#ingukia

It might be a tourist attraction to the people of Fosc Or but to Junmyeon archaeology was serious business. He didn’t get to dig in the dirt as often these days with having a near-boyfriend and a bookshop and being a fulltime bird-dad and everything. It was rough being all of those things at the same time. So when he heard there was a trip to Andorra he signed up right away.

Bringing a small wooden block to lean on he was sitting away from the ground as he used a small shovel, several brushes and an oil lamp. Working diligently before he noticed someone approaching. Who dared to invade on his fun personal time?

“Ah, Mister Inguk.” He smiled at the other man. Even if it was one of those smiles you summoned on your face to be polite; not that he had anything against Inguk. He barely knew him really but he seemed to be nice- that one time he had taken away the murderous students from in front of his shop. That had been good.

“What brings you here to the Andorra trip? Are you chaperoning the students?” he asked the teacher with a small laugh. It seemed like keeping the students of the academy in order would be more than a full-time job. He felt bad for the other, even if Inguk had chosen to be at the academy himself. “Are you also interested in archaeology?”

@inguk-ia

/left over from last week/ touch : a gentle touch like rubbing their back, hugging them, holding their hand.

Inguk couldn’t help but notice a being (perhaps a student?) hunched over. Were they sick? Hurt? Perhaps they were just stretching? He quickly made it his business and reached out to lay a heavy gloved hand on the small of the other’s back, giving a small pat followed by light rubbing motion. “You okay there, kid?”

@zitao-ia

It had been a while since Inguk had last seen the man he was now headed to meet. There was a pep in his step and a glimmer in his eye. He had been doing a purified water cleanse as well, so he felt fit as a fiddle. That being said, he also looked somewhat different. His eyepieces were attached for once, his hair messy, and has lost the usual large jacket due to incoming warm weather.  Simplistically, he stuck to his work khakis and a white button up with the sleeves rolled up. His wrist had a magnetic pin holder, his sleeve had some Velcro stuck to it, and there were strips of cloth hanging from his belt loops. Boy looked as though he had rolled around in a fabric store.

In one arm Inguk was holding what looked to be a pile of large pillows made of faux leather at the bottom and soft fur-like material on the time. For days now, the man had been hard at work using leftover material in his workshop. In the other arm, a small, plush container with holes in the top.

He reached up to knock on the door. Before the other could get a word in, he began to speak in a speed that seemed almost anxious. “Hey uh- so It’s been a minute ain’t it? Hope you’re doing well - I had thought I’d stop by to give you these. I realized we make a lot o’ scraps when making bracers and whatnot in class so I fashioned some pet beds out of it instead o’ wasting.” He nodded, expression looking unsure. A smile cracked from said expression and he looked down at the container in the other hand which was now making a mewing noise. “Oh- an I want to introduce you to the newest member of my family, Amber.”

So Elidyr thought that the other had lost interest in him after the Christmas fiasco. He had not approached Inguk himself, no, he had instead chosen to stay silent and mope around. Poor Minsu had to deal with his moping as well (but had done a good job). Jieun even had taken him interior shopping and gotten him an expensive rug. Things had been okay, ish. Sure he had been in a mood™ but nothing that couldn’t be fixed by staying busy and taking care of a litter of baby turtles that all needed affection and love.

Elidyr had not expected anyone to come by but got up from the sofa where he had been sitting to finally take a moment to calm down. Opening the door he was faced by… Inguk. “H-” He wanted to start but the steambot cut him off and he closed his mouth again with a pop. The other was talking, and Elidyr sensed the magic which distracted him for a moment again before he shook it off and focused on the words. “You made those?”‌ He asked as he watched the pet beds unbelieving. Then there was mewing and Elidyr focused immediately on the cat, leaning in to peek “Oh shes adorable.” He had stepped forward without thinking and then looked up a lot closer to the steambot all of a sudden.

It had been a very long week and a very long day and all the angel had wanted was some good, hard, liquor. 

Sitting at the bar with her cheek leaned onto her hand she ignored the boisterous calls and loud human happenings going on behind her. It had been a while since she had visited a human bar and a part of her had forgotten just how irritating they could be. Setting her glass down she signaled to the bartender for a refill of tonight's poison, Whiskey, neat. 

Another glass slid her way and she prepared to take a sip she instead found someone placing an arm on her shoulder completely too familiar. Brown eyes rolled far back enough in her skull that she saw her brain before she shrugged it off and turned to stare at them in disdain. “Touch me again and your detached hand will be slapping your face.” She had no time for foolish people trying to shoot their shot and yet this person was persistent. Why they insisted on sitting next to her she would never know, but they did so continuing to beg for her name, ask questions, pay compliments all of which she ignored. 

‘Come on can’t I buy you one drink?’ 

“Will it shut you up and remove you from my presence?” The man agreed it would and she was on the last sip of her whisky and so she agreed. When the next round came Jieun took a sip of the drink and as she swallowed the liquid she realized something was amiss. 

“What..did you put in this?”

/left over from last week/ The grimace on his face must have been obvious. He was currently lugging newly purchased used equipment he had planned to refurbish across town and back to the academy. He had already traveled nearly a mile on foot with a few hundred pounds of stuff and had begun to condensate something fierce. Not to mention the incredibly harsh pain in his back that began to feel like hot knifes up his spine. It was just his luck Elidyr happened to pass by while he was in this state. “..Damn.” He huffed, pushing the wagon aside with a frown, seeming embarrassed. “I’m fine honestly.” He huffed again but sat anyways, dropping his head into his hands.

@elidyr-ia

“Has anyone ever told you, you are a really bad liar? You’d think that a steambot of all beings would have a perfect pokerface.” Elidyr said and sighed as he sat down next to the other man and retrieved a large bottle of water from his bag and nudged the man. “Here, you’re losing a lot of water with all the huffing and puffing you’re doing.”

He eyed all the stuff “Did that really all have to be hauled to the academy in one go Inguk, really?”

He had been very nervous all day, chewing on the inside of his cheek as he was wondering if he should actually... try to ask him to come with him to the ball... True, last time Elidyr had been even close to a date the love interest in question had left the academy without so much as a goodbye. 

Staring into the mirror (and rubbing some dust off with his sleeve) he studied himself. Not exceptionally handsome, not conventionally attractive anyway. Freckles everywhere, messy red hair and a mouth that seemed a little too big to be proportional. Surely, he would be laughed at and rejected on the spot. 

With a sigh he dragged himself away from the mirror, said goodbye to Hope and Minsu and took off to find the office of the subject of his recent frustrated fumbling and nervousness. 

He wasn’t sure if it was just the magic that made him unable to get the tall man out of his head. Perhaps- but he actually also enjoyed the steambot’s presence- okay? He knocked on the door of Inguk’s office and let out a sigh as he opened the door and located the man. “Hey.. Inguk?” he said with a small smile, nearly falling over his own legs as he came in. 

“How you doing? Enjoying the day? By the way, completely random but did you plan on going to the- uh- Mistletoe ball tomorrow?” 

“Mhmm, yeah thanks for the advice, kid. Not like I haven’t tried.” Since waking up from the rock slide many years ago in his homecaves, the bot’s inner clock had always been, for lack of a better term, completely fucked up. Not quite insomnia, but he did have a form of narcolepsy that led the man to fall unconscious at the worst of times. He’d beg the Elven overlords for the same right now, but was obviously being punished for something he didn’t know he did.

Rubbing his eyes, Inguk sighed. A large puff of steam escaped his lips and he sat next to the witch student. “Guess we’re in the same boat. I get it.” Easier for him to simply give instruction than make humble, happy suggestions. But when you can’t sleep you can’t sleep. Thanks to the way he was built, he didn’t look exhausted the way she did, but the normally bronze tone of his eyes turned copper and the whirring of his inner pistons were quiet. He reached over to one of her books and closed it.

“... want to make jewelry with me till one of us conks out? I can make an excuse you were helping me with my classes

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The moment 'kid' fell from his lips the stubborn look on her face temporarily dropped as she snorted softly. He was the only teacher she could think of that called her that without it feeling demeaning or rude to her quite long life span. She had been prepared for an argument on why sleep was for the weak and her father had not raised a quitter, but it never came. Instead Inguk had sighed sounfing almost as tired as she felt lately and sat down.

Green eyes watched him for a moment when he offered up a new suggestion and stifling a yawn she nodded. She had been at the books for hours, a break couldn't hurt and an actual excuse to not have to go to class was extremely tempting for the witch.

Shoving a pile of books away she nodded again stretching as she stood.

The tired way with which she rubbed her eyes betrayed the fact that she was exhausted and yet still the witches head emphatically shook left and right in answer to Inguk’s voice. 

‘I’m not tired.’ She stubbornly signed as she dragged her gaze away from the books and papers surrounding her. They had all begun to blur at this point but she couldn’t stop there was too much to do. 

‘You go to bed...’ That one was signed with an almost childish narrowing of her eyes and lift of her chin, not quite characteristic of the usually respectful witch, but that was what running on fumes did to a person.