#i don’t know if this is entirely me? but lew having a smoke? oh that’s ME baby | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

himbowelsh · 4 years ago

Note

18 with winnix for the kiss prompts please!

sha-la-la-la my oh my, looks like the boy’s too shy 💋 (accepting!) 18. kisses where one person is sitting in the other’s lap

this definitely... escalated far past where you wanted/needed it to go, and turned into more of an exploration of their post-war relationship, when winters joins nix in new jersey... i had fun with it, but oof, did it ever kinda spiral. there’s definitely kissing towards the end, though, so i hope you enjoy!!

To be fair, Nix never promised him an enjoyable night.

His first pitch was “a party”. Dick, who’s had enough experience with the sort of parties that go on in Nixon, New Jersey, replied that he had paperwork to catch up on. It was a good excuse because it wasn’t a lie. Nix brooded for a solid thirty seconds before popping back up, smile bright, to declare, “an evening affair, then, and you’re my date. You have to be, since I need one, and I haven’t got anyone else.”

Dick raised an eyebrow. “What about that girl, the one with the — the red hair —?”

“Hah,” replied Nix, in a flat tone that suggested his redheaded girlfriend was ancient history.

“One of the lobby girls, then.”

“Hah.”

“Blanche?”

“Hah!”

“I’m sure your mother would be honored to go with you.”

Nix had to grip the edge of the table to keep from falling down, laughing.

By the time he regained his composure, Dick was pretty much resigned to accompanying him for the evening. He’s never been able to say no to Nix anyways, even during the war. Being home — Nix’s home — and seeing him in his element — for better or worse — just makes it harder. Something about Nix in the bustling atmosphere of the New Jersey social scene is beguiling, electric, and a bit haunted. Like watching a film noir, Dick can never look away.

He doesn’t expect to have a good time. Nix’s parties are not designed to be good times for people who don’t smoke, drink, or gamble. Nix was kind enough not to remark on the novel tucked into the inside pocket of Dick’s suit jacket as they strode up the walkway towards the roaring party. Loud music blared from open windows; lights and laughter twinkled from beyond the spacious French doorways. It was only nine o’clock, but Dick could feel exhaustion creeping up on him already.

“Come on,” Nix encouraged, guiding him into the townhouse with a proud hand on his elbow. “Let’s set you up on a nice sofa and find a Shirley Temple. Extra cherries, just for you.”

The one thing Dick will credit Lewis Nixon’s parties for — they’re never stingy with the cherries.

Now, three hours into the affair, he sets aside his most recent soda and scans the crowd. As the hours wind away, the raucous group has started to thin out. Either the partiers are headed somewhere else, or all have appointments to keep in the morning, because they show no signs of lingering into the early hours. Dick can be grateful for that much, at least. Those types of parties typically end with him dozing on a stranger’s sofa until he has to steer a very drunk Nix into the back of the waiting car at 3am. Dick has suffered through enough late evenings to never want to see another one again — though, time after time, he ends up coming out for Nix.

It seems like a quiet one tonight, though, thank goodness. The music has faded to a lull, someone thrumming out a thoughtful tune on the piano. The rowdiest partiers have taken leave, and all that’s left are Nix’s regular companions— the home’s owner, another Ivy League man Nix knows well, along with several of his mistresses; a few other Nixon Nitration folks Dick vaguely recognizes, and their dates; Nix’s sister Blanche, leaning languidly over the piano in a shimmering silver dress; and Nix, sprawled in a chair, top buttons of his shirt undone and hair disheveled.

He looks utterly debauched, and something about it thrills Dick. It’s nothing he hasn’t seen before, of course, but Nix in his sanguine element is magnetic. He’s like a panther — sleek and relaxed, dangerous under a veneer of nobility. No matter how much he’s had to drink, Nix’s dark gaze is always piercing; he always seems to know something the rest of the room doesn’t, and sometimes it plays on his lips like a hidden treasure.

He’s smirking like that now, and the smirk’s trained directly on Dick… and he can’t look away. It’s impossible. Even if he wanted to, Nix reels him in with that penetrating gaze. It’s all Dick can do to sit up straighter, pretending he is comfortable in this rakish crowd, the only one sober and the only one out of place.

“Speaking of saints,” Nix says at once — loud enough to cut in on whatever theological ramble his Yale buddy was in the middle of, “here’s one now. Sitting in front of us. Dick, come here. Show these fellows what a true Saint Augustine looks like.”

Dick would rather do anything else… but he’d cross a mountain for Lewis Nixon. Crossing the length of a trashed ballroom is only a bit more challenging. He comes to stand at Nix’s side, clearly uncomfortable, while Nix’s friends take him in as though seeing him for the first time this evening.

“You know I’m not Catholic, Lew,” he tries to quip, to break the tense mood. Nix’s hand catches his, squeezing lightly, and Dick’s own unease only grows.

“Neither am I, but we’re pretending for tonight. Gives all the sinning a bit more zest, you know?”

“Sure.” Dick’s hand comes to rest on the back of Nix’s chair, unconsciously craving something to do. One of the host’s mistresses, with bright red lips and sharp eyes, doesn’t miss it.

“Ohh,” she hums, like the word is a wave she must ride to the shore. “Don't say it, Lewis. This is your handsome date?”

Something about the way she says it has Dick’s shoulders tensing in instinctual alarm. Maybe Nix has had far too much to drink, or can read this crowd too well; he doesn’t even flinch at the implication.

“Afraid so,” he replies, a hand creeping up Dick’s sleeve. “Nice enough to hang around all night, even though he’d rather be back home pouring over... productivity reports. Employee reviews? Staff... surveys?”

“Something like that,” Dick says.

“Something like that.” Nix’s hand runs up and down Dick’s arm, blatantly fond. It takes everything in Dick’s power not to tense up.

None of the assembled crowd seems bothered by such a display, however. Nix’s friends exchange knowing looks, smirking around lit cigarettes or crystal glasses. One woman languidly kicks her heels onto her date’s laugh, shaking her head. From the piano, Blanche runs a hand over her glossy hair, gaze sharp on her brother and his companion. “He’s out of your league, Lewis,” she chimes. Her smirk is catlike, voice like molasses dripping onto spring grass. At times, she looks dangerously like her brother, and Dick isn’t sure how to handle either of them.

Nix’s grip settles around Dick’s upper arm. “Isn’t that the truth?”

When Dick looks down, Nix is looking up. Something about his whiskey-bright gaze knocks the breath from his lungs. It’s too… soft, too tender. Too intimate for this party, to exist among strangers. Nix’s grip on his bicep is firm, and Dick has no desire to pull away. He doesn’t get the chance to question — not even a flicker of uncertainty, a breathless what's he doing — before Nix gives a tug, and Dick all but tumbles into his lap.

He regains his balance like a newborn colt, to the bubbling laughter of Nix’s audience. His cheeks flare, bright red; Nix’s touches, usually so welcome, now linger on his skin like a hot iron. He’s straddling his best friend’s knees, Nix’s arm wrapped around his to steady him, and it’s all Dick can do not to leap back to his feet to salvage whatever slim slice of dignity remains.

“Nix,” he says, voice low in warning.

“Relax, Dick,” he answers, equally softspoken. “It’s all a game. Don’t you see? None of it really matters.”

It matters to me, he wants to say... because Nix has never held him without it mattering, has never caressed him without every sensation engraving itself permanently into Dick’s memory. Nix has never… not mattered to him. Some part of Dick, an small yet insidious murmur, wonders when he became insignificant to him.

The way Nix caresses his face is anything but meaningless, though… as is the way his dark gaze lingers on his lips, simmering for so long that Dick can feel its heat. Nix’s thumb grazes the corner of his mouth, and instinctively Dick draws back.

Something hurt flashes in Nix’s eyes. Dick cannot feel guilty. He doesn’t want this — can’t Nix understand that? Not here, not now, not putting on a show for an audience. Not when Nix is whiskey-soaked and careless, so far gone that Dick could get drunk off the taste of him. If this is a game, Dick doesn’t want to play.

“Father isn’t around for you to give a coronary, Lewis.” Blanche’s voice echoes as though from the other side of a tunnel, practically bored. “Save it for the next family dinner, at least.”

Gradually, Nix’s grip on Dick’s waist loosens. His touch pulls away from his face, finding Dick’s hand instead. He raises it to his mouth and lets it linger there — a sweet mockery of a kiss — before releasing Dick entirely.

Dick pulls away, regaining his posture and his dignity. The eyes of the room are all on him now, as surely as they were on the jazz singer earlier in the night. He can’t take their weight, or their curiosity. Keeping his eyes fixed firmly ahead, he brushes himself down and murmurs an excuse to Nix. “Just going to get some air.”

Nix doesn’t try to stop him.

Stepping out into the cool night is like being released from prison. Dick braces himself against the stone railing of the townhouse’s balcony, gazing at the gravel drive only a few feet below. He could jump it, if he really wanted to — easier that than going back inside and leaving out the front door, wrangling Nix away from his clan. They’re not so far from home — he could walk it, in an hour or so. The fresh air would do his head good. At least in the dark, no one would be able to see him, to wonder and scrutinize…

His mind has gone to a strange place now, and is twisting itself in tangles. Recognizing his own impossible daydream, Dick sighs, slumping forward. A hand finds his hair, rumbling it. For a long moment, he only breathes, focusing on the autumn air filling his lungs and the crickets chirping in the night, to drown out the storm raging inside.

His nerves are too taut not to notice when someone comes up behind him… but the scent of perfume is familiar, so he doesn’t jump. She sidles up alongside him, inhaling softly in the night air; she blows out the same way Nix does, from deep within her chest. When Dick raises his head, Blanche is not focused on him at all, but looking ahead down the driveway.

“Planning your escape?” she asks lightly. Her mulberry lips curl upwards, without the chore of looking at him. “I don’t blame you. That was painful, in there.”

Dick arches an eyebrow. “You felt it too?”

She has a drink in her hand, but the glass is empty. As Blanche’s attention drifts to it, she seized upon the olive, still speared and languishing inside the glass. With delicate, manicured fingers, she plucks it out and scrutinizes the tiny fruit.

“You can’t let him bully you, Dick,” she says after a moment. The scent of wine may be heavy on her breath, but her words are perfectly sober. “He doesn’t mean to, but it’s instinct around these people. They all like to show off, and he’s proud of you.”

Dick’s brows furrow. He’s not some brand new car, or a gold-plated watch. “Why?”

“Because you’re nothing like them.” Blanche’s dark gaze flickers up to him; for the first time tonight, Dick feels entirely seen. Her lips purse, like she’s fighting back a smile, but something in her eyes reminds him of loneliness. “You don’t belong in this set… and that’s nothing against you, darling, only what you know as well as us. My brother prizes you so highly; he’s proud that you’re here, that you’re with him, that you give him your time and agree to accompany him to these parties, even though you’d much rather be doing anything else.”

Dick’s lips purse. Blanche waits a moment, as though expecting him to protest… but he has nothing to say.

“Rich little boys love their toys. You need to remind him that you aren’t one.” Her fingers drum against the rim of her glass; each clink-clink-clink pierces Dick’s nerves like shrapnel wounds.

“He doesn’t mean anything wrong by it,” he protests, because he knows Nix well enough to understand that.

“Of course not. If he didn’t care about you…” Blanche’s words trail off, along with her gaze. She drifts back out to the driveway, painted lips pursing like she’s considering something far away. After another silent moment, she glances at Dick once more. “Last chance to run.”

Dick smirks. “I’m considering it.”

Blanche sighs into the night, pushing her folded arms off the railing and stepping back. Dick no longer feels inclined to stand out in the darkness, alone. As she steps back into the well-lit hallway, he follows her.

When they reenter the lounge, Nix is holding court, in the middle of an animated story Dick’s heard before. “— of course, I couldn’t have known there was a cat involved, otherwise I’d never have set foot in the apartment. So I sit down on the couch and the damned thing launches at me, yowling like a bat out of hell —“ He cuts off, mid-flail, gaze landing on his sister and companion. “Ah. Was wondering where you too made off to.”

“Nothing untoward,” Blanche drawls, slinking back towards the bar. “I offered, but Dick’s too upstanding.”

Nix locks onto Dick, and again, his gaze is painfully warm. Dick feels the same way, like a furnace is burning under his collar. Uneasily, he lowers himself onto a settee at the far edge of the room, back to the door so he won’t be tempted. So long as he’s in Nix’s sightline, his presence counts… but he doesn’t have to make himself the object of a crowd’s fascination again.

Nix understands, in that easy way of his. His lips curl up in the slightest smile, before he turns back to his audience. “As I was saying…”

His story winds on for a little while longer, before he grows bored with it. By then, the crowd has grown equally bored with its malingering, but still too languid to get up and do something about it. One of the women slips behind the piano and tries to start up a dancing tune, but no one bites. Her song devolves into something slower, more thoughtful. The host pours himself another drink from the bar, and doesn’t offer to serve anyone else; his mistresses chatter in an undertone, lipstick stained crystal glasses sitting beside them. Nix reclines back in his chair, perfectly debauched. His hair is a ruffled mess, bow-tie undone and hanging loosely around his neck. The top of his shirt is still open, carelessly displaying his collarbones and a flash of dark hair across his chest.

You’ll catch a chill, a voice in Dick’s head that sounds too much like his mother chides. He’s seized briefly with the inexplicable, intense urge to cross the room and lean over Nix to close the shirt himself. It passes, of course, and he politely averts his gaze.

Perhaps he’s doing too good of a job not looking at him. “Dick,” Nix finally says, from right behind him. “Ready to go?”

A wave of relief washes over him. He hasn’t wanted anything so badly since his discharge papers. “Let’s go,” he replies, rising to his feet.

They pay polite goodbyes to their host; Blanche waves them off with an eyeroll for Nix and a blown kiss for Dick. Then, finally, they leave through the front door, and slip into the night.

While they drove here themselves, Nix is in no state to command the car. Dick is already prepared to take the wheel, when the valet steps up with keys in hand. “Do you require a ride home, Mr. Nixon?”

Dick’s surprised gaze swivels towards Nix, as if to ask do we? (He’s still so unused to the world of chauffeurs and butlers, and every encounter leaves a foreign, coppery taste in his mouth.) Nix dwells on the offer for a moment with lazy-eyed disinterest, before shrugging and gesturing the valet towards his car. “Why not? Roy likes to be generous. Let him do us a favor for once, huh?”

Dick, who has never personally done Nix’s friend Roy a single favor, just nods.

Nix’s car is sleek and expensive, a top of the line Plymouth Deluxe in glossy black paint and felt seating. Dick has sat in the passenger’s seat enough times that sliding into the back feels like a mistake, something to double back and correct before he manages to embarrass himself. Nix slides in right behind him, not giving him the chance. The scent of car freshener can’t disguise the stuffy air in the back of the car; there’s not much separating the back from the front, but the forward row of seats stretch up, practically creating a barrier to separate both ends of the car in half. Dick hears the driver slide in up front, but in the darkness, it’s hard to see.

“Turn on the radio, will you?” Nix requests as the car stirs to life. Obligingly, the driver turns a few knobs; what threatens to become an awkward silence immediately finds itself drowned out by a staticky love ballad.

“And when I kissed you, darling It was more than just a thrill for me It was the promise, darling Of the things that fate had willed for me…”

The timing is astonishingly poor. Dick slumps back against the seat, all but defeated. At his side, Nix chuckles.

When Dick looks over, it's impossible to catch his eye. The night is too dark, and these roads aren’t well-lit; shrouded by shadows, Nix’s eyes are two black holes, drawing all trace of light into them and holding it hostage. Dick catches a flash of something pearly, which must be the jagged cut of Nix’s smile; the silhouetted shoulders rise up and down, in what isn’t quite laughter.

After a moment, Nix goes still. Dick can’t see, but he knows he’s being watched.

“Well?” Nix finally says. “When are you going to tell me what an idiot I am?”

Dick turns his head, looking out the window nearest to him. “Never occurred to me, Nix.”

“Maybe not to say it, but you were thinking it. Come on, Dick.” A smooth-palmed hand finds his in the darkness. Dick allows it. “I knew I screwed up the moment you pulled away. Knew it as soon as I saw your face, really, but damn me if I know how to stop… come on, that’s what I bring you to these things for. To keep a leash on me.”

Dick thinks Nix’s social circle picked up on that, at least.

He doesn’t realize how tense he’s gone until Nix’s thumb strokes along the back of his knuckles; his hand, Dick realizes, has gone stiff as a corpse’s, gnarled with tension. When he looks down, he’s suddenly ashamed. He tries to pull away, but Nix holds fast.

“I’m sorry,” he says, sudden and sincere.

“You didn’t do anything,” Dick replies. “If I didn’t want to be there —“

“You don’t want to be there. You come to these awful things for me, even though you can’t stand it, and you’re a fish out of water the whole time. I’m being cruel to you. Downright uncharitable! And you know the reason why.”

Dick’s gaze is drawn back to him again. This time, as a flash of light passes through the car, he glimpses Nix’s face — eyes bright with drink, devastatingly earnest, his lips curled downwards and jaw tense. He’s handsome without trying… and cruel, too. More careless than he realizes.

Blanche’s words echo in his ears: rich little boys love their toys.

“It might be a game to you, Nix,” Dick says softly, “but it isn’t to me. Whatever show you were putting on in there… I don’t want to be part of it anymore.”

Nix is silent for a long moment. The air between them is thick as curdled cream. “I understand,” he finally says. “I… I get it, Dick, christ. I’m sorry.”

“I know.” Of course he knows. Doesn’t Nix realize he doesn’t have to put on a show for anyone, just do Dick will stand by his side? Doesn’t he realize the whole reason Dick goes to these parties, time and time again, is for him? Because he’d shatter the entire world and piece it back together, fragment by microscopic fragment, just to make Lewis Nixon happy?

“It’s never been a game to me, Nix,” he says softly.

In the darkness, Nix’s hand finds his again. This time, Dick squeezes tight.

He doesn’t know exactly how they come together, what magnetism pulls them or the way their bodies fit together. His shoulder presses up against Nix’s; his fingers find the threads of Nix’s hair; Nix’s thigh is a solid weight as it drapes over his own, his skin is warm, and suddenly Nix is practically in his lap.

It felt better this way. Dick likes the cover of darkness, is painfully grateful for it, just as he is of the way his hand fits over Nix’s hip. He likes holding him so much more than he likes being held… and something in the sigh Nix breathes against his lips suggests he likes it this way too.

“It’s not a game to me either, Dick,” he murmurs. “You matter too damn much”

The distance between them closes on its own will. Nix tastes like whiskey and coffee and August twilight; his lips are smooth, gliding over Dick’s own as though he’s wet them a dozen times since their conversation began. Their embrace is tender, but the hand gripping Dick’s shoulder is desperate. When Dick sighs against Nix’s lips, he utters a soft noise, almost like a whine. Dick’s fingers run along his scalp, soothing the dissatisfaction away.

“I much prefer this,” Dick mutters. “It suits us both better… privacy.”

“If it suits you,” Nix replies, “that’s all I need to know.”

It’s not perfect, and it’s not quite laid to rest… but they make it home at a reasonable hour, and Dick holds Nix in the privacy of their own home. He couldn’t ask for anything more.

#winnix #my writing #richard winters #lewis nixon #blanche nixon

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the-headbop-wraith · 4 years ago

Text

1_ 20 Roses Wilt

“He did not!”

And that was the end of the argument.

The fumble and shuffling continued in the back, while Arthur listened, staring out the front windshield of the van and at the park across from them. Vivi was methodical about organizing their large inventory from the motel room, or she wanted to bury herself in the distraction. The black box had not been in the van, as they… she hoped. He kneaded his fingers into the soft fur of Mystery’s mane, trying to sooth out the soft jerks in the dog’s body as he snoozed in the sun. None of them had slept well that night. Then, at the crack of dawn they got the call that the vans hull was finished. Arthur had barely squeezed in his shower, due to Vivi’s firm insistence that they go and go now. The disappointment in her face had been a harsh blow to the steady escalation that everything would be fine, the mounted hope and assurance in a fragile pyramid, only to watch the precarious structure topple and plummet onto the indiscriminate gray slate of concrete below. He had never seen anyone so dismayed by a cleaned and organized vehicle.

“It’s okay, bud,” Arthur hummed. “You’re safe. I won’t let anything get ya.” Mystery’s quivers stilled for a bit as his body relaxed. After a few seconds the dogs eyes squinted up at Arthur, and he gave Mystery a fond smirk. “Bad one?” Mystery pushed himself up on his arms and climbed up onto Arthur’s lap, staring intently into the youths face. Arthur leaned back somewhat when Mystery began licking at his brow. “Yes-yes, I’m good, thank you for checking.” He pushed Mystery away.

“I can feel him, I swear,” Vivi muttered, as she leaned over the bench seat. She began pulling apart the stack of their work backpacks and personal bags, and found suitable spaces for them behind the seat. “He hasn’t gone anywhere, he’s just not here. This is so frustrating, I can’t even.” She reached over to pet the bleary eyed Mystery, seated in the middle seat. “Why would he do this?”

Arthur kept his comments his own and only looked down at his metal arm, catching the harsh slant of light piercing the window. There had been no indication Lewis had been fatigued through their travels, and the subject never came up. Even so, it didn’t mean, it wouldn’t….

“What do we do then?” Arthur asked, instead.

Vivi folds her arms over the seat and set her chin down on the folds of her sweater. She gave it the question silent ponder. “He’s here,” she grumbled.

“I believe you,” Arthur stuttered.

“That idiot.” Vivi buried the lower half of her face in her arms and glared. “A note. How much effort is it to write a note?” Arthur fought his instincts to speak up and console Vivi, but he knew nothing spoken would benefit her woe. The situation brought the fresh memories of when they had visited the mansion in the first place, when Vivi began to remember a Lewis. Irritation burned in Arthur. How dare Lewis do this to her. “He could’ve just scrawled down ‘arggghhh,’ anything, a sad face. You both are childish.”

That perked Arthur up and he twisted to Vivi. “What? Why me?”

“You refused to talk,” she explained, gesturing him with a hand. “Or wrote messages to each other, I could have been the courier. I could’ve read them to Lew.”

“You just want an excuse to do the whole, ‘He’s Majesty the King Arthur’ thing.” Arthur took his voice to a higher octave, and jiggled his hands above his head. Mystery barked at his odd gesture.

“I won’t deny that.” Vivi rests her head on her folded arms again and stares sideways at the dashboard. “Lord Grumpy pants.” Arthur chortled lightly. He tugged at the door handle on his side, while Vivi mulled over in her mind and Mystery sat watching the playground and a group kids playing on the slide. The door creaked and Arthur winced as he pushed the driver door open. “Where you going?”

“A quick walk,” Arthuer answered. He pulled the door open more as Mystery clambered over the seat and hopped out with him. “Will you be allright?”

Vivi tilts her head and smiles. “I’ll be waiting right here.”

Arthur nodded and shut the door. Through the window he caught a glimpse of blue as Vivi tumbled over the bench seat and stretched out, her blue hair poking up a few inches over the windowsill. Arthur rubbed at the back of his neck as he spun away, and began walking along the thick grassy knoll. He glanced at Mystery as his companion trotted along side him.

Laughter raised from the slide as the children raced and climbed around the playground, not far from the play area a few adults sat on the park benches watching, or on their phones browsing. Though the sun was out the air was still chilled and Arthur shivered whenever a thick gray cloud swam by the sun, he tightened the edges of his vest around his chest, while hoping his movement would warm him.

“I’m glad for your company,” Arthur muttered, “But I would have rather’d you stayed with her.” Mystery kept his pace, as his gaze tracked a small butterfly fluttering along the lush grass. “She always seems so sturdy and headstrong, but it’s her only defense. Once that breaks… it’s hard to watch.” Mystery was galloping to the butterfly as it glides and ascends, but paused to turn back and look at Arthur. “I’m afraid to ask, but would you be able to track him?”

Mystery shifted his footing on the soft grass and gave it a thought. He shook his head, and returned to the butterfly as it descended to a dandelion.

“Thought it was worth an ask.” As he walked by the dog, Mystery raised his paw out to the small insect. “I don’t remember which road it was we took that got us to his mansion in the first place.” Arthur dug around in his pockets, he found his lighter and he found the cigarette pack. He gave the kids on the playground a short look as he patted out a small white stick. “Oh, but it faded though, didn’t it?” He lit the cigarette and puffed on it, his eyes were downcast as Mystery trots by with a butterfly on his head.

A few of the playground kids left with their parents, and the park became quieter by degrees as the day spun by. Arthur walked and breathed at his cigarette lightly, following Mystery as he weaved across the park. He didn’t care if Vivi caught him smoking, her concerns were elsewhere.

The butterfly departed Mystery and began its swooping flight, and Mystery had followed for a while trying to keep his little friend above his head. Arthur stepped up to the base of a tall gray tree trunk and sat down with his back pressed against the cold bark. The chase soon ended and Mystery returned to his human, tongue lolling out of his mouth as he panted.

“Have fun?” Arthur chirped. Mystery growled at the cigarette. “I’ll put it out in a little bit. Fair?” The dog pulled his ears back and raised the fur up along his neck, but he stepped aside and lay on one side of the tree trunk near Arthur. “That’s not downwind.” Rather raise himself and move Mystery kicked with his back leg, at Arthur’s knee. Arthur dusted some of the loose grass from his pants and adjusted himself where he sat. He took the cigarette from his lips and turned his face away, as he let white mist curl past his upper lip. A chilled breeze weaved through the fibers of his thin shirt and he shuddered. He drew his knees up and curled his arms behind his legs.

Or maybe it was the memory. Arthur turned his eyes up to the blue sky and the dark clouds, fleeing from the thought in the twisting roll of smoke in his eyes, but it persisted. It was something he wanted to ask Lewis about, but Arthur felt he was being paranoid. Justified, but paranoid.

“Wait? Do you have to sleep in the coffin?”

Lewis sort of grimaced at the question and looked at Arthur, and Arthur thought maybe he gave Lewis a sort of glazed look. It was their first night on the road, in a motel room, and after sixteen solid hours of driving Arthur was barely conscious of Vivi’s heels kneading into his back. The morbid question twisted in Arthur’s head before he recalled, Lewis was not like them anymore.

“But… do you sleep?” Vivi inquired, gently. She was dressed already for bed, a thin blue top and dark blue sweatpants. She lay back on the pillows piled behind her, beside Lewis but not close to him. “Am I being too impersonal?”

“No,” Lewis chattered. “You’re just worried what kind of mischief I would get up to while you guys slept.”

Vivi smirked and hit his shoulder. “I wouldn’t put it past you. But I was wondering the past few days, if you ever slept?”

“I can rest?” Lewis drawled out, as if the phrase lacked meaning to him. “I have to take short periods to just, I don’t know, relax?”

Arthur didn’t catch Vivi’s next question, but he remembered Lewis giving him a foreign stare of some indecision. There was a span of time that Arthur recognized later, but when he awoke hours later he didn’t understand it. The room was dark and Arthur felt like he was upside down, one side of his hip was asleep and the blankets they brought from the van were tangled around his middle. He had been struggling with his arm in his half-awake state and only came to fully when he couldn’t just rip the arm out of its socket. With a sharp twist of his fingers, numb from the fight he had endured, the metal prosthetic clunk to the floor under his head, and Arthur was able to claw his way back up onto the side of the bed.

As he rolled into a more comfortable position, he caught sight of something that chilled him. In the corner of the room beside the television, hovered a ghastly white face with shimmering hot eyes. The dull thrum of his heart pulsed in his ears. Arthur felt himself falling into that perpetual pit beneath the stairs.

He didn’t want to make known his discomfort, and had thought the entire thing a bad dream; he had them often. Some nights he’d wake up, restless, that uncanny sense of being watched tingled in his blood, and sure enough if he braved a look, there was that bleached face. It could have just as easily been his paranoia, the image of that skull burned into his retinas after the first night he awoke and those smoldering eyes were staring down into his own. That was the moment Arthur had been certain that Lewis was capable of killing.

“Did he think I was going to hurt Vi?” Arthur asked. He breathed in the faint traces of smoke as they faded. “Did he think I was some kind of monster? Was that it?” The cigarette was nearly gone, but maybe he could get two more puffs off it. His head was beginning to hurt. “I wonder myself, sometimes.” He raised his hand and opened the metal fingers, the soft hiss of the motor escaped in the wrist and knuckles.

Mystery raised his head from the grass and yapped at Arthur.

“It’s hard for people to have positive ‘healthy’ thoughts,” he hissed at the dog. “Especially when you don’t want your friends to know about the pills. And don’t you mention any of this to Viv.”

The dog scooted closer to Arthur and pushed his snout against his knee.

Arthur rubbed the cigarette out on the back of his metal palm. He dropped the crumpled stub on the grass, then shifted over and reached into his pocket. Mystery growled and pushed his paws onto Arthur’s leg, but Arthur only pushed him off and pulled the small bundle of cloth from his pocket. “Maybe ghosts are just inherently bad at communicating,” Arthur muttered, as he examined over the bright colors of the cloth. Mystery moved to a sitting position and stared at the item Arthur held. “Did he want me to give this to her? Was I meant to?” He pulled the folds back and revealed the locket under the pale light dimmed behind a cloud, the gray tinge made the color of the metal appear faded, sorrowful. “I don’t understand. This isn’t… it’s not supposed to be like this.”

As if he felt something, or suspected a presence, Arthur turned his head up and scanned around the knoll and trees. The playground had gone silent since the remaining children left with their parents, and the clouds had thickened in the sky. It would probably rain or snow, or both.

Mystery winced when Arthur slammed his metal arm against the grass, a thud vibrated through the soil. “I can’t do this!” Arthur spat. Mystery leapt to his feet and bit the shirt sleeve of Arthur’s good arm.

Calm down. He leans into Arthur, the tugging had taken Arthur by complete surprise.

“Arthur?” Vivi jogs the remainder of the way to the two, just as Arthur recovers and sits up. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Arthur wraps the locket up and stuffs it back into his pocket, then climbs to his feet and dusts off his pants. “I was just venting.” He doesn’t meet Vivi’s eyes when she bent down to greet Mystery, and paused when she saw the cigarette stub in the grass. She picks it up and looks it over. “I’m working on it.”

“I didn’t say anything.” And Vivi had not looked at him yet.

“You didn’t need to,” Arthur retorts, dryly. “What time it is?” He follows Vivi when she turns and walks away.

“Getting there. Think you can manage a meal?” Vivi led the way across the park, beside the empty playground. A gust of wind blew through the surrounding trees, causing the leaves to chatter with the excitement of a storm. Arthur gave a soft giggle, some of the charge in the air made him giddy. He straightened his face when Vivi looked back at him and cleared his throat.

“Maybe just a milk shake, and fries. When was the last time we ate?” What was the last thing they ate?

“Bagels, the day before,” Vivi replied. “The park has wifi, and I found a few posts about some activity in the area.” She paused, Arthur waited suspecting she had more to add than her insatiable urge to preoccupy her thoughts with her obsession. “I managed to sift through the historical stuff.”

Arthur hunched his shoulders and made to put his hands in his pockets, but instead wrapped his arms over each other. Was it possible? She couldn’t be thinking. “Any luck?”

Vivi fixed her hair under the blue hair band. “Some really bad youtube vids, none credible. You wanna drive?” She was already moving around the vans front to the passenger door, and Mystery followed. It hurt in Arthur’s chest when he spied her climb up into the van, he could see her through the windshield as she double checked the interior of the back, just to confirm. “We don’t… have anything of Lewis’, from before?” Vivi asked. “We have the sunglasses, and the jacket, but those won’t work.”

Arthur pulled the driver door shut and scooted Mystery aside on the seat, when the fury body snuggled in close to him. It was colder in the vehicle than outside in the wind, and he found himself glancing into the back to make certain himself the black box was not there.

“No,” he mumbled. “All of it went back to his parents.” It. Was. A. LIE. But he couldn’t tell her, couldn’t admit to her face that she had unknowingly given away some of Lewis’ belongings while Arthur had been in his comma. He gripped the steering wheel and managed to still his hands. Mystery whined and the sound of it, though dismal, did comfort him. “Are we really going to do this?”

Vivi still had not given him a direct stare, she was lost in planning, working out a puzzle that perplexed Arthur at every turn. Vivi had a magical way of seeing the crevices that he had missed, it never ceased to amaze him. “We’re gonna try— No. We’re going to do this, and we’ll find him. He has some explaining to do.”

The line reminded Arthur of the old I love Lucy show. The roles were switched, but it was oddly fitting. A small smile worked into his face. Poor Lewis.

Arthur plucked the boo charm from the cup holder and twisted the key in the ignition, he reveled as the harsh roar of the engine rumbled through the carriage. “Where do we go first?” he posed.

Vivi chewed at her cut lip. She hadn’t given it a chance to heal since they were in the mountain pass between Knoxx and Ruben. There were a few areas of new activity, areas that had taken an accident in the previous years or where renovation work was revealed in an article. It was an agreed suspicion that once dormant activity could kick start again, if work or destruction was brought to a place that endured trauma through the past. Vivi had her doubts in these cases, she classified them as historical recurrence but she and Arthur would visit them anyway if they ran out of leads.

While Arthur drove, Vivi held the laptop on her lap and petted Mystery as she scrolled and searched, never satisfied by the information she had gathered. The first stop was a small grocery store, among the shops and businesses on the opposite side of the city. Vivi was dubious about the recent sightings reported and some of the security footage uploaded over youtube, but it just seemed like a place Lewis would go to if he wanted to run away. Arthur noted she never considered their ghost returning to his mansion, but they had silent agreement that this option may not have been one for Lewis.

They were going to talk. They would get this settled. Vivi promised she had her ways, and if Lewis was shadowing them now Arthur doubted the ghost would have the courage to reveal himself.

Arthur didn’t blink when Vivi took a picture of the vans back. She gave a disgruntled sigh as she heaved the passenger door open and dropped down onto the empty street. After he had the doors locked, Arthur found Vivi at the back doors with her provision bag, deleting images off the camera. How many did she take?

“Which store is it?” Arthur asked. He turned when Vivi pointed, and Mystery began trotting off in that direction. The wind picked up as Arthur followed Mystery across the street to the stores front, he pulled the edges of his vest tighter around his sides and nearly regretted his disdain for long sleeves. When they entered through the door wedged open, the man behind the counter raised his voice to the group with the dog. Arthur simply raised his hand as he walked by and didn’t give the cashier a second look. It was probably rude, but he found some positive with his prosthetic and he was going to exploit it when he could.

“Oh,” was the downcast sound the cashier made.

Vivi took the lead, taking Arthur by his sleeve and began moving down one of the aisles clear of shoppers. The store was larger than it appeared from outside, its interior department going up a set of steps and into inventory that included some shirts and shoes, and pants. “Maybe you should consider buying a coat?” she put, as Arthur scanned over the beige walls surrounding them. “The weather report said there was a high chance for snow, and miserable. I know you haven’t liked the cold much since….”

“My vest is fine,” he said. Arthur rubbed his metal thumb over the collar. “It’s stylish.” He watched Mystery creep under the low hanging shirts dangling from the low racks. He looked up towards the edge of the ceiling and saw the cameras. He waved to one. “Lewis isn’t here.”

“Maybe we should have asked the guy at the front.” Vivi raised her camera and took a few pictures. She brought the device back to her line of sight and examined the image carefully, occasionally asking Arthur’s opinion as they hiked around the aisles. “You getting anything, Mystery?” A dry arf came from somewhere, that oddly sounded more like someone imitating a dog than a dog’s actual bark. “Mystery.”

“Can I help you with anything?” Vivi whirled to the voice, and tucked the camera behind her back. Arthur took one look at the figure and bolted, he tripped over Mystery in one of the aisles and a sharp yelping came as the two ran off. Vivi spun to try and find the two, but they had gone. She didn’t understand why, unless Arthur had seen something else? “We don’t allow bags in the store.”

“I’m sorry,” Vivi said. “Uh, I was looking for someone.”

The man was heavy set but not tall, he shifted his footing as he glared at the blue haired girl. “Well, your friends just took off,” he said. Vivi stared at the dark pits of his eyes, a soft emerald glimmered at their center. “Would you collect them and anyone else with you and leave?”

“I will,” Vivi answered, disappointed. She began to move along the row of shirts and pants but paused and turns back. “You’re… are you afraid of me?”

The ‘employee’ crinkled his face up in confusion. He spoke slowly, “No… why would I?”

“You were- Er, nevermind.” Vivi shook her head as she walked away. “Did you see which way my friends went?”

The cashier at the front of the store didn’t seem surprised when Vivi came by. She bought a brand of incenses that were hard to find in most stores, and a few of the cold packaged sandwiches from the refrigerated section.

“So when did the haunting start?” Vivi asked, as he began scanning the items. The cashier twitches and dropped the box of incense he had lifted to the scanner. “S-sorry. You know about it, though?”

The cashier cursed under his breath as he reached down to retrieve the thin box. He stood up and smoothed out his bright green apron when it had bunched up around his waist. “Yeah-yeah,” he grumbled. “The owner released the vids, and I’ve been dealing with weirdos all week coming in just to see if they can ‘have an experience.’” He air quoted. “He just did it for the attention.” He made another disgruntled sound through his nose as he resumed scanning the items. “People lately have been on the ghost kick.”

“Wow, sorry,” Vivi grumbled. She fumbled with her backpack and found her wallet. She could see the employee that hassled her in store, now poised between a few racks of postcards and not doing much, but waiting for her to leave. The cashier didn’t seem to notice or care, and Vivi cast her eyes to him as he began bagging her purchases. “Has business boomed?”

The cashier laughed as he jammed his fingers at the keys on the cash register. “No. Theft has gone up though. I really should have asked for your backpack, but I don’t dare. I’m not paid enough for this crap.” He set his hand over the receipt slot as the machine burbled and belched out the thin piece of paper. “Thanks, and have a nice day.”

“You too. Wait.” Vivi spun back from the open door. Outside stood Arthur with another cigarette and Mystery, on his hind legs trying to snap it out of his hand. “Who’s the ghost supposed to be? The previous owner?” The employee, the spirit with the green eyes, was absent.

“I don’t know,” he said exasperated, and rolled his eyes as he leaned on the counter. “I don’t even believe in this ghost bs.”

While Arthur was distracted by Mystery hounding, Vivi tapped him on the shoulder. Arthur whipped around and Vivi motioned for him to take another draw. Arthur did, a little perturbed by how easy it was to manipulate him. When he moved his arm away from his lips, Vivi took his wrist and tore the cigarette from his fingertips. “That was a complete bust,” she muttered.

Arthur watched as she crushed out his last cigarette. “I didn’t think he’d be there,” he said.. He ran his metal hand through his hair and let out a tense breath. “That ghost. Freaky eyes, freaky vibes.”

“Just a disgruntled spirit,” Vivi chimed in. “Totally harmless. We’ll go to that restaurant next. Have a sandwich.” She shoved the bag into Arthur’s chest, and he noticed then that she was carrying another package. “The chickens for Mystery.”

Mystery jumped when there was a mention of chicken. He hadn’t eaten and had forgotten in all the confusion, he should have mentioned something sooner. It wasn’t good for his comrades to go so long without food, especially when they were stressed. Especially for Arthur, he never recovered well.

“Why are we eating before we go to a restaurant?” Arthur inquired. “Is it super snobbish?”

Vivi shook her head as she walked away. She stuffed the incense into her backpack with the wallet, then began working on peeling open the stubborn cover to the sandwich container. “I felt bad not buying something. Plus, you look thin. Just eat.”

The restaurant, a family owned business that made fresh Spanish soups and pastries, was another disappointment, and it was possibly the hardest on Vivi. They parked in the shady trees in the back and braved a scatter of icy wind and rain droplets, hoping for a story of something, and Vivi attempted to get one image of a lingering spook, but it wasn’t to be. Arthur wasn’t hungry after the sandwich, but Vivi and Mystery had another meal and ordered a round of deserts. Throughout the break Arthur watched more and more of Vivi losing hope and he had no remedy for it, though he tried to find something, some upbeat words of wisdom that would rekindle her. He didn’t bother opening his mouth but for idle conversation, and that was dismal as it was.

Lewis. You ascot wearing dumbass.

The air had cleared somewhat while they were indoors, the sidewalk was dry and the sun was out but the air maintained a brisk pre winter chill. As they walked beside the restaurant to the back lot, Vivi caught Arthur by his vest collar and collected his attention. “Art. You’d… we did have Lewis with us, right? I didn’t dream up this crazy adventure… I’m not losing my mind? You would break it to me, brutal but honest, wouldn’t you?” In her eyes there was something that crushed Arthur’s heart, something in her stare that made his blood run cold. Doubt. “We found Lewis in the woods, and we kidnapped him? We had him?”

Spots of icy water dotted his brow, though the sky remained yellow with the wide break in the clouds. This wouldn’t have been good weather for spending at the park, Arthur reflected. He glanced at Mystery as he turned back to them, a small frown on the dogs snout. Sighing, Arthur took her hand and clasped it in his. Her fingers were like ice. “Vi. You had him.” He resumed walking, Vivi beside him, her head nestled down in her thick scarf. Vivi let him lead her and they were quiet. “He stayed for you.” Mystery sprang out of his way and trotted along, a few cars zoomed by on the road.

“Then why did he leave?” Vivi unlocked the passenger door and let Mystery hop in before she followed, dumping her bag on the floorboard of her seat. Arthur didn’t look up as she leaned up and checked the interior of the van. “I trusted him, I believe in him. Why do this?” She slumped down on the seat and tapped her fingers over the camera she held, her brace against the emotions.

Arthur winced as he climbed up into driver side, and gathered himself then swung the door shut with a soft click. “It’s me,” he murmured. Arthur slung his metal arm over the front dash above the steering wheel and slouched forward. “It had to have been me.” He rummaged around in his pocket and found the crumpled pack of cigarettes. “I drove him away. I didn’t think it’d bother him that much, or just… I wanted to pretend it wouldn’t. It… it couldn’t.” He swung around and threw the packet into the back of the van. A soft thud sounded where the paper hit the wall, ineffective and pitiful. Mystery glanced back, then drew down into his seat and stared at Arthur.

“Don’t blame yourself,” Vivi whispered. “He should’ve told you.”

“I killed him.” Arthur leaned on the door and set his forehead on the window. He said no more.

The drive back to the motel room was nearly uneventful. Nearly. It was necessary that in their depressed induced apathy, the local law would take it upon itself to help remind visitors with out of state license plates that seatbelts were entirely necessary. As per the routine it took a while for the police to call his associate, and look up the data and the papers for the van. Arthur half expected them to have them get out so the van could be searched, but it never went to that point. The cop that had been called out, asked Arthur about his arm and Arthur had just shrugged.

Throughout all of this Vivi kept to herself, unless she was questioned directly. She’d look up, give an unreadable expression, and return to the camera.

“I’m giving you a citation,” said the cop. He sauntered up to the driver side window, the way cops do for whatever reason when they walk up to the suspect’s window – back straight and knees locked, sort of swaying top heavy. Arthur didn’t get it. He wrenched around in his seat when Vivi jumped a bit and looked at him wide eyed, then turned away. “For the failure to comply with city ordinance, and having an unrestrained pet in the front seat.”

Mystery yapped. Arthur rubbed the back of the dog’s neck, and reached with his other hand to take the ticket. He idly noticed that the police officer was watching his metal arm. “You weren’t wearing a seatbelt either,” Arthur muttered, to the dog. Mystery whined at him, and shuffled aside to sit closer to Vivi. “Couldn’t let us off with a warning?” He shivered visibly as the air came cold again, sweeping through the open window. They’d been stuck here for too long, for nothing.

The cop, a stout chunky guy, shook his head. “Quotas coming up,” he said. At least he was honest. “You can pay it at the courthouse.” He said something to the other garbled voice that came through the walkie-talkie on his shoulder, then returned his attention to the group inside the vehicle. Other cars raced by on the road, and Arthur was glad he didn’t have the cops job. “You know where the courthouse is?”

“We have a computer,” Vivi spoke up. “Is there anything else, sir?”

The law enforcer adjusted his belt and tipped his hat. “Just drive safe. And remember to wear those seatbelts.” He tipped his hat, then turned to meet up with his colleague beside the two patrol cars, lights flashing a few yards behind the van.

Arthur gave a heavy sigh as he turned the ignition in the van and let the harsh roar of the engine fill the carriage. He hastened to get the van window up and block out the persistent gusts coming stronger. “Every other town,” he grumbled, as he handed Vivi the gummy sheet of paper. He always said that every time they were pulled over, and without fail they were pulled over in every other town. “Is it bad?” Vivi didn’t answer. She only took the sheet and stuffed it into the glove box, then slapped the little door shut. She sat quiet for a moment, and Arthur withheld further comment.

It was only when they reached the motel that Arthur realized why Mystery was giving him the weird looks. He sat behind the steering wheel, trying to put together in his head what Vivi was thinking now. “Uh…” Arthur moaned. “We checked out this morning? Didn’t we?”

That same dawning realization flashed briefly in Vivi’s eyes, but it was gone in an instant. “Doesn’t matter,” she piped.

“Doesn’t matter?” Arthur echoed, glancing at Vivi as she dived over the bench seat, Mystery following. “Do you plan to stay in this city forever? I mean, what are our plans now? Viv, love, darling—” He bounced on his knees, turning to face the dark interior behind the seat as Vivi went rummaging under the passenger seat. “I don’t wanna think about it either, but what are we going to do? If Lewis isn’t even here, if he’s hiding- whatever! I’m beginning to think this search is hopeless.” He watched as she booted up the laptop. Vivi sat on her knees before the computer, as she fumbled with the camera. She pulled out the flash stick and inserted it into the side. “What?”

“You remember that restaurant?” Vivi was scrolling her finger on the little pad. Beside her sat Mystery, he leaned close, red eyes intent on the screen. “You weren’t traumatized by the police, were you? You do remember the restaurant?”

“Yeaah,” Arthur answered. “But the staff said they never saw anything. Why would they lie?” He saw Vivi’s lips twitch up in the gleam of the screen.

“Afraid of publicity. Anything,” Vivi muttered. Her fingers did some wild tapping over the keys. “I didn’t see it because I wasn’t looking in the right area. I was looking into the visor, but I should have been looking inside the picture.” Mystery’s ears snapped forward and he raised his eyes brows. “There were a few mirrors. A slim chance.” Vivi plucked up the computer and turned the screen to face Arthur; he felt his face pale. “When I get my hands on him,” Vivi trailed off, voice hoarse, a dark irritation clouding her eyes.

A small part of Arthur felt sorry for Lewis. But he lost it immediately as he stared into that dark face in the mirror, the shape and angle off from the direction the shadow had hidden itself, but Arthur knew that pompadour anywhere. The gleaming eyes in the face were fixed on him in the same way, as those many restless nights he awoke and he felt the uncanny sensation of someone looming beside his bed.

#msa #mystery skulls animated #msa fanfic #mystery skulls fanfic #mystery skulls ghost #msa fanfiction #mystery skulls fanfiction #fanfiction #msa lewis #msa vivi #msa arthur #msa mystery

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musicnoots · 5 years ago

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Fire Drill

Band of Brothers - The Office AU

A/N: This is what it’s like in my head everyday. Again, all rights of this amazing scene go to the writers of the show.

Synopsis: Webster tries to teach Easy Company the basics of fire safety with a fire drill, and things do not go as planned.

Tags: @gottapenny @dustyjjumpwings @higgles123 @david-weepster @wexhappyxfew @medievalfangirl @bandofmarvels @junojelli @majwinters @curraheev @those-dusty-jump-wings

Normally, David Webster doesn’t do a lot of things for his job. He comes to work for Easy Company, a paper sales company, where he gets paid way too little. All he does is sit at his desk and sell paper. Most of the time, he tries to avoid the strange look Liebgott gives him from across the office, but usually, Webster works at his desk like a normal employee.

But today, he was going to educate his fellow co-workers on the basics of fire safety. Why, you ask? Well, he created a presentation on the topic a couple of days ago, but no one paid attention. Probably because he used a powerpoint. So, to get his point across, he thought it would be best to teach his co-workers through a real simulation. A fire drill.

He waited until Lipton left the reception desk, the perfect opportunity to set up his simulation. Minutes later, he was in the hallway hammering a nail into the lock of every door and blowtorching the handles so it would replicate a scenario where the fire is outside and they can’t escape. On the second door handle he blowtorched, Webster stopped and thought, Am I doing too much? before dismissing the thought and continuing with his business. People learn through various different ways. Experience is the best teacher.

Next, he poured gasoline into a small trash can outside one of the doors and lit up a cigarette, dropping it into the trash where a fire soon ignited. Today, smoking was going to save lives.

He went back to desk afterwards as if he didn’t disappear in the first place, and nobody suspected a thing. He tried not to smile when he sat down, knowing that he was going to finally get his point across was a good feeling, even better than when he graduated from Harvard. This time, his co-workers would be thanking him for teaching them what to do in the event of a fire. All thanks to a man named David Webster.

When the smoke finally came seeping underneath the door, Webster tried his best not to overreact. He wanted his co-workers to have a real life experience to prepare for the real thing. “Does anyone smell anything...smokey?”

“Did you bring your jerky in again?” Malarkey asked.

Dissatisfied with the response he got, Webster cleared his voice and looked at Lipton.

Lipton looked up and immediately stood up in concern. “O-Oh my God!”

Everyone stood up in panic when they followed the direction of Lipton’s gaze.

“Fire!”

“Fire?” Webster tried to look surprised, standing up with his co-workers as the panic quickly set in. “Oh my goodness! What’s the procedure? What do we do people?”

“The phones are dead!” Lipton exclaimed, holding the phone after trying to make an attempt to call for help.

“Oh, how did that happen?”

“It’s out in the hall!” Dike said in the swarm of people surrounding the door.

“We don’t know that! The smoke could be coming from an air duct!”

This was exactly how Web envisioned this in his mind. First five minutes, everyone would be panicking and not know what to do. It’s what every human does. They would panic until they realize they have to talk it out with each other to find out how to escape and deal with the fire safely.

Meanwhile, Lewis barged from his office. “Oh my God! Okay, it’s happening. Everybody stay calm! Everybody stay calm!” he said, clearly not being calm himself. “Stay fucking calm! Everybody fucking calm down!”

“No, no, Lewis! No!” Web yelled through the swarm of employees crowding the door. “Touch the handle, if it’s hot there could be a fire in the hallway!”

Lew then proceeded with caution, he let his hand hover over the handle. “What does warm mean?”

Concern soon ensued as everyone tried to find an exit from the fire, but Webster saw this as success. His co-workers were trapped so at this point, they have to figure a way out of here. “What next?”

George ran over to the door across the room and started to repeatedly touch the handle. “I-It’s warm.”

“Okay, go to the back door,” said Dick, who had no idea what was going on, but probably had the best survival rate out of everyone in the office.

As Web continued to give advice and hints to his fellow co-workers, panic started to form as everyone was eager to get away from the fire. They ran to the other side of the office to find a door that they could safely exit from with Ron taking charge in the front of retrieve a belonging.

“I have to get my purse!” Speirs yelled, but he instead grabbed Perconte’s bag because he remembered that his had a nifty little lighter there and couldn’t be bothered to find it, so he just took the entire bag.

“Things can be replaced, Ron,” Web said as calmly as he could in the heat of the moment. “People, human lives, however can—” Then he bolted to the other side of the room with the others.

“Ah, my hand!” Buck hissed as he grabbed the nearest door handle. “That’s hot!”

“Eugh! This one’s hot, too!” Bull said.

“Okay, we’re trapped! Everyone for himself!” Lewis screamed, and then it was pure chaos.

Everyone started to go their own way to find an exit, many weren’t even looking for a way to escape, but rather to find their belongings, panic, and do nothing. Bill, Joe, and Babe went in one direction and Dick, Eugene, and Lipton went in the other.

Babe went looking for his tupperware of spaghetti that he made two days ago, nearly ripping his entire desk apart just to find it sitting neatly on his desk. Realizing the container was too much for him to be holding in this situation, he opened it and shoved the spaghetti into his pockets. Bill and Joe were busy unsuccessfully breaking the windows by throwing things at it. So far, they’ve thrown the computer, Babe’s empty tupperware container, and Web’s framed diploma from Harvard. Harry was at the vending machine where he broke the glass to take all the snacks he wasn’t able to get because he didn’t want to spend money. Speirs was scouring the office for some loot and Perconte was yelling for his purse.

Floyd went back to his desk and opened the the last drawer of the filing cabinet to his dog, Bandit. “Hey, it’s okay,” he cooed to help it calm down, watching as Malarkey jumped on top of the desk, opened a hole in the ceiling and climbed in. “Don. Don!”

Malarkey looked back down at Floyd carrying his dog. “Stay alive, I’m getting help!”

“Pull me up!”

“You’re too heavy!”

“I only weigh 135 pounds,” he sighed, but it looked as if Don had already left. “Save Bandit!” Floyd yelled before throwing Bandit into the ceiling.

Meantime, Web was overseeing the chaos around him and giving subtle hints in a time of disorder and pandemonium. “Have you ever seen a burn victim? Exit options—where do we go folks? Exits points, people. Remember those procedures!”

It was the armageddon. The office was in total disarray and no one knew what to do, yet Webster still went with the plan and actually thought it was going quite well. In his opinion.

“What do we do?” Lipton asked. The smoke was getting really heavy and it was difficult to breathe.

“Use the surge of fear and adrenaline to sharpen your decision making!”

“Okay, I am not dying here,” Dick muttered before taking off.

Web then nonchalantly lit up some fireworks and tossed it onto the ground, creating more panic and upheaval from everyone. Screams were heard and Lew started to throw his chair at the window repeatedly in a state of crisis.

“What is that? What is that?” Chuck yelled.

“The fire’s shooting at us!” Liebgott screamed, and panic increased by a whole eighty percent.

To make matters even worse, Web thought it was a good idea to pull the fire to add on to the concerning noises in the office. Malarkey’s legs appeared from the ceiling and that was the actual breaking point—it was total chaos and everyone thought they were going to die.

The only people who had a sense of what to do where Dick, Eugene, Lip who were unplugging and moving the office printer from the wall to push it aggressively against the door. It’s not the best idea, but it was good enough for the mental and emotional state of everyone and their one brain cell.

Meanwhile, Lew actually broke the window, but instead of escaping, he screamed out for help.

Everything was in shambles. Dick, Eugene, Lipton were pushing the printer against the door to break it open, everyone else was screaming and panicking, Johnny and Ron were arguing because Ron was taking everyone's shit, and Lew was screaming out of the window. Even worse—Joe was starting to cough from all of the smoke and it was starting to concern some of the employees.

All of a sudden, Web silenced everyone using an air horn. “Attention everyone! Employees of Easy Company! This had been a test of our emergency preparedness. There was no fire. It was only a simulation.”

“What?” Had it not been for the laws of this land, Dick would have beat Web’s ass for this. All of this for a simple test? He doesn’t get paid enough to go through all of this.

“Fire not real. This was merely a training exercise,” Web announced. “So, what have we learned?” Joe fainted, and Web rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on. It’s not real, Joe.”

“No, no, no!” George came running from across the office. “You will not die. Joe. Joe, you will not die! Joe! Joe! I’m gonna give him mouth-to-mouth.

“No, don’t give him mouth-to-mouth for this,” Dick said as he urged Eugene to help Joe.

But George was determined to revive Joe for the second time this month. He took out his wallet and shoved it into Joe’s mouth as everyone grabbed his arm and tried to pry him off. “Don’t swallow it!” He yelled as Joe started to regain breathing and everyone was screaming in the back for him to stop. “I-I’m fine, leave me alone!”

#band of brothers fic #band of brothers imagines #band of brothers imagine #band of brothers fanfic #band of brothers fanfiction #band of brothers #hbo war #ron speirs #lewis nixon #eugene roe #joe liebgott #babe heffron #david webster #easy company #dick winters #joe toye #bill guarnere #george luz

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pi-cat000 · 5 years ago

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MSA time travel idea (part 33)

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Vivi POV, 8, 9, 10, Lewis POV, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, Lance POV 18, 19, Lewis POV 2, 21 , 22, Vivi POV 2, 24, 25 Lewis POV 3, Mystery POV , Vivi POV 3, 29, Lewis POV 4, 31, ViVi POV 4

Part 34: here

Arthur does his best to squirm and press up against his darkness which pins him in place, trying to reclaim some ounce of control. Something. Anything!

He doesn’t know why he bothers when the result is always the same. Failure. Just like every other time he’s tried to stop the demon from doing something horrific. Like with his Uncle and Darrel, the demon will kill Lewis’s entire family and he'll be forced to watch. Lewis will come home and find them all dead, and it’ll be Arthur’s fault for thinking he could fix things. Arthur claws at the foreign entity, trying to find a crack, a weakness, anything to exploit. There’s nothing.

He can’t just give up…not yet.

‘NOT YET.’ He inadvertently shouts the last line.

“Oh, give it a rest already.” The rebuke is causal and relaxed. Arthur can feel the demon’s idle amusement as it watches him flail about.

‘STOP!’

The internal yelling urns him an eye roll.

“What do you think you’re going to accomplish by repeating that? It didn’t work the first dozen or so times. You’re embarrassing yourself,” The demon laughs, leaning back so it is resting against the doors of the open van. Peeking over the horizon is the outline of Pepper Paradiso. With lit windows, the building is silhouetted against the darkened desert. Parked about twenty meters down and partly in a ditch, they are just far enough away that no one will notice the van unless specifically searching for it. The demon’s been staring at the building in guiltless anticipation, legs swinging back and forth, as it waits for sundown. To the left on the motorway, a motorcycle whizzes by, creating a spot of bright light which quickly disappears into the night. Simultaneously, lightning flashes somewhere out of view, briefly illuminating their surroundings.

‘STOP. Just stop!’

“Hey. Don’t make me come back there,” The demon threatens, attention moving to focus on Arthur’s pocket knife. An attempt at flipping it open fails when it jams, gummed shut with blood. Mentally, Arthur winces at the foreign sense of disappointment directed at the object responsible for killing his Uncle. A few seconds are spent struggling with the hinge.

Finally, the demon gives up on opening it, tossing it aside and admitting, “I guess I am due for an upgrade.” It shuffles around, turning to rifle through the piles of road trip paraphernalia, targeting Lewis’s cooking supplies.

“Now where is it? I know Lew packed it. Well, you know he packed it.”

Arthur falls back for a moment, attempting to regain some strength. All this struggling and yelling is wearing him out, stretching him thin like an elastic band about to snap. Dread and profound defeat vie for dominance. If...no...When he fails to stop this, there is no going back. This is irredeemable.

Who was he kidding, what he’s done already is irredeemable.

“HA! Got it,” The demon pulls out a box of cooking utensils, dumping them out onto the floor. They clatter around, muffled in the stale night air. Lightning flashes again, reminding Arthur of the storm rolling in from across the desert.

“Now this is a knife.”

One of Lewis’s slicing knives is held up with no small amount of glee. Arthur watches their green eyes reflect in the polished and sharpened surface. Horror freezes him in place as his nightmare of a life grows steadily worse.

'This is a nightmare.’

“I know. Great, isn't it?!” The demon responds, noting his fixation on the knife, “Once we really get out on the road there’ll be no end to potential misery. Heck, the time travel factor alone is bound to cause a whole load of interesting ripples.”

They twirl the knife between their fingers, gesturing happily at the landscape around them. The unapologetic joy is like a slap to the face, snapping his attention away from the knife. Arthur resumes his mental clawing, twisting.

‘But what’s the point in that! WHAT’S THE POINT!’

“HAHA. Surely you’ve figured it out by now…” Laughter bubbles their chest.

“There is no point!”

Manic chuckling catches in Arthur’s throat, shaking their entire body. It goes on for several long seconds before the demon takes a deep breath and Arthur smells the humid air, metallic with static. They hold for a count, breathing out in a long satisfied exhale, calming. It is a familiar breathing technique, though it’s not being used for much other than a display of body control. Along the motorway, a truck passes, flashing quickly by.

The demon continues talking, pushing itself upright and away from the van with renewed composure, “Millennia I've waited, wasting away, and now I have this fantastic opportunity to really screw things up. So sit back, relax, enjoy the show...”

Lightning zig-zags its way across the sky, outlining the Pepper diner, which almost seems to stretch into the distance. Arthur is getting really sick of this sensation of mental panic, which is now his go-to reaction to the demon's taunting.

“...because I'm going to run this for all its worth. The first order of business? Killing our Lewis’s family.”

All his thoughts are tying themselves in knots, folding in on themselves, becoming unreadable and messy. One part of him is watching and feeling his body move and the other is tangling itself up into a ball.

The doors to the van are closed with the demon’s usual flourish.

They stroll across the dessert, circling to approach from the side opposite the diner’s car park, away from the wide front windows. In the car park is a foreign truck, with the Pepper family vehicles all parked around the opposite side. So the whole family is home and maybe one late-night customer, because why not add another person to the kill list.

Silently, the demon ducks around the corner, attention focused on the external power-box, containing the building's circuit breakers. Arthur’s intimately familiar with it, having repaired and replaced several parts of it over the last few years. With the lightning storm closing in, the first place Lewis’s parents would check in a power outage would be the circuit breakers. Between Arthur and the customer parking, is the employee entrance. The quickest way to the power-box is through the employee entrance. Arthur churns in distress. The demon is setting Lewis's parents up for an ambush.

Any renewed attempts at fighting remain unsuccessful. Casually, with an air of distinct confidence, the cover to the metal box is jimmied off with the knife. The demon flips the main breaker and it makes a loud thunk sound. All the surrounding light vanishes and darkness descends, made intense by the clouded sky.

However, as they turn to duck behind the building and await whoever is unfortunate enough to come through first, lightning bursts across the sky. For a split second, everything is awash with light, brightening, revealing the surrounding area. Arthur gets that phantom sensation of his stomach dropping right out from under him. There, across from them, standing only a few meters away near the truck, is Vivi.

Unnervingly, Arthur feels is own surprise and shock echoed back at him as both his and the demon’s emotional responses sync up. What is Vivi doing here! She’s not supposed to be here! How! Had she seen them? She must have because she’d been looking right at them.

A light blinks on, shining in their direction. Vivi is holding up her phone, attempting to see. The pinprick of light washes out her features so she is a blurry grey outline on an otherwise black background. She takes a hesitant step forward and Arthur hears a low rumble. He almost mistakes the sound as thunder due to how it vibrates the air molecules around them. A second later and he realises that the threatening noise is coming from Mystery. The dog is standing a foot ahead of Vivi, backlit by her phone. Glowing red eyes are fixed on Arthur, having no trouble seeing in the dark. It is refreshing to feel the demon’s apprehension roll through their shared mental space. Mystery will protect Vivi. His relief feels like taking a gulp fresh air after breathing in smoke.

“Arthur?”

Vivi is walking and the demon manoeuvres back an inch, into the lee of the building. Arthur feels the muscles in his legs tense, preparing to run. Yes. Run. They should definitely run! Runaway from Vivi and Lewis. Runaway and never return. He hopes Mystery hunts them through the desert and rips them both to pieces. The grip on Lewis’s knife tightens, eyes tracking Vivi then darting to Mystery, calculating the distance between the two.

They don’t run…

“Hey!” The demon’s greeting is jarring, and Arthur wants to scream again.

“Vivi you’re here? I…I…didn't think you’d be back till tomorrow?” Gone is the contempt and snark to be replaced with a nervous stutter. An almost perfect replica of his voice. Did he really sound that pathetic?

“Of course I’m here,” Vivi pauses, sounding very confused, “…you left so suddenly? We were really worried.”

The demon plasters on an apologetic, slightly guilty, expression, “Yeah about that…I’m sorry. Like really sorry. I…I panicked. Between Lewis and my Uncle, I just really needed to be alone and deal with things privately.”

A pause for dramatic effect. “You got my note right?”

“Yeah. We were at the hospital looking for you,” Vivi says, hesitant, unsure like she’s trying to figure something out. Slowly, she inches forward, holding her phone and the light up a little higher. Mystery grows again, and Vivi stops.

“Are you okay?” She asks, peering at him. “We’ve been trying to call you all day.”

Arthur feels himself wince in a display of guilt. Behind his back, the grip on the knife shifts and his muscles twitch. Impatient irritation resonances about their mind and Arthur does not doubt that, had Mystery not been there, they would have lunged at Vivi.

“I didn’t know what else to do…”

They back up a bit more, further into the shadow, putting the employee entrance between Vivi and himself.

“Hey, it's okay. We’ll work it out. We’re here for you, you know. And you can tell us anything. If you need to.”

No. Arthur’s heart flutters. It’s far too late for that. None of this is okay. A profound sense of longing catches in his chest, drowning out the demon’s irritation.

“Sure…” The demon mutters, distracted, glancing towards the corner of the building for potential escape routes. The van isn’t that far away, but it is still too long a stretch for the demon to run for with Mystery right there. The best chance it had would be to circle the building, break in and take a hostage. Whether or not that’s the plan, Arthur never finds out. The handle on the door jiggles, catching all of their attentions.

Lewis steps out.

He is holding a flashlight at the ready, turned towards the car park, probably looking for Vivi. Lewis doesn’t see Arthur lunge forward, or the knife flick out. There is a flash of silver reflected in the dim light of Vivi’s phone.

Vivi inhales sharply.

The torch drops from Lewis’s hand, skittering across the concrete, landing so the beam faces towards them, spotlighting and casting two long shadows on the diner wall. Any sense of relief and hope shatter and Arthur finds himself cold again.

‘NO!’

“Heya Lewis. You always did have the worst luck.”

“Arthur?” Lewis starts talking, then grunts in pain. The demon has the knife partially buried into Lewis’s side and is pushing forward in a deliberately threatening motion.

“I wouldn’t move if I were you. If you think this hurts, then you’ll want to avoid giving me a reason to push. One flick of the wrist and I can easily puncture a lung or sever your spinal cord.”

Lewis freezes, turning only his head and neck, attempting to see over his shoulder, “Wh..at?”

A glare is cast toward Mystery, who is attempting to edge closer, “That includes you mutt, one more step and he’s dead.”

Mystery’s growl deepens and Arthur can feel it reverberating in his chest, through the ground, and in the air. All around them a new pressure builds that has nothing to do with the storm closing in. There is another flash of lightning.

“Lewis!” Vivi tries to run forward but is suddenly blocked by Mystery who leaps between them. Arthur can see her mind whirring, processing the scene, scanning Mystery and looking to him. Vivi’s eyes narrow, becoming determined. Lit by the stronger flashlight beam, Arthur knows both Vivi and Lewis can see how his unnaturally green eyes spark.

“You’re not Arthur,” Vivi accuses, pointing, “Body snatcher.”

The surprise felt by the demon upon this sudden accusation is mirrored by Arthur. To guess possession right off the bat is a huge leap of logic. At least she doesn’t think Arthur is doing this of his own free will. He never wanted to hurt anyone. He had just wanted things to be better than they had been.

Vivi hisses, “Let Arthur go.”

No longer concerned with keeping up a charade, the demon smirks, “Honestly, I prefer demon. ‘Snatcher’ is such a crude term. I don’t snatch, I appropriate. Congratulations on figuring it out, you're the first human to do so in a while.”

“Get out of Arthur!”

A scoff, “Oh, yes, of course, let me get right on that. What do I look like, an idiot?”

Next to him, Arthur can see Lewis's profile. His friend's eyes are wide with shock.

‘I’m sorry.’ His apology doesn’t make it very far, hitting the mental barrier separating himself from his body.

Note: Yup...it’s a cliffhanger... people like those right?

Part 34: here

#MSA #mystery skulls animated #fanfiction #fanfic #arthur kingsmen #Lewis pepper #Vivi Yukino #???#angst #possession #mind control #violence #suicidal thoughts #shit hits the fan

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eagesoldartblog · 5 years ago

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Pay It Forward Chapter Two: Coming Home

Lewis’s foot taps slowly, glowering at a scalding hot chocolate decorated with the most tacky orange color he’s probably ever seen.

His name is Arthur Kingsmen.

Counting down from ten, he calculates each breath. Each puff giving away more of the bubbling anger threatening to explode.

He’s a mechanic, the head mechanics nephew.

Thick, sweet smells muse around him. Hands tightly laced together, shaking lightly.

A generous person, he paid off your car with the blink of an eye. Grinding his teeth, the tap tap taping quickens faster and faster, relentless and angry.

And I don’t have the cash or ability to pay him back. Chewing on his cheek, he finally lets out a strained sigh.

“Are you going to keep pouting, or what?” Vivi’s voice snaps Lewis from his trance, dampening his anger at once, “Or are you still pissy mcpisserton?”

Lewis blushes, shoulders sinking, “Is it that obvious..?”

Vivi slides the tray across the table and tears into her own croissant, shrugging, “Yeah, you’re brooding again.”

Lewis glares at her, rolling his eyes and sipping from his hot chocolate, “A bit on the nose, don’t ya think?”

“On the nose is my middle name,” Vivi smirks, gulping back her own coffee, “But legit, what’s with the sour attitude? Arthurs chill, he would have done it anyway.”

He shoots her a look, scoffing, “He would have? Are you kidding me-?”

“Wow,” Vivi interrupts him, grinning, “Didn’t take you for a financial advisor, Lewis. Or better yet, you lookin’ for a sugar daddy to help pay off your loans?” Lewis- mid sip- chokes on his hot chocolates, face burning and eyes wide.

“No. That’s no-”

“Either way you’re out of luck, he owed me a favor,” Vivi smirks, “But its cute that you think that~”

Lewis huffs, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. Keeping it up for... who knows how long, Vivi wasn’t counting and wasn’t about to. She leans forward, a smirk twisting across her face.

“You’re blushing, Lew Lew~”

He was. The darkened warmth across his face made it entirely noticeable that he either drank too much of his drink too quickly, or was fixated on a certain someone. Vivi was willing to bet at this point.

“I’m- I- it’s cold outside.” He tries.

“It’s actually a Mild-day.”

“There was a draft breeze.”

“And we’re no where near a window, so that was probably you~” Vivi teases, wholly expecting the less than rough warning tap against her shin.

“I mean, if it is about Artie, who can blame ya? The guys a golden ticket in disguise of a man. Plus, he’s hot-“

Lewis could blows steam from his ears with how heated his face was, “Vivi, please. It’s not a crush, I wouldn’t have a crush on someone after one meeting.” He hisses, pointing his finger at her gruffly.

Vivi could only laugh, kicking her feet onto Lewis’s lap, “You did before.”

“That was different!” Lewis snaps back desperately, “Besides, Xavier was a one time thing. I know it was funny when I fancied them-”

That guy-! Vivi burst out laughing, “Oh man, I wonder how he’s going to feel when he catches wind of you falling for a different tradesmen~”

Lewis halts, frozen in place before slapping his palms against his face. ”I’ve had enough, let’s stop talking.”

“You should fill me in on why you’re still mad.”

Lewis pops up, frowning and glaring at her, “I am still aggravated, for a few reasons. But I’m still annoyed about Arthur if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Because-?”

”Because he paid all of it.”

“Well-?” Vivi shrugs, clearly confused as she takes an obnoxious bite from her hash brown, “At least you don’t have to worry about it. That was a blessing, and then…” she trials off, shrugging, “you can probably work and pay him back if you want? Hell i'm sure Uncle Lance will hire you if you want.”

Lewis blinks, confusion consuming his features as he stares at her, “I- I’m sorry? Lance?” He says, momentarily released from his out of emotional crisis.

Vivi nearly flicks her straw- just to watch his expression turn sour when he gets hit- but decides against it, “The boss? Short mechanic, Arthur's uncle, he was under the hood while we were there-“

“Okay, yes, but- why are you calling him uncle?”

Vivi crosses her arms and stares at him.

Clattering of other people eating fills Lewis’s ears uncomfortably, and he stares at Vivi quietly.

Sweat soon beads down his face from their staring contest.

Sighing, Vivi takes a long sip of her coffee, “I’m still astounded how you managed to know no one in this town despite living here.”

Lewis thumbs his fingertip harshly, considering her words carefully, “I lived on the other side of town. Besides, my mother homeschooled me and my sisters for a little while and I started working not too long after.”

“Didn’t you also join a few sports and clubs?”

Lewis nodded weakly, realizing he completely lied, “I- yes, I did. Mostly in the summer! Or... whenever I found time.”

That's right, they bonded over their affinity for going above and beyond in every field.

No wonder she remembers what information you’ve shared. His thoughts hiss and bite, giving him the faint throb of a headache. “Now it's your turn, you didn’t answer my question.”

Vivi waves him off, “Don’t get snippy it’s bad for your skin, I was getting there.” Back to a calmer state of mind, Vivi relaxes and continues, “I’ve known Arthur a good portion of my life, and he was the smart kid in high-school, so I obviously leeched off him for support.”

she takes a long sip, somehow emitting more steam than previously. As she pulls it from her lips, the haze drifts around her face like smoke, framing it well. “We hung out most days after school and I got into Lance's good graces, he’ll warm up to you after a bit.”

Interesting, they’re friends.... maybe that’s why he paid it all off? He may fancies her- but wait, didn’t she say he owed her?

“Will he take kindly to the fact that his nephew paid off the damages?”

Vivi shrugs, “I dunno, explain it to him. He might give you the bill, or not, who knows.” She says curtly, stretching her shoulders.

Lewis nods, taking more than a moment to consider the information. But he very quickly makes his judgement on his actions over the course of the coffee date. That was wildly inappropriate! Apologize this instant.

He shouldn’t ever let his emotions run wild like that, never let them take control when control wasn’t needed.

He needed to calm down.

Taking the cup, Lewis takes a sip of the remaining hot chocolate, and swallows it slowly. Focusing on the warm nutty base and the cream of the milk, how it all accentuate one another. The lingering smooth liquid soothes the burn in his throat and Lewis releases a heavy sigh, “Thank you Vivi, I appreciate it immensely.”

And yet, his mind is stuck in the meticulous fingers combing through, followed by the stench of car oil and caked in dirt.

Stop thinking of him.

A hand falls on his bicep, and Lewis jumps up in response, eyeing her suspiciously, “Don’t worry, Lew. Just let this go, because I promise you... you won’t ever be able to pay him back.” She smiles, an edge of sadism lacing her voice and Lewis can see the tempting claws trying to ensnare him.

Don’t take the bait! His mind warns, recognizing this challenging tone that always had him off and doing the strangest of things. And yet his curiosity fights against his and demands to know every secret she has hidden behind those pink glasses. You sure are getting a kick out of this, aren’t you Vivi? “I’m sorry?”

Vivi holds her hands in surrender, but her eyes speak legions if snakes, “Arthur's really difficult to pay back, I’ll have you know. So be careful with what you do for it.”

“I don’t see how this is necessary-“ he saw where she was going and he didn’t want to be the target of her tricks.

“It’s because of your thing,” she says, referring to it like it was something forbidden from speaking aloud but all so tempting, “I know how you feel about it, but it’s really a losing battle. I would suggest you just pay it forward to someone else.”

That... was not something he is capable of doing. Lewis wanted to argue. Wanted to explain that it would rip into his skull for days if he didn’t clear his debt the instant if had been set. This man would be the death of him. Lewis figures, mentally ringing his palms to release the stress.

Lewis, noticeably more agitated and determined, looks up at her starkly, “How?”

“How what?”

“How can I get back at him?” Lewis asks, owning every amount of bitterness laced in his voice. Quirking an eyebrow, Vivi sighs and rests back, “Yeesh...” she sighs, as if it only now just occurred to her that she was friends with someone who will have the best credit score no matter what. She lets out a sigh, relenting, “Okay fine. Maybe like.... invite him over to your house for dinner? That’s the only way I can really see you getting away with it. Arthurs a serious philanthropist.”

“Dinner?” Lewis considers it, going over it in his head about three times before he steels himself with a nod, “Ah! Okay, I can probably do that.”

He could do it, which is what really mattered there. It didn’t cost much and he knows how to cook, surely he can surprise and delight the pesky mechanic.

“Just a warning, though,” Vivi begins, smirking, “Don’t let him see what your making him, or let him know how much it would cost.”

This should be interesting... “Why?”

“Because, I’m ninety percent sure he will simply forward you the dollar amount of the meal.” She shrugs, knowingly however, a story must have been brewing in her stomach, and most likely about him.

Could anyone fault Lewis for thinking that?

“Such as...?”

“To put it simply,” Vivi starts, moving through her purse for her wallet, “I once brought him over and made him this typically really traditional but kinda expensive Japanese meal. He loved it, but he looked up how much it would cost and wound up giving back the cash.” Trailing off, she hums forlorning, “By the way, want me to pay...?”

”No.” Lewis says sternly, glaring almost in his response, switching to a sweet and gentler tone in the next, “I’ll pay for it, this time, okay?”

Vivi nods, standing up and stretching, “Alrighty~ try not to go bankrupt with your tip!” She jokes.

Just because she mentioned it, Lewis made sure the tip was double the amount of the bill. Walking down the street, Lewis kept his gaze glued to the pavement. Drifting from the cracks and weeds in the sidewalk and its progression into a finer and cleaner white concrete. Freshly cut grass tickles his nose, bringing his attention to the stained glass he spent most of his life peering through.

Finally, Lewis hums, lips pulling into a wide smile as his steps quicken into a jog, and then a run, joyfully bounding down the sidewalk. Instead of rushing in through the front and through the restaurant- something his parents made explicitly clear- he side stepped into the ‘backyard’. The dumpster is a good distance away, and lacking the usual foul smell most other disposal units had. Strange the difference his home had to the inner city restaurants Lewis notes, scanning the area quickly for any active workers, or even employees on their break. No one else was present.

Anxiously excited, Lewis skips up the back porch, taking half a second to admire the freshly blooming flowers of the surrounding gardens.

“Mama!” Lewis eagerly opens the door, ducking through the door frame and stepping inside, he examines the kitchen. Glancing over the familiar surfaces, decorated and covered with various objects- from the mail divider over the bin to the dishes drying in the rack, to the pictures taped to the fridge with sprawled crayon from Paprika.

“How cute,” Lewis’s hums, fingertips drifting from surface to surface. Taking note of various new magnets mixed in with the old. Such as a new addition of star magnets- which Lewis can only assume was meant to encourage them. Along the walls was a new collection of scenic imagery, such as snowy lakes and spectacular sunsets. The girls had been showing an interest in painting before he left, hadn’t they? He’s only glad they decided to pursue it.

A bubbling draws his attention to the stove. Ah, someone must be here then, Lewis smiles, lifting the lid and peering into the boiling pot.

A gasp, “Lewis?”

Papa flies into view, head jutting past the wall, a tired but excited look in his eye. A basket of ripe fruits and veggies is quickly discarded on the table, just before Lewis is pulled into a hug. Hard kisses pressed against his face all over, a squeal rupturing in his ear.

“Lewis! I’m so glad to see you!”

To say he didn’t expect this would have been a bold faced lie. Wrapping both arms around him, Lewis hoists his father up.

“I miss you too,” he says, gaze drifting to the basket of freshly picked veggies and back to the pot, “Is Mama here?”

Papa draws back, lips tight and panic drawing over his face, “She left a moment ago, to go see where you were-!”

Oh no. Its Lewis’s turn to panic, “Ah- is this about the car…?” he tries, wary.

And he was right to be, Papa’s expression shifts, a grimace etched into his face. He steps back, both hands on his hip, and stares at Lewis expectantly, “Not exactly, we were more concerned on why you had taken so long to come back.” Oh, yes that would explain the frequent calls the past few days, only received in remote parts of the area. Lewis stiffens, seeing more just on the brink of his fathers tongue, “But, while we’re on the subject, I would like you to explain yourself.

Lewis sighs, “Vivi and I were taking turns driving, and she fell asleep behind the wheel. We didn’t want to keep you all waiting another night…”

The grimace grows tenfold, “We could understand if you needed to stay the night somewhere, Lewis.” His tone is even more so irate, closer to exasperation. Before Lewis could apologize again, Papa fished his phone from his back pocket, “Give me on sec- Hello darling!”

Lewis watches him trail out of the kitchen, smiling cheerfully and speaking clearly to Mama- “Yes, he just arrived.. yes, it was a sleeping accident.”

Resigning to the night of scolding he will most likely receive, he sighs. Just as a smaller presence creeps up behind him.

“Hi Lewis,” shove, Lewis stumbles a small bit, head whipping back to see a slightly taller version of-

“Belle!” His arms open to scoop her up in a hug- but her arm waved him away.

“Give me a minute.” She hisses under her breath, “Mom’ll be home soon, I gotta make sure this gets done.” Coughing into her arm, she sends Lewis a look, “Uh.. how was school?”

The twinge of awkwardness that seems to completely surround him makes Lewis hesitate. His mouth opens for a short moment, but quickly closes, “It went well. I’ll elaborate more later, would you like some help?”

“No, I’m fine.” He’s shut down faster than he thought he would. Huh, since when did she become so irritable? Perhaps teenage hormones..? He remembered being bad when he was small, … for the most part.

Shifting away, Lewis shuffles out of the kitchen, not wanting to give himself a chance to dwell on the ambiguous and faulty memories he always had, “Alright, I’ll leave you to it then. If you need anything, I’ll be here.” Barely getting a mhm in response, Lewis sighs and slinks off to his room.

His room is clean, completely dusted and the bed made perfectly. Everything was in it’s perfect place - Surely his mother’s doing. Taking it in, Lewis could hardly tell that it was still his, considering the one he had in the dorm rooms- plain white walls with two crosses, while his desk took the brunt of his anxiety and stress.

But here? It seemed as if it was just as carefree as he was before he left. Leaving Lewis with a ball of awkwardness welling inside his stomach. That, or anxiety, considering his Mother will be home soon. With enough scoldings to boot.

Grimacing, Lewis falls against his bed, collapsing against the pillow. He missed them a lot.

In retrospect, driving like that was far from safe, and it would have been much better to stay the night somewhere. He would’ve come home the next day to hugs and kisses and an attempted pat on the head, and then he would be able to focus on what was truly important.

Not… Arthur.

Scowling, Lewis twists himself over and folds the pillow over his head. Squeezing wouldn’t do a thing at all, he knew that! Repeating to himself that he needs to pay more attention to his family, his studies, and not a mechanic who shamelessly paid off his entire car bill an-

Gosh… darnit. Sighing, Lewis shoves the pillow aside, biting his lip and sagging even more. He missed them, dearly even. A pang of guilt hitting him. How on earth did he forget about his parents, his family? He was thinking of them the entire way back and for a majority of the semester, and then they slip his mind from a single encounter with him-

Lewis physically cringes.

Perhaps he should make something, as an apology for them. At the very least his parents. That car was under their name, and yet he went and smashed it.

And yet, for one reason or another, he offered to help. And then did, with no input from him on the matter.

Who was he…?

There’s a tornado of thoughts swarming his brain, each one revolving around him. The one person he didn’t want to think about anymore.

Arthur Kingsmen, a mechanic working under the head- who in turn was his uncle. He has a reputation of extreme charitability and generosity, doing things that astounded others in how much it helped, with little self benefit. An admirable trait, he’d admit. A trait that grew increasingly more infuriating for Lewis. Even if that hardly made sense.

Even more nonsensical- Arthur claimed it was because he came from a good family. What did that mean? Was he well acquainted buddy of his parents that he missed? Someone new who spent a lot of time with them while Lewis was away? A stalke- No. That’s just ridiculous, Lewis. Don’t demonize him for helping you. The angel on Lewis’s shoulder yelled.

He’s just a nice guy.

Laying back, Lewis mindlessly stares at the ceiling. Going back and forth on what was wrong with him right now? He doesn’t normally get so fixated on people, and never really for anything that made him angry! Small crushes, fascinating professors- even Vivi was the apple of his eye when he first met her. So why Arthur? Because he essentially took a huge debt of his shoulders? …. Anyone would be thrilled for this, and yet it detested him. Preposterous!

Just be thankful that you’re home, Lewis. When mom comes home, you and her will have a talk, and then you can spend as much time as you want with your little sisters. Father and Belle must have missed him, and yet he’s holed up in his room.

Sliding off his bed, Lewis creeps closer to the door, hyper aware of the creaks of the floor, and even more aware of the small sounds outside of his bedroom door. You shouldn’t be this nervous. Lewis reminds himself again and again, resisting the urge to press his ear to the door to listen for anything out of the ordinary. Lacing his extraordinarily large fingers around the doorknob, he gently opens it and steps out, padding down the hall to the living room.

Belle is lounging on the couch, engrossed in the documentary on physics she was watching (How interesting!) whilst glancing to the kitchen every few seconds.

Furrowing his eyebrows, Lewis glances up to the clock, and back down at her. A thought bubbling suspiciously, “Belle, what are you doing home? Shouldn’t you be in school?”

Belle flinches at his voice, a similar attribute she kept over the year, and twists around to look at him. Hm, and he thought Cayenne was the only one with an attitude.

She responds bluntly, “I had a fever last week, so they haven’t let me leave the house.” With that, she stands up and stretches dramatically, adding, “I’m only cooking because I’m hungry. I managed to convince Papi to let me buy some ramen~ so I’m going to enjoy trashing my stomach.”

“Huh, and I thought I had a drop in diet quality.”

Belle spins on her heel, the smallest pout in her face as she walks in, “Ya, sure. Makes sense that the good and holy Lew- Lew only made sure to get the HEALTHIEST of food. And Horton hears a bitch-ass liar.” the last of it comes out in a flurry of a whisper.

Gasping, Lewis spins his head around to see if his Papa was standing over their shoulders, just in case. Although for her to be saying that, they had to be in the clear. “I could smack you, Belle.”

”Do it.”

There was no way he could simply go and smack his little sister.

But he can to a brat.

He follows after her, ducking under the archway, and quickly bops her cheek. Not enough to hurt badly, but similar enough time show that he isn’t accepting of those words out of her mouth. Belle, not turning away from her pot of instant garbage noodles, slams her elbow back into him- tries to at least.

“Hey-!”

Lewis smirks back at her, filling a glass with water and sipping lightly, “What? You earned it.”

Face twisted, Belle opens her mouth like she was about to retaliate, but slumps with a huff, “I was hoping college would eradicate your third parent syndrome. That’s suppose to be my thing.”

“The only reason it wasn’t was because I didn’t want you to grow up too quickly,” Lewis admitted, shrugging, “Besides, I still am your older sister.”

“Sometimes,” Belle points out, and it looked like she was ready to point something else out before Lewis patted her head in a completely patronizing way.

“On weekends and some Wednesdays,” Lewis chuckles, “regardless, I have a guilty conscious if I don’t ever help out.”

“Well you took away our jobs around the house.” Belle says, tearing open the packet of powdered broth, “You want bratty sisters, Lewis? That’s how you get em.”

“Well, Mama will be there to ensure that doesn’t happen.” Lewis takes another sip of his drink to hold up the air of “sophistication” as Belle rolls her eyes.

And right on cue, the door opens, familiar footsteps walking in and an air of dread slamming Lewis directly in the stomach. “Mama-!” He rushes past Belle, who he faintly heard mention that he’s in trouble~ as he went in and faced the beast.

The piercing gaze is the only that stops Lewis in his tracks, and any apology he had in his throat, now uncomfortably sitting in his throat.

“Good morning, Lewis,” She hangs up her purse, expression stony, only shifting to a soft smile as she wrapped his arms around him, “I missed you.”

Frozen, Lewis took a moment to adjust to the sweet gesture, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, “I missed you too, Mama.”

“Now sit down,” Her expression turns a silvery cold, and Lewis knew in the way she distances herself that he was in trouble. Complete with folded arms and a signature glare.

Any apology he had suddenly felt inadequate.

“Would you like to have this conversation in your room?” His mother asks coldly, and Lewis barely notices that her knuckles were almost bulging from how tense they were.

“Uh-“ he stumbles, more stiff than he has been in his entire life, meekly murmuring, “my room, please.”

“Follow me.”

Lewis could have sworn he was walking to his death bed. The walk was nearly a blur, and he could only imagine what she would say when they finally closed his bedroom door.

“Sit down, let me get a proper look at you.”

… That wasn’t exactly it, but close enough.

Lewis ungracefully plops down on his bed, ruffling the blankets and clenching his knees tightly together. Hands unsurely moving from squeezing the fabric or his own fingers. Eventually he settled for clasping his hands together. Slouched- until Mama gave him a look.

Hands press against his cheek, fingers drifting from his cheekbones to his forehead to his chin in a way that’s both intensive and gentle. One of her palms holds his jaw and face steady, while she scanned every part of him delicately.

He was expecting a stern talking to, not… not this. Surely he earned a punishment for his irresponsibility, and yet she’s looking him over like she looked over Cayenne and Belle whenever they took a tumble in their earlier years. The shock must have been evident when she began prodding his knee. Mama quirks an eyebrow.

“Yes, Lewis? Is something the matter?”

Lewis stumbles over his words, “A-.. I just- I didn’t think you..”

The corner of her mouth curls into a smirk, and she pays his hair, “One of my children got into an accident- a severe one at that. I’m only doing what is right,” Her face softens a tad, before taking a seat beside him, “Since you haven’t been escorted to the hospital, I wanted to make sure nothing else was wrong. No pulled nerves? Any sprains? I would like to know now so that way we can ensure you live happily.”

He shouldn’t be as moved (and confused) as he was. Of course. Of course she wanted to make sure he was okay! A twang of regret and guilt for doubting her twitches in his stomach, along with a plethora of unsavory emotions.

Then, with a sigh of what Lewis can only assume is relief, she continues, “Your father informed me what had happened. That you came home sleep deprived to see us faster. Is that correct?”

No matter what he said, the guilt burrowing in his stomach would worsen. He nods, haphazardly, “That’s partially true. Vivi was sleeping a majority of the way and she offered to drive home. But while I was asleep, she had fallen asleep behind the wheel.” The more and more he recounts this, it feels like he was accusing her more and more. With that in mind, he quickly tacks on, “Of course- she did suggest that we stop and sleep, but I figured it would have been easier to drive the final stretch-“

Mama nods solemnly, pressing her fingers against her lip- something she did when she was lost in thought- “I see. If that is the case then I’m glad to know that only that car was damaged and neither of you two.”

Gripping the sheets, he waits for her eventual added answer, there always was one. Something to reaffirm her suspicions or what Lewis could do as “punishment”.

Finally, she stands up, not before turning to him, and he faintly recognizes the glimmer in her eye, “I’d like to hear that this never happens again. And while it is being graciously handled by Arthur, I’d like you to extend your help to him for the remainder of your break.”

”What-?” he says breathlessly, shoving himself up. Wait- how did she-?

Mama quirks the smallest smile, “Well, considering he is going out of his way to ensure you will still have a vehicle before you return to school, I believe it is the least you can do to make it up to him.”

He stands there dumbfounded, hands hovering in front of him like he was about to grab something. Unamusedly, Mama watches him carefully.

“Yes? Is there an issue, Lewis? Offering your assistance for the summer is a suitable enough repayment, even more so now that he is helping you like this.”

“How-? How did you kn-“ she must have spoken to him, of course she would know that he is both paying off his car bill, as well as- “I mean.. you’re- you’re okay with him doing that?” He asks finally, tripping over his words.

“Of course I am,” she said matter of factly, flicking her finger to have him follow her out, “I figured he would have done something like this when he called. He’s always been this way.”

“Yes- but he’s a total str-“

“Speaking of Arthur,” she either didn’t catch what he was about to say, or elected to ignore it, turning to him pointedly, “You have thanked him for his generosity, correct?”

“Well- I-“ Lewis’s head swam with more thought than he could tread through, “Of course I did, but-“

She nods curtly, making her way to the kitchen, “Perhaps you can do so again when he comes over later.”

Coming over when? Lewis freezes, eyebrows knitting anxiously, “What?”

“Yes,” she responds smoothly, brushing a hand over Belles head and going into the kitchen, “I was going to bake him something for him. Have him over tonight. We were all planning for you to be home tomorrow, so nothing is fully prepared yet. However, it would be nice to have a friend over before that.”

A friend? Since when? He wanted to ask, but his words catch in his throat, and she’s already positioned in the kitchen beside the sink, clearing away the dirty dishes that had accumulated.

She glances over at him, nodding to the covers, “Please pull out the flour and eggs for me?”

Lewis did as he was told, blankly as he combs through his thoughts for an excuse- or anything that would soothe the anguish rushing over him in pounding torrents.

“... I’m still concerned on why he did it..” he admits, pulling out a large bowl to pour the necessary materials, “I don’t know why! He just- said he would pay it off..” he bites his lip, unsure if he had the mere right to say this after his mother sung the mans praises, “I’m honestly peeved over it.”

Mama straightens as he said that, pursing her lips, “Why is that?”

“I just.. I don’t know why he did! It was far from necessary.” Arthur wasn’t his friend. The two didn’t know each other. Although it was apparent his parents knew him, all the more startling. Mama didn’t respond, humming.

Glancing over his shoulder, Lewis chews on his lip, knowing fully well that she was aware of his peculiar issues.

“Perhaps prepare him something. Cake.”

“Cake?” Would he even like that..?

“In fact,” his mother continues, maybe having noticed his odd and troubled expression, “I’m sure he would appreciate anything from you, even if it was a rock.”

Lewis frowns, picking through his thoughts, “Then-.. what flavor do you think he’d like?” He asks, only to get a shrug in return- something his mother never did.

“It’s been a long while, so I’m unsure.” She said, turning to him with a faint smile decorating her face, with the smallest hint of mischief, “Would you like to take over preparations?”

Three seconds pass, but Lewis had to take one look at her face to know that she wanted him to make it. Sighing, he nods, “Sure. I can do that. Any idea what time he would arrive..?”

Mama smiles, and steps past him, pulling vanilla extract from the covers, “He gets off work at around six, so I wouldn’t doubt it that he’d arrive anywhere from half after until eight.”

Glancing at the clock, Lewis nods. He had plenty of time. At least he could make up for the damage.. in the little ways he could.

What sort of cake should he make then..? Lewis runs over the various types of cake, humming to himself. Vanilla, chocolate, banana, pumpkin, red velvet, carrot, marble, coffee..

Carrot, popping into his mind like the mechanic himself, Lewis could only frown at how the thought refused to settle. Imagining how well it seemed to match the pesky mechanic.

He better like it. Lewis nearly hisses, Or so help me god.

A laugh pulls Lewis out of his thoughts, drawing him back to his mother leaving the kitchen, “You’re lucky your father hadn’t begun preparing anything with the oven, Lewis. Now while you’re doing that, I’ll be leaving to pick up your sisters.” For barely a minute, he wondered if Vivi would taunt him for his apparent lie of his sisters needing to be picked up from “school.” But before he could think of an ‘excuse’, (more like explanation that his abuela was their teacher)

But with the shut of the front door, Mama was gone. Leaving him with his task.

Taking a deep breath, Lewis set off to work.

#mystery skulls animated #msa #mystery skulls fanfic #msa fanfic #Lewis pepper #Mrs pepper #belle pepper #Pay it forward #Genderfluid lewis #trans lewis #My work #My fanfic #eage fanfic

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charlie-and-yoshi-rp-hell · 7 years ago

Text

Episode 46 Part 4: 2 for 1

Teamwork and an Ifrit is what brings the sin demon down. But this victory has a consequence. Only time will tell if this is good or bad.

Charlie McCarthey: The rakes to his back hurt like fire, but Lewis supposed he deserved it, and with a grim look just fired back, shoving the broken frame of a mirror out of his path.

They were gonna have so much bad luck for this.

He lifted his head, spotted the sin way to close to Arthur and closed the distance as quickly as he could, shoving Arthur behind him and letting the monster's talons dig through him, the ghost getting the brunt of the attack. Lewis did not bleed--but he cried out, purple smoke ebbing in thin trails from the shallow wounds.

A-actually I'm pretty fucked up without him, go figure. Lewis muttered, steadying himself from the attack and getting his bearings back as he held his torso. He's the reason I didn't rip you apart the first time I sensed you--but guess what? He told me to show you what kind of ghost I am. Lewis curled his growing claws into fists as his body grew and the horns sprouted. I think I will. His voice was low, and a steady growl now.

Yoshi Raven: Pride was looking up at Lewis, eyes wide with surprise. Then, he looked at the broken mirrors. Most of them were gone, so he couldn´t jump to many places anymore.

"Get him, Lew." Arthur growled, an evil grin on his face.

Shit no -

The lion moved his hands and the broken mirror parts started floating and attacked the giant ghost, making a lot of small cuts on his whole body - but then he dared to go after Arthur again, he let several pieces fly to him. The mechanic uses his left arm as a shield but one of the pieces made a small cut on his cheek.

Charlie McCarthey: Glass crunched under the Ifrit's boots as Lewis pushed against the ceiling, the foundations cracking warninly under his girth as he turned in a half circle. One arm swept around Arthur, blocking anymore hits as he let out an enraged roar that shook the few remaining mirrors. After a quick rumbling purr to make sure Arthur was alright, the Ifrit turned on the sin again and breathed out a thick stream of fire, slamming it into the glass.

Yoshi Raven: Pride was roaring with anger when the fire hit him and when it started to melt, he was pushed out of the mirror. He shrinked a bit now that he wasn´t connected to a mirror anymore, the mane looking like poison that was floating.

You bastard... you´ll get that back...!

He shook his mane and purple drops were flying out of it, hitting Lewis but it didn´t do much. It tickled but vanished due to his high body temperature.

No... no!!! Damn it!! The sin turned away from Lewis and ran to the exit.

Charlie McCarthey: The Ifrit roared after him challengingly, and when that didn't get the response he wanted he stomped after the sin in a few steps. He pushed Arthur onto the safety of his horned shoulder--did he have more spikes than usual?--and used his free hands to grab the demon by its back, pinning it under his heavy body.

Yoshi Raven: Arthur was grabbing onto the horn, keeping himself steady. He had noticed the slight change of Lewis´ Ifrit form, too - or was it just his imagination?

The sin was screeching and roaring, trying to claw himself free but the Ifrit´s grip was too strong.

Bastard...! But don´t think you´ll get away with this that easily!

Prides eyes flashed purple and one shard of a mirror was send into Lewis´ arm, stabbing him and releasing poison. It didn´t hurt much, but then the sin started a spell.

Break the mirror of a wrong reflection that is not what it seems. Break the lie and reveal the truth -

"Lewis don´t let him finish that spell or you´ll get in trouble tomorrow!!" Arthur warned him quickly.

Charlie McCarthey: Lewis' massive hand came down, wrapping around the lion's throat and pressing the entire creature down into the rubble. It was a bit of a brutal solution, but it was nevertheless effective. Lewis brought their faces close and opened his jaw wide, fire twisting and turning in the back of the ifrit's throat as it summoned fire breath straight from its core.

Yoshi Raven: Arthur just hoped the half finished spell wouldn´t do damage... he might had to check that later. He activated the Serpentarius spell that was still on Lewis´ arm and let it mix with his fire, making it shine white instead of pink.

Pride wasn´t able to fight back much after that last attack, he could only give one last warning growl.

One day you´ll regret this...

"Yeah, sure. Lew, get rid of him." Arthur mumbled, glaring at the sin with cold eyes.

Charlie McCarthey: The Ifrit's growling melts into a purr of affirmation, his eyes narrowing darkly before he twists his head up and lets a pillar of fire slam into the sin's poisonous body. This time, the fire isn't even warm to Arthur, Lewis is so focused obliterating the entity he doesn't let up til stuttering can be heard in the back of his throat. His fire was dying down from continual use, which was common and fixed by rest.

Yoshi Raven: The spell mixed with the fire hit Pride and dissolved him completely. He was gone - another of the sins was gone. Arthur noticed Lewis didn´t want to stop the fire so he gently petted the horn and kissed it. The surface was very smooth and it felt very nice and soft. "Lewis, you can stop now. It´s over, you were awesome." he mumbled, smiling at him and continued the gentle kisses until he had stopped the attack.

"If you would put me down on the ground before turning back, that´d be very good."

Charlie McCarthey: The fire died slowly, and Ifrit closed his mouth slowly. He shifted his head a fraction, eyeing Arthur but not unkindly. That expression just seemed to always be there. He noticed the affection and Lewis leaned into it slightly, letting a low purr escape him at the gestures. A hand carefully plucked Arthur off his shoulder and lowered him to the ground slowly, letting him go when his sneakers hit the floor. Mumbling tiredly, Lewis let his eyes dim in a lazy blink and began shrinking, not-quite but almost tapped out.

Yoshi Raven: "Thanks, Lew. Damn, this place is quite damaged but at least, we have another sin down. That´d be... 4 of 7. So just three more to go." When Lewis was finally his normal size again, Arthur hugged him carefully.

"You look exhausted... come on, get into your locket, I´ll get us home with a cab. You need some rest."

Charlie McCarthey: You'd think they get easier the less there are of them. Though I guess that one wasn't as bad as Envy. And Envy's power was only excaserberated by Lust.

Don't... let me... sleep long... He tried thinking about those strange sensations, but couldn't quite muster the energy. Lewis faded into purple smoke, which sucked into the locket and dropped limply toward the ground.

Yoshi Raven: Arthur caught the locket before it hit the ground, smiling a bit. "I don´t think they won´t get easier, they´re probably on the same level... unless they absorb another core..." he mumbled and pressed the heart against his chest right over the mark, knowing Lewis would like the warmth of his body.

He walked out of there, avoiding the shards on the ground and got into a pub. The owner was kind enough to call a cab for him and half an hour later, Arthur was back in the flat telling Vivi about the case.

"Yeah... I´m sorry we already solved that problem, it was just coincidence that Lewis and I were flying close to the place. Besides, it was another sin. Pride, I guess, judging by how he talked... and was getting power from mirrors. Anyway, can you heal the burn marks, maybe?"

Charlie McCarthey: "Arthur..." Vivi had her hands on her hips, and Mystery echoed her serious, scolding look. "I should make you keep those just to teach you to not go into stuff alone... but I won't. Lew did those, didn't he?" She sent Mystery into her room to get her first aid bag--a large, worn bag with contemporary and not so contemporary medical supplies. She choose a little jar with a thick, foul smelling green salve and some normal looking ace bandages with markings wirtten on them in sharpie.

Yoshi Raven: The mechanic sighed, giving her a worried look.

"Yeah... but it was a trick of that sin. He put me in the place of a wrong reflection just when Lewis attacked it with his fire. And... I promise we won´t run into missions alone anymore unless it´s necessary."

Arthur smiled at her shyly, looking at her with that cute gaze where you just couldn´t be mad at him.

Charlie McCarthey: "...and I wonder where Mystery got his begging face." Vivi sighed, shaking her head fondly as she pulled back to study his wounds. Her smile came back though, and she got to work on applying the ointment gently and swiftly. "Now, this should take down the sting and inflammation. Keep applying once or twice daily though to get the burn to heal, otherwise recovery will be as slow as usual. I'll make some more if you get low." On some of the more open places she wrapped the cloth around the covered marks, but it was lose to allow air flow.

"Feel better?"

Yoshi Raven: "Oh you bet... it´s cooling the skin very well. Thank you so much, Viv." When she was done treating the burn marks, he hugged her carefully so that the bandages wouldn´t fall off.

"Best modern age witch I know." he giggled and ruffled her hair. "Alright you two, sleep well and see you for breakfast!" Arthur patted the messy blue hair, then walked to his room, closing the door quietly. He could feel the small burn marks heal already, they were itching a bit. He was able to shield his face with his arms, so his right one might take a day or to more.

Arthur gently placed Lewis´ locket on the bed and changed his shirt and pants before dropping next to the heart, pulling it close to his chest. "Sleep well, Lew."

Charlie McCarthey: Gear snuggled up against Arthur's head on the pillow, tiny pudgy body vibrating from sheer joy as the small ghost settled down against the human's warmth.

For Lewis, though he wasn't really awake, he still responded. The heart pulsed after Arthur bid him goodnight. The glass warmed in time with the glow. As Lewis regained power, the heart would only keep warming as long as he was crammed in there 'resting.'

Yoshi Raven: Arthur petted Gear a few times but now he felt that he was tired just like Lewis. His other hand was holding the locket, this time it was him that kept the other "safe" while sleeping. It didn´t take long until Arthur was asleep, too.

The spell Pride had used against Lewis wasn´t finished, but it still had an effect on the ghost. And it started its work during their sleep.

Charlie McCarthey: Lewis' body formed out of the locket like usual, and the glass dropped in temperature from the loss of the spirit residing in it. And then, rather oddly, a second body followed, this one taking up space at Arthur's back. It looked like Lewis, it was the same size, same fiery hair, same warm body. There was little room for all three bodies, so one of the Lewis' was half in the wall as they all slept.

Yoshi Raven: Arthur woke up late in the morning and slowly opened his eyes. Lewis was lying in front of him in his human form. Good, that meant he felt fine again. He smiled and gently touched his cheek - but then he noticed something warm was lying behind him and was snuggled against his back, one arm on his hip. At first he though it was Vivi - the only other person in the flat, but since when was she taller than him...? And since when was her skin black with... white bone-like markings...?!

Arthur turned his head and saw Lewis - in his ghost form, but solid and instead of a hovering skull, he had a skull-like white marking on his face. He turned back - there was human Lewis. It confused him a lot, his movements were frozen and he just couldn´t decide which one of them was the real one. A dream. Yes, it was probably a dream. He bit on his tongue, hoping the pain would wake him but no. Both were still there. So, which Lewis should he wake now?!

Charlie McCarthey: The black hand on his waist that belonged to Skele!Lewis shifted a fraction, the ghost mumbling in his sleep. He pulled Arthur closer, not quite away from the other though. Human!Lewis' lips twitched, his eyebrows bunching in his sleep as he dreamed of... something. Whatever it was, it pushed him to awake, his movements slow and sleepy.

Waking up and seeing Arthur first thing just made him smile, and he blinked a little, vision coming into focus.

"Hey..." It was then he noticed the slightly worried look. "...you okay?" He slurred, reaching over to pull him closer and colliding with something behind Arthur. The thing grunted and started to stir.

Yoshi Raven: "Eh... I... don´t... I don´t know... maybe? I-I´m either still dreaming or Vivi tested a weird potion on me - or I became crazy?" he squawked quietly, looking at the human and then back at the ghost.

Arthur wasn´t quite sure if he should panick, attack them or be happy about having another Lewis by his side, his brain was working on this but currently, it was just in an endless circle of processing what happened.

"Tell me do you.. do you see him too?!"

--------------------

(Previous) - (Next)

#msa #episode 46 part 4 #lewthur #injury tw #doppelganger

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detafo · 4 years ago

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What’s That Movie!

1. Pick 15 of your favorite movies. 2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie. 3. Post them here for everyone to guess. 4. Strike out when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie. 5. NO GOOGLING/using IMDb search functions.

1. -- I was a captain of industry; feared by men, adored by women. -- Adored! Come on, let's be honest, Lew. You *paid* for the women!

2. -- You're not at all worried that something might happen to Kevin? -- No, for three reasons: A, I'm not that lucky. Two, we use smoke detectors and D, we live on the most boring street in the whole United States of America, where nothing even remotely dangerous will ever happen. Period.

3. -- You have the right to... suck my dick, motherfucker!

4. -- You know, I never heard him play. -- Play? He didn't *play*, dear. Trumpet didn't have a single musical bone in his body. No, Trumpet had an unusually large foreskin. So large, in fact, that he could wrap the entire thing around a Monte Carlo biscuit.

5. -- S-sir, I'm afraid you've gone mad with power... -- Of course I have. You ever tried going mad without power? It's boring. No one listens to you!

6. -- If they ever try to trace any of those accounts, they're gonna end up chasing a figment of my imagination. -- Well, I'll be damned. Did I say you were good? Shit, you're a Rembrandt! -- Yeah. The funny thing is - on the outside, I was an honest man, straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook.

7. -- Do you ever think he might come after you? You ever think about him at all? -- Well, at least thirty seconds of everyday. I can't help it. He's always with me, like a bad habit.

8. -- I have some lovely dresses; take your pick. -- I'm fine. -- Honey... you're wearing a bathrobe.

9. -- There's no need to be coy. Look at you! That manly physique. Those handsome chiseled features. That wonderful full head... of skin! -- No touching please.

10. -- I don't know where they are, I don't know why they're here, and I have brought this all on myself because I was a stupid, reckless little slut! -- Whoa-ho-ho-ho! Don't you sound like your mother!

11. -- If I had a nickel for every time that ball pulled me out of a tight spot, I'd have a shitload of nickels!

12. -- The Lord, the Lord Jehovah has given unto you these fifteen... Oy! Ten! Ten commandments for all to obey!

13. -- Chutney, why is it Tracy Marcinco's curls were ruined when she got hosed down? -- Because they got wet? -- Exactly. Because isn't the first cardinal rule of perm maintenance that you're forbidden to wet your hair for at least 24 hours after getting a perm at the risk of deactivating the immonium thygocolate? -- ...Yes? -- And wouldn't somebody who had, say, 30 perms before in their life be well aware of this rule, and if in fact you weren't washing your hair as I suspect you weren't because your curls are still intact, wouldn't you have heard the gunshot, and if in fact you had heard the gunshot Brooke Windham wouldn't have had time to hide the gun before you got downstairs. Which means you would have had to found Brooke Windham with a gun in her hand to make your story plausible, isn't that right?

14. -- Oh, my stepsister Hattie would die if she knew I was here. She's the, uh, the president of your fan club you know. -- Oh, Hattie, yah. Thank you. Now I know what name to put on the restraining order.

15. -- Well, well. What a glittering assemblage, King Stefan. Royalty, nobility, the gentry, and... How quaint, even the rabble. I must say, I really felt quite distressed at not receiving an invitation. -- You're not welcome here. -- Oh. Oh dear! What an awkward situation.

#fun meme #guess the quote

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semperama · 7 years ago

Note

Winnix + "The Good Times Are Killing Me" by Modest Mouse?

(Warning for drug and alcohol abuse.)

–

Enough hair of the dog to make myself an entire rug/The good times are killing me/Have one, have twenty more “one mores” and oh it does not relent/The good times are killing me

She passes him the pill under the table when she notices his eyes drooping. Her eyes are laughing at him, so he pops it in his mouth without asking, and as he’s washing it down with a swallow of whiskey, she leans in and says, “That’ll pep you up. Now let’s dance.”

It does pep him up, better than an ice cold shower. Even after he knocks back another scotch, he’s buzzing with energy, and he feels damn good. He takes the girl home and they feel each other up parked out front of her building, and Lew is more virile than he’s been in years, since he was a teenager, since before he started every day with whiskey-laced coffee and was usually pretty well shellacked by noon. He gets back home and walks in the front door whistling a tune through his teeth, and Dick looks up from his book and narrows his eyes.

“Good night?” he asks.

“Best I’ve had in a while,” Lew tells him. Then he takes up whistling again and mounts the steps and heads for the bathroom to shower off the smoke and sex. He gets no more than two hours of sleep that night, but he wakes up the next morning feeling good.

Once he gets himself a couple bottles of those magic pills, he hides them in the liquor cabinet behind the dark bottles where Dick will never look. At first, one dose keeps him going for 48 hours at a stretch. He can drink without getting sleepy, he feels like he’s waltzing on a cloud, and even the sleepless nights don’t bother him; at least he’s not having dreams of Bastogne, exploding trees and Dick with a red nose and a hacking cough he may never be rid of.

“You’ve been chipper lately,” Dick says over dinner one night. His expression shows no small amount of skepticism, and the shame it dredges up in Lew manifests as annoyance. Lew furrows his brow and looks down at his plate and pushes his food around. He hasn’t had much of appetite lately; he’s been cinching his belt a little tighter.

“Can’t explain it,” he lies. “Maybe it’s the weather.”

“Have you seen that girl again? The one you went out with the other night?”

Lew hasn’t, but he considers lying again just to get Dick off his case. Considers it, then decides against it. “No, I haven’t. Don’t think I will be in the future, either.”

“Hmm,” Dick says. He probably has a theory, and he’ll probably let Lew know what it is sooner or later, but for now he returns to his dinner and silence, the same companionable silence they share every night, and Lew manages to choke down a few more bites of his green beans of lack of anything better to do.

They go into the city one night and meet up with Harry and Kitty and Blanche and a couple of Blanche’s friends. It isn’t a rough-running crowd, so Lew should rein himself in, but he’s had his drink refilled three times before he even notices what he’s doing, and both Dick and Blanche are taking turns shooting him concerned looks, as if this isn’t the norm for him. He excuses himself to the bathroom and is relieved to find it empty, and there he pops one of the bennies into his mouth and dry-swallows it. He’s been carrying a couple extras in his pockets just in case he ever needs them, in case he ran into a night like tonight. When he gets back to the table, he’s feeling bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and a hundred stories are on the tip of his tongue, some from the war and some from before that, and all of them interesting enough to have them all eating out of the palm of his hand, laughing at his jokes. If Dick keeps looking at him funny, he doesn’t notice.

That night, he doesn’t get any sleep at all.

He starts taking a pill every morning after that, and sometimes, if he starts to crash in the evenings, he’ll take one then too. Anything to stave off the melancholia that comes when the medicine wears off. Because that’s what it is—medicine—meant to keep his spirits up when nothing else will, meant to keep the nightmares away and make him an easier person to be around, so Dick won’t pack his bags and head back to Pennsylvania.

Dick still narrows his eyes at Lew when he catches him refilling his glass one too many times in a day, but what he doesn’t know is that Lew is drinking twice as much as he sees, nipping from a flask at work and drinking long into the night, after he’s gone to bed. He doesn’t know about the pills either. He doesn’t—until he does.

They are headed out one night to a party at Lew’s parents’ house, a work function that promises to be excruciating and interminable. Dick insists on driving, probably because Lew has a good buzz on already, but as they’re heading out the door, Lew pats his pockets and realizes he doesn’t have his emergency stash of bennies on him. “Go ahead,” he says. “I’ll be right there. I forgot something.” And he watches Dick walk out the door before he turns back toward the living room and goes to the liquor cabinet, pushes bottles out of the way to find the pills.

He’s shaking three of them into his hand when he hears a step in the foyer and looks up to see Dick standing there.

“Lewis?” he says, low and confused like he isn’t sure who he’s looking at. Like he doesn’t recognize the person kneeling on the floor with a pill bottle in his hand at all.

“Dick,” Lew says, “I said I’d be right there.” As if that’s what this is about: Lew taking too long.

Dick’s face is coloring like he has something to be embarrassed about, and his fingers are ticking restlessly at his sides. They stay like that, staring at each other, for what seems like forever. Lew’s heart is racing. His hands have started to shake.

“It’s not what you think,” he says at last.

Then, Dick does something terrifying: he laughs. It’s a dry, brittle sound, like wind through naked trees. “Yeah? How would you know what I think?”

“It’s…it helps—”

“Stop.” Dick crosses the room in a blink and kneels next to Lew. He reaches out and brushes the pills out of Lew’s hand, and they go bouncing across the carpet, one coming to stop against Dick’s shoe and the other two rolling under the cabinet and out of sight. Lew is stunned enough that he drops the bottle too, but it lands right-side up between them, its contents intact.

“Dick. I.” He should have thought about what he would say. He should have had a clever lie prepared; even Dick can be charmed by a good lie. But he has nothing. He’s empty. “I need…”

Dick has taken both Lew’s hands in his, and at first Lew thinks it’s just to keep him from reaching for the pills, but then Dick draws Lew’s hands to his chest and holds them there, his grip a shade too tight, his fingernails biting into Lew’s skin. “What do you need?”

Help, Lew thinks. I need help. He can’t say it though, won’t say it, so he just stares at Dick wide-eyed and prays he hasn’t fucked this up once and for all. Lew can feel Dick’s heart beating against the backs of his knuckles, strong and steady and so unlike his own rabbit-quick pulse. Too quick, he thinks. Is a human heart supposed to beat this fast?

“Okay,” Dick says, as if Lew has given him and answer. And maybe he has. Maybe not pulling away, letting Dick hold onto him like this, is answer enough. “Okay,” he says again. “We can figure this out.”

If Dick says that they can, then they can. Lew may not believe in much, but he believes in that.

#winnix #band of brothers #my writing #ficlet #drug use tw #whip-pan

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musicnoots · 5 years ago

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Home Alone

Lewis Nixon/Reader

Synopsis: Leaving your husband home alone with your five year old niece was a recipe for disaster.

Tags: @gottapenny @dustyjjumpwings @higgles123 @croatianbagudna @wexhappyxfew @bandofmarvels @medievalfangirl @those-dusty-jump-wings @curraheev @junojelli

You had doubts leaving Lewis home alone with your niece. She had originally come over for you to babysit while her parents were out on a date, but when an emergency work meeting came about, you were faced with leaving your husband and your niece home alone.

When you kissed your husband and little Emily goodbye, you almost didn’t want to leave. You had a gut feeling that something was going to go wrong—you knew Lewis better than he knew himself, and you damn well knew that he was near incapable of caring for a child by himself. He had taken care of Emily before, but that was when he had you around. This time, he has nothing but

As you walked up the driveway of the house, you saw Dick’s car parked along the curb, and you felt a wave of relief wash over you. You knew Lewis couldn’t handle taking care of a literal child on his own, so he probably called Dick over for backup, and you certainly weren’t worried for your niece at all. It was your husband that you were worried about.

It wasn’t that Lewis was completely nonfunctional without you—he was—but he’s never been the one to make smart choices, for even think about his choices until you arrived home. The one time he thought it was a great idea to bake you a batch of cookies when has, in fact, never baked anything in his entire life and you walked into a kitchen full of smoke. Or when he decided to eat nothing but pretzels and chocolate pudding for the entire day and woke up the next day sick as a dog.

When you opened the front door, you walked into a silent home. Everything looked the same as it did before you left for work earlier that day—dishes were intact and arranged, dining table wasn’t on fire, the living room wasn’t ripped to shreds. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

That was, until you walked into the backyard.

You had walked into a literal battlefield—flower pots were tipped over, the dog was running around with sunglasses on, Dick was sitting on a chair with flowers and a tiara on his head, and your husband was playing stick fighting with your niece with green and black paint smeared on her rosy cheeks.

“Emmy! Look who’s home!” Lewis exclaimed once he saw you standing in the patio door with the most confused look on your face. He must have noticed that, too, because he started laughing as soon as your niece took off running towards you.

“Auntie Y/N!” she exclaimed, hugging your legs but you were too deep in shock to actually comprehend what had happened in front of you. “Look what Uncle Lewis and I did to your backyard!”

“Oh, I see what you two did…” You looked around and saw an absolute mess of your backyard, that and a broken Dick Winters sitting with a blank expression on his face. Lewis walked over and kissed your temple, and all you could do was smile and fight the urge to yank him by the collar of his shirt and have a talk with him. “It looks wonderful, Emmy, and what’s that on your face?”

“War paint!” she exclaimed. “Uncle Dick came, too! We made him a princess!”

You laughed and took ahold of Lewis’ hand, squeezing it tightly to make it clear that you definitely weren’t pleased with what you saw. “Uncle Dick? It looks like you really like Uncle Dick, huh?”

“Yeah! He told me stories of him, Uncle Lewis, and you during the war! Right, Uncle Dick?” Emily turned around to look at Dick who gave a meek smile and small nod, but you could see that he was both exhausted and defeated all while looking like the prettiest princess in New Jersey.

“Well, why don’t you get cleaned up? Uncle Dick will help you,” you said, shooing her off into the house with Dick, leaving you alone with your husband whom you had burning eyes for, and not for the reasons he thought they were for.

He’s seen that look numerous times before—every single time he’s been left home alone. He knows you’re annoyed and angry and confused and everything in between, but he just gives you a sweet smile and a kiss on your forehead. “So, how was the meeting?”

At first, you didn’t say anything, waiting for Lewis to stop avoiding the current situation and come clean to you.

“I take that it was boring? See—“ he placed a hand on your shoulder, “I told you that working at Nixon Nitration Works would have been a better option. At least we don’t have boring emergency meetings.”

“Lewis,” you sighed, eyes closed and exhaling all of your angry out of your body, “what did you do with our niece?”

“What do you mean? She had the time of her life!”

“You trashed out backyard!”

“Emmy just tipped over a couple of the flower pots, but that was it!” Lewis took your hands and held them right in front of you—a technique he learned that seemed to calm you down fast. “I get that you’re angry, but look on the bright side—Dick is dressed as a princess.”

You stifled a laugh at that. “I meant to ask about that—why and how did you get Dick to be a princess?”

“Okay, well, I invited him over because I assumed that he knew what to do with a five year old because he’s better than me at everything, anyways—he started telling Emmy about the story of when you and I kissed at Aldbourne in the bar. Remember that? The one where I told you that you looked like the prettiest princess in England?”

You remember that moment very well—Aldbourne, 1944. On a weekend pass, Lewis dragged you over to the bar, got drunk as a skunk, told you over and over about how ‘those English princesses got nothing on you’, and kissed you in front of the entire company. It was very memorable, bound to put a smile on your lips every time you thought about it, but when it came to why Dick was dressed as a princess—

“That’s why Dick is dressed as a princess?” You asked, clearly not amused by Lewis’ explanation of things. You expected something childish and dumb, not from a nice memory in your relationship. “Really?”

“Well, yeah. Then, he wanted to play some kind of princess-war hybrid game because I called you a princess, and she wanted to make you the princess, but you obviously weren’t there, so she made Dick the princess. Dressed him up in a tiara and flowers and all.”

“With sticks? Where did you even get the sticks? Couldn’t you have given her something else?”

“Well, at first she wanted a knife, and I as hell wasn’t gonna give her a knife, so I handed her a stick.”

“Lew, I—“ You couldn’t even finish your sentence, because you were so overwhelmed with the phrase Oh my God in your head over and over again. Out of all the times you have left your husband home alone, this is by far the worst.

And Lewis? He was used to seeing you like this—unamused but proud at the same time. It sparked a little bit of happiness in the bottom of his stomach even though he did everything wrong, but he knows that you still love him.

He wrapped his arms around you and pulled you close, resting head against yours as you tried to find the time to just comprehend and breathe. “We owe Dick so much after this,” he said and you nodded in agreement.

The poor man—you’d never seen the Major so defeated before, and it was by a five year old who dressed him up as a princess! Little Emily had scarred the man for life that you weren’t sure if he would ever forgive you and Lewis for doing this to him.

“Uncle Dick!” Emily exclaimed as she emerged from the house, face clean of the so-called war paint, and running back out into the backyard. “Let’s chase the dog together! C’mon!”

Dick just sighed, gave you and Lew look of disapproval, and ran after Emily, flowers and tiara still in his hair from earlier.

“Yeah, we do owe him,” you told Lewis as you wrapped an arm around his waist, “Dinner in town tonight?”

“Good idea. I’ll pay.”

#band of brothers fic #band of brothers imagine #band of brothers imagines #band of brothers fanfic #band of brothers fanfiction #band of brothers #easy company #hbo war #lewis nixon #lewis nixon x reader

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charlie-and-yoshi-rp-hell · 7 years ago

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Episode 46 Part 3: Mirror Maze

Mirrors show who you really are... or maybe it is all just an illusion.

(I know it´s been a very long time since something was posted here. I either forgot it, or had no time. Sorry. But I try to post the rest of our RP adventure as soon as I can. - Yoshi)

Charlie McCarthey: Something bad. And big, yeah. Lewis rumbled, the snarling picking up as he guided them more carefully than ever toward the epicenter.

We should detach. That was the only warning Arthur was given before Lewis set him on the ground and darted from his body. The purple smoke colaesced into his skeleton form, sockets narrowed. his entire body was tense, every hair radiating a strange aggression as he looked around.

Lewis couldn't help it. Some inner drive was pushing it--something deep-seated in him felt threatened by the sheer prescance of another sin.

Yoshi Raven: The lack of warmth in his chest didn´t feel good for a second but it went back to normal quickly. Arthur took Lewis hand and squeezed it slightly.

"It´s okay, calm down Lew. Please. If we jump on the sin without caution it might get worse. We don´t want another Naga desaster, right?" he mumbled, voice calm and soothing while he leaned against him in an attempt to put him on a more calm level.

Charlie McCarthey: Glowing purple eyes flickered between him and the area. His shoulders relaxed with a twitch, listening to those gentle words. Lewis grumbled a bit, hesitant to let his guard down more, but at least the constant low growling had stopped.

No. We don't. He knew he didn't have to tell Arthur to stay close. Lewis turned in a half circle, studying the directions with more than juse his five senses. This way. He kept his hand tight around Arthur's smaller one, and hovered off the ground a fraction.

Yoshi Raven: "Good ghost." he whispered, glad that Lewis was clever enough to listen to his advice.

Arthur followed him, his free hand searching for the chalk in his pocket. Good, it was there, he didn´t forget it.

It had turned into a habit that he was always carrying a piece of chalk in his pocket. It had saved them more than once.

"Well? Is the sin close?" he asked quietly.

Charlie McCarthey: Lewis just stormed forward a little faster, leaning into whatever trail he was catching. A thought hit him before he realized how alien it should have been. How fucking dare a brother be so bold to set up shop near hi--wait, what?

Lewis had turned a corner and halted quickly. He straightened up, all threatening countance snapped from his face to leave a confused curious look as he surveyed the area. Any thoughts of brother or anger over his territory being impeded on melted like a snowball in his hand, and he blinked, twisting his skull like a dog would to better hear something. His hair fluttered.

A... fun house? Even in the dark, its cheery colors seemed to glow. The ghost grunted in askance and turned to Arthur for his input.

Yoshi Raven: Arthur had problems following since he was not bound to a body that needed air but finally he stopped. He was catching his breath and glared at Lewis.

"Don´t forget... I´m still human, Lew - eh? Wait, why is this thing standing here?" he asked while inspecting the fun house. Arthur walked closer - and the sign over the door said Garden of mirrors.

".... Lewis, I guess we´ll solve this case without Vivi and Mystery this time. This is the... uh.. mirror maze the policeman told us about!"

Charlie McCarthey: Oh, sorry. Lewis muttered, ducking his head sheepishly as he followed on the human's heels.

The line went cold. Well. Not cold but--something's holding it back. Ghosts can't just stop their aura. Lewis paused, eyes darkening. But Envy could. He reminded grimly, eyeing the sign that boasted 'Open!.'

...wait--you're not going in there! Without the strange instinct clouding his mind, Lewis could think rationally. And a little fearfully.

Yoshi Raven: "Why not? I have you by my side, the spells I carved into my left arm so we can take a look, right?"

Arthur walked into the maze - and hundreds of reflections of himself appeared on the mirrors when he stepped inside.

"Whoa.... this is amazing. And probably the reason it´s so difficult to find the exit. Come on Lewis, let´s take a look!" he called and moved through the hallway carefully, bumping into a mirror then and now. It was really difficult not to get lost.

Charlie McCarthey: Lewis' glare swung over every inch, but he followed Arthur obediantly. As a ghost, his own reflection was soft and slightly see through--no matter how real his skeleton form was or looked. These many mirrors was making him feel a little edgy, and he grumbled anxiously, feeling something between his shoulder blades prickle. When he was alive it was hairs on the back of his neck--what were these strange sensations--about two of them it felt like, rising off his bones?

Arthur... Lewis kept his warning voice low. Don't take too many turns otherwise-- Lewis looked around. Arthur? Where are you?

Yoshi Raven: "Hmm? I´m here! Hey, you´re right behind me - " A low thump and a curse from Arthur proofed he was not right in front of Lewis. "Wait... what?" The mechanic took a step forwards and tried to touch Lewis - but he just touched the cold surface of a mirror. Lewis could see the confusion on every mirror image of Arthur.

"Damn it, I get lost in a mirror maze. Good job brain, really. Don´t worry, I´ll make markings with the chalk if I make a turn so - just follow them as soon as you find one."

He took the chalk and drew a small arrow on the floor, then walked around a corner - and the reflections of Arthur disappeared. He was too far away from Lewis now.

Charlie McCarthey: Oh for the love of--I have a better idea. Turning intangible, the ghost switfly shot through the walls--ending the illusion and destroying the confusion for himself. He found Arthur, tracking him by his aura, because at least a mirror couldn't replicate that.

Ghost, remember? He said cheekily as he pulled from an oblong mirror, landing on the floor and sticking his chest out. It never occured to Lewis that tresspassing worked both ways--and he had just distrupted the mirror effect.

Something purple eyed and mean looking shifted below the floors, spreading itself angrily as it started to awaken.

C'mon. This is definitly a case we'll need the whole gang for, Artie. We can come back tomorrow.

Yoshi Raven: "Ohh... right, ghost powers. I almost forgot. Good boooy." Arthur grinned and patted his head.

"Well we might need Vivi and Mystery too, but I still wanna take a look at this place. We might find something useful - remember this is not locked so visitors could destroy important evidence. Now, let´s go deeper into the maze."

Arthur didn´t wait for an answer and just walked into the other direction. He looked at his reflection then and now and - he wasn´t one that thought "I´m awesome" very often but seeing his well-made mechanical arm, it made him feel proud of his skills as a mechanic.

Charlie McCarthey: Casting several dark looks over his shoulder, Lewis floated after Arthur once more. He didn't bother looking at the mirrors--they gave him a weird feeling. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but sometimes out of the corner of his eye he thought his own reflection had an incorrect expression.

It was starting to unerve him.

Trick mirrors don't change an entire town, though. Lewis murmured to himself, passing by a large mirror with a wave in it.

Yoshi Raven: Arthur walked slower now, looking more often into the mirrors that changed his looks in some funny ways. He giggled and stopped in front of one that made him appear taller than Lewis.

"Hey, even I can be taller than you, see? And more awesome anyway." he cooed, the last statement sounding a bit arrogant but Arthur didn´t notice.

When Lewis passed the wave mirror, his reflection seemed to have purple smoke around it - and the eyes were glaring angrily at him. They were a dark purple, too. But when the ghost looked again, it was just his own reflection he saw. Nothing else.

Charlie McCarthey: The supernatural world would consider Lewis an 'isolated spector.' He lived with only humans, and delt with other supernatural creatures too rarely for his own good.

Careful--that big head won't fit through the door. Lewis chuckled, amused at the thought of Artie being taller than him. Unaware of the reflection tracking him, Lewis moved along quietly.

How was he to know the same tones of color were nonverbal threats? In other words, two creatures with the same color aura had a higher chance of getting into an argument. Because it was survival of the fittest, after all.

Yoshi Raven: Maybe your big head won´t fit. I´m perfect a voice growled low close to them. Arthur´s reflection changed into the image of a lion with horns, snarling at both of them. It made the mechanic jump away from the mirror but a moment later, the image turned back to the normal reflection of Arthur.

"What - what the hell was that?! Was that... the sin?" he asked, moving back to the mirror and touched the surface. It was solid, so they were not used as portals.

Charlie McCarthey: While Arthur jerked back, Lewis moved forward, letting out an aggresive noise and raising his fist--until the image vanished. He calmed quickly, rumbling in confusion as he looked at all the mirrors sorrounding them. His fist dropped, and he backed up, trying to put Arthur behind him--it was hard when there was a damn mirror on every side.

Perfect, eh? How perfect can you be--hiding behind all this weak glass. Lewis grinned, feeling that sensation again, crawling up his spine and taking residency between his shoulder blades.

Yoshi Raven: Arthur was glad having Lewis by his side. This sin, this lion looked dangerous and he was sure that he could do more than just scare.

"Lewis... you´re right, let´s get back tomorrow. Come on, we should search the exit - "

Arthur took a step away from the ghost and they were suddenly seperated by a purple glowing mirror. All of them were glowing in this colour now. No matter how much Lewis tried, going through them or melting didn´t work.

"No!! Lewis!! Are you okay?!" the mechanic shrieked and slammed his hands on the surface again and again, trying to break it but of course they didn´t.

Charlie McCarthey: I'm fine! Lewis grabbed him by the back of his vest and hauled him from the glass. He sidestepped in a circle, trying to keep his eyes on everything at once, his boots made a creak under the old cement floor.

Floor? Floor!

We're getting out of here, I need you to trust me. Flying was one thing--what Lewis was about to try was an altogether different thing.

Yoshi Raven: Lewis didn´t notice the purple spark in the mirror until it was too late. The lion grabbed Arthur on his arm with his teeth and dragged him inside the mirror.

You´ve invaded my territory - you stomped on my pride and broke the rules of this place! Now I take something from you as a price. If you want him back, find the middle of this maze - and you better hurry, I don´t know how long such a broken soul can withstand my spell. he growled at Lewis, then roared at him before the reflection and Arthur disappeared. More mirrors rised from the floor and changed around Lewis and when they settled down, the purple glow was back. Now on the floor and ceiling, too. He wouldn´t just fly through everything this time.

Charlie McCarthey: Hey! Lewis lunged after him, but going through the mirror only got him on the other side. You give him back! NOW! The bellowing noise meant he was too heartbeats away from changing into his ifritform and just going Hulk on this place. All he got in return for his shouting was silence and the soft glow of these damned mirrors. But all the broken glass he would cause--and he wasn't sure where Arthur was being kept.

With a disgusted snarl, the ghost began following the maze correctly, careful not to phase through the walls this time. How could he tell where the middle of the maze was? Dammit!

Yoshi Raven: With all the mirrors, even Lewis lost his sense of direction after a while, just like the time. How long was he now searching? 10 minutes, 20 minutes, an hour? He couldn´t tell.

But finally, when he took another corner, the hallway was full of Arthur´s reflections sitting on the floor, hands on his head. One spell on his left arm was revealed that kept his mind free from control but it was still difficult for him.

"Stop talking! Shut up...!" he growled and jumped on his feet, punching against one mirror - it only hurt him.

"Ouch.. damn it."

Some of the reflections didn´t follow the movements of the others, though. They were just staring at Lewis with empty eyes.

Charlie McCarthey: Lewis balked for half a second, before moving to the nearest one and reaching for it--glass.

Arthur? Can you hear me?! He tried calling, even as he checked the next mirror, trying to not let himself panic too much. If he panicked and lost control, if he changed right here--he coudn't. Even if it meant combating the sin effectively, he would not put Arthur in danger.

Arthur listen to me! You can fight it--whatever he's saying don't listen!

Yoshi Raven: The only reflection that reacted was the one that was showing Arthur´s back - or was it a reflection?

The hands slowly dropped from his head, head moving slightly.

"Lew.. is that... yes! Lewis!!"

But when "Arthur" turned around, his left half was tinted purple and his face distorted to an evil grin, his teeth had turned into fangs and claws were on his left hand.

The creature let out a horrifying screech and leaped at Lewis, just to burst into purple dust and vanish inches before the claws and fangs could dig into his body. All of the other reflections were gone now, too.

Charlie McCarthey: This was not helping his stress level.

Lewis had summoned a fist of hot fire at the first flash of purple--but then all he saw was Arthur coming at him, and the ghost jerked back, lowering his fist as if he planned to let Arthur attack him.

He prayed the sin wouldn't notice.

He wasn't that lucky.

Let him go. He wasn't the one who broke the rules--I did. Lewis reminded darkly. Give him back and you can have me.

Yoshi Raven: A dark laughter was echoing through the maze.

Oh no, this is waay too much fun. An attached ghost - how cute. How weak. This is annoying - you are annoying! ... well. Let´s say you will get him back soon. But not in one piece.

A crazy laughter followed and the sound of breaking glass and a low thump.

Good luck finding him.

The mirrors flashed and all of them showed Arthur again. Some of them looked normal, others showed a possessed, half purple face Arthur and some even him with blood running down his face. But one of the reflections was running away, eyes scared and looking around.

Charlie McCarthey: You don't wanna make that threat. He's the one thing keeping me from ripping you to shreds, brother. The voice that seethed the threat out didn't exactly sound like Lewis--but it felt like him and he didn't bother dwelling on the specifics.

Lewis' eyes widened, a string of hope on the one that was running.

Arthur! He shouted desperately, shooting through the winding maze, trying to track the one that made the most sense. The mirrors tried getting in his way--finally, he let his fire go, blasting a few of them to pieces as he recgonized the ones that weren't Arthur.

I'm coming--I'm right here!

Yoshi Raven: Arthur kept running away as if something was hunting him. The fire erased the wrong reflections of him - the injured ones, the possessed ones and everything else that clearly wasn´t Arthur.

But then, after Lewis had shot fire on another mirror, the running Arthur was suddenly stopping and turning his head, a dark grin on his face - and Lewis heard Arthur screaming next to him. He was kneeling on the floor, his arms trembling and in front of his face. The metal one was blazing slightly but on his right one, his face and neck were burn marks. Parts of his white shirt had been burned, too.

Charlie McCarthey: Lewis yelped shrilly, pulling back with horror written all over his skull

A-Arthur! He cried, torn between going over to his human and keeping his distance so he didn't hurt him further.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry! A-are you--are you okay?! The ghost whimpered, fire flaring out weakly as he withdrew his power.

Yoshi Raven: "I´m... I´m fine, this will heal and maybe Vivi has something."

The metal arm had cooled down and Arthur got up, going over to Lewis. He took the chalk out of his pocket and started drawing symbols on Lewis´ right arm.

"Pull that bastard out of the mirror with this, get him out of here and destroy him with this." he growled while he wrote the runes for the Serpentarius spell on the ghost´s left arm. They started glowing white.

"I can´t do that with the burned arm so this time it´s your job. Oh, and don´t hold back. Show this sin what kind of ghost you are."

Arthur placed a quick kiss on his hair and grinned at him.

Charlie McCarthey: Lewis flinched at the touch, hesitating as his gaze locked on those burns. But then Arthur's speaking--no, Arthur's telling him what to do--and Lewis lets instinct take over, lets his eyes narrow on the target and he growls in response at Arthur's orders.

He made a fist with his free hand, but the other he lead with, slamming it into mirrors and searching for the one that would leave the sin wide open. By this fifth one he saw the demon moving through them, trying to put distance between the smashing mirrors and himself. No such luck, Lewis spotted him and darted after.

Yoshi Raven: When Pride had realized the blonde kid knew how to use runes, he was slightly confused but then he had heard the name of that specific spell - the one that could kill creatures like him. He let out an angered growl and jumped between the mirrors, not giving the other ghost a chance to pull him out of them. He´d lose half of his power if that happens.

Lewis wasn´t able to catch him, so Pride started playing with him. Showing him many reflections but never himself. Laughing at him and attacking him from the shadows with his claws, tearing the suit on his back.

Is that all you got?! You´re weak, idiot. Attaching yourself to a human is a sign of weakness. You´re better without him. he growled and appeared in the mirror behind Arthur who had walked away from the fight and the lion lifted his claws, ready to tear the human apart.

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#msa #episode 46 part 3 #lewthur #violence tw #blood tw #demon #mirror maze

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