“do you know what a hug is?” albatross asked, finger twirling around the braid in his hair theatrically. despite his smirk, he seemed serious. chuuya rolled his eyes.
“of course i fucking know what a hug is,” chuuya scoffed. “what do you take me for? a toddler?”
“yep!” albatross grinned. “have you ever been hugged?”
chuuya took a moment to think before deciding albatross was messing with him and smacked him in the back of his head. “shut up with your dumbass questions!”
“hey! they’re not dumb—see, doc! c’mere!”
doc scrutinized albatross for a moment before reluctantly trudging over. “yeah?” he asked curiously.
“chuuya thinks hugs are dumb!” albatross claimed. “clearly he’s never had one before.”
doc considered this for a moment, much to chuuya’s annoyance, before nodding in understanding. “i see.”
“yeah!!”
doc turned, waving over the rest of the flags.
“chuuya’s never been hugged before,” doc summed up.
lippmann frowned. “oh, that must be terrible.”
piano man hummed in agreement, and iceman shook his head mournfully. chuuya gritted his teeth. now they were just making fun of him. fuckers.
“i have! and i don’t need any shitty hugs!” chuuya snapped, hands closing into fists.
“shitty hugs?” lippmann repeated with much concern. “now, chuuya, if you’ve only received shitty hugs—“
“—suppose that’s the equivalent to never having been hugged,” piano man cut in. he nodded importantly. chuuya’s brow furrowed.
“that’s not— they weren’t shitty!” he insisted.
“but you said they were,” doc pointed out.
albatross slung an arm over chuuya’s shoulder, grip firm enough so that chuuya couldn’t just nudge him off. “pooooor chuuya, never having felt the warmth and love of a real hug.”
“i don’t care about hugs!!!” chuuya shouted.
they all gazed at him with varying mixes of pity and amusement. chuuya wanted to kill them all.
“i do think this calls for some drastic measures,” lippmann mused, “because we simply can’t allow this sort of cruelty, not even in the mafia.”
“do you suppose we—“ piano man started.
“well, such situations calls for such answers—“ doc agreed.
“then do we—“ albatross asked, nearly bouncing on his feet.
“it’s only right,” lippmann confirmed.
“what are we waiting for, then?” iceman hummed, cigarette previously at his lips now laying, still smoking, in an ashtray.
chuuya stared at them with utter confusion, apprehensive about this conversation he could hardly keep track of.
then, with the precision and strategic maneuvering of an ambush, they all turned to chuuya, smothering him so quickly he hardly registered what was happening at first. before he could activate his ability and actually kill them all, albatross tittered, by his ear (very loudly), “now you can experience the true wonders of a hug!”
and chuuya froze, standing stiff as a pole, as all of them embraced him in such a fashion the breath left his lungs. they seemed to have their own way of hugging, each perceivable despite the way they crowded around him.
albatross with all his enthusiasm, arms flung around chuuya. lippmann and his typical theatrics, practically scooping chuuya up. doc with more caution to those around him, smushed against lippmann’s side, one arm awkwardly wrapped around chuuya. iceman carefully positioned so he hugged several people at once, though one hand found itself on chuuya’s head, ruffling his hair. and piano man, on the outside, doing his best to reach chuuya, smiling pleasantly.
chuuya sputtered for a moment then shot up, out of their reach, to the ceiling. his body glowed red, along with his face that was dusted a heated pink, embarrassed. “y-you fucking…” he trailed off, glaring down at them.
they all smiled up at him, not having moved yet, looking quite odd hugging the empty space where chuuya had been.
“now you can say you’ve been hugged! by the most skilled huggers, in fact,” lippmann told him.
he was echoed by a chorus of nods and affirmations around him. chuuya burned redder.
“i said i don’t care about your stupid hugs!!” he bit out, trying to muster more anger into his voice.
albatross looked greatly offended as the flags detached from each other, still gazing up at chuuya.
“my hugs are absolutely divine, and i won’t have you saying otherwise!” he grumbled, looking around to the others. “i have the best hugs, right? right?”
lippmann thought for a moment. “well, i’ve been told my hugs are quite the charmers.”
“as have i,” iceman agreed, picking up his cigarette again.
“i do believe mine are lovely,” piano man said thoughtfully.
doc simply shrugged, not bothering with his own input.
chuuya glowered. “your hugs all sucked!”
“yeah? and yours are better? ‘cause i distinctly remember you not hugging us back!” albatross taunted.
…fuck him. fuck all of them.
“shut the fuck up!!” chuuya shouted and rocketed back down, deliberately cracking the concrete beneath him as he landed. none of the flags flinched, only following him down with their smiles that said they knew something he didn’t.
“i bet i give better hugs than all of you, and you’ll never know because i’ll never hug you guys,” chuuya spat, crossing his arms.
albatross fell to the floor dramatically. “ohh, the woes! to never feel a hug as bad as chuuya’s!”
chuuya ground his teeth. “shut the fuck up.”
he stalked over and wrapped his arms around albatross, lifting him up and squeezing so tightly albatross looked pained.
“okay, okay!” he whined, writhing.
chuuya huffed, dropping him back onto the floor. “yeah. now shut up, all of you. unless you want me to crush you in your stupid fucking hugs, you’ll wish you never brought it up!”
piano man smiled. “well, let us all have a turn! it’s no fair only albatross got a hug.”
“fucking—“
chuuya’s protest was drowned out by the chorus of agreement piano man’s statement received.
and the rest of the day was spent with hugs that crushed bones and a very angry chuuya, who had experienced his first real hug today. (or not? did the shitty hugs count?)
“My dream is to protect humans.” His voice was cool and gentle, like that of a parent watching over their child. “And right now, that dream is about to be realized. I got to protect you. That is enough for me.”
