Chapter Text
Nosa never liked making big deliveries on his own. He knew the road wasn’t that long ahead, but he could imagine clinging on to two huge bags of mags while trying to drive a motorcycle one handed all while his suitcase dipped his weight closer to the ground with every turn. He had a pair of goggles on to keep the wind from stinging his eyes shut because he cracked his last Joy mask to pieces. He would have to ask for help, and he really really hoped Buzzo was gone on a supply run on this god-awful day. He was the last person he wanted to see today. He did know the Boys did shuffle hideouts every now and then, but they knew he was coming at some point today and this was their last meeting place, so he hoped at least someone would be inside. He parked right outside the door of the warehouse and cut the engine. The noise didn’t bring anyone outside, so he sighed deeply. He adjusted the suitcase of his wares on his back and waltzed right up to the door, gave it a few taps, then loudly announced while opening it “Dudes, I’m here!”
Ezra brought herself into the rectangle of light that the door shaped into the darkness. “Hey. Welcome back.” She said.
“Hey, E!” He greeted her with a famous Nosa grin. Someone he actually liked to see. “Bring the Joy. And you running low on that lady candy?”
“Yeah I am,” she then turned as a cue for Nosa to follow her in and he obliged. “So, if you have any of that stuff with you that’d be great. How much is it?”
Ezra led him to the backroom of the warehouse where they stored their treasure trove of Joy. “20 for candy, but you know the juice lasts longer. It's 40 though.” Ezra looked like she was in thought for a moment as she opened one of the many packed crates containing a multitude of bags holding the drug.
Her side business at the Beehive was doing well and it’s not like she didn’t have the mags to spare. Thinking on that she said, “Well if it lasts longer, I’ll take the...uh, ‘juice’. I just have a few mags with me right now, but I can go grab some more if you’d wait here.”
Nosa piped up before she moved. “Lady juice usually lasts about two weeks each shot.” he made a small measurement with his fingers adding “You can probably go even just a bit longer than that if you wanted. It’s usually triple the price butttt” he hung on to the words so he could put on a big smile ‘-you know I love you.”
Ezra threw a look at him. She was kind of surprised that she wasn’t used to his mannerisms by this point. The look quickly faded into a gentle laugh as she shook her head. “Fine, fine, I’ll go grab the mags, be right back. Wait here, and don’t destroy our whole Joy supply while you’re at it, yeah?” When she got to the door, she added a ‘thank you’.
Nosa took two big baggies of Joy from the crate then slid the top back into place. They hadn’t forgotten about the time he did manage to ruin that batch of Joy, huh? He set his suitcase down to grab two gifts for the others that he had and then returned to his hands-to-himself stance.
Ezra goes back into the spare room where the her safe for mags was. She thumbs through a stack for the price, locks the safe, and exits. In the hallway is another of the Joy crew, Crow, seemingly waiting for her.
“Is Nosa back? I thought I heard him.” He asks.
“Yeah, he’s in here.” Crow tails her back to the room.
Crow is then greeted by a loud ‘Yooo, what’s up, shortstack!’ from Nosa. Crow was still in the process of waking up from a nap, so he just wiped the comment from his mind. He still felt happy to see him. “Hey, Nosa. Good to see you back, feels like it’s been a while.”
“It does, doesn’t it? Hey, E?” his eyes went to hers “Can you help me with this Joy run? It might take a while, but I need some extra hands taking back the stuff.”
Ezra lets a breath pass through her teeth and a frown follows. She says a quick apology along with “Not this time. I was just waiting for you to come by, so I could grab the stuff then head to work. Beehive’s been pretty busy lately and Queen Roger’s been kind of stressed, don’t want to get on his bad side by not showing up, you know?”
Oh, Queen Roger. Nosa remembered some awkward and sometimes fun times at the Beehive. “Yeah, I don’t wanna get capped. Tell him I said hey?”
“Yeah sure, maybe you can stop by sometime and say hi, he always likes it when you come to visit.” She holds out the mags in her hand. “Here you are, 40 dirty pages.”
Nosa took the mags in his awaiting hand then thumbed through to do a check. Everything was there.
Crow just watches their transaction while quietly adding “I could help if you want.”
Nosa looks at him and sizes Crow up ready for another height joke. It seemed like Nosa and Ezra towered above him. He was rather on the short side.
“No, I thought I'd ask Jaxon so he can help me carry all the shit.” Crow was spared from the jab instead aimed at their armless comrade.
Crow narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips. “Do you want me to help you or not?”
“You doin’ anything else?” Nosa asked. Truthfully, he really hoped not. Of all the Joy Boys, Crow was Nosa’s favorite.
Crow shrugged. “Not really. Got back from a Joy run a while ago and I’ve just been sleeping, it’ll be nice to have something to do.”
Nosa smiled. That was what he liked to hear. Crow looked like he could use some action even though it was never a dull moment with this crew. “Okay, lets kick this bitch down the stairs!” He tucked the pages and Joy bags into his suitcase and zipped it shut. “E, tell Darius I'm calling an arm-wrestling rematch next time I see him.” The last matches he lost pretty miserably, but with some recent practice, he thought he stood a chance at the title. He perks up for a moment now remembering the other things he was holding. He hands a small bottle of green tinted liquid to Ezra. “This is for Kai. He owes me big time. It was a nightmare getting this stuff.” Absinthe for their local Joy Boy drunkard.
“Got it. I’ll see you guys later then. Thanks again, Nosa.” She threw up a peace sign as she left the two to their own devices.
A voice calls from close in the warehouse. “Nosa?” A young voice questions the area. A huge smile lights up Nosa’s face at recognizing the voice’s owner.
“Felix!” he basically screams in response. Footsteps follow and the youngest of the boys with freckled cheeks, clouded eyes, and dusty red hair wanders into the room. Crow watches as Nosa drops his things to trot over and lift the boy in the air. Felix is caught off guard at first but then relaxes into a smile and a laugh. Felix is nearly as tall as Nosa but he’s able to lift him with no trouble. He drops him back to earth then guides him along by the hand to his things. “I’ve got some new food for you to try. You haven’t had Pop Rocks before have you?”
Felix’s brow furrows in confusion and he shakes his head. “No, what are they?” His expression shifts into something more excited. “Wait, are they something like Poptarts?”
“They’re like…” Nosa ponders on that for a moment. They’re both sweet but no not like the old box of Poptarts Nosa had once unearthed and given to Felix; who, despite the expiration date, ate the whole box by himself. Nosa’s excitement didn’t diminish as he eagerly imagined Felix’s reaction to the new treat. “It’s candy. Hold out your hand.”
From what little sweets Felix had ever tasted, he was still adamant on trying this new and unknown thing. He held his hand out eagerly as he only had one arm. Nosa ripped open the packet and poured a little mound in his hand. Not too much, he thought, on the off chance that Felix didn’t like them or was too surprised by the reaction, but Nosa was sure he’d love it and want the rest.
Felix runs along the small mound of candy on his palm experimentally with his thumb, it feels kind of like little lumps of sand. As he puts them in his mouth, his eyes widen at the weird sensation. He opens his mouth to say something but it’s full of crackles and hisses. He opens and closes his mouth a couple more times listening to the new noise, an expression of awe on his face. “Holy shit.”
Nosa was very satisfied with his reaction. He kept flapping his lips opened and closed like a fish. “They’re called Pop Rocks for a reason.” He pressed the open packet into his hand for him to enjoy.
“That’s awesome.” Felix holds the packet carefully, making sure he doesn’t spill it on accident. He looks in Nosa’s direction with a grin from ear to ear. “Dude, thanks so much!” he chattered excitedly.
“No problem.” Nosa looks pleased. He didn’t get to see the small smile grow on Crow’s face from the exchange. A sudden thought of Felix trying to fit as much candy as possible into his little mouth flashed in Nosa’s mind. He had to add “Don’t choke.” He playfully ruffled his hand through Felix’s hair. “Me and Crow gotta do a delivery. It'll be a while, but we'll be back.”
“Aw, really? But you just got here.” Felix looks down and frowns slightly, then his head shoots up suddenly. “Wait, what if I go with you guys?”
Nosa couldn’t help remembering a supply run he went on. He nearly got killed and still had the scar from the bullet wound. "There is zero room on the bike left, dude. Sorry.” Upon seeing the disappointment on Felix’s face, he chimed in. “We can do something when I get back though?”
Felix thinks for a moment. “Okay, fine. Guess I’ll see you guys later, I’m gonna show Jaxon these pop rocks now.” He grins and holds up the bag of candy, gleefully shaking it before he starts walking away. “Byeee!!” Nosa gave him a good-bye wave before dropping his hand realizing his obvious mistake.
Crow scans the room looking for all the stuff Nosa mentioned before. “So where’s the stuff we have to carry?”
“We'll have to go trade the Joy for all the stuff. You get car sick?” He walks to the door with Crow following.
Crow was really hoping he wouldn’t have to be driving, on the account of him never learning how. “No, I’ll be fine. Where are we going?”
“Pretty far east.” Nosa opened the door to outside. “Maybe the day will hold out and we'll make it back before nightfall.” He then waved a hand at their ride. “Check it!” he sang as if revealing that Crow had just won this prize motorcycle.
Crow marvels at it as they approach. “Wow. Never actually been up close with one of these before.”
“What for real?”
Crow shook his head. “Nope. I mean, I’ve seen them on the road before but never really got near one much less ride one.” His expression turns sour as nervousness washes over him and starts to rethink this.
A huge grin overtook Nosa’s face. “Get on.”
Crow exchanged a look between him and the bike. “O-oh. Right.” He’s hesitant getting on.
Nosa slides in right behind him fitting against the curve of Crow’s back. Nosa’s hands set Crow’s on the handles and Crow is suddenly hyperaware of every touch between them. Nosa explains the steps to get it started, brake, kill switch, and steering. He adjusts the gauntlets on his hands and lightly holds onto the tops of Crow’s hands, so he can be like a puppeteer to his actions. Nosa is winding down his speech on the instructions and Crow is listening intently despite the pressure and warmth he feels between them. Nosa pops off the goggles adorned on his face and gives them to Crow who then adjusts to properly fit his own.
“I’ll take care of the gears. Just do what my hands do. Walk it forward then give it the tiniest squeeze.” Nosa adjusts his suitcase backpack tighter so it doesn’t fall from his arms then reaches over to turn the key and hits the switches. The engine responds with a roar to life and the vibrations pass between them. The motor is still warm so there’s no need to wait for the bike to ready itself. Nosa sets the gears, pulls up his feet from the ground to the passenger foot pegs, and Crow begins to lead the bike forward. Nosa lightly eases off the clutch and the bike kicks forward and panic hits Crow thinking he’s already messed up, but Nosa’s hand gives him a light pat and he can hear his voice in his ear and the rumble his voice puts through his back.
“I’m about to let go of the clutch now and it’s gonna pick up. When it starts going, give it some throttle.”
Crow’s anxiety grew as the bike seemed to pick up speed despite not even pulling the throttle yet. They were rolling forward and Crow’s feet were off the ground at this point. Nosa’s hands guiding him were the only comfort he had in this moment. As lightly as he could, Crow turned the throttle downwards. The bike responded as Nosa had said and began picking up speed as much as Crow had allowed. Already Crow’s mind was ahead thinking of them both biting the dust as he crashed the bike against some rock, but there was nothing notable around and the ground was clear enough from any obstacles.
Nosa bumped his hand again to signal for more throttle, and Crow answered with a little more of a twist. The bike responded with more speed.
Crow felt Nosa’s laugh reverberate through his back. “You got it! Now give it a good twist.” With that command, the bike went even faster, and both felt the wind dance in their hair and clothing. Crow could feel all the bumps and curves of the ground run through the wheels and up into his very core. He began to get a little more courage to guide the throttle down even more with Nosa’s hand mirroring his.
Nosa let loose a wild, unrestrained, excited yell from deep in his chest. “Come on, Crow! Hell YEAH!” he elbowed his side for him to join in the merry making.
Crow feels a smile start to spread across his face and begins to turn his head to look back at Nosa before he remembers to keep his eyes on the road. He still starts laughing though, feeling both exhilaration and disbelief that he’s actually able to do this, with Nosa’s help of course. They both ride on forward like this captured in the moment.