#and ofc palmer sandwich is happening in this au as well

[doom-dreaming]

college au nonsense pt. 1

“You think he’s got a girlfriend he hasn’t told us about?” Kelly shifts in her chair, her attention riveted on her brother, who’d been waylaid between the register and the table by a dark-haired woman Kelly didn’t recognize. The ambient symphony of scraping chairs and echoey conversations drowns out whatever words are passing between them, but their body language is speaking volumes all on its own.

Her other brother shrugs. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

Linda snorts. “We only found out about what’s-his-name a week after they hooked up.”

Kelly smirks across the table. “You know he’s still got that guy’s number in his phone? I saw it the other day.”

“God.”

Over Linda’s shoulder, Kelly can see her brother’s conversation coming to a close. The woman smiles and places a hand on his forearm. The touch lingers for a few seconds before she takes a step back and, with a parting wave, begins to head in the opposite direction.

Moments later, Fred joins them.

“Who was that?” Kelly tips her head toward the mystery woman’s retreating back.

Fred offers a one-shouldered shrug, focusing more on his lunch than anyone at the table. “A friend. We have a class together, she was reminding me what pages we need to read for the lecture tomorrow.”

“Oh, that’s nice…” Fred still hadn’t looked up from his sandwich. Kelly pounces. “...and she had to touch your arm to do that?”

“She’s cute,” John cuts in. “You should ask her out.”

“Subtlety of a brick, thanks,” Kelly gripes, shooting a sideways glare in her brother's direction.

For the first time since he'd sat down, and with his face a few shades pinker than usual, Fred looks up at his siblings. He seems to be on the verge of defending himself, but is quickly interrupted by the approach of another dark-haired woman. This one, Kelly did recognize.

She gives the group a bright smile and slides a piece of paper across the table to John. “Here’s that cheat sheet I promised. Just don’t mention me if they catch you with it during the test.” She winks and hefts her bookbag higher on her shoulder. “I’d stay and chat but I’m on my way to class. Talk later!”

Fred waits until the sound of her footsteps fades into the rest of the noise, then nails his brother with a semi-hostile stare. “And when are you gonna ask her out, huh?”

John mirrors the expression.

Fred cocks an eyebrow. “Hey, turnabout is fair play. Don’t get on the field if you’re not ready for the game.”

“Touché,” John eventually concedes, sitting back with a huff. “...shithead.”

#this is a little treat for me. to get sillay with it #not going in main tags lmao #spartan university #the mystery woman is that detective chick that fred gets shipped with i guess #and uhhhh. the guy he hooked up with is a reference to zita's locklear fic #bi fred headcanon stays winning #who else is fred shipped with #like. outside of blue team. bc i'm Not Doing That #i have a ton of ships to reference for john obviously #and ofc palmer sandwich is happening in this au as well #slaps roof of au. this bad boy can hold so many complicated relationships #AND HOW DO I GET THE ALIENS IN HERE #i need to find a way to make the arbiter a college student #oh my god wait. foreign exchange student #if you're reading these tags i'm sorry. you're witnessing madness #anyway. i'm having ideas #this was just the first scene that came out #is this in-character? we just don't know #i tried #but it's an au and they are like. 22 and not supersoldiers. so