Chapter 1: #1: I Must Prepare to talk about his feelings
Summary:
Fang and Maisie return home to see Buster laid asleep on their couch surrounded by books about classical music, after a rude awakening, they ask him about what was all about. Buster explains so he can talk better with Chuck, but his freinds are shocked about on what that truly entails.
Notes:
This is my first mulitchapter fanfic I actually planned to be multichapter and not just cut half-assly in to chapters, like another fic of mine. Anyway I hope you like it. FYI, english isn't my first lenguage, so sorry for any typos.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Monday, 6:00 PM
Fang and Maisie are used to entering their trio’s shared apartment only to be greeted by Buster sleeping on the couch, but this time in particular they are more surprised by the amount of books surrounding him.
Now there isn't to say that Buster doesn’t have an interest in reading, but Maisie could have sworn that Buster wouldn't pick up even a single book about the basic of music, the foundations of classical music or even the biographies of famous classic musicians like Beethoven or Mozart unless he had to do an essay or study for a test in college.
Meanwhile, Fang takes a closer look to Buster and notices he was apparently listening to music the whole time, so Fang took Buster’s phone, slowly to avoid waking him up, but that happened anyway when seeing what song was currently playing on Youtube. “BEETHOVEN’S 5TH SYMPHONY???!!!” Fang shouted, unsurprisingly waking his bro up with a yell and falling out of the couch.
“Fang!” Maisie calls out Fang for waking up Buster so roughly.
“Sorry Maise…” Fang apologized, before rushing to show her what he saw. “But you gotta see this-”
“Ouch…” Buster groaned, before he got up from the floor, yawning, after that he finally noticed his friends “Hey guys, how long have you been here?” Then he noticed Fang holding his phone. “And give me my phone, dude!”
“Sorry bro, here you go.” Fang hands Buster’s phone before Maisie bumps his arm and he winces. “Oh yeah, I’m also sorry for waking you up from your nap.”
“‘My nap?” Buster scratches the back of his head before realizing what Fang meant and lets out a groan of frustration. “Oh man! Did I really fall asleep? For how long?”
“We just got back home, so we don’t know exactly…” Maisie says confused while also trying to show sympathy to Buster as he checks the time on his phone, even though she doesn’t know what he is so upset about yet.
“Yeah, but even if we did, it is normal to fall asleep while listening to old people's music.” Fang chuckled a bit, little did he know that his comment would result in him getting slapped in the face by Buster. “Ouch! Dude! Guess you want to get even already...” He rubbed the cheek at the spot Buster hit him, he could hear Maisie giggling about it, thinking he can't hear her, but he can.
“Fang! Don’t say that!” Buster screams, his friends are shocked by his reaction. “Classical music is badass in its own way! A lot of well known and critically acclaimed movies use orchestral music as the soundtrack, don’t you know that?!”
“We do! Of course we do!” Fang nervously states while shaking his hands in front of Buster. “But…”
“Are all these books really necessary?” Maisie asks.
Buster blushes a bit. “Yeah.. Of course they are.”
“Why?”
“Because Chuck usually talks about classical music, he's a conductor after all, but it really feels like he really loves what he's talking about. That's why I try to “research” so to speak about it, I want to understand any references or jokes he might make about classical music and I wanna respond to him when he tells a fun fact about Beethoven that isn't just “Oh really?” or “ That's cool!” I must prepare to talk about his interests…”
Fang and Maisie are surprised after hear that speech, but not really, this is Buster after all, he's the kindest guy they know, so of course he's going to make the extra effort to be able to talk to a friend, even if they didn't expect him to consider Chuck a friend.
“I mean it’s normal to learn about your boyfriend’s interests for conversation, right?”
Ok, they did not expect that last part. “ Boyfriend? Chuck? What?! ” That's the only thing on their minds right now. Maisie clears her throat. “Buster… I thought we were talking about Chuck. Why are you changing the subject?”
“I’m not!” Buster exclaims.
“But you suddenly mentioned your boyfriend out of nowhere!” Fang refutes.
“Out of nowhere?!” Buster got indignant. “Chuck IS my boyfriend!”
A silence passes
“WHAT??!!” Fang and Maisie feel like their brains just exploded. “YOU! AND! CHUCK! DATING!?”
“Yeah?” It’s Buster's turn to be confused.
Maisie tried to remain calm, but deep down she was kind of hoping that Buster was pulling a prank on them, or had signed them into a hidden camera show. “So… how long have you been…dating?”
“About like 4 months… How did you guys forget this?” Buster explains.
“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT??? WE CAN’T FORGET ANYTHING IF YOU DIDN’T TELL US ABOUT IT IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!” Fang screams, frustrated that Buster is acting like this is no big deal.
“I DID TELL YOU GUYS!!!” Buster yells back. “DON’T YOU GUYS REMEMBER?!”
“WHEN DID YOU TELL US??!!... Wait?” Fang and Maisie are starting to remember some things…
“Yeah, I have to admit Chuck is kinda handsome, but don’t tell Gus, he thinks that sorta thing is icky” That shy comment Buster whispered after Chuck came to pick up Gus after the guys took care of the little boy.
“ Sorry, about that Maise, It’s just that I noticed about that ‘The Re-animator’ is showing this month and I kept thinking if Chuck is going to see it…I mean he told me that it is one of his favorite movies and…I-I’m not saying I HOPE he goes to see it, so I can see HIM…but m-maybe I do, b-but I would understand if he’s too busy to see it… I-I’LL JUST GET BACK TO WORK!! ” Maisie remembered how Buster sometimes stares into a movie poster and because he heard Chuck like that movie and babbles about the conductor probably going to the cinema to see it.
“ Ok guys I have to be honest I know it may sound weird but.. I like Chuck!...Romantically. ” An actual confession from Buster that he likes Chuck.
“ That… is a surprise, yes…" That’s how Maisie responded back then. “ He is… a little more mature that I expected ”
“ But, that's still amazing anyway .” Fang declared. “ If anyone can get Chuck to lighten up, is you buddy, right, Maisie? ” Maisie looked at Fang curious but decided to go with the flow.
“ Yeah, Fang is right, Chuck would be lucky to date you. ” Maisie went to hug Buster for support and Fang followed suit.
They remember Buster trying not to cry, but letting out a few sobs of happiness. “ Thank you guys, you really are the best friends a guy could ask for… ” He was glad to know that his friends supported him and his love… or at least that's what he thought…
“ He’s definitely messing with us, right? ” Fang whispered, making sure Buster didn’t hear him.
“ Yeah, that's the most logical option right now." Maisie whispered back. “ He just wants to see how much he can keep this act before we freak out too much. ”
They winced when they remembered when Buster told he was going to confess his feelings to Chuck, his excitement when he told them the conductor liked him back, him getting so worked up deciding what to wear on their first date, him shyly asking if Chuck can join the trio on their Anime Night , the confusion on the conductor’s face when he noticed that Yuri On Ice isn’t really about lesbians, implying that Chuck knows what yuri is, and many more moments like that because they were showing support for their friend’s relationship, yes, but they were also waiting for the moment that Buster would say “ Psych! ” or “ Oh come on, guys! How long are you going to let me keep this up? Obviously, I’m just messing with you. ”
Needless to say they were embarrassed. “ He DID tell us… a lot… ” They blushed hard after realizing how stupid they were in retrospect.
“Why are you guys blushing?" Buster’s question gets them out of their thoughts, they look at each other nervously, before Maisie clears her throat once more.
“Well, yeah… we just remembered that you did tell us about your relationship… but…” Maisie trails off a bit.
“...We thought you were joking the whole time…” Fang finished the phrase, knowing that Maisie was too embarrassed to finish it herself.
After they both apologize for their mistake, Buster just stood there silent, Fang and Maisie were mentally preparing for the worst, only to hear Buster laughing, the laugh was so hard he had to hold himself. “Of course, hahaha!” He sighs, cleaning a tear under his sunglasses. “I should have known you would assume I was joking.”
“So… you are not mad at us?” Maise asked, surprised, but also a bit relieved.
“Of course not! … thought I’m a little miffed that you guys were ok with me being an ‘ old man fucker ’ until I actually fuck an old man” Buster stakes half jokingly.
“Yeah, our bad, bro.” Fang says sheepishly.
Maisie laughs nervously before Buster surprises her and Fang with a hug. “But it’s all forgiven, after all you guys did actually show your support, even if you thought you were playing along with a prank this whole time.” His words made his friends smile a bit because he was right, even if they thought he was joking about his feelings for Chuck, they still cheered him on, gave him advice on how to act on a date and even gave him some pick up lines.They finally returned the hug.
“Yeah, I guess you have a point there.” Maisie says “And if it makes you feel better, I was right after all, if Chuck finds out about all the effort you do just to talk to him about the things he likes, he’ll feel very lucky to have you as a boyfriend.”
“Hell yeah!” Fang agreed. “And if he really makes you happy, he would do the same with your interests.” Then he remembers that Chuck probably knows about anime and manga because of Buster. “In fact, he already does!”
“Thanks, guys, really.” Buster smiles as he knows that his friends will try their best to make him happy. And since they now know that his love for Chuck is in fact real, they would try even harder to support their relationship.
Notes:
Thanks for reading. Remember to give me kudos and comments if you like it. I'll get chapter 2 out as soon as possible.
Chapter 2: #2: Because he wants to go
Summary:
Mortis goes to Chuck's house to drink wine as he usually does, until he notices a strange box on top of the fire place, but nothing could prepare him for what would Chuck tell him when he tries to guess what inside.
Notes:
Hiii, Chapter 2 is here, I hope you like it. Remember English isn't my first lenguage so there might be typos. Also there's translation for the Italian in this chapter at the end
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Tuesday, 9:00 PM
Every 2 weeks, Mortis goes to Chuck’s house on a Tuesday night to drink wine. At first Chuck was annoyed that Mortis just decided to have this “tradition” without asking him about it or even telling him that it was going to be a tradition in the first place, but eventually, Chuck got used to it, even enjoyed the chats they have, maybe it was Mortis’ way to spend time with his neighbor, even the mortician was too prideful to admit it.
“This wine is sufficient enough Chuck, you may be spared of my wrath! ...For now…” Mortis declares with the grandeur he always thinks he has, even when faced with the reality that he doesn’t even have half of it.
Chuck can’t help rolling his eyes. “You say that, like you are not a guest in my humble abode…” Chuck responds. “That has invited himself in and is fortunate that I’m in a good mood to not immediately throw him out.”
“That’s because there is no better guest than me, Mortis the Magnificent!” Mortis stood up and took another sip. “It is an honor to have a master of the dark as myself as a visitor, an honor one should not take lightly!”
“Uh huh. Whatever you say, if it makes you happy.”
“Of course it does!”
“...Well, I’m glad you enjoyed the wine-”
Mortis shushed Chuck with a finger on the conductor’s mouth. Chuck really needs to do something about the mortician’s habit of interrupting people out of nowhere. “What is that?” Mortis pointed out the box at the top of the fireplace.
“Oh, that is-” Before Chuck can answer his own question, Mortis runs to hold the box and shake it to try to guess what’s inside.
“Is it old music sheets?”
“No…”
“Is it miniature trains?”
“I think you mean “model trains". And no."
“OH! I got it! A magic amulet that was passed down by your family generation by generation, that grants its wielder immense talent or power on anything they want to achieve! But it also contains a curse that makes them slowly lose themselves! Sometimes there are physical chances, sometimes it just their attitude that’s off, but it always brings-”
“IT'S NOT ANY OF THOSE THINGS!”
“THEN WHAT IS IT?!”
“It’s money…for Comic-con.”
“Huh?”
“It says “Comic-con money” on top”
Mortis looks at the top of the box to confirm and there it is, a piece of adhesive paper that has “Comic-con money” written on it. Mortis clears his throat. “W-Why, of course I already knew that! I j-just…testing you yeah! This was a test! And you passed, you didn't lose your memory after all!”
Chuck just shakes his head with a hand on his hat, unimpressed by Mortis’ bad attempt to save grace. “Although, I do wonder…” Mortis clears his throat again while putting the box back to where he found it. “Why do you even feel the need to save money to attend this “ Convention of Comics ”.?”
“First of all, the convention is not just about comics,it encapsulates everything related to Pop culture or “ Geek media ”, second of all…” Chuck says,suddenly, he starts blushing a bit before finishing his sentence. “...it’s because Buster wants to go.”
That was a surprise to Mortis, he didn’t expect Chuck to do a favor for the projectionist from the movie theater across Haunted Haven. “ Perhaps, he begged you on his knees to do this ” Mortis thought.
“So, when did Buster ask you to save the money?” the mortician asks
“He didn’t, I actually want this to be a surprise for him” Chuck responds.
“Why? This is a lot of money for it to be just for one person.”
“Well, knowing Buster, he would bring his trio with him obviously, somehow Gus would eavesdrop and say: “ Please! Please! Please! Let Shade and me go with you guys, pleaseeeeee! ” and they knew Gus wouldn’t take “no” for an answer, so they agreed…” Chuck blushes harder. “Then, Buster would ask me to go with them. I would try to politely decline, but Buster would insist saying: “ I want to enjoy Comic-Con with everyone I love, and that includes you Chuck! ” or something like that…”
“Why don’t you just say not if that happens?” Mortis got confused by Chuck's sheepish demeanor.
“I would try, but he would use the puppy eyes on me to change my mind and he would be very cute doing it, like he always is, and I can’t understand how he keeps getting away with it!”
“Oh, so Buster somehow learned a hypnotising spell so he can use it on you, so that's how he got to do this.”
“What?!” Chuck is baffled on how Mortis even got to that conclusion. “No! Where did you get that from?! DON’T YOU KNOW WHAT PUPPY EYES ARE?! DOESN’T YOUR NIECE DO THAT WHEN SHE WANTS SOMETHING?!”
“O-OF COURSE I K-KNOW WHAT PUPPY EYES ARE! O-ONLY AN IDIOT WOULDN'T KNOW THAT! WHAT I DON’T KNOW IS WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS IF BUSTER DIDN’T EVEN ASKED YOU!"
“BEACUSE HE HELPS ME EVEN IF I DIDN’T ASK HIM TO!”
There was a silence in the room, Mortis did not know what to respond,he noticed Chuck face completely red. Was it anger towards Mortis? Embarrassment for himself? The mortician may never know.
After a while, Chuck took a deep breath to calm down before speaking again. “Buster has this thing where… if he really cares about someone, he helps them, even if they didn’t ask for the help. He does that his friends, he does that to Gus… he even does that to me.”
“Chuck…” Mortis puts his hand on Chuck’s shoulder in case the conductor starts to cry.
“He helps find me inspiration for songs, he cooks for me, he cuddles me to help me relax after a bad day, he tries to fix my wheelchair if necessary..." Chuck smiles after remembering all the times that Buster lends him a hand and he giggles. “He even makes me laugh to lighten my mood.”
“God, please tell me what did I do to deserve him?” Chuck thought. “That kindness I assumed I didn’t deserve, that I thought I wasn’t worthy of, that I believed was taken for me and I would never get back… Buster showed it to me and he keeps showing it to me every day.” Mortis gave a little smile after this. Of course, how did he not notice that Chuck would want to do something nice for a friend?
”That’s because I have to make it up to him in any way I can. Sometimes I may think I’m not worthy of him, but maybe, by saving money for him so he can do what he loves, I'll give that kindness back to him and prove to him and myself that I’m worthy of his love.”
“ I'm so lucky to have him, I hope he feels lucky to have me too. ” Chuck silently wishes.
Mortis tried to hold his tears after that loving speech. “Oh, Chuck, I'm sure if you ask Buster he would tell you that you don’t need to prove anything, you are already worthy of being his friend!” The mortician goes to hug Chuck.
“Thank you, Mortis, that was actually nice of you-” Chuck says before realizing the last word of what Mortis just said and breaks the hug. “Wait, friend?... Mortis, I think there is a misunderstanding here, Buster is not my friend, he’s my boyfriend.”
Mortis just laughs. “Oh, hohoho, I see that Buster also gives a sense of humour, it's nice you have a friend to joke around with!”
“Joke around? I’m not joking, Buster and I are really dating.”
“Ah yes, “dating”, right.”
Chuck pulls out his cellphone, and looks through his contact list and calls the one that is named “ Mio caro ” with heart emojis around it. While the phone rings, he pouts on speaker. Before Mortis asks why, a voice comes out of it.
“ Hello? ”
"Buonanotte amore mio.”
“ Oh hi, Chuck ” It was Buster. “Do you want anything?”
“Nothing, just want to check how my wonderful boyfriend is doing on this beautiful night.”
“ Awww, stop it! I’m doing fine just watching Maise beat her Mega Man speedrunning record. ”
“Oh well, send her my regards. I mean tell her I say hi and good luck.”
“ I will ”
“I just remember I do have one question. Are we still doing that Cosplay date we have planned for tomorrow?”
“ Of course! ”
“What is a “Cosplay date”?” Mortis asks, emphasizing the phrase Cosplay date with air quotes.
“ Did you really forget about the Super City Fan Expo silly? Or do you just want to keep hearing my voice? … Wait, is that Mortis? ”
“The one and only!” Mortis can’t help saying that.
“Yeah, we are just doing our bi-weekly “tradition ”.” Chuck imitates Mortis’ air quotes.
“ Wait, am I on speaker right? Did you call just to prove to him we’re dating? ”
“W-Well that s-sounds kind of… self-serving when you say it like that b-but-”
“ HAHAHAHA! Don’t worry, I get it. I just had a similar situation yesterday, we are a kinda odd couple, after all.
“Heh, I guess we are. So, when is our date?”
“ 10:00 am. ”
“Fang's going to cover you I suppose.”
“ You are correct! Remember to drop Gus and Shade off to Retropolis so they can play with Jessie and Bonnie while we’re out. ”
“I already sent a message to Pam and Stu so they can pick them up tomorrow.”
“ Awesome, gotta go, byeee. ”
“Ciao.” Chuck finally hangs the call only to see Mortis’ blank face with his open mouth. The conductor couldn’t help but laugh. “I guess in retrospect I should have told you sooner, but you didn’t ask. Unless you only pretended to not believe me as another one of your tests.”
“Huh? ”That got Mortis out of his state of disbelief. “Oh yeah! This was a test to see how far you would prove your love is real to me, Mortis, Bringer of Doom, and you passed. Again! And you get extra points for figuring out about the test before I told you that is was a test”
“Since when are your tests valued by points?” Chuck asked sarcastically.
“Now, shut up!” Mortis crossed his arms as Chuck laughed again. Maybe this was Mortis’ weird way to show Chuck he was happy for his relationship, even if he didn’t understand how it even was possible in the first place.
“I still don’t know what a cosplay date is.”
“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that, Mortis.”
“And what is that supposed to mean?!”
“Nothing.”
“IT DOES MEAN SOMETHING!!”
Chuck almost forgot how fun it is to mess with Mortis sometimes, and he just knew that tomorrow’s date would be a lot more fun.
Notes:
Thank for reading. I'm already working on chapter 3, so look forward to that. Don't forget to give me kudos and comment of you like it.
Translations
Mio caro - My heart
Buonanotte amore mio - Goodnight my love
Ciao - Bye
Chapter 3: #3: Just Cosplay...Unless
Summary:
Buster and Chuck go to Super City Expo cosplaying as their Super Brawl OTP, when they hope to have a nice nerdy date, but then they are in for a surprise when other cosplayers want in on the fun.
Notes:
Chapter 3 is here I hope you like it. This turned to be the longest chapter so far.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Wednesday, 10:00 AM
Everyone knows that Tomorrowland is one of, if not, the “nerdiest” zone in all of Starr Park. Whenever you wanted to know what is like to witness real superheroes fighting monsters to protect Super City, to explore the vastness of space with the Starr Force, or just want to relieve the nostalgia of saving tokens to play videogames with your friends for fun or to compete to see who can get the highest score and win the big prize in the Starrcade, if you liked Sci-fi or are involved in Geek Culture in some capacity, chances are that Tomorrowland is your favorite area of the park.
And that notion becomes even more true if you visit Starr Park on summer to attend Super City Fan Expo, Starr Park’s very own annual comic/anime convention right here on Super City, where you can get to inside scoop of all the latest news on Starr Comic Group on the Q & A panels, get some exclusive merch, share your creations at the artist Alley or just hang out with other fans to feel like you are a part of a community. It is almost as big as Comic-Con, almost.
Even some brawlers show up too, the superhero trio obviously make an appearance if they are available, you can also guess that Larry and Lawrie would be there to keep order, but there are other brawlers that attend the con as vendors or as other fans of the many that go to shamelessly indulge in their nerdiness with like minded individuals.
The con seem to go as normal, until a strange man shows up, he seems to be riding at strange deep blue contraption that looks like that it could shock anyone that stand in his way, if the teal lighting decorations on the wheel of the vehicle doesn’t give that impression, the tesla coil in front of the machine certainly will.
The lighting motif is more present in his suit, which also contains metal accessories like the collar and the spiked bracelets, not only did the men have an black eyemask on his face, but also he has a hat deep blue (since there isn't a better word to describe it) that, of course, contain a decoration in the front that look like three lighting bolts together, but it also has a lever and a lightbull on top.
The man definitely looked like a supervillain straight out of a comic book, and after seeing the menacing look on his face, it didn’t take long for the crowd to realize who he was.
“ It’s Electroid! ” One con-goer pointed out. “ What is he up to? ” another whispered . “ Did Insectoid come with him? ” Question after question, the crowd tries to figure out what is going on, but Electroid tries to ignore them, after all, neither of them are the person he’s waiting for. “ Don’t tell me that he’s going to be late ” He thought, until he heard some steps going his way.
The crowd makes way for the new arrival. It was another man with a bulky yet soft build. He had white hair and blue skin with some strange markings all over it. He wears an outfit consisting of a black crop top with two arched lines and a golden border at the hem, black pants with aquamarine lines at the sides and at the end, adorned with a golden belt as well as a bandage on the right leg and shoes with a brown tip and golden accents as well.
There’s also golden and aquamarine accents on his black cape as well, he even has golden bracelets,he even has a golden headpiece with black shades included and a hexagonal clock on the forehead. It appears that the concept of time himself to be the theme of the whole attire as there is another clock symbol on his cape, also roman numerals on the back, as well as an hourglass hanging on his belt, and the weapon he was holding even has a clock symbol with roman numerals and a little hourglass with all the black, gold and aquamarine to match.
“ Hey look, it's Equilibrium!"
“ A hero showed up! ”
“ A classic battle between good and evil is upon us! ”
The crowd looks in anticipation, as Equilibrium and Electroid are standing face to face, a duel seems in order, right here on Star City Fan Expo and the fans have the phones ready to record all the action.
Electroid grins and claps slowly “Bravo! It’s nice for you to finally show up, Equilibrium!” The chronomancer sees Electroid more up close, to check if the electromancer didn’t have any tricks on his sleeve that won’t make this a fair fight. “It's nice for you to not ignore my request like a coward, Electroid.”
“I’d say for someone who can control time itself, I expected a little more punctuality, especially since you are the one who invited me to this little rendezvous .”
Equilibrium says nothing this time, the crowd is in shock, maybe he didn’t want to give Electroid the satisfaction of frustrating him.
“At the very least you are smart enough to dare me instead of Lord Insectoid himself.” Electroid voice got a bit deeper “But that doesn’t mean that this would be an easy fight for you! I am not a simple henchman, but his right hand man! I could destroy you if I wanted to, especially since your friends, the Super Brawlers, aren't here to help you!”
The crowd gasps at that threat, looking at Equilibrium to see his response, only for him to stay silent with that neutral face of introspection he’s known for, though his cheeks seem to get a little darker. As the crowd mumbles, Electroid is amused by this.
“What's wrong? Are you getting scared now? Even though you are the one who issued this challenge? That's pitiful… I see that you are the weakest part of the team.”
“ Don’t listen to him, Equilibrium! ” “ Yeah! Electroid is just messing with your head! ” “ The team wouldn't be the same without you ” “ He’s lucky you are too nice to go back in time and make it so he was never born! ” The crowd cheers Equilibrium up, telling him not to fall for Electroid’s words, but still doesn’t react.
“Well?!” Electroid is getting confused and tired of the chronomancer’s silence. “Are you going to say something?! Anything?!”
Finally, Equilibrium takes a deep breath and says: “H-Hot…”
“Huh?!”
“ HUH?! ” The crowd’s confusion is amplified after seeing Equilibrium running to get closer to Electroid just to say: “That was hot!”
Electroid gets flustered by the sudden declaration from the chronomancer. “W-What is wrong with you?! Be serious!!”
“I am serious! You seriously look super hot!”
“Don’t say that aloud, Buster! People might hear you!”
“Oh, let them hear, Chuck! If my boyfriend is doing something really hot, I can't just ignore it!"
“This is YOUR idea! You can’t change your mind now!”
“ So no duel? Well, at least it could still make a fun video. ”
“ It's that nice to know I’m not the only one who likes TimeStorm ”
“ God, I wanna have what they have… ”
“ Colette, please stop bringing me to these conventions ”
“ Hey, you two, we didn't come here for shipping, we came here for work! ”
“ Yes Griff…”
The crowd discussed among themselves, after realizing that no brawl was happening they dispersed though they found the situation funny anyway and went back to what they were doing. After taking a deep breath, Chuck just took Buster's hand and took them to the convention center. “You are the one who suggested role play. Did you not?” He reminds Buster.
“Yeah, that's true…” Buster sheepishly remembers when they were talking about the con yesterday afternoon when he suggested for them to act out a scene where Equilibrium challenged Electroid to a duel when they meet each other at the entrance, Chuck found that funny back then. “It was my idea.”
“Then why did you break character like that?! I know we agreed on improv, but still, don’t yell like that out of nowhere!”
“I know, I didn't mean to do that and I’m sorry, but you look so hot in the costume I just couldn’t help but blurt it out like that.”
Chuck blushes a bit. “Don’t say that, you help me make it, so it shouldn’t freak you out like that…”
“Yeah, but it’s not just the costume, it’s the way you acted back there, there was a certain kind of composure that’s somehow intimidating but in a calm silent fury way that you won’t let your foe know what's going to hit them before it was too late. Also you know that I feel “ things ” when you lower the tone of your voice. ”
“Well…I’m glad you think that…”
The couple blushed while walking around the con but eventually they slowly started talking about what panels they hope to attend, what merchandise they would be able to buy or simply their favorite Super Brawl moments,specially the “ Lightning Time ” series where Electroid and Equilibrium get separated from their teams and have to rely on each other to survive an abandoned lab filled with dangerous mutants.
Buster hugged Chuck and was gonna ask for him to take a selfie together , but before Chuck could answer he heard a voice. “Chuck? Do my eyes deceive me?” The conductor turns around to see a woman, who was waving at him while wearing a magical girl outfit style similar to a yukata with a couple of bags hanging on her other arm. After a closer look, he realizes who she is and goes towards her. “Kaze? Why didn’t you tell me you were going to the convention too?”
“I was going to ask that very question, my electrifying friend. Nice costume.”
“Thank you, Buster helped me with it, I’m the villain Electroid and he is the hero Equilibrium of the Super Brawl comics. Buster, you remember Kaze right?”
“Oh yeah, you have seen you at the Sushi shop serving people the food.” Buster shakes her hand. “Chuck said you go to the same pottery class together, right? Also you are Kenji’s wife, if I have to guess.”
“You guessed correctly, you and your friends are some of our greatest customers. Also, Chuck has told me so much about you.”
“Really? I hope he said nice things.”
“Oh he had nothing but praise for you. Like you are the kindest person he ever met, like he is always thanking God for letting him have met you, that somehow you are strong and soft at the same time and…Hmmm, Chuck what was something you told me last week? “ Sometimes, Buster is so adorable that I need to punch a hole in my dry wa- " "
Buster gets flustered while Chuck clears his throat after remembering all the cheesy things he told Kaze about Buster and wanted to change the topic. “So, Kaze, did Kenji come with you?”
“Oh yes. Actually we came pretty early because he got a food truck for the restaurant.” Kaze explains. “But Kenji said he only needed my help at noon, so I have some time to enjoy the con myself. Oh, and to buy some things for him as well, he’s getting into the Starr Force TV series lately.”
“O-Oh, really? That’s wonderful and that costume is beautiful."
“Oh thank you so much, I’m dressed as the protagonist of my favorite Majou Shoujo manga Masuri Fairies, Hanami Fairy. They are doing a Q & A about the upcoming anime adaptation, which starts in…” Kaze gasps after checking her watch. “5 minutes! I have to hurry!”
“W-Wait Kaze” Buster hands her his phone. “Can you take a picture of us before you go, please?”
Kaze giggles. “Of course!” She takes the phone and finds the camera, after she aims it at the couple, Buster hugs Chuck again, which made him laugh and kiss the projectionist’s cheek, making him blush. That's when Kaze took the photo, she went to give Buster his phone back. “Well, I have to go, see you later!” She runs as she waves goodbye.
“Thank you for the photo Kaze!” Chuck waves back, then notices Buster lookin at his phone nervously. “Mio caro, what happened?” Chuck checks the phone and sees the photo, it was when he kissed Buster’s cheek, causing the projectionist to blush like crazy, the conductor can’t help but laugh. “It is a pretty good photo right?”
“I wish I didn’t blush like that though.” Buster mumbles while twiddling his index fingers.
“But you look cute when you blush.”
“Don’t say that aloud!”
“Oh I will! After all, if my boyfriend does something really cute, I can’t just ignore it.”
Buster gets flustered after hearing his own words used against him. “Let’s just get to the closest panel!”
So the couple went their way to enjoy the con, they went to a lot of panels, though Buster did most of the questions, but Chuck still was curious about certain things. After that they went to the artist valley to check out the merch, discussing which ones to buy for themselves and which ones to buy as souvenirs.
“Buster, look. I found a keychain of this cute anime girl with blue pigtails dressed up like Garfield, I thought you would like it ”
“Oh that sounds nice - IS THAT FUCKING HATSUNE MIKU?!”
“Oh, so that’s her name? Do you know what anime she’s from?”
“Y-yeah… She isn’t from any anime or manga. She is a voicebank for Vocaloid.”
“What’s Vocaloid?”
Buster put his hands on Chuck’s shoulders. “Babe, this is going to blow your fucking mind.” He gave an one hour and a half “basic summary” of the history of Vocaloid and showed Chuck some songs and MVs, the conductor was amazed by this particular use of technology for music.
After that, they went to the Super Brawl panel to get news about the latest issues. After the panel, they were surrounded by other fans who love their costumes,say they look just like them, some even recognize them from that live-action adaption they appeared in as actors.
They answered some questions about what was like the filming process, their experiences with the source material and their favorite scenes of the movie.
“ Hey, what was your LEAST favorite part about the movie? ”
“Equilibrium and Electroid didn’t interact enough…” The couple said joking but at the same time not really.
“ Yeah I feel you! After today, they better fix that if there is going to be a sequel. ”
“I sure hope they do!” Buster exclaims, causing Chuck to laugh.
The fans took some photos of the couples, some are reactions of some moments in the comic, others are from TimeStorm fans wanting them to act out some scenes from their fanfics and there’s also photos of them just being themselves.
The couple was starting to get hungry after 2 hours, so they said goodbye to the fans as they went to the food area outside the convention center. There were 5 food trucks and plenty of tables to sit. Chuck notices the food truck for Kenji’s shop and takes Buster there. After waiting in line, Chuck talks with Kaze while they are waiting for their order, Buster looks at Chuck for a bit, he can’t exactly tell what the topic of the conversation is, but Buster doesn’t need to, he can tell Chuck is having as much fun as him.
After Kenji gives the couple their food, Chuck pays for both of them and thanks Kaze again for the talk, before they look to find a table. They found one of those accessible tables for people with physical disabilities, so they decided to eat there. Buster ordered a takoyaki serving while Chuck ordered the Wasabi Surprise Temaki is a serving of 6 temaki with different ingredients but one of them contains super spicy wasabi in the filling so eating it is kind of a gamble with your taste buds .
“Hmmm! This takoyaki is amazing, it looks like Kenji brought his A-game this year!” Buster exclaims, before taking another ball, Chuck nods in agreement. “I really like the temakis. It's like a compilation of the best flavors of the sea.”
“It’s also the only kind of sushi you can eat without struggling with chopsticks, hehe.”
“I can hear that you know! And don’t laugh, you are not using chopsticks either!”
“I'm still using some kind of stick.” Buster opens his mouth to eat another takoyaki ball before Chuck steals it and eats it himself. “Hey! Not fair!”
“Sorry my beloved, but you should’ve mocked me like that.” Chuck says slyly. He grabs another roll, before he could eat, Buster grabs his arm and gives a big bite to the conductor’s temaki and chews with a mischievous look. “What's wrong with you?!” Chuck yells before Buster lets go of his arm.
“Ha! I took a bite first! Now we are even!”
“You are lucky there wasn’t wasabi in there...” Chuck pouts
“Please, I would have survived!”
“But you still could've burned your tongue!”
The two men laugh at the little fight then go back to eating, Chuck reflects on the date so far, even though he was a little frustrated at what happened at the entrance, he believes that the date is going great, he giggles a bit, Buster noticed. “What's so funny?”
“Oh nothing, it’s just I’m having a good time right now!” Chuck smiles
“Oh. I’m glad to hear that…” Buster blushes.
“So, what’s our plan after this?”
“O-Oh, right! I was thinking he can just chill for now. After all, we need to save our energy for the Exclusive Sneak peek of season 6 of Mystery at the Hub !”
“Is that really going to happen?! When?!”
“At 2:30, so we have some time until then. But I doubt they are actually going to show the entire first episode.”
“Regardless, there’s no better way to end this date! I have some questions that are waiting to be answered.” Chuck says in a sing-song tone, bites another roll, suddenly, he feels a hot sensation in his mouth, sweats and leaves out a yell. “Aah!”
“CHUCK ARE YOU OK?! DID YOU GET HURT?!”
“I’m fine. I just found the one with wasabi in it.” Chuck coughs before drinking his milk tea and immediately goes back to eating.
“YOU STILL GOING TO EAT IT?!”
“I would be a coward if I didn’t finished it”
“You are weird, but that's why I love you.”
Chuck blushed and not just because of the super spicy wasabi. “I love you too.”
After the couple finished eating, they wandered the con for a while, holding each other’s hand, they told each other funny stories, they called Gus to check on him, they also took the time to watch people. They noticed that the stage for the sneak peak is close by so they were going before it was too full.
But suddenly Buster felt taken away by a dark blue blur, Chuck chased after the mysterious threat “ Nobody hurts my man and get away with it! ” That's all the conductor could think while his boyfriend screams in fear and confusion, soon he uses his signs to make an alternative route to make way through the crowds so he can get in front of the perpetrator. “Stop right now!”
“You think you can tell me what to do?! Don’t make me remind you who your master is!”
“What?”
The closer he looked, the clearer it became that the one who is holding Buster hostage, is a robot whose outfit resembles a horned beetle and on top of him there is a vehicle that also looks like a beetle. The robot looked at Chuck with annoyance like a subordinate just asked him a stupid question, which made Chuck confused. “Um Carl, what is happening?”
“It is Lord Insector to you! Did you forget? Seriously, did you brain fry after too much voltage or something?”
“Um no, I don’t think so…”’
“Ok, I would say I just lost the plot here, but I didn’t really have it in the first place” Buster comments.
“Silence, time fool! Now, I was going to felicitate you for your plan to destroy Equilibrium right here in this event, but clearly the hero would get the better of you, so I decided to give you a little hand. Thought I supposed you can at least give him a false sense of security without messing it up, so that’s something”
“Wait so you saw what we did at the entrance?”
“Oh yes, somehow your foolish act to distract Electroid from dueling was a success.” Carl looked at Buster before whispering. “ But seriously don’t scream like crazy if you can't act in a fight scene. The crowd might think you are attracted to Chuck or something stupid. ”
Buster got a little offended. “But I do!”
“Yes, yes you do, you do know that we can’t let our guard down on you heroes. Which is why the three of us will finally destroy once and that would be one less of our problems.”
“Wait, the three of us? Does that mean?” Chuck looked at his side to see Bibi dressed in a black, gray and red outfit with some gold accents, holding a pipe wrench over her shoulder with a menacing look on her face. “AAH! Bibi, since when you were here?”
“It’s Crime Fixer bozo!” Bibi declared, she was already in character. “Who do you think was watching you making sure that giant smurf over there doesn't try to do anything funny?”
“You've been following us?! Ok I expect that from Colette, but not for you.”
“ OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! YOU REMEMBERED ME!! ”
“SILENCE, YOU CRAZY FAN!” Carl orders.
“Sorry…”
“Now, where was I? Damn it now I forgot!”
“Now you let our friend go or get ready for a beating!”
“Oh I was? Well- NO! Who said that?!”
“Turn around! You evil doer!” When he does, Carl gasps as he sees a girl in some sort of phoenix themed robo suit, a hooded figure that seems grim but divine at the same time and a man who exudes confidence even with the cheap wig.
“ It’s the Super Brawlers! ” The crowd cheers at their arrival, meanwhile Buster and Chuck are just distressed. “ Oh no! Please don’t make it into a big thing! ” They thought. “When we saw that Electroid challenged you to a duel , we were worried that it was going to be a trap.!” Janet says
“Looks like we were right!” The hooded figure declares
“No, you weren’t Grom.” Buster sighs
“Maybe he was going to use your time power to power some doomsday device" Says the confident man.
“No, Sam. We were going to use these tickets…” Chuck show said passes on his hand while pointing at them. “...To get to the sneak peak of the new season of Mystery at the Hub. ”
“But now this ends here!” Janet says
“Why is this happening?” Buster asks
“ Well, I thought you wanted an epic showdown to make up for what happened at the entrance. ” Janet whispers to explain. “ I understand getting performance anxiety but that doesn’t mean you have to act like you like Chuck like that ”
“I DO LIKE CHUCK LIKE THAT!”
“What’s his problem?” Carl asks.
“The problem is that all of you are interrupting our date!” Chuck explains with a tired tone.
Everyone, including the crow stood still for a moment, trying to process what the conductor just said.
“Is that true?” Carl blurts out
“Yeah. Now, can you please let me go?” Buster asks. “The sneak peak is in 10 minutes.” Carl lets go of Buster with a blank stare on his face, the robot never likes to admit he was wrong after all. Buster went towards Chuck and held his hand, pointing that to every one so they could tell they were a couple.
“Sorry…” Everyone around them says as the couple heads their way. As they hurry to go to the main stage room where the sneak peak would be shown, Buster tries to lighten the mood. “You know, one day we are going to look back at this and laugh.”
“But not today.” Chuck says.
“Oh yeah, that thing was kinda annoying. But we still made it in time for the sneak peek. That's something right?”
Chuck looks at the main stage and smiles. “Yeah, yes it is. Now let’s hand out our tickets and find a spot for us.”
“You got it!” Buster exclaims. Even a little misunderstanding couldn’t ruin their date, especially if it involves their comic book OTP that started as a joke but became serious or their favorite detective show.
Notes:
Thanks for reading it till the end. Remember to comment and give me kudos if you like it.
Chapter 4: #4: Maybe Lunch Does Really Mean Lunch
Summary:
Chuck forgot to pack lunch again. The good news, Buster already packed one for him and it going to give at noon. The bad news he gets stopped by Mico who has some...creative ideas about their relationship
Notes:
Hi, I hope you like this chapter, they writing process has gotten easy so far. Once again, sorry if you see any typos.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Thursday, 12:00 PM
SoulVirtuoso: I’m going to be fine. There is not need for you to worry
C1n3m4H3r0: Sure, I don’t have anything to worry about.
C1n3m4H3r0: It’s just my boyfriend forgetting to pack his own lunch… again.
C1n3m4H3r0: It’s not like he’s starving himself.
SoulVirtuoso: Buster, it isn't a big deal.
C1n3m4H3r0: Of course it is!
C1n3m4H3r0: I just want you to eat actual food instead of shallowing cigarettes!
SoulVirtuoso: I DON’T SWALLOW CIGARETTES!! 😡
C1n3m4H3r0: Yes you do! 😈
Buster laughs while he gets out of the Turbo Teather, texting Chuck about his bad habit of forgetting to pack lunch for himself because getting super focused on a song the night before. He might joke about his boyfriend eating cigarettes but Buster is really worried that Chuck might not feed himself enough, so he asks Gus to let him know if Chuck forgot to pack lunch that day so he can pack lunch for Chuck and give it to the conductor at break time. He’s holding both their lunches for today on a paper bag each one. He looks at his phone to see a new message from Chuck.
SoulVirtuoso: I don’t and you know it!
C1n3m4H3r0: What I know is that you need nourishment.
C1n3m4H3r0:Which is why I packed lunch for the both of us.
SoulVirtuoso: Mio caro, I love your kindness, your cooking and your willingness to learn how to make Italian food for my sake.
SoulVirtuoso: But you don’t have to pack me lunch.
C1n3m4H3r0: I put a fruit roll-up in yours.
SoulVirtuoso: Hell yeah! 😀
SoulVirtuoso: So where are we meeting?
C1n3m4H3r0: At the fountain at Towns square.
SoulVirtuoso: Very well.
SoulVirtuoso: See you there!
SoulVirtuoso: I love you! 💚
C1n3m4H3r0: I love you too! 🧡
Buster puts his phone down as he goes his way humming with content. “Maybe Chuck is rubbing off on me, I have been humming more often.” Buster thinks and smiles gently, it could be a sign on how close he has gotten with Chuck after they started dating. But suddenly he felt an odd sensation, it was like someone was watching him, he tried to ignore it as he kept walking, but he couldn’t help but notice a brown blur seem to jump in and out, the projectionist was starting to get scared.
“W-Whoever you are… I’m n-not in the mood to brawl right now!” He says while starting to run, fearing for his life. As soon as he got close to the exit that led to Towns Square, the mysterious figure got in front of him, the projectionist screamed. “PLEASE DON’T EAT ME, I DON’T TASTE GOOD!”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Cool your jets! I’m not gonna eat ya! I’m not that kinda ape!”
Buster recognized that voice, as soon he opened his eyes, he looked down and there was Mico with his arms crossed and moving his foot as he was getting tired of waiting for someone for a long time. Buster sighs of relief, it was all in his head! “Oh! It was just you Mico! For a moment I thought someone was following to eat me. ”
“Again, not that kinda ape.” Mico waves his hand down with a grin. “I would NEVER try to eat ya! … But I was followin’ ya.”
Buster is shocked at that confession, especially the nonchalant way Mico went about it. “What?! Why?!”
“Ok, let me explain.” Mico clears his throat. “Ya see, I noticed how ya seem to get… some success in the filming industry lately. Last year there was a little independent film called “Cyberbrawl”. Do ya remember that film?”
“Yeah, Fang and I directed that film.”
“And who helped ya with the soundtrack?”
“Well Frank did the music, but Chuck composed it…”
“Exactly! That movie was, let’s say moderately successful to say the least, besides the amateur actors as the leads"
“Hey! Brock and Bea gave a really good performan-” Mico puts a finger on Buster’s lips.
“Flash forward to 10 months! In! That! Same! Year!" He claps four times for emphasis. “That long awaited movie adaptation of Super Brawl is finally released to the public! And that movie was an overwhelming success! Now, Guess who just happened to play the enigmatic chronomancer Equilibrium, huh?"
“Me…” Buster was starting to lose patience.
“Buster Fucking Agnew, ladies and gentlemen and everone in between! And may I remind ya who not only worked on that movie's soundtrack, by himself mind ya, but also played Inscector’s right hand man Electroid?!”
“You are going to do that regardless of my answer."
“CARLO “CHUCK” ORECCHIO!”
“Is there a point to this or you just want to help you practice acting like a conspiracy nut job?”
“I was going to get that. Would it kill ya to wait a bit?!”
“Chuck is waiting for me for more than a bit now.” Buster starts to get frustrated with the monkey. “I’m kind of in a hurry, so can you get to it there, please?”
“Now, an amateur actor and filmmaker like yourself shouldn’t get that much success as someone as multitalented as moi would have. Especially since the rumors of the troubling production process of the Super Brawl film.”
“And the lack of Equilibrium and Electroid interactions in the final product.” Buster mumbles.
“Actually I’m more of an InsectStorm fan myself but anyway, where was I?” Mico snaps his fingers. “Oh yeah! Then I thought: “Oi! Chuck is the conductor of that Ghost Station thing, there’s gotta be some monkey business going on there. With a spooky twist on top of it!” That’s where I realized…”
“You get jealous of people who get more recognition by working hard on their passions than you ever will by pretending you’re a big shot by just dropping a bunch of famous people's names and hope that’s enough for people to think you’re important.”
“Yes...No!” Mico was getting really mad right now. “I realized that ya and Chuck must have a secret alliance to manipulate the moviegoers anywhere so ya get free exposure!”
Ok Buster did not expect that at all. Mico has to be preparing to audition for a movie about a conspiracy theorist, right? “Wait, you really think that?!”
“It was either that or Chuck used ghost magic to give you acting and directing powers, which is equally possible. Look! Look! The point is ya two are having some kinda shortcut to get admiration that would only be received after years of hard work and determination!...And I want in.”
You might not tell by his sunglasses but Buster’s eye was twitching after hearing something so far off from reality. He just wants to give his boyfriend lunch, for God’s sake! “No Mico, that’s not it. Like at all”
“That’s what ya want me to think!”
“No! That’s absolutely not true! Oh my God! How could you think that?! Can I go now? I have to meet Chuck at the fountain and he’s probably there waiting for me for minutes!”
“Aha! Ya just said you're gonna to meet him! So that means I was right!”
Buster facepalms. “No, that just means we're going to have lunch together.”
“Lunch together…” Mico tries to think, emphasis on tries. “Is that a code or something? What does that mean?”
“That we are having lunch together! It doesn’t have to be a big dark secret!”
“What isn’t a big dark secret?” The two turn around and yell in shock to see Lola has joined them. “Why, yes. My entrance is always a pleasant surprise.” She flips her hair like she is posing for the paparazzi. “But seriously, what are you two talking about?”
“Oh, hey Lola. I was going to meet up with Chuck for lunch, but Mico thinks we’re some shadowy conspiracy to manipulate the Entertainment Industry for our own benefit.”
“I don’t think, I know!” Mico glares at Buster
“That’s unbelievable!” Lola Exclaims.
“Oh Thank god, finally someone listens to reason-” Before Buster can finish his sentence, he receives a slap on his face.
“How dare you, Buster?!”
“What?!”
“I always knew you and your little friends were envious of my overwhelming fame. But to sink as low as to mess with supernatural forces to keep up with me? You disgust me Buster!”
Buster is trying really hard not to swear. “IS NOT LIKE THAT AT ALL!”
“THEN WHY ELSE ARE YA MEETING UP WITH CHUCK?! WHAT DOES LUNCH ACTUALLY MEAN?!” Mico points his finger at Buster in an accusatory manner.
“MAYBE LUNCH DOES REALLY MEAN LUNCH! HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT OF THAT MICO?!”
“WHY WOULD YOU ACTUALLY HAVE LUNCH WITH CHUCK?! IF NOT TO USURP ME!” Lola points her faux fox scarf at Buster’s face.
“BECAUSE HE’S MY BOYFRIEND AND I WANNA US TO HAVE LUNCH TOGETHER!"
Mico and Lola stood quiet after hearing that, they looked at each other and laughed very hard. Buster went from annoyed to confused. “Ok, what's so funny?”
“Sorry, sorry sorry, buddy” Mico clears a tear in his eye as he stops laughing. “But ya did not say that ya two are dating!”
Now Buster is annoyed “But we are!”
“Now Buster, darling, you can’t just say such silly things like you being Chuck’s boyfriend” Lola pats Buster’s shoulder. “After all…”
“I know, I know, our age gap is kinda …”
“Oh no, it’s not that. It’s that Chuck is refined, as he can be, and you are soo…you.”
“I’m ugly?”
“You said it, not me!” Lola puts her hands in the air “I was going to say stupid.” She mumbles.
“WHAT?!”
Soon, a portal shows up in front of the commotion, Gray steps out of it before anyone can ask, he steps aside, as in right on cue someone rushed towards Buster. “What’s going on?! I have been waiting for 15 minutes! I had to call Gray to portal me to your location!”
“I know Chuck, I wanted to go as soon as possible, but Mico and Lola wouldn’t let me go!” Buster hands Chuck the bag where keeps the conductor's lunce. “Oh here’s your lunch.”
“Thank you.” Chuck turns to Lola and Mico. “You two! You better have a good reason as to why you were harassing my boyfriend!”
Mico and Lola are so afraid of Chuck’s glare that they are at a loss of words. “Well...You see…We thought...” “WHY DID YOU GOT TO BE IN THE SUPER BRAWL MOVIE?!” Mico screams at Chuck while pointing at him.
“Oh, because we like the source material. Also sometimes Electroid and Equilibrium remind us of ourselves.” Chuck takes Buster’s hand. “Let’s go, Buster. I’m starving!”
Buster laughs as they head to the portal. “I knew it! Bet you wished you packed your own lunch!”
Chuck rolls his eyes and smiles. “Shut up.” He stops and looks at Gray. “Oh thanks by the way, Gray!”
Gray takes his hat out for Chuck as a way to say You’re welcome as the couple step into the portal. After it disappears, Gray heads to his coworkers, who are still in shock and proceed to pull their ears. “OW!” They yell in pain as Gray drags them away.
Finally the couple can have their lunch date, after Buster sat down on the edge of the fountain, they open the bags to take out their lunch boxes. “All right it’s for me it's 3 peanut covered apple slices, a grilled cheese sandwich, a pack of cookies for dessert and orange juice. Now see what you made you Chuck”
“Hmmm, Let’s see…” Chuck takes a look at his lunch box. “There’s the fruit roll up, nice. Oh! A little trail mix, a ciabatti grinder salad sandwich, and cranberry juice! My favorite, thank you Buster.”
“Any time, just remember to pack your lunch next time, I can’t always cook for you”
“Well, that just means I have to treasure the moments you can even more”
Buster gets flustered. “L-Let’s just eat.”
Chuck laughs and starts eating, he thinks that maybe he should remember to pack his own lunch more often but he doubts it would even be half as delicious as anything Buster would make for him.
Notes:
Thanks for reading it. Don't forget to give kudos and comments if you like it. I just sign in for my monographic (my college end) on two days ago and tomorrow I have to go to registry to get my formulary and pay it. So if in any capacity the remaining chapter are taking longer to release, is beacuse I will try to focus on getting done, so I finally graduate. Wish me luck!
Chapter 5: #5: Of Course It's My Bussiness! I'm his boyfriend
Summary:
Chuck wants to talk about Angelo about something. Something that was pissing him off for a while. Angelo reluctantly agreed.
Notes:
HIIII! This chapter is a little more angsty than the others, so sorry for the tears in advance
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Friday, 6:30 AM
Chuck knocks on the door of the shack where the Swamp of Love trio lives, he tries to not do it so harshly so as to awaken anyone but he has to talk with Angelo about something REALLY important. He remained firm with crossed arms until the mosquito finally opened the door. “Good morning Angelo.” Chuck forced a smile.
“Good Morning…” Angelo yawns, they are not a morning bug that’s for sure. “What are you doing here, Chuck?”
“Nothing, I just wanted to talk, that’s all. It’s important”
“Is it important enough to talk half an hour before the park opens?” Angelo was slowly closing the door before the conductor stopped them.
“Yes” Chuck had a firm grip on the knob while his smile was more forced . “Yes it is.”
“Fine” Angelo groans but before reluctantly letting Chuck in. “Just hurry, Willow is waiting for me.”
“Thank you” the inside of the shack looked like you would expect, slimy and grimy but you could tell its inhabitants tried to make it as clean as it could be. As soon as Angelo closed the door, Chuck dropped the nice act. “I know what you did…” he said while replacing his smile with an intense glare.
“What? What are you talking about?!” Angelo stops and sighs “Ok, fine you got me.” The cupid looks through their pockets and throws a deodorant at Chuck. “I accidentally took your deodorant after that Heist match. I was going to give it back, promise, but y’know, I been so busy with ride and-”
“Huh? N-No!” Chuck puts the deodorant in his coat. ”I DIDN’T COME HERE FOR THE STUPID DEODORANT!”
“Then what is it?!”
Chuck takes a deep breath before speaking. “Buster told me something yesterday…something you did last month.”
“Honey, I did a lot of things last month, you got to be more specific.”
“All right, he told me was having a stroll at the outskirts of the Katana Kingdom-”
“Oh, love that place! They have the best sushi ever.”
“Would you let me finish, please?” Chuck grumbles
“Oh sure, since you love to hear yourself talk!”
“ I’m going to smash that bug! ” Chuck clears his throat before continuing. “As I was saying…Buster was enjoying his walk, until out of nowhere some brawles were chasing him with heart eyes!”
“Damn! That’s crazy, lucky him!”
Chuck twitches his left eye. “He said he saw a tengu that looked like you sitting on a roof laughing!”
After hearing that, it finally hit Angelo what Chuck was talking about. “Oh yeah! I remembered now!” All the morning grogginess they previously have somehow is completely gone. Yeah,I did that. Hilarious, right?” Angelo’s laugh causes Chuck to punch them in the face.
“OW! What was that for?!”
“...How?”
“Oh simple, I find some brawlers who happened to have a name that starts with the letter B, oh just like Buster, funny, and shot them with my arrow to-”
“How?”
“Oh did I turn into that tengu thing, oh funny story, so Kenji was handing out sushi with some weird wasabi that-” Before they could finish, Chuck grabbed them by the shoulders.
“HOW DARE YOU?!”
Angelo acts like this didn’t scare them, but did feel uneasy at the conductor’s attitude “Whoa! W-Way to take it to 0 to 100!”
“HOW DARE YOU TREAT BRAWLERS LIKE TOYS?! HOW DARE YOU ACT LIKE OTHER’S FEELINGS ARE SOME GAMES YOU CAN JUST PLAY TO YOUR CONTENT?! HOW DARE MESS WITH BUSTER’S HEART LIKE THAT?!”
“Woah! S-So?”
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN “ SO? ”?”
“So? Why do you care? I do this kind of thing with almost everyone! They get used to it one day, I’m sure Buster will too! There’s no need to act like this is suddenly your business!”
“ Piccola merda… ” Chuck clenched his teeth. “OF COURSE IT’S MY BUSINESS! I’M HIS BOYFRIEND!”
Angelo stood there silently, as Chuck let them go to take a deep breath, they blankly stare at the conductor, who seems to calm down but still has a glare in his face. They open their mouth, close it, then open it again to laugh loudly. This confuses Chuck. “Why are you laughing?”
“HAHAHAHAHA! Haa…” Angelo cleans a tear from their eye. “Wow! I did NOT know that Brawlywood gave out acting lessons! You really aced that rage act!"
“what? Act?!”
“Yes, the one you just did right now! The scorned lover confronts the one responsible for surrounding his beloved with adoring suitors, worrying that they were going to forget them! Oh, that’s so dramatic! Oh, please tell me where you get your inspiration? Where did you channel that anger?”
“I “channeled it” from finding out that a pest brainwashed people into desiring my boyfriend Buster carnally!”
“OOH! Interesting, who is that pest? What is their back-”
“YOU! YOU ARE THE PEST!”
“Oh right, guilty! Although, it's really harsh of you to say I “brainwashed” them into wanting Buster. Like how do you know that any of them wasn’t already attracted to him? I see it more like giving them a little push to do something they probably were already considering doing in the first place.”
Chuck was surprised after hearing that, were they right? Did all those people really like Buster already before Angelo shot them with their arrow? If this was a lie to make him more pissed, then sadly it is working. “Did you ask any of them if they at least think Buster is handsome?”
“Oh, no.” Angelo rolls their eye after seeing Chuck facepalm. “But come on, folks love a big beautiful man!”’
“But he is MY big beautiful man!”
“Ok you don’t have to make up a reason to yell at me in the morning. If you wanna get mad for the sake of being mad, go for it, nobody is stopping you!”
“You are unbelievable!”
“Thank you!”
“That was not a complement…”
“Oh boo hoo! Don’t act like I’m the bad guy here!”
“But you literally are!”
“Oh relax, you should get more mad about what I did to your train.”
Chuck looks at Angelo dead in the eye. “What did you do to my train?”
“Oh nothing, it was so long ago, it has nothing to do with this!”
“Then why did you mention it if it’s so unrelated? Hmm?”
Angelo couldn’t fight off the pressure. “Fine, so about like 7-ish months or something, I may or may not… sneaked into the Ghost Station while you were on a break to draw a heart that had “ Buster x B ” on it.”
Oh, that may be the last straw for Chuck. He was already mad about it since it made Buster uncomfortable, but knowing that they fueled his insecurities about his own feelings, even if it was unintentional, made him furious. “What did that “ B ” stand for?”
“Oh that’s the funny part, It stands for nothing!”
“...What?”
“Yeah turns out you don’t have to write an actual name before scribbling a bar after the first letter! The fact that said bar is there already implies censorship, which causes losers who treat ship wars too seriously to make up theories and fight each other for said theories!”
“ It was for nothing then… It turns out, back then, I pitied myself for nothing… ” Chuck remembers when he saw that heart during maintenance, he was a little insecure about his feelings for Buster already back then, but that doodle made it worse. It could’ve meant Buster was already spoken for.
The conductor asked Buster about, in a friendly way of course, he didn’t want Buster to feel like he’s issuing a complaint for vandalism, he just wanted to know the truth. Buster denied drawing that heart since he was making a movie with Fang at the time, but he got nervous when Chuck asked him if he doesn’t really like someone.
In retrospect, Chuck knows that Buster still didn’t have the courage to confess to him back then or even joke about the possibility of the two of them dating like “ Whoever made this, got the initial wrong” or “They got the wrong letter” or even “If they have written a name starting with C, it would’ve been more convincing” , but in that moment the most obvious options for Chuck was that Buster did like someone, but another person drew that heart to tease him about it or was that same crush who liked him back.
He thought he lost the war for Buster’s heart before he even got the bravery to fight a single a battle and he thought even if he got it, he still would’ve lost as it was most like that person was more close to Buster’s age, so it was probably for the best for Buster to love someone his own age instead of wasting time with a broken old man who took advantage of his trust by falling in love with him.
Chuck thought that things would be easier if he just hated Buster and if it wasn't for Kaze,who gave him the words he needed to accept Buster’s confession when it finally happened, he would’ve still believed that to this very day. But now knowing that the supposed competition most likely wasn’t even real made him clenched his fist. Angelo made him throw himself a pity party for 5 months without even knowing it and even if the conductor told them that, they would still believe he has nothing to do with this.
“Chuck…honey…” Angelo's voice dares to get Chuck out of his own thoughts.
“Only Buster gets to call me that…”
“OMG! Are still with the whole “ Buster is my boyfriend! ” act?! Because if you like them younger, fine, I don’t care but If I have to deal with…” Angelo gestures towards all of Chuck. “...this whole situation for THIS ONE MORNING, then I don’t want to imagine what Buster has to deal with everyday if that bullshit is true, that boy must be desperate either for being loved or just cash, and no offense, but it’s not like you would be a good sug-”
Chuck punches Angelo again, this time hard enough to make them fall to the floor. “...You are banned.”
“Huh?” Angelo rubs their cheek.
“You are banned from the train for 7 months.”
“Ohoho! Ok pretty funny Chuck…” Angelo gets up and cleans themself from any dust particles when they notice a lack of response from the conductor. “Chuck?”
Chuck just goes his way.
“Chuck? You are joking right?”
“...”
“This is a prank, right? Right?!”
“...”
“You can’t be THAT mad over a doodle right?”
“...”
“I-It p–probably isn’t very noticeable anymore!”
“...”
“You probably have cleaned it already, right?! Oh, b-but if you were too busy, then I can do it for you! Can that be my punishment instead?!...Please!"
The conductor gets to the door.
“Ok, ok, sorry for vandalizing your train for drama! THERE ARE YOU HAPPY?!”
Chuck just stares at the door.
“I know, I know what I did to your train was bad, but you have to be fair too. “ You are banned from the train for 7 months! ” is too much. Unless…This is just a prank? Right?! You are not actually going to do that?! Right?!”
“Don’t worry…”
“Oh thank goodness, you almost scared me right-”
“...I don't mean you Allie, you go to the station if you want, this is only for Angelo. But Willow is on thin ice, my apologies” Chuck said as he made his exit.
Angelo can only look in fear as Alli jumps out of the cabinet that she has been hiding for who knows how long groaning. “How does he keep knowing every time?!”
“I-I don’t know Alli… Say, how much have you been listening to this conversation?”
“All of it”
“Of course…”
“Ya really fucked up mate!”
“He was only mad because I vandalized this train right?...”
“...I don’t know, let’s just get to work”
As he was exiting the Swamp of Love environment, Chuck hears his phone ring, he realizes it is a call from Buster, he takes a deep breath before answering. “Hello”
" Buongiorno , mio caro conduttore ”
Chuck laughs a bit, his morning is starting to get better it seems. “I see you have been practicing your Italian, lately.”
“ Yep! Oh, I know there’s 10 minutes before work but I just wanna hear your voice so I get energy for the day."
“Hehe, I can understand the feeling…”
“ So what have you done so far? Anything interesting happened? ”
“...I just talked to Angelo, that’s all…”
“ About what? You know they don’t really like mornings. Wait, is it about that thing? ”
“...” Chuck cringed when he remembered that Buster told him just to forget about it yesterday.
“Chuck!”
“I did.”
Chuck can hear Buster sigh. “ Chuck! I told not to make a big deal about it! ”
“But it is a big deal, especially since you just told me yesterday!”
“ Yeah, but I didn’t want you to worry about me or get jealous because of it ”
“I-I wasn’t jealous!”
“ Chuck… ”
The conductor blushes a bit. “Ok, maybe I got… a little jealous when they said those people could’ve liked you anyway.”
“ Well Angelo does this sorta thing with almost everyone. ”
“I know but that doesn’t change the fact they hurt you, and I could've done something to prevent it!”
“ Chuck, you didn't have to do that. You don’t have to worry about me! ”
“But I want to worry about you! I want to make sure you are safe and happy, I want to be able to stop harm from coming your way whenever it is physical or emotional!” Chuck tries to hold the need to cry. “You are so important to me! I would never forgive myself if I hurt you or if my inaction causes you harm! That’s why I need you to tell me if you have a problem so I can fix it!”
“ Chuck… That's so sweet of you! I’m happy you think that highly of me. ”
“Well, you deserve the highest of praise!”
Buster laughs over the phone. “ Thanks! And you have a point, I always tell you that you can trust me with anything but it wouldn’t make sense if I didn’t trust you as much. I’ll try being more honest to you about my troubles. ”
“That 's nice.”
“ But that doesn’t mean you HAVE you to go the extra mile to fix it by yourself. My problems are still MY problems. Sometimes I want you to just help me find the solution and it’s okay if you don’t know how to help as long as you are still willing to listen. You got that right? ”
“Yes I understand, I like hearing your voice already, so I can listen to you vent as much as you want”
“ Thanks! By the way, just letting you know, I’m not just gonna to date someone else just because of a doodle. You are the one I want in my heart, you are charismatic, funny, handsome, brave, confident, cute- ”
“Hey! I’m not cute!”
“ Yes you are, you cutie! Anyway, you may think you are too weird for me but I don’t love you besides your oddities, I love you BECAUSE of your oddities! And I wished I told you that when asked about the heart 7 months ago. It probably wouldn’t stop Angelo from doing what they did, but I would give you the reassurance that you needed and get the honor of dating you a lot sooner! ”
Chuck couldn’t stop himself from crying anymore but luckily these were tears of joy, his boyfriend really does love him, to think someone would consider dating him an honor, that made Chuck’s whole day. “Y-You are the cute one here! Saying those silly things like that, that somehow makes me feel better! Thank you!”
“ You’re welcome babe. So what did you do to them? ”
“I punched them…” Chuck sniffs and rubs the tears out of his eyes. “...twice.”
“ WHAT?! ”
“They asked for it!”
“ I know, but still… ”
“Also they are the one who drew the heart by the way.”
“Really? Why am I not surprised? ”
“So I banned them from the train for 7 months.”
“ By “them” you only meant Angelo, right? ”
“Of course”
“ You are harsh but fair. ”
“Thank you! But what really infuriated me is that they acted like I had no reason to be mad at them! Even when I told them I’m your boyfriend!”
“ You stomped their house at 6:30 am to defend my honor and they didn’t notice it?! ”
“That nerve! I wouldn’t be surprised if they pretended to be oblivious just piss me off even more!”
“ Hey, I think I have a way to make them understand! ”
“Oh really?”
“ Yes, but I tell you over lunch, you have to work soon. ”
“Very well, see you later.”
"Bye babe!"
Chuck hanged up his phone and headed his way to go to work, feeling a lot better.
9:50 pm
“Ugh!” Willow groans “Why is there always a couple that comes in MINUTES before we close?!”
“Oh, tell me about it!” Angelo has just finished their nails. “I will greet them for you, darling.”
“Oh, you are life saver Angelo!”
“Oh I know!” As the cupid went to the attraction entrance, they were in for a surprise. “Welcome lovebugs! To the Swamp of - AAH!”
“Oh thank goodness! We made it after all, we are still on time, right?”
Angelo rubs their eye, hoping the vision of Chuck and Buster in front of them isn’t real. “Y-yeah..W-We were going to c-close in 10 minutes, but you can still go on the ride since you..two seem so excited!” Angelo smiles more awkwardly than usual.
“Yeah, we could come earlier.” Buster rubs the back of his head. “But I was nervous since my friends told me they had bad experiences here.” Suddenly Chuck carries Buster like he was a princess , this made Buster flustered and Angelo shocked.
“Don’t worry, mio caro…” Chuck caresses Buster’s hair. “...I’ll make sure our romantic boat ride goes as smoothly as possible. After all, you are my greatest tesoro.”
“AAAH! Chuck! Stop!” Buster puts his hands on his cheeks. “Isn’t he dreamy when he gets like this?!”
“S-Sure, h-he is!” Angelo has felt karma going to get them for the very first time in a long time.
Notes:
Thanks for reading! Don't forget to comment and give me kudos. And sorry for the typos and the tears.
Chapter 6: #6: Nat 20 Perfomance Check
Summary:
When they went to Draco's house to follow up on their DnD campaign Buster and Chuck thought there wouldn't be any problems, well, except for Meeple being ... Meeple. But when they notice certain similarities on some of the NPCs, they would have a harder time being in character than they thought
Notes:
New Chapter, the longtest actually lol. To any Dnd nerds in here, I'm sorry if I got anything wrong. Once again sorry for any typos.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Saturday, 5:00 PM
Brawldrasil, a world where conflict can make you who you are, where peace is only a temporal state of rest. Here a strange boon can fall from the sky giving those who found it immense power if they dare to find it and if it finds them worthy. People call these Starr Visions, usually they let their user channel the power of 8 elements: Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Ice, Lighting, Life and Death, but on rare occasions one can find a special Star Vision that give the power of light or dark, and even rare than that there are the elusive Double Starr Visions that have the power of two elements at once.
Many adventure guilds are made so some of the boldest Star Vision users can join together in a party to prove themselves in combat for glory, fame or power. But there’s someone who tried to have too much power, Malaquai a dragonborn king tried to get control of all the elements by stealing of the Star Visions of the land to take over the world, a band of heroes face off the Mad King to same the realm, but they couldn’t kill them just seal him away in a tomb in Darkbay, and after thousands of years, the seal is starting to wear off.
Fearing the return of the mad king, the Starr Children, a religious order that believes in the cosmic entity known as the Starr Man created the Starr Visions for mortals to carry on his will, send out their best acolyte, Amanda, an elf cleric with a light Star Vision to gather a group of adventures to venture into Darkbay to seal Malaquai once again before he can cause chaos in the land.
Amanda had her doubts since this would be her first time leaving the temple, but she couldn’t let her God down, so set off on the journey. And so, her odyssey has her in an adventuring guild, where would meet the party that would join her on her adventure. Kensuke, the half-orc leader with a Water Starr Vision coming from the eastern islands of the Nagashihoro, look to confirm if everything his elders told him about the western continent are true; Cameron, a Satyr paladin with a Earth Starr Vision looking to keep his old mentor’s heroic legacy alive; Hellmina, a tiefling who got a Double Starr Vision of Fire and Ice, still undecided if is a blessing or a curse; Acurssio, a graveborn rogue whose recently learning the way of the bard in hopes to understand why he got his Life Starr Vision and Mellard, a threadborn wizard with a Lightning Starr Vision, who wants to research the rules of its phenomenon, and to see if those rules can be broken.
Strangers who were united by fate, becoming comrades by choice, together they would face great obstacles, as well as the Malaquai’s generals who won’t let anyone interrupt the return of their ki-
“Do you have to say that every time?! You can’t waste the all powerful Meeple’s precious time!” Meeple cross their arms as Draco rubs the back of his helmet while everyone else is looking annoyed at them. Of course Meeple would complain in this week's DnD session. .
“Well, I mean… not really.” Draco tries to explain himself. “But it’s nice to give everyone a reminder of the main plot and the basis of their characters! And I get to use my super cool narrator voice!" Draco puffs his chest proudly.
“You think we would forget that so you can hear yourself talk? How uncouth!”
“Kattila kutsuu vedenkeitintä mustaksi…” Lumi mumbles while shaking her head.
“I don’t know what you said but I agreed” Kenji mumbles back to her, being equally annoyed by Meeple's hypocrisy.
“Remind me again, who invited Meeple?” Chuck grumbles, tapping his finger on the table.
“That’s the thing, nobody did.” Mandy whispered, hoping that Meeple wouldn't hear her. “They just showed up, already with a character sheet, dice, everything.”
“But, isn’t Meeple a cheater and a sore loser?”
“Yeah, but luckily Draco is flexible with the rules when he’s the DM.” Buster adds, whispering as well. “And it can be kinda funny seeing them lose anyway after cheating!”
“As long as they don’t destroy anything with a temper tantrum…"
“Yeah, Mandy is right, just be glad they aren’t the DM, they are a lot worse when that happens” Buster holds Chuck hand, hoping to ease the conductor a bit.
“JUST GO WHERE WE LEFT OFF!” Meeple demanded.
“Ok, ok, ok, I will! Cheesh!” Draco clears his throat.
Last time we saw our heroes, they fought off a horde of plant monsters while heading to the nearest town, they were victorious but they were also tired and it was getting dark luckily there was an inn near the village, the party could rest for the night and they could gather information and supplies in the morning, that is if they convince the innkeeper to let them stay.
The inn is just as simple on the inside as it looks on the outside, there was an aura of warmth and comfort, maybe too much comfort? At the front there was the check where people would check in. There was the innkeeper, he appears to be human with slick back brown hair, pale skin and black eyes, the kind you would find yourself lost in, he wears a formal outfit with a dark coat-
Buster suddenly got surprised. “A dark coat?”
“Um, yeah a dark coat?” Draco got confused
“Oh…carry on.”
“Ok, then…” Draco got confused but decided to ignore that.
-with a smile on his face, he greeted our adventurers with a deep refined, accented voice.
Innkeeper: Welcome adventurers to my humble inn, my name is Ron and I assume you must be on a quest.
Amanda: That is correct, we are on a mission sent out by Lord Starrman himself.
Ron: Oh, so you are one of those Starrchildren are you? You must come a long way from your temple, little elf. But it seems you got yourself a good party to protect you.
Amanda: Yes, it was fate that brought me this party, because my Lord knew they would be able to aid me on this quest, so in the end the Starrman is the one protecting me.
Mellard: I don’t remember that “God” giving you a force field in that last battle.
Hellmina: Quiet Mellard!
Ron: I must say, you are the most interesting adventuring part I have seen so fair.
Cameron: W-What do you mean? E-Explain it as precisely as possible.
“Buster, do you have a fever?” Lumi asked, noticing Buster’s stutter.
“ I can’t let her know I like the innkeeper’s voice, even if it's just because… ” Buster gulps. “I’m just not convinced about this guy’s intentions, y’know?”
“Yeah, your character is the type to not trust strangers easily.”
“Yep…Cameron's mentor got betrayed pretty often, so,he gave him some light paranoia, haha!” Buster coughs while Chuck is looking a bit worried at him.
Ron: [Clears throat] Well, there not humans in this party, instead we have an elf, a satyr, a orc-
Kensuke: Half-orc.
Ron: Right, right… a threadborn, a graveborn with a Life Starr Vision, ironic right, that the Starrman gave it to someone from a species who never experienced life?-
“Pfff!” Chuck covers his mouth as everyone is looking at him. “Sorry…I was coughing.” Chuck clenches his fist while he does just that.
Acurssio: Yes I am aware of said irony, I keep telling everyone we meet that they don’t have to remind me.
Ron: Easy there, no need to get antsy! Where was I? Oh yes, and a tiefling. [Takes a closer look at Hellmina] with a Double Starr Vision not less, I have never seen that before! Do you mind if I take a closer look?
Hellmina: Yes I would mind. A lot would.
Ron: Fine, I can say I didn’t try but I do hope to see your visions.
Mellard: Depends, if we can see yours in exchange?
Kensuke: Mellard!
Mellard: What?! It’s for my research!
Acurssio: My apologies to my friend, they don’t know when a joke is unwarranted in a situation like these.
Ron: You are saying that like I want to hurt you…
Acurssio: You are saying like there’s a reason to believe that
“ This kinda sounds like two Chucks are about to fight each other. AUGH! Why do I find that hot?! ” Buster tries to remain calm.
“Can I roll for a persuasion check?” Chuck asks
“Go ahead” Draco looks as Chuck takes his dice set and shakes it around before dropping them on the table. “Ok, what did you get?”
“I got a 17.”
“That 's good!” you tell the innkeeper that your party just got attacked by carnivorous plants and you barely escape alive despite how outnumbered you were, you offer to tell him the story if he lets the party stay for half the price.
Innkeeper: Well then, I let my maid take your friends to their rooms, Oh Adeline!
A maid enters through the door next to the desk, wearing a long dress you would expect from a maid, like the innkeeper had brown hair, there was a smile on her face but you can’t tell if there was something behind that smile and somehow her eyes are close like if someone glue her eyelids together.
Adeline: Yes master?
Innkeeper: Would you be so kind as to take these adventurers to some of the vacant rooms while I hear our graveborn friend’s story.
Adeline: Of course master.
“Adeline is so lucky…” Buster mumbles.
“What was that, Buster?” Draco asks, causing Buster to freeze up.
Buster feels everyone's eyes on him,he tries to take a deep breath and remain calm as he thinks up an excuse. “I want to pee…”
“What are you? Five?” Meeple scoffs
“Oh ok, the bathroom is-”
“Thanks, don’t wait for me!” Buster got up from his chair and ran as fast as possible.\
“Chuck, does Buster have bladder problems?” Kenji whispers.
“No, as far as I know.”Chuck responded. “He said he would be more honest about his troubles, he didn’t mean like urological problems”
“What?”
“Oh sorry! I was thinking out aloud. I must go as well, I have to make sure Buster doesn’t get lost.” Chuck
“Yeah,it happens sometimes, try not to be there for too long.” Draco says as Meeple gasps in indignation.
“ARE YOU SERIOUSLY GOING TO LET EVERYONE GO TO THE BATHROOM?!”
“You have no idea how hard I’m trying not to punch you.” Mandy says.
As soon Buster entered the bathroom, he panted after running so much, he decided to take a deep breath, inhaling then exhaling. “THAT INNKEEPER IS SO HOT! WHY DID DRACO DECIDE TO GIVE AN ACCENT?! OBVIOUSLY RON GOING TO BE REVEALED TO BE ONE OF MALAQUAI’S GENERALS,BUT THAT JUST MAKES HIM HOTTER! BUT CAMERON IS NEVER GOING TO THINK THAT, HE HATES BEING TRICKED! I WANT A SCENARIO WHEN AFTER THE REVEAL HE’S WILLING LET’S RON HAVE HIS WAY WITH HIM FOR THE SAFETY OF THE OTHERS BUT THEN ACURSSIO GOES TO SAVE CAMERON FROM’S THE GENERAL’S GRASP!” Buster takes another breath. “BUT THAT’S NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN BECAUSE CAMERON IS THE MOST RESISTANT TO TEMPTATION, RIGHT AFTER AMANDA!”
Buster puts his hands on his face, whining like he’s about to cry while kneeling down. “I'm going to hell for sure!”
“The day you are going to hell is the day I'm quitting Christianity.”
Buster turns around to see Chuck at the bathroom door. “C-Chuck! Haha…How much did you hear of that rant?”
“All of it.
“Shit…”
Chuck laughs as he goes over to help Buster get up from the floor. “Mio caro, I never seen you so embarrassed about desiring a fictional character before!”
Buster cleans himself from any dust. “That's just because it goes against MY fictional character's beliefs!”
“Still, you can still tell everyone you think Ron is hot after the session is over.”
“But the thing is, I only think he's hot because he reminds of you.”
Chuck blushes. “R-Really?”
“Yeah, the accent, the dark coat, even the hair, it was the same hair color you had before coming to the Ghost Station!”
“W-Well…” Chuck held Buster's cheek and kissed him on the lips, it was short and sweet. “I'm glad you think I'm that hot.”
“I don't think so, I know so!”
“Also I understand your point since…remember the comment Ron made about Acurssio's Starr Vision?”
“It was ironic because his species never experienced life?”
“Yeah, well…it's reminded me of a similar comment you did when we were making our characters”
“Oh yeah, I guess Ron also possesses my genius in humor!” Buster poses confidently.
“Heh,it appears he does. Too bad Acurssio would never appreciate it.”
“Yeah, he doesn’t really like jokes and only laughs to let possible enemies guard down.”
“I know I made him!” The couple laughs, after that Chuck gives Buster a gentle gaze. “But at a lighter note, there’s nothing stopping Cameron and Acurssio to fall in love with each other. Am I correct?”
“You are right!” Buster smiles. “We can just make our one-shot about them getting closer!”
“Yeah, maybe we could even… roll a nat 20 on seduction for some scenes” Chuck winks at Buster, turning his face red.
“HEY THERE! I MEAN, I’M NOT AGAINST IT, BUT STILL!”
Chuck laughs. “Are you ready to come back? Everyone must be waiting for us.”
“Yeah, I just need to get that out of my system.” The couple soon return to the game table, where the session comes back to running as usual, the party is well rested and they are ready to go to the village.
They decide to split off to gain more ground, Amanda, Cameron and Mellard would ask the villagers for information about how to get to Darkbay and anything they know about the Mad King and how to defeat him meanwhile, Kensuke, Acurssio and Hellmina go to buy supplies. We are going to check on the shopping first, the half-orc. the graveborn, and the tiefling head to a shop with two floors, when they got in, they realized that one floor was for regular items and the other for magical items through a faint glow above them, when they met the shopkeeper they notice his physique, he was a half-elf who looks like he let himself go but there’s still some muscle here and there, he had a big boisterous with brown eyes that are ready greet every he meets, his attire was messy but in way that was charming instead of irresponsible.
Kensuke: Greetings, shopkeeper.
Shopkeeper: Why, Hello there folks, are you new around here?
Hellmina: We would say yes, but unfortunately our stay here is unlikely to be very long.
Shopkeeper: Ohohoh! Oh boy, you guild adventurers can stay in one place for too long, Am I right? But then again, if you did the world would be destroyed and I like living in the world and my customers too, and they can’t give money if there’s no world, so I can’t judge!
“Ha-” Chuck closed his mouth and covered it with his hands.
“Chuck, are you alright?” Kenji puts a hand on the conductor’s shoulder worrying is starting to get sick.
Not wanting to tell the truth Chuck took a deep breath. “I’m fine Kenji, I just forgot what I was going to say, that’s all.”
“Are you sure you are not ill?”
“If I was, I wouldn't even come here. I don’t want to get anyone sick, especially not Buster.” Chuck smiled nervously as he eyed Buster who looked a bit worried himself, since the projectionist knows Chuck actually has a hard time admitting when he was sick. Chuck took a deep breath to get back into character.
Acurssio: How are you going to judge when you are going to die anyway?
Hellmina: Acurssio!
Kensuke: [Holds Acurssio over the shoulder] My deepest apologies, he is usually more graceful when meeting new people. [Bows] Acurssio, apologize!
Acurssio: …Forgive me I didn’t have a good sleep last night.
Shopkeeper: Don’t worry, believe or not I also get a little grumpy if I don’t get my morning coffee. But anyway, welcome to my shop, The Best Buy Of Both Worlds, some people call me Paul, mostly because that’s my name.
Hellmina: Paul. That must be an interesting name.
Paul: Not really, it’s just nobody had a good idea for a nickname for 45 years, which is funny because today is my 45th birthday.
Chuck giggles under his hand. “T-That is-” He noticed Meeple judging him, he didn’t want to be accused of not taking the game seriously, so he clears his throat.
Acurssio: -something.
Paul: But if enough about me, let’s talk about my items! [Open his arms] As you can see the first floor has regular old items like forks, some boots, aces, ect; but once you go up into the second floor…
Paul leaves his counter, to take the adventurers to some kind of magictech elevator to take them to the second floor, when they arrived the glow they noticed earlier is more noticeable as it is the light of many wands, staffs, tomes and catalysts surging with power, There was still aces and other bladed weapons, but there were infused with magic as well. You can tell this floor is specifically for adventures with Starr Visions.
Paul: You can see magical items for your adventuring needs whenever you are sorcerer or a ranger if you want to use your Starr Vision to make a name for yourself, this is the place for you!
Kensuke: If Mellard was here they would try to buy every tome and orb in here!
“There’s no need to remind me, Kenji, I can already hear everything!" Meeple complained, now wishing their character was in the shop. “It’s against the rules to go to a magic shop without a magic artist!”
“You know since I’m a bard, I also count as a magic artist, right?” Chuck commented while rolling his eyes.
“You started as a rogue, so you don’t count!”
“I asked if it is okay for me to multiclass and Draco said yes!”
“Well, maybe Draco shouldn’t be the Dungeon Master!”
“This is my fucking house, Meeple!” Draco yelled.
“EVERYONE STOP!” Buster puts his hand on the table. “We came here to have fun and if you don’t want to play you can leave Meeple!”
“Tch” Meeple crossed their arms. “Fine, I supposed I will stay but only to make sure you don’t kill me off.”
“I might consider it now…” Draco mumbles.
“What was that?!”
“Nothing! Let's get back to the story!”
Paul: Well whoever they are I can’t blame them! These magic items have S-Rank quality at D-ranks prices! Even the blind can see all the bargains, specially the ones that help simulate sight or heighten their other senses.
“PPPPFFFFFF!” Chuck puts his hand on his mouth, trying to hold his laughter.
“Chuck, do you need to go to the bathroom?” Mandy asks, noticing that Chuck is shaking.
“Yes! I’ll try not to last long!” Chuck already raced to the bathroom, leaving everyone confused and Buster worried.
Chuck entered the bathroom, locked the door, took a deep breath and laughed really hard. “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I GET IT THAT! PAUL DEFINITELY HAS THE GIFT OF COMEDY!” He winched. “H-HE MADE A BLIND J-JOKE THAT ISN’T O-OFFENSIVE TO BLIND PEOPLE! A-AND HIS OTHER JOKES ARE CLEVER TOO! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! EVEN IF YOU AREN’T BUY ANYTHING THE J-JOKES MAKE VISITING THE SHOP WORTH IT! HAHAHAHA!” After laughing Chuck cleaned a tear on his eye “Hahahah…I want him.”
Chuck suddenly slapped himself in the face. “What’s wrong with me?! He could be married with children, I can’t be a homewrecker! Well, Paul didn’t mention having a family, so maybe…NO! ACURSSIO WOULDN’T EVEN ASK THAT BECAUSE HE SO SERIOUS THAT HE HATES JOKES! But Paul is so cute, but also hot?! I want him to hug me while he tells me that everything is going to be fine but, I also want him to carry me like I weigh like a couple of grapes while he makes me scream his name over and over again!” Chuck took another deep breath. “And his laugh, oh his laugh! So gruff yet so sweet like Santa Claus! ... Wait…Does that mean I want to fuck Santa Claus?! No! I mean I hope not!...But I would mind if Buster was chosen to be Santa these Brawlidays if it means he would give me a special present if I have been nice this year or maybe even a punishment harder than charcoal if I have been naughty instead.”
“Well, I’m not sure about that, but I will always be willing to be your Mrs’ Claus!”
Chuck recognized the voice. “Buster!” He unlocked the door to let Buster in. “Ahaha…I guess there’s no use pretending you couldn’t hear me.”
“Nope”
“Merda.” Chuck covers his face with his hands.
“ Cute! ” Buster thinks as he holds Chuck’s arms to look at Chuck’s flustered face. “Let me guess, you want to fuck Paul?”
“...Yes, but only because he reminds me of you…”
Buster blushes after hearing that, letting go of Chuck’s arms. “Whoa…”
“Yeah, soft physique but still with some muscle, big smile and especially that sense of humor.”
“So you do like my jokes!”
“Of course, my dear! Even though they are cheesy…”
“Hey! There’s nothing bad about being cheesy!”
Chuck laughs. “I guess you are right, let’s go back.”
So the couple came back to the table once again, but this time, everyone else’s eyes were on them. Most of them are a mix of confused and worried, meanwhile Meeple is pissed. Buster clears his throat and waves nervously. “H-Hey guys, what’s going on?”
“Oh, I will tell you what’s going on!” Meeple gets up from their seat. “YOU ARE HIDING SOMETHING!”
“What?!” Chuck ask
“Not Again!” Buster puts a hand on his face while remembering what happened on Wednesday.
“Meeple sit! Please!” Draco ask
“NO! I WILL NOT SIT UNTIL THE RULES ARE-”
“MEEPLE, JUST SIT DOWN!” Lumi screamed, causing Meeple to immediately sit down out of fear. “Thank you.”
“Now, what Meeple is trying to say, or at least what I hope they are trying to say…” Draco explained. “You guys have been going to the bathroom two times in a row.”
“Yeah, not to mention you been acting weird on certain NPCs” Mandy says
“So we can’t help but to be worried about you.” Lumi added.
“We want to help you however we can, so please tell us what’s wrong.” Kenji reclaims.
“What’s wrong here is these fools clearly don't take the game seriously!” Meeple exclaims, causing every one to groan.
Buster tries to explain, before Chuck puts a hand on his chest. “Mio caro,let me handle it” The conductor clears his throat. “We are fine, we just went to the bathroom to take a breath…BECAUSE DRACO IS MAKING A FOOL OUT OF US!”
Draco was shocked by the sudden accusation. “What are you talking about?!”
“DON’T ACT STUPID RIGHT NOW! YOU MADE PAUL BASED ON BUSTER’S SENSE OF HUMOUR KNOWING MY CHARACTER WOULDN’T ENTERTAIN THOSE JOKES!” Chuck, then, moves his arms towards Buster. “AND YOU MADE RON BASED ON ME KNOW THAT BUSTER’S CHARACTER WOULDN'T EVEN LIKE HIM!”
“Y-Yes, I made some NPCs based on you guys. B-But you can’t say I did it to make fun of you.”
Buster puts his hand at Chuck’s shoulder to make him calm down. “Now, now, Chuck, Draco just because Draco made NPCs based on us, doesn’t mean he sees us as idiots.”
Chuck took a deep breath and looked at Buster. “I supposed you are right.”
Buster then looked at Draco. “But if you wanted to call me out for liking confident older men with a spooky vibe just do it to my face!”
“What?! Call you out?!” Draco is flabbergasted. “T-That doesn’t make any sense!”
“So you admit it, you think our relationship makes no sense!” Chuck exclaimed.
“What?! No! What relationship?”
“The one in front of you right now!” Buster crossed his hands.
“...I don’t understand.” Draco says
“Then we will show you!” Chuck says, before he and Buster hold hands in front of everyone, making them shocked at the display.
“The kindest, funniest, most beautiful man I ever met!” Chuck declares.
“The bravest, most charismatic, most handsome man I laid my eyes on!” Buster exclaimed.
“That’s the one I decided to give my heart to!” The both of them yell. “Our love is not a joke! It’s as real as it can be!”
Everyone else is silent after that declaration of love, some feel happy to hear it, while others remain confused. Draco gets starry eyed before clearing his throat. “Ok we get it now! Didn’t mean to make fun of your relationship like that! I didn’t know that, I just like to make NPCs with some of my friend’s personality traits.”
The couple look at each other, before smiling, letting go of each other’s hand. “I guess we got carried away.” Chuck nervously laughs.
“Yeah, sorry about that!” Buster puts his hand at the back of his head.
“Don’t be, you actually have nice taste.” Draco winks. “Besides, I didn’t make Ron based on Chuck, I made him based on Byron!”
“Huh? So that explains his name.”
"But I did based Paul a little bit on Buster" Draco clarifies.
"Just a little?" Buster asks.
"Just the basics of your personality, I swear"
“Wait. So does that mean you and Byron are-” Chuck was going to ask, before Draco got flustered and started to move his arms at random.
“W-Wait? Me and Byron! Dating?! No way! T-That would be ridiculous!” He laughs nervously.
“But does that mean you find him handsome, Draco?” Lumi asks.
“NO! If anything… I find him suspicious, that’s why I made Ron based on him!”
“That better not be a spoiler, Draco!” Meeple warned.
“No it isn’t!” Everyone started laughing, even if everything didn’t go as planned , they could still have fun. “L-Let’s just get back to where we left off!”
“Before we do that, let me say one thing.” Kenji looks at Buster and Chuck as they return to the table. “Buster, Chuck, no matter how unlikely it is, the few of what I saw of your relationship was nice, but seeing you standing for it, finally made me realize what wonderful friends you must be for each other.”
Everyone is silent again, this time because of Kenji's obliviousness. You think everyone would understand that Buster and Chuck are dating after this, but apparently Kenji needs some more time.
“S-should we tell him?” Mandy asks
“Nope, We have been explaining to people this whole week.” Buster said with a tired look on his face.
“It’s true, it made us exhausted.” Chuck declares in an annoyed tone.
“Yeah, he can figure it out on his own.” Draco agreed as the party returned to session once more.
Notes:
Thanks for reading it to the end. And thanks for the support this fic has gotten so far, it reached 15 kudos!I know is not that much, but I means a lot to me, like I have grown a bit as a writer, please give me your kudos and your comments (Haven't gotten those since Chapter 1 T_T). And remember, this isn't over yet, there's still one more chapter and I hope I can release it next week, so look foward to that!
btw:
Kattila kutsuu vedenkeitintä mustaksi… - The pot calls the kettle black...
Merda - Shit
Chapter 7: +1: Don't They Remind You Of Anything? ...Or Anyone?
Summary:
When Kaze sees Chuck and Buster going to the sushi joint for lunch beacuse of a discount, she is glad to serve her best friend and his partner, but then gets surprised when she realize that Kenji still doesn't know about the true nature about their relationship.
Notes:
HI, THE FINAL CHAPTER IS HERE! I'm proud of how the story ended up and I'm thankful of all your support. That's all I'll say for now. Don't forget to comment and give me kudos at the end.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Sunday, 1:30 PM
It was busy day at the Sushido Sushi Shop at Katana Kingdom where the customers are eating their worries away as well as chatting about their lives, the restaurant is very packed today, yet Kaze is still serving the quest with swiftness and grace maintaining a smile in her face, and Kenji is still preparing dishes that are known for being restaurant quality while maintaining the warmth and comforting feel of homemade meal.
Kaze heard the chime of the bell. “I’ll take care of that, honey!” She told Kenji as she put a bowl of Chirashi Sushi on the table of a family of six and headed to the entrance, making sure she didn't trip or interrupt the customer’s lunch, when she arrived at the entrance. “Welcome to- Oh! Hello Chuck, it's nice of you to come here for lunch. And, I see you brought Buster with you!”
Chuck waves at her. “Hello Kaze. Buster remembered he had a coupon, so we decided, why not use it?.”
Buster pulls out said coupon from his pocket. “70% off baby!”
“We sure know how to cut through prices!” Kaze laughs. “Let me find you a table. We have a lot of customers today.”
“Grazie mille, that 's kind of youuuuuu-!” Before Chuck could finish his sentence, Kaze pulled him inside the sushi shop, Buster holded his wheelchair to make sure he didn't fall off. Kaze ran through the restaurant until she found an empty table with one seat by a window. She fitted Chuck under it where it would fit his wheelchair and catched Buster before sitting him on the chair. The couple were a bit dizzy, kaze giggled. “I guess I was a bit fast today! I will bring your menus soon!”
The two men shake their heads to get back to reality. “Alright!” They said as they watched Kaze head to the kitchen, they laughed at what just happened. “Let’s just make a reservation next time.” Buster said while Chuck nodded in agreement.
As Kaze entered the kitchen, she noticed her husband prepping some sashimi.She tapped him on the back to get his attention."Kenji! Chuck and Buster are here today!”
“Oh good! I’m surprised they wanted to have lunch here.” Kenji responded
“Well, Chuck said that Buster had a coupon.” She said as she was looking for the menus.
“Which one?”
“The 70% off one!” Kaze grabs two menus.
“Ha!” Kenji slapped his knee. “Buster must have an eye for bargains! Say hi to them for me.”
“Of course!” Kaze blows him a kiss and watches him giggle after he acts like he catched it and smiles before leaving the kitchen.
Buster and Chuck were talking when Kaze came back to their table with the menus. When they were laughing that’s what caught Kaze's attention. “‘What's so funny?”
“Oh, just talking about the DnD session we had yesterday.” Chuck responded as he took his menu.
“Oh Kenji told me he went to Draco’s house to play with him! Anything happened there?”
“Oh, nothing much.” Buster explains. “We just freaked out because there were some NPCs that reminded us of each other.” Buster blushes a bit. “Of course, we ended up attracted to said NPCs…”
“But we couldn’t show it because our characters would hate them.”
“So we went to the bathroom to let it all out.”
“Everyone noticed how odd that was and Meeple accused us of not taking the game seriously. That's when we yell at Draco thinking he did that to make fun of us.”
“Chuck started it though”
“Shush! She doesn't need to know that!”
"Yes, she does!"
Kaze laughs. “Wow, that sounds like it was pretty lively!”
“But the funniest part is Draco actually based Ron, the NPC that reminded me of Chuck, on Byron.” Buster was holding his laughter.
“And we got flustered when Lumi and I assumed he had an attraction towards Byron!” Chuck snickered.
“Well that sure sounds like a surprise!” After laughing Kaze remembered what she came here for. “Oh! Are you guys ready to order?”
“Oh! I will have a… ” Buster looked at his menu very closely. “...Katsudon, please. Oh! Can I get a cream soda as a drink?”
“Sure!” She turns to Chuck. “What about you Chuck?”
“Hmmm” Chuck looks thoughtfully. “I will have the omurice, please”
“Which kind?”
He look at the menu again and notice there are different types of omurice: there was the classic omurice , the one most tourists think when they hear omurice and the one that's usually featured in anime and manga; there’s the dressed omurice , where they use a technique to make the omelette get the appearance of a swirled dress skirt; the fluffy omurice , where just put a fluffy omelette on top of the rice; and the dandelion omurice , uses thin and soft boiled scrambled eggs to wrap the fried rice and after you cut the omelette open, the eggs run down through the rice. He was surprised to say the least. “Umm…the classic kind, I guess?”
“Ketchup rice or chicken fried rice?”
“Chicken fried rice sounds nice.”
“Would you like a hamburg steak with that?”
“I had a very long Gem Grab match this morning, so I’ll be fine with it. Oh, and I would love to get an iced tea as my beverage!”
“All right, we try to get ready as soon as we can. Oh! And Kenji says hi!”
“Thanks!” The couple resumed talking as Kaze headed to the kitchen.
Kaze went her way until she noticed Kenji at the counter, then stopped and headed there to talk to him. “Dear! One katsudon and a classic omurice with chicken fried rice and a hamburg steak, on table 7! Oh, that’s the Chuck and Buster’s table by the way!”
Kenji grabs a notepad and writes it down. “Got it! What are their beverages? Their orders are going to take a while.”
“A cream soda and an iced tea.” As Kenji went to make the cream soda Kaze giggled. “They just told me about a funny thing that happened at your DnD session yesterday."
“Oh that! It was hilarious!” Kenji laughed as he put the cherry on the cream soda. “I guess they can get really protective of their bond.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing, silly!”
“Oh but it’s not, I’m glad they can get along like that. ”
“ Get along? That's all he can say about them? ” Kaze got confused, surely he must understand that Buster and Chuck are dating after that, right? “Um, they sure do get along…a lot…” Before she can say anything else Kenji hands her a platter with the cream soda and the ice tea. “B-But I can see you are busy so, let’s talk about that later!”
“Alright, my little riceball! See you later!” Kenji waves before realizing something. “Because we a-always see each other here…because of work.” Kenji blushes a bit.
“You are right, my waterfall!” Kaze giggled before heading to table 7. “ Chuck and I really have the same type…It’s odd that Kenji doesn’t know that yet. ”
As she went her way, she was confused. Sure, she knows that her husband can get a little silly sometimes, but she has never seen him so…naive about something, he could at least ask Chuck and Buster what their relationship is like. “Umm, Kaze are you alright?”
“Huh?” Kaze realized she was just standing in front of the table, when Chuck’s voice got her out of her thoughts. “Oh, nothing, just thinking about something, that's all! Here are your drinks!” She said, she puts said drinks on the table.
“Are you sure? You got a blank look on your face” Buster points out.
“You didn’t get a call from…you know who, right?” Chuck asks, already assuming the worst.
“Oh no! I didn’t get a call from my father!” She waves off her hand. “I made sure of it…” Kaze said in her natural deep voice, causing Buster to look a lot more worried. After noticing that, Kaze cleared her throat to return to her customer service voice. “But there’s no need to worry about it!”
Chuck sighs of relief. “Well then, what were you thinking about?”
“Oh, it’s just…you did tell Kenji you are dating right?”
“No, we have been explaining to people about our relationship for the whole week. It was exhausting to say the least.” Chuck responds.
“But at least he got a hint yesterday, right?”
“Well, everyone else did, except him.” Buster added. “We didn’t want to stall the session for any longer so we let him figure it out on his own. Why do you ask?”
“He didn’t figure it out on his own.” Kaze explained.
Both men groaned, Buster sipped on his cream soda angrily.
“Why? Just why?” Chuck pinches the bridge of his nose. “I don’t want to tell him, you do it Buster.”
Buster gasps indignantly. “You tell him I don’t want to interrupt my lunch again, especially if he’s not going to believe it anyway.”
“It’s my lunch too, in case you forgot!”
“Excuse me, but who has the coupon again?!” Buster points at himself. “This guy! Also I had to make lunch for you on Wednesday, because somehow you couldn’t pack one yourself!"
“I didn’t ask you to make me lunch back then!”
“STOP!” Kaze demanded, as the two men closed their mouths, she took a deep breath. “I’ll tell him, would that make you happy?”
Both men slowly nodded. “Please?”
“Alright then!”
As Kenji was adding the finishing touches to Chuck and Buster’s meals, Kaze entered the kitchen. “Oh, I see their order is ready!”
“Yeah, I just finished putting some details in.” He puts the meals and some condiments on a platter and gives it to Kaze.
“You know Buster told me something.”
“What is it?”
“He said that on Wednesday, Chuck forgot to pack lunch before going to work, so Buster made lunch for the two of them! Isn’t that sweet?”
“It does, Buster sure is a good friend.”
“ Not the answer I expected. ” Kaze thought before talking again. “Yeah, I found it sweet, but in a way that sounds familiar.”
Kenji was starting to get confused. “What do you mean?”
“Well I don’t know, does that remind you of anything? Any memory that you might find dear to your heart?”
Kenji thought about it, he snapped his fingers. “Oh there was a time you sneaked out to see me, but your training lasted so long that day that you forgot to eat!”
“Father really wanted to make sure I didn’t stop till I got it right that day…” Kaze laughed nervously, she got uncomfortable remembering her father, especially when the memory had something to do with training.
“I tried to make some food for you as fast as I could, It was just some onigiri and a simple bowl of ramen.” Kenji chucked while putting his hand behind his back.
“But I enjoyed it, because you made it for me” Kaze gently smiled as she reminisced about that part.
“I guess it was kinda like that, what Buster did.” Kenji smiled as well. “But I don’t understand why you bring it up.”
“Kenji, dear, my beloved husband, I need you to listen to this closely.”
“Alright?”
Kaze took a deep breath. “They are dating”
Kenji blinked. “What?”
“Chuck and Buster are dating, eachother.”
“ NANI! ” Kenji was shocked, even more when he remembered yesterday. “So, that thing, they were saying about their love…”
“They meant romantic love.”
Looking back, Kenji realized he was kind of stupid, and covered his face with his hands. “Augh….”
“Oh, dear this food is going to get cold!” Kaze said in her geisha voice. “Sorry for the hold up, but I had to let you know!” She hurried to table seven, while Kenji uncovered his face, revealing to be red out of embarrassment.
“Here is your food! Sorry for the delay, telling him took longer than I thought!” Kaze bows for forgiveness after putting their food on the table.
“It’s alright” Chuck waves his hand. “I just hope he got it now.”
“Oh he does, it’s just gonna take a while for him to process it, he must be ashamed.”
“That’s fair.” Buster smiles. “Iit would be easier to forgive you if you let me do a deliciousness spell on Chuck’s omurice”
Chuck blushes. “Y-You don’t have to do that-”
“Okey dokey!” Kaze hands Buster the ketchup and watches him take Chuck’s plate.
“ Doki Doki kyun! Moe Moe kyun! ” Buster draws a heart with the ketchup on the omurice. “ Make this omurice delicious just for you! ” He makes a heart with his hands, though you can’t tell with his sunglasses, he winked at the end.
“AAAAAA!! WHY ARE SO FUCKING CUTE!! ” Chuck puts a hand on his chest and tries very hard to not look like he just got a heart attack. “You rhymed kyun with kyun… ”
“Yeah…I just came up with it on the spot, hehe.”
“Saying “hehe” won’t make it any less stupid.” Chuck declares with a blush on his face.
“I don’t know, your face tells something completely different!” Kaze laughs after pointing it out.
The conductor clears his throat. “I-I have no idea what you are talking about.” He grabs his spoon to start eating the omurice. “Hmm! This is good!”
"I guess the spell worked after all!”
“Don’t get your hopes up.”
“Too late! They are in heaven now!”
“Honestly…Let’s just eat.”
Kaze giggled as she let them eat in peace and headed off somewhere else. Meanwhile, Kenji was at the counter looking at them, he was still processing it but seeing them bickering like an old married couple made him understand their relationship a little better
“Here…” Chuck takes some of the omurice and puts his spoon in front of Buster.
“Huh?” Buster swallows a piece of his katsudon.
“You always give me some of your food when we come here…” Chuck blushes a bit. “....so, I’m returning the favor.”
“Awwww! Chuck!” Buster sniffled as he was about to cry of joy. “You are really the cutest boyfriend ever!”
“J-JUST EAT IT BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND!”
“Yes sir!” Buster jokingly salutes. “Aaaaah” Buster happily eats and his sunglasses shine bright. “This is really good! Here, try this, the pork is amazing!” Buster hands a piece of tonkatsu to Chuck, who shyly accepts.
“Hmm! You are right! This is amazing! Oh, by the way the hamburg steak goes well with the omurice!”
“Oh I hope so! And don't forget the katudon has egg and rice so the pork is only part of the experience!”
“Haha! I guess I have to take your word on it.”
Kenji smiles while seeing them sharing each other's food, he was glad that he was right about their bond, even if he misunderstood the nature of it at first.
“They sure are cute together. Am I right?” Kenji turns to see Kaze next to him, and he just laughs.
“You are right, my beloved” He kisses her on the cheek. “You are right.”
Notes:
Thanks for reading this chapter till the end. And even bigger thanks to all who read the whole fic up this point. But the person I'm most thankful of all is @M0thpunk, a lot of stuff in the story is based on things we yap about the ship in Discord. In fact, they have helped me to get ideas for the plots of the chapters (He was real helpful for DnD chapter! lol). I'm glad I got to meet them, because I have someone who loves Cinematrain as much I do. So Moth if you are reading this (and I know you are, you are the first person to read every chapter) I would like to say thank you for joing the cinematrain nation and for being a good friend. Love you, bestie! :3
Toby_0 on Chapter 1 Thu 24 Jul 2025 03:51AM UTC
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awesomesaucess on Chapter 1 Tue 29 Jul 2025 06:01AM UTC
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TheCreatureEver on Chapter 7 Thu 04 Sep 2025 06:31PM UTC
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Atelia_Emeline on Chapter 7 Thu 04 Sep 2025 09:09PM UTC
Last Edited Thu 04 Sep 2025 09:09PM UTC
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