Secret Santa for Pollen Girl~ Part 1/2

[LeapYearKisses]

Hey, Pollen Girl!  I'm your secret Santa this year!  So sorry about the delay. ;__;  I got sick myself and it killed my motivation to do anything but lie around and sleep.  But thankfully, I am better now, and EVEN BETTER, I CAN POST YOUR GIFT!  Hope you enjoy it!  I have a little more left to write (omg sorry) so Part 2 will probably be up this weekend, but I hope you like the beginning!

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Raindrops raced one another down the window, meeting and falling apart like long-distance lovers.  Beyond, in the dusky streets, smudged figures swaddled in wool rushed about from store to store.  Umbrellas sprouted in doorways and bowed out at the cab stands.  The decorated trees in the square swayed drunkenly in the storm wind, lights twinkling and struggling to bring a hint of cheer to the sodden evening.

“Do you think this is going to be on the test?”

“What?”  Lucas dragged his gaze away from the darkening outdoors and back to the warmly-lit interior of the public library.  Across the table from him, Ben, his study partner, was staring down at his thick neurochemistry textbook.  It was already bristling with neon-colored page markers and bookmarks, and Ben was chewing idly on the end of a pink hi-liter.

“Like, how much of the zebrafish regen stuff do you think Fowler is going to ask us about?  Do I need to know the names of all the scientists, or just the general gist?”  Ben lifted his head and blew a stray strand of his black hair from his face.

“Um…”  Lucas looked down at his own notes and materials, spread over a solid square meter.  It was hard to distinguish in his cramped handwriting where one topic started and another ended.  “Wait, aren’t you doing your own research with zebrafish?  You should know that stuff like the back of your hand.”

“I just figured I would study other stuff since I would remember…”  Ben sighed.  “This is a nightmare.”

“I’m sure it’ll work out.”  At least, Lucas hoped it would.  He had two other exams and a thesis review this week.  He and Ben had been studying in the library for six hours already and he could feel any progress he’d made slipping from his head due to boredom.  He pinched the bridge of his nose.  One would think that with four years at a prestigious college and another two of grad school already under his belt that he would be used to this by now.  Somehow it still always felt as though he was blindsided by the workload at the end of every semester.

“God, I hope so,” said Ben.  He spent another minute squinting down at his book, then heaved it shut.  “What-the-fuck-ever.  I’m done for now.  If I don’t eat I’m going to expire before the test anyway.  You wanna go to Axel’s?  I think a few of the others are gonna be there.”  He pulled his phone out of his pocket and started scrolling through Facebook as he packed up.

“Sure, why not?”  Lucas started stacking his own notes and sliding them back into his bag.  The greasy pub food at Axel’s Bar didn’t really sound appealing to him, but he had nowhere else to be.  If he went back to his apartment, dinner would probably be a bowl of dry cheerios while he revised the second chapter of his thesis again.

---

The walk was wet.  Lucas pulled his hood down low over his face and hunched against the wind.  Even layering a coat over his hoodie, he was shivering.  He hated winter, but at this point, he would even take snow.  At least then he wouldn’t have to worry about the puddles.  Just ahead of him, Ben pulled open the door to the pub and held it for him.  Both of them crowded eagerly into the tiny square of foyer beside the hostess stand.  A heater set in the ceiling blasted down delicious salvation.  Lucas turned his face to it, letting the warmth wash over him.

He regretted it almost immediately; the dry air triggered a sharp prickle in his nose.  He tucked his chin and sniffed, trying to quell it, but his breath had already hitched.  The sneeze rushed up- and he pinched it off, insistently closing off his twitching nostrils.  His ears felt funny for a moment afterward, but luckily he hadn’t made much noise…

Ben didn’t notice the drama.  He had leaned an elbow on the hostess stand and was making eyes at the girl behind it.  “We’re meeting some friends,” he said.  “Want to join us?

She smiled at him but firmly shook her head.  “I’m on the clock.” She took out a few extra menus for them.  “You’re with the other JSU students, right?  They’re over here.”

Maybe they spent too much time at Axel’s.

Everyone was crowded into the usual corner table, seven students crammed into a space meant for five.  Ben stole a chair from another table but Eun-hee beckoned Lucas to jam into the booth beside her.  After stripping off his coat, Lucas followed suit.  It was loud and hot at the table, all of his classmates talking over themselves in a flurry of desperate, finals-week socialization.  Lucas leaned his head on his hand, elbow on the table, and opted to listen.  It was dinnertime but he was feeling ready for bed.  Too much studying.

And he had been planning on doing some more reading that night, but he was exhausted by the time he got back to his apartment around 10.  He let the door close behind him and then stood on the mat, dripping and shivering.  His head felt thick and he sniffled.

“You’re back late,” came a voice from the kitchen.  Tobias, his roommate, poked his head out of the doorway.  As usual, he had a smudge of pastel on his forehead.  The yellow looked nice against his dark skin.  Lucas crushed that thought before it could go any further, swallowing.

“Yeah, we got a little rambunctious at the pub, I guess.”

Tobias laughed, a wonderful sound.  “”Rambunctious?”  So you got a refill on your Sprite?”  He came out into the main room with a bowl of oatmeal and flopped on the couch to eat it.

Lucas smiled despite himself.  “You know me.  I’m just crazy when I get started.”

“Absolutely.”  Tobias grinned.  “Anyway, get in here.  You’re getting the floor all wet.”  He beckoned Lucas to the couch.

“Oh, right.”  Lucas shed his coat and hoodie, surprised by the shiver that ran through him.  He kicked his shoes off into the corner to deal with later.  His brown hair was damp and he felt it clinging around his forehead and ears.  “It’s terrible out there.  Pouring buckets.”  He took a seat beside Tobias and slouched down, closing his eyes.

Tobias nodded.  “Yeah, it’s been drowning out the radio.  I hope it stops by tomorrow, though, since I have to deliver my portfolio.”  Pastels and rain didn’t mix.  Neither did rain and oil paint, or charcoal.  “Maybe I can send photos to my prof…”

“Yeah, you should look into that.”  Lucas wrapped his arms around himself and sniffed.  The prickling was back.  He wrinkled his nose, but that just caused his nostrils to flare.  “Hh- He wouldn’t make you carry thhhem through a downpour, wh- would he?”  He lifted a hand to sharply pinch the bridge of his nose.  Stop.

Tobias frowned at him.  “No, I don’t think so.  He’s kind of a dramatic asshole, but he’s not mean…  You okay?”  His deep green eyes were filled with concern.

Lucas blushed and shrugged.  “Y-yeah, I’m fine.  It’s just hh dry in hh-h-here.”  He tucked his chin again and pressed his hand over his nose.  Shit, the sneeze was coming whether he wanted it to or not.  “Hhhtmp! Haa…”  He did his best to stifle it, but he couldn’t quite stop the second one.  It forced its way out through his fingers, leaving his palm a little bit damp.  “Hngtxshiu!”

“Bless you.”  Tobias passed him a tissue from the box on the side table.  Tobias bought all the tissues for their apartment.  Lucas always felt weird and embarrassed about the cashier knowing that someday, sometime, he may have to blow his nose.  He accepted it now only because it would be ten times weirder not to.  He dabbed his nose, then shoved the tissue into his pocket.

“Thanks.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“I’m going to take a shower.”  Lucas rose hastily.  “And then probably turn in.  I’ll be dreaming about chemistry as-is.”  Tobias was still looking at him with that soft, worried look and he just knew he was going to say something stupid if he remained in the living room.  He and Tobias had been strangers when they moved in together two years ago:  just a pair of new kids on the block with no knowledge of the city and no money either.  Now, they were the best of friends despite their widely different degrees, and every day was a struggle for Lucas to keep it at that.

“Oh, right.  Goodnight, then.”  Tobias put aside his oatmeal.  “Will it bother you if I play Dragon Age for a bit?  I’ll keep the volume low.”  The controller was already unrolled and resting on their Ikea coffee table; clearly this had been his evening plan since before Lucas had come home.

“Not at all.  I can hardly hear it in my bedroom when the door’s shut anyway.”  Lucas gave him a reassuring smile and headed toward the bathroom.  “Just tell me if anything important happens, since I’m going to miss it.”

“I’m mostly doing side-quests, but I will.”  Tobias fired up the PS4.  “Sleep well.”

Raising a hand in thanks, Lucas went into their small bathroom to shower.  It was freezing as he stripped down and waited for the water to heat up.  He huddled beside the radiator until he could step into the steaming water.  It never got quite hot enough, but he rushed through his washing up today, finding it even colder than usual.  He wondered if Tobias had showered already and used the hot water, but his roommate’s shower was hanging dry beside his when he stepped out.

In his bedroom, he was grateful to throw on his sleeping sweats and a long-sleeved JSU T-shirt, then clamber into bed.  The bedside table was cluttered with empty glasses, aspirin and Benadryl, bookmarks, and pens… and a tissue box.  Tobias must have put it there.

Feeling his face heat, Lucas busied himself setting his alarm for the neurochem test, then buried himself in his blankets.  Sleep came quickly.

[Nas]

@LeapYearKisses 

 

AAAA!  Thank you so much!  I love it, and it's so well-written. Also, sorry about the username change xD.  Your writing style is really compelling, and I'm already really enjoying your characters.  <3

On 1/5/2018 at 5:42 PM, LeapYearKisses said:

He regretted it almost immediately; the dry air triggered a sharp prickle in his nose.  He tucked his chin and sniffed, trying to quell it, but his breath had already hitched.  The sneeze rushed up- and he pinched it off, insistently closing off his twitching nostrils.  His ears felt funny for a moment afterward, but luckily he hadn’t made much noise…

That is...so....omg.  <3333 . I like how you described that!  I also love that he's wearing a hoodie x)

 

On 1/5/2018 at 5:42 PM, LeapYearKisses said:

“Yeah, you should look into that.”  Lucas wrapped his arms around himself and sniffed.  The prickling was back.  He wrinkled his nose, but that just caused his nostrils to flare.  “Hh- He wouldn’t make you carry thhhem through a downpour, wh- would he?”  He lifted a hand to sharply pinch the bridge of his nose.  Stop.

Tobias frowned at him.  “No, I don’t think so.  He’s kind of a dramatic asshole, but he’s not mean…  You okay?”  His deep green eyes were filled with concern.

Lucas blushed and shrugged.  “Y-yeah, I’m fine.  It’s just hh dry in hh-h-here.”  He tucked his chin again and pressed his hand over his nose.  Shit, the sneeze was coming whether he wanted it to or not.  “Hhhtmp! Haa…”  He did his best to stifle it, but he couldn’t quite stop the second one.  It forced its way out through his fingers, leaving his palm a little bit damp.  “Hngtxshiu!”

HNNG  Lucas and Tobias are so endearing, I can't.  I love that Tobias is concerned, and that Lucas is shy about being sick.  

 

I love how you characterized these guys, and how you introduced Tobias as an art student before even outright saying it.  I'm kind of a mess trying to express my gratitude.

 

On 1/5/2018 at 5:42 PM, LeapYearKisses said:

“Will it bother you if I play Dragon Age for a bit?  I’ll keep the volume low.”  The controller was already unrolled and resting on their Ikea coffee table; clearly this had been his evening plan since before Lucas had come home.

Yay gamer boi!

 

On 1/5/2018 at 5:42 PM, LeapYearKisses said:

The bedside table was cluttered with empty glasses, aspirin and Benadryl, bookmarks, and pens… and a tissue box.  Tobias must have put it there.

  YOOO!  That's adorable.  

 

Again, thank you so much!  I also can't wait to see where you take this story from here!  It's so sweet.

[Alex Hemmings]

that's adorable 

[Loverofreading]

Please continue this! I love this!

[Nerdyanimeblur]

aww I know its been a while but please continue this.