they are the same

[ message from seller ] Don’t worry about it! I just want my customers to be happy with their orders.

As soon as he sent her his phone number, it then hit Duke that he literally had given a total stranger his phone number. Idiot! As if his own twin was there to reprimand him, he cursed for a split second and wondered if he should try messaging again and playing off that he sent over the wrong number? But before he could try that, a text message popped up on his phone screen causing Duke to jump. Guess he has no choice but to respond now….

Trying and failing and trying and failing ad nauseam was exhausting, that much Slightly could one hundred and ten percent agree on. He knew the sensation all too well. Maybe that was why he fancied himself the comeback kid—after all the setbacks of his own that he’d faced, he bounced back from each one and got up and tried again, because trying was also the only thing that made him feel better again after failing. There was no true failure until you gave up and stopped trying completely, so as long as he kept his chin up, he could take some pride in himself. Was there a way to get Duke on that same page? Slightly shook his head at the mention of their other brother. “Nope, he didn’t tell me anything. Prob’ly because it wasn’t as big a deal as you make it out to be in your own head. What happened, anyway?”

He was being pessimistic about everything and he was aware of that. But it was like he said, trying all the time was exhausting, and Duke wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep it up. He just wanted to finally find his own thing, was that really so much for him to ask? Or at least be good at something even if that one thing doesn’t become his main thing? Something? He’ll have to keep on trying though, was his next thought process, once again letting out a sigh. “I broke a coffee machine.” Duke ended up replying with a frown. Saying that alone wasn’t so bad, despite literally being the cause of damaging a machine, but as the younger racked a hand through the strands of his bright red hair, he then let out “—By trying to cook ramen with it!” 

If there was something more at play than simple bad luck, then it was very possible this customer had been cursed somehow...but that wasn’t something Bonnie wanted to tell him in the chat for fear it would freak him out. He already had to be on edge from his lack of luck lately and didn’t need to hear that his misfortune might actually be due to a hex. There was something to be said about time and place. Bonnie pursed her lips, weighing the situation before typing another message.

Rereading her last message, Duke was now even more sure that she was asking for them to meet up. At that realization, his palms already began to get sweaty, a small nerves tick he happens to get whenever it came to meeting anyone outside of his usual known group. Get a grip! It’s not like she was asking to meet so they can get with each other or anything! She’s literally offering to help! And if doing so in person could make his bad luck go away then…

“What d’you want me to tell you?” Slightly asked, giving up on trying to find some kind of advice that would get Duke out of this mental funk he was in. Nothing he said was making any kind of impact on his brother anyway, Duke just focusing on the empty half of the glass every time Sly pointed out the half that was full—so why not ask what he wanted to hear, then tell him that? At a certain point, he had to be blunt instead of continuing to try the gentle approach: “It’s not easy for everyone. So, it’s not gonna be easy for you—you gotta do it anyway. Keep your chin up and figure it out with a smile. Or don’t. It’s your life.” Just because Slightly had known his passion from a young age, that didn’t mean the rest of it had been easy. Career was only one aspect of a well-rounded life. He’d had a shit-show of a love life until Mei came along. He’d had to learn to bounce back from all those heartbreaks and set-backs on his own. Duke could figure out how to get along and find a dream he wanted to pursue even after failing at multiple other things, just the same way.

Opening his mouth to retort right back, no words came out as Duke didn’t know what to say. What did he want Slightly to tell him? He really wasn’t sure. Maybe he wanted his brother to tell him what he was good out, knock it through his head so that way the younger could finally kick start with the rest of his life exactly the same way all his brothers been doing. But if he wasn’t so sure what he was good at, then there was noway Slightly would’ve known, only Duke himself could figure that out. Which is why he instead let out a deep sigh, his shoulders slouching as he realized that. “I want to figure it out.” The lost twin tried to explain, wondering so hard why he’s finding it so difficult to do exactly just that. It’s not like Duke wanted to do exactly what Slightly was doing— granted he tried, but the music notes and figuring out which instrument he wanted to play, it all got jumbled up and confusing for him that the younger had decided to give up. Music never felt like the right path for him anyways. “It’s just getting a little exhausting, y’know? Trying all the time. And there’s so many different things I could try…..and many more things i could mess up. Did Nibs tell you what I did the other day?” 

Instead of answering his statement, Tootles responded with a silent, goofy smile. No more needed to be said to explain his out-of-character silly behavior. At least he was having fun and letting loose tonight for once. Though Duke seemed unimpressed, that didn’t deter the other lost boy’s behavior; the brownie overpowered any embarrassment he may have felt otherwise. “Mhm, and we can thank Peter for that,” he answered with a single nod. Sure, he typically had his complaints about Peter, but he didn’t actually care that it was he who had the idea for the laced brownies. It seemed to become a staple for the lost boys' parties, a household tradition. “You’d think they’d taste different, right? But it tasted just like a normal brownie,” he explained with a small shrug. It was a good thing that Cubby actually labeled them this time. “But don’t worry, I’m good. You wanna sit?”

Tootles was SO baked, is what Duke thought at the sight of the goofy smile on the older’s face. He even went as far as blinking his eyes a couple of times to make sure he was actually seeing this. Don’t get him wrong, this wasn’t the first time the older has had one of Cubby’s laced brownies before, but this was definitely one of the first in where he’s seen Tootles have way more than he should’ve. At least, that’s what he’s guessing by the way the older was acting because that definitely wasn’t the personality of a guy who had one or two bites of brownies filled with weed inside of them, but instead of a guy who may have ate more than one or two whole brownies filled of weed. “Peter made you eat those brownies?” Duke questioned, raising a brow in confusion as it wasn’t like Tootles to listen to Peter as much nowadays. In fact, most of them hardly followed along with his antics anymore, but as the older continued on, the twin realized what his brother actually meant. “Oh, you accidentally ate them?” That made more sense! “Uh, maybe I should go get you a glass of water first.” 

Cubby watched the twin’s expression, fiddling with his thumbs with a glint of sadness in his eyes. He sighed, hoping this feeling was only temporary — change was always difficult at first, but Cubby was optimistic that moving would be a good thing. It was the saying goodbye part that made it feel sad, even if they weren’t really going far. 

Let’s face it, even if Nibs was fine with Duke dumping his laundry with his, that wouldn’t stop the younger from being upset with Cubby and Slightly moving. No, not upset— he was happy that the two wanted to move into their own place, and while living all together had been a constant thing, he could get why the two of them thought it would be good to have their very own space. Duke admired it even because he knew if it had been him, he would’ve been terrified to move. Even with Benji. He’s just so used to being with The Lost Boys that he couldn’t imagine living anywhere else without any of them.

Bonnie frowned at her screen, trying to analyze the customer’s situation from a magical perspective. In her opinion, the coffee maker situation didn’t sound like bad luck—it just sounded like he had done something careless and paid the consequence. A lucky charm wasn’t a cure for the user’s own stupidity, just for actual fortune-based circumstances. But it sounded like his other dilemma, this thing with the girl, might actually have something to do with his unluckiness. If accidents kept happening around this person and making it hard for him to explain that he didn’t mean any harm, that was exactly the kind of thing her charms were supposed to help with: chance encounters. Bonnie started typing back.

Right after he pressed ‘sent’, Duke immediately slapped himself against the forehead. “Stupid! Why did you mention the coffee machine part?” He berated himself, thankful to be in his room and away from the prying ears of his brothers. Not like it mattered, Tootles wasn’t home and Nibs was also out hanging with Miriam again, and as for Benji? Duke honestly had gotten so distracted to remember if his twin was still home or not. Should he try and take back what he said? What if she didn’t want to help him anymore thanks to his stupidity? But just as he was about to try messaging her again, she responded! “She wants to meet up?” Did he read that message right? Duke re-read it a second time over and blinked. She is suggesting for them to meet! But would doing so actually help?

“Then don’t try to do what Cubby does, or Nibs or Benji or me or anyone else. Keep looking and figure out what you like.” It seemed like one of Duke’s best talents was seeing the glass as half empty. If he could get paid for finding the storm cloud in every silver lining, he’d be set for life and could stop complaining about being a failure. In short, he could be a real downer when he got into a mood like this, but Slightly couldn’t be annoyed that the twin was being vulnerable about his feelings. It was more than he himself was usually comfortable with expressing; he always wanted to be seen as capable and confident, even when he felt like he didn’t know what he was doing. To admit that he didn’t feel like he was good at anything at least took a brand of courage from Duke that Sly didn’t always possess, so he deserved an attempt at brotherly advice, however good or bad Slightly was at that…(Really, Wendy was probably the best sibling for advice, but she wasn’t the one Duke was talking to now.) He said plainly, “Or yeah, just...give up, and then what—go back and live on the streets? Would you rather do that than keep trying to find your thing? What've you got to lose by trying?”

“No! I don’t want to go back to leaving on the streets!” Duke outright claimed, head turning to stare at Slightly with widen eyes. He was terrible at many things, but he didn’t think any of that warrant him being kicked out of his home. He didn’t think Tootles, Nibs, or Benji would do that, no matter how much of a mess up he can be, so the fact that Slightly said that, made the younger frown. It then took Duke an extra minute later to realize that the blonde was being rhetorical and was trying to bring him up, not being literal about the living back on the streets part but rather wanting the younger to realize that all he had to do was keep on trying and eventually he’ll find his own thing. “I just wished it was easier for me to find my thing like it’s been for you guys, okay?” Duke ended up saying, once he had calmed down. “Like— you’ve always had a thing for music since I can remember, and same with Cubby and his baking, so it’s not surprising that you guys found your thing. So how come it's easier for you two, but not me? And I’ve tried— I’ve been trying. Nothing’s just sticking yet.” 

[ message from seller ] I'm very grateful for repeat customers! But I'm sorry to hear your first charm didn't last long, they should usually last for a very long time. Unless they absorb a large amount of bad luck in a short time, then they won't be able to be as effective...And you really shouldn't need more than one per person for the luck charm to work, though at first i thought you might be buying another for a friend or just because it's cute, even if you already got one before.

[ message from buyer ] They’re supposed to last for a very long time unless they absorbed a large amount of bad luck? Great, so I am the reason to why the charm hasn’t been working lately. 

“Okay, then, maybe you just haven’t found your thing yet,” Slightly countered as his brother remained convinced that he was just bad at life. Duke was temping with Nibs now, but while the latter seemed to thrive in the environments they were placed in, the former was still struggling to find his footing in them. Maybe office work was just out of the scope of Duke’s natural capacity, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to make it anywhere in life. Sly was still convinced there were more paths out there to explore. “You should try different things. Like, what if your true calling is something niche like glass blowing, but because you’ve never tried, you don’t even know. You know?” Slightly wouldn’t be surprised if that was the way it worked out after all, with Duke finding his path in life in some obscure way. “Just think of yourself as pre-successful.”

Duke merely rolled his eyes at Slightly. Again, easy for him to say! From a young age, his brother always knew he had a thing for music. Whether he knew for a fact that he wanted to become a musician or not, music was flowing through the blonde’s veins, so it made every sense in the world that Slightly would be where he was. However, Duke? The only thing he knew he was good at was mimicking his twin. Having spent a good chunk of their lives acting as one, he knew all the ins and outs when it came to Benji and vice versa. Or at least, he thought he knew everything about his brother but now looking at what Benji’s been doing and how well his brother seemed to be doing on his own compared to him? Gosh, was Duke that terrible with everything? “You know I tried baking the other day like Cubby does since he’s not around to share his pastries with us and the oven nearly exploded if it weren’t for Tootles intervening.” The redhead ended up saying. “If anything, I should just accept that I’m a constant failure not pre-successful.” Duke threw his head back against the chair. “Even Benji’s been doing better in finding his own thing compared to me!” 

@losttwinduke