#MENTALLY this is in the des and kass live au | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

selenelavellan · 7 years

Text

On Pins and Knitting Needles

Muppet AU

Melarue and Aelynthi belong to @justanartsysideblog

Kass and Ash belong to @scurvgirl

Dirthamen belongs to @feynites

Dirthamen does not say hi the next time he sees Selene at school.

To his credit, it is because Selene greets him first.

“Dirthamen!” She calls, waving as she jogs up the front steps in the morning. He turns, momentarily frozen at the surprise of her publicly calling his name and approaching.

“Good morning,” he returns. Her brother trails a few feet behind, sparing him only a polite nod which Dirthamen returns as he continues walking past them and into the school building.

“How are you today?” Selene asks with a smile.

He pauses, and contemplates the question. “I am adequate.”

“That's good, I guess. How's din-din?”

“He is his usual self,” Dirthamen evades.

She gives a soft hum in response, grip tightening just slightly as she readjusts her book bag and heads through the doors, Dirthamen following beside her “Anything interesting happening in your classes today?”

“I am unsure, as I have not yet attended them. Although my magic management instructor has a history of giving surprise examinations, so that is always a possibility.”

“Do you have Mr. Irving?”

“Indeed.”

“He only gives the exams on days that are divisible by three, so you should be safe.”

Dirthamen blinks, pausing in his step.

Selene turns to look at him, and lets out a soft laugh at the look of confusion on his face “I had him last year. He thinks he's slick, but he's got a pattern. Don't tell him about it though, or he might switch it up.”

Dirthamen nods “I...will remember that. Thank you.”

“No problem.”

When they approach the end of the hall, Selene turns to the left, while Dirthamen steps to the right. With a friendly wave goodbye, Selene makes her turn and heads towards her first class, leaving behind a still slightly stunned Dirthamen.

She finds that they have separate lunch periods, and their paths really don't cross much throughout the day. The knowledge makes her feel significantly less guilty for not knowing his name before, but she still keeps an eye out for Dirthamen throughout the day.

Just in case.

Because they're friends now.

She doesn't see him again until school lets out for the day, in fact. Aelynthi is staying late to work on an upcoming project, so Selene had planned on going home on her own today. She gives him another wave, and he returns it, approaching her.

“So, anything interesting happen?” She teases.

“Not in my classes, no.”

“Oh? Something else then?”

Dirthamen doesn't answer right away, one of his eyebrows furrowing just slightly as he looks up and away from her.

“Do you know how to knit?” he asks.

Selene nods “Yeah, why?”

“I have a project which requires it.”

Selene frowns, shoulders straightening “I'm not doing your homework for you.”

“I would not ask you to,” he assures her. “But it is not a skill I currently have, and thought perhaps you might be willing to show me. If you are busy with other things, or simply do not wish to, however, I would understand.”

“Oh,” Selenes shoulders fall slightly, as she considers the offer “I could probably spare some time for that, yeah. Do you have your materials yet?”

“I believe I have sufficiently gathered whatever tools may be necessary. They are at my house, currently. We could retrieve them, if you would like.”

“Sure let me ju-Oh,” Selene pauses, remembering what day it is “I have to get home before Ash does. Nanae and Mama are at the doctors for something, and someone needs to keep an eye on her. If you can grab your stuff quickly enough, I could show you how to knit at my house while I watch her.”

Dirthamen nods, and gestures for Selene to lead the way. She does her best to remember which streets to turn down, but Dirthamen still has to correct her a few times. But they arrive at his Estate more quickly than Selene had planned on still, so she doesn't bother worrying about it.

There is a car parked in the driveway, and it gives Dirthamen pause.

“My apologies,” he explains “I was not expecting them back until the weekend.”

“Oh. Should I just head home then, or...?”

“No. I will simply use an alternate entrance. Please wait here, I should return in a few minutes.”

Selene blinks, watching as Dirthamen takes a sharp left across the lawn rather than going in through his front door.

Well. It's his house, she supposes.

Selene waits anxiously, checking the time on her phone and mentally calculating how she can shorten her route to make sure she still gets home before Ash does.

Thankfully, Dirthamen is true to his word, and returns after only approximately 5 minutes with a large tote bag in hand, filled with at least 10 different shades of grey yarn, and three separate travel packs of knitting needles packed on top of everything else.

“Holy shit,” Selene whispers “What sort of project is this?”

Just as Dirthamen opens his mouth to answer, the door of the estate opens, and he silently shakes his head and ushers the two of them against the wall where they can't be seen, until the mechanical whir of the front gate closing can be heard.

“Avoiding your parents?” Selene asks with a slow eyebrow raise as Dirthamen finally steps back onto the sidewalk.

“Yes.”

“...Oh.”

Selene awkwardly clears her throat and gestures with her head down the road “Alright, I'm going to be late if we don't go right now, so follow me.”

They manage to make it back to the mansion right as Ash is being dropped off by the local carpool. Selene waves to Ash, who jogs over to meet the pair.

“You're late,” she accuses.

“I'm sorry. I had to make a pit stop.”

Ash sniffs and points at Dirthamen without turning to face him “Who's this guy?”

“Ash, be polite,” Selene reminds her as she digs out her house key “This is Dirthamen.”

“Ooooh,” she turns to him now “You've got the mean cat.”

“Ash!”

“Well he does!”

Selene just shakes her head and holds the door open while Ash goes barreling inside “Shoes!” Selene calls after her, removing her own as she steps inside. Ash huffs and stops to take her own off before darting onto the couch and snagging the television remote “I got it first! I get to pick!”

“Alright, alright. One hour, and then homework, ok?” Selene placates.

“'Kay!”

“Your sister?” Dirthamen inquires, following Selene into the living room.

“Mm-hm.”

“Adopted?” he ventures.

“No, she's Mamas. I was, though,” Selene answers as she glances around for Anaris “Is that a problem?”

“Of course not. My apologies.”

Selene hums in response, deciding that Anaris will turn up if he feels like it, and heads up the stairs to her room with Dirthamen following behind her.

Des is asleep on her bed, as usual. He peeks one eye open when they enter, ears perking up when he sees Selenes guest. He stands, stretching, and saunters over to rub against Dirthamen's legs, purring loudly.

“Your cat is...very friendly,” he notes.

“He just likes attention. You can pet him if you want, just know that he'll want to sit with you the rest of the time you're here if you do,” Selene warns.

Dirthamen nods and kneels down, hand gently rubbing at the top of Des's head. He stretches up, pushing his head further into Dirthamen's touch, as his purrs steadily rise in volume.

Selene smiles at the sight before bending over to pull her own box of knitting supplies out from underneath her bed.

Nothing against whatever Dirthamen has, but she always prefers the feel of her own needles.

She slides the plastic box out with ease, cat toys and bottle-caps jingling as they're pushed aside and out of its path. The noise almost manages to yank Des's attention away from Dirthamen, but his hand turns to scratch beneath the felines chin, and Selene begins to wonder if Des is going to try to follow him home.

“Alright, alright. Break up the love fest you two, it's time to go back downstairs.”

Dirthamen blinks, brows creasing slightly in confusion as he stands. He doesn't say anything though, instead following Selene back down the stairs. She plops down on the carpet, leaning against a pullout chair and places her box beside her. She then gestures for Dirthamen to sit across from her and holds out one hand expectantly. He obeys, seating himself on the floor only a few feet away and handing over his tote full of supplies as Des ambles down the stairs and settles down beside him.

“Some of this is still in the plastic,” Selene mumbles, carefully emptying it out to see what they have to work with “You never told me what you were trying to...” she pauses, pulling out the remnants of her favorite grey sweater that had been torn apart by his cat and staring at it incredulously “...do.”

Dirthamen fidgets awkwardly on the ground while Selene stares him down with a slightly raised eyebrow.

“You said you had a school project.”

“I never said school,” he points out.

Selene lets out an undignified snort.

“Alright. I'd appreciate more straightforwardness in the future though.”

Dirthamen nods in agreement as he watches Selene pull out her own ball of yarn from her box.

“I still have some leftovers from when I made this one, so if it's alright with you, we'll just use that for the sake of continuity.”

Dirthamen nods again, watching as Selene carefully loops the end over one of her needles. She takes a few minutes to show him the proper way to hold the needles in his fingers, and to show him a practice row of the knit-knit-purl pattern she had used.

He nods once more when she's finished, and she pulls out the practice row, handing her yarn and sweater back over. Dirthamen struggles slightly at copying her positioning, and Selene helps readjust his fingers a few times before he feels comfortable. The first row is uneven, as Dirthamen struggles to keep his tension even, but Selene waits until he finishes to correct him.

By the fifth row, Selene thinks he's doing very well for his first time, and compliments him.

His face turns very red, and she has to stifle a laugh.

It's...really too cute to watch his face change color beneath his curls, she thinks.

She hums, watching as he focuses on his movements and continues with his project.

Ash comes over to watch before long, and Selene recruits her to help roll one of her unused blue skeins into a usable ball.

By the time she's finished and runs off to get her vocabulary homework out of her backpack, Dirthamen has filled in two of the holes.

Selene is actually mildly impressed.

Especially since he could have just bought her a new sweater with much less money than he clearly spent on knitting supplies and yarns that are similar-but-not-quite-right to the shade of her sweater.

The fact that he would rather repair it is...endearing. And adorable.

And the scrunch he gets on his forehead when he's focused like this is also adorable.

She should...probably shift her own focus to something else.

Selene begins a project of her own with the deep blue yarn, helping Ash with her questions while she goes, absently repeating the pattern through muscle memory after several years of making these for her brother and sister already.

Another hour passes, and Nanae Melarue and Mama Kass walk into the door. Selene calls out her greeting from where she's working while Ash runs off to give them both a hug, and Dirthamen's shoulders jerk slightly as they enter.

Selene briefly wonders what his own home life must be like, but her thoughts are interrupted by Melarue stepping into the living room behind him.

“Selene, you didn't mention you were bringing home a friend.”

“Sorry, Nanae. It wasn't really planned,” She apologizes.

Melarues head tilts in that assessing way of theirs as she continues “This is Dirthamen, a friend from school. Dirthamen, this is my Nanae, Melarue.”

He turns and stands, awkward and nervous and almost dropping one whole side as he reaches out a hand to shake “It's-it's a pleasure to meet you.”

Melarue puts on one of their most charming smiles, and Selene wonders what they're planning as they grip his hand and return “And you as well, Dirthamen. Will you be joining us for dinner, then?”

“No, I...should return to my own home for dinner.”

“Pity. Perhaps another time then?”

Dirthamen swallows, and gives a nod as Melarue leaves to attend to Kass in the kitchen.

Selene stands, hoping to give him a cue to follow while he seems stuck between impulses. He follows her up the stairs, sweater and yarn awkwardly bundled in his arms as he follows her back up the stairs and into her room once more.

“Leave your door open!” Melarue calls from downstairs somewhere.

Selene rolls her eyes as she returns a sarcastic “Ok but try not to get distracted by all the SEX NOISES THEN!”

Dirthamen turns a very satisfying shade of red and freezes mid-step, and Des prances past him and back to his usual space on the bed while Ash from downstairs can be heard saying “Mama, I already heard, stop covering my ears.”

Oh, she's going to pay for that one later, Selene thinks. But for now, she just plops onto her bed and goes back to knitting (and does indeed leave the door open). She has to pause to help Dirthamen get back into his rhythm, and she gives him a soft apology, explaining that she didn't mean to upset him earlier.

“It's a very blunt household. I forget sometimes, not everyone makes jokes like that.”

“I was not upset. Just...surprised,” he claims, although Selene notes that the tips of his ears are still very, very red.

The sun is setting by the time Dirthamen has filled in all of the holes, and Selene is satisfied with the length of the scarf. She thanks him, as he hands her back her sweater, and hands him the newly knit blue scarf in return.

He blinks, staring down at it.

“I do not understand.”

“It's a gift.”

“I...did not get you anything.”

Selene just gives him a dismissive wave “You don't have to. It's a good color for you, and it's getting colder out. If it makes you feel better, consider it a thank you for fixing my sweater.”

Dirthamen frowns as he looks at the garment in Selenes grip “You taught me how to repair it. I am not sure the thanks should rest with me.”

“Mm, but you could've tried to replace it, or thrown it out, and you didn't. You fixed it, instead. I think that sort of effort is more than deserving of thanks.”

Dirthamen opens his mouth to argue, and Selene holds up a finger to stop him “It's not up for debate. I gave you a gift and it'd be rude to return it. You don't have to wear it if you don't like it, but at least wait until you get home to throw it away.”

He looks down at the scarf, and then back up to Selene and gives a small nod and a “Thank you.”

Selene smiles and watches as he carefully wraps it around his neck. “It is very soft,” he comments.

“Mm-hm. It's the same brand that made the yarn for my sweater. They do good work.”

He nods again, and follows Selene out of the room and down the stairs, awkwardly trying to avoid the stares of her parents and siblings who are not-subtly watching the two of them.

Aelynthi at least gives him a wave, that he returns without raising his hand higher than his waist as he slips his shoes back on.

“Thank you for having me over,” he swallows as he and Selene step outside, and she closes the door behind her for a modicum of privacy.

“Thank you for fixing my sweater,” she returns. “We should hang out more.”

“I would like that very much,” he smiles.

Selene leans up and gives him a hug before he leaves, watching with satisfaction as his face turns red again, and she wonders just how many friends he's had before at the way his arms seem to struggle to remember what they're supposed to do in return.

She heads back into the house once he's walked away, four faces staring back at her as the door clicks shut.

She sighs.

“Alright, go ahead.”

Aelynthi just shrugs “He seems alright. He treated Thenvunin well, so he can't be all bad.”

“He's quieter than Melanadahl was,” Ash comments “I like it!”

Kass smiles and says “It's always nice to make new friends.”

Selenes gaze turns to Melarue and their upturned brow.

“Well?” she pushes.

But Melarue just hums and walks into the kitchen without a word.

Selene will take it as a victory.

#Muppet AU #Dirthalene #Casserole #Selene Lavellan #Aelynthi #Melarue #Kass #Ash #Des

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