Kissa hisses, but sits on the couch and glares the other way, avoiding eye contact.
Gabriel runs a hand through his hair. “When do you think they’ll be back?”
Cage peeks in at the pizza.
“Miki? Do you think Ben will claim us as his kids legally? Like actually adopt us? Not you obviously.”
-
It’s takes almost everything in himto keep his face from turning red, though Violet is unfazed. She gives Dio a white smile and shakes his hand. “I’m Violet Stan. It’s lovely to meet you.”
Ben blinks, “She is my wife, but as I’m sure you understand, yesterday was our first meeting and I’d rather not give out such information.”
Violet presses her lips together to contain a giggle and succeeds in staying quiet.
Miki snorted. "I don't think Ben would claim me on his taxes even if I counted as a deductible." She leaned against the counter. "Well, he's your brother so claiming you as a kid might be weird. I could see him doing it for the others. Ehh, but not Gabe. Obviously. So just Silver and Kiss." She nodded. "Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if he ever legally adopted them." An idea occured to her and she smacked his arm lightly. "Hey, he might let you get a dog license for me though. Then I'd be on something official."
Silver turned back to Gabe. They'd barely been gone an hour and he already looked like he was ready to come apart at the seams. "Probably not til late." She answered. "Gabriel, please just go hide in the library. Miki can keep an eye on us and you'll be able to hear if anything happens."
–
Dio removed his coat, only to reveal at least two more beneath, and settled in a chair across from them. "But of course. I don't blame you for doing it, I'm only acknowledging the fact that you began our relationship with a lie." He shook his head as if regretful, but his tone quickly changed to something a bit more serious. "I am sorry for what happened yesterday. I hadn't realized that certain gentleman had made it to this continent. You can be assured I have eyes on him at all times now."
Cage snorts/giggles. “Yessss. You can be our dog!”
Gabriel crosses his arms and shrugs. “I’m good.” He states.
-
Ben and vi sit back into their chairs.
“I knew they were here, but I wasn’t expecting them. Do you know what we’re up against?” He straightens his tie and his menu.
Violet gives the menu a once over, listening to the men but not interfering.
Miki gave him a fierce grin and checked the oven again. "Pizza's done!" She called. To Cage she said excitedly, "Does that mean I get all the food scraps??"
Silver sighed. Her natural instinct was to touch him for comfort, but she didn't know if he was wound too tight for that and it would only make it worse for him.
–
Dio pressed his lips together, surveying Ben. Cuts right to the chase, doesn't he? His hands remained in his pockets, menu untouched.
"Yes. I do." He said quietly.
Cage giggles. “Yes. But that won’t be much.” He slides the pizza out of the oven and sets it on the counter. “I CAN INSTANTLY COOL IT! WATCH-“
Kissa quickly sprints from the couch and rams into him, knocking him over. “DONT FREEZE MY PIZZA!”
Gabriel stares at the ground, not wanting to instigate physical touch so instead pleading for a hand with his mind, though she couldn’t hear him. He ignores as Kissa rams into Cage, knowing the collision wasn’t bad enough to hurt either of them badly.
-
Ben clenches his jaw and looks over his menu.
Augh, this man does not speak.
A waiter enters the room, giving them a small bow before taking orders and leaving.
Violet looks between the men as they let the silence get a little awkward.
“The food here is amazing. Have you ever tried it?” She speaks up.
It’s not necessarily safe, so we should probably just get to know each other tonight. It won’t take too much to determine if we can trust him or not.
Ben glares at the table.
"Kissa!" Miki yelped, trying to catch Cage as he fell and only succeeding in falling with him. "I'm gonna have him cool YOU off!"
Silver pinched her arms, trying to gauge his emotions. Finally she stepped forward and slowly slipped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest. "We'll be okay." She whispered.
–
"I have." Dio responded to Violet with sudden enthusiasm. "Their fish is amazing. Do you like fish, Mrs. Stan?"
Kissa leans over the pizza, hissing at them. “DOnT TOUCH IT.”
Cage giggles and shoves Miki off of him.
Gabriel leans into Silvers hug, laying his cheek on the top of her head and leaving his arms limp at his sides.
Thank you.
-
Violet gives a small nod. “If it’s well cooked, yes. I’m not a fan of raw fish.”
Ben’s eyes emptily wander over the menu as he tries not to be irritated with the small talk.
“How have you been fairing, Diablo?”
Miki groaned and rolled her eyes, grabbing a pizza cutter and brandishing it in front of Kissa. "Move it. Cage won't do anything to it but I do need to cut it before we can eat."
Silver closed her eyes, letting out a sigh as she relaxed, shutting out the noise from the kitchen.
–
"If I ever have the honor of making you sushi then I shall endeavor to make it to your liking, my dear." Dio said to Violet. His face faltered at Ben's question, his mind flashing back to Lackey, sprawled out unconscious on his living room floor. "Well enough." He managed to get out, recovering as light a tone as possible. Benjamin didn't need to be bothered with knowing what had happened after his escape the day before. "You know, as well as you can expect these days."
Cage puts his hands up defensively after standing. “I won’t touch it! Promise!”
Kiss slowly backs away to let room for Miki to cut the pizza, glaring at Cage all the while.
(Gabe is still just hugging her. That could last forever honestly)
-
Ben still glares, but gives a small nod. As much as he’d like to ask who Lackey was, now and here did not seem like the best.
Before an awkward silence can fall over the room, the waiter walks in with their food and distributes it.
Miki made sure Kissa was a decent distance away before cutting the pizza and grabbing a stack of dishes for them. "Okay, there you go. Don't be a pig either, just have two pieces since there's…" she did a quick headcount. "Five of us. Hey," she called to Silver and Gabriel. "Are you two gonna eat or…?"
Silver didn't move, wondering how she could respond to Miki without disturbing herself or Gabriel.
Miki watched them for a second before shrugging. "Well, I'm gonna dish y'all's pizza up and you can come get it whenever you're finish with… that."
–
Dio tucked a napkin into his collar like a bib and carefully squeezed a lemon slice over his fish. "So, how are you two faring?" he turned Ben's question around on them.
Cage takes a piece and sits on a stool. “Mmmmm, I love pizza. What’s your favorite kind, Mik?”
Kissa takes three pieces instead of two, just to be defiant, and heads upstairs to her room in a huff.
-
Violet gives Dio a smile, placing a napkin neatly on her lap. “Lovely. Spain is such a beautiful place. I used to live in London and Ben lived in Germany.” She tucks a curl behind her ear and takes a bite while waiting for his response.
Miki ripped a bite off her first piece, noticing and ignoring Kissa's spitefulness. "Anything." she replied to Cage. "I really like it when there's ham on it. But I'll eat pretty much anything that'll keep me alive."
–
Dio nodded. "Oh, so you've been around, been some places. I don't travel much. Mostly just been to Korea, Japan, you know, and here now. Do you like traveling?"
Vi slightly tilts her head to one side. “I prefer to have a home and stay put, though life doesn’t always allow it.”
Ben takes another bite of his food.
Ack, why with all of the small talk?
-
Cage squints at Miki. “What about raw deer. Would you eat that to stay alive??”
Miki surveyed Cage over her piece of pizza. "Cageually Stan, you underestimate my skills of fire making and roasting raw food over an open flame. If I had raw deer, I'm pretty sure I could come by some wood. Voila. Cooked meat."
–
Dio cut into his fish, carefully dividing it into bite sized pieced. "Ah yes. The comforts of home. I am glad you two have found a place to settle in that you enjoy. I asked Benjamin this but he lied to me; do you have children?"
’but he lied to me’
Ben clenches his jaw and continues to eat, trying to ignore them now.
Violet shakes her head lightly. “Not yet. We only just married a week or two ago.”
Dio’s words are quickly purged from Ben’s mind after Violet’s response.
’Not yet’
He can’t help but glance at her.
Пожалуйста, о, пожалуйста, Вайолет. детей нет. пожалуйста пожалуйста пожалуйста.
-
Cage gives Miki a small shove. “Ha. Whatever. And when you say my full name, say Cageually Azil. I like it better.”
Dio's face brightened and he gasped in delight. "Oh, really, now? So you're newlyweds? I offer you my most sincere congratulations then." he waved a hand as if to dismiss the thought. "I apologize for asking about children. I understand that's obviously not something you're focused on right now."
–
Miki rolled her eyes and took another bite. "Sorry. Your name is so stinkin' long I forget what all the words are. Azil." she repeated. "Cay-juu-alli AYE-zil. Got it."
Cage shoves her again. “AH-ZIL. Not AYE-zil. Eck, that one sounds terrible.” He finishes up his piece of pizza and sighs. “You’re just jealous.”
-
Violet gives him a beaming smile. “No worries. “Are you married, Mr. Diablo?”
Ben closes his eyes for a second, blessing Dio for changing the subject though now his mind is stuck on it.
Miki snorted. "I just said I can't even remember your whole name. Why would I be jealous? I shortened my name to 'Miki' for a reason."
–
Dio took a deep, dramatic breath and stared longingly at his fish. "There is a certain barista at the coffee bar in town who continually scorns my offers, but I will go to my grave consumed by my love for her."
Cage gasps, eyes wide. “MIKI ISNT YOUR FULL NAME??!?!”
Gabriel winces at the volume and quietly groans in irritation, smashing his face on her head.
-
Violet retrains herself from raising an eyebrow, but let’s a smile flirt across her face. “Oh? I’m sure she’ll come to her senses. After all, you’re such a gentleman.”
Ben rubs the bridge of his nose.
Ah, no. I think her senses are at their highest.
Miki cringed, slowly raising her shoulders up to her ears as if she could withdraw like a turtle. She closed her eyes, regretting everything. "I… well, it is now. So. Yeah. I changed it to be Miki. So it's just Miki. Yeah." she stuffed her pizza into her mouth.
Silver frowned and stirred, lifting her head a little. "Gabe…" she mumbled and then decided against letting him go, simply walking backward and pulling him with her until she backed into the couch and plopped down on it.
–
Dio looked up at her. "Thank you. You are so very kind." he pressed his lips together, thoughtful. "She is really tall though." he continued, looking regretful. "As you may have noticed, I am rather vertically challenged. Sugar is at least five feet taller than me." he shook his head.
Ben lets out a small scoff, earning a glare from Violet.
“She is not five feet taller.” He states, catching Violet glare at the tail end of his sentence and slowing down.
She isn’t.
-
Cage raises an eyebrow, “okay but what was it? Bleckelmarian?”
Gabriel lets Sil sit on the couch, but stay standing and let’s her go. He blinks, almost going invisible but instead staying a bit transparent for a moment. He bites his lip.
Ah. I have to stay visible.
Dio rolled his eyes. "Okay, yes, but she may as well be. You saw how much taller she was. AND she wears heels. Can you imagine trying to kiss a girl like that? You were smart and found a woman appropriately sized to you, Benjamin."
–
Miki frowned at him. "How on earth could I get 'Miki' out of that?"
Silver sighed, looking up at him. "Sit down, Gabriel. You won't go hide somewhere, so sit down and relax. Please." she patted the seat beside her.
”appropriately sized” even though she was a good five or six inches shorter.
Relieved that Dio didn’t get angry or take it personally, Violet again smiles. “How tall is she?”
-
Cage giggles. “I dunno. I knew a girl who called herself Strinder and her real name was Victoria.” He shrugs. “You do you.”
Despite his longing for invisibility, Gabriel sits beside her and sighs, taking the phone he was left with from his pocket to see the time.
When will they be home?
"Five foot ten." Dio responded. "Which in actuality is only five inches taller than me. Not five feet. But it still presents it's challenges." he sipped his wine.
–
Miki gave him another weird look. "That's definitely different. But if I had the name Bleckelmartian or whatever you said I would change my name to 'Bob'."
Silver reached up and wove her fingers through his hair. "It'll be okay." she said. "We got through supper and Kissa is in her room and Cage and Miki aren't breaking or freezing anything. We'll be alright."
Ben takes a sip of his wine.
*This is killing me. *
Violet glances between them and does her best not to sigh. The food is gone and the waiter returns only to gather the dishes and leave.
"Would you be interested in dining at our house, Diablo, so we could discus more privately?" she offers.
Ben almost chokes on his wine.
-
"Ew. Bob. That's your new nickname now. Bob. Hi Bob." He smiles and waves at her. "Like the haircut, Bob. Heh."
Gabriel sinks deeper into the couch and stares into the distance at seemingly nothing.
This last hour has been the worst hour. I think I may die tonight. Is this what true torture feels like?
