style_bringer | You change when you get in that van.

You change when you get in that van.

[Fortuna was off-limits as far as vacations went. Aside from it being the source of some of Nero's worst memories, it was in utter disrepair, only accessible through small boats. London? Still intact, even aside from the catastrophes he and Lucina averted. There were plenty of boroughs that hadn't fallen prey to demons but he doubted small family parks wouldn't be interesting enough when it came to people that spent a great deal of their time in a breathtaking, gorgeous country-side and idyllic ivory castle.

Their introduction to his garage was anything but impressive, greeted by Nico who had thrown a demon's corpse on a tarp only to be caught hacking through it when everyone made their way through the portal. So, Lucina's family had been seated in various parts of the living room while Nero set about to making several pots of coffee. Coffee, breakfast, then plans for the day. That was what they agreed on.

Nico, washing her hands in the sink he used to wash vegetables, grinned at him cruelly as he set aside a lot of mugs and started ripping open packs of coffee grounds. He kept reminding himself that it was going to be one of the happiest days of his life just to know he had everything he needed to keep Ylisse and Earth connected on his own, guaranteeing he and Lucina would never lose one another that same way--but it fell short when Nico bumped his shoulder and chuckled to get him riled up.]

Good thing you got nothing but mugs instead of glassware like a normal fella.

Can it.

Pretty handy that you're gettin' paid in groceries too, huh?

Go to hell, Nico!

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[though Lucina's eyes brighten with delight at the notion of new upgrades to the sculpture, she keeps mum on it as she hears her parents striding up beside them.

'We're gonna stick out like sore thumbs the whole time, huh?' Sully muses, hands on her hips as she looks around at the street.

'Unless we don the local style of attire,' Chrom says, gesturing toward some folks waiting at the crosswalk.

'I dunno...some of those shoes look impossible.'

Lucina stifles a want to laugh, hearing familiar tones to when she went shopping with her mother back in Ylisstol.]

[Nonchalant as he might have seemed(for once), Nero was putting his all into searching every nook and cranny of those storefronts for something interesting to grab their attention... yet, the novelty of being somewhere new would likely have been enough.

He'd listened to Sully and Chrom with a growing smile before crossing his arms and tilting his chin down the street.]

C'mon, at least you both look classy. I woulda worn a suit but I wasn't sure if my clothes woulda made it the first time the gate actually opened--

[Before he could dwell any longer on that, he stopped and lifted a hand to point at a store display. A floral scent carried out, numerous mannequins on display. Modern fashion and... a set of golf clubs. Table-top gaming sets. For the life of him, it was a regular outlet store and not a thrift store for once.]

I wanna pick up a pack of gum but it couldn't hurt to take a look and see if you like anything on display? [Strangely, he was making an effort to avoid glancing at a sign close to the door that read 'Family Portraits'. Just casually... he needed to make sure that appointment was still on.]

[Lucina is quick to jump in, lest the others be too reluctant to commit:] You should see! There's so much! And so different! It's not all tailor-made, instead made in immense bulk and in so many different colors and patterns.

[she'll squeeze in-between them and take a hand each to pull them along, following Nero.]

You can get things tailored, but that's not how most people do it here. People work around it themselves in different ways, and it can be so creative! [or so heinous. but she loves both outcomes, so it's hardly a bother.]

Uh.

[When he turned to glance back their way, he couldn't help but notice Lucina dragging Chrom and Sully along in their bewilderment with excited confidence and, admittedly, an intimidating sort of decisiveness he couldn't quite imagine anyone imitating.

To his soon-to-be father and mother-in-laws, Lucina was a compelling show of force. Maybe that would make the picture go more smoothly...?]

Oh, yeah. I'm not really into all those chic styles they dress mannequins up in but if it's in front of a window then it's pretty popular? [The question lingering on his voice drifted along as he murmured something to the cashier and slid over a pack of gum. Dante might have employed some smooth story to distract everyone smoothly but the best he could manage was a stern glare in that guy's direction before he muttered his name to him.]

[somehow, Chrom is able to find himself free of Lucina's clutches; she needs a free hand to grasp at a particularly egregious dress pattern while the other one hangs onto Sully to keep her upright in spite of psychic aesthetic damage. the exalt backsteps closer toward Nero, though his eyes remain on the girls.

"She's really taken to things here, hasn't she?" his tone is quiet, just for Nero's ears. "Delighting in it. Without treating herself like an imposition."

unlike back home, where that shadow of being a temporal stranger still looms behind her no matter how many times Chrom has tried to push it back, insistent on proving her worth and value in being there herself as she is.

"She's...happy, right?" and hopefully not apologetic about it, the way she sometimes was. she seems that way right now, a laugh in her voice as she reassures Sully that yes some of these come in just plain colors.]

[Nero wasn't quite the type to break into a cold sweat and yet that moment of isolation between the men and the women was something that drew him dreadfully close to that feeling. It was the first step that he hadn't noticed but the next that had him close enough to whisper that was more than enough to remind him that Chrom was Lucina's father in a more concrete way than the usual.

It wasn't a forceful tone at all but something laced in concern that made him take it so much more seriously. At first, he'd opened his mouth to answer quickly.]

Oh, yeah, she's been... [It only took a moment for him to peek over his shoulder to Lucina right as he could see her putting her mother's love to good use in keeping her still for a stunningly jubilant test of patience and... the flexibility of color choice. He swallowed the next word that came out and answered simply. It wasn't likely the exact thing Chrom hoped to hear but it had to have been the most hopeful.]

...Excited. She likes talking about what we'll do tomorrow and the day after that. [Pulling open the tab to slide out a piece of gum, he offered Chrom one--right before unfolding one of his own. Right before he popped that piece in his mouth, he stopped himself. There was an important detail.] You don't eat it--just chew it.

[in all fairness, all that timey-wimey shit really blurred the conception of parent and child in their respects; Chrom looks more like an older brother to her, given their narrow gap in age, and Sully more a friend than family at a glance. it'd probably be weird to any passers-by to hear Lucina utter 'mother' or 'father' at either of them, especially with her own casual sincerity and lack of awareness of optics about it.

that won't change how they've determined to see each other, though, and Chrom may still be raising a toddler in Ylisse, but he's linked that little life to the one he's watched scrape and salvage a future for herself in a time she wasn't born for.

hence part of his misgivings about losing her: she had worked so hard to save the echo of what she'd lost, but did she truly not feel like she belonged? was he not assuring enough? was he a bad father?

inklings of those troubles are interrupted by the offering, prompting a double-take before a mumbled thanks and acceptance. instead of eating it right away, Chrom just holds onto the piece, his eyes back on those girls he adores.

excited...for tomorrow. not dreading the next step in war or recovery. not skirting away from attention when the littler Lucina was up and attem.

"And she...knew about this place the whole time? Or at least back before Grima."

why could she not have fled here and spared herself the war in his own time?]

[It wasn't that Lucina had been an easy person to understand but he'd known her for so long that there were bits and pieces of her that seemed so natural for him to read that he simply couldn't misinterpret them. In Chrom, there were a few of those pieces and, where things were missing, he felt inclined to assume the rest were from Sully everyone she'd fought alongside. There was a silent intensity about the way Chrom looked to his daughter and wife that couldn't be mistaken.

That was more than enough to help him think through an answer that he hoped would at least make him feel better about whatever was digging under his skin. From the depths of his chest, he sighed and offered something rather plain.]

Yeah, course... we talked about kids' stuff. I used to fantasize about finding a way to meet her and becoming a knight like Credo.

[Or so he'd promised to the broken shards of that mirror. Touching his chin, he'd scratched at his cheek and squinted a bit as he'd watched Lucina grab another item from the rack that gave Sully pause. Ah. It was more than enough to wrestle a grin from him just to see her that happy without any hope of complication.]

She liked me talking about the books I collected but... I was pretty awful about explaining what was going on in them. Not the strongest story-teller, as you can tell, but I think she was excited because I was.

[it's a relief to hear there was some hope spot in those darker years; Chrom can't help but feel he owes Nero for that - being present for when he couldn't be. or at least, when future-past him couldn't.

...it's confusing.

"I don't think I've seen her this excited in such a long time. Even with the reconstruction efforts and the joy of being able to rehome people..."

obviously this is different: it's personal! it's a happiness just for her, not shared with anyone else - even herself.

Chrom, still not having done a damn thing with that stick of gum, smiles lopsidedly down at Nero - giving very much pleasant dog energy.

"And I owe that to you, it seems." not that Sully would ever cough that up so soon, so of course it's up to Chrom.]

[Nero spent a lot of time trying to think of ways to keep Lucina interested in his world but there were parts of it that couldn't make up for her family and her efforts. He wasn't sure if she'd be happy to hear how much work he'd taken on just to give Nico the stuff she needed to keep their half of the portal open for as long as one feasibly could but...

He wanted to be irritated with Chrom's insistent kindness and act like he had something stuck in his craw after he'd been so direct and heartfelt with him but it was downright impossible. Nero's lips thinned unhappily in his failed efforts.]

Listen. You're family. [Though he wanted to tiptoe around Sully, Chrom was another story entirely. He could see in Lucina where those puppy dog eyes came from and he meant to make sure they'd always be bright and sunny and her suspiciously young father wasn't getting off lightly.

Evidently, it needed to be repeated almost hourly that Nero would bend over backwards for her.]

You don't owe me anything, so... you need something? All you gotta do is ask.

[automatically, as though pre-scripted: "Likewise, naturally."

Nero just narrowly evades one of those chummy, dadlike shoulder-thumps thanks to the girls returning - Lucina still bright-eyed but with a tinge of apology in her smile, Sully still...Sully. but her daughter's delight naturally softens her edges, even if she'll still puff right back up and prickle if she were to catch anyone look even remotely endeared by it right now.]

It's a little like before - when you showed me this place first? What'd you call it? "Choice paralysis," or something?

[Sully points out that she's not paralyzed, just...not interested in having to go through that whole fitting-room dance that is apparently the norm with this system. this is why tailors matter, people!]

[Rapid-fire, Nero found himself blinking rapidly when Lucina led Sully back to them, their pack reforming in short order. His eyes were a little glassy, fixed on Lucina's eyes as if understanding that glancing to her right would have ended poorly.

Especially given her choice of words.]

Oh, yeah, that's normal. There's a lot to pick from, huh?

[There was strain in that smile of his, as if he were teetering right beside the open mouth of a chasm and Sully were the one poised behind him. It was a test. Would this be the first purchase of the day or...?] Did you... find anything you wanted to ring up?

[Sully says no just as Lucina says] Yes!

[she hands over a scarf with a garish patterning and color combination while Sully licks her tongue against her teeth.]

It's simple enough and easy to carry along with you back to Ylisse! Maybe it'll inspire artisans there.

[Sully prays not, but she nods anyway, accepting her fate.]

[The sobering clash between Sully, Lucina, and the scarf left him briefly stunned. When all hands were drawn, Lucina's enthusiasm was destined to win out and, whether it was wisdom or luck, Nero knew not to meet Sully's eyes once the scarf was laid in his waiting hands. Instead, he weighed the scarf in his hand and half-turned to the register.]

Portability isn't a big issue since the gate is pretty wide now.

[Believe it or not, he'd been trying to temper things down as he was convinced there was a way to settle Sully's nerves and let Lucina do what she'd liked to treat her mother. As the cashier snapped the code on the scarf, Nero swiped his card and made it a deal.]

You can put together an outfit, right? Might take a couple of stores.

["Is the plan to saddle us up with a buncha stuff to haul back to Ylisse?" Sully asks, eyebrow cocked, her attention splitting between the transaction and Nero himself. what happened. where are the coins. how the fuck does this country work.

Lucina takes the now-bagged scarf, keen to carry it along lest it somehow get lost along the way.]

Only if you like them. [like this scarf!! obviously.] Only if...if they'll make you remember this place fondly.

[because she'd like that. she'd like them to walk away from this city, this world, and feel like she's chosen well. that they can trust her to have made the right call. their disapproval wouldn't make her change her mind, but...but having their approval and being able to go back and know that their daughter is fine is...it means a lot.

Chrom smiles affably, offsetting his wife's natural reservations. "I think it's worth looking around. We're at your mercy, after all."]

[Blinking rapidly, Nero tried to put together why using his scruffy-looking debit card earned such a stern look from Sully only to have Lucina spare them both that brief rigamarole of explaining the internet. He wanted to avoid that chat at all costs, really, especially given how he barely understood how television signals worked.

What he'd noticed, per the usual, had been that Chrom and Sully were truly and utterly held at the whim of their affection for their daughter. The thought alone made his throat tight.]

Hey, it's gotta be fun to be tourists once in a while. [Though, as they left the store and Nero shoved his mysterious wallet back in his pocket, he was quick to grin.]

Besides, you guys are gonna love the sporting goods store.

[introducing these two to gun hunting might be the worst idea, but thankfully...this is London. that's not happening today. everyone can relax, no yees will be hawed.

Chrom offers a lighthearted concession: "It's not often we get to travel somewhere when it's not for diplomacy or to clear out bandits...so I guess we're just rusty in this regard."

"Who's rusty?!" Sully scoffs, indignant, snatching the bagged item to carry herself, starting to stomp ahead to almost outpace Nero...before slowing so he can be first. she has no fucking idea where she's going, also she might walk into traffic if she does that.

Lucina smothers a laugh, having had to sidle up against Nero to get out of her mother's way, and is content to hang onto his arm for a bit longer while the pace is reset.]

A Shepherd's work is never done...except when they're suddenly on vacation? Or...or would it be better to call it a scouting mission? [her smile is a sheepish wince when Sully makes a face.] Right. Maybe that's patronizing...

Mmmm. [Nero made a little noise, trying to choose between calling out to Sully and retreating back to Lucina to beg her to. Thankfully, Sully wasn't in a sprint as it would have been difficult and awkward to stomp and make a run for it at the same time given that the point was probably to make everyone well aware that she was annoyed rather than tripping at first notice.

He deflated the instant Lucina leaned up against him as if all his nerves had escaped at the same time, not at all hesitating to pull her in closer with a bleak look on his face.]

Maybe it is but... it's pretty jarring seeing it from somebody else. [Having no idea how much he'd mirrored Chrom in the moment, Nero hung his head and made every effort to spare the occasional glance to his future mother-in-law to be sure she wasn't going to stomp on any niche deco public art piece or something that looked deceptively like local infrastructure.]

I was new to this once too, y'know? Fortuna was big and lavish but there weren't any pubs or movie theaters. Didn't have a clue what to do with myself for weeks when I first got here.

[Lucina's smile softens, thinking briefly of some of the lengthy talk she and Nero shared getting each other up to speed on all that had changed since their link between mirrors had vanished. he downplayed the culture shock...except when it felt right to him to downplay himself with culture shock; Lucina imagines the truth lay somewhere in-between those two points, neither of which could refute how jarring going from one sense of space to another could be.

it's easier for her to think that now, having done so herself, naturally.

she's obliged to think on that only briefly because Sully remarking about all the "little blocks folks're touting" makes her double-take in confusion.]

Oh--the phones? It's like the one Nero has. Most people have them. [...] Ah...they're...probably taking pictures of us? Given your attire... [quickly:] But that's not strange! Even the local guards of this city get their pictures taken a lot! People like to do that. You needn't pay heed if you don't want to.

[speaking of pictures--]

[Part of him expected her parents to fixate on the phones a little differently. Was he simply spoiled by Lucina's sense of adventure and starry-eyed love for learning things? Chrom's borderline polite bewilderment was easily undercut by Sully's inclination to defy wonder and make a beeline to outright irritation.

Really. His brows scrunched together, almost annoyed that he even expected something else from them. Nico might have teased him if she'd gotten a whiff of it--that he was still thinking up reasons to explain why he loved Lucina so damned much. The teasing he wasn't even hearing out loud was making his brow twitch in frustration.

Realizing he'd been staring pretty intensely ahead, Nero straightened his back and cleared his throat. He mumbled a little closer to Lucina's ear.]

Oh, hey. Put any thought into getting them a phone? If they make that portal work, Nico said it might actually carry.

Wait, truly? [Lucina's eyes go big, turning her head to gaze up at him, as though he were the inventor of phones outright.] Do you think that kind of technology would, ah, play nice? With being so far away from...other technology?

...Could it be charged by magic spells?

[queue up the montages of Laurent exploding phones and toasters with lightning spells.]

[As ever, the moment she gave him that wide eyed look as if all the hope in the world was shining behind them, and he felt ambitious enough to make fashionably stupid promises.

Except, the moment he opened his mouth to speak, he had to give pause. The mental image of him grabbing the Overture and pointing it at his phone made him reconsider.]

Y--!!

... Wait. Uh. We should probably have Laurent and Nico give that a shot, right? On second thought, it might take a delicate touch.

[Lucina nods, mouth twitching at a corner.] With...samples that nobody would feel bad about losing, yes. Yes, but--but if it can work... [she still seems quite jazzed about the prospects, unable to keep a straight face.] ...then the distance really wouldn't be so great after all. It'd be amazing.

[from separation of worlds between glass long ago to little devices that can be carried beyond a single room... would they really be so lucky? would she? Lucina can't help but feel like she's been pressing her luck with all these good things, but then...then she doesn't mind being proven wrong.

she means to say something more, but is stopped suddenly by a hand on her shoulder and Sully pokes her head between them.

"What's amazing? What're we standing around for?"]

What? Oh, nothing! [It was enough to say that the light shimmering in Lucina's eyes had been distracting enough to make him overconfident that he could push and push their genius friends to get the near-impossible done for the holidays.

It was even more than that, given how unprepared he was for a single question from Sully and just how she'd snuck right up on them.]

Uh. Nothing's amazing. I mean--[Clearing his throat, he just flat out gave up on trying to finish whatever thought he'd conjured up and darted behind Lucina and Sully so he could put his hands on their shoulders and start pushing them towards the center of the pavilion and towards a nice-looking antique store.]

--How bout here? We all... love antiques, right? How old and... useful they are??

[Sully: "You mean a bunch of old junk?"

Chrom: "Heirlooms?"

Lucina's mouth twitches on one end, letting herself be conveyed inside, keeping her arm looped through her mother's so she can't outright flinch away from Nero's unsolicited touch. Chrom follows behind dutifully, albeit distractedly (there's no sparring grounds or anything anywhere in this realm, huh? that's a shame, he thinks).

some minutes in the meandering of old phones and jewelry and tchotchkes:

Chrom: "This city certainly seems quite wealthy, to have such surplus..."

Sully: "That's a very nice way to say 'there's an awful lot of junk here.'" she picks up an old wired phone receiver...and lets it plunk back unceremoniously back onto its base. after a beat, she offers: "But the people aren't wanting for much. Which is a good sign. It's the kind of thing you hope for."

it's just a little boring for a knight - a similar issue she has with peacetime in Ylisse...but at least there, she gets to chase down and beat up ruffians and bandits, you know? being a well-behaved tourist is hard.

while trying on an old sunhat:] The land isn't without it's troubles, but...yes. There are quite a lot of unique inventions and fashions, right? Imagine if our land's tailors and artisans had access to some of these wonderful patterns?

[Sully shudders.]

You change when you get in that van.

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not me losing this in my inbox 😭

DX screams i was so confident the bs was done

nauuurrrrrrrr...i wish better days for u

It got better with the holiday, tyyyy... Less coughing uu

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