#bite sized fic bits

[chantillyxlacey]

Mystery March #2: Music

They’d been back together as a group for months now, but sometimes little things still snuck up and surprised them. Things that were supposed to be inconsequential would strike a nerve with all the laser-precision of a trained sniper.

They were singing along to the radio, playing the eclectic mix of songs Vivi had put together for long trips like this one. Until one particular song came on-- they had used to like it, even; used to make a game out of who could ham it up the most melodramatically with the lead singer.

“Oh I-- I just died in your arms tonight--!”

Every voice in the van went instantly, utterly silent. They all avoided looking at one another, and they all avoided looking at the radio. The radio piped on, indifferent. Nobody moved. As far as they could remember, this song didn’t go on for half an hour, but that’s certainly how long it felt before the track faded out.

The stifling awkwardness hung in the air like a stench all through the jaunty, medieval sounding tune that came next, and the mellow electronic song after that. It dissipated slowly, but by the time Don’t Stop Me Now came on shuffle, they were able to sing along again and enjoy it.

By the next time they took the van out somewhere, Vivi had curated the driving playlist more carefully.

[chantillyxlacey]

Mystery March #9: Trapped

‘hey lewis where are u babe?’ Vivi tapped out on her phone. ‘did u still want to make dinner together and have movie nite?’

Lewis answered almost immediately-- or at least the group chat showed he was typing an answer almost immediately. He was typing for a long time, in fits and starts, before the message finally sent, riddled with uncharacteristic typos.

‘Sprry. Mihgt have to taake a rain cherck. Kjinda trapped atm.’

‘trapped?’ Arthur’s message popped up. ‘everything good Lew?’

There was another long pause, and then a photo appeared-- the angle was awkward, but it got the gist of the situation across well enough.

It was a selfie, though only the lower half of Lewis’ grinning face was in the frame. The main focus of the picture were the Pepper girls, draped over him and apparently all fast asleep. Belle was wedged between his left arm and the back of the couch, her cheek mushed comically against his shoulder. Cayenne was half out of frame but apparently was tucked into the arm that held his phone, her face completely covered by her hair. Paprika  rested directly atop his chest, curled up like a kitten and looking just as tiny.

Vivi replied with a long string of various heart emojis, and then a second one.

‘probably for the best you don’t move yeah’ Arthur replied. ‘pretty sure waking them up would be illegal. they’d throw the book at you and then throw away the key’

[chantillyxlacey]

"Ok, but I'm being serious, who is the most powerful teletubby?"

Arthur took a contemplative swig from the bottle Vivi had passed to him, then passed it along to Lewis. “Which one was it that fundie parents like-- panicked over it maybe being gay? Because that one, definitely.”

“Counterpoint--” Vivi said, swinging her feet off the edge of the van’s floor like a kid. “Maybe none of them are. Maybe they’re all completely powerless until they go all fusion-hah and combine into one horrible Tele-titan.” Lewis had to cut his sip short to keep from laughing strawberries-n-cream liquor out through his nose.

“Exactly how drunk are you, darling?” He asked after he’d recovered.

“Not nearly drunk enough for this conversation.” She reached for the bottle with both hands, opening and closing her fingers beseechingly. “Gimme.”

“You started this conversation, you dork.” Arthur nudged her with one sock foot.

“I don’t care who started it, I’ll finish it,” she said primly, and took a long pull. “I’ll tell you what the real answer is. There used to be a fifth one, but he was too powerful. That’s why they had to melt him down into that pink slime.”

“Don’t they eat that?” Lewis asked, aghast but also trying to stifle more laughter. He accepted the bottle from her and passed it directly to Arthur without taking a drink. “Vivi, that’s ghoulish!” 

“I am officially not drunk enough for this conversation either,” Arthur said between two slugs from the bottle. “Executive move: I’m changing the subject. So what the fuck was up with Ms. Frizzle, anyway?”

[chantillyxlacey]

[✐meme] maybe some angsty vithur heeheehee

VIvi pictures herself dressed in black and setting a yellow rose down on the polished lid of a casket; she pictures herself standing next to Lance as he throws a handful of dusty red dirt into the grave-- the grave holding the casket holding Arthur’s body which is holding nothing, because Arthur isn’t there anymore so the whole grave might as well be empty, and Vivi might as well be empty too.

The image makes her sick but she can’t stop thinking about it, turning it over and over in her mind like picking a scab, and the only thing holding her shredded nerves together against the idea that this isn’t just a nightmare but a prophecy is the shrill, steady beep of the heart monitor.

“I should have told you sooner,” she murmurs, pressing her lips against his knuckles on the only hand he’s got left, “I don’t know why I didn’t, but I didn’t so-- so you aren’t allowed to go anywhere, Artie. You can’t, okay Arthur? I love you, Arthur, please hang on, please stay...”

[chantillyxlacey]

[✐meme] some cute lewthur pining!

(this ended up more ot3 but i hope you enjoy anyway!)

“It would be nice if Arthur was here with us right now,” Lewis murmured, and his face immediately went incandescently hot. It wasn’t as if they kept it a secret from each other how they felt about their friend, but still usually Vivi was the one to voice the question aloud: ‘what would it be like if Arthur was here?’

Here, as in sharing a table with them on a dinner date, splitting their meals three ways each so they could all try more things; as in playfully elbowing for space in the shower, flicking water at each other or washing one another’s hair; as in curled up snug in bed like he and Vivi were right now: limbs tangled and pulses not quite slowed to the point where they could fall asleep (but still drowsy enough to loosen tongues apparently).

“Smitten kitten,” Vivi snickered into his chest, and the heat of his blush doubled. He shushed her, pinching her side just enough to make her squirm and laugh. There was a long pause.

“We should tell him,” Lewis whispered. “Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?”

“After we’re finished with that case,” he said in a rush, wanting to ride this gust of bravery as far as it would take him. “I don’t want to just keep waiting and wondering--”

He was cut off by Vivi throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him soundly, and as he wrapped her up into an embrace and smiled against her mouth, he found himself dizzy with the thought that this time tomorrow he might be sharing this with Arthur, too.

[chantillyxlacey]

vithur flavored starting sentence meme mayhaps? :D (shh the added dialog totally counts under a one sentence rule) Vivi rolled over, smushing her face into the couch pillow as Arthur continued to cackle. 'You're never gonna let me live this down now, aren't you.'

“Hey, when’s the last time you extended that same courtesy, huh?” he smirked once he was actually able to get words out between bouts of snickering. Vivi turned her head just enough to point what she thought was a rather magnificent pout at him, but he seemed utterly unaffected.

“I’ll tattle on you to Lewis about how cruel you are to me!”

“Try harder~,” he sing-songed.

“I could bribe you.”

“Oh, could you? What are you offering?”

“Option A: I’ll treat you to your frankenpizza. Option B is kisses. As many as you think you can handle.”

“Alright, for one thing that sounds like it’s as much a prize for you as a bribe. For another, is that a challenge?” He leaned close to her, grinning hugely.

“It sure as hell is now, Kingsmen! Put your mouth where your money is!”

He obliged her.

[chantillyxlacey]

for the 3 sentence fic, lewvi? (and if you still want a setting too, maybe a fantasy arranged-marriage? :0c)

When the young prince Lewis had daydreamed of his wedding day as a child, and he often had, it was true he’d hoped for it to be magical, but-- this wasn’t what he’d had in mind. The idea that he’d be marrying someone he’d chosen himself and whom he loved was where he’d pictured the magic coming from, for a start; not seething through the very air like the bubbles in champagne as he waited in an uncanny palace, far from home, for a bride he had never met.

He was so busy brooding over this that he’d failed to notice his betrothed being escorted to his side, and when he finally looked at her, he went rigid with shock-- not because her own expression was equally surprised (though it was), nor because she wasn’t human (though she wasn’t), nor even because she was breathtakingly pretty (though she definitely was)-- but because it was Vivi from this castle’s library, with whom he had spent the better part of the week cheerfully pretending not to be himself, who was his fated wife.

[chantillyxlacey]

hmm.. can i get something with vithur and sci-fi, for the 3 sentence fic meme? :0c

“Aw, Artie--” she said, not looking up from the spiraling, softly cooing spirit she was feverishly 3D sketching with her light pen, “I’ve told you you can just call me Vivi, you don’t have to be so formal with this ‘commander’ business when the brass isn’t around!”

“Com-- Vivi, perhaps that’s something we can discuss another time?” RT said, voice ticking higher in pitch as he backed up, taking her shoulder and tugging lightly until she finally looked up-- first at the matte finish of his hand, then to the anxious look that translated far more clearly on the new soft polymer face than she was used to, then finally to follow his gaze to the source of his fear--

Moments later they were sprinting back to the ship, hand tightly in metal hand and mercifully outpacing the lumbering brute of a creature that had targeted them, and Vivi was pleased to hear his laughter-- brassy with nerves though it was-- blending with hers as they ran.