#so the next time they see each other emil is really rude because hes an offended little kid what do you expect

[generic-cleric]

Session 49

Session doc

Folder

Obligatory spoiler warning for the adventure Curse of Strahd

Our House

The party enters the encampment and are greeted warmly by the Vistani. They spent time dancing, drinking, playing music and catching up. They noticed Jander wasn’t with them, and after doing a perception check they found him lurking on the outskirts of the camp by himself. It wasn’t long before Madam Eva beckons them inside her vardo for the card reading she knew they came for. Ireena opts to hang out with Jander near the treeline because fortunes make her unsettled.

They exchange pleasantries and make themselves comfortable, then get down to business. Bedlam says to her, 

“In our haste to right injustices, we may have done a great injustice ourselves. Can you tell me what has become of Emil, his whereabouts, or perhaps even what might come to be if we do not find him and intervene?”

Madam Eva shuffles and deals her cards, explaining each before turning over the next:

Dictator - All that is wrong with government and leadership; those who rule through fear and violence. It appears that he’s preoccupied with politics.

Guild Member - Where you see a great injustice, I see an ally. Like-minded individuals joined together in a common goal.

Beast - A werewolf holds a secret hatred for your enemy. You can use her hatred to your advantage.

Myrmidon - Look for a den of wolves in the hills to the north, overlooking a mountain lake.

Bedlam and the party mull that over for a moment before continuing with his questions. After hearing from Kasimir that he plans to travel to Mount Ghakis to revive his sister, Bedlam was curious about what that might be, so he asks: “What forces dwell in the peaks and crags of Mount Ghakis?

To which she explains that Mount Ghakis contains dark forces that feed on corruption and easily destroyed the ones who imprisoned them… as well as an evil archmage.

I basically read to them the first two paragraphs of the intro to the Amber Temple chapter because that answered their question really well and gave them a little sample of the history.

The players take a moment to groan and complain because now there is a fucking LICH they have to deal with. Bedlam continues with his next burning question: “How are you "here" when you were "there" all those years before Strahd become a vampire?” And they were also kind of dancing around the question of “How were you so old then and still alive now?” but not put so rudely.

After having a good chuckle, Madam Eva explains that “The Vistani are a people who exist out of time and therefore do not age like other folk. Aside from that, I traded my youth long ago… Before Strahd conquered this valley, the people worshiped The Ladies Three: Rozana of the Forest, Rozana of the Mountain, and Rozana of the Swamp. Three shrines were kept, each by a Priestess and a Guardian. 

At the time, I was the priestess of the Shrine to the Rozana of the Forest. I foresaw the events that would be the Valley’s great undoing and warned the others. We were able to give up our youth to the Rozana so that they might survive the Desecration of the Shrines that was to come in the following years.”

After mumbling to eachother about side quests, they toss her another question: “Are you familiar with the rauni of the Vallaki camp, Arabelle? She mentioned you when I  asked about possible ways to cure, postpone, or reverse death. I was wondering what you can do for lycanthropy?”

“Some curses are more easily dispelled than others. Lycanthropy in these lands takes nothing short of divine intervention to cure. A priestess of one of The Ladies might be able to conduct such a ritual, but not without a shrine and a guardian as well. 

I may raise the dead for you if you cover the cost of the material components. 500g to raise the dead, and 100g to cure the unavoidable resurrection sickness that follows- unless you don’t mind the bouts of madness.”

They all talk and consider what this new information might mean, but mostly filing it away for later, and by that I mean forgetting it until it becomes relevant again. They thank Madam Eva farewell and head to the river right near the encampment. Shouting and hollering for Kasimir, Jander, and Ireena to join them at the edge of the river. Which Jander definitely, totally loved.

They call out to Puddles who appears in the water. They ask her if she could drown them to Vallaki and she tells them “of course” and “for a price” which they happily pay. Before disembarking they had to clear out a swarm of hostile quippers, but before long they were hauling themselves out of Lake Zarovich.

They make it back to their home to find it in slight disarray. Victor and Stella have left many dirty dishes out and about, Schnitzel seems upset, and several personal items belonging to the party had been moved. When Bedlam and Okrin confronted Victor and Stella about it, they genuinely had no idea what they were talking about. Immediately Bedlam suggests ghosts to which Victor and Stella reply, “Oh, well we were playing with a spirit board a few days ago.”

Bedlam was livid and told the kids that the ghost better be gone by the time he got back from his errands. As he reached for the doorknob, the poltergeist threw him across the room. A battle ensued and they were eventually able to deal with the unrestful spirit. Bedlam and Okrin gave the kids a very stern parental talking to and had them clean up the mess from the fight.

[moeblob]

posts OCs one (1) person will appreciate

Orange haired boy is Clint and he has fire powers and overheats a lot. Other boy is Emil and he has electric powers and his hair charges in a sense so when his hair has the yellow highlights he’s happy. The more yellow, the happier he is.

And they’re boyfriends.

[owomonsterwrites]

Emile a239/reader

 @niknak117 asked:

Hey I have a request! What about the reader confessing feelings to Emile from Halo: Reach? Thank you!!! 

This man would be so confused. Hes thorny, but down to earth, how in the FUCK did you fall in love with him?  

General headcanons

People are definitely afraid of him so if word got out you two were dating or seemed like you were, people would think YOU ARE I N S A N E. to the regular military person who knows of NOBLE teams' existence, Youd know Emile is the aggressor. Lead in CQC and he prefers a shotgun and a huge kukri as his choice weapons, Hes scary. And the skull on his helmet that he carved certainly doesn't help that image. 

You're quite close to him, obviously lol. 

You likely are assigned to the team, or work around the base as a regular military personnel. 

Now Spartans help around their designated bases as well, so Emile was likely helping around your area, for the sake of the drabble later on, let's say engineering k?  (You've definitely given his armor illegal upgrades to win him over. Let's be real here.) 

As the days go by, he drifts closer to you, and soon enough you two become friends.  

When you confess, he would be very confused, maybe even kind of ticked off, unsure if you're pulling a cruel prank. Please reassure him you're not joking please. 

When you do tell him you're serious, he's stunned and that irritation fades away. How could someone as nice and perfect as you like him? Hes brash, rude, he carries a massive fucking knife around. 

And for the first time, you see him smile. Really smile. A melty head over heels smile. Careful he might start to cry a little bit . 

He wraps you into a giant hug, spinning you around laughing. He's so overjoyed.

He doesn't want to let you go in fear that this is all a dream.

Assurance! Is! Needed! You need to keep saying that you do love him, and that it's not a dream. 

When he calms down he finally pulls back and says he loves you too, but you're sure it was already quite clear based on his reaction. 

Kiss the man. Do it. Now. he deserves a good smooching. 

DRABBLE TIME LETS FUCKING GET IT. 

Taking a deep breath you step out onto the roof from the stairway. Earlier that day in the engineering section, you had asked Emile to come here because you needed to tell him something. As you two have known one another for almost a few years now, you've developed feelings for him. It gets harder and harder to conceal them. You just love him so much. You stand by the railing and take a deep breath you didn't know you were holding… 

Getting lost in your thoughts you don't hear him creep up behind you, Emile pokes your sides and you squeal "Emile! Don't do that" You huff and turn around, he towers over you his laugh is like music to your ears. "What were you thinking about there hm? Looks like you were lost in your head" His grin is noticeable even in the moon lit night. “Oh shut up! Its nothing” He shrugs and yawns, hes usually asleep by now. “So what did you want to talk to me about? By your tone earlier it seemed pretty urgent.” Emile stuffs his hands in his pockets. 

Emile is wearing the standard issue training uniform. Simple olive green shirt and camo pants, same as you. They were surprisingly comfortable!  It hugs his biceps a little too well. “Ah- oh right! How do I say this-” You mumble a soft blush creeping up on your cheeks, Emile moves to sit on the railing next to you and leans against you. “Okay before I.. say what I want to, I need you to know its okay if you dont reciprocate.” Emile squints his eyes at you, tilting his head he asks “reciprocate? Reciprocate what?” He pulls back from leaning on you to look you in the eyes, oh god this will be hard. 

“Y-yes. Uh, okay now shh let me say my thing!” Your face getting redder by the minute. 

Taking a deep breath, just say it, cmon (y/n)! “We have known each other for a very long time, and ive.. Developed feelings- agh im trying to not just blurt it out but its very difficult-” youre pacing now, his eyes are as wide as the moon.  the small anxious feeling you had earlier was just growing larger by the minute now. Emile leaped off the railing, and walked in front of you, grabbing you by the shoulders gently. “Calm down, just say it” you bit the inside of your cheek. Deep breaths. 

“I love you. So much Emile.”  his hands dropped from your shoulders, you look down and bite your cheek harder. It felt like decades of silence, “please tell me you aint joking. Please.” you look up, mouth agape. “Of course not! Why would I ever pull something so cruel?” your hands cup his face, you didn't expect him to lean into it and smile, a real smile. Hes so beside himself with joy. Tears begin to well up in his eyes. Emile pulls you into his arms “do you really love me?” he whispers into your hair. “Yes, I do, I really do. I love you so much-” your face is quite literally in his chest, so it comes out as a mumble. Emiles hand shift to your waist, picking you up and spinning you around.  Yours and Emiles laughs breaks the silence like a sharp knife. When he sets you down finally, he's holding you close, and you wrap your arms around his neck, “I love you too, (y/n)” you close the distance between you two, finally kissing him like you've been dreaming of for so long.  

.

.

.

[izzyfandoms]

Lies Have Never Tasted So Sweet

SHIP: Emceit

CHARACTERS: Emile Picani, Janus Sanders and Remus Sanders

WARNING: Lying, mild sexual implications from Remus, swearing

GENERAL TAGLIST: @quillfics42 @aj-draws @phantomofthesanderssides @phlying-squirrel @sly-is-my-name-loving-is-my-game @because-were-fam-ily @imtryingthisout @a-creepycookie @emo-disaster @littlestr @spooky-scary-virgil @fuyel @mimsidoodles @soupgremlin @aroaceagenderfluid @birdsbookshiddeninrealbirdsskin @quirkalurk @gingers-trashy-stuff @iinyxtello @justaqueercactus @melodiread @mrbubbajones @glassferns @pun-master-logan @gayturtlez

Masterpost

A Series Of Soulmate AUs Masterpost

Emile was someone who always liked to look on the bright side of things.

He liked to stay positive – to be cheerful and happy as much as possible, for both himself and those he surrounded himself with. Happiness spread happiness, and he was a sunshiny influence on everyone around him.

But sometimes it was difficult to stay positive, with Emile’s soulbond being the way it was. Out of all the different kinds of soulbonds in the world – and there were many, many kinds – the ability to tell when your soulmate was lying was the one that led to the least number of meetings. It wasn’t a way to communicate, nor was it a way for them to track each other down, nor was it a way to identify their first meeting. It was useful for soulmates who’d already met, but didn’t really come in handy when trying to find them in the first place.

It was difficult, sometimes, to stay positive that one day Emile would meet the love of his life.

He tried, though. He tried to be positive and hopeful, and he also tried to be truthful – or stick to little white lies that hurt no one, because he needed to make sure his soulmate could still find him, even if dishonesty made him uncomfortable.

Apparently, his soulmate had no such qualms.

The fireworks that burst in Emile’s chest whenever his soulmate told a lie were undoubtably a good feeling: sometimes making him so bubbly he giggled. But their frequency was often... concerning, as he could never forget that every firework was set off by a lie.

What kind of person was Emile’s soulmate, if they lied so much and so often?

And what did that say about Emile, that that kind of person was his soulmate?

But Emile wasn’t one to judge so quickly. All he wanted was to meet his soulmate, and he knew he’d love them no matter what.

The first thing Emile noticed when he woke up was the firework-like feeling in his heart, earlier than usual, but not too surprising. It happened once. Twice. Thrice. Four times in a row, before it calmed down again, and Emile took a deep breath, staring up at the ceiling as he waited for it to start up again.

To his surprise, it didn’t, so he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He patted his bedside table a few times, before finding his glasses and slipping them on.

The fireworks returned once in the shower, startling and causing him to almost slip, though he caught himself just in time.

Twice during breakfast.

(The first happened while he was pouring milk into cereal, making him jolt and spill milk over the side of the bowl.)

And then it didn’t happen again until Emile reached the building he worked at, which was simultaneously both a disappointment and a relief: a feeling which Emile was rather used to at this point. As he approached the front doors, he could hear two young men about his age having a conversation just between the building Emile worked at and the next. They were only a few feet away from him, and talking loudly enough, so Emile overheard them without having to strain to listen.

“Wow, I just love the shirt you have on, Remus,” said a masculine voice, dripping with sarcasm.

The moment the words left his mouth, a firework went off in Emile’s chest, and he paused, his hand freezing halfway to the handle of the door. He swallowed. Was that a coincidence, just some interesting timing? Or...

Another voice laughed loudly, followed by the sound of someone clapping another on the back. “Ha! I see you’re still as dickish as ever, Jan. Never change!”

“And I see your clothes are just as clean as ever.”

Another firework.

Emile turned his head, finally taking a look at the man with either impeccable timing or a soul that would fit his perfectly. He was short, though Emile was, too, with curly black hair, a yellow button-up shirt and a black bowler hat on his head. There was a shiny, coiled snake-shaped earring hanging from the one ear that Emile could see, and he wore a pair of clean, lemon yellow gloves.  

His expression was amused, with a half-smirk and raised eyebrows, and he was by far the most attractive man Emile had ever seen. Emile’s breath caught in his throat, and he knew.

He knew.

Well, he figured he should probably check first, just in case he was wrong, but he knew.

Emile pulled his hand back from the door handle. He snuck a quick glance at his watch. There was still half an hour left until his first patient of the day arrived. He let out a sigh of relief. He had time to wait, and listen to the man who he hoped would start lying again.

His eavesdropping was probably incredibly unsubtle, but the man wasn’t facing Emile, his attention fully on the friend in front of him, so he fortunately didn’t notice.

“How is Roman?” Emile’s maybe-soulmate asked his friend.

The friend blew a raspberry. “He sucks! He’s so annoying. Yesterday, he stole my cereal, and then he wouldn’t even admit to it! Asshole.”

The maybe-soulmate clicked his tongue.  

“You have my sympathies,” he spoke in that same smooth, sarcastic tone, with a slight hiss on the ‘s’, making his friend let out an exaggerated mock-offended sound, hand over heart.

(Firework.)

“Rude! You know, maybe you’d get laid more if you weren’t such a bitch.”

“I’m sure.”

(Firework.)

“Whatever. Did you know that ducks have corkscrew-shaped penises?”

The maybe-soulmate let out a disgusted sound. “Wow. I’m so glad you told me that.” (Firework.) He then let out a sigh. “Why are you like this?” He asked in a regular tone.

His friend shrugged and grinned at him. “Dunno.”

Emile’s heart was pounding harder and harder with every firework that went off inside of him, so loud that he could feel it in his ears. His hands were shaking and he was sure his staring was probably very obvious. It was a wonder he hadn’t been noticed by the pair, yet, though a mother with her child had given him a weird look as they walked past him.

“Well, as fun as this conversation is-” (Firework.) “Don’t you have work, now? It’ll piss Remy off if you’re late, you know how he gets.”

“Ugh, who cares? Fuck that bitch.”

“You should care, he might fire you.”

“He’s my cousin! He won’t fire me.”

“It’s Remy. You’re annoying, of course he would.”

The tiniest of fireworks went off in Emile’s chest at the word ‘annoying’. Apparently, the maybe-soulmate was fond enough of his friend that he only sort of found him annoying.

The friend huffed and crossed his arms. “Whatever. I don’t care.”

“You should care. If you’re unemployed you won’t be able to afford all that inedible food you like so much.”

“I can eat garbage!”

“Literally, how are you still alive? You’re going to poison yourself and die young.”

Emile waited for a firework that never came.

The friend shrugged again, showing that he apparently had no qualms about poisoning himself and dying young. The maybe-soulmate sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes for a brief moment as he took a deep breath.

“What am I, your mother?” He asked his friend. “Go on, shoo!” He made shooing gestures with both hands. “Get to work!”

The friend tilted his head back and cackled, but began to walk backwards in the gestured direction.

“Ha, kinky!” He called out as he turned and continued to walk down the street.

“There is nothing kinky about me making you go to work so you don’t get fired,” the maybe-soulmate shouted back, louder than he probably intended, as his expression turned sheepish at the few stares that came his way after that.

He sighed again, and Emile was suddenly struck by the realisation that he really, really needed to talk to this man now, before he walked away, or he might never get the chance to find his soulmate again. And he was now almost certain that this man was his soulmate. So many fireworks at just the right times had to mean something. This couldn’t have just been a coincidence.

He took a deep breath, grounding himself and clenching his hands into fists.

Then, he marched over to the man he hoped was his soulmate – perhaps a little too determined and aggressive, as the man gave him a slightly alarmed, confused look when he stopped in front of him.

The first thing that slipped from Emile’s mouth was a lie.

“My name isn’t Emile Picani,” he said, before cringing internally.

Perhaps that wasn’t the best introduction.

The other man gave him a bewildered look, but the moment the lie came out, his hand shot up to cover his heart.  

“What?”

“I- just- hear me out. Humour me. Please lie to me, just- just quickly. I’m testing something.”

Realisation crossed the other man’s face, and his eyes widened. He looked Emile over quickly: a down and up that was over in an instant – just a quick flick of his eyes – but made Emile’s heart beat harder and faster.

“That’s-” the other man breathed. “Okay. Uh... I hate your cardigan.”

Firework.

“I hate your hat,” Emile said back, and the reacting twitch of the other man’s eyebrows at just the right time made him feel like he was floating.

“Your make-up is appalling.”

Firework.

“I don’t like your hair.”

“Wow...” the other man looked back at him with an astonished expression that Emile was sure was mirrored on his own face. “That’s- that’s not a coincidence.”

Emile shook his head. “No, I... I don’t think it is.”

“That’s- you’re my-”

“-Soulmate,” Emile finished.

The other man took a deep breath. “Wow...” he repeated.

“Yeah...”

There was a beat.

Then, the other man lifted and held out one gloved hand for Emile to shake. Emile took it without hesitation, shaking it easily and enthusiastically. Before he could stop himself, the delight that was filling up inside of him bubbled out of him with a giggle, and the other man gave Emile a soft smile in return that made him feel like he could do anything.

Climb a million mountains. Dance amongst a million stars.

It felt like he could do anything, anything he wanted, just as long as this man kept looking at him like he hung the stars in the sky.

“I’m Janus,” he finally introduced himself. “Janus Sanders.”

“Emile Picani.”

Janus’s smile turned into an amused half-smirk. “Yeah,” he said. “I got that.”

“I, um...” Emile trailed off, finally releasing Janus’s hand and adjusting his pastel pink tie. “I have to go – work. I have a patient coming soon, and I have to finish my paperwork before then. But, um... can I get your number, maybe?”

“Absolutely.”

Emile smiled, relieved, especially at the distinct lack of a firework in his chest. The astonishment and enthusiastic smile on Janus’s face spoke for themselves well enough, but it was always nice to know for sure. They exchanged numbers quickly, before pocketing their phones again.

“I suppose I’ll see you around, Emile,” Janus said, speaking his name slowly, like he was tasting and savouring it: like dessert.

It made Emile feel warm and fuzzy inside.

“Have a horrible day,” Emile said.

Janus’s smile grew at the resulting firework, making Emile’s matching smile grow, too.

“Have a horrible day.”

(Firework.)

[trashyswitch]

Learning Each Other's Personal Rules

Remy quickly learns the rules when it comes to Emile's cartoon hobbies and tangents. Not only that, but Emile soon learns the rules when it comes to Remy's love for Starbuck's Iced Latte.

And before Mushu can light a rocket, the boys end up in a vengeance-filled tickle fight.

This prompt was suggested by an anonymous user! So whoever you are, I hope this fanfic is to your liking. (also I hope you don't mind that I sprinkled in some Patton.)

Emile had been going on cartoon tangents for hours. He wouldn’t stop talking. Every single conversation about cartoons led to a moment that reminded him of another cartoon he loved. Steven Universe, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Gravity Falls, Mickey Mouse, Pokemon, Disney films, Rugrats, even CatDog came up at some point!

Patton had been listening intently, while Remy looked like he was gonna fall asleep from boredom. The poor guy was going through a caffeine crash and couldn’t keep himself awake. Even if he could, Remy would soon start mentally complaining and consider just leaving the room. He knew that Emile was into cartoons, but this was getting ridiculous.

Patton quickly elbowed Remy in the side to get him to wake up. Unfortunately for Remy, this worked enough to wake him up. “Hmmmmm? Huh? What’re we talkin’ about? Remy asked.

Patton frowned at him. “You’re falling asleep in the middle of a conversation. It’s rude!” Patton whispered to him.

Emile giggled. “Patty, the entire Sanders Sides fandom can hear you.” He told him.

Patton blinked and looked at him, feeling bad. “Sorry.”

“Naaah, it’s okay! I’m just happy to see I got half of the audience’ interest.” Emile admitted.

Patton giggled while Remy smiled a little at the destruction of the 4th wall.

“Besides: I need to start looking for new cartoons.” Emile told them.

Remy chuckled at that and drank some more of his latte.

Emile turned to look at him. “What?” Emile replied.

Remy shook his head. “Noooothin’.” He replied.

“No, what? You’re keeping secrets from me.” Emile asked.

Remy’s mouth morphed into a smirk as he tried not to laugh. “Nohothing!”

Emile huffed. “Tell. Me. The truth.” Emile ordered, leaning closer and closer to him with narrowed eyes.

Remy looked at Emile with an eyebrow raised and removed the straw from his mouth. “I think my bunny slippers ran for cover.” He told him in the Mushu voice.

“HEY!” Emile pushed him away and pouted, making Remy burst out laughing. “Don’t you mushu me!” Emile warned.

“Down bessie.” Remy said next.

“Okay, that’s it!” Emile grabbed Remy’s latte and placed it onto a nearby table, before tackling him down onto the couch. “Dishonor! Dishonor on your whole family!” He looked at the latte. “Take a note of this.” He pointed both his hands at Remy. “Dishonor on YOU, Dishonor on ya COW!”

Remy just bursted out laughing at him. “YOHOHOHOU BAHARELY HAVE THE ACCENT DOHOHOWN!”

Emile scoffed and shrunk himself down with a pouty face. “It’s a hard accent to interpret.”

Remy just laughed harder at that! “NOHOHO IHIHIT’S NAHAHAT! IHIT’S SOHOHO EHEASY!”

Emile narrowed his eyes at him. How dare!

But quickly, Emile’s anger turned to mischief as a smirk grew on his lips. “Well since you’re already laughing...” Emile shoved his hands under Remy’s black jacket and started drumming his fingers on the guy’s ribs. “You minus well have a proper reason!”

“NOOOHOHOHOHO! NOHOHO TIHIHICKLIHIHIHING!” Remy protested, squirming around and pushing at his chest.

“Well, I think the tickling is justified! It would make me feel much better being laughed at while being tickled, than being laughed at for failing a Mushu accent.” Emile admitted.

“STAHAHAHAP! THIHIHIS IHIHIS UHUHUHUNNECESsSsSAHAHARY!” Remy argued, finally grabbing Emile’s wrists.

“Oh really?” Emile asked, his hands now bound in Remy’s hands.

“Yehehes!” Remy started to calm down.

“If tickles are unnecessary, then THIS-!” Emile spread his arms out to the side and leaned in, blowing a raspberry on his belly. “-must be AbSoLuTeLy PoInTLeSs!” Emile lifted his head up and said.

Remy threw his head back and started laughing and cackling while kicking his feet. “BUHUHUT IT IHIHIHIS!” Remy argued.

“If it’s so pointless, then why are you enjoying it?” Emile asked as he stopped tickling him.

Remy started to slowly calm down, and looked up at Emile. “Oh, now you've done it!” Remy quickly squeezed Emile’s knee to catch him off guard, and went for his hips immediately after.

“OHO NO! REMY! NAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! OHOKAHAHAY, IHIHI’M SAHAHARRYHYHYHY!” Emile bursted out, bucking his hips and falling backwards onto his butt.

“Woooow! You really can’t handle that much tickling?” Remy asked, still drilling at the sensitive spots.

“IHIHIHI CAHAHAHAN’T!” Emile yelled back.

“Could it possibly be, that you’re not tickled enough to get used to it?” Remy asked curiously.

“IHIHI- OHOHOHOKAHAHAY, MAHAHAYBEHEHEHE...” Emile considered.

“Alright.” Remy stopped tickling and let him breath for a few moments. “Would you rather I took things slow for you?” Remy asked.

Emile bit his lips and nodded. “Mm hmm…Yes please.”

Remy smirked. “I hate to break it to you, but you’re not getting off lightly.” Remy grabbed onto Emile’s leg and started tickling behind the knee. Emile squealed like a toddler and started kicking his other foot. “OHOHO MYHYHYHY GAHAHAHASH! IHIHIT TIHIHICKLEHEHES, REHEHEMHMYHYHY!” Emile laughed.

“It does, huh? I was starting to think it didn’t tickle with how much you were laughing at me.” Remy teased.

“DOHOHON’T YOHOHOU GEHEHET SMAHART WITH MEHEHE, MIHISTER!” Emile warned.

“Or what? You’ll laugh to death? Leave me to clean up your mess? Make me seem like the imposter? Newsflash: I may be sus, but I’m not the imposter.” Remy teased. “Ejection comes at a priiiiice~.” Remy sing-songed.

“YOHOHOU DOHON’T EVEN PLAHAY AMOHONG UHUHUS!” Emile yelled at him.

Remy gasped and placed a hand on his own chest. “Yes I do! Just not with you.” Remy added.

Patton gasped while Emile shook his head in Remy’s arms. “MEHEHEANIHIHIE!” Emile warned.

“Well fine!” Remy stopped tickling and crossed his arms. “Be like that then.”

Emile let out pants of exhaustion to get his oxygen levels back up. “Just...j-just you wait...Ihi’m...g...getting...revenge.” Emile warned as he struggled to lift himself up.

“Yeah yeah, just keep breathing.” Remy pushed his chest back down till his body hit the ground once again. Emile let out a light oof sound as his back made contact with the carpet.

Remy let him breathe for a bit and summoned a brand new iced latte. “Man! I missed this glorious stuff.” Remy admitted as he sucked back a big mouthful.

Emile looked up and frowned. “You have an addiction.” Emile admitted.

“Yeah I do~” Remy replied. “What else am I gonna use to wake me the hell up?”

“How about water?” Emile suggested.

Remy looked at Emile like he had 4 heads. “Nnno.” Remy rolled his eyes and kept on drinking the iced latte.

“You know that thing has over 150 mg of caffeine, right?” Emile added.

“Mhm! Only the best stuff contains caffeine in my book.” Remy admitted. “Besides: since when did you become a nutritionist?” Remy asked.

“Remy...I don’t need to be a nutritionist to tell you that your body’s too dependent on caffeine. You need to try and stop.” Emile told him.

“Back off, okay? Just because you’re a therapist, doesn’t mean you can mother me.” Remy told him.

“I’m not mothering you. I’m telling you as a counsellor to a patient...to find other foods and beverages that don’t have as much caffeine.” Emile told him calmly.

“Last time I checked: there are much worse drugs, steroids and beverages that I could be addicted to. So you need to chill and let me do me.” Remy suggested with some attitude.

“Fine.” Emile crossed his arms. “If you’re gonna be a sassy teenager about it, then I’ll treat you like one.” Emile took Remy’s latte out of his hand, placed it onto the table beside the other almost-finished latte, and tackled Remy onto the ground.

Remy let out an offended grunt. “How dare you take my precious! Get off me, and give it back right now!” Remy argued.

Emile smirked and skittered his fingers on Remy’s ribs once again.

“NO, NOHO! NOHOHOHOHOHO! YOHOHOU BIHIHIHITCH! IHIHIHI’M GOHOHONNA KIHIHIHILL YOHOHOHOHOU!” Remy threatened.

“We’ll see if Remy, the coffee addict of Florida-rama, can handle some tickles for that sassy attitude you gave me earlier.” Emile suggested.

Remy just laughed and wiggled, while shaking his head. “CUHUHUHUT IHIHIHIT OHOHOUHUT EHEHEM!” Remy ordered.

“Awww! Can poor Remy not handle de tickle tickle tickles?” Emile teased. “Would you rather I took things slow for you?” Emile asked, quoting Remy from earlier.

Remy shook his head. “IHIHI’M NAHAHAT AHA BAHAHABY, EHEM.” Remy protested.

Emile widened his eyes, stopped tickling him and summoned a paper. “I know you’re not a baby. You’re very much an adult.” Emile reacted, pointing to the age collumn on Thomas’s birth record. “But even adults need to take things slow sometimes.” Emile told him, unsummoning the birth record.

“Nahahat mehe. Ihihi’m a fahahast pehehersohon. Ihi lihihike the fahahast lahane!” Remy told him.

“Okay.” Emile took off Remy’s slippers and held Remy’s legs inside a headlock. “You asked for it!” Emile immediately started skittering his fingernails all over his feet.

Remy screamed and arched his back while holding his head in utter surprise at the intensity. “OHOHOHO FAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA-” Remy sat himself up and tried to reach Emile. “GEHEHET OHOHOVEHEHER HEHEHERE YOHOHOU AHAHAHASSHOHOHOLE!” Remy yelled at him.

Emile gasped and looked at him in pure offense. “How DARE you use that potty mouth of yours against me!” Emile yelled. “Looks like I’m gonna have to go for these tickle tickle ticklish little arches!” Emile teased as he started scratching rapidly right on the left foot’s arch.

Remy wheezed and flopped back onto the ground, wiggling and tugging everywhere to get free. Finally, he took in a breath and let out all the hysterical laughter that trapped itself a couple seconds prior. “STAHAHAHAHAHAP! STAHAHAPSTAHAPSTAHAHAPSTAHAHAP PLEHEHEHEHEHEHAHAHAHAHASE!” Remy begged and pleaded.

Emile, feeling a little bad for the guy, finally decided to give him mercy. He stopped tickling his foot, but didn’t let go quite yet. “Do you give up?” Emile asked.

Remy took a moment or two to breathe heavily and get some oxygen into his lungs. His sunglasses had fallen off just minutes ago, and he was still dealing with a heavy case of after-giggles. But...to Emile’s (and even Remy’s) surprise, the man in the sunglasses shook his head! He was NOT giving up!

“N...No! I...will...n-never giveup!...Never...” Remy shot back.

Emile giggled and pulled back Remy’s toes. “Better have a will saved...Cause you might need it.” Emile smiled and started scratching under Remy’s SUPER sensitive toes.

“OHNO! OHOHOHO-NONONONO WAHAHAHAHAHAIT! OHOHOFF GETOFFME EHEHEHEHEMIHIHIHIHILYYYYYYYYY!” Remy SCREAMED!

“You giving up yet?” Emile asked.

“OHOHOKAHAHAY, OHOHOHOHOKAHAHAY! OHOHOKAHAY IGIVE! IHIHI GIHIHIHIVE!” Remy screamed and thrashed like his life depended on it to survive.

Emile couldn’t help but laugh at Remy’s rather swift surrender. The poor man had no clue just what he was going in for until it was too late. By now, Remy’s entire face and parts of his neck were red from exhaustion and the building body heat.

Emile grabbed Remy some water and handed him the glass. He could predict that his voice and his throat was probably sore and hoarse. Water was only a temporary solution, but it was meant to at least soothe his throat while he panted.

Remy drank all the water in a few quick chugs and let his breath out with hard panting to follow. “*huff*...*huff*...Th...thank...Thanks...thank you...Emile…” Remy said politely despite his breathing issue.

“You’re welcome. Sorry if I overdid it.” Emile apologized.

“It...it’s...alright. I...I for...forgive you.” Remy replied.

Emile smiled and handed him his sunglasses. “You might need these to see in the SuPeR bRiGhT rOoM.” Emile teased.

“Mm...Mmhm...Sobright. So...so bright.” Remy joked along with him.

Emile giggled and booped his snoot. Then, Remy and Emile both looked over at Patton, who was just watching from the couch with a big grin on his face and a bowl of popcorn in his hand.

“Having fun, Patton?” Emile asked.

Patton giggled. “This is more entertaining than Dr. Doofenschmirtz’s childhood.” Patton admitted.

Emile and Remy both burst out laughing at that.

And before they knew it, all three of the boys had started impersonating Dr. Doofenschmirtz’s voice and were quoting his backstories.

Perhaps cartoons really DID bring them together!

[logical-little-lies]

Coloring and Close Bonds- Agere!AU (part 42)

A/N: Hi! This is a shorter no-little-side chapter to help advance the plot. It is like, necessary to the overarching plot so...but it is cute! Platonic Virgil and Emile Rights. Anyways, the next chapter will be a filler probably focusing around little!Emile and cg!Remy, so y'all can see how I write them.

--

Of course, Emile suggested that they should hang out outside of work so that they could possibly be friends again. And the core sides didn't want to say no, so here they were, watching Disney.

They had to choose the thing that could trigger any of their headspace. It's like they knew and were purposely making it worse for them. It was a million times harder to repress your headspace when you were used to regressing whenever.

Roman silently cuddled into Virgil's side, Virgil wrapping his arm around him. "Not to be rude or anything, but are you two dating?" Remy asked. Virgil nodded, as if this fact was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Have been for a while," Roman scoffed.

"Sorry, we haven't been around to know..." Emile let Remy wrap his arm around him.

"Oh my god, you two are dating!" Patton realized.

"Obviously," Remy turned his head, kissing Emile's cheek softly. "And I'm assuming you and the nerd are too?"

"That nerd is my boyfriend," Patton defended.

This whole interaction heavily shifted the vibe from tense to romantic. They avoided regressing by constantly talking to their partner and being cute. It was just a coincidence that most of the sides paired off when the Neutral Sides weren't speaking with them.

They'd soon find out that there was one other similarity between the three of their relationships, and it wasn't a romantic one.

--

Virgil was scrolling on his phone when he heard a knock at his door. He knew that Remy and Emile were there, but he assumed they were still having their meetings. But he was proven wrong when he swung open the door to see Emile.

"Hey?" he sounded confused, subtly attempting to block his view into the bedroom due to all the baby stuff practically lying around.

"Hey! Um, I was only needed for part of the meeting...my job is a shared one, after all. Mostly there to fix conflict but there wasn't any. I was wondering if I could hang out with you until it was over?"

"Uh, sure," Virgil shrugged. He didn't dislike Emile, at all. It was just awkward, because he knew there was a point where Emile disliked him, and some part of him brain told him that those feelings were still there, and that he was only being nice because he had too.

Like he could read his anxious thoughts, Emile started to reassure him. "Me and Remy owe you a huge apology. I'm sorry that we treated you so badly when you were a dark side...we should've known to just wait until you adjusted-"

"When I first came to live here, I pushed everyone away. Including you. I treated you badly, and you got away from that." Virgil interrupted him. "But you're right, once I adjusted, everything got better. Things changed and we changed, right?"

Emile smiled. "Yeah, exactly. Apology accepted?"

"Yeah, apology accepted." Virgil smiled back at him.

"Can I come in?" Emile asked, trying to look around him.

"We can't hang out in here!" Virgil denied quickly, stepping forward and shutting his door behind him. Emile seemed shocked, and a bit hurt that he wasn't allowed, but he nodded slowly.

"You deserve privacy. We can go to the living room and do something."

Virgil nodded, following him to the commons. They both took a seat, sitting in an awkward silence until Emile attempted to start a conversation. "So...what do you like doing, Virgil?" Emile asked. Virgil thought about how to phrase his response, trying to avoid mentioning his more childish hobbies.

"I go online a lot, and I watch movies and stuff. I don't know, I just spend a lot of time with the others..." he mumbled. "You?"

"Same, mostly. I'm the therapist in the village so that's what I've been busying myself with, keeping all of Thomas's characters and figments happy and healthy. I also just spend a lot of time with Remy." Emile shrugged.

"When did you and Remy start dating? Has that been like, a long term thing or is it new?"

"Long term, I guess. We've been together for a few months," Emile tried not to go into detail here. Remy was his caregiver, and he was his, and in order to avoid mentioning that, he'd have to stick to the romantic parts of their relationship. "What about you and Roman? How did that happen?"

"Things were complicated between everyone due to the dark sides getting involved with everything, so all of us were stressed. I started spending more time with Roman and then it just kinda...happened? Logan and Patton got together just before we did..." Virgil explained. Emile smiled.

"I'm glad you guys are so happy. It's nice knowing that you guys are closer then you were before. You guys also made friends with the Dark Sides, which is cool." Emile seemed kinda tense at that, biting his lip.

"Are you- are you scared of the dark sides?" Virgil questioned.

Emile shrugged. "They're kinda mean, or at least...they were."

"They're getting better about that. I won't let them treat you or Remy badly, just don't assume that they haven't changed."

Emile nodded quickly, the two falling into silence. How come this was so awkward? "Do you have crayons and coloring books?" Emile asked.

Coloring always helped him calm down. Remy would often sit him down and have him color after throwing a fit or getting frustrated while little. It seemed like an odd punishment, but he'd calm down after a few minutes and would be able to talk to Remy about whatever happened.

He thought that maybe, if he distracted himself with coloring, talking to Virgil might be easier.

"I mean- yeah, but why?" Virgil immediately seemed skeptical, not knowing what he was planning.

"I thought it'd give us something to do besides sit in silence when we run out of things to talk about..." Emile explained. Virgil didn't know how to object that, nodding a bit.

"Okay, I'll go find them." he agreed.

He came back a few minutes later with a stack of coloring books and a box of crayons. "You guys have a lot of coloring books," Emile chuckled, moving down from the couch to the floor as Virgil cleared the coffee table, spreading out the books and setting down the box of crayons.

"There's definitely more." Virgil assured, moving to sit next to Emile on the floor.

"Why do you have so many?" he claimed a Lilo and Stitch book, flipping through it. Virgil paused, not being able to come up with words.

"Is it an anxiety thing? Because coloring helps me too," Emile suggested, after a few moments of Virgil trying to come up with an excuse. Emile realized that his question might've been a little personal.

"Y-yeah, something like that." Virgil laughed it off, picking out a book.

As they colored and gossiped, they both somewhat repressed a headspace that felt so easy to slip into. Coloring really did help the awkwardness though.

If they ran out of things to say, Emile would compliment Virgil's crayon skills and that would fade into another train of conversation. When they fell into silence, it was because they were focused on drawing, and it didn't feel weird. They remained big by talking about anything and everything. Their boyfriends, their jobs, things that have happened.

They both had to avoid any stories that involved themselves or another side being little. Little did they know, they were both hiding the same thing. Eventually they'd figure everything out, but for now, they were stuck in a loop of keeping secrets uselessly.

--

It was frustrating hiding the little part of their lives, but they eventually got used to Remy and Emile being around. The Dark Sides even hung out with them. For the first time in a long time, it really felt like all the sides were united. There were some tensions, sure.

Like Janus being jealous of Roman, due to the prince replacing him in his only sacred spot of being Virgil's caregiver.

Like Remus trying to adjust to his regression without Remy and Emile finding out,

Like everyone trying to hide this 'secret' from each other.

But overall, they were getting along well. Thomas was doing much better managing his love life when the whole Romance Committee was there to help. Virgil attended meetings now, he deserved to have a say in that too. Everyone sort of apologized to each other about the sides previously being so divided.

It was almost like the labels of Core, Dark, and Neutral didn't matter anymore. They were just technicalities, not barriers. Everything seemed to flow better when they worked together. How did they manage separately for so long?

Besides the working aspect, it just generally felt like everyone was getting closer. Awkwardness faded as they laughed and joked.

Patton almost felt like his family was getting bigger. It was getting bigger.

And after just a few more issues are resolved, and a few secrets are shared, that statement will become more and more true.

Let's see how those loose ends are tied up before we get to the end of the story...

[eevee-eclair]

Inefficient Iron

Written by EeveeEclair246 and Lehuka123

TW: blood loss, iron deficiency, hospital, bad doctoring (but not any of the main characters), blood, mention of a weak heart, tell me if I missed one

Random side notes: I made with @lehuka123 and their amazing hospital AU idea! Go check them out! (Remy and Emile are in this as patients (and Emile is trans)) Please enjoy!

<~~~~~>

When Remus was paged into room 352 by his brother because some newbie intern couldn’t draw blood, he did not expect them to have messed up this bad. It was supposed to be a quick sample, and is now quickly turning into a full-blown cleanup on aisle nine. The office was usually manned by only the six staff for the most part. It was a joint practice between the head doctors Logan Berry and Janus Deagan, and the two of them brought a nurse and a receptionist respectively when they agreed on the way it would operate. Virgil Storm and Remus King from Janus’s side, and Patton Hart and Roman King for Logan. Either way, there was clearly a reason for that: this intern was painfully inexperienced.

The patient, Emile, was talking to the kid next to him, Remy. Remy seemed to be desperately trying to hold Emile’s attention so as to not let him see the mess of blood next to him. He seemed to be the slick talker type, reminding Remus heavily of his twin, Roman, who currently was chatting up one of the parents in the waiting room. But Emile wasn’t stupid, he knew there was something wrong, or the nurses wouldn’t be looking like they had just seen a ghost. Trembling, no less.

“Uh oh,” Remus said. “This ain’t good.”

“Ya think?!” the nurse, Virgil, snapped. Virgil’s face was pale, but not near as bad as the other nurse, Patton. You think being a nurse would mean he could handle blood, but no. From prior knowledge, it’s less the blood that upset them within itself, but the idea that someone could make such a careless and likely traumatizing mistake to a child. Patton had his face buried in his hands, looking almost green and hiding his eyes. “Just hurry up and clean it up so Logan can get the sample,” he said.

“You got it, Tickle Me Emo!” he said with a wink, getting a laugh out of the kids. Normally, he would’ve called him something inappropriate, but there were children here. And clearly, the humour was exactly what was needed to alleviate some of the worry in the room. “Now, Virge, can I have something to clean it up with?” he asked, his voice holding a little sarcasm.

On any other day, Virgil would snap back with his own sarcasm, but there was a bleeding child and it had made said child laugh so he just squinted at him and handed him a wet rag.

Luckily, it didn’t take long to clean up, but it was not nearly fast enough for the child’s doctor, Logan. So the doctor popped his head in and gave the nurses a look that would classify as rude or impatient (maybe both), but they had known him long enough to know it was just to keep a professional profile. The classic, ‘emotionless’ Dr. Logan Berry.

“Virgil, I asked for the samples an hour ago. What’s taking so long?” he asked, sounding a little snappy.

“Calm down, L. Remus has them right here,” he said, nodding in Remus’ direction.

All the anger faded from the doctor’s face at the name of his boyfriend. “Remus?” he echoed, looking in the direction Virgil pointed. Indeed, his beloved boyfriend was the one drawing his blood samples. He waves wildly: Logan smiles and returns with a muted hello. “Thank you for being so helpful, Remus. But I was under the impression that the new hire was instructed to do this. Where is he?”

“He messed it up so bad, we had to call Remus to clean up and finish,” Virgil explained angrily.

“Ah. Well, that’s what we get for outsourcing, I presume,” Logan groans, walking in briskly and making an approving nod at the newly cleaned space. For someone who consistently enjoys making a mess, Remus certainly knows how to clean something up perfectly.

“Well, perhaps next time,” Patton suggests calmly, always the forgiving one. At that, Virgil looked panicked.

“He can try again on an adult, I’m not letting him near a child for a long time,” Virgil says with such a stern and haunted expression, and Logan could do nothing but nod and agree. Virgil was an upstanding nurse, if not the most friendly, certainly qualified enough and overcareful. Logan trusts his judgement.

“That’s fair,” Logan agrees, “Remus, are you almost done with those samples?”

“Right here!” he announced, handing Logan three blood samples. Logan tries to ignore the blood staining Remus’s ‘clean-up’ gloves.

Logan thankfully takes them and thanks him before departing to his office once more to categorize the samples. Remus bid him farewell (sneaks a surprisingly chaste kiss for Remus) and turned to pack his things, when a small tug on his pant leg caught his attention.

“Mr. King?” Remy asked. Remus almost forgot they were even in the room. “Can Emile come draw with me in the art room? He’s done with all of it, right? No more blood?” he asked.

Remus gave him a small sharp smile, “Sorry, brat, that’s up to his nurse,” pointing a thumb in Patton’s direction. Remy nodded seriously before turning to Patton to repeat his question.

“Yes, that’s fine with me,” Patton smiles widely before Remy could get a word out.

Remy smiled and ran back over to Emile’s side to tell him the great news, even though he had just heard it. “Come on, Em! Mr. Hart said it was okay!” he said, pulling on the other kid’s arm.

“Okay, okay, I’m coming! You don’t have to pull my arm off, Rem,” Emile joked, sitting up and getting out of bed. Patton followed close behind as they walked out of the room. He’s always happier around the kids.

Virgil smiled as they walked out, praying that Emile would be fine. Emile had come to the small doctors firm after a blood test showed a dangerously low iron deficiency. He wasn’t in any immediate danger, but that didn’t stop Virgil from worrying any less. The root of his worries come from his own experiences in the countless hospitals as a kid, like Emile’s and so, so much worse.

Remy was there for a completely different reason. Remy had heart problems and couldn’t leave the small living spaces that they had here since they couldn’t find a willing donor. Him and Emile met during coloring time and hit it off right away. Ever since, they had been by each other's side when something scary (like drawing blood) was about to happen. Emile constantly came in for phoney reasons, until Patton just gave him a pass to come whenever to see his friend. The nurse had a soft spot (or a soft everything, really) for the kids. If the nearly empty plate of cookies he was now making rounds with was any indication, the kids loved him right on back.

Virgil sighed and walked out of the room, leaving Remus to continue picking up. There were other patients to take care of.

[sanderssidesfanfiction]

If There’s a Place I Could Be - Chapter Ninety Four

If There’s a Place I Could Be Tag

December 12th, 2003

Emile took a deep breath as he stared at the phone. He brought it back up to his ear. “What would Grandpa possibly have to say to me after hearing about the wedding?” he asked.

“I don’t know, sweetheart. I just know he wanted to speak with you,” his mother said. “Is there a chance you can go see him?”

“Maybe over spring break?” Emile said helplessly. “Until then, I’m pretty busy, and I also...I also have to work up the courage to actually see him.”

“I understand, Emile. Would it help if it was at our house, rather than his? Even ground, so-to-speak?”

Emile sagged. “Yeah, that would help a lot,” he breathed. “Can you set it up? Sometime late March.”

“I’ll talk to him,” his mother promised. “Hang in there, Emile. I know you can do this.”

Emile smiled. “Thanks, Mom.”

  December 14th, 2003

Emile was the only one home when there was an urgent knock on the door. He walked over from the kitchen, halfway to the door when the knock started up again. “All right, all right, I’m coming!” Emile shouted at the door. He opened it up, instantly regretting doing so when he saw Remy’s mother on the other side. “Oh, it’s you,” he said disdainfully. “What do you want?”

“What is the meaning of this?!” Remy’s mother demanded, shoving a wedding invitation into Emile’s chest.

Emile looked down at where Remy’s mother was still holding the invitation up against him, then up at Remy’s mother. She pulled away, and Emile let the invitation fall to the ground. “I knew we should have gotten a P.O. box instead of giving you our address,” he said drily.

Remy’s mother scoffed, crossing her arms. “Where’s Remington?” she asked.

“Currently? At work,” Emile said. “And no, I’m not giving you the address.”

“I don’t need the address. Tobias gave it to me,” Remy’s mother scoffed.

Emile rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sure, that’s totally believable. What, did you snoop in his room for it? Or did you just find the newspaper clipping Remy sent his brother?”

Remy’s mother turned red. “I demand an explanation!” she said.

“You don’t get to demand anything,” Emile said. “But I would have thought the wedding invitation would have been clear.”

“My son is not gay!” she screeched.

“That’s not what he said last night,” Emile said before he could help himself.

Remy’s mother gave him a disgusted look.

“Yeah, I’m not proud of that one either,” Emile said with a shrug. “Sounded funnier in my head, to be fair.”

“You’re going to Hell!” she seethed. “And I will not have my son be dragged down there with you!”

“Your son is, one: willingly with me, and two: absolutely the most wonderful person I have ever known. I would be shocked if he ended up in Hell. Genuinely shocked. But then again, your particular flavor of Christianity doesn’t care for that, does it? No, you just care that people cough up money to your church and stay in line. Heaven forbid an individual try to be themselves, am I right?” Emile spat. “Now listen: I don’t care for you. That’s abundantly clear to both of us. But consider, for one moment, that I love Remy enough to agree with him to invite you to the wedding. Consider that he actually wants you there. Is there not enough love in your cold, dying, shrivelled up heart to allow him one day of happiness? One day where you don’t kick up a fuss over his choices? One day where you can say you’re proud of him? Is that not possible?”

Remy’s mother snarled. “How could I be proud of my son being a fag?”

Emile’s hands balled into fists, and it took all his restraint to not beat Remy’s mother to a pulp then and there. “You don’t get to use that word,” he said, voice deadly soft. “That is not yours to use, and Remy doesn’t want that label for himself. Bad enough that you use ‘gay’ like it’s a slur; don’t use actual slurs against him.”

Remy’s mother growled, and Emile crossed his arms. “You’re trespassing. I demand you leave now. Or I’ll call the cops. And I don’t know if you remember this, but last time you lied to them they gave you a hefty fine.”

“I’m not leaving until I get an explanation!” Remy’s mother exclaimed.

“Mom! What the hell?!” Remy exclaimed, stepping out of his and Emile’s car. “What, you know I won’t listen to you so you send Dad to give me the ‘we’re disappointed in you’ speech?! ‘Cause you know, I own my own shop now, I can ban both of you from entering!”

“Remy, mind your language,” a man who Emile didn’t recognize said, exiting their car.

“Dad, I love you, but now’s not the time,” Remy growled. “I brought you here so you could leave, not to receive a lecture on my behavior.”

“Remington,” Remy’s mother seethed. “Your...your friend here has been incredibly rude to me!”

“You show up to our door unannounced, demanding an explanation, probably calling me a slur or three, I’m not surprised,” Remy said. “I take it you won’t be coming to the wedding?”

“I don’t want her there after what she said about you,” Emile said, glaring at Remy’s mother.

“I don’t want your grandfather there after what he said about you, and still hasn’t apologized for,” Remy shot back. “We invited him anyway.”

“He doesn’t stalk either of us to ensure we’re on the ‘straight and narrow,’” Emile responded, looking over to Remy. “Just saying no is better than...this,” he gestured in the general direction of Remy’s mother.

“How dare you?!” Remy’s mother screeched.

“Mom, he meant your behavior, not you,” Remy sighed. “Emile, can you apologize?”

“I don’t apologize to bigots,” Emile snarled.

“Emile. Please,” Remy said.

“Rem, she’s stalking you, trespassing, and wreaking havoc on your mental health to the point where you’ve had nightmares,” Emile wisely didn’t bring up the fact that Remy was in need of therapy.

“Emile,” Remy pressed.

“Rem, I’m not backing down on this one,” Emile said. “She doesn’t deserve an apology.”

Remy sighed. “Mio amore...”

Remy’s mother turned her ire on Remy. “Don’t use that sort of language for another man, Remington, it’s unbecoming of you.”

“Mom...” Remy shook his head. “Don’t you understand? I love him. I love him enough to marry him.”

“Why couldn’t you find a nice girl to settle down with?” Remy’s mother bemoaned.

“Because I’m not bisexual,” Remy said. “I’m gay. And you need to respect that, and me.”

“Respect is earned, Remy, and you haven’t earned ours,” Remy’s father said. “Based on your decisions, do you really think we can trust your judgement?”

Emile blew out a breath. “Your dad’s almost worse than your mom.”

Remy rolled his eyes. “Tell me about it. The guilt-trips he took me on when I was little? Definitely worse than my mother guilting me into forgiving her for her behavior, any day.”

“Goddamn,” Emile uttered.

Remy’s mother shrieked. “You bite your tongue!” she declared.

Emile raised an unimpressed eyebrow at her. “You realize if you don’t accept Remy being gay, and I’m just his ‘friend,’ you don’t even have theoretical power over me, in my house? If I’m not your future son-in-law, I don’t have to follow your rules. I don’t have to, anyway, but I’m trying to follow your backwards logic for a minute. I can swear all I want.”

“Spoken like a true sinner,” Remy’s mother spat. “Next you’ll tell me that you seduce little boys.”

“Ah, the ‘all Catholics are pedophiles’ argument, how I missed you... not,” Emile rolled his eyes and continued, “I’m only a year older than Remy, and I was in his same grade, anyway. Now. Am I your future son-in-law to you or not?”

Remy’s mother’s lip curled.

“What do you think about the name ‘Mister Emile Picani,’ Rem?” Emile asked.

Remy was stifling laughter as he walked over. “You know? I think that sounds perfect,” he said, kissing Emile on the cheek.

Remy’s mother looked positively scandalized.

“You know, Mom, maybe it’s for the best that you’re not coming to the wedding. If a kiss on the cheek makes you blush, imagine what would happen when we make out at the altar?” Remy said, laughing. “Because I love my fiancé, more than words could possibly describe. And we kiss, and hug, and are happy with each other. We make love, too, just in case you thought there was any hope that you could save me from Hell; there’s not.

“We love each other, Mom. If that’s not enough for you? Well, sorry,” Remy said, shaking his head. “And I’d really appreciate you not showing up again unless you’re going to apologize for your behavior. Thanks.”

“You’re making a mistake, Remy,” Remy’s father said.

“No, Dad,” Remy said. “For once in my life, I’m making the right decision.”

Remy’s parents didn’t say anything for a beat, and Emile laughed. “You know, all the arguing about last names was solved by this, so I’d say that’s a silver lining.”

“Mm, I still think Remy Thomas would be a good name,” Remy teased. “But you’re right, it doesn’t have quite the same ring as Emile Picani.”

That seemed to snap Remy’s mother out of her reverie. “You will not be sullying our good name with this!” she snapped.

“You still have a good name?” Emile laughed. “After all you’ve done you think it’s still in good standing? No, honey...your son and I are gonna restore that name for ourselves, our way. And if you have a problem with that, then you’re not coming to the wedding. You can’t exactly protest it, unless you want to protest outside a Catholic church.”

Remy’s mother sneered at him. Remy’s father just watched the exchange with an air of disappointment and sadness around him. “Honey, we should go,” Remy’s father said. “There’s no way we can convince Remy out of his choice like this. He’s made his bed, he’ll have to lie in it.”

Remy faltered a little bit and Emile wrapped an arm around his fiancé protectively. “The only bed he’s made is with me,” Emile informed Remy’s dad. “And I don’t know if you realize this, but loving someone who uses the same pronouns as you? Isn’t actually a sin.”

“It’s not a one-way ticket to Hell, but if he doesn’t repent—”

“—Why’s it any of your business whether or not he believes what you believe or whether or not he shares your values?” Emile interrupted. “If he doesn’t share your values, why should he be judged by your standards?”

Remy’s father frowned. “Are you saying he doesn’t share our values?”

“I’m saying he’s marrying me, and that should be a rather large hint that maybe you should reevaluate your relationship to him,” Emile stated primly.

Remy’s father turned back to Remy’s mother. “Honey, we really should get going. You promised to call Vanessa by five.”

“Yes, to explain the drivel she received in the mail, and I haven’t gotten an explanation!” Remy’s mother exclaimed.

“You’ve gotten a perfectly good explanation, it’s just not the one you wanted, Mom,” Remy said with a sickly sweet smile. “You have your explanation. You can track down every last person in my family and tell them not to come to the wedding, and see who listens to you. Test their allegiance. Tear the family into who supports me and who supports you. Have fun.”

“Well, Vanessa won’t come to your wedding, and neither will Tobias!” Remy’s mother spat.

“Gee, you sure?” Remy asked. “Because I could have sworn Tobes was gonna be my best man.”

“Honey, leave them alone,” Remy’s father said. “They’ve made their choice. And it’s the wrong one, but they’ll have to deal with the consequences. You promised you would call Vanessa. We need to go if we want to make it home before she calls.”

Remy’s mother growled, but went to leave. Remy picked the wedding invitation up off the ground. “I take it you don’t want to save the date?” he called after them.

“You’re evil,” Emile said with a smirk.

“In the best of ways,” Remy said, giving him a kiss.

Emile smiled as Remy’s parents drove off, but sighed after they left. “This is going to be nightmare fuel for you, isn’t it?”

“Oh, yeah,” Remy said. “But I’d rather not think about that right now, if it’s all the same to you.”

“You know what? Fair enough,” Emile said. “We also got our wedding checklist done for the day, we decided on a last name. We’re good to go.”

“Mm, I thought we were deciding on a color scheme today,” Remy said.

“I figured one is as good as the other,” Emile said with a shrug. “Was I wrong?”

“No,” Remy said with a shrug. “I just need to call Tobes sooner rather than later about the tuxes.”

“Oh, good point,” Emile said. “So let’s figure that out, and then we can relax.”

“Sounds good,” Remy sighed.

Emile’s arm never left Remy as they walked back inside.

[sanders-sides-fic]

Love in many ways

Okay, so… I may not be aromantic myself, but my best friend is. And every time I see/hear/notice the stigmatization surrounding aromantic people I picture them and get angry about just how down right laughable that is. I know that my friend is one of the most loving people you will ever meet, and they are valid and they are real. So I wrote this short drabble. I do hope that I could do all you amazing aromantic folks out there justice with this.

Patton was full of love. You could ask anyone who knew him, they would most certainly tell you that no one was so willing to show their love and affection and had as much love to give as Patton.

Patton was a doting father, for one. He’d rescued the twins out of a car after the incident that had cost them their biological family. They didn’t remember, had been too young for their brains to capture the happenings for more than a few moments. Patton had taken care of them after that and, when they had been old enough for adoption, taken them in. And he’d taken care of them like his own, gave them all the support they could wish for, made sure they felt loved and safe every second of every day. Honestly, it was quite exasperating to hear him as he keep going on and on about the two of them.

Patton also loved his friends.

He loved his high school friend Virgil, who was introverted and anxious but also sassy and sarcastic when he knew you well enough. He loved when Virgil would babysit for him, loved how Virgil and Roman would get into half-hearted fights ending in make-believe slaughter. He loved how he got protective of Remus and made up for they boy’s missing self-preservation instinct. He loved how Virgil came over for talks and baking sessions. Patton was always there for Virgil when he needed to talk or a shoulder to cry on or someone to let all his anxious thoughts out on. He may not been able to talk Virgil down form panic like Logan did, but he sure as heck validated the living daylights out of his friend and made sure he would calm down afterwards. “Let’s not get stormy thoughts again sleep-overs” were a tradition at this point.

He also loved his college friend Logan. Logan the professor of astronomy who’s been fondly exasperated by his coworker, the professor of psychology, for since his first day at the job. “Janus, you have stolen so many things from poor Logan. His time, his favorite doctor who pen, the position of the supervisor of the debate club, his patience, his breath, his sleep and now even his last name. Logan, watch out, he may be coming for your crofters next.”, he’d begun his best man speech. He loved how Logan could complain about his husband and laughed whenever he would make a compliment while complaining. He loved Logan’s helplessness when it came to feelings and was almost not jealous that it was Janus who helped him with it now. He loved to watch Logan be Janus’ financial self-restraint and hear him mutter “Lord give me patience, because if you give me strength I may just need bail money too” after meeting another person asking dumb questions.

He loved Janus too, of cause! He loved his card tricks and his way of making known that he wouldn’t check up on you while doing exactly so. He loved listening to the stories he would tell the twins and the dinner parties he held in his family’s cottage, which ended with everyone gathered around the fire place as they listened to Logan talk about the stars and Janus diagnosing them semi-seriously. Patton was also always happy to mediate between the two of them when the rival part of their relationship had caused another fight they both felt guilty over but were to insecure and thick-headed to reach out with an olive branch. Patton was more than happy to answer a phone call in the middle of the night and open the door to examine the scar on his face and when the memories refreshed through haunting dreams wouldn’t let him believe they were all healed up by now.

Patton loved his coworkers at the hospital, too. The bubbly psychologist Emile with whom he would have long discussions about TV shows and cartoons nearly every lunch break and a certain expert on sleep analysis who never got any sleep himself were the closest to him. It was how Virgil had gotten to know Remy in the first place. The two had bonded over their coffee addiction and before Patton knew what was happening the two of them were the cutest “we hate cutesy-couple-stuff” couple that had ever existed. And taking a few notes out of Janus’ book Patton had developed a habit of making sure Emile didn’t stay up too long watching re-watching old episodes and Remy didn’t overdose too much on caffeine and got, well, a little sleep each night. His disappointed-dad-gaze seemed to help a great deal with that, according to the two of them.

And Patton loved animals. Every single one of them. He loved the dog they found in an ally one night and had taken in and named “Prince Duke” thanks to his two children. He loved every cat he brought to the shelter when it rained, despite his allergies. He loved the butterflies Roman would chase through the garden, and… well, maybe not the moths Remus always had a knack for finding. But he for sure loved all the dugs the three of them would feed hard, old bread rolls to in the park every Sunday! He also loved every single animal in the Zoo he would bring his boys to every other Saturday after not so much convincing.

So, yes, Patton Sanders’ life was full of love. He gave and received love in so many shapes and he had always a bit more to give for someone in dire need of it. And maybe that was the reason why, but he really didn’t care much about whether people understood. He had all the love and support he needed, after all.

Still, it was nice to hear Janus joke about shoving people down a few stairs when they said something rude. It was nice to know his kids would readily pick up their foam weapons and “fight” everyone who said their dad was heartless. It was nice to know that Remy would use his connections to make sure their coffee order would be as wrong as humanly possible for the next month should anyone make a comment on his watch. It was nice to see Logan shake his head angrily and it was nice to feel his hand on his shoulder in a silent question of “Are you alright?” whenever there was a comment in passing, and it was nice to hear him out-logic them and showcase how stupid the comment had been through sheer logic every other time. It was nice to hear Virgil, who didn’t even dare to order for himself most of the time, yell across the street, though the language he used usually wasn’t very nice.

Patton was full of love and so was his life. The only kind of love he didn’t have was a romantic one - and he surely didn’t need it. Patton wasn’t sad or lonely or heartless like many would have imagined. No, Patton was happy, surrounded by his chosen family and full of love. And Patton Sanders was a proud aromantic. He was proud because there was nothing wrong with it - and if you disagree, well, then you should prepare, because his army of loved ones will fight you.

Taglist:  @gattonero17 @alias290

[marsupials-of-mars]

Don't know it I've posted this before but it's one I found in my old phone, apparently written before svs

~~~

Deceit rubbed his scales. They were burning slightly, as they did when he was newly shed. He sneered. Shedding. It was disgusting. Strings of snakeskin clung in clumps to the walls of his stone room making it grosser than it was already. At least he wasn’t nearly blind in one eye anymore from the cloudy layer of dead cells. His scales were tender and any form of friction felt like rubbing on sunburn. He spread ointment over his face and hips, soothing the burn slightly. He hated his scales. More than anything. They caused him problem after problem, but overall they were disgusting. They were hard and cold to the touch, and made him look just like the monster he made himself out to be. There was a knock at the door.

“Dee? Dinnertime kiddo!” Deceit sighed. Patton was kind to him, but he knew it was only out of his nature. And pity. Fear or pity was the only way he got any sort of care. He hated dinner, especially considering he only ate once weekly and every other time he was sat awkwardly with the others, trying to disappear. But Patton wanted him to be included, and no matter how evil nobody would dare hurt Patton’s feelings. He shoved himself out of bed and pulled the bun out of his hair, ruffling it up and combing it back. He pulled on his shirt and jacket and opened the door.

Patton grinned and grabbed his hand. “I made steak and potatoes, your favorite!” Deceit sighed.

“I already ate Monday.” This was a lie, of course, but he didn’t feel like eating. He’d lost his appetite.

"Aw... can’t you eat a little more? I’m sorry, I should have remembered...” Patton cast down his big blue puppy dog eyes. Deceit sighed.

"Seared?” Patton smiled.

“Course! I know what you like!” Deceit paused.

“Fine. I’ll eat.”

"Yaaaay!” Patton sunk out, probably to set the table. Deceit took a breath and sunk as well, appearing in the dining room. Logan was already there, his elbows on the table, reading an advanced physics textbook. VERY interesting. Virgil was at his seat with his head in his arms. He peered up at Deceit.

"Why is HE here again?” Patton gave Virgil a Dad Look.

“He comes twice a week, we agreed on that. He needs to be social.” Deceit hissed to himself. There was the pity.

"Why can’t he eat with the other Darks?”

"I eat with them on Mondays.” He lied like a liar. “Besides, I could ask you the same.” Virgil growled.

"Hey, be nice you two!” Patton set Deceit’s meal in front of him and looked at each of them sternly. “Logan, no reading at the table.” Logan groaned and shut his book, grabbing a napkin to stuff it in as a bookmark. He dropped it next to him.

“Oh! Deceit! When did you get here?” "Three years ago. You’ve been wrapped in that book for too long. Come back to us Logan, the mind has been a mess.” Deceit sawed off a piece of meat.

“Ha ha.” Logan shoveled a bite of potato into his mouth. Roman burst in.

"Hello to those I like and those I hate, you know who you are!” Roman had figured out a way to insult the others without Patton being able to yell at him. He sat and dug in, and all the sides began to talk about daily activities Deceit hadn’t taken any part in. He ate quietly, feeling the others eyes boring into him once in a while, judging. He growled.

"Thanks for the dinner Patton. I really do feel appreciated.” He lifted his plate. “But I think I’ll take this elsewhere.” Patton looked up from his food.

“What? No! Are the others being too mean? Stop being mean you guys!” He grabbed Deceits arm. Deceit yanked it away.

"Thanks. But no thanks.” He stalked away. He could hear Patton’s stern mumbling behind him and took solace in the idea of the others being scolded. But being pitied and protected only made him feel weaker. He made his way through the kitchen, headed to his room.

"Hey! Snake Boy!” He looked up. Two sides he’d never met we’re sat at a small table in the kitchen. He’d always wondered what that table was for. He raised a brow. He couldn’t for the life of him tell what type of side they were supposed to be. And why weren’t they at the dining room table?

"What?” He decided to indulge the side with the sunglasses which made oh so much sense to be wearing indoors at night.

"You’re the new one huh? What’s with the scales?” He swirled his coffee cup. “Remy, be nice.” The second spoke up. He straightened his bubblegum pink tie. “You’re Deceit, aren’t you?” Deceit blinked.

“Um... no...” The cardigan-clad side beamed.

“I KNEW it! Where you going?”

"Away. My room.” Deceit contemplated making a run for it.

"Um, no, you’re sitting with us!” He patted the chair next to him excitedly. Deceit raised a brow.

“Let it go Em, he doesn’t want to have to deal with you.” The side who he assumed was called Em huffed.

“Don’t be rude, I was offering, if he doesn’t want to-“

"Sure.” Deceit sat down. It felt odd sitting with people he didn’t know, but he was intrigued. And he had to prove that Remy didn’t already know him. Em squealed happily. "Fun!” He stuck out his hand. “I’m Emile, Emile Picani, and this is Remington!” "Remy, Em, it’s REMY.” Deceit chuckled.

“Deceit. Though you seem to know who I am already...?”

"Well duh, you’re the new dark side, you were in the last two episodes!” "Episodes...?” Deceit blinked. This Emile Picani must be insane.

"Don’t worry about it, I just want to get to know you!” Deceits heart skipped. Get to know him? But he had some questions first.

"Wait, first, who are you two? I’ve never seen you, are you Sides?”

"Oh, heavens no!” Emile giggled. “He’s sleep, and I’m an OC!”

"An OC...?”

"Yeah, were expecting more non-side extras at some point but for now it’s just us. At least, we’re the most accepted by the fandom.”

"What the ever loving f*ck are you talking about?”

"Oh!” Emile gasped. “You can censor yourself, that’s so neat!” He ignored the question.

“Sometimes in media a sharp beep can be more effective in conveying a swear than the swear itself, while still being deemed more appropriate.”

"Uh huh...” Deceit was lost. But he didn’t quite mind. The guy was charming, in a confusing sort of way.

“Why don’t you eat at the dining room table?”

"Well that’s for the sides.” Emile shrugged. Remy nodded. Deceit furrowed his brows.

"Do they not let you sit with them?”

"Oh, no no no, they’re perfectly kind to us. But usually they talk about Thomas’ problems, their jobs, things we really have no part in or fascination with.” Deceit nodded. “Now your turn to talk. What’s your story...?” Deceit picked at his fingernails.

“My story?”

"What’s your character? Your internal conflict? Why should I like Deceit Sanders? What does he add to the show? What are his quirks?” Deceit looked between the two not-sides. They stared at him in anticipation.

“Well... I’m the bad guy. I lie. I show up and ruin things.” Emile chuckled. "What’s so funny?!” Deceit glared at him.

"Oh, sorry, I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing because you remind me of another certain dark side I used to talk with quite a lot.”

"...Virgil?” His heart sank. “You talked with Virgil?”

"Well someone likes killing the suspense.” Emile smiled. “Yeah, I talked with everyone’s favorite worry wart. He said a lot of the same things.”

"Really?”

"Um, have you even WATCHED Accepting Anxiety?”

"I have literally no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Okay... way to be honest.” Emile smiled. “But like Virgil, I’m gonna have to ask you to go a little deeper. Don’t tell me what you are to everyone else, tell me how YOU feel. YOUR story.” Deceit bit his lip. “There’s not much to tell...”

“I don’t mind.” Emile’s warm periwinkle eyes egged him on. His heart swelled in his chest. Nobody had ever shown such a deep interest in him. He sighed.

"Maybe... maybe I feel a little... gross. Sometimes. And being born a ‘dark side’...with this monster face... it feels easier to act how other people expect me to rather than trying to be anything else.” He looked up. Emile was staring, and Remy had stopped eating. He could see the edges of hot pink irises side eying him from behind his sunglasses. An awkward tension hung in the air.

“Kidding!” Deceit grinned far too wide. “I’m Deceit for f*cks sake, I’m a dark side, a villain made to be feared, not pitied! And I LOVE IT!” Emile’s expression didn’t change.

“Deceit. Calm down. I’m a therapist, I can tell when you’re lying.” Deceit’s grin faltered and faded. He sunk into his chair and put his head in his arms.

“I’m not ly-ying...” his voice hitched. He wasn’t about to cry in front of two people he just met.

“It’s okay. Talk it out. Breathe.” He felt Emile put a reassuring hand on his back. “This is common in a character arc. Denial followed by an explosion followed by an acceptance. It’s how these things go.”

"I’m not a character in one of your stupid shows...” Deceit shrugged Emile off him. “I’m a freak and I’ll always be a freak.”

“A common cliche.”

"I’m NOT CLICHE!!!” Deceit shot up and banged his fists on the table. Emile caught his arm.

"Remy, can you give us a moment?” Remy tossed his hair to the side.

“Go nuts girl, I’m done anyways.” He set his plate on the counter and sank out. Deceit watched him. They were alone.

“I know you’re not cliche. But this arc of a villain has common components. And always, ALWAYS, it works out in the end. Beauty and the Beast, Nick from Zootopia, I’ll leave it at that to spare you from a long long list.” Deceit huffed.

“This isn’t a cutesy animated Disney film.” "Sure it’s not. But it applies to your situation. And I think, despite what you say, you’ll turn out fine. Just use a little elbow grease. Break through the expectations of others and show them who you really are, be who you wanna be.” “It’s not that easy...” Deceit rubbed his scales. Picani took his chin and turned his head so they were looking into each other’s eyes.

"I know. Not much in life is. I’m not throwing some empty phrases at you like ‘be yourself’, ‘follow your dreams’, ‘believe in yourself’, now THOSE are cliche. I’m saying you have the ability to be who you feel is the real you. All you need to do is show it. It’ll be hard. I know it will. But keep at it and it can and will be okay.” Deceit blushed and looked away. “Everyone already hates me. How do I take that back...?”

"Apologize, show them you’re a good guy.”

"I don’t look or feel like a good guy... my scales-“ He freezes when Picani gently runs a finger down his scaled cheek.

“I like your scales. They’re fascinating. They’re pretty but they make you look badass, don’t worry about them, they’re great.” Deceit flushed bright yellow.

“I-i... really?”

"Really really! Everyone loves the villain, and a reformed villain retaining their quirks can be even more fun! But remember: Nobody likes a flat character. Show your colors, your conflict, drop the textbook villain act and don’t be afraid to get messy to show people the real you. Understand?” Deceit smiled slightly.

"I think I might.”

[romansleftshoulderpad]

Chapter Five - Origins

The Echo in the Mirror

Words: 2,503

Ship: None

Warnings: Alcohol mention, mentions of underage drinking (no-one gets drunk), Body mutation, panic attack, sex jokes

Tags: @fandermom @patchworkofstars @poisonedapples @hogwarts-my-love @opaque-puppet @omni-hamiltrash @darling-elm @jynxlovesluck @madly-handsome​ @strickenwithclairvoyance​ @limitededitionsanderssidesblog​ @ab-artist​ @sometimeswritingsometimesdying  @ultimate-queen-of-fandoms2​ @because-were-fam-ily @gattonero17​ @analogical-mess​ @joaniejustwokeup​ @whycantihavemorethan32characters​

---

If there was one thing the Dormir cousins were famous for, it was parties. So, it was no surprise that Remy’s Halloween party was one of the biggest events of the year. It was also very exclusive, you had to know the right people to get in. Any regular student would have dropped everything for a chance to go. Anyone except for Logan Hamilton, who had barely spoken to Roman or Virgil in days.

It was Wednesday, October 30th and the lunch bell had just rung. “You can’t keep ignoring me forever, Logan,” Virgil said. Logan only walked away, giving him a silent message. “That’s a very rude hand gesture!” he yelled.

Virgil sighed, falling against the wall as Logan walked away. He felt a hand on his shoulder and didn’t even bother to look up. He already knew there was a fifty percent chance of it being Roman (and the other fifty percent chance of it being Remy). “He’ll be back eventually,” Roman said. “We just need to talk to him.”

“I’m trying but he’s impossible to talk to when he’s angry. We’ve really fucked up.”

“Maybe we can get Patton to talk to him.”

Virgil laughed. “You think he’d listen to Patton?”

“What’s wrong with Patton?”

“Nothing,” Virgil said. “To us.”

“To us?”

“You’re pretty oblivious, Princey.”

“Oblivious,” Roman repeated. “Are you saying Logan has a crush on me and therefore won’t talk to Patton?”

Virgil pulled himself from the wall and took Roman’s hand as they walked down the hall. “First of all, you wish Logan had a crush on you. I think you’re just looking for an excuse to change your name to Roman Hamilton.”

“Imagine marrying Logan Hamilton. I could never,” Roman teased.

“Shut up you’re getting off-topic.”

“Weirdly defensive about marrying Logan,” he teased, bumping into Virgil’s side with a laugh. He felt pain in his hand as Virgil’s fists grew tighter. “Ow. Ow. Ow. Okay, okay I take it back.”

“Even if I did have a crush on Logan, he’s straight,” Virgil said. “And you’re getting off-topic. He’s not listening to me, he’s obviously not going to listen to you, and Patton isn’t even in the same room as the table.”

“And, again, what’s wrong with Patton and why am I oblivious?”

“Logan doesn’t exactly, uh, like Patton. And if you haven’t been able to notice that, you certainly have your head in the clouds.”

“I’m king of the clouds.”

“You’re not even a prince, Duke.”

“Touché.”

“I’ll send him a text,” Virgil said. “I just... hope he’ll respond.”

“You guys have been best friends since- what? Seventh grade?” Roman squeezed Virgil’s hand and leaned into him. “He’ll come around.”

Virgil leaned into the touch, both their heads pressed together as they turned a corner towards the school cafeteria. “This is worse than any fight we’ve ever had. I don’t know what to do.”

Roman stopped dead in his tracks. He took Virgil by the shoulders and looked him dead in the eyes. (He still had to grow used to the fact that Virgil was now taller than him. The growth spurt he had hit during his sophomore year was still a surprise.) “Everything is going to be fine,” he said. “You know how I know it will be? Because if Hamilton thinks he can hurt my second best friend then I’m going to kick his ass with my new weird crazy powers.”

“And what powers are those?”

“I’ll figure it out, okay? Now, c’mon, either Logan is going to come back and we can sort out this spirit situation. Or- Or- we forget about Logan for one night and I show you and Patton how to have a good time.”

“But what about-“

“Shhh.” Roman placed a finger over Virgil’s lips. “It’s a Remy Dormir party. We’re going to get drunk off our asses and have a great time. Okay?”

“Okay.”

It was Thursday, October 31, nearly 7:00 O’clock at night. When Roman had arrived Remy was busy locking the last of the bedroom and office doors, any room that would give him a death sentence if it were trashed.

“I brought drinks,” he announced, holding two plastic bags in his hands. Patton and Emile exchanged a glance, staring at Roman with quirked eyebrows. “Relax.” He pulled a bottle out from the bag. “It’s Sprite.”

“Ro, I’m glad you’re here,” Remy said, sliding three stacks of paper plates across the counter. “I need you guys to open these.”

“Great to see you too, Rem.”

“The pleasure is all yours I’m sure. Hey, hand me that pumpkin, will ya? Thanks, babe.”

“I’m pretty sure you call me that more than your own boyfriend.”

“Everyone else is ‘Babe’,” Remy explained, “Emile is ‘baby.’”

Emile blushed, his face redder than his Steven Universe shirt. “Reeeeemmmyyyy.”

“Save that for the bedroom, baby,” Remy teased.

Roman shoved a finger in his mouth and gagged. “You two are disgusting.”

Remy raised an eyebrow and threw a tape dispenser at Roman’s head. “Oh, please, like you haven’t jerked it to m-“

“OKAY! SHUT THE FUCK UP!” he yelled, face bright red. He turned towards Patton and Emile. “Pro tip: Never fucking tell Remy about a crush.”

“I’d consider it a close matter,” he said, failing to hide a laugh. “Aww, c’mon it was years ago.”

“And yet, you’re still an asshole about it.”

“You act like you still have feelings.”

“You act like I won’t shake you off this damn ladder.”

“Ouch. Someone’s got a sore spot.”

“Ladder,” Roman warned. There was a knock on the door but it swung open before anyone could answer it.

“Sup, bitches! I brought beers!” Narcissa yelled. She wore all black with a leather jacket that could rival Remy’s own and a floppy witch hat that still had a price tag on the side. Her long black hair and choppy bangs framed her face nicely. She had a diamond stud in her nose and wore glittery purple eyeshadow.

“Eww.”

“Oh. Duke is here.”

“Ah. Draco can go fuck herself.”

The two stood silent, staring each other down for a total of five seconds before laughing and pulling each other into a hug. “Virgil pulled into the driveway a few seconds after me. He’ll be here in a few-“

“Sup, motherfuckers!”

“He’s here,” she deadpanned.

“Virgil! Virgil, look!” Roman said, smiling like a puppy. “It’s Narcissa.”

“Aww, it’s my chorus baby,” she cooed, ruffling Virgil’s hair. “We miss you.”

“Stop, stop, I spent an hour making this look perfect,” Virgil said. He was dressed head to toe in regal vampire gear with fake blood on his lips and chin.

“Lookin’ sharp, bloodsucker,” Roman complimented.

“Blood isn’t the only thing I suck,” he said with a wink. “Oh! Patton, you made it!”

“I did!” Patton said. “Any luck with, uh, you know who?”

Remy gasped as he jumped off the ladder. “Did someone take my title of You Know Who?!”

“That’s offensive to Lord Voldemort,” Narcissa said.

“Suck my dick, babe.”

“Only if you suck mine.”

“I haven’t had any luck,” Virgil said, taking a seat next to Patton. “I know he needs space, but I don’t know what to do. Our time is running out.”

“Emile,” Patton blurted out. “We could, uh, use Emile if Logan won’t agree.”

Virgil knitted his eyebrows together, glancing up and down at Patton as he wiggled in his seat. “You don’t sound too sure of yourself. Besides, replacing Logan would only make things worse.”

“You said yourself that we’re running out of time.”

“Patton, I-“

A voice escaped Patton’s throat, low and gravely, nothing like the young boy’s own. It said, “We only have tonight, Fear. What are you so afraid of?” Patton slapped a hand over his mouth.

“Your face is turning green.”

“Your arms are turning violet.”

“Princey,” Virgil called, “can we see you real quick?”

“Yeah, what’s- Oh fuck.”

“Oh fuck indeed,” Virgil growled. He grabbed Patton and Roman’s hands and pulled them into the bathroom.

It’s Thursday, October 31, nearly 7:45 at night when Logan finds himself pacing in his bedroom, his eyes going up and down trying to reread a text Virgil had sent hours ago. He couldn’t think of a response.

Logan, we need to talk.

I’m so sorry about what happened at Patton’s house and I’m worried that I'll never get to apologize enough. I know you and Roman don’t always get along, but he really does care about you. The two of us have been fighting trying to figure out what’s best for you but that’s a choice only you can make. We’ll be at Remy’s house tonight and I really hope I can see you there and properly make amends.

We found a way to summon the fourth spirit. His name is Knowledge and I can think of no one more deserving than you of that power. But above all, I want my best friend back. So, please, talk to me.

Logan practically had the message memorized by now. He paced back and forth watching time move forward as his battery drained. Should he stay angry at Virgil and Roman for trying to make this choice without him? Should he forgive them? Should he accept this power? “Feelings,” he mumbled, “the bane of my existence.

Then his phone rang. His texts disappeared as a picture of Roman in a prince costume from behind the scenes of his last play took their place. Why was Roman calling? His finger hovered over the answer button before he finally gave in and clicked it.

“You have three seconds to explai-“

“Logan! Logan, oh thank fairy godmother you answered! We need your help!”

“Is this some sort of trap?”

“No! No, seriously, Virgil and Patton are here with me! We- We don’t know what’s going on! Patton has like- like scales or something! And Virgil looks like he barely escaped the Wonka factory!”

“Roman, your eyes,” he could hear Patton saying. “They’re red.”

“Logan! Just, please, we’re at Remy’s house! Get here as fast as you ca-” The line went dead. The clocks around him slowed, time never fully halting. The room began to dim. 

“Roman?” Logan asked, frantically trying to call him back. Every attempt failed. His heart was pounding in his chest. He was having a panic attack but he didn’t even have the time to pull himself out of it. He ran for his bedroom door, trying to pull it open but the handle wouldn’t budge.

“You are not needed there. Not yet,” a voice spoke.

Logan’s eyes welled with tears as he frantically pulled at the door handle. “LET ME OUT!” he screamed. “ROMAN NEEDS ME! LET ME OUT OF HERE!”

“No one can hear you now, Logan Zander Hamilton,” the voice said. “We have temporarily pulled apart from the known universe. There is no one outside that door. It’s only you and me. I suggest we have a little chat.”

Logan pressed his back against the door and fell to the ground, hugging his knees. “My- My friends,” he choked out. “They need me. They need me!”

“We need you, Logan Zander Hamilton,” he said, almost perfectly mimicking Virgil’s voice. Almost, yet too robotic. He wasn’t as caring and compassionate as Virgil always was. He appeared as a reflection in the mirror, a perfect doppelgänger to Logan but with something cold and robotic in his eyes. He looked like a man but he could not pass as human. “My friends and yours are now one.” He pressed his hand against the glass and walked through as easily as someone would walk through a wall of gelatin. And with that, the mirror seemed to bounce back as easily as gelatin without so much as a crack to prove that he had broken through. As he stepped closer, Logan could see how inhuman his eyes were. He was the cosmos hidden inside of a human shell. “Join me- Join us- and learn the secrets of your existence.”

“If- If I do this,” he asked, trying to wipe away the last of his tears, “will I be able to save my friends?”

“With the power of knowledge, you can save humankind.”

“They aren’t human, are they? Not anymore, at least. They’ve been... infected.”

“How observant of you.”

“I don’t need to save humankind,” he said, “I just need to save them.”

“Any panic or pain they are experiencing now is only at the cost of summoning me,” Knowledge said. “Whether aware or not, they have brought me to you. Neither I nor them will be at rest until I have a vessel.”

“For Virgil,” Logan said, “and for Roman. And Patton.” He stuck out his hand towards Knowledge. “I’ll do it.”

Knowledge took Logan’s hand. His human shell melted away and Logan found himself being blinded by the pure light in front of him. He expected to choke and cry in pain as Virgil and Roman had done. Instead, he found warmth traveling from his fingertips through his veins and arteries. He found warmth traveling through him in all directions. His head felt light and his chest felt full of the purest air.

Logan woke up from his bed. He slid on his glasses and looked at his reflection in his phone’s camera. His eyes held pools of stars. He was the cosmos inside of a human shell. He felt enlightened.

Logan put his phone in the pocket of his jeans, grabbed a jacket, and ran out of his house as fast as his legs would take him. When he got to Remy’s house his heart was pounding in the best possible way. He walked in, dodging students as he made his way towards the bathroom.

“LOGAN!” Virgil yelled, smiling brightly as the lights around them flickered with electricity.

“Maybe don’t destroy the lights here,” Logan teased. “You guys summoned a spirit. How the hell did you do that?”

“I, uh, think that was my fault,” Patton said meekly.

“It was Morality who started it,” Virgil corrected. “Not Patton.”

“Is there any difference?” Patton asked.

“Yes,” Logan said. “And no matter what, we must remember that there are differences between us and the spirits using us for personal gain.”

“Woah,” Roman whispered, leaning close to Logan. “Your eyes look wicked right now.”

“You accepted his powers,” Virgil said in disbelief. He smiled brightly, pulling Logan into a hug. “We’re superheroes!”

“We haven’t done anything heroic,” Logan said. “Being superhuman does not automatically make one a hero.”

“Be gay, fight crime,” Roman announced. Virgil shot him a look. “That’s going to be my motto. I’m copyrighting it as we speak.”

“You’re such a nerd,” Logan said with a laugh.

“That’s Logan’s way of saying ‘I love you.’”

“No, it’s just my way of calling you a nerd.”

There was an annoyed knock at the door. “Can you guys have your orgy somewhere else? You’ve been in there for nearly an hour,” Remy yelled.

The three of them laughed, their skin and faces slowly returning to normal. “Well, my friends,” Roman said. “Welcome to the rest of our lives.”

[perspective-series]

Vampire Perspective (13/17)

By: @arc852 and @hiddendreamer67

Warnings: tears, talk of owning people, talk of #rude relatives, grief (?)

First Chapter || Previous Chapter || Next Chapter

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Logan’s confusion soon turned to pure shock as he looked up at Virgil. “Are you...are you crying?”

“NO.” Virgil growled, feeling the tears leaking down his cheeks even as he kept his eyes shut. 

 Logan didn’t know what to do. He was terrible with emotional outbursts like this, even worse when that person was his captor and had never shown anything like this before. “Why...why are you so upset over this? You said it yourself, you still plan on eating me eventually and even encourage Patton to eat Roman...I don’t understand.”

“It’s better that way.” Virgil tried to choke through his tears. “You- you’re too weak on your own, and at least it helps us. It’s just cruel to drag it out like this. Circle of freakin’ life.”

 “You really don’t seem too happy about that. Or even really believe it.” Logan commented softly.

“I’ve seen it happen!” Virgil cried out, finally opening his eyes to reveal how irritated they had become. “Yeah it’s absolutely wretched but the world is full of wretched creatures like me and the ones who try to survive just get crushed if they end up in our path. It’s a vicious cycle where the strong get stronger and mercy is just another term for weakness. You have to look out for yourself and your coven, and do what’s best for them.”

 Logan was silent, taking this all in. Virgil was clearly frustrated, bordering on angry so Logan didn’t know why he said what he did next. “You’ve...never eaten a borrower before, have you?” Logan asked, remembering an earlier question Virgil had shot down before. Everything was lining up, if only it could reveal something a bit easier to decipher.

“...no.” Virgil hiccuped, his breath hitching as he fought to regain control of himself. “No, I haven’t. I thought it’d be easy, I thought I could do it, but…”

 “Virgil...it’s-it’s alright…” Logan tried, almost not believing he was actually trying to comfort his vampire captor.

“No, it’s not.” Virgil insisted, wiping at his eyes. “Because I’m just screwing it all up again and you’re gonna die and Patton’s gonna be miserable and weak and everyone is just going to suffer because I can’t even follow my own biology correctly-”

 “Virgil!” Logan yelled, interrupting him. Logan sighed. “You are still stuck on the concept that you must follow your biology. Follow your family and other vampires you have seen. But you don’t. Being a monster is not determined by what species you are. It’s determined by what you do. You can choose to not be this vile creature if that is what you wish.”

Virgil looked at Logan in surprise, his tears beginning to dry up. “How?” Virgil spat. “How can I be anything but terrible when I’m made to take the lives of others to survive?”

 “But...you already don’t.” Logan said, carefully. Virgil seemed to finally be getting it, so he had to go about this slowly. “Yes, you go out and hunt humans to feed off of but from my knowledge, you haven’t killed anyone in a long time, and it’s obviously not required to get what you need.”

“Yeah, but that’s just humans.” Virgil shifted anxiously on his feet. “You’re...different. Just a taste could be fatal, if I was even able to strike, because you lose it so fast and it’s so addicting. And there’s so little.”

 “That may be true.” Logan said, wincing as he did so. “But you also do not have to eat a borrower. Yes, our blood may make you stronger but it’s not necessary as long as you are regularly drinking from humans.”

“Yeah, and then we’re vulnerable again the next time my ex family decides to take a whack at Patton!” Virgil grit his teeth, fangs barred.

 Logan took a step back, swallowing the lump that had jumped into his throat. “Wait, has that happened before?” He said, after a moment to collect himself.

Virgil froze, shrinking back slightly at he seemed to realize what he’d said.

“...vampire covens are very possessive.” Virgil revealed quietly. “They loathed me enough to let me go, but I’m still part of their blood. Turning someone gives you a claim on their life- er, afterlife. They see any claim of mine as a claim of theirs.”

 Logan frowned. “Well that doesn’t...seem very fair.” Not to Virgil or to Patton.

“It’s not.” Virgil agreed with a low growl. “I was selfish, dragging Patton into this mess, and now he’s forced to be almost my prisoner because he’s too weak on his own to ever stand a chance. We’ve only gotten lucky before. And if Patton would have just eaten Roman, he could be free of all this and stand his own. Stronger than my family, even, because the borrower blood would be fresher in his veins.”

 “But...Patton doesn’t want to eat Roman...does he?” Logan guessed, putting more pieces together.

“No.” Virgil said begrudgingly. “And now we’re in this freaking mess and everything’s just gonna be worse whenever my ex family does attack because now we reek of borrower anyways.”

 “That...is quite the problem.” Logan admitted. “But even so, I doubt even with the added strength of eating us, not much would change. You might drive them away but they would just come back later. Which I assumed is what always happens.”

“Well yeah, for now, ‘cause we’re weak.” Virgil’s expression turned darker. “But the strong conquer the weak. With enough strength, we could take them down for good.”

 Logan shook his head. “No, you’ve got it all wrong.” Logan stepped a bit closer, hoping he wasn’t overstepping. “The strong can be conquered as well, by the intelligent.”

Virgil frowned, looking down at Logan with consideration. “...explain?”

 “Strength can only take you so far.” Logan started. “But ultimately, the ‘strong’ will always fall to the ones who know how to play the cards.” Logan face grew more serious. “I believe we can come up with a plan to stop your family once and for all, without any added strength on both your parts.”

“I think that’s impossible.” Virgil argued. “They’ve got several thousand years of experience accumulated between them and a small army of peons.”

 “Yes, but an army falls if the leaders are gone. If we manage to trick, trap, and off them, then the rest will follow. Who would you say the leaders are? Your parents?” Logan asked.

“My parents are dead.” Virgil crossed his arms. “My brothers took charge a handful of centuries ago, after...” Virgil paused, his lips feeling suddenly very chapped. “After they came across a very effective power supply.”

 Logan winced. “I’m to assume you mean all the borrowers that had taken residence in your house?”

Virgil swallowed the lump in his throat, not meeting Logan’s eye as he gave a nod.

 “I see...am I also to assume that you blame yourself for that?” Logan asked, seeing the signs of guilt.

“Well duh.” Virgil’s voice lacked its usual bite. “It’s my fault. I led my brothers right to them.”

 “How?” Logan couldn’t help but ask.

“I found...Emile.” Virgil explained. “And then I was selfish, as I always am, wanting company so I kept him close. But then Dee found out, and Remus took Emile, and- well after that then they tracked the rest down- and-” Virgil took a shuddering breath, his explanation coming out in pieces.

 Logan’s eyes widened. “Hey, it’s alright.” Logan tried. “You cannot be at fault for wanting a little company. For wanting a...friend.”

“Yes, I can!” Virgil grasped at his hair, looking ready to pull it all out. “That’s not how the world works. That’s not how vampires work, we don’t ‘make friends’.”

 “Says who.” Logan exclaimed. “Your family? Because we have already established they are psychopaths bent on murdering you and taking Patton. I don’t really think they have any say in ‘how things work’.”

“I think they’re the only authorities with the power to do so.” Virgil retorted. “Considering they’re some of the most powerful vamps on the planet, yeah, I think they know a thing or two.”

 “Or maybe they simply say that so they may stay in power. After all, a lot of people rule with fear. It’s quite the tactic when it comes to controlling people.” Logan explained further.

“I was one of them.” Virgil reminded him. “I watched from the inside. I’ve seen what happens to those who stay in their lane and get stronger; and I’ve seen what happens to those of us who go soft.”

 “All I am saying is that just because they are powerful, doesn’t mean they are right.” Logan said gently. “And I think you know that, you just, again, keep lying to yourself.”

“For once I’ve never been more sure of myself.” Virgil argued. “I want them to be wrong, because being lonely eternally is just about the worst fate I could imagine. But being with others is worse, because then you’re giving yourself a weakness. And you’re putting them in danger, too.”

Virgil turned to the side, pressing his shoulder up against the wall. “I don’t want to be alone, I really don’t. But it’s selfish of me to keep forcing people to stay close who don’t want to be near me.” Because why would anyone want that? Virgil was dangerous, and he knew it.

 Logan sighed, once again the only one around to do any comforting. “I may not know Patton that well and...the two of you may have just had a fight. But it seems to me that Patton wants to stay with you.”

Virgil snorted humorlessly. “Yeah, he’s getting really good at acting. I can see the sadness in his eyes. He hates what he’s become, what I forced him to be.”

 Logan frowned. “Have you...talked with him about it?” The borrower asked.

“A bit.” Virgil shrugged. “When he gets all freaked out by blood or can’t control himself and I’ve gotta help clean up the mess.”

 “That...I believe that is not an ideal time to talk about something like that. Especially if most of the ‘talking’ is the two of you yelling angrily at each other.” Logan sighed, pushing up his glasses to rub at his nose. “You need to talk to him when the two of you are not high strung with rampant emotions.”

“It’s not exactly a casual topic.” Virgil huffed. “And he’s already made his position clear, there’s no need to bring it up again.”

 “I think there very much is. If not to settle things then to at least put your own mind at ease.” Logan continued to encourage. “I doubt he would have stayed with you this long if he truly hated you.”

“He’s stayed with me because he can’t survive on his own.” Virgil argued. “Even without the threat of my psycho relatives he’s wretched at being a vampire.” Virgil frowned, looking contemplative. “He’s just… Patton was always so full of life, and I ripped that away from him, making him a living dead.”

 “I just ask that you at least think about talking with him. For real. I think it would help the both of you in the long run.” Of course, Logan couldn’t make Virgil do anything, so all he could use was his words and hope for the best.

“Okay, great, so Dee and Remus are going to come for our throats, but at least in the meantime we’ll have a tender therapy session.” Virgil scoffed mockingly.

 Logan let out a small groan. “If you never talk to Patton, you’ll always be more open to such attacks. The two of you need to be on the same page in order for you either stop them or get away depending on what you decide.” Logan was voting for stopping them once and for all.

“We’re on the same page.” Virgil insisted. “We’d love to not have to deal with them, but we’re too weak, so we run like cowards, tails between our legs.”

 “Let me reiterate, strength is nothing compared to intelligence.” Logan repeated once more, feeling frustrated at this point that Virgil refused to listen. “If you are smart, then you are the strong ones and you can stop them.”

“Are you calling me an idiot?” Virgil growled. “Over a thousand years and you don’t think I’ve tried to out-smart them?”

 Logan found this intriguing. “You have? And what did you try?” He ignored the question of thinking Virgil an idiot.

“I don’t know…” Virgil groaned, tilting his head back and trying to remember all his failures. Not exactly a fun time. “Well-placed stakes, arson, stalling into the day, salt traps, basically all the traditional stuff that wouldn’t immediately be super painful to us too. My brothers are strong, and they aren’t stupid. Well, one of them, at least.”

 Logan hummed, deep in thought. “I’ll admit...you have certainly tried many things.” If so many things had already been tried, it would be a bit more difficult to come up with something. “Still...it’s not impossible to find a solution that will work.”

“Oh yeah?” Virgil crossed his arms. “Go ahead and try, I’m all ears.”

 Logan blinked. “Wh-What? Right now?” Logan was unprepared.

“Yeah, right now.” Virgil glanced at the blinds. “Better do it fast too, sun’s coming up soon.”

 Logan looked over to the window, seeing that the sun was indeed going to come up soon, perhaps in the next few minutes. “I, well I have a lot to think about, I can’t just come up with a solid plan on the spot like this.” Logan argued, fidgeting with his hands.

“See? Not so easy.” Virgil seemed to consider this a win, crossing over towards his coffin. At this point, the only thing that could stop his brothers was a miracle.

 “I will think of something.” Logan called out, glaring.

“Sure you will.” Virgil waved him off, climbing in to sleep. “No guarantee I didn’t think of it first ages ago, though.” With this last remark, Virgil pulled the lid closed, sealing himself away for another day.

[evak-fic-rec-turtleanon]

Evak Fics - Coffee Shop

** Coffee shop comic ** Additional ice cream/cake fics ** Fics where there's no coffee shop but it involves coffee lol ** Coffee shop fics ** Bonus Nooreva fic

***** COMIC *****

KB au comic by @elli-skam 

P01,  P02,  P03,  P04,  P05,  P06 P07,  P08,  P09,  P10,  P11,  P12 extra art 

Instagram: elli_skam

***** ICE CREAM/CAKE ***** 

ice cream at 2am by hippopotamus (1.1k words) - isak goes to the shop for ice cream and ends up getting something else as well

Ice Cream Parlor by glbertblythes (1.5k words) - AU where Even works at an ice cream parlor as a summer job and Isak really likes the ice cream and he and Even play a game where Even tries to guess Isak's favorite flavor of ice cream but every time he gets it wrong, he gives Isak the ice cream for free.

You’ll never believe how ice cream helped this man to get a date by nofeartina (3.3k words) - 5 times Isak buys ice cream for Magnus and 1 time Even buys it for Isak.

blow out all the candles by shadesofcool (4.1k words) - It's Eskild's birthday, Even works at a cake shop and Isak doesn't know how to make tea.

***** INVOLVING COFFEE ***** 

Morning Person by dani (wormstash) (881 words) - Isak is not a morning person.

Right Now by YellowSpatula (1.1k words) - In another universe, they meet on the street and smell of coffee.

Morning Activities by glbertblythes (1.4k words) - Even wants his coffee - Isak is sorta in his way - but Isak makes an offer.

"Ah, Sorry, Sorry!" by bazsucks (1.5k words) - "So rude, because someone hasn’t gotten his grumpy boy coffee today." Even keeps speaking whenever Isak doesn’t. He loves that about him. He loves everything about him.

Med Student Syndrome by frenc (1.8k words) - In which slightly paranoid med student Isak tries not to diagnose his boyfriend with diseases he learned in the textbook. And Even fails to hide a coffee burn from him.

The Study Buddy by wordsarelifealways (2k words) - In this universe, Even meets Isak when he pours Red Bull into a black coffee at 7.15AM to cope with a morning class. Even's inner barista is horrified, but damn if the boy isn't cute.

***** COFFEE SHOP ***** 

Bees by spoopydumpling (562 words) - "Even come home" "Miss me?" "Hell no, there’s a BEE in our BEDROOM"

blood on the leaves by queerness (597 words) - In which Isak's hands are weapons, Even's nose bleeds too easy, and Green Tea Créme Fraps are present.

in every universe by queerness (632 words) - The first time your soulmate touches you, a handprint stays there for the rest of your life.

Feeling Weird, Feeling Happy by wesoftandfluffy (735 words) - A boy with blues eyes, blonde hair and a very nice smile makes Isak feel shy, weird and very very happy

Maybe I´m a little jealous by parttimehuman (743 words) - Just Isak not being jealous at all.

i think i recognise your face but i've never seen you before by monsterandmana (914 words) - Even works in a coffee shop. Isak is on the coffee run. It's Christmas.

sweet creature by Skamtrash (1k words) - Along the lines of "We’re both baristas and sometimes I have trouble reaching for things and I show up to work one day to find a personalized stool with hearts and my name on it i hATE YOU but also thanks"

remember what your old pal said by colazitron (1k words) - Mikael hangs out at KB during Even's shift. Not evak centric

seventeen days by hippopotamus (1.1k words) - Isak had come to know him, in his head, as coffee shop guy. Sometimes, when he was tired, and had no filter on the thoughts as they travelled from the back of his mind to the front - he would call him hot coffee shop guy. Sometimes even fucking beautiful.

Flat White and a Moment of Bravery by Bellakitse (1.1k words) - Isak is having a crap morning until he walks into his local cafe and sees his favorite barista.

I Like You A Latte by i_once_wrote_a_dream (1.2k words) - It’s not love. Not yet. But Even’s certain it will be.

Handsome Mystery Boy by waitineedaname (1.3k words) - Even thought working at a coffee shop would be the perfect way to meet his soulmate. They had to give him their name for the order, and his name was there for everyone to see on his nametag. It was a flawless plan. Or, it would be if the handsome boy in the snapback would actually give him his real name.

Good days start with coffee and you by starfishunicorntea (1.3k words) - Isak is tired, ill and cold but he has an exam he has to get to so he decides a cup of coffee can make his day more bearable.

Forget-me-not by FrkAnn (1.5k words) - Even is curious about the name Lea on Isak's parent's house door and Isak decides it's time to share.

I HEARD YOUR NAME by cromulent (1.6k words) - Break up fic. i thought i needed you, but then you left me and i realized i don't.

Woo Me With Your Words by obscurial (1.6k words) - It’s not very often that Isak finds the confidence within himself to approach a handsome guy in a café. (A coffee shop au in which Even is Isak's favourite author.)

I Think I'm Falling (I Think I'm Falling For You) by MacksDramaticShenanigans (1.7k words) - Isak isn’t sure if it’s this guy’s incredibly endearing face or the fact that he didn’t just order a fucking Pumpkin Spice Latte, but he suddenly really really wants to kiss him.

Defending My Honour by wordsarelifealways (1.7k words) - Isak's sure it's about a thousand degrees in Oslo, but it won't be as hot as the hellfire he's going to rain down upon the customer he sees yelling at Even.

I'm FALLing for you by Schedazzle (1.7k words) - It always crept up on Even, one moment everything was green and the next the whole world seemed yellow and cozy and just so nice. This feeling only grew when the little bell above the door went off and his favorite customer came in.

your hands next to mine by hippopotamus (1.8k words) - When he takes the drink, his fingers brush Even’s. He clears his throat and mumbles out a “oh, uh, sorry, thanks,” and escapes before Even can even process any of it.

The one where Even isn't a stalker... by Ye_Olde_Hedgehog (2k words) - There is a sad lack of coffee in this coffee shop au. Instead there is a bit of mutual pining and some very exasperated friends.

Ready For Those Flashing Lights by ultimatelawrence (2.1k words) - It was meant to be harmless: taking a sneak photo of a hot stranger to send to Eva. Expect it's not so harmless when the flash is on.

Lemon and Ginger: Coffee Shop AU by fictitious99 (2.1k words) - 4 times Even bought a pretentious herbal tea and one time he bought one for Isak.

Mitten found by Kollakolan (2.1k words) - It’s a mitten. And not just any mitten, this is clearly a hand made very personal mitten with a small flowery pattern knitted by some one who put a lot of love into the work. On top of the mitten “Emil” is embroidered. Shit.

Peppermint Mocha by Jules1398 (2.1k words) - Eva's new boyfriend comes in everyday and orders a peppermint mocha and, well, Isak is definitely NOT falling in love with him.

The Hot Muffin Thief by Bellakitse (2.2k words) - There is a magical muffin at the café where Isak's buddy Jonas works. It's Isak's lifeline, he has it every day and then one day some hot art hipster steals his muffin.

do you like or like, like me? by cosetties (2.2k words) - Isak is totally down for supporting Jonas through the whole liking boys thing, but it's a little hard when that boy is Even.

The Stars Align by VenezuelanWriter (2.4k words) - There's a bakery. Prince Isak and barista Even.

sickeningly sweet like honey by thekardemomme (2.4k words) - Even likes to write pickup lines on Isak's cup.

cups of coffee by slvtherxn (2.8k words) - Even has a giant crush on a boy he doesn’t know, and he’s waiting for the perfect movie-moment to finally meet him. The only problem is that life has a different plan.

A Look Across (a fraction of) the Multiverse by rhys_withoutaspoon (2.9k words) - a look across the multiverse. The coffee shop au is the second one.

I'm not the kind of fool who's gonna sit and sing to you about stars by Plantsandplanets (3k words) - Second year is rough. Isak buys expensive text books with the money his dad sends him and silently worries about Even paying for everything before Even soothes his concerns with soft words and softer touches. His eyes tell Isak to stop worrying, please. Isak nods because Even asked him to even if he didn’t say so.

A Spoon Full of Sugar by MacksDramaticShenanigans (3.3k words) - A spoon. Spoons. Spooning. God, a proper cuddle sounded absolutely heavenly right now. What Isak would give to crawl into bed, burrow into some cozy blankets, and curl into someone’s (Even’s) arms. They could just lay there, maybe Even would trace shapes into Isak’s back, or maybe he’d play with his hair— it didn't matter to Isak, either sounded lovely. It would be warm and comfortable and he’d finally be able to catch up on all the sleep he’d missed.

Five (5) times Isak and Even found each other, in different universes. by AnonymousPoet (3.3k words) - Parallel universe. The coffee shop one is the first one.

Cookies and Cream by GayaIsANerd (3.5k words) - Isak has a crush on the barista. He's too scared to do anything about it, but luckily there's a blizzard coming up.

Baby, You're a Knockout by wordsarelifealways (3.5k words) - Even has been crushing on the cute boy who comes into the university cafe for weeks, but he never expected a minor head injury to be how their relationship got started.

If You're Under Him [You Ain't Getting Over Him] - Part I by givemesumaurgravy (3.7k words) - First fic of a SERIES. Isak Valtersen is happy. He's finally starting his surgical rotation at the hospital where he hopes to work someday and he's happily married to his best friend. But then Isak meets Even, the intriguing new barista where he gets his daily coffee. And that's when shit really starts to hit the fan. Affair au

And I'll find myself in your eyes one day by Evak2121 (Marshmallows07) (3.8k words) - Isak and Even fall in love one day in the Sun

Five Stars by bri_ness (3.9k words) - Even works at a café and is infamous in Yelp reviews as a flirtatious, charming barista. But he’s never wanted to take anyone home—until he meets a man with thirty-eight expressions, an affinity for eye rolls, and a deep hatred of pumpkin spice.

I like my sugar with coffee and cream by imminentinertia (4k words) - 5 times Even buys a coffee +1 time Isak buys a shirt.

For next day will a stranger bring by lovelycarcass (4k words) - On Tuesdays, without fail, Isak's first customer orders a drink at the café, gives a name and leaves. He never uses the same name twice.

Coffee and Krylon by gayashecklmao (4.1k words) - Caught in a daydream filled with technicolor and floating spray paint cans, he doesn't hear the bell above the shops' door ring, indicating that someone has come in. Only when he hears Eva shout an unidentifiable order at him does he turn around. There before him, on the other side of the counter, is possibly one of the prettiest people he’s ever seen.

you keep robbing my heart like a bank by xhorans (4.2k words) - 'How are you, Even?' 'Better now my new favourite customer is here,' in which Isak has a crush on hot barista Even and it's nearly valentine's day

i can't get it right by noirophelia (4.3k words) - “You forgot your sketchbook,” Isak says a bit out of breath and he doesn’t even know why. He has a feeling it’s just what Even usually does to him. Leaving him breathless. “Thank you, Isak,” Then Even smiles and Isak is just. Gone. “You shouldn’t have left your work place for that. Could have just messaged me or something.”

My mind was somewhere else, I guess by rosecolored_girl (4.6k words) - How did Even end up working at Nissen cafeteria? Let's just put it this way: He graduated last year at Bakka, took a gap year to pursue his dreams of traveling the world, realized he didn't have any money to even buy a freaking plane ticket to start with, spent the entire summer feeling sorry for himself...and now, he got a job at high school. Serving people only two or three years younger than him. Great. kinda coffee shop au except it's a cafeteria

from my lips my sin is purged by slvtherxn (4.8k words) - After Even's last relationship with his coworker ended quite messily, his boss has forbidden him from dating any more of her employees. It takes him ten seconds alone with his new trainee before he decides to date him in secret.

he tasted like coffee and lemon drops. by glbertblythes (5.7k words) - Isak gets stood up at Kaffebrenneriet, Even brings him a hot chocolate, and they get to talking.

Don't worry, I've got you by everything_else (5.7k words) - Isak groaned. “Just because I’m new doesn’t mean you can give me the shit jobs” “I’m not. It’s either that or bleaching the toilet, you can choose if you want.” “Okay fine.” Even took another drink of his beer, and cast a teasing look at Isak. “I give you a week.”

(Baby) It's Cold Outside by himmelsky (6.1k words) - December is approaching, but Isak isn’t feeling the Christmas spirit. Barista guy, aka Even, wants it differently.

because your eyes said you were feeling it too by spoopydumpling (6.1k words) - Even and Isak meet when their friends send them on a blind date.

In Sickness and In Health by Flatfootmonster (6.2k words) - That one time he caught me looking through the window, I thought I had to do it then—or I never would. I was sick of being tongue tied—I still am. And so, when I’d finished my coffee, I wrote on the cup: ‘I like you’. That was it. I wasn’t even sure if he was going to read it, but I saw him watch me write it; peering over the counter in the curious way he does, like I’m doing something completely amusing that I’m also entirely unaware of. Then I picked up my things and scrambled for the door, almost sending someone’s drink flying over their laptop.

Large Americano, Extra Milk and Sugar by daigina (6.5k words) - It's almost Valentine's Day. Mikael has a new job. Even has a new crush and no courage. This makes for lots of pining Evens, frustrated Mikaels, and spilled coffee.

five times even watched from afar and one time he didn't have to by alotofphandoms (7k words) - Even sees Isak around so many times that he's sure it's destiny and he's determined to not let him get away. So he watches from afar before he doesn't have to anymore.

all I see is you by littlemovie (Lejla) (7.4k words) - “Aren’t you gonna ask me why I’m a bad person?” Isak somehow whined and demanded at the same time. Jonas blew out a breath in amusement, which made the dark curls on his forehead move with his breath. “I’m guessing it has something to do with that guy, Even, from the coffeeshop?” Isak nodded his head pathetically.

closer to free by Skamtrash (7.7k words) - Even works at a coffee shop that Isak always studies in and Even has been crushing on him from afar for way too long so Elias makes them happen

Make a spark, break the dark, find a light with me by LostInAdmiration (8k words) - Isak can't sleep, so spends his nights wandering around the street. Even works the night shift at the store around the corner, and they bond over their mutual insomnia.

Cuddle Monsters by sikily (8.2k words) - One spoke of true love and the other a critic, But Christmas would be the day to believe in magic, A wink of his eye and a tilt of his head, And Isak became a believer instead.

Crying Over Spilt Milk by MacksDramaticShenanigans (8.4k words) - The boys get their hands on Isak’s resume; Isak gets his hands on Even.

baby we've got new love by itjustkindahappened (9.5k words) - Isak is hella fucking gay and desperately single, and Eskild wants to change that. Even just has a thing about timing. Coffee shop AU with an ironic amount of tea enthusiasm and a whole lot of pining.  

Second helping's always better by diamondjacket (10k words) - A sequel. Coming into this last-minute coffee date, Even had honestly thought that once the sheen of the previous day had worn off, things would be different. That he could see Isak and keep a level head, that he wouldn’t be overcome with the urge to just...taste him everywhere. No such luck.

possibly (maybe) i’m falling for you by boxesofflowers, Eeyoreneedsahug, safficwriter (10k words) - Even tries to get Isak to smile with coffee. Every time he buys Isak coffee, he becomes more determined to find the perfect drink (and falls in love along the way).

The One Where Even Goes On a Blind Date by valtersheim (10k words) - Eskild forgets to find someone for Isak for their double blind date and he approaches the first attractive man he sees in Kaffebrenneriet.

Ground Me by Bellakitse (13k words) - In which despite his father helping with rent, Isak still needs money and therefore a job. Isak gets a job at a cafe and meets a barista who's beauty blows Isak away.

A Thin Line Between Hate and… Other Stuff by TheFilthWithin (Flatfootmonster) (14k words) - Isak is studying while working at a coffee shop. His life is Ok... ish. Filled with lies, mocchiato's, and hook ups, fate storms in and lends a hand in the shape of Mr Spielberg, AKA film director Even.

something in the language of trees by scarletbluebird (20k words) - This woman, Isak thinks, must really love her son. He keeps spinning the coffee cup for a good minute, mulling it over. He still feels weird about it, but it’s not like he’s signing a contract in blood or anything. And he’s already going to see Even at the party later in the week, so it could work. the one where Isak's job really is to Be Even's Friend

You're a different kind of new by LostInAdmiration (23k words) - Even has had a hopeless crush on Isak for months now, but has never been brave enough to talk to him. Luckily, Isak decides to make the first move by rescuing Even from unwanted attention at a party

take me as i am by argentae (24k words) - He isn’t crushing, and nevertheless this guy has become a Problem, because whenever he’s on shift he’s made it increasingly difficult for Isak to really spend his time productively. Sure, he could just find another place to study but he likes the access to coffee here even though he actually kind of hates the bitterness of it and he’s just not going to let himself get swept aside because of this guy.

don't you keep it all to yourself by colazitron (24k words) - Isak starts buying daily coffees before school at Kaffebrenneriet around the corner because it tastes better than the coffee in the cafeteria and keeps his hands warm. But mostly because the barista is heart-stoppingly cute. An AU in which Even didn't need to repeat his last year and instead started working at the coffeeshop Isak passes on his way to school every morning.

is it gravity, or are we falling in love? by mels (28k words) - Isak works at a coffee shop. There's two things he loves about the morning shift: 1, how beautiful the city is when it's sleeping and 2, avoiding the hot guy who he happens to have a crush on. Until one faithful day, he has no choice but to work with his crush.

Caught in the Middle by dvorahbee (30k words) - Even keeps seeing the cutest boy around campus and in his new favourite coffee shop. He'll slowly get to know Isak but he'll have to go on a journey of self-acceptance and love at the same time.

A Fucking Bet by Crazyheart (32k words) - Isak and Even are just friends. They make a bet and decide to fuck only five times and then go back to being friends again. Isak hopes that he might be able to fuck his crush out of his system, once and for all. Who knows what Even’s motives are.

Just your average ordinary everyday Superhero by vorfm95 (34k words) - Isak works for the governament fixing the chaos caused by the Yeti a young superhero who protects the streets of Oslo. It's just a superhero soulmate Au. (oof this fic tho)

Golden Boy by alotofphandoms (43k words) - Isak thinks his life is great until Even Bech Naesheim waltz in and starts taking him out on dates. (Mostly fluff and flirting but I live for angst so there's a little bit of that to keep it interesting)

Scrim by scritch (45k words) - Isak works as a lighting technician in a theatre. He's under strict instructions not to talk to the actors. This is all fine, until he meets Even.

such a beautiful mess by skambition (48k words) - Isak works at Kaffebrenneriet to save up some money for a trip with his friends. Normally, working there is chill. Until Isak starts to work together with Even, an arrogant hipster with horrible taste in music, that keeps using the phrase 'sex hair' and is not only judgemental and stupid, but also so hot that Isak sometimes can't breathe around him. Isak hates him. Until he doesn't.

What If? by MermaidsandMermen (SophiaSoames) (57k words) - What if Skam never happened? What if Even is just an awkward boy working in a coffee shop? What if Isak is just the loneliest boy in the world? What if Even is slightly obsessed with Isak? And what if Isak is spending every afternoon in a freaking coffee shop? Because he can OK? It’s not because he feels like at least he isn’t alone when he is there. Not that he actually talks to Even. Not that he thinks Even is the prettiest boy he has ever seen. It’s not like that. It’s not.

Lover Of My Impossible Soul by shoulderbone (lavenderforluck) (66k words) - Part 2 of Pointing at the Moon SERIES. Possible spoilers if you haven't read the first part: We don't often reveal ourselves, when we don't actually know what there is to reveal yet. Or, alternatively: Isak returns to Oslo, and most importantly, to Even.

with love, from anonymous by cosetties, iriswests (136k words) - Isak just wants to get his coffee in peace, Even has a crush, and there's a secret admirer on the loose.

***** BONUS NOOREVA 

untitled by princevaltersen (15k words) - Eva knew she had a crush on Noora and she couldn’t refuse it at all.

[evilkennedy]

Distractions

Pairing: S’vec Sylar (male OC @plaktow-ed) x Cristobal (Cris) Rios 

Word count: 1,669 

Summary: Sylar has overworked himself and Cris has a plan to get him to rest. (Can alternatively be known as the first time they actually confess their love for each other after months of flirting.) Fluff ensues. Tiny bit of angst if you squint. 

Although this meditation upon mortality may soon induce in us a sense of anguish, it fortifies us in the end. Retire, reader, into yourself and imagine a slow dissolution of yourself - the light dimming about you - all things becoming dumb and soundless, enveloping you in silence - the objects that you handle crumbling away between your hands -the ground slipping from under your feet -your very memory vanishing as if in a swoon -everything melting away from you into nothingness and you yourself also melting away -the very consciousness of nothingness, merely as the phantom harbourage of a shadow, not even remaining to you. I have heard it related of a poor harvester who died in a hospital bed, that when the priest went to anoint his hands with the oil of extreme unction, he refused to open his right hand, which clutched a few dirty coins, not considering that very soon neither his hand nor he himself would be his own any more. And so we close and clench, not our hand, but our heart, seeking to clutch the world in it. The Captain paused in his reading to ponder the meaning of this passage. He often wondered how he would approach his own death. There were several brief moments in time where he thought his life would be taken by using his own hands, however things were different for him now. He still thought that he wouldn’t shy away from death nor would he hold onto the world with all of the energy and strength he had left, if it was his time to go, it was his time to go. There was hardly anything to do but to accept it, otherwise life would be spent fearing death and that is no life at all. Rios switched the legs he had crossed, switching the right out for the left, as he began reading the next passage from the philosophy book. He took a small sip of his strongly brewed coffee before he heard a throat being cleared somewhere in front of him. He set down the mug that was still radiating warmth and looked up, meeting the gaze of an EH. He instantly recognized that it was Emil, the EMH. He bit back a groan as he closed his book, “What have I done to be graced with your presence this afternoon?” Emil was clearly used to this type of behavior as he only gave the man a tight lipped smile that came across as more of a grimace. The EMH looked so stressed that Cris almost felt guilty about being so rude.. Almost. “Actually, Captain, you haven’t done anything that I know of and I would like to keep it that way, however your boyfriend is overworking himself to the extreme. I can’t get him to bloody stop!” This was obviously enough to capture Cris’ full attention. He didn’t even comment on the term Emil used for their relationship. He sighed, “Mierda.” He set his book on the table next to his forgotten coffee and stood. “Look, I’m sure you’ve been trying to help him and I appreciate it. But I’ll take it from here.” The EMH didn’t have to be told twice as he disappeared from sight. Cris shook his head as he walked to the door of his quarters, already contemplating what he would do in an attempt to get Sylar to relax.

~

Cris approached the sickbay soon after his conversation with Emil had ended. He took in the sight of Sylar working on some sort of hypospray concoction, no doubt one of his experimental drugs. He couldn’t help the small, fond smile that snaked its way onto his usually serious face. The closer he got to the other, the more he realized that Emil was right. He was slightly paler than usual and he looked dead on his feet. He crossed his arms as he approached Sylar.

 “Hey, mi amor. What are you working on?” He leaned on the table next to Sylar, the Vulcan looked mildly surprised to see him. He immediately attempted to make himself look as put together as usual, however Cris could see right through it. In the time period that he had known the man, he had observed all of his mannerisms and he knew better than Sylar himself when the man had reached his limit. 

“Captain, I was not expecting to see you here, are you hurt?” Leave it to Sylar to be more concerned about him than he was for himself. Cris shook his head, “No, quite the opposite actually. I’m just bored.” 

Sylar tilted his head in confusion, “Bored? How am I supposed to help you with that, sir?” The man put aside what he was working on to provide all of his attention to the Captain. He might not have been expecting his company, but it certainly wasn’t unwelcome. Rios wasn’t expecting it to be that easy to get Sylar’s attention, he must have been really tired. Something that Cris had already assumed anyway. Despite their blooming relationship, they were both insecure as to the importance of one another in each other’s lives. Cris didn’t quite grasp the fact that Sylar would do anything if it pleased him. 

“Well, I was wondering if you could teach me some Vulcan phrases? I know enough to get by, but I’d like to learn more from you.” He gave the doctor the gentlest of smiles, not realizing that he only wore this expression around him. Sylar hardly felt like he could deny the Captain the opportunity to learn more Vulcan. He found it to be quite wonderful that the man wanted to learn from him. 

“I think I would like that very much, sir.” This response from the Vulcan only caused the man’s smile to broaden. “Great, are you alright with going back to my quarters? I have coffee to finish.” Sylar nodded shakily. His taxed body was ready to give up on him. He and Cris had been through a lot more in the past two days than they had been in the past few months that Sylar had been on the ship. Cris took in the state of the other man and wondered if he could even walk back to his quarters. He definitely understood why Emil was so concerned. He placed his hand on Sylar’s lower back. “Should I carry you?” Sylar’s eyes widened slightly, in what could only be described as surprise. “I should be fine to walk-” His knees suggested otherwise as they buckled beneath him, Rios was quick to react by lifting him up bridal style. 

He raised an eyebrow at the man who was now in his arms, “Should be fine to walk, right?” He couldn’t help but tease the other man and he noticed that it caused a small blush to appear on the other’s cheeks.

~

After they both settled cross-legged on Cris’ bed with a cup of coffee, and tea for Sylar, the Vulcan spoke. “What would you like to know, Captain?” He set his tea down on the nightstand beside him, having gotten tired of holding it as Rios contemplated his answer, “I want to know anything you can tell me.” 

Sylar had to think for a moment before coming to the conclusion that he could teach him small, popular Vulcan phrases. “Well, there is ni’droi’ik nar tor, this means I am sorry. If you use it, you are asking for forgiveness.” After stating this, Sylar yawned. Cris noticed this and laid his legs out, he then guided Sylar into laying into his lap, all while speaking, “Ni’droi’ik nar tor?” Sylar did not protest against laying in Cris’ lap, too exhausted to even argue at this point. He listened to Rios’ slightly butchered pronunciation of the phrase, “That was close enough.” It was strange to have someone so close to him that also respected and was interested in his culture. It was pure. 

As Sylar spoke again, Cris began running his fingers gently through his hair. He closed his eyes, comforted by the touch, He purred lightly, similar to a cat, “I have one that you might like.. Bath’paik.” Cris laid his head back on the wall behind him, still running his fingers through Sylar’s hair, “And what does that mean?” He felt utterly relaxed at the moment, it was truly unbelievable how calm the other man’s presence made him. 

Sylar hummed, “It means Damn you.” He still had his eyes shut as his body slowly began to relax, he was equally as comforted by Rios’ presence. The aforementioned man chuckled slightly, “I do like that.. Bath’paik. I’m going to have to use that one.”

The Vulcan’s mind started to become dazed as he searched for the next phrase, “Taluhk nash-veh k’dular.” This one, he meant. He was just saying it outright to Cris. He hadn’t necessarily meant for it to slip out, but it did. It hardly bothered him while he was in this state. 

Cris had heard this one before. It was very important to all Vulcans. It sounded like he was just saying it to him, He swallowed against his dry throat, “And that one?” Sylar hardly registered that he was being asked a question, “It means.. I cherish thee. It is something that a Vulcan would usually say to a bondmate. I am saying it to you because it is true.” Shortly after he spoke, the CMO fell asleep. He really was very catlike. Cris felt his chest fill with warmth at the admission, “Taluhk nash-veh k’dular, indeed.” He didn’t notice the other had fallen asleep until he received no response. He looked down at the sleeping man and shook his head fondly. How he had managed to worm his way into the Captain’s scarred heart was unknown to him, but he wasn’t complaining in the slightest. Sylar shifted off of his legs in his sleep and curled into his side. Cris slid down next to him and kissed his forehead, “Te amo, mi amor.”

Note: This was way longer than I was expecting and I really enjoyed writing it. I hope I did Sylar some semblance of justice I- anyway. Also forgive me if Cris is out of character a bit, I’ve still only seen clips of him. Thanks for reading. <3

[timeoutforthee]

Like it or Not-Chapter 26

Taglist: @itsausernamenotafobsong, @sea-blue-child, @iaminmultiplefandoms, @princeanxious, @uwillbeefoundtonight, @zaidiashipper, @arandompasserby, @levyredfox3, @falsett0, @error-i-dunno-what-went-wrong, @scrapbookofsketches, @podcastsandcoffee, @helloisthisusernametaken, @amuthefunperson, @michealawithana, @yamihatarou, @heck-im-lost, @unlikelynightmareconnoisseur, @idkaurl, @bubblycricket, @fnp-alizay, @neonbluetiefling, @comicsimpson, @a-little-bit-of-ace, @warrior-olive

Summary: Logan, Patton, Roman, and Virgil are all struggling in their recovery. Their doctors, Thomas Sanders and Emile Picani think they can help each other out.

Aka Group Therapy AU

Trigger Warnings: disordered eating habits, death mentioned, parents not understanding mental health, general ignorance, parents fighting

Read it on AO3!

Logan is numb the next day.

He floats through, unsure if he’s looking forward to lunch or dreading it. He wants one of the others to have an idea, to come up with something that makes it not real, but he’s gone over and over it and he can’t think of any thing to do.

Logan has never felt this helpless.

“What’s wrong?” Virgil asks, as soon as Logan sits in his seat.

“I’ll tell you at lunch.”

The fact he doesn’t deny it makes Virgil frown. But soon class is starting and he can’t say anything else.

^

Logan’s dad pulls up to Foster’s Center for Mental and Behavioral Health. His wife had asked him this morning if he would reconsider what he said to Logan, but he had already made his decision.

He parked in the front, and walked through the doors.

“Hello!” the secretary called out to him. “Who are you here to see?”

He snorted. As if he would ever need to see one of these “doctors.”

“I’m not here to see anyone. I’m here to pull my son out of your so-called services,” he says.

“Oh,” she says, slowly. “Is there a problem?”

“Yeah, my problem is that this doctor has been misdiagnosing my son, and now he thinks he has an eating disorder. I don’t want him seeing the doctor anymore.”

“...does your son have an eating disorder?”

“Boys don’t get eating disorders.”

“Uh-huh,” the secretary says. “Who is this doctor?”

“I think it’s Snyder or something.”

“Sanders?” she says, raising an eyebrow. “I’ll tell you what, I’m going to call back and see if Dr. Sanders is in a session right now. If not, you can talk to him.”

Kurt crosses his arms. It’d be simpler to just pull him out, but he wants to meet this man, see what he really has to say. “Please do.”

The secretary picks up the phone and dials an extension. “What’s your son’s name?”

“Logan Crofter.”

Dr. Sanders must pick up, because she has a quick conversation, and soon Kurt is walking down the hallway. When he comes to the room number she gave him, the door is closed, so he knocks.

“Come in!” a voice calls from inside.

Kurt opens the door and walks into an office. It’s respectable, save for the small cartoon figure sitting on top of some book. There are paintings in frames on the wall and a bright green plant in the corner. In the middle against the back wall is a couch that looks very comfortable, like you could sink into it.

“Dr. Sander?” Kurt asks.

“Sanders,” Thomas corrects, offering him a warm smile as he stands up and offers his hand. Kurt takes it and shakes it. “Please, have a seat.”

“I don’t intend to take up much of your time,” Kurt tells him, sitting on the couch. It’s even more comfortable than it looks. “I just wanted to let you know that Logan won’t be attending your sessions anymore.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Thomas says, “May I ask why?”

That makes Kurt pause. He can’t very well tell a doctor that he doesn’t agree with their practice, can he? Even if he couldn’t see the point, he could see the therapist’s degree hanging right there on the wall.

“I just don’t think it’s benefitting Logan,” he says. There. Not exactly a lie.

“Really?” Thomas asks, “If that’s the case I can see about switching him to a different therapist. I know he’s already worked a bit with my colleague Emile, through the eating disorder support group-”

Kurt snorts. He can’t help it.

“I must say, Mr. Crofter, I fail to see what’s so funny.”

“It’s just...you can’t be serious.”

“Serious about what?”

“About the eating disorder thing. Logan can’t possibly have one, he’s a guy,” Kurt says.

Thomas purses his lips. Ah. So there was the problem.

“Mr. Crofter, your son has a very serious and severe case of anorexia. Neurodivergency doesn’t discriminate. It’s very possible, as evidenced by your son and others, to get an eating disorder when you identify as a male.”

“Logan is fine,” Kurt says, “He eats lunch, he eats dinner, he’s a normal kid.”

“And tell me, did he eat lunch and dinner before group started?”

“Of course he did!” Though now that he thinks about it, Kurt isn’t so sure. Dr. Sanders must sense something, because he raises his eyebrows. “So, he missed a meal or two. It’s fine. Logan is fine.”

“I know accepting that your child needs help is hard,” Thomas says, “But I think pulling Logan out of therapy completely could be very harmful for him.”

“Harmful? Harmful how?”

“Well, as I said, he has anorexia. Anorexia nervosa is one of the deadliest mental illnesses you can have.”

“It is?”

“Yes,” Thomas leans over and opens the bottom drawer of his desk. He flips through a few papers before pulling out a pamphlet on anorexia. He holds it out, and Kurt takes it hesitantly.

“You’re saying if I take Logan out of your care...he could die…?”

“I’m saying if Logan doesn’t get help recovering, he could die.”

“But this isn’t real!” Kurt says in frustration, “This so-called science, this mental health nonsense, it’s never been around before and everyone’s been fine.”

“No, you’ve been fine. So you assume everyone else is, too. But since this ‘nonsense’ has been around, suicide rates have been dropping. And may I remind you that Logan was sent to me because he had anorexia? I’m not the one who diagnosed him, his primary care doctor did.”

“He did?” Why didn’t he tell Kurt that?

“Yes. I don’t mean to be rude here, Mr. Crofter, but I think you need to be a little more involved in the recovery process to fully understand it.”

“Why does it matter?”

“Because your son deserves support.”

“Support? I support him just fine!”

“I have no doubt that you love your son,” Thomas assures him, and Kurt relaxes at that, “And that you try to support him in the best way you can. But you just need to learn a little more to help him in the best way.”

Kurt frowns, looking down at the pamphlet in his hands. He really did come in here with the intent to pull his son from the services, but he didn’t exactly feel like gambling with his son’s life.

“Have you considered coming in to join a session?”

“Why? I have no issues.”

“Just to experience what it’s like,” Thomas says, “And to see what helps your son.”

“I’ll consider it,” Kurt says, simply.

“That’s all I can ask,” Thomas smiles, “Now are you still interested in switching therapists?”

“No,” Kurt hesitantly approves of this man. He feels like he could trust him with Logan. “But if this mental health stuff gets too crazy, I am going to pull him out!”

“Understood,” Thomas is going to have to work on that.

^

“Did you talk to him?” Logan asks as soon as he walks through the door at home.

“Hello to you too,” Madelyn says.

“Mom.”

“I tried to talk to him, but he didn’t listen. His mind is made up, Logan.”

Logan takes a few deep breaths, trying not to work himself into a panic. That’s fine. He can make this work. Both Patton and Virgil said their guardians would be willing to pick him up, so he could make an argument based on that. Maybe his dad would be willing to listen if he didn’t have to do any work.

But the money, a voice reminded him.

Logan felt sick. He never exactly had a conversation with his parents about how much therapy was costing them, if they had any coverage with insurance or anything along those lines.

“Where is dad?” Logan asked, absent-mindedly.

“He drove up to Foster’s to pull you out at lunch,” Madelyn says, “He hasn’t come home.”

That gets Logan’s attention. “What?”

“I said-”

“I heard what you said!” Logan snaps, before taking another deep breath, “I thought we could talk about this, have you tried calling him?”

“No, I didn’t want to bother him,” Madelyn shrugs. “I told you Logan, his mind is made up. There’s nothing you can do.”

Tears spring to Logan’s eyes, and he immediately shoves the heel of his hand against them.

“It’s fine, Logan,” his mom says, “You will be fine. This is not that big of a deal.”

Yes it is! Logan wants to scream. I don’t know how to recover on my own! Maybe if he talked to his Psychology teacher, he could get more resources, and at lunch if the guys could review what they talked about during group-

Just then the doorknob turned and his dad walked in. Logan whipped his head around, wanting to yell, wanting to demand if he knew what he just did to him, wanting to beg him to go back, please-

“How’d it go, dear?” his mom asks, going over to her husband and kissing his cheek.

“I met your therapist,” Kurt says to Logan, absent-mindedly.

“Really? Why?”

Kurt doesn’t answer, instead he says, “I changed my mind.”

Logan freezes. He couldn’t have heard that right, he doesn’t want to get his hopes up.

“What?”

“I changed my mind. I didn’t pull you out. You can keep seeing Dr. Sanders.”

Logan is moving before he can control himself. He walks up and hugs his dad, feeling like he could breathe for the first time in 24 hours.

It takes Kurt a while, but eventually he hugs his son back, trying not to think about how close he was to hurting Logan.

It’s in the middle of their hug when Logan realizes he can never trust his parents again.

[yashalex]

crash and burn, baby. crash and burn   [Chaters 1 - 4] It’s not a problem when your best mate finds a new crush and forgets about you. It’s the problem when his crush takes an interest in you and you don’t really mind. Or: Lucas Lallemant, a new guy in the school, attracts Eliott's best mate attention... and not just his.

Chapter 1 There're new students in the school and while Eliott isn't interested at all, his best friend Emile is absolutely sure that he found the love of his life. 

"I think I fell in love."

Eliott heard this phrase so many time that he paid no attention to his best mate’s words. Emile was one of those guys who used to fell in love every week until he met a new crush. Sometimes it wasn’t even week but days. And when Eliott heard Sofiane and Idriss’ laugh he knew that he wasn’t the only one who didn’t take it seriously. And Emile was offended.

"I’m serious!" He exclaimed, running his hand through the hair.

"Mate, we’re in the school," Sofiane stated the fact. "We know all the people in here. You couldn’t have fallen in love with one of them otherwise it would have happened years ago. Well, if it’s true love, of course."

Eliott smiled at that. He liked how Sofiane was always trying to be reasonable and logical what was the opposite of Emile’s nature.

"Aren’t you listening to me at all?" Emile sounded outraged. Eliott knew that tone. That was a bad news.

"I guess it’s about new kids?" Idriss said, and Eliott and Sofiane looked at him surprised. "What? Imane and her friends are giving them school tour today." After that Idriss returned to his food like he’s done everything he could. And Sofiane began to smile dreamily. It was Imane’s effect.

"Yeah! And I’ve been telling you about them yesterday!" Now Emile was gazing at Eliott. Shit. Now he definitely had a problem. And he even started to remember something. "There was some boiler accident in their school, and that was so serious that all the students were transferred to other schools. And ours was a part of the program. So we finally have some new faces here!"

Emile looked excited. Like really excited and Eliott didn’t really understand it, but he didn’t judge. Eliot himself didn’t really care about the news. He was never close to his old classmates, and a couple of new kids hardly could change it. One look at Sofiane and Idriss made him realize that they were on the same page with him. But none of them stopped Emile from happy blabbering.

"I saw the group of four guys earlier. They’re a year younger than us, and they were with your Imane by the way," these words were addressed to Idriss, but it was Sofiane’s eyes which lightened up once again by the mention of the name. Eliott chuckled. If only Idriss knew… "And as I’m very polite I decided to go and introduce myself. And that was the moment I saw him. Guys, seriously those eyes…"

"Ok, ok, mate, we’ve got it. It was the man of your dreams." Idriss didn’t let Emile finish because he knew that it’s easy for him to be carried away.

Emile was an open gay. He never hid it and he never tried. That why Eliott admired him so much. Having lived through some hell times, he never changed himself, and he tried to teach other people to do the same. Emile was still trying to make Eliott fully accept himself, though this mission was bound to fail. But that was nice of him, he always was a fighter. He always fought for his life, for his rights, and for his friends.

"And what is the boy’s name?" Eliott asked as he knew how important it was for him to have support. Sometimes Idriss was a little bit rude with him (he always regretted it later), and that was one of those times. Probably the guy had some problems with parents again, but it shouldn’t have had an effect on Emile.

"That’s the saddest part. I don't know." Emile sounded a bit upset, but surely it couldn’t have been a big problem for him. And Eliott was right in his thinking as the guy continued. "But his next lesson is Biology with Imane and Alexia, so I’m going to fix this." Ok. He was really prepared.

"We’re coming with you!" Sofiane said too fast and was smiling too wide. Eliott tried his best to hide his own smile. But Sofiane got it and added: "I mean we all want to meet him, right?"

He looked at Eliott, and Eliott nodded his head. He couldn’t believe that he will go to watch how two lovesicks (one with less serious diagnosis) will make idiots out of themselves. Well, at least it would be fun.

                                                         [Emile]

 the guy from last night keeps asking for your number                                                                                                     tell him to fuck off

you know that I can’t

                                                                                                       then ignore him                                                                                                     I don’t give a fuck                                                                            you can write it to him if you want

you sure? he’s quite hot and he’s deffo interested

                                                                                   you can take him if you want

nah, I’m alright thanks have my blue-eyed angel to think about so it’s 100% no from you?

                                                                                                                     101%

you’re cruel

                                                                                        tell me something new

Eliott had one rule in his life and it was not to get attached to the people. And though he one hundred percent failed it when he found his friends, he was still trying to stick to it in personal life. Serious relationships were a big «No» for him. He tried once, everything went to shit, and he gave up. There was no point. And it wasn’t about him being cruel or heartless, it was about him being a good person actually. A good person who was saving people from himself. And Emile usually called it bullshit, but he will never understand. And Eliott was happy about it. No one deserved the shit his life was made of.

There were times when Eliott just wanted to skip lessons and go home. That was one of these days. After the «Literature» he sneaked out of the school and went to the bus stop. He was careful as never as he really hadn’t any desire for his friends to catch him. There’d be definitely questions after, but as long as it wasn’t right now he was alright. He just wanted to be in peace for a while. There was no reason behind it, he just felt like that, and he did that.

When he came to the bus stop there was already a guy sitting there. He looked a little bit younger than Eliott, and he was looking for something in his bag, holding a joint between his lips. Probably, it was someone from his school, but he couldn’t figure out who as he didn’t see the face. Anyway, the thought of him not being the only one who was skipping the school in the middle of the day made him smile, and he sat beside him.

"Mate, don’t you have a lighter? Can’t find mine." The boy said as soon as he noticed that he wasn’t alone anymore.

"I don’t smoke, sorry," Eliott answered not looking at the stranger. The fact was that he really wanted to smoke, but he couldn’t. That was a rule he had no right to break. Not anymore.

"That sucks." There was a pure disappointed in the boy’s voice. Eliott chucked. "Oh, I think I know you. Saw you in the school earlier. With Imane’s brother."

And these were the words which made Eliott turn his head to him.  And when he finally saw a guy, the face in front of him took his breath away. He definitely saw some beautiful people before. Some people even considered him quite handsome, but that boy was in absolutely another league. His face was a masterpiece Eliott couldn’t stop looking at. And his blue eyes were the ocean in which Eliott was ready to drown in.

"Wow, you really look like a model. Girls were right." The stranger smiled. And that was really ironic thing to say as Eliott couldn’t stop wallowing in the guy's beauty. That’s why it took him a couple of minutes to realize what he said.

"Sorry?" He asked, trying to look away because he didn’t really want to look creepy. Though he probably has already failed.

"We were on the school tour with the girls, and they told us about everyone we saw on our way.  You included. Emma called you a model and Alexia said that you’re one of the hottest guys in the school. I didn’t pay to it attention then but I can see it now." The boy said shamelessly, and Eliott couldn’t have believed his ears. Did he just call him hot? Or was it just his imagination?

"So you’re one of the new kids?" Eliott decided not to pay attention to the boy’s words in case he's got something wrong. The boy nodded his head, putting the joint in his pocket. "And you’re skipping already? I know for a fact that your classes are not finished yet." He knew it because nobody finished at this time.

"Let's call it a family emergency."

"But it doesn’t look like you’re rushing!"

"Well, I’m waiting for a bus, aren’t I?" The boy looked at him again. And Eliott could swear that he saw real sparks in his eyes. Oh, his eyes. They were driving him mad. "And what’s your excuse? Why are you here? «I know for a fact that your classes are not finished yet.»" The boy imitated Elliot’s voice and tone and that made Elliott laugh. Sincerely.

"I'm just not in the mood." He said and the boy smirked.

"Sound like a good reason."

"Yeah, it is."

And then there was a silence. But that wasn’t anything awkward or something like that. Not at all. They were just smiling looking at each other. And Eliott had no idea what was that, but he wished this moment would never stopped. He really could feel like the world was good to him again. And the reason was this boy.

But the moment didn’t last as Eliott’s phone began to vibrate. So he was the first to break off their eye contact to check what that was about. He hoped that the boy wasn't too disappointed with his actions. Because he regretted doing this as soon as he took away his gaze.

                                                         [Sofiane]

mate, where are you? we’re meeting Emile’s new love here you forgot?!

"Fuck!" Eliott’s whispered. He really forgot. That was quite a shitty situation.

"What’s happened?" The boy asked. Eliott could feel that his eyes were still on him.

"Just forgot about something. Not a big deal." That was a big deal actually. But he didn’t need to know.

                                                        [Sofiane]

                                                                                                         fuck, I forgot                                                                                                                      sorry                                                                                                      how is it going?

you can relax the boy wasn’t there we left Emile stayed with his friends and the girls

                                                                                                           that’s shit                                                                                              but he’d get over it

btw, where are you?

That was the question Eliott chose to ignore. That wasn’t the time for worrying Sofiane.

And as soon as he closed one chat another began. And Eliott didn’t want to look at it as he really wanted to spend a little bit more time with the boy, but that was Emile. He couldn’t ignore.

                                                         [Emile]

a blue-eyed angel wasn’t there but Imane told me the name Lucas isn’t it beautiful?

«Blue-eyed», «wasn’t there», «Imane». His messages struck him as he began to realize something he didn’t even consider before. The boy with ocean-blue eyes was sitting now with him and he was supposed to be at his classes right now. Earlier he had a school tour which was led by Imane and the boy Emile liked was then with her. And Eliott didn’t really want to think about the possibility, because there were a lot of new boys in the school, but, still, the worry settled in his gut.

"Sorry, I didn’t ask your name." Eliott looked at the boy, hoping that it would be Axel or Isak or David or anything else but not THAT name.

"Oh, yeah, I’m Lucas." The boy said still smiling, and Eliott felt like the earth began to slip under his foot.

The world was against him once again.

Chapter 2 Eliott decides to forget about the blue-eyes boy, shame the blue-eyed boy isn't ready to forget about him.

two missed calls from Idriss

three missed calls from Sofiane

five missed calls from Emile

Eliott was in trouble. Or more precisely he was in real shit. And he didn’t even see messages in the chat yet. But he knew that he would pay for it later. There were no doubts about it. But at this moment he didn’t care. He wanted some peace, and he got it. It wasn’t his house where he found it. But this place was close to being called «home». It was «La Petite Ceinture». His safe place. His shelter. His everything.

Eliott always loved to be dramatic, so he loved the idea of having a secret place. A place where he can hide and think. A place nobody knew about. And when he found it, he finally felt safe again. And when it was really hard for him to move on with his life he always came here to find some comfort. And that’s why he came here after the bus stop. After the meeting with the blue-eyed stranger. After meeting with Lucas. One message from Emile was enough for him to let the boy go.

Emile was a real friend. A real friend who sacrificed a lot for him. And he never asked anything in return. And if there was a tiny possibility of Emile’s sufferings from Eliott’s actions, Eliott had no other choice but to stop it straight away. Yeah, he liked the boy. And he would have been happy to give it a try and spend a little bit more time with him. But not if it would risk him his friendship with Emile. And maybe for Eliott, it wouldn’t have ended up as something serious at the end because he closed himself from relationships, but for Emile… yeah, sometimes he was really inconstant, but he was always trying to find something serious. And Eliott had no right to ruin his searching. Even if it won’t work out for his friend and the boy at the end. He had to let it go.

"You’re doing this disappearance act again, and I’m moving out of this fucking flat!"

These were the first and the only words Emile said when Eliott came back home. Then he rushed to his room. A loud slam of the door followed after that. That was the main problem of living together with your best friend. He cared too much. It wasn’t the first time when he said those words. And it definitely won’t be the last time. But it didn’t make Eliott’s guilt any lesser. He felt like a real shit at those moments. He really didn’t deserve Emile.

They decided to move in together a year ago. When Eliott couldn’t live with his parents and their over-protective mood anymore. But he couldn’t have been trusted anymore. And Emile suggested living together and that seemed like a great idea. Well, it was a great idea, and they enjoyed each others company most of the times. But there were moments like this. When Eliott acted like an asshole and Emile had to put up with it. It was unfair to him, but there was nothing Eliott could do to make him leave. So once again he had to fix the situation as soon as possible.

In five minutes he opened Emile’s door and stretched his hand through the crack holding two bottle ob beers. He didn’t show his face.

"I came in peace." He declared, hoping to get a reaction of his friend.

"Are you trying to buy me?" He’s heard Emile’s voice and smiled. That was a good start.

"Maybe?"

"Are these both for me?"

"Maybe," Eliott repeated his words, keep smiling. He didn’t feel anger in Emile’s voice anymore. It was a good sign.

"Ok. You can come in." Emile finally said, and Eliott let out the breath.

Emile was lying on his bed with the phone in his hands. He didn’t look at Eliott, but he accepted the bottle out of his hands when he lay next to him. Eliott saw that Emile was scrolling down Instagram pages of unknown to him people. But that wasn’t his interest now.

"I’m sorry." He said sincerely.

"I know," Emile answered, still keeping his eyes on the phone. Eliott knew what that meant. He wasn’t angry, but he wanted to show that it wasn’t alright at all. And he was right. Guilt consumed him again. "You can’t do this anymore. When we knew that you were out of school, and when you didn’t pick up your phone, we were scared as shit. Sofiane even wanted to call Lucille and your parents!"

"But he didn’t do it, didn’t it?" That was panic in Elliott's voice. There was no way he would want for them to interfere in his life now. He loved them, but recently they were not helping at all.

"Of course I didn’t let him!" Emile knew too well how bad it could have ended. Once again, he was a good friend. Sofiane and Idriss were close to Eliott too, but they never truly understood him. And that was totally fine, as long as Emile was there to back him up.

"Thanks."

"But you can't blame him for this. We all were worried that something had happened."

"Yeah. I get. And as I said I’m sorry. And I will call the guys later and tell them the same." He promised.

"Oh, you better do it!"

Emile finally looked at Eliott and made the first sip out of the bottle. Now that was it. The problem was solved. For now.

"But don’t you think that I’ll forget that you dumped me when I was going to introduce you to new guys today."

That has been said in a funny tone as if it was a joke. But Eliott didn’t want to laugh at all. He knew that now the conversation was leading to the boy. And no way he was ready to go there now. He needed some time but Emile didn’t give it to him.

"That’s so disappointing that a blue-eyed angel wasn’t there, but at least now I know his friends and his name. By the way, I’m looking through their pages right now." Emile showed Eliott a screen of his phone, and Eliott showed a little bit of interest before looking away just not to look too weird. He didn’t want to see it.

"I don’t want to kill the mood, but what if the boy is straight?" Eliott asked. And that was the question of which was on his mind a lot. If the boy was straight, then it would have solved a lot of problems. Both Emile and Eliott would have no chances, they both would have suffered from it a little and then moved on. That would be the perfect scenario for both of them.

"Then my heart would be crushed in pieces," Emile answered. Eliott smiled as his friend clearly exaggerated. How could he say it and be serious? He didn’t even know him.

"So are you going to ask him or what?" Eliott didn’t want to look like he was too invested in his friend’s new crush and their relationships because it could look suspicious. He never paid attention to Emile’s love life before. Well, there was one time, but the situation was really extreme back then. But now it was usual Emile’s crush, and Eliott shouldn’t have been interested in it. But he was interested. He just couldn’t help it.

"I’m thinking on my strategy yet, but I have a good feeling about it, you know? Let’s just keep our finger crossed, yeah?"

Emile smiled at Eliott and Eliott smiled back while there was a mini-Eliott inside him who wanted to scream.

Eliott had a tendency to draw some moments of his life which were making him smile. Two bottles of beer became such a moment. It wasn’t the first time he used such trick to get Emile’s forgiveness, but it was the first time he decided to capture it. So he drew two bottles with smiley faces leaning on each other. That took him 10 minutes to finish the sketch and upload it on Instagram. It was a habit. He didn’t post there anything but his sketches and drawings. He wasn’t a social media guy, but there was something special in sharing his works with the world. And actually quite a lot of people were following him, and he had no idea why, especially when he followed no one. Not even his friends. But when his pictures were getting some reaction he was always feeling a pleasure. As if the things he did had a point. He liked that feeling.

«There is no problem which couple bottles of beer couldn’t solve ;)»

He wrote a caption to the picture and completely forgot about this post by the evening.

He and Emile had dinner in front of the telly. Then Eliott called Idriss and Sofiane to apologize and listen to the lecture from both sides just to be forgiven at the end. And then he was just studying as he missed his last classes, and he knew that the teachers won't let him off the hook easily. He wanted to be ready. And by the end of the day, he was so exhausted, that he wanted just to go to bed. But that wasn’t meant to happen as he saw a notification under his last post which made his heart skip a beat.

lucallemant left a comment under your photo

«these are some wise words, man»

Logically Eliott knew that could be literally anyone. There were thousands of Lucases in this world and this one could be anyone. He had no reason to lose his shit over this. And just to prove he was right he decided to check the stranger page to calm himself down. On the main picture there was a photo of the boy with the ball which gave him absolutely no information about the person. But that wasn’t the only problem. He couldn't check his other photos as the page was private. And there was no way Eliott would have followed him, especially in the case he was wrong and that was that Lucas. And at the end he didn’t need to do anything to know the truth, as he saw:

followed by emile.elime

Emile was following the boy. And Eliott didn’t want to think about bad stuff, but the possibilities of the guy not being that Lucas were becoming lesser and lesser. And the fact that the boy found him and left his mark… well, it wasn’t good at all. And it would be wise of Elliott to delete the comment before Emile noticed it. But he couldn’t make himself do it. He just closed the app and went to bed hoping that the next morning the comment would disappear itself.

The bad news was that this comment didn’t disappear. The good news was that Emile didn’t see it. Eliott had no idea how it could have happened because Emile was the guy who notices everything. Especially on Instagram. But in the morning he didn’t say a word and that meant only one thing: he didn’t know. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have given Eliott a break with his questions.

At school, Elliott was trying to forget about the whole thing and that was easier to say than done. Emile couldn’t stop looking for a boy. Being in the company of Eliott, Idriss and Sofiane his eyes were still wondering somewhere else. He was observing the whole school, and the guys were laughing at it without him even noticing. Eliott had to pretend that it seemed funny to him too. But in fact, he was dreading it. He was dreading to see the boy and lose himself in his eyes again.

But the boy didn’t appear before their eyes, and they all went to their classes and everything was calm. Before Sofiane decided to speak with him.

"Why is it Emile’s Lucas commenting your photos?" Sofiane asked and it would be an understatement to say that Eliott was surprised. He expected it from anyone but not from Sofiane. The guy was usually too busy with his life to notice such things. At least Eliott thought so.

"You know that I have no idea what you’re talking about?" Eliott asked, trying to sound neutral.

"The boy Emile has a crush on commented your photo yesterday, you didn’t see?" Eliott shook his head. Liar. «That’s strange, don’t you think?»

"Not at all." Eliott had to make him believe that it was an absolutely normal thing. And that was probably an absolutely normal thing. "Emile followed him on Instagram, and the boy probably decided to know his friends. It’s a good sign, right?"

"Well, he didn’t leave a comment to me or Idriss or Emile!"

When did Sofiane become so attentive to Instagram shit?

"It’s not my fault that my posts are cooler than yours." Eliott joked and Sofiane bumped him in the shoulder.

They laughed together, and that topic was closed for now. And Eliott hoped that all Sofiane’s suspicions went away. He didn’t need these troubles right now.

Eliott was the first who came at their table in the cafeteria. He had no idea where his band was, but he didn’t really mind sitting a little bit alone for a while. Without Idriss being moody again. Without Sofiane looking for Imane in the crowd. And without Emile looking for the boy around. He put his tray on the table and sat down. And as soon as it happened, somebody else took a seat in front of him. Eliott expected to see one of his friends, but he defiantly didn’t expect to see him.

"Hi!" The boy smiled. And, oh God, he had a beautiful smile.

"Hi," Eliott mumbled. The alarm was ringing in his head. «Did you want something?» Eliott took a sandwich in his hand trying to show that he had no interest in the conversation. What a lie!

"Yeah. I came to say that I’m deeply offended." The boy announced and Eliott looked at him confused. «At first you leave me at the bus station not even saying your name and then you pay no attention to my comment on your Instagram. That’s very rude of you.»

And that’s all was said in such a serious and childish tone that Eliott couldn’t hold his laugh. And judging by the satisfied smile on the boy’s face it was exactly what he was trying to achieve.

"I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, sorry." Eliott smiled at him, having bitten his sandwich. The boy's eyes were following him. «Did you want anything else?»

"Nah, I’m just sitting here until my friends come." The boy said, looking around. "I’ve skipped a couple of lessons, and they already found some new friends."

"That sucks."

"I thought so too, but looking at my position now… " The boy leaned over the table and whispered. "I don’t really mind."

The boy winked at Eliott and Eliott's nearly choked with his sandwich. How could this angel-like boy so shamelessly flirt with him in the middle of the school? And how could Eliott enjoy it? How could he let himself enjoy it? He literally couldn’t stop smiling at the boy and take away his eyes of him. They were holding each other’s gaze and nobody was ready to finish this game. This stupid game in which their eyes were playing and which what the opposite of what Eliott was planning. He wanted to let the boy go, and definitely not to get attracted to him even more. And he failed. He failed and at that moment he had no regrets. There were no regrets at all until he heard the voice behind his back:

"Eliott, sorry, we held up. Do you remember those new guys we were talking about, right? We’ve just met them and…" Emile stopped the second he saw who was at the table with Eliott. "Hi." He whispered to the boy and smiled. And the way he looked at him made Eliott's heart squeeze. Because that wasn’t a look of «I have a crush» Emile. But that was the look of «I fall really, really hard» Emile. Eliott knew that Emile too well.

"Hi, I’m Lucas!" The boy introduced himself. And that was it. There was still a tiny hope in Eliott’s heart that it wasn’t that Lucas. That it was just a confusion. But as soon as Emile and the boy's hands touched in the handshake all the hopes have vanished. That was a lost battle now.

"I didn’t know you and Eliott knew each other!" Sofiane, who was standing right behind Emile, looked at Eliott. Fuck! He knew that something was off.

"Yeah!" Emile nodded his head. "How do you know each other?"

He looked straight at Eliott, expecting an answer, and Eliott knew that he had only one chance not to fuck it up. He needed to tell the truth.

Chapter 3 Sofiane's suspicious, Lucas's offended and maybe ELiott is a little bit lost. 

“We met at the bus station yesterday,” Eliott wanted to tell the truth, and that was it. The truth.

“You didn’t mention anything,” Emile noted while they were settling in around the table.

Eliott knew that at least two pairs of eyes were looking at him now: Lucas and Sofiane’s. Shit.

“I forgot, didn’t I?” He shrugged his shoulders, trying to avoid Lucas’ gaze. Part of him hoped that the boy wasn’t offended by it. Another part of him was fuming that he really cared about it.

“That’s a real crime, isn’t it?” Emile said, but his words were meant only for Lucas.

The boy captured all of Emile’s attention. Eliott was sure if the bombing had started outside right at this moment, his friend wouldn’t have even noticed. And that thought was killing him. He seriously hoped that it was a simple crush, nothing too serious as usual, but by the look on Emile’s face, it was obviously not the case. If they had been in some cartoon right now, he would have had heart-eyes on his face.

“How are you finding our school?” Emile asked Lucas while Sofiane was eating Eliott with his eyes. Idriss was the only one who acted absolutely normal, eating his lunch. Eliott was staring at his sandwich. He knew that one glance in the wrong direction would be the end of his.

“Well, at first it seemed really strange to be here. But with every second I enjoy it more and more.”

Eliott didn’t see Lucas’ face, but he was sure that the boy glanced at him the second he said those words. What a fucker!

“That’s great to hear!” Emile exclaimed.

Luckily, being in love for him meant the same as living in the fool’s paradise. He was becoming blind to the most evident things. And that was the first time when Eliott was really grateful for it. Shame he couldn’t say the same about Sofiane. He could feel future problems with him with his bones.

“So are you going to tell me where did you bury bodies of my friends or I need to call the police? Cause you were the one with whom I saw them last time.” Lucas said playfully and Emile laughed. And he wasn’t the only one as Idriss smirked too. Sofiane was still too busy with glaring at Eliott. Shit!

But there was something that let a tiny smile appear on Eliott’s face for a split-second. Lucas’ friends didn’t dump him for his new friends, but he dumped them. He saw Eliott’s gang with his friends, and he decided not to join them but come here and sit with Eliott. And Eliott was 99% percent sure that it was his imagination playing with him, but, still, the idea was warming him inside. And that sucked.

“Don’t worry, they’re going to be here soon,” Emile said. And Eliott wasn’t sure if his eyes even left Lucas’ face during all this time.

“Yeah, the girls caught them, and your guys probably have some problems to run away from them now,» Idriss added, and Emile nodded his head in agreement.

“Was Daphne there?” Lucas asked. Idriss nodded while chewing his sandwich. “Then it’s probably girls can't run away from my boys and not another way around. Bazile lost his head over Daphne, and now she is the only thing he can talk about.»

Lucas tried to sound irritated, but his voice was really soft while he was talking about his friend. Eliott liked that.

“I better go and save them.”

Lucas stood up, grabbing his bag. Emile clearly wasn’t happy about it.

“You can always sit and eat with us,” he suggested, but Lucas shook his head. Thankfully.

“Maybe another time.” The boy winked to them and left. Finally, Eliott could breathe again.

“He’s so cool, right?” Emile was looking at his friends. He definitely expected them to support him in his thinking.

“He’s alright,” Idriss commented, but the tone of his voice didn’t show any interest in the boy at all.

Suddenly the phone vibrated in Eliott’s pocket, and he totally missed what Sofiane had to say about the new guy while pulling it out. When he saw a notification, his hands began to shake. And he didn’t want to think about the reason behind it.

lucallemant sent you a message

Never in his life had Eliott wanted to open and no to open the message at the same time. Still, Lucas’s gone just a few seconds ago, and Eliott was dying to know what he could have possibly sent to him. But the fact that Emile was sitting right next to him didn’t make anything easier. And his best friend was clearly under «Lucas’ effect». However, so as Eliott, so after a couple of moments of staring at the screen, he finally opened his message.

lucallemant forgot about me? seriously??!!! now i’m even more offended

It was a miracle how Eliott managed not to burst into laughter after reading this. That was really funny and even cute in a way. And he couldn’t stop smiling at his phone. He just couldn’t control his face. And he knew that it was stupid of him, and it wasn’t the place for this shit, but he hoped that nobody would notice it. How naïve.

It didn’t take long for Sofiane to catch Eliott after the lessons and took him «to talk». Eliott wasn’t stupid, and he knew that it was coming, especially after all the glares of the guy in the cafeteria. His friend surely suspected that something was off, and he wasn’t the person who was ready to let go of something easily. It was now Eliott’s task to persuade him that he saw things, which weren’t real. And that was a hell task to do.

“You can start talking,” Sofiane said while they were walking down the street.

Idriss and Emile were still in the school as they had one more lesson. And now Eliott really wished they were with them just to stop Sofiane from sniffing around.

“Can you at least explain what I have done wrong now?” Eliott said playfully, knowing pretty well that no way Sofiane would buy this.

“Eliott, can you not disrespect me like this, please?!” Sofiane said, being unimpressed.

“Ok, just ask what you want to know, and I’ll answer if I’ll have the answers you need,” Eliott gave up immediately. He didn’t want to fall out with Sofiane. Not because of something that wasn’t even a thing. And that was the point Eliott had intentions to prove.

“Why did you lie about not knowing the boy when I asked you about his comment?” Sofiane went straight to the questions. Actually, it was a pretty easy one.

“I didn’t know it was him. And as I’ve said, I totally forgot about this bus-station meeting.” That lie was easy to say. And that was a lie. Because this «bus-station meeting» was everything he could think about that day.

Sofiane was looking at him with suspicion. He didn't believe him or didn’t believe him fully. He clearly had his doubts, but he changed the course of his «interrogation». And his next question wasn’t so easy to answer.

“Why are you both were acting so strange when we came?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” That was the truth. Eliott tried to act as casual as possible, and he’s done nothing but stared at the tray on the table. And apparently, that was the wrong thing to do.

“Then why did you avoid looking at us and especially at Lucas and Emile while the boy was fucking you with his eyes right under our noses?”

Sofiane stood in front of Eliott, expecting to hear a good, reasonable explanation. But Eliott wasn’t rushing with his answer as his mate’s words gave him something to think about. Was Lucas’ staring really so obvious and bad? Eliott knew that the boy was looking at him from time to time, but «fucking him with his eyes»? No. Sofiane clearly overreacted.

“I didn’t notice such a thing,” Eliott said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Of course, you were too busy with your tray!” Sofiane exclaimed, and Eliott chuckled.

“Look, mate, till the moment the boy crashed at the table I even didn’t know his name!” Liar. “I have no idea why he left me that comment, and I don’t know what you saw at the table, but you clearly misread the situation. I don’t know the boy, and it looks like he’s just trying to be friendly with everyone. And I wasn’t in the mood for this bullshit, so that’s why I didn’t pay to him any attention at the lunch!” Eliott put all his soul into these words just to sound sincere and for Sofiane to believe him.

“Why? What happened? Was it connected with your disappearance yesterday?” Now Sofiane was worried about him. Great!

Eliott began to feel like he was doing everything only worse. Maybe, he really should have told the truth, called the boy some crazy stalker and maybe it would have taken Emile’s interest off him. But somehow Eliott couldn’t do such a thing to the boy. So the lie kept coming.

“No. I just studied till late and didn’t get much sleep,” he reassured his friend and put his hands on Sofiane’s shoulders. “My point is that there is nothing going between me and the boy. I swear. ”

“OK. I believe you,” Sofiane finally said, and it felt like he was serious. Eliott smiled at him while his conscience was eating him up inside. He hated lying to his friends. However, he had good intentions. “I just see how Emile looks at this boy, and it looks serious. And if there is something between you and Lucas, then you better tell the truth now. You and Emile are both my friends, and I love you, so I don’t want one of you to suffer at the end. And today I felt the vibe that it’s pretty much possible.”

Sofiane was always a very perceptive person. He knew when someone was feeling bad or hiding something. He noticed things which others didn’t. He asked questions which others were afraid to ask. And he was always there for you when you needed even if you didn’t ask him. And that was the moment when Eliott saw all of it in him and even thought about him being right. Maybe he should have told everything straight away. To him. To Idriss. To Emile. And not just about his meeting with Lucas, but also about the feelings which the boy made him feel. And maybe it would have saved him from a real misery in the future, but there was one problem: he saw the way Emile was looking at Lucas too. There was no going back now.

“If Lucas is into guys then Emile can take him, I don’t care. No man can stand between the best buddies, right?” Eliott was smiling at Sofiane until he started to smile back.

Eliott clapped him on the back, and they continued to walk not mentioning Lucas anymore. And Eliott hated himself for talking about the boy like he was some object which they could pass to each other, but he had to do it that way. Sofiane had to hear it like this. He knew that there was no way Eliott would have said something like that about the person he really cared about.

Eliott and Sofiane were chilling on their sofa, eating pasta and watching some crappy TV show. They were talking about school and the stuff they had to do but were too lazy for it. And that was a typical evening for them. They both were checking their phones times from time… well, Emile actually didn’t take his eyes off his, but Eliott wasn’t so addicted to that thing. Thank God. But one notification was enough for him to lose his shit over it.

lucallemant sent you a message

And for some reason, he didn’t hesitate this time and read it straight away.

lucallemant

still offended …

Once again that made Eliott smile, but not for long, as Emile was sitting in a couple of inches from him. And probably it was Lucas’ page he was obsessively looking through even if he already saw it a thousand times.

Looking at Lucas’ messages, Eliott began to think what under other circumstances he should have done. He should have clicked «follow» and that would have been the next move Lucas was clearly waiting from him. And in this reality, he was almost ready to do it, as they officially knew each other now. Emile and Sofiane have already followed him, and that wouldn’t have been weird if Eliott would’ve started to follow him too. But that could have given the boy the wrong idea, and Eliott didn’t want to do it. And he also didn’t want to get too close to the boy. He knew almost nothing about him, and his page could give him something, and he didn’t want that. He didn’t want to get even more attached to him. He couldn’t let it happen.

“This is so interesting. He’s so open and so closed at the same time,” Emile said thoughtfully, having attracted Eliott’s attention.

“Who?”

“Lucas!” Emile answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “His page is full of photos of him and his friends, but still it says nothing about him as a person!”

That was ironic how just a couple seconds ago Eliott was thinking about not wanting to know anything from Lucas’ page, but Emile decided to give him something to cling to anyway. As if the universe was laughing at him. But Emile’s started it, and now Eliott was too intrigued to let it go.

“What do you mean?” He asked.

“Well, if you look at your page you’ll see that you like drawing, your stupid dubstep music and that you have the “Polaris” project in which you put all your soul. Sofiane’s page is all about dances, charities and child-football. Mine is a fan-page of every hot dude on this planet and Agatha Christie. Idriss posts nothing because he doesn’t care about the shit. Lucas’ friend Bazile is a guy who loves stupid memes, jokes and girls. And looking at Lucas’ page, it’s all just him and his friend doing stupid things with dumbasses faces!”

“Maybe he’s just a dumbass?” Eliott suggested, wishing it would be the truth. If it were like that, it would have been so much easier for him and Emile to forget about his existence.

“Nah, you saw him. It’s obvious that he’s much more than that.”

Unfortunately, Eliott couldn’t but agree. And that was a funny thing. He and Emile didn’t know the boy at all, but they both felt his energy which was screaming about him being unique in some way.

“Well, not everybody loves to show the whole world his life. It’s a normal thing.”

“Yeah, I know. I just want to know something about him. If I even have a chance for starters. But I have no idea where to start.” Emile sounded desperate, and that didn’t look like him at all. Usually, he always knew how to make the first move and what to do next. But now he looked lost. He was afraid to fuck all up. That was too important.

“Just write to him,” Eliott suggested, thinking about their own chat which Lucas’s created earlier.

“Won’t it be too weird? Just to write to him out of nowhere?” Clearly, Emile wasn’t sure that it was a good idea.

“Well, just ask him if he managed to save Daphne or some shit like that. If he will answer, that’s great. If he won’t… well, his loss!”

Eliott clapped him on the shoulder and went to wash their dishes. He saw that Emile was thinking about his words for several moments, and then he started typing. A few minutes have passed when Eliott’s heard a happy squeal from him. There were no questions needed. It seemed like he’s got his answer. And despite the fact that Eliott was partly the one who helped it to happen, he still didn’t feel like sitting and witnessing the scene. He finished washing the dishes and went to his room. Emile was too busy to notice his absence anyway.

That night he went to sleep early. And right before it, he checked his phone one last time. There was one new message.

lucallemant

:((

Eliott’s heart sank, and he closed the chat immediately. He didn’t want to think about why the boy just couldn’t leave him alone. But Eliott was going to help him with it. If Eliott would ignore him then the boy would give up. Probably he’s already done that. And that was quite a painful thing for Eliott to think about. But that was the only way. He was doing the right thing. At least he wanted to believe it.

Chapter 4 Eliott's invited to the party and his tongue gets him in the troubles. 

The day was calm. Actually, it was Friday, so everybody was just patiently waiting for it to pass to finally enjoy weekends. Idriss decided to give himself one extra day off, so he skipped school, having said that he didn’t feel well. Of course, it was a lie, and nobody knew where the guy really was. Because he definitely wasn’t at home. Imane said that. However, it didn’t really bother his friends that he lied. If he needed time, they were ready to give it to him.

“Do we have plans on these weekends?” Sofiane asked while they were chilling on the bench outside the school. That was a sunny day so most of the students were crawling back from the building just to enjoy a little bit of sun on their break.

“No, as far as I know,” Eliott said, having closed his eyes. He was facing the sun. Its tender rays were having a relaxing effect on him.

“Emile?” Sofiane turned to another friend.

“What?” Emile asked because he clearly didn’t hear the question.

The fact was that Emile wasn’t with Eliott and Sofiane that day. He was with his phone. More precisely, he was with Lucas. Since Eliott left him yesterday evening, he didn’t see his mate let his eyes off the thing. And that was irritating. For more than one reason. But he was smiling a lot, and that was enough for Eliott to put up with this. Though he desperately wanted to know what was so interesting in their conversation that couldn’t let Emile go. But Eliott didn’t ask. He wasn’t sure that he was ready to know the answer.

“I’m starting to get jealous here!” Sofiane resented, but the smile was giving him away. Eliott opened his eyes just to see it, and that made him smile. Emile rolled his eyes, but didn’t say anything back. Emile’s phone vibrated again, and he turned his attention to it. “See? We’ve lost him!”

“Hi!” Eliott had no time to answer, as he heard a grating girl’s voice.

“Hi, Daphne!” Sofiane answered.

Daphne and Imane were standing in front of them, and it wasn’t the blond Sofiane was looking at. Of course.  Once again Imane became the center of his universe. And it was clearly a mutual thing. How nobody noticed how these two were looking at each other yet was beyond Eliott. He’s been waiting for an invitation to their wedding since they met the first time. And they were just kids then!

“We came to invite you to our party tonight at Emma’s,” Daphne said excitedly.

“Tonight?” Eliott asked confused. Was she serious? “Who’s inviting people to the party on the day of the party?”

“Well…” The smile vanished of Daphne's face. She clearly didn’t have an answer.

“Every time we invite you, you turn us down, so what’s the difference? You just say “no”, and we’ll leave you alone,” Imane said, and that was a good point. They really were rare guests at the girls’ parties. It wasn’t that they didn’t like being there, but it didn’t feel right. Imane was always trying to look after Idriss for him not to get too drunk. Sofiane was running after her just in case she needed help. Emile was «too cool and old» to make out with his classmates and always ran away to the local gay bars. And Eliott was simply bored. So in the end, it wasn’t a pleasure for anyone, so they skipped what the girls were offering them quite a lot. Still, Daphne was always trying to get them in, Eliott gave her credit for that.

“And before you say “no” just hear us out!” The Daphne asked, and that was the least they could do. “This party is devoted to all the new students in our school. We want them to feel like home, and we want to welcome them properly. So it would be great to gather as many students as possible!»

“Well, that sounds nice, but…” Eliott began, but Emile woke up in time to stop him.

“That means all the new guys will be there?” He asked, and Daphne began to nod her head like a crazy energized bunny. That was scary as fuck. “We will be there!” Emile announced.

Daphne squealed with excitement and began to jump, clapping her hands. Imane smiled too, but Eliott knew that it wasn’t about them coming. It was about Sofiane coming.

“Great! That will be great!”

These were the last Daphne’s words before the girls went away. Eliott and Sofiane were looking at Emile with the question in their eyes.

“What?” He said. “There’s no better place to know the people than a party. So I think that’s a great idea.”

Of course, he wasn't fooling anyone. The only reason he dragged them in this was Lucas. He wanted to reach the boy, and he was clinging to every chance. Eliott could understand it, but it didn’t make him less frustrated. It was a real challenge to watch them texting to each other, but to watch them interact at the party where will be a lot of alcohol and no shame? That would be torture. He really needed to find a way to avoid this execution. And when he started to think about all the possibilities, the phone vibrated in his pocket.

lucallemant I guess i see you at the party then? ;)

This message made Eliott look around immediately to find what he was looking for. Lucas and his friends, Eliott still didn’t know them, were standing right in front of the entrance of the school. Lucas was lazily leaning on the wall, turning his phone in his hand, while his mates were actively discussing something. And suddenly Eliott wasn’t sure if he really wanted to miss this party.

“Are you alright?” Emile asked Eliott when he noticed that his friend was too quiet.

Eliott was sitting on Emile’s bed while his friend was running around in a panic, trying to find what to wear. Everything he chose he showed to Eliott and every time Eliott nodded his head as his approval his friend decided that it wasn’t that. So Eliott was nothing more than an accessory at this moment, and he didn’t mind. It was nice to see Emile so excited.

But there was something that was bothering him, and he knew that Emile would be the only one to understand.

“My mum and dad want to meet me tomorrow. They say they have some news,” Eliott shared with a friend with what he’s heard only an hour ago on the phone. Emile stopped with his fussing and sat on the bed facing Eliott. He looked concerned.

“And what did you say?”

“I said that I’ll let them know later.” Eliott sounded guilty. He knew he did because he was feeling it.

After everything his parents did for him, he was really shitty with them. And him not wanting to go to see them was a real example of it. He didn’t deserve them.

“Don’t feel bad just because you feel what you feel,” Emile said the same thing he was always telling him when they were talking about Eliott’s parents. He knew what emotions this topic was arising in him. “If you don’t want to go, tell them. They’ll understand. If you want to go, but if it’s still hard, I can go with you, it isn't a problem. But you don’t have to do anything that doesn’t sit right with you, OK?” As always, his tone was caring and reassuring. Emile always knew what buttons were needed to push.

“Yeah, I know.” Eliott smiled. “But this time I think I need to go. Alone. I owe them that. And I think it’d be right.”

“Only if you’re sure.” Emile reached Eliott’s hand and squeezed it. “But if you change your mind, you know where I am. Don’t you ever forget that you are not alone.”

Emile smiled at him once again and then returned to his wardrobe. Eliott looked at his phone.

                                                       [Mother]

                                                     write me a place and the time and I’ll be there

He pushed «send» and put away the phone. And as Eliott couldn't have thought any good reason to save himself from his future suffering, he and Emile still had a party to go to.

When they arrived the place was already filled with loud music, smoke, and drunk students. Emile had a habit to come to the parties later because it was when all fun was starting. So the fact that half of the people were already lost to this world didn’t surprise Eliott at all. He knew that Sofiane and Idriss have been already here, as they came together with Imane. Eliott and Emile were trying to break through sweat drunk bodies with Eliott trying to avoid all the unnecessary tactile contact with them. And it was a challenge to go past them without somebody pouring the content of his cups on them or something worse. Actually, there was already a pretty awful smell in the flat, but everybody was too out of their minds to notice it.

“Awww! You came!” A blonde fury rushed on them with a big hug. That was some awkward shit, but Emile and Eliott just accepted it, smiling.

“Sorry, we’re late,” Emile said to Daphne, giving her one of his charming smiles. Despite him being gay and everybody knowing about it, he still had an effect on the girls, and he knew how to use it. “So are all the new students here?”

“Yeah, we’ve read them a welcome speech and half of them probably have already fallen asleep somewhere.” Manon appeared next to Manon with the cup in her hand. With the cup of something non-alcoholic. Every time she drank, she was getting into troubles, so she decided to quit it. And when Eliott and his friends came to the girls' party after all, she was his non-drinking buddy. Actually, he liked her and enjoyed her company. Sometimes they even had a «non-drinking quartet» with Imane and Sofiane when they were kind enough to join them.

“And Sofiane and Idriss? Did you see them?” Eliott was trying to find his friends in the crowd. Emile was looking into it too, but Eliott was sure that it wasn’t his mates he was looking for.

“Oh. You better see it yourself!” Manon smiled at them mysteriously and led them to another room.

All the people gathered in the big circle there, focusing all the attention to the center, clapping their hands and cheering. It took the company some effort to squeeze through all the bodies to know what that was about. And when Eliott saw the action a huge grin lightened his face.

“Are these two having a dance battle?” He shouted to Manon, and she just pointed to them, what meant “and what do you think?”.

At the center, Sofiane and Imane were standing facing each other and giving one of their best moves at a time. And that was fascinating. They were rivals, but they acted like a duet. They wanted to defeat the other, but they obviously didn’t want it to stop. The way their bodies moved, the way they looked at each other, the way they smiled, that all was screaming about some great story between them, which just couldn’t get started.

“Fucking soulmates!” Eliott commented, and Manon smiled at him because she knew.

Somehow, in the crowd, he lost Emile, and in an attempt to find him, he bumped into some boy, who poured his beer on Eliott’s shirt.

“Fuck!” Eliott roared, but the boy didn’t even notice it.

Thankfully, Eliott has already been in Emma’s house, so he knew where to start looking for a bathroom. Probably it had no sense to go there because some loved up couple has already probably occupied it. But he couldn’t go around, smelling like a beer barrel, so he had to try. When he opened the door, he got an impression that it was empty there and he rushed to the sink. However, he really should have looked around.

“And here I thought that you’ve been avoiding me.” Lucas’ voice made Eliott jump. Lucas’ drunk voice.

The boy was sitting in the bath with a bottle of beer in one hand and a joint in another. He was wearing black jeans and a dark-blue skirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. His hair looked really wild, and Eliott thought that they were messy before, but that was something else. They were pointing in different directions, and a couple of locks were cascading over his face. And that was one of the hottest things Eliott ever saw. And that was scary what influence the boy’s look had on some of his organs.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Eliott turned to the sink and turned the water, trying to wash the smell of the beer of his hands and not to think about blue eyes, which were looking at him now.

“I’m waiting for my friends. They left to bring more booze, but I won’t be surprised if they have forgotten about me already. So do you want to join me?” Lucas extended his hand with a beer, and Eliott had no other choice but to look at him. Actually, he has had a choice, but who cared, right?

“Thanks, but I’m not drinking.” Eliott smiled at the way the boy’s face changed. He looked like he was trying to figure something out, but he couldn’t.

“You’re not smoking and you’re not drinking. Are you trying to be a perfect future son in law for your future girlfriend’s parents?” Lucas assumed, examining Eliott with his eyes. It made Eliott chuckle.

“Maybe,” he said with a smile. “Not necessary girlfriend’s though.” And that really slipped off his tongue, and that was too late when he understood what he’s done. He realized it only when he saw the way boys’ eyes brightened up, and he licked his lips. Fucking hell, Eliott really wasn’t handling it well. And it was definitely getting too hot in the room.

And luckily for Eliott, he was saved before he said something he could regret later as the door opened, and three boys rushed into the room, screaming and shouting something. Eliott caught a glimpse of disappointment on Lucas’s face before it was replaced with a wide smile. And here was the moment when Eliott decided that he needed to go. Well, he ran away from there actually.

The party was gaining momentum as the people were getting drunker and craziness around has become more surreal. There were couples making out at every corner of the flat. And it wasn’t possible to hide from the view of tongues and naked bodies anymore. Eliott felt like he was ready to go home any time soon, but still, he was staying, chatting with Sofiane and Manon. And part of him knew what didn’t let him go so easily. The boy who was passing him by with his mates a couple of times and glancing at him secretly. But those glances were enough for Eliott to start burning inside.

“When are you going to talk to her?” Eliott asked Sofiane, trying to distract himself. Imane came to them earlier and took Manon away because Emma needed their help. And when he saw once again a look of a loved-up puppy on his friend’s he couldn’t help himself. Sofiane looked at him questioning. Eliott rolled his eyes. “Come on, mate, you and Imane are soulmates, even the blind can see it. Just go and talk to her!”

“Like it’s so easy!” At least Sofiane wasn’t denying his feelings.

“You’ll never know if you won’t try,” Eliott said, and Sofiane clearly began to think about it.

“Hi, Eliott!” A brunette suddenly jumped out in front of him. Liana. He remembered her. A nice tiny girl with whom he was making out on some parties before but nothing more. She definitely had a crush on him, but he was always clear about not wanting anything serious. But she was too clingy, and he decided not to go there again.

“Hi,” he said, having zero interest in her.

Actually, there was something much more interesting in the background. Lucas and his friends were in the frame again, only this time Idriss and Emile joined them. He saw only Lucas, Idriss and the blond guy with the glasses on his face, but it was clear that all their attention was drugged by Emile. He was telling something waving his arms around. The company was constantly laughing. Lucas was laughing too. And probably it could have upset Eliott, but it wasn’t like that. Because he knew that the boy was glancing at him again from time to time, but he was doing it carefully. Nobody has noticed a thing. But Eliott did. And he saw how hard Emile was trying to attract the boy’s attention, and it wasn’t fair to take it away, from him, so Eliott needed to act. And he needed to act fast.

Liana was still standing there, talking some shit about «good old times» and «having fun», and Eliott saw an opportunity. He knew that it was the wrong thing to do, he knew that he would regret this in the morning. But that was an extreme measure. So he grabbed her by her jacket, pulled her closer, closed his eyes and kissed. That wasn’t even a kiss, but a weak attempt. But Liana didn’t notice it apparently, as she grabbed his face with hands and responded to the kiss. And Eliott felt nothing, absolutely nothing apart from a desire to finish it as soon as possible. And that «kiss» didn’t really last long, 10-15 seconds, but for Eliott, it seemed like an eternity. And when he opened his eyes, he saw that company disappeared once again and Lucas too, so he broke off the kiss immediately, said Liana something about calling her later and rushed to the door. The party was over for him now.

When he came back home, he didn’t fell asleep straight away. He decided to go through another torture and watch all the Instagram posts his friends and other students posted from the party. And there were many photos. Sofiane posted a photo with Imane, calling her the best dance-rival ever. Idriss posted a photo of the battle, describing Imane and Sofiane as «these talented fuckers». That was an achievement for him. Probably he was really impressed. Manon had a photo with Eliott, Sofiane and Imane, which had the caption «best non-drinking buddies in the world». Eliott smiled and liked it. And as for Emile… he posted a lot. Eliott wasn’t with him a lot at the party, but his friend was clearly enjoying it. His page was full of photos with different people, some of them Eliott knew, some of them he saw the first time. And there was a lot of Lucas there. Of course, it wasn’t only him, but the girls, his friends, and Emile, but, still, he was the one who attracted Eliott’s attention. And here he saw what Emile was talking about the other day. Lucas was a fan of dorky faces on photos and somehow it didn’t feel like him. And Eliott had to close all the photos before he went too far away with this in his thoughts. The reality was that he didn’t know the boy. They shared several strange moments but that was it. No information about him or his personality. Eliott still knew nothing. But still, he wasn’t surprised when he got the message.

lucallemant i had to leave too that’s all was just fake

And Eliott didn’t even think what the boy meant. It could be about this stupid party, or about people pretending as if they cared about them, or about Eliott’s kiss or about anything else for that matter. He just fell asleep, thinking about him not being a stranger to this feeling.