A/N: Look guys! This one took me under a month! And that's with a chapter of Runaway in between too! I'm crazy busy with writing right now, and I'm loving it! :D
Thanks, as always for reading, and a big thank you to my reviewers, it means a lot, it really does.
AshtrayTragedyM.D - Thank you, just, thank you so much for that review. Really, I'm honestly so glad to hear that you think that about this story. I hope you enjoy this chapter too.
Gasoline Diamond - Yeah. I think she definately gets it, you'll see more of that this chapter, that much I can tell you. And as for Jimmy... Well. Somethings coming his way, for sure!
StellarZombie - Jimmy is very creepy, which you'll be discovering more of over the next couple of chapters... And as for Poison, well, he was never really going to leave the Killjoys behind, was he? Ghoul is absolutely lovely, and I mean it when I say he's one of my favourites to write, I'm afraid he has another hard time of it this chapter. And as for the whole Poison/Ghoul thing... That might be finally being addressed this chapter.
Haha, thank you! Glad you liked it!
Right, well, last couple of chapters now, but believe me the best (or worst) is yet to come!
I also just want to take this time to say a huge thank you to Jo (Jomel10) for all the help this chapter, in particular, and this fic as a whole. Without you I'm pretty sure this would never have made it online. We're nearly at that chapter now!
The title of this chapter comes, of course, from the beautiful Danger Days track "The Kids From Yesterday"
Disclaimer: Still don't owe any of the boys, obviously
Chapter 29 - The Last Of All The Rides We'll Take
The car was silent, and just a little bit awkward.
Alright. A lot.
Party Poison and Rave had barely exchanged a word since they'd got in the car. Only Poison had said, quietly, "Home?" And Rave had nodded.
Once or twice Poison had reached for the radio, but thought better of it.
It seemed like a very long time before the silence was broken again.
"Poison. Why… Why couldn't you say my name back there?" Party Poison sighed, he'd hoped they weren't going to have to have this conversation, though, in reality he'd known there was no escaping it. "Rave… I just… It… It didn't feel right. It's like… Do you remember what I said, back when we were first together? About, um, 'love'." Rave nodded, she remembered.
They were sat outside, but still in the shade. Waiting for the other three to get back. They had some news.
Rave was sat, curled up comfortably on Party Poison's lap, her arms loosely linked behind his neck. He kissed her, lightly, the smile obvious on his lips.
"Can I tell you something?" Poison asked her, his voice gentle and quiet. Rave nodded, he could tell her anything he liked. "I… Hope you won't think this is strange, or, take it the wrong way but… You know what I said earlier?" Rave frowned a little, a lot of things had been said earlier. "I mean, when I told you… I love you." Rave blushed, smiled. "Yeah. I kinda remember that." She said. "Well… I… Just, don't be surprised if I don't say it everyday. I… It's kinda a big deal for me to say it at all. And, um. I don't like just throwing that kind of thing around." Rave thought about this, then nodded. "I understand. You only ever say things you mean."
"I don't mean that when I don't say it that I don't, you know, feel it just-""Poison. Relax. I get it." She kissed him again. "I feel even luckier now." Rave leant to kiss him once more, but with a gentle push, Poison stopped her.
"They're here." he whispered. Rave twisted around, and saw the car, having just come to a stop. She saw the front passenger door open first, saw Fun Ghoul get out. He caught sight of Rave and Party Poison, stared at them, wide eyed and hopeful. Poison nodded, and Ghoul beamed, nodding back, knowingly.
"You only ever say things you mean." Rave said. "That's why you couldn't use my name." Party Poison didn't say anything, he didn't need to. What could he say anyway?
"But with him… You mean it." Rave continued. Poison wished she'd stop. This drive was turning out to be awkward enough as it was, why was she making it more difficult? He didn't want another argument. So instead he continued to keep quiet.
"Do you love him?" Now Rave posed an actual question, Poison had no choice. "Do I- Fuck. Rave. I don't know. I-""So you haven't said that to him then?" At least that question was easy. "No. I have never told him I love him.""But you do use his real name.""Only when- Yes. Look. Can we stop using 'he' 'him' 'his', okay? Fun Ghoul. Alright? Ghoul. Stop trying to make him some anonymous person. He's been you're best friend for years, he doesn't deserve that."
"He does when he's been screwing with my boyfriend." Rave winced as soon as the words were out of her mouth. "I'm sorry!" She apologised before Poison could say anything. "I'm- I didn't mean that. You're right, Ghoul deserves better. I wasn't not saying his name on purpose it's just… Wow. This whole name thing has gotten kinda complicated, hasn't it?" "Most of the time, I call him Ghoul, just like everyone else, and he calls me Poison. That's the way it stands. Not so complicated." "It is complicated, Poison!" Rave protested. "You and Ghoul made it complicated. And, now, I don't mind complications, I just want to know where I stand."
Party Poison resumed his stance of not talking. And the silence prevailed again. Though not for as long this time. Again, Rave was the one to break it.
"Poison. We're… We're over. Aren't we?"
Poison looked at her, briefly, eyes back on the road. "Rave I-""Poison. Stop it. I know what you're doing, it's what you always do, protecting. But this is hurting a hell of a lot more than you think it is. So here, here's your permission. Stop protecting me from this Poison."
Party Poison stopped the car.
He continued staring out the window for what seemed a very long time. Then, finally, turned to face Rave.
"I… Fuck. This does hurt, doesn't it?" Rave gave him a small smile. "It does. But I think we're finally on the same page, here, aren't we? One of us was always further ahead."
"Yeah. And you beat me to the ending." Poison said, with a small laugh. "This better not be the ending." Rave said, surprising Poison. "I'd like to think of it as more of… A new chapter." Rave continued, still with that smile. "So. You're staying with us? With the Killjoys, I mean?"
Rave shrugged. "Well. Someone's gotta take care of you losers. Figure you lost boys still need a mother." Poison smiled, dipped his head slightly. "We'd like that." He paused, for a very long time before adding. "Wendy." He grinned. It wasn't her real name, but right then, the nickname Poison had come up for her years ago was more than good enough. "I love you too." She said.
###
Kobra Kid had gone in search of something to watch the disk on, leaving Fun Ghoul standing in the main room, feeling awkward, jumpy.
He was starting to wonder if this was such a good idea.
Something told him, it really wasn't.
Finally Kid came back, carrying something flat and rectangular under his arm.
"Figure this is what Saint used to watch the recordings on, I found it set up in the corner of the supply closet.""When did he-?" Ghoul started to ask. "Fuck knows." Kobra Kid interrupted. I don't care. I just care about getting it set up here and running." Kobra Kid set the thing down on one of the tables, it was now obvious it was an old portable DVD player, something they'd accumulated along the way, but forgotten about.
Saint Jimmy had obviously found it and used it already.
Fun Ghoul felt slightly sick at the thought of Saint Jimmy sitting in that closet, probably with Poison only just outside, all the while watching him suffer on screen.
"Kid…" Ghoul said, carefully, knowing already what the answer was going to be. "I was kinda thinking… Maybe we should leave this until later. I mean, shouldn't we be out there, looking for Poison? And Rave? I mean, we don't know where she is either.""Rave's smart, she knows how to look after herself. And how the fuck are we supposed to find Poison when he has the car?"
"So we don't even try? What if he's in trouble?" At that Kobra Kid stopped, turned to face Fun Ghoul and said, calmly. "Have you noticed something, Ghoul? Poison's always in trouble lately. Now, I know, we all signed up to having to take a certain amount of shit when we decided to go against BL/I, and Poison has always taken the worst of it, but lately… Now, I know, I know this crap started long before Better Living took him, I know this started with Saint Jimmy. But you know what? No one's fucking talking about that. So, I guess I'm not allowed understand what's going on there. But this" Kid held up the disk "this will at least help me understand what happened to him in that place. Maybe if I know… He'll actually let me help him. Maybe, if I know, I'll be able to stop him getting into any more trouble."
Fun Ghoul closed his eyes, bowed his head, a part of him ashamed for keeping the truth about Saint Jimmy from Kobra Kid. But… How could he tell him?
"I just… I just don't think this is going to be as easy as you think it is." Ghoul told him. He looked up then, found Kid staring right at him, unflinching, unmoving. "I love my brother, Ghoul, and I want to help him. If you don't want to watch. Fine. Just stop trying to stop me."
Then he turned around, inserting the disk into the drive. He sat down on the bench, right on the end of it.
He was oddly relieved when he heard Ghoul dragging a chair, setting it next to him, then sitting.
Honestly, Kid hadn't wanted to do this alone.
The screen fuzzed slowly into life.
The Better Living smiley came up in white on black.
Then the screen fuzzed again, and when the picture finally cleared Kobra Kid and Fun Ghoul were faced with the room they recognised. The camera focused straight ahead, at the frame.
It was silent.
Ghoul glanced beside him, to see Kid looking his way too. He looked about as nervous as Ghoul felt.
Then, sounds from the screen turned their attention back.
Sounds of scuffling, of feet skidding on over polished floors, of shouts.
A door banged open.
And that was the first time they heard him.
"Get the fuck off me! I swear I will-"
Both Kid and Ghoul, watching, flinched. They couldn't see him yet, he wasn't in this camera's range, but they knew he'd just been struck.
Then he came into view.
He was still struggling, still trying to get away. Two Dracs held him, dragging him to the frame, that Poison had yet to notice, and two Scarecrows were behind, batons in hand, ready to be used again.
Poison tried to twist his arm out from one of the Drac's grip, only to have it pulled tight, and one of the Scarecrows lash the baton out, down on his arm. Poison cried out that time, and it distracted him for long enough for the Dracs to manhandle him towards the frame. Pushing him back, then each taking an arm, stretching it out, snapping the restraints on his wrists.
Poison immediately tried the restraints, trying to wriggle his wrists out, pushing against them.
The Dracs stepped back, then walked out. The Scarecrows following.
Poison continued to struggle against the thick metal holding him back. Turning his head, franticly, staring at each wrist in turn, trying to figure out how they were fastened, how he could undo them. Then, he turned his attention to the rest of the room, taking in what little there was.
Then he looked up.
He spotted the camera's.
And he stopped struggling.
"Fuck." He breathed.
Watching him like this was bad enough, seeing him tied, unable to move. But at least he was still clothed, his hair still long and red. It'd actually shocked them both to see it again. They'd already become so used to the short, bleached hair.
Suddenly Ghoul ached to see that red again.
He was left like that, for a while. He didn't struggle anymore, just stared straight at the cameras.
Kid and Ghoul knew what he'd been doing. He'd been showing them he wasn't afraid of them. He had to prove he wasn't scared.
Party Poison turned his head in the direction of the door a second before it banged open again.
This time, there were more.
Kid and Ghoul watched as they cut away Poison's t-shirt, and Ghoul caught the flinch where the knife went into Poison's skin.
Others came in, carrying Poison's jacket, his gun, his mask. Displaying them with strange care.
The Scarecrow, the one who had been directing all the others, grabbed Poison's hair, demanding it had to go too.
They were slowly taking Poison apart, taking away everything that made him 'Party Poison'.
Soon, though, they knew, things would get worse, harder to watch.
Soon the company would stop tearing apart 'Party Poison', the Killjoy Leader.
And they'd start tearing into the man beneath that name.
They'd start to tear at Gerard Way.
##
Party Poison had started the car again, and, with the things that needed to be said finally said, the tension had finally lifted.
Rave was staring out of the window, wondering why she didn't feel like crying. She'd just lost the one man she'd felt had ever loved her.
But. Truthfully. She hadn't lost him at all.
He was still here, wasn't he? Yes, their relationship had changed, but he hadn't, not really. And that, she guessed, was why she was somehow able to take this so well.
An odd thought crossed her mind.
"Am I gonna sleep in Ghoul's bed now? I mean, will his bed become mine and he'll sleep with you? Or, will you go to his bed and I'll stay-""Jesus Christ Rave!" Poison exclaimed, sounding like he was trying not to choke, the car swerved slightly, but Poison quickly righted it again. "What?" Rave asked. "I'm just wondering, I mean-""I don't-" Poison stumbled over his words. "I don't know that yet Rave. I… Fuck. I haven't thought that far ahead." Then, giving her a quick sideways glance. "And… Are you sure you'd be okay with that? Me and Ghoul…" Rave shrugged. "I've seen you two share before, not like it's anything new, really.""It'd be different though, Rave. You know that. And… I don't want to make this harder on you."
Again, Rave shrugged, now unwilling to look up at Poison. "Well… You guys will probably… Be together now, right? So what's the point in me trying to avoid that?""I don't even know that." Poison admitted. "What?" Rave asked, almost laughing. "You're worried he won't want you? I don't think that's going to be a problem, Poison." Rave saw him try to hide a smile, but she saw it, she caught it. "We'll see." Poison said.
###
Kobra Kid already didn't like this, he didn't like seeing this, so plainly in front of him.
Yes, he'd wanted to know what had happened, but he'd wanted Poison to tell him, not to have it play out before his eyes.
But Poison wasn't talking, so this was his only choice.
Party Poison had been left in the room again, alone.
The door banged open, Poison opened his eyes.
Only two people came in this time. One Scarecrow.
And Korse.
"Hello Party Poison. It's truly an honour to meet you."
They both remembered Korse, not just from the previous times they'd met the Exterminator out in the zones, but specifically the last time they'd seen him. When he'd nearly taken Poison again.
They remembered the way he'd spoken to Poison, the way he'd taunted him.
Ghoul saw Kids hands gripping the table, fingers going white. It was then that he realised he'd clenched his hands so tight what little nails he had were digging into his palms.
"Of course… You're not quite Party Poison anymore, are you? This does leave me at a disadvantage, as I now have nothing to call you… Why don't you tell me your real name?"Fun Ghouls eyes went wide as he heard this. No. No. Oh God no.
Then he flinched as he saw the first blow land. He hadn't seen it coming, so it shocked him even more.
Then there was the next. And the next. And the next.
Party Poison closed his eyes, tight. He could deal with this. So long as it didn't get worse, he could deal with it.
Then he sensed Korse coming closer.
Kid forced himself to keep watching, though he couldn't stop himself flinching, even before anything happened, it was like he anticipated all of it before it happened, like he knew what Korse was going to do.
He stared up at the cameras with eyes that just wanted to close. But he couldn't. They wouldn't let him do it.
"Come on Party Poison, give it up… Scream."
He obeyed.
Ghoul closed his eyes, but he couldn't block the sound.
So many things, they'd done so many things to Poison, things Ghoul had never- He'd never wanted to think about.
So far though, there'd been no sign of the one thing he was, if possible, most scared of.
His thoughts kept going to the night they'd saved Poison.
To the thing no one but he had seen.
The belt. The jeans.
He prayed he'd been wrong.
He gasped for breath as he was finally given some sort of break. Korse was walking away, leaving him be for a while. But it wasn't a break at all, not really. Because it hurt. It all hurt. Just because there was nothing new, it didn't stop the pain that was already there. Bruises forming and tears in skin gently leaking blood. It felt like his head was pounding.
He wished he could hope for this to be it, for him to be left now.
He glanced at the cameras, knew this was only just beginning.
"I don't know how he…" Kid didn't realise he'd spoken the words out loud until Ghoul answered, "He's your brother, you know exactly how he managed to survive this."
Kid guessed that was true.
Korse was coming over again, nothing in hand this time, but the look on his face still terrified Poison.
He looked far too happy about something.
They both watched, thinking Korse was going back to the original tactics, simple beating, no equipment required. And anyway, it wouldn't take much to hurt Poison now, would it? Korse didn't have to try so hard right now.
Korse's hand didn't rise to strike him though.
It lowered.
Poison cringed, then closed his eyes tight once more, trying to shut it out.
Kid frowned, leaning forward slightly, trying to figure out what was going on.
Ghoul froze, he'd already figured it out, the realisation gripping him, holding him tight, forcing him to keep watching.
Oh God no…
Kobra Kid suddenly grabbed Ghoul's arm, eyes still locked on the screen, unable to fully process what he was seeing.
Kid sat up, hurriedly, his legs getting caught up, Ghoul having to get out of his chair and out of the way quickly as Kid backed away from the player and the images it was displaying.
Ghoul hit pause, wincing at the frame it froze on, quickly turning his back on it, going to Kobra Kid, who had staggered away, bent nearly double.
"Kid. Are you-""Holy- Holy shit. I- Fuck. I can't- Do you know how fucked up that is? What he- What they- Oh shit." He looked pale, ill. He was shaking. That much Ghoul could relate to, it'd started with just his hands, but now Ghoul was shaking all over.
But though he felt like he could be sick, Kobra Kid looked like he actually might.
"Kid. If you don't want to watch-""I told you to stop with that!" Kid snapped at him. "I have to know! I have to so I can help him. I- Oh shit…"
Then he fell to his knees, sobbing, unable to tolerate the pain he felt for his brother.
Ghoul was there, crouched beside him, hand on his back, and suddenly Kid grabbed him, pulled him close, needing the reassurance of someone else being there. "Holy shit Ghoul… They tore him apart." Ghoul nodded. "We knew it was bad… From the injuries, we knew-""We didn't know about that though!" Ghoul could say nothing to that.
They didn't pick themselves up for a while. Kobra Kid was crying too hard, and Fun Ghoul… He couldn't. He felt like something had been torn out of him, watching those things happen to someone he loved so much. Eventually, he was the one who spoke. "We can't tell him. We can't tell him we saw this, we can't tell him we know." Kobra Kid shook his head, violently. He knew just as well as Fun Ghoul did what it would do to Poison if he discovered they not only knew what'd happened, but that they'd seen it too.
It would destroy him more than even what Better Living had done.
Eventually they picked themselves up, practically leaning on each other.
They watched the rest of the footage in silence, never quite getting over the sick feeling they felt, but never actually giving in to it either.
Ghoul was the one to offer his hand, and Kid took it, once again needing to know someone was there. Neither of them cared that the other squeezed a little tight. To be honest, a little pain was what they needed right now, something to keep them in the here and now, to remind them that what they were seeing was the past.
When the screen finally, suddenly went blank they both felt utterly drained, emotionally. They turned to look at each other, seeing tears streaming down each others faces.
"He can't know." Ghoul repeated. And Kobra Kid nodded, once. Then he practically ripped the disk out of the machine, and without hesitation, threw it to the ground.
He got to his feet again, and Ghoul watched as Kid took all the pain and anguish he felt over what he'd just seen out on the very thing that'd shown it to him, crushing the disk beneath his feet, until the shards were tiny. It reminded Ghoul of when Poison had destroyed Jimmy's drugs, in a vaguely similar way.
All he could do was watch, that empty feeling had only gotten worse.
He had a feeling the only way he was going to feel better, whole again, was seeing Poison again.
Fuck. He needed him badly.
When he was done, Kobra Kid just stared at the floor, at the remains of the thing that'd shown him the horrors his brother had faced.
He wished he could do the same thing to those who had inflicted that pain on Poison. He wished he could break them and crush them until they-
But he couldn't do that. Not only was that far too risky, he'd be putting everyone else in danger if he tried, but they were too far away.
He needed someone he could take this anger and despair he was feeling out on now.
As he continued to stare down at the broken pieces, the answer became obvious.
Kobra Kid had already started walking when he heard Fun Ghoul call out to him, "Kid. Where're you going?" Kobra Kid didn't answer, knowing Ghoul would only try to talk him out of it if he told him.
If he told him he was going to look for Saint Jimmy.
###
Jimmy had to admit, he hadn't thought they'd actually watch it. But, when he'd snuck in the back into the bedroom, he could see in the next room that was exactly what they'd done.
It was fun watching them squirm.
Jimmy had half thought about getting that disk back, about keeping it to use again later… It could be a nice little bargaining tool, he thought.
But then he'd seen the thing reduced to nothing by the furious and devastated Kobra Kid and well… That was the end of that plan.
Of course, by watching that, they'd played into another little plan of Jimmy's. Now he could use that against them.
And. Oh. Was that Kobra Kid coming looking for him?
Now. He'd kinda wanted to wait to play with the older brother… But. He supposed he could kill time this way too.
Kobra Kid marched into the bedroom, first place he looked, and found Saint Jimmy, perched on the end of his bed.
It was like he'd been waiting for Kid to find him.
"Hey Kiddie." Saint Jimmy sang. "Enjoy the show?" Kobra Kid slammed the door shut behind him, he didn't want Ghoul, or Jet coming this way and trying to stop him from what he was going to do. "Sick bastard." He snarled at Jimmy.
Jimmy chuckled. "Oh dear. You seem to be confused, I wasn't the ones doing those things to dear brother." He paused. "Not that I'm saying it didn't look like fun." He said, with a nasty gleam in his eyes.
Kid shook his head, furiously. "You might not have done it, Saint. But you watched it, you watched it and you fucking enjoyed it didn't you? You sick-""I'll stop you there, Kiddie. Before you repeat yourself." Saint Jimmy cut him off, standing now, walking slowly forward.
"Yes. I watched it, but so did you. I didn't force you to watch it, dear, you made that decision yourself. So, this gets me wondering… Was there maybe, maybe a teeny tiny part of you that wanted to watch it? Perhaps a little part of you that… Enjoyed it too?"
Kobra Kid's eyes went wide, he felt his skin get hot. He hadn't thought he could get angrier, but it turned out he could. It was white hot now. "You're- You're fucking sick! How could I-? How could I ever fucking enjoy that? What the fuck is wrong with you?" Saint Jimmy laughed, again, and Kobra Kid knew he was enjoying this, too, getting a kick out of the reaction he was getting. Well, Kid couldn't help that, he wasn't going to just let this slide, just let him say those things. "Well, I don't know, Kiddie. Perhaps you liked seeing him brought down a peg or two, I mean, being the younger brother…I'm sure it can't be easy, always being in his shadow, especially now you're all out here. I bet sometimes you think you'd make the better leader, huh? But, no, that's not the way of it, is it? He's older, so he's in charge, right? Did anyone even get a say in it, I wonder, or did he just decide that?" Kobra Kid shook his head, this was all wrong, Saint Jimmy was twisting it, twisting everything.
Like he always does.
"No. NO! I have never been in his shadow, I have never felt like- He's always looked after me, always looked out for me, and I do the same for him! I never begrudged him any of it. And he'd step down in a heartbeat if I asked, but I know, we all know he's the best for us."
Saint Jimmy just smiled. "Okay. So you didn't enjoy it in that way…" He trailed off, the suggestion clear. "Don't be disgusting, Saint. I swear if you even suggest-""Fine, fine." Saint Jimmy said, waving his hand in the air, brushing the matter away. "I hear you loud and clear. But it makes you wonder about your comrade, doesn't it? I wonder how he felt… Especially… A certain something that you couldn't quite handle. Ghoul was still watching, wasn't he? I wonder-""Stop it! Stop trying to make out any of us are as sick and fucking twisted as you, Saint! Ghoul fucking loves my brother and he hated what we saw as much as I did!" Kobra Kid paused then, jolted slightly by the words that'd left his mouth.
Ghoul… Loves Poison…
It was only now, only when he said it he realised how true it was.
"That's cute." Saint Jimmy said, like he thought very little of it. "But I bet there was still a little part of him that got excited when he saw Cherry Top's pants on the floor."Kobra Kid didn't rise to it that time, he just glared at Jimmy. "Just because you did, Saint, doesn't mean anyone else got any kind of pleasure from that." Saint Jimmy raised an eyebrow. "Oh. So you want my thoughts on it? Well, I have to say, I expected better from 'Better' Living. I expected them to go all the way, unlike what they did… Kinda tame, really. But. I'm sure Korse had fun, so good for him."
At that, Kobra Kid finally snapped, his gun was out, pointed straight at Saint Jimmy. "Tame?! Tame! They-""Humiliated him, for sure, yes. And I'm certain that was the idea, but really, I expected a little… More." Then, with a bored glance at the gun, Saint Jimmy rolled his eyes. "And do put that thing away Kiddie, now, really, that's just boring of you."
Kobra Kid shook his head. "No. No I won't. Not until you take that back, or…" Something came to mind then, something that made Kobra Kid feel sick, but maybe this was the only way he'd finally know.
Did he really want to know? "Or. Until you tell me what it is you did. I know you did something to my brother, Saint. But no one's fucking telling me. So. You tell me. And I'll put the gun down."
Saint Jimmy cocked his head slightly, studying him. "An interesting proposal, Kiddie." He said.
Then, before Kobra Kid could react, Saint Jimmy was across the room, he'd grabbed the hand that held the gun, twisting it out of Kobra Kid's grip, making him drop it. Then he slammed Kid against the wall. "But how about you drop the gun now. And I'll treat you to the knowledge of what I did to Cherry Top anyway."
Kobra Kid struggled, but he remembered, from last time, how difficult it was to shift Saint Jimmy.
It didn't stop him from trying.
Saint Jimmy leant it close, whispering in Kobra Kid's ear.
"You want to hear it, do you, Kiddie? I can tell you all about it."
###
As they pulled up to the safe house, home, the first person Party Poison and Rave saw was Jet Star.
He'd been waiting for them outside.
They got out of the car, smiling easily at one another, and walked towards their fellow Killjoy.
Jet Star grinned. "About time." He said. "You were both worrying the hell out of us.""We're okay." Poison said, with a quick glance at Rave, who nodded. "Well. That's good to hear. The others are inside. I think… Um. I think they might want to talk to you, Poison." Party Poison didn't catch the worried tone to Jet Star's voice, he just nodded, and said, "Yeah, I kinda need to talk to them too."
Rave held out her hand to Poison, who took it, glad for the little bit of reassurance she was offering.
He guessed she knew he was kinda nervous about this.
Fun Ghoul looked up as he heard the door open, got to his feet when he saw who it was.
He had to admit, his heart sank slightly when he saw Poison and Rave's hands linked. But then, there was a part of him that'd never expected to be the one Poison chose.
Ghoul looked up at Poison, smiled, nodded, telling him he understood. Poison smiled back, but shook his head.
Then he let go of Rave's hand, stayed behind as Poison walked towards Ghoul, who watched, not quite understanding.
Party Poison came right up close, then, almost shyly looked away. He took Ghoul's hand then, and leant in to whisper in his ear.
"I think… We need to talk."
Fun Ghoul's heart leapt. He didn't- Surely he couldn't mean-
He stared up at Poison, trying to understand, but Poison was just smiling.
Were they… Was this real?
Then Poison leant in again. This time to kiss Ghoul, gently, almost like he was being cautious.
And then Ghoul realised yes, this was very real.
He kissed back, perhaps with a little more force than needed, but he… God he was just so happy and relieved.
Then Party Poison broke away, laughing, lightly. "I guess we don't need to talk after all." He said. Then, "But we will. We… I think we'd better do it right this time, don't you?" Fun Ghoul nodded, he didn't care. He didn't care if Poison wanted to talk about this all night, just so long as he now knew this… They were happening.
Finally.
"But. Um. First." Poison said, a little awkwardly now, backing away slightly. "I need to see Kid, just gotta let him know I'm okay, and…"Fun Ghoul nodded. "I'm not sure where he is though, we were in here, um-" Ghoul didn't know what to say, what to tell him. He couldn't say what they'd been doing while Poison was gone, not after they'd sworn not to tell him. In the end Ghoul decided just not to mention anything at all. "But, uh, anyway, he disappeared." Poison nodded, "I'll find him." He slowly, obviously reluctantly, let go of Ghoul's hand, went off to find Kobra Kid.
And then Ghoul was left, suddenly remembering there was someone else in the room. The second he saw Rave, he felt guilty.
"Rave. I'm sorry. I-"Rave held up a hand, halting him. "Don't. What do you think me and Poison did for that long drive back here? We talked. We talked it all over and… I'm okay. And… I see you're happy. And he's happy so… I'm okay."
Fun Ghoul didn't quite believe her, but at the same time he knew he'd get no other answer from her, so he just nodded.
"Are… Are we okay?" Ghoul asked, tentatively. Rave nodded. "Yeah. We are."Fun Ghoul smiled, and opened his arms to her. "Then get over here, I was fucking worried about you." Rave laughed, then did as she was told, happy to be back in the embrace of her best friend.
###
Party Poison guessed he probably should've looked inside first, but, it was Kobra Kid, whenever he was anxious, or nervous it was more likely you'd find him outside, shooting stuff.
After he didn't find his brother there, Poison went back to looking inside.
He found it strange to see the bedroom door closed, it was never closed during the day, unless someone was in there.
Oh. It was so fucking obvious, wasn't it?
Party Poison pushed the door open.
His blood froze when he took in the scene inside.
