Hey hey @talifu! I’m your last minute pinch-hitter for @msa-secretsanta-2020 ! I tried to throw this together as quick as possible for you :,D
One of your prompts was a board game night, so I immediately thought of the gang playing Clue! I just know Vivi would be a master at it, so here she’s proclaiming her victory for one of likely several rounds so far! Happy Holidays!
hey @thesproutingartist ! here’s your gift for @msa-secretsanta-2020 !!
when i saw the design for lewthur, i thought, wow, that’s a good ghost. just the way lewis and arthur’s designs combine into what may be the best boy i’ve ever seen! that said i hope you and your partner have a very merry christmas and a happy new year
Hey @artnerd1123!! Guess who's your MSA Secret Santa this year? One of your prompts was Lewvithur watching a horror film while Mystery ate up the popcorn and I was immediately attracted to that idea, so I went ahead and did that up for you! I decided to post both the OG artwork and the version without the shaded lighting just in case you wanted to see the scene more clearly!
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year! I hope you like it!
“Lew, we’re not sure, we know you can. We’ll be right here, ok?”
“I talked things over with your family beforehand. They’re, uh, a little concerned, but I know they’ll be happy to see you...”
~~~
hey hey, it’s msa secret santa time! this is for @robin-the-robo, who asked for some lewvithur- specifically, lewis facing his family again after the accident. I figured i’d smash the two prompts together to get this! vivi and arthur are reassuring lew as they’re heading in.
Whew! Sorry for the late response y’all. I may or may not have forgotten that Christmas is hard to post during simply because of family/celebrating the actual event. As a result, feel free to post a few days late if you need! Im hoping by the 26-27th most gifts will have been posted, as after that I’ll be looking into who hasn’t posted gifts yet and DM’ing to see if there’s any problems.
For those ready to post, please @ this blog in your post and tag it as #msasecretsanta2020. This way I can find it easier! Ill be checking off the people who tag posts for me. And for those posting on Discord, feel free to DM me your gift and I’ll send it to your SS to see it! I’ve considered making a server but I don’t think people will join a server to see fanart, but feel free to share on any MSA servers you’re in! You did create it after all haha.
Don’t stress !!! I hope everyone has a good holiday otherwise. Enjoy posting!!!
Hello, @wafffffl, I’m your Secret Santa this year. I hope you’ll enjoy these chaotic little shits enjoying the winter, and the humans and ghost smooching each other!
Slight spoilers for The Future.
@msa-secretsanta-2020
------
Metal taps the van’s dashboard.
“Hey Viv, you wanna see this.”
“Not yet, Arthur.” She waves at him while her gaze remains pinned on the board game on her side. “Gotta set-up my next move after this one to kick Mystery’s ass.”
Later her body will so get back at her for staying so long like this, seated, torso twisted to the side as she ponders her next move. She’s fiddlig with her new scarf, a gift from her mother to ‘keep her warm in this weather’.
A family joke. Vivi has never been cold when the temperature drops, rather always thrown herself into the middle of snow when there was some, no matter how warm she was clothed or not. Fittingly, white snowflakes decorate the night scarf’s blue hem.
(Not that Mom knows just where that immunity comes from. Or Dad.
Chieko-baa-san likely does, but never has said anything, and Vivi won’t mention it. At least not in the near future.)
“Not if I outmaneuver you first.” Apropos. Mystery calls from the passenger’s seat over the swish of the windshield wiper. “And you should listen to Arthur. This particular sight is something you don’t want to miss.”
“You only want to distract me. Wouldn’t be the first time.”
She pinches her lip as she debates which card she should use next. They were really lucky with the weather so far. It rained but never enough to turn the roads muddy or freeze over, spoiling their trips. Even without snow, the December nights currently run frosty.
“No, Vivi, he’s not. It’s not a cheap tourist attraction or one of these weird banners.”
Damn her curiosity. She sees his smile in the rear window when she cranes her neck. Tiny raindrops litter the front window, specks of them hitting the glass now and then.
“So, Mr. Boyfriend,” she coos and grins as red blooms on his face. Watching his reactions is always fun. “What is it then? Tell me before I leave this round unguarded or I won’t move.”
“Ms. Girlfriend.” She might have let a sound slip, because he huffs.
“You’re awful, so I won’t tell you. Since you’re an investigator, it should be easy to spot on your own from where you’re sitting.”
“You’re no fun!”
“I thought the fun is often in figuring out things for yourself and that you don’t want every solution handed to you?”
“Our Mr. Boyfriend is correct, you know. Even if I don’t know yet what he means.”
They all chorus a greeting to Lewis as he phases into existence to sit on the backseat. His locket slips out from Vivi’s sweater to attach to his vest. It’s pulsing strong, steady, back to its glowing golden color. He gives a kiss to Vivi’s cheek, making her swoon, then he leans forward.
“How was your rest, Lewis?” Pleasure suffuses Arthur’s voice at his kiss. Lewis pets Mystery as he says,
“I’m good, thanks. Yesterday wasn’t too bad but the extra rest and energy helped.”
“Want me still to hold onto your locket for a while?”
After some consideration, he shakes his head.
“Maybe later, once we’re at the cabin, so that we can all properly rest. I don’t want to accidentally distract you.” Arthur makes a noise. “What did that mean?”
“It means, ‘I doubt you could accidentally distract me, with how careful you always are’.”
“Better be safe than sorry. You don’t have much experience with driving when it snows. Though, it’ll make our stay at the cabin much more rom-”
“Sshhh!”
Huh, that hushing noise sounds like Arthur is laughing. She leans forward, wanting in on the joke.
“It’ll be nice to sleep in for the whole morning instead of needing to get up to leave the motel.” Mystery yawns, ignoring the romantic byplay. “I need my beauty sleep.”
“We all know that Lewis is the most beautiful of us. You wouldn’t be able to win even with a thousand years of sleeping.”
“Arthur, you can’t say that-!”
“What, that you’re beautiful?”
“BURN,” Vivi cackles over Lewis’ flustered spluttering. She nearly throws the board to the van’s floor and has to grab the edge of it. Magnetic pieces or not, that might just dislocate everything and cost her victory. “And a smooth compliment in the same go!”
A white snout peeks over the backrest.
“You realize that Arthur also said Lewis is more beautiful than you.” Mystery sniffs, snout stuck up with mock severity. He’s eyeing the game as if checking she hasn’t moved any pieces she shouldn’t. They stick their tongues out at each other. Like he’s any better.
“I can live with being the second most beautiful among our group.”
“Not you too.” Lewis groans as he plops onto the other side of the board, hiding his skull under his palm. His other hand blindly secures the seatbelt around him. If he had his skin pulled up, Vivi bets he’d be blushing. So she leans across to peck the edge of his exaggerated cheek bones. The contact makes her lips tingle.
“You love to dish out the compliments, but you still can’t take receiving them, you big romantic.”
Arthur chuckles. Lewis pouts without lips. It still charms her so much that his ghost form resembles their logo. The Mystery Skull’s logo, the stylized skull he inspired.
“Don’t worry, Lewis. You can be your romantic, overdramatic self once we arrive. Bury Vivi and me in affection.”
“Don’t think you’ll get out of getting the love, too, Artie.” He snorts. A click and the windshield swiper goes faster.
“As if I could forget.”
Certain that Lewis will protect her progress, she takes her turn to lean faaaar forward.
Well.
A tug around her middle stops her. As much as she can with the seatbelt. They’ve started a strict ‘always buckle up’ policy, even Lewis. And since she’s sitting behind Mystery, she can’t reach far for Arthur anyway.
Eh. She can do it when they halt, either because for a break or when they arrive.
“Oh come on. We all know you love these things. You are pretty romantic when you put your mind to it. You’ve just showed that with that smooth, smooth compliment.”
Her eyes fall to the windshield since he’s currently staring outside, forward. It’s gone pretty white.
Wait a sec…
“What can I say, I’ve got more practice by now. I have to get practice in or I’ll never be able to get another word around you two.”
When he looks over his shoulders, he starts when he sees her. Eyes forward again where the snow is splattering against the windshield.
The corner of his mouth is turned up and his shoulders are shaking.
“You jerk!! You insufferable jerk!” Her hands are scrabbling for the release of her seatbelt. Damn the game, she’s gotta see this. Arthur chokes out a laugh. “I’m so going pelt you with a snowball later, I can’t believe-”
“You didn’t want to listen to me before,” he wheezes out. “Fuck, I have to slow down, but your face, Viv, oh my-”
“You will definitely stop the van now, Arthur!”
“Wait, what?” Lewis stares at her while he gestures at the vivid snowfall outside. “Are you telling me that you didn’t notice the weather?” This sets off Mystery into laughter, which makes Arthur laugh harder in turn. Make this two snowballs that’ll she write metaphorical names on: one for her boyfriend, the other for her not-dog.
“I was distracted, okay! The forecast said that snow would be improbable.” Her face is burning. At least he’s slowing down the van as he’s said he would, because damn if she’s going to miss any more.
“Lewis literally mentioned that Arthur has no experience in driving in snowy weather!”
“You’re not innocent, either, Mister! You could’ve told me-”
At this point, it becomes too much, her voice going squeaky from flustered outrage. It’s so silly and dumb and she begins giggling as the release finally clicks. By now they’re all laughing in some way. The next few minutes descend into chaos, as Arthur now drives at walking speed, giving Vivi the chance to unclip Mystery’s harness and lift him up – to her satisfaction, he yips in shock – and deposit him in her seat, so she can swing into the passenger’s seat, missing the baffled look not-dog and ghost share on the rear seat before they howl harder.
--
They all know that people who want money tend to set up schemes, scams, and ploys for that money. They scanned the internet for reliable offers for vacation homes this close before the Christmas holidays, did cross-references, and even so they prepared to be possibly disappointed.
So they’re standing in awe in front of the cabin that looks exactly like it showed up in the internet. It’s still snowing, covering the roofs in a pretty white layer that gives it the appearance like something out of those perfectly polished ads for winter resorts.
“Am I dreaming or is this real? We’re still in the U.S., right?” Vivi is going to send a picture to her parents. She rocks on her feet, the snow crunching perfectly under her soles. She wants to ditch her boots.
“It’s pretty real, but we’ve yet to see this place’s inner attributes.”
Despite his words, Arthur’s eyes are sparkling. He pulls out a keyring from the depths of his pockets. He looks dashing with his yellow-orange jacket and the magenta scarf of one Deadbeat snuggling around his shoulders.
The cabin’s inside turns out as nice as the outside. Checking everything goes fast when you have a boyfriend whose adorable little ghost friends help along. Soon enough they’ve unpacked their luggage and supplies – a care package for Lewis included, with sweets made by his parents; some part of his magic allows him to taste and eat their food – for the next few days and are prepping dinner.
Unfortunately, it’s so dark already that taking a walk is too dangerous without lighting.
Fortunately, there’s a patio, Vivi is immune to the cold. Toing off her slippers, she opens the sliding door and walks bare feet outside.
It’s stopped snowing with the dropping temperatures. 5 °F reads the thermometer hanging on the fence. The cold seems unreal in the USA in these times.
Her breath puffs out white with every exhale. Visibility rapidly declines even with the snow refracting every beam it can beyong the ring the light from the windows spills. The coniferous trees loom as tall shadows and above the sky is black, still covered in clouds.
Closing her eyes, Vivi relaxes and just feel. She feels the cold; she doesn’t feel cold. With every inhale, the warmth seeps out of her lungs, but not really.
The energy crackles, cracks, rasps, shatters. In this place, in this weather, it comes easily without the need to displace the heat elsewhere. A familiar impulse rises in the back of her mind, asking her to direct this energy, to use it.
An inhale. An exhale.
She lets it be.
--
“Mrrghrhg.”
Fuck alarm clocks. Vivi blindly reaches out for that infernal thing and slams the button down.
But the damage is done. No matter how warm and comfortable her mattress is, she can’t go back to sleep, so. Cracking her eyes open, she cranes her head to her clock. She can’t read the time, because a sheet of crumbled paper is covering the clock’s face, the team’s customary good morning greeting whenever one, two, or three of them wake earlier up than the rest and leave for some reason.
“We’re just outside at the garage. See you when you wake up, sleepy head. 😊”
Arthur’s script reads much too cheerful for a night owl.
What the hell, she’s getting up. She needs to use the bathroom anyway.
Her stomach grumbles.
And she needs food.
She gets ready and clothed, rushing down the stairs, because SNOW. She skids to a halt right before she reaches the front door, because what is that delicious smell?
Floating, she tracks back to the living room / kitchen area. Swiveling her head to the large wood table, she spots one of those cloth caps used to keep food warm.
She unfolds the note tucked under the plate that has Lewis’ elegant hand swoop across the page.
“We wanted to let you sleep in. This is your favorite sandwich with a side of roast potatoes and bacon. When you’re done, come find us outside of the garage. There’ll be hot chocolate. <3”
She wants to swoon. Stopping herself from doing that is difficult, but she manages!
Instead, Vivi pulls the chair back to plop eagerly down and removes the cap. She groans in delight as she bites into the warm sandwich – ham, cucumbers, a good slathering of mayonnaise, peppers (of course), paprika, melted cheese~
Like a good friend, partner, and guest, she cleans up the table and puts the dishware into the sink to soak once she’s finished. Since no other surprise for her seems to be hiding, she heads to the front door once more. Too bad she can’t see the garage from this angle out of any of the windows.
It would have been nice if her powers allowed her to have traction on ice, so she actually still needs boots. Maybe she can figure out something later.
Huffing, she ties her right boot off with a bow, finally, and hops up to open the door.
The sky is still overcast, but not as heavy anymore. Which is very good, because even like this, the brightness of the landscape almost stings her eyes while it robs her breath like the cold just isn’t able to. Seeing it again doesn’t diminish the effect.
From the cabin to the horizon visible down below, everything is white.
She’s been in coniferous mountain regions before with her parents, in the middle of the winter. It still awes her, makes her feel small because everything looks so different like this. That was years ago and in Japan, so maybe that makes it different. It’s been too long. Texas just doesn’t get snow like this.
Slowly, she steps from the porch. The snow still crunches satisfyingly under her soles. Where does she even begin to look?
The icicles hanging from the tree branches?
The perfect smooth line where the gravel road is buried and the van’s tracks are covered by fresh snow?
The lanterns sticking out of the snow which indicate the path, their tops covered in white like little hats?
Turning on her heel, she takes in the cabin. Like yesterday, she thought it was only marketing but like this, it really looks like a perfect abode in a winter wonder land, with a chimney, the roof in white, icicles forming under the windows…
Maybe she could drop a bit of snow on Arthur or Mystery’s head from one of the windows. They’d never see her revenge coming!
--
Any thoughts of revenge and snowballs are temporarily postponed. Vivi has more pressing matters to attend to at the moment.
“THAT’S CHEATING! GET BACK HERE, MYSTERY.”
The little traitor!!
“I’m gonna kick your furry ass into the sun if you steal the marshmallows!”
“It’s not stealing when I get there first!” he yips around the bag in his mouth.
It can be barely called a race with how short the way is to the garage. And before that, the two of them skid to a halt before they even get close to the picnic table.
“Ahem.” Lewis taps his foot, crossing his arms. “Which rule did we agree on regarding meal times?”
They both look at each other and sheepishly duck their heads.
“No running towards the table or the kitchen or around the places we eat and cook,” they chorus with beseeching smiles.
Arthur laughs at them from behind Lewis, setting down blankets and pillows on the clean benches. One of the deadbeats – a different one? – is hanging from his left shoulder like a magenta scarf.
“You know we’re so lucky that we’re the only people here. We’d be accused of animal cruelty, with how much Mystery wants that chocolate. Or they’d try feeding it to their own dogs and pointing to us as excuse.”
“I’m not a dog,” Mystery automatically says.
“Doesn’t change the principle or that you look like a dog.”
“I think they’d worry more about why Vivi isn’t wearing a jacket and a hat. Or leggings.”
“I refuse to partake in this old argument. And anyway, nobody is here anyway, so either point is mute.”
Mystery could theoretically walk around in his kitsune form, so remote this location is. “I won’t,” he’s said, “because my tracks could inspire poachers and hunters.”
It’s still an occasion where he can relax on his disguise – speaking when he wants, eating what he wants, playing board games…
Lewis gives them one more mock-glare and waves his hand. Mystery reluctantly lets the marshmallow bag fall into it, which finally satifies him intoo hovering back to his little outdoor set-up. This close, Vivi can smell the hot chocolate that is bubbling in the pot on the small stove, a perfect, shiny brown color that he carefully stirs.
“Did you know that cooking takes more time when you stare at the food?” He says innocently. “You can wait the last few minutes at the table, you two.”
Grumbling, they do as asked. Arthur laughs again.
The hot chocolate, as it turns out, is of course delicious. Vivi drinks three mugs before Lewis calls a halt, saying she’ll spoil her appetite and she can always have more later. He takes no counterarguments to this nonsense, adding that they planned yesterday to take a walk before lunch. He whisks the pot away right as Mystery inches close to stick his snout in. Or tries to.
“You’ve also had three mugs, while Arthur had only one.” He bops him on the nose. “Be nice, you two.”
And off he goes, whisking the pot into the cabin. One human and one not-dog look mournfully after him.
That is, until snowballs drop onto their heads.
---
The situation doesn’t actually evolve into a snowball fight. a) It wasn’t Arthur but two deadbeats who did it, and b) his shout of fear as snow soaks through his supposed waterproof jacket stops everybody.
Nothing happens, thankfully. They hurry back into the cabin where Arthur bites down on a towel Lewis offers him. He disengages his prothesis from the port with a wince and checks everything through. The painkillers he takes are for later if or when he puts the arm back in.
It’s one of his older spare models, with less protection against the elements, that he’s been wearing while his main prothesis waits to be repaired once they’re home.
One of the culprits why it needs to be repaired in the first place sticks her head out of the jacket’s sleeves. Unlike with the rest, Vivi recognizes Melody because her little head antenna resembles a lightning bolt. She and the other deadbeats have been keeping Arthur and his left arm warm, preventing discomfort and even pain from the material cooling too much against his skin.
“Alright, everything’s good.” He wipes across his forehead.
“Fuck, that was a nasty surprise. I paid a lot of bucks for that jacket exactly because it’s supposed to be waterproof.”
He jerks back as Mystery presses his head against his stomach, making Arthur scoot back with the chair so he has more space. Mystery nudges against him, whining, and making his eyes big and round so that he will start petting his head. It draws a smile from him.
“Thanks, buddy, I’m good. Just coming down from the scare. I just need to wait until the painkillers kick and fetch my other jacket, then we can go.”
Said other jacket is much too thin and cold for his weather. Arthur tries to argue otherwise. Lewis isn’t convinced, so he creates a new coat from stretch. Unlike, say, a fire wraith, or a kitsune with thick fur, or a person with ice powers, Arthur needs proper winter gear even with deadbeat heating. The thing that convinces him to accept after a short, light-hearted squabble is Lewis making heart eyes at him and saying that not only Arthur will profit from his gift.
Arthur’s head is steaming as they finally return into the cold, clad in a subdued palette of Lewis’ favorite colors. Melody, already color-coded, is chirping merrily from his shoulder, tail tucked in under the coat and around his shoulders. He looks so handsome.
(Vivi might be a bit envious. She wants to see him in her colors, too. Cyan would look so good with his hair. And Lewis in her colors would look good, too. Or in Arthur’s.
That is an idea...)
She and Lewis share a cheeky look behind him. Sneaking up, on either side, Vivi sticks her left hand into the right coat pocket while he does the same on Arthur’s other side.
The perfect position to prevent him from stumbling.
Revenge is indeed sweet.
--
As the cloud cover breaks open, Lewis conjures sun glasses, because they are dumbasses and forgot their own pairs in the bedroom.
“Now we all match,” he says, grinning, tapping his own pair. He has pulled on his face to be safe (and handsome this way, too).
While they’re the only people in a wide radius, the place is still a tourist destination. Two marked paths lead from te cabin and supposedly meet to create a closed circuit. They take the direction into the woods with a look at Lewis’ shining face. It does look romantic, and Vivi honestly prefers it, too. Again, it reminds her of walks she had with her family in Japan. She’ll make more pictures for her parents.
Mystery bounds ahead, barking. They follow at a sedate pace, just enjoying the quiet and the sights, and Vivi the energy of winter. He’ll return when he’s ready and they can hear him anyway.
They find a frozen pond across which they let pebbles skip. The stones make satisfying noises on the ice, the perfect music as she destroys the boys in the competition. Mystery keeps barking.
“I think you might be imagining things.” A rare smirk graces Lewis’ lips. “Last I checked, I’m way ahead of you, love.”
“That sounds like a loser not wanting to admit they’re about to lose!” Tongue peeking out from her lips, Vivi squints at a heart-shaped stone Lewis found. They’ve switched to a game of makeshift boules, where he is currently in the lead. If she can displace his stone on the ice…
“I am a very graceful loser, I’ll have you know.”
“You two are the worst. This is like the Board Games in the van, Electric Boogaloo on ice and without Mystery.”
Arthur is playing with his pebble, throwing it into the air and catching it before throwing again. He’s last and acting very calm about it, no matter Vivi’s goading. Not even calling him a spoilsport has moved him.
“By the way, this includes the eternity it takes you to make a move, Viv. Are you ever gonna throw that rock or do we have to wait until the ice starts melting and all pebble sink?”
“Your smack talk needs work, Artie. A master at work needs time for her perfect shot. I will not be distracted.” She adjusts her wrist again. A bit to the leeeeft…
“Eh, suit yourself.” He plops down cross-legged, leaning against the tree behind him. “Apropos Board Games, what’s Mystery doing, anyway? Chasing a squirrel? No wait, he’d never do that.”
“He’d definitely chase a squirrel.” She corrects.
“I mean, you know he’s back to being a little shit who likes to make himself look great. Part of being a little shit is doing things like chasing a squirrel. Plus, he’s a fox. He’d just change up whether he admits or denies it.”
But really, Mystery’s lack of butting in is suspicious. By now she’d have expected him to give at least one sarcastic remark or show off. Instead the singing of birds has returned along with the other sounds of a forest in winter.
Really suspicious.
She waits until her throw to say something. Her pebble aims at Lewis’, but the angle is off, so it skids past and into the bank. She snaps her finger to Lewis’ whoop.
“Damn it!”
Bushes rustle. That could be just a wild animal looking for food, but Vivi doubts it. Her ‘prankster’ senses are tingling.
Another rustle gives all the warning they get before a blur of white and red rushes out.
They and the pebbles scatter when Mystery barrels across the ice. Vivi leaps to the side, Lewis floats up, and Arthur startles and topples to the side. Mystery’s momentum carries him across the ice without pause to vanish in the other side of the underbush. At once, the noise dies down because he is good at being sneaky when he wants to be.
“What. The fuck was that.” Slowly Arthur sits up. Melody chirps angrily to his words, shaking off the snow that has fallen onto her.
“That was Mystery.”
“Ah, indeed. I now remember what you mean by that he’s a little shit.”
Said little shit takes this as his next cue for another run.
And another.
And another. Like extreme zoomies and playing catch combined, Mystery keeps up a circuit. He always pops out of a different spot than the one he vanishes into when leaving the ice. So he dashes past their legs, laughing raucously as he goes faster and faster, easily evading any grasping hands by ducking and weaving around them. Vivi could use her ice powers, but well. After the disaster with the Pepper family’s freezer, she’d rather not use her magic before she has more training.
Lewis, from his vantage point and isn’t that unfair that he’s out of zoomie range, has been watching the mayhem with a frown.
Despite his earlier competitiveness, it’s more a look of consideration rather than annoyance that Mystery spoiled his small victory. (Vivi can’t relate.)
“How long is he going to do that?” he calls out.
“Until he- ack!” Vivi jumps to the side and pivots not to fall. “Until he gets bored! So that might take a while.”
“Mmmhhh.” Rubbing his chin, he scans the pond and the surrounding area. Strange. It reminds her of the times when he scrutinizes locations they’re investigating for supernatural entities.
Then he smirks, smug, and it looks like when Chayenne secretly spices up a milkshake.
Nothing happens during Mystery’s next circuit. Lewis keeps watching, intently following his path.
Another circuit, another run. The white shape vanishes in the bushes. Out he runs from another spot and angle.
A finger snaps and flames roar.
The next moment, Vivi blinks as Mystery goes flying through the air with a surprised yowl. His voice gets cut off when he drops into a pile of snow she’s unsure if it was there before.
On the ice, the ramp dissolves into magenta fire then back into nothing.
“I didn’t think that would work so well, but I got the angle right.” Sparks falls from Lewis’ palms as he claps them across each other to dust off the magic. “Perfect launch, perfect landing, A+.”
“Oh my fucking God,” Arthur wheezes. He clutches at his stomach.
“I know Mystery’s a kitsune, so he’d been fine anyway, but what the fuck.”
Arthur’s wheezing interrupts her not so serious scolding. “That was perfect. I wish I’d filmed this, you got him so good-” He shakes so hard he nearly topples over again, this time on his own. Lewis bows like the showman he is.
She knows it’s not the end. They all know it, because Mystery will not accept this as defeat, and it doesn’t make it less funny. The pile shifts, tiny waves of snow getting loose and rolling down at the sides. They watch in anticipation as it shivers, trembles, calms again as if to heighten the tension before it moves again.
That’s not what the snow pile does.
Rather, it explodes outwards into a shower. Mystery bursts out, shaking his head so hard that his tag is a flying blur of red, and barking so wildly that his words (or curse words) are completely unintelligible except for the intent of revenge.
And since that isn’t enough, out come the deadbeats in the snow pile they’ve constructed. Each of them holds a white ball in their stubby hands.
The message is clear: they ready to try for another snowball war.
They aim at Lewis.
“Really now?” He grumbles, as if that should surprise him after the mischief he’s just pulled, with his feelings influencing the deadbeats. He cannot say more, first because he shouts as a weight slams into his back. Then because Mystery’s landing drives the ghost into the forest floor face first. Mystery hops away, still barking, sun glasses askew on his snout.
Lewis swings up. Like, his body stays straight as he lifts up in a rotation, like he was a door and his feet were attached to hinges.
“Uh oh,” Arthur wheezes and takes cover behind the tree.
What follows can be best summarized as carnage. Nobody escapes.
--
The snowball fight ends when three stomachs are growling.
They unanimously agree that the result is inconclusive.
--
“My poor fur.” Mystery whines. “My poor, soft fur will be all tangled.”
“Maybe that will teach you not to start things you’re not ready to finish.”
Lewis passes the giant, fluffy towel over Mystery’s head again and gently rubs. He leans into the touch while he keeps complaining.
“I didn’t throw you into a pile of snow! Repeatedly!”
“And I didn’t jump onto your back several times to drive you into the ground, so we’re even.”
“We’re all such a mess.” Arthur chuckles around his screwdriver. It’s a fitting observation.
“Cheers to that.”
Vivi stretches out her mug and Arthur dutifully lifts his own from the couch table. They clink in solidarity and a little smugness since they’re already dry. (Or maybe that’s only her who’s smug.) The perks of having a boyfriend who can’t get wet from snow if he doesn’t want to and who was so kind to fetch them fresh clothes from the bedroom once they returned to the cabin. Next to Lewis, Arthur was the driest because of the coat Lewis had made him, but even he needed new socks and trousers.
He also provides the perk that the chocolate has stayed hot the entire time they were outside. Chocolate they’re enjoying and Mystery is not. He isn’t allowed to leave the hallway until he’s dry, and since he refuses to go the easy way and use his own powers…
He’ll just have to bear being mothered by Lewis, who also refuses to use his powers to dry him.
She didn’t even plan this as the part of her revenge, and she’s very satisfied.
A foot nudges hers.
“Smug might look good on you, but you can still help out to ease the load on Lewis.” Arthur tilts his head towards the various gaming systems he’s setting up next to the TV. “I’ll finish here and start heating up lunch, so could you start the washing machine?”
“Sure.”
She stretches when she stands up from couch, preening silently when she feels Arthur’s eyes on her stomach where her pajamas ride up. Her wink earns her a blush. As if she hasn’t snuck her own glances on his bare legs when he changed and he winked.
Lewis gives a quiet thanks as she takes the basket with their wet clothes. The washing machine and the dryer are in a separate room on the first floor, their use included in the price. (Which was another reason they expected a scam.) Thankfully, the functions are simple and the landlady has left the instruction manual next to the washing powder.
Once the first load is running, the smell of omelets guides her back to the kitchen area. Arthur has been heating up lunch as promised. He even set the table where he puts the filled plates down on.
Mystery, fluffier than usual, is already sitting, tongue lolling out in eagerness. At least he’s waiting. Probably because he’s getting head pets by Lewis, who’s giving the table an approving glance.
“Mama and papa would be proud.”
“Oh hush, you’re exaggerating.” Arthur smiles and looks to the side. “This is barely like helping out at Pepper Paradiso.”
“What did your therapist say?” Mystery interrupts his drooling to point out the obvious. Arthur heaves a long-suffering sigh.
“I’m allowed to receive compliments. Even if I don’t agree, I can say ‘thank you’ and accept them.”
“That’s the barebones summary, but if suffices. Now you need to take the most important step.”
“Ugh, you’re all the worst. Lewis, thank you for the compliment.”
“No problem!” Lewis leans around the back of Mystery’s chair, clearly signaling what he wants. Arthur meets him halfway, accepting the kiss, but before they can separate, he grabs Lewis’ collar and reels him back in.
They part, both blushing, when Vivi whistles.
--
“You know, I thought we wanted play a battle royale once I’ve warmed up playing?”
"That we did.”
“So here we are, me still playing Manny several hours into the game because I always like to explore. That’s not ‘warming up’.”
She shrugs. “I like this better.”
Vivi lifts her hand and feeds him a chocolate pepper from the Pepper’s (HEH) care box, then snuggles back against his chest, his arms on either side of her while he holds the controller at the front and plays Grim Fandango. She can barely see the amused way he raises his eyebrows at her.
“I’ve noticed.”
“Noticed what?” she asks innocently.
“Nothing,” he says innocently back.
“Do I have to fear something? What you’re talking about sounds suspicious.”
Arthur wears a grin with the pajama shirt he’s slipped into. It’s baggy, hanging loosely around his shoulders and making him look soft. The shirt is also soft, rubbing against her bare arm after Lewis lifts his own to let Arthur slip onto his lap, basket on the floor. He smells like fresh and warm laundry.
Somehow, they don’t wake Mystery from his snooze against Lewis’ other side as they chuckle and giggle while getting comfortable.
“The last load is currently washing. I’ve folded what isn’t still in the dryer. So, what did I miss of Manny’s adventures? Or did you two actually plot something nefarious?”
“We would not exclude you from world domination discussions.” Lewis says without pause. They all laugh. He’s oozing content, having his two partners snuggle up against him. “Like we agreed on, no hiding important secrets such as this one that would affect all of us.”
“We’re holding that discussion off until after all the winter holidays and New Year. No serious business unless needed during our vacation.” Vivi continues with a shit-eating grin.
“Good, good, or I’d have to clear my schedule.”
“Artie, Uncle Lance gently and metaphorically kicked you out of the garage until New Year’s, and you’ve got nothing else scheduled.”
“So?”
“I’ll launch you all outside if you start a pillow fight, see if I don’t.” Mystery grumbles. The pillow falls back onto the couch and Vivi whistles.
--
Author notes: Once I started writing them, they wouldn’t stop talking and joking. When I rewrote my draft, I wrote almost 6,000 words within a few hours.
- I only realized that Lewis’ ghost form probably references calacas, representation of the dead in the Mexican afterlife, when I looked up Grim Fandango which is Lewis’ favorite game. It features a story in a society in the afterlife in which every soul looks like a skeleton, including the protagonist Manny.
- This has also inspired my new headcanon that it was Lewis who got the idea for the Mystery Skull’s logo. His interests and upbringing inspired him.
- Chieko-baa-san, or Yukino Chieko as I’ve named her, is Vivi’s paternal grandmother from Japan.
