Life Imitates Art

“Whether in a town or a village, whether toward a cow or a person… If you’re sincere toward others, they’ll respond in kind. That approach has yet to fail me.” - Kenji Miyazawa from Bungo Stray Dogs

[ghostsbrokenbyfairytales]

grayson cracked a smile at the joke. "i'll try to talk to him before he moves, i don't know. i told myself i never wanted anything to do with him anymore but that was before we both got stuck in this place and now the thought of loosing him kind of... scares me?"

[metalworkerbeto]

Beto grinned, feeling proud when Grayson actually smiled back at him, before his gaze softened and he nodded. "This place seems like it has a way of making people relook at things," he mumbled. Leaning up for another quick kiss, "Ok, so how about we get margaritas and tomorrow worry about talking to Chet?" he offered tugging him forward towards the drinks.

END

[ghostsbrokenbyfairytales]

"can i though? pretty sure i'm the one who keeps pushing him away and holding this stupid grudge." grayson admitted with a shrug. he couldn't help but sigh, "i don't think he'd agree to that, not for me to help at least. suppose if you asked might be a different story."

[metalworkerbeto]

Beto frowned, "Of course you can, I might be a lil bias but I think it's fair to say it's not all on you. Your brother has a habit of pushing buttons and not the fun kind you make." It was a lame joke but he felt a little bad for bringing down the mood.

[ghostsbrokenbyfairytales]

"wait really?" grayson asked. hearing that made him feel conflicted not because of occasionally only seeing him at work but because even though they fought he was still a little glad to have his own family around. "that's good i guess, guess we won't keep fighting then or something."

[metalworkerbeto]

Beto frowned nudging Grayson, "Babe..you know you can be unhappy about this, right?" He knew they weren't ever going to be like him and Essie, but considering the town they were in, it changed perspective on things. "We could offer to help him move if he does? Give you guys something neutral to work on?"

[ghostsbrokenbyfairytales]

grayson smiled as beto kissed him, letting his free hand settle on the others waist but then he sighed again. "i know you're not meddling babe, for some reason he just gets along with everyone but me." it was a mutual thing however and realistically grayson knew that, "i mean i guess? he's a customer so i have to be ok with it and it's worked so far anyway."

[metalworkerbeto]

"He is charming," Beto mused out loud, hell even he didn't completely dislike Chet, he just hated how upset it made Grayson at times. "As long as it works, I heard he was talking about getting an apartment. So work might be the only place you see him at occasionally."

[ghostsbrokenbyfairytales]

"honestly i think so yeah, they're your family and they've not given me any reason to not like them or this so yeah, yeah i'm doing okay." grayson admitted with a smile as he gave bet's hand another squeeze, this time trying to be more reassuring than anything. however the mention of his brother made him sigh. "he goes in there a lot, we have an agreement since i work there that he stays out of my way and i stay out of his." agreement might be a strong word to use but it was only way he could think to explain it.

[metalworkerbeto]

Beto let out a sigh a of relief, it been a bit of whiplash to find out they were stuck in town, that the sister they were looking for had passed away but that Cal was alive and somehow married to a small army. Leaning up and setting his free hand on Grayson's shoulder to be able to reach up he pressed his lips to his. "I swear I'm not trying to meddle, he's been nice enough whenever we run into each other, but are you ok with that agreement?"

[ghostsbrokenbyfairytales]

grayson couldn't help but laugh as he shook his head. "if he doesn't like you then i don't think essie would continue to date him babe but you really shouldn't have anything to worry about." he tried to reassure him by giving his boyfriends hand a gentle squeeze. "if he can't accept you and all your dorkness then he doesn't deserve to be apart of this family." though he didn't think there was anything to worry about.

[metalworkerbeto]

Beto sighed as much as he wanted to argue he also just wanted to believe Grayson on this one. "This family grew really fast when we got here, you still doing ok with all this? This town has been kind of a lot, and your brother is here too. He was at Sammie's the other day," he said wanting to check in on how that was making Grayson feel.

[metalworkerbeto]

WHERE: Lake Party WHO: Grayson (@ghostsbrokenbyfairytales)

"So I know she brought that boy to the birthday dinner, but now she's fully using the word boyfriend," Beto said as he slid his hand into Grayson's. "Like boyfriend...like that she kisses and does cute stuff with!" He knew his sister was a grown woman, but he'd also never seen her actually show interest in someone. "She says he's really dorky, but what if I'm like ultra level dorky and he won't like me?"

[metalworkerbeto]

Beto Lake Party 2024

[ghostsbrokenbyfairytales]

"wait really? where? now i'm curious and it's your fault." grayson said with a smile and couldn't help the chuckle. "that's true we could, i don't have a lot of my tools though so i don't know how well that'd work. i wish there was a warning label on 'hey you're gonna get stuck if you pass this point' cause then we could've at least gone back to grab more stuff." he joked. sure he wished he had more of his supplies but there wasn't anything either could do. grayson was just happy he still had his little family.

[metalworkerbeto]

Beto glanced down at his watch doing some mental math, "Chance we might run into him if we head to town now, he's dropped off lumber for the construction crew before. Seriously though he's like huge," he said chuckling as he spread his arms to make his point. Nodding he sighed, "Yeah, I'm lucky I had some of my welding equipment, not sure what I'm gonna do when that wears down. Maybe I should get Lui to teach me some plumbing stuff so I'm not completely useless," he said shaking his head.

[bcckmcskcd]

Chet turned to give Beto an incredulous look for a moment, but then realized he had actually opted to play nice. "Mm; nah, I'll probably come home tonight. Trying to gauge what the after hours entertainment is doesn't mean I'm ready to sleep on a cot just quite yet."

[metalworkerbeto]

"Not sure how much more private the cots here are compared to the Commune, think you'd still end up pretty close to strangers," Beto mused out loud making a mental note to save Chet a plate. "I know the constructions been a lot, but you settling in ok?"

[bcckmcskcd]

"Since the options are get burned alive or get eaten by shadow monsters," Chet tossed out casually, as if it were polite conversation. "Look, none of us are thrilled about this situation, but you could at least try to play nice. I do."

[metalworkerbeto]

Beto tried not to wince, as annoying as his quips could be, Chet really wasn't doing anything wrong. Biting back a sigh he fiddled with the hem of his shirt. "Alright, sorry. Are you spending the night here or coming home? Can save a plate for you for whenever you come home," he offered.

[ghostsbrokenbyfairytales]

"good for himself sure." grayson said knowing the more he talked about his brother the more frustrated he was going to become. he relaxed however when beto grabbed his face, reaching up to grab one of his hands with a smile. "we could do both? i want to get back into woodwork though since that seems to be the supplies they've got most here cause ya know, trees and all." he wouldn't lie and say he wasn't a little sad though, he missed getting to build animatronics.

[metalworkerbeto]

Beto sighed moving his hand to brush his thumb on the side of Grayson's head, trying to get rid of some of his frustrations. Smiling back when he saw him relax, "Yeah there's this really buff lumberjack, like pretty sure he could bench press me," he said shaking his head with a laugh. "We could go to the traders if you want? Bunch of stuff got hit by water might have some kind of electronics you could fix, give Harold a really little sibling."

[bcckmcskcd]

"Then why are you bringing lunch?" Chet shot back. He didn't think it was possible for anyone to be more lame than Grayson, but Beto somehow was. "Mm; I guess that doesn't sound too boring. Maybe I will stick around and see it. Though the fire eating sounds dangerous."

[metalworkerbeto]

Beto now rolled his eyes and huffed, "An appetizer isn't a proper dinner," he said. He might've been more patient than Essie but even he had his limits. Raising a brow he shrugged, "Dangerous? Figured that would be up your alley to cure your boredom. Since when are you the cautious type?"

[ghostsbrokenbyfairytales]

"yeah i guess but knowing him i doubt it'd go to food, feel like that's giving him too much credit." grayson knew his brother and how he acted but he still liked to hold out hope that there was still some good in him. he chuckled at beto and shook his head, "guess you did," he agreed. "uuuuh..... so reinforcing with metal huh?" he smiled awkwardly and ran a hand through his hair, "okay so woodwork isn't that good, not anymore at least. used to be when i first getting into all of this stuff but metal is my specialty, well... wires. okay maybe i shouldn't help."

[metalworkerbeto]

"He's your brother, gotta be some brain cells that are being used for good, right?" Beto knew Chet was smart, but he was almost too smart for his own good. He was hoping he'd stay out of trouble considering how small the town was, but he wasn't holding his breath over it. Reaching with boths hands he squeezed Grayson's face with his hands and laughed, "You can still help you goober, even if you're very distracting when you're being this cute. Or we could just find some scrap metal and make something fun."

[ghostsbrokenbyfairytales]

grayson rolled his eyes at the mention of his brother and rested his head on the table in front of them. "if he did i'm sorry," he mumbled into his arms before sitting back up, "the eye roll wasn't at you i promise, he just irritates me because of shit like that. i can't believe he's here now." he sighed but as he looked at beto he smiled, "sammie's is doing fine, it's still as busy as ever it's almost like nothing happened." grayson chuckled and leaned his arm against the table so he could rest his chin on his fist, "honestly i miss building literally anything, if vero and you need help i don't mind."

[metalworkerbeto]

Beto had stuffed his wallet away, reaching forward and patting Grayson's head, "Not your fault and I know it wasn't. Least he's not starving?" At least he hoped he was buying some food with it, trying to find some good thing with Chester being here. "Guess I lucked out in which brother I met," he said smiling back. Laughing he nodded, "I'll let her know, I know she's salty over the bridges getting ruined. We were talking about maybe reinforcing them with metal, but probably sticking to mostly wood. How's your woodwork nowadays?"

[bcckmcskcd]

"None for me? I'm wounded." Chet's voice was sarcastic. Of course Beto wouldn't know. Grayson was a nerd, and his boyfriend was boring. Typical. "Well, I can only imagine that would be the general draw, yes. Who wants to put on an after hours ugly people show anyway? You wouldn't make money. Or ration cards or whatever it is counts for money around here."

[metalworkerbeto]

Beto had to resist the urge to roll his eyes, "They serve food here, they got decent appetizers," he grumbled. He bit back a sigh but opted to at least be polite, cringing a bit at his wording. "Ration cards yeah, makes more sense to back stuff up with food around here," he said, "Grayson mentioned there's a fire eater, a magician and I think some guy who does a music trick act."

[metalworkerbeto]

WHERE: Bucky's Diner WHO: Grayson (@ghostsbrokenbyfairytales)

"Either I'm going crazy or I think your brother might have swiped some of my ration cards," Beto grumbled as he looked through his wallet. Sighing and shoving it back into his pocket, Celia gave them a family discount but he still felt bad taking it, especially with limited supplies. "So is Sammie's doing alright? Vero's been huffy over us having to rebuild the bridges. Was hoping you and Essie are having a funner time at work."