This trio could've been legendary — Reyna and her two prophetic co-workers

4 chapters, 29k words, wip

He held the cup closer. It looked exactly right. It smelled exactly right. Still, appearances could be deceiving. He took a careful sip. The familiar bite of carbonation prickled across his tongue. It was sweet and cold and perfect. His eyes widened. It was real Cherry Coke. For a moment, the noise of the pavilion faded into the background. He hadn’t had soda in months. His mother couldn’t justify buying it. Soda cost more than milk half the time, and milk at least counted as something useful. Cherry Coke was a birthday thing – a rare splurge alongside grocery-store cake and a promise that, just for one day, they could pretend money wasn’t quite so tight.

He could still picture those birthdays. His mother smiling as she handed him a can she had hidden in the fridge. The fizz when it cracked open. The way she would laugh with disgust if he burped too loudly afterward.

The memory hit him like a punch.

There wouldn’t be any more birthdays like that. No more surprise sodas. No more Sally rolling her eyes while pretending she hadn’t bought them specifically because she knew how much he loved them.

And there's more fanart! I commissioned @dracaelus4pjo to draw a scene from chapter 4, as they did for chapter 1. And just like the first time, the delivered. I'm so happy with it, I legit have heart eyes right now lol. Go check out their blog if you can!

tags below the cut

Guess who forgot to post this??? Me.