On Top of the World, at the End of the World

They’re holding hands as they walk through the corpse of a building decimated by Better Living Industries “Clean-Up Crew.” Most of what used to be a shopping mall is rubble in the vague shape of a building, but there are still chunks of it left standing and have been for months. Kobra found it while on a joyride with Pony one day and mentioned it offhandedly to Poison, who immediately convinced Ghoul to take him there.

He knows it’s not safe to have his guard down like this, but Party just has that kind of effect on him. “Comfortable” is a dangerous word, out here being comfortable is what gets you captured or killed. But Ghoul needs moments like this, where Party is singing an old song softly to him, looking back at his face often and smiling, the light streaking down through the large craters in the ceiling and bathing him in sunbeams. It’s fucked up to find the destruction and the decay beautiful, but the way that nature has risen up to reclaim the rubble, plants growing up through the cracks in the foundation, it gives him hope though he isn’t sure why…

“To think, people used to just come here and buy shit for fun,” Poison said, almost in awe.

As they wander past a darkened arcade Ghoul smiles. “I wonder what it would’ve been like to go on a date here. To hold your boyfriend’s hand, eating pretzels the size of your head, and beg him to win you one of those stupid stuffed bears out of a claw machine…”

Poison stops walking and kisses Ghoul softly on the mouth in a way that makes him blush. “So are you saying that you want me to be your boyfriend?” he murmurs.

Ghoul makes a big show of shrugging as he wanders in the arcade. “I mean, we’re already halfway there. The next step is the teddy bear…”

They find the claw machine easily, although it’s full of dust and grime, it’s contents are intact and staring back through the clouded glass with dead plastic eyes as Ghoul shines his flashlight on them.

“Okay, stand back,” Poison says as he pulls his blaster out of the holster. He shoots at the glass and pulls Ghoul down with him as the beam ricochets against the back wall, frying an already sad looking arcade machine.

They’re laughing as they lay in a heap together on the carpet. Poison looks at Ghoul, pushes the hair out of his face, and his gaze is so gentle and full of love he feels like he just might burst with the force of it. Poison gets up slowly and reaches into the mangled mess of what used to be a claw machine and presents Ghoul with a slightly singed, cat plush.

He bends at the waist and holds it out in his hand dramatically. “For you, my love. I know it’s not a teddy bear but-“ Ghoul cuts him off by kissing him softly, the toy getting squished between their chests.

“Now come on, we have to finish our date!” Party says and he grabs Ghoul’s hand and drags him out into the remains of the mall. They spend the next few hours exploring, most of it spent making out in dark storefronts. They also pick up anything interesting that they find to bring back to base.

Pony is laying on the bar when they walk in, hand in hand, Kobra is staring up at his boyfriend adoringly and Jet is making gagging motions in the corner while Cherri laughs at him. “Hey, bitches we’re back! And we brought gifts!” Party exclaims, much to the excitement of everyone except for Kobra, who fixes his brother with an icy glare.

“My lovely assistant will do the honors,” Poison announces with an air of grandeur that makes Ghoul giggle as he pulls the gifts out of his bag, one at a time. For Jet they’d managed to find few cartridges for the old Game Boy that he’s playing almost as much as he’s running around trying to keep his friends from killing themselves and each other. He gives Kobra one of those keychains shaped like a lizard that has eyes that pop out when you squeeze it. He’s still not talking to him, but it’s obvious that he loves it. For Pony, Party had found yet another choker to add to their collection, this one a black collar with a metal heart in the middle.

Pony just grins wickedly when he hands it to them. “Can’t wait to use this,” he says, looking pointedly at Kobra.

“What? It’s just a choker…” Kobra replies. Jet just groans in the corner as Pony’s grin gets wider.

“Oh, you sweet baby boy. I have so much to teach you,” they say as they sit up and turn so he’s sitting directly in front of them. They’re already making out heavily when Jet shrieks and slams his palms down onto the table loudly.

“No sex in the kitchen, you heathens!” he shouts indignantly. Show Pony just giggles as they slide off the counter and drag Kobra away by the shirt collar. Pony winks at Party before disappearing into another room.

Jet glares at Party. “You’re a monster.”

He just shrugs as he pulls out the last item from the sack and sets it on the table in front of Cherri who just groans. “You didn’t…”

Poison and Ghoul just look at each other and grin from ear to ear. “This one was actually my idea. Because I know how much you and the Doctor love them.”

Cherri just stares at the bright blue Furby with its big black eyes and matted fur, staring at him soullessly. “Yeah, my dear darling husband loves them… But they always freaked me out. As a kid, my sister, June, had one and I would have nightmares constantly about that thing. And now I’m living with a man who has an entire shelf full of them in his office…”

“Hey, you might want to lower your voice, Cher. He can hear you, you know,” Ghoul teases and Cherri just flares at him some more.

“You never told me why Dr. D loves those things so much,” Jet muses as Cherri turns the toy around so it’s facing the wall and can no longer look at him.

Cherri rolls his eyes and chuckles fondly. “He never got to have one as a kid. His parents always told him they were a “girl” thing… D thinks of them as good luck charms because “they’re one of the few things that survived the complete breakdown of civilization and if they can make it out with only a few scratches and scorch marks then so can we.”

“That’s so like him, isn’t it?” Jet says with a laugh.

Cherri just nods. “I’m dreading the day that he finally manages to get enough batteries and parts together to get them all working again…” He shudders and looks off into the distance, imagining the horror.

After the four of them eat a dinner of BL/ind brand mush in a can (after Jet kicks Pony and Kobra out of the diner for fucking too loudly in the storage room… again), Poison drags Ghoul into the bathroom and instructs him to sit on the toilet as he opens one of the eight (8) boxes of hair dye they’d managed to find on their journey.

Poison has done this before by himself many times but this is the first time Ghoul has ever been asked to sit in while he does it. He watches as Party slips on the gloves and starts to apply the mixture to his hair, carefully covering his roots. Ghoul has never seen what Poison’s hair looks like natural. When asked, Poison tells him that it’s light brown, just a shade darker than Kobra’s dirty blonde. Ghoul humors the thought of Poison with soft brown hair that falls around his face in long waves and kind of loves it. But he also thinks that the vibrancy, the shock of color, suits him so well.

“My mother’s hair was the same color as mine. She wore it long, in braids or in ponytails, always with flowers weaved into it. That’s one of the only things I can remember about her. That and how she used to sing in this gentle, angelic voice,” Poison says as he watches himself carefully in the mirror. “Kobra has her eyes- dark blue, like a summer thunderstorm.” His eyes are far away as Ghoul gets up to stand behind him and wrap his arms around his waist.

“You okay, Hun?” Ghoul asks softly and Party nods.

“Can you help me get the back?” Ghoul obliges happily and squirts a glob of red dye into his palm, uncaring if his skin is stained. There’s something so intimate about dying another person’s hair, Ghoul thinks, your fingers gently massaging their scalp and working the color through the thick strands. As the smell of the fruity scented dye starts to fill the room Ghoul instructs Party to turn around so he can touch up the sides and then they’re chest to chest.

“So… “boyfriend,” huh?” Ghoul says casually and Poison laughs.

“What, you having second thoughts?”

“No. Impossible. I just… I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to saying it,” he’s smiling like an absolute goofball and Poison just wants to keep him here, in this moment, so safe, so happy, so loved.

“Ghoul, I’ve been… thinking about today. And I’ve been imagining what it would be like to take you out on a real date, in a world where things like dates or anniversaries or even fucking trips to the grocery store still existed. And I know that I can’t give you normalcy or stability. Fuck, I can’t even promise you a future. I want to cut out all of the rotten parts and give you what’s left on a silver platter because you’re just too good for it and I-”

Ghoul just laughs softly, kisses Poison softly and then murmurs against his lips. “I couldn’t give a fuck about the world, I just want you.”