Chapter Text
Kravitz had finished a weekend away in Houston performing as a bard at their yearly renaissance festival. Now, it was back home to the family funeral home business. He stowed his carry on above the seat, and slipped into his assigned middle seat.
Next to him was an average-looking man. Middle aged, simple, dad-like clothes, from the glasses, the scruff, down to the jeans and dad trainers. Kravitz went ahead and buckled up, putting on his headphones.
Once everyone was seated, the intercom crackled to life.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. It’s taking a little bit longer than normal to get up in the air this afternoon, so we’re currently getting a delay. Sorry for any inconvenience. Just hang in there and I’ll get us back home as soon as possible!”
Sighing, Kravitz resigned himself to his fate. The man next to him pulls his laptop out of his bag, opening up his email and selecting to reply to an email thread which has nearly 80 responses back and forth.
Long distance? Penpals? Either way, Kravitz can read this, and decides he’s going to indulge himself, cramped into the middle seat, and take a sneaky peep into a stranger's life. The man stares at the screen for a long time, the empty email blinking back at him. The subject line reads: Re: Penpals!
Eventually, the man clicks on the email that came before, and rereads it. It’s only from three days ago.
Hey Barry!
It’s good to hear from you again! I totally thought I scared you away or something. Glad to know you were drowning in work, not actually drowning. But we just finished conducting a controlled fire out west, which is super cool! (I attached some pictures of it, since it is cool). Unfortunately, Merle left me in charge of his plants while he was gone, and I think I might be killing them slowly. I follow all of his instructions and everything! Fertilizer, the proper ratios for water, soil dampness. I don’t know what he does, dirty talk them? Either way, he’s gonna either be super chill about it when he gets back or hand me my ass. Let’s collectively hope he’ll be stoned enough to not care and just bring them back to life or something. Anyways, if you know how to revive a cactus , let me know. (Yes, I think I killed a cactus. I can barely keep my brother and I going, it's a miracle our herb garden is alive.)
Let me know how your conference goes-- I know absolutely nothing about mummies and stuff other than The Mummy itself. I mean like, give me the juicy details. Did they actually scrape their brains out with a little stick, or was that just fear mongering? How did they even come up with that? Who just went “huh, lemme stick this there, root it around and drain out the brain?” I would love to know. Please let me know if you know the answer. Also, are curses real? I know you aren’t super excited, but I’m curious. Get the information right from the source, not from the History Channel documentary.
And who knows? Maybe you can find some people there who are interested in contributing to your upcoming research project!
I have also attached some recipes that are non-dairy but just as yummy. I really like them, and so does my family. Give them a try! Take care of yourself, nerd. You can’t live off ramen noodles for life.
🖤
Lup
He clicks through the attachments, which do include a contained forest fire, and who Kravitz assumes is Lup, dressed in protective clothing, giving a thumbs up with the fire raging behind her. The next is of the plants, Merle’s, that were dying. And oof, they looked bad. Yellowing at the tips. Barry seems to agree, given his slight wince and exhale. He also glances over at the recipes, which seem really good, if the pictures are anything to go by. Purple bases with green toppings, grains, some yummy sauces. If Kravitz could cook more than bad scrambled eggs, and actually enjoyed vegetables, he’d ask for the recipes.
Seemingly inspired, Barry starts to type his response back, taking an agonizingly long time to decide on how to start. It goes through many different phrases.
Dear Lup,
It’s good to hear from you again!
Dear Lup,
I hope you haven’t burned down the house!
Dear Lup,
I hope you haven’t had to take in all of Magnus’s dogs on top of everything!
Dear Lup,
I don’t think you could scare me away. I’ve stuck around after finding out a huge part of your job is you setting fires, and I haven’t scared you away, even though all I do is study decomposition.
He pauses. This seems to be his front runner for an opener. Part of Kravitz just wants to offer some help to it, because this guy seems to really care how he’s perceived by his pen pal. He ends up seeming pleased with this, and carries on writing.
I hope you’re surviving the work week! I saw a kid eat maybe 8 key lime gogurts today in the airport, I have absolutely no idea how they got through security. Wouldn’t that make it warm?
I personally kill everything I touch, and it seems like my energy has seeped through the computer screen to Merle’s plants. Sorry! However, I can give you some references on where to buy formaldehyde and how to properly preserve the body, if you’d like.
The conference was good-- I was definitely worried about the heat and the idea of being around so many people at once, but I ended up running into my dissertation advisor! He’s actually planning on doing some field work and said nothing is finalized, but I should be expecting an email from him. He just finished teaching a class on the evolution of human preservation, which I personally wish they had taught when I was there. It’s fascinating.
I took your advice and I did some networking. I think I found a few people who would be more than happy to help fund my research project. I do think I’m going to take it more in the direction of how accidental mummifications happen. Honestly, I wish I could stay here. It was a much needed break to get out of that awful lab WT has given me, and it was nice to see old friends. If I hadn’t already checked my bags I would be off of this plane. The labs I saw are really nice and clean. Maybe I need to ask for better working conditions. A little sunlight never hurt anyone.
Whoever this guy is, he leads a pretty weird life.
I wish I could take a plane straight to you, but that would be weird, wouldn’t it? I know we joke all the time about meeting up, but I don’t know if you’re serious or not.
He deletes that paragraph. Kravitz’s interest is piqued, he loves a good love story.
I wish I could tell you how I feel. I know it’s crazy, but I really do love you.
Another harsh backspacing.
Maybe next time I can come to you instead, which would be much better than heading back to my lousy apartment. Just me and ramen again! Only it’s bad. (I actually had some really good ramen while I was at this conference, if we’re ever in Houston at the same time for some reason, we’ll have to go). I can’t wait to try those recipes-- thanks for keeping me fed! Dairy is hard to let go of, especially because velveeta exists. Let me know how your week was, you always have much cooler stuff to talk about and tell me! I can’t wait to hear from you.
Love,
Barry.
The man frowns and deletes the end bit, replacing it instead with:
Yours,
Barry .
The man connects to his phone’s hotspot and sends the email off. Kravitz exhales. What a riveting love story. He hopes the man at some point can reveal his feelings. He also hopes at some point these two internet-crossed lovers can meet one day.
When they land in Seattle, Kravitz regrets not saying anything to the man he was sitting next to. Barry. He heads home and writes what is about to be his most life-changing piece.
--
Angus McDonald thought, when he was eight, that he was going to be the next biggest world’s detective. However, a few internships in his teens proved that that was simply not his life’s course. Instead, his college had given him an internship for the summer working as Taako Taaco, host of Sizzle It Up With Taako! And the rest is now history. The host had quickly taken him under his wing, and while Angus could barely cut and saute a mushroom, he had proven very useful to navigating and organizing Taako’s life, and was the best at making sure Taako got somewhere on time.
He was quickly brought into Taako’s large, mis-matched, and found family. There was his twin sister, Lup, who worked as a fire scientist and lived with Taako. Their foster parents, Merle and Davenport, a doctor and a pilot, respectively. The twins had two step siblings, one being Magnus, who ran a huge dog shelter and was very fond of woodworking, and often tried to get Angus to join him. Unfortunately, Angus was not the best with knives and tried to steer clear. He’d throw a ball for a dog, though. The other, Lucretia, was currently teaching in Egypt under a Fulbright scholarship.
Part of his responsibilities was managing, for the most part, Taako’s personal social media (@TAAKO across all media, give him a follow). It was with great shock that, on a random Tuesday morning in May he woke up to a slur of notifications on Taako’s twitter.
When he went to investigate what on earth Taako was tagged in, he noticed a few trending topics. One, Taako. Two, the phrase Dear Lup.
It turns out, the night before, a song titled Dear Lup had been released by the singer-songwriter named Kravitz, based out of Seattle. Curious, Angus pulled up the song and gave it a listen.
I just stepped on a plane, my bags on the shelf
I find my seat in the middle and plan to keep to myself
The pilot comes on, says "there's been a delay"
And I sigh, buckle up, and prepare for the wait
There's a middle-aged man on my right by the window
He rereads an email, full of romantic innuendos,
Then he’s drafting an email and from where I am seated
I can side-eye that shit, so of course I'm gon' read it.
It said: Dear Lup,
This is already great: dude's got a pen pal with a killer first name
He opens with an inside joke and he's hopin'
To set a casual tone, his words carefully chosen
He was sure that his week spent in Houston would drag
But then a face from his past quickly changed all of that
The trip was for business, he’s not used to likin’ the travel
But this time he’s not ready to head back to Seattle.
Dear Lup, I'd rather be off this plane
I can't admit the half of it that I want to say
Do I pretend? Do I push you away?
I'm jet laggin' dear Lup and I'll give you
I'll give you your space.
I can tell by the abuse of the backspace key
There's a heart balanced on how his worlds are perceived
He’s retyped that fourth paragraph four times
Swinging the tone back and forth until he’s so satisfied
That he knows that even though their paths have not met,
There's an air of regret but not enough to reverse
And I am stunned, there I sit, completely convinced
That once you grow old you stop dealin' with this
The uncertain, the hurtin', the feelin like dirt when things don't
Work out by the fall of the curtain
He hits send, powers off, and we're ready to go
And I am sad for the passion that dear Lup, she might never know.
I just stepped off a plane, I've got one regret
I know I'll never get closure or ever see how it ends
No I won't know his answer, what happens between them
Why he kept her cards so close even he couldn't see them
What gave him such pause when he so clearly wanted
To tell you all the emotions he tried so hard to bottle
And I'll never know why he kept the honest truth from you
But oh Dear Lup...
In the rough draft ...
Oh in the rough draft
In the rough draft he loved you.
Angus quickly scrambles to send the song Taako’s way, drafting up a quick text.
Angus: Goodmorning, sir! While we were all dozing last night (I hope so, sourdough only needs to be fed weekly and does not grow if watched), you and Lup started to trend on Twitter! Turns out, Lup had a song written about her, but from the perspective of someone reading an email being sent to Lup. I know Lup has her internet crush, and I think it might be about them! I’ve attached a link to the song, let me know what you think!
Angus: Also, don’t forget about the meeting at 2pm at the studio. If I haven’t heard from you by noon, I’m going to call until I hear from you. If it hits 1pm and I haven’t heard from you, I’m knocking down your door.
--
Taako wakes up to the best smell in the world: Buttered toast, coffee, and mushrooms sauteing. That was definitely the perk of living with someone who’s office job dictated they have a normal sleep schedule. Breakfast was normally made for Taako before Lup left for work.
The first thing Taako does in the morning is briefly check his phone. He sees the texts from Angus and frowns. He sends a quick text back.
Taako: ill listen w lup
Taako: smells like she made breakfast
Taako: im awake ill see u @ 2
With that, Taako climbs out of bed, checking Twitter as he meanders into the kitchen. Lup is already up and dressed in her ‘office attire,’ which is just a pair of nice trousers, a tight-fitted shirt, and her hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her headphones are on her head, and Taako can hear the faint sound of an audiobook coming from them as she slices up an avocado to top their toast with.
Taako makes himself a cup of coffee, opening up the Keurig pot and adding the grounds to their compost. Lup removes her headphones and pauses her book.
“Morning, Koko,” Lup says, adding garlic salt, pepper, olive oil and a good few shakes of hot sauce to the tops of their toast, before handing him a plate. “Sleep well?”
Taako just shrugs, accepting the food and sitting at the counter.
Lup takes a bite of her toast and lets out a pleased hum, “This is probably one of the best things I can make.”
Taako takes a bite and gives a thumbs up in agreement. Once he’s chewed and swallowed, and had a little bit of coffee, he brings up his text from Angus this morning.
“Hey, so, apparently we’re trending on Twitter right now.”
Lup raises an eyebrow, “Did we do anything?”
“No. But, someone wrote a song called Dear Lup . I got a text from Angus about it this morning. Or, I woke up to one from him. Wanna hear it? I haven’t listened yet.”
“Duh. I don’t know who would write a song about me. It might not even be about me.”
Taako shrugs again and plays the song. The two of them sit there, eating their toast and drinking their coffee, taking in the lyrics. Once it’s over, Lup is staring at the phone in disbelief. Taako hums, just like a cat with cream, “Wasn’t your Email Beau, your Internet Lover, just in Houston a few weeks ago? Doesn’t he live in Seattle?”
Stuck in processing, Lup doesn’t respond. When she does, she quickly dismisses the thought by making herself another cup of coffee, this time iced and in a portable container. “Lup could be a common nickname.”
“Yes, because Lup is a common name. We looked this up, you’re the only Lup in like, the world. Or, your penpal of what, three years is in love with you too.”
“I’ve resigned myself to the fact that Barry views me as nothing more than a friend, better yet, just a penpal,” Lup says, while gathering her work bag and double checking that all her things were there. “Nothing more, nothing less. What are you up to today?”
“I have a meeting at 2. I think I’m going to try and get in contact with this Kravitz guy, who wrote the song. He’s kinda cute. And I want my sister to be happy with her weird, mummy-death-obsessed crush. At least know if the song is about Mr. Dreamy Bluejeans.”
Lup groans and zips up her heeled boots, coming over and exchanging cheek kisses with Taako as a farewell. “Whatever makes you happy, Koko. I’ll see you tonight for dinner, yeah?”
“Yeah, I’ll cook or something. Or order in. I haven’t quite decided yet.”
Lup waves, car keys in hand, before exiting their house.
Taako, left to his own devices, decides to shoot a quick little DM to his soon-to-be new friend Kravitz.
TAAKO: hey whats up my man so i think u accidently wrote a song abt my sister
TAAKO: shes been pining after this dude who she’s penpals with for like the past three years who was going from houston to seattle for work a few weeks ago
TAAKO: look i guess im asking if u could give me the juicy deets of the email he almost sent that first draft or whatever
TAAKO: cause lup (sister) doesnt think barry (internet beau) loves her
TAAKO: but ive read those emails lmao romantic innuendos is a very good way of describing them
TAAKO: she also thinks lup is a common nickname which lets be real ... it’s not
A reply pops up a few moments later.
Kravitz: Hello, Taako! I was personally really surprised to see the song take this turn, I thought I was just going to have a cute, simple song about a little bit of romance. I’m sorry if your sister and her ‘internet beau’ find my song intrusive on their private relationship. I can say that I’m very positive he almost signed the email off as “Love, Barry.” And he spoke about mummies and such in his email. Hope this helps! Best, Kravitz.
TAAKO: yea that sounds like her man
TAAKO: thx 4 the help
TAAKO: my assistant says ur in seattle
TAAKO: wut r u gonna do w ur newfound internet fame?
Kravitz: Nothing new. I work for my mom’s funeral business when I’m not making music, and to her internet fame is nothing. I don’t think she would accept fame even if I won an Oscar. I’d have to win an Oscar, an Emmy and a Tony to pull any kind of internet fame around her. Perhaps I’ll take a trip to my local coffee shop and get a large hot chocolate instead of a medium to celebrate.
TAAKO: damn a funeral home .... sounds like u n barry would get along great
TAAKO: lmao def treat urself to that large hot choc my man u deserve it
TAAKO: u got like venmo or cashapp or smthn ? i can put that on my dollar as thanks
Kravtiz: I appreciate the offer, but I shouldn’t accept.
TAAKO: if they get 2gether ?
Kravitz: I could perhaps be swayed.
--
After his meeting let out, Taako took Angus to the grocery store with him, picking up groceries for dinner that night. While examining heads of broccoli, he looks over at Angus, who’s looking at his phone.
“I think Lup needs to meet this Barry person,” Taako says, “Soon. What do you think?”
It’s rare Taako asks for opinions. It’s even rarer when he asks for opinions about his sister. It’s rarest when he asks Angus for his opinion, and seems ready to consider his advice.
“I don’t know, sir. Don’t you think that Lup would be annoyed that you meddled in her business?”
Taako sniffs the broccoli in his hand before placing it in their basket. “She’ll get over it.”
“I think you’ve made your decision then.” Angus looks back to his phone, effectively ending the conversation. .
Taako lets himself swell a bit with pride, just on the inside. What a him-esque thing to say. “It’s a shame you can’t cut vegetables.”
--
When Lup arrives home from work, she throws her keys on the table in the entryway, kicks off her shoes, and pulls her hair out of her ponytail, running her fingers through it.
“Rough day?” Taako asks from the kitchen, not looking up from his knifework, jazz music playing, apron on, and towel over his shoulder.
“Just paperwork,” Lup mumbles, walking past the kitchen.
“Hey!” Lup stops, looking at Taako. “I’m flying your lover here. This has gone on far too long.”
“Taako, I really don’t want to do this right now,” Lup says softly.
The entire atmosphere in the room changes. Taako stops cutting and turns to look at Lup. “What happened at work?”
Lup shakes her head. “Look, everyone knows about that song now, and everyone asked me about it today. And now, I’m really exhausted. And while it would be nice to meet Barry, it just feels more comfortable if we keep things the way they are. As penpals. What if we meet and he doesn’t ... He doesn’t like me .”
Her gaze is focused so hard on the floor, it makes Taako pause and actually think about his words for once.
“I’ll kill him.”
“No-”
“Yes I will. No hesitation.”
They stand there, quiet, before Lup rubs her temples.
“I’m gonna go take a bath. I appreciate it though, Koko.”
Taako feels like he should say more, but once the bath water starts running, he resumes his cutting. He won’t back down on this, and it seems neither will Lup.
--
From her bathtub, Lup sends a follow up email to Barry. She hadn’t heard from him all day, even though it had been three days since she had sent her last email. It normally took about five days, max, for Barry to respond, but given the recent events, she was a little more nervous.
Hey there stranger,
Haven’t heard from you in a few days. Which is normal. But. Why don’t we meet? My number’s 568-908-4752. I live in LA if you’re ever coming down.
ttyl
Lup 🖤
Before she can talk herself out of it, Lup sends off the email and submerges herself underwater.
--
???: Hey it’s Barry
???: I’m actually giving a guest lecture tomorrow, but I’m in LA tonight and until Wednesday.
???: Crazy how things work out
--
“What do I say ?” Lup asks, frantically pacing their living room, dressed in her robe and her hair tied up in a towel turban. Taako sits on the couch, Lup’s phone in hand, watching his sister. Two bowls of food rest on the coffee table, and the kitchen is still not cleaned up.
“I dunno, ‘Hey, I love you too! Wanna get drinks in 45?’”
“I have work tomorrow.”
“He has a guest lecture.”
Lup pauses.
Taako keeps going. “What would Merle tell you to do?”
“I don’t know. YOLO. Go get drinks. It’s late, though.”
Taako unlocks her phone and types as he speaks, “Want to meet up in 45 for drinks? I know a cool bar we can go to.” The text is nearly spot on imitation.
“Don’t send it,” Lup says, quickly lunging for the phone, which Taako rolls over the back of the couch to keep from her reach. They roll around on the floor, tugging at hair and ears, pinching elbows and armpits, but Taako does not listen.
Lup tugs on Taako’s ear, “What did you do that for!”
The phone buzzes. Taako looks at it.
???: Sure. What place?
“Looks like you have a date, Lulu.”
Lup groans and sntaches her phone back from him, heading towards her room. Taako picks up the food bowls and follows after her, happy as could be.
--
The Grainy Graveyard is a small, hole-in-the-wall bar that Lup and Taako have frequented since they first moved to LA. It’s small, they’re regulars, it’s safe. Lup groans and lays her head on the steering wheel, hands shaking. She should have made Taako come with her, and at least sit in the car. She would have left the engine running with the air conditioning on and some music playing. Steeling herself, Lup turns off the car and climbs out, suddenly self conscious of her height, which wow, she has not felt that way in decades . Heading inside, the atmosphere calms her down a little. She orders a drink and sits down at a table, nibbling on the peanuts. Huge shout out to Brian the Bartender for giving her extra.
Magnus
One new Notification.
Lup sighs and opens up the voice memo, it's clear Taako has already told him about the impromptu drinks (date?) he has her on. Magnus hated texting, much preferring to send little voice memos and videos and pictures back and forth, trying to create a ‘real conversation’ as much as possible. It was endearing.
“Hey Lup, just wanted to wish you good luck! You got this! I know it’ll work out, and if it doesn’t , I’ll come over tomorrow and we can hang out. We can hang out tomorrow anyways! I love you!”
A faint smile graces Lup’s lips, and she records a small message back. “Hey Mags, thanks for the vote of confidence, I’ll see you tomorrow. Love you too!”
She sends a quick text to Barry, letting him know that she’s there, and her heart feels like it’s going to burst out of her chest. The music is uplifting yet quiet, the bar isn’t super busy. Mostly regulars, since it was eight pm on a work day.
The bell above the door rings, and the hairs on the back of Lup’s neck stand up. Her sixth sense kicks in, and she knows, she knows there’s no turning back now.
“Lup?” Comes a voice. It’s deep, slightly scruffy. Could give Johnny Cash a run for his money.
Lup turns and is looking at none other than Barry motherfucking Bluejeans, who’s dressed in nice jeans and a sweater. “Barry?” She asks. And she’d ask it again and again to just see that grin across his face. She climbs out of the booth and hugs him tight. She’s got a few inches on him, but she and Taako have a few inches on everybody . And, if anyone was really going to ask, Barry smells really good.
They release, grinning like dumb fools. “I’m gonna go grab a drink. What are you drinking?”
Lup glances back at her beer, then back to Barry, “You know, I have no idea. Whatever Brian recommended to me.”
“If it’s good enough for you, it’s good enough for me,” Barry says.
Lup settles back into her seat, and Barry comes back a few moments later with his own drink. It’s quiet for a second. Despite emailing back and forth for the past few years, something about being face to face is strange.
“So-” The two of them start at the same time, but Lup lets out a giggle that if anyone from her family had heard, she’d be teased for life . “Sorry, no you-”
Barry takes a sip of his beer, effectively forcing Lup to finish her sentence. She doesn’t really mind though.
“Thanks for meeting me out here.”
“Hey, it’s really no problem. It’s crazy that I was already in the area, too. It’s the least I can do, since I made you trend on Twitter. Speaking of, your brother is Taako from TV ?”
Lup grins and rolls her eyes, “Do you know any other Taakos?”
Barry thinks for a moment, “No, surprisingly. I don’t know any other Lups, either.”
“Cause we’re one of a kind,” Lup says, and she can’t seem to erase the smile off her face. “What are you giving a lecture about?”
“Oh, it’s for an archeology class, just the usual. You know, mummies, dead things, scraping brains out through noses.”
“The usual,” Lup echoes.
“You set fires for a living,” Barry pointed out.
“So, you never answered my question. Who did decide to scrape brains out through noses?”
“Oh, it doesn’t have a set person, but it does date back as far as the 2nd century, and it was thought to purify the body to allow for a safe voyage to the Underworld. But the first person to document was the historian Herodotus.”
“That’s sick as hell. I don’t think I’ve ever asked, but why mummies? Aren’t they kinda creepy?”
“They are, but there’s so much we don’t know about them, and they were such a monumental part of a person’s life. I guess ... I guess I’m just fascinated by how the most important parts of people's lives, I mean, they wouldn’t be alive for it. The idea of working your whole life for the unknown seems ...”
“Metal as fuck.”
Barry chuckles and nods, “Metal as fuck. Why fire?”
“I like when things go boom,” Lup says, using her hands to mimic an explosion. And it’s like, controlling the uncontrollable. Which I’m sure has some deep-seated trauma I haven’t even begun to unpack.”
“I mean, who doesn’t?”
“Exactly.”
The conversation ebbs and flows. Barry talks about his parents, they’re much older now and live in a little cottage by the sea, surrounded by birds and cats. It seems almost fitting, such a soft and normal family producing such a wonderfully normal son with some of the weirdest fascinations. Lup is enthralled. In return, she talks about how her ‘stepsister-but-sister-from-the-foster-system’ Lucretia is currently teaching in Egypt with a Fulbright scholarship.
Barry shows pictures of his parents' cats, and Lup shows pictures of Magnus’s dogs in return. Right before she swipes through, she gets a call from her brother.
“Oh, hang on. Can I?” Barry nods, sitting back and pointing at their empty beers.
“Yes please,” Lup says with a smile, answering the phone while Barry heads back to the bar.
“Are you dead! ” Taako all but shrieks into the phone.
“I’m alive, don’t worry about me.”
“Is it going well?”
“Yeah, it’s going great, Koko. Don’t worry about me.”
There’s a pause.
“Should I leave the lights on for you?”
“Oh, yeah, I’ll be home tonight. Really, I’m alright. We’re just drinking beers, I’ll be done after this one.”
“Alright. Let me know when you get home. See you later, lovebird. Love you.”
“Love you, doofus,” Lup says, hanging up the phone right after Barry sits back down.
“Everything good?” Barry asks, handing Lup her glass.
“Mhm. Taako just wanted to make sure I was still alive.”
Barry laughed at that, cheeks tinged pink from the alcohol.
“I told him I was perfectly fine,” Lup says.
The conversation picks back up. They talk about how ridiculous it was they ended up meeting just because a song gave them the final push and their shared interests in bad murder mystery novels from the gas station bin. Lup tells stories about her college days, which Barry is enthralled by the sheer wildness of the tales, but something about Lup’s tone makes him believe she’s not exaggerating.
Lup ends up closing out their tab with some cash she stole from Taako on her way out of the house, and the two of them stand outside the bar by Lup’s car.
“This was fun,” Barry says softly, “We should have done this sooner.”
“I’m a big believer in fate,” Lup says, reaching her hand out to thread their fingers together. A blush works its way across Barry’s cheeks. “We should do this again. Because you head back to Seattle.”
“Definitely,” Barry says, “Maybe we can get lunch or dinner tomorrow? I don’t know exactly when you’re free-”
“If you want to have an early dinner, I can show you around my work and maybe go walk around or something?”
“Y-yeah, I’d like that.”
The air between them is thick.
“Barry?”
“Yeah?”
Lup desperately wants to ask about that one line from the song, the one that closed it out. In the rough draft he loved you . But instead she clears her throat and smiles, “I’ll see you tomorrow, let me know when you get home?”
“Of course,” Barry says, and before he can second guess himself, he kisses the back of Lup’s hand. It’s her turn to blush, and he can’t help but hope he can see her do that five thousand times over, for centuries. This feels right, this feels normal, this feels like it just should be .
And with that, they part, smiles on their faces and a whole future to look forward to together.