#i need to give him his silly dangly star earring

[rucow]

this dude again (wip)

[harrieatthemet]

Something’s Better Than Nothing

in which Harry brings a gift and your boyfriend is an asshole.

feedback is very much wanted (:

It’s always like this. 

Opposite sides of the room, every time. It doesn’t matter where, how small or big the room is, who’s there to see or who isn’t. They always stand on opposite sides of the room. 

They don’t speak much, if at all. Just the polite hello or goodbye, per your request, but they don’t shake hands or anything that involves physical contact. Of course, your boyfriend can’t help but deliver a scowl when he sees him amongst your group of friends. And he’ll permit a catty eye roll when the two of you chat. 

They don’t get along. Harry and your boyfriend don’t get along; never really have, either. And tonight would be no exception. 

“Be nice,” you hiss, which is enough to earn an eye roll from your boyfriend, “it’s my birthday, and I want you to be nice.” 

Opposite sides of the room. There was that brief 5 minute time period just over an hour ago, where Harry had ironically been the first guest to show up; where they were forced to stand closer than a yard apart. He watched with purse lips as you went for the hug, Harry going for the peck on the cheek just before you could pull away. 

But it’s your birthday, and all you asked was for him to be nice. 

It’s like the two of them were at opposite parties. Harry was a fan favorite amongst your family, as he typically was. Your parents tended to seek him out at gatherings like this; your mom always took kindly to his creative outfits, your dad enjoying his stories and corny jokes. He thrived off the attention from your friends, some of them he knew well, others he didn’t. Not that it ever hindered him, how could it. 

Your boyfriend was somewhere else on the first floor, far enough from Harry but close enough to you so he could keep an eye. A beer was in hand, a few of his buddies cracking jokes and sipping their drinks alongside him. 

“Mind if I steal yeh?” Harry murmurs, pinching your side in order to win your attention. 

He’s polite enough to excuse the interruption, greeting the unfamiliar faces that you’re chatting with as he rests a hand on your shoulder. His smile is infectious, as it typically is, as his eyes crinkle at the sides before giving your shoulder a gentle squeeze. 

His other hand is stuffed in his pocket, clenched around a petite box wrapped in silver paper. He’d wrapped it himself, done a shitty job at it too, but it’s not the entire reason he was nervous to give it to you. 

“Hard t’get a minute with yeh,” he teases, “the star o’ th’night.”

You can tell he’s giddy, over what you’re not sure. But he’s grimacing like a dope and his hand tucked in his pocket is turning and fidgeting with the small box tucked inside. 

“Got something in there?” and his eyebrows playfully raise upon your question.

He considers, momentarily, coming back at you with a joke. Maybe a quippy remark, lighthearted teasing. But he’s practically twitching to give you this thing, giddy at the thought of your reaction and even a bit anxious for you to see how fucking terrible of a gift wrapper he is. 

But he pulls it out, regardless, letting the box sit between his pointer finger and thumb. He even waves the tiny thing in the air, trying to lighten the mood as he sees you frown. 

“Harry,” you tut, “I said no gifts.” 

“Would y’shut up and open it,” he laughs, practically forcing the present into your hand so you’d actually take it, “s’yeh birthday, for fucks sake.” 

Birthday or not, you had made it very clear to everyone that gifts were very much not necessary. You had even taken it upon yourself to remind Harry on more than one occasion; twice over the phone and once at lunch yesterday, just to be sure he was receptive of your request. But of of course, as you expected he would, he couldn’t help but show up with something to give. It wouldn’t feel right if he didn't. 

He shakes his head as you get on him about the wrapping paper, letting your teasing slide in honor of your birthday. But you fumble with the flimsy material, pulling back piece by piece in unison with whatever fun you could poke at him. Inside was a small white box, just enough to fit in the palm of your hand. And he ignored you lamenting about gifts, again, because it’s your birthday and a gift or two wouldn’t fucking kill you. 

It’s nothing expensive. He had considered a nice pair of earrings, even looked into a pretty necklace or bracelet. He could’ve shelled out a decent amount of money, if he really wanted. But he didn’t. A sparkly necklace or a matching set of dangly earrings wouldn’t have warranted this look on your face like this gift in particular did. 

“S’the pin y’mentioned,” he inquires, pointing at it as if you weren’t already staring, “like y’mum used t’have.”

He takes your silence as a compliment, because you’re not speaking and you’re just smirking at the small present sitting in your hand. You had blindly mentioned it weeks ago, amidst a random conversation. In all honesty you didn’t emphasize it much, just briefly mentioning how you had always wanted one just like it when you were a little girl. But he had been attentive, making a mental note of it, so much so that he had set out to one identical to the picture you had shown him. 

He thinks it was silly of him to be so worried about his shit job at wrapping the thing, especially now as you rope him into one of the highest hugs he’s ever received. It’s a good feeling, and he’s reveling in the satisfaction in having you react so well to his gift. It’s evident that you’re over the moon about it, the way you’re letting the hug go on a bit longer than usual is telling him so. 

And maybe he would’ve been able to enjoy it more if he hadn’t caught the eye of your boyfriend a few feet away. You may love the gift, but surely you’re boyfriend won’t. It’s obvious in the way his eyes are narrowed and his lips are pursed as he glowers at the two of you. Or maybe it’s not the gift, and it’s more the way your head is resting on his shoulder and his hands have made themselves at home on the small of your back. 

And he, in fact, does not love the gift. He’s not as keen on it as you were, glaring at you as you stand across from him and a few of his friends now, adjusting the small pin on the front of your shirt in order to proudly display it. 

“It’s pretty, right?” your smirk is practically ear to ear, eyes lilting up only to see the unamused expression on your boyfriends face. 

“Christ (Y/N),” he grumbles, “just fuck the guy already.” 

You can feel yourself almost literally begin to shrink a little smaller amid the snickering of your boyfriends friends, sighing in frustration as the smile on your face starts to wash itself off. What started off as embarrassment soon revamps into agitation, evident in the way you glare at his buddies; to which they take as an invitation to find somewhere else in the house to stand in a gaggle. 

“How many times are we gonna do this?” and he’s not taking your berating tone well, “it’s not like that with Harry and you know it.” 

“Don’t think I do.” he’s a bit of a smarts, his face smug and uninterested as he takes another swig of his drink. 

“Well than this is the last time I’m reminding you,” you hiss, “if I felt that way about him, I wouldn’t fucking be with you.” 

He rolls his eyes for what might be the millionth time, letting out a hasty breath before putting his empty bottle in the recycling. But the bitterness doesn’t seem to terminate itself there, as the two of you dig yourselves deeper into a hushed argument up until you take it upon yourself to leave it for later. 

It wouldn’t be an argument unless he was the one to have the last word, of course, and he manages to grumble something at you as you hastily walk from the kitchen and down the hall. 

It’s a shitty time to have an argument; there’s a house full of people here to celebrate you and all you really want is to take comfort in your room. And on your way upstairs, a couple coats in your hand for you to store away in order to keep clutter from forming in the living room, you have to force yourself to chat up a couple of guests before disappearing. 

“Got another coat for yeh.” 

As ironic as it might be, Harry’s impromptu appearance is almost like a sigh of relief. You had initially came upstairs to take a minute to detangle your thoughts and remove yourself from the groups of drunk laughter just a floor below. You had came up here to be alone, but for Harry you decided to make an exception. 

“M’hiding,” you laugh, “if it wasn’t already obvious.”

“Figured,” and he chuckles too, before sitting next to you, “caught a bit of y’little tiff downstairs.” 

A little frown settles itself on his face, tugging at one corner of his mouth when you groan in embarrassment. He hears you apologize, even though you shouldn’t be. There’s no need to say sorry, in fact, he wants you to stop saying sorry because it’s not your fault. 

“Thought he was just a dick,” he teases, and you side eye him, “but he’s jealous o’ me, yeah?” 

His eyes scan your face for an answer, which isn’t necessary. Because you sigh a yes, teeth nibbling at your bottom lip as he nods understandingly. If he was being honest, he had an inkling even before overhearing the bickering just minutes earlier. 

And it’s clear that you feel a bit badly about it, for whatever reason. He can tell in the way your expression has flickered between guilt and embarrassment all within the timespan of two minutes. But he cuts you off before you get the chance to apologize, again. 

“Should be, I guess.” he blurts, face heating up as you quirk a brow. 

“Yeah?” you giggle, “why’s that?”

He shrugs, licking his lips before letting out a breath, “I really like yeh. Like yeh a lot, actually.” 

A part of him can’t quite wrap his head around the fact that he actually said that out loud. Up until now it had just been a suppressed thought, one he pushed very far back and buried deep. But he had said it, loud and clear, without any kind of excuse to buffer his outlandish remark. He hadn’t drank at all, neither had you. There weren’t enough people around for him to be interrupted by anyone else, and it wasn’t loud enough for you to mishear what he had so immaturely expressed. 

So instead he was stuck, here, next to you in an unfamiliar and uncomfortable silence. He considered turning it into a joke, but only for a minute, because really it’d just be a shitty joke and he didn’t wanna be a dick. So he was stuck; staring at you as you stared at nothing. 

He could even feel his chest wind tighter when you shifted in your spot next to him, your hand recoiling onto your lap instead resting next to his. All he can hear is your breathing, the sound of you picking at your fingernail as you stared at one of the knobs on the dresser. 

Something, anything. Just fucking say something. He figures something would be much, much better than nothing at all. 

“Ok.” 

“Ok?” he repeats, and maybe nothing really was better. 

The beat of his heart picks up to a faster pace as you feverishly stand yourself up, fumbling with a coat before heading towards the door. Your back is to him for a minute, your hand reaching for the knob so you can remove yourself from a very uncomfortable situation. 

“Yeah I,” you sigh, and he’s never wanted to disappear more than right now, “there’s people downstairs so.” 

“Right, okay.” 

There’s a brief crack of light that comes in from the hallway as you stretch the door open, quickly squeezing through the space you allotted yourself before scurrying down the hallway. And it’s just him, a pike of coats, and muffled music stuffed into the guest room. So he digs through them all to find his because he’s ready to go home, now. 

[iffeelscouldkill]

Roses Are Red (Valentines Are Hard)

A/N: A late Valentine’s Day offering. (Which is in keeping with the theme of the fic, if you read!) Just a silly and (hopefully) cute thing.

Cross-posted to AO3

Violet does a double-take when she sees the date on her holo-display upon waking up that morning. 92-02-14. February 14, 2192. Valentine's Day.

Crap. She'd forgotten about Valentine's Day. Well, more like she'd stopped thinking about Valentine's Day given that the last time she was in anything resembling a 'relationship' had been those four months with Terry right before finals. Ugh. No, she doesn't need to be thinking about that right now.

Is it too late to plan something? she thinks, followed by, Would Arkady even celebrate Valentine's Day?

Arkady isn't exactly the hearts and flowers type, granted, but neither is Violet. She likes genuinely sweet and thoughtful gestures - like using your favourite mint plant to make someone a cup of tea - not saccharine Hallmark declarations of affection. Besides, with her name being Violet, she's heard way too many puns over the years involving that stupid 'Roses Are Red' poem.

Anyway. Violet returns to thinking about Valentine's Day plans. She remembers Sana saying that they would be making a call at Pangu, a small planet with a bustling market, in a couple of days to refuel and resupply. In fact, were they due to land today? If they were, then she had an idea for what she could do to mark the occasion.

After getting dressed, she wanders into the kitchen to make breakfast - and runs into Brian, who is inexplicably wearing a plastic crown on his head.

"Uh, morning, Brian!" she greets him, amused.

"Hey, Violet. Do you do Valentine's Day? If so, Happy Valentine's," says Brian, slicing a banana onto some oatmeal.

"Yeah, I kind of do, as long as it doesn't clash with the Lunar New Year, anyway," Violet replies. "Happy Valentine's Day. And uh, nice crown?"

Brian laughs a little and touches the crown on top of his head. "Thanks. It's a tradition, kinda?"

"Between you and Krejjh?"

"Yeah," Brian says and smiles fondly. "Dwarnians don't really celebrate Valentine's Day or anything like it, though they have a couple of festivals dedicated to bonded couples - married couples, that is - and to intended couples, or-"

"Engaged couples?" Violet fills in. "Yeah, I remember Krejjh referred to you as their "intended", to Eejjhgreb."

"Right. But there's not really a day for like, romance in general? Or for newer couples. So, Valentine's Day came up a couple of months after we sorta, finally, became an official 'couple', but Krejjh didn't know about it. I wasn't expecting us to do anything for it, but we happened to be docked on Bathala, a kind of lawless planet wayyyy on the outer reaches of charted space, almost in the Deep. It's mostly a human planet, but it's not unheard of for humans and Dwarnians to mingle there in peacetime.

"So, Krejjh and I went out to this - cafeteria? A really cheap and kind of commercial place, really hilarious. And Krejjh wanted to know what was with all of the pink, and the hearts, and the flowers. So, I kinda explained it, and they got upset that they didn't have anything to give me, to "symbolise their undying affection"."

Violet giggles.

"I told them I didn't expect anything, but I think part of the appeal was understanding and taking part in a human romantic tradition, so... anyway, they were doing this ongoing competition - eat a huge plate of this legendarily spicy house chili, and win a crown. And a spot in the cafeteria Hall of Fame."

"I think I see where this is going," Violet laughs.

"Right, so Dwarnians also have this thing about competitive acts of bravery to prove their affection. Add to that a love of spicy food, and - that chili didn't stand a chance. Krejjh's portrait is still hanging in the House of Tantalising Tastes Hall of Fame. And I wear this," Brian touches the crown on top of his head, "every Valentine's Day in honour of their victory."

"'House of Tantalising Tastes'?" Violet repeats with glee.

"The finest establishment we ever set foot in," Brian says solemnly.

"Clearly, a sign of great things to come," Violet agrees.

The door whooshes open and Sana comes into the kitchen. "Morning Violet, morning, Brian," she says, cheerfully. Looking between Brian's pleased face and Violet still snorting with laughter, she says,

"Has Brian been telling you the plastic crown story?"

"I don't think I've ever heard a more classic Krejjh tale," Violet laughs.

"Oh, dude, you haven't even heard the story of our first date. I have so many more where that came from."

"Well, you can tell them on the way to the market," says Sana. "We'll be landing on Pangu in half an hour. Violet, are you up for a market run?"

"Yeah, that sounds like fun," says Violet, thinking of her Valentine's Day plan. "Is Arkady coming?" she adds, hoping she sounds casual.

Sana frowns slightly. "She hasn't actually emerged from her room yet, but she usually comes on a market run. I'll knock on her door again in a few minutes and see."

Violet hurries to finish her breakfast and get ready to go out. She's not dressed up, exactly, but she puts on just a little bit of makeup - which she doesn't normally bother with - and a pair of cute, dangly earrings with clusters of flowers hanging down. She smiles at her reflection in a small hand mirror.

However, when Sana knocks on Arkady's door a few minutes later, she's met with a muffled, "Go out without me!"

"Arkady?" Sana calls through the door, frowning. "Are you okay?"

"I think I'm sick," comes the response, followed by a slightly forced-sounding bout of coughing.

"Do you want me to check you over?" Violet calls.

"Nah, I'm probably contagious. I don't want to get you sick," Arkady calls back. "I'll be better this afternoon, probably."

Sana looks sidelong at Violet and then replies, "All right, make sure you get some rest. It'd be really good if you can make it out later on."

"Count on it," Arkady calls. "Have fun at the market."

Violet is a little despondent over Arkady's absence, but her mood picks up as soon as they get to the market. It's a nice day outside. Pangu has two stars that rise and set at different times and provide light to the planet; one is rising as they step outside, while the other is just past its peak. The combined effect is bright and pleasant.

Normally, Sana and Arkady and occasionally Violet do the market runs while Brian keeps Krejjh company on the ship, but this time Brian comes with them, on the lookout for some kind of mystery item for Krejjh.

Violet winds her way among the stalls, keeping her eyes open for something suitable. There's such a huge variety of stalls and goods on offer - food and clothing, accessories and crafts. She is eventually drawn towards a jewellery stall with elaborate, gothic necklaces and bracelets wrought in silver.

She toys with a cuff with a pattern of interlocking vines, before she spies a black velvet choker with a delicate design in the centre: two silver flowers nestled side by side, with leaves arching around them in the shape of a heart. Violet can't help reaching out to touch it. She loves it, but is it too much? Would Arkady wear it? She feels like she needs a second opinion.

She looks around for Sana, but the Captain is deep among the food stalls, bartering for supplies. Instead she spots Brian, browsing a couple of stalls over.

"Hey, Brian," Violet calls. He looks up and trots over.

"Oh, hey, do they have crown jewellery on this stall? Ooh, they do!"

Brian picks up a large, ostentatious crown pendant hanging off a chain, and beams at it.

"Brian, do... Do you think Arkady would like this?"

Brian looks over at the choker Violet is holding, and smiles. "That's super nice! It's totally Arkady's style, too."

"She doesn't already have one like it, does she?"

Brian tilts his head slightly, thinking, and then shakes his head. "Arkady doesn't really splash out on jewellery that often," he says. "I think she might have a plain one, but that's it."

"All right," says Violet determinedly. "I'll get it for her."

She haggles briefly with the stallholder before buying the choker, and Brian does the same with his crown necklace. Carrying their purchases wrapped in tissue paper, they meet back up with Sana, who is looking triumphant with several bags full of dehydrated food packs, fresh ingredients and other necessities.

"Looks like you made out okay, Captain," says Brian approvingly.

"I'd say I did," Sana agrees, satisfied. "Would you mind taking one of these each?"

They help her haul the bags of supplies back to the ship. To their surprise, as they approach the Rumor, they can see a small delivery drone hovering outside the airlock.

"What's this?" Sana asks, frowning. "I don't remember ordering anything. Did either of you...?" Violet and Brian both shake their heads.

Sana takes hold of the drone's package, which is a matte black cylinder about a foot long, vacuum sealed. Relieved of its delivery, the drone flies off.

Sana peers at the little screen that details the sender and recipient. "It's for me," she says with some surprise. "But there's no sender listed..."

"Do you think it's dangerous?" asks Violet, worried. "Should we get Arkady?"

Sana shakes her head slowly. "Whatever it is, it's passed through an official interstellar Customs checkpoint," she says. "The contents have been certified."

"What does the label say?" Brian asks.

"'Flora,'" Sana replies.

"So, a plant of some kind?" Violet suggests.

"Time to find out..." Sana twists one end of the cylinder, and the vacuum seal releases with a hiss. She hands the cap to Brian and from inside the tube, gently draws out a bouquet: delicate white flowers with dark green leaves and a pale yellow centre.

"Oh," says Sana in a strange voice. "These are my favourites."

"Is that jasmine?" asks Violet, recognising the scent. She's amazed that the flowers have survived the journey from - wherever they came from. It's definitely not a local delivery.

"Hey, there's a note," says Brian, peering into the not-quite-empty delivery tube. He pulls out a folded piece of paper and opens it to reveal a drawing.

"What is that?" Sana asks, puzzled - but Violet recognises the shape.

"Isn't that a soup can?"

"Oh!" says Sana again, in understanding, and her cheeks tint pink.

"It's from Campbell?" Brian asks, delightedly.

Sana nods slowly, leaning forward to smell the flowers. Violet shares a grin with Brian.

"I'll see you guys a little later," Sana says, almost to the flowers. "I have to go make a call."

As she disappears into the ship, they hear her murmur,

"Jasmine... I can't believe he remembered."

Roses are red Violets are blue Wait, your name is Violet, that sounds weird

Roses are red Flowers are pretty This poem is shitty

Roses are red Flowers are lame At least I didn't make A pun on your name

Arkady groans and puts her head down on her arms. With one hand, she reaches out for the closest sheet of notepaper and crumples it, then listlessly flings it across the worktop.

She rubs her eyes as a knock sounds at the door. "What?" she calls, trying to sound croaky and hoarse.

"You can give it up, Arkady, I know you're not sick," Sana calls through the door, quietly.

"I don't know what you're-" Arkady breaks off mid-sentence to fake a coughing fit. "-talking about."

"Right," Sana says drily. "Look, I know you're not much of a one for days like today. I know you'd rather just skip the whole thing. But I don't think... anyone... is expecting something huge. I think they'd just be glad to see you, honestly."

Arkady looks at the crumpled notepaper spread across the worktop, at her failed attempts to write even a clichéd four-line poem.

"I'll be out real soon," she promises Sana.

If she leaves her room now, it'll all have been for nothing. She can't give up.

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? How the fuck does the rest of it go

La fleur que tu m'avais jetée Je ne parle pas français

“No, and hell no,” Arkady mutters, tearing the page from her almost empty memo pad. "Fuck. Why is this so hard?"

She sweeps her arm across the metal worktop, clearing it, and stares at the empty surface. Just write from the heart, Kady, she thinks to herself. You've listened to how many flowery declarations of love in operas? It's not that hard. Just project confidence. And your voice. Okay, not your voice.

Hey Violet I think you're super cute and also I want to make out with you

Arkady scribbles violently across the page and contemplates breaking her pencil in two. She should have just gone with her original plan of doodling a bunch of flowers and sliding it under Violet’s door. Or making her a bouquet of mint plants. Or a cup of tea. Something.

Arkady catches sight of the time on her holo-display and feels the bottom drop out of her stomach. 11:42 PM. “Fuck,” she swears vehemently. No, that doesn’t quite cover it. “Breesht.”

She has 18 minutes left of Valentine’s Day. 18 minutes left to come up with the perfect poem. Or even a passable poem. Arkady frantically reapplies herself to her task, ignoring the part of her brain which intones that she’s definitely already fucked it up beyond repair by ignoring Violet for the whole day. She can fix this. With a good enough poem, she can fix this.

Violet isn’t normally an early riser. She gets out of bed at a reasonable hour, and she’s always up and dressed in time to carry out her allocated chores around the ship, but she’s not one of those people who relishes getting up at the crack of dawn. Sana rises with the sun, and Brian and Krejjh keep odd hours, but when neither of them has a night shift, they’re up early to do some kind of Dwarnian meditation. Arkady rolls out of bed at the last possible second, while Violet makes a point of being up by 8 AM at the latest.

The morning after Valentine’s Day, though, she wakes up much earlier than usual – 6:20 AM, ugh – and can’t get back to sleep. She can’t stop thinking about Arkady’s non-appearance yesterday and wondering if she had anything to do with it. Did she do something wrong? Was buying the choker too presumptuous? Should she have tried to talk to Arkady? Slipped the gift through her door?

Several times, Violet had hesitated outside Arkady’s door, wanting to call through it and check on her, but something had held her back. She couldn’t help but think that it was her Arkady was avoiding by staying in her room, and if that was the case, she didn’t want to make things worse. But the anxiety eats away at her.

Sighing, Violet gives up on sleep and sits up, deciding to go to the kitchen and make a cup of tea. She knows she’ll probably run into Sana, if not Brian and Krejjh as well, but it’s better than staying inside her room and stewing.

As she leaves her room, she pockets the tissue paper package containing Arkady’s choker – just in case.

As she’d suspected, Sana, Brian and Krejjh are all awake and drinking coffee in the mess hall as Violet shuffles through on her way to the kitchen.

“Violet!” Krejjh calls out happily. “You’re awake so early! Good morning!”

Violet is barely able to deal with Krejjh’s level of energy before tea on a normal morning, let alone at this hour and with her current level of anxiety. She just about manages a, “Morning, Krejjh.”

Sana is definitely looking at her with sympathy, and Violet prays that the captain doesn’t say anything. While she normally appreciates what Arkady likes to call ���the feelings corner”, if Sana tries to comfort her right now, she thinks she might start crying.

But before anyone can say anything else, Arkady bursts into the room.

“Violet!” she cries, skidding to a halt. Her hair is a mess, and she looks like she slept in her clothes – if she even got any sleep. There are dark shadows under her eyes and her expression is slightly wild.

“Arkady?” Violet begins tentatively, but then Arkady is barrelling on, reciting something off a crumpled piece of paper.

“Roses are great, Tulips are too, But of all the flowers, My favourite is you!”

Arkady finishes and looks up at Violet with a mixture of expectancy and trepidation. Uncaffeinated, and taken aback by the sudden – and very public – declaration of affection, Violet is frozen for several seconds. She sees the panic begin to creep into Arkady’s expression, and knows that she’s seconds away from bolting – she needs to do something, quickly.

“Uh…” Brian begins uncertainly, but stops as Violet steps forward and kisses Arkady in front of the whole crew.

Arkady’s eyes widen, and for a second she seems like she might pull away and bolt anyway, but then her eyes flutter shut, and she tenderly returns Violet’s kiss.

The whole thing only lasts for a few moments, but Violet is almost delirious with happiness as she pulls away. She thinks she might literally be floating. Arkady looks slightly dazed, but smiles and rests her forehead against Violet’s.

“So, you liked the poem?” she asks quietly.

“It was perfect,” Violet tells her sincerely. “Oh, I got you something as well-” She takes the tissue-wrapped package out of her pocket and hands it to Arkady, who looks stunned.

“It – you got this for me? Really?”

“Yes,” Violet confirms shyly. “Uh, you can open it back in your room, if you want to-”

“Crewman Jeeter, please can I applaud now?” Krejjh stage whispers, breaking the moment.

“Oh my god,” Arkady complains. “No, absolutely not. Go away, all of you.”

“Uh, you burst in on us, dude,” Brian says with great amusement. “Also, did that rhyme really take you, like, thirty-six hours?”

Arkady flips him off before carefully undoing the tissue paper around Violet’s gift. “It was twenty-four hours at most-” she returns, and then stops short as she uncovers the velvet choker.

Violet realises that she’s unconsciously holding her breath as she waits for Arkady’s reaction. She would rather not have given her the gift in front of the whole crew – would have been happy to let her open it in private, in fact, but she’s desperate to know that Arkady likes it.

“Is it okay?” she asks quietly as Arkady gazes at the gift without speaking. “I saw it at the market yesterday and thought of you, but if it’s not your style, I don’t mind if you-”

The rest of her sentence is lost as Arkady kisses her enthusiastically. This time, Brian doesn’t stop Krejjh from applauding, and Arkady manages to refrain from making obscene gestures until after she and Violet have finished kissing.

“Thanks,” she says quietly to Violet, under Krejjh’s delighted commentary, Brian’s good-natured teasing, and Sana’s encouragement. “I… yeah. Just, thanks.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” Violet says, and squeezes her hand.

A/N: "La fleur que tu m'avais jetée" is a romantic aria from the opera Carmen. I doubt Arkady would have had the opportunity to learn any French on Cresswin Landing (outside of an operatic context), but I figured it wasn't out of the question for her to know the phrase, "I don't speak French" (which is what the line after that says).

Also, credit to @thevoicefromthestars who came up with Arkady’s final poem in the Starship Iris Discord. Thank you for inspiring this fic! <3

[estherroberts]

esther roberts!

part of advanced PLACEMENT: an ars PARADOXICA high school au about a gang of queer teen nerds, by @estherroberts​ , @podcastmecaptain , and @lizzieraindrops

all three of the aformentioned dorks are responsible for the hijinks found in this post. today though, it’s @estherroberts especially. (that’s me!)

click here for the au masterpost | track #ars placement for updates!

ALSO: things aren’t always showing up in the tags, so your most reliable bet is the aforementioned masterpost.

this is one of many individualized advanced PLACEMENT works, for the stories of each character involved. we each picked three kids to write about, and this is the first one of mine! without further ado, here’s esther! 

esther roberts is tiny but she is not delicate- which is to say, she looks fragile but she will kick your ass. she is feminine but she is unyielding. and she will beat you to the chair and pull it out her damn self.

pencil skirts, fancy blouses, necklaces with tiny charms, and three rings with varying sizes of stones are like a uniform for esther.

she has honey blonde hair in the sunlight and mousy brown in dark and her hair wiggles just past her shoulders. also, she has bangs. they're cute but they don't help her look any older.

she has brown eyes and sometimes they're warm and welcoming but mostly they're analyzing and looking and curious and questioning

she doesn't want any more piercings than the basic ear ones and she likes to wear long chained dangly earrings because they feel nice

she wears heels for the click clack and the height and ballet flats for the comfort 

she’s an aquarius

she has a cat named johanna and when she was younger she had fish but she was a horrible fish mother and gave them to jack’s sisters

esther’s father died when she was four years old

the only things she has left of him are

a) a deck of cards

b) all kinds of russian swear words

c) an ability to withstand incredibly cold weather

d) an ability to withstand her mother

technically the occupants of her house are just her and her mom, anita

anita is from new york and certainly sounds like it

she is loud and affectionate and even though she is grieving her husband, does her best to raise her daughter

there are aunts, uncles, and cousins living across the street and on either side, and her mother’s parents are less than a block away

and there are always people over

most of her cousins are a lot older than she is, some of them have children by the time she’s a junior and so she is both the baby and the babysitter

also always over is jack wyatt

they grew up together, and jack talked to esther’s cousins as much, if not more, than esther did

they did ballroom lessons together, they cooked together, they have embarrassing photos of each other when they were babies, they even are very close to having their own language (there’s more on that in the jack post)

if you asked esther at five, at seven, at fifteen, at seventeen, who her favorite person in the world was? she would say jack. (she might throw bridget in there too, but we’re not there yet)

she loves him a LOT

esther figured out she was gay in 5th grade bc she watched glee and wanted to kiss quinn (later she realized how GARBAGE FIRE the show was but she’s glad it got her this, at least)

she’s maybe 11 and she’s freaking out. she thinks about it before she falls asleep and sometimes she looks stuff up online but she feels like it’s Extra so she stopped doing that. and it’s her secret, it’s a Big Secret.

sometimes she asks jack if they would still be friends if she was gay and he looks at her funny and tells her that she’s an idiot and he would still be her friend if she was green and came from the moon

“actually it’d be so cool if you were green and from the moon,”

and one time she held hands with a girl who was like, a study buddy or something as they were walking down the hallway and her heart hurt because she wished it could be real, really real

lots more under the readmore! 

when she is 12 her and jack meet anthony in detention, and through him, they also meet quentin

the four of them have lunch together every day and talk about advanced math and sciences, comparing notes and theories and arguing constantly

sometimes anthony does her nails

she really likes light solid colors like white, beige, pink

but one time he brings gold flecks to put on top of her pink

and he’s a little unsure about how she’ll react but she agrees

and is UTTERLY DELIGHTED with the final result

in 7th grade, tiny practical esther still doesn't understand most social interactions very well

she doesn't see the value in communication so spends no time learning how to do it

but toward the end of the year she starts to actually worry about this

their school is a middle and high school combined but

anthony has been complaining that all his friends are younger than him, that by high school he STILL won’t know anyone his age, that making friends is SO HARD

and so esther starts spending a lot of time interrogating her mom about how to initiate conversations and when you should ask someone about their day and what you do if someone doesn't like you

and her mom thinks it's great that she's finally expressing interest in people, for the love of god, so she gives her practice assignments to try to get to know the people around her better and get more friends

over summer she meets sally this way, by complimenting her star trek shirt and then dragging her to lunch with The Boys

of course, sally ends up becoming best friends with anthony, but her and esther are close too

anyway this is how esther becomes a CHARMER. teachers, when they aren't telling off her for talking to jack, LOVE HER. store clerks and waiters feel a little bit better about themselves after she leaves them (and internally she still has a script running because she needs it, but she gets better at improvising and she learns to smile a little bit more, because people like that)

it’s not that she’s being fake? because she genuinely does care, it’s just that she’s cracked the code of being like a Great People person

esther invited four non family members to her bat mitzvah:

jack, anthony, quentin, and sally.

they’re all super impressed with her confidence and jack actually cries a little

the party half of it isn’t so much of a party as it is a smorgasbord of incredible food

anita tells the kids they can just the tiniest sips of wine and they all get so excited about it she changes her mind

her freshman year there’s a GSA club and she’s rly scared but she signs up and asks jack if he’ll come with her to a meeting and he’s like, absolutely

and she passes him a note in the middle of it and it just says “i’m gay?????????” and he passes it back with “probably, also, same” and she nods and he smiles and for a while he’s the only one who knows

sophomore year she’s in science and math with sally bc she’s Smart for a little one

and they’re doing group work together and she’s texting instead of talking to sally

and sally’s like “are we gonna work now?” and esther’s like “yeah sorry, uh"

“i was in an argument with jack over who gets to marry hayley atwell"

and sally’s like, “is she, like, your woman crush wednesday whatever”

and esther’s like “oh no, i’m a giant lesbian”

makes a face, mumbles, “woman crush wednesday, god”

and sally’s just like, bubbly, happy, excited (but it takes her a minute to process)

“oh. OH! :D i hope you win the argument!!”

and esther grins wickedly and is like, “i will"

this eventually leads to a Bond they share over queer stuff, which leads to regular talks down at the garden shed, which eventually winds up at detention

but that’s another story 

later in the year she tells june and helen, who are in orchestra with her, and theyre so sweet about it and it’s the only time (until, of course, Chuck E Cheese Night) that june smiles at her

she doesn’t say it to anyone unless it comes up, but she doesn’t say silent on her opinions in class discussions and she figures everyone’s figured it out by now

telling her mother, on the other hand, scares the SHIT out of her

like, she knows anita will be chill about it she knows this but it’s so so scary for some reason? like what if she’s wrong and what if her mom is disappointed or doesn’t believe her?

her and bridget start dating the summer between sophomore year and junior year

that summer, before they get together, they text constantly

and esther, like is absolutely flirting, she’s doing her best

she thinks very highly of bridget as an academic but the selfies bridget sends... oh god, the selfies are so breathtakingly beautiful 

even the silly ones

like, wow

WOW

esther has never had a girlfriend, she doesn’t know how to flirt, but being smooth is like, in her dna

(jack makes fun of her all the time and tells her she’s being cheesy)

(but it appears to be working, so she tells him to fuck off)

eventually her efforts do pay off and bridget officially asks her out while they’re eating ice cream

their relationship is so healthy like, they talk about everything and they’re super honest with each other

and when they have miscommunications they talk about what they feel and try to say what they mean

her whole life esther has always been “the cute one”

it comes from being smol and from being the youngest in her family and bc, well, she is pretty cute

but bridget calls her beautiful one day and she nearly cries

because she’s never gotten to feel beautiful before

also, bridget’s the only one who calls her ettie and very quickly becomes the only one who’s allowed to call her ettie

esther loves her so much, she would do anything for bridget and anything to keep her

and she knows, she knows she needs to tell her mom soon, but one month passes and then three and then six and it’s hanukkah?

and her mom tells her she can invite as many people she wants on the third night, that they won’t have any cousins and it can just be esther’s friends

because of orchestra, and The Gay, and the poly chain and other couples, the gang has taken shape, and esther, for the first time, has more than four friends. she has eight now, eight people she loves and (mostly) get along with

trying to explain all of it to anita is a literal nightmare, but she can’t quite speak bridget’s name

“mom, again, you know jack, and his girlfriend penny, and then sally and her not-not? or is it not? boyfriend anthony and his girlfriend helen and her girlfriend june and her boyfriend quentin and-”

anita is patient and is really doing her best to understand the tangled relationship web but she does notice that esther said eight and only gave her seven names

“who’s the eighth person, esther?"

“aaaaaaaaaaa she’s uhhhh she’s ummmmmmmmmm aaaaaaa……..her name is bridget. she’s my age. she’s beautiful. she’s like. really good at english. she makes a mean apple pie. she’s a libra. she volunteers at the library. she’s like, an actual angel and she makes me smile every day and also she’s kind of my girlfriend?????????????”

anita:    :O

“i’m so sorry i didnt say sooner, i just. i got scared. i really don’t want to lose her. and i didn’t know how you would react, if you knew and i didnt- i didnt… i didn’t want to lie but i didnt know what to SAY and i waited too long and i’m sorry and-”

god bless esther’s mother, because although she is absolutely freaking out internally, just says, “i cannot wait to meet her"

needless to say they all have a BLAST and esther’s mom really does her best to get all the pronouns and relationships right and she appreciates how captive of an audience she has when she tells stories esther’s heard hundreds of times

and bridget is so polite and she offers to help clean the kitchen after

and esthers mom keeps making faces at esther like “SHES A KEEPER” and esther is ready to Die of happiness and embarrassment

up until her junior year, homework was incredibly easy. all she had to do was hyperfocus and she could work on it all night. but the more work she got, the more overwhelming it was, the more pressure she put on herself, and the harder it got to do

her grades didn’t really drop but ?

it took her a lot longer to get her homework done

she got distracted more easily

and then get mad at herself for getting distracted

being diagnosed for adhd helped a lot

she’s not on meds (she’s thinking about it though) but knowing that this is something to manage and take care of is really helping her

she’s learning to be okay with that part of herself? jack doesn’t stim the same way she does but he helps her figure out what she likes

and eventually she’s even a little proud of her neurodivergence, the way she’s proud of her sexuality and proud to be jewish

i’m not gonna pretend i know the rules of dilemma. but esther does, anita does, jack does, and sally….? sort of does?

just like in canon, her and jack play all the time

she’s better than he is but only SLIGHTLY, he’s been playing just as long as she has

she just gets a little more practice

esther’s dedication to STEM is sort of a mix of a lot of things

she has a genuine natural interest in math and science

she likes that things make sense and that there are universal rules (this doesn’t mean she won’t try to break them, she just likes knowing that they’re there)

(it’s a bit like a finish line, except you get to keep going)

(esther takes statistics really early in her hs career and just, LOVES it. like if she didn’t want to save the world, she’d probably be a data analyst

testing things to discern their significance is 300% her jam

and she loves hand drawing graphs

she has enough graph paper in her backpack to fill up a large dictionary)

also designing projects is a really big strong suit of hers

she’s an incredible planner/diagrammer

which works SUPER well with jack’s buildy skills

she comes up with the shit, and he makes it

also her handwriting is incred so whenever they write up things with the scientific method she’s the one who has to do it

she doesn’t know what she wants to do in the field but she knows she LOVES it 

overall she’s a pretty happy gay

she loves her friends and she loves her school and she loves her mom and she can put up with her cousins

she’s not afraid of the future, she’s ready for it.