Chapter Text
1. Nail Polish
Brianna comes home to a contemplative Spencer sitting on the couch. In his hand, a bottle of blue nail polish. Even with the sunglasses on, she can still tell that he was squinting, painstakingly reading every single ingredient printed on the back of the bottle. She, at first, is bewildered at the sight. The Chosen would either be playing Pokémon or practicing his pose in the mirror, and the very last thing Brianna would have seen him do is this.
“Whatcha got there, 'Sen?” Brianna inquires, placing her coat on the rack and taking a seat next to him.
The Chosen nods to acknowledge her arrival, but promptly goes back to examing the ingredients list. “I was given a bottle of nail polish by my friend, Augustus. I believe you have seen him during one of our Yu-Gi-Oh nights.”
Brianna smiles. She loves Yu-Gi-Oh nights. Not because she likes seeing Augustus (though it is always lovely when he visits) or even the game itself, it's just amusing to see The Chosen be so passionate about something. He usually is quite passionate in taking down the forces of evil and other stuff similar to that, but he always seems to shine when he plays Yu-Gi-Oh. Sometimes they play other games — from Magic: The Gathering to Beyblades, or sitting in absolute silence whilst they play something on their Nintendo consoles. Brianna usually leaves them alone since she understands the concept of bro time, but she pops in every now and then to give them something to snack on. Out of her own volition, of course.
The Chosen would rather off himself than ask Brianna to do anything, which is a trait of his that is probably more frustrating than him wearing cargo pants for every outfit. If the man could just learn to ask for help. And maybe buy a new pair of pants.
“He's such a dear.” She coos. “But why the polish? Do you have like, any clue as to why he gave you polish all of the sudden?”
The Chosen shakes his head. “I have no idea. Though I showed him my appreciation by giving him one of my more precious Pokémon cards.”
Brianna smiles softly. “That's nice of you.”
“Thank you.” The Chosen's cheeks pink a little. “But I don't know what to do with this. What does one usually do with nail polish?”
There's only really one answer. I mean, well, Brianna knows that 5 Minute Crafts would absolutely resent that statement but the way to use the product is in its name. Nail polish? “Well, Spence, I think it's not a reach to say that you paint your nails with it?”
A look of realization washes over his features. Brianna is far too endeared to think up of a snarky comment. “You are correct. You have proven to be wiser than me yet again. I need more training.”
The two of them open cans of La Croix and scroll through Pinterest, looking for nail art inspiration.
“Holy shit.” The Chosen mutters under his breath when Brianna says he's good to go.
By the time the clock strikes ten, The Chosen is absolutely smitten (mouth agape, sunglasses slowly slipping down his nose kind of smitten) by his Star Wars-themed nails. Especially the art on the thumb. Brianna painstakingly drew R2-D2 in scarily accurate detail and she's pretty sure her beloved won't be washing her hands anytime soon. He starts muttering about how he should preserve the art on his nails, that he's always thankful to Brianna for doing things for him. Brianna makes it a point to not inform him that water and soap can't do anything to nail polish, because this is the most adorable thing she's seen all week.
2. Toilet Paper
She groans when the realization falls on her that she forgot to get toilet paper. Brianna forgot her list at home and was forced to recall every single thing that they needed, from broccoli to laundry detergent. She literally remembered to get this extremely specific brand of ramen that The Chosen asked for (which she had to go to an Asian grocery store for, mind you) but not fucking toilet paper?
Brianna is far too exhausted to make another trip back. She changes into her silk pajamas, which had a Chinese proverb (“In the heaven we shall be birds flying side by side, and on the earth we shall be twinned trunks flowering sprigs on the same branch.”) embroidered on the sleeve that The Chosen personally had custom-made. Oh, he chose the idiom too, and said “It's the perfect one for you.” What a freaking sap. Trying not to tear up at the proverb again, she heads downstairs where she sees The Chosen go absolutely bonkers on his DDR mat.
Right. The mat. Brianna got it for him on a random Sunday. She was doing some retail therapy and stumbled upon the mat on the Recommended tab. It was basically love at first sight. Not for her, but for a certain someone who she thought would have a love at first moment the second he saw it. Brianna is always right.
“Hey, um, 'Sen?” The blonde calls softly.
The Chosen pauses his game. Brianna contains her laughter at the sight of sweat dripping down the sides of his face. Must have been a workout and a half.
“Could you like, go to Walmart and get us some toilet paper? We ran out and I totally forgot to buy some.” Brianna asks, to which The Chosen nods seriously in response.
“2-ply, Brianna?” He clarifies in that nasally voice of his. Don't laugh, Bree. Don't.
“Yup.” She snorts. “2-ply, Chosen.”
The Chosen turns off his game and reaches for his katana. “I will be back. Take care.”
“Safe travels, Spence.”
Brianna goes ham on the DDR mat while he's out. This game is fun. Maybe it was love at first sight for her, too.
3. Broken Dishwasher
“The dishwasher is malfunctioning.” The Chosen's tone is slightly whiny. Like he's done everything he could to try and fix the machine, but the machine just won't listen. Brianna sighs. She swears machines from her childhood lasted longer than the ones made in this era. How does a dishwasher break, anyway? It's not like The Chosen stuck his dick in there or something (and no, he wouldn't).
Brianna pats him on the back. “I don't want to eat out of paper plates, 'Sen. We have to do our dishes manually for now, is that alright?”
“But I absolutely loathe the sound of plates and cutlery.” He sighs. “Do I really have to?”
“You do our laundry for a week and I'll do the dishes. Do we have a deal?”
The Chosen smirks, satisfied. “I am at awe that I have such a master negotiator as a partner. Truly impressive, Brianna. I have more to learn.”
Brianna rolls her eyes. It isn't without endearment, but Chosen doesn't need to know about that.
4. The Barbie Argument
“Fairytopia clears, Chosen. Are you kidding me?”
The Chosen scoffs dismissively. The utter disrespect! “I do value your input, Brianna, though Barbie and the Diamond Castle remains as the most unparalleled movie in the Barbie multiverse. I, unfortunately, have to disagree with you.”
A rare occurrence. Disagreement in their house? And over Barbie, too. Truly quite serious.
“I can't say I value your input, Chosen. Didn't you say Mermaid Tale was one of top five best Barbie movies?” Brianna spits back.
He crosses his arms defensively. Hah.
“It is. The tale of Merliah Summers never falls short no matter how many times I have seen the movie. The songs in the film, although pedestrian sometimes, are freaking dope. Queen of the Waves is good for any occasion, especially for when I'm out saving the world from its demise.”
Brianna furrows her eyebrows. Sure, Mermaid Tale is absolutely amazing. But to think that it's on the same level as classic Barbie movies? It may be superior in an artistic standpoint, with all the advanced animation techniques and whatnot, but even Fairytopia with its weird rendering stands above all. Though Brianna stands on business when it comes to Fairytopia, Nutcracker, and Rapunzel, even she can admit that Diamond Castle rules over any Barbie released in 2010 and onwards.
“Brianna, do you hear yourself?” The Chosen rarely ever gets agitated. It's part of his self-contol thing. But of course, this is Barbie they're talking about. If they're serious about anything, it should be this. “There is real merit to the 2010s Barbie movies. Fashion freaking Fairytale is a heartwrenching story about the fashion industry—”
Brianna raises her hand over Chosen. “You can't tell me that Fashion Fairytale isn't just a mid Barbie movie with glitter spilled all over it.”
“Mid?” The Chosen repeats, hardly believing what Brianna just said. “And Barbie movies are inherently glitter-forward. This is fact.”
“Yeah, but the 2000s Barbie movies are artfully glitter-forward. It's not like someone just barfed glitter all over them. Like, Swan Lake is real sparkly but it isn't disgustingly sparkly, no?”
The Chosen hums. “Oh, Swan Lake. We... have not watched that yet.”
“...wait, really?” Brianna can't believe herself. She didn't put on Swan Lake for them to watch? That's crazy. “Huh.”
“Huh.”
Brianna purses her lips for a moment. “Do you want to watch Swan Lake?”
The Chosen nods. “Yes.”