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theycallmebeccawrites · 4 years ago

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Chris & Ellie Series: Episode 21

Greetings all! I hope you guys are having a good day and if not, I hope it gets better for you. Today is a bittersweet day for me. I gave Ellie July 17th as her birthday in honor of my grandma, who passed away in 2016, a couple days after I started writing the Chris and Ellie series. My grandma would have been 92 today. ❤

My grandma always encouraged me to do what I love and I love to write, so I do. And I love sharing what I’ve written with you guys. So thank you for allowing me to share this little world I have created with all of you guys. And thank you all for reading.

xo Becca xo

Pairing: Chris Evans x Ellie Spencer (OFC)

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: language

Episode Summary: The lead up to Ellie's birthday and the surprise that Scott has planned for her.

Disclaimer: This work of fiction is not to be reposted, used or translated without my permission.

This episode can also be read on AO3.

The Chris and Ellie series is primarily chronological. It begins with a flash forward to 2016 and has a few other scenes in the future. However, the majority of their story is told in chronological order starting in 2013 and going through 2017. Each episode starts with a date to help you place it within the story.

The Chris & Ellie Series Masterlist | Chris & Ellie Masterlist

Episode 20.5

Episode 21: Birthday Confessions

July 2014

Music flowed through the speakers as Ellie merged off the freeway and onto the exit for LAX.

"I don't have to go, you know," Scott said as he looked over at her.

"Yes, you do," Ellie replied, glancing at him. "You're in a wedding and your family has been looking forward to seeing you."

"I just don't like the idea of you all alone," Scott admitted. He knew she had come a long way in the weeks since she'd started opening up about what had happened between her and Chris, but he hated leaving her there alone.

"I'll be fine," Ellie assured him with more confidence than she actually felt. She hadn't been by herself in the house since December and that felt like a lifetime ago. If she was being honest with herself, she'd never really liked being in the big house when it was empty, but now it was filled with memories she didn't want to revisit.

"Thanks for driving me," Scott said as Ellie navigated the departures drop off area.

"It was the only way for me to ensure you'd get on the plane," Ellie replied in a joking manner as she pulled over in front of the designated area for the airline he was flying.

Scott gave a mumbled 'ha' before he leaned over and gave her a hug and a peck on the cheek. Then he got out of the car and went back to the trunk to get his suitcase. He gave her another wave before he disappeared into the steady stream of people going into the airport.

Not ready to go home yet, Ellie ran a few errands before she made her way back to Chris's house. She parked her car in the garage and then made her way inside.

With no desire to hang out in the big house, she quickly made her way through the kitchen and out the backdoor. Using the patio off the kitchen and the steps down to the pool deck took longer than going out the door through the basement, but she didn't like going down to that room if she didn't have to.

Once inside the guesthouse, Ellie let Daisy out of her kennel and then sat down on her bed to check her email. She'd finished editing a book a couple weeks ago for a new author and was waiting for her next assignment. Instead of finding a new manuscript to read, she found an email saying that one of her main authors would have one ready for her soon, so they were keeping her schedule open.

After replying to the email, Ellie closed her laptop and leaned back against the pillows on her bed with a sigh. She had been hoping to distract herself with a new manuscript while Scott was gone, but now that wasn't an option. She'd already picked up a few extra shifts at the bookstore, helping people who wanted to take days off, but picking up seemed better than staying at Chris's more than necessary.

Picking up her phone, she sent a couple texts, seeing if anyone wanted to hang out that night. Unfortunately, no one was available, but she was able to make plans for other nights during the week when she wasn't working. Including accepting a couple invitations for the Fourth of July.

Thus, the first week Scott was gone went by in a breeze. She worked on the second and went to a movie with some friends after work on the third. Then she spent the morning of the fourth with her cousin and the late afternoon and evening with Pierre and some of his friends. She picked up another shift on Saturday and then spent Sunday with her cousin's family, not wanting to spend the whole day alone at Chris's house.

"You've had a busy week," Pierre reflected after she'd told him all about it during dinner at his condo during the second week. In fact, he'd already known how busy she was keeping herself, thanks to a group chat he'd found himself part of with her sisters, cousin and Scott. He wasn't convinced it was a good idea to have such a chat, but it made the others feel better.

"It feels good to be busy," Ellie said with a shrug before muttering, "Better than staying alone in the house, anyway."

Whether or not she wanted him to hear the last part, he had, and he realized her sisters were right to raise concern over her sudden shift in personality. Ellie, they had explained to him, was a homebody by nature. A trait she'd shared with Chris, Scott had told him privately.

"What's wrong with staying at home?" he asked, cautiously.

Ellie sighed and shoved her food around on her plate before looking up. "Other than that it's Chris's house and I'm just a house guest?" she asked.

She sounded snarky, but he sensed that she was trying to mask her true feelings. Instead of prying, he waited her out. They'd been friends for nearly two months and he'd learned quickly that she liked to process her thoughts before she could speak them aloud.

"It's the memories," she finally admitted. "There's nowhere in the house that I can go that doesn't have a million memories flooding back to my brain of happier times. Not even the guesthouse is memory free, but there, with my things, I can push him out. That isn't possible in the rest of the house though. He's fucking everywhere."

Pierre nodded consolingly. He'd been through many a breakup, but only one that had left him in a house full of memories. Of course, he'd had to suffer through the rest of his lease before he'd been able to move. But moving to this condo had been a fresh start.

"And I'm crying again," she said in an exasperated tone as she brushed away the tears. "I told myself that I'd cried enough over this whole situation."

Pierre stood up and grabbed a box of tissues off the kitchen counter and brought them back to the table. Instead of sitting back down across from her, he took the seat next to her. He handed her a tissue and she gave him a weak smile before blotting the tears.

"Obviously, I don't know your financial situation or what your agreement is with Scott's mom regarding room and board, but have you thought about moving out?" he asked Ellie.

Ellie shook her head. "I hadn't gotten that far yet," she admitted. "Chris is gone for another few months and technically, living there when he isn't there is what I'm paid to do."

"Think about it," Pierre encouraged her. "It might be the next step you have to take."

The idea of finding her own place stayed at the forefront of Ellie's mind in the days that followed, but it wasn't until a night where she had nothing to do but sit in the guesthouse that she did anything about it. She went back to the links she'd found in her early days of living in the Los Angeles area and looked for availabilities within her price range. There were a few of them, but none in areas that she'd feel comfortable living by herself in.

Unlike the last time she'd been hunting for an apartment, she wasn't tied down to a specific part of town because of a job. Nor was she as strapped for cash as she had been. Thanks to the added income of editing manuscripts and not having to pay rent, she had managed to pay down a lot of her debt with the money that Chris's mom had paid her.

Despite having a wider area to search for a place to live, Ellie found herself struggling to find anything less than $1,000 a month that allowed dogs. Frustrated, she closed her laptop and leaned back against the headboard of the bed. Which only served to remind her that in addition to finding a place to live, she'd have to buy furniture as well as she didn't have any.

"We'll find a place, Daisy," she said, scratching her dog's head. "I don't know where yet, but we'll find a place."

By the time Scott returned from the east coast, a few days later, she'd sent off applications for a couple of apartments an hour or so away, but both had come back saying she'd been added to a waiting list for an apartment. She considered telling Scott that she was thinking about moving out but decided against it. She knew he was still worried about her with everything that had happened and she didn't want to worry him more than she had to.

"You're a doll for picking me up," Scott said once he was in the car and she had merged into the traffic leaving LAX.

"Gave me an excuse to get out of the house," Ellie replied before mentally kicking herself. "Daisy and I spent yesterday lounging by the pool."

Scott lowered his sunglasses and raised his eyebrows. "Under an umbrella?" he asked, seeing that her skin, while glowing, was still barely tan.

"And wearing lots of SPF," she replied with a laugh. "How was Massachusetts and the wedding?"

"The wedding was beautiful," Scott stated before going into a full rundown of the wedding. Followed by an elaborate explanation of his family's Fourth of July party and what he had done with his family while he'd been home.

"Sounds like you had a blast," Ellie said with a smile.

"Oh, I did, but it's nice to come home to some quiet," he replied and then smiled. "But don't worry. It won't be too quiet, after all, we both know what's happening on Thursday."

"I know my birthday is on Thursday," Ellie said, cautiously as she glanced at him. He wore a big smile on his face. "Scott Evans, what have you done?"

"You'll just have to wait and see," he replied, then mimed zipping his lips closed, locking them and throwing away the key.

He remained annoyingly tight lipped over the next few days, which put her slightly on edge because she had no idea what he had up his sleeve. She knew the two of them had two very different types of fun; she liked to stay home and play games while he liked to go out and dance.

Thursday morning, Ellie came up to the big house to find a cinnamon roll in a pastry box for her on the kitchen counter along with a note from Scott.

Izzy told me that you guys always had cinnamon rolls for breakfast whenever someone in the family had a birthday when you were growing up. I didn't make it (that would have been a disaster) but enjoy!

She cut the large cinnamon roll in half and ate half of it, then took the other half back to the guesthouse with her, to take to work. Once Daisy was settled in her kennel, Ellie grabbed her stuff and left for work.

The sense of relief that came over her as she drove away from the house was only more confirmation that it was time for her to move out.

Later, during her lunch break, she looked for apartments again and, after failing to find much in the Los Angeles area, decided to try looking in Oregon. She hated the idea of leaving LA and her friends, but the truth was she could live anywhere and still do her editing.

—————

“She’s coming!” Scott called as he ran down the stairs. "Everyone get away from the window!"

He heard her sisters scrambling into spots that couldn't be seen from the window as he made his way to the main floor. Hearing the garage door opening, he made his way down the hall to the kitchen and was waiting there when Ellie came into the house.

"Hey there, birthday girl!" he greeted her with a big grin. "I noticed you didn't leave me a piece of the cinnamon roll."

"You're damn right I didn't," Ellie replied with a tired smile.

"Before you go to your room, can you come look at something in the living room for me?" he asked.

"I have a call with my sisters in like ten minutes," she told him, glancing at the clock on the stove.

"It'll be fast, promise," Scott insisted. "Like a minute tops."

Sighing, Ellie put her stuff down on the counter and then followed him down the hall to the living room. "So what am I -" she started to ask, but shut her mouth when she saw her sisters sitting casually in the room.

She stared in disbelief as tears began to well up in her eyes. She felt Scott nudge her from behind, encouraging her to go to her sisters.

"Happy Birthday, El," Izzy said, reaching her first. She wrapped her around Ellie and hugged her tight.

"I'm happy you guys are here," Ellie said, through her tears. "But what are you doing here?"

"You didn't think we were going to make you celebrate all by yourself, did you?" her youngest sister, Riley, asked with a grin as she gave Ellie a hug. "We were here last year, too. This year we just brought Sydney with us."

"I'm here to make sure those two don't get too wild," Sydney said, jokingly as she gave Ellie a hug. "And to make sure we do things you like to do for your birthday weekend."

"Birthday weekend?" Ellie repeated. Then she saw Scott lingering in the doorway. "This is what you've been planning all week, isn't it?"

"Part of it anyway," Scott replied with a grin. "I'll let them tell you the rest."

"You're the best," Ellie told him. She reached her hand out to him and he took it, squeezing it. "What is the rest?"

"Our gift to you is a weekend getaway at a beach house about an hour from here," Sydney told her. "The five of us and Pierre, but he'll be coming tomorrow after work."

"When are we going?" Ellie asked.

"As soon as you can pack a bag," Izzy told her.

"What about Daisy?" Ellie asked, only then spotting her dog curled up in her favorite chair in the corner.

"She's coming with us," Scott replied. "I've already packed her stuff."

"Thanks," Ellie said, smiling at him. "What do I need to bring?"

"I'll h-" Izzy and Riley started, but Sydney stepped forward and took Ellie's hand before saying, "I'll help you pack."

"Thank you," Ellie muttered under her breath as she and Sydney made their way to the guest house.

Twenty minutes later, she and Sydney came back into the main house, locking doors as they passed them. They followed the voices out to the garage and found Scott and Izzy loading things into his car while Riley played with Daisy.

"Isn't someone driving with Scott?" Ellie asked as Izzy took her bag and put it in the backseat.

"Daisy is going to be my copilot," Scott told her

"Are you sure?" Ellie asked him. "I can ride with you."

"Nah, you ride with your sisters, Daisy and I will be fine," Scott assured her. "Besides, she doesn't try to change the music like some people I know." He gave her a pointed look.

"I would be offended except you do the same thing to me when I'm driving you," Ellie retorted before maturely sticking her tongue out at him.

"Very mature for a 29-year-old," Scott commented.

"Let's get on the road, shall we?" Sydney interrupted in a mom tone.

"You guys head out, I'll do a quick check around the house to lock it up and then Daisy and I will follow," Scott offered.

"Shotgun!" Riley shouted out.

"It's Ellie's birthday, Riles," Izzy said, shaking her head. "The birthday person always gets the front seat."

"Fine," Riley sighed. "Let's go."

Thanks to traffic, the drive took longer than an hour, but Ellie didn't mind. It had been a long time since she'd gone anywhere with just her sisters and it was just like old times. Telling stories, laughing, and talking over each other as Sydney drove.

The beach house was down the street from the beach, rather than oceanfront, but they could see the ocean from the balcony off the largest of the three bedrooms. The house had a Mediterranean feel to it in its design and decor. The first floor had the smaller of the three bedrooms rooms, a half bath and an open concept living, dining and kitchen. The second floor had a full bathroom and two bedrooms, the largest of the two having two queen sized beds in it. The best part of the house, though, was the backyard that looked like it belonged in Italy instead of Southern California.

By the time Scott got to the house with Daisy, the sisters had unloaded the few things that had been in the trunk of Ellie's car and had ordered takeout from a nearby restaurant. They helped him unload his car, putting their luggage in the bedroom with the two queen sized beds, leaving the other two rooms for Scott and Pierre.

Then they all headed outside to relax on the back porch while they waited for their dinner to be delivered. Sydney poured everyone drinks, except for herself, a fact that her sisters quickly noticed.

"Are you pregnant?!" Riley demanded.

The corner of Sydney's mouth twitched, but she nodded. "I didn't want to say anything tonight, because it's Ellie's birthday, but -"

"Shut up," Ellie said laughing as she gave her sister a hug. "It's the best birthday present you could give me!"

Hearing the doorbell ring, Scott went to answer it, leaving the sisters to celebrate. Knowing the sisters had already paid for the meal, he gave the delivery person a cash tip, thanked them and closed the door.

As he carried the food back to the girls, he paused when he heard Ellie say: "I have some news myself."

Given what her sister had just announced, he froze, his mind instantly going to the idea that she might be pregnant with Chris's baby.

"Relax, I'm not pregnant," Ellie said with a nervous laugh.

"Fucking hell, Ellie," Izzy said in a relieved tone that matched how Scott was feeling. "Don't scare us like that."

"What's your news, Ellie?" Sydney asked, drawing everyone's attention back to Ellie.

"I'm going to move out of Chris's house," Ellie announced. "I don't feel comfortable there anymore. In fact, I hate being there by myself."

Scott could tell that she was holding something back and so could her sisters, because Riley called her out on it.

"What aren't you telling us?" Riley asked.

"I'm having a hard time finding a place here that I can afford," Ellie replied, her voice trailing off. "So I might be moving home. Want a roommate, Riles?"

Scott felt his stomach drop. He didn't want Ellie to go back to Oregon.

"I thought you were saving money," Sydney said, snapping into the protective older sister/mothering older sister mode.

Scott smirked. Her sisters had this.

"I paid off a lot of things," Ellie replied. "And I have some savings, but…"

Scott heard her sigh.

"After everything with Chris went downhill, I haven't felt right accepting the money that Lisa has been paying me," she confessed to her sisters. "I've been donating my paychecks to a non-profit organization that provides books to underprivileged kids in the LA area. It seemed fitting since she and I met at the bookstore."

"Oh Ellie," Sydney said, the tone not one of scolding but of compassion.

Backing up, Scott decided to put dinner on the dining room table and get dishes out so they could serve themselves in the house. Allowing the sisters and himself time to process Ellie's confession. All of them.

He hated the idea of her moving period, but especially the idea of her moving to another state. The paycheck donation was a whole different situation, one that he wasn't fully capable of processing just yet. Obviously, there was guilt on Ellie's part, but for what? Taking advantage of his mom's trust by boinking Chris? His mom liked Ellie and she would have loved holding the fact that she'd picked Chris's wife over his head.

Scott shook his head and sighed. Hearing footsteps, he looked up and saw Riley in the doorway. "I was just going to call you guys in," he told her, gesturing to the food that he'd laid out.

"Awesome, I'll get the others," Riley replied before disappearing outside again.

One thing he knew for sure was that if his mom ever found out that Ellie had donated her paychecks because Chris was a dumbass, Scott would pay top dollar to witness that confrontation.

He was still smirking to himself when the sisters filed in. He let them go first and then dished himself a plate of food.

No one said a word about Ellie's possible move until they were all seated at the table outside.

"For the record, I think you moving back to Oregon is a bad idea," Riley stated, looking at her older sister. "I've never seen you run away from your problems in my entire life. Never mind the fact that everyone will wonder why you left California. And you know how our family talks, it will be all over town within five days of you stepping foot on mom and dad's farm. We won't talk, but you know how they are, they'll figure it out. They always do."

Scott picked up his drink and took a sip, hiding his smile. Ellie was stubborn, but her sisters wouldn't let her do anything stupid. And neither would he. He was going to do everything in his power to get her to stay in LA.

Episode 21.5

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loverspersonas · 5 years ago

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the most beautiful moment in life | i

pairing: ot7? x reader

genre: hyyh au, high school au, angst, drama, fluff, smut?

length: 3.4k

summary: Eight strangers with different stories happen to meet one day, by fate or some kind of cruel, exquisite happenstance, and realize that they’re not as different as they thought.

↳series masterlist

To say that you hated high school wouldn’t be precisely correct. In fact, at some point, you remembered loving it. Sky Academy was the best place to receive education in the whole country, whether you were interested in academics, sports or the arts. But like most top schools with such reputations, it was difficult to get in. You either had to be incredibly talented, intelligent, or filthy rich. You could safely say that you hadn’t ever stumbled upon someone who was all three.

But of course, nothing good lasted.

Less than a year ago, you’d lost your friends, your perks, your stellar grades, and your reputation. High school was a vicious social ladder. You could climb higher and higher everyday and before you even knew it, you’re falling. And it was a long way down.

“I’m going to the park after school today with the others. You want to come?”

Sana was a girl you’d met in your English class years ago. She normally kept her hair cut above her chin, right now dyed bubblegum pink. She was something like a firecracker, her mood and decisions constantly changing which she expressed through her hair and clothes. One time in the last year, you’d told her about your mother’s new boyfriend at the time— the fourth one in a period of three months— when she’d suggested for you to try what she did at times of stress or too many emotions; the following day was the first time you’d come to school with chocolate brown hair. You’d never been so close with Sana before, but you were thankful you’d always remained on friendly terms, because now, she was the only friend you had left.

“The others?” you asked, grabbing some books from your locker to stuff in your backpack. It wasn’t that you didn’t like Sana’s friends, it was just that they were so different from the crowd you used to run with. While you were comfortable with the girl, sometimes you couldn’t help but feel out of place amongst all of them. “I don’t know…”

“Come on,” Sana urged. “It’s not like you’re going to start studying right after class, are you? It’s only the first month of school.”

“Yeah, but—“

“But you’re smarter than you think,” she said firmly. “And you don’t need to kiss up to teachers anymore for grades.”

You looked at her with an unsure expression, ultimately sighing. “Fine. I’ll be there.” You closed your locker door. “I have to go right now.”

“Go where? What do you have to do?”

You paused to look back her way. “Kiss up to a teacher.”

Sana groaned. “I was just joking!”

You grinned, continuing in the direction of the main office. At this time in the morning, it was pretty quiet. The receptionist gave you a friendly smile that you tried to return. It wasn’t that you came there often. You stayed away from the principal’s office; there was no need for any more attention on you. You supposed your face had become familiar there from all the times you’d come to see Mrs Oh, the academy’s guidance counsellor.

While you were sitting in the waiting chairs— or rather, sofas since this was, after all, Sky Academy— two people came out from the principal’s office, one being the headmaster himself, and the other, a tall boy with broad shoulders in a crisp, new uniform. The headmaster said a few words to him, a smile then a pat on the shoulder before returning to his office.

The boy stood there for a minute, uncomfortable or uncertain as he vaguely looked around him. He exchanged a polite smile with the receptionist at some point. Finally, you sighed inwardly, deciding that you might as well save him. “Hey,” you called. “New kid, right?”

The boy seemed a little startled, not having noticed you sitting there, although your current platinum blonde hair was a little hard to miss. “Um, yes. I’m Kim Seokjin.”

You stood up from your seat. “Yeah, I didn’t ask. All right, follow me.”

He raised his eyebrows as you waited by the door for him. “Follow you?”

“That is what I said,” you spoke slowly so that he could understand. “I’m your exclusive welcoming tour guide to the academy.”

“I wasn’t aware I was getting a tour guide.”

You waved a hand. “Please save your comments and questions for the end of the tour.”

“All right,” he allowed. If he was annoyed, he didn’t show it. "Can I at least know who my guide is? I don’t know how I feel about following someone I don’t know anything about. For all I know, you could be leading me somewhere quiet and secluded to murder me.”

You bit your lip, looking at him with a nod. “You make a valid point. I’m Y/L/N Y/F/N. Just call me Y/F/N, if you must. Anyway, so you know the front office where we just were.”

“Yes, I spoke with the headmaster and the lady at the front desk.”

You were less interested in actually listening to his answers. Making conversation was just a formality, not something you actually wanted to do. It was funny how much of a social butterfly you used to be. Lately it made you wonder if socializing was something you did only to adapt to your environment, rather than an activity you actually enjoyed. “Okay, so this is the foyer where people like to just hang around mostly. If there’s any event or advertising to be done, that usually happens here too.”

“What about extracurriculars?” Seokjin asked as you stopped by the doors to the gym.

“Let me guess,” you said, turning around to face him. “You’re a basketball guy.”

His voice held dry amusement. “Was it the height?”

You shrugged. “Possibly. Yeah, there’s a bunch of sports. Basketball, football, swimming. There are also a lot of arts programs. We have a theatre too, but I only ever go there when I’m being forced to attend an assembly.”

“You’re not very interested in school, are you?” he deduced.

“If by that you mean, this school, then you’re absolutely right.” You paused. “I’m so over this place. But…” You stopped walking, blocking his way as you faced him. He came to a sudden stop, slightly startled. Folding your arms over your chest, you narrowed your eyes. “I’ll have you know I’m getting extra credit for an assignment right now for agreeing to give this tour. That’s right, your presumptions about me were incorrect.”

He looked down for a moment, ears going slightly pink. “Sorry. I wasn’t trying to make… presumptions.”

You could’ve told him that it was okay and that an apology and his embarrassment wasn’t necessary. But you decided not to. “You’ll find that the people here live off of making assumptions about others. Which brings me to the next section of this guide. The kind of people you’re better off avoiding.”

With his long legs, it was easy for him to keep up with your pace while still paying attention. “You sound like you really know this place well.”

“I’ve been here for over three years now. But it wasn’t until last year when I realized what this place actually was.” You paused for dramatic effect. “Hell.”

Walking past the two of you were a bunch of younger girls, not very covertly casting glances at the boy beside you and giggling to themselves. You mentally groaned. If there was one thing you hated, it was the sound of delusional giggles. Sure, you’d admit that maybe Seokjin could fall into the tall, handsome category, but you’d sooner die than become a lovesick teenager. But thankfully, Seokjin didn’t notice. Hopefully, he was oblivious so that something like this wouldn’t get to his head.

Abruptly, you came to a stop. “So, you have the stereotypical popular kids. The football team and the cheerleaders.”

He followed your gaze to see the group of people wearing royal blue and sunny yellow colours, colours of the academy and also of popularity. “I thought pretty much all jocks fell into that stereotype.”

“No, some of the other sports teams are actually nice and bearable,” you informed him, gaze shifting again across from you. There was a pretty girl with long black hair and yellow and blue ribbons in her hair standing beside a handsome boy with brown hair and an all too familiar letterman jacket. You tried to ignore that tug in your chest. “But not football. If you want a smooth, drama-free year, you’ll do best without them in it.”

Seokjin spoke after a while and you wondered if it was because he’d noticed something you’d given away. “Noted.”

Just then, the teenagers began walking. Out of instinct, you turned your head in the other direction, relief filling you as they passed by without noticing you. Seokjin shot you a puzzled look which you dismissed by asking for his schedule. As the new kid, he was going to hear things that he’d have a lot of questions about, but you weren’t obligated to answer any of them. Especially not if they were related to you.

“Here we are, locker 334.” As he started turning the lock, you quickly glanced at his schedule. “You’re taking business?”

“My family does a lot of business,” he answered. “I thought it would be a good choice.”

You couldn’t help but notice the stiffness in his voice. Either he didn’t actually like business, or family was a touchy topic. But despite your curiosity, you wouldn’t pry.

“Interesting,” you murmured, attention returning to the paper in your hand. “Oh, I’m taking advanced calculus too.”

“Maybe we can sit together,” he suggested.

You raised a brow. “Why do you assume I’ll just sit next to you?”

“Oh, I didn’t—“

“I’m just kidding,” you cut him off, this time a little amused by how quickly his ears turned red. “Your first class is down this hall, to the right. If you get lost, you can ask someone.”

“As long as they’re not wearing a football jersey or a cheerleading outfit.”

You looked at him again, head tilting to the side slightly, maybe just a little pleased. “Good, you’re catching on. You just might survive, Seokjin. Anyway, I have class in five minutes and so do you.”

“Right.” He hesitated, fingers playing with the strap of his backpack. Maybe he wasn’t actually that great with people, or maybe he wasn’t used to getting help from others. “Thank you for doing this.”

Something inside you softened a little, but you shook it away instantly. Being softhearted, you’d learned, didn’t get you anywhere. “There’s no need to thank me. I’m just in it for the credits.”

He looked at you, a grin forming on his lips. “I don’t know if I completely believe that. You didn’t just show me around, you genuinely gave me advice.”

“It was part of the tour package,” you said, shrugging nonchalantly. “And I’d hate to see you get eaten alive on your first day. That usually doesn’t happen until after the first week.”

“Wow, thank god you do these guides then,” he said sarcastically before his expression turned more solemn, uncertain, maybe even a little hopeful. “Maybe I’ll see you around?”

You gave him a half smile and a shrug before turning to start down the hallway.

Lunch period was probably one of your least favourite times of the day. It shouldn’t have been since it was an hour break from classes. But it was a time where half of the students at Sky gathered in the cafeteria; the other half would have their lunch at a different time. Basically, it was a time where you had to be forced into the same room as your former friends, who you’d rather never see again. The only thing that could get you through it was having Sana by your side.

“Have you seen the new kid?” she was saying, maybe to you or maybe to the boy beside her also at your table. His name was Li-on, a mutual friend of yours and Sana’s from her friend group.

Li-on was busy stuffing meat from his tray into his mouth with his chopsticks but managed an incredulous expression. “Don’t tell me you’re listening to the rumours going around the academy.”

Sana scowled, whacking his shoulder. “I am not. I know how twisted rumours can get at this place.”

You noticed her look at you from the corner of your eye, but pretended not to. Instead your attention remained on your bowl of soup. “Why, what interesting things have you heard?”

“Well, a few things,” she admitted. “But that’s not important. Don’t you think it’s interesting how he just showed up, after the year has already started?”

“Why, is he not allowed to want to receive an education?” you asked dryly.

She shot you a look. “That’s not what I meant. You guys know how Sky is, how the headmaster is. They’re so stingy when it comes to accepting new students, especially after the year has already begun.”

Li-on finished chewing his food and gave her a thoughtful glance. “That is true...”

Sana nodded, appreciative of the acknowledgment. “What I’m saying is there must be something special about him.”

A short chuckle left you. “Yeah, he’s loaded.”

“Something more than that.”

You didn’t want to think too much about it, but realized that Sana had a point. The academy had criteria for accepting students, and were very strict about new students any time throughout the year. It just didn’t fit their reputation. How did Seokjin end up here?

Breaking your train of thought was a set of eyes you felt on you from across the room. You already had a hunch of who it was and tried your best to ignore it, but found yourself giving in. The boy signalled to the doors with a nod of his head.

You wanted to shake your head. But then you sighed and a minute later got up from your seat, only for a hand to stop you. By her expression, Sana had noticed that small exchange of glances. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Going to the bathroom,” you lied despite knowing there was no use.

Sana pulled your arm as you tried to leave. Li-on must’ve sensed the sudden tension as he looked between the two of you, but he didn’t say anything. “Are you really going to talk to him?”

“What am I supposed to do?” you said. “I can’t just keep avoiding him for the rest of my life.”

“Um, you can, actually. I do it all the time!”

“Sana.”

“Look,” the pink haired girl said seriously now, “the last time you two talked, it didn’t end well.“

“The difference is that I don’t have anything to lose this time where it concerns him.” Something about the truth in that startled you in a similar way it startled Sana.

She released her grip on you. “Fine. But if you’re not back in five minutes, I’m going after you.”

The concern in her voice had you sending her a small smile. Then you were making your way to the hallway outside, the rest of the cafeteria too loud and invested in their own world to notice the two people who walked out at around the same time.

“What do you want?” you said, not giving the chance for an uncomfortable silence or avoiding the subject.

Min-hyuk didn’t appear to be so taken aback by your bluntness. “How have you been, Y/N?” he asked almost quietly.

You wanted to laugh. “That’s what you wanted to talk about. How have I been? You’ve got to be fucking joking—“

“I know it sounds to hard to believe but—“

“Don’t say something stupid like you still care,” you said sharply.

He paused and you took a moment to study him. He looked nearly the same as you remember. Oak brown hair reaching his forehead, framing his angular facial features, something that had people stopping and giving him double takes— it had you doing the same once upon a time. But that was a different time.

“I’m sorry for the way things ended,” he spoke at last, and you wish he hadn’t. “If you won’t believe me for anything else, at least believe that.”

I want to, you thought with a desperation that had you hating yourself for feeling even for a second. You didn’t realize until now how much you would’ve liked to go back in time before things had become this way. But how could do so easily forget everything that had happened in between?

“I did believe you, Min-hyuk,” you said. “I trusted you. And you made me regret even that.”

“Wait—“ His hand shot out to stop you from walking past him. When you glanced down at it, he retracted it immediately. “I just... I don’t want things to be this way. We used to be so close—“

There was pang in your chest at the words. Of course, you remembered being that close. What hurt more was trying to forget it all. “If you’re looking for a shoulder to cry on, maybe you should ask your girlfriend.”

“What’s going on here?”

Perfect, you thought. Of course he has to show up.

Eun-ho was one of Min-hyuk’s closest friend, both part of the academy’s football team. You’d never liked him despite being in the same friend group. His arrogance and ability to make crude, insensitive remarks on things that didn’t concern him were unbearable; you wondered how Min-hyuk could tolerate it sometimes.

Eun-ho’s face broke out into a vexatious smile that you didn’t trust one bit. “Y/N…” If you hated anything more than his mere presence, it was the way he said your name. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

You gave him your own icy, sarcastic smile. “Not long enough, Eun-ho.”

He chuckled. “Wow, did you somehow get even more feisty?”

Min-hyuk made an annoyed sound, throwing off the arm he had around him. “Really, Eun-ho?”

“What? It’s true what they say then, isn’t it? It’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for. I bet you were actually wild in bed.”

As he laughed at his own joke, Min-hyuk gave him a shove. While you felt anger and annoyance start to simmer under your skin, you weren’t surprised. Eun-ho was probably waiting to get to talk to you like this.

“You’re still as insecure as ever, aren’t you?” you spoke. “Talking shit about everyone because what else do you know? You know, the entire time I used to wonder how everyone managed to put up with your bullshit. I’m relieved I don’t have to anymore.”

His eyes narrowed, jaw clenching now that you were fighting back. Maybe before you put up with everything he used to say and do, internalizing the emotions you felt and the words you wanted to throw at him, but not anymore. You opened your mouth again, ready to keep going, ready to say everything you should’ve said a long time ago, when suddenly there was a hand on your shoulder.

“Come on, Y/N,” Sana said, throwing a brief glare at the two boys. But her focus was mainly on you. “This isn’t worth your time.”

You relaxed at her words, ready to leave when Eun-ho called your name again. “—that’s right, you were always too fucking scared to face the truth, blaming everyone but yourself. Why do you think Min-hyuk left you? Why your own mother doesn’t give a damn about you, why your brother’s not around. They all saw that you for what you were. A crazy little bitch—“

The next thing you knew, everything was red. Heat was crawling over your skin, so much that you felt like smoke would leave your ears at any second. Anger was rising inside you, anger you hadn’t felt in a long time, and you didn’t want to stop it anymore.

Beside you, Sana was saying something, tugging at your sleeve urgently but it was all faint, tuned out and staticky like shifting between radio signals. You pushed her aside as you moved forward.

Min-hyuk was glaring at his friend, but Eun-ho— he had the audacity to be grinning like a child who’d won a prize. It was like a rope snapping, and suddenly your fist swung at his jaw. The feeling of your knuckles connecting with bone was something you knew was going to leave your hand with a dull ache, but it was satisfying as hell.

“Miss Y/L/N.”

You turned around to see the headmaster standing before you, not looking impressed.

Well, shit.

chapter ii

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goldandbluesmiles · 5 years ago

Text

Nesting

Summary: No one ever taught Tim how to build a nest. Bruce fixes that.

Part 1, Ao3

Notes: This is actually supposed to be the fourth or fifth fic in the Keeper series but the second one to be posted so some things might be confusing.

A few things to note - Bruce saying that he's a disease is a misconception on his part, he thinks him being a Keeper and not following all the rules is the reason bad things happen to his family. -Dick was Bruce's protege but he is Bludhaven's Keeper so while him and Bruce have problems they don't have too big of a falling out because Bruce always knew Dick wasn't Gotham's. -Jason also died in this au but he died in Gotham, not in Ethiopia.

TW: Mention of child neglect

XXX

Bruce didn't notice too much about Tim at first. He was a thirteen years old male omega who had the keeper's magic inside of him. He had parents so he didn't need to be Bruce's responsibility outside of training.

And Bruce was okay with that. He had already lost one protege to the Keeper's magic and it had nearly destroyed him.

There was a reason Keepers weren't supposed to have normal packs. It was a disease.

And Bruce was the biggest disease of all.

Tim usually came to the cave in the evening after school and went home after a few hours of studying and lessons. Dick and Jason had always been eager to get to the physical training part but Tim was more than okay with reading books on books about Keepers. He was also a creative problem solver, picking things up faster then Bruce had.

Sometimes Bruce felt the urge to scoop up the little pup and tuck him close, especially when he looked at him with those hopeful eyes. But then Bruce would remember Jason and push the thought away. He hadn't been good enough with Jason, treated him like a child and son instead of protege and fellow Keeper and look where that had got him.

It was better this way.

So Tim left for home every night at 8:00, right when his housekeeper expected him. Which was why Bruce was very surprised to find him standing at the entrance of the cave around 8:30, half an hour after he had sent him home.

"Tim?"

No answer

"Tim, are you alright?"

No answer.

Something was wrong. The boy usually scrambled to answer.

Once Bruce got closer, the situation became evident. The little Omega was in pre-heat. He was young so his scent was significantly lighter but there was no mistaking the extra boost to the lemon scent. The boy was definitely going into heat.

"Timmy, Kiddo," he said softly, ignoring the part of his that told him to turn away, "Look at me,"

The little boy, who had had his back to him until now, slowly turned around. Bruce winced when he saw his expression. Dazed with a little bit of...fear? Why did the boy look afraid?

"H-hi Bruce. I-um-I was about to leave but then this feeling just hit me and I didn't want to leave anymore. I'm usually home by the time it hits me-b-but- it hit me here and-I'm so so sorry, Bruce! I'm so sorry!"

Bruce took a deep breath and knelt in front of the shaking boy. Going by his age, he probably hadn't been having heats for more than a year and since very young omegas only had a few heats a year, this was was probably his third or fourth. He was in a house that wasn't his and not to mention with an adult who had been less than welcoming.

He sighed again and put a hand on Tim's shoulder. The boy flinched at first but then relaxed a bit.

"It's okay, Tim," he said, "Do you want me to take you home?". Tim probably had a nest there. Most pups liked to 'play nest' and those that had started heat usually kept up theirs. There were some interesting stories about young pups, especially omegas, fighting their parents when they tried to wash the items used in the nest.

Bruce would take Tim home, make sure he was taken care of by whoever was watching him and then he would come back and this unsettling feeling he was getting in his chest would go away.

He wasn't expecting the way Tim's eyes filled with tears while he shook his head.

"Don't wanna be alone," he mumbled

Bruce frowned. Young omegas got emotional during their heat, some even pre-heat, but this was odd and why would Tim say that about being alone? He had sais someone watched him.

"What do you mean you're going to be alone?"

Tim sniffed and shook his head, "Shouldn't have said that. Bad,"

Bruce's chest tightened. Something was wrong, very very wrong.

He decided to try something else, "What about your nest then?"

"What nest?"

Bruce barely held himself back from gasping in shock.

Could this be-

"Is this your first heat, kiddo?"

Tim shook his head.

"And you don't have a nest?"

Tim shook his head again.

"How many heats have you had, buddy?"

"Two," said Tim with a sniffle, "Didn't realize what the first one was, they were five months apart,"

Tim had started coming here four months ago. And he didn't have a nest. Good god.

Bruce had so many more questions but they could wait because Tim was starting to shake again.

"Hey Tim," he said, "I'm gonna pick you up okay?"

"Okay." he sniffled

Bruce carefully picked him up, backpack and all. He was impossibly small and light in his arms, instantly curling up against his chest.

Goddammit, he could already feel himself getting attached. This wasn't supposed to happen.

"Oh My," said Alfred, once they got upstairs, looking at the boy who now had his eyes squeezed shut "What happened here, Master Bruce?"

"He's going in heat in the next twenty-four hours, said he didn't want to go home because he doesn't want to be alone and has never made a nest despite already having had two heats,"

An almost undetectable dark look passed over Alfred's face.

"I see," said the old butler, "You'll be taking him to your room then,"

"Yes," said Bruce, "I'm sure you already know the list of his favourite snacks,"

"Of course," said Alfred, "I'll make sure to bring them up,"

"Thanks, Alfie,"

Once Bruce got to the room, he turned on the dim lamplight and carefully deposited the boy in the middle of the bed.

"You can open your eyes now, Buddy," said Bruce

Tim opened his eyes and looked around with surprise.

"Is this your room?"

"Yes, Tim," he said

"What are we doing here?" he asked

"I'm going to teach you to build a nest," he said

"Oh," he said, eyes widening in surprise, confirming Bruce's fears. This poor little Omega had spent his last two heats without a nest and probably without his parents.

"Now," said Bruce, "There are some very important decisions that need to be considered when making a nest,"

Tim straightened and looked at him intently. Bruce couldn't help the warmth that spread thought. God, this kid was adorable.

"First one," said Bruce, "Covered top or not?"

xxx

Tim watched in surprise as Bruce attached to wooden poles to the end of the bedposts.

"Is this tall okay?" asked the older Omega, "I'll have to attach something to the headboard too so it makes a triangle shape,"

"Oh no," said Tim, "That's not necessary. I'll fit inside,"

This was bad, He was causing too much trouble. He should have just gone home. Why didn't he just go home?

"But then I won't fit," said Bruce

Tim's mouth fell open in surprise

"You're going to stay with me," he asked in a whisper

"Of course," said Bruce with a frown, "Unless you want someone else? Maybe Dick or Barbara? Because you're not old enough to do this alone,"

But I already did it alone.

He didn't say that though. Instead, he just nodded.

"Okay, You can stay,"

Bruce frowned a little and Tim wondered if he's said something wrong.

But then Bruce went back to fixing the bed and Tim relaxed. Everything was fine.

"Now," said Bruce, once he was done attaching the poles, "I'm gonna hold some things up and you're going to tell me if you want to keep them?"

"Okay," he said

Bruce went into the closet and brought out a pile of soft and furry looking things.

"First. we're going to put something at the bottom. Something comfy. Would you like wool? Cotton? Maybe a down?"

"What a down?"

The older omega frowned. Tim was just about to take back his question when Bruce picked up a bunch of things again.

"I have an idea," said Bruce, "You feel them and tell me which one will the comfiest under you,"

"Oh, okay,"

He ended up choosing a large blue blanket that seemed to have feathers inside of it.

"Good choice," said Bruce, giving Tim a bright smile. Tim loved that smile. It made his magic dance nicely in his chest.

The nest little while was spent like that, with Bruce showing Tim different things and he would choose which ones he likes best.

"How do I know which one feels the nicest," he asked at one point

"Well," said Bruce, "There are many ways to tell. You can feel it with your hands, curl up in it or..."

"Or?" asked Tim, confused as to why Bruce had stopped speaking

"Or I could do this," said Bruce and pounced. Before Tim knew it, he had been pushed into one of the blankets as Bruce tickled him mercilessly.

"Wait-what-haha-stop-stop-hahaha-BRUCE!"

"Nuh-uh," huffed Bruce, "Not stopping,"

Tim screeched as Bruce poked a particularly sensitive spot and tried to get away, twisting the splayed blankets and covers as he went.

"You're not getting away Kiddo," Bruce said with a grin, yanking him back against his chest, mercilessly tickling his tummy and making him gasp and twist.

Eventually, Tim ran out of breath and Bruce let him go. He flopped down onto the bed, a few giggles still escaping him as he caught his breath.

"So," said Bruce, "How does it look now?"

Tim looked at him in confusion. What did he mean?

Bruce just smiled and waved his hand around. Tim turned to look and his eyes widened. Them moving around had moved the bigger blankets to the edge, creating a sort of barrier, the cotton sheets were still under him covering the large blue blanker at the bottom. There were brighter lighter blankets just inside the barrier, giving it a cozy look and there were handmade quilts and a couple of knitted blankets laying closer to him.

"I like it," he said, running his hand on top of one knitted blanket, "I really really like it,"

"I'm glad, Kiddo," said Bruce, "Just have to fix it in a few places,"

Bruce went ahead and started to pull the blankets closer together, settling them in a way that made sure both of them could stretch. After he was done, he picked up one of the quilts and put it around Tim's shoulders.

"There you go," he murmured, "Now sit here and I'm going to get a sheet to cover us, okay?"

Tim nodded. Bruce moved to the edge of the bed and pulled up three sheets.

"Blue, White, or Yellow?"

"Yellow," said Tim

"Great," said Bruce, standing up, "If I attach this here and here and then..."

Carefully, the older omega constructed a cover over them using duct tape and the wooden poles he had attached to the bed.

"And for the finishing touch," said Bruce and leaned over the change the setting on the lights. The lights dimmed a bit, creating a yellow glow in the nest as they were filtered through the near-transparent sheet.

"What do you think, Tim?" said Bruce as he settled in beside him.

Tim could feel a big feeling building in his chest as tears gathered in his eyes.

Not being able to answer, he did the only thing he could think of and threw himself at Bruce's chest.

XXX

Bruce tensed as Tim slammed into him. The weight wasn't the problem but when was the last time he had held a child close? The last time-

He cut his thoughts off. No matter how bad this might turn out, he had an obligation as Tim's mentor to help him in any way possible, including emotionally. This was just a mentor taking care of his protege. Absolutely nothing to do with Pack.

Bruce could do this.

"You okay there, Timmy?"

Tim nodded and a soft sound started coming from him.

Was he-

Another soft sound.

Yup. The little omega was definitely purring. So adorable.

Slowly, Bruce could feel his apprehensions slipping away as he gave an answering purr. The little boy looked back up in surprise as if no one had answered his before.

Alphas and Betas didn't purr but they did growl and hum. Tim's parents should have been answering him with something if they had taken some time to spend with their little boy. But it was becoming increasingly obvious that they didn't have much to do with Tim.

Bruce felt a surge of hate toward the Drakes. How dare they? They had this brilliant, sweet child. Didn't they know how precious this was, this life? How fragile? How it could be taken away in a-

Tim purred louder and nuzzled his neck, probably detecting his changing mood from his scent.

Bruce gently purred in response, letting him know everything was fine. As he pulled the little boy closer, he felt their magics curl together. Bruce's own mature magic and Tim's still developing spark.

Ours Ours Ours

'Not yet," answered Bruce, having mastered speaking in his head, "He's too young to protect Gotham yet and his magic isn't as developed as you,"

No no Ours

It took him a few seconds to realize what his magic was saying. With Dick and Jason, the line had been clear. They didn't have parents. They were Keepers and so was Bruce, therefore, they were Bruce's responsibility.

It wasn't that way with Tim.

This was the magic asking him to claim Tim as his own.

Bruce pursed his lips. The Keeper's magic didn't usually have any morals or goals other than having a way to do its job, in this case, protect Gotham. It needed the Keeper to help direct it and bend it and make sure it didn't do anything to disrupt the system of that Keepers time period.

So why did it want Bruce to claim Tim? Was it reflecting Bruce's own desire back? Because despite what Dick liked to say, Bruce wasn't actually oblivious to his own feelings, he just didn't act on them.

'Why are you so insistent?'

Needs our help. We help Gotham and Gotham includes its people. We are the best equipped in this scenario.

Huh, so the magic was learning after all.

"Bruce?" asked Tim, starting to sound a little sleepy

"It's okay," said Bruce, "Go to sleep, Kiddo,"

The little omega yawned and closed his eyes, snuggling deeper into his chest.

He could do this.

#bruce wayne #tim drake #Alfred Pennyworth #batfamilyaobweek #alpha/beta/omega verse #a/b/o #batdad

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granpafrisbee · 6 years ago

Text

Truth or Dare Part 1

Warnings: Cussing

Word Count: 3,752 (it’s gonna get longer tho)

Pairing: Bucky x OFC

Masterlist

Summary: After going to Italy and avoiding any romantic relationships for pretty much all her life Joey comes back to the U.S. to move in with her life-long best friend, Sam Wilson, and his two closest friends from college. Joey’s met Steve but is apprehensive to meet the elusive Bucky, whom she’s always missed despite having visited Sam consistently throughout college. Once she meets him, however, she wonders how she’ll be able to run from love when they share a bathroom.

A/N: Hey, so I'll be updating this most Wednesdays. I'll try my hardest to stay regular.

I wrote this using an OFC bc I cannot work my brain to replace my name with fucking Y/N and I know I'm not the only one. (I always end up reading it as fucking "yuuhnnumm"). I am fully in love with Zazie Beetz so our OFC is completely based on her except maybe a lil chubbier because why not. Really for the apartment just picture the layout of the New Girl loft.

I always have a confusing time picturing characters in fics so I'm gonna lay it out for y'all. Steve is full nomad, them honey brown locks and the full beard. Joey's hair is natural like Zazie so often wears it. Bucky is just Seb in fall/winter 2017 because I am weak for the I, Tonya press tour look. Sam is Mackie's classic look. The rest of the characters can be left to the imagination.

Also I mention good music so listen to that if you want. Please let me know if you like this and follow my hot garbage tumblr.

Special thanks to @buckybarnesxoxo for asking to be tagged!

the AO3

Stay Sexy

It’s the bathroom that really impresses Joey. She believed Sam when he said the apartment was nice. On seeing it for the first time when moving in, she discovers that her best friend is distinctly incorrect. A working sink is nice. A proper heater is nice. A nearby laundromat is nice. This loft, this four-bedroomed palace, is exquisite in comparison to her previous abodes. The kitchen has all its necessary appliances. There are a washer and dryer in unit. The walls are thick enough that if Sam was stabbed in his neighboring room, she would maybe hear it. Four bedrooms with their very own closets. All of these have her speechless as she tours around. However, as stated above, it’s the bathroom that is killer. The idea of sharing said room with three men is maybe one of the more foreboding aspects of her new sweet digs, but once she sees the giant clawfoot shower and tub, she is sure the positives will heavily outweigh the negatives.

She immediately slides down into her new porcelain palace. She’s a medium height at 5’6”, and even she has to point her toes to touch the far end of the tub. She sighs comfortably and is already planning an essential oils combination for her first real bath when the door swings open and her fantasy is interrupted by one her new roommates. He’s the one she hasn’t met yet but Sam and Steve have shown her plenty of pictures. His hair looks soft and well-coiffed and he wears a tank top under an unbuttoned striped short sleeve button down. Rather than judgment appearing across his abnormally handsome face, he smiles like there was nothing else he could have expected when entering the bathroom.

“You see I specifically told Steve to get a bathtub that doesn’t come with a human.”

“Oh no, you got it all wrong. I’m actually a ghost here to haunt you but hygienically. Instead of boo, I say floss.” She says without a beat and he nods, very seriously, in response to this.

“You know I’m pretty sure I just carried in a bed to our fourth room that might be more comfortable than the tub, but who am I to judge one’s preferred sleeping arrangements.” His quip is followed by another fantastic smile, and based on the past ten seconds of her life Joey is absolutely sure that this is her kind of human.

She smiles back and extends her hand from the tub. “Joey.”

“Bucky,” He shakes her hand and nods again.

“You guys brought up my bed? I told Samuel to let me handle that shit.”

He laughs and scratches his beard, “Ah just gave me another opportunity to show Sam how much stronger I am than him. And Steve the chance to show up both of us.”

Joey chuckles and silently appreciates how Bucky balanced his dig on Sam with some light self-depreciation of himself. Although it would be unrealistic to pretend that anyone was stronger than Steve. The man is built. “Seriously though, I’ll come help y’all out. I’m not gonna be the useless roommate.” She gets out of the tub and starts out the door.

“Oh I wouldn’t worry about that, I think Sammy’s got that title covered, Darlin’.” He follows her out and therefore doesn’t see her face cringe at the pet name.

She considers calling him on it when Sam yells from the front door, “I know you’re not in there besmirching me to my very own best friend Barnes,” He enters view sweaty and smiling, “And I especially know she wasn’t participating, because she is my best friend and therefore automatically on my side.” He wraps his arm protectively around her shoulders causing her to shrug away from him with her nose scrunched.

“Consider our friendship on sabbatical until you take a shower, Wilson.” Joey continues backing away.

“Jesus I always knew your personality stank but I guess the inside always comes out huh.” Bucky mirrors Joey’s disgusted face as he walks towards the door.

Sam rolls his eyes, “Not funny.” Although the involuntary “Hah!” Joey lets out at Bucky’s comment seems to contradict his statement. Sam just flips her off.

“Thank you, Doll. You see Sammy, even your best friend thinks I’m right.” Bucky mocks as he heads back outside.

This time Sam sees her face twist in reaction to the nickname. Misinterpreting it he grumbles, “Oh come on there’s no way you can smell me from over there.” He starts to head to his room, presumably for deodorant.

Joey follows Bucky downstairs to help with some more furniture moving. Steve is outside their building, ass in the air, bent over picking something up. “Damn Rogers,” Joey calls out appreciatively, “If I knew I’d be getting a view like that I would have shacked up with you years ago.”

He stands up, holding up an entire bookshelf on his own, further challenging the poor under armor shirt that is being stretched to hell on his giant frame. “Hey killer, thanks for joining us.”

She picks up a lamp and smiles at him, “Well I figured you guys needed the extra muscle.”

His smile is bright against his beard as he walks into the house with the ease of a man who isn't carrying a bookshelf.

The four of them finish loading their sporadic furniture into the loft and the afternoon fades to early evening. An old but amazing and huge high-quality leather sectional provided by Steve’s mom. Sam’s flat screen, whom he’s named Esmeralda, and may or may not have a near sexual attraction to. Bucky’s records and a player that’s older than any of them, plus a big wooden dinner table his Dad handmade. Steve’s varied level of completed canvases and paint stuff. Joey’s shelves and chairs she found on the side of the road her senior year in college. A mix of plates, bowls, and utensils have been loaded into varying drawers and cabinets. As well as cooking instruments, although, beyond Joey’s waffle iron and an old cast iron from Steve, it’s all Sam’s. Everyone’s personal boxes and furniture is piled in their own rooms.

Joey sits on the kitchen island as the boys lean against it, all sipping the cheap beer Joey bought as penance for them carrying her bed in. She takes that moment to appreciate the weird chain of events that got her where she is now. She and Sam have been friends since grade school. They went to different colleges but remained good ol’ buddies throughout. When they graduated Joey traveled around and did an apprenticeship with an Italian glassblower. Sam went to Culinary school, and when he graduated the second time around Joey was offered a job with a world-renowned blower (god she will never get tired of calling her profession that) stateside. After little luck finding a two bedroom inexpensive enough for the two of them, Steve, one of Sam’s old college buddies Joey had met many a time during visits, mentioned his friend's dad owned a couple lofts in the neighborhood they were looking in. Sam toured with Steve and Bucky and the three of them signed the lease that day. Sam called Joey that night and announced he was so confident that he forged her signature. He was insistent that it was the best option they’d find, all Steve is a good guy and fellow artist, and even Bucky is sometimes bearable but don’t tell him that. Steve paints and sketches in his free time and works as a personal trainer to pay the bills. Joey knows he isn’t passionate about it, but with his perfect body and matching attitude, she is sure he is fantastic at his job. Sam is starting at a new restaurant with a name Joey can only pronounce thanks to high school French. A plus for living with Sam is that he brings work home with him. Although Joey had visited Sam plenty over the years and even struck up a solid friendship with Steve, she always seems to have missed Bucky. They had never met but she knew he was a language major with a focus in Eastern Europe and Russia. Sam had told her Bucky translated English books into Russian and vice versa and made more money than he should. Earlier Joey had heard him curse in some sort of Slavic tongue when Sam “accidentally” dropped his end of a coffee table on Bucky’s foot. She also had heard a few stories about Steve and Bucky’s childhood, the rambunctious troublemakers lived up to every tall tale. As the four nursed their beers she felt confident that this was going to be a very important group of people in her life.

“Joey?” Sam snapped her out of her thoughts.

“What?”

“Barnes suggested we get more beer and pizza and invite some friends over. Are you down?” The three men looked at her expectantly.

“I say hell yeah. Who are we calling?” She looked down at her watch and was surprised to see it was only 6:30.

“Well there are the couples, Nat and Wanda and Thor and Bruce,” Steve suggested.

“I told Shuri I’d pay her in alcohol if she set up all the tech shit,” Bucky adds.

Steve nods, “Now that you mention it, we should probably invite Tony, he’s the reason we got this place.”

“Tony means at least Rhodey and probably Pep, Clint is a must, and if we invite Wanda we should call Pietro too.” Sam finishes his beer and scrolls through his messages.

“Brunnhilde and Okoye are in town too.” Joey hops off the counter and recycles the empty bottles collecting on the island.

“Alright you guys decide who to invite, and I’ll go get libations and sustenance,” Bucky grabs his keys.

“With the list we’ve got you’ll need some help, I’ll come with,” Joey volunteers.

Bucky smiles vibrantly and nods towards to Steve, “You okay babysitting Rogers?”

“As long as Killer doesn’t mind your unreasonably picky ass,” Steve’s retort is so quick that Bucky and Sam raise their middle fingers simultaneously at their aggravator.

Joey and Bucky decide to start off to the pizzeria three blocks away and pick up the beer on the walk back. The walk begins in mildly uncomfortable silence.

“So… you’re picky?” Joey asks to spark some sort of conversation.

“Nooo..” Bucky’s defensiveness creates an endearing drawl, “Those two pompous asses just don’t understand that I like my pizza simple. Margherita pizza is a fucking gift. Who am I to screw it up with a bunch of American bullshit?” He gestures widely as he speaks.

“You’re kidding right?”

Bucky’s must have misinterpreted her smile as he quickly responds, “Alright I’ve been judged enough in my life, I know you lived in Italy and-”

“No, no, Bucky!” She grabs his forearm, “Margherita is my favorite! I ate it all the time in Italy, judgment-free.”

“Jesus Christ Doll, where have you been all my life?”

She smiles and they continue a brisk pace to the pizza place. “How did you know I lived in Italy?”

“Ah, I know plenty about you. Sammy talks about you non-stop, has since I met him. Steve even thought he was secretly in love with you until he hung out with you in person.”

This makes Joey raise her brows, “Really? Wow. What, if I may ask, ultimately caused him to accept our relationship as extraordinarily platonic? Was it the sibling-like side hugs? The lack of sexual tension in our banter? The fact that I knew him during his first mustache phase?”

“Are you telling me there was a skinnier mustache than the one we know and mildly tolerate?”

“I’m talking Prince but pubescent. It was so thin models asked his mustache for dieting tips. It was so thin his first girlfriend thought he had an eyelash over his top lip. I mean you would’ve thought he drew it on with a ballpoint pen. In fact, it’s very possible it was. Just because I never saw doesn’t mean he never-”

Bucky is laughing uproariously, “Please, please, you’re killing me. I’m gonna need pictures as soon as possible.”

“No can do. I will recite the epic of the mustache homer-style until the day I die, but any physical evidence shared will prompt an all-out war between Samuel and me. That is just something I can’t afford.”

“Oh now I have to see them. What’s your secret shame, sweetheart? Bangs? Braces? Please tell me it was an emo phase,” As he lists off he starts walking backward, the goofy smile didn't dim once.

“I’ll never share, but trust me when I say if you find something behind my back, I’m sure Steve will be more than willing to share some pictures of your past. Emo phase is a good guess, but if I didn’t know any better I’d say that was a projection, hmm?”

That does a good job of replacing his smile with pursed lips and a quirked eyebrow, contemplating his next move in this battle of embarrassing adolescence. “Steve would never betray me.”

“Don’t be so sure, all men have their weaknesses,” She smiles deviously.

“Oh yeah, you gonna seduce him for a picture of me in eyeliner?”

“First of all, I would seduce Steve for much less so thanks for confirming my emo theories. Secondly, I may not know Steve like you do, but I know him well enough to see that seduction would hardly prove fruitful.” She holds the door open for him and they both bask in the practically orgasmic scent of the pizzeria, “Steve is so suspicious of anyone who wants to sleep with him that he’d see through me. My method would be to trick him to do some sort of high school ‘Where are they now?’ portrait. He’d be so inspired he’d paint your lined eyes and black, I’m guessing, over parted hair in a second.” The line is moving slowly and he admires how she never lowers her volume or hides from strangers eyes.

“Damn, Doll, you’re good.”

“I minored in manipulation.” The store isn’t too packed for Saturday night and Sam Cooke is playing lightly in the background. She’s nodding her head and he’s mouthing along to words and when they both realize this they share a smile at the music.

“So Steve is a suspicious mind in your book?” She chuckles at his reference.

“I’m not the biggest drinker and neither is Steve, so when Sammy went hard when I visited, Steve was always good for a tipsy talk. The poor guy has the same self-esteem he must have had in high school. Unlike us three cool cats Steve will show me pictures of his past self. I know you were there through it all, but just because the outside changes doesn’t mean the inside follows suit. I have seen the most dedicated and gorgeous women throw themselves at him and yet he remains sure that she was ‘just being friendly’. It’s actually impressive.”

“I know what you mean. To be fair though a lot of that is just his college girlfriend. She really did a number on him.” He runs a hand through his hair but doesn’t hide his contempt for whoever she is.

Solemn surprise covers Joey’s features, “I never knew. Never met her on any visits.”

“She wasn’t big on him talking to other girls, probably hid him anytime you came around. Although that isn’t my story to tell, I’m sure the punk will tell you about it sometime.” She follows his eye line down to his shoes. He’s drawing stars with the tip of his shoe, a tic she’s just noticing.

“What about you? You have a girl hiding you away, distracting you during your collegiate years? She the reason our meeting was so unluckily delayed until today?”

He thinks about the answer for a second or two. “Nah, no anchor to this ship. At this point, I’m just convinced Wilson just didn’t tell me you were around because he knew you would like me more than him.”

“Well turns out I like Steve better than both of you.”

He puts his hands up and reassures her, “I don’t need to be first, Sweetheart, just as long as I’m on your radar.” As he lowers his hands the song changes and they simultaneously recognize the song, both begin humming the initial notes. “Penny & The Quarters fan huh?” He asks.

“Nobody, baby, but-” she sings before quickly turning her attention to the cashier, “We’ll have two large Everything Pizzas and one large Margherita.” Facing Bucky again she smiles and drops another line that makes his heart race, “Just for you and me, huh?”

The pizza is out quick, and a trip to the local gas station provides them with more than enough beer. They continue discussing music, Joey is surprised at their similarly irregular taste. He describes his favorite Etta James songs, but can’t forget the Simon and Garfunkel song that he thinks is his first love encapsulated. He lists his top three favorite rappers after ranking contemporary folk bands. She adds in her opinions sporadically, and he apologizes twice for dominating the conversation when they get in the elevator.

She is being honest when she says, “There’s nothing I want to hear more than whatever you’re going to say right this moment.” He thinks that every lyric in every song he’s just listed doesn’t have shit on that sentence.

He’s about to tell her so when an alarming large hand last minute catches the elevator as it closes. The doors open to the Thor and Bruce. The couple is the lynchpin of every good party, from rager to kickback. Thor is the greatest hype man in history but is never hammered, probably because it would take two handles of tequila to get him there. Bruce is much more chill but a secret god at beer pong, not to mention he always has weed. Bucky’s favorite part of their presence always happens when Bruce is particularly high and begins a lecture on some sort of subject no one else understands. He isn’t exactly captivating, especially not to anyone far from sober although his passion is palpable, but Thor will plop down on the couch next to him and watch him like he’s the only thing in the universe (while rubbing Bruce’s neck to keep him from getting too wound up). Bucky loves those guys.

“Looks like we arrived just in time, wouldn’t you say Thor?” Bruce shakes Bucky’s hand and smiles at Joey.

“Of course! I was worried we got too much pizza, but now that you’re here Thor I’m sure you’ll help us with any surplus.” Joey sets the pizzas down before Thor pulls her into a bear hug.

“Joey, you know I never leave a damsel in distress,” Thor agrees as he sets her back on her feet.

Joey’s eyebrow playfully shoots up, “Who are you calling damsel, Odinson?”

“In this case, definitely Sam. I’m surprised he even let you order out.” Bruce answers for his boyfriend.

“My love is right in my insinuation. Never ever have I seen you anywhere near damsel status Joe.” Bucky watches their interaction with curiosity.

The elevator dings and Bucky asks, “This may seem like a dumb question but how do you guys know each other? Just through Sam?”

Joey picks up the pizzas as Thor holds the door open, ”Thor’s siblings and I were all in a group home together as teens. I’ve known this big lug long before he was the Nordic party god we see before us.” Thor laughs and he and Bruce go to greet everyone inside.

“Are you telling me Thor hasn’t always been a blonde beefcake?” Bucky whispers in Joey’s ear as they set the pizza and beer on the counter.

“Sadly no, he’s looked like that since I met him. I just like making that joke because he’s too humble to care.” She makes note that he doesn’t question the foster home part of her story. She wonders just what Sam has told him about her past.

People start to crowd the food and drinks, so Joey and Bucky greet everyone who has arrived. Nat is there sans Wanda, who is at home sick. Bucky knows this means Nat will be leaving early. Pietro made it despite his ill sibling, but he still looks pretty sick of the conversation in front of him. Shuri and Clint are mid-argument about the chicken and the egg when Bucky thanks them for coming. Clint gives him a smile and points to a fake succulent on the table and mumbles, “Got you guys a housewarming present,” before returning his attention to telling Shuri that the Chicken is the obvious choice. Shuri tells Bucky she set up the wifi and the apple tv and Clint doesn’t even register that she’s talking over him. Bucky kisses her cheek and hands her a beer.

Steve is sitting with Bruce and Thor on the couch, all of them engrossed in conversation and pizza. Sam is chopping fresh onion for his pizza when Bucky asks, “These are the few you could bribe to get here?”

“These losers are the only ones without any plans on a Saturday night,” Sam says without looking up.

Clint and Pietro both look up and say a simultaneous, “Hey!” Before turning their attention back to their conversation.

“T’Challa and Nakia are in Paris. Brunnhilde has a gig tonight. Okoye hung up on me when I said pizza and beer. Parker has an exam. Tony named six events he was invited to tonight and would’ve kept going if Steve hadn’t hung up. Pepper and Rhodey are probably plus thing one and two wherever Tony ended up at. Thus, this motley crew is all we got.” Sam sprinkles his diced onion on top of his already spilling slice and when he bites into it his groan stops the conversations surrounding the apartment.

“Lame. Your intestines are not going to be thanking you for that monster you are devouring under the alias of pizza.” Joey makes a face as he continues to stuff his face.

“Like eating just mozzarella and basil is enjoyable at all,” Sam dismisses her and joins the rest of their crew.

“Heathens,” Bucky dramatically admonishes their friends, “You ready Doll?”

This time he catches the tightening of her expression at his comment, ”Born ready.” They both grab a piece of their untouched pizza and taps crusts in cheers.

Part 2

Part 3

Thanks for reading!

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes au #bucky x ofc #marvel au #modern au #roommate au #bucky roommate au #steve rogers #captain america #bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky imagine #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barns fanfiction #sam wilson #zazie beetz #bucky x poc

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pengiesama · 8 years ago

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The Care and Keeping Of Your Matchmaker, Chapter Three

Title: The Care and Keeping Of Your Matchmaker (Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three) Series: Tales of Zestiria Pairing: Sorey/Mikleo Summary: Sorey picks up a new babysitting client for some extra cash. He didn’t exactly count on a six-year-old trying to hook him up with her older brother. (Modern/Highschool AU)

IN THIS EPISODE: Sorey gets invited over for dinner, and Mikleo wants to jump out a window.

WARNING: POTENTIAL BERSERIA SPOILERS

Link: AO3

Read on Tumblr!

–

On Wednesdays, Sorey got a ride from his mother to school. It was at her insistence – with the multiple jobs she worked to make ends meet, they rarely got any meaningful time together. Sorey’s biological father was always coming up with new, creative, and underhanded ways to get out of paying child support, so they’d long since stopped relying on any money from that end. Over the years, they’d learned to scrimp, and save, and go without – but his mother always went out of her way to keep her Wednesday mornings open, no matter what jobs she had on her plate, to drop Sorey off at school on her salvaged, souped-up, beloved, ultra-cool motorcycle. It was a vintage hand-me-down from his grandpa, and the magnificent creature was kept in top shape with his mom’s thrifty gearhead skills. It was his mother’s second son, and Sorey’s own little brother. His loud, fast little brother.

They zipped down the streets, Sorey’s arms wrapped tight around his mother’s waist as she steered them toward his high school.

“I HEARD FROM ROSE THAT YOU GOT A NEW BABYSITTING JOB?” shouted Selene over the noise of the wind and the engine.

“WHAT?” shouted Sorey over the noise of the same.

“I HEARD FROM ROSE THAT YOU GOT A NEW BABYSITTING JOB!”

“YEAH, I GOT A NEW JOB. IT’S FOR BABYSITTING. ROSE SET IT UP FOR ME.”

“WHO DID? I THOUGHT IT WAS ROSE?”

“ROSE GOT IT FOR ME, MOM.”

“OH, THAT’S NICE OF HER. SHE’S GOT THAT BUSINESS SENSE.”

“SHE SMELLS LIKE WHAT?”

“BUSINESS SENSE!”

“OH. YEAH, I GUESS SHE DOES KINDA SMELL LIKE THAT.”

The rush of wind around them filled the silence as Sorey struggled to pick through his mother’s odd choice of metaphor.

“…SO, WHAT’S THE NEW LITTLE ONE LIKE?” Selene prompted again.

Sorey was again silent, trying to figure out the best way to phrase his feelings.

She’s sweet, but keeps trying to hook me up with her older sibling, and not that I don’t totally appreciate the effort because he’s so beautiful I could cry, but he’s clearly so not interested in me, so it’s just kinda pouring salt in the wound when she knocks my ice cream into his lap and insists I help him clean up.

“…FIRST GRADE. VERY SPUNKY.”

All too soon, they arrived at Sorey’s school. They always seemed to have an audience waiting for them on Wednesdays – not that he could blame them, he guessed; his mom’s bike WAS awesome. But he would never have expected so much of his school to be interested in motorcycles. Sorey hopped off the back of the bike and handed his helmet back to his mom. His mom popped up her visor to crack a smile at Sorey, and a chorus of sequels and sighs broke out among the gathered crowd. A few students passed out.

“Have a great day at school, Sorey. Love you lots.”

“Love you too, mom,” said Sorey. He leaned in to give his mother a hug, her leather jacket soft and warm against his cheek. “Have a great day at work!”

As she drove off, Rose strolled up. She rested her hand on Sorey’s shoulder, her face twisted in some sort of profound thought.

“Man.” She whistled low. “I’m more into blondes, but I can definitely see the appeal.”

Sorey tilted his head. The crowd began to disperse, the fainted students were dragged by their limbs up the hillside and, more painfully, up the stairs. “Appeal?”

Rose shook her head. “Someday I’ve gotta give you that birds and bees talk. Anyway, let’s walk and talk – how did the sitting job go? Since you decided not to respond to my texts yesterday.”

Sorey groaned and clutched the back of his neck with one hand, rubbing at the tension there. He didn’t really want to talk to anyone about anything yesterday once he got back from the ice cream disaster. He’d gotten home, contemplated the cold and unfeeling void of the universe, ate some mac & cheese, read a library book, and went to bed; too exhausted to even wake up when his mom got home past midnight. But, Rose was the one who helped him get these jobs, even the disastrous ones; she deserved to know the important details. And if denied, she’d find out anyway. By any means necessary.

So, Sorey spilled the beans. On Maddy, on Mikleo, on dumping ice cream on Mikleo, by Maddy proxy. Rose was absolutely howling by the end.

“Man, Sorey, you could’ve at least gone back home with him to help him with laundry! Maybe loaned him your shirt to wear, maybe help him up to sit on the washing machine while it runs, maybe make out with him a little during the spin cycle.”

Sorey sputtered and turned bright red. “W-why would I need to lend him my shirt, it was his pants, Rose, the pants got the ice cream on them--”

“Well, you didn’t object to the idea of laundromat hanky-panky, that’s telling.” Rose grabbed Sorey by the shoulder, and waited until he looked at her. “Are you comfortable with this client? If you’re legit too embarrassed to go back, or think you won’t be able to do your job with Pretty Prince Prep School flittering around, I’ll assign someone else before the kid gets too attached to you.”

And therein laid the issue. On the way to the ice cream shop, Muse had quietly explained to Sorey about Maddy’s…tendency to drive off babysitters. Her late father had been a stay-at-home parent, and with his passing, she profoundly and loudly rejected any other caretakers. But her behavior toward Sorey, Muse said, was different. She had taken to him like no other. If he got too overwhelmed, Muse assured him that he should always be certain to take care of himself first, but with how good he was with Maddy already – well, Muse would pay him handsomely for his time.

The money was a factor, sure. Twenty bucks an hour was great, and certainly more than most clients were willing to pay. But it was about Maddy, too. Sorey was apparently the first babysitter she hadn’t attempted to murder on sight. What kind of person would he be to abandon her just because he didn’t think he could keep his dick in his pants with her brother around?

“I’m fine,” Sorey assured Rose. “It’ll be fine.”

“Good, because I contacted the client last night and she’s already interested in booking you for the foreseeable future. You got any clients you really want to hold onto or am I gonna have you down as her personal sitter?”

“…Well,” Sorey said. He guessed that would be the case from his conversation with Muse, but it was flattering to hear. “There’s one.”

Sparrowfeather Babysitting Services contracted their talent to private businesses as well, such as daycares. Butterfly Wing Daycare was one of these businesses – a local outfit, run by an older woman out of her home. Tabatha wasn’t just good with children; she was also the only one who could out-smell Rose when it came to business sense. Thing was, Sorey had seen enough Breaking Bad (at Rose’s house, watching an episode or two every so often, getting concerned that Rose was starting to get Ideas) to recognize what a money laundering front looked like. Sorey wasn’t entirely comfortable being used as a chess piece between a highly-motivated high school business tycoon and a maybe-probably mob leader, but the “daycare” part of the business was at least legitimate. They provided high-quality care for low-income children, and Sorey was a regular feature as an after-school helper when he didn’t have other sitting jobs or commitments.

Today, he was helping for a few hours before he was off to visit Maddy’s house – Muse had invited him over for dinner to help him get to know Maddy better, and of course that meant Mikleo was likely to be there too, and that meant Sorey would have to stare his crush in the face the day after he’d dumped ice cream on his crotch in public. He’d loaned him his jacket – not his shirt, quick to push Rose’s laundromat scenario out of his mind for the fourth time that day – to tie around his waist on the walk home which he really needed back, all things considered. He only had the one, and it was still pretty chilly out. He’d have to try to keep clean at daycare today so he didn’t show up a wreck.

Easier said than done, though. Today was a pretty rambunctious group.

Velvet howled in bone-deep fury as Sorey gently bent down to pick up her little brother and her nephew. Both needed a diaper change, but Velvet was quite the overprotective sort, even with someone she knew as well as Sorey. Sorey smiled at her, and made no effort to disengage her dangling death grip on the front of his shirt.

“Do you want to help me change Laphi and Phi today, Velvet?” he asked.

“Pbbblltlt!” said Phi, excited at the prospect. Despite Laphi’s full diaper, he was out like a light, snoring gently behind his pacifier.

Velvet scowled up at him, but nodded, regardless. Baby in one hand, baby in the other, furious four-year-old dangling from his front, Sorey cautiously but confidently walked over to the changing area. Sorey was confident in his ability to wrangle all ages of kids, but sweet babies like Phi were a joy to work with. Phi clapped delightedly at the feeling of a fresh dry diaper on his bottom, and giggled as Sorey buttoned him back into his onesie and tickled his tummy. His single lock of hair curled atop his head like a halo. Velvet yanked at Sorey’s wrist, and he dutifully allowed her to continue tickle duty while he moved on to changing Laphi. Laphi didn’t wake up once through the diaper change, except to sneeze out his pacifier in an explosion of spit and mucus. All kids were pretty gross sometimes, but babies did take the cake. Sorey swapped a fresh pacifier into his mouth without batting an eye, preventing a rude awakening. Laphi slept soundly under Velvet’s watchful gaze, and Sorey skillfully gathered both babies up and settled down into a rocking chair to tempt Phi into dozing off as well. Sweet baby he might be, but he turned into a little terror when he missed his naps.

Velvet was eyeing the free space on Sorey’s lap when another friend came up to play. This friend was wearing a pink witch hat and hauling behind her a battered top-hat-wearing teddy bear, and was a friend Sorey hoped and prayed would behave herself while he was trying to get two babies to sleep.

“I put a curse on you!” shrieked Maggie Lou, swinging her teddy bear down on Velvet’s head. “I am an evil witch!”

So much for that. Velvet roared and tackled her to the ground, barreling them through the block castle Velvet had been building around her babies a scant few minutes ago. It was a situation that required expert defusing.

“Velvet and Maggie,” Sorey said, firmly. “We’ve covered this before. My magic earrings mean that no curses work at daycare.”

Sorey shook his head back and forth to make his feathered earrings jiggle. Phi giggled again and tried to grab at them. Maggie Lou pouted mightily.

“But I got my witch hat on,” she objected.

“Sorry, my magic earrings are a gift from a wise old dragon. They can’t be beat by a witch hat.”

In truth, he made his magic earrings as a fourth-grade art project; with matching pairs for his mom and grandpa. Regardless, they were indeed proven to guard against witch curses. Maggie Lou huffed and hurled her teddy bear across the room.

“Now, that’s not a good way to treat a friend,” Sorey said gently. “Why don’t you go pick up your bear and ask Velvet nicely if she’d like to play with you? I think Velvet might like to spend some time in the pillow pit, since her babies are pretty tuckered out.”

Maggie Lou looked Velvet up and down. Velvet scowled at her right back.

“…MEET ME IN THE PIT!” Maggie Lou screamed at the top of her lungs, and then ran at top speed to belly flop into the pillow nest.

Velvet rolled her eyes and stalked up to Sorey. He leaned down just enough to let Velvet plant gentle kisses on the babies’ heads.

“Thank you for playing with Maggie, Velvet. She doesn’t quite know how to ask people things nicely just yet.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Velvet scoffed. “You had better give Phi his binky when he goes to sleep. I’ll know.”

“I will,” Sorey promised.

Yesterday had been one of the most amazing and most mortifying days of Mikleo’s short life.

He’d had a normal day at school, and a normal music lesson. And then he’d come face-to-face with a living checklist of all the things he found attractive. And then his little sister dumped ice cream in his lap in public, right in front of said living checklist. God, he couldn’t even look him in the eye on the whole walk home. And Sorey just had to be so gentle, and understanding, and apologetic – as if it was his fault Maddy decided to use his ice cream as ammunition – and even loaned him his jacket to cover him up.

Was it objectively creepy that Mikleo went to sleep cuddled up with said jacket that night? Yes, it indeed was. But Mikleo needed some comfort in his life after being publicly humiliated in front of his crush, and if falling asleep while wrapped up in Sorey’s smell was what it took to not feel so personally targeted by the cruel whims of fate, well, what more could you ask of him?

And then his mother just had to set up this dinner thing to let Maddy further victimize him in front of Sorey. Was this her new tactic in getting rid of babysitters? Terrorism by proxy? He thought his mother was sympathetic to his plight – she seemed to recognize how embarrassed he was, and let him eat dinner in his room while she tended to his pants. But now she was just setting up more opportunities for Mikleo to be harassed in front of the most quantitatively gorgeous person he’d ever set eyes on. Maybe he should just go to the university library to study; or more accurately, stare at his books for three long hours, absorb nothing, and slink home under cover of darkness, cursing the machinations of fate.

Alas, he had another music lesson first. And a tutor who’d never let him live yesterday down.

“So, were you too busy cozying up with your baby sister’s new nanny yesterday to do any practicing? Sure seems like it.”

Mikleo glowered at his tutor across his sheet music. His tutor Edna was an old friend of his mother’s; classmates in undergrad, and had known Mikleo since he was nothing but a squalling, red-faced ball of blankets. She was like an aunt to him as much as she was his tutor. Normally he tried to let her teasing roll off him – water off a duck’s back. But with the ice cream wound still raw, it was more like molasses on a duck’s back – sticky, gumming up his feathers, and distracting him even more from whatever etudes he’d been assigned for warmups. Edna’s eyebrows rose at his reaction.

“Youth,” she snorted, after a long pause. She flipped to the next page of music and began to play him in on piano.

Mikleo briefly considered making a crack about her height in response, but decided against it – he wanted to get practice over with as soon as possible, and not be subject to Edna’s “Dagobah Training” (which consisted of being forced to play his flute while carrying Edna around on his back). That would be just the thing he needed Sorey to see after yesterday to really cement him in his mind as a complete weirdo.

“If I didn’t know any better, it would seem as though our little Meebo is trying to rush through his very important flute practice,” Edna said as Mikleo finished another etude. If Sorey got here and Edna called Mikleo that in front of him, he would just pack everything up and flee to the woods. They would hear his haunting flute music on the night wind and remember. “I wonder if it’s because he still needs to pick out a cute little outfit and do his hair for his big dinner date tonight.”

“It is not a date!” Mikleo snapped, finally. “And I’m not eating dinner here anyway. I need to catch the bus to the university soon, so I’m sure Andersen will forgive me for rushing these etudes.”

“Dunno about that. Ol’ Carl-Joachim was a cantankerous windbag, I hear. I don’t think he’d like to hear you tumbling through his tarantella just so you can get tarted up for your date.”

“Well, I’m sure you can pass my apologies to him personally the next time you two meet for your class reunion,” Mikleo said. He paused, and then huffed again. “And, like I said, I’m not going to dinner, and even if I was, it’s not a date.”

With that, Mikleo lifted his flute to his lips to begin again, and took a deep breath.

“Mikleo, come downstairs! Sorey’s here and dinner’s almost ready!” came Muse’s voice.

The deep breath came out as an agonizing shriek through the flute, and Edna gave a devious little grin, even as she rubbed at her ear.

“My, my. A bit early, isn’t he? Best that little Meebo scurry off and pop a breath mint before heading down.”

No, no, no, no. Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no, no. Mikleo wasn’t ready to face this. He never would be, and that was the whole point of him running off to the university library for the rest of his life. Would he be able to escape out his bedroom window? They were on the second floor, but maybe if Mikleo landed in a bush, or rigged a ladder from his bedsheets –

Muse opened the door to the study, smiling as if she wasn’t the warden leading Mikleo to his execution. Mikleo solemnly packed up his flute and papers, rose, and trudged after Edna as she serenely trotted out before him.

“Edna, this is Sorey, Maddy’s new sitter,” Muse said. Sorey smiled warmly, and offered his hand to shake. “Sorey, this is Mikleo and Maddy’s music tutor, Edna.”

“So this is the new nanny,” Edna said, delicately shaking Sorey’s hand with just her fingertips. “Both of the little scamps in this house just can’t stop talking about you.”

“Edna teaches me violin!” Maddy interjected loudly. She was furiously koala-hugging Sorey’s leg. “I like her because I’ll be taller than her soon!”

Edna’s eye twitched. Mikleo was not quite done with being furious at his sister yet, but he felt some affection resurface.

“That sounds like so much fun, Maddy,” said Sorey. “I used to play violin, too. I’d love to see what you’ve learned some time.”

Maddy beamed up at him adoringly. Mikleo was immediately put back on edge. What was she planning?

“Well, would love to stay and chat, but my ride’s here,” said Edna. She fetched her parasol and shoes, and opened the front door – a sleek black car with tinted windows idled outside, in a fashion that could only be called “looming”. Her chauffeur was also looming outside the passenger side of the car; Edna’s brother, a massive bear of a man who nonetheless jumped whenever Edna said jump, and waited around outside for hours when Edna said likewise. He wore a black tailored suit and sunglasses that likely cost more than Mikleo’s monthly school tuition. Mikleo had no idea where he got his money, but figured it was best he didn’t ever find out.

With Edna gone, it now fell to Mikleo to make his escape or face death. Death in the shape of a gorgeous guy who was great with kids, played violin, had pecs the size of Mikleo’s head, and…Mikleo peered down at the magazine clutched in Sorey’s hand. Sorey handed it over to him, almost embarrassed, for some reason.

“Sorry. I came in and saw some Archaeology Today journals on your coffee table. That article on our local university is great – I’d love to check out that online 3-D catalogue of cave paintings they’ve been compiling, if they ever make it available to the public.”

Mikleo knew about that catalogue. In fact, he had helped the graduate students code and compile some of it for college credit. In fact, Uncle Michael was in charge of the whole thing, and would be presenting it at the university’s summer symposium. He would also be announcing at the summer symposium that he would be making the whole catalogue free to the public, because “fuck your capitalist barriers to scientific advancement and fuck you”. Uncle Michael didn’t speak in public often but tended to cap off the speeches he did make with the same thing.

“I could show you the beta,” Mikleo blurted out, his fear of death overcome by the urge to show off a bit. “If you’re interested.”

Sorey’s eyes went wide, and a smile lit bright upon his face. If Mikleo thought before that he could outrun this crush, well, that was all over now.

It was a wonderful, magical evening. It was simply the only way to describe it. Once Maddy had shown off all her toys and her violin to Sorey, she quietly adhered to her bedtime; allowing Muse to carry her off to bed without complaint – and allowing Mikleo to produce his laptop, connect to the university database, and bask gloriously (and gaze adoringly) at the excitement radiating off of Sorey.

“This is going to revolutionize the field! It’s incredible, Mikleo! A full 3-D index of cave paintings across the world, available to the public – you’re so amazing to be involved with this, it must be so exciting--”

Truth be told, Uncle Michael and his graduate students had done most of the hardest work; flattering as it was, Sorey was really overestimating Mikleo’s involvement. Mikleo pushed up his glasses with his thumb and tried to will the redness from his cheeks.

“I mean…I helped with the rendering, and indexing, and the tagging system…compared to the others involved, it’s not much.”

Sorey turned around, that sunshine smile he’d been wearing for the past hour still plastered on his face. Oh, Mikleo’s heart was singing.

“That’s just as amazing,” Sorey said, confident in the statement. “I’ve always dreamed of doing something just like this…travelling across the world, sharing incredible things with the public, really showing everyone how exciting the world around them is…”

Do you want me to get the project lead down here?, Mikleo thought. He’s probably sitting on the floor of his study in sweatpants, eating gummi worms and sending inflammatory emails to the university’s professor listserv.

“I…we could use some more help. Not that I’m behind on my work,” Mikleo clarified. “But there’s still quite a lot of tagging to be done. It’s simple work even for someone not familiar with the subject matter--”

“Oh, I’m familiar with it,” Sorey said, cutting him off. “I recognize most of these. Had a cave painting phase after my dinosaur phase as a kid.”

Mikleo’s eyes narrowed.

“Well, I guess you’d be up to a challenge, then. I’ll get you your own login, and we’ll have a race to tag the rest of the database. Geographical location, time period, subject and medium.”

Sorey’s eyes sparkled. “You’re on. What’s the prize for the winner?”

“Loser takes the winner out for dinner,” Mikleo blurted out.

He couldn’t believe the words that had just tumbled their way out of his mouth. Mikleo felt his whole face redden; his ears and neck likewise. Sorey’s eyes went wide, and his mouth snapped shut. Oh god, Mikleo wanted to take the words back. Maybe Sorey would be willing to pretend he didn’t hear Mikleo trying to make things weird, and Mikleo could keep talking to him about archaeology, and history, and art, and music, and – and everything.

But the sunshine smile beamed forth once more, and Mikleo felt just about ready to float away.

“Sounds great.”

Upstairs, Maddy listened in on the proceedings on the walkie-talkie she had planted in the living room, and smiled a triumphant smile.

#sormik #sorey/mikleo #suremiku #soymilk #soremiku #tales of zestiria #i guess this is my personal tales of zestiria tag now #a tenderly crafted fanfiction

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forkanna · 6 years ago

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PART THREE

NOTE: This is where we advance several months. It's also the final story arc for this fic, so I hope you're ready for the final wild ride! (Also my apologies for taking so long to get this up)

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Truer words had never been spoken in the history of Oz. And Elphaba didn't even need a drop of Pond water.

Over the next week, the lost Princess Ozma was hastily given just enough training in how to act like a "lady" so that she could participate in her own coronation ceremony. Etiquette, table manners, proper terms of address for nobility. Hair was fussed over, dresses were cut and hemmed, shoes were fashioned. She seemed to take to most lessons and changes very naturally once the initial shock had worn off.

And she positively clung to Glinda. The three witches had assumed their services would no longer be needed now that the rightful heir had turned up from the least likely place imaginable. Instead, Ozma desperately pleaded with them to stay on and help her figure out how to rule an entire kingdom.

"Oh, I thought you wanted to challenge us to a duel?" Elphaba had needled her as she was fitted for a high collar.

"Yeah, yeah," she replied in a grumble, spitting into the corner. Instantly, Glinda swatted her with her wand. "Ow!"

"And how will it look if the new queen of not one, but four countries, is seen spitting during her coronation?"

Pouting as she looked down at her stocking feet, Ozma tried to hide a blush. It was always present when she was in especially feminine garb. Though she had accepted such far more readily than someone who had spent their entire life as a boy ought to, that didn't mean her discomfort vanished. "No idea. I just keep forgetting these things. There's so much! A farm boy never had to balance books on his head, so why do you witches think I'm bad when I drop them?"

"We're conveniently 'you witches' whenever you have to do something you don't like," Elphaba cackled. "Instead of Auntie Glinda and Auntie Elphie…"

Tutting at her fellow Councilwoman, Glinda told the princess, "We're not saying you're a bad girl for forgetting! Just trying to motivate your memory. Now, stand up straight…"

Little by little, the young Ozma began to grasp things, and her learning gained momentum. Within her first month as queen, she was acting as if she had been bred for it all her life — in public, at least. In private, her behavior could only be described as "tomboyish". Not quite as masculine as an average boy raised in the country, but neither as ladylike as Glinda and Jellia would have liked.

Elphaba didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, the two of them would often laugh about how silly some of the customs expected of women in so-called "polite society" were. Though of the three witches, Ozma felt most secure around Glinda, trusting her completely, she definitely felt freest to be herself with the green-tinged Thropp. Their shared disregard of pomp and social niceties ensured that.

Two more months along and she even made a few changes. They were minor, but only endeared herself to the populace more. The Lurlinic Pike Guild was given right to refurbish their bunkers and procure shiny new pikes to replace the rusted ones. Mombi was hunted down and forbidden to practice magic any further, her spellbooks seized and her potions impounded. The library, which had been closed, was reopened and staffed with Animals, as part of hers and Elphaba's initiative to help return them to the respectable workforce. A statue of the Wizard was removed from the square and replaced with the statue of Ozma the Billious, then replaced again with a statue of the current Ozma by popular demand. It seemed the Emerald City had a new darling in its young Ruler.

When asked what she wanted done with the Wizard's statue, Elphaba asked it to be put in a corner of the Palace gardens. Despite his motives and methods, he was her father, and hadn't been so terrible that he deserved to have his name stricken from the record and his statue demolished.

Truth be told, it was Nessarose who did the largest share of actual governing in the government. It wound up being quite the ideal situation: Ozma could learn at her own pace and be pretty, Glinda was fantastic at smoothing over rough patches in diplomatic relations and getting people to drop their guard, Elphaba had freedom to work on her passion projects, and Nessa got back to precisely what she had been doing in Munchkinland on a larger scale. Now that she'd been fed a dose of humility, and didn't have an unattainable man lurking around to distract her, she was fantastic at the job. Eventually, they were able to replicate the spell they used on her shoes on a pair of anklets, so that she might wear different shoes from day to day. She did remark that the level of control was not quite as high, but it only took a small period of adjustment.

But she still wore the original silvery shoes from time to time. They remained her most prized possession.

Boq was rusted completely by the time they fetched him from Kiamo Ko. Without any sharper idea of what to do with him, they decided it was best he met the same fate as Morrible: tossed into the Forbidden Fountain. Once he had climbed free, as with Morrible, he had no memory of anything at all. Despite Nessa's temptation to tell him he was her long lost husband, they agreed that the truth was the best policy. While the mindless Morrible was employed at Shiz, and only as a teacher's aide, now Boq knew that he had transgressed, and his punishment was to have to start over as the guard of the Prince of the Vinkus.

As for the fate of Fiyero, he sadly could not be changed into a flesh-and-blood Vinkan again. So he decided to make do. Upon returning to his homeland, bringing along a freshly-oiled Boq and a few more royal guards on loan from Ozma to ensure he would be welcomed, despite his new form, he took his rightful place as Prince.

Conversely, Jack Pumpkinhead - whose name turned out to be highly accurate - was given the job of Palace gardener so that he could be close to his old friend. Ozma took many luncheons in the gardens for that reason.

The Lion always watched over her. Given her similar age and ineptitude, he seemed to be using her as a surrogate Dorothy, which made Glinda laugh. What a sweet old beast he was! Though on very rare occasion, she did witness him being ferocious when someone would try to sneak onto the grounds to get a look at either the witches or the queen. It was usually innocent enough, someone hoping to get an interview for the papers or to simply meet such a stunning ginger in the flesh, and Lion could usually roar and swipe at them with his claws once or twice to drive them away. Only once was it someone who claimed to believe Ozma was an impostor, and needed to be subdued until the guards could haul him away. Lion got an extra large portion of meat for his supper that evening, and ate it with great relish.

Polychrome went home to her father. There was a tearful goodbye, even if her tears instantly evaporated, but it was for the best; Oz was not her home any more than it was for Dorothy. She promised to visit again someday, though for an ageless sky fairy — who turned out to be many hundreds of years old! — that "return visit" could be when they were all elderly.

That was something Elphaba had turned her attentions to, once the Animals had been mostly restored to their previous standing in Ozian society, the minor revolts against the Council petered out, and there was no change in the Wizard's condition. First, she tried to examine how a girl that ought to be her own age could be a few years younger. The only answer she could grasp at was that the spell to disguise Ozma's gender had probably also returned her to a state of infancy, dialing back those first few years. However, the magical tests that she and Nessa had devised together seemed to hint that the young queen was also of the fairy folk, as Polychrome was. She couldn't be entirely certain of anything more. It drove Elphaba batty trying to figure out how this could be so, given that she had a father, she had a mother, as so many do. One parent had to have been a fairy in disguise, and yet neither were; the history books clearly showed Ozma's parentage to be noble, but mortal. It was quite the mystery.

Many a night, Glinda had to urge her roommate to abandon the books and come to bed. Although the term 'roommate' began to feel less and less accurate as time went on. Every night, they became more comfortable with this new level of intimacy. Glinda wanted to kiss her during the daytime, as well, but they could only find so many stolen moments.

One thing befuddled her: why did they continue to hide it? It wasn't as if relationships between two women were illegal, even if uncommon. Besides, they were now in positions of great power, and Ozma only seemed faintly flustered when she caught them sitting a little closer than was strictly professional. At some point when she walked in on them kissing at last, it became necessary for them to sit her down and explain their relationship, and the queen's reaction was pure joy, and an inquiry as to when they might marry. That was more heartening than she cared to admit, and the two of them embracing her made Ozma giggle and hug back, even while fussing about them being "too mushy".

This was one of many matters on Glinda's mind as they entered the fourth month of Ozma Tippetarius's reign. Running a kingdom, even with the responsibilities divided amongst four women, was no easy task, but they shouldn't ignore personal matters, despite Elphaba seeming to be alright doing just that.

~ o ~

"Married?!"

Rolling her blue eyes, Glinda continued digging through her corner of the attic space. Many of the former Ozma line had taken to stashing useless things there, and the Wizard and Morrible dubbed everything "useless" since it was from a bygone era. It seemed only right that they help clear it out and see if anything might be salvageable. She couldn't help remember doing a nearly-identical chore with Fiyero once upon a time. That felt like years ago now.

"Not tomorrow, Elphie. Just… y'know, a woman likes to think she's worth keeping around."

"I don't see what difference it makes," Elphaba groused, tugging an old sword free. When she unsheathed it, the blade was rusted through and snapped off, so she sighed in disgust and relinquished it to the discard pile. "I have you with me, and you know I'm not leaving. Do we need to make a ridiculous to-do?"

"Yes! Because I want to celebrate!" Tutting, she paused to put her hands on her hips. "Right now, we are actually standing pretty close to the spot where we began our journey together, if you didn't notice."

"I noticed," Elphaba told her. In a voice so rich with affection it nearly derailed her roommate.

"R-right. So you should understand! We spent so long flapping around the countryside like jackdaws that I don't want to hide it anymore!"

"So stop hiding it. You're the one who always acts flustered if I hold your hand at public dinners."

Giggling, Ozma brought over a jewellery box and placed it in the "take downstairs" collection. She was back to wearing trousers, but at least she was wearing a tasteful green blouse with sleeves that billowed around her arms, which gave a regal, elegant effect despite the somewhat genderless ensemble. Her excuse had been that puffy dresses weren't suited to jobs like cleaning and sorting, and despite Jellia trying to insist that Ozma need only supervise the job, she insisted on working herself.

"You two sound already married. Might as well make it official."

"See?!" Glinda burst out, gesturing to Ozma and making her dip her auburn head in slight alarm. "The queen agrees with me, and you can't go against a royal decree!"

"I didn't 'decree' anything!"

Elphaba laughed harshly as she tried to shift a large dresser aside. "That was a pretty feeble attempt, Glinny. Still… oh, I suppose it can't hurt anything."

"It can't. Unless you plan on leaving me," Glinda added petulantly.

"Not ever." She paused to pace over and loop an arm around Glinda's waist, pulling her body in close. Making a show of tittering and fanning her face, she leaned up to kiss her love's strong jawline, and Elphaba hummed her appreciation.

The wistful sigh from Ozma brought them around, and they all cleared their throats and got back to work. Glinda started sorting through a chest of old clothes that definitely wouldn't fit the current queen and asked, "What time of year would you like? Autumn is so lovely…"

"Thought you would go for more of a Springtime wedding. But… well, Autumn suits me just fine. The trees turn a lot of striking colours, if you wanted to have a more traditional ceremony."

Traditional Ozian weddings were held in the forest. All parties wore a thin, gauzy dress dappled like the leaves, and were always patterned after however the trees looked during that ceremony. If it were in Autumn, they should be red and gold and brown instead of green. Of course, more modern weddings typically took place in chapels, but as witches, belonging to a religion even older than Lurlinism, they would be expected to go back to a more natural setting.

"Well… we could do something about halfway," Nessa contributed as she dropped a chamber pot on top of the other trash. Her muscles were quite a lot stronger, and even though she would always need magic to walk, she could now run and jump as any other Ozian did, so long as she wore the shoes or anklets. The healthy colour it had given her made both Elphaba and Glinda smile, as they could well remember how sickly the younger sister could look due to inactivity.

"Halfway how?"

"Have the ceremony in the gardens. The bride and groom- or, sorry, the brides would wear modern wedding gowns, but the wedding party and attendees will be in the Robes Of Leaves. Perform the Dance Of Seasons, the tying of the legs, but still have a minister make the proclamation. Some combination like that. What do you think?"

Glinda had stopped working and was pressing her hands together in front of her wide smile. Then she burst out, "OOH! That sounds so wonderful!"

"Sounds like a chore," Elphaba snorted, but the way she was smiling gave away that she wasn't opposed.

"And then, once the ceremony is over…" She fluttered her eyelashes suggestively. Ozma was already stifling a giggle, but Elphaba merely paused to lean against a wardrobe door.

"What? Then we have cake and spiced meats, and put up with your mother's dreary speeches for an hour?"

Throwing up her hands, she turned back to pull at a curtain along the wall. "Hopeless. You are well and truly hopele- AAAH!"

The curtain came free from its rungs, and not having expected the sudden release of opposing force, Glinda fell back onto her behind. Instantly, Elphaba was there, gently raising her up from the floor by her shoulders. A moment later, Ozma and Nessa were bending over them, worry in their eyes.

"Oh, I'm fine, I'm fine," she reassured them with a wave of her hand. Her grunt as she made it back to her feet didn't seem to corroborate that claim, but she still smiled. "Just my backside. Plenty of padding there!"

"I like that padding," Elphie muttered into her ear, and her cheeks turned pink enough that Nessa rolled her eyes and turned to leave… but then she froze. Green eyes distracted by that, she looked up and asked, "What?"

"That painting… it was of a large body of water the last time I looked, but desert just now. And look, it's turned into a waterfall!"

Even as the other pairs of eyes turned to the painting that had been hanging behind the large curtain, it changed again — to a lovely forest full of tall, pointed trees. The way the images almost seemed to melt into each other was highly fascinating. The longer they waited, it turned into several more scenes. Once it showed some small village in the Quadling Country, they turned away to look at each other.

"I wonder if this thing would ever show Colwen Grounds?" Nessa breathed, running her hand along the frame — and immediately, there was Colwen Grounds, looking as proud and formidable as it had the last time Glinda had flown away from it at top speed. Nessa jerked her hand back in alarm. "What- I… how?!"

Approaching at a half-step, Ozma licked her lips. She shrugged at the other two, then turned back to the painting and stated, "I'd like to see the statue of the Wizard in the gardens!" Nothing happened. "Huh… did I do it wrong?"

"Nessa, ask it something else," Glinda urged.

"How about… show us Fiyero." Nothing happened. "Well, I wasn't doing anything that different. Does it have to be in the form of a question?"

"Could we see Fiyero?" Elphaba tried. The scene did change, but to that of a river. "Blast. Maybe it was a coincidence."

It was Ozma who figured it out. In hindsight, Glinda felt a little stupid that she hadn't noticed and the youngest of them had, but then again, Ozma had proven herself to be fairly bright, despite having been essentially mentally starved all her young life. As she had explained when they marvelled at her quick progress in a variety of subjects, the witch Mombi did at least allow her to read during her spare time between many chores, and she kept her mind sharp that way, even if she sometimes preferred running around and pulling minor pranks as forms of entertainment.

"Wait…" Her hand moved forward to touch the frame, as Nessa had done. "Show me Lion! What's he doing right now?"

The picture immediately shifted to show their furry guard. He was lounging at the bottom of the stairs to the attic, sleeping peacefully on his paws. A fly buzzed around his ear, and it flicked to drive the insect away. The four women were fascinated but still confused.

"It's magic, isn't it?" Ozma asked them excitedly. She was still fascinated by all things relating to magic, now that she had access to such things from a source that didn't despise her and treat her like a slave.

"Definitely. And powerful magic, if I'm not mistaken." Only hesitating a moment, Elphaba reached for the frame, and Ozma removed her hand. "Show me… Shiz." A map of Shiz appeared. Except that there was some slight stirring in this map. After a moment, she breathed, "Oh… it's a bird's-eye view. This is what it would look like if we were on my broomstick."

Sliding her hand around Elphaba's waist, Glinda whispered, "I can't believe we never thought to go check in on Shiz while we were fugitives. Not that there was much for us there, other than a few books and dresses. Oh, my dresses! Do you think they still have them?"

"It's likely," Nessa told them. "Everything you owned wound up in a storage closet when you ran- well, when it became clear you wouldn't be coming back to reclaim anything. Just depends on if they decided to clear it out or not."

"Awww. Well, that's legitimately disappointing."

"Oh," Elphaba breathed all of a sudden. When Glinda fixed her with a curious glance, she instead looked at the painting and asked pleasantly, "Show me Dorothy. It has been awhile since the eyepatch stopped working."

What they saw next chilled them to the bone.

They were looking into a dark room with wooden floors and brick walls, painted white and covered in what looked like some sort of thin mattresses. Even the floor had these mattresses along it. There was a very plain bed, also with a thicker mattress, and a few books piled next to it though no table upon which for them to rest. And there, seated on the bed with one of the books open in her lap, was…

Maybe it wasn't Dorothy. As opposed to the apple-cheeked girl they had met, full of life and just pleasantly plump enough to tell a person she never lacked for anything, here was a gaunt young waif. Hollow cheeks and dark bags under her eyes spoke of sleeplessness and malnutrition. Though she did look vaguely contented, one could guess that was a rare moment in her day-to-day life. But the facial features and hair colouring, height, and a certain indefinable quality she possessed told them that there could be no mistake. This was Dorothy Gale, whatever had become of her.

"It's so ghastly," Glinda whispered, as if speaking too loud would break the spell. "There isn't… any colour at all! No Gillikan violet, no Munchkinland blue!"

Nessa whispered, "What do you suppose this room is for? That can't be how bedrooms simply look in Kansas, can it?"

"So there's Dorothy," Ozma observed, voice quite hushed and eyes wide as she gazed at the painting. "I thought I remembered her being… taller. And healthier. No, this doesn't seem right; she doesn't seem right."

"I concur fully," Elphaba was muttering as she pulled her hand away. The picture remained on the scene, despite this, though nothing else happened; the girl's slippered feet kicked back and forth weakly as she read on. "It's… what if we made a mistake? She wanted to return to Kansas, but this doesn't look like anywhere I would wish my worst enemy. Well… maybe an enemy, after all, but not a friend."

Patting Elphaba's arm, Glinda craned her neck this way and that, hoping to spot some heretofore unknown benefit to this location of theirs. "Well… it looks fine to me, but you're right that it isn't very interesting. Maybe that's her new home. The other one was equally drab, even if not so… cushioned. So we shouldn't pass judgment."

"Might we wish her here?" asked Nessarose. "That would be simple enough with the belt."

"Yes, but I don't know if its power reaches that far, sister. Or if we would be able to send her back if we did succeed — and now that Morrible's mind has been erased, she won't be able to conjure another tornado to send her home. That's a great risk to take if it's a one-way trip and she doesn't want to return to Oz."

They all lapsed into silence. From what they could see in the painting, Dorothy didn't look quite as joyful as she had when she left Oz, but neither was she hurt or sobbing. Just drawn. Maybe she had simply taken ill and was in recovery; the room could be a hospital ward. There was no way to know for certain without asking her, but that was no more possible than conjuring a new tornado.

"What if…"

They all turned to Nessa as one. "Hmm?" asked Glinda. "If you have a better idea, let's hear it."

"What if one of us were sent there with the belt? Then we could ask Dorothy ourselves how she's doing. After… oh, let's say a full day has passed, we'll use this Magic Picture to look in on you again, and bring you home if you look like you're ready. Then you can tell us whether or not Dorothy is happy with her current… uhm, accommodations."

"Shouldn't we take the magic belt with us?" Glinda asked. "Especially since I have a feeling I've been volunteered for this mission for some reason."

"It's too risky," Elphaba said, and Nessa nodded, already thinking along those lines. "If we lose the belt, we're stuck wherever we are. And Morrible never elaborated how far away Kansas is; we might not be able to cross the desert any other way."

"But what if we try this plan, and the belt can't get us back?"

No one had an answer for that.

They might not have tried any plan at all if not for the little sniffle that came from the picture frame. By the time they looked up, Dorothy was wiping her cheeks and returning to her reading. There was no further crying, no evidence that she had cried. But nobody was capable of feigning that they hadn't heard the sound.

"I'll go," Ozma volunteered bravely, though she was trembling slightly in her determination. "If she really is important to you, then it seems like it's my duty as the queen to try and, um… what's that word? For speaking to another kingdom."

"Establish diplomatic relations?"

"That's the one! Diplomatic!"

"We can risk you even less than we can risk the belt!" Glinda admonished her, and Ozma looked sufficiently chagrined. "You're a good queen for wanting to help, but the citizenry would never forgive us for letting anything happen to you. And we wouldn't forgive ourselves, besides."

Her boot kicked at the wall by the painting. "Makes me feel so… claustrophobic sometimes, like I can't help anyone or go anywhere. But I know it's important for the people to have a leader they trust, too…" When Glinda's hand found her shoulder, she smiled glumly. "I'm fine. Sorry for complaining all the time."

"You're complaining just enough, dear."

"I'll go," Elphaba surprised them by saying. When they only stared at her, she asked, "What?"

"Well, I didn't think you cared enough for Dorothy to risk yourself in that way," Nessa said in a matter-of-fact voice. "Ever since she gave you a bath."

While Ozma giggled, Elphaba straightened and shouted, "That was an assassination attempt! And I have forgiven her, if you didn't care to pay attention! I'm allowed to be upset about something like that and work through it in my own time, aren't I?"

Shrugging, she turned back to the painting. Now it had finally changed to show a breezy meadow; seemed that once no one's attention was on it, the painting decided they had finished looking at Dorothy. "Fine, fine. But I agree that it's important we send someone. I had a special kinship with her; we were the only ones who knew what it's like to have to wear a pair of shoes all the time, without ever taking them off."

"For different reasons," Glinda muttered.

"True. I mean, I took mine off at bedtime and needed help reaching them in the morning sometimes, but she couldn't even do that much. It was nice having someone around who understood that part." Turning back to her sister, she sighed and said, "If you do this, let yourself be wished to the Land of Kansas without being sure you'll return, I'll definitely believe you've forgiven her."

Letting out a long sigh, Elphaba placed her hands on her hips. "Then it's settled. Tomorrow morning, I will steal away to Kansas and find out what I will. I only hope it isn't the last choice I ever make."

To Be Continued…

#The Coven Of Oz #forkanna writes #wicked fanfiction #wizard of oz

1 note · View note

fortune-failing · 8 years ago

Text

Explanation for the most meme plot-twist of the kid skit is somewhere in here?! Good luck finding it if you’re just skimming

(Night of session 40)

((TLDR: London and Faelian are going on a date. All the while, Faelian is curious why London is being so suspicious with his scarf and spends the whole day trying to remove it. He removes it and triggers Pawdon skit. Lots of fanservice. So much that Atmey feels it deserves a warning. Also very long. So long it definitely deserves a warning. Also we took special privileges for the sake of memes, but since there is no excuse, you are welcome to meme us over this.))

((ECCHI WARNING))

-Night of the First Day-

London

It was late at night when London crept into the room he was to share with the other bard. He stepped in, quietly shutting the door behind him, yet unbeknownst to him, the end of his scarf got caught in its path. On the plus side, the soft fabric helped cushion the metallic sound of the door closing into place. However, no matter how quiet that sound was, it could not silence the upcoming rumble of London's fall. THUMP The first thing Faelian would see when he turned on the lamp was a mage nearly strangling himself as he tried to pull his scarf loose from the doorway. "O-oh, hi Faelian!"

Faelian

Faelian would have never noticed the other sneaking in despite him being a light sleeper and considering how quietly London had crept into the room. He may have been awoken with the other getting into bed but instead he was startled awake by the loud thump and strangled sound that London had made. He turned on the lamp right away to see what the cause was. London could probably tell by his expression that he was a little frightened. That expression soon faded however and was replaced with concern.

He got up from the bed and headed to London's side right away to help him. "Are you alright? This kind of thing wouldn't happen if you took off you scarf in houses, you know." His hands moved to London's scarf right away and tried to unwind it from his neck.

London

London grabs Faelian's wrist. "It's an inn. It's totally okay to walk into an inn while wearing a scarf. You don't take them off outside." After releasing the hand he turns to instead open the door and free the stray cloth.

Faelian

"Is your neck alright?" He reached for London's neck again. The front of it in an attempt to check it. He can't help but notice London didn't seem to want help. Maybe he's just embarrassed.

London

London waves his hand to push Faelian's aside. "What are you concerned for? Of course it is. I was just demonstrating for you that the proper way to free a scarf from a doorway is to simply open the door." After this London makes his way further into the room.

Faelian

Faelian crosses his arms now at being pushed away yet again. That was pretty usual. London never minded him touching him before so what was the problem now? He follows London further into the room. "Is something wrong?"

London

"Nah, just tired." He yawns, then stops. " We have an extra day of free time, right? I think I'll go take a bath." He glances at Faelian as he makes a move to pass him by.

Faelian

Faelian moves one of his hands up to play with some of his hair for a moment while thinking. He notices London acting suspicious again soon after and tilts his head at him while giving him a look. "Are you sure?"

London

"Yeah, it's been a long day. Be right back." Faelian could see London narrow his eyes a bit before going out of sight. For a time it was quiet, and London seemed to take longer than necessary in the bathroom.

Faelian

Faelian continued to watch London as he headed into the bathroom. He was acting weird. Well... weirder than usual anyway. While the other was in the bathroom he tried to get his mind off whatever was causing London to act like he was but it was proving difficult. Eventually he sat down on the bed and leaned against the wall while looking through one of the books the inn had placed in the room.

London

After some time, London finally returned in his usual nightwear (which was basically his daywear, just without most accessories ignoring the scarf that was still wrapped around his neck).

"Did you already bathe?"

Faelian

"Yeah, earlier. Why?"

London

"I was just wondering. Guess that means it's safe to sleep." He moved into the bed by the window - the one Faelian was occupying - and pulled himself under the covers.

Faelian

Faelian closed the book he was looking at and placed it on the nearby end table before moving under the covers as well. "So where were you anyway? Hanging out with Zarek again?"

London

"Nah, this time it was Beaford." London yawned. "He told me you thought I was acting 'odd.'" While saying this, London elbows the blond in the ribs softly.

Faelian

Faelian tilts his head and inches away from the nudge slightly before moving back near the other. "Did I say something like that?" Dammit Beaford what were you telling London anyway!? He honestly couldn't remember anyone calling London weird besides Beaford himself. "I said you were acting more shy than usual but that's all, I think?"

He realizes now that London wasn't avoiding touching him. Was it his scarf? He was sleeping in it more than usual.

London

"Apparently." London smirked. "And some other stuff....." He sits up to look down on him. "And apparently, you said you thought I was inexperienced?" Saying this, London moved a hand to playfully pinch at the elf's nose.

Faelian

Faelian smiled nervously as London sits up to look down on him while saying those words. He closes his eyes for a moment at the nose pinch. After opening them he looks off to the side with that same nervous smile before pouting. "Why's Beaford ratting me out..? I thought we were having a private conversation but I guess not..." Reminder to self to not tell Beaford anything else important and to talk to him about this matter later.

London

London smiles and then lies back down, inching a bit closer to Faelian, just enough to snugly hide his face in his shoulder. "Hey, do you think I'm annoying? This has nothing to do with Beaford, but I'm used to asking people multiple questions, you know? When we were traveling by ourselves it wasn't an issue since I'd barely know the people I spoke to for long. But when I consider the people here, it seems more troublesome. I feel like I'm overdoing it."

Faelian

It really was the scarf... or at least whatever was bothering London earlier had nothing to do with being close which was relieving. Faelian moves a little closer to London now too, enjoying the warmth. "Huh? No, of course I don't. You do ask a lot of questions sometimes but I never mind answering them. Some people might not like having a lot of questions asked of them though but I don't think you're overdoing it."

London

"Hm, yeah." Faelian was the most likely to give a sugar-coated nice and biased answer. He was asking the wrong person. "Night."

Faelian

"Goodnight, London." Faelian smirked to himself before speaking again. "Love you."

London

London didn't respond, but he lost an extra hour of sleep that night because Faelian said that.

Dawn of the Second Day

- (This is the fourth day after the confession)

Part 1

Faelian

That morning Faelian woke up before London. [of course] He looked down at the other and remembered last night. London was acting really weird when it came to his neck. Was he hiding something? He had no idea what it could be really. Maybe he'd got injured and didn't want Faelian to see or something. Hesitantly and carefully he tried to peek at London's neck.

/r 1d20+4

fightdiceBOT: 1d20+4 = (8)+4 = 12

London

/r 1d20+2

fightdiceBOT

@ London: 1d20+2 = (5)+2 = 7

London

In response to the touch, London didn't wake up, but instead began to move to readjust himself. "Mm, Faelian.." He grumbled, now resting his head on the elf's lap.

Faelian

Not what Faelian was hoping for but he's kind of pleased anyway. At least he hadn't been caught trying to peek anyway. Hesitantly he put his hand in London's hair and started to comb through it with his fingertips.

London

/r 1d20+2

fightdiceBOT

@ London: 1d20+2 = (14)+2 = 16

London

As the fingers slipped through his hair, London's breathing became more notable, and his face grew slightly flushed. He considered opening his eyes to make a rude comment, but instead, he decided to just rest them a bit more.

Faelian

/r 1d20+1

fightdiceBOT

@ Faelian: 1d20+1 = (20)+1 = 21

Faelian

Unfortunately for London Faelian can tell he's awake instantly due to the change in his breathing and he smirks to himself. Since London was still pretending to be asleep it enabled Faelian to continue playing in his hair.

London

London doesn't have much hair to play with, but not knowing better, he just continued relaxing from the touch. Eventually he fell asleep again. Now Faelian is trapped.

Faelian

Faelian should have expected this. He continues what he was doing for a while longer until his arm gets tired and he stops. He just sighs and leans back against the bed’s headboard and waits for the other to wake up. He doesn't have anything important to do at the moment anyway so he'll let London sleep a little while longer.

London

A couple hours later.

London wakes up again, this time of his own volition. He lifts his head lightly, confused by the strange cushion it was resting on before he remembers the situation he was in. He places it back down awkwardly. How was a man supposed to respond to this sort of situation? Maybe if he just pretended to be asleep still, Faelian would wake up and try to move him away? But wait, Faelian is an elf. He was probably still awake.. London glanced up to confirm this theory.

Faelian

Faelian tilted his head slightly when the other started waking up again. He couldn't help but smile when London put his head back on his lap awkwardly. Was he going to still pretend to be asleep? Maybe he had hoped he would have moved by now. When London finally moved to glance up at him he'd find that Faelian was looking right at him with a smile on his face. "Good morning, London."

London

Seeing Faelian's sparkling grin instantly filled him with regret and his red cheeks darkened. London sat up quickly and gave a short glare. "How long was my head there?..." He thought back and remembered this was his own fault for being lazy. Curse past London!

Faelian

Faelian smiled more but tried to hide it behind one of his hands. "Oh.. a while... maybe two hours?" It was always cute to see London like this but he didn't want to annoy him too much.

London

He'll just push the blame on Faelian and play ignorant. (Although his face probably gives it away.) "Geez, you're embarrassing..."

Faelian

Faelian just smiles more and looks away with a slight blush on his face. London wasn't fooling anyone except himself maybe. "Am I?"

London

"Yeah!" For all he knew, Faelian put his head there while he was sleeping. In fact, that's what he was led to believe. But rather than dwell on it, London sat up and stretched. "Well whatever. What do you want to do today? Ready for breakfast?" It was about 10 o’clock. A surprisingly normal breakfast time for London.

Faelian

"I guess I am." He stretched as well now that his body from free from the other. "Yeah, we can go eat. I don't mind whatever we do." He pauses for a moment. "Oh hey! I didn't get to ask you yet but did you try those candies out I got you?"

London

"Ah, not yet! I kept considering it, but for some reason it didn't feel like the right time.. I assumed these are hard to come, so I didn't want to eat them all too quickly."

Faelian

Faelian laughed a little at hearing that. "Well if you wait too long they might not taste as good. I think they take a while to make but they shouldn't be too hard to come by." Faelian got off the bed now and started gathering up his clothes for the day.

London

London sweats. "Really?.. I guess that makes sense.. Hm.." He looks down to his bag and considers when he should make use of them. He'll save them for later. "Let's go."

Faelian

"Well, I know pastries go bad fast but i'm not really sure about candy. It probably lasts a while at least."

London

So after discussion and a quick breakfast, the two were now free to do what they want. (When Faelian wasn’t looking, London took a quick moment to check up on a certain friend). "This place doesn't seem too exciting, does it? Those abandoned houses outside of town were pretty cool, though. Besides the bandit twins. What do you feel like doing now? We've got the whole day to ourselves."

Faelian

"They did look pretty cool. It would have been nice if we had the time to explore them." He hums softly. "Maybe the town has a theater? Would you like to go to one of those?"

London

London laughed. "Well, we do have time today if you want to. But sure! Let's go check one of those out first!"

Faelian

"Alright then." Faelian started leading London around the city in search for a theater. Eventually he got tired of looking around without any luck and asked a passerby if the place had a theater and the location of it. They found the place without much effort after that.

It was an indoor theater with two floors. Not too big but not small either. The interior had a lot of orange, browns, and reds and was dimly lit. Faelian bought them both a ticket and handed London his right after.

London

Upon entering, London immediately got the sense this place was way out of his league. "Hey Faelian, maybe we should turn back. This place seems really expensive--" Then he saw Faelian bring out the cash and silently screamed. He was in so much shock he just stared silently until he was handed the ticket. "Is this place really worth that much?.."

Faelian

By the time Faelian heard London debating leaving because it was expensive it was too late and he just smiled at the other. "Don't worry about it. It'll be fun." Or he hoped so anyway. "Outside ones cost less but this place is really nice, the bigger the price the better the place, right? Comfortable seats and stuff like that."

London

"That's not always true!" He wanted to debate, but he knew it wouldn't change anything, so he quieted down. "Well, how long do we have to wait? D-do we need to dress up...?" Fancy dressed people passed by every few minutes, he was getting a little self-conscience.

Faelian

"Not always but it is for the most part right? We shouldn't have to wait long." He couldn't help but notice London was feeling self-conscience due to how he was stuttering when asking about dressing up. "No, we don't have to do that. If you want to borrow my jacket you can though."

London

His eyes narrowed, but Faelian could tell he was blushing a bit just at the thought. "Wouldn't that look kind of silly?"

Faelian

Faelian took note of the blush but didn't say anything about it. "Would it? If you want to we can go rent something to wear? We have the time since places like that are usually near theaters just for that very reason."

London

"It's a little big for me." He glanced away. "I'll let you decide. If you think I won't stand out in my normal wear, I'll just stay like this."

Faelian

"Hm.. I didn't think of that, it would be a little big, huh?" He looks out into the theater to see if anyone else was dressed as casually as London was.

He didn't notice anyone dressed casually at all and looked back at London with a nervous smile. "I guess it is a formally dressed event. Let's both just go rent something to wear."

"I'll pay for it since I invited you here."

London

London nodded. "Well, not just big, but.." He tilts his head examining the jacket. "Your waist is kind of thin too.."

"You really don't have to. You paid so much already. If it's just renting, it shouldn't be too bad.." Or so he hopes.

Faelian

"Hmm.. I guess it is, huh?" He frowns while looking down at his jacket. His shoulders were wider than London's too. He didn't want to make him look silly so wearing that was out of the question now.

"It should be much cheaper than the clothes cost." Hopefully it wasn't too bad. "Are you sure you don't want to me pay for it too?"

London

"But you are taller, so maybe it wouldn't make a difference..." London added this mostly thinking to himself. The thought of wearing Faelian's jacket wasn't completely unappealing. It just wouldn't work here.

London began walking ahead. "I should be fine, don't worry! You can just wait here if you want."

Faelian

He wondered why London was still talking about his jacket when he had already decided to rent something instead. "Ah! Wait! I'll go rent something too, it'll be fun." He started to tag along behind London.

London

"Uh, sure..." He was secretly relieved Faelian decided to come along. His sense of fashion by itself was horrible.

Faelian

It didn't take them long to find some place that rented clothes and he lead London inside. Hopefully the prices wouldn't be too bad. "Want me to help you find something? You look good in blue so maybe something that color?"

London

"Do I really?" He wasn't really an expert on this stuff. On his own, he probably would have just gone with a black suit or something with red. "Well, if you don't mind..." Letting Faelian pick his clothes out was a weight off his shoulders.

Faelian

"I think you do at least. Purple would suit you well too because of your eyes." He grabs a fancy looking blue outfit by the hanger and offered it to London. "Try this one on."

London

With a glance, London could tell this outfit was something Faelian-styled. It was so extra. Part of him was just glad Faelian had the mercy to not go for a purple suit. He grimaced, but held his breath. "Sure..." Faelian was the one with more experience with this stuff... In time he returned with his new rented wardrobe + the infamous scarf. "Is this how you're supposed to wear this thing?"

Faelian

Faelian who had been looking at the clothes when London returned turned to face him right away. "Yeah, it looks good on you. Do you like it? The scarf doesn't match though, why don't you lose it for now?"

London

He defensively held the cloth under his chin. "I like my scarf. At least let me wear something I'm familiar with. I'm already anxious enough as it is."

Faelian

Faelian tilted his head and thought about it for a few minutes. He was going to suggest London wear a different scarf but with an excuse like that there was no way he could. "Alright then, that's fine. It doesn't really look bad anyway."

"There's no need to feel anxious though, the place will be full enough that no one will really be paying much attention to their surroundings anyway."

London

The comment made London feel a little better. "So what will you be wearing?"

Faelian

He turned back to the clothes he had been looking at before and showed them to London. "This one... does it look alright?" It was purple with some gold trimmed designs much like the gold trim on London's.

London

London did a shy shrug. "You'd be a better judge than me." He expected Faelian to look good in anything, honestly. After a bit he got distracted and noticed something else that caught his attention. While Faelian was in the dressing room, he started studying some makeup kits recalling Faelian saying just makeup was enough to cover up the scar on his face. He began to debate if he should get one, but then saw the prices and turned around. Never mind.

Faelian

Faelian came back out of the dressing room looking pleased with his outfit. "I think we're ready now. We can leave our normal clothes here and come back for them later." That's what the person working there had told him earlier anyway.

London

"Hm. Alright." Leaving all of his belongings with someone else sounded risky, but for this price, he hoped they'd be able to do their job. The two made their way back to the theater.

(https://litskaedun.tumblr.com/post/156276961053)

Faelian

At the theater it looked like every one was settling down and that the show would start sometime soon. The place was a bit crowded so he held onto London's hand and led him to their seats so they wouldn't lose sight of each other. Apparently instead of a play they would be watching a singer perform but Faelian didn't mind.

London

London stared down at the hand. His eyes lowered. Usually he would pull his hand away. This was embarrassing. But this time he made an exception because it made sense they wouldn't want to lose track of each other in such a weird flashy place. This didn't change the fact he still considered it awkward, though. So he continued to judge the hand holding until they took a seat.

"Any idea what kind of music they play? For a place like this, I'm expecting an orchestra."

Faelian

Faelian didn't think much about the hand holding and couldn't see London judging it anyway. "Hm, I'm not sure? They probably do though."

London

The lights dimmed and then colors flashed. Suddenly a group of five girls hopped on stage. Their pop rock brought cheers from the entire auditorium. London's expression was stern and unreadable. This was unexpected.

Faelian

Faelian's expression showed exactly how he was feeling and it was obvious that this wasn't what he expected at all and that he was confused. A nervous looking and very stressed smile was on his face as he watched what was going on. "Urm.. maybe it's a new type of thing that’s popular in this area...?" He looked over at London in an attempt to see how he felt about this.

London

"...." London's face only grew darker and he rose a hand to his chin in deep deliberation. "...The one at the far right is my favorite." When the song finished and the crowd screamed in cheer, London decided to join them.

Faelian

Faelian's expression grew serious as London's expression grew darker. Obviously he hated it... or not. His own expression softened instantly at hearing that and he looked at the girls again. He couldn't really say he had a favorite since he wasn't too into this but at least London was having a good time. "Yeah, she's pretty good." He laughed and clapped as well when the show was over. At least it wasn't too bad even though it was a little weird and new.

London

Then the second song started. "Wow, there's more... How long were you wanting to stay?"

Faelian

"Oh, I don't mind staying for another song or two. It was pretty costly after all so leaving after one doesn't seem right."

London

"True.. It's not bad, but I just think we're better." He smiled smugly.

Faelian

Faelian smiled smugly in return and laughed a little. "I think so too. Did you want to stay a while longer anyway?"

London

"Sure, might as well." London smiled. As the songs went on, London glanced back at Faelian thinking about all of the money he put into this. He was really going way out of his way for a theater concert he had never heard of. Upon closer examination, London squinted and wondered if Faelian always had three piercings per ear. He sure was extra.

The show drew to a close and people were now up and abound. Some heading to greet the stars, others going straight for the exit, and many walking to the restrooms. It was chaotic to say the least.

Faelian

Faelian didn't seem to mind watching them at all in fact after the first song he seemed to enjoy it a little more as well. He still preferred the usual music he listened to or played though. When noticing London was looking at him after a moment he looked back at him and smiled. "Hm?"

Once the show was finally over it was pretty hectic. He wondered if they should sit until it was less crowded but he didn't like that idea. What if some people continued to hang around anyway. He stood up from his seat and stretched. "Let's try to get out of here."

London

London had effectively evaded the notice and made it seem like he was focusing on the show all along. Afterwards he followed Faelian's lead. "Good idea."

Faelian

On the way out they got crowded a bit and couldn't really continue for a few moments. During that time Faelian looked back at London, his eyes once again drawn to that bright red scarf that was clashing with his outfit. In fact... he wondered if he could get away with slipping it off the other in such a crowded place. Slowly he crept his hand up behind the other and tugged at the scarf.

/r 1d20+4

fightdiceBOT

@ Faelian: 1d20+4 = (12)+4 = 16

London

/r 1d20+2

fightdiceBOT

@ London: 1d20+2 = (2)+2 = 4

London

And Faelian was right. The roar of the crowd had stolen London's attention, as he looked for the way to the exit. The scarf carefully came undone by Faelian's hand and slid off without much trouble, but it was at that time that London realized something was amiss as an unusual cold air blew across his neck. With no thought, he immediately grabbed Faelian's arm and pulled him into a broom closet conveniently an arm's length away.

In seconds, Faelian was dragged into the small and dark enclosed area with London. Only a small crevice of light peaked into the room, as London held the door open just enough to peak outside.

Faelian

Faelian had been smirking to himself as he discreetly unwound that scarf off of the other's neck. His expression soon turned to one of confusion however when he was suddenly pulled into a nearby broom closet. "Huh?! What's wrong London?" It didn't take him long to realize just how close they were or how small the closet was and he blushed when realizing that fact. He still held onto London's scarf in one of his hands.

London

"...." He was silent for nearly a minute. "That girl... I know her."

Faelian

London was silent for too long. Was he making up a lie? "Huh? What girl?" He moved slightly and tried to peek outside.

London

London held his breath as Faelian pressed closer. Being in such a small room was not part of the plan, and he was realizing the mistake of his actions but knew they were necessary in order to keep his secrets. His eyes darted down to the scarf. That damn elf...

"Th-that one.. the idol. I just realized the reason she caught my attention. I actually knew her a while back before I met you... You see, I kind of... ripped her off with a fake fortune, ehe. One of the oldest tricks in the book is to fool a poor sap into thinking they're cursed and offer a solution for cash. She told her pops about it, and he was enraged. If she sees me, I'm so dead..."

Faelian

Faelian didn't notice London holding his breath like that. He noticed the closeness of course but he didn't mind it at all. In fact he enjoyed it very much. He wasn't sure what to make out of London's story. On one hand he knew for a fact that kind of thing happened to London in the past but on the other he knew that London was obviously hiding something about his scarf. He had probably only dragged him in the closet to hide his neck or something...maybe. He continued to peek out of the closet for a moment before moving back a little. "Ah.. I guess we have to stay in here till she leaves then." He smirks on the inside but manages to keep a normal expression on his face.

London

There was a sigh of relief after Faelian backed away some, but as London turned around, he realized it didn't make much of a difference. It was so dark, he couldn't see anything, but it was clear Faelian was only a few inches in front of him. "I guess so..." Who knew how long that would take.

"Is there any space to sit down?" As London asked this he began feeling around for a cardboard box or something. Instead he felt something soft. Oops. "What was that?"

Faelian

Faelian noticed that sigh of relief as he moved away from the other. He knew that London was probably feeling the same way as he had the other night when he pressed their shoulders together. He got embarrassed really easily, it was pretty amusing. He was about to answer the other with a 'I don't know' but was interrupted by the other touching his thigh. He wouldn't have minded usually but being in a closed dark room and not expecting it caused him to jump slightly and bump his head on something near them. "Ah! Ow! Fuck..." He slowly and carefully moved his hand up to rub the sore spot on his head. "That was my thigh."

London

"Aaaah, are you okay?!" His arms jolted back up wanting to help heal.. whatever got hurt, but he couldn't see shit. "I touched your thigh? Sheesh, it's too dark. What got hit? Let me see it." Even he realized that last sentence sounded like a joke.

Faelian

"Yeah, I think so. I just hit my head on something." He continued to rub the spot on his head softly. He had also apparently dropped the scarf when he had hit his head and he was currently too distracted to be worried about it.

London

London noticed the scarf. As soon as he had the chance, he had to make a move for it... But first he should probably help the poor injured fool. "Lean in a bit closer. I'll heal you." He brought his hands up towards what he presumed was the elf's head in order to ensure that would happen.

Faelian

Faelian leans in closer. He does so slowly to avoid banging their heads together and London successfully manages to get a hold of Faelian's head in the dark. "Once you're done see if that girl is gone. It's too cramped to stay in here much longer."

London

Yeah, just give me a second.. Is what he wanted to say, but with fingers interlaced in Faelian's hair, he became cognizant of just how close he had asked Faelian to come; no, more than that, it was the fact he had Faelian move his face just in front of his own. He could feel him breathing, it made him want to hold his own breath until he died. Why did he ask him to move closer again? London finally healed the blond's head and made a quick turn to the door. "Looks like they're still there...." He was beginning to hate idols.

Faelian

Faelian's heart beat a little faster at the closeness. It made him slightly nervous but far less than it did for London. It actually delighted him. His face felt slightly warm by the time London turned away towards the door. "Thanks, London." He whined a little at hearing they'd have to remain there. "Aw.." His legs were getting tired.

London

He made another quick glance downward. It was still there... Time to make a move. "Ugh, my legs are killing me. Hey, Faelian, if you don't mind, I'm going to try to take a seat. Don't mind me." Just as the words left, London was already making a slow crouch down. Soon it would be back in his hands, and there would be nothing more to worry about...

Faelian

Faelian didn't notice where London was looking and had momentarily forgotten about the scarf completely. Instead he would be looking at the small crack in the door until London started moving around again, this time crouching down in front of him. "T-There's not much room remember? Be careful down there..!" He didn't want to be accidentally headbutted somewhere important.

London

Just a little more, and got it! London successfully grabbed the scarf. Ah, sweet relief.. London promptly threw the scarf over his shoulder and wound it back around his neck. Safe! And sitting on the floor relaxing was a bonus, too.

He finally decided to reply in order to ease his friend's worries, "I know, I kno--" but in answering, he glanced up. The stream of light brought a new view into focus. Faelian, who was looking down, had a worried expression, but more importantly, London found himself in a rather compromising position face-to-face with a fancy pair of pants. He gulped and started to make a slow move back up when suddenly the door closed. "Ah!--" He fell forward and clung onto the elf's legs in surprise by the sudden darkness.

Faelian

Faelian noticed now that London was crouched and that he was picking up his scarf. Dammit. He forgot all about that. He should have just tossed it on the floor of the theater before being dragged into this stupid tiny closet. Before he could even say anything it seemed like someone had bumped into the door or something and London had grabbed onto his legs.

He flushed even more. "I-If someone looks in on us while you're like that they'll get the wrong idea you know..!" Just the thought of someone walking in on them and assuming that was so embarrassing he could die. He held the top of his pants tightly just in case they had started to slip or something. There was no way he was going to let something like that happen.

London

"I know that, geez!!" London unintentionally bursted out. "Just.. hold still. I'm going to try to stand back up." At least now he had a good idea of where he was grabbing when he tried to use Faelian to hoist himself up. Avoiding anywhere directly in front of him, he made a reach for Faelian's side. Crisis averted, or so he thought.

Faelian

Faelian did as London said and held still. Well he held still until London touched his side and he automatically jerked away from the touch while laughing. "H-Hey! W-Watch it! I'm ticklish, remember!?" He hoped it was still loud outside the closet so no one could hear them. People surely could hear them if it wasn't.

London

London's head sunk in regret. How did they end up in this situation? "Argh, I don't care! Just give me your arm!" Without waiting for a response, London immediately grabbed what he believed should have been Faelian's arm and used it to pull himself up. "I don't care if an idol is out there, let's get out of here!" He huffed.

Faelian

Luckily London managed to grab his arm finally. He knew exactly what had got them in this situation and that reason was London. He also wanted out so he didn't complain at all. "Y-Yeah." Faelian hesitantly peeked out and was relieved to see no one was in the hallway. He headed out of the closet right away and sighed heavily. Now that they were in the light London would be able to tell that Faelian was blushing furiously.

London

Right behind him, London made his way into the open, casually stroking a hand through his hair in order to give the impression of someone cool and collected in contrast to an idiot who nearly killed himself trying to pick up a scarf off the floor. He coughed. "So.. That was something." Then finally noticed Faelian's red face and smiled proudly. The truth was he had nothing to be proud of. That incident was shameful. But he could make the most of it anyway. Look at that loser elf who embarrassed himself. He started to laugh.

Faelian

Faelian narrowed his eyes at London when noticing him coming out of there acting like it was no big deal at all. "It really was something, lets get out of here while we can." He crossed his arms too and gave a weak fake laugh. "ha ha, what's so funny? Aren't you worried about that idol coming back?" He raises an eye brow at him curiously.

London

"After this, that idol isn't nearly as scary as I thought. I'm more scared of broom closets now. Come on." He lead himself to the door. Part of him was a little sad to see Faelian so upset over everything. In retrospect, it really was kind of a funny situation, and he didn't mind it as much as he initially thought. But what's important now was getting out of this silly flashy outfit.

Faelian

Faelian hummed softly and seemed to go back to being cheerful. He walked beside London as they headed to the door. "Hm.. despite bumping my head I didn't really mind being so close to you. Would have been nicer if it was empty." He was clearly teasing the other now. He didn't want to feel like he was the only one embarrassed about that situation.

London

"Wow, you sure recovered fast. It's empty now if you want to go back." It was too late to make London feel embarrassed over the situation. Seeing Faelian as red as a tomato already covered the embarrassment quota for both of them that day.

Faelian

"I meant if the closet didn't have anything in it to trip on or bang my head on." His cheeks slightly turned red again. How had London even recovered from that so fast it was no fair.

London

"Hehe, right right..." They headed on back and got their rented extra™ clothes exchanged for the originals. The suits were kind of stuffy, so London felt extra relieved to be back in his old dingy, attire.

Faelian

Faelian felt pretty much the same. If he had more room in his bag he would probably buy that purple outfit. If he had more money he'd probably buy both just for events like this. He silently gives the outfit a farewell before heading outside. "I hope you had fun at the theater."

London

London laughs. "Yeah, it turned out better than I expected." The end was the best part. "So where to now? It's getting a little late. We were in there a while." With so many songs to listen to, it's no wonder.

Part 2

London

"Want to get something for dinner?"

Faelian

Faelian smiled at hearing that. At least London didn't complain about the last ordeal. He figured he would since he seemed so panicked in there. "Hmm..." He thinks about it for a moment. "Yeah, let's go eat somewhere. Want to have a picnic?"

London

"Huh? Sure... We don't have any food, though..."

Faelian

"I can buy something. What are you in the mood for?" He waves his hand slightly showing that it was fine.

London

He perks an eyebrow. Faelian really wants to spend all of his money... But then London remembered Faelian was always like that. "Let's see what they've got." Food shopping! They find some nice meals. London told Faelian he could help pay in the end. He also took a quick restroom break in the middle of shopping to check up on mystery friend again.

Faelian

Faelian never minded spending his money anyway and he really never minded spending it on London in the first place so it was fine. It was nice of London to help pay for it in the end though. "I wonder where we should set a picnic up at?"

London

"Why don't we go eat around those old houses outside of town? You were wanting to go over there anyway, right? They seemed abandoned, so it seems like a nice, quiet place."

Faelian

"Alright, yeah. We can probably find a nice place to sit there too." Or rather a flat place to sit that wasn't exactly in the dirt.

London

As long as there were no interruptions, they successfully moved to the outer part of town. London occasionally glanced around hoping there were no bandits this time.

Faelian

Faelian hadn't even considered that until they actually reached the place. Hopefully no one was following them this time. He still felt pretty bad that Aneris had got hurt last time. Eventually he found a nice place to sit and set their stuff up on it.

London

London began eating while thinking of a conversation starter to break the silence.. "So want to do anything while we're over here? I have my cards."

Faelian

Faelian spoke after finishing a bite of food. "I don't mind playing a game or something. Not poker though." He wasn't fond of that one.

London

"Hmm, then how about we play a simple game? This one is called higher-or-lower. It's a simple betting game where I set a card down and you guess if the next one will be a higher or lower number. You win if you're right, and then you can decide if you want to go another round or not. The farther you go, the bigger the stakes. Easy."

Faelian

Faelian listens to London talk while he eats some more of his food. "Alright, that sounds simple enough." It was surprising there were so many card games and they still hadn't played all of them in the last three years.

London

"But it's way funner to play when we have bets in place.. I wonder what we should do, hmm..."

Faelian

"Did you want to bet something then?" He smiles. He knows exactly what he could bet for if London takes him up on that offer.

London

London holds up the candy Faelian had given him earlier. There were only six. That's not enough to play bets with... "I'm not sure... Do you have an idea?"

Faelian

"Yeah that might not work. Also I don't want to take the candy I bought you from you. I do want to try at least one though." Faelian smiles as innocently as he can at hearing that. "Hm. If I win you have to take off your scarf for a while. You've become way too attached to it lately."

London

"Ehhh?!? You want to play strip higher-or-lower?! I always knew you were a lewd elf.." :bards-always-lie: London interrupted Faelian as soon as the word scarf left his mouth, and he stared at him grinning.

Faelian

Faelian flushed slightly at hearing that. Once again London had turned it on him. If he said yes was it really worth it if he lost? "That's not what I said at all." He sighs heavily and crosses his arms. "I said just your scarf."

London

London leaned forward, "I told you. You bet one thing, and the farther you go, the higher the costs. This isn't a one round game, Faelian."

Faelian

Dammit. He crossed his arms thinking more. "Then there’s no way we're betting that out here in the wild." He didn't want to risk someone walking up on them while they were half naked. "What else can we bet?"

London

London stood up. "Then let's go to another spot."

Faelian

Faelian flushed more did London really want to play that kind of game? "Huh? Like where? At an inn? I kind of wanted to spent time outside with you."

London

"I do like being outside..." He crossed his arms and thought to himself then remembered they were still eating. "Hm, maybe it can wait till later. Let's eat!" Crisis averted... for now....

Faelian

Faelian smiled a little nervously. Crisis averted for now. Dammit, he should have known London would take asking for his scarf in that kind of way. He had tried to get him to play those kind of games a few times in the past too. "Yeah, it's nice to spend some time out here that isn't just walking. Alright then, later." Unless London forgot about it.

London

"How about after we're done?" Faelian started this, and London was going to make him see this through. At least until he was sure he wrung out every bit of regret. That's what he gets for trying to peak under his scarf...

Faelian

"Hm.. i'd rather spend the day doing something else. If you really want to play it we could later tonight in the inn?" He suggested. Hoping that London would agree. He really did have other plans for today anyway.

London

"Aww, you're the one who brought it up! It's not like we'll be stripping all the way down.. I think I'll just take all of those extra clothes you always carry and keep them for myself."

Faelian

"What!? No way then. We're not playing it at all if you're going to keep them. They wouldn't suit you anyway, green isn't your color." There was no way he'd play if London wanted to keep them.

London

"Are you telling me you wanted me to bet my scarf, while you had nothing of equal value to offer?! What a cheapskate! Also I think I look fine in green!!" He never wore green before, so there was no evidence to prove he couldn't look good in it.

Faelian

"I didn't want to keep it." He smiles. "Just to hold onto it for a while. Even if you look good in green would you really wear that kind of outfit?"

London

London yawned. "What's the fun in that? I guess if you want to bet just your boxers, that could be funny. It would be amusing to see you squirm for the rest of the day, and then I'll just hand them back tonight."

Faelian

Faelian flushed even more and looked at London with disbelief. He really regretted bringing this up now and it probably showed on his face. "You'd just carry my underwear around in your bag all day?" Was it really worth this risk? His expression was screaming that it wasn't.

London

"I don't know. I guess I would? Well, either way, I think this settles things. Just betting one thing is a lot simpler, and we won't even need a room to do it. Let's just bet the candies, and whoever wins all 6 gets the goods."

Faelian

Faelian smiles nervously now. "Uh.. maybe it would just be better to play it later in the inn instead?" He was trying to back out of it now.

London

"No, no. We're already here. We might as well play it. Besides I'm expecting these to be gone before the inn." He says as he waves the bag of candy. "So first thing's first, here's card number one!" (From lowest to highest, 2-10=what you expect, 11=Jack, 12=Queen, 13=King, 1=Ace)

/r 1d13

fightdiceBOT

@ London: 1d13 = (3) = 3

London

"Higher or lower?"

Faelian

"Hey! I'm not even done eating yet!" He grumbles but doesn't seem too annoyed. "Higher."

London

/r 1d13

fightdiceBOT

@ London: 1d13 = (8) = 8

London

"You won!" He hands him one of the marron glacés. "See, easy. Just get five more, and you get the prize."

Faelian

Faelian sighs in relief. "Hm... alright then." He takes the candy and places it on a clean wrapper. He won't eat it until he's finished his meal. Luckily he's almost finished with it by now anyway.

London

"Okay, so do you think the next card will be higher or lower than 8?"

Faelian

"Hmm... higher." He finishes off his meal now and one of the drinks he had pulled out of his bag earlier.

London

/r 1d13

fightdiceBOT

@ London: 1d13 = (1) = 1

London

"Haha, you lose! I'll be nice, though. I didn't really clarify how we'll decide a winner yet... So since this puts us even.. Let's say you have three, and I have three. Each round we're both betting one marron glacé. Winner gets both, and whoever runs out first loses. So since it's my turn, I say higher, and you can flip the card." He grinned.

Faelian

Faelian pouts but he relaxes a little when London says they can continue playing for now. "Alright."

/r 1d13

fightdiceBOT

@ Faelian: 1d13 = (11) = 11

London

"So now I get one of yours." He carefully grabbed one without wasting time. "Your turn."

Faelian

"Urr...lower."

London

/r 1d13

fightdiceBOT

@ London: 1d13 = (13) = 13

:longdong:

London

"Now I get another!" London made a move. Faelian only had one left. "Hehehe, guess that means I'll say lower..." There was a sparkle in his eye.

Faelian

Faelian narrows his eyes at the other. Dammit. This was a bad idea.

/r 1d13

fightdiceBOT

@ Faelian: 1d13 = (9) = 9

London

London laughed again and took the last one. "I win! Should have given up before you started." He threw a candy in his mouth. Woah, these are pretty good..

Faelian

Faelian grumbled to himself and ate one of the candies as well. It was really good but it didn't help the shame he was suddenly feeling. "Dammit..."

London

"Now go get me my prize! There's a stone wall over there. Go behind it, and no one will see you."

Faelian

Faelian flushed and rubbed his hands on his face. Calling it a prize was too embarrassing. He grumbled some more before heading off behind the wall and returning shortly after and handed London what he wanted in a neatly folded square. "I know this is to embarrass me but isn't carrying these around going to be embarrassing for you too? I can't believe you'd even ask for them in a bet."

London

While Faelian was away, London continued munching on his new favorite snacks. Silly elf. He didn't even realize he got cheated. He snickered. Once he returned, London put the undergarment in his bag without much thought. "Nah, I'll be okay. It's not unusual for most people to carry an extra pair around with them when traveling. I'm sure no one will give it a second thought if they did see."

Faelian

Faelian crosses his arms and huffs slightly. "Next time we play a game I'm picking it. I'll pick an elven game." He can make up the rules that way and win for once. London had cheated him in card games before so he probably did that now. Yeah, that was probably it. If he accused London of that it wouldn't do any good though.

London

"That sounds fun." His smile brightened and then darkened into an evil smirk. "How are you feeling?"

Faelian

It might sound fun but I'll be the one embarrassing you next time. He flushed a little more at the teasing. "It feels a little weird."

London

London laughed more. "Okay, anyway, since dinner's done, how about we try that sugarcane Pawo got me?" This time he was definitely going to make it work.

Faelian

Faelian had forgot about wanting to try that actually. His mind had been focused on other stuff since then. "Oh yeah! Okay."

London

/r 1d6

fightdiceBOT

@ London: 1d6 = (6) = 6

London

"Pot. Check!"

/r 1d20+3

fightdiceBOT

@ London: 1d20+3 = (20)+3 = 23

London

London made the perfect amount of water in the perfect pot. Everything was going smoothly. It's almost unreal how perfect this was. You'd think he found a way to not only cheat at cards but also cheat at life itself.

"Now I just need to boil it..."

/r 1d20+3

fightdiceBOT

@ London: 1d20+3 = (13)+3 = 16

London

"There!" He smiled as fire helped boil the water. "Then I guess next we just let the water soften it up." He placed the cane in the water and waited.

Faelian

"Good job. It turned out perfect this time." Those last two pots he made at the fox girl's house were really messed up after all. "Do we just wait until it's soft?"

London

"Yep." There was nothing better to do in the meantime than stare down at the pot with a hard glare. Why was it so hard to make a simple pot this day and age? In truth, he gave many attempts trying to make a pot since they left Lachi's house.

Faelian

Faelian looked up from the pot at London. "Know how long that might take?" He had no idea that London was having trouble with his magic lately. Or that spell rather.

London

"Uhh... Just soft enough to make it easy to get the juices I guess?" Like he'd know. He decided the wait must have been long enough since Faelian kept asking about it and pulled the stick out. So you just suck it? That sounds weird. London tried it and burnt his tongue. "Ow!"

Faelian

"Does Pawo eat this stuff often?" Faelian was just bored and making conversation he had no idea how long it was suppose to boil for. "You okay?"

London

"Yeah, I'm alrighth." He tried to talk while waving cold air at his tongue. It wasn't long afterwards that he decided to try again. "Hmm... Not bad."

Faelian

"It looked painful." Too bad London hadn't thought to let it cool before sticking it straight in his mouth like that. "You say not bad but is it good? Are you suppose to suck on it or can you eat it?"

London

London was doing just that. He paused to answer Faelian. "Yeah. You don't eat it, just suck the juices out. That's what Pawo said." It was a stick, why would you eat that? "Want to try?" He held out a hand to share it.

Faelian

"Hm. That's weird. I guess the cane itself isn't that good then." Faelian took the cane from London and tried it. "Hm.. it really is good." He loved sweet stuff anyway so he enjoyed the taste a lot. After a few moments he handed it back to London.

London

"You can have it." He pushed it back to him. "I'm not a big fan of sweets anyway, so it's yours."

Faelian

"You sure?" He put it back in his mouth before getting an answer though.

London

He laughed. "Yeah. It looks like you've already claimed it anyway."

Faelian

"No way, I'd give it back if you wanted some more." He laughed too.

London

"Nah, you're fine." London was stuffed after his third piece of candy. That leaves two more for later. He put them up and then looked to his cards. "Hm, you know, I found out my prediction for Beaford was wrong. He wasn't the one who confessed first."

Faelian

Faelian hummed and finished off the sugarcane before tossing it aside. "Really? So Pawo did then? That's surprising since Pawo seems like he'd be kinda shy."

London

"It's more complicated than that, but we don't need to worry about the details." He told himself he wouldn't eat anymore, but he started munching on the fifth candy anyway. "I just wish my predictions were more accurate." He grumbled.

Faelian

"Hm.. yeah I guess it is, huh?" Faelian smiled at seeing London continue eating that candy. It made him happy that London was enjoying something he bought for him. He'd have to get him some more sometime. "When you were younger they were more accurate, right? I wonder what happened?"

London

London stopped and after a moment shoved the rest of it in Faelian's mouth. "Who knows." It was a touchy subject.

Faelian

Faelian ate the candy that was shoved at his mouth while looking confused for a moment. He guessed it was something London really didn't want to talk about. "You really don't remember anything that could have caused it? Well maybe it'll go back to normal eventually.. I hope it will for you, anyway."

London

"Hm, yeah." He then sat in silence waiting for Faelian to finish with the rest of what he was eating.

Faelian

Faelian finished eating it after a moment or two. "That stuff is pretty good." Hopefully the change of subject would help break London out of the silent gloomy mood he seemed to be in suddenly.

London

"Yeah, you should let Pawo know. Maybe he'll give you another one. Or were you talking about the marron glacé?"

Faelian

"Both were good, but I was talking about the marron glacé."

London

"Ohh, right. Yeah, that was my first time eating, too." He leaned back until he was laying and stared at the sky. It was probably 4 now. They could head back, but that felt like a waste of precious free time.

Faelian

Faelian looked down at London relaxing in the grass. He felt like laying down too but actually.. in the position they were in now maybe he could get London's scarf off without him noticing. He moved his position slightly just so that his hand was touching London's scarf a tiny bit and tried to use Animate object on it. He whispered the command to loosen and fall off when London made a move to sit up again. His whisper was so low that hopefully London wouldn't hear it.

/r 1d6

fightdiceBOT

@ Faelian: 1d6 = (5) = 5

London

/r 1d20+1

fightdiceBOT

@ London: 1d20+1 = (2)+1 = 3

:crit1:

:nyalian:

London

London continued laying there. "So now what do you want to do?"

Faelian

"Hm..." Actually now was probably a good time to give him that gift. It would serve as a good distraction too. "I got you another gift with the marron glacés by the way."

London

"Huh, really?" This caught his interest. London moved to sit up... And as Faelian commanded, the scarf started to also move. Slowly it became loose and started to make its way down.

/r 1d20+1

fightdiceBOT

@ London: 1d20+1 = (18)+1 = 19

London

That was when London felt a lightness on his shoulders and made a move. Grabbing what was left of the scarf before it fell completely down, he swung it around Faelian's own head and used it to pull him closer. "Actually, I have a gift for you, too." He moved in for the kill.

Faelian

"Yeah. I really did." Faelian grinned a little mischievously when London sat up and the scarf started to fall down. Unfortunately London seemed to notice it right away and made a move. He started to make a move to grab it but before he could London had pulled them close together for some reason. He was going to ask why but he didn't get the time to do that as London spoke about giving him a gift first and kissed him suddenly.

He totally froze up due to that sudden and surprising action. He hadn't expected that at all. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew London had only did it as a distraction but it was still their first kiss and he flushed brightly. It seemed like he had momentarily forgotten about the scarf and whatever was hidden under it.

London

It was quick but efficient. London grinned. To think Faelian was still playing this game. Maybe this time he'll finally learn to leave the scarf alone. He put a hand over Faelian’s and leaned in close once again. "So what's my gift?"

Faelian

Faelian smirked at London now. How silly that their first kiss had been some kind of weird moment like this. He didn't mind too much though. He grabbed his bag that was nearby and dug through it until he found a small box. He pulled something out of the box and placed it into London's hand. "I hope it's alright. I wasn't really sure what to get you."

It was a simple but very nice looking ring. It was silver with elven decorations carved into it.

London

London stared at the ring, then looked back to Faelian, then at the ring again. He wasn't entirely sure what to make out of the gift, but he put it on. "How's this?"

Faelian

Faelian felt nervous since London was looking back and forth from him and the ring. "W-Well.. elves usually give someone they have interest in a piece of jewelry... usually it's something they made themselves but I can't really do that at the moment. I hope it's alright. I didn't want to get a bracelet since Pawo gave us one of those and I'm not sure how you feel about necklaces so.. I thought a ring might suit you."

London

He held the ring in his hand. "Yeah, I like it. Thank you." Somehow, being given a ring by Faelian made him want something more, but he didn't want to seem ungrateful. Tragically, this probably appeared on his face since London didn't seem especially excited receiving the gift. He looked back at Faelian. "What do you mean 'at the moment,' are you planning to go into jewelry making next?" He grinned.

Faelian

Faelian smiled nervously at the other. Sadly London didn't really seem to like the ring that much. "Really?"

"Oh.. well if I get the chance I'll give you one I made myself eventually. There's probably a place where you can pay to make stuff like that. It's a pretty popular tradition for some elven races after all."

London

"Of course." He studied it and then looked back up as the elf continued and did a soft chuckle. "Are you really going to learn to make your own jewelry? That sounds too enabling for someone like you. It'd be fun to see what you could do, though."

Faelian

He really hoped that London really liked it. He smiled even more. "It would probably just be a one time thing. I don't have the time to do that kind of stuff too often and I'd have to buy everything needed for it too."

London

London laughed more. "Getting the stuff to do it just one time seems like such a waste."

Faelian

"Nah, like I said there's probably a place that just let’s you pay to build one. I would only have to make it and pay for the items I used."

London

"Ohh, so that's what you meant." He couldn't really understand him at first, but now it made a little sense. "So you just rent someone else's supplies. That still sounds silly to me, but I'm sure the result is worthwhile."

Faelian

He nods. "Yeah. It would be worth it in the end to have something one of a kind."

London

"Yeah, but enough about that, we should talk about the ring you gave me now. Where'd you find it? It looks like a really nice ring." He felt a little guilty talking about something else. This should fix that, is what he hoped, but London's knowledge of jewelry was limited to the just the words.

Faelian

"I bought it in Koken. It is a nice ring. It's real silver." He smiled brightly happy that London was showing some more interest in it now.

London

London kept himself from saying dumb stuff like how silver is super malleable because he knows more about silver facts than jewelry facts and instead just smiled. "Thanks. Want to sit like this a while longer?" He remembered they were still sharing the scarf. As long as Faelian wasn't trying anything, it was fine...

Faelian

Faelian wouldn't have minded hearing about that stuff at all but this was fine too. "I don't mind sitting like this for a while longer. This is nice anyway..."

He was silent for a few moments before speaking again. "Hey, you wanted some proof that I liked you right? I hope I've been doing good so far."

London

"Huh, um, yeah.." His face flushed some, but despite everything it was still hard to believe. London looked down again at the ring in his hand to consider all of the trouble Faelian was going through.

Faelian

A small smile appeared on his face at seeing London flush like that. "That's why I pushed away all those guys you kept trying to hook me up with you know. And why I always wanted to snuggle against you." He laughed softly a bigger smile appearing on his face now. "Remember when I said cuddling would be different if it was with Beaford instead of you? You thought I meant smell but I meant my feelings."

"I thought I was being so obvious but you didn't seem to notice."

London

He blushed more and slowly looked back up at Faelian's face again. What he said made sense. Maybe it was really obvious all along. Turning a bit more red he looked back down. "I thought you were always just clingy and lonely and anyone would do if you just opened up.."

Faelian

Faelian looks down at London with a serious expression and a small smile on his lips. After London looks back down he softly nudges his head against the side of London's a little. "Nope.. not just anyone would do. You think I'm way more shy than I actually am. I can open up pretty easily actually. I just didn't want someone else."

London

London grew more embarrassed and impulsively pulled his scarf to cover his face some. That didn't help him too much considering they were both using it. He remained silent, unsure of what to say.

Faelian

Faelian just smiled silently at London's reaction. He leaned his head over on the other bard's and sighed softly. He continued to be silent for a while before whispering softly. "I hope that you'll be able to see that I love you."

London

After Faelian said that, London finally decided this was enough embarrassment for one sitting and pulled away. "So.. are you ready to go?" He sweated and pulled the scarf from Faelian, so it slid off and fitted it back where it was supposed to be.

Faelian

Faelian happy with what had been said smiles at the other. "Yeah." He also glances at the scarf for a moment before looking away. London had distracted him from getting it once again. "What should we do now?" He stood up and dusted his outfit off before gathering his stuff up.

London

"Um, well, it's getting late, but I don't mind staying out more." At this rate, it would be dark before they returned to the inn, but he enjoyed the night life, so he didn't mind. "What do you want to do? Just look around?"

Faelian

He looked at the sky. It was getting a little late but he didn't mind. "We can do that. Maybe we'll find something interesting. If not then we can just say it was a nice walk."

-Night of the Second Day-

Part 3

London

London smiled with a nod, and then they made a move to set out. (London again took a quick break to check on someone!) The tree filled area surrounding Koken was quiet. It made it hard to believe there was actually such a lively town just beyond it. London kicked a stone and watched it bounce ahead until it splashed into a nearby stream. His eyes widened at the opportunity, "Hey, want to go for a dip?--- Err, wait, nevermind. It's freezing." His real reason for refusing was because he had to wear that damn scarf. He didn't really care if he caught a cold by jumping in icy water near night.

Faelian

Faelian watched as the stone bounced into the water as well. He was about to protest when London suddenly changed his mind. "Yeah, it's pretty cold... want to rent a boat instead? That could be fun." And something people did on a date. He wanted to try it.

London

"Do they rent boats around here?" He looked around kind of doubtful.

Faelian

"There's a larger body of water upstream. We could check there. It's such a big place maybe we'll get lucky."

London

"I guess it's worth the shot." He followed, doubtful.

Faelian

It wasn't too long of a walk to the larger body of water. Luckily for them they had a place to rent boats too. The area had some nice scenery thankfully. "See, I thought so. The locals probably fish here sometimes."

London

"Is this really the proper weather for fishing...?" It was in his nature to doubt many things.

Faelian

"I lived on a snowy mountain and people fished there. I'm pretty sure people even ice fish in some places." He made a face that showed his distaste. "I'm not sure why people even like fish. It doesn't taste good to me at all."

London

"Well, obviously, different people have different taste." London mocked. He let Faelian handle the conversation to rent a boat and waited.

Faelian

"Yeah, bad taste." He smiled. It didn't take long for him to talk to the old man and rent a boat. Honestly it was cheaper than the clothes they rented earlier.

London

"Don't be like that." He made a move to pinch his nose and then waited for Faelian to return so they could have a boat ride.

Faelian

Faelian appeared after a few moments. "Alright, we can take one now."

London

London kept it to himself that he thought this idea seemed kind of silly and cheesy and hopped in when they got their boat.

Faelian

Faelian knew it was cheesy too but he didn't mind. It was better than London's earlier idea of hopping in freezing cold water for a swim anyway. Good thing London changed his mind about that. He hopped in the boat after the other and started to paddle them a bit further in the lake.

London

As they rowed further in, the impression that this boat ride was childish became more and more readable on London's face. This was obviously the most embarrassing event of the entire day. Nothing could get more awkward than this. Shit, it was even sunsetting, too. Why did he go along with this? They really should have just went skinny dipping. It would help if they had something to talk about. He glanced at Faelian hoping for some rescue.

Faelian

Faelian would only be smirking when London looked at him for rescue. It was obvious that he was enjoying how embarrassing this seemed to be for London. After figuring they were far enough in he would stand up. "...." He himself would look a bit embarrassed now as he readies his lute to play it. "...Remember that you personally asked me to do this." He hesitantly starts to serenade the other. The only thing that would make this less embarrassing for himself was embarrassing the hell out of London.

/r 1d20+2

fightdiceBOT

@ Faelian: 1d20+2 = (13)+2 = 15

London

When Faelian brought the boat to a stop, London observed his actions confused, but the more Faelian did, the more his worry grew. He eyed the lute in sheer horror and looked back to Faelian with a ruffled demeanor. "What are you?---"

'Remember that you personally asked me to do this.'

Oh no....

Faelian started singing.

All London could think to do was hide his face. Why did he say 'serenade me'?! The intense regret was as clear as Faelian's translucent elf skin.

Faelian

Faelian continued to sing but with a smile tugging at his face now. London was embarrassed just like he thought he would be. He should have said something else besides serenade me at that time if he wasn't prepared for it to actually happen. Faelian felt a little embarrassed too but it was nothing compared to how embarrassed the other bard seemed to be feeling.

London

In an effort to end this tragedy, London made a quick kick at Faelian's leg, deciding to trip him up.

/r 1d20

fightdiceBOT

@ London: 1d20 = (13) = 13

Faelian

/r 1d20+1

fightdiceBOT

@ Faelian: 1d20+1 = (2)+1 = 3

Faelian

He was thrown off balance right away and dropped his lute. Luckily it was connected to him with a strap so it didn't fall far. The weight from it however pulled Faelian down as well. On his way down he grabbed at London to catch himself. Grabbing his scarf and pulling him down with him. He should have expected something like this. London had tripped him up because he couldn't handle the situation. What a baby. He furrowed his brows at the other now, his hold tight on the scarf to keep him from pulling back. "I knew you wouldn't be able to handle that."

London

"It was embarrassing!! I know I said 'serenade me,' but you really didn't have to do that specific thing!" Thinking things over, though, London realized he was acting way too impulsively. Faelian went out of his way to bring him to this romantic spot and even composed a song for him, and it wasn't a bad song.. London felt a little bad he interrupted it just to be a child.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have done that." He glanced downward. "I guess I'm not good with these sorts of things, after all. It was a really nice song, too.."

Faelian

"Well I thought it might be important since you mentioned it." Another grin tugged at the corner of his lips at hearing London wasn't good at these sort of things. He already knew that to start with. He furrowed his brows more and smirked slightly. "You're really lucky I didn't fall in the water." He would have been a bit mad if he had.

London

"Admittedly, I was curious." He huffed. "But you know, I think we make the best music when we play together."

London smiled while looking at him. "If you fell in, I would have helped to take care of you."

Faelian

He laughed a little at hearing that London really was curious about it. "It was a little bit embarrassing for me too if that makes you feel better. I think we make better music together too." He flushed slightly at hearing that London would have helped take care of him if he fell in. He had already known that anyway so why did it effect him so much?

It suddenly dawned on him that he was holding the other's scarf once again. Now would be a pretty good time to get it off the other and it would serve as a revenge for the kick too. London had kissed him earlier as a distraction so why wouldn't it be fair if he did the same now? With those thoughts in mind, and feeling like kissing London again anyway, he pulled London into a kiss by his scarf. While kissing him he started to unwind the damn thing.

London

London laughed in return. It was relieving to hear the interruption didn't hurt his feelings, and knowing Faelian felt just as embarrassed over the scenario made him feel even better. For a moment, he was just happy staying as they were. The day had its mishaps, but it was a lot of fun in the end. When Faelian pulled him closer, he hesitated but decided to try to kiss back. (Roll dex if you want to try to take it you meme)

Faelian

/r 1d20+4

fightdiceBOT

@ Faelian: 1d20+4 = (17)+4 = 21

London

/r 1d20+1

fightdiceBOT

@ London: 1d20+1 = (17)+1 = 18

London

Faelian successfully distracted London with the kiss and skillfully managed to remove the scarf. For a bit, this seemed to pass over London's head, but it became painfully obvious when he peaked an eye open only to see the scarf in a certain pickpocket's hand. Cursing himself for letting his guard down, London decided two could play at this game. As long as Faelian didn't get a clear look at his neck, the secret of the cultist tattoo was safe, so as to not give Faelian that chance, he intensified the makeout, and began to make a move over him with the intention of stealing back that scarf.

/r 1d20+1

fightdiceBOT

@ London: 1d20+1 = (8)+1 = 9

Faelian

Faelian would have been happy to just stay like before too but honestly what they were doing now was a lot more fun. He just hoped he wouldn't piss London off too much by taking his scarf once again. This time he wasn't going to give up so easily. He was pretty surprised when the kiss suddenly grew more intense but he wasn't complaining. He realized the reason a few moments later when he felt London clumsily trying to take the scarf back. With a quick motion he held it out of London's reach. Good thing his arms were longer than London's. He'd have a hard time reaching it where it was now.

London

Somewhere a poor man who rents boats was thinking it's about time he raised his prices...

London waved a hand trying to reach the scarf. Damn, it's too far.. He needed a way to bring it closer. Maybe if he gave him a little scare he would regret it enough to give it back? London put a hand on Faelian's chest and undid the first button of his jacket.

Faelian

It was at this point Faelian tensed up a bit. It didn't take him long however to realize this was a bluff. There was no way London was that daring. He hated PDA too much. He was just trying to push him into giving up so he could get this damned scarf. Without thinking too much about where the thing would land Faelian tossed the scarf as hard as he could in the current position he was in. Unfortunately for London it would land in the lake a bit too far from the reach of the boat.

London

London quickly broke the kiss. "What are you doing?!" He moved to get over the boat.

Faelian

Faelian grabbed London's arm right away to keep him from jumping in the water instantly. "Wait a second, London! I'll get it." He threw it in there after all. He took the moment that he was holding onto London to try to get a look at both sides of his neck.

London

He saw Faelian's eyes dart from one side of his neck to the other and reacted with a shove, trying to push him back down into the boat.

/r 1d20

fightdiceBOT

@ London: 1d20 = (6) = 6

London

"I'll get it myself!" The push was too weak to move Faelian anywhere, but he reacted just the same and turned back to the water.

Faelian

Faelian was offended by the weak attempt at a shove. Why did London have to act so stupid sometimes? And he called him impulsive. "I already saw it! So don't bother jumping in there yet!" Rolling to bluff.

/r 1d20+2

fightdiceBOT

@ Faelian: 1d20+2 = (20)+2 = 22

London

Believing Faelian's words, London stood in place and stared at the lake then turned his head to look back down on Faelian. "Dammit!" Then he jumped in.

Faelian

Faelian sighed heavily. He did see something blue but he hadn't fully seen it. Some kind of mark on his neck. Was it a tattoo? Why was he hiding it anyway? London was probably pissed... the day had gone so well too. He paddled the boat over to London now to help him in it after he got his scarf. He didn't have to jump in they could have just paddled over there. "We could have just rowed the boat over there, London. You didn't have to jump in. I didn't mean to throw it in the water, sorry..."

London

After London climbed back into the boat, it was easy to see he wasn't in the mood to talk. He begrudgingly pulled the soggy red scarf back around his neck and turned to look at the shore.

Faelian

"..." Faelian sighed softly and started to paddle them back to the shore. He didn't speak until they were almost there. "I'm really sorry. You hadn't taken it off in a while so I was curious about it. What is it anyway? A tattoo? It seems kind of silly that you got a tattoo and was hiding it from me."

London

He grimaced and bit his lip trying to think of a reply. "You have a lot of room to talk - acting all nice offering to jump in to get my scarf just as a ruse to check out my neck."

Faelian

"It wasn't a ruse. I would have jumped in to get it after I saw your neck. What's so important about a tattoo anyway that you'd want to hide it from me? Didn't you think that I'd eventually become curious if you never took off your scarf around me anymore?"

London

"It's nothing!" London whined and leaned back nearly falling in the water a second time because he forgot this was just a boat. He waited for them to hit the docks then hurried on ahead to wait for the elf on the dark forest path they arrived in.

Faelian

Faelian sighed softly to himself when London hurried on ahead after reaching the docks. He half expected him to just head to the inn without him and was relieved to see that he was waiting. He headed over to the other after tying the boat in place. "...Hey uh.. I'm sorry for causing you to get wet. Let's hurry back so you don't get sick... You can wear some of my spare clothes tonight and i'll clean yours for you, alright?"

London

London remained silent for a moment before responding. "You don't have to be sorry. I overreacted." He momentarily moved the scarf down to again reveal the mark. "Kind of cool, right?"

Faelian

Faelian moved a little closer to eye it now that London was letting him look at it. He reach up and touched it with his fingertips after a moment and tilted his head. "Yeah. It's a nice color. When did you even have time to get this done? Did it hurt?" It was probably one of those weird choices London had made without thinking and then regretted it later. If he didn't then why had he even been hiding it? "Does it stand for something?"

London

At his touch, London flinched and moved the scarf back to cover it. "Oh, you know! It's really nothing special. Just your basic tattoo..." He laughed hoping Faelian didn't realize it wasn't an actual tattoo, but while laughing, he was overcome by a feeling of exhaustion and moved a hand to cover his head. "Huh?"

Faelian

Faelian got a worried look on his face at that flinch. "Huh? Does it still hurt that badly? Did they do a bad job or something?" Fuck if he knew how tattoos felt. He noticed that London had suddenly looked a bit sick too. "Are you okay?"

London

"No, it's nothing. I'm just ticklish around my neck, you know.." The feeling wasn't going away, and he was starting to feel really drained. He moved a hand under the scarf wondering if the tattoo might have been the source of the struggle, but that just sounded silly. Yet he couldn't shake the feeling it had something to do with Demiura's blessing. His eyes widened when the thought made him realize the familiar sensation of the pools was missing. "Faelian, I've got to go somewhere for a bit. I'll meet you at the inn." He managed to say in as calm a tone as he could manage.

Faelian

"Oh yeah, I forgot." How the hell did he manage to sit still long enough for a tattoo there then? He could ask that some other time though for now he was concerned about the other. He really did look a little sickish. "Huh?" London had looked a bit surprised suddenly but he had no idea that what London was thinking about now was connected with the tattoo. "Are you sure? You look a little sick and your clothes are still wet."

London

"Yeah. It won't be for long. I'll catch you later." He waved casually and started slowly making his way another direction. He could still vaguely remember the source of the Tears of Demiuras, so maybe he could find someone who could answer his questions..

Faelian

"Uh... try to get warm then, okay? You'll catch a cold if you don't." Faelian really didn't want to let him go since he looked like he did but he had annoyed him enough today anyway so he wasn't going to press the matter. He was however going to worry over the other. He stood there for a while watching the other before heading back to the inn.

London

Faelian heard a familiar cough down the hall outside of his room around 11 at night.

Faelian

Faelian who had been worried about London since earlier perked up at hearing the familiar sound of his cough down the hallway. He sat up in the bed and waited for the other to head inside.

London

The door crept open, and London took special precautions to make sure his scarf didn't get stuck in its frame again. He looked at the bed and asked with a drowzy voice, "You're still awake?"

Faelian

"Yeah. I was just about to sleep but I could hear you coming up the hall. Are you feeling any better?"

London

"Mm, yeah actually. I just might have caught a cold, but there's nothing to worry about." He yawns.

London starts heading to the restroom and looks in the mirror. After carefully removing the scarf he sees blood. "?!?!" It is late, so he only reacts silently and quickly wipes it off to see there's no wound. Mysterious....

Faelian

/r 1d20+4

fightdiceBOT

@ Faelian: 1d20+4 = (10)+4 = 14

Faelian

"You sure?" Humans didn't catch colds that fast... did they? He noticed that London was heading into the bathroom and hurried to follow him in there. "Hey, are you going to bathe? Want me to wash your clothes while you're bathing?" It was kinda his fault that London had jumped into the lake after all. Even though they could have paddled over to get the scarf.

The end of his sentence trailed off as he had noticed London wiping some blood off his neck. "Huh? Are you bleeding?"

London

"I'm okay, don't worry." He was really tired after such a long day, though... He rubbed his neck again. "No... I think it was just part of Pawo's shamanic ritual." He brings this up as if it were nothing.

Faelian

Faelian tilted his head. "Huh? Pawo did a shamanic ritual on you?" A confused look appeared on his face. "You did look sick earlier.. did it help?" Whatever a shamanic ritual was anyway. Why would it make London bleed?

London

"Uh.. it's complicated. Anyway, the point is I'm not part of a cult anymore and soon I might have the foreseeing powers I had as a kid again." He said proudly. "Guess I should take a bath before heading to bed. Mind waiting outside?"

Faelian

Faelian furrows his brows while trying to process what London was saying. He was in a cult? Was that what that tattoo had been about? He wanted to ask some stuff but London looked tired. "Uh, Yeah. I don't mind. If you need me just give me a call, okay?"

London

"'Kay! I won't be long." But he was long.

London finally got back after he set his clothes out to dry and fell on the nearest bed in only his shorts. He was scarfless around Faelian for the first time in weeks. No tattoo-looking mark could be seen. An indistinguishable muffle could be heard from him.

Faelian

Faelian watched as London crashed on the bed near the door. Was he too tired to head over to the one he was in? "What was that? I couldn't understand you."

London

London peaked his head up. "Long day..." He moved to crawl under the sheets.

Faelian

"Yeah... it was a pretty long day, huh?" He stayed put for a few moments before moving over to join London instead. "Is it ok if I sleep beside you?"

London

"Yeah, I don't mind. Sorry if I worried you earlier."

Faelian

"...Yeah.. it's okay.. I was worried but I'm glad Pawo was able to help. I'm still not really sure what's going on but since you're tired I'll ask you to explain some other time." Faelian eyes London's neck but doesn't see the tattoo anymore. It's been a while since he saw him wear this little honestly.

London

"I can talk now. But I'm not sure what really needs to be said. It's all over so..." London pulls his arms into a stretch. "Nothing to sweat over now."

Faelian

"Are you sure...?" He did have a lot to ask him. Would it be okay to bother him with those questions now? "...So you joined a cult at some point and got that tattoo? But you said you got kicked out of it... was it because I saw the tattoo..? Was no one suppose to see it? And uh.. you got sick because of that and had to see Pawo?"

London

There was now a pillow over his face and he whined. "It's embarrassing to talk about. Can you keep it a secret? I just want to pretend this never happened."

Faelian

Faelian sighed. "You just said you could talk now.. Of course I won't tell anyone. Why would I tell anyone else about it in the first place?"

London

He peaked. "I don't know..."

Faelian

"If you really don't want to talk about it you don't have to but if you do I promise I won't tell anyone."

London

"I don't know what to say... I guess I did kind of join a cult without thinking." Even if he was kind of thinking. "And then I broke some rules. It's not your fault, though. And Pawo helped out, yeah."

Faelian

Faelian moved to lay beside the other instead of sitting up now. "Why?" He looked a little relieved at hearing it wasn't his fault. "So you broke the rules and that's why you got sick? What kind of ritual did Pawo do? You said you can get your foreseeing powers back thanks to Pawo's ritual?"

London

His eyes narrowed. "Reasons..." These were so many questions. Maybe it was a bad idea to answer them now, but he knew they wouldn't be any easier to answer later. (London is convinced 'Reasons..' is a legitimate answer.) "I don't know the answer to half this stuff. It just happened." He covered his face again.

Faelian

Faelian's expression just turned neutral at the look and answer he got from the other. He shouldn't have even bothered asking. "Alright.. maybe you'll tell me someday.. I guess.. If you ever figure it out for yourself." He seemingly got comfortable now, apparently ready to sleep.

London

London finally sits up to look at the blue bard. "You're just asking a ton more than I was prepared for. And well, I'm not lying. I was confused to begin with. Four questions at once is just really hard to work with. I thought you'd show me a little mercy since I was tired."

Faelian

"I didn't want to forget them. It's fine though.. i'll just ask some other time. It's been a really long day after all. I didn't think you were lying either." He pats London's spot on the bed softly.

London

"No, I don't want you to ask another time!" He stresses. "Like I said, I want this done and over with tonight. Just.. ask one question at a time, so it doesn't overwhelm me.."

Faelian

He really just wanted to let London sleep now since he was tried and seemed cranky. He'd probably just get more cranky if he tried to drop the subject again though so he slowly he sat up, defeated. "Alright. So firstly. Why did you join a cult?"

London

London quickly hid his face with his hands. "Oh noo... That's the most difficult one.............."

Faelian

"It's the question I want to know the most." He gives London a small sad smile. "Just tell me what the cult does if that's easier."

London

He sat quietly for a minute before replying, peaking an eye between two fingers as he did so. "You see.. Back at Weiscann - right before we left the first time - this guy said he could help me awaken my hidden potential, so I thought 'Hey, why not! I want to predict the future again!' and fucking took a sip. The fact he was kind of cute and complimented my abilities didn't help. There was nothing wrong with the group, I just didn't want to admit I was borrowing power from some deity or whatever." He conveniently leaves something out.

Faelian

Faelian takes all this information in and sighs heavily before rubbing his face. "You're really going to get yourself into some deep trouble someday by thinking that way, London. And you say I'm naive... So you hid it because you didn't want me to know that you were borrowing power from a deity? Why would you think I'd judge you about that?"

"Anyway... question two: what was Pawo's ritual and how did it help?"

London

"Well, you're judging me right now! I see you sighing and rubbing your face." He points an accusational finger at the elf and then huffs to return to the newly asked question. "I don't really know what Pawo's ritual thing was about, but it helped me out. I guess he helped cure me and stuff..."

Faelian

"Well.. you got me there. I guess I just think it's pretty silly that you hid it when I would have probably only asked you why and not cared that you got powers from a deity." He hums. "I can't blame you for not knowing Pawo's magic.. even if he explained it to me I probably wouldn't understand it."

London

He crosses his arms, kind of glad Faelian at least admitted he was being judgmental. As Faelian continues to speak, London's cheeks flush and he turns his gaze elsewhere. He mumbles, "Just because you think the deity thing is nothing to care about, doesn't mean I feel the same way." Then remains quiet.

Faelian

"Is it embarrassing to rely on a deity? I worship some gods but not actively so I don't get it." Why was London getting embarrassed over something like that?

London

"I don't know... Anyway, isn't this getting off topic? Was there anything else you wanted to know?"

Faelian

Faelian sighs softly and closes his eyes. Was there anything else he wanted to know? He wanted to know what the heck Pawo did but like he thought earlier only Pawo knew but would asking him to explain even help? "I can't think of anything else right now so I guess I don't." He paused before looking at London again. "Actually... despite the ending, was today a good day?"

London

"Are you sure?.. Well, okay." He lies back down, not facing him. "I know I said I didn't want to talk about this anymore, but you can still ask me stuff. I was just being a baby since I'm still not proud of what I did. But yeah, today was great. Thanks for taking me out.." He ended up lying one more time that night.

Faelian

"Yeah... I can't think of anything else I want to ask." Faelian lays down too and sighs softly. He presses his back against London's soon after. "Really..? I'm glad.. I'm sorry about the scarf thing though.. I shouldn't have been so nosy."

London

"It's okay, really. Goodnight." London gets K.O.'d. That day had too much going on.

Faelian

Faelian stays up an hour thinking about stuff.

#c: faelian

0 notes