biscuit boy

Jason Marcus Gently || 18 || Single || Proud Slytherin Alumni "i will make you believe you are lovely"

[jasongently-blog]

@kingmeshacklebolt

Jason heard the sound of the bell at the front of the shop, but didn’t immediately move to the counter as he normally would have. He was putting tiny, identical little last-second details on the decoration for a batch of cupcakes and needed to pay attention. “Just a second,” he spoke probably not as loud as he should have, concentrated as he was. The second he was finished he spun around to face the counter with a beaming smile on his face and greeted, “s-sorry about that, h-hello-!” Only to see who it was and blush at the sight of Kingsley there.

“W-What b-brings you i-in, Kingsley?” Jason asked with a smaller smile on his face that still reached his eyes, and glanced at the way he seemed to be holding something behind his back.

[jasongently-blog]

“Goddamn right there.” Zephyr said with a chuckle, a little impressed that Jason had realized that. Out of all the time he’d been in Great Britain, no one had once seemed to realize that they all had accents to Zephyr’s ears - or at least they didn’t comment on it. “May not get along with most of the people I meet, but hell if most of you don’t sound pretty.”

It was a cliche, but sue him, accents were fancy and nice and if he had a slight fascination with My Fair Lady when he was younger, that was completely besides the point.

“Yeah, just me over here.” And just his dad back in America, but he wasn’t about to open up about how his mom died and he decided to skip across the pond just to escape the reality of that to someone he’d just met. “They’re my family, so sure, but I’ve got a continent full of new people to meet, seems like I should keep myself busy enough to stop from getting homesick, right?”

Jason let out a bit of a laugh along with Zephyr’s chuckle, not understanding why he found it funny but enjoying that he’d laughed anyway. If Jason ever found himself in America, he was sure he’d feel a little out of place there. Zephyr spoke differently than he was used to hearing, he couldn’t imagine being the only one around who spoke the way he did.

“W-Well,” he started, going a bit red at the thought that Zephyr found the way he spoke pretty but more interested in his previous comment, “i-it s-sounds like you h-haven’t m-met v-very m-many nice p-people, if you h-haven’t gotten along.”

“It’s b-brave of you, t’be so f-far a-away all on your o-own.” Jason shook his head smally, thinking about it. “I-I w-wouldn’t be a-able to do i-it. I t-think i’d g-get l-lonely...”

Clearing his throat, he let his eyes slip to the floor at their feet and asked, “have y-you l-liked it here, s-so far?”

[kingmeshacklebolt]

liquid courage | jason & kingsley

[jasongently-blog]

“Oh, they’re welcome to, but only if I can make sure I get to point out theirs as well.” Call it the habit of a younger sibling, but he liked making sure the playing field was even when it came to embarrassing stories. Or, if not even, as damn well close as Kingsley could get it. Tended to help with the anxiety levels as well.

“Thank you, for the reassurance.” He said quietly. “Honestly, I–” Kingsley faltered, not sure exactly how much to put out on the table right away, but Jason had already seen him at his lowest, hadn’t he? “I’ve got anxiety, so sometimes it’s nice to know I’m not fucking it up as bad as my brain says I am.”

There was no way that Jason couldn’t notice how fast Kingsley’s heart was beating around him, so he tried his best not to let it matter. After all, he had the promise of another dance under his belt, and a gorgeous man dancing with him now, and he’d actually done this.

The corners of Jason’s mouth tugged smally into a tight little smile, then grew to a subdued little grin and he couldn’t help but giggle the smallest bit at Kingsley’s reasoning, being fine with being laughed at as long as the joke wasn’t only on him. Jason had been laughed at many times in his life, he’d never liked it, but the idea of being laughed with was appealing. “T-That sounds f-fair,” he agreed smally.

Jason’s head tipped the smallest bit to the side as he looked up at Kingsley, reassuring him with a soft smile, “you’re w-welcome...” but trailing off when Kingsley faltered with his words, not wanting to interrupt him. It seemed like he had something important to say.

It was strange, thinking of this big, strong auror as vulnerable, but with his head falling to rest against his chest he could hear the fear clearly in the racing beat of his heart. He kept his head resting gently there as he let out a little, “oh,” with Kingsley’s explanation. He nodded, causing his head to nuzzle against Kingsley, and reassured him again knowing that it must be hard to be admitting something like this to him, even if maybe it was necessary, “I-I u-understand... I-I h-have, um, PTSD/C-PTSD, a-and a-anxiety’s s-sort of a b-big p-part of b-both of those things...”

He pulled his arms away enough to slip them around Kingsley’s middle instead, hugging him as they danced. “I-I’ll t-try to r-reaffirm t-things f-for you, to m-make it e-easier. Hopefully.”

[jasongently-blog]

Sirius or Regulus

W-... Wow. I h-haven’t, w-well... I h-haven’t s-seen R-Regulus in a v-very l-long time. I d-doubt he e-even r-remembers me, a-anymore. B-But, I m-miss him. I-I’ve only r-recently s-seen Sirius a-again... I t-think he m-might a-actually l-like my c-company...? Sirius, n-now...

[jasongently-blog]

Your hands or your eyes

Oh. My... M-My h-hands. W-Without t-them, I w-wouldn’t b-be able to d-do anything a-anymore.

[jasongently-blog]

Dirk could understand his hesitation. Dirk himself might not have come if he hadn’t known Asher would be here. As it was, the appeal of being someone else for a night had been part of that appeal that had eventually convinced him to show up, and he suspected the man in front of him had taken the opposite approach. He wasn’t sure who the man was, but Dirk suspected he was perhaps more himself tonight that most days. “You pulled together quite the outfit on the fly then,” Dirk said. “I wouldn’t have been able to act so quickly.”

“T-Thank you,” Jason murmured, feeling warm and rosy at the compliments he was being given, but shaking his head a moment later with a bit of a laugh under his breath. “A-Actually, I... W-Wasn’t p-planning on c-coming, b-but I s-still w-went out and b-bought something in c-case I changed my m-mind.” It felt silly to admit it, and the younger man ducked his head smally as he continued to laugh at himself.

[kingmeshacklebolt]

liquid courage | jason & kingsley

[jasongently-blog]

Kingsley laughed, still a bit giddy that this was even happening at all. He’d actually done it. Here he was, dancing with a man in public. This was new for him, really. For all the dates and relationships he’d had in the past, Kingsley had never actually dated a man before. Slept with one certainly, kissed one definitely, made repeated bad decisions with Dmitry undoubtedly, but never something he thought he might want to last any length of time. Though he was getting way too ahead of himself. Slow down. Slow down.

He put one hand on Jason’s waist, and the other on his shoulder. “As immensely entertaining as that would be, we should probably wait until people are possibly a bit drunker.” He teased back. “Assuming I don’t botch this horribly and you’ll dance with me again later.”

“O-Oh? D-Don’t w-want people t-to remember a-any h-horrible, c-clumsy dancing?” Jason joked smally, his eyes slipped down to their feet as he said it but slipping back up to Kingsley’s masked face when he finished. He shook his head slowly, considered how many time already Kingsley had joked about messing this up somehow, and told him honestly, “y-you c-can’t mess t-this up. I’ll d-dance with you a-again, later. I-If you come f-find me.”

He was doing a fine job leading so far. Jason considered how many times he’d met this man before and how different each meeting had been, every time they saw each other and apparently somehow he’d managed to do something to make him feel interested. They spun in circles and Jason took a breath, let his head fall forward to rest against Kingsley’s chest.

[jasongently-blog]

Dirk continued to move on autopilot, not thinking much about the particular steps, especially since the man in front of him was so easily able to keep up. “Well, the bows definitely suit you,” he said with a smile. Dirk found it odd to be dancing and conversing with someone he didn’t even know, but that was the whole point of tonight. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask his name, but Dirk resisted. “Are you here with someone?” He intended the question more as polite conversation than anything else, but it was good to know if he was potentially overstepping.

“T-Thank you,” Jason murmured, blushing, smiling coyly at the idea that the man thought he looked good, or at least that he liked his hair bows. “I h-haven’t c-come with a-anyone, n-no... I...” His voice trailed off and he let out a bit of a giggle, remembering that the man didn’t know him and so it didn’t matter. “I w-wasn’t o-originally going to c-come, but... I c-changed my mind.”

[jasongently-blog]

“It should be,” Camilla sighed reproachfully, although she stopped herself before she could get into an all-out rant on what she thought of modern education. “If I were to say you look like a prince, would that mean we’d be destined to dance?”

“Oh,” color flooded into Jason cheeks and he perked smally at the suggestion before clearing his throat with a coy sort of smile. “Y-Yes, I t-think so,” and he offered her his hand so he could lead her out on the dance floor. “I-If I may.”

[jasongently-blog]

camillafawley‌:

“Three people have stepped on me so far,” Camilla said, a pout crossing over her face. “It’s a shame people wear such short dresses nowadays– I can’t find anyone who can competently dance with me.”

“I s-suppose b-ballroom dancing isn’t t-taught as m-much as it u-used to b-be,” Jason noted with a breath, but smiled softly immediately after anyway, wonderment clear in his voice and his eyes through the mask. “I t-think you l-look like a p-princess.”

[kingmeshacklebolt]

liquid courage | jason & kingsley

[jasongently-blog]

That– that had actually gone significantly better than he’d hoped for, considering that Jason hadn’t known his name. Which, honestly, that had been… that had been quite the embarrassing discovery. He’d have to wallow in that one later. Or never, he supposed, depending on how things went. 

Kingsley tried to keep his grin to a manageable level, rather than all-encompassing relief and joy spilling over his face. That felt like an awful lot to throw at a man he barely knew, who barely knew him. Pinning all of his emotions on one person wasn’t healthy and he was trying his best to avoid doing so, but Merlin that smile made him weak at the knees. 

“It’s very, very nice to meet you as well.” He said honestly, holding out a hand for Jason to thank. “Is there any chance you know how to ballroom dance? I’m remarkably good at it, considering I did most of it at age thirteen.”

“T-Thank you...” More compliments, more warmth flooding into Jason’s cheeks, more thoughts that he didn’t have the slightest idea what to do with at the moment. About how strong Kingsley’s jaw looked, and how charming it was that he’d backtracked and reintroduced himself. He didn’t hesitate before taking the offered hand and letting Kingsley lead him out onto the dance floor. His hands were bigger and rougher and Jason remembered that Kingsley had said he was an auror. His hands were working hands.

“I l-love b-ballroom dance,” he admitted easily once they found their place in the crowd of dancers, and he hesitated there a moment before giggling and teasing gently, “p-perhaps I should l-lead then, c-considering it’s b-been so long for y-you.”

But his smile was shy and he placed one his free hand on Kingsley’s shoulder anyway, fully knowing that he wouldn’t be able to lead someone so much bigger than he was with any sort of effect. He wouldn’t even be able to see much past Kingsley’s shoulders to be sure he wasn’t backing him into other people.

[kingmeshacklebolt]

liquid courage | jason & kingsley

[jasongently-blog]

cw: social anxiety

“Oh my god, I never gave you my name?” Kingsley could kick himself. Into space. And then even farther into the void of the ether, because good sweet lord above he’d spent all these weeks being hopeless and Jason had just been placing him by Valentina? Oh she could never know this. It would make the teasing unbearable. 

“I am– well.” He chuckled awkwardly and resisted the urge to down a bottle of champagne to quell the nerves he’d just managed to chase off. No running and hiding. Valentina would actually kill him. So would his actual sister. He’d worked himself up to this and he wanted it so desperately and anxiety would not take this from him.

“That’s terribly awkward of me, isn’t it? Can we, can we start again, just a little? I’m going to start over just a little?” He half-asked half-stated, pink around the ears.

Kingsley ducked his head, shuffling his feet for a moment before clearing his throat and saying, “Hello, my name’s Kingsley Shacklebolt, I’m that arse from the bakery who never introduced himself but kept getting personalized cakes for his friend, and I think you’re quite cute and would really, really like the honor of dancing with you. If you let me.”

“N-No. You didn’t.” Jason answered honestly, though his voice was a little bit small because it obvious that something about that was bothering Kingsley. He began to fiddle smally with the tie on his cloak, eyes slipping down and away from Kingsley, hoping the man was alright, but a moment later he was chuckling and talking about how awkward it was. He asked to start over and Jason glanced back up at him, blinking curiously. “Y... Y-Yes, just a l-little.”

He watched as Kingsley let his head fall forward, took a moment for himself, and when he looked back up Jason was already smiling at the expression on his face before he even began to reintroduce himself, properly this time. He giggled smally, biting his lip to keep himself from beaming too brightly at how cute and funny Kingsley was being. His face flooded noticeably red even with his mask as being called cute. This all felt so sudden, coming from this man he’d met a handful of times before now, he’d never thought for a moment that he might be interested like this. The idea that anyone was interested in Jason was foreign and lovely and fluttered in his middle.

“I-” He started but he could practically taste the way his words were about to be caught on the tip of his tongue, closed his mouth and took a little breath, started again with a pretty, shy little smile on his face, “I’d l-love to d-dance with you, K-Kingsley...” his voice trailed off, and he added with a bit of a giggle, “and it’s v-very nice t’meet you.”

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Dirk smiled, growing more at ease as they began to move. “Thank you,” he said. “I wasn’t sure if it was too much, but I got here and clearly it wasn’t.” He chuckled light-heartedly. For Dirk, the look was bold, but he clearly couldn’t quite match with the over the top extravagance so common in the magical community. “I have to ask. Is the look inspired by something or just things you enjoy?”

“I don’t t-think there’s s-such thing as t-too much for a m-masquerade b-ball,” Jason pointed out smally, with a soft sort of smile on his face. He giggled along with Dirk’s laughter, “e-even if it’s a b-bit m-much, i-it suits you... T-That’s w-what matters, I t-think.” The man was an excellent dancer and Jason was glad to be able to trust the person leading him. “Hm? Oh, um, t-things I e-enjoy,” he answered with a bit of a blush, eyes slipping to the floor. “I l-like hair b-bows and I w-wanted t’wear r-robes.”

[jasongently-blog]

“I don’t know about that. Turn that cloak around and do a little DIY with a pair of scissors and I bet it would work as an apron,” Zephyr commented idly, raising an eyebrow as he watched the way the other fiddled with his clothes. That combined with the flush he could see stealing across the other’s features made Zephyr think he was somehow causing the other to be uncomfortable or embarrassed.

It was possible that the other felt crowded in because of their difference in height and Zephyr was about to pull away and give the other space when fingers gently took hold of his sleeve, as if that careful grip would somehow steady the stranger as he giggled. Zephyr hadn’t thought he was that funny, but as long as the stranger was laughing at his remarks and not at him, Zephyr was willing to roll with it.

“So you’re saying the point is to look ridiculously over the top, not just to stick a mask on over a fancy outfit.” Fair enough, Zephyr supposed, but there were some outfits he’d seen guys wearing around the ball that he wouldn’t dress up in even if he was being paid. Everyone had their thing, he supposed.

“I’m from America.” He said, not bothering to name cities or states. “I’m doing a pretty good job of accepting I have no idea what goes on over here.”

“Y-Yes, e-exactly. I-It’s n-not just about the m-masks.” Jason smiled, thinking of all the beautiful and interesting outfits he’d seen people wearing around the ball that night. There were some gowns that were so big or long that it was difficult to get close to the person wearing them. And suits in all sorts of colors, patterns. It all looked a bit lie a fairy tale to little Jason Gently, and it made sense that Zephyr wasn’t used to it. It would be hard to be used to something like this, that was part of what made it so much fun.

“A-America?” Jason’s eyes widened smally at the thought, “t-that’s pretty f-far away... I-I suppose it m-makes s-sense that things s-seem w-weird over here.” he paused, then smiled smally with the realization, “I s-suppose t’you i’m the o-one with the a-accent?”

The thought of being so far away from home reminded Jason of his family, how far he was away from them and how impossible it would be to see them again as long as he was still alive. He turned to faze Zephyr a bit better, their sides brushing as he asked smally, “w-what about your family? Are t-they s-still in America? D’you m-miss them?”

[kingmeshacklebolt]

liquid courage | jason & kingsley

[jasongently-blog]

kingmeshacklebolt‌:

cw: social anxiety

Ever since the Ball had been announced, Kingsley had been pep-talking himself up to this moment. He knew he’d never be able to ask Jason to the ball itself. No matter how much time and work he put in to his therapy, no matter how much he talked it through the nerves would get to him first.

So he’d gone with Dmitry. Which, he had to admit, came with its own field of Hexes. Namely in the form of Valka, but as long as she didn’t catch them making out or something they were probably fine. It was a large party after all. And he had someone else he’d rather make out with tonight. If he even got that lucky.

It had taken him about fifteen minutes to identify Jason in the crowd, and then at least a good hour to get himself tipsy enough to ease off the overwhelming anxiety of getting everything absolutely and irrevocably wrong forever.

But he had it under control now. Or at least enough so that when he made his way over to Jason to tap him on the shoulder (Lord had he always been so short?) he didn’t immediately want to flee.

“Hullo. It’s Kingsley, from the bakery. The one with the coworker I keep getting personalized cakes for? I was wondering, um, I was wondering if you’d like to dance with me, actually.”

Jason hadn’t been sure at first if he was going to attend the yule ball. He was sure no one would ask him, he didn’t know anyone who would want to ask, and much like the past couple of years he wasn’t feeling particularly festive at the moment either. But now that he was there he was definitely glad he’d come.

Everyone was dressed wonderfully, like formal wear out of a fairytale, so many different colors and shapes and sizes of outfits and people and the room around them looked lovely as well. It hadn’t been hard for Jason to slip himself in among the others. And having the mask made it so much easier than it normally would have been. It was weirdly freeing, knowing that no one could see the color in his cheeks. It was freeing knowing that no one would come looking for him at the bakery if he didn’t want them to.

He’d been dancing and drinking under this newfound feeling of freedom for some time when he decided to take a break in his dancing and moved off to the side. Someone tapped him on the shoulder and Jason let out a little squeak, jolting a bit in place before turning to look at whoever it was with a smile, “h-hullo...?”

And found himself having to tip his head back to meet the man’s eyes. He was so much taller than Jason, and standing right next to him, and Jason was breathless for a moment looking up at him before he realized what Kingsley was saying and blinked rapidly, as if confused for a moment. His mouth dropped slightly open, and then closed.

“F-From the b-bakery...?” His voice trailed off for a moment, brows furrowed smally as he tried to put the description to the man standing in front of him, and he realized after a moment who it was. “Valentina!”

Catching himself, he bit at his lower lip, blushing and feeling his heart rate pick up, “I-I m-mean- You n-never g-gave me your n-name, s-so I’ve j-just b-been r-remembering your f-friend’s-...”

He took a little breath, pausing again for a moment, heart racing only faster because this person knew exactly who he was. Not only from the bakery, but from leaning on each other and talking about their sisters.

“You... W-Want to d-dance... With me?”

[jasongently-blog]

“You need a special reason to dress up?” He asked before snorting and saying lazily, “Fuck that.” When he was growing up, his grandmother was always dressed like she had a formal event to go to because that’s what she considered to be proper and if she took Zephyr with her for the day, then she insisted he was dressed nicely, too. The suit wasn’t that bothersome, but the mask was something he was having trouble getting used to.

Tipping his head towards the other, the nudge to his side only prompted Zephyr to lean in closer, granting his attention as if responding to a verbal request. “Yeah, but I think there’s probably a line somewhere between formal and… well, it’s like how there’s jewelry and then there’s costume jewelry, there’s just a difference, you know?” Of course, the stranger next to him looked different that what Zephyr was used to as well. “I’m probably not used to the sense of fashion here.”

“W-Well, I w-work in a b-bakery... It’s n-not exactly the p-place for w-wearing something like this.” And he made a gesture with both of his arms generally towards himself before letting them fall back to his sides, and then moving to fiddle nervously with the tie on his cloak.

He glanced back up to the man with his leaning closer, feeling warmth rush into his cheeks but staying still himself, and taking in the mask he wore while he explained his own thoughts on the matter. His comparison of real and costume jewelry made Jason snort before breaking out into little giggles. This time he reached between them without thought, taking gentle hold of Zephyr’s sleeve as if making sure he wasn’t going to disappear while he breathed away his laughter.

“T-The d-difference b-between a r-regular formal and a m-masquerade i-is the s-same a-as the d-difference between j-jewelry and c-costume j-jewelry,” he finally explained, letting go of Zephyr’s sleeve as he turned his head back to face him. “Here...?”

“W-Where are you f-from...? Y-You do h-have an accent.” Jason hadn’t wondered before but now that it had been mentioned, he wondered exactly where this man had come from.

[jasongently-blog]

zephyrbcll‌:

“I’ve got to admit, I’ve never been to a party like this,” Zephyr admitted. While his grandmother had been somewhat traditional and thought he should be educated in what he considered to be her stuffy pureblood values, he didn’t remember MACUSA ever throwing a ball and inviting everyone in. He hadn’t known what he was getting into when he first decided to go and even though he’d been circulating the room for half an hour, he still wasn’t sure.

“I’m not sure what I expected from a masquerade ball, but some of the people are dressed like this is a regular costume party. I’m assuming the goal isn’t to actually look like Little Bo Peep, right?” Zephyr asked the person next to him, nodding his head in the direction of the person he was talking about.   

“O-Oh?” Jason glanced up at the man with a small smile on his face, considering how used to these sorts of parties he was, himself. Granted it had been years since he’d last attended one. “T-They’re fun. You g-get to d-dress up.” Zephyr’s next words made the smaller man giggle, a hand coming up to hover a bit in front of his mouth as if somehow he could hide the smile on his face.

His cheeks were red as he corrected himself, shaking his head, “I’m s-sure t-that’s not what she was g-going for. She looks b-beautiful.” He gave the man a little nudge to the side, hoping that he would be the kind to be fine with such a thing. “I t-think the p-point of masquerade is to w-wear s-something more... E-Extravagant? Than usual.”