DEMOLITION LOVERS

The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys

They had been driving for hours, the sun burning their skin with its radioactive rays. Ghoul had lost count of how long he'd been living out in the Zones, but thinking about his time in the Slums, sleeping with old men to survive, seemed like a different life.

One of his favorite parts – besides making out with Poison in the storage room of the diner – was definitely being able to enjoy music again. Ghoul had once thought every record and form of listening to music was destroyed by BLI. He still remembered the day they announced on the news, and crying all night because music was the only thing he had left of his dad. But out here, not only did they have a radio station that played old songs from the time before the war, but new bands from all over the Zones, but they also had access to records.

Ghoul and Kobra sang to Queen songs on their way home from the junk market in Zone 6, while Poison was asleep in the backseat. It had been a few slow days since the last raid – Ghoul was still getting used to the pace –, and though that was fun, Ghoul liked the slow days better. They could go out and fetch food, hang out with other Zoners, pick up some music and clothes, or just make art and sleep.

And they didn't waste any time. As soon as they got home, as sleepy as Poison was, he dragged Ghoul to the storage room – now their room –, and started to undress him, their bodies crashing into each other. Now, Ghoul had been slept with a lot of men, but that was usually gross, and he never enjoyed it. But with Poison – fuck, he knew how to make a guy touch the sky. He was rough in all the right ways, but also soft and measured, taking care of Ghoul every single moment.

'I love you,' Ghoul whispered into Poison's ear as the red-haired man fell asleep, snuggled next to him on the mattress. Despite the dangerous lives they led out here in the Zones, Ghoul had never felt so safe.

***

Nights at the desert were long and cold, and way too quiet. They always made Ghoul remember the days before the war, back home, living with his mom and dad, back when everything was okay.

Standing here, outside an old diner in the middle of the desert, miles away from home, Ghoul missed his old self, not sure he deserved to have the life he was enjoying. He wondered what his parents would say if they saw him now. He wondered if his mom was still alive, somewhere in Battery City.

Would they be proud of the choices he had to make in order to survive? Would they be proud of him for escaping? Would they be happy he'd found a new family?

Wiping the tears off his face, he grabbed the pack of cigarettes he'd gotten at the garage and put one between his lips. Such a small thing felt like a luxury out here in the Zones, and he tried to enjoy every bit of it.

Poison was still asleep on the mattress, while Kobra and Jet were busy fixing the motorcycle, and Ghoul just needed a moment alone. These past couple of months have felt like a dream. He'd been alone for so long, and now he had a family. A boyfriend who took care of him and taught him that the best part of having sex with someone, was looking into their eyes and feeling their heart beating just as fast.

Not long ago, he would be thinking about running away, planning his escape. But not anymore.

He was still getting used to his new life, his new name, but he smiled more than he used to, and that was a start.

'Hey, handsome,' a voice said next to him, still groggy after waking up from a nap. 'Brooding all by yourself?' Poison asked, and Ghoul let out a giggle. Without even saying a word, he let the older man take his cigarette.