Softly tagging @basedonconjecture and @redheadsramblings
This week's words:
Rumpus: A usually noisy commotion.
Fracus: A noisy quarrel. Synonym: brawl.
Since Tarquin x Ashur x Rook has taken over my brain, have a modern AU
Neve eyed the shot glasses lined up in front of Rook and Davrin. They were both three shots in and neither the dwarf nor the elf seemed anything but a little tipsy.
Bellara was watching them in fascination while Harding and Taash absolutely weren't making out in the corner of the booth. She heard Lucanis sigh as they watched their boyfriend order another round of shots.
"Shouldn't we maybe stop them?" Lucanis suggested as he watched Davrin and Rook clink glasses before knocking back another shot.
"May not be a bad idea," Neve conceeded.
Roccus laughter burst out from a group of drunk men at a nearby table. Neve recognized they'll as a bunch of rowdy assholes who's been harassing the servers most of the night.
"What a rumpus," Lucanis murmured with distaste as his gaze followed hers. "I am surprised they haven't gotten thrown out yet."
Just as he spoke, one of the men leaned too far into a server's space, sneering at the women. "What, think you're too good for a date with me?" He tried to grab her arm but she twisted away.
It also caught Rook and Davrin's attention. "Hey," Rook snapped, "Keep your slimy ass hands to yourself."
"Or what?" The creep barked mockingly. "You'll make me?"
"Damn right I will," Rook growled.
"Damn right we will," Davrin added with a glare.
"You can't stop me," the creep laughed and stood, drunkenly staggering towards the server who'd already started back to the bar.
"Kaffas," Neve swore as both Rook and Davrin moved faster than she thought their tipsy selves would to place themselves between the server and the asshole. "Lucanis we'll want to get them out of here before it turns into a fracus."
"Too late," Lucanis groaned as he watched Rook dodge a punch from the creep and grab his wrist to twist it behind his back.
"Ven Hedis," Neve swore again
*****
"Your damned lucky the bar owner saw you and Davrin defending the server before the brawl broke out," Neve informed Rook as she regarded the dwarf where she sat on a hospital bed, waiting to be discharged.
Rook now had a series of stitches on the left side of her face where she'd been cut with a broken bottle.
"Yeah, I know," Rook groaned, her head still aching from being shoved into a table. "Can you just take me home after they discharge me and save the lecture for tomorrow, or next week?"
"Oh, Lucanis and I aren't the ones taking you home," Neve informed her. "We have enough to deal with regarding Davrin."
Rook froze, "Oh shit, please tell me you didn't call them."
"Who else would I call but your boyfriends?" Neve asked sweetly.
At that moment the room door opened to admit a nurse, as well as two men, one with golden skin and muscular framed man with sea colored eyes and a second, leaner man with deep brown eyes.
"What the fuck were you thinking, Mercar?" Tarquin demanded.
Peeta loves giving rides. Need to go somewhere? "Oh, babe. please call me." He likes having her as a passenger next to him changing the radio until she finds a good song. Date night? He picks you up and drops you off. He loves driving and his old truck never lets him down.
Peeta is also the food guy. He cooks and she put it in the dishwasher. Easier this way. Sometimes when he's there chopping up the little pieces of carrot for the stew, she's sitting on the counter watching him.
Katniss is the one who do groceries though. Years on the poverty line gave her a good head start on saving. With the same amount of money she can buy twice as much stuff as Peeta.
Cleaning? Well, neither of them are the biggest fans. Peeta's mother is a cleaning neurotic and Katniss was a maid for a while. Neither of them has good memories of doing heavy cleaning, but they try. One of them throws the clothes in the washer and the other in the dryer. Peeta is consistent in organization, Katniss is more spontaneous.
The extra room they have in his house is sometimes Peeta's studio, or it's the space where Katniss works out. Over time she realized that maybe her back pain is due to a sedentary lifestyle. So it's good to stretch sometimes.
They are good roommates, most of the time. Maybe some complaints about heavy footsteps early in the morning. Because Katniss likes to sleep until noon, but her boyfriend with loud footsteps wakes her up at dawn. "Put on socks, you damn thing," she yells.
Splitting the bills... Katniss tried to do it 50/50 at first. She's always been afraid of losing her financial freedom and hates the thought of being provided for. Maybe a little too proud at times. Expensive bills start disappearing from her mailbox; Peeta Mellark is paying them on the sly again. He doesn't exactly think it's fair. He has higher education and a better job, he doesn't exactly think it's fair to share everything just because Katniss is stubborn.
But they are very good at saving money. Katnsis has a habit of keeping everything, so much so that Peeta has to beg her to buy new boots and throw away the old ones. She saves it out of fear, but he teaches her to save it for plans. "For us to buy our little house on top of a hill," he says, saving coins into the piggy bank.
Pets? No, thanks. Maybe a fish.
Sex? Probably already in the kitchen sink, but not very good. Sofa when they want something different, shower when they are in a good mood.
Who's going to sleep on the couch when after a fight? Both of them. At the same time.
Geralt kicked the door shut and bent down to wrap his arms around Jaskier’s thighs, lifting him up in the air. Jaskier replied with a loud moan, wrapping his legs around Geralt’s middle.
“Gods, I love it when you do this,” Jaskier breathed out, slipping his hands into Geralt’s hair, and biting at the older man’s lower lip. “It is so hot.”
“You’re so hot.” Geralt replied, gently sucking on the tip of Jaskier’s tongue. “Gosh, Jask,” Geralt panted, pressing Jaskier against the nearest wall. “The way you look tonight. Couldn’t take my eyes off you.” Geralt moved down to kiss Jaskier’s neck, earning another moan from the younger man. “Kept thinking about all the things I want to do to you once we get home.” He whispered against Jaskier’s collarbone.
Jaskier let out a breathy chuckle, turning Geralt’s head for another sloppy kiss. “Geralt,” He breathed out once they broke apart. Geralt was staring back at him, his eyes full of pure affection and admiration.
It was almost too much.
“I want you to ruin me.” Jaskier murmured, arching his hips against Geralt’s hot body, desperate for some friction.
Geralt smiled at that, capturing Jaskier’s lips in another filthy, but surprisingly sweet kiss. “How about you let me take care of you tonight, hm?” Geralt whispered against his lips.
***
Continue reading:
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Katniss is a cleaning lady on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. And on the weekends she work as a bartender all night.
Looks like a zombie most of the time. But it's for Prim. Soon the girl will go to college and Katniss's work will be complete. Just two more years, from Prim.
Katniss doesn't even have time to make food, she buys a bunch of junk food to eat while she's on the bus to work. Thai food, street hot dogs and any cheap scnak she can find.
Every day she passes in front of that damn bakery. While she eats that hard, tasteless microwave burger. They show off those cheese buns, cupcakes and cream croissant. Is cruel.
When she gets her paycheck on Wednesday she finds a way. Pays for Prim's asthma medicine first, which is a fortune. Pays for electricity and food for the week. There is still 11.32 dollars left. She takes a bus and now has 9.67 left.
She enters the bakery, smelling like bleach. Her hands are red from scrubbing tiles. Her hair is messy in a braid made many hours ago. She hides the uniform logo with her coat. It's kind of embarrassing to everyone to know that she cleans bathrooms to survive.
Especially in that bakery with the white floors and chic wooden counters. Everyone there seems to have a lot of money.
They only sell the bread package. 13.99 for 500 grams of cheese bread . She takes a deep breath.
She has 9.67 on her debit card.
She finds a dollar bill in her pocket, very crumpled.
Now it's 10.67 dollars.
She throws the coins on the counter while the baker looks at her confused. She has 1.75 in quarters.
All she has is 12.47 dollars. That's all the money.
She could cry now.
"If you don't have money, you better get out of here. The line is getting long" The baker says it sharply.
Katniss's eyes fill with fury, but she is so tired and so hungry. She just wants those buns. That damn idiot. She wished she could punch him in the face.
"Hey Bran, let me take care of this" the other baker comes. The other baker comes. Your nametag says 'Peeta'
"Listen, I think I have five dollars somewhere" she says.
"It's "It's okay, give me the coins and the dollar bill to help with my change and I'll give you the bread."
She suddenly turns red, her eyes can fill with tears.
She is so happy, but she can only say it harshly "I'm not a beggar"
"I know, that's why I'm asking for the coins" He reacts well, he wants to help her, but he doesn't want her to feel bad. The other baker rolls his eyes and sighs.
"OK thanks." she says awkwardly.
He smiles and she smiles back. He takes the coins and she keeps the bread.
Katniss cries as she walks home. Eating those chesse bread that just came out of the oven. She would never be able to repay that.
Katniss don't need to say how she hate goodbyes to Peeta to notice.
Always on the eve he has to catch the train to go back to uni she seems clingier than normal. While Peeta brushes his teeth, she silently hugs him from behind, holds him around the waist and puts her nose on his shoulder, breathing wistfully. When they lie in bed she doesn't let him leave her side for anything. "baby, let me get a glass of water." or "Katniss, let me turn off the light of the room." Are not valid requests for her to let him go.
Peeta doesn't try to insist.
Katniss hates distance more than anything. She hates the phone calls, hates the text messages, hates the feeling of seeing him go. She hates how absence hits her so hard that sometimes she sleeps on her sofa for days, because can't stand sleeping in her bed with his smell on the sheets.
On the last night, they lay down next to each other, hug and say nothing. They do their best not to sleep. They do everything they can to make the moment last and Katniss tries to count how many times Peeta's heart beats, only to be distracted of anxiety.
Modern AU - Peeta invites Katniss to go to an amusement park with him
Peeta hears that Katniss has never been to an amusement park in her life, he is shocked because his family usually goes to one every year during the holidays. For him it's even boring.
When a modest amusement park opens in the small town where they live, Peeta takes courage and decides to invite his friend, Katniss Everdeen, that he has a secret crush on.
Peeta's mother only lets him go on the condition that his middle brother goes with him, which sucks. So Katniss suggests whether her little sister can come along.
"Yeah, for sure!" Peeta says. Maybe a little disappointed not to be alone with her for a whole afternoon.
At the park, they create small competitions to see who does best in the games on the park.
Katniss is excellent at aiming and wins several teddy bears for Prim. She wins every game they play, she can be good at everything and Peeta finds this completely attractive.
He only gets an advantage in the strength test, which he does just to impress her. Rye says he'll try too and hits too weakly, Peeta knows he knows he can do better. From the sideways glance Rye gives Peeta, he can see that his brother is trying to make Peeta look stronger to impress the girl. It's humiliatingly embarrassing.
And Katniss doesn't seem at all impressed.
They decide to go for rides and Peeta chooses one first. He pick the pirate ship. Well it looks chill and fun, since she's never been to anything like it. But Katniss feels butterflies in her belly and squeals when the ship moves quickly downwards. She leans into Peeta and grabs his hand tightly, and he also feels butterflies in his stomach, but for a different reason.
He really feels like the happiest guy in the world, he can't hide a small smile of satisfaction. A girl sheltering in his arms? Oh, how lucky he is. He should have called her to the haunted house if that was the case.
Rye chuckles and Peeta rolls his eyes. He knows he will tell everyone about it later. His brothers never leave him alone about girls.
Katniss thinks Peeta is making fun of her.
Prim really wants to go on the carousel, the line is long. Rye suggests waiting with her and Katniss thinks it's weird.
"I'm really a fan of carousels, you know?" Rye says and Peeta almost dies of embarrassment at how obvious he is.
In the end, they get some alone time and they are both relieved to spend time away from their siblings' eyes.
Peeta suggests to go on the Ferris wheel this time, which isn't anything scary. They grab some cotton candy to eat on the way.
They enter and the wheel slowly rises until they reach the sky. Katniss seems to enjoy it more this time, as she looks into the distance at the city lights as night falls.
She is beautiful. Olive skin and black hair down her neck in a braid. Peeta can look at her up close, see her moles on her cheek and her almond-shaped lips.
The couple in the front cabin of theirs is aggressively making out. Katniss and Peeta chuckle awkwardly.
"Well, they must find the place romantic." Katniss says and Peeta agrees with bright eyes. Then she realizes that he also finds it romantic and that his looks at her all night may have a reason.
So she kisses him, without thinking much, she just does it. Feel the taste of cotton candy on his lips. Incredibly sweet. She feels Peeta's body tremble against her lips and she trembles just like him when he puts his hand on her waist.
He feels like the luckiest boy to ever walk the earth.
They return to the carousel and on the time to see Peeta's brother, a grown man, sitting on a little horse. Katniss and Peeta laugh at the scene.
Night falls and Peeta's mother is completely annoying about curfews. They say goodbye and go home.
On the way home Rye asks "Hey? Did you kiss her or not?"
"no" Peeta says with a shrug, he wants to keep the victory just for himself.
