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bubbyleh · 4 years

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I See La Vie en Rose - Chapter 3

cw for cult mention

Chapter 3: Recording Scientific Progress

“Do you think we should check those mountains again?”

“Well, when have we ever known them to double back on locations?”

“That’s the point, we haven’t. They’ve changed their patterns before to throw us off.”

“But would they risk discovery like that?”

“It can’t hurt to try.”

Tommy purposefully puts a little more weight into his footsteps, considering whistling a tune just to announce his presence. Anything to avoid the awkward stop to their conversation that will come if they see him before hearing him.

Speaking off, Tommy enters the pavilion that hosts the Viewing Pool, their connection to Earth in more ways than one. The Viewing Pool acts as both a mirror and a transporter, giving them access to most locations on the planet. It’s surrounded by seats for all the Gods, but since there’s no meeting, nobody rests in the chairs. Instead, sitting at the side of the pool are two Gods, Bubby and Coomer. They’re clearly tidying up a few papers.

“Ah, hello Tommy!” Coomer waves, and damn it, even if they’re clearly hiding something from him, Tommy can’t bring himself to feel angry. Growing up, Bubby and Coomer were the only other Gods on the cloud aside from his father (Benrey was on what Gman calls an “extended sabbatical”, though Benrey refers to it as his funny vacation). So what if Tommy feels a little soft for them!

“H-hey guys,” Tommy smiles. “What are you doing?”

“Same as always,” Bubby flicks his fingers, flames appearing between them. Extremely in character for someone who's known to mortals as the God of Fire. “Tracking down cultists.”

Tommy choses to take that as a partial truth, or at least one he doesn’t know the full implications of. Because while the cult was a known threat thousands of years before Tommy was born, he doesn’t actually know what they did to be considered a big deal in the first place. They’re connected to the skeletons, sure, but the most the skeletons have ever done is cause a little chaos down on Earth. Nothing the Gods hadn’t easily dealt with.

But. The way Coomer places a hand on Bubby’s back when he mentions them. How Benrey’s eyes seem to glaze over at any implication. When Tommy’s dad brushed him off with, “It was before your time. It will never happen again.”

...

Whatever.

Either they tell him or they don’t. Besides, he’s pretty sure Gordon’s in the same boat as him, so at least it seems like it’s more of an age thing than a personal vendetta against Tommy.

“I think- I’m heading down for the day,” Tommy says, desperate not to think about it anymore. “Do you need anything?”

“What do you do down there?” Bubby eyes the empty space next to Tommy. “You’re not even bringing Sunkist!”

Tommy shrugs, because he really doesn’t need them knowing what he’s getting up to. “Just wandering around.”

“Well, he is the God of Discovery, afterall!” Coomer chuckles, Bubby and Tommy smiling along with him. “But… do be careful down there Tommy, alright?” he continues, his tone suddenly grave. “I’ve had a terrible feeling lately.”

"You know we encountered these people in life." Bubby glances towards Coomer. "Trust us, they're no joke."

Hm.

"That's fine," Tommy can't help but get snippy. "I'm stronger now than- than you guys were then."

With that, Tommy turns the pool to the city and drops in, leaving Bubby and Coomer staring.

“Benrey wasn’t strong enough,” Bubby states. His voice is oddly monotone.

Coomer sighs. “Well, who is?”

Neither of them answer. They both know it’s rhetorical.

☆○☆○☆

They’ve been texting for about a week now, so Tommy supposes it’s about time they saw each other face to face again. And when Darnold invited him over to help out with an alchemical experiment, well, Tommy couldn’t think of a single reason he should say no!

It’s become very clear that what was once mild attraction has turned into a full-blown crush. Which is! A lot! Because Tommy’s pretty sure the last time he felt like this was over four-hundred years ago, and there’s a lot of other complicating factors!

But oh boy, if everything Darnold says isn’t a shot of serotonin to Tommy’s brain. He’s just so passionate about his work, Tommy could listen to him ramble for hours. And he technically has, though it was over text. So not necessarily listening, more like reading, but still! Tommy read every single one of those words!

Today was a good day for a visit. Tommy had wrapped up his work early, and though he was exhausted, he had a feeling that wouldn’t matter when he was around Darnold. So with a confident smile, he knocks on the door of Darnold’s apartment.

Darnold answers almost immediately, and he kind of looks winded as he opens the door. “Hey Tommy!” Darnold says, and oh no! He’s got that big smile on his face again! “You’re just in time, I just finished setting everything up!”

He steps aside for Tommy to enter, and wow. Darnold has turned his entire living room into a lab. Stacks of alchemical books are piled around the room, notes are thrown around haphazardly, and there are beakers filled with colorful potions in random places. Tommy would be impressed by his dedication if not for the social implications of such a decision.

“Sorry for the, uh, mess,” Darnold rubs the back of his neck. “I have a system, I swear.”

“It’s- I’ve seen worse messes, don’t worry!” It’s true. The way prayers make their way to the Gods tends to leave them in a messy pile on the floor, a fact Tommy has had to hear Gordon rant about for the better part of three centuries.

Darnold sighs his relief, but in an instant it’s replaced by a sharp look in his eye and an almost smug smile. “Alright! So the experiment!”

The two of them sit on the floor between the couch and the coffee table, where Darnold does most of his potion mixing, Tommy learns. But today isn’t necessarily about potions.

“I just figured out a recipe for a potential flavor syrup,” Darnold explains, leaning his phone against a pile of books. “It shouldn’t alter the effects of a potion, but we still need to do a taste test.”

“Alright.” Tommy smiles, because Darnold’s enthusiasm is infectious. “Wh-what’s with the phone, though?”

“Oh!” Darnold blinks, as if noticing his phone for the first time. “I, er… I like to record my experiments, for posterity. It’s not going up anywhere!” He anxiously scratches the side of his face. “But, um, I don’t have to film if you’re uncomfortable.”

“I was just wondering, I’m- I’m okay with it!” Tommy explains.

Darnold nods. “Okay. After I press record, I’m going to do a little introduction, and then we’ll do the experiment.” He pauses for a moment, and meets Tommy’s eyes. “And, uh. Thanks for offering to help, Tommy. An extra pair of hands goes a long way.”

Tommy feels his face heat up, but before he can say anything, Darnold’s already started the recording.

“This is Darnold Pepper, recording with lab assistant Tommy…” he trails off.

Oh crap, Darnold’s asking for a last name. Tommy’s pretty sure he’s never had one of those.

Tommy panics. “C-Coolatta.”

“Like the drink?”

“There’s no- no relation.”

Darnold shrugs and continues his monologue. “Recording with Tommy Coolatta. Attempting experiment 378-B, Flavored Syrup 6.”

The experiment goes well enough! There aren’t any explosions, Tommy doesn’t accidentally knock something over with his elbow. At the end, they have a reddish mixture as the bottom of a beaker, and a few popsicles to test with. The only problem is the taste.

Darnold’s face sours after a single taste. “O-oh no… this is the worst one yet.”

“What?” Tommy stifles a laugh. “It can’t be- it can’t be that bad!”

“It’s really bad, Tommy. The flavor isn’t going away.” Darnold stands and walks towards his kitchen.

Tommy picks up his own popsicle stick, and the gooey red syrup slowly drips off. Well, red usually means cherry, right? Or strawberry? Those are great flavors! Tommy licks the end of the stick, and…

Oh no.

“Darnold it’s bad!” Tommy shouts, stumbling into the kitchen behind him. “It’s- it’s really bad!”

Darnold is already downing a Fanta, and he slides one towards Tommy. “Damn,” Darnold sighs. “That sucked.”

Tommy cracks open the Fanta, relieved by the orange flavor washing out the literal garbage fire-tasting syrup from his mouth. “Ugh.” He wipes his lips. “That was, um…”

“I’m sorry, Tommy.” Darnold places a hand on Tommy’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”

Physical contact with Darnold causes Tommy’s brain to short-circuit, but other than that he’s fine.

“Y-yeah,” Tommy says. “That was… fun, kind of.”

“Really?”

Tommy nods. “Next time, we’ll, uh… only one of us will try it.”

☆○☆○☆

When Tommy returns home, he expects to find the pavilion empty. After all, he’s been gone for hours now, and there’s no way whatever Bubby and Coomer were doing would last that long. And besides, there are better places to hang out than the Viewing Pool.

But, surprise! Bubby and Coomer are still there, and they’re not alone either. The Gods of Fire and Strength have been joined by the Gods of Chaos and Order, and all four of them have shit-eating grins on their face.

“Uh, hey,” Tommy waves, and Benrey begins snickering. “What’s, um… what’s so funny?”

“Tommy’s got a crush!” Bubby blurts out. Coomer elbows him.

Tommy goes rigid. “What…? W-were you guys watching me?!”

Apparently that’s enough confirmation for everyone else. Coomer pulls Tommy down into a headlock, Gordon begins grilling him for the specifics, Benrey starts cracking jokes, and Bubby is cackling.

Great. Perfect.

Curse this wonderful family!

#hlvrai #half life vr but the ai is self aware #sodashipping #tommy coolatta #darnold #my writing #i see la vie en rose #cult mention tw #hlvrai gods au

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