route_1065 | Out On The Weekend....

Entry tags:

Out On The Weekend....

Who: Lust, Alphonse Elric, eventually Envy and any Shark House Regulars who want to pop in
Where: Goldenrod, Shark House
When: Nov 15th
Summary: Lust is having the worst day. It's about to get a little better, then waaaay worse.
Rating: PG-13 to possibly R for language that could crop up.
Log:

Lust was in a bit of a mood. The day had begun poorly with a horrific shower incident, and nothing much had come along to alleviate her cloudy disposition. She was still trying to figure out how she was supposed to feel about her birthday having come and gone, and the fact that she knew when it was and even how old she was.

Bored and needing distraction - and pleasant company - she finally ended up calling Alphonse. Envy was out, and would be gone until late into the evening. The young Elric would be long gone by the time he came back. But Alphonse had this particular sort of attentive eagerness about him that always seemed to lift Lust's spirits. She could use that about now.

She also told him to bring cake. It was a day for cake, she decided.

After calling, she opened a bottle of wine and poured a small glass. She didn't enjoy being drunk, but she enjoyed that calm relaxing state that came with a drink or two.

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It hadn't been hard to tell that Lust hadn't been having the best day when she called. Al wasn't exactly sure what had caused it, but he'd be a poor friend if he didn't try to cheer her up.

It's with that in mind that Al buys a somewhat oversized cake and brings along some of his friendlier Pokemon--Jack and Jill, Beryl, and Marie. It's actually Marie that jumps up to hit the doorbell when Al arrives--his arms are a bit full with the cake box, after all.

Lust was at least able to finish her shower, and is properly dressed and made up with her hair pulled up when Alphonse arrives. She greets him at the door, her Furfrou at her heels.

"Good afternoon, Alphonse. Come in...my god, I meant a little cake for us, what in the world is in that box?"

Al chuckles a little self-consciously as his parade of cats follow him in, the Litleo the only one paying Lust's Furfrou any mind. "Well, I didn't know how much you'd want, and I figured that you and Greed could share the leftovers. And...well, it's got chocolate strawberries on it! How cool is that?"

"Considering how many people have ended up here, it's certainly going to get eaten." She took the box from Alphonse to take it to the kitchen. She gestured for him to follow as Feirefiz leaned down to sniff the Litleo.

"Oh, I love strawberries. Thank you. Have you ever had one of those days that's just full of small, irritating things going wrong?"

He follows along behind her, Beryl the Eevee bouncing up to his shoulders while Marie returns sniffs for sniffs. Hello, dog! :O

"I've had plenty of days like that! You start to feel like the world's working against you." He shrugs. "But bad luck runs out eventually. It helps to try and keep a good sense of humor about things, but I know that can be hard to do."

"I don't know if I have a good sense of humor or not." She thought she did, and she was able to make Envy and Greed laugh... but they likely weren't the best to use as a general comparison point.

She sets the cake down in the kitchen and waves for Alphonse to have a seat.

"Have you had lunch yet?"

"Not yet!" Al grins and takes a seat, and Beryl hops down to curl up in his lap. "And everyone's sense of humor is different, but if you're able to laugh about the little things even in retrospect, I'd say that's good. Being too serious about things all the time turns you into...well, I feel bad saying it, but Scar, you know?"

"I'll make us sandwiches. I can manage sandwiches." Lust busies herself with that, drinking her wine as she puts lunch together.

"If we had those silly candles, we could put them on the cake. That's a birthday tradition, isn't it?" She's certain it is.

And then she has to cover her mouth with her hand, making an attempt at stifling the undignified squawk of laughter that bubbles up at Alphonse's comparison.

Al nods and watches Lust as she works. He'd like to offer to help, but it would be a little rude, and it's a simple enough task anyway.

"Yeah, it's--oh, it's your birthday? I'll have to find a present for you later." Al wonders for a moment which of the two 'birthdays' it is...but then, unless Scar told her she probably wouldn't remember the one from her human life.

He has to cover his own mouth in reaction to Lust's giggling, but his grin can't be hidden by his hands. "Well, it's true! He doesn't ever seem to relax."

"It was, earlier this week. I only found out the day before." Lust shrugs. "And you don't have to bother." She was awkward enough when Envy gave her something. There's a part of her that enjoys gifts and that sort of thing, but she's still getting comfortable with the whole concept of her birthday.

"He does, though. Sometimes." Lust sets a plate in front of Alphonse, a cut sandwich and chips. "I think it's just difficult for him. He's so used to being alone and closed off and fearing for his life."

Al smiles. "I'd like to, though. If it really bothers you, I won't, but I like having excuses to get things for my friends."

He nods, picking up a chip and munching it before replying. "After what he's gone through back home, I don't blame him for being how he is. He had to be, just to get by. I just wish I knew how to convince him he doesn't have to be anymore."

"It doesn't bother me that much. Though you did already bring cake." Lust sits across from him, ignoring the fact that Guttle has rolled in as soon as the sounds of eating began.

"There's no real way. Just being patient and waiting for him to come around on his own. It's frustrating, though. He came here, after...that little adventure so many got swept up in. He was exhausted and I finally convinced him to sleep in the guest room. He snuck out some time in the early morning, not a word. I had breakfast finished and waiting before I even realized he was gone."

She shakes her head. She knows old habits die hard, but she wishes she could do more for Scar.

Beryl and Marie's ears perk up as soon as Guttle comes rolling in, and they both bounce over and around him. Jack and Jill, meanwhile, simply sit and watch all the goings-on.

"Bringing cake doesn't count! That was different." He's mostly joking around, really--that cake actually was kind of expensive, it really ought to count as a gift in its own right.

Al nods, listening to Lust quietly while he eats--at least until she mentions Scar's escape. "He did what?! Oh my gosh, that dumb--I'm gonna give him such a talking to!" RUDE, SCAR. SO RUDE.

"A cake like that counts." It isn't as though it's some little inexpensive bakery treat. Lust buys enough baked goods to know what goes for what.

"That's just his way." Lust sighs. "Really, it's a miracle I got him to stay over. He's so opposed to any sort of help or kindness."

Al nods with a frown. "I've noticed. Even when I just offer to get a small snack or something for him when we're hanging out, he makes a fuss about it and insists I don't have to."

"Sometimes pointing out 'this is how friends treat friends' helps. I thought I was miserable when it came to amiable conversations and situations, but Scar takes every award in every category." She shakes her head.

"Aggressively being friendly doesn't help. Being plain and honest doesn't help. Ignoring him doesn't help. There's always 'please, do this for me', but I can't help but feel a bit guilty, playing on his emotions like that." A pause.

"Of course considering he won't even admit there are emotions, I suppose I shouldn't feel too badly."

Lust hadn't been wrong. Envy was planning to be gone all day training his newer team members. But then he'd realized that he forgot his lunch at the house, and he figured hey, why not just go eat lunch there?

Lust will get a whole few seconds of warning in the form of an excited Houndoom stopping in the kitchen doorway to bark a hello at her and Al before he runs off somewhere else in the house. And then the next thing to be in the doorframe is Envy, with Clara the Espurr walking close to his ankles. Envy stops midstep when he sees Alphonse, surprised enough that he has to blink a few times to process that yes, that is in fact the younger Elric in the house where Envy was not expecting to see him. Not Henry having suddenly decided to shave and dye his hair.

Of course, that's all the quiet there's going to be for the next while, as Envy points at him.

"What are you doing here?!"

Clearly he took advantage of Lust's friendliness to invite himself over where he wasn't supposed to be!!

Al laughs and was about to respond to Lust when the Houndoom's bark made him turn around, and then--

Envy. In an instant Al's leapt to his feet, keeping himself between Envy and Lust. She must be his target; if he could hold a grudge against himself and Edward, he must be just as furious for Lust turning traitor to Dante! But why now, of all times? "I could ask the same thing of you!"

Jack and Jill both look up between the two half-brothers, wary and worried.

Lust's face began falling when the Houndoom burst in. No. No, no, no. That could only mean...

Then things were happening almost too quickly. Envy shouting, Al leaping up....

Oh dear god. Lust shot out of her chair, knocking her glass to the floor in her haste. This was not the afternoon she'd had planned. She just wanted cake and company that made her feel nice.

"No! Stop it, both of you! Envy, I thought you were going to be gone all afternoon! Alphonse, Envy lives here!"

Well, she'd learned her lesson about trying to work around the Elric Issue.

"I live here, what's your excuse?!"

Sorry, Lust. If anything, that shows that he's not hearing a damn word that comes out of anybody but Alphonse's mouth, and barely that. It might as well be white noise.

"What, do you think I broke in?"

The way Al is standing between him and Lust is enough of an answer. And he's actually so angry at the implication that he came here to hurt her that his self-control flies right out the window. He's halfway to either punching or tackling Al, but nobody will ever know which because he jerks to a stop...midair.

Turns out, Espurr have pretty strong psychic powers even if they aren't very high leveled. Definitely strong enough to stop a human. And Clara doesn't like what's going on here at all. People should not be trying to battle each other!

Al, on the other hand, does hear what Lust says and turns to stare at her incredulously. "Wait, he seriously--?!"

But then he catches sight of Envy lunging out of the corner of his eye, and brings his hands up to...well, stare at him hanging in mid-air, apparently. Thank...Arceus for Espurrs?? This is all just incredibly awkward now.

Al backs up a step, not letting down his guard or taking his eyes off of Envy completely. "Lust, when and how did you two making up even happen?" No, he's not going to address Envy here, because he would like answers and not a bunch of cursing flung at his face.

Lust doesn't move, other than to glance at the Espurr. She's thankful the creature's there right now, she doesn't know if she'd be enough to hold Envy off. The activity has stirred her own Espurr, Henry, who's cautiously peering into the kitchen while quivering.

But then she turns to Alphonse, a look of utter confusion on her face.

"Make up? No, it...wasn't like that." She shook her head. "Envy came and got me the moment I found myself in this world, he took care of me for months. He's always taken care of me." Envy and France when she first came here, but that's not exactly relevant at the moment. "I understand your personal issues, but I'm not involved. And he wasn't supposed to be home - he knows you and I spend time together, I just promised not to have you around when he's home." She hopes that Envy's listening to her now.

"This was all just an unfortunate accident!"

Envy does curse and struggle against the psychic powers holding him in place, but when it becomes all too clear that he isn't going anywhere, he stills. It doesn't mean he's any less angry, which is easy to tell from his tightly crossed arms and the venomous glare he's leveling at Al, but he doesn't like looking entirely without control. Which flailing against an invisible force definitely made him look like.

He's at least hearing the words coming out of Lust's mouth now, but his attention is still focused mainly on Al. It's not her he's angry at.

"That's right, if there was going to be making up we'd have to have been fighting in the first place. Ever."

Disagreements and his failings as a brother aside, the two of them haven't truly fought. It's not like it was with him and Greed. And he wants Al to know that he was here first.

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Out On The Weekend....

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