You were not happy. Actually, that's an understatement to bury all others. You were cranky, irritable and tired.
See, you snuck out at night while your lusus was asleep so you could meet up with your (boy/girl)friend to go to a club they'd been begging you to go to with them.
That was your second mistake. You walked into the club and waited with your friend Cronus, laughing with him when you heard his cheesy pickup lines and puns when you saw it.
Your (boy/girl)friend was making out with some chick wearing more makeup than skin like it was the last few seconds of life and they needed an adventure to brag about on the other side.
You dropped your glass of (f/d) and couldn't hear the shattering of the glass on the floor, neither could any other patrons aside from Cronus and a girl sitting next to you, since the music was loud enough to make the walls of the club vibrate. Both the girl and Cronus let out concerned noises but you didn't listen, running out of the pub and into the cold street wearing your ripped jeans, converse and (f/c) t-shirt, leaving your jacket behind in your haste.
Now, since you finally checked your phone, you groaned loudly, only a few blocks from your lusus' hive, and noticed the little notification that signaled your demise. Three missed messages. From two hours ago. From your lusus, Kankri. All making you feel guilty to add on to the frustration of being cheated on for jegus knows how fucking long. Fuck, he even forgot his typing quirk.
Lusus (2:46 am); (y/n)? Please answer me, I can't find you in the hive. Where are you?
Lusus(2:50 am); (y/n) I understand we haven't been seeing eye-to-eye lately but I'm very worried about you. You don't even have to tell me where you are, just... tell me if you're alright please?
Lusus(2:55 am): Cr9nus called and t9ld me where y9u are. We're having a talk when you get home young (man/lady). I raised y9u 6etter than this.
You stared at the door to your hive and felt cold sweat trickle down your neck at the sight. You knew you were going to get chewed out for this big time. But, hey, the messages were from almost two hours ago... maybe he went to sleep and decided to chew you out in the morning when he felt fresher and could remember his words easier after sleeping? It wasn't likely, but it had happened before.
You opened the door, wincing at the stereotype creaking noise the hinges made and shuffled your way nervously inside, closing the door as silently as possible and reminding yourself to oil the joints later. So far so good, no sign of Kankri yet.
You started tiptoeing your way upstairs to your respiteblock when you were stopped by a deadly calm voice: "Stop."
You obeyed instantly, like a character frozen and forced to stop with their life at the push of a pause button.
"(y/n), come into the livingblock." the familiar voice commanded. You, of course, obeyed. No point digging yourself deeper into a grave you already threw yourself in.
You walked into the room, looking at everything except your lusus, from the soft cream-painted walls to the white carpeted floors, with your head bowed in an obvious display of guilt and your hands clasped together in front of you sheepishly. You finally looked at your lusus ad felt your blood run cold; he wasn't wearing his indifferent or angry face, he looked completely calm. Which was much, much worse.
"Do you know what time it is?" his voice cut through the silence like a seadweller at a swimming competition. You kept your mouth shut, having watched enough television and been through enough scoldings to know it was a rhetorical questions.
"It's four o'clock in the morning. Four o'clock, (y/n)." you stared at your bare feet, having taken your shoes off at the front door, and stared at the contrast between your toe-claws and the plush carpet.
"I looked for you at one thirty-six in the morning when I saw you weren't in bed, naively thinking that you were somewhere else in the house. Shame on me for having faith in you," you could feel your heart sinking like a great, unsinkable ship after an iceberg's caress. "I checked every room four times, (y/n). FOUR. TIMES."
You looked up hesitantly, your lusus was wearing a thick white robe with a candy red tie keeping it shut to fend off the morning chill, his feet bare and legs clad in black thin but soft pajama pants, probably wearing his thin black v-neck shirt under his robe. His hair was fluffier than usual (from aggression or not brushing, you weren't sure) and his candy red eyes were narrowed into splintered ice, glittering dangerously from the low lamplight next to his chair.
"I cannot even begin to express my disappointment at the moment," he sighs deeply, shakes his head with the bridge of his nose pinched to stave off a migraine. "Enough... that's enough. Go to your room. I detest confrontations," he ends and starts heading upstairs.
"Wait..." you called hesitantly, making the older troll stop. "That's it? You're not going to lecture me or punish me?"
"What else is there to say?" he gave you a weary, tired stare with a brow arched. "You disobeyed me and betrayed my trust; but that's not what holds my ire at the moment. What I am upset about is the fact you snuck out of your room, went to a club and I would have been none the wiser if something happened to you. You've already figured out that you're grounded, but you probably won't obey the rules I set up now since you haven't tonight. How many times have you done this to me, (y/n)? How many times have you wished me good morning after sneaking out at night and not telling me, just so you can see how long it would take me to figure out that you shouldn't be trusted?" he shakes his head with a deep, exhausted sigh.
That's when you notice something earth-shaking. Your lusus was old. Not in a disrespectful or sarcastic observation, but there were changes in his appearance and personality you hadn't noticed... or, perhaps you simply refused to acknowledge. His eyes, though still a piercing red you always thought you could never hide anything from, were still alert but were also now tired and had dark circles under each sphere, showing he had in fact stayed awake to wait for you. There were dents at the inner eye corners that showed he was thinning and beginning to show physical signs of aging that would gradually become more obvious. His hair, though still a rick dark ebony, now had subtle streaks of candy red(1). He looked exhausted. It was at that point you realized something else; you lusus wasn't a teen anymore, like when he first took you in. He was in his mid-late "fourties", as Dirk called it. He lived a long time for a troll- especially a mutant, but he was starting to show obvious signs that time was keeping an eye on him.
"Dad...?" you called, making him stop just as he stepped on the last stair, turning to look at you once more. "I'm s-sorry daddy," you hiccuped and, to your humiliation, felt (cold/warm) tears started dripping down your face in rivers, sniffles leaving you as you tried to cover your face before he saw.
It was too late though, his swift steps were light and faster than anything you heard since your clumsy childhood when he'd run faster than white electricity and scoop you up in his arms, shushing and soothing you while you whimpered in pain, cleaning your wounds and kissing them after sealing them over with plaster.
Two small, familiar hands gently removed your hands from your face, revealing flushed (b/c) cheeks and bloodshot eyes. You felt shame nesting in your ribcage, unhappy that you hadn't grown up much at all.
"(y/n)," you jolted and looked at Kankri with wide, unbelieving eyes. His voice wasn't soft and cooing, like your memories as a child, it was dark and serious, like he was ready to go on a manhunt at four in the morning. "Who did this? Who made you cry? Who hurt my baby!?" he was hissing at the end of his questioning, a growl bubbling in his chest and dull fangs bared.
"It- I'm not hurt-"
"If you weren't hurt you wouldn't be crying," he gently brushed a stray (b/c) tear trickling down your cheek, like he used to when you had horrorterrors.
"No, (bf/gf) cheated on me-"
"That little fucker!" he spat like slitherbeast venom, making you jump from shock. Your lusus just swore. Holy hell, your ex was dead.
He calmed himself and sat you down on the couch, leaving for just a moment and returning with two cups, one full of (f/d), setting them on the coffee table and taking your hands in his. "Tell me what happened," he coaxed gently.
"... Okay. So, (bf/gf) asked me to go to this club with them..."
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This is one of my longer oneshots. I made this to partially apologize for the long hiatus.
1): I think, instead of hair greying, as a troll gets older their blood color shows in their hair.