alternate_university | [Action | Closed] Late Arrival

[Action | Closed] Late Arrival

Who: Ronan Lynch, Noah Czerny, Richard Gansey III
What: Starting the semester late and surprising his best friends by breaking into their house and drooling on someone's pillow.
When: Before Halloween
Where: Noah and Gansey's house.
Warnings: Cursing, mostly. Will add as needed.

~*~

It hadn't been an easy task convincing the University to let him enroll later than was normal, but having unusual circumstances and one of the highest GPA's at Aglionby had helped a lot. He'd made agreements to get caught up and explained the situation with his mother while not mentioning the fact that he hadn't really wanted to go to college and hated school. At least there were no uniforms. No ties to choke himself with. Matthew was safe with Declan and his mother was happy and safe in Cabeswater. He could do this. He could be here and be with his friends and they could just be themselves.

So he'd packed up the BMW and Chainsaw, visited his mother in her new cottage, said goodbye to Matthew and didn't punch Declan because they have made progress in their relationship that means secretly he's going to miss his brother and not so secretly he'd better take care of things while he was gone or he would punch him.

The drive was longer than he'd planned so by the time he'd arrived he was ready to sleep. Not Dream sleep, just sleep. Except surprising the boys meant not telling them he was coming which meant he had no key and they were gone. House locked. No entrance. For anyone who wasn't Ronan Niall Lynch. He'd replace the window he may have accidentally broke trying to get in and whatever glass object he'd knocked over in the dark which he cleaned up and left a note "oops" on the counter in the kitchen next to the dirty glass and plate he hadn't washed. Boots were left on the floor with socks and the pillow he'd stolen had a small wet spot where he'd curled around it and promptly passed out, leaving Chainsaw to explore the house alone.

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There were fewer bouts of insomnia now that Glendower had shifted from quest to subject of a future book. Gansey didn't obsess over details or feel like his life was slipping away from him because he couldn't find his lost king. The nightmares were rarer now, which made sleep less elusive.

But some nights he couldn't sleep. Especially now that he was away from Henrietta, without Ronan in the space that he shared with Noah. It felt off somehow and sometimes that feeling meant that he needed to get out.

Thankfully, Noah easily agreed to accompany him on his late night outings. A stop to the Dollar Store before it closed and another to various stores to buy snacks for Noah. As they stood in front of the door, Gansey juggling sacks while trying to dig his keys out of his pocket. Jamming the key into the lock, he froze when he saw the broken window beside the door. "Noah, something's wrong."

It had always been ironic how all the boys had their own brand of insomnia. Noah could sleep just fine so long as he was sleeping with someone else, which was why people tended to find them in their beds upon morning.

His own bed was made, untouched, but he had left a sweatshirt on the foot of Ganseys on their way out for snacks and whatever Gansey needed to do. Noah was a good passenger most of the time. Most of it.

This trip he landed a bag of sour gummi worms, nachos and a little bottle with glitter in it. He was shuffling his items when they walked up the steps and Gansey paused. Noah peeked around him and noted the broken glass. That was odd. They lived in a good neighborhood and everyone around them seemed decent enough.

The house sounded quiet, and Noah reached around to urge Gansey to unlock the door before he slid in front and pushed it open. Almost immediately, Wingnut, his sugar glider terror peeked out of his pocket and took off, obviously sensing something.

"Come on," he whispered to Gansey, set his bag of goodies down and pulled him inside, following the path of his trusty little munchie brat. It was quiet save for the snoring, and Noah actually arched his brow when he paused in the doorway to Ganseys room.

"Huh..." Smirking softly he looked back at Gansey, "Gansey, are you aware you have a Lynch in your bed?"

On said bed, Wingnut was scrambling up the comforter and poking its little wiggling nose against Ronan's, making little noises. A dream always remembers its maker.

When Noah stepped into the house instead of toward the Pig or Mustang, he scowled at his best friend. They were supposed to be careful, or Noah was supposed to be careful. After what had happened in the past, Gansey was protective, possibly overprotective, of Noah. If one of them was going to be attacked by whoever or whatever had damaged the window, it should be Gansey.

Knowing better than to voice that thoguht, Gansey set down the bag of snacks and necessities, scanning the entryway for signs of what had caused the broken glass. No rock or other object lying on the floor to suggest vandalism.

"I should go first," he hissed while following his best friend. As they walked farther into the house, he looked for other signs that someone had invaded their home. And looked for something to use as a weapon even if that attempt would be useless.

Following Wingnut, he thought it was strange that the sugar glider was acting more like it had when they were at Monmouth or the Barns. Then he heard the soft, familiar sound of snoring. Following Noah's gaze, he stared at Ronan in disbelief. "When did he get here?" And more importantly, why was Ronan here instead of at the Barns.

Noah appreciated the care, he truly did, it meant more than Gansey would ever know. But he was perfectly capable of heading into their house to find out who was dumb enough to break in.

Apparently, Ronan was the dumb one. Noah watched him sleep, watched Wingnut poking him with her wet little nose, and then turned so he could see if he could find Chainsaw from the doorway.

"According to the drool puddle on your pillow, I'd say about an hour ago?"

Ronan snorted in a breath and coughed, wrinkling his nose. He woke a heartbeat later, jerking his head up and scowling before realizing it was Wingnut, his cheek red lined with wrinkled pillow marks. He was about to turn his face away and go back to sleep when he noticed he had an audience.

"More like two." He commented, catching part of Noah's words and making sense of them as he sat up. "I'll fix the window." He rubbed sleep from his eyes and looked up at Gansey and Noah. "What the fuck took you so long? Don't you have a curfew or some shit college brats?"

And then he smiled.

Ronan. Even with the familiar, if rare, sound of his best friend's snoring, it was still difficult to believe that Ronan was really in front of them. He was supposed to be with his family at the Barns. He hated all things academic so why would he be here?

"We weren't expecting you." Which was an unnecessary thing to say, but it gave Gansey time to accept that Ronan really was in their house, sleeping in Gansey's bed. "And there isn't a curfew in college if you don't live in a dorm. It's one of the benefits of off-campus housing." Despite the informative words, there was a hint of hopeful excitement in his tone. Ronan was here. He'd decided to venture away from the Barns to see them.

"Where did you hide the BMW? I didn't see it on the street." If he had, he would have instantly known that Ronan was here. Home. Or as close to home as possible when he was away from the Barns.

Two hours. Had they really been gone that long? Probably, Noah nodded to himself, they did linger and talk a lot the whole time. A ten minute trip tended to take at least thirty with Noah and Gansey. Sometimes it was mundane weather talk, sometimes it was nerdy topics or factoids, other times it was making out in the car before they made it home.

It sort of depended on the time of day and exhaustion levels.

But, Ronan was home. That's all he could think about. The broken window did need to be fixed but he waved it off in favor of nudging Gansey and moving over to the bed where he promptly pounced the middle Lynch back onto the mattress and snuggled against his back.

"Mmmmmmmmmmm...Ronan?" He started and waited a moment before biting his shoulder playfully and pulling away to snag Wingnut, "You need a shower."

There was a spark of mischief and barely contained pride formed into the shape of excitement hidden in Ronan's expression when Gansey asked about the BMW. But then he was being snuggled by one of his favorite people. And then he was being told he was stinky. He couldn't argue. He smelled like he'd been stuck in a car with Chainsaw for too many hours and barely any pit stops. he sat up again once Noah retreated from the stench and gave his armpit an experimental sniff before sliding to the edge of the bed. He leaned back on his hands.

"My bag is still in the car. Want to help me get it out?" Because he had a surprise he wanted to share with them both. "I've been planning this for a while. Just had to settle a few things before I could make the trip."

When Noah mentioned that Ronan needed a shower, Gansey wasn't certain if he should laugh or wrinkle his nose. Usually, they weren't that fastidious about hygiene. For two years they'd lived with only the basic amenities in Monmouth and Gansey had spent enough time camping to not be too fussy. But he knew how long that drive was and Chainsaw wasn't always the best traveling companion.

He mostly kept the nose wrinkle to himself, distracted by how much Ronan reminded him of before. There were fewer sharp edges and the brittleness had left his smiles. As Gansey began to agree to help with Ronan's luggage, he realized what his best friend had said. Settle a few things... "Ronan, you figured out how to help Aurora?" He couldn't keep the hope from his voice. They'd thought that there had been a solution, but Gansey hadn't been certain if it would work long term. But if Ronan had decided to visit, then something must have changed for the better.

Noah settled Wingnut on his shoulder and pet her little head a few times before he interjected, "I'm gonna go say hi to Chainsaw and give her some goodies. If you need help, yell."

With that he disappeared with his bratty sugar glider, and called out for Chainsaw to go to the kitchen where he got out a box of cheezits and little bowl of fruit to feed their dream things.

Ronan watched Noah disappear, brow knitted together. But then he smirked at Gansey instead of answering his question and stood up, giving his armpit an experimental sniff and shrugging. "Come on. I'll explain on the way to the car."

But first he needed to stop by the kitchen. Following the path he remembered from his exhausted stupor earlier he found Noah, Chainsaw, and Wingnut. "It's not permanent." He explained, picking up a piece of fruit and holding it for Wingnut before gently petting over her head. "I took her to Cabeswater. Bought one of those Tiny Houses everyone's losing their shit over and parked it there so she has a place to live. Declan takes Matthew to see her. I don't think he likes magical forests, but if anyone can get in and out of there without conjuring something it's him."

Chainsaw mutilated her cheezit, still pent up frustrated from the car ride, and then hopped closer to Gansey, tilting her head to look at him with one eye.

"I'm still working on a more permanent solution. I'm going back for Christmas if you both want to see her. We can stay at the Barns." He ate a piece of Wingnuts fruit.

Gansey began to respond to the reminder of Aurora's tenuous well being but there really wasn't anything he could say. Nothing would ease that grief for Ronan, but at least the Lynches had found a temporary solution until another, more permanent one, could be found. "I'm trying to imagine you buying one of those tiny houses." Ronan probably had driven the seller crazy, not just because of his snark but by wanting the best for Aurora.

He was surprised that Ronan hadn't build it or dreamed it instead of buying it. Maybe Aurora needed something more permanent than a dream to live in. "How did Declan take your explanation of Cabeswater and Aurora needing to live in the middle of a magical forest?" Gansey was certain that Declan would accept the magic, but their adventures in Cabeswater had probably led to a few hours of yelling and cursing.

Holding out his arm to Chainsaw, he waited for her to hop up onto his sleeve. Running a fingertip over her head, he considered Ronan's explanations of solutions and holidays. Something about it didn't seem right. "What do you mean going back for Christmas?"

"I think..." Noah arched a brow and smiled, "He's implying that his crazy self is staying with us."

Noah enjoyed the quiet, almost domesticity that he and Gansey had created; he insisted on soft towels and bath-bombs, a fridge full of food that could actually be cooked, and sweeping regularly, but they both missed Ronan, too. With him there it would feel like a complete home again instead of something nice but lacking in noise.

He reached up to absently run a finger over the webby skin of Wingnuts arm, "Guess we're back on baby sitting duty." he laughed.

"I was short on time. You should see it. Mom loves it, of course." Ronan went quiet, remembering what it was like to see her smiling and happy again. He missed her, but not enough to keep him there with her. At Gansey's question he looked up and cut his gaze to Noah, knowing and sharp, the corner of his mouth pulling into a slight smile.

Then he pulled out his class schedule.

Declared Major: Agriculture. (Until he figured himself out a bit more and changed it. Or not.)

"I wasn't sure I'd make the deadline they gave me." He handed Gansey the schedule as evidence he was staying and then grabbed Noah, picking up over his shoulder and carrying him towards the front door. He grabbed Gansey's wrist and pulled him along with him. "I can't believe you didn't see the BMW. It's parked out front."

Taking the piece of paper, he considered Noah's logic as he read over the schedule. Ronan had declared a major. He had classes. The boy who had hated school as passionately as he loved cars had left the Barns to go to college. Staring at his best friend in disbelief, he wasn't sure what to say. Then Gansey blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"You want to do this?" Gansey had to be certain after how much fighting and cajoling it'd taken to get Ronan to finish high school. College was different. Gansey couldn't bribe the professors here to guarantee that Ronan would graduate. He couldn't rescue Ronan if fell back into his class-disrupting habits.

Gansey wanted this to be what Ronan wished for. He missed his best friend. The house felt strange and echoe-y and alone without him, but if Ronan would be miserable, then it was selfish to have him stay. "You're doing this because this is something that you want to do, not because it's something that I hoped you'd want?"

Noah was nodding along and glancing between Ronan and Gansey for most of it until he was thrown over Ronan's shoulder with a little 'oomph' sound. He should protest, he was heavy! But, it was Ronan and Ronan didn't touch people he didn't want to, so he just took the gesture as a compliment and went with it.

Upside down he grinned a little and gave his ass end a light pat, "Yeah...what Gansey said. You really want to be here with us? Doing it with us?"

Ronan only let go of Gansey's wrist to open the door and then trusted he'd follow if he really wanted to know the answer.

"I fucking hate school, but I wanted to be here with you two." He wanted to ask Adam to come too, but he'd worked so hard to get into Harvard. He took the most direct path out to the street, stopping at the curb, grinning wickedly. "I want to be here and I can take whatever fucking classes I want to take."

And then he dropped Noah on his ass. Except Noah didn't fall to the asphalt. He landed with a thud and appeared to be floating in the air on an invisible surface.

When Ronan let go of his wrist, Gansey blinked slowly, finally taking in his surrounding and the fact that they were headed toward the BMW. With Ronan carrying Noah around like he had at Monmouth. It didn't seem real. They'd both missed Ronan and avoided mentioning that fact, but it'd been obvious even as they settled into domestic life.

For a long moment, Gansey was speechless, unable to think of what to say. Guilt caught in his chest along with the selfish happiness that Ronan had wanted to be with them. He'd missed them enough to suffer through school again so he could be with them. "You can," he finally said, still dazed by having Ronan with them, willing to attend classes.

Whatever else he might have said to encourage Ronan's decision trailed off when Noah was unceremoniously dropped... onto nothing that was somehow supporting him. "How did you... What is that?"

A startled noise started in his throat as Ronan moved to drop him, but instead a muffled 'mmph' puffed out instead and he was left...so confused. Not knowing what do do with his hands he held them up at his sides and looked below him.

At nothing.

"Uh...should I be worried?"

Ronan's grin was like fire, his eyes bright with the flames. The thrill of creating something so beautiful and magical never failed to make him hyper aware of how much he loved being able to dream. It was always a double edged sword because not everything that came out of his head was so fucking amazing. And he loved sharing it with his friends. His creations. The life and beauty he could imagine becoming reality.

"It came out of my head. That alone should be enough to worry." He laughed and stood back. "Go on. Touch it."

Just then there was a very faint shimmer as the breeze moved over the empty space. Like liquid fabric. it made Ronan pinch his brow because while it was cool it still wasn't perfect. But he hadn't meant it to be anything other than a way to hide things. Like the BMW Noah was sitting on.

Gansey couldn't remember the last time that Ronan had looked so free, so excited without there being a hint of danger or something dark accompanying the expression. Ronan looked truly happy, proud of his creation without the guilt or fear that sometimes accompanied his dreaming. Perhaps he'd been this elated when he told them the truth about Chainsaw, but this version of Ronan seemed lighter than the one back then.

"I stopped worrying about anything that came out of your head months ago." Once Ronan learned control, Gansey had never worried. Nothing of Ronan's would harm him.

Reaching out, he brushed his fingers over whatever Noah had landed on. He tried to think of what it reminded him of, but there were too many possibilities, too many strange sensations that he couldn't quite grasp the correct description. He knew that there was something solid there, but his eyes and his other senses couldn't resolve it. "You made a giant invisibility cloak?"

Curiously, he reached down and grabbed at the invisible fabric, bunching it in his fingers before a grin started to grow on his face.

"I could wear this and spy on Gansey in the shower," he teased and let the fabric go so he could hop down and really give it the look over it deserved. "This is amazing...."

"Don't you already spy on Gansey in the shower?" Ronan snorted, giving Noah some room to investigate. He nudged Gansey's arm with his elbow and watched them both. "I wanted to surprise you and I've been working on expanding the possibilities of what I can create so...yeah...invisibility cloak."

It was one of the more complex and larger things he'd brought back from his dreams. Somehow objects like this were far more difficult than living creatures like Chainsaw or Wingnut. Probably because he already knew what they should look like and how they should behave. Creating something that shouldn't exist took a bit more focus and imagination. And he had to be careful not to leave any loopholes for unexpected possibilities. Invisibility was different than making something disappear completely, for example.

Edited 2019-11-25 04:41 (UTC)

Turning toward Noah, he gave his roommate a faux shocked look. "You spy on me in the shower?" He already knew about Noah's voyeuristic habits. He enjoyed Noah watching him, but he still would pretend that he was startled by that revelation.

"You're lucky that we didn't accidentally hit the BMW or someone else didn't try to park there." It wasn't meant as a reproof, but as a warning. Reaching out again, he touched the fabric, marveling at how perfectly it worked. "Noah's right. It is amazing, Ronan. It's like something out of a book."

Gansey wanted to ask what else Ronan had created, but he knew he had to keep his curiosity in check. It wasn't a subject to discuss in detail while they were on the street. It also was one that could hurt Ronan. He knew that Ronan became frustrated when his dream creations didn't match his expectations, and he didn't want to ruin this surprise with those darker emotions. "Do you have any other surprises for us?"

Noah pretended to be shocked and embarrassed but he wasn't exactly shy about his attraction to his two friends. "Sometimes..." he admitted; it was really a lot. Most of the time he just invited himself into the shower. It worked out. Save water, help the environment. He does what he can for the world.

He did hum at the warning. "That is true. Lucky for you we don't have a whole lot of company." He crinkled his nose at Ronan, "I don't like people touching my things. And wingnut doesn't like a whole lot of people. The last time someone tried to flirt with Gansey, she plastered herself on the guys face. I think she was trying to smother him."

Shrugging he moved around the car once, lifting the cloak carefully once he was sure no one else was watching, before pulling it off and folding it carefully to reveal the beamer. He came back around, cradling the blanket in his arms only to chuckle to himself, "Looks like I don't have forearms. Man, you need to make a onesie for me like this. Imagine all the twinkies I could steal."

He looked at Gansey, I wouldn't steal twinkies, promise..

Maybe.

Ronan had been planning this for a long time and he hadn't been sure he could make it work in time or at all. But standing here with Noah and Gansey made him feel like he'd just created something truly amazing. Something he'd thought he'd lost. Seeing Noah and Gansey marvel over the invisibility cloak and tease each other made him feel like he'd come home.

"No. No more surprises. At least not tonight."

He rubbed his fingers over the BMW when Noah took the cloak.

"It's practically indestructible. You can crash shopping carts into it and not leave a mark." But crashing an car into it...not something he wanted to test. "But maybe the cloak is better used for voyeurism." He smirked at Noah. He'd consider the onsie idea.

"I guess the only surprise left would be someone sharing their bed because the couch is a piece of shit. Did you find that on the street corner with a free sign?"

"That means that there will be surprises later." Which was completely normal if Ronan was around. There would always be baby ravens or trees that had candy for fruit. Wonders followed Ronan which meant there would always be some surprise.

Making a sound of protest over Wingnut's antics, he tried to look stern. "Chris was not attempting to flirt." Or Gansey hadn't noticed that he had been. Being nice shouldn't automatically be classified as flirting.

He felt an odd jolt as Noah folded up the blanket and parts of him disappeared and reappeared. He knew that Noah was safe and whole, but the strangeness of it caused certain instincts to kick in even if they weren't necessary. Letting out a breath, he gave Noah an amused look, not following for the silent reassurance. Twinkies would be stolen if the onesie existed.

"Shopping carts are different than cars." Glancing over at the Camaro, he couldn't help wondering if Ronan was right about the BMW and if that magic had transferred to the Pig. "Do you think the Pig has the same durability?" He wasn't going to test it but it'd be reassuring not to worry about scratches and broken windshields. "The couch came with the property. I'm not sure where it originated, but we can get rid of it. The bed situation might take some time to figure out since normally we end up together."

"It helps with the insomnia," Noah nodded and headed back up the path to the house. He needed to set the blanket somewhere safe, where they could find it and not trip over it. Or lose it. Whatever came first. "I'm putting this invisible blanket in this cabinet, okay?" He made sure they both were looking before he headed into the bedroom; his. It was moderately clean, but the bed was completely made.

"I end up in either place but usually," he points to Ganseys room, "his room."

But, they could share.

"Even if we didn't have insomnia you'd be in my bed." As he spoke, he followed Noah back to the house, ignoring how strange it seemed that parts of him were disappearing occasionally. He didn't bother looking to see if Ronan would follow. The three of them - then eventually four then five - had been together so long that Gansey always knew that one of them would be near. "You like to cuddle too much to stay in your own bed."

Which was a relief for Gansey. If Noah was beside him, the nightmares lessened. He could sleep most of the night if he had that reassurance beside him, knowing that Noah would protect him from any dangers.

"Okay," he called out. The cabinet was probably the best place, even if it meant that Noah would have access to it to attempt his stalking or snack stealing. Turning to Ronan, he tried not to look awkward as he glanced over at his room. "Uh - Noah will probably let you borrow his bed, if you want privacy."

"Chris?" Ronan wrinkled his nose as if the name smelled bad, but he didn't give the guy much thought. Wingnut handled it perfectly in his opinion. He simply followed the boys inside, giving the car one last glance with a slight smirk before closing the door. "It might. Want to test it? Not sure my dad intended it be indestructible or not."

Ronan understood the insomnia they all seemed to share no matter how crappy or great things might be in the moment. Sleep was a rare treasure none of them could hold onto for very long. Not when they were alone. He hadn't slept much since they had left for school. Adam one way and Noah and Gansey another.

"Bed not big enough for three?" Ronan asked, casually teasing, running a hand over the back of the crappy couch and thinking about the connection Noah and Gansey had between them and how much he'd missed them and how happy he was he could finally be here knowing his mother and Matthew were safe. "Noah's bed is fine. If he doesn't mind."

Noah returned from stowing away the blanket and hugged Ronan from behind like it was the most natural thing in the world. He looked over Ganseys bed, and then Gansey, then at Ronan's profile.

"We can sleep together, us three. I don't take up that much room, anyway. At least for tonight. But, my bed is your bed if you want it."

Really, Noah's bed was anyones that would have him.

"Knowing how Niall planned things, he probably did intend it to be indestructible." Despite being the creations of a dreamer, most of the artifacts at the Barns had a permanence about them that reminded Gansey of the objects he'd seen in museums. If Niall liked something, it would last. Gansey doubted that Ronan's father would go to the trouble of dreaming up a car and keep it if he didn't mean for it to last. If he hadn't, he would have dreamed up another car to replace the BMW.

Watching Ronan and Noah, he wondered if he should feel jealous. Wasn't that a normal reaction to your kind of boyfriend hugging someone else? Instead Gansey relaxed, the world returning to a more normal configuration. If Adam was with them, it would settle into its correct place, but this was close to normal.

"Are you sure that you want to share?" he asked Ronan. Not because he didn't want Ronan in bed with them, but Ronan seemed to worry about his gift and what might happen if others were near when he slept. Not that Gansey worried about it. Ronan's creations wouldn't harm them and if something did try such a thing, Gansey had the feeling he'd be able to stop those actions. "You're welcome wherever you wish to be, but we won't push you to do something you're not comfortable with."

Ronan relaxed into the warm body pressed against his back. There weren't words to describe how happy he was. Noah. Gansey. He still ached for Adam, but he had most of his family and Adam wasn't so far they couldn't visit. This was his chance to have a life he had never been capable of imagining before.

"Or he knew I'd drive it into a ditch or some shit." He smirked at Gansey and glanced back at Noah, "I'm safe for sharing." He'd stay awake all night if he had to, but he'd been practicing so he should be safe.

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[Action | Closed] Late Arrival

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