Ninjago: Earthtones Chapter Two

[mattecat]

  Summary: Dareth foils a kidnapping attempt and develops an unlikely bond with Cyrus Borg, except now the Sons of Garmadon have them both in their sights. An AU of seasons 8–9 featuring Coppershipping (Cyrus/Dareth).

Warnings: Character death, violence, alcohol, mature themes. Warnings apply to future chapters.

Notes: You can preorder a Physical, Hand Made Book of this story up until August 15th! Follow this link for more details. You will also get digital updates twice a week, instead of the once a week I'll be updating here.
 

EARTHTONES

 

CHAPTER TWO

His boss commented on how cheery he was. Dareth just laughed and said something about running into a spot of luck for once. "Good or bad?" his boss said with a smile.

 

"Good, for sure." Dareth said. "At least, I hope so!"

 

He continued wiping down the counter, whistling as he went. The rent payment went through swell, and Dareth even prepaid his rent for next month. His landlord no doubt wondered where he got the money from, but did it really matter, as long as he paid it? Well, no, it probably would matter if he had stolen it. But he didn't! It was completely legitimate.

 

"Hey, Dareth?" his boss called. "You've been wiping down that spot for a good while now. I think it's clean enough."

 

Dareth snapped out of it. "Yup! Sorry, Mel."

 

Mel laughed and walked out from behind the bar. "We're opening soon," he called over his shoulder, heading to the back office. "Make sure you're ready. Can't have you daydreaming on me, Brown!"

 

The nickname sounded better in Mel's mouth than his landlord's. Probably 'cause Mel actually liked having him around. Dareth chuckled and moved to the next section of counter.

 

When the bar opened, Dareth fell into his typical groove, chatting with the customers and serving them their drinks and food. The regulars were the good sort, never overdrinking to the point where Dareth had to cut them off, and all-around pleasant company. Dareth liked his job, which was more than most people could say, and it was why he stuck with it even when it didn't quite pay the bills.

 

The night passed without incident. It was busier than usual for a weeknight, and Dareth had to scramble to take care of the patrons and do the chores he was supposed to do in the slow periods. Mel had to step in and help, and by the time his shift was over, Dareth was beat, and he told Mel as much.

 

"Going straight home, huh?" Mel said. "I put up next week's schedule, so make sure to check that before you head out."

 

"Aw, why don't you just email it to me?"

 

"You know I have trouble with those digital devices, Brown!" Mel gave him a small smile. "Sorry, Dareth, but I'm sticking with printouts for the time being. It's too bad Abigail quit on us. No hard feelings, I wish her the best, but she just knew the computers, better than anyone else I've hired."

 

"I could give it a shot," Dareth suggested. "I'm no expert, but I bet I could handle it."

 

"No offense," Mel said, "but I'd rather you stick to bartending. You're good at your job, and I don't want to change it up on you, y'know?"

 

"Ah, yeah, I get it."

 

He checked the schedule, put his shifts in his phone's calendar, and punched out. On the walk home, he entertained himself by thinking how good it would be to get into bed. His landlord was off his case, his money problems were solved… life was good.

 

He got home and checked his mail to find an unfamiliar envelope. A closer look determined it was from the hospital. Dareth ripped it open to find the bill from his stay enclosed.

 

"Oh boy," he said, reading the total. "That's… not good."

 

It wasn't a devastating amount, especially since he had prepaid his rent for next month, but he'd still need to watch his spending for the next few paychecks. Dareth sighed and went into his apartment. He'd worry about all that in the morning.

 

--

 

A few days later, Dareth wandered back to Borg Tower. He had a day off, and the lobby was open, so he figured he'd check out the gift shop like he had been planning to do before he thwarted a kidnapping and got a concussion. Still couldn't afford to buy anything, though. Maybe a novelty pen, but he really ought to be saving to pay off his medical bills, lucky as he was to have an manageable amount.

 

Apparently, there was an event going on in the lobby. Several reporters with their camera crews were surrounding the receptionist's desk, overwhelming the poor person struggling to answer their questions. Dareth couldn't hear what they were saying. He moved closer, only for a hand to land on his shoulder and making him jump.

 

"Good to see you," Becky said when he turned around. "Are you here to see Dr. Borg?"

 

"Uh," Dareth said. "No? I was just gonna, uh, browse the gift shop."

 

Becky nodded. "He'd actually like to talk to you, if you're willing to come up with me." She glanced at the reporters. "We'll have to take another route, though. I don't fancy my chances with the media. Come with me."

 

Dareth looked back behind him as Becky led him to a side door, but the reporters didn't seem interested in him.

 

--

 

The door led to a set of stairs, which they went up two floors before going to the elevator. Dareth was out of breath midway through the climb, all the while Becky assured him that no, they were not taking the stairs all the way to the hundredth floor. "This is just to avoid the crowd," she said while he leaned on the railing and took deep breaths. "Dr. Borg would rather not deal with them today."

 

"Huh," Dareth said between gasps. "Any… reason why?

 

"It's not for me to say."

 

"Okay, yeah. I get it."

 

Dareth picked at his shirt during the elevator ride. He hadn't expected to be exerting himself today, and he was a little sweaty now. Hopefully Cyrus wouldn't mind.

 

He didn't seem to mind. In fact, Cyrus was just as happy to see him as he was the first time. "Dareth! So good of you to stop by. I just wanted to check in, make sure everything went alright. Did you pay your rent?"

 

Becky raised an eyebrow. "You didn't give him money, did you?"

 

Cyrus scoffed. "He prevented a kidnapping, a couple thousand is nothing compared to that. Next thing I know you'll be on my case for giving my employees holiday bonuses."

 

"Uh…" Dareth looked between Becky and Cyrus. "Should I… give it back?"

 

"No, no," Cyrus said immediately. "There's no need for that. Becky, why don't you head back to your office?"

 

Becky shrugged and turned away. Dareth watched her go, her heels click-clacking on the floor, until Cyrus coughed and Dareth turned back around.

 

"Your rent," Cyrus said. "Did it go alright?"

 

Dareth nodded. "Yeah, thanks to you. Even paid next month ahead of time. Honestly, I can't thank you enough, Dr. Borg."

 

"Call me Cyrus, really!" Cyrus leaned on his desk with a smile. "We're both friends of the ninja, aren't we? I've heard a lot about you!"

 

"Really?" Dareth chuckled. "Yeah, we go way back to when Lloyd was… well, he's still a kid, but back when he looked like one, y'know?"

 

Cyrus nodded. "Right, before New Ninjago City. That's quite a while! Are you still in contact with them?"

 

"Eh, not so much. I was their manager for a while, but…" Dareth hesitated. "Well, they moved on. Don't need someone like me anymore."

 

"I'm sure they'd still be up for a chat," Cyrus said. "Pixal is glad you were at Borg Tower that night, that's for sure."

 

"Yeah, but they don't need me, y'know?" Dareth shrugged. "I'm a cool guy, but when the going gets tough, they're not gonna call me for backup."

 

And he was cool with that, really. Even if he no longer had the lucrative job as their manager, he was making a good enough life for himself on his own, wasn't it? He had a job he liked, and he finally got his landlord off his case, even if that was only a recent development. The medical bills were a problem, but he always got something figured out.

 

"You seem…" Cyrus gestured with one hand. "…pensive."

 

"What?" Dareth said. "I mean, yeah, I miss 'em, but what can you do?"

 

"Oh, don't give me that," Cyrus said. "You can meet up with them! Invite them out to lunch! I'm sure they'd enjoy catching up, wouldn't they?"

 

"Eh… can't really afford to eat out."

 

Cyrus blinked. "After I gave you five thousand dollars?"

 

"Uh…" Dareth rubbed the back of his head. "Got some hospital bills. I got beaned pretty bad, and my insurance isn't that good…"

 

"We can't have that!" Cyrus exclaimed. "I'll contact the hospital at once."

 

"What?"

 

"You were injured defending me, even Becky can't possibly think I'm going to let you pay that off yourself." Cyrus was already picking up his phone and typing rapidly. "Pixal should know which hospital you were brought to, she's the one who called the ambulance…"

 

Dareth laughed nervously. "It's no big deal, I can pay it off myself, I just need to, y'know, watch my spending for a few weeks. Don't worry about it, really."

 

"You couldn't pay rent and I'm expected to believe you can pay off medical bills?"

 

Dareth winced. Cyrus blinked and paused to put down his phone.

 

"I'm sorry," he said, "I didn't mean to be rude. If you don't want me to pay it, I won't, I just… feel bad. The injury was my fault, wasn't it? In, ah, a roundabout way, sort of…"

 

"Oh, no way!" Dareth shook his head. "You didn't crack my head open, the Sons of Garmadon did. You don't have to worry about it, I can take care of myself."

 

Cyrus nodded. "Alright, then. But if you change your mind, or if something comes up, you can call this number, alright?"

 

"Sounds good to me." Dareth took the piece of paper Cyrus slid over to him and examined at the number written on it. "This thing has texting too, right?"

 

"Of course! Who do you think I am?" Cyrus cracked a smile. "Like I said, anything happens, let me know. I might not be able to respond right away, though – meetings and whatnot – so in the event of an emergency, call or text Pixal instead."

 

"Got it." Dareth plugged the number into his contacts. "There anything else? I'd love to stay and chat, but…"

 

"No, no, that's all. I have work to do, unfortunately." Cyrus sighed. "My meeting's on a lower floor – I'll take the elevator with you."

 

"Alright." Dareth stood up and waited for Cyrus to join him in his wheelchair. "What's the meeting about?"

 

"Oh, just the usual. Catching everyone up with the developments of the past week, checking everyone's progress…" Cyrus shrugged. "I'm glad you came in when you did; if you had been a little later I wouldn't have had time. I barely have enough time as it is – there's a reason I live in the same place I work, ha!"

 

Dareth nodded understandingly. "Yeah, I get it. Sometimes I wished I lived with Mel instead of… well, whatever."

 

"Who's Mel? Your boss, I take it?" They got in the elevator. Cyrus pressed the buttons for both his floor and the lobby.

 

"Yeah, he's a great guy. Likes me better than my landlord, heh."

 

Cyrus frowned. "Is your landlord… particularly unpleasant?"

 

"Eh, he used to like me, back when I paid my rent on time. Heh, I guess most landlords wouldn't like someone like me now."

 

Dareth laughed. Cyrus didn't seem amused.

 

The elevator doors opened, and Cyrus positioned his wheelchair in the middle of them so they wouldn't close. "I know we don't know each other well," he said, "but I mean it when I say I want you to call me if something happens. Call me, text me, what have you, just let me know, alright?"

 

"I wouldn't worry," Dareth said. "Things always work out for me."

 

Cyrus nodded, but didn't smile. "Well, let me know either way."

 

He left, and the elevator continued its journey down to the lobby.

 

--

 

On the walk back to his apartment, Dareth spotted a dog walking in the other direction. He stopped to chat with the owner and realized the dog, named Tiberius, had a custom-made wheelchair. "His back legs don't work anymore," the owner said. "Just old age. Still as happy as ever, aren't you, Tibby?"

 

He got the owner's permission to snap a picture and sent a text after they and the dog had walked away.

 

look! >
a corgi! >
or should I say >
a BORG-i :) >

 

He didn't get a response for some hours. Dareth was getting ready for bed when his phone buzzed.

 

< That's a beagle, actually.
< But thank you for thinking of me! :)

 

Dareth chuckled.

 

no problem cyrus :) >
talk to u later >

 

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