Spring Forward, Fall Back (Alucard x Chubby! Reader)

Chapter 30 - "Its-a Me! Mario!"

Reader P.O.V.

Breakfast was a rushed affair this morning because we'd all decided today we would repair the pipes. Sypha wanted to come down with us in case we needed her to light the way, but I had an idea that would maybe help us a little more.

"You know," I began, "we will probably need you with us today anyway, Sypha."

"What makes you think so?" she asked inquisitively.

"Well, should we get these repairs done, start the water and happen to notice any leaks, you could use your fire to heat the metal enough to seal it, if it isn't in an area we can quickly tighten up a loose connection."

"I hadn't even thought of that," Adrian said with surprise.

"That's pretty smart thinking, Y/N," Trevor added. "As much as I don't want to admit it after you cheated so much last night, that really is a great idea."

"Oh, for fuck's sake! Would you give up, Trevor!" Sypha said with exasperation. "You kept messing upon your own, so stop trying to blame everyone else. Next you'll say that a deer farted ten miles away and the breeze it caused blew your hand off it's intended course."

I laughed. "That's a messed up butterfly effect if I ever heard one!"

"Let's get down there and get this done," Adrian said with a chuckle. "before this ass starts blaming us for the fact that his pants are inside out."

It was then that I looked down and noticed that Trevor's pants were indeed inside out and could easily see the seams and the repairs that had been made as the threads hung down from each one. 'Damn you, Adrian!' I thought as I tried not to snicker. If he hadn't pointed it out I never would have bothered to look and wouldn't be standing here trying to make sure the tears from trying to hold in my laughter weren't visible.

Allowing my mind to wander and taking in what we were about to do, I ended up humming some of the music to Super Mario Brothers to myself. Descending further into the castle had me humming the song from Level 1-2, almost expecting to find bats and little goombas wandering about. I was actually a bit surprised that no one asked me what I was doing, but then they'd probably just labeled me a loony as it was and so ignored my little tune.

Adrian led the way through the wine cellar to the doorway to the basement area that opened up to the pipes. Sypha used her abilities to light the torches that were hung in holders on a small shelf near the entrance, I'd presumed that they'd set these things up in advance to avoid having to make further preparations and found my happiness in the knowledge that they were truly looking forward to going to my time.

When we got to the first breach in the plumbing, I asked if there were any further down.

"Yes, but why would that matter?" Trevor asked.

"Well, if we encounter any of those areas where you have to seal the metal, it would be easier if we did it as we went rather than have to backtrack to find them again," I commented reasonably. "Also, if we seal them as we go, the water should ensure that the metal cools and prevents them from breaking open again."

"What should we do if the metal thins too much?" Adrian asked.

"Oh shit, I didn't even think about that one," I said honestly. Looking around, I found my answer. "We can take some of this extra metal lying about to use as a sort of solder. Like patching the pipe with like metal and making sure that section isn't too thin." All of us in agreement, Trevor picked up two sheets of metal and brought them along.

The first section that was broken down was really easy to fix. Essentially the pipe had just come loose and fallen to the floor, so re-affixing it into place was nothing more than tightening a couple of the pipe clamps. While Trevor and Sypha worked to get that part together, Adrian flitted through the lower sections to see if there were any other pipe breaches. Finding none, he rejoined us and continued helping us look through the rest of the plumbing.