i hyperfocused on Primus Loves Steve today and wrote four thousand words. I'm genuinely stunned, I haven't done that much in one day since before I got sick. SIX FUCKING YEARS. i'm getting emotional omfg
Characters: Crowley (Good Omens), Aziraphale (Good Omens), Hastur (Good Omens), Ligur (Good Omens), Newton Pulsifer, Anathema Device, Gabriel (Good Omens)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Human, Humor, Pining, Romantic Comedy, aziraphale's love language is reading the terms and conditions, i love one (1) rules-lawyer angel, don't judge a book(seller) by his cover, the inherent eroticism of contracts, can i speak to the manager of YOUR HEART?, Stonks, the real Hell was capitalism all along kids, this fic stumbles drunkenly up to the edge of the T rating but does not quite topple over
Summary:
Anthony Crowley sells computer systems to London businesses–and specializes in sneaking extra charges and fees into the associated contracts. It’s not his fault no one actually reads the paperwork before signing it.
He thinks mild-mannered bookshop owner Aziraphale Fell will be an easy mark; surely no one that old-fashioned and dotty will spot a few carefully-worded technical clauses in his contract.
And then Aziraphale comes back with some very polite, very pointed questions – and Crowley decides that maybe pulling off the sale isn’t his first priority anymore…
Well well well, look at what I finally finished! This drawing of my boy Joseph Joestar took quite a while to finish (largely due to the fact that I didn’t have access to my laptop for at least a couple months), but damn am I proud of this one! I’m especially happy with the lightning effect for the hamon ^-^.
i lied- i finished it today :D shorter than i originally planned, but dude it’s been two years and i really wanted to finally finish it for my own peace of mind...
The days after family weekend are weird.
Most things get back to normal, but Bitty has more and more the feeling, that Jack wants to make up for the way he acted and what he said– buying him coffee after coffee, walking him to classes, and the touching...oh the touching.
Jack never acted as if the little touches they shared were unwelcome, even before the family weekend, but now he positively seeks out Bitty’s skin, and it makes Bitty flush with desire and longing. He tries to gauge, if Jack is acting out of guilt or if he actually wants a closer relationship with Bitty, but he is as hard to read as ever and Bitty can’t help but revert to his anxious self.
He misses the easy soulmate relationship he had with his mother; no second guessing, no messy feelings, and especially no freakin’ blushing.
---
“So, how do we start?” Jack asks, and Bitty ignores the twist in his stomach at Jack’s arm once again brushing his.
“We start with the dough,” he says and puts all the ingredients on the table.
Teaching Jack how to bake is the most fun Bitty had in a while, and when they leave the dough to chill, he has mostly forgotten about the strain that had been between them.
Jack had apparently not, and before Bitty can even think to fill the silence with more baking tips, Jack casually slides closer to him and carefully smiles at him.
“I never realized just how close you and your mother actually were,” he says, picking at the hem of his shirt. “It seems nice– she seemed nice!”
There is a long breath of silence after Bitty’s agreeing hum, but then Jack suddenly croaks a desperate "sorry".
He takes a step towards Bitty, reaching for his hand, but not taking it. It’s the most unsure Jack had been with him for a while.
"Bits, I’m so sorry. I didn’t understand before. I’m sorry for pushing you away and never…"
Jack pauses and takes a deep breath.
“I really thought you were a hockey match for me. And then you had so many problems with checking, and I started helping you, so I thought that was the reason I was your match. You had such a perfect match before, and then you got me…"
Bitty’s hand trembles, when he finally closes the distance and takes Jack’s hand in his.
“It’s okay," he rushes to say, "you don’t have to apologize. I’m just glad to have you in my life! You’re a pretty great soulmate just the way you are."
Jack’s careful smile lights Bitty up in totally new ways.
- - -
He calls his mother that evening, happy for the first time that week.
“Mama,” Bitty whispers into his phone, “I think maybe it can work. Jack and I were backing today, and it was really good! It was just as easy as when we…I missed that so much, I missed you so much. But today I didn’t."
- - -
The next day Ransom and Holster try to set him up for the Winter Screw.
Bitty makes his awkward excuses and leaves them behind to hole up in his room and practice his 'I’m gay' speech, when suddenly he turns around mid-sentence, and his world comes crashing down.
Or at least that is what his anxiety tells him, as a frozen Jack stares at him from his position in Bitty’s door, still holding onto the knob with one hand. They are both looking at each other with wide eyes, and for one second Bitty really, truly believes Jack will be done with him.
Instead Jack looks to the side, to Bitty, to the side again, and Eric finally spots the faint blush on his cheeks that two months he would have misunderstood as anger.
"I uh," Jack starts, "I wanted to ask, if you maybe wanted to go with me to the Winter Screw. Since we’re soulmates and all, and…"
He doesn’t finish the sentence, just scratches his head with one hand, and sends a surprisingly shy glance Bitty’s way. Bitty tries really hard not to faint.
"Um," he hesitates, "like a date?"
As soon as it’s out of his mouth, Bitty already regrets asking. He should have just agreed, in whatever way Jack meant, and not made it weird. But before he can take it back, Jack is already standing in front of him, close enough to touch.
"My father said I should show you, that I…" Jack sways a little, like he wants to reach out, but doesn’t let himself. He sounds frustrated. "I know we didn’t have the best start. And I didn’t realize at first, that I… that I… I really like you, Bittle. Bitty. And I…I hope…"
He breaks off again, but this time he doesn’t look away from Bitty. Instead he reaches out, for his hand with a sigh.
"Yes, a date," Jack says, "please?"
- - -
They are standing at the side of the dance floor, talking softly with each other, when a tall, blonde girl walks over to them.
For a moment Bitty’s nervous, that she’ll ask Jack to dance and Jack will actually go with her, but then she stops in front of them and looks Bitty quickly up and down.
"So this is your soulmate?" She asks Jack, and with a smile Jack takes Bitty’s hand in his and nods.
Sanderson ManSnoozie was a student attending Guardian High and was currently running to get to the doors of the large building that was known as "school". He was wearing a black and yellow plaid shirt, buttoned to the top, black jeans with a golden belt strapped around it, and he had on his usual black-and-white Converse shoes. He looked a little younger than seventeen, but his height made him look even younger. Sanderson stood at 5' 8", had golden hair that was slicked back, yet messy, along with some of it sticking out, but his main and most notable feature was his bright, golden eyes that seemed to shine in the sun's rays. Another difference that cast him out from the rest was his mutism, he had never been able to talk since birth, but that didn't stop him! He wrote all he had to say in a special notebook he carried almost everywhere. The boy preferred it over sign language, for he knew that as well.
In the present time, he was almost late, but he believed he could make it to his first class on time. Sanderson hated being almost late to class, he wasn't exactly one of those kids who tried to act all "cool" by being fashionably late, or whatever they were calling it nowadays. He burst into the building and pretty much mad-dashed over to his locker. Flinging it open, he grabbed the books he would need, and flung his closet closed. How he hated being late... It always brought panic onto him, and he didn't enjoy being forced to rush. Taking things nice and slow was they way he rolled...
Arriving in class, right as the bell rang, he sat down in one of the seats that was closest to him and, most importantly, vacant. Sighing in relief, Sanderson looked towards the front of the room, ready to start the day.