monochrome's Original Ficlets

[monochrome]

So, I have these OCs that are more than a year old and I've never written anything about them. Now that I've finally started, I definitely got carried away.

This is... a standalone drabble and then a series of drabbles that are all connected. They are all about Vance and Daniel, who are roommates (and they were roommates) who live in a universe where the majority of people handle magic of some sort.

I have more planned if inspiration strikes, orrrrr I may continue my history of never finishing anything I've started. ^^;

 

 

1. Unsubtle

“Stop discretely trying to feel my forehead,” Vance says, shifting so he’s out of reach. In turn, Daniel raises an eyebrow at him.

“You have a point. I don’t need to check if you have a fever, it’s pretty obvious.”

Vance has been looking pale for two days now. Hunched over his desk, the shadows on his face only look darker, sharpened under the harsh desk-lamp light. Paired with the unhealthy flush on his cheeks, it’s rather concerning.

“I'm gonna grab dinner. You want me to bring anything for you?”

“No. I'm not in the mood.”

“Seriously, pick something or I'll pick for you.”

“You want cockroaches? This is how you get cockroaches—hhAH’GsXHtt!” He raises an elbow snappishly to his face. The sneeze—though muffled—sounds like it’s done no help at all, and Daniel sighs.

“It’s not my fault that you’re not feeling well enough to go downstairs. I'll see if I can find more tissues too,” he says, and heads for the door,  but not before he catches Vance sending him a withering glare.

 

 

2. Envious 

Vance is only in the library by necessity. He’s stopping by to check out some books for a research paper when he sees them.

Daniel’s sitting at the back of the room with some girl. For a partner project, or something—or maybe they’re dating, for the way Daniel says something and the girl pauses to laugh, her shoulders shaking with it.

She has blond hair and green eyes and long eyelashes, struck gold under the library lights. Vance stares. She’s rather attractive—or, he thinks, she must be, to anyone who likes girls. 

“Just these three?” The librarian asks, and he jolts out of it.

“Yeah.” He leans against the counter as she scans the books. Why does it matter who Daniel is seeing? He shouldn’t care. He doesn’t care.

—x—

“Who were you sitting with at the library?” Vance asks, later, going for nonchalant.

“That’s Chloe. She’s great. We’re working together in psych,” Daniel says. “Why?”

“Nothing. I just thought she looked familiar, is all. I didn’t know her name.”—lying through his teeth. Vance has never bothered to learn people’s names unless he’s had to work with them. He’s always seen it as a waste of time.

He wonders if Daniel knows this. It’s been a month since he’d moved in, and their flat isn’t exactly large enough that they can get by without speaking to one another. Of course, that isn’t to say that they know each other.

“You’re—”

“I gotta go. I have dance practice, they need me at the studio,” Vance interrupts, and bolts before Daniel can finish his sentence.

—x—

Waking up early is another abnormality, but he jolts up a few nights later, groggy and disoriented. He blinks through the darkness, squints down at his watch. The sun’s not even up yet.

On the other side of the room, Daniel’s coughing. It’s clear that he’s trying to be quiet—the coughs sound like he’s muffling them into his hand. Dimly, Vance registers that Daniel's laptop’s still on.

“You okay?” He asks. He watches Daniel’s silhouette stiffen minutely in the dark.

“Yeah. S-Sorry for waking you.”

He sounds so uncharacteristically uncertain. “Did you sleep at all?”

“No. I'm trying to get something done. I'll—hIh’gxt! HhH’NGxt! —I'll be more quiet. Sorry.” His voice is starting to sound rough at the edges, but Vance can’t figure out if it’s just because it’s so early in the morning.

“Okay.” Vance rolls over onto his side. He feels unsettled, like he should be raising more of a fight about this. He wants to say, ‘you should get more sleep if you’re coming down with something.’

But he’s tired, and he doesn’t know if a suggestion like that would be faced with animosity. He doesn’t want to fight right now. He rolls over and takes the easiest option there is, which is to go back to sleep.

 

 

3. Priorities (continuation of Envious)

Daniel doesn’t look any better in the morning. “Did you get the project done?” Vance asks, slinging on a jacket.

Daniel blinks at him. He’s got dark circles under his eyes and he’s hunched over himself, like he’s too cold, somehow, despite being dressed in a hoodie. “No. It’s—kind of a long term thing.”

“Can’t you put it off?”

“The presentation’s—heH’NGxtt!—coming up next week. I just—” He sighs, rubbing his eyes. He really looks exhausted. “—have to get it done before then.”

“What, you didn't start work on it earlier?”

“I did. It’s just—my partner’s sick, so she can’t help, and I—she’s worked a ton on this, so I gotta get the rest of it done.”

“Okay,” Vance says. He grabs his backpack with one hand. “Are you sure you’re not coming down with the same thing?”

“I just have a cold. She had a fever and everything, poor thing. Seriously, we were in the library the other day and —” He stops to cough into his wrist. “She almost fell asleep there. She was shaking and everything, I felt so bad for her. I sent her home and I promised her I'd get it done, so I can’t—can’t tell her to work on it again, after that, if she’s—” He trails off, looking dazed, a hand hovering in front of his face. “HHEh’IZCHHh! hHih’ZGchh!”

“Just... take it easy,” Vance tells him. He resolves to pick up some cough drops after class, but if Daniel wants to doom himself to getting worse, that’s his prerogative.

—x—

“HHIh’NGxt! snf. HIhh’NGsh! hHh… hhEH’NGZChh!” 

Compared to yesterday, Daniel only looks worse. He’s trying to be discreet, but every time he swallows, his expression contorts, his eyebrows furrowing. Vance thinks he probably has a headache, too, but he can’t be sure.

Vance, having stopped by the studio just this morning, knows suddenly why Chloe had looked familiar. She frequents the same dance studio he goes to, though they haven’t run into each other often. He also knows, now, that Chloe had left early a few days ago and not shown up for the rest of the week. The manager had told him that she'd gone home with the flu, which means that that’s probably what Daniel has, considering that they’ve been practically inseparable ever since they started this project.

“HIIih'IZChH!” Daniel coughs harshly into one hand, and Vance winces. It’s rattling and deep and it sounds like it hurts. 

“You sound like shit,” He says, ever a man of tact.

Daniel shrugs a shoulder. “It’s fine. I'll sleep it off.”

“After you pull three more all nighters?”

“It’s a long project, okay?”

Vance sighs. “I know you have a great work ethic and all, but seriously. This isn’t going to help. You should get some rest, or something.”

“Or something.” Daniel makes no move to get up.

“I'm actually being serious.”

Daniel shakes his head. He shivers. “I'm not gonna just—I can’t sleep when I still have—” He starts, only to turn away, his shoulders shaking as he coughs harshly into his fist.

“You’re not going to be able to give the presentation if you’re sick.”

“The least I could do is get this ready for Chloe, she’s worked so hard—”

“And you haven’t?”

He doesn’t mean for it to come out as loudly as it does, like an accusation. Daniel’s shoulders slump.

“I mean, I guess not, considering that—hhIh'NGzchh! the project isn’t done yet.”

“Jesus, you’ve already lost sleep over it, I'm sure you’ve worked enough.”

“So what do I do? Just leave it? I promised I would take care of it for her.”

“Yeah, but you set those terms when you weren’t sick—not this sick, at least—look, just call her, I'm sure she’ll understand.”

“I can’t! Don’t you get it? I have to get this done. I already said I could.”

“Yeah, but you’re clearly not feeling well. You—you’re up all night, and I can’t even sleep because of it—”

“So I'll be quieter,” Daniel says, blinking down at his lap. He looks like he’s suddenly on the verge of tears. “Is that what this is all about? I'll—I'll cast a silencing spell, look, it’s fine, I'm sorry I kept you up—”

“That’s not what—that’s not what I'm trying to say at all.” Spells take energy, and Daniel’s getting it all wrong, this isn’t about Vance, “Please just get some proper fucking rest—”

The words hang in the air, and that’s when Vance knows he’s fucked up. The room singes with it. He’s made it a Command without even trying to. Daniel’s eyes glaze over. He blinks, slowly, and then slumps against his desk, his whole body going limp.

Vance freezes in his tracks. Shit. He hadn’t meant to get this emotional. This never happens—he’s usually good at controlling it. Hell, he’s learned to control it just fine. This shouldn’t have happened. This shouldn’t—

He doesn’t even realize he’s shaking until he pulls out his phone. It’s been so long since he’s slipped up. After all, he’s spent years learning how to avoid this. It’s the first thing that he’d been taught, naturally—that he had the potential to be dangerous, and unless he kept his shit together he’d just keep ruining things, just like he always has.

He calls the studio manager.

 

 

4. Communication (continuation of Priorities)

“Chloe Peterson speaking, what’s up?”

“Hey. The manager gave me your number. This is Vance. Uh, Daniel’s roommate.”

“Did something happen?”

“He’s sick,” Vance says, hoping he doesn't sound as panicked as he feels. “Like, he’s been working on this project for three nights in a row and it’s—I think he’s just getting worse. He’s asleep right now, but—uh, how are you feeling? I told him he should ask the professor to postpone it if both of you are unfit to present—”

“I'm pretty much fine now,” she assures him. “I'll give the presentation he doesn’t have to worry about it anymore, he’s done plenty—hhIIh’TCchu! ugh, excuse me. I'm much better than I sound, I promise. I really hope he’s not getting the same thing that I had.”

“You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just the sniffles. I'm feeling a lot better now. Seriously, tell him he’s a godsend. And tell him not to worry about it, ‘kay? By the way, you’re the one who always uses the third practice room down, right? Your choreo for Heartbreaker was amazing.”

“Thanks,” he says, caught off guard by that. He hadn’t considered that she’d know who he was. “I'll—I'll tell him. Bye, Chloe.”

She’s sweet. Of course Daniel would get along with her. He’s sweet, too, in the most infuriating, charismatic kind of way. And he’s also probably never going to trust Vance ever again.

—x—

“Vance?”

Vance practically bolts out of his seat. “You’re up! Daniel, I'm so sorry, I didn’t mean to spell you like that. It was so shitty of me, I didn’t know it was going to happen, I thought I had it under control—it’s… it’s completely understandable if you want to apply for a new roommate now. I get it, I—”

“Hey, calm down,” Daniel says. He sits up in bed, the blanket sliding off his shoulders, and reaches blindly for his glasses. “What day is it?”

“Friday. I already told Chloe you were sick. She said to thank you for all your hard work, and that she’s feeling well enough to present. Seriously—"

"hhEH'IZChh!"

"—I'm so sorry. I'll—you can talk to a rooming advisor. Or I can do it, if you want.”

Daniel blinks at him, looking bewildered. “Vance, it’s okay. You were stressed out, and I wasn’t helping."

“It’s not okay if I can’t keep my fucking powers under control—”

“Vance.” He says it so forcefully that Vance looks up, on instinct. “I'm not mad. Also, I guess I really needed to sleep for like—eighteen hours? I'm feeling a lot better now,” he says, and then coughs into the crook of his elbow. “If anything, I should be apologizing to you. I mean, I've known you for a month and this hasn’t ever happened before, so you must’ve been really upset. That’s why Commands form, right? Strong emotions? Sorry I caused that, I shouldn't have pushed it.”

“So you don’t, like—” Vance gesticulates wildly. “—hate me, or anything? Because it’s okay if you do.”

“I don’t hate you,” Daniel confirms, and smiles. It really shouldn’t be as comforting as it is.

Edited July 31, 2019 by monochrome

[facet]

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Edited October 31, 2019 by facet
Removed by user.

[MaiMai]

Oh man, I love these! Fictional universes where magic is a commonplace part of life are honestly my favourite. I'm really intrigued to find out more about Vance and Daniel's world! I immediately loved these from the first part, with Vance calling Daniel out for trying to feel his forehead.

Thank you for sharing these! ❤️

Edited July 30, 2019 by MaiMai

[starpollen]

On 7/31/2019 at 4:56 AM, MaiMai said:

Oh man, I love these! Fictional universes where magic is a commonplace part of life are honestly my favourite. I'm really intrigued to find out more about Vance and Daniel's world! I immediately loved these from the first part, with Vance calling Daniel out for trying to feel his forehead.

Thank you for sharing these! ❤️

Same.

[castiel_angel]

On 7/29/2019 at 11:22 PM, monochrome said:

You have a point. I don’t need to check if you have a fever, it’s pretty obvious.

This part made me laugh 😛

On 7/29/2019 at 11:22 PM, monochrome said:

Vance is only in the library by necessity

Why does this remind me of me?

 

On 7/29/2019 at 11:22 PM, monochrome said:

No. I'm trying to get something done. I'll—hIh’gxt! HhH’NGxt! —I'll be more quiet. Sorry.” His voice is starting to sound rough at the edges, but Vance can’t figure out if it’s just because it’s so early in the morning

This part was so soft and sweet 🥺

On 7/29/2019 at 11:22 PM, monochrome said:

You’re not going to be able to give the presentation if you’re sick.”

“The least I could do is get this ready for Chloe, she’s worked so hard—”

 

Look at Daniel downplaying his sickness for the sake of someone else—so many feels 😫

I’m such a big fan of this plot idea (I’m kind of obsessed with the magical universe)

 

This is so amazing!! I hope you continue as I’d love to see more 💗

[monochrome]

@facet @MaiMai @starpollen @castiel_angel  Thank you guys so much for the comments!!  ❤️ I've tended to be pretty self conscious about posting writing, so reading your thoughts makes me really happy ☺️(I keep coming back to reread these comments for inspiration, no joke)

Anyways, I have really not planned out this universe at all, but I'm having fun introducing things as I go! Thanks for being patient and receptive to all the magical concepts ^^

New installment, ft. Daniel has lots of good friends but he is really bad at accepting help from them, also ft. two of these installments were written one month apart and it shows (consistent characterization? Idk her)

 

 

5. Hypocrite

“Holy shit. You’re just as bad as me,” Daniel exclaims. Vance, who’s hunched over his desk, paging through a textbook, bristles at that.

“Shut up,” He snaps. He looks even worse than he’d looked before. Daniel shuts the door behind him and takes another step forward. From here, Vance is—shivering, even through his hoodie. Jesus. Okay.

“I can’t believe you,” Daniel says, flicking the desk lamp off before he snaps the textbook shut. “You’re such a fucking hypocrite, you know? What happened to—you know, not overworking yourself when you’re sick?”

“I'm not— hHih’GXshTt! overworking myself. I have an exam coming up and it’s important.”

“Yeah, and you won’t do well if you pass out in the middle of it. Just ask to reschedule. Seriously, I think you have the flu. Caitlin was there on Tuesday and she said you looked like shit—”

Vance frowns at that, crossing his arms over his chest. “Tell Caitlin thanks for that.”

“—my point is, no one’s gonna be surprised if you call in sick.”

“Are you back here for a reason, or are you just trying to get on my nerves?”

“I brought tea,” Daniel says, levitating a cup that’s steaming. Vance takes it. Daniel doesn’t miss the way his fingers tremble, even though it’s slight. “Look, I know you feel like shit, so just—the sooner you get some rest—”

“I slept last night.”

“Sure, for like four hours. The sooner you get some proper rest, the sooner you can actually concentrate on studying, you know?”

Vance ducks his head and sniffles. Daniel regards him for a moment. “Don’t make me put a locking spell on your textbook so it stays closed.”

“Pretty sure that’s— hHah’dDdxsht! against the school’s rules. I could report you.”

“Yeah, good luck with that. I'm pretty sure they’d send you to the infirmary.” 

“Fuck you.”

“Yeah, anytime.”

 

 

6. Pretender

“hHeh’IZCHhh!”

“Bless you,” Cynthia says.

“Thanks,” Daniel says, his shoulders slumping. He’s talking more quietly than usual, his consonants subtly softened by the congestion. “Sorry, I—hehh… hhEH’IZChh! I think I'm coming down with something.”

“Sounds like it,” she tells him. “I know we arranged to meet up to go over Chem, but are you sure you’re up for it?”

“Totally. Sorry again, I feel like I catch everything that goes around. You know how it is,” he says. Right now he’s sitting with a scarf wound tight around his neck, even though they’re inside. He’s shivering, too, now that she’s paying attention.

“You know, the glamor you’ve got on is gonna drain your energy faster,” she tells him.

He blinks at her, a little blearily. “Yeah? It’s okay, I’ll take a nap later to make up for it.” And that’s just like him, she decides—to get everything done before he lets himself rest. She knows he’s popular. She knows, also, that it’s in part because he’s always putting other people first, even when he shouldn’t have to.

—x—

“So I was definitely going to miss the bus.”

“Shit, that’s rough, buddy,” Josh says.

“I know. But then, it turns out this other guy was also—hhH’nGxtt!—also running late—a total fucking stranger, by the way!—and instead of, you know, arranging for different transportation? He just pulled out a goddamn broom.”

“Holy shit,” Chloe says, emphatically. Currently, she, Daniel, Cynthia, and Josh are crowded around the same lunch table. “That’s so twentieth century.”

“I know, right? Anyway, he offered me a ride. Obviously, I was skeptical, but you know. I wasn’t going to miss out on the opportunity of a decade,” Daniel’s gesturing with one hand, mid-story, when he stops, narrowly ducking his head into his shoulder—

“hiIH’NGXsh! hah… hAHH’NGZCHh!” 

He doesn’t go on, after that—just sits there, sniffling, not even bothering to fix his glasses from where they’ve gone crooked.

“I'm assuming it was a nice flight?” Cynthia says, sliding the box of napkins across the table so that it rests in front of him.

Daniel blinks, smiling warmly at her, and doesn't take the hint. “It was awesome. And the dude was super attractive, so that’s a plus—ugh, sorry—” He twists away, coughing harshly into his fist.

“Man, you are so lucky,” Josh remarks. “And also super gullible, I swear! I mean, who says yes to something like that?”

“Hey, who wouldn’t say yes to that?”

“I'm just glad he didn’t kidnap you, or something.” Josh says, elbowing him lightly in the side. “By the way, you sound kinda rough. Are you good?”

Daniel looks genuinely surprised at the line of questioning. “What? Of course I'm good.” He clears his throat, swallowing past a subtle wince. “You know me, I'm always good.” 

“You sure?” Chloe prods. She presses the back of her hand to his forehead. He feels—mostly normal, actually, which puzzles her, until Josh informs her, “You won’t be able to feel for a fever over the glamor.”

Suddenly it makes sense. Of course. She almost laughs—he’s trying so hard to hide it. It’s so in character and so decisively foolish. “Daniel,” she starts, “I get that you being attractive is landing you favors, like broom rides with hot guys, but seriously. You don’t have to keep it up all of the time.”

“That’s not—” Daniel stammers, his face going red. “I'm not trying to—”

“I assure you, we’re not all friends with you just because you’re attractive,” Cynthia says, trying not to smirk.

“Speak for yourself,” Josh jokes. “But seriously, you should get some rest, you look like you’re gonna pass out if we leave you alone for like, one minute.”

“I'm fine. Just looking presentable, that’s all. I swear it’s just a cold,” Daniel assures them, but he really does look tired. “I still gotta go… to—hiIH’dSXCHh! to Chem this afternoon, and then I have a photography club meeting after that.”

“You know Prof. Mina records her lectures, right? Just watch them later,” Cynthia says. She brushes his jacket lightly with her hand, just so it starts to glow—a simple heating spell, Chloe realizes, disguised as a tap on the shoulder. Clever. “No one’s gonna fault you for taking a day off.”

“I was gonna help them manage our catalog today, too,” Daniel says, sounding unconvinced.

Chloe unclips her raincoat and drapes it over his shoulders. “Just do it next week. I assure you the world’s not going to end if you’re—”

“hhAH’ngKTch! sorry—”

“—not around to be helpful for one day. Let down your glamor for a sec?”

Daniel sighs, finally relenting, and waves a hand over his face. He’s paler than usual—still attractive, though the dark circles under his eyes are more prominent, and his cheeks are weirdly flushed. Cynthia is the first to feel his forehead, after that.

“Dude,” she hisses, “You totally have a fever.”

“I'm fine—”

“I'll walk him back,” Chloe offers, already rising to her feet. “I don’t have class till two.”

“Okay, you guys want to take some orange juice back or something?” Cynthia says, at the same time as Josh says, “Don’t even think about coming out until you’re actually feeling well again.”

Chloe bites back a smile when Daniel blushes fiercely, turning off to the side as he blows his nose quietly into a napkin. “You guys are so skilled at making a big deal out of nothing,” he says, but he lets Chloe walk him out of the dining hall, anyways.

 

 

7. Flowers (or Lack Thereof)

He doesn’t even realize Vance isn’t feeling well until Tuesday.

Vance has tea, which isn’t common for him, but Daniel had chalked it up to the weather—-it’s been getting suddenly cold, raining on and off. “Are you done with that?” Daniel asks, stopping by his desk. “I can take it downstairs, if you’d want.”

“No, I'm good.”

“Okay. You seem busy.”

“Well, no shit. I have midterms coming up. And a performance.”

“Dance?”

“Yeah. It’s on Friday.” at that, Daniel perks up. He hasn’t had the chance to see Vance perform, but he knows—from Chloe, and from John in his psychology class—that he’s apparently really good at it.

“Is it public? I want to watch. It’s not too late to get tickets, is it?"

“It's public. And nah,” Vance says. His eyebrows are furrowed, his expression pulling tight into something like a grimace as he clears his throat. “Uh, it’s not a very formal recital, so you can just show up, if you want.”

“Cool. I’ll see you there, then?” Daniel says. He’s heading downstairs anyways to grab a bite to eat. Vance stiffens, and for a second Daniel thinks he’s made him uncomfortable, but then he lifts an arm to his face and—

“hhaH’DxSH!”

—muffles a sneeze into the crook of his arm. It sounds oddly congested and not very relieving. Daniel blinks, pausing at the doorway. He watches Vance’s shoulders slump, his posture betraying his exhaustion all at once, now that he thinks no one’s watching. That’s when it dawns on him, like a revelation.

—x—

Vance is, as it turns out, really good. He lives up to all of the praise.

He moves quickly-almost snappish, though it’s not sudden so much as it is intentional—and that’s it. The whole choreography brims with intention. He dances as if it’s effortless, but he puts his whole body into it, the lines of his figure immaculate under the stage lights, and Daniel thinks-

Something about it is oddly charming.

“Shit,” he whispers to Chloe, who’s watching beside him. “I didn’t realize he was this good.”

She hums in agreement, warm against his side. “Right? Told you. He’s like a god.”

It’s only when Vance stops, just before the lights go out, and lifts his chin up—just a little, to smile, smugly, into the audience, that Daniel feels something in his chest stutter.

“I should’ve brought flowers,” he says, a little sheepish. “Shit, I thought he said this wasn’t a formal performance.”

“It isn’t. That’s just what years of practice does for you, I think,” she says, “But he works really hard for everything. I don’t really know how he manages his time with his schoolwork. I mean, he’s in the studio like twice as often as the rest of us, and this stuff isn’t even related to his major.”

“I feel like I'm roommates with a prodigy,” Daniel says, and Chloe laughs.

—x—

When the concert venue starts clearing out, Daniel heads backstage. He’s not sure if he’ll find Vance there, but he does.

“Hey!” he calls. Vance looks up, instinctively. “I knew you were good at dance, but geez. You never told me you were like, a fucking professional.”

“Thanks,” Vance says, a little startled. He’s wearing a coat that makes sense, considering that it’s raining outside, but when he gets closer Daniel notices that he’s shivering, too. 

“You know I'm going to be at every single one of your future performances, and it’s your fault,” Daniel jokes, slinging an arm around his shoulder he doesn’t comment when Vance leans into his touch. He seems exhausted. “Seriously, how long have you been dancing?”

“Twelve years, or so. I—” Vance pulls away, suddenly, veering sharply to the side. “HhaH’GZcht! hh... HiH’DZCshtt!” He doesn’t finish the sentence, after—just blinks, sniffling into the back of his hand.

“Ah, here.” Daniel fishes out a travel packet of tissues that’s conveniently in one of his raincoat pockets. He hadn’t thought to bring it, but he must have put it there a few years back—usually he’s the one falling ill as soon as the weather changes.  “I have no idea how you pulled it off so well, even though you have a cold—”

Vance flushes, looking embarrassed. “Was it that obvious?”

“Not when you were onstage, but we share a room, if you haven’t noticed,” Daniel says. In response, Vance smiles, ducking away to cough into the crook of his arm.

“I asked a friend to cast a glamor spell on me. I’m sure it’s—it’s wearing— hAAH’GxSHt! —wearing off by now.” 

“No kidding. I was feeling bad for not bringing you flowers, but now I'm feeling bad for not bringing you tea, or something.” There’s an umbrella hanging off of Daniel’s arm. He spells it open, pulling Vance a little closer to him as they step out into the rain. 

Edited September 18, 2019 by monochrome

[sprinkles287]

Mmmm I love these! Thank you for sharing

[starpollen]

Soooo cuuuute!! 🥰 I can’t wait for more!

[MaiMai]

Aaaahhhh I love these characters so much!  Again, I really love the way magic is incorporated into your universe (and I especially loved Daniel's anecdote about the guy with the broom, and Chloe's comment about it being "twentieth century" ) God these ficlets are just. So perfect and so my thing, I ❤️ you for writing them :')))

Also, I completely feel you on being self-conscious about writing, especially when it comes to posting stuff. But your writing really flows so well and has a really great sense of character and atmosphere, so please don't worry too much!

[castiel_angel]

I love this with all of my heart 🥺💗

[queenie]

These are darling. There’s a lot is shy tenderness here. 

[monochrome]

sprinkles287 - Thank you for reading! I'm glad you like them! ☺️

starpollen - Thank you! That's so sweet of you! ;w;

MaiMai - You are so sweet I'm speechless omg!! Thank you, your comments make my day! I'm so happy you like their world  💖 I haven't really worldbuilt before so I'm honestly just making things up as I go, but it's really fun for me to write in random details. Also thank you for the reassurances on writing style! It's tricky for me to not be nervous posting stuff, so I really appreciate your words :') 

☆ Saffron ☆ - This cracked me up, I love that face (🥺) To reply to your first comment, I'm obsessed w magical universes too!! They're so fun to imagine (...you can probably tell that I've never done any proper planning :'D but still). I really love the trope of downplaying illness, it's such a classic (and selfless characters are really cute 😔). TYSM for quoting so many parts, it makes me really happy 😭💕

Queenie - Haha, thank you! That's such a cool way to put it 🥰

-

Here's another short story. It's sort of plotless and my writing is definitely rusty (after months of disuse 🧐), but it was fun to be writing again! 

I'm sort of out of ideas. (I have... a 4k word confession fic WIP written for these two which I started way back in July, but it's not done, and I feel like it's wayyy too early for me to be writing/posting something like that.) I really like writing for this universe, though :'D. It's fun for me as a break from serious writing. If there's anything you guys want to read, feel free to let me know! 

 

 

 

8. Early

It starts with a headache and the sort of heavy, shivery feeling that suggests this isn’t a one-day thing. From there the cold settles—sore throat, congestion, sneezes that come with little warning—sudden and wrenching—and leave him exhausted. 

Vance barely wakes up in time for linear algebra. He grabs an extra jacket, even though it’s supposed to be spring already, and heads out. The April air is still cold; he still shivers in the wake of it. The wind makes his nose run, and he remembers too late that he doesn’t have any tissues on him.

Daniel has been especially absent lately. It’s like they’re always gone at different times—Daniel has classes and extracurriculars until after Vance leaves for dance practice in the studio. When Vance gets back, Daniel’s out for dinner and then, more often than not, gone for another few hours to meet up with his friends for late-night study sessions. Vance has slept early ever since the illness had started settling in, which means Daniel’s come back to a dark room, and Vance is always gone right after sunrise for his 8ams, which means—

They haven’t talked for days. It shouldn’t feel novel, and it doesn’t really, except Vance wonders if he should shoot Daniel a text to warn him about this. He’s sure Daniel can set up some sort of barrier just for this week, or cast a spell to filter the air, or something.

He heads into the math building, now. The air conditioning is usually comfortably cold—Joanna from set theory had joked it was to keep them all awake—but today it feels frigid, the sort of cold that actually makes him shiver when he steps inside. Class is on the third floor, but the elevator’s on the other side of the hallway, so he heads up the stairs, stopping with a hand on the railing so he doesn’t stumble through—

“hHh’DZchh!” 

He wipes his nose on the back of his wrist, cringing, and heads up the stairs faster.

—x—

It seems like the professor only just stops talking to write something down when Vance feels the prickle in his nose re-emerge. Great. He crams his arm to his face, hoping that it will muffle the sound—

“hh!.. HhH’NGSh! hhIHh’GXCHh!” 

—It doesn’t, really. The girl next to him whispers a ‘bless you.’ He smiles at her and breaks eye contact as fast as he can, in favor of coughing quietly into a raised fist.

The classroom is cold, too. He realizes too late that he should’ve sat further away from the vents—not that he’s especially close now, but the cold air is making him shiver. He’s certain it’s only been a few minutes when his breath hitches again—

“hhH’NGXtt!—” Stifling probably gets a pass in a lecture hall as big as this, but it’s not doing much in terms of relief, and it’s starting to turn his headache into something fucking monstrous. “hHh… hiiH’NGXt!” That sneeze manages to accomplish nothing, except now his nose is running again, and his head feels heavy and everything’s weirdly bright, like he’s actually—

Feverish. Shit. Come to think of it, he’d felt dizzy last night, chalked it up to not enough sleep. Maybe he’s better off ditching class today and reading the textbook on his own time. Or maybe—

Someone’s tapping him on the shoulder. He looks over—it’s the girl on his right, holding out a travel pack of tissues. 

He takes it, careful not to touch her hand, and scribbles a cursory “thanks” onto the edge of his notebook. She smiles, dimples showing with the smile, and nods. He writes, “do you think you could cast a silencing spell?”

She stares at it for a second, her eyebrows furrowing, and then pencils in a question mark underneath his own.

“I don’t want to be disruptive,” he writes, just as his breath hitches sharply.

“I’m sure you’re fine,” she writes. He turns aside, eyes fluttering shut, breath wavering—

“hhH’DZXChh!” Fuck. “Please,” he writes.

She looks conflicted, but she casts one anyways, with the delicate flick of her wrist. He can feel the spell settle around him, electrifying, just in time for his head to snap forward—

“hhEH’GXSCHh! heh.. HEh’IZCHhh! hh! hHih’DZXChh!” The sneezes echo—though only faintly—under the invisible arc of the silencing spell. Sniffling, Vance tries to copy down the last few lines of equations. He’ll make sense of them later.

He’s fully congested, now, and he’s sure it would show in his voice if he speaks, like insult to injury. He can already feel his breath waver again, snagging on an inhale. “hhIH’DZCHHh!”

He muffles the sneeze into the tissue, then blows his nose into it, newly grateful that no one can hear him right now. “hH… Damn it… hEHh’IZSCHhh!” even the sneezes are only temporarily relieving. He sniffles again, crosses his arms to try to retain the heat his jacket is supposed to be providing.

His head is swimming. Maybe all the late-night practices and the fluctuating spring weather are starting to catch up with him. It’s fine, he tells himself, or, it will be fine—he’ll take something for the headache when he gets back and sleep this off. 

It’s the longest two hours he’s sat through in awhile. When lecture ends he stows his notebook away, thanks the girl next to him profusely as she undoes the spell (“No, it’s fine, you’re sick, it’s no trouble,” she says to that), and heads out, all plans of sitting through his 11am voided. If his headache was bad before, standing up has made it worse.

When he gets to the base of the stairs, he finds that it’s raining outside.

The jacket isn’t a raincoat—it isn’t waterproof, but he pulls up his hood anyways. When had the sky gotten dark so fast? if he had normal powers, he’d cast some sort of rain shield or maybe a heating spell, but now—regrettably—he has no option but to sprint.

And so he does. He’s fully soaked when he gets back to the dorm. The rain’s slicked back his hair and soaked through the jacket, and his nose is running and his head feels like it’s going to split. He shoots the studio manager a text to say he’s not coming in and stands in the bathroom, shivering, his jacket left on the countertop as he rummages through the cabinets. All he has to do is find some Advil or Tylenol, then he can lie there for half an hour waiting for the pills to kick in, and then he can sleep this off. A single wrong breath sends the twinge in his nose back into an itch— “hheh.. HEHH’DZCHhh!” He grabs the countertop to steady himself, knuckles gone white with the pressure and the cold. “hEhh’GZCHhh! hHEh… hIHH… HEH’IZCHHh!!” He shivers, after, water-droplets collecting in pinpricks at the edges of his hair, and keeps looking.

There’s nothing. No pain reducers or fever reducers or antihistamines, not even a thermometer. It’s nothing he can’t handle—or it shouldn’t be, except he’s spent two hours thinking about the relief he’d feel when the headache dwindles, and now that he can’t have that it’s just one more thing to make him feel worse.

He shouldn’t bother Daniel about it.

But Daniel had told him it wasn't a big deal, hadn’t he? Vance pulls out his phone again as he flicks off the light and stumbles out of the bathroom. He changes into some dry clothes and towels his hair dry, though it’s still damp after that, and still cold. He types, ‘i think i caught something bad’ and then deletes that to type ‘so i'm not feeling great’ and deletes that too.

Instead, he sets his phone face down onto the nightstand and crawls into bed. It’s nothing sleep can’t fix, he tells himself.

 

 

 

9. Good Deeds and Bad Decisions (continuation of Early)

He’s restless—whatever sleep he gets doesn’t last. He gets up just before dinner, still achy and still feverish, and puts on a jacket which is definitely not meant to be worn indoors. It’s bad enough to be behind—material gets covered brutally fast, and he normally doesn’t have much extra time to study on top of dance.

That’s where Daniel finds him an hour later—he’s halfway through a chapter of his linear algebra textbook, nursing a cup of tea he’d procured from the kitchen downstairs.

“Vance,” Daniel says, grinning. “Did you check your phone?”

“Not within the past six hours, why?”

“There’s a scavenger hunt going on, and Chloe and Josh and Cynthia and Josh’s roommate and I are playing, and—you gotta join us, dude! It's like, the biggest club-run event all year. The grand prize is cash and also this trophy which is such a flex, but I was gonna ask you last week and we’re never here at the same time—”

Vance blinks at him. “Right now?”

“Yeah! It's starting in ten.”

“And you’re still here?”

“I came back to ask you to come with.”

“Uh,” Vance starts. He knows the right answer here is to say I'm busy, sorry, and leave it at that—after all, it’s not a lie, and he’s already caught something without the help of a cold, rainy late night excursion. But Daniel looks so happy, and he’d come back here just to ask Vance to come with him, and Vance—for some illogical, stupid reason—can’t bear to be the one to disappoint him.

“I guess I can go,” he relents. “I mean, it’s Friday night.”

It’s almost worth it for the way Daniel brightens. “Great! Get your stuff, Chloe will have my head if I get there late.” 

Vance nods—tells himself he should be allowed at least a few bad decisions in life—and follows him out.

—x—

“It’s one of the gyms,” Josh says. Vance is quickly learning that he’s scary-fast at figuring out the riddles. 

“It has to be Bellfield gym,” Vance says, after clearing his throat as inconspicuously as possible. “The riddle says it’s somewhere high up. Bellfield’s the only one with rafters.”

“Shit, you’re right,” Josh tells him. “That’s smart.”

“Hold up,” Chloe says, “Aren’t the rafters only accessible by broom?”

“Yeah.” 

“And none of us have brooms.”

Vance ducks over his shoulder to stifle a sneeze into near-silence.

“There should be some in the storage closets on the first floor,” Josh’s roommate, Eric, chimes in. “I’m sure they don’t expect us to have brought brooms. But we should get there before someone else takes them.”

“Should we should split up?” Josh says, “Five bucks says there’s something hidden south of campus or north of campus, past the science buildings. Maybe we can station people. Then once Cynthia gets this next clue, we won’t have to lose any time walking.”

Cynthia says, “Me?”

“You’re the only one who knows how to fly,” Chloe clarifies.

Josh grins. “I didn’t know that, I just said Cynthia because she seems like she’d be the most unlikely to, like, break a bone.”

Cynthia smiles sheepishly. “I don’t know. I learned like six years ago.” Vance is learning that Cynthia’s talented in obscure things, like flying a broom or crafting violins or fixing broken radios. Then again, she comes from half a family of vampires, and vampires live for a really long time. Maybe she picked all of it up within two decades of family reunions.

“You’re basically an expert,” Eric—who Vance thinks smiles almost as much as Daniel—says to Cynthia. “You got this! I'll go with you, my super-old-fashioned great-great aunt always makes us fly to her place.”

“Okay, I'll go with Josh north,” Chloe says. “Vance, are you and Daniel cool with going south?”

“Of course,” Vance says, and clears his throat again.

“Don’t break any bones!” Daniel says to Cynthia and Eric. 

It’s raining, still—they’re all under umbrellas without handles which Cynthia had spelled to stay floating above their heads. “So, campus south,” Daniel says. 

Vance nods, suppressing a shiver. Lightning flashes; thunder follows soon after; the rain around them falls harder. Vance shoves his hands into his pockets to keep them from shaking. “Your friends are cool.”

Daniel grins, elbows him lightly. “Our friends! I'm surprised you’re remembering their names.” 

“Well, I knew Chloe, and I have a potions lab with Eric,” Vance says. “So it wasn’t too h—hh’DZCHh! hard... HhH—”

“Bless you—”

“hehH’GZCHhh! hEHH’DZCHhh! Ugh, sorry.”

Daniel looks over, his eyebrows knit together in concern. “You’ve been doing that a lot, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. It’s just allergies,” Vance lies. Then, before Daniel can think about that long enough to see through it, he says, “how did you guys meet?”

“Chlo’ and I met in class. Cynthia actually bumped into me during first week.”

“She bumped into you?”

“Okay, fine, I bumped into her.” Daniel laughs. “I was lost, and I wasn’t looking where I was going, but she was so—nice about it, you know? Then when club fair rolled around she was managing this photography club and so I signed up—”

Vance sniffles, and cuts in, “Just because she was ndice to you?”

“Yeah, just because she was nice to me. It was a good decision, though. Josh is from Florida too, we met during a reception because he was trying to spell his orange juice into alcohol.” 

“hehH’iZCHh! Did he get it to work?” 

“Bless you. No, he almost set it on fire.” 

Vance muffles a laugh into his hand. “That’s unfortunate.”

“Yeah. I was trying to help him figure out why it wasn’t working.”

Vance shrugs. “The evedt arrangers probably cast something to—hHEH’DZSCHhH! to keep the food from being tampered with.” It’s windy, now, which means the umbrellas aren’t doing a great job at shielding them from the rain. His head is still pounding—the south side of campus is ten minutes away, and it’s already taking all of his focus just to stay upright.

“I can’t say I blame them,” Daniel says. “Hey, do you want to walk through the main building?”

Vance frowns at him. “Isn’t it faster to get there from outside?”

“Yeah, but it’s cold outside,” Daniel says.

Vance shrugs, rubbing his nose. Truthfully, he thinks the heat will be a welcome change, and it is—as soon as they step inside, it hits, sudden and comforting. The umbrellas above their head fold automatically.

“That’s so neat,” Vance remarks, looking up.

“Yeah.” Daniel sounds distracted. “Cynthia’s awesome. She thinks of everything.”

Vance opens his mouth to reply, but instead, veers away sharply. “hHEH’DZCShh! hhEH’IZCHHh!” he stumbles, and Daniel catches his arm.

“Woah, I got you!” Daniel says, moving his hand so that it’s around Vance’s shoulder. Vance shivers, leans into his touch even without meaning to. “Geez, have your allergies always been this bad?”

Vance doesn’t meet his eyes, pretending instead to be deeply interested in the bulletin boards on his left. “They’re always bad in spring.”

“Yeah, but this sounds more like—” Daniel goes suddenly quiet. 

“Like what?”

“I’m pretty sure allergies aren’t supposed to make you shiver, but a fever does.”

Vance sighs, rubs his nose again. “I’m not sure what conspiracy theories you’re coming up with, but I'm telling you—”

He’s stopped by a hand on his forehead. It’s gentle and warm, and Vance can’t bring himself to pull away from it, even though he’s sure he’s supposed to. “So you are sick,” Daniel says grimly.

Vance wants to deny that, too, but he’s not sure how to explain away a fever, so he looks away. “I guess. I mean, just a little.”

“Since when?”

“I caught something a couple—hh… hHEH’GZCHh! a couple days ago. I was going to tell you, but you were so excited, so I figured I'd just—”

“Lie about it?”

“—play it off until we finished,” Vance says. Daniel drops his hand to his side, frowning. 

“And make yourself worse?”

“Uh...” Vance finds that he doesn’t have a good response to that, so he shuts up. His head hurts.

“I feel like such a major asshole,” Daniel says, which isn’t what Vance expects at all. “Like, a grade A asshole. I’ve been dragging you around in the rain for at least an hour now.”

“I’m the one who agreed to come with.” Vance argues. “Besides, I had fun.” It’s not a lie—Daniel’s friends have been funny and charming, and Vance always likes spending time with Daniel.

“Still, I should’ve noticed something was off,” Daniel says. “Fuck, hold on, I'm gonna text the others to say that we’ll be heading back.”

We? “You don’t have to—heH’GZCHh! come with me,” Vance says, a little puzzled.

“Walking you back is the least I can do,” Daniel tells him, as if it’s common sense.

“You shouldn’t—” Vance flinches away to sneeze again—twice, harshly, into his elbow. He sniffles, fumbles in his pocket for the tissues the girl from class had given him—all this sneezing is making his throat feel like it’s scraped raw, and he really is exhausted. “At least finish the scavenger hunt. This is the biggest club-run event of the year, isn’t it? I can walk myself back.”

“Vance—”

“No, seriously. Just go to south. If you head back now, it’s—snf—it’s going to take twice as long to get back, and you can’t portal.”

“It won’t take that long.”

“So I’ll be fine on my own. It’s just a walk.”

“At least let me cast a heating spell for you,” Daniel says, sounding defeated.

Vance relents. “If it’s no trouble.”

Daniel taps him on the arm. His whole jacket suffuses with warmth, like stepping into a hot shower—it’s so nice that Vance closes his eyes for a second. “It’s only on the jacket,” Daniel explains, “So you can take it off when you get back, if it gets too hot. Does your head hurt?”

Vance opens his eyes, a little startled. “There aren’t spells for that, are there?”

“No, but you can take something for it. Is there anything back in the room?”

“I couldn’t fi—hh! hhEh... hh’DZCHhH!—find anything.”

“Okay, I'll pick something up for you. Any preferences?”

“Uh, adything works.”

“Okay.” Daniel lets go of his arm, looking at him a little sternly. “You know your health is more important than a scavenger hunt, right?”

Vance blinks at him, a little disoriented. “What?”

“I'm afraid your cold’s going to turn into something worse since you—you know, spent the whole hour out in the rain.”

“Don’t jinx it. It won’t,” Vance says, though he can’t be sure. 

“I’m gonna feel like an even bigger asshole if it does,” Daniel says. “I'm really sorry for not noticing. Thanks for coming tonight, even though you weren’t feeling well.”

He leans in for a hug, and Vance lets him give it. Daniel’s warm, and he smells good, even though Vance is congested, and Vance’s brain short circuits for a second. He’s spent two months trying to convince himself that he does not have a crush on his roommate, and currently, Daniel’s arms around him are doing a great job at disproving that.

His breath hitches, and he stiffens—it’s too sudden for him to properly pull away, so Vance turns his head aside, sneezes harshly just over Daniel’s shoulder. “hhEH’DZCHh! Sorry, I… hhEH.. HEH’IZCCHhh!”

“Bless you,” Daniel says. “It’s okay. You’re really burning up, though, how are you feeling?”

“Better,” Vance says, as he pulls away, and that’s not a lie, either.

[silentdreamer789]

I love these so much! What a great universe...

[sprinkles287]

This is amazing!! That last one was so good, and the one with Vance in class. Ugh, loving the idea of a silencing spell and him having to ask for it. Gahhhhh!!

[Loverofreading]

So cute!!!! Are they gonna end up a couple or am I reading into this wrong?