Chapter Text
Tokyo is done with Berlin's flirting and general annoyance. She has put up with him long enough; Maybe that is the problem. She has always had a certain ‘fly in the ointment’ ability to make things worse.
Still, not even she could foresee what would start with one simple question.
"Are you an idiot or actively suicidal?" She spits, eager to start their fight off early this morning. There is nothing else to do after all.
Berlin laughs and smiles sharply, with the right level of dismissiveness.
He means to say, "Can’t I be both? Would that ease your annoyed soul?”
Instead, he opens his mouth and the words are replaced at the last second, "Well I'm not going to allow myself to die of this ugly disease."
… That was not meant to happen and Tokyo pauses as she realises this whilst Berlin's mouth is now closed, stretched in a thin line, puzzling over this reality.
He partially does not believe he said that. He knows Tokyo is likely not to look too deeply into it and he is thankful for that. Though he still hopes, for his own sake, that it is not as revealing as it sounded to him.
Tokyo narrows her eyes before she speaks again as Berlin forces a smile.
"Did you run out of things to say that actually make sense?" Tokyo goes on to ask a question again. Berlin, this time, takes a second more to respond.
He is unsure what to say but at least this is a step back into normality. Still, he is cautious.
"Tokyo, Tokyo, Tokyo, I always make sense. It's not my fault you are too dumb to understand it." He tuts, smiling as this jab at least works - a momentary slip then, one that is troubling but will cause no further trouble.
Or it wouldn't have if Tokyo hadn't tried to say, "I hate you." as a response because that's not the truth.
"You're like an annoying brother." She says instead, mouth snapping shut as she stares at Berlin with wide eyes.
Berlin, to his credit, takes at least two seconds of silence before he laughs, covering his mouth as if it might cover his amusement. He hasn't heard that one before and he still thinks the panicked look Tokyo is giving him is part of the act.
"Pardon?" He gets out, swallowing down the laughter as he once again waits for their usual back-and-forth to resume. In the back of his mind, he is counting down to when the others might arrive and scold them for causing trouble this early on in the day, but it has become a tradition at this point and he hates to break tradition.
Tokyo doesn't respond though, turning her face away from him in an expression of thought.
Berlin immediately wonders what he might have said.
He glances behind him, looking to the entrance of the house for anyone Tokyo might have spotted, but there's no one and nothing.
Another glance, this time up at the sky, tells him nothing as well so he finally questions Tokyo directly.
"Tokyo?"
She glances at him but continues being faced slightly away, staring at the ground to her right, brow lowered and mouth in a line.
Berlin settles himself in to wait. Time ticks on.
Finally, Tokyo speaks. She doesn't make any sense though.
"You're not going to believe me but-...I didn't say that."
Berlin fails to see what kind of joke this could possibly be.
"Excuse me?"
Tokyo shoots him a glare but continues, understanding his trepidation and confusion in part. She doesn't believe it herself.
"What I said before, I didn't mean to say it."
"To call me a brother? Why, because I'm more like-"
"I promise I will shoot you if you finish that sentence."
Berlin holds his hands up in mock surrender before waving her on to continue. If this is a joke it's not a very good one.
"I think there is something wrong."
"Because you called me a brother." Berlin supplies unhelpfully, earning himself another glare and a mental kick in the nuts that Tokyo wishes she could bring to life.
Nevertheless, she continues as Berlin once again glances around, wondering the whereabouts of the rest of their group. He would have heard them sneak around to hide in shrubbery.
"I meant to say I hate you." She continues still, Berlin nodding along. He is well acquainted with her opinions of him.
"But all that came out was...The brother thing."
Tokyo stops them, allowing Berlin to add anything, any smart remark or helpful thing he may have noticed but all he does is shrug and move to look behind him as the rest emerge, having finally woken up.
It's clear that he doesn't understand and doesn't wish to.
Tokyo simply deflates and broods in her chair as the others greet each other and offer exchanges of fruit and drink before sitting.
"What were you two doing up so early?" Nairobi starts teasing as she smiles, looking between Tokyo and Berlin. She knows they weren't doing anything besides bickering like children but she is always amused by the responses they give every time she asks.
"Talking." Berlin answers swiftly and smoothly before an unreadable expression falls on his face and his eyes drop to his lap.
Nairobi stares at him for a moment before dismissing it and focusing on Tokyo, thinking perhaps she may give an entertaining answer.
She would, just like Berlin was going to, if she was able. Unfortunately, she isn't.
Just like Berlin, who was going to say, "Confessing our love for each other."
Tokyo would say, "We were planning our grand escape with all the money while you slept."
But instead, she says, "Getting increasingly concerned about what comes out of my mouth."
This, at least, is the entertainment Nairobi has been looking for and so she laughs at the response and misses Tokyo's face falling.
Tokyo looks over to Berlin, both of their mouths closed as the others settle around them, the Professor the last to join and still looking half-asleep.
Berlin refuses to meet her eyes and continues to stare at his lap, the expression more readable now as confusion and annoyance. Tokyo feels the same, though is unwilling to express that after attempting mere minutes ago when the two were alone.
"Morning." The Professor greets them all before tuning in to the conversations around him.
"Professor! What's the plan now? Another heist?" Denver asks innocently, laughing as the older man's eyes widen and he scoffs.
"No, not after Andrés was buried under rubble. I don't think my heart could take that again." He laughs before blinking, the smile falling slightly.
At this, at least, Berlin's head pricks up again as he looks across at his brother confused.
Tokyo also looks at him, along with the entire table, except she is definitely more worried than anyone else is at the moment. Forming in her head is a pretty strong suspicion that something is amiss.
"Professor, did you mean to say that?" She puts forward intent on him answering truthfully.
This causes a small mutter of, "Of course he did." from Denver but no one else speaks.
Sergio blinks for a moment before confessing, "No, I didn't."
He looks confused, his mouth partially open as he continues blinking.
The others look confused but not concerned, their cheerful mood for the morning clearly disturbed, but not ruined, as Tokyo gets a sinking feeling in her gut.
"Professor, I think there's something really strange going on." She states directly before continuing once everyone's eyes are on her.
"Berlin said something strange this morning-" She starts before being interrupted.
"Hey! I thought it was strange but I don't think you have the right to call it-"
Tokyo swings her gaze around to him, "Are you incapable of shutting your trap for one minute Berlin."
The man in question raises another mock surrender before dramatically shaking his head, waving her to take the floor again.
She rolls her eyes but doesn't comment.
"Then it continued and spread to me-" Tokyo pauses, eyeing Berlin in case he wants to interrupt again and add what exactly she said. The man is simply staring back at her expectantly.
So she finishes, "And now you've just said something you didn't mean to. Right, Professor?"
The Professor stares back at her with nervous eyes as they all look at him, not understanding what exactly is being asked or explained and not wanting to respond.
Luckily Nairobi saves him indirectly after silence falls.
"Your words are being replaced by...-I'm sorry, what?"
Tokyo sighs.
"Are you saying you and Berlin, and now the Professor, have a ..virus?" Rio asks, eyeing the three.
"What are you saying?" Denver asks very shortly after, spurring the others to also talk.
In the end, they all talk over each other, wondering many things but mostly if Tokyo has lost her mind.
The only ones not talking are Berlin, Tokyo and the Professor, each mentally debating in their heads separate problems.
For the Professor, who has the easiest puzzle in his head, he is wondering why he so clearly said what he's been thinking about for days. He didn't think he was ready to confess to himself, never mind the group, that the heist made him never want to do another.
For Tokyo, she puzzles over how to explain her suspicions without sounding mad. She knows something is wrong and she almost has exactly what it is but she needs the other's brains.
And finally, for Berlin, he wonders how to stop all this. He does not like not knowing what 'this' is and it makes him angry. At least if he knew the game he could play it.
So he maps out the key facts. Truths are being forced in place of lies and there is no obvious reason why. It is not just him, Tokyo and Sergio also apparently being confused by what comes out of their mouths.
While all three puzzle, the talks rage on, getting louder until finally Berlin breaks it up by tapping his glass.
"Are we done?" He asks as he looks between them all.
"Good. Let's talk," he continues, "Tokyo and I do not have any kind of sickness, at least not any new ones. You can stop looking worried Rio."
The kid, to his grace, blushes only a small amount.
"But, I agree that something strange is happening today, we're saying things we don't really mean. Until I can figure out exactly what is wrong I suggest we stop mindlessly talking and shut up." Berlin instructs.
To everyone's credit, they do shut up, muttering under their breath but not talking to each other as breakfast continues, now with a noticeably ruined mood.
It's only when they finish up that the Professor speaks.
"You're wrong Andrés, I think we're saying exactly what we mean. That's the problem."
Berlin clenches his jaw but doesn't speak as they are told to follow. It would seem class is once again in session.