Bittersweet Sugar - An ACOTAR fanfiction

Chapter 6 - Sunshine

The unlikely group sat on various leather chairs and sofas spread around the room. It was modelled like a kitchen, but had many characteristics of a living room. Breakfast foods were laid out on a large glass table, plates scattered around it. Feyre had noticed that Rhys' friends were actually a lot more, well, friendly than she had expected. She'd thought they'd be colder, calmer, more reserved. Instead, they were warm, inviting and helpful. Well, most of them- Amren was quick to anger and slow to forgive, from Feyre's own observations. There was Cassian- a tanned, wild, grinning man (for from the far away and sad looks on his face that he showed when he thought that there was no one watching, he could not be called a boy) who joked and laughed and smiled with Rhys and his other friends and even Feyre herself.

There was Azriel, who had let Cassian introduce him and only gave brief, small smile throughout the whole introduction. Azriel, who sat quietly and didn't contribute to the conversation, who was what Feyre would have unfairly thought all of his friends would be like. Azriel, who looked at Mor like she was the sun and he had been trapped in eternal darkness and only now could he appreciate the true beauty of light.

Mor. The sunshine blonde Feyre had seen in Night Owl, livening up what she had thought was a dark, gloomy, unwelcoming place. Mor was bright and chatty and warm and friendly and if Feyre wasn't so damaged she mightn't've  noticed the times when her smile dropped and her mask of light slipped and Mor resembled the moon more than the sun. It saddened Feyre deeply because when she looked past the masks that all of them wore they held the same quiet mourning, the same silent grief.

Amren, a short, raven haired, silver-eyed female, shot a glare at Rhys and spoke. They were all discussing....her? Yes, that was it!Cassian had been pointing in her directions and grinning, Mor had teased Rhys about "finally getting a girlfriend, you lonely sod" and Amren was now saying that Rhys should ask her on a date! Feyre ducked her head to hide the blush slowly but surely travelling up her face, but to no avail. Azriel, surprisingly, was the first to comment on it.

"Alright there, Feyre? You look a bit flushed," Azriel smirked. Feyre fought the urge to smile.
"Just hot in here," she replied, voice strained.
He nodded like he believed her, then smiled like he didn't. "If you say so."
Mor jumped at the chance at conversation. "So Feyre. Rhys talks a lot about you, but mostly it's just 'blah blah she's cute what do I do'. Any hobbies?" she asked with a sunny smile.
  Rhys looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole. A glare aimed at Mor didn't silence her. Feyre could nearly touch the friendly challenge in the air and forced down a laugh. "I like painting," Feyre admitted quietly.
Amren looked irritated, but Mor's smile grew brighter at the few nearly whispered words.
"Maybe you could teach me sometime. I bet you're good at it," Mor said, picking up a plate and a few rashers of bacon,"and maybe Amren could even join in." The female in question snickered at the suggestion. "Painting is a waste of time," Amren said, taking a paper cup and poring some kind of red liquid in it. Cassian soon picked up bacon, eggs and sausages. Azriel reluctantly took a pear. Rhys himself just grabbed toast.

Feyre felt nervous - like this was a job interview and she wasn't prepared. She didn't want to seem rude by not taking any of the food, but at the same time Feyre had a feeling that any of the food she ate would come straight back up (which would not be a good first impression to make). It's really pathetic that you're having a crisis over food, Feyre thought to herself angrily. Just take something. Anything.
Mor, god bless her, seemed to notice this internal crisis. Without being asked to, she took a second plate and filled it up with all kinds of breakfast foods. Feyre vaguely noted that Amren, Azriel, Cassian and Rhys were speaking of some important-sounding meeting with Night's competitors. She didn't know and she didn't want to know if that included Spring.
Surely it would be considered normal to ask?
Surely. But only, Feyre wasn't sure and she didn't want to risk sounding stupid in front of her...

Friends? Not really. Coworkers? Maybe, if they did work here and Feyre got the job. This didn't really count as a job interview, did it? She was just meeting his friends, right?
"Dig in," Mor told her, smile firmly in place. Feyre felt unbelievably grateful for these people, especially Mor. She felt like she fit here.
"So," Feyre started slowly, picking up a piece of thickly buttered toast gingerly,"tell me a bit about you guys. I was really excited to meet you."
Mor, ever kind, jumped at the chance. "Well, I'm the main barista at Night, but on the side, I'm working on an animal shelter."
Wow, Mor really did live up to her sunshine reputation. Feyre was mostly indifferent towards animals, having little experience with them herself, but Elain had always begged to get a pet- despite them barely being able to keep themselves fed. 

Amren looked up from her drink and simply muttered,"Writing. I also manage finances."
Cassian jumped on the bandwagon too- "Training-I'm a Marine. I'm just here because ol' Rhysie gets lonely sometimes."
That one made Feyre burst out laughing. Rhysie? Hilarious. Rhys glared at his friend before murmuring to her quietly,"I run the shop, as you know. Businessman. Not much fun, but it pays the bills and then some."

A wave of affection threatened to push Feyre into the deep end. Everyone knew about the fatal accident that killed his parents and sister. You could hardly go a hundred yards without it being spoken of. Rhys was a source of great pity for this, despite his clear disgust at being so. Azriel, noticing the sadness in Rhys' voice, spoke up. "I help Cassian, but I'm mostly stationed here. I suppose I like to draw. It helps." Helps what? Feyre didn't ask. She just gave him a genuine smile.

These people felt more like her family than her family did.

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First Author's note! Here we go!
A/N : This story will be on hold for a while, not for any one reason but just some problems I need to work through. I'm still writing, though! It will probably be a week or so before this is updated again, but I will NOT abandon this. I apologise if the chapters aren't up to my usual standard. As always, love you guys and hope you're having a good day!