#JIMMY IS SO SURE OF HIS FEELINGS FOR JOEL AND JOEL IS SO CLOSETED THAT HE DOESN'T NOTICE IY

[joeltallishbean]

Joel (Superhero au) seems like the type of guy to kiss a man and then claim he's straight

[arc852]

Stuck

Summary: It's the second day of spring break and Jimmy is left alone for a bit as Joel and his parents go to the store. As Jimmy explores more of Joel's room he finds something that he wished he hadn't...and in the worst way possible.

Warnings: Feeling helpless, feeling trapped, inhumane mouse traps, panic, fear, worry, and mentions of death

Word Count: 4095

AO3 Link

Okay, it took me a second to figure out how to go about this but I figured out that the only place this would really make sense to happen is at Joel's house. So, this happens right after Sweet Tooth and before Eepy!

Strap in guys, this one is pretty angsty. And kind of long. It sort of got away from me. I hope you guys enjoy!

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 “Are you sure you don’t want to come with me?” Joel asked, still nervous about leaving Jimmy alone. Especially for such a long period of time.

 Jimmy nodded and gave Joel a reassuring smile. “I’ll be fine Joel. Besides, going to class with you is one thing. But going to the store seems…a bit much.”

 Joel let out a sigh but he could see Jimmy’s point. “Yeah, that’s fair. You would just be in my pocket the whole time too, which probably wouldn’t be very fun for you huh?”

 “Yeah, not really. At least here I can explore your house some more.” And Jimmy was excited to do so. He hadn’t even gotten through half of Joel’s room before he had come back with dinner the night before, so he was excited to see the rest of it. And maybe even the rest of the house.

 “Alright. Just be careful.” Joel said and then headed toward the door. Before opening it though, he looked back at Jimmy again. “I should be back in a couple of hours.”

 “Have fun!” Jimmy said with a wave and then watched as Joel quickly opened the door, walked out, and closed the door. He did it fast, just in case one of his parents were walking by. He heard the footsteps leave and then Jimmy was alone.

 Jimmy stood up and stretched for a moment, before getting out his rope and stabbing it into the nightstand. He then shimmied down the rope and decided to keep it there just in case he wanted to go back up later. Jimmy figured he would mostly be sticking to the floor anyway, so no reason to take it with him.

 He looked around the room, taking in his options. He had already explored underneath the bed, the nightstand, and the dresser that Joel had pushed up against the wall. So, it seemed his next exploration was to be the closet on the opposite side of the room. Thankfully, the closet door was already open, so he wouldn’t have to worry about squeezing through the bottom of the door or anything like that.

 Jimmy made his way toward that direction, walking casually and taking in the sights around him. If he was being honest, it was a little weird being back in an actual house. He hadn’t stepped foot in one since…well, since Jimmy had left home when he was 12. It brought back a lot of memories.

 It was different from the dorms, in the sense that it had a more homey feel to it. It felt more lived in, more cherished. Many college students may have lived in the dorm buildings but none of them saw it as permanent. It wasn’t supposed to be. But this house…this was permanent. Joel had lived here with his family since he was little and while Joel may move on, his parents were sticking around. And Joel would always see this house as his, in one way or another.

 Jimmy didn’t have that. His childhood home was long gone. He didn’t even know where it had been. He never had a reason to pay attention to something like that before. And he was in too much of a bad head space when he decided leaving was best for him to pay attention to how far the college was from the house. 

 Jimmy shook his head. That was not a bundle of memories he wanted to get into right now. It had been a long time since he had thought about his old home, of his parents, but it seemed being in a house again was making everything come back.

 Jimmy focused back on the task at hand, which was exploring the closet. He had made it to the opening, staring up at the darkness that awaited him. It was a walk in closet, so plenty of room to explore. Jimmy squinted his eyes to try and see into the darkness. Ever since becoming friends with Grian and Joel, and staying out of the walls, his once keen night vision was all but gone. Grian said it had something to do with getting used to the light, that his eyes had soaked up too much of it and was now more similar to a human’s than a borrower’s.

 Jimmy missed it less than he thought he would have but at times like these, he did wish his eyesight was back to how it used to be.

 Still, the longer he stared into the darkness the more his eyes began to adjust. It still wasn’t as much as he could see before but it was better than nothing.

 He made his way into the closet, looking around for anything interesting. There were some shelves above him but they were much too far up for Jimmy to reach even with his hook. So he focused on the floor, seeing something back in the far corner of the closet. It appeared to be a small box, small enough that Jimmy should be able to open it and look inside. Maybe he would find some old trinkets of Joel’s or maybe just some clothes but Jimmy was excited to find out.

 He walked towards it, staying close to the wall as he did so. But as he got further into the closet, the darkness became too much again. The light from the room not quite reaching as far back. Jimmy blinked, trying to get used to the darkness once more but as he took another step, his foot caught on something and he tripped.

 Normally, a trip like that would be no big deal. Especially with the carpet to break his fall, it was more embarrassing than painful to trip like that. But something was different this time. As Jimmy fell, it was not the softness of the carpet that met him.

 Jimmy landed with a strange squelching noise, his body landing on top of some sort of pasty substance.

 Jimmy landed in a way where both his arms were up at an angle and his head was tilted to the side, the right side of his face getting the brunt of the fall. The rest of his body lay flat on the mystery surface.

 Jimmy groaned, the impact more surprising than painful but still. Jimmy sighed and moved his arms to get himself up. Except…they didn’t move. Jimmy blinked and tried lifting his head to see what was wrong but he didn’t get far. His head was stuck too and the only thing that happened was his skin and hair got pulled, causing a sharp pain that made Jimmy yelp and stop what he was doing.

 Jimmy laid there for a moment, processing what was wrong and why he couldn’t move.

 And then it hit him.

 This was a glue trap.

 A deep sense of panic overtook Jimmy’s entire being as he realized this. Glue traps were awful, one of the worst traps that could be set up. They were dangerous, so very dangerous. If a borrower got stuck in one, then there was no way out. Either the human found you or, what happened a majority of the time, you died. You were completely and utterly stuck until you eventually just died.

 And that was if you had fallen into the trap the ‘right way’. Jimmy had heard a few stories when he was younger from his parents, of borrowers who had unfortunately fallen into the trap face first. They had suffocated to death in just a few minutes. But his parents had told that story with the underline of how lucky those borrowers had been. 

 Despite what his parents had thought, Jimmy was very happy that he hadn’t fallen face first.

 But still, he didn’t have a way out. The more he pulled, the more he stuck and the more painful it was to even try. Jimmy had no choice but to still and try to control his breathing as much as he could. 

 The only thing keeping him from truly panicking was the fact that, unlike other borrowers who had found themselves in this situation, Jimmy actually did have someone who could help him.

 The only problem was Joel was still gone and would probably be gone for at least another hour. But Jimmy didn’t have another choice. He was stuck. He just had to wait and breathe through it. He couldn’t let the panic that still festered deep in his gut to take control. He would be fine. Joel would get him out. He wasn’t going to die here.

 He just had to wait.

  ***

   Jimmy perked up as soon as he heard the bedroom door open close to an hour later. He had managed to keep his breathing steady but his heart still raced and now that the very fragile calm had been interrupted, the panic was coming back.

 “Jimmy? I’m back. Where are you?” Joel called out into the room after closing the door behind him. His eyes scanned the room, refusing to move until he saw where Jimmy was. He saw the string dangling from the nightstand so he could only assume he was somewhere on the floor, but Joel didn’t know where. 

 Suddenly, his entire body tensed and panic replaced every other feeling as he heard a faint but clear voice.

 “Joel! Help!” Jimmy screamed, trying to be heard from where he was in the closet.

 “J-Jimmy?!” Joel yelled back and Jimmy wanted to cry in relief that Joel had actually heard him. “Where are you?!”

 Joel was rapidly scanning the room now, wondering what kind of trouble Jimmy was in. Was it a spider? A rat? He needed to find him, to save him.

 Jimmy took a deep breath. “I’m in the closet! I-I’m stuck!”

 “Stuck?” Joel’s gaze went to the closet and he finally allowed himself to move to get over to it. He stopped at the doorway and turned on the light, scanning the floor, looking for Jimmy or anything else out of place. His eyes widened as he finally saw where Jimmy was.

 “Jimmy…” Joel said softly, gently moving so he was now kneeled down on the ground next to where Jimmy was stuck in a glue trap of all things. He held his hands out, like he wanted to reach for Jimmy but he kept them frozen like that, unsure how to even start going about this. “Oh gosh, are…are you alright?”

 Jimmy winced. “I’m…not hurt.” Jimmy decided to go with. Because otherwise, he was very much not okay.

 “Okay…okay, okay.” Joel couldn’t believe this. “I’m…I’m so sorry, I had no idea this was in here. My parents must have--”

 “I know, Joel. I know.” Jimmy said, cutting Joel off. “Just please, get me out of here.”

 “Right! Right. Uh…” Joel looked at Jimmy stuck in the trap, trying to figure something out. Finally, he reached out his hand, hovering it over Jimmy. “I’m gonna touch you, okay?” Joel wouldn’t normally announce something like that but with how this situation was, and with both of them panicking, he thought it would be a good thing to do.

 Jimmy hummed in response and shut his eyes tight. Joel slowly let his fingers grip the side of Jimmy’s body and he carefully tried to pull him up and out of the trap.

 As Joel started to pull, Jimmy’s eyes widened in pain. “Stop! Stop! Stop!” Jimmy suddenly and loudly screamed. Joel let go of Jimmy faster than if something had burned him. Joel’s eyes widened, guilt crowding his features. 

 “Sorry, sorry!” Was all Joel could say, moving his hand far away from where Jimmy was. Jimmy took some deep breaths, trying to calm his panic and let the pain subside.

 “Let’s…Let’s not do that again.” Jimmy said after a moment. Joel only nodded, feeling incredibly bad for having just hurt Jimmy. He had never hurt the borrower before, even when they first met he tried his best to be careful. He never wanted to hurt Jimmy and now he had. 

 Jimmy tried to shift a little, of course not getting very far. “There’s gotta be another way. Right?” Jimmy asked after Joel didn’t speak for a moment, worry etching his features.

 Joel blinked and shook himself out of his little funk. Jimmy needed him right now, he needed to focus. “Yeah, I can google it. Hold on, let’s get you off the floor.” Joel hesitated slightly but reached out his hands again. “I’m going to pick up the trap.” Joel warned before doing so, making sure to avoid the parts with the actual glue on it. The last thing he needed was to get his hands stuck right along with Jimmy.

 Jimmy braced himself as Joel lifted up the trap and Jimmy along with it. Joel was careful to keep his hands steady as he stood up and walked over to his desk. “Okay, setting you down now.” Joel said, warning Jimmy again before he gently placed the trap down on top of the desk. Joel let out a little breath and then decided he needed to sit down for a second, so he took the seat at the desk and then got his phone out to try and figure out how to get Jimmy unstuck.

 Jimmy was faced toward Joel and so he couldn’t help but look up at the human like this. After being with his humans for months now, he was used to strange angles and different perspectives. But it was different this time. Jimmy was being forced down, unable to move himself, forced to look at Joel from an angle that still made Jimmy’s heart race, just a little bit.

 He felt helpless, for the first time in a long time.

 Jimmy closed his eyes, trying to stop his tears from falling. He took in a shaky breath, trying to ease his mind. Unfortunately, after months of being around Jimmy, Joel noticed and looked away from his phone for a moment to show concern for the borrower. “Jimmy? Hey, it’s okay. I’m gonna get you out of this.”

 Jimmy sniffed and opened his eyes, doing his best to meet Joel’s. “I know.” And he did. He was sure Joel would get him out. It was just…being put in this situation in the first place was really not doing good things for Jimmy mentally.

 Joel looked like he wanted to ask him something else, catching onto the fact that there was still something wrong. But he decided the best thing to do was get Jimmy out of there and so he just nodded and went back to searching it up.

 “Okay, I got it.” Joel said a minute later, reading the instructions carefully. “I need to get a few things though.” Joel looked down at the borrower with a slight wince. “I'll be right back, okay?”

 If Jimmy was being honest, he really didn’t want Joel to leave him. But he knew that wasn’t possible right now. “Okay.”

 Joel nodded and left, being as quick as he could in collecting the things he needed. It was a bit difficult with his parents there but he managed to hide the fact he was taking the cooking oil from the kitchen. The last thing he needed was his parent’s questioning him on why he was taking it up to his room.

 He was back in less than five minutes, putting everything he had gathered onto the table. “Right, so it says rubbing oil on the parts that are stuck will help it to unstick.” Joel explained as he put on the gloves. “Ready?”

 Jimmy hummed and Joel grabbed the bottle of oil. He hesitated for a moment before squirting some on the edges of Jimmy’s body, as well as some extra on his gloved hands. Jimmy shut his eyes, the oil feeling weird against his skin and hair. Once Joel had poured out a generous amount of the oil, he put it down and switched to gently rubbing it in. Carefully moving his fingers in gentle motions across Jimmy’s tiny limbs.

 Jimmy opened his eyes briefly, seeing Joel’s face in deep concentration. Jimmy let out a deep breath. He couldn’t even let himself get lost in the familiar touches of Joel’s hand, because the glove was a foreign thing that almost made Jimmy jump in a panic at being touched by it. He reminded himself that it was Joel though and tried to keep himself relaxed.

 Slowly, but surely, the glue started to come off and Jimmy felt himself be able to lift his arms up. Joel took the opportunity to get some more of the oil underneath Jimmy’s body, where the majority of him was stuck. It felt like hours but really was only about ten minutes before Jimmy felt the rubbing stop.

 “Okay…I’m gonna try lifting you up again.” Joel said and Jimmy nodded, something he could actually do now. Joel lowered his gloved hand, gripping Jimmy’s sides gently between his fingers. He went slow, incredibly slow, giving Jimmy plenty of time to tell him if it was starting to hurt again. But Jimmy didn’t say anything and so Joel continued until he was able to fully lift Jimmy up and off of the glue trap. 

 Immediately, Joel switched his hold on the borrower, moving so he was now holding him in cupped hands. Jimmy was still dripping in oil and covered sporadically in leftover glue, but he was out. Jimmy let out a small sigh of relief.

 “There we go.” Joel said, smiling in relief himself. “That wasn’t…too bad.” He winced at his own words and very quickly continued. “Uh, come on. I’m sure you want to get cleaned up.”

 Jimmy just nodded, not trusting himself to speak yet. Joel held him close as he opened his door, checking for his parents before quickly making his way to the bathroom. Once in, he carefully set Jimmy down on the counter and set up the sink so Jimmy could take a bath in it, just like he had done the night before when Jimmy had made a mess with the chocolate cake.

 Once the bath was set up, Joel left some soap and a hand towel on the counter and then glanced back down at Jimmy. “I’ll be back in a bit with some clean clothes for you. Okay?” Joel asked. When Jimmy just nodded, Joel frowned sadly. “Okay.” Joel said again and then left the bathroom.

 As soon as Joel left, Jimmy wasted no time in taking off the glue crusted and oil covered clothes. He left them on a pile on the counter, though he wasn’t sure they could be saved. Jimmy didn’t have a lot of clothes but he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to even try and wash them.

 Jimmy dipped into the tub and immediately started scrubbing with the soap Joel gave him. Thankfully, with the oil mixed in, the last bit of glue came off easily and the oil wasn’t far behind. As Jimmy moved onto his hair, there was a brief knock on the bathroom door before it opened, Joel coming in with a hand in front of his eyes. “It’s just me. I’m not looking.” Joel said and Jimmy couldn’t help but chuckle a little.

 Joel’s hands were now free of any gloves and he held a small pile of borrower sized clothes in his hand. He blindly set them on top of the counter. “You almost done?” Joel asked.

 “Yeah, just gotta finish my hair.” Jimmy said. “Give me ten more minutes?”

 Joel nodded and then left the bathroom once more. Jimmy finished up quickly, rinsing his hair out and double checking he got all the glue off. He seemed all clean, thankfully, so he hoisted himself out of the sink and dried off.

 Joel knocked on the door just as Jimmy finished getting dressed. Joel opened the door a little bit. “All good?”

 “Yeah.” Jimmy replied and only then did Joel walk in. He sent Jimmy a small smile, glad to see him cleaned up and looking a bit better. Though Jimmy’s mood was still down. He glanced over at the pile of dirty clothes and motioned to it.

 “What did you want to do with these?” Joel asked and Jimmy frowned as he followed Joel’s motion over to the pile of clothes. Jimmy quickly turned away.

 “You can just throw them away.” Jimmy said, not wanting to look at them anymore. They were ruined anyway.

 Joel bit his lip. Jimmy never threw things away, it was against a borrower’s nature, according to Jimmy. Grian and Joel always had to convince him to throw certain things away. But, after what Jimmy had gone through, Joel couldn’t really blame him. “That’s fair.” He settled on and then quickly lifted the clothes and dumped them in the trash. 

 He washed his hands after touching the oily clothes and then gently scooped Jimmy up in his hands, taking him back into his room. As they entered, Jimmy noticed the glue trap was already gone and he couldn’t help but be very thankful for that.

 Joel walked over to the nightstand and started lowering his hand to set Jimmy down but Jimmy scooted back, further onto Joel’s palm. Joel looked at him confused and Jimmy looked down with a slight blush on his cheeks. “Can…could you hold me just for a bit longer, actually?” Jimmy asked, not making eye contact with Joel.

 Normally, Joel would jump on the chance to tease Jimmy about this. But he knew this situation was delicate and he couldn’t help but feel warmth blossom in his chest at the thought that Jimmy wanted his comfort like this. And honestly, he hadn’t wanted to put Jimmy down anyway. “Yeah, of course Jim.”

 He brought his hand back up, closer to his chest, and then glanced around the room, his eyes falling on his laptop. “Do you wanna watch a movie?”

 Jimmy hummed. A movie sounded nice, though he wasn’t sure if he would really be paying attention to it or not. Joel grabbed his laptop with his free hand and then climbed into bed, leaning back against his pillow and headboard as he set up his laptop on the bed right in front of his crossed legs. 

 Jimmy stayed in his hold, soaking up the warmth and comfort of Joel’s uncovered hand. As the movie started, Joel’s hands moved a bit lower, resting on his lap as he added his other hand to give Jimmy more room.

 Jimmy had been right, he didn’t pay too much attention to the movie. Wasn’t even sure what they were watching. He was too focused on the way Joel’s finger rubbed up and down his back in a steady and grounding way.

 “Joel?” Jimmy said, glancing up at Joel.

 “Yeah, Jim?” Joel said, already looking down. It seemed Joel was having a hard time focusing on the movie as well.

 Jimmy bit his lip and let out a small breath. “Thank you. I don’t…I don’t know what would have happened if…” Jimmy couldn’t even finish the sentence. He was lying too, he knew exactly what would have happened if Jimmy didn’t have Joel. It was those thoughts, paired with the overwhelming feeling of helplessness in that situation, that was causing him to be so down.

 Joel blinked and looked down at Jimmy sadly. Even though Jimmy didn’t finish, it wasn’t hard to guess where Jimmy had been going with it. “Of course. I’m just…I’m so sorry that that happened to you.” Joel let out a sigh. “I’m gonna talk to my parents tomorrow. Make up a story about the glue trap. Maybe saying I stepped in it? Found a mouse in it? I don’t know yet, but I’m gonna try to convince them to get rid of all of them.”

 Jimmy nodded. “That…Yeah. That would be great. Thank you, Joel.”

 Joel nodded, he was going to make sure nothing like this ever happened again. To anyone. 

 Joel brought his hands up a little, bringing Jimmy to eye level. “Are you okay?” Joel asked again, now that everything was over.

 Jimmy took in a shaky breath…and then shook his head. Joel’s eyebrows knit together in concern but Jimmy spoke before Joel could say anything. “I’m really not.” Jimmy blinked back a few tears. “But…I will be.”

 And as Joel brought him to his chest and they shared their own version of a hug, Jimmy knew that with Joel, and Grian, by his side, he really was going to be okay.

[pixiemage]

So do you ever, like - accidentally get inspired to create a whole AU based on an old Tumblr text post, and you know you can't add it to your actual fic list because your existing WIP's are waiting for you, but you end up writing a snippet of it anyway? Yeah. Yeah, me too.

Jimmy knows he's not fully with it when he walks into the villains’ bar this time. He has a new name on his list from Make-a-Wish - Supreme this time - and he's only halfheartedly searching the by-now-familiar faces for the person he needs to talk to. He's not registering much of anything though, and it becomes apparent when two people step in his path and he doesn't notice until he's almost running into them. It's Joel, and it's Tango - Trickster and Phoenix - and the expressions on their faces are different flavors of the same thing. Anger, maybe, but not at Jimmy, simmering below the surface in Tango's case and being held back by a tense jaw in Joel's. And concern too, he thinks, concern and sympathy and- "Hey Songbird," Tango greets him, sounding just to the left of the normal fond tone he uses when he sees Jimmy. "How're you holding up?" "I...sorry?" Jimmy blinks, not quite understanding, and Joel casts a glance around the bar before settling back on Jimmy. "We heard about Mercy." Mercy - oh. Mercy Children's Hospital. Susie. Jimmy's chest goes tight and he swallows past a lump in his throat. A warm hand settles on his shoulder and he's steered over to a booth in the corner, Tango sandwiching him in on one side and Joel taking a seat across the table. Jimmy sucks down a shuddering breath. "...you heard?"

Joel scoffs. "We've been trying to find that bastard since the news broke this morning," he bites out. "The minute the Count gets back we'll know where he is." "You - what?" Jimmy stares, surprised. "You're trying to find him?" "Absolutely." Tango, this time, his arm around Jimmy's shoulders emanating a warmth that he hadn't realized was helping to calm him down. "We're going after that jerk the second we have the chance. The guy crossed a line, big time." Oh. Oh, gosh. Jimmy's vision just barely begins to blur with tears, and he feels Tango's arm tighten around him. There's quiet murmuring around him but he can't bring himself to listen. They're going after Vortex. Jimmy's biggest mistake in his life, and here Tango and Joel are ready to help fix it the second they have the chance. And Grian always said villains weren't to be trusted... "There's a bunch of others who signed up for the mission," Tango is saying, and Jimmy tunes back in. "Supreme and Iris and  Worm Man and some o' the others. They were pretty pissed when they found out-" "And we'll keep your name out of it, o' course," Joel goes on, and Jimmy blinks away tears to focus on him better. Joel rakes a hand back through his green-streaked hair and shrugs. "You're not involved. Keep your record clean, all that-" "No."#Jimmy is almost surprised to hear himself say it, and Joel looks surprised too, his eyebrows flying high. "What, you want us to leave him alone? Dunno if I can do that, Jim-" "No, I mean I want to be involved," Jimmy insists. "I want in." This time it's Tango who's surprised, ducked forward to catch Jimmy's eye. "You sure, sweetheart?" he murmurs, his hair licking with tiny flames. Concerned, probably. "It's not gonna be pretty." "I'm sure." And he is. He's seen fights before, and he's been in even more. He's fought criminals on the streets who were going to hurt people, and he's not about to balk at going after someone who already has. "I can handle it." "You're gonna need to hide your identity," Joel drawls, his voice low. "Wouldn't want our favorite civilian going to jail on our account." "I know," Jimmy nods. "I've got something I can wear." He's already picturing the yellow-and-black costume currently hanging at the back of his closet, of the feather-trimmed mask in his top dresser drawer. The suit and the mask that even Tango doesn’t know exists, not yet. Jimmy ponders for a moment before making a decision. His eyes catch Joel and Tango's in turn. "Actually...I think there's something I need to show you."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The arrest had gone far smoother than expected, in Grian’s opinion. It’s not often that a high-priority villain is found bruised and bloody and practically gift-wrapped right where an anonymous tipper said he would be. Sure, vigilantes were kind enough to help them take down bad guy when they were able, but this time was different. This time there was no masked wannabe hero trying to take credit for a takedown, no signature calling card or note beyond the unsigned “He’s all yours, boys” that had been scribbled on cardboard hanging around Vortex’s neck. It had felt odd, is all, though Grian had agreed with his partner when Scar had said he was just grateful to have the guy off the streets. As Grian slips into his apartment through the bedroom window and shoulders open the door to grab some food, he has to force himself to brush the buzzing thoughts aside. He can ponder oddities later. It was a long shift, and he’s about ready to crash the second he gets some fuel in him. It's only when Grian is tugging off his mask and setting it on the table by the bedroom door that he realizes he's not alone. Familiar yellow wings catch his eye, and when he turns, he spots Jimmy sitting on the couch in the middle of the room. He looks exhausted, his Canary costume on and his mask hanging around his neck, and his hair is a wreck - like when he's anxious and has been running his hands through it constantly. "...heya Tim," Grian greets him slowly, not sure what his brother's presence here means just yet. He drops his crossbow on the table and crosses the room, sinking onto the coffee table in from of Jimmy so he can see him better. His expression is one of a man worn and run down, something shadowed in his eyes that has a frown tugging at Grian's lips. He almost opens his mouth to ask what he's doing here - but then he spots the dark stains on Jimmy's fingerless gloves, and the patch of red that's barely splattered across the yellow parts of his suit's design.  It clicks, then. The timing of it all, the villain - Vortex - that Grian and Scar had been called in to take care of tonight. The man who Grian also knew had been spotted at the Mercy Children's Hospital a few days ago, where that little girl had- "You were there," Grian says, not a question, just a fact. "Tonight. You went after him." Jimmy sucks down a shaking breath and nods. Grian would almost say he looks guilty, but he doesn't think Jimmy would feel guilty about going after the person who hurt one of his kids. Perhaps he feels guilty that a kid got hurt at all. "They helped," he says shakily. "All of - you know, the ones who said yes to visits with the kids. They've been trying to do better, and when Vortex-" He trails off, and Grian shifts over to the couch, tucking his brother under one of his wings and letting Jimmy slump sideways against him. "He's locked away, Jimmy," Grian tells him. "I promise. You did good."

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[made-nondescript]

Animated armour stand Hermes meets living doll Jimmy and immediately attaches themself to him which drives Joel absolutely insane. Joel does not get it even a little bit because that's *his* kid who *already* has two dads! He doesn't need another one and yet at every given opportunity Hermes is running off to Tumble Town to harass the Jimmy of all people! He couldn't have at least picked a person who's empire Stratos is on good terms with?!

It perplexes Jimmy too. Hermes just showed up one day, stared at him real hard, and decided to become his shadow. They've even raided Jimmy's closet and found a spare cowboy hat and vest, both of which are comically large on their small, wooden frame. The kid doesn't speak so Jimmy hasn't gotten very far asking them why they're there, but they do clearly understand what he's saying because they always respond with the same thing: frantically pointing at him. It's, uh, kind of unnerving honestly? Just a little wooden boy, following him around and pointing.

Sometimes he thinks that Joel must have put Hermes up to it. Told them to make sure Jimmy always feels like some kind of laughing stock even without the laughter. *Especially* with how Hermes is always quick to point out when evidence of Jimmy's inhumanity.

What goes against that theory is how earnestly Hermes tries to imitate him. If Jimmy takes off his hat, Hermes takes off their hat. If Jimmy goes into the cow pen, Hermes is there trying to climb over the fence to join him. If Jimmy is lighting a lamp, Hermes is doing the same getting so far as lighting the match before he realizes what they're doing and puts a stop to it. It's cute. It's flattering, to be so clearly admired. He just wishes he knew why.