[ CLOSED ] heart and my hands, don't fail me now

[emulsions]

Who: Carmy + Various
When: October, pre-event
Where: Nocwich, Horizon, Thorne
What: Catch-all
Warnings: Canon warnings

i'm pouring out myself
i'd give it all for the view
and only worry can bring me down;

(( plot with me discontinued ))

Comments

— peter.

[emulsions]

[ So, good thing he did a temp check before the Twinkie situation went overboard? 'Cause there's a good chunk of folks who super fucking wanted one. He's both surprised and not, one of those things where he knows he made the right call when he made it but spent a few days on and off doubting himself until he got genuine proof.

He calculates the numbers, thinks he's pretty solid on them between the ingredients he's got on hand and is allowed to take without getting an ass-kicking from the chef, and how many people he's promised to feed. Then he piles it all into a two large trays, tells Orvyn he'll be back in a few, and takes off through the portal to the forever-dark city they call Nocwich.

It's not too weird if he doesn't think about it.

The first tray's cleared out pretty quick. The second, he's put aside for the man of the hour: Peter, specifically, who he spots coming at him with the platinum hair. Carmy lifts his head and nods as a greeting. ]

Yo. Right on time.

[punctually]

I'm always on time.

[ is what he says in lieu of a greeting, a corner of his mouth tilted up in something that's a little too wry to be a smirk and more like a lopsided smile. a bit of an inside joke that he doesn't bother to elaborate on. more importantly, carmy will notice that peter is carrying a sizable load in his arms: a wooden crate that sounds like there's glass bottles in it, and a tray covered with cheese cloth on top. he doesn't look like he's struggling with the weight at all—moving at super speed makes it basically weightless, even if he did slow down some distance away to approach carmy at normal speed.

from the first time they'd met, carmy always gave him the vibe that he's about two seconds away from vibrating off this mortal coil. peter figures he should give him a break where he can. ]

Anyway, this is for you. [ peter sets the crate down next to carmy, lifting the tray and the lid off of it. inside are multiple bottles of soda. ] Your Coke, as promised. And, as if she hasn't spoiled us enough, [ he pulls off the cheese cloth with a flourish to reveal the cernički ćupteti beneath. ] Chipotle cupcakes from Wanda.

[ yes, he knows how to pronounce what they're called properly. no, he doesn't care if it's wrong. it's funnier this way. ]

[emulsions]

[ Peter, what does that mean.

Carmy blinks but he crouches down next to the crate as Peter puts it on the ground. He doesn't...really have a table or anything for his Twinkie service so the trays are just on a barrel he borrowed from somebody. ]

Oh, shit. [ He look inside. Those really are bottles of Coke, huh? That's kinda wild. ] You actually did it?

[ He pulls out a bottle, curious and distracted so that he doesn't notice the Chipotle cupcakes (what?) until they're held in front of him. Carmy peers. Okay, that's definitely not what they're called but he's gonna roll with it. He recognizes them, had them out of this incredible food truck once, but it's been a while. ]

Thanks. Uh— [ Right. He's got stuff to exchange. He takes the tray of Twinkies, wrapped in a towel, and returns the offering to Peter. ] Here. These are yours. Make sure Wanda gets two of these, I promised her two.

[punctually]

[ there's a grin on his face, crooked and brief as he watches carmy pull out one of the bottles before it smooths down into something more neutral. ]

Yep. It was kinda touch and go at first—we tried to do it the normal way but gave up after, like, the third try. But then Wanda did her witchy stuff, [ he wriggles his fingers a little, like how she would when she's using her powers. ] And there you go.

[ he doesn't elaborate on what the witchy stuff is. either way, he's clearly pleased with the way it turned out. he'll just plop right down on the ground next to carmy, switching the cernički ćupteti out for the tray of twinkies. he knows what it is, but his face lights up when he pulls back the towel anyway. excuse him as he immediately shoves one in his mouth. ]

Two? [ he says around his mouthful of twinkie, managing to swallow before— ] Who's she giving the other one to? Matt?

[ it's more of a rhetorical question than anything serious, despite the exaggerated furrow between his brows. thankfully, he moves on quickly. ]

Don't tell her I said that. She got super defensive with me the last time we got on the subject of boyfriends. Anyway, thanks for these, I now have a reason to live again.

[emulsions]

[ Witchy stuff. Right, okay.

Actually, Jack's got the same type of witchy stuff that Peter is indicating so Carmy just nods in that way that says he knows what Peter means. Sometimes, stuff that shouldn't exist just pop out of the air, like the cigarettes he's been smoking, the same cigarette he lights up now 'cause Peter doesn't seem to mind and he's outta Twinkies to hand out. ]

Her boyfriend? [ Carmy raises an eyebrow. Does he wanna know? ] I'd ask, but, uh, your sister seems like somebody who could kill me with a glance, so.

[ He's gonna leave that one alone. Look, he likes Wanda, he likes her a lot actually, and she's been really nice to him when she didn't have to be, but she's also got...an aura? He guesses? Like Tina. He loves T, but she'll also fuck him up. ]

[punctually]

[ he doesn't mind the smoke. generally, no one's allowed to smoke on school grounds, but he's seen a few of the older teens sneak off to do it enough times that it doesn't faze him anymore. or maybe it's just some sort of distant familiarity—in another time, in another place, with logan and his cigars. but anyway, they're talking about wanda killing people with a glance now. ]

Oh, for sure. [ no hesitation, because it's true. ] She's terrifying. I'm pretty sure she tried to kill me right when I got summoned here.

[ that distinctly doesn't sound like a complaint and more like... a compliment, or a point of pride, maybe. ]

But you're fine, trust me. She likes you and I doubt she'd actually try to hurt you.

[emulsions]

[ Okay, Carmy definitely meant it more in the hyperbolic sense and not, you know, literally, and Peter's casual admission makes him pause like he isn't sure if Peter's also speaking hyperbolically and just happens to be...not great at conveying that clearly. ]

She did? [ Neutral reply, that's good. Carmy scratches the back of his head while smoke drifts from his nostrils. ] Did she, uh, did she say why she did that?

[ Wait, she likes him? Oh. It's not that Carmy thinks Wanda dislikes him or anything like that, but he's got a hard time imagining anybody taking a liking to him in the general sense—in that way where others are gonna notice and comment on it—which, yeah, he gets is kind of stupid considering Wanda's invited him over to cook in her kitchen and introduced him to her dog and has basically done all of the shit that most people do only when they think you're pretty chill. ]