#uncle barty

Evan and Barty looked over at the tiny blanket cocoon in which little Luna was currently wrapped in, sleeping soundly next to Barty who was in the middle of the bed, Evan on his other side.They smiled and sent a picture of Luna to Pandora, letting her know they had not forgotten to make sure Luna naps after lunch.

Luna’s tiny hand was tightly gripping Barty’ hoodie, as if making sure he wasn't gonna leave while she napped.

Barty’s expression softened, gently caressing her cheek and tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, feeling his heart swell with affection when she snuggled closer to him.

A hand gently caressed Barty’s cheek, making him turn to look at Evan again, computer forgotten in his lap and the same catchy soundtrack playing quietly. Evan looked up at him, expression soft as he leaned in to kiss his lips for a brief second before laying back down next to Barty.

Thats how they spent their afternoons whenever Luna was there. Barty sandwiched between Evan and Luna, both heavy sleepers, while Barty scrolled on his phone or used his laptop. Now, one of Barty’ latest obsessions has been playing Buckshot Roulette.

At first it had been just a catchy beat he had heard while watching a streamer play the game. He wasn't paying too much attention to the stream, simply letting it fill the silence one lonely afternoon Evan was at work.

Curiosity made him want to try out the game and soon enough he was playing it often enough Evan was hearing the soundtrack in his dreams along with images of blank and live shotgun shells.

“What game is that?” Luna asked, suddenly perched up next to Barty on the bed and looking very much awake, her blond hair a mess.

“Fuck- Luna, dont startle like that…” Barty, who had almost jumped off the bed and sent the computer flying, said while Evan chuckled. Evan had seen Luna slowly wake up and look curiously at the screen while Barty had been too busy staring at Evan to notice.

“What game is that?” Luna said again, nothing was going to stop her curiosity now. Barty looked at her, her hair sticking up in all directions and one sock missing, before sighing and nodding.

“Its called Buckshot Roulette.” Barty explained, both him and Evan looking at Luna’s expressions curiously, “You and this lovely dude take turns shooting at each other until one loses all their lives.”

“Can i play? I want to shoot the thing!” Luna said excited, getting closer to the screen as if she could enter the game through the screen.

“Alright, do you want me to explain to you the rules and what each object does or do you want to go in blind?” Barty offers after starting a new game, placing the computer on Luna’s lap and turning up the brightness slightly so she could see better, he had been playing with low brightness to not bother them while asleep.

“Hmm…” Luna taps her chin thoughtfully for a moment and then nods, “Explain it to me, Uncle Barty!” She says excitedly, clicking and tapping on the keyboard and mouse pad.

“Okay, so see those lightning bolts? Those are the lives you have left. You and the scary looking dude take turns shooting each other. However, you can choose to shoot yourself, and if it's a blank, you get another turn!” Barty explains animatedly, mimicking with his hands the motions of the game, making Luna giggle.

“What are the red and blue things?” Luna asks, pointing at the screen when the animation plays, showing 3 blue shells and 3 red shells which are then put in the shotgun by the scary looking creature.

“The red shells are ‘live’, meaning if you shoot it kills, while the blue shells are ‘blank’ so they don't do damage. You have three each so its a 50% chance… whats your choice? Shoot the creepy dude or yourself?” Barty asks, watching Luna think really hard about her choice, too young to understand percentages yet.

“Shoot… myself!” She decides and proceeds to shoot her character in the game, firing a blank and gaining another turn. “Good job! You got another turn, Lulu!” Barty says enthusiastically, ruffling her hair.

They continue playing until all shells are shot, only losing one life in the process. They scream in excitement when the creepy guy gets shot and Barty curses for both of them whenever they lose a life.

Evan finds it impossibly endearing whenever something happens that makes Luna upset or frustrated she just grabs Barty’ hand and he curses for her until she feels better.

“See that? That's a hand saw you can use to cut the barrel and do double damage. I always save that one for when the dude has 2 lives left.” Barty suggests as he watches Luna slowly get ahold of the game and getting more and more concentrated, tapping her fingers to the rhythm of the soundtrack as she schemed her next move.

“Why does a cigarette pack make you gain a life?” Evan asks sleepily, having dozed off and woken up by Barty’s and Luna’s cheers a few times and now simply observing them play.

“Rosie, you look at this game where you literally survive being shot by yourself or whatever that thing is and you're worried about inaccuracies?” Barty says, tapping the screen to suggest one of the objects the Luna can use to win the last round. 

“I won, I won! Look, i won!” Luna squeals in delight, pushing the computer off her lap and getting off the bed to run around, happy energy needing some sort of outlet.

“I have a feeling im gonna hear that fucking soundtrack twice as much now…” Evan groans and hides his face in the pillow, his arm firmly wrapped around Barty’s waist.