One Big Thing To The Next

Darius opened the door to his apartment and walked in from the hot summer air outside, letting the cool air wash over him. “Scotty? I’m home.” He called out as he closed the door and hung his keys up.

“Cool, dude.” A voice rasped from the couch.

Darius smiled to himself as he walked into the living room, crossing his arms as he looked down at the flamingo laying on the couch. “You look comfy.”

The flamingo grinned, sitting up. “And you look winded.”

Darius flexed, “Gotta keep my gains up.” He flopped down next to his roommate. “So, hit me with it.”

Scotty raised a brow, then gently punched the lion in the shoulder.

The lion nudged him back. “You know what I mean. You’ve been thinking.”

Scotty sighed, looking down at his feathers. “Maybe a little bit.”

Darius smirked, “I knew it. Go on! Lay it on me.”

Scotty rubbed his arm a bit, not meeting Darius’s gaze. “It’s kind of a bummer though.”

Darius’s smirk melted immediately into a sympathetic smile. “Ah. Okay, well… Maybe telling me will help you feel better. I know talking to you about my worries always helps me.”

“It does?” Scotty looked up at the lion, finally meeting his gaze.

“Hell yeah. You’re a good listener. And now, it’s my turn to be the good listener. So, lay it on me.” Darius emphasized every word of his last question.

Scotty sighed, “Anyone ever tell you that you’re kind of hot when you’re demanding?”

Darius grinned. “Flattery will not get you anywhere here but thank you for trying.”

“Do you ever feel like you live life from one big thing to the next?”

Darius’s grin faltered. He slumped against the back of the couch. “Well shit… That’s deep.”

“You asked…” Scotty chuckled dryly.

“Why are you thinking about that?” Darius frowned.

“It is how I’m feeling… We just had that cool trip out to the beach last weekend, right?”

“Yeah. It was a fuckin dope time, dude.”

“Hell yeah, it was.” Scotty sighed. “But… Like, what do I have to look forward to now? It just feels like the best times of my life are when I have things I am looking forward to… And I just feel like in between those cool and fun things… I just exist.”

“I like that you exist though.” Darius put an arm around Scotty.

“But I don’t want to just exist. I want to do more. I want to have things that make me excited all the time. I don’t want to feel like I’m doing nothing significant.”

Darius stayed silent for a moment, choosing his words carefully.

Scotty looked over at him, then rested his beak on Darius’s shoulder. “Am I wrong for feeling that way?”

“Life is not always big and exciting, Scott. Every day isn’t going to be a winner. But it’s never wrong to want to have more things to do.” Darius gently squeezed the bird. “Never feel shame for that.”

“So what do I do?”

“Enjoy the little things, man. Don’t let yourself wish away all this time you have.” Darius smiled. “The things you look forward to are kind of like destinations. And the time between those? That’s the journey. It may not be fun or significant to you. But what you do with it can be really special.”

“Damn… That’s deep as fuck.”

Darius grinned, “Hell yeah it is.” He grunted as he clapped Scotty on the shoulder and went to stand up. “Tell you what,” The lion stretched and rolled his arms. “I’m gonna go shower. After I’m out, me and you are going out on the town.”

“Oh, are we?” Scotty chuckled. “And what are we doing?”

“Whatever we damn well please.” Darius grinned. “Coffees, thrift stores, brunch. You name it. You’re spending the entire day with your old buddy, Darius.” Darius turned tail, strutting toward his bedroom.

Scotty grinned, leaning back on the chair. “Fine.” He made a face and sniffed at his shoulder. “Awwwww, come on.” He groaned. “Thanks, Darius! I smell like a locker room now.” He stood to his feet. “Gotta fuckin shower all over again.”

Hope you all enjoyed this little story. Been thinking about these two characters for a few weeks now, two close friends who deeply care about each other enough to have sometimes hard talks about things that bother them physically or mentally. I’ve kind of given it a lot more time than I expected to, because of the nature of it all.

But that is why it took so long to post. I wanted it to be as good as I could get it.

Thanks for reading!