Chapter Text
“So uh, hi! Yeah, I was um...” Phinks coughed and shifted as he attempted to maintain his highly practiced nonchalance. In front of him, taking up very little of the doorway, was perfection incarnate gazing up at him with a brow pinched in confusion and amber eyes that made his mouth go dry.
“Yes?” That smokey rasp was too much and Phinks felt the last traces of control disappear from this situation. Desperate, his eyes fixed on the TV just visible in the next room.
“Zombie movie, huh?”
“Uh, yes.”
“Cool, cool, probably not in English though, right?”
“No, not English.”
He heard a snicker behind him and he whirled around to glare at Shalnark. The blonde grinned at him from behind his cell phone. Great. This was not a moment he wanted to remember.
“Does it uh, have subtitles?” he tried again.
“I not know.” Feitan crossed his arms in front of his chest and sighed loudly.
“Do you think I would like it?”
“How...how I know that?” He was definitely annoying him. This was going so badly.
“Hey Phinks? Did you ask about the pizza yet?” Bless Machi.
“Yeah, do you like pizza?” He heard a thud and whirled around to see Machi miming banging her head against a wall. “I mean…” He took a deep breath. “We are going to order pizza. Would you like to join us?”
“Okay. I eat pizza.” Feitan looked behind him at his movie and then back at Phinks. “I come out when movie is done, yes?”
“Yeah! Great! That's...that's great. See you then.” He waved...waved, as Feitan gave him an odd look and closed the door softly.
“Shit. Stop laughing, assholes!”
Shalnark had slid down the wall to pool on the floor and cackle in his general direction. “Hey, at least Machi saved your butt!”
“Yeah, and you can pay me back by paying for the pizza you are now going to have to actually order.”
“Fuck you all.” Phinks stormed out to the sounds of their laughter, grabbing his phone out of his pocket as he went. Just for that, he was getting their pizza with extra anchovies.
Thirty-five minutes later, as the band sat around the long dining table scarfing heroic amounts of complex carbs and cheese, he felt a nudge at his shoulder.
The plastic dvd case slid onto the table next to his arm.
“Subtitles on main menu. Has English.”
“Uh...thank you!” Phinks stammered, clutching the box like a lifeline.
Feitan nodded before taking an empty seat next to Kortopi, who set a slice of mushroom onto his plate. Machi and Shalnark were staring at him with mouths wide open. Finally, Shal whispered loud enough to be heard next door: “Holy shit, that actually worked?”
Machi shrugged. “Fortune loves a fool.” Frustratingly, she was quick enough to dodge the wadded up napkin and Phinks was forced to stammer an apology to a very disgruntled Franklin.
Down the table, a pair of eyes were watching him, but by the time he turned his head, they were focused on Kortopi, a cat-like grin crinkling around their edges.