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Posted: Wed May 18, 2016 9:18 pm
The bell on the door of Pocket Full of Posies rang as Finn pushed it open. "Aleksy?" he called, scanning the table of orchids, the refrigerated cases of fresh-cuts, the shelves of vases to see if his boyfriend was out on the sales floor. No dice. Finn turned towards the register to see... No Aleksy, but hello, tall dark and handsome. Finn strode up to the counter. "Do you know when Aleksy'll be back?" he asked, head tilting to the side. He held up the shopping bag in his hand. "He told me to come straight here when I got back from Boston. Kvass and khvorost emergency or something."
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Posted: Thu May 19, 2016 11:19 am
Thorne, who had been recently delegated to manning the front desk like a watch dog at Pocket Full of Posies, glanced up when the bell chimed, ready to greet whoever was coming in. It didn't matter that he didn't actually work at the flower shop. Just that he was here enough that he could. His eyebrows rose at Finn's words, and he shook his head, leaning his cheek against the knuckles of his propped up hand. "Sorry, he's out right now. Not sure where." He paused. "And I'm not sure what constitutes a Kvass and Khvorost emergency. Must be bad." Thorne paused and added, "Sorry. I'm - Alexander." It was weird to add first names now, but he was trying. "Alexander Thorne. I should make the important distinction that I don't actually work here, I just got shoehorned into guarding the store for the time being."
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Posted: Thu May 19, 2016 9:50 pm
"Alexander," repeated Finn, pulling a face. "Aleksy. That's going to get confusing really fast. Do you have, like, a nickname?" He put the shopping bag on the counter. "Yeah, I don't know, either," he admitted, "But in my experience it's better to just bring him the stuff and not ask why." He laughed, not that he was sure it was that funny, because he was trying to cover up how awkward this felt to him - how did tall, dark, and handsome and doesn't even work here wind up watching the shop? Forgive Finn for feeling a little insecure faced with someone who seemed like a vast physical upgrade over his short, freckly self. "I'm Finn, by the way," he added, still awkward and a little bit later than he should have. "Aleksy's my boyfriend."
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Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2016 12:27 am
Thorne straightened and tilted his head at Finn, his eyes focusing on him more intently than before. "You can call me Thorne." There's laughter then, genuine and amused. "No one calls me Alexander, it's such a stuffy name, don't you think?" He leaned his elbows on the counter and placed his chin in the palms of his hands, watching Finn as he moved. "I suppose so. I have a runaway mouth though, unfortunately." He raised a brow at Finn, and appraisal worked its way very obviously into his expression when he introduced himself. Oh. So this was the guy Aleksy was dating. "I've heard a thing or two about you actually," Thorne retorted, tilting his head, eyes raking over Finn a second time. There was something dangerous and protective inside of him that roused at the appearance of the other. He'd heard sparse things about Finn. But they hadn't exactly been good. "It's nice to finally meet you. I'm a - friend." His smile was crooked, and not exactly free of something sharp at the edge. "I suppose I'm not the only one that can't predict Aleksy at all, if you showing up with kvass and khvorost without any idea what's happening is any indication to go by." Silverah SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG ;_____; HEAD IN HANDS
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Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2016 1:09 am
"Thorne," repeated Finn, briefly folding down the plastic to show him what was inside the bag - a six-pack of carbonated beverages, the labels entirely in Cyrillic, and a paper bag of something that, judging by the grease stains, was probably fried. "It's like, weak, sweet beer," said Finn, letting go of the plastic. "I don't really have a taste for it - but who am I to judge?" Thorne's description of himself as a friend, pause before friend, made him hesitate, but he tried to keep it brief. Finn had agreed to open his and Aleksy's relationship and he needed to be a grown up about this. It wasn't like he needed to know all the details (though he wanted to). "Aleksy does as he pleases." Finn shrugged. "Anyone who tries to make him do otherwise typically winds up with a bloody nose."
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Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2016 7:23 pm
Thorne frowned at the description, pulling his expression into a vaguely disgusted look before shaking it off and laughing, gesturing at Finn with mild amusement. "Well, where I come from we drink this thing that translates in English to Salt Milk, so I don't think I'm allowed to judge." He gave a half-shrug and settled back in his seat, tilting his head at Finn. Until Aleksy got back, it looked like both of them were stuck with one another. It was as good a time as any to pry. Not pry. Thorne's mind argued back and forth over the merits of possibly terrorizing the florist's boyfriend. Thorne noticed the hesitation and paused as well, adding with a slow, soft gravelly laugh - "Don't worry. It's not like that." Thorne stood up, stretching his arms above his head and glancing back down at the other with a slow, cat-like smile. "Well, I guess that makes sense. He did threaten to bite me the first time I met him, and not in the pleasant way. Since we'll have to wait until Aleksy decides to please himself by coming back, want some Chinese? There's leftovers. I think there's also still normal beer around her somewhere." He paused and added, "I don't bite, promise."
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2016 8:27 pm
Finn's shoulders relaxed, and he laughed, a bit more nervous-sounding than he would have liked. What - what did you even say to that? It could be like that and it would be okay? No. That was weird. And if Aleksy was trying to make something work here, then Finn didn't want to potentially screw that up for him. "He threatened to... bite you?" he asked, skipping the matter entirely. Like - that was definitely worth a raised eyebrow. How bad a first impression could Thorne have possibly made? It clearly hadn't stuck, if Aleksy liked him enough to trust him with watching the shop. "Yeah," said Finn, "that sounds, um, good?" It wasn't really a question - he'd been out running errands for a few hours and his stomach was grumbling, albeit quietly. "In the actual fridge, probably," said Finn, taking the somewhere literally. He rounded the counter. "I'll go get it. Glad to know you're not, like, a vampire."
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2016 9:17 pm
Thorne smiled, his lips curling into an amused half-grin. For all the s**t he'd heard, he wanted to like Aleksy's boyfriend. And he did as far as first appearances went. After all, if someone was willing to show up with food and drinks without any explanation, they had to be good, and Thorne believed it. Thorne laughed and shook his head at the next question. "I was loitering outside admiring his plants, and once the issue of our height differences came up... well. It fell entirely into unforeseeable territory, I guess." He ran a hand through his hair, gesturing for Finn to lead the way. If Aleksy found them milling about inside, hopefully he wouldn't kill Thorne for abandoning post for all of a few minutes. When Finn went to grab the Chinese, Thorne only nodded. "Here's hoping, unless Aleksy chose to feed his plants something new." He glanced at Finn, eyebrows raised. "You never know," he teased mildly. "I've heard all this talk about werewolves lately, and Ashdown never fails to surprise."
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2016 9:45 pm
Finn, from deep within the fridge, said, "I know literally nothing about that." Other Ashdown? Yes. Ascension Shore? Yes. Werewolves? So far out of his wheelhouse that it would literally take a map, a compass, and a five-hour hike for him to find it. "Score!" he added quickly, passing a bottle of Blue Moon back to Thorne and then straightening up, a second bottle kept for himself, along with a little take-out box of lo mein. He scanned the countertop for something to eat with, and settled for a plastic fork. "I need another hand," said Finn. "Let's go back up front." He led the way back to the front counter and set down his beer. "Werewolves, though," said Finn, twisting noodles around his fork. "Wouldn't surprise me. By the way - have you had, like, a yer a wizard, Harry! moment, or does that make like no sense to you?"
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2016 10:16 pm
"I know all too much about it," Thorne retorted, dry as a ******** desert. He waited as Finn explored the depths of the fridge that was as good as a secondhand Narnia and his eyebrows rose in appreciation when the other man passed him a bottle of Blue Moon. Thank god. "Sure," Thorne agreed, following Finn back and settling next to him with lazy grace. He looked comfortable enough, and if there was a slightly searching expression still caught in the corner of his eyes it was easily brushed away beneath his grin. "Honestly in the past two weeks I've discovered that one of the guys I know can literally see through a birds eyes and one of them is a werewolf. And on top of that malevolent fairies are a thing." He opened his bottle of beer and took a sip, sighing out with pleasure. "Is that related to the and here's everything you need to know about being a wizard also Other Ashdown is going to murder you in your sleep if you aren't careful moment, or is that a different one all together?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2016 8:10 am
Finn quirked an eyebrow. Clearly, he thought dryly, Thorne was already very, very far into this. "Yeah," he said, pulling a stool up to the counter. "That's um, that's the thing." What was there really to say after that? Finn tucked into the Chinese food and watched the door, hoping Aleksy would decide to come back soon. Werewolves? Malevolent fairies? Dudes seeing through birds? He just felt... horribly behind, and embarrassed to have to ask questions when he'd gone into this whole experience a few months ago from a place of experience. "s**t's ********," he said, swallowing. "But there's not any way to turn your back on it, s'far as I can tell."
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Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 2:03 pm
"Just what I need in life," Thorne retorted, deadpan. He leaned against the counter and sighed into the bottle of beer, watching Finn with a half-curious expression. It was weird now that he'd gotten the whole Yer a Wizard, Harry! lowdown, encountering others who had also had that moment. Weird, and slightly disconcerting. "Live fast, die young, or something like that, right?" Thorne retorted, shrugging, a grin on his face. "I thought I was done after the military, but I guess this place just didn't want to give me a break."
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Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2016 9:10 pm
"Live confused, die under mysterious circumstances, more likely," replied Finn with a morose sort of chuckle, and took another bite of cold Chinese food. After a long day hiking around the urban wilds of Downtown Boston, it really hit the spot. "As for getting a break, I can't really speak to that. Seems random who gets dragged in." He took a swig from his beer, cleared his throat. "I mean, if it's any consolation, you probably didn't do anything to like, bring this on yourself."
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Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2016 1:06 pm
"Probably," Thorne agreed, taking another sip of beer and glancing up at Finn. "How long have you been dealing with this? I don't feel very new anymore, but I guess compared to others I am." He thought of Jeremiah, who had probably gotten used to all of this trash years ago. He also, quite possibly, thought of all of his dead past selves. Cycle, right? Or something. "Well, at least I know how not to die most days," Thorne retorted with a lopsided shrug. "Not sure I'm looking forward to whatever ******** up s**t this place has in store next, but I don't think that leaving is really an option anymore, huh?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 9:05 am
"Yeah, well." Finn shrugged at his beer bottle. Thorne seemed like he was beyond the realm of whatever help Finn could do for him, but Aleksy's guidance seemed to have done pretty well for him. "Almost two years now," he answered, rounding up. What was a few months between almost-friends? "I mean," he sighed, "You could move away. The Otherworld stops at the city limits. Maybe there's another pocket of it somewhere, but not that I've ever seen. Powers still work outside city limits, but they start to get weaker after like... a week. I don't know if they go away entirely, or what..." There were a lot of things he didn't know. "What I'm saying is, yeah," surmised Finn, "You could leave. Nothing's stopping you."
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