Adore // Oneshots

Raspberry Voice (Peterick)

CATEGORY: Fluff
FEATURING: synesthete!Patrick and emo!Pete
TRIGGER WARNINGS: None
PROMPT: Patrick (a synesthete) can't help but be intrigued by Pete's raspberry voice.
WORD COUNT: Approximately 1,610
NOTE(S): In this story (and in real life) Patrick has synesthesia
Also I've never been to Starbucks before so I had to look up the names of the drinks they ordered

The library is quiet, just what Patrick needs. He sits at a desk in the farthest, least populated corner of the library. Sunlight streams through the big bay windows, keeping the boy warm and comfortable. It's mostly silent in the library, except for the occasional soft gray sound of footsteps, the dark blue sound of a book being taken or put back on the shelf, or the muted colors of hushed conversations.

Patrick is trying to study for an upcoming history final. He likes history well enough, but his teacher is kind of confusing and wanders from topic to topic like a stray animal wanders from place to place. Besides, he missed a class last week when he had the flu.

Flipping open the textbook in front of him, Patrick puts his noise-canceling headphones on. He doesn't turn his music on, however; all the colors would distract him. Instead, he uses his headphones to block out the surrounding world just a tiny bit more. He's trained himself to feel relaxed and focused when his headphones are on, whether there's music coming from them or not, and it's a greatly helpful skill when he's got to study.

He reads for a bit, carefully turning page after page. It's peaceful, in that hidden corner of the library.

For a while, anyway.

About twenty minutes into Patrick's studies, he hears a sudden green sound. Startled, he quickly looks up.

A boy has pulled out the chair two desks away from his; the green sound was probably the noise the chair's feet made as they scraped against the carpet. As the boy sits, Patrick studies him. He has wispy blonde hair that clearly has been dyed at least once, if his dark roots are any indication. His eyes are a yellow-brown, and there's a black backpack over his shoulder. In fact, most of the boy's clothes are black--his jacket, his t-shirt, his torn jeans, his boots. Most would call him emo, or goth, but Patrick thinks it looks elegant on him, somehow. Very fitting.

He realizes that he's been staring, and he looks back at his textbook again, adjusting his headphones over his ears.

He manages to study for about fifteen more minutes before he feels a light tap on his shoulder. Closing his book, Patrick glances up to see the stranger. He takes off his headphones, to be respectful, and lets them hang loose around his neck.

"Hey. Sorry to bother you, but I think I recognize you from somewhere, and I'm trying to figure out where."

Patrick blinks, slightly surprised. The boy's voice is a mix between pink, purple, and red--raspberry-colored. Patrick has noticed lots of different voice colors, certainly other combinations of pink and purple and red. But this one may be the only one he can define as raspberry.

Additionally, the color doesn't really seem to fit the boy's appearance at all. With all the black clothing, the dark circles under his eyes, and the quiet expression, Patrick would have expected him to be a dark purple or blue, maybe a husky gray.

As he looks at the boy's face a little more, he realizes that he does indeed look familiar, although he's not sure where he's seen him before. "You do look a little familiar."

The boy squints at him for a moment, then picks up Patrick's fedora from the desk and puts it on top of Patrick's head. He takes a step back, looking satisfied. "Yeah, I definitely know you. Mr. Way's class at ten?"

The boy must be another student in Patrick's English class at school. "Yeah!"

"Nice. I'm Pete, by the way."