#kissteriaverse modern au

[mxliv-oftheendless]

Writer’s Month Prompts Day 8

Day 8: Music

Alright, we’re back on track! Requested by @cosmicrealmofkissteria This was a fun one, thanks! 

Takes place in the Last One Out of Sphynxia universe

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was Radames’s birthday, so naturally Vinneketh, Masika, Dalila, and Bomani got together to plan a party for him. They invited people they knew, people that Radames knew—they even included the kooky macabre duo of Alice Cooper and Ozzy Osbourne—and planned the get together at Radames’s dojo.

So far it was going wonderfully. Everyone was mingling together and talking—Bomani even spotted Red Lotus and Ozzy Osbourne sitting together, though Gods knew how she could stand his chaotic self. Music was playing from Radames’s record player, a compilation of Cab Calloway music.

“Hey,”

He looked up to find Seb standing beside him, smirking. “In your own head, Lion Boy?”

The corner of Bomani’s mouth quirked up slightly. “Not anymore,”

Seb sat down in the chair beside him. “Radames has some weird music tastes,”

“He just likes what he likes, that’s all,” Bomani replied. “And that includes Cab Calloway.”

“Hey, I’m not complaining. When’s ‘Minnie the Moocher’ coming on? I love that song.”

“I’m more surprised you even know that song,”

Seb shrugged, smirking at him. “I can have expanded horizons, can’t I?”

As soon as he spoke, Bomani heard the opening music to none other than “Minnie the Moocher”. Seb immediately sat up, smiling. “Finally. I was wondering when it was going to start playing.”

Bomani gave a grunt of a laugh, causing Seb to look down at him. “What, you don’t like that song?”

“Never said that. I just think you liking Cab Calloway is a little funny.”

Seb just laughed and sat back down, and then moved to lean his head on Bomani’s shoulder. It seemed other people liked the song as well, because Bomani saw Vinneketh and Demon start swaying along, and Red Lotus’s foot was tapping as she talked with Ozzy.

“Who’s that dancing with Masika?”

Bomani looked, and saw Masika slowly twirling an Arab girl with long, wavy dark hair in place, grinning as the girl laughed. “Oh, that’s Nane,”

“Didn’t know Masika had a girlfriend,”

“They kind of have their own thing going on. They prefer not to try to put a label on it.” Because in Masika’s words, “Society’s gotta label everything and that’s stupid.”

“Hodee hodee ho,” they heard Masika sing loudly.

“Oh my god, stop,” the girl, Nane, laughed.

“C’mon, dance! You’re a good dancer!”

Nane sighed. “Let me guess: we’re going to dance like Cab Calloway?”

“Oh yeah,” Masika grinned. And without another word, he started dancing, waving his arms and shuffling around. Laughing, Nane mimicked his movements, until both of them were dancing around and laughing uproariously. People around them watched in amusement.

“Bomani, c’mon!” Masika yelled at him.

Bomani shook his head. “You can dance like idiots,” he called back. “I’m not gonna.”

“Booo!” they both said at him. Masika turned to Seb. “Seb, c’mon! You love this song!”

Seb shrugged and got up with a grin. “Sure, I’ll dance. I get to dance with a pretty lady.” He winked at Nane.

Bomani rolled his eyes, but felt better when he heard Nane scoff. “That’s all you’re gonna get with me, pretty boy,”

With a flippant shrug, Seb began dancing along with them. Bomani couldn’t help but admire how Seb’s blonde hair fell in front of his face, and how his whole face seemed to light up when he started to laugh.

“Wadee woodee way!”

“Wadee woodee way!” the three chorused.

“Oh, baby!”

“Oh, baby!”

“Wadedewoo!”

“Wadedewoo!”

“Hodee hoh,”

“Hodee hoh,”

Seb glanced over at the watching Bomani… and a sly grin crept onto his face. He slowly danced, though it was more like shuffling, over to Bomani and climbed up onto his lap. “Hey,”

Bomani raised an eyebrow at him in slight amusement. “Hey,”

“Want a lap dance?”

Bomani’s amused look dropped into one of shock. “… What?”

“Too late, it’s happening,”

From over where they were still dancing, Masika and Nane looked over. Nane’s mouth dropped open. “Oh my god!”

Masika broke into laughter and began whooping. “Aow! Get it, Seb!”

For Seb had begun to somehow do a lap dance, swaying his hips along to the song. Bomani tried to tune out the uproarious laughter from the two idiots (Masika and Nane), and instead focused on Seb as the blonde flashed him a grin and kept going. At some point, his hands settled on Seb’s hips, to which Seb gave no reaction other than running his fingers through his hair and tilting his head back as he did so.

“Poor Min, poor Min, poooor Min…”

When the song was over, Seb climbed off Bomani’s lap looking like a cat that had gotten at the cream. Bomani’s entire face was completely red. “Enjoy your lap dance?” Seb asked coyly, wrapping a finger around one of Bomani’s curls.

“Give us an encore, Seb!” Masika shouted.

“Gonna have to pay me this time!” Seb shouted back.

“Nane, do you have any—”

“No, Masika,”

“Okay,”

Seb laughed. “Those two—oh,”

For Bomani had finally decided on what to do, and that was grab Seb by his waist and pull him back into his lap. “Do I get an encore?” he asked lowly, grinning at his boyfriend.

A wide grin spread across Seb’s face to match. “I’ll give you the encore later, Lion Boy,”

[mxliv-oftheendless]

OKAY so y’all remember my story Last One Out of Sphynxia? Well as I said in the post, it’s based off possibly my favorite episode of Steven Universe. So in light of that, I decided I would make my own version of the end credits found in that episode lol. 

@cosmicrealmofkissteria This one’s for you, girl ;) Enjooooy!!

[mxliv-oftheendless]

Gods’ Children AU

OOPS IT’S ANOTHER AU. Lol will I ever stop thinking of these? Probably not. 

So yeah, once again, I in my infinite sappy dorkiness have come up with yet another KISSteria AU. I’m only a little sorry if this is incredibly stupid, but I thought it was a good idea, so I decided to write it out. Shout out to @cosmicrealmofkissteria for letting me ramble to her about this AU idea a couple weeks ago :) Hope you guys enjoy this!

So in this AU:

The Gods of Sphynxia’s pantheon are all regular old mortal humans. They’re just humans, that exist on Earth, and do human stuff.

The Patron Gods of the Warrior Troupe, however, are their parents. 

What does this look like, you ask? WELL... 

SET AND SEKHMET

Set and Sekhmet have the kind of relationship where everyone’s lost as to how Sekhmet puts up with him.

They bicker like, a lot.

But that’s just how they work. There’s no malice in their bickering, and they would rather hurt themselves than even dream of hurting each other. And if it ever does turn into a full-blown fight, they’re able to work it out eventually (it definitely involves angry sex).

Also Sekhmet doesn’t put up with Set’s shit, because she’s kind of a badass.

Set owns a biker joint, and used to be a biker himself, but left his gang after he opened his bar. He was known as the gang’s resident hothead with a “temper of chaos”.

Sekhmet is a kickboxing instructor that used to be a full-time prizefighter. She doesn’t anymore, however.

Bomani is their adopted son; his parents were murdered when he was very young. Set and Sekhmet were their next-door neighbors in the apartment building they lived in, and offered to take him in afterwards.

Well, I say offered; it was more like they fought like hell to make it happen because they were both VERY aware of what the foster system is like, and Bomani was so young and for crying out loud hE JUST LOST HIS PARENTS.

The murderer is, thankfully, in prison. For a while he received letters from both Set and Sekhmet that… let’s just say if the murderer got killed while in prison, the letters would lead to Set and Sekhmet being potential suspects.

Sekhmet and Bomani are the only people you’ll ever see Set be soft around. Everyone else gets his “I have no feelings dumbfuck” side. But it doesn’t change the fact that he would take a bullet for either of them. 

SOBEK AND THOTH

Sobek and Thoth are awkward soft gays that are a beautiful blend of jock and intellectual.

They actually knew each other in high school, and funnily enough had crushes on each other. They ran into each other years later, realized their old feelings were still there, and started dating… and years later they got married.

They like… almost never fight. Sure, they debate, and when they’re tired they’re a little snippy, but they almost never argue. And when they do, they talk it out and have sweet make-up sex afterwards.

Sobek is a professional swimmer and is seriously dedicated to it. The amount of trophies and medals he has is certainly proof of that. Maybe he’s not the quickest-thinking person, but give him time and he can come to a solution for a problem eventually.

Thoth owns a bookstore that has a pretty respectable vintage collection. He’s probably the definition of academia. He’s very smart, has a career as a bookbinder and loves to read, and can quote word for word the beginning paragraph of Pride and Prejudice and the entirety of The Tell-Tale Heart. He’s a skinny, glasses-wearing guy who has really nice handwriting, and loves his husband and son.

(And no, he totally doesn’t stare shamelessly at Sobek when he’s not wearing a shirt… just kidding he totally does)

Dalila is their son, born from a surrogacy, that again, both of them would take a bullet for. They both love to smugly boast about him taking after them; he’s a really good swimmer, and he loves to read.

One of their biggest “proud dads” moments was when Dalila got sent to the office by his first-grade teacher after he kept speaking out in class… by protesting that Christopher Columbus didn’t actually discover America and his voyage led to Indians becoming slaves. (The teacher, of course, neglected to mention that part) 

PTAH AND KHONSU

Ptah and Khonsu are long-term boyfriends that banter with but will raise hell for each other and for Masika.

Like with Set and Sekhmet, they banter, a hell of a lot, but there’s never any malice in there.

What’s funny is, whenever they do argue, usually it’s about a little ridiculous thing. And there will without fail be a point where they stop, take a step back, think about what they’re doing… and crack up laughing.

Ptah is an architect, and he does a very good job; his architectural firm has gained a lot more clients thanks to him. He also likes to build things himself.

Khonsu is an ethologist with a specialty in nocturnal animals. He is very passionate about his job; he will literally go on rants about how intelligent bats actually are and how people zombify them simply because of their connection in fiction to vampires. One time it actually led to him calling someone out on their evident racism, and to Ptah dragging him out of the room before he got into a fistfight.

Masika is actually Ptah’s godson. Though a series of unfortunate and very messy events for all involved, Masika was transferred into Ptah’s custody, and he and Khonsu now co-parent him.

Officially it’s co-parenting; but Masika’s considered them his actual parents for years now.

Masika has a troublemaking streak, and likes to pull admittedly-impressive pranks on people. Ptah blames Khonsu as an enabler, and Khonsu doesn’t protest that because he knows it’s true.

Not that Ptah can say anything—he loves Masika.

Their snark definitely rubbed off on Masika; there’s been many a time where he’s come home with a note from his teacher for being “disrespectful”.

But as mentioned before, even though he’s a snarky, wild little shit, both Ptah and Khonsu would raise hell for him. 

ISIS AND HORUS

Isis and Horus are… pretty much couple goals. They’re a dynamic duo. They’re so in sync with each other. They just… work.

Basically they’re the relationship everyone wishes they had, and that some people are skeptical of its existence.

Isis is a therapist, and has a big clientele because of how good of a therapist she is.

Horus is an ornithologist—or as Sobek calls him, a bird nerd. In fairness, he really loves to study birds. His office is filled with statues of different birds, posters of bird anatomy, the works.

They adopted Vinneketh as their son when he was a little boy. Vinneketh was literally dropped off at an orphanage by his parents, who never explained why and instead just left him there. This, as a result, left him with deep abandonment issues.

And his biological parents better hope they never run into Isis and Horus, because these two are prepared to fight them over this.

A memory that still breaks their hearts to think about is from about a month after they adopted Vinneketh. He decided he was going to wash the dishes for his new parents, and while doing so accidentally dropped and broke a plate. He instantly burst into tears, desperately apologizing and begging them to not send him away.

It’s still a long and winding road, and has involved a lot of therapy and gentle reassurance, but Vinneketh is doing much better.

Also, in the future: Bastet and Hathor are the lesbian power couple that declare themselves Ayesha’s moms, since she already has two dads. Vinneketh and Demon know better than to argue against that. Ayesha’s just stoked to have two moms alongside her two dads. 

In summation: all these couples would all take a bullet and/or raise hell for their sons. So even though they may not be their biological parents, they’re incredibly capable of loving them just as much as a parent should.

[mxliv-oftheendless]

I have just the one from the punk/pastel post! "I love your tattoos" with StarTerror~

(I’m making this a modern au cuz reasons. Also I do what I want and you can’t stop me 😝)

Surprisingly, Nikki wasn’t all that drunk. He was a little put out, honestly, because he’d bowed out halfway through a drinking competition between himself, Tommy, Mick, and Heather. And he was the first one to go. As penance, though, the result of the competition was that Mick had won, and Tommy had hilariously fallen out of his chair when he lost.

To be honest, they all were a bit drunk. He’d lost count of the times he caught Michael and Raz and Gene and Vinnie making out in corners, and Vince was rushing to the bathroom with a different girl every half hour or so. As of right now, Gene and Vinnie had disappeared, probably to a bedroom, Michael and Raz were getting a bit handsy in their corner, and Vince was sourly rubbing his cheek from when a girl slapped him hard after he tried to hit on her. Mick was sitting on the couch discussing what sounded like Harry Potter with Heather; Tommy was laughing uproariously with Ace and Peter over something; both Eric’s were chatting up people. As for Paul… where was he?

“Nikkiiiiii!” 

Ah, there he was. He had grabbed hold of Nikki’s arm with a drunkenly happy smile on his face and practically collapsed against him in what he clearly thought was a hug. Nikki grinned at him, wanting to laugh. “Hey, Princess. I was just lookin’ for ya,” 

Paul grinned. “Awww, you were? That’s so sweet.” He pressed a loud kiss to Nikki’s cheek. “This is the only place I can kiss because it doesn’t have tattoos. Not that I don’t like your tattoos—I love your tattoos. I mean, you already know that, don’t you?” He winked at him, giggling.  

Wow—Princess was drunk. Not “shitfaced wasted” drunk, but still pretty drunk. Nikki was sure he’d never seen him this drunk ever. It was… honestly it was kind of weird to see. “Princess—”

“Why do you always call me Princess? I’m a man, silly.” 

Nikki cracked a smile. “So should I start callin’ you Prince instead?” 

“Um…” Paul ducked his head, flushing very obviously. “Noooooo… I kind of like it when you call me Princess…”

“Okay. Princess…” he waited for Paul to stop giggling before continuing, “are you drunk?” 

“Um… maybe a little bit. Don’t… Don’t tell my mother I was this drunk, though. I’ll get an earful from her tomorrow morning if you do.” 

“Don’t worry, Princess; I won’t rat ya out to your mom.” At least Paul had a mom who cared… 

Suddenly Heather appeared, placing her hands on her hips and giving Paul a disapproving look. “Paul—”

Paul smiled excitedly. “Heather!” He lunged forward and hugged her. “D’you know how amazing you are, Heather? Really amazing, and I love you platonically!”

Surprise flashed across Heather’s face, then she laughed slightly and hugged him back. “I love you platonically too, Paul. But seriously, how many drinks have you had?” 

“Bleventeen,” Paul replied, then burst into giggles. “Heehee, get it? Like from Gravity Falls?” 

“Yeah, Paul, I get it. Now be serious.” 

“Um… teeeeeennn?” 

Heather’s face dropped. “Oh Gods. Paul, you should probably lie down.” 

“Yeah, okay… I probably should…” 

She turned to Nikki. “Nikki, could you take him upstairs? He should lie down, and drink some water.” 

“Sure thing.” He started to gently tug Paul away. “C’mon, Princess.” 

Paul giggled and clung to his arm. “Okay…” 

Nikki led him upstairs and went to find an empty guest room. Luckily, the first one they checked was empty, and he led Paul inside. “Okay, Princess, you—”

“Shhhhhh,”  Paul leaned up and pressed a finger to his lips. “I wanna see if…” 

He trailed off, and there was silence. Then Nikki suddenly heard a voice he recognized as Vinnie’s shout, “Oh Gods, YES!” 

A smile stretched across Paul’s face, and he leaned in close to Nikki. “Gene and Vinnie are screwing,” he whispered. Then he burst into giggles, like it was the funniest thing he’d ever heard. 

Nikki sighed, but still smiled fondly at Paul. Why do I like you so much? “That’s great, Princess, but you gotta lie down.” 

“Oh, right.” Paul stumbled over to the bed and sat down, then lay down against the pillows. For a moment, Nikki had to stop and admire how Paul’s curly hair fanned out against the pillows, then he went over to the bedside. “I’ll go get you a glass of water, okay?” 

“M’kay,” Paul closed his eyes. “Thanks, Nikki. I like you.” 

No, that definitely wasn’t the lovely warmth he got when he was with Paul spreading through him from his chest.

… Okay, it totally was. Paul knew he wasn’t ready for that yet, the “L” word. He knew, and he didn’t care. 

Nikki smiled at him. “I like you too, Princess,” 

He waited long enough to see Paul smile, then turned to leave and get the glass of water, closing the door behind him. 

[mxliv-oftheendless]

Last One Out of Sphynxia

Summary: (Modern AU) As part of his effort to be a better person, Bomani agrees, along with Dalila, to go with Masika to a garage band show after Radames cancels on him, while Vinneketh has Date Night with Demon. While picking up snacks at the store, a Mystery Guy walks in... and Bomani is smitten. Craziness ensues. 

Listen, Bomani was trying to be a better person; he really, truly was trying. He realized now that his… he hesitated to call it a “crush” now, because looking back it seemed more like an obsession, but maybe he should stick with crush… his crush (aka obsession) with Vinneketh had resulted in nothing but pain for everyone that got involved in it, even Bomani himself. Looking back on everything, it was really Black Dahlia’s more nonviolent intervention that made him realize how horrible he had become. More importantly, it made him realize he needed to change, and moving forward, he eventually realized he wanted to be better.

His resolution (which he was really trying to stick to) was also making him realize just how lucky he was to have friends like his. Because not only did they all forgive him and his assholery (even Vinneketh), but they all supported his work to be a better person. Their support made it so much easier, and he felt like he had to repay them somehow. So he tried to kick his habit of practically living at Radames’s dojo-gym, and instead tried to spend more time with his friends. Well, really it was mostly Dalila and Masika—he’d decided to give Vinneketh some space (and not because he was a coward, shut up).

So yeah, Bomani was trying. He was really, seriously, honest-to-God trying. But so far it didn’t seem like he was making much progress—well, enough progress for him to be proud of, anyway. He was at the point where he no longer felt pangs of jealousy when he saw the dreamily smitten look Vinneketh got at just the thought of Demon, so at least he had that going for him. But other than that, he still felt like he was going incredibly slowly down the road of growth.

Which brought him to the present. It was a Friday night, and all four of them were in the loft they shared, preparing for whatever plans they had. Vinneketh was in his room getting ready for a date with Demon, while Bomani and Dalila were sitting on the couch, beginning work on a 500-piece puzzle. Dalila had actually invited Bomani to join him, knowing he had no plans and had as a rule struck going to the gym off his backup plan list. And Masika… Well, actually, Bomani wasn’t sure what Masika had planned. But whatever it was, it was making him incredibly excited. The younger man was on his knees the other end of the couch, jumping up and down with an eager look on his face. Dalila and Bomani mostly ignored him, but when they started hearing squeaking they looked up.

“Masika,” Dalila said to him, “you’re going to break the couch if you keep jumping like that.”

Masika stopped and sat down, but made a face at Dalila. “Ah, don’t be such a buzzkill, man,”

“I’m not a buzzkill,” Dalila retorted. “I’m a person who still has college loans to pay off and doesn’t want to spend money on a new couch.”

“We could just make Masika pay for a new couch if he breaks it,” Bomani suggested. “’You break it, you bought it’ and all that.”

“I wasn’t even going to break the couch!” Masika protested. When they both gave him dry looks, he scoffed and waved them off. “Whatever. I’m in too good a mood to be bothered by you two.”

“Are you going somewhere?” Bomani asked him.

Masika immediately perked up again, grinning broadly. “Hell yeah! Radames is taking me to a show!”

“Oh good, you could use a little culture,” Dalila sassed, without looking up from the puzzle. “What is it, Romeo and Juliet?”

Bomani snickered. Masika looked incredibly offended. “Dude, no. It’s a rock show! And Romeo and Juliet’s overrated anyway; I’d rather go see Much Ado About Nothing and watch Beatrice throw her shade.”

Bomani perked up a bit at his answer; their love of rock music was pretty much the bedrock on which the fours’ friendship was founded. “A rock show, huh?”

Masika nodded vigorously. “Yeah! And it’s a garage band show! It’s gonna be a band, in a garage, at a house, with a whole bunch of people hangin’ out and doing stuff! It’s gonna be awesome!”

The door to Vinneketh’s room opened, and he walked out, dressed in mostly black and gold. “Okay, how does this look?” he asked them, spreading his hands out to show them his outfit.

Dalila smiled and nodded, while Bomani stuck with a thumbs-up. Masika grinned and also gave him a thumbs-up. “Looks great! I mean, I still don’t see why it matters—it’s not like you’ll be wearing it for very long anyways once Demon sees it.”

“Masika!” Dalila scolded, even though he was smiling—hey, even he couldn’t deny the truth of that statement. Bomani covered his mouth to hide his snorting, while Vinneketh flushed pink and whacked Masika upside the head as he passed the couch.

He was about to sit down at the island in the kitchen area when his phone pinged in his pocket. He took it out and looked at the screen, then smiled widely. “He’s here!” He grabbed his wallet off the counter and ran for the door. “Bye! I’ll see you when I get back!”

Masika pumped a fist in the air. “Woo, go get some, Vinneketh!”

Vinneketh laughed and waved before opening the door and leaving. He hadn’t even been gone for ten seconds when the door opened again and Radames entered, knocking on the door. Masika perked up and jumped to kneeling on the couch again. “Radames!”

“I almost ran into Vinneketh on my way up here,” Radames remarked as he shut the door behind him. “He shouted hi before running past me. What has him in such a rush?”

Masika shrugged. “Eh, the usual. Date with Demon, round of sex that’ll probably leave him sore in the morning—y’know, the drill.” He grinned at Radames excitedly and hurtled over the back of the couch to stand. “C’mon! Let’s go so we don’t miss anything!”

But the older man had to stop him, looking very regretful. “I’m sorry, Masika… but I’m afraid we can’t go to the garage show.”

Bomani was sure he’d never seen Masika look that shocked, or that crushed. “What? Why?”

“I’m very sorry, Masika, but it completely slipped my mind that Red Lotus invited me and Mr. Beach over for cards.”

The look on Masika’s face made Bomani think it would be perfect for a cheesy teen movie, in the scene where the teen girl protagonist realized her boyfriend was breaking up with her. “Cards? Seriously? Can’t you tell her about the garage show?”

“I tried, believe me, but Red Lotus threatened to hold my mail if I didn’t show up.” Radames suddenly looked up and to the side solemnly. “And she’s not a woman of empty threats…”

Bomani and Dalila had to give a conceding nod at that. They may have all had black belts, but that didn’t mean they didn’t think Red Lotus was the scariest fucking woman they’d ever met. And even Masika, who still looked crushed, had to sigh in concession. “Fine… I guess I can go by myself…”

Radames patted his shoulder mournfully. “Again, I’m sorry I can’t go with you. But I’m sure it’ll be fun without me. I can send you the address of the house if you like.”

“Yeah, okay…” 

Radames left shortly after that. Masika trudged back over to the couch and flopped down beside Dalila, crossing his arms and sulking. “Man, this sucks,”

“I thought you said you would go by yourself,” Dalila reminded him.

“C’mon, man, you know how Radames gets when he feels guilty. I just said that so he’d stop feeling bad about ditching me. I can’t go by myself—half the fun’s going with other people.”

Bomani suddenly had an idea. “We could go with you,”

Dalila and Masika turned their heads to stare at him in surprise. “Really?” Masika asked.

Dalila’s look of surprise changed to agreement, and he turned back to Masika. “Yeah, we could go with you! That’d be fun!”

“No offense, Dalila, but you thought spending a Friday night doing a 500-piece puzzle would be fun,” Masika replied. “Have you guys ever been to a garage show?”

Bomani shrugged. “No, but I’ve always wanted to go to one,”

“And I can too have fun,” Dalila added. “I’m loads of fun. I just decided to do a puzzle because I didn’t have any—ooh, a sky piece!”

As Dalila excitedly went to snap the piece into place, Masika rolled his eyes and looked at Bomani, gesturing to the blond. “I rest my case,”

Dalila flipped him off, making him and Bomani laugh. Masika turned back to Bomani and sobered up a bit. “You sure you want to go, Bomani? I know you’re trying to get out more, but if you’re just going so I won’t be by myself…”

“It’s fine,” Bomani insisted, shaking his head. “I want to go. Like you said, half the fun’s going with friends.”

Masika stared at him for a second, then grinned at him, some of his excitement returning. “All right. Get your jackets, guys, and let’s rock and roll!” He jumped up off the couch and ran to his bedroom, pumping his fist in the air. “We’re gonna throw down in the pit! Woo!”

Since the neighborhood where the garage show was taking place was a bit of a drive away, they decided (aka Dalila insisted) they would stop to get snacks for the road. So they piled into Bomani’s Ford and drove to the nearby 7/11 to get some snacks. They all attracted a couple stares upon walking in, given their black leather jackets and their long hair that would have fit better in the 80s.  

Masika immediately ran for the candy, making Dalila roll his eyes, though he decided not to lecture Masika about acting like a child. Instead he and Bomani went over to the drinks and looked at the selections. “Do we want energy drinks, or beer?” Dalila asked. From the way he was talking, Bomani got the impression he wanted him to say energy drinks. And normally he would. But for some reason, Bomani was feeling rebellious; so wordlessly, he opened the refrigerator, took out a Bud Lite, and popped the tab.

Dalila gaped at him in shock, while Masika, who had come back with some packages of candy, looked on in surprise. “Wow, Bomani!” he remarked. “Not even gonna pay for it first, damn…”

Dalila huffed. “Fine, suit yourself,”

“Can I get a beer too?” Masika asked him.

“No,”

“Too bad, I’m getting one anyway.” Ignoring Dalila’s spluttering, Masika opened the refrigerator and took out a four-pack of Corona Lights.

Dalila shook his head with a disapproving look. “You two… I’m going to have to be the one to drive us home, aren’t I?”

“Probably!” Masika replied cheerfully, while Bomani smiled behind him.

Dalila sighed heavily. “Fine. So who’s the band performing at the show?”

At the mention of the show, Masika grinned excitedly again. “It’s Mike Kroll! He’s got a cool 90s garage band vibe about, like, being nostalgic for the suburbs and stuff!”

“Nostalgic for the suburbs?” Bomani repeated, not even realizing what he was saying. “They’ve only existed for what, seventy years?”

Then he realized what he said, and wanted to faceplant into the Earth’s core. Luckily, Masika laughed, which eased his anxiety somewhat. “Man, I am loving this new side of you, man! Who are you, and what have you done with Bomani Roboros?”

Bomani laughed. “Yeah, I’m pretty cool.” He took another drink. “I’m Powerline level cool.”

Masika snorted. “Whoa, man, no one’s as cool as Powerline. But that reminds me; when we get there, we can either just slip in and hang out, or we walk in like we fuckin’ own the place.”

As he was speaking, the doors opened and the bell dinged, and right as he said the part about walking in like they owned the place, Bomani turned his head to see who had entered… and nearly choked on his beer.

The person who had just entered the 7/11 was a man about their age that wore a black leather jacket, a Skid Row t-shirt underneath, and blue white washed jeans and combat boots. But holy shit he looked… the only word Bomani could think of was gorgeous—he had long blond hair that obscured the right side of his face and just added to the overall gorgeousness, piercing eyes that probably could have looked right into his goddamn soul, and… oh God, his lips. His lips were full and pink and probably the closest thing he had ever seen to perfect lips. And to top it all off, he had flawless skin. It was fair, a little on the tan side, but fuck was it flawless. He looked so badass and mysterious and… and so fucking hot.

The mystery guy walked past them to the coffee, and Bomani’s wide eyes followed him the entire way. Masika pointed at him. “Like that guy! Perfect example!”

Some of the Bud Lite suddenly dribbled out of Bomani’s mouth, and he jerked, came back to reality, and turned furiously red as he wiped his chin with his jacket sleeve. His action made Dalila and Masika turn to him in confusion. “Are you okay, Bomani?” Dalila asked.

“U-Uh… I-I… I didn’t know people still liked Skid Row…”

Masika sniggered. “Yeah, that’s what you were staring at,”

“I-I was!” Bomani stammered, flushing an embarrassing amount. “Does he… Does he even know who they are?”

“Why don’t you ask him?” Dalila suggested.

Bomani could think of many reasons why he should definitely not go over and talk to this gorgeous mystery guy, but then Masika nodded his head vigorously. “Yeah, do it!” He began to pump his fist and chant. “Do it! Do it! Do it!”  

Not wanting the mystery guy to look over at them, Bomani quickly shushed him. “Okay, fine, I’ll do it, just stop!” He nervously handed his Bud Lite to Dalila, then blew out a breath, shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, and headed over to the coffee machine, his heart pounding the entire way. The Mystery Guy had poured himself a cup of coffee and was stirring it with a wooden stirrer by the time he made his way over. When he standing right beside him, he tried to casually pick up a cup from the stack between them, but his hands were shaking so badly that he instead knocked them all over; then when he tried to pick them up, he swung his hands out a little too far and nearly hit Mystery Guy, who had taken a step back in surprise.

Bomani steadied the cup stack, then looked up at Mystery Guy—oh shit, he was even more gorgeous up close. He gave him a wide, incredibly nervous smile. “Iiiiii…”

Sadly, Mystery Guy looked mildly weirded out. He stepped back, then turned and went to pay for his coffee at the register. Bomani sadly watched him go.

Behind him, Dalila winced at how badly it had gone, while Masika was actually rather amused. The normally cool and calm Bomani Roboros was reduced to a stuttering, awkward mess by this hot Mystery Guy. “Woooowww,” he said loudly, grinning widely. “Wowowow!”

Bomani turned and glared at him, his face completely red. “Shut up, Masika,”

Masika, frustratingly, didn’t stop grinning at Bomani as the trio got back into the car. “Well, ya certainly showed the cups who’s boss,”

“Shut up,” Bomani muttered, feeling his face grow hot. “I just got caught off guard.”

In keeping true to his personality, the grin stayed on Masika’s face. “Sure, man, whatever you say…”

“Shut up!” Bomani dug his keys out of his pocket. “You put in the directions, right?”

“Yep,”

“Great. Now let’s go have the night of our lives!”

He started the car and pulled out of the parking lot, then the car started off down the road. For a while, the three men sat in relative silence, the only sounds being the occasional crinkle of snack packages and the rock music playing loudly over the radio. Bomani kept his eyes on the road, occasionally glancing down at the GPS screen to make sure he was still going the right way; Dalila sat quietly in the backseat, chewing on Sour Punch candy; and Masika silently jammed along to the radio, air-drumming and nodding his head.

The silence was relatively comfortable… but as time passed, Bomani slowly began to feel like it was getting awkward. Like, very awkward. Dalila seemed to feel that as well, since right as Bomani began to think of something to say, the blond man leaned forward. “Okay, if no one’s gonna say it, I will: he kind of looked like Vinneketh. You noticed, I noticed, we all noticed.”

Bomani’s grip tightened on the steering wheel and his face went hot again. Masika turned to look at Dalila while he spoke. “Oh…” Then it seemed to click in his mind. “Oh!” He grinned widely at Bomani. “That’s why you were acting like such a goon!”

“It is not!” Bomani insisted, though to whom he wasn’t sure. “That’s in the past; I’m done with that. Tonight, I’m all about the future. I’m a new person who likes socializing instead of spending all his time at the dojo.”

Once again, though, he wasn’t entirely sure on who he was talking to.

Masika crossed his arms and gave him a look of amused skepticism. “That’s what that was?”

“I—shut up! You weren’t over by the cups. I could’ve talked to him. The timing was just wrong.”

Thankfully, his friend decided to let him off the hook and didn’t tease him anymore. But he still couldn’t help but think about what Dalila had said, and think back to how Mystery Guy had looked. At a stretch, he supposed he did kind of look like Vinneketh, but even then not much… but what did that mean? He was over Vinneketh—well, he was trying to get over him—

“Guys! It’s him! He’s riding right next to us!”

Bomani’s train of thought screeched to a halt at Dalila’s exclamation. He and Masika turned to the left and looked out the window. There, riding next to them on a motorcycle, was none other than Mystery Guy. He had a helmet on, but there was no way Bomani would ever forget that hair.

“Aw, no way!” Masika exclaimed.

Dalila leaned over and tapped Bomani’s shoulder. “You’ve got another chance!” he said excitedly.

So this was what “butterflies in your stomach” felt like. “What do I do?” Bomani asked nervously. Should he flash his lights? Should he honk at him?

“Shoot him a look!” suggested Masika. Bomani started to turn his head. “Wait, not yet. Okay, you can look… now!”

Bomani turned his head. Mystery Guy was looking over at their car, and their eyes met. Then Mystery Guy smiled at him… holy shit holy shit holy shit that was a pretty smile.

Then several things happened in quick succession: Mystery Guy revved his motorcycle’s engine and sped past them; the light they were approaching turned yellow; Bomani slowed down; the motorcycle sped through the yellow light; the light turned red; and Bomani was forced to bring the car to a complete stop, and watch dejectedly as Mystery Guy sped down the road out of sight.

“Oooo,” Masika said sadly. “There he goes.” He glanced at Bomani. “I’m sorry, man.”

Bomani didn’t reply, just stared sadly up at the red light. Dalila leaned forward. “Don’t worry,” he said optimistically. “Maybe he’s going to the same show as us?”

“Maybe,” Masika replied skeptically. “But I dunno. He may not even be going to the show. Maybe he just lives nearby.”

His words almost went unheard as Bomani kept staring sadly up at the red light. Maybe he wasn’t supposed to see Mystery Guy again. Maybe he lost his chance when he choked in the 7/11.

But Masika’s words were heard, and suddenly, a wild, crazy, and definitely not legal idea popped into his head.

Bomani’s face hardened. Then, as the opening guitar and drums of “Kickstart My Heart” came over the speakers, he took his foot off the brake… and slammed on the gas.

The car tires squealed against the asphalt, then the car shot down the road right through the red light as the song launched into the intro.

The unexpected burst of speed threw Masika and Dalila back against their seats. “BOMANI!” Dalila screeched.

Masika looked dumbfounded. “Waat the…!” Then a wide grin drifted onto his face, and he began to laugh in surprise and excitement. “Hell yeah, Bomani!”

“Bomani, what the hell?!” Dalila shouted from the backseat, an edge of hysteria in his voice. “The light was red!”

Bomani felt the corner of his mouth quirk up in a smirk. “I know,”

They continued to speed down the road, well above the speed limit, as “Kickstart My Heart” blared over the speakers. Adrenaline ran through Bomani’s system, and he never once even thought about slowing down—he had never done before what he was doing right now. That was more of something Masika would do. And yet here they were, running a red light, speeding down the road twenty miles above the speed limit, chasing after a mysterious guy, and it was Bomani behind the wheel. It felt amazing.

All too soon, in the distance they saw a speck appear ahead of them. Masika pointed at Mystery Guy excitedly. “There he is!”

“What’s your plan?” Dalila asked, still sounding a bit shocked.

“I don’t have one,” And for once, he didn’t care.

“What?!”

“New Bomani. No plan.”

Masika’s grin couldn’t have gotten any wider, and yet somehow it did. Dalila slumped back in his seat, groaning, “No kidding…”

Suddenly, the darkness of the car was lit up by flashing red and blue lights, and they all tensed when they heard the wail of a police siren behind them. The grin dropped right off Masika’s face. “Oh shit,”

Dalila twisted around to look out the rear window, then turned back in panic. “It’s the cops!”

Bomani looked in the rearview mirror—sure enough, driving behind them was a police car, lights flashing and siren wailing. Masika’s eyes widened. “Oh shit!”

All the adrenaline and elation running through Bomani disappeared, and he gripped the steering wheel with whitening knuckles as panic set in instead. What the fuck was I thinking?! “What do I do?!” he asked fearfully.

“Slow down, pull over, and show them your license!” Dalila replied, and from the sound of it he was probably begging him in his mind to please do that.

But another jolt of fear went through Bomani as he realized a very important little problem. “I, uh… don’t have my license?”

Masika began to laugh nervously, gripping the car door and the side of the passenger. “Eh heh heh… oh man…”

Dalila gaped at him for a second, his look almost cartoonish if not for the situation, then screeched, “YOU DON’T HAVE YOUR LICENSE?!”

“It’s in my wallet!”

“Where’s your wallet?!”

“I forgot it at home!”

“Then what do we do?!”

“Gun it!” Masika suddenly exclaimed.

Dalila whipped his head around to him in shock. “We can’t do that!”

“Why not? They’re already chasing after us!”

Bomani bit his lip worriedly as his panic rose. He couldn’t stop; without his license, they’d be arrested for sure. There seemed to be only one option he could take. It was crazy, stupid, and they could possibly crash… but it wasn’t like he had any better ideas.

“They’ll just speed up and keep chasing us if we do that!”

“You got any better i—WHOA!”

Bomani floored it, pressing the gas pedal all the way to the floor, and the car shot forward. Dalila and Masika were catapulted back into their seats again, and almost immediately Masika began to laugh elatedly once more. “All right, Muscles!” he crowed.

“Bomani, you can’t just drive away!” Dalila shrieked. “This is serious!”

His eyes were on the road, so he didn’t see Masika’s look of admiration, but he heard it in his voice. “Bomani, dude! You’re a total bad—”

Bomani had jerked the steering wheel as they went into a turn, cutting him off. He wanted to say something you might hear in an action movie, probably about how this is why you buckled up, but instead he turned up the volume on the radio and shouted, “Hang on!”

“Kickstart My Heart” blared over the speakers as the car swerved through the turns and went over a small hill, incidentally passing Mystery Guy’s motorcycle as they went, and slowly getting farther and farther away from the police car. Masika threw his hands up in the air like he was on a roller coaster ride, cheering in adrenaline-fueled excitement, while Dalila cowered in the backseat mumbling “Oh boy…” anxiously.

Finally, Bomani caught sight of a large billboard sign up ahead, and got an idea. He took his foot off the gas and put on the brakes, jerking the steering wheel. The car went off the road and behind the road sign, and when he was sure it was out of view Bomani killed the engine and turned off the headlights. He lowered his head out of view, waving for Masika and Dalila to do the same. “Shh…”

They heard the siren as the police car sped past them, then it slowly faded away out of earshot.

Once the siren had faded away, Masika lifted his head. “Are they gone?”

Bomani nodded. “They’re gone,”

The three of them sat back, all heaving sighs of relief. Bomani still couldn’t quite believe what he’d just done… and had gotten away with. A smile of elation crept across his lips.

Neither could Masika believe it, it seemed, because he slowly smiled and began to laugh breathlessly. “That… was insane. Like, totally fucking insane.”

“I cannot believe you just did that, Bomani,” Dalila said from the backseat, still sounding incredibly shocked. “We could’ve gotten arrested! We could’ve crashed!”

“I know!” Masika said delightedly, turning to look at the blond. “Admit it: that was awesome!”

Bomani turned around as well. Dalila was still for a moment, still looking shocked. Then Bomani saw a hesitant smile inch its way onto Dalila’s face. “Fine… I guess it was kind of awesome…”

Masika grinned. “It was totally awesome!”

Dalila gave a huff of laughter and shook his head fondly at him. His laugh made Bomani start laughing, and Masika followed as they both turned back around and sat back. And for a moment, all three of them just sat there in the car, laughing.

Eventually, Bomani remembered they still had a garage band show to get to, and reached for his keys and turned them in the ignition. The engine spluttered, but didn’t rev up. They all fell silent and stared at Bomani as he turned the key again. The engine spluttered again, then died.

“Now what?” Masika asked.

Internally pleading for it to not be what he thought it was, Bomani looked at the fuel gauge on the dashboard. And just as he feared, the gauge needle was pointed at the E. He slumped in shock and disappointment. “We’re out of gas,”

Masika summed it up best by throwing his hands up in frustration. “Aw, come on!”

Dalila quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Don’t worry, I’ll find a gas station.” He typed for a moment then waited for the results to load. “Here we go! The nearest gas station is… twenty-three miles away.”

They all groaned, and Bomani face-planted into the steering wheel.

Since the car was out of commission, the trio was forced to walk the rest of the way, hoping that once they got to the garage show they could ask someone for help. So they pulled out the black car cover from the trunk so no one would steal it, locked the doors, then set off walking down the side of the road. Houses began to come into view, which Masika said meant they were almost there. He and Dalila walked up ahead, while Bomani trailed along behind, hands in his pockets and head bent towards the ground.

He still couldn’t believe what was happening. He’d driven to loud music, speeding at least thirty miles above the speed limit, could have crashed, and almost got pulled over by the police, all because he wanted to have even a glimmer of a chance with a Mystery Guy he saw in a 7/11. And now they were probably lost, and if they couldn’t call a tow truck or get gas for the car, they would be totally stranded and forced to call Vinneketh. Bomani didn’t even want to think about the earful they’d get from him.

Vinneketh. The thought of him just made Bomani feel worse. He was trying to move on and be a better person—he was trying harder than he probably ever had in his life. And even though there had been many, many times where he ashamedly thought about giving up, he ignored that part of himself and pushed through it. But he didn’t feel like he had gained any progress tonight—a part of him even felt like he had regressed. Dalila and Masika, although they supported him, probably wouldn’t have much faith in him after this. They probably hated him.

Bomani sighed heavily and ran his hands through his hair. “I should’ve stayed home,” he muttered.

Hearing him, Dalila and Masika stopped and turned around. “What?” Dalila asked.

Bomani stopped walking and repeated. “I should’ve stayed home,”

“Why?” Masika asked in confusion.

“Because… Because then none of…” he gestured wildly “this, would’ve happened! I just—I was so ready to be a new person!” He started pacing around, running his hands through his hair as he rambled on. “I was going to drink beer, and rock out to garage band music, and hang out and do stuff, and you’d all go, ‘Wow, Bomani’s really cool!’ And for just one lousy night, I could feel like I’m actually doing better and I’m still not a shitty friend. But noooo… instead we drove to loud music, chased some Mystery Guy into the night and broke the law. And I don’t even look cool! Look at this!” He opened his jacket so his friends could see the DuckTales t-shirt he was wearing. “I’m wearing a DuckTales t-shirt. DuckTales!” Not wanting to stand anymore, he sank to the ground and hung his head. “I’m sorry, guys… I should’ve stayed home with the puzzle…”

There was a long stretch of silence. Dalila and Masika looked at each other, then turned back to him. “Dude…” Masika began, and Bomani worried he would say he was right. But then… “Do you hear yourself? Who cares about DuckTales—you’re a total badass! You gunned it from the cops, dude!”

Bomani looked up at them in shock. Masika was grinning at him, while Dalila was smiling. “He’s right,” Dalila said. “Who cares about your DuckTales t-shirt? You just drove forty miles over the speed limit, outran the police, and you didn’t crash the car once! That was amazing! I mean, it was totally illegal and you gave me a heart attack, but it was amazing!”

All Bomani could do was gaze at them dumbly. “… Seriously?”

They both nodded. “Seriously,” Dalila replied. “And listen…” they went over and sat down beside him. “You are doing better. I know maybe to you it doesn’t seem that way, but you are. You’re really trying, and we’re proud of you.”

Masika nodded in agreement. “Yeah. And we’re here for you, man. We’ll support you the entire way, and Vin will too, and if anyone tries to mess with your progress, we’ll gladly fight them for ya. ‘Cause we’re your friends.”

Bomani gazed at them both, not knowing what to say. But maybe… maybe they were right. Maybe he was making progress. And maybe he didn’t need to give up. But he did know, knew it with absolute certainty, that they were right about their support.

He slowly smiled at them. “Thank you… You guys are the best.”

Masika grinned. “Yeah, we know. Group hug!”

They hugged, then stood up and continued walking. But they ended up not having to walk for very much longer, as they soon entered a neighborhood from the back and began to hear the sound of rock music. They followed the music, and finally came to a house at the end of the block. Crowds of people were gathered in the driveway and front yard and the garage door was open, showing off flashing lights and the band playing inside.  

They all grinned. “Is this the place, Masika?” Dalila asked.

“It’s the place! I can’t believe it! We must have been pretty close by!”

Dalila nudged Bomani’s shoulder, smiling. “See? It all worked out, didn’t it?”

“I guess it did…” They still had to get help with the car, though. But he figured they could worry about that later.

As the trio approached the house, Masika’s eyes widened and he tapped Bomani’s shoulder. “Look!”

Bomani looked, and his heart nearly stopped. Standing there in the front yard was none other than Mystery Guy, looking down at his phone.

Dalila’s jaw dropped. “I can’t believe it… He’s actually here!”

For a moment, Bomani just stared silently at Mystery Guy. This had to be divine intervention. He’d choked in the 7/11, but he’d successfully shot him a look on the road, so maybe that meant he now had another chance.

Bomani curled his hands into fists, and blew out a deep breath. “I’m going to go talk to him,”

Dalila and Masika gave him looks of surprise. “Really?” Dalila asked him.

For the first time that night, Masika gave him an almost worried look. “Bomani, listen—I know this is what you want to do, but… you can ease into socializing if you want.”

Bomani thought over his words, then looked back at Mystery Guy. And his decision was made. If he didn’t go for it now, he may never get another chance.

He turned back to his friends, smiling confidently. “I’ll be right back,”

Then he rolled his shoulders back and strode towards Mystery Guy with confidence in his step. Both his friends watched him proudly. Their pride faded, however, when Bomani went up to Mystery Guy and stuck out his hand. Masika face-palmed. “Oh jeez, he’s starting with a handshake?”

Then Mystery Guy, after a moment where he looked Bomani up and down, smiled back at him and took his hand. “Oh, he went for it,” Dalila observed.

Bomani started to talk, gesturing to Mystery Guy’s Skid Row t-shirt. Mystery Guy gave a reply, and they started talking back and forth, though Dalila and Masika were too far away to hear what they were saying. Mystery Guy laughed, then said something that made Bomani join in. Then after a moment of talking, Bomani pulled out his phone.

Masika grabbed Dalila’s elbow, eyes wide. “Dalila… is what I think is happening happening?” He sounded like he could hardly believe it.

“I don’t know,” Dalila answered, although he was hoping it was happening too. Then Mystery Guy put his phone in his pocket and waved to Bomani, then turned and walked off. Bomani waved to Mystery Guy and turned back around to them. “Oh, he’s coming back!”

They quickly ran over to him, meeting him on the edge of the lawn. “So… what happened?” Masika asked.

Bomani was looking down at his phone and smiling, and looked up at them. “I asked him if he listened to Skid Row, and he said yes, he did, and we talked about our favorite rock bands. I also said if I was a girl I’d totally throw my bra at Jon Bon Jovi, and he laughed and agreed with me.”

Masika looked like he was stuck between facepalming at what Bomani had said and being happy it went so well. Dalila just rolled his eyes. “And?” he asked.

Bomani looked down at his phone and smiled. “And… he gave me this.”

He showed him his phone screen. It was open to his contacts, and there was a phone number in blue numbers on the screen, with what had to be Mystery Guy’s name written above it.

Both Dalila and Masika gaped at the phone screen. Then a smile slowly emerged on Masika’s face. “Oh… no way…” The smile exploded into a wide grin, and he looked ecstatically at Bomani. “No freakin’ way!”

“That’s his phone number!” Dalila exclaimed. “Bomani, you got his phone number!”

In his excitement, Masika began jumping around with his hands on his head. “Bomani! You just talked to him about rock music and said some dumbass thing about your crush on Jon Bon Jovi, and got his number like it was nothing?! Oh my god!” He laughed happily. “Bomani, you’re a total rock star!”

Bomani looked down at Mystery Guy’s phone number again, then looked up and smiled wider. Maybe tonight hadn’t gone as smoothly as planned, but this? This was definitely a win. And for the first time since his resolution to be better, he finally felt like he was on the right path.

[mxliv-oftheendless]

“Can we make cake? I like cake.” Heather & Mick? Lol. Bonding with lil' Ayesha between them with cake? 🍰🍰🍰

So this started out light and happy, then got a little angsty. But I like what I came up with, so I hope you like it too! This is set in a modern AU again, because that’s the idea I had. Put under a cut because this turned from a drabble into a full-length oneshot—in other words, another day in the life of me lol. Enjoy!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It wasn’t too bad an atmosphere; Heather sat on one end of her couch reading a book, while Ayesha sat on the other side, leaning against the armrest and watching an episode of DuckTales, occasionally giggling at what was happening. Heather had to crack a smile whenever she heard it. She’d agreed to watch Ayesha while Demon and Vinneketh had a much-needed Date Night. 

Had she said yes rather quickly when Vinneketh called and asked? Maybe…

Okay, yes, she had. The past couple weeks hadn’t been good mental health-wise, and she knew from experience that the last thing she needed to do was be alone. So even if it was just babysitting her little niece while her dads no doubt screwed each others’ brains out, at least she wasn’t by herself. She needed distractions. 

But it seemed the universe was not on her side tonight, because she gazed uncomprehendingly at the page of her book, eyes going over the words for the third time in a row. She sighed quietly. Was it too much to ask to not feel bored and useless for once? 

“Auntie Heather,” Ayesha suddenly turned from the TV to her. 

Grateful for the distraction, Heather looked up from her book. “Yeah, sweetie?” 

Ayesha kicked her feet. “I’m bored… Can we make something?” 

“You mean like bake something?” Ayesha smiled and nodded her head. After a moment, Heather smiled slightly and set aside her book to stand. “Okay, sure. Let’s go see what I’ve got.” 

Ayesha jumped off the couch and eagerly ran to the kitchen, while Heather walked behind her with a smile. As bad as she’d been feeling lately, she couldn’t not smile around her niece. 

When she entered the kitchen, Ayesha was looking in her cabinets for something to make. Heather tried to remember whether she had anything; she used to have brownie mix, but she was pretty sure she’d used it…

“Find anything?” she asked. 

At that moment, Ayesha opened another cabinet and grinned excitedly, then reached inside. She pulled out a small box and proudly showed it to Heather. It was a box of strawberry cake mix. 

“Can we make cake?” Ayesha asked. “I like cake!” 

Heather smiled. “Sure. Let me see that.” She took the box from her niece and looked on the back to see what they would need. She had canola oil, her measuring cups were clean… did she have eggs? 

She went to her fridge and opened it to look inside. No eggs. Frowning, she turned to Ayesha apologetically. “I’m sorry, sweetie, I don’t have any eggs.” 

Ayesha deflated. “Aww…” 

Heather suddenly didn’t want to go back to reading her book. “Maybe we can ask Mick if he has any eggs,” she offered. 

Thankfully, Ayesha perked up at that. “Can we?” she asked hopefully. 

“Yeah, we can. Let’s go.” 

They left her kitchen and went out of her apartment into the hallway, Ayesha happily skipping along beside her. Heather was pretty sure she knew why; Ayesha was perhaps the one person besides Vince, Nikki, and Tommy that actually liked Mick. And besides Heather herself, of course. 

Mick, actually, had been the person whose door Heather had been knocking on the most lately. A part of her felt bad she wasn’t going to Starchild, because she knew Starchild would drop everything if he knew she was having a horrible day. But then again, it was also for that reason that she didn’t go to him; he had his own things to deal with, and she didn’t want to turn her best friend into her therapist, and also because, although she loved him platonically, he just didn’t get it. But Mick got it; he knew what it was like to be in constant pain, whether that be physical or mental. And he was always ready with a drink if Heather needed one. 

The two of them went across the hall to Mick’s apartment and knocked. There was a short pause, then Mick opened the door slightly and peered out. He opened the door all the way when he saw it was Heather. “What’s the problem?” 

Heather was about to respond when Ayesha did it for her. “Hi, Uncle Mick!” she chirped. 

Mick looked down, and smiled slightly when he saw Ayesha. “Hey there, kiddo. How’s it goin?” 

“Aiutu and Baba are spending time together,” 

“I’m watching her for the night,” Heather clarified. 

“Oh. So, what’s up?” 

“Do you have any eggs? Preferably three?” 

“Yeah, why?” 

“We’re making cake, Uncle Mick!” Ayesha happily explained. “But we don’t have any eggs.” 

Mick nodded solemnly. “I see. Hang on a second.” He turned and disappeared into his apartment, and Heather heard the sound of him rifling through his kitchen. He came back a few moments later with three eggs in a plastic bag and gave it to Heather. “Here ya go.” 

Heather smiled. “Thanks. We’ll bring you a piece when we’re done if you want.” 

“Sure. Been a while since I had cake.” 

They were at her door when Mick called behind them. “Hey,” 

Heather turned to find him leaning against his doorframe. “You, ah… need any help?” he asked, a bit awkwardly. 

Heather raised an eyebrow at him questioningly. But she looked down at Ayesha all the same. “What do you think, sweetie? Should we let him help?” 

Ayesha nodded excitedly. “Yeah!” She ran over to Mick and grabbed his hand to pull him back over to Heather. “Come on, Uncle Mick!” 

And that was how Heather ended up in her kitchen with her little niece and her grumpy guitarist neighbor, keeping watch so they didn’t try to dip fingers into the cake batter. 

“Ayesha, no,” she tried to scold, but Ayesha was already licking the batter on her finger. “Don’t do that.” 

“But it’s good, Auntie Heather!” Ayesha protested. 

“You’ll get sick, and your dads will—hey!” 

While she was distracted, Mick had swooped in and dipped his own finger in the cake batter. Heather gave him a disapproving look. “You too?” 

Mick shrugged. “Hey, it’s good,” 

“Told you!” 

Heather sighed. “Fine. I was going to be the responsible adult here, but you know what?” She dipped a finger of her own in the cake batter and tasted it. It was good; really good. 

Mick smirked at Ayesha triumphantly. “We got her, kiddo,” 

Heather rolled her eyes as Ayesha giggled. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. I’ll go put this in the oven. You two go wait in the living room.” 

She had closed the oven, set the timer, and was about to join the two in the living room when she suddenly heard Ayesha’s voice. “Uncle Mick?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Is Auntie Heather okay?” 

Heather froze. There was a moment where Mick didn’t speak, then she heard him reply. “Sure she is. But you don’t have to worry about her.” 

“But she looks sad, Uncle Mick,” 

“Like I said, kiddo, you don’t have to worry about her. She’ll be okay.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“Positive,” 

“… Okay,” 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The trio played UNO while they waited for the cake to bake, then sat around Heather’s table eating pieces. Heather smiled, laughed, ate her cake, and tried to forget about what she had heard. But no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t. 

Your own niece can see something’s wrong with you, and she’s a child. How pathetic is that? 

Mick left after a while, and a couple hours later Ayesha fell asleep on Heather’s couch, her sugar crash helping her get tired enough to sleep. Demon and Vinneketh came to pick up their daughter around midnight, leaving with a few pieces of cake, and Heather was once again left alone. And once again, she found herself walking across the hall and knocking on Mick’s door. Mick, thankfully still awake, wordlessly let her inside. 

“I heard what Ayesha said earlier,” she said once she’d sat down on his couch. “Could she really tell? Is it that obvious?” 

Mick sat down in his armchair across from her and put his feet up on the coffee table, crossing his arms. “She could tell something was up. But that’s it. She wouldn’t know you’ve got depression, she’s just a kid.” 

“I know, but…” Heather sighed. “The fact that she could still tell something was wrong… What does that mean? Is that bad?” 

“It’s not bad,” Mick replied bluntly. “All it means is that Ayesha’s a perceptive kid. But her brain’s not gonna automatically know what’s going on. And she’s probably not even going to think about it anymore.” 

Heather thought about what he said. He was right. She sighed heavily again and ran a hand through her hair. “I guess you’re right… why am I even worrying about this? I just… I don’t want to… give her what I have somehow…” 

Mick shrugged. “Seems pretty fuckin normal to me, what you’re thinking. And I think if she did know the truth, she wouldn’t give two shits. She loves you.” 

Heather cracked a smile at that. “She does… She likes you too.” 

“Exactly. And fuck if I know how, but hey.” 

Heather scoffed at him. “You’re not so bad. You’re a grumpy old ass, but you can be pretty nice when you’re not sassing people.” 

“Pretty sure sassing people is the reason we’re friends, McMann,” 

Smiling, Heather looked up at him. “And I wouldn’t trade that for anything, Massacre. I’m glad we’re friends.” 

Mick smirked back at her, but it looked more like a genuine smile. “Same here… Nice to have a friend that actually drinks quality booze.” 

Heather laughed, then stood back up. “I think I’ll go have another piece of that cake.” 

“You should be sleeping,” 

“Says the nocturnal animal.” 

“Touche,” 

Mick walked her to the door, then watched as she walked back across the hall to her apartment. She smiled at him. “Thanks for the talk. You know I’m here if you ever need to talk, right?” 

“Yeah, I got that. Night.” 

“Goodnight,” 

And with that, Heather closed her door and went to go get another piece of cake. It actually tasted better this time around. 

[mxliv-oftheendless]

“I have a hole…in my side.” - “I’m sorry, what?” - “I was shot.” StarTerror? 💙💜

(So update: Holmes and Watson is still incredibly stupid and I still could have lived a full life watching it once and then never again, but at least it’s over now. Thank you @ashestoashesvvi and @cosmicrealmofkissteria for coming to my aid and sending me writing prompts so I can forget this experience. And now onto the drabble!)

(I’m making this a modern au again just so I can make this idea work.)

Okay, so maybe Nikki was concerned by the fact that the man he was in love with was a police officer. So sue him. It was perhaps the first time he’d ever cared about an officer of the law, seeing as he had often been on the wrong side of it. But he wasn’t worried. Not one bit. 

… Okay, maybe he was worried a little bit. It was just that Paul was so dedicated to his job, and Nikki knew better than anyone the kind of horrible motherfuckers there were out there. 

So when he opened the door to his apartment to see who had knocked, and found Paul sagging against the doorframe with his face scrunched up in pain, he could perhaps be forgiven for freaking out just a little bit. 

“Holy shit, Princess, what the hell happened to you?!” Nikki practically shouted. 

Paul stumbled through the door and leaned against the wall. “Ah—ow… I’m sorry… I need to stay somewhere for the night and you were the closest… you don’t mind, do you?” 

“No, just… c’mon in. You need to sit down.” Nikki shut the door and slung Paul’s arm around his shoulders. He supported him in walking to the couch, where Paul collapsed, groaning in pain and holding his side. “Jesus, Princess… you look like shit.” He went to place his arm around Paul’s waist. “Did something—”

Paul’s face contorted in agony as Nikki’s hand touched his side. “Owww, don’t touch there!” 

Nikki’s hand shot away. “The fuck happened to you?” And no, that wasn’t panic making his heart pound. 

… Okay, it was. 

Paul sighed heavily and wiped sweat from his brow. “I have a hole… in my side…”

All Nikki could do was gawk, hoping to God that didn’t mean what he thought it meant. “I’m sorry… what?!” 

“I was shot, Nikki. I. Was. Shot.” 

Nikki stared at him in shock. He’d been shot… and he was still walking around? Jesus Christ… “How the fuck did you get shot, Princess?” 

Paul sighed again and slumped against the couch. “There was a drugs bust, one of them pulled a gun and shot me. It went clean through, and they took him down soon after… I just got released from the hospital, but I think the painkillers are starting to wear off. Could you go get my bag? I have more painkillers in there.” 

He got the orange bottle as requested and a glass of water, and Paul took two tablets and drank the entire glass. He leaned his head back with his eyes closed, and sighed. “Oh thank God, I can feel them working…” He opened his eyes again. “You really wouldn’t mind if I stayed the night? Just for today? I’ll be gone tomorrow; Captain Ehldehr gave me the rest of the week off to recover.” 

“Fuck no, I don’t mind. You got shot, Princess. I’m not about to let you outta my sight for a while.” 

Paul smiled tiredly. “Thank you, Nikki. I know you don’t have the best relationship with the police… but really, thank you.” 

“Hey,” Nikki took Paul’s hand and squeezed it. “You’re not like the other cops I’ve met. You actually care about people. I wish I’d met more cops like you.” 

He squeezed back. “I just think it’s horrible that you haven’t.” There was a pause in which they just gazed at each other, then Paul winced and grabbed his side. “Ow… I should probably lie down.” 

“Oh! Yeah, right. C’mon, you can sleep in my bed for the night. I’ll take the couch.” 

“I don’t want to—ah-hahow… fine…”  

Nikki chuckled at him and kissed his cheek, then helped him stand up and walk down the hallway to his bedroom. 

[mxliv-oftheendless]

Last One Out of Sphynxia

(Alternate title: Bomani is Smitten and Trying His Best, Dalila Tries to Be the Voice of Reason and Fails, and Masika Hasn’t Had This Much Fun in Forever.

Alternate Alternate Title: What the Warrior Troupe Does When Vinneketh’s Not Around)

Summary: Masika is excitedly waiting for Radames to pick him up to take him to a garage band show, while Bomani, who is trying to be a better person and move on from his crush on Vinneketh, agrees to do a puzzle with Dalila, while Vinneketh has Date Night with Demon. However, Radames has to cancel on Masika, much to his disappointment; in an effort to cheer him up, Dalila and Bomani offer go to the show with him. While picking up snacks at the store, a Mystery Guy™️ walks in... and Bomani is smitten. Craziness ensues.

————

So I’m in like a really flippin good mood right now, so I decided I’d share a possible story idea with y’all that popped into my head this morning. The title and the plot of the story are taken from an episode of Steven Universe called “Last One Out of Beach City”, so you can just look up the episode if you want a general idea of what would happen. But this is basically the result of what happens when I want to write something with Bomani that’s positive, and I rediscover my love of Steven Universe. It’s a totally dumbass idea but I really want to write it, cuz Bomani deserves happiness, man. Let me know what you think and whether I should write it (though I’ll probably end up writing it anyway lol)!