Archive of Our Own ^beta

Blend

Chapter One

It was difficult, being so recognizable, but with Serval, and Stelle’s help, there was a chance he could pull it off. He walked through the alleyways, slightly slouched, and with a limp, which wasn’t entirely an act after a recent injury. The black wig he was wearing was itchy, but scratching at it was out of the question. On top of everything else, he refused to look as though he was infested by insects.

“You’ve got to blend, Geppie!” Serval said.

“I don’t want to blend,” Gepard responded in a deadpan tone.

“Of course you don’t. Imagine, our little Geppie being anything but proper. You don’t have much choice here, though. This is what it will take to get what you want.”

Gepard sighed, and looked at himself in the mirror. The black wig he was wearing was longer than his own hair by a fair amount, but just as messy as his uncontrollable blonde locks. Stelle had brought makeup, and Serval JUMPED at the chance to use it on him. 

He’d tried to wrestle himself away, but even with as strong as he was, Serval inherited the Landau strength, and Stelle was - unfortunately for him - freakishly strong. They wrangled him into a chair, and applied the dreaded cosmetics. Eyeliner, eye shadow, mascara, blush, and lip gloss. He cringed when they revealed it to him, as he could almost see his sisters looking back at him. He already looked so much like them to begin with.

“My eyes, they’re still… unmistakable.”

“I’ve got something for that, too!” Stelle said proudly, and held out a small case, “I had them made just for you.”

He hesitantly took the box, and opened it. Inside there was some liquid surrounding two translucent purple circles.

“What are they?”

“They’re contacts! You can change your eye color with them. I thought this color would match everything else, and wouldn’t have to work too hard to change your color.”

“I don’t understand. I use these with my eyes somehow?”

Stelle nodded, “You put them on your eyes.”

“What?! Why would someone do such a thing? I’ll just find another way-”

Serval put a hand on his shoulder as he started to get up, “Gepard, you can’t exactly wear sunglasses in the Underworld, and people will definitely know those Landau eyes. As you said, they’re unmistakable. This is what you need to make you look like… not you.”

“… How do you get them back out of your eyes?”

Stelle smiled, “Well, normally you would have to use your fingers,” she ignored Gepard’s squeak, “But these are special. I got them from Herta Space Station, and they dissolve over a few days.” Stelle looked at her phone when it buzzed, “Well, that’s it for me today, folks. Back to my regularly scheduled program! It was great seeing you both, though…  Stay safe, Captain!”

Serval hummed, “Are you sure I can’t come with you on this? Maybe there are a few of your guards who are rested now?… It would really make me feel better, Geppie.”

Unfortunately, no, there was no one to offer him backup. They were dead exhausted at best. He was lucky because his abilities tended to give him a little more energy than the average person, but even he was ready to sleep for a week. He was alone on this one, but it wasn’t to bust these criminals, only to procure a sample of their product.

As for a disguise, and dissolving eye color changers? Gepard still wasn’t convinced it wasn’t just a way for the girls to play dress-up on him, but needless to say, his eyes were now colored a bright purple. He supposed they matched the smoky eyeshadow. The list of people he wouldn’t want to see him like this, who might recognize him, and pick on him for the rest of his life, it was a long one.

Any of his guards? He would never live it down. Pela, and Lynx would have a great time with it, but he’d probably be in trouble for not involving them in the fun. His father . Oh, if his father ever saw him like this, he’d probably be disowned, and tossed into the same doghouse he kept Serval. Gepard could just imagine it.

“ No self-respecting Landau man would wear makeup! What a disgrace to our name. You’ll not be coming around here, and embarrassing this family further! ”

Actually, the thought of getting out of the ridiculous family dinners where he, and his sisters were constantly ridiculed, that didn’t sound too bad. Truthfully, he only went to see his mother, and Lynx. Serval rarely went, constantly butting heads with their father, but unlike Gepard, she wasn’t expected to fulfill the family duties, and make everyone look good.

Look proper at all times. Carry yourself as if you are the most important thing in the room. Act appropriately, no funny business. Continue the family name, find a wife, and have children. Well, Gepard thought he was doing well with looking proper, and no funny business, right up until this point, at least.

As for a wife, he had never once liked any of the women his father insisted on setting dates with. It had come to the point that Gepard would ask for extra shifts, on top of his already busy schedule, just to avoid having dinner with some noblewoman or another.

He had grown up with most of them, their fathers being good old buddies. Even when they were young Gepard had accidentally overheard a few of them being told to practically throw themselves at him. He hated it, then and now.

In the alley ahead, Gepard could see three people. Two were medium build, smaller than him, but he knew better than to underestimate someone by size. The third man was huge, and already being injured, Gepard worried that he might be in over his head, but it couldn’t be helped.

Even though the Eternal Freeze was receding, there were still more than enough fragmentum monsters to cause a problem. With a recent invasion, many teams had been sent to the front line. Gepard was never one to sit back, and let his troops take the fight, but was always right at the front himself, as a commander should be.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only one who had been injured. A very large number of his brave men, and women were recuperating, and Lady Bronya had resolved to take on the task herself. She was quite shocked when Gepard accidentally said out loud “Over my dead body, Lady Bronya.” Truly, he was just as shocked.

She was unhappy with the choice, and wished for more time to sort things out better, but they needed to get a jump on this before the situation got even more out of control. People were dying from these drugs, and the first step they could safely take, for the time being, was to learn more about them.

Gepard approached the men as casually as he could, and murmured, “Hello, kitty.”

It was embarrassing , but this was being done in the line of duty. He couldn’t mess it up. The men glanced at each other, one stayed off to the side, one slowly circled him, and the largest man addressed him.

“Well, hi to you too, cutie,” the man deadpanned, “What do you think of the weather today?”

Because there was so much weather in the underground. No, this was the next test. If their contact lied to them, Gepard had resolved to find the deepest, darkest cell available, and make sure they never saw daylight again.

“The wind’s a bit heavy, but the clouds are clearing away.”

The large man hummed in approval, but Gepard heard the tell-tale sound of metal behind him. In that moment, he could wait, and see if it was another test, or take action. The sound of lunging decided for him.

Gepard moved to the side just as the man would have reached him, grabbed the outstretched arm with the knife, and kicked him hard on the back of the knee as he pushed him forward, into the large man.

The knife wedged itself into the plaster, only centimeters from the large man’s abdomen. Without giving him time to think, the other shorter man came at him. Gepard was ready for that one. This man held his knife closer to himself, shorter range, ready to jab upwards, instead of straight in. It was trickier, but nothing he hadn’t trained for.

As the man came close enough, Gepard dropped into a sweeping kick, ignoring the warning his hurt ankle was giving him. Once the man was face down on the ground, Gepard pulled his arm back by the wrist, and wrenched it forward, causing the hand to lose grip on the weapon.

He caught the knife, but he didn’t have any time before the giant man came charging at him in the narrow alleyway. A fist connected with his face, he was instantly pinned against the wall, and he felt the pain blossom in his side as another hit landed. Unfortunately for the man, the knife Gepard had been holding was now lodged in his side. It was not a terrible wound, but enough to hurt, and be a shock to be on the receiving end.

Gepard tried his best to recover from the hits he had taken, and pushed the stunned man away. Just as he did this, two more men jumped down from somewhere higher up. Time to evacuate. As he turned to run, something on the ground caught his eye. A small package, no doubt the new drug he was trying to procure a sample of.

He snatched it up, and ran for it, the men close behind him. As he rounded the corner into a more crowded area, he quickly pulled off, and tossed his jacket away, then pulled the hood of his shirt over his head.

Even with his hurt ankle, he had pulled ahead of his pursuers, and he silently thanked himself for the jog he took religiously every morning. Once he felt he was far enough into the crowd, he started walking another direction, trying his best not to limp, to blend in with the other people around. He heard the commotion behind him, people shouting as they were likely shoved out of the way.

Straight ahead was a bar, and he took the opportunity to dodge inside. The world spun as he caught his breath, he ignored the pinching pain in his side as he searched for a dark spot to sit, and again, blend. It was only when he found a seat, that the music caught his attention.

He blinked up at the bright stage to find the owner of the wonderful voice, only to find Sampo Koski, sitting on a stool, strumming a guitar. As the man glanced his way, Gepard ducked his head down. Through the entire chase the wig had somehow managed to stay on, and he was still wearing everything else, so he could only hope the man hadn’t seen and recognized him.

Thus far, the men chasing him hadn’t entered the bar, so he felt it was best to just stay where he was for the time being. He listened to the bluenette’s music as he watched any entrances into the establishment. Gepard would have expected Sampo to be singing something like a lounge song, upbeat, and embellished.

Instead, the song was slow, with undertones of sadness in his voice. He had never heard the song before. The lyrics were touching, about the moon yearning for the sun, but the sun’s own light was too bright to see the moon, and the moon could only bask in the sun’s wonderful warmth. The man sang it with such heart, it pulled at Gepard’s heartstrings.

It wasn’t often that he’d heard Sampo sound anything but sarcastic, fake. He had never heard him like this. Not even once. It made him wonder what else the man hid. Really, under those silky blue locks, and charming smile, could be anyone.

Once Gepard’s adrenaline rush had settled, he began to feel it, the sensation of warmth sliding down his side, and the sharp, burning pains with each breath he took. He hadn’t even realized he’d been stabbed, and tried to think when it could have been.

“I-it must have been when he hit me…” he mumbled to himself.

He looked around the bar, the unfamiliar faces began to blur together. It took him longer than it should have to realize it wasn’t their faces, but his own vision. Gepard grabbed the napkins from the table, and put them over the wound.

“Clinic…”

With unsure steps, Gepard found the back exit for the building. Once he was outside, the cooler air helped to bring him back to attention, but only for a short moment. As he stumbled forward, he ended up leaning against the wall to hold himself up, shoulder sliding against it as he moved forward.

Instead of going towards the plaza, he moved to yet another alley in what he hoped was towards Natasha’s clinic.

Gepard only made it around the corner before he collapsed.

Chapter Two

This place wasn’t Sampo’s usual type of hangout, but he’d been feeling a bit down. So, instead of going to get beat up in the ring to forget his emotions, he’d decided to sing them out. Sampo was the type of person who “liked” everybody. It was better for business that way, but there was only one person he truly liked .

Unfortunately, that person was as blind as the sun Sampo had just been singing about. It wasn’t like he would ever return the feelings. Since everything on Belobog had been taken care of, Sampo had turned to improving his behavior.

Sure, he still did some small business here, and there, but he’d been keeping it as clean as he could. He’d even gone so far as to volunteer at the city museum. In hindsight, given his reputation, it wasn’t the best choice, but he’d proved himself. Not a single item had disappeared. 

However, much to his dismay, Gepard didn’t seem to notice. The man was more focused on making sure he wasn’t doing something wrong, to see that he was doing something right. It kind of hurt Sampo’s feelings, but he supposed he had it coming.

He was certain the Silvermane Captain would take notice eventually. He just had to keep up what he was doing, and prove himself.

The cool air felt nice on his face the moment he stepped out of the stuffy building, and he took a moment to breathe it in. As he turned to leave, counting the cash he’d made from tips, his eyes were drawn to the tiny red droplets on the ground.

Sampo bit his lip, and tried to think of anything else it could be. Hot sauce? Perhaps someone had brought spaghetti sauce back from a fancy restaurant on Penacony. With a sigh, he followed the trail.

It didn’t take but a few steps to find the owner of the blood. Around the corner, close to the wall, laid a person. There was no doubt the blood belonged to them, as Sampo could see a small puddle seeping out from the side.

Glancing around for anyone lurking, he carefully approached the prone figure.

“Hey there…” he said, carefully tapping a foot with his own. 

Upon getting no response, he slowly, and silently pulled out one of his blades, and crouched next to them. The person was taking in shallow breaths, but their - his, Sampo thought - eyes were closed.

“Mister, can you hear me? … Look, I’m going to turn you over. No, err, no stabbing me or anything, okay?”

Sampo was careful, trying his best not to hurt the person further, but he still received a pained groan for his efforts. Then, for just a moment, the man opened his eyes, and Sampo could see it. No matter what color those eyes were pretending to be, he’d know them anywhere .

“G-Gepard? What… how did you get like this?”

His question fell on deaf ears, the man was already unconscious again. As he moved to pick Gepard up, he noticed something else, a small clear baggie clenched in the man’s hand. He knew exactly what that was, too. 

He’d been fighting to get it off the streets, and now, here, he found the last man in the universe he’d expect to see with any kind of drug, laying in his own blood with one of the worst types. Sampo shook his head. He knew there had to be another explanation, and he would find it. Once Gepard was able to say it for himself.

As he carried the Silvermane Captain to Natasha’s clinic, he pondered. If Gepard was in this condition, were people looking for him? If he had simply been left to die, the drugs would have been taken. Sampo made sure to take the back roads, just in case.

He knew the door to the clinic would be locked at this hour. Whether she liked it, or not, Natasha did need to rest, and she still hadn’t chosen someone to work alongside her. So, around to the back Sampo went.

Even holding Gepard, picking the lock was easy - child’s play, really. He let himself in, and laid Gepard on an empty cot in the back, hoping he didn’t disturb other patients that may be present. On the other hand, he surely disturbed every single one of them when he suddenly banged on Natasha’s door. The woman looked annoyed, to say the least. It also looked like she hadn’t slept in three days.

“Sampo? What did you get yourself into this time?”

“No, no. It’s not me!” he moved aside so she could see the bed, “He’s been stabbed.”

She immediately moved to Gepard, “Wash up, and put on gloves. You’re my help tonight.”

Sampo did as he was told, without question, and this had Natasha looking at him with narrowed eyes, but she didn’t say anything. He was handed a pair of scissors, and told to cut the shirt away. With it being Gepard, he hesitated for a moment. It felt like an invasion of privacy, but it was necessary.

“Who is he?” Natasha asked as she returned with the needed supplies.

He hesitated to answer, unsure if he should let the captain keep his disguise. There had to be a reason the man was gallivanting around in a wig, and makeup… with drugs in hand. 

“If he weren’t someone important to you, you wouldn’t look so concerned, Sampo. Who is he to you?”

She was going to find out anyway, “It’s Captain Landau…”

Natasha’s eyes went wide, and she looked at the man’s face again, “He’s what?! ” she hissed, “It doesn’t look anything like him!”

“I… I think that was the point. Nat, I don’t know what’s going on, but he’s obviously into some kind of trouble. Either way… he needs help.”

The doctor shook her head, and went back to work. Sampo followed her instructions as she cleaned, and stitched the stab wound. When she got to Gepard’s bruised face, she paused, and pulled at his hair lightly. The man went from black hair to messy blonde in an instant.

Natasha shook her head, and began gently wiping away the makeup, “What an interesting choice,” she said thoughtfully, “If I had to guess, I’d say he had help applying this. Captain Gepard has two sisters, doesn’t he?”

That was true, he didn’t know why he hadn’t thought of that. He knew Serval pretty well, in fact. If either of Gepard’s sisters knew what was going on, it would certainly be her. There was a problem with leaving, though.

“Nat, if he’d in this shape, it’s almost certain that whoever did it isn’t in great shape either, and might be a bit… angry at our Captain. I don’t think I should-”

She cut him off, “I’ll be fine, Sampo. If they decide to come here, and that’s a big if, I won’t turn them away-”

“But Gep-”

“ However , they don’t need to know he’s here. I’ll make him comfortable back here, out of sight. I can handle myself too, you know. It will be okay, Sampo. Now, go get his sisters.”

He was still hesitant to go, but he also knew that Natasha would kick him out if he didn’t. That didn’t mean there was nothing he could do. With a nod, and one last look at Gepard, Sampo left. He wasn’t about to leave the clinic unprotected, and fortunately for Sampo, he knew someone who was qualified, and trustworthy.

“You want me to what?” Luka asked, “Since when am I your security guard, Koski?”

Sampo wrung his hands together, anxious at how long this was taking, “It’s not for me! Well, it kind of is, but it’s to help someone else, someone really important …”

“Fine, tell me who, and I’ll consider it,” Luka crossed his arms, digging his heels in.

Why now, of all times? Sampo tried to think of any other way to not give Gepard away, but he couldn’t find one, and he knew how much Luka looked up to the Captain. Sampo quickly looked around, and whispered in the redhead’s ear.

Luka’s eyes went wide, “What?! What happened to him?”

“I really don’t have time to explain right now, but I could really use some help protecting the clinic while I have to go do something. So, will you help?”

“Of course!” Luka was already on the move, and disappeared from sight.

With that, Sampo made it to the surface in record time. He could have taken the rail, of course, but chose to use his own passage instead. It was faster than waiting for the train to show up, and if he timed it right, he could get Serval to the station to take it back down.

Talking to Gepard’s protective older sister was much harder than talking to Luka. Sampo sheltered his head with his arms as Serval whacked him with a rolled up newspaper. It was difficult to get a single word in between hits, and it hurt .

“ Was he buying it from you?! Hm?! I knew I should have gone with him!”

“N-no! -OW!- I don’t know who -OW!- who did this! OW! S-stop hitting me!”

Amazingly, the hitting did actually stop, but the look she was giving him was enough to make a fragmentum monster shrivel up and die. He tried to take a few steps back, but the wall was already directly at his back.

“Tell me who did this, then,” she said, pointing the rolled up papers at him.

“It wasn’t me, I swear! I found him like that, and he had… that stuff on him! Look, I can explain more on the way, but we really need to go. Pretty please?” he begged as he put on his best puppy dog eyes.

With an angry sigh, Serval grabbed a couple of things, and marched out the door, “Fine, but if you are lying to me, Sampo Koski, I swear you will regret it.”

The trip back down consisted of more yelling, and growling from Serval, who was very displeased with Sampo’s overall lack of information. Of course, he had his own questions, and Serval definitely didn’t seem surprised by the mention of the drugs, but he didn’t dare ask. Not yet.

When they made it to the clinic, it was to a scuffle outside. Luka was holding back several men, not a surprise there, but he was looking a tad tired. He’d already been fighting that evening, this was when he would normally be relaxing his aching muscles, not fighting more.

Serval stomped right up behind one of the men, and smashed her guitar across his face as Sampo readied his blades. With the three of them there, they made quick work of them. He handed Luka a bunch of rope, and rushed inside behind Serval.

Gepard looked pale, and tired, but he was propped up on some pillows, talking to Natasha. Although, now listening to it, the conversation was one-sided. Apparently Gepard wasn’t quite all there.

The blonde stared into space, right up until Serval was right in front of him. At that point, he gave her the cutest lopsided smile, and reached for her.

“Hey big sis… I’m here.”

Serval nodded slowly, confused, “Yeah, I… I can see that Geppie. Can you tell me what happened?”

“Hm? Oh. I don’t know,” his eyebrows scrunched together in thought, then his eyes went wide, and teary, “P-please don’t tell dad… I’ll be in s-so much trouble! Please don’t tell him! I have to… hide it. I can hide it…”

As Gepard trailed off, Sampo couldn’t help feeling a pang of sadness at the terrified tone. Had his home life really been so bad? Of course, with the money his family had, it was easy to assume that everything was flowers, and fancy parties, but Sampo knew better.

Serval looked at Natasha, eyebrows raised in a silent question.

“He’s still under the effects of anesthesia, as well as some pain medication. As far as I could gather, he got a bit beat up, and suffered from a stab wound, with blood loss,” she put a hand on Gepard’s shoulder as he started to wiggle around, and remove the blankets, “As long as we can get him to cooperate… he should recover just fine.”

“… I’m tired,” Gepard shook his head, “But I don’t wanna sleep…”

“Well, you need to, Geppie. It’ll help you get better. I’ll stay here with you, okay?”

Gepard nodded, “Could… could I have Sampo?”

This time, Serval’s eyebrows weren’t the only ones that shot up.

“What do you mean, little bro?”

“I… I want him to sing. I like his voice… I want him to sing to me.”

Serval turned, and glared at him, “What did you do to him, Koski?”

“I didn’t do anything! I-I was singing before I found him, he must have heard?”

“What, are you moonlighting as a rock star now?”

“No,” Sampo crossed his arms, “I… just had some things on my mind.”

Those “things” were Gepard, but she didn’t need to know that. She would probably kill him, and Nat would help her hide the body. Little Lynxie knew her way around the snow plains, it would be easy for her to help them, and he would never be found. Poor ole Sampo would just be a distant memory, without a soul caring to remember him. He jumped, and squeaked at the hand suddenly on his shoulder. Oh, this was it, the end-

“I was just joking, Koski. You really must have something on your mind, huh? Or is it someone? Either way, I suppose you could come into the shop, and talk about it if you really needed to. It’s just… too weird seeing you make that “love-sicky” face,” Serval said with a grimace, “I’m gonna go help Luka with these guys, and we’ll get them to where they can be questioned. I’ll need what Gepard… retrieved. Pela will want that right away, I’m sure. I’ll be back really soon, Geppie, you get some rest!”

Sampo dropped the baggie into her outstretched hand, and watched her go.

“Do I have to guess what that was, or are you going to tell me?” the doctor asked, her arms crossed, and sending a serious “mom” vibe his way.

His shoulders slumped, and he sat in the chair next to Gepard. 

The blonde smiled at him tiredly, “You came to sing to me? I like your voice… It’s pretty.”

Sampo could feel his cheeks heating up, and Natasha’s eyes trained on his back. There was no way out of singing to Gepard, not that he wanted a way out of that, but it was embarrassing, and no way out of giving Nat an explanation.

With a sigh, he slowly turned to her, “I’ll fill you in after he’s asleep, okay?”

With a nod, and a pleased smile, she turned to leave, “I’ll be checking on other patients, if you lovebirds need me.”

“I- what? W-we’re not-”

“Thank you, Miss Natasha,” Gepard said politely, apparently not having heard what she said.

With a pat on Gepard’s leg, she was gone, leaving the two of them alone. Gepard laid his head back, and waited expectantly. This look melted Sampo. He wasn’t sure if he’d survive the Captain looking at him like that all the time. Not that something like that would ever happen.

Sampo cleared his throat, and started singing.

Chapter Three

Gepard didn’t recognize the ceiling he was looking at. It took him a few moments to figure out what the sound coming from nearby was. Slowly, he turned his head to see none other than Sampo Koski asleep in a chair next to him, snoring away.

A memory flickered in the back of his mind, but his brain was too muddled to catch it. As if sensing he was being watched, the con artist snorted, and suddenly sat up, groggy, but awake. He looked directly at Gepard, and moved to the edge of the bed.

“You’re awake? How long? You could have woken me, you know…”

The concern, actual genuine concern in Sampo’s eyes, gave him pause. Gepard couldn’t believe it, and he wasn’t sure if he would have, had a voice not floated in from nearby.

“Sampo, I thought I told you to get some rest. He’s going to be fine. You didn’t need to watch over him all night.”

Gepard didn’t follow the voice, already familiar with it, but instead kept his eyes trained on the color that had suddenly sprung to the bluenette’s cheeks, and the silent, but pleading look he gave Natasha.

“Nat! He’s awake! Tell ‘er Geppie!”

Sure, he supposed the person whose bed he was probably occupying would want to know that he was awake. However, that wasn’t what came out of his mouth.

“You… watched over me… all night?”

Sampo scratched the back of his neck, and suddenly became very interested in a hole in the bedsheets.

“We’ve got to get you some new sheets down here…”

Natasha laughed, “Avoiding the subject won’t make it go away. I’ll let you two have a moment, then I’ll be back to check on you, Captain.”

Finally looking at the doctor, Gepard nodded, then turned his attention back to Sampo. The clothes he was wearing were not his normal attire, but instead something slightly less imposing. He was certain there were still plenty of weapons stowed away, but these clothes made him look softer. They also brought something to mind.

Sampo singing, he remembered, not just at that bar, but there were also bits and pieces of him singing to Gepard in this very room… because he had asked the man to. Gepard brought his hand up to cover his face. How embarrassing. Possibly as bad as the man having seen him all dressed up. Well, it was too late now, time to move on.

“You were at that bar. You… must have found me?”

The bluenette nodded, “I did. I’ll admit, you scared me a little there, Geppie.” He looked unsure for a moment, but continued, “Serval told me what you were up to. You could have come to me, you know.”

Gepard scoffed, and instantly regretted it. He could see the hurt pass over Sampo’s features, even if it was only a flicker. It just wasn’t something he expected to see on Sampo. The man could be very convincing to someone unaware of who he was, or untrained to spot it, easy targets to con. This moment of emotion. It wasn’t that. It was real .

He sighed, “You have a past of being the ring leader in these sorts of activities, so you aren’t really someone that the law would think to involve. They know you too well.”

Sampo shook his head, expression far from the laid back look Gepard had come to associate with the man, “But I would have helped. Even if not just for you , then to get these drugs off the street. I’ve been trying for months, and haven’t gotten anywhere.”

There had been reports of this exact thing. Sampo Koski, known criminal, had been making an active effort to eradicate the new, and very dangerous drug that people were overdosing on. Reading it in a report alone, didn’t make it believable, not when it came to Sampo. No, Gepard had witnessed it himself on a reconnaissance mission. It was one of the few things Sampo had never had a warrant for, in fact.

So, as much as he was avoiding it, the truth had to come out, “That’s part of the reason we avoided you. They would have instantly known something was up the moment you tried. My only goal was to get a sample that hadn’t been ingested by someone. The only source we’ve had our hands on are the deceased. It can make a full analysis difficult, apparently.”

Sampo’s expression softened, “Well, I could have at least had your back.”

Gepard shook his head, “The reason I didn’t have backup was because it would have been too easy to give me away. Though… it seems they had me pegged from the get-go… and I lost the sample somewhere.”

“You didn’t! Serval took it to the surface for you,” Sampo said triumphantly, then his face fell, “She beat me Gep. She beat me so bad, all ‘cause I found you. I’m surely covered in bruises,” he turned his head away, and stared into the distance, aside from a glance to make sure Gepard was still listening, “There might even be scars . I haven’t even let Nat look. I’m afraid she’d have your sister arrested on the spot…”

Gepard let out a small laugh at the thought of Serval “beating” him, knowing it was most likely with a newspaper. He’d been on the receiving end of that himself, so he knew all too well how hard she could hit. It wasn’t that bad, annoying more than anything.

Sampo gasped, and put a hand on his chest, “You’re laughing at my pain?! What kind of person are you! I can’t believe the great Captain Gepard Landau would-”

Gepard half listened as Sampo went on with his nonsense, all seriousness gone. It wasn’t so bad, really, and though he wouldn’t admit it, he kind of enjoyed the odd tone of Sampo’s voice. It was unique, and interesting. Soothing in its own way.

Feeling the fatigue encroaching on him once more, he let himself relax into it. Moments before he fell asleep again, Sampo’s rant turned into quiet singing. 

~xxxxxxxxxx~

“And that, my dear entertained readers, is how I, Sampo Koski, earned the trust of the best Silvermane Captain Belobog has ever seen-”

Gepard groaned next to him, and squinted his eyes open, “Sampo?… Wha… what ‘re you doing?”

“He’s talking to himself,” Serval said from the other side of the bed, “He does this all the time.

Sampo gave her a small glare, “I was talking to our readers! It’s only common courtesy to acknowledge them,” he said as he made a swooping motion towards the other side of the room with his hand.

Serval rolled her eyes and shook her head, while poor drugged up Gepard only looked more confused, and glanced in the direction Sampo indicated.

“I don’t think I understand…” Gepard said, rubbing his head as if it would help him comprehend.

Sampo patted his arm, “It’s okay, Geppie. Your best buddy Sampo’ll take care of ya!”

Honestly, Sampo expected a fight of some sort, or at the very least, a snide remark or disgusted face, but that never came. Instead, Gepard smiled . An adorable, dopey smile, and Sampo thought his heart might just float right out of his chest.

Sampo sighed, and rested his head in his hand, “ Oh , it’s really gonna smart when I fall…”