Coffeeshops and Imps

Ari was late. Absolutely and undeniably late. It wasn’t his fault that his Ribbow had scattered his carefully planned outfit all over his room, or that the Ubun driver had been completely lost for at least ten minutes longer than he had accounted for. Regardless, the fact hung over his head just as much as the humidity from the nearby lake did. 

 

The restaurant - if you could even call it that, considering half the tables were outdoors - was closer to the outskirts of Burrowgatory than Ari had been in a long time. But it had good ratings, and Ari had to admit that the thought of eating while being surrounded by glowing crystals and the gentle sounds of moving water did have potential to be a good time. 

 

Ari straightened the hot pink dress he’d thrown on last minute and walked into the building, greeting the hostess with a charming smile and hoping that his blind date hadn’t abandoned him. 

 

~~ 

 

Fennix had been sitting in his spot for a little bit, enjoying being outside in the milder temperatures of February in Burrowgatory. Truthfully, it felt as if it had been just as long since he'd left the bustle of the heart of the city. It was eerie, in a way, knowing there was so much peace to be had.

 

Not that Fennix minded. He could finally hear himself think.

 

Mindlessly, he'd been spending his time scrolling on his phone. Silent, relaxed and patient. Only peaking up when he heard a new voice speaking to the host before turning back to his phone when they ultimately were led away.

 

That is until a very pink bun turned his attention towards the host, who then pointed him out. Ah, it seems this would be his date for the afternoon. Not entirely the type he was expecting, but far be it from him to judge the Church’s choices.

 

~~

 

Ari followed the hostess’ point towards a masculine bun with blue hair and veins of gold scattered over his body. He had a fairly unique way of dressing; Ari didn’t know how to explain it, but it made the bun seem like he belonged out here instead of in the bustling Burrowgatory. It was fitting that he’d chosen an outdoor table. 

 

Ari went over to the table, flashing an apologetic look at the other bun as he did so. “Hi, so sorry I’m late! I’m Reverie ~” He held out his hand, choosing to wait for the other bun to return his greeting before sitting down. 

 

~~ 

 

Fennix took a deep breath as the other approached, taking care to notice the other’s appearance. Especially the striking look of the black eyris’ he bore. Of course it wasn't an impossibility but he seldom saw any buns who carried the trait.

 

While Ari would wait to sit, Fennix would stand up to meet his hand for a shake.

 

“It's nice to meet you Reverie. Fennix, it's nice to meet you.” He motions to the chair before excusing himself to sit down as well. “What matters is that you're here alright. Did you have any trouble finding the place?”

 

~~

Ari smiled as Fennix got up just to shake his hand. Oh, he’s a gentleman ~

 

He sat down across from the other bun, startling slightly at the sight of a pink spirit mote peeking out from behind Fennix, but recovered quickly, giving it a playful wave even though he knew it couldn’t respond. “My car got lost for a little bit, actually. Doesn’t help that I’m very much a city bun.” Ari chuckled at his own expense. 

 

“What about you?” Ari tilted his head thoughtfully. “I don’t know how to explain it, but you look like you could’ve walked straight up out of the lake and I wouldn’t be surprised to see you.” 

 

~~ 

 

“Surprisingly, I'm also closer to the center of Burrowgatory. But it's too much for me at times. I've come here once or twice and it's nice and peaceful. I figured it would be a good point to meet and if we want to do something in the city we can head back in.”

 

Very kind of him to think I suppose. Although he does feel a bit bad with how difficult it seemed for Ari to get here in the first place.

 

“So unfortunately I'm not walking out of lakes like a mythological being.” He jokes this warmly, taking the other’s appearance in silently. Not in a rude way, just taking in his partner for the day. “Hopefully you can still find me somewhat interesting though.”

~~ 

 

Ari agreed, the quiet out here was refreshing. And Fennix's suggestion that they might go to another place after this helped his mood even more. 

 

"We'll have to see, won't we?" Ari said playfully, resting his chin in his hands. "Maybe you should tell me something interesting about yourself?"  

~~ 

 

“Something interesting about me?”

 

Fennix takes a moment to thing, not faltering much under the curious gaze that bore directly into him from Ari. At least it seemed he was able to handle himself under pressure.

 

“Well, I'd been feeding a corvat during the colder months. He came to my window one day and stole my new years mochi. I ended up grabbing him with my hands and well…that's how I got my imp.”

 

He laughed a bit nervously as a waiter came to get them a nice lemon water as they talked.

 

“My friends say I look like I should have a guyst to match my mote, but I love Crux. Even if he screams when the neighbors are too loud.

 

“And you Ari? Anything interesting about yourself? Maybe your own imp?”

 

~~

 

Ari hadn’t really expected to hear something like that, but once he thought about it, he realized that Fennix definitely seemed the type to be a big softie. 

 

“I’ve got five, actually. My Miira has a story kind of like your Crux. I was walking home one night with a lit sparkler, and she crawled out of the shadows to get a closer look.” Ari pulled his phone out and showed Fennix his home screen, a black Ryuudra curled up in a jewelry box as if it was the coziest nest in the world. “I’ve also got two Sweetinea, a Ribbow, and a Harpup.” Ari smiled, happy to have the chance to talk about his imps, as most of his dates couldn’t really care less. “My roommate makes fun of me for ‘accumulating them’, as if I’m the Church taking in all the kits at the end of Breeding Season.” He held his phone out to Fennix, flipping through his photo album before tucking his phone back into his bag. “Would you ever get more?” 

 

~~

 

“I think maybe one day. I think it would be…kinda funny to have a pink guyst to match the look.”

 

It was actually really sweet to hear about Ari's pets, and his enthusiasm was met with a similar exchange. Fennix looked on his album for a video of Crux, mimicking the sounds of neighbors ‘wrestling’, the way mom and dad used to tell you they were at night, or answering simple questions.

 

“But Crux alone is a handful. Don't get me wrong, I love the little weirdo I stole off the windowsill. We’re a fun pair! But I'm worried he’d get jealous of another imp, or bully it.”

 

Fennix relaxes a bit in his chair.

 

“So you got a roommate? You enjoy having one?” He continues, letting the conversation continue naturally.

 

~~

 

Ari laughed at the video Fennix showed him. “Maybe I can bring over one of mine for a playdate sometime, to see how he reacts. My ladies can handle themselves if he tries something.” It took him a bit off guard, but Ari found himself relaxing into their easy back-and-forth.

 

“I’m not sure if ‘roommate’ is really the right word, since we rent a small house… But yeah. Mosaic was one of my littermates, so we’ve been close for a long time.” Ari hesitated, looking into Fennix’s earnest face and deciding he could trust him, at least with this much. “He’s… Sick. So I help him out with a lot of things. He is my best friend, after all.”

 

~~ 

 

“Honestly? I would love to see how Crux reacts to another imp. Especially one that would be able to handle themselves if he decides to be a little pain in the ass the way he usually is.”

 

He laughs softly at the thought of Crux being bullied back by another imp. As long as it was a harmless set of a boundary, it shouldn't be an issue. The imp needed it sometimes.

 

Fennix listens to Ari continue, his expression softening out as he explained the situation of the roommate. Or rather, one of his litter mates. It made his heart hurt to hear about.

 

“I'm sorry to hear your littermate is sick.” He wouldn't press for details on what that entailed. “You're a kind person, it sounds like, to help him when you can.”

 

~~

 

Ari wasn’t sure he meant to open up so quickly, but Fennix had an almost disorientating honesty that made it easy. “Thank you, not a lot of people realize that about me.” Ari gave Fennix his number, serious about a potential imp playdate. “Do you live with anybody right now?” 

 

~~ 

 

Fennix smiles kindly back at the acceptance of the compliment. Seems these two would be interacting outside of a casual date at least! It's nice to know there's someone to hang out with.

 

“I mean, I live alone. But I'm in an apartment complex so it's never like I'm really alone. Neighbors like bringing home company and I lose sleep some nights from the noise.”

 

He laughs at the thought, it's part of where Crux gets his vocals from. So it is pretty funny in a way.

 

“It must be nice to have a house to rent.”

 

~~

 

Ari laughed. “If I lived in your building, you’d think I was an annoying neighbour.” He playfully tapped his Lust horns before continuing. “The house is really convenient. I mean, it’s a bit more expensive than getting an apartment would be, but our landlord has been good with letting us modify the place a bit to make things easier for Mosaic.” 

 

“What do you do for work? Or for fun?”  

 

~~ 

 

“Nothing interesting, sadly.” He joked warmly, leaning his cheek on the palm of his hand. “Someone has to do mundane office work and sadly that's exactly what my work life is. 9 to 5 every weekday aside from holidays.”

 

He takes a drink, eyes still fixed on Ari.

 

“You? Have an interesting job?”

 

~~

 

“Ew,” Ari said without thinking, his eyes widening as he realized. “Sorry, I didn’t mean that. I’m just one of those buns who could never have a desk job. So, thank you for your sacrifice.” He gave Fennix a teasing salute. 

 

“I work at a cafe where all the servers lean into a certain ‘character’ while we interact with the customers. My friend Kyril acts like a butler, for example. The food is very casual, the desserts are better.” Ari smirked then, pausing for effect before continuing. “I’m the best thing on the menu though; I’ve got a lot of regulars that would agree.” He took a sip of his water, eyeing Fennix to track his reaction. 

 

~~

 

“Trust me, I don't blame you for the reaction in the slightest.” He has good humor about it, not showing any feeling of hurt. Because he's right, it fucking sucks dude. “But a cafe, that sounds much more fun and interesting to me honestly.”

 

Despite the heavy attempt to flirt, it seems to roll right off Fennix’s shoulders.

 

“So, what character is it you play? Or do you mix it up?”

 

~~ 

 

No reaction at all? Huh… 

 

“You could say I mix it up. I’m ‘Reverie’, after all.” Ari raised his hands to do finger quotes when he said the word ‘reverie’. “Reverie means a daydream, or a fantasy. Basically I do my best to read what the other person wants from me and play into that… I guess that means my character is ‘too good to be true’.” 

 

Ari realized that it could sound like he was bragging or being narcissistic, but it took a lot of work to play at being perfect all the time.

 

~~

 

Trust me, Fennix is only thinking that he’s being flirted with and…honestly he doesn't know how to react. He's cute, but seldom goes out on dates. So he just takes a sip of water instead, trying to think of a response.

 

“I'm…just trying to figure out how that works in practice I suppose.” He laughs gently, “maybe I'll have to visit your job some time.”

 

~~ 

“Maybe you should! I could help you unwind after a hard day at the office~” Ari winked playfully, tail tip doing the slightest wag back and forth. ”Even if you just want to come for some pastries or something, I can recommend my favourites. I’ll get paid to hang out with you even if you aren’t interested in taking me downstairs.” Ari added the disclaimer, realizing he genuinely liked Fennix so far and didn’t want to scare him off. “You’ve already gotten a little taste of what the real me is about, so you can observe how I act at work as if you’re watching a movie or something.” 

 

~~

 

Downstairs? Was there a sex room downstairs??? The thought of it elicited a soft blush from his face. It seems Ari’s job was more fun than his own.

 

“I think that would be fun. “ He responded, a little shy but warm in his tone. “I'll be sure to let the staff know I'm there to see you. It’d be an interesting experience I'm sure. But it's like being an actor, and honestly it’s pretty impressive in my own opinion to be one.”

~~ 

 

Ari’s eyes immediately caught on the blush gently blooming across Fennix’s face and only barely held back his smirk. There we go, finally ~ 

 

“You’re the second blind date I’ve had to say that… I might have to start actually calling myself an actor instead of a server. Makes me sound fancy ~” Ari teased, his tail curling happily behind him. “I work until 8 tomorrow, so if you’ve got time… ~”

 

~~ 

 

“Well…I might have to drop in after work tomorrow.” He smiled gently, not really hiding the blush on his cheeks. “But if you want…I’d love to meet your imps, if you’re willing to go back into the city. I could even grab Crux and see how he handles being around yours?”

 

~~

 

“Oh?” Ari tilted his head, trying to remember if he had anything else planned for tonight and coming up blank. “I’ve got a better idea. I think meeting five at once will probably overwhelm Crux, and my Trinket is a menace, so how about we head to my place first and I grab Miira, then we introduce them at your place?”

 

~~

 

“That’s true.” Fennix smiles, pulling up a ride for them to share.Seems as if they’d be having an imp playdate. “Hopefully you don’t mind a bit of chaotic mess. Crux likes to move anything shiny to random places in the apartment.”

 

__

 

"Did you miss the part where I have five imps, Fennix?" Ari teased. "And Trinket is a Ribbow; there's more clothes than floor on my floor half the time." Ari shot his roommate a quick text letting him know the plan, then smiled at Fennix. "Let's head out ~"