Chapter Text
“Don’t those like… get annoying?” Peppermint glanced over at Avery. He was sat at the computer desk, chin resting in his hand.
“My pipe?”
“No, your… you know.” He gestured at his flat chest. Peppermint leaned back, exhaling smoke lazily.
“My boobs?”
“Yeah. I mean, it just, seems like they get squished like, a lot. Which, doesn’t seem very… you know.” Avery mumbled, ducking his head towards the screen, his long hair falling between them to hide his eyes.
“No more than your balls get in the way when you walk.” Avery choked on air and Peppermint smiled a Cheshire smile.
It’s not exactly the living situation either of them had planned for. Peppermint had her own house, thank you very much, located under a blazing sun and full of her books, potion ingredients and her very comfortable bed. Avery’s ‘compact’ apartment space was… it was fine. He was living in the city so everything had to be a little cramped and a little minimalist. The few anime figures and video game memorabilia he had around the bedroom gave it some personality but ate into the limited space, with a few admittedly tasteful and artistic anime prints on the walls that added splashes of colour. Still, she didn’t need to crash at his place when it was clearly just big enough for Avery to inhabit.
But, as it worked out, they were kind of stuck. The ritual that had brought Peppermint here had been an empowerment bonding ritual, designed to tie a being of great supernatural power to a human for power gain and enhanced abilities on both sides – a mutually beneficial binding. While technically set up by Avery’s sister, it had inadvertently been completed by Avery stepping into the circle with the appropriate offering. As such, they were bound to each other. Unfortunately Avery was not a witch or had any supernatural abilities (he hadn’t even believed in magic or succubi before meeting Peppermint) and the binding could only burn out through use of magic. So they were pretty much stuck together unless Avery decided to become a wizard, which was unlikely. At least Peppermint got something out of the deal; a place she could show up whenever she liked and mooch around for a bit, taking advantage of Avery’s kitchen and occasionally just hanging out with him. Even if he was awkward and stumbled over his own words whenever he opened his mouth.
Peppermint took another drag from her pipe, eyeing the jar of sweets on Avery’s desk. He didn’t have a massive sweet tooth, just enough that he kept a decent stock on hand for when he was playing a game and got stuck on a puzzle or some frustrating piece of game design. She lifted a hand, beckoning the jar to levitate. It floated obediently but before she could draw it close to her, Avery put a hand on top of it to push it down onto the desk. “Hey!”
“I want some.”
“...You could ask.” Avery sighed. He reluctantly lifted his hand from the jar, watching it float over to Peppermint. She popped it open easily, finally lifting a hand to reach in and pluck out several of the fruity gummies before waving the jar back to Avery. He caught it, closed it and put it back.
“I still don’t know why you never tried magic. You are capable of it, otherwise I wouldn’t be here at all.”
“I told you; Hilda set all that up. I just walked in with a bag of shopping for her.”
“But it wouldn’t have triggered without a spark. No spark, no fire.” Avery narrowed his eye at Peppermint, trying to tell if she was mocking him or not. He shook his head stubbornly.
“Look, I just. I can’t do that kind of thing okay? It wouldn’t make sense.”
“You talk a lot about ‘things making sense’, when they never do.”
“I like it when things make sense.”
“What if I told you it’s magic that keeps my boobs from annoying me?” Avery flushed. It wasn’t a super attractive blush; his entire face went red when he got really flustered, which meant he went pink at the slightest heat in his face.
“Wha… I mean what does that have to do with this?”
“It makes sense, doesn’t it? My boobs don’t bother me cos I use magic. Or they just don’t bother me anyway.” She grinned at him slyly. She could see his brain racing, still trying to understand her in a way that worked with his world of non-magic, logic. He evidentially gave up, mumbling something she didn’t catch and swivelling his chair back to the computer.
Peppermint laid back on the bed comfortably, tail swishing lazily. She enjoyed her pipe, drifting into a peaceful doze to the clack of Avery’s keyboard. It was a peaceful Sunday with only a slight breeze from the open window. The window itself was perfectly situated for the sun to shine through, warming the bed. Avery’s typing wasn’t a hard, rapid-fire slams on the keys but a more steady, deliberate press, given he had only one hand to work with. Slow, deep synth music played at a soft volume from his speakers, not something she would have ever sought out but it was peaceful, and with the taste of roses and lavender on her tongue she could easily fall into a doze. So, she did.
When she drifted back, the sun was beginning to set outside the window. The sun cast a golden-orange light into the room, giving the normally cool walls a warm glow. And Avery was still at his desk. His typing had slowed and he was chewing on his lip, focusing on the screen. She could see the signs that he hadn’t eaten a proper meal. The sweet jar had noticeably fewer contents than before and several cans of Pepsi sat on his desk, dotted around the anime figurines that were placed there too. Peppermint glanced out the window again. It was a beautiful sunset and the warmth of the day was still present. It’d be great to go out and eat somewhere, and Avery had been so busy he definitely would have forgotten to get anything out to prepare. She wasn’t his mother or anything, but if she wanted him to pay for dinner then she’d need to convince him to come with her. The last time she’d stolen his wallet… well it wasn’t a pleasant memory.
“Avery.”
“Mm?”
“I’m hungry.”
“There’s food.” He gestured to the sweet jar, frowning at something and clicking through some menus. Peppermint rose from the bed, stretching out. The thing was, Avery wasn’t hard to figure out. He was a self-conscious and somewhat awkward young man who liked boobs but had, admittedly, been pretty good at not staring at them all the time. She crossed over to him, purposefully leaning against his back. Avery jolted from his thoughts, sitting up straight. He turned around clearing his throat and leaning back shyly. “Peppermint?”
“I’m hungry. And you haven’t eaten either. Let’s go out.”
“Right now? I was nearly...oh wait. God, is that the time?” Snapped out of his daze, he realised how long he’d been sat at the desk. “Shit, yeah, okay.” He got up, stretching out and groaning as his bones clicked.
“I know a place.”
“What sort of place? I know a diner that makes some great milkshakes.” Avery pulled on his jacket, checking the mirror to make sure it was sitting properly on his shoulders. Peppermint pressed a finger to the apartment door, drawing a circle on it and starting to trace runes along the edge with her nail.
“I can’t have milkshakes.” The runes burned for a brief moment and faded, leaving the door spotless. “You got your wallet?”
“Yeah I got it. Do I need to take money out though?”
“No, they take cards.” Peppermint twisted the doorknob. Instead of opening to the hallway of Avery’s apartment block, it opened directly into a smoke-laden restaurant. Avery paused and then gave Peppermint a flat look.
“You didn’t want to walk today?”
“Oh, nobody just walks into Boba Yagas.” Peppermint took hold of his sleeve, making sure to grab the sleeve he had an arm in, and pulled him across the threshold. The door shut automatically after them, blending into the wooden panels in an instant.