Duckshots!

Moods of Silence! (José & Reader)

The Legend of the Three Caballeros
José & Reader
Gender Neutral!Reader
Shy/Introverted!Reader?
José POV
They/Them Pronouns
Fluff

18 + Contact:
Smoking

The cabana was settling in for the night and he was getting ready for bed. A loud crash came from outside his room. He sighed, knowing something bad had just happened. A mix of screams and clashing went on for a minute and then nothing. José couldn't even hear the creaking of floor boards. It was unsettling.

"Knock, knock," Panchito broke the slient barrier and hugged the doorframe to his room. "One of the hadas escaped."

Of course. José followed him into the living room. Donald was already in the room holding a blanket, looking for nearly invisible being. ____ was absent, and he wondered if they were okay. They had seemed off lately. He didn't have time to think on it as the thing buzzed towards him. He dodged, and it went straight for Panchito.

"Where's ____?" Panchito asked, swatting at the fairy like it was a pesky mosquito.

"Ya! They caught it last time!" Donald threw the blanket and ended up wrapping himself in it.

The small thing ping-pong it's way across the room. It knocked books off the shelf and bounced off the ceiling fan, knocking it down into the treasure room. José looked at the others before following.

José led the gang downstairs. Something sweet hung in the air. The place was already dimly lit by the magical light source. It reminded him of a renaissance fair. Very serene and almost peaceful. The fairy knocked down a few stacks of the armor, jerking him from his thoughts. It shot upwards, and the spiraled through a ring of smoke.

"Is this the time for a cigar, José?" Donald asked.

"I'm not," José heard a curse come from somewhere. He coughed and change his sentence. "My apologies, friend."

"Over there!" Panchito ran towards a toppling stack of armor and used his hat to catch the fada. It pulled him around. "Woah! This is fun! We should do this more often."

"No thank you. Let's put it up and go to bed," Donald yawned, already marching upstairs.

Panchito let the creature that was blindly fattening his hat pull him upstairs. The door shut and a quiet moment passed and there was shifting. José walked towards one stack of trinkets and watched as the smoke rose. ____ was settled into a groove in the armor. They sighed and placed their fist to their mouth. The tension was clear and he leaned over the edge of the mound.

"Hi," José said. They jumped hard and hid something in their lap.

"Hi." They coughed a little, letting a little puff a smoke out. The stressed looked on ____ only got worse.

"This seat taken?" he asked.

____ shook their head. José took the seat. He sniffed the air. He saw the edge of the thing they had hidden and snatched it. ____ grabbed for it, but he held it out of reach and looked over it.

"A vape?" He gave a disappointed look and stuffed away. "No no no. Try this."

He pulled his cigar out of his pocket.

"You just carry those around?" ____ asked, surprised.

"Si! Why should I have them to stuff in a drawer somewhere and not have them on me when I want one?" He used a nearby dagger to cut the cigar open and lit it.

"Touché," they hummed. He leaned up to hand it to ____ and he could see the hesitation on their face.

"You don't have to, of course. It was merely a suggestion." José pulled away. They still looked unsettled, so he pulled the vape back out.

____ grabbed it. Relief filled their face, and they took a puff. It smelled sickly sweet to José. He held in a cringe and he took a hit of his. They didn't look at him as the thick smoke curled around the two of them.

"I didn't know you smoked," he broke the silence.

"Yea," they nodded.

____ took a puff, then played with a small container. They looked like they had been caught elbow deep in the cookie jar. José blew out a stream of smoke and swirled the vapors in his fingers. ____ watched him. They weren't usually this quite.

"You don't have to hide, amável. You know we don't care." They didn't meet his eyes.

"Habit," they mumbled.

"Hiding or smoking?" he asked, curious.

"Both. I just do it to unwind." ____ wiggled the stick lightly.

He understood, ____ wanting to keep to themselves. They had only knew each other for a few months, and while they all got along, their past was still a mystery to the other three.

"If their beaks worked any better the others would know it wasn't me so if you don't want them to know you should be careful," José hummed, taking a small drag.

"I know," they nodded. "Thank you for covering for me."

"Of course, amado." He went to stand but ____ stop him and pulled him back to the ground.

The two of them smoked quietly. He watched as their smoke weave together above them. The slience was soothing. ____ looked truly relaxed for the first time in weeks but José didn't comment on it. He didn't want to change the mood.

Word Count: 896