#Spent the whole time squinting suspiciously at a certain type of text box the second time around haha

[egg-noodle]

I read Strange Bedfellows recently and had a fun time!

[jujutsu-headcanons]

Team Tokyo First Years Headcanons

(Ft. Yuji, Megumi, Nobara, Gojo & Sukuna)

Gojo created a group chat with all three students to coordinate things. However, he never knows if Megumi reads the texts because he never says anything (he does), and all Yuji does is send memes, so basically that's its only function now.

Yuji and Nobara created a game: try to take a picture of Gojo with his blindfold off. He takes it off frequently, it's just impossible to catch an image of it. Surprisingly, Megumi of all people has gotten the closest. If you squint, you can see the baby blues.

This escalated into "who can take the ugliest picture of someone without them looking", after capturing an image of Yuji standing next to Gojo's desk with almost four chins. Nobara discovered she has many bad angles and Gojo discovered he's photogenic from ALL angles.

Yuji likes to use Nobara's ugly pictures as reaction images and memes. At first, Nobara beat him up whenever he did, but now as long as they don't leave the first-year chat she doesn't care. She'll even supply them if she's feeling silly.

Gojo started a prank war on accident and it shows no sign of stopping. It started because he enjoys Nobara's over the top reactions. When she found the LIVE snake in her bed (oh boy, everyone's soooo lucky she's good with reptiles), she immediately suspected this was Yuji's doing. She pranked him, he got her back, Megumi walked into a prank on accident, he got them back twice over, and now it just won't stop. Gojo was fully prepared to deal with the consequences, but he isn't complaining.

The First Year prank war is pretty well known around the school, and everyone's learned to stay away from anything that looks suspicious.

Gojo uses this to his advantage too; sometimes he'll pull pranks on the first and even second years just to watch them blame each other. He's even gone as far as pranking Principal Yaga hoping that he would blame the kids, but Yaga knows for a fact it's Gojo. He hasn't done anything about it though. This stresses Gojo.

Most of the time, when they eat out, each student pays for their meal. When Gojo's there he pays for all four of them, and if Yuji tries to use the "I don't have any money" excuse when Nobara decides to stop for a coffee, she'll buy him one too. She holds it against him, though.

If his kids are all craving a certain type of food (i.e. Chinese) Gojo will head out and pick it up and they'll all eat as a family.

Nobara proposed once a month they have a "spa" day. Surprisingly, the other two students agreed. She's allowed to give them manicures and pedicures (so long as she doesn't get carried away), trim and treat their hair, exfoliate their faces, and they help her re-dye her hair. Megumi is a good client, while Yuji gets bitched at a lot for squirming while getting his nails clipped and jerking when he gets his eyebrows plucked.

Yuji also proposed they have a movie night every Friday night. If they're busy, they'll move it to Saturday, or have it earlier in the day during the week. Sometimes the second years will join. Gojo is banned because he's basically seen every movie and always spoils the end. Everyone got mad at Yuji's request to use subtitles but gave up arguing with how loud Yuji chews.

They also have game nights, but they lost the pieces to most board games after Nobara threw them out the window, Megumi is the only one who knows how to play chess and Shogi, and Yuji fears the safety of his controllers after Megumi got dangerously close to beating Nobara in Smash. 

Yuji's room is the main hangout joint because of the electronics he owns. Literally, there's a whole ass common/living room for them to use. However, they go to Nobara's room for a spa day, as long as the boys are gone by sundown.

Gojo knows damn good and well his kids don't like each other in that way and would never have sex with each other, but he still feels the need to give them the talk ™. He's literally given each child a free box of condoms just in case. 

Gojo bought each student customized "if lost, please return to Jujutsu Tech" shirts. Yuji doesn't mind wearing his because it's just another hoodie to him, and Nobara doesn't mind hers because it's a crop top and it's cute. Megumi burned his in front of Gojo. 

Nobara takes the boys shopping a lot. Megumi is surprisingly good at picking out clothes that fit Nobara's physique and taste, and Yuji is there to hype her up when she walks out of the dressing room. He also isn't scared to tell her a dress doesn't look good on her, and she respects that.

Sometimes even Sukuna will pop out and give commentary. He gives really mixed signals, sometimes he tells her how she's not much to look at, sometimes he talks about the things he wants to do to that ass because of how good they look in those jeans. This results in Yuji getting slapped, Nobara yelling something like "Shut it, Fang Face!" And people staring at him funny because of it.

She also buys outfits for the boys and occasionally Gojo, because she's tired of hoodies and black. She was just as shocked as the rest when Megumi walked out in his outfit. He only wore it to shut her up, though, and hasn't worn it since.

No matter what they're doing, Yuji is ALWAYS the DJ. He has playlists for almost every occasion (spa day, sparring practice, car rides, game nights, even the times they just chill in the same room on their phones) and the only person that really complains is Sukuna, but only because he hates the Backstreet Boys.

Yuji bursts out in song a lot. No matter what he's doing, he'll just start singing. If they know it, Nobara and Gojo will join in too. Always ends in a giggle fit.

Sometimes Gojo's hand slips and boom! He has 18 dozen cookies instead of 4. He's been known to wrap the cookies up in nice tins and packages and leave them outside the kid's doors.

Gojo has also been known to cook meals for the kids and drop them off. This helps because Megumi is basically the only one who can actually cook. Yuji thinks instant ramen is okay for every meal, and Nobara burns food in a way it's still edible but you don't really want it.

The kids play wrestle, a lot. Yuji was scared to at first because the only one who really wants to fight is Nobara, but he learned quickly she can both take and deliver a punch just fine. She also isn't one of those girls that gets upset if there's an accidental grope, which is cool.

This is how the others discovered Megumi is ticklish. Yuji probably still has the scar and Nobara doesn't dare try to tickle him again.

Yuji fell asleep once and woke up to Sukuna's mouth on his cheek having a full-blown conversation with Nobara while she was reading a magazine. He swears they were gossiping about boys, but as soon as Yuji was awake enough to pay attention, Sukuna noticed and started bullying him. To this day Nobara still thinks she was talking to Yuji the whole time because she never noticed he fell asleep.

Yuji can fall asleep almost anywhere. Nobara draws on his face a lot. He's spent countless nights on Megumi's floor just because he's too lazy to move literally one room over.

Nobara has a habit of walking into the boys' rooms without knocking. Megumi is usually laying in bed on his phone or sitting at his desk, however, she's walked into Yuji doing some weird shit. Not gross shit, just... Concerning shit.

Once she walked in on him crying and didn't know what to do. She just kinda walked in and sat down with him until he stopped, occasionally rubbing his back. They didn't say a word until Yuji made a joke and Nobara continued with why she even came into his room, to begin with.

The three students are surprisingly supportive of each other like that, it's just kinda awkward and passive-aggressive at times. Sometimes they even confide in Gojo, and he takes it seriously, surprisingly.

Gojo has a Tik Tok account. He participates in every challenge, every dance, every trend, and apparently has a huge following. Yuji gets featured in the videos sometimes when he isn't recording, and he's mostly doing the stupid shit Gojo does, like doing backflips on building ledges.

While Tik Tok is Gojo's forte Yuji has done video game commentary on twitch and yt live. Megumi is quite popular on subreddits about urban legends and related folklore, and Nobara helps maintain blogs about current events, but... It's mostly celebrity gossip and new music.

Every Saturday is chore day and no one's allowed to do leisurely activities or leave until they're done. Rooms and hallways have to be vacuumed, swept, mopped, whatever. Gojo checks that the rooms aren't dirty. He doesn't mind clutter, he just hates wrappers and shit being left around. He especially pays attention to the cleanliness of the bathrooms for some reason. Megumi is good about cleaning his room throughout the week, Nobara usually just has clutter on her nightstand and dresser, and Yuji waits until the last minute to clean.

The first years used to do their laundry separately, but Nobara threw a temper tantrum when she witnessed Yuji just throw all of his clothes in the washer at once and simply turn it on. Now normally, she wouldn't help anyone get out of work, but she also likes things being done the right her way, so she does his laundry for him. Megumi got involved somehow and now they throw all of their clothes in the same basket and divide them by darks, colors, whites, and delicates. She refuses to let any of their overly- soiled clothes touch hers, so those usually get their own wash too. Each student folds and puts away their own clothes. 

Most arguments end with rock paper scissors. Pinkie promises are also sacred.

Gojo keeps a sticker board in the classroom. Whenever the kids do something good, they get a star. Whenever they do something bad, one gets taken away. When they get to five stickers they get a prize from the treasure box.

No one has gotten to five stars yet. This is good because there is no treasure box. Gojo is bullshitting everyone.

Yuji likes to steal Megumi's stickers because he thinks Megumi will not notice. He does every time.

Gojo has a stool in the corner of the classroom complete with a horribly cliche dunce cap he calls "the Naughty Corner" for when the kids "act up". Nobara ends up there because she's always on her phone, Megumi mouths off a lot and has days where he doesn't feel like doing work, and poor Yuji ends up in the naughty corner because Sukuna can't behave.

[ayuyikes]

Hunting a Cryptid pt.1

Yeah so once upon a time I wrote a ModernCryptidAU for my ocs but lost motivation (and I recently found out that that fic is 1.5 years old) so I figured if I post a part I might have motivation to write again... So! Here comes!

There's this house standing on the very edge of the neighborhood. It is a tall, looming, dark victorian style house that had been renovated twice in the past decade. Closed off windows, torn burgundy curtains, the whole gothic horror package. And its owner never came out during the day.

Ayuya had set eyes on this house for some time, but after a bit of research, she was certain.

The guy living there had to be a vampire, no doubt.

The evidence was simple and undeniable.​

First off, he never came out during the day. Which was obviously mentioned before. Vampires burn in the light of the sun, so they have to make their move at night. And who, (after having camped out for nights at his house continuously falling asleep), was only ever seen outside at night? That guy.

Secondly, the house. Why would you move if you lived there already for hundreds of years? Plus the gothic horror obsession only added to it.

Third, and this only came to light after shadowing him one night, he avoided Italian restaurants like the plague. And why? Boom. Garlic.

She could think of more but it was all pointing to the same direction: she had to be dealing with a vampire. No other way around it. The evidence was all there.

So she went for the confrontation. To get the truth out of him.

And here she was, standing on his porch, looking up to the huge mansion that no doubt was the Vampire's Lair. It was day time, so she figured he wouldn't actually come out, but she needed to prove her point. And what better strategy then to attack when the enemy (hostility not yet proven at this point, though) was at his weakest.

Just in case she had brought some garlic with her in her purse, maybe she should consider bringing some holy symbol next time too?

If there will be a next time.

The door opened, she was hastily bracing herself. What if she got dragged in, before the sunlight could actually affect him? She was standing just inside shade. She didn't think this through. Too late, here comes.

In all her panic she almost didn't register the sleepy guy who opened the door for her. Six inches taller than her, in his (probably) pajama pants with a red bedhead and tired green eyes. They looked at her with a mixture of 'what do you want' and a 'it's too early for this' but after pulling herself together and mildly convincing he wasn't going to snatch her, she straightened her back and took a breath.

"Sir, I came here for a very special reason today-"

"If you're selling girl scout cookies," he muttered with a yawn, "then please be on your way, I'm not gonna buy any."

Thrown off, she tried to argue, respectfully. "I'm not selling any cookies, sir, I just want to ask of you-"

As if he was hit with a terrible headache, he hunched over as he laid his hands on her shoulders. "Please make it quick."

With newfound determination, she took a deep breath and asked. "Sir, are you a vampire?"

It was dead silent on his side. Nothing in his form betrayed any sign of denial or even surprise. Just. Blank.

Then he removed his hands from her and shut the door.

She heard him going up the stairs, grumbling."H-hey! Come back!" She cried, banging on the wooden door.

"There's no- you can't hide from the truth!"

"I can shut the door on it," he snarked back, obviously annoyed and distant. "Don't come back, and good night."

"Wh- But- I'll-" she knew that if she wanted an answer, she wasn't going to get a straight one now. "I'll be back! Mark my words!"

She forgot to register the fact he didn't flinch away from the direct sunlight that had hit his arms not even a moment ago.​

The next day, she was back again. This time more prepared. Prepping a persuasion speech and some sort of small interview in case he obliged counted as prepared. Plus the evidence will convince him to talk. No doubt about it.

Once again she knocked on his door. Was the fancy doorknob there two days ago or hadn't she noticed it before?

She went over her speech one more time in her head: how his house had gripped her curiosity and how she had spent over a week researching her suspicions. Intro. Evidence. Interview. Done.

The door was opened again, maybe because he can't see her standing here from any of his windows (thanks to the little roof right over his door), and one look he gave her before his face fell. "It's you."

Thank god he was wearing a shirt this time.

He was about to close the door on her when she grasped his arm. "Please, just hear me out for a moment-"

"Why would I even? Just leave me alone-"

He wiggled just outside of her grasp to close the door on her. Drat.

She had to think of something promising. Something to appeal to him, to keep his attention. But what?​

No use for a speech, this time she thought of something else.

She skipped knocking this time."Sir? Are you home? I brought something for negotiation...?"

It was a more cloudy day and she looked up at the eery lit windows. How can it already be this dark at three in the afternoon?

He opened a window. Success.

He rubbed his eyes and groggily spoke, "Why are you back?"

"I-" her voice wavered, and she fidgeted with her blonde hair. "I brought a peace offering? Maybe then you'd be willing to talk...?"

He squinted at her and pointed to the bag she was hiding behind her bag. "Please tell me you didn't bring any dead animals as 'peace offering'."

She shrunk a little, avoiding his gaze. "... I wasn't gonna let you suck my blood..." She muttered with a volume she hoped he wouldn't catch.

He rolled his eyes. "If you're gonna do shit like that at least bring something edible. And now leave me alone for a while, I'm trying to sleep."

Her eyes lit up a little. "How long do you normally sleep? A week? ... A month?"

He let out a deep sigh. "I'm too tired to be dealing with this bullshit," he grumbled when he moved his hand to the curtain to close it.

"... Alright. I'll just come back in a week," she decided out loud.

"Are you for fu-"

"I'll bring cookies! Till then!"

She didn't give him time to object before leaving the premises.​

Yeah, she had actually baked him cookies. She didn't know if he had a sweet tooth or whatever (can they even digest stuff like that?) but it's the thought that counts, right?

Most people - not sure if that included him - liked chocolate chip cookies, so she stuck with that.

And just in case vampires had a weird reaction to chocolate, she had gotten him gluten free coco cakes too. Can never be too careful.

A good fourth impression was important, right?

This time when she called, he didn't answer. Was he still asleep?

She decided to leave the cookies on the porch with a note, so he couldn't say she didn't keep her end of the bargain. A little note explaining she stopped by and after a little thinking she left her number on it as well. 'As long as a decade hadn't passed since this day, contacting me when you wake up is fine,' was about the gist of it.

She hoped she'd receive a text somewhere within the next year.​

Apparently she could already get a text within a few days.

It was short and to the point, no decoration added.

[Come next friday evening. Bring more cookies.]

At least he liked the cookies?​

There she was again. This time she went around dinner time instead of the early afternoon in the hope to find him in a better mood.

She had waited until friday to show up, like he asked had her to. Her end of the deal was done. Now it was time for some answers.

She had made another batch of the same types of cookies like last time. Better play it safe.

Though she wondered... He seriously invited her? After all the snark and the 'go away' and stuff?

... Were the cookies that good?

Maybe she did something that made him change his mind? But what?

Anyway, when she knocked on the door, he almost simultaneously opened it, as if he was waiting for her. He didn't speak a word, only gestured her in. He looked a lot less tired. That's good.

She let him guide her to the kitchen. The kitchen looked more modern than she had expected, especially since even the hall had been in the same gothic vibe as the house had looked like from outside. The kitchen was nice and cosy and clean (almost as if he never used it.... Suspicious...) and had a small table in the corner. She sat herself down on one of the wooden chairs and waited for him to join her. She put her bag on the table with her.

He poured both of them a cup of tea at the sink where he had already cooked some water (he seriously was waiting for her then?) and brought the mugs to the table, gesturing to the small box where he kept the flavors.

She stuck with red tea.

He picked a bag of black tea for himself and after dropping it in his mug he leaned with his chin on his hand, watching her for a moment.

"Well, here we are," he eventually blurted out.

She couldn't bring herself to speak. Did he call her here to answer her questions? Or did he just want to talk about something else?

"Listen, I know you've come here multiple times over 'vampire' business..." He started, straightening his back and running his hand through his hair. She just listened patiently. "I'm just- I was wondering why, I guess."

She found her voice again. "You mean, why I think you're a vampire?"

"I mean," he rest his elbows on the table again, "why are you so fixated on me being a vampire? Coming by for four days straight, even leaving cookies and a note - and were you honestly thinking I was gonna sleep for a /decade/?"

She took a hesitant sip. He resumed.

"I just- why are you-" he struggled with words for a second. "What are you trying to do? What do you want me to do?"

"Do you want me to tell you 'I'm a vampire' so you can just go on with your life or something? I mean," he folded his hands together, "just... Help me out here."

She looked at her glass for a moment. "I... I don't know. I mean, of course I'd wanna be right. I guess I'm just... Looking for validation here...?"

She looked him in the eye. "So, are you a vampire?"

"Short answer?" He asked before taking a sip. "No."

"But- the house-"

"Family heirloom."

"You only come out at night-"

"I'm a night guard. My sleep schedule is already royally fucked, okay."

"Haven't you like been sleeping for a few days?"

"Only for ten hours, and after that I saw your message and didn't know what to do about it for a while. So... Yeah."

"And you avoid garlic!"

"I do what now? Lady, I love garlic. I don't see how you got to that conclusion."

"But..." She hung her head right above the table. "But I was so certain..."

"Which is why I ask," he put his mug down with a thump, "whats with all the effort? The chance vampires actually exist is close to zero, you know."

"But-" she unconsciously felt herself lean forward, more towards him, "I just- I know there’s something out there- I want to believe in the extraordinary. I know there's at least something like that and I-“

She muttered something he couldn't quite catch.

"A bit louder for the people in the back, please," he ended up saying, stretching an arm while closing his eyes.

"... I just want to finally be right.”

His eyes shifted to her. Hers were trained on her mug, with her arms propped up on the table, looking pretty vulnerable. And he knew he had no real reason not to, but he felt guilty he'd been harsh the first time around.

Apparently he'd hit a nerve, damnit.

"Hey, uhh," he trailed off, not sure what to do with his arms. He was no good at this. He just patted her shoulder lightly. "Don't worry about this... Setback, okay? Sure, I wasn't exactly what you thought I'd be but... I'm sure next time will turn out better?"

He glanced at her face one more time and saw tears had started to form in her eyes. Yikes.

He was so not good at this.

"This was already my 'next time'..." She admitted before taking a sip. The way she drank that she should've been drinking tequila.

"C'mon it- it can't be that bad..." He trailed, his head running a thousand miles per hour. "You just gotta find another lead, right? Well, then we just gotta start looking."

She seemed to perk up at that. "You're gonna help me?" She asked, more surprised than anything else.

"Well, I owe you for the cookies, I guess." He shoved his chair back and dug in his drawers looking for a pen and some paper. "Okay, so who we got?"

She looked like she was in thought and mindlessly wiped her eyes. "W-well, that old man living on 11th has a weird obsession with dogs..."

He inwardly cheered when he finally found a worn notebook. "Okay, so we got a candidate for a werewolf, what else?"

He heard rustling in the back, with the soft crunching on cookies followed not long after. "Also... There's also this creep whom I always see leaving the hardware store with nothing but tape..."

He pretended to scribble while he kept searching for a pen. "So a serial kidnapper, good, and what about that doctor that got fired last week, living on whatsit uhh something avenue. You know, they had to keep him for a few days for being in 'suspicious condition' or something...?"

"I'm not sure," she said just when he had found a pen. "It could also be him not handling the situation well..."

"Yeah, but he's also a creep."

"True..."

He'd joined her at the table again, having quickly scribbled the three people down in bullet points, the doctor followed by a question mark.

"Well, that's three already and we're not even five minutes further. I'm sure you can do this. You just gotta hit it big once, you know," he said while he laid his hand on hers for a moment.

She flashed him a soft smile while his hand lingered. After a while he felt himself get more and more awkward so he cleared his throat and moved the hand through his hair. "So, uhh, got any more?"

They talked for a while about random people who seemed a little suspicious until they got totally off track and went from cars to dogs to eventually come back to vampires. By that time she had totally reverted from her previous meltdown and was now laughing to a lame snark he had made not even a moment before.

"I just-" she tried to talk through her giggles "I can't believe I thought you were a vampire. You're too much of a dork for the gloomy image."

"What," he gasped loudly, fake hurt. "Well excuse me for not being an uptight jerk!"

"Who said a vampire has to be a jerk?" She countered with laugh. "For all you know they're teddy bears."

"Oh yeah?” He snorted. “Maybe they’re not even what you think they’re like- what you’d call a vampire might not even be one at all!"

While he said it with a chuckle and a smile, after her initial laugh the question took her aback and she stared at him for a while. Her silence made him fall silent and he grabbed his mug for a drink but it was already empty.

"Uh... I mean..." the ongoing silence apparently made him nervous as he fidgeted with his cup, "I've had an ... interest in vampires some time ago and so I've read quite some stuff on them... but... I mean... the books on them are all speculation. What if they're not... What if they're completely the opposite of what you imagine them to be?"

He ended up looking her in the eye by the time he finished his last question, and every single bit of lightheartedness seemed to have evaporated from the room. He looked at her like he really wanted her to answer. So she thought about it, momentarily breaking eye contact. Would she be disappointed? No, of course not. It'll take time adjusting, sure, but...

"You know, I had envisioned you to be totally different," she started, searching for his eyes again. She flashed him a smile. "But I think like you better as you are right now."

A moment seemed to pass but when her words hit home he seemed to turn three shades of red and he coughed into his hand for diversion. She thought it was cute but her remark made the atmosphere a little tense so she added, "I think I'd be able to adapt to a not-so-regular vampire too, if one manages to show up."

They both resided in silence once more, although it was no longer awkward. It seemed to be filled with words unspoken, but it was broken just as fast as it appeared.

He had looked at the clock.

"It's already late, I'll walk you home," he said when he shoved his chair back. He took their empty cups back to the kitchen sink. "I don't think it's wise for a girl to still be out when it's this dark."

"I can handle myself just fine, thank you very much," she retorted, knowing full well he was right. She didn't know too much about this part of the neighborhood to feel completely safe.

"Well, if there really are 'vampires' roaming these streets," he said before turning around with what looks like a torn off wooden stick in his hand, "two are better than one, right?"

"What's that?"

"A stake...?" He answered sheepishly.

"Did you seriously break a wooden spoon for this," she asked with a hint of mockery in her voice.

"It was already broken, take it or leave it." He deadpanned.

"I don't think it's the right type of wood," she muttered.

"Welp," he threw it over his shoulder against the bin. "I'm still walking you home, I don't think refusing is a good idea."

He had already walked back into the hall, towards the coatrack and started putting on an army green jacket. She followed him into the hall, fumbling for the light switch and turning off the lights in the kitchen.

She then turned to him again. "I don't think we've actually introduced ourselves. I sure don't know your name."

He paused, then stuck out a hand. "Well, I'm Tiro. Not sure if I caught your name."

"Ayuya." She shook it. "I guess we did get a rough start."

"Well, don't ask me to 'start over', though. I won't forget you turning up at my door at my equivalent of 3 AM."

"In my defense, trying to make contact with a 'vampire' when he was at his weakest sounded like a good strategy to me."

"What kinda vampire would open his door with the sun all ablaze?"

"... Fair point."

He handed her an umbrella. "If the weather report is right, it's gonna rain sometime soon. You didn't bring a coat, so use it."

She eyed the umbrella, dumbfounded. "I uh... Thanks."

He slipped his keys in his pocket and proceeded to the door. Looking out, it was dark and cloudy like it would rain soon. He opened the door.

"Well, where to?"

She gave him short directions to her apartment complex and they started walking.

"So, uh," he tried to start a conversation after a while of silence, "How long have you lived here?"

"About..." she took a while to think, finger to her lip, "... six months now? I came here as soon as I found a job here. I had an apartment here already, but started actually living here when I transferred jobs."

"Then what do you do?"

"Oh I'm uhh," she seemed a bit abashed. "I'm a barista at the moment. It doesn't pay that bad, and the coworkers are nice," she rambled, missing his surprised look, "and, well, free coffee for me, I guess?"

"What place."

"Huh?"

"At which place you work?"

"At Hipster's Paradise, it's not that good-"

"No kidding! A friend of mine works there!"

"Really?" Her mind browsed through her colleagues' faces. "Who is it?"

"He's a blond guy named Lucas," he grinned with a fond look. "He's been my best friend since, what, middle school?"

"Oh!" Like a slot machine, her mind hit the guys portrait and a jingle played in her head. "Lucas! I know him! He's so nice! I always look forward to shifts with him!"

She eyed him for a little before saying, "Though... you were not exactly the image I had when Lucas talked about his 'friends'..."

She silently referred to his get-up. Lucas was a friendly and gentle guy, radiant smile, kind to even the rudest customers. Then there was mister red with his hair combed back, leather bracelet, army jacket and gothic horror house. Not to mention his moody first impression and vampire suspicions that were only cleared today. Kind of the prime example of what not to expect.

"And what exactly is wrong with me then?" He eyed her skeptically, stopping in his tracks.

"Nothing wrong, but you're just very different. At first glance, I mean."

He snorted and made a gesture to keep walking. "I guess I am."

"Well," she resumed, trying to make it sound a little better, "I guess as a person you would be one of the people he'd talk about. So which one are you, the moody workaholic or the stoic crossword puzzle solving man-child?"

She got a hearty laugh out of him. "Neither, but I do know who they are. They’re old friends of us. Lucas still talks with them over Skype."

She pouted when he said, "Well, next time he talks about me, don't worry, you'll know. Once you've seen me at my worst, I'm fairly easy to detect in stories."

"And your worst is...?" She asked, having a vague idea what it was.

"My morning mood."

"Noted," she said with a nod. She recognized the neighborhood; they were already close to her home.

"Wait, are you the coffee disaster guy?"

"Coffee disa- honestly, how did he tell that story? All I did was come in for coffee, and slightly tripped over the janitor on my way out. Big deal."

"You were holding like five liters of coffee."

"I had to bring for my coworkers too; lost a bet."

"You literally got coffee everywhere; even the ceiling."

"Well I'm sorry for existing. I had literally woken up five minutes before that alright cut me some slack."

She stifled a laugh. "I can't believe I thought the coffee disaster guy was a vampire."

"It's a small town; the odds were there," he said as if it was the biggest truth of the world.

"I can't believe I’m friends with the coffee disaster guy."

"Well excuse me for- friends?"

He stopped in his tracks, coincidentally just outside of her place. She turned more towards him, didn't bother hiding her confused look.

"Well, yes? I mean, this counts as friends, right? I had fun tonight, I believe you did too, so we're friends, right?"

He remained silent for a while. It felt off.

"... Did you have fun tonight?"

"Of course I did. Wouldn't've put up with you if I hadn't."

"Then... would you hate it to hang out again in the near future?"

"Don't think so."

"Then we're friends, right? We can hang out with Lucas and do something with the three of us. It sounds like it should be fun. I think Lucas would like it too."

He seemed like he had doubts. In what, exactly?

"You've already got my number. You're not obligated to anything; just hit me up when you feel like it, alright?"

She handed the umbrella back to him. "Thanks for walking me home, I think you'll need this one more than I will. And a good night."

She started heading for the stairs, feeling a little insecure. Were they not on the same page? Did she miss something?

Halfway up the stairs she felt her phone vibrate.

She went to look at the text she got on pretty much auto pilot.

[I'll be talking to you soon then.]

She read the contact’s name and she spun around, almost surprised to see him still at the bottom of the stairs, phone in hand. She read something playful on his face, with half a smirk he said, "No take backs."

She snorted. "It seems a little too late for that, doesn't it?"

They waved each other a good night and she headed inside, soon finding her apartment door and keys and making herself ready for a good night's sleep.

Tiro on the other hand was still outside her apartment building. Not exactly looking at it, just talking to himself.

"Hmmm alright. Not my smartest move. What am I gonna do now?"

He ruffled his own hair as to banish a thought. "Did I finally convince her I was nothing, and now we’re friends. Why couldn’t I just let myself get off the hook?!"

He just deeply sighed.

"Maybe it's alright. I mean, I think I can trust her. She seems alright."

He started walking in the opposite direction. "Well," he muttered, "out of everyone questioning my humanity she's the one I'd actually considered revealing myself to but..."

He furiously shook his head. "Oh, I don’t think she’d take kindly on me lying about it. Though I wasn't exactly wrong..."

He spotted an alley and after throwing glances around he headed in. He laid the umbrella on the ground. "Let's just hope she won't find out."

He took a deep breath and focussed. Focussed on the wind for a bit. Closed his eyes for a second. Then took his umbrella and took off, like a bat into gathering mists.