always the car crash

Matteo tried not to get all emotional, but it was a big day and Lock was tapping into some deep-seated emotions. He was not going to cry. Nope. Not right now. Maybe later, but not before the ceremony even began. Still, he sniffled slightly.

Lock was right. Matteo trusted Osuke and loved him. They wanted to spend the rest of their life with them. Lock wasn't exactly one for empty flattery, so, if anything, at least Matteo knew this was sincere. Overwhelmed with emotions, he engulfed Lock in a hug.

They took a deep breath. "Thank you, Lock." He didn't mean just for being here, calming him down. Though, that was a large part of it. "Thank you for reading my future all those months ago. I wouldn't be here without you giving me the push."

he tries not to look panicked as matteo begins getting emotional, but he's not sure how well it works. "oh-!"

a hug is not what he had been expecting, laughing awkwardly and returning the embrace. he's not touch-starved anymore, thankfully, now that harumi's around, so he doesn't have to embarrass himself that way, at least.

it's a little bittersweet, though. he's out here bending over backwards to help matteo out, and the other still calls him lock, of all things. an unofficial barrier, albeit one that matteo is not aware of, most likely. "i mean, you didn't give me that much of a choice, so don't give me that much credit." it's lighthearted, at least, trying to ease the tension brought on by matteo's emotions.

"Been there," she said. Though she hadn't birthed her, Sammy had essentially become her child. And, much like with Lock, she had not been prepared. To this day, she didn't know her sister's origins. Her dad refused to tell her who exactly Sammy's mom was, much less if she had a name before she came to them. She didn't even know if her dad was aware of Sammy before he came back with her.

"Look, if I could do it at eighteen, I think you can do it now," she said. Cherry put a comforting hand on Lock's shoulder. "And, I'll be here if you need any help. You can count on me."

Cherry was certainly not going to make Lock do it on his own. She would have certainly appreciated more help with Sammy. "Thankfully, dryads are relatively self-sufficient. Some never have parents. Just feed and water her... and take care of her plant. She will then be fine."

already, his mind is racing - he doesn't own anything to take care of a kid. would he be able to source everything he needs on short notice? what is he supposed to do whenever he's at work? shaking his head to clear the thoughts away, a problem for future lauren, lock hums softly.

Matteo released a deep sigh. He tried to relax his shoulders, but frankly, he had been tense all week. Matteo was not the type to let others take of his business for him, but here he was, leaving the business of the kingdom to his advisors for the week just so he could have a nice ceremony.

"Where is Serenity anyways?" they asked. That was their best "man" (why were things so gendered among humans? seemed odd). They looked around for her, knowing she would definitely get things done. "Though, she might actually bite someone's head off, so this might be nicer for the florists."

"I guess she's probably looking at the feast," they said. There were a lot of guests with varying appetites. "They did get enough fish right?"

He stopped as he spotted Lock's child. He noticed her clothes and a smile finally spread across his face. "She looks adorable," he said. Matteo didn't have much experience with kids (frankly, they seemed difficult to interact with). But, Harumi made it seem less intimidating. Though, of course any child of Lock's would probably be relaxed.

opening his eyes after a moment, lock follows matteo's gaze. he turns slightly pink at the compliment, a little shy to admit, "ah, she wanted to match." the dresses aren't the exact same, of course, since his would be too mature for a child her age, but it's similar enough to tell it was intentional. "she wants to do that a lot nowadays. kids are weird."

it's been a definite learning curve, adjusting to harumi's presence in his life, but he can't have been doing all that terrible, since the little girl seemed increasingly fond of him, and no one from child protective services had banged his door down yet, or anything.

That small shred of doubt was chased away by the simple words the other had to offer. What pout had been forming slowly shifted into a soft, yet bright, smile in return. Without a doubt, he decided Lock had to be right. Which was good enough for the dryad. Letting his shirt back down, he nodded and took a quick seat on the ground they were on. The soft grass below him practically hummed at his touch.

“Did you take long to decide on what sparkle you wanted?” he questioned easily, knowing full well that he didn’t say the right word for the item. Jewelry, piercing jewelry, none of it sounded as good as… sparkle… or glitter in his mind. That even went for the abalone necklace that Matteo had made him. Still worn, every day. “I’m not sure I know which I want…” was quickly admitted in his follow up statement. His mind had been dancing over possibilities.

after a moment of thumbing through his instagram, lock crouches carefully - don't get a grass stain, don't flash anyone, don't fall over - holding his phone out for osuke to see. it's from whenever he'd got the tattoo on his hip, the snake rising up from his thigh, but the scorpion in his navel is clearly visible. "this is more my style, but if they don't have any you like at the piercing place, we can get some online. they make a bunch of different ones, and once it heals, you can change it out whenever you want. some people have a lot of different jewelry. you could change it every day, if you wanted to, i suppose."

Matteo had to do a double take as he saw Lock's outfit. At least some people knew how to dress for a formal affair. They looked nice. Nice enough to make Matteo stop his tirade for a second. At least, until he remembered that today was his wedding day and everything was going wrong.

"Oh, that's good then. He deserves the best toadstools. They got the right colors, right?" he asked. "I know the poisonous ones are usually prettier, but that's fine." Frankly, it would fit Osuke perfectly.

Really, if he was like this at their informal ceremony, he wasn't sure how he was going to be when they had their formal one at underwater. That one would lead to Osuke's actual coronation and would be attended by a lot of people.

Somehow, that one seemed less stressful. Maybe it was because this ceremony was specifically for Osuke. Also, it was the only one where his tree -his mother- would be in attendance.

overdressed or not, he can't help but feel a sick sense of gratification whenever matteo does a double take, secretly pleased at garnering such a reaction. must be the siren in him, always thirsty for the worst kind of attention. "they did." he just hopes people are smart enough not to touch them. thankfully, many of the people attending this ceremony will be aware of the danger they present. "they're dryads, your highness. i trust them to know about plants. they'll bring in the toadstools on time. i'll even remind them, if it eases your mind."

reticent as he may have been whenever he'd had that first vision of osuke's inevitable future, he can't deny that matteo obviously cares for him, which is a weight off lock's shoulders. it's a little bittersweet to be not only attending, but actively participating in the wedding of someone whom he had nursed a crush on for the better part of three months, but he's an adult. he can handle these things with only minor brooding whenever he'd first received the wedding invitation. he wouldn't even be participating in it, if he could help it, content to merely be a guest. but, of course, he can't change something once he's seen it, so he'd known he needed to arrive early to run interference, before someone ended up in that damn dungeon matteo was always talking about.

steering matteo back towards the dressing room, lock sighs. "most people leave stuff like this to their best man, you know." beheading someone? really? he resists the urge to roll his eyes, but just barely. he's behind matteo, thank god, so the man can't get on him for it. "they were speaking with the caterer last i saw. i'll go and find them." matteo's worked up enough that it's starting to give lock a migraine, his aura sharp under lock's hands on the other's shoulders.

Delicately, his eyes trailed over his friend’s features. Their eyes locking from time to time while the dryad took in the inventory of piercings in the other’s face. Carefully categorizing each sparkle as something new and exciting. Deciding if one, if any, would be the one he also wanted. Resisting the urge to touch each one of them, Osuke just tilted his head in thought while continuing to look them over before flashing a smile that one could only describe as bright towards the other, “I like them on you,” he said softly, brushing a lock of hair from the other’s face.

Leaning back from the close inspection, Osuke shrugged, that smile still clinging to his lips, “but you know the one I really want,” he practically chirped out as he suddenly jumped away from Lock to lift his nearly transparent shirt, the gossamer esque fabric that it was and showed his unpierced belly button. “I think it will look cute with a little sparkly in it,” laughter coated his words as he swayed from side to side for a moment, imagining some glittering and dangling from the soon to be pierced belly button.

“do you think it will be good?” was a sudden question sent the other’s way. A note of worry quivering Osuke’s tone. Truth be told, he still didn’t get a lot of what made the human world the way it was. The cherry blossom blessed didn’t want to look bad. Like a flower, he wanted to gleam even if poisonous. “I mean, on me?”

he's just grateful that osuke didn't try to touch any of them, sure he'd pass away if the dryad wanted to stick his fingers in lock's mouth, even under the pretense of feeling his tongue piercing. "thank you." there's no hiding the pleased little smile on his face, though he averts his eyes from osuke's. looking directly at him is like looking directly at the sun, sometimes. so bright it hurts, but hard to look away nonetheless.

Cherry wasn't entirely sure how to answer that question. Would it be insulting to say Lock just looked like someone who would kidnap a random child? Admittedly, probably with what he thought was a good reason, but definitely something that could happen. So, she kept her mouth shut, though her eyes probably answered that question, as did her awkward smile.

"Come in you two," she said. "I've got some of Sammy's old clothes you can borrow so that she isn't wearing... whatever you put her in." She supposed it was better than a sack, which is what Sammy was wearing when she entered their lives. Cherry still didn't know if that was her dad's doing, Sammy's parent's doing, or what.

"Well, of course she likes you. You're her parent," Cherry said matter-of-factly, though not quite believing it herself. Lock was a parent. Was this a sign of the end times? He was practically a giant kid himself.

he enters the house either way, shifting the toddler from one arm to the other as she looks around, taking in the new surroundings. "god-" he laughs incredulously. this is really his life. this is really happening.

passing the bottle to the girl, lock's relieved to see she seems to be capable of holding it on her own. he knows fuck-all about milestones for kids, so he's not sure what he should be expecting. "i mean..." he hadn't really thought that far. stop kid from crying. find kid something to wear. ask cherry what to do next. that had been the thought process. "i don't know, honestly? like..." there's no good way to put it, honestly. "i'm like, kind of a mess. and i wasn't really prepared to have a kid."

Well, shit. Matteo debated for a moment if this meant he would have to lock, well Lock, up in a dungeon. They clearly knew who he was, which meant this was all sensitive material. Matteo's mouth was suddenly dry, and not just because he was on land.

However, it was difficult to threaten someone who was bleeding out their nose. Matteo did have a conscious and it was, likely, his fault. At the very least, he had been the tipping point. "Are you alright? Here. Let me-"

Matteo grabbed a small herbal bottle from his pouch. He always carried some with him for emergencies. This seemed like an emergency. "Here. It should help."

Well, at least the fortune teller didn't appear to know about the past. Maybe Matteo could just... watch them for now. Keep an eye on them.

looking warily at the bottle extended towards him, he gingerly accepts it, trying not to get blood on matteo. "thanks." he glances at it, obviously a little suspicious at anything offered to him by merfolk, especially immediately after a reading like that. it's not even his best work, made sloppy by exhaustion and a general distaste for this time of year. "i'll um, in a minute." he gestures with the bottle vaguely, before setting it in his lap.

Wedding venues were difficult to negotiate, especially when they were essentially announcing the future queen of the merfolk. Some people saw it as a political move, but those individuals were also confused by how this could benefit the kingdom. Really, it was a lot less complicated. He was in love. They happened to be a dryad. It was what it was.

Despite being a creature of the water, Matteo wanted to be respectful of Osuke. There were rumors that he was doing this to appease the dryad royal family, but Matteo was unconcerned about such things today. They just wanted Osuke to be happy and that meant having their tree present for at least one of their ceremonies. Matteo enjoyed a good party, so having two weddings was not the worst thing ever. It was, however, exhausting to plan outside of running a kingdom.

"stay here, my star. your lalo will be right back, hm?" he leaves the little girl to her own devices, occupied with the toys he'd brought for her. pushing himself to his feet, lock brushes down the dress he'd decided to wear - he'd found out the hard way that kids were always sort of sticky, and crumby, and just generally a little gross - and makes his way over to where matteo is terrifying ( accidentally, he hopes ) some poor employee of the venue.

"the toadstools are still out in the garden. they said something about not bringing them in until the last minute to make sure they were looking their best. why are you shouting?" he folds his arms over his chest, not missing the employee sag in relief as he draws matteo's attention to himself. "you're not even supposed to be here, you know. there are people specifically meant to be handling this. you're meant to be getting ready."

@hjlock

Cherry looked between Lock and the child. She blinked twice, her mind trying to comprehend exactly what was going on. When she had been told this was an emergency, she had expected a lot of things. This was not one of them.

"Lock, did you have a kid? Did they just latch on to you? Were they left on your doorstep?" She was not one to judge in this case, considering how her family got Sammy. Before they could answer, she had a horrifying realization. "Did you kidnap a kid?" she yelped at them.

what else was he supposed to do, other than ask cherry about it, whenever his new balcony plant had suddenly started crying in the middle of the night?

"i did not steal a child." lock scoffs, adjusting his grip on the toddler in his arms. it's not as though he has kid's clothes just lying around, so the poor thing's wearing one of his crop-tops like a dress, which is kind of darling in its own way, if he does say so himself. "why is that your first assumption?" is she just gonna make him stand on the doorstep like this? he gets that it's kinda early, or whatever, but it's too damn chilly for this, he didn't dress the kid warm enough, jesus christ, he's bad at this. "actually... don't answer that."

Cherry wondered for a moment if that was her Nan. She did spend a lot of time looking after the half-bloods there, as if to fill the void her own daughter, Cherry's mother, had left. Though, she supposed if it had been, he would have mentioned a tree branch and a short chase. She had gotten quite protective over the years.

"You should try it sometime. It's quite peaceful," she said. "Though, there's always a chance you might end up with a sapling accidentally." She was only partially joking. She had heard some tales of some children spontaneously appearing. Though, could also just be negligent nymph parents.

"ah, i've heard stories, yeah. this man at my last job used to warn me about getting plants from the greenhouses, said that sometimes you'd take home a plant only to later find out you'd adopted a kid."

lock really only deals in medicinal and culinary herbs, the occasional succulent maybe. he'd be hard-pressed to imagine a child could ever be that small, picturing his largest plant: a little sage bush about the size of the plate cherry had handed him. kids can't ever be that small, right?