Hey, everybody!! Today I've got something a little different for you: a short story by moi featuring the characters from Holding Up the Sky! This story was actually a request by Savannah Grace, so y'all have her to thank for the concept if you enjoy the story xD Without further ado: Here you go!

As the scent of popcorn drifted out of the kitchen, a debate raged in the living room: which movie would be a worthy use of everyone’s time?
Or, at least, Talia and Daverby had taken that position. Everyone else was merely trying to figure out what they wanted to watch. Lissa scrolled reviews on her phone, searching for the most kid-friendly Disney movies that would give Malice a safe viewing experience. Emery swiped through the “popular viewings” list and yelled out anything with promise; everyone else was staying out of the way as much as possible.
Oscar emerged from the kitchen a few minutes later, his cheeks flushed with triumph. Bernardo followed him. Both of their arms were full of bowls of popcorn.
“Who wants some of this?” Bernardo raised an eyebrow with a smirk that made a blush spring to Talia’s cheeks.
Lissa sat down on the floor, cross-legged, and took the bowl of popcorn Oscar offered her. Tarek, on the other side of the living room, was on the floor too, and Lissa allowed herself a long glance at him. A sigh escaped her before she could stop it. If only he were willing to come and sit next to her. He never would—she knew that—but she couldn’t help hoping. It was just a movie, and he’d been willing to let them drag him away from his piano for an evening to watch it. That was certainly among the first times that had happened. She munched popcorn and leaned herself back against the couch as Daverby’s debate with anyone who would argue with him continued.
On the couch, out of the way of everyone else, Dulci pulled her knees up to her chest and tried to take a deep breath. There were so many people here—everyone was all together, which only happened every now and again. Sometimes she enjoyed being with the whole gang, but it was so easy to be overwhelmed. She reached into her pocket for her phone before remembering she’d left her earbuds at home. It would make matters no better to be playing on her piano app without earbuds to ensure that she was the only one who could hear it, so she sat on her hands to keep from fidgeting. She’d turned down popcorn when Bernardo had offered it, but now that everyone else had some and she saw the extra bowls left over, she was regretting that decision strongly.
As Emery finally clicked the title of The Little Mermaid, apparently tired of no one being able to make up their minds, the couch dipped behind Dulci. She tipped her head upward in time to catch a glimpse of a boy swinging himself onto the back of the couch, a boy with golden hair and a single silver streak running through it.
Drex grinned at her, and her stomach dipped in a giddy glissando. “Hey, baby,” he said. “Ready for this?”
She nodded. “I’ve seen all these movies.” Watching them with friends would be different, though. She’d only ever watched them by herself—Santara wasn’t much for movies.
“I haven’t seen this one.” Drex adjusted himself on the couch so that he was sitting on the back of it directly behind her, with one of his legs on either side of her, so she was leaning up against him. “Is it good?”
“Is it scary?” yelled Malice, forgotten on the big easy chair that had far too much cushion for him.
“No,” Talia said, as Emery said, “Maybe a little.”
Once Emery would have glared at Talia for that, but now she just laughed and punched her in the shoulder. Talia shrugged with a grin as she turned away from the TV and the debate it inspired. Bernardo’s face lit up for a second as she turned toward him, but Talia forced herself to ignore him and go to Malice instead. She scooted herself into the big easy chair next to the little boy, pulling him onto her lap, and balanced his bowl of popcorn on her other leg. Ignoring Bernardo’s clear disappointment, she focused all her attention on the previews.
Daverby growled at the remote. Pressed a button, then another, and the TV did nothing. “Stupid thing,” he muttered. “Em? Dearest, give me a hand?”
“You’re using the TV remote. You need the DVD remote.” Emery was no-nonsense as always as she grabbed the other remote from out of nowhere—Daverby would always admire her ability to find everything, even though it frustrated him no end that he could never find anything.
“Too many options, luv. Why do we have to watch this anyway, hmm?” He put up no resistance as Em grabbed his arm and jerked him toward the couch. Drex and Dulci, those blasted lovebirds, were curled up together on the corner of the large piece of furniture, which curved in an L-shape, and Oscar had camped out on the edge closest to the TV. Emery claimed the other end of the couch and yanked him down next to her. Daverby rolled his eyes, cast a glance around, and when he was sure everyone else’s attention was focused solely on the movie—Lissa on the floor where the L shape of the couch hit its curve, Tarek on the floor on the other end of the room, and Bernardo leaning awkwardly against a wall like he wasn’t sure where to go—he wrapped one arm around Emery’s shoulders.
The movie started. Lissa and Dulci hummed along with the musical numbers—Dulci knew all the songs by heart, and Lissa picked them up easily by ear. Drex felt a smile steal across his face, and even as the tone of the movie grew darker, he couldn’t drive it away, and that was entirely because of Dulci leaning against his legs. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. She didn’t move, entirely engrossed in The Little Mermaid, so he kissed her again. Still no response. He rolled his eyes. Time to get creative. Slowly, subtly, he slid down the cushion of the couch, moving his legs so that he could slide around Dulci.
She jumped as he slithered into the space behind her and adjusted his legs so that he was entirely wrapped around her. Even with that, she wasn’t turning around or paying him any attention. He rolled his eyes. Desperate times called for desperate measures. He went for her neck.
Lissa shot another glance over at Tarek, sitting by himself on the edge of the room. He looked down at his lap, hardly even paying attention to the movie, although every time Ariel sang he looked up like he heard something familiar, a haunted look on his face. He glanced over at her, and his eyes grew wider. Lissa smiled and patted the spot beside herself. He wouldn’t come, not if she knew him, but at least the invitation stood.
To her surprise, he stood up. It was slow and there was pain in his expression, but… he stood up, and he came to her, sat down next to her, and reached for her hand. Lissa still wasn’t sure what to call their relationship, but the warmth that flooded her body at his touch was enough for the moment. She pulled his hand closer, and he let her squeeze it between her leg and her hand, sandwiching it in the middle.
Daverby scrolled Twitter, unable to keep his mind focused. Emery elbowed him every few minutes and he forced himself to look up and pay attention—hard to do when he really just wanted to check out and enjoy the feeling of his girlfriend next to him and the fury of reading news he didn’t like. There was a redhead girl who definitely needed more clothing. There was a prince who needed more of a spine. A dog showed up randomly. The villain was an octopus. Big deal. Dave looked back at his phone.
“Dave!” hissed Em, elbowing him. “Wake up and pay attention.”
“I’m completely awake,” he said, keeping his voice flat.
Emery folded her arms and returned to watching the movie with her full attention.
Daverby cast a glance about the room. Lissa and Tarek were holding hands now—oh, nice, very nice. He approved wholeheartedly of that relationship. He looked over at Talia holding Malice, and at Oscar and Bernardo positioned on the floor, and then over at the corner of the couch, where Drex and Dulci were sitting—
“Oh, blood,” he growled. “Watch the movie, would you?"
Drex looked up from where his face was buried against Dulci's neck. "No," he said, and brought his head down again.
Daverby groaned and opened twitter again. The humanity was too much.
As the movie came to an end, Tarek squeezed Lissa’s hand softly and smiled. She smiled back, uncertain why the emotion in her chest had been stirred so much by a simple kids’ movie. Something about the story was… familiar.
Talia looked over at Bernardo, who gave her a long glance and then heaved a loud sigh. She ignored him and focused instead on Malice’s eager chatter.
Dulci sighed and snuggled into Drex, closing her eyes. He ran his fingers through her hair and allowed himself to smile for the first time in a while. They’d be here for a while if she fell asleep, but he was okay with that. When he had her to snuggle… he wouldn’t be complaining.
After all… they could spare a moment to breathe.
Every now and then.