Based loosely on the manga Velvet Blue Rose - but taking out the shoujo romance elements.
Nation A and B are the current proprietors of a custom wedding dress shop. Nation A inherited it from his father and Nation B came to work at the store later on. Nation A handles initial designs and detail work and Nation B makes the patterns and does the structural work. They have a total old married-couple dynamic while being completely platonic buddies.
Focus on the bromance please!
Bonus 1: The chatty ladies in the formal wear shop nearby ship them hard. Nation B does nothing to discourage them, to Nation A's frustration/embarrassment. Bonus 2: One of them is in fact gay/bi. Bonus 3: Their dynamics with their contract workers (those who make things that the duo can't e.g. specialty jewelry, accessories, etc.) - exes, friends, cousins, etc.
Re: Any/Any - Bromance duo running a wedding dress shop
“Hello, welcome to…” Lovino broke off as he realized who just entered. All traces of formality disappeared from his voice. “Bastard, you’re late.”
“Sorry,” Heracles said, shuffling into the store and flopping down on the couch. “My bed felt unusually comfortable this morning. I couldn’t crawl out.”
“Yeah, and you think that’s just you? If you have a job to do you drag yourself out!” Taking another glance at his partner, he added, “And you’re wearing a T-shirt to work – again!”
“Oh…” Heracles glanced down. “Should I take it off?”
“N-No, of course not! Just borrow one of the men’s tuxes in the back!”
There were times Lovino thought Heracles was purposely screwing with him, but there had been a incident in which Heracles had walked brazenly around the store shirtless until Lovino caught him. (And no, the sales did not double that day, regardless of what his records said).
Heracles ambled off in search of a change of clothes, and Lovino dropped his head into his arms. God, work was such a headache. He should have told his father taking hold of the wedding dress shop management was a dumb idea, especially since it was a career better suited to his brother. Not that he wasn’t happy with his job. He couldn’t imagine a life other than his current one.
----
Customer service was a completely different matter.
“H-Hello,” he said as a couple walked in. The man was standing absurdly close to the woman’s side. Talk about possessive. “Do you and your fiancé have any specific ideas in mind?”
Immediately the man’s cheeks went pink, and he glared almost accusingly in his direction.
The woman giggled, “Oh, that’s not my fiancé. Vash is my older brother.”
Well… fuck.
“See, if you didn’t tell me to grow out my hair again, we’d still look related!”
Vash cleared his throat. “Why don’t you tell him what kind of dress you were looking for.”
“Oh, right. To be honest, I’m a bit clueless on how all this works. But I’m really okay with anything.”
“We have a budget.”
“I-I’m sure we can find something for you. Can I ask for your name?”
“Lili, and – Oh, I like that design!” she exclaimed as Heracles made his way out with an armload of fabric.
“Mmm…? Would you like to see it?”
“Yes please!”
Lovino let his head sink into his arms as Heracles lead the customers away. There was no way he would say it, but sometimes it was relieving to have that bastard around.
----
Heracles sighed heavily as the phone started ringing. How annoying.
“Oi, what are you doing? Don’t you hear that?”
“Yes. It’s very loud.”
“Then pick it up!”
With a weighty grunt, Heracles stretched across the table to grasp the offending device.
“Hello…?” Hardly a minute passed before he made a low, fuming sound. There were few things that pissed him off, and this was…
He thrust the phone towards Lovino, teeth gritted and entire body trembling. “I can’t… talk to this guy!”
“Um, okay,” Lovino said before taking the phone, “Hello, how can I help you?”
“Yeah, hello?” The man’s rough voice was grating against Lovino’s ears. “Listen up brat, I hope to God you’re more useful than the other idiot I was on the phone with before. I’ve got a problem. So there are at least five hot women fighting over me, and my question is should I stick with the hottest one, or the one that can cook? Or do you offer discounts for multiple wedding dress purchases?”
Who did that guy think he was? “What does this look like, the screwed up relationships hotline? Go fix your own problems!”
Lovino slammed the phone down, then counted to ten. When he finished, Heracles was staring at him with an unreadable expression.
Something close to guilt crept down his neck. “Fuck, sorry… That was unprofessional of me.”
“Really? Hmm.. I was going to say you handled that really well.”
----
Maybe one day this will be rewritten as a detailed, multipart story with a happy ending and all, but until I gain endless free time and a greater knowledge of how wedding dress shops work, that won't happen. There may or may not be a few more minifills based on these two, though.
-blinks- Wow... I really didn't think this would get picked up at all!
The choice of characters and the subsequent dynamic is one I didn't expect and somehow it works in their own special, special way. xD Considering they both seem to have Issues with dealing with customers...
The last would-be customer had me cracking up to no end. I suppose if it weren't Turkey/Sadiq, Herakles would be listening politely before advising sagely, "Good looks fade. Good cooking lasts a lifetime."
I'd certainly like seeing more vignettes of their wacky relationship.
Oh, wow, thanks for the lovely review. Your example of Greece's advice had be giggling too.
I can't understand why there isn't more of the Greece/Romano dynamic around the meme, seeing they work so perfectly together. Just imagine Turkey as the store manager... the second he gets distracted with yelling at Greece, Romano will sneak off to the storage room for his own nap.
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Any/Any - Bromance duo running a wedding dress shop
(Anonymous) 2013-11-14 04:31 am (UTC)(link)Nation A and B are the current proprietors of a custom wedding dress shop. Nation A inherited it from his father and Nation B came to work at the store later on. Nation A handles initial designs and detail work and Nation B makes the patterns and does the structural work. They have a total old married-couple dynamic while being completely platonic buddies.
Focus on the bromance please!
Bonus 1: The chatty ladies in the formal wear shop nearby ship them hard. Nation B does nothing to discourage them, to Nation A's frustration/embarrassment.
Bonus 2: One of them is in fact gay/bi.
Bonus 3: Their dynamics with their contract workers (those who make things that the duo can't e.g. specialty jewelry, accessories, etc.) - exes, friends, cousins, etc.
Re: Any/Any - Bromance duo running a wedding dress shop
(Anonymous) 2013-11-15 07:53 pm (UTC)(link)Sewing Ships [1/?]
(Anonymous) 2014-04-18 12:11 pm (UTC)(link)“Hello, welcome to…” Lovino broke off as he realized who just entered. All traces of formality disappeared from his voice. “Bastard, you’re late.”
“Sorry,” Heracles said, shuffling into the store and flopping down on the couch. “My bed felt unusually comfortable this morning. I couldn’t crawl out.”
“Yeah, and you think that’s just you? If you have a job to do you drag yourself out!” Taking another glance at his partner, he added, “And you’re wearing a T-shirt to work – again!”
“Oh…” Heracles glanced down. “Should I take it off?”
“N-No, of course not! Just borrow one of the men’s tuxes in the back!”
There were times Lovino thought Heracles was purposely screwing with him, but there had been a incident in which Heracles had walked brazenly around the store shirtless until Lovino caught him. (And no, the sales did not double that day, regardless of what his records said).
Heracles ambled off in search of a change of clothes, and Lovino dropped his head into his arms. God, work was such a headache. He should have told his father taking hold of the wedding dress shop management was a dumb idea, especially since it was a career better suited to his brother. Not that he wasn’t happy with his job. He couldn’t imagine a life other than his current one.
Customer service was a completely different matter.
“H-Hello,” he said as a couple walked in. The man was standing absurdly close to the woman’s side. Talk about possessive. “Do you and your fiancé have any specific ideas in mind?”
Immediately the man’s cheeks went pink, and he glared almost accusingly in his direction.
The woman giggled, “Oh, that’s not my fiancé. Vash is my older brother.”
Well… fuck.
“See, if you didn’t tell me to grow out my hair again, we’d still look related!”
Vash cleared his throat. “Why don’t you tell him what kind of dress you were looking for.”
“Oh, right. To be honest, I’m a bit clueless on how all this works. But I’m really okay with anything.”
“We have a budget.”
“I-I’m sure we can find something for you. Can I ask for your name?”
“Lili, and – Oh, I like that design!” she exclaimed as Heracles made his way out with an armload of fabric.
“Mmm…? Would you like to see it?”
“Yes please!”
Lovino let his head sink into his arms as Heracles lead the customers away. There was no way he would say it, but sometimes it was relieving to have that bastard around.
Heracles sighed heavily as the phone started ringing. How annoying.
“Oi, what are you doing? Don’t you hear that?”
“Yes. It’s very loud.”
“Then pick it up!”
With a weighty grunt, Heracles stretched across the table to grasp the offending device.
“Hello…?” Hardly a minute passed before he made a low, fuming sound. There were few things that pissed him off, and this was…
He thrust the phone towards Lovino, teeth gritted and entire body trembling. “I can’t… talk to this guy!”
“Um, okay,” Lovino said before taking the phone, “Hello, how can I help you?”
“Yeah, hello?” The man’s rough voice was grating against Lovino’s ears. “Listen up brat, I hope to God you’re more useful than the other idiot I was on the phone with before. I’ve got a problem. So there are at least five hot women fighting over me, and my question is should I stick with the hottest one, or the one that can cook? Or do you offer discounts for multiple wedding dress purchases?”
Who did that guy think he was? “What does this look like, the screwed up relationships hotline? Go fix your own problems!”
Lovino slammed the phone down, then counted to ten. When he finished, Heracles was staring at him with an unreadable expression.
Something close to guilt crept down his neck. “Fuck, sorry… That was unprofessional of me.”
“Really? Hmm.. I was going to say you handled that really well.”
Maybe one day this will be rewritten as a detailed, multipart story with a happy ending and all, but until I gain endless free time and a greater knowledge of how wedding dress shops work, that won't happen. There may or may not be a few more minifills based on these two, though.
Re: Sewing Ships [1/?]
(Anonymous) 2014-04-19 07:28 am (UTC)(link)Wow... I really didn't think this would get picked up at all!
The choice of characters and the subsequent dynamic is one I didn't expect and somehow it works in their own special, special way. xD Considering they both seem to have Issues with dealing with customers...
The last would-be customer had me cracking up to no end. I suppose if it weren't Turkey/Sadiq, Herakles would be listening politely before advising sagely, "Good looks fade. Good cooking lasts a lifetime."
I'd certainly like seeing more vignettes of their wacky relationship.
A!A
(Anonymous) 2014-04-20 06:55 am (UTC)(link)I can't understand why there isn't more of the Greece/Romano dynamic around the meme, seeing they work so perfectly together. Just imagine Turkey as the store manager... the second he gets distracted with yelling at Greece, Romano will sneak off to the storage room for his own nap.