your time will come

[message: Tanner] i think you’re cute, i’m hoping you matched with me because you think i’m cute, and i’m really bad at texting. sooo at risk of coming on too strong, what do you say we go get coffee sometime this week?

[message: Jules] coffee sounds great though. i work twelves tuesday through thursday but free the other days?

“okay, so i have a little somethin’ for ya in my purse and i’m realizin’ right now i probably should’ve made sure you didn’t have plans, but i’m trustin’ it’ll all work out. here you go, baby.” she hands over an envelope, inside of which are two vip tickets to a concert his favorite artist is playing in a few weeks.

Charlie chuckled, shaking his head fondly. It was nice, the way he and Thatcher could joke around. "Ooh. The alliteration is fun, maybe I'll brainstorm something around that," he played along. Charlie watched Thatcher tilt his head and couldn't help but smile even wider. This seemed to be going even better than he hoped it would. Being bold could pay off from time to time. "Definitely on the downright irresistible side of the scale."

"Does that mean I get a percentage of the profit for my idea? And my name?" he asks, smirking. "I mean, it was my idea and all, and it seems only fair that I get maybe one or two percent. That's not asking too much, is it?" Thatcher could hear his heart beating in his chest and a blush quickly spread across his face. "Oh yeah? That is... that is definitely good to know." He wasn't sure what to say next, but he was sure he wasn't going to stop smiling any time soon.

"oh, no, not my tone. and are you sure your mind's not made up? it really does seem like it is."

"i'm trying very hard not to have my mind made up but you being a prick is a pretty compelling argument against that restraint. if you stopped being a dick for two and a half seconds you might realize that i'm trying to help you, asshole."

"well i was envisioning something like this," he answers, leaning down so he can kiss billie. he was still getting used to their height difference, but a crick in his neck was more than worth it to kiss her. tucker smiles at billie, happy that she's agreed to tag along. it'll be nice for them to meet, especially when he knows they'll get along so well. "oh, does this mean i might get to stay over? i can make breakfast. and i'll pick up a gift card or something for thatcher. maybe for the coffee shop?"

billie laughs, lifting her arms up to wrap around his neck and meet him halfway. she returns his kiss happily, longing for them moments with tucker. "doesn't seem very cloak and dagger," she teases when they eventually break apart. "felt a little obvious actually." because she can't let him get away with anything. "of course you can stay over," she says, pausing after to realize how much it doesn't bother her how easily he fits into her life; to their lives. billie rolls her eyes. "please. like he needs a gift card to the coffee shop. all he needs is to bat his eyes and charlie falls for it every time."

"look at you continuing to bring up very, very good points. i'm starting to think you might be the brains behind this whole operation," she plays along, smiling brightly at him. "i'm really happy that we're here too," she agrees. "i'd like to think we would've gotten here eventually. maybe not as quickly, but i don't know, you make feel a little braver. i don't think i would've been able to keep the way i felt all to myself forever."

"nah, that's definitely you," jer says firmly with a shake of his head. "you are brilliant in all things and i merely stand in awe." he smiles softly at that. "you think so?" he asks before thinking about it and chuckling lightly. "i wanted us to get here. and i'm so glad you were brave. and maybe a little proud," he adds, voice shifting into a question. "is that weird?" when she tells him she wouldn't have been able to keep her feelings to herself forever, his heart stutters. she really was so much braver than she knew.

"it's always nice to learn something new, isn't it? and here, there are so many new things to learn." he thinks he could visit a hundred more times and the humans will have come up with something new each and every time. he smiles and takes the receipt, he'll have to ask emrys what this was later. it seemed important. "thank you again, really. i was so lost and you were so kind." he says, reaching out to gently pat grayson on the shoulder. as he does, he casts a little good luck charm. it should last a week or so. something small to repay the kindness.

grayson smiles at that and nods. "you know, i never really thought of it like that. you have a good point," he agrees easily. as someone who loved learning new things, it was nice to meet a stranger with a similar frame of mind. grayson waves him off and shakes his head. "no problem. i was happy to help. stressful situations can make our brains go a little haywire but i know you would have figured it out without me. i just sped it up a little. you got it from here?"

"Oh, that's just mean," Charlie replied, grinning right back at him. "A bulleted list and citations? Wow, you're being very thorough," he played along. The smile on his face softened as Thatcher explained the drink, happy that he'd managed everything he wanted with it and that someone else thought so too. "I liked it a lot, but I'm definitely biased towards iced lattes," he answered with a shrug. "See, I happen think it sounds very appearing." Was he being too obvious? Maybe it would be good if he was, that way there was no misunderstanding what he was going for.

"You'll survive," Thatcher promised. He nodded in mock seriousness. "Yeah, you know me. Really need to dot my Is and cross my Ts. Hey, there's your name. Thoroughly Thatcher," he suggested. "I mean, not really, but the alliteration is fun." Thatcher looked up in surprise at Charlie's tone. He tilted his head and started to smile. Oh, so that's how it is, he thought. "Yeah? How appealing? On a scale of barely tolerable to downright irresistible?"

"we could always make things more exciting without the cloak and dagger shit, just me and you," he says with a wink. he just can't help himself. billie's too cute not to flirt with. "it can be a little much, but i get why she does it. she wants to know she's making a name for herself on her own and not because of who are dad is. the show's on saturday, i think it starts at 8? so we could be back late saturday night if he could at least swing a few hours."

"oh could we? and how would you suggest we do that? what are you envisioning tucker?" she asks, tilting her head with a smirk, all but daring him to keep going. billie nods in acceptance. "that makes sense. sometimes you just need to know you can stand on your own. i respect that. very independent woman. alright, i'll text him to see if shiloh can just stay over so we don't wake her up when we get home."

"well, why ask then? it sounds like you've already got your mind made up."

"i don't know, maybe because that's how conversations work? and i haven't made my mind up yet but that tone certainly isn't helping your case."

caius nods at the instructions and starts inserting the money, surprised at the force with which the machine takes the funds. “oh, uh, i don’t do the shopping where i’m from. things are usually delivered to us. i think our chef just handles it. sort of the first time i’ve had to do this.” is that embarrassing? it seems like the sort of the thing that might be embarrassing to a human.

grayson smiles a little and nods at that. Ah, so he was just helping a wealthy guy who wasn't used to this sort of thing. he could respect that. "well, there's a first time for everything, right? and you got to learn something new today. not too bad at all," he assures him. his experience on campus has taught him that sometimes the wealthiest of people need the most help and being kind is easy when you remember everyone is just a person fumbling through life. "and with that, you are all set," he tells him, handing him his receipt.