A Whole New Overworld

by Waterfallscomingoutyourmouth

Summary:

After the events of the Minecraft Movie, Steve needs a place to stay. Garrett offers that Steve moves in with him, and OBVIOUSLY Steve says yes.
In other words, this is what I think happened after the movie between the Portal scene and the scene where Garrett and Steve look like a married couple.
Also this is HEAVILY influenced by my own experiences with having a crush on one of my closest friends and eventually dating her.

Notes:

Heh… WHY IS THERE LOW-KEY NO FANFICS ON STEVE AND GARRETT?! THEY LITERALLY 69’D IN THE MOVIE
Anyways, this one of my first pieces of fanfic, so it might be literal trash. I just was disappointed with the lack of yaoi content I was seeing and NEEDED a fic of these two losers. ALSO I genuinely lived through a real life slowburn with my girlfriend, so that’s where a lot of this comes from actually.

Chapter 1: We’ve Got The Vision, Now Let’s Have Some Fun

Summary:

After coming back to the Overworld with Garrett, Dawn, Henry, and Dennis, Steve needs a place to stay, turns out there was another Overworld for him here; Game Overworld.

Notes:

I’ve decided that all the chapters are either song titles or song lyrics, so this chapter is obviously “Time to Pretend” by MGMT. Also, this is a fairly long chapter by my standards. Unfortunately. There will be LOTS of chapters though, SO STAY TUNED!

The swirling vortex of the portal should’ve fazed Garrett more, but he felt numb. After decades of feeling useless, he’d finally found someone who made him feel whole again. Yes, Dawn, Natalie, and Hank were there with him, but that was different. Those were friends, Steve… Well, “more than friends” was far too cliche a term, and it wasn’t quite accurate. They were closer than that. Far closer.
As he stepped through the glowing doorway, he felt those brown eyes burning holes through his pink-tasseled jacket.
Whisked through the portal, his thoughts of Steve vanished momentarily, overridden by the chaos of the travel. It felt almost like… Flying.
He smirked, expression dissolving into a sad smile. How he wished he could relive that moment, although, preferably not flying through the sky with Malgosha’s army chasing them, and… less clothes.

As he hit the hard ground of the mineshaft, all of those sensual thoughts still lingering in his mind, he felt a familiar figure land on top of him.
Instantly winded, Garrett began coughing, rolling out from underneath him and turning to face “Steve?”. He questioned between coughs. “Gar Gar!” Steve smiled, pulling him into an embrace. Dennis barked loudly, bounding towards them and tucking his wet nose into the -small- gap between them. Steve laughed. Garrett beamed. Steve’s laugh felt like a balm to something broken deep within him. The others scrambled to their feet, joining in on the hug.
Usually, Garrett hated hugs, ESPECIALLY unwarranted ones, but this was an exception. After a moment, they all let go and stood up, but Steve and Garrett’s touch lingered, both of their arms around each other for a second too long. Dawn covered her face with her hand, a subtle way of hiding her knowing smirk.
Natalie broke the silence: “We should probably get going, Henry’s school is probably worried, and he’s eaten nothing but lava chicken and tater tots for days.”
Henry rolled his eyes, “You know you don’t have to boss me around all the time.”
“Actually, she’s right.” Dawn countered, “I can drive you two back if you want.”
Natalie nodded, thanking her profusely as she ushered Henry towards the car. Mr Squiggles the alpaca had escaped, but Dawn insisted that she would just “buy another”. Too exhausted to question her on what that statement could possibly mean, they sat down and buckled their seatbelts, holding the door open so that Dennis could jump into the car.
“Wait, where is Steve staying?” Dawn prompted, Garrett responding instantly.
“He can stay at my place.” He glanced at Steve, “If you want to, I mean-”
“No, that works just fine.” He replied, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.
“Sounds good. Have a nice evening!” She sped away, the pair waving at the car as it disappeared down the road.
“¡Vaya con dios!” Garrett called out
“I can assure you that doesn’t mean what you think it does!” Natalie yelled back out the open window.

 

“So, now what?” Garrett asked, looking down at Steve.
“Well, it’s dinner time and there’s no lava chicken here. Do you have any food at your house?”
Garrett shrugged, starting to walk towards his car, “Pretty sure, assuming beer and about five stale tater tots counts as food. We can pick up some wings or something on the way back.”
Steve nodded, having to take twice as many steps to keep up with him, “Good call. It’ll be nice to have some food that isn’t pixelated.”
Garrett chuckled, grabbing his keys from inside his jacket and unlocking the car, opening the door for Steve and circling the vehicle before sitting in front of the wheel. The gesture was small, but it didn’t go unnoticed.
Steve looked around the inside of the car, struggling with the seatbelt. “Whoa. This thing is high tech.” Garrett nodded, eyes following every shift in Steve’s expression. “Yeah, I suppose it is considering you haven’t seen a car since the 80’s.”
They talked all the way to the restaurant, for once, not afraid to make some jokes they wouldn’t have made when Henry had been beside them constantly. Eventually, they arrived. Garrett parked outside the place, taking up two parking spots to provide what he called a “cushion of protection” and running inside to grab the spiciest wings he could legally obtain, not that any laws would stop him anyway.
Not too long after, they arrived at Garrett’s store. It wasn’t perfect, but it had… character.
“ ‘Game Overworld’ ” Steve read aloud, “Ironic. I like it.”
Garrett nodded, producing a house key attached to about sixty various keychains and opening the door. He apologized for the mess as he trudged past old consoles and DVDs through the store towards the back wall, where Garrett’s house began. He led Steve through the living room, setting the chicken down on the kitchen table. It wasn’t a huge house, but it was… quaint. On the wall to the left of the door, there were some windows and blinds towards the ceiling, a couch below and a TV across the room -video game consoles and disks piled atop it-, a coffee table between the two. Posters of various bands and videogames dotted the walls, many of Garrett’s beloved Hunk City Rampage. Garrett walked back towards the door, shutting and locking it before sliding off his beat-up shoes. Steve followed suit, removing his boots and feeling the light gray shag carpet under his feet. Empty cans littered the house, pushed under the couch by Garrett as he passed them. Steve tailed him, enjoying the view discreetly. They sat side by side on some chairs at the table, their legs made contact slightly as they sat. Neither moved, and neither acknowledged it, despite the fact that it was all either of them could think about.
Garrett reached for the bag of wings, coughing as the spice from the food seemed to burn the air around them. Neither wanted to admit that this was obviously a foolish idea.
Garrett was getting flashbacks to that lava chicken, Steve was reminded of the scorching heat of the Nether.
About three minutes later, the two were fighting over a jug of -probably expired- milk they’d found in the fridge,
Four minutes, the entire kitchen was inexplicably covered in milk.
Both thought the situation was incredibly funny, however the milk was a different type of “fresh” than they’d expected, and both needed to shower off. More so than usual.
Garrett let Steve go first, pulling off his now milk-soaked signature jacket and tossing it in the laundry, dumping the handfuls of trinkets he’d emptied from it onto the countertop. He dug through his closet, grabbing a pair of jeans, some sweatpants, an old band t-shirt, one of the many turquoise unisex blouses, and two pairs of boxers. He handed the sweatpants, turquoise shirt, and boxers to Steve, who thanked him profusely.
Garrett assured him that it was nothing, turning towards his absurdly messy kitchen and sighing. He didn’t want to clean, but he had time to kill and a new roommate he should probably try to impress.
Steve had never really had a roommate before, and his feelings for Garrett only made showering in his bathroom more awkward. But he wasn’t in the Overworld anymore, the excuse of showers not being a thing was no longer valid, and maintaining personal hygiene sounded like a good idea, especially if he was going to be living with the man he liked.
Around ten minutes later, Steve left the bathroom, tossing his dirty clothes into the laundry basket and looking out at Garrett, who was scrubbing at the milk-soaked floors with an expression of pure concentration. His gaze rested a little longer than necessary.
Garrett could feel Steve’s eyes on him, and he pretended not to notice, he liked the feeling.
“Bathroom’s free, thanks for the clothes, not sure how you got one of my shirts though.”
Garrett smirked, rinsing soap off his hands and walking over towards the bathroom, “Storage container auction, it’s how I got the Orb and Crystal. I’ve got about 800 of your shirts in my closet now.”
Steve nodded, “Makes sense. Do you want me to clean up the kitchen?”
Garrett shrugged, “If it’s not too much of an issue, el cocina todavía es sucio.”
Steve patted him on the shoulder, “Close enough.”
“What do you mean? I was right!”
Steve went into the kitchen, picking up the sponge and continuing to clean, “Whatever you say.”
Garrett rolled his eyes, angrily muttering to himself in broken Spanish as he headed into the bathroom to take his shower.
Fifteen minutes later, he joined Steve to clean up what remained of their mess, both of them stealing glances at each other when they thought the other wasn’t looking. It didn’t take a genius to notice that they brushed up against each other “accidentally” enough times for it to be clear that it was no accident.
Once they’d finally finished, it was late in the evening and both were exhausted. Garrett opened the fridge, grabbing two beers,
“You think this will help get rid of the spice from the wings?”
Even though the wings were long gone, the spiciness from them lingered still.
Steve shrugged, “Only one way to find out.”

 

With that, they relocated to the couch, memories getting hazy and all their wits leaving them with every sip. They exploded into peals of hysterical laughter periodically, moving a bit closer every time. The sun set and for once, Steve didn’t need to worry about fighting monsters, the only thing he had to fight was the urge to make out with the man across from him.
“And I got this scar from fighting a skeleton,” Steve rambled, pointing loosely towards a curved scar on his left hand, “an arrow just missed my hand, but it cut pretty deep.” Garrett flinched. He’d nearly died to those mobs, the mere thought of them was scary enough. Without thinking, he reached out his right hand and traced the scar. Both of their faces flushed, but all of their unearned confidence overshadowed that.
Garrett laughed, unfurling Steve’s loose fist and pressing their hands together,
“Your hands look so small compared to mine.”
Steve laughed, “I wonder what else that applies to.”
Both laughing, they moved closer still, their fingers intertwining spontaneously at the movement.
Time seemed to freeze, the warmth between them growing by the second.
Steve looked up, Garrett looked down.
Tentative, Steve draped his other hand over Garrett’s shoulder, whose hand disappeared into Steve’s hair.
Wordlessly and slowly, their lips met, interlocked hands falling to the side as both leaned in.
It felt so natural, so… right.
Lips working against the other’s, their beards brushed, intertwined hands staying at their sides while their other hands found each other’s waists.
Neither was very good at it, but that didn’t really matter. This was a start, a new beginning. Nothing really needed to be perfect.
Finally, they broke apart, purely because each needed air.
“Sorry.” Garrett spoke, a melancholy undertone present as his somewhat hoarse voice faded, “I’m terrible at this.”
Steve gave him a confused look, “Really? I think you’re great at it.”
Garrett laughed a skeptical, disbelieving laugh.
Steve remained understanding, his tone soft and never breaking eye contact. He brought his hand to Garrett’s face, “Gar Gar, no you aren’t. But even if you were, I wouldn’t care. Look, I’ve never kissed anyone. I’m convinced that I’m genuine shit at this, but that’s okay. Let’s get some sleep. Okay?”
Garrett nodded, too tired to protest, not like he would even if he had the energy.
Both changed into pajamas, stealing glances at each other once more before lying down next to each other.
Steve’s breathing slowed to snores, an arm gently wrapped around Garrett as he dozed. Lying there in his warm embrace, Garrett’s racing mind finally slowed.
Maybe he wasn’t worthless after all, maybe he had people who did care about him, and maybe, just maybe everything would turn out okay for once.

Chapter 2: A New Beginning, A New Beginning

Summary:

Steve rises with the sun, Garrett rises whenever his caffeine-induced coma fades.
It’s a new day and a chance for Garrett to get the fresh start he deserves, but not without Steve’s help.

(And yes, the chapter title is a reference to the song “Change Song” from the Minecraft Movie soundtrack because I love it sm)

Notes:

Guess what??
I FINALLY wrote another chapter! Surprising, really. What’s even more surprising is that I wrote this in like 2 days?? (The first chapter took FOREVERRR) ANYWAYS, I headcanon that Steve has an extremely good sleep schedule because of the Minecraft day-night cycles, and that Garrett has basically the exact opposite. In other words, Steve goes to bed early and wakes up early, Garrett goes to bed late and wakes up late. Also he’s a caffeine addict. That’s kinda it lmao. ALSO, super minor detail, but I’m hyperfixated on the movie Slumberland so the shirt Garrett is wearing here is Flip’s shirt. It’s extremely unimportant but I’ll do anything for that hyperfixation dopamine. so that’s that.

The sunrise filtered through the windows of Garrett’s room, causing Steve to stir. He’d gotten incredibly used to waking with the sun, so it had become a sort of routine. Garrett, however, was still fast asleep, snoring with his arms loosely wrapped around Steve, who was spread out across his chest. He lingered there for a minute, enjoying the touch of Garrett’s gentle hands. Up until the night before, he’d never seen Garrett’s hands without his gloves before. As much as he loved the gloves, there was something so special about being the only one out of everyone Garrett knew to have seen his bare hands. A kind of intimacy, if you will.
Steve left his embrace, tucking the sheets back in around him as he slept.
He left the bedroom, washing off his face quickly before looking around the house. He didn’t need to notice the papers titled “EVICTION NOTICE” piled atop a box of things that were undoubtedly from the auction to figure out his situation. He sighed, surveying the house. Cleaning was a good idea, of course, but he’d most certainly need to vacuum, and he didn’t want to wake up Garrett. Plus, he didn’t know what to keep and what to get rid of in the store just behind the door, so he made himself useful by cooking breakfast.
It had been quite a while since he’d cooked any food using appliances other than furnaces, campfires, smokers, and lava, of course, but it couldn’t be that difficult, right?
Wrong. Garrett hadn’t cleaned the stovetop in what looked like years, and it was difficult to find any ingredients in his fridge and cabinets. After a lot of deliberation, Steve decided on bacon and eggs. It was a pretty standard breakfast, and it surely wouldn’t be too difficult to put together.
About fifteen minutes later, he set the plates of food inside the oven, which was heated just enough to keep the dishes warm. He’d have to go grocery shopping. There was even less food in the house than there had been before, and fast food for every single meal wasn’t going to cut it.
Garrett’s coffee maker was the only thing in the kitchen in good shape, likely because he didn’t want to pay to replace it despite essentially running on caffeine. It was a bit difficult to operate, considering the fact that he hadn't seen a coffee maker for decades. Whenever he’d needed caffeine in the Overworld, he’d have to eat straight coffee beans. Disgusting? Definitely. Convenient? Of course not. But it was what he had, and he’d learned over the years that that’s all he really needed; enough to survive.
But was that really enough?
Sure, building giant sculptures of Dennis and hanging out with dozens of pandas was fun, but at the end of the day, he was alone, and no amount of diamonds or fancy buildings could ever change that.
Hearing a sound from the bedroom, he looked up to find Garrett wearing a green graphic t-shirt and a pair of jeans, the denim jacket with his nickname across the back thrown on over the shirt.
“Looks like you found the coffee maker. If it starts smoking, unplug it and it’ll probably be okay.”
“Is that a normal occurrence?” Steve was a bit worried, although Garrett acted like this was something that happened often.
“Yeah, it’s fine though. I think.”
Steve blinked a couple times. If this was the best cooking appliance in the house, he was quite concerned about the toaster next to the fridge. “I made some breakfast by the way, if you’re hungry.”
He opened the oven, producing the plates.
“Oh, uh, thanks.”
Garrett looked surprised, Steve had a sinking feeling that this was the first time in a while that someone had gone out of their way to make him a meal (he wasn’t counting the lava chicken).
Steve set down the plates and sat down, Garrett in the chair beside him. Steve poured two cups of coffee for the both of them, and noticed that the jacket Garrett was wearing had his insipid nickname stitched on the back. It was ridiculous, and Steve adored it.
“I need one of those.” He decided aloud, gesturing to the jacket as he sat down and slid the coffee to him.
Garrett smirked, “This is custom made, personalizada. Good luck getting one.”
Steve sipped his coffee, “Orrrr you could get me one and we could be matching!”
Garrett didn’t hate that idea as much as he thought he would. “Okay, but I’m not buying yours.”
Steve grinned, “No need to, I’m willing to pay for it. Also, I may have used the last of your eggs to make these. Is it possible to make a quick trip to the grocery store later?”
He scoffed, “If I can afford more eggs. Food’s expensive and videogames don’t sell like they used to.”
Something clicked in Steve’s mind. “Hank had some things in that journal of his, videogame ideas. He’s a teen, he knows what other kids like. We could ask him to help us make a game.”
Once again, Garrett didn’t hate that idea as much as he expected. “That actually might work, seems a hell of a lot more profitable than storage auctions.”
Steve nodded, reaching out an arm and patting Garrett on the back, “That’s the spirit! I’ll get dressed then we should head to grab some groceries.”
Garrett nodded, finishing his food quickly.
Steve changed into some new sweatpants (wearing the same jeans every single day in the Overworld was very monotonous, and he appreciated the diversity) and yet another turquoise shirt, exiting the bedroom to see Garrett leaning against the wall with his stitched jacket in his arms, moving to stand behind him.
“What are you doing?” Steve questioned, smiling as gloved hands laid the jacket over his shoulders and helped his arms through the sleeves.
“Giving you a test run of my incredible jacket. If you’re gonna have your own, you might as well know how it feels to wear it.”
Steve chuckled, Garrett’s hands resting on his shoulders long after he’d gotten the coat on him.
Garret slid his arms down Steve’s front, tenderly resting his head where his right hand had been and giving Steve a gentle kiss on the neck.
“So it wasn’t just the alcohol, then?” Steve joked, Garrett smirked, his expression echoed through a short laugh.
“You wish.”

Notes:

Extremely short chapter, I know, I know, I’m getting more efficient though, and summer is the PERFECT opportunity to write as much Brokenpickaxe fanfic as my heart desires.
Also, this chapter is basically just plot exposition, the next will probably just be Steve and Garrett going to the grocery store with crackfic-esque writing and a Jennifer Coolidge cameo.

Chapter 3: Pink Triangle

Summary:

Typically grocery store trips are uneventful, but an unexpected encounter with none other than Marlene and her fiancé lead to a bit of confusion.

As always, the chapter title is a song reference. Today it’s Weezer. I love Weezer.

Notes:

So uhhhh I’m REALLY enjoying writing this series, so I guess it’s time to update this once again!! This chapter was just a funny idea to me, and I love Marlene, so you know I had to make this ASAP.

Garrett planted another kiss against Steve’s neck before he took his head and hands off of him.
“We should probably get going,” he began, pausing as Steve turned around to face him.
“After all that? No way.” He put his hand behind Garrett’s head, giving him a quick kiss in return before they headed out the house and through the store.
The music playing through the car radio was strange, at least to Steve. A disturbing mix of corporate pop and corporate country music. In other words, the soundtrack to his nightmares.
“What the FUCK is playing on the radio.” He muttered, glad that he was finally able to swear. Henry was great company, but having a kid around could be… limiting.
He glanced at Garrett, who nodded.
“It’s been like that for a while, unfortunately. They only play the worst songs in existence. Hold on, I’ll change the channel.” He clicked a few buttons and turned a dial several times, stopping once rock music poured out of the speakers, “That’s better.”
Steve nodded, “Definitely.”
They continued down the road, passing stores upon stores before finally reaching the grocery store.
Garrett parked -across two spaces, per usual- before exiting the car, Steve following him. The car parked beside, well, near them was a Jeep Grand Cherokee, which they thought nothing of, it was just a car, right?
Grocery shopping was annoying, that’s why Garrett only did it when he absolutely had to. The rising food prices paired with decreasing sales only made his life worse and worse, so he tried not to think about those things too much. They walked through the automatic door, greeted instantly by a huge bin of oranges that were on clearance.
“So, what are we going to get?” Garrett prompted, receiving a shrug.
“The essentials. Pasta, milk, eggs, bread, chicken, maybe some fruit.”
“I don’t think we need any more fruits in the house.”
Not hearing his joke, Steve grabbed a cart and handed it to Garrett, who rolled his eyes and grabbed a bag of oranges, setting them down at the bottom of the basket. Steve assumed he knew the layout of the store, but it had changed over the years. Garrett wanted to help, but he didn’t go to the store often enough to really memorize anything about it. After walking up and down about eight aisles, they finally found the bread aisle. Steve hadn’t had any variation in the type of bread he ate for decades, so he was rather intrigued by all the different types that he could find. Garrett didn’t appreciate the fact that he was spending so much time picking a single loaf of bread, but Steve was the reason he was at the store in the first place and had-had an actual breakfast for once, so he didn’t say anything. Suddenly, both heard a voice over the music playing throughout the store coming from the next aisle over.
“And so then I went ‘well you didn’t HAVE to sue me, y’know?’ Like, I know I did technically run him over twice, but it was just twice!”
The two exchanged a look, the difference was that Garrett recognized the voice and Steve did not.
“Henry’s vice principal.” He whispered under his breath, gesturing towards the source of the noise: a blonde woman clad in a light pink blouse and a long white skirt. Steve nodded, eyes widening as she came into view and he noticed that she was side by side with a villager.
“And that’s a villager from Midport Village.”
“Huh?” He turned around, suddenly face to face with Marlene and the villager.
“It’s the Garbage Man!” She exclaimed, beaming.
He nodded, looking from her to the villager.
“I know. Who’s this?” He gestured to the villager, who said… something to him. Garrett assumed it was a greeting, but he didn’t speak villager, he wouldn’t know.
“This is Nitwit, my fiancé! We met yesterday.” The two smiled, pixelated hearts appearing between the two of them.
“Huh. That’s… something.”
“And who is this? I don’t know how you got ahold of his jacket, but that is quite impressive. He really treasures that thing.”
Steve, still holding a loaf of bread, grinned.
“I… am Steve.”
Garrett covered his face with his hand, cringing.
“Do you really have to do that every time you introduce yourself?”
“You introduce yourself exclusively by nickname, I think it’s fine to have a dramatic introduction.”
She watched them converse, immediately able to figure out they were close, but not what their relationship was.
“So are you two friends?”
They turned to face her, exchanging glances. Wordlessly, Garrett held up one of his gloved hands, gesturing to the pink triangle with his other hand.
Suddenly, Garrett’s unusual callousness towards her flirting the other day made sense.
“Ohhhh, that explains some things. Well, have a good day!” She reached out to grab an unsettling amount of bread (somewhere around ten entire loaves) and began to walk away with her fiancé.
“Farewell!” Nitwit added, his accent equally stunning and confusing the pair.
“What just happened??” Garrett wondered aloud, at a complete loss for words.
“Looks like one of the villagers made it through the Portal. That’s a development.”
“At least she’ll leave me alone now.”
Steve laughed, “I was unaware I had competition.”
Garrett gasped, somewhat insulted, although it was mostly for comedic effect.
“You seriously thought you were the only one interested in me?”
Steve shrugged, chuckling at his surprise.
“Mirame,” he posed multiple times, even turning around and looking over his shoulder with his hand on his hip, looking not unlike a middle schooler trying to impress their crush.
Steve played along, pretending to be part of the paparazzi and snapping photos of him as he danced around. In the process, some other customers ended up taking actual photos of them, but neither of them cared enough to actually ask them to delete the pictures.
Not long after, they were on their way to look at the eggs, then the milk, then the chicken and pasta. Marlene and Nitwit had left at that point, so they didn’t have to worry about another conversation with them. Not that it would be a bad thing, just a bit awkward.
Finally, it was time to pay.
“Oh my god.” Steve breathed, staring at the price appearing on the screen of the self checkout kiosk.
Garrett turned to him, confused.
“What? Have you never seen grocery prices before?”
“Gar-Gar, why is that number so high?”
“Inflation? I guess? I’ve never been good with politics, or numbers.”
Steve shook his head, watching as Garrett paid the far too-high price. Obviously it had been a while since he’d been back, but this felt extreme.
The car ride home was uneventful, up until Steve mentioned the conversation with Marlene.
“I was pretty surprised at how transparent you were with her.”
“About what, being gay?”
“Mhm.”
He was shockingly quiet, for once.
“It’s not that big of a deal, the only people that really care too much are old people and teenagers, don’t worry too much.”
He still appeared to be sinking into his seat, not exactly energetic.
“I know, it’s just with same-sex marriage being illegal and all, it’s just stressful sometimes.”
Garrett glanced over at him, furrowing his eyebrows,
“… It hasn’t been illegal since like, 2015.”
“WHAT??”

Notes:

Steve and Garrett can swear now. Enjoy. Next up: I actually have no clue. We’ll see where the rizz this trainwreck leads.

Chapter 4: It’s a Cracked Screen World, Where White Blooms Above The City

Summary:

Garrett and Steve’s store and house need to be cleaned, Natalie needs a job, and Dawn needs to quit hers. The unlikely grouping of the five of them proves useful in dismantling these issues.

Today’s chapter title is “The Tired Influencer” by Gorillaz. I just think that the dystopian sound of this lyric encapsulates how all of them are looking forwards to a more hopeful, less cynical time.

Notes:

I’m experimenting with having different narratives in the same chapter! Let me know what you think! :D

“Alright, what’s the next step?” Steve wondered aloud, standing in front of a huge checklist he and Garrett had created that sat on the dining room table. It had just about every chore under the sun listed, from reorganizing the store to taking out the trash.
“Hmm,” Garrett scanned the checkboxes, pointing towards the first option. “Reorganizing the store would be easy. Everything is just in boxes, so we’d just have to go through it all and restock the shelves.”
Steve nodded, “Sounds simple enough.”

o o o

Not too far away, Natalie was on her laptop, surfing the internet looking for possible job opportunities. She subconsciously fidgeted with the sleeve of the sweater she was wearing, it had been one of their mom’s favorites. She sighed, Henry had destroyed any chance of her ever working at the potato chip factory, so she’d have to improvise and find a new way to pay the mortgage. She clicked onto a site listing local job opportunities. Highschool janitor? Definitely not. Barista? She didn’t have the experience for that. Karate instructor?
She racked her mind for a reason to oppose the idea, but came up short. She could defend herself pretty well, at least against zombies and piglins, so it wasn’t a bad idea.
She heard the back door open, turning to face Henry, who’d just returned from school.
“How was it?”
He shrugged, indifferent. “Blowing up Chuggy the Chip made me pretty unpopular, but it's fine. I think all my math was right, something just happened to the jetpack that made it blow up.”
She stood up, stunned.
“You made a jetpack in school?”
He nodded, “Yeah, that’s what caused the explosion.”
She sighed deeply, hiding her face in her hands. “At least you didn’t get expelled.”
“I’m gonna go work on the next prototype, tell me when dinner’s ready.” He started down the hallway, his sister calling out to him from the other room:
“Don’t you have homework?”
“I did it on the bus!”
She shook her head, this couldn’t be what her life had come to. Her little brother was building jetpacks and she’d lost her job within the first week.
She glanced back towards the laptop, clicking on the karate instructor application form before filling it out and grabbing her phone off the table to dial a familiar number.
“Hey, Dawn! Would you mind babysitting Henry for a couple hours? I think I just found a job application that could work.”
She listened to Dawn’s response, adding a “Yeah” or an “Uh-huh” every once in a while.
“Okay! Thank you so much!”
She hung up, heading towards Henry’s room to speak to him.
“Dawn’s gonna be here for a few hours to make sure you’re safe. I don’t trust either Garrett or Steve to babysit you anymore, and she lives closer to us anyway. Don’t blow anything up and there’s food in the fridge.”
Henry rolled his eyes, “I’m not gonna blow anything up, and why don’t you trust them to supervise me?”
She scoffed, “They’re too interested in each other to pay attention to a kid.”
“What does that mean?”
An abrupt knock on the front door cut off her response, “I’ll tell you later.”
Henry sighed, annoyed. “Fine.”
Natalie opened the door, smiling as she saw Dawn, who wore a vibrant orange and pink sweatshirt plus some dark gray pants.
“Thanks for agreeing to this,” Natalie started, “We’re not in a great spot, right now, but I think this job would be a good alternative.”
Dawn nodded, “Of course! I don’t really trust Garrett or Steve to take care of him anyways.”
Natalie nodded, “Me neither.”
“Plus, I’m working on making my mobile zoo operation full time, so I’m not in the best place when it comes to work either, but I think we’ll both be okay.”
“That sounds great! I hope it works out.”
“Same goes for you. Okay, anything I should know? Any house rules?”
Natalie thought for a second, “No explosions, especially not inside, no leaving the house without supervision, and there’s some tater tots and stuff in the fridge he can have for dinner.”
“Sounds doable. Alright, good luck!”
“Thanks again!”
And with that, Natalie got into her car and drove towards the local karate school, hoping that her self-taught self-defense skills would suffice.

o o o

“Is that everything?” Steve prompted, looking out at the store. Despite the numerous empty boxes scattered across the floor, everything had been put back on the shelves.
Garrett wiped a bead of sweat off his brow with a gloved hand, “I think, besides all the boxes.”
“Okay, what now?”
Garrett groaned, “More cleaning?”
Steve shrugged, “We could just fold up the boxes and pick up some trash around the house.”
“Fine. Can we just relax afterwards?”
“Totally. I’m just having us do all this stuff so the work doesn’t pile up too badly.”
“Thanks.”
“Of course!”

o o o

Dawn checked the fridge, grimacing at the lack of food. She sensed a grocery trip was overdue. Seeing the tater tots, tortillas, shredded cheese, and eggs, she decided that breakfast burritos would be the best option. However, it wasn’t even 4:00 pm yet, so she decided to check in on Henry.
She made a face once again as she walked towards his room, dust rising up from the carpet as she tread over it. They really weren’t in a great place, and, between the piles of undone laundry and overflowing trash cans, it was becoming increasingly apparent. Natalie really was trying, but their situation was bad, and her best unfortunately was not enough. Luckily they had a neighbor that could help them improve all that.
“How are you doing?” She asked, smiling as she stood in Henry’s doorway.
He looked up from his work, holding up the new prototype for the jetpack, still undone. “I’m starting over on my jetpack, I recalculated and I got all the math right the first time, I don’t really know what happened.”
“Yeah, that was pretty gnarly. I saw it through my office window.”
“You work at an office?”
She sighed, “Unfortunately. Real estate. It’s my day job. All of the interesting stuff is just my side gigs.“
He nodded, “That sounds annoying. I’m sorry.”
“No no, it’s fine. I’m working on making my zoo stuff full time anyways.”
“That’s good.”
She looked around, trying to remember Natalie’s rules. “Oh yeah, just so you know, your sister told me you’re not allowed to test your gadgets inside, so if you’re going to do that, you’ll have to go into the yard.”
He shrugged, “Okay. I’m not really done yet though, so I don’t need to.”
“Sounds good. Also, how do you feel about breakfast burritos for dinner?”
“I like those,” his face lit up, suddenly having recalled what Natalie had said to him earlier.
“I know this is a really random question, but earlier Nat told me that she ‘didn’t trust’ Garrett and Steve to supervise me because they were ‘too busy paying attention to each other to take care of a kid,’ but she refused to tell me what that meant, what did she mean?”
Dawn snorted, laughing. “You're kidding, right?”
“… No?”
She exhaled, ceasing her laughter, “They’re in love, Henry.”
“They’re… what?”
He thought for a second, recalling the way they had lingered ever so slightly when their hands would touch and their gentle eye contact, but most of all, when they’d had to make a, as they called it, “full man sandwich.”
“Actually, that makes sense. I’d been wondering why they’d had each other’s heads between their legs that one time.”
“THEY DID WHAT??”

o o o

“Chuglass School of Karate” read the sign.
Natalie took a deep breath, her heart rate increasing as the time of the interview neared with every passing second.

Tick.
3:57.

She couldn’t not get this job.

Tick.
3:58.

Losing a stable, well-paying job in less than a week, god, what would her mom think?

Tick.
3:59.

No, she couldn’t think like that. It wasn’t her fault, and even if it was, her mom would understand. She always did.

Tick.
4:00.

No turning back now.

Notes:

Am I seriously ending this on a cliffhanger? Jaybe.
Actually though, I haven’t gotten a chapter out in far too long and I needed to get this one posted, so here you go! Three separate narratives and not a single full one. Great! Anyways, the next chapter is in progress! I’m hoping to get it put out sooner. Like, MUCH sooner.

Chapter 5: I’ll Take Care of U

Summary:

Garrett is stressed for reasons Steve can’t place, but he’s always willing to help Garrett calm down and feel better- in more ways than one.
(FREAKY WARNING)

Notes:

Bonus freak warning because YOU'LL NEED IT. Idk if anyone willingly reading fanfic doesn’t read freakiness, but yeah idk. Surprise say gex sounds like quite the jumpscare. Also I’ve never actually written freakiness before this so that’s really fun. If it’s inaccurate or badly written, that’s why, but I actually really like this chapter ngl.

Side by side they sat, legs touching as both of them had their legs propped up on the coffee table. Steve sat on the right, his eyes on Garrett perpetually, who looked off into the distance. His green eyes unfocused and his left hand through his wavy hair, slowly -not really- becoming tangled. Their conversation was fairly uninteresting, but Garrett was far from relaxed, his brow furrowed, fingers picking at the skin around his painted nails, and his right leg starting to shake. In an effort to suppress that, he lifted the restless leg off from the table, crossing it over his other.
This only made his growing restlessness more apparent.
Steve reached out his hand, laying it atop Garrett’s knee. “Are you okay? You look like you just drank nineteen energy drinks in one sitting.”
No response.
“Sorry. You just seemed stressed, are you alright?”
That was all it took. The straw that broke the camel’s back.
The tangled hand immediately moved to cover his face, tears still very visible as they trickled out from under his glove.
Steve’s eyes widened, he wordlessly wrapped both arms around Garrett, who was hunched over now, his hair hanging down and working to conceal his tear-streaked face.
His breath hitched as he sobbed, Steve moved to stand in front of him so he could hug him tighter.
Steve had no idea what could have provoked such a reaction, but he was determined to fix whatever was making him so miserable.
Garrett’s breathing switched to hyperventilation momentarily, only making Steve embrace him more and more.
“It’s okay, I’m here.”
Steve let out a relieved sigh as Garrett embraced him back, fidgeting with the denim tassels of the jacket still around Steve’s shoulders as his breath slowed and his sobs quieted.
…
“Sorry.”
“What for?” His voice was gentle, forgiving.
“Um, a spontaneous panic attack?” He laughed a little, leaning into Steve’s touch even more.
“Don’t apologize. I can tell you’ve been holding that in for a while. Do you want to talk about it?”
Garrett shrugged as best he could without breaking the hug. “I’m…”
His voice cracked, “I’m getting evicted. I know I already mentioned it, but I just really don’t know what to do.”
Steve thought for a minute. He really wasn’t in a great spot at the moment.
“We have Dawn and Natalie now, and Henry. We’ll figure something out.”
Garrett began to loosen his grip around Steve, letting him sit back down beside him.
“That’s true. Thanks. Sorry.”
Steve gave him an empathetic smile, “No problem, and I’m sure it’ll get better, we’ll just need to adjust to whatever videogames are popular right now. Plus, like I said, Henry can help us design a game for kids his age!”
Garrett gave a small nod, starting to regain his usual demeanor, although his face remained tear-stained and his eyes puffy.
“Yeah, it’ll be really hard though.”
Steve smirked, warranting a shove.
“Oh shut up, you know what I meant.”
“You love me.”
Garrett rolled his eyes, “That’s debatable.”
Steve put his hand behind Garrett’s head, his fingers tangling in his hair now.
“Is it?”
Garrett smirked, and leaned in, kissing him softly. Steve kissed back, a little harder, but just as loving. Garrett moved his lips to hover over Steve’s ear,
“Not when you kiss like that.” He added, exhaling slowly as Steve planted a kiss on his neck in response.
“Too much?” He prompted, Garrett’s hands sliding under the waistband of his sweatpants as he spoke.
“Never. Don’t stop.”
Steve set the jacket on the table instantly.
One set of hands found sweatpants drawstrings and the other a zipper, both undone before either knew it.
Garrett laid back on the couch, face flushing as Steve made a trail of kisses leading down to the band of a pair of boxers with a growing wet spot. Steve slipped them off quickly, pausing for a beat before he began.

Steve’s hands rested on Garrett’s inner thighs, his lips starting down his length. Garrett’s increasingly loud breaths were punctuated by groans as Steve took his hands off his thighs and began to move them up and down along him.
He felt Garrett stiffen under his fingertips, and he couldn’t help but notice the dripping in his own boxers.
Wordlessly, he leaned back in and kissed, this time with tongue, all the way down before circling his tip.
Garret made a sound, sweat beading on his forehead as he rapidly removed his shirt. Steve brought his wet tip to his lips, one hand underneath before he tilted his head back and began to suck, moving forwards and back.
Garrett let out a moan, throwing his gloves to the floor and burying his hands in Steve’s hair, pushing his head even closer to his hips.
Acknowledging his desperation, Steve continued his motions even faster, making use of his tongue and sliding it over Garrett’s sensitive spots, pushing him to his limits.
Garrett finished loudly, moaning vocally as Steve swallowed.
“My… god.”
Steve smiled at Garrett as he stared at the ceiling, eyes glassy and breathing staccato.
“I think the words you're looking for are ‘dios mío’.”
“I forgot I was going bankrupt for a minute. That was… incredible.”
“Been wanting to do that for a while.” He recalled, of course, the Elytra Incident.
“I had a feeling. Same here, of course. Speaking of which,”
He stood up, still naked, rummaging through his drawers and returning with a bath towel and a bottle of lube.
“I mean, only if you want-“
His boxers were gone before Garrett could finish his sentence.

Notes:

I was thinking about working dacryphilia into this but I almost feel like that would be more Garrett rather than Steve. STEVE ANGST? COULD I DO THAT?? ANYWAYS, idk. Does anyone read these? Heh… if you do, please tell me, because I lowkey just yap here and idk if I should stop lmao-

Chapter 6: Life on the Nickel

Summary:

Natalie’s job interview and both Henry and Steve’s plans are all in motion, hopefully going in a good direction, but we’ll see.
(Aka split-narrative chapter number two.)

“Life on the Nickel” is technically a song about a homeless guy, but the lyrics really do fit them! Well, mostly Nat and Garrett, but shhhhhhh we don’t yap about that.

Notes:

(I know Jason Momoa is actually from Hawaii, but for writing purposes he still has that heritage, he just grew up in Idaho.)

Natalie checked her phone, Dawn had taken Henry to Garrett’s store? Strange, but she had more important matters at hand.
She took her keys and locked the car, then unlocked it, then locked it again (she wanted to make sure it was safe).
The karate school looked… worn. “Well-loved” as her mother would’ve put it. Her heart stung a bit, but she brushed it off, opening the door to the place. A registration desk sat in the lobby, worked by a man with blonde hair and glasses, a white sweatshirt with the karate school’s logo printed on it. Drinking soda out of a cup, likely from a nearby gas station, he looked up, expectant.
“Are you Natalie?”
She nodded, trying her best to conceal her anxiousness. “Yes, I’m here for the job application?”
He nodded, setting his soda down and scrolling through files on his computer for a second. “Alright, looks like you applied to be a karate instructor?”
She nodded, fidgeting slightly.
“Do you have any prior experience in karate?”
“I know the basics, but I’m decent at self defense already. I figured I could learn some more as I go. If that works.”
“It totally does! Okay, I’m just gonna see what moves you already know.”
He set his soda down and stood up, leading her through a door and towards an open room with a large mat spread across the floor.
Despite not knowing the names of the moves, Natalie could execute each motion pretty well, all she had to do was ask what the movements looked like. She missed having a weapon in hand while fighting, but this was the closest she could get to that.
In the end, the man, who she learned was named Drew, gave her the job and a packet detailing all the moves she’d help teach to different classes. The classes ranged from elementary schoolers to junior high students. In other words, there was a LOT of material to memorize. Luckily, her salary was sizable and she didn’t have to come into the school until 3:00 pm, an hour before classes began.
She’d have plenty of time for hobbies, particularly painting. She could sell some of her artwork for extra cash, and it was just fun for her. She’d missed not being able to paint ever since she’d had to work.
Mondays and Friday’s she got off, but besides that, it was full time karate classes.
She took the packet and thanked him, leaving the place only a half hour after she’d arrived.
She sighed, checking her phone and typing Garrett’s store address into Google.
Time to find Henry.

o o o

Steve stared at an empty notebook, chewing on a pen while he thought. Mindlessly, he ran his fingers over his neck, wincing slightly. He’d forgotten that just a little while ago he and Garrett had gotten into a makeout session right before they showered off and Garrett took a well needed nap. It had also slipped his mind that his boyfriend had a passion for marking and… sharp canines.
He took a deep breath, tugging at the collar of one of Garrett’s many band t-shirts.
“Hell, is it getting hot in there?” He thought to himself, glancing back down at the paper.
Luckily, all the full-blown bite marks were far enough down that they could be covered by most shirts, the elliptical bruises along his neck were a different story.
Anyways, that wasn’t the most pressing matter.
Garrett had been given three days to move out, and he’d gotten trapped in the Overworld for two days and had taken the third to adjust to his new life with Steve.
They needed an alibi, but it would be difficult. Garrett’s landlord was as strict as any, and she wouldn’t accept any excuses any less tragic than the backstory of an America’s Got Talent contestant. Essentially Simon Cowell in the body of a woman with light brown hair perpetually in a loose bun, a cardigan over her shoulders day in and day out. Not someone you’d want to fight with, especially in a legal situation.

 

His phone, well, Garrett’s phone, which they’d been sharing, rang.
He turned it over, a new yet familiar number across the screen.
Immediately, his face lit up and he began to scribble an idea down.
“Hello?” He picked up the phone, still writing, adding more minute details as Dawn spoke.
“Hey! Just wanted to let you know, but Henry’s with me. We’re heading over to Garrett’s store right now. Henry thinks he has an idea that could save the business.”
“No way! Me too! As in, I have an idea as well. Also it’s technically his and my business, but continue.”
“It- what? Nevermind. I’ll ask you when we get there.“
He set the phone down, jumping to his feet and rapidly knocking on the already open door to the bedroom.
“Wake up!”
Garrett bolted upright, the comforter sliding down his front and exposing his bare chest.
Steve had to pry his eyes away, taking a second to remember what he was about to say.
“Dawn and Hank are going to be here any minute. Also, I know it’s random, but do you have any family far away from here?”
“What and what?” Garrett’s exhausted voice sounded.
“Hank figured out how to save the store. And eviction notices mean you have three days to move out. Today’s day three. I think a fake ‘family emergency’ would be a good way to keep the landlord from suing or fining you or something.”
“Oh. Okay. My grandparents live in Honolulu. It’s super far away. Hawaii.”
“Perfect. We’ll pretend one of them died, or their dog. Probably their dog. If she doesn’t give you leeway for that she’s a monster.”
Garrett, still disoriented, moved towards the side of the bed and stood up.
“That works. I’m gonna get dressed now, I wasn’t aware they were coming here.”
“Me neither.”
His green eyes focused on the marks along Steve’s neck and he sucked in a breath, “Do you wanna borrow my jacket? The pink one. It’ll cover up the uh,” he gestured to his neck.
Steve nodded, “Sure, Nat probably wouldn’t be happy if we were the ones to teach her brother what a hickey was.”
“She already doesn’t like me, that definitely wouldn’t help.”
“You do realize you saved her brother’s life, right? I think she’s just in a tough spot. She doesn’t hate you.”
Garrett considered his words for a second, nodding slowly. “Never considered that. Huh.”
Steve smiled, a fresh perspective was always helpful, and he was, as always, eager to provide.

o o o

“Is this it?” Dawn parked in front of Game Overworld, Henry sitting on the passenger seat.
“Yeah. I think his actual house starts on the other side of the back wall though.”
“Makes sense. I called Steve to tell them we’re gonna be here, I’ll leave Natalie a text.”
A minute or so later, the two approached the store and knocked on the locked front door.
“They must’ve taken a break from work.”
Henry nodded, “They also unpacked the boxes on the floor. I think he was about to close the store before the Overworld, so he’s probably okay now.”
She turned to him, “That’s rough, but I’m glad he’s alright.”
Steve jogged through the store, unlocking the door and letting the two of them inside.
“Sorry, the store and house are a bit of a mess right now, we’re still trying to clean up.”
Dawn suppressed a laugh, her and Henry following Steve towards the counter at the back of the store, “What’s with the jacket?”
He stared at her blankly before glancing at the pink sleeves around his arms. He laughed as well, “Oh yeah. Gar-Gar’s letting me borrow it. We went to the store earlier and he let me try on his embroidered jacket, so I’m getting a feel for both of them.”
“It’s impressive you managed to try on both, I didn’t know he was so lenient when it came to that kind of thing.”
He replied with a shrug, “Me neither.”
The door beside them creaked open, Garrett strutting out, a light pink tanktop and some light blue jeans.
“What’d I miss?” He prompted, lightly kicking the door closed and moving to stand beside Steve.
Dawn shrugged, “Not much actually, but Henry has something he wants to share with you, I think it’s a great idea.”
Henry flipped through the pages of his notebook, setting it down on the countertop facing Steve and Garrett, who leaned in to see it better.
“To make the store more popular, I think we need something new to sell. Videogames actually sell really well, you just need to know which ones to sell. No offense, but I haven’t heard of any of the games you’re selling here. I’d sell those online and sell newer, more popular games in the actual store.”
The two of them nodded slowly, standing up from where they leaned to see the notebook more clearly. Steve deciding to share his idea as well.
“Smart! Also, I had a weird idea, but we could make our own game and sell it. We could base it off the Overworld and Hunk City Rampage.”
“I was thinking that too! I’m teaching myself to code, but I’ll definitely need some help.”
“I know how.” Garrett added.
Everyone stared at him, “Really?” Dawn asked, thoroughly surprised and equally skeptical.
“Yeah, I’ve had to fix these machines over the years, and after a while I just memorized what the electricians did and taught myself the rest just by messing around.”
He was of course referring to the vintage game machines along the wall. And it was true, he’d been doing the repairs on them for years.
Henry wrote some notes in his book. “I’ll watch some tutorial videos online also, that way I have someone to learn from.”
“Sounds good.”
Henry looked up at Steve and Garrett, who were standing side by side, their shoulders touching.
A question crossed his mind, and he hesitated, thinking for a second about what the best way to ask this question was.
“Sorry, this is kinda random, but I was thinking about everything that happened in the Overworld, and I was wondering, do you guys like each other?“
They stared at him, expressions a mixture of barely suppressed laughter and slight shock.
Dawn cringed, pinching the bridge of her nose, “You don’t need to answer him by the way,”
Garrett smiled at Steve, giving him a look, a question embedded in his stare.
Steve returned it, both leaning just enough for their lips to touch momentarily.
Dawn noticed one of the many hickies along Steve’s neck, having to muffle her gasp with a cough.
“Does that answer your question? Garrett grinned, turning to Henry, who looked a little shell shocked, yet entertained.
Dawn checked her phone, eyes widening, “Guys, Nat just got a new job, and she’s on her way over here. How do we celebrate?”
Garrett opened his mouth to speak, glanced at Henry, then shut it again.
“We could go out for dinner.” Steve offered a child-friendly version of Garrett’s answer.
“Perfect. We’ll ask her where we’re going once she gets here.”
They hung out until she arrived not long after, agreeing to meet up at a local restaurant for dinner.

Notes:

Did not think I’d have to make OCs for this, but here we are!
Also, fun fact: I was too lazy to come up with original designs for these background OCs, so “Drew” looks like Chuck from the Glass Animals album How To Be a Human Being, and he’s named Drew because the guitarist is named Drew MacFarlane. Cassandra is based on my 7th grade Social Studies and homeroom teacher. Her name comes from that one tiktoker “Cassandra Bowman” and also that one girl in Tangled the Series. So yeah, that’s interesting.
Also I might’ve given Garrett a biting kink. That definitely stemmed from Flip from Slumberland having literal FANGS, and Garrett and Flip are basically the same in my mind so uhhhh Steve has bite marks along his collarbone now. Cutesy!

Chapter 7: Don’t Stop (Color On The Walls)

Summary:

Steve wakes up to Garrett working out and they have a landlord to negotiate with. Luckily, they’ve got some downtime afterwards to cuddle and enjoy their morning.
Chapter title - “Don’t Stop (Color On The Walls)” - Foster The People (I love them, okay?)

Notes:

This chapter truly feels like a fever dream. I kept switching writing styles and going off-script?? Anyways, in the wise words of that one singer in that one unreleased Gravity Falls song, it’s gonna get weird.

Steve rolled over in bed, eyes fluttering open. He and Garrett had agreed to sleep in since it was Saturday, and while the dinner had been fun, but ran a bit late, plus, they were meeting with the landlord later- A woman named Cassandra Foster. The ordeal would almost certainly be equally exhausting and excruciating.

“8:44 am” the alarm clock read.

Huh. Not only should he have definitely been woken up by Garrett by now, but there’d been no loud noises or alarms to have woken him up.

He stood up, confused until it occurred to him that there were two distinct scents hanging in the air. First, protein powder. Strawberry, to be specific. And second, Garrett’s smell mixed with/amplified by the smell of sweat.

That made perfect sense.

If he listened closely, the sound of weights being lifted and set on the ground was quite noticeable, and Steve knew Garrett’s aroma well. He often wore cologne or body spray, but he naturally had a kind of warm scent, floral, but earthy. It was inherently powerful, and now it was amplified.

To Steve, it was nothing short of intoxicating.

He pushed open the door, walking almost blindly down the hall. Garrett kept his weights in a closet near the kitchen, which was also where he used them.

Garrett brought a heavy weight up with his right hand, then down, then did the same with his left. He only noticed Steve moving towards him after he’d set it down again.

“Oh, buenos días.” He spoke between heavy breaths, sweat trickling down his back.

“I didn’t know you’d be working out this morning.” His words sounded a bit accusatory, but they were anything but that. In actuality, he was really just trying to draw out the time he spent around Garrett.

“Yeah, it occurred to me I needed to, gotta look intimidating so the landlord doesn’t want to fine me.” He chuckled.

Steve laughed along, but he seemed distant, eyes tracking the drops of sweat dripping down his chest.

“Yeah, good idea. Can I kiss you?”

Garrett looked up, bewildered. “What?”

Steve blinked, almost taken aback by his own bluntness, “Sorry, it’s just, um, pheromones. Do you know what those are?”

Garrett huffed, “Do I know what those are,” he echoed, incredulous, “I mean, I do, obviously, but can you remind me? I just wanna make sure you know.”

“Our bodies release different chemicals that sort of send signals to others, and when you have feelings for someone, those pheromones can make the other person, uh, aroused. Sweat only amplifies pheromones because they’re present in sweat.”

Garrett nodded, only absorbing about half of what he was saying.

“Basically, you smell incredible right now and I will literally lick the sweat off you if allowed.”

That he understood.

“Oh, sure. Make sure to leave marks.”

He smiled, “Of course.”

With that, he set the weights down and Steve leaned in, inhaling deeply as their lips met.

Oh god, he just wanted to drink that scent and let it consume him.

He’d inhale it until his lungs corroded and he drowned in it.

He gingerly pushed Garrett up against the wall, warranting a whine into his throat.

He’d fuck Garrett right then and there if he had the time.

Both pulled apart for air, and Steve ghosted his lips over his neck, hands finding his waist as he sighed deeply and pressing his mouth into Garrett’s sweat-soaked neck.

Garrett’s strong arms wrapped around Steve and pushed him ever closer to his chest, much to Steve’s delight.

He made use of his tongue and licked the sensitive skin of Garrett’s neck and he kissed, earning a long exhale. Travelling further down to where a shirt would conceal any bruises, he nipped and sucked until a dark spot appeared.

“Higher.”

“Hmm?” Steve questioned against his skin, pulling off for a moment,

“Leave some marks where people can see them, I’m not ashamed to have them.”

Without protesting, he moved back towards the middle of his neck, more whines uttered above his head as he continued.

 

o o o

 

“Okay. How do I look?” He buttoned the cuffs of the shirt around his wrists as he spoke.

Steve had needed to borrow a dress shirt from Garrett. It was a light blue color and fit a bit tight, but it was just formal enough that he looked presentable.

Garrett turned to face him, buttoning the collar of a white polo shirt.

“You look good, how ’bout me?”

“You look nice as well, guapo as you’d put it.”

 

Both chose to wear dress shirts with collars not just because of the fact that they were about to confront a woman capable of rendering them both homeless in seconds, but because they aptly concealed the bruises. Yes, neither were ashamed of them, but in a formal setting they were extremely out of place. But then again, so were the two of them.

Steve had been a doorknob salesman before the Overworld and Garrett owned a videogame store.

Not exactly court material. Luckily, they wouldn’t make it to court if they succeeded in their plan.

“Just remember; your childhood dog in Honolulu, Denise, died and you went back for the funeral. You moved here to live with your parents when they were having trouble finding a house and you’d inherited a property here from a distant relative.”

Garrett nodded, memorizing the parts of the story he knew would be tricky to recall. It was based on his actual family history so it wouldn’t be too tricky, and would check out on legal documents. After all, lies are more convincing when they’re close to h the truth.

A look of preoccupation settled over his features, Steve responding with a concerned expression. “You okay?”

Garrett snapped out of it, mostly. The mask of emotion clung to his face still, but it was hazier, less obvious. “Yeah. Just… worried. I don’t know.”

“It’s okay, it’ll be okay. We’ve got a good alibi and in the off chance something does happen, Nat and Dawn can help us. We will be fine.”

Garrett nodded, stress dissipating further.

 

o o o

 

Garrett was practically shaking, the underarms of his white shirt growing steadily damp. It was a strange sight, really, to see a man of his size and build to shiver in fear. He didn’t mean to, but his voice quivered as he introduced himself and checked in for the appointment.

“I’m here to check in for an appointment with Ms. Foster?

It was quite ironic. One would think a landlord to be strict, emotionless, and objective, but Cassandra Foster was anything but that. Light gray cardigan over her loose beige shirt, she crunched her salad -it was more mayonnaise than salad, but I digress- with a hooked finger pressed against her upper lip as Steve and Garrett entered her office.

“Mr. Garrison! Nice to see you!” She extended her left hand, shaking his -sweaty- hand before her gaze redirected towards Steve, a bit quizzical. “And who might you be?”

He shook her hand, his palm much drier: “Steve Sullivan.”

She looked between the two of them, “Are you here for legal reasons or…?”

Steve shrugged, “Moral support, I’d say,”

She laughed. That was a good sign.

“But we live together, so I thought it would be a good idea to participate in this.”

She nodded, setting her Tupperware container of mayonnaise “salad” and packable camping fork aside and logging onto her computer.

“I see. Okay, it looks like you have frequent late payments on rent and have missed payment numerous times, that’s… not great.”

Garrett nodded, “I’m sorry, I have family pretty far away and we had an emergency.”

She looked up, interest peaked and sympathy triggered. Steve grinned discreetly, trying not to make it obvious.

“What kind of emergency?”

“My childhood dog, Denise, died. I grew up with her and my grandparents, but we had to move to Chuglass for financial reasons.”

Cassandra’s expression softened, “I’m so sorry. That must’ve been so difficult. And I’m assuming you had to be out of town for that, missing the payment?”

He nodded, this was working surprisingly well. He was surprised she hadn’t shunned the concept of mercy, demanding her ‘pound of flesh’ so to say.

“Exactly. I was so preoccupied with planning all the flights and stuff and it slipped my mind.”

She gave him an apologetic look, “It’s okay, I totally understand. I’ll give you a week or so to complete that payment, which shouldn’t be an issue. Last time you were here you didn’t have a friend to help out, but I’m sure you’ll work together and get this all sorted out.”

Garrett tried to respond, but the words got stuck in his throat. Steve piped in. “Boyfriend, and yes, I’m more than happy to help. Anyways, thank you! This means so much.”

She smiled back at them, gesturing to the inclusion flag sticking out of her pencil holder, “Even better, and it’s no problem, just start marking your calendars for payments!”

Steve laughed, “We will! Have a good day!”

And with that they left, in substantially better spirits.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Steve smiled, leaning into Garrett a bit as they walked, not to be annoying, but as a dumb little gesture of affection.

Garrett leaned into the touch, an insipid little smile gracing his features, a nice alternative to the expression that betrayed the stress he was under.

 

Both were just glad to be done with all the undone chores and debts. There was still work to do, as always, but the painful tasks were over. They both changed into regular clothes and flopped onto the couch, it not yet opening time, so they flipped through channels and clicked a random show Garrett had nearly finished rewatching.

“The Good Place.”

Huh.

Garrett had watched it about a hundred times, Steve was beyond confused, but he didn’t have the heart to tell him that he wanted to start from episode one.

What episode even was it? He had no clue. Some character, supposedly a reformed demon (whatever that meant), was conversing with a moral philosophy professor.

“Can I ask you a question?…” the professor, “Chidi,” began, “Soulmates aren’t… real, are they?”

Steve glanced at the man beside him, his stunning green eyes pointing towards the TV., gaze soft, delicate. Steve just about melted into him, head resting on his shoulder as the demon spoke, babbling on about trying to torture four troublesome humans and accidentally creating a wonderful group of people who improved each other. Within that group, he’d accidentally made a couple, Chidi and an Arizona trashbag named Eleanor.

He’d had to think hard to keep up, the whole concept of streaming services still puzzled him, but the next words stuck with him, more so than he’d ever admit.

“If soulmates do exist, they’re not found, they're made.”

The rest of his speech didn’t matter.

Those words.

Those. Nine. Words.

He thought over the statement hundreds of times in those few seconds, looking at Garrett again.

This time, that soft emerald gaze rested on him.

A -surprisingly- ungloved hand found the remote and switched the TV off, his other arm moved until it draped over Steve’s shoulders, pulling him in close.

Cassandra could go back on her decision to be merciful, throwing them out onto the street. Neither would care.

All they needed at that moment was each other. Their found soulmates.

 

Notes:

As someone who has a girlfriend, the person you’re attracted to really does have their own scent, and it’s genuinely the best thing ever. If I could make a candle of it, it would be gone in about two days (at most). Long story short, I just knew that I had to include that in this because A., it’s obviously something I understand a lot, but B., Slumberland. That one freaky lady said that Flip has a really strong scent so I’m stealing that. It’s my idea now, and it’s a great idea.
Where did Steve’s last name come from? Two places. It’s my friend’s last name, and also the maiden name of my dead relative. I COULDN’T THINK OF A NAME AND SOMEONE ON REDDIT SAID TO CHECK A CEMETERY WEBSITE FOR IDEAS. So yeah, that’s quite morbid. ANYWAYS, is Garrett’s family history a stretch? TOTALLY. But it’s fine. Maybe.
Update: WHY DID I INCLUDE A QUOTE FROM MICHAEL’S YAP SESSION WITH CHIDI IN THE GOOD PLACE?? HELLO??

Chapter 9: Life Itself

Summary:

Natalie comes to realize that her new job isn’t as easy as she suspected, but she can fix that (in time).
Drew is based on Chuck from Glass Animals’ How To Be A Human Being and his name comes from the guitarist, Drew McFarlane, so using the title of the song he’s from seemed fitting

Notes:

I didn’t abandon this fic btw, I just took a break because I needed it. Plus, it was my birthday, so I took some time to myself. Pretty good birthday present if you ask me.

Natalie flipped through the pages of her booklet, sighing. There were so many moves to memorize, and she was only teaching kids. Teaching both kids and adults turned the job more towards full-time. A possible future option, but certainly not right now. She glanced over at her brother, adding the finishing touches to his jetpack for school on Monday. She had to admit it, the thing didn’t look half bad. Still, she wasn’t thrilled that he insisted on testing it so close to the house.

“Can you test that in the field or something? I don’t want one of Dawn’s llamas to get hit by it or something.”

He responded, not looking up as he tightened a screw, “Alpacas. And my math’s right, plus, there’s nothing wrong with it this time.”

“What was wrong with it the first time? Just so we can make sure this one’s safe.”

“Some kids cut one of the wires. No big deal.”

She looked up, “Someone messed with your jetpack?”

He nodded, “Yeah, pretty sure I mentioned that before.”

“You didn’t say there were kids that broke it.”

He shrugged, “It’s fine. They’re idiots anyway, they’ll probably keep messing with me all year.”

”Henry, are you getting bullied?”

He shrugged once more, “Uh, I don’t know. I guess?”

“Okay, just tell me if anything else happens.”

He rolled his eyes.

“Seriously, tell me. Please.”

“Fine, sure. It’s not that big of a deal anyway.”

“I know, I just want you to be safe and happy.”

He retreated to his bedroom carrying his project, a reminder that he was a teenager after all.

Natalie sighed and continued to flip through pages of the booklet, now practicing the moves as they were pictured and described. She was also technically Drew’s assistant teacher for the time being, but she didn’t mind. She’d likely be learning karate at the same pace as the kids. She practiced every move in the packet several times, grateful that her shift didn’t start until 3:00 pm. Technically there were classes from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, but those were for adults specifically. That’s why kids classes started later, along with the school schedules. She was only qualified to teach kids at the moment though, but that was okay. She’d surely improve over time. As soon as it came to be 2:40, she told Henry she’d be gone for a little while and drove into town towards the karate school. The school was surprisingly… run down. It was due for a renovation, or two. At least a fresh coat of paint and a new sign, one that wasn’t falling down.

Drew greeted her, asking her to present the moves she’d been studying. She wasn’t bad at all, but he gave her a little instruction just so she’d be even better at the moves.

He handed her a broom and asked her to sweep the building before the kids arrived while he cleaned off the EVA foam mat that spanned across the karate studio’s floor.

Do they not hire a janitor?

She shoved that thought out of her mind unceremoniously. This place might not be the highest budget operation ever, but it was well-run and made a steady profit, right?

“Okay, you ready for your first class?”

She laughed nervously, shrugging, “Maybe?”

“That’s the spirit! Also, this is your uniform, and a spare. I forgot to give them to you before, but here they are.”

She took the two white gis from him before heading to the bathroom to change.

 

Nothing could prepare Natalie for the flood of elementary and a just one middle schooler(s) spilling into the school, all clad in their gis and white belts, not unlike herself. She didn’t know it was possible for kids to screech at frequencies that high, or say that many words that fast. It had been enough having to deal with Henry when he was younger, but fifteen screaming kids?? This might be more difficult than she’d anticipated…

 

“Students!” Drew called out, addressing the kids, who, surprisingly, listened, their parents dispersing rapidly.

“Today we have a new instructor! This is Natalie, everybody welcome her!”

“Welcome Natalie!” They chorused, some less enthusiastic than others. They’d already noticed her belt and began to whisper amongst themselves. The cloth gave away the fact that she likely had less experience than the kids staring her down, luckily she was a fast learner and had a natural talent when it came to martial arts, both of which would suit her well.

Drew called out the names of every kid from a clipboard, checking them off as the kids stated that they were present.

Natalie fidgeted in her unfamiliar attire, suddenly painfully aware of just how out-of-place she felt just being there. Regardless, she demonstrated the basic karate moves alongside Drew, skillfully concealing the fact that she was learning too.

“Have you taught this before?” A second grader prompted as the older girl provided some additional advice on how to punch.

“No, today’s actually my very first day, so I’m not the best at this yet.”

“You’re good at it, it looks like you’ve taught a lot of people.”

“Oh um, thank you.”

Huh. Compliments from kids still learning their times tables were shockingly validating.

 

Later, they’d moved onto kicking, specifically front kicks, or “mae geri,” as Drew had called it. One of the kids, the middle schooler, to be specific, was having a bit of trouble. 

“Do you need some help?”

The boy practically shrunk, head bowed slightly as he spoke in a quiet voice, “Sorry, no, I’m okay.”

Odd. He seemed to be anything but fine, but she didn’t mention it. He seemed stressed enough as is. She chose to keep demonstrating (and definitely not learning the move) alongside her boss, walking around and providing some extra support for the kids that needed it. Since the boy from before was still struggling, she decided to help him out a bit.

“Try to keep your weight on your back leg as you kick, it’ll help with balance.”

She did the move again, only slowed down and making the weight shift from both legs to only the back extra obvious.

The boy watched her before trying it again, this time he did it correctly.

“Good job!”

“Sorry.”

 

o o o

 

The… problems… arose over the next few weeks.

Natalie learned quickly, it didn’t take long for her to memorize all of the material and be presented with the opportunity to make the job full time. She didn’t accept instantly, but the place meant more to her every time she stepped into the studio. It didn’t take long for her to become a loyal employee.

Plus, the only other instructor was a teenage girl named Marcy whose biggest concern was getting money to go to the mall with her friends, at least that was Natalie’s best guess. The kid barely talked, all she did was tap away at her phone when she wasn’t half-heartedly instructing kids during the private lessons that happened between the morning and afternoon classes or just “assisting” Natalie and Drew in their teaching.

 

Problem #1: Admission.

Natalie found Drew at the front desk one day, his breathing quick and eyes focused on his computer. “What’s wrong?” She prompted, receiving a tense, reluctant response plus a drawn-out sigh.

“Admission rates. This is a record low for kids joining our classes.”

“Are the adult admission rates okay?” She couldn’t stop the fear creeping into her voice.

“They’re… fine, but most of the money for this place comes from the kids and private lessons. Without enough kids, there isn’t enough money in the business.”

 

Problem #2: Staff.

”Hey, where’s Marcy?” Drew muttered to Natalie one afternoon, asking her to go looking for the girl. Natalie found Marcy in the girl’s bathroom texting away on her phone, eyes frantically scanning the screen left to right as she read quickly.

“There’s a class going on, why aren’t you teaching?”

Phone face-down in pocket immediately, she blinked at Natalie, eyes wide and tearful.

“Are you okay?” She was concerned now.

The girl wiped her eyes with her sleeve, “Mhm, yeah. Just… school.”

“Okay,” she started, “do you need anything?”

“I’m fine.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

No part of Natalie believed that, but that wasn’t her primary concern currently.

 

Problem #3: Students.

“Students” No. “Student.” Singular. Just one. Just one middle schooler in a class of elementary schoolers.

But they’re basically the same, right?

No. No way. Two kids do a karate move? Good. One does it and the other struggles? Not as good, but it’s fine.

Two tweens do a karate move? Good. One does it and the other struggles? Not ideal, but it’s okay.

A kid and tween both try to do a karate move? The tween succeeds and the kid doesn’t. That’s okay. It’s typical.

A kid and tween both try to do a karate move? The kid succeeds and the tween doesn’t. No. That’s backwards, right? If not, that’s surely just embarrassing.

This was Bohan’s issue, Natalie deduced. Why he was so overapologetic: he didn’t feel good enough compared to the child prodigies standing next to him and that scared him, reasonably so. The issue was that simply knowing the root cause of something isn’t enough to solve the issue, and Natalie needed to do more somehow.

 

Notes:

I debated having the kids in the karate class saying “skibidi”, but then I realized that Emma Myers in Wednesday, and I don’t know if anyone has gone down this rabbit hole as well, but “skibidi” wasn’t really a term until that one song got mixed with “Bloody Mary” by Lady Gaga, which went viral when the dance scene in Wednesday was edited with that song. In other/less words, skibidi wouldn’t exist (at least as a brainrot term) without Wednesday, so no brainrot for the children.

Also, I don’t even know what this chapter was supposed to be. I’m confused by it and I wrote it. That’s probably not a good sign.

Notes:

I’m not a very fast writer, so it takes several days to get out a chapter, but I love working on this and try to do it as often as possible, so stay tuned for more chapters!