Reviews :

Snake557 : Oh thank you! Yeahhh the plot is basically cement by the end of this whole ordeal, nothing stops thickening from here haha.

Burgie : Yesss it's lovely writing for them. They have a very beautiful relationship :) And, yes, Flint's a butthead lol. You're also my 400th review! Thank you!


Song Listened To :

Dioma by Jnathyn


TRIGGER WARNING : This chapter has descriptive hard drug usage and squeamish moments involving needles.


*Chapter 158*

"Alright, dude, take a seat," Jukkit muttered, Gideon filed into Jukkit's huge workshop behind the gentle sway of Albar's long, fluffy wolf tail.

He flinched as Jukkit firmly shoved up on a breaker bar, causing the overhead lights to flicker in the buzz of rushing electricity to the room, and as Gideon's eyes got a gentle swoop around, he scoffed a noise of surprise and knew, at this point in the tour, he shouldn't be so surprised anymore. Their abode was massive, a never-ending strip of their own escape securely tucked into the ceiling of The Block, their building nearly kissed the blackened dome. Gideon's section of this home was tame, though the whole of it was ladened in crisp white walls, matte-black floors, the pinnacle of futuristic, interior design, everything looked and felt extremely expensive. Gideon felt his head spin, every single day dream about this moment, now within his grasp, was what truly shocked him. Everything inside their abode made Sugar Rush's palace look like a faint, foggy idea of outdated luxury. Jukkit's workshop was no different, it was clear he was a man of physical craft. He had a mess of big, sturdy rolling carts full of power tools, he had a welding forge, massive work tables that hugged a majority of the walls all about, incredibly detailed projects that were safely tucked away, a majority of them being fighting robots. It was clear that this was a place Jukkit could be found often, and though this was clearly Jukkit's space, Albar grunted in brooding, baited wait and sagged down to the croak of a nearby stool on wheels, as if maybe Albar spent a decent amount of quality time in here, with Jukkit.

"Here, c'mon, c'mon, this is gunna be awesome," Jukkit encouraged with more fervor as he flagged his arms and gestured for Gideon to sit down at a bit of a heftier chair, a chair you'd see at a tattoo and piercing parlor.

"So... Got glitching, wrecking, manifesting," Albar gently listed on his clawed fingers, scary daggers that were at least a few inches long, each. He inhaled a deep, readied breath, his broad bare chest expanded as he rubbed his furry head, near his ear, and patiently mused as him and Jukkit caught eyes. Gideon finally sat down and now began to grow more nervous at the raw idea hitting him, the notion that Jukkit was going to be the one performing all of these new body mods. It was here did Gideon swallow hard and take note that, although Jukkit's workshop was incredibly messy, dirty with all sorts of oil stains, mechanical mess and splashes of molten forging he had been wrapped in likely days prior, he still showed signs of having a sanitary work area, a standard he kept himself to. Jukkit cleared his throat in patient wait, and as Albar continued, his steady hands began to pull a cart over near Gideon's left side, "I do think leaning into the whole 'canine-esque' aspect of that one fox ability you had would be super cool."

"I'll sketch it out," Jukkit muttered, though he prickled a little as he halted what he was doing. He had pulled out a digital pad with a stylus that went with it, and though he powered it on and was prepared to start drawing, he tossed his hazel eyes to Albar in halted question and shook his head, "Wait, we talkin' piercings or tattoos?"

"Both, we mentioned the canine bites, some sort of mouth piercings," Albar mumbled, though before Gideon could start overflowing both guys with nervous questions, he cocked an eyebrow and took note that Ora hadn't made herself fully present in the room.

"...Is Ora okay?" Gideon mumbled quietly, both men lazily tossed their gazes across the huge stretch of Jukkit's warehouse of a workshop and swiftly brought their attention back to Gideon.

"She's fine, don't mind her," Jukkit muttered in brotherly annoyance as he waggled his hand and began to rapid-fire doodle something on the smaller digital pad he lazily held tucked into his arm, "You start to tune out her weirdness after awhile. She doesn't ever fully join us in a room, fair warning. She comes through the door but then stands near the entrance as if she's like... The ghost of a butler or something stupid."

"It's not stupid," Albar mumbled in dismay, he tossed his gentle eye contact across the warehouse, as did Gideon; Ora stood still, looking dead ahead as if she were a sim. Gideon huffed a gentle chuckle of endearing towards her, but wondered truly just why this was her habit. He figured he'd eventually deduce why, though Albar shook his head and shrugged as Jukkit continued to draw, "It's just her nature. She'll join us, but... From a distance. Rarely will she come actually be in our close presence to sit, like... If we get pizza, it's usually if Jukkit and I are eating together will she join us."

"Just always understand, wherever you are, always anticipate Ora to be hovering near the door like a freak of nature," Jukkit muttered, though he brightened as he flipped the pad around and showed what he had drawn, "Here... Just a loose idea. What if we did this cool pattern down your neck, and then all down your whole backside, we had this grid-like design that doubled as the face of a fox, yeah?"

"Oh, shit," Gideon gawked, his artwork was incredible, and though Gideon wanted to pipe up and explain that he, too, was an artist, he reigned in info-dumping and knew that these men were his family, moving forward, and they would eventually learn every single little detail about his personality and self interests. He bobbed a nod, gently took the pad from him and ogled the design, a quick figure drawing of Gideon's silhouette all coupled with the gorgeous display of bold markings that would cover nearly the entire backside of his body, which included the backs of his arms, legs, all the way down to his heels and every square inch in between. He scoffed a nervous chuckle and shook his head, "This is gunna take a million sessions."

"Nah, we blast yah all at once, you thought I was kidding?" Jukkit choked a cackle, though Gideon held his breath as he noticed Albar flatten his ears in dread and look off.

"W-wait, I'm getting increasingly nervous about all of this, are YOU the one piercing me and all this shit?" Gideon choked a loud, nervous laugh and shifted in an antsy manner in his seat, to which Jukkit raised his eyebrows, looked down to the cart he was seemingly preparing and allowed the murmuring bouts of understanding laughter, from Jukkit and Albar, to soak Gideon's bubble for a moment.

"Gid, lookit me," Jukkit started gently, a being that never really lowered his voice, he peered into Gideon's eyes in a seemingly rare show of tenderness. Jukkit cautiously grappled the side railing of the rolling cart he was due to splaying tools on, he glanced to the small hand-washing sink just a few feet away and revisited Gideon's nervous, doughy gaze. He inhaled a deep breath and bobbed a nod of conclusory information he was adamant about delivering, information he wanted Gideon to truly sit with, "You just single-handedly murdered thirty seven people. You do not have the luxury to go out in public any longer... You do not have the luxury of finding a professional piercer or a professional tattoo parlor, you can no longer waltz into a coffee shop, you can't even walk down the street for some fresh air, outside of this building, and furthermore, outside of this city."

Gideon sagged his shoulders and allowed the reality of all of this to hit him between the eyes, he held his breath and long-blinked in tender concern as he briefly glanced to Albar. Albar heaved a long sigh through his wolf snout, crossed his big, muscular arms and aimlessly looked down to his lap in defeated regret for Gideon's tender feelings now being hardened and molded into the mind of a true villain.

"Sure, y'got fans, but catch said fans in the street and they will flee from you like deer from a wildfire. You have me, Albar, Ora and... Vye, to an extent," Jukkit shrugged, he chuckled with a warm smile and shook his head, "Look... SOMETIMES we go a few floors down and skulk the halls and scare the shit out of the other dark web patrons that think they're hot shit, only to be swiftly reminded they share the building with all now five of Game Over's winners. We are the scariest things on the platform, we were the ones to sign up and win, even so much as getting TO the Arena, to begin the true Game Over Application Process is a huge feat in of itself... Your life, moving forward, will never be the same."

Gideon bobbed a nod and felt his heart begin to firmly thud in mild dread, and though he understood regret and remorse would come in waves, due to the sheer PTSD he was certain would hit him like a bolt of lightning out of the black, he firmly swallowed and was now a pro at putting on a brave face and rolling with the punches. He tried not to remind himself that not even forty eight hours ago, he was daintily stood inside Murphy's art show, watching his mother and girlfriend meet for the first time. The second even so much of glints of said memory came to him, he held his breath and allowed his coding to viciously shove it away as he fixated his eyes tight on Jukkit's, who continued this train of stern tenderness.

"Maybe one day, when there's over a dozen of us, the house won't feel so lonely, we don't feel so limited to our reach of individuals we can rely on," Jukkit murmured gently, "We only know something grand is coming once there's enough of us, but until then... We're all we have. So, if you want tattoos and piercings, I'm the guy for it. You want someone to tell you a wise old tale and read you a bedtime story and tell you all about the sun and the stars and get sappy with you, leave me out of it, talk to Albar."

"Eloquently put," Albar's deep, intimidating voice grumbled in full irritation, clearly a brotherhood of banter they were well versed in, by now.

"And, if you want a nightmare creature to watch you in the corner while you sleep, Ora's you're girl," Jukkit stated loud enough for his voice to carry across the hall, and though all three men quietly erupted into laughter, Gideon caught himself and felt a certain bite of an energy halt him in the act, his eyes glossed to Ora in a sense of dread, he wondered if she potentially felt bullied by this type of behavior.

"Don't ask Vye for anything, especially after what you just said to her," Albar muttered, Jukkit perked up from the hand-washing sink he had sagged to and wretched his neck in surprise as he firmly began to lather his hands in soap and hot water.

"WHAT! What'd you say?" Jukkit gawked.

"She made it seem like if I needed anything, then to ask Albar, but I told her that if SHE needed anything, that we were downstairs," Gideon grumbled in full irritation, "Don't need to tell me how to cooperate with my new housemates, pretty sure she's the one that needs the lesson."

Jukkit sharply raised his eyebrows, lofted his gaze firmly over his shoulder and froze in the act of drying his hands in whole entire stun. Him and Albar held eyes in hot knowing before Jukkit laid his delightfully surprised gaze tight into Gideon's and grinned in boyish excitement.

"Ohh, shit, Gideon!" Jukkit cooed through dreaded laughter, "Some-balls to say that to Vye Ketton herself, ho-my GOD."

"It's true," Gideon grumbled, though he felt his limbs begin to shake in rising dread as Jukkit pulled out what looked to be sterile supplies in wraps, cleanliness Gideon was at least relieved to see, Jukkit followed steps to make sure this whole process wasn't messy or dirty, though as needles were pulled out, as well as a swathe of jewelry, Gideon inhaled a shaky breath and began to mildly panic.

"Needles freak me out, man," Gideon murmured shyly, words he was scared to admit due to having just come off the scariest competition he's ever been apart of, he was relieved to find that he wasn't going to be bullied about this.

"What, you scared for the pain? Y'got manifesting, why don't you manifest something you think would help, otherwise I got options," Jukkit mumbled kindly, though as Gideon opened his right hand to begin thinking of something to manifest for himself, his coding surged like a revved car in park, as if it was painful to even begin to think of bringing something about.

"... I wouldn't even know where to begin, I don't think simple painkillers would do," Gideon muttered darkly, he squeezed his eyes shut and sighed, "Just put me under, can you knock me unconscious?"

"Yeah, I can beat you up if you want," Jukkit grinned with a huge shrug of full glee, to which Albar erupted into surprised laughter, "C'mon. Let me do the first piercing or two, and we'll go from there. If you want to tap out and use some shit to feel better, then we'll stop and do just that."

"Okay, deal," Gideon grunted as he sat up a little bit and eyed the rolling cart Jukkit brought near, he also reached around and grappled a taller rolling stool to sit on, the noise on the cold, concrete flooring echoed about his incredibly huge warehouse space.

"Kay, so let's be clear about what you'd want. I'll mark where the piercings will go, you can alter it from there," Jukkit patiently explained.

"Canine-bites, for sure," Albar muttered with a smile; it was here did Gideon take fervent note just where these men had tattoos and piercings, and though he was eager to ask their own reasonings, he figured it'd all come later, due to all the attention currently being on Gideon.

"Where do those go?" Gideon wondered nervously, Jukkit uncapped a fine-tip marker, gently gripped Gideon's chin with his left hand and cautiously marked two dots on either side of Gideon's top lip.

"Right... Here..." Jukkit uttered patiently, he took a step back and bobbed a nod, he peered to Albar for approval and narrowed his gaze in pondering, "Definitely needs more, it all needs balance. Snake-bites, too?"

"Yeah, even it out, emphasize the mouth," Albar mumbled, Gideon took note that Jukkit had one single lip piercing, in the center of his face just underneath his bottom lip.

"Alright, and then... Here," Jukkit placed to marks underneath Gideon's bigger bottom lip, took a step back and patiently assessed with Albar, "Hmm... Seems good, make those four even with each other, that'll look awesome. Y'want anything else, Gideon?"

"Course, these aren't permanent, you have options later," Albar shrugged, he gestured to his eyebrow piercing and smiled, "I got this one a few months after Jukkit arrived cause I changed my mind."

"Well... In that same 'fox' fight, I was temporarily blinded," Gideon shrugged, "Maybe something near the eyes?"

"No eyebrows," Albar mumbled in thought as he gestured to Gideon and peered to Jukkit, "That'd all be too heavy, considering what you'll already have..."

"Ohh, maybe between the eyes," Jukkit peered to Albar and pressed to the bend of his snout, the bridge of his nose between his eyes, in which both men perked up with nods, "That'd be good, let's see..."

"This shit's gunna suck," Gideon muttered with an almost excited smile as Jukkit dot Gideon in two places between the eyes, a bar that would go through the skin across the bridge of his nose.

"It'll suck but you'll look awesome... This is your new life, it's also tradition," Jukkit shrugged with a smile as he handed Gideon a handheld mirror, and though Gideon grimaced and nervous peered into it, he sagged in prickled delight and raised his eyebrows in mild shock.

"...Oh, I actually like this, I was certain I'd be lukewarm about it," Gideon's deep voice muttered in a sag of marinating excitement, he sighed a shaky breath and watched as Jukkit now began to don a pair of gloves and prepare to make this all final, "D-Did Vye make up this tradition? Does she have any tattoos or piercings?"

"No, this is Jukkit's thing... He started it once he arrived, a year after I did," Albar mumbled, he lifted his right arm, and though his fur was covering a decent amount of it, it was clear he had a huge, gorgeous, intricate piece of art splayed all down his right torso and chest, "Jukkit's the body-mod junky, here. Figured it'd be fun, a Game Over tradition, a right of passage... But, no, Vye refused."

"Refused?" Gideon wondered dryly, Albar shrugged.

"I got brave and asked one time, her reasoning is that... I guess she's in an un-evolved form of herself? Any body modifications would be permanent markings on her new pelt, once she evolves? I never understood," Albar muttered, "She made the analogy of graffitiing a gargoyle, I guess that's a sure-fire way to make permanent marks on a being that could potentially be alive in another dimension, y'know?"

"She's a gargoyle?" Jukkit wondered in confusion, both men seemed as if they didn't have nearly as much information about Vye that Gideon assumed they would, he felt floored that he seemingly had more information about her species than they did.

"I know she can breathe fire, turning to stone? Have no clue," Albar muttered with a shrug, though he furrowed his eyebrows and tilted closer to Gideon in a lean of a sit, "Your coding is so readily available, you do realize you have these cool... Grid-like markings on your temples, right?"

"I-I know, I saw, they're stress-marks," Gideon grumbled, he inhaled a deep breath and shook his head, "I'm assuming stress, from here on out, is going to be my best friend."

"Mmm," Albar perked his ears in a lilt of humming disagreeing, "Depends."

"Stress? No, none of us are stressed out any longer, you're HERE, you made it," Jukkit laughed as he gestured his hands out, though he held the tools he needed to begin piercing Gideon and hovered in wait as he continued on, "Whatever you dealt with on the arena floor is now long gone, just forget it."

"... Even everything we ever dealt with prior to even coming to the arena-"

"No, hey, lookit me," Jukkit snapped, fully interrupting Gideon. His haunting, piercing golden eyes held tight to Jukkit's in dreaded curiosity as Jukkit gently shook his head and huffed Gideon a gentle conclusion, "You're never going back to those times, nothing in your past can ever hurt you, or stress you out, or make you feel lesser, any shred of feeling like an underdog is FAR behind you. You're here now... Moving forward, no stress. Sometimes, what I like to do, as previously mentioned, is to go downstairs and stress OTHERS out, just to remember the feeling."

"It's actually really funny to watch people scramble out of your way," Albar muttered in a low, boyish tone as he flattened his ears and smiled down to the ground, as if admitting this wasn't something he was proud of, though still a source of sick joy for them, nonetheless.

"The best is getting those stupid drug lords on the lower floors down to look stupid in front of the girls that hang around that lobby," Jukkit choked a laugh and gestured his hand, Gideon dared to light up, somehow the idea of mentally torturing other hardened, bullying individuals had him feeling anticipation for said outings, "You'll find no one will ever overlook you, ever again. People will flee at the mere sight of you, anything you desire, it's yours."

"Now imagine all four of us on any other floor," Albar muttered lowly, though his smile never ceased, "It's hilarious. Life prior to these choices you made isn't a life that's accessible to you, any longer, so you're better off sealing any and all of those feelings off and looking ahead. You won, you got this far, close the door behind you and carry on... We all got each other to give that reminder, whenever it's needed."

"It can be hard sometimes, but... Just know, you're here now, we're the only beings you can trust, moving forward," Jukkit warned, Albar nodded, and though Gideon knew this was the truth, down to his core, he swallowed hard and felt his brain wiggle with the fear of erasing absolutely everything his past consisted of. The hovering idea of holding Kepa's name over the trash bin had him teetering in hot dread, though he silently succumbed and allowed her name to stay safe of said deletion. He grimaced and knew that would be his crux, a crux him and Vye only secretly shared, a crux he was desperate to have keep him warm at night.

"Starting with your first task of trusting Jukkit not to permanently fuck-up your face," Albar muttered cutely with a smile, proving that Jukkit knew what he was doing; if Albar trusted Jukkit to pierce him, a noble and self-assured individual of apex, wolf-like instincts, Gideon bobbed a nod and knew it'd all work out for the better.

"I'm ready," Gideon bobbed a nod as he sat a bit straighter and leaned forward, so to aid Jukkit in this scary venture.

"Alright, I'm gunna move fast, but stop me if you need," Jukkit gently explained, Gideon fluttered his eyes closed in a small grimace of rising dread, and as he loosened his face and felt Jukkit grip his bottom lip in the latex gloves his fingers were in, Jukkit readied his needle, the piercing tools he was using and raised his eyebrows in baited wait, "Whatever you do through this, don't hold your breath. Cause if you pass out, Imma keep piercing your face and you won't know what hit you."

"You'd just keep GOING?" Albar choked a hearty laugh, to which Gideon did everything he could to only allow a cute little chuckle of nervousness escape him, all fun and games he was thrilled to be apart of.

"I won't," Gideon assured through a tremble of a chuckle that wanted to explode into happier laughter.

"Alright, deep breath in," Jukkit froze and peered down to his chore, and as Gideon inhaled a huge, shaky inhale, Jukkit nodded and held still in readiness as he cautiously muttered a conclusion into Gideon's face, "Okay, breathe out."

Gideon exhaled a long, trembling exhale, though towards the trail of the last bit of oxygen to leave his lungs, Jukkit tenderly flexed in the squeeze of his piercing tool and allowed the scarily long needle to glide through Gideon's bottom lip. Gideon sharply scrunched his eyes closed in a furrowed-brow of wrinkled, searing pain, and though he sat still, so not to yank on Jukkit's chore or make matters worse, he grunted a hard noise of full pain and allowed his booming voice to gloss Jukkit's warehouse. Jukkit scoffed a happy, knowing laugh down to Gideon and skillfully began to work fast to put the black horseshoe jewelry into Gideon's lip, so to move on to the next.

"Keep breathing, I was joking about you passing out and continuing on," Jukkit muttered cutely, "I may have killed people but you're still my friend and I can't pierce you without consent."

"You have morals?" Albar joked, Gideon erupted into trembling laughter as he kept his eyes scrunched close, though he sucked in a tight gasp of a grunt as Jukkit began to gently wrangle the jewelry into Gideon's mouth, into the raw piercing site, and as he secured each end with the spikes that closed it all off, Jukkit took a single step back and grinned as he held his arms out in the small completion.

"Woohoo! One down, c'mon don't pussy out of it now," Jukkit joked as he began to prepare his rolling cart for the other side of Gideon's lip.

"Ohh, eating is gunna suck," Gideon muttered cautiously with a lisp, he peered open his teary eyes and felt his mouth begin to angrily throb, "I did NOT consider any of this..."

"Yeah, I can kill you so you'll reset, if you want," Jukkit cued nonchalantly with a shrug, though somehow Gideon stiffened to the idea and felt competitive.

"No, no one kills me," Gideon muttered with a smiling threat, he was floored Jukkit didn't take it personally.

"Alright, you're gunna wake up tomorrow lookin' like bubba-gump, don't come cryin' to me," Jukkit choked a hard laugh and readied for the second side, "Just hide your ugly mug in your room until you feel confident showing your face, again."

"Yeah, I'd take that over losing my status," Gideon muttered darkly with a smile, Albar bobbed a nod and seemed to understand.

"Guess you're correct, there... Deep breath in," Jukkit tenderly instructed, Gideon sucked in a breath and allowed a shaky exhale, once more, to which Jukkit flexed and allowed the needle to glide through his lip, on the other side. Gideon stiffened a bit more, this time, and began to breathe in shallow, heavy pants of full pain, though Jukkit nonchalantly carried on, "Now that I think of it, I don't think any of us have endured a game over, at the hands of one another, since arriving... Ever..."

"I haven't, I know Ora hasn't," Albar stated knowingly, Jukkit nodded in agreeing and gave Gideon an apologetic smile.

"Yeah, that spike in adrenaline will wear off soon, y'okay?" Jukkit's cute voice glossed in cheeky, brotherly care, to which Gideon now grappled his knees and tried to reign in the urge to suck in quickly breaths of hyperventilating panic, the feel of Jukkit shoving and securing the second piercing with the horseshoe jewelry was enough to make Gideon feel dizzy with pain.

"Getting hurt in this setting is so different than the fight I just endured, I was certain this would be a cake walk," Gideon grimaced, his broad chest sucked in air, to which Jukkit gripped his shoulder and chuckled.

"It's because your life was in danger, in the arena, but here we're just relaxing and there's no threat, so you're more aware of pain," Jukkit fingered his lip in contemplation and looked over to a messy area of his workstation, across the way, "I got some good stuff to ease your pain, if you'd like, Gid... I don't usually share, but since you have manifesting, maybe just... You can replace what's taken."

"Juk," Albar tenderly warned in fatherly, disappointed sternness as Jukkit approached one of his drawers and pulled out a small bag of white powder. Upon being cued to what Albar was dreading, he rubbed his forehead in further agitation and gestured to Gideon, "C'mon, y'gotta overload him like this? Don't you have some weed or something ELSE that isn't so aggressive?"

"Whatever the hell you have, please give it to me," Gideon choked in shaky laugher, he understood that talking and explaining himself, from here, would be difficult due to his new piercings, only half way done. He felt his heart rush with all sorts of weird emotions, though remembered how floaty and free he felt when Callum had previously given him acid tabs. He eyed Jukkit and wondered just what he had, though the second he saw Jukkit mixing said white, powdery substance with water and putting it into a syringe was the second Gideon felt his face throb harder with his thudding heart, his pupils tightened in a swathe of fully-realized understanding at just what was being offered, here, "... Unless THAT'S gunna kill me."

"I mean, in a small dose, no, dope's a downer, you're gunna wanna melt riiight into that chair," Jukkit assured with a small, knowing laugh. Albar glared to him in mild disappointment and huffed a hot chuff of a breath through his snout. Jukkit froze, stiffened and wildly gestured his arms in a flustered show of dominant frustration towards Albar, "Oh, STOP being stick in the mud, you KNOW weed's not gunna get into his system fast enough. That doesn't really dull pain very much, anyways. I still have three more piercings and a WHOLE back tattoo to get to."

"It's terrifyingly addictive, you remember what happened to you last year," Albar warned in mild frustration.

"Like you didn't JOIN me, Albar... I'm here, aren't I? I pulled through my mess, I had some demons to fight, don't we all," Jukkit rushed in frustration, though as Jukkit neared with the cocktail of delight all cutely housed in a small syringe, Jukkit hovered near Gideon for a moment and looked as if he was wondering if he should continue to take the reigns, "I'm assuming you have experience, here?"

"W-with dope? No, not at all," Gideon's veins wiggled in mild terror, though it was a rush of readiness, eagerness to wipe pain, the desperation to melt into the chair he sat in, like what Jukkit suggested, "If it'll calm me down and take the edge off, then please give it to me."

"You're already face first into the world of needles, this is the last jab that'll suck to the extreme," Jukkit choked a small laugh and hovered, he patiently waited for Gideon's choice to remain a clear beacon of true-decision making, "You have the option. Yes or no?"

"Yes," Gideon grunted as his face began to throb harder, though he peeled opened his eyes and watched in almost ironic, delighted dread as Jukkit gently gripped Gideon's much bigger left arm and opened the gentle crease and bend of his inner arm.

Gideon inhaled a deep, trembling breath of heart-squeezing, anxious anticipation and watched as Jukkit steadied himself. He firmly swiped his much littler left hand over the inner bend of Gideon's left arm, squeezed the sensitive crease in search for prominent veins, and upon a single squeeze or two, he bobbed a nod, held Gideon's arm with one hand and steadied the long, terrifying needle with the other. With a soft glide, Jukkit sunk the needle into the bulge of the big, prominent vein in Gideon's arm. Gideon sucked in another breath of prickled pain that his coding tingled to, though as Jukkit gently squeezed the syringe's applicator and gave Gideon a solid dose of the white substance, Gideon long-blinked in firm, rapid-fire succession as the substance dove face-first into his coding, into his blood. He heaved a trembling breath of almost desired pain, the drug rushed him in a hit of heat that began to sprawl through his arteries, and as he could feel every inch of himself suddenly sag like he had just been tranquilized, he fluttered his eyes with the hug of addicting warmth and dared to allow a lazy smile to sprawl his face.

"Yep, that'll do it," Albar muttered in disapproval, though still, a cute chuckle escaped his figure, as if he knew the feeling well.

"Don't be such a party pooper, we can have a smoke later if it really upsets you that much," Jukkit muttered, he choked a small laugh as Gideon's shoulders and chest visibly sagged out of the rigid, tense show of stress he was previously in. Jukkit grinned, and as his and now Albar's knowing laughter climbed the wall, Jukkit waved his hand in front of Gideon's face a little and bent over, "Y'still with us, Gid? Feel good?"

"Real good," Gideon's voice trembled a whisper as he felt heavier than he had ever felt before, as if someone had dumped a weighted blanket on him and promised that every single little worry or stress was now absent from his reality. The deletion of memories and stress and worry he was previously desperately battling with, now simply gone with the kiss of one needle, he fluttered his eyes and exhaled a chuckle of full understanding that this was exactly what he needed, "Holy shit, where's this been my whole life..."

"Yeah, she's... She's not to be over-used and abused," Jukkit warned with a coy chuckle as he tossed said syringe into the lazily-lined trash box attached to his cart, designated for needles he may have used, for whatever purpose, "Don't make my mistake."

"At least he has us and not some randos on the street, lacing it with rat poison and other shit," Albar muttered, Jukkit shrugged and nodded.

"Another perk of scaring the assholes downstairs," Jukkit whispered as Gideon's heavy eyes struggled to gloss up into Jukkit's face, "They'll give you the good stuff... Their payment is them being able to keep their lives."

"Noted," Gideon muttered, he grunted a little and, although he flexed his core to properly sit up and prove he was ready to endure the rest of his piercings, and then his tattoo, he inhaled the hugest, most relaxed deep breath he ever had in his life and wiped the blood from the bend of his elbow, "Thank you... I can endure the rest."

"I'd be surprised if you couldn't, shit, if I wasn't the pony-master in this shit-show, I'd be joining you," Jukkit whined in cheeky complaining as he put on a new pair of gloves and began to prepare to finish Gideon's piercings.

"Nice to meet you, Gideon, I've never seen what you look like so smiley and relaxed," Albar erupted into laughter, which ultimately Jukkit loudly fell victim to as well; Gideon donned a huge grin and lulled his eyes closed in stewing relief.

"The feeling is mutual, I've never felt this way before," Gideon murmured sweetly, he could feel his speech slurring, he lulled his lazy eyes closed and was now taking in slow, methodical breaths, his whole body coursed with warmth, though his skin prickled in confused goosebumps. He fluttered his eyes open and allowed the constant feeling to hover in a new normal he was desperate to maintain, he felt like absolutely nothing could bother him, his deep voice croaked the two a gear-switched notion of full understanding, "Thanks for the temporary escape, I was starting to wonder if it ever existed."