Chapter Text
Saturdays.
Once upon a time, Kosmo Moralis used to always look forward to Saturdays.
His morning routine would be simple: He’d wake up without the stress of getting ready for work and prepare a nice fulfilling breakfast with a cup of coffee. Classic tunes would fill the atmosphere of his living space while he would eat, watching the rising sun rise higher above the city view from his window.
Such simple pleasures had been taken for granted.
“ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! YOU’RE KICKING ME OUT NOW?!”
“Are you deaf or stupid? You were supposed to be gone hours ago! Why are you still here?”
Grumbling, the tired man turned the radio’s volume up a few decibels before continuing to beat the ingredients into waffle batter.
“YOU have some goddamn nerve thinking you can treat me like this! Do you not know who I am?!”
“Holy fuck if you say you’re an influencer, I’m throwing you out the window. I’m dead serious. So do us both a favor, shut up, and Get. Out.”
The old radio wasn’t loud enough to drown out the very harsh SLAP! which penetrated the walls. Kosmo winced.
He continued to cook as the door to one of the bedrooms slam open. Hurried footfalls of a woman sobbing and spitting curses reach his ears at maximum clarity. He couldn't be bothered to crane his neck and look behind him.
“I HOPE YOU DIE ALONE YOU HEARTLESS BASTARD!”
Kosmo sighed once the front door to the apartment slammed shut, signaling the woman’s departure. He turned the radio volume back down. All was relatively calm again, like it used to be.
But in reality, nothing was ever calm or peaceful since accepting a deal from a coworker at one of his jobs. In exchange for wheedling their boss into opening better time slots for his stand-up gigs, he had to take in a friend of theirs as a roommate.
Jackson Mejia: the charming, charismatic bartender of The Amazing Circus club downtown. A flirt and a heckler during performances (including all of Kosmo’s), Jackson, or more commonly Jax, was a well-seasoned smoothtalker and bringer of chaos, just so he could revel and laugh in it.
“Crazy bitch…” Well, it was only amusing if his actions did not explode in his face. The younger man in question stepped into the kitchen. He flopped onto one of the dining chairs, supporting his left cheek with an annoyed expression. It quickly changed once the smell of hot food hit his nostrils and he observed what Kosmo was making.
“Waffles? Man am I lucky to have you for a roommate!”
“That makes one of us.” Kosmo flipped the sausages in the frying pan while waiting for the waffle maker to do its thing. “Didn’t we agree to keep the late night trysts under control?”
“Hey, I made it abundantly clear what I wanted from her and anything more is off the table.” He reverted back to annoyance and decided to go grab a pack of ice tucked inside the freezer. “Should’ve called it off the moment I offered, acting like I should feel honored that she said yes. She probably is a wannabe influencer.”
“You know, there’s better ways to relieve stress.”
“There are, but what can I say?” Ice in hand, Jax flopped back in his chair, his trademark grin is less prominent on one side. “Sex just does it for me, so why change it?”
“For the sake of my sanity and to stop noise complaints?” Kosmo listed hopefully as he set the finished plates down on the circular table. His hopes dissipate when the younger man began to laugh aloud.
“Oh Kosmo, that’s gotta be the funniest joke you’ve made in your entire career!”
And so their day officially began after the train wreck that happened just moments ago. Hopefully, any complaints spurred from it would not reach their landlord again.
Since the whole living arrangement, the two had agreed to keep personal matters to themselves unless the matter was urgent and the other had to know. This had worked well for them over the months, until recently.
Kosmo wasn’t really joking about Jax being stressed. His final semester at his university had turned the young man into an anxious mess. An average person wouldn’t notice how well he hid it behind his smiles, jabs, and pranks.
Kosmo was floored to learn from Zundel that Jax was an honors student and didn’t really have issues performing well in school. The idiot just needed a place to stay. Before, he’d either crash on Zundel’s couch or share a bed with any person he’d charm into following home. Either was better than staying longer than a minute with his parents. When asked why, Zundel just rolled their eyes and said it was complicated.
As the two ate, Jax's phone began buzzing like crazy. That also became a common occurrence ever since he moved out of his parent’s home and Jax seemed to always want to smash it to pieces rather than answer it.
Then again, December had just arrived and the holidays were approaching ever closer. It was his final semester. He would soon graduate. Be done with school only to figure out what exactly he should do with his degree. Contribute to society like everyone else.
Perhaps it was just reality sinking in for the playboy. Kosmo wasn’t too sure but from the bits of Spanish he could understand whenever Jax argued with his mother over the phone, it seemed the boy just wanted some semblance of control over his life after years of having everything be decided for him. Including his major. Such a life would drive anyone insane.
Lost in their own thoughts, the two jumped at the sounds of scratching coming from outside their window.
“Meow.” More scratches.
Jax’s mood lit up instantly. Kosmo meanwhile, groaned, rubbing his face.
“Not again…”
“Well look who's here!” The college student practically skipped from his chair to the window. At the other side stood a ragdoll cat, its single sapphire eye meeting Jax’s as he approached. “I knew those locks wouldn’t do shit! You’re way too smart for that, aren’t you?” He had the one-eyed cat continue to paw against the glass, trying to chase his finger.
“Jax for the love of god, let her inside! We are eight stories high!”
Jax rolled his eyes but obeyed, lifting the latch that held the window panes together. Cold air immediately hit his face and he quickly closed it once the cat was safely inside.
“The girls are going to freak out. If they haven’t already…”
Jax was only half listening to Kosmo, grinning down at the feline currently rubbing her body around and between his ankles. He picked her up and she went limp, becoming the name her breed was given.
“Eh, I’m sure they won’t miss her for a few minutes.” He returned to his seat at the dining table, his companion sitting comfortably on his lap.
“Jax…”
“Relax. I’ll bring her back after she assists me with a few errands.” He offered a little piece of strawberry to the ragdoll. “What do ya say Cotton?”
Cotton only purred and accepted the treat.
“Sounds like a yes to me!”
Kosmo shook his head. “One of these days, you’re going to give Annabelle a heart attack.”
Of course, the older man could just message the pet owner. Many residents of the complex have her number due to Cotton’s affinity for scaling across balconies and windows.
He could . But he hadn’t seen Jax so genuinely happy in a long while. Part of him hated that he’d grown soft on the kid. He was a selfish ungrateful asshole, only looking out for himself most times.
Most times.
Maybe Kosmo was holding onto hope that something good and sustainable would come to him and that something would cause him to mature a little. One day.
Only time would tell.