FellPoth Short Stories and One-Shots

Sweeter Than Nice Cream (One-Shot)

Chapter Warnings: Swearing

***

Lotus dropped to one knee, his dusty scythe clanging harshly against the concrete. Trying to calm his nerves, he inhaled deeply then exhaled slowly as he took stock of the situation.

The remaining enemies that hadn't been dusted were now fleeing; Rurik was crowing and taunting them in their wake. He seemed no worse for wear, only sporting a nick here and there along with some dirt and dust smudges on his clothes. Meanwhile, Lotus had no visible injuries... he might have landed on his feet wrong at some point, but most of his exhaustion came from expending so much magic.

Luckily, most of the group went after Rurik, though a few targeted him thinking he was the weak link; he was more or less able to prove them wrong, even if some of his opponents got a little too close for his comfort at times.

"You had to go and pick a fight on the way home... you had to drag me into it because someone bumped into you...," Lotus grumbled under his breath; he wouldn't dare say anything to his companion's face. Rurik was known for his temper, evidenced by the aftermath of their recent fight, and the smaller monster liked all of his limbs right where they were in one piece... but he could silently seethe all he wanted as long as he didn't get caught.

"Come on, Lotus, move your ass! It's time for dinner and I'm hungry!" Rurik shouted as he hid his favorite knife away in the holster on his belt loop.

The small skeleton staggered quickly to his feet at the command, only to pitch forward once his weight pressed down on his right side. He planted the handle of his scythe into the ground to catch himself, glancing at his traitorous ankle. He had definitely cracked something if the pain was any indication, but he doubted Rurik would care; his partner's only concern was stuffing their face.

"Move it!" he heard the taller bark. Hoping to avoid another fight, Lotus steeled himself before forcing his weight onto the damaged limb. He hissed lowly through gritted teeth but maintained a mostly neutral expression as he brought himself upright and began advancing toward his partner; if Rurik noticed anything amiss, he didn't show it as he turned toward home, wordlessly expecting the smaller to follow.

For all intents and purposes, Lotus thought he was doing a decent job keeping up without limping or grimacing every time pain lanced up his right leg; Rurik apparently thought different. 

"Keep up," he growled, glaring over his shoulder with a look that brooked no argument.

"Yeah yeah," Lotus grunted, picking up speed despite wanting nothing more than to sit down; he quickly caught up so he was only a step behind at his partner's left side, but he was clenching his fists under his sleeves to hide the tremors from the effort it took.

Rurik glanced over his shoulder once more, only to look away again while clicking his tongue; they continued on in silence for a couple of minutes after that... though Lotus was surprised when they made a left turn at the corner in the opposite direction of their house.

Confused, but unwilling to question Rurik's motives, Lotus followed their lead. Where were they going? Did his partner get hit on the skull without him noticing? Looking them up and down, he didn't see any cracks or blood, their posture was normal, their eye lights looked focused, and the usual grumpy expression was there; everything seemed nor-

In the middle of his thoughts, Rurik grabbed his upper left arm and forced him onto a nearby bench. "Wait here," the skeleton commanded, walking through a set of sliding doors of a convenience store.

"I guess he didn't want to wait...," Lotus grumbled; at least the pitstop gave him a chance to rest and check his leg. Leaning over, he lifted his right pant leg and carefully slid his foot from the boot; sure enough, he found a small fracture along the tarsal bone where it met his tibia. "Rubbing against the joint... wonderful," he groused softly, sliding his foot back in and letting his pant leg fall back into place so he could lounge against the faded wood slats in relative comfort; there was nothing to do about it for now since he was trash at healing magic and didn't have any monster food or medical supplies on him. Sucking it up until he got some time at home to deal with it later was his only option. Speaking of home, he had to figure out what he was going to make for supper... his first thought went to reheating leftovers so he could deal with his ankle quicker, but he had a feeling Rurik would give him shit about it.

As if summoned by the thought, Rurik appeared through the doors once more. As Lotus made to stand up, a hand pushed him back down as his companion took a seat next to him. Before he could verbally express his annoyance at being shoved, he felt something hit his lap.

He stared down at a wrapped nice cream bar, trying to puzzle out why it was there; weren't they supposed to be really expensive? He jumped when his companion snapped, "Eat it before it melts." The skeleton then proceeded to rip the wrapper off one of his own and take a large bite out of it as Lotus sat in stunned silence. His eye light darted between the treat and his companion. Rurik had gotten him magic food; expensive magic food... was he being tested? Poisoned? Drugged?

He discarded the notion immediately; if Rurik wanted to kill or drug him, they would be more direct about it. The skeleton was also stronger than him, especially now, so they could easily overpower him if they wanted to-

Hearing another rumble of warning, Lotus hastily picked up the nice cream bar and tore the wrapper at the seam; it was slightly melted, but still solid enough to eat. Taking an experimental lick, his eye light sparked at the sweet taste. Taking a bite was even better as the warmth of magic drifted through his body despite it being frozen food. Eventually, that warmth reached his ankle, which he didn't even realize had been throbbing; it seemed to absorb the pain and soothed the ache in his tarsal.

While he wanted to savor the taste, he knew Rurik would get impatient if he took too long. Munching on the treat at a moderate pace, he examined the sticky paper; instead of finding the nutrition facts to peruse, he found a small bit of writing peeking out from the inside.

Unfolding the wrapper, Lotus couldn't help but blush and sputter, nearly dropping the rest of his nice cream as he read the message:

'Love yourself! I love you!'

Glancing over to Rurik, the skeleton was already leaning over to see what the fuss was about; he read the wrapper and blinked. Twice, then proceeded to open and read his own wrapper's message; a moment went by where nothing was said. Before Lotus could think to ask what it said, his partner stood up and tossed the wrapper and stick in the garbage, muttering, "... Bunch of bullshit."

Rurik was... blushing? Then it hit Lotus; his companion didn't deny what his wrapper said... did that mean something or was he overthinking things again?

"Finish up and let's go, we still have to eat dinner," the taller monster crossed his arms with an impatient glance. Lotus downed the rest of his nice cream in one bite and stood up, relieved to not feel pain in his ankle anymore. Rurik watched him, nodding his head as if confirming something, before turning toward the direction of their house.

Making his way to the trash can, Lotus chose to keep the message, tucking the paper into his cloak pocket while tossing the stick... then feeling curious, he peeked into the can. Rurik's crinkled wrapper sat at the top; he smiled, finding the text quite appropriate:

'Is this as sweet as you?'

"Move it already!" his companion yelled; Lotus hurried to join them, an automatic answer forming in his mind.

Not even close.

***

Word Count: 1,376