Kratogenesis

Bonfire (XLVI)

"Guess what, Taco?" Four grinned, as if they were about to drop a bombshell. "As a reward for winning, you and your teammates get to go to a special place!" They couldn't wait to get there, either.

"Like what?" Taco looked straight into Four's eyes, wishing for the host to just spill it out already. "Cinema, soccer..."

Four struck a pose. "Bar night!" As soon as they snapped their fingers, a bar appeared just behind their back.

Pen, who was sitting next to Taco on the ring, was surprised. "Wait, how did you..." He thought some more before finishing the sentence, and decided that asking for a logical explanation to an alien number that could quite easily be equated to a divinity probably would probably not produce a satisfying answer in any case. "Eh, nevermind." He then rubbed his cheek against Taco, making her blush. "Soft tortilla shell..."

Taco was initially surprised that someone like Pen would act this way, but once Pen leaned just enough for her to counterattack, she took the opportunity to kiss him back. "Pen, you handsome son of a gun!" She got off the ring and went back to her team house. "Oh, and I'm not relenting tonight!" She smirked, signalling the start of a flirting war.

Four looked at Taco, then at Pen. "Wait, weren't you with Eraser?" Upon confirmation that Pen was still engaged with Eraser, they nodded in comprehension. They were then told that Taco's moves were nothing to worry about, as she tended to act this way with people she liked. Four's mental journeys came to a halt when Firey poked them on their back. He asked about the others, to which Four opened access to the bar along with La Familia, albeit after a session of being convinced. They snapped their fingers again, and the bar expanded.

A few hours later, Four opened the door to the bar with the key and turned on the lights. "It's showtime." They whispered to themself as they went back out. "Everyone! The bar is open!" They stood by the door, waiting for everyone to come in. They went back to their house. "X! Get ready! Tonight will be a very fancy night!" Once X was done making themself pretty for the night, the two numbers went back inside the bar. The first thing they noticed was La Familia celebrating the victory with a gigantic bottle of refined wine and snacking on some salty treats, while everyone else was chatting and sipping a few drinks. Four leaned against the counter. "Hey, bartender man."

The bartender's attention was grabbed: he turned around and looked at the blue number. "Yes, Foursie?" He smiled.

"How about a Bloody Mary for two?" Four smirked at the rather cylindrical bartender, whose green dye was highlighted by the colors of the bottles behind him.

"Okey dokey!" The bartender grinned with glee as he went on his way to prepare two spicy drinks for two equally spicy numbers.

X looked around. "'Foursie'?" They blushed and giggled. "I've never heard anyone call you 'Foursie'. Honestly, that's so cute!" They hugged Four.

"Oh yeah. That's how he calls me." Four contemplated as they were scratching their partner's back.

"Wait, you know him?" X stopped to think for a moment.

"Yup, that's Cyl." Four nodded. "He's quite an odd fellow. Whenever I go somewhere, he always seems to be there, smiling at me. I wonder if..." Four's tale was stopped by the sight of two glasses sliding across the counter, approaching the couple. "Damn, that's a fast service!"

X stared at their drink in awe. "It's my first time drinking this one."

"You know what they say, there's always a first time!" Four giggled and leaned against their yellow companion.

X felt the warm coming from their blue partner. "Oh, Foursie!" They made them blush, and they would blush too when they heard Four call them 'Eggzie'. The minutes passed by, each marked by a sip of the cocktail. Every sip felt more intense and pleasurable than the last one. Both hosts were beginning to wobble around, lying on the counter in an effort to mitigate the effects while also trying to conserve as much energy as possible. While looking at the menu for a dish to eat after the Bloody Mary, X saw a green figure reaching them from the left. They turned around. Oh, it wasn't Cyl. It couldn't have been him, as his shift wasn't over yet. They squinted, and once they got a clearer picture of who it was, they waved their hand. "Oh, hi."