Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Cuphead doesn’t know what it means to fall in love. Sure, he knows love—he loves his brother, of course. He loves Elder Kettle. He loves causing mischief. He loves pranks. But to be in love? That’s a different matter. 

Throughout his entire life, he never really cared for romance or relationships of that sort. Never had the time for it, not when he had his brother’s life to think about. But now…his eyes shift to a certain toon singing on stage. 

Bendy’s nearing his performance on some act number and the audience is engrossed in the ink demon’s performance. Then again, Bendy’s always been a charmer, always captivating an entire audience with his allure of the theatrics, always so…fascinating to Cuphead. Is that love? He’s not sure. But it does make annoying the demon entertaining. 

With no one looking and as Bendy’s performance finally ends, he manages to slip through the curtains. Not that it was hard. He had Smoke Bomb afterall. 

He sees Bendy has his back to him and a wide grin overtakes his face. He sneaks in quietly but as he was about to scare the living life out of his friend, he notices that the ink demon is holding a bouquet of flowers. An assortment of purple and white. Hideous. 

“Sheesh, those are ugly.” 

“Shit!” The ink demon practically jumps and almost trips as he swirls around to glare at him. Bendy glares at him, but Cuphead just grins. “Dude, warn a toon next time. And excuse you, these aren’t ugly. They’re quite lovely actually.” And turns his heel to head somewhere, most likely to his dressing room that the speakeasy provided. 

Cuphead simply whistles and follows the demon. The flowers must’ve been from Boris then if he’s acting so defensive over something so ugly. “Where’d ya’ even get them?” He asks anyway, matching his strides with the other. 

Bendy sighs, slowing down as he nears his dressing room. “From a Joe. Threw it on the stage before the curtain call.” He opened the door and it was such a small dressing room that barely managed to fit in three people—sheesh, is this how they treat their performers?—but with Cuphead’s build, he basically occupied half the room aside from Bendy who’s sitting on the chair in front of the vanity table and mirror. It was a simple but decrepit thing really with a picture of Bendy and Boris tucked on the side of the mirror. But instead of throwing the bouquet at the trash, the ink demon puts the flower at the side on the table and…admires it? 

It unnerves him. To see those eyes soften. To see the longing displayed in his eyes. To see the gentle way he caresses each petal. Truly unnerves Cuphead. 

“Are ya’ in love or something?” Cuphead couldn’t keep the disdain from seeping into his words as Bendy whirls his head with an eyebrow raised. 

“Where’d you get that idea?”

“Oh, I don't know.” It takes him one step. One to reach Bendy as he grabs the offending flowers and sees…nothing remarkable. Cuphead sneers. “With the way you're staring at it, it makes ya’ think that the Joe who gave you these is special.” 

Bendy scoffs, not even bothering to reach for the bouquet—most likely aware of how absurdly short he is while the other is absurdly tall. Freak, Cuphead can practically hear the other say in his head. “First of all, he threw these, not gave-” 

“Eh, potato tomato.” 

“And second, can’t a fella just enjoy being appreciated for once?” He turns back to the mirror and undoes his bowtie and unbuttons a few on his shirt, releasing a sigh. Cuphead—for some reason that’s beyond him—instantly zeroes in on the smooth expanse of Bendy’s skin, his pitch-black collarbone exposed. Cuphead wonders if it was possible to even mark him all over with how inky his skin is. 

Not- not that it was plaguing his waking thoughts. Nope. Cuphead knows Bendy can see where he’s staring so he does his best effort to not stare. So no. He doesn’t think of the various ways he could bruise his friend, to see him bleeding all over, to see his skin be tainted with red and purples because of Cuphead. Nope. Absolutely not. 

But first… 

With a swing of his hand, the flowers disappear. “Hey!” Bendy shouts, glaring at the other through the mirror. “Those were mine!” 

“And you don’t need it.”

Bendy crosses his arms. “And why’s that?”

“Buddy,” Cuphead stresses the word out, “where else are you gonna store flowers from your adoring audience if we’re all still looking for where the ink machine and its parts are?”

That explanation was enough to calm Bendy down, his shoulders loosening, his eyes downward as if ashamed. “…Well, it’s still nice to be given flowers.”

Those damn flowers…He sighs and leans back against the cracked wall. “Even from a Joe you don’t know?” 

Bendy rolls his eyes and shrugs. If he does hear the low anger in Cuphead’s tone, Bendy doesn’t mention it. “Like I said, it’s just nice to be appreciated. Anyways, can you get out now? I need to change.”

“…Whatever.” 

But as soon as Cuphead closes the door, he’s greeted by an even smaller toon than Bendy holding—yup, of course—more flowers of the ugly kind. “Uh, thanks and all but I’m not really-”

“This is for Mr. Bendy. So can you move aside?” 

And that stops him. He squints his eyes at this toon, the bouquet in hand, the arrogance radiating off the guy. He clenches his fist, trying to stave off the itch to draw out his gun.

“…Who are you?” Cuphead says with a polite smile, just like how Elder Kettle taught him. It wouldn’t do him any good if he just threatened every toon that pissed him off. 

The Joe looks at him as if he’s dumb. Not the first time he’s seen that look but something about this guy just annoys the fuck out of him. “I’m Mr. Bendy’s admirer. Now that I've answered your question, can you move aside now?” 

Move aside? Move aside? Oh this guy is just asking for it. Cuphead steps closer, tugging at the poor schmuck’s shoulder to get them farther away from Bendy’s dressing room. “I can't let that happen.” 

The guy raises an eyebrow, still not getting the memo how deep shit he’s in. “And why’s that?” He raises his chin as if that would make him taller than Cuphead, and just scoffs. “You’re not his beau or anything, so why should I listen to you?”

“And what if I am?” Cuphead finally draws out his gun without thinking, smile still intact. “You gonna do something about it?” 

The toon’s bravado vanishes and quickly raises both his hands, dropping the bouquet. “No! No, of course not, uh, sir. I’ll just-” And he runs off with his tail between his legs like a fucking loser and the flowers? Completely trampled. 

Cuphead reaches for it and, with a swing of his hand once more, takes it. It’s not like Bendy will see it and even if he did, he deserves better looking flowers than some ugly, run over thing.  

With that all taken care of, he walks back to the bar and sees Mugman with an annoyed look with how much he’s glaring. Sheesh, no wonder his brother doesn’t get no broads when he’s practically scaring everyone around him. He slides on the stool beside his brother but before he can so much as utter a word, Mugman cuts him off.  

“Cuphead, did you threaten someone again?” 

He slowly turns to look at Mugman with a cocked eyebrow. “How’d you know?”

Mugman sighs, pinching his nose. “Someone screaming ran by with piss in their pants.”

He lets out a laugh and puts an arm around Mugman’s shoulder. Ah, he almost wished he could’ve seen that. “And that’s my smart brother for ya’. 

“Clam it.” And with a shove that almost made him fall off, Mugman glares at him like he’s done something wrong again. Cuphead just rolls his eyes at his drama queen of a brother. “We’re supposed to be keeping it down low and protect Bendy and Boris.”

“I know what I'm doing.” He crosses his arm but then grabs the drink that’s laid out in front of Mugman, taking a swig. 

“Ya’ sure? ‘Cause pretending to be Bendy’s sweetie ain’t it.”

He spits out his drink, heat rushing to Cuphead’s cheeks. Shit. “How…how do you know that?”

Mugman rolls his eyes. “That guy who pissed his pants was loudly screaming something about Bendy’s beau being a trigger man.” He sighs, rubbing his hand on his face. “Look, it won’t be long till Bendy finds out about this. And you’d be double dead by the time Boris hears about this.” 

Cuphead wipes the liquid from his mouth as he lets out a huff. “I’m doing this for Bendy’s safety. They should be grateful I'm even doing this.” And it’s true because if he pretended to be Bendy’s sweetie, as his smart brother puts it, then people would be more likely to fuck off. No more flies surrounding his friend. No more problems. They can get to the ink machine in peace, honestly. 

A laugh is what pulls him out of his thoughts. He looks over his brother with an exasperated look. “As if that’s gonna stop Bendy from charmin’ the entire town. You might as well just lock him up somewhere so no one can ever see or hear him…” And instantly that puts an image in Cuphead’s mind, an image of Bendy being hidden away, probably tied up in chains, being reliant on Cuphead’s every offering, being dependent on Cuphead as if he’s his last salvation. That idea doesn’t sound so bad. “...Cuphead, I know that look on your face. What’re you scheming this time?”

That snaps him out from his fantasy and he almost feels mad for being interrupted. Yet, he just puts on a more normal smile to appease his brother. “Mugsy, Mugsy. It’s nothing that you shouldn't worry about.”

“That makes me more worried.”

“Aw, c’mon. I’m your brother! Your twin, even! You wouldn’t think this handsome face of mine would cause any trouble.”

“You only cause trouble.” And with that, Mugman gets off the stool without even looking back to see if Cuphead would follow. 

“Ouch,” He says, grasping at his chest or wherever his heart is, in mock pain. But he still follows his brother. He’ll always follow his brother. 

“Seriously, Cuphead, just…don’t.” Mugman stops and turns to him with a sincere look, gently grasping his shoulders. “Whatever you’re thinking right now, don’t even try. Not when we actually have a chance to find the ink machine.”

“…If you say so, dearest brother of mine.” With a smile and a shrug of his shoulders, he walks off and takes out the flowers, and dumps them in the nearest trash he can find. 

It’s not enough. 

He’s been warding off every suitor, every admirer, every pest swarming around Bendy. He’s been doing his damndest to pose as Bendy’s lover by pulling him closer and staying beside him, always keeping a watchful eye on the ink demon whether he’s performing on stage or not. Sure, Cuphead knows and is very aware of how he’s more of a glorified bodyguard than a lover, and it’s working—somehow, without Bendy knowing—so…why is it still not enough? 

Music rings through the speakeasy, but through the sea of toons dancing and drinking, he observes Bendy chatting with one of his so-called “admirers.” The Joe’s been cracking jokes to make Bendy laugh. Honestly, it’s a pathetic sight to see when Cuphead has learned that most jokes run by Bendy were either unappreciated or would get you a black eye. But as Cuphead was about to save the poor schmuck from further embarrassment, Bendy laughs. An honest full bellow one. 

His eyes twitch. 

And to rub salt to wound, the guy looks so smug about it. Smug enough that the bastard actually reaches to put a hand to Bendy’s waist. And without so much as a thought to spare, Cuphead dashes in between the two. 

“Cuphead?” The ink demon mutters in surprise, his dark eyes finally focusing on him. 

He practically slings his arm across the other toon. “Bends! Just the toon I was lookin’ for.” He leans in close—close enough he can smell the subtle cologne that Bendy has put on, close enough that they’re a breath away from each other—and doesn’t hide the scowl aimed at the bastard. “Boris is asking for ya’.”

“You sure?” Bendy tilts his head and actually leans closer. His eyes, with a will of its own, snap towards his friend’s lips and they’re so close that anyone could mistake that they’re kissing- no, he should actually focus right now. Like the fact that Bendy has a look that Cuphead can’t decipher for once. But his gaze is so…soft as if Cuphead’s actually worth something for once. 

Oh. 

Oh no. 

He pushes the other away and coughs into his fist. “Absolutely!” He slowly turns to the ugly bastard and bares his teeth. “Now, run along before the big bad wolf comes biting.” And the guy is just shitting bricks at this point. 

Bendy raises an eyebrow with an amused look but just ends up shrugging. He waves at the guy before heading off to the joint they’re staying at. 

And as soon as Bendy disappears, the bastard starts rambling off, “Look man, i wasn’t trying to-”

“So what were you tryin’ to do, huh?” He grabs the schmuck’s shirt and lifts him, making the other wince and gasp. “‘Cause it seems like you’re trying to steal something that isn't yours.”

“No! I- I wasn’t. It’s not like that! I was just…uh, trying to cheer him up! And I didn’t know he was taken is all-”

“Hey, hey, relax.” He loosens his grip, dropping the guy—who miraculously doesn’t fall on his ass—and even pats the guy’s shoulder. “I'm a forgiving guy so let’s just…settle this in a peaceful manner.”

“Of course!”

So with a cheerful smile, he continues, “And to make things peaceful, I won't even use my gun!” Of course, he wouldn’t actually draw out his gun in public. That’d just draw attention. But he ain’t gonna tell the guy about that. 

The toon audibly gulps. “Your- your gun?”

“Exactly!” Cuphead raises both arms to show he ain’t holding onto any firearms. “…I’ll just use my hands to tear you apart, bit by bit and feed whatever’s left to the pigs. Heck, I'll even give you a ten-second headstart!” He puts a finger down. “One.” 

And the guy absolutely books it without even sparing a glance back.

But, much surprise to his own, Cuphead doesn’t chase after the guy. He usually thrives in chaos, in discord but this…he’s tired of all this back and forth, all this pretending. He’s fucking tired. And he needs to do something. But what? He can’t actually date Bendy. That’s weird. He can’t exactly confess his feelings cuz what kind of feelings are even in there? Uhg. This is difficult. He might as well- …might as well just lock Bendy up somewhere so no one can ever see or hear him ever again! 

Mugman, that genius brother of his, just keeps supplying him with the best ideas. 

Cuphead whistles a cheerful tune and as he assesses his surroundings, he realizes that the other patrons are quiet, wearily watching him. But that doesn’t deter him, he practically skips out of the speakeasy as a plan was already forming. 

But firstly, he needs to speak with the Devil. 

Chapter Text

“That cup is acting suspicious.”

He turns and looks at Boris, who’s nursing his fifth drink of the hour. Bendy tries not to blanch. Moonshine. He could practically smell the alcohol from him. His brother was always a heavy drinker compared to him, especially when they needed to talk about something serious. 

Bendy sighs, putting his cocktail down. “And why do you say that?”

Boris practically slaps his hands on the bar table and growls. “He’s been hovering around you like a pet dog to its owner!” Moonshine—honestly, Bendy couldn’t understand why Boris prefers this drink; then again, they are barely surviving—now spilled over by the sheer theatrics of his brother (and he thought he was the dramatic one out of both of them), Boris turns to him with genuine concern in his eyes. “And he keeps disappearing to who the fuck knows where at night. Not even Mugman knows where he’s going.”

By the looks of it, the other is already drunk and a complete mess with his bloodshot eyes and his fur sticking out. But he can’t dismiss Boris’ intuition, he’s usually good at detecting if something is going on. So he leans and whispers, “…Did you tail him?”

“I tried. But he always manages to slip away.” He picks up his fallen drink and signals the bartender for one more. And it arrives as quick as it was and, without any hesitation, Boris downs it, swiping his mouth with his hand. “Probably some Celestial magic bullshit again.” 

Bendy should really do something about Boris’ penchant for alcohol. It’s usually not this bad since they’re on the run (not many chances to drink when you’re the most wanted toon), but at this rate Boris might actually clear out the speakeasy’s entire stock. 

“It should be fine, Boris,” Bendy says with a gentle smile to calm his brother’s anxiety down. “He can’t harm us anyway since y’know.” The deal, of course. Bendy can never forget that. The feeling of one’s soul being chained to another. That very concept should terrify Bendy. But the fact his soul is now tied to Cuphead, he…doesn’t exactly mind it. Because if worse comes to worst, Cuphead can’t leave him unlike- 

He should stop thinking.  

Boris sighs, looking away as if ashamed. “I know, but I still have a bad feeling about this.”

“Have some faith in me.” Bendy lightly pushes Boris’ shoulder. 

“You know I do.” Boris’ eyes soften and smiles for a moment, but it immediately sours. “I just don’t trust him. Look, I've been talking with Mugman and-”

“Oh?” He said teasingly, wiggling his eyebrows for an added effect. He’s very aware how those two are getting close. How close? Bendy ain’t sure but he has seen those two getting real chummy together. Usually asking the other to privately talk and whatnot. Maybe, he should be a wingman for his brother so Boris can finally get lai-

He gets slapped upside his head. “Ow?” He glares at Boris but he just ignores him. Rude. 

His brother rolls his eyes at him. “Not like that. Unlike you, I'm not here to create a harem.” 

Bendy gasps. Double rude! “Excuse you, you’re making me out like I'm some promiscuous gal! And just for that, I'm not paying for anymore of your shitty drinks.” 

That rude asshole of a brother of his just scoffs and drinks the remainder of his Moonshine. “Anyway, Mugman is also suspicious of Cuphead.” 

And that stops him from taking Boris’ tankard, and settles down. Now that, he didn’t expect considering how close the two brothers are. “Really?”

“Really. Cuphead’s apparently not acting right.” Boris’ eyes turn sharp, its aim towards Bendy of all toons. “And you’re no help either. You should really stop leading him on or whatever it is you’re doing.”

Oh this motherfu- “I’m not leading him on!” 

Boris raises an eyebrow at him and suddenly Bendy is acutely aware that other patrons are looking at him, he just nervously smiles at them before turning back to Boris. “I’m just…” He knows why he’s doing all this- this plan of making Cuphead jealous by giving those shmucks the time of his day, so that stupid cup will actually make a move. Granted, it’s not his best plan but he’s somewhat sure it’s working! “I like the guy is all,” he eventually admits as smoothly as possible, ignoring heat rushing to his face. 

“…Are you fucking kidding me.”

“Does it look like I'm joking?” Bendy goes back to his cocktail to hide the redness of his face. 

Boris just fully facepalms. “How long has it even been since we’ve known them properly? Like a couple of months. And you’re telling me you have a crush on the guy?”

“I mean, yeah. You know my type and he’s exactly that.” 

“Dumb and strong,” they both echoed, the other with a dreamy sigh while the other with complete disgust. 

For a moment, they’re both silent. Bendy takes in the atmosphere of the bar, the chatter, the low lights, and yeah, Bendy is very aware of Boris' pointed concern with his (now non-existent) love life with the way his brother looks at him with furrowed brows. 

“Look, Bendy, I’m just worried-”

“Worried about what?” Cuphead suddenly appears in between them, a smirk on his face as he orders an Old Fashioned—Bendy can’t help but scoff; show off—and a gin for Mugman who looks as tired and pissed off as ever. 

“…Nothing.” Boris settles back down, uncomfortable. 

Bendy raises his glass and looks at his ceramic companions. “What took you guys so long?”

Mugman leans back against the bar, reaching for his gin but not drinking it yet. “Cuphead was…dealing with some guys.” Vague as usual. “Anyways, I think the coast is clear enough that we don’t have to worry for a while about the Stars catching us. But it’s best if we can probably skip town already-”

“And miss out on the moola that Bendy is wracking up with his performances?” An arm is thrown around Bendy’s shoulder and warmth engulfs him, he looks up to see Cuphead whose smirk is wide as ever as if he won the jackpot or something. 

Mugman glares. “Cuphead-”

Bendy, all according to his plan of course, leans into the warmth. “Is that all I'm good for? Money?” 

Cuphead’s head actually starts bubbling. Cute. “We- well that and we get to actually sleep in a bed for once.”

Boris groans, most likely disgusted by the display beside him. “Those beds won’t matter if we get killed.”

“Oh please.” Cuphead scoffs, extracting his arm from Bendy’s shoulder (Bendy has half the mind to not bite the arm back into its previous position or bite Boris for ruining his plan). “You have me and Mugsy to protect your asses. So, it should all be good. Right, pup?”

Pup? Pup? When the fuck- 

“Don’t fucking call me that, freak,” Boris growls, cutting off Bendy’s very normal thoughts on how Cuphead seems so comfortable to call his brother pup of all things. This whor- 

Mugman slams the Collins glass, grabbing back everyone’s attention. “Boris has a point. We should go before they find us and kill us for the map.” 

Bendy should mind the fact that Mugman is usually the one taking the leadership of the group, even though Bendy is the only one that can see and read the map; Mugman was ultimately what keeps their group on track.  

So with a sigh, Bendy tries to remember where the map was last leading them. “…Yeah. We should be headed to-”

He needs to rethink his plan. Sure, making Cuphead jealous was sort of working. He’s seen the glares and there’s also his guiding hand to Bendy’s back to ward off others, but that was it. That stupid cup that’s yet to be his isn’t doing anything else and the fact he called Boris pup still infuriates him. His plan wasn’t going anywhere if he just- 

A resounding knock on the door interrupts his thoughts. Bendy, for a moment, thought it was Boris checking in on him when the door swung open to reveal Cuphead in all his cocky swagger. 

“Hey, you ready?” Cuphead asks, leaning on the wall, his red eyes glinting with mischief, with adventure that spells trouble. Good thing Bendy likes trouble. 

“Yeah, yeah.” Bendy waves his hand. “Just gotta make sure I didn't leave anything important…” He turns his back, checking the inside of his bag, and he can still feel his eyes on him. There’s a pause in the air which doesn’t necessarily unnerve him. Because normally, the other would be annoying his ear right now while he would try not to punch Cuphead in the face, and without Boris or Mugman to mediate, it left them in—not awkward, but not exactly comfortable—silence. Which reminds him- “Where’s Boris and Mugman?” 

Cuphead just shrugs, his eyes never straying from him. “Beats me.”

Of course he would say that, Bendy rolls his eyes. “Honestly, if I wasn't so sure that Boris hasn’t made a move yet, I'd assume those two are dating already,” he chuckles, trying not to overthink on what that steady gaze could possibly mean. 

“Mugman and…Boris? Dating?” Cuphead’s wide eyes were as honest as ever.

So he scoffs. “Don’t act so surprised, those two have been getting real cozy and whatnot. Let’s just hope they don’t make out in front of us,” Bendy jokes.

He expects the other to joke back or even brush off the notion that their brothers were hitting it off, but Cuphead just stares off, his gaze unfocused. “…Do you know what it’s like to be in love?”

Without permission, his brain is filled with the sudden onslaught of memories of him, with him. Dancing on stage. Celebrating their first successful performance. The drunken exchanges of kisses. Their promise under the night sky with no one but the stars to witness them. “…No. Not really,” Bendy lies. 

Cuphead tilts his head, not asking, but he’s clearly not buying Bendy’s bullshit. 

So with a smile that was too broad, he strides toward the other and slams his hand right beside Cuphead’s face. “Why? You asking me out?”

A sudden burst of heat starts steaming from Cuphead. An audible gulp. “Wh- what?”

Oh, Bendy wants to bite him. His tail wraps around Cuphead’s forearm, the tip of the spade tracing a pattern on the clenched fist. “And here I thought all I was good for was wracking in money?”

For a moment, he thought the other would bite or punch or something—anything—but Cuphead is ever so unpredictable as he just gently pushes Bendy off. “…You’re teasing me.” 

And that’s his cue to not push it. So he backs off with both arms raised. “Well, think of it as revenge for all your shitty jokes.”

Cuphead audibly gasps, a hand raised to his chest as if he’s actually offended. “My jokes are amazing, thank you very much. You just don’t know art when it’s right in front of you.” He leans down, now eye-to-eye level with Bendy, with a grin. 

It always infuriated him how tall the other was, but he can use this. He takes a step further into Cuphead’s space. “Asking, “Why did the tomato blush?” And responding with, “Because he saw the salad dressing” is not art nor is it funny.”

“Then why am I seeing a smile?” 

Bendy tries to hold in a laugh; the other doesn’t even realize the trap Bendy’s laid out. “‘Cause you’re stupid.”

“More like funny!”

“Insufferable, actually.” 

“No, I’m just…” Cuphead pauses, blinking. Their faces now a breath away from each other. This is it. All of Bendy’s plans finally lead to this culmination. And he’s finally getting what he wants.

But as Bendy pulls the other closer, expecting lips to meet his. Instead, he inhales some sort of dust. The scent of cinnamon and- and magic wafting through his brain that lulls him and he can’t seem to fight back. He feels his body begin to fall but strong arms immediately catch him. 

And the last thing he saw was a grinning Cuphead before blacking out.