Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

OJ sat on his desk. Another busy day. Paying taxes, addressing complaints, paying for maintenance and food. Gosh it was boring. He’d rather be somewhere else. In the garden with Paper, or playing video games with Pickle and Bomb. I need a break…With that, he got up to stretch. How long has it been anyways. 5, 6 hours? Paper walked in, a worried look on his face.

“Uhm…Oj, you've been working for a while.”

“What about it?” OJ responded.

“Do you think you can come to bed now? It's almost 12 A.M.” Paper fidgeted with the crease on his top left corner.

“I need to work on a few more things I’ll come to bed in a-“ Oj was cut off by Paper grasping his wrist looking at him with a frown. 

“Go. To. Bed.” He said sternly. Oj was honestly a little shocked by this. 

“Please.” 

“...okay,” OJ mumbled reluctantly. Paper looked satisfied and took OJ's hand to guide him to their room. OJ realized he was so tired he could barely walk. Paper sighed and put OJ’s arm over himself to steady the shaky glass. Finally they made it to the room. Oj put his cork on to prevent his juice from spilling and flopped on the comfy king sized bed, sighing with relief. Paper lay beside him and stared into OJ's eyes. Or soul, OJ could never tell. 

“You've gotta stop overworking yourself so much,” Paper whispered, rubbing his hand on OJ's pristine glass. 

“But who will take care of the hotel?”

“Im right here OJ,” Paper chuckled. OJ's tired face was replaced with sorrow.

“Yeah but… When the hotel first started, you worked yourself to death and…I can't let you hurt yourself like that anymore.” OJ's voice was starting to crack. Paper placed a finger on his lips to shush him. The two just stayed silent while Paper smiled playfully at OJ. OJ started to laugh a little and in only a few seconds, the two were giggling and snickering like they did in their younger years. It had been a while since they had such a moment together. It was nice. Really nice. Paper yawned and stretched.

“We'll, I guess it's time for us to go to bed.” He looked at OJ expectantly. “Or you're gonna be horribly paranoid.” Paper chuckled a bit at his own remark. OJ playfully shoved him a little and the two were back to laughing again. Full on laughter. Ended up playfighting until 1 A.M.. OJ was definitely ready to sleep.

“Goodnight paper…” he whispered. Paper just looked lovingly at him until he closed his eyes, and planted a soft kiss on his forehead. Sleeping had never felt so good in so long, OJ couldn't help but grin like an idiot in his sleep.

OJ had ended up waking up pretty late. 6 in the afternoon. By that time, the challenge should be coming to a close by now. He was more than excited to see Paper. To sweep him off his feet and cheer that he had gotten through the challenge. To reward him with flowers or gifts while taking him out to dinner. OJ prepared himself as fast as he can, even putting on his fanciest tie to greet his amazing husband. He went to Clover and Bomb’s garden to pick the prettiest flowers for papers. Marigolds, his favorite. OJ knew they had a meaning but he forgot it. They probably meant something happy though. They were so bright and vibrant and cheerful. He bought a whole bouquet and rushed to meet paper, that stupid grin still plastered on his face.

When paper came out of the area, OJ barely noticed how pale Paper's stripes were. Like way too pale to be normal. 

“Paper!” OJ grabbed Paper and lifted him into the air. Paper made a noise that sounded sort of like shock and joy all together. The two held each other into a loving embrace for a moment, until Paper pulled away suddenly, not able to look OJ in the eye. 

“Thank you OJ, for all of this but, there's something you should know…”

“What do you mean Paper?” OJ still had that clueless and goofy smile that Paper loved so dearly. Paper felt even worse now. OJ didn't seem to get it yet.

“Uhm…Test tube, she…almost died…”

Silence. Deafening silence. OJ carefully put Paper down and his smile had been wiped from his face, replaced with worry.

“Wh-How?!” OJ questioned. 

“Jack… He got eliminated and lost his temper a little and Test Tube fell… It was a complete accident.” OJ knew Paper was trying to protect Jack. Paper had too much empathy. OJ groaned and pinched the area between his brows. 

“Don't worry Paper. I'll handle it.” Paper nodded slowly and OJ just decided to take Paper to the hills to cheer him up. The flowers there were the most beautiful at sunset, and so was Paper. It was fitting. 

Even in the hills, Paper didn't seem cheered up yet. Like he couldn't stop thinking about what happened. OJ got a little frustrated. Paper needed to stop worrying so much. But deep down, he worried too… If people couldn't stay safe for one simple challenge, what would happen during the whole competition? 

Later that night, Paper snored loudly, as usual, with his hand on OJ's, like always. But OJ couldn't sleep. He kept thinking about it.

Is the OSC really doing its job? Ever since Poppy and the others came there it’s just…been so messy. 

How can Oj be a leader if he can’t keep the things in order like he said to do?

 How can Oj be a leader if he can’t protect others? 

How can Oj be a leader if someone almost dies? (A/N: Subtle foreshadowing LMAOOO)

How can Oj be a leader if someone does die?

 How can Oj be a leader when the person who dies is paper?

The thoughts were driving him mad. Sleep wasn't an option at this point. But brainstorming was…

Chapter Text

It was so early, yet OJ was up. He needed to host a meeting with the OSC to discuss the issue as soon as possible. He wrote each member their own invite by hand and went out to put them in front of their rooms. Now to wait.

1 hour passed. Nobody came yet. 

2 hours passed. Still, nobody was there.

Only after three hours did Cabbly roll in, while a drowsy Suitcase followed suit. 

“OJ what is this for?” Cabby said, angrily waving the letter in the air.

“There was an incident. During the challenge.” OJ replied. That’s what got the other’s attention. OJ spent the next 30 minutes repeating exactly what Paper had told him. Seems like my good memory really is useful, OJ thought proudly. Suitcase’s eyes grew wide with shock and Cabby was taking notes. 

“And, how we weren’t informed of this?” Cabby questioned. “This is insane! Someone could have died!” Suitcase just stood there as the two discussed it. How could this happen? The biggest fear that she and many others had is death and he was only seconds away from her death?

How could she possibly let this happen? Why wasn’t she there?

Things just had to get better in this society.

Better.

“Suitcase?” Oj said in a quick tone. “Oh! Sorry I just zoned out for a moment.” A smile plastered on her face. 

“Well we were just talking about making sure this incident never happens again,” Cabby replied. Oj fidgeted with his fingers 

The citizens were just acting completely irrational. If this continues something horrible could happen.

There just had to be a way…

He snapped his fingers, “We need more control in the O.S.C!” He announced with a slight amount of pride. The members looked at him. “Control you say?” Cabby said. “That doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”

“Like… more laws?” Suitcase asked. OJ snapped his fingers “Yes exactly like that!”

“I'm…not sure about that…what about everyone else, how would they feel?” Cabby remarked, preparing a file to put her notes in. The other two stared at her, seeming a bit confused.

“But..wouldn't they know that this is just for their safety?” OJ tried to reason with Cabby. Cabby thought for a minute and made a sound of agreement while nodding. The trio spent the next 3 hours figuring out new laws to put in place. They were a bit restrictive, but it was to keep the others safe. The new laws included things like using cameras, keeping a constant record, a curfew depending on where and what you do for work, increased security, meaning that the safety committee will have to work more and keep track of everyone. Mandatory checkups, and more. And definitely a scheduled trial for Jack in a few days.

“Im not sure the others will enjoy this but it's for their safety, so they'll surely understand.” The OSC looked satisfied at their work. But before they could put these laws down, they need people to side with them. It may not be the greatest way, but might be their best bet.