Title: Stars Shatter
Status: Complete
Characters: Anon, Fang, Trish, Reed, Stella
Rating: SFW
Classification: One-Shot 
Author: wipsum
Summary: Takes place after Snoot game ending 4. A slice of life short story if I had to give a description.

[PRE-NOTES]

    This story is presented as-is with no peer reading or guidance. Errors may be likely as I am only human.

[/PRE-NOTES]

The day started as usual. I got up, brushed my teeth, and started making breakfast. I typically woke up before Fang because she’s a heavy sleeper. She can’t cook for shit, so I tried to do what I can. We haven’t had to do much recently because we both got paid time off from our jobs due to our baby being expected soon. I finished cooking, and the aroma must’ve woken Fang up because she stepped out of the bedroom still looking half asleep.

“Good morning!” I said to her. She just put her hand in the air as an acknowledgment and a sort of greeting. She then entered the bathroom and did all the morning activities a Ptero typically does. That being what? I don’t know myself even; she never lets me see. She eventually exited the bathroom looking much more refreshed, awake, and tidy.

I was waiting at the dining table, already prepared for her to exit and go straight for the food smell that woke her up. She sat down at the table and looked quizzically, almost irritated in a way, at the plate I had made for her, probably because it wasn’t what she was used to. Fang is all about routines these days, and if something changes, she doesn’t take kindly to it at first.

“Look, my friends over at the Cambodian cooking forums recommended I try this new recipe, OK? Don’t knock it till you try it,” I said, pretty confident that it was good, considering I ate some and loved it, but you never know with Fang. She would still probably prefer if dinner were Dino nuggets every day, and of course, whenever I want to use ketchup or ranch on them, she scolds me for it as if I were tarnishing a sacred relic that she holds near and dear to her heart.

It was a bowl of menemen with toasted bread. Considering I heard that she’s Middle Eastern, I assumed she would like it. I admit it was exotic for something out of the blue, but she still shouldn’t turn her nose up at it. She eventually relented and tried it. Of course, after a hesitant spoonful, she instantly began devouring it like a piranha would to some bloody meat. It didn’t last long before the whole thing was no more.

“Well, I’m taking it that you liked it?” I said sarcastically. She looked up from her bowl, surprised, likely forgetting I was even there. “Oh uh yeah, it was alright, whatever,” she spat out, trying to sound unimpressed and failing miserably.

“So what do you want to do today? The possibilities are endless after all!” I said, knowing she probably didn’t want to do anything other than lounge around and hang out. She looked at me with an amused face, probably due to the fact I even wasted time asking that at all. She dropped on the couch and reached for the remote. I shrugged and plopped down next to her as she turned on the TV. It was on the news channel. The reporter talked about various crimes and bad events happening nearby and across the world, then said there’s going to be an asteroid that may enter orbit, and then moved on to political tensions and how they always seemed to be rising. Man, is the news always this dark? Good thing I can kinda forget about the world when I’m with her. Then the reporter said something I’m actually interested in. There’s going to be a new public place opening up near us. I’m thinking about something that I wasn’t too sure would land with Fang or not, but I wanted to at least try.

“Hey, doesn’t that place seem nice for a concert? I know you don’t do that stuff anymore, but why not get the band back together for old times' sake? It would be the perfect baby shower, don’t you think?” I said, trying to gauge her thoughts on multiple subjects at once.

She looked at me with a look I can only describe as complex, and she took a while to speak. “You actually want to have a baby shower? Didn’t take you for the type to want to do something like that. I don’t even know if we could get the band back together. I mean, Trish is a businesswoman now, and Reed is... Reeding,” Fang finally said after deliberation.

“So you do think it would be a cool idea, then, huh? I’m sure we can get them together somehow. We can invite all our old friends,” I said, then trailed off a little, thinking in my head of the event and the possibilities of it. A part of me also longs to see Fang back on stage doing what she used to love doing.

“When do you think we should do it then?” Fang asked, seemingly a little more on board with the suggestion.

“Well, I’ll need to contact everyone, so I can come up with a good time, but I don’t mind anytime is good as long as it’s soon. The baby could be any day now after all,” I said and looked over at her with a smile. She’s using her wings to cover her face. I love when she does that.

I got up off the couch and saw her drop her defensive position. “Where are you going? Don’t you want to watch something?” She said in a disappointed voice. I replied quickly, “N-no it’s nothing like that, I just have to make a few phone calls in the other room; I’ll be right back.” Her face and tone returned to normal, and she said, “Oh, just be quick, I don’t want to choose what to watch without you.”

I made my way to the bedroom and closed the door. I prefer to have calls in private if at all possible. I don’t know why; it’s just a weird habit of mine. I got my phone out and dialed Reed’s number. It rang for a while, but someone eventually picked up.

“You need somethin’ bro?” the person on the other end said with that all-too-familiar voice.

“I was just wondering if you’d be interested in coming out to a venue sometime soon and performing as a band again one last time with Fang and Trish,” I said, sure he wouldn’t be the hard part of this equation.

“Well, I have a tight schedule considering I have to jetpack all these medicinal supplies over to Africa, but I think I could squeeze you in. Just text me a time, amigo,” he said casually like he sounded normal.

“Ok, I will; I just need a little time to decide on the date, see ya,” I said.

“Later,” with that, the phone call ended, and I was a step closer.

Great... now for the worst part. Trish and I have gotten nicer to each other over the years, but I still don’t think she’s entirely enthralled by me either. I’m sure it’s just the old anxiety I used to get when I knew I would have to talk to her creeping back up on me. I called the number, and after a short ring, someone picked up.

“Hello? What do you want? I’m kinda busy here,” an impatient but curious voice snapped over the phone.

“I just wanted to see if you’d be interested in coming out to a venue and performing as a band one more time with Fang and Reed,” I replied hesitantly, trying to watch what I said so I had the best chance of getting her to say yes.

The voice on the other end lit up, the tone brightening instantly. "Really? I thought we'd never perform again! Did Fang agree to this? I can definitely make some time!" she exclaimed at about a million words per minute. Thank Raptor Jesus that didn't take much at all.

"Yeah, of course she did! What time works for you?" I said, my voice calmer and even a bit excited.

"I could call off this Friday, but if that time doesn't work, just let me know," she replied.

"Okay, I'll text you when new info comes up. Bye for now," I said.

"Bye, Anon," she said, and the line disconnected. I texted Reed with the date, and he quickly replied that it was okay for him.

This was easier than I thought. I came out of the room and almost slammed into Fang against the wall. She must've had her head pressed against the door.

"Well, I'm guessing you heard all that then," I said, somewhat disappointed that she would eavesdrop on me but also not too devastated over it.

"You really got them all that easily? I didn't think they would be so on board with it," she said in a joyous tone. Before I could react, she swooped me up in a big hug. This reminded me of way back when I got her a spot at Moe's. I hugged her back, of course, and we held there for a moment.

"I never did it because I didn't think it would be possible, but you kinda just put all the strings in place in an hour!" she said as she finally let go of me.

"Believe me, I thought it would be hard too, but I wanted to see it happen just as much as you did, I'm sure. So does this Friday sound good to you?" I responded.

"Yeah, of course, I have nothing going on that day," she said as she walked back to the living room and sat back on the couch. I followed her, and we both sat down in our original positions. Then I remembered I had forgotten something and quickly ran into the bedroom to get it. I brought out a massive comforter and put it over me as I sat down. Fang grabbed it and yanked the rest of it over to her side so it covered her too.

"Good thinking," she said as she opened up Snootflix. I chose the movie this time around. I picked one of my favorites, "Drive," starring Ryanasaurus Gexling. We then chilled the rest of the day, just watching movies and eating snacks. The day is Saturday, so we still have a while before having to worry about the baby shower.

The next day arrives, and I wake up. Yet I see no sign of Fang. I do hear something though. I get up and track the noise to the garage. I enter the garage to see Fang using her old guitar, practicing what seems to be an entirely new song. I sit and watch quietly, mesmerized by how good it sounds. I guess teaching music just made her even better at it. She eventually finishes.

Holy shit, that was amazing.

"Thanks, I've actually been working on it for a while," Fang said to me. Of course, I said that out loud.

"So you've still been making music even though the band is gone? It paid off then because that was amazing," I said.

"Thanks again. At least I know I've touched someone with this little hobby of mine. I sent the sheet notes to the crew, and they're practicing it as well. If all goes well, they'll be able to perform it just as well as me, and we can do one last performance of a new song," Fang said to me.

"About that, I've invited a lot of people I know and put up posters around town so people can come to the event. I know it's a baby shower, but I still want VVurm Drama to have a sizeable audience, you know. I got Stella and Rosa to come out of the people that you would know as well. It's on you to get Naser though if you want him to come. I also got the catering and decorations," I replied to her.

"Damn, so that's why you were preoccupied and up all night. That's so sweet of you," she said and gave me a quick hug. "As for Naser, he's going to be able to make it, thankfully, so don't worry about that," she said confidently.

"Well, it seems like everything's in order then. I'll go make some breakfast; you can keep practicing if you want," I said while making my way back inside.

"No, that's fine. I think I've practiced enough anyway," Fang said quickly as she set her guitar down and followed me into the house. I wanted to do something special today to celebrate our recent accomplishments, and breakfast is as good a time as any.

"Just go watch some T.V. I'll yell when I'm done," I said to Fang. She just nodded and went into the living room. Now that I am alone, I can make this a little surprise. I use a food processor to shred up chicken breasts, form them into little dinosaurs of varying species, and dip them in an egg wash and a special flour and seasoning mixture. I begin frying them, and as they cook, I prepare a homemade barbecue sauce using brown sugar, tomato paste, vinegar, and various other spices and ingredients. I then plate it all and try hard to make it look extra fancy and presentable.

I exit the kitchen and make my way to the dining table. "It's done!" I shout out, so she comes and checks. "About time! What was all that racket about anyway? You've been getting extra creative in the kitchen lately, huh?" she says and then looks over at the table to see what I made.

"I present to you gourmet dinosaur fried chicken pieces," I say in a snobby voice. I look at her face. She looks ecstatic. She doesn't even give a thank you before diving in and absolutely destroying the poor nuggets. She tosses the last one in the air and snaps it. That will never not be impressive to me.

"Well? How were they?" I say, half knowing the answer already.

"They were amazing! What did you put in them, crack? How do you make something even better than the dino nuggets I usually get?! I didn't know that was even possible," she says brightly.

"Glad you liked them. That won't be an everyday thing though because they weren't that easy to make, but maybe now and then I can make more if you want," I say, happy that she liked them.

"If I want? Of course, I would want!" she says and laughs. Celebration is successful! Now all that's left is to get the baby shower to be.

"Aww, that was a celebration for me? Man, I never would've guessed you'd be so nice. For a dweeb, you aren't that bad," Fang says. Curse this muttering. I swear it's every day something like this happens.

"Yeah, a dweeb that you decided to marry. You must've stooped so low for me," I say in a sarcastic tone. She gives me a light playful punch in the side.

The days roll on like that until we finally reach Friday. I get up early, excited for the day ahead of us. I even wake Fang up with me, as much as she probably would like to sleep in, she shouldn't today. "You ready for the show?" I ask her. She chuckles quietly. "Of course, Anon, how couldn't I be?" she says as she wipes the grogginess out of her eyes.

"Why don't we get ready and get down there bright and early? I can pick up the food right now; they come with these insulated containers to keep everything warm, so it won't matter if we get it early," I reply, restless to get the event underway. She yawns and stretches, her wings almost hitting my face in the process. I guess her wings have muscles too, so it makes sense she would stretch them as well. Sometimes I forget that fact.

"Sure, why not? We don't have anything else to do right now," she says in a still-tired voice.

We both take our time and get ready. I make breakfast too, since the catering is only for lunch and dinner. Then we head out, grab the food, and get to the venue.

"As I was suspecting, we're the only ones here right now. We should have a few hours before anyone else even shows up. Let's just get the audio stuff set up, then we can chill," I say, deciding to get a head start on preparations so we can relax together.

"Shouldn't take too long, Mr. Audio-engineer," she says in a snarky tone, and I just scoff as I carry the speakers onto the big stage. The venue is beautiful. It's a big stage on a beach with lots of room and various gazebos and the like. The setup is a breeze and only takes about half an hour.

I open one of the boxes labeled "Mac and Cheese" and take some onto a paper plate. I sit down in one of the gazebos and wait for Fang to return with her food. Of course, she piled it high. Ah, whatever, she deserves it.

"Man, I love mac and cheese. This place always makes it super good. How about yours? You seem to have gotten a nice variety there," I ask, curious about the quality of the other food. She swallows the massive bite of various things she just took and then says, "I feel like I'm getting used to being spoiled when it comes to food. I mean, I'm always around a chef, and I get all the nuggets I want, and now I have a whole restaurant to myself. The venue looks even better in person too," she says, sounding extremely happy. Then someone walks up to us.

"You guys still make such a good couple," says the cheery voice. I turned around already knowing who it was. Stella stands there, gleaming, while Rosa is slightly behind her, also looking pretty happy.

"I couldn't pass a chance to see a new familia get created! The food and concert are also a plus. At least I don't have to cook everything like usual!" Rosa says. Stella laughs at the joke as she pulls out a deck of cards. I wonder what cards they are. Must be UNO.

"Who wants their tarot read?" Stella says, eager as always to play that game. Why not? I'll bite. "Sure, read mine," I say, trying to get it over with. She pulls a card out.

"I want you to keep this card. Don't tell me what you get either. Think of it as a gift for the event, I guess," Stella says. I take the card from her and check what it is. It's upside down for some reason. I flip it so I can read which one it is. It's the Wheel of Fortune. Well, that sounds pretty good. I don't know what it means, but I do like watching the game show from time to time. I pocket the card.

"Thanks, Stella. I appreciate the gift," I say, only half-meaning it as I don't care that much for the game, but I know it means a lot to her, so I can't say it wasn't thoughtful. She happily nods. "Don't mention it. I'm gonna go get some food, and then you can tell me about all the new animes you've watched!" Stella says, and she does just that.

A while into the conversation, that I would've definitely been called a dweeb over by a certain ptero, I remember what I was confused about but never got to ask. "Why did you guys get here so early? There's still like an hour and a half before the show even starts," I ask curiously.

"Better early than late. I also got a magician, so I wanted to seize the moment, so to speak, and I'm glad I did! Now we get all the good food and can catch up," Stella says, as cheery as ever. Fair enough, I guess. I look over to Fang. She's eating and talking with Rosa. They seem to be hitting it off. That's nice.

"Wanna go join them for now, Stella?" I say, trying not to seem like I'm blowing her off.

"Sure, why not? Seriously, though, you really should watch Sorcery Fight 2: Tooth and Tusk; it's awesome," I just nod along. I would never watch that slop. Her taste in anime is still somehow just as shitty.

"... and my entire rose bed was ruined by that estúpida puta!" Rosa says as I get into earshot. I don't know what she just said, but it was nothing good, that's for sure.

"Oh, you're telling her that story? Look, I'm sure she didn't mean it!" Stella objects, trying to defend this mystery person.

"I don't care if that were me; I'd still beat the shit out of her," Fang says with a smirk. I don't even know the context, but I still laugh for some reason.

"You're back! Thought you'd talk about that dweeb shit all day," Fang says. I don't even care enough to come up with a retort; I just sit down next to her and grab hold of her hand.

Some time passes as the four of us continue to chat, and three more people arrive.

"Sup guys, see you got the stage all ready for us, good stuff." He's wearing what I can only describe as a small step away from homelessness. So better than what I last saw him wearing but not by much. Whatever, it probably matches the band's aesthetic anyway.

Trish is wearing a nice dress that accentuates her colors, so at least she came looking like she didn't just jump out of a dumpster. Naser is also here, wearing that same hideous jacket. There's around 15 minutes to showtime. There are a lot more people here than I was expecting. I guess free food and entertainment at the opening of a venue would entice people.

"Seems my advertising worked. Are you guys up for handling such a big crowd?" I ask the group. Fang speaks up immediately, "Of course, we are! Crowds don't mean a thing. Even if we mess up or get booed, it doesn't matter. This day was so good it can't be ruined by what some randoms think of us." I am impressed with how much she seems to have grown. I know the old Fang would've cared a lot more about the opinions of others.

After a little more talking, they get up on stage. They play the new song that Fang made. It was just as beautiful as when I first heard it. Words can’t describe or do it justice. They then perform a couple of old songs from their catalog. Those are also hits with the crowd. They beg for an encore. They play 'Amberlight Brilliance.' Even I wasn’t expecting something like that. The crowd eats it up. Eventually, the show comes to an end, but none of us go home yet. We start a bonfire and eat some of the food we saved.

"What the fuck?!" Reed says in a worried tone, looking at his phone. I don’t usually hear this side of him, so this immediately puts me on edge. "You guys know that asteroid they said might hit us on the news? It’s entering our orbit." What the actual fuck? They always say shit like that every year to fear-monger. This time it’s true. Everyone else looks about as disbelieving as I am. I pull out my phone and look it up. He’s right, and apparently, it’s not far off. We only have a few hours. We all look around at each other. Stella begins crying. I feel like doing the same, but I can’t in front of everyone. Rosa tries to comfort her, despite the fact she looks just as distressed. Reed and Trish just look flabbergasted. I look over to Fang, who I’m sitting next to.

"I-I don’t even know what to say," I mutter out, wanting to say something to Fang about the situation but it’s so absurd and surreal that I can’t even think of the right words.

"I-It was supposed to be our big day, Anon. A celebration of how far we’ve come in life and how much more there’s left to do. Why does it have to be like this?" Fang choked out the last words as she began sobbing.

I try my best to hold up in front of her, but I can’t, and we both just end up crying in each other's arms in front of everyone. I don’t even know what they’re doing or their reactions. All I can focus on is Fang. Seeing her like this hurts even more than the news that just got revealed to us. Naser just pats her on the back, trying to comfort her. We all just stay like this for a while, processing what’s happening to us. Eventually, we regain our composure one by one. Trish stands up and begins to speak.

"Look, we can’t just spend the last moments of our lives crying, can we? Let’s just have fun while we can, okay? Make these moments the best of our lives." I sit back and think. Today already was one of the best times of my life. She’s right. I need to make it even better. Stella is the only person who still looks extremely distraught. The others look saddened but resolute in a weird kind of way.

We all resigned ourselves to our fates. There's an alcohol store not too far from here. It should be closed at this time yet I still want to go. "I’ll be right back, everyone." Fang gives me a saddened, worried look. I want to bring her with me, but I can’t. "Don’t worry, I won’t be long. Naser can keep you company for now," I say. Naser then sees Fang look over at him, expecting him to object to me going, but he just nods. I get in my car and go to the store. It’s closed as expected. I get a nearby brick and smash through the window. The store doesn’t seem to have an alarm system. Thank Raptor Jesus, if he is even real at this point. I take all that I can and load it into my car. I drive back to see them all still there, talking and trying to brighten the mood. Stella seems to have stopped crying, thankfully. I drive up to them and bring out all that I took. I didn’t want Fang to see me do that. Today is my last day, and I’m going to spend it doing what I want.

Everyone starts drinking immediately. Something about it eases the pain. It lets us forget what was coming. We all seemed to let go a little and just talk about everything truthfully, as it didn’t matter anymore. Eventually, everyone leaves to go do what they want to finish before it happens. It just leaves me and Fang at the fire. Sitting, conversing, and drinking still.

"You know back when I yanked your tail, and I said it was an accident? That was utter bullshit," I say and laugh loudly. It feels good to be able to let go of all my secrets.

"Yeah, I kinda knew, dork," she says.

"Ugh, well, I don’t know how much longer we have left together," I say in a worried tone.

"I want to do one last thing," she says as she gets up and heads to my car. She puts on the radio to some slow jams and extends her hand to pick me up. "Let’s have one last dance," she says calmly. I grab her hand and try to remember how to dance from so long ago.

I eventually get it down to where I won't step on her foot. Scratch that. She winces with pain as I accidentally step down on her big toe. I quickly lift my foot and find the rhythm again. "You still haven’t gotten better at dancing all this time," she says in an amused nostalgic voice. I stop messing up, and we just find ourselves bobbing along to the music in the firelight.

"I realize you made my life the best it’s ever been and could’ve been. I can’t ask for anything more than that. I enjoyed my time with you, and everyone, for that matter," she says to me as we sit back down, tired from dancing. I’m not the best with words. I don’t even know what to say to her to show that I reciprocate that feeling and more.

"I never really wanted something like this. I just wanted to live online all my life and be alone. I don’t even think I would’ve been sad if something like this happened. You gave me something to feel sad about. You gave me something to love and care about. You gave me all of your affection when no one else would’ve," I say.

A big light flashes in the sky. This must be it. As I look into her eyes, I realize there is nothing more in this world I would have wanted than her in this moment, and this day, exactly the way it panned out. I hug her tightly, and her wings wrap around me, giving me that familiar feeling.

"I love you, Lucy."

[POST-NOTES]

    This is my first time ever writing something or even doing anything creative at all really. It might show it might not. Either way if you read it I hope you enjoyed it, and I didn't waste your time. Thanks for reading!