Ft. My SLOP OC April, Guile, Zora, Mera, Ramsey, and Charles
I wouldn't usually tag Guile and Charles under EE since they don't show up but it relates nothing to the plot of AC so I don't think it matters. If it does please tell me!!
How I feel adding April to my AU that I made entirely for my selfship
tags… platonic, sylvie lives with chappy, guile sucks at feelings (but he’s trying his best), sylvie sucks at friendships (but he’s also trying his best)
word count… 853
a/n… omg the first non-reader insert related request … i’m not too confident in my guile writing but i’m trying my little best!!! ✧ 🦝
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 Hoh boy
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 When this kid sputters out an offer to Guile to “hang out” he really had no idea what he was in for.
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 He wanted to refuse, he really sort of kinda did. This is literally a kid, and he’s Guile Manning.
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 But, Guile is a sap deep deep down and doesn’t want to be cruel to the little guy, so he accepts Sylvie’s offer.
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 The utter delight in his eyes is one that simultaneously relieves and pains Guile – is he really… that lonely?
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 It’d be a few days later when Guile opens his emails and almost chokes on his coffee to find that Sylvie made a whole damn itinerary for their hangout. AN ITINERARY.
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 Guile does think kids are funny to talk to (you ever ask a kid about their dreams? So funny) but Sylvie is on a whole other level.
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 A precise hour dedicated to catch-up, then fifteen minutes for snacks, before two hours are spent taking a bus over to a leisure plex where they can play bowling.
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 It makes Guile’s head spin how exact and to the point all the instructions are.
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 Before Guile arrives at his house, Sylvie is PANICKING. He’s yelling at his uncle to scram from the house because he has friends coming over (to which Dirk Chappy exclaims in happiness that his nephew finally has some pals; this embarrasses the boy even more)
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 He has a plan. Foolproof, fully researched, and optimum for the hangout that will result in a permanent friendship that will be long and fruitful!
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 With this, there’s no way Guile will think about leaving him.
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 …But what if it’s too much? A little seedling of doubt begins to grow rapidly in Sylvie’s mind. What if Guile is freaked out, and he doesn’t come around at all? Maybe he’ll politely put Sylvie down, saying he appreciates it but it’s a bit much. Or maybe—
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 Sylvie’s spiralling is stalled by the doorbell going off and Guile at the door with a hood over his head.
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 (Seriously, that Arbuckle guy gets way too close to finding him.)
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 Guile actually arrived a little early, but per the schedule given, he waited until exactly 11am on the dot to make his presence known. Give the kid a little leeway…
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 The designated time spent for catch-up ended up going quicker than Sylvie thought, because not much happened in between now and when they last met. The first strike for Sylvie’s expectations.
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 If it were anyone else, Guile would have already started banging his head against the table. This is going so awkwardly, but he didn’t want to do any bad to the kid. He just wants a friend.
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 And that’s when it clicks for Guile what he must do as the responsible adult in the situation. He sighs and pats Sylvie’s head as he nibbles on a cookie provided for the two.
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 “Listen, Sylvie…” he trails off. Guile really didn’t know where he was going with this. He doesn’t want to just say outright that this isn’t how you make friends, but tact isn’t exactly his strong suit. He just ends up stiffly asking, “what’s up with the itinerary? Gave me a real surprise there when I got the email.”
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 He neglects to leave out how professionally worded an email from said twelve year old was. Gave him the creeps.
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 Sylvie blinks, before clearing his throat, leaning back in his chair and waving his hand about dismissively. “Oh, yeah, just thought I should give you some expectations for me! Had to make sure no one can outdo me in hanging out – I sure know Rick gets competitive.”
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 Guile holds his tongue in suggesting that maybe Sylvie isn’t the only one with friendship issues.
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 “...Actually?” Sylvie continues, and Guile perks up, hoping that the boy has seen the error in his calculations. “Could you eat your cookie a bit slower? Our bus isn’t for another hour.”
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 He had too much faith in him – doesn’t Sylvie have a masters? “We could take an earlier one,” Guile counters.
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 Sylvie stirs. “But the itinerary—”
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 “Sylvie…” Guile sighs. The boy was starting to get antsy. Guile really wished he knew better about this sort of thing. Friendship. It’d make life so much easier. Guess he has to betray the kid’s wishes and tell it to him straight; “this is not how you do the friend thing.”
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 To Guile’s expectations, Sylvie doesn’t reply.
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 Guile begins to explain how friendship is supposed to be a natural progression, not some masterminded plan to get the person to like you and rely on you as much as possible. It was blunt, and maybe a little harsh, but it seems like he got through to him.
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 His heart aches when Sylvie apologises meekly, his pretentious attitude melting away completely.
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 It’s quiet for a bit, and even more awkward, before Guile thinks of something.
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 “Hey,” he says, “did you know there’s this special greeting that means ‘peace among worlds?’”
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 Sylvie perks up a little, leaning towards him in interest. “Really?”
𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 Guile always thought kids were funny. Maybe, with enough time, he can consider this one a friend.
