Sunny knew the rules of entering Timeless. Never eat anything that was given with an implied meaning and always pay for what he took. When giving his name for his order, the server’s lips pulled back in a kind smile revealing sharpened teeth, he knew not to say the name he was given at birth. “Sunny,” he’d say politely with a kind smile that was almost apologetic at the slightly crescent fallen then resigned look the server gave him. Their smile fading briefly before returning in full force as they laughed, the sound of tinkling bells was rewarding for him but also gave a sense of foreboding. This wouldn’t be the last time that he’d be coaxed into giving his real name but as long as he remembered the rules, he was sure that he’d be fine.
“Alright then, Sunny,” the nickname rolling off a silver tongue in a gentle caress with a slight wink that nearly made him shudder. “What would you like to have today?”
Glancing down at the golden nametag, the name ‘Puck’ was written in black embossed letters that glittered in the morning sunlight. Sunny would've guessed that wasn’t his actual name but it was fitting.
“A Snowdrift latte with a Mint Bomb leaf, please,” Sunny smiled politely and met Puck’s unblinking dark brown eyes. “Puck.”
Puck’s smile faded then a choked laugh was hidden behind the back of his hand as he turned his head away. Eyes shut tightly in either mirth or pain, Sunny couldn’t tell but when they were centered on him, Puck was grinning.
“Of course, Sunny.”
It took everything within Sunny not to sigh in relief when the smile matched the look in Puck’s eyes. A faint yellow glow outlining the server’s short, stocky body casually spiked and glowed brighter then duller as the smile diminished and returned. It was only when that yellow tinged with a slight hint of green that Sunny felt his heart seize. The Fair Folk were a dangerous sort as their emotions were always changing, hidden behind a kind smile, despite their intentions often being nothing short of questionable. It didn’t help that Puck’s features were disarming. Dark bronze skin, black hair braided back and brushing against broad shoulders, wide hooded eyes and a crooked grin that quirked up at the corners as his eyes crinkled with every laugh. He had an air of confidence that only made his yellow aura stronger, and even though he’d caught onto the game that Sunny had begun, he only seemed more invigorated by it.
Sunny propped his elbow up on the table, hiding his mouth behind his hand, unwilling to let the fae see his smile. Curiously, Puck tilted his head as if to ask ‘will that be all?’ and Sunny knew better than to use definites with the Fair Folk. A promise to one of The People could be detrimental not for his own health but his drink. Letting his gaze drift to the large window that gave him a nice view of the outside, Puck seemed to take his lack of attention as an answer, bowing deeply at the waist. From the corner of his eye, Sunny saw dark brown eyes center on him as if he was a problem to be solved or a treasure to be evaluated. But just as quickly as Puck came, he was gone amidst the crowd within Timeless’s main lobby.
Sunny breathed a sigh once he’d left and tucked his mouth against his palm, truly focusing on the outside now that the immediate danger had passed.
Why do you still go there?
A question that he’d been asked more than once by some of the kids in his class. Everyone knew that Timeless was a Fair Folk-owned cafe and although they were cordial towards those who stepped within their grounds, there was still a danger in the honey-glazed words and sharpened smiles of the staff. Everytime he was asked, Sunny replied with the same sentence.
Have you tried their lattes?
Granted, it was difficult to leave with only a latte if you weren’t careful. The Fair Folk had the habit of giving things away but the implied meanings that most would have thought would be there weren’t. Timeless had a charm that kept others coming back on its own without the Fair Folk’s tricks and schemes, however they loved humans, a fact that Puck’s wandering eyes only proved. Though Sunny couldn’t say that it was his only reason for coming here. With the sheer amount of people that entered Timeless and sat at the tables and designated picnic spots outside of its building, it was hard not to notice the array of colors surrounding them. The Fair Folk were easier to deal with than humans, more challenging so to speak, he couldn’t tell their emotions easily.
Their auras often tinged with other colors mingling in and gauging the meaning behind their smiles and their words was nerve-wracking but less predictable. He couldn’t say that it was always fun. He had no interest in being trapped by a promise to The People. But it was something different. Less mind-numbing for him.
Sunny sighed and curled his fingers under his chin, glancing up at the overhanging flowers that were colored in orange, yellow and brown. It was getting colder and with school in full-swing, he wasn’t able to come here often. He almost missed the summer flowers and the decor that covered the walls among the clocks that were all the wrong time. Looking up at one of the clocks that ticked on the wall nearest to him, he glanced down at his watch then back up at its face. They were still the wrong times and he made sure that his own watch’s time matched the one on his phone. Taking a quick glance to ensure that no one was looking over his shoulder as he pulled his phone out to match the displays.
A sigh escaped him when he saw there were no notifications from his mother. While others had taken to calling him Sunny, his mother always called him by his first name, and while he loved her for it — he had no desire of letting the Fair Folk know who he really was. Pocketing his phone and returning to gazing out the window, he felt a smile tugging at his lips at the falling leaves and the changing hues of the trees outlining the pathways of the park surrounding Timeless. He wondered if the tree that the cafe was built into had also began to shed its leaves or was it charmed as well to keep the Fair Folk’s modesty.
Before he could think to lean forward to try and glean an answer, a tray was set in front of him and he nearly startled when Puck’s face came into view from the corner of his eye.
“Sunny,” the fae said in a sing-song voice, a shiver running down Sunny’s spine as Puck’s fingers brushed against the cardboard holder surrounding his steaming latte, lightly bumping against Sunny’s own. “I was calling for you. Didn’t you hear?”
Remembering to breathe, Sunny pulled his hand back and rested it in the crook of his bent elbow.
“I was lost in thought,” he said with a slight shrug, trying not to dwell on the way Puck’s eyes followed the rise and fall of his shoulders before he leant away, standing to his full height and smiling down at Sunny. “I appreciate your assistance.”
The praise only made the yellow aura stronger and the brightness of it could’ve almost rivaled the sun. Sunny looked away and carefully reached out to wrap his hand around the latte, shifting it over to rest by his other arm. Puck’s head tilted and his smile sharpened, Sunny’s heart skipping a beat when the fae held out his hand, pointing to his face.
“Pink suits you.”
Sunny startled and looked up at him with wide eyes. “What?”
Puck tapped his own cheek, right around the area of his cheekbones and Sunny found himself transfixed on the gesture, small though it may have been. He tried to tell himself to breathe and remember to blink. The sharpened teeth reminding him of just what and who he was dealing with. Picking up his latte and hiding his mouth behind the rim, he looked down and let the mint chocolate fill his senses with a calm.
“Pink suits you,” Puck repeated and tapped his cheek again.
Sunny glanced up at him from over his cup’s lid before reaching up to touch his cheek. His face did feel warmer than usual. Puck’s smile widened and the dawning realization only made Sunny’s face feel hotter. As the fae’s lips parted, likely to say something even more embarrassing, the chair next to Sunny pulled out and his attention shifted to the young man who plopped down in it. A mug of a dark brew, still steaming was set down in front of him and his gaze drifted from the window to meet Sunny’s own before flicking past him likely towards Puck.
“Don’t you say that to everyone you can rile up, Puck?” The man asked off-handedly, picking up the mug by its handle and bringing it to his lips.
Out the corner of Sunny’s eye, Puck’s bright yellow aura darkened and as he tilted his head a bit to gauge the fae’s reaction, he found Puck pouting and looking at the other patron with glossy brown eyes.
“Of course not, if you say things like that then Sunny will get the wrong idea about me.”
Glossy brown eyes that seemed innocent and almost sad flicked to him for confirmation and Sunny felt the need to comfort welling up despite his better instincts. Opening his mouth, the other patron interjected before he could’ve said something damning.
“I’m pretty sure, Sunny,” the purposeful use of his name snapping him out of his trance as he looks away from Puck to the boy beside him. “Prefers the truth.”
Sunny blinked slowly, the fog in his head clearing the longer he looked away from Puck. Warmth from the cardboard holder of his latte reminding him of where he was. As his mind cleared, he could’ve sworn that he saw the boy smile but it faded as Puck’s teasing voice chimed in.
“Oooh, that hurts, Mook. Are you calling me a liar?”
“Wasn’t the meaning implied?” Mook rolled his eyes, bringing his mug to his lips before he glanced Sunny’s way. “Well, what do you think, Sunny?”
The fog cleared, Sunny glanced from the corner of his eye at Puck’s bright yellow aura then to Mook’s. His brow furrowed as he tried to concentrate on Mook’s aura but there was nothing. No burst of color, no soft fuzzy hue clinging to his being, there was nothing there. Sunny stole a glance over his shoulder. Most of the other patrons were going about their business, seemingly uninterested in the stand-off between the three sitting near one of the café’s larger window. Hues of different colors from bright violets to deep blues, sharp reds and soft greens were everywhere. Even the sprites that floated by had their own shades, albeit harder to pick out in the myriad of colors.
Yet when he looked at Mook, dark eyes meeting his own over the rim of his mug, steam pooling into his face. There was no color. There were no hues. There was nothing. As if he didn’t feel anything at all. Drawing back into his chair, Sunny pressed his fingers to his cup and looked down at it to center himself. Puck’s yellow was softening in the corner of his eye, confusion laced in with the cheer and confidence. While on his other side, Mook was unreadable. He could feel their eyes on him, imploring to settle this little spat between them.
Spirits, all he wanted was coffee.
“I’d like to finish my latte in peace,” Sunny finally said, lifting his cup for emphasis before bringing it to his lips.
The tension snapped like a string that’d been pulled tight in opposite directions, Mook shrugging and leaning back in his chair.
“Well that settles it then,” he said, and Sunny almost wanted to ask him what he meant and remind him that the statement was extended to him as well. “Guess I win this round, Puck.”
Puck sighed and rapped his knuckles lightly against the table, Sunny’s eyes flicking towards him and his soft smile.
“If there’s anything else I can help you with Sunny, don’t hesitate,” he said, and the flicker of a promise ran across Sunny’s skin and down his back in a shudder barely kept as he pulled away from his drink with a slight smile.
“I appreciate your assistance, Puck.”
The fae’s smile diminished for a moment but returned in a softer less feral way, stepping around Sunny who breathed a sigh at the spotlight being taken from him. Behind him, Puck’s voice darkened although there was a friendly tone, the yellow of his aura barely seen out of the corner of Sunny’s eye was sharp and blinding in a way that made Sunny’s stomach turn.
“Mook,” Puck said cheerfully, dropping a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Drop dead.”
Despite the thinly veiled threat, Mook merely smiled behind the rim of his mug. “Not before you.”
There was an unspoken tension between them and the situation that they were locked into was nothing that Sunny wanted to involve himself in. Taking measured sips of his drink, he waited until Puck’s yellow aura faded into the crowd behind them, leaving himself and Mook at the table gazing out the window. On occasion, Sunny’s eyes would drift when the mint had cleared his head enough for him to see the colors vividly. Yet Mook’s was still nowhere to be found. Not even a wisp of something different rising from his clothes.
Sunny wondered if it was his eyes that would show the change in his aura. It happened with the occasional shapeshifter. Depending on their mood, their eyes would change to represent it. Though they hated when they were compared to a mood ring which could be wholly inaccurate depending on the maker. Looking at Mook from the corner of his eye, fixated as he brushed a lock of hair behind his ear. His eyes were still hidden beneath his bangs and Sunny frowned.
“You look like you have something on your mind.”
Nearly squeezing his cup too tight, Sunny’s heartbeat quickened and his breath hitched when dark brown eyes peeked through the curtain of messy hair to regard him curiously. Mook’s fingers curled up by the handle of his mug and his elbow propped up on the table, chin in hand. Sunny wasn’t sure if he was mirroring him out of amusement or what but one thing was clear.
He’d been caught staring.
Kicking himself on the inside, he wondered why this was bothering him so much. On the outside, he tried to hide behind his drink and happen-stance. “Did you come all the way over here to mess with him or was it an attempt to save me?”
Mook tilted his head and cracked a smile. “Save you?” A laugh, soft and warm, escaped his lips as he picked up his mug with a cheery grin. “You looked like you had it all well in hand.”
Sunny half-expected his aura then. Soft and light or perhaps dark compared to his teasing. The tips of Sunny’s ears felt warm and he tried not to scowl, unsure of whether Mook meant it seriously or not.
“Sunny isn’t your real name, right?”
Eyebrow raised, he looked at Mook with slight surprise.
Mook waved his hand dismissively, and it almost seemed apologetic. “That guy and I just have a bet going on and he has a tendency to bring people in unknowingly.”
Then with a slight shrug, Mook looked away and rested his chin in his hand. “You didn’t seem like you wanted to be bothered with our game, so I came to tell him to knock it off.”
“You have a bet going on with one of them?” Sunny said flatly, staring at him incredulously.
“Yep.”
“Are you insane?”
“No, didn’t you hear?” Brushing his hair back from his forehead, Mook glanced his way and grinned. “I’m Mook.”
Comments (0)
See all