Chapter Text
It was a sunny afternoon in the city, and most people were out and about, walking around alongside their friends and talking about what was subjectively interesting to them.
Inside of one of the many buildings, casual music played, relaxing the inhabitants of the cafe. It was a good place to stop and have coffee and a croissant or two, such ideas also being those of a group of cyborg-like darkners.
K_K was a cyborg by definition, having only the flesh of their face and the coils on their head remaining of their original body and the rest of it being metal and silicone replacements. They were dressed very casually, a long beige jacket with wide sleeves falling around the chair they sat on. It would seem they were rambling about something that could’ve only been important to them and that group. “Aaand I swear, I had never been told that before! I mean, I get it, pretty looking darkner is actually a goof, but come on!”
Across the table, two other darkners were there. Queen could be less classified as a cyborg and more as just a robot, though she was customized to look perfectly like a human. She even had a navy blue afro, made artificially of course. “Oh My God. The Disrespect Of Some People, I Swear If I Was Still Ruler I Would Make A Law Against That.” She spoke monotonously, but somehow, her friends could still feel the tone in her voice. Mild concern, melodramatic and sarcastic, but still a bit concerned.
Next to her was Tasque Manager, who wasn’t by any means not a human, but her holographic cat-like ears and tail were certainly convincing of otherwise. It was also weirding out to some that she seemed to have mastered using prosthetic arms that looked completely opaque in the light. “Queen’s right, y’know! In fact, I think there already is a law against that in this city.”
“Yes, it’s called laws against harassment. Unfortunately, this is a city.” The fourth of their group, who sat next to K_K, chimed in. He was a pink addison, long hair tied back into a ponytail, peppy fake nails on his fingers. Bubblegum was his name, and the group often jokingly called him a ‘material girl.’ He didn’t quite get it, but he did like it. “I could be walking around with one of my most MASCULINE looks, and still some people will see pink and think ooh! Woman! Like- no.” He finished his exaggerated mini rant, folding his arms and scoffing.
“Literally None Of Us Are Pink But You. And You’re Only A Girl Approximately Half Of The Time.” Queen stated, her eyebrows furrowing over her visor. “K_K’s Green. Tassi And I Are Blue. Why Do We Not Get Treated Like Men?” She asked sarcastically, getting a chuckle out of the group.
“Ooooh, color theory! As the designer of most of my band’s stuff, I gotta say, color is the reason you don’t put red in a children’s hospital, and the reason pink makes you a girl! I guess?” K_K said, starting out excited but cooling down at the end. While they were the artist for the band, they didn't actually have a huge understanding of art. They were self taught.
“Who The Fuck Would Put Red In A Children’s Hospital?” The robot asked, giggling a little.
“It’d look like blood, wouldn’t it? Eugh.” Bubblegum groaned a little at the thought. “Dark red’s barely even an attractive color to begin with.”
“I much prefer cool cyan’s like the Tasque’s and I are. It doesn’t look like blood.” Tasque Manager said, looking away and smiling.
“I like greens and yellows! Oh, and purples!” K_K said happily.
“My Favorite Color Is- Wait.” Queen suddenly looked confused. “What The Fuck Were We Talking About And Why Are We Talking About Color Now???” She asked, looking around the group.
“Misogyny, darling, and we’re talking about color because it’s prettier than bigotry is.” The addison stirred his coffee and glanced out of the window, looking apprehensive.
“You’d never believe how I’ve been treated, honestly, some people.” Tasque Manager said, then looked at the metaphorical camera. “The gall of some people.”
“The Gall Of Some People. I’m Lucky, Swatch Is Very Respectful.” Queen repeated back, and then smiled.
“I couldn’t imagine them NOT being respectful. Swatch is one of the most respectful and respected people around.” The tasque girl replied back, looking back at the robot. Tassi and Queen both worked at the same place, with Swatch as their coworker.
“Ugh, you girls are lucky with that. I have to work with the other addisons at Seldom Silvers, and goodness it could not be worse.” Bubblegum snapped his fingers, still glaring outside. “I’m lucky Citrus is cool, but Navy is SUCH a pushover and Bolt could not be more annoying. I can’t complain about Bonbon.”
“Citrus Is The One You Get Along With? Damn.” Queen got a glare for that.
“He’s a prick, but so am I. We just work. What about you, K_K?” The addison looked over at the person next to him, only to realize they weren’t paying any attention at all.
“Huh? Oh, uh… Yeah, the band is going great! Cap’n just texted me that he’s gonna be home soon!” The cyborg said happily, looking back down at their phone.
“Back home? Where was he?” Tasque Manager asked, her head tilting and her hologram ears falling to the side.
“Out on a business trip, y’know, finding our next show opportunity! Or whatever he does while he’s out in the other cities.” They looked back down at their phone. “He’s gonna be back tomorrow afternoon!” They smiled, tilting their phone down to give the group their attention again.
“Pfff, you sure are attached to him, huh? You’re getting giddy like a dog now that he’s coming home.” Bubblegum smirked at them, sticking his tongue out playfully.
“He’s… my boyfriend? And I’m attached to Sweet too y’know! It’s just, they’re being a workaholic in their office right now.” They explained, and then their phone dinged. They checked it quickly, already smiling again. “Oh! He’s asking me if I’d like to meet him for some boba tomorrow so I can drive him home!”
“Ooh, How Exciting For You.” Queen smiled, putting her head on her hand.
“You better say yes and then tell us how it goes.” Bubblegum said, leaning over towards them.
“I will! It’ll be like our first official date together!” K_K smiled widely, texting quickly. Their face dropped suddenly, and they reeled back in a bit of confusion. “…Queen, did you just airdrop me a picture of Sweet but as a speaker and… as a treadmill..?” They slowly sounded more confused.
“What?!” Tassi snapped her head towards the robot.
“Lmao.” Was her only response.
That was when a worker at the cafe walked up to their table. “Here’s your check. I hope you enjoyed your food.”
“Thank you!” K_K said, and watched them walk away. “So, are we splitting the bill four ways?”
“You Three Can Go Home Now. I’ll Pay For All Of Us.” Queen waved them off, smiling sincerely.
“God, Queen, you’re always treating us. You’re a wonderful best friend!” Tasque Manager said, standing up.
“I Know. You Three Are Welcome.” Her sarcastic response lost a little sincerity, making Bubblegum roll his eyes as he stood up.
“Thank you for paying though. I must get back to Seldom Silvers now.” He checked his watch, throwing a purse over his shoulder.
“I’ll tell you three how my date with Cappy goes!” Cakes said happily, picking up a tote bag that was by their feet.
“You Owe It To Me!” Queen yelled out to them as they headed out of the cafe.
~~~~~~
K_K busted through the door into her apartment, putting her bag down next to the couch. “Sweet, I’m home!” She called out, pulling her coat off.
“Welcome home, I’m in the office right now.” They called back, and she could hear their tired tone. Rolling her eyes at them, she walked over to the office, looking through the doorway.
“Heeeey! Did you get the news?” She asked, walking up behind them to their desk. “Cappy’s coming home tomorrow!”
“Yes, he texted me while you were with your friends. I wonder if he got us a new gig.” They responded, looking up from their work. K_K took the opportunity to lean down and kiss them on their cheek, pushing some loose hair out of their face in order to do so. As she leaned up, it became apparent that doing such only messed up her own hair. Sweet chuckled as they reached and pushed some hair behind her ear.
She started talking again as they did so. “I hope so! It’s been a while since we’ve played publicly, and I really wanna! My friends wanna see us play too!”
“I can tell. I’ve been a bit tired of not playing my drums, all of this work has been exhausting.” They groaned, looking back down at their desk. The other cyborg moved to stand behind them, throwing her arms over their shoulders.
“Mmh. Cap and I are gonna get boba tomorrow afternoon, I know you don’t like eating out, do you want me to bring you something back?” She asked, leaning against their head.
“Hm… just get me a milk tea, thanks.” Sweet answered, picking up their pen and starting to work again. K_K wasn’t quite sure what they were doing, but figured they were doing some last research for their university classes. She wouldn’t know, she was a drop out, but they were pursuing a STEM degree.
The two stayed like that for a while, K_K comfortable in that position, and Sweet comfortable in her presence. A few times she tried to glance over at their work, only to not understand what she was looking at. She didn’t know anything about a lot of things, and that was the dropout life. She liked it.
“…Awful empty ‘round’ere without Cap, huh?” The speaker cyborg suddenly said, getting their attention.
“You said it.” They sighed, holding him a little tighter. “I know we’re usually the loud ones, but come on! We’re a trio, and a trio means three!”
“I didn’t know a loud and a loud made for a quiet.” Sweet said matter of factly, quickly scrawling something onto a notepad. “I guess I should be lucky I have this to do.”
“Really? University work is stressful though, I’d rather be bored than be stressed.” K_K said curiously, tapping a finger to their cheek.
“That’s the thing-“ He turned around to face them. “I get to be bored AND be stressed.” He sighed, and then turned back to his work.
“Dah, honeeeey!” They flicked at him, squishing closer into the side of his face. He just chuckled softly at that, but the tiredness was evident.
“It’ll be worth it to brag about how I have a degree and you two don’t.” He said, and they felt that he’d be smirking if he could.
“But Cap’n DOES have a degree! He has a bachelors in music!” K_K whined, standing up. “You’re just excluding me in that case!”
“I’m talking about full degrees, not bachelors- don’t you have a bachelors in communication?” He looked up at them and asked, and then watched their face contort.
“No, I don’t. You’re thinking about my brother.” They explained, and then turned around. “I’m gonna go take a nap, wake me up when it’s dinner time.”
“A nap? At two in the afternoon?” Sweet watched as they went to the door.
K_K put her hand up happily, looking over her shoulder with a smile on her face. “I love hypersomnia!” She sang, and then left the room.
They looked back at their work and sighed. “I REALLY need to get her to start taking sleep therapy… and I need to get myself to do it too.” They also weren’t the best sleeper. They were an insomniac and a workaholic, she was a hypersomniac with not enough to do- what more can I say?
~~~~~~
The next afternoon, K_K was rushing out of the apartment complex door, shoving their coat on as they ran. They had overslept, as expected of them, only to get stunned by their plans. They loved making plans, and hated needing to go to them. But hey- they were going on a date with Cap’n! He wouldn’t care. Hell, he’d probably be in a worse state than they were. Nonetheless, they hurriedly refined their curls, running down the sidewalk.
And just like any person who looked like her in a city, on a sidewalk, there were catcallers. “Hey girl, what you rushin’ for?” Some random person called out to her.
“I’m rushing to go fuck your mom!” She yelled back, not looking to see who it was. She didn’t care who it was, she cared to get to her date on time. At least she knew the way to the boba shop.
She wondered briefly what she looked like while careening down the street like that, an uncontrolled 24 year old who probably looked like a disaster. She dismissed the thought in favor of thinking about what the future may hold- a date! A hopefully lovely little date between her and her boyfriend. Maybe she’d even get a kiss afterward- actually, she’d definitely get a kiss afterward.
And they were curious too. Cap’n didn’t tell them the details of his trip, just that it was a business opportunity for their band. That’s what they got for letting him be the leader they suppose, him being cryptic since they know he likes being secretive. Or maybe he struggled with his words. K_K couldn’t tell, and they also didn’t care. If they had a gig coming up soon, they’d be all for it, and they’d also be for it if they didn’t.
Soon enough, the boba shop came into view, with a few people on the outdoor seats around it. They were far enough away that the cyborg couldn’t quite tell who anyone was, so she couldn’t pick Cap’n out of the crowd, and wasn’t willing to risk the embarrassment of mistaking someone else for someone they weren’t.
As they were about halfway down the street to the shop, they got a text. Pulling their phone out, a smile was put on their face as they read it.
<3Cappy: i’m here, where are you?
Me!!!: im coming!!! i’ll be there in a moment
They slowed to a stop to reply, and then started to walk forward, the exhaustion of running catching up to them.
<3Cappy: don’t tell me you overslept again .
Me!!!: i didn’t i swear :(
They started catching up to the boba shop, looking into the glass doors. They saw a man with blue-dyed dreads staring down at his phone, a cap placed on his head, and immediately knew that was him, their very special man.
As she opened the doors, he didn’t look up, typing something.
<3Cappy: yeah , yeah i know. you wouldn’t miss something like this, i know dates are important to you
She put a hand on his shoulder, and he jumped. “Boo!” She said in a slightly raised voice, watching his expression go from chill, to terror, to relived.
“God, don’t scare me like that, Cakes!” He exclaimed, hitting her lightly against the speakers and chuckling. “I guess you didn’t sleep in, huh?”
“No, I actually did.” She said shyly, glancing away. “I slept way more than usual yesterday and I guess it rubbed off because I had to get ready in like, ten minutes!” She grabbed a curl and tucked in behind her ear, getting it out of her face.
Cap’n smiled, finding their rambling amusing. “So you ALMOST missed our date!” He pointed and said, smirking playfully.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! You know I have oversleeping issues!” They apologized as they leaned down, a kiss being planted on their cheek, which they quickly forwarded into a kiss on his forehead.
“I’m not mad darling, I expected it. I wasn’t even sure you’d get here on time.” He admitted, but then pushed his glasses up, revealing his different color eyes. “I gotta be proud of you for this.”
“D’aw, Cappy!” Another kiss was planted on his forehead, and he laughed, waving them off.
“Come on, let’s get our drinks and sit down.” He said, turning to walk over to the counter. Surprisingly for a Sunday afternoon, there was no line.
“Oh, right, we’re here for boba! Sweet asked me to get him a milk tea to bring home.” They quickly remembered where they were, staying close by Cap’n.
“So that’s what Sweet wants us to bring him, what do you want?” He looked up at them and asked.
“Oh, uh…” K_K hadn’t actually thought about that. Quickly, they glanced at the menu board, then back at their boyfriend. “I’ll have a brown sugar bubble tea!” They said excitedly. They had… actually never had boba before.
Cap’n nodded, and then walked up to the counter. “Hey, can we get a brown sugar bubble tea, a milk tea boba, and a taro milk tea
boba?” He asked politely, a smile on his face.
The girl at the counter appeared to be a teenager, and she nodded quickly. “That- that’ll be- that will be-“ She stuttered, clearing her throat, clearly nervous. It seemed to be her first day. “That’ll be twelve dollars.” She finished, looking down at an electronic tablet.
Cap’n paid quickly, while K_K slipped a few dollars into the tip jar. Something about workers being nervous always made them feel obligated to do so, just a small sign of hey! You’re doing good!
The girl disappeared into the back and the two turned to each other, giddy to be starting their date. “Is this your first time having boba?” Cap’n asked, putting his phone into his jacket pocket.
“Yeah, it is! Have you had it before?” K_K questioned back, smiling.
“I have while out on business trips, it’s an easy way to sit down with an associate. I guess I see it as the taste of being away.” He explained, looking around the shop. “But- I am glad to have it with you now.” He said, holding their hands.
“Heh, Cappy!” They beamed, their cheeks flushing. They couldn’t have been happier.
“H-here’s your drinks, please have a nice day.” The barista came back, placing three boba cups on the counter.
“Thanks, you too!” The cyborg sang, grabbing her cup as well as Sweet’s. “Are we sitting inside or outside?” She turned to her partner and asked.
“Outside, please- I’ve done too much sitting indoors this past week.” Cap’n put his hand beside his head, laughing it off and taking his own cup.
K_K turned around with him, twirling around a lot faster than she meant to, her hair falling into her face. “God, tell me about it! I went to the cafe with my friends yesterday but we sat inside, and other than that I’ve been spending a lot of time in the apartment, ‘cause all Sweet’s been doing this week is work for his university classes. I mean, I get it! It has to be hard studying for a whole STEM degree, but come on, I barely see them sleeping!” She rambled on as they stepped outside, sitting down at the nearest empty table.
“So Sweet’s been doing all work and getting no sleep, what have you been doing?” The radio cyborg put his elbow on the table and leaned against his hand, raising an eyebrow.
“…” He had caught her red-handed, and he knew it. “…Sleeping.” She admitted, stabbing her straw out of the wrapper and then stabbing the top of her drink.
“I figured. I guess we don’t really do much if we’re not doing it all together.” He shrugged, getting his own drink ready. “I did a lot of talking and a lot of driving this week, I got REALLY homesick REALLY fast.” He explained, and then took a drink of his boba.
“Ough, man! Did you get us any gigs?” She tried to turn onto a lighter note, tilting her head.
“That’s what I was ‘boutta tell you!” Cap’n suddenly leaned forward, smirking. “We do! We’ve got a new performance scheduled for next month, and it’s not that far from town!”
K_K gasped overdramatically, their smile getting wider. “¡¿En serio?! Sweet y yo estuvimos hablando de cantar ayer, ¡esperábamos tener un nuevo concierto!“ They exclaimed, and then took the first sip of their own drink. “Mmh- oh! This is good!”
He chuckled at their excitement, a dreamy look entering his eyes as he leaned against his hand again, staring admirably at them. “Heh, you really do revert to factory settings when you get excited.”
“I really- what?” They were confused, raising an eyebrow at him.
“Oh- a friend of a friend joked with me about how some people start speaking their native language when they’re excited, called it ‘returning to their factory settings,’ and I gotta say, you do it.”
“…” They stared at him for a moment, their expression blank, mostly confused. After a few moments though, a smile cracked onto their face. “Pffft-! You’re right! I really can’t stop myself from speaking like that when I get all excited!” They laughed, putting a hand on their cheek.
“And yet, that’s something I love about you.” Cap’n looked down at his drink and said, smiling to himself. “You can’t control your excitement. It’s… cute.” He admitted, and then hurriedly took another sip of his drink.
“Oh! Heh-“ K_K flustered easily, holding their drink up to their speakers. “Thanks, sugarcane!” They pushed their curls back behind their ears again. They realized that they were gonna be doing that a lot, but they felt that that time, it fit the mood.
“Sugarcane? Is that my pet name now?” He questioned, chuckling.
“I’ve always called you sugar-names! I called you sugarplum before and you never complained.” She said, drinking more of her boba.
“Hey, I’m not complaining. You always give us cute pet names, darling.” He shrugged.
“Heh, darling-“ She chuckled at that, getting a confused look. “Sorry, it’s just, Bubblegum calls everyone darling to the point that I hardly realize it’s usually romantic!” She explained, tapping her cheek.
“Hm. Then what should I call you?” He leaned forward and asked, putting his chin in his hand. “…Hotcakes~?” He tilted his head and proposed.
“Mmhf- keh!” K_K jumped at being called that, getting flustered and surprised at the same time- and unintentionally shoving the straw into the back of her throat, coughing up a storm after pulling away.
“Holy shit- are you okay?!” Cap’n went from being flirty to being concerned, holding his hand out to her.
She took it quickly, hitting her throat a couple times. “Yup- yup, I’m fine-!” She sputtered, smiling nonetheless. Then, she laughed. “Hah! I wasn’t ready for you to just say that-!”
“I’m sorry Cakes, I didn’t realize it’d catch you so off guard.” He continued apologizing, but she shook her head at him.
“No, no, it’s okay, it was funny!” She said, still laughing. Then, her phone rang. “Oh! Hold on.” She said, and then checked her phone.
It was in the group chat she spoke to her friends with, and the person messaging was Bubblegum.
LocalMaterialGirl: Hey k_k, how’s the date going?
They smiled at their phone, knowing exactly what they wanted to write.
K_Kakes: i just deepthroated a straw!
They held their phone away, giving Cap’n their attention again. “Sorry, my friends are texting me! I was with them yesterday y’know, right when you asked me out!” They explained, chuckling under their breath.
“Oh really? When I was in high school and I told my friends I was going on a date, I knew damn well that meant I was gonna be getting watched and awkwardly texted.” Cap’n thought back to his teenage years, slouching.
That made K_K look around the people around them, and as they had thought, nobody was around them. “Mmm- nope! Not my friends!” They said, and then checked their phone again. Some texts had came in without them realizing.
LocalMaterialGirl: Girl what
OrderlyManager: Excuse me??? What???
TheQueenBee: K_K You Cannot Just Say That And Not Explain
They just laughed it off and put their phone away, deciding they’d explain to their friends later. “Anyway, I didn’t know you had friends in high school.” They said, not realizing how they sounded.
Cap’n gasped dramatically, putting his hand over his chest. “WOOOW, I see how it is!” He started laughing at his own drama.
“That’s not what I meant! I just meant- you never told me about any friends you have!” They started trying to defend themself, getting embarrassed.
He just laughed though. “Yeah- cause they’re not my friends anymore! I hung out with assholes in high school and then I had you two when I was in university!” He explained, laughing. “‘I didn’t have any friends in high school-‘ K_K, we met at a damned party!” He took a sip of his drink to try and ease himself.
“Oh- right, we did!” She remembered quickly, her embarrassment fading. “Well, actually- it was more that Sweet had found you passed out drunk on a balcony and I was following Sweet.” She giggled as she remembered.
“Christ, I don’t remember a thing of it- I just remember waking up to you two staring at me, giving you two my number, and then hangover-ing my way back to my apartment.” He tried to remember, but his memory was hazy. “…I DO remember thinking you two were cute as hell.” He quickly added.
“Ooh- Cappy!” K_K pulled their hands up and slapped their cheeks a couple times, smiling like hell. “And to think you didn’t date us cause you thought you were straight for so long!” They said sarcastically, calming themself down and drinking their boba.
Cap’n muttered something under his breath, but they didn’t quite catch it.
“Huh? I didn’t hear that?” They noted, leaning forward.
He had a stupid, embarrassed smile on his face. “I, uh… I thought you two were both girls when we met.” He said, looking away bashfully.
They stifled a chuckle at that, but luckily didn’t send a straw down their throat, instead pulling their cup away and putting a hand over their mouth. “Are you- are you kidding me, Cap’n-?!” They giggled.
“I was sixteen, damnit!” He tried to defend himself, putting his hand down on the table. “I was sixteen and had the hangover of a lifetime, and somehow didn’t realize once I was sober! It took you and Sweet calling each other ‘he’ for me to damn realize!”
K_K just chuckled. “Heh- I still remember watching you do community service for that. You were wild back then.”
“Listen, every teenager has done some form of criminal offense in their time. Whether it’s vandalism, underage drinking, or some minor destruction of property- we got up to shit back then. Don’t act like you haven’t.” Cap’n said, drinking his boba. “It just so happened that I was being stupid.”
“I’ve never been arrested actually.” She started, getting a curious look from him. “I got detained by school security once for beating the daylights out of someone who was harassing my friend but they let me go.”
“…Wow.” He said, a little wide eyed. “You never told me that.”
“I figured I didn’t have to! I mean, one of the first things the three of us ended up doing after getting together was smoke pot, I figured you wouldn’t care!” She explained, shrugging and drinking her boba. “You’re… not mad that I did that, are you?” She suddenly got more solemn.
“No- no, I’m not mad. Just surprised.” To her own surprise, he covered his mouth with his hand, a bit more intense of blush covering his face. “…So you’re, like… strong?” He asked.
“Uh, yes! Yes, I am!” She smiled at him, tilting her head. “What about it?”
“Oh, nothing.” He said, still blushing. “Anyway, back to high school- is the detainment thing why you dropped out?” He shook the fluster off his face and asked, trying to feel casual again.
“I always tell people it is but it’s not.” She started, “I dropped out because of my brother. He’s older than me and so obviously he was in college first, and got his degree first- I wasn’t having it! He always told me I’d need a degree to do anything but I was already flunking most of my classes, so I just dropped out and moved out too, because I knew there had to be something I could do without a damn degree!” She ranted, not realizing she was working herself up a little.
“Well, you’re right about that.” Cap’n said, getting her attention and easily calming her down. “I know I have a degree in music, but it’s just a bachelors in music. I really only got it so that my parents wouldn’t nag me about actually getting a degree.” He then looked around sneakily, and then leaned over the table and whispered, “They wanted me to get a degree in engineering so I always tell them I got a degree in engineering. They’ve never actually seen my degree.” He said, and then sat back down.
“Pffft-! Oh, wow, we both just flunked our families, huh?” K_K laughed, but then looked a little tired, drinking some more of their boba. She was almost done. “Ugh- god- how does Sweet do it?”
“Their own self satisfaction? I don’t know.” Cap’n shrugged. “I’m perfectly satisfied with one bachelor's degree, but to think they’re getting four damn masters? While also pursuing being in the band with us?“ He questioned, and a look crossed over the other’s face.
“They’re overworking themself. Like they always have.” She said, a little sadly. Then, she piped up. “Hey- how about when we get home, we give them their boba, and some kisses?” She proposed, a smile crossing her face.
“Hmh- you’ve always got the cutest ideas, Cakes.” Cap’n said, and then taking the last drink of his boba. “Sure, let’s do it.” He said as he placed his empty cup in the nearby recycling bin.
K_K quickly got the last of her drink out of her cup, and then threw it off, getting up. “I, uh… I know you said we should do this so that I can drive you home, but… I forgot to drive here in the first place.”
He scoffed. “Of course you did, you told me that you had just woken up. It’s okay, we can walk.” He smiled, and then threw his bag over his shoulder.
“Great!” The CD-player cyborg said, turning around. She didn’t include it, but she was also happy to walk with him, under the hopes that she wouldn’t get catcalled that time around.
The two started walking down the street, going a good part of the way without any interruptions. Cap’n seemed oblivious to how K_K was glancing around nervously, so she just smiled and talked on, hoping that the walk would go smoothly.
“And it was around that part of my teenage years that I realized I didn’t want to live with my brother, y’know? It just wasn’t-“ She was talking, only to be rudely interrupted.
“Hey girl, nice hips!” Was yelled out from beside them, which she immediately knew was at her.
“I’m a guy! Anyway, it just wasn’t what I wanted to do. It probably wouldn’t be good for me to live with him any longer, which is why I gotta be glad I met you two!” She yelled back and then explained, which shut the person up right away.
Cap’n looked… confused, for just a moment. Then, he shook himself off. “Um- yeah, I'm glad for that too. Uh… what just happened, by the way?” He leaned over and asked, and K_K just shrugged.
“It happens a lot, don’t worry about it.” She said quickly, tightening her grip on her tote bag.
“Well I’m gonna damn worry about it, do people really talk to you like that around here?” He asked further, looking up at her.
“Yeah, but I’ve learned my ways. Ignore them or make them more uncomfortable than they’re making me!” She smiled, feeling satisfied with herself.
“Gh. At least it’s easy to deal with.” He shook his head. “I’ve never seen that happen before.” He said, and they both stopped.
“Cap. I’m 6’6”, fit, and present myself like a girl because I feel like it. You’re 5’4”, look like a man, and are plus size. I think we know why.” She tilted her head at him, raising an eyebrow. “But, you’ve never seen it happen to someone else?”
“No? Not that I’ve noticed, but, I don’t really… pay much attention.” He started to feel a bit of guilt prick at him.
K_K frowned. “Heeey, don’t feel bad! They’re schmucks being shitty, so what?” She patted him on the back, almost knocking his glasses off.
“…Yeah, fuck them. Let’s just hurry home.” He said, and the two started walking again. They quickly started talking about other things, like the band, and again about how they’d first met- and of course, they had to be rudely interrupted again.
K_K was walking a little ahead of Cap’n when it happened, and he was the one talking, so it didn’t quite look like she was with anyone. “And what’s a pretty lady like you doing alone on a day like this, eh?” A person yelled from the sideline, stopping Cap’n mid sentence.
“Why don’t you mind your own fuckin’ business, guëy?” He hopped up to be by his partner’s side, glaring, and still walking. They were a little bit away when it seemed that interaction wouldn’t be so short.
“Aaah, and what’s the little short stack gonna do about it?” They both heard, and they both turned around. K_K wasn’t aggravated at the comments about themself, but hearing their partner get talked to like that was what upset them.
“Excuse me-?” Cap’n looked and asked as the other stood and stared. The offending darkner was relatively tall, lighter skin, and wasn’t anyone they recognized.
“Yeah, you heard me.” The man walked up and said. “What’s a short stack doing with someone way outta of his league?” He had an obnoxiously thick texan accent.
“Having a better love life than you have, clearly.” The cyborg retaliated, clearly getting pissed off.
“Oh yeah? I bet I could change that easily, shitknot.” The man then stepped forward, putting his hand on Cap’ns face and shoving him away to talk to K_K. “I’m way closer to someone you SHOULD be with-“
“Cappy!” She did not pay a bit of attention to him. The other cyborg hadn’t fallen over, just gotten startled from being shoved away. She was quickly at his side, grabbing his shoulder. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, cupcake.” He said, shaking them off, and then glaring at the man. “What the FUCK did you do that for?!” He yelled.
“Oh, bless your heart, little fat man’s mad at me for pushin’ ‘im? I don’t give a damn.” He walked up to them and cursed, “You picked this fight you’re gonna god darn get it, winner gets the la-“
“Nope!” K_K interrupted. “I’m not letting some lame botas make a bet on me, you can get fucked!” She chimed happily, promptly grabbing her bag and swinging it at his head. He didn’t dodge it for shit, getting thrown aside, and the cyborg spun back around. “Let’s get out of here, sí?”
“Holy shit, K_K-“ Cap’n started, only for a hand to be put on his shoulder.
“He was upsetting us both. Let’s just go home and not talk about this.” They said solemnly, and then held his hand. He sighed, glaring bitterly at the now knocked out man, and then starting walking alongside them.
~~~~~~
Sweet was at their desk, writing papers and taking notes, determined to work until they were “satisfied” with what they had done. While their hand cramped and their eyes got heavy, they didn’t turn away, but they did have a few thoughts at the back of their mind. Mostly hoping K_K would get home soon and give them their damn tea.
They took a break for a moment after finishing a page, putting it onto a stack and leaning back into their chair, letting their hair fall over their shoulders. They took a tired sigh, stretching, and resisting a yawn. They weren’t gonna let themself get tired.
Then, they heard footsteps coming up the hallway outside the apartment. ‘Please be K_K, please be K_K, please be K_K,’ They started thinking, hoping to hear that quiet click of the front door opening.
To their luck, it did. “We’re home, honeybunch!” K_K called out, running into the apartment as Cap’n took his coat off. Sweet kicked at the floor, rolling their chair out of the office doorway and smiling with their eye.
“Welcome home, Cakes- and Cap’n.” They said, welcoming the kiss they were given. “Did you get my tea?”
“I’d never forget!” She sang, reaching into her bag and pulling out an unopened boba cup and a straw.
They sighed happily at the sight, taking it quickly. “Thank you sweetheart, this’ll help me get focused again.” They said, and then kicked back into the study.
K_K looked back at Cap’n, who had watched their interaction, and then motioned for him to come up. It was time.
Sweet already had a new paper on their desk, reading over it, not paying attention to what the two were doing now. That gave them the opportunity to both come up behind them, and only then did they notice their presences. They looked up at the two of them. “Do you… need something?” They asked.
Neither of them answered, instead leaning down by the sides of their head, smiling. “What are you two- !” They both leaned in and kissed them on their cheeks before they could finish, making their grip on the paper they were holding tighten. They took a deep breath, shutting their eyes, just letting themself be pampered for a few moments as a few more kisses were given to them. “Mmh- thanks…” They sighed.
“You’ve been doing an awful lot of work, you sure you don’t wanna take a nap with me? Cap’n’s tired and said he’d be joining me too.” K_K offered, smiling at them.
“Haven’t you been doing a lot of sleeping? I thought that was gonna stop once he got home.” Sweet glared at her, and she smiled awkwardly.
“It will! Just, Cappy’s tired too! We can all have a nap together!” She explained.
“She’s right, I did tell her I wanted a nap now that I’m home.” Cap’n reiterated, and the speaker-cyborg was partially convinced.
“Mmh… you two go ahead, just let me finish one more paper and drink my tea.” They said, looking back down at their work.
“Alright, but you better be with us when I wake up!” K_K said, and then turned around. Cap’n smiled, chuckling softly, following them out of the room. Sweet watched them leave, a happy look in his eye.
“Pffft, god… I love those two so damn much.” They muttered, and then opened up a book about engineering.
End Of Oneshot