Work Text:
Malleus really enjoyed spending time with Yuu. Yuu, his first and dearest friend, has introduced him to many new and fun experiences. They always made sure he felt welcomed and invited. And, their presence with him acted as a buffer in turn. When Yuu was present, their other friends were less afraid around him. Which is how he came to be invited on their latest excursion.
It was a lazy day in the lounge of Ramshackle Dorm, after classes had ended for the day. Ace and Deuce were lounging on the couches, while Grim was curled up on Yuu’s lap. Malleus was sitting in the chair next to them.
Yuu had been telling them a bit more about the world that they had come from. Different things they liked about it, things that were different, things that they missed.
“...and there was this one diner I really liked. It was a real greasy spoon type of place, but I loved the food. You could get so much, and it wasn’t expensive, and the taste was amazing. I used to get the pancakes a lot for breakfast. Or if I went later in the night, there were these wings I really liked to get. I miss it a lot.” they had said, sitting and petting Grim.
“We have a few diners around here,” Ace had responded, “We can go to one this weekend if you really want to. You’re gonna have to be the one to ask for permission, though.”
“Sure, sure, hopefully they let us go. It sounds like fun.” Yuu had said.
“I don’t think I’d be able to go. I have tutoring this weekend with Riddle, ‘cause of how I did on the test the other day..” Deuce had chimed in.
“Oh that’s a shame. We can bring you back leftovers if you want.” Yuu had said. Then, they had turned to Malleus. “Did you want to come with us, Mal?”
Mallues had been surprised to be invited, but he was delighted that Yuu had thought to do so.
“I would love to, though I must confess, I have never been to a…diner, before.” Malleus had said.
“Oh no worries, it’s just like a restaurant. You might even like the food there, they usually have quite a bit to choose from.” Yuu had responded, reassuring him.
Which is how he had come upon the present situation. He was waiting by Night Raven College’s gate for Yuu and Ace to show up. He had made sure to get there early, and even had Lilia remind him, just to ensure that he did not get left behind.
He did not have to wait long before he saw Ace and Yuu approaching. Grim was in Yuu’s arms. It seemed that the little direbeast had wormed his way into coming along. It did not matter really, as his presence made Yuu happy, though Mallues hoped the little beast could mind his manners. He would be quite irate if Grim got them kicked out of the diner.
The walk to Foothills Town was pleasant, and felt brief due to the engaging company. Both Yuu and Ace spoke to him casually, though Ace took longer to do so comfortably.
“What sort of meals do these diners offer? Do they have specialties like I’ve heard the Mostro Lounge does?” Malleus asked.
“I’m sure different diners have different specialties, but overall they serve things like burgers and fries, hot dogs, and lots of grilled things. I’ve been to a few that serve wings and things like that.” Yuu replied.
“They also serve breakfast sometimes. Like pancakes and eggs. A lot of them have milkshakes and ice cream as desserts. You like ice cream, right?” Ace chimed in.
“I do. If nothing else, I know I will enjoy that at least. But it would be a waste to eat at an unfamiliar place, and not try something new to me. Perhaps I will try one of these ‘burgers’. It does sound appetizing.” Malleus said.
“I’m gonna get ribs! A bunch of them! With barbecue sauce!” Grim interjected. “I woulda gotten something fishy, but Yuu said they don’t have tuna. But ribs sound good, so I’ll get those instead!”
They made it to the diner soon after. It had a comfortable and casual atmosphere, and didn't seem to be too busy. Ace got them a booth towards the back of the diner, so hopefully people wouldn’t notice and make a scene about Malleus being there. They put in their orders and waited.
Malleus got a burger and fries to try, along with a milkshake to drink, like Ace recommended. Yuu got honey barbecue wings and a lemonade, and Ace got himself a club sandwich and a soda. Grim, of course, got ribs. Yuu ordered him a lemonade as well, because he kept trying to drink theirs.
The food came out quickly, and the four of them began eating. Malleus was unsure of how to begin eating his burger. It was quite large, and there was no silverware at the table. Yuu seemed to notice his hesitation, and giggled a bit.
“It’s like a sandwich, Mally. You use your hands to pick it up, and you just bite into it. Like Ace is doing with his.” Yuu informed him.
Malleus did as he was told, lifting the burger to his mouth and taking a bite. As the taste hit his tongue, he froze.
“Uh, you good man? Fae aren’t allergic to grease or anything, are they?” Ace asked.
Malleus swallowed quickly, pupils a bit dilated. “That was…divine. I’ve never had anything like it. You said grease is what gives it this flavor?”
“Yeah, they get greasy when they’re being grilled. And the fries are fried in oil, so they can get greasy too sometimes. Though, that’s not usually a good thing.” Yuu explained.
“In Briar Valley, we do not have food like this. When cooked with magic, food is cooked cleanly, it doesn’t produce grease like this. Nor do we grind our meat into patties like this. Most meat is simply cleaned and cut in preparation for cooking. This hamburger is quite novel to me. I wish I had been able to try this sooner, but I am grateful that you brought me along to try it now.”
“Glad you’re enjoying it! Try your milkshake too, I think you’ll like it a lot.” Yuu replied.
Malleus did as Yuu said, drinking his milkshake. The cold is refreshing, and cools his throat nicely. The sweetness is pleasant as well. Though, it is a lot thicker than he expected.
“It is…difficult to drink, though the taste is enjoyable.” Malleus said.
“That’s how you know it’s good. It’s not a proper milkshake if you don’t struggle to drink it through a straw.” Ace responded.
Malleus returned to his burger, eating it quite quickly, and downed the milkshake alongside it. He ate his fries as well, though he wasn’t as fond of them as he was the burger and the milkshake. Yuu told him he could order more if he wanted, so he did. He decided to try out some of the different types of burgers the diner offered, like cheeseburgers, smash burgers, and a double burger as well. He tried a few different types of milkshakes as well, just to see what flowers there were. His favorite ended up being cookies and cream. So he ordered an extra couple of those as well. All in all, he ended up eating seven burgers and drinking five milkshakes. He ended up covering the entire bill as thanks to Ace and Yuu for bringing him out to the diner, and letting him try these new foods. Malleus was very fond of these new foods, and was looking forward to getting to eat them again. He returned to his dorm happily, tail unknowingly wagging behind him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It had been about a week or two since Yuu and Ace had invited him out to the diner. They hadn’t had the opportunity to go out and eat together again, and it didn’t seem like they would for a while.
Malleus was most certainly not pouting about it.
He was a bit disappointed, yes. While he was still able to spend time with Yuu here and there so he wasn’t lonely, he did miss the taste of the burgers he had. He wanted to eat them again, but they weren’t part of the menu in the cafeteria, nor were they available at Sam’s shop. He had resigned himself to simply waiting until the next time Yuu could take him out to the diner. That was how Lilia found him, gloomily sitting and attempting to read a book.
Lilia smiled at the sight. “Khee hee hee, what’s got a prince like you pouting? Upset you can't hang out with your little friend?”
“...That is part of it. Yuu introduced me to a new food I would like to try again, but we do not have time to go off campus to get it.” Malleus said.
“Oh you don’t need to go off campus to order food. Let me show you!” Lilia said. “Pull out your phone.”
Malleus pulled out his phone, as instructed. He had been getting better at using it with both Yuu and Lilia’s guidance. He was able to use the touchscreen now without cracking the glass or shorting out the phone. Yuu even downloaded a few ebooks for him to read, mostly about gargoyles.
“So, go to the app store. Yes, it’s that button there. Okay, now type in food delivery in the search bar. Scroll down a bit… There! That one has good reviews. That one should be good.” Lilia instructed.
“Lilia, what is this for?” Malleus asked.
“If you use this app, you can get food from restaurants delivered to campus. Though, you’ll probably have to pick it up at the gate.” Lilia explained. “But, if you can find the place you went to on there, you can order the same thing you got while you were there.”
“Fascinating. Thank you for showing me this, Lilia.” Malleus replied, focused on his phone.
Malleus scrolled through the app until he found the diner they had gone to. A tap on the name brought him to the diner’s menu. He ordered a few cheeseburgers, no fries, and, after some debate, decided against ordering any milkshakes. The most likely wouldn’t stay cold during delivery.
His meal is delivered shortly afterward, two warm bags of burgers. He ordered quite a few, as he was feeling quite hungry, and he wanted to indulge a bit that day. Surely, there’d be no harm in it. Malleus sat down to enjoy his meal in his room. He had moved a side table and chair closer together so he could use them to eat at. While the common room of Diasomnia was perfectly suitable to eat at, he did not want to be interrupted during his meal. His room provided more privacy, so he could take his time and truly savor the flavor of the burgers this time. He had eaten them too quickly at the diner, too caught up in the excitement of a new taste. But this time, he wanted to truly appreciate them.
He took a bite of the cheeseburger first. He chewed slowly letting the flavor fill his mouth. The taste of the cheeseburger was pleasant, the melting cheese warming his throat in a different way than his fire breath did. The meat of the patty was wonderfully juicy as well, and deliciously greasy. Malleus shuddered slightly in pleasure as he swallowed. These burgers were truly a wonder of human innovation. He finished his cheeseburger in a few bites, even though he was trying to savor it. He moved on to the next burger, which was another cheeseburger, but one with more fillings. While the prior one was just the bun, patty and cheese, this one was listed as having ‘all the fixins’. So this one had the patty and the cheese, along with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, and some fry sauce between the patty and bun. Malleus had worried that the abundance of ingredients would impact the overall taste of the burger negatively. Too many clashing flavors and textures. But his concerns were alleviated as soon as he took a bite. The crunch of the lettuce and the acidity of the tomatoes complemented the juiciness of the meat and the softness of the cheese very well, and the fry sauce added some depth to the flavor that was missing from the previous cheeseburger. Malleus’s ears flicked happily as he ate, enjoying his second burger. This continued on with Malleus trying each of the new burgers he ordered, noting the differences of flavors of each. Before he knew it, he had finished both bags. It was a shame, Malleus would have really liked to eat more of them.
…Perhaps he could order more tomorrow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It had been about a month or two since Yuu and Ace took Malleus out to the diner, and they still hadn’t had time to go out together again. Malleus had been ordering delivery daily from the diner, and he had been enjoying eating the burgers a lot lately. He always ordered quite a few different kinds to eat for lunch. He couldn’t just pick one favorite, they all had their good points, so he preferred getting quite a few different kinds to eat. They were always so delicious, so he just couldn’t help himself when it came to eating them.
Though lately, there had been some strange changes happening. His clothes had started fitting tighter, and he had to start loosening his belt quite a bit. Even more recently, he had to get a size up of his uniforms, even after having them let out. His footfalls were heavier, and he got winded much more easily when being active. It was undeniable now. He had gained weight. He squeezed the new softness of his stomach thoughtfully. None of his retainers had said anything directly to him, though Lilia had made mention of growing boys needing to eat, and Sebek had said something about Malleus’s growing majesty. Malleus himself wasn’t unhappy with his weight gain, it was just a natural consequence of how much he had been eating recently. Though, he was a bit worried that it would change how Yuu saw him. He was quite fond of them, and he had heard that some humans did not like people who were fatter. He hadn’t known Yuu to be a superficial person, but the worry was still there.
He was broken from his thoughts by a knock on his dorm room door.
“Malleus, are you in there? It’s Yuu.” came Yuu’s voice from out in the hall.
“Yes, I’m here. You may come in.” Malleus replied.
Yuu entered Malleus’s room, talking as they turned to close the door behind them. “I want to let you know, I don’t have any plans today. Ace is busy, and Grim is off doing something, so if you wanted to go to the diner today, it’d be just me and you. We can–” They turned, finally facing him.
“Oh! Um, you– uh, you filled out a bit, huh?” Yuu blurted out, then immediately got flustered. “Sorry, sorry, that was rude of me to say!”
“It is fine, it is the truth.” Malleus said flatly. “Lilia showed me how to use a food delivery app. And…I may have gone overboard in ordering burgers. They are quite delicious, and I indulged more than I intended.” Malleus paused, then added shyly, “Does it make me…unsightly to you?”
“No, not at all! It’s cute!” Yuu said quickly. “It suits you.”
“Cute? Heh, hahaha! You never cease to surprise me, Child of Man.” Malleus laughed. “Though, it is nice to hear you do not mind.”
“Yeah, yeah! It’s totally fine. You look good! I prefer bigger guys, so I think you look better like this, even! “ Yuu scrambled to reassure him.
“Oh? You prefer me like this? Then, was I unattractive to you before?” Malleus teased.
“No, no, not at all! You were pretty then, but you’re hot now!” Yuu replied quickly, the slapped their hand over their mouth. Their cheeks were flushed bright red in embarrassment.
Malleus took pity on them, and eased off his teasing. “I believe that’s enough, now. What was it that you were saying earlier?”
“Oh, um, I was saying we could go to the diner together today if you wanted. I’m free today, but no one else is, so it’d be just us.” Yuu said.
“I would enjoy that greatly. Perhaps I’ll indulge even more today than I have prior, so that you have even more of me to enjoy.” Malleus said, grinning.
And with that, they both set off for the diner again. A steadily fattening dragon prince arm in arm with his favorite human.