#smugful

          “ I do believe that was the sound of  DINNER  calling. Don’t tell me you’re going to start skipping meals now in favor of the sword. ”  A small jest as the woman strode up to greet her partner. He’d been out practicing for the past few hours now. At first joined by the men that had accompanied him but now the tall figure stood alone, stance  REFUSING  to slacken even after hearing her voice.  “ Come now, love, it may be your best friend but it will not keep a warm meal for you on a cold night. Or would you rather I shatter it to  BITS  for you ? ”

        “  mm  ... ?  ”  attention lifts from the remnants of a salad  ---  or,  rather,  a plate of ranch with a side of lettuce,  chicken,  and veggies what with how he’d drowned the dish in dressing.  fork scraping through the condiment,  he’d taken to clearing his plate of it.  which  ...  apparently was something that couldn’t go without comment.  it makes sense,  given it’s fernand whom he’s sat across,  and some carrots did sound nice,  but answering earnestly feels a little weird,  somehow.  so lukas cants his head,  the only discernible shift in his manner.

“I don’t care if your grades are good. You need to finish your homework before 9PM or else NO ONE is getting ice cream.” (Lucifer) @smugful​

          Was it someone new ? Indie ? An overseas line ? Whoever it was, these guys had some serious game. And for once— he was genuinely interested in knowing. “ Come on, come on, you  GOTTA  tell me ! It’s, like, super important now ! ”

     “ My grades are  FINE.  Why do I need to study ? ” He crossed his arms with a huff and bit his tongue. Kliff was never someone that needed to be told to ‘ hit the books. ’ It was something he’d practically spent all his time on, and now his father was  LITERALLY  his teacher. If anyone should know how well he was faring, it was Fernand.

        it’s with this thought in mind that she stumbles upon one of his most recent spats with the usual  “  victim  ”.  really,  she pities lukas.  the expression on his face as he stomps away isn’t one she’d even thought possible of someone so sweet,  but she supposes that it can be left to fernand to push anyone to their limits these days.  clair doesn’t dare stop him,  keeping to the side,  and only pressing forward to fernand once the way was clear.

        “  fernand  ...  ”  his name is said gently,  however it inexplicably sounds chiding when coupled with her expression.  “  what was that about ?  i don’t want to even imagine that you’ve been picking fights.  did he say something to you ?  ”  clair knows that it’d most likely been the other way around,  it’s just a matter of not being accusatory so whatever mood he’s in doesn’t become her issue either.

        his last class of the day,  seventh period world history,  had filed out only a few minutes ago.  thankfully,  no one had lingered,  allowing for lukas to tidy up his desk along with his thoughts  ---  as well as the pounding migraine he’d been fending off all day would allow him to.  caffeine tended to help,  he’d assumed the headache to be from the lack thereof,  but this time it hadn’t.  and neither had the water he’d downed or the medication he’d taken.  it seems that sleepless nights were catching up with him.  he’d not even noticed fernand entering his always - open door,  nor was his response to his words anything less than automatic.

        “  paying close attention,  are we ?  ”  lukas bites out  ---  and then freezes in his movements,  an uneven stack of tests in hand.  they’re carefully lowered back to the desk as he lets loose a sigh.  “  ...  i’m sorry.  that was unnecessarily curt.  ”  god  ---  what if that’d been the principal,  his coordinator,  or even a student.  the shame is almost enough for lukas to comply with fernand’s  “  demands  ”,  but all he can do as he turns to him is frown.  either he’s obvious or fernand’s just accustomed to picking up on his shortcomings;  whatever the case may be,  it’s not the least bit comforting.