Chapter Text
His armour creaks with the weight of the grain on his back, the storeroom a mere few steps away. Just one more bag, he thinks, then the barmaid will let him be on his way. Honestly, he hadn’t meant to start that barfight —
He stumbles into the storage room of the café, too lost in his fantasy to remember the peeling trim in the doorway. The landlord, Mr. Tims, had yet to fix it. The no-good bastard.
He hears his boss’ heavy footsteps rounding the corner, no doubt coming to see what the ruckus is all about. Laios huffs the sack of flour onto the others and wipes the sweat off his lip before turning to face Senshi in the doorway.
“You okay there, Laios?” His speech is slightly muffled from the hairnet over his impressive beard, but Senshi’s eyes are clearly caring. Laios’ mouth waters as he catches a whiff of the fresh rolls on the tray he’s holding. “Yup! Just tripped over the flooring there,” he gestures haphazardly, distracted by the bread. “Has Tims mentioned when he’s coming to fix it?”
“Of course not, that no-good bastard,” Senshi huffs, and Laios can’t tell if the crinkles by his eyes are the result of a smile or a grimace. Regardless, he can’t help but grin as he follows Senshi down the hall towards the kitchen. He’s only been working here for a few months, but he has yet to find an employer, heck, anyone, he respects more than Senshi. After overcoming food-insecurity in his youth, he’d been determined to feed the students of the nearby Merini University and opened a late-night study cafe that quickly became an integral part of the academic ecosystem.
Even before he started studying nutrition, Laios had always been aware of the positive correlation between a good meal and pretty much all aspects of his physical being. He’d come by Senshi’s many times during his studies, delighting in the fresh (and surprisingly affordable!) home cooked fare. He’d sent in his resumé after seeing they were looking for extra hands, and he’d basically been a shoe-in for this job with how closely his views aligned with Senshi’s (plus, they’d bonded right away during the interview over a shared aversion to seafood). As for this job, though it can be strenuous and the hours are kind of weird, he’s thankful for the extra income and especially the bonuses he gets in the form of Senshi’s cooking. Laios sees him set aside one of the rolls as he preps the rest to be made into sandwiches— he must have noticed his wandering gaze in the store room.
This morning Laios is on dough duty, so he rolls his sleeves up to his elbows, scrubs up to his wrists in the sink, smugly ignores the pile of dishes in the other side (that’s Tade’s problem today) and then diligently pats himself down with the hand towel. As Senshi rolls the massive mixer over, he flours the work surface and then dumps the doughy heap onto the work table. It spreads out slowly, yeasty bubbles rising to the surface before popping lazily. Very slime-like, he thinks, before shaking his head at himself.
His daydreaming problem had recently been getting out of hand. Last week, Thistle announced he was passing on his title of Game Master to Laios following his thesis defence in the spring. Naturally, everyone in the party (or his friend group, rather) agreed that Laios was the right person to take up the mantle, with his unmatched enthusiasm and tendency to read monster manuals cover to cover in his spare time. Since then, it’s been nearly impossible to wrangle his brain into focusing on anything besides potential scenarios for their campaign.
At first he had been honoured that his friends had such faith in him, trusting him with the world they’d been exploring through the past year of school. Then the nerves set in. He wasn’t worried so much about planning battles and coming up with new quests, he kind of did that involuntarily. What was most concerning was that their original troupe was being halved within the next few months: Thistle was graduating, Shuro and Namari were leaving for exchange (he was still in the process of convincing himself that he wasn’t jealous) and Falin’s nursing rounds were starting soon, meaning she wouldn’t be able to attend sessions for a while.
At the very least, her good friend Marcille, an Urban Planning major, had become invested enough in their campaign to start attending sessions even when Falin couldn't make it. The pride he felt seeing her go from watching warily on the sidelines to drafting a map of the Dungeon (and abusing office supplies to print it full-size and in colour) was immense. But he would never tell her that to her face, unless he really felt like embarrassing her. He would never forget the look on her face after he complimented her Latin that one time she got really in character. Scary!
It was because their group had such a good thing going that he was so anxious to work all these life changes into the story. He was determined to give everyone’s characters a strong motive to return. If he did good enough, there’d be no reason for his friends not to come back once their schedules permitted them to do so…
At this point the dough he’d been furiously kneading had lost its tackiness, and so he began splitting it into even sections to be rolled out. He waited eagerly for Senshi to wander over so they could chat as they formed the buns, as had recently become routine. Laios enjoyed these conversations, and curiously found it easier to focus on the task as they talked about his coursework, meal planning or whatever bits of Senshi Wisdom his boss felt like sharing that day.
Despite how unusually comfortable he felt talking to him, Laios had yet to mention his weekly pastime to his boss, though frankly it occupied his mind far more than just once a week. Once he started talking about his experience with tabletop RPGs, it became really, really hard for him to shut up. He’d learnt the hard way that it was better for his train of thought to not even leave the station lest it go off the rails, with a couple of terrible first dates and exasperated parents as reminders.
Imagine his surprise then, when Senshi manages to start the conversation before he’s even asked him to pass the sesame seeds. “Say, Laios, you’re a nerdy guy. Have you heard of Dungeons and Dragons?”
Laios’ breath catches in his chest. Senshi is looking at him out of the corner of his eye, his hands still perfectly sectioning balls of dough by feel. This isn’t the first time he’s felt like his boss can read his mind, but this feels like some kind of test. He tries extra hard to read his expression, which is pretty challenging given that half of it is covered with food-safe mesh. After a slightly uncomfortable amount of time he gives up, infers based on previous experience that Senshi isn’t trying to trick him into embarrassing himself and answers honestly.
“Yes, I’ve been playing since I was in high school! Most people think it’s, well, a weird pastime, to put it mildly, but I can honestly say it’s changed my life, like helping me connect with other people and stuff. You know, it used to be just me and my sister that played, but I met a really great group that’s been meeting every week for the past year. We’re actually looking for more players— do you wanna join?”
Senshi’s looking at him all funny. Was that too much? Laios asks himself, thoughts starting to spiral. What if he just saw the term on Facebook and wanted to know what it meant? Wait, did Senshi even use Facebook, or scratch that, social media in general? He didn’t really seem the type, between his full-time gig and his vaguely off grid energy. But Senshi was pretty up to date with current events, and they frequently discussed them over yet-to-be-baked scones and quiches. Though, Laios reasoned, it was kind of hard to be ignorant with outspoken university students conversing 6 feet away at all hours of the day.
Anyways, regardless of Senshi’s intentions, he was sure he’d blown it. Why was it so hard for him to play it cool? He resigned himself to the inevitable brushing off he was about to receive, remaining optimistic that, at the very least, Senshi wasn’t the kind of person to make fun of other’s passions.
“Ha, I thought you might know a thing or two— and that’s not a bad thing!” Senshi is quick to respond and to correct himself, seeing Laios shrink in on himself minutely at the claim. “I actually used to play too, before I left culinary school.”
“Oh?” Laios says intelligently.
“I was thinking of trying it again, and thought you youngins might be able to help me out.” Laios follows Senshi’s gesture toward the mostly empty tables in the cafe. The early morning sun redirects off a sleeping student’s Apple watch right into his eyes. Blinding Flash! he thinks.
“I do love running this here café, but I think old guys like me need a hobby. Maybe I’ll sit in on your group next time,” Senshi muses.
Laios’ senses recover in time to hear that last part and instantly the wheels in his brain start turning. Their group is in desperate need of players, nevermind someone with previous experience or who is as likeable as Senshi. Laios shares these thoughts with him, and Senshi definitely smiles beneath the beard net. “Why don’t you run it by your pals then, and we can talk about it more later? Unless you want to tell me about the campaign you’ve got going on…?”
Laios’ eyes light up. Senshi doesn’t quite realise how big a can of worms he’s opened.
~~~
“Falin, you’ll never guess what Senshi and I talked about at work today,” Laios says in lieu of a greeting as he kicks off his sneakers in their shared entryway. His sister’s head peeks out from behind the couch, eyes bleary. He wouldn’t be surprised if she’d fallen asleep while working again. Pleased with his foresight, he strides over and hands her the thermos he filled with coffee before leaving the café this morning. One-third milk, the way he knows she likes.“Thank you,” she says sweetly as she takes it from him. “You sound pretty excited, so it must have been something interesting?”
“He asked me about The Dungeon!”
At the mention of their campaign, her expression brightens. She pats the cushion next to her and Laios plops down into his place in the well-worn cushions. He proceeds to recap their entire conversation, leaving the best part for last. Falin will surely be happy to hear he’s met another person that will listen to him wax on for hours, even if it means she’ll miss out on some of his tangents.
“He said he’d like to come to our next session, as long as it's alright with the group,” he finishes, pulling out his phone to draft up a message to their group chat.
she dungeon on my dragon till I _____
professionalLARPer: Hey would you guys be okay if my boss sits in on our session this week? He’s played before and is looking to pick it up again plus he’s really cool!!!!
madmage: Fine by me
low on mana: wait laios are u talking about senshi ??
professionalLARPer: Yeah!
low on mana: omg that’s so funny pls invite him
low on mana: wait
low on mana: namari you like older guys right?? 💖
big guns: Stfu marcille, laios is the only one of us who is gonna meet someone through D&D
professionalLARPer: Didn’t we all meet each other through D&D though? Besides me and falin
big guns: nevermind
big guns: I am good with senshi coming tho, just to be clear
Bound 2 Falin love: It would be really cool to have senshi join us !!!
shuro-chan: It’s alright with me as well.
professionalLARPer: Great!! Thanks everyone!
With everyone’s approval confirmed, Laios tosses his already battered phone on the coffee table and leans back into the couch. What an eventful day! And it’s only— he cranes his neck to check the clock on the stove— 9am! He’s got a couple hours before his first class, which is just enough time to start the homework he’d put off over the weekend, or to make a nice breakfast for him and his sister.
As per usual, his stomach makes up his mind for him.
~~~
The week passes unbearably slowly, as if the universe can sense that Laios is looking forward to Friday night more than usual. He attends his lectures, does a couple late-night shifts at the café, spends part of his spare time doing assignments and the rest thinking about The Dungeon. On his most productive day, he’d come up with a really promising storyline relating to his sister’s character. He had yet to discuss it with her, as she’d spent most nights that week at the library or at Marcille’s.
Finally, Friday evening rolls around. He and Falin hop on the short bus ride to Thistle’s apartment off campus, which has been their meeting place since the campaign’s inception.
The place isn’t small, but the majority of the floor and wall space is taken up by books belonging to his housemate, Yaad. Laois had been introduced to the other grad student during one of their early sessions and had taken a liking to him right away. He’d grown more fond over time, getting glimpses of what daily life looked like in their shared space: pairs of mugs on the table, reminders from Thistle to eat a proper meal, two coats at the doorway. Seeing the reserved and soft-spoken Yaad interact with Thistle, who was caring but fairly intense, endearingly reminded him of his relationship with his sister.
At some point he’d learned that their place had been in Yaad’s family for a long time, meaning the ancient looking tomes on their shelves were likely genuine articles. Over the past couple years, the well-worn antiques had been juxtaposed by Thistle’s additions, namely his impressive collection of life-sized LOTR cardboard cutouts in the kitchen, which hilariously freaked Marcille out the first time she visited. After that, Thistle started keeping them in his study on the second floor.
Speaking of Marcille, she’s the one who opens up the door for the Touden siblings not long after Falin has rung the bell, which Thistle has programmed to chime a melody he doesn’t recognize. She crushes Falin in an embrace before greeting Laios, red-faced, with a slightly less enthusiastic side hug. He trails behind the women as they make their way past the entryway, Marcille already chattering animatedly about the lack of biking infrastructure near a damn university and prodding Falin about her recent midterm. He’s glad that Falin has such a caring friend.
Entering the kitchen, he finds Shuro, Thistle and Namari nursing a tea, water and Coors Light respectively. “Laios,” Shuro greets him with a nod, before slipping past him to say hi to Falin. Namari and Thistle exchange a glance.
Across the room, Laois can see that the group has already done most of the setup. The mood lighting’s been set, someone’s got a bardcore mix playing and an array of snacks have been laid on the table. Next to them, the Dungeon map is unfurled and the 3D printed models of their characters stand lined up on its edge, like the miniature ragtag battalion they are. With his access to the university’s manufacturing equipment, Thistle had spent a few weeks modelling each one with input from the group members. The first time Laios had held his tiny PLA paladin, his son , he’d felt his heart swell with pride. He’d thanked Thistle, near tears, until he’d told him to get a grip.
Just being in this place, with this atmosphere and these people, instantly makes him feel at home. The thought that it’ll be ending soon makes dread unfurl inside him and he focuses on swallowing it down with the glass of water Namari hands him.
“When’s the boss showing up, Laios? Are you sure you told him it starts at 7 p.m. ?” Namari says after a moment, putting extra emphasis on the last two letters. She’s probably referencing the time he’d sent her halfway across town to pick Falin up from the airport, when her flight was coming in at noon and not midnight like he’d said. It’s not his fault 12 p.m. sounds like the middle of the night.
“How many times do I have to apologize, Namari?” He laughs sheepishly, pulling out his phone to show them the text he fired off to Senshi earlier that evening. “I’m so sorry I even started using the 24 hour clock. Even though it makes no sense ,” he says under his breath, evidently not quietly enough.
“What part of each hour having its own number makes no sense to you?”
Before Laios can explain how 22 o’clock is not a real time, Thistle taps him on the chest.
“You didn’t tell us he was bringing a friend,” he says, dark eyes meeting Laios’ over the screen. Apparently Senshi messaged during the ride over, when he’d been too distracted to hear the notification. He turns his phone back around to read the text.
Senshi: Thanks Laois. My plans changed a bit and I’ll have a friend with me, but he can hang out in the car if he isn’t welcome. Thought your group might not mind having another party member though!
Hmm. Well it’s definitely fine with Laios, the more the merrier in his opinion! But he knows that the others are less amenable to change, especially Marcille and Shuro, who are still touchy about the fact that they enjoy fantasy roleplay.
“I didn’t know,” Laios confesses. “Though Senshi seems to think he’d want to join in?”
There’s no time to dwell on it, nor to warn the others of the extra guest he’d just accidentally invited by proxy, since the doorbell rings.
“I’ll get it!” Laois calls as he speeds to the door, socks sliding on the hardwood. This will be Senshi’s introduction to this part of his life, and he is determined for it to go well. Though him bringing a friend did throw a lot of the scenarios he’d been imagining out the window, Laios can’t imagine that any of Senshi’s friends would be hard to get along with. If his boss does decide to join their party, maybe they’ll be able to talk about The Dungeon at work and Laios can bounce his ideas off him. Maybe Senshi will even bring some of his baking to future sessions!
“Hi there, Laois,” Senshi greets him once he opens the door. He’s wearing a nice button down, and his hair and beard are styled nicely now that he’s out of the kitchen. In his hands is a plate full of cookies— score! — and by his side is a slightly shorter, slightly scruffier middle-aged guy.
“I hope it’s okay that Chil here is joining me,” Senshi says, nudging the other with his elbow. “You know him better as Mr. Tims.”
“Hey,” Mr. Tims says, raising one hand from his pocket to shake with Laios. “I’ve heard alllll about you.”
Oh my god, Laios thinks. He had no idea that Senshi’s landlord was also a fan of D&D! Or that they were friendly enough to hang out, for that matter. Normally when Senshi brought up Mr. Tims in conversation it was to berate his property management skills, to which Laois would reply either by nodding or by joining in, not knowing what else to say. Had Senshi mentioned the no-good bastard thing? Is his hand sweating?
“Ha ha! Only good things I hope!” Laios laughs, though he’s dead serious. He doesn’t want to start off on the wrong foot around a future party member. Mr. Tims just smiles.
Once they’ve taken off their shoes, Laios leads them into the rest of the apartment, where everyone has taken their seats at the table. They look up with varying degrees of eagerness, ranging from Marcille’s friendly wave to Thistle’s impassive expression. “Everyone, meet my boss Senshi and uh— what should we call you?” He leans over to look at Mr. Tims.
“Chilchuck is fine.”
“—and Senshi’s friend Chilchuck. Who is also his property manager! They’ll be joining today just as observers, but with the hopes that they’ll join the party eventually. Please make them feel welcome,” he finishes, and Falin sends a thumbs up his way.
Senshi pats him on the shoulder. “Thanks Laios, and thank you lovely folks for letting us in on your fun. Chil and I used to be big on D&D back in the day, and we just happened to be out together when Laios messaged me about tonight.” He smiles at the group, then holds up the plate of cookies. “It seems like you’ve already got a good spread, but I’d hate to turn up empty handed…”
As the focus shifts to Senshi’s baking, everyone, including Thistle, perks up. His café hadn’t become a mainstay overnight for no reason, after all.
“You know, I was sceptical about Laios’ boss coming to watch us mess around, but if you’re gonna come bearing gifts you’re welcome any time. S’cuse me,” Namari says, reaching past Shuro to grab one. There’s a chorus of thank yous as the plate gets passed around. Sensing that Senshi had the situation under control, Laios took the opportunity to step away and fetch an extra chair for Chilchuck.
When he gets back, he finds Senshi sharing the story of his first foray into tabletop RPGs, which he heard earlier this week during one particularly enjoyable shift.
“—I hadn’t expected to like it so much either! But I’d always enjoyed fantasy books growing up, and I look kinda dwarvish, right, so it was fun to imagine myself like that,” he shares. It’s hard not to listen to Senshi talk, and Laios warms seeing his friends laugh and nod in agreement. He’d known this would be a good idea.
Chilchuck thanks him for the seat before hopping into the conversation with surprising ease. “Senshi does make a very good dwarf. Though there was this one time he played as an elf instead and he kept doing this ridiculous accent…”
It takes around 30 minutes for them to actually start playing, since Marcille prompts Senshi to talk about how he started the café. He tells a story that’s a bit longer than the one Laios knows, and includes the details on how he’d reconnected with Chilchuck after they’d lost touch in high school.
“Of course I’d known he owned the building, but we hadn’t talked much after I signed the papers. Until about a week into renovating, the place flooded like crazy when one of the pipes burst—at first I’d been afraid I'd, you know, clogged them, but turns out we were connected straight to the mainline and a burst of pressure caused them to blow. I called Chil, and we spent probably 4 hours sweeping water out the back door.” Senshi’s laughing, but Chilchuck groans at the memory, saying something about insurance through his teeth. “We went out to drown our sorrows after, ironically, and then it was pretty easy to slip back into being buddies. Though we haven’t returned to D&D yet,” he continues, leaning forward to take a look at their map.
“Laios gave me a, uh, rather thorough rundown of your campaign this week,” he adds, and Laios watches the others laugh at the statement. “But why don’t you all tell us about your characters?”
As if scripted, the seven people at the table turn to face him expectantly one by one.
“Shall I set a timer?” Thistle deadpans just as Laios opens his mouth to recite his character introduction. He knocks Thistle on the shoulder in response: he can be brief, thank you very much.
“Laios is a tall-man from a Northern town on the island. He’s similar height and build to me, he looks to be around 25 years old. When in the Dungeon, he wears an old chestplate, chainmail, and has a sword sheathed at his hip. He looks like a normal guy, but he’s always been curious about monsters and left home at a young age to go adventuring. He openly discusses his goal of learning more about the creatures that live in the Dungeon, but few besides his sister know how deep his interest really goes.”
“I see,” says Senshi, nodding thoughtfully. Laios smiles smugly at Thistle, who raises his hands in surrender. The group seems to silently agree to go around the table as Namari, on Laios’ left, goes next.
“Namari is a muscular, red-haired dwarf who’s around five feet tall, and she always has a well-cared-for battle axe on her back. Her father is a famous blacksmith in the village near the Dungeon, so she’s familiar with many kinds of weapons. She’s not particularly loyal or well-mannered, but she cares about her reputation.” Namari follows this by slamming her can on the table and burping loudly. Shuro’s eyebrows shoot up his forehead. Marcille almost spits out her drink, causing ripples of laughter around the table.
“Shuro is a tall-man noble from the East. He has long, dark hair that’s always tied back and he wears armour similar to that of a samurai. He’s well-trained in swordsmanship and diplomacy since he was raised to become head of his household, but that also made him a bit spoiled. As for his personality, Shuro can seem closed-off, however he actually feels things very passionately and he’ll defend the people important to him. He went abroad to learn more about the world before returning home to take up family duties.”
Falin’s mentioned to Laios that Shuro told her his character was heavily inspired by his childhood overseas. He’s been interested in getting to know the international student better ever since he started tagging along with his sister, but unfortunately he always seems to be busy whenever Laios asks to hang out.
Having gone around one side of the table, they skip over Senshi and Chilchuck to Falin.
“Falin is the tall-man younger sister of Laios. She’s taller than average, has short blonde hair and a somewhat sleepy expression. She was sent to magic school after a childhood incident awakened her ability to interact with supernatural spirits. Even though she was a naturally talented healer, she never had many friends at school and was quite lonely without her brother.” Falin pauses her narration to turn to her left. “That was until she met her upperclassman Marcille, who understood and accepted her!”
Marcille’s face is really pink , Laios thinks. He rubs his eyes, thinking it may just be the dim lighting in the room.
“Falin doesn’t care much for finding treasure or getting famous, she joined the party to spend time with the people she cares about most.”
“Seems like there was some real-life inspiration there, Falin,” Senshi says, watching with a soft expression. She nods enthusiastically, and Laios feels the ache of his smile in his cheeks. He loves his sister so much.
Marcille, clearly flustered, is last to go, and she takes a deep breath before speaking at twice her normal speed: “Marcille is a petite elf with blue robes, long blonde hair and a wooden staff. She looks rather unassuming, but she’s a powerful magic prodigy, like Falin, studying arcane magic. That’s mainly why she’s adventuring in the Dungeon. Oh, and her father passed away when she was young, which caused her mom to throw herself into her work on the elf council. So Marcille is pretty headstrong and independent.”
She’s a little out of breath at the end. Laios feels a bit bad, since he ended up springing an extra guest on her which probably made her nervous. Sensing it too, Falin gives her hand a squeeze under the table and Marcille relaxes slightly.
With everyone’s introductions completed, Thistle collects everyone’s figurines and moves them to the Dungeon’s third floor, where they left off last time. He’d been waiting patiently for the gameplay to start, and he dramatically opens the thick leather bound journal that holds his pre-planned notes for the session. Laios’ heartbeat jumps in anticipation.
“Having successfully navigated the twisting passages of the third floor, the party stopped to rest at the top of the stairs leading, presumably, down to the next level,” Thistle begins narrating. “From the stairway in front of you wafts the scent of something fishy. And that’s literally, not metaphorically. Behind you, you hear the footsteps of what sounds like another party...”
It’s easy for Laios to sink into the shoes of his character, to comfortably tease Marcille, discuss plans (rather one-sidedly) with Shuro and banter with Namari. As the one most familiar with the game, he tends to take charge in most scenarios, but he’s been making a conscious effort to let others lead too. After Falin suggests they talk to the group of NPCs behind them, they end up sidetracked with the task of rescuing their mage from a territorial golem. After a long bout of combat that concludes with everyone covered in dirt and grime, the grateful mage offers to teach Marcille a water-walking spell they can use to circumnavigate the flooded fourth floor.
“I think that’s a good place to leave off this week,” says Thistle, emptying the last of his water bottle and shutting his book with finality. For a moment, the party seems to forget about their two observers as Marcille asks excitedly about the new type of magic she’s acquired. It isn’t until Chilchuck yawns loudly that they’re prompted to check-in with their guests.
“So, what did you think?” Asks Namari. “Pretty similar to how it was back then?”
“It was great,” Senshi starts. “Your group dynamic is real fun. And Marcille, you’re a stellar actress! Have you thought of voice acting?”
“Oh! No, I haven’t,” she flushes. About halfway through the session she’d seemingly overcome her embarrassment and had flung spells around with her usual enthusiasm. “Thank you,” she adds.
“And yeah, it’s not too different from how it was ‘back then’,” Chilchuck butts in. He’s got his arms crossed over his chest. “We aren’t that old, are we?” He asks, looking at Senshi.
“I don’t know, but watching Namari down a six-pack like water made me feel like I might be.”
Namari grins proudly as the rest of the table laughs. “Don’t you worry, that was a compliment. I like people with a healthy appetite,” Senshi reaffirms with a thumbs-up.
The twenty-somethings escort their guests out not long after, Chilchuck’s yawns growing as frequent as his witty remarks. He and Senshi thank them for the invite and express interest in visiting again, much to the delight of the group.
“You know, that went a lot better than I was expecting,” Namari comments as they start to tear down their set up. Shuro nods in silent agreement as he collects the figurines.
“It’s thanks to you all,” Laios says to the group. “It was important to me that that went well, since I like Senshi so much. Even though someone you weren’t expecting showed up, you all just went with it and made it a really good time. I’m really thankful for that!”
“Of course, Laios,” Marcille straightens from where she’s rolling up the Dungeon map. “I didn’t think you of all people would invite someone that would ruin the vibe. I was just nervous at the start cause that Chilchuck guy reminded me of my dad.” She smacks him on the head with the rolled up paper.
“That’s true! They both had very fatherly energy,” Falin adds. “Do they have kids?”
“I don’t know,” Laios answers. “I just met Chilchuck tonight. Senshi normally badmouths him at work, actually, so I was kinda confused to see that they’re friends.”
“Oh, so they aren’t together like that?”
Laios stares at his sister for a second as he processes the question. He genuinely hadn’t considered that. Senshi had mentioned that they’d been out together when he texted, but he hadn’t given it any thought. “Dunno,” he replies, thumbing his chin. “Do you think they might be?”
“I’m not speculating the sexuality of anyone over forty,” Thistle says tiredly.
“Is that your cut-off, Thistle?” Namari cocks her eyebrows at him obnoxiously. “Why limit yourself?”
“HA, I knew you were into older guys!” Marcille interjects. She points dramatically at Namari across the table.
“Yeah, but they have to be into women, dumbass,” she replies dryly, smacking Marcille’s hand away.
The blonde laughs. “Touché.”
Laios isn’t quite sure how they got to this point, discussing a hypothetical romance between his boss and his landlord. At the very least, the first meeting seems to have gone well for both parties and it’s a huge weight off his shoulders. He just hopes he’d been able to convey how sincerely grateful he is that his friends were so accommodating.
Once everything’s been packed up and they’ve said their see-you-laters, he and Falin head out into the night towards the bus stop. Normally this is when his brain reminds him that things will be changing soon, leaving a sour taste in his mouth. This time though, as he walks in step with his sister, he feels hopeful for the new leaf their friend group might be turning over. Only the lingering sweet of cookies is on his tongue.
she dungeon on my dragon till I _____
low on mana: i actually love senshi can we keep him
big guns: I’m still thinking about those cookies
madmage: I can see why you like working with him so much, Laois
madmage: @big guns Yaad was glad to partake in the leftovers
Bound 2 Falin love: Senshi is like the dad I never had!
low on mana: falin omg
low on mana: real though
big guns: HAHA
shuro-chan: Falin…
professionalLARPer: The Touden’s are officially claiming him