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He really should have known better. Or, maybe he did know better and just decided to ignore it until it bit him in the bony ass. Either way, the inevitable comes to pass Sunday night. His always-locked bedroom door opens like the gates to the underworld themselves and unleash something much worse than a Phantom on Idia. Vil-shi; shepherded here by his treacherous brother who beams at Idia like he's just done him a favor.
"O-Ortho!" Idia yelps from his self-shaped indent on the bed, force quitting his console and yanking his disheveled covers up over him not because he's indecent but because he's been in the same pajamas since Friday afternoon. He shoots his brother a meaningful glare. 'how could you?'
Ortho ignores him. Completely unbothered by Idia's animose aura. "Time to take a break Nii-san. Vil Schoenheit-san is worried about you."
"I said nothing of the sort." Vil-shi corrects, giving Idia's room his usual disapproving once-over. "I simply won't be ignored for an entire weekend, Idia.
That's what Vil-shi gets for bringing Ortho into this. His brother isn't on anyone's side but Chaos. Speaking of, the younger Shroud giggles something bordering in maniacal and shuts Idia in here with his unimpressed boyfriend.
Vil-shi watches Ortho go with tempered bemusement before his expression shifts to the cold mask of a complete mega-boss.
"You". He curses, not even knowing the aged-meme he's referencing. Vil points directly at Idia and cuts across the room, only stopping when they're eye to eye (or more specifically, when Vil is staring him down and Idia is focusing on the spot between Vil-shi's eyebrows.).
"Let's hear it. I hope for your sake you have a compelling explanation for your radio-silence."
No longer able to bare the proximity, Idia breaks their little staring contest as he thinks of a lie. There's no way Vil-shi can know the truth. The bitter truth that Idia has been marathoning the long-awaited sequel of the popular Games Guy release that just dropped on Friday. No, Friendly Living - Life is a Dream is a secret between Idia and the Great Seven.
Even Idia knows that ghosting an LI over a game is pretty much a basic tier red flag - the grains and cereals of the food pyramid of dick moves. Yes, much less cringeworthy to lie.
"I was—" His so called genius brain spirals to think of an explanation that does not make him sound like a boy-loser. Unfortunately, the only remotely IC options have to do with gaming anyway. So, he finishes his sentence so low that maybe Vil-shi won't bother hearing him.
"—I was playing a new game…"
"Oh. Is that all?' To his credit, Vil-shi doesn't seem surprised. Ortho probably told him anyway. That doesn't stop the boy from rolling his eyes dramatically.
With a half-satisfied huff, Vil-shi helps himself to sitting on Idia's bed, as if the casual contact of their side by side avis isn't enough to merc your average NEET. But, this isn't the first time and won't be the last Vil-shi has tried to kill him with physical touch. Rather than KO-ing him outright, he's micro-dosed with the gestures as if Idia will work up an immunity.
Vil-shi lays back against Idia's headboard, propping up his back with Idia's pillow and leaving Idia to shrimp miserably beside him. "Let's see it then. "
Idia blinks. He can't have heard that right. Basically every solo gamer yearns for someone to genuinely ask to watch them play. So to have a certified popular-type ask is p much something right out of an otome - it's simply unbelievable, even for a good end.
"Ehhh?" He asks, sort of. "Come again?"
"Don't be so dramatic." Vil-shi answers, taking the liberty to switch Idia's projector on himself. "I need to evaluate my competition."
The ghost of a suggestion of a micro-expression of a smile pulls Idia's lip. "IG I can give you a tour…"
His console resumes play to where he shut it off earlier. The residents are unharmed, though some of them have indicator bubbles showing that they are ready for player interaction. They can wait.
Idia zooms out to a birds-eye view and scoots himself back to hunch against the headboard. He rests the controller on Vil-shi's lap, inviting him to take over if he'd like, as he scrolls over his weekend's worth of work.
"It's set up in districts." He explains, pointing to each portion of his layout. "Industry, arts, community…" He scrolls quickly over the Mees littering the paths on this place. "I had to make a bunch of custom stuff since the in game catalogue is p. limited…"
"I see…" Vil-shi hums, making it clear that even the best actor on earth can't pretend to be interested in customization options in a game he doesn't play. "A grid system is a smart play."
"Right…" Idia agrees, immediately self conscious that Vil-shi has finally decided Idia is too boring to be with. Of course, even self-doubt won't stop him from mansplaining. "Meta-wise it's the fastest way for your Mees to get around, but some people online have done some creative alts…".
"That's good?" Vil-shi either asks or decides. Disinterest is a fate worse than perma-death.
"Yeah,… It's good. "
"Idia wait. Wait! Wait!" With a speed that there's no way Idia can match IRL, Vil-shi snatches the controller and, after some frankly adorable fumbling, manages to zoom in on one of the smaller islands Idia's made around the perimeter of his map. "Is that me?"
Before Idia can viciously deny Vil-shi's accurate take, he selects the Mee, making a pop up with its bio appear on screen.
"It is me. Seven what an unpleasant expression I have." Mee-Vil-shi scowls pretty severely, as it shouts into the sea. "I wish I never met you, Idi-tan!"
"Idi-tan?" Vil smirks. "Is that supposed to be you?"
Idia wishes the sun would explode and existence would end. "Yeah… yeah." He mumbles, burying his head in Vil-shi's shoulder as if that will somehow keep him safe. "That's what your Mee calls mine…".
Vil-shi clicks on the Mee repeatedly, making its head shake. "What's wrong with it?"
"We're fighting." Idia explains. He claws back the controller to scroll over to Meedia, who, wouldn't you have it, is screaming into the ocean "It was a mistake to be born!".
"Not much out of the ordinary there." Vil-shi comments. "Wait, what's that?" He leans forward, pointing to the bio on the left side of the display. '"Not Getting Along?' 'Spouses?'"
Idia winces at the word. The cat is so far out of the bag at this point the bag may as well give it up. "Yeah, uh… we're married." The confession is quiet enough that he's not even sure if Vil-shi hears it.
Vil-shi grabs him, taking his bony chin in a firm grip and turning Idia's head to face him, leaving Meedia stranded on the beach bleating pathetically. "So well you were neglecting our relationship, we were getting married in your little—" He pauses, trying to think of a word that won't get him teased. "MeeLife."
"Friendly Living…" Idia corrects, earning a disapproving tilt of Vil-shi's head. "But, yeah, p. much. Things in game move a lot faster than they do IRL…" Hopefully, Vil-shi will be satisfied with that, and not dig far enough into their Mees' relationship to see the child-sized elephant in the room.
"Friendly Living, then" Vil-shi relents, releasing Idia and futzing with the controller to the tune of giving Meedia a virtual-concussion. "How do I make them make up?"
Inside Idia are two wolves: one that wants to hide the extremely personal content of his Friendly Island from the light of day for all eternity, and one that is weak to his filthy-casual-tier gamer (at best) boyfriend to take interest in the new release. In the end, it's usually the second that wins. "Well, not like that." Idia rests his hands over Vil-shi's on the controller, showing him how back out of the Mee selection and pan to the broader Island view. "You have to find another Mee to make one of them feel better, then they might decide to apologize."
Vil-shi scoffs. "Apologize on your own. Why do you have to get someone else?"
"It's just how the game works. It's not like… specific about me or anything." Idia guide's Vil-shi over to Ortho-Mee, who is mid-picnic with the only character on this island that he hoped not to come across.
Their secret child looks suspiciously like Vil-shi; free of the Shroud curse so long as Idia can help it, and currently locked in to the bowl of chili sin carne she and Ortho are apparently sharing. Of course, life for Idia is never easy. Vil-shi selects Persie instead. "She'll do. Is this meant to be me as well?"
"Ch—" Idia mutters, as they drop the girl on Meedia to have her talk him out of his slump.
"Child of!?" Vil-shi figures it out from the Mees' relationship pop-up before Idia has to fess up to it. "We have a daughter, Idia?"
"Yeah well." Idia shrugs. "I told you things move faster in game"
"I should say so." Vil laughs, dragging Persie over to Mee-Vil-Shi instead of Idia, leaving their fight unresolved. "But still, she is cute, at least."
Idia starts to object to Vil-shi playing the game wrong, but shuts his mouth just as quickly, letting Vil-shi explore the Mee interactions and island space on their own. He leans his head on Vil-shi's shoulder, finally letting himself relax.
"At least there's that."