Back to GatefoldIssue #22 by Tobias Christopher
"Date Night" September 2017 |
Juston Seyfert stepped out of the shower before wrapping a towel around his waist and heading to the bathroom mirror, wiping the fogginess away so he could stare at his reflection. His brown hair was long, shaggy and in desperate need of a trim, but there was no facial hair that needed to be taken care of. Like a lot of young men his age, Juston would have been thrilled to have any facial hair to use a razor on.
After brushing his teeth and heading to his bedroom to get dressed for his date with Kittania that afternoon, the teenager was suddenly hit by a wave of nervousness. Juston had been harboring a crush on the humanoid feline princess from the planet Riff since the New Warriors had first found her, but it wasn't until recently that Juston had worked up the courage to actually ask her if she wanted a tour of New York.
"Don't be nervous, Juston," the young man said as he started picking out a nice outfit to wear. "It's just a friendly tour of the city, no pressure. You're only going to be escorting a very beautiful princess around who has a broadsword that can cut me cleanly in half, nothing to be worried about. Except that she might find that she hates New York and wants to leave. Or I could make a fool out of myself and ruin any chance of getting to know her better."
Juston picked up two shirts and looked between them. "What if she thinks I'm a slob for wearing the crew neck? But the button down one might make her think that I'm too preppie. I don't know what to do! Damn you, teenage hormones!"
# # # # #
Kittania had just finished sharpening her broadsword, placing it in the sheath on her back as she saw Juston walking down the stairs. Not knowing what look to go with, he went with the nice button down shirt, blue jeans, and sandals.
"Hello, Juston, are you ready to show me around the city?" Kittania asked.
"Y- yeah," Juston nervously said. "I hope you like the sights."
"I'm sure I'll love the city, our friends have told me so much about it, I want to experience it for myself," Kittania smiled as she reached out for Juston's hand. "Shall we go?"
Juston nervously reached out, putting his hand in hers, liking how warm her fur felt against his skin.
# # # # #
"Here we are, the best pizza in New York," Juston said as the two walked out of the pizzeria with two slices.
Kittania stared at the pizza, sniffing it. "And this combination of cow lactate, tomato innards and dough is edible?"
"Health nuts would say no, but go ahead and try it,"
Kittania took a bite and smiled. "It isn't horrible."
"Just wait until I introduce you to the churro," Juston told her as they walked down the street. "So, what kind of foods did you eat on your planet?"
"A strict diet of fish, poultry, and freshly grown vegetables," Kittania said. "My people were always in perfect health. But now they're extinct."
"I-- I didn't mean to--"
"It is alright, Juston, I have grown accustomed to my new home here, and my new family,"
"Come on, if we can catch the ferry, we can just make it in time,"
"For what?"
# # # # #
"There she is, the Statue of Liberty," Juston said as they stared up at the glorious statue. "The symbol of America."
"It is beautiful," Kittania said. "I must admit, there is nothing like this on my homeworld."
"Wait until you see the view from the top,"
# # # # #
New Warriors HQ
Josh walked into Franklin's room, not sure what to say. Ever since Franklin had returned hours before, Josh was trying to find just the right words to tell Franklin how he felt.
"I know everyone wants to give you your space, but I figured you could use a cup of hot chocolate," Josh said. "It probably isn't easy going through what you've gone through."
"It just feels so weird being here," Franklin said as he took the cup. "It's like I'm seeing all of these faces for the first time. Except for yours."
Josh blushed a little as he sat his cup down. "Franklin, we've been avoiding it ever since we got back from traveling the universe, but I can't do this anymore. I lo--"
Before he could finish his thought, Franklin pulled him into a kiss, catching Josh completely off guard. At first, Josh enjoyed having Franklin return his feelings, but something was wrong. It was almost as if--
"Who the hell are you?" Josh asked as he pulled back and stood up. "You're not Franklin."
# # # # #
"The view up here is beautiful," Kittania said as she out from the top of the Statue of Liberty. "My planet didn't have anything quite as nice as this."
"Yeah, well, there's a lot more in this world that I'd like to show you," Juston told her. "Maybe someday if you're up for it."
"Perhaps," Kittania told him. "It is a big world, I would love to see all of its wonders. Do you think the others would want to join us?"
"Actually... I was thinking that could be something we do together, just the two of us" Juston told her as he looked down. "If that's okay, I mean. I just-- I really like you, and... I've never really met a girl like you before. I've never really known any actual girls."
"Your face looks flushed, Juston, are you okay?"
"What? Yeah, I'm just really nervous,"
"You are in heat,"
"W- what!?"
"It's something I am familiar with on my homeworld, I can see the symptoms. You wish to mate with someone."
"I don't know if I'd go with that phrasing," Juston told her nervously.
"It is alright, perhaps on your birthday we can find you a mate to perform a mating ritual with, that is a custom here, is it not?"
"... Uhhhhh," Juston said blankly. "I'm a little thirsty, why don't we head back to land and get a milkshake."
"Perhaps something cold is what is needed to cool your hormones," Kittania told him.
"Yeah, I'm sure that's exactly what I need," Juston sighed as they headed to the door.
# # # # #
"Of course I'm Franklin," the young man laughed as he watched Josh back away. "How can you tell from one kiss?"
"Because that wasn't our first kiss," Josh reminded him. "After we escaped from that brain planet and were trapped in that cave for days? One thing led to another and it just... happened? We agreed that it was just a brief one-time thing, but I remember that kiss. And that wasn't anything like it. So start talking, Franklin. Or whatever your real name is."
"I am Franklin Richards," Franklin told him as he calmly approached Josh, taking a deep breath as he stared at the ground. "Just not the one from this world. I'm from a world where we fell in love, then you were taken from me. Then a few days ago, I felt... something. It was like another version of me was out there, being pulled away from everything he loved. I saw what he was leaving behind. I saw... you."
"Do you know where this world's Franklin is?"
"No, but, he's no longer in this world, and we both lost the person we love," Franklin told him. "We can replace what we've lost. You just have to--"
Josh punched Franklin, sending him to the ground. "I'm telling the others, then we're going to figure out how to find the real Franklin. How DARE you try to steal my friend's life. Franklin's one of the best friends I've ever had, and no pale imitation of him is going to swoop in and steal his life from him."
"I can't let you leave," Franklin said as he felt his bleeding nose. He held out his hand toward Josh, who opened the door and found a vast empty void on the other side. "I love you, Josh, and I'm never letting you go again. Give it time, you'll see that we belong together."
# # # # #
Andy was walking towards Franklin's room, opening the door and finding a vast, empty void.
"Cool, there's enough room for a whole video arcade in here," Andy said as he stepped through, falling into the void as the door closed behind him.
# # # # #
Juston and Kittania returned to the pier to catch the boat home, only to find that the boat had already left without them.
"Are you freakin' kidding!?" Juston shouted as he spotted the boat halfway out. "The boat won't be back until morning!"
"Perhaps we should call the others to help us," Kittania told him.
"That'd be great, except I left all my gear back at HQ, including my emergency beacon," Juston sighed. "I'm just normal Juston Seyfert right now."
"It'll be alright," Kittania told him. "I've survived the night in worse places, we will make the best of it until we are rescued."
"I guess you're right, there are worse situations than being stranded on Liberty Island with a beautiful cat woman," Juston smiled.
# # # # #
Kittania was laying on a bench later that night as Juston was sitting next to it, staring up at the night sky. As Kittania slept, Juston took off his jacket and placed it over Kittania to keep her warm.
"Sleep tight," Juston whispered as sat back down. "I wish I could tell you how I really feel. You're such an amazing person, Kittania. You're brave and smart, and... for the first time in my life, I feel really good about myself. I just don't want to ruin our friendship by being a dumbass and telling you that... I really want to be more than friends."
"Human filth," a voice said in the darkness. "Step away from the Princess!"
"Who the hell is that?" Juston asked as he looked around, seeing several sets of yellow eyes peering through the dark night. A large humanoid cat creature wearing armor stepped forward, holding a lance. "You've got to kidding me."
"Take the human," the cat creature said. "He will stand trial once we get the Princess back to our homeworld."
"Trial? For what?" Juston asked as the cat creature jabbed the lance forward, tasering Juston. He screamed in pain as he fell unconscious to the ground.
"For kidnapping our Princess, and the destruction of our planet," the cat creature said. "You will be fairly tried, then brutally executed."
TO BE CONTINUED...
After brushing his teeth and heading to his bedroom to get dressed for his date with Kittania that afternoon, the teenager was suddenly hit by a wave of nervousness. Juston had been harboring a crush on the humanoid feline princess from the planet Riff since the New Warriors had first found her, but it wasn't until recently that Juston had worked up the courage to actually ask her if she wanted a tour of New York.
"Don't be nervous, Juston," the young man said as he started picking out a nice outfit to wear. "It's just a friendly tour of the city, no pressure. You're only going to be escorting a very beautiful princess around who has a broadsword that can cut me cleanly in half, nothing to be worried about. Except that she might find that she hates New York and wants to leave. Or I could make a fool out of myself and ruin any chance of getting to know her better."
Juston picked up two shirts and looked between them. "What if she thinks I'm a slob for wearing the crew neck? But the button down one might make her think that I'm too preppie. I don't know what to do! Damn you, teenage hormones!"
# # # # #
Kittania had just finished sharpening her broadsword, placing it in the sheath on her back as she saw Juston walking down the stairs. Not knowing what look to go with, he went with the nice button down shirt, blue jeans, and sandals.
"Hello, Juston, are you ready to show me around the city?" Kittania asked.
"Y- yeah," Juston nervously said. "I hope you like the sights."
"I'm sure I'll love the city, our friends have told me so much about it, I want to experience it for myself," Kittania smiled as she reached out for Juston's hand. "Shall we go?"
Juston nervously reached out, putting his hand in hers, liking how warm her fur felt against his skin.
# # # # #
"Here we are, the best pizza in New York," Juston said as the two walked out of the pizzeria with two slices.
Kittania stared at the pizza, sniffing it. "And this combination of cow lactate, tomato innards and dough is edible?"
"Health nuts would say no, but go ahead and try it,"
Kittania took a bite and smiled. "It isn't horrible."
"Just wait until I introduce you to the churro," Juston told her as they walked down the street. "So, what kind of foods did you eat on your planet?"
"A strict diet of fish, poultry, and freshly grown vegetables," Kittania said. "My people were always in perfect health. But now they're extinct."
"I-- I didn't mean to--"
"It is alright, Juston, I have grown accustomed to my new home here, and my new family,"
"Come on, if we can catch the ferry, we can just make it in time,"
"For what?"
# # # # #
"There she is, the Statue of Liberty," Juston said as they stared up at the glorious statue. "The symbol of America."
"It is beautiful," Kittania said. "I must admit, there is nothing like this on my homeworld."
"Wait until you see the view from the top,"
# # # # #
New Warriors HQ
Josh walked into Franklin's room, not sure what to say. Ever since Franklin had returned hours before, Josh was trying to find just the right words to tell Franklin how he felt.
"I know everyone wants to give you your space, but I figured you could use a cup of hot chocolate," Josh said. "It probably isn't easy going through what you've gone through."
"It just feels so weird being here," Franklin said as he took the cup. "It's like I'm seeing all of these faces for the first time. Except for yours."
Josh blushed a little as he sat his cup down. "Franklin, we've been avoiding it ever since we got back from traveling the universe, but I can't do this anymore. I lo--"
Before he could finish his thought, Franklin pulled him into a kiss, catching Josh completely off guard. At first, Josh enjoyed having Franklin return his feelings, but something was wrong. It was almost as if--
"Who the hell are you?" Josh asked as he pulled back and stood up. "You're not Franklin."
# # # # #
"The view up here is beautiful," Kittania said as she out from the top of the Statue of Liberty. "My planet didn't have anything quite as nice as this."
"Yeah, well, there's a lot more in this world that I'd like to show you," Juston told her. "Maybe someday if you're up for it."
"Perhaps," Kittania told him. "It is a big world, I would love to see all of its wonders. Do you think the others would want to join us?"
"Actually... I was thinking that could be something we do together, just the two of us" Juston told her as he looked down. "If that's okay, I mean. I just-- I really like you, and... I've never really met a girl like you before. I've never really known any actual girls."
"Your face looks flushed, Juston, are you okay?"
"What? Yeah, I'm just really nervous,"
"You are in heat,"
"W- what!?"
"It's something I am familiar with on my homeworld, I can see the symptoms. You wish to mate with someone."
"I don't know if I'd go with that phrasing," Juston told her nervously.
"It is alright, perhaps on your birthday we can find you a mate to perform a mating ritual with, that is a custom here, is it not?"
"... Uhhhhh," Juston said blankly. "I'm a little thirsty, why don't we head back to land and get a milkshake."
"Perhaps something cold is what is needed to cool your hormones," Kittania told him.
"Yeah, I'm sure that's exactly what I need," Juston sighed as they headed to the door.
# # # # #
"Of course I'm Franklin," the young man laughed as he watched Josh back away. "How can you tell from one kiss?"
"Because that wasn't our first kiss," Josh reminded him. "After we escaped from that brain planet and were trapped in that cave for days? One thing led to another and it just... happened? We agreed that it was just a brief one-time thing, but I remember that kiss. And that wasn't anything like it. So start talking, Franklin. Or whatever your real name is."
"I am Franklin Richards," Franklin told him as he calmly approached Josh, taking a deep breath as he stared at the ground. "Just not the one from this world. I'm from a world where we fell in love, then you were taken from me. Then a few days ago, I felt... something. It was like another version of me was out there, being pulled away from everything he loved. I saw what he was leaving behind. I saw... you."
"Do you know where this world's Franklin is?"
"No, but, he's no longer in this world, and we both lost the person we love," Franklin told him. "We can replace what we've lost. You just have to--"
Josh punched Franklin, sending him to the ground. "I'm telling the others, then we're going to figure out how to find the real Franklin. How DARE you try to steal my friend's life. Franklin's one of the best friends I've ever had, and no pale imitation of him is going to swoop in and steal his life from him."
"I can't let you leave," Franklin said as he felt his bleeding nose. He held out his hand toward Josh, who opened the door and found a vast empty void on the other side. "I love you, Josh, and I'm never letting you go again. Give it time, you'll see that we belong together."
# # # # #
Andy was walking towards Franklin's room, opening the door and finding a vast, empty void.
"Cool, there's enough room for a whole video arcade in here," Andy said as he stepped through, falling into the void as the door closed behind him.
# # # # #
Juston and Kittania returned to the pier to catch the boat home, only to find that the boat had already left without them.
"Are you freakin' kidding!?" Juston shouted as he spotted the boat halfway out. "The boat won't be back until morning!"
"Perhaps we should call the others to help us," Kittania told him.
"That'd be great, except I left all my gear back at HQ, including my emergency beacon," Juston sighed. "I'm just normal Juston Seyfert right now."
"It'll be alright," Kittania told him. "I've survived the night in worse places, we will make the best of it until we are rescued."
"I guess you're right, there are worse situations than being stranded on Liberty Island with a beautiful cat woman," Juston smiled.
# # # # #
Kittania was laying on a bench later that night as Juston was sitting next to it, staring up at the night sky. As Kittania slept, Juston took off his jacket and placed it over Kittania to keep her warm.
"Sleep tight," Juston whispered as sat back down. "I wish I could tell you how I really feel. You're such an amazing person, Kittania. You're brave and smart, and... for the first time in my life, I feel really good about myself. I just don't want to ruin our friendship by being a dumbass and telling you that... I really want to be more than friends."
"Human filth," a voice said in the darkness. "Step away from the Princess!"
"Who the hell is that?" Juston asked as he looked around, seeing several sets of yellow eyes peering through the dark night. A large humanoid cat creature wearing armor stepped forward, holding a lance. "You've got to kidding me."
"Take the human," the cat creature said. "He will stand trial once we get the Princess back to our homeworld."
"Trial? For what?" Juston asked as the cat creature jabbed the lance forward, tasering Juston. He screamed in pain as he fell unconscious to the ground.
"For kidnapping our Princess, and the destruction of our planet," the cat creature said. "You will be fairly tried, then brutally executed."
TO BE CONTINUED...