The Comfort of the Familiar
Summary: Tiki begins to miss the other half of his double life, especially now that Devit and Jasdero are clamoring for him to quit smoking.
Prompt: 032. Variety
Disclaimer: D. Gray-man series and characters do not belong to me.
“Variety is the spice of life,” said Tiki, prying his packet of cigarettes out of Jasdero’s hands.
“That’s no reason to ditch us to hang out with your loser friends,” scowled Devit.
“Tiki stinks,” said Jasdero, making a face as he reached for the cigarettes again. Tiki held them above his head.
“You twins are annoying-is that a good reason to ditch you? Jasdero, why do you want these if you keep complaining about the smell?” Tiki had arrived at the family’s new estate in Edo by Ark just that morning, and he was already starting to miss laboring for fifteen hours a day on a breakfast of half a biscuit and a turnip. Claiming the sudden need for a smoke break, he’d escaped the living room, but after a couple minutes, no doubt spent plotting, the twins had followed him outside.
Devit kicked at an ornamental rock. “We were going to throw them in the carp pond. Do you know how hard it is to get that smell out of clothes?”
Tiki shoved Jasdero away. “Don’t get too close, or you’ll have to wash your wig again.”
Jasdero, alarmed, jumped back to stand by his twin.
“And they’re bad for you,” persisted Devit.
“I don’t want someone who looks like you telling me what’s bad for me,” countered Tiki. Devit was wearing a ludicrous amount of mascara again. They must go through mascara like Rhode went through lollipops. And like he went through cigarettes, he admitted to himself. He removed one and stuck it in his mouth. He patted his pocket, only to discover that his lighter was missing. Tiki put the cigarette back in its carton.
Devit thrust his hands in his jacket pockets. “This is purely cosmetic. We’re perfectly healthy!”
“And Jasdevi smell nice!” put in Jasdero.
“Better than those loser bums you seem to like so much.”
Never again muse aloud about how much you miss your normal human friends, Tiki noted to himself. He had always found it reassuring that the group of laborers he spent half his life with traveled so frequently. Even so, he had always been careful not to mention their names around Rhode.
The porch behind him creaked as Skinn stepped onto it. “What’s wrong with the living room?” he asked. He was holding a tray of round cakes of a kind Tiki had never seen before.
“These two were in it, for one thing.”
“Hey!” said Devit.
Skinn nodded in perfect understanding, then changed the subject.. “I’ve discovered bean paste. It doesn’t sound sweet, but it is.” A rare smile crossed his face. He held the tray towards Tiki. “Try one?”
Tiki gave a wave of his hand, declining. Jasdero tripped up the steps, saying “Can Jasdero have one?”
“No,” said Skinn, and lumbered back inside.
Jasdero turned back to Tiki, disappointed. “Then can Jasdero have one of those?” He pointed at the cigarettes in Tiki’s pocket.
Watch Skinn get away with it, thought Tiki with mild resentment. He decided to humor Jasdero and handed over a cigarette, wondering how he was planning to light it.
Jasdero threw the cigarette in the carp pond. The twins watched it drift on the surface in a slight current. Below it, orange and white fish milled slowly. “That’s one down,” said Devit eventually. He looked over his shoulder at Tiki. “Just think, you’re that much healthier!” He pointed at the foundering cigarette with a black-lacquered finger.
Tiki put a hand to his forehead. “You know what? I think you’re right. All these cigarettes have made me ill. I have a headache, and I’m going to go lie down.”
Jasdero and Devit watched him suspiciously. “But you just got here! You haven’t even toured the city yet, seen any of the famous sites!" said Devit.
“Later. I’ve already toured the mansion…” said Tiki, and went back inside.
It was an impressive three-story mansion, the exterior done in the traditional style of Japanese palaces. The interior was Western-style, with luxuriously furnished rooms, including thirteen bedrooms and an enormous dining room. Two sides of the mansion looked onto an enclosed Japanese garden with a carp pond. There was also a rock garden outside one of the unclaimed bedrooms. The Earl had taken Tiki aside and explained the concept of a rock garden to him. He'd warned Tiki against walking through it. However, either the twins hadn’t heard or they’d thought their footprints added a nice symmetry, because by the time Tiki saw the rock garden the Earl’s warning was moot.
“Tiki should try new things, not lie around being sick,” said Jasdero loudly.
“He probably needs to get more exercise, too,” said Devit.
“And eat more vegetables!”
“And bathe!”
Tiki heard them erupt in laughter behind him.
“But first…” came Devit’s voice, and the twins ran up behind Tiki in the hall. Damn-they were following him. When Devit tried to grab his arm, Tiki activated his abilities, becoming insubstantial.
“Hey!” said Devit.
“Cheating!” shrieked Jasdero.
Tiki ignored them and walked through the wall-nicely wallpapered in cream-ending up in a small room lined with mahogany bookshelves. He could hear shouting through the wall, and a thump as one of the twins kicked it. He idly tried to make out the words.
“A bomb-” began Devit.
“-to blast-” came Jasdero’s voice.
“-through the-”
Tiki hurried back through the wall to wave his hands in their faces. “Stop, stop! You don’t have to destroy the wall.”
Devit looked disappointed. “Then don’t go through it.”
The twins were even more persistent than Rhode. Tiki took a deep breath, then gave them a grin. “But it’s fun to go through the wall instead of the door sometimes. Just for a change.” He spread his hands. “Want to try?”
“Do you ever get stuck?” asked Devit suspiciously.
“No, because I can escape with a thought,” said Tiki, snapping his fingers.
“Your power is weird,” said Devit, and Jasdero giggled. “Wait, go insubstantial for me a moment.” Tiki, mustering all his patience, complied, and Devit stuck his hand through Tiki’s chest and waved it around as through air.
Jasdero shoved his twin aside. “Now be solid again, Tiki!”
Tiki deactivated his ability. Jasdero snatched the cigarettes from his pocket and dashed down the hall. “Got them!”
“Good plan, Jasdero!” Laughing loudly, Devit ran after him.
Tiki began to feel a pounding in his temples. Now that his cigarettes were gone, he was really dying for a smoke. Why did nobody take him seriously? Someday he’d have to set those two straight about the true power of his abilities.
Tiki remembered that those were the only cigarettes he’d brought-what kind of smokes did Japan have, anyway?-and started running after the twins as fast as he could. He caught up with them on the porch, passed Devit with one long stride, and seized Jasdero by his jacket hood. Jasdero came up short, losing his balance on the steps, and screamed. Kept from falling only by Tiki’s grip on his jacket, he hurled the pack of cigarettes in a high arc. Tiki watched them fall into the carp pond.
“Jasdero did it!” giggled Jasdero as Devit cried, “Hey, let go!” Devit’s fist went through Tiki’s shoulder. Jasdero slipped out of his jacket and stumbled on the steps. He fell onto the gravel, but sprang to his feet again.
Devit grabbed the other side of Jasdero’s jacket. “Give it back!”
“Give it back!” echoed Jasdero, shivering a little without a top.
Tiki kept a firm hold of the jacket. “You’re the ones destroying people’s property,” he angrily. He dragged the jacket away from Devit, who clung to it grimly. Tiki descended the four steps of the porch and began walking across the garden towards the carp pond, Devit stumbling after him still tryng to wrench the jacket from his grip.
“You’ll tear it!” said Jasdero frantically. “Hee! Jasdero likes that coat!”
“This is exactly why I like my other crowd,” said Tiki to Devit. “It’s nice to get away from you.”
“Fuck them! You shouldn’t get so used to being with them, all those normal humans are gonna die soon anyway. Besides, we were just trying to help you,” said Devit viciously. He shifted one hand to below the collar, trying to get a better grip. “So stop…leaving…” He dug his heels into the garden, ruining an innocent bed of grass. “And stop…smoking…”
“It’s bad for you!” said Jasdero. He circled the other two, attempting to find an opening in which to get a hold on his coat.
“I’ve got it, Jasdero,” yelled Devit, although he hadn't made Tiki loosen his grip at all.
Tiki stopped by the carp pond and made to throw Jasdero’s jacket in where his cigarettes were even now sinking to the bottom, but Devit refused to let go. Tiki heaved the jacket around until Devit stood at the pond’s edge, then shoved him in.
Devit splashed face-first into the carp pond, Jasdero’s coat in his hands. The carp scattered to the edges of their home. Jasdero shrieked and shoved a hand into Tiki’s back almost as an afterthought as he ran into the pond. Tiki stumbled forwards-why did he even bother letting his guard down around Jasdevi?-soaking the lower half of his pants.
Yelling and spitting pondwater, Devit struggled to his hands and knees inside the pond. He was completely soaked. “You don’t have to drown me!” He wiped at his mouth with a hand. Water dripped from his hair into the disturbed pond.
Tiki walked out of the pond. He felt stupid acting like they did, but maybe they’d pay attention to him this way. I have to admit that was satisfying, if immature.
Jasdero waded into the center and helped his twin to his feet. Devit held up Jasdero’s coat, as soaked and dripping as he was. Jasdero pulled it on and started to laugh.
“What? You shouldn’t wear that, you’ll get chilled,” said Devit, shivering. “Put on something dry.”
“Jasdevi match!” said Jasdero, and Devit laughed.
Tiki strolled back to the house, enjoying the cool breeze.
“Wait!” called Devit. “Where are you going?”
Tiki stopped. It almost sounded as if Devit still wanted him to stay. He stared at the autumn sky for a long moment, then said, “I think you’ve cured me.”
“Huh?” said Devit.
“I feel much better already. I won’t need to lie down after all-I might even be up for some sightseeing.”
“Tiki isn’t leaving?” called Jasdero.
“Nah, I think I’ll stay awhile.”
“Yeah, you probably have loads of other things of ours you want to throw into ponds,” said Devit. “I bet you never pushed your precious friends into fishponds.”
Tiki sat on the porch so some of the water could drip from his pants legs while he waited for the twins. He could have sworn he saw Devit grind his heel down in the part of the pond where he’d last seen his package of cigarettes. “I guess you’re special that way,” he offered.
Devit looked confused, but Jasdero said excitedly, “See, Jasdevi are special!”
“Yeah, and filthy!” said Devit.
“Jasdero pushed in Tiki, so Tiki must be special too!”
“Ha! He probably got cleaner!”
Jasdero shrieked with laughter. Devit shot a triumphant glance at Tiki as the twins slogged out of the pond. Devit’s mascara was running down his face in a dribbles of runny black. Jasdero’s was smeared, too, from when he’d donned his wet coat. Maybe Tiki could find where they kept the mascara and empty it into the carp pond. Except it might poison the fish.
And I’ll throw all Rhode’s lollipops in there, and all the sugar in the house, and we’ll all be forced to find something new, thought Tiki.
Still, as soon as he left Edo, the first thing he planned to do was buy cigarettes.
Prompt: 032. Variety
Disclaimer: D. Gray-man series and characters do not belong to me.
“Variety is the spice of life,” said Tiki, prying his packet of cigarettes out of Jasdero’s hands.
“That’s no reason to ditch us to hang out with your loser friends,” scowled Devit.
“Tiki stinks,” said Jasdero, making a face as he reached for the cigarettes again. Tiki held them above his head.
“You twins are annoying-is that a good reason to ditch you? Jasdero, why do you want these if you keep complaining about the smell?” Tiki had arrived at the family’s new estate in Edo by Ark just that morning, and he was already starting to miss laboring for fifteen hours a day on a breakfast of half a biscuit and a turnip. Claiming the sudden need for a smoke break, he’d escaped the living room, but after a couple minutes, no doubt spent plotting, the twins had followed him outside.
Devit kicked at an ornamental rock. “We were going to throw them in the carp pond. Do you know how hard it is to get that smell out of clothes?”
Tiki shoved Jasdero away. “Don’t get too close, or you’ll have to wash your wig again.”
Jasdero, alarmed, jumped back to stand by his twin.
“And they’re bad for you,” persisted Devit.
“I don’t want someone who looks like you telling me what’s bad for me,” countered Tiki. Devit was wearing a ludicrous amount of mascara again. They must go through mascara like Rhode went through lollipops. And like he went through cigarettes, he admitted to himself. He removed one and stuck it in his mouth. He patted his pocket, only to discover that his lighter was missing. Tiki put the cigarette back in its carton.
Devit thrust his hands in his jacket pockets. “This is purely cosmetic. We’re perfectly healthy!”
“And Jasdevi smell nice!” put in Jasdero.
“Better than those loser bums you seem to like so much.”
Never again muse aloud about how much you miss your normal human friends, Tiki noted to himself. He had always found it reassuring that the group of laborers he spent half his life with traveled so frequently. Even so, he had always been careful not to mention their names around Rhode.
The porch behind him creaked as Skinn stepped onto it. “What’s wrong with the living room?” he asked. He was holding a tray of round cakes of a kind Tiki had never seen before.
“These two were in it, for one thing.”
“Hey!” said Devit.
Skinn nodded in perfect understanding, then changed the subject.. “I’ve discovered bean paste. It doesn’t sound sweet, but it is.” A rare smile crossed his face. He held the tray towards Tiki. “Try one?”
Tiki gave a wave of his hand, declining. Jasdero tripped up the steps, saying “Can Jasdero have one?”
“No,” said Skinn, and lumbered back inside.
Jasdero turned back to Tiki, disappointed. “Then can Jasdero have one of those?” He pointed at the cigarettes in Tiki’s pocket.
Watch Skinn get away with it, thought Tiki with mild resentment. He decided to humor Jasdero and handed over a cigarette, wondering how he was planning to light it.
Jasdero threw the cigarette in the carp pond. The twins watched it drift on the surface in a slight current. Below it, orange and white fish milled slowly. “That’s one down,” said Devit eventually. He looked over his shoulder at Tiki. “Just think, you’re that much healthier!” He pointed at the foundering cigarette with a black-lacquered finger.
Tiki put a hand to his forehead. “You know what? I think you’re right. All these cigarettes have made me ill. I have a headache, and I’m going to go lie down.”
Jasdero and Devit watched him suspiciously. “But you just got here! You haven’t even toured the city yet, seen any of the famous sites!" said Devit.
“Later. I’ve already toured the mansion…” said Tiki, and went back inside.
It was an impressive three-story mansion, the exterior done in the traditional style of Japanese palaces. The interior was Western-style, with luxuriously furnished rooms, including thirteen bedrooms and an enormous dining room. Two sides of the mansion looked onto an enclosed Japanese garden with a carp pond. There was also a rock garden outside one of the unclaimed bedrooms. The Earl had taken Tiki aside and explained the concept of a rock garden to him. He'd warned Tiki against walking through it. However, either the twins hadn’t heard or they’d thought their footprints added a nice symmetry, because by the time Tiki saw the rock garden the Earl’s warning was moot.
“Tiki should try new things, not lie around being sick,” said Jasdero loudly.
“He probably needs to get more exercise, too,” said Devit.
“And eat more vegetables!”
“And bathe!”
Tiki heard them erupt in laughter behind him.
“But first…” came Devit’s voice, and the twins ran up behind Tiki in the hall. Damn-they were following him. When Devit tried to grab his arm, Tiki activated his abilities, becoming insubstantial.
“Hey!” said Devit.
“Cheating!” shrieked Jasdero.
Tiki ignored them and walked through the wall-nicely wallpapered in cream-ending up in a small room lined with mahogany bookshelves. He could hear shouting through the wall, and a thump as one of the twins kicked it. He idly tried to make out the words.
“A bomb-” began Devit.
“-to blast-” came Jasdero’s voice.
“-through the-”
Tiki hurried back through the wall to wave his hands in their faces. “Stop, stop! You don’t have to destroy the wall.”
Devit looked disappointed. “Then don’t go through it.”
The twins were even more persistent than Rhode. Tiki took a deep breath, then gave them a grin. “But it’s fun to go through the wall instead of the door sometimes. Just for a change.” He spread his hands. “Want to try?”
“Do you ever get stuck?” asked Devit suspiciously.
“No, because I can escape with a thought,” said Tiki, snapping his fingers.
“Your power is weird,” said Devit, and Jasdero giggled. “Wait, go insubstantial for me a moment.” Tiki, mustering all his patience, complied, and Devit stuck his hand through Tiki’s chest and waved it around as through air.
Jasdero shoved his twin aside. “Now be solid again, Tiki!”
Tiki deactivated his ability. Jasdero snatched the cigarettes from his pocket and dashed down the hall. “Got them!”
“Good plan, Jasdero!” Laughing loudly, Devit ran after him.
Tiki began to feel a pounding in his temples. Now that his cigarettes were gone, he was really dying for a smoke. Why did nobody take him seriously? Someday he’d have to set those two straight about the true power of his abilities.
Tiki remembered that those were the only cigarettes he’d brought-what kind of smokes did Japan have, anyway?-and started running after the twins as fast as he could. He caught up with them on the porch, passed Devit with one long stride, and seized Jasdero by his jacket hood. Jasdero came up short, losing his balance on the steps, and screamed. Kept from falling only by Tiki’s grip on his jacket, he hurled the pack of cigarettes in a high arc. Tiki watched them fall into the carp pond.
“Jasdero did it!” giggled Jasdero as Devit cried, “Hey, let go!” Devit’s fist went through Tiki’s shoulder. Jasdero slipped out of his jacket and stumbled on the steps. He fell onto the gravel, but sprang to his feet again.
Devit grabbed the other side of Jasdero’s jacket. “Give it back!”
“Give it back!” echoed Jasdero, shivering a little without a top.
Tiki kept a firm hold of the jacket. “You’re the ones destroying people’s property,” he angrily. He dragged the jacket away from Devit, who clung to it grimly. Tiki descended the four steps of the porch and began walking across the garden towards the carp pond, Devit stumbling after him still tryng to wrench the jacket from his grip.
“You’ll tear it!” said Jasdero frantically. “Hee! Jasdero likes that coat!”
“This is exactly why I like my other crowd,” said Tiki to Devit. “It’s nice to get away from you.”
“Fuck them! You shouldn’t get so used to being with them, all those normal humans are gonna die soon anyway. Besides, we were just trying to help you,” said Devit viciously. He shifted one hand to below the collar, trying to get a better grip. “So stop…leaving…” He dug his heels into the garden, ruining an innocent bed of grass. “And stop…smoking…”
“It’s bad for you!” said Jasdero. He circled the other two, attempting to find an opening in which to get a hold on his coat.
“I’ve got it, Jasdero,” yelled Devit, although he hadn't made Tiki loosen his grip at all.
Tiki stopped by the carp pond and made to throw Jasdero’s jacket in where his cigarettes were even now sinking to the bottom, but Devit refused to let go. Tiki heaved the jacket around until Devit stood at the pond’s edge, then shoved him in.
Devit splashed face-first into the carp pond, Jasdero’s coat in his hands. The carp scattered to the edges of their home. Jasdero shrieked and shoved a hand into Tiki’s back almost as an afterthought as he ran into the pond. Tiki stumbled forwards-why did he even bother letting his guard down around Jasdevi?-soaking the lower half of his pants.
Yelling and spitting pondwater, Devit struggled to his hands and knees inside the pond. He was completely soaked. “You don’t have to drown me!” He wiped at his mouth with a hand. Water dripped from his hair into the disturbed pond.
Tiki walked out of the pond. He felt stupid acting like they did, but maybe they’d pay attention to him this way. I have to admit that was satisfying, if immature.
Jasdero waded into the center and helped his twin to his feet. Devit held up Jasdero’s coat, as soaked and dripping as he was. Jasdero pulled it on and started to laugh.
“What? You shouldn’t wear that, you’ll get chilled,” said Devit, shivering. “Put on something dry.”
“Jasdevi match!” said Jasdero, and Devit laughed.
Tiki strolled back to the house, enjoying the cool breeze.
“Wait!” called Devit. “Where are you going?”
Tiki stopped. It almost sounded as if Devit still wanted him to stay. He stared at the autumn sky for a long moment, then said, “I think you’ve cured me.”
“Huh?” said Devit.
“I feel much better already. I won’t need to lie down after all-I might even be up for some sightseeing.”
“Tiki isn’t leaving?” called Jasdero.
“Nah, I think I’ll stay awhile.”
“Yeah, you probably have loads of other things of ours you want to throw into ponds,” said Devit. “I bet you never pushed your precious friends into fishponds.”
Tiki sat on the porch so some of the water could drip from his pants legs while he waited for the twins. He could have sworn he saw Devit grind his heel down in the part of the pond where he’d last seen his package of cigarettes. “I guess you’re special that way,” he offered.
Devit looked confused, but Jasdero said excitedly, “See, Jasdevi are special!”
“Yeah, and filthy!” said Devit.
“Jasdero pushed in Tiki, so Tiki must be special too!”
“Ha! He probably got cleaner!”
Jasdero shrieked with laughter. Devit shot a triumphant glance at Tiki as the twins slogged out of the pond. Devit’s mascara was running down his face in a dribbles of runny black. Jasdero’s was smeared, too, from when he’d donned his wet coat. Maybe Tiki could find where they kept the mascara and empty it into the carp pond. Except it might poison the fish.
And I’ll throw all Rhode’s lollipops in there, and all the sugar in the house, and we’ll all be forced to find something new, thought Tiki.
Still, as soon as he left Edo, the first thing he planned to do was buy cigarettes.