Characters belong to Hiro Mashima
"Families survive, one way or another. You have a tie, a connection that exists long after death, through many lifetimes."
- Jessica Lange
"I don't see why we have to help Warrod wash cars." Mavis glanced at Yuriy from where she sat in the passenger's seat, and shrugged one shoulder.
"Considering he saved your ass last week, I think you owe him one," she responded, grinning when he scowled.
"I had it handled."
"You did not. That guy was ready to pummel you into the ground, and you were so drunk you almost swung at Precht instead."
"Okay, okay, fine, I didn't have it under control. Just let me complain for once," Yuriy groaned, taking a hand off the wheel to shove at her shoulder. "And anyway," a mischievous smirk spread across his face, "why are you going?"
Mavis stared at him warily. "Because I am a great friend who always offers to help out?" Her voice rose toward the end, making her sound unsure of her own words, causing Yuriy to snicker.
"You're sure it has nothing to do with Warrod saying that Zeira would be helping out?" Mavis's silence only egged him on. "I can see it now; you'll accidentally spray her with water, oh, maybe even start a wet t-shirt con-"
"You're disgusting!" Mavis cried, cutting him off. She made a move as if to shove him, but seemed to think better of it and settled for turning away from him to face the window. Yuriy only hummed knowingly, and, try as she might, Mavis couldn't stop him from seeing the red that rose on her cheeks and ears.
A few minutes later they were pulling onto the lane leading to Warrod's parent's house. If house was the proper term for it. It was more of an estate in Mavis's eyes, complete with a pool, tennis courts, stables, and a six car garage, and she couldn't help but wonder what Warrod did to deserve the punishment of washing all of them.
"Why he lives in that shabby flat with Precht is beyond me," Yuriy muttered, eyeing the horses dotting the fields lining the lane.
Mavis shrugged again. "He just likes simple things."
Yuriy grumbled in reply and slowed the car to a halt. Mavis opened her door and jumped out, stretching her arms above her head with a squeak. At least it's a nice day, she thought, squinting at the sky. There wasn't a cloud in sight, and the temperature was hot, but not sweltering, and they could easily cool down once the hoses were running.
Zeira and Precht were standing in front of the barn, each holding an armful of supplies and squabbling with each other.
"I can't believe you talked Warrod into grilling burgers! We already agreed on pizza, and I've been looking forward to it all week," Zeira fumed, glaring at Precht, who shrugged nonchalantly.
"Spending a hot summer day washing cars with friends calls for grill food." He grinned when Zeira rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Besides, Warrod's a great cook, and his burgers are way better than takeout pizza."
"We were going to order from Agrioli's!"
"What?" Yuriy stopped walking, causing Mavis to run into him. She rubbed her nose and stepped around him warily. "We were going to get pizza from Agrioli's and you voted for burgers?" he asked incredulously.
Mavis offered her arms to Precht, who handed her a bucket full of towels. "I'm all for burgers," she mused. "Agrioli's doesn't sit well with me."
"Just because you embarrassed yourself in front of that delivery guy-" Yuriy began. Mavis stared at him with wide eyes, shaking her head furiously and trying to gesture discreetly toward Zeira. She was saved face, however, by the arrival of Warrod, who pulled up in the first of the cars to be washed.
As Yuriy and Precht met him and began to argue over dinner choices, Zeira turned to Mavis with a wry smile. "Maybe we can just take a car and go get Agrioli's ourselves."
"I'd rather eat some of Warrod's burgers, to be honest," Mavis admitted.
Zeira inhaled sharply and looked at Mavis with false hurt. "I'm wounded!" she declared. "How anyone could ever choose cheeseburgers over the delicious, brick oven, homemade pizza of Agrioli's?" She looked at Mavis expectantly, but was let down with her reply.
"You can talk Agrioli's up as much as you want, I'm not going to turn the majority," Mavis deadpanned. "Have you ever had Warrod's burgers before?" Zeira shook her head. "Well," Mavis grinned, "then that explains why you'd vote against them. Just wait until later tonight and get back to me with your opinion."
"Hey, Mave!" Warrod greeted cheerfully as he walked over, Yuriy and Precht shooting glares at each other behind him. "I've got a new joke for you." He grinned mischieviously, and Mavis groaned.
"Please don't-"
"Why did Mozart kill all his chickens?"
"I really-"
"Why did Mozart kill all his chickens?"
Mavis sighed with resignation. "I don't know, why did he kill all of his chickens?"
"Because when he asked them who the best composer was, they'd all say 'Bach'!" Warrod grinned brightly, waiting for her reaction. Silence settled over them and even Yuriy and Precht stopped quarrelling to stare at him. Zeira sighed and picked up her buckets of supplies, leaving them and walking over to the car.
Mavis looked at Warrod blankly before muttering, "That was awful," and following Zeira over to the car. Warrod's laughter echoed off the barn and the garage as he grabbed a hose and began spraying down the car.
Halfway into the car washing had Mavis drenched (courtesy of Yuriy), Zeira missing a sandal (they were certain it got washed into one of the horse pastures), and Warrod and Yuriy shirtless (they complained about the cloth sticking to their skin once it got wet). The only one who was relatively dry (as dry as one could get after washing three cars) was Precht. He glared at anyone who got too close to him with a hose or sponge, and grumpily pointed at the patch covering his eye.
"It's acting up and I don't think the doctor will be too happy if it gets wet," he told them snidely. "Besides, who knows what in that dirty sponge water. You could give me an infection and I already went through enough trauma with this."
So Precht remained dry.
Yuriy was fixing to end that.
"You heard what he said," Mavis pointed out. They were sitting in the shade of the barn, and maybe sitting near a place full of manure on a hot day wasn't the brightest idea, but the garage was too far away and the hoses ran from the stables. She twisted open a bottle of water and took a swallow before continuing. "Just let it go."
"I can't just let it go," Yuriy said from where he sat at the corner of the barn, holding the hose and peering around the corner, waiting for Precht and Warrod to return with more drinks. "The asshole deserves this!" He offered no explanation as to why Precht deserved to get soaked, but neither Mavis or Zeira decided to pursue the argument.
"Is he always like this?" Zeira asked, watching him grumble to himself with an amused smile on her face.
"Unfortunately," Mavis sighed. She offered the bottle of water to Zeira, who took it gratefully.
They were interrupted by a triumphant "aha!" from Yuriy. He had jumped up from his sitting position and held the hose out in front of him. Precht and Warrod were frozen in place, eyeing the hose warily. Looking from Precht to Yuriy, Warrod carefully edged out of the line of fire.
"Yuriy Dreyar, don't you dare point that hose at me," Precht seethed, narrowing his good eye.
"Say your prayers, Gaebolg."
"Yuriy, I swear to god-"
Whatever Precht had been about to say was drowned out as Yuriy hit him square on the chest. Yuriy, for all he was, was kind enough to aim for the chest down, carefully avoiding Precht's bandaged eye.
When Yuriy decided he'd had enough, Precht stood dripping wet from the shoulders down. He locked eyes with Yuriy and the latter began to feel the first stages of regret.
"Run," Precht whispered.
The other three watched as Precht chased Yuriy around the cars, through the garage, all the way over to the house ("'Scuse me!" Yuriy shouted as he jumped over Warrod's mother, who was working in her garden), until he was finally cornered at the far side of the barn. Precht picked up the discarded hose and aimed for Yuriy's face, an impassive look on his face. Yuriy shouted for mercy and curled into a ball against the barn, but his attacker didn't let up until he was satisfied.
"He deserved that," Zeira observed, taking a chip from the bag Warrod had brought with him. Her companions nodded in agreement, and Mavis felt a bit of satisfaction at Yuriy's now waterlogged state, considering he was responsible for her own soaking.
"He's going to complain the entire car ride home, though."
"Hey, Warrod," Mavis said suddenly, looking up from where she was setting plates and napkins on the picnic table. The last car has finally been dried, and Precht was finishing pulling them all back into the garage while the rest of them set up for their cook out.
"Hm?" The grilled clicked a few times and flames began to lick up through the slats as Warrod turned it on.
"What did you do that made your parents tell you to wash all the cars?"
"Yeah, anyway," Yuriy said from where he sat on the retaining wall. "You never told us, you just said to be here."
Warrod looked over at Zeira, who was sliding the screen door shut as she brought the food out. They share a look and Warrod grinned sheepishly.
"I called a visiting politician out on his sleazy sexism. My parents were hosting the party, so of course, as the hosts, they were mortified. They were just happy that the press didn't hear it," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"My knight in shining armor," Zeira cooed from across the patio as she set the tray of food on the table.
Mavis choked on the soda she was drinking. "Some politician came on to you?" she stuttered. Zeira sat in the chair next to her and began dabbing at the front of Mavis's shirt with a concerned expression, while the other girl did her best to not turn as red as one of the tomatoes on the plate Zeira brought out.
"Yeah, but it's not like I'm not used to it," she said offhandedly. "I've grown up around sleazy politicians, I would've been fine, even if Warrod hadn't stepped in." She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.
"You shouldn't have to deal with that," Warrod muttered, aggressively pressing a burger to the grate of the grill.
"Deal with what?" Precht asked as he walked onto the patio, shoving Yuriy off the wall in the process. He ignored Yuriy's indignant yelps and took a seat across from the girls.
"Politicians," Mavis spat the same time Zeira said "Nothing."
"I met some politicians while I was on tour," Precht commented, tilting his chair back. "Some of them were okay, but it's a shame not everyone can be like your parents, Warrod."
"They still made me write an apology letter to that ass, so I wouldn't say they're that great," Warrod grumbled. He flipped the last of the burgers onto the plate next to the grill and turned around with a grin, grabbing a different plate in the process. "But enough about that! Food's ready!"
Mavis nudged Zeira excitedly. "Prepare to eat the best burger of your life! They're way better than anything Agrioli's could cook up." Zeira still looked skeptical, but smiled at Mavis as they all eagerly waited for Warrod to set the plate down.
"Dinner," Warrod said, sliding the plate onto the table with a flourish, "is served!"
None of his friends made a sound as they stared at the plate. Precht broke the silence first.
"Warrod, what is this?"
"Dinner."
"It's charcoal," Zeira frowned.
"Dammit, I'm hungry, Warrod! This isn't the time for stupid jokes that aren't even jokes," Yuriy groaned.
"I don't see how these are the best burgers I'll ever eat," Zeira snickered, turning to Mavis.
"Warrod, I'm trying to convince Zeira your cooking is better than Agrioli's food!" Mavis whined, poking his arm. "Get the real food before she steals one of your cars and gets takeout."
Warrod laughed and took the plate of charcoal away and returned with the plate of burgers. Dinner passed relatively calmly (there was an incident when Yuriy refused to pass Precht the ketchup), and Mavis crowed with delight when she got Zeira to admit that Warrod's grilling skills were superb ("I guess it's on par with Agrioli's," she had grudgingly admitted.)
They gathered around the fire pit in the yard, watching Yuriy and Precht attempt to work together in order to start the fire. Zeira leaned her head on Mavis's shoulder as Warrod stood up to intervene and try to help the other two with the fire. Mavis only startled a little, and was thankful for the growing darkness that hid her blush.
"I have to go shopping for my aunt's baby shower tomorrow," Zeira murmured. "Warrod was supposed to come with, but he's busy with some business for his parents." She picked her head up and studied Mavis's face. "Want to come?"
"Sure," Mavis squeaked, hoping the crack in her voice wasn't too noticeable. Judging by the way Zeira's lips quirked, she noticed. Zeira hummed contently and settled back on her elbows, cheering for the boys as fire sprang up around the wood.
The day grew darker and the night grew cool and crisp, and none of them took note of the moon climbing higher in the sky. The frogs and crickets worked together in harmony, and it felt as if the world had stopped for a moment and was content to let them be together in the warmth of the fire.
A/N: So this will end up being a collection of drabbles about the first gen in a modern au. The drabbles themselves may not be related to each other, but, unless specified otherwise, are all in the same universe and share characteristics.
If you feel like discussing the first gen's different occupations/situations in my modern au, feel free to pop in over at my tumblr!
(or if you just want to talk about the first gen at all lol)
vermilioun . tumblr . com
comment, review, asks questions, just let me know what you thought!