#faust after seeing the plushie : what the hell. i never considered this. im getting myself a dante plushie.

[pascal-oswell]

hi. today dante acquires a faust plushie. it was supposed to be cute inferno pink stuff but looking at it again it feels like its about gregor instead sorry

"Do my eyes deceive me? Gregor, in your hands- could this be our esteemed guide?" Don Quixote is sounding more excited by the second. "The great Red Gaze, now made of thread and cotton?"

"Uh, yeah. That's a Vergilius plushy alright." He holds it out to her. "For you, by the way. If you want it."

"What?" She gasps dramatically. "I could never- this is far too great of a gift!"

When Gregor doesn't retract his hand, however, she eventually takes the plushie. She brings it closer to her face, staring at it intently, emotion clear in her eyes.

"This fierce gaze…! You've truly outdone yourself, Gregor! I… I shall never forget this!"

If he's honest, Gregor focused more on reproducing the sad, pathetic look Vergilius always has, but she doesn't need to know that. Instead he smiles.

"Glad you like it."

"I truly do! I cannot thank you enough!"

Gregor chuckles as Don Quixote runs off with her newly acquired plushie. He was right to make something for her as his first attempt at plushie making. She's probably his only coworker who would react in such an excited manner. It helps him feel better about the whole thing.

He hears footsteps.

"Was it you who gifted Don Quixote the stuffed toy, Gregor? I just met her in the hallway."

"Ah, manager." Gregor turns to look at him. "Yeah, I… actually made it." He falters, hesitant to talk about it even if it's just Dante.

"She told me as much! I had no idea you could sew, Gregor, let alone were so good at it!"

Gregor looks away, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sewing is a good skill to have, for mending all kinds of things. I taught myself at a young age. Plushie making, though… that's new. I just wanted to try my hand at it."

There's more to it than that, but Gregor doesn't really feel like explaining himself right now. Something about wanting to use his hands for something beside violence.

"Well, that was certainly a good first try, then." Dante chuckles, thinking about how expressive the simple button eyes felt to him, when Don Quixote shoved the plushie in his face. "You really managed to capture Vergilius' essence, in my opinion."

"… Yeah?" Gregor perks up a little at that. "You don't think it's stupid?" It's not like the toys they might get from abnormalities. His plushies are useless in battle. Or in general. It's a waste of time, one might say.

Dante pauses, sensing the sinner's discomfort.

"I don't. I understand plushies hardly have any practical use, but that doesn't make them worthless. You were happy to make one, and Don Quixote was happy to receive one." He tilts his head, thinking. "Well, rather… Even if they really were worthless, that shouldn't matter, either. It's a harmless hobby. No one should get to judge you for it."

For a long time, Gregor silently stares at Dante. Then he closes his eyes, breathing out a laugh. Why was he even worried?

"Thanks, manager. Would be nice if more people were like you."

Dante has a few thoughts about that, but he will not voice them. Now isn't the time.

"It's no problem. Besides, plushies are quite cute, aren't they?"

Gregor opens his eyes to look at Dante. He raises an eyebrow, smirking.

"What, manager, did ya want one too?"

"Huh? Oh, no, I didn't mean- I mean, it would be lovely, of course- but I wasn't trying to hint at that. I'm not… exactly sure what I'd do with one. I'm sure others would appreciate your hard work more."

Dante's never really thought about buying plushies. He's not particularly against the idea, he's just… always focused on more necessary things, and, well, not much else.

"It's not like you have to do anything with a plushie. It can just sit there on your desk looking cute."

"I… suppose you're not wrong."

"Anyone you'd like a plushie of, then?"

"Wh… Oh, right, you did make Vergilius for Don Quixote…" Dante looks to the side, thinking. What would he even want a plushie of? An animal? That might be more complicated than a person, though… But then, who? Perhaps just himself? No, that'd be silly…

Eventually Dante sighs.

"I don't really know, honestly. I'm hardly a fan of anyone like Don Quixote is."

Gregor shrugs at that. "You don't have to be. Could just be someone you like enough to have a plushie of."

Dante thinks about it. His flames flicker as a name crosses his mind. He does not say it, however.

"… Thought of anyone, manager?"

"No," Dante replies far too hastily for Gregor to believe him. "I apologize, Gregor. You should probably ask someone else. And I… should probably get back to work."

"Sure then. See ya around."

Dante nods, turning to leave. "Yes. See you later, Gregor." And with that, he walks away.

Gregor purses his lips as he watches him go. He thinks he has an idea as to what kind of plushie he can make him.

---

Dante has long since forgotten about his discussion with Gregor when the man walks up to him, a plushie in hand. Dante immediately notices it.

"Ah? Is that another of your plushies, Gregor?" He tilts his head questioningly. "Who did you make this time?"

"Well, why don't you take a look for yourself?"

"Mh? Sure." Dante takes the plushie from him, turning it around so that it faces him. He observes it carefully. The white wool, the blue buttons, the small pout… His fire flickers. "Is that Faust?"

"Yup. I'd like to think I did a pretty good job."

"You did!" Dante looks up at him. "Would it be alright for me to ask who this is for, though? I can hardly imagine Don Quixote being interested in a plushie of Faust." He assumes it's fine to ask, since Gregor did come to show it to him.

Gregor points a finger at him.

"That'd be for you, manager."

Dante freezes.

"I'm sorry?"

"You heard me. We talked about it last time, didn't we?"

"We did, but I don't seem to remember actually picking anyone, and…" he looks down at the plushie once more, "… and certainly not Faust?" He would remember that. He definitely would.

"Yeah, you didn't. So I picked myself." Gregor shrugs, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Out of everyone, I thought she was the best choice for you."

"I… really don't know what you mean." His fire is dancing wildly, making that hard to believe. "In any case, I- I don't think I can accept this- wait, Gregor!"

Alas, Dante notices Gregor's escape too late, and is thus left alone with the Faust plushie. He soon runs off to his room, fearing someone might seem him with it.

---

Now in the safety of his room, Dante quietly stares at the Faust plushie. It impassively stares back.

"…"

"…"

Suddenly overwhelmed with embarrassment, Dante impulsively throws the plushie away from him and onto his bed, only to immediately run after it, apologizing profusely.

---

Crouching, Dante observes the plushie, which is now properly sat on his bed. Had he been less panicked about the whole thing, he would have been able to tell Gregor just how cute he thought it was. It probably wouldn't have been a completely objective judgement, however, so maybe it's for the best that he didn't tell him.

---

After pondering for a long time what to do with the plushie, Dante eventually remembers his past conversation with Gregor and carefully sits the little Faust on his desk, before busying himself with paperwork.

At first, its presence actually motivates Dante to work harder. It's a silly thing, but he tells himself he needs to do his best so he won't disappoint the plushie. But only at first.

After a while, Dante cannot help but get distracted, staring at the plushie and thinking about the real Faust.

It's only an hour later that he catches himself and violently interrupts his daydreams by slamming his clockface into his desk. The plushie is slightly shaken, but otherwise unaware of its crimes.

---

Do not tell anyone, but when Dante has to leave for a mission, he always takes the time to grab the plushie and lay it in his bed, tucking it in, so that it may rest peacefully in his absence.

---

Sitting cross-legged on his bed, Dante carefully holds the plushie in one hand, bringing the other up to carefully pat it on the head. But he soon lets his hand fall to his side and looks down at his lap, his embarrassment rising.

---

Dante has now stopped counting the number of times the plushie's distracted him and led him to think about Faust.

---

Lying on his bed, flat on his stomach, Dante happily looks at the plushie sitting in front of him, the bottom of his clockface resting in both of his hands. Faust complimented him during today's mission. He giggles, kicking his feet in the air. He's going to be thinking about it all day.

---

There is a knock on Dante's door.

"Come in!"

The door opens, and Dante looks up from the report he was filling to see Faust walk in.

"Oh, Faust! Hello!"

"Good evening, Dante. Are you busy right now?"

"As busy as usual, I suppose. Don't worry about it. What can I do for you?"

She nods, walking over to him. "I wanted to ask you about tomorrow's…" she trails off as something on his desk catches her attention, "… mission."

"Faust? Is something the…" he follows her gaze down to… "… matter…"

Dante has so few visitors, it never occured to him that he might need to hide the Faust plushie when inside his own room. That is why it now sits proudly on his desk, in full view of the real Faust.

When Dante's fire suddenly shoots up, Faust wonders if it might reach the ceiling. In the end it doesn't, and when it settles down, Faust only watches as Dante slowly gets off his chair to crawl under his desk where he curls up, hiding his face in his knees.

She still hasn't even said anything yet.

---

It's not often Faust seeks out Gregor, so he's a bit surprised when she approaches him one day.

"Gregor."

"Hey, Faust. What's up?"

"You've been making plushies, yes?"

He blinks. This is not where he thought this conversation would go. He's not sure he likes it.

"… What about it?"

"I know you've made multiple human plushies. Can you do anything else?"

"… Maybe? I mean, I've never tried, but…" He furrows his brows, confused. "Why, did you… want something?" Surely that couldn't be it, but he doesn't see why she'd bring that up in the first place.

Faust is silent for a while.

"… How do you feel about clocks?"