au yeah autumn challenge

[sunrises]

Soulmates - Riku / Namine (Kingdom Hearts)
College - Lloyd Irving / Colette Brunel
Single parent - Tyler Lockwood / Caroline Forbes
Enemy - Ochaco Uraraka / Izuku Midoriya
Laundromat - Peyton Leverett / Maxine Hunkel
Hogwarts - Stefan Salvatore / Misty Day
Famous - Tom Bronson / Sharpay Evans
Kwami swap (Power Swap) - Yato / Hiyori Iki
Summer Camp - Evan Tildrum / Tani (Ni No Kuni II)
Secret agent - Izuku Midoriya + Bakugou Katsuki
Mermaid - Senel Coolidge / Shirley Fennes
Royalty - Stefan Salvatore / Jesse Wells
Fake dating - Stefan Salvatore / Freya Mikaelson
Reincarnation - Jason Grace / Piper McLean
Life Swap - Stefan Salvatore + Eugene Woods
Neighbors - Roxas / Olette (Kingdom Hearts)
Sidekick - Iris West + Ashley Williams
Circus - Shizuku Mizutani / Haru Yoshida
Reverse Crush - Katsuki Bakugou (MHA) / Leila (Riordan-verse)
Coffee shop - Ryuji Sakamato / Makoto Niijima
Childhood Friends - Stefan Salvatore / Elena Gilbert
Crime - Tenko Midoriya + Hana Midoriya + Izuku Midoriya
Historical - Barry Allen / Iris West
Office / workplace - Sebastian Debeste / Kay Faraday
Friends with Benefits - Goro Akechi / Haru Okumura
bff swap - Sean Diaz / Ally Parker
Internet - Masayuki Hori / Yuu Kashima
Gym - Eijiro Kirishima / Katsuki Bakugou
Time travel - Max Carson / Lester Papadopoulos
Roommates - Jeremy Gilbert / Kol Mikaelson
"Dealer's Choice" - Roland Crane + Evan Tildrum

PROGRESS: 31/31

Comments

Life Swap - Stefan Salvatore + Eugene Woods | wordcount: 795

[sunrises]

The stove was smoking again. Stefan had scrubbed the burners from top to bottom at least five times at this point, and yet the ever-present stench of burnt bits lingered. Even with the ventilator running at full speed.

He should have turned the heat down and given up on his meal. Or maybe he should've given the others on the Iskaulit a proper heads-up too, just in case the sprinklers decided to bless them with an impromptu shower. The electric wiring was finicky at best. Wouldn't be the first time he was greeted with an indoor rainstorm. Stefan also figured it wouldn't be his last, at the rate he was going.

But boy, was he hungry - and that roaring boil inside his saucepan was tempting. So he scrambled on top of the empty kitchen island, sat cross-legged, and waited. Five more minutes until the ravioli was properly cooked, and well, as for the other timer in his head...

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

"Stefan!" Like clockwork, Eugene's voice sprang from the darkness as he approached. Eugene's eyes were glowing a faint yellow as he sprung towards the stove. "Stefan, is everything - are you -"

"I'm fine, clearly." Stefan couldn't fight the laugh in his throat as he swung his legs, turning to face his friend. "The stove just got the better of me again."

Eugene's worry morphed into a scowl. "Did you use baking soda?"

"Of course." Stefan rolled his eyes, leaning forward and resting his elbow on top of his thigh. "Didn't get rid of the smell, and before you judge me - it's not like I had time to worry about a clean stove during the zombie apocalypse."

"So you never stop to remind me." Eugene allowed himself a sigh as he leaned against the counter. "I could smell that all the way from the lounge, by the way."

I worry too much about you, Stefan could hear loud and clear in the silence that followed. Eugene never had to vocalize his worry, when his super-senses spoke for him. Even now, Eugene hadn't wiped his true face off - those raised ridges, the pulsing veins full with blood, and even the black, void-like eyes were all staring back at him. Hungry.

Stefan doesn't think twice about leaning forward and opening a fridge tucked underneath the island.

"Speaking of care... you should take better care of yourself," he finds himself saying, holding out a mason jar filled with animal blood from the last planet. It certainly wasn't pretty to look at; Stefan hadn't thought to filter out the plasma, let alone any of the extraneous fluid, but he figured, Eugene needed all the nutrients he could get. "Here. Sorey and I bottled extra when we last went hunting."

His friend stares at the bottle as if it's a foreign object, written in a different language altogether. Stefan didn't need to be a physic, let alone a medical student, to understand the hesitation written over the guy's face. The unspoken question, the worry - the fear in accepting a gift - again lingered in the air.

They had never talked about Eugene's true condition, let alone the circumstances that chopped off Stefan's leg. Eugene must've felt this gulf lengthen with the gift of blood. He must be weighing the consequences of such a choice. Not that Stefan wanted them to talk.

When faced with those empty, desolate eyes... he would do anything to bring his friend back. It was kind of his fault that Eugene had rushed in here to begin with.

After what felt like forever, Eugene swallowed. "Isn't that... I thought blood wasn't halal?"

"It isn't," Stefan said, fighting back another laugh, "But it's not like I'm the one gulping it all down. There's another law in Islam, remember? To provide for those you love, no matter what it takes?"

Eugene furrows his brow, staring at the jar in deep contemplation. One second, two seconds, three seconds...

He reaches out to accept the jar, twisting the lid and taking a tentative first sip. Color rushes back to his face as the pulsing veins, the raised ridges, and even the void-like eyes fade back into the familiar face Stefan had grown to love and care for.

"In exchange," Eugene begins, in-between hasty sips (Y'Allah, the guy was thirsty), "I'm cleaning that damn stove once and for all."

Stefan brushes past him to turn the heat down, inhaling the savory and satisfying scent of freshly-cooked ravioli.

"Be my guest," he finds himself saying, taking a fork and stabbing that pasta. "Better men have tried and failed."

"Then," Eugene's eyes sparkle with unexpected delight as he grabs his friend in a hug from behind, "I guess I'll just have to be even better."