a͟m͟b͟i͟v͟a͟l͟e͟n͟c͟e͟ - espresseleine au

Espresso falls asleep due to lack of coffee

I avoided Madeleine for a week after that. I was correct, for I did live to regret The Thing I Shall Not Speak Of.

I was aided by the fact that Ricotta and I were working on an experiment the whole week.

I had the bad fortune to run into Madeleine in the halls one day. He grabbed my shoulders to make me stop walking. "Espresso, I don't care if you have somewhere to be. Why have you been avoiding me?"

I tried to get away, but his grip was too strong. "Nope, you're not getting out of this one that easily. You've found 115 different excuses to not be in the same room as me this whole week, and I need a reason. I thought we were friends. Are you... never going to talk to me again?"

hes got 3 braincells ok bare w me

I shook my head. "No, absolutely not! Anyone who would end a friendship like that sucks. I just thought you didn't like the... ending?"

I didn't get a chance to hear his response, as I suddenly pitched forward into his arms, fast asleep.

When I woke up, I was lying on my bed, and Madeleine was trying (read: failing miserably) to not fall asleep on a chair next to me.

As soon as he saw I was awake, he jumped up and began asking me if I was okay and if anything had happened. His compassion for me made me feel warm from my head to my toes, like I'd been dipped in honey.

I sighed. "No, Madeleine, I just fell asleep because I hadn't had coffee in a week."

He blinked. "Are-are you mad at me?" 

His sincerely disappointed face tugged at something in my chest, and I felt myself feeling remorse for the first time in oh, several months. "No, I could never be mad at you. I'm mad at myself for falling asleep."

He exhaled in relief. "Okay. You chose a good time to wake up, though. Ricotta literally just left to call the hospital. I better go get him, or he's going to end up wasting someone's time."

He turned to go, and I said, "Oh no you don't. I'm coming with you." 

He laughed. I loved his laugh... irrelevant. "Alright, but you're not fit to walk. You've been asleep for a day."

I blanched. A day? Before I could say anything, though, Madeleine picked me up and started running to Ricotta's room.

I, terrified of falling, gripped his shirt tightly as he ran. It was terrifying how playful this  could feel if I let it. He held me deceptively gently for running across a mansion at top-speed.

He literally, movie-detective-style, kicked open his door and found him typing a number into her phone.

He turned, and seeing me in Madeleine's arms, locked his phone and put it in his pocket. "Fine time to arrive!" he said, laughing. Witches, even his laugh was infectious! This cookie certainly knew how to light up a room. "One more digit and I would've been talking to the hospital!"

I turned red. "Sorry."

"It's not your fault you happened to wake up now. Oh, by the way, I finished our experiment yesterday. It went well."

"Sorry for making you finish the experiment on your own."

"Psh, it's fine. Although, I am 'punishing' you for letting yourself fall asleep like that."

I did not like where he was going. "I can't make you do anything; you're a fully functional adult. However. I've removed all coffee from the castle and instructed all coffee vendors in the area to not sell to you until further notice. You cannot have coffee."

sorry for the short chapter, felt this was a good note to end on. next will be a fluff chapter, and then some plot twist action. I just changed the desc, so read the AU info there.