champion of the sun.

｡･ﾟﾟ･ HERO HAWKINS // TASK ONE.

( In reality, it was his day off -- score! -- and he had errands to run that seemed less desirable to him than a day on his PlayStation 4. )

THEIR  LAST  DANCE  had  been  repeating  on  a  loop  in  the  back  of  pru’s  mind  like  a  favorite  song  —  though  the  inevitable  record  scratch  came  when  mason,  good  as  ever,  pulled  away  just  when  things  were  about  to  get  complicated.  and  that  was  a  good  thing,  right  ?  hadn’t  prudence,  flighty  &  playful,  always  been  inherently  against  complications  ?  hadn’t  she  always  encouraging  just  having  fun  and  never  letting  anything  get  beneath  her  skin  ?  

(  so  how  was  it  that  mason  riggs  had  managed  to  slot  himself  so  firmly  beneath  the  metaphorical  epidermis  ?  was  it  with  a  single  smile  or  was  it  when  he  hummed  her  favorite  song  the  first  day  they  met  or  was  it  a  collection  of  tiny  moments  she  kept  tucked  into  her  heart,  whose  ache  she  typically  ignored  ?  )

she’s  settled  comfortably  in  the  back  booth,  two  mugs  of  cocoa  set  in  front  of  her  as  the  diner  is  predictably  vacant  —  apparently,  everyone’s  more  keen  on  snatching  half - priced  appliances  instead  of  taking  in  the  blanketing  snowfall  and  humming  sinatra  holiday  classics.  when  he  finally  comes  in,  she  wonders  if  the  blush  across  her  freckled  checks  can  be  blamed  on  the  cold  -  an  absolute  juxtaposition  to  the  immediate  warmth  mason’s  presence  brings.  aw,  fuck.

“  with  the  obstacle  of  thanksgiving  now  out  of  the  day,  we’ve  officially  entered  my  favorite  time  of  year.  figured  i’d  share  that  joy  with  you,  ”  she  beams,  pushing  the  cocoa  towards  him  and  stomach  tangle  in  affectionate  knots  she  longs  for  him  to  untangle.  “  wherever  the  masses  are  headed  today,  we’re  going  the  exact  opposite.  ”  a  pause,  then  a  nimble  hand  tucks  a wisp  of  chestnut  behind  her  ear,  “  oh,  and  hi.  i’ve  missed  you  a  bit,  riggs.  ” @frayedfigures

“Just a bit?” Mason prods, question formed following a purse of his so he could cool the hot cocoa that was steaming in the mug shared with him. If only he could feel anything towards her in moderation, his life would be far less of a headscratcher than it was. 

Drinking some from the mug, he relishes in the warmth that spreads through him after his trudge through the chill to get there. 

( For most, the day that follows Thanksgiving is the true marker for Christmas’ relentless approach, but for him it could be as early as when the cold started to truly settle in to their shared city. ) 

“  I’VE  ALSO  BEEN  TOLD  to  never  speak  to  strangers,  but  where’s  the  fun  in  that  ?  ”  phillipa  chides  fondly,  thankful  he’d  been  more  agreeable  with  her  request  than  others  —  namely  an  old  woman  who  tried  to  chuck  funnel  cake  at  her  instead.  “  besides,  some  smiles  deserve  the  preservation.  ”

“  quite  the  profile,  too,  ”  she  can’t  help  but  commend,  snapping  a  few  extra  photos  for  her  portfolio.  “  same  place  as  me,  i’d  reckon  -  sydney.  ”

lowering  her  camera,  she  gave  a  little  shrug  as  she  feigned  confusion  at  her  current  surroundings.   “  long  way  from  home,  i  suppose.  made  a  wrong  turn  in   morocco  and  just  kept  going.  are  you  telling  me  we’re  not  in  auckland  right  now  ?  ”

Hero laughs, the sound a genuine reaction as opposed to a vain attempt at looking candid for her camera. Be it the accent or the willingness to engage in a playful back and forth with him but the firefighter finds himself involuntarily drawn in to the stranger. 

“We’re not in Auckland anymore, Dorothy,” Hero quotes, the movie a staple background noise when he had been growing up in Seattle -- one of his mother’s favourites. 

PRU: it’s okay, i’m a vintage enthusiast ☺️

PRU: ugh god please tell me that you deleted that!!

PRU: but do you really love my voice or are you just being nice?

PRU: i’ll catch you in the back booth 💕

MASON: i didn't, i saved it forever.

MASON: you know i love your voice, i'm physically incapable of lying when it comes to any sort of music.

PRU: i heard the bounce back gets harder as you get older 😌

PRU: as much as i’d LOVE to partake in mass consumerism to mark the holidays, i don’t have the strength for that.

PRU: but i figured that one diner with the best cocoa might be empty today, and i’d hate to go alone.

MASON: you make it sound like i'm a breath away from 100.

MASON: i'd rather lose the ability to handle my turkey than my drink, miss musical voicemail. 😝

MASON: sounds way better than getting elbowed by people trying to buy what they don't need.

PRU: hey there, big guy

PRU: wake up from your turkey coma yet?

MASON: sure did.

MASON: about 30 minutes ago, so i don't think it's that impressive.

Fern’s amiable smile quickly turned into a light sneer at his words. “Cute.” she responded, eyeing her coworker’s offering with a careful eye. If this was his way of getting Fern to forget their little spat at work this morning, then it was certainly affective. “Gracias.” she took the beer into her own hand, immediately taking a drink of it. “Yeah, I’m afraid my life of crime is practically over, but a little game of darts never hurt anyone. You wanna play?”

“Oh hell yeah, wanna make it interesting? Whoever hits closest to the bullseye buys next round,” Hero suggests, taking a swig from his beer bottle as he steps around her, letting it rest on the edge of the bar’s pool table so his hands were free to open up where the dartboard was mounted. 

Darts resting on the small ledge beneath it, he wrote their respective names in chalk as he picked up the darts, offering some to her. 

     as she looked through the paperwork in front of her, she saw dexter’s name as the intern she had following her around today. as much as she enjoyed being optimistic in her field of work - a lot of her patients needed that - she had a headache from hell. dexter was adorable and patients loved that, but today? josie wasn’t sure she could love that as much as everyone else. rubbing her temple, she glanced up when she sees him leaning against the desk and she plasters on a smile, “aw, you look so cute today, dex.” reaching up, she boops the end of his nose and glanced down at the papers in front of her again. “listen, i have a raging migraine, so if i need you to take over for me, are you ready for that? explaining certain things to patients and their families? diagnoses? test results?” josie asked, arching a brow at him. “i’ll be there with you, but my migraines get nasty and i will bite someone’s face off when i get irritated and everything irritates me when i’m in pain.” / @frayedfigures​

“Thank you,” Dexter says with a scrunch of his nose, going all bashful at the greeting. The resident who’s rotation he had just finished working on might as well have been called Dr. Bull in a China shop -- a brilliant surgeon but he held little regard for those below him. 

( Which he made sure Dexter knew he was. ) 

“Am I ready for that, sure I am, I was born ready,” He says, straightening his shoulders as though that might emphasis a fact. In truth, he had been born crying -- but he’s sure that his day won’t end like that with a little bit of luck. 

“Don’t you worry, I got this. You just go take care o’that head of yours. I don’t think this place could function right without you.”

“  DID  YOU  SEE  THAT ? some  guy  LITERALLY  brought  his  own  eagle  to  the  parade, ”  odette’s  aghast,  chuckling  in  disbelief  as  her  eyes  scan  the  crowd  for  the  unbelievable  sight.  “  is  that  even  legal  ?  has  enough  cranberry  juice  really  emboldened  him  that  much  ?  ”

“I can safely say that no, that is most definitely not legal,” Leo chuckles, his palm held flat against his eyebrows as he looked up to try spot the flying beast. 

( Ah, there was that law school tuition being put to good use. ) 

     Feigning offense, Max puts his hands up in lieu of a little white flag. His giddiness for Mason’s reaction is barely contained. “All right, all right don’t crack a hip!” And then, after a beat, “–Specific? You mean to tell me she’s the only one you’ve got peddling product in there?” Brows raised and hand dramatically flourishing back towards the store, and the mini brunette inside, Max is hardly suppressing his grin but the amusement is alive in his tone. “Jesus Christ, man, you might wanna add a few more to the payroll. Maybe make it not quite so obvious.”

“Mm– party promotion,” his hands stretch an invisible arc in the sky, imagining the words as a neon sign. “Totally legitimate resume fodder,” Max assures him with a wink and a laugh. He’s the first to admit it - overworked he is not.

With his hand raised, Mason is pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head as though he finds the man next to him to be an utter horror -- a look he might have gotten away with if it wasn’t for that damn smile of his that was dawning through his apparent misery. 

( Say what one would about Max, Mason had never been around the man and not been entertained -- something he would never share with him. )

“Sorry, God forbid I downplay your job title, Party God,” A lift of his head and they’re right back at it, Mason’s eyes drifting to look at his pride and joy and the girl working away inside it. He couldn’t possibly be that obvious, was he? 

“  CHRIST  ALMIGHTY,  ”  romy  exhales,  eyes  drinking  in  the  outlandish  display  of  pilgrim  revelry  &  shivering  beneath  philly’s  relentless  cold. “  —-  is  there  some  sort  of  unwritten  rule  that  this  parade  gets  increasingly  heinous  every  year  ?  ” 

“I think they must try and outdo themselves every where,” Dexter observes, his words directed to the brunette but his eyes on the passing attractions in the parade. Part entertaining and part gaudy, he could only wonder what might be on the agenda for the following year. 

“Oh, its not too bad,” he offers a gentle smile to the man next to him, feeling as though he’d accidentally offended him in some way. “Its entertaining, sure, but not very important in the grand scheme of things.” 

Dexter perks up immediately at the man’s words, his need for approval extending passed his family and authoritative figures to perfect strangers it would seem -- he’d have to work on that. Though the strange looking orange creature wasn’t enough to pique his interest in hockey, he’s not utterly clueless when it comes to all things sports related. 

“  THAT  IS  ODDLY  SPECIFIC  for  someone  who  insists  otherwise.  doth  protest  too  much,  no  ?  ”  then  again,  a  furry  seems  MARGINALLY  better  than  someone  who  may  or  may  not  have  a  few  heads  in  their  freezer  —  marginally.

then  again,  she’s  a  failed  star  who  can’t  hold  her  liquor,  so  does  she  really  have  room  to  judge ?

“  kismet,  ”  she  repeats,  smirking  around  the  word  and  deciding  that  he  may  not  be  entirely  wrong.  “  are  you  actually  looking  for  a  roommate,  or  do  you  have  someone  in  your  place  right  now  that  would  be  very  annoyed  to  hear  you  say  that  ?  ”

romy  pretends  to  consider  it,  her  mind  already  half  made  up;  her  brows  knit  together  as  she  inches  forward.  “  name,  occupation,  and  disclose  the  last  place  you  may  or  may  not  have  buried  a  body.  think  fast,  you’ve  got  ten  seconds.  ”

He’s about to re-emphasis the fact that he’s very much looking and not two-timing a faux roommate when she puts him under the spot, and he’s silenced by the onslaught of question. 

( Jokes on her, he runs into burning buildings for work, he can handle twenty questions. ) 

“Hero Hawkins, yes that’s the name on my driver’s licence and no, you can’t see it -- unless you’re real nice to me. Professional cat-in-tree-rescuer, though they’ve shortened that title recently to firefighter aaaand, beside a small re-creation of Newgrange in my old backyard in Seattle. Disclaimer, the body by the boulders is a fish’s but it still counts.” 

PRUDENCE  COOLEY  is  a  creature  of  impulse  —  admittedly,  if  she  DIDN’T  care  so  much  about  mason,  she  would’ve  kissed  him  her  first  week  there.  but  it  isn’t  just  carnal  impulse;  kissing  mason  would  mean  something,  and  while  she’s  fought  her  whole  life  to  live  purely  on  whim  &  escapism,  something  about  him  GROUNDS  her.

her  arms  drape  around  his  neck,  her  cheeks  AFLAME  in  a  rosy  blush,  and  she  mulls  over  which  song  selection  feels  right.  “  what  DO  you  sing  the  man  who  has  heard  just  about  everything  ?  ”  she  teases,  her  freckled  nose  wrinkling  in  thought.

it  comes  to  her  slowly,  sweetly,  humming  along  the  old  favorite  she  always  found  stuck  in  her  head  when  he’s  around  —  she  remembers  listening  to  it  as  a  kid,  wondering  what  it’d  be  like  to  find  someone  who  could  understand  how  important  a  lyric,  a  tune,  a  melody  could  be.  their  foreheads  finally  press  together,  and  pru’s  eyes  fall  shut  when  she  breaks  her  hum  to  quietly  murmur  the  lyrics:  even  though  we  ain’t  got  money,  i’m  so  in  love  with  you,  honey   -  everything  will  be  a  chain  of  love …  

her  fingertips  brush  along  the  curve  of  his  jaw,  forgetting  their  location  for  a  brief  moment  as  she  recoils  just  enough  to  catch  his  gaze  and  fully  absorb  the  electricity  racing  between  them.  “  do  you  like  that  song  ?  ”  her  voice  is  soft, nearly  inaudible,  as  if  any  higher  volume  would  shatter  this  honeyed  bubble  between  them.  “  always  makes  me  think  of  you.  ”

The song that starts is the kind that lodges itself in the back of the mind even after one listen, not one he can say he hears often -- a damn shame -- but one that floods him with a unique mix of warmth and affection each time he did. 

( In it’s original form, it’s one of his favourite songs. In her voice, it might actually be his favourite. )

“I love it,” He says a breath away from her lips, the words feeling more loaded than he could have anticipated despite them being about the music. Everything with her felt that way, as though he was navigating a minefield by just being near her. 

He swallows, moving from her felt something akin to a punishment when the thought crosses his mind but life was cruel and he didn’t trust himself not to do something that might complicate things. 

Taking a step back, he straightens his posture, his hand raising to travel the length of her arm until he was half holding her hand for a moment only to let her go.