Acceptance of a Name | Daycare Car | Matsukaze + Viper

Viper

This car so far had proven… considerably less crazy than some cars prior. Namely, said car with a ball-shaped mall cop. However it was exhausting in a completely different way, with all the talk of feelings and emotions, and… Viper having to learn to love this small child version of herself, and not pressure her with the emotions that she had bestowed upon her. To not be afraid for what this child would have come to experience were she not a… sentient flour sack in a train car. To not be jealous for what this kid had not gone through, that she was blissfully unaware of the bad things that would come were she Viper herself.

Luckily, she and FViper weren’t glued to each other currently, leaving Viper to muse over her thoughts and get some much-needed alone time from her flour sack counterpart. After the play wedding with Abel, and the time she’d spent pouring her feelings out to Sister and RNA… it was safe to say that Viper, perhaps, would be partaking in the designated nap time for the flour kids. Yeah. She was pretty tired.

But for now, it seems Viper has pulled up one of the linked puzzle-piece foam tiles from the play area and is in the middle of painting it at one of the learning area tables. The table is a bit of a mess, with a messy paint palette, a water pot with at least 4 brushes standing upright in it, and then the tile itself.

She’s painting… some kind of comic-style pattern on it. Like, ‘POW’ bubble stuff… Seems she’s oblivious to any kind of potential sneak attack- or potential tsundere approaching her.

Matsu

Please disregard Flarum dragging me for filth.

To say it was hard for Matsukaze to face their younger self was an understatement. They were a horrible reminder of how much they weren’t supposed to be… well. Like This.

Not to mention that the little brat was exhausting.

They exhale heavily, not even sure where they’re going – at least, they aren’t until they see Viper. The grown one. Matsukaze hesitates just a moment before diverting to go towards her. That’s right, they had something they were going to ask her, about what she had said in the previous car.

Their steps are quiet as they approach her, not on purpose but rather as a consequence of them being small. They stop about a step behind her, watching her paint, then lean forwards a bit and ask,

“… Miki?”

Viper

Viper hadn’t heard the approach, far too busy and immersed in her painting to look up, but as Matsukaze leans in, she seems to have heard the movement behind her. She’d been about to pass it off when they-

Matsu “… Miki?”

She visibly jolts somewhat, almost hitting her knee on the table in the process but narrowly avoiding it. For a moment she prepares to snap, until it clicks just who the voice was. Instead, she turns and stands, placing down her paintbrush. Her heart flutters, pulse beginning to thrum hard in her chest, the habitual anxiety climbing as she looked down at them, reaching out a hand toward theirs.

“…Yeah. Uh…that’s… that’s me.” She’s trying her best to sound normal, but her hands feel clammy as she laces their fingers together. In a quick movement, one arm is around their waist, her leg bumping them against the wall of the nearby playset- not enough to hurt or anything, but enough to get their focus entirely on her. “…But ya can’t tell anyone else that it’s m’name.” There’s a small pause, as if she’s debating telling them the truth of why she doesn’t want it getting out… but she owes them that. She does. “If it gets inta th’ wrong hands… I’ll be in trouble. Besides, I’m sure ya’d like a lil’ secret that jus’ ya got ta find out ’bout me.” Viper gives one of her trademark, certified rizz smiles, winking at them.

But she hesitates. It’s noticeable, the way her gaze flicks away, her hands fidget and grip at the fabric on their back. Her gaze shelters an air of pleading, of desperation, as she looks back at them.

“…I got…people out there that could hurt me… so uh… don’t tell anyone, ’kay?”

It’s clear she’s not quite thinking rationally when she reaches up and gingerly pulls down their mask. With little time for them to react, Viper is leaning in and pressing a kiss to their lips. It’s somewhat awkward, with the healing busted lip on her side, but she lingers there for a few moments, before pulling back and looking at them with big, puppy-dog eyes.

“…Please? I…can explain more, but…” She looks away, gaze slightly turned downwards cheeks flushing pink as her brain caught up to her. “I jus’ need ya ta promise.”

Matsu

She stands up and they take the smallest step back to give her room. There’s a flutter of satisfied triumph in their chest when she confirms that they guessed right, but they don’t really get to bask in that much. Instead their focus is immediately on the way she laces her fingers with theirs, arm around their waist, and they–

A flush rises to their cheeks, visible over the top seam of their mask.

If there was even a chance their mind was wandering, Viper securely stops that. What did she– did she know she was–?

Don’t tell anyone, who would they even tell? Neko-neko? They don’t get the chance to voice that, though, because she reaches up, tugs their mask, and there’s no way she’s actually going to, is she?

Matsu can’t breathe, in a far different way than they’re used to. Their heart leaps to their throat and their stomach drops, all at the same time, and when she pulls away their face is beet red.

Viper is talking, saying something, but it is not registering whatsoever. They just stand there stunned for several seconds too long, staring at her, before they finally find their words.

“… Y… You… Did you just kiss me?!” The hand in hers grips a little tighter and they raise the other to their lips, as if to make sure. Matsukaze is visibly not angry about this, just shocked and flustered. Surprise! Looks like the hacker made them short circuit.

Viper

“Wh- Was I not supposed to?” Viper shrugs, perhaps a little self-consciously (for once), before she looks back at them again. Her own face is turning a little redder, but she’s doing her best to play it off like she’s so very cool. Yeah. She totally meant to do that and was not at all acting upon impulses that her brain delivered to try and get her to distract them in the most dramatic way possible.

I mean, it worked!

But she noticed the way their hand gripped hers just a little tighter, and felt her heart flutter just a tad. Oh, god, this was… at least going better than she could have hoped for. She didn’t get slapped or anything, so…

Their face… it was so…cute. Just their… reaction. Viper can’t resist. She gently nudges their hand away, before giving them another quick kiss. She lets it linger for just an extra second this time before she breaks away, giving them a trademark smirk.

“…Did that make it feel more real?” Her head tilts and she’s clearly just as… flustered about this as they are, but she’s masking it a lot more. She may look soooo casual and slightly flustered, but trust me, her brain is practically keysmashing right now.

It’s only when she hears a distant, small gasp that she looks away again. FViper stands wide-eyed, hands over her mouth and staring owlishly at the scene in front of her. Before Viper even has a chance to call out to her, she’s skittering off, and… she knows that she’s going to hear about this later. From Fabel, or big Abel. Whoops.