R O N A N

Devereux Task #9 || @devereuxtasks

“We’re going to have a little Q&A and, at the risk of sounding redundant, please make your answers genuine.”

( @ronanryan​ )

“Yes, Sir. Of course,” Ronan responded easily, setting the fresh cup of coffee he’d just made down in front of Tennyson. Then, he slid into the chair across the desk from his newest employer, resting his hands in his lap as he patiently waited for the first of the questions.

AV was lost in thought a bit when Ronan posed their question and it took her a moment to catch up. It wasn’t until the drink was being pushed in front of them that it registered and AV just shrugged. “Fine.” He gulped most of the drink down in one go and decided to elaborate once the person in question got the hint and moved to the other side of the bar. “I just don’t like people in my space. Spending an extended amount of time cramped in a room with five other people while hiding from gunmen will do that to you.” He didn’t elaborate any more than that. They didn’t actually want to talk about it, but he figured Ronan could stand at least that much.

Ronan watched their sibling for a moment with a look of concern slowly working it’s way onto their face, but they could tell he didn’t want to talk about it, based on how to the point their explanation was. They really couldn’t imagine what AV must have been through while deployed, and that made their stomach twist into knots. They were just happy he was home now, safe and with his family. Normally, they’d offer a hug, but given what had just happened, they passed on it, opting to instead give AV a gentle pat on the shoulder. “Alright, well you know your bill is on the house. Are you hungry?” They asked, knowing really they’d be paying for it for him when the night ended, but they didn’t want him to feel like he owed them anything. Especially right now. So they kept that part to themself, instead offering AV a small but hopefully reassuring smile. 

Angel flushed when they asked her if that was the pronunciation and shook her head. “Oh.. no it’s just that my nickname is Angel but I’m never sure if it’s a little weird to ask strangers to call me Angel.” She explains, realising it sounds a bit silly when it comes out of her mouth. “It’s much bigger than I expected here.. especially the town. No.. I’m just claimed to one. I’m claimed to Vio Rizzoli, his brother Mars is also teaching here and that’s who I’m supposed to be finding. He forgot his lunch." 

Ronan smiled at the other, offering a small nod as they crossed their arms over their chest. “Thanks for clarifying that, It’s not silly. If you prefer I call you Angelica, I will,” They informed, then continued to listen to her as she explained the situation she was in. “Oh, I see. Well, it’s nice of you to take him his lunch, I’m sure he’d be missing that around lunch time,” They said, a small smile forming on their face. “It was really nice meeting you though! I’ll let you get back to that, since it sounds important. I'll see you around?”

Angel flushed when the person laughed, god she must have been pretty far off if this was the reaction. She came forward to have a look at the map, and wished that she’d had the foresight to have picked one up from the front desk. “Yeah I was way off.” She admitted looking at the page and then nodded gratefully. “Please.” She responded, taking out her phone. “I’m Angel-ica, thanks for helping me out.” She’d hesitated about using her regular nickname since arriving at the school, worrying that declaring herself Angel was a bit weird.

Ronan kept the page still while the other took the picture, then folded it up and slid it back into their pocket when she finished. “Oh, is that the pronunciation?” They asked, mostly just wanting to keep from mispronouncing her name. That was a sensitive topic for some people, and they weren’t looking to make enemies this early. “But, yeah of course. I’m still kind of new too, still trying to learn where everything is myself. I’m Ronan. Are you a teacher?” 

“No, not because of that.” Sloan replied, following Ronan. Though they never really passed up an opportunity to talk about it. “I started making matching phone cases, seven of em.” They shrugged “That’s a random amount, no particular reason.” Lips turning up in a grin. Sloan paused in front of a particularly bright piece and tipped their head to one side, trying to figure out what it was supposed to be. 

Ronan’s eyes lit up when Sloan mentioned seven matching phone cases, immediately turning to them with a whole new level of interest than what they’d previously had in the art work. “Wait, what color are they?” They asked, doing their best to contain their excitement. They’d gotten to put a jibbitz on AV’s crocs and they were getting a matching phone case with their siblings, all in a relatively short amount of time, and the happiness they felt over it was very much evident. “And do they have anything cool on them? Or is it just matching colors?! I’m going to love it either way, obviously. Just curious.”

Accepting the drink gratefully, Sav took a sip, her lipstick leaving a stain on the glass. “This one is delicious.” She commented about the simple drink, one of her usual. “What you tried to pass off to me as a cocktail upon arrival, disgusting.” She made no effort to hide her dislike, her expressing puckering again with just the thought of it. Ronan truly knew better than to serve her something out of her standard but she had after all come to support them so she’d afforded one single and regrettable sip. Sav glanced around as she took another drink, washing away the memory of the other, her eyes settling on Ronan and their annoyingly self satisficed glow. “A twink bar a dozen.” She commented, but then “You fit right in, Roe.” It was as close to a compliment as they were going to get out of her. 

Ronan couldn’t help but laugh at the twink bar comment, rolling their eyes fondly as they accepted the compliment from their sister. “I mean, yeah... the bar is totally just a front. In the back it’s all hand jobs and stripping,” They commented casually, though there was a hint of playfulness to their voice and a wide smile forming on their face. “Also, I was wondering if you’d want to do my makeup for tomorrow night’s shift? Both for the nostalgia, and maybe just because I miss you doing it,” They admitted, moving to start pouring a line of shots when someone asked for them, though their attention never fully left Sav.

“Yeah well, you did warn me, right?” AV admitted, even though he wasn’t thrilled about Ronan being wrong. He didn’t have any real expectations about it, but AV was always willing to throw himself into trying something new. It often bit him in the ass, much like it was now. But AV tried to be a good sport and laughed it off. “Well thanks for the free taste. And yes please. Something you made up so I know it actually tastes decent.” When someone moved to sit next to him at the bar, he looked them up and down then moved one stool over, away from them. “Something strong, please.”

“I did, many times. But hey, definitely not complaining. Now I know not to try it,” Ronan laughed softly, starting to put together a much better drink they knew to have a stronger alcohol percentage. They had called it that that many ingredients would have to go wrong somewhere, and there was a sense of satisfaction in knowing they were right. As they continued putting the cocktail together, their gaze found their sibling when he seemed to be inspecting the person that sat next to him before moving over a stool. “Everything okay?” They asked in just above a murmur, glancing at the person who was too busy talking to notice before their attention was right back on their sibling as they slid the new drink across the counter on a napkin.

( @ronanryan​ | Friday Night 8.6.21 )

“Oh my- fuck. What the fuck?” AV looked at Ronan as if he’d been betrayed. “Are you fucking serious?” AV looked around to see if anyone caught his moment of weakness. He was warned, several times. And since he couldn’t get mad, he just decided to complain. A lot. “How much did you say that drink was again?” He asked, his face still full of disdain.

Ronan had expected the drink to taste absolutely awful. They really weren’t sure why it was even on the menu, or why AV had been so serious about trying it, but they’d allowed it to happen if for no other reason than to confirm their suspicions. Because fuck trying it themself. A grin spread across their lips as they pulled the towel from their shoulder and began wiping the bar down. “In any other situation, I’d be awfully offended,” They teased, rolling their eyes fondly. “That’s well over a hundred bucks. Want something to get the taste out of your mouth?” They asked, a soft chuckle leaving their lips as they pulled another glass from the shelf.

Quiet but present through the visit to the gallery, Sloan let Ronan do most of the talking. It was nice to catch up with them, hear about more than just the tourist details of the Mexico trip, and just spend time together. They were definitely looking forward to the mountains of food they were about to get into at the buffet. “We forgot to grab lunch today so my stomach is completely ready.” @ronanryan​

Ronan had caught themself talking too much a few times, but had managed to keep the conversation as natural as possible as they moved around the gallery with Sloan, admiring art piece after art piece. When Sloan mentioned missing lunch, they nodded, offering them a small smile as they followed them around the gallery. They’d really missed them while the six out of seven siblings were on the school trip. “It’s cool. We’ll fix that. Just got too busy printing, or?” They asked, still beyond interested in the 3D printer. “What all have you managed to print successfully so far, aside from the slug?”

I seemed to have missed this, Mr. Ryan. My apologies for the tardiness, I assure you that is usually not my issue. But I had a family matter I needed to sort, and checking the forum was the least of my priorities. But I am back on the island now, and I am free to set up a meeting with you, to discuss your schedule, upcoming vacations, and, of course, wages. How does tonight, before dinner sound?

Hey, Sir. It happens, that time works just fine. Where should I meet you?

The trip was certainly not a short flight, but having spent half of it talking to the copilots, she had definitely enjoyed the time. But by the time they had made it back to campus, she could feel the effects of flying starting to kick in. Glad that they had their roommate to relate with though, Miriam smiled as she rolled her own suitcase into her room. “Yeah, I too didn’t think about this perk,” she laughed a bit at Ronan’s comment. After a moment or so, she made her way to their small kitchen as Ronan spoke. “I definitely thought it was fun too, ah yes Crazanity is a good choice. I also really loved the caves, they were amazing, you went to the beach yesterday, right?” She asked as she opened the cabinet to grab a glass. “Do you want some water?” Offering as she was already getting herself some.

Ronan nodded, smiling back at their roommate as they stretched further out on the couch, letting out a soft, satisfied groan at how good it felt not to be cramped on a plane, or even on a bus. “Water would be nice, thank you,” They quickly replied, then looped back to the first question. “But, yes. I did, it was nice. I know there are beaches here, but I’m just not a big fan of caves. They freak me out,” They said, shrugging a shoulder. When the water was brought to them, they took it and offered her a small smile. “Thanks. Did you have fun though? What kinds of things did they let you do there? Just explore or something?”

Yeah she had definitely taken a wrong turn somewhere, Angel decided as she was greeted with a pretty deserted seeming hallway. This was not the way to Mars’ office unless he’d somehow decided to teach in the school from IT. As she turned around, she heard footsteps and had to stop herself from jumping a little. “Hey um.. is this.. is this the way to the staff offices?” She asked cautiously. @ronanryan​

Ronan paused, glancing up from their map of the school to face the person, who clearly looked lost. When she asked her question, they let out a soft laugh, shaking their head. “Oh, no sorry. It’s...” They trailed off, taking another look at the page they had in hand before pointing down the hall in the opposite direction. “It’s down that way. Turn left, go down a corridor, then turn right,” They informed. “Do you want to take a picture of this, so you can have it?” They then offered, turning just enough so she could get a look at the map.

The air was hot and sweet and Fauna was more than enjoying being out and about in Mexico, having ducked away from Alexis in order to grab yet another sweet treat. As she found herself mirroring the other persons actions, the brunette raised her hands in easy defeat, in no great rush to get anywhere in particular. “I can also very much go around, though I think that just suggests more case of chronic twin brain.” She grinned. 

Ronan laughed softly, rubbing the back of their neck a little. “You think so?” They’d never really considered the possibility they had a twin out there somewhere. The thought was a little bizarre. “I take it you have a twin then? Are they also here on the school trip?” They asked, deciding to take a moment to at least get to know the person. They didn’t know many people around the school yet, but this trip seemed like the perfect opportunity to fix that.