#backslashed

[cfichor]

starter. gael , ( @backslashed ) location. cup of joy

new  york  city  was  not  small  ,  and  because  of  that  ,  it  was  a  diverse  city  ,  meaning  that  it  likely  housed  more  than  a  handful  of  coffee  shops  .  the  hole  in  the  wall  kind  ,  the  big  chain  kind  ,  even  the  kind  that  made  one  question  whether  it  was  even  a  coffee  shop  .  that  is  all  to  say  ,  that  cian  did  not  need  to  continuously  return  to  the  one  coffee  shop  that  was  owned  and  operated  by  asterisk  ,  more  specifically  ,  gael  suarez  ,  in  a  sense  .  maybe  it  was  idiotic  ,  his  constant  return  to  the  cafe  ,  or  maybe  it  was  a  sense  of  familiarity  ,  that  settled  some  part  of  his  brain  that  got  ahead  of  itself  .  whichever  the  reason  ,  that  day  in  particular  had  been  no  different  ,  with  cian  sat  in  his  usual  spot  ,  with  his  usual  coffee  order  before  him  .  a  coffee  order  that  he'd  had  to  repeat  to  the  barista  ,  even  though  he'd  seen  her  four  times  in  the  last  few  days  .  and  she'd  definitely  spelled  his  name  cyan  ,  even  after  he'd  given  her  the  proper  pronunciation  ,  but  his  downfall  had  been  when  she'd  asked  him  to  spell  it  .  a  thought  that  is  pushed  to  the  back  of  his  mind  ,  as  he  catches  sight  of  gael  ,  issuing  a  moment  of  hesitation  ,  before  he  can't  help  the  nervous  smile  that  grows  .  ❝  we  really  should  stop  meeting  like  this  . ❞  it's  a  defense  mechanism  ,  when  cian  is  caught  off  guard  ,  when  he's  thrown  into  an  off-kilter  situation  ,  to  make  light  of  the  moment  instead  .

[cfichor]

starter. gael , ( @backslashed ) location. cup of joy

the  odd  taste  lingers  in  his  mouth  ,  the  sparks  at  the  edges  of  his  vision  ,  and  cian  wonders  if  they  were  there  to  stay  ;  his  own  fireflies  despite  the  season  and  its  warmth  .  he  supposes  it  wouldn't  have  been  so  bad  ,  had  he  not  spewed  off  rather  outrageous  remarks  throughout  the  remainder  of  the  garden  party  ;  then  he'd  been  carted  off  to  some  doctor  ,  what  a  buzzkill  that  had  been  .  and  luca  ,  he  recalls  how  the  other  had  been  there  (  hadn't  he?  )  and  how  even  he  had  been  affected  by  whichever  bug  had  found  them  .  it  had  been  a  bug  ,  hadn't  it?  the  thought  is  on  his  mind  when  he  sees  him  ,  any  notion  to  stay  back  slips  from  his  mind  as  he  approaches  ;  he  had  time  to  kill  while  he  waited  for  his  order  ,  anyway  .  ❝  how's  ,  uh  ---  luca?  did  it  pass  ,  the  ,  uh  ---  shit?  ❞  he  speaks  the  questions  so  eloquently  ,  as  he  comes  to  stand  near  the  older  man  .

[pcisonpctal]

❧ @backslashed ❧ mayor's garden party

It was a party, something normally enjoyed by the brunette. Not after the last few days. Chaos, panic, more chaos and a whole whirlwind of other things. That was all it had been. As though someone had kicked off an avalanche and now, she was making sure to give her best, to appear put together when truly she wasn’t sure what to make of such an occasion so soon after things had escalated, Easter picnic or not.

Elena moved toward the open-air bar, glad to find herself under an umbrella. Time had been spent observing, pacing; the usual in such a situation. Her hand reached out, aiming for the last glass of champagne on the tray. Suddenly there was a hand, faster than her but clearly second in the grand scheme of things. “I think we can agree that would have been mine, no?” Her head whipped around, a challenging look in her eyes, too fiery to give up.