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It had already reached midnight, maybe far past it by now. It was hard to tell, they didn’t have anything to check the time and they couldn’t ask because no workers at the hospital payed the group of dirty, tired, depressed middle aged men any mind. They weren’t even surprised. Why would they be? Same shit as always.
None of it really mattered, though. The main thing they worried about was Atari’s recovery. And Spots’, of course. But Spots was resilient and seemed to be recovering very quickly and he preferred if people didn’t worry about him. Atari, on the other hand, is only a child. Going through two head injuries and suffering through yet ANOTHER kidney failure is far too much for one child. Even for one as tough as Atari.
The group had waited for hours through the surgery, not leaving the break room unless they needed to. Just in case anyone walked in with updates.
Rex paced back and forth, Boss tapped his foot anxiously, Duke fidgeted with his hands, and King just sat there, quiet and still. Chief, on the other hand, was doing what Spots had asked of him; looking after and guarding Atari. For hours, the group didn’t see Chief at all and all they could do was hope that things were going well.
They caught a glimpse of him when Atari was being moved into a recovery room.
And finally, after what felt like forever, Chief emerged completely and finally joined his… group in the waiting room.
“… Hey.”
His gruff voice broke through the dead silence, making everyone snap their heads up. They all gave Chief a collection of anxious looks, not necessarily expecting good or bad news but at least an update on Atari. Rex stopped his pacing to face Chief.
“So?”
Chief hummed at Rex’s lack of greeting but let it go. It wasn’t the time to be petty. “He’ll be okay. Doc said he’ll survive.”
The group all sighed in relief.
“Thank God.” Rex rubbed his tired eyes. “I’ve had enough stress for a lifetime.”
Chief scoffed before moving to sit down in an empty seat. “Tell me about it.”
He sat down with a heavy sigh. He sat forward, his arms propped up onto his legs and his hands wringing together. Strands of his tied up blonde hair— it was so weird seeing him with BLONDE hair of all colors— hung over his forehead and ears.
Chief didn’t catch the way Rex looked at the others, as if waiting for them to tell him what to do or say. Duke and Boss only shrugged awkwardly but King gestured to Chief in a way that indicated that there was no room for protest.
Rex sighed and turned back to Chief.
“… So… uh… you’re gonna be looking after The Little Pilot, right?” Rex asked slowly. He could see King trying to be subtle with his disappointment.
“Yeah— yeah, I am.” Chief nodded. “It’s… a big responsibility and I don’t know why Spots would trust ME of all people and, honestly, I doubt I’m cut out for protecting Arari—“
“Please, as if you hadn’t been helping keep that Little Pilot alive this entire time.” Duke interrupted his rambling. “I mean, sure, it started with us doing all the work…”
“But you still cared for him.” King said.
Chief didn’t respond. They were correct, Chief did— and does— care for Atari and he did his best to protect him. But still, this isn’t what was at the front of his mind now. Now that he knew Atari was going to be okay, one other thing added to his worry for the kid.
Would he even be good enough for the kid? Would Atari be happy with him? Could Chief protect and love him the way family would? Only way to find out, he guesses… and that’s absolutely terrifying.
The room was silent again. Rex sighed and looked at the carpeted floor, hands awkwardly on his hips as he cleared his throat. He contemplated saying something— trying to ignore the way the others were looking at him. Expecting him to say it. ONE thing.
Rex shut his eyes and sighed heavily before looking back at Chief whose eyes were downcast at his rough and scarred hands. Rex took a deep breath before speaking.
“Chief—“
“I’m sorry.”
Rex was left a little stunned. The others were a little surprised, too. Never in their lives did they ever hear Chief apologize for anything. Because to him, he had nothing to apologize for. Not for how he acted, how he spoke, how he treated others. He was never the type to swallow his pride and admit he was wrong.
So, understandably, hearing him say that was… odd. Not bad, just… new.
“… Aha…” Rex responded. He chuckled awkwardly before clearing his throat again. “Wha— What?”
“I’m sorry. I’m…” Chief sighed heavily. He sat back in his seat, rubbing his eyes again. “I… had a lot of time to think over there… both when we were separated and, well, just now. I just… couldn’t stop thinking about being on the island… the time we’ve had together on there and how I treated you guys…”
Everyone just listened. Chief continued.
“… I was awful. I treated you guys like shit, to put it bluntly. I just… I mean— there’s no excuse for what I did but… you’re the only ones that had tolerated being around me for so long, I kind of didn’t know how to handle it. Being so close to people. Even when we had our more… intimate moments… I always told myself it was just a means to not go crazy. To feel good and have some kind of physical companionship. Even when things started becoming way past the physical stuff, I didn’t know how…” Chief groaned. “I don’t even know if any of this is making sense! I probably sound insane. But, what I mean to say is… instead of showing feelings, I’d use it to keep pushing you all Disney’s did being there when you actually needed it. I… I just hope one day you could forgive me. If you don’t, that’s fine too. And if you want nothing to do with me after this, I won’t fight you on it or beg. But I… I love you. All of you. I don’t know where I’d be if I hadn’t met any of you. So… that’s all. I think.”
There was a long beat of silence. It was tense and anxiety inducing. Chief dreaded Rex saying that he wanted nothing to do with him and that he didn’t forgive him. He fully expected all of them to tell him to get fucked and leave them alone. And Chief would have been fine with it… well, not FINE but he would have respected it and understood it.
But instead…
“… Don’t be an idiot, Chief.” Rex sighed.
Chief looked up at him, brows furrowed in confusion. “What?”
“We forgive you. We always have.”
“Wh—? Wait— huh…?”
Rex didn’t say nothing as he moved to sit next to him. Facing Chief, Rex continued.
“Yes, you messed up. A LOT. But despite all of that, despite the pettiness and arguing and you wanting me to bash you in the head—“
“Rex.” King said halfheartedly before shushing Duke who laughed at the half-joke.
“— Despite all of that, Chief, you seriously still mean a lot to us.”
Chief stared at him. “… But why?”
That made Rex chuckle. An exhausted and exasperated chuckle. He rubbed his tired eyes as King spoke.
“You helped us survive. You really did.”
“Exactly.” Duke said. “Who saved each of us when we were getting killed out there? I remember it vividly, I was getting ganged up on— I got STABBED. And who came to save me? You. Because you’re stupid and insane. And that’s a good thing.”
Chief sat there silently. “… What?”
“I would’ve been less blunt but point made all the same.” King sighed. “And it’s very true. Sure, your methods were questionable but sometimes, you HAD to be hard on us. How else did you teach us to defend ourselves? You told us time and time again to NEVER give up.”
“But, still, I didn’t help with your mental health. Yelling at you guys for being depressed over our situation. You guys got so messed up on that island and I made it worse.”
“You wanted us to toughen up. It wasn’t… great.” Rex spoke. “But, you only did it cause you cared.”
“Of course I did. Even then, I don’t know how you all decided to fall for me. You guys could be happy together without me to ruin it.”
“No, come on.” Boss responded. “You’re not ruining anything. We wouldn’t have let you in this weird romantic circle if we thought you ruined everything.”
Rex spoke again. “We were all going through it, Chief, and even if you didn’t want to tell us your problems, we still knew where was something going on with you. But when you finally told us your story… you can’t imagine how happy that made us— I mean, despite how tragic it was.”
Chief chuckled lightly. Rex reached over to hold his large hand in two of his.
“We’re just happy you trusted us enough to tell us that. And, Chief, that’s what you need to do. We don’t want you to be afraid to tell us how you feel. You don’t have to be. We’ll be here to listen and help however we can and we absolutely will never judge you or abandon you. Ever.”
Hearing those words, Chief began to feel his eyes sting. He started to blink away the tears as he turned his head a little. He tried to laugh it off, only for it to get caught in his throat and he hiccuped. “Shit…”
Rex, Duke, King, and Boss all watched him for a moment before Rex was first to pull Chief into a hug. He hugged as tight as possible. Chief didn’t hug back, not because he didn’t want to but because he just let himself feel the embrace as he cried. Before he knew it, the rest joined in the hug, bringing such a loving warmth. Something he hadn’t ever imagined feeling. Suddenly, it was like a damn broke because Chief began to sob. He finally wrapped his arms around them, trying to reach as best his could.
As he cried, he felt a kiss against his cheek by Rex, so gentle and loving and comforting.
“We love you, Chief. Always will. If there’s things we still need to fix, we’ll fucking fix them.” Rex said firmly. The hug began to break as Chief wiped his face of tears.
“I hadn’t cried that much since I was a kid.”
“Were you an emotional kid?” Duke asked.
“Like you wouldn’t believe. But don’t tell anyone.” Chief chuckled. “That was… way before I started shutting everyone out of my life. Until you guys… so thank you.”
“Of course.” Rex smiled. “Now stop crying, tough guy.”
Chief began to laugh through the remaining the tears, his partners laughing along with him. Seeing him smile was nice.
Wait—
“Wait a second, I got a question.” Chief said as he wiped his face. “W-What exactly… are we?”
Beat of silence.
“What?” Boss responded.
“What is this arrangement? Are we actually… dating each other?”
Rex looked at him in slight amusement. “I’d think so. We’ve kissed and stuff. Why? Was the ‘Sleeping With Each Other For Companionship’ thing kind of a mixed signal?”
”… Maybe. Especially when things got more… romantic.”
”Well, that’s fair. We hadn’t made anything official while on the island for a few reasons but, hey, no harm in making it official now that we’re home.”
“Sure? If that’s how that— I-I don’t know how relationships work. Let alone a relationship with more than one person.”
“That’s okay! We don’t have to rush, it’s five of us after all. We can take our time.” King said. “Now that we might actually get back to our normal lives, not having to fight for our survival, we can actually take things slow and figure things out. Sound good?”
“Sounds good to me.” Duke nodded.
“Yup, that’ll work.” Boss nodded.
“Perfect.” Rex smiled before placing a kiss against Chief’s lips. “For now… you’ve got a whole new life ahead of you to worry about, Chief. We just hope you’ll be happy.”
“I’m taking care of the most amazing kid in the world. I think I’ll be more than happy.”
“UGH, how did you become a huge sap overnight?” Duke joked. “Bring back the edgy black-haired man we know and love.”
Chief only rolled his eyes fondly. “With this blonde hair? I definitely can’t be as scary and intimidating anymore.”
“Eh, we’ll see.”
The group waited longer in that waiting room together until a doctor informed them that Atari was finally awake and vaccinated with the serum. That meant it should be fine to be seen by everyone. Chief was already alerted when he heard Atari, through his ear piece, stirring awake with confused mumbling and saying Chief’s name. Hearing his voice filled Chief with a fuzzy feeling he hadn’t felt in such a long time…
When the group finally got to see Atari, very much alive and healthy, they let him know how brave he had been. How selfless and loving he had been. A kid with his heart and guts was beyond amazing and they thanked him for… existing, really. Atari thanked all of them as much as he could, but they assured him it was not needed. They helped him because they cared about The Little Pilot.
When Chief finally got a moment with Atari, he sat at the edge of the bed, talking to the kid with the most gentle voice anyone had ever heard from him. Surprisingly enough, the ear piece could kind of translate a few things and so when Atari whispered into the small mic, Chief could hear things he knew was for his ears only. Things personal to Atari and things Chief silently swore to keep close to his heart. Guarding it.
———
“How you guys feeling?” Chief said with a smile, happy to see his partners already looking healthy and lively.
“I feel amazing.” Duke said.
“I forgot what it was like to breathe normally.” Boss added, taking a deep breath.
Chief chuckled. “So… you guys are heading back home now, huh?”
Rex sighed. “Yup, family is coming to pick us up. But you know this isn’t goodbye.”
“Mhm. But definitely gonna take awhile to reconnect. You gotta adjust to being back home and I—“
“You gotta adjust to being the bodyguard to your new kid.”
“Yeah. But only thing is, I’ll have to get a lot of help before I take on that responsibility. I know Atari wants me to watch over him but I want to make care I’m at 100% before I take on that responsibility. For his sake.”
Rex smiled. “Of course. You big softie.”
“Ugh, absolutely not.” Chief chuckled. “I am unfeeling and remorseless and I hate children.”
“Mhm.” Rex responded before he kissed Chief for a few, long seconds. “Just keep in contact.”
He handed Chief a piece of paper which had each of his partners’ names on it with different sets of phone numbers next to each.
“We’re proud of you, Chief.”
Chief smiled before looking at all of them. “I’m proud of all of you, too. Always have been.”
Atari then bounded into the room with a smile on his face. He spoke to Chief excitedly, a little impatience in his tone. Chief chuckled as he let the kid pull him out of the room by his arm.
”Hurry up, Chief, we’ve all been in this hospital for too long.” Spots said with a smile. He now had a mechanical eye that replaced his old one on the right side of his face and he was bandaged up with a crutch under one arm. Even with the injuries, he was lively and ready to go.
“Okay, okay. I’m coming.” He turned to his partners. “Duty calls.”
“Good luck, you guys!” Rex said.
“You, too. Stay safe! All of you.”
“No promises.”
———
Two Years Later
In a bright and lively part of Megasaki City, as the sky darkened, there was a very nice restaurant that stood on a busy street. Nothing too extravagant, just nice enough for five men to have a nice night out with one another in peace. Just talking and eating and enjoying one another’s company.
Four were already seated with drinks in hand when the fifth finally arrived, a little exhausted and miffed.
“Sorry, I thought the shoot would end quicker— which is why I thought I could squeeze it in before our date.” King sighed heavily as he finally sat with his partners. He was greeted with a kiss from Duke.
“It’s okay, at least you made it.”
“Thanks. I swear if I have to tell the camera to buy Doggy Chop one more time, I just might lose my mind. Lord knows I love my job but I don’t know how I did that for 22 separate commercials.”
“Ah, well, you did say you weren’t going to do commercials forever so just keep doing those— uh—” Boss said.
“… Auditions.” King chuckled. “Believe me, I’m not stopping until I’m out of commercials and into shows or films. It can be a background extra, I don’t care. I’m just kind of tired of the same commercial— I don’t even own a dog!”
“Ha.” Chief responded as he sipped his drink. “But you are one.”
“I am. Go team. But enough about me. Look at all of you! All dolled up.” King playfully fiddled with Duke’s shirt. Duke wore a light blue suit, very simple and comfortable yet a little formal .
“Well, it is our anniversary. Everyone looks nice but, let’s face it, I’m the best looking here.” Duke said with a smile.
“Oh, God.” Chief chuckled with an eye roll.
“I tried looking my best but I’m a little too fat to rock a nice suit.” Boss said, trying to play it off with a chuckle.
“Excuse me?” Duke said in offense. “Shut up, you look amazing! Self-love, Boss, come on.”
“Right, right. Still working on that.”
“We all are working on our own things, don’t beat yourself up too much.” Rex said reassuringly. “But anyway, I think the real star of the show is our resident tough guy, Chief.”
Chief smiled, a bit of embarrassment showing through as his partners began to hype him up a little. Complimenting him and doting on him.
”Okay! Okay, I got it! God.” Chief laughed.
“How does it feel to wear fancy clothes for once?” Rex asked.
“Ridiculous. Now I know why people call it a monkey suit, I feel ridiculous. I only ever wear a button up and regular pants for my job, not a whole ensemble.”
“Come on, you look so nice!” Duke smiled. “Suits look good on you. The tie completes it.
“And if you hate suits, don’t worry. You’ll probably my have it off in two seconds depending on how long Duke can keep it in his pants.” King joked.
“Wh—!? I’m getting called out on our date now!?” Duke shouted jokingly, causing everyone at the table to laugh.
As the dinner went on, the table was filled with so much laughter. Most of them drank long after they finished eating and happily joked around and teased one another. Duke was already getting a bit tipsy along with Chief but at least he could hold his liquor better. Rex kept his drinking to a minimum. Boss and King didn’t drink but still enjoyed themselves all the same. Kisses were stolen many times amongst the five of them and if people stared, none of them cared. The energy at the table sitting in a dimly lit corner of the nice restaurant was just so light and happy.
They never thought they could feel this kind of joy again.
And Chief couldn’t feel any luckier. It was kind of surreal for him so ever be this happy. He didn’t think he’d ever sit somewhere with a group of people who loved him. He didn’t think he’d ever be sitting here joking around with people he cared about and letting himself laugh and smile.
He was beyond grateful.
Soon, the group left the restaurant, still laughing together. Chief had an arm around Duke who was a little handsy on top of being tipsy, not that Chief minded it. He just leaned against Chief and looked at him lovingly and Chief felt good. Rex held Chief’s free hand while the two were bantering in a way that sounded like they were arguing but the group knew full well that was just how they flirted.
“Okay— wanna head to my place? Atari’s at Nutmeg and Tracy’s so we’ll have the place to ourselves.” Chief said.
“Sounds good.” Rex responded. “Let’s get outta here.”
As they started to near Chief’s car, they all began to feel light and scattered tapping, just small drips of water. They then heard the ‘plink plink plink’ of raindrops hitting rooftops and cars. A breeze brew past the group, making the air much more cold before loud a clap of thunder triggered pouring rain.
Duke cried out before pulling away from Chief. He immediately pulled off his blazer and held it over his head. “Goddammit!! I thought it wasn’t gonna rain tonight!”
“I didn’t think it mattered that much.” Chief chuckled.
“AGH just unlock your car, Chief!”
“Relax, I got it.”
As he watched the group rush to his car, Chief only placed his hand in his pocket, holding his keys but not moving to take them out. His thumb only brushed over the button that unlocked the car and he just smiled. He took his sweet time walking over to the car and watched Duke try and fail to open one of the doors.
“Chief, come on, that isn’t funny!” He shouted over the pouring rain.
“Seriously! I just got this suit.” Rex looked down at his light brown suit that was now soaking through.
“I dunno what you mean.”
“Chief!!”
Chief only smiled before leaning against the back of the black car. He put both hands in his pockets and, closing his eyes, he let the rain hit his face. “I dunno, this feels nice. But, you know… how can a buncha house-pets understand?”
“Ohh, I see.” Rex rolled his eyes.
“Chief, come on.” Boss sighed.
“Shh shh shh.” Chief held up a hand. “Just shut your brains off for a sec.”
“And be like you?” Rex said.
They four all watched him for a few moments before King was first to join him. He leaned against the car with him and pulled his hair-tie off to let his hair down. Chief smiled and did the same, his long blonde hair already shiny and dripping with water.
Rex crossed his arms. “You guys are idiots. We’re gonna catch a cold.”
“That’s a problem for future us, then.” King shrugged. Chief put an arm around him, kissing his head before looking at the others.
“Alright, you gonna wait for me to NOT open the doors or are you gonna join us?”
“… I mean, we’ll be in the rain anyway.” Boss said before joining them. Duke looked at the car, then at them, at the car, then he groaned before joining.
“Fine.”
“You guys can’t be serious.” Rex said. He then made his way to Chief. “Just give me the keys.”
“You gonna fight me for them if I don’t?”
“Chief, I’m not kidding.”
“Well, that’s goes without saying. You have no sense of humor.”
“Haha. Give them to me if you aren’t going to open the door.”
“Come on, babe, you’re already drenched.”
“I’d rather get in the car before I get sick—“
Rex was then interrupted when Chief grabbed him by the waist and held him against his own rain-soaked body. He then kissed the short-haired blonde, who grumbled a little before kissing back. He could hear their partners snickering a little but he payed it no mind. The kiss actually felt nice.
The moment they pulled away, Rex spoke, his nose brushing against Chief’s. “I hate you. You’re so lucky you’ve gotten charming.”
“And got sexy blonde locks for you to run your fingers through.”
Chief heard Duke playfully scoff.
“Riiiight.” Rex rolled his eyes, very noticeably smiling. Even if Chief drove him insane constantly, Rex couldn’t deny that life would be horribly dull without him. Rex wrapped his arms around Chief’s waist, placing his head against his chest where he heard his strong and steady heartbeat. Rex’s smile softened. “I love you.”
Chief’s expression softened at that. “I… I love you, too.”
“This is actually really nice.”
“Told you so.”
There was a calming moment of the five standing there in the rain, enjoying the feeling. A small reminder that they were here. Breathing, experiencing, appreciating. Living. It was perfect.
But soon, the storm had stopped completely and the dark sky was only left with normal grey clouds, still covering the moon above. Looking at one another, the group saw the “damage” the rain did. Each of their hair was drenched and sticking to their faces, their clothes were darkened with how much water had soaked through, now feeling a little heavy, and they probably looked absolutely nuts to other people right about now.
Not that they cared.
“Well, it was fun while it lasted.” Chief said.
“That was nice.” Duke placed a long kiss against his lips. “Thank you for this.”
“But when we get severely sick, we’re blaming you.” Rex said.
“Awww sick? Well, couldn’t be me. I’ve built up my immunity enough.”
“Fuck you.” Rex chuckled.
“Promise?”
“Wh—? Oh my god, you’re a pervert!”
“Eh, I don’t know,” Duke shrugged, a smile on his face. He played with Chief’s tie sensually. “I was hoping there’d be something else by the end of tonight…”
Chief smirked. He brushed wet strands of hair away from Duke’s face, noting his now more suggestive expression. “Oh, is that right?”
“Mhmm. And, oh look, our clothes are soaked! We can’t wear them all night, can we?”
“Hmmm. Guess we can’t. How can I deny our boyfriend’s desperate attempts at sleeping with us? How is everyone else feeling?”
“Sounds fine to me.” King mumbled, head against Chief’s shoulder.
“Same here.” Boss added.
“You’re all perverts, then.” Rex rolled his eyes.
“That’s a ‘no’ from you, then?” Chief asked.
“… Well, I never said that.”
———
Rex smiled and brushed Chief’s long blonde hair from his face. Chief’s mouth was slightly open as he slept, his breathing gentle and steady. As Rex very gently brushed his fingers through his boyfriend’s hair, Chief stirred a bit. But instead of waking up, he unconsciously leaned into Rex’s touch.
“He sleeps so calmly now.” Rex spoke quietly. “I remember when he would look so tense in his sleep. Even angry.”
“He’s come a long way since then.” King said. He slipped his shirt back on (that was somehow tossed across the damn room during the group’s… hour of passion) and returned to the bed to place a kiss on Chief’s forehead. “I don’t think he understands just how proud we are of him.”
“We’ll make sure he does. Right?” Boss said.
“Of course we will.”
“Mhm.” Duke mumbled sleepily before flopping down beside Chief. “Can we go to sleep now? I’ve been satiated another day.”
Rex chuckled before leaning down to kiss him. “As you wish. Brat.”
“Ooooh, how sweet. Get on the damn futon already.”
After shutting off the light, Rex, Boss, and King gladly joined the two. They got comfortable, snuggled up with one another in comfortable silence. They bid one another a good night and closed their eyes.
Safe and sound and together.
And it was going to stay that way from now on.