Work Text:
Peppermint yawned as she walked down the underground tunnel to the hideout, a cup of decaf in her hand. She had stayed up late last night in one of the Vandelay labs trying to scrub Kale’s grubby programming from the systems with her mother. It was slow going, but it was getting better. She was looking forward to just relaxing in the hideout doing light research on SPECTRA until the others got off work.
What she didn’t expect was to find the lights already on. She peered inside and saw that Chai was sitting on the floor in front of the couch, a wide array of books, papers, and whatnot scattered around him haphazardly. 808, who had been watching Chai intently, noticed she had entered and bounded eagerly to her owner, rubbing her face on her legs in a catty greeting.
“Hey there, 808,” she cooed at her cat, reaching down to pet her between the ears. Peppermint looked up at Chai. “Mornin’, Chai,” she greeted him.
Chai only looked up briefly at her before turning to work on…whatever he was doing. Scribbling in a book of some kind. “Hey, Peppermint,” he replied.
“You’re up early,” she commented, taking a sip of her coffee and approaching the mess he made on the floor. Chai didn’t answer, too focused on his scribbling. Curious, Peppermint crouched nearby, taking a closer look at what he had spread all over the floor. “Whatcha doing, Chai?”
“Stuff," he answered, not looking up from what he was doing.
“I can see that,” she replied, watching 808 play with a few pens scattered across the floor. Peppermint hoped she wouldn’t have to chase him down to get him to clean up after himself after this.
Putting aside her coffee, Peppermint reached for one of the books on the floor to see what ‘stuff’ was. It was a textbook: ‘ Understanding Music: Past and Present ’. She hadn’t heard of this piece of literature, but judging by the thickness and the cover, it was a college level textbook. Opening it up, she found that the book was filled to the brim with loose pages and notes, and if that wasn’t enough, there were some scribblings in between the lines.
Were…these Chai’s notes? There were just so many of them.
She flipped through some of the pages. The textbook itself seemed to be some pretty heavy reading about music history, the science of music, and more; stuff she didn’t really get without a proper study. Chai’s messy, but detailed notes showed that he had a pretty great understanding about what was in there. Peppermint knew he was pretty earnest and hardworking when it came to learning music, but she didn’t realize the extent or intensity of his learning. She was impressed, and proud of him.
Smiling to herself, she carefully put the book back onto the ground, straightening it up and stacking some other textbooks on it so the floor wasn’t so messy. He was studying really hard and somehow Peppermint just wanted to support him.
Chai was too engrossed at the moment to realize what she was doing, but she was certain he wouldn’t mind her cleaning up a bit. He’d probably thank her, had he noticed, he's never been one for keeping his workspace clean. As she was gathering up some scattered pages, she picked up a page which gave her a momentary pause. It wasn’t a page of notes like the previous ones. It was a music sheet, but the notes there were drawn on there in a familiar messy hand. The words ‘think name later don’t forget’ (in that grammar) was scrawled into the corner.
“Is this your song, Chai?” Peppermint asked.
Chai finally looked up, eyes wide in confusion as he looked at her and then the pieces of paper. Then his eyes lit up. “Oh! So that’s where it went.”
“You wrote all this?” she said, handing the paper back to him.
Chai took it from her and carefully put the loose paper into the notebook. “Uh, yeah, just…writing stuff that comes to mind.” He scratched the back of his head. “Nothing too special.”
How strangely modest of him. “I’d like to hear it sometime. Your music,” she told him with a smile. Peppermint wondered what kind of song Chai would write, probably rock considering what he listens to.
“Ehh, I dunno,” Chai responded, closing the book and putting the book to the side. “It’s like, not done yet and stuff…” He gestured vaguely with his hand.
She reached over and put a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, no pressure. Share when you feel like you’re ready.” Chai watched her and she stood up again, taking her coffee with her. “But I’d love to hear your songs sometime. I’m serious.”
Chai gave her a rather sheepish smile and just shrugged. She wasn’t going to push him if he didn’t want to share it yet, she knew how difficult it was to show off things like these sometimes, especially if it was something that you worked so personally on.
The next few hours proceeded pretty much as usual, with her doing more work on dismantling SPECTRA for good while Chai…did what he usually does when he’s not helping out with random tech issues around Vandelay Campus, which mostly was either slacking or reading his textbooks. At some point during the day, he and 808 wandered off somewhere, but judging by the mess he left behind he would be back soon. Eventually, Korsica, Macaron, and CNMN showed up at the hideout at the end of the workday.
“Hello,” Korsica greeted, stepping into the room. She looked at the ground at the books on the ground which only seemed to have multiplied since Peppermint had last checked. “I see Chai has been busy.”
"I think he's working on his own song." Peppermint replied, moving a few books out of the way with her foot. Hmm… maybe Chai needed his own study room or studio.
Korsica made an interested look while Macaron was looking around. "Where is the little guy anyway?"
Peppermint shrugged. "He and 808 left a while ago. Probably meandering around, as he usually does while we're away."
Macaron frowned. "It almost makes me feel bad for leaving him alone for most of the day."
"He's not a dog, Mac," Peppermint replied with a slight roll of her eyes. "He's a grown adult and can find his own things to do."
"Considering Mister Chai's propensity for property damage, it is not too unreasonable to relate him to an excited puppy," CNMN stated factually.
Peppermint recalled the other day he had quite literally played fetch with one of the TEC workers and she couldn't stop herself from smirking. "Maybe a dog isn't too far off."
"I wonder what he's up to on his little walks," Korsica wonders out loud, stepping over the books to her spot.
She shrugged. "Off doing Chai things I guess." She didn't really know what he got up to while he was wandering. "808's with him so I'm not too worried." She could spy on him through 808, but Peppermint respected his privacy. If anything did go wrong, 808 would let her know.
"Fair 'nough," Korsica responded, walking over to her usual spot.
It was Friday movie night tonight, which meant that they got takeout and bought a boatload of snacks. Chai eventually did come back to the hideout, but had plopped down right in his nest of books to continue scribbling, 808 looking on in approval.
"What should we eat today?" Peppermint asked, shuffling through the restaurant menus. It feels like with each passing day, food was getting harder and harder to pick from, even though there was so much variety.
"I heard a new bistro opened up on the far side of the complex," Macaron suggested. "But they don't do delivery."
"That's alright, we can just take it to go." Peppermint stood and stretched. "I could use the exercise." She looked at her friend still so studiously working. "Chai?"
"Uh, you guys go ahead. I wanna do this thing before I, uh, forget," he replied, not looking up.
Chai usually loved browsing menus and ordering food, but now he was willing to forgo that to work on his project. Peppermint couldn’t really fault him for that.
"Anything in particular you want?" she asked.
"As long as it isn't spicy, I'm good." Oh, that's right, Chai had a palate of a ten year old. Would it be too much to order him a kid's meal?
She nodded and gestured for the others, who followed her out of the hideout. It was only going to be an hour excursion at most, but they weren't in any real hurry. After the whole SPECTRA deal was over, Peppermint was learning to take it easy, they all were. It was weird to think that they were following Chai's footsteps in that regard.
"Chai seems to be working hard," Korsica commented, picking up the silence. There was a soft smile on her face.
"Never thought I'd see the day." Peppermint smirked, but that wasn't really true was it? Chai had always been a hard-worker, granted it was something he wanted to do.
"You said he was writing his own song?" asked Macaron and she nodded in response.
"I am curious to see what Mister Chai has in store," CNMN said somewhat excitedly, drawing sparkles around his eyes. "The only thing I can compute is that the song will be unpredictable, as he is."
"I actually heard a bit of it," Korsica said, looking ahead thoughtfully.
Peppermint looked at her in surprise. "You did?"
"Yeah, about a week ago. I only heard a few notes, he stopped playing it the moment I entered the hideout." She looked at them all. "I told him not to stop playing on my account, but he didn't continue."
"Huh… " Peppermint wondered, thinking about earlier that morning. She was starting to get the feeling that Chai didn't want anyone to hear his song.
"He's probably not done yet," Macaron reasoned. "I always like to keep my projects a secret until they're good and ready. Quality first, I always say."
Makes sense, but was Chai that kind of person?
"Regardless, Mister Chai has been putting an unusual amount of effort into his new song," their robot friend stated. "I have noted a daily 89% increase to his brain usage. I am almost concerned he is overworking."
"Don't worry, he still does plenty of slacking," Peppermint assured him. Chai was probably the last person to start overworking. But… better keep an eye on him, in any case.
The rest of their outing wasn't really that interesting. They dropped by the bistro, ordered their food, got some snacks, and then were on their way home. They were filling the air with mundane conversations and the like, work, the weather, and stuff like that. However, as they closed in to the entrance of the hideout, they all slowed to a stop, frozen.
There was music, reverberating through the empty tunnel. The door had been left ajar and the sounds were leaking out.
Peppermint stood quietly for a moment, listening. She glanced at the others and saw that they were listening too. They all stood there, taking it all in.
The melody felt so warm and uplifting, it was… how could she put it into words? It wasn’t too different from some other songs she’s heard before, but this… this was different.
Slowly, Peppermint approached the door, her breath hitching in anticipation as she slowly pushed through and entered.
Chai was sitting in his next books, music sheets out before him, playing on his guitar. 808 was in front of him, her tail slowly wagging to the beat of the song, making a distinctive clink every beat. She was looking up at Chai eagerly as he quietly hummed to the song, a big smile on his face.
As she and the others slowly came in, Peppermint realized she could hear - she could feel - a beat coming from somewhere. It resonated with her heart, making it thump to the beat. Peppermint felt a warm prickle crawl up her skin as she realized the rhythm of a heartbeat.
Was it… Chai’s heart? His music player playing that beat?
He was playing with his heart and soul, the song was so mesmerizing, heartwarming, and painfully nostalgic in a way she could not put into words. Peppermint stood there, feeling her eyes water in emotion. She might actually cry.
Peppermint knew the others were feeling the way they were, from the way they held their breaths and stared at Chai, who didn’t seem to notice them entering. They all stood there, listening to the song until Chai slowly came to a stop. They couldn’t move even after, stunned by emotion. 808 looked up at him and meowed and Chai smiled.
Then, like the dam broke, her emotions came surging to the surface as everyone began shouting.
"Chai, that was amazing !" "That was beautiful !" "Most excellent!" "That was great, Chai!" They all said at once.
“Gah! ” Chai screamed in response, jumping about fifteen feet up in the air. His face white as a sheet, he scrambled back over the couch and ended up launching himself off the back onto the ground, 808 following suit with a surprised squeak.
A crash sounded.
"Ow!"
"Oh my!" CNMN exclaimed.
“Maybe…we shouldn’t have shouted…”Macaron said sheepishly as they hurried over to check on their friend.
Chai was on the ground, groaning, as 808 was standing on his chest, hackles raised in shock. She looked up at them with wide eyes and relaxed a little upon seeing them, slowly crawling off Chai to let him get up from where he had fallen.
"You okay, Chai?" Korsica asked. Macaron reached over to help him up.
"Ugh, you guys gave me a heart attack! " Chai was looking at them, a mix of shock and pure terror on his face. “Why weren’t you guys saying anything? It was like you were those internet monsters I've been reading about!"
"Internet what?" Macaron said, stupefied.
She ignored that last bit. "We were listening," Peppermint told him as he brushed himself off and checked on his guitar, which had been thrown in the scramble. "To your song."
Chai froze before whirling to look at them. "You guys… heard that?"
"Just the end of it," Korsica replied.
He looked uneasy. "I… what did you… guys think about it?"
Peppermint opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly the words got caught in her throat. How she felt about that song just couldn’t be put into words. She ended up staring at him, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. Chai began to visibly wilt upon the lack of an answer.
“Well, it’s like… a work in progress and stuff…” he said quietly, trying his best not to seem heartbroken. His gaze fell to the ground, his good hand rubbing his robotic prosthetic.
“What are you talking about?” Peppermint sputtered out, finally finding her words. “Chai, that was…I can’t even put into words how great that sounded.”
Chai slowly looked up, perking up instantly. “Wait… for real?”
“You’ve been holding out on us,” Korsica replied with a smile.
He was looking at them all in disbelief. “You guys… .really think it was good?” Part of Peppermint’s heart ached a little at his disbelief. Did he really not think it was good?
“Yeah, it was better than just ‘good’, little guy,” Macaron assured him.
“It was amazing,” Peppermint said. And that was an understatement honestly.
“A brilliant piece of music,” CNMN added.
Chai blushed a little, looking away and scratching the back of his head. “I… well, it can’t be that good…” he mumbled.
"Mister Chai," CNMN said, switching his expression to his blush marks. "Are you being shy? It is unlike you to be so modest!"
Chai balked. "Me? Shy ? No way!" He waved both his hands frantically to emphasize. "Rockstars don't get shy," he insisted.
His friends stared at him, completely silent.
"Okay. I'm a bit shy," he admitted, looking sheepish ."I just… I never played in front of other people before. I'm just afraid I'll mess up or something." He looked down one of the music sheets that had gotten thrown in his mad scramble. Chai leaned down to pick it up. "I want this to be perfect."
Peppermint chuckled as she touched his shoulder in encouragement. "You faced down at least three homicidal giant robots and a cyborg werewolf, and this is what scares you?" She scooted next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "The Chai I know would just leap into it without thinking."
"This is different," he protested. "This is just… it's really important I get this right."
They all waited for Chai to continue, but he didn’t speak. He swallowed nervously, looking at them with pleading eyes.
"Chai, you know we have your back no matter what" Peppermint told him firmly. “You know that right?”
A smile graced his face. “Yeah… I do.” His smile grew wider and he looked down at this crumpled music sheet. "I think… I just want to prove I can do this," he said quietly. “"There had been a lot of people that-... " He trailed off for a moment, thinking. "No, that isn't right." Chai looked up at them. . "I think I want to prove it to myself. Once and for all that… I can do it."
'That I can be a rockstar,' but that part went unsaid.
Peppermint saw the way his robotic prosthetic trembled and her heart went out to him. No wonder he wanted this to be perfect.
"I thought I'd never say this, but I think you're underestimating yourself, Chai," Peppermint told him. "You may not understand a lot of things, but you do understand music ."
"You really think so?" Chai asked incredulously.
"I don't think there's anyone else in the world who can understand the rhythm like you do," she said and she fully meant it. Who else could see the beat and melody when there seemed none at all? Not only that but actually move and battle to the beat too?
Peppermint had no idea how, but that music player had altered Chai's perception of reality, allowing him to perceive the world around him like nobody else. But only someone who had an understanding of rhythm and music could utilize this new ability to its full potential. The fact that Chai could do this means that he's smarter than probably any of them realized.
She smirked a little. Maybe she should keep that to herself, Chai was smart, but best not to over inflate his ego.
Chai let out a big long sigh-groan, slumping into a crouch and roughing up his hair with his hands. “Ugh… I’ve been angsting about this since… forever. I was so worried that it wasn’t going to turn out right.” 808 reached up and pawed Chai on the arm, meowing in comfort.
“You did good, Chai,” Korsica assured him, patting him on the back.
“You’ve been practicing this whole time, right?” Macaron pointed out. “It’s no wonder it’s paying off.”
Chai looked up from where he was crouched and gave him a tired smile. “ Man, I’m exhausted now though.”
“Being creative is tough, huh?” Peppermint laughed. She dangled their take out in front of his face. “C’mon, you could use the break. Let’s eat and pick out a movie.”
Chai brightened up a little. “Yeah, sounds good.” He pulled himself up to his feet, 808 hitching a ride on his shoulder. As he was about to walk, he paused. “You know… maybe sometime… if you guys wanna hear the song again…” Chai looked at them all sincerely. “It’d be nice to play for you guys, for real.”
“Of course, Chai,” Peppermint told him with a smile. “We’d love to hear it.” The others nodded in agreement.
As they headed to their preferred eating spot in the hideout (which was Korsica’s space), CNMN spoke up. “Mister Chai, I am most curious to hear how you came up with such a wonderful tune. What is it that inspired you to create such music?”
Chai brought a hand to his chin, thinking. “Hmm…well, I think I’ve had the melody in my head since forever,” he answered. “But I don’t think I heard it very clearly until we were stuck in that forcefield-thing, you know that thing?”
“Yeah.” Peppermint nodded, recalling the events. Seeing Chai break open the forcefield was certainly one of his top achievements, especially since he figured that out himself.
“When I thought of you guys, the words and support you gave me,” he placed a hand on his heart,” I felt it right here. So… I think, you guys inspired me.” He grinned.
Peppermint snapped her head to him. “ We inspired you?” No wonder they were all so touched. Chai made this with his whole heart and soul, about them.
Feeling emotional, Peppermint reached over and ruffled his head.
“Hey!” he protested, but he was laughing.
“You know, I think you could release an album through Vandelay,” Macaroon suggested.
Chai looked at him with wide eyes. “Wait, really ? But I’m not done yet!”
“Easy, you don’t have to release it now, ” he told him. “When you’re ready. We’ll help you, of course. I’m sure Roxanne would make it happen."
"Hmm-mm," Peppermint agreed. Maybe it was time to set up a studio for Chai.
“Aww.” Chai’s cheeks were pink and he grinned. “You guys are the best!” 808 meowed in agreement.
He skipped the rest of the way to the couches and began enthusiastically monologuing about his song. Now that the barrier was broken, he didn’t seem shy anymore about sharing any details.
“You too, Chai,” Peppermint said under breath, joining her friends.
-~*~-
Peppermint yawned, feeling weary even though this was her second cup of coffee this morning. They really should get the coffee machines fixed, she had no idea why they were only pumping out decaf.
She took her leisurely stroll to the Vandelay offices, she was going to help her mother with some new things today and she was eager to get started, even if she was a bit sleepy. Stayed up too late hanging out with the gang. Part of her scolded herself for being such a teenager, staying up late with friends, but… honestly, she wouldn’t trade those moments for the world.
Many of the stores and shops were opening up for today, nothing out of the ordinary. But she slowed to stop in front of what looked like a music store. Several robotic staff were receiving their deliveries today, but that wasn’t what Peppermint was looking at.
There was a CD and album cover, proudly sitting in the middle of the display in the window. Peppermint’s heart stuttered when she saw the faces gazing back at her on the cover, bright smiles on their faces.
She couldn’t stop herself from reaching out to touch it, only being stopped by the glass.
"Good eye, m'am, that's Ambassador Chai's new hit single!" She turned to see a service robot looking at her. "Those things are selling like hotcakes!" They put down a cardboard box which Peppermint realized was filled with even more CDs. "We hafta preorder them three weeks in advance to keep up the demand?"
Peppermint felt a smile stretch across her face. “No kidding…” She looked back at the CD, feeling a well of emotion bubble up from inside.
' I think, you guys inspired me too.' The Chai in her memories grinned.
"Are you open?" she said, turning to the clerk. "I think I'll buy one."
