Archive of Our Own

Recreation rooms were noisy, recreation rooms with Windy were even noisier; still, under the green Leaguer’s enthusiastically loud serves and the B Team’s cheering, Magnum Ace heard Bull Armor’s startled yelp and his quick, rattling exit. The couch he had been sitting on watching some show with Topjoy and Ryuuken, was suspiciously empty of all previous occupants.

Quiet. Then Topjoy, almost mutely to Ryuuken, “W-what did I do wrong?”

Jyuurota cleared his vents loudly, “Windy. Your serve.” There was an awkward shuffle, Windy looked back at the subdued basketball Leaguer with a small grimace; another unsubtle cough from Jyuurota had him glaring at the swordsmech, swinging his paddle and hitting the ball across the table with some steam.

Slowly, the room’s attention went back to ping pong, though Magnum kept a wary optic on Topjoy as Ryuuken spoke quietly and gently patted his shoulder.  

----

It wasn’t until he realized that Bull Armor was avoiding the youngest member of Silver Castle that Magnum decided to investigate the incident. He supposed that out of everyone, himself, GZ, and Jyuurota were likely the only ones who knew how to play back a memory and manipulate certain aspects. Turn down the gain here, enhance a voice there, and make a previously unnoticed detail stand out as though it were surrounded with neon lights.

It wasn’t perfect, one couldn’t magically make an object too far away to be captured fully suddenly appear in clear, sharp resolution; it was the same with sound. Too faint and it was nothing but tones and inflections.

What had caused Bull Armor to flee the recroom earlier that day had been clear as day to his audials.

“Hey, Bull?” Topjoy; shy, playful, and determined with just a hint of something else . “It’s later , ne.”

If he had been looking, perhaps Magnum would have known what it was Topjoy had done that had sent Bull Armor running. As it was, he could only extrapolate. Algorithms searched through memory, tagging and comparing, assessing recorded conversations for any clues to what later meant-

The National Championship , after the first game with Dark.

Magnum Ace nearly smacked himself. Of course.

Topjoy was the youngest out of all of them, prone, like all young Leaguers, to pursuing linking with any and all their teammates. As far as Magnum knew, the basketball Leaguer generally met with very little friction in his trysts- Topjoy certainly hadn’t from him. Or Windy. At the same time.

But Bull Armor was another matter entirely. Venting out a slow sigh, Magnum Ace set down his bat and carefully began to put away the pitching equipment. He would have to talk to the both of them; Topjoy couldn’t be blamed for wanting to share pleasure, nor could Bull Armor for being plagued by past demons.

----

“I’m going to hurt him, Magnum. I can’t.”

Magnum Ace leaned back against a wall as box after box was opened, sorted, and then restacked inside Michael’s maintenance bay. He stayed silent, crossing his arms as Bull Armor vented in frustration.

The burly Leaguer continued his precise and delicate organizing, his frame slowly hunching over as the silence continued. “Don’t judge me, Magnum.” He said quietly, hands flexing nervously.

“I’m not, Bull.” Magnum tilted his head, quiet as his friend and compatriot tensed even further. “I’m just wondering why you think that. You’ve mastered yourself on the playing field.” Why did he not trust himself off of it? He’d never once seen Bull lose his sense of self or even his temper outside the stadium; Bull Armor was even tempered, gentle, few things brought out his fear and social interaction wasn’t one of them.

“ Magnum , please.” Bull Armor still wouldn’t look at him, hands moving to another box before he slumped further. “I don’t-  I can’t-”

He waited.

“Topjoy is... new, an’ he’s not made to take as hard a hit as I am. Interfacing with another football or a martial Leaguer- It’s different, I don’t have to worry about accidentally crushing armor or knockin’ something out of place...” There was another moment of silence as the red mech carefully opened the box to reveal spare circuit boards... and not the kind needed for mechs like Bull Armor, Jyuurota and Ryuuken, or even GZ. All Leaguers were sturdy by design but the amount of high impact stress for Silver Castle’s only basketball mech was less than even their original soccer teammates.

It was a reasonable concern but it didn’t feel like it was the only root of Bull Armor’s reluctance.

“And you already have hurt him,” came a gentle voice from the doorway. Magnum turned to see Ryuuken, his head tilted and a small, sympathetic smile on his face.

He frowned, and then he looked back at the slumped football Leaguer. “...and you still feel guilty about it.” It was a guess, but he was fairly certain he was right.

Bull Armor nodded, still not looking at either of them.

Ryuuken sighed quietly as he entered the room. “Bull... He’s never held what happened on the icefield against you.”

“He should!”

Shaking his head, Magnum finally reached out and clasped his friend on the shoulder. “We didn’t know the whole situation then, that he was coerced. We were all upset and hurt by his time as a spy, Bull. I’m sure he understands that.”

Red plating shivered and shook with pent up emotion as Bull Armor shook his head. “I still acted out in anger, Magnum! That’s not- I’m not- He deserves someone who won’t ever do that, I’m not worthy of his affection...”

“That’s for Topjoy to decide,” Ryuuken said, gentle but firm, standing at Bull’s other side and pulling him from his repetitive task of rearranging the circuit boards.

He’d searched out Bull Armor with intention to just talk and encourage him to entertain Topjoy’s advances at the very; but now the two of them were gently pulling Bull Armor away to one of the larger medical berths as he shook quietly. Ryuuken was crooning softly, petting his sides as Magnum got settled in next to them.

“Have you talked to him about it?” Magnum asked as Bull nestled his face into the baseball Leaguer’s shoulder.

Bull’s head shook imperceptibly just as there was a noise from the doorway. All three looked up to see Topjoy hovering uncertainly, biting his lip and smiling hesitantly; Bull tensed between him and Ryuuken. “We could talk now?” The youngest Leaguer said, hopeful.

Magnum squeezed an arm around Bull Armor’s waist as the red mech nodded and Ryuuken beckoned Topjoy over.

“We could leave, if you’d like?” Ryuuken suggested, voice as gentle as ever.

Without his usual bounce, Topjoy walked over to them, shrugging. “I don’t mind, ne. Do you, Bull?” When Bull Armor shook his head, Topjoy grinned and clambered up onto the already crowded berth.

Now it was time to let the two sort it out while he and Ryuuken stayed for support.

----

// I thought that maybe if you hated me, it’d be easier to leave. Stupid, ne? //

Helms pressed together with Ryuuken and Magnum to either side of them, Bull Armor held Topjoy as close as he could on the cramped berth while they spoke privately. It hurt to hear that, to hear the younger Leaguer disparage himself like that.

// No, it’s not... You were in a terrible situation. // He still was racked with guilt, even if he hadn’t fully understood what was happening to Topjoy attacking him had still been a shameful reaction.

He’d thought he’d left that beserk rage behind him.

The younger Leaguer seemed to be able to read his mind, though, and immediately snuggled closer to him. // I’m not mad at you for that! I understand you were hurt and upset, please, Bull... Let me decide if I want to continue being your friend, all right? //

Sighing softly, Bull Armor nodded and licked his lips somewhat nervously. // So you really do want to- to interface with me? //

Damn Topjoy and his incorrigible grin, that younger Leaguer was simply beaming at him and giggling out loud. He chuckled himself, shaking his head and then yelping when Topjoy practically pounced him with a kiss.

With Topjoy on top of him, and Ryuuken and Magnum Ace sitting up in surprise, the red Leaguer just blinked and said, “I- I guess that’s a yes?”

“Of course it is, ne! Why wouldn’t I want to interface with you?!”

Topjoy kissed him again as Ryuuken chuckled quietly and Bull Armor felt his entire face begin to burn. He felt Magnum Ace’s hand twitch from where it was trapped between the two of them and he heard Magnum’s chuckle as the other red mech scooted closer.

----

Topjoy moaned softly as Bull Armor’s hands, directed by Ryuuken moved slowly across his plating. It was erotic, sending arcs of pleasure up and down his frame, pulling happy purrs and squeaks from him whenever Ryuuken gently encouraged Bull Armor to firm his touch.

Behind him was Magnum Ace, purring softly as their linked frames shared energy, sensation- everything... Leading both Ryuuken and Bull Armor to places on Topjoy’s frame that made him squirm and arch. He bit his lip, his vents coming in harsh pants as Bull Armor’s hands ran up his front, tickling along sensitive plating.

He giggled.

Ryuuken gently urged Bull Armor to continue even as the football Leaguer paused.

Then Bull Armor continued with far more confidence than he had earlier, watching Topjoy carefully as he dug between sensitive seams; and he couldn’t help it anymore, whining and arching.

“Nnngh! B-Bull! Please!” He reached out, for Bull’s chest, wanting to share with him just how good Bull’s hands felt all over him. Magnum pushed him closer, and he must have been talking with Ryuuken privately, because the other Leaguer did the same with Bull.

Their helms thunked together, and Bull smiled at him.

He giggled again, leaning forward and planting a kiss right on his lips, still giggling.

It seemed to spread through the whole group, Bull Armor chuckled softly, his lips vibrating against Topjoy’s, and the two surrounding them- well, Topjoy could practically feel their smiles.

Things became a rush of hands and mouths, hot, running up and down his back, his front, feeling Bull’s fingertips trace along the seams of his chest plating. Electricity seemed to spark between all their frames, arcing from him to Magnum, from Magnum to Bull, arcing through Ryuuken and right back again, a live circuit.

His plating clicked open without hesitation and then there were two sets of hands tracing along his cables, teasing around ports and the disk reader. Soft gasps, moans- it was hard to tell which were his and which belonged to everyone else among the heat of exhaust and whirring fans.

Magnum pulled him back, heated breath running up the back of his head, hands slipping forward to hold him still as Bull Armor leaned forward and mouthed along his bare chest; Topjoy cried out with each kiss, each nip along his circuitry.

Oh, but did he want to smack Magnum Ace for his chuckles and soothing croons.

And then all sensation whited out, leaving him gasping and arching into the two mechs sitting in front of him. The presence of two hearts rushed to meet his firewall, sending fire up and through his frame, one familiar and cherished, the other- the other loved from afar.

Ryuuken was relentless, gentle, guiding Bull through Topjoy’s systems, leaving shivering pleasure in their wake. It was intoxicating.

Their presence lingered, pooling in pockets of data, creating new sensations, enhancing happy memories as charge built and built, turned back into himself with no two-way link to flow through.

He bit his lip, gasping and rocking against the bodies surrounding him; their frames trapped the heat building inside of him, boiling over across his plating and through his circuits. They held him through his overload, he vaguely heard Bull Armor’s sweet voice speaking soothingly in his audios.

Panting, Topjoy sagged against the mechs surrounding him, small arcs of static running up his frame and through theirs.

Bull Armor was smiling, gently, at him, petting the side of his face with Ryuuken smiling brightly and winking at him from behind.

He couldn’t help it, he giggled.  

----

Magnum slowly wiped the pink transfers off his plating, an amused smile on his face as he heard Ryuuken humming under the next showerhead. The karate Leaguer was quite proud of himself, it seemed.

Chuckling, Magnum shook his helm. All was well in the team now, and he was glad to have such an emotional rock as Ryuuken there to help smooth over the ruffles.