Reviews :
Snake557 : Aww thank you so much! I quite imagine it's somewhat similar to the episode of ATLA 'the cave of two lovers'.
Lyssdoodle : Thank you so much! Unfortunately, Lash and Mara don't have a (written) swap scene... ;) As for your question about the fanart, you can DM me on Instagram or email me. Let me know if you need any of those details :)
Song Listened To :
In Great Strides by Joris de Man & The Flight
*Chapter 239*
Through a tender, long-blink of the close proximity Turbo had to Berri, he softly narrowed his gaze and assessed the woman in front of him. Brilliant blue eyes that dart about the broad of Turbo's chest, diligently, she made careful work of straightening the collar of Turbo's nice, casual, cream button down shirt. In the stillness of Turbo's lovely bathroom, all kissed with Sugar Rush's late morning sunshine, the group had successfully parted from their island vacation two days prior, from what felt to be too quick of a trip. Although not keen on getting right back to business, Berri and Turbo were well aware they had to come back to reality, anything and everything band related was now overdue touching base on. Turbo visibly swallowed a gulp of nervousness in the stillness of Berri's quiet, dainty presence, and though she didn't show any sign of physically acknowledging said large, nervous gulp of his, she inhaled a slow, steady breath through her nose and relished in the lovely, subtle scent of Turbo's cologne.
"Don't be nervous," Berri's womanly voice so softly cooed, she glanced up to Turbo's eyes and took note of the muted minty glow, though still glimmered with hope.
"It's just a weird predicament we've all found ourselves in," Turbo started patiently, his deep voice was hushed as Berri hovered tight in his gravity, her methodical hands continued to do what they could to straighten out and tidy Turbo's collar. Turbo heaved a long, drawn out sigh as Berri finally finished her chore with a gentle splay of her hands down Turbo's broad, sculpted chest. He kindly smiled and allowed his hands to find hers, upon leaving his chest; he warmly carried on with an incredulous chuckle, "One minute, I'm in Gunner's face, telling him to piss off, and, the next..."
"You're sat with him for a cup of coffee," Berri concluded cutely, she shrugged, shook her head and allowed her gentle gaze to aimlessly get lost out the splay of windows in Turbo's bathroom, a view of the sunny mountain side in the distance, "I think it's great we're all moving past the drama that happened at Arcadia, the night of our show... I was certain Gunner was going to hate the lot of us, for life, after something like that."
"Who knows, maybe he still does, maybe this coffee date is a trap," Turbo grumbled, he wrinkled his nose and gave Berri a nervous grin, "I just hope this goes well..."
"Maybe he'll give you a kiss goodnight," Berri sneered with a small giggle, to which Turbo looked off in smiling irritation; Berri gripped Turbo's hand and slowly began to lead him out of his bathroom. As her hand sagged to turn the light off, they slowly began to press closer to his bedroom door, Berri's heels and Turbo's shoes eased in hefty steps of dread, "You're gunna be fine. You'll have to ask Gunner all about how he's feeling, since we reversed his code block."
"I'm sure he feels loads better," Turbo bobbed a nod and felt confidence come back to him, "I know I would... The Gunner I'll be meeting up with likely won't be the same Gunner we saw on the island."
"I want to hear all about it afterwards," Berri stated through a kind sigh and a nod, and as she got a bit of distance from Turbo, he cocked an eyebrow and eagerly eyed her up with a cute smirk. Wearing what she wore the night of Midnight Moon Theatre's show, Turbo had to softly halt his footwork to a scuff and now make obvious he was ogling her. Berri turned around, opened her mouth to cutely prepare for their departure, though in noticing Turbo's becoming-peachy little gaze all over her lower body, she cutely stomped her foot and blurt a giggle as she pretended to be frustrated, "Stop iiit."
"Ooo, do that again," Turbo barked with a cute grin as he began to step over to her in energetic cuteness, though as Berri furrowed her eyebrows and looked down at herself, she stomped her foot once more and watched her cleavage gently jiggle; she largely tossed her head up, rolled her eyes and crowned a now very genuine look of annoyance, and just as she went to press on, she jolted through a hard giggle as Turbo cutely scooped her into a big hug, "You're so beautiful."
"And you're soooo mature," Berri grumbled, she finally succumbed to Turbo's lovely hold and sagged her arms about his middle.
"You excited for your shoot?" Turbo wondered into the top and side of her head, he cutely pressed a few warm kisses into her forehead and eagerly inched his arms about Berri's small waist; she wore her strappy, black body suit with her favorite pair of tattered skinny jeans, all clad with killer black stilettos. Turbo continued on in a downswing of softness, the glint of muted yellow that returned to his gaze, "I'm... Sorry I can't come with."
"It's okay, I'm actually excited to do a solo photoshoot," Berri chimed with a cute shrug of her bare shoulders, her hair was wildly billowed in blue waves, ones of which her fingers now daintily drew attention to, "I just... Hope they like this more natural look I was going for."
"As well as the kickass outfit you wore on stage? Those cameras are going to be all over you," Turbo assured with a nod, "It's a spread for the band's refresh?"
"Yeah, I guess my take on everything, I'm also being interviewed," Berri sighed, she lulled her eyes closed and gestured to herself, "Sure, this is what I want to look like on stage, and in photoshoots, but... D-do y'think it's too much-"
"Don't you dare dumb yourself for dumb people, lookit me," Turbo's stern, gentlemanly press of a deep voice glossed her heart with care. His masculine hands so warmly cupped Berri's cheeks and held tight eye contact, "You look... AMAZING. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise. Whose name do you want on that spread?"
"Berri Black," Berri mumbled warmly, to which Turbo flinched and peered to her in a jostle of sweet, stunned surprise. He huffed a shaky little chuckle of plucked delight and blinked a few times as she rolled her eyes and cutely carried on, "Kalivar, I know, I knowww. Wish it was Black, already."
"It suits you," He whispered in great warmth, and as he leaned in for a melt of a kiss, he puckered a bit firmer and began to plant cute smooches to her now smiling mouth. She blurt a hard giggle and gripped Turbo's upper arms, as he kept her snug to his body, though she began to playfully resist, "Love me, dammit."
"I do, I do, I have to go," Berri rushed, she returned all of Turbo's kisses though her spine writhed in a subtle show of wanting to now worm to Turbo's front door in anxiousness. Turbo finally unhanded Berri's figure as she carried on through a sighing giggle, "And so do you, y'know. What time are you meeting Gunner?"
"Uh, eleven," Turbo raised his eyebrows and brought himself back down to the planet; he pulled out his phone and bugged his eyes.
"What time is it now?" Berri wondered, she grappled for Turbo's hoodie and began to head towards his gaping front door.
"Eleven," Turbo grunted in cute sheepishness as he began to hustle towards the door, and once they were both in Turbo's lovely, dim foyer, his front door sagged shut with a hefty thud into the impenetrable wall it was, "Wish me luck..."
"You won't need it," Berri chirped as she stood by herself on Turbo's teleport pad; her lovely, rose gold coding brought up proper waypoints, and upon preparing to sag her finger to her destination of choice, she cocked an eyebrow and gave Turbo a cheeky little smile, "We'got Turbotime in our code. We win without luck."
"Atta girl," Turbo's deep voice crackled in seductive goodness, and before her coding raveled up her beautiful body in a light show of rose gold lightning, she returned said little seductive quip and gave him a subtle wink. Turbo choked a silent noise to himself, as the atmosphere in his foyer settled, he clutched his chest in delightful agony and grinned, "Damn, I got lucky SOMEWHERE."
Upon teleporting himself to a secretive waypoint he had set up, that was more cloaked and for his own personal use, he flinched in a draw of sharp sunshine and easily allowed every last pixel of his to arrive just behind Sugarbucks' building; a smaller store securely nestled into the huge, overwhelming skyscraper it was apart of. Turbo firmly took a good look around and immediately caught with Gunner's figure across the gap of a few dozen feet on the sidewalk behind the buildings. Although both men caught eyes in a whirl of gentle smiles of acknowledgment, they were out of earshot of each other and began to close the gap. Turbo furrowed his brow and assessed Gunner; he was dressed in a comfortable though tidy yellow shirt and faded grey rocker jeans. Much to Turbo's huge surprise, Gunner had dyed his hair bright blonde, it held a choppy, delightfully messy and razored look over his eyes, and as Turbo grew closer, both guys grinned in sheepish knowing.
"Damn, man, it's like you went through a breakup or something," Turbo blurt a kind laugh, and as Gunner joined, they both neared in the fluid, easygoing notion of a firm, manly handshake that quickly pulled into a small hug amidst the grapple of their handshake.
"Yeah, with my own coding," Gunner blurt with a smile, he looked like an entirely different being, he practically glowed like the sun, though before Turbo could excitedly expand on just how Gunner was settling into his refreshed coding, he furrowed his brow and now suspiciously looked about the still parking lot of nothing but cars and scattered, swaying summer-time trees.
"...You don't have your guards, Gun?" Turbo pressed nervously, he gestured to himself and blurt a chuckle, "Usually I can come to Sugarbucks and get a few gawking stares and maybe a handful of autographs, but you? You..."
"I've been out about since the day after you reset my coding," Gunner shrugged, he sagged his hands into his pockets and blurt a chuckle, "Ever since I dyed my hair and went through that whole refresh, I don't think anyone knows it's me... Which... I'm not complaining."
"User, seriously?" Turbo smiled in boyish delight as he eyed Gunner's new hair; it was sharp and sleek, almost in Zed's hairstyle, "Well, guess that makes today easier. I know the crew here, but I typically can't leave without some form of attention."
"I'm sure we'll be fine," Gunner stated kindly with a nod, and although Turbo hadn't spent much time with Gunner, even he knew said still, peaceful response, from someone like Gunner, was wildly unheard of.
Upon Turbo and Gunner nonchalantly entering Sugarbuck's side entrance, Turbo felt a weird wave of a switch up come over him. Memories of his very first trip out into public, with Wren, Theo and Berri, urgently came flooding back to him. Although this wasn't Gunner's first time out in public, he was still vulnerable and without his slew of body guards. Turbo felt honored that Gunner felt safe in his presence, once and for all, though Turbo now dart his golden eyes about the handful of baristas behind the bar, making drinks and preparing orders, all of which were a very lively bunch, including Bug. Turbo knew that if they discovered Gunner's presence before Turbo could secretly signal to them, the whole store would erupt in girly wails of swooning excitement. Grateful the baristas looked up to smile and waved to Turbo, Turbo grit his teeth, gestured a slicing motion to his jugular and softly pointed to Gunner, unbeknownst to him; he then put his finger over his mouth and pleadingly gestured that they not freak out. Much to his floored surprise, the girls behind the bar only bugged their eyes and looked down to their work in whole, silent, unhinged shock and delight, in which he was glad Bug sagged in smiling defeat and followed suit.
"Well well," Bug hummed warmly as Turbo confidently pressed to the counter, in which Gunner's now mildly nervous energy sapped into Turbo's as he stood tight to his left. Bug flattened his ears and politely held his hand out for a handshake, "It's an honor to meet you, sir."
"Gun, this is Bug, this whole crew is a bunch that we frequent daily," Turbo smiled in happiness as Gunner broadened his curious gaze to the girls behind the bar; all four of them silently giggled and began to so secretively wave and give him big smiles, to which Gunner sagged in polite gratitude and gave each of his fans a wide, happy smile.
"I appreciate the low profile," Gunner urged quietly, though as subtly and cutely as each girl behind the counter could, they stiffly scrambled for their sharpies and an object to be autographed, and with silent questions in their dewy, girly gazes, Gunner huffed a chuckle and warmly obliged to giving said girls his autographs, "Y'guys enjoy the last show of the tour?"
"Too bad Turbo gave you the boot," Bug blurt a chuckle, in which all the girls cutely laughed and did whatever they could not to swoon and go nuts.
"Eh, the show was cooler without me," Gunner grumbled with a shrug of his masculine shoulders; his lovely, honey-brown eyes sagged to the nearest girl to him, his typical smolder was now unleashed in an easy show of peace, tenfold, "What's your name, love?"
"Taya," She staggered cutely, all the girls quietly giggled as Gunner methodically scribbled out his signature, as well as a personalized note to each girl; upon completion, they were grateful for the lull in customers, so to hone in on their guests.
"We always feel like a million bucks when Turbo, Berri, Wren and Theo come in, but... It's a rare treat to see you, as well," Bug egged, he eyed Turbo in mild confusion and warmly gestured to both men, though before Turbo knew it, Bug began to methodically scribble Turbo's order on a fresh paper cup he had grabbed. His cute, chinchilla-like ears perked in readiness as he glanced to Turbo in rising, cheeky suspicion, "If I don't recall... You both previously hated each other."
"Eh, it was more one sided, I was doing all the hating," Turbo grumbled, Gunner blurt into an incredulous laugh and shot Turbo a flash of a nervous, boyish smile as he sagged his masculine hands into his jeans. Turbo huffed a chuckle and rolled his eyes amidst a soft smile, "Gunner didn't know I even existed."
"You guys just hanging for the day?" Bug wondered, he gingerly gestured to Gunner and gave him a twinkle of a smile, "Has your order changed or do you still get the grande cappuccino with cinnamon?"
"... How did you guys know my order?" Gunner staggered as he furrowed his brow, though he dart his eyes to the girls behind the counter, all of which were doing what they could to stifle their excited, girly laughter. Gunner sagged his shoulders and bobbed an understanding nod, "Ah... Nevermind."
"These girls probably know more about you than you even know about yourself," Bug muttered, he eyed Gunner in cheeky annoyance, "Trust me, I spend all my shifts listening to it."
"Sounds like this location knows what's up, anyways," Gunner mumbled cutely with a nod, all the girls continued to giggle.
"Yeah, we're just going over some band stuff, just what it all looks like now that I've... Bombarded the scene," Turbo choked a small laugh and rested his hand to his own chest, though both boys finally began to sag away and look for a secluded place to chat.
"Bombarded," Gunner huffed with a small laugh as he tailed Turbo's much more dominant and certain energy, "For User's sakes, do those girls fawn all over you like that, every time you come?"
"Well, they're only brave enough whenever Berri's not around," Turbo's deep voice grumbled, he eyed the group of girls across the way, all clearly women he was not interested in, though he did slightly enjoy the banter and attention. Turbo grinned in knowing delight as he found an area near a big, open window, though it was sheathed by a thin, mesh, see-through curtain to cut out harsh sunlight. Both men sat down at respective cozy lounge chairs near each other, to which Turbo gently swung his left ankle over his right knee and relaxed. He cutely carried on, he lazily gestured to the bar area and gave Gunner a knowing smile, "They know not to challenge Berri. She's their future Queen."
"... Damn, I forgot about that," Gunner pressed, he narrowed his gaze and wondered if this was a slippery slope into a more nervous, tip-toe of a debate, "I-I'm glad I was here to take the attention off of you. I'm... Clearly single."
"Don't look so beat up about it," Turbo blurt a small laugh and gestured his hands a little towards Gunner, "Sure, it's a little awkward, our situation, but we can be men about this. You're single. That's great, especially in your new situation. I'd say just enjoy being with yourself for awhile."
"I guess you're right," Gunner mumbled with a shy smile, he dart his eyes about for a second, as if to scan the area and hope he could officially relax, and upon feeling successful upon his findings, he sagged in his chair a little further and cleared his throat, "Kinda hard to sit with your exgirlfriend's current future husband, but... I guess this would've been worlds harder had I not been in this clearer headspace."
"Mr. Black," Bug chimed cutely as he handed Turbo his hot drink, to which Turbo stiffened and looked as if he was going to stand, though softened and kindly accepted the drink from Bug.
"Aw, Bug, I could've come and gotten it, that was nice of you," Turbo mumbled cutely as Bug kindly ushered Gunner his drink, the clack of his bare, padded paws and claws tapped against the glossy tile underneath.
"Annnd, Mr. Ko," Bug continued sweetly, he softened and did what he could not to eye his bar back full of whispering, giggling girls, "Surely you're not up for it, but in any chance you're ready or willing, that napkin has something important written on it."
Gunner raised his eyebrows in prickled nervousness, though as he unravelled the dainty, folded napkin that Bug handed off, with Gunner's drink, he felt his face get hot at the stark image that hit him head on; a phone number. Gunner huffed a shaky chuckle, peered back to Bug's eyes and lofted his gaze across the cafe; Taya had cutely given Gunner her phone number, a rather brave and assertive move that Gunner felt a roll of shock over. Somehow, the prospect of cutely being match-made by trustworthy individuals made this whole rollercoaster a little easier to endure, and for true safe keeping, Gunner bobbed a shy nod and securely put the folded napkin into his pocket.
"That's very kind," Gunner assured with a small nod, he peaked a bashful smile and looked down to his cup, "And very brave."
"I figured Turbo would probably play wingman eventually, I wanted to beat him to it," Bug sneered, he gingerly shoved his little knuckles into Turbo's stronger upper arm and gave him a brotherly nudge, in which Turbo wrinkled his nose amidst a mean smile and playfully swat his hand away; both boys erupted with laughter as Bug finally skipped away, so to happily go back to work.
"Well... I WAS going to ask you how you have been feeling, with your coding, but it looks like you won't have it for much longer," Turbo quietly rushed into the lip of his drink, he took a hearty swig as him and Gunner filled their space with warm laughter.
"That's really kind," Gunner smiled, he bravely peered back to the bar area, where Taya nonchalantly worked; a beautiful, dainty little creature with fair, peachy skin and lithe, pointy elf-like ears. With straight jet-black hair she tenderly tucked behind her ear, she continued to work as Gunner finally dragged his eyes away and peered his now dewy gaze into Turbo's, "It's been... Worlds difference. It's kind of sucky to think about, but... I almost forgot who I was. That reset changed my life."
"Okay, so what have we learned?" Turbo grumbled, his creepy, golden eyes pierced Gunner's in cheeky authority, to which Gunner heaved a hot sigh and looked out the gape of the massive window they sat near.
"No more code blocking," Gunner mumbled shyly, Turbo waggled his finger.
"You either swap or you don't, I hate how code blocking turned into a norm and now is a fad that won't die out," Turbo stated quietly, he continued to enjoy his hot drink, "It's not a code swap that'll drive you crazy. It's code blocking. I've witnessed it first hand."
"Not you," Gunner narrowed his gaze, as if to wonder if he had his facts right; Turbo lulled his eyes closed and shook his head.
"Remember, I told you about Theo? Also, my big brother," Turbo explained, Gunner bobbed a nod and felt another small sting of remembrance; that Tatum and Theo were now officially swap mates, "Just... Keep your coding to yourself, dude. Sure, maybe date around and have fun, but... Reversing code blocks, over and over, isn't good for your coding either. I don't want to see you on our doorstep a pixely wreck."
"Understood," Gunner eased with a small nod, though much to Turbo's further delight, he kept seeing Gunner do whatever he could to steal little glances towards the bar area, "I'm... I'm glad all of this happened. Sure, it sucked for my reputation, and, I nearly lost Berri in the mess, but... I'm happy we can move forward, from here."
"Me too," Turbo nodded, he sighed and aimlessly looked off before he narrowed his inquisitive gaze and gave Gunner a look of soft understanding. He was well aware Gunner had far more experience, when it came to touring and concerts, he furrowed his brow and wondered if striking the flint would be wise, here, "Gunner, I know you have a lot of information to give, in terms of stage life, more than we can even dream of getting through. That band really needs you and your expertise."
"I can't go back on stage anymore, Turbo, I just can't," Gunner drummed in apologetic sorrow, he shook his head and frowned to his feet as he sagged a little more comfortably in his chair, "It's... A passion of mine, I love to sing and be involved with my fans, but, damn. I mean, I didn't realize how much turmoil my mental health was in. I'm so much happier being separated from all of that."
"I respect that," Turbo mumbled, he, too, aimlessly looked off before gathering the courage to really show Gunner vulnerability, like what Gunner had done a handful of days prior in his code room, "What if I were to offer you a job?"
"... A job?" Gunner slowly pressed in nervous disbelief, he shook his head and eased an incredulous smile, "I don't need the money, Turbo, I-I just..."
"It's not about the money, it's about the obligation," Turbo instructed gently as Gunner honed tight to his words, "What if I hire you to work above Bedgy? I guess she's been itching to offload some of the band's responsibilities, she's really struggling on her own."
"... You want ME to be in charge of Archived Chaos? Behind the scenes?" Gunner wondered in raw, humbled disbelief, the dewy look of warm, curious innocence on his face was enough to prove to Turbo that he was up for the task.
"We'd have to have a few rounds of mediation between you, Theo, Wren, Tatum and Bedgy, but... I looked into hiring someone to come help us out, and..." Turbo shrugged, beamed Gunner a warm, defeated smile and shook his head in further conclusion, "There's really no one that would know exactly the ins and outs, like you do."
"You don't think that'd be awkward? What would Berri think?" Gunner worried, Turbo huffed a small scoff of a chuckle and adjusted himself in his seat.
"I could lie to you and just explain to you how the inner workings of a code swap works, and keeping ideas and secrets from your swap mate is almost impossible," Turbo droned, making clear that said idea would clearly have been in Berri's code stream upon a swap, though he sagged his shoulders and continued to sap his and Gunner's bubble with quiet warmth, "Or, I could tell you the truth. This was Berri's idea."
Gunner raised his eyebrows in poised, shocked surprise and scoffed a noise of elated confusion. He fingered the rim of his coffee lid and peered down to it in aimless thought, he wondered just what grand kind of a universe he was sat in, the prospect of being able to redo everything he had been itching to do, to just take a back seat from the stage and conduct the inner workings with a brand new set of eyes, he smiled and finally gave Turbo his patient, floored, honey warmth of eye contact.
"I'd be honored," Gunner mumbled, he raised his eyebrows in now exasperated joy and shrugged, "Hey, I'm exhausted, but... If we all come together and build a game plan, let bygones be bygones, and really flesh this all out together, I think... I think it could really be beautiful."
"You understand this comes with me as ring leader, and any bullshit I sniff out will result in me potentially getting in your face again, right?" Turbo mumbled, and although his tone was playful, Gunner was well aware that this time, Turbo meant business.
"I understand, you don't want any of my excuses, but... You know what I've been through," Gunner nodded in humbled softness, he looked down and to the side, a small, cheeky smile sprawled his face, "I guess I can really test my skills as a team builder. Looking back, I... Guess I really did do eveyrthing I could to encroach on Bedgy's job, didn't I."
"I've heard stories, you liked to take the reigns and further stress yourself out," Turbo mumbled with a laugh, to which Gunner joined and took a swig of his drink, "Methinks you'd be happier just slinking in to the background and making sure things run smoothly. We'll handle the music."
"You really think Tatum, Wren and Theo will go for something like this?" Gunner worried, to which Turbo heaved a long sigh and readied his response as Gunner nervously carried on, "Surely they'll be entirely opposed."
"Well... When I'm King, Wren will be at my right hand. It's literally his job to hear me out and allow for healthy discussion," Turbo explained, he grit his teeth and shrugged in nervousness, "Theo, equally as important to me, in my reign, would be easier to convince, but he's now got Tatum's bold, stubborn coding in him. I'm sure I could sit them down and at least attempt, I can see them coming around. I can't promise it'll be immediate, but..."
"I'm on board, if they are," Gunner eased a nod, he heaved a shaky sigh and looked down, as if to promise he could potentially become emotional here, though he did a fantastic job at stuffing it, "All I want is for bygones to be bygones. I just want to move forward, and to still be apart of something great. What we had was beautiful, and it could be so much bigger than what it is now."
"It will be," Turbo nodded in soft hope, he gave Gunner a cheeky side-eye and adjusted his sitting position a little, "Here's what I'll do... I'll reach out to Theo, Tatum and Wren and see what they have to say. I'll then get in contact with you, and see what we can do, moving forward."
Gunner bobbed a soft nod, though as Turbo gingerly outreached his hand for a handshake, Gunner peered down to his hand in whole surprise and dragged his curious eyes tight to Turbo's warm, glowing orbs.
"Deal?" Turbo wondered cutely, to which Gunner heaved a sigh of delighted relief and confidently shook Turbo's hand.
"Deal."
Songbird : Hey man, y'got a minute to chat in private?
Wren inhaled a shaky breath and hovered his thumbs over his and Turbo's text conversation. Dressed in a soft kurta-like button down, rolled to the elbows and grey in patchy, worn warmth, alongside his lazy black jeans and bare feet, he hung in his, Berri's and Theo's kitchen in quiet solitude. He knew Berri had been in and out of Turbo's tower all day, and with Lash's typically lazy fashion of napping on and off, Wren bit his lip and prayed Turbo was either alone, or had the ability to get to a point of solitude; the burning topic at hand, in Wren's mind, began to almost hurt. Wren glossed his eyes across the dim common area of his and his cousin's tower, the warm little houselights in the living room twinkled with still warmth, though Wren jolted as his phone cutely buzzed Turbo's response.
Black : Yeah dude, Berri literally JUST left to get Sugarbucks. She may very well come back whilst we're talking, but you can come over quick if you need. Is that okay?
Songbird : Yeah that's fine, I just... Yeah, I'll be over in a sec.
Black : Door's open for yah.
Wren heaved a shaky sigh, bobbed a nod and braced himself. Something he did his best to not talk about, something he diligently did whatever he could to keep out of his thought stream, he heaved a shaky breath and pressed to the teleport pad and nook in their larger, dim kitchen. The pad warmly illuminated upon his bare feet approaching, a warm, crimson-orange of a glow, the perfect mixture of his and Throttle's coding, and with a confident press, he was whisked away to Turbo's foyer. Amidst the push into said dim foyer and rounded into Turbo's warm, lovely, brightly lit home, Wren curiously peered about and could sense life in the kitchen. With dinner likely come and gone, a pot full of delicious smelling leftover pasta remained with all burners off. Turbo diligently washed his, Berri's and Lash's dishes, and though Wren nervously dart his eyes about in search for any other shred of life forms, outside of Turbo, he was relieved both men were alone.
"Hey," Wren cooed gently, to which Turbo raised his eyebrows and cued to him with a smile.
"Wren, talk to me," Turbo assured with great warmth, an overflow of brotherly affirmation, as if to remind Wren that he was immediately due to listening to just what Wren had to say, to remind him that Berri would eventually welcome herself back to Turbo's loft, thus rendering their privacy moot.
"Hey, it's... Nothing urgent, I guess I just needed your advice," Wren mumbled softly, he was well aware Lash had escaped to his room for the night, though was entirely unsure just how sound proofed his room was, if it even was, "I... Know this question kind of defeats the purpose and would spoil the surprise, but... H-Has... Throttle mentioned, like... ANYTHING regarding our relationship?"
"What do you mean, is everything okay?" Turbo pressed nervously, he continued to wash the dishes in his deep, stainless steel sink, and although his methodical movements were strict and clear, he continuously would glance his undivided attention to Wren in a show of apprehension, "Please tell me you guys are okay. I haven't heard anything."
"Figures," Wren heaved a shaky sigh and nodded, and though he potentially began to look sad, a strange upsweep of hope came flooding his demeanor, "Alright, I guess... That means the ball's in my court."
"Wait, what's going on?" Turbo wondered with a curious little smile, to which Wren's face turned beet red.
"I... Well, I... Now that I'm here, I realize I guess there are two motives to why I needed to talk to you," Wren's voice began to shake with the onslaught of sudden nervousness, his hands gently trembled as he looked down to his twiddling fingers, and though he narrowed his gaze and opened his mouth to further press on, Turbo softly set the wet, soapy dishes down, shut off the water and dried his hands off.
"I'm listening," Turbo assured warmly, and though Wren knew it wasn't intentional, the sheer amount of authority that eked off of Turbo's masculine body was enough to send Wren running away with his tail between his legs; still, he bashfully persisted.
"I'm... I'm tired of waiting, my situation is different than what I originally expected to become of me," Wren huffed a shaky chuckle and smiled into Turbo's eyes, he gestured his arms out and shrugged them to his sides in a swing of cute defeat, and as he gave Turbo a stiff little smile to compliment further show of defeat, he narrowed his gaze and tried to hold back a grin, "I can't wait any longer for that man to ask me to marry him, and... I'm wondering if I should just up and do it myself."
"Do it," Turbo shrugged with a cute, excited little smile, he gave Wren the full entire swing of his brotherly blessing in one single quip, so much so that Wren nearly physically recoiled, "If you came up here for my blessing, I'm honored. It's yours, dude, you have made that man happier than I have ever seen in my entire life. And this is including our Turbotime days."
"I just..." Wren staggered amidst the mess of their smiles, he twiddled his fingers and shyly looked down, and although the sweetness of this topic began to dip into something a bit more fragile, he was thrilled Turbo began to carefully close their gap, an impending glom of brotherly hugs Wren was aware Turbo was not shy to deploy on shivering souls.
"You just are worried Throttle's lost interest and, because he hasn't proposed to you, it means he's not on the same page as you," Turbo rattled off in nonchalance, proving to Wren that this notion was false. Turbo smiled into Wren's eyes and shook his head, "Wren, that guy has asked me almost five times now, over the course of your's and his relationship, just how to approach you on the topic of taken last names. Trust me... It's on his radar."
Wren heaved a shaky sigh of relief and bobbed a nod, and though this was a nugget of good news he wanted, Wren still looked lost and uncertain.
"It's none of my business, or my choice, but I keep telling him that Rancis will likely fight to keep Fluggerbutter SOMEWHERE in your guys' names," Turbo quietly stated with a chuckle, to which Wren grinned and began to look a little hopeful.
"Yeah, I... I always figured we'd just take each other's last names, hyphenate it," Wren shrugged, "I'm sure he'd want to give me the Black family name, but... I want to honor my father."
"And, whatever kids you two have," Turbo mulled, he shrugged and looked off with a kind smile, and although it wasn't something of a topic, Turbo had to second guess this with the way Wren's face continued to sag in and out of a hard blush. Turbo choked a small laugh and finally reached his hand out to Wren's broad shoulder, and with a successful tug, he pulled Wren into a warm embrace, "Don't fret, you know how slow moving and cautious Throttle is. Were you wanting him to propose to you? You don't want to be the one to do it?"
"I mean I do, and I will," Wren shrugged, he lulled his eyes closed and was grateful for the bookmarked brotherly embrace, he heaved a shaky sigh on Turbo's chest and frowned, "I just... Want to do right, by you guys. I care... I'm just tired of waiting, I want to make it official, follow in your's and Berri's footsteps."
"Code swaps are more official than anything, but... I understand the sentiment," Turbo's deep voice grumbled as he pulled away, though he kept his hands to Wren's broad shoulders and kindly squeezed with the deliverance of his warm, accepting eye contact, "It's different when you both have rings and official titles... I wouldn't worry, Wren. You'd make a fine husband, for Throttle. And the Black family would be honored to have you, you know that."
"I'D be honored," Wren huffed with a shaky, humbled chuckle, he bobbed a nod and let his eyes aimlessly gloss Turbo's broad chest; he knew he was running out of time to get a private conversation in with Turbo, though he cutely pressed on, "Y'think if... I get Throttle a taffy ring, you can help me with the proposal?"
"You just say the word," Turbo smiled, he gave Wren's shoulders one last squeeze and was relieved to get a genuine smile, and a chuckle, out of Wren's figure, "You just keep me posted. I'll help in any way that I can... Wren Eddie Fluggerbutter-Black."
"What a mouth full," Wren blurt in innocent annoyance, though he choked another hearty laugh and beamed Turbo a boyish, scheming smile.
"No, no dirty jokes, for User's sake, git," Turbo grunted as he grabbed his damp dish towel and began to swat Wren's sides with it, though he firmly began to coil said rag and flick it towards Wren's thighs, like a whip, thus causing Wren's laughing figure to urgently scramble out of Turbo's home, "I said, git!"
"I'm going I'm going," Wren blurt in grinning annoyance, though once he was in the gape of Turbo's lovely foyer, and out of sight, his cute, boyish voice called back to Turbo in shy, chuckling warmth, "Love you, man."
"Love you," Turbo grunted in smiling irritation, though as he heaved a small, satisfied sigh and began to head back to the sink, so to finish the dishes, his phone buzzed with a display of a message; figuring it was Berri, down at Sugarbucks, he furrowed his eyebrows in hot surprise and felt his pupils tighten with a sense of discovered nervousness.
Tee : Hey, man... I think Wren went to sleep for the night, is there any chance I can come over and chat with you for a second? It's urgent.
Turbo held his breath and felt as if the universe was now playing a game of charades with him, though before he replied to Throttle, he fingered his lip in terrified delight and had to laugh; he eyed his home in sneaky suspicion and wondered if the walls had ears, somehow the stars began to align in Throttle's and Wren's favor without Turbo having to do much of anything. Figuring he was honored to be a safe landing spot for his brothers, he kindly welcomed Throttle to join him, as if he was now taking rounds on confused souls who could use the foundation of Turbo's glowing example, something he was certain would never be something he'd be blessed to utilize.
A/N : Hey guys, sorry for the shorter chapter this week. Midterms hit and I'm drowning in school work. On top of it, I'm having heart issues. It's pretty scary, but I'm seeing a doctor and I'll be alright. Please send love, I miss you guys :(
