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Chapter Text

He took a deep breath and fixed his tie. The smell of disinfectant was far too strong, the machines beeped loudly and the fluorescent lights did no favors to anyone. Rarely would a lawyer find himself being summoned to a hospital bed by a client that wasn't above the age of 80.

Truth be told El Ludwigo rarely even took on clients anymore let alone make exceptions like this one.But this client was special to him. How could he ever say no to his beautiful, brilliant, 4.77 gpa stem major friend. A friend to whom he would have gone to the end of the world for. A person he was lucky to call his friend.

Ludwigo made his way down the halls, finally arriving at room 508. There laid his friend on a hospital bed that had been pulled close to the window, watching the sun set. He looked so weak, no he was weak but when he saw El enter a wide smile came on his face. “You came!” he said softly. “Yeah, I mean I had nothing going on so you know I came no big deal,” replied El trying to act cool but failing miserably. “Lud I .. I need you to do something for me” he asked reluctantly. “For you anything” Ludwig replied, his voice cracking. “Then you better sit down, we have a lot to discuss.”

El was never a religious man but as he walked out of the room with the bundle of envelopes in hand. He prayed to any and every God out there to never bring a day around when he would have to deliver them. Sadly, the day came around far too soon and El found himself taking a train to the city of Los Santos. He looked at the file his assistant had compiled for him. It had detailed profiles of all the people that had letters left behind for them. He had been given only two instructions. One was to hand deliver each letter to its recipients unopened and the second to do so only after the client was no more.

Chapter Text

By the time El Ludwigo reached this mysterious city the sun had already set. He looked at the list of names in his folders and where he could possibly find each person. There was an address for a business center and a restaurant, odds were he would have better luck tracking down this individual at the latter.

He hailed a cab asking the driver to take him to the Roosters Rest. According to his taxi driver it was one of the most famous restaurants in the city. “You must try their Ramen and Tea my friend, they say it brings good luck to those who try it” Abdul aka his taxi driver told hi,.El doubted that it was anything more than a marketing gimmick but a seemingly effective one. He debated telling the driver that the purpose of his visit was strictly business but he felt it would turn into a longer and undoubtedly unnecessarily long conversation. 

“Glory to the Cock how may I help you?” asked the waiter who wore the weirdest mask he had ever seen. No one seemed to think this was unusual and everyone just went about their business.

“Hi, actually you can. See I am looking for a Mr. Lang Buddha. I was told I could find him here by my client. If you could let him know I would like to meet that would be great.He and I have some urgent business that I must tend to” El replied.

The server seemed a little apprehensive and asked El “ Erm one who are you and two why do you need to meet him?” the server asked, getting a little suspicious. El could feel the entire staff being a little more on edge than they were when he came in. 

“Yes sorry … erm ..  ”El paused and looked at his name tag “Yeager My name is El Ludwigo and I am a lawyer from LA who came here on my client’s request to deliver something to Mr. Lang and only to him. This is all the information I can disclose.”

“I am Lang Buddha, you wanted to talk to me ? You have two minutes to talk”a voice said from behind him. El turned around not expecting to see a Chinese man in a red suit with a shirt that was barely buttoned to reflect his chiseled chest that was covered with complex tattoos. “Could we perhaps move to somewhere a little more private?” El suggested. 

“Everyone here is family, we can talk here freely” the man replied confidently. Normally El would have insisted they move somewhere more private but there was something about this man that made him think there was no way he was going to change his mind. 

Trying not to waste his time El took a deep breath  “Well as you may have heard my name is El Ludwigo I am lawyer on behalf of my client Mr. Yuno Sykk” “wait you’re Yuno’s lawyer?” interrupted Mr. Lang with a confused look on his face. 

“Yes, as I was saying. My client requested me to personally deliver this letter to you and some of his other acquaintances in the city of Los Santos,” said El. He handed him the envelope on which Yuno had very carefully written “Mr. Lang” along with his business card.

“I suggest that you open that somewhere private. That is my card with my personal number if you need to know anything else.” As El turned around to leave the restaurant he heard Buddha softly say “I am not one of his acquaintances, I am his family.”  El wondered what had happened between the two for this man to call Yuno his family as he walked out. 

Lang stood at the same spot for several minutes staring at the envelope in his hand. The writing on the envelope was all too familiar. It was odd but it felt like he was holding a part of Yuno. Maybe he was imagining it but it even kinda smelled like him. Either way there was not a shred of a doubt in his mind that anyone other than Yuno had written this letter. 

A man he unapologetically loved more than any other person he knew. The one who made even the worst days, the kinda days when all he wanted to do was get mad at the world, be better by just being next to him. His best friend, his brother whom  he missed terribly and hoped to hear back from every single day. Why was it that when he finally had word for him he haltered. He couldn't explain it. But he had this uncomfortable uneasy feeling. He found himself being nervous, almost scared of opening it.

He could feel his son trying really hard not to be caught staring at him. Maybe he should listen to the lawyer’s advice. Go somewhere a little more private. He put the envelope in his pocket and left the building. Getting into his DeLorean he paused for a minute before heading up to the manor. He had a feeling he was not going to be the only one who would be getting these letters.

Lang parked his car in the garage and looked at the manor. It was the home he had built for the family he had built. He went in and poured himself a drink before choosing to settle into his office. The envelope lay on his desk challenging him to open it. “Why a letter?” he said, staring at it. There was only one way to get his answer. Taking a deep breath he picked up the envelope and broke open the wax seal.

Dear Mr. Lang, 

I remember the first time I saw you. You had just walked into the Roosters as I was being interviewed by the guild for an unpaid intern janitor position. After that everytime I ran into you our conversation would end with you threatening to fire me. 24 hours Yuno or you’re fired you’d say. Never would I have even imagined that the very boss who threatened to fire me three times would end up becoming one of the most important people in life.

That day when you called me to hack the Paleto Bank for I was so nervous. I wanted to impress you so badly. I still remember how bad my hands were shaking when I finished the hack. That day it changed my life. We went from there to the vault to the casino and the whole thing just felt like one crazy dream. 

In the moments where I failed or I doubted myself you were always there with me. Saying loudly to anyone who tried to bench me “Yuno does it, Yuno does it and Yuno does it.” No one ever believed in me like that before. That blind faith in me was scary but it was also the best feeling in the world. Whether it was jumping out of a moving plane , jumping off a mountain on a bmx bike or trying to solo a hack that wasn’t meant for a single human, I could do it all. With you with me I felt like I could do the impossible. 

You were the first person in the city who truly made me feel like I was no longer alone. That I had someone in my corner fighting for me. Thank you

The funny thing is that  amongst all the crazy adventures we had, some of my most favorite memories are of us just hanging out at the manor coming with theories on how to rob the next big thing or the hours we spent planning our getaways. I don't like admitting it but I always loved that no one was worried about the hacks. Everyone just acted like they just knew I would be able to do it and most days I could.

My time in the city might not have been the longest but the memories we made and the things we were able to do together are greater than what most can achieve in a lifetime. I mean I went from hearing stories about the Leanbois, to you asking me in a garbage truck of all places if I was one Cleanbois or not. I was so shocked and honored to be asked that I don’t even remember how I responded. I found a family, one that I didn’t even know I was looking for. 

I don't remember who told me but someone once told me that Avon used to say that “If you're with me and we're gonna go all the way, lean with me.” It stuck with me because I really liked the idea that I had someone who would be there for me till the very end. But the thing about endings is when you get close to them, they tend to be sad, messy and straight up painful. 

I always thought mine would be glorious. I’d go off in a blaze of glory. I mean I lived my life living for each moment anyways. But alas life had different plans for me.  I suspect that by now you’ve possibly lost all patience and need me to get to the point. 

The truth is I have been keeping a giant secret from you. It's the reason why  I am writing all of this in a letter and not telling you this in person. I am …. I am sick Mr Lang. I have been for a while. I’ve known for a few months now. It's why I  kept taking all those trips out of the city. It was to get treatment. At first I thought I was getting better. But in my last few weeks  in the city I felt myself become weaker and weaker.  I knew it was bad even before the doctor told me. I could feel it in my bones. I knew it wouldn’t be long before I got to a point where I would lose everything about me that made me and eventually even my life. 

I know you might hate me for the choice I made. That you might yell and curse at me. But I didn't want you to see this sick and weak version of me. I didn't want this to be the last image you have of me. I want you to remember me as your lazy employee turned friend turned femly. I want you to remember me as the friend you couldn’t mald despite really wanting to because I was too nice. I want you to remember me as your cheat code. I want you to remember our adventures with a smile and share tales of our adventures with the family. So please don’t be sad for long. 

You, Ray, Mickey and Tony are and always will be the best part of my life. The parts that made my life worth every single second. And who knows maybe in another life we will meet again but for now goodbye friend.

-Yuno Sykk  

Ps: I may have never said but you do know that I always have and always will. 

Pss: I<3U

Buddha’s hands dropped to his lap. It didn't make sense. He couldn't be gone, not like this. He tried to read it again but his vision was starting to blur. A pain in his chest was starting to grow. Stronger and stronger till all he felt was pain. He tried to get up instead he stumbled and fell. 

“It’s your fault he’s dead” ,“You should have known he was sick”, “You should have protected him”, “Some friend you are”, “You should be the one who is gone instead” screamed the voices in his head. “I should have,” he cried repeatedly. His chest grew tighter. It was like someone had sucked all the air out of the room. He couldn’t breathe. Maybe he didn't deserve to.

His friend, his best friend was dead and all his wealth and power couldn’t bring him back. The most powerful person in Los Santos couldn’t protect his friend, his family. Hell he didn’t even know he was sick. 

Tears fell down his face as he yelled in frustration. He looked down at the phone in his hand and threw it across the room shattering it to pieces. Why hadn’t he called Yuno and checked in on him? Why had he assumed he was okay and had simply gone on a vacation to destress for a few days. That he would back when a new challenge presented itself. 

If only he had. Just to tell him that he loved him one more time. To tell him how proud he was of him. To be with him when he finally took his last breath. But he hadn’t. He had sat in his fancy office thinking all was well in his kingdom. Not knowing that he was about to lose his greatest treasure.

He would forever be haunted by the thought of never being able to see Yuno’s face with that smile that lit up every room he was in or hear him say “Mr Lang”, excited like a kid on christmas morning. He looked at his shattered phone on the ground. What good is it now? What good was any of this?  All of these things around him meant nothing without the heart of this family. 

That night Lang broke a lot of things in his office, his hands full of cuts, but even when he was done the most broken thing in that room was still him.

Chapter Text

Days were a lot calmer now. He was no longer in a rush, there were no more crazy chases nor were there any big gun fights. Now he lived his life away from it all like an ordinary man, well as ordinary as he could be. So you could understand his annoyance when some guy showed up at the BBMC headquarter looking for, no demanding to see Dundee. The man would not not leave. Not even when he was threatened by one of the cadets at gunpoint. Not even when they showed him Dundee’s death certificate. The cadet said the man called it a pathetic attempt at trying to forge a death certificate and he knew a guy if they wanted a better one.

Now normally Dundee would have ignored him. He was a nuisance but he wasn't his nuisance. But Barry had called him personally so he went. Well partially because of Barry but also because he was curious. The man had stormed into gang territory and despite having his life threatened refused to leave. He was either very brave or very stupid. In Dundee’s experience it was usually both. “Stubborn white and with enough hair product that it could stop a bullet” described the cadet who let him in. “Please tell me none of you considered actually shooting him” Dundee asked annoyed. The cadet stuttered looking at his feet. “Oh for fucks sake You don’t shoot someone who was last seen by at your headquarters. That is how you get your base raided, get yourself the nines and get the whole gang fucked” Dundee yelled. They really needed to reevaluate their cadet recruitment process.

As he walked in through the gate he could see a man dressed in an exquisite black suit leaning against a clearly rented suv. This told Dundee two things. One this man was not from around here. Two he was rich, old money rich which meant he was also probably very powerful in his own right. “I am Irwin Dundee, you were looking for me?” Dundee asked. “I see my sources were correct. It's good to see you alive and Mr Dundee” El replied with a smile on his face.

El looked at the man in front of him. He was clearly Australian; his accent was a dead giveaway. The man had the most outdated of hair styles i.e., a mohawk and was dressed in a hoodie, in a most obnoxious shade of pin, with some white sweats and a red cap. The man was a walking talking fashion disaster. But looks can be deceiving. El’s lawyer senses were kicking in and he knew this wasn’t a gang he wanted to mess with. Well, more precisely he had seen the gun tucked in his band as well as on his acquaintance.

“So tell me slick what is that you want from me” Dundee said a little intrigued. “Nothing” Lud said, reaching into his jacket. Suddenly six guns were in his face as Dundee stood there staring. “Chill dude chill” Lud said rolling his eyes “I was just grabbing this out of my pocket.” As he pulled out a stack of envelopes. “Ah here it is” Lud said, pulling one out of the pile before keeping the rest back in. “Care to explain” Dundee asked, eyeing the letter as he impatiently tapped his foot. 

“Apologies let me start from the beginning. My name is El Ludwigo. I am here on behalf of my client Mr Yuno Sykk” Lud said, introducing himself. “What kind of services?” a cadet hollered from the back. Dundee turned to give him the zip it look. The cadet vanished into the shadows. “Legal services, I’m his lawyer,” Ludwig said with a smile. Quite wisely choosing to gloss over the weird tone of the question.

Dundee was extremely suspicious of this man. For one he talked too fast, and his hair was too perfect. Only scammers look like that. But then again, he always did think that lawyers were basically trying to find ways to scam the legal system for their clients. The one thing this guy had going on for him that he hadn’t asked him for anything. But something was wrong, he knew it in his bones.

El quickly and carefully explained to Dundee how he was Yuno’s lawyer and that his client had requested him to hand deliver this envelope. The man seemed to not trust him, but he took the letter. A businessman and now a gangster, with every letter he delivered El wondered if he even knew Yuno. There was this whole other side to his friend/client that he never knew about.

Dundee looked at the envelope that the lawyer had handed him. He could feel the paper inside it. The letter was so out of character for Yuno. The boy barely wrote more than two-word texts. Lud handed his card “Just in case you have any questions.” The card looked legit. Dundee nodded his head in acknowledgment as he shoved the card in his pocket. Just before he left the man turned around and suggested that Dundee open it in private. He trusted his group with his life but something deep in his gut told him he should take the lawyer’s advice.

Dundee got in his car and drove around as he deliberated for a while on where to go he finally picked the yoga. Sure there was the car park where they had their heart to heart, the curb by the apartments where he first picked him up or the spot in the middle of nowhere where Yuno had tried to fix him and Benji. But this was the first place he took him. This was where it all started.

The spot seemed too quiet without his friend there telling him how he was a broke bank busta despite having robbed countless banks. Dundee, a fellow broke bank busta, would laugh with him. He could see he was happy. He had little in his bank but alot in his heart. It’s why he never worried about him. In this crazy city everyone was chasing the next big thing. The most expensive car, the big mansion or the finest clothes. Not realizing the most precious thing was the friends you made along the way.

Dundee settled on a yoga mat. The sun was still shining brightly and the breeze was warm. If he closed his eyes he could almost feel him here. Right next to him. With a deep breath Dundee opened the letter.

Dear Dundee,  

I still remember my first day in the city. I was so nervous about being in a city where I did not have a single friend. I was ready to bolt at a literal moment's notice. And then I ran into this crazy Australian who took me under his wing and showed me all of what was possible. 

On my very first day you had me robbing houses, getting arrested for stealing a microwave and basically setting the record for the shortest amount of time a newcomer had spent in the city before being arrested. And despite the time in jail and the stupid fines it was one of the most fun days I had in the longest time. For the first time in my life I felt excited to try doing new things and take bigger risks.

Admittedly the first big risk I took was trying to drive. It is a miracle either one of us survived your attempts at giving me driving lessons. I mean I don't think I can even count the number of times I flipped the car on my first attempt. But you taught me to pick myself up and get right back on it.

As time passed I did get a little better. Remember that day when you were making your big reappearance into society and no one showed up. Yeah that day. It was the same day you called the cops on us and forced me to drive you out. Emotional blackmail mixed in with the fear of going to jail really was effective. It was the first time I drove you out of something. Kind of.

I owe so much to you. You took me to my first bank ever. Basically the one who got me addicted to becoming one of the best hackers in the city.  I need you to know there is no Yuno the hacker without Dundee the mentor.

Everything I did or achieved whether it was doing Soy Boy heists, rainbow road and eventually the Casino none of it would have been possible without you. You taught me, encouraged me, and challenged me to push my limits. You made me want to be a better hacker, a better driver, and a better friend. You were and always will be one of my greatest mentors and to this day most of what I know is what I learned from you. 

But you weren’t just my mentor, you were and always will be one of my first and best friends in Los Santos. A friend who I knew would always have my back no matter what. Someone who would beat me up for being stupid but if anyone else dared look my way well … I am pretty sure you would have gone and hunted down anyone who tried to hurt me. 

You were my crazy guardian angel. Thank you Dundee for giving me something even more precious than money; memories of a crazy adventure that make me smile every time on days that aren't the easiest. I don’t think I have ever met anyone like you nor that I ever will. To me our friendship is truly one for the history books.Sadly all stories come to an end. No matter how much we want to avoid the inevitable.

I know you are probably already ugly crying and wondering why I am saying all of this via a letter especially since I hate writing. I bet you’re also wondering if I hate writing so much than why am I not there telling you all of this in person.

The thing is that I am sitting in a hospital bed in a land far far away watching the sunset as I write this. There are a million of these wire thingies attached to me and it alot of random beeping sounds. And as I sit here I know one sad truth. That despite all my plot armor there is very small probability of me ever being able to go see you in person again. 

It isn't sudden and I’m not alone. A few months back after a minor little accident the doctor’s saw something concerning in my scans. Fast forward to getting a billion tests only to be diagnosed with a disease I don't even know how to spell . At first I thought I was fine. My symptoms were manageable and I could function almost normally. But then it took a turn for the worse. My current diagnosis is that it's basically killing me and fast. 

Despite knowing I didn’t have a lot of time left I couldn’t bring myself to tell you. I came quite close to spilling the beans on that day we had our little talk, but I chickened out. I couldn’t bear the thought of having my friend, my personal guardian angel, be worried and upset over something they had no control over. This was one thing no one could save me from. I guess it was selfish, but I wanted you to have only happy, worry-free memories of us in the city. 

I know you will be mad at me, the world and everything in it for a while. Be mad, be as mad as you want. Yell, scream, hate me just don't shut yourself off. You saved me Dundee. You gave me a life worth living. The world deserves to see the real Irwin Dundee. The one I saw. The one I had the privilege of considering my family. 

Thank you for always putting a smile on my face and for choosing to be my friend. If reincarnation is a thing, I hope that I have you as a friend in each and every life.

Goodbye Friend 

-Yuno Sykk

“ No no no no” Dundee muttered as tears fell down his face. He turned the page around hoping that this was a joke. It had to be right ? A cruel cruel joke? He had just seen him and he was fine. Right? Pain started to grow in his chest as Dundee wracked his brain trying to remember when he had seen him last. It had been a little while. It was definitely after he successfully hacked the casino security for his boys. He remembered how proud Yuno was.

Dundee closed his eyes. He could see him laughing. His smile was warm, his laughter made everyone in the room feel better and his eyes were sparkling. But why was he so skinny? Was he always this skinny? Or was it something more? Why had he seen him and not noticed anything? Why had he written off when he stopped coming out of his apartment for days at a time as just hacker burnout. Why didn't he call him when he left Los Santos without as much of a goodbye. He always said bye when he was going on trips. Why didn't he notice something weird was going on?

The pain in his chest started to throb. Tears fell down his face faster and faster. It was like he was being shot over and over and over again. “BRING HIM BACK YOU !! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME !! YOU BROUGHT A PIECE OF SHIT BACK LIKE ME BACK HE’S BETTER HE’S BETTER THAN ALL OF US !! BRING HIM BACK” Dundee screamed running into the water. He was soaked up till the waist. “Bring him back,” he cried. 

The silence was deafening. Dundee stood there crying as the sun disappeared leaving only darkness behind.He turned around and walked back to his car. He wiped his tears as he got in. If he wasn’t going to get an answer from the universe then he would get some from the people who were supposed to protect him. His pain was starting to grow into anger. He revved his car driving to the only place he knew he could find them. 

The door crashed open as Dundee walked into the Clean Manor with a gun in one hand and an almost empty bottle of rum in the other hand. There he was, the man at the helm of the family. Sitting on his big fancy throne. Alone. Dundee cocked his gun and pointed it at Mr Lang. “YOU COULD HAVE SAVED HIM. YOU WITH ALL YOUR MONEY AND POWER COULD HAVE FOUND A WAY TO SAVE HIM” he yelled. 

His face was red and the tears were flowing freely. “I left him here with you because I thought he would be safe. I thought you would take care of him, protect him but you failed and now …… he’s .. he’s gone” he cried. His hands were shaking as he tried to keep the gun aimed steadily at Lang.  “Tell me one reason why I shouldn’t kill you right now,” Dundee demanded.

Lang said, sitting as he looked up at dundee. Not even moving an inch from his spot, his eyes a bloodshot red, a picture frame in one hand and a glass of scotch in the other. He looked at Dundee and deadpan implored, “Do it, shoot me, you would be doing me a favor.” “I want to trust me, I want to, ” Dundee said crying. “Then do it cocksucker let me go be with my best friend” Lang said, getting up and grabbing the gun so it pointed to his head. 

Broken recognises broken. Dundee saw the pain in Lang. Without really thinking he lowered his gun. “He won't come find me in our next life if I kill you” Dundee mumbled as he dropped to the ground. Lang walked to the bar cart and poured another drink. “I would have given everything up in a heartbeat had I known. But he kept it from me. He kept it a secret from all of us. He was too stubborn, too principled, to ask for help” Lang said, offering Dundee the drink. Dundee scoffed “Did we know the same Yuno?” “Maybe not but I know one thing for sure he was too kind for this world” Lang replied.

“Yeah, he was,” he replied as he got up and took the glass from Lang. “You are welcome to stay here even though you did threaten to kill me. I suspect more will be coming here after getting letters like you and I did” Lang said walking back to his seat. Dundee swirled the drink in his hand as he deliberated on what to do. He didn’t know where he would even go if he left. He downed the scotch and said “we are going to need a lot more alcohol” as he went to sit on the sofa near the fire pit. Tonight, was going to be a long and dark night in the city of Los Santos

Chapter Text

Letter 2: Raymond Romanov

The next person on El’s list was proving quite difficult to track down. He had an apartment in the city that he was rarely ever at, if El was to believe his neighbors. He hoped he would get lucky at his girlfriend’s house but there was no one home when he stopped by. There was no address for his business and El didn’t know what else to do other than to keep trying the next day. Time was of essence though. Yuno had requested that each person receive their letter as soon as possible because he wanted them to find out the news through him.

Defeated El looked at the list once again. He noticed that Yuno had scribbled a note under his name “if you can’t find him go up to a random woman and ask them where Ray is; chances are you will eventually stumble on to one of his 60 wives.” El knew that Yuno loved to troll his friends and he couldn’t be serious about this but it was worth a shot. As luck would have it one of the cashiers decided to switch out at the local fast-food joint he was sitting at and the new cashier was girl with two long black braids. It seemed like a sign from the universe so he decided to ask her. I mean this seemed like a popular spot so she might just know the man he was looking for. “Hey, hi there. Random question but do you per chance know where I could find a Raymond Romanov?” El asked the girl look confused and unsure and inquired “why are you looking for him?” El couldn’t believe his luck, she knew him ! He quickly explained her how he was a lawyer and he really needed to meet Ray urgently. Somewhat satisfied with his reasoning she finally relented and said “Funny thing I actually just ran into him at the casino. If you hurry you can probably catch him still spinning the wheel” she replied. El thanked the lady and hailed a taxi to take him to the casino.

Like the woman had said Ray was definitely still trying his luck on the wheel. You could see the grey hair styled to perfection from a mile away. El himself had been blessed with a gorgeous head of hair, so it had the first thing that he had noticed when he looked at Ray’s picture in the file. El slowly made his way over and tapped him gently on the shoulder. “Excuse me. Are you Mr. Raymond Romanov?” he asked. Ray paused for a moment as if he weighing his words carefully before saying in a very heavy Russian accent “Depends. Who’s asking?” “Well, my name is El Ludwigo, I am here on behalf of my client Mr. Yuno Sykk” El responded calmly. Yuno’s name seemed to have caught his attention and El asked him to move to a more private location.

Ray led El to the casino roof where they sat on one of the lounge sofas. “So, you said you are Yuno’s lawyer?” Ray asked. “Well, we have been known to be professionally and romantically on and off for years now. But strictly speaking today I am here as his lawyer” El responded a little smugly. Ray snorted and mumbled what sounded like ‘he never mentioned having a lawyer friend and his business card.” El continued “He asked me to deliver this to you in person” as he handed him the envelope with his name on it “please feel free to get in touch with me if you have any more questions.” He grabbed his bag and made his way to the elevators. He had thought this trip would be easy all he had to do was deliver a few letters, but it wasn’t. Being the bearer of bad news even if the person in front of him was an absolute stranger was emotionally taxing. El still hadn’t completely processed his own loss. His lingering sense of duty prohibited him from being able to properly say goodbye to his friend. He wiped a tear away and looked at the next name on the list. He had a job to do.

The lawyer gave him the letter and walked away. Leaving Ray all alone. He looked at the envelope in his hand. Yuno didn’t have the best of penmanship and tended to prefer text over writing so why had he written this letter baffled Ray. The casino roof held a special memory in Ray’s mind. They had come here before doing the lower vault and leaned against the ledge thinking they were the coolest people in the world. It felt fitting to read this letter here. A dread set into the pit of his stomach. This piece of paper made him worry and his mind raced through possible reasons why he had gotten it.

However, the only way he would get answers to his queries was to read the letter. Taking a deep breath, he opened the letter

Dear Ray,

Recently I find myself reminiscing about the first time we met. I remember thinking that the two of us couldn’t be more different . I was impulsive while you were overly cautious, I hated bikes because I would always almost die each time, I tried to drive one and you loved them and how I can forget the girls man the girls! The girls weren’t into me and you had sixty wives. But somehow when we were together it just worked. No one expected the two newbies to come in to the city and take it by storm quite like this. We became the unstoppable duo. As long as I was hacking and you had Akumaa there was no bank heist we couldn’t escape from.

We conquered every task we set our mind to, robbed every bank in the city, went on crazy adventures, we even found a family with the Cleanbois and even ended up becoming roomies. Before I knew it you had somehow became a one of the most important people in my life. You became the brother I never had or I knew I needed. You were the brother who always had my back no matter what I did or how badly I messed up. Even when I was at my lowest point, failing to the black usb over and over again, you always told me to pull myself back up because we were going to try again. You would work every single waking hour to make sure I had a chance to redeem myself. Without your hard work and effort, I would never have been able to beat that (AND DW). I know I never needed to say this but thank you. Thank you for never complaining about the messes I created or the mistakes I made. Thank you for always helping me. I am lucky to have met you and feel privileged to call you, my brother.

Every moment we spent together has been truly special. From the endless hours we spent planning and setting back up after back up , which wouldn’t work half the time thanks to the scuff lords. From the yelling, trolling and the malding in the car rides, to losing thousands of dollars by blowing up planes, to losing the VIP every single time, to needing femly therapy and even the time we spent in jail together, everything was truly spectacular. Every memory I have of you and the boys is a happy one.

But I have a confession to make. Sadly, as much as I want, I wouldn’t be able to attend your 61st wedding either. I really wanted to attend at least one wedding but sadly life is one puzzle I failed to hack. A few months back I found out that I was sick my prognosis wasn’t good, and I knew it would not be long before it incapacitated me. There were so many times I broke and almost told you. But I got selfish. I enjoyed messing around with you and the boys like everything was normal. I liked how you have absolute faith in me as your cheat code and made me feel like I could do or be anything. I wasn’t ready to give that feeling up. I didn’t want to see you guys worry and get upset over something you couldn’t control. We both know Mr. Lang would have spent way too much on doctors, shamans and what not to try to save me and Tony would have been an emotional mess about all of it. And you my brother you think you have this great poker face and that no one can tell what you are thinking but that’s not true. Your eyes betray you every time. They have this light that seems to spark up in them when you are happy, and I couldn’t bear the thought of taking it away.

I can imagine this making you upset and angry as you read it. It might seem cruel in retrospect but know that I only did it to protect you from hurt for as long as I could. I hope you can forgive me one day and will be able to move past and have a happy life.

You were and always will be my very favorite grinder brother.

-Yuno Sykk

Ps tell kitty that I am sorry that I trolled her too so much but I only did it because I thought of her as a member of our family. Take care of her she truly is a special one.

Ray read the letter over and over and over again as if reading it for the 100th time would somehow reveal new information. But nothing changed. He felt as if someone had stabbed him in the heart repeatedly and all the oxygen around him had somehow disappeared. It couldn’t be true it had to be a cruel prank. It had to be, didn’t it? It hurt so much to think that he was in a world without his brother. He didn’t want to believe it could be true. But deep inside he knew that it wasn’t a joke. No one would ever make things like that about his brother everyone he met loved him.

The last time he had seen his brother had been on this very roof. It had been Buddha’s birthday and they were all goofing around here. Ray remembered Yuno trying really hard that night to make it look like he was having fun. He had looked so tired. Ray had been glad when he left the city hoping a vacation would reenergize him. He never could have imagined that he wasn’t burnout he was sick. Had he known he would have never let him go. He called himself his brother but he didn’t know. How could he not know? Ray sat on the same spot for hours and hours. Letter in hand, staring out at the city, feeling like he had lost a part of him.

At some point that night Kitty came and sat next to him. He was hugging his knees and rocking himself back and forth muttering “He’s gone, he’s gone” under his breath. She held him close and patted him softly. She had never seen Ray break down like this and there was a dread building in her stomach. “Ray who’s gone ? what happened ?” she asked him gently but he wouldn’t answer to kitty, nor would he let go of the letter he held in his hand. So, she just sat there with him. One of the casino staff members had called her. They had told her something was wrong with Ray but nothing more. She bit her lip as she contemplated calling Mr. Lang or maybe Tony. But she didn’t know what she would even say. She hated seeing him in pain like this. She hated that she couldn’t do more.

They sat there for a while before Ray looked up at her as if he was just realizing that there was someone there with him. “Kitty?” he whispered; his voice hoarse. “Yes babe?” she responded. “Yuno, he’s he’s …” he couldn’t say it out loud. It hurt too much. Tears were burning his eyes. He was too stubborn to cry. If he cried it would mean he had accepted that he was living in a world without his brother. He handed Kitty the letter and saw as her face fell as she realized what had happened. “Yunooo” she whimpered as tears started to fall down her face. Seeing her cry Ray couldn’t hold it in anymore. Tears started to fall freely. Kitty inched closer and put her head on his shoulder. He could hear her soft sobs and she could feel his tears fall on his head. Yuno loved trolling the couple so much, but he did genuinely love seeing them together. He looked down at Kitty who was still holding on to him. He looked up at the sky and there was this one star that was shining a little extra bright tonight. He wondered if it was Yuno looking down at them.

As they drove into the manor Ray found himself unwilling to go in. "It's okay if you need a moment" Kitty said squeezing Ray's hand before getting out. He sat there numb and lost. He looked at the manor, their home, but it felt hollow. Before he could even process it he was driving to his spot. The silence was deafening and the world look tiny from where he sat. He could feel him here, almost here his voice as he excitedly showed everyone the jump trying not to let his giggle be heard. Tears fell down his face. The phone in his pocket buzzed over and over again but he didn’t answer. He didn’t feel like talking to anyone. He looked at his phone scrolling through his contacts. His fingers lingered over Yuno’s number. He would never hear his voice again. He pinged the only person who would come here for him. The person who owed him answers.

A few minutes passed and Ray heard a car pull to a stop. He did not move from his spot nor did he turn. He sat there like a statue trying to remind himself that his brother would not want him shedding blood in his name.

“You knew, you knew from the start and you never said anything. How could you do that? How could you be so cruel, Mickey?” Ray said with so much hurt and malice in his voice that it felt like he was shooting daggers at Mickey.

“He made me promise Ray, he asked me to protect his family, our family, for him. He wanted me to take his spot, I couldn’t say no to I never could everyone knows that” Mickey replied softly.

“WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE. YOU ALWAYS THINK YOU KNOW WHAT’S BEST. YOU DON’T, YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING MICKEY. YOU COULD NEVER REPLACE HIM. YOU CAN’T DO ANYTHING” Ray yelled as he got up to face him.

Mickey’s mask was off and his eyes were bloodshot red. Tears fell down Mickey’s face. He couldn’t even look Ray in the eye as he whispered “I am not trying to replace him. I know that I can’t.” Mickey was starting to get more upset and his voice started to break as he stuttered “ And you’re right I have no idea what I am doing. I was just trying to make it a little easier for him. To reduce his worries. Maybe I messed up, maybe I should have broken my promise. I’ll spend the rest of my life questioning if I made the right choices.”

He finally made eye contact with Ray as he yelled “HE WAS MY FRIEND TOO RAY ! I LOVED HIM I WILL ALWAYS LOVE HIM !! I TRIED OKAY I TRIED ” before falling to the ground. A part of Ray wanted to turn around and leave but instead he choose to walk up to Mickey pick him up and hug him. Mickey cried his heart out as his friend held on to him tightly.

Chapter Text

El had been checking his phone every few minutes. The only way to track down the next name on his list was through the underground racing scene in Los Santos. Yuno had left him a racing dongle and explained that the easiest way for El to track him was to check the lists for his racer name. Apparently, everyone raced under an alias to protect their identity. A notification popped up on his screen. It was a race! He was looking for a DuckerZ. El had gotten three race notifications so far but no one with that name had been on the list. “Please let him be there on this please,” El prayed. He opened the app and waited patiently. It took a few minutes for all the racers to join in. He paced around impatiently willing the name to appear on his phone. Luck seemed to finally be working in his favor and the man he was waiting for finally joined.

El set his GPS up and made way to the spot where the race was starting. Getting out of his rented truck dressed in a suit he stood out like a sore thumb. It was as if he had stumbled on to the set of a fast and furious movie. Fully modified racing cars had lined up on a side and all the drivers were chilling. Everyone seemed to be comfortable around one another but they still had a mask on. El sighed and wondered how would he find DuckerZ in this crowd. From what he had been able to piece together in his time in the city it was known that the racing scene was notoriously secretive. So going up to them and asking for a specific person may be bad idea but it was the only one he had. Taking a deep breath, he walked up to the nearest group of racers and asked “Hi does anyone know where I can find a DuckerZ?” There was an awkward silence before a man broke from the crowd and hollered “That’s me, what do you want?” “Can we talk for a minute” El requested. The man gestured him away from the crowd.

This was going to be interested Tony thought to himself as he walked with the man to the side. His first thought had been that this guy is a police mole or something but the shoes on this guy alone were worth more than a year’s salary of any cop in the city. They came to a stop when they were out of ear shot of the racers. “To start of I would like to apologize for interrupting your race, but please know that I had no other means of contacting you. My name is El Ludwigo I am actually Yuno Sykk’s lawyer” the man explained, “Okay and ?” Tony asked. “Well, you see Mr. Sykk requested that I deliver this envelope in person to a Mr. Anthony Corleone better known as DuckerZ in the racing community” he explained. El handed Tony an envelope with his name written on it as well as his business card. “Please feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions.” El said before he turned around to leave “Oh and I suggest you open that somewhere a little more … private”. Tony definitely didn’t like that this lawyer knew about the racing scene but he also knew that there was no way Yuno would have sent him here like this unless it was important.

As Tony walked back to his car, he wondered why Yuno would send him a letter and that too one hand delivered by a lawyer. He stared at the envelope. A pit of dread was starting to grow in his stomach. Ignoring that feeling he put the letter in his jacket pocket telling himself that he would get to it after this race. That night every single race he entered he ended up brutalizing his competition. He had never had a better racing day but something was off. Normally when he won like this, he would feel like he was on top of the world but tonight’s victories felt hollow. It was the damn envelope. Every time he had gotten a letter in his life it had always been bad news. A pit of dread was brewing in Tony’s stomach he just knew that whatever was in that damn envelope there was not good At the end of the day no matter how fast he drove he couldn’t really run away from what it had to say forever. No matter how much he wanted to. He owed it to Yuno to read it.

As he drove down to his Paleto home he saw his house. The house Buddha had bought Yuno for his birthday. He remembered how happy Yuno had been that they were neighbors. That was a good day Tony thought smiling to himself. He parked his car behind Tori’s and just sat in the car for a moment. “Hey babe, you coming in ?” Tori hollered from the window. She must have heard him driving up to the house. “In a bit babe. I am going to take a little walk first” he responded. He walked down the street to Yuno’s house and settled on the on the front steps of the house. The house felt so empty without him like it too missed its owner. “I miss him too” he whispered to no one. He pulled out the envelope from his pocket and stared at his name on the envelope. Tears were already pricking his eyes. He took a deep breath and opened the letter .

Hey Tony,

I hope it wasn’t too weird that I sent El to your race. I kind of wanted to show off to him that I was friends with the best, yes, I said best and I will say it again, racer in the city. I mean you’re so much more than that though. You are an amazing chef, my mouth is watering even as I think of your steaks right now, a super entertaining mitch tv streamer, I laughed so hard watching you play among us and scanning the QR code with your phone it was CONTENT GOLD, and the best friend I could have ever asked for.

I still remember when you, Ray and Mr. Lang picked me up from prison to do our first Paleto together. You all put me in the trunk and you roasted the hell out because it was my first time hacking a Paleto. I remember feeling so nervous that day because I really wanted to impress you and the boys so bad. It took me a while to wear you down but eventually I won you over. And we went on to do crazy things together.

Ever since I have left the thing I miss the most, and I know it is going to sound insane, is the four of us in a car mid heist planning arguing like crazy. You and Ray just malding at each other, me egging everyone on and Mr. Lang suggesting that we go to femly therapy. I think I miss it because for the first time since I came into the city, I had a family who loved me unconditionally. You could yell, fight and even do dumb shit but at the end of the day when it mattered the most, they had your back. Together the four of us could do anything. Take my last bank heist in the city for instance. It was the day when we finally conquered the lower vault and our escape was insane. You and me in a car with all the loot at the end and we somehow managed to forget where the jump was. How many people can say that they forgot their getaway plan for the biggest heist in the city and still managed to escape. I don’t know how but somehow when we were together it didn’t matter how bad the scuff got or if we made a mistake, we always managed to get through it. And even the times when we messed up or ended up in jail. It was fun because we together. The good and the not so good things made for a crazy ride.

But the thing about life is that sometimes there are certain journeys you must take on your own. What I am to trying to say is that I left the city the city because a few weeks before leaving I was diagnosed with a potentially terminal disease. It was hard for me to hear and even harder to accept but there was one thing I knew for certain that I had to had to protect my family from this pain for as long as I could. I wanted to protect the amazing memories we have built together. I wanted to protect you and the family from all the sadness for as long as I could. I wanted you to remember me as your cheat code, your brother and not as the sick guy. I wanted you to remember me at my best. I hope you understand that there was nothing that you or anyone else could have done to save me.

You guys were what gave me the strength to go on even when I felt like I couldn’t. I want you to know that I didn’t just give up. That I tried to fight for my life harder than I’ve ever fought before but if you’re reading this letter than I have failed. I am sorry. I am sorry that I won’t be there to see you become one of the greatest mitch tv streamers ever or to see you take your steak business global. I am sorry that I can’t be your cheat code anymore and that you’ll have to rely on Mickey (don’t be too hard on him he probably feels pressured enough). And I am sorry that our journey together ends here. But boy was it an amazing journey. I lived a great life and you played a huge role in it. Thank you for being my biggest supporter and protector. Thank you for just being you.

It was a privilege and an honor to have had you and Tori be a part of my family. Maybe we will meet in another life but for now goodbye Tony.

-Yuno Sykk
Ps Could you do me two small favors please. Can you move the Clayvon toy to the manor that way a part of both of us will always be there. And secondly, could you grab a “certain pillow” from my bed and hide it. No one can ever find it there. Thanks.

“NO NO NO NO WHAT THE FUCK NOOOOOO” Tony yelled in pain. His face was hot and the tears fell nonstop. His screams echoed in the entire neighborhood. Tony wasn’t a stranger to bad news or to pain. Even if he combined everything bad that had ever happened it would have had hurt less than this. How could he be gone, he had just seen him a few days ago. He had taken him on a boost and the boy had been cracked at the hack. He had promised them that he would try to visit more. Had that been a dream? If that was a dream than he wanted to go back to sleep and never wake up again. He screamed in agony again. He was in a world without him, without Yuno. It was not fair.

Tori heard Tony’s screams and ran out of the house. “Tonyyy” she yelled as she looked for him. She found him on the steps outside Yuno’s house. He was clutching his chest and he was crying like she had never seen before. She ran up the last few steps and dropped down on the floor next to him and just held him. She had never seen her husband break down like this. He was stronger than most people gave him credit for. “Tony, baby what happened? What’s wrong?” she asked gently. “I … I failed to protect my family, we failed to keep him safe” he cried out. Tori was too scared to ask who he was talking when she noticed the letter Tony was clutching. She gently tugged the letter free from his grasp and started reading. Tears started to fall from her eyes even before she was done. Her husband had worked very hard to build this family of his, they both had, he would not have thought twice about putting his own life on the line to protect them. That is how much he loved them. So to have lost one of them like this was like losing a part of him. But Yuno he wasn’t just anybody to have lost Yuno was like losing the heart of the family. It hurt in a way that could never be put in words.

“You couldn’t have done anything Tony Yuno said you couldn’t have” she whispered to him. “What does that idiot know? He left us to go die alone in some godforsaken hospital, he was wrong we would have figured out a way …. we … we could have saved him” he wailed as he hugged his wife harder. He was angry at himself and he was angry at Yuno. If there was a God or some entity out there, he was mad at them too.

“Let it all out” Tori whispered “We need to go be strong for the family, Buddha, Ray, they will need us.” He knew Tori was right so he picked himself up. He had a feeling that Ray and Buddha might have gotten the similar letters. No one wonder neither one had called him all day. He felt like he was being stabbed in the heart repeatedly and like someone had drained all of the energy out of him. He walked slowly to his car. He could only imagine how bad it would for Buddha and Ray. God Ray would be an absolute mess.

Tori walked by his side holding his hand so tightly. Tears were falling down her face. He squeezed her hand. He was glad he had her by his side in this moment. “Manor?” she whispered. He nodded his head as they got into their car. Tori handed him the letter back and he tucked it back in his jacket pocket. “Remind me to get the keys to the house from Dreah” he mumbled. Tori didn’t say anything but he knew she had heard him. The drive to the manor was quiet and the manor itself felt like it was in mourning as well. Someone had left the main door unlocked. His guess was that tonight all were welcome.

Chapter Text

After all the shady characters El had delivered envelopes to he thought he was incapable of being surprised by anymore but boy was he wrong. He was currently parked outside Mission Row Police department about to go in to meet a senior deputy to be precise. A Claire Jessica Everly. She was the only person who was going to receive more than just a letter. El grabbed a small box from the glovebox. He was tempted to check what was in it but resisted the urge. He got out of his car went in. It was your typical musty old police station with a bored guy sitting on the front desk. El walked to the front desk and handed the man his card and said “Hi could you please inform Deputy Claire Everly that I am here. I called beforehand and was informed that she was on duty and would be available for a quick conversation.” The man took a quick glance at his card and informed him that he will let her know and that he should wait. El sighed as he sat down in one of the metal chairs in the corner. El hated that he was the one who delivering the bad news but as bad it felt he also felt a little weight lifted off his shoulder each time he delivered one. Yuno must have cared about these people a lot to have gone through the trouble of organizing all of this. It was only fair that they got to hear his story from him. To say their goodbyes. Everyone deserves to say their goodbyes.

Claire was annoyed that they had called her in to meet some lawyer. She had what she herself called court PTSD. Trials were boring and tended to drag on for hours. She was an action person rather than a sit for hours to listen to legal talk. She was like Yuno in that way she thought with a smile. That boy could not stand in one spot for a moment. Parking her car, she made her way to the front desk where the lawyer was seated.

Lost in his own thoughts he didn’t not notice that someone was standing in front of him. Claire cleared her thoat loudly and he finally looked snapped back to reality. “Hi” he said as he nervously got up. El was a little taken aback. The last thing he was expecting was that the cop he was looking for would be this beautiful young woman with piercing blue eyes and stark white hair. He instinctively fixed his suit as she introduced herself “Hi I am Officer Claire Everly, I was informed that you were looking for me.” El shook her hand and said “Yes, Hello Officer Everly, my name is El Ludwigo, I am here today on behalf of a Mr. Yuno Sykk.” “ Call me Claire and did you say you’re Yuno’s lawyer ? Is he in trouble? He is always getting into trouble that boy can’t help himself” she said with a mix of genuine concern and sibling like annoyance. “That isn’t quite why I am here” El explained. Claire seemed to calm down a little but she still seemed quite concerned. Funny that this cop was so worried about Yuno. El continued “Actually Mr. Sykk asked me to deliver a few items to you” he said handing her over an envelope with her name on it and the little box.

Claire looked down at the thing El had handed him. Confused she stood there. El placed his business card on top of the pile and said that “please feel free to contact me on that number if you have anymore questions. And Claire I recommend reading that letter somewhere private.” As the lawyer turned away to leave Claire looked at the items in her hand. Yuno wasn’t the kind to send her things like this. He was the kind to give her gifts mid robbery and pretend it was a stranger who gave it to her she thought laughing to herself. She walked up to one of the empty offices on the first floor of the of the PD. She switched of her radio and closed the door behind her. She put the things down on the desk and sat down in a chair. She picked up the envelope and gently ran her hand on it. The envelope had her name on it, her full name. She didn’t know he knew her middle name. She opened the envelope and pulled out a folded letter. She hesitated for a moment there was an odd fear and dread in her stomach. Something big must have happened for Yuno to act out like this. Taking a deep breath, she started to read.

Dear Claire,

I am turning over a new leaf for real this time. I’ve said that line to you so many times and you called me out on it every single time. Despite that I know a small part of you secretly hoped that I would. You always let me get away with so many dumb shenanigans. Like “pretending” that I was stealing a car for you after you damaged yours in a carnado and then driving of in it because you were going to put an impound request on it. I mean you have to admit it was funny since you know you couldn’t catch me. I always knew that you had a soft corner for me and I may or may not have abused that a bit, well more like a lot to be honest. I don’t even really know when it happened but somehow you went from being a cop I met, to being the other Claire, to insisting that you were the better Claire, to eventually becoming my protective older sister.

I know this isn’t the life you wanted for me but you always respected the choices I made. Even the really dumb ones. I’ve never said this to anyone before but I want you to know that I didn’t do it because I was in it for the money or the rush. I did it because I was good at hacking (allegedly), like really really good, like I was so good that they call me the cheat code. What that meant was that my crew never had to worry about the technical portion of any job. I liked that I could do that for them, that I was useful and I was needed. As much as liked that feeling it also scared me immensely. I was terrified that one day I would fail and they would move on. That they would think I was washed up and that they would abandon me. But even when that day come their faith in me didn’t waiver and they did everything to get me a chance at redemption.

I know you are probably wondering why I am telling you all of this. It is because despite making choices that put us as odds, I don’t want you to feel like you could have done anything to change my path. I want you to know I loved what I did and that I was loved by the people I did it with. Most importantly I want you to know that you were great sister. You inspired me to be better You taught me how be strong, brave and to never give up. And I hope that you can be half as proud of me as I am of you.

I am sorry that I won’t be able to tell you in person how lucky I’ve felt to have had you be a part of my life. Truth is a little while back I found out that I was sick. Not the flu kind of sick more like the I didn’t know if I would survive kind of sick. I’ll be honest in my head I had this crazy notion that I could fix this on my own and if not, then at least I would protect everyone from the grief for as long as I could. I need you to believe me when I say that I didn’t just give up and leave to party like I have no tomorrow. I fought this with everything I got but if you are reading this then I wasn’t successful. I know that you are probably fuming mad right now. Thinking that it was your job as the elder sibling to protect me. In a way you did. You inspired me to be strong enough to do this on my own and protect those I love. I am sorry that I met you so late in my life and left so soon. Meeting you, Mina and Mayumi was amongst the best things that has ever happened to me. You all always made me laugh and I loved every moment that we spent together. I hope Mayumi knows this but could you remind her that I always thought of her as family. That I truly enjoyed getting to know her and I wish that I had gotten the opportunity do some more dumb things with her.

Thank you, Claire for choosing to be my family and always taking care of me.

Goodbye, the best Claire in the world
(for a cop :p)
-Yuno Sykk

Ps could you do me one last favor? The box El gave you has a USB. On it I left a little message for the PD . Could you please make sure everyone sees it at the next meeting? Please let them know I wanted to send each them each a letter as well but I get tired a lot more easily now so this was my next best option. Oh, and if you could get a few heart stoppers before the meeting that would be great.

Pss If you would have him, I would love for you to adopt Bimbus. At this point he feels more like your dog than mine anyways.

Claire just sat there feeling numb staring at the letter in her hand. This can’t be true he can’t be gone she thought shaking her head. Her little idiot brother who she always yelled at for getting into dumb criminal activities couldn’t just be gone like this. He had to be pulling a prank on her or something. A very stupid and cruel prank. to Tears pricked her eyes and her heart was starting to hurt. “I am going to whoop his ass when I find him, this isn’t funny,” she said out loud to herself. That lawyer what was name. He gave her his card. She grabbed the card and looked him up. Maybe he was a paid actor or something she thought to herself. Turns out he actually was a lawyer.

She dialed the number on the card. The phone rang and rang and rang. El answered his phone “You know you can get disbarred for giving a cop false evidence, right? Just tell me truth that he is okay and I’ll let it slip” she bargained. There was silence on the other end and the dread in her heart started to rise and tears started to fall “Please tell me this is lie, please tell me that he is okay and that I didn’t just lose my brother. Please pleaseee ” she pleaded desperately. “I am so sorry” El whispered clearly upset himself. She threw her phone across the room shattering it to pieces. The numbness was starting to fade and a barrage of pain was starting to hit her. Tears were rapidly falling down her face. “Why didn’t I notice the signs, WHY DIDN’T I KNOW SOMETHIG WAS WRONG, I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN” she yelled. “I am a cop it is my job to notice things that others don’t then how did I miss that he was sick” she whispered as she cried hugging herself.

The entire MRPD heard her screams. Mina was called in and she rushed up to the office. Her peers knew that whatever was going on she would not want them to see her like this. So, they all waited patiently for her to come out and tell them whenever she felt ready. Mina paused at the door knocking softly as she called out “Claire I am coming in.” She walked in to see her wife sitting on the floor in the corner of the office. She was clutching her knees and sobbing. Mina shut the door behind her and locked it. She gently walked up to her wife and sat in front of her. She had never seen Claire cry like this. She had never really seen Claire cry. Claire was one of those hard cookies who barely every cried. So, for her to be like this something truly awful must have happened. “Claire? what happened ?” she whispered as she inched closer “please tell me what’s wrong.” Claire looked up at Mina, her eyes puffy and red from crying. “Yuno, Yuno he is …... ” she broke done again unable to finish her sentence. She just handed Mina the letter. Saying it out loud, it just hurt too much. Tears filled up Mina’s eyes as she finished reading the letter. She wasn’t too close to Yuno but to her wife he was family and she could not even begin to imagine how much in pain she must be. Mina pulled her wife in a hug and just held on to her letting her cry. They sat there holding on to each other till Claire felt ready to go.

Claire left the PD not really wanting to talk to anyone just yet. She stopped at the butcher and bought a nice, expensive steak for Bimbus. The best one they had. When they got home Bimbus seemed to immediately sense that something was off and the dog just stayed in bed with her for the rest of the day. “What time is it?” she asked Mina out of the blue. “It’s 10.30” her wife responded. “Shit” Claire said as she grabbed the Usb of her desk and her keys. “I need to go do something I’ll be back in a bit” she hollered as she left their apartment. She stopped at burger shot and picked up a bunch of heart stoppers. The guy at the counter looked at her like she was loco but she shrugged it off. Grabbing her order, she made way to the MRPD.

Everyone was gathered for the PD meeting. Word must have spread about what had happened because everyone kept glancing at her. She made her way to the podium and cleared her throat. “Excuse me everyone if I could have your attention” she said loudly. Everyone fell silent and looked at her. She took a breath unsure of how to explain the situation. “Someone really special to me asked me to share a message with his friends here at the PD, I know this isn’t exactly in line with our protocols but once you see it, I am sure you will understand” she said as she plugged the usb in to screen. A video started to play on the screen and Yuno appeared on the screen. He was wearing a hospital gown, holding his helmet in his lap.

“Hi guys” he said waving his fragile hand. “Most of you if not all of you have at some point either caught me or seen me doing dumb stuff while I was wearing this” he said pointing to the helmet. “I don’t know if you guys even know how I look without it so I figured I’d keep the helmet here so you know it really is Yuno” he said with a smile. “So, I am guessing that you’re all wondering why I am interrupting the PD meeting. Well Claire and I decided to save you from another lecture on how to do your job so runnnnn, I’m joking!” he said with a little giggle.
A few of the officers laughed in the back. Claire noted that the hand that he used to covered his mouth as he laughed had a canula with a drip attached to it. It broke her heart a little. “Truth is I left the city because I’ve been sick for a while. My prognosis isn’t the best so I don’t know if I’ll ever get a chance to see you guys again. So, in case I don’t there are a few things I need to say.” Claire heard a number of gasps in the crowd. Yuno paused for a moment as if letting everyone digest what he had just said.

“Where do I even start” he said with his brows furring. “Ah I know. When I first came in to the city, I was so nervous and I was ready to bolt. As luck would have it, I ran into a crazy Australian and ended up getting arrested for the first time within the first hour of my first day. My arresting officer was the one and only Officer Gary Berry. He caught me trying to steal a microwave of all things. Officer Gary even though you arrested me you were so nice that I didn’t feel bad about getting caught. Had you not shown me the kindness that I don’t know if I would have even stuck around the city. I am so lucky that I ran into you. Thank you for always seeing the best of me and always being nice to me.” Claire heard soft sobs and turned to see that Gary Berry was crying. “I was lucky to have met you my friend” he said softly.

“Another very special person to me was Ranger Conan Clarkson. Our little rivalry was unlike anything this city has ever seen before. Pinging you all over the city after I allegedly robbed banks only to leave half eaten sandwiches in my wake was a true joy. It was a privilege and an honor to have been your rival.” Conan said nothing but tears fell down his face. “I had Claire get you and the rest of the PD some heartstoppers, this will be the last sandwich I’ll be sending guys, I promise” he said with a smile. Conan stared at the table where the sandwiches were and it seemed to just break him. He bit on his own balled up fist so he could drown the sound of his crying.

“You know the PD has some great Troopers that I need to acknowledge. Trooper Soze our little mountain bike chase was probably one the most fun times I had in the city and I was glad that you were there. Thank you for always being a great sport about my dumb-er ideas. Trooper Andrews I always knew that you had a soft spot and I always enjoyed having that privilege. To tell you the truth I had a dream where I was part of your personal SWAT team and that was the only time, I ever woke up wishing I really was a cop, sorry Claire but it was the SWAT TEAM. Thank you for always being so kind to me.” Andrews chuckled softly as tears fell down his face. “Trooper Hunter you were always one of my favorite people to run into when I was doing less than legal things, allegedly. I have a feeling that you had a hunch the person I was reporting was hacking the bank was well me and I love that you went along with how dumb the whole thing was. Thank you for being a true joy to interact with and for always trying your best to make sure everyone was having a good experience.” Claire turned to look at Soze who was wiping away his tears pretending that he wasn’t crying while AJ Hunter on the other was just straight up bawling like a baby.

“Officer Copleone and Office Brian running into you was always a pleasure. I would always walk with a smile on my face after meeting you two. Officer Crocodile Steve I have to admit you were my favorite aussie cop, you made me laugh every time we met and I wish we had gotten to hang out more often. Truth be told you reminded me of one of my mentors so I couldn’t help but have a soft spot for you.” He said with a smile. Croc hmphed at the comment as he took off his glasses to wipe his tears.

“Officer Carter, you were like my good luck charm. Every time I would meet you would tell me to have a good day and I actually would. I hope you have a great life. Officer Cornwood I am glad you came back to Los Santos I hope you stay around for a long time. The city could use smart and kind people like you. Officer Tyme Reducer it was an absolute pleasure to have met you. You were the only cop who actually gave me Snitch Tax for snitching on a race that I know you get a ping for and probably already knew about. I promise that I did not use that money to race and allegedly got completely wrecked.” Officer Reducer laughed as she wiped tears from her face. A lot more cops were crying now. Some were comforting others. Even the ones who didn’t know him that well see him that well seemed to be upset.

“And how can I forget Officer Dan Faily. Guess I really am the shadow leader now. I made the entire PD cry and well most of the city all from the shadows.” Yuno said with a stupid smirk across his face. “I am just messing with you Officer Faily. I am just a guy who was lucky enough to have met some great people in this city and had the privilege of calling some of them my friends. Though thank you for seeing potential in me that I didn’t see in myself and always making me laugh. Oh, and I hope you got my messages.” He said with a quick wink and a laugh. Claire looked for Faily in the crowd. Even he was crying and he was convinced that Yuno was evil and secretly ran the whole city.

“Lastly Grandpa Baas or as you all know him as Chief Sam Baas.” He said with a smile. “I can’t think of a cop more deserving than you to be the chief of police. I am lucky that such a great cop and person is my grandpa. Thank you for all the fun memories. So now that you’re chief Grandpa Baas and have a lot more resources could you please find out where Saab is finally?” Yuno said with a mischievous smile. Baas who had already been crying laughed at that last comment and yelled at the screen “Fine fine I’ll actually try to find him.”

“I don’t know if I missed anyone but if I did, I am sorry. Thank you everyone for being part of one of the greatest experiences of my life. I might not have been in Los Santos for long but I took more amazing memories from this city in that brief period than most have in their entire lives. Goodbye LSPD it has been an honor” he said with a little salute and a wave.

The video stopped and Claire looked a look around the room. Cops were hugging each other; some were starting to share stories and others were just walking out. AJ Hunter, Gary Berry and Conan Clarkson had walked up to the front to grab some sandwiches. Each of them had been struck by the Sandwich bandit Clarkson explained. She smiled a little as she disconnected the usb and put it in her pocket, it was the only video she had of him. So many people cops loved him. He was a criminal and they still loved him. She was glad she wasn’t alone. A few of the cops told Claire that they were going to go off duty and visit Clean manor to check in with the rest of his friends and family. Claire didn’t want Mina to be alone but the idea of spending time with people who loved him and hearing stories about him seemed comforting. She nodded and made her way down to the parking lot. She sent her wife a text about her plans and told her to take extra care of Bimbus. Mina responded instantly telling her to do whatever she needed and that she was here for whatever she needed.

That night most of the PD ended up at Clean Manor. Drinking, crying, laughing and sharing stories about the one and only Yuno Sykk.

Chapter Text

El wiped a tear from his face as he put his phone away. The pain in Claire’s voice had broken his already broken heart again. He sat there in his car parked on the sideway trying to gather his composure again. He couldn’t break down just yet; he had more letters to deliver. El marked up the Vultur Lé Culturé on his GPS his next destination was the art gallery. El wasn’t exactly sure what to expect at the gallery but from what he had been told was that the gallery displayed local art, purchased the not always legally obtained gems and had a fighting arena in the back. This city definitely sure had some interesting spots. El parked his car out front and made his way into the gallery. He was looking for the its owner a Mr. Ramee El-Rahman. This place was more glamorous than he was expecting. He was hoping to just run into owner but he knew the chances of that happening were slim. He approached one of the art curators who informed him that they would reach out to their boss and see if he is available. El roamed around the gallery as she made the call.

As he was appreciating the work local artist had created El noticed that a large group of people were rolling into the gallery. If you didn’t look too closely you would have thought that they were just a bunch of guys goofing around but they were clearly gang members. Their guns that were tucked under their waistbands and a couple of them were wearing chains that quite literally said Chang Gang. One of the guys in particular caught El’s attention. In his time in Los Santos, he had stumbled on to maybe handful of guys with grey hair and none of them had a British accent. If he was right than he would be able to deliver two letters in one go. El started to make his way to the group when the curator stopped him. “Mr. Ramee will be here in five minutes; would you like to wait in his office?” she asked. Before El could answer her one of the slightly older looking gentlemen from the group overheard him and walked over. He in what El would describe as a mildly threatening tone said to him that “Hey why are you looking for my boy?” El knew he had to maintain his composure and keep it strictly professional to maintain the power here. “ At this moment all I can disclose is that I am a lawyer and I have somethings to discuss on behalf of my client that I have to discuss with Mr. Ramee El-Rahman.” The man seemed dissatisfied by his response. But before things could escalate Before El could respond a man in a suit walked up to him and turned to the group and asked “What’s going on here boys.”

“This guy here came looking for you but won't state his business with us. I don’t know about you but that’s kinda suspicious to me” the older gentlemen responded. Ramee looked at the man in question. He was dressed in an expensive suit and then it hit him. This was the man he was supposed to meet. Ahhh, you must the lawyer who asked for me. Let’s go to my office and we can talk” Ramee said as he gestured him to follow him to his office. The entire group started following them. “Mr. El-Rahman if you wouldn’t mind could we talk in private ?” El requested. “These are my boys whatever you want to say to me you can say to them” Ramee responded firmly. “I understand but I would still insist on this being private. You can share the details of our meeting after I leave if you choose but my client requested that I have these meetings one on one only” El explained.

The lawyer was infuriating him. K looked like he was a second away from shooting this guy in the head. He turned to his boys and told them to wait out here and that he would be back shortly. They walked in to his office and Ramee sat in his chair. He had spent many a late night working in this office trying to build his gallery to what it was today.

“Let me introduce myself properly. My name is El Ludwigo. I am Mr. Yuno Sykk’s lawyer.”

“Wait what? You’re Yuno’s lawyer ? Is he in trouble? I mean shouldn’t you be talking to his boys then” Ramee said with a certain degree of confusion and concern.

El was starting to get the feeling that Yuno and this guy didn’t quite run in the same circle.

“Actually, Mr. Sykk requested that I hand deliver this to you on his behalf” El said as he pushed an envelope across the table and he continued “I don’t know a lot about how things work in this city, about who is whose boy but I do know that you must have been very special to Yuno for him to have asked me to have come all this way to deliver this to you.”

Ramee didn’t say anything back to El as he got up to leave. He took a visiting card from his pocket and put it on the desk next to the letter “Feel free to contact me if you need anything. Oh, and I suggest that you open that when you’re alone.”

The door closed and Ramee just sat there staring at the envelope at his desk. It has his name on it. He gently ran his hand over it. He never would have admitted it to his boys but he really cared about Yuno. He was happy that he had found a home with CB but he was also always a little jealous of them. They got to hang out with him so much more than he ever did. He picked up the letter and put in his stash. His boys would walk in any moment and his gut was telling him he didn’t want to open this letter in front of them.

As Ramee walked out of hopefully his last meeting of the day he let out a sigh of relief. It had been a long and tiring day and he was glad it was coming to an end. He made his way to his car relieved to finally have some free time. Well almost free. He had never gotten around to opening the letter Yuno sent him and it weighing on him since the moment he got it. It was like a weird nervousness was building in the pit of his stomach and despite being quite tired he made his way to the gallery to fetch it from his office. It felt strange to get a letter from Yuno. He just couldn’t imagine Yuno sitting down long enough to write one. This was just so out of character for him and that worried Ramee. It worried him quite a bit.

Earlier when the lawyer had stopped by his boys had been around and something told him that this is something he should read alone and then he could decide if he wanted to share it with everyone. Truth be told there were no secrets in the family but the letter was addressed to him and not the gang so maybe it held something personal that Yuno might not have wanted to share with everyone. K had made it a point to pull him aside and ask him about what the lawyer had to say. Replying as honestly as he could Ramee informed him that the lawyer was just passing a note along from Yuno and it was likely not a big deal. K knew that Ramee wasn’t telling him the full story but he knew if it was important, he would let him know.

Parking his car in the back Ramee made way to his office. It was pretty late; the sun had set and the stars were shining brightly. No one would be in the gallery at this hour. He’d recently been missing Yuno a lot. Yuno was truly special he thought with a smile on his face. His boys would often make fun of the fact that Ramee acted like teenage boy who was trying to impress his crush whenever Yuno was around. As much as he would cuss at them and deny their accusations deep down, he genuinely liked and cared about Yuno. Yuno would always show kindness to everyone no matter what they did to him. In Ramee’s world that was a rare thing so he valued it a lot. He didn’t say it a lot but he genuinely felt lucky to have met the twins; Yuno and Raemond.

He made way to his office. Grabbed the envelope from his stash and settled into the chair at his desk. He stared at the envelope in his hand. It made him felt special to have received it but something inside him told him that whatever was in that letter was not good. Part of him wanted to throw the envelope back in the stash and forget about it but he knew better than most that you can’t just keep running away from things. He took a deep breath and picked up the envelope. He took a deep breath and started reading the letter

Dear Ramee,

Did you know that we are officially step brothers? I thought Fiona was joking when she called and asked if she could adopt me. I didn’t know she was serious when I said yes but now, I am glad I did since we’re actually family now! I don’t know how I got so lucky but somehow, I get to have you as my brother. Officially! I didn’t think it was possible because well you know why but I am glad that it happened.

I can’t believe how far we’ve come. I remember the first time I officially met you was before my fight at the casino. I was intimidated by you at first but you were so sweet. I don’t know how we ended up becoming friends after you the amount of money you lost because of me. I mean truth be told even I would have bet on my twin Raemond to win. To this day I don’t know why either one of us agreed to that but I guess it turned out good in the end. Considering that despite that weird kind of a start we ended up getting closer and you’ve become one of my closest friends in Los Santos.

I never have had a friend like you in my life before. The kind of friend I could call mid bank heist just to troll, I mean I never really thought I would be robbing banks but that’s beyond the point. The kind of friend who would always have my back despite his boys trolling him for being too soft on me. Don’t tell Claire but other than Mr. Lang you were my favorite boss to not really work for.

I remember when I first started hacking banks I would dress up as you. I know you thought it was because I was trolling you but the truth is I did it because I looked up to you. Wearing your outfit gave me confidence and it kinda was my lucky charm. You inspired me to become a hacker. I know I have never said this to you but I appreciated it greatly that you push me to pick myself up every time I am down. For always calling me out for saying that I am washed. Sometimes even at gun point but it’s the thought counts. You believed in me, on days even when I didn’t believe in myself. Thank you.

I know you’re probably wondering why I wrote all of this in a letter and not have told you in person. Well, the truth is Ramee a couple of months ago I found that I was sick, the kind of sick where you don’t know if you would be able to pull through kind of sick. Part of me wanted to tell everyone the minute I found out but I got selfish. I didn’t want my friends to see me lose a part of myself every day. I didn’t want anyone to pretend to be strong for me and then cry every time the left the hospital room. Hurting my friends, my family like that it felt too cruel. Death is inevitable but if I can keep everyone smiling even for a day longer, I’ll do whatever it takes.

In my own way I was trying to protect them. To protect their memories of me. I want you to remember me as the guy who was always up to do the craziest things, as the broke bank busta and as the guy you could almost never say no to. I want you to remember me as me. The time we spent together always puts a smile on my face and I hope after I am gone it will always put a smile on yours too. It has truly been my privilege to have called you, my friend. Thank you for coming into my life and staying there.

Goodbye Ramee, my friend my brother.

o7 It’s been an honor
- Yuno Sykk

Ramee put the letter down gently back into the envelope and put it in his drawer. It was the only thing of Yuno’s he had left. Tears fell down his face. It was funny that Yuno had said that he had inspired him when its Ramee who had been inspired by Yuno. Yuno inspired him to be a better hacker, to be a kinder person and be a better friend. A strange pain building up in Ramee’s chest like his heart would burst. The world would be a darker place without Yuno in it. Ramee bowed his head and said a little prayer for Yuno. It was the only thing he felt he could do. This room suddenly felt like it was suffocating him. He picked up the keys to his car and got up to leave. His tears were falling down so fast that they were blinding him and the pain felt like it would never go away. He wiped his tears as he passed through the gallery. He stopped at the gate and the went back in.

That night Ramee spent hours replacing every single one of the paintings in the gallery to pictures of the friend he lost. Art was the way Ramee communicated his feelings with the world. Once he was satisfied, he left the gallery not sure where to go next. He knew he didn’t want to be alone so he made his way to the only place he could think of.

The clean manor had all sorts of people gathered. Ramee suspected that some of them must have gotten letters like him. The strangest sight however was seeing Ray and Mickey sitting together on the floor drinking beer and just talking. Ramee made his way over and sat down with them. Tonight no one had the energy to hold on to old grudges or worry about gang politics. Everyone here was hurting enough as is. The least they could do was show kindness to one another. It is what Yuno would want.

Chapter Text

Delivering those last two letters had left him emotionally drained. When Ramee had asked him if Yuno was okay he couldn’t even look him in the eye. The letter would answer his questions El told himself. The only thing that kept him going was that at least it will be all over soon.

The next name on his list was a Mr. Guy Jones from NBC. At first El thought NBC might be a name of like a corporation or something but apparently it stood for something a little different. El suspected Yuno had intentionally left out the full form to troll him. That boy was farming KEKWs even after he was gone El thought with a chuckle. At least some things were still the same.

So apparently, the man he was looking for was kind of the leader of the group called Naturally Born Crackheads i.e., the NBC. They were known for doing the wackiest shit in town and despite their name they weren’t actually involved in selling crack. Tracking them down had been tricky to say the very least. It would have been easy to tweet out him and have him call him back but they kind of move would have garbed too much attention. So, El did the next best thing he tipped the waitress at burger shot, a sever at roosters and the taxi driver who had picked him on his first day to get him a way to contact Guy Jones. He was starting to give up hope when his phone rang. It was the taxi driver. El answered the phone

“Hello friend, I know you were looking for Guy Jones, I just saw him at the apartments on Alta street. I couldn’t stop to get his number but if you go there now, you’ll probably still find him there.”

“Thank you, Abdul, I owe you a big time” El responded with utter gratitude.

“No worries habbibi ! I am happy to have helped” he responded. El hung up the call and rerouted his gps. Luckily, he wasn’t too far away.

There were quite a few people here. El wasn’t sure how he would find the man he was looking for but then he heard a man in a green stripped shirt and a nasally voice say “I am Guy mother******* Jones and you better talk to me with some respect.”

His friend pulled out a gun and whoever he was talking to seemed to make the wise decision of walking away.

“I thought so” Guy Jones said with a smirk. El made his way over to him and tapped him gently over the shoulder.

“Excuse me are you Mr. Guy Jones?” he asked knowing full well he was but it didn’t hurt to confirm it.

“I am, what is to you” Guy Jones responded.

“Well could we talk in private please, it will only take a few minutes” El assured him.

Guy didn’t trust him but walked with him to the other corner of the parking lot. Out of earshot of the crowd but still close enough that his group could see him. This was Los Santos and you couldn’t really trust strangers. Still, he was willing to listen to him. El fixed his suit and cleared his throat before introducing himself

“ My name is El Ludwig, I am Mr. Yuno Sykk’s lawyer”

“Wait you’re Yuno lawyer ? What’s wrong ? is he in trouble? Do we need to break him out of somewhere ? Should I call Booja ?” Guy said with genuine worry and concern.

“No, no its nothing like that” El assured him. Guy seemed to calm down a little but he still seemed quite concerned.

“I am here because Mr. Sykk requested that I hand deliver this to you” El said handing him an envelope and his business card. Guy Jones put the card in his pocket and looked at the envelope. His name was written out carefully on the envelope.

“Mr. Jones, I suggest you open this somewhere private” El said gesturing to the group of people who were quite obviously watching them and whispering to one another.

Guy Jones nodded his head and just walked away from him.Receiving the letter made him uneasy. Normally he loved hearing from Yuno. He actually complained to Yuno all the time that he didn’t reach out to him enough. But something about this felt off. It wasn’t like Yuno to do things like this and that worried him. He wasn’t sure where he was going but he needed to be alone. He made way to the balcony in the building across the parking lot next to the apartment. With a nervous breath he opened the letter.

Dear Guy Jones,

Ever since I’ve left the city, I find myself thinking about the first time we met. You and 4T kidnapped me for her friend ritual. The next time we met you asked me to hack for you. Everyone thought I was insane for doing. I did it anyways because they didn’t see what I could see. I saw this fun, kind and just the right amount of crazy group of people who could do anything if they just had someone believe in them. And true we had our stumbles in the beginning. Our first bank together ended in the tunnels with a gun fight with the cops and all of us being arrested. I mean not exactly ideal outcome but it was only the start. I never really knew what expect when we were together but I always knew it would be one hell of a time.

You always surprised me with the plans that you would come with. I mean we did some fun and downright ratty plans and over time got better and better at getting away. We were an insane team. Who would have thought that we would be the third squad in the city to make a withdrawal from the vault. I knew without a doubt that no matter what happened that you would always have my back and I had yours. Even when things went bad between you and my heist crew you choose to not hold it against me. I know I never really told you but thank you. Thank you for never making me choose a side, for always seeing the best in me and for being one of the best friends I could have ever asked for. I know you all call me an honorary crackhead but to me you are a full-time member of my imperfectly perfect family. I know I am not particularly expressive but I wanted you to know that I appreciate you a lot and that I feel lucky to have met you.

I bet you’re already emo by this point and wondering why I am not telling you this in person. The truth is that a while back I found out that I am sick. The really bad kind of sick. The kind of sick where a bunch of doctors tell me the odds of my recovery are slim, at best. Hearing that news was hard but not nearly as hard as when I realized that I was starting to lose myself. I couldn’t do the things I was once able to do, I was forgetting things, I was getting slower, I was basically losing myself . Call me selfish but I didn’t want the people I loved to see me disappear a little more each day. I wanted to protect them from this pain for as long as I could. To keep them smiling for one more day. To protect their memories of our memories of the time we spent together. I want you to remember me at my best. As Yuno your crazed friend and hacker on call.

I did what I had to, what I felt was the right thing to do. I left Los Santos letting everyone think I was just burnout, that I needed a little break and that I would be back soon. I knew that no one would like this choice I made but I had. I know that right now you are probably a little mad at me for having kept this from you, okay a lot mad. Thinking that I call you family and then keep this huge secret from you. But isn’t that what family does? Protect you even when you have not asked to be protected. I need you to know that I didn’t just accept my fate and that I fought it with everything I got, but in the end if you are reading this it wasn’t enough. I am sorry though. Not for keeping this a secret but for leaving you so soon, for not having spent more time with you and for never have given you a hug and told you how much you mean to me.

I know you can’t stay upset at me for too long, you love me too much to do so. I mean you always let me get away with so much shit. Calling you, Peanut, Cookie, Saleem and all the other boys my friends was truly an honor. I lived a good life; no a great life and you were a huge part of it. I hope whenever you think of me every memory puts a smile on your face like it did for me. Thank you for just being you. Thank you for being my friend my family.

If there is a thing such as reincarnation that I will find you again in our next life.
Goodbye <3
-Yuno Sykk

“What ??? This this can’t be true” Guy Jones muttered.

Tears were pricking his eyes as he read it again and again but nothing changed. Tears started to fall freely and it felt like his heart would explode. He didn’t know pain like this was eve possible. Clutching his chest, he fell to the ground. The pain was too much and it felt like it would never stop. Tears fell down his face nonstop and he just screamed. It hurt so much to think about a world without Yuno it. It wasn’t fair. Yuno was one of the few things in his life that was unconditionally good. The thing that never failed to put a smile on his face. How could it be …. How could he be just gone like this?

Yuno was right about one thing. He was furious. He was angrier than he had ever been before.

“How dare you go through all of this alone. How dare you try protect all of us but not let anyone protect you” he grumbled.

Clutching the letter in his hand he yelled at the top of his voice “I DON’T LOVE YOU YUNO I DON’T. I HATE YOU FOR LEAVING ME. I HATE YOU FOR NOT LETTING ME IN WHEN YOU WERE HURTING. I HATE YOU.”

The tears burnt his eyes and his heart ached. “I hate you; I hate you” he whimpered as he fell back down.

In that moment he didn’t know who he hated more. Yuno or himself. He hated himself for not noticing that Yuno was hurting nor was he there to hold his hand or just be by his side when he was scared. He must have been so scared Guy thought to himself.

That night Guy Jones just sat there crying for hours. Feeling utterly broken. If you could look at his soul you would see the cracks in it. So much of who he had gone on to become was because Yuno believed in him when no one else did. And with him gone it felt a part of him was missing.

He didn’t know when but at some point, Peanut came and found him. Then Cookie and then Saleem. They didn’t say anything they just sat next to him. Each shedding tears silently after reading the letter.

He put his head on Peanut’s shoulder still crying “who will believe in me now?” he whispered.

“Yuno will, we will always have his faith in us because he still lives on in our hearts” Peanut responded whipping his tears away but more just kept falling.

“The tears you shed they come not from the head but from the heart, they prove that his love is still within you with in all of us” Saleem added.

“Yup we were lucky we met him and this city is better off for it” Cookie added softly. Guy wiped the tears and the snot and looked at the people around him. Each of them a crying mess.

“Yup I was lucky to have met that boy, to have had him believe more in me than I did and to have had the privilege of being his friend, his family” Guy said softly.

They sat there for a while just comforted by each other’s presence. But after a while they too like everyone else who got the letter that night in the city found themselves making way to Clean manor. Grief was a little bit more easier to bear when you had someone to share it with and Yuno had touched so many lives. All of which would be a little less bright now that he was gone. Gone but never forgotten.

Chapter Text

Delivering letter after letter had left El completely drained. But he was so close to the finish line just one more letter and then he would be done. Then he could go back home. Except this last one was a little more complicated than the others. When he had met Yuno at the hospital he had given El a bunch of tips to help him track down the recipients of the letters.

But when it came to this last letter, he was hesitant like he was worried about this person more than the others. He looked at the letter for a moment before handing it over.

“Four Tee, she’s special. Be gentle with her Lud. She’s one of the kindest people I know but she is also one of the deadliest” Yuno had said in gentle yet cautionary tone.

“Oh, and make sure you take Yeager with you when you give her the letter. I don’t want her to be alone” he requested softly.

“I will, I promise” El said squeezing his hand.

This was one of the things El loved about Yuno. His love and his kindness knew no bounds. Any normal person who was in his shoes would have been thinking about themselves, rightly so, but here he was thinking about the people in his life and trying his best to protect them in his own way. Tears welled up in El’s eyes and he took a deep breath to calm himself down. One more letter and he could go home and truly let the grief drown him.

Luckily, he had met Yeager at Roosters rests sadly their encounter hadn’t exactly been the best of terms. Which meant that while he kind of knew who he way he had no way of contacting him. After coughing up a fairly big tip to one of his coworkers at Roosters Rest El finally got his number. He dialed the number, waiting anxiously for him to answer.

“Hello who is this ?” asked Yeager clearly annoyed by the call.

“This is El Ludwigo Mr. Yuno Sykk’s lawyer, we met at the Roosters a little while ago” El explained.

“So? What the f*** do you want from me?” Yeager asked even more annoyed.

Yeager hated this lawyer. To him he was the harbinger of bad news and pain. He would never admit it to anyone one but he was having a really hard time processing this news. Him and Yuno weren’t close per say, I mean he liked him plenty, but at the end of the day Yuno was family and like his father he felt like he had failed to protect his family.

“ I need you to come with me to deliver this last letter. Yuno specifically requested that I take you with me. He was worried she might not handle the news well on her own” El explained.

Yeager tone softened a little hearing that Yuno trusted him enough to pick him out of everyone in the city to protect someone he cared about.

“She?” he asked.

“A Ms. Four Tee” El responded.

“666, ping me” Yeager instructed before hanging up the call. El pinged the number and waited.

A few minutes passed and a Lamborghini pulled up next to him. “Follow me I know where we can find her” Yeager said. El got in his car and followed him. They drove for a while, going off the main highway on to dirt paths up until they were at a river bank. By the edge of the river there were huge boulders and on top of one the rocks he could see a girl hugging her legs as she looked out at the water. She had a grey jacket with a brown fur lining, blue jeans, a beanie and some brown boots. Hearing them approach she turned to face them and jumped off the rock. One would see her and think she was tiny, almost delicate and kind of harmless but El knew that even the smallest daggers could still kill you.

4T had been surprised when number 3 had called her to ask where she was. But what was more surprising that he brought a guest with him. Simply put number 3 wasn’t exactly everyone’s cup of tea in Los Santos and he preferred it that way. His friends were mostly nerds like him. So this man with his perfectly sculpted hair and a black suit was odd to say the least. But then again if her friend trusted him enough to bring him along 4t would trust them too.

“Hey 4T” Yeager said as he hastened his pace to reach her side. A smile spread on her face seeing Yeager take her side like a protective sibling.

“Hey number 3, who is your friend?” she asked eyeing El.

El cleared his throat and took a step forward to introduce himself “Hi I am El Ludwigo, I am actually a lawyer and I asked Mr. Yeager here to accompany me here today so I could meet you in person.”

“Do I know you or something? Why did you want to meet me ?” she asked a little confused.

“Actually Ms. Four Tee you see My client Mr. Yuno Sykk requested that I come to Los Santos and deliver this to you, as well a few other, in person” El said as he handed her his business card and am envelope with her name on it.

“Number 23 ? Yuno, he sent me this?” 4T asked as she looked down at the envelope in her hand. El nodded in response.

“Is he okay ? Where is he ? I don’t understand” she asked with such genuine concern that El couldn’t look her in the eye.

“All your questions will be answered if you just open that envelope. That’s my personal number on the card if you have any questions later on than feel free to call me” he said gently before walking away. Getting into his car El drove straight to the airport. He had fulfilled his promise and now it was time to go home.

4T looked at the lawyer leave and then the letter in her hand. Something felt off. A familiar fear was creeping up in her stomach. Flashbacks of a bloody teddy gave her shivers. She was scared and she didn’t even know why. She turned to look at Yeager who was leaning on a boulder next to him. He hadn’t said a lot since he got here which to be honest wasn’t weird but the fact that he was hovering around her felt a little strange. She looked at the letter, then him and then back at the letter as if silently asking him what to do.

“Go ahead open it” he said softly.

4T hesitated for a moment and then she opened the envelope to pull out the letter inside. Taking a deep breath, she began reading.

Dear Four Tee,

It never ceases to amaze me the number of things that had to line up perfectly for us to meet. I mean for me to break my lockpick and the only taxi I see listed in the yellow pages was a 4T Taxi, I called that number and somehow managed to scam you into giving me a free ride in exchange for a favor. We barely survived that drive to buy lockpicks I mean you literally flipped a stolen car in front of the cops but we made it. You definitely left an impact on me. If that wasn’t enough the next time, we met I was just trying to sell you a ticket and you took me to a cemetery. I thought you wanted to stab me. I remember running away yelling “you’re crazy, you’re crazy lady” and you chased me around like the entire city. We only stopped when you promised you wouldn’t hurt and you kept that promise ever since. To be honest at first, I was confused by you, then a little scared and before I knew it you became one of my closest friends.

You know I haven’t really said this out loud but part of me was always terrified that people only hung around me because I was useful to them. The more I was able to do the more scared I felt that they would leave me behind when inevitably failed. And then among all of the people who needed me to do things for them was you. The one person who never really needed me to do anything for them or be anything. You liked me for me which was rare for me. I even ended up as 23 on your friend list. And even though 23 wasn’t exactly a high number it didn’t matter to me. Because of all the friends you had I was the first friend you choose. Me, not the bank busta or the cheat code or soy boy just plain old Yuno. I could never explain to you how much that meant to me. So instead, I’ll say thank you. Thank you for choosing me.

Having you in my life made it better in ways that I could never explain. You were always there for me and you looked out for me even when it meant having to go behind number 1s back to keep me safe. We never really got a chance to talk about it but I know that being my friend, my family wasn’t always easy. I need you to know that I always knew that you always tried to do the right thing for everybody. I understand how hard it I really do. I just need you to know I was never mad at you. I simply had a hard time accepting that no matter how hard I try there I will always end up in situations where people I care about end up hurting each other. The worst part of that whole situation was that I ended up putting you in the exact same situation I was upset about. A situation where there were no good options. A situation where n no matter how hard you tried someone would end up hurt. I hope you can forgive me for putting you in that situation.

I regret that I didn’t figure this out sooner. If I had then maybe I would have gotten a chance to tell you myself how much you mean to me. That having you in my life was worth having period. I would deal with a million other number 1s if it meant that I would get to always have you in my life. As my friend, as my family. I hate that I will never get a chance to tell you all of this in person. The truth is 4T a little while back the doctors at pillbox found something wrong with me. After several tests, scans and visits to specialist doctor I was told that I was sick and that there was an expiry date on my life. You know what’s weird is that upon hearing that I had only a few days left I thought to myself well how can I make them count. The answer was simple spend them as if nothing had happened. Protect my loved ones from the pain of dealing with that there was nothing they could do to save me. Even if it was for a few days I wanted to make sure it was spent on keeping people I cared about smiling. I guess somewhere during my time in the city I decided I would always try my best to keep everyone safe. I wonder from whom I picked up this fierce need to protect my friends, my family from :)

I don’t know if the choices I made were the right one but I can say that they came from a place of love. Four Tee it has been truly have been an honor to have been your friend. You taught me how to be a better person and even better friend. Every moment that I did get to spend with you was truly special. I am sorry for having left without saying goodbye, for having left all. I wish I didn’t have to. But we both know if I told you the truth you would have locked me up, done everything you could to save me legal or not and then blamed yourself when you inevitably failed. I couldn’t do that to you and for that I refuse to be sorry.
Life and death are beyond our control amd just because I’m no longer part of the living doesn’t mean that I am gone. You know someone once said to me that you are truly gone when they’ve forgotten you. So as long as I have friends like you who cry, laugh and mald at memories of me than I can never really be gone. I will live on through the love that binds us all.

Forever your friend
-Yuno Sykk (#23)

Ps let Dreah know that I’ve said that my room is yours now from now till end of time. I don’t want you to ever be sleeping out in that ragged old shed ever again. Knowing that you have a safe place to come home each night makes me worry a little less about you. I’ve let my lawyer know about my wishes so there shouldn’t be any problems

Pss 4T you better go and stay there. It’s my only wish and it would break my heart if you kept living in the shack. And yes, this is emotional blackmail but I know that you won’t go there otherwise.

Pss Could you retire 23 so there won’t ever be another one like they do in the sports teams.

“NOOOO YUNOO” Four Tee wailed.
There was pain rising in the pit of her stomach and her head was spinning. Why did this keep happening to her over and over again. Why did she keep losing members of her family? Why did they keep leaving her?

“NO NO NO NOT AGAIN NOT AGAIN” she screamed clutching her chest.

Her friend, her kindest sweetest friend was gone and she was left behind. Tears fell down her face as the pain worsened. It wasn’t fair.

“It’s not fair” she whimpered.
The pain felt like it was spreading all over her body and her mind felt like it would explain. She yelled out in pain as her vision blurred and before she knew it, she blacked out and her limp body fell to the ground. Yeager rushed to 4T’s side in a fit of a panic. She was still breathing which had to mean that she was alive but she wouldn’t wake up no matter how hard he shook her.

“FOUR TEE WAKE UP, WAKE THE F*** UP FOUR TEE. THIS ISN’T FUNNY PLEASE WAKE UP” he yelled with tears falling down his own face.

Scared out of his mind he picked her up gently and put her in his car. He had to go to pillbox the doctors would know what to do. How to bring her back to him. He wasn’t losing another person he cared about, not today.

“4T?” a soft yet familiar voice called her.

She turned around it was him; it was 23. He was wearing his usual suit but his helmet was gone. She never noticed how there was almost a soft glow that seemed to radiate off his face. He had the sweetest smile on his face but his eyes showed worry. She ran up to him and hugged him tightly. He patted her back gently.

“I am never letting go of you again, never” she said in between tears.

“4T you can’t stay here you need to go back; you need to wake up” Yuno said gently. “I don’t want to go back. Not without you. Let me stay here” she begged still holding on to him.
“I will always be here with you 4T. Right here in your head and in your heart. But you need to wake up now because you are making a lot of nice people very worried” Yuno said gently.

“You promise” 4T asked him softly as she took a step back to look at him.

“I promise” Yuno said just as he disappeared into a bright white light.

4T’s squinted a little the bright lights of the hospital room were burning her eyes. Confused she started to get up but her head spun a little and she lay back down. Did she really see him? Did she die for a few minutes ? Was it a dream? She didn’t know. But it felt so real. It was like he was right there with her. Maybe he was. Tears fell down her face. Her heart hurt like it was broken and a piece of her heart was missing. Deep down inside 4T knew she would never truly recover from losing Yuno. She wouldn’t hear his Oh Jesus when he was nervous, his sadge farming voice when he claimed to be washed up or his patented girls aren’t into me line whenever someone asked about his love life again. She felt like a failure for not having protected her friend, her family. Tears started to fall down her face harder and she bit her fist to stop everyone from hearing her groans. It hurt worse than anything she had ever been through and she had been through some truly horrible things. The nurse came back into the room followed by a very worried Yeager. The nurse grabbed a syringe, probably a sedative to calm her down.

“No please don’t. Please don’t send me back into the darkness” she pleaded with her hands raised to protect herself.

The nurse stopped midtrack, taken aback by 4Ts reaction.

Putting the syringe away he gently said “fine fine look I’ve put it away but I need you to calm down a little. How about you have a sip of water instead.” 4T looked at Yeager who gave her a glass of water. She gulped the entire thing down like she had never had water before. Satisfied that she was a little more composed the nurse turned to leave the room.

“I don’t want to stay here. I want to leave” 4T whispered to Yeager. “

Okay, then we can go” he responded before disappearing out in to the hallway after the nurse.

Half an hour later they she was out the hospital gown and back into her old clothes. She got into Yeager’s car and drove off. Neither one not them said anything about what had just happened. Every now and then a tear would fall down her face and she would wipe it silently. She looked out the window, at the speed they were driving it all seemed like one big blur. Eventually the car came to a stop.

“There were others who got letters like you, people who cared about him. A lot of them are in here. I thought maybe you would want to be here too” Yeager said softly.

4T got out of the car and paused at the main door of the manor for a moment before entering. Yeager was walking right beside her. There were so many people here. Everyone sharing their own Yuno story. He was right 4T thought with her first smile of the night. He could never be truly gone. He lived on in the hearts of every person in this room tonight. Grabbing a drink 4T settled down near the fire pit listening to Mickey recall their mount chiliad stories. People laughed and they cried. It was a rare sight in Los Santos, friends and foes all sitting together celebrating the life of the man they all the one and only Yuno Sykk.

Dear Four Tee,

It never ceases to amaze me the number of things that had to line up perfectly for us to meet. I mean for me to break my lockpick and the only taxi I see listed in the yellow pages was a 4T Taxi, I called that number and somehow managed to scam you into giving me a free ride in exchange for a favor. We barely survived that drive to buy lockpicks I mean you literally flipped a stolen car in front of the cops but we made it. You definitely left an impact on me. If that wasn’t enough the next time, we met I was just trying to sell you a ticket and you took me to a cemetery. I thought you wanted to stab me. I remember running away yelling “you’re crazy, you’re crazy lady” and you chased me around like the entire city. We only stopped when you promised you wouldn’t hurt and you kept that promise ever since. To be honest at first, I was confused by you, then a little scared and before I knew it you became one of my closest friends.

You know I haven’t really said this out loud but part of me was always terrified that people only hung around me because I was useful to them. The more I was able to do the more scared I felt that they would leave me behind when inevitably failed. And then among all of the people who needed me to do things for them was you. The one person who never really needed me to do anything for them or be anything. You liked me for me which was rare for me. I even ended up as 23 on your friend list. And even though 23 wasn’t exactly a high number it didn’t matter to me. Because of all the friends you had I was the first friend you choose. Me, not the bank busta or the cheat code or soy boy just plain old Yuno. I could never explain to you how much that meant to me. So instead, I’ll say thank you. Thank you for choosing me.

Having you in my life made it better in ways that I could never explain. You were always there for me and you looked out for me even when it meant having to go behind number 1s back to keep me safe. We never really got a chance to talk about it but I know that being my friend, my family wasn’t always easy. I need you to know that I always knew that you always tried to do the right thing for everybody. I understand how hard it I really do. I just need you to know I was never mad at you. I simply had a hard time accepting that no matter how hard I try there I will always end up in situations where people I care about end up hurting each other. The worst part of that whole situation was that I ended up putting you in the exact same situation I was upset about. A situation where there were no good options. A situation where n no matter how hard you tried someone would end up hurt. I hope you can forgive me for putting you in that situation.

I regret that I didn’t figure this out sooner. If I had then maybe I would have gotten a chance to tell you myself how much you mean to me. That having you in my life was worth having period. I would deal with a million other number 1s if it meant that I would get to always have you in my life. As my friend, as my family. I hate that I will never get a chance to tell you all of this in person. The truth is 4T a little while back the doctors at pillbox found something wrong with me. After several tests, scans and visits to specialist doctor I was told that I was sick and that there was an expiry date on my life. You know what’s weird is that upon hearing that I had only a few days left I thought to myself well how can I make them count. The answer was simple spend them as if nothing had happened. Protect my loved ones from the pain of dealing with that there was nothing they could do to save me. Even if it was for a few days I wanted to make sure it was spent on keeping people I cared about smiling. I guess somewhere during my time in the city I decided I would always try my best to keep everyone safe. I wonder from whom I picked up this fierce need to protect my friends, my family from :)

I don’t know if the choices I made were the right one but I can say that they came from a place of love. Four Tee it has been truly have been an honor to have been your friend. You taught me how to be a better person and even better friend. Every moment that I did get to spend with you was truly special. I am sorry for having left without saying goodbye, for having left all. I wish I didn’t have to. But we both know if I told you the truth you would have locked me up, done everything you could to save me legal or not and then blamed yourself when you inevitably failed. I couldn’t do that to you and for that I refuse to be sorry.
Life and death are beyond our control amd just because I’m no longer part of the living doesn’t mean that I am gone. You know someone once said to me that you are truly gone when they’ve forgotten you. So as long as I have friends like you who cry, laugh and mald at memories of me than I can never really be gone. I will live on through the love that binds us all.

Forever your friend
-Yuno Sykk (#23)

Ps let Dreah know that I’ve said that my room is yours now from now till end of time. I don’t want you to ever be sleeping out in that ragged old shed ever again. Knowing that you have a safe place to come home each night makes me worry a little less about you. I’ve let my lawyer know about my wishes so there shouldn’t be any problems

Pss 4T you better go and stay there. It’s my only wish and it would break my heart if you kept living in the shack. And yes, this is emotional blackmail but I know that you won’t go there otherwise.

Pss Could you retire 23 so there won’t ever be another one like they do in the sports teams.

“NOOOO YUNOO” Four Tee wailed. There was pain rising in the pit of her stomach and her head was spinning. Why did this keep happening to her over and over again. Why did she keep losing members of her family? Why did they keep leaving her? “NO NO NO NOT AGAIN NOT AGAIN” she screamed clutching her chest. Her friend, her kindest sweetest friend was gone and she was left behind. Tears fell down her face as the pain worsened. It wasn’t fair. “It’s not fair” she whimpered. The pain felt like it was spreading all over her body and her mind felt like it would explain. She yelled out in pain as her vision blurred and before she knew it, she blacked out and her limp body fell to the ground. Yeager rushed to 4T’s side in a fit of a panic. She was still breathing which had to mean that she was alive but she wouldn’t wake up no matter how hard he shook her. “FOUR TEE WAKE UP, WAKE THE F*** UP FOUR TEE. THIS ISN’T FUNNY PLEASE WAKE UP” he yelled with tears falling down his own face. Scared out of his mind he picked her up gently and put her in his car. He had to go to pillbox the doctors would know what to do. How to bring her back to him. He wasn’t losing another person he cared about, not today.

“4T?” a soft yet familiar voice called her. She turned around it was him; it was 23. He was wearing his usual suit but his helmet was gone. She never noticed how there was almost a soft glow that seemed to radiate off his face. He had the sweetest smile on his face but his eyes showed worry. She ran up to him and hugged him tightly. He patted her back gently. “I am never letting go of you again, never” she said in between tears. “4T you can’t stay here you need to go back; you need to wake up” Yuno said gently. “I don’t want to go back. Not without you. Let me stay here” she begged still holding on to him. “I will always be here with you 4T. Right here in your head and in your heart. But you need to wake up now because you are making a lot of nice people very worried” Yuno said gently. “You promise” 4T asked him softly as she took a step back to look at him. “I promise” Yuno said just as he disappeared into a bright white light.

4T’s squinted a little the bright lights of the hospital room were burning her eyes. Confused she started to get up but her head spun a little and she lay back down. Did she really see him? Did she die for a few minutes ? Was it a dream? She didn’t know. But it felt so real. It was like he was right there with her. Maybe he was. Tears fell down her face. Her heart hurt like it was broken and a piece of her heart was missing. Deep down inside 4T knew she would never truly recover from losing Yuno. She wouldn’t hear his Oh Jesus when he was nervous, his sadge farming voice when he claimed to be washed up or his patented girls aren’t into me line whenever someone asked about his love life again. She felt like a failure for not having protected her friend, her family. Tears started to fall down her face harder and she bit her fist to stop everyone from hearing her groans. It hurt worse than anything she had ever been through and she had been through some truly horrible things. The nurse came back into the room followed by a very worried Yeager. The nurse grabbed a syringe, probably a sedative to calm her down. “No please don’t. Please don’t send me back into the darkness” she pleaded with her hands raised to protect herself. The nurse stopped midtrack, taken aback by 4Ts reaction. Putting the syringe away he gently said “fine fine look I’ve put it away but I need you to calm down a little. How about you have a sip of water instead.” 4T looked at Yeager who gave her a glass of water. She gulped the entire thing down like she had never had water before. Satisfied that she was a little more composed the nurse turned to leave the room. “I don’t want to stay here. I want to leave” 4T whispered to Yeager. “Okay, then we can go” he responded before disappearing out in to the hallway after the nurse.

Half an hour later they she was out the hospital gown and back into her old clothes. She got into Yeager’s car and drove off. Neither one not them said anything about what had just happened. Every now and then a tear would fall down her face and she would wipe it silently. She looked out the window, at the speed they were driving it all seemed like one big blur. Eventually the car came to a stop. “There were others who got letters like you, people who cared about him. A lot of them are in here. I thought maybe you would want to be here too” Yeager said softly. 4T got out of the car and paused at the main door of the manor for a moment before entering. Yeager was walking right beside her. There were so many people here. Everyone sharing their own Yuno story. He was right 4T thought with her first smile of the night. He could never be truly gone. He lived on in the hearts of every person in this room tonight. Grabbing a drink 4T settled down near the fire pit listening to Mickey recall their mount chiliad stories. People laughed and they cried. It was a rare sight in Los Santos, friends and foes all sitting together celebrating the life of the man they all the one and only Yuno Sykk.

Chapter Text

Sounds slowed down, fading until they became nothing more than a soft buzz in his ears. His vision blurred, and his eyes started to sting. Sounds, words, thoughts—nothing made sense anymore. He felt both stuck and as though he was moving too fast. His chest tightened, making it harder to breathe. So, he sat there, shivering as though cold, his hands sweating as he clenched them in his lap.

A figure moved closer, kneeling beside him. “Breathe in,” she instructed gently.

Simple words, but they sounded like a foreign language. Yet, somehow, he found himself taking a deep breath.

“Good. Now let it out,” she said. They sat there, repeating this over and over. He looked at her, really looked at her.

“How long?” he whispered.

“It’s hard to say an exact figure, but with treatment we could—” Dr. Emma began.

“How long?” he asked again, louder this time, his eyes bloodshot.

“Six months, maybe a year if we act quickly,” Dr. Emma said softly, looking at the boy in front of her.

His hair was permanently messy from being under that cursed helmet all the time. His bright green eyes, which always held a glimmer of mischief, now held only fear. His lips, usually curved into a smile, trembled. The kid Dundee had first brought into her ER had become one of her favorite regulars. Yuno Sykk never complained about waiting or winced dramatically when she treated his wounds. Instead, he asked about her day, her life as a doctor, or tried to make her laugh. Being a doctor was rewarding most days, but on days like today, it really sucked.

Days when she had to sit across from a young, vibrant, kind soul and utter the three words every doctor dreads: “You are dying.”

“Six months,” he repeated. Six months. 180 days. 4,320 hours. That’s what he had left.

“We do have options,” Dr. Emma said, handing Yuno a folder full of pamphlets. He looked down at it, then back at Emma.

“You don’t have to decide right now,” she said gently.

Yuno nodded slowly as he got up. At the door, he paused. “You won’t tell anyone, right?” he asked softly.

“I couldn’t even if I wanted to. Patient-doctor confidentiality. Don’t worry,” Dr Emma replied with a smile.

The next few days, he barely left his bed. If he stayed there, he could pretend that it wasn’t happening. That his conversation with Dr. Emma had been just a bad dream. He was staring at the ceiling when his phone rang. He hadn’t answered anyone’s calls or texts in days. As he turned over to silence the call, he saw Ray’s name flashing on the screen. He answered, and just three words had him rushing out the door: “I need you.”

As they cruised down Great Ocean Highway, sirens blaring behind them and comms yelling frantically over the radio, he couldn’t help but smile. The chances of them ending up in the ER or jail—or both—were fairly high, but he didn’t care. He felt more alive in that moment than he had all week.

“I am a hostage!” he yelled to the cops.

“No, he’s not!” Ray yelled, giggling.

“You got this, Ray, I believe in you… but just in case,” Yuno said before popping his head out and yelling, “He’s lying! I’m definitely a hostage!”

They giggled like five-year-olds as Ray took it as a challenge to get away. They proceeded to escape, call back the cops, and escape again three more times before calling it a night.

For one blissful moment, he was happy. But then reality hit, hard. People think that when you’re sick, all you think about is death. But in reality, you forget. You forget when you’re having dinner with family, dissolving into chaotic arguments. Or waking up to cops in the manor because X brought them over trying to escape a C boost. It was the simple moments. Bike rides with Ray. Listening to April’s song on the radio. Catching up with Dundee by the beach. Hanging out with Ash and Benji at UwU Cafe as he “worked.” Listening to his sister tell stories about whatever stupid thing the CG boys did now. Watching Marty turn into an absolute blubbering mess whenever April was mentioned.

Or his personal favourite: sitting across from Tony as he made breakfast, giving Yuno the biggest portion. Laughing as everyone ignored Mickey’s complaints about Tony and Mr. Lang showing Yuno favouritism.

Feeling ever so lucky when Mr. Lang would say, “Yuno, I will totally have biased love for, and I will admit that. He is my favourite,” like it was just fact. There would be murmurs of agreement as Mickey was left a whining mess yet again.

All these moments were an escape from his reality. When he could breathe again. Because the second he walked away, his head would disintegrate into painful chaos. The air in the room seemed to disappear, and his chest would tighten.

“This isn’t fair,” he screamed yet again in his near-empty apartment, tears streaming down his face, ears ringing once more.

“I don’t want to… I don’t want to,” he cried, falling to his knees. Almost every night, he found himself there, curled up on the cold, hard floor, holding himself as he cried in agony, grieving the moments he would never get to see.

He was all alone here. He had made sure of it. Which is perhaps why he didn’t expect anyone to walk in. Why he didn’t hear the door click open or the rushed footsteps as she dropped down next to him, pulling his head into her lap. Rae sat there, gently running her hands through her brother’s hair as he cried like he had lost someone. Her heart raced, terrified of what had happened to make him like this. Yuno didn’t cry. He might get sad, even teary-eyed, but he never cried like this.
She wanted to ask a million questions, but she stayed quiet. She started to hum a song their mom used to sing. Maybe to calm him, maybe just to calm herself. No one knows how long they sat there, but eventually, his sobs died down as exhaustion took him.

Rae gently moved him to a makeshift pillow, covered him with a blanket, and cleaned up his apartment. She found the black binder under his mattress.
“You weren’t supposed to see that,” Yuno said softly, watching her surrounded by hospital pamphlets, reports, and prescriptions.

“What do you mean I wasn’t supposed to see it?” she yelled, ready to kill him for dying on her.

“I had a plan, I was going to—”

“Go through this alone? Protect me? Fuck you. Who gave you the audacity to leave me?” Rae screamed, hitting him in the chest before pulling him into a hug.

As he held his sobbing sister, he became absolutely certain of two things: He would spend every moment he had left making the people he loved happy no tears would e shed while he was still around. And that he had to figure out the perfect ending to his story—the perfect goodbye for his imperfectly perfect family in Los Santos.