IVN CARVALHO Elite S5

IVÁN CARVALHO • Elite S5

˙ ˖ ✶ Danny

If not working you could usually find Kit pretty much anywhere on a night out. Tonight his wanderlust heart and his pushy friends had dragged him to a Karaoke night, and whilst he had a beautiful singing voice he wasn't really in the mood with the theme of the event. So in lieu of this he opted to simply taste all the decadent beverages this place had to offer. His lips kissed many glasses, but the buzz hadn't really set in as thanks to his younger selves shenanigans he'd grown a pretty high tolerance. As he meandered across the establishment he was met with another boy, a collision that spilled a drink all over his shirt. "Hey, do me a favor and take a breath." Kit giggled holding his hand up. "It's a mesh shirt, so nothing really got ruined at all, my body is a bit alcohol smelling now but if I go to a gay club tonight I'll just fit right in anyway." he said offering the other a smile. "So no harm no foul, but I will take another drink or maybe nachos if this place has them."

for: @kitsantoss where: 90s night @ songbirds and sangria

karaoke limited to the music of the 90s felt to daniel like someone had concocted the worst possible night out ever -- just for him. his least favourite decade for music ( excluding several of his dearest favourites ) and the obligation to sing in front of a crowd, which he had expertly avoided. blending into the background came in handy when he decided he'd been there long enough for leaving not to seem rude and accordingly made a beeline for the bar's exit. focused too much on staying upright ( he'd just learned the house sangria was lethal stuff ) and not being spotted, he walked smack-bang straight into another soul. "oh, shit." righting himself just before he could fall and wishing the ground would swallow him whole, danny offered an extremely apologetic smile and plainly mortified look offered to the other. "i'm so fuckin' sorry, man... are you good? can i buy you another drink or somethin'?" he swallowed thickly, mentally adding 'like a shirt to replace the one i've just ruined with alcohol' and cursing.

˙ ˖ ✶ Devi

"Yup, and I'm really not drunk enough to indulge in any sort of nonsense with guys. Hypothetical, I sleep with the guy and next thing you know I'm in one of those saw traps. So clearly this is all about the self preservation of my body and mind." Kit laughed, his eyes trying to avoid puppet guy as much as possible even if the man was waving over at him with his puppet's hand. "See this is what the world needs more of, standards, sanity, decorum. That last one I still don't personally have since I'm barely an adult even at my age, but still." Once given the green light to ditch this event he went off with his new friend. "You think we'll run into J-Lo at the bodega and she'll try to have us try her famous bacon egg and cheese, with a bag of chips, and an orange drink? But honestly, a bodega sandwich sounds heavenly right now, and since we're both hot I'm sure he'll give us extra."

The thought of running into someone she knew at what was now described as similar to a Craigslist ad filled Devi with horror. "Please tell me you're joking. He really tried to flirt with you through his puppet? I can't think of a single person that would actually work on." Now there was no way she couldn't be convinced that they were in the start of a very bizarre horror movie. She shot him a wide eyed expression and quickly shook her head. "You could not pay me enough to go talk to him or his puppet." Which was saying something these days. Her dark eyes darted back to where her friend was enjoying herself. Seeing as though she was occupied with someone, it probably wouldn't hurt to skip out on this thing. It'd be better than sticking around and waiting to interact with the ventriloquist or someone worse, if that was possible. "I'll take you up on that. Anywhere has to be better than here right now. I think there's a bodega nearby where we can get a diet coke and something other than pricey bar food." She suggested, more than ready to ditch the mixer.

andré lamoglia

˙ ˖ ✶ Teddy

"Oh I know," Kit giggled, his eyes never leaving Teddy as he wondered what could've driven his friend here. The author had lost count just how many times they've spent the night together this month, their casual fling was becoming a more prominent thing which could only mean one thing. Teddy was running. Something in their life had recently turned sour and this was the solace they needed to forget. Teddy's visits had been helping Kit push back those thoughts of not being wanted, of feeling that his entire life he'd just always be a second choice or a consolation price.

Kit had always been the type to remember the people he loved when he was out and about. Pick out things that reminded him of them, or things they mentioned they liked at a certain point. No matter the circumstance he'd always come with some sort of gift as if it was nothing. Concert tickets and hotel stays when a friend mentioned an artist having a tour but nowhere near them. Putting their friend on a fashion show because the spoke about having dreams about being a model. No matter how big or how small he'd always try. So getting the ointment for Teddy was just natural, healing those bruised hands so they could keep on creating more music. Kit loved every part of Teddy that the other would let him seen, even the unseen, the gritty things lying right below the surface.

As the tension in the room rose to a fever pitch, his hands flew towards Teddy's arms, pulling them towards him as he turned the other around. "Hey, you're okay babe." he spoke softly, pressing a little kiss on Teddy's temple. "Let me help you not be bored then,"

teddy huffed out a laugh, shoulder lifting in a shrug at the words. ❝ i take that as a compliment, you know, ❞ they replied, eyes following him as he disappeared into the bathroom. incorrigible, reckless, stupid, impulsive, hedonistic; these were all descriptors they'd become all too familiar with, but they'd been called much worse. in fact, they typically embraced these adjectives as though the words were a part of them, though they doubted that kit meant it as an insult, anyway.

green hues watched as he reappeared, pressing a small tube into their chest, the force of it shoving them back a step. they let the neosporin drop into their palm, looking at it for a moment as they tried to parse out how they felt about it. it wasn't like teddy didn't care for their own wounds; the action was almost second nature at this point, given they'd been playing the drums for roughly half their life. still, there was something almost touching about the gesture, the idea that kit went out of his way to pick something like this up for them to use while they were here. they didn't think they were even here that much, but they supposed these visits had grown more frequent over the course of the last year; even more in the last month or so.

suddenly the blond was overcome with emotion, the reason for their drop in forgotten nearly completely as their hand closed around the medicine. they turned away from him, his knowing expression that would almost certainly morph into real concern that teddy felt they didn't deserve. ❝ uh - ❞ they started, grasping for an excuse to get as far away from here as possible. the bravado and joking tone was gone now, palms coming up to dig into their eyes. ❝ nothing, really. i was just bored, kit. honestly. ❞

˙ ˖ ✶ Marcus

In Kit's eyes there wasn't a single soul in New York that could ever compare to Marcus Thompson's beauty. All the lights within the grand scape of the city that never sleeps felt dim next to the utter radiance of this one man. The sincere kindness in his heart could spark a fire in the coldest abyss, and Kit Santos was truly amazed at his friend every single day. The wisdom and pain behind his eyes, the smile that could always make him forget he ever had a bad day to begin with, and an embrace that felt like home. These were just a few of his favorite things. He knew his friend wasn't the type to post thirst traps, he'd never engage in frat boy behavior of the sort, he wasn't wild and rambunctious, but ever so sweet like the slow trickle of honey on a hot summer day. "Not gonna lie, you could do that but you'd probably disappoint the person because their end goal would always be you, and I honestly can't blame them. You're a catch." Kit mused, rolling his eyes at his best friend's compliments before nudging him slightly. He knew there was pain and regret in both their pasts, but whenever Marcus was near Kit tried to stick to the positives, anything filled with joy to match the energy his friend brought to his life. "I did have a side gig for a little big ghost writing for women on onlyfans, so I could definitely get into the headline business if you'd think I'd be that good at it." he laughed, and he thought about how different his life turned out to be thanks to the people in his life. "Good, because they'd definitely love me and hey if anything I'm sure the variants of ourselves are happily married with their pack of pets in Copenhagen or somewhere that isn't the United States." Lately Kit had been thinking about what his next move in life would be and being an author in another part of the world sounded nice, but he'd miss life in the big city, and most of all he'd miss his friend, he'd miss Marcus. "Alright, I'm taking your last name then, unless my parents fight me and then we'll hyphenate."

This was the kind of hug he'd never wish to be freed from, the one where he could cry his little heart out without fear of judgment or reproach. Even with all of the pent up emotions of guilt and regret, he couldn't help his smile as Marcus spoke.  “I love you completely. And you loved me the same. That's all. The rest is confetti,” he replied, as he kissed Marcus' cheek. "But you're right, it's not fair, and I should know just how amazing of a friend you are by now, it's just always been this little thing with me to not be able to say everything I want to. Which is funny coming from a writer." he chuckled, even if the words sounded bitter sweet. "I've always tried to make sense of it, the why me, why not any one of them who had so much ahead of them and they were such good people and I'm just...me. But you're right, plus they'd hate that I was thinking this way at all, plus I got to meet you." As he leaned on Marcus' arm, letting his words sink in he thought about his friends, and how each of them would react to Marcus, and he couldn't help but laugh. They'd all love him, even if one in particular would be slightly jealous of him. "Thanks, and most people who've read my books have gotten to know them in a way, but I'll tell you that there was definitely one of them who would've been obsessed with you. She was so boy crazy which is why we got along so well. Such a lively girl, beautiful to the very end. Her name was Emily, and she wanted to be a model, and a thousand other things, she could never quite decide." he giggled. "If I actually start talking about them I don't think I'll ever stop."

Marcus let out a hearty laugh at this universe where he was posting thirst traps. He hardly posted pictures of himself as it was, most of his social media containing those special to him more than himself and the occasional picture of something he baked and was proud of. "I wouldn't even know what to do in that situation. I'd probably end up sending whoever DM'd me toward a single friend." It wasn't like he was completely hopeless when it came to navigating romantic interest. It had more to do with the fact that, regardless of how much time passed, his heart was still very much with his ex. A couple failed first dates a few months back only solidified that for him. "If you weren't a best selling author, I'd tell you, you should start writing headlines like that." Wasn't this what life was all about, laughing and simply enjoying the moment with people you cared about? It was to Marcus. His life was so rich with people who made being around them as easy as breathing. "Oh, don't worry, I didn't mean it like that. My family would be delighted with you. Whatever lecture I got would have nothing to do with you." He meant what he said. He couldn't think of many, if any, friends his family disliked. Maybe he was just a good judge of character. "Hey, I'm fine with whatever. I'm not really someone to get hung up on the little details." He played an active role in planning his own wedding, but he cared less about the details and more about getting to marry the person he was in love with.

Marcus was quiet as he held Kit in a warm hug. He wanted to be able to give the other the space to get what he needed to off his chest. When he was sure the other said what he wanted to say, he finally spoke up again, "First of all, you don't have to apologize for that. I saw this thing and it said something like 'don't hide yourself when you're in pain, it's unfair that we laughed together but you cried alone' and that's how I feel about this. Besides, no one can be happy all the time." Something his grandma would remind him of whenever he tried too hard to keep everything together for the sake of everyone else. "I don't know how the universe works," he started, his heart aching for his friend and the loss he suffered, "and I think it's unfair that you lost them. I'm glad you did get a second chance though, even if you can't understand why you got it." Kit was the type of person he believed you could somehow miss even if you never met him. "For what it's worth, I think you are. I know I didn't know them, but I bet if there's an afterlife and they can see how you're keeping they're memory alive, they'd be happy with it." He paused for a moment, "If you want, you could tell me more about them or we can go find something to do to take your mind off it. Whatever you need."