#think of was the vibing/leaf retake its so fun. sorry for being a fan

[howlingmod]

elliot x reader where he's introducing them to his parents except reader is REALLY unsettling (as in two time levels of unsettling) elliots being a huge sap while reader just stares at his parents they fear for their dumbass son being murdered in his sleep but tough it out (barely) because they love him and he seems happy "me and the bad bitch i pulled with my autism" type dynamic

summary - elliot x reader, pre-forsaken, reader's associated with Something i will not clarify because it is a fun reference for Me. </3

misc - oh this is so cute i love aut4aut love .... accidentally focused on the reader and the parents more but just know you two are being stupid and giggling the whole time

-Elliot spoke so fondly of you to his parents. Everytime you were the subject, he'd go on excitedly about all the things you guys were up to, a cute gesture you'd done for him the other day, how you were working on something for your own family. Recently, he'd gone and visited your parents for the autumnal equinox, and he couldn't let the favor go unreturned, something you and his parents happily accepted.

-They were excited to meet you, happy to see the special someone who had made their boy such a happy man. He'd never shown them pictures of you, saying you were camera shy and didn't like sitting down for photos all too much, so they had no idea what to expect. They were only a little startled at the door.

-There wasn't anything extraordinarily alarming, you weren't actively on fire or immediately threatening, just a little ... odd. You had a wide-eyed look to you, one they'd initially taken as you being nervous but, confirmed by Elliot himself and the passing hours, seemed to just be a constant feature of your appearance. Neither of you were particularly dressed up, but you had both worn the sweaters that they'd sent you for Christmas the previous year, Elliot's warm red contrasting your deeper neutral starkly. (A detail which had brought a tear to his mother's eye, knowing you two had remembered and appreciated them ... she'd had to ask Elliot what you usually wore, wanting to make something that'd fit you well, she was touched to see her efforts weren't in vain.)

-You'd stuck you hand out to shake his father's hand a little earlier than he'd expected, almost as soon as the door had fallen open. A strange decision, sure, but he figured you may have come from a more formal, mannerly background, as your stilted, flat speech matched it.

"It's nice to meet you."

"Oh, the pleasure's all mine!"

-Your hands were extraordinarily cold, grip a little tight. It was fall, that could explain the temperature and, again, you may just be more accustomed to formalities. It made sense, even if he was a little unnerved by how you seemed to stare through him. He wasn't going to make fun of you for being nervous, he understands! He probably wasn't much better meeting his wive's parents. Probably.

-As you all settled in at the dinner table, Elliot largely took over the conversation. Catching up his parents on everything that'd happened since he'd visited last and answering the usual 'how have you been?' type small talk. Not wanting to leave you out, his mother had turned her attention to you.

"How's your family doing, dear? Elliot told me the ... solstice, went well," she smiled, folding her hands on her lap.

"Equinox. The solstice is in a few weeks, for winter," you started, voice stiff, "My family's good. I missed them, Risio especially."

She'd flinched a little, internally wincing at the stiffness of your voice and the correction. She hardly wanted to make a bad impression, especially if she came off as careless. "Ah, my apologies. We've never celebrated the coming-and-goings of the season much. Risio is your...?"

"Dog. I found him when I was younger."

"Oh, you have a dog? Well, isn't that just adorable! Elliot always wanted one when he was a kid, we just never really had the time for one."

You'd smiled at that, a small little crack in the neutral expression you'd kept from the moment you came in, "He told me about that. Risio likes him too, he told me he was happy I found someone to support me in life."

She'd been about to say something else when she'd halted. 'Told me,' weren't you just talking about your dog? Maybe she got lost in the conversation. She looked over at her husband, meeting an equally confused expression. You didn't seem to notice, digging around in your bag for something.

"I have a photo of him, I meant to send you an email with it a while ago but um," you pulled a Polaroid from your bag, sliding it across the table to them, "you guys don't have one and the mail doesn't work."

"Do you mean you can't send anything from your house? I'm pretty sure Elliot sent us a card from there," his father spoke up, confused by your wording once more. You only shrugged.

"It doesn't work the same. He told me as much."

In the time that he'd asked that, his mother had already gone pale looking at the photo. It seemed normal enough, a little poor in quality but not everyone has the same ease of access. It looked like a living room, an older style of home given the short, stained carpeting and bay-and-bow window showing an equally dark lawn, illuminated only by a far off, orange streetlight. There were two taller figures, presumably your parents, but neither of their faces were in frame, neither was illuminated very well either, almost fading into the background. A much younger version of you was sat on the floor, one of the few easily visible figures. You had a wide smile on your face, one that was almost shared by the large dog you had your arms thrown around. It was a bulky, old looking husky, strangely peachy in the face.

"Wow," came his mother's breathless reply. One mimicked by her husband seconds later under his breath, decidedly more grim.

You seemed to frown for only a split second, a small twitch more than anything. "This doesn't really work either. I'm sorry."

His mother was quick to shoot up, waving her hand, "Oh, no no, don't worry about it dear. I'm ... how old is your dog, anyhow?"

You'd paused, looked down in thought for a few moments. "Um," you started, quieter than before, "I think ... maybe 50? Older? I don't know. He never really told me when he was born."

The two of them stopped at that, equally as lost in what to respond with.

"Hey mom, I think there might be smoke coming from the kitchen ..." Elliot spoke up, timidly breaking the silence.

-Safe to say, they were unsettled by your history, even more so by how regularly you conveyed it all as plain, normal facts of your life. His father had stopped Elliot a little later, asking if your parents knew about the whole 'talking dog' thing. Something which Elliot confirmed.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, no! They all seem to understand him, or something like that, at least ... I didn't hear him make a peep while I was over, so I'm not really sure. I mean, there was this one time where I woke up in the middle of the night and (Reader) was out in the living room and I thought they were talking to their Dad but it sounded a little weird so ..." Elliot trailed off, only shrugging a little in conclusion.

-The rest of the night they couldn't help but be unnerved. They didn't want to be rude but ... well, it was a little hard for them to accept. Elliot seemed happy at least, you talked with him the most, referencing inside jokes between the two of you freely. They had to be happy about that, any parent would be glad to know their child found someone that makes them Smile.

-Once the night came to an end, you'd all exchanged your goodbyes. Elliot leaning on you as you turned and walked out the door to your car. They'd waved you two off, sharing a look once you pulled out of the driveway onto the road.

"They seem sweet."