asmywitness | IC Inbox

After sex with Jack--which was amazing, even better than usual, and he definitely needs to steal things and strangle guards more often if this is the reward he gets--Steven really does mean to go and check to see that Tyler's okay after his first heist. Lydia, he's not so worried about. Not with everything she's done--and god, someday he needs to get her to tell him more about Wonderland, because it sounded utterly amazing. But Tyler... Tyler he doesn't know about. Even if Tyler is like them--and is it terrible that part of Steven hopes he is?--that doesn't mean he'd have necessarily known that he was until the heat of the moment.

Steven remembers freaking out over his own first heist, over how much he'd like it. He doesn't want Tyler to have to deal with that longer than he has to.

Except it doesn't really matter what he wants when he closes his eyes for a moment and suddenly it's morning and Jack's getting out of bed and Steven realizes that he might have fucked up a little again, but he can get on things now.

So once he's conscious enough to type into his phone, Steven gets his bathrobe out and one of his pairs of pajama pants and heads down the hall to the guest room they'd given Tyler, texting him on the way.

Hey. How are you feeling? First heists are... kind of overwhelming. I know mine was.

Mm, he can already smell Jack making something nice in the kitchen.

It's the vibrating of Tyler's Pokegear through his pillow that wakes him up, and he doesn't immediately reply to it because he has to get through that moment of sudden-wake-up-where-am-I panic before he remembers their fucking busy night.

Well. That sure had been a thing.

He sees Isis start to stir on the pillow next to his, before he reaches under his pillow and grabs the phone, squinting at the sudden burst of bright light in his face. Screen brightness, he will figure you out yet.

Still nauseous. Though now, he realises as his stomach growls, he could just be hungry. That was actually kind of cool. Everything went off so smoothly.

Oh thank god. Either he's like them and already knows or isn't badly shocked at least--or he's relatively normal and can just-- deal with this shit. Either way, Steven doesn't have to walk him through the same concepts Jack walked him through after his first.

Teleports are kind of a bitch that way. But yeah, we did good. We did really well. It helped that we planned it so thoroughly ahead of time.

He smiles a little before adding, in another text, I'm glad you had fun? I did too.

Tyler is still working that part out for himself.

I'm used to plans going off without a hitch. That's what a Fatemaker does. There's another significant pause before he follows that, though. No one died, which is a nice change.

He frowns at his phone, for a good long while, before he removes the 'nice' and hits send.

Interesting. He'll just. File the inference he gets off that away in his mind.

Nope. Just as well, I suppose.

You good for company or should I stay away for now?

I'm not wearing pants, but sure.

He's actually getting out of bed as Steven enters the room - Isis cracks open an eye at the intrusion, but just ruffles her feathers and settles back down on her pillow - and is moving to grab some pants off the floor. He's wearing boxers, at least, he just doesn't seem to give a shit when Steven walks in.

Steven's only in pajama pants and a half-open bathrobe. It's fine.

He'll just. Sit down on a chair by the guest room window.

Jack's making us breakfast, he types. He always cooks after a heist, even when he doesn't come along.

Tyler spares him a glance, appraising the sight; and then continues to ignore it. Not his type.

He does type one-handed as he picks up his pants, though, and his text speed is still impressive. Sounds good, I guess? It's weird that he's our boss and making us breakfast, don't you think?

I mean, it's just Jack's style of crimeboss, I guess. I suspect he's different with the people who work for him at his company. But they're more straight-up employees and we're more... junior partners in crime? A weird little transplant crime family?

He shrugs before adding, I mean, he gets kind of semi-paternal with the others and might with you. Not me, of course, but I'm the only one he's not old enough to be the father of, unless he was a teen dad.

He tosses his phone on the bed while he's pulling his pants on, and picks up again when he's done. And shrugs when he's done reading he shrugs as well. I guess. Not the weirdest thing I'll have to get used to, I suppose, but this definitely has 'American college kid prank' written on it more than actual criminal bullshit, you know?

God, I *know*, Steven types, with resignation in his shoulders. I do. But the three of us aren't-- we're not strong enough to pull off something real like robbing a bank yet. This was probably... more of a practice heist than anything else.

Well, that's an interesting reaction.

That wasn't a complaint. I haven't done anything actually fun and stupid like that in years. It was kind of thrilling.

Right, Steven texts back, awkwardly. Yeah, sorry, I just-- I'm used to that *being* a complaint, I guess. That for such a big, bad gang that's supposed to be terrorizing everyone, Team Rocket just... pulls a lot of petty shit. Which, you know, they do.

He relaxes a little bit into the chair.

But good. Good. I really *am* glad you had fun. *I* had fun. And you surprised the hell out of me by cold-cocking the other security guy just like that--not in a bad way, though.

That gets a pleased little grin. Thanks. I wish I could say it was my first time, but I took some boxing classes when I was in secondary school. Never had to knock someone out before, but I'm not weak.

After he sends that, he flexes for Steven; there's no definition, but there's an obvious solidity to his weight. Before he relaxes and continues.

Easier to take down than a Fetch, anyway.

Oh. You got yours? Lucky.

There's an odd sort of tension to his shoulders.

I. Haven't. I listened to the people who told me to just let him live my life. God, I wish I had't. He's done so many things I'd have never done.

If this were anyone other than Tyler, he wouldn't dare text that without knowing, for sure, that they were like him and Jack and Lydia. But it's Tyler. If anyone can understand wanting to kill his Fetch, even if he can't understand anyone else Steven's ever wanted to kill, it's another Changeling.

Mine and my boyfriend's.

But he's looking at Steven, rather than his phone, seeing the tension set uncomfortably on his shoulders, and gives him a sympathetic grimace.

It's not all its cracked up to be, honestly. Mine almost killed me at my boyfriend's Fetch's funeral. But

He hesitates for a while, before he finishes the message.

it didn't seem fair to me. That they got to have the loving family and happy relationship and normal lives. They didn't earn that. They didn't deserve it.

Yeah, no, Steven types. It doesn't seem fair to me either.

Some, if not all, of the tension drains from him.

Did it-- I don't know? Did it make you feel better? Was it-- I don't know, satisfying?

This reply takes even longer.

It was cathartic. For a little while. Then it wasn't.

The reply after that is much quicker, typing it even as the first one sends.

Sorry for all this downer shit after a fun night.

No, I mean, I did ask.

And, you know, I'm up for wrecking shit and taking people down with you whenever.

He glances up at Tyler and flashes him a grin.

(So. Maybe not exactly like him, but at least he enjoyed some of the same stuff that Steven had enjoyed... that was a good sign, right? He'd be able to relax a little more around him.)

That's a nice grin. It's very reassuring for someone older than him to have his back on something; he's too used to being the responsible one. Letting loose in the baseball stadium had been very fun.

So Tyler smiles back.

I'm not so sure we can get away with stealing another mascot, but I'm game to try and do another mission like that with you.

I'll see what I can find, Steven texts. Even if it's just a routine mugging, we can still have some fun. And I know Dirk's got something big planned again, so we can probably let loose then, too. He's supposed to debrief us about it soon.

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