Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Hey Ghoulie,” Party Poison says as they walk into Fun Ghoul’s room, sitting down on his desk and swinging their legs. “I got a proposition for ya’”

“Shoot,” he says, eyes not moving from the comic book he’s reading.

“Okay so you know how Kobra has been pinning for Show Pony for like ages, well he’s going nowhere with this yearning bullshit and I’m getting tired of watching him drool every time they enter a room, so I think it’s time to take matters into my own hands.”

“Okay? I don’t see how this involves me.” Ghoul says, finally looking up at Party.

“Well I need a partner in crime, don’t I? You know I can’t do this on my own. Besides it’ll be fun. We can watch him be all stupid and it’ll give you something to do instead of sitting here all day.”

Ghoul thinks about it for a moment, and then says, “Fine. But you are doing my load of the dishes for 2 weeks.”

“Deal. Now let’s get brainstorming.”

* * *

“Hey! Show Pony!” Fun Ghoul shouts, getting Pony’s attention from across the diner. They skate over and meet Ghoul at the booth he’s sitting at, sunlight casting a glow over their face.

“What’s up, honey?”

“You know Poison told me that they heard through the grapevine that there was an abandoned mall just at the edge of Zone 3, no one’s really touched it yet. You and Kobra should check it out.”

“Ooh that sounds fun! I’ll let Kobe’s know and see if he wants to go. Thanks, Ghoulie,” Show Pony says as they speed off to Kobra Kids room.

Ghoul gets up to go to Party Poisons room and let them know that the plan is under way.

* * *

Show Pony and Kobra Kid hop in the trans am and drive down to the abandoned mall around noon. Party Poison and Fun Ghoul leave about fifteen minutes after them on one of the bikes, Poison's arms wrapped around Ghouls waist.

When they get there, they park the bike in a secluded spot and dive into the bushes to watch the pair. The bushes aren’t very big, so Party and Ghoul are flush against each other, bodies touching from shoulder to hip. They watch the two poke around the opening, and Show Pony picks a flower from between the cracks in the concrete to hand it to Kobra Kid, who accepts it with red cheeks. Show Pony then fiddles with Kobra’s hair, and opens the door to the mall, letting Kobra walk in first.

Fun Ghoul turns to ask Party Poison a question, but they must have had the same idea and turned their head towards Ghoul. Their faces were very close, noses almost touching. He opens his mouth to say something but gets distracted seeing Poisons eyes up close. They are a bright green, and seem to almost twinkle in the light. Poison clears their throat and turns away, looking down when they say, “You want to head inside?”

Ghoul nods and stands up, offering Party Poison a hand, which they accept. Still holding onto Ghoul, they start making their way over to the mall.
The two sneakily try to follow behind Show Pony and Kobra Kid without being noticed. It was going pretty well, until Party stops in their tracks, pulling Ghoul to a halt. “What is it?” he asks, but Poison just points at one of the storefronts. It’s an old arcade. Ghoul looks over his shoulder to try and spot Pony and Kobra, but they are already gone. When he looks back Party is already poking around in the arcade. He just shrugs and follows them inside.

Poison is pulling an old piece of fabric off of what looks like an ancient dance machine, and they head towards where its plugged in to see if it still works. After a bit of messing around, the game lights up and electronic music comes out of it.
Ghoul stand his with his arms crossed and feet planted “Nuh uh, I am not playing that thing.”

“Please Ghoulie, it’s two player, I can’t do it by myself. Pleeeeaaaase.”

“Alright fine fine, but you totally owe me,” he says as he stands up on the raised platform. He presses the start button and fast techno music starts playing as arrows come down on the screen. Party totally kicks his ass, as expected, and they have a shit eating grin on their face when the screen shows the final scores. Party opens their mouth to speak but before they can Ghoul goes “No gloating!” Party looks at them expectantly until he sighs and adds, “You did a pretty good job.” He turns and walks towards the claw machine, missing the big goofy smile on their face.

Fun Ghoul is a boss at the claw machine, and after a few tries he manages to win a cute little manatee plushie. He turns to face Poison, toy behind his back. “For you, dear royalty, a gift of my loyalty,” Ghoul says and presents the gift with a flourish. Poison squeals and grabs the manatee, pulling it close to their chest. They then pull Ghoul into a tight hug, wrapping their arms around his waist and squeezing hard. After a little while they pull away and ask “So we totally lost them, right?”

“Yep.”

“Shit. Oh well, you want to go home and bother Jet?”

“How could I refuse?”

* * *

“Hiya Show Pony!” Party Poison says as they slide on top of the table that Pony was sitting at, fiddling with the wheel on their skates.

“Sup doll, whatcha need?”

“Well it’s just that I heard that Kobes was looking to learn how’ta skate and since you’re the best rocking roller this side of Zone 6 I was thinkin’ you could probably teach ‘im.”

Show Pony just stares at Party Poison for a while, an amused and curious smile on their face. Eventually they say, “Sure, but you and Ghoulie gotta learn too.” Poison nods at the deal and Pony adds, raising their eyebrows, “Make it a double date, you know?”

“What?” Party says with confused look on their face.

“Nothing. Forget I said anything, sugar. I’ll fix up my skates and we can start work tomorrow, bright and early!”

Apparently, to Show Pony, bright and early meant 7 in the morning, which was much earlier than they were used to. It also didn’t help that Party Poison, Fun Ghoul and Kobra Kid all looked mighty stupid, decked out in protective gear. Of course, Pony looked amazing as ever, purple skates all fixed up and ready to roll.

They started off showing the group a couple basic moves and how to stop, then let them practice while they supervise. It was going pretty well, Show Pony was with Kobra, fixing his stance, when Poison spun out of control and ate shit… right on top of Ghoul. They both went tumbling to ground, Party Poison using Fun Ghoul as cushioning. They both groaned in pain, then Poison realised the position they were in and quickly scrambled to their feet.

They did pretty well for the rest of their training time, but Party kept stumbling, so Ghoul held onto their hand to keep them upright. By the time they were done, Pony and Kobra had big smiles on their faces. They came up behind the two and Pony clapped them on the back to congratulate them on how well they did, causing both to pitch forward and fall on their faces.

* * *

“I don’t know Party, are you sure about this?”

“Chill Ghoul, this is totally gonna work.” Party takes a deep breath and yells, “KOBRA!”

“What?!” He shouts back.

“I spilt juice all over our bed, its unusable!”

“What? How the fuck did you do that?” Kobra asks as he walks into the room. A blanket is strategically placed over the bed to hide the supposed juice stain.

“Unimportant. Anyways it looks like you’ll have to room with Show Pony tonight in the back office,” Party says, trying for nonchalant.

“Huh? Where will you sleep then idiot?”

“Oh, I’ll just room with Ghoulie it’s no issue,” they say, waving their arms around and ushering Kobra Kid towards Show Pony’s room.

Later that night, Party Poison makes their way towards Fun Ghoul’s room, shirt slipping off their collar bones and pyjama pants slinging low on their hip. The room is covered is homemade band posters and painted tapestries. Ghoul is already asleep when they enter and Party is quiet as they get into bed and pull the covers over them, whispering “Night Ghoul,” before they close their eyes and focus on the breathing beside them.

Party is awoken by harsh sunlight hitting their eyes. They try to burrow down into their pillow to get away from it, but they realise their pillow is no pillow at all; its Fun Ghoul. They open their eyes at this and are greeted with Ghoul’s peaceful face, deep in sleep. Party is on top of him, legs tangled together and arms snug around his torso. They feel their face heat up as they try to untangle themselves without waking him up. Once successful, they pad out towards the kitchen, because if anything can distract them from what just happened is coffee.

* * *

“Hey Kobra, how’s it going man?” Ghoul asks, sidling up next to him in the booth, where he’s working on his power glove.

“Pretty well dude, what’s up?”

“Well I heard that there was a party out in Zone 4 and I was thinking you should totally ask Show Pony to go.”

Kobra quirked an eyebrow at him and asks, “Is there any specific reason you want me to ask them?”

Shit. “Oh, ha ha, you know me, I’m just so bad at talking to people.” Nice save Ghoul.

Because the universe loves him, it was at this moment that Show Pony skated into the diner with the supplies from the run they just went on. They place the supplies on the counter and saunters over towards them.

“Hey boys, whatcha talking about?”

“Hey Pony,” Kobra says, “Ghoul was just telling me there’s gonna be a rager tonight in Zone 4 and I was wondering if you wanted to go with me”

“Aw, of course I want to go with you doll. It’s a date,” they said with a wink. “Are you and Party coming?”

“Yes they are,” Kobra says before Ghoul has a chance to speak, “We’ll need someone to be dd and I elect Fun Ghoul.”

“Oh yes I second that vote!” Pony says, raising their arm.

Ghoul just sighs and makes a note to tell Poison about what just happened between Pony and Kobra.

* * *

The party is pretty good, by killjoy standards. One of Pony’s friends is working the tunes and the music reverberates throughout the whole house, feeling the bass in your bones. Pony immediately drags Kobra to the dance floor. Party and Ghoul sit by the drinks making conversation and watching the two dance. That is, until they completely disappear from the floor. Scanning the crowd, Ghoul can’t find them anywhere.

“Well shit. They’ve like totally gone. We had one job and it was to watch them.”

Poison makes a face like they are thinking hard, a crease forming on their forehead.

“Well, the way I see it we have two options: 1. We stay here and wait around hoping they show up again, or 2. We go out and dance. And I am very partial to the latter.” They say as the grab Ghouls hand and drag them towards the dancefloor.

The music is loud and vibrates through Ghouls body as he throws himself into the song. When that one ends, Party wraps their arms around Ghouls’ necks to they’re face to face. Ghoul can feel Party’s breath on their cheek as they sway to the music. It feels like there is no one else around even though there are people all around them. Party stares straight into his eyes as they mouth along to the song. “Let's be alone together, we could stay young forever. Scream it from the top of your lungs.” The colourful light reflecting from Poison’s eyes is the last thing he sees before they close their eyes and surge forward to kiss Ghoul. A little startled, Ghoul quickly melts into the kiss, placing his arms on Party’s hips.

Ghoul pulls away for a brief moment, saying, “We are totally going to talk about this later,” before kissing Party again.

They stay like that for a while, making out on the dancefloor while the crowd moves around them and the songs change. Eventually, they break apart, breathing heavy brushing their foreheads together. Ghoul grabs Party’s hand and pulls them off the floor towards the drink’s cooler, smiling softly at them. They chill at the party for a little longer, chatting idly until Show Pony and Kobra resurface. They then all hop in the trans am.

Party ends up sleeping in Ghoul’s bed that night as well, but this time it’s not because of spilt juice.

* * *
When Party Poison woke up the next morning, they made there way out of Ghoul’s room and into the diner. Kobra was siting in one of the booths, and Show Pony came up to him with two cups of coffee. They sat across from Kobra and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Poison just stares at them, mouth agape, until they regain their senses and shout “GHOUL! We did it! Get in here it worked!”

Fun Ghoul stumbled into the diner, rubbing his eyes at the sudden brightness. “What did we do?”

Party Poison motions to the two and says, “They got together!”

“Okay yeah, like you did anything,” Kobra Kid says with a bored expression.

“You knew about it?!?”

“Honey of course I knew about it, destroya, you two are about as subtle as a hurricane,” says Show Pony.

“Okay wait,” Ghoul says interrupting the conversation, “When did you two get together?”

“The night that Poison ‘spilt juice’ on their bed,” Kobra kid says.
“So, we got you guys to go to that party for nothing?” Party says, throwing their hands up.

“Well obviously not for nothing,” Show Pony says, gesturing to Party and Ghoul, “You too seemed to have benefited from it.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Ghoul says, heat rising to his cheeks, “So you just knew the whole time and said nothing? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Well I was crushing on KK too, and I thought what’s the harm? Worst case scenario nothing changes, best-case scenario I get a boyfriend,” Show Pony says with a smile.

‘Well I think the best-case scenario is pretty shiny too.” Kobra says, a big goofy grin on his face.

“Ugh ew gay people. Let’s go Ghoulie, I don’t need to see them being all pastel over each other.”

“You’re a fucking hypocrite pissboy, I saw you and Ghoul sucking face last night.” Show Pony yells over their shoulder.

Party Poison just flips them off and grabs Ghoul’s hand, leading him back to their bedroom.

Chapter Text

“Hey Kobes! What’s up?” Show Pony asks, skating up to Kobra Kid, who’s sitting in one of the booths, eating a can of Power Pup.

He wipes his mouth and responds, “Not much, did you need something?”

“Well Ghoul told me that there was an untouched mall around Zone 3 and I was wondering if you wanted to check it out with me?”

“Yeah that sounds sick, I got a few things to check up on but we can leave around lunchtime I that’s cool with you.”

“Shiny! I’ll see you then,” they say as they wink and turn away, skating off to their room in the back office.

* * *

They take the trans am, Pony driving and Kobra in the passenger seat, and they speed towards Zone 3. The drive doesn’t take long, and they park in the run-down parking lot, avoiding the pot holes.

When they get out, they see that there’s a bunch of garbage bags full of old clothes out the front. Show Pony goes immediately for them, while Kobra stands back and watches as they shout out their finds.

“A couple night gowns, some pants. There’s not really much here- Oo a spikey belt!” they say over their shoulder, holding up the belt. They get up and fasten the pink and black belt to their outfit. “How do I look?”

“Just ravishing.”

“You flatter me too much darl. Oh, look at that,” Show pony says as they point at a flower growing in between the cracks in the concrete.

They pick it and hand it to Kobra with a flourish. “For you, my dear.” Kobra accepts it, flushing greatly, and stares at it until Show Pony says, “Oh! Wait great idea happening right now.” They take the flower out of his hands and bring it up to his face, securing it in his hair. Their tongue sticks out a little while do so, like they’re focusing really hard. Once its in place, they make eye contact and smile at him, then pull back and open the door to the mall dramatically and take confident steps in.

Most of the shops are unremarkable, or the ceiling has collapsed a bit so they can’t check them out. Show Pony is about to call it a bust until they see something that catches their eye.

“Oh my god, Kobra look!” they say as the run towards a makeup store. Kobra isn’t sure what to expect, but its definitely not Show Pony asking, “Can I do your make up?”

“Um, I don’t know.”

“Pretty please, its only a little expired, and it would look so good on you,” they say as they bat their eyelashes, and how could Kobra say no to that?

“Well… okay sure.”

“Yes! Oh, I have the best idea this is going to be so great. Alright doll you can just sit in that chair and let me work my magic.”

Kobra sits in a one of the chairs, leather having worn down by age. He waits while Pony shuffles around the store, grabbing what they need. Eventually they get all the must needed supplies and plonks them down on the table next to him.

“Okay, I have a vision and its gonna look sparkling,” they say as the apply primer to his eyelids.

They work for a while, tongue sticking out again. Its not that Kobra Kid doesn’t like getting his makeup done, its just that Show Pony is very close to him, and he can feel their breath on his cheeks. He hopes he isn’t blushing as they lean forward to do his eyeliner. A few minutes later they are finished, and bring over a mirror to show him. The look is vibrant, with bright reds and pinks covering his eyelids, and a pop of yellow in his inner corner. The eyeliner is bold and accentuates the sharp lines of his face.

“I tried to make it match your jacket,” Show Pony says, almost shyly, “Do ya’ like it?”

“Like it? I look amazing. I love it.”

They break out into a massive grin, and pat Kobra back as they walk back out towards the rest of the mall.

“That’ll be 500 carbons, but I accept payment in the form of magazines and makeup supplies, wink wink,” they shout over their shoulder.

They explore the rest of the mall, but there’s nothing else exciting, so they end up leaving after a bit. And if Kobra Kid steals a couple of eye shadows on the way out, well then no one has to know.

* * *

“Kobra!” Pony shouts as he enters the diner, getting up from their booth to meet him at the door.

“Hey Pony, what’s up?”

“Well Poison said you needed someone to teach you how to skate, and I have decided to take up the challenge. We all meet tomorrow as a group at that parkin’ lot at 7am so better get some good sleep. Alright cool, see ya’ babes!”

Kobra just stares dumbfounded at Show Pony as they walk away. “What? …as a group?”

Tomorrow morning Kobra Kid is awoken by a pair of elbow pads hitting him in the face.

“Owww,” he says sleepily, “What was that for?”

“I said 7am didn’t I? Come on, I aint got time to wait around for you or the other two, we gotta get cracking.” They exit his room, leaving Kobra Kid with a small bruise forming on his face.

Show Pony does a bit of a spiel about proper technique, and then shows the group some basic moves. It doesn’t seem like Party Poison and Fun Ghoul are paying attention, but Kobra is listening intently. He really did want to learn how to skate, but there’s also something about Pony that draws you in. They are a very captivating person.

They say to now practice the moves they showed, while they supervise. Kobra tries to do what Pony showed, but his movements are stiff and he keeps stumbling. Show Pony comes up behind him.

“Darl you gotta move your hips when you go forward, here like this.” They place their hands on his hips, and slowly moving them in the right direction, while making sure that Kobra is going forward. Its just as they do this that they hear a crash. When they turn around they see Party Poison and Fun Ghoul in a heap on the floor. Once Show Pony has recovered from laughing, and the two are upright again, they declared that it was time to take a break.

They trained for a little longer after that, and after a long days work they finally decided to call it a day. They were exhausted but happy with all the work they’d done. Kobra and Show Pony had big smiles on their face, and they went up to the other two to congratulate them, Pony clapping them on the shoulders…which sent them face first into the ground. This sent Show Pony into another laughing fit that didn’t end as fast as the other one.

* * *

After hearing from Poison that he’d have to spend tonight in a different room, he sort of forgot about it, and went on with his day. It was only when he had gotten ready for bed and went to his room, only to find Party Poison not there, when he remembered. He headed to the back office, where Show Pony’s room was. They were standing in the doorway, inspecting their nails, when the realised Kobra was there and gave him a smile.

“Hey doll, let me give you the tour.”

The room was similar to him and Party’s, layout wise. The bed was in the back corner, there was a dresser and mirror next to the door, and a bookcase on the left wall. The walls and ceiling were covered in posters and magazine clippings. Stuck around the mirror were polaroids from when they spent an alarming amount of carbons over this old camera. The photos were of them and the rest of the fab four, some of them being silly, some of them candid photos, and it made the room look all lived in.

“Well…this is her,” they said, sitting down on the mattress and tapping the spot next to them, meaning for Kobra to sit down next to them. He did, and there was silence for a while, until Pony took a deep breath and said;

“Did you notice Ghoul and Poison being really weird recently?”

“Yeah, they’re like always together when I see them.”

Pony waits a moment, and then says, “I think they’ve been trying to, um, set us up.”

“Oh,” Kobra says, trying to process what was just said. What was he supposed to do now? When he can’t think of anything to say, he goes, “What do we do now?”

Show Pony stares at him, a small smile on their face. “Well, I’m plenty inclined to kiss that dumbstruck look off your face if you’ll let me.”

“Oh, um yes I would like that too,” he says, blushing ferociously.

Pony’s smile breaks out into a full-blown grin as they say “Cm’ere sugar,” and pull Kobra in by the front of his shirt.

They make out like that for a little while longer, until Kobra starts to yawn, and Pony pulls him back on the bed so he’s lying down. They curl up next to him, content and happy.

* * *

The music is loud, and Pony immediately pulls Kobra onto the dance floor as soon as the get there, flashing him a grin over their shoulder as the lead him to the middle of the dance floor. They dance for a while, moving with the crowd and feeling the press of the music against their skin.

That is until Show Pony grabs Kobra’s hand and drags him off the dance floor. They end up in a hallway, away from the rest of the party. They wrap their arms around his neck and step forward, making Kobra step back until he’s up against the wall.

“Just wanted to get you away from prying eyes, love,” they say, and then they lean in and Show Pony is kissing them. And if they stay like that, together and intimate in a secured area, just the two of them, well no one has to know. And if when they leave, they’re holding hands and Pony’s lipstick is a little smudged, its neither here nor there.