theattic | THE SANDBOX

"Don't worry, I'll be here." He gestured to the bakery. "Don't have anywhere else to go. Hey, here--"

He stood and moved to the counter were a little tray of business cards sat. The pen came out again and he jotted something on the back of one before handing it over.

"Don't worry, I won't be tracking you like you're a tagged jungle animal."

For a moment Krem was confused, taking the card and glancing down at it while JW talked. His mouth went a little dry when he realized the man had written his phone number on it. "Texting okay? I know some people don't have unlimited plans." Not that he was going to text him a bunch, perhaps a little, but...it was a thing he wanted to ask just in case he felt the need to text the man.

He pulls out his phone and enters in the number in his contacts, pausing as he entered the name, "JW...What's that stand for anyway?"

"Go easy on the weekdays. Unlimited on the weekends."

With their strange new ritual complete, JW started to prepare things for his other customers. The ones he wasn't actively testing the waters with.

"Just Wonderful," he said with his back to Krem and the biggest, shittiest grin. It was all he could do to keep from imploding from laughing at his own dumb joke.

"Got it. I'll fire off some group texts first thing monday morning," He returns, just to be an ass and gathers up Bull's order, just about to leave when JW replies, his eyebrow raising.

"Well Mr. Wonderful, I'll see you tomorrow then," He'll nod his head to him, even if he's got his back turned, and smiles to himself at how silly it is, how silly they are. "Have a good day and all that, happy baking." And he'll disappear out the door with a shiny new phone number in his pocket.

Krem had been good about not texting JW too much, he had said hello at first, so the other man had his phone number too, and when they had been heading out to confront a large group of roadside bandits, he had texted him about how he and Bull had this plan to flip one of the guys by hitting high and hitting low at the same time. He had said he'd take a picture, but the end result wasn't what either of them wanted and ended with a rather nasty puddle rather than a person.

His large dragon head maul didn't leave many left overs. When they head back and go out for a drink though, Krem had just pulled out his phone to check his messages when Bull picked something up that fell out of his pocket and grinned like he had all the answers in the world. "Hey Krem, you didn't happen to go to the bakery this morning a little early, did you?"

The man in question is currently nursing both his phone and a bottle, "Yeah chief, what's it to you?" He's only half paying attention, just about to hit send when there is a piece of paper in his face, a number written on the back. "Shit."

Bzzzt! Bzzzt!

As if to damn him all the more, a new image message pops up for him. It's a photo of a layered chocolate cake that should be illegal in at least two countries. There are even cherries around the edges.

i think i finished the aa cake what do you think?

"You're screwing the baker!" The exclamation was loud, full of laughter and it was unfortunate that all the chargers were present. Krem's face burned red and despite his tanned skin, it was very obvious. The chime of his text, different than the one that everyone else had been set to, damned him further.

"Am not! We're just talking-" And without being able to see what JW had actually sent him, the larger man plucks his phone easily out of his hand and stands, quite a deal taller than Krem, making it impossible for him to get it back without Bull giving him some sympathy. "Here, let me help you. None of that courting crap you're so fond of."

And, despite a very valiant attempt to climb his boss and retrieve his phone, JW's inbox will be greeted with, "Looks delicious. It would taste even better if I could eat it off your naked body"

JW wasn't one to hover over his phone. It had taken his neighbor ages to convince him that cells were a GOOD IDEA. So he sat it down on the counter and moved to box up the Artery Asassin because this particular prototype had already been spoken for by a friend.

But then his phone goes off a lot sooner than he expected. Krem always mentioned that he wasn't wild about sweets but it was still nice to get a second opinion.

And then there was that. JW squeezed his bad eye shut to make sure he was reading it right. He was suddenly REALLY GLAD he was alone because his ears were bright red. Wow, hoo boy, um. Soldiers move pretty fast don't they? He guesses he...can't blame Krem. Soldier life expectancy is not the smartest thing to bet on. AND JW HIMSELF IS INCREDIBLY CHARMING AND HANDSOME THERE IS THAT. He coughs and fumbles with his phone.

haha

JW buried his face in his hands. HAHA? REALLY? IS THAT WHAT HE REALLY TYPED? OH GOD. He's blowing this.

The chimed response so soon after gets Krem to cringe. He hadn't even seen what Bull had sent and he was still holding his phone out of his reach. "Chief, give it here, I don't need any help. Not your kind anyways."

Bull opens the message and frowns, unsure of what to think of it. "Your baker, is he a prude? Maybe he doesn't like to get dirty. Ah well, I'm sure he'll come around." He finally hands the phone back admidst a chorus of laughter from the boys, Krem's face still burning hot and he looks with horror at what his boss had sent to his...friend.

"Andraste's tits, Chief!" He was going to kill him. All that had come back was haha, and he can't see that as a good sign. He punches Bull in the gut, not even bothering to hold back because he can take it, and he's still laughing despite the initial wheeze. "It's not the end of the world, Krem. Unless you don't like food play, sorry about that."

He gives the other man a very rude hand gesture and sits, turning his chair completely away with the intention of fixing it. A few minutes later, there is a very apologetic text sent while Krem hits his head over and over on the bar.

Chief stole my phone, sorry about that. Really does look good, though I think the icing might get really sticky if you did wear it, haha.

Maker save him.

This time JW was hovering over his phone, fingers in his hair, elbows on the counter. Oh, God, he blew it he blew it. HAHA? Who even types that? His phone chirps and for a moment his vision blurs because of course it would pick right now for that. JW blinks rapdily and shakes his head before finally reading the message.

And nearly melting on the spot. OH GODS. Wow. Damn that walking monster truck!

oh haha tell him hi
good thing i think you would have been pretty disappointed
and thanks!

A couple of customers on the far side of the shop looked up as the normally quiet baker started making dying animal sounds at his phone.

Krem stares at his phone like it's his death sentence, and then glares over at Bull who is still practically hovering. "Go on, move in for the kill, you could say something really sexy, make him feel good about himself." The larger man encourages and Krem swats at him, "You big ass, I don't want to come off as creepy, just...normal."

Maker guide and preserve him. Like he honestly cared much, but it was good for swears anyways. Still, it's an opening, and he bites his lip, shooing Bull away and mulling over his phone like one might their thesis statement. This was all very complicated, okay?

Still, he took a long drink from his bottle, slamming it down and went to work.

I already punched him for you, it's his way of saying hi anyways. And, I don't think i'd be disappointed, but I'd make a right ass of myself if I didn't ask you to dinner first.

Krem swallows, presses send, and almost immediate after shoots off another text saying 'I mean if you wanted to.' Just in case.

The customers continue to watch and murmur to themselves, wondering just what the surly man behind the counter was so wound up about. JW paced and started fumbling pans and packaging as he waited for a reply, fretting that his not-really-a-joke would come off as too self depreciating. Unattractive. Oh, sure, NOW he worried about being unappealing. Now that he only had his words to talk for him instead of his body language. He was great at putting on a show when all of him was visible. He'd never been great at translating that into text. He would have to ask Noelle for help using those e-mo-jee things.

His phone chirped twice and JW pounced on it.

that depends do i have to be the table haha

"WHY TO A KEEP SAYING THAT?"

His voice suddenly burst out in his shop, starting his customers. Their jumping and scooting chairs alerted him to the fact that they were there. With his cheeks rapidly matching his ears, he ducked away into the storage room.

"Cheese and crackers."

His response does get Krem to smile, just a little, and there is a rising chorus from behind him, but he tells them to all go piss off and let him text. He's getting somewhere, even if he won't admit that Bull's faux pas did help a little, and he doesn't want to stop now.

Well I was thinking table for two. You're a bit too long, maybe a table for four and I know I'm not inviting the chief along. What time you close tomorrow?

His palms were sweating, and he takes another drink. His bottles almost empty and he knows he has more at home that are much cheaper than buying by the bottle at the bar. Or he could convince the boy's and the chief to get him another one for all the trouble they've caused. It was easy enough.

JW is in an odd position--both physically and socially. He's crammed himself sideways in a chair with his feet on the wall and his back against a tall cabinet full of cleaning supplies and extra napkins. His antlers make things a little cramped. The only light is the glow of his phone.

i have a party to cater so it will be after six

There. That was a nice and normal text! Look at him being a functional adult!

where are we going haha

DAMN IT, SELF.

do we have to walk i know my dogs will be killin me

DOGS?????????????

The bigger his smile gets the more the teases come, but he's still demanding that bottle, and in celebration, Bull actually gets him a top shelf label even if Krem is too embarrassed to actually toast to anything.

Well depends on what you like, I'm fine with everything. I probably won't be back till six anyways with the job tomorrow, so seven would be good if you're for it? And if your dogs can handle it, I don't have a car, but there are plenty of local haunts I can think of in the area. Nothing too fancy.

JW had a quirk when he texted, he's noticing, or maybe he's just as nervous, but Krem finds it easier to sit back and text than say all this aloud. Less chance of someone noticing how embarrassed he was or getting laughed at to his face. Still, he has to think...JW hadn't seen him in anything other than his armor, full or not. Might be fun to actually wear something normal for a change around him, even if that meant wearing his binder. He had modified one for himself but even with tailoring, it pinched in places and the seams were never strong enough. Adjusting took some time too, but he's sure he could get ready in an hour, even if that meant taking a very conservative shower.

THE DOGS.

WHY DID HE SAY DOGS.

NOW KREM WAS SAYING DOGS.

He was in hell.

i know a place at the end of the block that does old style fish and chips. they use newsprint and everything i think the ink is supposed to make it taste better???

He has a place, he has a time, he has a date. Krem smiles like he's more drunk than he is and sets his bottle down, sighing. Well. Maybe he shouldn't have punched Bull after all. "You're horrible at helping, but it kind of worked out," He murmurs to him more privately because as much as Bull was an ass, the rest of the chargers loved to give him shit more than the Qunari did.

I'm not so sure about ink making it taste better, but fish sounds good. Meet you there at seven?

the sign is bright green you cant miss it!

Just Wonderful had a date. He sagged down in his chair so that he was nearly upside down in his weird anxiety cubby hole, phone flat on his chest. He had a date. Whoo boy it had. Been a while. He rubbed his face as his nerves flipped and flopped until a broad, dopey grin surfaced.

Just Wonderful had a very nervous date who was now trying to finish off his bottle even if he had a sort of self imposed rule of not drinking when he was upset or anxious. It was a reward, and since most of his life was accomplishment in his line of work, rewards came often. He shoots off another text, just to be sure he won't accidentally drunk text him later, a simple good night, and powers his phone off just for safety precautions.

He's half sitting, half kneeling in his chair, and it's a bad habit of his to sit strangely when he's thinking too much, but Bull is there, encouraging him in the most inappropriate ways, and that's okay. He'll be fine tomorrow he's sure, and Just Wonderful will be ultimately charmed. Or at least, that's what the chief said.

Seven-o-clock.

JW leaned against the outside of Something's Fishy, exhausted and anxious. He had one hand tucked away in his coat pocket, the other clutching his phone in a death grip. He cleaned up nice as he could without going overboard and becoming a cartoon of himself--a dark baggy jacket to better hide his shape, his logo-bearing work tee beneath that and jeans. He felt naked without his apron.

He'd polished his antlers but forgot to comb his hair.

Thankfully clearing out a nest of giant spiders took less time than they had all estimated. Especially when one particularly large spider had encroached on the territory and started cannibalizing the others. And, fighting a spider that was nearly fifteen feet wide with all legs out, while difficult, didn't take as long as fifty with half the radius. This did mean though, that showering when he got home took a little longer, getting sticky web out of his hair, but thankfully he had the time for it.

Styling his hair was never difficult, blow drying took less than five minutes and running a brush through it once was good enough for it to lay like it should. Getting dressed was a much more difficult affair though. Adjusting himself in his binder, and even the time it took to get it on took longer than his hair did. Afterwards was thankfully smooth sailing though, and he with his essentials in his pocket, he left his apartment with a few minutes to spare.

He waves when he spots the other man standing just outside, thankful that it isn't raining. He's got a simple T-shirt and button up on, jeans to match, but it's a nice look even if it's far more different than his usual armor that JW see's. "Didn't keep you waiting did I?" He'll ask even if he knows he's right on time.

JW actually gave Krem a short confused stare when he approached. Without his armor, it was actually a little hard for him to read him as the mysterious soldier boy who'd suddenly become An Interest. He had to give himself a little shake when he finally spoke. It was Krem! Huh.

"Not your fault, I was early." He pushed away from the wall and shoved his other hand in his pocket, doing his best to assume the usual almost bored slouch he wore while at work. He wasn't very successful. JW was too nervous so he wound up looking like a guy who was walking through a house with a very low ceiling. Even though they were outside. "Almost didn't recognize you."

Krem keeps his hands to himself, but part of him wants to touch, maybe reassure him that he shouldn't be nervous because he can practically see it. Krem might be nervous himself but in the face of all things, he stood tall, because his pride wouldn't let him do any less. He laughs at his comment though, looking down at himself and knowing that without the bulk, he does look a bit different.

"Can't wear full plate all the time. Besides, it's not in the best shape right now. I actually had to leave it on my balcony when I took it off instead of hanging it up proper." Truth be told when he got home that night he'd have to spend a good hour or two cleaning it before he went to bed. Spider venom, traces of web, and poisonous blood wasn't something he should leave on it for too long. "It's bulky, and uncomfortable, but it does it's job. Can't go fighting in this or I'd be a dead man."

"I was just starting to assume it was part of you. Like a crab shell."

JW finally found his grin again which still had half its stories left. He waved for the soldier to go in ahead of him. Krem had been nice enough to offer, might as well let him pick where he wanted to sit.

He covers his mouth on a snort, shaking his head. "No, though I do have to admit it feels like home wearing it. Even if it is an acquired taste." He pushed the door open for the both of them, holding it open for JW to slip inside and glances around. Self seating was convenient, just because, as a Vint, being too close to the door or windows always made him feel cold when he wasn't warmed by the weight of his armor.

The spot he picks in a compromise between the windows and the kitchen, and he'll sit like he usually does, relaxed and sprawled, though without the bulk of his armor, he doesn't take up as much space. "Sorry about Bull by the way. The big ass...He likes to...help." He swallows, knowing that if he says any more he'll be admitting that yes this is a date and yes, he is very much interested, but with them both sitting there, it's a little obvious already. "Though I don't think his help is much help at all. He skips a step or twenty in the process."

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Texting in the evening

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AND SO IT CAME TO PASS

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