Chapter Text
Vriska leans on the locker next to yours as you finish getting your books out.
“Hey, Aradia.” She’s smirking, which you never count as a good sign, but things have been friendly between you guys recently. Terezi is standing next to her, making a face at Vriska’s dramatics.
“Hey, Vriska,” you reply, mimicking her tone. “What do you want?”
“Wow, rude. Why do you assume that I want something?” She grins. “I mean, I do, but still. Rude.”
You feel a little smile almost cross your lips, but you try to make your face neutral. “Well, then. What do you want?”
“Tavros mentioned something interesting. He said the two of you have been playing D and D together, which, by the way, sounds totally lame if it’s just the two of you. How does that even work?”
“It does,” you say, a little sharply. It doesn’t really – Sollux and Karkat drop in and out, with varying degrees of actually being bothered about any of it. Rufioh is nice enough to make one shots so you can play from time to time, but generally it turns into you running a campaign for Tavros and NPCs you make so he can actually stay alive. You’re a decent Dungeon Master, but you don’t actually want to be in that role.
Well. Maybe you would if you didn’t have to be the Dungeon Master. It’s confusing.
Vriska’s face goes a little sour, but Terezi elbows her and steps forward.
“What Her Highness is trying to say, believe it or not, is that we’d like to play with you. We’ve also got a campaign going, but we tried having Aranea be in it, and—”
“It sucked. My sister sucks.” Vriska cuts in, only to get elbowed again. “Hey, watch it!”
“I’m blind,” Terezi says, nonchalantly. “I can’t see where you are.”
Vriska huffs. “Forget it. The point is, we need more players, and ones we can actually stand. Plus, Aranea is such a rules lawyer, and she has a notebook full of her backstory. She doesn’t even enjoy playing, too. So, what do you say, Megido?”
“You’re asking Tavros too, right?” you ask, suspiciously. Terezi nods.
“Of course. We just thought we’d ask you first so he felt a bit better about it.”
“Well, if he says yes, I’m in. If he says no, then…” You’re not sure what to say next, but Vriska hooks her arm through yours immediately.
“Great!” She squeezes your arm. “You won’t regret this. We’re going to have so much fun.”
A lie and a truth, though neither of you knew it at the time.
Tavros and you meet up after school to walk home, and set off slowly.
“So.” You look down at your shoes as you walk. “That happened.”
“Yeah.” He seems nervous, but keeps pushing his wheels. “That happened.”
“How do you feel about it?” You’re not unaware that Vriska tends to be nicer to you than to Tavros. For some reason, she’s never quite managed to be actually nice to him. With you, it’s at least obvious that she tries.
“Well, if you and Terezi are there, she’s, uh, not as bad. And she really does like Dungeons and Dragons, and…I don’t know. I actually think it sounds fun. I just…”
He’s nervous, you can tell, so you walk around and crouch down in front of him, offering out your pinkie finger.
“I swear. First time she does anything heinous, we’re both out of there, Tavros, okay? We’re a team.”
He brightens, and reaches across, locking pinkies with you.
“It’s a deal?”
“It’s a deal.” You straighten up slowly and then go back to walking next to him. “I mean, you’re right. It does sound fun. And I think if we work really hard together, we can create characters that support each other, you know? We can be a real team, finally. Like we were at Christmas.”
Tavros smiles. “That sounds great. I was…kind of thinking that I might try out being a firbolg. I’ve never played one, but it seems like it would be, uh, pretty interesting?” He looks up at you, and you smile back at him.
“Yeah!” You stop dead for a minute. “Oh. Oh, I don’t know what character I want to play! Can I come over to yours once we’ve been to mine? I just need to get characters sheets and dice. I mean, if I can come over.”
“Yeah!” Tavros looks happier than you’ve seen him in a couple of weeks. “Well, uh, my dad is home, so he’s probably going to want to know who’s going to pick you up or drop you off…”
Oh, right. Adults. They’re like that. You sometimes forget. Your mom is what you’d call a bit of a liberal parent, when it comes to you. She gives you your own key, and lets you come and go as you please. Usually this means you walk home, which you don’t really mind.
Tavros usually goes to yours on the way home, because it’s not far out of his way, and in the summer you guys can sit in the tiny garden and play card games together. In winter, you go to his, and play Pokemon together on your consoles, sometimes with Sollux. Tavros likes to hatch eggs, you like to play Mystery Dungeon, and Sollux likes to do various things that render gameplay completely pointless. In the winter, though, Mr Nitram insists on dropping you off, because it’s cold and he never thinks you should walk home.
“Will he be okay with me walking home?”
Tavros hesitates, and you try to smile.
“Hey, it’s okay. I’ll just say that…Um.” You actually don’t have an idea. “Well, he’s okay with us walking home from school, and I don’t live that far away…”
The two of you fall silent.
“Please still come,” Tavros says, eventually. “Even if Dad walks you home or something.”
“Dummy. Of course I’m going to come.” You smile at him. “Just let me grab my stuff and we’ll work it out when we get to your place.”
Your mother is in the kitchen when you get home, and you leave Tavros by the gate as you go in to grab your things.
“How was your day?” she asks.
“Good, Mom.” You pause at the bottom of the stairs. “I’m going to Tavros’ house. I’ll be back later.”
She waves a hand, and you can see that she’s reading through something. You almost stop, but you can’t keep Tavros waiting, so you head on up to your room and grab your character sheet folder, Player’s Handbook, and dice, zipping them into your backpack.
“Oh, man, I’m actually getting kinda excited,” Tavros says, when you walk out and lock the door. “I mean, I don’t mean that I don’t like our campaign, I like our campaign, it’s just…”
“No, I’m excited too.” You smile at him. “Terezi probably has a bunch of stuff planned, knowing her, and…I wonder how she does it? I’m kind of interested to know.”
“You mean, ‘cause she’s blind?” Tavros blinks a little. “I hadn’t actually…”
“Yeah, me neither. She’ll have it all figured out though, she always does. Like you do. There’s a way around everything, you just have to find it.”
He almost relaxes, and the two of you keep walking, bouncing character ideas off of each other. You’re not sure about race or class yet, so you’ve got a lot to work with, but you’re pretty sure that you want a support class, and you’re sure as shit that you don’t want to play a bard. No offence, but they’ve never really been your thing, and the NPC bards you’ve put in campaigns usually get stupidly injured somehow.
Tavros’ backstory ideas are pretty good. Like most of his characters, this one will probably be good, and if Terezi lets him play a firbolg, he’s got a ton of character stuff to work with. Names are difficult, and the two of you go back and forth for a while just with that, which takes you all the way to his front door. Tavros’ house is pretty nice, with an idyllic lawn front and back. The bungalow itself is pretty much perfect for the entire Nitram family, and when you let yourselves in, Mr Nitram is in the large kitchen, cooking something that looks incredibly complicated but probably isn’t.
“Hi Dad!” Tavros calls, on his way past.
“Tavros!” His dad stops what he’s doing, and dashes out, stopping at the sight of you. “Oh, ah, Aradia! Pleasure to see you.”
You wave, a little awkwardly, and step aside so he can see his son a bit more clearly. He clears his throat and walks forward until he’s in front of Tavros.
“How was your day?”
“It was, uh, good. Gamzee and me got partnered up for an art project, so we were pretty happy, and me and Aradia are going to go, um, play Dungeons and Dragons. Aradia doesn’t know what character she wants to play yet, so she wanted to come over here.”
He looks back at you, and you wave again. This wave is possibly even more awkward than the last. Oh God.
“Well, I am very sure that you will have a ton of fun. Is she staying for dinner? And how is she getting home?”
“I can walk, Mr Nitram, it’s fine.”
“No, nonsense. Rufioh will walk you home after dinner.”
Oh, now you feel even more awkward. If being walked home by your friend’s older brother because his father told him to isn’t bad enough, tacking on the fact that you know said older brother has kissed your sister just compounds the awkward. You try to make sure your smile shows none of your internal agony. Tavros gives you a sympathetic look.
“Thank you, Mr Nitram…”
“Well, you are a young girl, and it is my duty to look after you while you are in my care.” He looks a little awkward himself. “To make sure you get home safely. Now, you and Tavros go talk about your dragons. I will call you when dinner is ready.”
You follow Tavros into his room, and try not to look too awkward. You’re pretty sure you’re failing.
“Sorry.” Tavros turns around as soon as the door is closed. “I’m really sorry, Aradia. He’s just so old-fashioned.”
“I don’t…mind, I guess. It’s just a bit awkward when I live so close to be walked home by Rufioh.” You don’t know whether you want to laugh or not. “I mean, he…he’s really nice, but I’ve seen him kiss my sister.”
“Yeah…” Tavros winces. “We should probably focus on, um, D and D. Not, you know…”
“Oh, yes, absolutely.” You plonk yourself down on a bean bag. “So, um…What sort of support character do you think would suit me?”
“Cleric.”
He says it so straightforwardly that you actually find yourself sitting up a little. You wait for him to go on.
“Clerics can go into battle but also heal, which is great when you have a smaller campaign. You don’t deal well with bards, but a cleric gives you a lot of sub-classes to choose from, plus you’d at least have a bit of give when it came to running out of spells. I’m guessing Terezi’s going to push us a bit if she can.”
“A cleric,” you repeat, before reaching for your bag and ferreting for your handbook. “I’ve forgotten some of the domains, though, give me a minute.” You flip through, and start reading as Tavros keeps talking.
“I thought I might try out a druid this time rather than a fighter or a paladin. They’re way more peaceful, and with…other players around, I think we, uh, might need some peace.”
“You’re right, and I know what I’ll be playing.” You give him a bright, shining smile. “Grave cleric. Look, Tavros, it’s perfect. They’re all about death being part of the circle of life.” You show him the page, tapping it. “I might as well be playing myself.”
“That does sound…pretty much like you.” He smiles back. “So…you’re a grave cleric.”
“Looks like. Terezi will be stoked, it looks like they’re pretty good at the whole brink of death thing. Now I just have to figure out the character. Tell me more about what you’ve got planned.”
“Oh, I thought I could maybe be like…a gentle hermit from the woods? We could be travelling together for some reason. But he’s a tall firbolg, and he left his home. We can, uh, work that in whatever they’re already going with, though. I guess Terezi’s already running a campaign. What about you? Any ideas?”
“Well, I want someone tough, but not…outright tough. Someone who can stand up for herself.” You pause for a minute. “And who stands up for her friends, so don’t you worry. Other than that, I’ve got no idea.”
“We should probably look at what race you’re going to pick, then.”
The two of you are engrossed in reading through your copies of the Player’s Handbook while you jot down aspects of your backstory that seem viable on a piece of scrap paper. Should she be an orphan? Should she have any family? It’s stuff you can work out later, and you almost forgot about dinner until you hear a knock on the door.
“Oh.” You scramble up to open the door, and Mr Nitram is standing there, tall and disconcerting as always.
“Aradia, Tavros. Dinner is ready. And Damara is joining us as well!” He pats your shoulder, somewhat stiffly.
Oh, no.
“She is?” you ask, a little too brightly.
“Yes, she is. She came over to see Rufioh.” He sniffs the air a little. “Ah, excuse me. Join us at the table, I think I must rescue something from the stove.”
With that, he swiftly starts walking away and you turn to Tavros with a look of horror.
“Damara’s here,” you say, stunned. “Damara is here, Tavros.”
“It’s, um, not unexpected.”
“I know!” You hold the door open for him so he can start moving. “But, I…I don’t know. Me and Damara, we don’t…we’re not…”
It’s not as though you haven’t eaten a meal with your sister before, but while at Tavros’ house, you generally tend to avoid it. You follow Tavros into the dining room without properly explaining yourself, but he reaches across to pat you on the arm anyway. He knows what you mean.
What you mean is that it’s hard to make conversation with Tavros’ father anyway, never mind when your sister and his son are snuggling up to each other. Currently, they’re arranging their chairs to be a little closer while Damara starts talking under her breath to him. She doesn’t notice you enter the room.
Ah, yes. Damara.
You don’t try to catch her attention, but sit in the chair next to the space for Tavros. Rufioh looks up at that point and smiles.
“Oh, hey, Aradia.”
Damara looks up as well, a little warily. Oh yeah, dinner’s going to be swell.