Work Text:
“Heeeyy...are you busy?”
Greed found himself in the Vein Center checking up on Hatred once again. Upon him finishing his sentence, the Heart immediately opened and Hatred stepped out towards him.
“NO. WHAT DO YOU WANT.” She crossed her arms, her tail flicking up in curiosity. “Uhhh, you wanna…” he said, fidgeting with his hands, “I dunno, have a picnic or something in Avarice? It’s my treat!”
Hatred stared back at him.“...THAT IS ODDLY SPECIFIC.” He slightly tugged at her arm. “Come on, it’ll be fun!!” Her eyes narrowed and she hesitantly said, “FINE. WHATEVER.”
“Wait, actually!?” Greed clutched her hand without thought, dragging the other along with him. “Hahahaha, come on!! Let’s go!!!” Her horns and tail twitched upwards as she attempted to keep up, yelling, “I CAN WALK, YOU IDIOT—!!”
The two warped into a vibrant park of gold grass in Avarice, a scribbled sun ‘shining’ from above. Hatred realized that, conveniently, the entire area was empty compared to the lively crowds she had seen from the few times she was in Avarice’s outer areas. A lone checkered picnic blanket sat in the middle of the grass, its appearance detailless just like the rest of the Dream World. A picnic basket accompanied it, presumably holding food.
Glancing at the basket, she remarked, “AM I SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE YOU DID NOT EAT IT ALL BEFOREHAND?” Greed's head tilted up at her and he looked at her in confusion.
“Hey, what makes you say that??” Hatred narrowed her eyes at him and he immediately looked away before he said, “Okay, maaybe I ate a cookie…” A corner of her jagged mouth jolted up, stifling a laugh. “I swear, I didn’t eat the entire thing! I wouldn’t! I would never!!”
Her claws flew to her face as she burst out laughing, her voice raised in pitch. Greed was stunned for a moment, staring at her in wonder, before desperately defending himself again. “I'm not gluttonous!!! I'm greedy, there's a difference!!” he said, jumping and flailing his long arms up to her height like he was being accused of tax fraud. Hatred only continued to laugh even harder, imagining him as a small, fat creature eating a bunch of food too big for him. “Hey, I'm not— I’m innocent, I swear!!!”
Through the dramatic act he was putting on, Greed felt happy to hear her laugh. It sounded so fitting and genuine, unlike the low, threatening laugh he had heard before a few times. He was just really glad to see Hatred happy.
Her laughter eventually died down as she noticed his change in demeanor. “YOU ARE LOOKING AT ME STRANGELY,” she remarked, her voice having a trace of uncertainty. He hadn't even realized his expression changed, and he quickly replied, “Oh, nope, I'm just thinking about stuff.” He sat down on the picnic blanket, motioning for the other to do the same. “OKAY.” Hatred did so, sitting beside him, and her tail swished across the blanket.
Lifting up the picnic basket, Greed grabbed a Cookie Dough and threw it into his face before offering the basket to the other. She took it, and looking inside she immediately noticed the bag of pomegranates wrapped in a suspiciously crimson ribbon. Greed piped up as she stared at the bag and said, “Uh, I don't know why I brought those, but I just found them in my collection.” He also noticed the slight, warm smile on her face that she didn't realize yet, but said nothing else. Hatred proceeded to completely down the bag in the span of a few seconds while he watched, now snacking on a Chezburger.
“Man, you're really weird.” She shot a look at him before poking his head with her tail. “YOU CANNOT BE SPEAKING.” She raised her head a bit, still looking down at him, and he poked her head back. “Nuh uh, definitely not!” She lifted the now-empty bag of pomegranates to his face with its ribbon still attached, mockingly waving in the air. “Ookay, yeah, you're right,” he said, admitting defeat. “...Did you like it though?”
Glancing away from him, Hatred said, “I GUESS.” She paused for a moment before continuing. “ALSO, I WAS… THINKING AS WELL.” She narrowed her eyes at Greed, giving him a glare. “IF YOU SAY ANYTHING STUPID YOU WILL NOT HEAR THE END OF IT.”
He raised his palms up at her. “Okay, okay, I won’t! Wasn’t planning on it anyway.” His voice softened as he put his hands down. “I promise, I don’t mind.”
Her horns twitched just a bit before her expression became dimmer. “...OKAY.”
She looked at the ground, reluctantly muttering, “CAN… CAN YOU COME OVER MORE..?” She gazed back at him for a moment. “PLEASE.” Her voice sounded strained yet solemn, and her tail lashed behind her.
Greed seemed to perk up, noticing her unusual tone. Instead of still poking fun of her like she expected, he said, “Yeah, of course! I, uh, like hanging out with you anyway.” Her eyes barely dilated and she tilted her head. “...HOW SO?”
“Well, you’re fun to talk to, and…” He paused, briefly scratching the back of his head and looking away. “Nobody really... gets me like you do.”
He shifted closer to her, looking into the distance. She didn't react, letting him speak, and her tail moved behind him. “I mean, we’re HATRED and GREED, right? No one really expects the embodiments of those or whatever to…be good. The others wouldn't ever get it.”
“Sometimes, I… I don’t know if what I’m feeling is…real at all. If I’m happy because I take, because of what I am.“
He looked up at her again, and it was as if she saw the sun itself for the first time, his smile shining away any doubtful thoughts she had. “But sitting next to you right now, I feel really happy. And I know that’s real.”
His hand had inched closer to hers, their fingers just barely touching. Neither of them moved as they looked at each other, Hatred’s gaze softening. “YOU’RE ABSOLUTELY AWFUL, YOU KNOW?” She broke eye contact and looked back into the distance as well, but her voice sounded just as warm as she truly felt.
“Yeah, whatever,” Greed said, his head ever so slightly leaning towards her.
He reached over to the picnic basket and shuffled through it, grabbing a sandwich. He took a bite out of it, somehow, before she poked him with her tail. Muttering back, he finished his sandwich and summoned a gold arm that got another sandwich, tossing it at her mouth, before it exited back into the ground.
Wait, couldn't he had just used his other hand? He glanced at his hand and OH GOD THEY WERE LITERALLY JUST ABOUT TO HOLD HANDS FOR REAL He immediately pulled his hand away and felt his face burn, all surprisingly without her noticing. She had chomped the food midair in one bite, and he looked at her, trying to get his mind off what just happened. He remarked, “So you're calling me gluttonous while you're eating that in one bite?”
“I DID NOT SAY THAT.” She licked her non-existent lips and looked back at him. “DO YOU NOT EAT BY THROWING FOOD INTO YOUR FACE?”
“What, no??? I'd literally choke??” Unfortunately for him, she perked up and seemed to have an idea, grabbing the basket. “OKAY. WHAT ABOUT THIS?”
Hatred proceeded to turn it upside down and dumped the rest of the food into the hole in the other's face, his voice muffled while he tried to speak. Sure enough, he did not choke, and her definitely educated guess was proven right.
Finally processing the sheer amount of food and what had just happened, Greed yelled in pure bewilderment, “YOU JUST WASTED THE ENTIRE THING????” She chuckled and lightly shoved him. “LIKE YOU'RE ONE TO TALK. YOU WERE GOING TO EAT THE REST ANYWAY.” Hatred tossed the empty basket aside while he replied, “No I wasn't??” He shoved her back before quickly realizing the situation she just put themselves in. “Wait, if we have no food, why are we on a picnic??”
She tilted her head at him and said, “YOU DON'T NECESSARILY NEED FOOD FOR ONE?” His face averted from her. “Well, if you say so…” He seemed to be a little unenthusiastic, his gaze on the horizon while the two continued to sit by each other.
Even after all that, Greed still couldn't stop thinking about that close call. The way her claws brushed against his fingers, even for the second he realized it, felt…really nice, and he wanted so much to feel it again for even just a short moment.
He gazed up at Hatred, admiring her look at him. “Do you wanna…uh, stay here for a little longer?” Her tail was loosely curled around Greed now, and she met him with that warm expression he wished he could see from her more often.
“I DON'T MIND,” Hatred said, leaning on her arm that was closest to him. “YOU AREN'T SO BAD TO BE AROUND, ANYWAY.”