#I got excited and ordered it. Venti. and she paused but I didn’t know why

[sixthwater]

I don't have a question, I have 3!! ~(￣▽￣)~*

1) What is your favorite childhood memory that seems minor but still wholesome

2) Have you dyed your hair before?

3) As a Ni dom to another Ni dom, what was the stupidest against-common-sense thing u have ever done? mine was when i genuinely felt surprised that my socks got wet after i poured water (to clean some dirt off my shoes) while wearing the said shoes.

1) We used to have these two Big like…pillow things? They were almost the size of a mattress but they were not mattresses idk what the hell they were, but me & my older sibling used them for a lot of things we shouldn’t have (like sliding down the stairs right into a closet full of hard stuff). I remember during a thunder/lightening storm, they offered to make a pillow fort out of them with me. So we decked it out with sheets and Christmas lights and got a tablet and everything and stayed in there until the storm was over. A bit later I made the connection that since then I’ve loved storms.

2) no :( the condition I have is very much anti-hair dye but I’m also very much I want to do it anyway and risk it (but I’m also that way with drinking so Do Not Support Me). However I have come across ways that I think I can get away with it where it doesn’t do what the doctors are worried about, so if I can do that when I want white/grey/silver immediately I’ve always wanted that since I was a kid, and then like a peach ombré of sorts,,,,,,,,me staring at how I’m about to fuck up my natural hair for some dye

3) I’m absolutely not laughing, but okay listen!!! My friend/roommate is an ENTP and I have been observing learning and getting better but they also kinda suck at it, however it’s definitely By Choice but I was definitely worse??? But I’ve also befriended an ESTP over the past year! So they also catch me. Once again……definitely just doing stupid shit by choice so probably horrible friends but it’s okay my besties are an INTJ & ENFP so there’s no saving me at all

My favorite one, that no one likes to fucking live down now, is me actively looking at the foil from take out, immediately popping it in the microwave, and turning it on and then screaming when it caught fire

I have had a lot of “almost did something really stupid” moments because they keep giving me The Look or just calling my name so unfortunately most of my stories are from some years ago now, Like when I was moving and I wanted both my gum and my soda at the same time so I just merely threw a piece in my mouth and took a sip and then got very very very very very very very sad

[talpup]

Lost Song:11

Summary: The war between the Dragons and Griffons ended 233 years ago, and both races right along with it.

Or so it was believed. There are three individuals that will soon change that.

Kai is the last of the Dragons and he seeks to take what he sees as his rightful place and rule over all of Oblvi. Meanwhile, Shouta, the last Sphinx, wants nothing more than to do his job; keep the peace and and teach the young Fourth’s to hopefully avoid the mistakes of their ancestors. And Teris, a Foundling who is just trying to understand and survive in this strange new world that is supposedly her own.

All three have their own wants and desires, but Kai’s plans, Teris’ existence, and Shouta's past mean that none of them may get what they want.

This fic is rated explicit and has warnings of sex, violence, and other possible triggers.  For a full list of story tags please check the fics AO3 (link to that at the top of my tumblrs homepage).

Earlier this week someone asked a great question about Nemuri and His Purple Highness' home trees.  If you wanna see that question and answer go on over to my tumblrs homepage.

11.1

The next morning Teris entered the great room and plopped next to Hizashi on the sofa.  Keenly aware of Shouta's presence, she avoided looking in the Sphinx's direction least their eyes meet.

Though the two had talked after His Purple Highness had left.  They hadn’t talked about the Dryad King calling her halted words a confession of love.  With luck Shouta had forgotten about it.

Teris bristled.  The peach fuzz along her face turning into tiny downy quills at the memory of Shouta smelling of sex and Nemuri.  Her fingers caressed over the bracelet he had given her.  Catching herself she pulled her hand away and focused on Hizashi.

“How was your date?”

“Hmm?” Hizashi hummed, distracted by how Shouta and Teris refused to so much as look at each other this morning.  Had they had another argument?  What was he thinking? Of course they had another argument.  Arguing was how they distracted the other from how they really felt.

It must be tiring, Hizashi thought.  Lying to yourself about your true feelings.  It was certainly tiring for him and he only had to live with the secondary effects.  He should've stayed home.  Teris had been upset last night. Distressed about something.  And Shouta had apparently left her in rush without hearing a word she said.  That didn’t sound like Shouta.  Gruff as the Sphinx was, Hizashi couldn’t see Shouta ignoring and leaving like that.  Not when Teris had clearly been worried about something.

Then again he had left.  Hizashi's lips twitched in shame.  He had known Teris had minimized her distress so he would go on his date.  He could’ve canceled and stayed with her.  Maybe then Shouta and Teris wouldn’t be pretending a whole section of the room didn’t exist simply to avoid looking at each other. He could've asked Oboro if they could’ve saved the Venti’s plans for another time, and hung out in Hizashi's Ilca dorm with Teris.  Shouta and Oboro were friend's.  With Oboro there maybe Shouta and Teris wouldn’t have argued at all.

“Your date.  How was it?”  Teris asked.

“Oh! It was amazing!”  Hizashi instantly brightened.  His guilt about leaving Teris, and whatever argument she and Shouta may have had falling away.

Shouta tuned out the Banshee-High Elf’s loud, excited chatter.  He had other things to focus on.

“You! You’re what’s wrong.“ Teris’ words from last night replayed in Shouta’s mind.  “You with your face and hair and way you move. That voice that makes me—“ Shouta frowned slightly, eyebrows pulling together.  What about his face?  What did his voice make her--  He shook his head in annoyance. That wasn’t what he needed to focus on.  This afternoon was the gathering to honor the visiting Council Elders.  Of course Teris was expected to be there.  The Council might’ve said they sent a contingent to meet the two Foundling’s.  But with Hizashi's species already known before word of the visit was sent, Shouta knew they were here to meet Teris.

More like inspect her to try and suss out what she was and how she ended up in the human realm of earth, Shouta thought darkly.  He had been through such interviews and inspections shortly after His Purple Highness had found and released the stoning spell on him.  He didn’t like the thought of Teris being subject to the same.  At least his inspection had been done by His Purple Highness.  The ordeal quick.  With Shouta allowed to keep his underclothes on.  Depending on who carried out Teris’ inspection, she might not be so lucky.

Hizashi stopped the detailed recounting of his date.  “You alright there, Shou?”

Shouta straightened in his seat.  He hadn’t realized he’d been growling.  He cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair, smoothing down the heckles on his neck that had risen.  “Fine.”

Teris looked at Shouta out of the corner of her eye.  Shouta did the same, looking at Teris.  Their eyes met and quickly flicked away from each other as if stung.

Hizashi's slightly pointed ears lowered a fraction.  Why were they always like this?

Shouta sighed and pushed to his feet.  “There’s a couple hours till the gathering.  Do what you want but be here and ready to leave ten minutes before.”

Hizashi deflated further.  “I can’t go with Oboro?”

Shouta's eyebrows knitted together.  “You’ll both be there.  Why do you want to go with him?”

“Because--”

“Never mind.”  Shouta cut in over Hizashi.  He didn’t care enough to know.  And wasn’t in the mood for one of Hizashi's long winded answers. The main reason for the order was to keep Teris close.  The bracelet seemed to have worked.  But Shouta was still concerned about His Purple Highness’ curious reaction to Teris.  “Just be here tens minutes before.”

“Shouta.” Teris got up and followed after him.  As much as she wanted to avoid the Sphinx after last night.  She hadn’t told him about the disturbing encounter with the winged man.

Shouta turned eyebrows raised in question.  Damn, she was beautiful.

Teris paused, pierced by those bottomless dark eyes.  Why did he have to be so devastatingly handsome?

She fiddled with the bracelet on her right wrist.

Shouta's eyes lowered, watching her fingers caress the bracelets braiding. His skin prickled, scalp tingling.  He wondered what it would feel like if she ran her fingers through his hair.

Teris’ eyes followed his.  Her hand jerked away from the bracelet and rubbed along her pant leg as if burned.

“I need you.”  She said.

Shouta’s heart fluttered and skipped a beat.

Hizashi slapped a hand over his mouth.  He literally bounced in his seat trying and failing to silence his squeal.

Teris closed her eyes and shook her head.  “I mean.  I need to talk to you.”

Shouta smirked at her blushed.  She really was cute when flustered.  He almost told her he was always up for whatever she needed; but didn’t.  He hadn’t been up to staying and listening to whatever she needed yesterday.  And Teris was the sort of contrary person who’d point that out.

Instead Shouta turned and headed toward his office.  Teris followed.

Once inside she told Shouta about the winged man.  Though clearly displeased about the kiss, Shouta had seemed more concerned about the Fourth himself.

“Who is he?”  Teris asked.  She hadn’t met everyone at Traverseen Hall and hoped he didn’t work here.

Shouta leaned back, gripping the the front of his desk and silently cursed.  He knew he should've given Teris the bracelet yesterday morning.  Why had he waited?  Even if Hawks hadn’t gotten a good enough whiff of Teris’ hereditary scent to notice it now being muddled by the bracelet.  Hawks’ sharp eyes would’ve seen Teris hadn’t been wearing the bracelet before. He would know it was new and wonder at it.

“His name is Hawks.  He works for the Council.” Shouta told.

Teris relaxed back in her seat, relieved. “So he’ll be leaving when they do?”

Shouta didn’t answer.  While he hoped Hawks would leave when the members of the Council did. He had a dreaded feeling the Anzu would stick around.

“Shouta?” Teris pressed.

“I’ll speak with Nedzu.  Until then…  Stay by my side during the gathering.”

Teris bristled.  “I can take care of myself.”

Shouta rubbed tired eyes.  “Teris…  This has nothing to do with that.”

“So Hizashi has to stay by your side too?”  Teris asked.

“You’re the one who came to me uncomfortable about this.”  Shouta grimaced as soon as the words were out. If he was to properly protect Teris, he needed her to come to him. Striking against her Griffon pride would only make her close up.

Teris glowered. It didn’t matter if Shouta had a point.  She didn’t need him.  She didn’t need anyone.  She had been taking care of herself for as long as she could remember. Sure that had been in earth against humans.  But a few months before she was brought here there had been that scarred man with the blue flames…  

Her heart beat faster at the memory.  Who had the man been?  What had he wanted?  Surely he had been a Fourth.  Had he passed through the realms like the Derrick had with her?  Was he now in Oblvi?  What if she saw him again?  Teris’ mouth opened to tell Shouta about the man she had escaped from but stopped.  Shouta had said the Council would want to interview her.

She looked up at him.  “Will you be there?”

Shouta’s head tilled aware she had changed the subject but not sure what to.

Teris moved in her seat, knee brushing Shouta’s pant leg.  Why was he standing so close?  He’s just standing in front of the desk, she told herself.  It’s still too close, she thought.  Had the chairs in the office always been this close to the desk?  Shouta’s presence alone made it difficult to focus.  But when he was this near…  Teris fidgeted, resisting the urge to push the chair back. The prideful beast within her wouldn’t allow sign of weakness or submission.

“Teris?”

Shouta’s low baritone warmed her blood and quickened her pulse.  Why did he have to sound like that?  She wished he didn’t know her name. Wished he’d say her name again.  Wished…  “At the Council's interview?  Will you be there?  Will they ask you questions too?”

“I’ll be in the room for the interview.”  Shouta said, both wanting to be in the room for her inspection and glad he wouldn’t be. “They’ll probably ask me a few questions.”

Teris nodded.  Then she definitely didn’t want to tell Shouta about being held captive or the things the scarred man had said.  It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him. But she’d rather not make Shouta a conspirator in her lies to the Council.

“You have nothing to worry about.”  Shouta said.

Teris smiled sadly wishing that were true.  But if what the scarred man said was right. She had a great many things to worry about.

Shouta wanted to go on.  Wanted to tell her that he would protect her no matter what.  That he would rather die than see any harm come to her.

“Keep the bracelet on.  Don’t ever take it off.”

Shouta's low stern voice sent a shiver through her.  Teris’ hand moved to the bracelet on her right wrist.

Between the topic, her thoughts, and the coming interview with the Council; things had gotten far too dark and serious.  Without Hizashi there, Teris was left to try and lighten the mood least she break under the tension. “Is this to be my Piece of Their Person?  I thought Fourth's were meant to chose their own piece.”

Expression unchanging, Shouta’s eyes and voice sharpened. “I mean it, Teris.  Don’t let anyone take it off you unless I’m there.”

“Why did you give it to me?  What does it do?”

Shouta's fingers twitched wanting to caress her face. “It protects you.”

Teris looked down at the shining charcoal bracelet.  Disappointment crept into her heart. So it hadn’t been gift.

Shouta gave into his need to touch her.  His first finger brushed the line of her jaw and curled under her chin, lifting her face to look at him.  “Promise me, Teris.”

“I promise.”

11.2

Even after three months of living at Traverseen Hall the place still amazed Hizashi.  Dwarf magic or no, it was mind boggling how such an unending colossal interior could fit within the still massively large exterior of the campus.  Grand as Traverseen Hall was from the outside.  There was no way the mind could reconcile even a portion of the space they were walking through to be from the same building. The proportions just didn’t line up.  Even with the perspective change that Hizashi still had trouble controlling and gave him headaches. He still couldn’t fathom how such a gargantuan space fit in the castle like, though human-sized structure.

Hizashi looked about in awe, seeing the full scale of the space as it would appear if everyone were in their true form. “This place is even bigger than all the other buildings.”

“Keep up.”  Shouta admonished, leading the way down the long hall.

Hizashi sped his pace but didn’t stop gawking.  Mouth slightly open, he looked up at the hallways gilded coffer ceiling.  He had seen Shouta in his true form.  The Sphinx was huge.  But even Shouta in his true form would be dwarfed by the space.  The ceiling had to be three-story’s taller than the Sphinx's true form.  And the width.  Even if Shouta were to spread his wings to their full extent there would still be enough room for at least a couple stadiums on each end. The windows themselves were the height and width of a multi-level building.  Starting six meters off the floor Hizashi couldn’t even see out them.

Hizashi's different focus of perspective didn’t mean he just saw the space differently.  It meant he existed in it differently.  Even though he was walking at the same pace as Shouta and Teris, Hizashi was left a hundred paces behind for every step they took. For Shouta and Teris who were focused on the more human scale perspective Hizashi's steps were mere shuffles that left him ten paces behind for every one of theirs.

Suddenly the distant Shouta was in front of him as if out of nowhere.  “I told you to keep up.”

Hizashi sucked in a startled breath.  His eyes changed focus, switching perspectives.  The hallway shrunk down like a snapped rubber-band. He saw Teris several steps ahead, frowning at Shouta for his scolding.

Hizashi swallowed a wave of nausea the change in perspective always brought on and licked his lips.  “Sorry.”

“I don’t want to be here either.”  Shouta said, mistaking Hizashi’s dawdling as reluctance.  “But we have to.  So let’s go and get it over with.”

Hizashi opened his mouth to correct the misunderstanding but Shouta had already turned, walking back to Teris.  Hizashi's eyes flicked about the still large space.  Though cramped, Shouta would still be able to fit in his true form.  At least he could now see out the overly large windows.

“Hizashi!” Shouta called.

“Right! Sorry!”  Hizashi rushed after Shouta and Teris.

Teris entered the grand room and abruptly stopped.  Her eyes instantly fixed on the winged man across the room.  Hawks, Shouta had called him.  Her senses hyper focused.  Vision sharpening to clearly count the barbs of his crimson feathers.  Ears tuning in to hear the rustle of his wings.  She registered Shouta's presence behind her before she felt the tickle of his hair on her bare shoulder. Her nerves so alert, muscles so reactive that his hot breath felt more like a physical touch as it rolled over her neck.

Shouta looked at Teris and followed her gaze.  Hawk’s gold eyes slowly turned. Before the Anzu’s gaze could lock on Teris, Shouta stepped in front and faced her. The tension in his shoulders eased.  Relief washed over him.  Agitation and concentration could trigger a Fourth's heightened senses and led to mild displays of their true form.  But Teris’ features hadn’t sharpened.  Her beautiful face the same as it ever was.

“You alright?”  Shouta asked.

With Shouta blocking the view Teris’ focus broke.  Her heightened senses diminished.  Blinking, she looked up at him.  “What?”

“Are you alright?”  Shouta asked, again.

Teris nodded.

“Just stay by me.”  Shouta told.

Teris scowled. “I told you.  I can take care of myself.”

“It’s an order.”  Shouta said without expression.

Hizashi caught up to them and stopped beside Teris. He looked between the two.  “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” Shouta said.

“Why doesn’t Hizashi have to stay by you?”  Teris asked, tersely.

Hizashi brightened.  “Shouta wants to keep you by him?”

“It’s not like that.”  Shouta said.

“He thinks I can’t take care of myself.”  Teris said.

“That’s not it either.”  Shouta told, a bite in his tone.

Hizashi rolled and massaged his neck.  He liked to think himself a patient person.  But he was this close to yelling at the two to just fuck already.  He and Oboro had.  While they hadn’t bickered like Shouta and Teris, the release had gone a long way in helping rid Hizashi of his nervousness around Oboro.

“I’m gonna go find Oboro.”  Hizashi said.

Shouta glanced at Hizashi.  It was less than a second but when he looked back at Teris she had turned and was slowly inching away.  Shouta’s jaw tightened, eyes narrowing. He must be cursed.  Why else would the Fates send such a woman to test and torment him? There was no logical reason why Teris continually turned the simplest things like an order to stay by his side into an ordeal other than to purposefully provoke.

Even if the command hadn’t been important to her safety.  Shouta wasn’t in the mood to suffer her petty challenge.

Grabbing her arm Shouta’s chest pressed against Teris’ back nudging her through the door they’d just entered.  As soon as they crossed the threshold he pulled her to the side and spun her around, pushing her back against the wall.

Teris’ mind whirled from being so quickly moved about. She made to step forward and away.  But Shouta gripped her hip, holding her in place.  Her head turned eyeing the open doorway just a pace away along the same wall she was up against. But any chance of escape was blocked by Shouta’s strong arm.

His hand rested on the wall just above her shoulder, caging her in.  Shouta leaned down and gruffly spoke in her ear. “You either follow my command without test or complaint.  Or I use my piece to tie you to me.”

Eyes ablaze Teris’ head snapped to face him. “You--” Her voice faltered seeing how close he was. She stared into his dark eyes heated indignance evaporating from hers. Her gaze lowered to the capture weapon he threatened to tie her with then pulled back up and stopped on his lips, no more than a few inches from hers.

Shouta’s eyes took on a different kind of fire.  He smirked. Lips parted, tongue pushing out to wet and pull his lower lip in, giving her a view of the tantalizing muscle.  Top teeth scrapped over his bottom lip.  He watched her pupils dilate.  Heard her breath hitch. Felt her shift as her core clenched and thighs squeezed together.

His thumb rubbed against her hip.  Fingers digging into her flesh. “You like the thought of that?”

Teris’ eyes darted back up to his.

Shouta’s voice purposefully lowered in pitch and volume. “If you wanted me to tie you up.  All you had do is ask.  No need to act the brat.  Unless you like being disciplined.”

Teris’ eyes widened.

Shouta's body crowded over hers. “Is that why you keep testing me, Kitten?  Want me to tie you up and punish you?”

Teris’ hips danced under Shouta's hand.  A warmth pooled in her core.  She shook her head, cursing the betraying mewl she gave.

Shouta's cock stirred at the sweet sound.

“Tha—that—that’s not...”

“Look at you.  Struggling to find words when I haven’t even touched you where you need me.” Shouta taunted. His eyes pulled over her body leaving tingling goose flesh in their wake.

Teris drew in a hitching breath, heaving chest drawing Shouta’s desirous gaze. “I—I...”

“You what, Kitten?  Use that pretty voice and tell me.  What do you want? ” Shouta’s knee brushed her legs grazing the channel between.

Teris trembled.  Her muscles jerked legs eager and ready to part.  Body begging for him to press his knee between her thighs and grind against her core. Her hands fidgeted at her side fighting the need to touch him.

Shouta's head dipped bringing his lips no more than a couple fingers width from hers.  “You said you needed me this morning.  Is talking all you wanted? Tell me, Teris.  What do you really need of me?”

“I…”

“You.” Shouta whispered.  He breathed deeply, pupils dilating at the enticing whiff of arousal that seeped from her heated pussy.  His mouth watered imagining the taste. A hungry growl reverberated in his chest.

Battle lost Teris’ hands lifted.  Shouta inched closer.

“Aizawa.”

Shouta silenced a second more dangerous growl.  Hands dropping from Teris and the wall, Shouta straightened and turned to the newcomer.  “Chisaki.”

Bottomless dark eyes met molten gold.  The Dragon and Sphinx stared each other down, unblinking.

“Kai.” Teris greeted, disappointed and relieved at the interruption.

Kai’s amber eyes shifted from Shouta to Teris.  His fingers itched wanting to reach out and pull her from the Sphinx and to his side where she belonged.  He sniffed smelling her arousal through the nose dulling mix of numerous Fourth's in the room beyond.  While part of him knew better.  He told himself it was his presence that had her body reacting in want.

“Teris. Good afternoon.”

Standing beside the Dragon, Ryuu heard the clear softening in Kai’s tone as he said Teris’ name in greeting.  Less obvious but far more telling was the barest upturn of Kai’s lips when his eyes focused on her.

“Are you alright?”  Kai asked.

“Why wouldn’t she be?”  Shouta rumbled.

Kai spared the Sphinx a glance and looked back at Teris, seeing the bracelet he had missed at first sight. “Some Ilca leaders are known to be harsh and demanding of their members.”

“You should talk.”  Shouta said.

“I’m fine.”  Teris said, smiling her thanks.  With as rude as Shouta was, was it any wonder why someone as genteel as Kai would worry about her?

Shouta’s chin ducked, frowning into his piece.  Kai might have Teris and countless others fooled but one day the Dragons mask would slip.

“Elder Ryuu.”  Shouta opened his mouth to introduce Teris to the Council member but was cut short.

“Interesting.” Ryuu stepped to Teris.  His nose flared taking in her scent.

Teris stood her ground despite the urge to shrink back.  She looked nervously at Shouta.

Shouta stared at Ryuu, eyes darkening. As flamboyant, lascivious, and loud as His Purple Highness was. At least his mentor had the civility to first introduce himself.  This wasn’t Teris’ interview or inspection.  She was a proud and beautiful Fourth.  Not some thing to be examined on sight.

Kai’s eyes sharpened.  He didn’t like the way Shouta was looking at his mentor.  Nor did he like that Teris had looked to the Sphinx instead of him for direction.  Aizawa was useless.  Proven by the way Shouta stood silently by and glowered at Ryuu instead of offering Teris a nod of assurance and comfort.  Teris had nothing to fear.  His mentor was merely appraising her.  Ryuu would surely come to the same conclusion he had.  That Teris was flawless.

Ryuu looked Teris over with a critical eye. “Clearly a pure blood beast of some kind given the perfect human form.”

Kai hummed in agreement.  Preening as if the Tengu had praised him personally.  Ryuu might’ve been speaking of how Teris’ human form didn’t carry over any traits of her true form the way Hybrids did.  But Kai also viewed the comment as speaking of Teris’ form in general. Not simply because she looked completely human.  But because her features and proportions were perfect.

Catching himself, Ryuu apologized. “Forgive me, my dear.  My curiosity got ahead of me there.”

“As it is known to do.”  His Purple Highness said from the doorway.

Standing beside the Dryad King, Nemuri smiled at Teris.

Teris looked pointedly away.  Her nose wrinkled with a sniff, remembering the stinging smell of sex and Nemuri on Shouta.

Seeing the exchange, His Purple Highness placed a comforting hand on Nemuri's shoulder.  He had yet to talk to the young Dryad, and fully intended to do something that would help Shouta and Teris’ relationship along.

Ryuu chuckled at the Dryad King’s words. “Say’s the man who followed his senses and found a young Sphinx, unspelling him without first bringing it to the Council.”

Shouta, who had been returning Kai’s unblinking stare, looked to Ryuu.  He had no doubt that if His Purple Highness had brought his stoned spelled body to the Council they would’ve smashed him to pieces.

“It’s not as if I found a Dragon egg and secretly saw it hatched before making the Council aware.”  His Purple Highness said.

Kai’s molten gaze fixed on the Dryad King.  He didn’t like the Tree Spirits tone.  Never mind that the man was talking about him as if he wasn’t there.

“True.” Ryuu said. He turned to Teris and apologized once more. “Forgive us, my dear.  You must think us terribly rude.  I am Ryuu. An Elder on the Council and Leader of the Tengu’s.  And this is--”

His Purple Highness waved Ryuu off.  “Teris and I are acquainted. We met last night after an unfortunate interruption on my part.”

Shouta looked from His Purple Highness to Teris.  The Dryad King thought that Teris had been about to give some confession of love.  But Shouta knew better. His Purple Highness didn’t know how much Teris hated him.  She didn’t love him.  Which suited Shouta just fine because he didn’t love her either.

Teris stole a glance at Kai.  Even though she meant what she said about keeping things solely as release.  She’d rather not have His Purple Highness bring up last nights near confession to Shouta.  She shook her head and corrected, what His Purple Highness mistakenly thought was a confession.

She smiled at Kai’s mentor.  “It’s nice to meet.  Kai’s told me of you.”

“Has he now?”  Ryuu looked over at Kai who was watching Teris.  He saw an imperceptible softness in the Dragons features that likely only he could see, having raised him.

Remembering what His Purple Highness had said when he thought Shouta had told her about him, Teris quickly added. “It’s all been very respectable.”

“Of that I’m sure.  Kai is nothing if not respectable.”  Ryuu said

Shouta scoffed.

All eyes turned to him.

“Shouta.” His Purple Highness lightly scolded. “There’s nothing wrong with being respectable. No doubt your friends and colleagues say the same about you.”

Kai did much better job of managing his disbelief.  He met Shouta’s gaze with an expression of studied politeness.

“Why some of the wildest release sessions I’ve had happened with respectable Fourth's finally letting their hair down.”  The Dryad King went on.

Nemuri nodded in agreement. While Shouta ducked into his capture weapon grateful for his long hair. He wasn’t embarrassed by the scolding.  But wished his mentor could go five minutes without bringing up sex.  Or at the very least, personal escapades of release.

Accustomed to the Dryad King’s ways Ryuu moved the conversation along telling Teris.  “Well I for one am looking forward to hearing a bit about you during our dinner this evening.”

“Dinner this evening?” Teris repeated.

Kai would've rather told Teris about the dinner privately but didn’t miss a beat in saying.  “You and Ryuu will be joining me for dinner tonight.”

Teris blinked.  It wasn’t just that they had seen each other and had sex yesterday, and Kai hadn’t said a word of this.  It was the way he said it.  Her lips parted to say no simply because she didn’t like that he had decided for her.  But Shouta spoke first.

“No.” The Sphinx said.

Kai’s eyes slid Shouta.  “I didn’t invite you.”

You didn’t invite me either, Teris thought.  You tried to tell me how it was.

“She’s not going.”  Shouta said. It was bad enough Teris spent seven hours a day for five days out of the week with Kai.  That she had sought release with him.  Shouta wasn’t about to let her spend extra time with the Dragon who would kill her the moment he discovered she was a Griffon. Teris was his…  Fuck!  His Ilca.  She was part of his Ilca.  Why was it so hard to keep that single thought straight?

“You don’t own her.”  Kai said, certain Shouta had given Teris the bracelet.  The Sphinx was deathly wrong if he thought he could try and claim what was his.

She’s my Ilca, Shouta thought before saying the words aloud, wanting to get them right. “She my Ilca.”

“So this is another command of yours?”  Teris questioned, heatedly.

His Purple Highness and Ryuu shared a knowing look.

“I think we should leave the young ones to fight over… things.”  His Purple Highness told the fellow Elder.

“I believe you’re right.”  Ryuu said.  He inclined his head to Teris.  “It was nice meeting you, my dear.  I hope this afternoons interview isn’t the last we see of each other and you do join us for dinner.”

A look of disapproval crossed the Dryad King’s face. The point of leaving was so they wouldn’t say anything to sway Teris’ choice to their chosen favorite.  Not that there was any doubt Shouta would win in the end.  The Sphinx had been found with Teris’ feather.

“Nemuri.” His Purple Highness called, turning and re-entering the grand room.

As soon as she was left alone with Shouta and Kai, Teris told Shouta.  “I’m going to Kai’s for dinner.  He’s right.  You don’t own me.  What I do in my free time is my business.”

Fierce eyes fixed on Shouta, Teris didn’t see Kai’s smug look.  But Shouta did.  He saw the Dragon’s gold eyes rake over Teris’ body and wondered how she didn’t feel the undressing gaze.

A warning growl sounded deep within Shouta's chest.

Thinking Shouta was growling at her, Teris growled back.

Shouta's eyes moved a fraction, focusing on Teris. His expression both softened and darkened at once.  She had no idea the dangers she was entertaining in getting closer to Kai. And he was in no mood to suffer her bratty, too proud attitude.

“Get inside.”  Shouta snapped without emotion, hand gripping his capture weapon.

Teris’ eyes widened, remembering Shouta’s threat.  Kai’s smug look vanished at how quickly Teris obeyed.

Shouta met the Dragons glare but felt little pleasure at it given the coming interview and inspection Teris would soon face. Never mind that she would now be spending the evening with Kai.

This fic will have a LOT more world building than my others.  Please feel free to comment or send me an ask if you have any questions.

Thank you to those who have left hearts. And a special thank you to those who have left comments and/or reblogged. They really mean a lot.

Special thank you to @inorganicone2230 who knows of my love for the mythic and encouraged me to start this fic without stressing about the other two I’ve got going.  Your friendship means the world to me.

[sanchoyo]

sksksk coffee shop au + roommate au for shigaraki and spinner bc i know u lov them

WHY WAS REPLACING THEIR HATRED FOR HEROES TO A HATRED FOR CUSTOMERS SO EASY. ilu thank you I do lov them

                                                  _________________

     Shuichi was so goddamn tired of his backwater town, full of small-minded people, so when he realized he’d finally saved enough to move to the city, the relief was so overwhelming he started crying.

The City! Full of opportunities, and no one- or at least, not as many people, would look twice at him! He’d saved enough for two months of rent, plus utilities and food! 

…For the small town rates. In his excitement, he might have forgotten how much pricier The City was; shattered were his dreams of lofty penthouses. But..he could look for roommates! The idea made him nervous, but this was The City! He could reinvent himself as someone who liked to be social! 

…And his money was running lower every day he squatted at the shitty motel, and every day his mom called, and he still didn’t have an answer to soothe her endless worries. He wasn’t going back home, he was too damn stubborn.

But by the weeks end, his hope had nearly gone out. As he got more desperate, shitty places started looking better- he could ignore a little mold! A terrible draft, leaking roof and no heat? Well, better than rats! 

There was a wanted ad on craigslist (yes, shady drug deal craigslist- he’d gotten some cheap, cool stuff (like swords!) in the past though, so don’t knock it!) for a roommate. The listing showed a nice apartment- it was no penthouse, but..it didn’t have mold, or visible cracks in the wall. It was short and to the point:

-Roommate wanted. No heroes, No cops. 20000 Yen / mo. Utilities included. Reply to set up interview.

…And why was it so cheap? The no cops and no heroes part threw him off for only a second; but he wasn’t exactly a fan of either, so no big deal. He replied, asking for the interview, and only got an address and date back, for tomorrow. Thank god. This was it! He was going to get a roommate, and get started in The City, and not get any organs harvested, probably! 

                                                       ——————-

He had the jitters; the potential roommate, (potential organ harvester), wanted to meet at an ungodly hour, so he decided to fill his day with caffeine. Because more jitters was what he needed, and it was cold out so it was totally justified, and looked like a more adult choice than an energy drink, even if that’s what he was craving. He needed something huge, with too much sugary shit on it.

“Uh..large..mocha..?”

The menu was practically hieroglyphic to him.

“A venti?” The man behind the counter asked. Shuichi floundered. He’d never been in a real coffee shop like this; he was a total fast food junkie, his old town only having a single McDonalds.

“Uh, is that the big one?”

The man was enjoying this. Where other people might have been helpful, he was just grinning, leaning on the counter. Shuichi was even more flustered when he got a good look, because powder blue hair tied up into a ponytail framed sharp red eyes: this wasn’t an average barista, this was a Hot Barista. And his gaze wasn’t letting up, not even a little.

“Yeah, it’s the big one. This is your first time ordering here, isn’t it?”

“You don’t have to be rude about it.” He fumbled. “Yeah, a venti.”

“Wasn’t trying to be rude. Actually, how about this. I throw in a few espresso shots for free.”

“Really?! Sure!” He had no idea what that meant, but the man’s sweet smile convinced him.

“Okay, what’s the name for that?” 

“Sh..Spinner!” It was a snap decision; Being in The City, he needed to totally reinvent himself! Shuichi Iguichi was a socially anxious mess, depressed from a small town’s small ideas; Spinner was a cool, brave, outgoing guy who wasn’t afraid to try new things in his coffee or talk to new people!

It only took a minute; at this hour, not a lot of people were waiting around.

                                                        ______

He was shaking so bad when he got to the apartment and couldn’t actually feel his sky-rocking heart anymore.

“Fuckin’ asshole poisoned me, stupid city-” His teeth were chattering, and he pulled his thin jacket around himself tighter. He’d downed the massive cup of coffee in one go because it tasted good! But something was definitely wrong, his heart had never raced this fast in his whole life. Even after several energy drinks on a serious gaming night! 

The place looked normal, maybe a sketchy neighborhood, but nothing too bad.

A single knock on the door was all it took before it nearly flung off it’s hinges.

“Omigosh hiii! You must be the new roommate!” A blonde girl was grinning up at him with fangs bared. “What’s your name? I’m Toga!”

“Uh- I haven’t- I’m not really a roommate yet, I just g-”

“Toga, give the guy some space! I’m Jin, don’t even think about coming in my room or I’ll kill you! Haha, but actually come in whenever you want, don’t listen to me!”

“Uh-” 

“Honestly, you’re both crowding him. Give the boy some space.” A..magician..? Said. Yes. A Magician. Right.

The City was wild. More people kept popping out of rooms…

“Hey.” A man sitting on the couch waved. “Dabi.”

A woman beside him waved a hand too, grinning behind stylish glasses. “Magne, but everybody calls me big sis, so don’t be formal~”

“Uh. Sh..Spinner. Am I at the right place?”

“Rents cheap ‘cause we all live here! Pretty cushy, right?” Toga spun her arms, as if to show him the living room. It..was nice enough, but for this many people? “Not that all of us hafta pay, but it’s good for people in need! Tomura’s so nice like that-”

“Kurogiri does the renting out for the landlord because he’s usually busy.” The magician informed him. “But he’s out this evening running errands, so you’ll have to talk to Tomura.”

“S-Sure. Where-”

“Over at the end of the hall.” Magne informed him. Everyone had gone oddly quiet, a stark contrast to the chaos earlier.

“Good luck, Spinner!” Jin saluted. “We won’t forget you!”

“He isn’t dead yet.” Dabi deadpanned. He wanted to think they were joking; but could he be sure? 

He knocked on the door labeled ‘KEEP OUT’, and slowly twisted the knob. The room was pitch black except a game pause screen from a computer, illuminating crushed soda cans and powder blue hair.

No fucking way.

“You’re the coffee guy!”

“How are you still standing?” Gone was the clean uniform with too many buttons and the messy cute ponytail; the guy was in black pajamas and looked like he’d slammed hard drugs or something; his eyebags looked pretty serious in this lighting. 

“Do you get off on trying to give customers heart attacks?! Seriously-”

“I gave you a free product, why are you complaining?”

“Dude!” 

The guy, Tomura? Had enough decency to look a little embarrassed.

“…I thought you were a newbie hero or something.”

“What?! So you spiked my coffee?” He remembered the ‘no hero’ bit from the ad; this guy clearly wasn’t a fan. But… “Why would you think that?”

“…” He idly scratched his neck, and his eyes drifted to Shuichi’s well-defined arms. “I dunno.”

“…Sure. So you work at a cafe during the day and rent out apartments by night. I, uh..wanted to ask about that- the apartment!”

“Yeah, so this is it. The landlord is a regional manager for all the AFOffee’s Coffees around here; pretty much everyone here works at one- Toga doesn’t because she’s still in school, Mr. C adopted her so they live here…you can live here if you have a criminal record or whatever, bad credit, the landlord isn’t strict, but he’s got two rules.”

“Uh-no heroes or cops, right?”

“That’s one of them. The other is that if you’re able to work, you have to work at one of his shops. He’s gotta pretty fierce competition with All Might’s Express Marts. The pay’s good.”

A place to live and a job? He’d never heard of such a law- was it even legal to force your tenants to work for you? He didn’t know enough about the laws to know, and the place was shady, so were the people; but..but he’d come this far! He’d already decided he could handle shady! If he had to throw away his morals to make it here, so be it! He’d work for them!

“O-Okay! Yeah, let’s do it!”

“Okay, ‘Spinner’. I’m Tomura. Shigaraki.” He shuffled some papers around; they were crumpled up under the cans of soda, something spilt and stained on them. “Just fill it out. Also, if you quit the job before you move out, the manager will kill you.”

He laughed, and Spinner hoped he was joking.

But he kinda doubted it.

                                                              ——–

So the first day was rough- by the end of the week he was ready to give up and die. He’d entered a pseudo-coffee-cult living situation. When Tomura had said the ‘manager’, he’d meant himself. His landlord- (who, apparently adopted him? Toga and Jin told him in late-night gossip-y talks that it was ‘complicated’ and that Kurogiri, who lived in the apartment above theirs basically raised Tomura for the landlord. The man seemed like the only one who ever brought food over that wasn’t junk.) Anyway, the landlord? Was also the district manager of all the AFOffee’s- and the founder, so kinda also the CEO- and Shigaraki was in line to inherit the whole business, so he got an easy ride into managerial status at a young age. 

And he for sure did get off on fucking up orders, putting way too much sugar or caffeine in them and watching people try the vile concoctions. He was a sadist for sure. Maybe even the devil. Spinner had watched him down a cup that was half espresso shots and half ‘LOV energy drink XTREME ENERGY’ topped with whipped cream without flinching.

Also, that might have been the moment Spinner decided he felt strongly towards him; which way was debatable,it was always rapidly oscillating between a serious crush and seriously wanting to crush him. Because he got the absolute ass jobs, like scrubbing toilets and cleaning stuff around the bar instead of doing anything important or cool!

…As cool as you could get in a cafe, like, doing those cool patterns in coffee cream! 

So he’d hit his limit, and stormed up to Shigaraki, crossing his arms and trying to look stern.

“Oi, Shigaraki! Why do you keep giving me the worst jobs?”

Red eyes blinked slowly at him, like Shuichi was stupid. Which made him more mad. 

“Seriously! I want to be up here making the stuff!”

“…Sure, if you feel so strongly about it, I’ll train you up here.” He was surprised by how easily that was resolved, and almost felt bad for being so snappy.

“Uh. Okay! Thanks!”

“Yeah. So let’s start with sizes, since I know you don’t know them.” 

It dawned on him, sometime later, that Shigaraki had been giving him the easy jobs, one hundred percent, absolutely. Customer service was a huge bitch, customers were all evil, and he was seriously considering doing some very mean, villainous things to them. He was only human! It wasn’t his fault if he wasn’t going as fast as they wanted, or if he messed up sometimes! 

(Also, the coffee machine itself was distracting. It had googly eyes, and Tomura called it ‘Noumu’ affectionately. And he was totally distracted and spilling shit all the time because of that, not because of how cute his boss slash housemate was- yeah.)

                                                     __________

“I hate people,” He seethed. Shigaraki nodded. They were in the break room, about to open. “How do you even deal with that?”

“I hate them too. I deal with it because I’m the manager.” It was a shockingly mature answer. “Also, I get to tell them ‘no’ and tell them how stupid they are without being fired.”

Ah.

“But if they give you too much of a hard time, let me know.”

“Sure,” He said, noncommittally, because he didn’t really feel too comfortable relying on his boss too much; even if they lived together and kinda had gaming nights and stuff, it was like Shigaraki had a ‘day’ and ‘night’ mode; by night he was the kinda creepy, but fun gaming buddy roommate among several in their weird, kind of sweet clique, but during the day he put on a brave face and marched into the warzone that was fronting as a quaint coffee shop on the corner. It was admirable; Spinner really liked that about the guy. 

No matter what, he never bullshitted either. Which was why Spinner was so conflicted about telling him how he’d been feeling, because while Shigaraki seemed to carefully consider how all of them felt, what if he was so honest that he’d laugh in his face? He could barely imagine it, but what if? The thought killed him, so he pushed it back.

                                                              ——-

Opening the door was like opening the gates of hell; a businessman marched up to the counter, toting a Very Important Business Briefcase, and sunglasses indoors- but of course still made time to glare at Spinner with a tilt of his head.

“Two tall, iced, sugar-free, vanilla latte with half whole and half soy milk. And one non-fat frappuccino, tall, with two pumps vanilla.”

It was Friday, opening hour, and there was already a line, and this jerkoff wanted some really extra shit. 

“Sure, can I get a name?” He got the name, and even made the drinks perfectly in record time! Not only were they perfect, but they were pretty as hell, and his handwriting had gotten a lot less shaky since starting this job.

He’d been so pleased when handing the drinks over that he had held them a little too tightly and one of his claws slipped into the plastic, making it go everywhere on the counter.

“Oh- I’m so sorry!” He gasped, pulling it back. Luckily, it hadn’t gotten on the guy, and it was iced, not hot, so- “I’ll make you another-”

“This is unbelievable. I’m going to be late to a meeting with the CEO- do you have any idea who I am? I’m about to be a business partner with this company you work for- I can get you fired over this.”

“What? I can make you another-” He gritted his teeth. “There’s no need to-”

“I want to speak to the manager, now,” The man had the audacity to snap his gloved fingers. Spinner was reaching his breaking point. 

Then, deathly calm, Tomura cleared his throat from behind Spinner.

“I’m the manager.”

The man looked far too smug, and Tomura looked composed, but there was something wild in his eyes. Spinner took a step back unconsciously to get distance from the shitshow that was about to go down.

“Your employee spilled my drink everywhere. I think I should get something for that, and I think you should discipline him for that. If my subordinates messed up that badly, there’d be worse than a firing.”

“Is that so? What would you have me give you?”

“Upgrade my drink for free- no, the whole order free, make it a grande. That seems fair for my time.”

“A grande is smaller than a venti, dipshit.” He actually reached across the counter and ripped the man forward by his tie, halfway across the counter. Other customers yelped and flinched back, but Spinner just stared, wide-eyed in awe. “You have some nerve, coming in here asking my employee if he knows who you are when you don’t know who I am. He’s worth a hundred of you, and I’m going to call right now and make sure that you don’t only never get that business deal, but that you never step foot in an AFOffee again.”

“You can’t do that- I’m- I’m in the yakuza, I’ll-”

Tomrua slammed his head on the table so hard he made the man black out.

“Dude,” Spinner whispered. “That was so badass. Where-”

“The landlord used to be into crime, but decided to open up chain restaurants instead. Turns out ruling through capitalism is easier than villainy, but I picked up some tricks in the transition.”

“Uh,” Spinner’s mouth felt like cotton. That..explained a lot, actually. “Cool.”

“Yeah, we’re going to have to close for the day and clean this up; we can’t have anyone putting this on social media. Maybe I was too hasty?” He scratched his neck. “When I saw him berating you like that I got angry.”

So Spinner was certain those strong feelings were admiration, and kinda love? Because he’d never had someone fuck a guy up like that for him, and something about that was so…

So violently sweet.

                                                —————–

“How do you do it?” He found himself asking while they were sweeping up; Kurogiri had stopped by and portalled the concussed yakuza away a while ago, and only the two of them were left in the shop. “Don’t you get fed up with that all the time?”

“Of course I do. I feel like I have so much pressure on me all the time, being next in line for this. I want to crush everything; I want to make those damn customers feel the despair they try to put on us.”

“I do too!” spinner gripped his broom tighter. “I want to see you destroy them all! So-!”

“Spinner.” Tomura interrupted him. “Kurogiri wants to reno one of the rooms into an activity room since there’s so many of us now.”

“What?” His heart practically stopped beating. He had been in the middle of a confession here!

“So..move into my room.” 

“…There’s one bed.”

“And?” Tomura shrugged. “Kurogiri and Compress sleep together. I think Dabi and Magne-”

“I- What the hell. Of course I want to sleep with you, you don’t need to ask in such a roundabout way!” As soon as the words were out of his mouth he could feel his cheeks burning. “There’s so much I like about you, but you’re the most frustrating guy ever! Seriously, you-”

“Jeez, I wasn’t being roundabout, stop yelling-” Tomura had gotten up in his face, but instead of squabbling more, he brushed his lips against Spinner’s briefly, effectively shutting down all of his major brain functions. “-Oh, and relationships with employees is against the rules, so you’re fired.”

“What?!”

                                                    ————-

“Those two seem cozy.” Magne commented.

“Please, we’re all a little cozy with each other. How long have we been living together?” Jin waved a hand. “They’re basically married!”

“I heard Tomura fired Spinner! Like, fired him!” Toga pouted. “He made up some weird rule that we had to work for him or something to spend time with him at work ‘cause he thought he was all pretty, but then cut it short! I don’t get it!”

“Ah, isn’t it obvious? It’s young love,” Compress sipped his tea. “They were making eyes since Spinner came in here, and then they were coworkers, and now…”

“And they were roommates.” Dabi said, smirking.

“Oh my god!” Toga shrieked with laughter. “They were roommates!”  

[sunshinemiranda]

Starlight Grounds - Phillipa Soo x Reader

Summary: The reader is a barista at a coffee shop. There is a beautiful girl who comes in at the same time every day to get the same drink. She asks after the music. A mixtape happens. 

Warnings: None, except for MAJOR TOOTH ROTTING FLUFF. Honestly. 

Words: 2,424

A/N: Day 2 of the Write-A-Thon! Sorry for posting so late, I had a really big day. There are songs that go along with this fic, and I’ll add links in the paragraphs! Just click on the titles. Thank you to @protecting-my-legacy for proofreading this and letting me use your wonderful self as a side character. 

askbox | masterlist

Starlight Grounds was a little hole in the wall coffee shop, tucked neatly into the corner of West 46th Street in the busy crowd of New York City. It serviced the tired actors and crew who needed a morning pick-me-up before going to a day of rehearsals at the Richard Rodgers, which happened to be just down the street. Every day was a long one, even for such a small coffee shop, but the job was happy and provided good tips. It was perfect for you.

Every morning, right on time, a dark-haired, beautiful girl came in and ordered a venti cinnamon dolce latte. Every morning, she hummed a different song and even sang softly, with a beautiful, crystal clear voice. Every morning, you swooned a little more over the stranger who you only knew as “Pippa”, as it was written on her coffee cup.

“All you know is her favourite drink and her nickname, and you’re half whipped for the girl already.”

“I am not!”

This argument with Mackie, your sweetheart of a coworker (correction: scathing sweetheart) had been going on as long as the customer of your affections had been coming to your workplace.

“Look,” sighed Mackie, all hands on hips and perked eyebrows. “Just ask the girl out. Maybe write something cute on her cup if you’re feeling risky. Don’t just stare at her like an idiot and ask her the same question every day.”

“It’s my system.” You pouted, crossing your arms with a huff. “And it works.”

“Like hell it does.”

Despite your colleague’s hard work to push you forward, the next morning followed the very same schedule. The doorbell rang as the minute hand on the clock hit 5:36, and you scrambled out of your seat to take her order.

“Hi!” You inwardly cringed at your cheery employee voice. “What can I get you?”

“A venti cinnamon dolce latte, please.” She grinned, sliding exact change over, already knowing the price by heart.

God, she was adorable.

“Oh, also, could you maybe tell me the name of this song?” She smiled, gesturing to the speakers that happened to be playing music that you had selected.

You were bursting with pride as you pulled her drink together. She liked your music. Yours.

“Of course!” As you slipped a protective sleeve onto the cup, you pulled out the Sharpie that was perched behind your ear and scribbled out, Blue Velvet - Lana Del Rey, before handing it to her.

She looked down, eyes following your note as her smile grew. “Thank you so much!” Reaching over, she pushed a ten dollar bill into the tip box, sending you a heart-stopping smile before exiting the coffee house as quickly as she had left.

Frozen on the spot, you stared at the door that had already closed, the doorbell echoing softly, full of a blush and a heart that just couldn’t slow down.

Mackie looked up from her magazine, cocked an eyebrow and took a pointed bite of her apple.

“Jesus, you have it bad.”

No amount of denial would change the fact that she was utterly correct.

The next morning, Pippa whooshed through the door, looking pretty as always and rubbing her hands together from the cold winter outside. She was humming a song, and it wasn’t until she had pulled up to the counter that you realized it was the very same song you had written on her cup yesterday. Your heart did a tapdance.

“Hi there! Can I get a-”

“Venti cinnamon dolce latte?” You offered a shy smile.

“Yes!” She exclaimed, a little louder than she had planned, and blushing. “I do come here a lot, don’t I.”

Mackie coughed from behind the panini press, something that sounded dangerously close to the word, “whipped”.

Pippa tilted her head, listening to the speakers that were, again, playing your music.

“Jeez, it’s like every time you come in here, you’re playing music I like! Can I get the name of this one too?” She smiled sheepishly.

“Of course!” You blurted. “You like French music?”

“Oh yes! I love the language. Always wished I could speak it.”

“Me too,” you smiled, pulling out your Sharpie to add, Ava - Coeur de Pirate to her cup.

Giving you a word of thanks, she sent you a beautiful smile and swept out the door and on her way. This girl was killing you with her wonderful smile, her great taste in music, the way she dressed, talked, and sang your favourite songs under her breath. God, there was no way you could survive the shift without poring over your song selection to find the perfect song for tomorrow morning. The day would not end fast enough.

The “music incidents” as you and Mackie had come to know them, kept going throughout the week. Every morning, your infatuation would appear like an angel at the door, right on time, always humming the last song you had suggested. Sometimes she even sang it under her breath and your world pretty much exploded. Always, she would ask after your song choice.

On Monday, her cup said The Only Thing - Sufjan Stevens.

Tuesday, it read Sleepwalk - Santo & Johnny.

Wednesday morning brought, Sea of Love - Cat Power.

Thursday was marked with, Someone New - Hozier.

Mackie was certain that it was her way of hitting on you, but you, on the other hand, summed it up as some angelic kindness on her part. After all, this girl was practically perfect in every way. In what twisted, upside down world would someone of this league and stature want anything to do with you and your disorganized playlists? It was too good to be true, and though Mackie tried (more than once and in many different ways) to prove that you were wrong, the concept was simply too unfathomable.

After the Thursday shift had come and gone and you had been nearly run off your feet with grumpy New York inhabitants, grumpy before their first touch of caffeine, you slouched into a leather chair next to an equally tired Mackie.

“I think I know what I’m gonna do.” You mumbled, eyes closing to gather your thoughts.

“And what exactly would that be? Gape at her beauty some more? Keep giving her song names and nothing else? Memorize her coffee order and never get her number? Stare at her agai-”

“Mackie, no. I’m gonna make her a mixtape.”

There was a pause and you opened your eyes to gauge your best friend’s reaction. She glanced over at you, expression serious now.

“I think that’s the best goddamn idea you’ve had since you decided to join me in this horrible barista job. Now get home, you’ve got a lot of work to do. I’ll close up.” She sent you a lopsided grin.

“Oh my God, seriously? Yes, you are the best Mackie, I love you, I promise to-”

“(Y/N), I didn’t give you free time just for you to waste it. I’ll close up. Now get the hell out of my coffee shop.”

There was no point in throwing away the opportunity.

A quick bus ride and a two-block-walk later, you had arrived comfortably at home and got straight to work. A few weeks ago, you had bought a few blank cassette tapes, planning on making some birthday playlists for some close friends and family when the time came. Thank God for that. Immediately, you pulled up all your music on your phone, sifting through it and marvelling at how many of the songs reminded you of the beautiful girl who appeared in your dreams.

It took two hours to finish the tape, and you realized that doing so was not easy. A load of calculation went into how to fit the songs on both sides, and that wasn’t even mentioning the twenty minutes you wasted trying to find the perfect song to start the playlist with. By the time everything was finished, your eyes had been strained so badly that it was hard to write out the names of the songs and artists on the slip of paper in the cassette case, but it was worth it. Your motivation stemmed from excitement to see her face when she saw your gift. Hopefully, it would lead to a nice enough segway into asking her out on a date, but for now your focus was entirely on the mixtape in front of you.

As you fell asleep that night, your stomach flipped in waves of anticipation and nervousness. It was like being a high school kid again, the night before the Valentine’s Day dance where you were planning to ask your crush for a slow dance. Except, this was real life, not a dream, and you were an adult, which meant people were quicker to judge and expectations were easily crushed, stabbed, punched in the face and run over with a bus just for good measure.

Pippa (or whatever her name might be) seemed to be different. Her smile promised warm hugs and her laugh made you want to hold her hand and there was just something about the way she sang that hit your heart like a warm bath against tired skin. She was the epitome of beautiful and it wasn’t just a coincidence that she appeared so frequently in your dreams.

Before you went to sleep that night, you wrote out a neat title on the cassette: For the girl who likes cinnamon dolce lattes.

No morning before a confession can be fully complete without an almost complete freak-out. The clock was speeding towards 5:36 and Mackie had spent the past half hour trying to quell your fears.

“She’s going to hate it, I look so creepy, oh God, why am I doing this?”

“Because you like her. And you made this awesome playlist and you are going to give it to her and ask her on a date.”

“I can’t,” you breathed, head in your hands as you quaked at the very thought. “I can’t do this, I really can’t-”

“(Y/N) (L/N).” The decisive way she threw your name out, like it was a command, caught your attention. “You listen to me and you listen hard. You stayed up all night making this disgustingly adorable mixtape for a girl you like. You put time into this. If she doesn’t appreciate it, then she’s not worth all the fuss and bother and frankly, I don’t want you going out with someone who can’t appreciate the work you put in. This is going to happen, and it’s going to happen well. Now get yourself together, stand up, and face her. That’s right.”

She stood you up with a firm grasp, turning to the counter to retrieve the cassette you had banished and pressed it into your hands just as the doorbell rang. You mouthed a silent, thank you, before moving slowly but surely to the till to take Pippa��s order.

“Hey! Just the regular.” She threw you a grin that sent your mind into a tornado as you typed her total out, taking her money with mechanical movements.

“Sounds good,” you managed, but your voice was weak and wavering.

As you reached for a cup to scribble her name down, her eyes widened as she caught sight of what you had still clasped in your hand.

“Oh! Is that a cassette?”

“What?” You almost jumped, realizing that you had it in plain sight and quickly hid it in the pocket of your apron. Quickly, you busied herself making her drink. “Um, y-yeah. Yeah it is.”

“That’s so cool. I have a tape player at home but nothing is on cassette anymore, so I’m not sure if there’s a point.” She sent you a sad smile as you topped her drink with a black plastic lid.

“It should come in handy one day.” You replied with a watery smile of your own, passing over the cardboard cup.

“I hope so! Thanks, I’ll see you tomorrow.” She waved over her shoulder, still smiling before walking out the door.

The cassette hung heavy in your pocket, full of regrets and ultimately, a plastic reminder that you had completely failed. You were just accepting defeat when Mackie hurried over and grabbed your sleeve, tugging on it viciously.

“Go after her.”

Something about the way she said it pushed you right into gear and before you knew it, you were hurrying out of Starlight Grounds and into the morning crowd of West 46th Street, still clad in your green barista apron and armed with a cassette for a beautiful girl. A familiar head of hair caught your eye and you wasted no time in hurrying forward.

Your voice seemed to take control of its own fate and without even noticing, you called out her name.

“Pippa!”

Her head whipped around and she startled as she realized it was you, but waded back towards where you stood on the sidewalk.

“Oh my God, (Y/N), hi.”

“Wait. You know my name?” You stared at her in shock.

“Of course. It’s on your nametag.” She grinned, pointing.

That was more than embarrassing.

“Oh. Right.” Rubbing a hand over your face, you steeled your nerves. “Listen, I just…I wanted to give you something.”

Reaching into your pocket, you pulled out the tape gingerly and offered it to her in an open palm.

“This-This is for you. I made it. It’s got all these songs I thought you’d like since you always ask me about the music I play so, I thought you would appreciate it?”

She stared, breathless at the gift and reached forward, picking it up with awe in her eyes.

“This is…oh my goodness, (Y/N), this is too much. I can’t believe you did this for me.” Looking up, she grabbed your hands, giving a wide smile. “Thank you. Really.”

“Anytime.” You smiled, giving her hand a squeeze as your heart fluttered in your chest.

“Hey, would you…like to go grab — well, maybe not coffee, ‘cause you must be sick of that — but do you wanna get dinner with me some time?” She asked, blushing badly as she stared at where your hands were clasped.

“I was just about to ask you that.” You grinned. “Yes. Of course, I’d love to.”

She let out a delighted giggle that made your knees weak. “Awesome. What’s your number? I’ll call you.” When Pippa appeared at your door the next night, right on time at eight o' clock, she was holding a mixtape with your name on it.

[lifesruiner]

Wanna bet?

​Day 4: I'm a barista and you are the obnoxious customer who comes through and orders a venti macchiato while talking on the phone the whole time so I misspell your name increasingly creative ways every day

Simon actually liked his job a lot, he had great coworkers and it was really easy, and gave him time to study properly too. Even if sometimes he had to handle difficult costumers, the most of them were great and tipped him very good. But there was a especial costumer that he liked a lot, there was obvious things like that she was extremely hot and that she was his best tipper, but the fact that she was so mysterious and she never talked to him properly drove him crazy.

She always entered the coffee shop and order a Venti Macchiato, and that's the only thing he has ever heard her say, not even her name.

-Good morning, welcome to Starbucks, what can I get you? -Simon always asked nicely

-Venti Macchiato -She managed to say still talking on the phone

-Name? -Simon asked her as always, but she only silenced him with her hand while keep talking on phone, so Simon started to write on his cup anything that came to his mind. He started writing down only the name of her order, then he started to use it as a form of flirting, writing things like Angel or Princess, but he never got any answer from her so he thought that she never read them but he didn't give up.

One day she entered as always at 9 am, ordered her coffee and went off again without any other word. Just seconds after she left Simon realized that one customer left her wallet there so he went after him, he catched up with him two blocks away, when he was returning to te coffee shop he saw the cute client talking on the phone, as always, and he could heard some of the things she was talking.

-He is cute, and he always write really cute things on my cup, but I don't think something could work out with him- She said and Simon hoped that she was talking about him, so he hide behind a wall to hear if she was really talking about him -Because I'm busy running an empire, plus, he has to be the one who asks me -She paused and Simon was really excited hearing, but he was praying for a thing that confirmed she was indeed talking about him -My favorite is when he write Little Gem, is so cute, and is so perfect for me -She said laughing and he knew she was talking about him, it can't be possible that two baristas call her little gem, and he was so excited that he rushed to the coffee shop again to talk to his coworkers

-Hey Simon, did you give back the wallet? -Pedro asked him

-Yes, and I saw the cute client that always orders a Venti Macchiato -Simón said smiling widely

-Oh, you mean the obnoxious costumer that is always with her phone, I don't get what you see in her, she is so rude, don't even tell us her name -Pedro said with a disgusted face

-I know her name -Matteo said coming out of the bar -Is Ambar Smith, she is a big deal in business world, her family is drowning in money, I read about the Smiths in my business class

-Really? I heard her about running an empire, and maybe her name is that, but she likes when I write on her cup "Little Gem" -Simon said smiling proud of himself

-What do you mean? Are you having hallucinations? -Matteo said amused

-I'm not hallucinating, I heard her talking on her phone when I went to give the wallet back to that client -Simon confesses to his coworkers

-Simon are you following our costumers? You want to get fired? -Pedro asked worried

-I didn't technically follow her, I bumped into her outside work and casually heard part of her conversation when she said that she likes me and want me to ask her for a date

-Buddy, so much coffee is killing your brain -Matteo joked- You want us to believe that one of the most important girls of the country want you, a barista and musician in formation, ask her on a date?

-I don't want you to believe me, I already know, I heard her very clear -Simon said now looking serious at Matteo, they were good friends, but Matteo sometimes could be quite a dick to him

-So what are you going to do then? -Pedro asked worried, he knew his friend could get in troubles if the girl decided to talk to the managers about him crossing the limits barista/client

-I'm going to ask her out, tomorrow when she comes her -Simon said more than confident about himself

-Good luck with that -Matteo said laughing amused and went back to the bar where his others coworkers were.

The next day Simon was very excited and he was decided to talk to her, but when she came it was like always, on her phone without even say her name when he asked her, so he recurred to the cup again, he put all his faith in that message "Little Gem, date? Tonight! Lucky Irish pub, 8 pm" He gave her the cup and she took it without even looking behind, so Simon went out the bar and see outside the door that she was next to what it looks like her car and she was reading the cup smiling, it was all that Simon needed.

-Hey bud, a little hand here -He heard Pedro shouting behind him, 9 am was a busy hour and the coffee shop was full so Simon went back and helped his friends

-Hey, I think I have a date -Simon said when he was next to his friends

-What do you mean you think? You have one or not -Pedro asked him

-I asked Ambar to a date on her cup, I saw her smiling while reading it -Simon said smiling all excited

-Oh, and just because she smiled do you think she would go? She could be totally laughing about your lame invitation -Matteo asked incredulous

-She smiled, have you ever seen her making any expression before? -Simon said to Matteo

-Well, he had a point -Pedro said laughing-Okay, let's do this, we go all to the place of your date, so if she doesn't show up you don't have to be there alone like a pathetic loser -Matteo said teasing Simon

-She will go, I know

-If you are so sure, want to bet? -Matteo said smirking confident of himself

-What do you have in mind? -Simon asked him

-A shift, if she shows there, then I will cover a shift for you whenever you want, but if she doesn't you have to do my shift on Saturday when I go out to a date with Luna, an actual date, not a maybe date -Matteo said mocking him and Simon accepted, he was sure that Ambar will show up.

That night they were at the bar, Matteo, Pedro and Simon, they got there at 7:30 so he wouldn't be late if Ambar showed up a little early, but he wouldn't had to worry about that, because after almost and hour there wasn't any sign of Ambar.

-I guess you'll have to cancel your plans for Saturday -Matteo teased Simon- But knowing you, you wouldn't even have plans for that day

-She can still show up- Simon said trying to convince himself, but the resignation in his voice was palpable

-I don't want to drag you down, but is late Simon and maybe if she is such an important person she is doing something more important now that being in a date with a guy from the coffee shop -Pedro said placing a hand in Simon's shoulder trying to sound not so harsh -Plus, is getting late, we have to work early and... Oh for fuck sakes, you got to be kidding me -Pedro interrupted himself, looking all shocked at the door, so both Matteo and Simon followed his gaze to find a beautiful blonde girl standing there, she examined the place and walked straight to the bar without even see the table where Simon and his friends were.

-Oh my god, guys she is here, she actually is, what do I do? -Simon said all nervous

-Well, go to her you idiot -Matteo said laughing slapping him softly in the forehead, so Simon just nodded and stood up. Simon never was that nervous before, the walk to the bar was infinite for him, he checked all his look and then finally get the bravery to talk to her.

-Hmm, Ambar? Hi, I'm Simon -He said shyly and she turned to see his face, Simon was shocked, she had the bluest eyes he has ever seen, she always wore sunglasses in the coffee shop

-Hmm, how do you know my name? And why would I be interest in who you are? -She said all serious- I'm here to see someone already, so don't lose your time and don't waste mine, thank you -She said going back to her drink and Simon thought that maybe she didn't recognize him with out his uniform from Starbucks

-I'm a barista and you are the obnoxious customer who comes through and orders a venti macchiato while talking on the phone the whole time -He explained himself and she turned again to face him, she examined his face carefully

-Oh my god, sorry I didn't recognize you without that awful uniform -She said covering her mouth with one hand in shock -Oh, do you think I'm obnoxious? -She asked now with a fake ofended tone

-Well, my coworkers call you like that actually, I personally think you are cute -He said leaning in the bar getting close to her

-I'm glad I came here tonight, I really thought about this very much

-And what do you think about it now?

-Well, the place is not the best, but neither is the worst

-And the company? -He asked teasing her

-I'm going to find out, but is great so far -She said flirty and Simon smiled proudly, he thought that for the next time he would take her to a better place, anyways he already had a free shift whenever he wants thanks to Matteo.