Non Ducor, Duco 〈 Mikayuu 〉

❌41- Gemini in our Shadows❌

That was the last time we spoke of dropping off the map.

Or the last chance we got to speak of it in private.

Since the Gemini hackers began to make themselves known. In both sides of our lives.

First we heard of them was from Kimizuki and Yoichi. They whined about how their bosses were making them report on the Gemini hackers and Alyssum while Green and Blue were wreaking havoc by inputting viruses into the security for a corporate business and murdering an executive. Of course we knew of them beforehand- Yuu had noticed a disturbance in the feeds.

But Yuu and I were both flattered and disturbed by how much the two knew.

"Pardon me, but how fucking long did you say these two have been around?" I askdd in a hissing voice, Yuu chuckling from around my neck. I felt Shinoa's hand move through my hair as she passed, some sort of awed noise leaving her. Ever the protective lover- Yuu had given her the finger over the back of the couch.

"Since you guys were fifteen. Shocking, isn't it?" Cynthia chirped in my phone. "Real fucking interesting when you know that you were still this timid little thing struggling to not throw up. They were still interested by your existence."

"Mika almost threw up on missions?"

"Yeah, you shoulda seen it, kid, he was all green and tripping over wires-"

"Enough. Both of you know why I acted in such ways. Guilt occurs in the innocent like a plague."

"Deep," the program said in a dull voice that sent Yuu into hysterics. He was soon on the floor, Yoichi poking him with a sock covered foot.

"Why are you laughing?" I asked, jabbing him harshly in the ribs with a foot that made the brunett's pokes seem like gentle taps. He only flinched in pain, green eyes staring up at me. His glasses were finally gone for good, meaning he was back to normal eyesight. Something that made Sombra ecstatic.

"I was just thinking about how you were a normal kid... now look at you!" He cried in laughter.

"I am normal, given my situation."

"Mikaela, he means the fact that you no longer feel guilt for murdering those who deserve it. I'm assuming he does. Which isn't good for his job," Cynthia said in a Hyacinth manner. Either my sentient program has taken the initiative of a mother (likely)- or her programming interlaced with her sister AI (also likely).

"And you're so brilliant," He began, standing from where he was. My cheeks were violently smashed between his hands to look at his pouting face as he sat on my lap. "Makes me wonder."

"Wonder what, pet? It's only my mind."

"But what does it hide? What secrets are in that genius mind of yours?" He murmured, face mere inches from mine. In the corner of my eye I saw Yoichi turn a strawberry red and shuffle off to the kitchen where Kimizuki was currently playing food god.

"I could say the same to you, my pet. So many codes to break, done without an eye batted. They say you've got Gemini and Sombra beat by milestones," I mused in a whisper, twirling a lock of his hair around my index finger. "Making you the second best in America."

"Third in the world," he responded meekly. "But I cannot reprogram an assisting AI to something as human as Cynthia."

"She's off of human habits and traits I observed as a child. Nothing special." I regret those words a second after, when she was chewing me a new one via phone. Yuu solved it by disconnecting it.

"You done making out?" Mitsuba asked from her perch with Shinoa at the table. Neither questioned the phone call.

"You know that wasn't what happened," Yuu responded curtly, peering at them from over my head.

"It'd be better than seeing you all sappy and gross," Kimizuki added from the doorframe.

"It wasn't that either." Now I was defending our honor. There was no point in doing such- it was mere teasing.

"Ah, yes, and I'm the queen of England," Shinoa dramatically sighed, hand daintily on her collarbones.

"I believe you," Yoichi said meekly, seating himself on an arm of the couch. "Neither of you have a sense of what looks intimate and what doesn't."

"Well, he's not wrong," Yuu sighed. "You have done some pretty risqué things to me without noticing."

"I do not."

"Hey Kimizuki," Our small friend began, glancing over the back of the couch to where the pink haired menace stood. "I had a thought and wanted to know if you could help me figure out. Mika calls Yuu Pet. Who have we heard do the same? It's on the tip of my tongue but-"

"The Beast."

He says it so easily. Like it was normal to be mentioning the alias only known to the black market. Yuu noticed it as well, glancing warily to me.

"Ah, right. He said it last night."

"Babe," Yuu had said in a casual tone, staring up at my perch upon a pedestal. "They deleted the security footage of us."

"Nothing to worry about, pet. The Gemini are nothing to be afraid of," I had said lightly, scope narrowing in on the lock I
was working on at the time.

"Babe?"

"Hush. Kimizuki, Yoichi. Who are you talking about?" I asked, meeting their startled gazes.

"Someone we met."

"Liar." I find myself saying instinctively. And at that moment, the four of us understood everything.

Us- that our own friends were the Gemini hackers.

Them- that their friend and his famous boyfriend were murderers.

Now there was only one problem. The fact that Sombra was the first to know, and her infatuation with pairing friends and lovers in similar fields with one another.

"What the hell are you two talking about?" Mitsuba sighed from the table.

"Mitsu, don't even attempt to question them at this point. I stopped after Mika got tossed into the mix."

And, you know, talking out our problems.

That too.