Moonchild

Forty Eight

A sharp rap on the window interrupts us before I can tell Lukas that Cricket and I don't need a chaperone making us both growl in our surprise, the gangly 20 something that had taken our order holding up his hands in mock surrender when we both cut our eyes to him.

The drive-through headset still clamped firmly on one of his ears he shyly twiddles his thumbs, eyes averted nervously as he waits for Lukas to turn on the truck just long enough to let me roll my window down. The built-up smoke leaks from the cabin with such a vengeance that a cloud of it is snapped up in the breeze that never really seems to stop here in Washington and swirls around the young man just long enough for him to sniff the air and grin like an idiot, nodding to himself before refocusing on whatever reason made him trudge to the far corner of the parking lot by himself in the dark.

...
Lukas
...

Scenting the young man as a human does nothing to put my wolf at ease, no good reason for him to be interrupting us at the moment.

At the moment our only focus should be on Aurie's second mention of not being safe at school, not anything else.

"I-I-I-"

"Are you a fan?" Aurie changes in front of my very eyes, his shine somehow brighter as his left foot starts to tap out the beat of the song leaking softly from the speakers.

"Yes!" The relief that washes over the young man is visible in the way that he lets his shoulders, the songs shuffling and landing on one with a beat that sounds vaguely familiar, "I-"

For a moment a look of apprehension graces my mates face, the hand grasping the vape flinching downward to tuck it out of sight. I'm not the only one who tracks the movement, and the bot's hands are brought up again in a flustered gesture, "I didn't see or smell anything other than cologne Sir... Oh shit, wait... Ma'am...or... Your highness?" With a cocked eyebrow, a cheesy grin eats up his face as he points to his lanyard, a slim pouch at the end spouting the very familiar looking mouthpiece of a Cresent Moon cartridge.

So he gets a few points for that one.

"I just wanted to see if it was really you. Like right here right now?"

...
Aurie
...

It's hard not to laugh at how hard this guy is trying to keep his shit together instead of letting himself fanboy like I know he wants to, the bright red curls not plastered to his skull by the headset sticking up in every direction as though he had pulled on it a few times getting his excitement out before coming out to say hello.

"I know its not really very cool of me to bother you when you're trying to relax... Wow..." A hard swallow cuts him off mid-thought, and a turn to my left reveals a scowl on Lukas's face so sour it could turn milk as if to ask why he exactly he was doing what he thinks isn't cool.

I have to pop my door open to make him pause for a moment after snapping my hand against Luke's thigh to get him to reign in his stanky alpha face and be nice, "Wait-" I have to squint my eyes in order to read his nametag from this angle, "calvin. It's chill I promise. Lukas is just cranky."

'Not true.' The thought is pushed into my head with a snotty sass that makes it super hard to even consider it as a real response to the cold hard truth.

Ever since we woke up this morning he hasn't wanted to share and has been grouchy every time he's had to put up with only having part of my attention. It's glaringly obvious that my loving mate was most definitely raised as an only child who had had to learn how to share his toys rather than doing so willingly and the mental image of an indignant Lukas refusing to let a baby Jack play with his new matchbox cars lights up my mind making me snort with the force of a thousand rubber bands all snapping at once leaving my sinus's shooketh as I try not to laugh.

All it takes is a narrowing of my eyes in his direction for Lukas to redirect his energies into looking more neutral... His efforts honestly not helping that much.

"I-No its not that. Just... He looked big in the pictures I saw online earlier but he's like... Mad big, Bro. I can't even."

The answer has some of my control slipping, giggles starting to leak from the corners of my mouth as I hop out of the cab. I take a moment to stretch before offering an outstretched hand to shake, pulling a startled Adam in for a quick hug once I have hold of him much to Lukas's grouchy grumbles.

I keep it brief and release a now very red Calvin who promptly wraps his arms around himself, fingers splayed on his sides where my arms had lain just for a moment with a hushed "Holy shit.." Leaving his lips.

"Remember to breathe, okay? It's important." I do my best to turn my aeyago up as far as I can manage, my hands coming up one on my cocked hip, the other ticking a finger in his direction, but it only makes things worse.

"Babe, I think you gave him a stroke..."

His blush gets even brighter and he has to turn away from us for a moment to collect himself. When he finally manages he turns around, face still red but lips spread wide in a smile I know he'll be alright.

"What did you need, Calvin?"

He shivers when I say his name, the thrill only a fan can feel when faced with the artist that has touched their soul on such a special level that they can't help but love and support them, "I wanted to know if you wanted to come inside? You wouldn't be able to smoke but it would be warmer. I- It would be safe. The lobby is technically closed, but we would have closed it anyway for someone famous like you."