A little family reunion

[mikaluvkitties]

Kevin raised an eyebrow when Kenny told him he wanted to ask him something- sounded kinda vague, y'know? He looked between Tommy and Kenny as he began speaking again, wondering just what Kenny could possibly want to ask him. It could be anything- he couldn't rule anything out, seeing how he'd just met him. It could be as mundane as dinner and a movie or as out there as sacrificing somebody to Satan. Never again. However, when he mentioned drag, Kevin immediately perked up, looking between them with a grin. He settled it down to a smile as soon as he noticed it, and, focusing on Kenny, said, "I'd love to come."


It had been a while since Kevin went out and immersed himself in a subculture his dad wouldn't be one hundred percent on board with, admittedly at least half because of the goat incident and half because he was busy getting told he and his brothers were moving. But now was most definitely not the time to be thinking things like that. For example, his brother knew a drag queen- or king, he hadn't really specified. He wondered if that was the reason for the nail polish, but decided not to ask for now.


"Anything else?" he asked, looking Kenny in the eyes as his smile shifted into something less manic- sure, he was excited, but that didn't mean he had to freak out Kenny and his poor friend with it. What if they both did drag as well as Kenny's other friend. That could explain why Tommy was Tommy. Or he could just be being presumptuous and not thinking about other reasons Tommy could be Tommy like Tommy being a boy and not a girl. He figured he'd find out eventually and he'd just have to deal with his curiosity trying to kill him until the event.


Nich didn't notice Mabel catch her insect or her turning her attention towards him, too busy focusing on the grasshopper in his sights. He crept closer to it, stealthy and slow, careful of the way shadows lay and the grass crunched underneath his feet. The moment came where he was ready to catch the grasshopper. He swung his net down, only to overshoot and completely miss the grasshopper. Stupid net! The grasshopper went off, and he followed it. He'd swear up and down later it must've taken an hour to get into position again, though it was probably closer to five minutes.


This time, when Nich went for the caterpillar, he made sure to calculate the net's added distance into his aim, catching it. He lifted the net up, leaning in to grab it gently, clasped in both hands and turned to face Mabel, net caught in his inner elbows, noticing her for the first time since he'd began to pursue the grasshopper.


"Where's the bug box?" he asked in a stage whisper, beaming brightly.

 

[PunkPrince]

Kenny was slightly relieved at his brother's reaction. He actually seemed to be excited. Better overexcited than angry or disgusted by the idea. He definitely liked Kevin, he decided. When Kevin asked if there was anything else, Kenny paused and turned to glance at Leif's closed door. "Do you think Leif would want to go? Or Nich? I mean, I guess Leif probably doesn't want to go. I just thought maybe I should ask." Though he liked Kevin, definitely, he was still about just as wary of Leif as he was with his father. It seemed to him that they were similar, and Kenny didn't want to upset one of them, much less both.


Putting the worry about his brother and father aside, he decided to focus on the positive. He had gotten a better than decent response out of one sibling, and he had to admit, it was more than he had expected to get. He was excited for the show, and the idea of seeing his friends again, so even if his father didn't really want to come, he could still be happy about it. "Our other friends are cool," he said to Kevin. "I think you'll like them once you meet them."


Mabel frowned when she saw Nich miss the bug. Darn. So close! She kept her distance as she watched the boy reposition himself and go for some other bug she couldn't see, but when he did manage to catch it this time, she had to resist the urge to cheer for him. Yay! Practice makes perfect, that was what Kenny always said. She bounced over to Nich, who had cupped the insect in his hands. "Good job!" she said happily.


She held up the box when Nich asked where it was. She opened the bug box, trying to keep her butterfly from flying off has Nich deposited his bug into the box. "Do you want go find some more bugs?" she asked him. "Or do you want to draw the ones we've already caught?" She looked down at her butterfly in the box. "I think my butterfly is about to fly away."

 

[mikaluvkitties]

"Nah, Leif's a bit of a stick in the mud about things like this. He'd be awkward and a complete dick wipe," Kevin explained, thinking about his twin as he went. He loved him, yeah, but he needed to loosen up! That stick up his ass was gonna end up killing him eventually. He didn't elaborate that he would also be less than pleased to find out either of his siblings were attending drag shows, once again trying to prove Kenny was a bad influence, which would just be plain old annoying, considering Kenny was being very polite and Kevin wanted to go. He hadn't realized it, but he had begun to frown at the floor as he spoke about Leif. That didn't seem like the way to treat a guest, however, and Kevin was smiling up at Kenny soon after, continuing, "Nich, on the other hand... Well, I, personally, think he would have a lot of fun at an event like this- if he was worn out and was entertained enough to focus."


Kevin really hoped Nich had the focus for that, seeing how it could be a great learning experience that would most definitely not have the full approval of either his dad or twin. Oh well, they could deal with it- wasn't his fault they had problems that they needed to sort out that just so happened to involve drag performers.


When Kenny mentioned other friends, Kevin remembered that they weren't just going to a drag show for the hell of it, one of his friends was performing! This was gonna be awesome! He wondered what his friends would be like, and, after realizing he'd find out soon enough, looked up at Kenny and asked, serious as death, "What should I wear?"


Nich continued smiling, happy he'd made Mabel so happy. It was truly exciting, capturing insects. In a way, they were smart, smarter in ways than humans. He gratefully put the grasshopper in the box when it was offered. He thought about what Mabel said carefully, and wasn't decided until she mentioned her butterfly was about to fly away, at which point he looked up, wide eyed, and said, "We should draw them, them." It only made sense to him- that would decrease the chance of the butterfly getting away, right? Exactly! Plus, it just seemed less cruel to the butterflies in general, to practice capture and release. Starting to draw right after capture meant they could release them faster.

 

[PunkPrince]

"I figured," Kenny said with a shrug. "Thought I should ask anyway. "But Nich is more than welcome to come if he wants to." Kenny wasn't so sure if he even wanted Leif to go, anyway. He was excited to get to see his friends again, and if a less than pleased Leif wound up tagging along, he was sure to put a damper on things, and if Kenny was going to see his friends again, he didn't want the night to end with everyone in a bad mood. That had happened more than once, and he was trying to put a repeat of it off for as long as he possibly could.


Kevin asked what he should wear, and Kenny grinned. "What you have on now is fine. I'm just going like this, probably." He looked down at himself and shrugged. No reason he should put himself in drag if he wasn't performing. None of friends were going in drag either. He loved drag, he really did, but it took so long for him to get ready that it just wasn't practical for him to do it every single time he went out for the night. He had to do it tomorrow, anyway. Better not to exhaust himself with it the day before.


"Okay!" Mabel said happily, excited to draw the creatures that fluttered about in the box. "We probably should. Once we draw them we can let them go and they can go home." She walked back into the garage and carefully set her net down before bouncing into the house clutching the bug box. She carried it into her bedroom and set it down carefully on her art table, which was littered with crayons and markers and scraps of paper she had cut up for other projects. She cleared a spot for Nich and sat down at her usual spot.

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Kevin nodded. Yeah, it was thoughtful that he asked, because, y'know, Leif probably would've taken offense to being off the bat considered ineligible for this invitation. At least now he'd get upset at Kevin and not Kenny. He might get mad at Kenny anyways, though. Kevin didn't have the greatest person chooser, admittedly. He listened to what Kenny said, and couldn't stop himself from grinning back at Kenny. What could he say- smiles were infectious! And Kenny had a nice smile, so... yeah.


He looked down at his apparel, not impressed at all by what he saw. Under his breath, he mumbled, "Hope it's nowhere nice." He really hoped no one heard that, and he didn't ask any more questions. Kevin was admittedly excited- he'd never been to a drag show, and he loved the idea of trying new things. He looked back up at Kenny, and was about to ask if he needed anything else when the door across the hall opened surprisingly quietly.


Of course Leif decided they should deal with their problems now, Kevin thought exasperatedly as he sent him a dirty look from across the hall. Leif glared right on back, and he loved his brother, he truly did, but sometimes he really wanted to punch him. Leif went to close his door again, but Kevin wasn't about to let that happen.


"What's up, bro?" he asked, a smirk on his face. He was not about to let Leif go off and pretend nothing was happening while he sat in his room sulking. That was not the ingredients of a healthy relationship- at least, that's what he thought it was, though he could be wrong...


Nich nodded along as Mabel spoke. She seemed nice, thinking about how the insects were going places, too. He plopped down next to Mabel, and took a piece of paper from the pile delicately before finding a relatively flat area to lay it down and begin to draw. He started with outlining the grasshopper, which he did in a dark green marker. The marker was thick, and he frowned at it thoughtfully. Perhaps he should've started with crayon. He eventually shrugged it off, focusing on a much greater problem his grasshopper had. His back leg cut through his body. He did a simple fix for this, coloring it in with the same green marker he had used to outline it.

 

[PunkPrince]

Kenny laughed. "Trust me," he said. "Even if it was somewhere nice it wouldn't matter. It's mostly dark in there. Even if it wasn't you could probably walk in naked and nobody would say anything. I wouldn't reccomend trying it, though. You're fine the way you are now. If it bothers you so much you can change." He shrugged. He never really paid much attention to what he wore to shows unless he was going in drag. In that case he agonized so much over his decision that it sometimes made him late. He was glad he wouldn't have to deal with that tonight.


When Leif opened his door, Kenny resisted the urge to run off. He could be nice. "Hi," he greeted with a small wave. At that moment the doorbell rang, and Kenny was grateful for the arrival of his second friend for getting him out of what would likely be an awkward conversation. "I'll be right back," he said before he dashed off to answer the door. Tommy gave a small smile to Leif as he glared at Kevin, though it was purely out of politeness rather than happiness to see him.


Kenny opened the door and grinned at his friend standing there. Lita out of drag was a skinny boy with dark eyes. Naturally, her hair was dark brown, nearly black, but Kenny had never seen her with her natural hair color. It was always either bleached so much it was nearly white or dyed some other color. Today it was a pale lavender, near gray. It had been darker at one point, but the dye had faded. "Hi!" Kenny greeted as his friend stepped into the house.


Mabel studied her butterfly carefully before picking up a black crayon and starting to lightly draw out its body, darkening her lines once she has decided that it looked right. She used the black for the patterns on its wings and then went in search of a blue crayon. Not finding one, she picked up a pink crayon and decided to draw the butterfly sitting on a flower like the one she had found it on. She turned to look at Nich's drawing. "That's a good drawing," she observed happily. "I like it."

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Leif smiled tightly back to Tommy, looking in her direction, though not in her eyes. He didn't quite trust her, and the fact that he had been forced into this situation where he had to be around people he didn't trust and interact with them on a day to day basis because of circumstances he couldn't control bothered him greatly. It wasn't his fault their mother had left when Nich was born, hell, he wasn't even the one who had decided to go through the process of having a kid only to leave him with a broke father who already had two other kids to think about before running off to do god knows what! Sometimes, sometimes he wished his parents had decided to- He caught his thoughts and realized he had at some point began scowling at his feet stormily.


It wasn't his brother's fault, either, he reminded himself, and he loved Nich. He didn't want him gone. Not really. Calmly, he looked up to Kevin, who still looked like he'd much rather be reading about what happened when a dead body was left out in the sun for days, which, when Leif thought about it, he probably did.


"Still haven't answered my question, Leif," Kevin said, and Leif shifted closer to him, "You should really talk about your issues more." Then, dropping his voice a bit, he added, "Like, for example, are you being an asshole to the people who have been generous enough to put a roof over our heads?"


It must've been the wrong thing, because Leif pulled back as if he had been burned, and he retreated into the room again, not being as gentle with the door. Kevin winced, and really hoped that door hadn't been as loud as he thought. He went back into his room, and decided that yeah, he was meeting people, he should put on something more impressive than, 'I had a really long car ride and wanted to be comfortable'.


Nich had thankfully put the cap on his marker by the time Mabel spoke, because he jumped nearly a foot off the ground with a jolt before turning to face Mabel, eyes wide as he thought through the shock of hearing another voice to think about what she'd said. He was a bit ashamed he had forgotten Mabel was there, especially when she was on her way to being a friend of his.


He blushed when he finally realized what she had said, and mumbled out a quick thanks as he looked at his drawing, becoming even more flustered when he eyed hers. "Yours is really good," he said, a bit awestruck by the fact that the artist of that butterfly was telling him his work looked nice.

 

[PunkPrince]

Leif's smile was clearly not a genuine one, and Haley took a single step back from him. She wondered what had happened to put him in such a bad mood. Was he this unapproachable all the time, or was he just mad about the day's events? If that was it, she couldn't really blame him. If she had to leave everything familiar to her to live with family she had never met, she probably wouldn't be in the best of moods either. She chose not to say anything, and eventually the boy had shut his door again. She looked over at Kevin. "Maybe he just needs to be left alone for a while. To adjust to a new place." Her suggestion was hopeful.


But Kevin had vanished into his bedroom, and she was alone again. She wasn't even sure if he had heard her. She turned around when she heard Lucy enter the hallway again, Lita trailing her. "Hi!" Haley greeted, bouncing up to meet her friends. She turned to look behind her. "I think Kevin went to get changed." She looked at Lita. "Your hair looks nice. I like that color."


Lita grinned. "Thanks," she said. "I was thinking of dyeing it blue next. I'm not sure. But if I keep letting it wash out my hair is probably gonna end up white. I wouldn't look good in white."


Kenny grinned at his friends. "Blue would look nice," he commented. "Or pink. It hasn't been pink in a while. It looked nice last time."


Mabel grinned as Nich complimented her butterfly. "Thank you!" she said happily as she finally located a blue crayon and began to shade in her butterfly and add in the sky around it. She reached for a green marker and added in the stem and leaves of her flower. "I'm not really that good though." She paused. "Kenny is good at drawing." Sne knew this. She saw him drawing ideas for dresses and things all the time, and sometimes he would sit and draw with her.

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Kevin hadn't quite caught Haley when he entered his room, instead focusing on closing the door and choosing what he wanted to wear. Jeans, maybe of the tighter variety, with his gray sweater and perhaps, if he was feeling really ballsy, Marty's beanie that he still had. He'd probably get permanent custody if it ended up in the presence of people in drag. He snickered a bit to himself when he thought about the look Marty would have on his face when he told him. Or maybe he'd be too busy trying to avoid being killed to notice. Ah well. He'd have to wear shoes, too, but he didn't have much selection in that category seeing how he only owned one pair of shoes. They were comfy, though, and comfy trumped new every time.


Eventually he had to get dressed, and while removing his pants was easy, wriggling himself into the pair of jeans was quite troublesome. He almost fell onto the floor, and was only able to get them up that final inch while grasping the edge of a piece of furniture tightly in one hand, and pulling up with the other while bouncing with it. He was so glad he hadn't showered before this. After they finally came on, zipping up with no further incident, he put on his sweater, which covered him up to his upper thigh, and slipped on his brother's hat- at least if he killed him he'd have to go to jail, right?


He opened his door quietly, and peeked out to see if he might chance a glimpse at who was at the door, and after seeing the new guy, slipped out, closing it behind him with a light click before turning to face the one with purple hair (which was pretty sweet) and giving a wave and a smile that had no trouble reaching his eyes.


"Nonsense!" Nich replied, "You're a great drawer if that butterfly is any less than your best work." He frowned as he searched through the markers for a lighter green, grinning as he found it and proceeded to color in the grasshopper. He should probably give the grasshopper a name. "Did you name you're butterfly?"

 

[PunkPrince]

Kenny turned as he heard Kevin's bedroom door open. The boy stepped out into the hall, now in a sweater and a pair of jeans. "Nice hat," Kenny commented with a grin. When Kevin waved to the new addition to the group, Lita gave a small wave back. "Hey," the skinny boy greeted. "My name is Cody. Or Lita." She shrugged. "Either one of those is fine. None of them call me Cody ever, but you can if you want." She motioned to Kenny and Tommy as she spoke, and then gave a shrug. "Are you coming with us?" she asked curiously.


Cody had to admit, when Lucy had mentioned her father and step siblings to him, he had been jealous, mostly because it meant that she had yet another thing that was almost foreign to himself. His mother had died when he was young, and he wasn't close with his father--most of his trips out in drag had only been made possible by somehow sneaking his things in and out of the back of his closet, often sneaking back into the house in full drag hoping his father hadn't waited up for him. Today he hadn't had to worry about that, and he wouldn't have to tomorrow, either. He had stowed most of what he needed for the next night in the back room of the bar already thanks to his friend's suggestion. He had no family he was close to. His friends were the closest thing to family he had ever really found. A safety net to catch him in case he one day failed to evade his father.


But it didn't make him less jealous of what his friends did have. Lucy had her grandmother, Mabel, and now her father and step siblings were seemingly involved in her life as well. Cherie had her wife and her young daughter. Even Eva and Kennedy had a little ragtag family with each other, Jupiter, Kyra, and Kasha. Cody and his father didn't speak much, though they saw plenty of one another, and Cody spent a good portion of his nights somewhere other than home. But he could still be nice. Kevin seemed okay, for the moment, at least.


Mabel blushed at Nich's compliment on her art. Maybe he meant it. After all, he wasn't Sumalee, who pretty much just had to tell her her art was good. If he hadn't liked it, surely he wouldn't have said anything. When he asked about a name for the butterfly, Mabel frowned and shook her head. " I didn't," she said. "I'm not sure what to name it. Did you name your grasshopper?" Maybe grasshoppers were easier to name than butterflies were.

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Kevin returned Kenny's grin. "Why thank you," he said, giving an exaggerated stage bow, turning to the newcomer as he spoke. "Nice, to meet ya, Lita," Kevin said, extending his hand, "I'm Kevin." He was kinda glad Marty wasn't here to give him disapproving looks. Well, he was here, yeah, but he was in his room so it didn't really count. "And to answer your question, yeah, I'm gonna be coming with you guys," he added with a smile. He hoped that didn't bother him- it would suck if it did. He genuinely felt Kenny had some neat friends and he wanted to get to know them. That would be a bit hindered if one of his friends decided right off the bat that he didn't like him.


Not many people automatically decided they didn't like Kevin- at least, in his experience, not enough to do much more than grumble about him being an asshole, which was true, and everyone knew. Even less common for him was when someone would say they didn't like him right off the bat to his face and everything. Lita didn't look like she hated him, but he was, as far as he could recall, a horrible judge of if someone hated his guts or not. He just had to wait for a response, and if it was negative, well, he'd just have to try and show her he could be an awesome guy sometimes and wasn't some who you had to hate for no reason. Yeah, even to him that sounded like an unlikely plan.


Nich looked down when he noticed Mabel blushing, smiling happily at himself that his honesty had gotten such a reaction out of her. He was used to handing out praise where it was deserved, and it made him unpopular in certain circles at his old school because he handed out criticism just as loosely. 'People'll take it better if you put it more constructively' Marty would say, and yeah, but then he'd have to figure out what specifically he didn't like about it which didn't quite work when what you don't like about it is everything about it in general. It was Nich's personal opinion that some things were just good and some things were just bad- it wasn't about technique or style or what he thought it meant- like, nobody asks why you like ketchup or what you dislike about mustard.


"No," Nich responded to Mabel nonchalantly, "I'm not all that good at up and naming things. But two minds are better than one, right?" He turned to give her a smile as he picked out a crayon to start the butterfly, not noticing it was in fact not black but a very dark green only after he had begun work on the butterfly's body. "Oh, shoot!" He began to look through the crayons for a black. Maybe, he thought, if I just color the black over it it won't look green.

 

[PunkPrince]

Cody grinned and shook the other boy's hand. Kevin seemed nice. He was glad about that. The last thing he needed in his life--or the lives of any of his friends, for that matter--was somebody who was going to be rude to them or treat them poorly, and it seemed like, for now, they were safe. As far as he knew, out of the three of them, Lucy's home life was the best. Her life in general had seemingly run the best in their group of friends, but not by much. They all had things that had pulled them down. It was part of the reason they had all become so close with one another, and Cody was glad to have his friends.


Kenny grinned. "I think you were the last new person we took to a show," he commented to Lita. "And I'm not even sure that counts since I technically met you at a show." He shrugged. "We hardly ever get to take anybody with us." His grandmother came with him every so often, but usually stayed at home. She was too old for recent visits to such an environment. Mabel usually couldn't go without Sumalee since she was usually all over the place and Kenny could never manage to keep an eye on her. But perhaps this time, she would behave--if Nich came along that is. She seemed to like him, and Kenny could hear the two chattering down the hallway. It was nice to see Mabel making a friend, she was alone so often due to the constant in-and-out of her foster care friends.


Kenny turned to look at the clock, and upon doing so, realized how late it was getting. "We should go," he suggested. "I think the show's already started and I don't want to miss Cherie." He paused. "I think she's closing the show, but still." He looked toward Kevin. "Do you want to see if Nich wants to come? If he wants to go, ask Mabel if she wants to come. I usually can't keep track of her, she's usually just running everywhere, but maybe she'll be better behaved if Nich comes along. She seems to like him."


"I guess so!" Mabel chirped, studying both bugs in an attempt to think of names. Turning as Nich spoke, she looked down at his mistake. "You could try going over it with black," she suggested helpfully. "Or just make the whole butterfly in different shades of green. That might look nice." Liking her own idea, she picked up a dark blue and started to draw out Nich's grasshopper.

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Kevin was grinning even wider when Lita shook his hand and grinned. At least he wasn't awful, right? That was most definitely a plus, in his opinion. He listened intrigued as Kenny spoke, thinking about the cold hard logic that was being dropped in his lap. To think that he was being let in by a group that didn't usually let in outsiders? That was pretty awesome, he had to admit. "I'm honored," he said genuinely, smile of a softer, calmer caliber than before as he looked between the trio, focusing on Kenny after a second, "Like, seriously though, thanks for inviting me."


He couldn't remember the last time sincerely laid back, interesting people had invited him to go do something like this. Nobody recent came to mind of someone who had both. He really hoped that Kenny's friends kept their chill through this, because, in his opinion, if they could keep their chill through letting a near-stranger delve into an aspect of their personal life that was usually considered taboo and looked down upon, they could be chill through anything- well, almost anything- at that was definitely much better than no chill. Realizing he had gotten sappy and that was great but this was not the time, Kevin grinned again and clapped his hands, "Okay, so, yeah, I think Nich might enjoy this. Let's go ask if they wanna come with, right?"


He was pretty glad Nich was making friends. Or a friend. Even one friend was better than no friends, right?


Nich pouted when she mentioned going over it in black. He was positive she was making fun of him. Or, he was, until she suggested doing it in different shades of green. He looked up, intrigued by the idea, to see her start drawing the grasshopper in dark blue. It actually looked really nice. One more reason to love having Mabel as a friend- she came up with great solutions and put them into action well. "That looks nice. I think I'll try that."


And with that Nich picked up the dark green again and outlined the rest of the butterfly, then did it's antennas in the same shade before looking for the perfect green for it's wings. He wanted something light, but not lime bright. He also didn't want the green to be so yellow that it was impossible to see. Maybe something in between? Yeah, that sounded right.

 

[PunkPrince]

Kenny grinned at Kevin. "You're welcome," he said. "I like you, so its no problem." It wasn't like he wouldn't ever invite anybody to accompany him and his friends to shows. He just hardly ever found himself around anybody who was interested in it that wasn't already a part of it. Most of his friends were involved in it in some way or another. If not directly, then indirectly. They had people in their lives who did drag and came to shows. Friends, siblings, spouses. Kenny just tended not to wander out of his usual group unless he had to. It was too risky. Someone might hurt him. But today he had to do it, and the outcome actually seemed to have been a decent one. He was happy about that.


Mabel stared down at her drawing, lips pressed together in concentration as she made thick, dark lines across the paper and began to carefully shade in the grasshopper with different shades of blue. She looked up to see Nich pouting, and she frowned. Had she said something bad? She hoped it wouldn't make Nich not want her to be his friend anymore. She really missed having a friend of her own age to spend time with.


But as soon as she noticed the frown on Nich's face, it faded away, and she began to question if she had even really seen it at all. He complimented her drawing and then began to implement her idea in his own drawing. She was happy to have helped. She added some more flowers into her drawing, deciding to do each of them in various shades of different colors. She carefully began to paw through the scattered pile of crayons in search of the perfect color. She needed purple, the lightest shade. It was almost impossible to find the right color with all the crayons she had. She never could resist buying new boxes of crayons when she did get money for things.


Her search was interrupted when Kenny and his friends appeared in the doorway. "Hey Nich," he said. "We were all gonna go see a drag show down the street. You're more than welcome to come if you want to." Mabel frowned. How come they were inviting Nich and not her? She wanted to go too! Kenny looked over at her. "Don't look so upset," he said. "You can come too. If-" he paused. "And only if, you don't go running off. I stopped taking you because you never stayed with me and I always had to go looking for you." Mabel's face lit up. "I wanna go!"she chirped. "I'll be good, I swear! I wanna see Cherie and everybody again!"

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Kevin was glad to know Kenny liked him. In all honesty, he hadn't really expected his half brother to either like or dislike him. Maybe for him to be impartial, yeah, but actually like him? It hadn't really occurred to him that might happen. He was glad it had, though, because he was an interesting person with an interesting cast of friends to match. He honestly didn't think he could score a better brother. He once again found himself wondering what the friend who they were gonna go see was gonna be like.


Nich had finished his butterfly fairly quickly with no further inconveniences than one incident where he debated the red dots he ended up giving his butterfly. Afterwards, he had taken a second to admire his handiwork before looking at what Mabel was doing and becoming entranced. They were all the same basic color, but the shade made all the difference. He would've never thought to do that, and the skill she constantly showed when it came to art astounded him constantly. He watched as she searched for a color through the mass of colors before them, some kind of purple, he guessed, based on the rest of the colors of the flower she was on.


Then Kenny and Kevin were outside and suddenly everyone was talking about people and things he didn't know and he was really lost. There was a person named Cherry and something about drag, which he thought was a type of race and why was Kenny going to a race track it would ruin his nails wouldn't it? But Mabel wanted to go and if Mabel wanted to go it was probably something really cool because Mabel was into cool stuff like bugs and drawing and drawing bugs and she was on a roll! Besides, Kevin was going.


After giving a quick look between Mabel, Kevin, Kenny, someone with purple hair and Tommy, Nich decided it couldn't be that bad because everyone going was going to be a neat person. Except maybe purple hair because Nich didn't know purple hair and everyone he knew said judging a book by it's cover was bad- even Leif said it!- so obviously you couldn't judge someone based on how awesome their purple hair was alone. Which was probably good, because purple hair could be a kidnapper or something. Which didn't make that much sense but could still be a thing.


"Okay, I wanna go," Nich said, beginning to put back the crayons he had been using.

 

[PunkPrince]

Kenny smiled at Nich. "All right," he said. "You two clean up in here and we can go."


"It's clean enough!" Mabel protested as she stood up, leaving the table a mess of crayons. She never put the crayons away in boxes. She might need them later to make something, and she might lose the idea before she could draw it if she had to go pulling out a bunch of crayons. Sumalee always complained about what a mess it was, and she never seemed to really get why Mabel never wanted to put away her art stuff. She only did when she had to share her room with someone else. That way nobody would get to her things and break them.


She grinned when she turned around and noticed Lita standing with Kenny. "Hi Lita!" she chirped happily, bouncing over to her friend. "I like your hair! The purple is pretty. I wish I had purple hair."


Lita smiled at her. "Maybe I'll dye your hair for you when you're older," she suggested. She looked over and grinned at Nich. "Hey," she greeted before looking back at Lucy. "We should get going."


After saying good bye to Sumalee, the group ventured from the house and off in the direction of the bar. Sometimes shows were age restricted depending on the night, but such an occasion was rare, only about once a month or so. Kenny grinned and looked back at his half brothers behind him. "I think you'll like our friends," he said. "They're cool."


Slipping through the doors, he waited for the rest of the group to get in, and in less than two seconds, heard someone calling to him.


"Lucy!"


Kenny looked up as he heard the voice of his friend Jupiter calling to him. Jupiter was a tall, skinny kid, about a year younger than Kenny. They had a pretty androgynous figure, but today seemed particularly feminine. Maybe that was just due to the buds on their chest as a result of the breast forms they probably had in a bra and a bit of black liner that flared out around their eyes. They grinned as they reached the group they noticed Lita and Tommy too. "Hi!" they greeted. "I missed you guys! I wish my brothers were here, then we'd have almost everybody. My moms are here though." They shrugged. "Kennedy's hosting," they motioned to the short dark skinned woman who was slipping past the queen who had just finished her number in order to announce the next one, likely Cherie. The light illuminated the pale sequins on her outfit. "And Eva came to watch." They glance back at the table they had come from, which was occupied by another woman, this one taller than the other, and dressed quite plainly. She was drinking something. Probably alcohol, which they all knew she had a taste for.


Noticing the strangers in the group, Jupiter grinned. "Hi," they said. "My name is Jupiter."

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Kevin watched in amusement as Mabel stated that her crayon-covered desk was 'clean enough'. He murmured to himself in a genial tone, "Clean enough for government work, maybe."


Meanwhile, Nich was just glad to have a name for purple hair because Lita was a very nice name that was much prettier and individual than purple hair. He heard Lita and Mabel talking about dying hair and Nich thought that was pretty cool, though he liked his hair the way it was and didn't really have any desire to dye it though he still wanted to get his nails done by Kenny some time. Nich turned to Kevin, and, looking at him with pleading eyes, asked, "Piggy?"


Kevin gave him a look, saying, "How do we say it?" which caused Nich to groan as he rolled his eyes.


He asked again, though this time in the proper format and with added puppy dog eyes, "May I please have a piggyback ride, Kevin?"


With a smirk, Kevin crouched down, allowing Nich to climb up onto his back.


Nich and Kevin waved to Sumalee as they left, and Kevin thought how odd it was that he was telling a near stranger about his whereabouts. Of course, given the situation he wouldn't dream of not alerting Sumalee, but that did't change how odd it felt. Kenny said he thought they'd like his friends, and Kevin silently agreed.


When they reached the bar, Kevin put Nich back on the ground, and Nich entered by his side, and was immediately confused by the site. First of all, you didn't race at bars. And even if you did, there weren't any cars. Besides, racing in a bar wasn't very smart. Then somebody ran up to them and began chatting with Kenny and his friends, which he guessed meant they were also Kenny's friend. They had brothers and two moms, which was two more moms than Nich had, which he had to admit he was a bit envious of. He'd even settle for just one mom. Especially if it was his mom.


As he looked at who they pointed out as their mom, he even further realized this wasn't a race, and added to the now present confusion he was faced with. He had no idea what this possibly was if not a race.


Then the person grinned at them and introduced themselves, as Jupiter. Nich was very confused by this point, and leaned over to Kevin, whispering to him, looking at the stage where Kennedy was, "I don't think this is a race."


Kevin looked at him, confused at first, until realization flooded his eyes and he snickered, whispering back at a stage whisper volume, "You thought we were going to a race?"


Nich looked up at Kevin then, a thoughtful frown on his face, "Then what are we at?"

 

[PunkPrince]

Kenny grinned at his friend. "This is Kevin and this is Nich," he gestured to each boy as he spoke. Jupiter grinned. "Hello!" they greeted, grinning at Kevin. "We used to share a name," they commented. Jupiter's parents had named them Kevin, but they hadn't stuck around, and Jupiter had been raised by their aunt and uncle. The name had never really fit, and once they had started drag, they had just about abandoned it. They'd recently changed their name legally, and it was a relief to no longer be called by a name that didn't fit. At home, the name was never spoken, but it had sneaked up on them. On anything legal for the most part.


Mabel snickered when she heard Nich talking about how he'd thought it was a race. "It's not a race," she whispered to him. "It's a show. Just watch, You'll like it. I like it." She looked back at the stage again and then bounced off to the table Eva was sitting at. "Eva!" she chirped happily, attempting to give the woman a hug. Eva laughed and set down her drink before standing to give the girl a hug. It was at that point that it became apparent just how tall she was. Without heels she was about 6 feet tall, a few inches more than Kenny. But as usual, she wore heels, which made her seem even taller.


"Mabel! I haven't seen you in so long!" She looked up and gave Kenny a teasing glare. "I blame you, Lucy." She greeted Kevin and Nich when she saw them. "Hi."


"You guys can sit with us if you want," Jupiter offered, leading the group over to the table.


Eva smiled and pulled Kenny, Lita, and Tommy each into a hug. "I almost thought you weren't gonna come," she said. "I know Cherie wants to see you. I've missed you guys. Think everybody has. I'm excited to see you tomorrow too."


Lita grinned. "Wouldn't miss it," she said. "I love this place. If i could get out of the house more often I would probably just live in the back room. Or in the basement."


Tommy laughed and grabbed Lita by the arm, pulling her down to sit next to him. Not like he could say that he wouldn't do the same. He turned back to look at the stage as Kennedy spoke.


"You guys having fun?" she asked, which was met with cheers from the audience.


"We get pride parades for this? That was awful. Some miserable people in the back there. Try again!" The crowd laughed and cheered again, significantly louder this time.


"Better!" Kennedy laughed.

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Kevin pulled a face, and responded, "Let's pretend that's not true, okay? I have a terrible history of hating other Kevins." It was true. He was just glad they had had to move when he was eleven, because he didn't think he could've handled seven more years of projects with those delinquents. Not even Leif could fix that group from Hell. He gave Jupiter an awkward smile, and he had to be honest, they were very aesthetically pleasing. 10/10. And so far, all signs showed that they had the personality to go with the looks. He didn't know if all his brother's friends being cute enough to cause a heart attack was a blessing or a curse, but he wasn't gonna try to figure out that mess.


Nich looked over to Mabel as she explained that it was, in fact, a show and not a race. "Oh, okay." Mabel liked it, and Mabel was cool, so it would be good, right? He watched as Mabel bounced over to someone, following calmer than he usually would. Dad said calm walking was needed when new to a place, so it would be good to be calm. He took an unconscious step back when the woman stood up because that was tall, and he wasn't used to seeing tall people. He watched as the woman- Eva- pulled Mabel into a hug, and laughed when she did a fake glare at Kenny, looking at Kenny as she did.


Kevin smiled and laughed when appropriate as he watched the behavior of those around him. He was used to being an outsider, and being an outsider meant a great opportunity to look in- if people inside allowed it, of course. He was just glad he'd made a good enough impression on Lucy that he'd invited him to come. He wasn't about to ruin that by asking what was happening tomorrow night. He was pretty sure he knew what was tomorrow, and Kenny would tell him if he wanted to, he was sure. He followed Jupiter over to the table he had mentioned, and Nich followed Mabel closely, plopping himself down in the chair next to her, and Kevin wasn't really quite sure to sit so he decided to choose a random seat after everyone else was sat.


Then the person on stage started talking, and Kevin couldn't help joining in with the cheers and laughter. And if Nich felt comfortable to cheer the second time around, well, he couldn't stop that, and they were there to have fun, after all. What was the point of doing something for fun if you weren't having fun, right?

 

[PunkPrince]

"We've only got a couple more queens tonight, and next up is Miss Cherie Riot!" The crowed cheered again and Kennedy added, "And now I'm going to have someone loosen this corset before I pass out," before darting down the steps, a few chuckles audible at her words. She darted over to Eva and hissed, "Please loosen this thing before I collapse and die." Eva laughed, and her height was noticeable again as she stood. She towered over Kennedy by at least a foot.


"It's your own fault," she said, her fingers tugging at the ribbons in the back of the corset to loosen it. "I told you not to make it so tight. You didn't listen." She tied the ribbons again. "Better?"


Kennedy let out a relieved sigh. "Better." she said, leaning up to kiss Eva on the cheek. "Thank you."


Kennedy gave a small wave to her friends as well as the unfamiliar faces, but didn't have time to say much. At that moment a



began to play and a figure stepped out onto the stage. Kenny recognized the song immediately, and as the light hit the figure's face, he saw that it was indeed his friend. Her movements were slow at first, and deliberate, but flowed well, and it was clear that she knew every word of that song as her lips moved to it. She stepped off the stage onto the front few tables, and even if anyone had been bothered by her strutting across them, Kenny doubted they would have said anything. Even in drag, Cherie could be intimidating.
But the crowd laughed, handed her dollars, and she leaned down to peck a boy on the cheek when he handed her a ten, which she slipped into her corset. She pulled off the corset, leaving only the bra that formed the upper half, and tossed it back onto the stage. She bent backwards at one point to take someone's tip with her teeth, and the way she was bent Kenny was surprised that she didn't snap. She stepped back into the stage, and at the instrumental part of the song Kenny's face broke into a grin. He knew exactly what she was about to do. He'd watched her practice.


She took a long torch from the side of the stage, produced a lighter from her pocket, and lit it. She seemed to study it for a moment, and then without hesitating, tipped her head back and put the still lit torch in her mouth. This sent the audience into a frenzy of course, and she grinned as she pulled the torch from her mouth and put out the flame with her fingertips. At the conclusion of the song, she hit the floor in a death drop, and Kenny laughed. He had never been able to do the move properly, always injuring himself in his attempts.

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Nich watched the stage curiously, wondering what exactly he was about to see. Kennedy got off stage and came over to them, and Nich smiled back, wondering what kind of person she was. He knew, though, that the best way to learn about a person's character was to just watch them, so that's what he was gonna do. He thought the name Cherie sounded familiar, so he turned to Mabel, asking in a casual manner while he seeked confirmation, "That's the person we're here to see, right?" Then the music started up and he turned back to the stage, ready to find out what all this drag business was about.


From what he saw, he gathered it involved pretty ladies dancing around. It was fun to watch, especially when Cherie bent in ways he didn't know you could even bend. His mouth formed a little 'o' filled with wonder and he watched until the end, when she promptly dropped to the ground. He winced. That had looked painful, and though he knew some about pain, she'd just done that intentionally, which was a sheer sign of dedication to her craft, in his opinion. Not just that, but she didn't even look to be in pain. Either she was really good at hiding pain or she wasn't in pain. Either way, he had one more thing he wanted to learn from his new brother's friends.


Kennedy was pretty funny, in Kevin's humble opinion. She also knew how to work a crowd, which was very cool to watch. She came over and had her corset tightened, and he gave her a friendly smile in return, and there was more acknowledgement of his existence than he had expected. He had recognized that Kenny and his friends had a tight bond, and even if it was accidental, that kind of friendship could make you forget anyone else.


The music started, and he watched as the performer, Cherie Riot, came on stage, and just watched. She had an aura around her, and her flow was inspiring and admittedly Kevin was a bit envious of how easily she moved, as if she and the music were intertwined permanently. It was fun, watching her grab bills with her teeth and walk on tables, but his heart nearly stopped when she took a torch and put it in her mouth. He couldn't dream of not applauding after that. She fell to the floor, and he was pretty positive it was a stage drop, something he remembered watching a few friends from his younger years practice. He finally remembered he was standing, and squatted next to his brother, whispering to him, "Whatcha think?" and getting an equally quiet, "It was cool," in response.

 

[PunkPrince]

Mabel nodded. "Yeah," she said happily. "It is. She's Kenny's friend. I like her." She thought that Cherie was funny. Kennedy and Eva too. Kenny had a lot of funny friends and they were all very nice to Mabel. When she'd met them shed thought they wouldn't talk to her, she was just a kid after all, but they seemed to like her just fine. That was good. She liked them too. She watched Cherie, a big grin on her face.


Cherie pulled herself back up, and Lita saw that she was laughing. She slipped off to the side of the stage, probably about to go backstage, but she stopped for a moment and stood where only they could see her, grinning and waving to them. Lita laughed and raised a hand in a small polite wave back. She saw Cherie mouth something and give what was clearly a "come here" motion before disappearing backstage.


Kennedy got up and wriggled in her corset for a moment before she headed back to the stage again, presumably to introduce the next few performers and close out the show. She looked back at Kenny. "I think she wants you back there. You should go. You know she's impatient. Probably tired too. She's been here a lot longer than you guys have. Helping clean before the bar opened and such." And then she had hopped back onto the stage again.


Kenny watched her leave and then stood up, looking at Eva.


"What are you looking at me for?" Eva asked as she pulled herself to her feet. "Go on." She led the group backstage, rapping on the door once to make sure her friend wasn't busy before entering. "Hey," she greeted, walking over to Cherie and hugging her from behind. The heavily tattooed drag queen stood in front of the mirror. Her corset was tossed over a chair, and she stood in only the bra and leather shorts.


It took a moment for her to say anything, and Kenny realized that she was rinsing her mouth out. After the second round of mouthwash she turned and greeted them. "Hey, Eve," she said, pulling the woman–who was nearly as tall as she was–into a hug. "Sorry. Had to rinse my mouth. Tastes like lighter fluid and milk. Not that the mouthwash tastes much better. Its supposedly bubblegum but it doesn't taste like it."


She stuck her tongue out and her face lit up when she saw the group by the door. "Hey!" she said, walking up to them and pulling first Kenny, then Lita, then Tommy each into a hug. She grinned as she noticed Mabel. "Haven't seen you in a while," she said as she gave the girl a quick hug.


Pulling away from the hug with Mabel, she noticed Nich and Kevin. "Hello," she greeted. "Are you Lucy's siblings? She mentioned she might bring you." She turned back toward the mirror again to take off her false eyelashes, being gentle so as not to break them.

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Nich was already looking back to the others when Cherie got up and left the stage, gouging the others reactions. No one seemed to be worried about the fall she'd taken, so he figured she was gonna be fine. It was like when you got a cut- if the adults didn't freak out, there was no reason for you to freak out. He looked back to Mabel, glad that he'd been right about how they were there to see Cherie. She seemed like she'd be as cool as Kenny's other friends, which meant she would be awesome.


Cherie being neat was definitely something that, if asked, the brothers would've agreed about. Kevin hadn't looked away when she stood up and walked off stage, and seeing her laugh made him feel like laughing as well. So he did, and then he turned to his little brother, smiling when he realized that Nich seemed to have liked it- he hadn't scarred his little brother, so Leif wouldn't have any excuse to bitch. When Kennedy got up and mentioned how Kenny was being motioned over, Kevin's first thought was 'booty call'. He couldn't lie, Cherie was hot, Kenny was hot, they were friends. Maybe he was wrong, but there were a lot of people he could've motioned for and he chose Kenny. It could mean nothing, though, and he wouldn't think any more about it unless he gathered proof of a less disputable nature- which he had no intention of even attempting because Kenny was still half his brother, and that wasn't something you could just round down on.


Then the whole group was moving and see? no reason to think about that at all. They knocked at the door and then entered, and wow, Cherie was even hotter up close. She was also just as hilarious, though he was fairly sure that was just a lucky part of her personality that came naturally. Then she pulled Kenny in first, and was this gonna be a lasting pattern because- nope, not thinking about that, no thank you.


Nich, however, stayed close to Mabel, though he was comfortable enough with the new people to not glue himself to her side. Just a comfortable foot or so away, a nice amount of space between them. He watched as Cherie hugged Mabel, and he wondered if these people liked him. He hoped so, because he liked them, and even though he liked most people, that didn't make it any less special. He gave a friendly smile and wave that Kevin mimicked when he was greeted, nodding vigorously when asked if he was related to Lucy. "Yeah, we just got here today. Nice to meet you, Cherie! I'm Nich, this is Kevin."


Kevin's smile grew a bit and he waved again. "Yeah, I'm Kevin."

 

[PunkPrince]

"Nice to meet you," Cherie said, giving both boys a smile before leaning down to rummage through the makeup bag beside her. She produced a package of makeup wipes and tore them open. She coaxed the wig from her head, trying not to rip it off because of the glue she'd stuck it down with. She tugged the wig cap off as well, revealing the dark hair underneath it. The sides and back had been shaved and the top left long. Not that it really mattered, since Cherie's hair had been slicked back to keep it manageable and easily hidden anyway. She ran her hands through it a few times to mess it up a bit and then grabbed a wipe and began to take her makeup off.


Kenny looked over at her. "You really have to teach me to do a death drop at some point," he said. "I can't do it without smacking my head on the floor."


Cherie laughed. "Maybe it's better you can't do it. I tried to teach it to Eva when I first met her and she broke her leg. I had to take her to the hospital and when they asked what happened she said she was "trying to fall down on purpose," or something, and then she spent a while hobbling around after that."


"And that's why I don't do them anymore," Eva said. "Kennedy can do them. But I'm not all that impressed with the fact that she hasn't hurt herself because she doesn't have to fall nearly as far as I do. And she got to have dance lessons when she was a kid so she has an advantage. I moved around too much to take lessons. My dad wouldn't go for it anyway. My parents fought about it a few times and my dad won the argument." She shrugged.


"My dad wouldn't have let me take dance lessons either," Cherie said. About half of her face was free of makeup now. "He about lost his shit when I started wearing makeup. My mom was cool though." Cherie's parents had divorced when she was twelve, and she had mostly been raised by her mother. She didn't miss her father. They'd never gotten along. He hadn't been a pleasant person.

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Kevin let out a quiet, more subdued, "You, too." Thinking about siblings had made him think about Leif, and thinking about Leif made him think about their...disagreements- current and past. He also, maybe, kinda wished he were here. But he didn't wish he was here as he currently was. He wished- he wanted so bad for Leif to be able to come here and be happy and have as much fun as he and Nich were. He just wished his brother weren't such a stubborn, untrusting bastard. He pushed the thoughts away harshly- he was here to have fun- not miss his brother. It would be stupid to just miss his brother anyway when it wasn't his fault his brother would've been too busy being a debby downer to have any fun. He didn't pay much attention as Cherie began to remove her makeup.


However, Nich was paying rapt attention. They had nice hair, but he was all in all very confused. This lady was removing makeup, and he'd heard that was normal (His family didn't have anyone who wore make up that lived with them, so he wouldn't really know), but she also removed her hair, and he knew wigs were a thing, and after the shock of it being a wig was done, he could only think, what? He guessed he'd figured out the thing he didn't know. Wigs. And fake eyelashes. And Cherie wasn't a girl? What? He'd ask later, because at this point he was about to short circuit trying to figure out what was going on.


Kevin was already past this, and listening to stories of bad death drops. He felt like adding to the conversation, but he didn't know if that would make things awkward. Or if not speaking would make things even more awkward. Oh well, what the hell, he thought and was about to add something when the conversation swiftly switched to dance lessons. Or rather, the lack of them. Yeah, he wasn't gonna speak his piece now. He vaguely remembered taking ballet with Leif- Mom had said something about flexibility at the time, but truthfully Kevin thought it might have something to do with how she'd always wanted a daughter. He wondered if she had one now- no! Happy thoughts, Kevin, happy thoughts.


Nich nodded along, and was relieved that Cherie really wasn't injured- like, not even a little bit! That was talent! He felt bad for Cherie that- he didn't know what terms Cherie preferred anymore, so they- weren't accepted makeup and all by their parents, but he figured that was just life for you. He wasn't sure half his family would be okay with that- well, maybe half, but definitely not two-thirds.