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It wouldn’t be uncommon nor inaccurate to compare roadies to a collection of stray animals. Some of the best members of a roadie crew were plucked off the streets mid-tour, inevitably becoming part of the family along the way. Some members of the crew are prickly like cats, not afraid to swipe their claws at those who get into their personal space or touch gear that doesn’t belong to them. Other roadies are more like dogs, just happy to be anywhere doing anything with anyone else. And then some roadies get the displeasure of being the animal-wranglers of all the other roadie archetypes, just trying to make sure everyone gets along.
Animal metaphors aside, a roadie crew must be many things, being a rag-tag group of odds and ends that somehow serves as the backbone for a successful tour. Some roadies are highly specialized, being near experts in their tasks, while others are the equally as important jack of all trades. Above all, roadies are versatile. They must adapt to new situations, solving problems as they arise to try and keep the wheels turning, rain or shine.
And today, the world chose rain to befall on this particular roadie crew. It wasn’t the worst storm they had seen on tours before, but it still really fucking sucked.
Luckily, today's venue was completely indoors so the concert didn’t have to get rescheduled. Unluckily, there wasn’t much shelter around the rear bay doors of the facility and the storm showed no sign of letting up anytime soon. And the worst part of it all, load-out needed to get done tonight to keep on schedule and get to the next stop on the tour by morning for tomorrow’s show.
But there were protocols and standard procedures for this kind of thing. Trips to and from the trucks and trailers were pre-coordinated to maximize gear movement and minimize water exposure. Plastic tarps were used to cover the most sensitive boxes of equipment just in case the latch seals weren’t all that great. You definitely didn’t want moisture to get into any of the audio or lighting gear. And let’s not imagine how pissed the band would get at a waterlogged instrument. Keeping the equipment dry was the highest priority. Keeping the roadies dry- well, that most definitely wasn’t going to happen.
“That was the last case! Everyone, onto the bus! Now!” Jinu called over the roaring sound of torrential downpour.
The roadies scrambled, booking it towards their tour bus knowing this was the last time tonight they would have to sprint through the pelting rain. Shoes squeaked up the steps into the cabin of the bus, more than one body getting shoved to make room to get everyone on board as quickly as possible.
“Thank fuck that’s finally over. I’m going to bed.” Baby gave another unnecessary shove past the other drenched roadies to make his way towards the bunks in the middle of the bus first, desperate for some time in his coffin-sized sleeping space where no one would bother him.
“Ah, ah! Baby, don’t you dare climb into that bunk soaking wet!” Romance bumped into the cabinets in the bus’s small kitchenette, clumsily trying to maneuver the space through his fogged up glasses.
It wasn’t often that Romance used his ‘I-mean-it’ tone of voice to boss the others around, but more often than not it was for the health of the crew. Being the unofficial ‘Crew Mom’ of the gang, Ro would ultimately be the one to care for a sick roadie whether they asked for it or not. And they would all undoubtedly suffer if even one roadie got sick on tour, being confined to such close quarters each night that they went without accommodations in a motel. No one wanted to deal with a cacophony of coughs on the bus for the last remaining week they were contracted for.
“Oh, come on!” Baby groaned, throwing his head back in irritation. He was especially pissed as the rain meant fewer smoke breaks, and he was already feeling the effects.
“I’m not having any of you getting sick because you’re too lazy to change clothes. Now everyone, strip!” Romance pointedly ignored a cheeky ‘don’t have to tell me twice’ coming from behind the soggy mop of hair that was their drum tech, already standing pantsless.
Despite their exhaustion, every other roadie knew better than to argue with Romance on this. They all began begrudgingly peeling off their layers of wet clothing and depositing them into a large laundry basket, which would likely smell quite ripe in the morning. But that was a tomorrow problem. Tonight’s problem was just getting everyone dry and into bed.
Somewhere between the removal of all dripping clothing, putting on dry boxers and t-shirts, a best-effort attempt at getting moisture out of their hair with spare towels, a rotation in and out of the small bathroom to take a piss and brush their teeth, and the gradual disappearance of each roadie into their respective bunks, the bus was on the road again headed to their next destination. ‘Crew Mom’ duties were as done as they were going to get, and now Romance could finally retire for the night without having to worry if anyone would wake up with a case of the sniffles.
When Romance got around to pulling the curtain back from his bunk, intent on climbing in and passing out just like everyone else, he noticed something that didn’t belong. Or at least he noticed the shape of something, having already taken off his glasses for the night. He squinted, trying to force his eyes to identify whatever foreign object was in his bed. A small dark bundle was in the corner of his bunk, something that looked like a wadded up article of clothing, and a wet one at that. God, he hoped it wasn’t underwear.
“Okay, who’s the smartass who threw their wet shirt on my bed?” Romance hissed over towards the surrounding bunks, unsure who was even still awake.
“Wasn’t me!” Abby was quick to defend himself from within his bunk, being the resident prankster of the crew.
Romance turned his head in the direction of Mystery and Baby’s bunks, but both curtains were already drawn shut. He could hear the soft snoring he knew belonged to Mystery below, and every now and then a bit of light would flash within Baby’s bunk which meant he was probably watching videos on his phone with his earbuds in. Or Baby was ignoring him, which was a real possibility as well. He wouldn’t put it past Baby to get pissy and throw his wet shirt into his bunk after that nightmare of a load-out, but Romance himself had watched Baby toss all of his wet clothes into the hamper first. And Mystery, while also quite fond of partaking in Abby’s shenanigans, also didn’t seem like he would risk Crew Mom wrath tonight. And if he did, he certainly wouldn’t fall asleep before seeing the outcome of a prank.
“Jinu?” Romance turned to the only roadie left to interrogate.
“Wha- Why would you think it’s mine?” Jinu’s half-asleep voice called from his bunk.
“It’s black.” Romance deadpanned, far too tired for any more nonsense.
“So?”
“Hun, if there was an award for least colorful wardrobe, you’d get second place because a gold medal would be too much color for you.”
Jinu made some sort of attempt at a chuckle, no doubt only registering every other word as the exhaustion of the day took its toll and sleep beckoned him away.
Romance let loose a sigh. Well whoever left their dirty laundry in his bunk would just have to get a stern talking-to later. He just hoped that his pillow wouldn’t smell like musty rainwater the whole night. Romance reached into his bunk to grab the offending article of clothing, but then the unknown object moved back.
“whattheFUCKISTHAT-” Romance all but shrieked, jumping away so fast that his back slammed against the wall opposite his bunk.
A series of thumps and whacks echoed through the bus as everyone startled at the sudden shout, heads colliding with the upper surfaces of the small bunk spaces. Even Hajun, their dutiful driver, swerved the bus a little from the commotion.
“What? What’s going on?” Jinu snapped back into full awareness, hopping out of his bunk and rushing to Romance’s side instantly. All evidence of sleep disappeared as Jinu’s mind went straight into problem-solver mode. Problem: Romance got spooked. Solution 1: Remove the source of the spook. Alternative Solution 2: Comfort best friend until someone else removed the source of the spook. Jinu opted for Solution 2 and stepped closer to Ro to usher him away from his bunk to breathe.
“It moved!” Romance clutched his own hand close to his chest, wide eyes still staring in the direction of his bunk.
“What moved?” Mystery’s head popped out from behind his bunk’s curtain, one sleepy doe-eye peeking out from his tangled head of lavender hair.
“Could you assholes keep it down?” Baby wrenched his curtain open with a scowl. “I could hear that through my earbuds!”
Abby climbed out of his bunk, coming to see what all the fuss was about, and ultimately be Jinu’s other half of Solution 2. He peered into Romance’s bunk, searching for whatever had spooked his fellow crewmate so much. Once he spotted it, Abby broke out into a wide smile.
“Aw! Guys, look!” Abby reached his large hand into Romance’s bunk, looming over the target in his sights. “It’s just a little- OW!”
Abby swiftly brought his hand back out of Romance’s bunk, now sporting three small cuts across his knuckles. A breathy hiss sounded from Romance’s bunk before a blur of black rushed from around the curtain, vaulting down into the floor and skittering towards the kitchenette.
“The fuck was that?” Baby took out his remaining earbud, looking in the direction that the shadow fled to.
“A cat, I think!” Abby frowned down at his scratched up hand, the three marks already red and angry with tiny beads of blood coming up through his skin.
“A cat?!” Romance’s Crew Mom brain kicked back on. He swiftly put his glasses on and took Abby’s wounded hand into his own to inspect the cuts. Cats could have rabies. If Abby got bit, he'd have to get to an urgent care stat. Maybe even an emergency room. But no, thankfully his cuts looked more like scratches from claws than punctures from teeth. Could you get rabies from their claws? Romance recalled its only bites that can transmit the virus. Phew, no risk of rabies, just risk of infection if it didn't get cleaned.
Mystery then rolled quite unceremoniously out of his bunk and onto the floor, laying prone like a worm. He shimmied his way across the floor towards the small seating area in the kitchenette where the creature had fled to. The others watched in slightly-disturbed silence as Mystery snuck his way down the length of the bus. If anyone would be able to wrangle a feral cat successfully, it would be Mystery.
Mystery turned to lay sideways on the floor, staring into the space underneath the kitchenette’s table that the cat had huddled itself into. Between the late hour of the night, stormy weather, and lack of lights turned on in the bus while it was in motion, he couldn’t really make out much of the animal hidden in the darkness. He could only see a vague outline of something under the table. But then the eerie reflection of two golden eyes appeared, which confirmed to Mystery that he did in fact find the cat.
“Pspspsps.” Mystery called gently towards the cat. He reached out a hand slowly, tapping his fingertips along the floor of the bus.
The cat let out a low, raspy warbling sound. Not quite a growl, not quite a hiss, just a warning.
“It’s alright little guy. I’m not gonna hurt’cha.” Mystery cooed towards the animal, not moving any closer but not moving away from it either. He wouldn’t push the creature to do anything it didn’t want to. If the cat wanted to come out, it would be its own choice.
“How did a cat get on the bus?” Romance questioned, now having retrieved the first aid kit from the bus bathroom and already disinfecting Abby’s hand. The larger man winced as antiseptic wipes were gently dabbed along his cuts, the feeling akin to hand sanitizer on papercuts you didn’t realize you had.
“It must’ve snuck on board to get out of the rain.” Jinu offered.
“No shit, Sherlock.” Baby scoffed towards Jinu while watching Mystery attempt to gain the cat’s trust.
And sure enough, by the time Abby’s hand was cleaned up and sporting three new bandaids, Mystery was already lifting himself to stand up off the ground with a little soaking wet ball of fur carried in his arms.
“Aw, the poor thing.” Romance tutted, now able to get a clear look at the feline that had found shelter in their temporary home.
It was a fairly tiny cat, probably not yet fully grown based on its small stature. Though maybe it just looked especially small because of how utterly drenched it was. Its dark fur was matted down where rainwater had soaked through to the skin, even showing the dips of a few ribs on the skinny creature. The cat curled into Mystery's arms, burying itself into the man’s chest as it shivered from the cold.
“You screamed and woke everyone up because you got scared of that?” Baby sent a taunting grin towards Romance. “Pansy.”
“I didn't know what it was, thank you very much!” Romance huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.
“It's so tiny and cute!” Abby gave a goofy smile as he began walking towards Mystery and the newfound critter. But the moment Abby came close, the cat puffed itself up and hissed again at the large man. A tiny clawed paw swiped in Abby's direction.
“Don't scare him!” Mystery turned his body away from Abby’s approach, turning himself into a human shield between the cat and the hulking roadie.
Abby stopped short, his wide smile drooping into an equally-as-wide pout.
“I just wanted to pet him!” Abby hung his head low, shoulders slouching down from the tiny animal’s rejection.
“Hun, you can't just pet wild animals.” Romance stepped forward to put a comforting hand on the back of Abby's shoulder.
“I give Myst pets though!” Abby grumbled, while Baby snorted a laugh.
“Mystery is a person, dear.” Romance rolled his eyes, though fighting back a smile of his own.
Meanwhile, Mystery maneuvered himself around the kitchenette, opening cabinets and rummaging one-handed through the small collection of items they stocked the bus with for meals. He retrieved a small bowl, set it on the cheap laminate countertop, and then opened the fridge. His hands fumbled on a bottle of water, either from his sore and stiff joints, or the fact that it was once in a blue moon he touched a plastic water bottle instead of a can of monster.
The bottle clattered down onto the floor, rolling until it hit Romance’s foot.
“Myst, what on earth are you doing?” Romance knelt down to pick up the runaway water bottle.
“Getting him some water and something to eat.” Mystery responded matter-of-factly, now setting his sights on whatever containers of leftover takeout and cheap road snacks were in the fridge, giving each one a sniff-test to see what was even still edible, which wasn’t looking like much.
“Mystery, no, we’re not feeding it.”
“Wha- why not?” Abby objected immediately. “It’s all skin and bones! It could use a good meal!”
“Because once you feed a stray, it will want to stay.”
“Is that how you caught Abby?” Baby jeered from his bunk with a smirk. “Did’ya put down some protein powder and a case of beer in the bus and lock the door behind him?”
“What?! That’s not how Abby joined the crew, and you know that!” Romance rebutted, but then caught the sound of Jinu chuckling along behind the group. “And what’s so funny, hm?”
“Come on, Ro,” Jinu rubbed at the back of his own head, tousling his still slightly-damp hair as he yawned. “We’ve made the joke about picking up strays how many times now? And now there’s an actual stray on the bus. You’ve gotta admit it’s kinda funny.”
“A stray that will not be staying. We’re getting rid of it. Now.”
Thunder rumbled from outside the bus, suddenly reminding everyone that they were in fact still in the middle of a harsh storm, and also on a moving vehicle.
Between Abby’s pouty expression, Mystery already hand-feeding the cat a piece of unknown leftover meat, Baby’s indifference to it all, and Jinu being too tired to be a second voice of reason, Romance knew he wasn't going to win this battle. So instead Romance sighed, cracked open the seal on the water bottle still in his hand, and poured some out into the bowl Mystery had set out.
“We’ll get rid of it in the morning.”
The life of a roadie doesn’t lend well to keeping pets. For one, you’re on the road for weeks on end, and boarding facilities are above a typical roadie’s pay grade if you don’t have family or friends to take care of your animals. Second, it’s not like you can just bring your pet with you on the road. Especially not if you’ll be living on a cramped tour bus alongside who knows how many other roadies who don’t want to be bothered by an animal getting into their belongings and making a mess of their shared space.
These were just a few of the points listed by Romance and Jinu in the morning once they had gotten enough sleep to form a united front against any sort of ideas that keeping the cat would work.
“Cat hair gets everywhere and on everything, the dander is even worse, there’s the potential for lice and ticks, and then there’s the issue of hygiene!” Romance lectured Mystery and Abby in one of the seating areas of the bus, backed by Jinu beside him.
“We don’t even have a litter box.” Jinu nodded along.
Abby opened his mouth to speak, but Romance cut him off.
“And we're not buying a litter box because we're not keeping the cat!”
Mystery frowned down at the cat curled up on his lap. He had managed to mostly dry off the cat’s fur overnight, so now it looked less like a tiny bog creature and more like, well, an actual cat. Turns out the cat wasn’t entirely black, but dark gray with a pattern of black stripes down its back. Without the weight of rainwater soaking through its fur, the cat was actually kind of fluffy, with patches of long hair along the sides of its face, the back of its legs, and had an incredibly fluffy tail to match.
“Plus it could belong to someone else already.” Jinu noted, always considering every possibility.
“It doesn’t have a collar though!” Abby protested, gesturing toward the cat and earning another hiss in his direction.
“It could have a microchip.” Jinu pointed out. “But we wouldn’t know for sure unless we take it to a vet or a shelter.”
“Which we are not doing because this cat is not our responsibility.” Romance pinched the bridge of his nose from underneath his glasses. “Look, we have to get started on load-in for today’s show in less than an hour. We do not have time to handle a stray cat.”
Abby slouched back against his seat with another frown. Mystery remained silent, just gently stroking his gloved hand down the cat’s back as it purred contentedly.
“No commentary from you, Baby?” Romance looked over towards the blue haired tech, idly toying with an unlit cigarette in hand near the bus door.
“Do I look like I give a fuck about some stupid cat?” Baby shrugged.
“Well, it’s settled then. Once it leaves this bus, that’s it, it’s gone.” Romance and Jinu each nodded together.
“C’mon Abby, let’s get this over with.” Mystery muttered towards his side.
“Awww, fine!” Abby complained, standing with dramatically slouched shoulders to follow Mystery heading towards the bus door.
Mystery motioned with his head to Baby on the way out to follow them, a barely-there smile ghosting his expression. Once outside, the trio of roadies made their way behind the bus, away from any of the windows since Romance opened them all to circulate the musty smell of rain-soaked clothes out of the bus. They wouldn’t want the smoke from Baby’s cigarette to waft inside. And they certainly wouldn’t want any eavesdroppers to hear their conversation.
“Are we actually going to let him go?” Abby whispered to Mystery, eyeing the little kitten who was perfectly content still being carried around and not making any moves to run off.
“Hell no we’re not.” Baby was the one to answer with a devious smirk on his lips around the end of his cigarette.
“Not unless he wants to be free, of course.” Mystery gave the cat a little scratch under its chin. “Jinu and Romance gave us the choice to stick around when we each joined, it’s only fair that we give this little guy the same chance to decide on his own.”
At that, Mystery gently put the cat down at his feet. Each of the roadies took a half-step back, giving the cat space to make its choice. The cat didn’t immediately sprint off away from them, which was a good sign at least.
“How do we know if he wants to stay?” Abby asked, watching as the cat dipped into a low stretch, tiny claws peeking out from each of its toes, and then began lazily wandering away.
“I guess if he comes back to the bus or not.” Mystery shrugged.
“How are we gonna hide him from Ro though? If he sees us bring the cat back on the bus he’s gonna throw a fit.”
“We’ll just have to be careful.” Baby flicked a bit of ash from his cigarette onto the ground.
“I thought you didn’t care about the cat?” Abby asked the shortest roadie, curious if he changed his mind.
“I don’t.” Baby glared up towards Abby. “But it’s funny watching Romance lose his shit over it.”
“I’ll handle getting him back onto the bus if he chooses to stay.” Mystery smiled in the cat’s direction as it moseyed off, hoping it wasn’t the last they’d see of the critter.
~
Load-in was relatively boring and thankfully very dry. Each roadie split up once the bulk of the equipment was hauled inside today’s venue and the tasks of set-up began. Jinu was floating around overseeing everyone’s progress and offering a helping hand wherever needed. Baby was getting the audio monitors hooked up for sound check, Abby was helping stack up empty gear cases to make the inevitable load-out easier, Romance was fiddling with a guitar that just just wouldn’t tune quite right, and Mystery was, wait, where was Mystery? The drum kit was already set up and ready to go, with the only indication that Mystery had at least been there being an empty can of Monster discarded nearby on the stage floor.
Knowing when your crew is up to no good is a prized sixth sense, of which Jinu had an occasional proficiency in- depending on if he discovered the trouble before or after it happened. So whenever that nagging feeling itched at the back of his mind, Jinu knew it was a good idea to go searching. Jinu wandered around the venue, looking in all the go-to places for wherever their drum tech might have wandered off to. Underneath the stage risers- nope. Venue break room- nope. Hanging out with the stage riggers- nope. Bathroom- nope. Outside the lead drummer's RV- nope (and there was no way in hell Jinu was going to try and check if Myst was inside that RV). He wasn’t with Baby or Abby either, so where had the mysterious man gone?
After making a circuit around the exterior of the venue, Jinu finally located the roaming roadie out back by the dumpsters. He watched as Mystery hauled himself up and out over the lip of one of the containers. Jinu let out an amused sigh at the sight and leaned himself against the wall of the building, crossing his arms. He didn’t particularly care if Mystery was scrounging around or not. A certain amount of tolerance was required when it came to the creature’s habits, as long as he wasn’t doing anything too dangerous, of course.
“If you want to go dumpster diving, you know you have to take a shower afterwards, right?” Jinu called over, startling the man into nearly losing his grip.
Mystery quickly hopped down onto solid ground, turning to face Jinu fully. Even from behind the mess of hair always covering his face, Mystery’s expression was similar to a kid who just got caught with his hand in a cookie jaw. Except in this case, a feral roadie in a dumpster.
“Oh, uh, hey Jinu!” Mystery greeted with a wave of his gloved hand. “I wasn’t dumpster diving! Just, er, dumpster climbing?”
Jinu gave an unimpressed look.
“Okay fine, I was in the dumpster.” Mystery shrunk back with a coy expression. “But I should only have to shower if you can tell I was dumpster diving!”
“I just saw you climbing out of it, so I think I can tell.”
“But as long as I don’t smell like dumpster, it’s fine, right?” Mystery toyed with the cuffs of his gloves, a hopeful smile on his scruffy face.
Jinu made a face at that, crinkling his nose. He looked Mystery up and down, trying to see if there was any visible garbage on the man. If there was, he could just point to that instead of having to go do a sniff test. Mystery was always a little grimy, more than a little greasy, and never truly dirt-free, but if he didn’t stink, he was generally okay to skip a shower or two (or three, or four). Jinu would rather not get a whiff of whatever was in that dumpster, but unfortunately that’s what it would come to in order to know if Mystery needed to find time to shower before the day’s end.
With a silent groan, Jinu pushed himself upright to go do his part in making sure the bus wouldn’t smell like whatever Mystery had rolled around in. But as Jinu began approaching, Mystery took a step back.
“Actually, on second thought.” Mystery took another step backwards, keeping his distance. “That dumpster was pretty rank. I’ll go wash up now.”
Jinu narrowed his eyes at that.
Mystery was willingly going to go shower in the middle of the day, in the middle of concert setup no less, right after trying to deny that he was doing something shower-worthy? Why the sudden change of heart? Something was definitely up with Mystery, that much Jinu knew for sure. He didn’t know what it was yet, but if it was something worth hiding from him, it was worth finding out. If Mystery caused a problem, that automatically made it Jinu’s problem too.
“Alright…” Jinu said, skeptical of his friend’s behavior. “There’s actually a shower inside. C’mon, I’ll walk with you.”
Mystery nodded after a second, wincing as if he was regretting his decision. Jinu turned away, heading back towards the venue with Mystery following behind him. Jinu was half surprised the drum tech didn’t bolt the moment his back was turned (Mystery definitely considered it). As Jinu neared the door to take them back inside, he had a thought. He knew one way for sure to get Mystery to fess up about whatever was going on.
Once Mystery was within arm’s reach, Jinu swiftly turned on him, fisting one hand into the front of Mystery’s hoodie and hauling the tech up against himself chest to chest, earning him a surprised gasp. Jinu gave a lazy, lopsided smile and tilted his head ever so slightly, knowing it was a look that never failed to make the smaller man blush and squirm.
And sure enough, a bit of color creeped up Mystery’s neck as his own hands moved to wrap around Jinu’s back almost instinctively. Mesmerized by the sudden simmering heat in Jinu’s eyes, and the slow inching closer of their lips to one another, Mystery acted exactly as Jinu expected. Despite his mostly obscured face, Jinu was also able to tell exactly when Mystery closed his eyes in anticipation of a kiss. And in that moment when Mystery submitted to him and his body went pliant against Jinu’s grip, Jinu took a deep breath through his nose.
“You smell fine to me.” Jinu murmured against Mystery’s lips, barely holding back from that last push forward.
Mystery’s posture went rigid again.
“Now that’s just mean, Jinu.” Mystery whined, tightening his grip on the lithe man’s waist nevertheless.
“Now what are you up to, hm?” Jinu didn’t move away, lingering with just an inch of space between the two of them, dangling a carrot on a stick.
“Maybe just waiting for you to come fuck me behind the dumpster like a couple of horny school kids.” Mystery teased back, trying to close that tantalizing gap between their lips.
“No, you’re causing trouble.” Jinu dodged the man’s attempt to avoid answering his question.
“Am not!”
At Mystery’s protest, a high pitched mewl sounded from nearby. Really close nearby.
“What was that?” Jinu backed away a fraction, much to Mystery’s disappointment and now sudden panic.
“Nothing!”
But then Jinu caught sight of something over Mystery’s shoulder- a little flash of dark fur.
Jinu spun Mystery around by his shoulders, eyes landing squarely on the hood against his back. The hood which contained none other than the cat. Somehow the cat had taken up residence inside Mystery’s hood, a perfectly comfortable little ball of fuzz curled up inside the fabric hammock. The cat looked up towards Jinu, blinked once, then resumed lazily grooming itself from its lounging spot.
“Myst-”
“I was just looking for something to feed ‘im.” Mystery sent a moping glance over his shoulder back at Jinu. Now that the jig was up, there was no point in pretending. “We didn’t have much in the bus last night that was safe for him to eat. I wanted to make sure he was okay.”
Jinu softened at the admission, and turned Mystery back around to look at his roadie properly.
“That’s very kind of you. But like Romance said, this cat isn’t our responsibility.”
“He wants to stay though! I found him back outside the bus after we let him go!” Mystery objected, looking down at the ground and scuffing his shoe against the dirt. “Plus Abby and Baby both want to keep him, too.”
“Is that so?” Jinu couldn’t help but smile a little at that. He leaned forward, placing a consolatory kiss to the top of Mystery’s downturned head.
“You’re not mad?” Mystery peered up towards Jinu.
“Are you going to try and bring the cat back onto the bus tonight?” Jinu questioned, voice soft and completely opposite from his stern tone that morning.
Mystery chewed on his lower lip. Damn Jinu for using that cute little smile of his like this. It was totally unfair. How was anyone supposed to stand up against that?
“Nnnoooo…” Mystery muttered, completely unconvincingly.
“Romance is fully expecting you to try and sneak the cat back in. He’s going to be keeping an eye on you and Abby all evening. He’s probably going to post up by the bus door the whole time, too.”
Mystery winced, it seems they hadn’t been convincing enough that morning to fool Romance into believing they would listen to him. He had some tentative plans of how to get the cat back on the bus, mostly involving hiding the cat inside his shirt, but if Romance was going to be paying close attention, that wasn’t going to work. Maybe he could get Abby to distract him, but if Romance was suspicious of Abby too…
“But,” Jinu’s soft smile turned just a little sly. “He probably won’t be watching the windows.”
“The windows?” Mystery tilted his head to the side, eyes narrowing from behind his hair.
“Who knows?” Jinu gave a half shrug. “Maybe I’ll want some fresh air tonight…after Ro goes to sleep.”
“Jinu…” A grin slowly began growing on Mystery’s face. “Do you want to keep the cat too?”
“I didn’t say that.” Jinu said, reaching behind Mystery to lift the cat up and out of the drum tech’s hood.
The cat was unbothered by the sudden eviction from its comfy hooded home. It looked up to Jinu with big amber eyes filled with feline curiosity. Jinu definitely had a soft spot for his crew, for obvious reasons, as he cared for them all dearly. But Jinu also had a bit of a soft spot when it came to cats. He was generally fine with most other animals, having friends growing up who had dogs, bunnies, or even birds, but cats were always his favorite. Something about their independence, strong wills, and cute little paws were just so endearing.
“Now come on,” Jinu set the cat down on the ground at his feet and turned to walk back inside. “Let's leave the cat outside for now cause we’ve gotta finish set-up to be ready for sound check.”
“Jinu?”
“Hm?”
“There’s not even a shower inside, is there?”
“Nope.” Jinu glanced back with a sly grin. “Why would there be a shower inside a concert venue?”
Jinu had enough foresight to walk a little faster away from the gremlin behind him, narrowly avoiding a pair of grabby hands aimed squarely at his bottom. The pair made their way back inside to continue their work, sharing knowing smiles and glances towards one another throughout the show.
And so that night once Romance went to sleep, content with his monitoring of the primary troublemakers on the bus, Jinu made sure a window at the rear of the bus was opened just far enough for the cat to find its way back inside if it so chose. And after a little while, a tiny dark shadow crept onto the bus and curled up somewhere warm for the night.
Even at the back end of a tour, there were always logistics to work on for this tour or the next. Whether it be cleaning up the messes left by prior problems, solving newly discovered problems, or preventing future problems, Jinu was always working on something. This often took the form of Jinu being physically attached to some piece of technology, either a phone up against his ear or hunched over his laptop computer.
Whenever there was particularly complicated work to be done, or when he just needed some peace and quiet, Jinu found the kitchenette table in the bus to be his go-to workstation. It wasn’t much of a home office and it was hit or miss if there was decent wifi or enough cell signal to set up a mobile hotspot, but it was usually the best he would get on tour. And that is where Jinu happened to be posted up the next day, despite it being a free day to give the roadies a break after back to back concert days.
Having a free day also meant the others were off doing a variety of chores and tasks. Mystery and Baby were grocery shopping, which gave a high likelihood of them returning with only smokes, energy drinks, and Funyuns. Abby was called off to help fix something with another bus, despite barely being handy enough to do an oil change. And Romance was tasked with making as many trips to the laundromat that it took to rid the roadies’ wardrobe of their hard-earned musk.
So Jinu had the bus all to himself, his mug of coffee, and his laptop to chip away at the neverending pile of work that was waiting for him in his email inbox. Or at least he would typically have the bus all to himself, because now he found himself slowing down from his usual lightning fast typing speed to give an occasional pat or scritch to the cat that was loafed upon his lap. It was a pleasant surprise to be chosen as the cat’s place to rest. Jinu assumed the cat would have stayed huddled up hidden inside Mystery’s bunk, as it had for the entire morning. But not long after every other roadie disappeared to complete their day’s assignments, the cat crept back out and attached itself to Jinu’s lap.
“You traitor.” The latch on the door into the bus suddenly clicked shut behind Romance, standing with a laundry hamper balanced on his hip as he stared at Jinu with a teasing look of betrayal.
Jinu’s hands immediately rose in surrender, held away from both his keyboard and the cat.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ro.” Jinu gave a sheepish smile, as if he wasn't caught red handed himself.
“Really?” Romance looked pointedly at the cat in Jinu’s lap.
“I guess he must’ve snuck back on board at some point while you were out?”
“Mhm. Sure, Hun. As if I didn’t wake up to that animal running laps up and down the bus at 3am.” Romance rolled his eyes, depositing the basket of laundry onto the floor.
The moment the basket touched the ground, the cat leapt from Jinu’s lap directly onto the top of the pile. Drawn by the still-warm feeling of freshly washed clothing, the cat was quick to start pawing at the laundry, wrinkling the folded shirts with its claws to make a cozy nest to lay in.
“Oh no no no, not on the clean laundry!” Romance shooed the cat away from the clean clothes, grimacing at the collection of black hairs left behind on the white shirt on top of the pile- his own shirt of course.
Jinu smiled in amusement. All of the work on his laptop was momentarily forgotten to take a sip of his coffee and watch the cat scurry away down the length of the bus to jump up into his own bunk. It seems the cat was warming up to more than just Mystery now. Romance picked off each and every bit of hair from the freshly cleaned laundry, re-folding the shirt and putting it back on top of the pile as if it wouldn't just get shoved into the limited bit of personal storage they each had on the bus.
“Though,” Romance mused, “What I don’t know is how those boys managed to sneak it back on board last night. If I didn’t know better I’d think that cat could walk through walls!”
Jinu coughed into his coffee. Romance stared closely at Jinu, eyebrows furrowing for a moment before shooting up in realization.
“Jinu!” Romance admonished the man. “You didn’t!”
“What?” Jinu set his coffee cup down. “I didn’t say anything!”
“What happened to sticking together on this?”
“We were outnumbered!”
“And you were supposed to put your foot down and keep the cat out, not be the one to let it back in!”
“I didn’t say I let it back in!”
“You’re such a bad liar, dear.” Romance gave a swat to Jinu’s shoulder.
“Only when it comes to you.”
Jinu shifted in his spot, swinging his legs out from under the table to face Romance properly. He reached over and wrapped his fingers through the belt loops on either side of Romance’s hips, tugging the man to come closer to him and stand between his knees. Romance relented, placing his hands along Jinu’s shoulders in front of him, methodically plucking tufts of camouflaged cat hair from the man's bunched up hoodie sleeves.
“You really are a traitor.” Romance muttered, though a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“C’mon, Ro!” Jinu smiled up at his companion. “Tour is almost over, and then we can take the cat to a shelter after. What’s the harm in letting him stick around for just a few days?”
Romance pursed his lips in thought. He didn’t want to be a hardass on everyone the whole time, especially since it was apparently only himself who was against keeping the cat now. Four against one wasn’t great odds.
“IF we’re going to keep the cat- and it’s still an IF- we need to set some ground rules.”
“Fair enough.” Jinu nodded, agreeing to entertain Romance’s requirements.
“You have to check it for fleas. If it has fleas, it's absolutely not getting back on board this bus and I mean it.”
Jinu grimaced at the thought of tiny bugs crawling around his bunk bedding. He probably should have taken a closer look at the cat the day before.
“If it makes a mess on the bus I’m not going to be the one to clean it up.”
“Alright.” Jinu made a mental note to assign some sort of cat-caretaking-duty among the rest of the crew. He could take today, Mystery tomorrow, Baby the next day (maybe, that bridge will get crossed later), and then Abby the next day after that if the cat wouldn’t scratch him again.
“It’ll need proper cat food and Mystery is not allowed to give it energy drinks. That’s probably not safe for cats whatsoever.”
“All reasonable ground rules so far.” Jinu chuckled, fingertips roaming from Romance’s belt loops up under the hem of his shirt.
“And you are going to be the one to get rid of the cat after the tour. It’s your job to take it to a shelter.” Romance shivered slightly at the feeling of Jinu’s fingertips trailing up his back.
“Mhm, anything else?” Jinu angled his face up towards Romance, gently tugging the man even closer.
“Hmm,” Romance murmured. “There’s probably more.”
Romance drummed his fingertips along Jinu’s shoulders, now noticing the rare state of peace on the bus. Being on tour was always so chaotic and it wasn’t commonplace that any of them got much time to themselves. Days off were few and far between, and often still packed with things to do. But every now and again, if you planned things just right, you might just find a little bit of time to enjoy another’s company. Privacy on a bus full of others was never guaranteed, but as of right now it was just the two of them.
Quick to take advantage of the situation, Romance let himself gravitate towards Jinu. His knee brushed along the inside of one of Jinu’s legs, a tiny gesture that carried a subtle yet significantly intimate weight to it.
🎨👇
Jinu’s gentle grasp on Romance’s sides became more deliberate, the kind of deceptively casual contact that was so incredibly familiar between the two of them. It was an intimate knowledge of one another that could only be gained from years upon years as each other’s closest confidant. Theirs was a kind of bond that blurred the lines between best friends, partners, and lovers. They just belonged together, however that looked from day to day. They were the foundation, the duo that started everything that came after, the one thing that never changed.
There was rarely the need for spoken words between them. Between the extensive history they shared, the way their personal and professional lives melded together, or the way their hearts were so tightly intertwined, a simple look was all it took to get them on the same page. Jinu’s gaze wandered over Romance’s features, admiring the defined edges to the man that somehow never failed to look soft to him. It was the gentle curve of his smile, the warmth in his honey brown eyes, or the affectionate touches from his slim hands that never failed to calm his busy mind.
It was never complicated between them. They were just two souls who happened to collide, pulled into each other's orbit time and time again until they finally gave in to each other. (Though let’s be honest, it was only Jinu who had to give in to anything.) But Romance was always there. That steady, patient presence, there to be a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen with, and once that barrier was broken he became a critical piece of Jinu’s heart that he didn’t know he needed.
Romance looked into Jinu’s eyes. Those dark, always worrying, endlessly working eyes. Jinu definitely worked himself a little too hard and a little too often, but it was still admirable. Once Jinu set his mind to something, he would always see it through. He was a man of conviction, even if he was a little clueless the rest of the time. For such a detail-oriented person, Jinu was somehow also the most forgetful person on the planet. If Romance wasn’t there to remind him to eat, he may just starve. But the one thing that Jinu never failed to do was to take care of his crew. He cared so intensely, even if it was in his own unique way. His mind was always running a million miles an hour, but the moment someone he cared for was in trouble, he would drop every urgent task to make things right again.
But right now they were just Jinu and Romance on the bus, two interconnected hearts alone in a rare moment of privacy. They naturally drifted closer, their grips on one another turning from casual to intentional. Was there work to be done on Jinu’s laptop? Yes. Was there another load of laundry that needed to be collected from the laundromat? Yes. Did either of them care at that particular moment? Absolutely not.
With one assertive tug on Romance’s body, that little bit of stillness broke. Romance dipped down, tangling his hands into the other man’s short raven colored hair. Their lips found one another with practiced ease, the kind of thing that felt like second nature. There was no urgency to their embrace, save for the natural impatience to just exist with one another simply and completely. Hands roved and roamed with each brush of their lips, a tender grounding comfort between one another.
Right as Jinu began lifting Romance’s shift up along his body, the silence was broken by a sudden crash!
Both men startled, faces turning away from one another to see a tiny black paw retreating down from over the far edge of the table. The pair then looked down, spotting Jinu’s mug that was no longer on the table, instead broken in half atop a puddle of lukewarm coffee now spilled across the floor.
“There’s another ground rule.” Romance glared in the direction of the cat as it scrambled away from the mess it made, having rudely interrupted their moment together. “I’m not getting cockblocked by a cat.”
“Who’s getting cockblocked?” The bus door swung open with Mystery’s voice carrying over the sound of rustling plastic grocery bags carried in his hands. An exacerbated sigh sounded from Baby following close behind.
“I swear you have superhuman hearing the moment someone talks about getting dicked down.” Baby stepped up onto the bus second, placing his grocery bags down on the floor.
“It’s a useful skill to have!” Mystery grinned back at the teal-haired roadie. Baby got the distinct feeling that Mystery winked at him from behind his hair.
“Hey, don’t leave me out of this!” Abby’s voice joined the commotion, waiting for his turn to climb back into the bus behind the others.
Romance groaned, separating himself from Jinu’s arms as their brief bit of peace came and went faster than the blink of an eye. Jinu, keeping to his word to not make Romance clean up any cat-related messes, promptly got up and began gathering the broken pieces of his coffee mug and cleaning up the spilled coffee from the bus floor before anyone accidentally stepped in it.
“What happened?” Baby looked down at the broken ceramic pieces in Jinu’s hand.
“Mutiny, apparently.” Romance remarked, sliding onto the bench seat in the kitchenette to sulk about both his lost intimacy and lost stance on keeping the cat off the bus.
“We were just talking.” Jinu flashed a smirk over his shoulder at Romance, who responded simply by rolling his eyes dramatically.
“Talking, sure.” Abby raised an eyebrow in blatant doubt, grinning knowingly at the flushed faces of both men who had been left alone together.
As Mystery went to deposit his haul of white Monsters into the bus fridge, a flash of black fur came barreling down the length of the bus. Mystery yelped as tiny claws clambered up the backs of his legs, using the pockets along his cargo shorts as footholds, and scrambling up his shirt until a distinctly familiar weight settled in the hood along his back.
“That is what we were talking about.” Romance said, trying to maintain an impassive expression but sorely failing to hide his amusement at the sight of the cat burrowing into Mystery’s hood. Of course the wild animal and the wild animal were the ones to bond the strongest already.
“I didn’t do it!” Abby raised his hands in instant denial.
“I know you didn’t sneak the cat in, Hun.” Romance smiled over at Abby. “But it would be fine if you did.”
“Does that mean what I think it means?” Baby looked between Romance and Jinu.
“The cat can stay for the rest of the tour.” Jinu nodded, walking over to Mystery to give the cat an affectionate scritch now that the spilled coffee was all cleaned up.
The window at the back of the bus stayed closed most nights from there, no longer needed as Romance and Baby would often return from their last smoke break each night with the cat in tow. At some point one of the kitchen bowls was deemed the unofficial cat food dish, always left out on the floor of the bus with a few bites of cat food from a mysterious supply of canned cat food that appeared in the kitchenette cabinets. And during the day if anyone wondered where the cat could be, it was always a good idea to check Mystery’s hood first.
🎨👇
The bus was a sacred place when on tour. There were multiple unspoken rules concerning bus etiquette, which despite being unspoken oftentimes ended up being spoken quite loud when one was forgotten. Examples of such rules were as follows. No smoking on the bus. Never piss off your driver. Make sure you’re on time for final bus call. Smelly food and trash gets tossed outside, especially during summertime tours. The bus toilet was for taking a piss only. Muddy shoes stay outside or go into a plastic bag. Don’t touch shit that doesn’t belong to you. And never sleep in someone else’s bunk.
The bus was more than just a place to crash while on the road. The bus functioned as your bedroom, kitchen, bathroom (limitedly), home office, sanctuary, or if necessary, a time out corner. Though that didn’t happen nearly as frequently until Baby joined the crew.
It wasn’t often that fights broke out on tour. Sure, there were arguments and pissed off roadies left and right, especially when things went wrong, but rarely ever did things get physical. And if things ever dared get close to a physical altercation, there were counter measures in place. Once such counter measure being Abby, physically stopping Baby from biting the head off some incompetent lighting tech who had switched some cables around and nearly fried the whole building’s circuit breaker during sound check. So Baby was given strict orders by one of the head tour managers to ‘take a walk’ and ‘cool the fuck off’ before tonight’s show.
Baby sulked his way to the bus to clear his head, already down to the butt of his second cigarette in five minutes.
Why was he the one to need to take a walk? He did nothing wrong. Okay, maybe he cussed out that lighting tech more than usual. But it was warranted. When it came to Baby’s temper, it honestly didn’t take much to set him off one way or another. It wasn’t Baby’s fault that the other tech was such a fucking pussy and couldn’t handle hearing some brutal honesty about his lack of functioning brain cells.
Baby slammed the bus door closed behind him, still fidgeting with his pack of cigarettes and turning it over and over again in his hands. He marched over to his bunk, intent on climbing in, grabbing his earbuds, and blasting his music loud enough to cause long term hearing damage (which let’s be fair, every roadie already has hearing damage). But when he yanked back the curtain, he found his bunk was already occupied.
The cat was there, curled up right in the center of his bunk.
Baby bristled. No one was supposed to touch his shit. This was his bunk. His space.
“Get out.” Baby demanded from the cat, as if it could even understand his words.
The cat just cracked open one eye, swished its tail a little, but otherwise did not move, perfectly content in its blatant thievery of Baby’s space.
“Go sleep in Myst’s bunk or something, you little shit.”
Baby felt his temper peaking again as the cat twitched its ear at him then closed both its eyes to resume snoozing right where it was. Baby had been on board with keeping the cat on the bus, but he wasn’t expecting to have to actually deal with the cat. He just wanted to have it around because it was funny to watch the chaos it caused. And yeah, it was a cute cat, but he didn’t want it messing with his stuff.
But the cat didn’t know it was doing anything wrong. It had everyone else’s bunks to choose from, but for some reason it chose Baby’s bunk today. Baby couldn’t fault the cat for just existing. He was pissed off, but he wasn’t pissed off at the cat. He let out a frustrated breath, then let his shoulders fall from where they had wound up tight.
“Fine. At least move over then.”
Baby hauled himself up into his bunk, not caring if he ended up nearly plopping down directly on top of the cat. If it wanted to try and steal his bunk, it could deal with the consequences. Lucky for the cat, it had enough sense to at least get out of the way. The cat shifted deeper into Baby’s bunk, occupying the space between Baby and the bunk’s wall.
So Baby settled into his bunk the best he could. Despite it being such a small space, he was a fairly small man comparatively. There was just enough room for him and the cat to coexist with just the barest amount of contact between them. But Baby didn’t seem to mind the contact, as his mind was otherwise preoccupied with more irritating recent events. He put in his earbuds and queued up one of his go-to playlists.
“That guy was such a fucking asswipe.” Baby began vocalizing his frustrations, unable to keep his thoughts pent up inside himself.
He didn’t care that the cat couldn’t talk back. Maybe that was actually better. He could rant to someone without needing to care if he was being too harsh, too vulgar, or too loud. He could let himself just go off, completely unfiltered with no consequences. It had been too long since he got to use some of the more creative words in his arsenal of profanities.
“Who the fuck does that cuntbag he think he is?” Baby vaguely gestured with his hands as he ranted aloud. “What fucking high horse does that guy think he’s riding on?!”
The cat was impassive to all of Baby’s broad movements, happy to remain in the cozy bunk with a warm body nearby.
“He had the fucking balls to try and tell me that my cables were hooked up wrong?! That cocksucker wasn’t even right. And then the douchebag tried to pull rank? Saying he’s been here longer so he must be right?”
Some days his ‘tour nickname’ really got under Baby’s skin. He had warmed up to it initially with Jinu’s crew ‘cause yeah, it was actually kinda funny so it was fine when it was just him and the guys. The guys were allowed that special privilege. But when other people tried to tease him with it? Oh that got his blood boiling. He wasn’t a child. He was a grown ass fucking adult. He knew his shit. He was probably smarter than two thirds of the entire operation.
“Maybe if that dickweed used his eyes once in a while he would have seen my wires were all fucking labeled. Unlike his mess of shitty ass cables from the 90s.”
Venting out everything he was pissed off about was helping, but that wasn’t the only thing starting to soothe his anger. Sometime during Baby’s ranting, he noticed a pressure on his side. It was a soft, rhythmic sensation pressing on his ribs. He glanced down to see the cat had curled up closer against his side, and every now and then he could see the cat’s paws flex and pull against his shirt, gently pawing over and over at him.
“How about you hack up a hairball and I’ll toss it into that guy’s gear case. Or I’ll figure out which bus he’s on and you can go piss on his pillow.” Baby imagined the look on the lighting tech’s face if he could somehow make that work. It would be fucking hilarious.
Baby felt his anger subside with every kneading paw at his side and slight vibration through his body from the cat’s rumbling purr. It was so exhausting putting up with idiotic assholes day in and day out. The tour was exhausting. The work was exhausting. Not getting a decent night’s sleep in who knows how long was exhausting. Baby was just plain tired. But this was helping.
It didn't take long for Baby’s eyelids to start drooping. The noise in his head started to dull, reducing down to a low thrum instead of the pounding riot it had been before. Baby gave one more glance down to the cat curled up into his shirt and fast asleep.
“I guess it’s fine if you wanna crash in my bunk.” Baby gave something akin to a small smile, mumbling down at the slumbering creature as a wave of his own sleep overtook him.
~
Jinu opened the door to the bus carefully.
“Baby? You in here?” He called out, looking around.
When Jinu got no response, he stepped up into the bus and spotted one of Baby’s hands dangling out from his bunk. Jinu knew it was hit or miss whether Baby was awake or asleep in that bunk. More often Baby would be awake, but there was always the possibility Baby had managed to fall asleep. With either option, if Baby didn’t hear him holler that meant that his earbuds were in. Jinu braced himself, knowing the don’t-startle-Baby-protocol would be necessary to proceed.
It was a careful balance of both stealth and boldness to make yourself known without startling the jumpy roadie too badly. Jinu crept along the length of the bus towards the bunks, staying just out of reach from Baby’s hand. Whether Baby was awake or asleep, Jinu knew it was important to keep a healthy distance, for safety’s sake.
As Jinu neared close enough, he saw the small roadie’s eyes were closed and his expression was in an uncommonly peaceful state. It was in fact a rare napping Baby. Though this made the situation arguably much more dangerous. One couldn’t simply walk up to a sleeping Baby to jostle him awake, lest Jinu wanted another elbow to the jaw.
In Jinu’s contemplation of which Baby-approved method of awakening to pursue, he noticed that Baby wasn’t alone sleeping in his bunk. A tiny black paw was wrapped up along Baby’s waist, giving away the presence of the cat in the small enclosed space. It was rare enough to see Baby fall asleep, though Jinu knew it helped whenever he wasn’t alone. Every time Baby managed to get some sleep around the guys, it was a silent achievement for whoever managed to help Baby feel safe and at peace enough to let his guard down. Who would’ve guessed the cat would climb the ranks in their crew so fast as to earn that status as well?
As much as Jinu wished he could let the pair continue their catnap, Baby was needed back in the venue. Maintaining his careful distance, Jinu gently brushed his hand against Baby’s outstretched palm. The whole body flinch that jolted through Baby at the contact was to be expected. Baby’s eyes snapped open, shoulders lurching up briefly in a fight or flight response that was all too common when it came to the volatile roadie.
“Hey, it’s just me.” Jinu stepped into the center of Baby’s vision, though he knew Baby couldn’t hear him yet.
“Ffffuuuck, what time is it?” Baby groaned, moving to prop himself onto his elbows in his bunk and take out his earbuds.
“It’s 20 minutes 'til the show starts” Jinu explained, switching between looking at Baby and the cat who was giving a wide yawn from beyond the teal-haired roadie.
Baby rubbed at the undersides of his eyes, chasing away the last remnants of sleep and running through a mental list of all of the things he’d have to check once he got back to the venue.
“So,” Jinu prompted, placing his hand on the edge of Baby’s bunk. “Abby told me what happened with the lighting tech, you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Baby muttered, fighting back a yawn as the last bit of sleep cleared from his mind. “Just wish we didn’t have to deal with so many total idiots lately.”
“Sorry I wasn’t there to help.” Jinu frowned.
“It’s fine.”
“No, it’s not fine.” Jinu was insistent, something about his serious tone revealing that there was more to it. Baby looked over towards their crew leader, furrowing his brow at Jinu’s ‘off’ demeanor.
“It’s no big deal.” Baby tried to shrug it off, despite the fact he was still decently pissed off about the whole ordeal. “Abby was there to make sure I didn’t get in too much trouble.”
“It’s not about getting in trouble. I should have been there to back you up. It wasn’t fair to you.”
Baby looked Jinu up and down. He knew Jinu was a worrywart, a bit of a control freak, and always doing more than he probably needed to. One thing that Jinu always seemed to do way more of than he needed to was care. He cared about his work. He cared about his family. And he cared about his crew. All of his crew. Sometimes Baby forgot that fact, still adjusting to having this rag tag group of friends that were also so much more than that to him. Baby reached out, placing his hand atop Jinu’s at the edge of his bunk.
“Thanks, Jinu.”
It was a small notion, but when it came to Baby, there were no small gestures. He was an all or nothing kind of guy, so any kind of small contact initiated by Baby was firmly in the ‘all’ category of affection. That seemed to get Jinu to snap out of whatever worry spell he was under. Jinu’s shoulders relaxed, frown turning back into his usual dorky smile.
“Don’t thank me yet, I’m still working on making it right.”
“What does that mean?” Baby raised an eyebrow.
“That lighting tech was already on two strikes for major fuck-ups. I set up a meeting between Abby and the visuals manager to report the incident, so hopefully that asshole is about to get kicked off the tour real soon. Like in the next couple minutes soon.”
“Now that I’ve gotta see!” Baby smirked wide, even giving Jinu’s hand a small squeeze.
Baby moved to swing himself out of his bunk, feeling more refreshed than he was expecting. It had only been a short nap, but he didn’t feel quite as exhausted anymore. Maybe it would be a halfway decent show tonight after all if everything was fixed with the wiring and that numbskull lighting tech was on his way to get fired. The two men glanced back into his bunk, noticing the cat looking over at them with its wide amber eyes.
“Let’s put the cat outside, it’s gonna be a long show tonight.” Jinu began to maneuver around Baby to reach into the bunk and remove the cat.
“I’ve got him.” Baby interjected, sidestepping partly into Jinu, casually bumping him away with his shoulder to collect the cat himself. The cat went completely ragdoll, legs dangling in the air as it was hauled out of the bunk. Baby took it upon himself to carry the cat all the way outside.
“I didn’t think you liked the cat?” Jinu couldn’t help the curious smile on his face as he walked beside Baby.
“I don’t like the cat. I’m fine with the cat. There’s a difference.” Baby grumbled, putting on one of his go-to peeved expressions to glare up at Jinu.
🎨👇
Jinu chuckled along as he watched the cat dangling from Baby’s arms, looking so completely smitten with the short tempered roadie. Baby could deny it all he wanted, but his actions betrayed his words every time. That roadie was just as fond of the cat in his arms as the cat was with him, too. It seems even Baby wasn’t immune to the little creature’s charming ways.
Jinu wished the tour wouldn’t end so soon.
Abby kicked a piece of loose gravel around as he paced back and forth outside the bus, hands shoved into his pockets. It was the last day of the tour and he had nearly given up on any hope to get in the cat’s good graces. He tried everything. He was extra loud so the cat would get used to his presence. When that didn’t work, he was extra quiet trying not to scare the little fella. He made himself as small and non-threatening as possible in the bus, thinking maybe his size was too scary for the tiny thing. Hell, he even tried rubbing cat food on his hands to try and bait the cat into letting him pet it. But even then, he had no such luck.
He was at his wit’s end about it. What else could he possibly do with so little time left? All he wanted was for the cat to like him. Not even that, just tolerate him! Abby wasn’t used to this kind of rejection. He could befriend anyone. He was Abby! Happy go lucky, always there to lend a hand, down for any kind of tomfoolery or good time imaginable, Abby! How could anyone dislike him?! He didn’t mean to make such a bad first impression on the cat when they found it that rainy night. He just wanted to get it out from Ro’s bunk!
Abby slumped against the side of the bus, sliding down to sit against one of the rear tires. Maybe this was just a harsh lesson dished out by a cruel world. Maybe there were just some people- or in this case, a singular cat- who just weren’t ever going to like him no matter how hard he tried. He could deal with asshole people, those types weren’t worth his time anyways, but a cute little fuzzy kitten?! Come on!
Too busy wracking his brain for new ideas, the roadie failed to notice the cat carefully creeping up behind him from underneath the bus. With a dejected sigh, Abby moved to run his hands through his hair. He tugged the beanie off of his head and tossed it down to his side. The moment the beanie hit the ground, the cat pounced.
The cat launched itself out from under the bus, tiny claws sinking into the fabric of the beanie as the cat tumbled across the ground in a clumsy somersault. Abby froze mid-hair ruffle, watching as the tiny cat attacked his beanie like it had caught a wild bird. The cat rolled across the ground, all four paws gripping the beanie and chomping down on its prey.
Abby couldn’t help the half-breath, half-laugh that escaped from him. As if just now noticing Abby’s presence, the cat jumped up and scurried back a few paces.
“Wait, no!” Abby reached out a hand, but then flinched back when the cat put another few steps of distance between them. Abby clamped his mouth shut and locked his arms against his sides.
Abby went so still, he barely even let himself breathe.
With silent pawsteps, the cat inched its way closer and closer, little by little, until it found the edge of the red flannel tied around Abby’s waist. The cat pawed at the fabric, eyes set on a loose thread. After a few seconds of playing with the frayed edges of the flannel’s edge, the cat came even closer, stepping onto the bit of fabric laying across the ground at Abby’s side. The cat carefully wandered onto the edge of the flannel shirt, sniffing the well-worn material, turning around in a few small circles, and then promptly laid down right up against Abby’s leg.
Abby’s hands twitched, wanting so badly to reach over and pet the cat. But he couldn’t. He wouldn’t. His mind was a mess, between the internal happy screaming knowing the cat actually approached him on its own versus ordering himself over and over again not to mess this up. Don’t move. Oh my god he’s so cute! Don’t make a sound. He just looks so soft! Don’t move. Don’t scare him off. Don’t move. Don’t move. Don’t move!
🎨👇
The door to the bus swung open, and Abby’s eyes snapped over towards it, a silent panic running through him hoping the motion wouldn’t startle the cat away from him again. Romance and Baby stepped down from the bus, each with a pack of cigarettes in hand.
Abby remained frozen in place, the only movement he allowed himself was a tiny turn of his head towards his crewmates.
“Well well well.” Romance noticed the pair instantly. “It looks like the little guy is finally warming up to you!”
Abby didn’t move. He didn’t even blink.
“Abby?” Romance called out to the man again.
Abby looked up at Romance, down at the cat, then back at Romance.
“You’re worried about scaring him again?” Romance took an educated guess.
Abby gave a nearly imperceptible nod of his head as his answer.
“Awh, hun.” Romance gave Abby a consoling smile. He could tell how much it bothered Abby that the cat didn’t like him much. So instead of starting his smoke break, Romance tucked his pack of cigarettes back into his pocket for later. He came over to sit down next to the cat, bookending the small animal with pink haired roadies on either side now.
Romance gently took one of Abby’s stiffly frozen hands into his own. He turned the large man’s hand over in his own, admiring the rough calluses that came with every tour. The patches hardened skin on the sides of his palms from hauling heavy equipment to and fro each day. The little ridges at the tips of his fingers from where they pressed down on the frets and strings of a bass guitar. Those same ridges matched Romance’s much slimmer fingers from his own lifetime of playing guitar.
Romance threaded his fingers through Abby’s for a moment, linking their hands. With all of Abby’s muscles and bravado, he was always a little softer with Romance. Whether that be going a bit tamer on the pranks against him, being a little quieter when Ro got one of his head-splitting migraines, or giving caressing touches when tangled up in bed with one another, it was proof that Abby wasn’t all rough and tough when he didn’t want to be. Romance admired that about Abby more than he was willing to voice directly. Maybe it was special treatment, as much as Romance believed it could be, or maybe it was just one of the ways that made their unconventional relationship between all of them work so well. They all had their own ways of showing affection for one another and it wasn’t always the same from person to person.
“You just have to go slow. Let me show you.” Romance murmured, moving to guide Abby’s hand to approach the cat between them.
Abby tensed, but let his hand be controlled by the man at his side.
“Let him get used to you on his terms. Start by just letting him see you.”
Romance guided Abby’s hand to linger in front of the cat, and after a few seconds the cat stretched its neck out to sniff the edge of Abby’s hand.
“You both have to want it, or else it won’t work.” Romance continued explaining in a soft voice.
The cat spent a little while just carefully smelling Abby’s hand until it gently touched one of Abby’s fingers, just a tiny nudge of its nose rubbing against the man’s hand. Tentative nudges turned more confident as the cat pressed its head into Abby’s palm.
“Some things just take time, you have to be patient.” Romance smiled as he moved Abby’s hand to brush over the cat’s back.
The moment Abby felt downy soft fur run over his fingertips, his heart melted into a fuchsia-colored puddle. The cat was even softer than he imagined.
“Whoa.” Abby breathed, a wide smile growing as the cat continued to stay even when Romance pulled his own hand away.
The cat arched its back up into Abby’s rough hand, beginning to purr happily at the attention it was receiving. And then suddenly the cat flopped onto its side, pressing its back against the side of Romance’s leg and exposing its belly in Abby’s direction.
If Abby’s heart hadn’t already been reduced to a puddle, it might’ve exploded. The cat made a short trilling sound up at the roadie, as if requesting the same attention directed towards its soft belly. And without better thought, Abby gleefully obliged, and fell directly into the cat’s trap.
Once Abby’s hand touched the soft underbelly fur, all four clawed paws and a mouth of tiny teeth struck at once. The cat wrapped itself around his hand, playfully attacking it just like it had Abby’s beanie a few short minutes prior. Abby yelped, freeing his hand from the onslaught of tiny pinprick daggers trying to sink into his skin.
“I thought I was doing good!” Abby smiled down at the cat, accepting that he had been thoroughly fooled into a false sense of security via cuteness overload. That was enough for the cat to earn Abby’s full respect as a fellow prankster.
“You were, that’s just something that cats do.” Romance gave a soft laugh at the mischievous antics before taking Abby’s hand back into his own to inspect the damage.
“Y’know, I don’t mind a few love bites.” Abby placed his other hand atop Romance’s and angled his head towards the man to his side. Romance’s cheeks quickly darkened to match his own hair color, then deepened to match Abby’s at the implication.
“Fucking hell, are you sure you’re talking about the cat?” Baby sneered through a puff of smoke from his cigarette, eyeing the exchange from his spot leaning against the bus nearby. “Should I give you two some privacy or something?”
Like a cat drawn to catnip, no one was surprised when Mystery’s head popped out from behind the bus.
“Am I missing out on something again?!” The ever opportunistic roadie seemed almost disappointed he didn’t walk in on something private, given everyone still had all their clothes on.
Around the back of the bus appeared not only Mystery, but also Jinu alongside another familiar roadie with long black hair wearing a patchwork vest showcasing a collage of band logos and tour emblems. Anyone who had been with the tour for more than a day or two would instantly recognize the concerningly sweaty roadie known as Jelly. Jelly was by far one of their favorites roadies to hang with outside their usual crew. Being the primary merch manager, he was in charge of coordinating all of the merch sales for each and every tour, regardless of genre if it was a metal band, indie band, or 90s cover band. He would always be there raving about each gig at the sales table with anyone who would listen.
He even played along with the running ‘tour name’ joke, picking up his nickname through his obsession with collecting as many tour patches as he could. If there was ever a tour he couldn’t ride along with, he always found a way to collect the limited edition patch to add to his collection. If he ever spotted a patch he didn’t have, the man would get insanely jealous until he got one of his own.
“Hey Jels!” Abby smiled wide, always excited to see the fellow warm spirited roadie.
“What’s goin’ on, dude?” Jelly waved his greeting. “I heard you guys picked up a straggler on tour!”
“We do have a knack for collecting strays, now quite literally.” Romance said with a healthy dose of well-mannered sarcasm now that he had a moment to re-compose himself.
“Is this the little guy?” Jelly came over and knelt down in front of Abby and Romance with the cat still contently laying on Abby’s flannel between the two men.
Jelly extended one hand out towards the cat, offering his knuckles in greeting. The cat looked up at the newcomer, gave his knuckles a few curious sniffs, then accepted the greeting by rubbing his face against the man’s hand. Quickly after that, Jelly felt the rough, sandpaper texture of the cat’s tongue scraping over his knuckles.
“You weren’t kiddin’ Myst, he’s real’ friendly!” Jelly noted, looking back towards Jinu and Mystery standing nearby.
“Easy to care for, too.” Mystery nodded along. “Usually does his own thing for most of the day and comes back inside to sleep at night.”
“A fellow wandering spirit, huh? I like that.”
“We’ve been feeding him the cheap canned stuff, so he’s not picky in that regard.” Jinu added, coming to stand next to Jelly.
“That’s good, never know what kinda’ stuff we’ll find on the road.”
“On the road?” Romance questioned, suddenly wondering if there was another layer to this conversation.
Romance, Abby, and Baby each looked to Jinu and Mystery, hoping for some kind of explanation, but both men were still focused on watching Jelly. Unaware of the volleys of questioning stares being tossed around him, Jelly reached down to gently lift the cat up off of Abby’s flannel and get a good look at him. The cat chirped a small meow at the roadie, wriggling around to continue lapping at the man’s salty skin.
“So? What do you think?” Jinu prompted, breath held.
“Yeah, I think we’ll get along fine!” Jelly laughed, letting the cat have free reign to clamber all over his arms to swat playfully at the roadie’s long hair.
“Hold up,” Baby straightened to stand upright and put out his cigarette. “Are you taking the cat?!”
“No way!! Really??” Abby beamed as Jelly nodded in the affirmative.
“Just had to make sure he passed the vibe check first.” Jelly began answering some of the other roadies’ burning questions.
“I didn’t realize you were looking for a pet?” Romance noted in a questioning tone.
“I wasn't, but the universe works in weird ways, and you gotta listen to the signs!”
“The signs…?” Baby droned.
“Yeah, man! The signs!” Jelly nodded enthusiastically. “Like I’ve had this tickle in my nose all week, like something was stuck up there that I just couldn’t get out! Like a cat hair!”
“Uh huh…” Baby stared at the peculiar man, debating if it was worth asking for clarification or just accepting the strange backwards logic he seemed to run on.
“What are you gonna do with him on tour?” Abby asked.
“Whaddaya mean? He’s coming with!” Jelly stood and strode away with the cat perched happily on one of his shoulders. The seated roadies rose up to follow behind him, curious as to how Jelly was going to make cat ownership possible with their lifestyle. And especially Jelly’s lifestyle, at that.
Whenever Jelly wasn’t on tour hunkering down on one of the other buses or called in to oversee new merch production, he would often be out in the great beyond. Though unlike some other drifting roadies who just roam for the feeling of freedom, being untethered from the snare of modernity, Jelly traveled for the love of the natural world. He was a nature activist in his free time, occasionally spotted participating in protests against urban development near national forests or protected wetlands.
Some might pick up on his ‘hippie’ tendencies through his perpetually chill demeanor, always one to join the hype up when good times were being had, or the occasional skunky smell that no one dared comment on right at the start of each tour (that part of nature had to stay behind when on official tour time). To be able to do so much traveling, be it on highways, dirt paths, rocky mountainsides, or soggy estuaries, Jelly owned his very own camper to take him wherever adventure beckoned.
And that is where the nature-loving roadie walked to with each of Jinu’s crew following close behind. Jelly reached into the pocket of his jeans, pulled out a vehicle key fob, and clicked the button twice. Everyone spotted the flashing headlights, bringing their attention forward to see a camper van that none of them recognized from the usual tour fleet. While the tour fleet had an assortment of buses for the roadie crews to live in, there were a few people who had dedicated RVs, namely some of the better lead musicians and one of the higher up tour managers. But this van looked nothing like those RVs.
It was a modestly sized 4x4, not one of the bus-sized RVs or towable trailers that were hauled by huge pickup trucks. This van was rugged, with deeply treaded wheels perfect for overcoming any offroad terrain. It was clear the vehicle had been heavily modified, sporting all sorts of gear fastened to the oversized racks on the roof and sides of the van. Jelly clicked the button on his key fob again and the side panel door to the van began automatically opening to reveal a miniature setup that could be found in any bus or RV, complete with a small kitchen sink, comfortable looking pullout bench, and workstation table.
“Whoa, that’s your ride?!” Abby’s eyes went wide. “I thought you were in some kinda vintage pop-up camper!”
“Not anymore, ya man got an upgrade! No more bus bunkin’ for this guy!” Jelly beamed with pride, giving the hood of the kitted out van a couple percussive taps. “I just got the last set of solar hookups installed so this baby’s ready to go completely off-grid, off tour and on tour!”
“Holy shit, dude! That’s awesome!” Abby gave the sweaty roadie a hearty high-five.
“Damn, Myst you need something like that.” Baby gave an impressed nod towards the van.
“Are you offering to drive me around?” Mystery grinned towards Baby at his side. “There’s probably barely enough room for two in the bunk.”
“Ugh, fuck, that’s right, you don’t even have a license.” Baby shoved his elbow into the flirtatious drum tech.
“You know I like to go old school anyways.” Mystery looked at the complicated vehicle setup. That was far too much modern technology for his preferences when he wasn’t on tour. The simpler the better, and there was nothing simple about all the bells and whistles on that van.
Romance came up beside Jinu, casually bumping his bony shoulder into him as the pair watched Jelly dive into an animated explanation, including a few demonstrations, of all the upgrades he made to his new camper van.
“How did I know you were going to find some way to keep the cat without keeping the cat?” Romance couldn’t find it in himself to be even the slightest bit surprised.
“Hey, this was one of your ground rules, remember?” Jinu sent a clever side-eyed smile to his companion. “You told me to find a home for the cat, so I did.”
“If I recall correctly, I said you’d be taking it to a shelter.”
“Close enough.”
Romance sighed, looping an arm around Jinu’s back to lean into his shoulder. He certainly couldn’t fault Jinu for getting a job done when one was given. And as always, when Jinu had his mind and heart set on something, he went above and beyond to get the best results possible. And who could argue with the results here? The day had started with a solemn kind of mood, with everyone ready to say goodbye not only to each other but also to their newest furry friend.
But now each and every roadie was all smiles, with even Baby sporting a small smile whenever he looked towards the cat. The cat meandered between everyone’s legs, switching between batting at Abby’s loose shoelaces, rubbing against Baby’s legs, or reaching his claws up towards Mystery to be carried and doted on by everyone there.
“So does the little dude have a name?” Jelly asked, perching himself on the edge of his van through the open doorway now that he was done showing off all the amenities to his enthusiastic audience of roadie friends.
“Nah, Ro wouldn’t let us give him a name since we weren’t keeping him ourselves.” Abby smirked over towards Romance, who just raised an eyebrow in amusement towards his fellow crewmate.
“I’m sure everyone had a couple ideas regardless. These troublemakers always do what they want anyway.” Romance gave a squeeze to Jinu’s side, silently looping him into the ‘troublemaker’ category too.
“Let’s hear them, then!” Jelly reached back into his camper van, pulling out a small spiral note pad and a pencil. He looked towards each person around him, waiting to hear what potential names the crew had come up with.
“He’s going to be living in a van now, so how about Diesel?” Mystery offered an idea as Jelly jotted the name down on the page.
Jelly looked up towards Jinu next.
“I think Leo would be a good name.” Jinu nodded.
“As in a lion?” Baby scoffed. “He doesn’t even look like a lion. If anything, he’s a tiger because of his stripes. If he were orange he’d look kinda like Garfield, so that’s the name I’d pick.”
“He’s in for a life of adventure, so I’d pick Pippin for his name.” Romance added, getting more than one roadie muttering ‘nerd’ under their breath at the man.
“Well I’d like to think he and I are finally friends now,” Abby smiled and offered the cat a bit of attention which it now readily accepted from him. “So I’d call him Buddy.”
Jelly scratched down the list of five names onto his notepad. He tapped the eraser of the pencil against his chin, reading over each name as he considered his options. In his contemplation, the cat snuck forward with eyes trained on the pencil in Jelly’s hand. A tiny paw swiped up from underneath his notepad, trying to catch the pencil as it swung back and forth. Jelly chuckled, dangling the end of the pencil down for the cat to bat at a few times while he went back to reading over the names.
After a few moments he tilted his head to the side, turning the notepad at an angle and seeing something new among the list of names. With a smile, Jelly brought his pencil back up and drew a long oval crossing through each name, capturing one letter from each line. He read over the string of letters a few times, finding it quite fitting among the collection of silly roadie nicknames with this crew.
🎨👇
“Boys, I think we’ve got a winner!” Jelly turned the notepad around to show the group his decision.
“Ha!” Abby hollered a deep laugh. “That’s great!”
“A little unconventional,” Romance noted, albeit wearing a warm smile. “But I think it suits him well.”
“A goofy name for a goofy little guy!” Mystery nodded along.
“You guys really don’t like normal names on the road, huh?” Baby rolled his eyes with a good-natured grin. “But yeah, that’s a pretty good name.”
“It’s perfect” Jinu smiled, more than happy not only with the name, but knowing that he had helped find the cat a great place to call home. And a little selfishly, he was happy that the cat wouldn’t be gone from their lives forever.
The very next tour, each and every roadie made sure to swing by Jelly’s van to give a passing scritch to Derpy, who was sporting his very own patchwork vest and miniature VIP badge hand-crafted by his new forever dad. And every now and again, someone on the bus would notice the sound of scratching at the door, and each time one of the roadies would get up to greet their new furry crewmate whenever Derpy felt like visiting them where it all began.
🎨👇
