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writing-on-the-wahl · 1 year

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Look Alike Part 5

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Sooo, are you going to show me what you do here?”

Civilian stared up at Villain. Was he serious? But as he stood before her, rocking back and forth on his heels as he took in the room for what felt like the first time, that Civilian realized he was serious.

“I uh…”

Before she could come up with a response, Villain’s gaze caught on the mound of wet clay she’d abandoned on the pottery wheel, and his shoulders and his hopeful expression dropped as he took a step back. “I’m sorry- I interrupted…”

Suddenly the thought of being alone while she yet again attempted to throw the perfect pot sounded intolerably lonely. “It’s fine!” she blurted. “I was just going to practice for my ceramics class. I can just clean it up and show you around.”

Villain shook his head. “It’s fine; you have work to do and I …” He hesitated, all of the suave confidence from early disappearing as he tucked his hands into his pockets and took a deep breath. “Maybe I could stay while you worked? See what you do?”

Oh that was much worse than giving him a tour of the kilns. Civilian’s insides twisted at the thought of having an audience for what would mostly likely be an unsuccessful evening, if the last two weeks were anything to judge by.

She should definitely say no. She’d never performed well under pressure. It always made her chest tighten and her hands tremble.

Not the greatest conditions for delicate ceramic work.

But the beautiful apology bouquet on the table reminded her why he’d come here, and all he’d done trying to make it up to her. Maybe she could just show him around a little and he’d forget about watching her work.

So Civilian smiled. “That’s ok, I can work on it later. Let me show you around.” She held her breath until Villain smiled back.

“If you’re sure.”

Normally she would have started with the pottery wheels, explaining how the clay was shaped into the pots and bowls and all manner of things. But she didn’t want to remind him he was keeping her from work, so she instead led him to the tables and chairs where customers could glaze their chosen items.

“So did you make any of these?”

“No!” Civilian snorted as Villain wandered towards the shelves that carried a variety of pre-made ceramics for customers to glaze. “Those are all made in molds. Most of our business comes from people who just want to glaze something that’s already made. Making your own pottery can be difficult.”

Villain nodded as he stepped up to a shelf containing a variety of ceramic animals and picked up a palm-sized statue of a goat. “That makes sense. The real question is who would pick something like this.” He gestured to the shelf of various bowls and mugs. “Those at least have a function.”

She shrugged. “We stock the animals for the kids. Although the adults choose them just as often. Especially the college students.”

Villain grimaced as he eyed the goat. “That’s ridiculous.”

Civilian stepped closer, plucking the goat from his hand and holding it up to eye level. “Awwww but it’s so cute!!”

A tiny smile cracked through Villain’s critical veneer, and Civilian wanted to cheer.

“Can you imagine this on my desk?”

Civilian mentally placed a brightly colored goat like the one that four year old had glazed last week on a desk of dark mahogany, the statue comical against neatly organized files and papers.

“What do you do for work?” The question was out of her mouth before she realized what she’d said. She clapped a hand over her mouth. “I didn’t—”

The imaginary desk was replaced with the visceral memory of a blacked out van, a dark room.

When her mind returned to the pottery shop, the guilt on Villain’s face told her he knew exactly where her thoughts had gone. Before he could apologize, again, she looked around for something to distract him. The solution was so simple, yet not easy at all.

Steeling herself, Civilian gestured to the row of pottery wheels. “We also offer weekly classes for those who want to try their hand at making their own pottery. I can show you how it works, if you’d like?”

It seemed like an eternity of waiting, and she wondered if he was still going to try apologizing.

But then Villain nodded, and soon enough he had pulled a stool up near her wheel and was watching intently as she began to center her clay.

“So what are you doing now?”

Civilian began explaining about the process: the throwing, the centering, the shaping. Villain’s arms rested on his knees as he leaned forward, nodding at each step of her explanation. When her pot went careering off center, Civilian flushed, ready to be embarrassed until Villain’s eager expression made her heart settle. She managed an only slightly forced laugh as she scraped the ruined clay off the wheel. “It actually happens more often than you’d think, I’ll have to get fresh clay- this is too wet to use again.”

Dropping the old clay into the bucket of water beside the wheel, she reached for another piece of clay. “Oh, and before you even start, you have to make sure that you wedge the clay—like kneading—to get the air bubbles out, otherwise the clay can explode in the kiln. I prepped a bunch before setting up at the wheel so I don’t constantly have to get up every time I…”

Sheesh, Civilian, do you ever stop to breathe?

The dismissive voice was only an echo in her mind, but it was enough that she cut off the stream of facts she’d been about to share and lifted her hands from the clay and her foot from the pedal. “I’m sorry, I got too excited and—”

Villain scooted his stool closer, close enough to reach out and touch, and the rest of her apology faded into the air between them. His voice was low as he asked, “Is that what that miserable cow would tell you?”

“What?”

“Is that what your ex would tell you?” The muscles in his jaw clenched, and he all but spat out his next words. “That you got ‘too excited?’” She would have been afraid, had it not been so clear his anger was not at her, but for her.

Ex’s actual words had been ‘like an excitable little puppy,’ but she was going to tell Villain that.

Apparently her face was easy enough to read though, because Villain’s expression turned violent.

“He’s not a bad guy,” she rushed to say.

She’d loved him, after all.

Villain shook his head before he stilled, staring at her with those piercing eyes that seemed to see every disdainful remark Ex had ever thrown at her. “You really believe that.”

Civilian shifted under Villain’s scrutiny, trying to remember the good days, the reasons she’d let him put a ring on her finger. He hadn’t been a bad egg. But. He just maybe wasn’t a good one either.

Villain leaned closer, extending his hand to her, palm up, an invitation. Despite the clay on her hands, she found herself sliding her fingers into his. Then she wondered why, after what he’d done, the motion felt more natural than it ever had with Ex.

After the cool clay, his hand felt like holding a warm mug of cocoa. His eyes blazed, and his intensity sparked a fluttering of attraction in her chest.

“Your passion is not a burden to be borne.”

The words landed on her heart and slowly sank in, washing away every critical remark, every doubtful judgement.

Why don’t you choose a more steady career path?

Your doodles are sweet, Civilian, but…

Your father and I won’t waste our money on an education that will only leave you begging on the street.

Let us know when you’ve come to your senses.

Are you sure you don’t want to switch now? Our life together will be much more stable if we have two steady incomes.

Civilian blinked, letting Villain’s words heal something inside her, until he abruptly dropped his hand and scooted away.

All her life, she’d been told her art was nothing more than a pointless detour. Now Villain sat before her, entirely captivated by the process.

His genuine interest made her eyes suspiciously blurry, but she wet her hands and started the wheel turning. Her hands slipped on the clay as she glanced at Villain out of the corner of her eye, but his gentle smile brought a warm fluttering to her chest that made it easier to continue her explanation as her hands began to center the soft clay.

Civilian was busy explaining the purpose of waiting to trim until a pot was leather dry when she slowed the wheel and finally paid attention to the clay beneath her fingers.

It was a decent looking pot, at first glance. Instantly her mind went searching for flaws. Was the lip too thin, the curve of the base too wide?

“It’s incredible.” Villain’s awed voice broke through the deluge of self-doubts.

“It’s not perfect, but--”

“Ok, you can stop right there.”

Villain’s easy smile was gone. “You are about to critique each and every last aspect of what you just made--MADE--with your own hands, and you haven’t even stopped to realize that you. made. that.”

Civilian didn’t realize she was gaping until Villain’s eyes moved to her lips. She snapped her mouth closed, then cleared her throat as she licked her lips.

“Yes, well…” Her hands fluttered, wet drops of clay-water splattering her clothes.

“Just look at it like you’re seeing it through museum glass.” His voice was soft again, coaxing.

Looking back at the pot, she tried to imagine it like Villain said, an ancient work set on display. The fat base curved upwards into a narrow neck before widening into the lip. And he was right.

It was incredible.

“You made that.”

Civilian let out a little laugh. “I did.”

“You know,” Villain mused, “the proportions are almost identical to this Chinese vase I stole last year.”

Her head shot up. He knew pottery?

Villain grinned, voice heavy with exaggerated arrogance. “It was from the Han Dynasty.”

A laugh sputtered from her lips. “Riiiiight. You almost had me for a minute there.”

Villain just kept smiling, though now it was a little smug.

She cocked her head to the side as she stared him down. “No.”

He shrugged nonchalantly, and she barely resisted the urge to flick clay-water at him. “You did not just make me word vomit pottery 101 at you only to reveal that you are an expert!”

That blasted grin was still on those wicked lips. “It was quite fascinating to hear your explanations.”

Villain blinked as the gray water splattered his face, catching on his eyelashes and dripping down his chin.

Civilian froze, waiting for his reaction. Then Villain tipped back his head and laughed. It was deep and full of genuine amusement.

When he straightened, laughter still creased his eyes. “I’m sorry, Civilian, but I couldn’t resist.”

Before she could sink into the mortification of explaining basic ceramics to an expert, Villain spoke again. “If it makes you feel any better, I truly knew little of how they were made; I just happen to know what makes a good one.”

“So you’re an art expert?”

This time his shrug was more genuine. “I deal mostly with jewels, but I know enough about the various art forms to know what makes them valuable.”

“Valuable enough to steal?” Civilian ventured.

He tipped his head in acknowledgement.

This time, she was the one who leaned forward. “Would you tell me about it?

Shoutout to @im-a-wonderling for both bribing me to write this and staying up late to beta-read. Y’all can thank her that it’s more than 500 words of a hot mess :)

Taglist:

@im-a-wonderling @shieldmaiden-of-gondor @watercolorfreckles @distance-does-not-matter @onestopheroxvillain @lolafaiy @chaoticgoodandi @1becky1 @tobeornottobeateacher @himynameisorla @superherosweet @brekker-by-brekkerr @crazytwentythrees @great-day-today @sunflower1000@selectivegeekwithstandards @chibicelloking @trantolette @sapphiques @jinpanman @genesissane @wish1bone1 @amongtheonedaisy @distractedlydistracted @kitsunesakii @glitterythief @jinx1365 @cherrychewingbrat @in-patient-princess @thepenultimateword @sorrow-and-bliss @technikerin23 @deflated-bouncingball

@world-of-fire-and-flight @imsotiredcanipleasegetabreak

lmk if you want to be added or taken off:)

#its so late it's early but I DID IT!!!#look alike #guys I could not resist #so I added a goat #ehehe #why is fluff so much harder to write than angst?#also apologies to all the actual ceramics experts out there I tried 🙈#villain x civilian #civilian x villain #hero x villain

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