Work Text:
It was a cool, dark night as always, the deep condescending night just as usual after a day's end. The survivors huddled in their cabin above the chamber outside, the cool night air rustling the trees, as the night was calm.
Survivors spoke to one another and were broken into smaller groups- some eating, some speaking of killers, joking about trivial things, some others talking about how rounds went, and a few of them at the new gambling machines. It was all fun and play, all gathering before the eventual conclusion of the day and sleep, before there would be a new set of rounds for tommorow. Yet, despite the calm night and casual talk, the pizza boy, Elliot, seemed to be keeping to himself, busying himself despite the chatter. He had already made dinner and all the pizza he need for tommorow- yet he lingered in the kitchen, avoiding speaking to the others as he appeared busy. As the chatter continued, the worker let out a sigh as he looked up for a moment from what he was baking, watching from the kitchen as he overheard conversations among the survivors.
Recently, a new person had appeared- Veeronica, her name was. A new survivor who was mechanical, yet a rather enthusiastic and energetic skater. She had appeared a few days ago alongside the new shopkeeper residing down in the cellar, and a new killer that seemed more like a brute dog, Guest 666.
A small group of survivors, Shedletsky, Builderman, Noob, and Veeronica were talking to one another, Builderman questioning Veeronica on her background while she gave exact answers, or vague ones, depending on what it was. Mostly to keep her love of graffiti undercover from the admin as to avoid being scolded about the art. Noob was quietly eating at the table, simply listening as well as giggling whenever Veeronica spilled a little bit too much info and Builderman gave her a judgemental look. Though, she was always quick to correct herself to avoid a scolding from the admin. The other, more winged admin, Shedletsky, however, was too busy about eating his chicken wings to truly help Builderman with questioning and antagonizing the new survivor.
Another smaller, separate group- made of Guest 1337, the honorable solider, the third admin, Duessekar, and 007n7, the recovered hacker, were speaking to each other. Despite the distance they had from Elliot's kitchen, Elliot could pick our a few mouthed words from the small group. From the words he was able to grab, he assumed Guest was talking about his family to 7n7 and Duessekar, probably his daughter in specific, since 7n7 had his own understanding with having a kid, as murderous as c00lkid is now.
Despite the bad blood between Elliot and 007n7, especially with the hacker burning down his workplace on two occasions, he doesn't hate the man, but neither has he exactly forgiven him. The hacker had apologized to him awhile back and still does to this day, which Elliot appreciates, yet he can never truly forget how much harm was done. Yet, seeing the hacker at least not being entirely alone, especially since he's been improving himself day by day, did make Elliot ease up a bit more. Besides, Guest was probably a good role model for 007n7, since 7n7 was always eager to learn about helping his kid if they were ever able to escape this purgatory. Duessekar, however, seemed to simply just be there as to help assist, as even with his words always being a mix of rhymes, he was still always great with giving advice.
The last group of people consisted of Chance, Taph, and Two Time. Two Time seemed more detached and were minding their business while Taph watched at the lottery machines, Chance overjoyed about seeing the machines.
“Can you believe it Taph!? We have lottery machines now! Lottery machines! AND a new pool table!” The gambler exclaimed excitedly, while Taph signed something about how they didn't actually give any rewards and were empty. Taph always was sure to show their distaste for such an uneccesary issue, to which the gambler shrugged before turning his attention to the machine and pulling down the handle. “Oh come on Taph, cheer up! Even if the machines doesn't exactly work, I could teach you how to play pool! That's fun! And hey, maybe Timey would like to join!” The gambler added, as the cultist turned toward them and watched Chance grab the machine in eagerness before succumbing to grief as they once again got nothing. Two Time stared at the gambler before looking to Taph, who stared back in a shared judgemental silence. The two of them shrugged and Two Time carefully spoke, their voice quiet while the gambler pulled the lever once more, addicted to the spinning wheel already.
“Even the spawn would shame such devotion to an unnecessary device… truly, they are lost…” Two Time mumbled as Taph signed in agreement, nodding their head slowly just to add emphasis. Chance ignored the two of them, continuing to focus on the machine, carefree. He then groaned as the spinner once again didnt land, none of the three wheels having the same symbol, to which Chance complained that it was rigged as he once again pulled the lever. The two of them stared before glancing to each other and the back to Chance, Two Time staring blankly while the demolishiner seemed concerned for the gambler.
Elliot listened to the groups before giving a small smile, enlightened by the fun conversations. He closed his eyes and breathed in before letting out a long sigh, letting go of all the troubles of today and focusing on the moment. The baker then returned to cooking, as he took out the whisked from the batter, tapping off some of the lingering batter on the side of the pan before placing the spatula on a paper towel. He then picked up the metal tray and placed the dark batter into the oven, setting the timer and carefully tuning the heat of the oven. He then shut the oven door and wiped his hands, turning his attention to making the icing as a topping. He grabbed a handful of ingredients and whisked up a creamy, smooth icing, whistling as he focused on cooking.
In the middle of whisking and adding some faint yellow food coloring to the icing, Shedletsky scooted his chair up to the small ledge that was an open window into the kitchen. Shedletsky tapped on the wood, grabbing Elliot's attention. He leaned back in his chair and his wings curled a bit, matching his eager mood.
“Are you finished baking yet Elliot? I'm rather eager for that baking recipe you planned for that chocolate cake!” The admin eagerly complained, moving his body up to the window which caused his chair wobbled a bit, scaring the admin for a moment before the chair steadied. Elliot giggled at Shedletsky's startled expression as he quickly returned to his silly yet firm demeanor. Elliot hummed as a response to the admin as he continued with mixing up the food coloring into the icing, glancing to the timer at the oven before responding.
“You've got a few minutes, Shedletsky. Maybe 7, since its pretty small, as you were the only one who wanted cake,” The worker noted, while Shedletsky let out a loud groan of annoyance, acting heavily hurt, impatient with the timer.
“Well that timer better hurry up! I'm soooo hungry dude!!” The admin complained, to which the worker rolled his eyes at, finding him overexaggerating considering he was just eating. The admin scooted his chair back to the table, letting Elliot continue baking unbothered. He mixed up the icing until he was pleased with the consistency, leaving it be as to not overmix it or overdo it.
After a little bit, the timer to the oven finally went off, notifying Elliot. He grabbed the oven mitts off of the counter and put them on before carefully opening the oven door, letting the hot air escape first before fully opening it and grabbing out the chocolate cake. He took out the pan and placed it on the counter before closing the oven and turning off the heat and timer. Elliot then took off his oven mitts and grabbed the spatula off of the paper towel, wiping it off, before pouring the icing on to the cake. It wasn't anything too fancy, just making sure he had most of the icing out of the bowl and on the cake just so it was more flavor than just bland cake. He smoothed out the icing before placing the finished cake on the window- not even getting a moment to yell for the admin before Shedletsky grabbed it from the window, thanking Elliot, before quickly getting to eating. The worker was surprised, but let out a chuckle before nodding, proud of his work and satisfying Shedletsky.
The worker then turned his attention to cleaning, not exactly his favorite thing to do, but it had to be done nonetheless. It was always better to do it now than later after all, he thought. He sighed as he grabbed up all the utensils and cutlery, placed them in the sink, and got to scrubbing and cleaning them. Eventually, after a long, painful hour, the worker was able to clean off all the dishes and placed them on the drying rack. He then grabbed a rag, wetting it before wiping down the counter, cleaning off any excess messes. Once finished, Elliot grinned at the cleanliness and and let out a relieved sigh, as he could finally conclude with cooking for the day.
Most survivors had already gone to bed already, the only few lingering being Guest, Two Time, and Chance, who were still chattering— at least Guest and Chance were. The worker smiled as he could see them sitting at the couch, Chance speaking enthusiastically to Guest while Two Time seemed to be slowly drifting off. However, Elliot was not exactly fully done with his night, as a small lingering feeling weighted his chest. He hummed as he walked out of the kitchen towards the door to outside, hoping no one would notice him, despite him not exactly being discreet about leaving. As the worker reached the door, as expected, he heard Chance call out to him.
“Heyyy, Elli! You should come join us- I'm talking about that time when you had tried to show me how to cook and I messed up so badly that your dad wouldn't let me anywhere near the kitchen again!” Chance called out to Elliot, Guest glancing to Elliot who was at the door, gripping the handle. Elliot turned to the group before giving a measly grin, trying to get them off his back.
“Ah, maybe some other time Chance… I'm a bit tired for today— you know, all burnt out and whatnot…”
“Not even for a small conversation? You've been cooking and quiet all night,” Chance begged the worker, Guest chiming in after them.
“They've got a bit of a point, kid, you've been pretty busy today,” Guest commented before he then continued, “and besides, I don't think that's exactly the right way towards your room anyways,” The soldier commented, giving a slight grin, not pushing into Elliot's business but just trying to make a point.
The worker froze before quickly mustering up a measly, cluttered response. “Oh… well, you know… I just wanna cool down a bit in my own way... y'know?” Elliot turned to Guest, giving a warm smile before assuring Chance, who appeared a tad sad at the decline. “And don't worry Chance, I promise I’ll join you guys tommorow, okay?”
Guest seemed fine with the response and glanced to Chance who lit back up again, his sadness quickly fixed. “Alright, alright, Elli! Enjoy yourself then, whatever it is you're gonna go do!” The gambler smiled, before returning to the previous conversation, not pushing the topic further. Guest stared at Elliot for a tad moment longer, which made the worker uneasy, though Guest only hummed before turning back to Chance, listening to their story. The worker let out a relieved sigh as he calmed down, getting away with his excuse. He then opened the door to outside and headed out, heading towards the cellar underneath the cabin to make a visit.
Meanwhile, the music of the bellowing organ echoed off the walls of the basement, creating an echoing symphony of music. The flickering candles lit up the room alongside the ominous red light that underlined the corners of the room, creating an ominous, deep atmosphere. The shopkeeper carefully pressed each key and pedal, every note returning a specific deep, bellowing sound that created a marvelous, yet deeply unsettling melody. The figure was pleased with himself nonetheless, enjoying his quiet, unbothered evening, especially with all those stupid survivors that had bothered him earlier.
“They think they can just storm down here and expect unpaid answers or I'll easily accept measly bribes? How dare they think so little of my presence,” The vampire spat under his breath as he slammed his clawed fingers down heavily on a group of keys, ruining the melody as his mind was cluttered up.
The shopkeeper, Nosferatu, who was temporarily placed in this insufferable situation, had been told by the Spectre that he'd get what he wanted. That he'd get all the blood and murder that was promised in the deal. He even brought the masquerade with him and was an honorable, powerful vampire! Yet, here he was, being placed as a shopkeeper with all such idiotic survivors questioning him constantly without end. The thought made the vampire grimace, his harsh judgment and thought process very quickly getting to him.
The man that smelled nauseously like chicken and a hard-hatted man with a silent, cloaked apprentice had visited him early in the day that morning before the first round began. The chicken man, presumably an admin alongside the hard-hatted man, had demanded answers as to why Nosferatu was here— even going as far as to threaten that he'd do something. It was stupid, truly! To threaten him? The great Nosferatu? How despicable! He had ignored the stupid group, playing his music louder as to avoid answering any of the dumb questions that chicken man threw at him. They eventually left after a long hour of not being answered, the apprentice signing to the hard-hatted man who then convinced the chicken man to leave him alone. Then, after that, a disgusting hacker and delusional cultist had found their way down, attempting to bribe Nosferatu with the little currency they had collected after a round or two. Nosferatu had simply huffed in their faces before sending them back on their way with a particularly rude insult and condescending goodbye, offended by the small, pathetic bribe.
The mere thought of the day made Nosferatu only angrier, each thought causing a missed note that ruined the melody before it eventually resulted with him slamming his hands down on the keys of the organ in one big bang. The vampire scowled as his thoughts drifted off, before leaning back from the organ and scowling, attempting to collect himself poorly. Being unruly and just as idiotic as the survivors wasn't gonna do anything for him, and he knew it. The reminder made him calm himself and let out a sigh, as he leaned over his organ once again, clenching and unclenching his claws before placing his fingers gently on the keys again. He kept his hands at the keys for a moment, the silence lingering for a long, consuming moment that grated his nerves. The shopkeeper then let out an exhausted breath as he face-planted into his hands, once again lingering on the deal and bitter about it not being fulfilled like he was told it would be.
As the vampire sat there, head in his hands, he could hear the sound of the stairs creaking, the sign someone was coming down the stairs. Nosferatu groaned as he obnoxiously fumbled with his hands a bit, beginning to play the music again in hopes it would deter whoever was coming down the stairs. As he heard their shoes hit the floor, the vampire's called out, his voice bellowing while he continued to play, avoiding showing much attention and emotion, becoming the arrogant shopkeeper he acted as.
“Whoevers insolent presence is here, I request you take your leave. It is night, and I shall wish to keep myself to my wonderful, calm evening, preferably unbothered, you scoundrel,” The vampire hissed, as he played his music at specific notes to seem more intimidating once again, though it was a poor, clumsy attempt. He could hear the figure chuckle as they approached closer to the vampire, making him futher more annoyed than he was already. Now who was it going to be to bother him now?
“Its just me— Elliot, the pizza guy.”
The vampire paused for a moment, his expression calming hastily and his bat ears pricking up. He turned his attention to behind him to see the warm worker, who smiled at the vampire and waved weakly, allowing himself to show his true exhaustion from the day. Nosferatu could practically sense and see the exhaustion from the worker, which made him scoff a bit, finding it a bit dumb the worker would waste his energy on coming down here just to visit him.
“Oh, hello, Elliot. What brings you here? It's quite late for you, is it not? May I pleasantly remind you I've already threatened that the next time you came down here late I'd personally drain every ounce of blood out of your body,” the vampire threatened, which seemed to not bother the worker at all. The worker approached a bit closer before sitting on the ground, which made Nosferatu ease up noticeably. The worker was at least tolerable for him, truly. He didn't ask many questions, and seemed to actually get what he said without asking bothersome, unnecessary questions before he could finish. The only thing Nosferatu found interesting was that the worker seemed to be a tad fixated or interested in him, as the worker constantly came by to say hi and listen in on the music, or bribe the shopkeeper with a large amount of currency to get information out of him, usually trivial. The worker has even attempted to make desserts for the vampire out of the information he could pry out of him— though it always resulted with the shopkeeper getting a glass of wine instead.
“Yeah, yeah… I get the deal, whatever,” the worker rolled his eyes as the vampire snickered before he began playing again, the music shifting to be a bit softer and not as harsh as before. Elliot sat at the steps of the heightened area for a minute before glancing back to the vampire, questioning him. “How was your day, my friend?”
“Other than dealing with the troublesome, dirty, poor individuals you call teammates? My day has been rather swell, thank you.”
The worker scoffed at the harshness, but didn't seem surprised at all, as he knew the vampire all too well to not expect such harsh words. The worker sighed and laid on the stairs, splaying his body, which Nosferatu glanced at and made a face, both because he found the floor dirty and because the pose just looked... uncomfortable. Who lays on the stairs anyways? Not like there wasn't a platform he couldn't lay on that would be far more comfortable.
“Well, I'm glad to hear. Apologies for any issues with my teammates, though,” Elliot softly murmured. Elliot laid on the floor for a solid minute as Nosferatu continued to play, listening to the music. The worker seemed rather happy with where he was, enjoying the music Nosferatu played as he always did, while the vampire was still a tad unsettled by the fact the worker laid on the floor. Still stuck on the thought. He could've been anywhere else- yet, he chose to be on the dirty floor? By choice?? Nosferatu knew he complained about the worker's proximity sometimes but truly, he didn't mind that much. The worker was largely more tolerable, considering he was actually good with bribes- sometimes even overpaying, but the shopkeeper wouldn't ever complain about that. He wasn't that bad of company either, considering he told important information without question and wasn't suspecting of the vampire, which let him know about the worker whether or not Elliot actually knew he was doing that.
“Hey, Nos', do you like cake at all? Or like, anything besides robloxian blood?” The worker questioned the vampire as he moved to his side. The music abruptly paused and the vampire narrowed his eyes a bit before turning to the worker. The worker gave a small smile to the vampire while Nosferatu judged the worker still.
“Red velvet, is more tolerable to taste. But I don't enjoy sweets in actuality, Elliot, you know I always enjoy wine more,” the vampire concluded before turning back to the organ. He paused before adding, “and quite the curious nickname, Elliot.”
“I just- you know…” the worker gave a measly smile before correcting himself. “Sorry, sorry… I am aware it is Nosferatu, I'll keep it as is.”
“Appreciated,” the vampire conceded, a small, sly grin forming on his face. Nosfertau began playing once more, changing the melody again, while Elliot laid there, feeling bad for such a small thing. The vampire paused once again before sighing again, his tone clearly just wanting to get the thought out of his head. “And Elliot, get off the floor. I'd rather you not drench yourself in more filth than you already are.”
Elliot was surprised by the request but didn't question it, stretching out a bit before pushing himself off the steps. The worker began to walk down the steps, looking around the room, trying to find a different place to settle himself that would be comfortable. Though, before he could continue down or go far, the vampire suddenly hissed, turning to the worker.
“Elliot. Wrong way, pizza boy. Come here,” the vampire took one of his hands off the keyboard and placed it on the empty spot next to the vampire. He patted the seat, grabbing Elliot's attention, before moving his hands back into his lap, waiting patiently for the worker. The worker was surprised by the command, staring at Nosferatu for a long moment, thinking he was joking, though followed it with no question. It was unusual- considering the shopkeeper always made it known that if anyone even dared to bother him or get too close… there would be consequences, even for Elliot, even though he thought of himself a friend to the shopkeeper. The worker walked up the steps and carefully sat beside Nosferatu, making sure to not be too close as to avoid upsetting him.
“Eh.. thank you, it's appreciated,” the worker smiled while the shopkeeper nodded. Elliot glanced to his pocket and grabbed out a bag that contained the coins he would collect from the rounds. He then offered the coins to Nosferatu, who looked at them and then at Elliot, judging him. Elliot rubbed the back of his neck and mumbled, “just.. a thank you? You know, just a fair deal and whatnot,” Elliot shyly offered to Nosferatu. The shopkeeper stared at the bag of coins before waving them off, uninterested with the bribe.
“No need, Elliot. I'll let this go, just this once.”
“Thanks Nos'!” The worker smiled cheerfully, the vampire gritting his teeth at the sound of the nickname but not bothering to make a deal about it. The two of them sat in a lingering silence until the shopkeeper began to play once again, as to get rid of the atmosphere that made him feel suffocated. As he began to play, he started in with a slow, soft tune before shifting into his usual bellowing music, despite the consistent, lingering soft notes. Elliot watched as his hands he played beforeclosing his eyes as he enjoyed the melody. To Elliot, despite the harshness it was entirely, he could pick up the notes that were consisted of softer, calmer tones, each key played with a certain care to it.
With every note, the music hummed off the walls, creating an echoing melody within the room. The candles flickered warmly and the red lights that underlined the room still kept their consistent, yet comforting harshness. To the worker, it was wonderfully calming, easing his nerves and reminding him of how exhausted he was. He could feel his body slowly numb as he succumbed to sleep, the melody only adding to the effect before he fully fell asleep.
Nosferatu continued to play, unaware of Elliot's state, focusing only on the notes and music. However, just as he began to create an end to the melody, he felt the weight of Elliot suddenly lean against him, which caused him to pause, the music ending premature. He turned to the worker to see him dead asleep, succumbed to the exhaustion and music. He stared for a long moment before allowing his expression to soften before he slowly took his hands away from the keyboard. He moved his arm around the worker's back and moved him from the vampire's shoulder to lay in his lap. The worker was not woken up or bothered, and continued to sleep, his body heavy yet eased. The vampire watched the worker before he slowly removed his arm from his back and placed his hand in the worker's hair, carefully scratching the worker's scalp with one of his sharpened fingers. The shopkeeper then slowly grinned, letting out a huff as he removed the worker's visor and placed it beside him.
“Hm. How cute.” Nosferatu scoffed, allowing the worker to sleep. He continued to mess with the worker's hair until he had enough, and returned to playing the organ. He kept his melody softer than usual, allowing the worker to sleep without any bothers or issues. The music echoed around the room, creating a chamber of soft, melodic notes that made the room seem calm despite the harsh atmosphere from the lights and Nosferatu's own presence.
The two of them stayed peacefully in silence, Elliot sleeping comfortably and Nosferatu playing in comfort of both Elliot's presence and the symphony he played. Besides the howling wind from outside, the music was the only thing echoing within the chamber, the flicking lights from the candles creating a warm presence as the red, underlying lights highlighted the corners of the room.
((And then they BOTH eventually sleep together until the morning, trust!! - Author's note ))