Aru Shah Jokes and Short Stories

Rudy's Redemption Arc (Mini x Rudy)

a/n: they are. so silly. this is, in itself, so so so silly. i hope this gives u some sort of serotonin rush (like the one i got while writing it at 12.26 AM last night while on my notes app instead of sleeping)

also, um. there will be a lot of santa slander. so go into this with that knowledge. idk.

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Like the storms he was aptly named after, Yamini Kapoor-Mercado-Lopez's boyfriend burst into her apartment in a whirlwind, his face flushed, his breaths heavy.

"My queen! We have a problem,"

Her fight-or-flight response instantly activated by those words, she got up, her fingers curled around Dee Dee, dormant in its compact mirror form.

"Is it a monster?" She asked, mentally preparing herself for a possible battle ahead.

"No," his voice grew soft, his eyes wide. "It's worse. I have to host a Christmas party."

"...Huh?"

————

In the past two years they'd been dating, and the 4 years in which they'd known each other, only once had Rudy been trusted to host a party. He was banned, of course, after the Naga Palace Screening Room Incident of 2021. The mental scars left behind still stung, to this date.

Rudy thrust his phone in front of her face, which was open to their Potatoes group chat, where the last message was, from Brynne: I can't wait!

"I thought you were banned from hosting parties?" She frowned, pushing her glasses further up the bridge of her nose.

"Ugh, I thought so too— but Brynne had a medical emergency—"

"Hold up, hold up— Brynne had a medical emergency? And I wasn't told?"

Rudy caught her shoulders, steadying her. "She's fine, but Hira's not allowing her to enter the kitchen for the rest of the day. Seems like she burned herself while cooking. But, unfortunately,"

She knew her boyfriend and her friends well enough by now to complete that sentence.

"With the Naga kingdom's resources, chefs, and ballrooms..." she continued,

"...they wanted me to host. Last minute," He finished.

"Why not just cancel the party?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose, before saying, "I agreed without thinking, before I remembered that none of you are allowed back in the royal palace."

"Uh-huh," she said, slowly, already anticipating how this sentence might end.

To save him the pain of finishing it, she said, "Now you need help finding a venue,"

He nodded, vigorously, desperation making his eyes shine. Leaning forward, she pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose, hoping that would make him calm down, while the cogs of her brain turned.

Glancing around her apartment, she remembered that her roommate was out of town, spending Christmas with her family, so it was just her...

"I mean, we can host it here, but..." She felt her stomach turn when she checked her watch. 5 hours left.

Releasing herself from his grip, she snatched her coat up, and continued, "We don't have a lot of time, so we need to rush to the store now."

His eyes glittered. "You're helping me?"