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Zooble spent a lot of time at their bar now that they’d opened it in the circus, most of the cast came to sit on occasion and maybe get a quick drink, which allowed them to show off a few tricks and chit chat comfortably—it was a casual and inviting atmosphere, one that felt warm despite the cold drinks being served. The only circus member that was there as much as Zooble was Gangle, who liked to sit at the bar while Zooble made drinks—she usually drew in her sketchbook, sometimes talking to Zooble, or just enjoying the company. The silence between them was always comfortable, and today was a perfect example of that.
The sound of Zooble organizing a few bottles and the scratch of Gangle’s pencil were really the only things filling the silence—Zooble occasionally paused to glance at Gangle’s sketchbook, seeing a few simple doodles, though their attention was caught when they noticed that the drawing Gangle was working on happened to be a sketch of Zooble themself. They said nothing, instead occasionally taking peaks as the drawing began to take shape—Gangle hadn’t noticed, given she was so used to Zooble’s presence and focused on her drawing that she didn’t catch Zooble’s occasional glance. She’d even started humming a light and upbeat song, seeming happy—truly happy.
Zooble thought about that for a moment, and stared at the bottles they’d been organizing—at the whole bar—then the whole circus. So much had changed, and right now this place was the best it’d ever been. Though, the thing that made Zooble the happiest was seeing how happy Gangle had become—she didn’t need her comedy mask to smile, and even then, it didn’t break nearly as much. Everything seemed so much better—and in truth, the fact that they were dating now only made it that much better.
Gangle thought about it a lot—that night’d been special, even though Zooble seemed a little uncomfortable with their body at first, and Gangle with her ‘avatar gimmick’, as she calls it, that experience had been breathtaking for them both. It only reinforced how much they loved each other, really—sometimes Gangle’s thoughts drifted back to it, even if that made her mask feel a hint warmer than usual. She was still drawing, carefully sketching the unique parts that made Zooble who they were, giving them a fluid and comfortable posture that lacked the stiffness it once had when they had first arrived here, instead showing the confidence and comfort that Zooble had gained overtime. Gangle was meticulously detailed in shading the stripes and other patterns of Zooble’s pieces, occasionally glancing at them as reference—but she didn’t really hide it, instead smiling as she made a mental note of whatever pattern she wanted to copy—although she glanced away with a slight blush whenever Zooble made eye contact, occasionally shooting her a curious glance, even if she seemed more amused than anything.
Eventually, the silence that’d carried on for an unknown amount of time was broken by Zooble when they held up a certain bottle from across the counter, calling out to Gangle.
“Hey, babe, you like a Long Island iced tea, right?”
Gangle perked up, a bit caught off guard by the casual pet name—although it made them feel giddy and fluffy inside—but smiled with a hint of a flush on her face, placing her pencil down and quietly shutting her sketchbook.
“Yeah, actually. You remembered?”
Zooble chuckled, finding her expression cute, before nodding. It’s only occurred to them now that Gangle hadn’t actually ordered from their new bar yet, only way back when they did the “lighting round” that Caine had set up—which felt like ages ago.
“Yeah, it’s kind of a hard order to forget—there’s a lot of layers to it, and it’s a pretty common order at bars.”
Gangle rested her head on her hands, which were held up now that she placed what would’ve been her elbows on the counter. Zooble had slid out a glass and begun to make the drink.
“Yeah, I guess so. I really wasn’t a big bar person, so I wouldn’t have known—but I liked going out to get a sweet drink occasionally.”
Zooble finished, nodding as they skillfully slid the drink over to Gangle, who watched as it stopped right in front of her—it had a small red umbrella in it, and Gangle let out a soft gasp when it stopped directly in front of her, a few inches from her sketchbook. She took a small sip, savoring the sweet taste. Zooble continued the conversation.
“Yeah, that’s fair. Is it good?”
Zooble seemed to watch a little, slightly expectant, hoping that Gangle liked the drink even though it’s obvious that she would. Gangle nodded.
“Yeah, you’re really good at this! You can make all kinds of drinks!”
Zooble chuckled, walking out from behind the bar and slipping into a seat next to Gangle now that they’d finished organizing it. Gangle slid her sketchbook back out, and flipped to a different page than earlier. Zooble played dumb, tilting their head.
“Is that was you were drawing earlier?”
“Huh? O-Oh, ummm…yeah. Yeah, it was!”
Zooble couldn’t help but snicker as Gangle gave an uncertain and shy expression at their question, reaching over to flick the page back to what she had actually been drawing with an expression that could only be described as smug—although, there was clear fondness and appreciation too, as though the idea that Gangle drew Zooble in the first place meant a lot of them.
“AH!”
Gangle scrambled to cover the page for a second, but was met by Zooble gently pushing her ribbons off while laughing a little to themself.
“No, no, I like it—really, I like your art.”
Gangle couldn’t help but giggle a little bit, although she was still fairly embarrassed, she slid over the sketchbook and let Zooble look for a moment.
“It’s a little off, I think…”
Zooble slid it back, and shook their head simply.
“Nah, it’s not perfect because no one is…I think I look a little off in general.” They joked, pulling out a sheet of paper. “Do you wanna draw together? I know I offered it a long time ago, but it’d be nice to do some sketching with you.”
Gangle smiled brightly, offering a swift nod and a lot of enthusiasm—she placed one of her spare pens next to Zooble’s paper, and they nodded in return.
“Yeah, that’d be nice.”
“Alright, let me grab myself a drink too.”
Zooble got up, slipping behind the bar again to mix themselves a quick and simple drink, a quick French Martini, and then seating themselves beside Gangle again as they took a sip. Before Zooble started to sketch, which Gangle had already returned while occasionally sipping at her drink, they leaned over and gave Gangle a quick and simple kiss on the cheek, making Gangle pause, blushing slightly as she smiled.
“…I love you, Zooble.” She mumbled, quietly. Zooble glanced at her, then said “Love you too, Gangle”, before picking up the pen Gangle had offered and beginning to draw. They drew a lot differently than Gangle, but it had an interesting and unique taste to it, using odd and abstract shapes to create unique versions of things. They were sketching Caine in a way that came off a little uncanny, but interesting.
“He’s got such weird proportions, makes him interesting to draw…”
Zooble mumbled, just beginning to outline the eyes.
“Oh, yeah, I’ve tried—though I like sketching you more, especially because of the shapes and patterns…”
Zooble seemed intrigued by the thoughtful answer, and nodded, looking at Gangle for a second.
“I’ll sketch you next.”
Gangle looked a little taken aback, but didn’t pause her sketching, just smiled a little more.
This was the thing that made their relationship so comfortable—how casual it was. The two of them could sit there sketching all day and talking about art, and saying “I love you” came so easy. It felt comforting, warm, and laid back. It made both of them the happiest they’d been in a while, and it made accepting themselves easier too.
They wasted most of the day sketching, only stopping once some of the other members joined the two at the bar and began to chat together. Pomni and Ragatha sat beside each other, with Gangle at the edge of the bar at Pomni’s side—Ragatha was on her other side, with Kinger next to her and then Caine at the end. Zooble had made them all drinks and chatted with them. Gangle was drawing still, although she was also talking with Pomni and Ragatha as they suggested ideas for some group adventures to Caine, who was listening intently across from them. Kinger simply listened, periodically chiming in with simple feedback and ways to polish their ideas. The group was trying to make up ideas to do an adventure together, and Zooble was also chiming in, interested in joining. Ragatha had offered up another suggestion.
“What if we did a horse racing one? I’d love to ride a horse again..”
Pomni nodded, smiling.
“Yeah, that’d be fun, what do you guys think?”
She looked at the rest of the group who hadn’t responded yet, to which Kinger also nodded.
“…I think I rode a bull once, it can’t be too much different.”
Gangle and Zooble both seemed to think for a moment, and Zooble nodded, Gangle did too, but offered a follow-up question.
“Yeah, but can we give them our own names like they do in races?”
Ragatha smiled brightly with excitement at the acceptance of her idea, and watched as every nodded in further agreement at Gangle’s addition to her suggestion. Caine chimed in, with his voice as loud and enthusiastic as ever.
“That sounds like a wonderful idea everyone! We can set it up for tomorrow-“ he paused, thinking, before his voice dropped in volume “If that’s what you guys want, of course.”
Everyone nodded, Zooble giving Caine an additional thumbs up with their nod, causing his eyes to widen and sparkle—it made Zooble chuckle a little, and they made a note to themselves to sketch it out later. Gangle snickered a little from the corner as she watched. Eventually everyone dispersed for the night, and Zooble leaned down in front of Gangle, who was still sketching. Their arms were placed on the counter as they spoke.
“Hey.”
Gangle jumped slightly, tilting her head with curiosity as she once again closed her sketchbook and gave Zooble her full attention.
“What is it, Zoob?” She mumbled.
“Wanna spend the night in my room again?”
Zooble attempted to wink, but it didn’t come off the most sly. Gangle laughed, leaning in to kiss Zooble and take their arm, Zooble kissed back until Gangle pulled away and stood up.
“Yeah, I would. Let’s go.”
Zooble felt a little flustered at first, but followed as they walked to the rooms together. When they got there, they shut the door, Gangle put her sketchbook on the floor and fell back on Zooble’s bed, with Zooble getting in bed next to her. They felt Gangle’s ribbons wrap around them and watched as Gangle let their comedy mask fall to the floor with a soft thud, unbroken, snuggling against Zooble comfortably. Her smile remained, looking truly at peace.
Zooble shift their arms around Gangle’s ribbons, feeling a wave of comfort and warmth wash over them. In truth, they never thought they’d let someone be affectionate like this—this issues they had with their identity and appearance made the idea seem almost impossible so long ago, and honestly made them feel unlovable. They felt as though they’d never find a body that made them comfortable.
But now, as Gangle fell asleep in their arms, loving them for who they were, no matter what pieces they wore, they felt as though every missing piece had clicked into place.
So they closed their eyes, allowing the purple walls of their room to fade, and their mind to rest.