When Chris got there, Jack was already flopped on the bed he had claimed for himself. "Did our baby get towed already?"

He closed the door as quietly as he could, trying to buy time. "It's probably going to be a while. Damian was just starting to call when I left."

Jack sighed. "He sent you off, didn't he?"

"Yeah."

He laughed weakly and rolled his head to look at him before sitting up. He hadn't even bothered to put his makeup back on. "Figured he would, he likes to simmer. He'll probably be trying to blow up everything that moves with his mind the moment he's off the phone."

"If I'm bothering you, I can go back out there and drive him nuts," he offered.

"No, you're fine," Jack cast a wary glance at the window. "Hopefully that truck gets here quickly, though."

Chris sat on his own bed and started to polish Orion. Neither one spoke for a while, and then it was like a dam broke.

"Why did we agree to do this?"

…

Damian closed his eyes, ears finally free of the bombarding, unfamiliar voice. That had been more agonizing than anticipated. At least it was over and somebody was coming to get this mess taken care of... part of it, anyway.

He hopped onto the car's hood to sit. He normally didn't sit there; Jack hatred it when he did that. But Jack wasn't around, and even if he was, Damian doubted he would mind in his current mindset. Hopefully Chris was weathering that storm well enough.

A long, slow sigh escaped him and he bowed his head. Karma couldn't have possibly decided to come back to haunt them before things got to this point, that would be too easy. Not that he really believed in Karma. He'd seen too many atrocities pay off to think too seriously about it. And even if it did exist, he sure as Hades deserved a lot worse.

The sound of the truck didn't necessarily pull him out of his emotional roller coaster, but gave him an excuse to push it aside to fester for later.

…

Chris stared at Orion. After a full-blown round of confessions, half of which were sobbed through a pillow, Jack was finally calming down. He was still worked up, the irregular breathing gave him away, but it was a start.

"You think I'm a monster, don't you?"

Chris looked up. "No, I don't."

Jack buried his face deeper into his pillow and mumbled something that Chris couldn't make sense of. He hesitated, unsure on what the best way to go about what he wanted to do was. He knew what it was like to feel like the scum of the earth, and he didn't even want to think about what a nervous wreck he'd be were he to come clean about the things he had done. Not even the WBBA knew everything. "I never did."

Stupid. He regretted it as soon as it came out. That was not how he wanted to go about it. Still, it got enough of Jack's attention that he quit hiding his face in his pillow. "What?"

Chris repressed the urge to fidget with Orion. Jack was fairly perceptive and he didn't want him to misread that as a sign of lying. "I never did," he finally repeated, pausing while he tried to piece together what to and what not to tell. "I'm a Legendary Blader. I know everyone on GanGan Galaxy, so… I already knew a lot about you."

He honed his focus on Orion, trying to ignore what he had just done. The whole Legendary Blader thing was something he deliberately kept under the rug from most people. It was fairly easy; he wasn't famous and looked like he was about to keel over in the few pictures that circulated after the Nemesis Crisis, so very few people who weren't physically there recognized him.

The following silence was enough to make his grip on Orion tighten. Finally, Jack broke it. "Y-you knew?" Chris nodded, still avoiding eye contact. "And you still… I mean, what possessed you to think that we-"

"Quit being so hard on yourself," he reprimanded. "Toby and Zeo got arrangements and they messed them up-"

"That's different!"

"How?"

"Ziggurat forced them into it, that's how! I agreed to it!" Jack snapped before he turned his back on him.

He tentatively approached him and set a hand on his shoulder. Jack stiffened at the touch, but didn't flinch away from it. "Did you know what the arrangements would do to you?" Jack shook his head. "Then there you go- hardly different at all."

He laughed weakly and shrugged him off. "Not really, but nice try," he turned to face him again. His eyes darted behind him a moment and his brow creased. "Damian should have been back by now."

Chris turned to look; he was right. "He's probably avoiding coming in- simmering, remember?"

Jack hummed, looking unconvinced. "Still, I'm going to go check on him."

Some of the tension in Chris' shoulders eased. It was good to see him focusing on something else. "I'll come, too. He's smart enough not to go about trying to rip both our heads off for interrupting his peace and quiet."

Jack laughed. It was stronger this time, more genuine. "You'd be surprised at the level of stupidity he can reach when he's worked up enough."

"All the more reason for me to come."

They didn't talk most of the way, but it was comfortably quiet this time. When Jack spoke again, they were almost to the exit. "So, you're a Legendary?"

"Yeah," he shrugged. "It's not really as big of a deal as people make it out to be. We saved the world one time and everyone lost their minds."

Jack chuckled. "No explanations necessary- the world's been saved plenty of times. Still, would you mind if I tell Damian? We made a bet and I want my money."

Chris knew that probably wasn't meant as a joke, but he needed a good laugh and couldn't hold it in. He had just finished composing himself when they went through the door and everything fell apart again.

…

A/N: Hello there! I don't own MFB. Thanks for reading; you're a dear.

Depending on if I react to the stress of finals by writing like crazy while pretending they don't exist or being mature and not procrastinating, it might be a little while until the next update. Hahaha ha ha… ha. Yeah…

ANYWAYS I hope you have a good day/night/whatever time it is where you are.