[open] bright as the day fresh as the moon and stale as the hay

[iustitiae]

i - @ the supermarket
at your favorite tesco (but probably in city of london or enfield), at any time during the month

[look, everyone's gotta shop for groceries. connor's lists have gotten undeniably weirder in the last few months, offering to pick up things for his witch friends ("friends" - friend, in the singular, that's soeki) while here's there. most of this stuff honestly feels like a joke (candles and sage and he's honestly wondering if they're going for eye of newt and toe of frog next), but connor's a good friend and if he's going to be at tesco anyway he can pick up stuff for his buddy.

along with, you know, the usual - good looking produce, the atlantic, condoms, new lightbulb for the broken fixture, cold cereal, pasta, eggs. if you need help reaching something on a shelf, just want random commentary on your life choices, or happen to recognize connor from somewhere (his tinder account? maybe you already know him? the possibilities are endless) this prompt is for you.]

ii - @ the courthouse
city of london, towards the end of the business day.

Shit --

[this is connor, running through a crowd like an asshole, trying not to bump into anyone (but offering "sorry!" if he does, i mean he's not devoid of manners). he's carrying a briefcase with a brief from his boss/professor in it, one that the deadline is approaching, in about thirty minutes, says a quick look at his watch. according to her it was their fault the brief was running so late and despite the wonderful world of the internet, this particular magistrate believed in hard copies, thank you so they'd drawn straws and connor had lost. "good luck with rush hour foot traffic!" yeah, thanks.

he manages to compose himself enough that when he hands the papers off to the clerk (with five minutes to spare!) he doesn't look like a total wreck. mission thusly accomplished has a minute to take a break, relived that he managed to not screw this up and get in her bad graces.

another day, another crisis, right?]

iii - wildcard
[you probably know how this one works! if you want a specific prompt by me let me know that, too.]

Comments

[iustitiae]

[connor's mostly on time - he gets a little caught up on the way over but he's not egregiously bad or anything. he's also brought some food? that's good, right?]

Hey, Oliver. It's me.

[catphishing]

[He's not really that late, and it's infinitely better to be waiting on someone from the comfort of your own home than it is somewhere in public, so Oliver still sounds relatively cheerful when he speaks into the intercom as he buzzes him in. Food will definitely help matters too.]

My door's open. Just come in.

[He shuts down the site he was reading to stay occupied now that Connor's here, then goes to the kitchen to grab a couple of glasses of water for when he gets to his floor.]

[iustitiae]

[he lets himself in when he gets there, his smile only a little bit unsure when he sees oliver. this is still awkward, both of them and this thing they're doing, but he still likes seeing him.]

I brought Indian? Thought it'd be nice to have something different.

[catphishing]

[He smiles at him, a little hesitant, but it's genuine enough. He's getting used to having him around again still, but he's missed him. It's nice to be spending time together even if he isn't exactly sure what's going on with them.]

Yeah, that sounds good. Did you want to eat first then?

[iustitiae]

Sure.

[connor takes the food over to the kitchen to help oliver dish it out. so far so good.]

So there's, uh, chicken tikka, this eggplant thing, [he's great with names here] a couple of samosas and bread.

[catphishing]

[He grabs them a couple of plates and some cutlery, passing Connor one of the extra spoons so he can help serve it up if he wants.]

Okay. Cool. Did you want to split so we can try some of both? Or should I just have whichever one you decide not to?

[He's definitely helping himself to a samosa either way.]

[iustitiae]

Yeah, I figured splitting all of it was probably best.

[he's happy to serve it out to both plates, a little bit of everything for both of them.]

[catphishing]

[He'd planned on helping serve. He had. But Connor's already doing it for both of them. He's just going to get in the way if he tries. So instead he watches him, making small talk once he's swallowed the first bite of his samosa.]

So how was work? Busy?

[iustitiae]

[good for you, oliver.]

It was work. [very noncommittal. nice.] We almost missed a deadline because Annalise was too busy grilling us and not finishing the brief.

[catphishing]

[He winces sympathetically, maybe a little concerned. Connor's job takes up a lot of hours and puts on a lot of stress. Stress he could do without considering he's trying to overcome an addiction.]

Well, that doesn't sound like it would have been your fault. Is that what held you up?

[iustitiae]

Well that and getting the food. I managed to get the papers turned in pretty much right before the clerk was reading to go home.

[catphishing]

And now you're here for more work stuff? Not that I mind, but you could probably use a little more down time.

[iustitiae]

[he sighs] A lawyer's work is never done?

[catphishing]

[He huffs a laugh, mostly because the last thing he wants to do is give him more things to be stressed about, but he's worried and maybe not doing the best job of hiding it.]

I guess at least it helps keep my life getting too boring.

[iustitiae]

[connor's a little surprised for the worry. it's a good thing, really, he could probably use someone worrying about him, but at the same time...

he takes the plate and heads over to the table to sit down. they can at least take a break for dinner.]

That's the spirit! What would you do without me?

[catphishing]

[Oliver snorts as he drops what's left of the samosa onto the plate Connor didn't take, picking it up so he can sit himself opposite.]

Considering the amount of work I do so you can keep your boss happy I kind of feel like that should be my line.

[iustitiae]

And that would be totally fair, really.

[at least he can be honest]

[catphishing]

Lucky for you I actually like doing it.

[Plus tonight at least it's getting him dinner.]

This is pretty good. Where'd you get it?

[iustitiae]

This place near school. The owner was really nice.

[it could get him more than dinner, just putting that out there/]

Have I mentioned lately that you're amazing and talented?

[catphishing]

[Tempting, but Connor's not quite there yet. He remembers where that got him last time.]

You remember I already agreed, right? You don't need to resort to flattery.

[iustitiae]

Maybe I'm just providing further incentive.

[catphishing]

You don't have to. Tonight would have been really boring if you hadn't asked me to help you.

[And boy does he sound lame when he puts it like that.]

Which is probably a sign I need to find better hobbies.

[iustitiae]

You could take up knitting.

[catphishing]

Right. Knitting. That would make me seem really exciting.

[iustitiae]

Goes right along with Thorn Birds.