Chapter Text
Flick gently placed one last iridescent sheet onto his newest model. It stuck fast to the epoxy, slipping right into its proper position with nary an adjustment. The whole project was seamless. If it wasn’t for the metal rod supporting the body, one would be hard-pressed to tell whether or not it was the real thing.
Then again, emperor butterflies had always had an otherworldly feel to them. Their brilliant blue wings beat against the air with dainty yet determined flaps, and every movement filled the air around them with a spectrum of color.
Flick was so deep in his admiration that, as he set the model down on its display pedestal, he didn’t notice someone had already entered his art exhibit.
“Heyaaa! How’s it going, nyuk nyuk?”
Flick nearly jumped out of his skin, and scrambled to steady the model he had worked so hard on. Eyes wide and heart racing, he turned to face his newest visitor.
“CJ!” Flick gave him a nervous smile, straightening his posture. “Glad you could make it. Did you find your way here okay? I know that it’s… not exactly the biggest place in the neighborhood. But it’s a nice studio. At least, in my opinion.”
“Yeah, perfect! I mean, you just use your map app, you can get anywhere these days, nyuk nyuk nyuk! Ain’t that right, chat?!”
“Chat?”
“Oh, didn’t I mention it when we were back on the plane? Maybe the engines covered me up or somethin’. I’m live streamin’ this whole thing! Figured it would be real good for your art, right? Is this one of them?”
“Oh, right! Sorry, I’m not super… internet-savvy.” Flick laughed nervously, turning his attention away from his faux pas to the much less embarrassing butterfly model. “Yeah! This is an emperor butterfly. It’s not terribly rare, but they’re beautiful creatures… their blue color comes from thousands of scales, each one --”
“Oooooh, wow, chat, what is this?!” CJ took off like a rocket towards a separate display -- a life-size model of a citrus long-horned beetle. “Haha, look at these stripes on the antenna thingies! Imagine that sweepin’ like, all up down your fur! Grooooss!”
“Uh, well,” Flick cleared his throat, stepping up to the piece. “They might not look much, but they’re wild and fierce! An unrelenting soldier, attacking any and all trees and shrubs it comes across. It’s invasive, but even so, you can’t deny its tenacity! Especially with such a stalwart, amazing larval form…”
“Wait, this is its larva over here?!”
“Yep!”
“Hahaha, grooooss! It’s all fat and slimy and squishy, I bet! Imagine stepping on that, guys, think about it.”
“I would prefer not to,” Flick mumbled, shuddering.
“See, even Flick thinks it’s gross, and he loves these guys!”
“Well, I’d be more upset that I killed something so wonderfully valiant…”
“Wait, what?” CJ sputtered. “So, like, you’ve never killed a bug in your life?”
“Well, I try not to do it on purpose--”
“Yeah but like, do you ever like, crush spiders and stuff?”
“No? They’re very good at getting rid of other pests, and--”
“So your bedroom must be, like, filled with spiders, nyuk nyuk!”
“They don’t really tend to congregate in such large--”
“Ohhhh what about cockroaches! Everyone kills those!”
“I don’t--”
“And maggots and flies!”
“I really don’t think you--”
“Ugh, disgusting stuff, right, chat? Nyuk nyuk nyuk!”
Flick’s nervous smile had faded long ago, and had slowly turned into a scowl. This beaver was… so pushy. He didn’t seem to appreciate any of this, and it just felt like… like his interest was fake from the start. But if CJ didn’t like his art, and didn’t like bugs, then why had he brought himself and his whole stream to --
Ah.
So that was it.
“I think maybe you should leave, CJ.” Flick hissed, shoulders tightening. “Clearly, this wasn’t what either of us wanted.”
“What? Aw, but we’re having such a good time, ain’t we, chat? Nyuk nyuk!”
“I’m serious. You’re being really rude -- I worked hard on these, and you’re just yelling about how gross they are!”
“Well, yeah, ‘cause they’re bugs, and bugs are--”
“Great? Amazing? Beautiful, wondrous creatures?”
“Not really, they’re kinda--”
“See, that’s the problem. If you think this whole thing is a joke, fine. Whatever! I don’t need your pity points. But I’m not gonna stand here and just let you insult everything I’ve worked on!”
“Oh, c’mon!” CJ laughed, his bright tone dimming slightly. He cleared his throat before trying again. “I mean, you’re… you worked real hard on these, so why not show ‘em off? That one over there, what’s that one called?” CJ pointed towards a large, green figurine.
“That’s…” Flick took a deep breath. Maybe he was just overthinking things. “It’s a stinkbug. They’re --”
“Ewww, a stink bug?! I can’t keep my lunch down around those guys, nyuk nyuk! They’re like, the worst of the worst.”
With a sound like the crack of a whip, Flick’s tongue extended out and stuck itself to the side of CJ’s camera, pulling it right back towards him. He caught the camera in his hand, scowling at the red light on the front.
“Hey, man, what gives?!” CJ dropped his sunshiny pretenses, taking a quick step forward. “That’s mine, dude!”
“Uh-huh, and it will continue to be yours outside of my exhibit.” Flick briskly strode past CJ, not even looking him in the eyes before placing the camera just outside of the front door. “Now get out.”
“But --”
“I said get OUT.”
A slamming of the door and a reconfiguring of the shutters later, CJ found his butt planted firmly against concrete. As he got back to his feet, however, he noticed the small red light on his camera was still lit. He scooped it up with one hand, pointing it towards himself.
“Oh,” he chuckled with a half-hearted smile. “At least we got all that on tape, eh, chat?”