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munsonfamilyband · 1 year

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@nburkhardt ;)

It is technically not Valentine's day for me anymore but it's still Valentine's day in other places so I'm writing it anyways.

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Eddie walked into Family Video, shaking the snow out of his hair because he refused to wear a hat, and he stopped in his tracks when he saw the decorations. Hearts, pink and red and white hearts. Hearts on the counter and hanging from the ceiling.

Valentine's Day was coming.

"Hey, Eddie." He managed to snap himself out of his stupor to look at Steve. God, Steve. It really is unfair how pretty he is, even in a polo and his stupid work vest. Grinning, Eddie walked up to the counter and leaned his elbows on it, immediately grabbing a heart and glaring at it before tossing it over his shoulder.

"Hey, Stevie. I see Hallmark has sunk its claws into Family Video." He watched Steve get the most adorable frown on his face, his eyebrows scrunching up in confusion.

"Hallmark, what-? Oh! The hearts, right?" Eddie grinned even wider, grabbing another heart and starting to rip little pieces off of it.

"Yeah, figures a movie store would buy into the capitalist propaganda though," Eddie groaned as he spoke, finally ripping the heart to pieces and scattering it on the counter. Steve was giving him a weird look that Eddie couldn't quite decipher but he was save from contemplating it by Robin stepping out from the back room.

"Oh joy, our most frequent and worst customer." Eddie stood up straight with a gasp, holding a hand over his heart.

"Birdie, you wound me. I am your best customer." She chucked a ball of paper at him, somehow managing to hit his chest with only a glance in his direction.

"You can't be our best customer when you barely buy anything and all you do is distract Steve from working." Eddie couldn't help but laugh when Steve yelled a noise of complaint. "What are you even doing here today, Eddie? Shouldn't you be out preparing a valentine for someone or something?"

"Ha! Me, participating it that sham of a holiday?" Eddie laughed, shaking his head. "Absolutely not, Bucks. Valentine's day is a corporate sham that preys on the lonely and not lonely alike. If you're in a relationship you get pressured into buying thoughtless gifts to show off how happy you are for a day. If you aren't in a relationship, then you just get crushed under all the pink and hearts and babies in diapers with arrows, and you get pushed into buying excessive amounts of booze and food so you feel a little less lonely for the day. I've never celebrated and I don't have any plans to any time soon." When he finished his speech he expected someone to say something, but it was completely silent. Robin had moved over to stand behind the counter with Steve and she was frowning at him (something he never liked because she only frowned at him when he was being really stupid and he usually couldn't figure out what he did). Steve was standing oddly still and he had that weird look on his face again. "You feeling okay, Stevie?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. Totally fine." They all lapsed into silence again before Robin cleared her throat.

"Well, I mean, it's not just about relationships it's also St-Ow!" Eddie turned fully to look at Robin who seemed to be leaning weirdly to one side.

"You good?" He watched as Robin and Steve had one of their silent conversations. He loved that they had each other but the silent talking did get annoying.

"...Yeah, slipped and stubbed my toe, that's all. But if you want to avoid Valentine's day you may want to run because we put out all the romcoms today so the crowds will be bad." Eddie wrinkled his nose in distate.

"Ugh, thanks for the warning, I'll see you guys around then?" He glanced between them, noticing that both of them were giving him a tight smile that didn't quite reach their eyes but he decided not to dwell on it. "I gotta catch up with Nance, someone does have a date and has asked her bestie to help her plan it. Any requests, Buckley?" Eddie was relieved when that did get Robin to blush, finally a normal reaction.

"Not really." Eddie just grinned, throwing up a two finger salute before heading back out into the snow to head to the Wheeler's.

~~~~~~

"Nance, I promise you, Robin does not care how elaborate your date is, she will love it anyway because you planned it." Eddie was sprawled on Nancy's bed in her room, arms behind his head as Nancy paced in front of him.

"It's our first Valentine's day, I want it to be special." Eddie scoffed quietly. Nancy had already heard his anti-Valentine's day speech and while they didn't agree, they decided to just move past it. "Oh, right, I meant to ask. I know that you still refuse to ask Steve out, for reasons unknown-"

"They aren't unknown, Nance, we just don't know-"

"Hush. I know you won't ask him out, but are you at least planning something nice for his birthday? I don't know how much I'll be able to help you with since it's in two days-" Eddie suddenly sat up on the bed, staring at Nancy with wide eyes. She couldn't be saying what he thought she was saying.

"Nancy. I need you to not judge me right now when I ask you a question." He waited for her to nod at him, eyebrow already raised to judge him. "What day is Steve's birthday?"

"The fourteenth? Did he not tell you? Eddie? Why do you look so panicked?" He had collapsed back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling in horror. He had gone on and on about how much he hated Valentine's day and how he wasn't planning anything ever and... and he basically said that Steve's birthday was a day he hated. What kind of friend does that?

"I didn't know- Nance, I gave him the V-day speech-"

"Please tell me you are joking, Edward Munson, or so help me-"

"Nancy! Why would I joke about this! I just basically told the guy that I'm practically in love with that I hate his birthday! What do I do!" He was standing now, taking up Nancy's place and pacing the room until she grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to look at her.

"Eddie, listen to me. You helped me plan my date, now I'm going to help you. Because there is no way I am letting you fix this without telling Steve that you love him, and there will be no arguments. You fucked up, not it's time to not run away and fix it."

#stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #should I write more of this?#I was going to finish this tonight but it's like 1am and I have more work tomorrow

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isara0408 · 5 months

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Some Megami x Kaga headcanons cuz why not.

Megami is taller than Kaga. Megami is 5'9, and Kaga is 5'5.

Kaga shows the most affection. He isn't scared of showing Megami affection unless she rejects it, and then he will back off.

Megami has a hard time showing affection (holding hands, hugging, kissing, cuddling, etc). When she does do one of those things, she's quite awkward. Kaga has to take control for her to be less awkward and comfortable. He doesn't mind.

Megami gifted a sentimental object to Kaga. A silver ring with the words "I love you." carved onto it. She has it customized for Kaga to wear, and only him. It is a sign for Kaga to know that Megami did indeed love him even if she couldn't say the words to him. Kaga does wear the ring, almost everywhere (He takes it off when he's showering, or sleeping, or making a gadget, or experiment). He happily shows it off when he can.

Megami spoils Kaga a lot. Megami will buy this little man anything her money can buy. Maybe even a damn company if Kaga asks her to. I imagine Kaga having bags and bags of items that Megami bought him surrounding him and not knowing what to do with it. (He donates it though 🥺 he has a good heart)

Megami goes to celebrate holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas) with Kaga and his parents. Her first Christmas, Megami bought a lot of presents for them to the point that the Christmas tree was fully surrounded and completely covered.

Kaga sometimes brushes Megami's hair before they go to bed. Kaga knows how tired Megami can be after a long day on her feet and managing Saikou Corp. He even gives her massages when she needs one.

Megami eats with Kaga every single day and keeps her eyes on him. She knows about the eating disorder Kaga developed. She wants to be there for him and get him professional help, the best there is in Japan. (The eating disorder is a handcanon I have for Kaga. I'll make a post about it)

Megami is the dominant one in the relationship and during their intimacy. 👀 Kaga doesn't mind. He loves it.

Megami actually set up an actual proposal for Kaga and brought an engagement ring as well instead of just getting married without the proposal part and ring.

Whenever Kaga gets hurt from an experiment, or an invention for Saikou Corporation, or himself, Megami would get upset (she doesn't really show it through her expression, but though her actions) and would get overprotective.

Speaking of which, Megami is scared of losing Kaga. She lost someone close to her already (her hamster), but losing Kaga would be a much bigger hit to her.

Kaga would always put himself in the shadows to let Megami shine. It's one of the reasons why he wears a lot of black clothes. It's a way to blend onto the crowd and not be seen as important. He wants Megami to shine as bright as a star. He is like her cheerleader. He is always ready to cheer for his goddess <3

Megami has this habit of picking Kaga up and carrying him to the bedroom to sleep, or just picking him up out of nowhere whenever they're alone or in their bedroom. This started when Kaga refused to go to bed while working on a new invention.

Whenever Kaga smiles (a normal smile), Megami would cherish it as much as possible and enjoys the sight of Kaga's eyes shining and his smile.

Whenever they're on their bed, Kaga will always be sketching on his notebook for new gadgets for Saikou Corporation while Megami would lean against him, waiting for him to be done, or lay down on his chest, making herself the small spoon for the mean time or just goes to sleep after some time.

Megami is the big spoon, while Kaga is the small spoon.

Megami loves Kaga's parents. She spends more time with them than her own parents.

Megami listens to Kaga's non-stop rambling. It's either during the morning or night when his rambling starts. It's the highlight of her day.

When Megami is asleep, Kaga places a peck on her cheek. She doesn't know about it... well, that's what Kaga thinks.

Whenever Megami and Kaga go out to the town, mall, anywhere public, Megami will study other couples. She would take mental notes on how the girlfriends treat their boyfriends (the good couples, though) and would take time to research as well to be the perfect girlfriend for Kaga.

When Kaga gets irrited or saddened, Megami would damand for him to tell him what happened or who did it. It's rare for Kaga to become quite negative, so Megami knows it's something serious.

Kaga takes Megami out to the town to spend time with each other and relive her stress (or they do something else for that, if you know what I mean 👀), but Kaga tries to take her to place she's never been to and try foods that her father would never allow her to eat.

When they have their children (Ichiro and Ikumi), when they are newborns, Kaga is the one taking care of them during the night while Megami rests and recovers from the birth. (Unless she wakes up and wants to help)

Kaga vists Megami in the student council room when she's alone. Shiromi is always the one catching them during their visit.

Kaga has a lot of nicknames for Megami while Megami only calls Kaga by "Kaga." "Kusha." Or "Dear."( She only calls Kaga this when they are married)

Whenever they are surrounded by people and they don't want them to listen to their conversation, they always talk to each other in a different language.

Extras (Saikou family related)

The Saikou family doesn't like Kaga. The main reasons why he's even part of the family is because of what he can improve in the Saikou Corp and the breakthroughs he was able to achieve, and the chance of giving the family genius heirs. That's it. He's a damn tool to the family.

Kencho doesn't like Kaga. Not one bit. He is the reason why Ichirou is paying more attention to Megami, especially after Kaga and Megami have the first, first-born male in the family.

Maybe in another universe, Kencho will eventually like Kaga with time and treat him like a brother, but for this universe, Kencho hates him.

I have this dark headcanon (Maybe in another universe): so, I don't know why, but sometimes I believe that Ichirou would pay someone to torture Kaga as badly as humanly possible and make him into a broken mind slave. With that, Ichirou would form Kaga into the perfect husband for Megami. However, Megami has to allow him to do it. (She wouldn't. She's not that cold-hearted.... right?)

Another dark headcanon (Maybe in another universe): As soon as Ichirou gets the genius heirs that he wants from Megami and if Kaga gets in the way of how the heirs are raised, he will hire someone to murder Kaga off, and make it seem like an accident.

I feel like Megami's mother wouldn't hate Kaga. He is showing her daughter what love is and how it feels to be in a relationship where both partners love each other. Along with letting her experience the things she couldn't because of how strict the Saikou family is. However, she doesn't get involved much in her daughter's relationship.

Kencho is not allowed to go near Kaga, or Megami, or even their children. It's Ichirou's rule. Kencho does sometimes break this rule.

I have more, and some involve the children I've made for Kaga and Megami, so I'll do that in another post.

#kaga kusha #yandere #yandere simulator #yanderesim #megami saikou #saikou #kaga x megami #megami x kaga #ichirou saikou #kencho saikou #tsuma saikou #saikou family

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fuck-customers · 1 year

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💋The number of customers asking if we are open tmrw (Easter) and then getting miffed when I say no is incredibly disheartening. Do you really think workers should have to be here on a holiday? Like do you not hear yourself and how fucked up that is? Why should we have to be here for you to shop for non necessities instead of celebrating with our families? And not only that, why the hell are you asking about coming back tmrw when you’re already here? Just get what you need now you privileged fuck!

Also a big fuck you to people who ask about other stores/chains hours/holidays. I am clearly not a worker there, I am a worker here, so why the fuck would I know??? Also also, and I said this at Xmas but I’ll say it again now, IT IS NOT MY FUCKING PROBLEM THAT YOU WAITED TIL THE LITERAL LAST SECOND TO BUY YOUR EASTER GIFTS. IF IT WAS REALLY THAT BIG OF A DEAL TO YOU, YOU WOULDVE GOTTEN IT SOONER. YOUR POOR PLANNING IS NOT ON ME THANK YOU AND EAT SHIT.

God the entitlement is fucking ASTRONOMICAL. Anyway, Currently looking for other jobs bc in addition to our horrendous clientele, I was just given a pitiful “raise” of 15 fucking cents. I bring in thousands of dollars a day, on a regular day at least $2000 but on busy days like this we’re talking $4000+. I bring in thousands a day, I do the job of basically three people, I work at a fucking multi billion dollar corporation and you’re gonna give me a fifteen cent raise??? FUCK no that is a slap in the face and I looked at other job postings the second I walked out of that office. Thanks but I’ll go where I’m appreciated and compensated fairly for the value of my labor 🖕🏽🖕🏽🖕🏽

Posted by admin Rodney.

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lucky-clover-gazette · 2 years

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one for the books

modern bookseller au • 4250 words • teen

this is my second and final entry for the 2022 @fsadventanthology! look out for more amazing art and writing from the fandom throughout the month of december. a special thank you to @vagueandominousvibes for organizing this event and accommodating my panicked pms as i completely switched ideas at the last second.

"It began with strictly customer-employee interactions—Mystery Guy asked Vio if he knew any good books about dragons, and Vio asked if he was looking for something more Middle Earth or middle grade (the answer was both). The first actual purchase the guy made was a TJ Klune book—Vio forgets which one—accompanied by an experimental and exceedingly gory graphic novel. It was around the two-week mark that Vio noticed he never asked Green, or Blue, or even Red for recommendations or small talk. This idiot identified the most antisocial employee of the bunch and decided yeah, this is the one I’ll tell all about my middle school Warrior Cats phase."

read it on ao3 or under the cut:

Not even the independent bookstore is immune to shitty corporate Christmas radio.

For eighty-five percent of the calendar year, Vio and his coworkers are allowed to play their own music at a reasonable volume. The store manager is surprisingly flexible in the music she allows in the store—while Green’s lo-fi video game soundtracks and Vio’s classical music fit the whole bookshop vibe well enough, Blue’s fixation with 2000’s pop-punk isn’t nearly as appropriate. But still, Zelda lets him play it, and when it’s really dead she’ll even give Red the aux, even though his preferred tracks rarely come without an explicit content warning.

That exact kind of freedom is easily the best part of Vio’s job, really distinguishing the Bookseller Experience™ from other retail positions he’s held in the past. Here he’s encouraged to offer personal recommendations to customers, and write shelf talkers for his favorite books, and curate perfect playlists for long seven-hour shifts. He’s still working, and it’s still retail, but sharing his oldest and deepest passion with every stranger who happens to walk through the doorway never fails to feel special.

Except, apparently, during the months of November and December. Can he put up a uniquely themed display of underappreciated novels? Nope, every surface is reserved for bestsellers and regional gift guide selections. Can he play his own music? Not when customers can be so easily lulled into purchasing special hardcover editions by the crooning voice of Bing Crosby.

This entire holiday season, there have been two Grinches in the bookstore—one on the designated Seuss shelf, and the other behind the counter. Vio stands there now, absolutely miserable in a purple sweater and his well-worn scrunchie, counting down the seconds until he finally can close up shop.

“Got any fun plans?” asks Red, his only other coworker at the moment. Zelda and Green are off visiting Green’s dad a few towns away, and Blue took the day off to do some last-minute shopping. Vio, meanwhile, hadn’t even considered taking off Christmas Eve. It’s not like he’s getting holiday pay or anything, but it’s better than sitting around alone in his apartment. This is the first time in his life that he won’t be able to make it home for the holidays—thanks, retail—and he’s putting on a brave face about it, but…

“I’m fine,” Vio says, tearing apart a post-it note in his chapped hands. He watches the snow fall through the show window, equally charmed and inconvenienced in anticipation of his walk home.

“I didn’t ask if you were fine,” Red said, completely genuine and even a bit concerned. “I’d ask if you’re okay based on that answer, but, well, y’know.”

“Sorry,” Vio says, shoving the shreds of paper into his pocket. He regrets wasting it with his idle fidgeting, too ashamed to relinquish it to the recycling bin.

Red stares at him with a placating smile. “Actually, can you do me a favor?”

Vio raises an eyebrow, the yes implied.

“Wrap my gift for Blue, please,” Red says, grabbing a softcover book from the staff hold shelf. He’s been obscuring it for a week with a poster for the newest Louise Penny mystery, out of his fiancee’s sight and mind.

Jesus Christ. Red is only a year older than Vio, and he already has a fiancee.

“Special order?” Vio asks, admittedly pleased by Red’s request. Vio is, hands-down, the best gift-wrapper among the bookstore’s staff. He takes every opportunity to go to his little corner and do his little process and curl his pretty little bow and incidentally avoid actually interacting with the customers themselves. Very few things can fully get Vio in the holiday spirit, but give him a stack of six hardcovers and a fresh roll of non-denominational colored ribbon and he’s Mariah fucking Carey.

“Yeah, and it got here just in time!” He hands the book to Vio, who takes a second to examine. It’s a manga—no surprise there, Blue’s the go-to guy for that section—with some vaguely gay shit on the cover that they’d probably display in June.

“It was on backorder for so long,” Red explains as Vio begins his meticulous wrapping process. “He still thinks it is, with the supply chain, so I know this’ll totally blow his mind.”

“Do you think he got you a book too?” Vio creases the white-and-gold wrapping paper and reaches for the tape dispenser labeled ‘FOR GIFT WRAPPING DO NOT MOVE.’

“Maybe! Probably! We do get a 30% discount, so it’d be silly not to do gift shopping here.”

Vio knows all about that. He had shipped his parents’ gifts last week, hand-wrapped of course, with a little note that he tried not to make too melancholy. Otherwise, he wasn’t really on the hook for gift-giving or receiving. All of his college friends had left town after graduation, and most of them are working retail as well.

“Thanks,” Vio says, his voice softer than he’s allowed it to be all day. He’s been stuck for hours in this mental place between ‘Christmas Eve means nothing to me because I’m alone,’ and ‘oh my god it’s Christmas Eve and I’m alone.’

“Thanks for what?” Red asks, passing Vio the blue spool. Vio measures it with expert concentration and begins the exhilarating process of ribbonification (not a technical term).

“For asking me to do this,” Vio says as he uses a pair of scissors to curl a little bow. “I’m sorry I’ve been such a bummer all day, I know you probably don’t want to be here either.”

Red shrugs. “I really don’t mind, but I appreciate your saying so. I know it’s your first Christmas alone. I’d invite you to join me and Blue, but you don’t seem like the third wheel type.”

“No, I am not. And besides, you guys deserve a cozy romantic night together.”

“And you act like you’re so above Christmas stuff,” Red teases as Vio hands him the wrapped gift. “I bet you’d love to be all cuddled up with some cute guy by a fire.”

“Shut up,” Vio says, hiding his face behind his hand. Really? Is that all it takes to make his blush? Apparently so, and he hates it.

“I mean,” Red says, suddenly serious, “there is that guy. You know, the one who’s been coming in specifically to antagonize you for over two months.”

“He’s a customer,” Vio says, although of course he knows exactly what Red is suggesting. “He’s here for books, and I think he works down the street so it makes sense that he’d stop by often.”

“He must have been working a lot these past few weeks, then, and only on the exact days that you happen to have shifts.”

Vio didn’t know that part of it, and he’s sure his expression tells Red just as much. He still won’t take the bait, though, because the situation Red is suggesting simply isn’t something that would happen in real life. In a contemporary romance novel, sure, or a fanfic—but not in the real world, with an annoyingly handsome purple-haired enigma who can’t possibly be younger than twenty or older than twenty-five.

Not that Vio’s speculated about his age or anything, because that would be super weird. Even weirder would be for a service employee to hit on a customer, or vice-versa, so the age thing doesn’t even matter in the first place. There are just too many power imbalances at play between them, and so many unknowns, like the guy’s name and job and if he even likes men, or Vio specifically, because what a weird assumption to make based on vague flirtation—

“Okay, so you’re freaking out,” Red says, shaking Vio out of his… whatever that was. “And you’re shredding the wrapping paper.”

Vio looks down at his hands and groans. Dammit, again?

“Hey,” Red tries to calm Vio as he steps back from the counter. “Just try to relax. I’m sorry for teasing, I promise I don’t know anything more than you do. We’ve all just noticed, over the holiday season, that this guy seems particularly interested in your mystery book display, and, well, you. It’s sweet. We like when he comes in. We like seeing you happy.”

“That asshole doesn’t make me happy,” Vio argues, glancing over at the shop’s single current creative display. He’d adapted the idea from a popular Valentine’s Day tradition—blind date with a book—and the mystery titles, only described with a few selling points, have been selling surprisingly well. Customers seem to enjoy Vio’s bullet-point lists, giving them a clue right on the wrapping paper as to which books would be best suited for their loved ones. And Vio enjoys writing the short descriptions, especially for lesser-known books with particularly unfortunate cover designs. It’s a great little project, and in a lot of ways has gotten him through the sales season—except, there’s been one hitch.

Back in November, right around the time Vio had launched his new display concept, this random guy just started showing up to the store a few times a week. This isn’t abnormal customer behavior—every store has its regulars, after all—but this person in particular had uniquely annoyed Vio from the start. He’d just wander around the shop for like twenty minutes at a time, browsing every section in his stupid jacket with the stupid pins and stomping his stupid Docs on the carpet Vio had just vacuumed the night before, and forget the fifty-something customers who walked on the carpet before him, it’s always this person specifically who Vio resents for the mess.

And then the guy started talking to Vio.

It began with strictly customer-employee interactions—Mystery Guy asked Vio if he knew any good books about dragons, and Vio asked if he was looking for something more Middle Earth or middle grade (the answer was both). The first actual purchase the guy made was a TJ Klune book—Vio forgets which one—accompanied by an experimental and exceedingly gory graphic novel. It was around the two-week mark that Vio noticed he never asked Green, or Blue, or even Red for recommendations or small talk. This idiot identified the most antisocial employee of the bunch and decided yeah, this is the one I’ll tell all about my middle school Warrior Cats phase.

Once the display went out for the real holiday season, Mystery Guy had immediately gravitated towards it. He began to spend his entire visit poring over Vio’s descriptions, using what Vio assumes is prior knowledge and only sometimes the internet to make an educated guess. And every single time he’s visited since, he’s been able to clock at least three of Vio’s newly-added titles without fail.

Of course this nerdy game of cat-and-mouse has escalated over the past month, with Vio writing increasingly vague descriptions of the most obscure titles he can find. But Mystery Guy is apparently a fucking psychic, because he still manages to pin Vio down more often than not. He seems to enjoy messing with Vio, sometimes pretending to be clueless before pulling the title out of nowhere at the last second. Vio wonders how many tabs he has open in Safari, exclusively to search up niche books based on Vio’s descriptions. He kind of hopes it’s enough to crash the phone.

Vio has tried every genre on the shelf to stump this scourge of a customer—poetry, history, cookbooks, and most recently even romance, which is like his least favorite literary genre ever! He had to resort to fucking Goodreads to distinguish between these generic-ass books, each with a cover so uninspired it looks like it was designed using Canva in under eight minutes. It’s like every romance novel published after 2020 is a variation of one or more of exactly three premises—fake-dating, enemies to lovers but not really enemies, like they’re owners of rival bakeries or something, and/or Capital-H Horny. And because of the literal creature of darkness haunting his display, Vio has been forced to immerse himself in the world of trendy romantic fiction just to get ahead. The next time Mystery Guy visits the store, Vio will either finally outsmart him or literally tear him limb from limb.

He’ll have to wait for the new year for his victory, though. Undoubtedly Mystery Guy has better things to do on Christmas Eve than harass Vio. He probably has a partner, just like everyone else Vio knows, because cuffing season is real and people are desperate. Meanwhile, it’s like any potential suitor of Vio’s has to pass an entire emotional obstacle course to even be allowed to hold his hand, and there’s nothing Vio can tell his brain or body to make that less of a fucking problem. Him, cuddling someone in front of a fire like he’s in some lonely gay idiot’s cottagecore AU? Would admittedly be lovely, but not going to happen any time soon.

The sound of the store bell startles Vio to attention, and for just a second his heart lifts. But it’s just Blue out there, all bundled up in a parka and badly hiding a bouquet of roses behind his back.

“Oh, he didn’t,” Red says, already running to the door. He lets Blue in and envelopes him a hug, only groaning slightly when he makes contact with the thorns.

“Hi,” Blue says, passing Red the flowers and giving him a quick kiss. He cranes his head towards Vio, who just stands behind the counter like a moron. “Hey, Vio. Merry Christmas Eve.”

“You too.”

“What time is it?” Blue asks Red, although Vio’s the one in front of the computer.

“6:55,” Vio says. “If you want to take off, I can handle closing on my own.”

“Are you sure?” Red asks, his eyes sparkling as he already begins to pack up his things.

Vio nods. “I’m sure. It’s my gift to you.”

“Thanks, Vio,” Red says, clearly wanting to give him a hug but also aware of Vio’s prickly reactions in the past.

“Don’t forget the book,” Vio reminds him, nodding to the wrapped manga.

“What book?” Blue calls from the entryway as Red shoves it in his large reusable tote bag.

“You’ll find out later!”

It takes Red no time l to vacate the store, arm-in-arm with Blue, leaving Vio behind to wait out the last four minutes he’s required to keep the door unlocked. There’s no way a customer would come in this close to 7, not on Christmas Eve, not—

“Hey, Vio,” says a gut-wrenchingly familiar voice, somehow reaching his ears before the bell above the door. Mystery Guy leans in the doorframe, arriving with a freezing gust of air as he shoots Vio a grin. “Looks like you’re about to close, my bad.”

Vio rolls his eyes and crosses his arms over his chest. “You’re letting in the snow. You’ve got three minutes.”

Mystery Guy raises his eyebrows in genuine surprise, as if he hadn’t expected to get this far. He wears the same heavy black jacket as usual, with the pins Vio has never been close enough to make out, and wouldn’t you know it, his Docs are caked with snow and dirty rock salt. He steps fully inside and shuts the door behind him, matching Vio’s semi-defensive pose.

“Can I help you?” Vio asks, picking up a post-it note and immediately putting it back down.

“Maybe,” says Mystery Guy, walking over to Vio’s mystery book display. “Looking for a last-minute gift for someone. Wasn’t sure if I was gonna have the guts to make a move until like ten minutes ago.”

“Girlfriend?” Vio asks, putting a hand on his hip. Mystery Guy shakes his head. “Boyfriend?”

“Not sure yet.”

It has to be the stupid romance books giving Vio brainrot, making him think what he thinks must be happening.

“Well, what does this… person… like to read about?”

Mystery Guy considers. “It seems like a little bit of everything. He has pretty varied interests. They can get kinda niche, honestly.”

“How niche.”

Mystery Guy picks up one of Shadow’s newly-added books, weighs it in his hands, and scans the description Vio wrote. “Looks like… a combination gluten-free and keto cookbook themed around 90’s sitcoms.”

“80’s. That’s not his thing, though, he probably just thought it was too obscure for annoying customers to guess.”

He examines a paperback from all angles, as if trying to see through the wrapping, and then reads the description again. “A graphic novel—no, manga—based on a popular Nintendo franchise that he describes as, and I quote, ‘significantly gayer than anyone would ever expect it to be.’”

“Well, whatever Bowser and Luigi get up to in their free time is their business.”

This makes Mystery Guy smile, like really smile, and Vio feels like he’s winning and losing at the same time.

“And let’s see,” Mystery Guy says, reaching for a mass-market paperback with a disproportionate-looking bow, “romance novels, apparently. He appears to be a big fan, based on the not-at-all snide or derisive commentary on the tin.”

Vio wants to protest Mystery Guy’s accurate interpretation of his writings, but he’s too busy being impressed that the guy knows how to use ‘derisive’ in a sentence.

“Would you, uh,” the guy begins to ask, stopping himself halfway through the sentence. Gone is the confidence, at least during this pause, and he proceeds with obvious caution. “Would he not be interested in… romance? As a genre?”

Vio shakes his head. “No! I mean, yes! I mean, what?”

“Because I—fuck, it’s gotta be past 7:00 at this point, and I had this whole plan to be all charming and suave but then I ran late in the storm and it’s like I’m standing here now and regretting every decision I’ve ever made up until this point, because you’re basically a stranger and in a position where you can’t turn me away and sure, in a movie this would be perfect, but in real life I’m just acting like a total creep—”

“What’s your name?” Vio asks, crossing over the room to join Mystery Guy at the display. Closer to him, Vio can see that his gloved hand is shaking. “It’s not very fair that you’ve been able to see mine this whole time, while I’ve had no choice but to call you unkind things in my head.”

“Shadow,” Mystery Guy says, and it’s not like it doesn’t make sense.

“Okay, Shadow, I’d be happy to help you find the perfect book for your desired recipient.”

They avoid contact, both staring at the wrapped volumes on the display as if they’re the most interesting things in the world. Vio selects one and slides it into Shadow’s hand, hoping that a solid object to hold will help keep him steady.

“He might not be a fan of the contemporary romance genre,” Vio says, genuinely surprised by the levelness of his voice. Maybe talking to dozens of strangers a day about books has made him immune to social anxiety, just as long as the topic of discussion is literary. “But romance can be found in nearly any story, in one way or another. He… it sounds like he…”

Shadow clears his throat. “It’s you, Vio, you can give up the bit.”

Vio shakes his head. “Nope, I committed already, I’m seeing this through."

“Fair enough,” Shadow says with a grin. ”Now tell me more about this guy, he seems cool.”

Vio wants so badly to continue the banter, but knows for the sake of his own comfort he has to press pause. He turns to Shadow with a serious expression. “Honestly, before I really start talking about him… he’d probably want you to know that he has a few minor concerns. He’d like to maybe learn what you do during the day, like for work, when you’re not busy antagonizing your local bookseller. What brought you to this town, what your ulterior motives were for becoming a regular at the shop, if you had any at all. He… he just wants to make sure you’re safe, and he apologizes if that’s an offensive thing to question.”

Shadow nods, seeming to understand Vio’s hesitation. “I work at a gallery downtown, just a few minutes away from the shop. I moved here after graduating art school because this happened to be where I got offered a job. It’s lonely being in your early twenties in a college town, so sometimes it’s nice to just sit in a cafe or browse my local independent bookstore and feel like I’m a part of something. It’s pure coincidence that, on my first visit to this bookstore, I read several shelf-talkers written by some nerd named Vio who seemed to have similar tastes to mine. So I took out a few of his recommendations from the library—sorry, I don’t have the space to own books right now—and thoroughly enjoyed them. I wanted to talk to him more about books, maybe even ask for his number, but I am not a master manipulator so I settled for being a pest instead. From there it just escalated, because it’s cute when he gets all pissed off, and I enjoyed the challenge he created for me with the wrapped books.”

Vio exhales shortly. “So, uh… if you were to ask for his number now… would it be just as a friend?”

“If that’s all he’s interested in, sure.”

“It’s not,” Vio says firmly. “He, uh, told me so.”

“Glad to hear it. Does he happen to have any favorite foods, or beverages, over which we could hypothetically discuss our tastes in literature on this snowy Christmas Eve?”

“Pumpkin soup and evil root beer.”

“What the hell is evil root beer?”

“Normal root beer,” Vio explains, “served in a fancy glass so he can gesticulate during his pretentious literary diatribes.”

“The fanciest glass I have is a Garfield mug.”

“Works for me.”

Both Vio and Shadow smile, and finally they come face-to-face. They’re not going to kiss or anything—not yet, anyway—but they both can feel the potential. They gaze into each other’s eyes like they’re romantic leads in a novel Vio would give one generous star, and it’d be tacky if it was anyone else, but not when it’s them. And while kissing doesn’t feel quite right in this particular moment, leaning forward to gently touch foreheads just does.

“I live like five minutes away,” Shadow mutters, unable and unwilling to move. “I usually feed Pinecone—my cat—around 7, so maybe I’ll head out now, grab pumpkin soup ingredients at the market on my way, and you can come over once the store’s all closed up.”

Vio nods, slightly disrupting the forehead touch that feels so inexplicably cosmically correct. It’s like, in any conceivable universe where Vio and Shadow both exist, they will inevitably end up just like this.

“What’s your address?” Vio asks, allowing himself to close his eyes. God, it’s been a long day.

“I’ve got a shitty one-bedroom apartment above the Tower of Spirits liquor store. I stole half of my furniture off the street after the mass exodus of college students in June.”

“You’ve really been here since June?” Vio asks, disregarding the furniture part because for some reason it also feels cosmically correct. “You must have been so lonely.”

Shadow nods. “Lonely, I’m good at,” he says, finally pulling away. “Believe me when I say, I’ve had lots of practice.”

Vio nods. “Yeah. Me too.”

“It’s the not being lonely that really freaks me out,” Shadow admits, and it’s like wow, that’s some deep shit to say when Vio just learned his name ten minutes ago, but haven’t they technically known each other for months? Shadow has already read some of Vio’s favorite books, and for Vio that’s about as intimate as passing second base—hell, even third, depending on the book.

And it could have been a truly beautiful moment between them—one for the books, pun intended—if only the goddamn Chipmunks hadn’t started singing about Christmastime.

“Oh, fuck this store radio,” Vio says, retreating behind the counter and pulling the plug. “I’ll see you in like twenty minute, I can Venmo you for the soup ingredients later.”

Shadow looks like he wants to argue with the Venmo thing, but just shakes his head instead. “Sounds good.”

“Oh, and wait,” Vio says, grabbing a pen and a post-it note, “what’s your number?”

Shadow gives it, and Vio knows this is one piece of paper he will never absentmindedly shred. At least, not until he has a second to enter it into his phone, and then it’s totally fair game.

Vio hears the ring of the bell and goes to lock the door behind Shadow. Through the glass he watches flurries of snow punctuate the pitch-black sky—and in it, he sees his own dark reflection. It’s just him, of course, a blonde guy in a purple sweater and scrunchie, still visibly tired but noticeably less miserable than he had been an hour ago. He sees a guy who isn’t alone on Christmas Eve, who probably won’t find himself anywhere near a fireplace but will most likely end up cuddling his months-long crush by the night’s end.

He gives himself a smile and decides he can skip the vacuuming tonight. Call it a gift to himself, although several closing tasks still stand between him and Shadow’s apartment.

Vio turns his back on the darkness and gets to work.

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caricature-story · 5 months

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tomtenadia · 2 years

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A Little Braver - 66

Hellooo... here we go with a new chapter. It’s a good one with fluff. Enda and Micheal are opening their restaurant and it’s also the solstice. I hope you will love it.

The winter solstice had finally arrived and with it heavy snow in full Orynth tradition.

Aelin woke up with a groan and found the side of the bed empty apart from bird Rowan “you and I need to stick together,” she muttered while hugging the toy.

“Did you say something?” Rowan appeared on the threshold in nothing but his boxers and a mug of coffee in his hands.

“You always wake up early,” she complained while disappearing under the heavy duvet.

Rowan placed the mug on his nightstand and sat on the bed and brushed her head “You know I love waking up early,” a kiss on her head to make up for his absence “Plus you might want your solstice presents.”

At those words Aelin perked up and sat up in bed. Rowan went to grab a gift and got back to her. They had decorated the house a few days earlier on and it had been so much fun and Rowan had bought her a few more handcrafted hanging decorations.

Aelin took the envelope first and opened it then she laughed. It was a subscription to a box of varied chocolates sent to her once a month. It was from her favourite shop that made hand made chocolates. Aelin kissed him “This is perfect, now I have monthly fix.”

He flicked her nose “make it last at least two days,” added, while passing her her second present.

The rule with gifts was that they had to be meaningful and not too expensive and no more than two.

She opened the second one and saw it was a book.

“It’s stories from very successful women all around Erilea, I had a quick look and there’s one of them that you might love particularly.”

Aelin threw her arms around his neck. He had gifted her a few books and Rowan always had impeccable taste.

Quickly Aelin jumped off the bed and grabbed her presents and passed them to him while launching herself back in bed.

The first one was oddly shaped, he opened and found a baseball hat from the Stags, their favourite hockey team. Then he flipped it over and noticed something under the visor “Aelin is that—?”

She smiled, “yes is autographed by the whole team.”

“How?”

“I discovered that Ilias has a friend who works in the hockey federation, so I asked him and he did it.”

He kissed her deeply “This is amazing.”

“Open the other one.”

Rowan did and saw the hockey jersey of his favourite player, and when he turned he noticed that the number was signed too. He wore the jersey and strutted around the house.

Rowan then walked to the bed and hugged her “I love my presents.”

“I am glad,” she brushed his long hair that now reached just below his shoulders.

Aelin pulled him to her and Rowan folded his arms around her and kissed her deeply “I think we have time for me to show you just how much I loved your presents.” His kiss turned needy and Aelin moaned at the feel of him “show away, captain, it’s still early and we still have all morning to celebrate the solstice our own way.”

Their thank you session lasted far longer than they expected and now Aelin was running around the house complaining that they yes, had fun but now were running late for the restaurant inauguration.

Enda and his husband had finally managed to open the restaurant and they had decided to open it on the winter solstice, Terrasen’s main holiday and Aelin had promised a lot of customers in the form of hungry firefighters.

The official opening would be in the evening for the public, but they were going to have a private event all of them to test Enda’s skills. Sellene had joined him too.

After her last vicious fight with her boss she had called it quits. She had moved out of the fancy company paid house and was now living with Micheal and Enda who had both been delighted at having her at their place. Sellene was working with some ex colleagues to open a small law firm mainly dedicated to family law and common people. She was out of the corporate world.

So, for the time being she had offered to work at the restaurant and be in charge of the baking too. Her evening classes had gone brilliantly and Aelin had tasted her creations on plenty of occasions. Rowan kept telling Sellene to stop fuelling Aelin’s obsession with sweets and ruin his grand plan. Said grand scheme had of course failed.

“You can move particularly quickly when there is food involved.”

Aelin glared at him and in response Rowan took her hand “let’s go, bottomless pit, it’s your time to shine.”

She followed him laughing. As a joke, Rowan had given her a plastic set of pilot wings with bottomless pit written on. Aelin had loved them.

The restaurant was in Old Orynth. They parked in a nearby area and started walking to the location. No one apart from Sellene had any idea of how it looked like. Enda and his husband had decided that had to be a surprise too. Hand in hand they followed the instructions and reached what looked like a restaurant.

“The Mistward That’s a nice name” below it, the sign read authentic Wendlyn cuisine.

“I am already hungry, buzzard.”

A moment later Enda appeared at the door “Our first clients.” He went to hug Aelin and smiled at Rowan “come in you both, we are all excited.”

The couple entered the locale and Aelin stopped to stare at the place. It had a gorgeous rustic feeling with red bricks exposed, the top was wooden and vaulted leaving the beams exposed. The windows were decorated with fairy lights and Aelin smiled when she noticed elves on tables. Rowan had explained her that Wendlyn did not celebrate the solstice, but Yule, but Enda and Micheal had decided to respect the tradition of their new place and embrace it. The place looked magical.

In that instant Sellene’s head emerged from the kitchen and the two women screamed in excitement.

The two had become very close pretty quickly and Rowan was happy to see Sellene that happy, she had a few bad months and he had worried as his usual.

“This place is amazing, guys and also so very perfect for this area of Orynth.”

Micheal smiled at her “I did some research and the building around here have a lot of history in them so Enda and I just decided to clean it up, fix it but not affect the original structure, it has charm.”

Aelin started walking around the tables that had been placed in a horse shaped way and took in the restaurant “You already have a faithful customer.” She grabbed Rowan’s hand and he nodded “this is really a great place you have here, you have done a wonderful job.”

“It was time to invest all the money from our jobs in something worth it. This is it.”

“Are you ready to deal with a horde of hungry firefighters though?”

Enda laughed “I have a special menu for today and I hope they will enjoy it.”

Half an hour later someone knocked and Sellene discovered Lysandra and Aedion.

“Oh wow,” mouthed Lys while staring at the place in a daze.

Aedion walked to Enda “thank you for letting us be part of this.” He then took out paper and his phone “I have a foodie blog and I was wondering if you will let me take some photos of the place and the food and also write an article?”

Lysandra patted her husband shoulder “he has followers.”

Enda beamed “if you put us on the map, go ahead.”

“I read his blog too, I can’t cook, mostly make a list of the recipes I want to try so I can annoy him.”

Rowan snorted “you annoy me now, but it’s fine, feeding you was part of the contract apparently.”

“I am really excited to taste the food, I have bought a few cook books of food from Wendlyn, but I am curious to see if I ever got close to the real thing.”

Micheal came back with a huge tray and placed in on the table “we have some appetisers while we wait for the others to arrive,” then came back with wine “of course alcohol too.”

Aelin looked at Enda and the man nodded. He was aware that Rowan had gone all dry after his dark period and she had followed him. He ran away and came back with a huge pitcher of what looked like iced tea “it’s my refreshing recipe. Go on, I have a lot ready.”

Rowan thanked his cousin and sat at Aelin’s side tasting the entrees. The food tasted fresh and the spices brought him back home.

Slowly the rest of the party started to trickle in. Elide arrived with a surprisingly smiling Lorcan, followed by the rest of east team, Fenrys and Ansel, Connall, and Vaughan then Evangeline and Marcus.

Everyone complimented the couple for the restaurant and admitted that they were all super excited at the idea of being used as guinea pigs.

Enda reached the centre and called for attention “Thank you al for coming today, I know it’s a holiday but it makes us very happy to share this day with you all.” He took his husband’s hand “Micheal and I have put a lot of love in this place and we hope you will enjoy your food.” He looked at them all “I have prepared a special menu. Wendlyn celebrates Yule but the idea is the same, a time to spend with loved ones. Today you will taste some of the comfort foods in the Whitethorn family during this holiday. Recipes filled of traditions and memories.” Enda took Sellene’s hand “recipes that are still passed down the generations in our family and that I want to share with all of you.”

The group fell silent and he then continued “speaking of traditions, I was told that the firefighters at east station have their own tradition and Aelin asked if we could observe it as a good vibes for the restaurant.” He nodded at Aelin and she stood and walked at the centre of the room.

Sellene walked to her and brought her a bagel and Rowan and east team laughed “When at east we are stuck at the firehouse for the solstice, we lit the ceremonial bagel.” She lifted the food in the air “we pray to it to give us a quiet shift with not too much drama and the possibility to celebrate in peace.” Enda passed her a metal bucket “I have asked Enda and Micheal to let me lit the bagel as a prayer for them for a successful restaurant.”

The two men nodded and Enda started playing some solemn music on his phone.

Aelin lifted the bagel in the air and with a lighter set it on fire, always hovering over the bucket “Oh mighty bagel, bless this place with your power. Make the restaurant popular to show Enda and Micheal they had the best idea ever. Oh mighty bagel, we thank you and bow to your immense power.” She dumped the burnt bagel in the bucket and the group cheered.

“Does it work at the station?” Asked Micheal.

Aelin glared at Rowan “usually yes, until someone decides to say that dispatch alarm hasn’t gone off yet.”

Laughters erupted all remembering Rowan’s comment the previous year.

Enda let them chat away and Micheal entertain them and walked in the kitchen with Sellene “are you ready?”

“Nervous, this is big.”

“You are an amazing chef.” She kissed him on the cheek and they started gathering the first course. They would have waiters for the official opening at night, lunch was a private matter.

The smell of food hit them the moment the doors of the kitchen opened.

Rowan closed his eyes and inhaled it while memories flooded in. Of his parents, his mother cooking all of his favourite meals. Their kitchen having always the typical scent of the spices she used. Wendlyn cuisine was rich in flavours and in that instant he was back in time.

“This is a soup. Wendlyn is a warmer country, but even during our more moderate winters we love warm food. It’s a special soup that my mum used to make me when I was upset or sad. It’s comforting and full of love.”

Rowan remembered the soup and smiled at the memories and the evenings spent at Enda’s place. His cousin smiled back at him and he was positive they were both thinking about the same memories.

“This is incredible,” commented Aedion who had an expression of pure bliss. He had taken all of his photos of the place and had also posed for one with both Enda and Micheal “Such soup will be a success in a place like Orynth where it snows all the time.”

Enda laughed “that was the plan.”

Aelin took Rowan’s hand under the table and smiled at him “learn the recipe, this is yummy.”

“The flavours are so rich, these are not Terrasen spices, though?” Asked Brullo who was another food enthusiast.

“They are from Wendlyn, we will import them. You cannot find them here.” Explained Micheal. Enda had sat at his side and the couple was basking in that moment and just hoped that the public that night was just as enthusiast.

Once all the plates were clear Sellene and Enda waited a while and then proceeded “I have selected two main dishes that were my dad’s specialty. The first one is a special risotto. I am not adding anything but I have a feeling you haven’t tasted anything like it.” He smiled proudly “the second is our version of lasagne.”

The three disappeared and a moment later started to pour back with the risotto first.

“I am so glad I had a very light breakfast this morning,” commented Fenrys as he eyed the plate in front of him.

“I will need to go for a solstice run after all this food,” added Asterin after the first bite.

“This is the risotto that Essar threw in Lorcan’s face once.” The comment had come from Rowan and the dark-haired man glared at him.

“I remember,” echoed Enda “the first time you dumped her.”

“I thought it was just sex,” mouthed Aelin.

“It was…” continued Sellene, “but our stallion was popular and Essar after a while got possessive.”

Lorcan turned to Elide in an apology but he found his girlfriend laughing happily.

“What a waste of a good risotto,” added Aedion who had followed the exchange in silence.

Enda stood and came back with a few more pitchers of iced tea and water and noticed that Fenrys nodded at him with gratitude.

When the lasagne arrived Brullo perked up. He was the one at the firehouse who used to cook his family recipe and he was proud of it. Now he was fascinated to try this new one.

“Brullo, the first slice is yours. I have been told that lasagne are your specialty.” Enda passed him the plate and the lieutenant thanked him “mine is a family recipe too.”

He took his fork and attacked the food and hummed with happiness at the bite, then another one and sighed “you win. There is something in here I can’t place that it just gives it a special flair. It’s perfect.”

Enda smiled “I am positive your version is great too and I want to try it.”

Brullo blushed savagely, “next time you two are at the firehouse.”

Enda patted his back and he went back distributing the food. He was happy he had made a lot as Aelin had recommended. Everyone had asked for seconds. For a chef that was the best compliment ever. And the meal was not over yet.

“This reminds me a lot of the southern continent, some of the spices and flavours resonate with me,” added Borte while tackling her second helping “there is a market in north Orynth where I get all my spices from home. I loved this so far, it reminded me of home for some reasons.”

“I know the place,” chimed in Aedion “once Lys and I got back from our honey moon I started visiting it and buy spices. I became obsessed with the food from your land.”

Sellene laughed “hopefully you have a new obsession?”

He grinned deeply “oh, you have definitely a customer here.”

Aelin, Borte and Brullo were the only three who actually asked for a third portion of the lasagne.

Rowan scoffed loudly and told her she was walking home.

“The second course is a special stew that my grandmother taught me to do. It took me a while to master as she had her magic touch, but I want to believe that it’s now as close as possible to her version.”

Rowan’s face lit up. The special stew. He remembered Enda trying to learn the secret from his grandmother and all of his failed attempts when she let him cook. He hoped that Enda really had perfected the recipe because that really was a blast from the past.

“And for our vegetarians, I have a version for you to as per everything else.”

Ansel and Luca were the two vegetarians of east station.

“Yummy, yummy I need you in my tummy,” singsonged Ansel as she accepted her plate.

“It’s very satisfying to see you all eat.”

“It’s a sport and we are champions,” added Nox.

“He is right, we could win the olympics,” added Wes.

Rowan finally got his plate and smiled at Sellene silently sharing with her memories of a long time ago.

Eagerly he took a bite and in that instant he was back in the woods with his father, Enda and Sellene during one of their camping trips were Enda’s grandma would provide them with an insane amount of food stating that she was not letting them eat meat on a stick or any other atrocity bought at the shops. His dad was the one taking them away and that thought the three to build a tent and respect the woods.

“So?” Asked Enda, looking at his cousins.

“I am back in the woods on a camping trip.”

“You did it, Enda,” chimed Sellene happily “I agree with Rowan, I am back in the woods.”

“What do you mean,” asked Manon, while enjoying her portion.

“When were young Rowan’s dad would take the three of us camping. Enda’s grandma did not believe in meat on a stick or other camping food so she would cook this stew, saying that in front of a fire it was the perfect meal we could share.”

Aelin kissed Rowan’s cheek. She was loving learning a side of his family and of his past that he always kept guarded. She wished they’d manage to go to Wendlyn soon. Aelin wanted to meet the clan Whitethorn and explore the places where he grew up.

To Enda’s happiness, everyone took seconds and Micheal looked at him in disbelief. Sellene had warned him that they ate a lot but he was not prepared.

“Does west eat this much too?” Sellene looked at the other captain that had been invited.

“Oh yes, am I am definitely recommending this place to my team.”

Evangeline laughed at his side “they should have competition between the five houses to see who eats the most.” The young woman had moved to west as a permanent paramedic and Aelin knew from Marcus stories that she had become a very skilled paramedic. She had trained with Lys and Elide after all.

“That’s a show I’d like to see,” commented Connall while polishing up his plate.

Hilarity spread through the group and Aelin followed the group happily. All of them together, one big family. Her family. Then she stood and grabbed her glass of iced tea “I want to make a toast, a special one,” her eyes landed on Aedion and Rowan afterwards “To missing friends and loved ones. A toast to celebrate the imprint they left on our lives, no matter how briefly. We love you, wherever you are.”

She looked at Aedion and saw the man looking up and she knew he was thinking about his father. She knew he was still recovering and one day she, Rowan and Lys had accompanied him to the airforce cemetery where a grave was added for Gavriel. He had paid his respects and they had left him alone to mourn and talk to his father. Rowan took his turn too and the experience had left a sign on both men. They had gone back to Lys and Aedion’s place and had celebrated the man’s life helped by Rowan’s stories. It had been cathartic for all of them.

They all stood silent for a few minutes and then the party continued.

Enda had allowed them all a digestive pause after the culinary marathon and the cousins had taken the stage with anecdotes from Wendlyn, with the occasional input from Rowan and Lorcan.

“Was Lorcan always grumpy as a kid too?” The question came from Elide.

“He was a few years in front of us but we somehow ended up in the same circle of friends. He was not. Lorcan was actually quite cheery and on a good day funny too.”

Everyone gasped at the revelation.

“How, what did go wrong?”

Rowan knew. His parents went through a horrific divorce with a brutal battle for custody. Lorcan was the one who suffered the most from it.

“Oh, he just got old and grumpy,” he added, ditching the question. He looked at Lorcan and his friend nodded in thank you.

“He was the popular kid, that puts a lot of stress,” added Enda who was also aware of the trauma that the divorce had caused Lorcan.

“Lorcan popular kid?” Asked Ansel curious and Enda nodded again “especially among women, something that I am told hasn’t changed.”

Elide cleared her voice in protest “Until I arrived and made a honest man out of him.”

Lorcan grinned and kissed her head “that she did. Now she is my one and only.”

The female part of the group swooned and Elide grinned.

Her relationship with Lorcan hasn’t always been easy but day by day they had learned together, considering that both of them were new at the whole relationship thing. Lorcan had slowly let his barriers down with her, feeling comfortable to shed his mask with her and she felt honoured by it. Living with him had been another step in cementing their situation and now she was slowly teaching how to handle civilian life.

“I hear wedding bells,” the joke came from Fenrys and Lorcan chocked on his glass of wine.

“Be careful what you say, boyo.”

His brother slapped on the nape of his neck “think about your woman and do not anger the man.”

Ansel kissed his cheek “your brother is right, plus we all know Aelin and Rowan are next.”

Aelin glared at Ansel and Rowan burst out laughing “I know they have a pool going on on us.”

“Traitors…” whispered Aelin while pointing her fork at her team.

The cousins followed the exchanges with amusement and loved seeing the group banter.

Sellene loved watching Rowan that relaxed and for an instant she had in front of her the young boy who used to spend all his time with her and Enda.

“Sorry, we took over the scene,” apologised Aedion.

Micheal shook his head “it’s actually fun.”

Enda agreed “I am loving this so much.”

“We bring comedy,” added Asterin.

They were about to go back to their discussion when someone knocked at the door. Enda went to open it and saw a brown haired woman and a man in a wheelchair.

“Hi, we are Yrene and Chaol. Aelin invited us but we have been stuck in traffic.”

“Come in, come in please.”

Yrene pushed the wheelchair and entered the restaurant. As soon they were noticed the group shouted in cheers. Aelin stood and went to hug Chaol “Look at you!” A soft kiss on his cheek “I am glad you came.”

“Sorry we are horribly late. Traffic coming from the south was a nightmare.”

“Enda, will you be okay with two more guests?”

“Absolutely. We still have plenty of food.” He disappeared in the kitchen and the group shuffled to allow the newcomers to sit down.

“Enda, Micheal, Sellene, these are Yrene and Chaol. She is a doctor at Med and Chaol is a cop.”

Enda brought them some plates “the soup is still hot and I have a few more dishes coming. I hope you have a big stomach like the guys here.”

“How is recovery going?” Asked Aedion to the man.

“I am improving. In the past few days I have been able to walk at the parallel bars. Just a few steps, but for me is a very big achievement.”

They all cheered. It had been bad for a while and the doctors did not know if he could walk again.

“I have missed my favourite cop on incident scenes.”

“Aelin loves me because I keep reporters away from her.” Chaol explained with a grin while enjoying his soup.

“She is right. Nes has a temporary partner but he is not as cool as you.” Added Marcus.

“It might take me a while to get back,” Chaol’s voice was sad and Marcus felt bad for a moment.

Yrene patted his arm tenderly.

“The food is amazing, Enda.”

“I am glad you love it.”

Chaol happily started to catch up with the firehouses and Aelin told him about Rowan being a new paramedic and Fen a new firefighter.

“Oh yes, I knew this, we have seen him at the hospital. The nurses are all in love with him.”

“Which ones? I’ll kill them.” Joked Aelin in a jealous tone.

“Don’t worry, I am sure Sorscha will keep them away.”

Rowan kissed her head “Stop being jealous.”

She scoffed.

“We are having a bet and see how many people start to call east ambulance on purpose to be helped by him.” The admission came from Ansel.

“Well, it might not happen, dispatch sends the assignments. People have no choice,” explained Lysandra while grinning wildly.

“Oh Lys, you just destroyed a lot of women’s dreams,” the comment came from Borte and Luca pinched her side.

Aelin giggled “so you two? Do you have anything to tell us?”

Aelin had noticed that the two had gotten closer recently and she liked them together. They were both shy and quiet.

“We… well… we might have had a few dates,” Luca smiled and grinned pulling Borte to him “are we breaking the rules, captain?”

Aelin laughed “no guys, I am happy for you both, you make a cute couple.”

East station cheered and in that moment Enda and Sellene decided it was time to bring out desserts.

“Sellene has made all of this.”

Aelin perked up when she noticed the different types of the desserts being placed on the table.

Rowan covered her eyes and she pulled his hand away “That is not good for you.”

“Oh come on Rowan, stop being the chocolate police.”

“Consumption of chocolate releases the happy hormones: endorphins, dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin. It’s good for you.”

“Straight from the mouth of the doctor,” Aelin grinned at Rowan and kissed her cheek.

Sellene brought a plate with a few slices of different cakes and Aelin “Go to town, young lady.”

Lunch eventually finished and allowed Enda, Micheal and Sellene to get the restaurant ready for the night.

Aelin and Rowan were the only two left “Thank you for this, it was an amazing meal.” Aelin hugged Sellene “I really I hope it all goes well tonight. You all deserve it.”

Rowan smiled at them “This is a great restaurant and it really felt like home.”

“That’s what I was hoping for.”

“We’ll let you tidy up the place and get ready for tonight” Rowan hugged both Sellene and Enda “I am proud of both of you.” Then patted Micheal on his shoulder “welcome to the family too.”

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