metalogs | [Closed] Re-Acquaintance

Entry tags:

[Closed] Re-Acquaintance

Who: Donnie

faceguy
What: ~~Huvrye finds out he's the proud dad of twins~~ In which Donnie promptly forgot he fell asleep in some stranger's house
When: *waves a shoehorn vaguely*
Where: Huvrye and Leo's apartment, Central City
Content Warnings: N/A

Passing out at the end of a couch is comfortable and all until you wake up. Then the rest of your body dutifully reminds you of what a terrible decision that had been, to which you would argue that you didn't really have a choice when it was you, dear body, that gave out in the first place! Betrayal!

...not that Donnie hasn't woken up from such a position in numerous other instances. Just that this one is a lot softer than a worktable surface. Slowly pushing himself upright, the softshell stretches out his arms before rolling out his shoulders, slumping immediately as his brain kickstarts the rest of his waking routine.

-wait, where is he and who is sleeping behind him.

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"Overthinking things again, got out of hand. I...guess I started panicking because I just didn't know what I was supposed to be doing." He was trying to fix a problem he really didn't have to.

Donnie sighs, letting go of the rest of that tension, feeling just as exhausted as he had last night but it feels like that extra weight he's been toting around has finally eased away, and that's what counts. His lips twist in a faint smirk as he can tell when Leo's starting to kick back into his usual gear.

He's not disappointed when he looks over at his brother through lidded eyes, an unimpressed expression that he can't really hold for very long before he snorts, pointedly rolling his eyes in response.

"You'll have to wait on the test subjection until I get a proper lab set up but everything else is covered." And then he finally smiles, even as he moves to put a hand in Leo's face to shove him away because that's what good brothers do, clearly.

He gives Donnie's shoulder a squeeze when he admits he was panicking. Leo gets it - anyone would be freaked out by suddenly being dimensionally displaced. If their situations were reversed... well, Leo probably would have jumped to the same conclusion, if he's being honest. Leo needs them, not the other way around.

(Or well, maybe the other way around, given how Donnie is acting.)

He doesn't slide too far down the self-deprecation rabbit hole, though; Donnie needs him after all, to at least be present right now, and so he is, keeping up the act and reacting appropriately affronted when his face is shoved away.

"Yeah, yeah, lab setups come later. Here's what we do right now." Planning, plans are good. "You need something more in you than just one and a half granola bars, so we're going to eat that pizza when it shows up. Then I think you need another nap or five." Because he just looks and sounds tired.

"And then... you don't have to decide anything right this second." Because of the aforementioned eating and sleeping. "But... if you're not cool with..." Leo waves a hand at the apartment, "this, then we can find somewhere else to set up shop. The sewers or an old subway tunnel, whatever."

Because he loves and appreciates all that Huvrye has done for him, but his family will always come first. That's just how it is. If Donnie really doesn't want to live here, well, he'll be a little sad but he can deal with it. It's not like he can't visit.

For once Donnie doesn't outright shoot down the suggestion to get some sleep. Pulling all-nighters in the workshop are completely different from just not feeling able to sleep in strange sewer tunnels. "Yeah, you're probably right," he mumbles, rubbing at his eyes before realizing what he's said. "...I must be way out of it."

Right now food sounds really good though, and even though he makes a face about it just to be contrary, he still picks up the rest of the granola bar to finish it of before chasing it down with what he hopes hasn't become lukewarm coffee. He sure hopes that pizza doesn't disappoint but he is starving so he doubts he'll complain too much.

Leo going so far as to suggest they can go elsewhere means a lot. But it's clear he's managed to find somewhere he's comfortable, and Donnie would feel pretty bad to pull him away from that. "We'll figure it out," he promises. He needs all his brains on the same page so he can really soak everything in.

A Donnie who doesn't argue against sleeping? Maybe he actually got some kind of less evil clone.

"Yeah we will," he says in response, smiling big. "We've got each other's shells." Forever, he can hope.

But speaking of pizza...

The doorbell rings, and Leo pushes himself off the counter. "Oooh, food's here. Hold on..."

He'll go get the door, but first he puts on a hoodie and mask that he's got hung on a hook near the entry. He could use the hologram watch, but he doesn't feel like jumpscaring Donnie with teenage Lou Jitsu yet.

Even evil needs rest, alas.

"Okay, okay, enough of that," he says, forcing a sigh. Oh good, saved by the doorbell. He was fully bracing for another hug.

Donnie curls around the rest of his coffee while Leo goes to get the pizza, glancing over as absently notes- oh right, so that's where the door is.

Even with things being weird in this world they still have to try to blend in, bummer. He's not entirely surprised by that. At least it's nothing they're unaccustomed to. But more importantly, food is here.

He is saved from the hugs for now. Don't think he's getting out of them later though!

They do have to disguise themselves, still; anyone who looks too much like a Meta attracts unwanted attention. It's a pain, but it's not like Leo hasn't been dealing with this his whole life so at least it's a familiar pain.

Once he's tipped the delivery guy and gotten the food, he'll bring it to their little table and then grab paper plates and paper towels. It's an attempt to have some decorum, even though he knows he'll probably just grab a slice and eat it with no plate or napkin at all.

"I'm gonna tell Huv the pizza's here."

Said as a warning for Donnie in case he's still antsy about it.

At least Donnie can anticipate them. He might quietly tolerate them for Leo's sake, especially after his brother's earlier admission about how difficult it's been, alone.

"Since when?" he smirks, brow arching high at the plates even as he grabs one for himself. He appreciates the head's up even as he wonders what kind of terrible first impression he's made on Leo's roomie-guardian, but he gives his brother a nod. Ready for round two.

Hey, they may have been raised in the sewer, but they don't have to act like it all the time!

Leo goes to Huvrye's room and gives the door a knock. "Pizza's here!"

He probably heard the doorbell earlier, but hopefully he knows that they're good for him to come out now. Round two indeed.

(He's not too worried about it, though. If Huvrye can get over Leo stealing his food he can definitely get past Donnie acting nervous around a new person.)

Huvrye had gone back to his book to pass the time, turning the radio in his room on low to cover the conversation in the kitchen. It's audible as he answers the knock, opening his door and offering Leo a smile.

He leans in a bit, lowering his voice. "I don't actually need to eat today. I don't mind staying in here if you two need more time." It's a genuine offer - he's more invested in making sure the two of them have enough time to settle than he is in getting a second chance to talk to Donnie. The second chance will come eventually; Leo and Donnie being okay is more important.

Leo glances back at Donnie, then lowers his own voice.

“I think it’s okay. He’s just worn out so… no difficult questions.”

He pauses, then clarifies.

“And for Donnie that means no emotional questions. Pretty sure he could still do math if you want him to.”

Leo is 99% sure Donnie could do advanced calculus in his sleep, but that’s not the point.

“…In fact he might like it if you ask him math questions.”

It’s only half a joke.

Edited (wait I had to add the joke) 2023-04-09 07:30 (UTC)

That's definitely better than it had been earlier this morning, and Huvrye huffs a laugh at the joke. "I think I'll stick to the simple stuff, but thanks. Go ahead - I'll be out in a minute." He heads back into his room, letting Leo return to the kitchen ahead of him, taking the time to mark his place in his book, turn the radio off, and grab his half-mug of lukewarm coffee before he follows Leo into the kitchen.

He offers Donnie a smile as he walks through the kitchen, heading towards the counter. He places a palm flat on the counter, letting a familiar alchemical array form under it, and the circle glows red as it activates. He removes his hand and places his mug in the center of the array, then looks at Donnie. "Hey, is your coffee warm enough?" He knows the microwave can be used for that, sure, but the warming array is very old habit and he sees no reason to move away from it.

The smile Donnie manages back at least isn't too forced. Tired, mostly, but he's trying. He's sipping at his coffee when Huvrye idly warms his own up, and not by mundane means.

His eyes narrow shrewdly over the rim of his coffee mug as he watches the little display, a sufficient distraction from any lingering awkwardness. Huvrye's question pulls him out of trying to mentally pick the thing apart, the softshell blinking up at him before he lowers his mug, glancing down at it. "Oh uh..." He slides a glance over at Leo before he nudges the coffee towards Huvrye.

"Kinda cooled down a little while we were talking- that is not just a super fancy touch-activated heating pad is it." Way to be subtle.

Leo returned to the kitchen in the interim and has grabbed a slice of pizza - despite his efforts with the paper plates he's just holding it now. It will get grease everywhere but that's a problem for Future Leo.

Huvrye comes in and warms his coffee and ah, right... He uses it so casually that Leo's gotten used to it, but of course Donnie would immediately zero in on it.

When Donnie glances at him he just shrugs and grins. He promises it isn't going to poison the drink or something. ~~Not like they've never willingly eaten poison anyway.~~

Though he laughs a little at the question. "Like we could even afford something like that."

First things first: Huvrye hands Leo a plate. He's looking out for future Leo (and also probably Future Huvrye; living together means running into each other's messes, whether they like it or not).

"It's alchemy," he says by way of explanation, tracing the array out on the counter near Donnie with a fingertip, circle by circle and sigil by sigil for Donnie's benefit. It's a small, simple array, and one he has memorized, so it's a matter of seconds before he finishes and taps it with a fingertip. The array lights up red, and he places Donnie's coffee mug in the middle of it. "It'll still take a minute to warm up, though."

~~For the record that was delicious poison~~

Donnie settles in for an explanation, even as he starts inhaling his breakfast pizza. He may still have his differences when it comes to magic and its relations but he's not nearly as standoffish about it as he used to be. Also, alchemy's this strange little bridge between magic and science, at least if there's anything to go by from Draxum's experimentation and things he might have read.

"Huh."

The demonstration looks so painfully simple but Huvrye's got his rapt attention as he watches him lay out the array. His frown isn't so much out of disapproval as it is out of being unable to connect whatever dots that aren't seen that make something like that just work. "Guess I never considered it having every day application..." He's stopped chewing as he fixes a look at the mug, watching for signs of it to start heating up before he figures the easiest way is just to bring his hand near enough to feel for the heat.

Eye roooooll but he’ll take the plate.

Leo watches Donnie get interested in the alchemy. It’s a bit of a surprise (Leo still isn’t sure there’s any real difference between this and magic that isn’t semantics), but then Donnie has gotten more open to magical experiences since he unlocked his own abilities.

Either way, if it’s getting them to talk he approves of it.

He will once again just watch for now.

"Why wouldn't it?" The question is out of his mouth without his thinking about it, and he pauses to backtrack a moment later. Donnie's missing a lot of context. "I mean - technology where I'm from isn't nearly as complicated as it is here, and a lot of it runs on alchemy. It's got all sorts of uses." Most of the ones Huvrye knows are combat-based; he knows there's a lot more to it, but he doesn't have a lot of experience with alchemy that isn't immediately useful to him.

Donnie checking the mug does not go unnoticed. "That one's not very powerful. Like I said, it'll take a minute."

"Hmm." He's more curious about seeing that it's actually warm because you otherwise can only tell so much by looking at some mystical looking pattern that's appeared on the counter. Eventually Donnie retracts his hand, resuming gnawing on the crust of his pizza as he looks back at Huvrye.

"Really? How's that?" Because of course if there's technology involved then of course he's going to ask. "We've only had so much experience with alchemy back home and not a whole lot of chance to really look into it." Especially when the alchemist involved had been pretty bent on trying to kill you for a good chunk of it. And depending on how you looked at it, alchemy seemed a lot more mystic than scientific.

"Wait." Sorry, Donnie, exactly one part of that sentence has hit home, and that's what Huvrye is stuck on. "What do you mean, back home? Your world has alchemy?"

That has Donnie blinking again for different reasons. He frowns a little, glancing briefly at Leo before looking to Huvrye again. Has this not come up before? Then again he can see how it could have just been shoved altogether with mystic everything. He wouldn't have thought too much about it himself if his attention hadn't been drawn to it as it was right then.

"Well yeah, I'm assuming something of the sort anyway considering Baron Draxum was known as a warrior alchemist." He taps a finger on the counter near the warming array. "He used a more complex one of these but I guess it'd have to be for what it was supposed to do."

Edited (repetition is repetitive) 2023-04-10 06:20 (UTC)

Yeah, it definitely hasn't come up before. Huvrye generally doesn't push, namely because he likes that same courtesy extended to him, but this? Is something he should've been told.

He pauses, then looks at Leo. "I showed you my alchemy weeks ago. Were you planning on telling me any of this?" There's no anger in his tone, but there is an undercurrent of intensity. He's not about to accept any of Leo's flippancy or redirects for this one; he's going to need an actual answer.

(Sorry, Donnie.)

Leo jumps, halfway through a bite of his pizza when suddenly Huvrye is looking at him very intensely. He swallows, then looks sheepish.

“Uh, I mean, I guess I just wasn’t thinking about it? All the mystic stuff blends together in my head.” He’s neither the mystic guy nor the science guy. “My portals don’t work like that so how was I supposed to connect the dots?” He glances at Donnie and back. “And how am I supposed to keep up with Draxum’s stupid titles, anyway? He calls himself Baron but how do we know that means anything?”

Sometimes, it’s just because Leo is clueless.

Donnie can't help but tense a bit himself as the attention's shifted to Leo. He's not sure what the whole deal is here, but he hadn't meant to get his brother in trouble about it.

"-true enough," he jumps in. "The differences weren't really specified and everything may as well have been magically-oriented. Honestly I didn't think too much on it until you did this," he says as he looks at Huvrye, pointing at the array.

"Like I said, we didn't get to look much into it. Baron Draxum is the one who made us, basically. Interesting as it might have been to know how, his lab kind of got blown up when we first met so, yeah..." Which was a shame, he'd really liked the aesthetic. "Anyway, a lot happened in between and most of it was more on the mystic end."

Edited 2023-04-10 07:40 (UTC)

Leo hadn't been keeping anything from him - he just hadn't known.

Which means Huvrye has overreacted.

He puts a hand over his face for a second or two - yeesh, so much for a good first impression - then lets it drop with a sigh. "Sorry. I haven't really heard about any other worlds having alchemy, so I thought-" He'd thought what? That maybe his world wouldn't be so much of an odd man out if he could find that point of commonality? That shared ground would make him steadier in a world where he still very much does not belong? That maybe Leo and Donnie could learn alchemy, and maybe he wouldn't be the only one?

Nope. None of that is helpful. Let it go. "Nevermind. Just- sorry."

He's not sure if he can salvage this, but he can at least try...or just redirect. "...is 'mystic' and 'magic' the same thing where you're from?"

Edited 2023-04-10 07:45 (UTC)

Leo relaxes too, hoping to help pull the sudden tension in the room back down to a manageable level. He doesn’t really understand what Huvrye is thinking, or why the sudden change in attitude, other than he thought Leo was deliberately hiding something from him. And he wasn’t even actually doing that this time!

But he’s not going to start a fight about it because that really would stress Donnie out and the last thing they need in this apartment right now is a bad vibe, so Leo resolves to ask about that later and just let it go for now.

“Hey, it’s cool,” he says to the apology, even though he’s not entirely sure if it is. Focus on the question.

“Yeah, I mean, if there’s any real difference no one’s explained it to me.” Leo is still not the mystic guy though so there may be a reason for that. “We didn’t exactly get a formal education in it.” Or at all! “And the yokai stay pretty separate from the human world so we only learned magic is even real a few years ago.”

Maybe Draxum could teach them about magic now, if they can get back, but Leo can’t say he’d be looking forward to that.

Edited (added a paragraph after I thought about it lol) 2023-04-10 14:06 (UTC)

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