#&. arc. you're great just the way you are ( young / moordale. )

[trickstercaptain]

       A stupid boy. Oh. Funnily enough, that didn't give Jack any further guidance as to how to comfort her — aside from declaring out loud that all boys were stupid, which, as self-deprecating as it might have been, likely wouldn't have helped. Instead, he decided to pick up the teasing gauntlet she'd laid at his feet. He shrugged. “ It had pictures in it. ” Not strictly true, but then Hera didn't need to know about the pile of books in his bedroom that had been a constant companion to him during his childhood. Some things just didn't fit the school rebel image. There was an awkward pause before Jack continued. “ I can teach you some tricks from it, if you like? They'd help you pay him back. ” His brow furrowed, suddenly curious. “ Who was it, anyway? ”

tears  had  been  nearly  forgotten  ──────  the  petite  brunette  so  easily  ensnared  by  jack's  sudden  appearance  that  the  heat  of  her  tears  had  been  completely  ignored.  that  was  until  his  words  had  returned  her  mind  to  reality  ―  and to  the  heartbroken  pieces  left  atop  the  booth...  two  places,  yet  only  one  held  the  evidence  of  nervous  nibblings. breadcrumbs and salted tears sprinkled atop a porcelain plate. "  ―  just  a  stupid  boy...nothing  new.  "  hera  answers  while  swallowing  down  the  urge  to  cry,  her  heart's  lament  entangling  tender  cords  into  a  knot.  she  clears  her  throat,  an  attempt  to  push  past  the  ache  so  clearly  threaded  within  her  frown  ―  her  eyes  wet  and  wistful  despite  the  jest she  offers.  "  ―  you  read  books?  "

[trickstercaptain]

       Oh, he was in for it now. First the jab of a finger into his shirt, and then the twisting of her fist in the fabric — though Jack remained smirking through it all, in a way that he was sure made him even more punchable in that moment. He couldn't help it; Hera was fun to mess with. Pushing her buttons was fun and she didn't seem to object to it either. It was harmless. But when she yanked him down to meet her height, something else took over. Something about the tone of her voice, the distance of her lips to his face. He'd never doubted it, but now he knew for sure: she knew what she was doing, too. Jack cocked his head to the side, letting his dark eyes linger on her face. “ You make that sound... kind of appealing. ” His brow arched, as if inviting the possibility of... whatever this was. It was her move.

her brows raise as her eyes narrow in a stern stare ────── green flames licking from her eyes... back arches off the wall as leans forward to jab a firm and accusing finger into his chest. " don't. you. dare! " she squeals, grin remaining on her lips despite the severity of her warning ― long had she forgotten now whatever it was that ailed her, relishing instead in the girlish glee she feels in his shadow. finger twists into a grasp, a fistful of cotton tugging him off the wall and down to her petite form where she teases with a sultry whisper: " do it...and i'll hunt you down, jack ― i swear i will. "

[trickstercaptain]

       “ I was pretending to be a waiter so that I could perfect this... thing I'd read about in a book. ” Jack hesitated as he reached the end of his sentence — not just because he was about to admit in an open restaurant that he'd clocked in under a false name and was practicing the art of stealing a customer's credit card while serving them, but also because he'd just noticed the tears falling down Hera's face. Was she alright? He'd quickly ducked into her booth in the restaurant to avoid meeting the gaze of the manager and being recognised as a fraud but... he now felt concern bubble up in the pit of his stomach.

       “ Is everything... alright? ” He asked tentatively, unsure as always of how to react around a girl who was crying. “ Has someone upset you? ”

the  ultimate  date  prompt  list  :   [  𝙿𝚁𝙴𝚃𝙴𝙽𝙳  ]:  𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚗𝚐  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛  𝚑𝚊𝚜  𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗  𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚍  𝚞𝚙,  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛  𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜  𝚝𝚘  𝚋𝚎  𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛  𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎  𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚍,  𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗  𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐  𝚋𝚎  𝚠𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚍.

of  course  it  had  been  a  joke  ──────  she  should  have  known  better  than  to  believe  someone  good  (unbroken  and  untouched  by  cruelty)  could  ever  wish  to  be  seen  with  her,  a  monstrous  mess  of  frayed  edges  and  chewed  out  pieces... 

jaw  clenches  as  she  fights  back  tears,  golden  cheeks  set  ablaze  with  the  sudden  rise  of  hushed  whispers,  convinced  her  shame  their  chosen  subject.  gaze  fixes  upon  her  empty  plate,  wishing  to  burst  free  from  her  seat,  yet  pinned  by  critical  and  curious  eyes,  onlooking  strangers  peering  into  a  girl's  breaking  heart. 

tears  drip  onto  porcelain,  her  head  dipping  in  effort  to  hide  her  tears  behind  falling  hair,  nearly  missing  her  sudden  guest...  dishes  clatter  as  @trickstercaptain  plops  himself  into  the  empty  seat,  teary  eyes  lifting  with  hope  only  to  settle  upon  jack  with  confusion.  "wha  ―  what  are  you  doing  here?  "