𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐃𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓'𝐒 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍 𝐏𝐔𝐒𝐒𝐘

Chapter Nine: Fika

╔═════ ═════╗

fi·​ka | /ˈfēkə/

(n.) a break from activity during which people drink coffee, eat cakes or other light snacks, and relax with others.

╚═════ ═════╝

From the scribe of theglitchproject .

"Who's up for some breakfast?" Glitch asked cheerfully, dropping a huge stack of pancakes neatly onto the table.

Vision looked up from the book he was reading, smiling at them. "Thanks."

"No worries," they shrugged, sliding into the chair between Thor and JD as they tugged a pancake onto their plate, grabbing the maple syrup. The others tucked in too, the stack slowly depleting as they ate.

The atmosphere was quiet, a little awkward, everyone contented with their food and Vision focused on his book. Thor kept elbowing Glitch by accident as he cut up the pancake, and every time JD noticed, he aimed a kick at the other under the table, which often hit Glitch instead. They didn't complain, instead kicking back just as hard.

Suddenly, Vision's phone made a soft pinging sound, and he pulled it out of his pocket with a quick "pardon me". His face lit up a little as he read the message he'd apparently received.

"Wonder's settling in nicely," he declared, and Glitch let out a relieved sigh.

"That's good. I was sort of worried... y'know, with Ballora and all," they admitted, polishing the last dregs of syrup from their fork.

"Oh, I think they're probably getting along quite well..." Vision smiled knowingly, turning his gaze back to his book. Glitch made a face.

"They hate each other. We hate Ballora. She can't—"

"Enemies to lovers..." He spoke in a song-song voice, and Glitch gagged.

"Whatever."

"On the topic of shipping," JD started, and Thor let out a loud groan. "I really love the pairing between Glitch and I. Wouldn't you agree, Vision?"

"Each to their own, I guess," he shrugged, and JD frowned.

"Glitch agrees. Don't you?"

Glitch stood up, the chair scraping against the kitchen floor painfully slowly. "Non-specific excuse," they announced, picking up their plate and leaving to put it away in the kitchen.

"I have no idea why Glitch likes you," Thor commented lightly, a small smile on his face — which quickly disappeared as JD managed to land his kick at last.

"It's because I'm irresistible," he answered, as Thor yelped in pain, clutching at his knee.

"You're not 'irresistible', you're crazy," he muttered.

"And yet, they still like me more than they like you."

Vision stood up abruptly, shutting his book. "I'm going to the kitchen."

Neither of them replied, both glaring at each other. Thor pushed his chair out, standing up, JD immediately doing the same.

"Glitch only says they love you because they're scared of you. You blew up a casino. You've murdered people in cold blood," Thor snapped. He probably would have summoned his hammer at that point, but didn't want to get into a fight — at least not right now.

Of course, JD had other ideas. His hand hovered close to the gun he always seemed to carry (for 'self defence', he'd said).

"They know that what I did, I did to protect them. And I'll do anything to protect them." JD's voice was low, cold, as he glared at Thor with a look that could burn through walls. "I'll do what I have to do."

Thor let out a heavy sigh, still eyeing JD's gun, just in case. "So will I. I'm going to talk to them."

JD didn't make a move as Thor manoeuvred past, not taking his eye off the other for a moment. Once he was safely in the kitchen, he shut the door behind him. Vision had left already, probably gone upstairs; it was just Glitch, tidying up some of the plates on the side.

"Hey, Glitch?"

They turned towards Thor, a small smile on their face. It quickly dissipated, however, as they noticed his expression. "Yeah?"

"I have to talk to you. About JD."

"Okay...? What's bugging you?" they asked, pushing themselves up to sit on the counter.

Thor paused, unsure how to start. "I don't trust him. I know you do, but... I just don't think he seems a particularly... well, nice boyfriend."

He expected Glitch to protest, or at least look shocked, but they merely nodded. "I know."

"You know?"

"He said he was proud of me for killing someone. It's a little bit of a red flag, I think." They managed a smile, but it appeared strained. "It's okay. We can work this out soon. I'll talk to him."

With a small nod, Thor turned towards the door. "Please be careful."

"I will. Stop worrying," they shrugged. "It's just JD, right?"

"Right." He nodded again, as if trying to reassure himself. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Glitch smiled, picking up a dirty plate from next to them and dropping it in the sink. Thor opened the door to the kitchen, about to leave.

As he did so, however, he heard a rush of movement behind the door; he opened it to find JD still sitting at the table, watching the door with a strange look on his face. As Thor walked past, JD tugged his gun from his holster, clicking the safety on and off repeatedly. It sounded a little like a clock.