#but hey who wanna come see clem at the shop

[clcmency-blog]

No one comes to the shop this late. 

The darkness that collected at the corners of the room seemed only to thicken as the sun continued to send purple and magenta streaks through the evening sky.Had it not been for his principle, for his insistence to keep his lamp on until every single light up and down the street lit up the night, Clement would’ve been long gone back home by now. A quick raise of his wrist to catch the impossibly slow tick-tick-ticking of his watch told him what he’d already known, told him to settle in for the hours that were still to come.

But no one comes to the shop this late.

So when the still, silent air was cracked through with the ringing of the door chime, Clement could only let his eyes shine with his surprise for a moment before the mask is raised once more, shielding his features of any expression that wouldn’t sell.

“Good evening.”

[ericsonclan]

A Zoo of a Day

Summary: Clementine checks on Prisha and finds that she is dealing with bat fever again.

Word Count: 2224

Read on AO3:

Clementine let out a yawn, her hands stretching up before lazily falling back down upon the grass. It really was a nice day: the gentle breeze, the warm sun on her skin, the goofy shapes of the clouds in the sky. It felt like the perfect Saturday to just laze around in. Her eyes began to flutter and she started drifting off into a peaceful nap when her phone rang. Shifting around and sitting up, Clementine picked up the phone. “Hello?”

“Clem!” Violet’s voice blasted through the phone’s speaker. “Shit, sorry. Didn’t mean to yell,” The werewolf’s voice softened. “I need a favor.” The chattering and other sounds happening besides the monster's voice nearly drowned her out.

“Vi, where are you? It’s kinda hard to hear you.” Clementine leaned forward and began to fiddle with the grass.

“I’m on my bike, heading to the grocery store to get some chicken nuggets. Full moon tonight.” Violet’s voice sounded slightly out of breath. Probably wasn’t easy biking and holding a conversation on the phone at the same time. “The thing is, Prisha usually is with me each full moon, helps me not freak out as much and shit but she isn’t picking up her phone.” The worry in the werewolf’s voice was palpable.

“Do you want me to go to the Ericson dorm and check on her?” Clementine rose to her feet, already knowing the answer to her question.

“Could you?” Violet’s voice crackled through the phone; she must be going through a bad connection point.

“Sure, I don’t mind.” Clementine continued to talk to her best friend for a little bit before saying goodbye and hanging up the phone. With a yawn the human shook off her sleepiness and began to walk towards Ericson High. Luckily she was nearby so it wouldn’t take more than fifteen minutes to get over there. Clementine strolled along casually, waving and saying hello to the people that passed her and gave the same courtesy. It really was a nice day. Her eyes focused on the sky and before she knew it she was standing in front of the Ericson dorm building. Opening the door, she made her way up the stairs to the second floor and casually walked down the hall until she spotted it: Room 203. Clementine stopped in front of the door and gave a quick knock.

“Prisha? Are you in there?”

No response.

Clementine knocked on the door again and was about to speak up when she heard some books clatter to the ground and some sort of animal sound. Her hand shot down to the doorknob and with a twist she pushed the door open. Her golden eyes looked all around the room until she noticed Prisha in her bat form trapped under a book of love poetry. The vampire gave a panicked squee and tried to free her wing that was stuck when she let out a small sneeze and fell back over.

“Prisha!” Clementine ran over and picked up the book, placing it back onto the desk. Gently she picked up the vampire bat who blinked with big black eyes up at the human. “Bat fever again?”

Clementine’s question was met with another bat sound before Prisha sneezed three times and nearly fell out of Clementine’s hands. “Hold on, Prisha. I’ll find your sling.” Clementine looked around the room and noticed the small scratches on the door as well as the multiple items that had fallen to the floor. It was clear that Prisha had tried to get out of the room, most likely to get to Violet. Prisha did seem to get more nervous around the full moon and had always made sure to clear her schedule so she could be there for Violet. Clementine kept looking around the dorm room when she noticed the gray bat sling. Navigating over the different objects on the floor, Clementine shuffled the sling on and placed Prisha inside. The vampire bat looked up at her best friend with big eyes, her ears twitching this way and that. Prisha began to make worried bat noises and her little wings frantically waved as if she was trying to send a message.

“Prisha, it’s okay. I’m going to call Vi to let her know you’re safe,” Those words made the vampire calm down and she let out a small sniffle then burrowed deeper into the sling. Clementine smiled down at her friend then dialed the werewolf’s number.

“Hey, Vi. I found Prisha, Seems like she's suffering from bat fever again.”

“Shit! I can be over there in a few minutes and-” The werewolf gew silent for a second. “Fuck, I forgot I have something I promised I’d do after shopping. Maybe I can…” Violet’s voice sounded worried. Prisha poked her head out of the sling, her ears twitching as she made a sad bat sound. She had been able to hear her girlfriend’s voice. Clementine scratched the top of Prisha’s head to calm her down then returned her attention to the conversation at hand.

“It’s okay, Violet. I can stay with Prisha for a while. If you want, I can even drop her off at your place a little while before the full moon.”

“Really!” The werewolf sounded relieved; the little whacking sounds coming from Violet’s side made it clear that her tail was wagging back and forth like crazy. “I owe you one.”

“It’s no big deal. I’ll drop off Prisha in a bit.” Clementine said goodbye then placed her phone away. “Okay, Prisha. Wanna go for a walk?”

The vampire bat’s eyes grew large with excitement at the idea before she sneezed again and fell back into the sling.

Clementine gave a soft laugh. “I’ll take that as a yes.” The human made her way out of the Ericson dorms, vampire bat in tow. Clementine strolled down the street and looked down at her friend with a smile. Prisha gave a happy squee and wrapped her wings around her own body. Clementine’s attention quickly turned elsewhere and she noticed a fruit stand nearby. “Want a snack, Prisha?” The human’s question was met with a happy bat noise followed by a few more sneezes.

“Hi there. Care to buy some fruit?” The fruit stand owner gave an odd look towards the sling but soon forced it away and replaced it with a friendly smile in hopes to get Clementine buy some produce.

“Yeah, I’ll take one order of fruit,”

“Coming right up!” The worker got the small plastic box filled with fruit then handed it over, gratefully accepting Clementine’s money. Clementine gave another thanks hen continued down the street. Prisha’s head popped out of the sling and she made a series of small squees as her wings tried to reach out for the fruit.

“Give me a second,” Clementine opened the container and handed over a strawberry which the vampire accepted gratefully. Her small mouth struggled to conquer the red fruit as it shifted around her mouth. Clementine laughed then tossed a piece of fruit in her own mouth.

“Y’know I was thinking it would be fun to have a beach day sometime soon,” The human’s words made the vampire bat take pause for a minute, her small black eyes looking into Clementine’s. “We’ll have a long weekend in a few weeks so I don’t know, I thought it could be fun to have everyone go to the beach together.”

Prisha gave excited bat noises and munched down on the rest of the strawberry.

“I’ll take that as a yes. That reminds me, I saw this really cool statue of some old dude in a park nearby,” Clementine knew Lee would be disappointed that she didn’t recognize the historical figure. “I think the plaque said that they were alive when you were during your early vampire days. Wanna check it out?”

Prisha gave a small bat noise in response and reached out for another fruit. Clementine gave her a blueberry then made her way towards the park. Every few minutes she would continue to hand over more fruit which always got a positive response out of her friend. It would be a bit of a trek to get to the park. After nearly twenty minutes when they were about halfway there, Clementine realized it probably wasn't the best timing to check out this statue. Prisha couldn’t really respond and share if she did know the historical figure. Her face scrunched up in annoyance at her own stupidity before she realized that there were plenty of flowers and trees nearby. She could just sit with Prisha and make a flower crown. Maybe there would even be small enough flowers to make one for Prisha while she was stuck in her bat form. Clementine was caught up in these thoughts, not paying attention to the world around her until she heard a gasp.

“Momma! Momma! Look, that lady has a bat!” The little girl’s declaration made her mom look over as well as the other humans nearby.

“My word,” A man looked over in shock. “That’s no ordinary bat. That’s a rare species - the only one of its kind is at the Prescott Zoo!”

Clementine looked completely lost until she noticed that she wasn’t that far from the Prescott Zoo.

“No way! Did that lady steal Batsy?” Another person gasped in disbelief. Slowly people began moving towards Clementine.

“Wait, you don’t understand. This is my friend who is a vamp-”

“That bat species is nearly extinct! I’ll have the zoo security deal with you.” The man who had spoken before had led the charge and was reaching out to grab Clementine’s arm. Prisha poked her head out and began to give warning sounds as her small teeth poked out.

“Prisha, no,” Clementine backstepped and seeing that this situation wasn’t going to get any better decided to run. Turning on her heel, she sprinted away. Not many followed besides the man who seemed determined to save Prisha who he had mistaken for another bat.

“I won’t let you harm that animal!”

“She’s my friend and I’m protecting her!” Clementine called back and held the sling close to her as Prisha clung on tightly. The bat bounced with each step Clementine took and her ears twitched at the angry yelling that her friend was receiving for doing nothing wrong. Her little bat body was filled with anger.

“Prisha,” Clementine jumped up and grasped a tree branch to vault to a safer spot. “I know those eyes. Those are your fighter eyes and no, we will not fight them. We’re running.”

Prisha began to squee angrily in disagreement but a large sneeze shook her body and she fell back into the sling.

After around ten minutes of frantic running Clementine had gotten away. She gave short, sharp breaths and collapsed against a tree in exhaustion. Prisha struggled until she broke free from the sling. Her small bat wings fluttered as she glided over to Clem’s shoulder. Tilting her head over, she leaned it against Clementine’s.

“Thanks. That was insane,” Clementine shook her head and looked down, a frown forming on her face. She had lost the container of fruit when she ran away. “Looks like no more strawberries.”

Prisha gave a few sad bat sounds but quickly worked to cheer her friend’s mood up. Fluttering her wings, she got Clementine’s attention again then softly nuzzled her head against Clem’s chin. The gesture made Clementine smile and soon she turned her focus to her surroundings. Her eyes immediately locked on a field of flowers. Amongst them was a small cluster of miniscule blue flowers. Picking up Prisha and putting her back into the sling, Clementine moved over and grabbed a few of the small blossoms. The vampire bat’s head popped out of the sling and she gave an excited squee at the sight of the flowers.

“Looks like we can make flower crowns after all,” Clementine returned to her spot and began to make them two flower crowns. Prisha flew out and tried her best to help make the one for Clem, her claws gently holding stems in place while Clementine interwove them. Once it was complete the vampire’s claws gingerly picked up the flower crown and with some shaky navigation Prisha dropped the crown onto her friend’s head. Clementine thanked her then placed the tiny flower crown onto Prisha’s head. The vampire bat gave dozens of little micro squees of happiness then snuggled back into the sling.

Clementine glanced up and noticed that the sky had changed to a deeper orange. “Time to get you to your girlfriend. I’m sure Vi is worried.”

The human’s words made the vampire squirm around, her nervousness rising once more. Hesitantly, Prisha reached out and tried to grab one of Clem’s fingers.

“Don’t worry, Prish. I’ll get you there in time.”

The bat looked into the human’s eyes as she held onto her finger. After a few seconds she let go and let out a small sneeze before disappearing back into the sling. Clementine looked down with a soft expression then jogged forward and grabbed a tree branch to swing on for fun before landing on the sidewalk. They would arrive at Violet’s just under the wire, but she had made a promise to her two best friends and Clementine had no plans of breaking it.

[corescorner]

Charmberry Cove Chapter Four.

Chapter Title: Settling In.

Wordcount: 4,818

AO3

Ch1, Ch2, Ch3.

Taglist: @unsocialchapeau @aularei @softest-emo

It's the day after the move and Virgil is already sick of all the boxes in his way and he misses his stuff, these walls are too bare and monotone; he wants his fairy lights and posters.

He needs to fix this, now.

Today is room arranging day he decides.

He stands in the middle of his room and looks around trying to figure out where to put what, he figures placing the large furniture is probably the first thing he should do before anything else.

He starts with the bed, moving it to the far left corner, diagonal from the door; moving the small side table next to it and putting his large, black fluffy carpet underneath that, the carpet takes up a lot of floor space but that's fine cause the floor is cold anyway.

Placing the bookshelf across from his bed in the far right corner and putting his desk next to that, close to the door. Yeah that looks good, so he now only has to place his dresser, T.V and bean bag chair.

The dresser fits perfectly on the wall that the door is on in the left corner but his T.V can't fit anywhere in here, his stereo goes on top of his dresser and takes up all the room. He moves it and the bean bag outside of his room for now.

He puts three CDs into the multi-stereo for them to shuffle between them while he works, cranking it up.

Now, for the fun part. Decorating.

He has three different fairy lights, the skull ones go directly above his beds headboard, the ghosts go on the other wall his bed is situated against and the bats go above his desk. Nice. He should get pumpkin ones next.

His posters are plentiful in number, he has enough to probably fill all the walls in this room if he spaced them out in an organized manner, but that's not his style. Instead of doing that he places them artfully around his room in collage like clusters and now there's still room to get more if he wanted to.

He starts to organize his books and collection of movies/shows on to his shelves, adding figures, knickknacks and toys.

Placing all the small stuff around and storing things in boxes under his bed that doesn't need to be out in the open, he's finally done his room.

He looks around at his hard work. He's proud of what he's done with it, it’s definitely cozy and very him. The rafters look like they can have stuff hanging from them; maybe he'll do that if he gets something that would go good there.

Walking out he almost trips on the bean bag chair. Well he does trip, but the chair is soft so it doesn't matter, no one needs to know.

His face scrunches up as he thinks of what to do with these.

Why not just... leave them out here? Make himself a makeshift living room.

Placing the television on a crate, with his game consoles on the floor in front of it and the chair in front of those. That's good for now.

Well, that was a lot of hard work. Rewarding though, he smiles to himself.

His stomach rumbling takes him out of his gazing.

Oh, yea it's probably around lunch time.

He checks his alarm clock on his nightstand.

Wait, what? It's four pm! How could he have not noticed how late it got, how come one of his dads didn't call down or lunch? Did his music drown them out? No they would have come down in that case...

He goes upstairs -Hex jumps off of the dryer to follow at his heels- he needs to check what's going on with his dads, they're probably just working as hard as he has been and they also lost track of time is all.

That's definitely it he tells himself.

Opening the door separating the basement from the rest of the house he stops in place looking around. They have been busy, there's not one box to be seen, all furniture and other items are in their rightful places and it's clean everywhere.

He peeks at the kitchen and it's the same there, same for the dining room that they're probably never going to actually use.

No dads to be seen. Hex chirrups up at him, he looks down at her mismatched eyes.

“I know, it's weird right?”

They must be working upstairs then. He hasn’t been up there at all yet, so that's where he heads. Hex ever his tiny shadow follows along.

When he reaches the top of the stairs, the first door he notices is to his left and it leads into a large bathroom, there's another door on the same wall a bit farther down that is only slightly open.

To his right there's a door that is fully open so he goes to that one, standing in the doorway he realizes it's a large master bedroom, his parent’s room.

It's the length of the whole floor and there's a bay window to his left from where he's standing in the doorway.

On the other side of that is their bed, which actually takes up quite a bit of space in the large room. He's not sure why they have such a big bed, every time he's seen them sleep they're always cuddled together or tangled around each other in the middle of it, seas of bed on either side of them.

It's a very plush bed though. Dad doesn't seem like he sleeps often but with everything sleep related he's very nit-picky about.

He leaves this room, cause there's no Dads here either.

So that leaves the slightly open door on the other side of the hall.

He creeps up to it, to see if there's any sound coming from beyond the door.

He only hears typing so he knocks.

Pops’ voice answers it “come on in!”

Virgil steps into the room that is clearly Pops' office, everything is set up and in order on this floor too. No wonder they haven't seen each other all day.

“Hey Virge, what's up?” Pops asks, stopping his typing to look at Virgil.

“Um, where's Dad?” Is his first question.

“Oh!” -Pops jostles himself upwards a bit- “He went to figure out the funeral plans and deal with will stuff, he wanted to go alone to make it a quick experience” he explains.

“Okay, what's for supper?” His second question.

Pops shakes his head a little and looks towards his computer monitor.

“Oh gosh! I didn't notice it was this late, I'm so sorry about that buddy you must be hungry.”

Virgil shrugs, he could have made himself something if it was just lunch after all. “It's alright, I didn't notice the time either until I finished setting up my room, I couldn't fit the T.V and bean bag though so I made myself a little living room area.”

Pops smiles wide “that's such a good idea Virge! We should get a couch, oh and more bean bag chairs in case you bring home friends.” His voice was cheery throughout the sentence but that didn't stop Virgil from frowning.

“I don't have any friends Pops” he says, stuffing his hands into his hoodie pockets and looking away. Hex slinks around his ankles and props herself on her hind legs, her two front ones resting on his shins.

He picks her up, cuddling her to his chest in the same way Patton did yesterday, she immediately starts to purr.

Pops’ face falls slightly before brightening up again.

“What about that Patton kid who helped you move in yesterday?” He asks like he knew what Virgil was thinking.

Virgil wrinkles his nose. “I don't think that counts as being friends?” he says with a questioning tone.

Emile laughs softly, “well don't tell him that.”

Virgil squints “you really think we're friends?”

“Absotutely I do!” his smile is genuine, Virgil softens a bit.

He gets up off his puffy office chair, slapping his hands to his thighs as he does so.

“How about some dinner huh?” He asks, fluffing Virgil's hair as he walks past him out of the office.

Virgil follows him down the stairs, he drops Hex as she wriggles in his grasp and then she darts to his chair in the living room to sleep. Fine, he sees how it is.

They walk into the kitchen and Emile claps his hands once and addresses Virgil.

“What would you like for dinner tonight? Your dad should be back soon-” he checks the time on the stove clock “-we should start making it so it's ready for when he's back, wanna be my Little Chef?”

“You're lucky Dad isn't here for that Ratatouille reference” Virgil smirks.

“It had nothing to do with him, he'd be fine” Pops says, sticking out his tongue, cause ya'know he's an adult.

“Well if you didn't go overboard with quoting it at him when it came out, he'd be even better.” Virgil now with a shit eating grin in place, sticks his own tongue out.

“You sassafrassin' me mister?”

“Of course not Father Dearest.” He slaps on a fake smile that reads 'I'm being good, honest'.

Emile nods his head once in a quick motion that says 'that's that then' and smiles at Virgil goofily, turning around to face the fridge he opens it with a flourish simply exclaiming: “food!” He drops his arms limply, staring into the fridge. “Huh, well okay then” he says lowly.

Turning to Virgil and closing the door he claps his hands, keeping them together and raised to his mouth.

“Here's the thing-” he starts, pointing his clasped hands towards Virgil “-there's no food,”

“What?” Virgil deadpans, Pops smiles sheepishly.

“Well we did everything and forgot to grocery shop, I forgot we we're supposed to do that today but we couldn't cause Remy got called in for will stuff from the lawyer guy” his hands gesture left and right while talking as if to state his points.

“You don't have to explain yourself to me Pops.”

“I know. Now what do ya wanna order?” Emile asks with a wide smile, cell phone already in hand.

“Do you need to ask?” Virgil replies, Pops looks at him over the rim of his glasses like Dad would.

“You could want Chinese.”

Oh, that actually does sound good. His face must have shown his thoughts cause Pops giggles and admits: “Actually, I want Chinese.”

Virgil looks at him unimpressed.

“Hey! There's this really amazing place here that I haven't had for ages and I still know the number, your Dad and I used to get take out from there basically every Friday when we lived here, we were just out of collage living with Clem at the time” he has a soft smile on his lips, “ah memories.”

He stops dialling the number like he just realised something.

“What if it's not there anymore” he whispers, eyes wide.

Virgil shifts where he stands “you won't know until you try?” He says slowly.

“Right you are Virge” and he presses the call button.

Virgil can hear the rings, once, twice, thrice? Whatever, three times. Then the other line picks up, he can't hear the other person but Pops' smile is wide enough to tell him that they're gonna be having Chinese tonight.

Pops talks on the phone longer than necessary for a food order so Virgil sits on his chair with Hex, petting her lazily.

After about twenty minutes he hangs up.

“Wow, I wasn't expecting it to be the same people and for them to remember me! That's pretty Wild Thornberries” he says cheerily, Virgil snickers and rolls his eyes at the unnecessary cartoon reference.

Pops’ phone blips and his head instantly snaps down at it like it startled him, a smile breaks across his face.

“Remy's on his way back, good timing too” he muses.

He always has good timing Virgil thinks.

Pops takes plates and cups out of the cupboards, silverware out of the drawers and places them on the breakfast bar. He looks at them in contemplation for a moment. Virgil has an amused look on his face watching his father balance everything on the plates and then trying to balance those in his hands, the glasses wobble and Virgil figures he should help, so he gets up to grab the cups from their precarious positions, Pops pouts.

“I could've done it, I worked at a diner in collage you know” he states.

“I do know, that's where you met Dad, I've heard that story a lot. I just wanted to help you not break anything” he says placing them on the coffee table, Emile does the same with his handful.

Virgil practically throws himself on his large cushy chair, disturbing Hex's perched slumber.

Pops sits on the couch, turning the television on and switching to their recorded shows.

“Wanna watch the newest episode of Gravity Falls while we eat?” he says waggling the clicker.

“That's another 'not question' Pops” he replies.

“Not necessarily, you changed you mind about pizza, how do I know if you'd wanna watch something else” he says with a kind smirk and head waggles.

The front door opens, Dad comes in with a few plastic bags.

“I ordered Chinese!” Emile says brightly, moving his head around the couch to keeps his eyes on his husband while Remy walks into the kitchen to deposit the bags.

He slips his shades on to the top of his head “Oh my god I love you” he says sauntering over to the couch and dropping himself next to Emile, laying on him in exhaustion he lets out a long sigh. Emile runs his hand through Remy's hair, snagging the sun glasses removing them from Remy's person, setting them aside and continues scratching Remy's scalp.

“Aw hon, you have a rough day?” He asks softly.

As much as he loves his parents, these little tender moments that they unabashedly share makes Virgil feel like he's intruding in on something private, he shifts playing with his hoodie zipper.

“Nah not too bad like, considering” Dad answers waving a hand in the air. “Dice is coming down tomorrow for the funeral on Wednesday” he informs, Virgil jerks his head towards his dads.

“How long is he staying?” Virgil asks.

“Like, a week or so, don't worry you'll def get uncle bonding time.” He can't see his Dads face from this angle but he can hear the smile in his tone, he continues talking in a softer voice, “he wants to help clean out Moms apartment, said he's gonna stay over there for the week, I was thinking of staying with him.”

Emile, never stopping from petting his husband, has a soft, sweet smile playing on his lips he answers in the same tone Remy spoke in. “That's alright honey, do what you need to do. Virge and I will still be here when you get back, we can handle being by ourselves can't we Pumpkin King?” Pops turns his soft expression to Virgil.

“Yea, we can handle a couple of days without you...”

“Hey, you guys can totes come and help us pack stuff up if you wanted, we can all check out the cafe together.”

The doorbell rings.

Emile nudges Remy “you're gonna have to move hon”

Remy whines “Ugh, but do I really?”

“If you want food you do, silly” he boops Remy's nose.

Remy playfully rolls his eyes and whines dramatically this time “fiiiiine, you win Picani.”

“Always do” Emile says, placing a kiss to his forehead as he gets up.

As Pops pays for the food Virgil goes to the episode titled 'The Time Traveller’s Pig' to start it when ready.

Dad hands Virgil a plate, cup and utensils then gets up to retrieve two two litre sodas from the bags he brought home.

They eat and watch Gravity Falls, commenting here and there about certain parts of the episode.

They stay there, in the living room watching more shows that they've recorded for a couple of hours, styrofoam containers and dishes littered around. The living room is warm and comfortable, Hex purring curled up in his arms as he's curled up on his chair. Virgil feels like he might fall asleep.

He hears Dad chuckle, then soft carpeted footsteps coming towards his chair, he lazily opens his eyes looking up at his Dad standing just at the base of his chair smiling softly down at him. He closes his eyes again as Dad just bends down and with zero effort he picks Virgil up like a baby, Virgil's head resting in the crook of his neck.

“He must be super tired, it's not even close to how late he usually stays up” Pops whispers, “he was working in the basement all day today,” a hand brushes his bangs to the side.

“Well, we should totes go marvel at his hard work shouldn't we?”

Virgil feels movement then hears the basement door creak; he feels the motion of going down the stairs and hearing them groan in protest as they descend.

He hears Pops gasp “oh look at how cute this little corner is that he set up, we should get more comfort items down here for him.”

He feels Dad nod while hearing his bedroom door swish open, he doesn't turn on the main light, but from the soft glow and small click Virgil assumes one of his fairy lights was turned on.

“Nice, he like really worked his ass off with this room huh?” Dad whispers.

He feels a kiss on his forehead, then he's being lowered in his bed, the blankets cover him Dads hand is on his head and a whispered “sweet dreams Pumpkin.”

Virgil is out before they leave his room.

 ~ 

 Virgil wakes up with Hex snuggled under the covers with him, his skull lights giving off a low glow around his bed, he looks to his side to read his alarm clock.

7:33 am. Okay, earlier than he usually wakes but it's fine. It's Monday and school starts in a week’s time so he should probably start getting used to the early hours again he reasons to himself.

So instead of doing what he wanted, which was to curl around his cat and go back to sleep, he wrenches the blankets off of himself, Hex opens her blue eye to look at him in a way that he thinks she'd be saying 'excuse you, I'm still sleeping', so he covers her up again.

Walking to his dresser he gets out his clothes for the day and decides to take a shower, which he supposes is going to be in his personal bathroom basically, considering he practically claimed the basement as his.

Neat, he's never had his own bathroom before. Maybe he'll decorate it too.

After his shower he goes upstairs to see if there's at least cereal to eat.

“Mornin' Dad” he murmurs then double takes. That's not his dad.

Uncle Dice is sitting at their breakfast bar, laptop open in front of him, large travel mug full of black coffee in hand. He looks at Virgil, his large rounded sun glasses nestled in his hair which happens to be up in a messy bun.

What's with the Tempest brothers and sun glasses?

“How's my favourite nephew?” He asks.

“I'm your only nephew, not many choices to work with, you're stuck with it” Virgil mutters.

“Okay, none of that. It just means I don't have others to disappoint when I choose you, I know what I'm talkin' about. I'm a professional.” He says matter of factually. Waving his hand towards the other counter “I brought breakfast” he says as an afterthought.

Virgil smiles he goes straight to hug his uncle, Dice hugs back immediately. “Did you drive all night?” He asks muffled by Dice's shoulder.

“Mmn, something like that” he pats Virgil's head.

Virgil moves away, looking around the kitchen noticing the distinct lack of fathers.

“How'd you get in?” he asks quizzically, Dice puts a finger to his own lips in the universal sign for 'shh'.

“I have my ways” he says cryptically, Virgil can respect that.

 ~

Virgil is finishing his breakfast while Uncle Dice has been typing furiously at his keyboard, when Pops bounds down the steps still in his rumpled sleep clothes, he doesn't stop in confusion to ask when Uncle Dice got there or asks how he got in, so Virgil assumes that he's the one who let him in.

“Heya Die! Rem told me that you were here” he cheerily says.

Okay, so maybe not. Dad then.

“Oh yea? And he can't come down here to greet his older brother?” He begins.

Or not?

“His rating as a brother is lowering in ranks with every interaction, or well, lack thereof. That's why you're my favourite Emi” he finishes.

“Yea just keep talkin' out of your ass brother dearest. I like, actually have a life” Dad says coming down the stairs. “Also, don't like, flirt with my husband.”

“I'm not flirting, I'm stating a fact” his lips turn up in a lopsided playful smirk.

“Children, please” Emile says with his hands up in a placating way, “play nice or I'll have to separate you.”

Virgil snorts harshly, hand flying to his mouth.

“So, what ungodly hour did you drop in here?” Dad asks pouring his own large mug of coffee, also pouring some in Pops' cup as well before handing it to him.

“Four am, no biggie” he says with a shrug.

“Four am, gurl you've been sitting in my kitchen since four freakin' am?”

“I had work to keep me preoccupied, it wasn't that long of a wait don't feel too bad about it” Uncle Dice says in a playful mocking tone.

“Oh I don't, no worries there” he sips his coffee, “and you like, judge people for a living, I call that playing.”

The brothers stare at each other, neither of them willing to crack into the fit of laughter that Virgil knows they want to erupt in, but this is a game and one of them is going to win.

“You would think it's all play you demon. It's very serious work you know” Uncle Dice says his smile wide enough that it almost made him lose.

Dad is glaring a bit, Pops hops into the conversation once again.

“Alrighty! What shall we do today?”

“What shall we do?” Virgil mimics and Pops smiles wide.

Dice sighs “I was just waiting for Rem to get up so we can loot Moms apartment” he gets up and closes his laptop; he waits pointedly for Dad to hurry up. Which, he doesn't.

“Mmm” he 'thinks' on it “fine, I guess. We're taking your car though.”

He refills his mug before stepping up to Emile, planting a light kiss on him “you boys can come and check out the cafe in about an hour if you want to do that today” he says, pressing keys into Emile's hands.

Pops hums and steals another kiss before letting his husband go with his brother.

They leave and Virgil asks the question he had since this whole interaction started.

“How the heck did he get in?”

Pops laughs almost, nervously? “You know what, I have no clue.”

 ~

Virgil is playing on his (previously Dads) purple see-through Game Boy Colour, while Pops takes a shower and gets ready for the day.

He's sitting sideways in his chair his legs dangling off an arm, head resting on the other. Game Boy held up above his head, Hex is sleeping on his stomach; Pokémon music coming from the small speakers on the hand held.

“Hey Virge!” Pops yells from the top of the stairs “get ready bud we're leaving in ten okay?”

He doesn't bother answering, too focused on a battle at the moment. Pops won’t expect an answer anyway.

He finishes the battle before Pops comes down stairs so he sits there petting Hex in comfortable silence, minus her purring. Which honestly just made it more comfortable.

Barley two minutes later he comes downstairs, dressed in very casual clothing as opposed to his 'work clothes', a faded grey Voltron shirt under a loose pink cardigan that’s left open.

“Ready?” He asks, Virgil gets up and places Hex on the cushion, and off they go into town.

Town square is about a ten minute drive from home and they pass by the school on their way there. It’s awfully small and they put all the grades from Kindergarten to grade eleven in there, how?

They park right in front of the cafe, it’s one of several shops littered around this area, seems like this is the shopping part of town. There isn’t much though. He did take note of a cool looking antique shop that might be fun to look through.

Pops takes the keys Dad gave him earlier that morning out of his jeans pocket to unlock the cafe and they step in.

He doesn't know why he thought it would be old and dingy or even abandoned maybe. It was up and running just last week after all.

But it looks nice and clean, it has a homey vibe to it with nice worn couches and mismatched chairs with mismatched tables scattered around. The colour of the walls are a lilac with yellow accents, there are lanterns and fairy lights strung about the room and the crystals hanging in the large windows throw rainbows in all directions thanks to the sun.

It’s beautiful and Virgil could see himself spending a lot of time in here.

“Okay, I'm gonna go check out the kitchen to see if I still know my way around it” Pops informs, then adds: “the stairs at the far end wall go up in to the apartment, it's the second entrance so we're going to get rid of it before renting it out. My point is, it should be unlocked right now, go see if you can find your Dad and Uncle hm?”

He doesn't give a verbal response, he just walks to the stairway. Being on top of the staircase shows him a closed door with muffled voices coming from behind it.

He opens the door but pauses before he can get very far, his uncles voice stopping him cold in his tracks.

“You have to tell him soon Remy.” He sounds agitated.

“Mind your own business, I didn't hire your judgey ass to rate my decisions Die” Dad spits out.

“You know that's so not what I'm doing! I'm just trying to look out for you, for Virgil! Don't you want to warn him before anything happens?” Uncle Dice hisses. 

Virgil flinches. They're arguing about... him?

“Don't you dare use my son like that, you know very damn well I'd kill for that boy! He's just not ready yet and I don't think you have any say in this matter!” Dad says his words dripping venom.

Uncle Dice scoffs “okay, but what about The Cove? If you don't tell him soon, something will it's just a matter of time.”

“I have enough time I'll tell him when it's time to tell him” he sounds like he's talking through gritted teeth.

“He's already twelve Rem, you remember when you were twelve? How hard that was on you without any guidance?”

Virgil doesn't know what to do. He's rooted to the spot. He's not sure if he wants to listen anymore. But it feels like he should know. But if Dad says he's not ready to know whatever this is, then... should he trust that? Should he walk away like he heard nothing? 

“He's not like me Die, he's-” Virgil makes noise to signal to them that someone is coming and walks through the door.

Dads head is snapped to his direction, shades folded in his shirt collar -which he only does when extremely angry, too many times knocking them off his head while flailing his hands make that their temporary home-

He looks spooked, and angry. Virgil's never seen him like this.

“Oh” he falters “I didn't notice anyone coming in the building” he says nervously, Virgil lifts his shoulders a tiny fraction in a pathetic shrug.

Dad looks worried for him “you okay Pumpkin?”

He does a half nod, half shake of his head. He can't form words right now, too much going on, too many thoughts screaming at him.

Dads expression melts into something soft and understanding, a warm smile now in place of the scared scowl he walked in on. He opens his arms and Virgil rushes into the hug.

“Just one of those quiet days hm?”

Virgil nods/shrugs noncommittally.

Uncle Dice, hasn't said anything or even looked his way since he came in.  

[scullyy]

To The Ends Of The Earth

Title: To The Ends of The Earth

Pairing: Clementine x Louis

Word Count: 2717

Summary: Clementine, Louis and AJ scope out the nearby Shopping Centre, disappointed in their findings, until someone finds them.

A/N: I started writing this like two months ago but I kept putting it off since I didn’t know how to end it. Also, Mitch is alive fuck you telltale

-

Clementine shredded down the open road, the wind keeping the loose hairs out of her face. Driving always brought her peace, it reminded her of Kenny and the chats they would have behind the wheel.

“You know I hate being a backseat driver, but could you slow down? I’d like to get there in one piece.” Louis chirped in from the backseat. Giving into Clementines wishes to drive the car was becoming an instant regret.

“And I’d like to get there quickly, we’ll be fine.”

Louis found it difficult to believe her as she skidded over a cracked roundabout. “Thank god for seat belts.”

“Are we almost there Clem?” That was the second time AJ had asked her, the annoyance in his voice clear as the sky ahead.

“We’re so close, it’s right at the end of the street.” Clementine briefly glanced at the map sitting on her lap, scanning over the red line Aasim drew out for them.

AJ’s question was properly answered when he spotted the towering grey building in the distance. It looked like a beast, never had he seen anything so vast. It kicked in his curiosity, giving his annoyance the boot.

Louis whistled in amazement. “I haven’t been to this place in years. Forgot how big it was.”

Clementine sloppily parked the car in the ground floor parking, running over a walker in the process. Her eyes scanned the area as she slowly exited the car. “We’re good for now. You still got that list AJ?”

AJ dug around in his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, bringing out a confident smile from Clem.

“It’s your job to keep ahold of that, it’s got all the stuff we need on it.” Clementine passed Louis Chairles from the boot and hoisted her new baseball bat over her shoulder, closing the boot as quietly as possible.

Javi would be proud.

Louis took a sneaky peek at the paper. “What are we looking for again? I wanna get in and get out like my grandma used to say. ”

AJ squinted his eyes in an attempt to understand Clem's rushed handwriting. “Tape, bandages and fem..i..nine products.” He considered his pronunciation a win. His vocabulary had improved vastly thanks to Aasim’s teachings.

Louis playfully glanced at Clementine, wiggling his sharp eyebrows. “Does that include contraceptives?”

“Alright AJ, stay close.” Clementine marched inside the building, blatantly ignoring Louis. They snuck through the gaping hole in the glass, not questioning the pool of blood nearby. There were a few dead bodies scattered around the floor, all had bullet holes in their head. Clementine held AJ close to her, shielding his eyes from the massacre.

The centre was poorly lit beside the unevenly placed lights on the ceiling. Many of the stores had been ransacked in the early days of the apocalypse, leaving behind a ghostly shell.

“I really don't like our odds,” Clementine whispered into the stale space. “Keep your eyes peeled for the things we're looking for and anything else that could be useful.”

“Imagine if people could peel their eyes, that would be so fucking funny. And gross.” Louis could feel Clementine's stare on the back of his head, enjoying the attention he sought out, even with a joke that blatantly bad.

They crept down the hall the quickest they could, taking down all the monsters AJ pointed at. Eventually, they found the old food court, Louis's stomach rumbling on instinct.

“God I miss eating greasy food.”

“My parents never really allowed it, only if we were coming home from a trip or if it was my birthday,” She ran her finger over the layer of dust on a table, wondering how long it’s been since the building had seen people. “We don’t have time to waste, come on. Check everywhere.”

“Hopefully Lady Luck is on our side,” Louis swung Chairles back and forth, finding simple pleasure in the ‘whoosh’ noise. “So little dude, you know what a shopping mall is?”

“No,” AJ was mesmerized by what he was seeing, even if it wasn’t much. There were so many little rooms inside this one big building, but there were no medical bays, places to keep weapons, nothing. Just a lot of broken glass and ripped posters. “What were they like?”

“Well, people would come far and wide to great buildings like these. Some wanted to trade and barter for goods and services, others would scope out a hot meal FULL of preservatives,” Louis could tell his story was working by the light that appeared in AJ’s young eyes. “And sometimes, if you were very lucky, people would perform to earn a wage. They’d have instruments and sing for strangers. ”

“Like you with the piano?”

“Yeah, unfortunately, I don’t get paid for that.”

Clementine easily took out a walker hiding beneath a table, appreciating the late notice from Louis.

“Hey, Clem there’s a walker.”

What a great team.

“Maybe you can help and actually put Chairles to use,” Clementine poked the nail-stricken chair leg with her bat. “I don’t think the food court is going to help, come on. There should be a hardware store towards the back.”

“Wait a second there Clem,” Louis marched off into a store next to the sushi bar, a mattress store? “AJ check this out.” There was still a single mattress in the corner of the room. Time had eaten it up, with holes in the side and large tears running down its spine. Louis placed Chairles against the frame, climbed onto the bed and...started...jumping...fuck.

Clementine sighed, of course now is the time for him to start playing games. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Having fun, that is our team name after all. Come on AJ, I would do this when I was your age,” He extended his arm to AJ, who hesitantly grabbed his hands and was hoisted onto the bed. “My dad made me stop doing it after I hurt myself.”

“Oh my god, is that how you lost the tooth?”

Louis shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not, let’s not focus on such trivial tales.”

Seeing AJ laugh at how high he was made Clementine forgive Louis for derailing their plan. She sat on the ground near the door, flicking back and forth between the food court and her two favourite people.

Louis eventually stopped and leaned against the wall, letting AJ bounce to his heart's content. “You would have been real swell at High Jump! Could have been an Olympian.”

AJ jumped off after a couple minutes, complaining about how his feet were hurting.

“Given the state of the bed, can’t blame you. Did you have fun?” Clementine asked as AJ fixed up his shoelaces.

“Yeah, but now we need to check the hardware store.”

“Always a diligent little worker,” Louis hoisted Chairles over his shoulder, feeling a sense of pride at giving AJ some fun. The kid deserves it after all he’s been through. “Holy shit.”

Louis was like a child in a toy store, getting distracted by every little thing. Across from the mattress store was a music store, a few stray CD's could be seen on the shelves.

“Louis we don't have time to look at old music.”

He ignored Clementine as he ran to the store, immediately grabbing the first CD he saw. “I haven't seen a CD in years. My mom used to collect them and whenever her and dad got into a fight she’d haul my ass into the car and play some songs.” Louis ran a sleeve over the CD, removing the dust and revealing the band.

Now Clementine was excited. “Oh my god-”

“-Roy Orbison!”

AJ didn't understand why Louis was so hyped up by a bunch of plastic cases. The faces of people who were long gone scared him with their heavy makeup and shiny hair. “What are these?”

Louis kneeled down to AJ, flashing the CD. “This, my little friend, is how people listened to music. This disc holds songs and when put into a player, magic happens.” He passed it down to AJ, who read over the tracks.

“My dad loved Roy Orbison. Always had his Greatest Hits CD in the car.” Clementine glanced at some of the other CD’s, surprised at how many were actually left behind. Then again, CD’s wouldn’t have much use.

Louis gave Clem a cheeky smirk, giving into his temptations. “Pretty woman...walking down the street,”

The way he whispered sent shivers down Clementine's spine as her eyes grew in astonishment.

“Pretty woman...the kind I’d like to meet, pretty woman,” His singing started to grow a little louder and more dramatic, typical Louis fashion. “I don’t believe you, you’re not the truth.” He pointed at Clementine, motioning for her to keep going.

“No one could look as good as you,” She sang softly, looking at the ground in embarrassment. She never thought her voice was as good as Louis, yet he seemed to enjoy it by the beaming smile that replaced his smirk.

“Didn't take you for a Roy Orbison fan,” He started to question what kind of music Clem would actually be into.

“There's a lot you still don't know about me,” Clementine took a step out of her comfort zone and winked at Louis this time. The rosy tint that painted the tips of his ears was so worth it. “Come on AJ, let's go now. No more distractions.”

It was lucky of the group that Aasim remembered the layout of the old place. It had been heavily ransacked during the first few weeks of the breakout. Mitch had heard rumours from other survivors that people were living there, “fucking freaks they are, haven’t seen sane people in ages,” He says.

The hardware store was massive and a little too quiet. The grey shelves seemed to only hold dust and crumbs, a rude wake-up call to Team Fun.

Louis ran his fingers over a dead sunflower, crunching the leaf in his palm. “I’m going to bet my money on no supplies. Any takers?”

Clementine knew he was right, if people had been staying here they certainly didn’t leave much behind. I’ll try and find some tools, maybe we’ll get lucky.”

“Alrighty, I’ll check out the fishing gear. Violet could use some proper traps. If anything happens-”

“-Run like the wind,” Clementine gave Louis a reassuring smile, knowing how much he hated splitting up. It was dangerous but necessary if they wanted to keep the trip short. They walked off in their separate directions, AJ close to Clem’s side, his hand firmly holding onto his gun. “Keep an eye out kiddo, we don’t know who could be hiding here.”

He took her words to heart, looking in every direction. Twice. The tools were located in Aisle 3, empty boxes hid beneath the steel shelves, all ripped apart by hands desperate to survive. All that was left was a screwdriver and three nails lying innocently on the bottom shelf. “Thank you,” Clementine whispered, not sure of who she was actually thanking. “It may not look like much, but a Screwdriver has saved my life before.”

AJ picked it up and wiped the dust onto his pants. “Screwdriver. It’s small.”

“But it works.”

The sound of heavy boots on the wooden floor sent Clementine into immediate attack mode. They didn’t sound anything like Louis’s shoes did, his tended to squeak. AJ saw the slight panic in her eyes, going into his own attack stance. Clementine placed a finger over her lips, something AJ learned at a very young age what it meant.

Why did Mitch have to be right?

Clementine began to push AJ away from the oncoming stranger, eager to get Louis and run.

“Oi! What are you doing?”

Fucking hell.

“AJ run!” Clementine shouted, pushing him in the direction of the fishing aisle. The little kid bolted like there was no tomorrow, kicking up dust behind his feet. A broken shriek escaped from Clementine when she felt a sweaty hand grab at her own. She was slammed against the shelves, her head hitting the edge.

“You think you can come here and take my shit!” It was an old man, his tobacco stained fingers digging into Clementine’s wrists.

The man had her wrists pinned above her head. He stared into her eyes, trying to figure out if she was hiding something. “Do you have anyone else here or is it just you?

“Just me, I don’t have anyone else,” Clementine hoped with every fibre of her being that AJ and Louis were both safe. “Let me go and I won’t come back I promise.”

He seemed reluctant to let her go, gripping her wrists tighter. “How can I be so sure of that? That last time I trusted someone they came back with a group, took the last of my shit and killed my son,” He didn't break eye contact with Clementine, somehow dominating the small space. “I let you go, you'll come back. I know it.”

“I won't! I swear.”

The man let go of Clementine's wrists briefly, the pain instantly fleeting. But his hands moved down to her neck, the air around her growing thin.

The strength he was exhibiting was inhuman, her sight fading as the man blended with her surroundings. She clawed at his sweaty hands, wondering at how they got so calloused. She didn’t have long to wonder before she heard a loud yell, the man being tackled down by a blurry figure.

Clementine fell to the floor, her palms stinging from the impact. She looked over and saw Louis on top of the man, pinning his chest down with Chairles. The spikes were digging into his skin, blood oozing through his clothes. Clementine tried to stand on her legs but they crumbled under her weight.

AJ ran up to the man and shot him right in the knee without even blinking.

“Guys....stop.” Clementine croaked. Hurting this guy would do more harm than good.

“You said you had no one else!” The man shouted, hands frantically swiping at Louis.

“This kid is a good shot,” Louis pushed himself off the cowering man, standing tall against him, aiming Chairles at his face. “You come after us and he’ll aim higher.”

Never had he spoken with such a demeaning tone, it came from somewhere deep in his gut where he locked away all his fears. Louis looped her arm over his shoulder, helping to guide her feet, AJ didn’t put the gun away till they were out of the store, keeping himself alert.

They slowly walked back to the carpark, not mentioning the ordeal that fell upon them. AJ sat patiently in the car, playing with the screwdriver. Louis took Clementine’s bat from her and threw it into the boot alongside a bloodied Chairles.

“I’ve never seen you so angry before, are you okay?” Louis never handled Chairles with such blatant disregard. That and he wasn’t even making eye contact with her.

“No, I’m not, how can I be? One minute I’m looking at fishing nets, the next I see this shithead strangling you. You could have died.”

“Stop thinking that, worse things have happened to me.” Getting bit by a dog, getting shot in the chest, losing a finger. They all definitely make her list of ‘worst injuries’.

“It’s still a bad thing Clem,” Louis carefully closed the boot. He wasn’t one to start slamming and breaking things when he was frustrated. Not like his dad. “It was just scary, that’s all.”

It couldn’t have been said any simpler. The man who held her had nothing to lose, not anymore. To have such a blatant disregard....it’s a state of humanity that few people survive from. “We should have stayed together, you were right.”

Louis didn’t say anything, nothing needed to be said. He quickly walked over to Clem and held her in his arms, thankful that he still has that luxury of holding her this close, thankful that she was alive.

She buried her face in the fluffy lining of his coat, clenching the fabric between her hands. “Thank you for helping.”

“You say that as if I wouldn’t,” Louis couldn’t help but eye down the door, searching for anyone else who dared pose a threat. “I’d never leave you, Clementine.”

[lamptracker]

FIC: The Tea Shop Girl (part 5/?)

“So, Kris, how many parts is this going to be?”

“Oh, eleventy billion, give or take.”

Also, who else is super-glad Tom didn’t actually break his nose? 

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

FIC: The Tea Shop Girl (Part 5/?)

Pairing: Harrison Osterfield/Reader. Also featuring, as always, “Calamity” Tom Holland.

Summary: The reader gets her cast off, Lila has to make a tough decision that could affect her relationship with Tom. Oh, and Harrison and the reader have sexy times in the shower.

Warnings: SMUT! And language, the usual.

Tagged: @scamandaaaamn​. @tbholland​, @cubedtriangle​

Seven weeks after Tom fell off the kitchen island, the big day had finally arrived:

(Y/n) got her cast off.

Tom had gotten his stitches out two weeks after the incident; Harrison was finally allowed to ditch the boot three weeks after.

“Your wrist has healed beautifully,” said the doctor. “Normally I’d recommend a splint after, but i don’t believe you need it. Just sort of ease your way back into using it. Soak it for 20 minutes twice a day for the next couple of days, that’ll help with the dry skin. You’re free to go.”

“Thanks.” She hopped off the table; she and Harrison  walked back to the waiting room, where Tom and Lila were sitting.

“Hey, lovebirds,” (y/n) greeted them, smiling. The night of the incident with Alfie, Tom ended up asking Lila out to dinner; they hit it off really well and officially started dating not long after Tom got his stitches out.

“How’d it go?” Lila asked.

(Y/n) held up her arm. “No more Clem. We should go celebrate. Not too much though, I don’t want Clem 2.0, you know.”

“Let’s go grab lunch,” Tom replied, “my treat. Meet us at the diner in half an hour?”

“You got it.” Harrison gently grasped (y/n)’s now cast-free hand as Tom and Lila headed out to the parking lot. “You know what, I sort of miss him.”

“Who, Tom? You literally just saw him. You two really are codependent.”

Harrison snorted. “No, Clem. He gave you character.”

“He about gave me a concussion the other day at work. So I don’t really miss him. Anyway, uh, we have a half-hour to kill, y’know. Wanna run home and have a quickie?”

“Of course I do, darling.”

Once they got to lunch, Lila immediately stood up.

“(y/n), can I talk to you outside?”

“Sure. If the waiter comes by, Harrison, I want a glass of ice water and an order of fish and chips. Just sounds good today.” Lila and (y/n) went outside to chat while Harrison slid into the booth across from Tom.

“What’s going on?” Harrison asked.

Tom sighed. “Well, (y/n)’s parents just called. The girl that’s running Helsinki isn’t working out, and...well… they want Lila to run it.”

“WHAT?!” Harrison heard (y/n) shout through the window.

“Oh, my. So what’re you going to do?”

“She hasn’t decided yet. I told her I’d support her no matter what, but… I just… I’m really starting to fall for her, Harrison. And I’ll be here, and she’ll be...there.”

“It’s not the 1800s, we have cell phones.” Harrison smiled. “Plus we have to go to Atlanta in a few months to start filming Spider-Man 2, so there’s that.”

“Oh, yeah. What’re you and (y/n) going to do?”

“Facetime. Lots of Facetime. She’s talking about coming to visit for a couple of weeks here and there too.”

Tom smiled. “It’s entirely up to her, then.”

Lila and (y/n) walked back in. “Tom,” Lila said softly, “I-”

“Before you say anything, Lila, just know that I love you and I support you no matter what.”

“You… you love me?”

“Yeah, I...oh. That’s the…”

“First time you’ve said that, yeah. Well, Tom, I love you too. That’s why I’ve decided not to take the job in Helsinki.”

“Really?” Tom asked.

“Really, I love London too much, I-”

Whatever Lila was going to say next was silenced with Tom’s lips on hers.

“So...what about Helsinki?” Harrison asked.

“I called my parents and suggested Megan,” (y/n) replied. “She has family there on her dad’s side, and she’s basically next in line to the throne anyway. I think she’d be really great there.”

“Well, that’s all that sorted, then.” Harrison kissed (y/n)’s temple.

“I’m kind of a problem solver,” (y/n) replied.

Tom snorted. “More like problem causer.”

“Hey, who at this table broke my arm for me?”

“Touche.” The four of them burst into laughter.

“Plus,” (y/n) continued, “who set you two up in the first place?”

“That would be you,” Tom said.

“That would?” Lila asked.

“I might have… encouraged him to console you after the whole thing with Alfie.”

“Well,” replied Lila as she snuggled into Tom’s side, “I’m very glad you did. I owe you one.”

“Great. In that case, help me figure out who I should promote to take over Megan’s job.” (y/n) held up her phone. “Just got a text from her, she’s going to Helsinki.”

“What about Fran?”

(y/n) shook her head. “I love Fran, but she doesn’t have open availability. Won’t work Wednesdays because she thinks they’re cursed.”

Harrison looked at her skeptically.

“And no, I am not exaggerating,” (y/n) sighed.

“Well,” Lila said, “we have a couple of weeks to figure it out. Right now, I’m famished.”

Harrison smiled as he wrapped an arm around (y/n)’s shoulders.

He loved seeing her deal with work issues. No, really. He didn’t like seeing her stressed out, but she rarely got stressed out because she always dealt with her work issues with intelligence and grace.

“Well,” (Y/n) said. It was later that evening, and she and Harrison were hanging out in her flat while Tom and Lila were on a date. “I figured out who to train to replace Megan. Y’know that new girl, Emily? She was a manager at a coffee house before she came to the Tea Kettle so she’ll catch on quick.”

“That’s great, love,” Harrison replied. “I could never do your job. It must be so draining, trying to run a business and all that.”

“It can be. I love it, though. I love the mental challenge. Plus without that shop, I never would’ve met you.” She threw her legs over his lap and leaned over to kiss him softly. “I need a shower. You can watch me, or you can join me. Your choice.”

Harrison immediately felt himself growing hard. “Yeah, um, I think I’ll join you.”

“Excellent choice, Harrison.” She stood up and walked to the bathroom, Harrison hot on her heels. She turned on the water and grabbed the hem of her shirt, starting to pull it over her head.

“Oh, allow me, darling,” Harrison said in a low voice. (Y/n) stretched her hands over her head; Harrison ran his fingers along the strip of bare skin before sliding the shirt over her head. He undid the clasp of her bra; she slid it off her shoulders and reached over to pull his shirt off.

“This is so much easier with both hands,” she said.

Harrison chuckled as he pulled down her pants. “Oooh. No panties today, eh? Someone’s naughty.”

“Is this the point where someone decides not to point out that she’s behind on laundry?”

“Yeah, don’t do that, it’s not sexy. But this is.” He bent down to kiss her firmly and reached for her already-wet slit, gliding his fingers over the entrance.

“We should get in there,” she breathed, “we’re wasting water.”

“Yeah.” He quickly stripped off his clothes and went into the bathtub, holding out his hand to help her in.

(y/n) stood under the faucet, making sure her hair was good and wet. As she lathered up her hair, Harrison was thinking. He’d never had sex in the shower before. He wasn’t sure what to do, where to stand, how to-

“You’re overthinking it, aren’t you?” (y/n) asked as she rinsed the bubbles out of her hair.

Harrison sighed. “Yeah.”

“Well,” she said as she poured some body wash onto a shower pouf, “just let me handle it.” She scrubbed down her body, then moved to slowly scrub down his. “I hope you’re okay with a blowjob.”

“Darling, I am always okay with those.”

(Y/n) just chuckled as she poured some shampoo into her hand and started massaging it through Harrison’s hair. Once all the bubbles had been rinsed off, she dropped to her knees on the rubber bath mat. She wrapped a hand around his cock and slowly slid it up and down, eventually taking just the tip into her mouth.

“Oh, fuck. That is amazing,” Harrison moaned.

She looked up at him, smiled, then carefully took all of him into her mouth.

Harrison watched, transfixed, as she bobbed her head up and down his shaft, hand pumping at the base. Occasionally she’d run her tongue across the slit at the top.

Seeing her, water from the shower beating down on her, as she worked him with her mouth was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. Or been a part of.

Then, she looked into his eyes. And that became the sexiest thing he’d ever seen.

He tangled his fingers in her wet hair as she continued. “This feels so good,” he said.

She chuckled, the vibrations coming from the back of her throat adding an altogether new and wonderful sensation.

“Oh, (y/n), I’m going to come, I-” And with that, waves of pleasure coursed through his body as he came into her warm mouth.

“Fuck,” he breathed, “that was so fucking amazing.”

She just stood up, swallowed, and raised her eyebrows. “So glad you liked it, baby. But it’s my turn.”

Harrison laughed quietly. “What’d you want me to do to you, darling?”

“Make me scream, baby. Use your fingers.”

Well, shit. The way she said it coupled with the way she looked at him was enough to get him half-hard again already.

He kissed her roughly, then turned her around so she was facing away from him. Tucking some of her wet hair behind her ear, he reached forward to stroke her clit.

“Oh, God, Harrison. That feels so fucking good,” she moaned.

“Glad you’re enjoying yourself,” Harrison replied under his breath. He bent down to gently nip the skin where her neck and collarbone met as he took his other hand and inserted two fingers into her. She let out a long, deep moan as he curled his fingers inside of her.

“Fuck, Harrison, yes. Right there, right - oh.” She leaned her head back onto his shoulder as he continued working her with both hands - one tracing circles around her clit, the other pumping in and out of her. “Harder, baby, please.”

“Well, since you’re begging.” He gently sucked on the skin at the base of her neck again as he pumped his fingers harder in and out of her wetness. She reached up and tangled her fingers in his wet blond curls, the sensations becoming too much for her.

“Oh, yes. That’s amazing, I’m going to-”

“Say my name when you come,” Harrison whispered into her ear. “I want the whole building to know you’re mine.”

“Fuck, yes, Harrison. Oh, Harrison!” She exclaimed as she tightened around his fingers; she moaned loudly as her orgasm washed over her, voice echoing off the shower walls.

“That’s a good girl.” He slowly removed his fingers, rinsing them off under the shower.

“Holy fuck, Harrison,” she said as she caught her breath. “Where’d you learn how to do that?!”

Harrison shrugged. “I don’t know, never done it like that before.”

“Well, you’re a natural.” She shut off the water and leaned against him until his back hit the shower wall. “God, Harrison. You do things to me that I thought only happened in fanfics.”

“You read smutty fanfic?”

“Oh, hell yeah. Some of it’s even about you.”

Harrison raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

She turned around and kissed him, firmly. “Yep. There’s this one where you’re tied to the bed that was pretty hot. Although, wait. That was slash fic.”

“Don’t tell me, the other person was Tom.”

“Okay, I won’t tell you.” (Y/n) reached for two towels hanging on the towel bar, handing one to Harrison. “And I definitely won’t tell you which one of Tom's costars was sitting in the corner pleasuring himself while he watched.”

“Was it Jacob?”

“You didn’t want to know, you said. But Robert Downey Jr., actually.”

Harrison laughed as (y/n) handed him a towel. “Well, except for Tom and Robert showing up, that actually sounds awesome. We’ll have to try that someday.”

(Y/n) smiled. “Looking forward to it.” She looked in the mirror, at the base of her neck. “Look at that, you gave me a hickey.”

“Sure did, love.”

“You are amazing,” she said, leaning over to kiss him softly. “How’d I get so lucky?”

“Darlin’, I ask myself that every day.”

[myselfinserts]

"Coffee. You must have coffee."

Clement stood quietly on the train, waiting to make it to his stop to meet up with Odette for lunch. Ena had a shift at the cafe and offered to take Mr. Pickles on ahead. Odette had an errand to run and promised to meet him there. That gave him time to stop by the shops and pick up a present for his cousins. They were supposed to come visit soon, now that the Sports Festival was on the way. 

He didn’t want to participate personally, but he was going to. He had something he wanted to show off. The paperwork he submitted would have gone through by now. Just had to wait for his mom to let him know. 

The train was unusually empty for a Sunday. He figured it was due to the villain attack off the main line. He’d taken an alternate route to avoid that. Most other people wouldn’t bother looking for another route and instead use the chaos to avoid getting places they didn’t want to be, or recording it to get views online. 

Completely absurd in his mind, but then again, you sort of become desensitized to these things with a family like his. 

The train pulled up at the station just before his stop. The few people that were there got off. No one got on. 

Or rather, one person got on. And they got on in a hurry, knocking Clement to the ground and knocking off his hat.. He was glad he didn’t have something growing from his head that day.

The girl had dark blonde pigtails and wide blue eyes. Her face was puffy and red, tears streaming down her eyes. The doors closed and the train took off for the next stop. 

“Woah. Hey, are you okay?”

The girl stared at him, trying to calm herself down. “I’m fine. Why? What’s it to you?”

Clement could feel his heart breaking. “It’s just that you’re crying. I’m concerned is all.”

“Why?!”

“Because if you’re hurt, I have a first aid kit in my pocket. Or if you need to make a call, I can let you use my phone.” He knelt down and picked up his hat. “Unless you need me to chase off a creep as you run away. I can do that too.”

“You...want to help me?”

“Why wouldn’t I? Just because I’m not a hero doesn’t mean I don’t wanna lend a hand to those in need.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the first aid kit, pulling out a small bag with chocolates in it. “Here. My ma and my auntie always said chocolate is the quickest way to heal the heart in distress. Help yourself”

The girl stared at his hand for a bit before reaching out to take the chocolates. She took one out and took a bite, smiling as a bit of caramel nearly fell out. Clement smiled and put the kit away. 

“So what’s going on?” he asked. “Did someone hurt you or did you get spooked by a villain?”

“No, not that,” she whimpered. “I just saw my girlfriend...she was with another girl making out in the park and-”

“You don’t need to say anything more. I gotcha.” He handed her a handkerchief to dry her eyes with. “What’s your name? I’m Clement Gladstone. I study at U.A. in the General department and am the main nurse aid for my class.”

The girl bit her lip. “Takeda. I’m Yasu Takeda. I’m a student at Ketsubutsu...”

Clement smiled and lightly took her hand. 

“Coffee. You must have coffee, Miss Takeda. And cats. There’s a new kitten at the cat cafe being trained today, and my cat is waiting there for me. Mr. Pickles is going to love you. Come on. My treat.”

Yasu nodded, holding back a sniffle. “Thank you, Gladstone-”

“Call me Clement. Or Clem. No need to be formal.”

“Okay...then you can call me Yasu. If you want. And I’m sorry for knocking you over...”

“No worries, Yasu.” 

The two of them got off the train and made their way down the street. The cafe was already bustling with excitement. Odette stood on the corner, waiting for him. But when she noticed Yasu there, her face grew stern. 

“Hello Clement,” she greeted, raising an eyebrow. “Who is this?”

“New friend I met on the train,” he said. “This is Yasu Takeda from Ketsubutsu Academy.”

Yasu nodded politely. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Clement leaned in close to Odette’s ear, whispering so only she could hear. “Yasu caught her girlfriend cheating on her with someone else, and she knocked me over on the train by accident after running from the scene in tears. I thought seeing cats might help cheer her up.”

“I see.” Odette pushed him aside, taking Yasu’s hands. “Darling, you must join us for lunch. Come with me. I already have a table for us.”

Clement chuckled, watching Odette pull Yasu into the cafe. He hurried in after them, waving to Ena who was setting the table in the corner with a kitten in her apron. Mr. Pickles was sitting in his seat, waiting patiently for them to sit down. 

“Could you bring us the special, please?” Odette asked. “And ten orders of the Heartbreaker Kitten Cakes with the lavender frosting and today’s best roast.”

“Sure thing,” Ena said. “Pearl and I will bring it right out.” Pearl, the kitten in her apron, mewed in agreement. 

Clement took his seat beside Mr. Pickles, watching as Odette swiped an extra chair from another table for their unexpected guest. 

He couldn’t wait to tell his dad all about today.

[ericsonclan]

The Best Intentions

Summary: Louis gathers all the employees of Ericson's Diner to issue a buddy system for the next few days.

Read on AO3:

“Alright, is this everyone?” Louis glanced around the room, looking at all his employees.

“Should be,” Clementine leaned against one of the walls. “Brody has the day off. So does Prisha.”

“Okay, that’s good.” Louis took a deep breath.

“Why?” Aasim sniffled and looked up from his spot at the table before a small cough caused him to pause.

“You alright?” Ruby placed a hand on her boyfriend’s shoulder.

“I’m fine,” He placed his hand over hers and gave a reassuring smile. “Just a bit under the weather.”

“Well, to answer Aasim’s question, there’s been news about a flasher roaming the area. So I wanted to gather everyone here to decree that for the next few days a buddy system will be in place.” Louis’ eyes wandered around the room, making sure everyone was listening. “I wanted to take this short break to let everyone know and to make sure everybody has a buddy for the day to go home with.”

“Min can probably pick me up after my shift today.” Renata kicked her legs playfully under the table.

“I’ll text Marlon and see if he can pick me up. I’ll be stuck here for the rest of the day though so if anyone needs a ride too, I’m sure we could fit one more in Marlon’s truck.” Sophie offered with a smile.

“I can take Aasim and anyone else who needs a ride.” Ruby’s voice drew the others’ attention.

“Could I get a ride?” Violet looked up at Ruby.

“Sure.”

“Awesome!” Louis had a relieved smile on his face. “I can take Clem home and Mitch brought his car. So Omar, you can pick whichever ride you want out of the three.”

“I’ll go with Marlon and Sophie if that’s alright.” Omar spoke up from his spot next to Ruby.

“Okay, seems like everything will work out then. Alrighty! That was all I needed to say. Now we can get back to our exciting lives!”

The rest of the day went by with a slow, casual pace. Louis had run out during his free hour and bought pepper spray for everyone. He wasn’t going to let some creep hurt any of his friends. Each person accepted the gift right away when Louis pulled them aside for a moment then resumed their work.

Two hours after the impromptu meeting, Renata and Clementine’s shifts were done. Minnie had arrived right on the dot, waiting outside her car, leaning against it and waiting for her girlfriend. It was clear from the look in her eyes she was a bit worried about the news but as soon as Renata jogged outside her eyes became brighter. Giving Minnie a quick kiss and waving goodbye to Sophie who had snuck out for a minute to say goodbye, Renata hopped in the car and they were off.

That was two safely away. Now it was Louis’ turn to make sure he kept Clem safe. Double checking to make sure he had everything including the pepper spray in his pocket, Louis went over to check on Violet.

“Hey, Vi,” Louis poked his head into the break room where Violet was taking five minutes to get away from all the noise. “I’m gonna head out with Clem. You sure you’re okay with staying for the rest of the day and locking up?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Violet glanced up from her spot at her best friend.

“Because I can totally-”

“Louis, just go with Clem and enjoy the rest of the day off.”

“Alright. You can always text me or call me if anything changes!” Louis gave a casual salute and turned dramatically, allowing the door to slowly close behind him.

“You ready?” Clementine smiled back at her boyfriend who strolled over to join her at the front door.

“Yep!” Louis took Clem’s hand, intertwining his fingers with hers and gave a bright smile. “Wanna just stay at my place for a few hours and watch a movie?”

“I’d love that,” Clementine pushed open the front door and held it for Louis. “Just gotta text Lee and let him know.” With that the couple was gone, both excited for a chill afternoon.

The day continued on from there the same as before, slow and boring. Everyone just continued their work, enjoying the small breaks they had together here and there before the next customers came in to dine. That was until Aasim’s cold took a turn for the worse and he started coughing and sneezing up a storm.

“Pookie, I think you should go home,” Ruby walked out of the kitchen to check on her boyfriend whose face was against the break room table.

“I’m fine, my dove. I just-” Aasim’s sentence was cut off, his face contorting as he tried to hold back a sneeze. But it failed and a flurry of five sneezes escaped his nose, causing his head to hit the table. After that he agreed to head home.

“I’m heading out early, y’all.” Ruby announced to the others. “I can swing by later and pick you up if you still need a ride, Violet.”

Violet waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. Just get Aasim home. He looks like shit.”

“Thanb yob,” Aasim’s words were muffled by his stuffy nose. After a few more words of reassurance from Violet that everything would be fine, Ruby walked out, offering Aasim a tissue as she gently guided him to her car.

As the day continued on and the sky turned from its warm orange to a deep blue, the customers started to dwindle until it was time to close up shop. Violet waited for Sophie, Omar and Mitch to grab their stuff before locking the front door. The group of four waited until Marlon showed up. Rosie trotted happily by his side and immediately barked when she saw the others. A bright smile was on Marlon’s face when he noticed Sophie, giving her a warm hug before Rosie started to paw at Sophie’s leg.

“Hey there, Rosie,” Sophie showered the pitbull with tons of pats. “How’s my favorite pupper doing?”

Rosie barked, panting excitedly and then proceeded to start licking Sophie’s face.

Sophie devolved into a fit of giggles until Marlon whistled for Rosie to stop. The pitbull returned to his side, getting another plethora of affections from Marlon who knelt down beside Rosie.

“Ready to head out, babe?” Marlon smiled over at Sophie.

“Yep! We’re giving Omar a ride home too.” She pointed back at her friend with her thumb.

Omar gave a small wave of acknowledgement. “I appreciate it.”

“Sure thing,” Marlon rose to his usual height. “It’ll be a tight fit but it should work out.

“Bye, Vi. Bye, Mitch. See ya tomorrow!” Sophie gave a final wave back at her friends with a bright smile before running up and intertwining her fingers with Marlon’s. When they reached the truck, Marlon got into the driver’s seat while Omar slid into the middle spot. Lastly Sophie took the spot by Omar and patted her lap for Rosie who happily jumped up into her lap. After making sure their seatbelts were on they headed out, leaving Violet and Mitch as the only two left behind.

“My car is just by the dumpsters,” Mitch mumbled, his eyes focused on his pocket as his hand rummaged around for the keys.

“I’ll be fine. I don’t need a ride.” Violet’s words made Mitch stop in his tracks, a small frown on his face as he looked back at her.

“Don’t be a dumbass and just accept my ride. Yours fell through with Ruby and you didn’t bring your bike.”

“Yeah but it’s just a twenty minute walk. I’ll be fine.” Violet shrugged.

Mitch studied his friend’s face carefully before turning away. “Fine, whatever.” Mitch started to slowly make his way towards his car. He had no intention of leaving Violet alone at night time when some fucking creep was out there. But he knew that if she wouldn’t let him walk her home, he would just do the next best thing. When Violet turned around and started to make her way towards the street Mitch turned around as well, waiting for a minute or two before tossing up the hood of his jacket and following her. He didn’t want Violet to know that he would be following her so he would keep a safe distance. His footsteps were quiet and muffled as he crept a fair distance behind her. Violet could be a real dumbass sometimes and Mitch wasn’t going to let her get hurt, not when he had a chance to protect her.

-----

Violet could feel the hairs on her arms stand up. She didn’t need to look behind her to know that someone was following her. With how late it was and the news that Louis shared today it was probably the flasher. Violet’s hands were tucked away in her hoodie’s front pocket. Her right hand grasped onto the pepper spray that Louis had bought for her today. All she had to do was keep calm and if that creep even thought about getting closer, she would strike. Her heartbeat was pounding in her ears. She hated this feeling but she knew that her best chance was to keep walking forward. Suddenly, she felt her anxiety rise when the person behind her picked up their speed, moving closer to her. Gritting her teeth she turned around, her left hand curled up into a fist. Centering herself on her back foot, Violet sent her fist flying towards a target that would definitely incapacitate the creep: his crotch. Her punch landed, a direct hit on the man's groin. He bent over with a pained groan.

“Take this, you fucking creep!” Violet hissed as she held out the pepper spray, pressing down hard on the nozzle and hitting the hooded man right in the eyes.

“Fucking shit!” The man covered his face before falling to the ground, the impact of which caused his hood to fall revealing who it really was.

“What the fuck… Mitch?!?!” Violet’s eyes widened in confusion. “Why the hell were you following me?”

“I was protecting you from that fucking creep! I wanted to make sure you got home alright.” Mitch replied, his hands covering his eyes. A deep pained sound emitted from his lips, from the crotch punch or pepper spray Violet wasn’t sure. Probably both.

“I said I was fine, you dumbass! Louis gave all of us pepper spray.” Violet huffed but immediately moved to help her friend up to his feet. “Come on, we didn’t get far from Ericson’s Diner.” Violet guided Mitch back to the diner, leaning him against the wall while she worked to open the door. As soon as they got in Violet made a beeline to the kitchen and grabbed a gallon of milk. Pulling out her phone, she dialed up Louis while she started to pour the milk over Mitch’s eyes, his head tilted forward into the sink.

-----

Louis was just getting the water started for his favorite fruity tea when he heard his phone buzzing against the kitchen counter. It buzzed frantically, sliding across the counter until Louis picked it up. His eyes widened when he saw it was Violet. “Violet, is everything okay?” He tried to sound calm but his worry was clear in his voice.

“I’m fine. I need you to pick me and Mitch up at the diner.”

“Okay. Did something happen?” Louis leaned his back against the kitchen counter.

“Yeah, Mitch was being a dumbass,” Violet’s voice was muffled by what sounded like running water.

“I was just trying to-” Mitch’s annoyed tone was cut off by something. A loud sputtering noise came from Violet’s side of the call. “Hurry up, Louis! She’s fucking waterboarding me!” Mitch yelled.

“Take your time.” Violet stated simply.

“I’m on my way right now!’ Louis dashed over to the front door, snatching up his keys before hanging up the phone. He struggled to get his shoes on, hopping on one foot then the other. After explaining the situation to Clementine as best he could he shut the door, locking it behind him.

----

“What the hell, Vi!” Mitch snapped. “Were you trying to drown me?”

“I was just getting the pepper spray out of your eyes.” Violet shot a look over at Mitch who had a dish towel draped over his shoulders while his damp hair dripped on the kitchen floor. “Milk is supposed to help.”

“I’m going to smell like shit if I don’t wash this out soon,” Mitch groaned, tilting his head to the side to whack the excess milk out of his ears. A soft buzzing sound came from Violet’s hoodie. Pulling out her phone, she saw a text from Louis. “Louis is here.”

“Finally,” Mitch winced, his eyes still puffy and red from the pepper spray. “I’ll have to find a ride for me and Brody tomorrow and just get my car later.”

Violet and Mitch walked towards the front entrance in silence until Violet broke it.

“Thanks,” Violet’s voice was soft. “Y’know for looking out for me.”

“Heh, it’s nothing. We’re friends. Besides, us trailer kids gotta stick together. “ Mitch reached up and ruffled Violet’s hair, a smug smile on his face that only grew when he saw the annoyance on Violet’s face. He always knew that that annoyed her.

She jabbed his side with her elbow, a small smile on her face. “Always.”

Mitch moved forward and held open the door to reveal Louis who looked happy to see his two friends. After locking the door the trio of friends made their way over to Louis’ car, both Mitch and Violet already filling Louis in on the events that played out that day.

[ericsonclan]

A Sweet, Fruity Surprise

Summary: Violet and Marlon get a special surprise after basketball practice when their girlfriends ask them out on a double date

Word Count: 3241

Read on AO3:

Violet’s eyes wandered around the basketball court, the constant dribbling the only sound her mind was registering besides that of her quick breathing. Marlon stood in front of her; the dullahan had a serious yet carefree, competitive expression on his face. His red headguard glistened with sweat, a bead of which slid down and splattered on the wooden flooring. The werewolf shifted her weight and began to go to the right; the dullahan matched her speed and soon blocked her way.

The werewolf’s ear tucked down for a moment, annoyed by her friend’s speed before she rushed to the right again, feinting a move before passing the ball over to Chester the mummy. Marlon’s eyes shot over to where the ball was passed, giving Violet a moment to disappear from his sight. While everyone was focused on Chester the werewolf positioned herself to make an easy layup. With a well timed pass, Violet received the ball, her sneakers squeaking against the court as she jumped up, her tail beginning to wag faster as the ball hit the backboard and swooshed through the basket.

Violet landed with a soft thud, her tail swaying back and forth at an even faster pace. Marlon looked sad for a split second but then gave a warm smile to his friend as he wiped the sweat of his headgear. A whistle from the sidelines drew the basketball team’s attention over to Coach Mike. The minotaur began to clap and walked over towards his team, his hooves clacking against the wood.

“Good job today, guys. That wraps up practice for the day. Make sure to bring enough water to tomorrow’s practice. We’ll be working on our guarding.” He gave a soft smile to the basketball team who were all catching their breaths, their focus split between their coach’s words and the water they were chugging, desperate for it to quench their exhaustion. After a few more words the different monsters began to split off, grabbing their bags and other random items and heading out for the day.

“Marlon, Violet.” Coach Mike stopped by the door. “Mind picking up the spare basketballs while I talk to the principal?”

“Sure,” Violet tossed her water bottle against her backpack, causing it to tumble to the ground and spin around in a circle.

“Leave it to us, Coach,” Marlon said, jogging over to start the work. With one final nod the minotaur exited the court, leaving the pair of friends alone to clean up.

“That was a good move today, Vi.” Marlon knelt down and picked up a basketball, tucking it under his arm.

“Thanks,” Violet took a basketball and tossed it towards the metal equipment bin. Her tail wagged excitedly when she saw that she had successfully landed it in.

“I’ve still got a lot to work on, but hey, my head didn’t fall off this time,” Marlon lightly tapped the side of his bright red headgear. Violet looked up, giving a short smile.

“Yeah, that practice didn’t end well,” Violet took another basketball and tossed it towards the bin. Marlon gave a small laugh then struggled to balance five basketballs in his arms. The dullahan shuffled over and with a small grunt dropped them all in the equipment bin. “Hey, at least we get practice,” Marlon’s words shifted the mood in the room for a minute.

The werewolf took a moment to wipe off some sweat from her forehead. She knew what Marlon meant. It had been a struggle to get the basketball team off the ground. There weren't many monster schools in the area, let alone the state. Regardless, Marlon and Violet had worked hard to convince Principal Christa to give it a chance and after getting the team together they were finally able to play basketball as a team. It was a rarity to get games with other monster schools but still they got to play. Violet’s eyes looked down at her tail then over at Marlon’s headgear. With their physical features there was no way they’d ever get to play on another team. The werewolf glanced toward Marlon then walked over, dribbling a basketball. “Bet you can’t get a three pointer in the equipment bin,” Violet gave a small smirk.

Marlon’s blue eyes shot over, looking at his friend before he picked up a basketball and dribbled it a few times then spun it on his finger. “I could do it with my eyes closed. If anyone couldn’t score, it’d be you,”

Violet’s tail stopped for a second at those words before swaying back and forth at a steady pace. “We’ll see about that,” Violet took a couple steps back, her hands bouncing the ball a few times before she looked at the equipment bin and positioned her hands. With a steady breath she shot the basketball, her feet lightly leaving the ground on her jump. The ball hit the wall and spun around the bin then settled in the middle. Marlon gave a whistle, impressed by his friend’s skill.

“Damn, Vi.” Marlon walked back, dribbling the ball back and forth between his hands then stopped at the three point marker. His eyes looked at the equipment then down at the ball. Focusing all of his attention, he released the ball. The basketball spun around in the air and landed safely, tucked in between a few other basketballs.

Violet let out a soft laugh. “Guess I was wrong,” She was about to say more when a familiar voice made her ears perk up.

“I thought I’d find you here,” Prisha’s warm voice made Violet’s tail wag faster as she spun around to see her girlfriend walking alongside Sophie. The harpy gave a friendly smile to her best friend before a happy tweet escaped her lips when she saw Marlon. The dullahan jogged forward and stopped before his girlfriend.

“Hey you two,” He gave a smile to Prisha then to Sophie. “This is a pleasant surprise. What are you two doing here?”

“Well, we thought we’d surprise you,” Sophie reached forward and took Marlon’s hand in her own. That caused the dullahan’s heartbeat to flutter.

“Clem spoke of a new juice shop that opened up a few blocks aways called Sarita’s Sips. I went with her a few days ago and I must say it is spectacular,” Prisha gave a happy smile at the memories of the fruity juice, her fangs poking out slightly. “We thought we all could go there as a nice date after your practice.”

Violet’s eyes grew large for a moment before softening, her tail swaying at a faster pace at her girlfriend’s smile. “Sounds fun.”

“Yeah, I’m down for that. Gotta switch out of my basketball practice stuff,” Marlon playfully knocked his red headgear. “Can't go walking around like this.”

“I don’t know,” Sophie looked at the head gear. “I think it's kinda cute.”

That made Marlon blush, his shade almost matching his headgear. “Thanks, Soph, but I think I’ll take it off,”

“Okay,” Sophie walked over at the bench “Prisha and I will wait here for you two when you get back,”

Prisha nodded, quickly leaning forward and kissing Violet’s cheek before walking over to sit beside her friend. The romantic gesture made the werewolf feel all warm and fuzzy as her tail wagged so fast it was hard to see.

“Let’s go, Vi,” Marlon grabbed his change of clothes and Violet nodded, following him out of the gym. After a few minutes they returned back to the room, placing away their sweaty clothes in their backpacks along with Marlon’s special gear. Coach Mike walked back through the room and thanked them for their hard work before moving to finish closing up the gym.

“Ready to head out?” Sophie asked with a bright smile.

“Yep,” Violet walked over towards Prisha and casually slipped her hand hers. The vampire’s smile grew as she glanced over at her girlfriend.

“I’ll lead the way,” Prisha offered. They strolled out of the gym as pairs of two. Prisha glanced over at her girlfriend. “So, how was practice?”

“Good. I kicked Marlon’s ass in the scrimmage.” The werewolf had a small smirk on her face.

“Hey! It wasn’t that many points your team won by. It was only four.” Marlon had a small frown on his face as he looked at Violet who gave a short shrug in response.

“Well, it looks like your gear worked. Your head didn’t slip off during practice, right?” Sophie tilted her head slightly, her bright blue eyes looking at Marlon.

“Nope, it didn’t budge out of place once.” Marlon declared proudly.

“That's awesome!” Sophie crowed and placed a quick peck on the dullahan’s cheek. Marlon scratched the back of his head and gave a small chuckle in response.

The four friends continued to chat as they walked out of the school. Violet paused for a second, tucking away her tail and tossing up her hood to cover her ears. Sophie put on her hoodie. It was a bit too warm of an option but since they were going to a human food joint it was safer to hide her feathers, especially after the most recent news of a surge in violence against monsters. With their monster features hidden the two couples continued to walk. Both couples were happy holding each other’s hands and enjoying each other’s company. Prisha began to talk about her day and about the Finer Things Club that the school librarian Mr. Santi had started up for monsters interested in discussing different books.

“It's absolutely exhilarating delving into the themes and morality within books. There's nothing more human than discussing topics like that. Which may be odd coming from a monster, but still,” Prisha gave a long, happy sigh, “I love it,”

“That’s awesome,” Violet smiled over at her girlfriend who returned it in kind.

“Man, I hope I find a cool club to join,” Sophie chirped hopefully. “Not sure I wanna join a sport so maybe, hmmm,” The harpy thought on the idea, the only sounds her talons tapping against the pavement and the other’s footsteps. “Oh! I think I saw a flyer about some sort of arts and crafts club. Maybe I can get Minnie and Renata to go with me to the first meeting.”

“That sounds fun,”

Sophie gave a happy twitter at her boyfriend’s supportive words.

“Oh, we’re here,” Prisha’s words made the other monsters stop. Their eyes wandered up towards the sign that read Sarita’s Sips in a warm yellow color that complemented the simple blue background of the sign. The building was a simple bright-colored one with big windows on either side of the front door. Prisha moved forward to open the door, the bell jingling overhead when they entered, drawing the attention of the owner who walked forward.

“Hello there. I’m Sarita, owner of this juice shop.” A woman with a nose ring, deep brown eyes and black hair walked forward. She wore a shirt with the juice shop logo and a simple pair of jeans. She gave a warm smile as she saw the four monsters before here. “Take a look at the menu for all the different options. I’ll be right behind the counter when you’re ready.”

“Thank you,” Prisha replied kindly before her attention turned towards the different boards that held all different kinds of juices, smoothies and drinks with as many fruits as the mind could possibly imagine.

The four talked amongst themselves, the others asking Prisha if she had any favorites. The vampire simply stated that she was positive any would be good since the one she had was so tasty. Sophie’s eyes wandered around, overwhelmed by all the delicious-sounding drinks when they paused on one name: The Berry Blast. A delicious smoothie filled with raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and love. That's what the description said anyway. Sophie got so caught up in the excitement of food that she let out a short series of twitters, chirps and tweets. It was only when they others looked over at her in shock that the harpy put two and two together and realized what she had done.

“I… um...” Sophie could feel her panic rising. There was no guarantee whether a human would be kind or mean to a monster but usually in these kinds of food establishments it leaned towards the latter.

“Oh,” Sarita walked forward, leaning her elbows on the counter, “Are you four monsters?”

The four looked to each other, Violet looked towards Prisha whose face was scrunched up in concentration as she tried to recall if Clem had mentioned if this place was a pro-monster.

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” Sarita gave a soft smile. “This is a monster-friendly place. It might have been better if I led with that.” Her tone was apologetic.

“You’re really fine with monsters?” Marlon’s hand held onto Sophie’s tighter, his eyes searching the human’s.

“Of course! In fact,” Sarita continued, looking to Violet, “If you want to take off your hood you can. I think you have very nice ears,”

Sarita’s words made Violet’s eyes grow large before she reached up. Her hand hesitated for a moment, her grip tightening. With a quick flick she tossed her hood down, letting her ears free. The blonde wolf ears twitched this way and that as her tail slowly slipped free from its hiding spot and swayed cautiously back and forth.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a blonde werewolf,” The human smiled then looked towards the others. “What monsters are all of you?”

The others normally wouldn’t share unless they knew the person but there was something about Sarita’s aura. It was soft and comforting, the sort that made you trust her right away.

“I’m a vampire,” Prisha stated simply.

“Dullahan,” Marlon added.

Sophie struggled to get her hoodie off, annoyed chirps and tweets spilling out as she worked to take off the item that was overheating her. A few of her red feathers shed and fell to the floor. “I’m a harpy. Oh shit,” Sophie leaned over and picked up her feathers. “Sorry about that.”

“No need to worry about that. So, what can I get you guys?”

“I want the berry blast!” Sophie crowed, practically shouting with how excited she was to try it.

“I’ll get the Tropical Paradise,” Prisha’s fangs poked out as she smiled.

“Strawberry Surf,” Violet muttered, her tail wagging a bit faster when Sarita had inputted her order.

“Mango Madness.” Marlon’s free hand rummaged around for his wallet and produced the right amount of money. “I’ll cover this one, guys.”

Prisha wanted to speak but decided that it would be better to just offer to pay for their next double date.

“Alright, I’ll have your drinks ready in just a few minutes,” Sarita turned around and disappeared into another room to get to work.

The two couples took a corner booth. Sophie and Violet slid down on opposite sides of the table all the way to the wall while Prisha and Marlon took their spots beside their girlfriends. The four began to talk once more. Prisha’s thumb brushed gentle circles around the top of Violet’s hand that made the werewolf’s tail go mad, whacking back and forth with joy. Marlon casually moved his arm and wrapped it around Sophie’s shoulder. He was in the middle of a tale about Louis misunderstanding some lore behind a monster and how it ended with him getting his pants glued to a chair when Sarita showed up with their drinks.

After figuring out whose drink was whose, Sarita tucked the waitress platter under her arm. “You four go to Ericson High, right?” Her question made the monsters stop from opening up their straws and look up at the human.

“That’s right,” Prisha replied.

“I thought that was the case. It’s the only monster school nearby and I swear I’ve seen you before,” She looked towards Prisha. “Did you drop by here some other time?” “Yes, I came here with my friend Clementine.”

Sarita gave a small laugh of victory. “I knew I had seen you before! Say, if you go to that school you wouldn’t happen to know Walter, would you? I think he teaches some sort of class on monster lore or…”

“Mr. Walter,” Sophie leaned forward and looked at the human. “Yeah, he’s super cool! A chill, nice teacher.”

Sarita seemed happy at those words. “He is a kind man, him and his husband. They actually helped me come up with the name for this place.” Sarita began to laugh lightly. “There’s a pretty funny story attached to it,” Sarita was about to start the story when the bell rang and a man carrying a box of produce walked through. “Oh, that's my delivery man. I should go help him. Enjoy your smoothies.”

The four monsters gave thanks and began to drink the smoothies. A happy twitter escaped Sophie’s lips as she continued to drink.

“That good, huh?” Marlon glanced over from his smoothie. “Maybe I should give it a try?” “Hmmm, I don’t know if I can share. It's so tasty,” Sophie’s smile grew at Marlon’s little pout. Violet watched for a moment before taking a sip from her glass. Her ears instantly perked up and her tail swayed back and forth, happy with the taste choice she had made. Prisha smiled and took a sip from her drink. The vampire gave a happy sigh. Even though there were no nutrients for her in this snack it was made of her favorite human food: fruit. Something about the sweet, tangy flavors filled her with happiness.

The four continued to enjoy their drinks, talking and laughing until they had finished up and it was time to head out. Sarita wished them a good rest of their day and after putting their hoods back on they headed out. They made their way back toward the school. Violet dropped Prisha off at the front door of the dorms.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Prisha smiled lovingly at her girlfriend.

“I can’t wait,” Violet rubbed the back of her neck, a shy smile on her face before she leaned forward, capturing Prisha’s lips in a soft, warm kiss. The vampire closed her eyes and leaned into the kiss for a moment before pulling away and entering the building. Violet watched her girlfriend walk away her tail wagging too fast and too strong to stay in its hiding spot.

“See you later, Vi,” Sophie gave a small wave to her best friend who made her way over to the bike rack. The werewolf returned the wave then was off towards her own home.

Sophie looked over at Marlon who had a warm, kind smile on his lips.

“Thanks for the surprise date,” Marlon leaned forward and gave her a kiss.

Sophie gave a happy chirp and returned her boyfriend’s kiss with another one. “I’m glad you had fun.” She looked into his eyes, getting lost for a moment before glancing down at Marlon’s watch. “Oh shit, is that the time? I promised I’d be home soon for the baking party,” Sophie gave the dullahan’s hand a quick squeeze then slipped her own free. She ran forward before spinning around on her heel and walking backwards to still see his face. “I’ll see you tomorrow!” “Can’t wait!” Marlon gave one final wave and watched his girlfriend for a minute before he headed out himself. Today had really been a good day.

[ericsonclan]

The Fun of Casual Chaos

Summary: Sophie and Renata have the ultimate sleepover filled with dancing, pizza and lots of laughs.

Word Count: 3029

Read on AO3:

Sophie tapped her fork against her empty plate that was stained with juice left over from the boysenberry pie she had just devoured.

“Want another slice, Soph?” Marlon asked while his mouth was still full of pie. Bits of pie crust flew across the table.

“You know I can never say no to more pie,” Sophie leaned forward and took her boyfriend’s hand. Her thumb brushed against the top of it for a few seconds while Marlon flagged down a waiter.

“Hey there, can I have another slice of boysenberry pie for my lady?” Marlon smiled brightly when he saw how happy Sophie was. Whether it was because of the prospect of more pie or the pet name he had used he wasn’t sure but he bet it was a mixture of both.

“Sure thing!” The waiter gave a friendly smile then turned sharply on his heel to get the pie.

“This date was great,” Sophie commented while Marlon lifted up her hand to kiss her knuckles softly.

“Yeah, that new movie was absolutely awful. It was amazing!” Marlon laughed as he began to recall all of the corny moments.

“That line delivery when the protagonist figured out who the killer was - ‘It was the butler with a butter knife and his grandmama’s monocle!’” Sophie quoted the line in the same tone indication as the actor. It was so spot on that Marlon couldn’t help but snort while he took a sip of his coffee, so much so that the coffee nearly shot out of his nose.

“We gotta see that movie again! But who should we bring with us next time?” Marlon leaned back and thoughtfully tapped his chin with his pointer finger. Sophie soon mirrored her boyfriend before her eyes grew large when the waiter came back with the pie.

“Thanks a million, pal!” Sophie grinned at the waiter who returned the gesture.

“Oh, can I get the check too?” Marlon looked over at the waiter who gave a quick, friendly response before leaving once more. Sophie immediately dug into the slice of pie and devoured it within seconds. Marlon chuckled softly at the sight, causing his girlfriend to glance up.

“Shit, sorry, got distracted by pie. Ummm, let’s see,” Sophie fidgeted with her baseball cap.

“Louis and Clem would totally love the movie,” Marlon offered and Sophie nodded along clearly in agreement.

“True, true. Minnie and Ren would have a lot of fun with it too. Oh! Let's just make it a triple date!” Sophie suggested, causing a smile to appear on Marlon’s lips.

“Sounds good to me. So, speaking of dates, I was thinking we could go to Marsh Park sometime and have a picnic together. Maybe this Friday? You have that day off, right?” Marlon messed around with the zipper on his jacket while he waited for the check to arrive.

“I’d love to but I can’t this Friday. Ren is coming over for the ultimate friendship sleepover. Can we do it on Sunday though?” Sophie noticed that the check had arrived and Marlon quickly paid it.

“Sure, I wouldn’t wanna get in the way of the ultimate friendship sleepover,” Marlon rose to his feet and instantly intertwined his fingers with Sophie’s when she got up. The two thanked the staff of the small diner they had found and were on their way.

“Thanks for being flexible on scheduling, I really appreciate it,” Sophie planted a kiss on Marlon’s cheek. Marlon gave a somewhat dorky smile at that and the two walked on. Sophie couldn’t wait for this weekend and all the fun that was going to come from it.

“Alrighty, I grabbed the drinks and you have the pizza,” Sophie commented as she watched Renata balance a pizza on her head while carrying a bowl of popcorn and candy in her arms.

“Yep! We are all set for the ultimate night!” Renata carefully spun around to flash a grin at her best friend. The  pair wandered to the back living room and placed down their food.

“Okay, Minnie has a gig right now, my dads are staying late at their jobs and Tenn is at AJ’s where I’m sure those two are trying to convince him to play Skunk Me. So the whole house-” Sophie was cut off when she sat down and a loud fart sound emitted from the couch. Renata burst out laughing. Her laughter only grew when Sophie reached to grab the whoopee cushion but ended up setting off another.

“Ha ha, Ren, you better watch out. I heard karma farts are the worst,” Sophie warned but ended up laughing at her own statement.

“I better watch out then. But I’m not afraid - I have the ultimate radar for pranks,” Renata casually sat down on the other couch. Immediately a whoopee cushion went off and it was Sophie’s turn to laugh. Clearly the two of them had the same brain when it came to the opening prank for this evening of fun. Both of them laughed for a minute before Renata hopped up.

“Okay, let's start this off with a classic,” Renata strolled forward and went to where the DVDs were. Running her finger along the rims of the cases, her eyes searched for the movie she wanted. After a minute of searching she found it: 102 Dalmatians.

“I can’t wait to see my baby Oddball!” Sophie excitedly hopped up and jogged over to grab the blankets and pillows.

“I can’t wait to see Cruella De Vil baked into a cake! Top ten cinematic masterpiece moments,”

As soon as the disc was inserted some ads and commercials for older movies started to play. Renata spun around and worked with Sophie to make the ultimate blanket and pillow fort. She scampered this way and that to get everything set while Sophie used her height to hold up blankets at a higher level than Renata could. Renata set up the pillow pillars and placeholders for the edges of the blankets and Sophie let go of the blankets then worked to make the comfiest area ever inside the fort, filled with pillows and their snacks. Renata grabbed the TV and DVD remotes and joined her best friend in their little fort.

“I have to say we have outdone ourselves this time, Soph!” Renata looked around the fort with pride. Looking over, she saw the same pride dance within Sophie’s eyes.

“Yep, I say we did a pretty killer job. Let’s celebrate with a drink!” Sophie cracked open a Jamaica soda for Renata who accepted it gratefully before chugging nearly half of its contents. Sophie opened her orange Fanta and proceeded to do the same.

“Okay, now to see if our mystery pizza is good this time,” Renata rubbed her hands together in excitement then tossed open the pizza box. There stood half of a cheese pizza and the mystery half which this time held a copious amount of caramelized onions and jalapenos. Sophie braved the mystery pizza this time and Renata watched her best friend with baited breath. This was it - it would finally be a good mystery pizza.

It wasn’t. The overwhelming amount of onions mixed with the spicy kick of the jalapenos just didn't vibe with either of them. But soon they moved past that as Renata started the movie before she began to scarf down the pizza. The two friends immediately got caught up in the joy of the movie, commenting on how adorable Oddball was and the other doggos.

“Man, I want to get a dalmatian sometime in the future, They are so cute !” Renata dunked her pizza crust in hot sauce and stuffed it in her mouth.

“Do it! I’m sure Minnie would love having a dalmatian too,” Sophie teased her best friend who was shocked by the sentence for a few seconds but immediately recovered.

“I sure hope so. Because me and the dalmatian that doesn’t have a name are a package deal.” Renata noticed that Sophie was hogging the popcorn and motioned for her to toss some her way.

Sophie grabbed a few kernels and tossed them at Renata’s mouth. “Please, if anything you and Minnie are the package deal that the dog will have to take or leave.” She opened up some skittles and began to toss those as well.

“True, you’re right. Nothing's gonna break me and Minipie apart,”

Soon their focus returned to the movie and they laughed, enjoying all the different scenes. Before they knew it they had reached the iconic cake factory scene. Renata and Sophie cheered on the different dalmatians and other dogs as they took down Cruella De Vil. Sophie crowed with joy and pride when the dogs used the frosting to decorate the cake.

“That’s true art!” Sophie clapped her hands and Renata joined in.

“Can’t forget the cake topper!” Renata added as the parrot flew forward and placed it on top of Cruella’s head. The two friends watched with amusement, chuckling as Cruella De Vil crashed into the shop’s window and got arrested. Both of them cheered and clapped as Oddball got her spots and soon the movie was done.

“That's such a great movie,” Sophie crawled out of the fort and brushed the crumbs off her clothes.

“It really is.” Renata scurried out. “So, you ready for our dance off?” She looked at the redhead with a confident smirk

“Hell yeah!” Sophie returned the smirk.

The pair of friends happily danced to music blasting out of Renata’s phone to warm up before they did their official dance off. It was obvious who was the better dancer. Dancing had always been Renata’s passion and with all the different types of dancing she knew she was able to incorporate different styles together, making cool and unique dance moves to the beat of the song. Sophie, on the other hand, wasn’t a good dancer by any stretch of the imagination. Sophie nor Renata seemed to mind at all though. In fact, Renata loved how Sophie tried to incorporate the chicken dance into a song that it clearly wasn’t meant for before attempting an odd version of the worm.

The friends continued to dance, quickly hopping onto the couches and jumping to the beat of the song. Both of them danced around each other and laughed as the music continued. Soon I Love It by Icona Pop came on and Sophie and Renata shared a smile. Both of them belted out the lyrics and had so much fun dancing to the song that they put it on repeat. They were so caught up in joy of the moment that they didn’t hear Tenn’s quiet voice announce that he was home. He slowly wandered back when he heard the music and saw Renata and Sophie hopping on the couches. Sophie was in the middle of singing when she spotted her little brother.

“Hey Tenn!” Sophie’s smile faded for a moment when she remembered this song had swears in it. Quickly Sophie sung the lyrics louder than the song while she traversed the couches towards Renata’s phone to stop it. “I crashed my car into the bridge, I watched, I let it burn! I threw your shoe into a bag and pushed it down the stairs.” Sophie gave a mighty leap and continued to sing until she grabbed the phone and paused the music.

“Hiya, Tenn! How’s my favorite little artist doing?” Renata hopped off the couch and held out her fist for a fistbump.

“I’m doing good.” Tenn smiled and returned the fist bump.

“I thought I was your favorite artist,” Sophie teased her friend as she walked forward to give her little brother a welcome home hug.

“You’re my favorite tall artist,” Renata pointed out and Sophie seemed to accept that answer and was about to add something but Renata spoke up first. “And before you ask about Min, she is my favorite musician.”

“Dang, I almost got you,” Sophie gave a playful smile before looking back at Tenn. “So, did you have a good time at AJ’s?”

“Yeah! We made our own comic!” Tenn beamed and revealed the comic in his hands. Sophie and Renata both made excited sounds and soon all three of them were looking through the comic together.

“You gotta show Minnie tomorrow since it seems her jig ran super late,” Sophie glanced at the time.

“Yeah, I will. I’m gonna head to bed. I’ll see you in the morning,” Tenn hugged his sister and Renata good night and walked off.

“Get ready for the best French toast tomorrow morning!” Renata called out and Tenn gave a thumbs up before disappearing further in the house. Soon Sophie and Renata got caught up in some games. The time flew by and before they realized it it was three in the morning. Both of them snuck back into their blanket and pillow fort and began to get ready to sleep. The two continued to crack jokes and talked about all the crazy toppings they’d put on the French toast tomorrow. Renata boasted that she’d make the ultimate French toast shaped like a heart for Minnie and would find the perfect ingredients to make it the best it could be. After a few more minutes of talking the pair grew quiet.

“Hey, Ren?” Sophie whispered over to her friend.

“Yeah?” Renata peeked her head out from her pile of blankets.

Sophie was quiet for a second. “I’m glad you're my best friend. You’re always a lot of fun to be around and you’ve helped me through a lot so thanks,”

Sophie’s words made Renata’s heart feel warm and a soft smile pulled on her lips. “Awww, thanks Soph! I’m super lucky to have you as a best friend! Usually at this point people write me off as too much trouble or too obnoxious to be best friend material,” Renata glanced over at Sophie and noticed her frown.

“Yeah, well they’re stupid then. If I ever met them, I’d let them know that it was their loss and that they were dummies to let go of a friend like you!” Sophie whisper shouted and Renata chuckled.

“Thanks. Oh! Maybe chocolate hot sauce would be good on French toast.” Renata’s mind had switched to another lane of conversation.

“Oh! Yes! Let’s try that out. We should get some sleep though,” Sophie yawned and shifted under her blanket more.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Renata rolled over and in seconds was out like a light.

Sophie felt herself drifting in and out of sleep. She kept readjusting her head on her pillow to get that perfect spot. The redhead rolled over to see if she could sleep on her back when suddenly a loud fart sound emitted from under her and Sophie let out a yell and whacked her head against one of the pillow pillars, causing a blanket to fall on her face. “Ren!”

Sophie looked over expecting to see her friend giggling but she was nowhere to be found. It only took Sophie a moment to know where she went. Crawling out of the fort with the six whoopee cushions Renata had hidden throughout it, Sophie tiptoed through the house, making sure not to wake up any of her family members.

She wandered up the stairs and soon stood by Minnie’s bed. Her guess had been right. Renata was snuggled close to Minnie, wrapped around her like a koala. Minnie’s arms were wrapped around her girlfriend. Both of them looked so peaceful and happy. Sophie debated whether she should go through with her plan. After a few seconds she reached out and tapped Minnie’s shoulder. Minnie stirred and looked over at her twin.

“Sophie? What are you doing here? Were you worried about Ren? It's okay, she’s with me.” Minnie mumbled sleepily and felt her heartbeat quicken as Renata nuzzled her face against Minnie’s neck.

“I was looking for Renata but it wasn’t out of worry,” Sophie replied. Minnie noticed the look in her sister’s eyes.

“What did Ren do this time?”

“Fart attacked me.” Sophie’s response made Minnie’s eyebrows furrow.

“Like real farts or-”

“Whoopee cushions. Anyways, can you get up for a second? I wanna get back at her,” Sophie held up the multiple whoopee cushion she had brought. Minnie considered it for a few moments then nodded. Renata probably knew Sophie would get back at her and besides Minnie could always cuddle with Renata after this. She kissed Renata’s forehead and her cheek softly, causing her girlfriend to stir before the redhead untangled her arms and got up. Sophie gave a small thanks then set up all the whoopee cushions. Without warning she slammed her hands down on the cushions, making a loud chorus of farts. Renata yelped and jolted up too suddenly, causing her to slip off the bed.

“Ow,” Renata rubbed her butt and looked up when she heard Sophie’s laughter. “Ah, so these are the karma farts you were talking about. I can’t believe you did this after we had a heart to heart,”

“Yeah, well you started it with the whoopee cushions so I guess now we had a fart to fart.” Sophie’s sentence made Renata  and Minnie laugh. After the laughter died down Sophie headed back downstairs, already knowing that Renata would want to go back to cuddling with Minnie.

The night went quickly after that and as daylight broke Sophie was greeted with the warm, alluring smell of French toast. Entering the kitchen, she saw her dads Matthew and Walter sharing some small kisses here and there as they got the morning coffee together. Walter gave Matthew a hug from behind and kissed his neck before he noticed his daughter. “Morning, Doodlebug. Sleep okay?”

“Yeah,” Sophie walked further in and saw that Minnie was flipping French toast while Renata was working with Tenn to shape the pieces of bread into hearts. Sophie shared a smile with her best friend when Renata looked up. This sleepover really had been a ton of fun and it looked like it would last well into the morning. Sophie’s heart grew warm as she took in the sight of the kitchen. This was gonna be an awesome breakfast.