#BECAUSE disney wanted to ignore the fact that they're about women as much as possible

[aishabellasbigblogofeverything]

The Black girls remember. 

Do you remember when people claimed that Tangled was ignored by Disney?

*Tangled has a short, an ongoing series and a future live-action movie*

The PatF fandom remembers.

[distinctivelibrarians]

Ayyyy friend, saw you wanted some Drabble prompts! How about something where Jake and Ezekiel go on a double date with Cassandra and Estrella (bonus points if Jake and Ezekiel set it up without really realizing they're setting themselves up for a date, if that makes sense? It's up to you!)

Thank you so much for the prompt! I’m not sure if it quite hits ‘double-date’ so much as a more general ‘date-night’, but I hope you like it!

(cross-posted to ao3 here)

“-o, no, you’re right, I’ll see you soon okay?” Jacob paused, glancing up from his desk to see Cassandra sweep into the Annex, still on her phone. Despite the melancholic tone, she had a soft, lovely little smile that told him exactly who she was talking to. He shared a glance with Ezekiel, who was perched on the center table, fiddling with… Jacob was pretty sure that had once been his phone, but neither said anything.

For about two seconds after Cassandra hung up anyway.

“Estrella?” Ezekiel asked, completely ignoring Jacob’s look of really?

Cassandra blinked, glancing up from the phone in her hands, as if just now noticing the Annex was actually occupied. “That obvious, huh?” she asked, blushing slightly, only to laugh when Ezekiel raised his hand to make a ‘little bit’ gesture.

“When was the last time you two had a chance to go out, anyway?” Jacob asked, before Ezekiel could say whatever it is he was about to - he knew that look. It was either going to be something ridiculous or… nope, his money was on ridiculous. (And if he shot a smug grin his way when Ezekiel shot him a look of his own, well. Cassandra didn’t notice either way.)

“Ah… last month.” She smiled again, and Jacob’s pretty sure she thought she was doing a good job of hiding just how much that was dragging on her, so he couldn’t really find it in him to point out just how much like a kicked puppy she looked. He got it, even regular couples couldn’t see each other constantly - and with one of them being a Librarian, traveling every couple of days at the drop of a hat, and the other a vampire more or less limited to brief trips outside her home while also being dedicated to keeping her family retreat up and running… yeah, they were probably lucky they saw each other as often as they did.

But still. Cassandra just looked miserable.

If the look and eyebrow quirk Ezekiel shot him was anything to go by, he saw it too.

And if his heart kicked, just that little bit, with a familiar fondness at the fact that he could actually see Ezekiel already plotting to fix this, well, it could just keep that to itself, thank you. This was about Cassandra.

Neither of them said anything about it as Cassandra stuck around to chat a little, doing her best to shake off her mood. Jacob was maybe just a little proud when, when she left, her smile was back to being warm and real, at least for the time being.

“...alright Jones, what’re you planning?” He asked as soon as he was sure she was out of earshot. He got a cheeky grin in return.

“Nothin’ bad, cowboy, cool it. Hey, you busy?”

“I mean, kin-”

“We’re helping Cassandra.”

“-da...not busy. Sure. What’s the plan?” And there was that too bright, too sharp grin that Jacob knew, just knew was going to be the end of him. Too bad he didn’t much care.

“It’s probably what, noon at the retreat right now? Let’s go!” He was off the table and fiddling with the Back Door in the next moment, leaving Jacob blinking… and then bolting to catch up with him before the Door closed again behind him.

It was… disturbingly easy to sneak onto the retreat without Estrella noticing. Or, maybe she was just humoring them. That was also very, very possible, and the more Jacob thought about it, the more likely it seemed that that was what was going on. Regardless, she didn’t seem to notice them, his pride settled on them being just that good (which, Ezekiel was, a little voice in the back of his head piped in, while he himself tripped over a planter that came up to his hip. So.).

He still didn’t have any idea what Ezekiel was planning when they first got there. Up until he cornered one of the new employees Estrella had hired - Michael, if Jacob remembered correctly, from when they’d all dropped by to see how she was handling the retreat on her own a couple months back.

It was a really simple plan all things considered.

“Look, we want to get Estrella a night off to come see her girlfriend. Think you can get everyone to help cover and get her a night off in like… two days? We’ll have her back by morning!” After Jacob had to step in to assure Michael that that last part was supposed to be reassuring and not a veiled threat, he all too readily agreed.

Numbers were exchanged, with a promise to keep this all a surprise for Estrella as best they could, and then they headed back to the Library to plan the rest of the night.

And ‘plan’ apparently meant- “You can cook right?”

“...Yes?” Jacob responded, raising an eyebrow.

“Look, we’re not going to be able to convince both of them to actually go and have a night out like they deserve on such short notice.” Ezekiel shrugged, grinning, “Figured we could make something nice here. The theatre can be made up for two and-”

“And a romantic dinner. Sure. Why not. Only if you help.” He didn’t really need his help. But the look on Ezekiel’s face honestly made pushing for it kinda worth it.

“Sure, grea- wait, what? No, nope, no way, mate. I don’t cook.” Ezekiel shot back, crossing his arms over his chest like he was ready to put his foot down with this. If Jacob hadn’t seen him pull the same move when Eve tried to get him to do anything, he might’ve bought it.

“Don’t as in ‘fire-hazard’ or don’t as in ‘lazy’?” Because as much as he wanted to push this (for Cassandra, alright), he also knew better than to invite a walking disaster into the kitchen. Christmas Dinner of 1997 taught him that. No thank you.

“Don’t as in ‘don’t wanna’.”

“That’s nice. You’re still helping.”

“Just said I was-”

“Or I tell Jenkins what happened to the tie pin Eve got him for his birthday.”

“...definitely going to help. Great idea. And I’m replacing that! Just… give me a bit.”

They were not nearly as subtle as they thought they’d been. But, since the only consequence of that was Estrella and Cassandra sitting at the table while Jacob and Ezekiel made dinner, Jacob couldn’t really dredge up the energy to be disappointed.

Estrella had been ready for them when they’d opened the Back Door on the retreat, all soft smiles and amused thanks, before brushing right past them to Cassandra, who had also apparently caught on to their game (or was just brought into the loop by Estrella. Still missing confirmation on that). They couldn’t be too indignant about it though, with both women practically glowing, trading tight hugs and soft kisses and really. Who could get mad at that?

Ezekiel had shooed everyone to the kitchen, grumbling something about the sooner they tried this cooking thing, the sooner he could never touch an oven again. Jacob had shared a look with the women before rolling his eyes and smiling. (And if it was a little too fond, Estrella and Cassandra at least had the good grace not to point it out.)

They weren’t making anything too complicated, and despite Jacob’s promises (threats) to make Ezekiel actually cook, he was mostly stuck helping with prep. Cassandra and Estrella were at the end of the table closest to them, sitting close enough to be leaning against each other’s sides, talking softly and occasionally dropping their voices a bit before laughing. Jacob was pretty sure they were laughing at him and Ezekiel, but when he shot looks back at them, they just gave him big, too-innocent looking grins that he didn’t buy for a second. But they were also just… soft looking, happy, and relaxed in a way he almost never saw Cassandra, and was pretty sure Estrella rarely got too, so he was all too happy to roll his eyes, make a show of huffing and leave them to it.

He wasn’t too sure who had set up the music player in the corner, everything too quiet to make out more than the occasional refrain and note (though, he was pretty sure he heard Etta James in there at some point, and he’d had to stop for a second, memories of evenings spent dancing around his ma’s kitchen while she cooked making him smile like a goof), but it added to the close, warm, comfortable atmosphere that had settled over all of them.

Occasionally, him and Ezekiel would get pulled into the conversation, but were mostly left to themselves while they got everything ready.

At some point, Ezekiel had cajoled him into sharing the memories that had made him stop in the middle of the kitchen (which he’d thought nobody had noticed, and he should really know better by now). And Jacob couldn’t really see any harm in telling them (or at least, Ezekiel. Cassandra and Estrella were back in their own little world) - how, when he was little, his mom had taught him what little he knew how to cook, how most nights while his pop was out, she’d be filling the house with 50s and 60s r&b, only to switch to jazz during the holidays. He learned that Ezekiel hadn’t heard most of the artists he listed, but he had his own childhood music to compare: instead of records, old albums passed from aunts and cousins, Ezekiel talked about listening to live bands - on street corners and bus platforms, in clubs with doors thrown wide in the heat, from down the street as neighbors played had radios loud enough to float down the street - and how he and his mom listened to Disney show tunes on mornings he didn’t have to get ready for school, dramatically reenacting the scenes that went with them sometimes.

Jacob had laughed and Ezekiel had immediately called him on imagining the Lion King scene, which. Guilty.

(And if he made a note to drag Ezekiel out one of these days and just go bar hopping for live, local bands, well. No one had to know why.)

Dinner was a low-key thing, once everything was ready. Ezekiel and Jacob had tried to duck out (just a tad bit reluctantly, if they were being honest with themselves), to give Cassandra and Estrella some privacy, but they were having none of it. So they all ended up around the table, low light courtesy of the Library (which, real subtle there), talking quietly and all silently agreeing not to break the close, just… nice feeling that had settled on everything.

(He liked to think he was being subtle about sneaking looks at Ezekiel when he was talking, but, a quick glance at Estrella told him that that wasn’t likely.)

(And then Ezekiel had caught him looking halfway through a story about breaking into a Spanish castle that Estrella had insisted he tell. He hadn’t stopped talking, and Jacob was pretty sure he was imagining the faint blush. He wouldn’t know honestly. By the time he looked back from hastily looking at anything but Ezekiel, he’d looked normal. The heat he could feel on his face though ensured him that he looked anything but. And he didn’t need Cassandra smirking at him, thanks.)

Somehow, in a way both of them still wouldn’t be sure of later, they were roped into the movie as well. The theatre that they had spent the other day making sure was perfectly set up for two was now set up for… well, however many two couches could fit. The big, soft ones that were very definitely stolen from Jenkins’ study. Jacob shot an unimpressed look up at the ceiling because, again, subtle.

Oddly enough, though he’d thought to actually protest since this was supposed to be about Cassandra and Estrella, Ezekiel gave half an argument at best. And this time, he definitely wasn’t imagining the blush.

Either way, Cassandra and Estrella were again having none of it, and Jacob found himself perched on the second couch next to Ezekiel while the lights went dark for The Princess Bride. Apparently, Estrella had never seen it, and, according to both Ezekiel and Cassandra that was just a tragedy.

Estrella and Cassandra were once again wrapped in their own little world, and this time, each other, with Cassandra curled into Estrella’s side after hauling a truly impressive number of blankets around them. They were practically glowing and Jacob couldn’t help the stupid smile on his face at seeing his friends so completely happy and relaxed.

Didn’t mean he wasn’t just a teensy bit anxious about his own situation on the couch. But hey, at least Cassandra was having a wonderful night.

And, truth be told, it wasn’t as horribly awkward as he’d initially thought crashing their date might be. He wasn’t so far gone in his crush that he would make things awkward (because, come on, he still had to work with the guy), but still.

The atmosphere from dinner had followed them into the theatre and watching Ezekiel light up at the movie, laughing in that short, surprised way that meant it was genuine and that sent Jacob’s heart just falling over itself every single time, how he’d look over at him to see Jacob’s reactions to whatever was going on on screen (apparently, his own reaction to Estrella never seeing the Princess Bride had meant he just didn’t have a true appreciation of the movie, and they’d been just as determined to fix that as Estrella’s more tragic situation)... it was a lot to handle, okay.

And apparently, he wasn’t hiding it very well since, when Ezekiel looked over at one point (a quick look at the screen, which he’d given up watching in favor of watching Ezekiel because come on, showed that Buttercup and Westley had just left the Fire Swamp) and had just… looked back at him for a moment, clearly rolling something over in his head.

Jacob had ducked his head to try to hide another blush, cursing himself softly because of course, that was just his luck, only to startle slightly when he felt a hand catch his, twisting enough to curl their fingers together. When he looked back up, Ezekiel was shifting around to lean against his side with a grin and a shrug.

And apparently, he didn’t want Jacob ruining it by opening his mouth, because when Jacob went to do just that to ask what in the hell was going on (but not to stop it. Definitely not to stop it), he felt lips pressed to his cheek for all of a moment, and, what do you know, it was pretty easy to keep quiet after that.

A bit of maneuvering once Jacob could actually think again had him letting go of Ezekiel’s hand just long enough to wrap his arm around his shoulders (tentatively at first because hand-holding did not immediately mean anything else, but Ezekiel just went with it, easy as anything), catching his hand again with his free one instead. And if he grumbled under his breath about warning a guy first, Ezekiel just snorted out a quiet laugh - and then a slightly louder one when Cassandra and Estrella shushed them both.

Sure, they definitely needed to talk about this and all - but, looking back on the rest of the night, on Estrella’s knowing looks, and Cassandra’s soft smiles, on the Library choosing the music at dinner (and it had definitely been the Library - no one had claimed the music, and it had shut off as soon as they were out of the kitchen), and on Ezekiel now relaxing into him, a warm, solid weight at his side, he figured it could wait, just a little bit.

And, if he was smiling just a bit too fondly, a bit too giddy, well. It was dark. No one needed to know.

(Estrella definitely did, though. And bless her heart for keeping quiet about it.)