Chapter Text
“Can I use my spell to heal Legatus?” Millie asks Reza for the third time, groaning when the latter of which shakes his head no. Her character Lucie was a witch, damn it, it shouldn’t matter that she her rolls always end up being shit when it comes to spells.
Fulgur just laughs at her, spewing on about some stats that she frankly wished not to hear about, thank you very much. When she lets out a loud ‘Shut the fuck up, Fuu-chan!’ the librarian at her desk away from them gives her a dirty look that promptly shuts her up and sets Fulgur off on his wheezing laughs.
It was their tradition to meet up with their friends for DND at the library. Reza started campaigns for a while before then and Millie had dragged Fulgur in months ago to join. To her delight, he enjoyed it a lot. Despite the labors of university, the group found solace in their little games.
Reza usually elected himself to be the dungeon master, and invited his friends from his classes to join their library sessions. If not DND, then FFXIV co-op discord calls were frequent, with Taka, Hyona, Nara, Amicia, and many of Reza’s other friends joining in eagerly.
This time, Millie wanted to invite someone else to their game, to make their not-so-little crew of fantasy nerds even bigger. And said someone was apparently taking the time of her life to get here, to the point where they started the campaign without her.
Damn it, Enna Alouette! Where are you, bitch!
Enna was Millie’s longtime best friend, everyone knew that. Their love for singing, games, and any other part of ‘nerd’ culture had made them grow close when they were kids, and kept them practically glued to the hip. Except when it came to game nights.
Don’t tell Enna this, but it was a known fact that she often couldn’t stand the hyperactivity and energy of a group game session. Naturally, she opted out of the first few invitations that Millie threw at her, swiftly dodging past Millie’s pleas.
After Millie met Fulgur, she finally found someone she could drag around without being called numerous expletives (well, at some point). And thus, the weekly games remained a Fulliebroken, as Fulgur would call it, tradition. But after getting to know Fulgur through Millie, Enna decided that maybe DND wasn’t so bad after all, and gave in to Millie’s begs.
If it went to plan, Enna would take a bus to the library after her 4:00 P.M. shift at Cafe Violatte and join their conquest.
Millie spared another longing glance at her phone. No word from Enna.
She turns to face Reza again, offering an alternative to save the dying Legatus as they venture the fantasy cave that the dungeon master speaks of. Before she gets the chance, the large wooden doors swing open, the jingle of the entrance bells chiming loudly against the ambience of the store.
The open door brings sounds of heavy rainfall, which is only further proven as a very drenched Enna barges in, clasping her backpack in front of her as someone holds the door for her. Enna makes a beeline to their table after spotting them, before putting her hands on her knees and heaving breaths.
“Enna! You made it!” Millie starts, turning in her seat at the table and taking in the state of the poor girl. Those at the table wave their hellos, having met Enna once or twice before.
“Missed .. the bus.. and forgot my umbrella,” she wheezes as she catches her breath. Reza and the others laugh a little while Enna continues to pant as she drops her backpack by the table. Millie stands up to help Enna dry off, offering to take her drenched sweater to put to dry.
“I told her to use my umbrella and walk, but she just ran off.”
Millie looks up to the person who just spoke, the person with the most velvety, soft voice she’s ever heard.
Right behind Enna stands a boy with purple locks and mismatched eyes with perhaps the prettiest face she’s ever seen from a guy. His dark purple sweater and black jeans only stand to make him look more stylish. Wait, is that eyeshadow?
Enna doesn’t seem to take much noice to Millie’s wide-eyed stare at the mystery man, electing to argue with him about how the library was close enough to run to.
“Uh, who are you? Enna’s boyfriend?” Millie finally manages, turning both his and Enna’s attention back onto the blonde girl.
Maybe it was a little blunt, but it was all that popped into Millie’s head. Enna cackles out a laugh while Uki seems to be hiding his short temper behind a weak smile.
“No, thank you. I’m Uki Violeta, Enna and I are coworkers.” He explains with an emphasis. Enna nods in agreement as she goes to sit in the empty seat next to Millie.
“Yeah, Uki won’t stop clinging to me so I brought him to the DND night. He said he wanted to see what’s up,” Enna summarizes with a shrug, “C’mon, bitch, sit down,” she orders with a couple slaps of the empty wooden chair beside her.
Throughout the exchange, Reza, Zea, Layla, and Fulgur had watched in mild silence but quickly sprung back to life when the boy hesitantly took a seat.
“I’m Millie!” Millie practically shouted, introducing herself excitedly. The others at the table made their rounds of introduction, explaining that they attended a college nearby. After a few minutes, it was Fulgur’s turn.
But Fulgur, who typically chose to stay quiet or make a rushed intro did so instead with honeyed warmth, his tone setting into a smooth baritone. It seemed to catch Uki’s eye, Millie noticed, as he perked up a little and smiled back at the silver-haired student.
Fulgur? Not being a dick to strangers? No way.
It was a joke, of course, Fulgur was undeniably one of the sweetest people Millie’s ever met, but he’d never been this open from the start. Even Enna seemed a little discomforted by his little shift in attitude, but the rest took little notice as they explained their game to the boy with purple hair.
Time slowly passed and the campaign continued, with Uki opting to watch from the sidelines as Enna tried to awkwardly join the party with Millie’s whispered instructions.
If Millie didn’t know any better, she would say that Fulgur was playing casually, but the red tips of his ears when Uki laughed at his character’s exaggerated accent or his banter with Enna gave him away instantly. The blonde keeps her observations to herself, mentally deciding to give Enna a detailed report on all this once they go home. For the meantime, she sips on the latte that Layla graciously brought from the campus library’s care for her with hidden amusement.
“Oh, it’s getting kinda late,” Zea announces when she pulls out her phone. The others check the time as well before agreeing, deciding to adjourn the campaign for the night. Uki, who looked genuinely enraptured by the story, seems to deflate a little, but goes to help Enna pack up their things.
“This was fun,” Reza smiles as they open the door of the library, “See you all next Friday?”
The group echo their agreement before they say their goodbyes. Layla and Reza follow Zea to the bus, waving back to the EN students who linger under the overhang of the library entrance to be safe under the heavy rainfall.
“So, are you guys taking the bus to campus?” Fulgur asks after they watch the rain settle just a bit more. Uki’s already opened his purple, starry umbrella, holding it out in the rain. Millie pulls out her greet cat-themed one, letting Enna step in and raising it higher to let Fulgur in as well.
“Yeah,” Enna sighs, “I’d rather not walk in the rain again.” She turns to Uki, who’s been looking at Fulgur hesitantly throughout the exchange. “You live on campus too, right?”
Uki shakes his head no, “I have an apartment right next to it, near the sociology buildings.” Millie’s eyes sparkle at his answer, pulling at Fulgur’s arm.
“That’s near Fuu-chan’s dorm! We can all take the bus together, then! Enna and I can just get off at the later stop, like we usually do,” she proposes, earning a thumbs up from her friends.
Fulgur makes a move to step into the cramped shelter of Millie’s umbrella, but Uki stops him with a tap on the sweater-clad metal shoulder.
“You can share with me. We’re heading the same way, anyway.” He says, and Fulgur almost instantly agrees, stepping into the umbrella’s shade. Maybe it’s the fact that Millie’s arm isn’t straining to compensate for her unfairly tall friend’s height anymore, but she feels a sense of satisfaction in the way Fulgur seems to fluster at the sudden proximity.
The walk to the bus stop is quiet, Enna and Millie trail behind the boys, doing more observing than catching up. The group barely makes it to the 2434 bus in time, and hurriedly scan their transport cards after closing their stupidly complicated umbrellas.
Enna and Millie rush to the back of the bus and sit down with a satisfied sigh as their friends glare unamusedly from where they stand. With the roars of the rain now turned to quiet bus-ambience, Millie turns to Enna to make some quiet conversation.
Meanwhile Fulgur, who grips onto one of the overhead handles of the bus, faces Uki, whose manicured fingers are wrapped around the adjacent handle.
Conversation isn’t his strong suit, but it looks like Uki’s just as nervous.
“You go to EN Uni’? I’ve never seen you around,” the literature major throws out in an attempt to get to know Uki.
Their conversation can barely be heard by Millie’s ears as she strains to listen. Enna lets out a displeased sigh.
“Babu, what are you doing—“
The bus halts with a sudden stop, lifting the pair off their seats for just a second as the driver hits the brakes. The sudden stop lets out a half-second of commotion, commuters scrambling to stay steady.
After things settle within another few seconds, Millie turns back to face where she had her attention on for the past few minutes and lets out a near-silent gasp.
The ever-so-reserved, stoic Fulgur Ovid stood instead with a panicked expression, holding a frazzled Uki Violeta into his chest with one arm, and grasping desperately to the bus handle with the other. Uki’s arms are hugging the older student’s torso in an attempt to ground himself, fingers clutching Fulgur’s pale red cardigan. Their faces glow a vibrant red as they begin to take in their position, essentially holding each other on the bus. Daring to look down, Fulgur meets Uki’s unfairly pretty eyes, which widen once both of them come to their senses. A sudden realization pops into both of their heads.
Oh, shit. He’s cute.