Notes: Written for a pairing/location/prompt meme that I posted on LJ. Moonstar102 asked for Crow/Badger, set in the Black Ravens' hideout, with the prompt of "angry". Set about two years after the events of Spectre's Call, with heavy spoilers for PL4.
If you knew in yourself that you wanted a job where you could avoid talking to people as much as possible, then working in a black market probably wouldn't be the first career you'd choose.
But for Badger, working here had turned out just fine.
That wasn't to say that this was strictly a job. They were just kids, after all, looking to make a bit of extra money. Sure, they all took it really seriously, but that still didn't make it a real job. Or at least, that was what he'd figured before.
Badger's job within the Black Ravens was to be a lookout and a runner. He kept an eye on potential customers from the rooftops, ready to report back to Crow, and when they did need to bring the Black Raven himself out into the open Badger was the one who could run the fastest while wearing the costume. There wasn't a lot of talking involved, just watching and running. Which suited Badger just fine.
Or at least it had done before the black market itself began to change.
It had been a year after Hershel Layton had solved the mystery of the spectre before the Golden Garden was revealed to the general public and another year on since its reveal had resulted in Misthallery becoming busier than it had ever been. Tourists were intrigued by this remote town with its mysterious garden and wanted to get a glimpse of it with their own eyes. As a result of this, almost every business in Misthallery found itself with a lot more custom thrown in its direction.
This included the Black Ravens.
They had become almost as much of a staple in what to do when you visited Misthallery as the Golden Garden itself. They were even in the brochure! It didn't matter that most of the locals were aware of the truth at this point, because everyone knew they were mostly harmless and that bringing a bit more money into the area didn't hurt.
But… it kind of mattered to Badger. Although he never really voiced this, because he didn't like confrontation. Somehow having everyone know they were just a bunch of kids dressing up junk as riches seemed to defeat the point of even using the Black Raven disguise in the first place.
On top of that, the black market became unmanageably busy. He hardly ever saw Crow anymore, as their self-appointed leader mostly holed himself away in the backroom of the auction house, where there was the most work to be done. It was like they weren't even friends anymore. They were all just workers getting on with a job.
"But this isn't even a real job! We're just kids and this was supposed to only be so we could make a bit of money to buy sweets and toys and stuff!"
That had been what he'd said two minutes ago.
Within that time, Crow hadn't spoken a word, allowing him to think about everything that had led him up to this point.
As much as he didn't like confrontation, Badger had reached the point where he couldn't stand working like this anymore. It was no longer just keeping lookout for the occasional customer, because they were guaranteed at least thirty of those a day at minimum anyway. It was all just running around as the Black Raven, trying not to trip over the tourists, who got more and more daring during their trips to the rooftops to catch them.
It wasn't fun anymore.
He'd had to come down to the hideout, somewhere that he rarely ventured, to talk to Crow. They were supposed to be friends. Surely if something was wrong then Crow should listen to his concerns.
And yet, he'd been sat there waiting for Crow to reply to his outburst for an increasing length of time, feeling ever more uncomfortable.
Just as he was about to bid himself out, however, Crow finally spoke up; "This whole Black Raven thing has gotten really big, Badger."
"Do you think we don't all know that already? We're all giving up pretty much any free time we have to do this," Badger replied.
"And it's only going to get busier the more people who come here to see the Golden Garden. At least until it stops being fresh and interesting," Crow went on, "Which means the only choices we have are to either up our game or stop altogether. There's no way we can go back to how it was before, that would be impossible."
"I know that…" Badger mumbled. Part of the reason he hadn't brought this up earlier was because he knew there was nothing that could be done to change it; "But… I don't enjoy it now. I kind of… I-I'm not even sure if I want to do this."
For a moment, he was sure he saw a note of sadness in Crow's expression, though this was soon masked with his usual cool indifference.
"I'm not… I can't make you stay if you don't want to. But you're wrong about what you said earlier – this is a real job. We're probably making more money than most people in Misthallery are, especially since the factory closed. Where else are you going to find work around here? We're a tiny nowhere town," he said.
"That's not something I want to think about. I just want to be a kid," Badger argued.
"Then you were born into the wrong sort of family," retorted Crow, "Not that I'm saying there's anything wrong with your mum, before you get angry, but none of us have the kind of money to sit around and just be kids. The Black Ravens is the best bet we have."
"What's the point in making money if we don't have the time to just hang out and spend it anymore?" shot Badger, surprised at his own confidence.
"It helps pay for stuff…" muttered Crow, not looking at him.
"What stuff? I hardly ever see you leave this place anymore. What could you possibly be spending the money on?" Badger demanded.
There was another lapse of silence, although thankfully not as long as the first one, before Crow said, "It's not for me."
"Then who are you giving-"
Realisation dawned upon Badger before he could even finish that sentence. He jammed his mouth stuck, wishing he could take away the damage that was already in the air.
"We're not kids anymore, Badger, we're really not. And we're just going to keep getting older until we're useless and can't work anymore. Just like…" Crow trailed off, both unable to bring himself to finish and knowing that he didn't need to anyway.
Just like Crow's old man.
Badger could have kicked himself. He'd been so stupid not to figure it out sooner. Of course Crow was doing all of this to help pay his family's way. It wasn't as if he was really some sort of selfish money-grabber.
He walked over, gingerly putting a hand onto Crow's shoulder. At best, Badger was nervous even just talking to people, so this kind of display of affection had him quite terrified on the inside.
"You shouldn't have all of that put on you. It's not fair," he said.
Crow snorted, "The first thing they teach you is that life isn't fair, Badger. You know that. Maybe it isn't fair, but I can do this and know that I'm helping the best I can."
"That's… that's very noble of you," replied Badger, not quite knowing what to say.
"Yeah, but I'd never force you into this if you really don't want to do it anymore. Just that I'd appreciate this if you didn't tell the others about this," Crow murmured, "It's not that I don't trust 'em, it's just that I've got to keep up my image. You and me have been friends for a long time so…" He didn't really know how to finish, because he wasn't sure why he felt it was easier to tell Badger about any of this than he did the others, just that he knew that it was.
Badger surprised both of them by suddenly pulling Crow into a hug in response. He was much taller than Crow was, so being held by him felt pretty nice. Crow found himself resting his head against Badger's chest, listening to his heart beating ten to the dozen. He was nervous. Everything about dealing with people made Badger nervous. So Crow had no doubt that he was just short of having a panic attack right now.
"If you think I'm leaving after all that then you really are dumb," Badger mumbled into Crow's hat.
Despite himself, Crow smiled.
"But that sounds kind of like blackmail," he pointed out.
"Only if being your friend counts as blackmail," Badger insisted.
On some horrible level, friendship often does. But on a nicer level, it also counted for having someone you could depend throughout anything. Because of that, Crow was glad to have so many friends. But at this moment in time, he was especially glad of Badger and this hug.
"Thanks, Badger. I… don't know what else to say. Just I'm sorry that things aren't so great right now, I guess," Crow concluded.
"Nah, I was just moaning. Things are fine, really," Badger lied; though it was a lie that he could deal with, "And you said so yourself – this is only going to last as long as Misthallery is a popular place for tourists to go to. It'll die down eventually. So we might as well milk it best we can while its here."
"You're starting to sound too much like me," Crow chuckled.
"Maybe sometimes that's not a bad thing," said Badger, "But not all the time. You need the rest of us to remind you to just enjoy yourself sometimes, too." He tried to think of something else to say that would enforce this point, "Come on, why don't we go get some sweets from Aunt Taffy? I'm sure a little break wouldn't hurt."
"I don't want to."
"But-"
"I'm not working right now, am I?"
Badger had to admit that he wasn't. Though the sudden reminder that they'd been hugging all this time brought his nerves back.
"Do you… w-want to just, um, stay like this?" he asked.
"For a little while, yeah. If you don't mind," Crow answered.
"No," Badger assured him, resting his head on top of Crow's, "I really don't mind."