goldenchildminmin

[goldenchildminmin]

|| Naia & Minho ||

It was a good day today for Minho - a whole morning of therapeutic shopping and sightseeing around town. Everything was sunshine and rainbows and butterflies as he sauntered peppily down the sidewalk, a few smaller to medium-sized shopping bags hung over the bends of his arms - designer brands of course, each and every one of them. He really didn’t have to go out in full disguise in Greywood but still, he had his large shades on, a bit oversized for his delicate face, but still fashionably fitting and giving him that subtle diva look. As always, he was impeccably dressed, eternally devout to his fashion advisor and assistant. Rare were the mornings when they did not Face Time to pick Minho’s outfits for the day.

With a hum on his lips and literal pink-colored glasses, Minho would’ve probably remained in this lovely good mood for the entire day if his keen eyes hadn’t noticed a familiar face walking towards him from the opposite direction down the street. For a moment, the fae man froze with disbelief. It couldn’t be! It simply could not! An intense sense of panic seized him and he looked left and right, a street crossing nowhere in sight to use so he could escape to the opposite side. And she was drawing near, she was sure to notice him soon. He had half the mind to toss all of his precious shopping bags at her as a sacrifice and then run for it but he’d just bought a lovely Burberry scarf he just couldn’t bear to part with. He wasn’t heartless.

So, he did the next best thing. Or at least that was the best his poor, addled mind in a state of complete panic and shock could think of. He ran aside and glued himself to the brick wall of the nearest building, like a chameleon glamouring himself with brick-like textures and colors to hopefully blend in with the wall. Alas, unlike he flat wall, he was very much curved and three-dimensional so all he achieved was to add a Minho-shaped protrusion to the otherwise smooth side of the building. He wasn’t even subtle about it, a few passersby noticed this odd behavior and gave him weird looks as they moved along. Minho though took his role as a part of the wall very seriously and even stopped breathing, standing perfectly still there and hoping Naia would just… go away. Oh please heaven’s and rain above make this fiendish, faerie-eating demon-woman go away!!

@siircn

[goldenchildminmin]

|| Avery & Minho ||

Minho pushed himself up on his toes as far as they could handle his weight but it was to no avail - he still could not reach the pack of coconut water in cans tucked away on the topmost shelf in this aisle. With a little exasperated sigh, he gave up, arm dropping down from the attempt and heels touching the floor again. Looking left and right, he could not spot anyone available in the store to assist. Could it possibly be that all the store clerks took their lunch break at the same time?! 

Someone rounded a corner and walked into the aisle Minho was loitering around and a spark of hope illuminated the fae man’s face. “Yoo-hoo! Hello, hi! Excuse me!” He chirped, practically skipping over to the other man but the closer he got the more apparent it was becoming that they were sort of… a similar height. By the time Minho was in front of Avery, his hope was almost completely crushed. “Ah… Never mind.” He deflated, the corners of his lips turning downwards as he gave the werewolf a once-over from head to toe. Yup, definitely the same height, he would not be able to reach the top shelf either!

@chaoticwolfmoore

[goldenchildminmin]

|| Thaddeus & Minho ||

“Come on in, darling. Everything is ready.” Minho stepped away from the door to let Thaddeus into his home, still spacious and pristine as it always was, a perfect, impressive blend of hospital white, spaceship-like modern technology and unrestrained nature. It wasn’t the main door Minho had told Thad to come ringing to, main door meant going through the whole house and Minho’s house was too big to go through unnecessarily. It was one of the side doors, the one that would take them to Minho’s backyard quickly. 

“Are you ready, though?” He asked as he reached to wrap long fingers around Thad’s wrist to gently guide him around to where everything was waiting, ready for the ritual. Prior to Thaddeus arriving, Minho had let his wings out, feeling like being closer to how he truly looked like, who he truly was, would form a deeper connection to whatever magic he could still use in the human world. Long as they are, like a cape behind him dragging across the floor, he had to have them draped over the bend of his arm like fabric and they still got in the way, their ends easy to step or trip on. But Minho was an expert by now at evading his own burdens. After all, they made him beautiful - at least they did back home, on the fae-side. No one ever claimed beauty wasn’t also an inconvenience. He was rich and royal there, he did not need to lift a finger let alone a wing so he did not need them smaller or fully functional. 

The rest of him though was the usual, heavily glamoured Minho. Although Thaddeus was familiar with the fae, since both his deceased wife and lovely daughter were fae, Minho was very aware that there was no two identical faeries in the world. Kylee might’ve been less shocking for the human world, appearance-wise. Minho was not. Even Thaddeus who was obviously used to people from other worlds might have a hard time seeing Minho’s true appearance in full. Most people here, in the mortal realm, did.

@thad-spaulding

[goldenchildminmin]

Minho smiled, to know that he was successful at recreating the likeness of the dessert Min-Ji had described felt like praise to him and that was how he chose to take it. His smile then turned to a little, probably unnecessary frown. “Oh no, then we must have it soon so you would not suffer so terribly on my account.” Then a small delighted gasp left his parted lips. “Twenty! Will it be enough?” It was a little tease directed Min-Ji’s way, but it was all in good jest. His whole expression grew ever more gentle as his dearest friend spoke of such whimsical, adorable things that Minho couldn’t help but finally giggle from the heart. “Ahh, you sweet little tumbling berry fruit, how you make my heart warm! Why, I have forgotten what I’ve been sad about all this while!” With a little flick of his hand, the illusion which Min-Ji likely wouldn’t even be able to pick up let alone taste for it was just that, air painted with magic and nothing more, he made it disappear just like that, not a trace of it left. 

Although not yet at full capacity, Minho did push himself off the chaise to sit, the scenery of an open wall looking into some fantasy distant land fading away until they were just in his room as it truly was. “That all sounds so lovely, darling. And I am sure Oreo would love it too. Ahh, what would I do without you?”

Minho's illusionary magic was always so impressive for Min-Ji to witness who had never managed to get a good grasp on it though some illusion magic was meant to be accessible to most fae. She just never seemed able to focus long enough on what she wanted to create in order to do it so whenever she managed the image would always end up somehow altered or disfigured as a testament to her distracted thoughts. Seeing how a very real looking plate of a croffle now between them, the young fae woman clapped her hands together softly, "Oh. Oh yes that looks just like it!" If she was unaware of his illusionary magic she might have thought he had conjured it up and would try to take a bite from it but she knew it must certainly only be an illusion despite how perfect it appeared.

"I will not have it again until I can have it with you," Min-Ji promised resolutely, giving a sure nod and was determined to keep it. "We'll have twenty between us both!" She exalted brightly and already excited for this proposed future. "We shall have the happiest day! Stuff ourselves with croffles and then go shopping and maybe we can take your siblings out with us too! There is an Adoption Cafe I want to go to, you know, I've heard they have kittens and puppies and also guinea pigs and bunnies and also birds and piglets and we can feed them and of course they all get along because the owner is a witch proficient in animal speaking and tells them all to get along and so they do. Isn't that such a lovely thought? So many precious little cute creatures all being so friendly and lovely to each other? Just imagine, a little piglet snuggling up with some bunnies and birds!"

[goldenchildminmin]

Minho watched the ball Tyler had tossed out fly away in a very impressive arch, digging his heels in a little because he predicted some of his doggos getting distracted by it and starting to pull. Luckily the belt leash did wonders for walking this many puppers at once and the ones currently off leash were all well-behaved anyway and if any had started to sprint after Nugget, they quickly checked themselves and trotted back to Minho’s side. “Hmm? Sweet? Oh! Must be my Paco Rabanne! You like it?” Minho asked innocently, just happy for someone to notice his efforts, whether they’d be with how he dressed, looked, did his makeup, glamoured or smelled. 

“Oooh Nugget, how sweet! Hello Nugget, look at you, such a lovely little baby boy with his toy and all, you brought it back too, very gallant!” Minho absolutely gushed at the pup as soon as he’d returned, his own little rascals getting antsy upon hearing their person’s praising baby voice, either thinking it was for them or jealously trying to get his attention by putting their tiny pawsies up onto his pant legs. It was their person, theirs!! Don’t look at the big blonde doofus called Nugget, just look at us! Minho paid them no heed though, knowing they would only grow worse if he indulged them. “How old is Nugget? Or rather, how long have you two been companions?” He hummed in his sing-song voice, gathering up the leashes to just have a better hold on his dogs. “Oh, would you mind if we walked and talked? They are getting a little mischievous here!” He chuckled, meaning his toy poodles - it was difficult to contain a whole pack of small hyper dogs and Minho knew that at some point he’d have to start moving or risk getting tangled up in all the leashes around him.

Tyler laughed softly as he looked down at the dogs before he rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh I'm sure they are." Tyler said as he smiled softly as he tilted his head slightly. Tyler blushed a little when Minho told him not to fret. "Sorry, I have a habit of doing it." Tyler said but nodded his head slightly. He glanced down at Nugget, who nudged his hand wanting some attention. "Yes, sorry pup." Tyler said as he picked up the ball and tossed it for him before he looked back to Minho. He shifted a little, moving a bit closer to and took another breath. "Hmm you smell sweet?" Tyler questioned as he tried to pick the smell.

Tyler watched as Nugget return to them, dropping the ball before Minho bent over to give nugget attention. Tyler ran his eyes over the male again, before he smiled softly. "Nugget." Tyler said simply.

[goldenchildminmin]

“Ah…” Minho trailed off, now completely discouraged and deflating. It seemed like there was truly nothing he could do for her, her refusal was very apparent. He managed a small smile and then a curt nod, moving away to walk at her side again so they can continue on, hands slipping into the pockets of his cashmere coat dejectedly. It had now occurred to him why this woman seemed so familiar to him - the apprehensive, timid behavior, the wary expressions, stammering and insecure soft tone and a look in her eyes like he was foreign, alien to her and even perhaps maybe something dangerous. At least that was the impression Helen had left him with the last time they’ve met, even if that might’ve not been her intention.

“I do feel as if we’ve met before, you and I. As a matter of fact I am growing quite certain of it! It was a couple of months ago, I have been feeling a tad bit unwell and had dropped by the hospital for a checkup and ran into someone very like you in the street. You are probably not recognizing me because I looked… rather different back then.” He started carefully with a little smile on his face, hoping this was slow and tentative enough for her to ease into. She was apparently a very faint-hearted person, at least that was what Minho had divined about her.

"No, no, please, it's okay," she quickly reassured the other person and raised a hand as if to show a stop sign. "It was my fault. He would understand and maybe help me out or take it to the dry cleaner if it does not work," she quickly added, though she had yet to see Alexander do something as mundane as this. And she hoped he would understand and wouldn't be angry with her, but that was an always present hope for her and in her daily life, so she was too used to it to currently get too worried. It was something to think about later. His next words however got her out of the calmness she was trying to put herself in, her heart picking up its rate quickly.

It was true, she had gotten somewhat used to the idea that some strange things existed in this town, she sometimes saw things that looked like tiny fae folk, magic tricks on the street and with the half year of experience she had come to find things about her husband and his nature she still found hard to admit... and that there were others as him. But a part of her still thought that all these things were simply in her imagination, a product of the loneliness of the past years. So the idea of endorsing it around her or for her was not on her wants list. "That's okay, really... there's no need," she said, with a smile while she looked at him, trying to return the serene expression he had, but as she turned forward again she bit her lip.

[goldenchildminmin]

“Well I can’t help it darling, I am getting old and jaded!” Minho feigned being affronted by her accusation of being depressing but knew she did not mean it that way, he was mostly being dramatic for comic relief reasons. He then hummed softly, tilting his head as he held his chin in his palm, dark eyes adopting an almost melancholy look in them. “A family of my own, for starters. But I am too afraid of my family back home trying to meddle. It’s never good when my family meddles.” He then burst into a peal of bubbling laughter at her almost protective enthusiasm. “Well I can’t let you meet them unsupervised! That would go terribly, for all parties involved I am sure.” His mirth died down gradually though, Minho unable to maintain it as their conversation grew more touchy for him by the minute. “Truly not forever, not any more.” It was said with a double meaning because once upon a time Minho did have forever. Now, banished to the mortal world as he was, the forever was gone. 

In any case, he was much happier to focus on whatever gossip Rosita had for him. He had to admit that he expected stories of fun escapades and exaggerated meetings but instead, he got Rosita revealing deeper thoughts under the superficial surface. “Oh, darling…” Minho hummed softly as she leaned away, watching her pretend that she was suddenly very interested in the menu, his expression deeply sympathetic for her. It was very easy to move Minho to feelings and empathy. “Why don’t you get something warm today, hm? Warm tummy, warm heart, yes?” He encouraged in a sweet voice, picking up the menu too to find something for Rosita to choose from. “How about a nice, steamy egg drop soup, hm? Or maybe we can order nabe and share? That’s this, right here, a large pot for us, very delicious.” He pointed out the things he’d mentioned for her on the menu, so she could read through what went into those dishes and decide if they sounded good.

The young fae didn't know if she would ever get to live for a whole century. It felt like such a long time to her, especially when she wasn't interested in spending much time in the faerie realm anymore. They didn't want her? Then she didn't want them either. ''Ugh, Minho. That's depressing!'' She wasn't always the most confident, but with years she was becoming a lot better at it. She couldn't believe one day she could become this insecure mess she had been before again. She still squeezed his hand as she said so, hoping maybe it would make what she was saying better? ''Like what?'' She was too curious for her own good. She always needed to know everything about everyone.

She frowned a bit when he mentioned his family. She realized she didn't know much about them. She actually knew nothing about these people that were probably around Minho for so many years before her. Maybe he was still seeing them? She didn't know. She never asked. ''Bring me to them and I'll do it for you,'' she only half joked. She would in a heartbeat, but something was telling her he wouldn't say yes to such a thing. She understood it because she couldn't stand up to her own family. ''You'll do it eventually, your insecurities won't slow you down forever, you know?''

''I wish, I mean. I had fun with a few people while I was away,'' she gave him a wink, but it wasn't the most important part concerning her travels. ''I didn't want to be here anymore. I went home, I didn't want to stay there either. So I tried visiting a few different towns in the human world, but like I said before, I can't stand any of them. So I came back here. I just wish I could belong somewhere.'' When she realized how honest she had been, she leaned back, pretending to be looking at the menu to explain why she dropped his hand. ''Anyways, what should I try?''

[goldenchildminmin]

Minho’s bottom lip trembled in a very obvious pout, his doe eyes now brimming and misty. Damn bugs?! He was a bug too!! Well, not really, but bug-like. At least his true appearance was. Even as the man questioned over and over again if the caterpillar was truly off him, Minho refused to look at the floor, too afraid of the worst. He would not be able to bear the sight of it squashed. But then another truly atrocious accusation came. He owed this stranger?? A small gasp left the faerie’s glossy lips, fleshy pinkish like the fruit the applied lip gloss tasted of. He lost no time to correct this falsehood, still clinging to the box of croffles hugged against his chest. “Untrue! There is exactly one fifty cent piece, four quarters, five dimes and ten nickels on the floor! Do not bend the truth! And! They are all on the floor! I did not take them!”

For a few crazed seconds, Jesse likely brought all eyes to him from the commotion he had caused. Change was clinging and clacking and rolling everywhere. He had bumped into at least two other people, too. They would understand, surely, if they'd been in his position. Who cares what they all thought, anyway?

Jesse only seemed to calm down some when the other finally said the bug had to be off him by now. "Is it?" He stressed, still looking over his shoulder and turning in a circle once more. "Is it? I mean, is it gone?" There didn't seem to be any creepy crawly on his shoulder anymore, but that didn't mean it wasn't hanging around his back still somewhere. But wouldn't he feel it? "Jesus- these damn bugs," Jesse exhaled finally, deciding that the threat really had gone and he didn't care where, so long as it wasn't on him. "Can't even come into a shop now without them crawling everywhere."

It was then that he stared down at all the change on the ground, which was really a tall order to try and collect at this point. Jesse's gaze lifted to the man who, in his opinion, had caused this entire mess. "You owe me five bucks." Had he only had less than two seventy-five? Yes, but he was charging interest now and besides, five would give him plenty to get himself something from the shop then.

[goldenchildminmin]

Slipping off the fashionably large shades resting on the bridge of his nose, Minho blinked about the little workshop Evelyn had made for themself in the back staff rooms of The Vault, drinking the details in with curious amazement even if the space were nothing special or out of the ordinary. If there were many shiny things or at least a few, Minho’s dark eyes were likely to light up and immediately get distracted. “Hmmm darling? Ah! Yes! Minho! At your service! Or rather, looking for yours!” He snapped out of it upon being spoken to, giving the other a little graceful bow. 

“I come to you in dire need of expert hands skillful with fabric and thread! We have many ideas but very few in Greywood who could realize them. So we are testing the field out, so to speak, to check if something can be done locally or if we would have to go abroad after all for this project. See, I am attempting to stay as long as I can, for family reasons.” Minho hummed in his lovely sing-song voice, likely oversharing as he had a tendency to. “May I bring somethings in, dear?” He asked for permission, without elaborating beforehand what ‘things’ he meant. 

closed started for @goldenchildminmin location: The Vault

It had been a while now since they had been commissioned for work outside of the Vault, in reality probably ever since his divorce, so when the opportunity showed itself Evelyn jumped on it. He still didn't have his own workshop and he wasn't about to take a stranger to his home so his space at the Vault was the next best thing, it wasn't spacious but it was enough and the siren was familiar with it now that some time had passed.

"So." They start." Tell me exactly what it is you are looking for..." Evelyn pauses briefly as they move somethings around." Minho, correct?"

[goldenchildminmin]

“Oooh, tea and cookies, darling? Yes, don’t mind if I do ask for some, please! What sort of tea do you serve?” Minho occupied the first comfiest seat he could find in Talia’s home, plopping himself onto its cushions with all the elegant flourish he always possessed. But, as it was, no one would actually be catering to him here, putting the plate of cookies under his nose so he could daintily pluck one off and munch at his leisure. He was far from a faerie princeling now. So he rose again and approached the table and got a cookie with his own effort. 

A delicate bite being chewed on, Minho very careful not to leave any crumbs so his free hand had its palm ready under his chin to catch any fallen ones, he blinked his large doe eyes at Talia rapidly as she asked about other supernatural beings populating Greywood. “Oh, sweetheart, you didn’t know about any of them??” It came as a surprise although it really shouldn’t have been because over a decade ago, when Minho himself arrived to the human world, he was also the same, ignorant about everything, perhaps even more than Talia was. “We like them! We like everyoneeee! Unless they do not like us, mhmm!” He chirped in his melodic sing-song voice but honestly, Minho was the least trustworthy person about these things - he genuinely did end up liking anyone and everyone unless a very severe transgression was made. “Werewolves turn into wolves on the full moon, they are very strong, a little temperamental and vampires prefer nighttime, drink blood and can be little bossy loners but usually have fabulous fashion sense. I do warn though! They seem to particularly like our lifeblood. Darling, let me tell you, I had such eye-popping offers for just a drop or two!” Minho stepped away to reassume his comfortable seat, finishing up the last bite of his cookie. “Do you have a napkin for me?”

@goldenchildminmin location: Talia's house in Wolf Crossing

Thank god Minho was here. Talia would never admit it out loud, but there were times she was homesick. Briar Court was peaceful, calming, and safe. Safe was one of the reasons why she hated it, but it did mean that the human world was always a little shocking. And there was just so much to learn, all of the time! Every time Talia thought she understood everything, even stupid tabloid gossip, there'd be some new invention like Twitter becoming X. Seriously, what the hell?

But Minho was there to remind her of home, and he was basically family. He'd even introduced her to her deep love for music. "Tea?" She asked looking over at him with a smile. "And I have cookies," she added, laying out some on the table. Her parents had always instilled in her to be polite when guests were over. "So, before we talk about anything else, I gotta ask... vampires, werewolves, what is all this about?" Talia wasn't stupid. She understood other supernatural would have to exist. "Do we like them?" 'We' being the Fae.

[goldenchildminmin]

Out of all the people in the class, Minho had not expected that their eyes would meet. The point of a model was to look at him but for some reason a wave of awkwardness washed over the fae man as soon as their eyes locked. He quickly averted his gaze to the canvas in front of him instead, feeling an aggressive flush warm his cheeks and likely make the golden freckles across them shine with a glittering light matching his suddenly flustered mood. But the man was also grinning and talking cheeky and Minho’s brain absolutely short-circuited at the mere thought of this being directed at him specifically. Minho was a huge bubbly flirt almost always, it was essentially a part of his personality. But it only worked when the other party was not being serious about it in any way shape or form. As soon as the flirtatious attitude was reciprocated, Minho would suddenly feel the impact of shyness.

Everyone in the class chuckled or giggled good-naturedly at the model’s words, finding them amusing and joking, and Minho followed suit, chuckling awkwardly with everyone else to mask his moment of shyness, but his laugh was small and forced. Then he picked up a charcoal pen and flipped open a sketchbook, crossing his legs to rest it on his thigh and focused on its blank page, pen poised to begin sketching before he would do anything with the canvas on the easel. However, he would not be able to stare at the blank page forever. At some point he would have to look up at the model he was supposed to sketch.

Head still angled down at his lap, Minho’s eyes rolled up carefully, giving the handsome model a wary glance only to immediately look down again, feigning complete disinterest albeit poorly.

it had been 200 years, of questioning if he'd ever feel somewhat close to love again. And yet, he found himself no longer concerned about the painter of his past, and wanting to move forward with his life. Yes, the painter saved his life by turning him into a vampire, and he'd always feel greatly indebted to his past lover, but life simply moved on.

So he decided to once again become a muse - be it for a new painter, sculptor, or whatever the class would be doing today. What he did know was that it was a nude drawing class throughout most of the day, and he felt no shame when it came to being a subject of stares, one more hungry than the other, he decided with a smirk.

He hadn't removed his clothes yet but would perhaps be draped with a blanket, prude teacher? Or maybe it was to avoid anything awkward among the students.

His eyes fell on someone with particularly dark eyes, and he smiled a wide grin.

"Like what you see?" He teased a joke towards everyone in the class but Minho particularly.

[goldenchildminmin]

“But this is where my driver parked!” Minho asserted, looking a little at a loss. Now although the school was very nearby, Minho’s champagne-colored Bentley was parked across the street from it, in front of the flower shop, which was not school grounds and was a curb available for everyone to be on. Not park at, sure, Minho’s driver had definitely irregularly parked, but it was not school grounds. It was near school grounds though and there was nothing stopping the students from crowding the gates and flooding onto the sidewalk to take pictures and gawk at the man standing by the car parked across the narrow street.

Minho blinked at Nathan confusedly again, now even more at a loss for what to say. “Should I then… help make your class more entertaining to attend?” Was the man asking him for a favor here? It was then an odd favor indeed! Minho’s lips pursed slightly, his little nose scrunching a bit as he pondered whether an outsider should be allowed in class. It didn’t sound to him like they would be, unless it was some sort of a show and tell. “Ah! Should I kindly ask them to please go to class with you~?” Minho clapped his hands once as what he considered a bright idea struck him then gave Nathan one of his most charismatic, dazzlingly convincing smiles which usually, at least in Minho’s experience, could make most people do whatever Minho had pretty please asked them to. He hoped that would work well enough and that Nathan would approve of him using it on the students. Then ideally, they'll all obediently go back to class.

Nathan studied Minho a moment, his gaze casting over towards the flower shop as it was gestured towards before returning to the apparent celebrity in the flesh. 'Oh my gosh, Mr. Winters, can you believe it?' 'It's really him!' 'Do you think I can get an autograph --'

Huffing a heavy sigh, Nate pressed fingers to the bridge of his nose for the briefest of moments before looking back at Minho. "Do you think you could maybe wait somewhere else? Just about anywhere else would probably be better, really." It wasn't even worth getting into why a grown man who had no affiliation with the children or the school was just so casually lounging about on the school grounds --

Somehow the obvious strangeness of this situation was flying straight over the fae's head. If Nathan remembered correctly, Minho had been around a while. Certainly by now he should know better, right? "I'm trying to teach a class, actually. But they all seem far more interested in what the heck you're doing here."

[goldenchildminmin]

“Tease out trickier admissions? Oh how naughty!” Minho clapped delightedly, letting out a little adorably wicked giggle. Honestly Hal was spot on there, Minho had deliberated on bringing his manager with him to this interview but they were temporarily away to Korea to sort out a few things prior to Minho’s very frequent travels there. Minho however bluffed very easily to cover up for that, appearing perfectly casual and at ease for braving this on his own. “I am off work when in Greywood, so I don’t mind! This is entirely on my personal time.”  

“Oooh so it was a good choice to come here after all!” Minho displayed unrestrained delight again as he glanced towards the sign Hal had pointed - it had very smartly occurred to him based on the choices Hal was deliberating between that the other man was a vampire. Little did Minho know that he was so completely wrong. “Honestly, the choice is clear! Do you want decaf or nay?” He chirped in his lovely sing-song voice.

Taken ever so slightly aback by Minho's exuberance, Hal smiled.

"You would be hard pressed to find a journalist who doesn't. Tricky questions tease out the trickier admissions." Once the interviewee was on the back foot, they had a difficult time righting themselves and smoothing out their answers to the kind of bland tedium that peppered feature articles in the past decade. "And unlike yourself, there are few performers will speak nowadays without an assistant nearby to call on for help."

"An espresso, please. That sign makes it sound like the best thing on the menu." Hal indicated the doodle of a pouting vampire on the sandwich board, standing below a speech bubble that read, B-Positive to Order the Enticing Espresso! "Or would you recommend the Decoffinated Decaf?" This theme was beginning to grow on him.

[goldenchildminmin]

“I know you’re just looking out for me, I’m just being spicy for funsies!” Minho chirped with a giggle. He glanced at Mikael then, expression morphing into a little sad pout to go with a whiny tone. “Oh nooo, my poor baby, you! Let meeee pamper you theeen, I will buy you all the things you need!” He made grabby hands at the other man as if inviting him into a hug that didn’t really need to happen if Mikael did not want it. “I knoooow, but I love hearing people say it anyway.” He then patted his slightly blushed cheeks with the tips of his long fingers, flirtatiously coy not because he was actually flirting with Mikael but because Minho was just flirty in general. He’d bat his eyelashes at his own reflection too, let alone anyone else if it would win him compliments. 

“A skirt, darling? Just below knees or lower?” He hummed as he stepped over and joined Mikael in browsing. “What would you pair it up with?”

“Bish, calm down.  You asked my opinion and I wanted to get another look at your fabulous self and make sure this is on brand for you.”  Mikael responded using his hands to do a lot of the talking towards his friend.  There was a small bit of jealousy, because you could put Minho in a potato sack and he would make it stunning in his own way.  Not many people have that talent, including Mikael hence the small inkling of jealousy.

“Of course you don’t, you’re a gorgeous popstar used to getting everything.  Some of us lowly peasants still have to think about things when it comes to treating ourselves.”  Not that Mikael was bad off, in fact he had quite a bit of money stashed away and now that he was back in Greywood, he could start using his powers again that helped him get on top.  “Seriously though, you do look amazing.”  Mikael chimed in before he started to browse some more.  “I want a loose flowy skirt, but not something that will wash my pale ass skin.  Maybe a baby blue, what do you think?”

[goldenchildminmin]

“Oh that prosecco was strong, wasn’t it? I wonder what they do to it to get even your kind tipsy! I've heard you got trouble with that!” Minho wondered out loud, not really expecting an answer. The only perk he had when it came to drinking due to being a fae was that sugar didn’t make the effect of alcohol worse - quite the opposite, it was refreshing and sobered him up early, preventing a hangover the next day. And drinking hard liquor was absolutely a no-go. If too purely distilled, then a few shots would very likely give Minho poisoning. It was just one of those things Minho absolutely had to make his server aware of, almost like allergies or dietary restrictions with severe consequences if ignored. 

“I do! Want to see what other neat little gadgets I have? Most are in my purse though, and that’s back inside.” He turned the pocket fan off then began going through the inner pockets of his light suit jacket. First he came up with a foldable pocket mirror whose reflective surface was touch activated with some tiny LED lights and had a secret compartment equipped with a fluffy pad for the mattifying face powder. He showed the neat little trinket off to Bailey with a giggle. “And this lip gloss changes colors depending on your body heat! And these little packets are face napkins, they remove moisture and shine off your face. Oh, this is just a clear eyebrow shaping gel. Oooh and this is a pocket taser. Bzzt bzzt, hehe! And of course, face mist, but if you flip it around, it’s cologne!” He showed everything off to Bailey, each item tiny and perfectly fitting into the inner pockets of Minho’s suit or pants. As he left her to choose which item she’d like to test out or play with - his guess was the pocket taser - he ripped open one of the face paper packagings and dabbed his face with it while he used the illuminated pocket mirror to see what he was doing. “Oh nooo, you were right, my mascara did run a little, and my face is so shiny and greasy, ewww!” He whined, albeit cutely, quickly fixing things up.

“I shall admit, it certainly makes it worth living more.” The vampire's intentions were good ones, she just hated seeing a friend get taken advantage of, but if he was okay with everyone around them wanting to bask in the light that was Minho then so be it.  Out on the dancefloor, Bailey could go all night.  With the cold exterior and vampire energy, the dancing barely affected her.  “Oh, just a little.  I’ll fix it once we get outside.”  Before she knew it, he was leading the way and they were out in the crisp mountain air.

“No worries, my own fault. Still a bit tipsy.”  Whatever was in those drinks really had her going through a loop.  Damn, she was starting to love Greywood where alcohol and other indulgences were specially catered to her kind, so she could get tipsy and stay tipsy for several hours before it wore off.  “You keep a pocket fan on you?”  She asked with a large smile, just amazed by all that was him.  As he got closer, she leaned back just a little.  “Yeah, hard not to  have fun with all this VIP treatment.  Is this how it is every night for you?”

[goldenchildminmin]

“Aah, you sweet little spring bluebell, you belong, you belong!!” Minho reassured hastily, hands slipping to the lower part of his face and making the words come out a little muffled yet nonetheless decently audible. Tears ready to fall were already glistening in the corners of his dark eyes. “That is exactly what I speak of when I say blood is thicker than water!” He reached out again to gather Oreo’s hands into his, holding their fingers firmly. “I knew from the very moment I’ve met you that we were of the same ilk!” He didn’t - but isn’t this just a more beautiful story to tell? “My heart just knew, dearest! It knew that we were meant to find each other in this world, you were meant to find me and I was meant to open my door for you. It was in the stars!” And this would continue to be the lovely story Minho would tell anyone who would listen, if for nothing else then for Oreo’s memories of finding their family to remain a beautiful fairytale, untarnished by any initial suspicion or apprehension. 

Even if happy tears had now began to slide down his cheeks, Minho laughed with his sibling, turning them around to pull them out of the kitchen and then upstairs, the lunch Minho was supposed to make now entirely forgotten. Luckily the sprites were very used to their master’s easily distracted nature and would very likely continue on with the task much better than Minho himself would have preformed it. By the time the two remembered that they were hungry and were supposed to do something about it, the pie Oreo had requested would probably be fresh out of the oven. “You have a whole floor to choose from! Any room, any room at all! Let me show you all of them! You take a pick! The east side is my personal recommendation! Sunrises from those windows are a sight to behold, especially in summer! But if you’d prefer, you can also go for the view to the north. The cypresses planet below give a very nice shade.” Minho rambled as he tried to tug Oreo away but the wings he had out had began unfolding in Minho’s haste and started getting in his way, so much so that now Minho had to try to gather them up again and carry them like too long of a train on a dress.

Oreo had been too caught up with their happiness to realize the puff of glittery fairy dust until they parted from their hug and the light glinted just right through the window and made the tops of their forearms appear to shimmer as if a very fine luster dust had been sprinkled over them. It very very unreal. "I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am! My whole life I've... I've always wanted to belong to someone, loike, really really belong." Their voice, already so low seemed to dip to an even deeper octave as they spoke with heartfelt emotion, "I feel loike, even though we've only just known each other recently that... loike, I belong with you.... I want to thank you," Oreo expressed earnestly, "For... accepting me."

For the first time, it felt like they were wanted, genuinely wanted and not just in a passing way or a halfhearted way. Moving in together, living together, felt like a reunion they hadn't realized they'd been desperately craving until now. Oreo started to laugh, their glamour they'd held over their hair faded from their overwhelming emotions, the sunspun hair returning to it's natural black tone.

[goldenchildminmin]

There was a certain way things would play out in Minho’s mind prior to any actual realistic development that was more likely than the rose-colored, glitter-sprinkled expectations the fae had. In his head, he was always the dashing prince, the extravagant celebrity, a bright star on the horizon whose light everyone squinted at in amazement. His every action was an act of chivalry, evoking gazes of admiration. His good, knightly deeds and handsome looks would give him praise and gratitude in return. The paths he took were littered with flower petals tossed into the air as he walked by. 

Surely the stranger would be so very grateful when Minho took away the cute little caterpillar, gasping in surprise that they hadn’t noticed it so far, stars in their eyes as they gazed upon their good samaritan. And then, the caterpillar would be set free, in a day or two going through its miraculous metamorphosis to become a beautiful golden-winged butterfly and Minho, knowing that he had saved the day, would stroll off home, humming happily and munching on delicious croffles. 

Alas, life is not a fairy tale, even when you’re a fairy tale prince. What Minho got was the complete opposite of his dazzling, lofty expectations. Minho jumped back from the man and his highly exaggerated reaction, hugging the box of croffles to his chest protectively, curling himself into a comically protective stance - even a leg had been raised a few inches off the floor, knee bent daintily. He made no further attempts to help the man out, not risking getting hit by the flying change, expression aghast. It was such a sad thing when one’s unrealistic visions of how the world worked were shattered. “Surely it is entirely off by now!” He wailed feebly, dark eyes filling up with moisture, already imagining the poor little caterpillar crushed somewhere on the floor but refusing to look for it. The sight would be too difficult to bear.

"Everything is so god damn expensive..." Jesse muttered to himself as he stood off from the door, idly picking through what was clearly a handful of pocket change. Did he have cash in his wallet? Yeah, but that was needed for gas and sadly, whatever credit score there was to his name made it so most card companies laughed him out the door. All he wanted was a donut or something. Anything sweet. But so far, it wasn't looking too good- he kept coming up short for even the cheapest thing in this bakery.

Maybe he could wait until the end of day when they started tossing out the leftovers. Might be able to bribe a worker down to what he had or could dumpster dive for it.

Indeed, the man was too busy to notice anything crawling along the backside of his shoulder but he did feel someone touch him. "Why am I being touched?" Jesse barely even lifted his head to acknowledge them yet as he automatically shrugged away from their hand. "Will you quit- I'm trying to coun-" As he finally glanced over shoulder to snap about how they were distracting him from trying to will the count in his palm to be higher, Jesse instead caught sight of a big colorful something- a bug, ANOTHER BUG- walking on him. "HOLY SHIT!" The male panicked, change flying everywhere as he flinched and jerked away entirely, making furious swipes at the area he last saw it. "Get it off, get it off!"