The Spy That Loved Me (1x1x1 Flightless Birb, Gay Lorax, y Weenie Dork King)

The month following the attack on Nowhere was a fairly standard one for the organization`s leaders and officers. The newest recruits spent some of their time growing used to the metallic corridors of the base, doing grunt work such as fetching supplies or helping with meals. And though Absolute Justice`s sudden appearance was jarring for some-- for the most part, things returned to normal afterward. Some repairs had to be made, but, still- things were alright. They`d have to get back on track and focus on the Branches of Sin again soon, but, for now- they preoccupied themselves with other things.
Movie night had become a bit more of a normal thing again once Nowhere's officers had settled down--and it was still ongoing, despite the recent attacks. After all, not even terrifying battles could stop the deep-nested need for movie night. Tonight, after a long day of work, was just such one of those nights--the movie had been chosen, the popcorn was popping, and the scene was set perfectly for a little bit of drama--unfortunately, both on and off the screen...

░░▒▒▓▓Ｅｖｅｒｙｂｏｄｙ  ｌｏｖｅｓ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｈｅｎ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ  ｂｅｃｏｍｅｓ  ａ  ｈｅｒｏ  ａｎｄ  ｔｈｅｙ  ｈａｔｅ  ｈｉｍ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Ryder Mercy⧱
⧰The Boss⧰
☲-------------------------------------☲
Gold medals aren't made of gold . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . they're made of sweat, determination
and a hard-to-find alloy called guts
☲-------------------------------------☲

Ryder was in a good mood as he came back into the area of Nowhere they had designated as a "living room" of sorts, just returning from the kitchen after having put some popcorn in the microwave, turning the machine on and letting the popcorn pop. He couldn't help but grin as he walked back over to the couch and plopped down upon it next to Jo. Despite all of the stress that had been plaguing them recently, what with Cain issues and vigilante issues and small talking teddy bears betraying them issues--movie nights never failed to make Ryder feel better. Clearly he was on a one-track mind about watching the movie right now, since he'd gone galavanting about the base freshly-showered and with his chest bared for all to see--without really so much as noticing. He looked over at Jo and smiled, clearly pretty excited as he spoke,
"Snacks're almost done. Anything else we need before we get started?"

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An Anthem of Perseverance - Thousand Suns

░░▒▒▓▓Ｅｖｅｒｙｂｏｄｙ  ｌｏｖｅｓ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｈｅｎ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ  ｂｅｃｏｍｅｓ  ａ  ｈｅｒｏ  ａｎｄ  ｔｈｅｙ  ｈａｔｅ  ｈｉｍ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Ryder Mercy⧱
⧰The Boss⧰
☲-------------------------------------☲
Gold medals aren't made of gold . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . they're made of sweat, determination
and a hard-to-find alloy called guts
☲-------------------------------------☲

Ryder raised his eyebrows momentarily as he realized that Jo had been asleep and he'd woken her up--he felt a little bit bad, if she really was that tired. He kind of wished he'd let her rest a bit more--but, either way, starting the movie sooner would mean getting to bed after sooner, so that was probably good--and he wouldn't mind her falling asleep halfway through, if she dozed off. He chuckled at her search for the remote, settling in comfortably when she put her legs onto his lap, knowing that the movie was already in the player, so he wasn't really going to need to get up again soon, anyway--except to get the popcorn--He caught the remote as she threw it to him, leaning in to go in for a kiss on her cheek--but abruptly stopping, seeming startled as he heard Jasper's voice. He turned red at what the whitette said, turning even redder after doing a double-take and seeing what Jasper was actually wearing. He paused for a moment, his eyebrows furrowing, not really saying anything--before gently removing Jo's legs from his own and standing up.
"I'm--uh...gonna go get the popcorn--it's probably done by now..." he mumbled as he turned awkwardly, moving out of the room, quietly murmuring to himself, "Of all of the times..."

☲--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------☲
An Anthem of Perseverance - Thousand Suns

░░▒▒▓▓Ｅｖｅｒｙｂｏｄｙ  ｌｏｖｅｓ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｈｅｎ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ  ｂｅｃｏｍｅｓ  ａ  ｈｅｒｏ  ａｎｄ  ｔｈｅｙ  ｈａｔｅ  ｈｉｍ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Ryder Mercy⧱
⧰The Boss⧰
☲-------------------------------------☲
Gold medals aren't made of gold . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . they're made of sweat, determination
and a hard-to-find alloy called guts
☲-------------------------------------☲

Ryder let out a breath of air as he took the finished bag of popcorn out of the microwave, tugging it open and pouring it into the bowl he'd set out beforehand.
"It's nothing. It's--it's nothing," he muttered to himself, shaking his head a bit. He never knew what to think about Jasper. He knew that Jasper and Jo were friends, but he still felt threatened by the guy--not in the violent way, either. He crumpled the bag of popcon up into a ball, tossing it easily into the trashcan across the room, before sighing and picking up the bowl of popcorn, beginning to make his way back to the room he'd left but a minute or so ago. "I'm just imagining things--or just looking too far into things..or something..." he mumbled, trying to reassure himself. He didn't want to let this ruin the night--and based upon the distant banter he couldn't quite make out coming from the room, Jo and Jasper weren't planning on letting it get them down. He approached the room, pausing a few feet away from the door and reminding himself to smile--now wasn't he time to be the negative one. Maybe this could be a positive experience? ...Somehow? He hesitated a moment as he actually heard Jo's last words, becoming quite confused by their meaning, and sort of lurching into the doorway a bit, though still trying to keep a pleasant look on his face--an expression which quickly faded into something more neutrally surprised, his expression in small fractions slowly shifting towards something a bit more quietly distraught as he saw their position, the bowl of popcorn still held in his hands. "...Oh." was all he managed to actually say, despite all of the thoughts flying around his head at the sight. He felt his hand shake slightly and quickly steadied it, taking a breath and practically choking out, "What's...going on...?"

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An Anthem of Perseverance - Thousand Suns

░░▒▒▓▓Ｅｖｅｒｙｂｏｄｙ  ｌｏｖｅｓ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｈｅｎ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ  ｂｅｃｏｍｅｓ  ａ  ｈｅｒｏ  ａｎｄ  ｔｈｅｙ  ｈａｔｅ  ｈｉｍ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Ryder Mercy⧱
⧰The Boss⧰
☲-------------------------------------☲
Gold medals aren't made of gold . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . they're made of sweat, determination
and a hard-to-find alloy called guts
☲-------------------------------------☲

Hearing the word ‘safeword’ out of Jasper certainly didn’t make the situation better—if anything, it only seemed to unsettle Ryder further, even as the whitette began shouting at him about stopping Jo from murdering him. The man’s other words only seemed to upset him even more, especially the part about him hating him. He was clearly trying his best to hold all this in—however, his facial expression was quite telling. As Jo went sailing off of Jasper and into the table, though, Ryder cringed visibly and quickly went over to her, holding the bowl with one hand and squatting down to get a better look at Jo’s head.
”H-Hey, are you okay…?” he asked—though she seemed okay enough, as far as he could tell, what with how quickly she leapt back into her conversation. Ryder stood back up again, gulping back frustration and placing the bowl of popcorn down onto the table. ”It’s…It’s fine. No harm done. It’s not like it was…it’s not something we need to really talk…about…” his voice withered with each pause, and for a moment, it almost seemed as if he was about to up and leave—but he stopped abruptly, seemingly in deep thought for a few seconds before he slowly looked back over at the other two—namely Jasper—once again. ”…No, no, that’s—that’s not it. It is something we need to talk about—and I know that I’m an absolute prick for even caring, but—fuck…” He paused again, scowling and looking away for a moment before his eyes flicked back to Jasper. ”And I don’t hate you. I hate myself for being so damn—fucking—…never mind. You—You guys just watch the movie. I’ll just go, you don't need me bothering you.” Even just saying that made him feel awful—but he was pretty sure he was going to feel awful no matter what he said here anyway.

☲--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------☲
An Anthem of Perseverance - Thousand Suns

░░▒▒▓▓Ｅｖｅｒｙｂｏｄｙ  ｌｏｖｅｓ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｈｅｎ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ  ｂｅｃｏｍｅｓ  ａ  ｈｅｒｏ  ａｎｄ  ｔｈｅｙ  ｈａｔｅ  ｈｉｍ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Ryder Mercy⧱
⧰The Boss⧰
☲-------------------------------------☲
Gold medals aren't made of gold . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . they're made of sweat, determination
and a hard-to-find alloy called guts
☲-------------------------------------☲

Ryder came to a stop as Jasper grabbed him, looking back at the whitette with a bit of a sour look as Jasper called him 'kid'--and the rest of what Jasper said only succeeded in making him feel even worse. He was beginning to wish he'd never said anything at all. He settled down into the chair that Jasper had led him to, resting his elbows on his knees and letting out a sigh, rubbing his face with one of his hands.
At Jo's words, though, he looked up, feeling his frustration leak away in exchange for further guilt as she spoke. He knew she was telling the truth. Jo didn't lie about stuff like this. And yet the thought of actually saying what was on his mind was still daunting--most especially when Jasper returned to the room and spoke again. He almost snapped at the whitette--but hearing Jo speak again quieted him before he could. He hesitated before he spoke, looking downwards again, before looking back up at Jasper.
"I know that I'm not in any position to tell you to quit the melodrama, but it's got nothing to do with your existence. You get that, right? It's--It's the fact that--that you keep pulling shit like this--!" he motioned towards Jasper--more than anything towards his less than complete outfit--his eyes darting over to Jo momentarily, trying to pick his words carefully, despite the fact that Jo had wanted the simple truth. He couldn't afford to get too mad here--he didn't want to get too mad here. "Yeah, I know that I'm just being a prude or whatever you wanna call it when I say this, but--people don't just hang around with other people's girlfriends with their--their...junk almost hanging out--! And it's not as if you don't know that that crap makes me uncomfortable--you're not stupid, I know that much. You know that it freaks me out, but you do it anyway. And it just--it seems like it's just a normal thing for you guys..." He seemed to falter a bit, looking away again as he now addressed both of them. "...I know that I can't keep up with you guys and what you're okay with or not. I know I'm boring and uptight and I want to be able to be as chill as you guys, but--it's not that easy...And..." he looked back up, this time looking at Jo, "I know that I can trust you. It's not me questioning anyone's faithfulness, it's just...I don't know...this just seems like such a normal thing for you guys, and it's always happening, and--and then you were both off off together for so long in the Walls five years ago and I know that that literally hardly even matters anymore, it was so long ago, and to be honest it's probably great that you guys are still so natural with each other, it's just--just...hell, I don't know--!" Seeming a bit frustrated with his own lack of ability to put his feelings into words, he looked away again, crossing his arms across his chest and seeming to shrink a bit. "I'm insecure and jealous and I don't have any right to be. That's all it is. I don't have any right to tell anyone what they can or can't do with their friends, that's just wrong..."

☲--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------☲
An Anthem of Perseverance - Thousand Suns

░░▒▒▓▓Ｅｖｅｒｙｂｏｄｙ  ｌｏｖｅｓ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｈｅｎ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ  ｂｅｃｏｍｅｓ  ａ  ｈｅｒｏ  ａｎｄ  ｔｈｅｙ  ｈａｔｅ  ｈｉｍ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Ryder Mercy⧱
⧰The Boss⧰
☲-------------------------------------☲
Gold medals aren't made of gold . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . they're made of sweat, determination
and a hard-to-find alloy called guts
☲-------------------------------------☲

Ryder managed to keep shaky eye contact with Jasper up until the moment when the whitette said that they had more problems to work out than just him. At that moment, he looked down—a look of almost fear on his face. The fact that Jasper and Jo seemed far more natural with these things than him had always been a source of anxiety for him—it wasn’t as if he possessed a real wealth of knowledge on how relationships are supposed to work. As he heard Jo’s murmurs, he only seemed to grow further anxious—he didn’t want to upset her. He already hated how this conversation was going, but clearly there was no getting out of it now, and both of them expected him to be telling the truth here—even though upsetting Jo was the thing that Ryder least wanted to do. And at Jasper’s last words, he abruptly looked up again, his expression something in between anger and a deer-in-the-headlights stare. He watched Jasper leave, but didn’t move to go after him—Jo looked, and apparently couldn’t find him. Slowly, he looked over at Jo, struggling just to make eye contact. This was happening—this was really happening, he reminded himself. This wasn’t a dream, or him going over in his head what he thought he’d like to say—he’d made his bed, and now he had to lie in it. As Jo started speaking, Ryder listened as best he could over the buzzing worry in his head, trying to keep all of the words straight as he processed them. He was silent for a moment after she finished, seemingly trying to pick his words—a difficult task. He looked down at the floor as he finally spoke, brushing some hair out of his eyes with his hand.
”That’s…I-I mean…yeah, we’re adults, and we should talk to each other and tell each other what’s up, and I know that that’s how it’s supposed to work, but I…can I really do this as well as he could…?” He looked up a fraction of an inch, eyes flickering over to Jo guiltily for a moment. It was true on plenty of levels that Ryder felt threatened by Jasper—if only in feeling extremely inadequate when compared to him. After all, Jasper was an extremely attractive, sexually knowledgeable young man—Ryder felt it pretty hard to measure up, as far as that went, even if he knew that a relationship didn’t at all only rely on those things. ”You…You already know that I was only ever in one relationship before, and that one didn’t even have the chance to get this far…I’m just…I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be doing half the time. Normally I just do whatever I’d usually do but when it comes to times like this…I’ve got no idea…” He averted his eyes from Jo again, his voice falling slightly quieter as he continued, ”Sometimes I can’t help but wonder if people only put up with me out of pity…I’m always ruining your fun somehow or other…Not to mention I’m constantly bumbling around—don’t you…deserve someone better…? Or something like that—I don’t want this to end. I really, really don’t, but I don’t know how to make myself—well—good enough…” He hesitated, severely not wanting to leave it at that, since it was clear that that would probably just make Jo feel worse—but he really wasn’t sure what to say. He sat up a bit straighter, still averting his eyes, but at the very least improving his body language to feel a bit more open. ”I—I know you didn’t mean to hurt my feelings. I really don’t think you’d have any reason to do that—or at least I hope you wouldn’t have any reason—but even if you think it’s your job to know things—I feel like that should be my job, too, and clearly neither of us is going to be able to do that, right…? It’s not like we’re mind readers…as much as I want to understand how to not fuck up and you want to understand how to not fuck up, we both fuck up anyway, then we feel guilty about it and—I don’t know…I guess it’s just…normal…?” He hesitated, as if unsure of his conclusion, but still continued afterwards, ”I’ll admit…I—I was jealous back then. Back during when you were at the walls, I mean. I’d never even guessed that I’d have anything to be jealous about until I met the other people, but once I did, I just—I couldn’t stop myself from feeling angry or just—I didn’t know what to do. And then, well—everything went to hell, you know the story. But I mean…the walls…everything that happened with Jasper…i-it…it happened, but it's not something that anyone should be holding against you. People make mistakes, and I mean…I guess that we’re all just a bit stupid and emotional or something…” He managed a ghost of a rueful smile at that point—he didn’t exactly realize it, but talking was actually making this a bit easier…

☲--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------☲
An Anthem of Perseverance - Thousand Suns

░░▒▒▓▓Ｅｖｅｒｙｂｏｄｙ  ｌｏｖｅｓ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｈｅｎ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ  ｂｅｃｏｍｅｓ  ａ  ｈｅｒｏ  ａｎｄ  ｔｈｅｙ  ｈａｔｅ  ｈｉｍ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Ryder Mercy⧱
⧰The Boss⧰
☲-------------------------------------☲
Gold medals aren't made of gold . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . they're made of sweat, determination
and a hard-to-find alloy called guts
☲-------------------------------------☲

Jo's first volley of words seemed to do nothing but relieve Ryder of quite a bit of stress--and as she reached the point where she called him 'Honey Ryder', he couldn't help but crack a smile. As she placed her hand on his, he gripped he hand gently, nodding and letting out a stressed out, but clearly relieved chuckle,
"I love you just fine the way you are, Jo. And nothing's ever going to change that. I think...I think that together, we can--" Ryder abruptly cut off as he heard Jasper's whisper in his ear--and felt his heart practically stop for a moment. His breathing hitched, and his eyes grew wide as Jo suddenly tugged her hand away from his. "Wh...What...?" he choked out after a moment, staring at Jo and looking positively devastated. Her denial of the kiss only seemed to heighten Ryder's trepidation due to the tone of her voice. He'd recognized that whisper as Jasper's voice, but as he looked around quickly, he still didn't see anyone. He felt his breathing hitch again as his throat tightened--and he actually felt tears rushing to his eyes, which he was fighting against showing. He had barely even wanted to have this conversation--that statement hadn't been something he'd been prepared for. He shook his head slightly and stood up, backing away from Jo and from the direction he'd heard Jasper's voice from. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't possibly be happening. All of Ryder's worst relationship fears were simultaneously crashing down upon his head. His expression rivaling that of a kicked puppy, he slowly looked over towards Jo and spoke quietly, "If...I-If he's lying, why do you sound so...scared...? Jo, w-was everything that you just said...a lie...? Was that what you were talking about when you said that you guys kept me in the dark...? What--Wh-What else happened five years ago that I don't know about...?! I thought that we just talked about how this whole thing was about communication, I'm--was I really that little that you thought I didn't need to know about this...? A-And if it's true...then why try to hide it now...? What else are you hiding from me, Jo...?" He took a deep, shaky breath, wiping at his eyes with a hand, desperately trying to conceal the tears that were very close to making quite an entrance. He hesitate for a moment, then looked up, taking another deep breath before suddenly directing his words in the direction where he'd heard Jasper's voice, his emotion suddenly taking on a more angry feel to it, "A-And as for you, Jasper, if you've got something to fucking say to me, j-just get out here and say it! Quit taking potshots and come face me! If you've got something to say--th-then at least come say it to my face! I've had enough secrets...!"

☲--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------☲
An Anthem of Perseverance - Thousand Suns