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czenzo · 10 months ago

Text

Missed Call

[ao3] Skullyle Internet Friends Series: [1 – Pretty Boy] [2 – Missed Call]

summary:

[00:13] Missed call from Skull Lucy frowned at her phone for the hundredth time that morning. “Has he said something horribly controversial again?” Holly said over her shoulder. “No, nothing like that," she said. "He, er— he called me. Or, tried to. It was just gone midnight, I was asleep.” “And this is bothering you because…?” Lucy finally looked up from her phone. “We’ve never spoken over the phone before.” One missed call sends Lucy spiralling. She begins to question her feelings towards her strange, snarky online friend.

words: 3,440 rating: T

notes: to all the lovely people in the comments for Pretty Boy who said they’d read more, this is for you!

edit: @vryfmi made some absolutely STUNNING artwork of a few scenes from this fic, and @edmeom's art of barista lucy and holly is GORGEOUS – please go check them out and give them loads of love!! vry and galri I owe you my LIFE you're amazing

[00:13] Missed call from Skull

Lucy frowned at her phone for the hundredth time that morning.

“Has he said something horribly controversial again?” Holly said over her shoulder. Lucy jumped so intensely she almost pulled a muscle; it was easy to forget how quiet her coworker could be when she wanted to.

“No, nothing like that,” she replied after her heart rate steadied. “He, er— he called me. Or, tried to. It was just gone midnight, I was asleep.”

“And this is bothering you because…?”

Lucy finally looked up from her phone. “We’ve never spoken over the phone before.”

“Ever? You’ve known each other a while though, right?”

“About half a year.”

“And you talk every day?”

“Near enough.”

Now it was Holly’s turn to frown. “And you’ve… never called? Never heard each other’s voices?”

“No.”

“Not even sent a silly voice note here and there?”

Lucy shrugged. “I’m not a voice note kind of person.”

A long, slow nod was her only response, which was more unnerving than Lucy would’ve liked to admit. “Is it weird? That we only ever text?”

Holly made a vague gesture. “If I were in your shoes, I’d think it a little odd, but—”

“Can I get some service, or is this establishment closed for gossip hour?”

Lucy’s head whipped around to find a customer waiting at the till, red irritation blooming high on his cheeks. She bit back an instinctive snarky response.

Luckily Holly had a knack for dealing with difficult customers, and rushed over to serve him with a beaming smile. “Of course! I can’t apologise enough for being distracted. What can I get for you?”

Lucy decided she was in dire need of a break. She set a timer, threw together a cup of tea and drifted off into the break room, finding comfort in the battered settee with with so many cracks and tears the original leather was barely visible.

She drew her phone out of her apron pocket. The missed call notification still sat there, taunting her for not knowing how to reply. Skull himself hadn’t said anything, either, which was incredibly unusual for him. It was bobbing on three p.m.; normally by now he would have sent at least two obscure memes, three colourful insults, and one post from their shared paranormal forum with added commentary on how stupid OP was. Instead, she hadn’t heard a peep from him.

‘Unusual’ was a massive understatement.

Her teeth worried the skin of her lips. What if something serious had happened, and she was too hung up on a silly missed call to check up on him? What if she’d done something to severely piss him off, and the missed call was his last attempt to hash it out?

Or—the most likely scenario—what if he clicked the call button without realising, and she was making a huge deal over something hilariously insignificant?

She took a swig of her scalding tea, let her head fall back to stare at the ceiling for a long, excruciating moment of contemplation, then eventually opened their chat.

The cursor blinked. Lucy steeled her nerves and reminded herself that she was being a complete tit.

[Joan] did you mean to call me?

There! Message sent; she was officially no longer a cowardly over-thinker. She relaxed and sunk further into the chair, but stiffened as soon as she saw that Skull was typing. Okay, scratch that—she was definitely still a cowardly over-thinker.

[Skull] yea we need 2 talk

Shit.

It took an embarrassing amount of time to type her response.

[Joan] shit, is everything alright? [Skull] no its p serious [Skull] thought it wldv been easier 2 talk abt it over the phone [Skull] but ur probs at work rn so ill just text it [Skull] hold on

Lucy straightened and waited with bated breath, tea all but forgotten about. In the time Skull took to type, Lucy involuntarily went through all of her worst-case scenarios one more time, and suddenly felt the need for a drink much stronger than tea. Christ—why was this bothering her so much?

[Skull] ive been diagnosed with [Skull] huge dick syndrome [Skull] its fatal. im so sorry

Lucy slowly placed her phone on the settee, counteracting the urge to lob it directly at the nearest wall. She gave herself a moment to breathe—in through the nose, out through the mouth, just like Holly taught her to do when a customer really got on her nerves—before cautiously picking it back up again.

[Joan] you’re a fucking menace [Joan] don’t pull that kind of thing again. [Skull] HAHAHAHAHAHA [Skull] dont lie joanie. i got you GOOD [Joan] I knew you could be a proper knob sometimes but I didn’t think it was this bad [Skull] clearly u gotta get 2 know me better [Skull] in all honesty tho i didnt mean to call u [Skull] the call button is right next 2 the block button [Skull] an idiotic design choice if i ever saw one [Joan] you ought to send the developers a strongly worded email [Skull] who the fuck says ought in a casual conversation [Joan] it’s a perfectly normal thing to say?? [Skull] yea if ur from the middle ages [Joan] ok shut up we’re not changing the topic [Joan] if you didn’t mean to call me, why did you go radio silent? [Joan] surely the normal thing to do would’ve been to say “Oops, my bad, didn’t mean to call you” [Skull] Oops, my bad, didn’t mean to call you [Joan] dick [Skull] huge one, yeah [Skull] its a serious condition [Joan] 🖕 [Skull] i didnt even realise id butt dialed you lmao [Skull] fell asleep right after. woke up like 10 mins ago [Skull] im a different creature past midnight [Skull] unaware of and unliable for my actions [Joan] good luck getting that to hold up in court [Skull] id charm my way into acquittal [Skull] all the lady judges would love me [Skull] actually so wld the non lady judges [Skull] im just that irresistible [Joan] more like irritating :/ [Joan] they’d declare you guilty so they never have to see your ugly mug again [Skull] u have no proof i have an ugly mug [Skull] for all u know i cld b on magazine covers [Skull] flexing. smouldering. [Skull] rock hard jawline [Skull] rock hard abs [Skull] rock hard thighs [Joan] I’m stopping that list right there [Skull] buzzkill. [Skull] i bet your manager keeps u in the back so ur face doesnt scare off the poor customers [Joan] I’m practically the face of the company [Joan] everyone loves me [Skull] this is some next level delusion [Skull] does ‘everyone’ include Pretty Boy [Joan] this is some next level obsession [Skull] im not obsessed with him [Skull] im far superior than him anyway [Skull] if he saw me in the street hed drop dead [Skull] out of pure shock [Skull] from seeing my rock hard jawline, [Skull] rock hard abs, [Joan] STOP [Skull] my sexy voice alone could crush his ego [Joan] I wasn’t aware voice cracks and nervous trembling could do that [Skull] kiss my arse joan [Skull] you have no idea what i sound like [Joan] and same vice versa

Lucy’s eyes narrowed. She had an opening here—should she take it? She took a sip of her tea, now disgustingly lukewarm, and decided to go for it.

[Joan] is it weird, that we talk so regularly but only ever over text? [Skull] cant say its ever crossed my mind [Skull] why wld that b weird [Joan] I don’t know [Joan] it’s just something a coworker mentioned [Skull] so THAT’S why the missed call got under ur skin [Skull] ur so painfully transparent [Joan] no I’m not? [Skull] denial is not a good look on u [Skull] if it bothers u so much we can just call [Skull] like any normal fucking ppl wld do [Joan] I suppose [Skull] its not a big deal [Skull] unless u swoon so hard at my voice u get a concussion or smth [Skull] which is highly likely [Skull] considering ur delicate disposition [Joan] wtf is that supposed to mean [Skull] last time Pretty Boy called u by ur name u almost dropped ur phone in coffee [Joan] in hindsight [Joan] mentioning that to you was a mistake [Skull] it wasnt [Skull] its a great addition to my joan blackmail bank [Joan] har bloody har [Joan] you’re a comedic genius [Skull] oh em gee its so nice 2 see my talent finally b acknowledged

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Her break was up. Startled that the time had flown by so quickly, she checked the clock on the wall, only to find she was indeed due back on the shop floor.

On the bright side, she no longer had to worry about the possibility of Skull being a) dead, or b) eternally pissed off at her. Instead, her mind focused on the very real chance that she’d be talking to him on the phone in the near future.

Lucy was by no means completely inept; she could handle a phone call when it was necessary. However, phoning her old insurance provider to get them to remove her from their annoying mailing list and calling a close (could she consider them close when she knew so little about him?) friend acquaintance for the first time were very, very different things.

A hot burst of air greeted her as she emerged from the back and settled behind the counter. She’d been a barista at this cafe for so long everything was muscle memory. It was a mostly handy skill, until someone once switched the syrups around and she almost handed a hazelnut latte to someone with a severe nut allergy. Besides that, and… her tendency to text on the job… she swore she was a virtue to the company.

“Got a clearer head now?” Holly said over the sound of milk being steamed.

“Yeah. I brought it up, and now we might actually end up calling.”

“Ooh, how exciting!” Holly beamed, then added quietly, “Unless he turns out to be a creep, that is.”

Lucy took moment too long to reply. “I’m sure he isn’t.”

“…Yeah!” Was Holly’s response, full of fake optimism that was far from convincing.

A third voice—one Lucy was becoming more familiar with these days—came from the other side of the counter. “Who might turn out to be a creep?”

Lucy rushed to meet Lockwood at the till. Even on a Saturday, he was still dressed smartly. “Oh, no one. Just— er, a friend of mine.”

“They only ever text! He could be anyone,” Holly stage-whispered to him.

Lucy gently batted her out of the way. “You don’t need to spill my private life to customers, thank you.”

“But he’s our best regular.”

Lockwood beamed. “Glad to hear it.”

She playfully rolled her eyes and tapped the till screen out of standby. “Your usual?”

“No, actually,” he said, sounding ridiculously pleased with himself over something so trivial. “I’d like to try that new gingerbread latte, please.”

“A sucker for a Christmas special, are we?”

He shrugged. “Who can’t resist a bit of seasonal marketing? I’ll also have a slice of lemon drizzle too, if you’ll allow it.”

A huff of laughter escaped her. “Wow, you’re really branching out today.”

He gave her another one of his toothy grins. As he paid, he quirked a curious eyebrow. “What’s this about a maybe-creep you only ever text, then?”

“Oh, I can’t believe Holly told you about that.” Actually, she could—over the past month or so, Lockwood’s visits had become less by-the-script, and the two of them had learnt more about him than they ever expected to. Of course, it was a two way street, and as a result Lockwood gained a firm grasp on Lucy’s sarcasm, weakness for confident smiles, and now her friendship with a random guy on the internet.

She’d managed to avoid mentioning Skull to him, up until now. She was surprised the secrecy had lasted this long, though she was unsure why she’d been so keen to keep quiet about him.

“We met online,” she said slowly. Thankfully, putting Lockwood’s order together kept her hands busy and her brain occupied, which meant she had less energy to overthink how she’d explain her situation. “Met through a shared interest. We were— er, well, honestly we argued a lot, at first. I’m not sure how it turned into a friendship, but it did, and now we talk pretty regularly.”

“Every day,” Holly added.

“For…?”

Lucy shrunk in on herself slightly. “…Six months? Ish?”

Lockwood whistled, long and slow. “That’s quite a bit of time.”

“Exactly!”

“Holly, shut up,” Lucy said with very little venom. “We’re going to call. We’re going to talk. It’s not an issue.”

He leaned on the counter, watching her dust ginger onto his drink. “Right now?”

“What? No, not right now. That’d be mad.”

“Could be interesting.”

She slid the drink and plate over to him. “Don’t be nosey.”

“It’s in my nature, Luce.” He winked, taking a sip of his drink. “Gossip at heart.”

Lucy’s stomach did a funny flip. She playfully waved him off under the pretence she was in a rush to serve the next waiting customer, and was harshly reminded she forgot to put her phone on silent when her pocket was met with a barrage of vibrations.

As the atmosphere lulled once all customers had been served and seated, she returned to her chat with Skull. Most of it was pure gibberish, a poor attempt at grabbing her attention again by way of spam.

[Skull] did u fucking die??? [Joan] when will you get it into your thick skull that I have timed breaks [Joan] and once said timed breaks are over [Joan] I go back to work [Skull] yet here u r, still txting on the job [Skull] what a rebel u are, joanie [Skull] its cute u spend ur entire allocated free time talking 2 me [Skull] clearly u have ur priorities straight [Joan] if that were true I’d have blocked you ages ago [Skull] oh no, my ego [Skull] has PB swung round yet today [Joan] he just did [Skull] and? [Skull] come on. give me the details [Skull] don’t deprive me of the gossip [Joan] nothing really happened [Joan] he changed his order up [Joan] asked about you [Skull] he fucking what [Joan] my chatty coworker told him :/ [Joan] and he got curious [Skull] did u tell him abt my rock hard jawline, [Skull] rock hard abs, [Joan] stfu that wasn’t even funny the first time [Skull] lies + slander [Skull] what did u tell him [Joan] I didn’t expect you to care so much about what he thinks [Skull] i dont. [Skull] im looking for openings to bully him [Joan] I just told him how we ‘met’ [Skull] is that it?? [Skull] thats so fucking boring [Joan] I mean [Joan] we also briefly spoke about the whole Only Texting situation [Skull] christ. what did he say to that [Joan] he thought I was going to call you right there and then [Joan] on the shop floor [Skull] is he stupid [Joan] hypocrite [Skull] my intellect is vast and varied tyvm [Skull] y is everyone obsessed with the calling thing [Skull] whys it such a big deal

Lucy glanced at her phone sidelong as she wiped down the counters. Why was it such a big deal?

She dwelled on it for a moment or two, but was cut short at the sight of the whole screen lighting up with Incoming call: Skull.

At first, she simply stared. Pressing the red decline button would mean everything stayed as it was—no awkward first phone call, no pressure to make their casual, stupid online friendship something more meaningful, no caving to the expectations of the more socially well-adjusted people around her. But pressing the green pick up button would mean… well, it would mean talking to Skull. Like actual friends. What would they even talk about?

Curiosity gnawed away at her.

Lucy pressed the green button.

“You were staring at your phone wondering if you should pick up, weren’t you?”

She wasn’t sure what she expected Skull to sound like, but it wasn’t quite this. He didn’t sound significantly older or younger, though his voice had a slight rasp to it, and she could hear his smile—knowing him, it was more likely to be a smirk—through his words. It was unfamiliar, yet so undeniably Skull that she couldn’t help but smile a bit herself.

“No. I told you, I’m at work. Busy day.”

“Busy enough that you picked up the phone in the middle of your shift?”

She rolled her eyes fondly and signalled to Holly she’d be back in five minutes—emergency, she mouthed, gesturing to the phone at her ear—and Holly gave her a knowing look in return.

London’s wintery chill nipped at her skin as soon as she stepped outside, but the fresh air was nothing short of lovely.

She squinted up at the sky; grey clouds loomed overhead. “Why now? Why not call later?”

“Got sick of you awkwardly bringing it up over text,” he said, then added: “Wanted to see if you’d pick up.”

“Well, here I am. I picked up. Now what?”

A short pause. “You were the one that was so bothered by it all.”

“I wasn’t that bothered.”

“Er, yeah you fucking were. So, my voice: what’s the verdict? Are you swooning?”

She gave a harsh huff of laughter. “You bloody wish.”

“I can hear you moved outside. Needed some fresh air to cool your blush?”

“Shut up? You’re not funny. Besides, my voice is miles better. I bet you almost tripped over your own feet when I first spoke.”

“I’m nothing but elegant and graceful,” he said, playfully indignant, “even when faced with a really annoying, nasally voice.”

“Charming.”

A beat, then: “I didn’t know you were northern.”

A small, ugly snort escaped her as she contemplated this. At the beginning of their acquaintanceship they’d stuck to an unspoken rule of avoiding delving into their personal lives, but as time passed and they became more comfortable with brutally bullying each other under the guise of friendship, details had come out here and there. They were both English. She worked at a cafe. His go-to drink order was an espresso martini (I’d had you down as a guinness kind of guy, Lucy had said, to which he responded thats the worst fucking insult). The drops of info were random and sporadic, and ended up so Lucy knew Skull had a really stupid tattoo on his left arse cheek, but he didn’t know she was northern—and this, in her opinion, was downright hilarious.

“You do now,” she said. “Look, I really can’t talk for long. I already spend way too much of my shift on my phone.”

“This was an emergency,” Skull said dryly, “you had to succumb to social pressures and modern friendship conventions.”

Lucy huffed in disbelief. “Friendship?”

“Slip of the tongue. I meant rivalry.”

“Of course you did. Denial is not a good look— er, sound, on you.”

He scoffed playfully. “Don’t throw my own words back at me. It’s not my fault you’re desperate for my attention and companionship.”

“And it isn’t my fault you’re projecting.”

“Ooh, you’re pushing it,” he said, and Lucy really could hear his smile. “I could just hang up right now and never contact you again.”

She sighed wistfully. “That would truly be the dream.”

“A nightmare for you, more like. You couldn’t survive without m—”

Lucy took great satisfaction in hanging up on him, and waltzed back into the shop with a lazy smile on her face. To her surprise, it wasn’t Holly whose eye she caught first upon her return, but Lockwood’s. He narrowed his eyes for a moment before flashing a grin—it was his split-second of hesitation that made Lucy wonder if he’d been watching her call Skull through the window.

“So,” Holly drawled, leaning in close as Lucy returned behind the counter, “how was the emergency?”

“Awful. Three wounded, one fatality.”

Holly’s teasing smile froze; it was clear she still hadn’t fully accustomed to Lucy’s sense of humour.

“It was fine. It’s nice to just have that over and done with. Now I can stop thinking about it.”

“What was he like?”

“Exactly how he is over text— no, wait, his ego was actually more inflated. He’s a bit insufferable.”

“The smile on your face counteracts your words, Luce.” Holly playfully nudged her before diverting her attention to a waiting customer, and together they fell back into their routine. After the line had gone back down, she stole a glance at her phone, and held back a snort at the notifications waiting for her.

[Skull] how DARE you. how fucking dare you [Skull] next time we call I’m getting my revenge

#lockwood and co #lockwood & co fic #lucy carlyle #the skull #skullyle #czenzo.fic #skullyle internet friends

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czenzo · 1 year ago

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Pretty Boy

[ao3] Skullyle Internet Friends Series: [1 – Pretty Boy] [2 – Missed Call]

summary:

[Skull] any updates on Pretty Boy? [Joan] I told you to stop calling him that

Lucy, a barista, finds herself drawn to the regular with long legs and perfect hair. Her internet friend – a snarky guy only known by the nickname Skull – finds her silly little crush hilarious (and may be a little bit jealous).

words: 2085 rating: T

notes: I have genuinely never considered Skullyle before, but I scrolled by this post by @lucy-lockwood and immediately opened Scrivener. I've also never seen Skull as anything but a cat in modern AUs before, but the thought of him being Lucy's internet friend with far too much time on his hands and the burning desire to blow up Lucy's phone with his abundance of sarcastic notifications was too much for me to resist

edit: now with a sequel!

Lucy’s phone buzzed, and she knew who it was before she picked it up.

[Skull] any updates on Pretty Boy?

[Joan] I told you to stop calling him that

[Skull] + i never agreed [Skull] ur avoiding the question.

She glanced up at her surroundings. They were in the lull between the morning and lunch rush; the only occupants besides herself and Holly were the bespectacled boy tapping away at his laptop in the corner, and the man with the oddly impressive moustache sipping tea by the window. There was nothing or no one stopping her from texting back, which wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

[Joan] I haven’t seen him today. there’s nothing to update you on

[Skull] bullshit [Skull] doesnt need 2 b a concrete physical update [Skull] ik u have already spent a minimum of 2 hours thinking abt him this morning [Skull] his hair. his lanky fucking legs. [Skull] penny for ur sickeningly sappy thoughts ma’am

[Joan] why are you concerning yourself with my thoughts about him [Joan] jealous much?

It took a strange amount of time for a reply to come through.

[Skull] HAHAHAHA [Skull] HAHAHAHAHAHAHA [Skull] that was so funny! real knee slapper!! have u considered ditching the coffee + pursuing comedy

[Joan] maybe I will. [Joan] wait shit hold on he’s just come in

She shoved her phone in her apron and immediately it began buzzing with message notifications, each one presumably more sarcastic than the last. Lucy was far too distracted to care; Lockwood had just walked in.

Lockwood. First name unknown, amount of patterned ties owned unknown (but it was at least twelve), regular orderer of one Earl Grey tea with milk and a ginger biscuit to go. He normally showed up during the morning rush which never left Lucy any time to talk to him outside of the standard cash register exchange, but today was different – he was running late. How interesting, Lucy thought, as she ignored her phone buzzing for the hundredth time. She ought to put it on silent.

“Morning,” Lockwood said as he approached the counter. “One Earl—”

“Grey tea with milk, ooh, and a ginger biscuit too, please?” Lucy said without fully intending to. She froze. Lockwood stared for an excruciating moment until the corner of his mouth quirked up.

“Do I really order that every time?”

“Pretty much every morning, yes.” She occupied herself with entering the order in the till, if only to avoid having to make eye contact. “Will that be everything?”

Of course, it was, and of course, the name for the cup was Lockwood, though Lucy only asked him to not seem like a complete creep with her memory.

Lockwood idled by the counter, scrolling through his phone as Lucy went to work putting his order together. Holly was in the back. The bespectacled kid didn’t make a noise, aside from the clacking of his keyboard. The moustached man quietly sipped his tea. It almost felt as if she and Lockwood were alone, and Lucy wasn’t sure how that made her feel.

She steeled her nerves to say something new. Now or never. “Running late today, are we?”

“I was, up until a few minutes ago. My morning meeting’s been cancelled, so I’m now free until eleven, which is certainly an odd feeling.”

Morning meeting? Lucy thought he was around her age – early twenties – and here she was, working a 9–5 making coffee, while he probably made double her wage in some swanky office. How lovely to think about.

“Yet you still came for your tea and biscuit.”

“Of course. I can barely function without it. Thank you,” he said as she slid his order towards him. He picked it up, hesitated, and looked around the room. When his eyes fell on the bespectacled boy, his face lit up.

“George! I didn’t realise you’d be here.” He strode over to the corner table and made himself comfortable opposite the boy and his laptop. Lucy watched them for a moment or two before realising she probably looked incredibly creepy again, and opted instead to lean against the counter and make sure Skull hadn’t collapsed in her absence.

Thirty-two unread messages. Half of them described Lucy batting her eyes and pouting her lips while Pretty Boy smouldered and sipped his ‘stupidly pretentious earl grey tea, who even fucking drinks that? just drink bog standard english breakfast like any normal self respecting brit’. The other half consisted of incoherent babbling which probably only made sense to Skull himself.

[Joan] you really missed me in those ten minutes I was gone, didn’t you?

[Skull] u flatter urself joanie [Skull] those 10 mins were the best of my entire life actually [Skull] peaceful bliss. pure unadulterated zen [Skull] so did u just run through ur normal coffee shop script like a coward or did u actually make a move

[Joan] I pointed out that he was running late, and he said a cancellation had changed his morning schedule

[Skull] god damn its straight from a film. so romantic!! [Skull] if u cant tell im currently blushing + swinging my feet back n forth in the air [Skull] eee tell me MORE!!

[Joan] I’m immune to your sarcasm. I diverted from my usual script! that’s better than nothing

[Skull] u talked about his morning. schedule. talk of google calendar will not segue into sloppy making out

[Joan] don’t say that. don’t be gross.

[Skull] it comes naturally 2 me [Skull] just like being romantically incompetent comes naturally 2 u

[Joan] he’s still here. I could still say something else

[Skull] rip the coffee machine from its fixings + do a back handspring off the counter, thatll 100% get his attention [Skull] try screeching like a banshee too. rlly turns a guy on

[Joan] noted. thank you for your wisdom.

[Skull] anytime B)

Across the room, Lockwood was talking animatedly to George, who listened yet continued typing. Lucy checked her watch: half past ten. Thirty minutes until Lockwood was busy again. She was so focused on working out what to do to catch his attention and make an impression that when Holly approached from behind with a soft hey, Lucy practically shot ten feet into the air.

“Hol,” she said, one hand on her chest. She’d almost flung her phone into the glass display case.

“Ooh, I’m so sorry. Didn’t mean to frighten you!” Holly beamed. Her usual cheer could never be dampened by the chaotic mornings on the job. “What’s gotten you so distrac— ah. He seems rather relaxed for someone running late, doesn’t he?”

“Schedule change,” Lucy murmured. “Cancelled meeting.”

“Lucky him. What I wouldn’t give for the morning rush to be cancelled for a day.” Holly nodded to the phone in Lucy’s hand. It buzzed once, as if reminding her it was still there. “Skull boy?”

Lucy nodded. She and Skull had been friends – acquaintances, as he often corrected – for nearly half a year. They’d frequented the same paranormal forums, and after finding themselves in an intense debate over whether ghosts would be able to talk coherently and being berated by mods for spamming the entire place out, had taken it to private messages instead. In six months they still hadn’t settled the dispute, but somehow managed to form something akin to a friendship.

Exchanging personal info was, they had silently agreed, a complete No. From the way he spoke (or rather typed), she guessed he wasn’t far off her age, but besides that only knew him by his skull icon. In turn, he only knew her by her vinyl icon and the choice to go by her middle name online. It was an admittedly dodgy setup – he could be anyone, could be capable of anything – but Lucy had grown accustomed to his sarcastic commentary and brashness, and would be hesitant to let it go.

She’d told Holly about him after being caught texting on the job one too many times.

“Yeah,” she said, tucking her phone back into her pocket. “Being his usual self.”

“No surprise there. But hey, I need your help prepping for the lunch rush. How about you clear Moustache’s table – which, may I point out, is conveniently near the corner – and then come join me in the back. Alright?”

Lucy followed her pointed, neatly manicured finger. Moustache man was gone and Holly was right, his table was close enough to Lockwood’s that clearing it would give her a second shot at conversation. She made a mental note to buy Hol a slice of carrot cake after their shift, and beelined to the table adorned with empty cups and plates.

From here, she could pick up on snatches of their conversation. It all seemed to be business stuff, and it gave her the impression that Lockwood and this George worked together, but their senses of dress were so starkly different that there was no way it was possible. A suit and tie and a graphic tee didn’t belong in the same office.

She stacked the dishes. Wiped the table. Realised she had absolutely no clue what she could talk about. If her hands were free she would have instinctively asked Skull, despite knowing he’d provide a stupid answer.

“Can we help you?” George said over Lockwood’s shoulder.

Lucy blinked.

Shit. She’d been staring again.

She could practically see the taunting messages Skull would send.

“Er,” she said eloquently. “Sorry. Was just wondering if you two needed anything? Cutlery? Sugar?”

Lucy worked hard to not drop the dishes in her hands when Lockwood turned around with a gleaming smile. “Oh, no, thank you. But – do you need any help with that? That all seems quite heavy.”

Moustache man tended to order multiple things requiring multiple plates and a variety of cutlery, and today was no exception. Yes, it was heavy, however no amount of silly infatuation was going to get Lucy to admit it.

She shook her head. “I’m fine, thank you. Could do this in my sleep.”

Lockwood continued to smile. It looked effortless. “Impressive. I’m sure you could take my order asleep, too.”

“Oh, any trained monkey could do that.”

“I ought to start changing my routine, if I’m that known for ordering the same thing every day.”

“It’s like you want me to mess up. No matter what you ask for, I’ll be sliding that Earl Grey and ginger biscuit over to you. It’s just muscle memory.”

“It could be fun to test you,” he said, eyebrows raising. “Up for a challenge?”

“A challenge? Pressing some new buttons and putting slightly different things into a cup? You underestimate me.”

“My apologies—” Here Lockwood squinted and leant forward ever so slightly. It took Lucy a second to realise he was checking her name tag. “—Lucy. I never meant to insult your barista expertise.”

“That’s more like it, Lockwood.”

“Feisty, this one,” George mused from behind his laptop.

“Lucy!” came Holly’s voice from the back. Lucy jolted and only just kept her grip on the plates. Awkwardly, she flashed a smile at the two boys and scurried back to the safety of being behind the counter.

With the dirty dishes deposited in the sink and officially Future Lucy’s problem, she followed the sound of Holly’s voice into the back, but made sure to check her phone along the way.

[Skull] god, hes bloody gone and done you in, hasnt he [Skull] i can see the headlines now: SAD LITTLE BARISTA MURDERED IN COLD BLOOD AT CAFE BY BLOKE WITH FREAKISHLY LONG LEGS AND A SHIT TASTE IN TEA

[Joan] I’m still alive. you’re very dramatic [Joan] I can’t always be on my phone, I surprisingly have things to do at work

[Skull] how dare u prioritise money over me, ur dearest most precious acquaintance [Skull] so he didnt kill u. [Skull] u definitely chickened out

[Joan] as a matter of fact, I didn’t!

[Skull] bullshit

[Joan] had almost a whole conversation, actually. proud?

[Skull] gobsmacked. [Skull] are u sure u didn’t get kidnapped and replaced by a clone with more confidence + better social skills

[Joan] har har. [Joan] talk later. we’re about to get busy again.

[Skull] you can store me in ur pocket all u like but i refuse to be silenced

Lucy turned on silent mode and slid her phone into her back pocket. Skull could wait. She had a lunch rush to prepare for, but the thrill of finally properly talking to Lockwood was enough to keep a smile on her face the whole way through it.

#lockwood and co #lockwood & co fic #lucy carlyle #the skull #anthony lockwood #skullyle #...sort of #czenzo.fic

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czenzo · 10 months ago

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talk shop tuesday! i really really like your l&co skullyle flavoured modern au!! it hasn't left my mind since, your work is incredible at keeping dynamics from books and adapting them for this fic's setting! but is there something that you are especially proud of or wanted to talk about from this series?

oh tysm, I adore the Skullyle internet friends au and I'm so glad others do too – especially one of my favourite L&Co artists, wtf!!

I got a bit carried away with my answer, so I'll pop it under a read more:

one of my favourite parts of the series (and just writing Lucy and Skull in general, really) is the duo's banter. their silly humour comes quite naturally to me since it's similar to my own, so it feels like I'm putting a little bit of myself into the fics I write about them! it's why compliments on their dynamic/conversations bring a really big smile to my face.

I'm also quite proud of how I've reflected their canon relationship in this modern au; Lucy is still the only one who can hear/communicate with Skull, and she's still able to cut him off mid-sentence by hanging up on him in lieu of closing the jar's grille. in a way, Lucy's phone is the modern version of the skull jar! someone clocked this in the comments of Missed Call and it made me SO happy :D I'd hate to steal all the credit for the concept, though – Pretty Boy and the whole au was inspired by this post by @lucy-lockwood!

speaking of the phone: a lovely someone asked whether Skull actually intended to call Lucy at midnight for Reasons Unknown... no comment from me right now, but we may circle back to this when I write more for the series... 👀

I was also pretty chuffed with the formatting for Missed Call. I'd never really played around with ao3 html before so it took me quite some time to figure it out, but seeing the finished thing made it all feel worth it! seeing this part fully formatted made me laugh way more than it should've:

one last little thing: Lucy's icon is a vinyl of Nirvana live at Paradiso, Amsterdam. I spent a while looking for one that felt right; I knew I wanted it to be blue (for obvious reasons) and it had to be something I could see her listening to. it's nearly impossible to make out in the final fic but it's just a fun little detail :) and Skull's display name is blue because, well, that's a Lucy colour! and they're kind of made for each other.

ah, yes. soulmates.

this ended up so much longer than I anticipated, I'm so sorry uiesfbksfbeoasdbkj I really do love this au, if it wasn't already glaringly obvious. I'm looking forward to writing more of it – and thank you again for this lovely ask! <3

#also I'd never heard of talk shop tuesday before but now I know of it I'm looking forward to dropping into people's ask boxes!#it's such a sweet concept :) thank u to vryfmi for making me realise it's a Thing #czenzo.ask #talk shop tuesday

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vryfmi · 2 months ago

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[id: a cropped screenshot of a text conversation. incoming: Would u rather be blind or deaf outgoing: deaf so i don't have to hear your bullshit incoming: U just love seeing me that's why incoming: I get it./end id]

#that's so skullyle indeed #l&co #skullyle #dare i say #skullyle internet friends #get id'd #described

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czenzo · 9 months ago

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czenzo fic masterlist

All for the Game | The Foxhole Court

♠︎ Overcome ( G / 3,495 ) – ao3 / tumblr

Andrew Minyard/Neil Josten, Sir & King, Animal Sickness, Domestic Fluff, Angst with a Happy Ending

♠︎ red plaid, yellow stitching ( E / 1,306 ) – ao3

Jeremy Knox/Jean Moreau, Pining, Plaid Pants, Shower Masturbation, Fantasising

♠︎ soft and sweet, firm and steady ( E / 1,658 ) – ao3

Andrew Minyard/Neil Josten, Post-Canon, Weight/Muscle Gain, Thigh/Arm/Stomach Fixation, Soft Beefy Andrew Appreciation

—

Ao No Exorcist | Blue Exorcist

♠︎ The Joys of Working Retail ( G / 5,039 ) – ao3 / tumblr

Okumura Yukio/Shima Renzo, Alternate Universe: Convenience Store, Modern AU

—

Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia

♠︎ Go Big or Go Home ( G / 4,348 ) – ao3 / tumblr

Aizawa Shota | Eraserhead & Shinsou Hitoshi, Sickfic, Light Angst, Hurt/Comfort

♠︎ Misguided Ghosts ( M / 4,292 ) – ao3 / tumblr

Aizawa Shota | Eraserhead & Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Alternate Universe – Lockwood & Co, Ghosts, Angst

—

Carry On | Simon Snow

♠︎ On the Hunt ( M / 8,402 / ongoing ) – ao3 / tumblr

Simon Snow/Baz Pitch, Werewolf Simon, Enemies to Friends to Lovers

—

Haikyuu!!

♠︎ nobody loves you like I do ( G / 5,862 ) – ao3 / tumblr

Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi, Friends to Lovers, First Kiss

—

Heartstopper

♠︎ falling for you all over again ( G / 3,445 ) – ao3 / tumblr

Nick Nelson/Charlie Spring, Temporary Amnesia, Comfort, Group Chat Shenanigans

♠︎ Nick and Charlie (& Nellie) ( T / 3,381 ) – ao3 / tumblr

Nick Nelson/Charlie Spring, 5+1 Things, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Nellie getting excited and interrupting

♠︎ Seven Years ( M / 16,259 ) – ao3 / tumblr

Nick Nelson/Charlie Spring, Post-Canon, Post-Break Up, Adult Nick & Charlie, Exes to Friends to Lovers

♠︎ Thick Thighs Save Lives ( E / 2,974 ) – ao3

Nick Nelson/Charlie Spring, Post-Canon, Thigh and Ass Fixation/Worship, Mutual Masturbation

—

Harry Potter | Marauders

♠︎ now I hold the guilt on my hands ( E / 1,662 ) – ao3

Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Sirius Black/James Potter, Mutual Masturbation, Phone Sex (sort of), University AU

♠︎ you fit well together ( T / 8,693 ) – ao3 / tumblr

Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, 5+1 Things, Mistaken for Being in a Relationship

—

Inazuma Eleven

♠︎ food (and a kiss) is the best medicine ( G / 3,585 ) – ao3 / tumblr

Genda Koujirou/Sakuma Jirou, Sick Fic, Friends to Lovers, First Kiss

—

Lockwood & Co.

♠︎ Consequences ( T / 2,335 ) – ao3 / tumblr

Lucy Carlyle/Anthony Lockwood, Fluff & Humour, poor attempts to cover up a hickey

♠︎ Dear Yorick ( G / 1,456 ) – tumblr / full zine

Tea Toast & Ghosts Zine, Magazine AU, Advice Column, The Skull

♠︎ In Record Time ( T / 5,117 ) – ao3 / tumblr

Lucy Carlyle/Quill Kipps/Anthony Lockwood, Soulmate AU (shared injuries), Light Angst, Sharing A Bed

♠︎ Just An Act ( T / 6,360 ) – ao3 / tumblr

Lucy Carlyle/Anthony Lockwood, Case Fic, Jealousy, First Kiss

♠︎ Misdial ( G / 20,348 ) – ao3 / tumblr

Lucy Carlyle/Anthony Lockwood, Modern/University AU, called the wrong number AU, First Kiss

♠︎ Revenge ( T / 1,514 ) – ao3 / tumblr

Lucy Carlyle/Anthony Lockwood, sequel to Consequences

♠︎ Skullyle Internet Friends Series – ao3 / tumblr

[ 1 ] Pretty Boy ( T / 2,086 ) – ao3 / tumblr

[ 2 ] Missed Call ( T / 3,440 ) – ao3 / tumblr

Lucy Carlyle/The Skull, minor/brief Lucy Carlyle/Anthony Lockwood, Internet Friends, Modern AU, Coffee Shop AU, Mutual Pining

♠︎ step into the moonlight (and throw your weight into me) ( G / 1,439 ) – ao3 / tumblr

Lucy Carlyle & Anthony Lockwood, Angst and Comfort, Book Spoilers

♠︎ The Final Applicant ( G / 2,832 ) – ao3 / tumblr

Lockwood POV, Lucy’s interview, Rewritten Canon

♠︎ Watch Out for Skull ( T / 13,126 / Ongoing ) – ao3 / tumblr

Lucy Carlyle/Anthony Lockwood, Lucy Carlyle & The Skull, Modern AU, Cat!Skull, Pet Sitting, Strangers to Friends to Lovers

♠︎ Young, Alive, Together ( T / 4,363 ) – ao3 / tumblr

Lucy Carlyle/Anthony Lockwood, Valentine’s Day, Angst, Poltergeists, First Kiss

—

Professor Layton

♠︎ Secrets ( T / 9,856 ) – ao3 / tumblr

Alfendi Layton/Lucy Baker, Post Canon, Pining, First Kiss, Angst with a Happy Ending

—

The Quarry

♠︎ Summer Loving ( M / 13,097 ) – ao3 / tumblr

Abigail Blyg/Nick Furcillo, Crushes, Mutual Pining, Fluff, Pre-Canon, Rewritten Canon, Post-Canon

♠︎ The Quarry: Prologue ( M / 6,433 ) – ao3 / tumblr

Rewritten Canon: the game’s prologue, in the form of a written story

—

Yuri!!! On Ice

♠︎ meet me in the morning when you wake up ( T / 1,391 ) – ao3 / tumblr

Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov, Angst, Death, Old Age, Memory Loss

♠︎ sea, sand, and sun lotion ( G / 849 ) – ao3 / tumblr

Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov, Beach Day, Fluff

♠︎ warmth ( G / 782 ) – ao3 / tumblr

Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov, Fluff, Blizzards & Snowstorms

#if you spot any broken links/incorrect tags lmk! :)

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