Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

10/1/25 – anniversary

10/2/25 – pet sitting

10/3/25 - in vino veritas

10/4/25 – rain

10/5/25 – early morning walks

10/6/25 – late night talks

10/7/25 – moving day

10/8/25 – shopping

10/9/25 – coming home

10/10/25 – set up by friends

10/11/25 – baking

10/12/25 – blizzard or heatwave

10/13/25 – hosting a holiday event

10/14/25 – stuck or lost together

10/15/25 – “this is fun” “not the word i would use but okay”

10/16/25 – pillows, plushies, piles of blankets

10/17/25 – making or buying a costume

10/18/25 – “is this seat taken?”

10/19/25 – risky rescue mission

10/20/25 – fake relationship

10/21/25 – pumpkin carving

10/22/25 – first dance

10/23/25 – group hug

10/24/25 – letters

10/25/25 – cold hands

10/26/25 – co-parenting a pet

10/27/25 – fantasy au

10/28/25 – “is that my hoodie?” “...no?”

10/29/25 – book shop/library au

10/30/25 – sharing earphones

10/31/25 – “stay?”

Chapter Text

Fluixon was dreaming about blowing up the world. He didn’t know why, but it seemed to be fun. Obviously he wasn’t going to actually do it, that would be dumb, and he would probably be arrested.

No, he would definitely be arrested. If there were any cops left, that is. If the world blew up, would there be cops? Or would all the jails be gone? He would get away with it for sure, he reasoned in his half-awake state. Maybe it was a sign.

But if he blew up the world, there would be no more life. Flux would be alone for the rest of foreverness with just aliens. Aliens would not be good company, he decided. He wasn’t good at being alone. At being lonely. Alone was quiet. Loneliness was loud.

He never liked the quiet before.

It was stupid. He wanted to be able to be alone, to not need anyone. But the thought of being alone forever scared him. He wasn’t good at it. It was dumb, and he never wanted to admit it, but he enjoyed the (albeit loud) company that his friends brought him.

A soft pawing at Flux’s face woke him up from his slumber. Cracking open one eye, he saw a cat in front of him, pushing its face into his neck. He just sighed and closed his eyes again.

Wait.

He didn’t have a cat.

Opening both eyes again, he noticed the cat was making biscuits on his cheek. Sitting up in confusion, he realized it was Saparata’s cat. The cat was a snowshoe that Saps had found on the side of the road a couple months ago when she was just a kitten. The two were just going on a walk in the rain when Saps noticed a box on the side of the road with ‘free cat’ written on the front with a sharpie. Looking inside, the two had realized that the kitten was only around two weeks old. Saps picked it up immediately with no questions asked, crying as he did. He placed the baby in his raincoat pocket and convinced Flux to end the walk early to take it home.

Saps had named it Meagon despite Flux claiming that she would get bullied at cat school.

Flux gently pushed Meagon off him as he yawned. Meagon just pounced back into Flux’s lap, staring at him. Flux, not the one to back down from a challenge, stared back, slightly narrowing his eyes.

“Why are you even here? You don’t live here. You live across town,” Flux yawned as he stretched, not wanting to get up yet, so he just stared at the wall.

The cat just meowed and continued to stare.

After a while, Flux decided to get up and get changed. It was the weekend, and after checking the clock, Flux realized his alarm was turned off and it was past 10 in the morning. Changing out of his sweatshirt and hello kitty pajama pants (don’t judge him, it was Saps’s idea), he made his way to his bathroom, Meagon trailing after him before finding a string under Flux’s dresser more interesting.

Flux tiredly stared at himself in the mirror for a couple minutes before opening his drawer to put in his contacts. His contacts in, he stared at his reflections again, before combing his hair back with his fingers, something his sister hated him for doing.

Speaking of Cynikka, he glanced over to her side of the counter, narrowing his eyes in disgust as he saw that she hadn’t put away her stuff. There were hairbrushes (seriously, who needs multiple hairbrushes?), makeup, skincare, hair ties, a straightener, and a curler sprawled across the counter and even past the tape Flux put to separate the two sides.

Soft paws padded across the wooden hallway and into the tiled bathroom and up on the counter. Flux stared at the cat again before picking her up and carrying her out, deciding to eat breakfast, as he was starving.

Still rubbing the sleep from his eyes, upon entering the kitchen, Meagon leaped out of his arm and onto the floor, to the bowl of cat food Saps was placing down by the window. It took him an embarrassingly long time to realize that Saps was in his house, in his kitchen, talking with Cynikka as she was flipping pancakes on the stove.

Upon entering the kitchen, Cynikka turned around before smirking. “Look who’s finally up. You’re never up this late, did the devil put you to bed last night?” Flux groaned, putting his head in his hands.

“Shut the hell up. My alarm didn’t go off. Now I don’t have time to leave to go to…–” trailing off, Flux had finally looked up and noticed the streamers, balloons, and confetti within the kitchen and dining room. There was a poorly made banner hung above the window that spelled out ‘happy birthday, fluxion’.

“You spelled my name wrong,” he sneered as his sister rolled her eyes.

“Shut up. Just be grateful, idiot,” she responded. Finally turning his head, Flux watched as Saparata was crouched down to his cat, whispering to her as she ate.

“What are you doing in my house?” he asked, voice still raspy from sleep. Saps turned around and quite literally blinded him with his smile before standing up.

“Do you like it?” he asked, gesturing to the decorations and the table, which Flux had just noticed had an array of breakfast foods on it. “I came over earlier and Cyn and I decorated and made breakfast while you were asleep.” Flux raised an eyebrow.

“How early did you come over?”

“Uh, like 7:30. I brought the decoration box from my apartment and we decorated your house!” he explained as Flux snorted.

“7:30? That’s a new record. Usually you aren’t up until past 11,” Flux smirked as Saps just shrugged.

“Happy birthday?” he stuttered out as Cynikka pointed the spatula at the two of them.

“Go sit down and eat. We don’t have much time.”

“Time for what?” Flux sputtered out as Saps pushed him into a chair before taking a seat himself. Flux took the time to look around the table. As much as he hated to admit it, it really was beautiful. He noticed that the two had brought the bigger table in from the garage, and it was actually clean this time. There were multiple trays and plates, each holding different things. One white tray had an array of waffles with different fillings and shapes, while another had smaller bowls with different berries, mainly strawberries, as they were his favorite. The whole table was full, and Cynikka was still making more food.

“This is a lot of food. Are we going to eat all of this?” Fluixon started as Saps grinned. Flux’s heart dropped once he saw his best friend’s face. “No you did not.” A knock from the front door had Saparata jumping out of his seat and over to the mudroom. Once the door clicked open, voices exploded from the outside. Flux just groaned and put his head in his hands as a set of footsteps made its way into the dining room.

“Flux, my man! Happy birthday, how do you feel being the oldest now?” Flux rolled his eyes as Thomas bounded over.

“I’m not that old, freako. Why are you in my house?” he shot back and Thomas put down a bag on the window seat.

Not long after, Flux found himself sitting at the head of the table, his friends and sister surrounding it, the curtains all closed to attempt to make the room darker. Thomas had insisted that he wore a party hat that Snowbird got him. Saps was attempting to light the candles on a stack of waffles (Flux hated cake), but they kept going out as Saps complained about the lighter being out of fluid.

A couple minutes later, a cacophony of voices were all singing him ‘Happy Birthday’, all in different notes. He could pick apart whose voice belonged to who, and he concluded that Saps sounded the best. Saps was always the best.

With an arm around his shoulder, Saps was next to him as Flux blew out the candles on his blueberry waffles and made his wish. “Don’t tell us, it won’t come true,” Gotoga reminded. But his wish had already come true, and it was exactly this very moment.

Looking around the table, at the candle glow on everyone’s faces, he realized that he could never handle being alone. If this moment was frozen for the rest of time, he would be content. Flux turned his head to the left of him to find Saps smiling at him with his arms still around his shoulder, and Flux swore that he had to cover his eyes because it blinded him.

Saps turned his head to talk to someone, and Flux took the moment to stare at his best friend, how the candle glowed perfectly on his face, outlining the most beautiful parts. Despite himself, Flux found himself genuinely smiling as well.

Maybe his birthday wasn’t so bad.

Maybe this moment could last forever.

Chapter Text

“Absolutely not.”

“Flux–”

“No.”

“Flux please, it’s only for the weekend–” Saparata pleaded as Fluixon turned away and walked further into the apartment, leaving the two at the front door.

“That’s one day too many. I am not doing this shit.”

A few minutes later, Flux found himself sitting at the dining table, staring at the terrarium placed on top of it. The spider had burrowed itself into the dirt at the bottom, leaving just a leg out, before fully hiding itself.

“No way Schpood bought a spider. He already has one,” Flux drawled as he listened to Saps in the kitchen, pots and pans clattering together as he searched for something. Saps laughed.

“No way you’re comparing his best friend to an actual spider. You’re funny,” he yelled out before a quiet shit came from the other room, followed by a sound of shattering. Usually, Flux would go and help his friend with whatever mess he made, but since Saps was the one who accepted the offer to watch over their friend’s devil for the weekend, Flux reasoned he could clean it himself. “...Flux?” Groaning, Flux pushed his chair back and stood up to go help.

The birthday decorations were still up from his birthday last week, the stupid banner was still hung in the front window and the balloons were all deflated and wrinkly, but Flux didn’t plan on cleaning them up for a while. It was a small reminder that people cared about him.

When Saps first came over the day before, the two of them just planned on relaxing the whole weekend – they had no school and Cynikka was out of town – because they knew that neither of them liked being alone.

Walking into the kitchen, Flux found his friend standing in the middle of shattered glass, shoulders slightly shaking. “Don’t move or you could cut up your feet. I’ll go get the broom,” Flux decided as he noticed Saps’s hands slightly shaking. “Hey, it’s fine. It’s not a big deal, I promise. Cynikka has broken way more things. She once threw a softball at my light and the bulb shattered everywhere, do you know how pissed our parents were?” Once Saps cracked a smile, Flux left to grab the broom.

He returned to the kitchen to find Saps tiptoeing around the broken glass as he started sweeping the remains of a cup. “We never used that cup anyway,” he explained, “it was already broken. There was a long crack along the side. It always leaked. Go look after your stupid spider. I’m not touching that thing, ever.” Saps rolled his eyes as he left.

“It’s a jumping spider, you freak. He’s harmless.”

“His name is Westhelm. That’s a stupid ass name.” It was silent for a few moments before a nervous laugh came from the dining room and Flux’s heart dropped.

“Uhh, maybe we need to call Schpood.”

“No fucking way. No it did not.”

“Did you leave the lid off?”

“I didn’t touch the lid, asshat! No fucking way it’s gone.”

~~~

They had found the spider. He was under a plate. Saparata had panicked, worried that Schpood was never going to talk to him again. Flux couldn’t care less. In fact, he didn’t care if Schpood didn’t talk to them. He was annoying.

Later that night, Saps was reheating food, both of them were hungry but too tired to cook, and Saps was against ordering, for some reason. He reasoned that it would be too expensive, even though Flux offered to pay and he had money. Saps still declined, and Flux didn’t want to argue because he was fine doing whatever his friend wanted.

Coming back into the living room, Saps noticed the curtains were closed and their show was playing on the TV, but also, the terrarium was open. He was about to panic (again) before he noticed the spider sitting on Flux’s cheek, the other fast asleep.

Aw.

They were snuggling.

Saps snapped a quick picture before setting Flux’s food down on the coffee table, not wanting to wake him up. Asleep, Flux looked at peace, nothing like the annoying person he was while awake. The lines between his brows were gone, and he wasn’t frowning. Saps wondered if he was dreaming.

Carefully putting a blanket on his friend’s unconscious form, Saps himself grabbed a blanket after debating in his mind if he wanted to share the same one and laid down on the opposite side of the couch before drifting off into dreamland, the show still quietly playing on the TV.

~~~

Flux slurped the cereal milk from his spoon before eating the actual piece, just to annoy his friend who was standing at the front door, smiling and conversing with the annoying guy who owned the annoying spider. The two of them were talking about who knows what, and Saps handed over the terrarium, the spider (thankfully) inside it.

“Thank you guys for watching over Westhelm, I appreciate it. I had to go do something with Spyder and it would’ve been too complicated.”

“No problem, it was our pleasure!” Flux snorted from the table and Saps turned around to glare at him. “He was very easy to take care of, and very cute.”

“I’m glad. I’ve got to go, Spyder is waiting for me. It was nice talking to you, Saparata. We should grab coffee sometime.”

“Yeah, of course, I would love that,” said Saps before the door shut and he entered the dining room again, slumping down in his chair.

“That was stressful,” he said, as the stupid spider had gotten lost many more times, and each time, he panicked.

“Never again.”

Saps nodded. “Never again.”

Chapter Text

Maybe it was a bad idea to drink. But clearly past–Fluixon did not listen when Saparata tried to convince him not to buy any wine or alcohol for the night, that they could have fun without getting drunk. “We don’t need any”, Saps had whined, “It’s gonna be a bad idea.”

Coming back to his house, Flux opened the door holding several wine bottles, ignoring the glare he got from the living room where Saps was tidying up and taking down the birthday decorations.

“We don’t need alcohol, Flux. We’re barely old enough.”

“Oh come on Saps, have some fun. Live a little, one drink isn’t going to hurt you.” Saps snorted before turning around and continuing to pop the balloons with a safety pin.

A couple hours later, the living room was filled with people, all there to celebrate midterms being over. There was a whole drink bar in the kitchen on the counter, and there were many more bottles of wine and beer, as many other people had brought them, despite Saps’s insistence.

Speaking of, Saps was sitting in the corner of the couch with his knees to his chest, silently watching all the people in his friend’s house. He watched as Flux and a couple other people drunkenly play a mix of spin the bottle and seven minutes in heaven. There was music blasting from the speakers, and some people singing off-key. Cynikka and Zynn were nowhere to be found, as expected. Practically everyone in the house was drunk to some degree, besides Saps. Saps had refused every time someone offered him a drink, especially when it was people he didn’t know. He was not planning on getting spiked tonight. Or ever.

People had called him lame or boring for not drinking, and some had begged, but stopped when Flux approached. Flux had offered his friend a drink, but after he declined, Flux backed off and didn’t ask again. They both knew Saps’s tolerance to alcohol, they both knew why he said no, they both knew why. Not that they would ever say anything to anyone.

Saps watched Flux’s already dilated pupils dilated more when his spin landed on Thomas. He didn’t know why, but he turned away when the two of them stood up to leave the room giggling like schoolboys why couldn’t Saps make him laugh like that?.

“Hey.” Saps turned his attention to Snowbird, who had just sat down next to him.

“Hey.”

“You’re not drinking?” he asked as Saps shook his head.

“No. I’m not interested. Are you?”

“Nah. My tolerance is so shitty, and last time I got drunk, I did so many embarrassing things, it wasn’t even funny,” he explained as Saps cracked a smile. “Plus, there is no way I’m letting the rest of the goons drive drunk.”

“Everyone is calling me lame for not drinking. There are even some strangers coming up to me, calling me cute or whatever, and offering a cup! Like damn, sorry, I’m not looking to get spiked tonight, especially after you just called me hot. Anyone can guess where that’s going,” he complained, pulling his knees closer to his chest. Snowbird nodded.

“That’s shitty, I’m sorry. Good on you for not accepting anything, who knows what some of these people’s intentions are. I don’t even know half of these people, and I’m sure Fluixon and Cynikka don’t, either. Hey, speaking of, where is Flux?”

Saps shrugged, resting his chin on his knees. “Cynikka is in her room with Zynn, I think. Flux and Thomas just left that circle to go into the closet. The bottle landed on him.” Snowbird studied his face, realization dawning on him as he nodded.

“I see. By the way, Thomas doesn’t like him like that. At all. They’re just friends.”

“Okay. But I don’t care if he does or not, I’m not dating either of them.”

“I know, but still.”

The two were silent, letting the cacophony of sounds fill up the empty spaces. Glancing around the room, Saps noticed a couple making out in the corner of the room, the TV was on for some reason, red plastic cups littered around everywhere, and many people filtering in and out of the kitchen, presumably getting more drinks.

Saps stood up, cracking his back. “I’m going to get some food, I’m hungry. Do you want anything?” Snowbird shook his head.

“I’m okay. Thanks though.” Saps nodded and stood up, making his way into the kitchen he was so familiar with.

He navigated through the maze of people and opened the fridge, searching for the leftover pasta they made last night, but not spotting it anywhere. He was about to head to the pantry before someone closed the fridge and leaned on it. Saps looked at them and noticed they were definitely drunk, no question asked.

“Excuse me,” Saps tried moving around them, but they spoke up.

“You’re pretty cute, you know?” He slurred.

“Uh, thanks. Please excuse me.” The man handed him a drink, Saps shaking his head. “I’m okay.”

“Y’u should drink, it’s fun.” He stared at Saps, eyes trailing over his whole body. “You’re hot.” Saps just tried ignoring him, gently pushing past him before the man took his wrist.

“Please let go of me,” he asked, the man tightening his grip.

“You wanna… you wanna go into the bedroom?” Saps opened his mouth to decline before the man was shoved to the side and drunkenly fell to the ground. “H-hey!”

“He said no, get outta here, fuckwad. Don’t ever think of coming in my house and talking to my… to him ever again,” Flux glared, pointing a finger to the front door where there were more people filtering in. Saps gently took Flux’s hand before turning to go find Snowbird. Spotting him talking with Gotoga, they made their way over.

“Hey, should we start getting everyone out of here? It’s getting pretty late, and it’s pretty overstimulating,” Snowbird asked Saps asked and he nodded.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll get Flux to bed. His tolerance is shit and I don’t want him collapsing onto the floor and potentially breaking something,” Saps said before guiding Flux to his room.

Opening the door and locking it behind the two of them, Saps let go of Flux’s hand in lieu of looking for something for Flux to sleep in as Flux collapsed face down onto his purple blanket.

“Nope. Get up. You’re not going to bed in those clothes. They reek of alcohol,” Saps said, throwing Flux’s hello kitty pants and a sweatshirt at him. Flux groaned.

“I’m tired, Saps…”

“I don’t care. Get up, idiot. You can shower in the morning when you’re not shit-faced. You can go to bed in a couple minutes.” Reluctantly, Flux sat up and Saps turned around while he changed.

Guiding him to his bathroom, he stood in the doorway as Flux brushed his teeth, per Saps’s insistence. “I hate you, you’re pr… you’re mean.”

“Okay. Are you done?” Saps asked and Flux nodded, spitting out the toothpaste. Saps took his friend’s hand and guided him to his room, turning off the light once they entered and threw back the blanket to help Flux.

Getting in the bed, Flux spoke up. “I didn’t mean it, by the way.”

“Didn’t mean what?” asked Saps, turning on the lamp on Flux’s nightstand.

“That I hate you. I don’t… I don’t hate you.”

“Thanks. I don’t hate you, either. No matter how stupid and drunk you are.”

“You’re very pretty.” Saps huffed out a laugh as his friend blurted it out.

“Thanks. Now go to sleep. You’re going to have a nasty hangover tomorrow.” Flux ignored him and just stared at his friend, the lamp light outlining his face and highlighting all his features.

“You look like… you look like an angel, Saparata,” he confessed, pink creeping up his face from the alcohol or was he blushing?. “You’re very pretty. Your freckles look like constellations and your lips are pretty and your hair is soft and I love you.” Saps’s heart stuttered.

“Flux, go to sleep–”

“I’m in love with you,” Flux interrupted, stopping Saps in the middle of his sentence. “I’m so in love with you Saps, it’s crazy. Like– like I fell in love with you but I don’t know when but it’s been festering inside of me like a fucking caterpillar and maybe it started when we were kids and we were fake boyfriends and we had the… the stupid wedding at school with dead leaves and ring pops. I am very much in love with you and in love with every little thing you do, I am in love with your smile and your voice and your eyes and all your quirks that I call stupid but I actually am in love with them and I just wanted to tell you that because I love you and not in a friend way.”

Saps silently stared at his best friend, blush creeping up his cheeks and his heart stuttering with every beat it took. He didn’t mean that, Saps reasoned, he’s just drunk.

“You don’t mean it, you’re just drunk. Now go to sleep before I put sedatives in your next shot.” Before he was done talking, Flux was quietly snoring and off in dreamland. For a couple minutes, Saps just stared at the dark haired man, thoughts swimming in his head, before clicking off the lamp and leaving the room, leaving the door cracked just enough for a ray of hallway light to seep in.

Chapter Text

“It’s raining.”

“I can see that, Flux.”

“It’s cold.”

“Go put on a sweater.”

“I don’t have any sweaters here.”

“Go get one of mine.”

“I don’t want to.”

Saparata sighed from where he was in the kitchen, whisk still in hand. He glanced over to where Fluixon was, sprawled out on one of his couches, watching the rain from the cracked open window. “Put on a blanket and stop complaining.”

It had been around a week since the party at Flux’s house. Flux doesn’t remember anything that happened once he was drunk, and Saps hasn’t acknowledged it. He had convinced himself that because Flux was drunk, he didn’t mean it. It was just something that had spilled out of his mouth oh but how Saparata longed for it to be true. Flux rolled over onto his stomach, face in the cushion, knocking a couple pillows off the couch.

“Stop being a baby. Grow up.”

“I hate the rain,” a muffled voice came from the living room.

“Okay, well, the weather isn’t going to listen to you. Grow up and stop complaining, or I’m kicking you out of my apartment.”

“We were supposed to go do stuff, Saps.”

“Okay, and we still can. It’s not like the rain is poisonous or anything. It’s just wet,” explained Saps as he ignored his friend’s protests from the couch. He scooped the batter into the prepared loaf pan, making sure to scrape all the edges of the bowl, before sprinkling the crumble on top and putting it in the preheated oven, setting the timer for half an hour.

Hearing the oven door shut, Flux entered the room, zeroing in on the bowl and rubber spatula. Saps had always let him lick the bowl whenever he baked, and this time was no different as he entered the kitchen and started scraping the batter with his finger while multitasking and beginning to clean up and start loading the dishes in the dishwasher. The two of them had an agreement; when Flux would cook, Saps would do the dishes, and when Saps baked, Flux would do the dishes. It was an unspoken rule between the two of them, one they never had to say but knew it nonetheless.

Saps collapsed onto a barstool pushed up to a counter, groaning and rubbing his eyes. Upon Flux’s gaze, he explained. “I have an exam on Friday, my butter almost burned while I was browning it, I didn’t have enough all purpose flour so I had to use bread flour, an egg rolled onto the floor, I have to go out and get cat food…”

Speaking of cat food, Saps’s cat, Meagon, leaped onto the counter next to Flux, sniffing the bowl of batter. Flux closed the dishwasher and took the bowl, glaring at the cat. “This is not yours. This is mine. Go find your own.”

Meagon just meowed in response.

“We can still go do stuff, like you said. We’ll just get wet. But we have my car and your sweaters. I think we’ll be fine.” Flux took a deep breath. “Ooh, what did you put in the oven? It smells good.”

“You’re so stupid,” was the only response he got before Saps turned around and shut his bedroom door, presumably changing into warmer clothes.

Staring in his closet, thoughts swam around in Saps’s mind. Ever since Flux got drunk and said all those things last weekend, he’s been more… docile? Would that be the right word? Less angry. Easier to talk to. Not that he was hard to before, but it was a slight but noticeable change in his demeanor. Not that Saps was complaining. It was nice, but also strange, because for as long as he’s known Flux, the latter has always been gruff and standoff-ish to people he didn’t know. Saps wasn’t sure if he liked this new version of his friend or not. Maybe the alcohol fucked with his brain.

Finally finding a clean sweater, he pulled it over his head and looked in his mirror. It was brown and matched well with his light jeans. Saps ran a hand through his hair. It had grown a bit, now reaching his shoulders. He decided to just put it in a ponytail.

Maybe he’d ask Flux to braid it later.

Saps walked out of his room to find his friend laying over the arm of his couch, flicking a random feather in his cat’s face. “Go find something to wear,” Saps said as he headed to the kitchen.

“Yessir,” he obeyed. Saps opened the oven and stuck a toothpick in the loaf. It came out clean, so he took it out and turned off the oven, placing the loaf pan on a cooling rack.

The sound of his creaky door opening made Saps realize he had zoned out, just looking at the loaf. Flux appeared behind him, eyes dilating at the treat. Before he could dig into it with a fork, Saps snatched it away.

“At least get a plate, you animal. Don’t just dig in. Then it’ll be ugly.”

A couple minutes later, the two of them were sitting on Saps’s couch, each eating a slice of the cinnamon streusel bread he made.

“I think I’m in love,” said Flux, food still in his mouth. Yeah, with me apparently, Saps thought.

“Don’t eat with your mouth open. You’re almost as bad as Thomas.”

“Don’t you dare compare me to him. I am extremely more sophisticated than him, don’t even.”

“I said almost.”

“Shut the fuck up.”

Ah. There was the Flux he knew.

~~~

“Okay, we’re going to run to the car as fast as we can,” Flux said, the two of them standing under the awning of Saps’s apartment. “I unlocked it, so we’re going to run, and then get in and close the doors, got it?”

Saps nodded. “Yeah. Wallet, phone, keys?”

“Yeah, wallet, phone, keys. On the count of three. One, two, three!” The two of them sprinted from the door to Flux’s car that was parked on the street, trying not to step in any puddles, slamming the doors shut once they were in.

Immediately turning the heat up, Flux started the car before turning to look at his friend in the passenger seat, who was fixing his hair in the vanity mirror. Flux let himself admire Saps for a few moments, admiring his side profile and the way his fingers delicately brush through his snowy white hair, pulling it into a small ponytail, the bottom of it barely reaching his shoulders.

“Where are we going first?” he asked, putting the car into drive and pulling out onto the street. Saps closed the mirror before looking for a phone charger.

“I’m not sure. I need to go to the grocery store for a few more ingredients for the cake I’m making for Cass later this week, I need to return a couple of things, maybe stop by the bookstore or cafe…” Saps listed, counting off on his fingers.

“Okay, we’ll stop by the grocery store first,” Flux started, Saps nodding as he connected his phone to the bluetooth. “...don’t you dare play that fuckass playlist you and Cyn made.” Saps just laughed and oh, if it wasn’t the most beautiful sound Flux had ever heard.

~~~

“Saps, put that back. We don’t need those nasty ass rubber pieces.”

“Flux, this isn’t even your house,” Saparata shot back, hand on his hip. “You’re not even paying. And, excuse you, gummy bears are delicious.” Flux ignored him and resumed pushing the cart as Saps threw the gummy bears in his cart with his things that he is buying for his apartment.

“Wait, wait, let me push,” he asked before taking the cart from his friend, pushing it, then jumping onto the bottom rack, the cart’s wobbly wheels rolling down the aisle. Flux could barely open his mouth before the cart crashed into a shelf, Saps losing control and falling off. Flux could only laugh as he walked over, Saps’s glare following him the entire way.

~~~

“Hi, could I get a vanilla latte with two shots of espresso, and a warmed almond croissant?” The barista nodded as she punched in Saps’s order before turning to Flux. Eyes examining the menu board behind the counter, he ordered.

“An americano with honey, please. Hot. I would also like to get a cinnamon roll as well. That’s all,” he requested as the girl behind the counter nodded again with a smile.

“$15.48 is your total. Will that be cash or card?” Flux pulled out his wallet before Saps could even speak up.

“Card.”

“Alright, just swipe or insert when you’re ready,” she said, leaving the counter to start on their drinks.

“Flux, I can pay. I literally have a job, I’m not a child.”

“Never said you were.” A beep sounded from the machine and the two of them sat down across from each other at a table. Staring into obsidian eyes, Flux studied the face of his friend, the rain pattering on the glass from the outside. He studied the way his cheeks wrinkled as he smiled, the freckles that dotted his face like constellations, the way he looked so angelic in the cafe lighting. He studied all of these and engraved them into his memory so that when he’s buried six feet deep into the dirt and the bugs and maggots start eating at his heart, they’ll taste a fraction of the love that he had for the man sitting in front of him.

The barista from before had brought over their food and drinks, snapping Fluixon out of his thoughts. Saps gave her his thanks and he echoed his as well.

“By the way, you guys are a cute couple,” she said, having placed down their plates. Flux froze in his spot but then Saps quickly spoke up, putting out the small flickering flame of hope his heart had lit.

“Oh, no, we’re just friends, but thank you!”

Yeah, friends.

~~~

“I can’t believe you don’t have an umbrella. That’s such a staple, why don’t you own one?”

“My bad, I’ve just never needed one!”

“You’ve never needed an umbrella,” Fluixon deadpanned, the two of them walking under the dim flickering light of the street lamps, having decided to go on an evening walk. ‘Come on,’ Saps said, ‘It would be fun,' Saps said.

Yeah, fun.

“Yes,” insisted Saps, his hands in his pockets to protect them from the rain. “How was I supposed to know it would start pouring? It was only drizzling all day.”

It was quiet before Flux jumped in a puddle, splashing the sidewalk water onto the other’s jeans. Saps stared at his wet pans for a moment, before he, too, kicked rainwater onto Flux. Not long after, the two of them were splashing in all the puddles they could find, an unspoken competition of ‘who could get the other the wettest’.

For that moment, they were the kids who would play in the rain with just their socks on, complaining when they got a cold. The kids who made paper boats and raced them down the water in the gutter, who ignored the demands of life and saw each other as the world instead.

“Hey, do you know how to dance?” Flux asked, breaking the moment of familiarity. Saps looked up with confusion written all over his face.

“No, why?”

“Do you want to learn?” he asked and for a moment, he thought that all the stars in the Milky Way had come down to Earth just for a millisecond to embed themselves in his best friend’s eyes.

A few minutes later, the two of them were laughing like children as Flux twirled Saps around before bringing him back and dipping him, both of them eventually stopping to lay down on the wet road. The two turned their heads to look at each other and the only thing Flux could think about was how angelic Saps looked in the warm lighting of the streetlamps, and realized that the raindrops hitting them right now would eventually evaporate and go rain down somewhere else and the love he had for him would spread across the world and everyone would know the very things about Saps that he couldn’t tell him himself, like how he was so in love and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with him.

The moment was shattered as Saps sat up. “Let’s go back to my house. We’re going to get hypothermia. We can make hot chocolate. Is that okay with you?”

Everything is okay with me as long as it’s with you.

Flux just nodded silently.

Chapter Text

The two friends walked in peaceful silence, side by side, hands in pockets, thoughts swirling in their minds.

Well, not exactly.

“Let’s go on a walk,” Saps had said, “we can watch the sunrise”. If Flux had known that the walk would be the most grueling, most torturous walk, he never would’ve agreed. No matter how much he loved the other man, no amount of love could make him willingly agree to do this.

“You never said this would be a fuckass hike,” he huffed through breaths, dragging his feet across the dirt and rocks, watching in wonder how Saps was walking easily, breathing normal, miles ahead of him.

“It’s not a hike, Flux. It’s a walk.”

“When you woke me up at the wee hours this morning saying you wanted to go on a–” huff, huff “–a walk to watch the sunrise, I thought you only meant going through the neighborhood, going to the park, swinging on the swings. Nope. You decided to scale a fucking mountain,” Flux complained, stopping with his hands on his knees. Saps turned around and rolled his eyes.

“Oh, please. This is light work. Even a toddler could do this.”

“Well, clearly, I’m not a toddler.”

“I do this walk with Schpood and Spyder, Flux. It’s not hard,” Saps retorted, hands on his hips. Flux glowered at him.

“You and Schpood also like to beat each other up. You’re not very credible in that department.”

“It’s called friendly sparring, Flux. Keyword, friendly. You should really try it sometime,” he said, striding with ease to where his friend was.

“Oh, please. You know I’m very friendly, Saps. You can’t resist my charm,” Flux boasted, quieting when Saps took his hand, his cold hands meeting Flux’s warm ones and just for a moment, they were interlinked and Flux believed that they could take over the universe if they wanted to.

“Come on. Think of the sunrise,” Saparata pleaded, continuing on, pulling Flux along.

“See? My charm.”

~~~

One very grueling hour later, they had finally made it to the top of the trail, the sun was just beginning to peak through the mountains, and the sky was about to look like grapefruit sorbet. Flux had collapsed on one of the benches as soon as they finished, Saps laughing and throwing him a water bottle. It had hit him square in the forehead and the other had complained, claiming it would leave a bruise.

The snow-haired man was watching the sun, arms wrapped around himself, completely content. Flux sat up to watch him silently. He took note of the warm light from the sun illuminated his side profile, making him look like an angel from the heavens that was sent here to Earth to help make Flux fall deeper and deeper in love with life, because he knew, as long as he had his best friend at his side, he could conquer anything. He truly believed, deep in his heart, that Saps was no short of perfection, that if perfection was a person, it would be him. The way his snow-colored hair fell just short of his shoulders, the way his obsidian eyes lit up at every little thing he loved, like when his cat curled up in his lap or when he passed an exam he was dreading or when any of his friends complimented his baking. Oh, how he hopes he could make Saps’s eyes light up every day, turning obsidian into glittering stone with every word that came out of his poor mouth.

Saps turned around and gestured to the spot next to him, wanting his friend to come stand there. Of course, Flux didn’t even hesitate.

The two of them stood there together, watching the sun peak above the mountains, Saps saying he wished he could stick out his tongue and taste the clouds and wondered if it tastes like grapefruit sorbet.

At some point, their hands had become woven together, holding the other as if it was just them in the world and they were stronger than any force combined.

He felt three squeezes, a silent I love you.

He squeezed back.

Chapter Text

Flux was woken up by a shake to his shoulder. He tried to brush it off, as he was having a really good dream and he didn’t want to lose it.

“...lux.”

He took a deep breath. His room smelled nice, like chamomile and vanilla.

“F…-?”

A cool breeze made its way through the window that was cracked open, making the curtains pillowy with the movement.

“Flux!”

Cracking an eye open, Fluixon was met with obsidian eyes way too close for comfort. Still half asleep, he pulled the duvet up to his chin and closed his eyes again before it got pulled away from him.

“Nope. Flux, get up. I want to tell you something,” his friend said sternly, preparing to take a seat on Flux’s legs.

“It’s cold…” he bargained, eyes still closed. Saps sat down, Flux immediately moving his legs to get him off. “Ow, Saps, get off!”

“Flux, come on. I want to show you something,” he persisted, leading Flux to sit up to try and pull his legs out from under his friend.

“What,” he asked, stretching his arms and cracking his back. Saps looked at him and Flux swore that even in the dark, his eyes sparkled with the light of a thousand stars.

“Let’s go on your roof.”

Flux blinked. Once. Twice.

“What?” he asked, Saps rolling his eyes and sliding off the bed, pulling the duvet with him.

“Let’s go on your roof. We can look at the stars and it’s a full moon tonight, Flux please,” he begged, Flux scoffing and laying back down.

“I’m going back to sleep.”

~~~

They did end up going on the roof, as Flux could never say no to a friend. The two were in his backyard, climbing the tree that they always used to climb to get on to the top of the roof.

“No, grab that branch, stupid,” Flux whisper-yelled, not wanting to wake up his sister.

“I am!”

“No, the one to your left!”

“This is my left!”

“My left!” Flux threw his hands up in frustration. Saps glared down at him.

“That is my right! Why didn’t you just say that?” he tried to whisper, Flux giving up as he started to climb up behind Saps, the blanket wrapped around his neck to bring it up to the roof.

~~~

The two friends eventually made it up, after a lot of arguing and whisper-shouting. They were now laying on the shingles of Fluixon’s roof, the blanket covering both of them. It wasn’t that large of a blanket (Flux did that on purpose), so they had to be so close that they were almost cuddling.

Flux took a deep breath. Saps smelled of chamomile and vanilla. He breathed it into his lungs, so that when he took his last breath, the moths would know how much he loved his friend and the ants would confuse it with the scent of cinnamon streusel loaf bread.

Flux rolled his body to the side, to his best friend illuminated with the light of the stars and heavens above. The two friends watched the stars rotate around them. Saps was pointing out and naming each and every constellation while Flux replied with ‘I know’ every time.

He didn’t know.

For a while, they just laid in silence, letting the energy around them fill the emptiness with words that never had to be said nor heard to be understood and Flux thought that maybe, just maybe, they were best friends in another universe.

He liked that thought. The thought that he existed along with Saps in a whole other universe, a universe where they existed together, maybe even rulers of the kingdom they made up as kids, maybe making base on a small jungle island by the beach, completing life together and holding hands as they died and went to the next one together.

Maybe the very same atoms that created their bodies were next to each other when the whole universe was created at the beginning of time, and that explained why he felt a deeper connection with Saps than he had ever felt with anyone else.

They were two broken kids who found each other and healed each other and in return, healed themselves.

And that would be okay, right? That would be okay because as long as it’s the two of them against the world, it would be okay. They would win and they would be okay in the end because they’re supposed to be okay in the end. They have to be. They’re not okay right now, but that’s alright.

It’s not the end yet. They have time, all the time in the world.

And they’re going to use it, they’re going to use the time they have to learn how to be loved and love and it will be okay.

Flux rolled back over onto his back and drew his eyes back to the twinkling stars. For a while, the only sound was the rustling of the branches of trees and wind flying through large blades of grass and their hair.

“Flux, do you think we knew each other in another life?”

“What the fuck, Saps? Where did that come from?”

“I… I don’t know. But maybe before we came to this life, maybe we had more lives together, like, I dunno… maybe we were pirates or superheroes together or something. Maybe we were aliens together. Maybe all the stars up in the sky are souls that once were on Earth but died. Maybe the brighter their soul was, the brighter their star is, to show that no matter what, they won’t be forgotten,” he explained, holding his hands out to the stars to map the constellations in his mind.

“But the stars we see now, haven’t they been dead for millions of years or something?”

“But we can still see them, so they’re real to us.”

The two went silent.

“Saps, look. Look at those stars,” Saparata followed his friend's finger until he found what he was looking at. “Those two stars are blinking, see?”

“Oh. I wonder why.”

Fluixon hummed. “This will sound stupid, but it’s your fault ‘cause you started this whole ‘previous lives’ thing. Maybe those two stars are us right now– don’t look at me like that, shut up.”

“I didn’t say anything!–”

“Shut up. Anyways. What if hypothetically, like you said, we knew each other in a past life, what if all the stars up there, what if those are all our souls from all the past lives we knew each other in? This sounds dumb, I know, but hear me out. Like what if whenever we died in a past life that we knew each other in, what if it added two more stars into the sky? Like the stars are our souls from past lives or alternate universes? And those two blinking stars are us in this current universe? Like, what if when we die in this life, those two stars will stop blinking and two more new stars will start blinking once we start another life together? Shit, I don’t expect you to understand what I just said. That made no sense,” Flux finished, out of breath.

It was silent for a while, just the sound of the wind between the two’s ears. Flux turned to his right, and Saps was sniffling, starlight-bathed tears in his eyes.

“Wait, why the fuck are you crying?” He grabbed his friend’s face in his hands. “What did I say??” Saps just let out a wet giggle.

“Flux, you’re practically saying we’re soulmates.” Blush started creeping up the other’s face as he processed what he said. He then pushed back Saps face, letting go of it. The latter just giggled again.

“I didn’t say that, no! What? I was just piggybacking off of what you said, idiot! I didn’t say that, what the hell are you talking about? Your ass must be jealous of how much shit comes out of your mouth because you’re way over your head, jackass!” Saps just laughed louder, beginning to ramble about whatever was in his thoughts, like what he was going to make Cass for her birthday, or his next sparring match with Schpood.

Normally, Flux would tell him to ‘shut the hell up or I’ll make you’, but he was content listening to his friend ramble on about shit that was important to him. Flux watched Saps’s side profile as he talked, moonlight-bathed obsidian eyes sparkling as he expressed what he was passionate about, or maybe that was just the stars giving his eyes some of their light so he could shine just like them but he didn’t need their light, his eyes were bright just on their own.

Freckles dotted his cheeks just like the stars above them dotted the sky, inconsistent but still beautiful and maybe, just maybe, if Fluixon looked hard enough, he could find constellations in them.

The soft summer breeze flew through them and ruffled their hair and made the willow trees’ leaves dance. Saparata eventually got tired of talking, so the two of them just lay silent for a while. They watched the Milky Way above them. Flux wondered if they flew fast enough, would they reach the stars? Or would they fly too close to the sun and melt away? Like Icarus, with wings of wax? Would they laugh as they fall? Would the cold ocean scare away all their worries? Maybe if they flew during the night, the sun would never reach them, and the two of them could be alone forever floating together through space. But Flux knew that wasn’t possible, there were stars out there that were a billion times hotter than the sun.

Still, he dreamed.

Chapter Text

The first thing the two of them noticed was the quiet.

Not the uncomfortable quiet, the strained silence, but the kind of quiet and stillness after something big. Like the way the world pauses after a snowfall, soft and muffled yet still sacred.

Saparata looked around at all the boxes scattered across the floor. ‘kitchen shit’, ‘saps room’, ‘flux room’, ‘bathroom (pls don’t drop)’, ‘books’, were all scribbled on the many boxes in messy, sharpie handwriting.

Saps stood in the middle of what would be the living room, in the middle of the sunlight streaming in from the balcony door, taking everything in.

So this was it. They had done it. After years of planning and longing since they were kids, he had finally moved in with his best friend.

Fluixon came to stand next to him, poking his side, Saps recoiling at the sudden touch and slapping Flux’s hand away.

“So this is it,” the older man started, smirking at his friend’s reaction. “You’re stuck with me. No refunds.”

“I’m okay with that. Wasn’t planning on returning you anyways,” Saps responded, smiling tiredly but warmly at Flux before dropping the new house keys on the counter.

They both laughed, the kind of laugh that comes from finally, finally landing where you’re meant to be.

Silence again, but this time it was like the world was buzzing with excitement.

Saps thought about how from this point on, everything was about to change. He thought about the routine they would soon fall into. Sharing the same bathroom, bedrooms right across the hall instead of miles away, cooking dinner every night together, watching movies, holidays, university together, falling in love?. Maybe they would even get a friend for Meagon.

Said cat rubbed her head against Flux’s leg, him picking her up and showing her around.

“So, cat, this is where you’re going to eat,” he said, bringing her over to a part of the dining room, “and you’re going to go piss in the litterbox in the laundry room, alright? Not on our floor or rugs, like you did that one time when Saps was sick, okay?”

Saps let his friend talk to his cat as he made his way to his new bedroom. It was spacious, more spacious than his bedrooms when he was a kid. There was a window in the middle of the room that let sunlight stream in, and a closet by the door. The walls were a nice cream color, the floors being a light shade of wood. He mapped out in his head where he would put everything; the bed by the window, nightstand next to it, desk against the wall, posters all around.

~~~

The two of them stood in front of the new stove like it was a challenge, a boss battle.

“Okay, we have to dice the garlic, saute the onions, simmer the tomatoes on low and throw it all in. Easy peasy,” Saparata read from the recipe on his phone.

“You say easy but you’re about to throw in the onion with the peel on it,” Fluixon pointed out, Saps rolling his eyes as he began to peel the onion. “It’s really funny how you’re a master baker but can’t make a simple pasta sauce.”

“Shut up, Flux. How about you come do this, because you’re all ‘high and mighty’?”

“Nah, you can learn.”

“Rude. Some of us are exhausted from moving all day.”

“Some of us have had exactly five pistachios since this morning.”

“Well, we’re changing that now,” Saps stated, putting the diced, peel-less, onion in the pan. “This pasta is going to be the best pasta you’ve ever put in your mouth, okay? Trust.”

There was no music playing. They had planned on putting slow jazz or something on, but forgot, deciding that the music of each other and the rain outside was enough.

They were always enough, each other.

They ate at the table they had gotten second hand; the chairs were mismatched and the legs wobbled slightly, but they promised they would fix it up one day.

The two friends (friends? Or something more? Maybe one day) ate in silence, content and at peace.

Afterwards, they were washing the dishes together, soap flying in every direction. Saps had accidentally flung some bubbles onto Flux’s shirt, and in retaliation, the other wiped his wet and soapy hand across the other’s face.

“I think we’re going to be okay,” Saps said after a moment of silence.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Us. It already feels right.”

And it did.

No one had to elaborate what ‘us’ meant, not yet. They already knew. Even if it would take a dozen more dinners, a hundred shared moments. Even if the pasta was burnt. But it all felt right.

That night, the two of them slept peacefully on their mattresses, with the knowledge and comfort that the other was right across the hall.

And if Saps woke up in the middle of the night to go sleep in Flux’s bed with him like when they were kids, no one needed to know.

Chapter Text

The next day, Saparata wandered into the unfinished kitchen, still half asleep. Fluixon was there in front of the coffee machine.

“Coffee?” he asked, mug already in hand. Saparata nodded, yawning.

“How long have you been awake?” he asked, gratefully taking the hot mug from his friend’s hand.

“Not too long. Maybe a couple hours. I was planning out the furniture arrangements,” the other responded, Saps nodding, sipping his coffee. It was just how he liked it, caramel creamer and milk. Flux had called him a freak because coffee wasn’t supposed to have a million grams of sugar in it. But Flux drinks his coffee black, so he can’t talk.

The two sat across from each other on the dumb table, both in oversized hoodies and socks that didn’t match, most of their clothes still packed away. The silence was peaceful. It had always been peaceful between them, there had never been a moment of awkwardness. Not since they were small children who didn’t know the world around them very well.

“I say we go furniture shopping,” Flux said, interrupting the quiet. “We can’t sleep on just mattresses and a chair as the couch.” The apartment was theirs, but it wasn’t theirs yet. Not until they got a proper couch. Not until the empty corner by the hallway got a bookshelf.

“Yeah, okay,” Saps said, setting his empty mug in the sink. “You ready?”

“This feels like a serious couple activity, doesn’t it?” They stared at each other, pausing. “You know what would be funny? We could pretend to be a couple and see if they give us discounts.”

Saps smiled faintly. “Weirdo.”

“Hey, you didn’t refuse!”

~~~

The store was enormous, like one of those you would get lost in. The two wandered around the couches and bedsheets and kitchen appliances and wall decor and everywhere hand in hand, like two tourists in an unfamiliar country.

“Okay, we need a couch, shower curtain, bedsheets, things that make it not as empty… and whatever it is you keep calling ‘vibe decor’,” Flux read off.

“Vibe decor is important. You don’t understand.”

“It’s just an excuse for you to buy a fake plant.”

“Several fake plants, excuse you. I want our apartment to feel like a rainforest minus the bugs,” Saps explained as they walked to the couches.

The first couch was too stiff. “This feels like defeat.”

The second couch was too soft. “Huh. This really feels like we’re in Goldilocks.”

They had found it. Eventually. It was somewhat a wonky color, but they reasoned it was because of the store lighting. There was a weird button on the armrest that they weren’t sure what it did. It wasn’t perfect, but it was theirs.

~~~

The bathroom aisle was worse.

“This is a very important decision,” Saps started as they stood in front of countless options of shower curtains.

“Uh huh.”

“A huge decision. We look at it every day. Every morning. Naked. Vulnerable. Unguarded.”

“Sure.”

“Which is why we need to get the angry raccoon one.”

“Absolutely fucking not.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want to be judged by angry woodland creatures every time I’m washing my hair,” Flux explained, the other looking at him with a look of disgust and betrayal.

Unfortunately for Saps, they settled on a dark green one. It matched the fake plants he had (not so sneakily) put in the cart.

~~~

“What’s your blanket personality?” Flux asked, holding up two bedsheets; one minimal and elegant with gold rimming, the other adorned in small stars and constellations.

“I didn’t know blankets had personality.”

“Well, choose,” he ordered. Saps pointed to one on the shelf and Flux immediately covered it with his hand. “No.”

“Why not? It’s for my room.”

“I am not having your room look like a junkyard.”

“You’re never going to even come into my room.”

“We both know that’s not true.”

A pause.

“You’re right. What about that one?”

~~~

After the essentials picked out, the two friends wandered into the decor section; big mistake. Decor is where common sense goes to die.

“Okay. I want you to picture this,” Saps started, holding up a small ceramic frog wearing a crown, “right next to the soap dispenser.”

“No.”

“You just hate fun and whimsy. He’s a prince. He’s whimsical.”

“He’s cursed.”

The two wandered the aisles after (reluctantly) putting the frog back. Random shit was everywhere. A rocket shaped lava lamp ‘It can go on the fridge!’. A small gnome saying ‘send noods’, holding a bowl of ramen ‘it’ll be hilarious’. They argued over throw pillows.

“They don’t match,” said Saps, holding up a light pillow, as well as a dark purple one Flux had insisted on.

“Exactly. Neither do we. But somehow we work.”

They kept walking into the aisle with the wall art. They both reached for the same frame; a black and white print of two hands reaching but not quite touching. They brushed fingers and it sent sparks up Saps’s arm, even though they had done it a million times.

“You like it?” Flux asked.

“Yeah. It says something.”

They didn’t have to ask what it said. They already knew.

And so it went in the cart.

~~~

Flux put a candle shaped like garlic bread in the cart.

“I hate it.”

“No, you don’t. We’re gonna light this every dinner. It’s gonna be like those fancy restaurants.”

“I’m never eating dinner ever again.”

~~~

“Serious question,” Fluixon started, walking through the toasters. “What kind of toaster people are we?”

“I didn’t know there was such a thing as ‘toaster people’.”

“There is. Look.” He pointed like he was explaining art to someone. “This one? Cheap, ugly as hell. But gets the job done. This one? Fancy. Screen. Takes ten minutes for one slice of bread. This one?” He started, picking up an old retro style one, “Makes you feel like we’re living in a cottage in England with a woman named Beatrice.”

“We’re not Beatrice people.”

“You’re right. We’re not.”

~~~

By the time night fell, everything had its place. The lava lamp went on the fridge. The gnome on the bathroom sink, facing the toilet. The pillows strewn haphazardly across the couch. They moved in perfect harmony, like they’ve done this before.

Maybe they have, in another life.

“I think–” Saps started, placing a tiny cactus on a windowsill, “we’re not just living together anymore.” Flux looked over from where he was plugging in the toaster.

“No?”

“No. We’re building a dumb empire. We can name it Theria.”

“You want to… to name the apartment.”

“Yes. Theria. We’re building it, it’s a dumb empire.”

Saps laughed at himself, Flux smiling softly.

Yeah.

We are.

Chapter Text

It was only going to be eight days. Four days of the apartment all to Saparata, four days without Fluixon’s constant annoyance so why did he dread it?.

Flux had to go, non-negotiable. It was a family matter– Cynikka was going as well. Something about their grandparents will or whatever. Saps didn’t care enough to listen.

Four days before, they made waffles with the dumb waffle maker Cass had gotten Flux for his birthday. Well, tried to make waffles would be the better term. The first one burned. The second one folded in half. The third was called an ‘abstract interpretation of breakfast’.

They ate on the living room floor, backs against the couch, maple syrup and butter in between them, a forgettable show on the television. They ate in silence, their socks mismatched and sleeves getting in the syrup, like everything was perfectly normal, like the week was going to be fine.

Because it was.

It was only a week.

~~~

Three days before, Flux had started packing. Saps didn’t bother asking what was on it. Instead, they stood in the kitchen together, reorganizing the spices ‘just because’. When they got bored of doing it alphabetically, they decided to do it by vibe instead.

“This one is mystery.”

“...that is cumin, Saps.”

“Exactly.”

They laughed. It felt normal.

They paid no attention to the silence between songs.

~~~

Two days before Fluixon left, they stayed up late, sitting on the couch with a blanket covering the both of them, the same movie from the other day playing in the background. The lava lamp glowed dimly from where it was placed on top of the fridge.

“You’ll be back soon, right?” Saps asked softly, head on his friend’s shoulder.

“Yeah. One week.”

“Okay.”

~~~

The night before, they made pasta. This time, they diced the onion correctly. This time, the noodles weren’t overdone. But the sauce was salty. Neither one cared.

“I should sleep early,” Flux had said.

“Yeah.”

He didn’t sleep early.

Instead, they found themselves on the couch again, a different show playing this time, one that Jophiel had recommended. Their legs intertwined. Shoulder to shoulder.

When the episode ended, neither of them moved.

“You should go pack.”

“I already did.” A pause, like the world knew tomorrow would be different.

They slept in their own beds that night, doors cracked. Light and comfort streaming in.

~~~

The apartment felt different without Fluixon.

Quieter, but not the quiet that was there when they first moved in. This time, it was a heavy quiet.

It was only a week.

Not long, not really. But long enough that the garlic bread candle hadn’t been lit once. The pillows untouched on the couch, which now felt too big. The gnome still in the bathroom, but judging harder this time.

Saps had tried, really, to light the candle. But it wasn’t as fun alone. It wasn’t as fun without someone to share the fun with, the dumb rituals they did. It just looked like sad wax waiting for something to happen.

He noticed strange things. How his footsteps echoed a bit more. How there was no music on in the background, because he subconsciously expected the other to put it on. The ivy garland above the window was lopsided and he didn’t fix it, because the person who did fix it would be back soon, right?

Eventually.

Hopefully.

Saps wasn’t dramatic. He didn’t mope. He still went to his classes, hung out with friends, played with his cat, did laundry. But he didn’t cook. He had tried, but it ended with him just staring into the fridge, then closed it and ordered something online.

He tried to put on their comfort show to watch. But it didn’t feel real. It didn’t feel right. It felt wrong without the dumb commentary, without the half glances at each other. So he turned it off.

The apartment wasn’t ache. It wasn’t heartbreak. It was just missing something, like a sentence without the period. Like laughter that hadn’t happened yet.

~~~

The door clicked open, the quiet sound of wheels and footsteps entered the apartment. The jingle as the keys were placed back on the ‘key shelf’, a sound that settled in their chest like gravity.

“Hey, I’m home.”

There was a pause, before Saps appeared from around the corner.

“You’re home.”

They didn’t run up to each other, they didn’t hug. They just stood there, facing each other in quiet silence and familiarity before Saps spoke up.

“You look like shit.”

“Thanks. Airport coffee and jet lag are fighting in my bloodstream.”

“Then let me win. I’ll make your chamomile tea,” he offered, and for the first time in a week, Flux smiled. Genuinely.

In the kitchen, the purple kettle whirled to life. The lava lamp glowed softly from the top of the fridge. The candle remained unlit.

“I tried to light the candle while you were gone. But it felt wrong.”

Flux blinked. “You missed the candle?”

“I missed the person who makes the candle make sense.”

A beat.

“I’m really glad you’re home.”

“Me too.”