#intempercnt

He didn't expect Erichthonios to arrive so early (well, in truth, he didn't expect Erichthonios to arrive at all) and it definitely caught him by surprise spotting his figure approach him. He quickly fumbled with the book he was holding and placed it back where he found it after nearly dropping it. He set himself in front of the shelf as not to allow Erichthonios what book he was reading (psst, one about dating!) and smiled softly upon seeing him.

The library at night was a magical place...or that was what he thought, at least: dim, tender lights illuminating the dark halls, the smell of books filling one's nostrils.

“ why , it’s a 𝗠𝗔𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗪𝗔𝗩𝗘 ! ”   he said , chirping perhaps a bit too brightly over the large squared box before them .   “ it’s a microwave but 𝖡𝖨𝖦𝖦𝖤𝖱 ! ”   and if you’re of the same mindset , you would think that a bigger microwave meant 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴 -- or fitting more at the same time ...   “ and it’s even got some cool features , like , uh ... chopping , mincing , boiling ... do we want to test it ? ”

“ don’t you worry , i am not as frail as i look . ”   murmured the youth seconds before erichthonios decided to sit on his lap despite the many empty seats on the bench . the weight was unexpected , but themis managed --- and he did so without being conspicuous ; he adjusted for a moment , slender arms quickly wrapped around the warden’s waist for support ... or for closeness ? themis cooed warmly , instinctively his head resting on erichthonios’s back .    𝘰𝘩 , 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘥 ...

though erichthonios could sit on the bench , themis 𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗗 that he didn’t . and if curious eyes were to find them like this , themis was going to welcome the attention if it meant he could have erichthonios 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮 .

     empty - handed .   he showed up empty - handed , because love was a foreign topic for him ; well , not quite , but he had never thought of venturing into it more than a hand - holding or a simple embrace . even then , every gesture that made his heart quiver was simply platonic . yet , with erichthonios the trivial feeling felt more like an earthquake , an eruption -- almost as if something dormant had finally woken up and elpis wished to know exactly what . he could have grown addicted to the feeling , as he always longed for more , and it seemed to manifest when erichthonios was near .

     but he showed up empty - handed , because the balloon that he thought was going to be a lovely gift suddenly   ( and not because of his clumsiness )   flew towards the heavens .   and now he found himself facing erichthonios with empty hands , trembling fingers revealing nothing but anxiety .   was it alright ?

     despite the rain falling on them incessantly , ferociously drenching their robes completely , elpis still found the energy to laugh -- and he laughed without stifling any . it was genuine .   even if surrounded by four walls and a ceiling , he put a hand to his chest and laughed with a full heart . his laughter , airy , wheezy , filled the room with warmth and joy , whatever the abandoned building needed to feel like a home . he giggled even when his small hands were preparing to squeeze the soaked edges of his clothes to get rid of the excess water that made his clothes so uncomfortably heavy . the drops of water that fell uninterruptedly from his silver mane fell on his shoulders and on the floor , soon forming a huge pool under him that was mixed with the water that dripped from his clothes as well .

     “ hehe -- what a mess ! ”   he giggled under his breath , at this point even shaking his head quite fervently   ( almost like a dog shaking its body to rid of the excess amount of water stuck in its fur ! )   to remove any bothersome drops !   ah , if it wasn’t for his robe sticking to his body ... he hated the feeling of wet clothes against his skin .

     “ eugh ... ”   he groaned , rolling up the wet sleeves of his robe to reveal his slender wrists . there was no escaping this ... and as if it was not enough , he was getting cold as well .

     one look at the window behind him before those lips twisted into a pout . “ i think we would do right by lighting up a fire . it doesn’t look like the rain is going to lift up anytime soon . ”