Looking For Space // Josh Kiszka

Epilogue

Yes, that is a moodboard I made for Looking For Space because this fic consumed me far more than anything else for the past 5 and a half months.

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"I'm serious--I'm actually a little upset that we're not invited," Sam said, but it didn't stop him from pouring out five shots of vodka, setting the bottle down on the patio table with a loud thump. "You know this is totally our game."

Before Josh could interject--his mouth was already open and one hand was already in the air--I said, "I know, Sam. Next time for sure, okay?"

"It's not like we'd all fit in one car," Jake piped in, carefully sliding a shot back to himself across the table. "Not with all the gear. And taking two cars--I dunno."

Sam looked at Danny and rolled his eyes; Danny shrugged back.

"All of you--hush!" Josh warned, raising his shot glass. "We have tonight to celebrate, to celebrate both our National Forests escapade and your long-awaited album release."

Danny snorted a little. "Self-made."

Jake raised his eyebrows at him. "Yes, self-made. All of us should be proud."

Sam held a hand up to halt him. "We are proud, Jake. Daniel's still pouting because he had to slide all the inserts into the jewel cases."

"It was tedious," Danny said, grabbing a shot for himself, extending his arm to meet Josh's. "Alright, let's do it."

We clinked the shot glasses together, only a few drops of vodka lost to the surface of the table and my own hand--Danny's too, I noticed him furrowing his brow as it slid down his thumb--and took them down. I instantly reached for water; Jake coughed a little; Sam clapped Danny on the back as he winced and Josh grabbed the bottle to pour out another round.

There was no fire but we were all still illuminated by the porch lights. Jake's face was even more lit up from time to time as he sparked his lighter to the end of cigarettes, the grey smoke wafting into his face, Josh occasionally reaching over to him for drags, me reaching to Josh to do the same. Sam lit up a joint, inhaling deeply before passing it to Danny, who squinted as he inhaled.

"So your parents finally came around to our dear Joshua?" Jake asked, slurring his words a bit and laying his arm over my shoulders as he gestured to Josh.

"I'm pretty sure my dad always liked him," I replied, trying not to slur my own words though I was probably just as drunk as he was. "But yes--seal of approval. Don't know why it took so fucking long." I took a swig of water then added to only Jake, in a hushed tone, "We still try to avoid them most of the time."

"They even got me a birthday gift," Josh announced, smiling proudly.

"Always been a mama's boy," Sam remarked.

"There's nothing wrong with being a mama's boy," Danny said, coming to both Josh's and his own defense, although he'd been the one to drag himself into the subject to begin with.

"No, not at all," Jake said. "We love our mom. Sam, you're the baby--you're like, the biggest mama's boy of them all."

"I didn't ask to be the favorite," Sam quipped, smirking in the shadows.

Jake just hummed in response.

The summer was still sort of just beginning on this warm, hazy night in late June, and all of us had already had such fruitful adventures--enriching. Josh's word again. The boys kept playing shows and had indeed churned out a self-made album that people were actually buying at their gigs. Josh and I were their appointed roadies, using a lot of our free time on the weekends to help them out and get tipsy at the bars ourselves. We'd sit and watch and listen, his brothers--blood and otherwise--jamming their hearts out while Josh would sing quietly along, bouncing his fingers with the beat on top of my thigh.