Reviews :
faolan1230 : Oh, yes! You're actually close, there. Dubs is definitely in the name of his bakery :) 5th story approved!
BanannaSammich : LMAO I love that term, it could apply to anything and it's automatically funny. And, I totally hear you about all of that, I struggle with it too.
Snake557 : Hahaha thank you! Yeah it was a lot of fun to write, I was giggling the whole time xD
Lyssdoodle : Thank you so much!
Song Listened To :
Slow Grenade by Ellie Goulding and Lauv
*Chapter 233*
In the soft lull of noise, Turbo's golden eyes lifted from the common room's kitchen island. Scattered amongst the dimmer evening lights were the people he loved, the fabulous sunset that had vanished beneath the horizon line an hour or two ago painted Sugar Rush's usually crisp, minty sky a gorgeous splash of deepening hues of fierce blues and purples. With the kiss of orange clouds that desperately held onto the sun's receding rays, Turbo's eyes assessed the warm, tinted bodies that cozily scattered the sprawl of the common room's wide, open-aired terrace and patio. Within small groups that still were somehow one, everyone played a part. Lash, Wren, Berri and Nox all cutely did what they could to piece together a random string of music. Berri strummed away on her acoustic guitar whilst her and Wren sweetly mumbled a melody, in which Lash dorkily drummed to. The rest of the crew sat in nearby lounge chairs, the air was easy, conversation was light, Turbo finally exhaled tension he didn't realize his body was holding on to. The door, sharply to his right, suddenly popped open; a large bathroom and changing room that Theo casually pressed from. Turbo raised his eyebrows in warm remembrance.
"Hey, Teddy, can... Can I ask you a favor?" Turbo started tenderly, causing Theo to halt in his original path of returning to the group on the breezy, evening patio.
"Oh, sure, what's up?" Theo wondered with a sighing smile, his larger bare feet crossed the matte concrete tiles with leisure, though as he approached the island, he furrowed his brow and glanced over his shoulder, realizing that absolutely everyone was outside, the group was void of their future King. Theo gave Turbo an apologetic smile and eased to the edge of the island's counter adjacent to Turbo, "You okay? Somehow I thought you were out there, with us..."
"I was, I just... Came in here to sulk," Turbo muttered, he rubbed his forehead in agitation and lulled his eyes closed.
"Still thinking about the whole thing with Gunner?" Theo wondered tenderly, to which Turbo inhaled a deep breath through his nose and kept his eyes closed as Theo pressed on, "I'm sure it'll be just fine... We're still on for tonight, right?"
"Oh yeah, you tell Tatum?" Turbo questioned as he finally reopened his eyes and gave Theo a purposeful, attentive gaze, thankful to be popped from his worries.
"I did, we're... Pretty stoked," Theo stated with a bashful smile as he looked down to his larger hands, "Though, the trouble comes AFTER you reverse her code block."
"... Why? That's the easiest, best part," Turbo blurt a soft laugh and set his phone down, having had it opened and unlocked, "You're just nervous to swap codes?"
"Well, yeah, it's... Permanent," Theo bugged his eyes and choked a chuckle, to which Turbo grinned and looked down to his hands in aimless cuteness, "I guess I'm just nervous because, well... She has a lot of very unique traits. I'm worried, upon swapping, I'm going to sprout wings or something silly."
"Hoo, that'd be a sight," Turbo widely grinned, Theo rolled his eyes and looked off in an attempt to hide a smile, as well. Turbo shook his head and continued on in chuckling delight, "Don't worry, Ted, you won't gain any physical differences. All changes are internal... Example, I gained wrecking and glitching, but I didn't gain massive hands or anything, y'know?"
"Good point," Theo mumbled as his curious emerald eyes glossed Turbo's darker grey hands, weathered and masculine in their own right.
"Does she have any gamer abilities?" Turbo asked warmly, to which Theo heaved a contemplative sigh through his nose.
"No, but... She DOES have the unique ability to see in the dark, and, well..." Theo bravely traversed, he exhaled a shaky chuckle and shyly looked off, "She's half lion-gargoyle, so..."
"Sheee..." Turbo slowly gestured his hand, as if to politely beg Theo to spit it out.
"... Purrs," Theo mumbled with a stifle of a wide grin, to which Turbo raised his eyebrows in hot surprised and choked a cute laugh. Theo flinched and peered his curious, desperate, grinning gaze tight to Turbo's, "User, please don't tell anyone, I mean... She's SUPER shy about it all."
"I don't know why, that's pretty freaking cool," Turbo encouraged, though he still exhaled a few chuckles and put his hands on his hips. He shrugged and glossed his eyes to the large, sprawling, outdoor scene far before the two, "I mean, she's technically a cat, down to the root of it all. I'd say purring probably comes with the territory. I assume she can put you to sleep the second your head hits the pillow."
"It's the best," Theo sighed with a cheesy, dreamy grin, to which both boys finally blurt into soft laughter.
"Don't be worried, you both are self-programmed gamers, too, so your swap doesn't have to be timed," Turbo concluded with a nod, "Not... Something you want to be worrying about right in the throes of heightened emotion, so consider yourself lucky."
"Yeah, sorry you... Had to go through that," Theo muttered through the grit of his teeth, to which Turbo smiled in sweetness and shrugged.
"It's all good, Berri and I both lived, I don't care how terrified my face probably looked in the moment," Turbo rushed through laughter that him and Theo got lost in. Turbo shook his head and looked down in a downswing of further dread, "Honestly, I'd rather go through that all over again than to have to go out there, right now, pull Berri out of her little jam session and break the news to her that inviting Gunner here is something we'll likely have to do..."
"Just... Offer to go on a walk along the shore, just you and her," Theo shrugged, he looked out to the dim, lovely, warm setting across the way; Lash and Nox loudly riled into boyish laughter that carried above the ocean breeze, to which Berri's and Wren's laughter easily followed. Theo smiled in great warmth and bobbed a nod, "Berri's an understanding soul... Sure, they didn't end on good terms, at ALL, but... Maybe this somehow will bridge the gap? Gunner's not a bad guy, he just..."
"... Made bad choices," Turbo concluded in mumbling defeat as he looked down to his hands, a situation nearly everyone under Sugar Rush's sun could easily resonate with, especially the Turbotime boys. Turbo breathed a raspy, long sigh and bobbed a nod of definitive understanding, "Surely I'm over-hyping this."
"C'mon, just walk with me, offer to go on a stroll with her," Theo gestured his hand as he took a gentle step out towards their destination, and though Turbo lifted his hip off of the edge of the counter, he almost hesitantly began to follow Theo. As both men fell into step, Theo gestured towards the group, once more, and gave Turbo a knowing, chuckling little grin of knowing cuteness, "I'm POSITIVE Berri will be grateful that you're taking her away from desperately trying to tell Lash to stay in rhythm. The poor thing can't count in time to save his life."
"I guess you're not wrong," Turbo muttered with a sneaky smile, he eyed the group they were about two dozen feet from, in which Lash unintelligently did what he could to tap his knees in something that could be considered rhythm on another planet.
As Turbo and Theo crossed the gape of the common room's glorious sprawl, they finally stepped out of the opened door's threshold, in which separated the patio from the inside of the building. The sound of the ocean's crashing waves could be heard a little clearer, as well as the cool, nighttime breeze that so gently whisked everyone's hair and clothes about. As the two entered the realm of further easiness, Koko and Mara cutely greeted Turbo and Theo, and with the tender waves of acknowledgement from both boys, they pressed closer to Berri's little group. Upon easing into their musical little bubble, Berri sharply blurt Lash a playfully annoyed notion of not keeping time correctly, the group easily riled into happy laughter as the two eagerly bickered back and forth. Turbo tenderly stood to Berri's left as she remained seated, close enough to show that he was a point of inquiry, though far enough away to stay clear from the neck of her gorgeous, grey, acoustic guitar.
"Babe, you saw, I mean seriously," Berri blurt in irritation as he gestured towards Lash; strictly fun and games, Berri smiled and shot Lash a look of tease, "Pretty sure you're just doing that on purpose."
"I'm LITERALLY not," Lash loudly argued, the group about them was still lost in laughter, "I'm not programmed for music! Dunno how Casanova, here, is and I'm not!"
"Cassius," Turbo reminded in mumbling, smiling irritation; he felt his pocket and was thrilled to feel his pack of cigarettes and lighter awaiting for the perfect smoke break to potentially wind down from the nonsense.
"Turbo Casanova Black," Wren chimed with a nod, he narrowed his gaze and finally gave Lash a disapproving look, "Dunno, man, sounds awful cocky."
"MY POINT," Lash retort, Turbo rubbed his face in rising stress, something he tried to hide.
"I love your middle name," Berri eased sweetly, though she slowed her roll and swiftly caught on to Turbo's vibe before anyone else. She softened, eased her hand into Turbo's hanging right hand and furrowed her brows in further tenderness as the group about her continued to bicker, "Y'okay? We're just teasing, hun."
"Oh, no, I'm... I'm fine, it's not that," Turbo mumbled, he rubbed the back of his head and nervously looked about the group. His eyes began to gently sag to minty nervousness as he finally hooked tight to Berri's beautiful gaze, "Let's, uh... Can we go for a walk on the shoreline?"
"Sure," Berri chimed in nonchalance, although she caught on to Turbo's vibe and knew something was up, she did what she could to remain lighthearted so the group about them didn't heavily question just what was going on. She smiled, stood and began to source a place to put her guitar, "I'll be back, freaks. Someone please teach Lash how to keep simple rhythm."
"On it," Theo grunted as he raised his thick eyebrows and eyed Lash in teasing authority.
"You'd think, since we're brothers, that maybe some of the skill would've been instilled in me, at least a little," Lash sharply muttered in whole irritation towards Turbo, and although it was strictly playful, Turbo inhaled a sharp, stewing breath, gingerly took the neck of the guitar from Berri's grip and put his foot on the seat of the chair next to her, so to prop the guitar up for a proper playing position; he firmly strummed at a few chords and loudly sang a cute, dainty melody to Lash's frozen, sitting figure.
"Skill is LEARRRRNED, not inherited," Turbo's firm, lovely voice urgently splayed all over Lash's surprised little figure, and with a swing, Turbo set the guitar down, shot Lash a knowing smirk and slipped his hand into Berri's, "I did the work, my guy."
"ENCORE!" Wren cried as everyone on the patio began to loudly laugh; Turbo rolled his eyes with a grin and began to cutely drag Berri out onto the sand, underneath Sugar Rush's gorgeous, starry sky.
"I'll be here all week," Turbo called in annoyance over his shoulder as him and Berri allowed their bare feet to sag into the pillowy, velvety sugar sand.
"I love you Turbo!" Theo obnoxiously cried as the two shuffled off.
"I want your babies!" Nox squealed, to which Turbo beamed a wide grin and lofted his temporarily golden gaze tight to the patio; Berri blurt out into hard laughter and bashfully tucked her hair behind her ears.
"Dammit, I thought I was the only one," Berri muttered in smiling defeat, to which Turbo raised his eyebrows in hot surprise and stabbed his now rosy gaze tight to Berri's face. She took the hair tie off of her wrist and began to put her gorgeous, messy, wavy hair into a ponytail. She wore a cute, tan crop top and lazy black cotton shorts, her dewy skin glistened under the moonlight that was beginning to make itself present, and in the swing of cute, prickled silence Turbo now marinated in, due to the sweetness of her words, Berri bashfully directed her eyes to Turbo's and smiled in a show of almost embarrassed nervousness, "...Too soon?"
"Maybe," Turbo mumbled, he did whatever he could to stifle a grin, though he failed and looked down to their feet as they slowly trudged through the sand. He heaved a gentle chuckle of understanding and slipped his hand into Berri's once she was done tying her hair up, "Maybe not, I don't know..."
"Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?" Berri wondered lightly, knowing full well babies weren't a topic of interest, though somehow, her easiness about it had Turbo reeling in soft confusion. He crowned a look of incredulous, patient warmth and narrowed his eyes into Berri's sweet, forgiving gaze as she cutely pressed on, "We haven't even set a date for the wedding, yet, but in two weeks time, we could, well..."
"Yeah, this topic is actually easier than the one I WAS going to talk about, anyways," Turbo blurt with a nod, he bugged his eyes and looked off, "Let's, uh... Keep talking about babies. Something I NEVER thought I'd ever say."
"What were you GOING to talk to me about?" Berri giggled, she could feel her cheeks get hot, and alongside the tender kiss of rosy goodness against the bridge of her own nose, she felt her veins wiggle with newness and strangely hoped they stayed on this topic.
"No, seriously," Turbo chimed cutely, to which Berri furrowed her brow and held tight, rosy gazes with Turbo. The two hovered in warm, wondering weirdness, strangely a welcomed topic. Turbo finally shrugged and glossed his peachy gaze to the crashing waves they were finally becoming parallel with, "If we had a baby together, what do you think he or she would look like?"
"I've... Actually put a lot of thought into this," Berri mumbled shyly, to which Turbo sharply gave her a cute grin of bewildered surprise.
"You have?" Turbo bravely wondered, Berri giggled and tidied her bangs, which messily fluttered in the wind.
"I have," Berri affirmed with a nod, the two were absolutely alive with honeyglow, grins of blushing warmth even the nighttime atmosphere couldn't hide, "You mean to tell me you haven't? I have neon blue hair and you have dark grey skin and golden, pixel-cubed eyes. I mean, really."
"It may have crossed my mind," Turbo's raspy voice grumbled in cute defeat, his bashful eyes peered down to their feet as they finally reached flatter, wetter sand.
"Let's assess dominant traits," Berri started with a nod, Turbo somehow sagged his shoulders and felt delightful weirdness crawl over him. He narrowed his gaze and sweetly peered to Berri as she daintily pressed on, "So, if I look at my own family, clearly blue hair is dominant. Ace and I are the product of it."
"Yeah, well, Ace's hair is like... Muted," Turbo volleyed, to which Berri waggled her finger.
"I actually found out that the only reason it's so grey and muted is because when my dad was outside of the Arcade, HIS hair was grey and muted," Berri skillfully navigated, and though she inhaled a breath to continue, Turbo choked a laugh and shook his head.
"Oh, shit, I keep forgetting that Ace was conceived outside of the Arcade," Turbo rushed with a cute chuckle, to which Berri shot him a bewildered look of disbelief. Turbo jolted and shook his head, "No, like... I don't forget he's a User."
"I was gunna say," Berri giggled, Turbo grinned like an idiot.
"No, I could never forget that my future wife's much huger, scarier big brother is a full-blown User with a User wife and User babies of which I currently reside with," Turbo rushed, they both were lost in laughter as he pressed on, "I just don't remember the notion that, uh... Said User was conceived under different physical circumstances. I don't think about those details."
"He's not so scary," Berri mumbled with a warm smile as she glossed her peachy gaze down to her's and Turbo's conjoined hands, "I get what you mean, but yeah... I think if Ace was conceived in Arcade, his hair would be as bright as mine and my dad's."
"I don't like thinking about your parents... Conceiving things, it's weird," Turbo rushed through his teeth, they both erupted into hard laughter.
"Sorry, sorry," Berri giggled, she wiped her eye and shook her head as the wind whisked their hair and clothes about in a gust of cool, ocean goodness, "ALL to say..."
"Our children are going to come out with bright blue hair and dark grey skin," Turbo concluded with a nod and a boyish laugh, though Berri raised her eyebrows in softness and lofted her equally as soft and delightfully surprised gaze into Turbo's lovely eyes.
"... Children?" Berri piqued, to which Turbo's peachy eyes grew a touch more vibrant.
"Child?" Turbo corrected nervously, to which Berri giggled and looked out ahead of themselves, endless sand to easily traverse, she knew the two would have to turn around once they reached the opposing cliffsides to the left of their resort homes.
"You want more than one, okay, I see," Berri's voice lilted in scheming, girly cuteness as she bobbed a nod and glued her narrowed, delightful gaze tight to Turbo's; he visibly looked flustered, at this point.
"I-I'd make a... Terrible dad," Turbo fumbled nervously, he rubbed the back of his head and heaved a shaky chuckle, half berating himself and half trying to make jokes, he flinched the second Berri halted her footwork and peered her almost sorrowful eyes firmly into Turbo's. He immediately raised his eyebrows and stared hard into her gaze, which was now void of any form of a glow, "I... Oh, sorry, I mean like... I-I wasn't trying to-"
"Don't say things like that," Berri urged in tenderness, she long-blinked and slowly crowned a wide, bashful smile, "I think you'd make an awesome dad. You're so full of knowledge, love... Patience."
Turbo's frown finally began to slowly broaden to that of a grateful little smile, he heaved a hot sigh through his nose and looked down to their now stopped feet as the ocean's waves rapidly rocketed towards the two, slowed in defeat and receded about a foot or so away from their standing point.
"I'm going to make a solid guess, right now, and... I guess, when the time comes, we'll see if I'm correct or not," Berri shrugged, her voice remained soft, as if to remind Turbo that her aura here was serious and deliberate, though her words began to eke back to light-hearted warmth. Turbo narrowed his gaze in gentle disbelief that this beautiful creature, before him, was all his. Berri tenderly fingered her lip, looked up to the stars in contemplation and shrugged, "I'm going to sayyy... Maybe DARK blue hair, and... Hmm... Say, paler grey skin? Surely the mixture of yours and my skin has gotta have some form of an in between."
"What about the eyes?" Turbo's voice was hushed, he gently assessed Berri's mouth, in an obvious manner, as if to prove to her that he was about to dive in for a kiss if she dares to carry on with such sweet notions.
"Ooo, hopefully they're like yours," Berri's cute voice lilted in conclusion, she bobbed a nod and gave Turbo a look of certainty, "They're really unique. I think that'd be cool."
"Boy or girl?" Turbo wondered gently, he long-blinked and so delicately moved into the motion of preparing to cup Berri's face in his able hands.
"Healthy baby," Berri retort with a hushed giggle and an easy segue into Turbo's slower gesture.
"You make me want to do things I never thought I'd ever want to do, in my wildest dreams," Turbo whispered on her lips, and in the gentle constriction his masculine hands so tenderly deployed on the undersides of Berri's jaws and cheeks, he easily swept her into a head-tilting, slow kiss. Berri hummed a drawn out, sighing noise of cute delight as she gripped Turbo's sides, and with the wrinkle of his loose shirt amidst her grippy fingers, the two stirred as Turbo kept Berri tight in his gravity. Their lips delicately peeled from their tilted kiss, to which Turbo's hot breath exhaled the rest of his statement onto her wet lips in whispering easiness, "Get on stage in front of thousands..."
"Go to Sugarbucks by yourself," Berri whispered, she finally blurt a quiet giggle on Turbo's mouth as he pursed in furrowed, teasing annoyance.
"That wasn't easy," Turbo's grumbly voice muttered above a whisper, to which Berri stood on her tip-toes and easily filled their tiny gap, once more. He sagged his shoulders in immediate defeat and so gently began to worm his arms about Berri's smaller waist, and with said stir, Berri slid her arms and hands about Turbo's thick, strong neck. With the slow push and pull of their gentle, gaping kiss, they reeled in the easy motion of their passion as Turbo quietly continued on, whispery words only for Berri's universe, "Where do we go from here..."
"We could go back to the house and, I don't know..." Berri mumbled, she bit her bottom lip and did what she could to conceal an excited giggle, to which Turbo leaned his head away a little and gave her a softened, bewildered look of frozen shock.
"You're SERIOUS," Turbo confusedly wondered, he narrowed his gaze and side-eyed his future bride, full, nervous anticipation suddenly swelled his heart with all sorts of excited emotions, "Y-You... You really want to do this? Y-you really want to have a baby?"
"Not right now, but it's a LOT of fun seeing you get all nervous and weird about it," Berri blurt with a hard giggle, and though she still had her arms about Turbo's neck, he sagged his shoulders, straightened his spine a little and looked off in teasing, embarrassed defeat. Berri squeezed her arms tighter about Turbo's neck and now overflowed his world with her contagious giggling, "Awww, you were prepared to bend to my desires! That's so sweet!"
"Yeah, yeah," Turbo crankily grumbled, his eyes held a very solid amount of peachy color, Berri grinned.
"Oh? What's this?" Berri inquired with a delightful hiss as she removed her weight from Turbo's chest. He innocently raised his eyebrows and peered into her eyes with a show of boyish nervousness, "Maybe it's not JUST me with these desires?"
"Stop," Turbo muttered cutely, though visibly playfully annoyed.
"What's on your mind, there, my dude? Your eyes tell a different story from your cranky front," Berri mumbled sweetly, to which Turbo bashfully looked off and shook his head, "What's goin' on up there?"
"Firewall protocols," Turbo stabbed with a contagious chuckle, he shook his head and bugged his eyes, "There, happy? I'm sitting here wondering how to take down firewalls, in the code room, without your brother deleting me."
"Wait... You're serious?" Berri staggered, to which Turbo's eyed immediately flood with a minty show of confused terror; he cleared his throat, furrowed his brow and shook his head.
"N-no, I'm not... Babies are messy," Turbo grunted, to which Berri rolled her eyes, grinned and looked off in definitive defeat. Turbo frowned and felt the power of said defeat radiate off of her, he grimaced and lulled his eyes closed in gentle regret, and in the swoop of now trying to save the situation, he gingerly gripped her hands and was glad to have her eye contact, once more. He inhaled a shaky breath and reminded himself that he was in the safe presence of his best friend, someone he could be entirely vulnerable with. He smiled and exhaled said shaky breath, and although he was aware him and Berri had a strong connection, via their code swap, he allowed his soul to be further exposed in the form of honest words, "I'd... I'd love to have a baby with you, Berri. I'm sorry, I'm just... Nervous."
"I know you are," Berri mumbled cutely, she eyed Turbo in sneaking suspicion and showed her teeth a bit more, "Don't fret. Let's get married first, then we'll talk."
"Deal," Turbo sighed with a nod, though Berri furrowed her brow further and shook her head.
"SURELY whatever you wanted to originally talk about was WAY less difficult to discuss," Berri stated with clear certainty, to which Turbo raised his eyebrows and aimlessly looked down in searching contemplation.
"... I don't know, it's pretty up there, not gunna lie," Turbo blurt a boyish laugh and shook his head, "Wanna take a wild guess?"
"Hmm... Does it have to do with anyone here on the island?" Berri wondered, to which Turbo furrowed his eyebrows and pondered for a moment.
"... Indirectly, but... Not technically," Turbo danced about the actual answer, to which Berri sagged her shoulders in defeat.
"Alright, topic number one, Turbo wants to father a child with me... Topic number two! Turbo wannnnts..." Berri trailed and peered hard into Turbo's eyes, as if to insinuate that he fill in the blanks.
"... To reverse Gunner's code block whilst we're here," Turbo chimed in nonchalance, though he grimaced a nervous little smile, his minty eyes stabbed tight to Berri's in hovering terror as Berri froze in aura-crumpling, confused dread.
"I'm sorry, I stroked out," Berri muttered cutely, she twirled her finger to her temple, to insinuate dizziness, she shook her head in a jostled show of confusion and gave Turbo a small, incredulous smile of challenge, "You, uh... Want to do WHAT while we're on vacation?"
"I know, I suck," Turbo grumbled, he looked off and quickly dug into his pocket for his cigarettes; upon freeing one and cueing his lighter, Berri sagged her shoulders in a firm slump and gave Turbo a look of desperation.
"Bub, please explain your reasoning, you don't need to destroy your lungs in the process," Berri gently complained as Turbo took a huge inhale of his now lit cigarette, and although it was a nostalgic scent that Berri cutely craved, she cocked an eyebrow, crossed her arms and gave Turbo a becoming-stern look of rising authority, authority Turbo stubbornly didn't sway to.
"Theo came to me earlier and revealed to me that him and Tatum are ready to officially swap codes, but in order to do so, Tatum wants her code block reversed," Turbo gently explained, velvety smoke billowed from his nostrils and was carried in a direction opposite of Berri's positioning, something Turbo was mindful about.
"Aww," Berri cooed softly, though she eyed Turbo and didn't allow her gentle disposition to linger.
"I figure we can... Kill two birds with one stone," Turbo's raspy voice muttered as he looked down to their bare feet, both equally squished into the wet sand. Turbo softly flicked ash off of his cigarette and allowed his curious, innocent golden eyes to hook to Berri's inquisitive gaze, "We discussed this, Bear... The reason he's gone all haywire and is all strung out on heightened emotions is almost entirely due to the sheer amount of code blocking him and Tatum had been doing in the duration of their relationship."
"I just..." Berri started gently, and though she took a few moments to pause and meticulously search for words, Turbo warmly interjected.
"I put myself in his shoes, quite frankly... Look, I've never code blocked or anything, but I saw just how torturous it was for Theo, earlier this week," Turbo's deep voice pressed to Berri's now still, attentive figure, "It's different for everyone, but even Throttle and I discussed it. It's like constantly running on no sleep, is how he described it. Every single situation, no matter how big or small, is turned into a fight or flight scenario."
"I hear you," Berri eased in nodding defeat.
"Look, I don't like the guy, he treated you like crap, he misunderstood a lot and the list goes on, but..." Turbo furrowed his brow and gently looked off in sighing contemplation. He took another inhale of his cigarette with a careful breath, Berri narrowed her eyes and calmly watched as the smoke eked from Turbo's nose and mouth as he spoke, once more, "Bear, he challenged me to man up and chase after your hand. He inadvertently challenged me to be a better person for you. As weird as it all seems, he really helped me. He helped us."
"I doubt he'd see it that way," Berri muttered through an annoyed little huff of a chuckle as she crossed her arms, to which Turbo lazily shrugged and eased a contemplative nod.
"Sure, probably not, I just think we owe it to him," Turbo bravely admitted as he lulled his eyes closed, the methodical flick of his cigarette gingerly splayed cinnamon sugar tobacco ash to the wind, "I don't want to be best friends with the guy, or anything, but... Look, I'm trying to be adult about all of this, and quite frankly, it's really difficult."
"I see that," Berri's gentle, conclusory tone was sweet and understanding. She bobbed a nod, looked down to their bare feet and inhaled a deep, refreshed breath, "Aright, I see where you're coming from... When did you want to do this? WHERE did you want to do this?"
"Well, the hard part is getting him to agree to it, which means..." Turbo eyed Berri in nervousness, "You're going to have to reach out to him... You think he'll be receptive?"
"I doubt it, but... I can definitely try," Berri mumbled, she rubbed her arm and fished for her phone, which peaked out of the pocket of her shorts. She softly glanced into Turbo's eyes with baited curiosity and held her breath for a moment, "You... Think I should call him? Like, now?"
"This went from zero to one hundred REAL quick, uhh... O-Okay," Turbo staggered in now exhausted nervousness, he took a deeper inhale of his cigarette this time.
"I can wait, bub, I just need to know your own game plan," Berri patiently explained, she eagerly ceased all action as she watched Turbo's eyes immediately dip to a splay of minty nervousness. He hooked his gaze tight to Berri's in a cute show of mild desperation, something she immediately cued to, "We don't need to do anything immediately. Tell me where you're at, mentally."
"Uh... Limbo," Turbo choked a laugh, his handsome, irresistible grin and full show of his prominent canines had Berri equally grinning like an idiot, she cutely giggled and looked down to her feet, once more, as Turbo's contagious laughter continued on with his playful notions, "Well on my way to hell, I mean, it's lowkey the last thing I wanna do."
"I mean, same," Berri loudly giggled, she lifted her head and did what she could to brush her bangs out of her eyes, her beautiful hair flit about with lovely waves of blue. Turbo's grin softened, narrowed eyes that took in her raw beauty, he heaved a raspy sigh and knew, no matter what, nothing could sway their stronghold of camaraderie and love. Berri rubbed her arm and showed signs of becoming chilly, "I think it's really great, about Tatum and Theo. They make a fantastic pair... I just... Worry about bringing Gunner here, seeing Tatum and Theo together, as well as me and you, I mean... Really, think about it."
"Two ex girlfriends and their new, permanent swap mates," Turbo firmly displayed a tight grimace and side-eyed Berri, he delivered his conclusion through the grit of his teeth, "If he didn't hate me and Theo prior, I promise he'll hate us now."
"Maybe... We can just keep it between me and Gunner, I think that'd probably be best," Berri mumbled, she bashfully rubbed the back of her head and furrowed her brow in confusion, "Did you want ME to conduct the code block reversal? I'm not... Entirely familiar with the process, but I'm sure I'd be okay."
"If you feel confident, otherwise, I... Don't mind at least ATTEMPTING to make nice with the guy," Turbo sighed through another exhale of billowy, soft smoke, "What's worse... Your exgirlfriend putting her hands on two sensitive stressors, or her new fiancé."
"...User, I don't even know anymore," Berri muttered with an annoyed grin as she rubbed her forehead, "Maybe we should just give him a choice... I'll call him, test the waters, go from there."
"Y-You gunna call him NOW?" TUrbo wondered in nervousness, as if to prepare, to which Berri now shivered and looked down to her phone.
"Well, yeah, I feel as if we're ALREADY super worried about this, I think delaying will cause us BOTH to fly through your pack of cigarettes in ten minutes sharp," Berri firmly gestured to Turbo's right pocket, where his pack and lighter were concealed, though Berri flinched the second Turbo began to carefully take his baggy, lazy black t-shirt off of his body.
"Alright, let's do this, then... Here, put this on babe, you've got goosebumps galore," Turbo's deep voice instructed with tender care, he did what he could to open the head hole of his shirt whilst he left his now half-gone cigarette in his lips. With a gentle jostle, he wormed his baggy shirt over Berri's figure and gave her a loving little smile, though still laced with nervousness, "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay, thank you," Berri's voice soothed as she popped her arms out the t-shirts arm holes, she snuggled into Turbo's still-warm, baggy shirt and took a step deeper into his gravity. With care, he eased his arm about her lower back and supported her, though as she unlocked her phone and cued her's and Gunner's messages, she so carefully crafted a small little message to him. Turbo's minty eyes held tight to her screen as the two hovered in each other's bubbles, they both crowned looks of contemplative terror as Berri's thumbs gently tapped away. Once done, she promptly read it aloud for Turbo, "Hey, Gunner. I know it's late, I just need to talk to you real quick. Do you have a moment for a call?"
"Just send it, uhg, just... This is so stressful," Turbo grunted as he gestured his free hand, to which Berri heaved a flustered sigh and quickly pressed the send button, as if to get it over with.
"Okay, it's done, it's done," Berri blurt, they both heaved shaky, terrified sighs and glanced into each other's eyes, "Can we go back to the much easier topic of having babies?"
"Way easier," Turbo muttered in irritation, though he shot Berri a cute smirk.
"You have any names in mind?" Berri wondered, her tone was dripping in sarcastic lightness as she crossed her arms and honed in on Turbo, as if to convey that she was wishing her phone currently didn't exist.
"I do, actually, believe it or not," Turbo started, though the two jolted the second Berri's phone suddenly started to ring a dainty little tune, something they both went bug-eyed to, the draw of Berri's phone revealed Gunner's caller ID. Berri held her breath and peered her terrified eyes tight to Turbo's as he muttered her a conclusion, "Welp, it... Was nice knowing you."
"You answer," Berri muttered, she shoved her phone into Turbo's gaping hand; he immediately reeled and shoved her phone back into her hand, in which was recoiling.
"UH, absolutely not," Turbo barked, Berri grit her teeth and loudly giggled as she, once more, shoved her phone back into Turbo's hands. He easily panicked and put Berri's phone into her hands, a bit firmer this time, "BERRI."
"It'll be funny," Berri hissed through wheezing laughter, though Turbo bit his lip and successfully maneuvered his fingers to the screen of Berri's phone, and upon a quick swipe, he sneakily answered the call. Berri jolted in frozen surprise, bugged her eyes and peered down to the now live phone call with Gunner, though as she stabbed her shocked eyes into Turbo's, he lifted the phone to her ear, which was now clumsily in her own hand. She inhaled a trembling breath as her and Turbo tightly held eyes in bewildered cuteness, "Heyy..."
"Hey, Berri, I... I only have a few minutes, I'm in the middle of something," Gunner mumbled, he seemed put off, though somehow, the gentleness of his voice assured Berri that he wasn't angry.
"Oh... I-I'm sorry, did you just want to talk tomorrow? It doesn't have to be right this second," Berri's voice held a tremble, in which Turbo quickly noted and slipped his hand into her free one.
"No, no, it's... It's fine, I can spare a little bit of time, I just am... Well, if I'm being honest, I'm at an art exhibit on EZ Living's main island," Gunner blurt with a gentle chuckle, he sighed a raspy breath as the feedback, on his end, made clear that he was standing outside and it was windy, "I had a long chat with Bedgy, the other day. She suggested I get out and DO something. Figured this would suffice."
"Oh, that's cool," Berri chimed in soft genuineness, a strange feeling swept over her. She furrowed her eyebrows and gave Turbo said bewildered look of disbelief, to which he returned with equal, confused fervor. She squeezed Turbo's hand a little and desperately tried to search for the reason she even got his attention, in the first place, "Listen, I... I just wanted to ask if you'd be interested in trying something. I know you probably hate me and want nothing to do with me, and I get if you're mad at me, I just... Want to set aside all our personal issues and ask you a serious question."
"I don't hate you, Bear, I could never," Gunner grumbled, as if to express that admitting said warmth was painful, he sighed alongside his notions and paused for a moment, "Are you okay? Are you safe?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm safe, I'm actually on vacation in Sugar Rush, right now," Berri stated, her eyes glossed their glorious resort homes, far across the stretch of beach behind Turbo. He raised his eyebrows in tenderness and held on to every single last word Berri uttered, "We went to Sugar Sun Island to sort of, well..."
"... Allow the media to get off your case?" Gunner's deep voice muttered, Berri froze and felt her stomach dip with the seriousness of Gunner's voice, though he blurt a chuckle and softened, "I don't blame you... Your guys' encore, and the drama that followed, was wild."
"You... You watched?" Berri wondered in full shock, to which Turbo equally crowned a dumbfounded look.
"I did," Gunner stated, almost in bittersweet sorrow, though Berri could hear his smile, "All frustration and bitterness aside... You guys killed it."
"... Wow, thanks Gun," Berri eased in defeated sweetness, she eyed Turbo as if to express the fact that she did not see any of this coming.
"So, what's up? What did you want to tell me?" Gunner wondered lightly, though Berri could still tell that this conversation was potentially painful for him.
"I'll try and make it quick. I'm about to throw a bunch of sensitive information at you, all at once, so, if you don't hate me yet, I'm positive you will after all of this," Berri blurt with a giggle, she flung her hand to the side in said gesture and quickly carried on, "So... Tatum made clear to me that you and her, through the entirety of your relationship, didn't swap codes, but instead code blocked every single time you guys had sex. We're reversing Tatum's code block tonight, and we want to do the same thing for you."
Turbo and Berri both held their breath and stared hard into each other's eyes, both void of color. Berri finally grit her teeth, due to Gunner's continued silence and removed her phone from her ear, to see if the call was still connected. Upon seeing Gunner's call still live, she shoved her phone back to her ear and raised her eyebrows in baited, terrified wait. She perked up the second his grumbly, defeated voice ushered an annoyed chuckle.
"Yeah, wow, that's... Super sensitive information, I love that she's indulging all the details of our sex life like that," Gunner sounded annoyed, though Berri could still hear that smile in his voice.
"Stop it, she didn't give any details," Berri stabbed, though she grinned upon being able to tell that Gunner wasn't taking this as hard as she thought, "You know how involved me and my family are with all the details of one's coding. It would really benefit you to get that reversed, I mean, truly. We just... Want to do that for you."
"Whose 'we'?" Gunner wondered dryly, to which Berri snapped her mouth shut and swallowed firmly.
"... Turbo and I," Berri uttered, to which Turbo sharply grit his teeth and shook his head.
"Oh, oh, right, the guy that wanted to murder me, right," Gunner hissed through an annoyed chuckle, to which Berri slumped her shoulders and looked off in glowering irritation.
"Please... I'm trying to extend an olive branch, here," Berri mumbled, she rubbed her forehead in mental exhaustion and lulled her eyes closed as she hurried to carry on, "No tricks, no ulterior motives, just... A code block reversal and you'll be well on your way."
"Fine, that's... Fine, Berri, you want me to come to Sugar Rush, then?" Gunner stated in warm defeat, to which Berri perked up and clenched her fists.
"Yes, just, uh... How about you come into Sugar Rush's entrance tomorrow afternoon, say... Four?" Berri planned, her eyes scanned the sand under foot, "I can teleport you to where we're staying. It's private, so you won't have to worry about paparazzi or anything."
"Thank User, I'm tired of fending people off," Gunner blurt in smiling annoyance, to which Berri grit her teeth.
"Yeah I'm... Sorry about that," Berri mumbled, to which Gunner sighed and sounded as if he was now walking back to the front doors of his destination.
"We can chat more tomorrow, Bear, I'll text you," Gunner concluded gently, and although he was reserved and mildly stand offish, his tone was warm and held the promises of making nice, "Is it just going to be me and you, or should I worry about Turbo flying down from the sky to get in my face again?"
"No, Turbo's not going to fly down from the sky to get in your face, Gunner," Berri stabbed as she lulled her eyes closed and grinned, to which Turbo wrinkled his nose and issued Berri a rather snarky, scheming little smile.
"Yes he is," Turbo muttered deeply, still playfully grinning, to which Berri finally swat at Turbo's bare chest.
"There's about a dozen of us here, and... I'll probably need Turbo's help for the reversal," Berri stated in sighing annoyance, "If you all promise to play nice, I'm sure it'll be... Fine."
"For User's sakes... Alright, fine... Fine," Gunner negotiated with himself, he grunted an annoyed breath and finally seemed to be reaching the end of his rope, "I'll text you, Bear, I gotta go back inside."
"Alright, talk to you later," Berri eased in gentle nonchalance, she inhaled a shaky breath and quickly pressed on, "Thanks, Gunner... Sorry."
"It's good, Bear, don't fret," Gunner's warmth was now finally palpable, his smile was once again heard, "Don't be sorry. I'll text you, okay?"
"Okay," Berri bobbed a nod and sagged her shoulders, "Bye."
"Bye," Gunner concluded, to which they both ended their call.
"Well," Berri stated through a heavy sigh after she locked her phone and sagged it back into her pocket, she peered into Turbo's eyes and grinned, "That was... Easier than I thought!"
"You were so nervous, poor baby," Turbo teased, he gingerly wormed his hands to Berri's cheeks, once more, and crowned a mildly playful air about himself, "I'm so glad you can bring your exboyfriend to the party, I can't wait to get in his face- I-I mean, get to know him."
"Stop it," Berri stabbed as she sagged her shoulders, she pleadingly peered into Turbo's eyes as he began to squish her cheeks a little, "Please, Turbo, I don't need you and your brothers playing guard dog on me, while Gunner is here."
Turbo bared his teeth, amidst a scheming smile, and allowed the depths of his throat to let loose a small, little growl, a trilling noise from the guttural. He squished Berri's cheeks a little harder, to which she finally blurt a hard laugh and held her hands to Turbo's hips, though mostly in the action of preparing to push him away from her.
"We'll play nice as long as he does," Turbo's deep voice hissed to Berri's nose and cheeks as he hovered mere inches from her lips. Successful in catching her in a few firm, cute smooches, Berri finally succumbed and draped her arms about Turbo's hips as he continued to hold her face in his strong, able hands, "I think the REAL being you have to worry about is Chester."
"... Uhg I didn't even CONSIDER that!" Berri cried in now dreaded annoyance, though she grunted as Turbo began to plant firm, obnoxious smacks to her lips, something she loudly giggled through, "Turbo-... TURB-..."
"Mm-mm," Turbo grunted on her mouth, he finally released her and gave her a cute, little smile, "I gotta get all my kisses in now, cause once lover boy's here, this won't be possible."
"Yeah, cause Gunner's going to finish out the vacation with us, something EVERYONE will consent to," Berri urged sarcastically as her and Turbo peered into each other's eyes in the downswing of softness that finally prevailed.
"... That'd suck," Turbo muttered, to which Berri blurt an incredulous laugh, "Lash would then have his excuse to want to murder someone."
"You boys better behave, tomorrow, I'm serious," Berri warned, to which Turbo crowned a scheming, fang-filled little smile, once more. His bright, golden eyes held the entire world's amount of boyish cheekiness, and with the gentle snap of his teeth, the clack that his strong jaw provided, Berri lulled her eyes closed in exhausted defeat and felt desperation crawl over her, "Turbo, I'm not even joking..."
"We'll behavvve," Turbo's deep voice droned, although a serious notion of honesty, his continued, scheming little smile proved otherwise.
A/N :
Hey guys! I drew the last little scene, of this chapter - it's on my IG username Vyntastic :)
I ALSO drew a little comic of mild spoilers for when Gunner comes to the island. Follow me on IG, I upload a lot of story art there! Thanks for your continued support, guys :D
