#If I have just a few items I'll choose self-checkout

[eeboshmeebo]

🍪Char'cute'rie🫖

🧀

You browsed through the various cheeses and dried meats the store had available. Smoked gouda was good, but not complex enough despite it being savory and strong. Perhaps a goat cheese? A bit gamey, but also soft, gently tangy and easy to pair with or spread onto vegetables and crackers.

Maybe a sharp cheddar. Tangy, salty, with an aged bitterness that mellowed it all out. Not to mention the array of dried meats! To counter such salty, rich flavors, a refreshingly light mozzarella or brie would pair better.

Or maybe..!

"Darling, I know you really like choosing the ingredients yourself, but you shouldn't bend over like that for so long. It isn't good for your back."

You didn't jump, since he had an arm wrapped around your shoulder for quite a while now. You turned to look at him, a fond smile on your face as you set down a packaged piece of blueberry goat cheese back into the store's display.

"Says you, Mono-bon. Isn't your arm fully asleep by now?"

"Perhaps. But I trust that my beloved, gorgeous armrest wouldn't mind."

"Five dates, and finally a promotion to armrest? Awww, I'm flattered."

After a small period of silence, both of you started giggling. You leaned into his touch and he moved closer to you, nuzzling your shoulder.

"This feels like I'm getting dogfood shoved into my mouth." Rin grumbled as he grabbed any cheese and meat that caught his eye suitably.

"You could've split up and gone with Ibara and Shishida instead of being a third wheel, y'know!" You called out to him, a grin on your face while Monoma continued to nuzzle into your shoulder.

"Bleh. Don't remind me, I'll just go do that now."

"Pff-heh. Okay, see you later."

Both you and Monoma finally settled on some aged salami and a few cheeses you trusted his taste in. After browsing a bit more, a suitable herb garnish and dried fruits along with fresh ones were chosen as well as a few choice unsalted nuts.

At the self-checkout, however, you got an idea.

"Hey, how does some browsing at the farmer's market sound? We have some extra time to use, after all, and there's baked goods over there."

Monoma contemplated that for a few moments, his hands scanning the items in the basket he had brought before he finally said something.

"Yeah, that sounds pretty nice now that I think about it. Also, nope!"

You were so close to finally paying, but he tapped his card against the screen and paid before you had a chance to even swipe yours.

"Aww, no faaaiiiir." You whined, pocketing your own card in favor of complaining lightheartedly.

"You can spend your money at the farmer's market later, alright sugar?"

"Mm-hmm."

And so, to the farmer's market you both went.

🫖

You looked around the market, Monoma's hand held in your own. You both walked through the market searching for anything that'd catch either his or your interest before you both were standing in front of a beekeeper's stand.

"Ooh, do you think these little charms are handmade? They're so adorable!"

You gushed over the small bee charms that were on display next to the honey. Small and shiny with big, shimmering eyes and wonky little blue wings.

"They're kind of cute. Lumpy, but cute." He murmured, though he was perhaps eying them a bit too much to sound so disinterested.

Immediately, you slapped some cash on the table that you had sneakily counted out earlier and took two matching bees.

"Wha-!?" "You said that I could pay this time~!"

The look he got on his face was both sour and sweet, like a cherry. On second thought, you could've sworn there was someone selling cherries in a stand up ahead...

"Hnnnn."

Monoma made a sound like he was grievously wronged (was sent to detention for harassing class A again) when he saw that you were ignoring him in favor of looking at other things. You let out a breath of endearment as you clipped one of the charms to his clothes and kissed his cheek.

"I was just thinking about cherries, hun. How about we go get some for dessert?"

"Mmnnnn... sure! I just want an extra 'treat' when we get home later."

"Sure, sure. I'll make as many treats as you want later."

He pouted, since he felt that his message didn't get across properly, but he let you drag him along to the (and buy) cherries anyways and soon the smile returned to his face.

"These cherries remind me of you, somewhat." You said, picking up one by the stem and examining the yellow and blush-red fruit closely.

"Oh, really? Well, I can tell you that I'm better than some bite-sized fruit-"

"Nom~"

Monoma froze up as you nibbled his earlobe, tracing your tongue behind his ear before pulling back and eating the cherry you had in your hand earlier.

"In public???"

"Yep, in public. I can't let you get jealous over a fruit so easily, y'know~?"

He huffed while holding his ear, but the sparkle in his blue granite-hued eyes showed how pleased he was with your sudden tease. In retaliation, he wrapped an arm around your waist.

"How'd you like that for teasing, you little macaron?"

"Nnnn... I say that I like this very much, croquembouche."

"Croquembouche? Well, I'm definitely much more than a pile of sugary pastry, I assure you!"

You teased each other back and forth with smiles on your faces, walking out of the market with a bag with each person before Monoma abruptly stopped and pulled you over, for once, to look at a potter's stall... or, what was supposed to be a potter's stall.

The potter who seemed to also be the stall owner wasn't there and there was nobody there to watch over and sell the goods. At least the prices were visibly labelled next to the various cups and bowls. Seems like the stall owner trusted the other stall owners to prevent anyone from stealing.

"Hn."

You both made eye contact with each other, silently agreeing on an activity you both did when presented with a lot of options.

You put one hand over Monoma's eyes and he put one over your eyes, covering each other's sight before reaching out and grabbing one cup on the table each before the reveal.

You had chosen a cup that felt the best against your hand. It vividly reminded you of Monoma, who had chosen one that was just the right weight and glaze in his hand when his eyes were closed, that reminded him of you.

"...we're definitely buying these."

A quick decision. Looking at the prices on the cups, they were a small luxury but also high-quality, so you left the money on the table (and enjoyed Monoma's disgruntled look as you did) before leaving the farmer's market.

Your friends (Monoma's classmates) were waiting in a car. Apparently, they were searching for you after Shishida confessed that he couldn't find you and him in the store anymore. Oops.

🫕

At the dorms, you washed the cherries and cut them into halves to take out the pits before arranging them on the charcuterie board.

A perfect blend of red, yellow, orange, pink, white, beige, brown and green was arranged on the board. Fruits, nuts, salted and dried meats, garnish herbs, and milk chocolate chips sprinkled across the board itself with a small container for the toothpicks.

Someone took one of the toothpicks and also took a bite of cheese.

"Hey, aren't you on a diet?"

You turned to face Monoma with a slight glare, taking off your gloves and pinching his cheek that had gotten noticeably rounder ever since you started dating him.

"Ow! Yeah, but a little cheese won't hurt anybody! Besides, calories aren't real, just science fiction."

He winced a bit after you pulled your hand back and rubbed the place on his cheek that still stung. His eyes teared up a bit and his lower lip started to tremble...

"...fine, you can have some more along with the 'treat' I promised you."

Immediately, Monoma's teary eyes and pitiful expression went away like a dandelion seed in the wind as he took a few more pieces. The toothpick he had now looked like a mini kebab that he constantly nibbled on.

You could kind of see the comparison between him and a Roborovski dwarf hamster from how he was nibbling on it. Cute.

...

You kissed him on the cheek where a small mark had started to redden. He quickly lit up like a lava lamp and almost dropped his snack before he ate the last of it.

"Time for that treat I promised you, Monoma~!"

"Wha-?"

He followed you to his dorm, his mind working furiously at a speed definitely not used for studying before his eyes widened. His realization came too late, however, and you dragged him into his dorm before locking the door behind you both...

💝

Kuroiro bitterly chewed on some cherries, having seen Monoma and his partner run off to their dorms and leaving only half of the charcuterie board's contents left for the class.

"Isn't he supposed to be on a diet? He's always off eating some fatty food of some sort with his... ugh."

Awase patted Shihai on the back, eating a chunk of cheese that he had picked up earlier.

"He's probably working off those calories right now! With his partner! And... and..."

Awase trailed off as he realized the many possibilities that Monoma might be doing something that only someone with a partner can do, with you.

"Just shut up at this point, you dumbasses. You're just gonna make yourselves feel more like single dogs the more you guys talk." Kamakiri grumbled, stabbing a piece of a cherry with one of his blades and almost swallowing it whole if not for the fact he needed to chew first.

"Rin taught me that, by the way. The term 'single dog'. He's pretty good at insulting people when it gets down to it."

And with that, Awase and Kuroiro settled back to snacking before Kendo caught them to scold them both about snacking so late at night.

🏵️

[Bonus]

The potted plant opened its eye discreetly, surveying the market for his friend.

"He can't keep doing this. Really, what if the cash and goods were stolen?"

He had hidden the money under his flowerpot a long while ago for safekeeping. Long leaves sure were a blessing! Though, he finally caught sight of his friend (and his friend's two children) soon after.

"...oh well. He's having fun. It's not like I can stop him."

He closed his singular eye afterwards, taking a nap now that he was assured that he wasn't left behind. Again.

[br1ghtestlight]

for @jimmyjrsmusoems birthday here's like all my notes and everything i wrote for a tinimmy fanfic where tina was a single mom and jimmy jr moved back to seymour's bay. never gonna finish this but the heart is there lol

tina is 22 and has a 4 year old daughter named alice (named after bob's grandmother) her high school boyfriend got her pregnant and then took off. she lives with bob and linda and works at the restaurant (for actual money) and alice sleeps in louise's old bedroom bcuz she moved out. previously stayed with tina in her bedroom

gene is 20 and lives with bob and linda and he's an indie musician who posts stuff online and has a bit of a following. he also does gigs at random pubs and nightclubs around new jersey but music is basically his career (he still helps out around the restaurant of course)

louise is 18 and moved out into an apartment with rudy bcuz they both wanted a taste of adult life and independence but they honestly only live like three blocks away and she comes over for dinner most nights

jimmy jr is 22 and just came home from college after graduating with a kinda useless degree in dance and he's kinda aimless in life. he moved back in with his dad and works at his restaurant again (he moved out of seymours bay in 11th grade when his mom moved out of state and he went with her bcuz his dad really wasn't interested in having teenage sons and he wasn't supporting jimmy jr's dance career. andy and ollie still live with their mom)

Jimmy Junior was standing impatiently in line at Patterson Farms with a single carton of milk that his father had asked him to pick up.

He'd been waiting for the past five minutes and he'd still barely moved forward, because apparently every single customer except for him was choosing today to buy a month's worth of groceries. He really should have gone to the self-checkout and saved himself the frustration.

There was only one person standing in front of him while the cashier rang up their shopping cart full of groceries. Jimmy Junior couldn't see her face, but she had shoulder-length black hair and big glasses that reminded him of Tina Belcher, his first and only girlfriend from back when he was in middle school. She was holding hands with a toddler who couldn't have been older than three or four, who was wearing a tu-tu and rainbow leggings and had a shirt that was clearly stained with grape juice.

He wasn't angry at this woman for buying her groceries or for bringing her toddler to the store which probably caused everything to take twice as long. He was just annoyed with the dysfunctional layout of this grocery store in general. Why did they decide they only needed two functioning checkout lines at any given moment? They were the biggest grocery store in Seymour's Bay!

Jimmy Junior had only moved back to Seymour's Bay after graduating college a few weeks ago, but he was already beginning to remember why he left.

Not to mention his father constantly asking him when he was going to move out and find himself a job, as if he wasn't already helping out by working at Jimmy Pesto's Pizzeria five days a week. He really needed to figure out where he was going in life so he could get the hell out of this town, or at least his father's crappy apartment.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. You're still $24.95 short for this purchase," the cashier told the woman in front of Jimmy Junior without any actual sympathy or concern in her voice. She was probably counting down the hours until she could clock out and leave this overcrowded grocery store, and Jimmy Junior couldn't blame her.

"Oh! I'm sorry. I'll just—uh, I guess we don't need cereal for a few more days," the woman in front of Jimmy Junior said anxiously as she began putting items back into her shopping cart.

Jimmy Junior immediately knew where he recognized that voice from. It was Tina Belcher. He hadn't talked to her very often since he moved away from Seymour's Bay with his mother and younger brother when they were in eleventh grade and they fell out of contact, but he'd been friends with her since kindergarten and it was impossible not to recognize her distinctive monotone voice, and those eyes that he'd spent so many years desperately trying not to look into out of fear of the disappointment he would bring.

Their relationship had grown apart over the years even before Jimmy Junior had moved away and they certainly weren't as close as they'd been as children, but he could still remember how hard Tina had started sobbing when he broke the news to her that he would be moving away and that they wouldn't be going to school together anymore. He understood how she was feeling because he was equally as heartbroken even when he didn't really have a choice. Jimmy Junior had always assumed that Tina and him would spend the rest of their lives together. They would always know each other and have that childhood proximity.

He didn't know why she was going grocery shopping with a toddler or why she was unable to afford groceries, but he did know that he cared about her and he wasn't going to let his oldest friend be humiliated like this.

Jimmy Junior stepped forward and pulled out his wallet. "Don't worry about putting anything back, Tina. I've got this."

"Jimmy Junior?"

Tina turned around to look at him with amazement in her eyes, as if he'd just performed an actual miracle by offering to pay for her groceries. He could afford it. His father wasn't actually asking him to pay rent while he stayed in his childhood bedroom, and he was getting paid for working at Jimmy Pesto's Pizzeria. His only living expenses were paying off his student loans for when he'd gone to college and gotten a degree in dance, but fortunately his payments weren't higher than he could afford. Even if he wasn't really able to afford it, he wouldn't have let Tina go hungry or stand there in embarrassment while the cashier watched.

Jimmy Junior shrugged and walked toward the cashier so that he could pay for everything Tina couldn't afford, and the milk his father had requested. Tina took a step back and gently guided the little girl she was taking care of out of the way. Once he had paid for everything Jimmy Junior offered to help bag Tina's groceries and she quickly agreed.

Tina smiled at Jimmy Junior as he began quickly and expertly loading everything she'd bought into grocery bags. After he moved away from Seymour's Bay he had found a job working at a grocery store while he was going to college, and he would say he'd gotten pretty good at loading up groceries quicker than the average person.

"Why are you back in Seymour's Bay? I thought you moved to Georgia with Andy and Ollie?" Tina asked. She started trying to help Jimmy Junior load her groceries into the bags, but stopped when she realized that he clearly had more experience and she was slowing him down rather than helping with anything.

Jimmy Junior glanced in her direction. "I graduated from college a few months ago, and I thought it would be a good plan to move back in with my dad and catch up with friends I haven't seen since I moved while I figured out what I'm going to do with my life. You know, typical young adult stuff."

Tina nodded. "I—I mean, I never went to college. I took a few English courses at the community college in Bog Harbour, but when Alice got older it was just too difficult to keep up with schoolwork and take care of her at the same time. I still work at my parents' restaurant, though. They're getting older and they need all the help that they can get."

"Who is Alice?" Jimmy Junior asked Tina with a questioning look. He wasn't sure if Tina had adopted a dog, or if her parents decided to have another child after Jimmy Junior moved away and he'd never heard about it. He thought they were a little too old for that, but he wasn't going to judge them. His parents might have chosen to have another child too if they hadn't gotten divorced.

Tina gestured to the toddler who was standing beside her and carefully studying the assortment of candy and chocolate in the aisle.

"Did your parents have another daughter?"

Tina actually laughed after Jimmy Junior asked this before she explained herself. "Oh my God, no. They're way too old to have another kid. Alice is my daughter! Alice, sweetheart, do you want to say hello to Jimmy Junior?"

Alice looked up at him with an unimpressed expression on her face. "Hi."

Jimmy Junior took a step back in disbelief. He'd never even considered that he and his childhood friends were at the age where it wouldn't be unreasonable to start a family and have children of their own, especially because that was not something he planned for himself. His parents' had been around his age when they first got pregnant with him. When he took a closer look at Alice, he could clearly see the resemblance between her and Tina, although he honestly thought he looked more similar to Louise. She had curly black hair and a nose that looked almost identical to Tina's. It was kind of unnerving.

"Oh," Jimmy Junior finally said after a few seconds of silence. "You have a daughter?"

Tina was clearly confused by how Jimmy Junior was reacting to the concept of her having a child, but he just couldn't wrap his head around the fact that this woman he'd known since they were children themselves had a child of her own. None of his friends from college or anybody that he'd known in Seymour's Bay had children, so Tina was his first experience with this.

"I mean, uh, that's great. I'm happy for you, Tina," Jimmy Junior started awkwardly. "Who's her father? Or, uh, mother… I don't want to assume anything."

Tina began picking up bags of groceries to bring to the car with both her hands, and Jimmy Junior helped her by grabbing a few and walking to the car with her. Tina handed a very small bag of fruits to Alice so that she would feel like she was helping too and that she wasn't being forgotten or excluded. If Alice was anything like Tina or her siblings when they were children, that was probably a good idea.

"You don't know him," Tina said to Jimmy Junior as they walked to her car together. Jimmy Junior had chosen to walk to Patterson Farms because it was a beautiful summer day outside and he didn't have any other plans, so fortunately he didn't need to worry about unloading anything in his own car. "We started dating in high school after you moved away. His name was Nathan, but he isn't really in my life anymore. He broke up with me after I told him I was pregnant and started avoiding me, so his name isn't even on Alice's birth certificate."

"Crap. I'm really sorry, Tina," Jimmy Junior said apologetically. Tina opened up the trunk of her car—which was actually her family's car that was the same one they'd had since she was a child, he was assuming she borrowed it for this trip—and began loading groceries into it. "I had no idea. He's an asshole for doing that to you."

Tina smiled like she was completely unbothered by the fact that her daughter's father had completely abandoned them and left Tina to raise her by herself as she struggled financially. Jimmy Junior's father was far from a good parent, but he could at least be thankful that he'd never once considered abandoning his children and he even took Jimmy Junior back in after years of separation between them. He was sure he would do the same for Andy and Ollie if they asked. "Don't worry, it's okay. It wasn't all bad, either. I always have my family to help me with anything I need, and Jocelyn and Tammy were actually really cool when I told them I was pregnant. They held a baby shower for me, and Tammy offered to babysit Alice for no charge. I didn't accept her offer, obviously, because she's Tammy… but I could tell she was trying to be helpful and make an effort. They've grown up a lot since we were in middle school."

Jimmy Junior slammed the trunk of her car shut before he turned back to her. "That's good to hear. How has your family been, by the way? Is Gene still working on his music career?"

"They're doing great," Tina said. She grabbed Alice's hand to keep her from wandering off into the dangerous parking lot. "My parents' restaurant has had good business for the past few years, and Louise actually just moved out on her own a couple months ago. She's sharing an apartment with Regular-Sized Rudy because they both decided they wanted to get a taste of adult life without moving too far away from home. She still comes over for dinner a few nights a week. Gene has been working on building a following online for his music, so he's been posting video tutorials on how to set up certain instruments and tune them, and he still plays local clubs sometimes. He's been trying to learn to play guitar. Alice has been OBSESSED with him. Sometimes I think she likes Gene more than she likes me. She wants to be exactly like her Uncle Gene. Isn't that right, Alice?"

Tina looked down at Alice and affectionately ruffled her hair. She seemed to finally be paying attention to their conversation now that Gene was mentioned. Before that, she seemed to be more interested in analyzing all the different colors of cars in the parking lot and counting them out on her fingers. "Yeah! Uncle Gene said I can come along with him when he's playin' at a club this weekend. He's going to teach me to play his old keyboard, and someday I'm gonn' perform with him!"

Tina shrugged and gave Jimmy Junior an uncertain smile. "I mean, she can't be any worse than Gene was at her age, right? He got a new keyboard for his birthday a few years ago, so he doesn't really use his Casio anymore, but he couldn't bear to get rid of it. Too many memories."

Jimmy Junior nodded. "Yeah. He's been playing that thing since I can remember. I don't blame him for wanting to keep it. Are you still living with your parents above the restaurant?"

"Yup, I'm still living with them. I couldn't afford to move out with the salary they're paying me to work there, and they help out with groceries and childcare. I think Alice likes spending so much time with her family, too. And since Louise moved out a few months ago, Alice got to move into her bedroom and she doesn't have to share a bedroom with me anymore. She's… probably old enough to sleep up on the loft bed without breaking her neck going down the stairs, right?"

"Tina, I don't know how old she is!" Jimmy Junior laughed.

"Oh, right. She turned four this year," Tina said sheepishly. "I feel like I've introduced her to everybody by now, but I guess we haven't talked very much in the past few years. Life caught up with me."