Chapter Text
'How did a 36 year old woman and her wife end up with two of the strangest kids on this side of Stickcity' was a wonderful question.
Something about life was simply .. boring. She loved Mitsi, she did! Do not get her wrong for even a moment– but both agreed, they did want children. Vic had been.. deeply afraid of that idea for years, but.. they’d come around to it. The past was just that. They.. they wouldn’t hurt these kids. And they had Mitsi by their side. Mitsi would help.. They had nothing to be worried about.
They’d come to this conclusion a few months ago. They’d endured the training, the waiting, the hoping, the home study, and– and then, the phone call finally came.
Vic and Mitsi had been matched with two kids, just like they’d asked for. They weren’t picky in the slightest– any gender, any age range.
Their new kids were apparently named The Chosen One and The Dark Lord. They were twins, and refused to be separated. They’d been given up by a deeply afraid .. animator. The word made her shudder, and she’d been told the kids weren’t fond of the word either. Common ground already. Chosen was the black one, Dark was the red one. She could remember that.
They frankly shouldn’t have been surprised by the two ten-year-old boys they were met with, and yet they still were.
Vic hadn’t been expecting hollowheads like herself, was all..
“I’m Mitsi!” When she opened her eyes, she cooed. “Aww, look at you two..! Drawn just like my beloved..”
Chosen and Dark looked away, kicked at the floor.
“Are you ready to come home?” Mitsi asked as gently as possible, but was barely restraining her excitement and joy. “I know Vic and I are ready for you~!”
Chosen and Dark glanced at each other, leaning closer and whispering something. Both were wearing simple one color and oversized shirts– Chosen’s was long sleeved and red, and Dark’s was short sleeved in black. Dark wore scuffed sport shorts, meanwhile Chosen was wearing jeans clearly too big for him. Chosen had been previously staring at Vic with his beady little crimson red eyes before Dark muttered whatever it had been to his brother.
Chosen shoved him off, apparently bothered– Vic couldn’t tell if it was playful animosity or not. Mitsi furrowed her eyebrows with confused concern. Dark rolled his lemon-yellow eyes back at him, before Chosen grabbed him harshly by the wrist and dragged him to stand closer to their new parents.
Vic forced up the words, leaning on their cane. Standing was getting tiring. “..Let’s just get going, alright, kids?”
Dark grimaced.
Chosen and Dark wrestled with the seatbelts in the back of the car like they were suffocating.
"Oh, come on, you two.. The car doesn’t bite..” Victim mumbled.
That was punctuated with Dark biting the seatbelt. Good timing, she supposed. He even had a sharp fang.
"You're both ten, right?" Mitsi twisted around in her seat, looking at the fidgety kids with all of the love in her heart displayed in her eyes. Vic thought it was deeply cute, but had to pay a bit more attention to the road than their love…
Chosen murmured something she was assuming was agreement.
Vic was uncertain if Mitsi had actually heard the kid speak. "That's nice! Where do you go to school?"
Chosen muttered something else.
"Well, I'll keep that in mind."
Was Vic supposed to be understanding..?
Dark continued to fight the seatbelt, but not actually taking it off.
The drive was 10 minutes. Despite this, it felt like forever..
The kids seemed hesitant to walk around the house. They didn't even take off their shoes.
It was all carpeted floors except in the kitchen and bathroom. Everything was comfortable and clearly previously loved, a specific spot on the couch seeming to sink deeper than the rest. (It was the one on the far right end of the couch, next to the armrest.)
They put their cane next to the door, ignoring the flashes of confusion on Chosen and Dark’s faces. She briefly fumbled trying to get her shoes off, and her darling Mitsi unbuckled her mary janes. The kids stood still.
Mitsi offered her hands, one to each. "We can walk around together. Would you like that?"
Dark shrugged. Chosen gently nodded.
"Do you want to look around the house, or just go to your room?"
She didn't get an answer, really; but Chosen wrapped his small hand around hers the best he could, seeming hesitant. With her other hand, she sort of.. pat his, an attempt at reassurance, before beginning to walk them through the house. Vic smiled at it. Dark simply trailed beside Chosen.
The living room, along with all the other rooms, was simple, quaint, but charming. Clearly beloved with the uneven cushions and squished throw pillows. A large rug and table separated the couch from the TV, two other large comfy chairs on either side of it that were out slightly, angled towards the TV.
The rest of the room was .. admittedly, rather empty. Sure, there were a few things along the walls and on them, but not much out on the floor. There were a few plants scattered about in various areas, all looking multimedia and slightly out of place. There were paintings of objects recognizable from animation websites. Vic had painted them, to pass the time.
The kitchen was a bit smaller. Only barely cluttered, one cabinet knob had a charm hanging from it, while the cabinet next to the dishwasher and under the sink was a dishrag that was hung.
On the counter to the right of the oven top was a cutesy pair of gloves for taking things out of it. Mitsi hadn’t been able to resist.. Other things, such as tinfoil and seasonings, lined both the backsplash and the backs of the countertops to touch the wall. There was a box of various snacks that she explained they could take from at any time.
The fridge was well decorated, many colorful letter magnets alongside various photos of Vic and Mitsi. Neither of the twins looked for very long. There were sillier things pasted to it as well, like the little plush koala on the fridge with magnets in his limbs. He had a little royal blue shirt on.
The rest of the tour continued. She showed them to their bedroom, upstairs, which was comfortable, but a little empty. There were two beds, separated by a set of drawers. "You'll sleep in here. I know it's not much at the moment, but I promise, I'll get you stuff, errr.. tomorrow! You'll be allowed to pick out aaaanything you want from the store! Sound good?”
It’s Friday. Chosen nodded politely. Dark didn't, and the former punched him in the shoulder in an attempt to get him to. Dark just shot a look at Chosen that was equally of anger as well as confusion. Dark punched back, seemingly twice as hard. Neither had flinched.
"No hitting, please." Mitsi said it kindly but very firmly. Vic wondered if that message would actually stick… they hoped it would.
Dark turned his furious gaze to her. Vic could see she had to repress laughter, apparently not taking the kid all that seriously.
“Aaah, I can’t! You two are just so cuuute!!” Mitsi excitedly picked the two kids up– firm so they wouldn’t fall, but still gentle. Dark sputtered, and Chosen froze, starting to attempt to escape shortly after. It was never not endearing to see Mitsi so happy, but–
“Uhm, Mitsi..? I-I wouldn’t– maybe not yet?”
“Oh!” She looked at the two writhing kids in the hug, already sorrowful about her decision. “I’m sorry, kids, I’ll ask from now on..!!”
Dark wiped his arms, like he was trying to get her touch off of her. “Good.” he spat.
Chosen simply frowned up at her.
“...you kids are probably hungry!” Mitsi said, sudden and a bit forced. “We’ll get started on food for you two, alright? You can stay in your room, until then, if that’s what you’d like!”
The twins glanced at each other, apparently baffled, as Mitsi rushed down the stairs.
“..I’m usually the one cooking,” Vic said under their breath, loud enough to be heard. It was a confession of their own puzzlement.
“But..she is sorry. Really. I, uhm, get it. I used to really dislike touch also. .. okay, well, I still do, if it's not from her or I'm not expecting it. And she understands. She's just … really, really excited to meet you. And I am too. … I'll go help her. Have fun.”
Vic smiled gently, waving the two off before they turned around and headed back down the relatively short staircase, holding onto the railing. It was 14 stairs. …Look, Vic had a lot of downtime.
“Mitsi, is something wrong?” Victim frowned, taking a seat at the table in the kitchen, and scooting themselves closer to the counters.
“..I'm a little upset they aren't super fond of touch. I just.. I wanna hold them..! But I can't do that without making them upset. I'll get used to it, just like we did, but..”
“Well. Maybe they just need to warm up to you. Like me. But if they don't ever, you always have .. me.” They offered sheepishly. Blush crept onto their face.
“I know.. but my fondness towards you and the kids is different! I love you lots and lots, and I already like the kids. You're all so cute..but in different ways. You're cute in the way I wanna kiss you all over your face mercilessly! But the kids, I dunno, I just wanna scoop ‘em up and never let go… I'd give ‘em a big kiss on the forehead..!! Gah, it's just, hard. I can't give them all my love yet, I have to hold back or else I risk crushing them. You know?”
Vic gently nodded, and Mitsi morosely stirred the canned soup. She'd been at work, and physical energy wasn't very high between either of them.. even with the excitement, it'd been a long week. It was bleeding through.
Still, Vic pecked Mitsi on the cheek, and nothing could've hidden the glow of her smile. Even in her rumpled button up blouse and stray hairs falling out of place, into her face, into the air– Mitsi was still, easily, the most beautiful woman in the world. Vic made sure she knew this.
Chosen and Dark had started out, just, staring at each other. They didn't even fight about who's bed was who's. That was commonplace. Just settled in, on the inner edges of their beds. Chosen idly kicked his feet. It was a while of silence, so long that eventually Dark flopped backwards onto the bed, knees and down still hanging off the edge. Chosen started fiddling with what he found to be empty drawers.
“...do you think we're going to stay here?”
“I don't know.” Dark turned his head away. “Give it a week, give or take. That's usually when people get sick of us.”
Chosen always spoke quietly, but their voice seemed to dim even further. “..I like this one. The parents are nice n’ mean well and the house is nice. I have a good feeling about it here.”
Dark seemed.. off.
“Feels weird not being in the same bed.” Dark suddenly admitted, and despite this, Chosen knew something else was on his mind. He just didn't know what.
Chosen gently hopped off his own bed, climbing up to be beside Dark, laying just like he was, and leaning on him subtly.
“...isn't it weird that the gray one looks just like us?”
“Maybe a little bit.” Chosen pressed his head into the crevice of Dark's sharp shoulders. “Maybe she has powers like we do. That could be cool.”
“Maybe.” Dark tossed it out, like his heart wasn't really in it.
Chosen was already tired of beating around the bush. It wasn't like Dark to do so. He sat up, face growing slightly more serious. “What's wrong?”
“It's nothing,” Dark didn't meet his eye. “I just. Something about it is setting me off. I don't know. Plus, they could be like everyone else.”
… Chosen went quiet. “Maybe. But they could be our parents. For good. We won't know until we try.”
“Aren't you tired of trying?” Dark grit his teeth. “I'm tired of playing nice. I'm just– not good at it.”
“..I think they'll understand. Dunno. They just.. feel different.”
“I'll .. trust you.” Something in his voice waivered. Chosen didn't like uncertainty. Not from Dark of all people.
“Good,” he settled on. “Because I'm right.”
Dinner was slightly awkward. The two kids prodded at their food more than they ate it, and neither of them seemed too interested in interacting with her.
She tried to make small talk, but it never got far. Vic asked 'how is your summer going', 'do you have anything fun you wanna do', 'are you excited about the trip to the store on Saturday', but nothing warranted anything beyond a glance. Dark didn't ever look up at her, and Chosen kept looking between him and Vic. He would open his mouth just slightly, like he wanted to speak, but didn't know what to say.
Oh well.
They ate about a half, give or take, each. She put the leftovers in the fridge. She told them they could have it whenever tomorrow, and to not be scared to ask her or Mitsi to heat it back up.
The kids retreated to their shared room.
...Maybe she'd have better luck tomorrow.
They could only hope. And hoping had gotten them this far.