory rent." He pointed out, causing Scar to be the mediator for the two males that are his friends.
"Alright, alright— Let's calm down, you two." The tallest one advised as he got between the two of them, hands pointed to their chests as so they wouldn't headbutt each other. The two gave each other glares that could cut through air, the tension was quite heavy, almost suffocating— Before silence fell on the trio, Grian and Mumbo smiling as if nothing had occured between them. With a simple smile was plastered on their faces, "We're just playing, Scar! Me and Mumbo aren't actually mad at each other," Grian stated with a nonchalant shrug as Mumbo hummed with a nod of agreement, "Yeah, Grian is right! We were just teasing." He would add with a slight grin.
Scar blinked at his companions, his head moving to look at Mumbo, then to Grian, and repeat for a couple of moments, sputtering something out confusion before closing his mouth, seeing as no words would come out due to his confusion clouding his brain with what had just occurred. "Okay, whatever," he murmured before beckoning the two idiots he called his friends to start walking onto the route they normally take to get out of the dormitory building to reach the main campus of the university, "We should start heading to the campus," He would state, already starting to stride outside the room, "If we don't wanna be late, we should get a move on." To which the two didn't argue about the matter, moving their feet to catch up with Scar.
Chapter 2
Summary:
A free day for the students we have been following around, they were supposed to have a normal day afterwards, but fate had a weird taste for making them take a detour.
Notes:
Fun Fact: The summaries of the chapters are an In Character speech of the authors persona on this site.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Class went as how much they all thought it would go— boring and dull, still filling their minds with knowldge they may need to retain when they apply for their aspirations, having need to separate from certain times due to different schedules, but overall, their breaktimes, lunch period and release time were all the same, so they didn't really have any problems with anything. Once they gradually met back by the stairs to the exit of the building, they were silent as they strided to the main stairway back to the route they used to get and leave the building and to return to their dormitory— once upon the path they walk on during any type of weather, whether it be sunny, snowing, storming, or scorching— Scar peeped up out, almost randomly, just to fill the seemingly suffocating silence that fell on their trio— "I wanna run for mayor when we graduate!"
Mumbo and Grian turned their heads to look at their companion, silence and judgement hanging in the air like a piano ready to drop onto someone. "You? As mayor?" Grian asked pointedly, raising an eyebrow at the statement full of confidence that came from the mouth of a man who on a regular basis, forgets if he turned off the stove before leaving the dormitory— regardless if he was the one who used it last or not, "Uh.. I mean—" Mumbo was about to peep up, not sounding too supportive of the confident idea Scar had shared to them about. The man seemed genuinely offended by his friends reaction as he put a hand to his chest, "What? You don't think I'd make a good mayor? Well, sorry to burst your bubbles you two but my leadership skills are unfathomably splendid!" Scar had argued, his voice carrying a certain hint of arrogance and cockiness, causing his companions to look at each other, expressions holding of those of concern and skepticism, Grian scoffed, a smirk slowly coming to be on his lips, "Hah, yeah right. And I'm Mother Spore's son," he responded with thick sarcasm lacing his voice. That made mumbo blink in confusion, he seemed to remember something, "Aren't you though?"
Grian paused at Mumbo's quip before sputtering, "I mean— Yeah—" the short male responded, forgetting that he actually told both Mumbo and Scar that he was the son of the famous retired hero known as Mother Spore six years into their friendship. Scar rolled his eyes at his friends knowing they were just teasing him about his overconfidence to become a mayor. Sure, his leadership skills were quite admirable, but his childish behaviour and rather annoying antics become a contrast point for his side that can resolve conflicts, "Oh please, you two are just being bitter that I can actually intervene during arguments and get the tension to be less suffocating!" He argued, shrugging as he proved a point, "Whether that may be the case, Scar—" Mumbo started to reason before Grian decided to meddle in just so he could get under his friends skin, "—the way your mind runs as if it belongs to a child doesn't scream 'Vote me for Mayor'. Of course, you could just become a school principal instead—"
Scar let out a gasp of betrayal, he knows that Grian knew he was studying Political Science, so the idea of working as a school principal didn't sit right with him, his expression contorted, from one of surprise, to annoyance, to anger, and then to insulted, "THE AUDACITY!" Scar yelled out, hands going out as if he were to strangle the short male that stood in front of him, Grian raised his hands up as an act of teasing surrender, clearly mocking the taller man in front of him, Mumbo looked between his friends, unsure of what to do as he rubbed the back of his head, his mouth was open as if he was gonna say something when he clearly had not the slightest idea of how to handle the situation. Normally it would be Scars job to settle arguments and disagreements between him and Grian— not one to be the one settling a dispute with Scar being the other side of the argument.
"Okay you two, arguing about it won't exactly do anything, now will it?" Mumbo questioned, an unsure expression on his face as he tried to separate the two, who were practically throwing knives at each other with their eyes, burning with resilience and defiance, before Scar sighed, dropping his head down in defeat and accepting the fact his friends aren't so supportive of his idea of running for Mayor, "Fine, you two win." He said, causing Grian to grin victoriously, humming in satisfaction as Mumbo just nodded at the result of the short of tension that went away as fast as it happened in the first place, "That's the answer I knew you were gonna say, Scar." Grian taunted, still under the taller males skin, despite the situation already being diffused, making Scar scowl at his friend, knowing what he was trying to do. "I swear, it's like you're purposely trying to get me to commit a crime." He hissed out, clenching his fists as he almost vibrated with anger. Grian merely stuck out his tongue at the thinly laced statement Scar had said. That statement made Mumbo think— Grians factions, slightly mirrored Shifters... Could it be possible that Grian was the villain he'd been investigating for almost 3 years now? Nah, that'd be a crazy conclusion.. Plus, Grian didn't really seem the 'villain' type, yet alone, menacing even without needing to be refered to as a villain.
In the midst of Scar trying to calm himself after his little dispute with Grian, he seemed to have noticed Mumbo zoning out, taking a guess he's probably thinking about the Shuffler case, Grian as well also noticed the fact that Mumbo seemed out of it, not really being present within the conversation. Grian, being the smart one besides Mumbo himself, decided to nudge his companion, "Mumbo?" He called his name, attempting to gain his attention as Scar had a look of concern on his features, his eyebrows furrowed in worry, lips pursed in a thin line, before he quickly masked it with a smile, placing a hand on Mumbo's shoulder to snap the man out of his daze.
"Hey, M.J! I'm feeling kinda hungry," Scar blurted out. He wasn't *actually* hungry, he just said that so that they can make their friend think of something else that isn't related to the case that has been bothering for awhile, Grian nodded with a hum, deciding to back-up his statement; "Yeah! Lets go get some Maccies," the short male exclaimed, a smile on his face. Mumbo snapped out of his trance, his mind seemingly being filled by food. Odd, he wasn't hungry himself, but he can't deny that the idea of spaghetti and chips seemed quite appetizing of the moment, "Yeah, we should go get some food before we head home—"
An explosion could be seen and heard from the distance. Scars eyes widened in concern and shock, Mumbo's expression mirrored his own. Grian glanced at them, his own expression reserved before he realized he should also e concerned, "We should probably find a safe area." Scar murmured, extending his hand for Grian and Mumbo to take so they could go hide. But due to their stubbornness, Mumbo and Grian ran off. Scar blinked before sighing and attempting to find a place he can hide himself within.
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The lady in red, known as Umbra, laughed at the chaos she was wreaking upon the city, Shuffler shortly coming to accompany her. "Umbra! What the hell are you doing?!" The man questioned his companion. Umbra gave a sinister chuckle, a hand brought up to her mouth, "I'm making them see and embrace their inner darkness~" She said, a maniacal undertone to her voice, slightly obscured from the voice changer implanted within her mask. "In the middle of a school day?!" Shuffler pointed out, clearly annoyed and irked off that his fellow villain decided to cause a disturbance in broad daylight. The Villies weren't the type of villains who liked to make a grand entrance, those were the L.G's, or the Lost Generation villains. Umbra simply gave a lighthearted scoff at her self-appointed boss, she didn't seem so worried about the consequences. She opened her mouth to speak before an arrow laced with vines came flying in their direction, missing Umbra's arm by an inch.
Turning both of their heads to look in the direction of where the projectile was shot from, they could vaguely ake out the forms of FlowerMage and Merchant. Umbra cursed beneath her breath,a shadow slowly starting to envelop her as a means to sneak up on the two pesky Heroes before the arrow that missed her came flying back in their direction, causing her to get hit by the thorn tipped arrow. "AGHK—" She yelled out, clutching her arm as blood seeped through the fabric of her costume. Her eyes darted up to see Shuffler getting out his deck of abilities to use as a means to counter the heroes, Merchant, in the distance had his bag of items ready for his disposal as FlowerMage grabbed another arrow from his quilt reloading his bow before Umbra shot her other hand out, casting a shadow hand to reach out and snatch the heroes weapon from him, tossing it aside.
FlowerMage gritted his teeth, getting a different bow that came from Merchant's bag, "Whu- hey!" Merchant said, stunned at the fact his fellow hero just stuck his hand inside the bag without asking for permission beforehand. Merchant merely sighed, not bothering to reprimand his fellow hero about what he did before he reached into hi bag to pull out a weapon of his own choice. The two villains were clearly annoyed at the fact that the heroes came to ruin their fun, Shuffler mainly having his expression one of extreme annoyance, he turned his head to look at Umbra, eyes saying along the lines of 'This is YOUR fault,' to which she simply responded to with a shrug and a grin of playfulness, clearly purposefully ignoring what danger they could possibly be in. With a leap to attempt to escape, FlowerMage shot an arrow to immobilize her, which actually hit her. Shuffler grit his teeth at he action as he pulled out a card from his arsenal to throw at the flamboyant hero that relied on flowers and arrows to fight, Merchant, being the perceptive minded one, knew what was gonna happen, so he decided to do the one smart thing he could think of at that moment— tackle FlowerMage to the ground. "MERCHANT—!" FlowerMage exclaimed, almost falling off the building, clearly surprised and taken aback at what he did. Just as they were about to get up to chase after the villains, shuffler had already secured them to teleport away.
"Damnit.." FlowerMage cursed, they could've actually captured both Umbra and Shuffler if Merchant hadn't tackled them to the ground as a means to not get hit by Shuffler's cards, t seemed like Merchant himself knew what he did, looking at FlowerMage with an apologetic and sheepish expression, "Sorry..." He murmured out, rubbing the back of his neck as FlowerMage just hummed, not looking to forgiving but it didn't feel like he held a grudge against the resourceful man that stood in front of him, with a nod he simply responded; "It's alright, Merchant."merchant nodded at the forgiving statement the flamboyant one had given him, with a frown plastered on his lips, Merchant looked down at the mess the villains had left for them to clean. Scared civilians, another broken window of a jewelry store- "This is a job for the vigilantes." FlowerMage murmured, he glances at Merchant, as if asking silently if he agreed or not,
"The Vigilantes?"
"The vigilantes."
Silence fell on them, Merchant didn't seem to exactly agree with what FlowerMage had suggested. The Vigilantes were in charge of catching normal criminals, like thieves, not restoring the city. That was on the heroes. "Why are you giving our responsibility to the vigilantes?" He questioned with a rather pointed expression, to which FlowerMage shrugged in response, "None of us actually want to clean this up, do we?" Merchant blinked at the answer given to him, his mind was running, as if attempting to find fault within the statement, which to his dismay, cannot be found.
"Fair argument... But still—"
"Great, its decided then. We can get back to our normal lives."
Without another word, FlowerMage jumped away to leave, making Merchant stand there with a puzzled expression before he walked away to get back in his usual civilian clothes. But he should probably make sure Grian and Mumbo okay before doing so. He searched for a bit before he spotted Grian running out of a restroom from the McDonald's, that's one friend down. But where was Mumbo? Merchant can't just call the detective, that would raise suspicion as to who he actually was. Plus, he didn't give Mumbo his number as Merchant. "Merch?" Called a voice from below, it was Mumbo. "Detective!" The hero smiled, jumping down to stand in front of the detective. "What are you doing here?" Mumbo asked, not against it, just curious. Merchant gave a smile as a response, "Just... Keeping tabs on you and your buddies." He responded. Mumbo hummed at the response, before realizing, "Hey, Merch.. Can you look for my other friend?" He requested, before Merchant tensed up at the favor, smiling sheepishly, "Y-yeah! Sure. I'll just tell him to meet you two here at McDonald's..." The hero said before leaving instantly. That left the detective rather confused, why did it seem like the hero was hiding something from him? Odd.
A few minutes passed and Scar came inside the establishment, spotting his two friends at a booth by the window, waiting for their orders, probably as Grian had a bored and irked expression on his face while Mumbo was reprimanding him for something, if Scar had to guess, Grian probably harassed the manager on the shift right now. He strode to the booth where his companions were seated, taking his place beside Mumbo. "Did Grian bully Tango again?" He asked, a grin on his face as he could hear in the back, Tango cursing and crying while Skizz was taking orders at the front, "Yeah, he asked for another ridiculous order for his big mac." Mumbo responded as Grian added to the response, "I asked him to add extra pickles and cheese." He stated. Scar held in a laugh at that, "You know damn well that this specific McDonald's doesn't carry any extra items." Mumbo practically hissed at the short man at the end of the table.
In a while, their food arrived, on a tray served by Skizz, "Hey, bois! Here's your food." He said with a wide smile, placing their food items on the table as he wished them a good meal, Grian immediately went to town on his big mac with extra cheese and pickles, despite Tango's insistent denial at the request. They for a while before deciding to take their remaining food back to their dormitory.
Notes:
A HUGE THANKS TO MY TWIN FOR HELPING ME WITH THIS CHAPTER YAYAYAY
Chapter 3
Summary:
After the events of the earlier day, we now see the aftermath of Merchant's stunt. The heroes don't seem pleased.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The heroes all sat around a circle table, at the center of it all was Wither— the most experienced hero of all of the current ones. With a hand on the table, Wither started the meeting with a simple and calm statement; "YOU INTERVENED THE CAPTURE, AGAIN, MERCHANT." That caused Merchant to jerk, the volume quite surprising and startling since Wither wasn't so irked with him just a few moments ago. Merchant looked around, trying to find someone who could try to defend his actions, eyes locking with FlowerMage who sat across from him. The flamboyant hero didn't spare a glimpse, seemed like he was still bitter after what happened a couple of days ago when they encountered Umbra and Shuffler. Merchant stammered, caught off guard that FlowerMage wasn't defending him despite saving his life during the attack, if he hadn't tackled themselves onto the roof, who knows what shuffler would've done to the the two of them. The hero's face scrunched up slightly at the realization before schooling it as he set his gaze on Wither,
"In my defense—" Merchant was about to protest before Wither put one hand up to silence the young hero, clearly not amused at the thought of the attenpt to defend himself because of a mistake they could've easily avoided. "No, Merchant," Wither started, clearly not in the mood to hear any excuse that Merchant as going to spout, "You're only a junior hero. Remember your place." Junior Hero? JUNIOR HERO? If anything, Merchant was the most skilled in the whole agency. He's just clumsy and albeit kinda unserious at times, but he means well. He knew how to handle villains by his himself, basing on all those 1v1 encounters he had with Wildcard. But he inevitably kept his mouth shut, biting his tongue, eating his words as to not lash out at his superior. Eventually, he decided to take the lecture to not have any more conflict within their group.
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The meeting didn't last for very long. It was the same routine as always, reports, reminders, all those boring things that don't interest Merchant at all. He just wanted to get out of the HQ and back to his dorm, talk with his buddies, maybe even just sleep for a little while... But of course, that was just wishful thinking. Because of course, Wither had to give him an assignment. A make up one, all because he saved his fellow hero's life and causing one of their targets to escape. With a sigh, Merchant jumped on the rooftops of countless buildings, eyes roaming all around the city, he didn't want to do this, at all. Yet it was either Wither hated him, or, the whole hero group just hated his guts. 'This is so boring,' the hero thought to himself, frowning a little as his eyebrows scrunched in annoyance, 'I'd rather be back at the University, doing extracurricular activities.' A pause, he spotted someone particular in his peripheral vision, a smirk slightly moving to form itself on his lips. Bingo, Mumbo spotted.
It didn't take long for Merchant to be in front of the young detective, "Hello, Investigator!" The hero greeted with a way too joyous wave of his hand. Mumbo, coffee in hand, looked understandably surprised when he saw the hero just greet him so casually. There weren't any recent reports of crime around the area, not after the one where Merchant (more or less) fucked up another capture for the sixth time this month. "Merc," Mumbo nodded with his usual easygoing smile, "Did something happen?" Questioned the young man, Merchant's expression dampened slightly. Right, he's at work. Mumbo doesn't know who he was outside the mask and facade, "Ah, not quite," complained softly by the hero, eyes drifting to look up at Mumbo, "Wither sent me to do a..." He stopped, the explanation dying at the tip of his tongue, going over the reasons in his head before picking one that suited, "Look around, so to speak." He finally answered, "Is that coffee?" Mumbo nodded, raising the hand with the coffee in tow slightly, "Yep. Didn't have any classes today, so I didn't have anything to do." Admitted the detective, "Though," he started, "I haven't seen my roommates since this morning." Merchant slightly tensed at that, right. He left before Mumbo could fully process where he was going, but for him not to see Grian? That's a bit odd. "Oh?" The hero perked, raising an eyebrow, "Haven't got a clue as to where they are, honestly." Continued Mumbo, Merchant nodded at the explanation. Maybe he should've made a reason before he left the dorm, or wrote something on a piece of sticky paper and put it on the fridge so Mumbo wouldn't be left clueless.
"I'm sure they'll be home before supper," Assured the hero, smiling slightly as to come off as friendly, "besides, they could just be running errands or have a different life outside of school that definitely doesn't concern you." Mumbo's brow rose at that statement, his tone quizzical, "Sorry?" He requested, "What could that possibly mean?" "I'm just saying," Merchant raised both his hands in an attempt to not be threatening and as an act of vulnerability, "what if they just needed to go out because they had to deal with something?" He elaborated, almost slipping up. Mumbo blinked at the hero, still looking skeptical as he sipped his coffee whilst Merchant spoke to him, "Right," he drawled, clearly trying to decipher what his sentence truly meant to come off as. A confession, perhaps? He's not sure yet, but he's probably dissecting Merchant's sentence like a damn puzzle, "I'll take your... Words as a possible explanation as to why I haven't seen either of them..." He murmured, still skeptical. He had his suspicions that he knew some of the heroes or villains outside of their crimes and achievements, but he never got to a conclusion on who those people were.
Mumbo couldn't put a face to a facade. It was quite strange since before the agency hired him, he used to investigate murders and other crimes that didn't involve the heroes and villains, it's how he got so good at deducting suspects based on small clues, even if the forensics didn't quite add up or multiple people shared the same attributes with the killer or suspect. So how come he couldn't figure out which of the people he surrounded himself with is actually a hero or villain? The reasonable explanation for it, is because of their suits and voice modulating machines. Either in forms of masks or a full body suit, their voices would be corrupted in a sense, still understandable but slightly distorted. He knew it was because of the clothes because he spoke to one of the designers of the outfits back when he was just starting out at the agency.
Merchant and Mumbo stood there in awkward silence, none of them saying anything. "So, how're your studies?" The hero asked the detective, Mumbo hummed, shrugging. "Doing good, I just recently finished a test and—" "How nice! Anyway, I have to go now." Mumbo froze, slightly taken aback at the way Merchant just cut him off, though he wisely kept his mouth shut. "Alright then, I'll see you around." Merchant waved as he jumped to leave. Mumbo was left alone in front shop, blinking as he tried to process what just happened. He ultimately decided to not ponder on the encounter he deemed as strange as he walked back to his dormitory in the University.
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"Welcome back, Mumbo!" The tanned man said from the couch, hand holding the TV remote as he shut the device off, leaning down, arms supporting his weight, "Have fun?" He questioned his roommate with a gaze of curiosity. Mumbo closed the door behind him, hooking up his keys at the back of the door, he took a second to respond to Scar, "Fun?" He repeated, somewhat confused, "Where do you think I went?" Scar tilted his head, still having that damn smirk, "I assumed you went to a ballpark or something," sarcasm dripped from the taller boy's voice. Mumbo rolled his eyes in an attempt to portray annoyance, but deep down he was fond of Scar's sarcastic comments from time to time. "Scar," Mumbo started, shaking his head, "Do you think I have the funds to head on over to the ballpark?" Scar shrugged at the redirected question, eyes holding that familiar teasing edge to them.
"You work with the Hero Agency," Scar pointed out as if that was an answer to Mumbo's inquiry, "is the pay not good?" Mumbo thought for a moment, thinking back to the cheques the agency gave him to cash in at the bank. It was, to be honest, blurry to remember. Most of the cash that came from his pay went into his tuition and rent, so he can barely remembers the cash he had after taking care of the things he needed to pay. "Can't recall." Finally said Mumbo, shrugging as he paced over to Scar, plopping himself next next to the talller boy. "It's like I barely have any money left over," Mumbo murmured as he put his head in his hands, Scar beside him just nodding along to what Mumbo was complaining about, "I can't even remember the last I went somewhere for my own enjoyment." Scar hummed, Mumbo sighed as he looks up at Scar, grinning, "But it's fine. I have you and Grian." Scar smiled at that statement, feeling all sentimental.
"Aw, you're making me feel all soft inside." Scar said sarcastically, snickering as he leaned back onto the couch, arms behind his head as Mumbo laughed a little at that comment. The two sat in a comfortable silence, before Grian came inside, looking disheveled and tired, though he quickly got his bearings as he realized his roommates were already also home, "Hey, guys." He said, voice sounding tired but he managed to smile. "Hi, Grian." Scar and Mumbo greeted in unison, the taller male moving over slightly and patted the spot between them as an invitation for Grian to sit. The shorter walked over, almost dropping like a body bag between his roommates, groaning as he ran a hand over his face, clearly exhausted, "I'm so burned out." "Where were you?" Grian tensed at the question, glancing over to look at Mumbo, "Work." He stated simply, Scar tilts his head at the abrupt and short answer, "You have a job?" "Yes." Grian leaned back on the couch, head hanging from the back. Mumbo and Scar looked at each other, surprise etched on both of their eyes. Mumbo shifted in his position on the couch, leg raised as he put an arm over it, "Since when?" He questioned, Grian groaned in response, he felt like he was being interrogated which to be fair, with the way Mumbo was asking, it did feel like it was an interrogation.
"At that ballpark." Grian finally relented, the silence was deafening. It was well-known between the three of them that Grian hated the loud noises, and the ballpark was almost always packed every single day. "Geez," Scar started, "Were you that desperate for cash or something?" Grian shot a withering stare at Scar, Mumbo blinking at him like he couldn't understand what just came out of the boy's mouth. "We're drowning in bills, Scar." Grian pointed out, clearly a little more than irked now. Scar hissed slightly, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, now just realizing that his question was definitely stupid. "Right... Sorry." Mumbo hums, glancing back at Grian, "Did you get paid?" Grian dipped a hand down into his pocket, pulling out what seemed to be $80, "Well, not it's not much." He said, handing it to Mumbo, "It'll help," Mumbo assured, "a little." Scar then thought, both of his roommates had jobs, maybe he should get one. "Hey, is there somewhere I can work?" Questioned Scar, Grian tried to dig in his memory if he saw at least one 'Help Wanted' sign out at any place. "You can work at McDonald's?" Mumbo suggested, which in return, Grian looked at him incredibly confused, "The same McDonald's that Tango and Skizz work at?" Asked the short male, Mumbo shrugged with a small nod. "Yeah. They're understaffed, right?" "Well, yeah. And it's because Grian keeps harassing the workers." Grian looked between his friends, "Hey!" Scar raised an eyebrow at him, Grian frowned at the two them, "You don't need to call me out like that..."
Mumbo shook his head at the two, "Seriously, I'm not even sure how you aren't banned there yet." He said, pinching the bridge of his nose as an attempt to calm the becoming migraine. Grian grinned at that, clearly feeling proud and smug that he hadn't gotten a ban at all. "I'm just amazing like that," He flicked his wrist like he's showing off. Scar let out a bark of laughter at the action, clearly amused, Mumbo wasn't feeling the same. He let out a sigh, reaching over to his phone, checking the time before telling the two that they'll just order pizza for dinner. They still had classes in the morning, after all and it was getting quite late into the night.
Notes:
Hey, everyone! Sorry this chapter took so long to come out. I've honestly felt so burnt out last year and this fanfic was my way of escaping it. I barely had any time to add things to the draft of this chapter and I only got time during the holidays and finished today! Thank you all for being so patient,
xoxoxo <<33