Legal Disclaimer: My work is my own creative intelligence and property, but I do not own the original source material it stems from (I wouldn't be writing fanfiction if it was). The opinions and interpretations of characters reflected in my stories may not follow what is portrayed from the source material. Please don't sue me, I'm a stay at home mom.
Competition/Challenge Block
Written for/Stacked with: Monthly Challenges for All (Year 4)
MC4A: Su Bingo (5A - Quarry); AU Bingo (3A - Far Future); Fa Bingo (1B - Yellow); Settings Bingo (3B - Bathroom); Hangman (E); Link (Anchor); Garden (Duties - Kissing); Ship War ([Chaotic Vines] Su Micro 2 - Yellow); Fireworks (Summer Fun); Chimera (Hugging; Protection; "Your Arms Feel Like Home" by 3 Doors Down; Cerulean); ICs (Short Jog (Y); Bucket Listing (Y); Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Neurodivergent x2 (Yx2); Rian-Russo Inversion (Y); Lovely Triangle (Y); Ship Sails (Y); Zed Era (Y); LEO MC; Magical MC x2 (Yx1); Extraterrestrial MC x2; Green Acres (Y); Old Shoes (Y); Marvelous Cinema; Go Fluff Yourself (Y); Colors Galore (Y)); BCs ([Primary] LL (Corvid Brain); NC (Rock of Ages; Most Human Beans); SIN (For the Vine); StL (Three's Company; Car in a Tutu); ToS (Unwanted Advice; Spinning Plates); BAON (Nontraditional; Found Family); FPC (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still); [Secondary] MLG (Turtle-Duck); AV (Creature Feature); ER (Unicorn); Shower (Tomorrow's Shade); Fence (Peddling Pots; Machismo; Fizzy Lemonade); [Tertiary] O3 (Oath); FR (Satisfaction); LiCK (Yarrow; Narcissus); T3 (Thimble); [Generic] Mea (Rampant)); (FPC; BAON; ToS; StL; SIN; NC; LL; Star; Fence; Shower; ER; AV; MLG; T3; LiCK; FR; O3; Mea)
Author's Note: This came to me in a dream the other day with the weird thought of: "Bathing in a glass bathtub would be interesting... you could see like... everything." Then my mind just took that and ran so far away with it. I love Laguna Beach myself, so I self-indulged a little bit here and plopped them there because why not? :3
Anyway, enjoy the fluff.
Word Count: 1,149
Fishbowls and Stone Tubs
It wasn't the most luxurious house on the beach strip, but it was enough for them. Staying inconspicuous seemed like the safest way to go considering they technically shouldn't even exist anymore even if no one was most likely looking for them. But none of that mattered to the three strange outcasts who moved into the not-so-quiet city of Laguna Beach. What was important to them was it needed a view and easy access to the water. This quaint little home tucked off the main drag and tourist trap provided them just that.
A little piece of paradise.
There was enough room for them to make it cozy but comfortable. The biggest and most intricate part of the house was the wall-to-wall window door hybrid that opened up the kitchen and living room to the small balcony facing the water, it really helped give it the illusion of it being more spacious than it was. They quickly put their own touch on the house the second they were able to as well, of course.
One of those things was renovating the ensuite and converting the second bedroom into a massive walk-in closet to accommodate three different wardrobes (not like that didn't stop anyone from stealing another's clothes, however). The former task became a problem, however, between Loki and Sylvie on what sort of bathtub should be put in. Mobius stayed completely out of any and all creative choices when it came to interior decorating to avoid showing any inkling of favouritism between them. He did notice that they avoided very specific color palettes, much to his silent relief. The emerald greens, gold, sandy and cream yellows, and cerulean blues blended surprisingly well against the stark white walls and the backdrop of the ocean. The furnishings were a light cream on silver metal frames, making everything look really modern yet simplistic at the same time. The photographs were all abstract and offered other pops of color in the bare spots of wall, and light grey and white rugs accented the dark sleet grey faux wood tile floors that lined the entire houses' footprint.
Unfortunately, the bathroom was the only thing that they couldn't agree on, and Mobius soon found himself dragged into the equation.
"Mobius, could you come and look at this?" Loki asked one day, disturbing the ex-agent's morning coffee.
Mobius sighed into his mug and abandoned it on the desk with the paper to follow Loki into the bedroom where they joined Sylvie giggling like a schoolgirl in the ensuite. Loki made an annoyed gesture before leaning into the doorframe and folding his arms together. Mobius stood in the door, resting his hands on his hips.
He wasn't quite sure what he was looking at as he stared into the remodeled bathroom. There was a large glass orb nestled in the corner of where the walk-in shower and old tub used to be with an opening in the side (It was a shame they got rid of it, but the second bathroom had just a walk-in shower in it, too. They complained that two showers weren't needed and took up valuable tub space.). It appeared to be free-floating at first glance, but the large, sleek metal base underneath and above it seemed to be what held it in place and where the drain and faucet fed through. Mobius raised his brows at it, tilting his head some as he tried to make sense of it.
"It's uh… it's a giant fishbowl…?" he said slowly, uncertainly, and immediately regretted saying the first thing that came to his mind.
Loki snorted with laughter at the comment and Sylvie half-glared at them.
"It's a bathtub."
"It's atrocious," Loki snapped back. "Even Mobius said so!"
Mobius put his hands up in defense. "I said nothing like that."
"It's artistic!" Sylvie defended.
"I refuse to tolerate having to climb into this thing and bathe while I feel like some bizarre display piece," Loki continued as if Mobius hadn't said anything.
"Oh, come on, you know you'd like it," Sylvie taunted.
Mobius just shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. Loki flourished his hand then, transforming the odd glass orb into a very large, deeply shaped charcoal tub that looked like it was carved right out of stone. Loki looked quite proud of himself as he stared at Sylvie over Mobius challengingly. Mobius quirked a brow at this, wondering why, of all things, a bathtub just had to be so extravagant and cause such a headache of bickering. The answer slightly worried him.
"And now it's a rock the size of a quarry…" Mobius muttered.
"See? He doesn't like that, either," Sylvie was quick to say.
Loki rolled his eyes. Mobius just chewed his lip, wondering why they were pulling context that wasn't even there out of his words.
"Why not just put back the one that was in here?" Mobius suggested, scratching the back of his neck.
"Because it was utterly boring," Sylvie said, shaking her head.
"And it was too small," Loki added, sending a sly smirk Sylvie's way.
"Definitely lacked style, too," she added, folding her arms together and scrutinizing the stone bathtub.
"I'm going to just go finish my coffee and crossword puzzle now…" Mobius said, turning to flee as he spoke. "You two have fun!"
"But Moby," Sylvie said, a hint of a whimper in her tone.
Her arms slipped easily around his waistline, pulling him back and into her where her chin rested on his shoulder. Mobius stilled at hearing her little nickname she uses on him whenever she really wanted something. Damn her.
"Imagine how amazing it would be, bathing while completely surrounded by glass for all to see. Or…" she whispered suggestively, turning her lips just a bit closer to his ear. "Observing another while they're bathing, perhaps? Would be quite fascinating."
Mobius flushed at the heavy implications. Finding his hands on her wrists, he attempted to pull them off only for Loki to come in from his side, wrapping his own arms around Mobius' chest and around Sylvie's waist, locking them under an armpit, pinning Sylvie to them.
"Better yet, why not have enough space for everyone to enjoy at once?" Loki uttered in Mobius' other ear, voice as smooth as silk. "Comfort and convenience all in one without the risk of injury."
He felt very warm under the collar of his button-up shirt, but he proceeded to gruffly clear his throat and somehow, by sheer miracle, unweave his body from between them. However, he refused to fall into their little trap of trying to trick him into admitting a favorite. He will never allow that to happen. Ever.
"I'm sure you two will uh… find a compromise," Mobius stammered out before scrambling from the bathroom. "I'm going to go take a walk."
Those two were going to be the death of him...