Robert tipped his hat down at him. “There you are.” Indeed, there was no ill intent that he could see. He walked over and picked up the journal. “Almost forgot about this,” he chuckled, pocketing it. Straightening his jacket, he asked, “Are you ready to go?”
He didn’t really mind that Alphonse was looking around in his quarters. Everything looked the same as he has left it, so there was no harm done.
Victor shrugged, and then he nodded to Robert. “Lead the way, sir.” he said quietly, and the creature winced, waiting for the impact to hit. But no anger came, instead, Victor just moved towards the door, waiting for the Captain to lead them on. Apparently, Victor was either saving his anger or otherwise he simply wasn’t angry.
Robert lead them off the ship, gathered his other personal belongings, and thankfully the few people who were around did not pay them any attention. The docks beyond where they were stationed were still very busy, however, and they may have gotten weird looks as the trio passed by. As they walked, Robert muttered and fidgeted, wondering how he would explain the sudden guests to his family. It was technically his sister and sister-in-law’s house that they were going to, and any letter he could have tried to send to warn them probably would not have made it in time anyway. Hopefully they would not mind Alphonse or the tall man, at least for a little while.
Yes, they certainly wouldn't be expecting a monster out of a fever dream and a man so scrawny you could fit him in a shoebox to show up at their doorstep with Robert in tow. But Victor wasn't concerned about that, although if he knew someone was describing him as scrawny he'd have a fit. He followed the Captain, as did the creature and together they found their way to the front doorstep of a little country cottage, where a little girl was playing outside. She took no notice of the two newcomers, but screeched high hell when she saw Robert. "Uncle, Uncle!" she ran up, slamming into his legs for a big hug.
(Les goooo I love this bby)
Even before he saw the girl, Robert was smiling. It was so good to be home after all this time. The sight of the girl also made him scream with utter joy as he closed the distance behind them, accidentally dropping his suitcase in the process.
“My little niece!” He said gleefully, picking her up and spinning her around. “Ohh, look at you!” He held her and kissed her head, then set her down. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he turned to Alphonse and the creature. “Gentlemen, this is my niece, Esmeralda.” He bent down to get eye-level with her. “Esme, these are my guests. Mind your manners, hm? Now, where are your mothers?”
“Mum is in the house making dinner. Mother is out taking care of Mr. and Mrs. Mosey, she’ll be back soon.” Esme said, giggling, and running inside. She made no notice of the guests, she wasn’t keen on new people and preferred to just be with her family.
“Dinner!” Robert said eagerly. “Alright then. Oh, I do hope she will not mind…” he muttered this mostly to himself as he made his way toward the cottage. Motioning for his companions to follow, he followed Esme up to the door and, after a bit of internal debate, knocked on the smooth wood. Might as well give his sister a warning before returning home after two months.
Margaret opened the door after two minutes of waiting, and immediately gave her brother a hug. It was her ritual after long journeys, no matter what he did she'd always care for him. She then backed up, taking in the guests. "You, skinny. Start chopping wood, the axe is by the door of the shed." she ordered, and her aura was so intimidating that Victor went pale. "You, giant. I'll show you to the chickens, then you'll feed them." she said, a with a tad more tolerance. Both seemed a bit taken aback, the creature in the sense that he didn't actually know what a "the chickens" was and Victor because, prideful as he was, he didn't take well to instructions. He tried to find words, but there were none that could come to his mouth at the moment. "Well?" Margaret said expectantly.
Robert immediately hugged her back, tightly and not quick to let go. He was about to greet her when she suddenly back up and started barking orders. This in itself did not surprise him, but he wanted to at least introduce his guests to his family first.
“Maggie, Maggie,” he said, “not so fast. We’ve been traveling for while you see, and I don’t think I speak just for myself when I say that we’re all tired from the journey. My friends and I will soon do our part around here, don’t worry.” His gaze flickered briefly to ‘Alphonse’ when he said this.
Margaret smiled. "Alright, but I'm keeping an eye on the pipsqueak. He looks untrustworthy." she said, pointing to Victor. "Untrustworthy? Untrustworthy?! I am a man of great honor and dignity! My family could fit your whole house into our parlor!" he said, walking up the front steps and promptly tripping over a fold in one of the carpets. The creature helped him up, and Victor stalked into the house, mumbling something about 'I'll show you pipsqueak, devil woman.'
Robert blinked as he followed them inside. “What does the size of your parlor have to do with trustworthiness? Or honor and dignity, for that matter? You never told me you were one of those rich folk,” he said. He couldn’t help but splutter out a laugh when the tiny man tripped. Perhaps the two of them didn’t need to stay as long as he thought, if Alphonse had money in his pocket.
Robert hung his coat and hat on the hanger before going further in. “Esme said you were making dinner,” he called to his sister. “Do you need help with that?”
Margaret couldn't help but let out a massive cackling fit. "Alright, pipsqueak. I see where you're coming from. You rich folks always think you're the pinnacle of human dignity, so generous to give even us humble folks an audience." she said, not bothering to elaborate for the moment. Margaret followed along, keeping up with her slightly taller, slightly younger brother with ease. "No, no. Your little princess over there probably thinks you wear the pants around here, I want to surprise him. Play along with his delusion for now." the creature happened to overhear this comment, chewing on his hair out of nervousness, while Victor was making angry opossum noises at the very thought of having to live with these insane people for however long.
(Victor is such a drama queen lol. Little bastard. I ironically hate him because I mean book!Victor at least has the advantage of being a relatable little bastard.)
(“Angry opossum noises”)
“He does?” Robert said doubtfully. “But I’m a sea captain. I can’t wear the pants around here, I’m barely here half of the time.”
But he let out a breath, and shrugged. Alphonse was definitely the type to make those kinds of assumptions about people. Might as well let him believe it for a little longer.
Turning to the giant and the pipsqueak, he said, “You’re both welcome to settle in. I’ll be unpacking my things.”
He took his belongings to his room, finding that someone had cleaned it up while he was away. He usually left it messier than this. Taking out his journal first, he set it on the desk beside the bed, then began going through the rest of his things.
Anna had been the one to clean Robert’s room, like she usually did when he was gone for long periods of time. She preferred to have the house clean, so she always put things away in a way that would make sense to Robert. Margaret had meanwhile finished making dinner, adding a little more to the side courses in order to make up for the fact that she hadn’t been expecting even Robert to show up. Margaret always assumed that when he took longer than a week to return, no matter how long the trip was supposed to be, he was dead. It was anxiety, purely speaking, but still. The thoughts tormented her. Anna returned shortly after, calling out to the house just as Margaret had finished setting the table. “Love, I’m home!” she said, setting down her bag full of doctor’s equipment down by the door. Margaret went over to the door instantly, embracing her beloved wife and kissing her cheeks as she stood on her toes to do so, helped somewhat by the much taller woman bending down somewhat. Victor witnessed this, and seemed a little shocked but intrigued. He’d met two women like this at University, they seemed to be silly girls who didn’t understand that men were what it was all about, thank you very much. But this seemed different, more committed. Not childish at all. It was almost as if people had lives outside of him, and his narrow assumptions about them.
Due to years of routine, Robert was able to unpack his belongings fairly quickly, but somehow it put it room in a messy state again. He was sad to see all of Anna’s hard work go to waste, but he could deal with it later. Speaking of Anna, he had just heard her voice from downstairs.
He went back downstairs, a wide grin on his face. It seemed that Margaret had got to her first, so her stopped and waited to let them finish before making his presence known.
After a moment of embracing her wife, Anna turned to Victor and the creature, and then Robert. "Do you mind telling me who these two are?" she asked, eyes flashing yellow-grey like that of a wolf for just a brief second, then returning to normal. "I don't like visitors unannounced."
“Annaaaaa,” Robert sang, that wide grin still tugging on his lips. “Aren’t you happy to see me?” Then with all of his willpower he forced his expression to relax. He figured it was best to be blunt. “Oh, that’s….” For a moment he couldn’t recall the tiny man’s name. “Al, I think. The large fellow doesn’t have a name, unfortunately. They needed help, so I let them stowaway on the ship. I offered to let them stay here as well, at least until they can get back on their feet, figuratively speaking.”
(At this point, Robert has also forgotten that Victor made the creature)
(k.)
Anna frowned, but not for long. She didn't turn her face up into a smile either, but she did wrap an arm around her wife as she spoke. "Well, I can't argue with that. You always were softer than me, even when I still thought I could save everyone." she shrugged. "Well, I smell something wonderful. Maggie, dear, you always exceed expectations." she smiled to her wife, leading them to the dining room table. "I'll have our guests here explain their business, and then we'll see about how best to assist them."
Robert could not help but sigh a little. He had managed not to incur Anna’s wrath. “Thank you, Anna, truly.” He motioned to his guests, then went to the dining room. The smell of his sister’s cooking was making him more famished than ever.
Anna sat down at the head of the table, her wife and daughter sitting on the chairs either side of her. Robert was invited to sit at his place, and Margaret had previously gotten out two chairs for the guests to sit at, the Creature beside Esme and Victor sitting beside Margaret, who was more loudly terrifying than Anna, but Anna seemed to have a quiet anger that didn't lash out, but would make you feel like you'd rather die than be watched by her eyes. "Well, you two. Explain your business to me, and I'll do my best to assist." Anna said.
Robert sat at the other end, quiet. Even though he was hungry, Anna being quick to get to the point made him wonder if he should eat yet. He looked at the empty plate on front of him, then at the food situated in the middle of the table. It looked and smelled very tempting. If Esme started eating already, he might be more comfortable to eat himself.
Margaret started serving plates for everyone, she didn’t trust Esme to take a small portion and she wanted to ration the stew out this time. And she also wanted to just do something nice for the table. “Well, you see, this ugly demon, bastard of science and affront to god that he is-“
“Get to the point, sir, I do not have all day.” Anna interrupted. “And demon? You should see me on a full moon.” she laughed. Victor fumed, and she allowed him to go on.
“Well, it caused us to be where we are today. Alone, friendless, and currently needing to evade several angry German mobs with pitchforks and torches.” he lamented. The creature sank back into his chair, it creaked loudly like it was on the verge of splintering.
(Robert: starts singing you got a friend in me)
He smiled when his sister served his plate for him, then dug into the stew. Once Robert had eaten a few mouthfuls, he swallowed and looked up.
"How so? What did he do?" he asked. The impulse to scold Alphonse for rudeness sat in his mind, but he knew it would not be a productive thing to do. Instead, he gave the giant an apologetic glance.