#starlight writes

Thankfully he found a coffee shop on the same street as the office.The place was certainly not something that would catch his eye or it would and he would normally turn his nose up to it. The front was brick, a dark blue green fabric awning hung over the front of it. Planters full of flowers where neatly placed under the windows on either side of the door. Colorful bright flowers that drew the attention away from everything else. The second the door was opened, his senses where filled with the strong scent of coffee. There were there people behind the counter working away, a couple people sitting at tables, simply just enjoying the coffee or their tea. Along with what seemed like the option of some sort of breakfast sandwich.

“Hey, I’ll be with you in just a moment. “A cheerful voice came from behind the counter, your voice, cutting through the sound of the machines and light chatter of the small café. his head turned to follow you, watching as you walked to a small table towards the back with a breakfast sandwich and a small cup of tea. Sending it down in front of a young child, who seemed to be working on last-minute homework before school. The uniform, the same as the ones has too young daughters wore.

It was a couple of seconds before you were back behind the counter, at the register, “sorry about that, what can I get for you today? “You smiled, that bright, cherry smile every service worker had to put on for customers upon arrival because really who knew who would get the wrong impression if you weren’t smiling constantly.

The man seemed to buffer for a moment and you noticed that, he had never been here prior to today. So he had absolutely no clue what was good and what tasted absolutely horrendous. “Well uhh... If I may? Suggest something. “ Your voice broke him out of his trance, out of his constant mulling over the menu above your head. Too many options, too many things that he really didn’t even know the name of. it was a slow morning so you didn’t really need to ask for his name for this order or insist he stand aside for others to take their turn. A soft grumble fell from his lips, he was going to be late already. Maybe this would just speed up the process? “Fine…, I guess that’s fine. “He seemed agitated, not at you. At least you didn’t think so anyway.

Carefully you nodded, ringing him up for a coffee and allowing him to pay. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get something you’ll like, I promise. “You moved away from the counter after handing him his receipt, “five minutes tops, if that… “you smiled at him, genuinely at this time. Not that fake customer service being nice to everyone smile. An actual real genuine smile meant just for him.

True your word it took exactly 5 minutes. Not like he was timing you or anything, he was, he definitely was. Carefully, you set the hot cup and a sleeve, and grabbed one of the fresh sandwiches you had just prepared before bringing it to the counter. “Your coffee, hot vanilla coffee… or latte, whichever most people prefer to call it. “Your smile was still there, not a mistake. Something real, something genuine. Hot vanilla latte with something most people liked. It was hard to go wrong with it so that was exactly why you chose it. Especially considering he had never tried this place before. He took the drink in hand just as you slid the breakfast sandwich into his other hand.

“I did not order this… “a hint of confusion, mixed with the tiniest bit of annoyance simply because he did not understand. Oh, no, I know, it’s on the house. You seem like you needed to pick me up. “You insisted, pushing it towards him, one more time, not giving him a chance to deny it. Not taking no for an answer. Maybe it would make this mysterious stranger return he was quite handsome after all. Not like you were looking or anything.

Quietly Maekar grunted in response, taking it in hand now, along with a coffee you had prepared for him. Since you didn’t give him a chance to say no after all. “Thank you? I guess? “The words felt foreign on his tongue.

You smiled, then nodding as you told him to have a great day and to come again soon as he walked out of the café. Because you wanted him to come again. When he wasn’t in so much of a rush to get to what you could only assume was Work. Why wouldn’t you want him to come again?

Your coworker glanced over at you getting another coffee together for the next customer and shook his head with a chuckle, “ Y/N , you can’t make everyone happy you know. “You two were friends, good friends, so talking between the two of you so freely was entirely ok and normal. It was good to have some people you could easily talk to about work or just life in general.

“I can certainly try. “You smiled back before wiping down the counter, catching the direction. The stranger walked off in. You really should have gotten his name, at least under the guise of needing it for his coffee order. Too bad, maybe next time? If he ever showed up again.

Maekar , once he stepped out of the coffee shop, took a careful sip of the drink you had prepared for him. His eyebrow raised, humming softly at the taste. Unsure if he liked it, unsure if he was just too deprived of coffee this morning that it tasted better than what he had on the regular at the other shop he normally frequented. He wasn’t one for change, he liked things constant. But this change? It didn’t taste so bad.

He walked a couple of steps into the office building before he had decided to unwrap the sandwich you had prepared and given to him. Maybe he was just hungry, maybe it was because he had skipped breakfast and that was why it had tasted so good? Maekar would have to come back again tomorrow. Just to be sure this was not a fluke. Just to be sure that in his rush things weren’t just tasting good simply because he was running behind. And that smiling little barista behind the counter wasn’t just an imagination of his, something he conjured up for some sort of relief on his brain along the way to a long days, day at work.

“You’re late today Maekar, that never happens…“ Baelor his brother’s voice cut through his concentration now. Soft and teasing tone came from his brother, meant only as simple banter. Not a boss trying to reprimand someone for being two minutes late. Maekar let loose a sarcastic, quick laugh. Amused, but already over with the day. The two of them normally not in the office at the same time. However, when it came to meetings, there was always those situations where they were.

“Something I will never live down now I fear. “ he was always so punctual, so on time that he was basically predictable. But that made him reliable and that was definitely a good thing.

“Shall we get started?”

Dividers made by @strangergraphics

It was one of the rare mornings where he didn’t leave you before the sun peeked over the horizon. Those mornings where you woke up much later, alone and feeling empty. The sheets next to you have long since lost their warmth- leaving you with a sleepy frown and an achy heart.

Finally. Finally, a morning where you get to wake up in your lover's warm embrace.

You gently stirred awake, inclining your head to take a peek at his face to make sure he was still asleep. Your body was pressed up against him, one of his arms being used as your pillow and the other gripped tightly to your thigh that was hitched over his hip.

After pressing a soft kiss to his collarbone and delicately maneuvering your limbs from his tight hold- which took a lot more skill and strategy than you think- you pull on your robe and step into your slippers, already missing his warmth.

The tread to the kitchen was short, sleep slowly leaving you and your mind still in a slight haze. You wait for the kettle to boil, removing it from the stove just before it starts to whistle. Drizzling a little bit of honey in your steaming mug of tea sweetens it up just the way you like it. You blow carefully into it, sipping as you peer out the front window. 

Your cottage was on a decent plot of land, tucked into a small corner of Velaris- a generous gift from Rhys. It was not too far from the main house so that Cassian would still be able to get there quickly in any event of crisis. The size of it was too big for just the two of you at first, the three additional bedrooms aside from your master bedroom was intimidating when you first looked around before moving in. So many ideas swirling your minds as you both discussed what they could be used for, which resulted in Cassian insisting that one of them be your crafting room so you could work from the comfort of your home before restocking your vendor stall you own at the market in the center of town instead of renting a small crafting room in the paint shop ways away from it like you used to.

You had thought he was teasing you at first, you never had a single soul support you and your passion before. Of course he knew about your crafting hobby, most people did. It’s the surprise and judgement you receive when you reveal that it’s more than a hobby, it’s your livelihood. Their responses are always along the lines of: “it’s juvenile” and “maybe you should take up something more… practical”. A strained smile appeared on your lips as you lightly laughed his notion off, waving a dismissing hand. “No, no,” you had said, “you can’t be serious, there are more important purposes that these rooms could serve.”

He crossed the short distance between you and gripped your chin, holding your face so you couldn’t escape his tender gaze, a stark contrast to the fierce and piercing stare of an Illyrian warrior he often had. “I am serious,” he murmured, his calloused hands on your skin grounding you. “And this is important.”

The silence after that stretched for a few moments as you processed his words before he added with an upwards twitch of his mouth, “I’ll make you a big work table and help you set up the room just the way you want it. I’ll even allow you to boss me around for the day, feel free to mouth off at me if I do something wrong.”

Your arms looped around his neck as you grinned, “How is that any different from every other day?”

“It’s not,” He admitted with a lazy smile, his arms coming around your waist and his hands boldly wandering lower. “But I’m allowing your insolence just this once without any back talk from me.”

“I suppose we can come to that agreement,” You nod. Then your face changes into something more soft, more loving as you draw him into an affectionate hug, “Thank you, my beloved,” You whispered, trailing your lips around his face before claiming his fervently, “I am so grateful for you.”

“All that I do is for you, my love.” He simply responded.

You smile fondly at the memory, the tink of your mug tapping against the window frame pulling you back to the present- making your way back to the kitchen to deposit it in the sink. Gathering all your ingredients for a decent breakfast required some creative thinking since there was not much to go off of. You turned the stove on to start heating as you prepped and sliced some fruits, making notes of what you would need to buy at the food markets. 

Being so engrossed in your tasks made you entirely unaware of your towering, grumpy mate coming up behind you. He silently pressed up against your back, his wings enveloping you both, making you jump and drop your knife with a loud clatter. One of his big hands clasped the edge of the counter, caging you in on one side; while his other hand gripped your hip firmly on the other side and pulled you impossibly closer to him as he nosed along the side of your neck. You could feel the rumble from his chest as he hummed sleepily in your ear, the sound low and throaty. 

“Cass-” You sigh, gasping when he nips the top of your ear, smoothing it over with a brush of his lips, “I’m making breakfast- and stop biting me.” You finish with a huff, raising a hand and blindly swatting his head.

“Breakfast can wait,” He rasps, squeezing the plush of your hip lovingly, feeling your skin fill out the spaces between his fingers. “You have committed the grave sin of getting out of bed before the sun has fully risen so your punishment must be delivered immediately.”

“It’s only been ten minutes since I left, stop with the theatrics,” You rolled your eyes at him even though he couldn’t see you. He said nothing as he reached past you to turn off the stove, gingerly taking the knife you had picked back up to resume slicing and set it down. Then, you were promptly turned around and lifted over his shoulder, your view turning upside down as you shrieked and beat your hands on his bare, muscled back, being mindful of his delicate and sensitive wings.

“Cass, you bastard-” Your cursing was cut short by a cry as his hand landed a sharp strike against the flesh of your backside. Before you could fight back and tell him off, he cast you from over his shoulder and onto the bed, your protest dying in your throat as soon as your back made contact with the supple blankets and pillows.

He had made you a nest before he came to retrieve you. You swear that your heart couldn’t swell even more with love than it already has. 

Cassian quickly worked on untying your robe and ridding you of it, leaving you in his shirt and lounge shorts. As he laid down, he pulled you towards him and nestled your head in his chest, fussing at and fixing the blankets and pillows around you. The rustling of his wings settling behind him distracted you from the fact that he was trapping your legs by entangling them together with his- all a part of his master plan to keep you from leaving him again.

“What’s my punishment?” You ask curiously, already accepting your fate. 

“Spending the entire morning in bed with me.” He grinned, an unspoken promise of something more sinful.

You sigh in mock indignation, twirling a strand of his hair around your finger. “I don’t know,” you hum thoughtfully, “I can count on two hands all of the people I would rather spend a quiet morning with rather than torture myself with your company.”

“Is that so?” He asked, raising an eyebrow, his face twinkling with mischief. “I remember a certain someone going on and on about how ravishing I was, how charming and sexy I was, how benevolent-” 

“That’s enough- keep talking and I’ll kick your ass during training today.” You quip as your face heated up at the memory, your hand sliding to the back of his head, tugging harshly on a fistful of his hair. In your defense, you didn’t know he was behind you when you spouted off to Mor about your conflicting feelings for the male in question. The burning rage that welled up inside of you whenever he provoked you but also the endearment you felt when he let down his walls and showed you what was inside. He had conveniently missed the first part of your tirade when he walked in the main room, only catching the last half of it where you had said all those flattering words. Yes, that turned him into more of a conceited monster than he already was, and yes, you never heard the end of it as the bat boy trio had not wasted any opportunities to torment you when the time was right. That was over 100 years ago.

Cassian’s chest reverberated with laughter, his eyes shining with amusement as he looked at you and kissed the top of your head. “I’d at least pretend to be scared if that held even the slightest amount of truth,” His lips curled into a smirk, the hand that was still at your hip caressing the exposed skin from where your shirt had ridden up.

You pinched his waist in retaliation, your face twisting into a scowl. “One of these days I’ll get you to eat a mouthful of dirt.” 

“And I’ll be waiting for that day,” He hummed, the hand at your hip now stroking your back. “But for now, I just want to hold you.”

Perhaps you would have continued to try and rile him up, but the sound and steady beating of his heart paired with the soothing touch made your eyelids grow heavier and your breathing even out. He murmured out his love and devotion to you before tucking your head under his chin, his soul delighted to get the privilege of spending this morning with you.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Baby Maxie and his Camerupt-to-be. This is consistently my friends' favorite part of the piece. I understand why. It's cute.

A good chunk of the display case is covered, but here's what's hiding behind one of the subjects(Eugenia). The masks are references to characters I don't particularly like, but I thought it would be cute. Shame one of them is basically completely hidden.

I wanted to post a closeup of Maxie's butch lesbian father figure, Eugenia. She's a an older woman and functions as Maxie's own Maxie so to speak.

I just like Maxie's expression here.

I just like this blurry dog.

Steven

He doesn’t yell

But it’s that exactly that makes it worse

He refuses to yell, but he’ll be a sarcastic little shit

“Oh really? How lovely.”

“Oh my dearest apologies, my liege, I didn’t realize I had to agree with everything you had to say.”

Steven won’t back down, he’ll keep this energy until he’s done talking about it and then he’ll ignore you

He won’t ask how your day's been, he won't hug you, he won't even look at you

And it’ll drive you crazy

The only reason this started was because Steven missed a date and didn’t acknowledge that he would be late or wanted to cancel

He was working late for Donna again, but this time it just set off something in his head

Normally you wouldn’t be too upset about him missing a date, seeing as he’s got other people to take care of and he’s got a shitty boss, but when you asked him about the date, he blew up

“God, it was one date, why do you have to nag me about it?”

“Excuse me? I wasn’t trying to nag you, Steven, I just wanted to know what happened.”

“You’re not my bloody parent, you don’t need to know!”

“Take that back.”

“No.”

And now you're in your room and Steven's sleeping on the couch

That night will give him time to realize he was in the wrong and he'll feel super guilty

When he wakes up with a stiff back and sore neck, he'll think he deserves it

He'll wait until you come out to get up

And then he's following you around like a lost puppy

He won't say anything, but he'll look so sad and just be following you everywhere you go

It would be cute if you weren't upset with him

You'll have to be the one to start a conversation, but as soon as you say a single word to him, Steven's apologizing faster than you can process

"Love, I'm so so sorry. I was an absolute knob, I was so stressed and upset yesterday and I know that's not a reason to treat you so terribly, but it was such a bad day. I promise I'll make it up with 3, no, 5 dates! We can do whatever you want today and tomorrow and all week! Please forgive me, darling. I know I don't deserve it, but please just give me another chance."

He looks like he's about to burst into tears and kneel for you

(Which would be hot in a different setting)

Depending on how passionate you feel about this, it might take some time to forgive him, but he's there every second of the day

Or if you want him to leave you alone, he'll respect that

You'll find little notes of lovey poems around the flat and your favorite snacks littered around the living room

He honestly feels like a terrible partner so when you do decide to forgive him, just give him a kiss and hug him

He'll cry and apologize a bunch more so just pet his head and tell him it's ok

He'll genuinely sit you down and ask if there's something he can do to get his 'anger issues' under control

Poor baby doesn't have anger issues, he just has a shitty boss <3

Marc

He yells

He yells loud and painful things

He doesn’t care, he can’t bother to care

He’s angry and that’s all he feels

He can’t think past it, it’s like he sees red

He’ll shout until his throat is raw, but he’ll get as many insults and sarcastic comments he can before that happens

He knows what he’s doing is wrong, he knows the only reason you’re arguing is because of him

But he’s not backing down

He wants to hurt you and he does

And it makes everything worse for at least a week

Marc came home absolutely wreaked from a fight and refused your help, preferring to drink and just sit there

If you weren’t so upset at the fact he refused your help and instead wanted the help of alcohol, you’d yell at him about staining the couch with his blood

You’ll either have to deal with Marc breaking out into an argument after the initial one, or leave to stay somewhere else

If you come back the next day, Marc will still be upset

He won’t start yelling at you again, but he’ll ignore you

And it really just stops there

It’s the silent treatment for a week

He'll make dinner for you and all that, but he won't talk to you

He'll stare at you, wondering if you'll be the one to apologize

Or he'll be staring at you to see if you're watching him

You're not

He'll stay silent for an entire week, festering in his anger and guilt until it overflows

And when you come back home from work or being out late, he's waiting for you

And he looks like a kicked puppy

It was no surprise Marc had no idea how to apologize and admit/accept his feelings but at this moment, none of that mattered

His guilt and the feeling of missing you outweighed his discomfort of voicing his feelings

He'll start with an apology, saying how sorry he was and how terrible he felt

He didn't give any excuse or reason for his anger, he just apologized and stood there

He expects you to yell at him, leave him, insult him

Just gently take him in your arms and kiss his cheek

You don't even have to tell him anything, he'll promise to never yell at you like that again

"If I do, you can hit me as hard as you want."

Marc will say, though if you did actually hit him, he'd probably cry

He'll be so genuine with his words and.the nail in the coffin was the fact that he promised

Marc never makes promises, even if he knows he can fulfill them

But he swears up and down that he will never yell at you again

And he does everything in his power to reverse or heal the damage his words did to you

Even going out of his comfort zone

He loves you so much and he doesn't understand why you're still with him, but he thanks every God and Goddess that you are

Jake

He’s dangerously silent

He’ll stand there completely blanked face, eyes set in a slight glare as you argue about something that was definitely his fault

Maybe he missed a date and didn’t bother to let you know he wasn’t coming or wrote off your worry about a few injuries and called you ‘clingy’ and ‘overbearing’

Either way, he doesn’t respond to your anger, just standing there like he didn’t care

And it hurt

Once you were done explaining how you felt or what Jake did wrong, he’ll roll his eyes, pull out a cigarette and sit in the couch

He’ll play the baseball game he may have missed or just watch the news to really set in that something that boring was more interesting than your feelings

“Do you seriously find the news more important than our relationship?”

He won’t look at you

“I can’t believe this. If you care so fucking little, then why are you still here?”

“This is my house.”

“Then maybe I should go if it’s just your house.”

“You should.”

And you do

You go to a friends house, or a hotel, somewhere that you can rest for the night because you’re obviously not going to get anywhere with Jake and you can’t stand his attitude

The second you’re out of the room, Jake curses and throws the tv remote at the wall

He throws everything that he can without any worry of breaking something or getting a noise complaint

He'll throw bottles, plates, pillows, books

Once he's run out of steam, he'll shamefully clean up everything, throwing glass away and putting pillows back

That's give him the time he needs to realize 'oh shit, I fucked up'

He won't come out and admit it instantly, no

He'll fester in his guilt and figure out what exactly he should say

He'll even plan out when he should breathe during his apology

And when you get home, no matter when that is, Jake it waiting patiently with breakfast, lunch, or dinner

He'll give a nervous smile and walk up to you, giving you a hesitant kiss on your cheek before pulling you to the living room couch

Your plate of food is already made and somehow still warm despite Jake no knowing when you'd be back

He'll give an awkward apology, explaining how he's still not used to being something more than a protector for Marc and Steven, how he's still learning to let people in, how he loves you with all his heart despite being such a monster

He might start crying, but he'll try not to show you

He doesn't want to show vulnerability, but he knows it's important in a relationship

So he'll just ask very quietly if he can hug you

Is you say no, he'll nod in understanding as tears fall into his lap

He'll quietly mutter another apology and just sit there, unsure as to what to do

If you say yes, however, he'll gently wrap his arms around your waist and bury his head in your neck

He'll silently cry, muttering 'i love you' over and over again until you say it back

Just rub his back and kiss his head, tell him you forgive him or need time to forgive him and he'll understand either way