The first hour of the drive passed in near-silence, the only sounds coming from Uni's steady breathing and the constant hum of the car engine.

  Trixie, her eyes staring out at the landscape passing by, finally spoke up.

  "This is gonna be a really long drive if we don't talk or play some music, you know," she said, a hint of humor in her voice.

  Uni glanced over at her, a hint of a smile on her lips. "You're right, this silence is pretty intense, huh? What should we talk about, though? We've kind of run through all the heavy stuff already.”

  Trixie groaned and chuckled a bit, a half-smile on her face. "God, we really have, haven't we? Maybe we should talk about something completely unrelated to all of this for a bit. Something lighthearted. Like...favorite foods, favorite bands, or I dunno, favorite colors?”

  Uni smiled, glad to have a break from the heavy topic. "Alright, sounds good to me. Let's start with our favorite food. I've gotta say, I'm a sucker for a good pizza. You?”

  "Ooh, pizza is a solid choice," Trixie said. "But honestly, I'd go with tacos any day. There's just something about the combination of that spicy meat, the tanginess of the sauces, and the satisfying crunch of the tortilla... I mean, come on, how can you beat that?”

  Uni nodded in agreement. "Tacos are an S-tier food for sure. They're messy as hell and you'll end up getting food all over yourself, but they're worth it. Next, favorite band?”

  "Easy, Smokescreen," Trixie said without hesitation.

  “Excuse me, who?” Uni asked, her head tilted slightly.

  “An indie band composed of my close friends. Very talented people though despite being new to the game, they cover quite a few genres but the quality remains the same across all of them. Siren and Melanie can sing their butts off, Krystal is an excellent and gifted producer, Carmen can come up with super catchy lyrics…they all bring something to the table. Rant's over though. What about you?”

  "Well, since we're on the topic of indie bands," Uni replied with a smile. "I'd say the Sundown Hunters got some fire too. Taylor is hella talented with various instruments and she has fire in her lyrics, Austyn brings lotsa spunk and flavor with her accent and bouncy vocals, and Chelsea, well…Chelsea's just Chelsea I guess. She's funny like Austyn and she just does her own li'l thing with the gears and stuff,” she ended with a giggle.

  “Gotta say, Sundown Hunters sounds like a cool name. Where'd they get the idea for it?”

  Uni looked slowly to the side, a crooked smirk on her face. “Well, I mean…you said we were veering off from heavy topics, eh? Then uh…it's best I don't tell you the origin of the name.”

  Trixie scratched her head, then shrugged. “Meh, that's fair.”

  “So next, favorite color?”

  "Navy blue," Trixie said with a firm nod. "I mean, it's sophisticated, it's deep, and it can go with anything. What about yours?”

  Uni smiled, her eyes on the road ahead. "I'm gonna have to go with purple. It's vibrant, it's unique, and it reminds me of amethysts and galaxies all at once. Plus, I think purple's got a regal vibe to it, you know?”

  "True, purple is a royal color," Trixie agreed. "But man, if we're talking about galaxy vibes, I'd have to go with black.”

  "True, purple is a royal color," Trixie agreed. "But man, if we're talking about galaxy vibes, I'd have to go with black.”

  "Black? Really? What, are you trying to go all emo on me?" Uni teased, her voice light.

  Trixie mock-gasped in mock offense. "Excuse you, I am not an emo! I am a woman of class and sophistication, thank you very much." She sniffed dramatically.

  Uni let out a laugh. "Yeah, yeah, that's exactly what a closet emo would say, you know.”

  "Hey, I am no closeted emo!" Trixie protested, trying to hide her own smile. "I just appreciate the sophistication and mystery of the color black. Plus, black outfits always look good.”

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  "Alright, Miss Sophisticated," Uni said, still chuckling. "Black outfits do look good, I'll give you that. But you know, purple and black together can be quite stylish too.”

  "Alright, Miss Sophisticated," Uni said, still chuckling. "Black outfits do look good, I'll give you that. But you know, purple and black together can be quite stylish too.”

  "Oh, now you're talking," Trixie said, leaning forward. "A nice black dress with a purple accent scarf or something can be a killer combination. It's all about the balance, you know?”

  "Yeah, definitely," Uni agreed. "Speaking of balance, I think we've got a pretty good balance going on here now. We've talked about pizza, tacos, cool indie bands, awesome colors, and stylish fashion. We're hitting all the high points.”

  Trixie chuckled, a hint of a genuine smile back on her face. "Yeah, I think we're crushing this whole 'lighthearted conversation' thing. Who needs music or podcasts when you've got us talking, right?”

  "Exactly," Uni agreed. "We should just talk the whole drive, forget music. We're way more entertaining than any song on the radio.”

  "Agreed," Trixie said with a laugh. "Plus, we've got the added bonus of annoying the hell out of each other. Two-in-one deal, basically.”

  "Oh come on, we don't annoy each other that much," Uni protested, a smile on her face. "We just...have moments of sibling-like bickering. It's what best friends do, right? It keeps things interesting.”

  Trixie raised an eyebrow incredulously. "Oh please, I think at least 50% of our conversations devolve into bickering. We're like siblings, you're right. Bratty, annoying, but ultimately loving siblings.”

  Uni laughed, a little embarrassed. "Okay, fair enough. Maybe we bicker a lot. But hey, it's all in good fun, right? Plus, it keeps things interesting like you said. If we just agreed all the time, things would be boring.”

  "True, true," Trixie admitted. "At least I get nuggets of gold every blue moon though, like finding out you're mixed. No wonder you got that dark tint to your pale skin, I thought I imagined it!”

  Uni rolled her eyes, amused. "Yeah, thanks for noticing after months of hanging out together, observant as ever.”

  "Hey, you never brought it up!" Trixie defended. "I thought it was just the lighting making you look darker or something, like how the camera can make things look brighter or darker, you know?”

  "Yeah, sure, blame the lighting," Uni said with a snort. "Can't admit you're a little unobservant, can you?”

  "Oh, I am perfectly observant!" Trixie said, mock-offended. "I'd say I'm almost annoyingly observant, actually! I just...happen to miss some details sometimes, that's all.”

  "Right, you're 'annoyingly observant'," Uni repeated, clearly not buying it. "Except when it comes to details like my skin tone, apparently. You're observant. Sure.”

  Trixie stuck her tongue out at Uni, feigning annoyance. "Okay, okay, I'm not as observant as I think I am, and you have a unique, beautiful skin tone, alright? Happy now, drama queen?”

  A smirk tugged at the corner of Uni's mouth. "Delighted, actually. Hearing you admit I'm beautiful boosts my ego immensely, obviously.”

  Trixie groaned and rolled her eyes. "Oh god, now your ego's going to be inflated and impossible to deal with. What have I done?”

  "Hey, you're the one that called me beautiful," Uni retorted with a haughty toss of her head. "You just gave me a year's worth of bragging rights. I'm going to be absolutely insufferable now, so if you're not ready for that, you better surrender now and kiss my pretty, biracial ass.”

  Trixie burst out laughing. "Oh, so now you're pulling the biracial AND pretty card? Talk about being unfairly advantaged. I surrender, I surrender. Your beauty is too powerful. I'll just have to accept you being insufferable for the next year, unfortunately.”

  "Damn right, I'm pulling the biracial and pretty card. It's a powerful combo, what can I say?" Uni proclaimed, a smug smile on her face. "And now that you've surrendered, you have to do my bidding and worship me like the beautiful queen I am.”

  Trixie pretended to cower in fear. "Oh wise, all-powerful biracial queen, I bow down to your unmatched beauty! I will worship thee like the goddess you are, and bring you gifts and offerings whenever you desire.”

  Uni chuckled and feigned arrogance. "Good, very good. You shall bring me all the gifts and offerings your poor wallet can handle. I will be showered in material luxury, as befits someone of my magnificence."

  A grin spread across Uni's features as she contemplated. "Man, this is actually pretty funny considering my family's past of masquerading as nobles, what a callback to that time in history.”

  Trixie pretended to cower further. "Yes, yes, my queen! I'll go into crippling debt to ensure you have the finest jewels and most extravagant clothing. My life goal from now on will be to make you happy and spoiled beyond belief."

  She grinned as well. "It is kind of ironic, isn't it? You've got aristocratic ancestors, and now you're being worshipped like a deity. They'd be proud and probably very, very confused.”

  Trixie joined in the laughter. "God, they'd keel over if they knew not only are you half-Yushalian, but you're also being worshipped like a god. The culture shock would be too much for their archaic brains to handle.”

  Uni nodded, still chuckling. "Oh definitely. They'd be spinning in their graves faster than a tornado. The fact that this 'pure, aristocratic' bloodline will produce a mixed-race, beautiful god-queen way down the line would probably give them heart attacks. The meaning behind my name would also give them a follow-up heart attack just for good measure.”

  "Oh man, now that you mention it, what IS the meaning behind your name?”

  Uni's smirk widened. "Well, well, well, you wanna know the funny thing? It is short for...wait for it...Unity.”

  Trixie's eyes widened in surprise, and she burst out laughing. "Unity? As in the concept of oneness and inclusivity? That's freaking perfect!”

  Uni nodded, her eyes crinkling with mirth. "Absolutely. Unity. The very thing I'm pretty sure my aristocratic ancestors were adamantly against. My name is also short for 'unique' on top of that, so...double entendre.”

  Trixie was clutching her stomach, tears in her eyes from laughing so hard. "Oh God, you're killing me! Your ancestors are probably doing somersaults in their graves right now, just imagining your name coming from their aristocratic line. And add in the concept of 'uniqueness' too? You're a living, breathing, and beautiful contradiction of everything they believed in. A true middle finger to their bigoted, outdated ideals."

  Uni's grin widened, clearly enjoying the thought of her ancestors being scandalized. "Exactly. I like to think of it as a cosmic middle finger to their purist beliefs. It's like the universe is saying, 'Hey, guess what? Your descendant is half-Black and named Unity. How do you like THAT, huh?'. It's pretty satisfying, to be honest.”

  Trixie chuckled, loving this conversation. "It's definitely satisfying. To know that you're a walking symbol of progress and inclusivity. It's like you're saying to the past, 'Yes, I exist, and I'm everything you tried to prevent. Deal with it'. Not gonna lie, we should celebrate this by pulling into the next gas station and helping ourselves to some snacks for the rest of this road trip, how about it?”

  Uni's face lit up at the suggestion. "Oh, hell yeah! Let's do it! This truly deserves a proper snack-filled road trip celebration.”

  "Hell yeah!" Trixie exclaimed. "Let's make this road trip snack celebration a thing to remember! And who needs healthy snacks? We're celebrating. Grab the cookies, the chips, the junk food, anything and everything we want! Plus, a sugar high to balance out the potential sleep deprivation, right?”

  Uni nodded emphatically. "Exactly. We're going all out on unhealthy, satisfying treats. Forget the diet, it's celebration time. And a sugar high will keep us wired and energized, even if it means a sugar crash later. We'll worry about that later. For now, it's all about the snacks and the celebration of my existence defying the past.”

  "Damn right," Trixie said, already excited at the prospect of a snack fest. "Let's make this road trip snack celebration legendary. We're gonna celebrate your existence like it's a freaking fiesta!”

  "You're damn right we are. We're gonna celebrate this like it's a once-in-a-lifetime event. Let's get that sugar high, Trix!”