Chapter Four: Unexpected Events

Note: Because sometimes you just want to write an entire chapter where V gets to let his hair down, feel appreciated, and genuinely smile from the inside out.

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On a few rare occasions in the day-to-day lives of any given individual, they will bear witness to genuine generosity in the form of a gift that they never asked for, and never would have imagined receiving. Those aspects generally differ from instance to instance, not always being about the cost of the money, In most respects, it is the thought behind the gift that causes the receiver to be so awestruck, but in some rare instances, it can end up being a perfect storm of several factors, ranging from expense and quantity, to thoughtfulness and genuine necessity.

This was one of those exceedingly special situations.

V had genuinely enjoyed the time that he had spent with Nero and Sirrus a short while ago when they had roamed the isles of the lavish furniture store that the red-haired Adjudicator had talked them into visiting. He had admittedly been skeptical about the prospect of going when he had minimal savings to actually purchase anything with. But upon realizing that the entire store had practically been basically built with his particular tastes in mind, he had been nothing but accommodating, even going back to browse the shelves and see the new display items from time to time.

Slowly but surely he had been planning what he wanted to purchase from the shop when he finally obtained the funds to do so. It was doable, if he used the term loosely enough. But he was absolutely convinced that basically everything that he had seen while within the confines of the store would be a perfect fit for his more modern take on a gothic victorian aesthetic. There were a few more vintage-styled items that he was certain he would need to actively search for, but that didn't mean that he hadn't found the majority of what he had been looking for inside of that store.

And that was why he had nearly died of a combination of confusion and utterly baffled shock when a delivery driver had come to his door that morning and knocked on it.

Unusual didn't quite cut it this time around. V was sitting on the plastic-covered couch that Magnolia had left in the house when she had gifted him the place, reveling in the comforting warmth that radiated from the fireplace. It was a chilly day, and supposedly it would storm later on that night. In truth, inclement weather had become the norm that year, the generally chilly region seemingly embracing the more gloomy side of things for the foreseeable future. Nothing had been the same since the Qliphoth had emerged from the depths of Redgrave City.

Griffon sat on the back of the couch, preening and generally making himself comfortable. It was always so quiet in this house, the gentle, barely audible sound of tires rolling along the streets outside being their only company in an otherwise completely silent house. The occasional creaking that came with the age of the floors in the home everpresent, but unless the fireplace was turned on like it was today, everything was almost eerily quiet. Anyone who passed by on the street probably thought that no one lived there.

"Be honest, V… you're planning to just sit there all day, ain'tcha? You're comfortable like you are, and you're just going to sit here and read all day and not go anywhere or do anything. Tell me I'm wrong." Griffon fluttered over to the window, nearly waking up Shadow who was laying on the bare bench where the bay window was a few feet away from them on the other side of the room. What little light was present provided her with an abundance of heat, and made for a great napping spot. Or, at least, what a creature composed of pure darkness would consider an abundance. Regardless, no one sat over there unless they were ready to willingly consent to a huge demonic panther sitting on them and nearly crushing them under her weight. V certainly wasn't going to try and stop her. He found it entertaining, if not somewhat endearing. Seeing his summons comfortable and happy brought him joy. It was a simple but effective equation.

"... You're not entirely incorrect. I am very comfortable. But I did have a few things I wanted to do around here today, if the weather held up." V took a sip of the tea he had been drinking, quietly grateful that he had managed to track down this specific variety. The Ludwig family had impeccable taste, there was no denying it. This specific box had been a lovely addition to his collection. "None of those activities involved leaving the house, however. You are correct in that assumption. I get the impression you feel cooped up? We can go somewhere soon. Perhaps a park?"

"Cooped up? That's an understatement. I think the walls are starting to close in on me, V. Won't be long now before I start speaking in tongues." Griffon said with a slightly sarcastic yet humorous edge to his statement. There was truth to his statement, however. He desperately wanted to leave the house. There wasn't exactly a lot to do here. V didn't even own a TV or any sort of music player. Nero had taken the emergency radio that they kept in the van with him when he had left the night that Sirrus had first arrived. And V would probably be apprehensive about using it since it was for emergencies, after all. Come to think of it, there was no phone here yet, either. He knew that V planned to acquire one, but he had yet to do so. Slowly but surely, V was inching into Neo-Luddite territory, even if that probably wasn't his intention.

"Forgive my introverted nature. I simply don't realize sometimes that you feel so strongly about some of the things that I do. Or in this case, that I don't do." V took another sip of his tea, placing the cup down. He looked around quietly, relaxing as he took in the dreary weather. As far as he was concerned, it was a beautiful day. Maybe he should go out into the garden? "I don't mean to keep you trapped here with me. I hope you understand that. But given the circumstances…"

"I know V. I know. You don't gotta tell me. Nothing you can do about it just yet. Hopefully soon though." Yes, of course he understood. That's why he wasn't pestering his young master over it. Either way, it was unfortunate. Being around this many other homes made it very easy to be spotted flying outside. At least he had free roam of the house. But he wanted to soar high into the air, past the visible range of prying eyes. It was simply his nature. And he knew that V would allow that in a heartbeat if he could, but right now, that wasn't wise. They would have to just wait out this situation a little bit longer. He would be fine.

Without warning, there was suddenly a knock at the front door. V and Griffon turned and looked over at the entryway, while Shadow raised her head lazily and yawned, letting out a bellowing roar. He could sense hesitance for a moment before whoever was at the front door knocked once again. Who could this be? No one came to his door, and he certainly didn't have mail that he needed to sign for.

Putting down the cup again after a final sip, he forced himself to get up, internally cursing himself for having to do so. He had been so very comfortable. Hopefully, this would be worth his time. V walked over to the door and unlocked it, barely opening it so that he could look out across the front porch. He then mentally chastised himself for failing to remember that there was a peephole a moment later when he realized that it was some sort of delivery person. Were they here to deliver something? He hadn't ordered anything. Perhaps they wanted to try and talk him into purchasing a service or item?

"Ah yes, good day sir. My name is Andrew. We're here with your delivery order. Do you already have spots designated for your items? We'd be happy to place them in the correct areas of your home." The man said pleasantly, his chipper attitude admittedly taking V off guard. Shadow was standing behind him, just out of the line of sight of the hapless middle-aged man. He had to gently ask her to stand down before recalling both her and Griffon to him, the mammalian demons returning to their tattooed forms. No need to risk anyone seeing them for the time being.

Being called "sir" wasn't something that V could say he was experienced with. In fact, it made him feel about ten years older just hearing himself referred to in such a manner. How strange this whole situation is. "My delivery? You may have the wrong address…"

The man leaned back and looked at the address plate that was mounted next to the door before leafing through the clipboard in his hands. He nodded to himself before turning the clipboard around and holding it out for V to read. "My apologies, but can I ask you to confirm that this isn't your address?"

V nodded, more than happy to oblige. He was certain that he hadn't ordered anything, especially not anything that would fit in a truck of this size. It was practically a semi! What in the nine circles of hell were they transporting, another type of vehicle? "That shouldn't be a problem. Let me see…"

Much to his shock and confusion, his name and address were present on the form. As it turned out, they were most certainly at the right address. But now something else made more sense. He hadn't placed this order. Sirrus had. And judging by the subtotal, he had either taken out an extraordinarily large loan for whatever was inside of that truck, had been given the best financing deal in recorded history, or was simply extravagantly wealthy. He genuinely wasn't sure what he believed. "Yes… everything is correct. It seems it was ordered by a friend of mine… what… what are you delivering?"

The man tucked the clipboard under his arm again and looked back to give a thumbs up to his team, seemingly signaling something to them. "This is a furniture delivery, sir. Quite a lot of it, actually. You must have an extremely generous friend, if you don't mind me saying. No one I know would do something like this. Are you sure they don't have a crush on you that you haven't noticed, or something like that? This is extraordinary!"

He shrugged. Who was to say? This was all a total surprise to him, if he was being completely honest with himself. A welcome one, to be sure, but a surprise nonetheless. What was it with the Ludwig family and giving simply unfathomably large gifts? Were they simply that wealthy? "I can't really say. This is admitly a shocking turn of events to me. I will need time to process this."

Pardon my asking, but is your name actually really just "V"? I found that aspect of the form pretty fascinating." Andrew said, clearly perplexed as he looked over the papers on the clipboard, marking off something with a pen that had been attached to it. "There isn't a last name listed, so I was simply curious. I've just never seen so little written in the address information area of one of our delivery forms."

"Yes, that would be correct. I grew up in an orphanage, and was never legally adopted, so my naming situation is… complicated to say the least." There was a part of him that hoped that his discomfort was evident. He knew that the man was probably just trying to break the ice with smalltalk, but he wasn't very good at it, and although he knew he meant no harm with his questions, V was still trying to process the gravity of the situation he had just found himself in. He'd be lying if he said that he wasn't somewhat excited by this turn of events. He most certainly was. But how on Earth could he accept a gift of this magnitude? What had pushed Sirrus to do something like this? Perhaps Andrew was closer to the mark with that statement about his companion's feelings toward him than he might have thought? And if that was the case…

"Forgive my asking. That wasn't my business." He was clearly sorry he'd brought it up. One the rare occasions that V mentioned being an orphan, that was the response he had become accustomed to receiving. But he was fine now. That was no longer the case. But this man hadn't come here to hear his entire life's story. "So, where did you want this furniture to go? Do you need a general breakdown of what we have for you today, or will this invoice suffice.? And for that matter, do you consent to this delivery?"

Nodding, he gave off a disbelieving sigh, realizing that somehow this preposterous situation was actually happening as he shook his head slightly in disbelief. This wasn't an elaborate dream. Sirrus had gone completely hatstand. And he was grateful for that. What a lovely, thoughtful, and costly gift. Between the Adjudicator and Magnolia, he could never repay that level of kindness. What on Earth was he going to do?

"Yes. On both accounts. It would be extraordinarily inconsiderate for me to refuse. I need to figure out where this would be going… " he took the paper that was handed to him by the delivery man and looked it over for a moment, quickly recognizing the names of several of these times. Had Sirrus actually paid attention to what he had been planning to purchase that closely? Because this was quite literally every time he had mentioned looking into adding to his home during their trip to the furniture boutique, and during the trip back. He had to have been planning this for at least a month.

He would have to call Sirrus and thank him for his extreme demonstration of hospitality and generosity. And to ask him how many screws he had loose to do something like this in the first place. But first, he would have to show the man where the furniture was going. No need to drag this on and have the storm roll in while he stood there on the porch with a baffled look on his face like a completely useless numpty.

"Right this way, please. Let me show you where you can put some of the items."

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This chapter was so fun to write today! OMG! Also, the test batch of books arrived today and I just- WOW! It's so strange to see something I've written in print form. It's a dream come true. I never thought I'd see the day…

You can see pictures of them on my Tumblr linked below! Let me know if you like them! I am super pleased with how beautiful they turned out!

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