G/t OT3 Holiday Drabble: Hustle and Bustle
((*kicks door off its hinges* I LIVE...AND THIS ALSO WAY TOO FREAKING LATE FOR THE HOLIDAYS.
So yea, I intended to have this up a good week or so ago, but thanks to some extraneous circumstances (mostly involving me having a recurring fever/illness and my mom suddenly busting her ankle at work) it was delayed. But regardless, here we are, and here I am, back on my G/t OT3 bullshit.
Regardless, have some fluff: premise for this drabble is that things are busy around Pepper Paradiso around the holidays, and it has fallen on Lewis to help with some last-minute stuff around the place...and Vivi and Arthur decide to try and help him and cause a little more chaos and trouble than they intended too.
There's also a bit of angst tossed in here and the holiday aspect ended up getting pushed to the side pretty strongly but hey, have some stuff. Enjoy.))
It was that time of year again, and Lewis knew that there was still much to do.
He still had to pick up gifts for Belle and Cayenne, had a few things to get for the restaurant, and had to make sure everything was ready to go for when the relatives showed up...all on top of his usual waiter duties.
Yes, it was a busy time of year, but he wasn't to be deterred.
"Mom, Dad?! I'm going to the store: was there anything else you needed?!"
"No sweetie," came the tired voice of Mrs. Pepper, busily cleaning up the kitchen after a long day of feeding the hungry public...and enjoying the shock on their faces at the spiciness of her dishes.
"No, thank ya' son!" yelled Mr. Pepper just after, returning to his work preparing some of the components for the next day's sweets and confectionary catering orders, a great accumulation of sweat on his brow.
There were few times of year as busy as this: everyone in town was looking to impress their friends and families by bringing something from Pepper Paradiso to their table...
Lewis nodded to himself as he passed the kitchen, making his way down the hall and poking his head into each of his sister's rooms, checking in with them as well, making sure they didn't need any help with anything, all of them responding with a resolute no...well, save for Paprika, who shoved him out of her room quickly, loudly telling him not to look, bits of wrapping paper and tape stuck to her fingertips.
Certain that everything was at least moderately handled here, Lewis turned towards his room, determined to get ready and head out to the mall, knowing it'd be open quite late at this time of year...and needing to get everything done before his tired body and mind caught up with him.
As he entered his personal space, he went through a ritual that was as second-nature to him as breathing, these days: he knocked, waited a moment, then sloooowly opened the door, staring around the room.
First, he looked down, making sure they weren't at his feet, then to his desk, then to his bookshelf and chair, then to the bed...
And ah, THERE they were, or, should he say, just one of them.
"Heya Lew!" Arthur chirped as the towering human approached him, the usually skittish borrower not even phazed by the tremors of Lewis' footfalls as he got close, nor the rush of air that washed over him as Lewis knelt down beside the bed, offering Arthur his hand as he spoke to his diminutive boyfriend:
"Hey Artie...where's Vivi?"
"Up on the rafters, last I heard: she wanted to talk to your Mom about something."
The tiny borrower hopped up onto his partner's hand, Lewis bringing him in close to his chest, fingers gently arched around him as Arthur pressed up against him.
Arthur couldn't exactly talk to anyone outside of Vivi, Lewis, or this house about it due to the inherent taboo, the deep horror it would surely cause any outside borrower hearing about it, but...he couldn't quite describe what it was like, being held by a human you trusted.
It was one of the most soothing experiences he had ever experienced, and even as Lewis walked around the room, pulling his winter jacket out of the closet and gathering up a few of his things with his free hand, Arthur couldn't help but feel safe, warm, and secure in his towering boyfriend's grasp.
He and Vivi saw so little of Lewis at this time of year: he was always so busy with work and family stuff. Arthur and Vivi's best bet to get ahold of their human bae was usually to wait until the end of the day, when Lewis would come in (and promptly fall asleep) or try to catch him during his breaks during the day...the later of which usually didn't go well, what with all the bustle in the kitchen and all the work needing to be done.
As an alternative, Vivi liked to go up to the rafters and watch the restaurant during the day, trying to catch Lew's eye when she could, but Arthur didn't particularly like joining her up there. Just the thought of being in a big room, full to the brim with hungry humans, the thought that any of them would spot him up there, or that he'd fall and end up on one of their tables...
He shuddered: what a terrifying thought.
The borrower was startled out of his thoughts as he was gently placed back down onto the bed, Lewis sliding on his coat as he explained:
"Well, I hate to cut this off early Artie, but I gotta go to the store."
"The store? This late at night? What for?"
"Last minute stuff: gifts, supplies for the restaurant, that kind of thi-"
"LEWWWWWW!"
The bean turned just fast enough towards the sudden voice to catch Vivi as she jumped down off of one of the rafters, the man letting out a startled squeak as the woman smiled, carefree, up at him, Arthur rolling his eyes from the bed...
No sense of fear, that woman.
"What's that you were saying, Lew?" inquired the blue-haired borrower, "You're going to the store?"
"Yea," Lewis explained, gently putting her down next to Arthur, "I hate to leave you two alone again, but I have to get this stuff done while I have time..."
The two borrowers watched as Lewis did up his jacket, wrapping his purple scarf around his neck, sliding his gloves on, checking his pocket for his wallet again...
Meanwhile, Vivi turned silently to her borrower partner, and what followed between them was a series of silent nods, hand motions, and worried and determined expressions, respectively, exchanged between one another...
True to form, Vivi couldn't and wouldn't be dissuaded by Arthur's warnings, and, true to form, Arthur wasn't about to let her do something this reckless alone.
None the wiser to his baes' plans, Lewis headed out the door, his mind much too focused on the task at hand (and keeping himself awake long enough to complete it) to notice that his scarf felt a little heavier around his neck than usual...
---
Lewis sighed, working his way through the grocery store, making a mental note of everything he had picked up already.
He'd stopped at the craft store, grabbing a new set of friendship bracelet supplies for Cayenne, and a big construction set for Belle.
He'd picked up the extra catering boxes, parchment paper, decorative sprinkles here already, and baking chocolate for the restaurant...
And now for the last part of his trip, and the LONGEST: picking up groceries for the big family dinner in a few days.
He sighed, the muscular man leaning down against his cart, yawning and scratching at the bags under his eyes, waiting for an opening to get down the overcrowded aisle, full of people bustling about, grabbing last minute ingredients, attempting to quickly toss together a meal that they hadn't expected the in-laws to show up for, grab something else to serve after messing up the main dish...
And so on and so forth, a loud, clattering crowd of tired, stressed people and their carts between Lewis and the stuff he needed to pick up so he could go home and get some rest...and even then, the line at the register was going to be loooooong.
Lewis sighed again, running his fingers through his hair as he blinked, tiredly, shuffling his cart down the aisle the first opening he got and-
Immediately getting run into by another shopper...and receiving all of the yelling and discontent that came with them:
"HEY, WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, YOU BIG GALOOT!!!"
Lewis flinched back at the woman's yelling, holding up his hands as he meekly replied:
"Miss, I'm sorry, I-"
"YEA, YOU BETTER BE, YOU BIG, CLUMSY, STUPID-"
"HEY!!!!!!"
Lewis flinched at the sudden, familiar voice, the woman's eyes going wide as Lewis felt something shift against his neck...
Vivi popped up out of his scarf, loudly berating the woman, shaking her tiny fist as she hollered:
"YOU RAN INTO HIM, YOU JERK! BUZZ OFF BEFORE I SOCK IT TO YA!!!"
"..."
The woman looked from Lewis to the borrower and back, then quickly and silently fled away with her cart, not looking back once.
Meanwhile, Lewis stood there, eyes wide, trying not to panic.
He quickly shuffled out of the way to the aisle farthest back in the store, assuring multiple times that no one was nearby or headed his way before carefully feeling along his neck, pulling his hands back when he felt a couple of familiar pairs of hands press against his fingers. Bringing his hands in front of him, the human bean looked down at his two tiny partners, absolute shock in his eyes. Meanwhile, Arthur crossed his arms, shooting Vivi a glare before casually stating to his towering boyfriend, matter-of-factly: "This was Vivi's idea." Vivi huffed loudly, protesting: "Oh, c'mon Artie-" "Vivi." The woman turned from Arthur to Lewis as the human spoke, noting the worry in his big magenta eyes as she looked up at him. "C-Can you, uh, ex-explain?" Vivi smiled up at the bean, gently patting one of his fingertips. "Well, Lew, you were stressed, had so much stuff to do, and you were sad you didn't get to see us...soooooo I figured we'd solve all of those problems at once. We'd come with you, help you with your shopping, help you relax a little and keep you from passing out and-" "AND THEN get stuck hiding for HOURS because there are beans literally EVERYWHERE," chimed in Arthur, arms still crossed, "she FORGOT about that part." The two borrowers clung tightly to Lewis' fingers as he slowly sunk to the ground and sat down, still a bit flabbergasted. "...are you two okay?" "Yep!" "Yea, mostly." Lewis let out a sigh of relief, gently bringing his partners in close, planting a few small kisses on top of their heads. "I'm glad you're both okay, just...let me know next time you pull something like this, okay?!" He let out a shaky little chuckle, smiling as he felt his baes kiss him back, taking a moment to gather his composure and tackle the situation at hand. "Well, now that we're all here, we need to come up with a strategy: I can't just walk around with you out in the open, not with all these people around..." Arthur chimed in again, raising a cautious hand as he suggested: "How about you finish your shopping first, then we can regroup. Besides..." Lewis blushed slightly as he saw Arthur pull one of his fingers closer to him, planting a small kiss on top of his fingertip. "...we'll be here to help you get through the night, big guy." Bolstered and re-energized knowing that his partners were here for him, Lewis nodded and stood back up, gently bringing Vivi and Arthur back up to his scarf, resisting the urge to giggle as they wiggled their way back into the fabric, tickling him a little as they got settled. He addressed them one last time as he started pushing his cart back towards the busy area of the store: "Alright, you two, I'm gonna get going again: I'll let you know when the coast is clear." --- It was a bit past midnight when Lewis placed his grocery bags next to the bench on the second floor concourse of the mall, overlooking the atrium below. The mall was still open for a few more hours, and although it was mostly cleared out now a few people still made their way, weighed down with bags and heavy eyelids, through the bright, festively-decorated lobby below.
Taking a few more glances around him for good measure, Lewis flopped down onto the bench, letting out a tired, exasperated sigh, enjoying a moment of peace and stillness after so many hours of shopping and being up on his feet...
"Alright you two: coast's clear."
He felt the scrambling of tiny hands and feet against his neck, trying not to move as his boyfriend and girlfriend made their way down from his neck, the both of them moving down to stand on top of his leg, looking down at the vast atrium.
Lewis softly smiled down at them and their wide-eyed wonder at the bright display below: he forgot at times just how isolated from the wider world they were, always living in the walls of his home, relying on him and his family for food and shelter, having to remain hidden from the entire world, just to survive...
They had probably never seen a big indoor space like this before, let alone one all dolled-up for the holidays: full of twinkling lights, big, tinsel-ladden trees, and bright baubles everywhere.
"This is so beautiful," Vivi exclaimed, leaning over the edge of Lewis' knee a little, Arthur looking over her, noting how the light radiating up from below reflected off her face, caught on her glasses and eyes, illuminating the face of the woman he loved with a soft, golden glow...
"Yea," he cooed, smiling, "it is."
The borrower tilted his head back, his gaze locking with that of Lewis, the human glancing down at the diminutive man...
Gosh, it must have taken so much for Arthur to come out here and be with him today: Lewis had never gotten it out of him himself, but Vivi had alluded to Arthur having a pretty traumatic event happen in his childhood involving humans, and Arthur himself had admitted to losing his parents at a young age...not to mention all the moments, early on in their relationship, where Arthur had struggled with being close to him.
There had been a lot of fear, a lot of discussion and practice and slow, careful trust-building, but in the end...
Arthur was a much braver soul than he or Vivi gave him credit for, Lewis concluded, watching as the borrower approached Vivi, gently looping his arm over her shoulder, Lewis grimacing slightly as the light filtering up from below glinted off of Arthur's mechanical hand...
He looked away from his lovers for a moment, seeing that little piece of machinery: call him dramatic, but to this day he still worried about hurting them.
He was the reason why Arthur had needed that hand, after all...and even if it was due to an accident he hadn't directly caused, it was still a reminder that, as a human, even a small mistake on his part could be devastating for his partners.
"..."
The man's eyes narrowed as he continued this train of thought, worry growing in Lewis's mind that he thought he had long since buried, panic rising in his tired mind, realizing that his partners were indeed out in the open right now, far away from home, relying on him and-
"Hey, Lew! Don't go falling asleep on us yet!"
"?!!"
Lewis shook his head, pulling himself away from his negative thoughts as Vivi yelled up at him, Arthur's head tilted back to look up at him too, giving Lewis a small, concerned, and loving smile...
"..."
Lewis closed his eyes, letting out a long, relieved sigh, his worries melting away at the sound of his partners' words and the sight of their smiles: how did they always know what to do make him feel better?
"Heh, don't worry, I won't."
He watched as the borrowers turned away from him again, settling down top of his leg, holding each other close, Lewis following their gaze to watch the bustling people below.
Call him sappy, but despite all his worrying, he knew his partners had his back, and he had their's...
And he wouldn't trade having them in his life for anything else in the world.
---
When they got home, Lewis put away the supplies and food in the kitchen, checked on his father, hid away the gifts he'd bought for the girls in the back of his closet, took off his coat, stretched...
And then promptly collapsed onto his bed, scarf still wrapped around his neck as he let out a low, exhausted groan.
It wasn't long before the human had maneuvered himself under the covers, weakly sliding his scarf off once he felt Vivi and Arthur clamber out of it, the towering man letting out a tired sigh as he felt the two borrowers moving around on the pillow next to him, getting settled themselves.
"Thanks for the help today guys," murmured Lewis, "it means a lot."
"No problem Lew," purred Arthur, lying down next to the human's face, letting out a content sigh himself as he stretched, then allowed his eyes to slide shut.
Vivi, on the other hand, wasn't so fast to get settled.
She stood on top of the pillow, looking across it at her two baes, at Arthur flopped out next to Lewis' face in particular.
Arthur was quickly falling into unconsciousness, his characteristically loud snoring cueing up as his legs and hands twitched, the skittish borrower still ever the active one, even as he fell asleep...
Gosh, Artie must be so exhausted after today: she knew how much being around humans stressed him out, and spending hours tucked away against Lewis, nowhere near solid ground and surrounded by beans in all directions...
Yea, maybe he'd been right about this being a bad idea.
She carefully made her way across the pillow, kneeling down next to him, gently draping his outstretched arm over his chest: knowing him, he'd end up with a sore shoulder if slept completely flopped-out like that.
Certain that Arthur would sleep peacefully now, the tiny woman stepped over him, walking up to Lewis, feeling the rush of his warm breath over her as he snoozed...
Staring up at the bean, she tilted her head: how many times had she been told as a child that getting this close to a human was dangerous? How many times had she been warned that if you felt a human's breath on you, you were as good as dead?
"Hmmm..."
Hmm, she couldn't remember...but it had certainly been a lot.
She glanced behind her again, looking down at Arthur, then back at Lewis, before promptly settling down where she was, happily sandwiched between her two baes, content.
She could hardly think of anywhere else in the world she'd like to be right now, a thought that, thinking about it, kind of shocked her.
She had spent years adventuring, always taking the biggest risks, the hardest missions, and scoping out the most dangerous of bean residences, seeing if and where her fellow borrowers in the area could settle safely...
Reminiscing as she sat here, Arthur's snoring to her right, Lewis' breath washing over her from the left, the tiny woman feeling perfectly safe and beyond comfortable, she thought back to the early days. She remembered how much she and Arthur had argued at first, being paired up to scope a few places out: his overly cautious attitude rubbed her the wrong way continuously, and he had screamed at her so many times that she was going to get herself killed, or worse...
And then she'd found out about his childhood, and, well...she had kind of regretted everything, hadn't she? Every little angry snap she'd had at him, every argument and petty squabble: he'd only been trying to protect her from a threat that was not only very real to him, but that he'd experienced in the past.
"..."
Reaching out in the dark, she clutched Arthur's hand, feeling the cold metallic surface of his mechanical fingers subconsciously twitch against her's, the woman continuing to delve through her memories as she grew more and more tired, remembering...
Lewis.
She had to admit, she'd only really gotten to know this family because of Lewis: she was a big proponent of understanding the beans you borrowed from. Sure, it was risky eavesdropping, getting close enough to them to overhear their conversations, observe their habits and work around them instead of just waiting for the dead of night to take what you needed...
This time, she decided she wouldn't bother with all that, though: the Peppers had several kids, and they lived attached to their restaurant business, the building always bustling with humans, day in, day out. It was too risky trying to investigate them further...but Lewis, well...
He'd changed her mind.
He was such an odd, endearing fellow: kind and sweet, a bit of a dork and a dreamer, his head always in a book of fairytales, a tome about mythology, or Sailor Moon manga, all while still caring for and looking after his family, his kind, innocent, and loving nature in stark contrast with his hulking, powerful physique...
He was a mystery, too: the Peppers had adopted him, didn't know where he was from, and Lewis didn't seem to remember himself, either.
He had been an enigma to her, a mystery to be cracked, and all her training, all her patience and risk-taking and careful planning had fallen apart as she had watched him, followed him, understood him and his family more and more...
She had broken one of the fundamental rules of borrowing, had gotten emotionally involved with the beings she was borrowing from...and had fallen in love in the process.
Turning to him in the dark, Vivi reached out towards Lewis's face, gently resting her fingertips against his cheek, feeling the human's warm skin against her's, any and all fear that had been instilled in her from birth long since forgotten...
So much so that when a tired, lazy, and gigantic hand reached up from beneath the covers, draping over the two borrowers, gently holding them close, neither stirred nor flinched away, Lewis letting out a low, content sigh as his barely awake mind registered the tired, tiny movements of his lovers against his fingers as they got settled, the three of them nestled in close together, warm against the cold and rising holiday hustle and bustle outside, if only for a few peaceful, quiet hours before sunrise.
Yes, if you were to ask any of them, their answer would be quite clear: despite all the troubles they had faced, the hurdles they had tackled and the ones they still had left to conquer...
There was nowhere else in the world they'd rather be than here with the ones they loved.
