Look at this Fucking Fill [3a/?]
anonymous
August 30 2010, 03:38:07 UTC
All I gotta say is - Nils, what a punk ass you are!
---
OCTOBER
---
Alfred blearily poured himself some coffee and collapsed into his chair at the breakfast table. Ten A.M. classes - fuck that. He stuck his face down into his coffee mug and stared at his roommates over the top, their words not really making it to his brain quite yet.
They ignored him for now. Man, but he loved these dudes. Didn’t try to talk to him before his first cup of coffee or get weirded out by his zombie stare or anything!
Near the end of his first cup he scrunched up his face and croaked out “whoa, you two both need haircuts.”
They stopped talking - well, more like Gilbert stopped talking - and looked at him. He cleared his throat. “Your hair is gettin’ really long, both of you, actually, but especially you, Nils,” he gestured his cup in Nils’ direction, ignoring the dangerous slosh of coffee. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen it that long. S’weird - I mean, it looks okay, you know, it’s just...” he shrugged and got up to fetch another cup of coffee.
Nils grabbed a lock of his hair and examined it. “Francis hates it. Says I need layers or something. Told him I would get it cut in November.”
Alfred sat down, asking, “November?” At the same time Gilbert burst out with “Ah no way, you’re growing your hair out for Hallo-fuckin-ween too?!” He threw his boots up on the table and lit a cigarette; Nils’ “Get your goddamned nasty shoes off the table!” was drowned out by Alfred’s yelp of “OH GOD, HALLOWEEN!”
Nils raised an eyebrow. “You forgot, huh?”
“Yes! And it’s, like, the best holiday except maybe Christmas!” he paced around the kitchen. “Okay,” he pounded his fist into his hand, “all I’ve gotta do is brainstorm some awesome ideas during class today - do you guys have any?”
Nils shook his head. Gilbert just said he’d kill Alfred if he stole his idea.
“Okay, so, first! Ideas! That’s okay because I am full of ideas! Or, I will be. Second, I gotta start working on my costume with Ludwig, because that dude makes awesome costumes! We are such a cool team - I’ve got the amazing ideas and he makes it work,” he flashed a smile and a thumbs-up at the other two.
“Aay wait,” Gilbert waved, “is that your design pal? Didn’t you say he built stuff?”
Alfred nodded with a “yup!”
“And he can help with Halloween costumes?”
“Well, he’s helping me,” Alfred shrugged.
“Alright. I need to talk to the nerd,” Gilbert said.
“He’s not really a nerd, Gil, he’s actua-”
“Bullshit, what isn’t nerdy about industrial design? Just gimme his number.”
---
Elizabeta leaned against Arthur’s doorframe and peered into his room. It was ridiculously neat, surprising with the way he treated the rest of the space. “Arthur,” she called.
“Yeah?” He walked around from his “closet”, a metal bar suspended from the ceiling, while yanking on a clean shirt.
“The warehouse space is huge,” she tilted her head to it, “ever had a Halloween party here?”
“Not really,” he replied.
“Want to have a Halloween party?” she asked.
“Perhaps if you bribe me with some beer -”
“Deal! Wanna make some flyers at the zine shop today?”
Arthur snorted. “That’s wasteful. If we want a huge party, all I have to do is tell Francis. The whole town will know by tomorrow.”
“So you’ll do that?”
“Sure. Oh, and you should talk to those hermits you know if you want them to come. Gotta go to work, love,” and with that he hugged her and left.
---
Nils threw his zines up onto the counter and looked up at the familiar voice.
“Never seen you before in my life and now I’ve seen you twice in a month,” Arthur said as he looked over the purchases. Nils didn’t say anything: he’d seen the guy more than twice, but apparently he’d been too smashed to remember.
“Oh, this one,” Arthur pointed to Wildlifoodin, “is pretty good. I mean, I doubt I’ll ever be out in the country to put any of it to use. Stuck in the city, and here the hunter-gatherers are freegans.”
LATFF [3b/?]
anonymous
August 30 2010, 03:39:29 UTC
“Yeah? You a freegan?” Nils asked.
“Mm, most of the time. It’s easier than you think, especially with that Trader Joe’s near downtown. They toss out all sorts of good things.”
Nils raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
Arthur nodded. “I’m going Wednesday, actually, if you want to come with. Just swing by my place around 9:30.”
“Okay,” Nils picked up his zines, placed them in his bag, and turned to go before Arthur’s voice stopped him.
“Oh yeah, The Scam is throwing a Halloween party, come by and bring your friends - tell ‘em all about it. Even that loud freak ‘o yours.”
“Oh God, Gilbert?” A blank look. “The pale one?”
“Yeah, that one. Seems like a proper hooligan.”
Nils snorted. “I don’t think he’s a proper anything - but I’ll let him know.”
---
“What a bummer - that total babe isn’t here,” Alfred whined.
“I don’t know why you thought she would be,” Feliks snapped.
“She was here when I met her! Oh, hey dude -” he gestured to Berwald, “another round?”
It was a pretty quiet night at the bar, all said. Berwald shoved some new shot glasses over the counter to them and resumed cleaning some glasses, listening in on the conversation.
“You know I don’t care about girls, anyway -”
“I still value your opinion!”
“- but I could tell you about her shoes or something,” Feliks finished. He called over to Berwald - “Hey, hot stuff - you know the girl he’s talkin’ about?”
Berwald blushed but assumed his beard hid it. “She’s b’n here,” he grunted.
“Well? C’mon,” Feliks gestured, “is she as, you know, ‘totally hot’ as Al says?”
Berwald looked at them a moment. He moved a shoulder in a shrug.
Feliks glared and tossed his hair back. “He’s not gonna deck you or something if you say she is,” he looked over to Alfred, who nodded.
“She’s...attract’ve,” he said.
Alfred shoved himself forward in his stool and nearly spilled his whiskey over the countertop. Berwald’s eye twitched behind his glasses. “She’s a total babe! Are you gay or something?!”
All three stayed motionless - Feliks and Berwald looked at each other and Alfred waited on a reply, tapping a rhythm with his leg against the stool.
“Seriously, Al, you have like, no gaydar,” Feliks finally broke the silence.
“Whoa, wait, you’re gay?!” Alfred shot to Berwald.
Berwald just tilted his head up in a sort-of nod.
“Huh,” Alfred mused. He sipped some of his shot. “Why don’t you two hook up, then?”
Feliks laughed; Berwald’s cheeks burned. “He’s, like, totally not my type - sorry man,” Feliks said to Berwald. “You’re too manly,” he sniffed.
Berwald shrugged and filled their glasses, saying “S’on the house.”
---
Gilbert threw himself down on the couch next to Alfred. “Yo, that Ludwig dude? Totally German! It’s almost as awesome as having Prussian ancestry, you know?!” He nudged Alfred in the ribs. Alfred continued to watch The Wire.
“Huh, well, we’re gonna have an Oktoberfest next week,” Gilbert finally said.
That tore Alfred from his zombie-stare at the television. “We have a show next week, Gil,” he said.
Gilbert laughed maniacally. “Hey, Al, I am more than able to handle two nights of drinking in a week, unlike some pussies,” he shoved Alfred and the guy fell over into the armrest.
“Hey! I’ve got school,” Alfred bit out. “And shouldn’t you be looking for jobs now or somethin’? Landscaping season is kind of over.”
“Oh yeah!” Gilbert yelled. “That kickass skateshop on Maple - they don’t have anyone for rollerblades, sucks to be them - so they hired me! Suck it, skateboarder!” He punctuated this by thrusting his hips up and doing that cross thing above his crotch. Alfred rolled his eyes, so Gilbert threw up some metal hand gestures and made a really gross face at Alfred, just to rub it in.
LATFF [3c/?]
anonymous
August 30 2010, 03:40:28 UTC
---
Nils looked up at the loud “Hey, frog!” that was yelled in the tiny clothing shop.
Arthur stomped over to Francis. “I have customers,” Francis glared when he got close.
Arthur shrugged. “Let’s take it out back - oi, you,” he nodded to Nils, “you work for this guy?” He jerked a thumb to Francis. Nils hummed in the positive and shot a glum look at Francis, which provoked a laugh from Arthur. “Well fuck me, small world.”
“Out back!” Francis hissed, then smacked Arthur upside the head for good measure. They both went out the back.
“If you could possess manners for two minutes I would like you more,” Francis stated once they were outside.
“I do possess manners, actually,” Arthur pointed out.
Francis huffed. “Fine, I meant if you could control your mouth.”
Arthur laughed. “What’s the fun in that?” He lit up a cigarette and offered one to Francis.
“Oh, fine,” Francis replied, and snatched it from Arthur’s fingers. “Thank you.”
They both stood there a minute while Francis adjusted his scarf and Arthur achieved the perfect devil-may-care slouch against the doorframe. Arthur blew a smoke ring and watched it rise into the Indian Summer air. “So, down to business - Eliza and I are throwing a Halloween party - you’re coming, and make sure to bring along Alonzo and Sadiq.”
Francis raised an eyebrow at this. “I thought you hated them.”
“Oh, definitely,” Arthur replied, ashing his cigarette. “They’re superficial wankers. But girls follow them like flies, so, what’re you gonna do.” He shrugged.
“Is that everyone?” Francis asked.
“Ha! Of course not - if I wanted it to be invite only I wouldn’t have told the likes of you. I assume I can count on you to bring good people around?”
Francis tossed his hair. “I will see to it, darling.”
Arthur snorted. “You’re a bloody teenage girl. Glad I can rely on you for that.” He stabbed the cigarette out against the side of the building. “I’ll speak your language then: TTFN!” and with that he turned on his heel, slinking down the back alley to the street.
---
Nils sighed. His roommates were dumbasses. After their gig they had both tried to hit on Natalia at the same time, each claiming they had dibs, which had turned into a brawl in the bar. They were then unceremoniously kicked out, and the fight was at this point happening on the sidewalk - literally, both of them were rolling around on the pavement - outside of the bar.
The girl in question was standing right beside him. “I didn’t really care for it. Too dancey, don’t you think?”
He assumed she was talking about the show; nothing about this fight (which was quickly becoming bloody and underhanded) resembled a dance. He shrugged. “They’re my friends.”
“They’re idiots.”
He couldn’t argue that point, but he still felt a protective surge in his chest. “They’re...rash.” Alfred’s yelp of “You broke my nose, fuckwad!” rang out into the street over the sounds of their scuffle.
God, but they were idiots. Beside him Natalia gave a disapproving sniff.
“This happens every few months,” Nils felt the need to explain. “They have a fight, duke it out, the end. None of that passive-agressive nonsense.”
“Passive-agressive is bullshit,” she agreed. “I like that you’re practical,” she smiled at him.
Nils hmm’d.
“My exes have been lame like that. I’ve been looking for a guy,” she touched his arm for a moment, “you know, who isn’t an immature asshole like those two.” A few girls came up to ooo and ah over the two attractive men fighting, and she scowled at the lot of them before talking about how the girls were acting like cavewomen and how uncultured the entire proceedings were.
“Yeah,” Nils cut her off. “I’m gonna take these two home.” He braced a boot against Al’s chest then hauled up Gilbert and shoved him aside, muttering “Okay, okay, good enough. Home.” Gilbert winked at one of the girls nearby, laughed, and threw his arm around Alfred’s shoulders while loudly pointing out the babes in the vicinity. Nils flagged a cab, shoved them in, and got in without a backward glance.
LATFF [3d/?]
anonymous
August 30 2010, 03:41:25 UTC
---
“Fuck! You cook some amazing wurst, dude,” Gilbert said to Ludwig, mouth full. “This Oktoberfest will be bitchin’.”
Ludwig shrugged. “Thanks.”
“No, really - “
“Hey boys!” Feliks flounced into the kitchen. “Al said you were having, like, an Oktoberfest or something?”
“Hey blondie,” Gilbert greeted. “Yeah, you brought some beer, right?”
Feliks laughed. “Duh, of course. But I also brought some things to make pierogis with,” he nodded to a bag slung over his forearm while placing his beer on the kitchen table.
“Pierogis? The fuck? Isn’t that Polish food?”
“Yeah, but, I don’t see you complaining. Now get out of my kitchen,”
Gilbert shrugged, grabbed the beer, and dragged Ludwig out of the kitchen.
---
Gilbert, Alfred, Ludwig, and Nils were surrounded by beer bottles and wurst, watching Goodbye Lenin on the television, when Arthur and Roderich came in followed by a meek Ivan.
“I don’t think we should have just walk-”
“Roderich, the front door was unlocked. It’s cool,” Arthur waved. “Hey wankers, what’s this?” He pointed to the TV.
“It’s about East Germany!” Gilbert exclaimed, and then went on about how awesome it was while Arthur nodded, looking bored.
“Wanna talk about it out back?” Arthur asked, waving a bag of weed and winking to Gilbert.
A wide smirk crossed Gilbert’s face before he agreed and the two vanished with beer in tow.
---
Nils, Alfred, Ludwig, Ivan, and Roderich were still watching the movie when the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it!” Alfred called out.
He yanked open the door - “Oh, hey, Natalia! I didn’t think you’d show up. Want a beer? We have way too much.”
She said hello and agreed to a beer before coming into the living room and sitting beside Nils on the couch. Alfred didn’t seem to notice and kept up a stream of incessant chattering about what had happened in the movie so far.
Nils tried to talk to Ivan about the Kiku’s show, but Ivan was taken by the movie.
Feliks walked in and dumped a plate of pierogi on the coffee table; most of those present dug in with muffled thanks, but Ivan headed to the kitchen to investigate.
“You know how to cook pierogi?” he asked a busy Feliks at the stove.
“Like, duh,” Feliks replied, cutting up some food on the chopping block. “My whole family’s from Poland. Just got back from a summer trip there. It totally rocked.”
“The Russians have something similar,” Ivan murmured. “I’ve never seen Polish pierogi made, however. Mind if I watch?”
“Nah, just don’t breathe on me like that. It’s creepy.”
---
Nils let out a small huff - he was a little bored, a lot of drunk, and wanted to clear his head for a second. Too many people in here. “I’m gonna go out front and smoke,” he announced to no one in particular, and slunk his way outside.
He slumped down heavily onto the front stoop and braced his elbows on his spread knees. As he was lighting his cigarette, the door opened and Natalia plopped down beside him. She proceeded to have a very one-sided (and in his opinion utterly banal) conversation with him. He sighed, making some noise to whatever she was talking about.
“You know,” she hit his arm lightly and leaned into him, “you shouldn’t smoke. It’s so nasty.”
He paused and watched the smoke float through the air. “You’re kind of a bitch,” he said.
She spluttered for a minute. “What?!”
He looked over. “I said,” he replied softly, tapping some ash off the end of his cigarette, “that you’re kind of a bitch. All I think I’ve heard you talk about is how much other people suck. That’s not interesting at all. Do you even do anything besides stand around at shows and look -”
He heard the clang of his head hitting the metal stair rail before his vision flashed and he felt the intense pain in his jaw and his temple. A slightly out-of-focus Natalia gave him a death glare, then stood straight up, rigid, and went inside with a slam of the door. He let out a laugh and wiped his mouth, looking down at his arm to find a streak of bloody spit. He guessed he kind of deserved that one.
He stood up and the world spun...maybe it was time for bed. It was still pretty early, but, fuck it. Like he gave a shit.
LATFF [3e/?]
anonymous
August 30 2010, 03:42:17 UTC
---
Alfred stumbled into the kitchen, falling right in between Ivan and Feliks hovering over the stove, calling out “Man, Feliks, that girl just vanished - whoa hey, you really took over the kitchen, huh? What’s that?” He poked a finger into the skillet of cooking food and yanked it away when it got burned, hissing.
“Sausages and potatoes?” Feliks answered.
Alfred reached for it again, but Feliks whacked him across the hand with the spatula. “It’s not done!” Alfred let out a high-pitched keen and attempted to stick his fist in his mouth.
“Are you trying to eat your fist?” Ivan asked softly.
“Hey, you two, sit at the table like proper children,” Feliks ordered. Alfred and Ivan looked blankly at him, and then obeyed.
“Nmooo”, Alfred said through a mouthful of hand. “Jhuss ‘urts.”
“I have never seen anyone attempt to swallow a fist to cure pain,” Ivan said softly.
“Got burnt.”
“You did reach your hand into a frying pan,” Ivan pointed out. “Impatient - it’s what you get for not waiting on your food.”
“Psh, really,” Feliks agreed over his shoulder.
Alfred whined about being hungry, then about the creepy guy staring at him. Feliks brought the steaming food to the table and bit out “Eat already, jeez Alfred. And you two,” he pointed the spatula at both of their faces in succession, “you both like Tetris like nobody’s business. Ready? Annnnd, go!” He took his plate into the living room.
“Tetris!” Alfred chirped. “You like Tetris? Oh man, I thought about getting Tetris blocks tattooed on my arm, here -” he pointed to his left arm - “but I got these happy little whales instead. They’re cute right? I mean, lookit ‘em - yeah, see, you agree - whales are my favorite, once when I was a kid -”
Ivan was a little overwhelmed by this creature. He chewed on his food, but before he could collect his thoughts enough to reply to something in that mess, Alfred interrupted again.
“Wait, uh, we were talking about Tetris, yeah? You like the old-school stuff?”
---
Ludwig and Roderich were the only two left in the living room, trying to make small talk over the softly playing movie. Mostly they ended up commenting on the style of the early nineties and getting way too drunk to cover up the awkwardness of being stuck in a room with a stranger.
Natalia stormed back in and sat next to Ludwig. She joined in the epic small talk about the movie for a bit, but then turned to complaining about what an asshole the stoic roommate was. At that, Roderich started laughing way too hard and agreed.
“He’s aloof,” Ludwig replied, “but Alfred says if you can actually get him talking he’s a good conversationalist. He likes good music at least,” he shrugged.
Natalia scowled. Ludwig decided another topic of conversation was probably a good idea.
“So,” he leaned back into the couch, drink finally seeping into his system, “what do you do?”
---
Feliks came out onto the back porch, only to find Gilbert and Arthur wasted off their asses, chain smoking like chimneys, and comparing escapades about getting kicked out of bars.
He sat down by them and turned down a cigarette. “I’ll take a beer, though, totally,” he said. One of them tossed one at him and he drank up.
“We smoked all the fuckin’ weed, Feliks, sorry dude,” Gilbert said.
Feliks waved them off. “I’ll forgive you if you get me totally smashed,” he replied.
They agreed that that was a good idea, and the three of them spent the rest of the evening howling with laughter and having conversation that they could barely remember the next day.
LATFF [3f/?]
anonymous
August 30 2010, 03:43:27 UTC
---
Nils returned from smoking in the alley behind Ombre to find Roderich at the desk, looking up black and white pictures of some guy with a violin. He pointed at the screen and gave Roderich a questioning look.
“I’m considering dressing as Fritz Kreisler for Halloween. I would need to acquire a fake mustache, though.”
“That’s a shit costume,” Nils assessed.
“Why is that?” Roderich asked, affronted.
“No one’s heard of the guy. How will they know?”
“I was planning on carrying my violin with me.”
Nils stared for a moment. “At a party?”
Roderich thought it over. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea. He frowned at the computer screen.
“Go as something cooler than that. Mad Max, maybe?” It was Roderich’s turn to stare. Nils grunted. “Forgot, it’s you we’re talking about. Do something easy. A skeleton, or a mummy.”
“A mummy?”
“No, do the skeleton. You’re skinny enough for it.”
Roderich’s indignant reply was cut off with “-no, wait, go as Jack Skellington. That’s a classic.”
“A character from a children’s movie?!”
“What? Have you never seen it?” Nils thought everyone had seen that movie.
“No. I don’t think I would deem it a ‘classic,’ certainly.”
For once Nils was silent because he was speechless. Roderich looked up images of Jack Skellington.
“Okay, see?” Nils pointed at the screen. “You’re thin, it will work. You could even have Francis tailor the thing, he would love that.”
“And the skeleton head?”
Nils shrugged. “I’m sure they sell them somewhere. You could paint your face black so that when you took it off to drink it would be hard to see your head. Or wear a ski mask.”
“Why would I do that?”
“The skeleton - Jack - he takes off his head in the movie sometimes.” Roderich looked disgusted. Nils rolled his eyes. “It’s claymation - it’s not gory.”
Roderich’s reply was cut off by the door chiming. Nils looked up at Roderich’s gasp - that must be the girl Francis was talking about, he thought. Before Roderich could say anything, Nils called out “Do you think he’d make a good Jack Skellington for Halloween?” He looked over and smirked internally at Roderich’s furious blush.
The girl squealed. “I love that movie! Yes, I think you’d make a great Jack - it’s Roderich, right?”
Roderich coughed. “Ah, yes...Lili?” She nodded; he glanced at the computer screen before asking in a small voice, “you really think I could, ah, pull it off, so to speak?”
She giggled and nodded. Nils kicked him in the shin. He glared at Nils, questioning.
“So, there’s this party...” Nils started. She looked at Nils curiously, unaware that Roderich was receiving another kick in the shin.
“Er, yes...Nils and I are both attending a Halloween party...at an establishment called The Scam? It should be a rather large party -” another kick - “would you like to go?” he squeaked out quickly.
“Oh!” she laughed out. “I am already! A few of my friends are going, and, well, I didn’t have any other plans. It sounds fun though! Does that mean I’ll see you there?”
He nodded vigorously and Nils asked if she needed help finding anything. She didn’t, and looked around for a moment before leaving.
“That was something Francis would do,” Roderich groused.
Well, shit. He was right. Nils didn’t have a response for that.
---
October got too massive to include Halloween as well. Because, wow, a lot happens on Halloween. Like, everyone goes to that jam. I am so excited for everyone’s costumes! Plus Gilbert ended up meeting Ludwig sooner than I thought and they cobbled together an Oktoberfest after all, so, eh. Oh and Natalia, you’d do better not to insult the idiots. Nils gets touchy about his pals, so stop that. Hey, anyone got any comments/opinions/criticism/pairings they wanna see/anything? Comments are love :D
I can't leave much of a review because I caught this right before I have to go out, but oh man 1. I really, really, really love Poland. Thank you for doing justice to one of my favorite characters. 2. HAHHAHA "TTFN" 3 I CAN'T GET OVER SWEDEN WITH A BEARD.
Thank you so for this story and for your quick updates, as well, because it gives me something to look forward to reading. This is seriously quality stuff. < 3
---
OCTOBER
---
Alfred blearily poured himself some coffee and collapsed into his chair at the breakfast table. Ten A.M. classes - fuck that. He stuck his face down into his coffee mug and stared at his roommates over the top, their words not really making it to his brain quite yet.
They ignored him for now. Man, but he loved these dudes. Didn’t try to talk to him before his first cup of coffee or get weirded out by his zombie stare or anything!
Near the end of his first cup he scrunched up his face and croaked out “whoa, you two both need haircuts.”
They stopped talking - well, more like Gilbert stopped talking - and looked at him. He cleared his throat. “Your hair is gettin’ really long, both of you, actually, but especially you, Nils,” he gestured his cup in Nils’ direction, ignoring the dangerous slosh of coffee. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen it that long. S’weird - I mean, it looks okay, you know, it’s just...” he shrugged and got up to fetch another cup of coffee.
Nils grabbed a lock of his hair and examined it. “Francis hates it. Says I need layers or something. Told him I would get it cut in November.”
Alfred sat down, asking, “November?” At the same time Gilbert burst out with “Ah no way, you’re growing your hair out for Hallo-fuckin-ween too?!” He threw his boots up on the table and lit a cigarette; Nils’ “Get your goddamned nasty shoes off the table!” was drowned out by Alfred’s yelp of “OH GOD, HALLOWEEN!”
Nils raised an eyebrow. “You forgot, huh?”
“Yes! And it’s, like, the best holiday except maybe Christmas!” he paced around the kitchen. “Okay,” he pounded his fist into his hand, “all I’ve gotta do is brainstorm some awesome ideas during class today - do you guys have any?”
Nils shook his head. Gilbert just said he’d kill Alfred if he stole his idea.
“Okay, so, first! Ideas! That’s okay because I am full of ideas! Or, I will be. Second, I gotta start working on my costume with Ludwig, because that dude makes awesome costumes! We are such a cool team - I’ve got the amazing ideas and he makes it work,” he flashed a smile and a thumbs-up at the other two.
“Aay wait,” Gilbert waved, “is that your design pal? Didn’t you say he built stuff?”
Alfred nodded with a “yup!”
“And he can help with Halloween costumes?”
“Well, he’s helping me,” Alfred shrugged.
“Alright. I need to talk to the nerd,” Gilbert said.
“He’s not really a nerd, Gil, he’s actua-”
“Bullshit, what isn’t nerdy about industrial design? Just gimme his number.”
---
Elizabeta leaned against Arthur’s doorframe and peered into his room. It was ridiculously neat, surprising with the way he treated the rest of the space. “Arthur,” she called.
“Yeah?” He walked around from his “closet”, a metal bar suspended from the ceiling, while yanking on a clean shirt.
“The warehouse space is huge,” she tilted her head to it, “ever had a Halloween party here?”
“Not really,” he replied.
“Want to have a Halloween party?” she asked.
“Perhaps if you bribe me with some beer -”
“Deal! Wanna make some flyers at the zine shop today?”
Arthur snorted. “That’s wasteful. If we want a huge party, all I have to do is tell Francis. The whole town will know by tomorrow.”
“So you’ll do that?”
“Sure. Oh, and you should talk to those hermits you know if you want them to come. Gotta go to work, love,” and with that he hugged her and left.
---
Nils threw his zines up onto the counter and looked up at the familiar voice.
“Never seen you before in my life and now I’ve seen you twice in a month,” Arthur said as he looked over the purchases. Nils didn’t say anything: he’d seen the guy more than twice, but apparently he’d been too smashed to remember.
“Oh, this one,” Arthur pointed to Wildlifoodin, “is pretty good. I mean, I doubt I’ll ever be out in the country to put any of it to use. Stuck in the city, and here the hunter-gatherers are freegans.”
Reply
“Mm, most of the time. It’s easier than you think, especially with that Trader Joe’s near downtown. They toss out all sorts of good things.”
Nils raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
Arthur nodded. “I’m going Wednesday, actually, if you want to come with. Just swing by my place around 9:30.”
“Okay,” Nils picked up his zines, placed them in his bag, and turned to go before Arthur’s voice stopped him.
“Oh yeah, The Scam is throwing a Halloween party, come by and bring your friends - tell ‘em all about it. Even that loud freak ‘o yours.”
“Oh God, Gilbert?” A blank look. “The pale one?”
“Yeah, that one. Seems like a proper hooligan.”
Nils snorted. “I don’t think he’s a proper anything - but I’ll let him know.”
---
“What a bummer - that total babe isn’t here,” Alfred whined.
“I don’t know why you thought she would be,” Feliks snapped.
“She was here when I met her! Oh, hey dude -” he gestured to Berwald, “another round?”
It was a pretty quiet night at the bar, all said. Berwald shoved some new shot glasses over the counter to them and resumed cleaning some glasses, listening in on the conversation.
“You know I don’t care about girls, anyway -”
“I still value your opinion!”
“- but I could tell you about her shoes or something,” Feliks finished. He called over to Berwald - “Hey, hot stuff - you know the girl he’s talkin’ about?”
Berwald blushed but assumed his beard hid it. “She’s b’n here,” he grunted.
“Well? C’mon,” Feliks gestured, “is she as, you know, ‘totally hot’ as Al says?”
Berwald looked at them a moment. He moved a shoulder in a shrug.
Feliks glared and tossed his hair back. “He’s not gonna deck you or something if you say she is,” he looked over to Alfred, who nodded.
“She’s...attract’ve,” he said.
Alfred shoved himself forward in his stool and nearly spilled his whiskey over the countertop. Berwald’s eye twitched behind his glasses. “She’s a total babe! Are you gay or something?!”
All three stayed motionless - Feliks and Berwald looked at each other and Alfred waited on a reply, tapping a rhythm with his leg against the stool.
“Seriously, Al, you have like, no gaydar,” Feliks finally broke the silence.
“Whoa, wait, you’re gay?!” Alfred shot to Berwald.
Berwald just tilted his head up in a sort-of nod.
“Huh,” Alfred mused. He sipped some of his shot. “Why don’t you two hook up, then?”
Feliks laughed; Berwald’s cheeks burned. “He’s, like, totally not my type - sorry man,” Feliks said to Berwald. “You’re too manly,” he sniffed.
Berwald shrugged and filled their glasses, saying “S’on the house.”
---
Gilbert threw himself down on the couch next to Alfred. “Yo, that Ludwig dude? Totally German! It’s almost as awesome as having Prussian ancestry, you know?!” He nudged Alfred in the ribs. Alfred continued to watch The Wire.
“Huh, well, we’re gonna have an Oktoberfest next week,” Gilbert finally said.
That tore Alfred from his zombie-stare at the television. “We have a show next week, Gil,” he said.
Gilbert laughed maniacally. “Hey, Al, I am more than able to handle two nights of drinking in a week, unlike some pussies,” he shoved Alfred and the guy fell over into the armrest.
“Hey! I’ve got school,” Alfred bit out. “And shouldn’t you be looking for jobs now or somethin’? Landscaping season is kind of over.”
“Oh yeah!” Gilbert yelled. “That kickass skateshop on Maple - they don’t have anyone for rollerblades, sucks to be them - so they hired me! Suck it, skateboarder!” He punctuated this by thrusting his hips up and doing that cross thing above his crotch. Alfred rolled his eyes, so Gilbert threw up some metal hand gestures and made a really gross face at Alfred, just to rub it in.
---
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Nils looked up at the loud “Hey, frog!” that was yelled in the tiny clothing shop.
Arthur stomped over to Francis. “I have customers,” Francis glared when he got close.
Arthur shrugged. “Let’s take it out back - oi, you,” he nodded to Nils, “you work for this guy?” He jerked a thumb to Francis. Nils hummed in the positive and shot a glum look at Francis, which provoked a laugh from Arthur. “Well fuck me, small world.”
“Out back!” Francis hissed, then smacked Arthur upside the head for good measure. They both went out the back.
“If you could possess manners for two minutes I would like you more,” Francis stated once they were outside.
“I do possess manners, actually,” Arthur pointed out.
Francis huffed. “Fine, I meant if you could control your mouth.”
Arthur laughed. “What’s the fun in that?” He lit up a cigarette and offered one to Francis.
“Oh, fine,” Francis replied, and snatched it from Arthur’s fingers. “Thank you.”
They both stood there a minute while Francis adjusted his scarf and Arthur achieved the perfect devil-may-care slouch against the doorframe. Arthur blew a smoke ring and watched it rise into the Indian Summer air. “So, down to business - Eliza and I are throwing a Halloween party - you’re coming, and make sure to bring along Alonzo and Sadiq.”
Francis raised an eyebrow at this. “I thought you hated them.”
“Oh, definitely,” Arthur replied, ashing his cigarette. “They’re superficial wankers. But girls follow them like flies, so, what’re you gonna do.” He shrugged.
“Is that everyone?” Francis asked.
“Ha! Of course not - if I wanted it to be invite only I wouldn’t have told the likes of you. I assume I can count on you to bring good people around?”
Francis tossed his hair. “I will see to it, darling.”
Arthur snorted. “You’re a bloody teenage girl. Glad I can rely on you for that.” He stabbed the cigarette out against the side of the building. “I’ll speak your language then: TTFN!” and with that he turned on his heel, slinking down the back alley to the street.
---
Nils sighed. His roommates were dumbasses. After their gig they had both tried to hit on Natalia at the same time, each claiming they had dibs, which had turned into a brawl in the bar. They were then unceremoniously kicked out, and the fight was at this point happening on the sidewalk - literally, both of them were rolling around on the pavement - outside of the bar.
The girl in question was standing right beside him. “I didn’t really care for it. Too dancey, don’t you think?”
He assumed she was talking about the show; nothing about this fight (which was quickly becoming bloody and underhanded) resembled a dance. He shrugged. “They’re my friends.”
“They’re idiots.”
He couldn’t argue that point, but he still felt a protective surge in his chest. “They’re...rash.” Alfred’s yelp of “You broke my nose, fuckwad!” rang out into the street over the sounds of their scuffle.
God, but they were idiots. Beside him Natalia gave a disapproving sniff.
“This happens every few months,” Nils felt the need to explain. “They have a fight, duke it out, the end. None of that passive-agressive nonsense.”
“Passive-agressive is bullshit,” she agreed. “I like that you’re practical,” she smiled at him.
Nils hmm’d.
“My exes have been lame like that. I’ve been looking for a guy,” she touched his arm for a moment, “you know, who isn’t an immature asshole like those two.” A few girls came up to ooo and ah over the two attractive men fighting, and she scowled at the lot of them before talking about how the girls were acting like cavewomen and how uncultured the entire proceedings were.
“Yeah,” Nils cut her off. “I’m gonna take these two home.” He braced a boot against Al’s chest then hauled up Gilbert and shoved him aside, muttering “Okay, okay, good enough. Home.” Gilbert winked at one of the girls nearby, laughed, and threw his arm around Alfred’s shoulders while loudly pointing out the babes in the vicinity. Nils flagged a cab, shoved them in, and got in without a backward glance.
---
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“Fuck! You cook some amazing wurst, dude,” Gilbert said to Ludwig, mouth full. “This Oktoberfest will be bitchin’.”
Ludwig shrugged. “Thanks.”
“No, really - “
“Hey boys!” Feliks flounced into the kitchen. “Al said you were having, like, an Oktoberfest or something?”
“Hey blondie,” Gilbert greeted. “Yeah, you brought some beer, right?”
Feliks laughed. “Duh, of course. But I also brought some things to make pierogis with,” he nodded to a bag slung over his forearm while placing his beer on the kitchen table.
“Pierogis? The fuck? Isn’t that Polish food?”
“Yeah, but, I don’t see you complaining. Now get out of my kitchen,”
Gilbert shrugged, grabbed the beer, and dragged Ludwig out of the kitchen.
---
Gilbert, Alfred, Ludwig, and Nils were surrounded by beer bottles and wurst, watching Goodbye Lenin on the television, when Arthur and Roderich came in followed by a meek Ivan.
“I don’t think we should have just walk-”
“Roderich, the front door was unlocked. It’s cool,” Arthur waved. “Hey wankers, what’s this?” He pointed to the TV.
“It’s about East Germany!” Gilbert exclaimed, and then went on about how awesome it was while Arthur nodded, looking bored.
“Wanna talk about it out back?” Arthur asked, waving a bag of weed and winking to Gilbert.
A wide smirk crossed Gilbert’s face before he agreed and the two vanished with beer in tow.
---
Nils, Alfred, Ludwig, Ivan, and Roderich were still watching the movie when the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it!” Alfred called out.
He yanked open the door - “Oh, hey, Natalia! I didn’t think you’d show up. Want a beer? We have way too much.”
She said hello and agreed to a beer before coming into the living room and sitting beside Nils on the couch. Alfred didn’t seem to notice and kept up a stream of incessant chattering about what had happened in the movie so far.
Nils tried to talk to Ivan about the Kiku’s show, but Ivan was taken by the movie.
Feliks walked in and dumped a plate of pierogi on the coffee table; most of those present dug in with muffled thanks, but Ivan headed to the kitchen to investigate.
“You know how to cook pierogi?” he asked a busy Feliks at the stove.
“Like, duh,” Feliks replied, cutting up some food on the chopping block. “My whole family’s from Poland. Just got back from a summer trip there. It totally rocked.”
“The Russians have something similar,” Ivan murmured. “I’ve never seen Polish pierogi made, however. Mind if I watch?”
“Nah, just don’t breathe on me like that. It’s creepy.”
---
Nils let out a small huff - he was a little bored, a lot of drunk, and wanted to clear his head for a second. Too many people in here. “I’m gonna go out front and smoke,” he announced to no one in particular, and slunk his way outside.
He slumped down heavily onto the front stoop and braced his elbows on his spread knees. As he was lighting his cigarette, the door opened and Natalia plopped down beside him. She proceeded to have a very one-sided (and in his opinion utterly banal) conversation with him. He sighed, making some noise to whatever she was talking about.
“You know,” she hit his arm lightly and leaned into him, “you shouldn’t smoke. It’s so nasty.”
He paused and watched the smoke float through the air. “You’re kind of a bitch,” he said.
She spluttered for a minute. “What?!”
He looked over. “I said,” he replied softly, tapping some ash off the end of his cigarette, “that you’re kind of a bitch. All I think I’ve heard you talk about is how much other people suck. That’s not interesting at all. Do you even do anything besides stand around at shows and look -”
He heard the clang of his head hitting the metal stair rail before his vision flashed and he felt the intense pain in his jaw and his temple. A slightly out-of-focus Natalia gave him a death glare, then stood straight up, rigid, and went inside with a slam of the door. He let out a laugh and wiped his mouth, looking down at his arm to find a streak of bloody spit. He guessed he kind of deserved that one.
He stood up and the world spun...maybe it was time for bed. It was still pretty early, but, fuck it. Like he gave a shit.
---
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Alfred stumbled into the kitchen, falling right in between Ivan and Feliks hovering over the stove, calling out “Man, Feliks, that girl just vanished - whoa hey, you really took over the kitchen, huh? What’s that?” He poked a finger into the skillet of cooking food and yanked it away when it got burned, hissing.
“Sausages and potatoes?” Feliks answered.
Alfred reached for it again, but Feliks whacked him across the hand with the spatula. “It’s not done!” Alfred let out a high-pitched keen and attempted to stick his fist in his mouth.
“Are you trying to eat your fist?” Ivan asked softly.
“Hey, you two, sit at the table like proper children,” Feliks ordered. Alfred and Ivan looked blankly at him, and then obeyed.
“Nmooo”, Alfred said through a mouthful of hand. “Jhuss ‘urts.”
“I have never seen anyone attempt to swallow a fist to cure pain,” Ivan said softly.
“Got burnt.”
“You did reach your hand into a frying pan,” Ivan pointed out. “Impatient - it’s what you get for not waiting on your food.”
“Psh, really,” Feliks agreed over his shoulder.
Alfred whined about being hungry, then about the creepy guy staring at him. Feliks brought the steaming food to the table and bit out “Eat already, jeez Alfred. And you two,” he pointed the spatula at both of their faces in succession, “you both like Tetris like nobody’s business. Ready? Annnnd, go!” He took his plate into the living room.
“Tetris!” Alfred chirped. “You like Tetris? Oh man, I thought about getting Tetris blocks tattooed on my arm, here -” he pointed to his left arm - “but I got these happy little whales instead. They’re cute right? I mean, lookit ‘em - yeah, see, you agree - whales are my favorite, once when I was a kid -”
Ivan was a little overwhelmed by this creature. He chewed on his food, but before he could collect his thoughts enough to reply to something in that mess, Alfred interrupted again.
“Wait, uh, we were talking about Tetris, yeah? You like the old-school stuff?”
---
Ludwig and Roderich were the only two left in the living room, trying to make small talk over the softly playing movie. Mostly they ended up commenting on the style of the early nineties and getting way too drunk to cover up the awkwardness of being stuck in a room with a stranger.
Natalia stormed back in and sat next to Ludwig. She joined in the epic small talk about the movie for a bit, but then turned to complaining about what an asshole the stoic roommate was. At that, Roderich started laughing way too hard and agreed.
“He’s aloof,” Ludwig replied, “but Alfred says if you can actually get him talking he’s a good conversationalist. He likes good music at least,” he shrugged.
Natalia scowled. Ludwig decided another topic of conversation was probably a good idea.
“So,” he leaned back into the couch, drink finally seeping into his system, “what do you do?”
---
Feliks came out onto the back porch, only to find Gilbert and Arthur wasted off their asses, chain smoking like chimneys, and comparing escapades about getting kicked out of bars.
He sat down by them and turned down a cigarette. “I’ll take a beer, though, totally,” he said. One of them tossed one at him and he drank up.
“We smoked all the fuckin’ weed, Feliks, sorry dude,” Gilbert said.
Feliks waved them off. “I’ll forgive you if you get me totally smashed,” he replied.
They agreed that that was a good idea, and the three of them spent the rest of the evening howling with laughter and having conversation that they could barely remember the next day.
---
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Nils returned from smoking in the alley behind Ombre to find Roderich at the desk, looking up black and white pictures of some guy with a violin. He pointed at the screen and gave Roderich a questioning look.
“I’m considering dressing as Fritz Kreisler for Halloween. I would need to acquire a fake mustache, though.”
“That’s a shit costume,” Nils assessed.
“Why is that?” Roderich asked, affronted.
“No one’s heard of the guy. How will they know?”
“I was planning on carrying my violin with me.”
Nils stared for a moment. “At a party?”
Roderich thought it over. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea. He frowned at the computer screen.
“Go as something cooler than that. Mad Max, maybe?” It was Roderich’s turn to stare. Nils grunted. “Forgot, it’s you we’re talking about. Do something easy. A skeleton, or a mummy.”
“A mummy?”
“No, do the skeleton. You’re skinny enough for it.”
Roderich’s indignant reply was cut off with “-no, wait, go as Jack Skellington. That’s a classic.”
“A character from a children’s movie?!”
“What? Have you never seen it?” Nils thought everyone had seen that movie.
“No. I don’t think I would deem it a ‘classic,’ certainly.”
For once Nils was silent because he was speechless. Roderich looked up images of Jack Skellington.
“Okay, see?” Nils pointed at the screen. “You’re thin, it will work. You could even have Francis tailor the thing, he would love that.”
“And the skeleton head?”
Nils shrugged. “I’m sure they sell them somewhere. You could paint your face black so that when you took it off to drink it would be hard to see your head. Or wear a ski mask.”
“Why would I do that?”
“The skeleton - Jack - he takes off his head in the movie sometimes.” Roderich looked disgusted. Nils rolled his eyes. “It’s claymation - it’s not gory.”
Roderich’s reply was cut off by the door chiming. Nils looked up at Roderich’s gasp - that must be the girl Francis was talking about, he thought. Before Roderich could say anything, Nils called out “Do you think he’d make a good Jack Skellington for Halloween?” He looked over and smirked internally at Roderich’s furious blush.
The girl squealed. “I love that movie! Yes, I think you’d make a great Jack - it’s Roderich, right?”
Roderich coughed. “Ah, yes...Lili?” She nodded; he glanced at the computer screen before asking in a small voice, “you really think I could, ah, pull it off, so to speak?”
She giggled and nodded. Nils kicked him in the shin. He glared at Nils, questioning.
“So, there’s this party...” Nils started. She looked at Nils curiously, unaware that Roderich was receiving another kick in the shin.
“Er, yes...Nils and I are both attending a Halloween party...at an establishment called The Scam? It should be a rather large party -” another kick - “would you like to go?” he squeaked out quickly.
“Oh!” she laughed out. “I am already! A few of my friends are going, and, well, I didn’t have any other plans. It sounds fun though! Does that mean I’ll see you there?”
He nodded vigorously and Nils asked if she needed help finding anything. She didn’t, and looked around for a moment before leaving.
“That was something Francis would do,” Roderich groused.
Well, shit. He was right. Nils didn’t have a response for that.
---
October got too massive to include Halloween as well. Because, wow, a lot happens on Halloween. Like, everyone goes to that jam. I am so excited for everyone’s costumes! Plus Gilbert ended up meeting Ludwig sooner than I thought and they cobbled together an Oktoberfest after all, so, eh. Oh and Natalia, you’d do better not to insult the idiots. Nils gets touchy about his pals, so stop that. Hey, anyone got any comments/opinions/criticism/pairings they wanna see/anything? Comments are love :D
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1. I really, really, really love Poland. Thank you for doing justice to one of my favorite characters.
2. HAHHAHA "TTFN"
3 I CAN'T GET OVER SWEDEN WITH A BEARD.
Thank you so for this story and for your quick updates, as well, because it gives me something to look forward to reading. This is seriously quality stuff. < 3
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I can't wait to see more!
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