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Crossroads had finally gone pretty silent for the night. The sun had dipped below the horizon, allowing the little sliver of moon, just a peeping crescent, to rise high up into the sky. The darkness of Crossroads stirred in the night, making everything seem to feel even more eerie. The summery moonlight was the only thing making it feel like the world was in a Halloween movie.
A singular bird cawed, a crow, maybe, or some sort of winged creature that blended in with the silent skies. That silent tension was then erupted with a loud revving of a truck's engine starting.
Cigarette smoke faded from the truck's window, which soon disappeared as the window was rolled up by the driver. Zuka sighed as he held onto the wheel and weighed on the gas pedal. He could finally go home for the night.
As much as Zuka enjoyed the dark peace of Crossroads, he enjoyed his household more. He felt safer there, with his pyromanic son and the three-legged dog he had rescued. His home was full of his own memories; he didn't want to let them go to waste. Even though he was getting older and older, family was the only thing he had that was surely important.
He checked the time on the dash. It wasn't too late, only around eight o'clock at night, but still he wanted to be home in time to be with his son and his pet. Zuka's sense of belonging was there; he couldn't imagine living without it. Rocket always made him feel like he was young again, with his upbeat personality and over-the-top activities, such as blowing stuff up every day with a rocket launcher in phights. His son truly mean't the world to him.
As he drove, a weird feeling crept upon Zuka's mind. Was he even going the right way? The route he was taking home he surely remembered, but something seemed off, and Zuka couldn't quite put his finger on exactly what. The roads looked more winding, and it all of a sudden got darker, darker than a dead device screen. Eh, maybe the sliver of moon had disappeared behind some clouds.
More driving, and Zuka was now fully confident that he was starting to get lost. He didn't recognize the street he was going down at all. Crossroads was such a small town, Zuka had no clue how he was all of a sudden marooned in his truck. Everything had went dark now, even the headlights were having trouble giving guiding light.
Panic started to rise in Zuka's chest, which resulted in heavy, sort of shaky breaths. He reminded himself to calm down, and he would eventually make it home safe and sound. There couldn't be another doubt in the universe.
Until something decided to hit his windshield.
Zuka, on impulse, flinched immaturely when the impact hit the front of his truck. He shut his eyes, begging to the SFOTH that someone hadn't come to vandalize him tonight. Zuka counted to ten. He was still, fine and lonely as a wild eagle. But now there was a large crack staring right at him on the windshield, snaking across the glass like a wild river. He frowned immediately, knowing he would have to get that fixed at the repair shop tomorrow.
The demon relaxed, his nerves going back to normal after feeling shot and scared. It had felt like a thousand or more signals had gone straight to Zuka's brain and overrided him with panic. His hand relaxed on the wheel. He tried to hit the gas, but a screen popped up on the electronic dash. Apparently two of his tires were low on air.
Great: a huge crack in the windshield and two flat tires, just what Zuka needed to improve his already spazzed mood. He got out of the truck and went around the back to look at the tires. Yep, his back tires were indeed flattened on the bottom like sad pancakes.
At least Zuka had a solution for this one. He knew he kept an air case somewhere in the trunk. It was probably tucked behind all the junk that was already thrown in there, since he had never really needed to use it, so Zuka had some digging around to do.
Zuka tried to open the trunk, but something was weighing it down. He put all his strength into trying to pop it up with his arm, but it still seemed to be stuck.
Something fell down in front of his gaze: a polished, black item that was thin and long. The demon swore he could faintly see a reflection on the item; his panicked, old face making him have to think back on himself. He looked older in the reflection, almost as if he was on his death bed. Startled, Zuka backed away from the reflective piece. Whatever geriatric trickery was playing with him, he didn't like it one bit.
Out of spite, Zuka looked up to see what the reflecting thing was. It was, oddly enough, a sword. Just floating there, blocking Zuka from opening the trunk of the vehicle. The sword was strangely eerie, it seemed to fit the presence of the dark Crossroads night: bat wings on the handle, with a dimly lit green gem placed in between. What the hell? Whose sword was this?
Suddenly, his vision seemed to focus way too vividly. He could see more in the darkness. He could see the clouds moving, more coming in to block the sun. Zuka gazed around. There wasn't any homes along the street; just Zuka himself, stranded upon a random road.
Zuka clenched his fists, obviously starting to show signs that he had relinquished opening the back of the truck. His body felt weaker. Tired. He wanted to go to sleep in his bed back at the apartment.
He felt a cold hand rest on his shoulder, and he immediately jumped. Now, who else was here to ruin his mood? Zuka couldn't do anything at this point! Reluctantly, he turned around and came face to face with a god. That's right, a real SFOTH deity had just appeared behind him. But Zuka knew him well, and once he saw the mischevious row of poison-colored teeth, he stifled a groan.
The deity kept grinning, but took his focus off of Zuka and then on the sword. He raised his hand, and the weapon came flying straight into his grip. He sheathed the sword in his belt pocket. He focused once more on poor Zuka again and frowned.
The god spoke, a mysterious voice immediately filling Zuka's ears. But he was so used to the voice, it barely bothered him. "Goodness, Zuka, what mess have you gotten into...?"
"A big one, Darkheart." Zuka replied uneasily, still staring at his sad looking truck. He walked away from the god and went over to his windshield, looking at the odd pattern that had snaked and cracked across it. "I'm not even sure what even made it come to this conclusion."
Darkheart walked around the truck once, then once more just to look at the issues. The god's glowing presence had really illuminated whereever Zuka was. He pointed out useless things that Zuka hadn't already known about. "You have a paint scratch on the right door..." or even, "There's a stain on the tire, maybe oil..." How Darkheart was able to call out something so pointless, Zuka didn't really feel like wanting to know, or why he cared.
Zuka dug in his pockets and found a cigarette and proceeded to light it. He jumped up on top of the trunk, swinging himself up using the tire as a stepping stool. He just sat there, leaning back and letting his legs dangle off the side and hoping that stars would appear. Zuka had slept in the truck before, he could do it again.
A flash of black and green appeared on the right to him, and Darkheart appeared. Zuka took his eyes off the empty sky and looked at Darkheart's runic arm. The neon green swirling faded and then glowed brighter than before with every cycle around his arm. Just for fun, Zuka touched Darkheart's godly arm and unfortunately got zapped. The electric shock wasn't too much to frazzle a demon, but it defenitely hurt his finger.
He pulled away, the cigarette leaping out of his mouth and falling onto the street below. Zuka shook his finger and cursed a few times. He was lucky he hadn't lost a whole other arm. (as im writing this i js noticed he touched dh with his right arm. Let's just say he has no left arm okay thanks)
The silence between both god and mortal dragged along in the night. Darkheart finally decided to start a conversation, because what else were they supposed to do? No repair shops were open at the time, and Darkheart wasn't a god of fixing up junky old trucks. More like destroying them.
"So, Zuka, it's been a bit since we've interacted, huh...? How've ya been...?"
"Darkheart, it's only been a month. I've been busy with work and at home. But to make this easy, life has been fine for me. How about you?"
Darkheart steepled his fingers on his lap. "Well, just the usual. Deity business, whatever you mortals would call it... Hanging out with siblings, causing abruptions in phights, like we said, the usual...! Hehe..."
The deity went silent and scooted closer to the other demon, who was still staring up at the sky wearily. Zuka could have just fallen asleep in Darkheart's grasp just like that, but what if somebody drove by?
Zuka accidentally didn't know where to put his hand because he was so tired, letting his hand rest upon Darkheart's chin. He was acting so much like a child, but both of them weren't bothered by it. They understood each other, had each other's backs. Darkheart turned to Zuka and blatantly decided to read his thoughts.
"You want to go home..."
"Yeah." Zuka said. Then he realized Darkheart had just read his mind. "Wait. Oh, for Inphinity's sake, I hate when you do that, kid."
"We're sorry..." Darkheart apologized quickly, scanning the pitch black sky. There wasn't any other sound other than a bit of wind whistling through the trees and Zuka's heavy old man breathing. Darkheart's arm light and the triangles floating on his hat brim were the only things bringing them visibility in the night.
Since Zuka was being boring, just staring into the endless dark abyss of the sky, Darkheart peered into Zuka's mind again. He loved annoying the heck out of people; one of his favorite targets being Zuka himself. The poor demon had to live with a god sometimes messing up his house, but sometimes he could get lucky and get made a cup of coffee in the morning by Darkheart.
As Darkheart ventured Zuka's mind, he started to regret what he was doing, because the old bird was busy thinking about himself and the deity next to him. He stopped being nosy.
Zuka took his eyes off the sky and looked at Darkheart, who was busy staring down at himself. Zuka cracked a faint grin. "Something go wrong, Dark?"
"No, we think we just looked a little too far into your mind..."
That made Zuka's grin widen a bit. He had tricked Darkheart into reading his thoughts and jumpscaring him with imagery of them having special dates together, doing all the stuff that usual lovers do. It was hard for Zuka to even think of such topics, since he was too busy for love, but Darkheart had always been an exception.
"Maybe don't snoop, kid. Abuse your powers all you want, I don't care."
Darkheart blushed in annoyance, wanting to accept the command from the mortal he cared for so much. Even though it was his own fault for making Zuka lose track of where he was and flattening his tires and putting a crack in his windshield, he loved him so dearly.
The deity blended in with the shadows of the night just for a moment to grasp more of Zuka's attention. Not like they needed it, but he really just wanted to talk to Zuka. Sure, it had only been a month, but Darkheart was slowly getting bored with his godly business. He needed someone to talk to right now. Someone to hold.
Gosh, he loved that mortal.
He reappeared. Zuka tilted his head up to look at Darkheart. "Didn't mean to shock you that much."
"Heh... you're okay, Zukie..."
"Alright. As long as I'm not in trouble. I was too many times when I was younger." Zuka hesitated. "Hey, do you mind if I just..."
Zuka blatantly scooted closer to Darkheart, completely forgetting that he had just gotten shocked in the finger by the same deity. Darkheart didn't react, letting the mortal stay close. He could feel Zuka shivering a little, which made him trigger a reaction after a bit. He picked up Zuka with his hands and held him up for a second. He wasn't heavy, or maybe that was because Darkheart had godly strength. Then he sat Zuka down on his lap and hugged him.
Zuka's head was resting on Darkheart's shoulder. He still felt a little tired, but he seemed to feel warmer. "Uh, Dark, what's this for?"
"We noticed you were shivering, so we're here to help you feel warmer..." Darkheart patted Zuka on the back lightly. "We also just really miss you."
"I miss you too, kid." Zuka felt himself heat up, probably because Darkheart started letting out low purring sounds, making himself and his mortal lover feel close. Zuka had experience with Darkheart's purring. He sounded like an old air conditioning in the back of a gas station shop.
Darkheart stopped purring for a moment to speak. "Since we're already here... what do we do now...?"
"Nothing, I guess." Zuka requested.
"We could kiss..." Darkheart put some emphasis on the word 'kiss,' mostly because he actually wanted to but also just to show off his irritating examples of affection.
Zuka leaned back off of Darkheart's shoulder, now sitting upright on lap. "Sure, but what if somebody sees us?" Zuka realized that was a dumb question. There wasn't anybody here anyway, since he had somehow drove upon a mysterious street with no buildings or population.
Darkheart had a solution for this, nonsurprisingly. "Ah, simple fix, Zuka... let us just do something real quick..."
As the final word slipped out of Darkheart's sentence, everything went pitch dark again. The wind blowing in the trees had stopped. The god's present lighting was gone. Zuka thought Darkheart had shut his eyes just for a temporary time, but he was sure that his own eyes were in fact open. He couldn't see anything, but he knew that he was still saddled on Darkheart. Now Zuka felt like he was in the middle of a Halloween movie.
"Uh, Dark, I can't see."
The nickname was a pun-intended for Darkheart, making the deity chuckle. "That's the point... we made it dark enough so nobody can see us, only we can see you..."
Zuka narrowed his eyes. "How am I supposed to kiss you when I can't see a single thing?" Ugh, Darkheart and his godly shenanigans. Sometimes things weren't fair for a mortal.
"Don't worry, we won't let you fall..."
"I doubt that when you're a god of trickery and mischief."
"Stop being so pessimistic..." Darkheart leaned in and kissed Zuka before he could start complaning again.
Zuka stifled a whine as he proceeded to kiss his deity lover, now assured that Darkheart was prone to any sort of complaints. Zuka was positive that he wasn't actually making up excuses about being temporary blinded, but that was whatever at this point.
The demons parted, then met lips again, kissing for a couple of seconds and then taking another couple of seconds in between to catch their breath. Darkheart was quick-paced with his movements, going back in for another at the exact moment Zuka was ready. Zuka felt his eyes start to shut now, even though he still couldn't see.
After a few minutes, which felt like hours to both of them, Darkheart didn't part from a kiss for a whole minute, so when Zuka separated he started sounding like a fish out of water. He panted, then slooped himself back into Darkheart's shoulder. Darkheart smirked.
"Was that too long for you, Zukie...?"
"Nah, I'm fine. Just... huff.. tired. What time is it?" Zuka asked.
"According to our deity knowledge, it's around midnight right now... Sorry if we kept you away for so long... Hehe...!"
"And according to my mortal knowledge, you really like kissing me."
"That's for sure...! Now, let us teleport you home. We don't want your son panicking, do we...?"
-MedHammerYaoiReal
(Hey, Kio, you're getting jumped. /j)