fandomhigh | Fandom Library, Wednesday, December 11th

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Fandom Library, Wednesday, December 11th

Today was a little rowdier in the library than Arden really would have liked, but while sentient balls of sugar were cute, they were not good for library books. So she was spending her shift chasing the sugar balls - who seemed to assume this was some kind of fun game - with a dustpan and broom to try to gently herd them into the dustpan where she could then dispose of them in the hallway.

Which, okay yes, she could see how they might consider that a fun game, rolling back inside any time the library doors were opened so they could play again.

At least she never lacked for cardio around here.

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Watch out for rolling sugar and also chasing aides

If you can keep up!

Cal had managed to dodge the sugar balls on his way over, and had put hot chocolate for himself and Arden into very tightly-closed cups so there would be no danger to the books. He couldn't resist watching her for a minute before clearing his throat to make his presence known. "This looks like the weirdest training exercise," he said. "But your form with the broom looks great."

"Cal!" Arden said, sugar balls immediately forgotten as she straightened up to see her ~*boyfriend*~ come visit her. "Hi! And thank you."

She held up a finger bidding him to wait until she had a chance to deposit the chirping balls she'd managed to collect back out into the main hallway and then came back. "So you were appreciating my, ahem, broom form, were you?" she teased.

"What? Can I not admire how athletic you are?" Cal asked, giving his ~*girlfriend*~ the most innocent look he could muster. "You've clearly been paying attention in your self defense classes and I, an expert, wanted you to know it shows."

Arden grinned up at him and leaned in to give him a hug. "The next time something happens and we need to beat someone up, I can just reach for the nearest broom and show them who's boss, huh?"

Edited 2024-12-12 00:37 (UTC)

"Hey, staves are a legitimate weapon," Cal said. "You could defend yourself and whack people at the same time, and a broom straw to the eye? You'd either take someone out or they'd die of embarrassment. It's effective either way." He wrapped his arms around in return, since she seemed to like that sort of thing.

Oh sure. This hug was all for Arden's benefit, suuuuure. Nobody else's.

"And yet, somehow I don't see you picking up a broom as your next weapon to keep handy," she teased.

The hug was definitely all for Arden and definitely not Cal making up for years of touch starvation, shhh.

"I mean, you'd be deadlier with a paintball gun, but sometimes you've got to work with what you have on hand. I just happen to be armed most of the time," he said with a gentle shrug. "You're creative."

"Cute, creative, and able to beat people up with a broom," Arden said. "I'm pretty much the whole package, yeah." She grinned up at him. "So what's up? Miss me?"

"I did. The holiday stuff keeps making me think of you," Cal said. "It's easy to get swept up in the season, that's for sure. Are you planning on doing anything during the break between classes?"

"It does?" Arden, look less delighted, please. Have dignity. "And no, I don't think so. I'll probably pop over to Gray's for a few hours on Christmas Day, but otherwise..." She spread her hands. "No plans."

"Well, yeah. Everything you introduce me to makes me think of you afterwards. Sorry, but you're going to be tied to paintball, fancy fries, and cornbread forever," Cal said. That was probably a compliment like he meant it to be, right? Maybe that would explain the nervous look that came over him. "If you've got some time, I promised Cere and Greez that I'd come visit now that I can, and I thought maybe you'd want to come with me. You don't have to," he added quickly. "If you've got other stuff going on, or you just want to relax, or it might be too awkward. But I think they might like to meet you again."

Which was an understated way to say "They've been sending constant messages about meeting you again to inevitably talk to you about me behind my back," but that didn't seem like the right thing to admit.

"No apologies needed, those are the best things to be tied to," Arden said, sliding her arm around his hip and taking a sip from her cocoa.

Which she successfully did not choke on when he mentioned going to visit Greez and Cere. Banner day for sylphs. "Y-you do?" she asked, wide-eyed. "They would? I mean...they weren't mad about the...everything?"

Cal gave Arden a warm smile and a tight hug. "They have nothing to be mad about. Cere... well, she's probably going to ask you more questions about yourself. But Greez isn't a Jedi and has no concerns about us, if that's what you're worried about."

"Bold of you to assume I'm only worried about one thing," Arden said. "I'm capable of worrying about, like, seven different things all at once!"

It's a joke if you laugh while you say it.

Cal thought about calling her out on that, but glass houses and stones and all...

"Well, you don't have to worry about my friends. They really want to see you again," he said. "And I want to show you the Mantis, and we can explore a little if you want. And it won't be cold!" That seemed like a helpful bonus to mention. "What are the things you're worried about?"

"Not looking like an idiot in front of your friends?" You know. Again. "..." She tried to think of more but nothing came to mind. "Okay so maybe I am only worried about one thing."

Oh wait, no, she did have more. "Making Cere disapprove of...us," she added. "Finding out that I am bad for you somehow. Them being upset about Callista and how scary that was for you. Uhhh..."

Give her time, she could probably find more!

"You're not going to look like an idiot in front of my friends. They've already met you, and they've heard nothing but good things since. And Cere is the one who told me to be honest with you. She said I have to trust myself and that I'd know what was right and... I don't know, I'm not worried about her disapproval here." Cal took Arden's hand and gave it a squeeze. "They're not upset about Callista either, no more than I am." Then again, Cal set a high bar there. "They know you got hurt and it upset me, but they don't know any of the details. They don't need to know."

"They met me, and I looked like an idiot in front of them," Arden pointed out. She'd schoolsplained, Cal! It had been very embarrassing for sylphs! "I mean, I'm still obviously going to go, that's not even in question, but I'm also gonna fret about it. I don't mean to, but...it'll happen. But that doesn't mean I don't wanna go. You know?"

"They didn't think you were an idiot. They thought you were very sweet." A little nervous, but nice. "I was worried about asking you, if that makes you feel better. I thought maybe you wouldn't want to come with everything I've talked about. But we'll be safe," he said quickly. "I'll make sure of it. I want this to be fun."

"You promised me flying on Kashyyyk," Arden reminded. "Even if that's not this visit, I'm still holding you to it, so I clearly can't just...not go." She laughed softly. "Besides, what does it say that I'm less worried about soldiers than I am about making a fool of myself in front of your family?"

Look who was back to being human(-shaped)! And carrying a plate wrapped in tinfoil.

"I brought cookies!" Gray announced, and then admitted, "Raiden made the cookies." Because no one was trusting this guy right here around an oven.

"Oh, I figured you'd meant that you brought cookies Raiden had made," Arden assured him, giving a sugar ball a gentle whack into the dustpan. "I've, you know, had one conversation with you ever, even." She grinned at him. "Look at who is all person-shaped again."

Gray struck a little pose, then broke from it and explained, "I was turned back when I woke up at like....two o'clock this morning." Because circadian rhythms were for people without supernatural sleep disorders. "Thanks for looking after me, especially since it seems like Raiden couldn't have." So weird how that happened! He slid the plate across the desk toward her and said, "Okay, so we have ginger molasses and red wine brownie cookies." Arden got a shiny nickel if she guessed where that inspiration had come from.

"...Made with the wine from the taps?" Arden asked, taking one. And then pausing before she bit into it. "All the alcohol has been cooked off, yeah?"

"...yes?" Gray, who didn't speak Kitchen, said with great hesitancy.

After a moment, with more confidence, he reported, "Raiden says yes. Or, well. There might be trace amounts left, but not enough to, like, matter. I didn't ask where the wine came from, but, I mean, probably." Free wine!

"I mean, if I was gonna get drunk off cookies, this would be the best place to do it," she said, gesturing to the currently empty library. And, sure, Gray, but they'd established he was waaaaaaay too gay to be affected. "But I'd still rather not. But, since that isn't a problem."

Ohhhh that was a good cookie.

"Raiden wouldn't give you cookies that would hurt you," Gray pointed out. "Except for in the, 'Oh, no, these cookies are so unhealthy,' kind of way, but who cares? It's Christmas."

It was December eleventh, Gray.

It had been Christmas in Gray's heart since November first, lets be real. "So what does your family do for Christmas? Like, are you all up early for presents, or....?"

And now a molasses cookie. You know, for balance.

"It depends," Gray sighed as he picked up a chocolate cookie. "Because Sloth is a butthole. So we have to sort of do things around when I'm awake. Like, my brothers might have Christmas breakfast without me, because what's the alternative? They starve until I wake up? No. But We don't open presents until everyone's awake, so that's usually kind of late in the morning, because Daman considers 4 AM a reasonable bedtime. And then we all watch Christmas movies," whether certain people wanted to or not, "and then we have Christmas dinner. It's a whole day. It's great. Do you want to come this year, or do you have other plans?" He didn't want to just assume.

"Well, it seems really unlikely that the Khans will do anything for Christmas," she said, thinking, "though I might wake up here and then head to your place for late Christmas morning."

That three hour difference was clutch. It was like time travel!

"Smart," Gray said with a nod. "Sneaky. I could text you when things are happening."

"Yeah, if you text me when you wake up, I can be there to open presents with everyone!"

A sudden pause.

"Castor and Alastair know that I can't afford like crazy expensive gifts, right?"

"Oh, they won't care," Gray assured her. "Castor will like it if it's shiny, and Alastair just looks expensive."

A beat.

"Wait, that came out wrong."

Arden was certainly laughing at him about it, that was for sure. "I'm telling Alastair you called him the wish dot com version," she teased.

"Nooooooo," Gray protested, draping himself dramatically across the desk. "Please don't!" Then he popped up and said, "No, but like...think of Alastair like a grandpa. He likes grandpa things. Okay, yes, he likes his cashmere sweaters and whatever but he also likes his books and his tea and those Werther's candies." Why, Alastair? Why?

"I mean, y'all are thousands and thousands of years old," Arden noted, trying not smirk. "I'm surprised you're all not into Werther's orginals and complaining about how our music these days is too loud."

Who might sensibly be choosing to stay in his office, away from the commotion.

I do love the Advent's "Instant Post Inspo," ngl

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Fandom Library, Wednesday, December 11th

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