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In a sky just for us, never to be bothered by anyone anymore
Clukr was laying awake in his soft bed, and while he’d gotten used to it, he still hated being dead. He wished he could still play with his daughter, and watch at her graduation with her knowing he’d be there for her. Sure, he could still watch from Heaven, but he couldn’t truly support her like any parent wanted to support their child. He wanted to sit with his firstborn as he said his vows to his fiance, and he wished more than anything he could just be there.
“Clukr?”
Clukr didn’t respond.
“Are you awake, Clukr?”
Garnold peeked into the room, only to see Clukr staring at the ceiling uselessly.
“You okay?” Garnold asked.
Clukr shook his head.
“I hate this.” he sighed.
“Hate what?” Garnold asked innocently.
“Hate being dead. I wanna watch Fun Bot get married, I wanna watch Rosie graduate, I want them all to know I’m there through their big achievements. They’ll never know, though.” Clukr sighed.
Garnold hugged his husband tightly.
“When we were alive, you showed them how proud you are and showed how much you love them.” Garnold said softly.
“I can’t be there anymore. Maybe if I’d just taken the time to listen to Fun Bot, we’d still be alive and well enough to hug our children.” Clukr sighed.
“Hey, it’s not your fault we died. You didn’t want Fun Bot getting hurt, and you wanted to protect him. You didn’t crush your skull, Wenda did!” Garnold said.
Clukr cried softly into his pillow.
“Fun Bot proposed to Gray last week. We’re not gonna be there for his wedding. We won’t be able to hold his hand as he walks down the aisle. We’re stuck up here.” Clukr said.
Garnold didn’t have anything else to say in that moment, so he hugged Clukr gently until the latter fell into a fitful sleep, not that sleep was necessary any longer.
From you to you, from me to me, we say goodbye
Clukr was doing his best to plant some calyx flowers, as Vineria had showed him the previous day. He didn’t feel a strong urge to do anything besides try and take his mind off of the fact that he was dead and his kids were alive. In Heaven, most flowers grew in rainbow patterns, which had made Vineria vibrate with excitement when she came to Heaven. Clukr noted that even in this beautiful kingdom in the sky, it was easy to get dirty.
“Hey, Uncle C, what the hell are you doing?”
Clukr turned around to see Sky, who was wearing a lot more makeup than usual and had one more piercing than he’d last seen him with.
“Where the hell did you get your ear pierced in Heaven?” Clukr asked.
“There’s a clean piercing shop not far. I can take you if you want.” Sky said.
“No thanks. You can enjoy your body having metal in it.” Clukr said.
“Your loss.” Sky said.
“How did Tunner react to that?” Clukr asked.
“Oh, Papa hasn’t seen it yet! He’s gonna double kill me when he sees it, though.” Sky said.
“That’s not wrong. I remember how your parents reacted when you got your tongue pierced. I still think that was a stupid choice.” Clukr said.
“You’re OLD!” Sky said.
“Most people say 38 is a pretty young age to die at, actually.” Clukr said.
“Well, if you were still alive, you’d be like 40.” Sky said.
Clukr gave his nephew a big, dramatic sad face. Sky, upon seeing this, burst out uncontrollably laughing. This lead to Tunner coming out of the house.
“What’s so...”
Tunner paused, noticing the piercing on his son that he hadn’t approved.
“Skylar Tunner. We’s about ta find out what happens when someone who’s already dead dies.” Tunner hissed.
“Welp. Uncle C, it’s been nice being your stepnephew.” Sky said before booking it.
“Git back here!” Tunner yelled.
Clukr watched and hoped they wouldn’t trample the flowers he was trying to plant. Once they were far enough away, Clukr continued what he had been doing, but Sky’s piercing reminded him of a time with Jevin, and that hurt him, despite it being a happy memory. Soon, he was crying into the calyxes. Eventually, Garnold came outside, likely to enjoy the outdoors with his beloved, only to witness said beloved crying.
“Hey, hey, hey, come here.” Garnold whispered.
Clukr cried loudly as Garnold pulled him into a tight embrace.
“What’s wrong?” Garnold asked.
“I miss my brother...” Clukr sniffled.
“I know, and I’m sorry.” Garnold said.
Clukr hugged Garnold back gently.
“I wish I could have been there. I know he misses Tunner and Sky dearly, and me being gone doesn’t help. He only has Brud, Fun Bot, MFC, and Rosie left.” Clukr said.
“It’s not your fault. I’m sure happy news is helping Jevin feel better, and it’s been two years, so it might not be as bad.” Garnold said.
Clukr raised an eyebrow and glared at his husband.
“Not. Helping.”
“Sorry. I’ll just take you inside and make some fancy ramen.”
“Better.”
“That’s good!”
Clukr walked inside with Garnold holding his hand and rubbing the back of it with one finger.
Dancing around and around to exhaustion, until we can't tell each other apart
Clukr was sitting on the couch, watching something mindless on the TV, when Garnold ran in with the excitement of a thousand men.
“WE NEED TO GO WATCH OVER OUR KIDS IT’S FUN BOT’S WEDDING HE’S GETTING MARRIED!!!” Garnold said.
Clukr shot up from his spot and went to watch over his firstborn with Garnold. They obviously needed to make sure Fun Bot was safe at his wedding and that nothing bad happened. From how it seemed, it was a small ceremony of close family and friends. Clukr even noticed his own mother.
“Clukr! Watch! He’s coming down the aisle!” Garnold said.
Clukr looked over and noticed his stepbrother walking his firstborn down the aisle while Gray looked anxious and excited to be marrying the gay agender.
“Oh God...”
Clukr was disappointed he couldn’t truly be there, but he chose not to comment, as it was his child’s day, not his own. Clukr sat in one of the empty chairs, not that it mattered. He was a ghost, after all, and being a ghost, he didn’t even necessarily need to sit down. Garnold sat next to him, grabbing his hand. It was quite pleasant, watching their child get married. Gray was clearly breathtaken from how Fun Bot looked, and Clukr was proud Fun Bot was in a healthy relationship.
“We are gathered here to celebrate the union of two lovers who endured the unlikely and persisted through the toughest times.” Jevin said.
Clukr noticed Sky was also sitting in an empty chair next to Brud, along with Tunner. Sky also had a video camera with him. This reminded Clukr that Sky had made a bet that if Fun Bot had failed to balance an apple on each antennae, he’d get to record the wedding. It seemed that even though he was dead, Sky was following through on that promise. Clukr found this impressive and silly, but he didn’t comment, as his child was getting married.
“They have been together through depression, loss, near-death experiences, and greater, grander things. Their love has persisted.” Jevin said.
Clukr was crying from how proud he was, and for a moment, he almost forgot he was dead. Almost. The fact that Fun Bot was looking sadly towards the empty seats was a cold reminder of his death. Before he knew it, the ceremony was over.
“You know, Gray...” Fun Bot said.
“Yeah, hon?” Gray said.
“I wish my parents could be here.” Fun Bot said.
“If they were, they would be so proud.” Gray said gently.
“Yeah, and I shouldn’t let their death get me down on our wedding!” Fun Bot said.
Little did they know, Fun Bot’s parents were right there and watching.
“I’m so proud of our child.” Garnold said.
“I am, too. I wish he could see us supporting him, though.” Clukr said.
“I know, and I do, too. We’re supporting how we can when we’re dead, though.” Garnold said.
Clukr nodded sadly before heading back up to heaven. On his way up, he noticed Pinki was holding a little baby gently. The baby had cute little antennae just like Oren’s, bunny ears like Pinki’s, and a onesie that had ‘Sunny’ embroidered on it.
This must be the daughter Oren was talking about. Clukr thought.
Clukr finished his return to Heaven, and he immediately went to bed a little early from depression, not that he even needed to sleep. It was still nice, though.
No one can bother us in the sky with the two of us
Clukr was watching Fun Bot from Heaven as he held a newborn baby girl in his arms. Clukr was so proud of his child for starting his own family, but he was also sad he couldn’t hold his little granddaughter. Meanwhile, Gray was holding the baby boy with a look of pure love and affection in his eyes. Gently, Clukr descended to see the grandchildren from a closer angle. The girl, Salem, had the same rod in her head that Clukr did, while both she and her brother had Garnold’s eyes.
“Our little babies...” Fun Bot murmured.
Gray leaned against his spouse, still snuggling the boy, Eclipse. Their little family was the perfect size, from what Clukr could guess. He quietly approached the babies, knowing that even the loudest sound he made couldn’t be heard due to the fact he was dead.
“They’re beautiful.” Gray murmured.
Clukr sat near his child, as well as his granddaughter, and caressed her little head gently, and to his surprise, she looked in his direction with her mouth open.
She can’t see me, right?!? Clukr thought.
“Why’s Salem looking over there like someone touched her face?” Gray wondered aloud.
Fun Bot looked equally as confused. Clukr walked a little farther away and caressed Eclipse’s head, just to be fair, and much to his surprise, Eclipse also looked in his direction.
“No way...can you guys see me?” Clukr said.
Salem and Eclipse kept their eyes on Clukr as he spoke, so he decided to kiss both of their cute little chubby baby faces. Sure enough, they both kept looking over. Their parents looked very confused at their babies. The only adult in the room who understood had been dead and buried for two years.
“I love you two.” Clukr said softly.
The babies didn’t seem to understand, but they kept looking at their deceased grandma. Clukr simply smiled genuinely for the first time since his death.
“Maybe your parents are in here and they’re looking at them.” Gray said jokingly.
“Yeah, maybe! Hey, Mom and Dad, if you’re in here, don’t teach my kids about my embarrassing childhood mistakes, okay?” Fun Bot said, laughing a little.
“Oh, I will~” Clukr said, chuckling to himself.
The babies kept looking towards Clukr until their parents took them into their bedroom and put them down for a nap. Clukr stayed where he was for a moment, taking in how his home from when he’d been alive had changed. Fun Bot and Gray had truly made it into a space of their own while still keeping it similar to how it had been when Clukr was still alive, which he truly appreciated. Clukr eventually went into the bedroom, where he noticed Gray and Fun Bot were also asleep.
“Sleep tight, all of you.” Clukr said softly.
Clukr gently kissed his child on the cheek, and he patted his shoulder before kissing both of his grandchildren’s foreheads and heading back up to Heaven, where Garnold was panicking.
“Have you seen my husband?!?” he asked.
“I’m right here, Goldie.” Clukr said.
Garnold hugged his husband so tightly that he felt like passing out.
“Where were you?!?” Garnold asked.
“Meeting our grandbabies.” Clukr said.
Garnold seemed very excited at the idea of being a grandfather in that instant, so he put Clukr sweetly in front of their house and went down to Earth to meet his grandbabies. As Clukr soaked in the warmth of Heaven, Vineria approached him quietly.
“So I heard Fun Bot and Gray had twins. You’re a grandma now, it seems.” Vineria said.
“Yeah, and I’m proud to be one. I just wish they could meet me before they pass on. I’m sad I won’t get to be in their babyhood.” Clukr said.
“I’m sorry.” Vineria said softly.
“Don’t be, Vinny, it’s not your fault.” Clukr said.
“Well, they’re pretty cute.” Vineria said.
“Thanks! I’m proud to be their grandma.” Clukr said softly and a little sadly.
Even if he was used to being dead, he would never enjoy it.
We’re happy in Heaven