Tales of Miraculous

[Aster]

A brief look of confusion crossed Tristan's face as he tried to make sense of Tokki's stuttering. "Really? Like what?" Tristan asked, genuinely curious. A small smile pulled on his lips though he was more than oblivious to Tokki's obvious flustered state.


Avaria nodded and pursed her lips, sympathetic to those who got caught in the mess. Her eyes widened in surprise at the invite and quickly glancing at Tristan, Avaria answered for the both of them before her friend could screw the opportunity up.


"Actually I have a game th--"


"Sure, we'd love to," Avaria grinned, ignoring Tristan's muffled yelp as her heel made contact with his toe. "I'm sure Tristan would love to try your other pasteries? Right?" Avaria said, giving the male a look which offered no room for argument. Turning back to the duo she beamed, "Just lead the way!"

 

[Cinnabunny]

Eric chuckled, and gestured to Tokki. "Lead the way, shortstack." Tokki fumed a bit, but started walking towards the bakery, adjusting her bag's strap. She couldn't believe this, if she made it out of this without dying from embarrassment, she was going to straight up murder Eric.


Eric kept looking back at Ava, and he couldn't place why he had that moment of such intense deja vu. He looked intense at the moment, and then went back to looking ahead, occasionally trying to snag a treat from Tokki's bag, being met by her smacking his hand each time. He was laughing though, and seemed to be enjoying himself when he offered one of the snatched cookies to Ava.


Tokki peeked back, her lavender eyes partially hidden by her hair, and looked at Tristan, her cheeks regaining their red glow as she quickened her pace, hugging her bag closer to her, like it was planning on running away from her, Eric giving commentary to most of the people they passed, helping to amuse the group as they walked, managing to help Tokki chill out a bit, and she actually laughed a bit.

 

[Aster]

Tristan sighed silently in defeat (mostly out of exaggeration) but followed along happily as he knew he had nothing better to do at home. Though he was good friends with his classmates, save for Ava who was his neighbor, he wasn't close with anyone else. Eric was a cool guy and Tristan had always respected his skills in art; Tokki, on the other hand, was someone Tristan found an enigma. He wasn't completely sure if she was just painfully shy or if he had done something to make the babe afraid(?) of him. Maybe he came off the wrong way to her? He wasn't sure, but the fact that she had given him cookies proved that she didn't hate his guts in the least. If Tristan had half the mind, he would've used the hang out as a golden opportunity to find out Tokki's feelings; much to anyone's disdain, his thoughts were still half occupied at today's recent fight.


Ava couldn't help but fiddle with the ends of her hair, feeling Eric's keen stare on her. Her mind raced through all the negative possibilities for his gaze and the reminder that she had just kissed him moments ago didn't help with her self-conscious. She tried to force herself to relax, feigning mild confusion when she asked Eric, "Is there something in my hair or...?" The question was shaken off along with pieces of Ava's gripping anxiety as a cookie was offered. She took it, greatly appreciating the distraction and humoring Eric as he made his commentary.


The bakery soon came into sight and the smell of freshly baked bread and baked sweets waft in the air. The small chime of a bell alerted their presence and they entered with shy smiles. It was Eric's first time in Tokki's bakery but Ava's third.

 

[Cinnabunny]

When she asked him about something about her hair, he looked confused. "Huh? No, it was your eyes. They-" He cut himself off. "Nothing, nevermind."


"Eomma? I'm home!" She called into the shop, and after a moment Tokki's mom's head popped out of the back room. She looked a lot like her daughter, though her hair was longer and pulled into a tight knot on top of her head, and she seemed to be wearing some sort of cardigan. "Oh, Tokki! And you brought people!" She looked over the group. "Hey Mrs. Jeong." Eric gave a two finger salute. "We just finished making many things, feel free to try some."


Tokki's mother hurried back into the back room, where there seemed to be boxes strewn around, though she seemed rather pleased that Tokki seemed to be gaining more friends, and Tokki's face was still pink, though she briefly wondered where her papa was. She hopped over the small gate behind the counter with ease, before she took her bag off, setting it so Tuvi could get out and feed herself.


Eric leaned on the counter, looking at the freshly baked goods. "Oh, your mom made beignets!" He looked dreamily into the case at the food. He loved coming here because of how it smelled, not to mention the fact that he usually had a first hand seat when Avaria, Lapin and Suikyun were battling.


Tokki pulled out a few different things for each of them to try, and even though Tristan was right there, she felt a lot more comfortable now, as she fell into the easy task of unloading the oven after she sat out the pastries for them to try, her braids dangling and swaying as she moved between the oven and the fridge with various items, before she turned back to face them. When she did, Eric had already popped a beignet in his mouth, which had covered his mouth in powdered sugar, and she failed to stifle her giggle at the fact, and he shrugged at her and swallowed. "What?"

 

[Aster]

"Hello Mrs. Jeong. Sorry for the intrusion and thanks for having us," Tristan said, his manners stemming way down to his Japanese roots. He offered a polite smile before his eyes wandered around the shop, awestruck at the line of mouth-watering treats displayed. The aroma was like an assault on his nose and had he not eaten the cookies from earlier, he swore his stomach would have growled.


"Likewise," Avaria added, following in after the trio.


(I'm assuming they're in the bakery unless they moved to Tokki's room???)


Seats were taken near the large window where a decorated logo of Jeong family bakery was painted in black. With the pastries set before them, Tristan happily helped himself, grabbing a cream puff and biting into its contents. Custard was expected but clearly, Tristan had not prepared for it to gush out, dripping onto his fingers and lips. Eyes widened briefly before a muffled chuckle escaped closed lips. Quickly downing the bite he had taken, the custard was licked off, leaving Avaria to sigh and shake her head at the slight mess he made.


Green eyes shifted to Eric who was beside her. Powdered sugar dusted the corners of his lips temptingly and before Avaria knew what she was doing, she had already reached over with a napkin in hand. "Uhm-- you had some sugar. Sorry. Here," she said, hand only millimeters away from Eric's face. Inwardly she cursed at herself knowing that what she had done was almost 100% instinct. Her younger brother Averis had a knack of leaving a canvas of whatever food he was eating on his face and being the naggy older sister she was, Avaria was used to cleaning it up for him.


"I can't compare Eric to my younger brother though, idiot," she fumed in her mind.

 

[Cinnabunny]

Tokki smiled at Eric, looking rather amused, taking a bite of a lemon tart, her eyes kept darting back to Tristan, and she couldn't suppress her laughter at him squirting custard on himself. She had seen Eric do that more than once, and it was kind of hilarious. She realized she was staring and her face flushed, and Eric chuckled at her.


Eric looked over at Ava curiously as she reached to wipe his face. He was vaguely reminded of Tokki, albeit that was a long time ago, when they were both really little. He'd always been kind of messy. He wiped his own face, and gazed curiously once again at Ava. When he looked back to Tokki's seat, she had gotten up to get more napkins, as well as take the empty plates. He went back to looking at Ava. "So, how has class been going for you?" He asked sheepishly.


The bell on the door rang, gathering Eric's attention, pulling it for the moment, and two kids ran in, specifically into Tokki, knocking her backwards, and the new plates went up into the air. Tokki, looked panicked for only a moment before she fell, rolling and catching the plates, kneeling with her arms fully extended in front of her, eyes wide. The two kids stared at her, the taller of the two's mouth hanging open as she slowly stood up, exhaling deeply again. She managed to get the plates to the table, and her mom had come out to take over the counter.


Eric looked impressed. "Nice catch, Tokki." He offered up his fist and she bumped it. "Yeah, I guess I just got lucky." She said sheepishly as she sat back down. How embarrassing. She couldn't believe she had fumbled that badly, especially around Tristan! Ughhhhh...

 

[Aster]

Unlike Tokki, Avaria did a good job at keeping her composure on the outside while proceeding to melt under Eric's gaze on the inside. Fretting and screaming on the inside, Avaria returned a shy smile as she answered, cupping the hot mug of tea in her hands, "It's been alright, but only because father has gotten me extra classes for the more 'difficult' subjects," she half sighed, knowing that good grades were expected from her parents because her older brother was a prodigy. The least she could do was try to follow in his footsteps.


Tristan had just finished munching on his cream puff when the door chimed. At the sight of Tokki following backwards, on pure instinct, Tristan had gotten up from his seat so fast, the chair nearly knocked over. A step too slow, Tokki had somehow manage to recover the plates without harm. At this, Tristan sighed in relief before returning to his seat. His hand scratched awkwardly at the back of his head.


"Geez, that was close. You okay?" He asked, more impressed than embarrassed at how quickly Tokki managed to reverse the situation due to her quick reflexes. The way she moved gave him the oddest sense of deja vu - one he couldn't quite put his finger on.

 

[Cinnabunny]

Tokki sat the plates on the table. "Ye-yeah, fine." She said, going to sit down, and unlike with the plates, this time she actually managed function like a normal person, and slid into her seat nervously, only barely catching what Ava said. She looked over at Tristan a bit awkwardly, and her father barreled into the shop, a tall man with sandy blonde hair, freckles, and Tokki's bright lavender eyes. He was carrying a large sack of something, and her mother hurried around the counter to guide him to the storage room, and Tokki giggled a bit, covering her mouth. Her parents were kind of adorable.


Eric nodded. "Really? That must mean you're pretty smart, huh?" He asked, picking up another pastry off the new plate, looking over it curiously before popping it into his mouth. It was very sweet, and had a creamy center. "Hmmm..." In all honesty, Eric would probably live at Tokki's if he could. Her parents were around a lot more than his, and they always let him eat to his hearts content when he did come over. They had known each other since elementary school. Eric had drawn a picture of Tokki for show and tell. When one kid made fun of it, she stuck up for him, and they were inseparable ever since.


He looked at Ava again and swallowed the treat, and smiled warmly at her. "Well that's good to hear at least." He stretched. "I'm doing decently, but my parents have been harping on me to get a part time job." He groaned a bit. "I know it's for the best, but they're so pushy about it." He slumped, taking another small pastry off the plate.

 

[Aster]

(sorry for the wait. btw I think u accidentally typed tristan instead of eric wwww)


Avaria blushed, visibly so this time, and fidgeted with the hem of her cardigan underneath the table. "Well, no. I wouldn't say that. It's just that my father would be disappointed if I didn't get anything that wasn't an A... like him," Avaria grumbled the last part to herself, grudgingly reminded of her prodigal brother. Things came easy for him and as the oldest, he set the path for Avaria and Averis to follow along - even if it's a path Avaria didn't want to follow.


Tristan perked at the mention of a job and impulsively he added in, "Why don't you work at The Parlor? It's a coffee house down the street and they're hiring, I think. Avaria works there so I'm sure she can give you a hand on things." He grinned, completely oblivious to the screaming look in Avaria's eyes. If Tristan had half the sense of the majority, he would have caught on the warning signals flashing.


"What. Are. You. Doing?!" she was screaming inside, only to be blocked out by the glad-to-help, innocent grin on Tristan's face.


"Right?" He said, beaming.

 

[Cinnabunny]

"Him?" Eric asked, curiously. He knew that Ava had a younger brother, but he hadn't heard of the older one. He was watching her curiously, taking small bites of the pastry in front of him, seeming rather captivated by what Ava was talking about, the pinkness in her cheeks stirring something in his memory, but it was gone in an instant.


"The Parlor? Couldn't hurt." He looked to Tristan. "Actually, that sounds pretty fun. I do love drinking coffee." He nudged Tokki and laughed. "I think she knows that better than anyone. Tokki looked up at him in mock annoyance. "You drank all of the fancy coffee I bought when you came over and that was only a week ago you jerk." He ruffled her hair, laughing at her insincere annoyance with him. "Not my fault you didn't drink it fast enough." Tokki stuck her tongue out at him, before she realized how childish she must look to Tristan, her face flushing a bit as she took a bite of one of the pastries.


Eric turned his attention back to Ava and Tristan. "I'll definitely apply there. Seems like it would be fun." He grinned, taking another bite of his food, smiling to himself.

 

[Aster]

"Uhm, it's no one really! Just my older brother. He's kinda the brain in the family. And the athelete. And the socialite. He's basically perfect," Avaria sighed, embarrassed that Eric had heard her near-inaudible grumbling. She looked down at the plate of pastries, flustered and disappointed with herself. It was hard not to when she was used to being compared to someone else.


Tristan relaxed more, a bit excited as well as amused to see a new side of Tokki. At school when she was alone with him, she was always a bundle of nerves; though shy as she was, Tristan knew that Tokki was a sweet girl with a good heart. Multiple moments in class has displayed her care for her friends and classmates.


He chuckled when Tokki stuck out her tongue childishly and teased along, "I'm a coffee myself. Maybe next time you should call me over so I can help Eric here finish this fancy coffee in less." His laugh was shortly cut off by a rap on the head by Avaria's knuckles.


"R-really?" Avaria said, mentally gathering herself for the fact that Eric would be working where she works. "I... I'll look forward to your joining then," she said weakly, but smiling.

 

[Cinnabunny]

Tokki turned bright red when Tristan mentioned coming over to help her finish off coffee some time. "You sound that's delicious- Wait." Eric couldn't hold in his laughter, and Tokki corrected herself, sheepish. "I mean, uh, that' sounds good. Yeah." She slumped a bit in her seat, and Eric turned to look at Ava. "I look forward to it too!" He grinned at her, oblivious to the effect he had on her.


(NYOOM TIMESKIP.)


Tokki had finished cleaning up their table, with little incident. She flipped the sign, wiping her forehead, and Eric had collected all his sketches from the table, having taken them out to show Ava and Tristan, slung his bag over his shoulder, and opened the door, a crack of thunder making Tokki jump, looking scared to death, though she was frozen in place, not wanting to embarrass herself. Eric, however, patted her shoulder. "Hey, you're fine."


Eric knew Tokki was kinda freaked out by thunder, and with rain this heavy, it'd be hard to get home. "I guess we're staying overnight." He shrugged, and Tokki's eyes got big. "Ah- what-" Her face turned red, but then her realization hit her. "OKAY JUST LET ME CLEAN UP!" She darted up the ladder to her room, quickly taking down references and magazine covers, stuffing them in her chest, pushing her dress form into her closet, and after a few hectic minutes, her room looked presentable. She opened the hatch. "You guys can come up now..." She called down into the bakery, looking sheepish.

 

[Aster]

Tristan's grin remained plaster in his innocent bliss though he groaned slightly as he rubbed the place where his head got hit. "I'm just kidding, but it'll be nice to hang out like this again."


For once, Avaria could agree.




The sky was darkened by the time Avaria looked out the window, taking notice of the storm clouds up ahead. "Wow, did time fly by so quickly already?" she asked, a bit amazed at how easy it was to lose track. Her attention was easily caught by her crush and though she did well in hiding it, even when she seemed like she wasn't listening or focus on Eric, she was.


A crippling boom struck the sky inviting a heavy downpour of rain in a matter of seconds. Stun by the turn of events, Avaria turned to eye the clock. Her brows furrowed at the numbers 6 and 8 which the hands pointed to. It had gotten really late - far too late for Avaria to still be out. She was almost surprised to see that her family members hadn't called in yet, only to see that her inbox was spammed with text messages from brothers.


"Oh no," she cursed inwardly, typing a quick reply to them to prove that she wasn't dead somewhere in some strange alley. There were multiples 'I'm fine.' typed out, followed with an explanation as to why she wasn't home yet. Being caught by the rain would prevent her leave further and a quick reply was made by her brother, Averill.


"Just stay there until the rain clears. I'll come walk you home. It'll be too dangerous if you go back on your own this late."


Avaria scoffed silently, thinking to herself, "Well, I battle akumas on an almost day to day basis. If that's not dangerous then I don't know what is," but at the same time, she was relieved and touched by her brother's concern.


The mention of a sleepover snapped her from her thoughts. "All of us? Is that okay with you, Tokki?" Avaria asked, head turning so fast Tristan swore Avaria just gave herself a whiplash.


--


"Wait, seriously?" Tristan asked, a bit glad that he didn't have to go out in a storm like this, yet guilty for troubling his classmate. "I mean, if it's okay with you, I'll be glad to stay. Just let me give my dad a call real quick," he said, hand behind his head as he moved to a corner to inform his father of the change in plans.

 

[Cinnabunny]

"Yeah... It's fine. C'mon." She gestured up into her room, and Eric quickly made his way up the ladder, causing Tokki to have to jump out of the way, shuffling and rolling a bit as he stood up, stretching, and setting his bag down. Tokki rubbed the back of her head awkwardly, looking down the entrance, hanging out of it upside down momentarily. "Seriously, it's fine."


Eric was climbing towards Tokki's roof hatch, moving it, and almost drenching himself, and Tokki threw a stuffed doll across the room at him. It was the only one on her bed, and it looked like Avaria, complete with hair pins. His eyes went wide, holding it. "Ohmygodwhere did you get this?" Oh no, think fast. "Oh, uh, online store." He was still staring at the doll when Avaria came upstairs, and when she did, he chucked it back to Tokki.

 

[Aster]

Being the observant one of the group, Avaria quickly caught eye of the Avis (I'm pretty sure u meant that because it would be weird for Tokki to have an actual Avaria doll lmao) doll being flung around. Impressed but also a bit conflicted at the treatment being done to it, she unknowingly blurted out words without much thought. "That looks amazing but I would appreciate if you didn't throw me-- I mean, my idol around like that," she said stumbling on the last step but crawling up nonetheless.


Tristan followed shortly afterwards and closed the hatch behind him. "Wow! An attic bedroom. That's so cool. Kinda like Harry Potter right?"


"Harry lived in a storage room under the stairs, Tristan," Avaria corrected, taking her seat on a nearby chair. With all the seats (except the bed) taken, Tristan sat himself criss-crossed on the floor.


"Oh, my bad. Still cool though."

 

[Cinnabunny]

( i fricked up. I meant Avis oops)


Tokki chuckled, slowly pushing her sewing kit under her bed further with her leg. "Yeah, I like it." She nodded, and Eric threw Ava the doll. "It's cool. Tokki says she bought it on an online store. Exclusive and stuff." Tokki cracked an awkward smile at the comment. More like the only one in existence.





Eric hopped off the ladder and joined Tristan on the floor. "Who wants to play a game?" He asked, looking around the room contemplatively. There were a few go- to games he'd read about, and he wanted a chance to test them out, looking at each person individually, with a pleading expression. Tokki sighed. "Fine, fine..." She murmured, getting up, and joining Eric on the floor.

 

[Aster]

Avaria caught the doll with ease and examined the doll with a small smile on her face. The details were quite accurate and it touched her to know that someone cared enough to make one of her superhero persona. The fine hem lines made her question whether or not the doll was mass produced but she kept her thoughts to herself.


"What game?" Avaria asked, in a tone which suggested her participation.


Like Eric, Tristan perked up at the mention of games. His house was full of them, both digital and board. "Count me in," he said, looking over at Tokki, "It's always more fun when there's more players."

 

[Cinnabunny]

"Let's play Truth or Dare." Eric said after a moment, grinning around the circle, noting Tristan's glance at Tokki. "It'll be fun. You go first Ava." He said, crossing his legs and grinning at the girl, curious as to who she'd pick to answer or do a dare. He had never really gotten a chance to hang around in groups of kids, so this was exciting. Not that he didn't like hanging out with Tokki, but it was nice having more people around.


Tokki locked eyes with Tristan for a moment, her face flushing red. "Yeah, I guess it is." She responded softly, putting her hands in her lap as her gaze flicked to the doll Ava was holding now, praying she didn't suspect anything odd about it. She couldn't let Eric know she liked to sew. She swallowed hard, her shoulders tensed up a bit when Eric suggested truth or dare.

 

[Aster]

"W-wait, me?" Avaria asked, surprised at both the suggestion of the game and the fact that she was volunteered to go first. Avaria had always been the observer in most groups which made her likely to come last in most activities and games, letting her pick up on people's tactics and behavior before mimicking them in her own way. Starting first was more than less appealing but she did not have it in her to refuse the invitation from her crush.


"Uhm," she mumbled, weighing the possible outcomes in her head. She had no idea what dares or truths Tokki and Eric would pull on her, and gods forbid she knew what Tristan might have in mind. "Truth?" she said at last, deciding the lesser of the two evils (or so she thought).


"Booooring," Tristan teased, edging Avaria to differ. "Dares are much more fun," he said with a grin.

 

[Cinnabunny]

"Hmm..." He murmured, tapping his chin. Tokki was watching the two of them, though her eyes flickered to Tristan momentarily before continuing their sweep. "Of all the people you know, who has the most beautiful eyes?" Avis. Though people he actually knew in real life... hm... Probably Juleka. He wondered who Avaria would pick.


Tokki's eyes flicked to Tristans, momentarily sidetracked before she pulled her gaze away, cheeks burning as she awaited Avaria's verdict.

 

[Aster]

"Yours." Avaria almost dared answer. If she had less thought in her words, her confession would have slipped through. Lips pursed together, Avaria's eyes shifted nervously to the ground as she thought of an answer which wouldn't plainly reveal her feelings. She kept her face composed, though thoughtful as she meekly answered, "On second thought, how about I do a dare instead?"


"Nuh uhhh, there's no backing out on this one Ava," Tristan declared, wagging a finger in chiding. There was a playful glint in his eyes as his gaze met Tokki's for the briefest of moments; he blinked in innocent curiosity before turning back to Avaria for a response. "Well?" he egged on.


Avaria made a short sigh in defeat as her gaze crossed briefly over everyone's eyes, landing finally on Eric's. (I have no idea what Eric's eye color is so I'm just bullshitting) Had Avaria's answer not been biased, she would have chosen Tokki's eyes which were the color of violets, all blooming in different shades like glimmers in a gem, but it was Eric's eyes, strong and full of conviction, which struck Avaria's heart to the core. Though, it never did help that Avaria was never really in his gaze except when she was Avis.


"Eric's. I like your eyes the best," Avaria admitted, truthful but direct. Her cheeks rose briefly in color though her gaze held firm in faint imitation before crumbling back down to her feet. "Okay, T-tokki's turn is next."

 

[Cinnabunny]

Eric blinked, surprised by her choice. His eyes were nice, he guessed, a cold blue against his dark hair and tan skin. She picked his eyes though, which was strange to him, and he felt warmth creeping up his neck as Avaria redirected the attention to his best friend.


"I pick.... dare!" Tokki said after a moment, hoping she wouldn't loose her bravery, gripping the pocket watch in her side pocket, hoping it would lend her some of that bravery that she had so often as Lapin, looking towards Avaria with conviction. Please be merciful. She inhaled deeply, awaiting whatever Avaria could dish out.


Eric let out an "Oooh." He grinned and gave Tokki a light punch in the shoulder, and she stuck her tongue out at him, crossing her arms over her chest and letting go of her pocket. Eric watched the way she sat curiously. It was different than usual.

 

[Aster]

"At least someone here has some guts," Tristan teased, with no real malice in his voice.


Avaria rolled her eyes and pondered a moment for a good dare. "Uhm, I dare you to... tap dance? Or at try to," Avaria said, choosing something harmless yet semi-embarrassing. She gave Tokki a sympathetic smile while Tristan chuckled at the thought.


Scooting a few steps back, Tristan gave way for Tokki to dance in the center.

 

[Cinnabunny]

Tokki chuckled. "Okay, here it goes." She moved her feet, tapping her toes and her heels on the ground with soft clicks, laughing and smiling in amusement at how silly she probably looked while doing it, her feet moving of their own accord in front of each person before ending back in front of Avaria, unable to contain her laughter.


Eric was in stitches, laughing rather hard at how silly Tokki looked while doing that, though he admired her confidence. "Okay, Tristan's turn, truth or dare!" She announced, pointing over to him as she took her seat again, still giggling, thanking her pocketwatch, her miraculous, for helping to relieve the tension.


Eric wiped his face and looked to Tristan, awaiting whether he'd pick truth or dare.

 

[Aster]

It was rude to laugh out loud and yet, despite knowing this, Avaria couldn't help the muffled laughter which escaped through clamped lips and clasped hands. Laughter was contagious, she thought to herself, thoroughly entertained by Tokki's short but funny performance.


Tristan too, was laughing and even rapping his fingers against the wooden floor in tune of Tokki's tapping. When it came to his turn in the game, a wide grin of confidence was on his lips as he declared, "Dare."


Avaria rose both brows up in suggestive thought. There were a ton of good dares she could give to Tristan but truths were far more interesting. Knowing her friend, Avaria bet that he still had no idea on the obvious crush someone had on him.