For the writing prompt asks: “You never believe me! If I told you right now that I love you, would you even believe me?”
Thank you for the prompt!
Here's a magical coffee shop AU ❤️
A Prickly Disposition
Rating: T, Word Count: 1900
You’d think holding a conversation with a 200 year old vampire would be fascinating, but Basilton Pitch isn’t the type to regale you with compelling stories of his past.
He’s one of the regulars at Mummer’s Cafe, which caters to magical beings of various sorts. Basilton has a habit of coming in on most weekdays, bright and early. He orders a mocha breve, sits by the fire and reads or writes in his notebook.
Simon Snow usually ends up being the one to serve him, as the other employees find him surly. Simon rather likes him, prickly disposition and all, and has taken it on as his personal mission to find a way past Basilton’s walls. He always greets him with a warm smile and tells him stories while he fills his drink order. And he never seems to be fazed when Basilton merely grunts one or two word responses as he takes his drink and retreats to his corner next to the hearth.
“You’re wasting your time,” Penny tells him when there’s a lull in their shift. “Ebb says he’s been coming here for years and never talks much to anyone.” But Simon only hears the challenge in these words.
Occasionally, Simon will try bringing him samples of scones, claiming to be working on new recipes, and that he is looking for feedback.
Basilton relents, and usually makes his opinions brief.
“Too sweet,” he says, when Simon asks him to sample one with chocolate chips.
“Too sweet?” Simon says incredulously. “You order the sweetest drink I’ve ever heard of every morning!”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I like everything to be sweet,” he replies. Simon laughs and tries to ask him his thoughts on alternate flavors but Basilton already has his nose in his book and pretends not to hear him.
“Can you blame him for being antisocial with Mages?” Penny asks. “Vampires were persecuted and forced to live in hiding for years. They’ve only recently been granted civil rights, and for older vampires like him, it’s not so easy to just forgive and forget.” Simon gazes over at the vampire, dark hair falling forward as he bends down towards his notebook. He looks as if he’s the same age as Simon, and it boggles his mind a bit when he tries to think about all the life Basilton has lived. Simon’s heart aches just thinking about it. No one could live that long without experiencing loss and loneliness. He resolves to try harder to break down the vampire’s defenses.
The following week, Simon decides to try asking Basilton questions about himself. Maybe he simply would rather someone took an interest in him instead of trying to talk his ear off.
“How’s your book?” Simon asks, as he pours Basilton his drink.
“Riveting,” Basilton replies in a voice that sounds like it’s anything but.
“What’s it about?” Simon hands him his drink and wipes his hand on a towel draped over his shoulder.
“Pirates,” he replies. Simon can see as much from the picture on the cover of the book.
“Is it a romance novel?” he asks, tilting his head to get a better look at the muscular swashbuckler with his arm around the waist of a busty wench.
Basilton frowns and takes his drink without answering.
The next day, Basilton returns to the counter moments after taking his drink to sit at his normal corner.
“Someone left their book on my seat,” he says, depositing a shiny hardback near the register.
“It’s for you!” Simon calls, as Basilton starts to walk away. He pauses, then turns back.
“What?”
“It’s one of my favorites, I thought you might like it,” Simon says, feeling a bit nervous under the vampire’s stare. Basilton looks back at the picture on the cover. Two men on a ship are fighting with swords, but the playful smirks on their faces indicate they aren’t adversaries.
“It’s a queer romance,” Simon explains, “and it’s got a really interesting mystery plot line. Plus, it’s really character driven, which is something I like in books.”
Basilton’s brow furrows. “How did you know I was queer?”
“I didn’t,” Simon says. “But I am, which is one of the reasons I was drawn to it. But honestly I recommend it to anyone who’ll listen.” He smiles at Basilton, who takes another step towards the counter. After staring at the cover for a moment longer, he reaches out hesitantly and takes the book.
“Sour cherry,” he says.
“Huh?”
“You should try sour cherries in your next scone recipe,” he says, heading back to his table. Simon grins as he watches him settle in his chair, the glow of the fire lighting up his face.
Simon isn’t exactly sure when the mission turned from merely trying to be friendly with the vampire to actively working up the courage to ask him on a date. He thinks the book was perhaps the thing that shifted everything. It still took a while for Basilton to open up, but gradually Simon found him engaging more, talking about what he was reading or asking Simon for more book recommendations. Eventually, Simon began to sit with Basilton during his breaks, bringing a sour cherry scone for each of them (which had become quite popular at the cafe after Simon took the suggestion into consideration).
He finds that they occasionally fall into a flirty banter, but whenever Simon tries to hint that he’s attracted to him, Basilton always shuts him down.
“You’re quite lovely when you smile,” Simon says.
“You should see me when I show all of my teeth,” he says, cocking an eyebrow.
Simon laughs. “I’m sure you’d still be lovely.”
Basilton frowns at that. “You aren’t supposed to find creatures of the night attractive.”
“You’re not a creature of the night,” Simon says. “You’re an early bird. You’re always here at the crack of dawn.”
Basilton simply changes the subject.
Another time, when Simon tells Basilton how much he enjoys spending time with him, he responds that Simon needs to get more friends. And when Basilton finally lets Simon read the poetry that fills his notebook, he brushes off Simon’s compliments, stating that Simon was just being polite.
“I mean it! They’re really powerful, and I like them a lot.” He’s starting to get tired of Basilton’s constant desire to push him away anytime Simon gets too close.
“I’m your customer, you have to be nice to me.”
“You're more than that, Baz. A lot more,” Simon says quietly.
“I’m not, Simon. And you’d do well to remember that.”
On a Tuesday, Simon decides to make a bolder attempt.
“There’s a poetry reading at the bookstore down the street on Friday. Care to go with me?”
“You don’t want to go with me,” he says, eyes fixed firmly on the fire.
“I very much do want to go with you,” Simon says. “That's why I asked you.”
“I’m not someone you’d want to spend more time with than we already do.” Basilton’s eyes are hard when he meets Simon’s gaze, and Simon has had enough.
“Why do you say things like that?” Simon growls, tugging angrily at his curls. “Whenever I try to tell you how much I like you, how much you mean to me, you never believe me! If I told you right now that I love you, would you believe me?” Simon hadn’t planned on saying that, but once the words left his mouth, he realized that they were true, so there was no point in taking them back.
Basilton is frozen, eyes wide, lips slightly parted. Simon waits for him to say something, because Simon has said quite enough already, thank you.
“Why?” he murmurs, and Simon is barely able to hear it.
“Because I love talking to you about books and hearing you read your poetry. Because every time I eat a cherry scone I think of you and my heart swells. Because your smile makes me blush.” He reaches his hand across the table and sets it on top of his. “Because seeing your grumpy face every morning was the best part of my day long before you let me in.”
Basilton laughs a bit at that, but it sounds as if he’s choking on it, and when he looks up at Simon his eyes are watery.
“I can’t,” he nearly whispers.
Simon closes his fingers around his and tugs gently. “You can.”
Basilton looks as though he might relent for a moment, leaning forward slightly. But then he’s on his feet, bolting towards the door before Simon can blink. Basilton exits the cafe into the pouring rain, leaving his coat on the back of his chair. In an instant, Simon grabs it and runs after him.
Basilton is walking entirely too fast, and Simon is out of breath by the time he reaches him at the corner.
“Baz,” he pants, grasping his blazer and trying to get him to turn around. He does, and Simon is baffled by how he looks even sexier sopping wet.
“You’ll catch a cold, you numpty,” Basilton says, frowning down at him. A drop of rain rolls down his nose and drops to the pavement.
“That sprint will be the death of me,” he says, hands on knees and wheezing from the exertion. He takes a few deep breaths and then stands. He steps forward and holds the coat up to Basilton, reaching his other hand behind him to pull it tight around him. Instead of putting his arms through, Basilton simply grasps the fabric, holding it around him like a blanket. Simon keeps hold of it too, because it forces them to stand close.
Simon runs his finger over his knuckles. “Can’t you give us a chance?” he asks, blinking back the rain on his lashes to focus as he looks up into gray eyes.
“Simon, I…” he pauses, and Simon waits, because he wants to give him the space to find his words. “I’ve been alone for so long. I’m not sure if I know how to do this anymore.” Basilton’s expression is soft, and it only makes Simon want him more.
“We don’t have to have all the answers right now,” he offers. “I just know I want to be with you. More than anything.” Basilton is looking down at Simon’s fingers on his own, and Simon tugs on his coat gently to force him to look at him. “Can I kiss you?” he asks softly. Basilton nods, and he still looks so scared. Simon cranes his neck to reach him, wet lips meeting. He kisses him and Simon feels like he could burn from the inside, despite the freezing rain. Basilton moans slightly, and their tentative kiss suddenly becomes more desperate, tongue and teeth and soggy clothes rubbing up against each other.
When they’ve had their fill they finally pull apart, resting their foreheads together. “So, does this mean you want to be my terrible boyfriend?” Simon asks.
Basilton pulls back. “Let’s start with the poetry reading and see what happens after that.”
Simon takes his hand, walking him back to Mummer’s Cafe. “I think that’s a great plan.”
Basilton grins at him, and Simon, freezing and wet, feels like there’s nowhere he’d rather be.
Just because snowbaz is everything. The ones marked with a ♥ are my personal favorites.
Take on Me by BasicBathsheba
Baz Pitch is an overworked uni student who – between his heavy course load and his shifts at his aunt’s bookstore – is stressed all the time. But when Simon Snow, a lit student with a short temper who’s trying to distance himself from his bad history, starts working at the bookstore, Baz’s life gets infinitely more stressful. (49k)
rebel rebel by BasicBathsheba ♥
Baz Pitch loves, in no particular order: David Bowie, punk music, the feel of old vinyl, the smell of coffe (but not the taste), classic books, magic, David Byrne, the fact that he was raised by his aunt Fiona, and maybe, sometimes, Simon Snow. (183k)
So This is Christmas by KrisRix ♥
Simon Snow hasn’t got a clue as to why he doesn’t want to fight his vampire nemesis to the death. All he’s got is a stupid plan to pretend that he and Baz are dating so that The Mage won’t make them fight. Baz Pitch has got an envelope bursting with money and a burning desire to enjoy whatever time he can with the boy he loves. (57k)
Local Hero by BasicBathsheba and breadofgod
There is nothing Simon Snow loves more in life than football. And there’s really nothing in Baz Pitch’s life other than football. (56k)
The Truth Will Set You Free by sorbriquette
Simon casts a truth spell on Baz that only works if the target has something they want to tell you but won’t. They can’t stop telling the truth until they confess what they want to. (45k)
Love Is Always in Style by rainbowbaz
When Simon gets offered a job at the glamorous, high-fashion Natasha Magazine, he can hardly believe his luck. But being assistant to the complicated, rude, and quite frankly beautiful Editor-in-Chief Basilton Pitch makes his job a lot more difficult than he expected. (39k)
This Must Be The Place by BasicBathsheba ♥
Simon is stuck in juvenile care over the summer. He’s lonely, disillusioned, and desperate to talk to Penny. But when he makes a Snapchat to try to contact her, he ends up talking to the most unlikely person. (36k)
network connectivity problems by BasicBathsheba ♥
[UNKNOWN NUMBER]: (10:45): i mean like, how should i fix this
BAZ PITCH: (10:46): Why would I know?
[UNKNOWN NUMBER]: (10:46): you’re tech support?
BAZ PITCH: (10:47): I most definetely am not. (35k)
Madly On by saltfromthesea
It’s been six years since Baz and Simon broke up, six years since Baz went off the map. For all intents and purposes, they’re out of each other’s lives. But when chance–and maybe a little bit of fate and Penelope Bunce–throws them back together, they have to face the things that made them split up in the first place…and decide once on for all if they really are meant to be apart. (27k)
A Room Just for Two by KrisRix
Eight weeks into their final year at Watford, Baz finally returns–and he’s riddled with nightmares. Simon, for more reasons than he’d like to think about, has been sleeping poorly too. Their room atop the tower becomes a place where they can talk and ache and profess and yearn, slowly, slowly. (23k)
Sweet Dreams by annabellelux
Simon comes back to eighth year with persistent nightmares, and Baz just wants to help by spelling him with Sweet Dreams. But when Simon’s nightmares about the Humdrum start becoming romantic dreams about his nemesis… he gets suspicious. (23k)
Night After Night by sorbriquette
It’s not something I ever thought I’d be doing, crawling into bed with Baz in the wake of my nightmares. They’re not just nightmares anymore though, are they? Because the Humdrum can summon me. It could summon me at any moment. That’s why this makes sense. Baz is a brilliant magician and just brilliant in general. (21k)
Keep Calm by aralias ♥
The kidnapping attempt fails, but it’s not the Mage’s only scheme. Eighth year begins. Tyrannus Basilton Pitch returns for the start of term – and finds his roommate missing. (68k)
Classroom Politics by aralias
At twenty-five, Simon Snow’s life is finally on the up. He’s got his magic back, people listen to him, and he can draw the Sword of Mages. A lot of people think he should lead the Coven. But not everyone. The Old Families still see Simon as their enemy and they’re quite willing to quote obscure magickal law to stop him ascending to Mage. (40k)
Everything’s Coming Up Roses by annabellelux
During a fight over Agatha, Simon accidentally curses Baz with a dangerous love disease. Baz now has three options: find a way to get the object of his affections to return his romantic feelings, undergo a surgery that will take his magic away, or die. (11k)
Happy People Shine Brighter by EllisyaSyron
After Simon goes off on Baz by accident, he begins to question why they are fighting at all. As the two start to learn to trust each other, a new threat looms: where are all these were beasts coming from? (57k)
Jesus Was a Cross Maker by EllisyaSyron
[Sequel of Happy People Shine Brighter]
Everyone is reeling from the confrontation with Dr Lang, and Penny, Baz, and Simon are forced to spend the summer alone with their thoughts. When they get back to school in the fall, everything is different. (61k)
Give ‘em hell, kid by fox_pitch ♥
TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT: The famously theatrical pop-punk quintet BAZ PITCH AND THE DARK CREATURES have announced a five date UK tour fresh off the release of their debut album CATACOMBS (4* review, page 17).Simon Snow, folk punk newcomer, to support. (34k)
my favorite scene in LotR as a kid was when Sam started miserably freestyling in the tower of Cirith Ungol and the only reason he ever found Frodo was because he deliriously tried to join in
…i did read some of the novels, but i couldn’t get through them entirely…
…and so i genuinely have no idea whether or not this is serious. coz i mean, obviously, it could be a joke. but it could also have legitimately happened. people who have only seen the films underestimate the amount of random things that happen in the books that could come off as utterly silly and ridiculous if removed from their context.
Haha, well, it is pretty much what happens. Sam is looking for Frodo in the tower of Cirith Ungol and is despairing that he will ever find him. He sits down and does what any self-respecting Tolkien character does during their moments of hopelessness and bursts into song.
It’s a really good song (ten year old Ship had it memorized) and as he begins the refrain a second time, he hears Frodo’s voice answering weakly from above. Frodo is poisoned and despairing and beaten but he is still a Hobbit and cannot resist a singalong even while on the brink of death.
it is tiring, being endless political just as someone existing. my teacher asks me if i’m writing more of that “feminist poetry.” a lot of it is just talking about me, being a woman, being afraid in the city. i write about walking a line, about how i am expected to choose between home and work, how each comes with a slew of its own insults; how it feels when i am wearing shorts and there are too many men outside. these are just facts of my life. someone in the comments says, “where are woman even coming up with these crazy generalizations in their feminism?”
i hold hands with the prettiest girl i’ve ever seen and someone sighs when they see me. “do they have to make everything gay?” she asks her friend, loudly, “like, do you have to force those views in my face all the time?” i can’t stop blushing. my girlfriend holds my fingers tighter, tighter, tighter, until my knuckles are white, and i let her. somehow, this is us, protesting.
my father’s cuban blood stains my skin, i think. when i am honored with a position in the dean’s private council, a boy sneers, “you only got in because you’re hispanic.” did i? i spend the rest of our meetings wondering if i was selected for my stellar academic record, for the multiple recommendations, for the clubs i lead - or if i was just a move the dean made, to make use of me. when we all take a picture, the dean brings me in the front. in the first three we take, i am not smiling.
it is odd. “i exist.” i say, “i deserve to exist.”
“oh my god,” he groans, “we get it, you’re a feminist.”
god andrew acts like such a tough guy but what was he gonna do if neil didn’t like him back??? was he really going to let this exy obsessed weirdo ruin his life?????? the answer is yes and that’s why he’s so mad at neil all the time
amandla
pixelskylines
prguitarman
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gummygunk
