The Trick to Falling in Style

Melancholy

Vermillion sat on a wooden bench. He was slotted in between a tall teenager with a hood over his head, his dark purple eyes shining in the darkness of the shadows covering his face, and a shorter teenager with thick brunette hair and a black gas mask positioned over his lower face. Vermillion was leaned back against the rest of the bench, a metal screw digging into his shoulder blade and his limbs were starting to ache. He couldn't even think about moving, though, not when the sun was setting so beautifully right in front of him. He was tempted to tell his friends to stop doing what they were doing in order to watch with him. He didn't tell them, instead allowing them to do what they wanted. The taller teenager was watching the shorter one fiddle with a metal cube designed to open after a series of puzzles were solved.

The shorter one sighed, lowering the cube back into his lap. The sigh turned to steam as it pushed through the metal tubes inside the gas mask. Vermillion's eyes flickered over, and the taller teenager looked up at his friend. The shorter one threw his arms over Vermillion's shoulders, pressing his entire weight into Vermillion's side. Vermillion fell to the side, the taller teenager helping support some of his weight. "I'm so bored."

"Fucking hell, mate," Vermillion muttered, wrapping his arms around the smaller teenager's shoulders to keep him in place. "You're gonna fucking knock me off the bench."

"Ender would never let us fall," The short brunette said airily, his voice drifting as his eyes closed beneath his goggles. The metal cube nearly rolled out of his lap, but Vermillion caught it before it could hit the sand beneath the bench.

"Ender would totally let us fall," Vermillion deadpanned. He felt Ender's grip tighten around him. Ender reached to pluck the cube out of Vermillion's hand, lifting it up to his eye level. Vermillion's eyes trailed after it, watching Ender start to fiddle with the mechanics using his one hand.

"I would probably let you fall," Ender agreed. Vermillion felt the rumbling in Ender's chest as the hybrid laughed, and he couldn't resist the smile that stretched across his face. He couldn't see, but he knew that the brunette was smiling widely.

"See? I'm always fucking right because I'm a Big Man," Vermillion said, lowering his head back down to see the shorter stretch out across the bench like it was a comfortable bed instead of rough wood. Vermillion had thought about coming out to sand it once more, knowing the last time it had been sanded was its creation more than a decade ago. He never did, though, too busy training, patrolling, and hanging out with his new friends (his family, in some ways). He knew that he should soon since he, Ender, and Kamikaze- the short teenager- frequently came out to relax on the bench. Vermillion couldn't remember the last sunset he had seen that wasn't on the bench. But, he concluded, he also didn't know the last time he had seen a sunset on that bench that didn't make his back and tailbone ache afterward.

"And I'm Big K!" Kamikaze cheered, tilting his head up to show Vermillion that his eyes were practically glowing with how happy and comfortable he was. The faded orange sunlight filled them, making the blue streaks in the green eyes pop.

"Why don't I get a cool nickname?" Ender complained. The three of them started to tilt backward as Ranboo leaned back against the bench, allowing most of the weight to fall on top of him. "All you guys call me is shit and sexy."

"I have never called you shit," Kamikaze said with what sounded alarmingly like a pout in his voice. Kamikaze could be terrifying if he wanted to be, but he usually resorted to more childish antics when he was with his two best friends. It would not be the first time that Kamikaze began pouting or crying in their company in order to get his way.

"I have never called you sexy," Vermillion clarified, his nose scrunching up in slight disgust at the thought.

"You have called him hot," Kamikaze said with a laugh already building in his voice even before he got the words out.