#he is merely a Fool and will not listen to wren

[my-whumpy-little-heart]

Best AU Part 2: The Pining Awakens

This is a fanfiction written with the permission of @spookyboywhump and @ihaventwritteninsolong. This chapter features Allen’s characters Wren and Zander, with plenty of references to Edwin’s character Cathal.

Wrote this pure, unadulterated fluff to help get out of the writing block I got driven into near the end of May. A nice, happy palate cleanser if you will. Linked here is the previous part to this with proper explanation as to what’s going on with this universe lol.

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Zander hadn’t moved from his one spot on the couch since he’d come in some twenty minutes earlier. At first, Wren thought he might have just been in a mood. He got quiet like that sometimes after a particularly bad day... would sit on the couch, curled up as he broke down slowly, and Wren could only hope Zander would open up and talk a little so he could help.

But today was different. He’d been curled up, staring intently at his phone, typing and scrolling at odd intervals. A vaguely frustrated expression was set into his face, but there was something softer behind it. Slowly, carefully, Wren walked over from the kitchen and sat on a chair across from the couch.

Zander didn’t even look up.

“Soo… how was your day?” Wren asked softly, and Zander jerked in surprise. It was like he hadn’t even noticed his presence. 

“Mmh, good,” he hummed, and Wren had to hold back a smile at his transparency. 

“Anything... particularly good happen?”

“No.” Zander bit back a guilty smirk, but he saw the beginnings of it on his face. As he stood from his chair, Wren was sure he’d never heard a worse lie in his life. 

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

“So I’m guessing there’s also no reason you’ve had your nose buried in your phone since the minute you got here?”

Zander sighed heavily, breath hitching with barely contained laughter, clicking off his phone and shooting a tired glance at Wren. The shorter man had the height advantage for once, and walked over to stand above Zander as he curled further back into the couch. He had his hands on his hips and the smarmiest grin plastered on his face.

“C’mon. What’s their name, Zander?”

“Huh? Whose name?” he asked, still feigning ignorance.

“The cute person you met today and can’t stop thinking about, obviously.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Zander said quickly, almost too quietly for Wren to hear.

“And I don’t know your phone password so I can catch you off guard and verify my theory,” he smiled, and his friend sighed. They’d played that game before, and Zander had always lost in the end. He could change the passcode or leave entirely, but he knew he was fighting a losing battle at this point.

“So~” he sing-songed, “What’s their name?”

“I dunno, I didn’t catch it,” Zander shrugged.

Wren gave him a pointed glare.

“Cathal.”

The glare intensified.

“Ugh, Cathal Weber. That’s his full name. Happy now?”

“Very,” Wren grinned devilishly, flopping on the couch next to him and snuggling up close so he could stare at the glowing phone screen. It was open to the Instagram search bar, no results showing. “Did you find all his social media accounts yet?”

“Literally the opposite,” he groaned, “Sir Cute Hot Chocolate Man has apparently never seen a computer in his life.”

“So you met him at work, then,” Wren declared.

“Ugh, yes. And before you yell at me, he was new, and I did ask for his last name even though I didn’t need it,” he muttered. 

“Zander…” he adopted a serious expression, voice heavy with false concern, “you can’t keep doing this...”

“Fuck you, I do what I want.” Zander grabbed a pillow and swung it weakly at him as the younger man snickered.

“Alright, so tell me more about this Cathal “Hot Chocolate Hottie” Weber,” he mimed quotes with his fingers, and Zander went red.

“Hey, don’t call him that!” he pouted indignantly.

“Oh right, I forgot. The cute nicknames are just for you lovebirds,” Wren teased.

“I just met him!”

“And look at the mess he’s made of you already…”

“I’m perfectly put together and can absolutely banish his glorious fucking face from my mind whenever I want to, thank you very much!” Zander shouted, face almost completely red at that point.

Wren let the silence hang in the air for a few seconds.

“So.”

“So, what?” Zander crossed his arms.

“You have a lot to say right now and you’re not letting it out.”

“Maybe.” Wren raised a brow, waiting for him to go on. “Okay! So, imagine the hottest, most angelic human being you’ve ever seen, then-”

“Zander, you lost me already.”

“Aghhhhh, are you seriously gonna make me describe him?”

“Listen, unless you want me to picture a person on fire every time you call this boy hot because that’s all the word hot means to me, then I’m gonna need some words to go off of,” Wren said, waving his hands animatedly as he spoke.

“Alright. Imagine this boy; he’s only a little shorter than me-”

“Aw come on, not another giant in the family!” he whined.

“Do you want to hear or not?!”

“Oh no, go on, go on. I’ll be crying in Short over here.” Wren sank back into the couch, and Zander sighed heavily before he spoke again. 

“...okay. A little shorter than me, and cute kinda wavy hair that just looked really soft. It was sort of blond-ish, but a little sandier? Hard to describe, but he had the most breathtaking blue eyes and wore this apron in the same color that really brought them out...” he trailed off, expression dreamy and caught up in the memory of Cathal.

“Sorry, apron? You didn’t say he was a new coworker, unless...”

“No, he works at that flower shop down the street. Sunflora.”

“I still can’t believe they named it after a Pokémon,” Wren laughed. “But cute boy? Likes flowers? I can telepathically sense that he’s a twink? Might as well have taken a boy and printed ‘Zander’s type’ on his forehead.”

“Oh my god, Wren, shut up. You can’t just break into my mind to get a look at the hot guy, that’s a breach of privacy.”

“Hot, shmot. I wouldn’t waste my mind reading powers on that,” he waved a dismissive hand. “Now tell me about his alluring personality.” Wren wiggled his eyebrows jokingly and Zander rolled his eyes.

“Well, okay first off, he was super polite and nice, and he did the cutest thing where he forgot he was wearing his work name tag, right? And I felt really bad for reading his name off of it at the time and I think it freaked him out a bit, but it was really charming how genuine he was too you know? And then he ordered his hot chocolate with marshmallows, and that was just- really fucking cool of him. Like, could you ever get the courage, as a full grown adult, to ask for marshmallows in your drink and not immediately feel like someone’s gonna look down on you?”

“Zander, I still get carded for buying wine at the grocery store. I’ve transcended embarrassment and risen into a plane of pure indifference.”

“Okay, well that doesn’t apply to you. But still, even just working at a flower shop? Screw gender roles and societal norms and all that, but that doesn’t mean people aren’t gonna be climbing out of the woodwork to drag you for being a man who dares to get anywhere near flowers. I just- He had the most beautiful laugh. And he was wearing the cutest sweater too, with a collared shirt under it in these nice pastel colors and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything more confident and fucking badass than that…” Zander trailed off, tears glistening in his eyes.

“...you need a minute?”

“No, no I’m good I just-” Zander sat up, wiping at his eyes, but when Wren wrapped him up in a hug he fell apart completely. “Wren… oh, Wren, he’s fucking incredible…” He tucked his head in the crook of Wren’s neck, arms shaking and eyes glassy, “...and I know he’s never gonna like me back, or I might never see him again, but I’m never gonna forget him for as long as I live…”

“Woah, hey, slow down,” Wren said, rubbing circles into his back absentmindedly. “You can’t just make assumptions like that before you know more. We’ve talked about this.”

“But every time, I swear, all the pretty guys are straight, and all the nice girls are gay, and if they aren’t any of those then they’re aro, or they’re taken…” he rested his full weight against Wren, who laid down sideways with a small ‘oof’, wrapping his arms tighter around his friend.

“Let me ask you a question then. How much time did it take him to say a word when he first stepped up to the counter?” 

“Well… probably thirty seconds at least? But that was definitely my fault for tripping over my line, and then that whole name thing…”

“Mmhmm, right,” Wren nodded, “I’m only gonna take your first sentence into account there. So when he did speak, how much did he trip over his words?”

“Oh, a lot actually, but I think he just had a stutter.”

“Okay, fair,” he conceded, “different question then. What was he staring at when he wasn’t talking?”

“Uhhhh…” Zander trailed off, trying to remember. “I don’t know, he kinda looked around in front of him without moving his head very much, like he was lost?”

“That’s called ‘checking you out,’ dumbass. He’s definitely into you.”

Zander made an unbelieving ‘hmph’ sound and wrapped himself tighter around Wren, making sure to move further to the side so he didn’t suffocate him. 

“Alright, you gotta move though so I can cook-” he started, but cut himself off when Zander looked up, his dark eyes silently pleading. “-but on second thought, I’m really hungry for pizza tonight. Wanna order out?”

“Yeah, sounds good,” Zander sighed, tucking his head back down as Wren dug out his phone and dialed their favorite restaurant. He was silent then, except for a quick whispered reminder to request an extra turn in the oven so their pizza would still be nice and crispy when it arrived.

They were quiet for a long while after that, and by the time the doorbell rang Zander’s breathing had evened out and he slept peacefully, still holding on to Wren.

Bonus: here are the only notes I made before writing this chapter.

“Plans: hmm wren. Then they get to cuddle because allen can’t fucking stop me. But wren is still being petty because i love him“

and that’s the tea, really.

#fluff #fanfiction #best au #zander/cathal #all my love to edwin and allen #no whump only love #pining #mutual pining #but zander doesn't know that #he is merely a Fool and will not listen to wren #wren: you two are in love #zander: very funny let me mourn now #dramatic man is dramatic #cuddling #no strings attached /allen/ #i see you over there with your angst and cuddling but what if just. this. #ya know? #anyway posting time have fun with the happy things you wonderful people

[sustraiii]

TEAM ZRCN ARC 4 - CHAPTER 7

ZRCN’S back baby and so is our favourite purple haired villain! 😎

ZELDE

It had been a week since the explosions at the university, and Highpoint was falling back into a sense of normality again. The hole in the wall had been patched up, and work was now beginning on repairing the other parts of the university that had been damaged.

Among other things that had been picked up again was the situation with how to deal with the Rossi family. Although the threat with them was still present, it had been pushed to the side momentarily to secure the town, but now it was once again in full focus.

One of the first tasks that was being put forward was to talk with Wisteria. After Belleza had mocked them all for not speaking to Wisteria prior to the proposed meeting, it had since been addressed by the Mob Ops as something which needed to happen as soon as they were able. It had been something which Wren had wanted to do herself, but it was at Zelde's request that she allowed Zelde and the rest of her teammates to speak with her first. Team ZRCN had something of a complicated relationship with Wisteria, none more so than Cordovan, and admittedly Zelde was wary of how he would respond to her, especially following his explosive rant.

The team hadn't really spoken of Cordovan's outburst after it had happened; they had more or less pushed it to one side whilst they dealt with securing the town. Zelde knew they would all need to speak about it soon, but for now they all seemed content to leave things as they were for now. The only one who seemed finicky on the subject was Xanthos, who had been on the receiving end of Cordovan's rage.

With the meeting set to go ahead, the team found themselves ushered into an interview room, ready for Wisteria to be brought in by Cherry. 

"Do you know what you will ask her?" Wren inquired, as she paced around the room.

"We'd like to see how much she knew about Belleza's plans," Cordovan explained. "Hopefully she might give us an idea of what to expect moving forward."

"Provided she actually responds," Wren pointed out, as she ceased walking. "As you know, she hasn't exactly been forthcoming in any of the previous interviews we've conducted."

Zelde nodded her head softly, knowing that Wren was correct when she said this. In all the time she had known Wisteria, she had never been the sort to give a straight answer, so it didn't surprise her in the slightest that she wasn't going to make it easy for the Mob Ops. However, Zelde knew from Cordovan, that there was something off about the woman compared to the previous times they had interacted with her. Zelde had heard the story of how she had willingly given herself up to Cordovan and Parson after their clash at the Porfirio's warehouse.

"She's here."

At Wren's words, the team quickly straightened in their streets. A sharp knock at the door confirmed her arrival moments later. As she was led in, Zelde noticed Wisteria glance over in their direction, clearly surprised to see ZRCN sat there. Her eyes never left them as Cherry forced her into the seat opposite and Wren cuffed her to the table.

"We'll be right outside listening in," Wren said, as she and Cherry moved towards the door. "If anything untoward happens, I warn you, I will cut this interview immediately." Zelde noted that she seemed to be directing this more at Wisteria.

Wren and Cherry left the room, leaving the five of them alone. A long, awkward silence took hold for a few seconds, with neither party saying anything, merely staring at one another, as though sizing each other up.

As the leader, Zelde knew it fell to her to start the conversation, but before she could she was interrupted by Wisteria trying to reach across to pour herself a cup of water. Unfortunately, her cuffs prevented her from getting too far, so the water remained out of her grasp.

"Water." Wisteria said simply, looking at the group as she spoke. When nobody responded to her request, she rolled her eyes. "Water, please.”

It was Cordovan who answered her request, quietly pouring out a half-cup of water, before sliding it towards Wisteria. She swiftly grabbed it in both her hands, raised it to her lips, and took a few large gulps before setting it down.

"You know," Wisteria began, "I must say I'm surprised to see you all here. To what, do I owe such a pleasure?"

"We need to ask you some questions," Zelde responded.

"Everyone wants to ask me a question lately," Wisteria mused. "I hope yours is something worth answering."

"Did you know about Belleza's plans to attack Highpoint?"

Wisteria sat back in her chair. "Well, for starters, I have no idea what 'attack' you're talking about. And second of all, it's bold of you to assume Belleza actually trusted me enough to let her in on her plans."

"You seem more like yourself," Cordovan observed, eyeing Wisteria from across the table. "The last time I saw you, you were moping around and barely said a word."

"I could say the same about you," Wisteria quipped. "You caught me at a weak point back then. And whilst I am still grieving now, I refuse to let it hold me back from what I need to do."

"What would someone like you have to grieve for?" Xanthos asked.

Wisteria shot him a glare, and Zelde could see genuine anger flashing in her green eyes. "This may surprise you, but unlike a certain someone we've mentioned today, I actually care about people," She responded sharply. Wisteria continued glaring at Xanthos for a moment, before turning her head towards Zelde. "Tell me exactly what Belleza did."

At her request, Zelde launched into explaining what had happened. As things had taken a turn after Wisteria had been captured - or rather surrendered - at the warehouse, Zelde started from there. She spoke at length about how Belleza and Miho had managed to sneak into the ball and capture Rosie, Callaway, and Mira. How they had planned for Calantha to give herself up in exchange for them, only for Belleza to go back on the deal, and attack the school. And last of all she spoke about how Belleza had implied that they should have spoken to Wisteria about the code Ulysses had worked on. For her part, Wisteria listened to all of this silently, occasionally nodding her head to show she was following along with what she was being told. It was only at the mention of Ulysses that she had a strong reaction.

"Convenient to blame a dead man," Wisteria mused. “Whilst I know it's wrong to speak ill of the dead you should know that Ulysses was good but he wasn’t that good. They had Lunick modify his code to better suit their needs.”

“I’m not familiar with that name,” Zelde said, after taking a moment to try and recall if she had heard that name before. “Who is he?”

“Remember dear old Farron Hargrave? He used to work for him. And unlike Ulysses he actually did hack into the Atlas Military. Twice if I recall correctly. Which is how Farron came to recruit him in the first place,” Wisteria explained. “Belleza snatched him up from Mantle after Ulysses died on Shizukana. Neither of her sisters are particularly gifted in coding and hacking computer systems, so she needed someone who could match Ulysses’s skill, and possibly improve on it. They already had some contact details for Lunick from back when they first implanted me within Farron’s group. They just needed me for his actual address, and they did the rest.”

“The rest?” Neela pressed.

“Oh you know - a little bit of kidnap and murder.”

The mood in the room suddenly changed. Xanthos shook his head in disbelief. “She killed someone else?”

“Wasn’t the first time and certainly won’t be the last,” Wisteria said in a grim tone.

Zelde frowned a little at that, but knew deep down that Wisteria was right. They had already lost a lot to the Rossi's and it stood to reason there would be more suffering yet to come.

"So what do you plan to do about her?"

Wisteria's words stirred her from her thoughts and Zelde saw her giving her an expectant look. "Well?" She pressed.

"There is no plan," Zelde told her. "Not yet anyway."

"Well, I wouldn't hold off for much longer," Wisteria advised. "Take it from me, Belleza isn't just a problem you can ignore and hope she'll go away."

"We're aware of that," Cordovan grunted.

"Are you?" Wisteria made a scoffing sound. She turned her head towards the window. "I know you're out there listening, Wren," She said. "Don't wait for your general's permission, you need to be the decisive one here. If you don't deal with Belleza she'll just come for you."

"She said as much herself," Zelde admitted, thinking back to what Belleza had said before she blew up part of the university. An invitation to fight her on home territory. 

"Let me help you," Wisteria offered. Zelde got the impression she had more to say at that moment, but a sharp intake of breath from Cordovan interrupted her.

"Absolutely not."

“You haven’t heard me out yet,” Wisteria countered.

"To be honest I don't really want to hear what you have to say."

"Cor." Zelde rested a hand softly on his arm. She kept it there until his posture relaxed. "It can't hurt to hear what she has to say. Your mother is unlikely to change her stance on what to do with her so I doubt anything she has to say would do her any good anyway."

"Go on," Cordovan conceded, giving Wisteria a nod to continue.

"As I said, I want to help you," Wisteria said, continuing from where she left off. "I'd like to accompany you to Olympia and help take them out. Of course, you'd be free to do most of - if not all - the hard work. My only request is that you let me have Miho. After that you can do whatever you'd like with me. Imprison me, kill me-"

"We're not killers," Xanthos butted in.

"Everyone says that until their hand is forced."

"You're a fool if you think we'd agree to such a plan," Cordovan said. "For starters, I doubt we would even be going to Olympia at all. Matters regarding what to do with the Rossis and their allies have been left to the military following the attack on the university. Ultimately, it will be up to them to decide how they’re dealt with, not us.”

"Well now they know where I stand," Wisteria said. Zelde noted that as she said this, she was looking at the window, and although Wisteria could not see her Zelde knew she was addressing Wren now. "You've heard what I have to say now, Major, you've heard my offer. The question is are you actually going to do anything with that knowledge or are you going to wait for your orders like an obedient little soldier?"

Zelde looked around at the rest of her teammates, each of them had the same surprised expression as her, taken aback by Wisteria’s brazen offer.

“Is that all we have to say to each other?” Wisteria asked, turning her attention back to ZRCN. “If so I would very much like to return to me cell and let you all mull over what I’ve said.” 

#team zrcn fic #team ZRCN #Zelde Sewick #Xanthos Ravindra #Cordovan Radcliff #Neela Oxford #wren honeycutt #cherry linnet #wisteria bloome