#Otherwise Bookshop

[sunderwight]

Thinking about the weird camaraderie that exists between demons but not angels in GO.

Have we ever seen two angels who are actually friends? Or even friendly to one another? We have met angels with a capacity to be friendly in general, but I think the closest we've come to two angels actually getting along would be Gabriel making a point to laugh at Sandalphon's terrible "can't have a war without War" line in S1.

Most scenes between the angels actually seem to have an undercurrent of absolute hostility. Teeth-clenched teamwork. No wonder it took them so long to notice that Aziraphale wasn't on the same page as the rest of them! The rest of them are barely on the same page as one another, either! When Gabriel goes against the majority vote, no one bats an eye at demoting him and wiping his memory. Michael and Uriel immediately begin vying for his job. The only times we've seen angels team up is when they're working together to bully someone else, like when they're trying to intimidate Aziraphale in S1 or going to the aftermath of the bookshop raid in S2.

Saraqael's overall neutrality towards Muriel is the closest we get to two angels in Heaven getting along, and it's more a lack of hostility than any kind of friendliness. At least until Gabriel loses his memories and Muriel shows up to spy on Aziraphale, and Aziraphale decides to be kind to both of them.

Demons, on the other hand, actually seem to form alliances and even friendships among one another. Hastur and Ligur are awful, but Hastur seems genuinely distraught over Ligur's death, not just fearful of suffering the same fate. Shax and Furfur conspire together and even though the 1940's investigation into Crowley's fraternizing doesn't work out for Furfur, it's not due to any double-crossing on Shax's part. Unlike the angels, who stick almost exclusively to making threats until the Metatron decides to try dangling a carrot at the end of the season, demons actually offer rewards to other demons when trying to work together. Beelzebub offers Crowley a promotion if he can bring them Gabriel, Furfur offers to back Shax up politically if she goes for the Duke position opening, and Crowley successfully stalls Hastur in S1 by pretending everything was a test and he's going to be put in charge of a legion as a reward for passing. They're still not great at socializing, but they're significantly ahead of the angels.

Of course, it's a fact that demons are awful to one another (Eric's treatment is really bad, they throw that random demon into holy water just to test it, "it'd be a funny world if demons went around trusting one another", etc) but they still seem more capable of forming friendships than the angels do.

I think that's because Hell cramps and crowds everyone together to try and increase their suffering and hostility, whereas Heaven isolates angels to decrease the odds of questioning or rebellion. Hell's methods are unpleasant, but it still ends up putting demons together, and some of those demons inevitably forge alliances and make friendships. Because as Crowley and Beelzebub demonstrate, demons are still social creatures with the capacity for love and affection, even if it's strongly discouraged and buried under nine million layers of trauma and a cultural mandate against kindness.

Angels are the same, but isolation makes is harder to form connections than overcrowding. Muriel and Jimbriel are both so eager to make friends, but Muriel's spent the past millennia shut in an empty office, and Gabriel has been distanced from his peers both through his position and also through Heaven's culture of fear and surveillance. He only breaks away from it when he finds something that's stronger than "choosing sides" (stronger than the fear of being rejected by Heaven and Falling, in fact strong enough that Falling seems worth it if he gets to be with someone he loves). Both Muriel and Gabriel are only able to start forming connections when they're away from Heaven.

I just think it's interesting that demons, despite being supposedly devoid of love, have an advantage in forming relationships compared to angels. Angels are supposed to love, but have far fewer opportunities to actually do so. Demons aren't supposed to love, but they make connections anyway.

[clooverhoover]

ok y'all listen- i finished gomens and over the next couple of days watched some yt edits because what else are you gonna do and read some fanfics because what else are you gonna do and was really confused because there were some scenes that i didn't recognize and realized that i SOMEHOW MISSED THE FIRST EPISODE OF SEASON 2 T T HOW GIRLIE anyways I'm watching it now and realizing I'm dumb

[coffeeastronaut]

the shitscript is in fact a a a shitscript but crowley and aziraphale's 6000 years of crowley cheating at checkers every time and aziraphale never wins is seriously so insanely funny. like.

aziraphale is not at all stupid, let alone enough for crowley's literal "whats that outside!!!! [snatches his pieces]" but the fact that he KNOWS hes been cheating this whole time and has been LETTING him is so fucking funny.

not for the reason the script gives (something something its aziraphale's lame moral lesson that even he knows is stupid, but only after an 11 year old points it out to him) but for the reason ive invented in my mind, which is that this is yet another example of their looserman weirdo foreplay

[florbelles]

sigh at the point of síle’s canon run when i have to make a final call on shit like at what point gorty figured out Who She Is because he would have been beneath her notice ten years ago but he sure the fuck would have known who she was

[calltainn]

Looked up the author of the book I'm reading because the book could easily have started life as scrubbed fic (its dynamic and situation set up is nearly identical to Catradora's) and I wanted to see if the author had said anything about writing fanfic in interviews, but I instantly regretted it.

[creature-from-unknown-orgins]

I’m so normal about Nimona it is actually funny how normal I am about this and how much I don’t want to buy the book hahahaha

[astriiformes]

Still working on getting everything set up how I like it on Palamedes (the new laptop) and was reminded of my favorite browser extensions everyone should know about -- Unpaywall and Library Extension

Unpaywall automatically searches a database of open-access sources to let you know if an academic article you're looking at is available anywhere for free. (And yes, I know there are other ways of getting your hands on them if there aren't open-access options, but it's an easy, convenient first step in the search!)

Library Extension is kind of similar, except it's an extension that tells you if your local library (or its Hoopla catalogue, or various online sources like Open Library) has a book available in a little box that shows up if you're looking at titles on Amazon, Goodreads, or their less evil counterparts -- Bookshop and Storygraph, respectively. It even has a button that automatically takes you to the page to request it as a hold from the library instead, which I know is amazing for my "I'll look that up later [does not look that up later]" ADHD brain.

I cannot recommend these extensions enough, and the ease and convenience of both of them have definitely helped me read more academics articles and books than I would have otherwise. Definitely check them out if you're not already using them!

[alahasta]

i just assume that aziraphale miracles accessibility any time it’s required

problematic fave: has owned a bookshop for hundreds of years and still hasn't installed a ramp for wheelchair accessibility

[katiefrog217]

AziraCrow | Book Reading

(Scroll down for mini story vvvv) + (Companion Piece)

Aziraphale liked books, especially the old ones. They were the main reason for owning his bookshop, after all.

He loved reading them, too. Sitting quietly in the back of his bookshop with a good book and the occasional accompaniment of an old record made for quite the delightful evening, in his opinion. Despite his being handless (and therefore, fingerless), Aziraphale was perfectly capable of turning pages on his own. Not with his talons of course; Heaven only knew the trouble that would come from attempting to turn the aging and potentially fragile paper with such unreliable instruments. It would be a simple enough fix if a page did happen to tear, but the memory would haunt him forever. Instead, all it took was a flick of his wing and woosh, the pages would turn themselves. Sometimes he just had to ask nicely. However, there were times that he didn't need to expend the effort.

Those times just so happened to coincide with a particularly serpentine visitor.

Crowley's visits were irregular and not always predictable. Most of the time he would pop in to complain about Who-Knows-What and disappear off to Who-Knows-Where. Sometimes he would stay longer, and they would share a glass of wine or some other alcohol, chatting a lot about nothing and reminiscing about times long passed until the shadows grew long. On rare occasions they would sit in comfortable silence, doing nothing more than enjoying each other's company. Aziraphale would then pick a book to read and Crowley would slither over to join him.

Of course, Crowley didn't like reading - or at least claimed he didn't. 'Not worth his time,' he'd say dismissively. Still, he (bored expression and all) would come, make himself comfortable by coiling around both the book stand and Aziraphale, and just watch. Just about anyone on Earth would likely be uncomfortable being stared down by such an intense gaze, but not Aziraphale. Over the many millennia, he has grown used to being observed by those golden eyes. Dare he say, he even found it comforting in a way, but that was besides the point.

He wasn't sure how it started; perhaps Crowley found himself overly bored that day, but he began turning the book pages whenever Aziraphale raised his wing to compel them instead. It had started him at first, and he had looked to Crowley with much confusion, though the demon had nothing to say in return. He merely shrugged (or at least it could be considered the serpentine equivalent of a shrug) and turned away. A few more pages in, and he'd turn them again. This happened over and over until Aziraphale heaved a sigh gave in, allowing the serpent to do as he wanted. At first, it was quite awkward to give verbal cues, and there were times when he became so engrossed in his reading that he forgot entirely, but eventually they settled into a comfortable rhythm. Nowadays he didn't even bother. It had become almost automatic: Aziraphale would finish the page and it would turn, no questions asked.

Aziraphale suspected it would baffle the minds of many to see a demon treat anything so gently, yet Crowley turned the pages in such a way that they were never bent nor crumpled. In fact, it seemed to him that the older the book was, the gentler Crowley'd be. He seemed... 'content' was the wrong word to describe his attitude towards the activity, but he never said a word otherwise. At least, not to Aziraphale.

He never pointed this out, of course. Crowley would stop doing it if he did, and he didn't WANT him to stop. He enjoyed it too much.

Once in a blue moon, Crowley would make a comment about whatever Aziraphale was reading at the time. It was often snide, mocking, not always audible. Hisses of exasperation or an exaggerated eye roll were not uncommon either. Then he would turn away, bored despondence washing over his face, shutting down any attempts to further the conversation. Not that he would respond if Aziraphale did, though that hadn't stopped him from trying. On one occasion Aziraphale had tried to push the topic, only for Crowley to deflect, insisting that he had only glanced the passage at random. He stopped turning the pages then. Aziraphale never tried again and settled with only giving him sidelong glances when he said something particularly egregious.

And so they would read, the silence broken only by the ticking of an old clock and the occasionally rustle of a page.

...

Aziraphale liked his books.

He liked reading them alone in his bookshop.

But he liked them best when Crowley was there to turn the pages for him.

[neil-gaiman]

Hello mr gaiman

How did Aziraphale get a copy of Good Omens in his bookshop? If the book is within the show, does that make the show also within the show? Is it like one of those images with infinite smaller versions of itself within it?

Does Aziraphale know that this will somehow bring about the end of the universe and lead to Crowley’s goat related (or otherwise) destruction? What will he do about it?

I’ve been coughing my lungs up for a week and my brain is melting-

Thankyou very much :)

Fortunately, Aziraphale has not read every book in his shop, and he missed that one.

[thegreenmeridian]

Met a drunk Jewish American in the bar, he was slapping his kippah on his pals and I showed him mine. Got a free beer because “we’re in the triiiiiiibe bro! Mahhhzel fuckin taaaahv!”.

I love us. I do. I had dinner at chabad and bonded with my tribe, I went out for a beverage while waiting for my coke guy and bonded with my tribe, I’m going to bed in a hostel that also contains a girl from my tribe who I bonded with earlier when she clocked my Hebrew necklace.

This is what the goyim don’t get. All of us are family. All of us. Drunk randos, the chabad rebbetzin who I’m sure has figured I’m queer and trans and says not a word and sent me home with a challah, hostel girlie I gave my book to… family. All of them. People can get that the Irish side of my family would still be in Ireland if not for famine and the British. People can’t seem to get that the Jewish side would still be in Israel if not for millennia of Romans and Arabs and Christians and, and, and…

All of us are alive because some ancestor somewhere left at the right time or hid at the right moment or survived the unsurvivable. That’s a weight we’re born with, whether we’re raised Jewish or learn of it later or whatever other ways there are to be a Jew. Hell, even converts. So many stories of converts are people who were otherwise oppressed and found their homes with us. To be a Jew is to survive and to celebrate living in, as one of my favourite books* puts it, “a world that is heartbroken”. In a world that wants us dead, literally or metaphorically.

*(The book is Minyan by Eliezer Sobel, I got it in a second hand bookshop in Boston and nothing has impacted me as much since I read Catcher in the Rye as a mentally ill and deeply closeted teen. Fully recommend.)

[tens-girl]

Saw my own post on my dash and suddenly realised I needed to head into my docs and make some edits… it really is so important to ask this damn question all the time!

Most important thing I’ve learned writing Good Omens fan fiction… keep a post-it note on your laptop saying ‘is Crowley wearing his sunglasses?’ - so in every scene I remember to consider, are his eyes visible? (And not get half way through and realise they’re probably not…)

[bullet-prooflove]

Tradition: John Shen x Reader (feat: Mrs Shen)

Tagging: @kmc1989 @miraclesabound @cannonindeez @fadeinsol @nommingonfood @yousigned-upforthis

Hitting The Bingo Squares: Wearing His Shirt

Companion piece to:

Dick Pics - You and John discuss your dating life in the ambulance bay during a rare shift break.

Brunch - John refuses to give up when you miss brunch with him.

Silly Little Boys (NSFW) - John's not like the other men you've been with.

In The Summer - You discover John's secret.

Tiger, Tiger - John reveals the truth between his engagement and his history.

Jack - John's mother opens up old wounds by giving John a copy of your DCFS file.

Bare (NSFW) - John and you commit to each other in a special way.

The Shirt - Jack realises that you're wearing a boyfriend shirt.

Over three months Mrs Shen watches her son fall in love through a series of pictures and videos given to her by her private investigator.

Tender smiles as he teaches his Cecila how to play mini golf,  handholding as they scour antique bookshops for rare works on medical history, stolen kisses at the microbrewery during a tasting.

He laughs when they try cronuts for the first time, clasps her a little closer during a tour at The Living Dead Museum and celebrates her win by lifting her off her feet at that silly little boxing gym.

Boxing, she thinks as she reviews the video with distain, it’s no sport for a woman.

Although she has to hand it to the girl, she can fight. She rolls with the punches before delivering a blow so well timed that it leaves her opponent laid out, dazed upon the canvas. When the counts over, she helps her up, checks her over. The two do a fist bump through the gloves before the next match starts.

A gracious winner too, Mrs Shen notes.

Despite herself she’s starting to like the woman her son has chosen, especially after she stands up to her when she turns up at the fire station with that DCFS file. John is the first person to defy Mrs Shen, Celica the second. It already reaffirms what she has long suspected about the relationship, that it’s love and love, well that changes everything because it means her son won’t be cowed or brow beaten.

It’s that thought that leads her to the predicament she’s in now.

Three days before a wedding her son refuses to attend because the bride at the end of the aisle isn’t the one he wants. She remembers her own marriage all those years ago to a man SHE didn’t want.

She did her duty, gave him four children, three of them boys but she was never happy. Her heart had always belonged to someone else, to the woman she had promised eternity to back in college.

Daiyu’s been dead two decades now and Mrs Shen still attends her gravesite to put down white lilies in the spring.

She looks at the photographs again, the one of the two of them sheltering from the rain underneath John’s coat in a shop doorway. Cecila’s fingertips chase a bead of water from his face as he leans in close, their bodies almost touching. It’s the look in her eyes that captures Mrs Shen, the softness. There is no one else on earth in that moment, just the two of them.

Her sighs when she picks up the phone, dialling her assistant’s number.

“Mei-Mei.” She says curtly when the other woman answers. “I need you to call the Ming family, we’re cancelling the wedding.”

Love John? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Before you join the taglist make sure to read the rules here as you otherwise you won’t be added.

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Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[invisible-goats]

Just to say Ynys Môn, my book about Arthurian/Mabinogi characters reincarnated on modern-day Anglesey by an immortal Myrddin as a bunch of somewhat aimless 18 year olds, is now available a bunch of non-Amazon places! Thanks Draft2Digital! (It's also still available as a physical book on Amazon, though the price has changed because otherwise there would be basically no royalties). Publishing through them also means you can request your local bookshop or library stock it

For those who are interested in that sort of thing, the main trio are all some flavour of queer (bi, nonbinary, aro)

[moosesarecute]

Day 5: No need for poetry

@azrielappreciationweek

Masterlist

Azriel had the biggest crush he had ever had. He couldn’t stop thinking about you. Imagining your life together and having so many date ideas he wanted to ask you out on.

The only problem is, you didn’t know him.

He really didn’t know you either, but for weeks the only thing he could think of was you.

How happy you looked working at your bookshop. How your smile made all the bad things in the world disappear. And how you made both the butterflies in his stomach and his shadows go crazy with the familiar feeling of crushing.

He definitely wasn’t playing it cool, for soon both Nesta and worse than that, Cassian, knew about his crush.

“Just ask her out!” Nesta urged him. “She’s the sweetest! Even if she does reject you, which I’m sure she won’t, she will do it kindly.”

That didn’t help his case at all.

What if he build up the confidence to ask you out and you end up rejecting him? He won’t ever recover.

“Why are you this nervous?” Cassian asked him. “It’s not like you haven’t asked out a female before.”

Of course he had asked out females before, but that was usually just to have sex. He never actually met females he wanted to date. He wanted to cook dinner with you and read with you and go for romantic walks. It was a totally new experience.

“I’m not nervous,” he grumbled back.

“Az, your shadows,” Cassian pointed towards the black blob of shadows in the corner of the room. They were shaking in both excitement and fear.

Azriel waved his hand through them and made them act more neutral. He looked back at his friends and saw both their smug smiles.

“Shut up,” he just said and started to leave the room.

“Az?” He stopped and turned to look at Nesta. “I have this book I need picked up from a certain someone’s bookshop. Can you do that for me?”

Azriel didn’t know who he was when he immediately answered yes and went to the bookshop.

It was surprisingly empty when he walked into the shop. He was immediately relaxed from the cozy atmosphere and comforting smell.

“Hello,” you said from the counter and Azriel felt his heartbeat grow faster from just the sound of your voice. “Can I help you?”

He had to pick up courage with a deep breath before he walked up to you.

“I was sent to pick up a book for Nesta Archeron,” he said and tried to keep his voice from shaking.

“Oh, yes! She’s been so excited to read this one! And I’ve really been looking forward to talk about it with someone. Give me a moment!”

You turned around and looked through the big stack of books that stood on the counter beside her.

“Ask her out,” his shadows started to whisper to him. “She wants you to.”

He just shook his head at them.

You turned around and Azriel suddenly noticed one of his shadows playing with your hair.

He immediately pulled it back.

“Behave”

He felt the shadows laugh back at him.

“I’m sorry about that,” he said after clearing his throat.

“No worries,” you answered with the smile that made his knees weak. He got lost in the beauty of your eyes and studied all the small details in your face that he hadn’t seen from a distance. She handed him the book. “Nesta already paid. Do you need a bag?”

“You too,” he said and his eyes widened at the realization that he absolutely did not answer your question.

He just shook his head and gave you a small smile before he rushed out of the shop.

He hid in his shadows for the rest of the day.

“Okay, I’ve had enough of this,” Cassian said as he dumped as few small books on the table in fr of him.

“Poetry” his shadows let him know.

“I don’t need a poetry lesson, Cass,” he told his brother and let his annoyance show.

“Well, you haven’t been able to ask her out otherwise and right now you are “Nesta’s weird friend”.”

Azriel got embarrassed by the amount of happiness he felt from knowing you spoke about him.

“I don’t need to resort to poetry,” Azriel continued.

“Okay then big guy,” Cassian mocked him. “Prove it.”

That’s when it started. Azriel realized Cassian wasn’t the only one that had enough of Azriel’s crush. His shadows were also annoyed.

So they started watching you. Azriel asked them to stay away multiple times, but they refused to listen.

The only problem was that this only made Azriel’s crush bigger, because the shadows told him about every part of your day.

“Smiles, laughing, singing, talking to her dog, talking to herself about what to have for dinner.”

Azriel started to wonder if his shadows crushed more on you than he did and then he remembered that the shadows acted on his emotions.

One day, the shadows gave him a particular informative message about you.

“Stupid male, mean, pretty smile cry.”

It made Azriel stop in his tracks. You were crying? Someone had said something mean enough to make you, a female that smiled and laughed every second of every day, cry? He needed to do something.

“What can I do?”

“Lonely” was his shadows only answer.

That’s when he realized that maybe asking you out would actually go well. So he started to prepare.

“Favorite food?”

“Pizza.”

“Flowers?” His shadows informed him of the old flowers on your kitchen table.

“Today?”

“Yes”

That’s why he got dressed, flew down from the House of Wind and went to a flower shop before he went to the bookshop.

You stood inside dusting and preparing to close the store when he came in.

“Hello, again,” you greeted him when he walked in even though it only was two minutes until you were closing. He smiled at you. “Can I help you?”

He straightened his back and tightened his wings to try to build confidence.

“I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date with me,” he asked you.

Your face lit up with an amazing smile.

“I would love that,” you answered and Azriel felt himself get ten kilos lighter. “When were you thinking?”

Now, today.

“I can whenever, what works the best for you?” He asked and impressed himself by the lightness in his voice.

“I’m available now if you just give me a few minutes to change,” you answered.

“That sounds good,” Azriel replied and tried not to fidget to much with the flowers.

The flowers!

“These are for you by the way,” he answered and handed her the yellow bouquet.

“Thank you. Did you know that yellow is my favorite color?” You asked him.

“A few companions of mine might have told me,” he said and hoped you wouldn’t freak out that his shadows had been spying on you.

“I thought so.”

Azriel looked confused.

“You thought so?” He asked.

“I mean,” you started. “I didn’t have shadows braiding my hair every second of every day before I met you.”

First now Azriel noticed the two small braids that had been made in your hair. And he suddenly felt his face become warm.

“Just give me five minutes,” you said with a laugh and left the room.

“I can’t believe you,” he told his shadows.

“It was either that or poetry,” they taunted him back.

Dividers by @cafekitsune

[ameliathornromance]

Pursing your lips, you stared at the aisle of Valentine’s Day items in front of you.

One shelf held the same stuffed toy, stretching down the entire aisle. It was of a Dragon, in varying colours of red, pink, white, all holding coloured hearts of an opposing colour, with the words ‘I love you’ stitched into the fabric. 

Under that shelf, housed a variety of boxes of chocolates, filled with a variety of delectable flavours: White chocolate with coffee foam filling, another box held a mixture of chocolates, milk, dark and white with raspberry filling, salted caramel and other such sweet delights. 

At the bottom shelves sat bouquets of flowers, all of them roses in varying colours, but mostly red and pink.

You let out an exasperated sigh as you scrutinised the aisle for the hundredth time. How does one pick out a gift for an Orc of all people? 

Orcs aren’t known for this mushy stuff, and a part of you was afraid that if you dared pick one of these items, your partner may think of you as soft. 

That’s why your Orc Boyfriend liked about you, and he reminded you of it frequently. “Strong women make for great partners!” He’d declared. “They can help me in a fight, should I need it!”

While in this modern era, fighting wasn’t as nearly as important as it would have been in centuries past, your boyfriend belonged to a very traditional family of Orcs. Historically, they once led the most powerful camp in the country, and were rewarded for their peacekeeping by the Human government, by granting them colossal sums of money to help fund and keep the Monster population in check.

And while your boyfriend deciding to take you as a partner was unorthodox in his family, they weren’t going to just shoot down their relatives’ happiness. They liked you, and you liked them too.

Which is why you felt it was important to pick a good Valentine’s Day gift for your Orc. It couldn’t be too mushy, otherwise everyone would gag with disgust, and it couldn’t be too cold either. His family might think you don’t care about him otherwise.

Sighing, you turned away from the aisle and continued on with your shopping. As you picked out a few other groceries, your mind worked on what you could get for him.

You thought about what your boyfriend liked; weapons, history, cop shows, video games. 

Maybe you could buy him a replica of a video game weapon? As you got into your car, you did a quick search on your phone for such a thing.

You knew he was fond of historical games, set in the past, where Magik was still legally grey and Monsters could do as they pleased. But found that any kind of replica was way out of your price range. 

Quickly ditching the idea, you decided to try to find a history book. Your boyfriend was into any kind of history from anywhere in the world, so why not find him something like that?

Thinking on your feet, you started up the car and drove to your nearest bookshop. Upon arriving, you asked the clerk if they could help you out on your endeavour and they led you to a vast selection of tomes. 

Some were bigger than your head, heavier than you weighed, while others were so small you could balance them on the tip of your index finger. 

Finally, you came across a book about Ancient Myths of the Higher Lands, where the author told a myth and then discussed its possible origins, giving a history lesson and telling an interesting tale at the same time. It was reasonably sized, small enough for you to hold comfortably and weighed like any other book.

Smiling, you shut the book and rang it up at the counter. Upon leaving, the book in hand, your eyes caught sight of something else. 

In another shop window, you spied a chocolate console controller. The buttons were made of white chocolate, while the control sticks were made of dark chocolate. The body of the console was made of milk chocolate and had a thin strip of black liquorice coming out of its top. 

Without a second thought, you bought it from the chocolatier and put it in your bag with the book you found. 

Right, so you’d found something sweet and something personal. You questioned whether you needed another gift. 

You’d already searched high and low for anything else your partner may like, and that already proved to be quite the arduous task. 

Sighing, you got into your car and drove home. These will have to do.

A part of you felt guilty for only bringing home a book and some chocolate for your boyfriend. Because of his family, he was extremely well off, which meant that you could ask him for anything, and be reasonably confident that it would turn up in a few days for you.

You rarely asked him for much, not wanting to exploit his wealth. You felt guilty even asking him for basic things like food and helping you cover your own expenses like money for petrol.

But compared to how his gifts were going to be, you knew yours didn’t even stand a chance. 

It’s the thought that counts, you reminded yourself as you pulled up to your shared house. 

As you carefully put what you’d bought away–hiding the gifts you’d bought for your Orc, as you knew he’d be curious about what you’d got him ––you heard his heavy footfalls coming down from upstairs. 

You stashed the bags under the kitchen island’s cabinet as he leaned in through the doorway. He gave you a huge smile. “How was shopping?” He asked, brightly. 

“Good.” You said, truthfully. Frankly, it was a miracle you’d found anything for him in the first place. 

He jerked his head behind himself. “Come with me. I’ve got something to show you.”

Frowning, you abandoned your gifts in the kitchen and followed him.

“So, I’ve been thinking that maybe we should have a chill Valentine's Day this year,” he explained as he climbed up the stairs. “And I know it’s a bit early, but I just couldn’t resist.”

He opened the door to your bedroom. “And I know it’s kind of childish, but I’ve been wanting to do this for a while.”

Your eyes widened as you looked around your room. Poles held the bed covers up at the foot and headboard of the bed, forming a tent structure above your mattress.

Inside it, there was an array of pillows along with snacks, the sheets of the bed drawn back so you could watch the TV at the end of your bed. It displayed a streaming service set up and was ready to go.

“A pillow fort?!” You couldn’t help the smile growing on your face. “I haven’t done one of these since I was a kid!”

“I know.” Your Orc answered. As you stepped into the room, he smiled as you investigated the interior, kicking your shoes off and clambering inside. “I remembered you talking about it to my mum. And then I realised I’d never done anything like that, so… I thought we could spend the entire month inside a pillow fort. I made it the way my ancestors used to pitch tents in their camps, so it should be quite sturdy.”

You peeked out of the bedsheet. “Thank you!” You beamed at him. Guilt pinched at you as you remembered your gifts. 

Your Boyfriend frowned at your falling expression. “Is everything okay? It’s not too much, is it?”

“No, it’s not that.” You grimaced. “You’re just too thoughtful. Wait a moment.”

Clambering off the bed, you rushed downstairs and pulled out your presents and came back upstairs. “I was going to wrap them, give them to you on Valentine's Day, but… it feels wrong not to give you something now, since you’ve done this for me.” When you’d reached the top of the stairs, you thrust the book and chocolate at him.

“Compared to you, my gifts are just… eh.” You smiled, weakly.

But your Orc Boyfriend, smiled and examined them. “Wait, a chocolate console controller? That’s so cool!” His smile turned into a grin, “and a history on the Higher Lands about they’re myths?” He looked up at you from them and pulled you into a hug. “You know me so well.”

“I wish I could have done something more like this,” you said sadly. 

Material items could not compare to something as sweet as this. They just never would. 

“Don’t be daft.” Your Orc said, “these presents show you pay attention to me and know what I like. These are more than just material gifts.” He kissed your forehead. “They’re proof that you love me.”

You couldn’t help but smile as you wrapped your arms around his waist. He always knew just what to say, didn’t he?

“Happy Valentine’s my love.”

“Happy Valentine’s.”

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