Unlikely Friends: Volume Two

Chapter Five

Sleepy swiped at the sweat threatening to drip into his eyes as he stirred the thick batter. This was the first time he had made a cake and he couldn't exactly Google a recipe these days. He had dropped flours and eggs into a bowl, hesitantly adding the scarce sugar the community had managed to find in an abandoned house.  The batter was far less tasty than it should have been but the icing was already going to be less than conventional anyway. Someone stormed into the tent, choking back a sob. Sleepy set aside his mixing bowl and greeted the heart broken boy. Lua sniffled and shamefully wiped his eyes as he sat on Sleepy's empty bed.  “Sorry for intruding...” Lua stammered as he struggled not to cry harder. “It's just that I got the worst news today."

Sleepy cocked his head to the side and sat down next to the dainty boy. "Do you want to talk about it," the tired boy gently asked. The genuine corcern in Sleepy's voice was enough to send the tears spilling from Lua's swollen eyes. "M-m-mike T-tyson is...he is ch-chea.." Lua could barely speak as he hiccuped uncontrollably with snot bubbling in his red nose. Sleepy rubbed Lua's back, comforting him  and offering soft murmurs of support when Lua cried too much to continue speaking.

When Lua finally managed to calm himself he wiped his tears and sniffled pitifully.  Sleepy reached into his trash bag full of clothes, digging around inside before coming up with a mostly clean t shirt. He handed the clothing to Lua who promptly blew his nose into the material."Mike Tyson is cheating on me," the dainty boy pouted, unable to control his quivering lower lip. "With who?" Sleepy's eyes widened, shocked at the revelation. Lua and Mike Tyson seemed so in love and now that Potato had joined them, he figured they couldn't possibly be happier.

"Potato," Lua grumbled with a sudden burst of anger. The former villain was stealing his muscular man right from under his nose. Potato hadn't changed at all! He must be tricking everyone, gaining their trust so he could destroy their love once again. Sleepy stared at the dainty boy in confusion. The peace treaty stated that Lua had agreed to share Mike Tyson and the trio had seemed so happy before. Sleepy cleared his throat and stood up, not wanting to further upset Lua by pointing out the obvious. "Let's get your mind off them," he suggested as he walked towards his waiting cake batter. "Why don't you come help me bake?" Lua sniffled and watched as Sleepy began mixing the bowl once again before reluctantly standing to his feet.

Meanwhile, across the field, BranChan and Turtles were saying a tearful goodbye. "Please be careful," the small boy begged as he gripped tightly to BranChan's glittering bicep. The big oaf, Mike Tyson, and a few other community members had volunteered to go out and find supplies. They were running low on essentials and the strongest of the men offered to risk their lives. BranChan nodded reassuringly before kissing Turtles' forehead. "We'll be fine," the fabulous man promised as he slung an empty bag over his shoulder. Turtles stared up at him solemnly and held his gaze for another moment before letting go of his arm.  

BranChan smiled softly before patting the small boy on the head and turning away, striding confidently towards his group of friends. Turtles didn't notice that the large sparkling man's shoulders shook ever so slightly as soon as he turned to leave his sight.

Lua and Sleepy were just adding the finishing touches to the cake. The tired boy had spread the thick, white icing over the cake as Lua wrote a message with strawberry frosting. They both stepped back and admired their work.

"Happy Birthday, Stinky and Moon!" the red letters spelled.

It was Stinky's birthday today with Moon's following the day afterwards. Sleepy had decided to combine the two parties to save as many supplies as possible. Though the birthday duo weren't expecting an extravagant party, Sleepy still wanted to provide something simple for the small celebration. Lua licked smeared icing off his arms and recoiled, spitting on the floor of Sleepy's tent. "What the fuck is that?" Lua shrieked, expecting a sweet treat, "That isn't icing!"

Sleepy looked at Lua in confusion before stating the obvious. "It's mayo," Sleepy pointed out matter of factly.  He frowned when the boy continued to make a face. "And the letters are written in period blood," Sleepy casually revealed to Lua's dismay. Yeet had generously donated to the cause, supplying him with as much of her menstrual flow as she could. The dainty boy gagged and stormed away from yet another disappointment. "You're telling me this like it's a completely normal thing to do," Lua shrieked as he unzipped the tent, wanting to put enough distance between him and that celebratory abomination he helped bake.

Sleepy watched the disgusted boy leave and shrugged, licking leftover mayo from his fingers.