#he weirdly always looks like he's gonna sneeze on you but in a good (?) way

[crabonfire]

sick mercs (1/3)

characters: offense class

warnings: none, fluff and crack (I think)

note: I hate making things into parts BUUTTT pyros ALONE ended up being super long, so I'm making them based off of class!! and...its 2 am so I should probably be asleep instead of writing anyway. Parts 2 and 3 will feature the other classes, and will be written tomorrow! Cause its late and I'm tired! okay love u

no but why did I make pyros so long 😭 it was a whole fic wtf

reposts and shares appreciated (u///u)<3

♡Scout♡

•When he's sick he's SUPPPERRR dramatic over it cause when he was a kid his ma was super doting and stuff, and since he was the youngest it made sense. But with you he tries to be all suave and tough, not wanting to admit the fever he has is absolutely killing him, oh the runny nose he has? That's just cause...he...ate something spicy. Not cause of a flu, no...

•He makes an effort to not talk or see the team at all today, and weirdly, he only ever gets sick on ceasefire days. It's like his body isn't used to not doing anything and that gives him a chance to do a bunch of stupid stuff, that, in the end, gets him sick.

•So he's stuck in his room. When you or anyone else knock on his door he pretends he's asleep, and sometimes, he really is. But, when you catch him in the kitchen stealing one of Heavy's sandwiches, he's sniffling, his face slightly red (redder than usual) his expression one like a kicked puppy.

•When you confront him about it, he just acts like he's not sick.

"I'm not sick, okay?"

But when you put your foot down, getting him back to bed and getting the right medicine from the medic, he has this certain look on his face. His cheeks are red, probably because of his fever, but, it might also be caused by you.

The moment your voice turns soft, or stern, depending on how kind you wanna be to his stubbornness, his lips curl into a grin, and immediately he whines and melts, acting like his sickness is the end of the world.

"Ah, my head...ohhhh my head. Hurts so bad. Maybe if ya kiss it...I'll feel better." He says, his voice weak as he closes his eyes, shifting in bed like some sort of damsel in distress.

• He'd be real obedient as you give him medicine and stuff, and stare up at you with bright eyes, as if the little fucker wasn't acting so brave about it before. The moment anyone walks in or sees him being doted, he'll push you away (maybe even physically, in panic) cause he's scared to ruin his reputation.

But when they're gone, he'll apologize and cling to you like a parasite. Muttering and mumbling incoherent things for your attention. He's an ass, but he loves you.

• He'd always tell you how much he appreciates you as you stay by his side, his very dizzy and sick brain making him slur his words, that cheeky grin still plastered on his face.

"You care about me...haha."

"You're so sweet, you love me, don't you?"

You know how some people get super weird and sorta high when they're super sick? Yeah that's scout with you.

♡Soldier♡

• Like Scout, absolutely DENIES that he's sick.

"SICKNESS AND DISEASE IS MERELY A HOAX! AN EXCUSE CREATED BY COMMUNISTS TO SPREAD THEIR LIES ABOUT AMERICAN- ACHOO-"

• Entire day there's a gigantic frown on his face, he cannot stop sneezing. He sneezed on Scout, and Scout was convinced that he was gonna die.

Engineer is the first to speak up after seeing the soldier violently sneeze without closing his nose. But, his stubbornness gets in the way and he merely brushes him off. Then, half the team begs you to talk to him. So you do.

"Hey Soldier, uh, you...you're looking a little pale."

"PALE? WELL, I GUESS MY SKIN HAS BEEN LOOKING GOOD TODAY!"

You chuckled, "No, pale in a bad way. And I notice you've been sneezing a bunch, are you feeling okay? Did you catch a cold?"

He frowns, and yet again, denies any accusation that he's sick. It doesn't take long, though, when you convince him to stay in his room (or yours, which he'd prefer) so you could "surprise" him. He takes that as an invitation for something else and was a little disappointed when he realized it was a trick to get him to rest.

"Wait...THIS IS A TRAP! YOU'VE TRAPPED ME! HELP-"

He starts to yell as you take his helmet off. You simply laugh, placing it nearby. "Yeah. I trapped you, and now, I order you to stay in bed while I go get some medicine. Am I clear?"

He scoffs at your command. "And what if I DON'T stay?" He remarked, you frowned. "Then you'll be disappointing all the...Americans that spent so much time curating and- crafting the very medication that keeps us healthy."

You made that shit up on the spot, but you knew whenever you spoke to him like a commander did, he'd always listen. He thought about it for a moment and grumbled in reply;

"Fine."

• He does as you ask, staying completely still in bed, staring up at the ceiling with a frown, occasionally muttering things to himself as if this very action is the worst thing in the world. When you come back, tray in hand with medicine and a glass of water, his expression softens slightly.

You sit down on the bed, he sits up, and as you hand him the medicine, something warm grows in his chest. He stays silent as he takes the medicine reluctantly, before he stares at you with an unreadable expression.

You smile ask what's wrong but he shakes his head. A big grin appears on his face as he realizes something and he chuckles, but he doesn't tell you what he's thinking about.

"Thanks, cupcake."

• You take care of him, keeping a watch on him for a while as you beg him to get some rest for his cold. He agrees but only if you stay with him, and you do. He holds you tightly as he braves through his cold, head nuzzled in your shoulder as your treated like a Teddy bear.

He felt happy. Someone cared for him, and he didn't know why, but that realization made his heart feel full. Not the type of full he'd usually feel after a hard victory, or the type of full he'd feel after messing around with demoman all day, but a type of full he could feel only with you. He really cared for you, and he was honored you cared for him just as much.

♡Pyro♡

• You could honestly never tell pyro was sick. Sometimes they'd spend days with you as normal, very much sick, but they'd never show it. That's also because they had a strong immune system, and only got sick every couple of years or so.

The one time they've ever gotten sick around you, was during the hottest day in Teufort. Everyone was sweating their asses off, so you could imagine how bad it was for them. Having to be around fire, wearing a heavy, thick, fire retardant suit all day? Oh, it was bad.

They sat at the locker room for longer after battle had ended, seemingly staring off into the distance. Everyone else had left, so did you. But when they didn't come out for an hour or so you checked in on them, visibly worried.

"Pi? You okay?"

You saw them, still sitting in the same bench, looking off into the ground. You walked over to them, placing a hand on their shoulder. They jolted, as if awoken from a deep sleep. They turned their head, their breathing was loud in the quiet room, but it was heavy and ragged. You frowned in worry.

"What's wrong?"

• They muffled something even you couldn't understand, their voice was quiet, before they shook their head and got up. They almost stumbled, but you kept their balance. They leaned their head on your shoulder, and you could feel the heavy breaths they exhaled through their mask. You turned to them, placing a hand on their shoulder.

"It's a hot day, huh? Can't be feeling too good especially in that suit of yours."

They mumbled in reply, and you took that as a sign that they must've been real affected by the heat today. "Lets get you to your room, I'll get you a nice cold glass of water, okay?"

• You headed back to their room, allowing them to sit for a bit as you went and got some ice cold water. You sat by, the door locked as they lifted off their mask to take a sip. You could feel the heat they radiated, even from a short distance.

"Pi, I think you might have a fever."

They chugged down the water, before turning to you, lifting their mask back down. They went quiet for a moment before they nodded. You frowned, "Why didn't you say anything?" They shrugged, shaking their head. "Mmh mmhf mmh mmh mmhf mmhf mm mmhf." (I didn't think I was sick at first.)

You sighed, before humming. "I'll go get some medicine, you should probably lie down- maybe take the suit off first. I won't look if it'll make you uncomfortable." You stared at them, waiting for their response. They paused hesitantly, before nodding.

• When you got back, they were in bed, gas mask still on, but now in their tank top and unicorn themed shorts. They didn't show their body often, as they felt insecure of the scars they had. When they saw you, they pulled the blanket up to their chest, which you didn't comment on.

You walked over with a large bottle of water and some medicine, placing it on a nearby table.

"Medic said you just need some rest and a lot of water, so...don't forget to drink."

You didn't quite know what to do with the pyro. They were quiet, which, to you wasn't that unusual. But you could feel the nervousness, and you felt worried, as they didn't seem too good. They murmured a "thank you," staring up at you as you sit by them.

"Do you want me to leave?"

In truth, you didn't want to, and they didn't want you to either. But you didn't want to make them uncomfortable, as the only other times they've showed their body to you were in intimate situations. You didn't want to overwhelm them, but you wanted to take care of them. They shook their head, before mumbling;

"Mm mmhn mmhf mm mmhh mmhf mm mmhn mmhnf mmh." (You don't have to stay if you don't want to.)

"I'll stay for a bit. You need your rest and.. I wanna make sure you're okay."

That sentence could make them melt if the heat wasn't already doing that to them. They let out a hoarse giggle. You always made them swoon, even if the things you said weren't overly romantic. It always meant a lot to them, as they never really had someone who cared.

That noise always made you smile, as you stared down at them. It was silent for a while as you two looked at each other. Even under the mask you could tell they had a smile. You've only ever seen that smile once, and the thought of it makes your heart race. You soon broke the silence, slowly getting up.

"Drink your meds and get some sleep, okay?

• As you left, they couldn't help but smile. They got up to lock the door, before taking off their mask and flopping into bed. Not forgetting to do as you said, they fall fast asleep with you on their mind.

Even in their dreams your their, and even with this small, common gesture of caring for them, they cant help but feel a bit weak in the knees when they think of you. They thought the engineer was sweet, but you? They should call you sugar.

It was the first time they had someone worry so much, the way you frowned at them made their chest tighten, and weirdly, in a reaffirming way. In a way that made them realize they weren't so bad, and they were capable of being cared for.

Maybe they were getting too into it, but they didn't care.

♡♡♡♡

I did not expect pyros to be long. Like I was writing and suddenly as I was looking back I realized how much I was yapping. Shit. Anyway, defense and support classes will be written by tomorrow, probably the one or both. Yay!

[caranfindel]

Take these broken wings and learn to fly (15.20 coda)

het, but Wincest-compatible | about 2300 words | PG-13 for language | characters: sam winchester, sam’s blurry wife |

Julia has been widowed (God, what an awful word, widowed) for three years when she meets Sam. It’s a work-based friendship at first. She’s kind of lonely and sad, he’s kind of lonely and sad, and they gravitate toward each other. And then one evening they’re at a bar, the last ones left from an after-work happy hour, both of them drinking more than they should, and she thinks he’s kind and thoughtful and smart and he may be 10 years older than me but he’s still hot as hell and I enjoy being with him and I look forward to seeing him and maybe I should just… and she kisses him. He’s shocked; shocked enough to confirm that he wasn’t just hanging around hoping to make it out of the friendzone. And then he’s holding her face in his hands and he’s kissing her too.

It’s good. They’re good together. It’s not the earth-shattering, all-encompassing romance she had with Shaun. Julia knows she’ll never have anything like that again. Most people don’t even get one soulmate in their lives; no one gets two. And she knows Sam doesn’t have that same desperate love that Shaun had for her; she knows she’ll never have his whole heart. (She knows the woman he intended to marry was killed in a fire, she knows another woman he loved went back to her ex. She doesn’t know which of these women still owns that last piece of Sam’s heart.) But she loves Sam, and he loves her, and they get married.

(The sex is amazing. Sometimes he’s gentle, almost reverent, as if he’s afraid he’ll break her, and other times he’s fierce and passionate and almost tries to break her, and she loves both ends of the spectrum.)

She suggests they melt down her old wedding band to make a new one. It was an heirloom from her grandmother, a plain wide band of yellow gold that she loves, that she thought she’d wear for the rest of her life. But Shaun is the one who put it on her finger the first time. It doesn’t seem right to ask Sam to accept it now. A new band from the old gold seems like a good compromise. No, Sam says, I couldn’t ask you to do that. I know a way we can make it ours. He has the inside of the band engraved with the same symbol he wears tattooed over his heart, and makes her promise to never take it off. Bad luck, he says.

He’s such a contradiction. Scary smart, but as superstitious as an Appalachian grandmother. Calm and unflappable, but with a weirdly hyperactive startle reflex. Kind and empathetic, but capable of extreme violence when pushed to his limits (seriously, don’t walk your drunk ass up to Sam Winchester’s wife and lay hands on her, and don’t get mouthy when she tells you to back off) and just really, frighteningly skilled at that violence.

(A little frightening and also very sexy. Julia’s always had a thing for the hero type.)

They both have nightmares. One night Julia watches Shaun’s face melting under his gear and wakes with a cry of horror. Sam holds her as she tearfully describes living on the knife edge of constant fear that comes with loving someone whose job is literally running into burning buildings. I know, he says, over and over, even though he can’t possibly know. The irony of their first loves both dying in flames is not lost on her, but it’s not like his college girlfriend was a firefighter. It’s not like he watched her go to work every day and prayed she’d make it home alive.

Julia’s pregnancy is a wonderful surprise. She and Shaun had tried for over a year before she was widowed, and she just didn’t count on it happening with Sam. They agree not to name the baby after anyone they’ve lost. Let’s not name him after our pain, she says, and Sam is okay with that. (Or he isn’t. But ever since she showed him the positive pregnancy test, she’s known she could ask him for anything. She’s known he would rip out his heart and serve it on a platter if she asked for it.)

But they haven’t decided on a name yet when her water breaks four weeks early. When their perfect baby boy is born at 12:10 a.m., the nurse announces the date and time and Sam looks up at her in shock and blinks away happy tears and says it’s the 24th. It’s my brother’s birthday. Julia is flying high on endorphins; she loves this baby and she loves this man and she even loves his dead brother she never got to meet, and she says it’s got to be a sign; let’s name him Dean.

She takes off her wedding ring, just this once, to have Dean’s birthdate engraved on the inside. Sam does the same with his own ring. He insists they go to a jeweler who will engrave while they wait, rather than leaving the rings there. She waves a hand at her lumpy postpartum body. You afraid someone’s gonna make a move on all this if you don’t keep a ring on it?

He laughs at her and says you’re onto me, even though he’s the one who needs to be locked away, still with that long lean runner’s body and the amazing shoulders and the goddamn dimples. I just don’t like us being without them, he says. He is a sweet, sentimental fool and she adores him. He bends down to kiss her, carefully maneuvering the baby he’s wearing in a sling, and Julia looks at this man and this baby and this life she didn’t think she was get to have and knows she’s happier than she has any right to be. And she’s relieved when Sam slips the ring back onto her finger, this ring imbued with the men she loves, so maybe he’s not the only sentimental fool.

(One thing she loves about Sam is that he understands why she feels guilty that Shaun didn’t get to share this life with her.)

In July they light a little candle for Dean’s six-month birthday. When Julia wakes the next morning, Sam’s side of the bed is empty and cold. She finds him cuddling their sleeping baby in the living room. I got up to give him a bottle, Sam says. I guess I just fell asleep out here. His red-rimmed eyes and empty coffee mug suggest he didn’t actually sleep at all, but, well. They’re both battling their own private demons. If a night cradling the baby gives Sam some peace for whatever reason, she’s glad of it.

Sam’s fierce love for their child takes her by surprise. If Julia has 90% of his heart, his son has 110%. He parents with a vengeance, is the only way she can think of to describe it. Like he’s making up for something. She doesn’t feel slighted, but it’s impossible to ignore that ever since Dean was born, Sam’s prime objective has been to make sure the boy is happy and safe. Everything else comes second.

(When she notices Sam has been carefully marking his tattoo symbol onto Dean’s clothing, hidden near seams and always in a color that almost matches the fabric, she decides not to say anything. He gets a little funny about his superstitions sometimes.)

Sam desperately wants Dean to have a sibling, and they try for another one, but it doesn’t happen. Julia reminds him that they’re lucky to have even one child. That having a sibling is not a lifetime guarantee of companionship and love. She should know, after all, since Stephanie cut her off after she married that asshole Scientologist and decided she couldn’t have a relationship with anyone who wasn’t also in their stupid cult.

Dean has plenty of friends and tons of activities, which Sam encourages with an almost religious fervor, but he never pulls away from his parents. They have so much in common, Sam and his son. Instead of rebelling as a teenager, Dean seems to grow even closer to his father. They spend hours together, paging through the ancient books in Sam’s study (she hates them, they smell musty and make her sneeze) or driving in the old Chevrolet. They even travel together sometimes, visiting those friends of Sam’s that live up north somewhere. Julia met them at the wedding and they were perfectly nice, thrilled to death that she and Sam had found each other. But she always feels like an outsider when they’re around, like they’re part of something she’ll never understand. So much history, with Sam and the brother she never got to meet. They absolutely dote on Dean though, and he seems to love them too, so the boys’ trip to Sioux Falls becomes an annual event.

(Dean is 14 years old when he comes home from one of these trips with his own version of the tattoo.)

When Julia is diagnosed with cancer, Dean is 16 years old. Sam does his best to ensure life goes on as normal for their son but somehow never neglects Julia’s needs. He throws himself into research and is always on top of the latest treatment, always at her elbow with the top internet-recommended remedy for her side effects, making sure both she and Dean have everything they want and need, all the attention and support they can tolerate. She doesn’t know when, or if, Sam actually sleeps. When she feels up for it, he arranges experiences for the three of them. A week lying on the beach, a weekend in New York City, a night in the mountains looking at the stars. When we look back on this time, he says, I don’t want us to only remember how much it sucked. I want us all to have good memories too.

(She doesn’t know why he’s concerned about her memories. There’s a good chance she won’t have much time to enjoy them. But it’s good for Dean. She doesn’t want this to ruin Dean’s childhood.)

Sam insists Dean go away to college as planned. Julia agrees, although she’s kind of surprised he’s willing to let the boy out of his sight. Aren’t you going to miss him? she asks.

So much, he answers. But this isn’t about me, and what I need. It’s about him. They drive Dean to school in the ancient Chevrolet. Supposedly because the trunk has room for all of his stuff, but Julia is pretty sure it’s just one last sentimental road trip in the old thing before Sam retires it. When they pick Dean up at the end of the school year, it’s in her SUV. Dean promises his father, more than once, that he’ll restore the Chevy someday.

Five years after Julia’s diagnosis, she’s sitting in the doctor’s office learning that her last remission was her last remission. There are no more options. She has months, not years. Sam clutches her hand and nods, once, as if to say I should have known this would happen; I should have expected something like this. Then he takes her home.

It’s a blessing in a way, he says late that night, after a little too much to drink. Knowing what’s coming. Having time to say goodbye. You don’t always get that. And yes, she knows this as well as anybody does.

Sam has always been supportive of her choice not to contact Stephanie, but one day he says Jules, I promise I’ll never bring it up again. It’s just that I don’t want you to have any regrets. I don’t want you miss the opportunity to say things that you’ll wish you’d said. Julia isn’t sure Steph will speak to her. She’s not even sure she’ll have the same phone number — they haven’t spoken since Dad’s funeral, a year after she was widowed — but she makes the call. And Steph answers. And cries. And comes to visit, where she hugs and cries some more. Sam watches it all with a sad smile for a while, then disappears into the garage to sit in the old Chevy.

When Julia takes her last conscious breaths, Dean is holding one hand and Sam is holding the other. She squeezes her son’s hand and thinks I love you, dear boy, and I’m sorry I have to leave you. She squeezes her husband’s hand and thinks thank you for giving me this, thank you for taking care of me, thank you for loving me and letting me love you. Then she closes her eyes and lets the soft, warm darkness take over.

And then. Then she wakes to a cool breeze and the sound of chirping birds. She’s standing at a lake she recognizes. It’s Shaun’s favorite fishing spot. And Shaun is there, waiting for her. And everything is okay.

Sam does show up eventually. Julia’s sitting on the porch of the cabin with Shaun, enjoying the perpetual nice day (sometimes a spring morning, sometimes a fall afternoon, but always nice) when she hears the familiar rumble. It cant be, she thinks. It can’t be that old car. But it is.

I’m glad you found someone with good taste in cars, Shaun says, as Sam unfolds himself from the driver’s seat. He looks exactly as he did the day she met him; no glasses, only a little grey at his temples. Still tall and strong and beautiful. She runs to meet him and embraces him as Shaun watches from the porch.

You found Shaun, Sam says. I’m so happy for you, Jules. I really am. He doesn’t seem to have any intention of joining her (their) Heaven permanently, but he doesn’t seem to have anyone else with him either. Where is the dead girlfriend? How is this fair?

They talk about Dean, and Julia’s heart swells with pride over her strong, smart, kind, brave son. He’s like you, she says. He’s just like you.

Sam shrugs. He’s a Winchester.

But what about you? she says. You’re not — you’re not alone here, are you?

Nah, he says. I’m good. I promise.

(Eventually Julia meets the first Dean, and she understands.)

===

I know a lot of people have mocked Sam's blurry wife, but I actually have grown to love the concept. Because it means she can be anything we want her to be. And yeah, initially I liked the idea of her being Dr. Cara, or Eileen. But now I don't think that would happen. I think Sam would have to start fresh to have that kind of relationship. And I also like the idea of Sam's wife having her own soulmate somewhere, waiting for her, so she's not a huge part of Sam and Dean's shared Heaven. I mean, they're gonna visit, obviously. And then they'll go home to their soulmates.

The title is from "Blackbird" by the Beatles.

[lovely-necromancy]

A Cure for Insomnia CH 14

Somehow someway you had ended up spending the night in Toby's room. What had started out as sitting next to him turned into laying down next to him. And after a while of no talking or movement, just the steady sounds of breathing. You more or less closed you eyes for a minute.

Before you knew it you were waking up to sun in your face. And found a blanket haphazardly thrown onto you. Though honestly you probably just moved a lot in your sleep. A quick glance around the room tells you you're alone and by the looks of it have been for a little while now. Weirdly there doesn't seem to be a clock in the room and when you go to check your phone the battery is dead.

'Oh God what time is it?' you worry as you gather yourself to leave the room in search of a clock.

Even though you have the strongest suspicion that you're already late for work. Fuck Nate is gonna kill you. You hope you don't get fired for this. That doesn't really seem like the Cowell way but you really don't want to risk it. No where else in town would pay the bills plus give extra cash for doing jack shit.

Just as you closed the door behind you you see Toby and Connor walking up the corridor. Toby has two bowls in hand and his steps falter a bit when he sees you.

“Shit did I wake you up?”

You can see the veins in his arms as he tenses, poor guy must have a tic coming on. You hold your hands out to give him the option of handing them over so he can relax. With no hesitation on his end he does just that.

“No? I don't think so, I just woke up. What time is it?”

Toby's hands jolt in place. A large tremor of movement, thankfully you took the bowls from him so he wouldn't have splashed...cereal? Your confusion must have shown because you get a nervous laugh in response.

“It's like eight twenty or something.” seeing you visibly deflate he adds, “Barry told me to tell you you're excused from work today.” He took a bowl back from you and placed a hand at the small of your back to push you back towards his room. Apparently done with having a conversation in the hallway and letting your breakfast get soggy.

“Barclay.” you remind him, your efforts award you a shrug, “and are you serious? Because making me late for work wouldn't be very funny.”

He plops on his bed and a bit of milk sloshes out of the bowl dropping on to the sheets. In the back of your mind you think about how Barclay more than likely is going to ban Toby from the lodge for anything other than an emergency. At least if he ruins the bed by dropping food all over it...actually you're pretty sure Jake's mentioned there being a rule about eating in the rooms.

“I'm serious, you can go ask him yourself.” his face flushes as he shovels a spoonful of Captain Crunch into his mouth, “twey shed somfingu bot ah ahpawawgee for da kid”

You give Toby a sneer as you process what he just said. Even normally your brain didn't always process what was said to you properly and Toby speaking with a full mouth certainly didn't help in any case. But you can kind of gleam a bit more context from his red cheeks that your spontaneous three day weekend is thanks in part to Jo hanging out with you yesterday.

Really you didn't mind that she hung out with you. But you would accept the apologetic day off for her attempting to give you a love life. You aren't one of her gossip stories nor do you wish to be.

“First, gross dude. Second, I'll take it.”

He snorts, “Watching me chew through the hole in my face is ne-neat but me talking with my mouth full is where you draw the line?”

“Honestly I never even thought of that.”

You can't help but let out a chuckle at how dumb that must have made you look. Geez you were such a dork sometimes. On the other hand it seems like that must have been the funniest thing Toby's heard in a while as he roars with laughter. Soon your chuckles turn into full blown laughter from Toby's contagious mirth.

“I'll get out of your hair after I finish eating.” you finally say when the two of you calm.

“...you don't have to do that. I-i thought we cou-cou-could hang out?” he says sheepishly.

Toby tends to stutter when he's nervous you notice. Maybe this was to be expected you kind of did solidify that you both wanted to be friends. Of course that would mean opening up to hanging out together on purpose more often.

“I'd like that! Did you have something in mind?”

The room goes quite, well more accurately Toby goes quite as you finish your cereal. Looks like someone hadn't thought this far ahead. At least you aren't the only dork in this room or this friendship for that matter.

Toby's dark eyes scan around the room, not really looking for something while he thinks of something you could do today. Instead of just staring at him like a creep you turn your attention to the rottweiler looking at you with hopeful eyes. Connor's eyes briefly moving towards your bowl where a tiny bit of milk sits and then back at your face. Licking his chops as he looks you dead in the eyes.

Having a pretty good idea of what he wants you look for Toby's bowl. If it was on the ground that'd be a good indication that Connor's allowed a bit of cereal milk if it was on the bed well then you'd still have your answer.  And sure enough right next to Connor's butt is an empty bowl.

Yup, Barclay is so gonna ban Toby from the lodge.

Throwing out any thoughts of the lecture you'd get if Barclay were to find out you let a dog eat from his bowls you place the bowl in front of Connor. Who sits in his position and won't stop making eye contact with the bowl. Tail going a mile a minute as he stares at his prize in anticipation. God he really is the best boy in the whole world.

“Thank you Connor.” you whisper to the dog before he attacks the bowl.

As the pup rips into the left over cereal milk, which wasn't even that much, you can't keep yourself from flapping your hands right by your chest. The fast movement seems to catch Toby's attention and brings him out of wracking his brain for ideas. Giving you a moment to just enjoy the happy stim he just watches. It isn't until Connor has bounded over to you letting you pet him as a 'thank you' for giving him a treat, that Toby speaks up.

“Is there...what's there to do here?”

Looking at Toby as you shake Connor's ears around, you don't immediately say anything. Honestly thinking of just what the two of you could do in this small town. Something that wouldn't prove to be too distracting and maybe give the two of you a chance to get to know each other better. Something without too many interruptions or things to get you off topic.

“Wanna go get a slushy?”

Toby's brown eyes cut as he stares at you unimpressed.

“I kno-rrow that we're in a small town but, 's not that small.”

“Oh no it's actually smaller.”

He rolls his eyes with a huff ready to bite in with a snarky remark no doubt until he catches your eyes and the serious expression. He stares at you, eyes darting across your face looking for a sign that you're joking.

Thankfully you aren't one to leave a friend in the dark.

“Tobias, the gas station Tim works at is the only one for this town.”

“That can't be right, it's not even in town. What about...” once again Toby's eyes shift as he tries to think of any other gas stations within Kepler.

When he comes to the conclusion that you are indeed not fucking with him and Kepler does just have the one gas station his shoulders slump. Almost like he's in shock that he hadn't caught that sooner. You can feel the tinkling sensation of a tic coming up, at the base of your neck. Timing it mentally as you watch Toby go through the stages of grief you miscalculate and ruin your tic.

Head jolting into your right shoulder rather than jerking above it. Letting out a small “fuck” at the fact that you're about to be in an uncomfortable sensation, not totally unlike when you chase off a sneeze but still do need to sneeze. You feel the tic at the back of your head but know it won't be going away anytime soon and all thanks to your hubris.

Looking back at Toby you find he's moved on from the single gas station fact and is looking at you mildly amused. Briefly you wonder if he's ever chased off a tic and felt the uncomfortable sensation you're now dealing with. That leads you to ponder if he's ever even felt the anticipation of nerves before a coming tic. It's not really a painful sensation but discomfort sometimes goes in hand with pain so maybe CIPA affects that feeling too. You'll have to ask, but first you have to shut his stupid face up.

“Shut it.”

“Didn't say anything.” he smirks.

His smiles are really growing on you. They feel special and very genuine despite the awkward nature of his facial movements.

“Hey wait, the mini mart doesn't even have a slushy machine.” he says as the realization finally sets in.

“Yea we have to drive to another town for one. So far Franklin has the best slushies but it's like two hours away.”

You lean your weight back onto your hands watching as Toby's wide eyes stare at you in disbelief. Actually in this light you really can't tell if Toby's eyes are blown wide or in their normal state. Judging from the way his lips curl over his teeth you figure they must be as he stares stunned by something you've said.

“Do you seriously drive two hours for a slushy?” the disbelief in his voice is thick, but not thick enough to cover the thinnest hint of amusement. Maybe even pity.

“Not all the time, sometimes its only like thirty. One night I actually drove five hours without realizing it...though to be fair I did get lost.”

Lost in your thoughts on that particular night some how you'd ended up in Point Pleasant. Instead of a slushy you'd gotten a Mothman themed iced coffee. A nice trip over all but one you didn't want to go on at the moment.

Coming back to the present in time to catch Toby flopping back on the mattress his curls bouncing up over his face as he did so. He let's out an exaggerated groan.

“Still, Brian's got the car today.”

Pfft that's not an issue.

“I have a car.” you say plainly.

That must not be the issue because Toby raises himself onto his elbows to look at your lax form on the carpet. Leaning back on your hands with Connor splayed across your lap looking ready for a nap. Toby opens his mouth to say something before shutting it and looking off to the side. He seems to collect himself quickly but not enough to look at you.

“Uh..I, that's not really the...” well maybe he hadn't collected himself that much.

Brow furrowing as you squint at the man before you. The two of you don't know a lot about each other but from what you've noticed Toby has some hang ups about drivers and driving. Although he's let you drive him home once that doesn't mean he was comfortable with it or wanted a repeat performance. And while you don't consider yourself a bad driver you'll spare Toby the difficulty of admitting he isn't comfortable with you driving.

“You can drive.” dark brown eyes are on you the instant the words spill from your lips, “You've driven my car before. Plus I don't mind I like not driving.”

His eyes dart from you to Connor and back up into your face. Even though they're darting slightly you know he isn't such evaluating your expression. He's thinking and weighing his options.

“You sure?”

And with no hesitation at all, “Absolutely, you've driven it before.”

Though he hadn't been thinking of that particular issue with being given the choice of driving your car. It did bring up another insecurity before hastily stomping it into the ground. He has driven your car, albeit once, before and you are giving him explicit consent to drive it again. Regardless of his tourette's, Toby honestly can't believe you have such blind faith in a person you've just befriended. Then again that's friendship isn't it.

“Ok then...let's go?”

After a nod from you Toby grabs Connor's gear to get him ready for the drive. Meanwhile you take the dishes back downstairs to the kitchen, letting Toby know you'd meet him by the door. Unsurprisingly Barclay is in the kitchen when you get down there to place the bowls into the sink.

Seeing as it's just the bowls and spoons in the sink you decide you can wash them before placing them in the sanitizer rack.

“Mornin'.”

“Good morning.”

“Basket's on the table.”

“Thanks.”

A quiet settles over you two and you can feel Barclay's brown eyes trail towards your form every few seconds. Finishing the dishes you turn, leaning your butt onto the counter, to face the lumbering man.

“Can I help you?” you raise a brow at him. Clearly he had something more he wanted to say.

“I, I just thought we were closer than that.” he sighs.

Okay what now? Your confusion goes ignored as he continues to speak.

“Seriously YN, you didn't need to sneak away last night if you wanted to spend the night here, and with your boyfriend. I wouldn't have judged.”

“My who? Tobais? He's a friend!” you whisper scream in case Toby is near by. God could at least save one of you this embarrassment.

“Really YN? From the things I'm hearin' you two are a bit more than friends.”

“Ok seriously where are you getting your info from? We haven't done anything. Like just YESTERDAY we agreed we were friends. We've known each other maybe a month?!”

“See that's why this is confusing, you don't touch just anyone. And suddenly you're handsy with some new kid.” Barclay had the decency to start whisper screaming with you. He's gesturing vaguely towards the rest of the lodge before bringing his hands before him and flailing them away. As if to say 'what am I supposed to do with this now?'

“He's neurodivergent!” you say bringing your palms up in front of you.

“So are Jake and Aubrey.”

“And I high five Jake so much.” throwing your arms outward to indicate how much you two high five. “Plus he gets a hug nearly every time I see him.” hands brought back to emphasis this point.

Barclay thinks on that for a bit, “Point taken,” he stands from his hunched position and crosses his arms over his chest, “so y'all aren't dating? Nothin' happened last night?”

“No and no.”

“Don't have to deep clean the sheets today.”

“Gross and no.” best keep the milk droplets out of this, you'd really like to leave the kitchen sooner rather than later. Preferably with no lecture about hygiene and the importance of respecting other's property.

Barclay looks down at you scanning your face for something you aren't quite sure of. But you have a feeling he's treating you like a child for a very specific reason.

“I'm not a virgin.” you deadpan as the man before starts to sputter.

His eyes wide with disbelief. So he really thought you were a virgin this whole time? You wonder who else thought this, you hoped they wouldn't try to confront you about your nonexistent relationship.

You'll just never understand why people assume you're a virgin and why they try their hardest to butt into your life when they think that way. This topic tends to put you in a sour mood and you can already feel it on your face. It's disgusting how people can't mind their business about baseless assumptions.

“Jeez sorry YN,” he does look it as he rubs the back of his neck, “it's just you've never shown an interest and I guess we all got swept up in the possibility of seeing you happy.”

“I am happy?”

“I mean in a relationship, happy in a romantic relationship.” He claps his hands gently on your shoulders. A touch you've gotten used too, had you not wanted it you would've taken a step back.

“Kirby's not in a relationship.” you point out.

“Kirby's gross, and you're adorable.” he chuckles at your glare, “a-dor-a-ble.”

“I will bite you.” he lets go of you with a laugh.

“We're just...trying to keep you safe.” he sighs, and though you don't understand what any of their weirdness has to do with “keeping you safe” you nod. Just to get this over with faster.

“Can I leave now? Tobais and I were gonna get slushies.” he didn't need to know your plans but you didn't want him assuming you two were sneaking off for a date.

“Yea yea, sorry for keeping you.” he leans against the counter as you grab your basket and head out of the kitchen and towards the main door.

Toby and Connor were already waiting for you. If the swaying of his weight was anything to go by they'd been waiting for you for a bit. Seeing you coming his subconscious movement stops and he opens the door. Keeping it open for you.  You lead him over to your Soul as you look through the basket for the keys.

“Keys?” he questions as you pat your pockets.

Toby stops walking with you as you begin to panic. You've lost your keys. Before you voice that though you look through the basket once more, placing it on the hood of your car so you can use both hands to check. His eyes follow you and are caught by a gentle swaying.

“You are a serial killer's wet dream.”

He opens your passenger side door and comes out holding your keys that had been in the ignition. If the blank look he gives you is anything to go by he's not impressed.

“I,I,I was in a hurry!” you say flustered that you did something so stupid. His expression doesn't change.

“Could you pop the trunk please?” you ask not looking in his direction.

The click of the lock is all you need to hear before you rush around him to place the basket in the back. As you do you catch sight of the deer skull still in your trunk. With everything going on you hadn't been to see Madeleine for a mount for the guy. You'll have to remember to stop by her shop this week.

Toby had already gotten Connor situated in the back by the time you sat down in the passengers seat. After buckling in and plugging your phone in to charge you stare ahead of you waiting for Toby to start driving. When you look over at him you see he's staring right back at you with a brow raised.

“Yes?”

“Where are we going?”

Yes the key detail of any road trip, the driver needs to know the destination. Unfortunately for you and Toby you've forgotten to tell him one crucial detail. You drive with no sense of direction. And you relay this to Toby. He looks seconds away from getting out of the car and claiming he's never seen you before much less ever been friends with you.

He takes a deep breath and collects himself.

“Y'know what Brian's worse with directions.” he says more to himself than to you.

He calmly puts the car in gear and heads off to town. No input from Connor, you may have chosen a really good day for this drive. Your phone hits one percent as you pass Resort Row. You know the Hornet's Nest is coming up and that intersection leads to the interstate despite not having legible signs.

“Hey when you get to the Hornet's Nest swing right then drive straight, we'll end up on route 3 onto the interstate.”

“Hornets' nest?”

“It's a skate/stunt park. You'll see it after we get away from the mountain.”

Just as you said Toby saw the Hornet's Nest as he turned onto the road leaving the mountain. By the time you were on route 3 your phone had charged up to seven percent. Enough to turn it on and put on a playlist. You put on one of your sea shanty and folk punk combos.

Toby hasn't even let the song get thirty seconds under way. “No vetoed, we are not listening to sea shanties.”

So he does have music preferences, fair enough. You switch to a playlist with a more chilled electric vibe that has a few oldies tossed into the mix. Toby hasn't heard this playlist before and you are determined to learn his music tastes today.

“Wait wait wait, so you'll listen to folk punk but not sea shanties?”

“How are those even related?”

“They are literally the same thing.”

The two of you continue to bicker back and forth about how similar, or different, shanties and folk punk are. Occasionally it's broken when you read a sign, noticing Toby's horrible squinting, to see if you're on the right route to...well you don't know the destination Toby's been ignoring most of the exits for the past forty minutes though you're sure you two could find a gas station with a slushy machine at any one of the surrounding towns.

You don't mind though you're really enjoying the ride. The soft sounds of the car cutting through the wind at seventy three miles an hour. And the dull hum from the engine falling into the background as They Might Be Giants plays softly through the radio. With a majority of his focus being directed to the road  and the handful of other cars around you, your conversation is limited to topics that don't require much thinking. Really you've just ended up playing twenty questions with the other pulling uno reverse.

Not life altering secrets or deep talks...well until the question was favorite romantic comedy.

“How is Venom a romantic comedy?” Toby laughs after you answer.

“They kiss!” Toby just snorts.

“No Venom in Anne's body kisses Eddie.”

“Yes Venom kissed Eddie. Romance.”

You hear the murmur of 'oh my fucking God' come from Toby as you giggle in your seat. Having been egged on by that simple phrase you continue.

“Eddie is always giving Venom chocolates.”

“Oh yes, sorry, that's very romance.” Toby laughs out rolling his eyes.

“Thank you, I'm glad I could enlighten...” you pause as a sign for the next exit catches your eye. Had you two already driven two hours? Time really does fly when you're having fun. “Hey next exit, Franklin.”

“Thanks got it.” this time he turns on the blinker to get over into the exiting lane.

“What gas station am I looking for?” smart man. He's stopped asking for specific directions and is now asking for a land marker.

“Giant baby.” the car comes to a stop at a red light and Toby takes his eyes off the road to face you.

“...is this...will I just know when I see it.” “When you see it” you say the last part in unison with him nodding solemnly.

To his credit Toby has gone a long way with your weird antics, despite being your official friend for less than a full day. Keeping up with this pattern he doesn't ask anymore questions about this giant baby, keeping his eyes peeled for anything worthy of that title. His valent efforts are rewarded not even ten blocks from the turnpike.

“Is that...”

“Giant baby.” you nod knowing he sees the giant opposum decal in the window of the beat up gas station.

Opening your glove box you remove a spare mask for yourself before offering a sealed in package one for Toby. Who readily takes it after he parks your car in front of the store. Turning to look at you, you can read all the skepticism on his face. It's funny how this is where he questions you, your destination and not like the way over here-or the moment right after you told him you had no sense of direction.

“They have the four divide mega slush.”

“What the hell is that?”

With a coy smile you put on your mask and exit the car waiting at the front for your friend to get his shit together. He doesn't take long to follow you, Connor's lead in hand, into the gas station.

For as dingy and beat up as it looks on the outside it isn't bad once you step inside. Might actually be cleaner than the mini mart in Kelper. Toby glances around taking a mental tally of all the patrons in the store and their positions. He does this a bit. Just hyper aware of everyone when in enclosed spaces.

Dragging him over to the slushy machine after acknowledging the cashier's greeting. Showing him the four divider mega slush cup you demonstrate how it works. Choosing the only three flavors you like and adding a random extra of the three into the forth slot.

The face he makes when you stick the straw in the middle is priceless.

Toby demonstrates how a slushy should be made. Grabbing the single cup and over filling it with cherry flavored ice. He doesn't pick up a straw and you two make your way to the counter.

Since Toby drove here you had no problem paying but he was quicker to get his wallet out and hand the cashier a ten for your slushies. They give him back his change and you two wind up back in the car, taking off your masks.

You take a long sip from you drink.

“I can't believe we drove for two hours for you to just wreck your taste buds.” a playful disdain in his voice.

“Not 'we', you.”

He cuts his eyes at you before shaking his slushy into his open mouth. Guess he couldn't use a straw when he was missing part of his cheek. No suction there.

“So?” you say adding the questioning lilt to your voice.

He shrugs, “It's good.”

“Worth the drive?” He shakes his head.

“Nah - drive made it worth it.”

[littlekatleaf]

Love's perfect ache

Well look at that, I am alive and I come bearing fic! This takes place after "Offer me my deathless death".

But my peace has always depended On all the ashes in my wake. ~ Hozier, Arsonist’s Lullaby

When Roadhog slides out from under the covers, off to do his usual early morning routine - tea, meditation, some sorta martial arts practice with Hanzo - Junkrat doesn’t complain, just rolls over, curling closer to Lúcio. Shivers a little, but Lú wraps an arm around him and he slides back down into sleep, grounded and warm.

Chills wake him the second time, shivering hard enough to rattle teeth. Sun’s higher now, though still not a reasonable time to wake. Mystery as to why both Roadie and Lú are morning people. Be funny, weren’t so annoying. Least Roadie has the sense to grumble about it until he’s caffeinated. Not Lúcio. Bright and cheerful at the asscrack of dawn as he is midday. Or midnight. Where’d he go, anyway? Junkrat pries his eyes open, blinking against a rising need to sneeze and catches sight of Lúcio picking his shorts up off the floor. “Oi Lú, ya ain’t need to clean up after me,” he blurts, but too late.

The necklace, forgotten until just this second, slides from his pocket and onto the floor where it lays, glittering. Lúcio frowns, scoops it up. Silent as Roadie. Not like his usual self.

“I can explain.” Maybe starting to talk’ll jumpstart his brain because at the moment it’s empty and dry as the middle of the Outback. “Found it during your set last night. Just walkin’ through the crowd an’ accidentally bumped into this sheila when I sneezed. She dropped it an’ before I could catch her attention to give it back she disappeared. Ain’t no way to find out who she was.”

“She dropped it.”

Junkrat shrugs. “Guess I surprised her.” Staying closer to truth needs less creativity. Still feeling fuzzy headed.

“Really.”

“Would I lie to ya?”

“I didn’t think so.” There’s an odd note in Lúcio’s voice. He doesn’t meet Junkrat’s eyes as he drops the necklace into his hand.

Makes a sickness rise in Junkrat’s stomach that has nothing to do with the cold. Doesn’t even want the damn thing anymore. Seemed like such a good idea at the time. “All right, fine. I took it. What ya lookin’ like that for though, mate? Reckon ya know what I do. No need to be a fuckin’ prig about it.”

“I thought I knew what you did, Junkrat.” Lúcio’s still quiet. Too quiet. Junkrat prefers yellin’ and cussin’ - get it all out and over with.

“Look, ain’t like the loss is gonna hurt her. Stupid rich cunt. Reckon she got plenty more where that came from.” Clenches his fingers so tight around the fucking necklace that the stones cut into his skin. Keeps feeling like he’s gonna sneeze, and it’s got him off his game.

Lúcio shakes his head. He's gathering up his stuff - more than just the clothes he’d shed the night before. Headphones, holopad, handheld game, toothbrush. A mug. A buddha. Everything he’d brought to their room.

“Come on, what d’ya want me to do? Turn myself in? Throw myself on Morrison’s mercy?” Even as he’s trying to keep his tone arch, a pit is widening in his stomach. Gotta be something he can say, something he can do to make this right. Throat’s dry and aching and he coughs a little to clear it. Doesn’t help, still tight.

Lúcio doesn’t even look up from his backpack. Just slides in his notebook and a scarf Roadhog made him.

“Come on, Lú. She’s some suit, not even anyone we know. Ain’t no love lost between you and the suits. You really telling me ya give a flying fuck about one tiny necklace, after all the shit they done?”

Lúcio shoulders the backpack and gives Junkrat a long measuring look.

His gaze is so piercing that Rat squirms under the scrutiny. Luckily the feathery tickle that’s been bothering him suddenly spikes into a need. Almost grins but catches himself in time. He wrenches forward with a sneeze, quickly followed by two more. “Huh Iiiishew! Tsh! Isshew! Ugh. Sorry, I…”

Lúcio cuts off the apology. “Save it. I can't believe you’d use that against me. That’s a low move, even for you.”

“Wait, what?” The words hit like a fist to the stomach. Hurts enough that he actually folds his arms over his middle. He blinks, confused at the unexpected attack. “What do you mean, even for me?”

“You fight dirty, Junkrat.” Lúcio sighs, pinches the bridge of his nose. “Look. I knew what you and Roadhog did before you joined Overwatch. I’m not naive.”

“Might beg to differ,” Junkrat mumbles, unable to help himself.

Lúcio doesn’t even bother to acknowledge the interruption. “I just thought you’d changed. Thought… I don’t know… maybe that being around us, getting to know who we are and what we stand for… I guess I hoped that you’d actually changed. Guess you were just using us to stay out of prison. Mei warned me, but I assumed she was being cynical.”

Junkrat opens his mouth to argue but before he can even get a word out, he sneezes. Hadn’t even felt it coming. The usual triplicate. “Heh-Iiishh! Issh! T’issh!” Just finishes one set when another hits. “Heh T’chew! Ishh! Ah-Rrishh!” Only gets a breath or two before another washes over him. “Hih… uh’shhh! Isshew! Huh-Ashhhuh!” Rubs his nose. “Jesus, that coulda killed…” looks up over his sleeve; realizes he’s alone. “Me,” he finishes in a mutter. Lúcio’d gone somewhere in the middle of the sneezing and Junkrat hadn’t even heard the door close. Well fuck.

He should follow, confront Lúcio. Have a proper row instead of this… whatever this is. But he’s tired, still. Not sure where Lú’s gone and the thought of having to traipse all over the fucking Watchpoint to find him feels like too much work. Considers searching out coffee, breakfast, something to soothe the edgy sensation making him want to climb out of his skin. Instead he ends up sitting on the sofa, just sorta staring aimlessly at the spot where Lúcio usually kept his Buddha.

Doesn’t know how much time passes before the door creaks open and Roadhog steps in.

“You’d better fucking apologize to Lúcio, Rat.” He’s got his arms crossed over his chest, doing his best enforcer impression.

“Not so much as a ‘good mornin’, how ya feelin’?” Junkrat snaps back.

Roadhog shrugs, clearly unconcerned. “Afternoon now, and you sound like shit, so you probably feel like shit. Doesn’t make any difference.”

“You’re my bodyguard. Why’s he got you in here fighting his battles for him?” The edge of his own tone pisses him off more. “What, exactly, deserves an apology anyway? So I stole one single, solitary fuckin’ necklace, ain’t from no one he knows, ain’t none of his business.”

Roadhog just stares at him, with his fucking blank-faced mask. Times like these Junkrat wants to rip the leather from his face. Instead he clenches his fists in his pockets.

“Ain’t the necklace,” Roadhog says finally. “You tried to turn him on to get out of an argument.”

“Fuckin’ well didn’t,” Rat protests. “That’s what he thinks of me? That’s what you think of me?” Both of them. Both of them think he’s fucking selfish, that he’d use anything to his advantage, even if it hurt someone else. The understanding is worse than the headache pounding his temples. Worse than the fact that Lúcio left in the first place.

Roadhog’s still stone. And Junkrat’s nose is tickling. Because of course it is. Scrubs at it with rough knuckles, but instead of backing off like it did the night before, it just increased the intensity of the sensation. Ducks away from Roadhog, tries to hide the sneezes in the collar of his shirt.

It’s another interminable round of sneezing. When he finally catches his breath, realizes Roadhog is right in front of him. Feels Roadie’s frown, even behind the mask. Suddenly he reaches out and presses a hand to Junkrat’s forehead.

Huffs a small surprised breath. “Got a fever.”

Junkrat’s turn to shrug. “Told ya last night I was gettin’ sick.”

“Thought you were… exaggerating for effect.” Roadhog has the grace to sound contrite.

“A little, maybe.” Junkrat coughs.

“Not much, apparently.” Roadhog sighs, sits next to him and puts an arm around his shoulders, drawing him close.

Junkrat leans into his warmth, his solidity. “Didn’t want to piss him off,” he says. “Just took the necklace without thinkin’. An’ maybe I was trying to get out of trouble - don’t like to have him mad at me.”

“Not the one who needs your apology, Rat. He’s in his room.” Roadhog squeezes his shoulders once, presses a kiss to the top of his head and stands up.

Junkrat sighs and looks wistfully at the bed. Absolutely bloody knackered, but knows he won’t be able to sleep with Lúcio angry. With one last longing sigh, he heads across the Watchpoint to find Lúcio.

At first there’s no response to his knock. The ache in his stomach’s back, and he clears his throat nervously. Pitches his voice loud enough to carry through the door, but hopefully not loud enough for Mei to hear him. “Oi, Lúcio? Open up, mate.”

Still nothing. Jesus, had he really fucked it up this badly, that he won’t even answer the door? Knocks again, louder. “Come on, Lú, least let me apologize.” Shoulda brought tissues, he realizes as his nose runs. He sniffles, and as he does the door finally slides back.

To Rat’s surprise, Lúcio can pull off a look almost as forbidding as Roadhog. Might be a good bit shorter, and half Roadie’s weight, but he’s channeling the largeness of his stage presence and it sends Rat back a step.

“What do you want?” No welcome in his voice or his posture. He stands in the center of the doorway and crosses his arms.

“Said I wanted to apologize,” Junkrat says, biting off the words. Then reconsiders. “Wait, no. Ain’t how I mean it.” He tries to collect his thoughts, to say the right thing for once. “I am sorry, Lú. For stealin’ the necklace. An’ for tryin’ to take advantage of a situation…” to his utter dismay he realizes he needs to sneeze again. This time he’s got enough advanced warning to actually step back away from the doorway and turn fully away.

Starts slow, just a weirdly spaced out triple. “Huhtshh!... Tssh!.. Huh… ihhh... Tshhhuh!” They do nothing to clear the tickle, he just keeps sneezing. He loses count after nine and by the end of it his throat’s gone raw.

“Saúde, Rat, Jesus. You okay?” Lúcio’s resting a hand in the center of his back, warmth radiates out from the touch, and it steadies him. Luckily Lúcio’s also more prepared, passing tissues over his shoulder.

Junkrat blows his nose, tries to clean up a bit. “Been better. Really am crook. Ain’t makin’ that up.”

Lúcio pulls him into a hug. “Yeah, no shit. I’m sorry for saying that, I know you wouldn’t. I was just so pissed. Come on, come inside. I felt like I got hit by a truck when I was down with the cold.” Draws him into the room. The lights are dimmed, soft music playing, and when Lúcio urges him to lay down in his bed he has to resist the urge to immediately curl up and sleep.

To his surprise, Lúcio lays next to him. They both stare at the ceiling, rather than at each other.

“You lied to me, Junkrat,” Lúcio says quietly. His voice is firm. Won’t take no shit.

“I didn’t…”

“You said she dropped the necklace.”

Fuck. He did. “Just… didn’t want ya lookin’ at me like that. Like you was disappointed in me. Like you was judging me. For takin’ something from a suit. A suit who has more than enough and…” “You have more than enough now, don’t you?”

The question stops him cold.

“You work for Overwatch, you get paid, you get room and board. You aren’t in Junkertown. You aren’t alone. You don’t have to do that anymore.”

For a minute wishes he’d sneeze again, just to have something to break the silence. “And when Overwatch is done with me,” he asks, just above a whisper, “what then?”

Lúcio pauses before he answers. “That’s up to you, isn’t it? Up to you how much you change, and how real that change is.”

[pynkhues]

i know that the audacity of what im about to ask is off the charts bc you're already too good to us, writing fic left and right and updating a lot soon but im SO weak over the parenting group!AU that im right here to beg for a snippet of it, if you feel like sharing!

Haha, the audacity is not off the charts at all! I can give you a snippet! Sorry it’s coming a little later – when you sent this to me this morning, I was like ‘oh god, everything I have is too ugly to post’ haha, so it gave me an excuse to tidy up a scene I’d drafted already which is fun! 

I will say as just a heads up, I’m operating now on a one-out-one-in system for multi-chaptered WIPs. So when I finish CYF (which is basically done, just got to post the epilogue!), I’ll be starting to post the pirate au, and when I finish See You in the Light, I’ll be starting to post this parents group au, and then finally when I finish If It Wasn’t for All the Lights, I’ll start to post the BDSM au! It’s probably a deeply flawed system, but it’s the one I’m going ahead with, haha.

Anyway! 

A snippet of the parents group au!

“C’mon, pop,” Rio grunts, trying to get the tabs free on the side of the diaper as Marcus kicks out his legs, squirming up the back of the change mat like he’s trying to slip up on out of the thing, and shit, the last thing he needs is the kid to smear Rhea’s Earth Mama Angel Bottom Balm up the back of his new hoodie.

“I have spare diapers if you need to borrow one,” Beth says at the change table beside him, having apparently gotten Jane into her new one in record speed, and Rio lets his gaze stick for a second, watching as she makes even easier work of getting Jane’s thrashing legs back into her pink polka dot leggings, like it’s nothing at all. It’s enough to make his jaw rock, his attention twisting back to Marcus, trying to get the tab unstuck again, but his fingers are still oily with the diaper rash cream, and Marcus’ face is gettin’ redder, and he just can’t get his grip.

He tugs Marcus back towards him, dropping a hand to his son’s belly, tickling a little to try and calm him down, even as he levels Beth with an irritated look.

“Yeah, what part of this looks like the diaper’s the issue?”

Somewhere outside, he hears her friend laughing, the sound loud and warm over the pinging arcade machines and the banging of the bowling balls hitting the polished floor of the lanes, the crack of one hitting pins, and - - and he ain’t being fair.

Knows that.

It’s not her fault he doesn’t know what the fuck he’s doing.

Still, when he glances sideways at her again, she’s unbothered by his tone – not pissed like Rhea would be, or wounded like his ma – and something about that bothers him more than it should. Instead, Beth shrugs, fixing her gaze back down on her daughter.

“It just looks like it’s one of those organic ones, right?” she says, gently lifting Jane to put her onto her belly for a few minutes of tummy time – just like Nance had told ‘em to in class – before turning to better look at Rio, her eyes tired as she watches him yank again on the tab of Marcus’ diaper. “I tried those with Kenny, and I just find the tabs always - -”

Riiiiiiiip.

He can feel his pulse in his throat as his cream-covered fingers clench around a handful of torn diaper, can feel it even harder behind his eyes, his blood thrumming hot beneath his skin and damn, it ain’t anger, it’s just - -

Fuckin’ exhaustion.

He pulls the diaper out from underneath Marcus’ bare, wet-with-diaper-cream ass and stamps his foot hard down on the peddle of the bin beside the change table, tossing the whole damn thing in with more force than necessary, and he’s expecting Elizabeth to have that look on her face again – that one that’s some mix of pity and judgement or even worry at seein’ a guy like him snap – but it ain’t even really a look at all. She’s just magicked up one of her kids’ diapers from that Mary Poppins bag of hers, and holds it out to him.

“If you loosen the tabs and open it up a bit before you get it under him it’ll be easier too,” she offers, and Rio grunts, plucking it from her hand and fixing his attention back on Marcus’ flailing legs, sucking in a breath to calm his frayed nerves, before gently lifting his son again to get the diaper up underneath him, adjusting it to get it in the right spot, trying to avoid Marcus’ kicking feet, and it’s just - - sudden.

That’s the thing.

Because Marcus’ legs calm down right in time with Beth’s arm suddenly pressing into Rio’s, and Rio blinks up to see Beth reached over and her finger is curled in Marcus’ tiny fish, and Rio tears his confused gaze away from Beth to look up and see his son smiling, that one that makes him look like the whole damn sun, and he keeps smiling, even when he shoves his fist – still clutchin’ Beth’s finger – right up into his mouth.

And he’s gonna stop it – ain’t like he loves other people’s kids chewing on his knuckles – but he finally gets Marcus properly into the clean diaper, and before he can do anything else, Beth’s just started talking.

“That is a strong grip,” she whispers, so quiet it’s almost like she doesn’t want Rio to hear, and her voice is light and bright in a way he ain’t really used to hearing. “And very warm slobber, which is what you want from slobber. I mean, can you even imagine cold slobber? Like a ghost. I will say Billy from class has some weirdly cold slobber, so you stay away from him, mister.”

Rio just - - blinks, his brow furrows, his lips parting, but when he opens them all the way, no words come out. Instead he just stands there like a dumbass, watching this woman half-bent over her kid and his at the change table of a bowling alley, her strawberry blonde hair falling down, concealing her face so all Rio can see is his son’s, and how whatever it is she’s doing makes his son happy, and he can’t really explain any of it, but he just - -

“Oh my god, Paulie! Twins!”

“Amber, don’t - -”

Whatever Paulie was about to say is lost to the rest of the parents’ room as Rio spins to see a skinny, leggy blonde thrust a toddler with milkshake-vomit down his shirt at some guy with frosted tips like this is the fuckin’ 90s, and dart towards them in a wave of too-sweet perfume. She’s so fuckin’ quick (or maybe just - - y’know - - awake given her kid’s old enough to vomit milkshake instead of formula), instantly peering over at Marcus and Jane on the change tables, an easier feat now that Beth’s standing up again, her finger reclaimed, rolling Jane back onto her back on the mat.

Amber’s cooing is instant, and Rio sighs, grabbing Marcus’ pants from where he’d slung them over his shoulder and starting to shake them out.

“Oh my goooodddd, they’re like those ones you see on TV! Paulie!! Look!! Like, one’s just like mommy, and one’s just like daddy.”

Which - - Rio blinks, looking sideways at Beth, who just seems to be watching Amber with that same neutral, Stepford Wife-look she gets in class. Rio sets his jaw, shaking his head, as he starts to bunch the pants up in his hands, ready to put them on Marcus, opening his mouth to correct the other woman.

“Nah, they ain’t - -”

“You think so?”

The words are offered so suddenly, so sharply, that Rio’s head spins back around to look at Beth again, his eyebrows raised at her interruption, but she doesn’t look back at him, just keeps her gaze fixed on Amber. She wrinkles her nose a little, purses her lips, before dropping a hand back to the change table while leaning forwards a little, almost conspiratorially.

“We’ve been thinking about signing them up for auditions, but I don’t know,” she waves a hand suddenly at Rio, who only blinks at her. “James here thinks it might not be the best idea.”

And okay, for starters, fuckin’ James? She really wants to play him like that? But also - - just - - y’know. What the fuck? Rio stares at her, taking in her widening eyes and her baggy mama sweater that does exactly zero to hide the fact that she’s stacked, but also the fact that she’s holdin’ herself kinda different all of a sudden. Like she’s caught him looking, her gaze darts towards him, and it’s so quick he almost misses it, the way she just sort of - -

Shrugs.

Rio scoffs a little – a sound Amber clearly reads as about the audition and not about this whole damn show – and turns around, putting on a smile for Marcus as he finishes bunching up the pants and pushing them up over his tiny feet.

“Men are always weird about this stuff, but you guys should totally be auditioning them! Like, I could literally see them in commercials for formula. You know they always put the cutest ones in them, because they want to trick regular people into thinking that their product’s gonna like, magic you a better-looking baby.”

Which - - look, Rio can’t exactly say it’s a surprise. He’s pretty sure his sister changed her kids’ brand of juice because one of the ads had one of the little girl’s playin’ Daisy Doctor instead of Holly Housewife. His thoughts are interrupted though when Marcus sneezes, and Rio leans over enough to grab a tissue from Beth’s diaper bag, vaguely aware of Paulie rounding the change tables for the sink, and tugging off his own kids’ shirt and it’s really only then that Rio realises he hasn’t even blinked at the smell of vomit, which - -

Okay, actually, that could be the fifteen years working in a bar.

“You know, I think I’ve heard that,” Beth says, and the girl makes a humming noise, her bowling shoes tapping a little on the tiled floor.

“Well, that’s an insider secret for you. I lived in LA for like, ever. It was almost two years. I mean, closer to one, but that’s basically 40 Hollywood years. I even once auditioned to play a mom in a Baby’s Only commercial. I mean I didn’t get it, but I think it was because I was like, too in shape, y’know?”

Which - - shit, Rio coughs a little to cover a sound he doesn’t even know, a laugh? A scoff? Why the hell is she even talkin’ to this woman?

“Wow,” Beth says though, her voice loaded with concern. “That’s gotta be discrimination.”

“I know right?”

And it’s Jane who wobbles at least, her bottom lip quivering, her legs kicking, and Beth turns around instantly, humming softly back down at her daughter, and before Rio can help it, his gaze darts over to her, watching as her face softens, her eyes glaze over, like they do sometimes, and he thinks of saying somethin’ to her, but shit, what? He doesn’t know jack about her.

A wave of perfume hits them again, and the second he finishes getting Marcus’ pants on, picks him up, turns around at the same time Beth does with Jane, Amber’s right in front of them, her gaze darting between Jane and Marcus, like she’s not sure which one to look at first.

Finally, she just sighs, clutching a hand forlornly to her chest.

“Like, I’m not even kidding. You made two really nice babies. Like, Paulie, tell them I’m not kidding.”

Over at the sink, Paulie grunts again, holding the toddler’s shirt under a furious stream of water, and Rio stares for a minute, watching the guy morosely clean up toddler vomit while the kid licks the rim of the sink. Rio resists the urge to gag as he bounces Marcus a little on his hip.  

“How’d you two even meet anyway?”

And at least that much he should’ve expected. Rio shakes his head, gaze fixing back on Amber, the words ready on his tongue, but before he can say a damn thing, Beth’s cut him off again.

“It sounds so weird, but it was actually at an underwater research center.”

Which - - okay - - what?

His gaze flicks back to Beth, but she ain’t looking back at him. She’s just got Jane curled into her chest, nestling her face into her breast, while Beth hums a little, just - - blatantly fuckin’ lying.

“I was studying - - ” outside, a bowling ball hits the floor hard. “How sound affects  - -“ she fingers her pearl necklace with the hand not clutching Jane, “Oysters, because I am a scientist, and James here was researching - - ” Beth’s gaze darts around, fixing on Marcus in Rio’s arms. “Marco Polo.”

Before Rio’s even had time to catch up to that, Paulie blinks up, confused, from his spot at the sink.

“In Detroit?”

It’s enough to make Beth stutter, her eyes blinking rapidly, and he really should just leave her to fix this herself, should leave her there gaping like a fish, scrambling for the tail-end of her own lie, and get back out to the group, but - - Rio sucks in a breath - - Marcus would be bare-assed right now if it wasn’t for her.

“Nah, man, west coast. We just moved back here to be close to family with the twins,” he drawls with a shrug, and maybe that makes it worth it – how quickly Beth reels around to look at him, and  - - shit, have her eyes always been that blue? Rio blinks, jerks his head back around to Amber, rolling his shoulders back to undo the sudden knot in them. “One of those things, yeah? We met workin’ out there, but turned out we were both from here.”

He means to leave it at that. Should, really, but all he can think about is her in class – prim and proper and that look again, like she’s judging him, and she got them into this, right? Before he can think twice, he drops his free hand to her lower back, smoothing it around to hold the soft hip furthest from him, smiling toothlessly as Beth stiffens and then pointedly, deliberately, relaxes, while Amber holds her hand to her chest again, hums an: “Aww, that’s how you know it’s meant to be!”

“That’s right,” Rio replies, and he watches Beth turn her face up to meet him, her gaze darting across his face like she’s trying to figure something out, and shit, he’s just trying to match what she’s laying down. After a moment, Beth spins into him, her free arm dipping around his back, and something in him sparks hot and he just - - he hadn’t known how fucking small her hands were until one squeezes at his waist.

“Right, honey,” she says, voice high and too-sweet. “I was just so lucky. And speaking of our families, we should really get back to them.”

After that, it’s easy enough to pack up the last of the diaper bags, for Amber to dip down to help Paulie and the kid, and for them to slip out again under the distraction, and it’s just fuckin’ weird, he thinks, to watch that little character Beth had invented – all ease and charm – slip off her shoulders like a cloak, and he means to let it go, because what skin is it off his nose if she’s some sort of pathological liar? But as they duck between the groups of sprawling teenagers and middle America families ordering fries and picking bowling ball weights, guys shoving each other at arcade games, and kids feeding quarters into claw machines, he just - - itches.

So maybe he steps a little slower, matching her pace, maybe he looks at her, amused, a little goading as he says: “So you in some secret, new mama improv group, or what?”

And Beth just - -

Shrugs, and shit, she doesn’t even look at him when she says:

“You don’t ever get bored of just being you?”

Rio blinks, his step slowing all over again, taking in her tired look, the diaper bag slung over her shoulder, that shirt she’s wearing, stained with grubby children’s fingers and milk, that damn new mama smell that’s always up his nose with her, and he just thinks - - nah, not really, but before he has the chance to say it, it’s like she’s read it on his face. She hoists a snuffling Jane up a little higher and moves faster than she has any right to. Back across the bowling alley, back into their lane, nestled in the shelter between her friend and her sister, away from him.

[kuratoki]

Distance 02

There wasn’t a day Jeno didn’t regret not making things official with you sooner. What he also didn’t expect was his soon to be ex best friend to act on his feelings towards you either. Now a whole continent away with a ten hour time difference, will the two of you survive the distance and all the obstacles that come with?

Genre: Fluff, Angst

Pairing: Ballerina OC x Dancer Jeno

Words: 3481

Warnings: Swearing

~Updates Ever/other day at 8AM PST~

Later that night, Yukhei, Yeeun, Yuta, Sicheng and Chenle had invited the transfer students to your shared house in order to get to know them better. Chenle had been spending more time with Sicheng as of late since both Renjun and Jisung were gone. He felt lonely.

“Do you live here alone?” Kun asked, looking around the well lived space. There were picture frames of a family and an unknown girl and some even had a boy that remotely looked like Jeno and it had him wondering.

“Now I do.” Sicheng said with a nod, “This is Y/N’s house. The girl that you heard everyone talking about during the meeting today. I’m just renting it while I’m here since her parents moved to America and are currently traveling.” 

“Like parents like offspring.” Yuta commented, “You should get her to make her famous chocolate cake when you meet her. Soooo good. I still have one in my freezer.” he grinned remembering the payment of chocolate cakes you had to give him for letting you use his apartment in Osaka during that one spontaneous trip.

Tzuyu tried not to roll her eyes at the mention of your name again. All she heard during the meeting was Y/N this, Y/N that. She was even starting to doubt that you were a real person cause it all sounded too good to be true. In their eyes, you were perfect and she highly doubted that.

“Where is she again?” Xiaojun curiously asked, he only heard briefly that you were in Germany but he wasn’t so sure for what.

“She’s in London working with the Junior Selects Performance Group.” Chenle explained, “She and her ballet partner Renjun were asked to reprise their roles as Odette and the Prince in Swan Lake for their spring performance.” 

“Wait, the Selects Dance Company? Isn’t that the prestigious one that has the intensive training camp for it’s competition team auditions?” YangYang asked, he had only heard of it a few times while he was in Germany but had yet to meet anyone associated with it. “How did she get into that?” 

“Long story.” The three who knew chorused.

“You have to either be attending school there already or get a letter of recommendation from an existing team member.” Sicheng explained, “Y/N was already studying abroad and she caught the eye of one of the team captains. So she technically got in with both.”

“I heard that the head of the board lost her son to cancer recently.” Tzuyu commented, she had a few friends who attended schools in Europe so news got around fast “Are you sure they’re still putting the performance on?”

“Considering Y/N and Renjun are there helping plan the whole thing right now…” Yeeun answered, resisting the urge to roll her eyes but felt Yukhei squeeze her hand, “Y/N and Renjun were close friends with her son so they’ve decided to dedicate the performance In memory of him.”

“They took on a lot of responsibility like finding the orchestra, coming up with audition dates for the other roles and at which locations. You saw the large ass binder I was carrying home..I’ll be playing the piano for them.” Chenle added, “I have three months to get this all down, this is going to be sooo much practice. Goodbye, life.”

“Not like you had one anyways since Jisung and Renjun left anyways.” Yeeun teased.

“She sounds too good to be true.” Tzuyu muttered, crossing her arms, “How is she so connected?”

“You’ll understand when you meet her.” Chenle advised, “She’s one of the kindest, humblest and talented dancers I have ever met.” 

“Thanks Chenle.” Yukhei, Yuta, Yeeun and Sicheng said dryly.

“Those words could get you injured.” Yuta joked, “Do you notice how snippy Jaemin gets when people talk about Y/N?” 

“I’m more scared of Jeno.” Chenle said with a straight face, “Did you see how he crushed Haechans hand when he smeared chocolate icing on Y/N’s face? I’m surprised he didn’t get the whole bowl thrown at him.” 

“That’s because she was there to stop him.” Yukhei reminded, “I remember the chill that went down my spine when he gave me his death glare when Y/N first got here.” he shivered thinking about the past, “Bless her soul for holding him back.”

“He does tend to act up when it concerns Y/N…” Sicheng said thinking about all the scenarios, “I wonder if it’s a childhood thing or if it’s recent.” 

“Definitely childhood.” Yeeun said with a nod. She had heard stories from both Hana and Jaemin recounting tales of how Jeno was always super protective of you growing up even before you realized you had feelings for the other. 

“Is she the girl in the photos?” Kun asked, looking around the room and Sicheng nodded, “Does she have a brother too?” he asked again seeing a small boy in some of the photos near the fireplace.

“That’s...Jeno guys. Didn’t Jaemin and Hana tell you that they grew up together?” Chenle asked, confused.

“Jaemin said that the three of them went to school together.” YangYang said, “Wait so the little boy in that photo’s Jeno?” he asked pointing to the photo where it showed a boy and a girl lying on their stomachs in a tent, the biggest grins the two could muster at their young age.

“Yep.” Sicheng said, “Their families travelled together too if I remember. I remember him visiting from time to time when they came to see my family in China.”

“The only continent we haven’t been to now is Africa.” Jeno’s voice said as he walked in and was shocked to see the big crowd in your living room. The only people who were missing were Hana and Jaemin. 

“Oh hey, you’re back.” Sicheng said, “Did you grab my food?” 

“It’s in the fridge. I put some extra stuff in there too so you won’t starve and Yuta won’t eat you out of house and home.” he said walking past the group, making a beeline for the stairs, “Do you need anything from Y/N’s room?” he called down.

“No” Sicheng called back and shook his head, “At least he’s thinking about me.” 

“More like Y/N probably told him not to let you starve.” Chenle snorted and jumped when he felt something brush against his leg, “HOLY SHIT WHAT WAS THAT.” 

Everyone looked at Chenle weirdly before Tzuyu shrieked when she felt the same thing brush against her leg, “What the heck!?” 

Suddenly, something jumped out from under the couch but before it could land on Tzuyu’s lap, a strong arm quickly caught it mid-air. Looking up, she was shocked to see Jeno who pretty much had his arm wrapped around her from behind as he used his other hand to secure the animal.  She couldn’t help but feel the blush form on her cheeks as she felt his toned arm brush gently against her shoulder and she looked up at him, frowning when she saw him cooing as he held a cat in his arms.

“What the heck is Seol doing here?” Yuta asked, knowing all three of Jeno’s cats.

“Jaemin left my window open when he left for school this morning.” Jeno muttered checking his cat over, “And Sicheng left Y/N’s window open to air it out so she probably jumped across since it’s not that far. She did that a lot after she left too. Also, this is Nal, not Seol.” He corrected. 

“Awe, she also misses Y/N.” Yeeun said giggling, remembering your instagram post before you left, “Y/N said that if this ever happens that it was your fault that you let the two bond so closely before she left.” 

“Nal’s always liked Y/N better than me.” Jeno easily admitted, “I’ll be right back, gonna put her back in the house before-” Jeno let out a big sneeze.

“Too late.” Yuta and Chenle said as Jeno quickly walked out of the house only to come back not even three minutes later.

“I still don’t get why you have three cats when you’re allergic.” Yukhei commented, “Why don’t you get a dog or something?” 

“Y/N and I rescued Seol and Nal together when we were ten and I’ve had Beonsik forever.” Jeno said and looked down at his phone, “I’m gonna get what I need from her bedroom and then get going.”

“What are you getting exactly?” Chenle asked pointedly, “Does she even know you’re doing this?” 

“Pffft, no.” Jeno snorted, “She’d murder me if she found out. But the surprise will be so worth it.”

“Then we don’t want to know..” Yukhei said, “Shouldn’t you hurry up though? Your scheduled nightly call should be happening soon no?”

“Right.” Jeno said and ran back up the stairs only to come down with a large box of things, “See you guys tomorrow!” and with that, he was out the door.

“This is the third time he’s done that.” Sicheng commented, “I wonder what he’s up to…” 

“I know.” Yeeun said with a shit eating grin, “But I’m sworn to secrecy.” 

“Wait, so Jeno and this Y/N person aren’t dating?” Xiaojun asked confused, “But he seems so…”

“Domesticated.” YangYang finished his friends sentence.

“They’re kind of in a complicated situation.” Yukhei answered, “They have a lot of history and they only met up again this year after not talking for four. They have a few things to sort out and with Y/N currently on a different continent, they’re taking things slow.”

“Hey, the man has his priorities straight.” Yuta added,”I would do the same if I felt that way about her.”

“He just doesn’t want to fuck up cause he’s whipped.” Chenle commented, “Plus, he still sees his best friend as a threat.” 

“I thought Jaemin was dating Hana.” YangYang said. He was confused and Chenle quickly shook his head to correct himself.

“I’m talking about Jisung. You would have met him had he stayed and left for training camp when he was supposed to but he decided to follow Y/N and the rest of them to Europe early.” he explained, “Y/N and Jisung are best friends from summer camp, Jeno and Jisung are best friends from SMAA.” 

“So when Y/N transferred back, her two worlds collided.” Kun said and the group nodded, “Dang, must’ve been hard.”

“Ooooo yea.” Sicheng said remembering all the drama that happened in their small group, “And we all didn’t expect her to leave again so soon either but for now, it’s obvious where his focus is.”

“Well I mean, he’s going to be seeing her sfafjsalkfjl” Yukhei started but was muffled by Yeeuns hand.

“I think it’s time for Yukhei and I to go.” she said quickly, “Does anyone need a ride?” 

No one but a select few knew of Jeno’s leadership offer with the prestigious dance academy, not even Jaemin or Hana who were the closest to him. Yukhei and Yeeun happened to find out by chance since Renjun and Yukhei became close again and let it slip but outside of that, Jeno was acting perfectly.

A few weeks later, Tzuyu was walking around the empty hallways alone. She had a free period since her instructor was sick that day and she decided to check out the various departments. She could have asked Xiaojun or YangYang to join her but she decided to take a breather and think about the happenings over the last few weeks. 

She was so confused. She had tried to talk to him on multiple occasions but she only saw him during their first period class. He would remain unresponsive, focussing solely on the choreography as if his mind was elsewhere. Despite Hana and Yeeun warning her to leave him alone, Jeno was doing a good job at deflecting her himself and she had no idea if it was intentional or not.  As the weeks went on, she noticed that he got noticeably colder towards the transfer students, often leaving early from hangouts or not even showing up at all. When he was around, he focussed on talking to the guys only and only answered her questions when she asked, often with one word or a small sentence. It was like he was isolating himself from his friends too.  Something was obviously bothering him and she was determined to get to the bottom of it.

As she walked by a practice room, she couldn’t help but hear a voice she recognized along with a much more feminine one.

“You need to lighten up.” the girl's voice said and Tzuyu peaked in to see Jeno sitting at a table he set up with his laptop open. Various papers and notebooks spread across. She knew it was a bad idea, but she couldn’t help but listen in on the conversation at hand.

“You’re only stressing yourself out more this way. Your duties don’t even start for another few months.” you said through the computer. The two of you and Renjun were having a video chat since Jeno was pretty much done school for the day and you were currently at your apartment working on performance preparations with Renjun. Jeno was going through the paperwork that he needed to fill for his application. The whole process in itself was stressful and on top of that, Soonyoung had asked for a few favors that he happily took, in order to distract him from everything else.

“But it’s going to help in the end won’t it?” Jeno asked, trying to reason with you and Renjun let out a sigh.

“Dude, I get that you want to be involved and everything but you’re still new to the system. I mean look at Jisung, the poor kid has complained EVERYDAY that training camp is so intensive.” he said, “Y/N’s right. You’re stressing yourself out for no reason.”

Tzuyu froze, so the female voice she heard was you. You didn’t sound all that special from what she could hear but the giggle you emitted when Jeno groaned before chuckling himself was what got her. 

“Where is Jisung anyways?” Jeno asked, curiously looking around the apartment through the camera.

“Unlike us, he has a strict schedule.” Renjun explained, “Remember, Xander wrote him the letter of recommendation so he has a lot to live up to. It’s no secret here either. Poor kid cried on Y/N’s shoulder the first day cause all the other students ridiculed his skill..” 

“Okay, now you’re just being mean.” you reprimanded, “YOU cried for the first TWO weeks of training camp. At least Jisung can suck it up. Plus his programs are harder because its for next years senior team. Hello, have you SEEN how Chan and Mia run their workshop?” 

“She got you there dude.” Jeno said looking at you with a soft smile, the softest smile Tzuyu had ever seen from him in all her time here, “Chan can be intense when he wants to be. I won’t say anything about your girlfriend in fear that she’ll find out and haunt me later.” 

“Shut up.” Renjun snapped, “Just you wait Lee Jeno, just you wait.” 

“Is that a threat small shoulders?” Jeno challenged.

“I don’t threaten, I promise.” Renjun said, “I will make you suffer.” 

“I mean, it won’t be as bad as Y/N and Mia making you suffer so I mean…” Jeno trailed off, “Plus, your girlfriend likes me better anyways.” 

“I always wonder about that.” Renjun admitted with a sigh, “Anyways, real talk. How are the transfers?”

The group in Europe which consisted of You, Renjun and Jisung were all aware of the suffering Chenle felt when he had to take on three dance majors since Renjun had left abruptly. You had heard a few things about one of them during your video calls with the girls and Jeno was also honest with everything during your phone calls. Did you see one of them as a potential threat? Kind of since the two of you agreed not to set things in stone until you were back for good and everything else settled down but you trusted him. 

“Outside of first period I don’t really see them.” Jeno admitted, he’d been taking more time to himself mentally. He had a lot of responsibilities within the NCT Dance club as a junior rep and the work he willingly took on for the Selects Team kept him busy most of the time.

“Ah, so that’s why Hana’s asked if I’ve talked to you.” you said finally understanding your friends words, “Why aren’t you hanging out with them? I heard that Kun, Xiaojun and YangYang joined NCT.”

“That they did.” Jeno confirmed with a nod, “I wonder if WinWin makes royalty’s off the club for all the transfer students he brings in.” he added as an after thought.

“What about the girl?” Renjun asked, “What’s her name again? Chou Tzuyu?”

“Sounds like it. I don’t talk to her much but she hangs around Yeeun and Hana a lot.” Jeno said nodding, “She’s actually a pretty good dancer.” 

“I’ve heard.” Renjun said, “A few of the dancers in my club talk about her. Heard she’s really talented despite her age.” 

“Just like Y/N back in the day.” Jeno said and the two of you looked at each other through the screen.

Renjun gagged and pushed you to the side, “Right in front of my lunch too. I thought we agreed flirting was meant for the night time conversations.” 

“You’re just salty that Mia’s been spending more time with Jisung and Chan lately.” you said pushing him back.

“Wait really?” Jeno asked, astonished. Chan was supposed to be helping out with the production so Jeno wondered what changed his mind.

“Yea, suddenly Soonyoung wanted to switch roles and Chan agreed since he wanted to get to know Jisung more.” Renjun explained, “Soonyoung, Jongin, Y/N and I are taking full control of the performance and Chan, Mia and the Senior team captains took over training camp. Anne-Marie is currently relaxing in the Carribean until new leaders are announced.” 

Jeno was shocked that Soonyoung switched places with Chan. It was obvious Chan had originally wanted to work with training camp but Soonyoung had a higher position so called dibs. Jeno wondered if it was because of a conversation the two had a few weeks back.

“So how do you feel about Y/N being so far away again?” Soonyoung asked.

The two had started meeting up more often, evening inviting Jaemin along at times. It was like ever since the day they met, a brotherhood had formed.  Today, Jeno had driven up to visit Soonyoung since it was the weekend and the two were meeting over some hot pot.

“What do you want me to say?” Jeno asked, “I just got her back and she’s gone again. Like, we talk every night but I still miss her you know.” 

“It’s understandable. But you guys talk everyday right? It’s not like anythings really changed, minus her being a 12 hour flight away part.” Soonyoung tried to reason and Jeno shrugged.

“I think towards the end, we spent so much time together that it was harder to let go and now she’s over there with Jisung and I don’t know what that kid has planned.” Jeno said, his voice getting lower at every word.

“Wait what about Jisung?” Soonyoung asked, “I thought he and Y/N were best friends.”

“They are…” Jeno said, running a hand down his face, “It’s just I don’t think his feelings for her are platonic. They way he was acting towards her in the end, he was just so protective, intent on keeping her away from me.”

Soonyoung hummed to himself, leaning back in his seat, “Is that what’s really bothering you right now?”

“It’s been on my mind for a while. There were times times when I’d be on video call with her and Jisung would randomly walk into her room and throw himself on her bed and other times, he’s already there with her…”  Jeno confessed, “I get they’re best friends but the look in his eye tells me otherwise.” 

“I’ll take care of it.” Soonyoung said and Jeno gave him a confused look and Soonyoung smiled, reaching over to pat his shoulder, “Just focus on making things official with Y/N.” 

Jeno wondered if Chan was playing a role. Jisung had been showing up less frequently in your video calls and the two of you had been actually able to talk about personal things. 

“Interesting. When do the two of you start rehearsals?” Jeno asked, changing the subject.

As the three of you continued to converse, Tzuyu was about to walk in but was quickly pulled back by the wrist, coming face to face with Yeeun.

[orange-waterfalls]

The Deal

Illinois x gender neutral!reader

@lawfluff-evil ty for the prompt

A/N: It got to be way too long so I split it into two parts lol. Rated T for cursing. Second part will be posted soon, probably.

Word Count: 1.9k

Part 2

"Oh hey, sorry if you fell in love with me. They always do…" and just like that, Illinois saunters out of the cave, leaving you with a rock and a banana. Cocky bastard you think. You look at the items in your hands, wondering what the hell you're supposed to do now. Some dust must have made its way to your nose because you sneeze. The rock turns to dust revealing a diamond inside. You gape, inspecting it for a moment before turning to the banana. You did get them from the same place…

You peel it.

Lo and behold, it's not just a banana, it's a golden banana. You ponder leaving and keeping all the treasure for yourself. Well, he didn't do anymore than you. Besides, he's the one who left you. You decide against it because, sadly, deep down, you're a good person. You run towards the exit, where Illinois went, hoping to catch up with him. You're far behind him, it seems, because you don't find him even after you exit the cave, where you find Mark. His suit is tattered and dirty and he's panting like he was just running for his life. Which… he was… technically. He looks up at you and glares.

"Thanks a lot, buddy, where the hell were you while I was getting chased by a sentient Boulder?!" He yells. You hold up the diamond and the gold. He raised his eyebrows.

"Forget everything bad I've ever said about you," he laughs and limps over to you. You wince at the sight and start to feel bad. "Where'd you find this?" You point to the cave. He laughs.

"We'll be rich! At least something good came out of the heist!" You furrow your eyebrows. Mark notices this and his smile falters a bit. "What's wrong?"

"I want to find someone," you say.

"You met them in there?" He asks. You nod. "Did he come out this way?" You nod again. Mark sighs. "Well… you brought this back… I guess it's the least I can do." You smile and throw your arms around him. He laughs and hugs you back. "Alright, don't get all mushy on me, now." He pulls back. "What does he look like?" You stare at Mark for a minute. He looks behind him, not knowing exactly what's happening. You bring your hand up and point to him. He points to himself. "He looks like me?" You nod. Mark crosses his arms in front of his chest. "Well, if he looks like me, how is he so special?" You tap your leg for a moment before answering.

"You know Indiana Jones?" You ask. Mark nods. You raise your eyebrows, expecting him to connect what you were saying. Mark laughs.

"He's Indiana Jones? Aw, are you a fan? Is that why you wanna see him again?" He teases. You glare at him and punch his arm. "Ah! Sorry sorry!" He stops laughing. "So, what's his name?" You pause, knowing what he's going to say as soon as you tell him, and he waits for your answer. You mumble incoherently. "Sorry?" He cups a hand around his ear and leans towards you. You take a deep breath.

"His name's Illinois…" you say. There's silence for a moment before Mark bursts out laughing. You almost start laughing too, but keep your composure.

"Illinois? Really?! Did he pick it himself?" He asks. You break and laugh as well. You both stand and laugh like idiots for a minute before stopping.

"So, uh… where exactly are we?" You ask. Mark shrugs.

"Something happened at the car… I think we teleported… somehow…" you punch the bridge of your nose.

"What even is today…" you sigh, annoyed. Mark chuckles and pats your shoulder.

"I know, I know," He consoles, Well, we should try to find society. Maybe we'll find your new boyfriend on the way" he teases. You scoff.

"One thing that I'm absolutely sure of is that he is not into me," you cross your arms.

"How do you know?" Mark asks. You clear your throat as you mimic Illinois' accent.

"Oh, and uh, sorry if you fell in love with me. Heh, they always do," you roll your eyes after you finish. Mark giggles.

"Oh no! He said that to you?" He asks sympathetically. You nod and sigh. He grabs your arm. "I am so sorry. But, if he doesn't like you, why do you what to find him?"

"Well, I wanted to return this diamond since he's the one who found the rock it was in," you explain. Mark stares at you like you're a crazy person. He takes a deep breath.

"That is uncharacteristically noble of you and I think we shouldn't," he says quickly. You gape at him.

"Mark!" You say accusingly.

"Well, he's the one who left before he found out! And he seems like a dick!" Mark sets his hands on his hips.

"He is a dick," you mumble angrily.

"Exactly! So… we can just… keep them! And sell them! And then we can be rich! Right? Wasn't that the purpose of robbing a museum in the first place?" He tries to convince you to keep the treasure. You sigh.

"No, Mark, we are good people…" you pause and Mark stares at you blankly. You start again. "We are… relatively fair people," he raised an eyebrow at you. You groan. "Ok we fucking suck. But this feels right! It's the right thing to do! Please, buddy? Pal? Friend?" You beg.

"Ugh, fine," Mark groans, "but I will use this against you at a later time." You smile and hug him. He tries not to, but grins and hugs you back. "So, which way should we go?" He asks.

"Oh, no, no, no," you chuckle, "you're not throwing this one onto me. You decide this time, sir."

"Oh. Uh… alright…" he rubs the back of his neck and looks around for a minute. "Uh… this way!" He points to the right of you, where there's a forest. You look at him weirdly, but follow him anyway. You two walk through the forest until you find a trail that leads you to a small village. You go up to a person.

"Excuse me, but, where are we?"

"Tijuana," the woman says. You feel like you've heard that before, but…

"Let me rephrase, what country are we in?"

"Mèxico," she answers. You turn to Mark.

"Mexico, Mark. We're in Mexico." You say.

"That's awesome. That's wonderful. That's great." He laughs, an angry tone in his voice. How the hell are we in Mexico?!" He yells. A couple people turn their heads, looking at him strangely. You set a hand on his shoulder.

"Easy, buddy. It's alright." You see a flash of red and look to the side of you. You see wheels as well. Your eyes widen. You walk to the car and see that it's the same one you used to escape from the museum. "Mark." You call.

"What?" He snaps.

"I found the car," You state. His eyes widen as he runs over to you.

"Holy shit, thank God" he sighs.

"So, I think it'd be about a two hour drive back to L.A., but we would need more gas…" you comment. You turn to the people that have gathered to see what you're doing. "Hi, um, is there… is there a gas station around?" A boy goes inside one of the houses and brings back a can of gas. You raise your eyebrows. "Oh, no, we couldn't-" He pushes it towards you.

"Tomas! Tomas*!" He pressures. You turn to Mark, who shrugs his shoulders. You hesitantly take the can from the boy.

"Gracias**," you thank. The boy nods and smiles.

"Oh, uh have you guys seen a guy? Looks kinda like me but with a hat?" Mark asks the people.

"Sí***, he went to the bar," A man explains and points to said bar. You and Mark walk over. You go inside and see that the only people inside are Illinois and the bartender. It makes sense, it's still pretty early. Illinois notices you and smirks.

"Well, look who came back?" He teases. "Miss me too much?" You stare at him, unamused.

"No." You say angrily.

"Sure you didn't." He chuckles. "Look, bud, i already said I was sorry if you fell in love with me. I also already said I was married to the adventure." He explains. Mark leans over to you.

"I'm not gonna lie, he is suave," Mark admits. You punch his arm. "Ow!" He whines.

"I didn't come back because I love you." You say, which is… partially true… but mostly false. "I can back because that rock you left me turned into this," Mark holds up the large diamond. Illinois' smile falls a bit. "And that banana I got wasn't a banana," you hold up your gold. Illinois looks at you two before regaining his composure standing up from the bar stool.

"Well, since that rock was found by me, you can hand it over here, partner," he holds his hand out for the diamond. Mark doesn't move. Illinois looks at his hand and back at Mark.

"Well… they were the one who actually found out it was a diamond… you, you cocky bitch, left. I feel like they deserve to keep it." He states. You look at him, smiling. He could be a dick, but he was still your best friend. Illinois blinks and scoffs.

"Oh, is that so? And who might you be?" He asks, putting his hands on his hips.

"I'm their best friend," he claims, "and I think they deserve this more than you do." You look at Illinois, worried. You didn't know if he was violent or not. He didn't seem like it, but you can't just assume. He squints at Mark, and then laughs.

"Ain't you a lucky one?" He turns and says to you, "That's some friend you got here. Tell you what, we'll go on another adventure. We'll split whatever treasure we find, but whoever finds treasure first gets to keep the diamond as well." He suggests. You look at him. He's arrogant. He knows he's gonna win. So do you. You could just walk away and keep the diamond, but you do want to spend time with him. Get to know him better. You're already in love, might as well ride the train till it stops. You take a deep breath.

"Alright," you agree, "let's do it." You reach out to shake hands. Mark stops you.

"You sure about this?" He asks, "We can just… go home. Head back to base. We don't even have to keep the treasure, we can just leave." You knit your eyebrows. He turns fully towards you and puts his hands on your shoulders. "I don't want you to get hurt. Please." Your eyes soften and you smile at him. You put your hands on his shoulders.

"I'm pretty smart, Mark, and I can take care of myself. I'll be fine." You try to convince him. He still looks worried. You hand him the golden banana. "Either way, we'll still have this." He smiles.

"Yeah… alright. Sure," he finally gives in, "but you better not die on me." He warns. You nod. You turn to Illinois, who still has his hand out for you to take. You shake it.

"Deal." You agree. He smirks.

"Let's get going."

---

*Take it! Take it!

**Thank you

***Yes

Pardon my Spanish, I'm on my second year lol

[bittywitches]

Come Over (Ethan Dolan Fanfic)

A/N: Ethan’s stories abt him being sick made me soft so I wanted to write something abt it :)) Basically Y/N and Ethan have been going out for a while but Ethan isn’t the most expressive when it comes to showing his affection for his gf and he starts to realize that it might acc be a problem...

Ly guys hope you enjoy it <3

Used Tissues were strewn across the bed, falling off onto the floor. Tissue boxes were stacked carelessly on the night table, most of them half empty. Ethan’s almost dead phone was plugged into his wall, and he aimlessly scrolled through his insta feed, his hood over his head and the drawstrings pulled tight. The covers were draped all the way up to his chin. He groaned, his head burning up even more than the day before. being sick was bad enough, but Grayson leaving him to go to the beach just made it that little bit worse. He spent the entire day eating food and lying in bed doing nothing, and it drove him insane. He ached for any sort of human interaction. He even started making conversation with the Halloween decorations.

He went to his contacts and scrolled down until he found the person he was looking for. He pressed call and put the phone on speaker.

“Hey, hon.”

“Hi, cutie.”

His girlfriend laughed. “I think your medicine is making you loopy.”

“Course not, sweetness.”

“Right, sure. What’s up? You feeling any better?”

“No. Grayson abandoned me. I’m so bored. Come over.”

“Babe, I’m in a lecture hall right now.”

“Yea? Why’d you answer your phone?”

“Because it’s not currently going on.”

“Then come over!”

“It’s going to start soon, you dumbass.”

“Ugggghhhh.”

“Shut up, people will hear you.”

“When’s your lecture over?”

“In an hour.”

“Do you have to stay?”

“I’ll come over when it’s finished.”

“Ugh. Fine. BYEEE SUGAR MUFFIN!”

“Oh my god people are staring at me now you’re such an asshole k bye”

She cut the phone, and he laughed out loud. Embarrassing his girlfriend was one of his favourite things to do. He chuckled to himself again, then went back to scrolling through his feed, and finally stopped when his eye caught the familiar face of his favourite girl.

It was a picture she had posted a few hours before, of her and Ethan sitting in front of the campfire they had made the weekend before. They’d gone camping with a few of their friends, and they had an amazing time. Y/N and Ethan were sitting on a log in front of the fire, roasting marshmallows. Ethan’s was already burnt, and Y/N was laughing in the photo while she had her arm linked around his. He looked at how happy she looked, and how dang good she looked with her messy hair and face smeared with the ashes from the fire, and he smiled to himself. He really was the luckiest guy in the world, to have such an amazing girlfriend. He swiped to see the next photo she’d posted, and it was of her kissing him on the cheek while Ethan made the fakest annoyed expression in the world. He cringed, looking at his dumb face next to hers. Her arms were carelessly thrown over him, wrapped around his neck, and her eyes were scrunched tight. One of his arms was wrapped around her, and the other one was still holding his now on fire marshmallow. She had posted it with a caption: 

Firstname.Lastname Eww he tastes like sweat and ashes 😣

He snorted.

She was absolutely adorable.

He started typing up a comment:

that’s what you get for kissing me 😈

He read it over, shook his head, then cleared it to write something else:

Your kisses are still the sweetest 😉

He liked that better, and smiled when his phone dinged just a few minutes later:

Firstname.Lastname liked your comment: Your kisses are still the sweetest 😉Firstname.Lastname mentioned you in a comment: @ethandolan 😊❤️

Ethan wished that he didn’t have to look so stupid in the picture. He loved it when Y/N kissed him, he was just too awkward to ever voice that out loud, or show it for that matter. She was just so amazing, and sometimes it seemed like he had no idea how to show her that. 

“Why does she have to have her stupid lecture...”

Two hours later, Ethan finally perked up at the sound of the front door opening. He heard the thud of her shoes hitting the floor, the rattle of her keys being thrown onto the table, and then her soft footsteps racing up the stairs. The click of her turning the doorknob, and the creak of his door opening to reveal her, in his old sweatshirt and tights, her hair pulled back into a ponytail, holding some grocery bags.

“Oh my god, you look like hell.”

“Thanks, gorgeous.”

She laughed, walking up to his bed and plopping down beside him. She felt his forehead, and her eyebrows scrunched up.

“What did you do to get yourself this sick in the first place?”

“I ran outside in the middle of the night in nothing but my birthday suit then dived into the pool.” His nasal voice made his sarcastic remark sound funnier than it should have.

“Haha.” She grabbed her bags and began pulling out various assortments of items.

“What’s all this?”

“Just stuff to make you feel better.” She pulled out some hot soup (that Ethan had no idea how she had the time to make), cough drops, more cold medicine, a huge bag of chips, and a small, purple teddy bear, which she placed in front of him.

“Who’s this little guy?”

She grinned. “Just someone to keep you company when you get bored during one of my lectures again.”

He rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t deny that he loved the little thing. It was adorable. Like her.

“You know you didn’t have to go to all the trouble of getting this stuff.”

“Well, when you called me you sounded pretty bad.”

“I just missed you.”

She looked at him weirdly for a moment, but then shook her head and began to put the items onto his night table.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Dude.”

“Nothing.”

He shoved her shoulder gently, and she rolled her eyes.

“Do you want soup?”

“Uhuh.”

She opened the container and handed it to him, along with a plastic spoon. He gratefully took it, slurping it down a bit obnoxiously, but she smiled at him nonetheless.

“You know, you’d think that someone with such a nice house and so much storage place would have quick-to-make soup around.”

“Come on, you know soup is like the most boring dish ever.”

She gave him an annoyed look.

“Ah ah ah Babe I need a tish!” He hastily put the bowl onto his night table while trying to hold in his sneeze, while Y/N grabbed the nearest tissue box and handed him one. He sneezed loudly.

“Jesus, that gets really annoying.”

“Yea, I can tell.” She gestured to all of the crumpled up tissues. “This is so nasty, how do you just sleep with all of these surrounding you?”

She grabbed his trash can and began tossing the tissues into the basket. 

“Oh babe no that’s gross! You don’t have to-“

“Oh my god just shut up and let me take care of you!”

She gave him a heavy sigh and continued to clean up. Ethan gave her a blank stare, unsure of what to say. 

“..Thank you.” He decided on that.

He looked over at him, looking a bit pissed off. “Hey, if you think I was fishing for a-“

“No! Jeez, I’m being serious. You didn’t have to do any of this or even come here at all since I’m assuming you’ve got a lot of work to do, and I’m really thankful for that. For you.”

She blinked. “Seriously, is there something in your medicine?”

“Oh my fucking god!” He flopped back onto his pillow. 

“I’m sorry, I’m just not used to..” she waved her hands vaguely. “All this from you.”

“Yeah, I know.”

She finally finished picking up all the tissues, then sat down next to E on the bed. She grabbed the bag of chips and popped it open, then tossed one into her mouth. 

“You wanna watch a movie or something?”

“Are you saying I have to get up?”

“Wow okay bye then-“

“No!” He laughed, grabbing her arm to prevent her from getting off the end without him. “I’m kidding. Yes, a movie sounds great.”

Y/N sat cross-legged on the couch, idly scrolling through the movies on Netflix. Ethan sat across on the other side of the couch, eating more of the chips. 

“What about this one?”

“Seen it already.”

She groaned, clicking the remote louder than usual as if to display her annoyance. “You’ve already seen like every movie ever.”

“Well there isn’t much else to do when you're sick.”

“Blegh.”

Y/N rested her chin on her hand. Her ponytail was falling apart a little bit, and little strands fell to float against her cheek. Ethan loved to play with her hair. He’d do it a lot without ever thinking about it. They’d be hanging out with their friends, and he’d just begin fiddling with ends. At one point Y/N had gotten so annoyed by it that she had told him he might as well just braid it instead. But surprisingly to her, Ethan actually liked that idea. And so, she taught him how to do it, and from then on whenever she came over she would end up leaving with her hair braided. She’d always say it annoyed her, but Ethan knew she secretly loved it from the way he saw her smile whenever he did it.

Ethan found himself zoning out, just staring at her as she was looking for a movie for them to watch. Her face, her eyes, her mouth, her nose, her hands, her arms, her back...

“Oh oh! How about this one?”

Y/N startled him back to reality. “Hm? Yea. Sure.”

“God finally.”

To be honest, Ethan wasn’t even sure what they were going to watch.

“Hey, hold on. I’m gonna go get something.” He got up to go head towards his bedroom.

“Get what?”

“A blanket.”

“What? Why?”

“So we can cuddle.”

Y/N’s eyes widened. “What?”

Ethan shrugged. “I’m cold. And I wanna cuddle.”

Y/N’s mouth hung open for a second, having no idea what to do in this situation. 

He wanted to what?

Yea, of course, they’d cuddled before, but he’d never been so bluntly said that he wanted it. She was always so sure that he was embarrassed by it. “Really?”

“Well, Yea.”

She blushed hard, looking away from him and smiling to herself, then looked back

at him. “Okay.”

He smiled at her. “Okay.”

“you are so fucking comfy.” Y/N nestled up closer to Ethan, burying her face into his sweatshirt. Her legs were carelessly thrown on top of him, and Ethan rubbed her thigh under the blanket.

“That is the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“And you should be grateful, mister.”

He chuckled and planted a kiss on Y/N’s forehead. He heard her sigh in content.

“Aren’t you afraid of getting sick from me?”

“Oh, this is definitely worth it.”

“God, you are so cute.”

She blushed. “Babe, what is up with you today?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know...” he stroked his fingers along her back. “Guess I just realized that I don’t appreciate you enough.”

Y/N snorted. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Ethan repositioned himself so he was facing Y/N, her lying on his arm with her hands pressed up against his chest. “You know, you’re just...”

“I’m what?”

“Amazing.”

Her face turned even more red than before, and Ethan grinned. “Man, I didn’t know I could do that to you so easily.”

“Yea well, you’d know if you tried once and a while.”

As soon as the words left her mouth Y/N covered her mouth with her hands, wishing she could take those words back.

Ethan’s face fell. “Ouch. Guess that was a jab at me, huh?”

“It just came out, I didn’t mean to-“

“No, Y/N. you did.”

“I did not!”

“You did.”

Y/N tried to say something, but the words got caught in her throat. She sighed, pushing the loose strands of hair up and out of her face. “Babe..”

“No, you don’t have to explain yourself. It makes sense, I’m not the greatest with that kind of stuff. I just didn’t know it ever bothered you that much.”

She let her head fall onto the side of the couch. “It doesn’t, not really..” She paused. “I don’t know. It’s just nice when you hear those kinds of things from the person you love, yknow?”

Ethan tucked another peaking strand behind her ear. “I may not say it all the time, but you know that’s how I feel, don’t you?”

“Yea...” she started playing with his drawstrings. “I just... You know how you said you missed me? Well that... it just makes my heart-“ she pressed her hand on top of the place where Ethan’s heart would be, then made an exploding motion with her hands along with a little sound effect. “You know?”

He took her hand and pressed it against his heart again. “Well, if it makes it any better...” he brought her hand up to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “You make my heart feel like that every day.”

Y/N beamed at him. She reached up and grabbed his face, then kissed him. Ethan couldn’t help but moan a bit, kissing her back stronger than he ever had. When they finally pulled apart, Y/N looked just as bewildered as he did.

“Where did that come from?”

“I have no clue.”

“Well-“

Before he knew it Y/N was kissing him again, cradling his jaw in her hands. Her eyebrows were furrowed, lost in the feeling of Ethan’s lips against hers. It was like nothing mattered but the two of them, underneath their little blanket.

Ethan pulled away suddenly in some sort of urgency and caught his breath. 

“I love you.” He rubbed her cheek. “And I’m sorry that I don’t say it enough.”

Y/N breathed out, smiling at him wide.

“I’m probably definitely going to get sick.”

“Y/N!”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” She pecked him on the lips.

 “I love you too.”

[malecftw]

Between two fires - Colby Brock imagine

A/N: so I found this on my computer just now, something I wrote ages ago. This obviously takes place before Jake got a girlfriend and before Devyn and Corey broke up.

Hope you like it!

Word count: 2002

Warnings: teasing? 

You can find my masterlist here X

As I walk up to the front door, I hear laughter throughout the entire house. My hand is held up in a fist, ready to knock when the wooden door opens in front of me. I immediately get enveloped in a hug by Devyn. It's been a while since I've seen her and have always had a big sister relationship with her. "Welcome back stranger." She chirps into my ear. I laugh at her excitement and squeeze her sides a little tighter.

"Babe, please don't hold the poor girl hostage! We all want a hug!" Corey shouts while he walks over to us with Sam and Kat. Everyone is grinning from ear to ear and Devyn releases me. "Uhm, I think she was enjoying herself just fine." She sasses while I get attacked by Sam & Kat simultaneously. Aaron is standing next to Corey and waves excitedly. I make a mental note to have a minute with him later since we clicked very early on and he was the one that introduced me to everyone else.

"Well, this is the best sandwich I've ever been part of." I beam. They both laugh and Katrina pets my hair while Sam attempts to tickle my back. Instead of tickling my back, he accidentally tickles Kat's tummy and she giggled at the feeling. "Mom and dad have missed you, my child," Sam says in an attempted posh English accent. "Please stop, you're gonna make her run away if you do that ever again." Katrina squeals since Sam is still tickling her.

At that, I hear some very loud, deep voices and see Colby, Jake, and Brennen appear in the doorway. Brennen shakes his head and pulls me out of Sam & Kat's embrace to then pull me into his chest. "Long time no see little bean." He pulls away and throws an arm over my shoulder as we look at Jake and Colby play fighting to get to me. "Stop it, Colby, she likes me better anyway." "You wish Jake." Colby has Jake in a chokehold while he tries to slap Colby around the head.

I laugh and decide to break them up. "If you guys continue like that I'll like none of you by the end of the night." They're surprised at my statement and awkwardly try to stop teasing one another.

I walk up to Jake, considering I've always been more intimidated and shy cause of Colby's looks. He's literally got anything and everything I'm attracted to in a guy. From the corner of my eye, I see Colby pout. Jake notices too, he puffs his chest out and smirks. Adding to the fact I chose him over Colby.

I slap his chest and give him a stern look, as to say 'be nice'. He looks at me sheepishly but nevertheless wraps his arms around my waist.

His thumb rubs small circles on my back and I can't help but bask at the moment. He's always been soft, and it's one of the things I appreciate most about him. I could be delicate with Jake. I could be a porcelain doll and I'd still be safe with him.

I awkwardly step back, thinking about the length of our hug and whether anyone else noticed.

I turn completely towards Colby. He looks at me and smiles widely before opening his arms completely. 'Come here you.' He says loudly and I laugh. Colby never fails to make me smile. I walk into his arms and am completely surrounded by his entire body. I fall into him perfectly. Like two puzzle pieces if you will. His cologne makes its way up my nose and I try to hold in my sneeze, of course, I fail and I decide to call him out. 'Someone's gone a little heavy on the Boss perfume today.' At that everyone laughs and Colby looks at me with fake hurt. 'I thought you liked my sexy male scent.' I cringe at his words and it shows in my expression which only makes him laugh.

'I do Colby, but not when it smells like you've showered in it.' He nods, admitting he may have gone overboard and we all head inside.

Popcorn is made, pizza is ordered, drinks are poured. Everyone's having a great time chilling out. Old songs from when we were teenagers are being played throughout the house, and when 'You Are The Music In Me' from High School Musical 2 comes on, I just have to pull Jake with me to dance and jam out.

He holds my waist just like Troy does to Gabriella in the movie and we act out the scene without piano though.

After the song has ended we fall back onto the couch, completely exhausted by putting on our 5-star performance. We look at each other whilst laughing and he brushes a strand of hair out of my eyes. We share a moment that gets interrupted when Colby decides to wriggle his way in between us. 'Bro, what the fuck are you doing?' Jake asks, looking at Colby with an irritated expression. Colby acts all innocent and shrugs. "What bro? Y/n is so comfy and I'm tired okay."

I roll my eyes at his lame excuse and sigh. "Contrary to popular belief, I am in fact not a piece of furniture you can use whenever you please Colby Brock."

He giggles at me sassing him but continues to stay put, head on my lap while his feet seemingly try to kick Jake in the face.

"Dude you're so annoying." "Fuck off then Jakey." He says in a girly voice.

After Jake makes his way to the kitchen, I look Colby in the eyes and he rolls his eyes knowing he's about to be told off.

"You're so petty Colby, what's going on with you?" His entire demeanor changes and he stares at me with serious eyes. "What? I'm not allowed to spend time with my favorite girl?"

This silences me and I awkwardly look around the room, acting like there's something more interesting to look at than the boy I've had a crush on for the longest time, located right in my lap at this moment.

Colby sighs at my reaction and sits back up, swinging an arm over the couch, locating it behind my neck and the tips of his fingers resting on my shoulder. I lean back and rest my head on his forearm. At that he smirks, realizing he hasn't lost my attention in the slightest.

Jake returns, holding a cup in each hand which I look at him with a questioning gaze for.

"I made you your favorite. You've always said my drink mixing skills are the best so I decided to treat you." He smiles. I look up at him and straighten myself to take the cup from Jake, intentionally holding it higher so I have to disconnect from Colby's arm. I thank him and take a sip from the beverage, moaning as my tastebuds register the sweet goodness he has prepared for me.

"Damn Jake, you haven't lost your touch in the slightest."

I get distracted by Katrina showing me something on her phone, so Colby and Jake are now having a full-on stare off behind my back. Literally. Corey watches the whole scene unfold and lets out a loud laugh at the two boys fighting for my attention while I'm kind of ignorant.

Everyone's attention switches to Corey now and he looks like he just ate the world's hottest pepper as everyone looks at him expecting to say something. Eventually, Devyn gives him a jab to the ribs and he crumbles. "I was just having a moment guys don't judge me."

I redirect my attention back to Jake as he starts to tickle my neck. "Jake stop it, I'm gonna pull a muscle." Jake continues, laughing at my deformed stature when Colby decides he's had enough. "Don't worry y/n, prince Colby to the rescue!" I look at him weirdly but my expression soon changes from confusion to pure fear when he picks me up and throws me over his shoulder. "COLBY WHAT THE FUCK PUT ME DOWN!" "What are you saying milady, I'm saving you from that troll." He shouts dramatically as he nods to Jake. At that everyone laughs and Jake sinks further into the couch, clearly annoyed that Colby won that one.

I get confused when I realize Colby takes me upstairs rather than back to the couch. I started patting his ass cause 1. He's got a nice ass. 2. It's the only thing I could annoy him with at this point since I was still being carried over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Wowww, harassment much." He says jokingly and I roll my eyes even though he can't see me. "Shut the fuck up Colby you know you like it." He doesn't reply but instead, throws me onto his bed. As I sit up straight, I hear a click when he locks his bedroom door. He acts like nothing happened and goes to sit on his desk, right in front of the bed. Now he looks at me with those weird eyes. Like he wants to say something, but doesn't. I can see him thinking about stuff and I start getting awkward when his gaze doesn't leave mine.

I break eye contact and look around the room, not being able to handle his intense stare. "You know y/n, there's this girl." My heart instantly drops. "She's got a pretty little face, interesting sense of humor, a good heart. You could say she's perfect." "Oh really..." I say, not even interested anymore in where this is going.

He gets closer to me slowly, eyes burning a hole into my skull. "Yeah. You see, there's one tiny issue I have with her." I look up at him questioningly. He gets closer to me, crouching down in between my legs, supporting his weight with both hands on my thighs as he whispers in my ear. "She's such a fucking tease."

At that I gulp audibly. I didn't see that one coming. "Oh... are you sure that's a problem? You seem more into it than you say you are." He smirks. "I don't know. She tries flirting with a friend of mine, but I can see right through her. I see how her eyes stay on me for that fraction of a second longer. I see the way she crumbles under my touch." At that he pinches my thighs with his big hands. "And I see the way she gets goosebumps when my lips get close to her neck." He exhales down my neck as the tip of his nose touches my ear.

My eyes close. I try to compose myself but my response comes out stuttering anyways. 'I don't think she's the only tease around here."

At that, he grabs my chin and plants his lips on mine. A firestorm builds in my stomach he kisses me hard, yet with care. The passion is dripping off of him and I feel like I'm about to make a free fall. The butterflies in my stomach have turned into full-on Colibris and the feeling almost overwhelms me, yet Colby is right here, tugging at my whole being to pull me back to the real world.

He licks my bottom lip, but I deny him entrance and he smirks knowing he'll have to work a lot harder for his reward.

He pushes me down onto the bed, lips still on mine as he places both knees on either side of my hips.

His right hand gently cups my neck while the left one presses hard into my waist. Like the perfect balance of soft but intense.

After a couple of seconds, he pulls back, breathing hard as he presses his forehead against.

He closes his eyes and smiles. "That wasn't too bad now, was it y/n?" He whispers, still infatuated with the moment and me.

[sneezedarling]

For the sickfic prompts: 38 & 70 for Patrick/David? 💕 Dealer’s choice for the sick one.

Thanks for the request. There’s not that much sneezing in this and I was going to continue but then I realised it was over 1.6k. I will probably continue but let me know if you like it! Remember to send in any requests for David/Patrick, Stucky, Sterek or Schmico using the prompt list!

Patrick is grabbing coffee on a frosty Saturday morning. He smiles at Twyla behind the counter as she hands him his order, but his mind will not stop churning. It keeps replaying yesterday over and over again. David had walked in about 5 minutes late, which wasn’t that bad but that’s not what threw Patrick off. It was the way David avoided eye contact, and the distinct lack of the beautiful smile that usually adorned his face when he arrived, a smile that Patrick had very quickly come to love.

His eyebrow quirked but he let it go, everyone has off days and bad morning. But his expression twisted into one of confusion when David ducked his head to avoid Patrick’s attempt for a kiss, awkwardly brushing a hand over his shoulder instead. He disappears into the back room, presumably to dump his stuff and emerges a few minutes later. He decides to stand a few feet away from Patrick and fiddle absentmindedly, still avoiding eye contact.

“You okay?” Patrick tried to step towards him, but David practically jumped back.

“What? Oh yeah, fine. Why wouldn’t I be?” He sounds slightly nervous.

In that moment, Patrick decided to let it go, he figured he would get to the bottom of it eventually, but that bumbling string of words was as close as the got to a conversation all day. As many times as Patrick would try to initiate one, David would respond with curt nods, small sounds of affirmation or occasionally one-word answers. Every time Patrick attempted to get close, he would somehow end up on the opposite side of the store. He seems to be interacting with customers normally, which encourages the heavy weight of insecurity to settle on his chest. It was clearly him.

Patrick took a deep breath and made his way into the back room, to collect his thoughts and come up with a strategy. He has always been someone who enjoyed plans and set methods. When he emerges, however, his perfectly crafted sentence disintegrates and his heart drops, stopping him in his tracks.

David’s head is in his hands, elbows leaning on the counter as be pushes the heels of his hands into his eyes. He sniffles a few times and Patrick is still completely frozen. He’s never seen David cry before, like honest to God tears of sadness, and now that he has, he is damn sure the he never wants to see it again, especially if he’s the one causing it.

Finally, he finds his voice. “David? What’s wrong? Are you okay?” He reaches out to touch David’s shoulder.

David bolts upright, eyes screwing shut for a few seconds before they focus on the ground. “I’m fine, I- I’m just g-gonna ta-ahh take my break now.” He practically sprints towards the door.

“David, wait,” Patrick calls but he’s already gone, disappearing down the street.

Patrick spends the rest of the afternoon racking his brain for things he could’ve done to upset David and he just can’t think of any. As soon as David returned, they had been swarmed with customers, which really delayed Patrick’s plans for getting to the bottom of this. David kept working and elected to ignore the worried puppy dog eyes Patrick was casting his way. It’s only when all the customers have gone and David is heading out the door, leaving him to pack up that they have a moment alone.

“David,” Patrick reaches out and gently touches his arm. “Are you upset? Have I done something to upset you?”

David coughed slightly, eyebrows drawing together in confusion. “I’m not upset everything’s fine.”

Patrick felt light crying or yelling, maybe both. “Please, David. I know you’re upset but I don’t know what I’ve done so, please just tell me so we can sort this out.”

“I am not upset. I am fine. Everything is fine.” David’s tone is irritated now and before Patrick can stop him, he turns and leaves, no kiss, no goodbye, no nothing, he just leaves.

Patrick huffs a frustrated sigh and locks up. Why can’t they just deal with thing like adults? This is not a good way to deal with conflict, he didn’t even know what he had done! That night, he tossed and turned relentlessly, combing his mind for reasons David would be so distant and irritated. He couldn’t remember anything. He’d even texted David to ask if he wanted to do something today, because maybe he was fine and Patrick’s insecurities were blowing everything out of proportion, but all he got was some dodgy excuse about being busy that only increased his anxiety. That’s why, when he sees Alexis walking by the café, he nearly drops his coffee to make it into the street in time. The cold winter air bites his cheeks as he jogs to catch up with her.

“Hey!” She smiles.

“Hey.” Patrick’s smile is nowhere near as bright.

“Wow, thanks, I’m glad you’re so excited to see me.” She twists a piece of hair between her fingers.

“Sorry, I just- do you…” He isn’t really sure how to phrase it. “Do you know why David’s mad at me?”

Her expression shifts. “Mad at you? I don’t think he’s- Oh my God, please tell me he is not ignoring you and being weirdly defensive when you ask about it. I hate it when he does this, and he does it every single time.”

“Does what? What’s up with him?” The worry seeping into his voice surprises even him.

“Oh, he’s fine, he’s just sick.” Alexis says nonchalantly.

“Sick? What do you mean sick?” Patrick fidgets with the lid of his coffee cup.

“He’s got a cold. Honestly, the amount of medicines he took to try and look healthy at work with you yesterday probably did more damage than whatever he’s got will.”

Patrick’s mind keeps running this scenario but doesn’t seem to quite comprehend it. “Why did he…what?”

Alexis rolls her eyes. “He’s worried he’ll make you sick or that you’ll think he’s gross, which, to be honest he kind of is. Also, he’s really killing my good vibes, with all his…miserableness.”

Patrick purses his lips. “Where is he? The motel?”

“Yeah, I think so. Also, I didn’t tell you he’s sick and fair warning, he gets kind of mean. Which is totally unfair, because he’s the one spreading his germs everywhere, if anyone gets to be mean, it should be me, right?”

Patrick decides not to answer her and just waves instead, changing his course to head towards the motel. Most of his anxiety has now lifted and has been replaced with confusion. How could he ever think David was gross? He knocks gently on the door of the motel and hears shuffling inside.

“Alexis if you habe lost your keys, again, I am leabing you outside.” David’s voice is hoarse and ragged, much different than yesterday.

When the door swings open, Patrick can’t help but smile at the sight before him. David is still in his rumpled pajamas, blanket hanging heavy on his shoulders and his hair is sticking up in odd directions. His nose, eyes and cheeks are tinted with a red hue and he looks like he hasn’t slept. His eyes widen when he registers that its his boyfriend at the door, not his sister.

“Hey,” Patrick steps inside before David can even open his mouth.

David clears his throat but still winces as his voice grates out like sandpaper. “Umm, hey. What are you doing here?”

“Coming to check on my sick boyfriend.” Patrick smiles but David just frowns.

“I’mb not sick. I’m fide.” He sniffles softly.

Patrick looks him up and down before reaching out to feel his forehead. David steps back and huffs as well as he can through his congestion.

“I’m fine, will you stop stressing! I am fide!” He scoffs lightly, which quickly becomes a barrage of crackly, aggressive coughs that leave him catching his breath.

“Oh, baby,” Patrick can’t stop the sympathy in his voice as he reached out to rub David’s arms.

“Stop, I’mb fine.” He looks annoyed but he’s barely pulling away.

“David, why won’t you let me take care of you? Why do you have to be so stubborn?” He wraps his arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

A few seconds later, David’s breath flutters and he’s pushing David away with some actual force, eyes fluttering closed.

“Hah! Hrrsh’uh! Huh’tchoo!” He snaps forward into his cupped hands groaning slightly as a blush rises to his cheeks.

“Bless you,” Patrick murmured, leaning forward to place a kiss on David’s warm forehead. “What was that you were saying about being fine?”

David narrows his eyes but there’s no real fire. “So I have a small cold, I’m not dying. You don’t need to take care of me.”

“I know I don’t need to, I want to.” He gently rubs David’s shoulder as a shiver passes through him.

David sighs. “Patrick, you really don’t have to. I know I’mb gross and debinitely very unsexy right now.”

Patrick scoffs. “Never. You look amazing.”

David raises an eyebrow. “I really am fi-ihh! IptSHH! Hih’CHOO…snf! I’mb okay.”

“Bless you. I know you are, but why don’t we go to my place anyway, hmm? We can just lay around and watch movies.”

Patrick’s waiting for an answer but David’s eyes are already fluttering shut again, face switching to a very cute pre-sneeze expression that Patrick forces himself not to giggle at.

“Ehh…Etsh’tshoo! Heh’etchoo!” He sneezes into his hands then scrubs at his reddening nose.

“Bless you…bless you!” Patrick is already draping a jacket around David’s shoulders and pushing him out the door.

“I love you.” David’s voice takes in an uncharacteristically shy tone.

Patrick smiles and presses a kiss to his temple. “I love you too.”

[harrieatthemet]

Boring

in which you wear a boring dress and Harry can’t stand the silent treatment anymore.

For the life of him, he cannot fucking remember what he did. 

It’s been eating away at him all week, day in and day out. And really, he’s racking his brain for every possible conversation that’s transpired between the two of you. Was it something he said? Maybe he said something offensive, or he didn’t say anything at all and that’s why you’re like this. 

Quiet. So fucking quiet and he doesn’t think he’ll get through another minute under the same roof as you if it stays this quiet. 

It’s killing him. There’s not a single noise coming out of you and, seriously, he loves a bit of peace and quiet as much as the next guy but this might just be overkill. No sneezes, no soft huffs of frustration as you scroll through your work emails. You’re not humming while you get ready for bed. You always hum while you get ready for bed. 

“S’a bit chilly in here, yeah?” he means it literally, because the window is open and it’s inviting in the cold air. 

And of course, he means it figuratively, too. Because it’s chilly in here, courtesy of your icy demeanor and your hardened posture as you sit up in bed beside him. You grant him with the usual; silence. Your eyes continue to trail the pages of your book, his eyes staring at you so hard they’re only seconds from falling right out of his head. 

He can’t remember a time when there was this much distance between the two of you in bed. Your legs are not weirdly intertwined with his, and as much as he used to bitch and whine about it he can’t help but yearn for the physical contact. Your head isn’t using his bicep to prop itself up, like you usually do when you read.

You’re using the headboard instead, which is really pissing him off. He’s laying right here, ready and available to snuggle with you and talk about your day at work. He’s even ready to surrender his rights to being the little spoon, that’s how he knows he’s at the very end of his rope. 

“Good book?” he chirps again, hoping this time he’ll drag more than just an eye roll out of you. 

Of course, he doesn’t. All he gets is a lousy nod of the head, and you don’t even do so much as turn to face him. You just nod your head, obnoxiously flipping a page in your book. 

This is it. He thinks he's gonna explode now. Surely you know this is driving him crazy, that’s why you’re doing it. But it doesn’t matter, really, if you know or not. He knows that if he has to keep talking to the side of your face with no response, smoke is gonna come out of his ears before his head unscrews. He thinks he’s gonna explode now. 

“If I go t’bed,” he inquires, but his tone is snarky and riddled with irritation, “when I wake up tomorrow, will y’still be ignoring me? Or will yeh have fucking grown up by then?”

Now he gets to look at you, every inch of your face as you pull your eyes off your book and twist your neck to face him. It’s not exactly a look he’s particularly fond of, your eyes squinted in anger and your lips in an unamused frown. Angry, that’s what you are. That’s how you look. 

Maybe he had jumped the gun a bit. Maybe he could have been less abrasive, a little less confrontational. But he'd tried that already, and to no avail, you continued to treat him with a cold shoulder and dramatic rolls of your eyes before slinking off to another room. 

“Well y’can fuckin’ say something!” and again with the abrasiveness, but he doesn’t think he can help it.

“Is this boring to you?” 

“Is wha’ boring me?,” he huffs exasperatedly, “You ignoring me? Yes! Bloody unbearable! Yes it’s fucking boring!”

He thinks that this is better than being ignored. And even though you seem incredibly un-entertained by the raising of his voice and the bewildered look in his eye, he thinks that it’s better than being ignored. 

Hm. That's all he gets from you. A stupid fucking ‘hm’ before you close your book, sliding it off your lap. 

The two of you just sit there now, demeanors and body language opposing one another. It’s clear that he’s grown very tense, his eyebrows raised and eyes wide. He’s frustrated, especially since he thought he'd finally got you to crack but instead all he got was a ‘hm’.

And then you throw the blankets off. He watches in confusions as you frustratedly hurl the blankets to the side, swinging your legs off bed before your feet begin to pad across the floor. And now he feels even shittier than before, because he’s thinking your going to collect the throw blanket at the end of the end and sleep as far away from him as possible. 

“Coward!” He huffs, “Just tell me wha’ I did!”

All he gets is a hostile glare as you walk towards the foot of the bed, and he’s preparing himself to throw a fit once you grab the blanket at the futon at the front of the bed. 

But you don’t, and now he’s really confused when you b line it for the bedroom closet instead. 

The light goes on and he wants to ask what the hell you’re doing in the closet. But he doesn’t, solely because he’s not sure what the answer will be. He can hear the shuffling of closet hangers, hear you grumbling beneath your breath as you shuffle through racks of clothes. 

“How about this!” you hiss from the confines of the small pace, Harry fully sat up in his spot in bed now. 

If he was confused before, he’s truly stumped now. It’s approaching the later hours of the night and you’re stood in the closet doorway with a dress in your hand. And your eyes are narrowed, lips pursed out of frustration as you scowl at him from across the room.

“S’a dress,” he shrugs, “wha’ the hell do I have t’do with it?”

“Oh you don’t remember?” You snap, and he quirks a brow because what the fuck was he supposed to remember about your dress?, “Don’t remember last Saturday night?” 

“Dunno,” he answers, trying his best to remember where he was last Saturday night, “was out with some people from th’label, right?”

“Uh huh,” you nod, “remember saying anything in particular?”

“Said a lot of fuckin things, (Y/N), I dunno.” he groans, unaware that you’re reaching the point of no return. 

“Don’t remember calling my dress boring?” you growl and oh yes, now he remembers. 

He can vaguely remember being a few glasses deep in a bottle of red wine, fiddling mindlessly with the fringe on one of your sleeves. A few people from the record label were sitting just across the table, one of them Kindly complimenting the dress you had just bought a couple hours prior to dinner. And you were happy to relish in the compliment, that is until Harry had to swoop in with the ‘M’not a fan, think it’s a bit boring’ bit. 

And he’s trying his hard to swallow that wave of laughter, but it’s so hard to. So he can’t help but let a few chuckles slip right out of him. 

“Ignored me all week fo’ tha’?” he snickers, “Yeh serious?”

“Oh you think that’s funny?” 

“Honestly,” he snorts, until he gets a glimpse of the extremely unamused look on your face, “no, no I don’t think it’s funny. It is not funny.” 

Another roll of the eyes ensues before you go back to hang the dress up, stomping into the closet because clearly he does think its funny. And fine, maybe you were being a bit dramatic, but you’re not ready to let it go yet. Which is why this time you do reach for the blanket on your way out.

“Oh love, m’sorry! Poppet, really mean it! S’actually really nice!” he coos, throwing off his blanket too so he could coax you back to bed.

“Oh fuck off about it!”

[lindsaysblue]

Hogwarts Mystery: Year 1

Summary Moira Fickle, an 11-year old student in her first year at Hogwarts, begins investigating the mysterious Cursed Vaults in an effort to find her missing brother, Jacob. She is accompanied by her new friends Rowan, Ben and Penny who are happy to help her no matter what. Good thing too because she'll need them in the years to come.

Chapter One Diagon Alley

Alternate Title Weird Together

Available on Wattpad, and AO3

"Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember... I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter... After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things — terrible, yes, but great."    

— Mr. Ollivander, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling

                                                   ❃ུ۪ ❀ུ۪ ❁ུ۪ ❃ུ۪ ❀ུ۪

 Diagon Alley. It was busier than ever with families bustling about for back to school shopping. The majority of the students scuffling behind their families were going to Hogwarts. The school of witchcraft and wizardry, of course.

Young Moira Fickle is one of these students, preparing for her first year of her magical education. She stood clutching her list near her turning stomach as her light eyes wandered up and down the stone-bricked streets of the very place she used to visit every year with her family. Her whole family.

While many 11-year-olds would normally be excited to attend an academy that taught some of the greatest minds in the history of magic, this particular 11-year-old only grew more nervous as the first day of school crept closer. Not a nice kind of nervous, more of a this-school-will-tear-me-apart kind of nervous because even though the world of magic seemed mystical and appealing, it was still often at times socially unkind to people who had been dealt cards that were... less than ideal.

They were weirdly medieval for the 20th century.

Well, when you have to keep hidden from the rather dominating and intuitive muggle world it's bound to be like that. Moira really only knew how great the divide was because of magazines and the occasional walk through London. Which meant that perhaps she really didn't know enough to make a statement on muggles and their societal values. After all, wizards and witches are still hiding from them after years of being hunted and burned for their way of life. So it's hard to believe they've actually gotten far enough.

A tall slender man with an atrociously overgrown mustache and slanted eyes just like Moira's watched her round face for any twitch of a smile or excitement. Nothing. "You know," he sighed, adjusting the periwinkle baseball cap. "Your brother was much more hopeful going into his first year."

It was true. Jacob's eyes lit up when he got his letter. If he were still around, they'd be attending school together. "Well, he messed that up, didn't he?" She muttered bitterly. Her eyes twitched with regret when the silence followed. The dark, solemn expression on her father's face made a guilty swell in her heart. Her small hand lifted up slowly to pinch at the corner of his sleeve. "I'm sorry, Dad. It's just—"

"Don't worry, Mo," he reassured his youngest child. Large, warm hands engulfed hers and she felt something cold drop into her palm. He gave her a gentle, forgiving smile. Sometimes it felt like he was being careful with her. Micah and Jinora Fickle had already lost one child so maybe they were afraid she'd disappear too. His top hand lifted from hers to reveal several galleons and a sickles.

"What are you doing?" Moira inquired and gave Father Fickle a confused smile.

The creases in the corner of the man's eyes deepened. Micah's mustache twitched as he let the hand that was still holding hers seconds ago fall to his side. "I have to run to go pick something up, then I'll meet up with you in front of Gringott's."

"High noon?"

"No, I'd say more midday-ish," the wizard held up three fingers and was very happy to see Moira nod in confirmation. "Go ahead and get some of the items on your list. Try to have some left so we can visit the sweets shop when we're done."

"Erm, alright," she mumbled and closed her hands around the coins. Micah's mustache scratched at her forehead. It hurt and tickled, but the kiss on her forehead was always a quick and sweet transaction between these two.

Micah left her daughter in the trusted hands of Diagon Alley. Moira wasn't afraid to shop by herself, every one knew the alley was safe, but as she passed a few store fronts she became more overwhelmed at the idea of going into all these shops by herself. Normally, she'd be holding her mother's hand walking into Flourish & Blotts, usually they'd be searching for the newest edition of a cooking spells book. Now she was alone.

Her fingers twiddled with the corner of the parchment as she looked through the store windows. Stacks of books seemed to peer right back at her as she tried to gain confidence to go in on her own. Moira hardly heard the tentative steps right by her.

"Are you... okay?"

Caught off-guard, Moira sidestepped away from the voice. The young witch who had asked the question seemed just as taken aback as Moira. "Oh," she exclaimed. Her dark eyebrows curled upwards behind her horned glasses. "I didn't mean to startle you. I'm not very good at... talking to people?"

Moira quickly composed herself and turned to the other kid. The girl looked to be about the same age as her. "No, it's... it's fine," she attempted to soothe the apologizing witch before her. The witch was probably doing school shopping just like her too. Her clothes were gray and pale blue. The cold colors contrasted her warm skin tone, and honestly, really suited her. "I shouldn't have reacted like that I was just—" She didn't want to admit that she was nervous about going into the book store. "— trying to figure out where to start."

"Well," the young witch considered the options momentarily and pointed at the shop right in front of her. "In my personal expertise in list organization and my general carrying of things, you probably shouldn't start at the bookstore."

"Why?"

"Books are sometimes heavy."

"Oh." Now that it was pointed out to her, it seemed pretty apparent. How humbling. "Haha, yeah... You're right."

"As much as it would pain me to go to another store. We should start with something light," she stated with a hand held to her chin. Did she say "we"? Was this witch planning on shopping with Moira? "Oh, I know! Have you got your wand yet?"

"Er, no. I just got here."

"If you walk two shops down, you'll be right next to Olivander's." The black-haired witch pointed behind Moira. She turned to look. It was true it wasn't far. This girl was really helpful.

"Oh, I see. Thanks?"

"No problem! I'm Rowan Khanna by the way." A thin, dark hand held out, anticipating for a handshake to be exchanged.

"Moira—" A beat of silence punctuated her first name as she questioned whether or not she should give her last name, afraid Rowan would recognize her family name and immediately judge her or write her off as being crazy. It was unfair for people to think that of her, of course. It was also unfair for Moira to write her off as someone who'd judge her. "— Fickle."

Moira tried her best to keep her composure as she watched Rowan's eyes for any sign of recognition as she grasped the outstretched hand. There wasn't anything Moira could gleam from Rowan's welcoming expression. Maybe she was a muggleborn and she didn't know anything about the Fickle name?

"I'll go ahead and walk you down to Ollivander's. He's a friend of my family. We actually supply wood for wands and brooms. For generations, actually."

Guess not. Now there was no explanation for Rowan not knowing who she was. Every witch and wizard read the Daily Prophet and so every witch and wizard knew about what happened to the Fickle family last year. Then their children would find out, and... Well, let's just say Moira didn't have many friends anymore.

"Why don't you come with me, Rowan?"

"R-really?" Why was she so stunned? Moira raised an eyebrow, but the corners of her mouth curled upward on their own.

"Uh, yeah?" Moira thought the witch was gonna shop with her anyways. She really needed to stop assuming things. "I mean, shopping is more fun with a friend, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is."

                                                  ❃ུ۪ ❀ུ۪ ❁ུ۪ ❃ུ۪ ❀ུ۪

 The warm lighting inside the store didn't help the store look clean, but it sure did make a customer feel more at home. The front desk was perhaps the cleanest part of the store despite the many empty boxes, and wrapped packages pushed against the walls. The various stacks of loose parchment perilously teetered at the edge of the desk.

A bell rang to tell the old wand maker to come to the front of his shop, however, when the two young witches arrived they weren't greeted by anyone at all. They looked around the floor as they shuffled in. Books were pushed up against the walls and stacked on various chairs. Dust tickled Moira's nose as she breathed in. A threatening sneeze welled up inside her and exploded from her mouth from behind her elbow. The force was so great she had jumped an inch back. She barely noticed Rowan gasp as an eccentric looking man came from the backroom carrying a stack of wand boxes taller than himself.

"Oh, sir! Let me help," Rowan offered.

"No need! No need!" The tottering tower nearly took a tumble, but that Garrick Ollivander skillfully put a stop to it, for he had a free hand carrying his wand and with a swish and flick every box gracefully went into it's appropriate shelf. Moira wondered if this man had any grandchildren and if he gave them heart attacks like this. Maybe not though. He seemed like he lived for just wands. "See there, Ms. Khanna! Taken care of!"

"Ah, incredible, Mr. Ollivander!" Rowan laughed her panic away and gave a little celebratory clap. The old timer's eyes moved to Moira, who was clapping alongside Rowan unknowingly. As soon as Moira noticed his eyes on her she quickly dropped her hands to her side and nodded. "This is—!"

"Moira Fickle!"

Another nod from Moira. "Y-yes, sir." Merlin's beard, she must look so silly right now. Her owl-eyed expression studied the man just as he studied her. He wore velvet. Which only seemed to collect dust from the store. His gray hair was thinning, but big. Like every adult to an 11-year-old, he was tall. Like cracks in wood, the wrinkles in his face had deepened in the six years that had passed since she had last stood in the wand shop.

Rowan looked back and forth between the two with a smile. "I take it you've met her then?"

"Yes! Six years ago when her brother came to get his wand," Ollivander informed.

"Yes, I can hardly believe you remember that."

"Indeed, I do! I remember every wand I've ever sold. His was maple wood, dragon heartstring core, ten inches. A fine wand. Shame they snapped it in half when he was expelled." His smile faded with hers as he looked down at her, hands folded together in front of him. "I understand that he has been missing since. That must have a profound effect on you."

"Yes, well," Moira mumbled before she could really find her voice. At this point, it was hard to avoid this subject in front of Rowan. "A number of things were felt. I think at first-- I was angry at him for being so stupid and for ruining our family name. For not coming home, but I think I should be more concerned with restoring the Fickle family. I'll become strong so they can be respected."

"I see that you've grown to be quite determined and I can tell you have a lot of fight in you." Ollivander gave a curt nod and walked in between the tall shelves behind the counter. "I believe I have something for you to try, my dear." He returned with two thin, red boxes. Both boxes were opened and glanced over before both wands were placed on the wooden counter in front of both girls. Moira hovered between the two before she reached for the first to be unboxed. It felt promising in her hands, the handle fit perfectly into the curve of her hand.

"Aha!" Rowan gasped. "Hornbeam!"

"Correct, Ms. Khanna! Hornbeam wood, unicorn hair core, eleven and a quarter inches. Inflexible." Ollivander smiled at Rowan before he turned his attention to Moira. She had taken a few steps back from the desk to ready herself. She widened her stance and held the wand out in front of her. Straight faced, she drew a sideways S-shape in the air between her and the wall of books and boxes. Then she flicked the glowing tip away from her face and in a spectacular gush of wind the stack of loose parchment toppled off the edge of the counter. The paper swirled around her in a grand hurricane.

"I believe that's the one." Ollivander spoke with a proud twinkle in his eye. There was a smile splayed on his old, cracked face that was familiar to the young witch. Years ago he gave the same smile to her older brother. She couldn't fight the growing grin on her round face as she twirled against the whirlwind.

The short brown hair on Moira's hair was tousled and harsh looking after the paper brushing it. "It feels like the one," She responded, seemingly blown away by her own wand work. Well, she couldn't really call it that just yet, but her confidence at this very moment? Said differently. The papers fell in an almost perfect circle around the witch. Perhaps she was actually excited about learning magic now— she cleared her throat with a cough, and flattened her hair with her wand hand. No way.

Rowan gave her a round of applause. "No spells, and yet it was a spectacular display, Moira!" She chuckled.

"Thanks." The praise was appreciated, however, the mess around her caused the heat rise from her belly to her face. She rushed out an apology as the river of yellow parchment flew through the again and filed into a pillar once again.

"It's quite alright, Ms. Fickle."

"Thank you, Mr. Ollivander."

"I expect to see great things from you in the years to come."

Great could mean many, many things. After all, You-Know-Who did many terrible things and yet many of those things could be considered great. The founders of Hogwarts could also be considered to be great, but their moral alignment varied way more compared to the Death Eaters. Moira hoped, not-so deep down in her heart, that she would be a good kind of great. She prayed that many generations after her would try to be a good kind of great too, the years ahead of Moira had much in store, however.

"I won't disappoint, sir."

                                                     ❃ུ۪ ❀ུ۪ ❁ུ۪ ❃ུ۪ ❀ུ۪

Their arms felt lighter as soon as they had the chance to sit down on those white steps up to Gringotts. Rowan was very correct about the books being incredibly cumbersome. Moira found the other witch to be correct most of the time, it seemed. She seemed to know an extraordinary amount about... well everything. Especially Hogwarts. Her eyes smiled for everyone and despite what Rowan had told Moira— the one time throughout their time together that the young witch was wrong— she was an excellent conversationalist.

In fact, once Rowan Khanna started talking, it was hard to get her to stop. Listening to her, however, wasn't as unpleasant as one may think. Her excitement was infectious and if you needed a question answered she always elaborated with a big grin. You couldn't help but feel as happy about trees as she did. "Hey, Moira?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you as excited about attending Hogwarts as I am?"

"No," she said with a shake of her head. She only decided to continue with that when she saw how confused her new friend was at her response. "I mean, I wasn't excited. Not until I met you at least."

"Oh."

"Yeah, I suppose having a friend going into that place makes it a little better," she hummed. She found herself, once again, unable to hold back a grin at the sight of Rowan's pleasantly surprised face. "But no. I really don't think anyone could be as excited about school or studying as you."

"Yeah," Rowan let out an airy chuckle, she pushed her glasses up from the sides, nudging them up onto the bridge of her arched nose. It was nice having someone to talk to, someone her age that didn't seem to be judging her for her brother's actions. Although, Rowan really didn't know the full truth. "Are you sure you want to be my friend, Moira?"

"What?" The question caught Moira off-guard. Why was she asking this? "Where did that come from?"

"Well, I know that sometimes I can be a lot—"

"Not to me."

"— And sometimes, I can be a bit weird."

"Well, that's alright. I can be weird too." Moira looked away from Rowan and fell back on the step behind her. She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Honestly? I should be asking you that."

"Why? Because you're Jacob Fickle's younger sister?"

"Ah, you know," Moira sighed. It was to be expected. Rowan wasn't daft and she was bound to find out when they got to school.

"I knew as soon as you told me your name," Rowan said calmly. "Your brother's the very same Jacob Fickle that went missing after breaking several school rules and getting himself expelled."

"Yeah."

"The Prophet said he went mad looking for the Cursed Vaults."

"Yeah," Moira breathed out. Her leg was bouncing nervously. "Why didn't you say anything about it?"

"Well, I didn't really care— I mean, you're not your brother." Rowan didn't know it, but those words were blessed to Moira's ears. Another kid knew about her brother and didn't think she was crazy too. Someone didn't shun her or pity her. Moira smiled at Rowan who simply smiled back. "We can be weird together."

There was a comfortable stroke of silence as both the girls looked away from each other and towards the length of Diagon Alley. When you were done with all that chaos below the bank, people watching really seemed like the perfect pastime. "It won't be easy— Being my friend I mean. The other students might not be as understanding as you and will, surely, waste no time to pick on me."

"I got it. What do you want me to do in those situations?"

"I dunno. Follow my lead, I suppose."

"Understood. I'll use my extensive vocabulary to verbally pummel anyone who attempts to besmirch your reputation."

Moira laughed, "Alright!"

[jlf23tumble]

Four Hangout: Recap

Oh, man, I know I “owe” this one, so I’m doing it, but I hate it for about 15 different reasons, 14 of those being Ben Winston, which means I’m gonna keep this fairly short. The Four Hangout (lmao, I will never stop laughing at the attempts to team up with Google’s shitty tech) predates my entry into this fandom, so I’m not as on top of every little thing that happened around it (and my god, there were some doozies). I’ve found other posts that do a better job of transcribing some key moments), but I’m sure lots of others are out there, and as ever, I recommend taking 35 minutes to stare at this work of art for yourself.

Whenever I’ve seen gifs from this, the read is that at least two people are coming off a coke bender as we all focus on Ben’s rather ham-fisted attempt to get Louis to admit that he hates people thinking he’s gay. But in rewatching it in full now and knowing more about the context around it, the true vibe is exhaustion mixed with some very real anger/mulishness aimed at management in general and Ben in particular. Because the point of the Four Hangout isn’t to promote Four, the album, but to exonerate the D’s management team, blow smoke up Ben’s ass, and “clear the air” about whatever rumors have been going around that the D’s team doesn’t like, all posed as questions theoretically from the fans, yet weirdly management focused.

I’ve found lots of good blog posts that summarize these 35 or so minutes, but here’s an executive summary of my comments coupled with others I’ve found:

Ben Winston is an insufferable dick

The D is so fucking TIRED at this point, everyone’s low energy, but Louis’s voice is the softest, raspiest, most enchanting thing

They regularly creep on social media and are up on pretty much everything fandom related

There are no rumors they need to dismiss except that they’re currently alive, go on, ask them twice!

Liam is great at delivering the corporate spiel

Harry really did get them sneezes out

The Louis/Ben feud is one thing; the Harry/Ben feud is a whole other

Louis reads fanfic (and has some faves!)

Narry are ride or die WMYB, except for when Harry needs to have a go at Ben

Zayn has somehow made himself look even more godlike

Louis has super cute socks

With that in mind, let’s jump into some key moments, but I’m paraphrasing a lot because it’s so hard to hear over all the cross-talk, asides, and inside jokes. More under the cut!

Shout out to Louis's collarbones and quiff combo...his voice is about to give out, but he’s so OPEN and present for this total shitshow, even when he defiantly refuses to take the path he’s being guided down. Also, please @ god let me play some poker while we enjoy a bacon butty over brunch, his face as Niall introduces Ben as a “very, very good friend of ours” (me as both Ziam and Harry):

One of the most subversive things this band does is effusive praise when they’re pissed off, and never is it clearer than here, when Niall gushes on about all the wonderful work Ben has done for them, and the other boys pick up on it and start whistling and clapping (Louis: “My hero”; Harry: “LOOK AT THOSE TEETH!”) until Ben gets extremely uncomfortable.

We’re off to a good start, with Ben being sure to preface that all of these questions are from the fans, and then Harry asking Ben if he’s wearing makeup (Ben, mildly affronted, “No, I’m not wearing any makeup, but you guys do, you wear a lot of makeup, don't you, Harry” [Harry: “Tons”; Ben: “Well, you need to”]).

The first question is about the difference between this album and their first one, and it’s such a stupid, easy question that I want to answer it for Niall because I can do it in my sleep. Ben then asks Louis if he likes visiting the X Factor, if it reminds him of the old days (you know, four years ago), and AGAIN, this is a dumb-ass question, and Louis’s a pro, so what do you think he’s gonna say? (Of course he likes visiting, it’s lovely to go down and relive it). Is Harry nervous about playing there again tonight? Nope, it’s fun!! He can enjoy it this time around! Simon Cowell doesn’t give him ANY anxiety!!

The next question is about the simplicity of the old days, and my god, does my heart break for Liam saying that they had to work really hard back then, so it’s nice that four years later, they get a few more vacation days. Louis agrees, adding that the first American promo trip was a grind where they did 10 things a day (multiple interviews, signings, radio appearances, rehearsals, and shows)

Ben asks if they ever go back and watch clips of themselves from their early days (this genuinely does seem like a fan ask), and wouldn’t you know, Niall was just chillin’ out last week, rewatching all the video diaries again. Louis admits that his red trousers and braces were loud, but they worked for the time, “Or do you disagree, Ben?” (Ben: “No, I loved it.” Louis: “Thank you.”) And I wish I could travel back in time both so I could kill Hitler AND witness Ben showing up somewhere in a pair of Toms, only to be faced by Louis Tomlinson telling him that he wore that style two years ago, and he wouldn’t anymore, which Ben says cut him down to size (I highly doubt that, but I would have love to see it).

All of this fashion talk is side-winding into a question about who tells them what to wear and whether they have control over their image now. They all note that they wouldn’t have dared to push back in year one, presumably because “experts” were telling them what to do, plus it was all free (which makes all the dragging on their old looks extra fun to watch). Then Ben asks whether they make their own decisions now, and Liam says yeah as Louis smirks, lmaooooo, which morphs into, well, we have much more input than we used to have. I’m here for Harry giving a slow, long-winded answer as a construction project starts up somewhere in the studio, and Louis yells, “Keep it down” into his mic.

Ben, I mean, the fans want to know what piece of advice they’d give the fetus versions of themselves, if they could go back in time, and Louis advises his younger self to have a second glance in the mirror and see if he’s really sure about that particular outfit. (Ben: “Is that…really?” Louis: “No, Ben, I’m just trying to make a joke.”). Liam would fight the haircuts, and Harry would burn the supras (I’m assuming; Louis: “They were outrageous”). Zayn would tell his younger self to have a bit more fun, to try and take it all in and enjoy it more. :(

“The fans” are curious about the negative side of social media, how the D just exploded on YouTube and Twitter after X Factor, and does it ever go too far? Liam channels my inbox and says that people forget there’s a person on the other side of an anon message, that these guys see all the things that are said about them, and they’re self-conscious with cameras and comments, but it’s okay, they put up with it. Louis’s addicted to Twitter, and says that there are negative people there, but you’ll find negative people on every social media platform and in real life, too, it is what it is.

Of course, “the fans” are curious about how all this social media shit affects their girlfriends, and I would kill to hear more about what Narry, the two singles on this couch, keep giggling about in this ridick convo that I’m not even gonna bother to sum up.

Ben’s curious how the fans always manage to leak everything the band does, and yes, Louis, tell us more! How does it make you feel? Liam thinks it’s anticlimactic, Niall’s only beef is when something is leaked a week before it’s out, and everyone else just gets annoyed if it breaks the structure of a rollout, but nobody talks about songs that are leaked that were never meant for official release (cough cough, "Home”), and Harry’s just happy people get a sneak peek and then still buy the album, so all is good. Me as this exchange: Ben, incredulously, “It’s amazing they’re able to constantly do it”; Liam: “Lots of high-tech people out there.”

Probably my favorite part of this is the fanfic discussion, which kicks off with Ben’s “I've noticed, not that I’ve read it, but there's been a lot of fanfiction published about you boys, books published, have you any read it?”

Zayn avoids it at all costs, but Louis’s aware of a fic writer’s book deal (who????) and says that he’s come across some of it on twitter (!!!). He finds some of it utterly bizarre (looking at you, self-inserts), but he’s read some nice little stories, and he’s seen some that go very deep and very, very weird. Liam acknowledges that it’s a whole different world, that he gets the idea of it, of fans putting themselves in situations with them (and Jesus Christ, it kills me that they’ve had to read self-insert wattpad fics), but some of it blows his mind. Niall doesn’t know where to go looking for it, but don’t worry friend, Ben’s gonna hook you up with his favorites! Harry is noticeably quiet during ALL of this.

With a horrible segue, Ben says, “Speaking of things that are made up, what’s the biggest rumor you’ve heard about yourself, this is a question lots of fans are asking” (SURE THING), and Harry never gets enough credit for his dry delivery, such as the way he says, “We’ve all been dead a couple of times.” But Ben can’t let it go, and that’s when Louis does his whole, “No”….dramatic pause (he might be saying “Go,” but the point is, he lets this bit drop where it lands). Zayn jumps in with the rumor that Niall used to be a jockey, and god bless him, honestly.

Ben realizes he’s not getting anywhere with this, so it’s time to move on to the actual album, why is it called Four, etc. It’s not really all that interesting, tbh, nor is the name they didn’t go with as a band (Liam’s dad’s suggestion, which was USP, if you’re curious). Liam figures USP will flourish one day, and this whole section proves how funny Liam actually is. I’m curious about all the One Direction tribute bands they’re mentioning, and I’m totally down to check one out if they’re ever in my area, just fwiw.

Anyway, moving on! What song are they most proud of? Zayn loves “Where Do Broken Hearts Go,” and Louis is WAY into “Fireproof,” which Liam’s down with, too. The part that’s interesting gets glossed over because Ben’s an idiot, but they talk about how many songs they’ve written that don’t make it to the album, like, Liam has a tattoo that says “somewhere is a place that nobody knows” from a song we’ll never hear called “Man on a Mission,” and how many others are stored in this vault (23 or 24 were in the final running for this album, where are they)? Harry suggests those songs will be on USP’s first album, and I will absolutely buy it. His story about the Norway bus trip makes me want to dig deep (he was on a party bus in Norway and heard one of their songs, sung by them, that had never been released anywhere, and he was the only one who knew it).

Zayn hints a bit at what happens (voting), and Liam hints at all the meetings, but I would love to know so much more about this process, especially since Niall says that lots of people are in these meetings, with lots of opinions (Simon, label, other managers).

Ben says that another recurring question is about what “Stockholm Syndrome” means, and I love the Alex Turner-esque dodge we get on Harry literally describing what Stockholm Syndrome means, without any real insight into what the song’s about. Still, I live in the awkward that happens right after this drops, with Ben still somehow trying to get them to admit they don’t feel trapped, lmao:

Ben asks about which songs are about specific people, and god, I don’t care because all of this section is lies. Then he tries to get them to talk about songs they don’t like, and they aren’t here for that, like, Liam will say he can’t casually listen to WMYB, but he loves performing it, and the best part of this is Harry saying he’ll crank that song and mouth along, pretending that he’s Niall.

For their favorite songs, Liam goes with “Fireproof,” Louis goes with “Midnight Memories,” Niall goes with “Where Do Broken Hearts Go,” Zayn can’t pick one, and Harry says “Best Song Ever.” Ben likes “Through the Dark” because of course he does, and that’s when the needling from Harry starts about “Gotta Be You,” and I don’t understand, but I live for him on the attack, so geddit, son (also, Niall, with his “your boyfriend’s back, and you’re gonna be in trouble,” etc., YES).

Another question Ben kept getting from fans (got it!) is what would be the one thing they’d change in the past four years, and Louis starts with, “Why would you want to? It’s been great, there’s no point.” Liam agrees, and that’s that. Ben’s next question is what moment they’d relive in the past four years, and Niall says he was really nervous at MSG, although Zayn thinks it was a great gig BECAUSE they were nervous. Nothing’s really happening here, so Ben asks Harry what’s going on with his hair (I guess “the fans” want to know?), and Harry just says it tends to grow, that’s what hair does, and he’s letting it all hang out.

Another “fan” question that makes me laugh from Ben: “Who makes the decisions in One Direction? Is it always your call?” And they all say NO, but Liam jumps in with, “It’s totally us, people ask us now, ultimately we call the shots,” and there’s a LOT of back-chatter here, so draw what you see.

Ben tries to push how much they love the “Night Changes,” video, and AGAIN, Harry gets on his case about “Gotta Be You,” and someone else covers it better than I ever could, but this goading by Harry is wonderful. Ben’s creative process for video concepts is fascinating because he basically admits that it’s easy or it’s really hard (read: he steals it or just throws a shitty idea to a wall to see if it sticks).

Ben asks if they get nervous about people liking the album, and Louis says they care if critics like the album or not, but really, he’s out there on twitter searching different song titles to see the fan reaction. This is also when we learn they aren’t on ye olde social meeds that much anymore, but they all enjoy a good old-fashioned creep session (Zayn especially). Harry’s comment about feeling vulnerable when you release something you’ve been working on for a year feels especially poignant—he gets excited and nervous all at once—and I really don’t get this whole controlled leak promo thing they did for Four, but who am I to question Modest or Syco?? All I want to know is what Niall’s talking about on the side.

[lovely-necromancy]

A Cure for Insomnia CH 14

Somehow someway you had ended up spending the night in Toby's room. What had started out as sitting next to him turned into laying down next to him. And after a while of no talking or movement, just the steady sounds of breathing. You more or less closed you eyes for a minute.

Before you knew it you were waking up to sun in your face. And found a blanket haphazardly thrown onto you. Though honestly you probably just moved a lot in your sleep. A quick glance around the room tells you you're alone and by the looks of it have been for a little while now. Weirdly there doesn't seem to be a clock in the room and when you go to check your phone the battery is dead.

'Oh God what time is it?' you worry as you gather yourself to leave the room in search of a clock.

Even though you have the strongest suspicion that you're already late for work. Fuck Nate is gonna kill you. You hope you don't get fired for this. That doesn't really seem like the Cowell way but you really don't want to risk it. No where else in town would pay the bills plus give extra cash for doing jack shit.

Just as you closed the door behind you you see Toby and Connor walking up the corridor. Toby has two bowls in hand and his steps falter a bit when he sees you.

“Shit did I wake you up?”

You can see the veins in his arms as he tenses, poor guy must have a tic coming on. You hold your hands out to give him the option of handing them over so he can relax. With no hesitation on his end he does just that.

“No? I don't think so, I just woke up. What time is it?”

Toby's hands jolt in place. A large tremor of movement, thankfully you took the bowls from him so he wouldn't have splashed...cereal? Your confusion must have shown because you get a nervous laugh in response.

“It's like eight twenty or something.” seeing you visibly deflate he adds, “Barry told me to tell you you're excused from work today.” He took a bowl back from you and placed a hand at the small of your back to push you back towards his room. Apparently done with having a conversation in the hallway and letting your breakfast get soggy.

“Barclay.” you remind him, your efforts award you a shrug, “and are you serious? Because making me late for work wouldn't be very funny.”

He plops on his bed and a bit of milk sloshes out of the bowl dropping on to the sheets. In the back of your mind you think about how Barclay more than likely is going to ban Toby from the lodge for anything other than an emergency. At least if he ruins the bed by dropping food all over it...actually you're pretty sure Jake's mentioned there being a rule about eating in the rooms.

“I'm serious, you can go ask him yourself.” his face flushes as he shovels a spoonful of Captain Crunch into his mouth, “twey shed somfingu bot ah ahpawawgee for da kid”

You give Toby a sneer as you process what he just said. Even normally your brain didn't always process what was said to you properly and Toby speaking with a full mouth certainly didn't help in any case. But you can kind of gleam a bit more context from his red cheeks that your spontaneous three day weekend is thanks in part to Jo hanging out with you yesterday.

Really you didn't mind that she hung out with you. But you would accept the apologetic day off for her attempting to give you a love life. You aren't one of her gossip stories nor do you wish to be.

“First, gross dude. Second, I'll take it.”

He snorts, “Watching me chew through the hole in my face is ne-neat but me talking with my mouth full is where you draw the line?”

“Honestly I never even thought of that.”

You can't help but let out a chuckle at how dumb that must have made you look. Geez you were such a dork sometimes. On the other hand it seems like that must have been the funniest thing Toby's heard in a while as he roars with laughter. Soon your chuckles turn into full blown laughter from Toby's contagious mirth.

“I'll get out of your hair after I finish eating.” you finally say when the two of you calm.

“...you don't have to do that. I-i thought we cou-cou-could hang out?” he says sheepishly.

Toby tends to stutter when he's nervous you notice. Maybe this was to be expected you kind of did solidify that you both wanted to be friends. Of course that would mean opening up to hanging out together on purpose more often.

“I'd like that! Did you have something in mind?”

The room goes quite, well more accurately Toby goes quite as you finish your cereal. Looks like someone hadn't thought this far ahead. At least you aren't the only dork in this room or this friendship for that matter.

Toby's dark eyes scan around the room, not really looking for something while he thinks of something you could do today. Instead of just staring at him like a creep you turn your attention to the rottweiler looking at you with hopeful eyes. Connor's eyes briefly moving towards your bowl where a tiny bit of milk sits and then back at your face. Licking his chops as he looks you dead in the eyes.

Having a pretty good idea of what he wants you look for Toby's bowl. If it was on the ground that'd be a good indication that Connor's allowed a bit of cereal milk if it was on the bed well then you'd still have your answer.  And sure enough right next to Connor's butt is an empty bowl.

Yup, Barclay is so gonna ban Toby from the lodge.

Throwing out any thoughts of the lecture you'd get if Barclay were to find out you let a dog eat from his bowls you place the bowl in front of Connor. Who sits in his position and won't stop making eye contact with the bowl. Tail going a mile a minute as he stares at his prize in anticipation. God he really is the best boy in the whole world.

“Thank you Connor.” you whisper to the dog before he attacks the bowl.

As the pup rips into the left over cereal milk, which wasn't even that much, you can't keep yourself from flapping your hands right by your chest. The fast movement seems to catch Toby's attention and brings him out of wracking his brain for ideas. Giving you a moment to just enjoy the happy stim he just watches. It isn't until Connor has bounded over to you letting you pet him as a 'thank you' for giving him a treat, that Toby speaks up.

“Is there...what's there to do here?”

Looking at Toby as you shake Connor's ears around, you don't immediately say anything. Honestly thinking of just what the two of you could do in this small town. Something that wouldn't prove to be too distracting and maybe give the two of you a chance to get to know each other better. Something without too many interruptions or things to get you off topic.

“Wanna go get a slushy?”

Toby's brown eyes cut as he stares at you unimpressed.

“I kno-rrow that we're in a small town but, 's not that small.”

“Oh no it's actually smaller.”

He rolls his eyes with a huff ready to bite in with a snarky remark no doubt until he catches your eyes and the serious expression. He stares at you, eyes darting across your face looking for a sign that you're joking.

Thankfully you aren't one to leave a friend in the dark.

“Tobias, the gas station Tim works at is the only one for this town.”

“That can't be right, it's not even in town. What about...” once again Toby's eyes shift as he tries to think of any other gas stations within Kepler.

When he comes to the conclusion that you are indeed not fucking with him and Kepler does just have the one gas station his shoulders slump. Almost like he's in shock that he hadn't caught that sooner. You can feel the tinkling sensation of a tic coming up, at the base of your neck. Timing it mentally as you watch Toby go through the stages of grief you miscalculate and ruin your tic.

Head jolting into your right shoulder rather than jerking above it. Letting out a small “fuck” at the fact that you're about to be in an uncomfortable sensation, not totally unlike when you chase off a sneeze but still do need to sneeze. You feel the tic at the back of your head but know it won't be going away anytime soon and all thanks to your hubris.

Looking back at Toby you find he's moved on from the single gas station fact and is looking at you mildly amused. Briefly you wonder if he's ever chased off a tic and felt the uncomfortable sensation you're now dealing with. That leads you to ponder if he's ever even felt the anticipation of nerves before a coming tic. It's not really a painful sensation but discomfort sometimes goes in hand with pain so maybe CIPA affects that feeling too. You'll have to ask, but first you have to shut his stupid face up.

“Shut it.”

“Didn't say anything.” he smirks.

His smiles are really growing on you. They feel special and very genuine despite the awkward nature of his facial movements.

“Hey wait, the mini mart doesn't even have a slushy machine.” he says as the realization finally sets in.

“Yea we have to drive to another town for one. So far Franklin has the best slushies but it's like two hours away.”

You lean your weight back onto your hands watching as Toby's wide eyes stare at you in disbelief. Actually in this light you really can't tell if Toby's eyes are blown wide or in their normal state. Judging from the way his lips curl over his teeth you figure they must be as he stares stunned by something you've said.

“Do you seriously drive two hours for a slushy?” the disbelief in his voice is thick, but not thick enough to cover the thinnest hint of amusement. Maybe even pity.

“Not all the time, sometimes its only like thirty. One night I actually drove five hours without realizing it...though to be fair I did get lost.”

Lost in your thoughts on that particular night some how you'd ended up in Point Pleasant. Instead of a slushy you'd gotten a Mothman themed iced coffee. A nice trip over all but one you didn't want to go on at the moment.

Coming back to the present in time to catch Toby flopping back on the mattress his curls bouncing up over his face as he did so. He let's out an exaggerated groan.

“Still, Brian's got the car today.”

Pfft that's not an issue.

“I have a car.” you say plainly.

That must not be the issue because Toby raises himself onto his elbows to look at your lax form on the carpet. Leaning back on your hands with Connor splayed across your lap looking ready for a nap. Toby opens his mouth to say something before shutting it and looking off to the side. He seems to collect himself quickly but not enough to look at you.

“Uh..I, that's not really the...” well maybe he hadn't collected himself that much.

Brow furrowing as you squint at the man before you. The two of you don't know a lot about each other but from what you've noticed Toby has some hang ups about drivers and driving. Although he's let you drive him home once that doesn't mean he was comfortable with it or wanted a repeat performance. And while you don't consider yourself a bad driver you'll spare Toby the difficulty of admitting he isn't comfortable with you driving.

“You can drive.” dark brown eyes are on you the instant the words spill from your lips, “You've driven my car before. Plus I don't mind I like not driving.”

His eyes dart from you to Connor and back up into your face. Even though they're darting slightly you know he isn't such evaluating your expression. He's thinking and weighing his options.

“You sure?”

And with no hesitation at all, “Absolutely, you've driven it before.”

Though he hadn't been thinking of that particular issue with being given the choice of driving your car. It did bring up another insecurity before hastily stomping it into the ground. He has driven your car, albeit once, before and you are giving him explicit consent to drive it again. Regardless of his tourette's, Toby honestly can't believe you have such blind faith in a person you've just befriended. Then again that's friendship isn't it.

“Ok then...let's go?”

After a nod from you Toby grabs Connor's gear to get him ready for the drive. Meanwhile you take the dishes back downstairs to the kitchen, letting Toby know you'd meet him by the door. Unsurprisingly Barclay is in the kitchen when you get down there to place the bowls into the sink.

Seeing as it's just the bowls and spoons in the sink you decide you can wash them before placing them in the sanitizer rack.

“Mornin'.”

“Good morning.”

“Basket's on the table.”

“Thanks.”

A quiet settles over you two and you can feel Barclay's brown eyes trail towards your form every few seconds. Finishing the dishes you turn, leaning your butt onto the counter, to face the lumbering man.

“Can I help you?” you raise a brow at him. Clearly he had something more he wanted to say.

“I, I just thought we were closer than that.” he sighs.

Okay what now? Your confusion goes ignored as he continues to speak.

“Seriously YN, you didn't need to sneak away last night if you wanted to spend the night here, and with your boyfriend. I wouldn't have judged.”

“My who? Tobais? He's a friend!” you whisper scream in case Toby is near by. God could at least save one of you this embarrassment.

“Really YN? From the things I'm hearin' you two are a bit more than friends.”

“Ok seriously where are you getting your info from? We haven't done anything. Like just YESTERDAY we agreed we were friends. We've known each other maybe a month?!”

“See that's why this is confusing, you don't touch just anyone. And suddenly you're handsy with some new kid.” Barclay had the decency to start whisper screaming with you. He's gesturing vaguely towards the rest of the lodge before bringing his hands before him and flailing them away. As if to say 'what am I supposed to do with this now?'

“He's neurodivergent!” you say bringing your palms up in front of you.

“So are Jake and Aubrey.”

“And I high five Jake so much.” throwing your arms outward to indicate how much you two high five. “Plus he gets a hug nearly every time I see him.” hands brought back to emphasis this point.

Barclay thinks on that for a bit, “Point taken,” he stands from his hunched position and crosses his arms over his chest, “so y'all aren't dating? Nothin' happened last night?”

“No and no.”

“Don't have to deep clean the sheets today.”

“Gross and no.” best keep the milk droplets out of this, you'd really like to leave the kitchen sooner rather than later. Preferably with no lecture about hygiene and the importance of respecting other's property.

Barclay looks down at you scanning your face for something you aren't quite sure of. But you have a feeling he's treating you like a child for a very specific reason.

“I'm not a virgin.” you deadpan as the man before starts to sputter.

His eyes wide with disbelief. So he really thought you were a virgin this whole time? You wonder who else thought this, you hoped they wouldn't try to confront you about your nonexistent relationship.

You'll just never understand why people assume you're a virgin and why they try their hardest to butt into your life when they think that way. This topic tends to put you in a sour mood and you can already feel it on your face. It's disgusting how people can't mind their business about baseless assumptions.

“Jeez sorry YN,” he does look it as he rubs the back of his neck, “it's just you've never shown an interest and I guess we all got swept up in the possibility of seeing you happy.”

“I am happy?”

“I mean in a relationship, happy in a romantic relationship.” He claps his hands gently on your shoulders. A touch you've gotten used too, had you not wanted it you would've taken a step back.

“Kirby's not in a relationship.” you point out.

“Kirby's gross, and you're adorable.” he chuckles at your glare, “a-dor-a-ble.”

“I will bite you.” he lets go of you with a laugh.

“We're just...trying to keep you safe.” he sighs, and though you don't understand what any of their weirdness has to do with “keeping you safe” you nod. Just to get this over with faster.

“Can I leave now? Tobais and I were gonna get slushies.” he didn't need to know your plans but you didn't want him assuming you two were sneaking off for a date.

“Yea yea, sorry for keeping you.” he leans against the counter as you grab your basket and head out of the kitchen and towards the main door.

Toby and Connor were already waiting for you. If the swaying of his weight was anything to go by they'd been waiting for you for a bit. Seeing you coming his subconscious movement stops and he opens the door. Keeping it open for you.  You lead him over to your Soul as you look through the basket for the keys.

“Keys?” he questions as you pat your pockets.

Toby stops walking with you as you begin to panic. You've lost your keys. Before you voice that though you look through the basket once more, placing it on the hood of your car so you can use both hands to check. His eyes follow you and are caught by a gentle swaying.

“You are a serial killer's wet dream.”

He opens your passenger side door and comes out holding your keys that had been in the ignition. If the blank look he gives you is anything to go by he's not impressed.

“I,I,I was in a hurry!” you say flustered that you did something so stupid. His expression doesn't change.

“Could you pop the trunk please?” you ask not looking in his direction.

The click of the lock is all you need to hear before you rush around him to place the basket in the back. As you do you catch sight of the deer skull still in your trunk. With everything going on you hadn't been to see Madeleine for a mount for the guy. You'll have to remember to stop by her shop this week.

Toby had already gotten Connor situated in the back by the time you sat down in the passengers seat. After buckling in and plugging your phone in to charge you stare ahead of you waiting for Toby to start driving. When you look over at him you see he's staring right back at you with a brow raised.

“Yes?”

“Where are we going?”

Yes the key detail of any road trip, the driver needs to know the destination. Unfortunately for you and Toby you've forgotten to tell him one crucial detail. You drive with no sense of direction. And you relay this to Toby. He looks seconds away from getting out of the car and claiming he's never seen you before much less ever been friends with you.

He takes a deep breath and collects himself.

“Y'know what Brian's worse with directions.” he says more to himself than to you.

He calmly puts the car in gear and heads off to town. No input from Connor, you may have chosen a really good day for this drive. Your phone hits one percent as you pass Resort Row. You know the Hornet's Nest is coming up and that intersection leads to the interstate despite not having legible signs.

“Hey when you get to the Hornet's Nest swing right then drive straight, we'll end up on route 3 onto the interstate.”

“Hornets' nest?”

“It's a skate/stunt park. You'll see it after we get away from the mountain.”

Just as you said Toby saw the Hornet's Nest as he turned onto the road leaving the mountain. By the time you were on route 3 your phone had charged up to seven percent. Enough to turn it on and put on a playlist. You put on one of your sea shanty and folk punk combos.

Toby hasn't even let the song get thirty seconds under way. “No vetoed, we are not listening to sea shanties.”

So he does have music preferences, fair enough. You switch to a playlist with a more chilled electric vibe that has a few oldies tossed into the mix. Toby hasn't heard this playlist before and you are determined to learn his music tastes today.

“Wait wait wait, so you'll listen to folk punk but not sea shanties?”

“How are those even related?”

“They are literally the same thing.”

The two of you continue to bicker back and forth about how similar, or different, shanties and folk punk are. Occasionally it's broken when you read a sign, noticing Toby's horrible squinting, to see if you're on the right route to...well you don't know the destination Toby's been ignoring most of the exits for the past forty minutes though you're sure you two could find a gas station with a slushy machine at any one of the surrounding towns.

You don't mind though you're really enjoying the ride. The soft sounds of the car cutting through the wind at seventy three miles an hour. And the dull hum from the engine falling into the background as They Might Be Giants plays softly through the radio. With a majority of his focus being directed to the road  and the handful of other cars around you, your conversation is limited to topics that don't require much thinking. Really you've just ended up playing twenty questions with the other pulling uno reverse.

Not life altering secrets or deep talks...well until the question was favorite romantic comedy.

“How is Venom a romantic comedy?” Toby laughs after you answer.

“They kiss!” Toby just snorts.

“No Venom in Anne's body kisses Eddie.”

“Yes Venom kissed Eddie. Romance.”

You hear the murmur of 'oh my fucking God' come from Toby as you giggle in your seat. Having been egged on by that simple phrase you continue.

“Eddie is always giving Venom chocolates.”

“Oh yes, sorry, that's very romance.” Toby laughs out rolling his eyes.

“Thank you, I'm glad I could enlighten...” you pause as a sign for the next exit catches your eye. Had you two already driven two hours? Time really does fly when you're having fun. “Hey next exit, Franklin.”

“Thanks got it.” this time he turns on the blinker to get over into the exiting lane.

“What gas station am I looking for?” smart man. He's stopped asking for specific directions and is now asking for a land marker.

“Giant baby.” the car comes to a stop at a red light and Toby takes his eyes off the road to face you.

“...is this...will I just know when I see it.” “When you see it” you say the last part in unison with him nodding solemnly.

To his credit Toby has gone a long way with your weird antics, despite being your official friend for less than a full day. Keeping up with this pattern he doesn't ask anymore questions about this giant baby, keeping his eyes peeled for anything worthy of that title. His valent efforts are rewarded not even ten blocks from the turnpike.

“Is that...”

“Giant baby.” you nod knowing he sees the giant opposum decal in the window of the beat up gas station.

Opening your glove box you remove a spare mask for yourself before offering a sealed in package one for Toby. Who readily takes it after he parks your car in front of the store. Turning to look at you, you can read all the skepticism on his face. It's funny how this is where he questions you, your destination and not like the way over here-or the moment right after you told him you had no sense of direction.

“They have the four divide mega slush.”

“What the hell is that?”

With a coy smile you put on your mask and exit the car waiting at the front for your friend to get his shit together. He doesn't take long to follow you, Connor's lead in hand, into the gas station.

For as dingy and beat up as it looks on the outside it isn't bad once you step inside. Might actually be cleaner than the mini mart in Kelper. Toby glances around taking a mental tally of all the patrons in the store and their positions. He does this a bit. Just hyper aware of everyone when in enclosed spaces.

Dragging him over to the slushy machine after acknowledging the cashier's greeting. Showing him the four divider mega slush cup you demonstrate how it works. Choosing the only three flavors you like and adding a random extra of the three into the forth slot.

The face he makes when you stick the straw in the middle is priceless.

Toby demonstrates how a slushy should be made. Grabbing the single cup and over filling it with cherry flavored ice. He doesn't pick up a straw and you two make your way to the counter.

Since Toby drove here you had no problem paying but he was quicker to get his wallet out and hand the cashier a ten for your slushies. They give him back his change and you two wind up back in the car, taking off your masks.

You take a long sip from you drink.

“I can't believe we drove for two hours for you to just wreck your taste buds.” a playful disdain in his voice.

“Not 'we', you.”

He cuts his eyes at you before shaking his slushy into his open mouth. Guess he couldn't use a straw when he was missing part of his cheek. No suction there.

“So?” you say adding the questioning lilt to your voice.

He shrugs, “It's good.”

“Worth the drive?” He shakes his head.

“Nah - drive made it worth it.”

[ephrampettaline]

chatzy log for Soapberry Pride 2019 with:

@thisdaringdanny, @cassiegermaine, @ianncardero, @mayaparker, @bumblingbrujo, @alessafalling, @faye-andrews

Ephram knew there was a wide range of Pride events going on in town, but he'd made a conscious decision to not attend the more solemn things, vigils and memorials. What with recent events coming to terms with Anaxis, getting rid of the threat of Martin Adjaye, he wanted to glut himself in joy and celebration. So it was an atronach block party he decided to attend, the area divided into seven colours of the rainbow each run by atronachs whose glyphs were of the corresponding shade. So far he'd meandered through the Red Zone, getting a crimson arrow drawn in a thick stripe down his face from above his eyebrow to his jawline, and eating a handful of sour cherry candies.

Danny was soaking up as much of Pride as he could, all while trying to fall to the back of the crowd, this event wasn't for him after all but Danny was a intent on being supportive, and getting the fun out of it. Currently that meant pouring drinks for people. He'd made one for himself and when people had seen him making ombre cocktails he'd incidentally become a bartender. "Let's see your wrist band," he asked a couple who had come up to him. He wasn't on the clock but he wasn't accidentally serving teens. "Nice," he grinned, pouring liquid out into a plastic martini glass and handing it over. Spotting Ephram and giving him a wave before pointing to his feathered accent.

Ephram pointed at Danny. "You ain't an orange atronach!" he said in mock accusation. "Although I reckon with how tanned you are, it could pass for orange." Ephram grinned at the fairy, nodding at the martini glasses. "What you mixin' up there? Is it any good or does it taste like cough syrup? So many drinks taste like cough syrup."

"This is a natural tan, one that is from burning myself all day in the sun, mate, not a lick of orange," Danny joked, dusting himself off. "Depends on the cough syrup though, American's have awful cough syrup that all has gross candy flavours so probably," he shrugged with a quick laugh. "Least give it a try, see my amazing skills that now go to waste." Danny picked up one of the syrups on the table, putting a shot of it into the shaker, then a shot of something else, quickly moving through them.

Cassie arrived at Pride events for another chance to get out of the house and entertain Addie. Besides, she wanted to provide any sort of support she could. Cassie kept a firm hold of the little girls hand as they weaved through the events and people. The red head was currently distracted with crayons and coloring pages they had picked up at one of the arts and crafts booths. Cassie was surprised when the toddler promptly and seemingly out of nowhere decided to plop onto the ground and attempt to color against the rough sidewalk pavement. "Hey." Cassie was pulled slightly, "Silly, get up."

"Gross candy flavours is exactly it." Ephram noticed movement in the crowd at the border of the Red and Orange Zones, and recognized who was causing it. "Cassie!" he hollered, waving at her. "Oh, hey -- Addie's here too? Bring er over, Danny's makin' drinks!" He looked at Danny hopefully. "You can make virgin drinks too, right? You got the stuff for it?"

Cassie glanced up when she heard Ephram's familiar holler. She offered a wave with her free hand, her expression only falling slightly when she saw the bar and Danny nearby. It wasn't a situation she could exactly slip into, but at Ephram's insistance and the few grumbles from people trying to step aroud her and her daughter, Cassie hoisted Addie up and walked over. Her smile was slightly crooked as she looked at them, "Sure. What are you having?" Her gaze dropped to Addie again when she swayed somewhat impatiently, "I figured we could both come out for some fun." Cassie explained her presence half-heartedly.

Danny watched as Cassie approached with her daughter. "Not sure anything would be okay for a baby to have, definitely a virgin drink is possible but super sugar," he commented, totally spacing Ephram meant for Cassie and not for Addie.

Ephram shook his head quickly at Danny. "For Cassie," he said, then reached out to bundle Addie out of Cassie's arms and into his own. "Don't let my feathers tickle your nose, now," he told the little girl as he settled her against his shoulder and the brightly feathered epaulette there. "What you been up to so far?" Ephram opened his hand with the last couple of cherry candies -- faintly melting in the heat of his palm -- and offered them to Addie. "I reckon I'm gonna git my hair done in the Yellow Zone. I want it to stand up higher."

Cassie nodded to Danny after Ephram had already clarified thigs for him, "She doesn't need anything. And sugar is alright for me. Really. Just make whatever Ephram ordered minus the booze." Cassie was somewhat releived to hand Addie over, and watched with slight amusement as the few candies Ephram had left were snatched up and shoved in the toddlers chubby cheeks. "Just crafts and puppet shows and the like." Her nose crinkled slightly, "Kids stuff. Addie loves it so, that's all that really matters." She chuckled at Ephram's musing over his hair, "Straight up and down? Like you need any more height as it is."

Danny looked over Ephram picking up the child and playing with her as he spoke to them. Danny had only ever been confident picking up his sisters, other people's kids were a dangerous game. "Uh...yeah, sure," Danny agreed, finishing off Ephram's drink but sitting it on the table since he was holding the child. "Your hair is already yellow, mate. Hair as yellow as my skin is orange."

Ephram scooped up his drink with his now free-but-sticky hand, since Addie'd eaten the candy. "I'm only gettin' styled in the Yellow Zone!" he protested, jogging Addie a little in the crook of his arm. "I might get it coloured blue further on down the block, though. You should come with me, man -- ain't nothin' saying you gotta stay here serving drinks. Who even let you back there, anyhow?" Ephram raised his voice, looking around, and an older atronach woman turned to point at him. "Don't you poach Danny, now!" she scolded, but then laughed and patted the fairy's broad shoulders. "You go anytime you want, child. Have some fun. You can't spend the whole time working."

"Blue would suit you," Danny nodded, looking over the man's hair. Felt like it could suit him to be dyed but he had to wonder how bright blue hair would go over with Freddie...maybe styled well. "No one let me, I just wandered back, walk with confidence and you can go anywhere," but he took the opportunity to climb up on the bar and jump over with ease. "Guess I'm a free man," Danny noted. "Should we go get some blue hair, send Freddie some pictures so he has some entertainment, he's working right?" Danny asked, figuring if Freddie wasn't out celebrating with his husband he was at Stonefruit running events, that or he was celebrating and everyone had got caught up with him. "I think I could rock some blue hair. Match my gorgeous eyes."

Ephram gave Danny a look of exaggerated horror. "Whaaaat? Skip ahead from Orange to Blue without hittin' all the Zones in between? You gotta work your way through the ROY G BIV, Danny. We still got Yellow and Green to get through before Blue." He finished his drink, spinning the glass between his fingers before setting it down on the bar. "That was good. Tasted like if a grapefruit and a passion fruit had a love child." Addie made a disgruntled sound, and Ephram patted her back. "No no no, you're the only child here, punkin. Still the only one."

"Seems like you two know each other very well," Danny said of Ephram and the small child. He hadn't even really seen Addie in the alternate reality, Cassie was always alone with him, or in a crowded room. Cassie certainly seemed more attentive here, but perhaps that was because she could sleep with her husband in their home, rather than needing to get subordinates to do so. "What's going on in yellow then? In my mind it's a lot of blow up bananas, I love pool toys."

Ephram snorted. "Easy way to confirm or deny your dream of blow-up bananas," he said, strolling down the block until they crossed over into the Yellow Zone. There were no inflatable fruit to be found, although the area did weirdly have a bubblegum-banana smell. "Here, Addie -- gonna give you to Uncle Danny for a minute, okay?" Ephram bundled the child against Danny's chest before moving over to a hairstyling station. It only took a moment for him to tell the atronach staffing it what he wanted, and then he bent to offer them his head. The atronach put their hands on either sides of Ephram's head and then blew out a breath, and Ephram's hair immediately blew up straight as if he'd put himself in some sort of vacuum tube. "Whaddyou think?" Ephram asked, excited, as he turned to show Danny and Addie. His hair was piled in soft, semi-collapsing spikes; Addie took one look at him, though, and started to make hitching noises against Danny's chest.

Danny was handed Cassie's daughter and immediately he forgot how to hold a child hands catching her awkwardly and immediately knowing she had to be uncomfortable how he was supporting her, but at least she hadn't fallen. "Hi...there," he said awkwardly to the girl, wondering if she could remember him. Fortunately Ephram wasn't gone long and when he returned Danny looked down, the child making strange sounds, was she giggling or sneezing? "Dude, you look ridiculous, are you Bart Simpson in old age?" he asked with a laugh but evidently concerned for the strange baby sounds.

"Awww, everyone's a critic." Ephram reached out for the toddler again, and Addie gave his hair a long, hard look, still deciding if she wanted to cry or not. "Not so bad," Ephram crooned at her, "unless you're takin' this so-and-so's word for it." Finally she reached up and grabbed a clump of Ephram's hair; then, satisfied that it was still his and attached to his head, turned her attention to the enormous gumball machine that took up a large part of the Yellow Zone. "You gonna git yours done?" Ephram needled Danny, nodding over at the hairstyling booth. "Or you gonna mock the efforts of braver people?"

"Not sure my hair could get paler, plus I'm still pretty content on getting it blue," Danny insisted, watching as the small child pulled and played with Ephram's hair. He hadn't said much when Danny had commented on how well he knew the child but they were so familiar, even for a kid. Kids were crazy obvious when they got on with people, and when they barely knew them. "Looks like your look isn't going to last though so we should get a picture before it's gone," Danny noted, pulling out his phone and holding it up to snap a picture for the Sheriff's husband.

Ephram really just hadn't dwelled much on Danny's observation about him and Addie, taking it as conversation and not any particular inquiry. He held still for the picture, even though Addie herself was entirely distracted by the gumball machine. "If it's as awful as your reaction made it seem, then it'll be a good thing I'll be floppy-haired by the time I get home," Ephram laughed, leaning down as Addie squirmed out of his hold; he barely managed to get her down to a safe distance before she hit the ground and was motoring towards the gumballs. "Shoot. We best follow, huh?" Ephram moved towards the machine, remarking to Danny, "So is it just me, or are you and Cassie a lil ... awkward around each other?"

"Damn kids are speedy," Danny commented of how fast Addie was moving towards the gumball machine, following along with Ephram. "Uh yeah," he said, looking down at his feet as he walked. He'd told Freddie about how he'd been feeling, about Cassie, about Ruby, about just him feeling about himself, and Danny wasn't sure how much of that Ephram would know. They were husbands, if Freddie shared Danny wouldn't be mad, but on the other hand Freddie might not see a point, after all Danny's emotions weren't exactly something that if unmentioned would be bad. "She like apologised to me about some stuff that happened in that...place, and my feelings are just all mixed up," Danny scrunched up his face. "Not like we were friends before but not really sure what I'm meant to say to her now." /When I want to hold her./

Ephram slowed and stopped, since Addie had reached the gumball machine and it turned out to be some sort of weird ... carnival ride? ... for the kids, and wasted no time in having herself boosted into the top and deposited among the giant gumballs and other magic-encapsulated children to be jostled down to the dispensing slot. He looked at Danny as if trying to gauge something, and then said, "Yeah, her and me had some stuff what happened too. Although it was more, uh, cathartic for me. Than it seems like it was for you." Since Cassie and Ephram had been friends before, and lovers too, so they had some sort of common ground to work their way back from. "Was it a sorter situation what warranted an apology, what happened in that other place?"

Danny watched as Cassie's daughter got onto the ride. He needed to keep reminding himself Cassie was different here, that what he remembered there wasn't what things really were. "Feels like my heads just a mess lately," he admitted, not sure he should say more to Ephram. Getting down on himself at a party was fucking lame. "I didn't think it did. We slept together, a bunch, I just...was with her," Danny said, unaware of how much he'd actually missed that Cassie had done in the shadows. "When she apologised it just felt like she thought she'd somehow wronged me, screwed me over when it's the closest I've actually fucking felt to someone in a while." Danny looked around them for something to do with his hands, food to shove in his mouth, anything to distract him. It was fine to get this way in front of Freddie but, regardless of how good a person he knew Ephram was, he was starting to feel closed in on by opening up.

The way that Danny started to get sort of ... soggy and discomfited by the topic of what happened with him and Cassie made it pretty obvious that the fairy didn't want to be discussing his feelings about his other self. Or more specifically his other self with Cassie. Plus there was a familiar sort of downtrodden defensiveness to his behaviour that made Ephram suddenly wonder just how much time Ruby and Danny had been spending together. But that was none of his business, nope, he'd come to that decision and he was sticking by it. Ephram had had enough of offering to talk to people about what they were feeling only to have them then end up kind of resenting him for it. "Sounds complicated," he went with, then stepped forward to collect Addie from the dispensing slot. He collected two gumballs and somebody else's squalling selkie child first by accident, but then Addie came duly rolling out of the metal chute and into his catch. "Had fun, chickadee?" Ephram asked, hoisting Addie up to get her better situated. "I'm glad you're back. I need somebody to keep me from inadvertently turnin' folks into Gloomy Gusses when I talk to em."

Danny relaxed as Ephram concluded the conversation, it wasn't that he'd have resented Ephram, he'd have resented himself for eventually running out on the situation. Bailing because he felt like he was drowning as he often did when he shared his feelings in a situation he wasn't prepared for. Seeing Cassie he wasn't prepared for. "Yeah," he nodded, watching Ephram collect the small child, almost taking another. "You weren't making me sad, I'm just bad at talking, sure Freddie will tell you as much," Danny smiled. "I'm glad the experience was cathartic for you, I don't think you're alone."

The atronach in charge of the ride buttled forward to thrust one of the enormous beach-ball-sized yellow gumballs into Danny's arms with no explanation before returning to his station, and Ephram loped closer to inspect it. "Wow," he said after sniffing its sugary scent, "I think it's a real gumball. Cain't imagine how you'd go about chewin' it though, it bein' big as all that." He didn't address what Danny had said apart from a quick grin and a nod, not wanting to send the fairy into a tailspin or anything. “Listen,” Ephram said as he handed Addie over to Danny, “I’m just gonna run to get my hair blued, I’ll be back by the time Cassie comes back from the bathroom, okay?”

Iann was actually feeling sleepy, in a good way. It felt mellow, and Iann knew that in a few hours he'd be off to sleepyland even if it was the middle of the day. For now, after working with late night functions at the Inn for party-goers and a fascinating trans vampire cabal, he was strolling through town with a purpose. The problem was, he'd forgotten what the purpose was. He still walked though, figuring eventually he'd remember why he was walking about. Aside from watching all the various events going on around town. There was always something going on at any given time.

Maya had, despite going to bed late the night before, woken up early. Today the Soapberry Chamber of Commerce had organized an open air Pride market with every stall donating at least some of their profits to charity. While she and Tuah hadn't quite gotten their bakery open, she was operating a stall under their banner. A little sign proclaimed that 100% of the profits would be donated. Maya herself was dressed in jean shorts, a Pride crop top and had finished the whole look off with rainbow sunglasses. She lounged in a camping chair, sipping a Jones Soda from the nearby cooler.

Towne Square apparently turned into a Pride-esque market at some point - yesterday? Today? Iann couldn't keep track, but it was certainly nice to discover it. He was properly distracted, forgetting completely to think about what he forgot about. Instead, Iann realized maybe he should get some food for his apartment. He'd been eating out this month - mostly at the Inn - and was craving something he could just make and eat at home. Slowing down, Iann tucked his sunglasses onto his baseball cap to browse.

Maya watched the crowds from behind her sunglasses. A few proprietors were calling out to passersby, trying to entice them to buy. She had never been good at that kind of thing. Besides, she liked to think that her array of brightly colored baked goods stood on their own. However seeing Iann, she shouted, "Hey Iann, how's Pride treating ya?"

Iann heard a voice, but there was a crowd around a stall where it seemed the voice came from. Was...a pastry beckoning him? Literally? "Outta the way, I got a date with a prune danish," Iann said, shouldering his way through the gathered purchasers, to reveal a stall with baked goods, and Maya Parker. "Hey Iann, Pride's been great," Iann replied, making a joking riff on their last encounter. "You...uh, running this thing?"

Maya laughed at his greeting. It was far far easier for her to laugh now about their whole Freaky Friday situation. She knew she'd been a bit of a pain to deal with at the time. "Running might be a generous term, but I'm in charge of it," she replied, "Can I get you anything?"

"Mmm I dunno yet." Iann peered at the piles of things. "What do you got? Show me whatever's savoury, I guess. I don't have any sweet tooth."

Ephram lurched up behind Iann. "I got about eight sweet tooths to make up for him. You got anythang with berries?" Having finally gotten to the Blue Zone of the atronach block party, Ephram's hair was now in soft blueberry-coloured spikes to go along with the painted red arrow down one side of his face. He blinked at Iann. "Shit, Cardero -- you look like you're gonna fall over. Late night at the Stonefruit? Freddie said the place is hoppin'."

"Well," Maya replied, taking off her sunglasses, "I've got some croissants, non-magical, zucchini bread that'll boost your energy and in the cooler some take and bake pizza dough if you want something for later."

"Oh I want berries," Iann said, staring at Pettaline for a moment. He didn't recognize the other man immediately. He hadn't seen Pettaline since the witch got the Cinquefoil and now with him all painted up and Sir Pride-a-lot, he was virtually unrecognizable. "Fresh berries, though," Iann amended, and then hummed at Maya's offerings. "Isn't zucchini bread sweet? More like a cake...unless you make something different and just call it zucchini bread to fuck with people, haha."

Maya glanced over at Ephram, gave him a smile and replied, "Raspberry sweet swirls that'll literally make you feel like dancing, Linzer cookies with huckleberry jam and no magic and then blueberry ice cream in the cooler that'll make you feel like you're seventeen again." To Iann's question she shook her head, "Not especially. At least not as sweet as cake. You can try a slice if you want."

Iann held out his hand, never one to turn down samples of anything, especially things he could put into his mouth. "Give me a slice!"

"What, you think she's gonna use dried-up berries in the middle of berry season? What's wrong with you?" Ephram's prodding didn't hold any real annoyance, though, unlike his and Iann's usual interactions. "Back home in Apple Fall my cousin Jenga used to eat zucchini sandwiches. Most people would think that was zucchini in slices of bread but she used to make em from slices of zucchini between other pieces of zucchini. She said it was more authentic that way. I mean, she grew zucchini that was like the size of them Nerf baseball bats so they was pretty big sandwiches." He rubbed his hands together at Maya's recitation of what she had, saying, "I ain't never heard of a sweet swirl before! But I'll take one and a couple of them Linzer cookies. Don't much feel like ice cream, though." More like he didn't want to feel like seventeen again, but that wasn't anything he wanted to dwell on.

"Wow, thanks for the trip down to Apple Fall, Rose Nylund," Iann replied dryly, unable to help himself. He'd stopped listening after Pettaline mentioned he had a cousin named 'Jenga'. "Blueberry ice cream isn't baking. You're like all-purpose dessert-maker. There's a French fancy word for that, isn't there? Patisseroise, or something."

Maya cut Iann a slice of zucchini bread and handed it to him. "Wouldn't it be easier to just eat the zucchini whole? Skip all the cutting?" She nodded at his request. She packed it all into a little rainbow box before telling him the total. As far as Iann's comment, she shrugged, wearing an easy smile. "I'm also halfway decent at plain old cooking. Figured I should be well-rounded," she replied.

Iann "Do you have any butter."

Maya pulled out a small packet of butter from the cooler and tossed it to Iann before picking up one of the plastic butter knives and handing it to him.

Ephram gave a high hooting laugh at Iann's likening him to Rose, resolving to tell Freddie about that. "You'd think so, right?" he nodded at Maya. "But Jenga said she liked the sandwiches on account of she could alternate with green and yellow. She was a big one for stripes." He considered for a moment. "Actually she never ate zucchini whole. Her husband din't like to eat nothin' what looked much like it was phallic. He'd leave town when it was cucumber season."

Iann labouriously but thoroughly spread butter on the slice of bread. "I'm tired, yeah," Iann finally said, answering Pettaline's question from three minutes ago. "June's a busy fucking month. People with rainbows and shit, I don't know if you've noticed Sheriff. You cops sure are doing a half-ass job this month. Any excuse for the pigs to be lazy, huh?" It was grousing but of course it was ironic grousing. He'd taken note of the Sheriff Department's mission statement for their institutional involvement in Pride month, and of course it made sense. It was the epitome of goodness, really. But naturally, Iann had to give Pettaline a hard time about it, even mildly. Aside from some issues here and there, Pride month in Soapberry was an oasis for happiness and charity and awareness and all that socialist paradise crap. Iann took a bite of his bread. "Mmf. Not bad. Do you make them in buns? Baps? Muffins, or scone-ical forms? Like small ones."

Ephram handed over his money and accepted the little rainbow box with a pleased exclamation over its cuteness, but then stood there holding the pastry box in both hands as Iann scolded him about the police presence at this year's festivities. "Uh," he said, not familiar enough with run-of-the-mill Iann orneriness to be able to sort it out from the more usual Iann belligerence where he was concerned, "we's still around, I mean--" Ephram shrugged one shoulder, setting his feather epaulette waving. He figured that was good enough. "Happy Pride, oink oink."

Maya raised an eyebrow, "Seems a bit excessive, but to each their own I supposed." She took another sip from her Jones Soda while Iann either teased or mocked Ephram about Soapberry's policing of Pride. She couldn't quite tell which. As for Iann's question though, Maya considered a moment before saying, "Yeah, probably could make muffins out of it."

Ephram grinned at Maya, relieved to have somebody else to address other than Cardero. "So!" he said brightly, gesturing at the banner above her stall. "This happenin' soon? The shop I mean? You'ns gonna be sellin' ice cream and stuff as well as coffee and bakery baked goods?"

"Are those feathers from your own chickens?!" Iann exclaimed in mock-horror when Pettaline flicked the feather epaulette. "Don't pluck your chickens, man! Buddy owns fancy-ass chickens," Iann explained to Maya. "The type that look like they have better hairstyles than yours." Iann gave her a wink. "I guess they're more...feather-styles." Iann folded the bit of bread he still had and ate it in two bites, listening as the witches talked. He didn't quite follow what Pettaline was asking, and so he just looked at Maya to hear her response.

Ephram said serenely, "My chickens ain't none'a your pluckin' business, Cardero."

Maya laughed at Iann's teasing. "Hey man," she joked back, "This is my 'I woke up like this' hair." Turning back to Ephram, she nodded. "We're still settling on a location, but yeah, the whole thing's coming together. I haven't gotten as far as an exact menu, but I'll probably do some ice cream specials in the summer."

Iann glared at Pettaline, mouth working under his moustache. Because that was stupidly-funny and Iann did love stupidly-funny. But he resented that Pettaline thought of it, with his dumb blue hair and silly facepaint. "What're you even supposed to be?" he demanded, then motioned to Maya. "At least you look normal. Run-of-the-mill, even. None of that outlandish stuff for you." Then, at Maya's answer to the other witch, Iann finally remembered. "Oh - right - shit. A thing. You...ah...and Tuah. Right?" Iann licked butter off his thumb, and looked away, over Maya's shoulder and into the middle-distance. "Moving along at the usual Arjuna-pace with that, I see."

Ephram said before he thought better of it, "Ohhhhhhh yeah, you and Tuah used to be a thing! I forgot." He cleared his throat and said dryly to Iann's question, "I'm supposed to be queer and havin' a good time of it, Iann," before picking up the conversation with Maya. "You into all the sci-fi stuff too? Or is it gonna be a different sorter theme for the new place? I love theme stuff. It makes places stand out more to me. Like how there's those two shoe stores in Grieselle? I never remember the name of the one what just sells shoes. I only remember Rubber Sole because of how the salespeople dress like the Beatles."

Maya, not having the same hang up Iann did, was free to laugh at Ephram's reply. She laughed too as Iann referred to her look as run of the mill. "Ah, yes, what anybody's dying to hear that they look run of the mill," she teased. She was hardly offended though. It wasn't as if she'd especially put much effort into her look this morning. There were more important things on her mind. "Yep, Tuah and I are business partners," she said before adding to his second comment, "I don't mind how long it's taking. The whole endeavor still kind of freaks me out." To Ephram, she gave a shrug, "I do like my sci-fi, but I don't think we'll go that route this time around."

"Well to be fair, I look under-the-mill. The chaff that gets milled out and fed to....chickens," Iann said, satisfied that (in his mind anyway) they'd come full-circle. He was about to ask why it freaked Maya out, but then remembered her thing about being asked questions. So Iann nodded instead, and waited with considerable interest to hear more about her vision for this co-owned bakery. When she provided none (and again Iann knew better than to ask) he nodded once more. "Okay give me a pizza dough. I'm gonna make pizza tonight. And another slice - er, sample - of that zuchinni bread..." Iann got his wallet out. "Oh by the way, I found that nymph, Collette. I have to take down those signs."

"Well I'm sure you and Tuah are gonna come up with somethang real interesting between you." Ephram pried open one side of his pastry box to extract a cookie which he ate in two bites, giving Maya a thumbs-up at the flavour. But then he frowned at Iann when the man mentioned Collette, saying, "What was with that, anyhow? I know she din't show up a couple mornings for my birds -- which is fine, that ain't an issue -- but I din't realize she was missing. And you shoulda come filed a report with us at the station, Iann, come on now. Jes because you'n me don't get along it don't mean you need to bypass the help that the police could of given you."

Maya didn't provide many details because she simply didn't have them at the moment. There were so many decisions to make and without an actual location everything else was still kind of on hold. It wasn't something she minded talking about, but there just wasn't much set in stone yet. She nodded and pulled out a plastic wrapped pizza dough for Iann. She cut him another slice of bread, but didn't add that to the price she gave him. It was all for charity anyway. Maya handed over too another tab of butter. "Oh good," she said to the news that Iann had found Collette, "Is she alright?"

"Hell no, I wouldn't file a report. Cops, amirite? Gosh," Iann snorted and rolled his eyes at Maya, thumbing at Pettaline like 'get a load of this guy'. He took his dough and plopped it into his fannypack, waiting for Maya to tell him how much it was. "But no, she wasn't missing-missing. She just - well - it's complicated nymph stuff, but ah. I'm not sure if she's alright. She's alive and functional."

Ephram pointed at Iann's fannypack, noticing it for the first time when the man secured his pizza dough into it. "You're wearin' a fuckin' fanny pack in public and you tried to make fun of how *I* look? Jesus, Cardero." He shook his head. "I'm glad she's found. Is it like a Perl situation? How she was missing for a while but then when she came back she was all different and jumpy?" It would be a deeply sad thing if that were the case. Ephram was still gutted about Perl having to leave the Department.

Maya could understand why Iann wouldn't go to the cops. Especially if Collette wasn't 'missing-missing'. Maya had her own complicated history with law enforcement that had caused her to only go to them when she had no other choice. She gave Iann a 'what are you going to do' kind of shrug before telling him how much the pizza dough was. Her brow furrowed a little to hear that Collette was alive and functional, but not for sure alright. "Could you tell her I have that lavender fudge for her?" she asked. It wasn't much obviously, but maybe it would make the nymph feel a little better.

"These are all the fashion now! Ask the trend-setter here," Iann said, motioning to Maya first before handing her some cash. He pat his fannypack (which was currently sitting on his hip) in contentment. "I tried carrying around a satchel? Messenger bag? Whatever you want to call it, the purse for dudes who don't want to say they're carrying around a purse. But it kept getting lost or I forgot it places, or it got hooked onto things. It's bullshit. This little guy's never leaving me." When Maya mentioned lavender fudge, Iann had to bark a laugh, somewhat bitterly. "I will, sure. But is it Scottish lavender, little Iann."

Ephram didn't miss the little by-play between Iann and Maya when it came to the subject of police. It was jarring to him sometimes, how people seemed to assume that since he was the Sheriff here and now, it meant he was clueless as to what it was like on the other side of the law, but ... oh, well. He decided to take it as a sign that he was doing a good job, if he gave the impression that he'd rolled out of the womb wearing a badge. "I have a satchel. It's great."

Maya had to nod, "The fanny pack is making a comeback, especially with The Gays." She didn't miss the somewhat bitter quality to Iann's laugh. "Yep, as requested I made sure to get Scottish lavender, not that I really think it makes a difference," she paused, considered then added, "Although she is a nymph and can probably taste the difference."

"Fannypacks are Pride," Iann concluded. "Oh you better believe it makes a difference. An insurmountable difference that us mortals will never understand. Anyway, Collette's not living with me right now, so if you do see her, don't assume that I've told her about your fudge."

"I'm gonna keep right on with my satchel, if it's all the same to The Gays," Ephram snorted. "Collette ain't stayin' with you, what?" he asked Iann. "Where's she at? Is she doin' all right? What did you do to her?" It was an unfair assumption, of course, but considering the normally acrimonious relationship he had with Iann, Ephram automatically figured the human was the one to blame.

"No she moved out, she's at a motel. I suggested June's House," Iann offered, suddenly mild and even somewhat passive. "Since it's cheaper, cleaner, and overall better than a motel, so. She just has some things to figure out. And yeah, probably because of something - or things - that I did. Yeah. Can I get another 'sample' of that bread?"

"Basically," Maya agreed although to Ephram she added in a teasing tone, "I think The Council will be okay with that." She hadn't realized that since her return Collette hadn't been staying with Iann. With that new piece of information, she shook her head, "Oh never mind then. I thought you two were still living together. I can just tell her next time I see her." She listened quietly, taking another sip of her soda for Iann's explanation as to why Collette wasn't staying with him anymore. Unlike Ephram, she didn't assume Iann was completely at fault, even though he admitted it might be partially. "Which motel?" she had to ask, "Do you know?" Maya had to laugh when Iann asked for another sample of bread. "Sure," she joked, "Just know I'm considering feeding you as the charity this bread is going to."

Ephram recognized that particular flavour of resigned self-recrimination when he saw it -- he'd tasted it more than a few times himself -- and he felt faintly bad for having shoved Iann into that corner. "Sorry," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "I shouldn't jump to conclusions when I don't know shit bout whatever you'ns are to each other." He didn't say anything about June's House, that being something of a sore spot for him personally. "So long as she's not missing anymore and she's doin' all right. I mean, she's some sorter ancient war nymph, right? Ain't like she's a wilting flower."

Iann shrugged. "Don't apologize, it's a reasonable conclusion," he said, giving Pettaline a wry look. "When someone's upset, must be Cardero who got them there, huh? Makes sense to me." Iann adjusted his baseball cap, then started the process once more of meticulously buttering his third slice of zucchini bread. "I don't know the motel name, no. She wouldn't tell me." He smirked back at Maya. "Ohhhh great. Pity-bread. The saddest part is, I'll take it." He took a huge bite, then made a muffled noise behind his teeth, "Vut now ah neef currffee."

Ephram said testily, "I'll apologize when I reckon it's warranted and whenever I damn well feel like it, Cardero! And no, it ain't no foregone conclusion that you's the blame all the time. We might not get along but shit, I know enough bout you to know that much." After all, Ephram's husband counted Iann as one of his closest (if not THE closest) friends of all time, and Freddie felt no compunctions about talking up Iann's better qualities to his less-than-enthused audience of one. Ephram might have groused, but he'd still listened to all those glowing reviews and taken them to heart. "Maya ain't sellin' coffee, nimrod." He looked at Maya, one eye narrowing as he confirmed, "--you ain't sellin' coffee, are you? How bout them soda pops? I'm feelin' a mite parched my own self come to think of it."

Maya watched the interaction between the two men, but didn't comment on it. "Okay," she said. She would have to ask Collette next time she saw the nymph, just to make sure it wasn't the same motel she'd stayed at when she first arrived in town. Although as Ephram had pointed out, Collette wasn't exactly incapable of taking care of herself. "The sign does say 100% of proceeds go to charity, you were warned," she joked back. She pointed down the way and told him, "There's coffee about three stalls down. Mostly iced drinks though I think."

Iann made a face. "Guh I hate cold coffee. I don't get the point." Most of the stalls here were set up for 100% charity, which amused Iann in one way. People trying to out-do each other with how 'woke' they were, as the kids liked to say. Iann liked it; because true altruism was, after all, partially selfish in order to be true. The feel-good feeling people got for being so damn generous was worth all the charity information signs that beamed 100% with rainbow pride. Win-win for everyone involved. "Okay I give up. Give me the bread. This charity will pay your charity for whatever's left of the loaf. It's delicious and addictive."

Iann blinked, shocked and a little unsure how to respond to Pettaline vociferous and rather pleasantly unexpected reply; and since Iann had no idea how to respond to bouts of sincerity - especially if it was meant to be good towards him - instead Iann grinned and changed the subject entirely. "Show me the Cinquefoil!" He looked at Maya. "So buddy has a Cinquefoil, and he's made it work!"

Maya gave Ephram an apologetic smile, "Sorry, this is my personal stash. But I know a couple of fairies are selling homemade sodas in the next aisle over." To Iann, she argued, "Well, I'd say cold coffee and iced coffee aren't the same, but that's kind of semantics. Someone's probably got hot coffee for you though." She handed over the bread without any further argument. Considering the whole event was for charity she wasn't at all concerned about the dollars she was missing out on. If everyone had a good time and they made some money for organizations that did good work then it was all good. It was her turn to blink though at Iann's excited words. "He has a what?" she asked.

Ephram likewise made a face at Iann's sudden and loud demand. "I'm sure Maya don't wanna be exposed to the sight of it," he demurred, returning a mirror of her apologetic smile before hissing at Iann, "--since it's on my god damned hip and I'll have to hike down my trousers some to show you."

"Yes, I hate cold coffee..which is what iced coffee is," Iann said in confusion, then remembered that Maya was a very exact person. So he added for her benefit, "I hate iced coffee." He handed over more money for the loaf (he didn't ask her this time; her prices were notoriously underselling and this was no exception, even for the 100% charity proceeds) and then Iann laughed aloud when Pettaline explained where the Cinquefoil was. "Oh shit, it's on your hip! Well never mind then, you can show me later, I want to take a photo of it for my records." He tried to explain to Maya without getting into too much detail about the demon. "It's this thing - it's like a - well it's..." Iann spun a hand, then made an annoyed sound and turned to Pettaline. "You explain!"

"I just mean that cold coffee seems like hot coffee that's been left out for too long and gone cold whereas iced coffee is still fresh," she explained although she knew it was still all rather semantic. She took his money although she hadn't asked for it. It didn't matter to her personally, but she was happy to take money for other people. She listened as the two men seemed to change their minds based on where this Cinquefoil was located on Ephram's body. Although it wasn't as if Maya hadn't seen a man's hip before. Seeing as they seemed to decide against it, she didn't comment on that though. Instead Maya listened as Iann decidedly didn't explain what it was. She turned to look at Ephram when Iann turned the duty of explaining over to him.

"I'll tell you what iced coffee is: it's cold. And I don't like cold coffee - whether it's been left out too long, or had some ice tossed into it to make it cold. It's still cold and gross. Here - hold this," he handed Maya back the bread and marched off to find a cup of coffee.

"Fair enough," Maya replied as Iann walked off in search of hot coffee.

Fortunately, finding plain drip coffee wasn't too difficult, and Iann returned with a cup, looking far less agitated. He also had a bottle of sarsaparilla beer. "Here, this is for Foghorn Leghorn," he said, handing the bottle to Ephram as he then took his half-bread back, tucking it into his elbow like a precious child.

"Uh," Ephram said, not at all convinced that Maya was terribly interested in hearing about the Cinquefoil, but since she'd turned her attention to him he figured he might as well. "It's this lil magical artefact what helps to integrate a demon with the person it's inhabiting. Which is ... me?" To be honest he couldn't recall if Maya knew about Anaxis, even. None of this might make any sense to her at all. "I dunno if you know, but yeah. I got a demon in me and now it's completely under my control. Thanks to the Cinquefoil." Which he wouldn't have minded showing Iann, even in public, but Ephram had no intention of forcing Maya to witness anything even close to the act of him showing skin. He accepted the sarsparilla gratefully when Iann handed it over, bolting down a third of it.

Maya had, in all honesty, only passing interest in what a Cinquefoil was. But Iann seemed excited about it, so it seemed worth hearing about. She'd heard, awhile ago now, about the demon inside of Ephram. She listened as he explained what exactly the thing was. Upon learning that it had allowed him to completely control Anaxis, she made a mental note to try and do some research on it later. Maya wasn't entirely sure what to say about it now though. It had to be a big deal for Ephram. She could only guess at what having a demon riding shotgun might be like. "Congratulations," she settled on although she wasn't happy with it, "I guess, that seems kind of like an understatement, considering."

Ephram ducked his head a little in acknowledgement. "It's awright," he said hastily, faint annoyance with Iann rising up again. Why in God's name had the man brought up the damned Cinquefoil and by extension Anaxis in front of Maya, who couldn't possibly give a shit one way or the other? Embarrassed as he usually got when talking about the demon in front of people who didn't know or care, he finished his drink and wagged the bottle at them both. "Gonna go find somewheres to recycle this," he mumbled, readjusting his pastry box in his grip before loping off towards one of the disposal stations set up periodically through the venue.

Iann mildly watched Pettaline leave, still a little fascinated by how different the witch looked. Had it been that long since he'd last spoke or seen Pettaline? The answer was yes; but also the change was remarkable enough to be not just a matter of time. Pettaline didn't just change in terms of the demonic control - although that was a huge thing. But it also belatedly occurred to Iann that the whole Pride thing was being truly celebrated and embraced by the witch, perhaps for the first time in his life. Iann tongued the inside of his cheek, thinking about the various changes he'd witnessed in people, recently. He looked over at Maya. "What were you again? A Lady of whatever? Servant girl? You seem quite recovered from all that. 'Seem' being the operative word, of course."

Maya watched Ephram go without saying anything since she wasn't sure if he was going to come back. But clearly he'd been made uncomfortable. She turned her attention to Iann as he asked her about that strange alternate reality they'd all ended up in. Her memories around it were mostly foggy, but she picked the general gist. "Both, I think," she answered, "And I mean, it wasn't so bad for me, I got bit by a snake and yelled at, it felt like a lot, but not so bad all things considered. What about you? Didn't you, like, die?"

"That's right! I was there when you were snake-bitten, you were saying such strange things. Well, strange for that world. Makes me wonder if maybe when the snake bit you, you reverted into this-Maya's modern mind...now that would be interesting." Iann licked his teeth, considering that possibility. "I still can't quite figure out what the hell that was all about, even. Why it happened. I mean I've been in this town long enough to know shit will happen, but I get antsy when there's no real rhyme or reason." Not that Iann had much time to contemplate. Between all the other work he'd thrown himself into with other people - and then Pride month on top of that - Iann barely had much time to himself at all. Which was exactly the way he liked it. "I totally died! My brother gave me a plague that made me eyeballs explode and my internal organs melt and my skin break out into pustules. It was terrible." And 'terrible' was an understatement. "Apparently, then Inquisitor Savin found and destroyed Miguel."

"Maybe," Maya replied, "Although, I was also pretty out of it. Whatever that sage dude gave me was some strong shit. But maybe high medieval Maya was the same as sober normal Maya." She understood what he meant about the lack of apparent reason being uncomfortable. "Yeah, I'd like to know why too. If there even is an answer," she agreed. "Shit, dude. Miguel killed you? How's that working out?" Maya asked. They couldn't exactly be blamed for their actions in that other version of Soapberry, but still having someone kill you seemed like it would strain the relationship.

"Ah, we worked it out. I personally thought it was pretty epic what he did, but Prince-me was really really sore about it. 'Prince-me'." Iann snorted. "If only I was talking about Purple Rain Prince, the only cool Prince to ever exist, ever."

Maya had to nod, "Sure, reasonable to be sore about someone murdering you." She laughed at his claim, but couldn't disagree with him. "Well I'm glad to be in a world where talking about a prince usually either means Prince or someone finally watched Game of Thrones. I would not have wanted to get stuck in that world."

"I guess..." Iann said doubtfully, as if he was personally questioning: was it reasonable to be sore about someone murdering him? Was it, really? Suddenly, Iann didn't feel too sure about that. "That's true. No flushable toilets, guhhhh. No showers. No anti-perspirant." He returned to the thought about soreness. "I wonder if Miguel's mad at Savin for destroying him?"

Maya wasn't entirely surprised that Iann's tone suggested that he doubted his princely self had a right to be sore about being murdered. She still thought it was reasonable, but she wasn't surprised that Iann might take a different, less traditional view. "Depending on the situation, I suppose it'd be reasonable too not to be sore about it. But seems like being murdered by someone would be as good a reason as any to be upset with them." She nodded, an expression of fairly enthusiastic agreement on her face when he listed just a few of the drawbacks of that world. "Don't know," she said, "You'd have to ask Miguel that."

Iann hadn't been thinking of his Prince-self so much as just...himself. "Oh yeah? What sort of situation are you thinking of?"

Maya shook her head, "I wasn't think of any specific situation. Just that I couldn't definitely say how a person might feel after getting murdered."

"Well I can definitely say how a person might feel after getting murdered..." Iann said, slightly gloomy as he thought about it. It wasn't even the first time, even; and perhaps that made it even more weird. But it was nothing he was going to bring up with Maya, and not while the day was sunny and bright and cheery. "Well..." Iann said, because by now he'd kind of run out of safe topics to broach with Maya. He looked hopeful that maybe she had something to comment on.

Miguel was enjoying this pride a lot more than the last one. Maybe the fact that he didn't have to put any of it together, didn't have to deal with dramatic drag queens or getting a heinous number of permits from the sheriff department. All he did was show up and eat the pretty colorful foods, and sniff at the pretty colorful drinks and wonder if they were actually edible. His ears caught his own name and he glanced around to see his tall dumb brother, who he made a beeline for, he careened into Iann, bumping shoulders with a thud. "Talking shit, 'mano?"He said it with a grin.

"Yeah, I've only almost been murdered a couple of times," Maya replied with an easy shrug, "I was pretty sore about it though." She shrugged, not exactly eager to go too much further down this path of conversation. She took another sip of her soda. From what she had gathered Iann wasn't a big fan of small talk for it's own sake, so she didn't want to ask him something just for the sake of it. She was about to ask if the Inn was having any events for Pride, out of genuine curiosity. But then Miguel appeared before she had a chance.

Dressed for the block party Alessa'd walked all the way there before she spotted the sheriff and turned 180 degrees and walked directly away. She was NOT risking her job just to go to a party. She walked or a while before coming to the town square where there were she headed for a baked goods stall. She stands on her toes to see around the people already there wondering how bakes goods could lead to the trailed off conversation of murder.

"Oh - looks like you got another customer, watch out this guy is very particular about heart-health so hide your croissants," Iann said, when Miguel popped up beside them. Iann was grinning though, teasing his younger brother. Another young woman stepped curiously towards the pastry display though, an actual legit customer (he didn't consider Miguel legit, he was just Miguel) and Iann helpfully said to her, "I recommend the zucchini bread. She's handing out free samples, so you could try it if you want."

Miguel flashed his grin at Maya then. "Ooh, I want free samples. And I'll buy a croissant because they're delicious and I'm not particular about heart health, nope, nu-uh, not me." He wanted to support the other witch in her business, sometimes it was hard to integrate magic with your job - but Maya had found a way to blend the things she liked, and Miguel thought it was interesting. It was also tasty.

"Unfortunately, Iann bought the last of the zucchini bread. I went for variety over quantity. But I can hook you up with a croissant," Maya said and handed one over on a napkin. She told him the price as well. "And you should probably let the person behind you through too," she added, gesturing to the person peeking over their shoulders.

Essie simply raises a hand in the air to be noticed from behind the two men. Responding to the first with a quick "I'm in it for something sweet actually, you got a recommendation for that sort of thing?" sharing her question with the woman behind the stall counter with a smile she hoped could be seen.

"I do not, but the baker will! She's that one right over there -" Iann said, pointing at Maya.

Maya laughed, "See, I'd recommend just about anything, but I did make all of it and I am trying to raise money here. So not sure I can be trusted." She sat up a little straighter, "What kind of stuff do you usually like?"

Miguel took his croissant and stepped aside so the next person could go, sticking his tongue out as his brother as he went. It was a good croissant, warm and fluffy and flaky. Miguel mentally kicked himself for not having Maya add chocolate to it. That would have been ideal.

Iann reached behind Maya and retrieved her bread knife. He flopped the half-loaf of zucchini bread on a wood counter space and carved off a slice, handing it to Miguel. "Here, try this now."

Alessa gaining full access to the spread on the table Alessa looks on with eyes like saucers at the variety. "Anything with fruit, anything with chocolate." she tells the other excitedly. "And I'll take three."

Maya smiled to see the newcomer's eyes light up when she looked at the table. To her that was at least half the point of baking anything to make people happy. "I've got raspberry sweet swirls that'll literally make you feel like dancing, Linzer cookies with huckleberry jam and no magic and then blueberry ice cream in the cooler that'll make you feel like you're seventeen again as far as fruit and well, what's in front of you as far as chocolate," she explained.

"Oh that reminds me, there's a fruit stall over there with local strawberries," Iann said, when the young woman mentioned fruit. "Apparently the strawberries are from this vampire's secret garden of enchanted heritage-strain berries. I want to try them. Apparently they taste like 'real' strawberries - you know, how they used to taste before mass production."

Miguel happily ate the bread and was surprised by the flavor. It did taste a bit like zucchini, but not in the way he had expected. He watched the person who had been behind him stare hungrily at all the confections Maya had made, he could related. He wanted to try a bit of everything. But then Iann was bringing up strawberries and... "¿Las fresas de herencia? ¿No mames?" He wanted to get his hands on those strawberries. "We gotta try that 'mano."

Alessa making a decision was tough but she made a quick one before her attention was torn reluctantly away from the confections towards a fruit stall. Staring off at the fruit stall she ordered "Three swirls if you have 'em and some of that ice cream maybe?" squinting across the way she asks "Is the 'real' taste supposed to be better or worse?" glancing back over her shoulder at the men and then over to the woman once again with a smile "Oh sorry, i would like them please." polite, very comically belated but still polite.

Maya gave a nod, "Sounds good." She started packing up the swirls and scooping out the ice cream while Iann and Miguel talked about strawberries. Like them she was curious what these pre-industrial ag strawberries might taste like. However Maya was stuck at the stall. Perhaps she could convince one of them to bring her back some. She shook her head at the young woman's apology. "Don't worry about it," Maya said before telling her the price of everything.

"Hell yeah," Iann grinned in pleasure, as if he and Miguel had just agreed to do something totally wild and spontaneous like slam back a bottle of tequila and then surf down a waterfall. But, well. Sometimes one just wanted to be wildly enthusiastic about strawberries. "If I could only eat one fruit for the rest of my life? It'd be berries," he proclaimed to Miguel, and then looked down at the piping voice of the small woman. "I think real taste should taste better. Like an actual strawberry taste which...who knows if any of us have ever tried." Iann tapped his fingers together in an 'oooh hoo hoo hoo' way. But before heading to the fruit stall, he said to the younger woman - "Who are you anyway? I haven't seen you around town, but then you are very small." (Iann was secretly pleased that he managed to work a Treebeard quote into his daily conversation).

"Woah woah woah!" Miguel held up his hand to stop his brother. "You can't say all berries that's way more than one fruit. I would choose mangoes, and if you can choose all berries then I choose all mangoes like South American mangoes plus Asian mangoes. That's my fruit." Miguel didn't think it would taste that good, but he wasn't going to tell Iann that. Mostly he just expected it to be less sweet. He looked over the young lady and smiled, he wanted to know who she was too.

"Okay maybe not..." Iann squinted, trying to think of a berry he'd reject. But he was coming up blank. "Okay you get all the mangoes, I'll get all the berries. Lopez can have all the boring fruit like citrus." Iann gave a mean laugh, but then shook his head ruefully. "No, no. I can't be mean to citrus, it's a damn good family. Not as good as berries, but."

Digging in her pockets for the correct change Alessa smiled brightly at the woman and thanked her "I can't wait to try it." she told her genuinely. Now she turned around fully to the two men. "Essie Caird." she introduced. "I'm particularly new to town you could say." she emphasised with a small flourish of her hands, holding out two of the swirls to the men. "And I find the best way to meet people is to buy them food, am I correct? And I can already tell they're delicious." she compliments the woman flashing her a bright smile also.

This Essie was certainly chipper and bright, and knew all the right things to say. Iann wouldn't eat the proffered pastry because he knew it would make him feel like dancing (although he hoped Miguel didn't know that, because it would be funny) but he took it anyway as a sign of good faith. "Well that's certainly a nice way to meet people. I guess I should extend the same courtesy. Here --" Iann extracted another slice off the zucchini bread, and offered it to Essie. "Right back atcha, Essie Caird. I promise my hands are clean. Just a little jammy from the swirl."

Offered bread in return Alessa takes it and smiles. "Thank you, can I have your name too or is it a one way thing?" She hadn't expected anything in return but she stood by her opinion that food shared was the best way to get on a persons good side. She takes a bite herself before offering the bread to her open purse, where her familiar poked his head out and took a nibble. She only allowed him one single small bite before she pulled it away.

"Oh shit where are my manners. I'm Iann, Iann Cardero. I run an Inn, over in Grieselle," he replied, and was about to offer his hand to shake, but then got distracted by the little head that poked out of Essie's purse. "Holy shit, is that a rat?" He didn't seem too alarmed, just curious - because the creature had to be a familiar of some sort. It looked intelligent. But was it a fairy familiar, or a witch familiar?

"And I'm Miguel... Reyes Ojeda," he awkwardly added his last names as Iann said his own. "It's a ferret," Miguel sounded excited, but he held it in so not to make the familiar feel awkward. Where was his head? He hadn't even shaken hands with Essie yet. "Hello to you too, little fella."

Faye wandered through the crowd, stopping here and there to talk to people she knew. She wasn't doing anything in particular, just mingling for the moment and taking in the atmosphere of the day. This was always a fun event, and it made Faye happy to see so many other people being happy. Spotting a few familiar faces, Faye made her way over with a small wave of greeting. "Am I the only one day drinkin'?" she grinned, taking a sip of her drink.

"What're you drinking, mamacita?" Iann asked, watching as Faye sauntered over. "You look like you're soaking up the festivities."

Alessa tried not to be offended by the rat comment, she reacts very calmly shaking her head, Finn on the other hand poked his head further out of her purse and fixes his beady eyes on Iann. When the other man introduces himself and identified correctly the species of her familiar she introduces the men to him "This is Finn." She grows quiet as a woman she doesn't know makes her way over, she doesn't want to be in their way at all so takes a step backwards to make room in front of the stall.

"Not sure," Faye said to Iann as she peered into her glass. "Some fairy was passin' 'em out over there." She nodded towards a vendors stall across the way. "Tastes like cherries." Noticing the unfamiliar woman, Faye waved. "Hey there. I'm Faye. Don't mind me," she smiled.

"Maya," Maya said by way of introducing herself, "And hello Finn." She knew better than to not treat a fairy's familiar like anything less than a full sentient being. She smiled at Faye's approach and replied, "I mean, if you bring me one I'll day drink with you."

"Give me a taste," Iann said, because he suddenly wanted to try everything here. He always had an appetite, but communal food was way more enjoyable. "Oh! A ferret," Iann said, and wasn't surprised at the creature's glare. That unimpressed look certainly confirmed to Iann that the ferret was no witch familiar. "Finn, the...fairy familiar, I'm guessing. Pleased to meet you, Finn," Iann gave the familiar a nod. He grinned at Essie. "Which makes you a fairy!"

Faye gave the little familiar a nod of hello as she let Iann have her drink. "Like mother like daughter," Faye grinned over at Maya. "Hang on..." She jogged back over to the fairy with the tray of drinks and came back with one for Maya and one for Iann if he liked the sample of hers. If not, Faye would just add it to her glass. "Here ya go." She handed Maya the cup. "I"m sorry I didn't catch your name," the witch said to the fairy with the ferret familiar.

Alessa raises a hand at each woman as they introduce themselves to her, she repeats her own introduction back when Faye returns from fetching more drink. "I'm Essie and this is Finn." she bounces her purse much to Finns chagrin. "Yeah, makes me a fairy." she confirms for Iann. "You're all very familiar with each other I don't mean to butt in or anything."

Iann took the wine, and handed it to Alessa. "Here - I hope you're legal enough to drink. If not then who cares. I actually gotta butt out - I suddenly remembered why I even had to emerge from Stonefruit in the first place. I'll be back later, hm? I can't forget the strawberries." He gave Alessa a nod and then gave Maya and Faye a wave of goodbye, at least for now.

"Nice to meet you Essie." Faye smiled at the bouncing ferret. "And you ain't botherin' nobody, honey. You're more than welcome to hang out. I like meetin' new people, and somethin' tells me you're new to town?"

"Nice to meet you too." Alessa responds waving Iann a goodbye as he heads out, adopting his glass as her own easily. "Very very new in town." she confirms. "Still waiting to see if I'm getting a job sort of new."

"Oh yeah? Where're you applyin' to?" Faye asked.

Essie shoots both women a little bit of an embarrassed glance, brushing hair behind her ear "Well I've only ever been a receptionist before so I started with those kinds of jobs. I've only had one interview so far. The sheriffs department. I think it went well but honestly it was unlike any interview I've ever done."

Maya gave Iann a wave as he headed out. She felt perfectly content to sip her fresh drink while Faye asked Essie about her being new in town. "Unlike any interview how?" she had to ask though.

"And I've only ever really been a bartender," Faye told Essie, giving her a smile. "Until I got here and they decided that I was qualified to be a teacher. Who knew?" she grinned. "

"Well the sheriff, seems very nice but much more lax than I'm used to. Said it clearly that it was more of a chat than anything, I didn't know quite what to do with it." Alessa admits to Maya. A lighter curious expression is aimed for Faye "What do you teach?"

Maya relaxed back into her chair almost immediately. Despite her trust in the current Sheriff's department, she'd heard too many stories to not ask about a statement like that. "Hopefully that's a good sign. I think they just promoted their receptionist, so they're probably in need," she said.

"Defense Against Dark Magic mostly," Faye said as she sipped her drink. "Though they're thinkin' of changin' the name to 'Defense Against Misused Magic.' To be more politically correct." Faye huffed. "As if I need people runnin' around make 'DAMM class' jokes."

"yeah hopefully, seemed like a really good job, I'd really like to work there but I guess it depends if my personality was alright. Got a little tense about it all at the time. But hey we'll see right?" Essie snorts at the abbreviation "That's a road to certain destruction that name change is."

"It definitely is," Faye said. "Hopefully they just leave it like it is."

A nudge from Finn leads Alessa to look at her watch and realize she had another interview in an hour. "Speaking of interviews I'd better go get ready for my next one. It was really nice to meet you both, I hope to see you around." and with a small wave she's jogging off quickly through the crowd.

When Ephram got back to the atronach block party, it was just in time for Danny to hand Addie back to him, making some sort of excuse about having to go that was so mired in Aussie-isms that Ephram only barely grasped what he was saying. But the fairy was making rapid tracks when Cassie rejoined them, and Ephram said, "Uh ... he had to go ... throw some shrimp on the barbie? I really got no idea what he was sayin'." Ephram indicated his now blueberry-coloured hair, saying, "I got this done while Danny was takin' care of Addie, ain't it neat?" He shifted the child from one arm to the other so that she could accept one of the huge gumballs from a passing ride attendant, saying, "Is there somethang awkward between you and Danny? He seemed mighty het up bout it. The other place, I mean."

Cassie blinked a little surprised, "Danny was looking after her?" It wasn't somethig she'd ever ask of the fairy anyways. They weren't overly close here anyways. But Addie looked perfectly content, especially since Ephram helped her get one of the large gumballs she was so keen on. "I like the blue-" She smiled slightly, "By the way," But the pull of her lips faltered when Ephram asked about Danny's mood. Cassie wasn't exactly surprised but...she'd only been gone for a few minutes. She ran a hand through her hair, "We might have been...um-" Cassie cleared her throat, "Comfortable with one another. And it's hard. Cause it's different here." She sighed heavily, "That's all."

Ephram looked sympathetic. "Awww, I'm sorry, Cassie," he said sincerely. "Reckon I got off lucky, all things considered -- no lasting awkwardness or memories of havin' killed people or been killed. It must be hard for you two, gettin' close there but not here. Memories and emotions that cain't quite be reconciled." Although Danny seemed to be taking it harder and on more of a personal level than Cassie, which was to be expected. The fairy was surprisingly fragile when it came to his emotions. "Come to think of it I did sorter leave 'im no choice when it came to lookin' after Addie for a few minutes, whoops. But she's a lil trooper, ain't you, darlin?" Addie was more concerned with her big yellow gumball than anything else, trying to figure out how to eat it when it was beach-ball sized. Ephram clucked and took her hand in his, pressing her fingers against the candy. "Jes think about makin' a lil hole in it," he urged the baby witch. "You can do that. I hear you's all sorts've talented when it comes to magic."

Cassie nodded slowly in agreement with Ephram. There wasn't really a more simple way to put it, and clearly with Danny still sore, no proper way to fix it either. "Yeah well," Cassie shrugged, "What can you do? I'm just trying to keep moving forward is all." She was glad when the attention was shifted back to Addie and watched with raised brows as Ephram tried to show the toddler how to eat her oversized treat. "I don't think a hole-" Cassie began, but was cut short when the gumball exploded into several pieces, some of the yellow chunks hitting those walking past. Cassie ducked slightly, with a cringe on her face but Addie broke into squeals of laughter, clapping her hands, "Boom, boom!" Before she reached for one of the gumball shards and stuck it into her mouth. Cassie reached out slightly, "Make sure she doesn't swallow that. Oh geez."

Ephram urged, "Chew chew chew!" to Addie, snagging a shard of gumball and shoving it in his own mouth to demonstrate with big exaggerated motions. "It's gum! You gotta -- hey, this stuff's really good, Cassie, you gotta try it." He laughed and blew a bubble, the gum swirling into different shades of yellow as Addie squealed gummily in delight.

Cassie watched in amusment as Ephram and Addie enjoyed the colorful, slightly enchanted bubblegum. At insistance, she took a chunk of the gumball, but slipped it into her pocket for later. "I'll chew it in a bit. There's gotta be some snacks with more substance we can try."

Ephram nodded enthusiastically. "The Green Zone! I skipped over it so's I could get my hair done in Blue, but there was tons of food there." He chewed his wad of gum to one side of his mouth like a cow, linking his free arm in Cassie's and steering her forth from Yellow to the next zone. Almost immediately, the air was flooded with all sorts of savoury scents, the Green Zone enchanted to be bigger once inside than its actual physical footprint and to contain the foodie aromas. Ephram immediately bought an ice cream bar covered in rainbow-coloured crunchy bits, explaining as he devoured half of it, "--appetizer."

Cassie followed Ephram as he guided her to the correct area with all the food stalls. The smells almost instantly got Cassie salivating, and when Ephram stopped to grab a rainbow popsicle she bent slightly, and fished the chewed gum out of Addie's mouth before tossing it in a nearby trash can. Before the toddler could put up much of a fuss, Cassie purchased a small cup of rainbow softserve and handed it over. She got a small spoon for the girl, but Addie went into the icecream hands first. "Sorry." Cassie sighed, taking a step back to grab handfuls of napkins. Her brows raised when she noticed another stall and pointed, "Is that chocolate dipped cheesecake?!"

Ephram only laughed at Addie's dive right into her softserve. "Don't even worry bout it," he assured Cassie. "Back home in Apple Fall I used to look after my cousin Lilybee's twins when they was just startin' to eat solid food and they'd insist on feedin' each other. Only neither of em was a dab hand with utensils so they'd use their hands and then when they got frustrated with that they'd jes sorter ... dump food on each other and lick it off." They'd reached the cheesecake stall by that point, which turned out to also serve salty flavours, so Ephram asked for chocolate-dipped for Cassie and blue cheese and pear for himself. "Ain't I fancy?" he boasted with a grin. "Freddie's opened up my palate from what all I grew up with. Although I still do eat pimento cheese whenever I get the chance, don't get me wrong."

"Dumping food?" Cassie repeated a little wearily, "Are you telling me that's what I have to look forward to with two?" She was contented though when she received her cheescake slice, and took a hefty bite carefully chewing the cold treat as she watched Ephram pick out his second snack. "Well, I'll say you surprised me." She commented on his expanded palette. "If you like that, have Freddie make you try a baked cranberry and brie log sometime." She grinned at the memory of the appetizer, "It's delicious."

"Cranberry and brie, will do. It sure sounds good. When we was makin' them cranberry and popcorn strands to decorate the tree at Christmas, Freddie got extra because he knew I'd eat em before they even made it up." Ephram chortled at the memory, then said, "Might not work that way with one older and one littler! Twins are weird, we all know that. Oh, shoot, Cassie--" Ephram stared at her with rounded eyes, the blue vivid under his blue hair and against the red arrow-stripe down the side of his face, "--there ain't no chance you're havin' twins, is there?"

His words were scandalized but from his tone it was obvious that Ephram thought this notion utterly amazing. "I mean I know we talked about you havin' multiple babies because of possible multiple fathers but I don't mean that this time I just mean normal twins! Well as normal as twins can be, since they ain't normal, they got them twin-languages and all."

Cassie looked at Ephram a little strange due to his fallen expression. She didn't know what was running through his mind exactly, but she didn't get why men always seemed to want more. "Lilo would like it I'm sure." She mentioned, her voice a little flat and dry, "But I'd need more than just a bigger pram. Try extra arms and a bigger house. To start with." The corner of her mouth upturned, showing Ephram she didn't take it too much to heart. She got a corndog snack along side Ephram, breaking off a few pieces for Addie. Both mother and daughter made a slight face, the mineral enhancements weren't something they were a fan of. When Ephram mentioned Iann though, Cassie pouted her lip slightly in thought, "What? Mmm...I think he mentioned Elena a while ago. I didn't realize she was still there, or that he invited a nymph after moving out of Stonefruit." It was slightly surprising, given what she knew about him and Ciara. "What? Are you jealous?" She laughed suddenly.

"All's I'm prepared to offer is the pram, woman." Ephram grinned, also intending to keep it light. He held out his hand for the rest of Cassie's ... cornrock? rockdog? ... thing, since he liked them fine. "Jealous? Naw, I ain't jealous. My livin' arrangements suit me right down to the ground, thank you, and neither Freddie nor Oliver's super keen on havin' extended house guests. Hell, I totted my own Daddy out when he was in town and asked to stay, heh, so I reckon I'm the same." He raised his eyebrows as he finished the last of the food and threw away the sticks, looking around for the next enticing item.

"Your dad was in town?" Cassie inquired. It was really the only thing that stuck out to her, but the news of Ephram kicking him to the curb, or just short of it seemed well fitted to, from the little she knew. She looked around with Eprham for their next tasting spot and started to head towards a cart that made fresh crepes. "Well, that mansion has tons of room. But I get it, wanting your own space. I'll just make sure the babysitting isn't extended." She snickered, "Although, I have to say Freddie is being very sweet about it."

"It was a while back! He wasn't here long, which is to be expected. The man's slicker'n an otter givin' birth in a vat of olive oil." Ephram perked up at the sight of crepes, requesting one filled with spinach and cheese, one with lemon and sugar, and one with ffluvofruit paste which the crepemaker assured him tasted like currant jelly. "Extended babysitting's so different though! You don't gotta make conversation and deal with any emotionally taxing stuff or worry bout whether or not having real loud graphic sex is gonna be an issue. Not that any of that sex is gonna take place near the baby, of course," he hastened to add with a shake of his head, telling Addie, "same for if you come over with your brother. You don't even know what that is and we aim to keep it that way."

Addie wanted her mother again, though, so Ephram set the little girl down on her feet so he could collect the crepes. "Freddie's being incredible. I know when he decided on this, he was doin' it for me, but I think he's really gettin' into it now, the idea of bein' uncles to lil Albie. I mean if nothin' else, it gives him the chance to shop for baby things, and Lord knows baby things are adorable."

"What did he want though?" Cassie asked. Parents like Ephram's father didn't just show up for a friendly hello. At the crepe stand Cassie ordered nutella and strawberries and cream filled crepes. Her sweet tooth had yet to be satisfied. She chuckled at Ephram's view on babysitting, "I suppose some of that's true." She was glad Ephram caught and corrected his own slightly questionable adult topics, though really he was safe. Addie didn't know anything, the only worry Cassie had was she might parrot it at the worst possible moment. "Baby stuff is the best to shop for." She agreed with a grin. "I'm glad you're all getting some fun out of it."

Ephram shrugged. "Harlan? He had some cockamamie story bout business in town, but I reckon he got antsy that Freddie rumbled him. I married a con man same as my Momma did, heh, only mine's reformed." He folded his lemon sugar crepe up and mowed it down in two bites with a satisfied hum. "Everthang's so tiny! And cute! And it gives Freddie the chance to--" Ephram stopped himself, and when he continued his voice was much more gentle. "His mom left him when he was very little, and his dad's sort've a D-I-C-K. Might be doin' him some good to spend time thinkin' on what might make a sweet lil' baby boy happy."

Cassie never thought of Ephram marrying Freddie as a mirror of his father, but of course Ephram would know better than anyone. "Well, as long as he didn't cause any trouble." She watched how Ephram ate his crepe without any utensils and attempted the same folding. Except it took her a few more bites, and the last one once again went down to Addie who was watching it intensely. Cassie smiled a bit sadly at the news of Freddie's parents. "It seems like most fathers are D-I-C-K's." She muttered, "I'm glad he's getting the chance. And I'm super lucky our tastes sort of align." Cassie smirked, "When it comes to fashion and decor anyways."

Ephram polished off most of his cheese and spinach crepe, saving the last morsel for Addie as well. "You two really do have the same tastes in baby stuff, it's sorter uncanny," he chuckled. "I mean, you don't really have the same dress sense -- he's more glitzy -- but I suppose dressing rooms ain't the same as dressing your body, huh?"

Cassie nodded, "No that's fair. I forgot he has a mansion to decorate." Cassie laughed, watching as Addie happily took the pieces of crepe from the adults and took nibbles back and forth from savory to sweet. "Yum, yum!" Cassie folded her arms for a moment on her belly, "But he does have good taste in more traditional pieces too. That's all I meant."

Ephram sampled his ffluvofruit paste crepe, opening and closing his mouth a few times to try and figure out if he liked it or not. Addie clamoured for some so he pinched off a bit for her, in case she didn't care for it, and said, "His major concern was if Albie would need a bunch'a big brightly coloured plastic things, heh. But tell you the truth, I ain't so much for those neither. I like baby stuff what's handmade and looks like your family could of made it for you, not the latest Duplo toys." Ephram grinned, scrunching his nose. "One of the very few things I'm a snob about."  

"Ah right, well the wood sheep should have been a sign of that." Cassie spoke, watching Addie hesitantly try Ephram's second crepe with him before tossing it on the ground and sticking out her tongue. "So that's a no then?" Cassie asked, bending down to discard the food properly, "No!" Addie repeated. "You don't think Albie is too close to Addie hmm?" Cassie inquired, since Ephram and Freddie clearly favored that nickname and made it known, "I just didn't want to confuse them down the line. You know, the similarity really was not on purpose." She grinned somewat guilty.

Ephram made a face. "Naaaaaw," he said. "Plenty of kids have similar names when their folks wanna have em in like, a theme or a matched set or whatever. Besides, if we's the only ones callin' him Albie, he'll get used to bein' somethang else at home, right? You'ns gonna call him Albert proper? Or Mateo? I like Mateo, it sounds like a smart kid name."

Cassie let out a loud laugh, "Matched set? Oh my god..." Not that Cassie doubted the idea at all. She shrugged, "I was thinking Bertie. But Albie is good too. It really just depends what seems to fit him best. Albert is for when he is in trouble. You know how that is." Her smile still lingered as she pulled Addie a little bit closer and wiped some of the food and crepe leftover from her mouth. "And Albert doesn't sound smart? What about Einstein? Or Prince Albert." She squinted playfully at Ephram then, "You're funny."

"Bertie at home and Albie with his uncles! I used to get my full complete includin' the middle name called when I was in trouble seein' as I din't have no shorter version of my name. Only Harlan called me Effie now and again but it wasn't ... he wasn't meaning it in a nice way, really." Ephram rolled his eyes and unconsciously touched his floofy blue hair, the feathers on his shoulders. "Anyhow. Einstein I'll give you, but Prince Albert? I'm fair sure most folks think of the genital piercing when they hear that, not no actual prince." He grinned at Cassie's teasing comment. "I'm funny 'cause Ephram sounds like a funny kid name."

"I just hope he doesn't have an identity crisis at a year old." Cassie commented, "My parents just liked calling me by full name all proper like. Big surprise right?" She rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Thanks Ephram. For that. I think when looking at a baby you might be the only one who'll think of a genital piercing." Her gaze was blunt and irritated, "Really." She flicked one of the feathers on his shoulders, "I'd say your funny past the name. But at least it makes you unique."

"Listen, if Southern folks can be fine havin' roundabout five separate names each, Albie's gonna rock the double name with no problems." Ephram laughed at Cassie's confession, saying, "Considering I call you Miss Germaine in my head half the time? Nope, no surprise." He looked innocent and wounded, though, when she scolded him about mentioning piercing. "What? It ain't my fault nobody knows no more bout the human prince and just know the piercing now! I din't make it up!"

"Miss Germaine is too formal." Cassie said, fiegning a sort of shock that Ephram continued to use the title. In reality, he still made up names for her all the time. "What was the last thing you called me? Miss Britchypants or something?" As Ephram tried to defend his reasoning though, she wasn't exactly convinced. "You can't say nobody knows about the proper Prince Albert. He was a Queen Consort of England, supported sciences and arts during the 1800s. You're telling me Freddie never rambles off about royalty?" Cassie would find that even harder to believe.

"Miss Germaine is exactly formal enough for the likes of you." When Cassie tried to remember the last thing he'd called her, Ephram crowed and said, "Missy Britches! For when you's being insufferably hoity-toity, like right now." He looked shocked at Cassie's protests concerning the dignity and reputations of royalty, putting one hand to his chest. "Are you kidding? Freddie's English! Don't nobody give less of a shit about British monarchs and the throne than English folks. He'd probly say that havin' a--" Ephram lowered his voice so Addie couldn't hear, "--dick piercing named after him is a bigger honour than this ol' Prince Albert deserved."

"Whatever." Cassie waved off Ephram's nickname again trying to fight back her amused little grin. She looked at him exasperated then though, placing a hand on her hip, "I know Freddie is English." Her expression pulled into uncertainty when Ephram insisted the fairy wouldn't give two figs about monarchs. Sure, he knew Freddie better but it still just seemed wrong. Maybe if Freddie was a disgruntled peasant he wouldn't care, but he clearly had come from some sort of class distinction. She wondered if this was just her alternate reality brain fogging in and shook her head to try and clear it away. "Either way. He'd still know who Prince Albert was." Cassie said, sticking her tongue out stubbornly.

Ephram responded by raising his nose loftily. "And I'm tellin' you -- he'd know, but he'd have as much reverence for Prince Albert as he does for Colonel Mustard." He considered for a moment. "Maybe less. He knows I really like eating mustard. Right out of the bottle sometimes."

Cassie looked at Ephram incredulous, trying not to break into giggles at him, "What Colonel Mustard? That's a board game character!" Her brow creased for a moment, "Do you mean Colonel Custard?" She made another face at the witch's proclomation towards the yellow condiment, "Yeah, I remember. Definetly worse than how you used to go through peanut butter." She teased lightly.

Ephram looked incredulous now. "Colonel Custard? Girl, are you talkin' bout General Custer?" He guffawed heartily, slapping his knee. "Man, we's at all sorts of cross-purposes now. I did mean the character from Clue! That's my point, Freddie's got just about as much respect for him as for real life Prince Albert! Hell, if /I/ got a Prince Albert, he'd be waaaaay more invested in bending knee to that." Ephram smirked for a while, then snickered at Cassie's remembering his eating habits. "Only on account of I'd eat peanut butter out of the house too," he said. "So it seemed like I wasn't havin' as much of it. But you din't know the extent of my peanut butter eating habits, Cassie." Ephram shook his head sadly. "I had a problem."

"Colonel Custard is a better name." Cassie said, though at the correction she couldn't help but laugh at herself underneath her own defense. "He was the worst anyways, so who cares. Just don't tell my son he's named aftera genital piercing. He isn't." She looked at Ephram seriosly then, since he seemed to take peanut butter consumption so grimly, "Does Freddie know the extent of the problem? I can't beleive he introduces you to delicacies like blue cheese and pears and you still eat condiments and spreads right out of the jar." She smiled some, "The only thing that should be allowed with is chocolate. Or nutella." Cassie couldn't rightly tease Ephram without bringing up a few of her own discretions.

"I cain't argue with you there. I'd wanna be called Colonel Custard, for sure." Ephram laughed at Cassie's wholesale dismissal of Custer as being a shitheel, promising, "My lips are sealed on the subject of exciting dong piercings, you have my word. Lil Albie's gonna be told that you named him after the wide wingspan of the mighty albatross. Or this weird English kids' cartoon show where the main boy was named Albie. Not a single body modification in sight." When she moved onto the very serious matter of the peanut butter, though, Ephram matched her tone.

"Oh, he knows. Why d'you think he tries to distract me with stuff like moraba havij and rillettes and guava cheese? Although I reckon there's two reasons he hasn't cracked down directly on peanut butter. One, it keeps me from eating pimento cheese. And two, I like makin' fluffernutters and he's secretly a fiend for marshmallow fluff." Ephram gave a firm nod, tapping the side of his nose. "And you, Missy Britches, are a public menace when it comes to nutella. If I knew you liked it so much I would of eaten a lot more of it when we was livin' together." The wolfish grin he gave Cassie following this statement left no confusion as to what sort of salacious activities he was hinting at.

Cassie frowned, "What weird English kid's show?" She looked on impressed though as Ephram rattled off the names of food that she didn't recognize by title alone. "At least he's educating you." Cassie pointed out the bright side light heartedly to him, giving him a nudge on his shoulder. "Oh, ho, ho. Your loss Ephram Pettaline. But I think you know to pay closer attention to your partners now." She laughed, rolling her eyes and biting the inside of her cheek at Ephram's glinting smile.

[exokyungstar]

Stuck (Do Kyungsoo)

Genre: Angst

Category: Do Kyungsoo one-shot

Characters: Kyungsoo x nameless OC

Warning: -

Summary: In which Kyungsoo got stuck in elevator, feelings and confusion all at once.

A/N: I got slightly inspired by this fic. But this one will be different, I promise :> (gif not mine btw)

“And I guess I’m stuck between the fear of trying again and the desperation of your presence.”

Everything felt like yesterday.

Memories kept coming back, hurting him over and over without caring that he needed to live. People started to notice that the Kyungsoo they once knew turned weirder than he already was. He got lost in thoughts so easily that no one can even make sure if he was really there or not.

“I told you she’s not good for you, didn’t I? I warned you.”

The words his friends said bothered him more than it should, but it didn’t affect his feelings towards the girl. He didn’t regret knowing her. He didn’t regret falling in love. He didn’t regret anything, it’s just the moment when she left him without any notice which hurt so much. He just wanted her, nothing more. He was just hurt and sad, but he didn’t hate her, not even a bit.

She was different. He never loved anyone the way he did to her, and he probably would never. She was his entire galaxy, his whole universe. She was his reason to keep going, his air to breathe in.

And then she left, it felt suffocating. It was as if he was drowning.

But he was Do Kyungsoo, he shouldn’t be that way. He should stand up straight and keep his head high, acting like a little evil which no one could mess with like he usually did. 

And that’s what he did. He pretended he was okay, he pretended that he was his usual self to get his noisy friends to shut the hell up. But his mind was nothing but a chaos, and his heart was as if it couldn’t be fixed. The thought of her visited him from time to time, trying to get him to stop the act.

But he wouldn’t. Not in front of people. His heart might break but his appearance wouldn’t change. He might get hurt but he would still be Kyungsoo. No one hurt Kyungsoo. No one mess with him.

That Sunday, he left his apartment at seven. He wanted to have a day with only himself, trying to cure his sadness and loneliness by staying away from the crowded world. Reminiscing his old days, his wasted chance. Walking on the path they walked together, drinking the drinks they had together, trying to free himself from those memories.

Kyungsoo ran back to his apartment building after getting her favorite coffee from their favorite cafe back on those days. The wonderful smell of latte macchiato tickled his nostrils. He wanted to sneeze. He wanted to vomit. It reminded him so much of her, especially of her cute smile and beautiful voice saying “Thank you,” to him after receiving her favorite drink on Sunday morning.

Maybe he didn’t like macchiato. He just missed her.

The elevator was wide open with only one person inside. Kyungsoo raised his hand and walked faster inside it, for a moment forgetting that he was holding a cup of coffee on his hand, spilling it a little on the lobby floor.

They waited for a short moment, waiting if someone else wanted to get into the elevator. But no one came, so the person closed the door and started to ask,

“Which floor?”

And that was when Kyungsoo turned his head to the person, and the person also turned to look at him properly.

And that was when, after months, they stared at each other’s eyes again for the first time.

Then right after it, the elevator stopped.

“You know where I live,” Kyungsoo said, turning his head away, not having the guts to look at her in the eyes.

“I swear, you did this on purpose,” she kicked the elevator door after letting out a tsk sound and sighed.

“What?”

“This elevator-stopped thing,” she glared at him. “You set this up.”

“Me?” his eyes widened, letting out an empty chuckle and stared at her weirdly. “Of course, yes I am. Knowing I didn’t even know you were the one inside, and that I spilled my coffee because I didn’t want to wait for another elevator turns. Sure, yes, I set this up so I could enjoy you glaring at me and me wasting my time.”

She sighed again, resting her head on the wall next to her. “Shut the hell up. You’re so annoying.”

He wanted to say something, but he held back. He was surprised that they didn’t come across each other in months, knowing that she lived on the fifth floor and him on ninth. He sure did miss her a lot. She didn’t seem to change either. But her attitude towards him certainly did.

And he couldn’t seem to understand. She was her loving self right before she dumped him. But then, could she look at him normally, not glaring like an enemy?

“Here. This is for you,” he handed her the macchiato. “You know, I’m not that much of a fan of this thing.”

“I don’t like that thing anymore,” she said. “It reminds me of you.”

“That’s ... that’s why you don’t like it anymore?” his hands weakened. Sadness and disappointment started to attack him. He tried to come back to his senses. 

No, let’s not be weak. Not even in front of the person that makes you weak. 

She shook her head, her eyes turned to look away. “No.”

“Then why?” he asked. “Just ... why? We suddenly broke up and you suddenly blocked my number. I couldn’t find you anywhere, not even in where you work, not even in campus. I knocked on your door but you didn’t open. I left you notes but you didn’t respond. You seemed to be okay before then. Just ... why? Aren’t you, aren’t you happy with me? Aren’t you happy about us? Have I been wrong all this time?”

She could literally hear the pain on his voice. Her heart softened. Her walls broke. She knew, she was always in realization that she had been hurting him the entire time. She tried to hold back her tears, and let out a mental sigh.

“I’m just confused. I have always been. All I ever wanted to do is ask,” he mumbled, loud enough for her to hear. He turned his eyes to the floor. “Why? Didn’t you love me? Or did you lie?”

“Hey, stop,” she said sternly, furrowing her brows.

“And I guess I’m stuck between the fear of trying again and the desperation of your presence,” he kept talking, but his eyes didn’t try to look at her even a bit. “I’m gonna be honest the way I never would to anyone; I miss you. A lot. I started to think that I’m crazy enough. But seeing how you ignored me, how you pushed me away without telling me the reason makes me scared.”

And then, she lost it. Turning her head away, a few drops of tears ran down her cheeks because how hard his words hit her. She didn’t know she hurt him that much, she failed to notice that he loved her so much. 

Kyungsoo would never be the one to spill about how he really feels. But he just did. No one would ever believe it. He was right; he was honest in a way that he never would to anyone else.

“Yah, don’t, don’t cry,” he said, eyes still glued to the floor. He tried to stay still, fighting the urge to hold her and wipe her tears away. “I’m sorry.”

But she missed him too. She loved him just as much as he did. He didn’t know that she broke herself more trying to leave him. She hurt herself worse that she did to him. 

He would never know.

“You must hate me a lot right-”

“No, I don’t. I swear I don’t,” he cut her off. “I’m just confused.”

“And hurt, and sad, and lonely, and scared. Name them all, Kyungsoo,” her eyes stared right at his, not trying to hide whatever look was in them.

Kyungsoo didn’t dare to mention them all. All he did was staring back at the girl in front of him. Emotions were written all over their faces.

“You have to. You have to hate me. I actually don’t hate you at all, but you did nothing bad to me,” she said. “Forget me, Kyungsoo. If that’s the only way to let go, then just hate me. I deserve it.”

She was waiting for an answer, but the guy didn’t say anything. He turned his head to the ground. It was her turn to speak. He wanted to know what she had to say.

“The only way to make you keep going is to let go of you,” she said in a low voice, her tone held sincerity to it.

Her sentence confused him more. He turned his head back at the girl.

“I’m actually worse than you think,” she whispered. “I’m worse than you would ever imagine.”

The elevator started to move again, startling him a bit. He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off.

“Just hate me, Kyungsoo. I deserve it,” she said, turning away. “And I hate myself too, more than I think I’d ever would. But Kyungsoo, you need to live on, without me.”

His brows furrowed. He tried to understand her words, but he couldn’t swallow them just like that. He wanted a reason.

But he was running out of time. As his lips parted again to let out a few words, the elevator door opened, and she walked out so fast that he didn’t even get a chance to blink.

As he stood there, with a cup of macchiato on his hand, closing the elevator door before it’s going up to the ninth floor, realizing that he still hadn’t even get to hear the reason and he probably wouldn’t see her ever again.

All he did was sigh.