#link09

[mari-zuko]

who: @ironlvngs when: the weekend after the 13th where: wherever makes sense for linky poo

Mari was hungover from having gone out the night before, losing her sobriety because it had felt like the only other option was losing her mind. And for a minuted, it had helped, her thoughts no longer spiraling solely around Greer and her fate. But crawling back to a clear mind was harder than normal, every minute seeming to bring a new panic pounding through her with each pulse of her throbbing headache. And of course, she had no such luck of being able to just stay under the covers that day, which had been terrible planning on her part. She had to put a face on, pretend she was okay, pretend she was normal. The very thought had her ducking around a corner in the mostly quiet building as she made her way towards the appointed meeting spot her father had commanded she be at (blah blah something about needing to put on a good public show before he had declared they should get lunch that weekend), her back leaned against the wall, hand pressed to her chest as she tried to take in a breath, the effort only making it harder for her. Her inhales were sharp, their speed increasing when she heard footsteps approaching, Mari half hunched over as she tried to straighten up, to pull herself together, only resulting in her undeniably looking like more of a mess as they rounded the corner.

[jacqui-velazquez]

who: @ironlvngs when: mid-day, jacqui's birthday where: inked in red

The bell on the door tinkled as Jacqui swung it open, the sight of Link behind the counter causing a smile to spread across their face as they slide their sunglasses from their nose to the top of their head. "Hi!" they greeted with a bright wave, approaching him as their smile only widened. "If I remember correctly, I think I saw some sort of advertisement for a birthday tattoo deal." Had they? Absolutely not. But Link had said they wanted to tattoo them some point last year, and what better occasion?

[court-mills]

who: @ironlvngs when: shortly after they got there where: the warehouse rave

It was safe to say Coco was not having a good night. He didn't even want to go to this rave, which was off for him - usually he was down for any type of large social gathering, any sort of party. Even more so when it involved dancing.

And drinking.

And more so recently, drugs.

But anyways.

He had gotten away from Ollie as quickly as he could after G's ill fated attempt at match making, mirrored sunglasses still over his face, though his hat had been spun around backwards at some point, weaving through the crowd as he looked for someone. Anyone, really. That would at least make him feel better than the interaction with Ollie had. Sucked when one of the reliable dealers on campus hated you. Sucked even more when the other one was the first one's fucking boyfriend.

Court nearly had to do a double take when he saw Link, not expecting them to be at the rave, but his mood immediately brightened across his face when he saw them. At least they were, like...on good terms again? He thought? It seemed like they were at least. He reached out, grabbing Link's upper arm and tugging him towards him, so they were standing chest to chest. Easier to hear each other over their raving compatriots that way. "Hi," Court said, a smile playing across his lips. "Wanna get high with me?" he asked, leaning in to murmur the question into Link's ear.

[sassa-fiske]

ironlvngs​:

      of course, nothing would come easy with sassa fiske. link clenches his jaw a little, beginning to get annoyed with all this questioning that she was constantly doing. one of these days, he’ll be able to slip in a crack and figure out exactly how to attach strings on her, and turn her into another puppet. even if she makes the process exhausting and annoying. “ right, as you continue to say. ” link responds to her objection, with a slight roll of his eyes. that was a thinly veiled threat, and they both knew it. but that wasn’t the point now, considering they both raised their guns at each other, and neither of them really took the shot. yet. 

     “ do i need to have a reason ? i thought you’d know better than that, fiske. if we really are similar to one another, as we talked extensively about once before. ” a grin crept up on their lips, as they tilt their head to the side slightly. “ i mean, if i get on his good side, and you’re already on his good side… then i think we’d find more usefulness being on the same team for once. am i wrong ? ” really, this was just link saying a bunch of words trying to avert giving a real answer to her. but maybe if they continued to play on the power aspect that they both could have, it would work. there may be one weakness to sassa and link after all, and that was their chase after total control. 

-

“Because it continues to be true,” Sassa said, her tone saccharine through her response as she gave Link a bat of her eyelashes, ignoring his eye roll for the sake of the innocence she was portraying. Irritation rose in her, Sassa having to bite it back - it would be too easy to argue with him, resulting in nothing but a back and forth of the two snipping at each other, neither giving in. Acting innocent, clueless, giving them no fodder for their side of things...just another technique she was choosing to deploy. 

Sassa gave a loud sigh, her lips pursing out as she looked dolefully at Link. “You don’t need to have a good reason, but I know you...have a personal reason,” she said, nearly leaving the words just as the fact that she knew them - though quickly knowing he would counter that, even though they both saw each other more clearly than once. “You wouldn’t do anything just for the fuck of it,” Sassa said, eyebrows raising up on her forehead. “But fine. We’ll play on the same team,” she agreed a beat later, leaning in so her lips just nearly brushed theirs as she turned her face to plant a kiss on his cheek instead. “Now leave, because I have to get back to what I was doing before you so rudely barged in here throwing accusations at me,” she said into his ear, her hands still on his chest - all the more convenient to push him away from her. 

[kaji04]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRO

Happy birthday bro, sorry for being late as usual ;w;

>inb4 nobody but us get the reference

[mari-zuko]

I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine. The simple response pounded through her mind, dancing on the tip of her tongue, but Mari couldn’t get it out somewhere between still trying to catch her breath and the fact that it fundamentally was not true. There were worse people to find her than Link, but the fact that someone was witnessing this at all was pretty much the last thing she wanted - she didn't want her weakness exposed, her inability to control her emotions.

She didn't know how to explain - at the very least, the thought of Greer being dead was probably overwhelming to plenty of people, not just her. And at least it wasn't her father or one of his cohorts finding her.

Mari let Link grasp her arm, lowering her to lean against the wall, her legs bending automatically, not having any sort of presence of mind to deny their suggestion. She leaned forward, pressing her forehead against her knees as she drew in a rattling breath, finally able to speak with the support of the wall, not looking at them. "Sorry," she said, her voice coming out breathy, still just a few inhales away from hyperventilating. "I don't - I don't know why I'm freaking out like this."

thank god for disassociation. it was how link survived most of his life, being in his childhood home, losing his brother and still being obligated to go through the motions of life... and now learning that greer may not be alive. it was pointless, really, forcing himself to his classes today — not a single minute of those lectures were spent paying any attention to the material, trapped in his own mind. and what better way to cope than with drugs?

just as he was rounding the corner to get to the back of the library to smoke, he startles himself by almost bumping right into a body, recognizing her immediately. "jesus, you scared the hell —" he cuts himself off when he gets a better look at her and the state that she was in. "mari..." it didn't take him very long to piece the puzzle pieces together. he reaches out, cautiously putting his hand on her arm, "you look out of breath. here, just... — come sit down for a bit." in the moment, all he could think to do was begin to crouch down, with nowhere else to sit but the concrete beneath them with the wall behind them, still holding on to her arm.

[jacqui-velazquez]

Jacqui beamed at Link, her entire face brightening as she leaned her elbows on the counter in front of him, chin held in her hands. "I don't deserve you," she said, practically in a purr, a spark in her eyes. "But you know that my rules still apply? You have to do something other than your initials," she said, reaching out to bop him on the nose. Yeah, they'd be teasing him and Ollie about that for a while. They sorta secretly loved it, though.

if you can't tattoo your friends for free, then what was the point of working at a tattoo parlour? and it's not like link had a lot of friends — not real ones, at least. ones he could actually stomach and be himself around. on that calculation, link really only had three or so friends. that's plenty of friends, if you asked them. "great memory, jax. it's 50% off." link then leans in a little closer, lowers their voice for extra exaggeration, even though they were alone this morning. "but if you don't tell my boss, i'll knock another 50 off." his promise ending with a small grin, "happy birthday, by the way."

[court-mills]

Court met Link's eyes as they got closer, a smirk spreading across his face to match theirs. "Gladly," he said, doing just that as he waited for Link to put the pill onto his tongue. He swallowed it - plenty of practice downing pills dry - making the slightest face as it went down before. He had plenty of ideas about what else they could do, shoved into this bathroom together, reaching for Link and pulling him back in before his mind ran off, focusing on the earlier part of the night he had been trying so hard to push behind him. "Did you...get a weird invite to come here?" he asked abruptly, even as he leaned into Link, their hips flush against his as they leaned back against the wall.

sometimes, and especially after their time apart, link had to wonder if they could find some sliver of happiness with someone like court. it came in times like this, when they were close, and they had them giggling like no one could — it was a relationship that was built on purity, and complete connection. yet, it was also a given that either of them would combust at the mention of a long-term commitment. well, he could speak for himself, he never thought about it that much from their perspective.

but just like every time, he dissipates those thoughts before they could feel too real.

now that he was on the outs with both monty and ollie, link had to get his substances from an outside campus source. and because he was paranoid, it had to be an outskirts of town source — so he stocked up. when the door was closed behind them, link took the pill out of his baggie, and closed the space between him and court again. there was a grin on his lips, before he speaks, " open your mouth for me. "

[court-mills]

Court didn't object to the greeting Link gave them, hands reaching to settle onto their hips as Link grabbed the nape of his neck, lips pressing into his. He only pulled back once Link had responded, angling his chin up slightly as he met Link's eyes with a playful smirk, bobbing his head in agreement. It felt all too easy to slip his hand into theirs, whatever weirdness that had existed between them thankfully gone now. It was like a weight off Court's shoulders, a heavy sigh leaving his lips as he followed Link, relief sweeping over them at the fact that it felt normal again.

Even as he was desperately trying to get his mind off of everything else that felt nowhere near it.

Luckily, Link seemed willing to provide that too, pulling Court into the bathrooms with him, Coco following in on his heels, the smile on his face widening as they found themselves shoved into the close quarters. Very different from Link's birthday party, when they had found each other in a similar situation. "First good thing about this damn party so far," he said once the door was shut behind them, now that they could actually hear each other.

it was almost impossible to continue with a sour face that link surely had on when he was faced with court, some would say too close for comfort but link thought it wasn't close enough. his hands instinctively come up to just touch his body wherever he could — making its landing on the nape of their neck. without hesitation, link leans in and kisses him. the last time they talked at the carnival, link was hesitant to be so bold; like they have been with each other so many times in the past. they had just forgotten how good it felt to have court on his side — they had to acknowledge that they had always been on their side, even if link was an asshole to them.

link pulls back, only to allow his lips to travel near his ear, " come with me, i have some on me. " it was still early into the night, and link hadn't taken the molly yet — but this seemed to be the perfect time to. without waiting for an answer ( knowing it was a yes ) link grabs him by his hand and they begin to make their way towards the bathrooms. well, maybe link just wanted an excuse to be a little more alone with him.