037 » on and on we carry through the fear

[shiruyeh]

CALL ME OUT MEME.

♛ please refer to this list for canon muses and this list for original characters. ♛ "call" one of them out — you can do so by putting their name in the subject line of your post! ♛ this can be informal/formal/comment spam/crosscanon/shippy/smutty/whatever tickles your fancy! ♛ here are some prompts inspired by other memes! ❶ — texts from last night. ❷ — morning after. ❸ — drunk/drinking. ❹ — picture prompt. ❺ — insomnia. ❻ — sharing the same bed. ❼ — snow day. ❽ — sky gazing. ❾ — roadtrip.

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[valhourdin]

[ Zephirin's fork joins his knife; lacing his fingers together, Zephirin leaves the remainder of his sandwich waiting for now, quiet to let Francel speak uninterrupted. When the boy's voice trails off, he shakes his head, too. ]

Then we should apologize for cornering you. We meant no harm.

[ It's safe to assume that Janlenoux's request wasn't entirely serious, only a well-meaning dig at Zephirin's habits. ]

[haillenarte]

No! No, I understand that. I'll... I'll get used to it, I promise. It's just, when I meet new people, I get really nervous, so I try to find out everything I can about someone before I talk to someone...

[he feels, distinctly, that he is just digging himself into a deeper hole. desperately, he grasps for some sort of justification for his neuroses.]

— I was kidnapped once when I was little, so, um...

[good job francel. good job. that's definitely a great conversation starter, right there.]

[valhourdin]

[ That piece of information brings a frown to Zephirin's face. One wonders whether Francel's jokes about being abducted and held for ransom aren't a coping mechanism of some sort to work through his childhood trauma...

And it might explain why he was afraid even to knock on Zephirin's door the previous day, particularly if any searches didn't turn up enough about Zephirin to calm his anxieties. ]

I see... I'll keep it in mind.

[ In Janlenoux's absence, Zephirin takes it upon himself to offer Francel some reassurance. ]

It's unlikely that you've offended Janlenoux.

[haillenarte]

[please don't keep it in mind, francel wants to say, almost with tears in his eyes, but it's much too late to backtrack now, and he just has to live with this, with zephirin knowing that he was kidnapped once. (he was, for a few hours, when he was eleven. ostensibly it was to be held for ransom, but the way his kidnappers had treated him made him extremely uncomfortable, and he was old enough then to know about things like pedophiles.)]

Oh, no, I didn't think so. He seemed really nice. Though I feel weird that I asked all those questions about him in front of him...

[valhourdin]

[ Little by little, Francel appears to calm down, albeit only from a small, frightened animal ready to bolt to a boy who probably prays for the ability to turn invisible. Zephirin elects not to treat him as though he is made of cracked glass — it would keep Francel steeped in his embarrassment and exacerbate it.

He could point out that Francel's questions were hardly the barrage that the boy imagines, but he merely picks his knife and fork back up. ]

There are worse questions to ask and remarks to make.

[ Janlenoux, in Zephirin's experience, attracts nosy glances and whispers at times. ]

Your interest was harmless, perhaps even flattering.

[haillenarte]

It was not my intent to be flattering...

[shaking his head, francel takes zephirin's cue and returns, also, to his cake. a mouthful of more cream than confection helps him steel his nerves, enough to be honest for a brief moment:]

I... I was only interested in knowing what kind of person you would choose to live with.

[valhourdin]

Not in knowing what kind of person would choose to live with me?

[ Subtly, humour touches the curve of Zephirin's mouth before he raises his fork and another bite of sandwich disappears between his lips. ]

Are you apartment hunting?

[ That isn't the reason behind Francel's curiosity, he thinks. ]

[haillenarte]

[suddenly, francel turns quite red indeed, and giggles nervously. zephirin has, somehow, neatly checkmated him, and made him laugh, at that. he isn't certain how he should respond.]

N-No, but... um... maybe I'm roommate-hunting?

[valhourdin]

[ Visibly surprised, intrigued, Zephirin lifts his eyes from his plate again. They take in Francel's flushed cheeks — for all he knows, the boy really has spontaneously decided to find a way to move out. ]

...And your verdict so far?

[haillenarte]

...I bet your closet is really organized!

[after that nonsensical guess, francel promptly crams a large forkful of cake in his mouth so that he can be spared the stress of saying anything more.]

[valhourdin]

[ Maybe Francel doesn't bring up Zephirin's closet with yesterday's conversation in mind, but it elicits a chuckle from Zephirin, hummed under his breath. Lowering his gaze, he gives Francel a chance to swallow his impressive mouthful of cake. ]

It should pass an inspection, but my roommates normally don't live in my closet.

[haillenarte]

[a similar hum from francel suggests that he is chuckling, too. what must janlenoux think, to see his stoic former roommate laughing so easily with a blond, baby-faced university student?]

Oh, that's not what I meant! But people really rent their closets, you know...

I just mean that you seem organized in general. Your desk space, for instance.

[valhourdin]

[ Surreptitiously, Janlenoux observes the pair every now and again. By the expression he wears, he is relieved to see Zephirin's unexpected date-or-friend no longer so jumpy.

Zephirin reaches for a napkin, his plate mostly cleared. ]

It saves time, I've found. [ Francel's assessment makes it sound remarkable. ] If you're serious about your search, we can discuss it.

[haillenarte]

[francel has finished most of his cake by now, but he is eating more slowly than zephirin, in general, and he has just started on his sandwich. all thoughts of professor de leusignac are mercifully far from his head.]

I'm afraid I'm only joking, though with all the room in my house, perhaps I should consider renting some closet space...

[the bakery door chimes jingle. francel's chair is facing the door, so he can watch the customers come and go; he watches the new visitor with interest. an unfairly handsome young man with rolanberry pink hair has just walked through the door; perhaps he reserved an order in advance, or else has poor janlenoux's number on speed dial for emergency macaroon demands, because janlenoux seems to produce a box of macaroons for him from seemingly nowhere.]

[valhourdin]

[ The new arrival closes the topic of closets and closet-sized rooms; Zephirin notices Francel's attention wander as his curiosity or possibly his nervousness around strangers to meet finds another target. Although Zephirin has his back to the door and doesn't turn his head over his shoulder, he recognizes Adelphel's distinctive voice. Whatever it is that Adelphel came to collect, he must want it urgently, or Janlenoux would no doubt have delivered it himself after his shift.

During the lull in conversation, Zephirin carefully cuts his macaroon in half. One half, he halves again.

At the counter, meanwhile, Janlenoux encourages Adelphel to open the box, watching him a little too hopefully. In a more fitting location, with a box whose contents aren't confectionery, and a less blasé reaction on Adelphel's part, the scene could be a proposal. ]

[haillenarte]

[though adelphel does not rejoice or burst into tears, he nevertheless pops a macaroon in his mouth and expresses some satisfaction — which is apparently as close to an acceptance of a proposal as poor janlenoux is going to get. francel cannot help but smile at the scene; something about adelphel's frosty demeanor is deeply amusing.

after a few moments, his attentions return to zephirin's plate. francel tilts his head curiously at the macaroon that has been cut into fourths, wondering what zephirin is up to.]

[valhourdin]

[ The macaroons are the same shade of pink as Adelphel's hair. Zephirin seizes a piece between thumb and index finger, bringing it to his mouth. Francel's eyes are back on him, on the macaroon, and so he turns the plate so that the untouched half of the confection faces Francel. ]

Help yourself.

[ When Adelphel and Janlenoux pause their exchange, glancing at the occupied table, Zephirin greets the former with a nod. ]

[haillenarte]

[for a moment, francel simply sits, stunned. he'd assumed that zephirin's cutting of the macaroon was some sort of odd eating ritual! the idea that zephirin saw the need to split a tiny macaroon is just... just...

well. somehow it's unbearably sweet, and speaks too much to the man's soft heart, too. breaking into a radiant (and somewhat relieved) smile, francel laughs, perhaps a little too loudly, over the adorable, super-bite-sized macaroon chunks.]

Oh, no — I can't! I didn't save you any cake!

[valhourdin]

[ Fortunately, Francel's laughter only seems to be a pleasant surprise for Janlenoux until Adelphel talks over it.

Zephirin's macaroon shrinks by another chunk before he wipes his fingertips on his napkin. He shrugs gracefully, sitting back. Francel's stomach has a limited capacity, of course, and no one insists that the boy should accept the offered macaroon half, whether now or after finishing his sandwich. ]

Next time, perhaps, I'll follow your example. Assuming that Janlenoux baked it, it's worth eating to the last crumb.

[haillenarte]

[next time. the words sink into francel's core and make his heart flutter. they have promised each other several next times now, it seems. shaking his head and pursing his lips, francel ultimately succumbs to temptation, taking up the last bit of macaroon.]

I'm sorry. Next time, I'll save you some of my dessert, too.

[though it bears worth repeating that francel ate his cake before his sandwich...]

I'm a bad child...

[valhourdin]

[ As Francel's sweet tooth triumphs over his politeness, he leaves himself open to comments on his choosing to eat his dessert first — but any such comment goes unsaid. On the heels of his remark, the bakery is oddly silent. Adelphel's perfect eyebrows arch, disappearing behind the fringe of his perfect hair. Janlenoux adjusts the placement of a stack of plates.

Zephirin, thankfully, isn't the sort of person to joke about disciplining bad children, least of all in public and with a student. His reply nevertheless rivals Francel's declaration in its strangeness. Evenly, he retorts: ]

...As I recall, you warned me ahead of time. Enabling it, I suppose I should be considered the equivalent of a bad father.

[haillenarte]

[adelphel's eyebrows only seem to rise further at this remark, and the way he opens his mouth suggests that he is on the verge of saying something wholly (or perhaps only mildly) inappropriate — fortunately, janlenoux intervenes, and pulls him to a back room.

francel pays the bakery owner and his friend no mind. he smiles at zephirin's silliness.]

Between this and driving me home? I'll be spoiled before long. What's that saying — "spare the rod, spoil the child"?

[valhourdin]

[ Now the quiet bakery offers the illusion of privacy, and they've re-entered the place where yesterday's talk of abducting Francel came from, joking like friends. Once again, Francel shows a surprising mischievous streak — he teases Zephirin almost too comfortably, with a playfulness that approaches flirting.

Zephirin counters, deadpan: ]

I'm afraid I'm not a proponent of corporal punishment. I'll hold you to your promise instead.

[haillenarte]

I did promise cookies, didn't I? And now a split dessert...

[francel is flirting, he is aware — he is also aware that all their promises go well beyond the obligations proposed by their tutor-tutee relationship. and yet, he doesn't entirely want to stop. being with zephirin is too easy and relaxed to want to stop.

they have finished eating now, and the question now emerges of where they will go next, what they will do.]

...Are you going home after this, Zephirin?

[valhourdin]

[ For now, Zephirin takes a sip of lukewarm cocoa, smiling slightly into his napkin then before he folds it together and leaves it on his plate. Next time is not an unwelcome thought. ]

I was planning to go back to my office first. [ He throws his watch a glance. ] Do you need a ride home?

[ It isn't raining today, and the roads won't be as busy — Francel's bus would arrive on time. In other words, Francel doesn't need a ride. ]