Prompt: AU

The official "unofficial" sequel to Brothers and sisters I'm an atomic bomb. You don't have to read it first but,,,, it would be rad if you did.

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Bam had reached a very important, and yet not, conclusion. What first started, in his brain at least, as an abandonment issue turned to crush had now turned to love. Frankly, Bam didn’t mind loving Khun—it wasn’t a hard thing to do after all—and he certainly didn’t mind that the upcoming war didn’t give him enough free time to be tortured by these feelings. So, Bam loved Khun who was oblivious and Bam was absolutely fine with that. Besides, the situation didn’t affect their lives.

“My point is we deserve it,” Bam hears Endorsi talking but finds himself unable to focus. His eyes drifting at Khun and how his nose wrinkles when someone disagrees with him, how his hair fall perfectly into place, how—“don’t we, Bam?”

The mention of his name brings him back to reality. He glances around, all eyes on him, even Khun is waiting patiently for his answer. The problem, however, was that Bam didn’t know what he was meant to say. To make things worse, Bam couldn’t ask Endorsi to repeat herself without also telling them why he wasn’t paying attention in the first place.

“Um, sure.” He says and he can see everyone, almost everyone, sigh in relief. Yet, when he turns to watch Khun he sees the other one rubbing his temple. A sign that Bam’s answer wasn’t the right one.

“I should have stayed with Novick.” Ran mumbles annoyed and Khun removes his hand from his face. Bam looks between the two of them and wonders what Endorsi had suggested that made both of the Khun children like this.

“You don’t have to come.” Khun tells Ran “I won’t blame you.”

“I can’t risk you going rogue again.”

Bam thinks he has made a big mistake.

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The 116th Floor is, in a way, a checkpoint. No test to pass, no obstacle to overcome and no threat to exterminate. It’s a place where Regulars usually rest and often decide to remain for the rest of their days. It’s known to be a peaceful grey area and no one, under no circumstances, is allowed to spill any blood. Because of that rule, many Rankers and Princesses find themselves having a residence or two there in case problems arise.

Khun Maschenny Zahad is not an exception to that.

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When Bam has more time to think about it, the plan truly seems flawed. Despite the rules, their team consists of traitors of the Zahad empire, and perhaps bringing Endorsi (a Princess), Anaak (a daughter of a Princess), Khun (an abandoned son) and Bam (the one destined to kill the King) to a Princess’ residence is not the best option. Still, the team is tired and Maria offered them the residence so perhaps it wouldn’t be that bad.

“You came!” Maria shouts with excitement and hugs Khun. She then gives a quick hug to Bam—who has started to reconsider the ‘maybe this isn’t a bad idea’—and clasps her hands together. “It’s an honour to hav—”

“We’re doing this as a favour to family.” Maschenny cuts off and it’s only now that Bam sees her, standing tall and glaring.

“And we thank you for that,” Shibisu says taking a step forward. He smiles brightly at Maria and a little bit at Maschenny who scoffs. “We’ve heard many things about you.”

“All good things, I’m sure,” Maschenny tells taking one step forward. Shibisu takes one back. “I assume you all know the rules of the floor which is one of the reasons, she,”—she points at Anaak—“is here.”

Anaak opens her mouth to speak but before she can say something, Endorsi has taken a step in front of her. “I’d like to see you try.”

“Is that a threat?” Maschenny asks. From the corner of his eye, Bam can see both Hatz and Shibisu alerted.

“I’m hungry,” Rak whispers at Khun. Khun looks at Bam in defeat and for the first time, Bam can’t defend his choice.

“So um, we have four rooms inside!” Maria quickly says before the situation escalates. “Unfortunately, you’ll have to share.”

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Bam luckily sleeps in the same room with Rak and Khun. It’s not that he doesn’t like sleeping in his own room, but in a brand new environment, he feels safer with his two best friends by his side. Plus, he has some weird illogical fear that Maschenny wants to stab him and for some hopefully logical reason, he believes that Khun won’t let her.

So, night comes, and Bam settles next to Rak—who is already snoring—and waits for Khun. It’s a surprise he’s taking that long, usually Khun follows them immediately and Bam can’t help a fear lingering in the back of his mind. Khun and absence and danger and—

Khun comes inside. He has changed into his pyjamas, his hair is loose and slightly wavy and he seems ignorant to Bam’s eyes on him. Suddenly, their eyes meet and Khun chuckles quietly.
“Is he snoring yet?”

“Yes, but at least he hasn’t taken up half the space. Yet.”

“He’s lousy even in his sleep.”

Bam smiles playfully “Says the one who always steals the sheets.”

Khun pretends not to hear him and lies on the bed. It’s only after the first minutes have passed that Bam realizes how this is the first time, post understanding his feelings, that he sleeps in the same bed with Khun. It’s a simple realization but enough to make him panic. What should he do? Turning his back on Rak so he could stare at Khun was not an option. Doing the opposite was also not an option because why would he show Khun his back?  He could always look at the ceiling but that would be equally uncomfortable for reasons he couldn’t name but was sure were valid.

He ends up turning towards Khun who is luckily facing the other way. Frankly, if the universe liked Bam, this would be the end of it. But the moment Bam finds himself relaxed and slowly falling asleep, Khun decides to turn so they are both facing each other. Bam goes into a panic mode.

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Maria opens the door to where she and Maschenny were sleeping and sees nothing. Someone coughs. She looks down to find Ran, cranky as ever, with a pillow in hand. “They are snoring.”

“Um, okay.”

“I would have gone to AA.” Ran says as he makes his way inside. He throws his pillow towards a sleeping Maschenny who groans. “But he’s sleeping with Viole and the dinosaur and I doubt he would send either of them to the other room.”

“How come Aguero isn’t sleeping with Bam?”

“They are.”

“She means only with him.” Maschenny cuts in “You know couples needing their privacy and all. I mean, some don’t which is okay. Some others kinda like the danger and it gets them o—"

“Not in front of the child, you demon.” Maria yells covering Ran’s ears.

“AA and Viole aren’t dating.” He turns to Maria “And I’m old. I know what couples do when they are alone. I have murdered people, we’re past protecting my innocence.”

“There is no way they aren’t dating.” Maria says and settles on the bed. Ran climbs after her, placing himself in the middle, purposely trying to push Maschenny off the bed.

“There is room for three, you little shit!”

“I don’t see it. You must have gotten fat.”

“I will slash your throat.” Maschenny threatens “And I’m with Maria on this, there is no way they aren’t dating.”

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Ran gives them a very detailed description of the Viole and AA Chronicles and while they both sound like idiots, Maria admits that it seems very in character for both of them. So yes, because they are oblivious idiots who will bravely face any danger except rejection, Aguero and Bam aren’t dating. Maria notes to herself to have a talk with her brother tomorrow about it. She’s certain there isn’t a problem, a little talk can’t solve.

Still, when she sees Bam at the kitchen, at four am, wide awake and apparently cooking, Maria thinks that maybe Aguero doesn’t want to date a psychopath. She quietly grabs a bottle of water from the fridge. Bam turns to look at her startled.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you.” She says “I just wanted to drink some water.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

Maria, despite what everyone (Maschenny) says, is not indiscrete. She’s simply curious and if that means talking with a might-be-psychopath who deals with his issues by cooking—or poisoning—people to ensure her brother’s heart is in good hands so be it.

“So, um, cooking.” She says ”Is that a habit of yours?”

“Only when I can’t sleep.” Bam replies “Khun is usually awake by five so usually, if I’m not very tired, I make him breakfast. It’s the only way I’ll be sure he eats at all, you know how he is.”

Maria makes an inhuman noise. The equivalent sound to what you’d made when seeing a baby kitten moving its paws. Bam notices.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m very emotional and I have to go, good night Bam!”

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“Are we sure they aren’t dating?” Maria asked as she entered the room. Maschenny whose half body was hanging from the bed, only her head strategically laying on the pillow as if she were trying to keep some dignity, shrugged and nudged Ran. Ran remained unfazed and continued hugging—suffocating—his pillow. “Oh, he’s asleep.”

“Like hell he is.” Maschenny mumbled and pushed him harder. Ran lazily picked up his hugging pillow and smacked Maschenny. “Speak you prick.”

“They aren’t dating because they’re emotionally constipated.” Ran mumbled, lifting his body upwards “You shouldn’t be surprised. Viole is an oblivious idiot  and AA is, well, you know.”

“How come you decided to discuss our brother’s love life now? Couldn’t you wait until the sun rises like a normal person?”

“Bam’s making him breakfast.”

“Welcome to my world.” Ran mumbled.

“What the actual ever-loving—” Maschenny turned to Ran “frick.”

“Sure, murder threats are okay but you draw the line at swearing.”

“Shut up you gremlin.” Maschenny shot back “Anyway, I feel a little bad for glaring at Viole now. I mean, if they were dating, I wouldn’t have a problem but now I’m scared he’ll get used to it.”

“If he does, you can always threaten him with the Yellow May.”

“He’ll probably absorb it.” Ran whispered. Luckily neither Khun girl heard him.

“We should shove them in a closet or something.”

“Very romantic.” Ran snickered at Maschenny.

“I’m sorry, they don’t teach matchmaking in Princess classes, too busy teaching us how to kill annoying little things.”

“Maschenny has a point.”

“I know.”

“No, we don’t mean the same thing.” Maria told her “I mean, we should matchmake them. Sure, it might be a little hard but if we work together, we c—”

“I bet I can get them together before you do.”

“You’re on.”

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Sometimes, Bam thinks that he does good things that should get an equally good reaction. However, he often miscalculates. Thus, the reaction he usually gets involves a Khuntm sigh, the hands-crossed-or-on-the-hips-because-Bam-did-something-stupid and rarely some shouting. Luckily, unless Bam is seriously injured, Khun doesn’t yell at him about being reckless and having no self-preservation instincts. Unfortunately, Bam is equally displeased with the quiet.

“Don’t do that.”

“I’m not doing anything,” Khun says after he has given him the Khuntm sigh. “You know what I’ve said.”

“That I don’t sleep.”

“That you don’t sleep.”

“You don’t either.” Bam tries to reason “In fact, you usually sleep even less than me.”

“I don’t matter.” And Khun says that as in ‘we’re talking about you not me’ and Bam—Bam knows that, he truly does, but there’s an impulsive feeling inside of him and it breaks out as an explosion and Bam says—

“You matter to me.”

And Bam knows this as well; he’s screwed. No coming back from this. Khun opens his mouth ready to say something and then closes it again. So Bam, being the brave FUG Slayer that he is, turned around to grab some water to avoid making any more eye contact with Khun.

They remain silent until—

“Is it hot in here or is it just me?”

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“The thermostat?”

“The thermostat.”

“I really want to know your process of thought.” Maschenny tells Ran “Figured you should scorch them and hope that, due to the adrenaline death offers, they would confess their undying love to each other?”

“No, I hoped Viole would take off his shirt and cause AA to malfunction.”

“There is no universe in which this would work.”

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“I don’t really feel it because of the fire fish,”—Khun got up and placed his hand on Bam’s forehead—“well you don’t have a fever so maybe it’s just the room’s temperature.”

“This feels nice.” Bam blurts out. Then curses himself. What an idiot, that one. “I mean, your hand is cool.”

“This is a very weird mating technique.” Bam and Khun both took one step away from each other startled. Bam looked to the side to find Maschenny leaning against the wall, an apple on her hand and a mischievous smile. “Don’t let me bother you,”—she took a loud bite from her food—“pretend I’m not here.”

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“I will throw her off the Tower’s final floor.”

“Behave, Ran.”

“She sabotaged my plan.”

“I know but you need to be the bigger person.”

“I’m an infant.”

Maria scoffed. ‘An infant’ only when it’s to his advance.

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Here’s an anecdote; you, your crush and your crush’s “I think murder as a hobby” sister are eating breakfast. That’s it. That’s the joke. Also known as Bam’s life who thinks that whoever entity created the Tower did it for the sole purpose to laugh at his life.

“Your friends, the tracksuit and the sword one, are snoring.” Maschenny announces, more to Khun than Bam, “Ran came to sleep with us.”

“And he didn’t smother you with a pillow?”

“He tried.” She paused “What about you? How did you guys sleep?”

“It was fine. Rak kicked me in the stomach,”—Khun looks at Bam—“which is something he never does to you but the moment we’re left alone, he decides to be violent.”

“You did throw him off the bed one time.”

“It was an accident.”

“You shoved him with your hand.”

“I misplaced it.” Khun said with fake seriousness. Bam started laughing making Khun laugh with him. Maschenny watched them with interest.

“Maybe we could bring one more bunk for Rak. And you two can still share the other bed.” Maschenny blurted out “You don’t mind sleeping together, do you?”

Bam, despite not drinking anything at the moment, chokes. Khun smiles at her but Bam can feel him glaring. “Of course, we don’t. We’re best friends.”

(Maschenny and Bam both groan internally.)

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Eventually, neither Maschenny nor Ran make any progress. Maschenny uses pick up lines—badly—which make Bam flustered and cause him to flee (“Nice shirt, you got there. Although, it would be ten times better on Aguero’s floor.”) and Ran messes with the temperature (“and there was only one blank—wait no, AA gave Viole an extra shirt”) and one time with the electric power.

(Neither Endorsi, nor her hair, liked the electric power one.)

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In the end, Maria puts an end to it.

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Bam enters his room exhausted and waiting to let the mattress of his bed suffocate him. A beautiful wish that is suddenly too out of reach since the moment Bam steps inside, the lights go out and someone sitting in a chair in the middle of the room turns around.

“Hello, Bam.”

“Hey, Maria?” Bam says slightly confused. He always thought that if he died on this vacation, it would be because of Maschenny (or Ran).

“Please have a seat.”

“This is the only chair.”

“Sit!” Bam ends up sitting on the floor. “Listen, despite what everyone says, I think you’re a smart guy.”

“What do you mean ‘despite what every—”

“But honestly, I would have hoped you’re an idiot so I could explain why you and Aguero aren’t dating.”

Oh shit. Bam takes everything back, not only will he die by Maria but it will also be more gruesome than any death Maschenny could offer.

“We, you see, it’s more of a, um, well—” Bam takes a deep breath “It’s complicated.”

“It shouldn’t be. You’re already acting like a married couple.”

“We don’t.”—Maria gives him a look—“And Khun doesn’t feel that way so it’s fine.”

“Oh yes, when he was moping about you and ranting for endless hours about how good you are and how he would literally die for you, it was all a very platonic monologue.”—it’s Bam’s turn to look at her—“I honestly thought this wouldn’t be an issue. Back when you came to take him back, I was certain that it would be the ‘becoming official’ part for the two of you.”

Bam smiles a little biting his lip. If Maria was telling the truth, maybe—

“You should tell him how you feel.”

“I wouldn’t know where to begin.” Bam says “He’s always so prepared, always knows exactly what to say, and I would just be unable to form a single sentence.”

“He won’t mind.”

“I know he won’t. He never does, but I still believe he deserves a grand gesture, you know? Sometimes, he talks about me like he sees something amazing and I would love to be able to tell him that I feel the same. There are so many things I want to say like,”—he rubs his temple—“we’ve been through so much and for the past year or so I have this fear that if I’m not by his side all the time, I will lose him. When we sleep in the same room, I catch myself waking up just to look at him and reassure myself that he’s there. That he will be there. Other times I curse him for being there, in this mess, risking his life because it’s so selfish of him to endanger himself without thinking about me. And isn’t that selfish for me to say as well? Don’t I do the same?”

Maria smiles kindly and encourages him to continue with a nod. “I think I’m selfish. I think love is egoistical in general because if I had the choice to drop out of this, just take him away from any danger, despite everyone depending on me, I would. He’s one of the most important people in my life, I love him more than words could describe, more than actions could ever show.”—he sighs—“I don’t want to tell him, though.”

“Bam,”—Maria stands up and helps him get up—“he won’t reject you.”

“Maybe not. But what if they find out?”

“Who?”

“Everyone.” Bam explains “An entire army is after me, even some people within FUG want me dead, do you know in what risk people around me are? If someone goes after him because of me, if someone hurts him again to go through me, I will not—”

The door opens.

“It’s my risk to take.” Bam turns around, watches the door wide open, and Khun standing at the side, his expression softening. “I want to take it.”

(Bam wants to take it too.)

Khun closes the distance between them, kissing him fiercely. It’s better than anything Bam had imagined. Maria grins widely and steps outside.

“Who won? Maria won!”

“What are you—" Maschenny began while Ran was already running towards the room. As soon as Maschenny saw the two boys, still oblivious to their surroundings, she covered Ran’s eyes. “I can’t believe you beat us to it.”

“I have my talents.” Maria smiled “Now, pay up, losers.”