Chapter Text
- Silco is a man of habit.
- He has particular routines and rituals that he likes to stick to, and he likes things to be a certain way.
- Most of these habits are perfectly innocuous; the way he knots his tie, the way he styles his hair, the way he crosses his 7’s, the way he shelves his books by genre instead of alphabetically, the tap-tap-twist he uses to stub out a cigar.
- A few of these habits are not so innocuous; the purposeful way he makes his chair creak to instil a sense of unease, the precise way in which he rolls his sleeves when he’s about to get his hands dirty, the specific way he twists his knife to get his victim’s scream to rise in pitch.
- None of these habits are particularly worth noting (unless you’re the victim at the end of his knife, that is).
- But there is one habit of Silco’s that always leaves those who encounter it somewhat baffled.
- Silco likes munching on ice.
- It’s why he takes it in his drink, despite the way it dilutes his bourbon.
- He likes the sharp cold against his cheek, he likes the way it crunches, he likes the texture as he chews the cube into smaller shards, he likes the noise, and he likes the way it finishes melting on his tongue.
- Overall, he finds it to be a satisfying and cathartic ritual, and a good de-stresser.
- The habit had been born from Vander and Benzo’s incessant teasing of Silco’s stature; claiming the reason he was so ‘short and scrawny’ (compared to them) was because he never ate or drank anything other than whiskey. And so one day Silco had begun pointedly gnawing on the ice in his drink; thus killing two birds with one stone in a sarcastic, roundabout way.
- And it had simply stuck.
- Silco has never paid much attention to his health, but he justifies his odd habit quietly to himself as his way of ensuring he consumes enough water.
- Not that he needs to justify it, of course. He’s the most powerful man in the Undercity; and if he wants to eat ice cubes then he’s damn well going to do so.
~JINX~
- Silco had first indulged this habit of his in front of Jinx only a few weeks after he’d taken her under his wing.
- He’d been working at his desk in the newly fitted office above The Last Drop, and his blue-haired ward had been sprawled on the rug with a stack of paper and a box of oil crayons.
- He’d finished his drink and had taken a half melted cube between his teeth with a crunch.
- Jinx’s inquisitive little head had snapped up at the sound, and she’d questioned what he was eating (in the way children do when they’re trying to suss out whether it’s something theywould like to eat also).
- When he’d told her, she’d tottered over and had grabbed his jaw with little fingers, encouraging him to open his mouth and show her.
- She’d given him a weird, scrunched-up look for a moment upon seeing the clear chunks melting on his tongue, and then had decided it was very funny, and that she wanted one for herself.
- Silco had smoothly removed the glass from her reach as she’d grabbed at it. He may be completely new to caring for children, but even he knew enough to not let her consume something that’s been recently submerged in whiskey.
- Instead he’d fetched two fresh cubes from his icebox and had sat back in his leather chair.
- Jinx had been very openly affectionate towards Silco from the get-go, but this was the first time she had clambered into his lap; happily, without a care in the world, and had sat herself on his knee with her legs swinging beneath her.
“It’s cold,” Silco warns with a raised brow.
Jinx only giggles and opens her mouth wide, sticking her tongue out and making an “Aaah” sound.
Silco pops the ice into her mouth and she squeals with delight. He watches her with quiet mirth as she nibbles and slurps at the melting cube, before popping his own ice into his mouth with a small smile.
- If Silco hadn’t already been irreversibly taken by the child, that had been the moment that had sealed his fate as a father forever.
- It became their little tradition; whenever Silco finished his drink and crunched down on the remnant ice cubes, Jinx would run over to his drinks-cart and fetch one of her own.
- Even now that she’s growing into a wild and wilful young woman, she still sometimes grabs a cube on her way out of his office; popping it into her mouth with a cheeky grin over her shoulder.
~SEVIKA~
- Sevika hates it when silco eats ice in front of her.
- She claims that the noise of it ‘gives her the willies’.
- Silco may butt heads with his right-hand more often than not, but he does make a conscious effort to remember not to do it when she’s around.
- That is, unless, she’s displeased him in some way. And then he does it on purpose.
- Sevika is formidable, and unshakeable. But when he crunches down on an ice cube in her presence, it’s the only time he ever sees her squirm.
Silco finishes his drink. And the noise of teeth cutting into ice fills the silence left in the wake of Sevika’s disappointing report.
She shivers and then grumbles “Fuck sake Silco, you know I hate that.”
“And I hate it when my shipments do not go according to plan, due to the inadequacy of someone who should know better.”
She grinds her teeth at the slight, but holds her tongue. Silco crunches down again and her mouth twitches in a wince.
“Fix it, Sevika.”
~JASPER~
- Silco hardly ever interacts with Jasper, and that arrangement suits them both just fine.
- He can tell that the gruff bar manager doesn’t like him, and Silco couldn’t give less of a shit if he tried.
- But he does have a passing respect for Jasper; he’s a good manager, and Silco likes that he doesn’t have to concern himself with the day to day running of the club. Plus he’s always direct, which Silco appreciates.
- Their only interactions come in the form of a quick monthly meeting to discuss sales figures and any maintenance issues for the bar, or when Jasper needs Silco’s signature on purchase orders.
- Or when he tops his icebox up for him.
“Come in,” Silco says in response to the curt rap on his office door.
Heavy footsteps make their way over and Silco holds out his hand without bothering to look up. He gives the purchase order that’s placed in his hand a cursory glance before signing his name. Higher quantities of alcohol than usual; an indication of good business.
The familiar sound of clattering ice cubes fill the office – Jasper topping up his personal icebox from the silver bucket in his hands.
The bulky man approaches the desk again once he’s finished to collect the paperwork, and Silco crooks his fingers at the bucket in Jasper’s hand. The man offers it out wordlessly, and Silco dips his fingers in to remove two cubes.
He drops one into his drink.
“Listen boss, ‘bout last night,” Jasper says gruffly, “I’m sorry if the newbie bothered you or wasted your time. But please don’t… take it out on her. She’s a good kid, and a hard worker. I’ll take responsibility.”
Silco peers up at the green-haired man from beneath his brow, while toying idly with the ice cube in his fingers.
“Duly noted,” Silco says eventually, before popping the ice into his mouth.
Jasper’s brows pinch together briefly at the action, before he nods once with a grunt, and leaves with the bucket and signed papers in hand.
~READER/ASTRID~
- Silco had refrained from indulging in his ice habit during your first and second drinks meetings in his office.
- But he’d forgotten himself the third time.
- You’d raised an eyebrow at him when he’d knocked back the dregs of his bourbon, allowing a cube past his lips, which he’d immediately crunched into without thought.
- If he’d felt embarrassed, it had only been for a split second, and he’d been careful to ensure it hadn’t shown on his face.
- And then he’d questioned why he would feel embarrassment in the first place.
- And then he’d questioned why he’d forgotten himself for a dangerous, fleeting moment – when he’s always so careful and in control.
- Your weekly presence in his office has raised a lot of questions for him.
“Peckish, are we?”
“Running the Undercity is hard work.”
“You might find that eating some actual food would give you a little more energy.”
“I enjoy ice.”
“So I can see, no wonder you practically disappear when you turn sideways. It doesn’t hurt your teeth?”
“No. It’s good practice for when I grind the bones of my enemies to dust.”
- You’d snorted a laugh, and that’s when Silco had quietly realised that, over the space of just a few meetings, you’d already seemingly lost your fear of him.
- He hadn’t known how to feel about that revelation.
- You’d taken his tumbler and refreshed it for him at his cart, and it hadn’t escaped his notice that you’d put in an extra ice cube for him.
- And it hasn’t escaped his noticed that you’ve continued to do so ever since (whenever he hasn’t already prepped the tumblers himself).
- Again, he doesn’t know how he feels about this.