Yes please, help him with removing this banana dinosaur from his person without making the dinosaur unhappy.
"Usually Kevin McCallister isn't helping the Wet Bandits," Steven says once he's on his feet, with deep amusement. "That said, I hope you have videos."
He's still grinning as he follows Hythlodaeus into the kitchen. "Right," he says. "Your books." He touches the top of one brown-paper wrapped parcel. "Your seeds." Another parcel. "Your honey and your herbs." Two more parcels. "Gardening products." Another parcel. "The souvenir for Hades." This is, in fact, a decorative crate made of balsa wood, with stencils of Dialga and Palkia on the side. On the lid there's a picture of Mount Coronet that rather resembles a travel poster and the words A GIFT FROM SINNOH... are written atop in a decorative fashion. "And finally, something I picked out just for you, since everything else was on request."
He picks up the final parcel and hands it to Hythlodaeus.
"I'm sure your popular culture references are very funny," he says, not maliciously. He kneels in front of the table as looks over the different items, organizing them.
He looks over the decorative crate. Hythlodaeus has absolutely no way to identify an airport souvenir and finds it nice all the same. "Oh, lovely! We have several baby Pokémon that should benefit from this wonderfully..."
He examines the gardening products, expression lighting up when he comes upon a berry growth formula. "Very good, Steven."
"Ah, very cute. They say you can understand much about a culture based on its pottery, and they would be right." He moves the planter to the counter by the sunnier, making mental notes about which seeds to use there.
"You brought me back nearly the entire shop, didn't you?" his smile is subtle enough to be genuine. "I hope you had a wonderful time on your holiday."
"They are utterly accurate," Steven says, "and it's a damn shame I can't show you Home Alone. It came out when I was ten years old and I laughed so hard I started coughing."
But he's quiet while he watches Hythlodaeus survey his presents and his own smile is as tiny and as true.
"Not the entire store," he admits. "But I do like giving people presents. Because they'll owe me, of course, and debt is its own form of control--" And it was a relief to just be able to say things like this to Hythlodaeus, to not have to dissemble about his more self-serving qualities. "--but also because it just feels... mm, good, I guess? To give things to people. Especially if they're my people. And-- well. You're one of my people, Hythlo. With all the selfish possessiveness that implies--but then it's mutual, isn't it? I'm one of your people."
He chuckles softy. "Yes. I had a great time on my holiday. And I honestly hope you had a good time playing around with Dirk and Hades--word choice entirely deliberate."
He laughs, open and honestly. "Ah yes, but that does not quite work on someone of my nature as you well know! The inherent sense of indebtedness, that is. I do appreciate the thoughtfulness and the usefulness of these items as well as the call to community... A community that I do miss dearly, though I do have some designs to fix that. And yes, as one of my people, I will call upon you when the time is right."
He sighs. "If only we might play around in the way I would like. I had... Well, an entertaining time, at the very least. I understand him better now— Dirk, of course. Which does help my odds."
"At least one of us does," Steven says, shaking his head. "Well. No. That's not completely true--I do understand him a little better than I did once. And-- hell. Maybe you can persuade him into a menage a trois. Stranger things have happened."
He's smiling at Hythlodaeus. "I'm glad you decided to make a project of me," he says suddenly, surprised not so much by the sentiment as the desire to suddenly tell Hythlodaeus of it. "I really am. It's nice to have someone else that I can... well. Speak freely with." He laughs suddenly. "Who'd have thought you'd turn the House of Hades into a safe space for psychopaths?"
(It's what he is, Steven thinks, undiagnosed as he might be. He can at least own it, if only with Hythlo.)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
IT EXISTS ON EBAY TOO
"Usually Kevin McCallister isn't helping the Wet Bandits," Steven says once he's on his feet, with deep amusement. "That said, I hope you have videos."
He's still grinning as he follows Hythlodaeus into the kitchen. "Right," he says. "Your books." He touches the top of one brown-paper wrapped parcel. "Your seeds." Another parcel. "Your honey and your herbs." Two more parcels. "Gardening products." Another parcel. "The souvenir for Hades." This is, in fact, a decorative crate made of balsa wood, with stencils of Dialga and Palkia on the side. On the lid there's a picture of Mount Coronet that rather resembles a travel poster and the words A GIFT FROM SINNOH... are written atop in a decorative fashion. "And finally, something I picked out just for you, since everything else was on request."
He picks up the final parcel and hands it to Hythlodaeus.
ADORABle
He looks over the decorative crate. Hythlodaeus has absolutely no way to identify an airport souvenir and finds it nice all the same. "Oh, lovely! We have several baby Pokémon that should benefit from this wonderfully..."
He examines the gardening products, expression lighting up when he comes upon a berry growth formula. "Very good, Steven."
"Ah, very cute. They say you can understand much about a culture based on its pottery, and they would be right." He moves the planter to the counter by the sunnier, making mental notes about which seeds to use there.
"You brought me back nearly the entire shop, didn't you?" his smile is subtle enough to be genuine. "I hope you had a wonderful time on your holiday."
Re: ADORABle
But he's quiet while he watches Hythlodaeus survey his presents and his own smile is as tiny and as true.
"Not the entire store," he admits. "But I do like giving people presents. Because they'll owe me, of course, and debt is its own form of control--" And it was a relief to just be able to say things like this to Hythlodaeus, to not have to dissemble about his more self-serving qualities. "--but also because it just feels... mm, good, I guess? To give things to people. Especially if they're my people. And-- well. You're one of my people, Hythlo. With all the selfish possessiveness that implies--but then it's mutual, isn't it? I'm one of your people."
He chuckles softy. "Yes. I had a great time on my holiday. And I honestly hope you had a good time playing around with Dirk and Hades--word choice entirely deliberate."
no subject
He sighs. "If only we might play around in the way I would like. I had... Well, an entertaining time, at the very least. I understand him better now— Dirk, of course. Which does help my odds."
no subject
He's smiling at Hythlodaeus. "I'm glad you decided to make a project of me," he says suddenly, surprised not so much by the sentiment as the desire to suddenly tell Hythlodaeus of it. "I really am. It's nice to have someone else that I can... well. Speak freely with." He laughs suddenly. "Who'd have thought you'd turn the House of Hades into a safe space for psychopaths?"
(It's what he is, Steven thinks, undiagnosed as he might be. He can at least own it, if only with Hythlo.)