#Patiently waiting every single year for valentines to come around so I can go shopping

[mylove-thresher]

I love Valentine’s Day not bc I like spreading love (d1 hater) or like someone (mfs don’t match my freak) I just like hearts and pink and red and chocolate and flowers and plushies and candy and

[inthedayswhenlandswerefew]

The Answer

Requested by: anonymous (“Congrats on reaching over 2.5k followers! I was wondering if I could request something with Joe trying to talk the reader out of doing something stupid, but in a funny way?”)

Summary: When Valentine’s Day turns unexpectedly stressful, your favorite coworker Joe Mazzello is there to offer moral support. I may have gotten a little carried away with this one, but it’s all in the spirit of the holiday! 😂 I hope you enjoy it. 💗

Warnings: Language. 

Word Count: 2.2k. 

You can find all my writing here!

Oh my god, this man is about to ask me to marry him.

You are suddenly aware of every immaterial detail, because this is the sort of night you’re supposed to remember forever. This is the sort of night, the sort of story, you’ll be retelling all your life: to parents, to friends, to overly-chatty hairstylists, to coworkers, to children, to grandchildren. The music is slow, sophisticated, French. The dress you’re wearing is lavender and just a stitch too tight in the ribs. The tablecloth is white, the flowers in the centerpiece ruby-red roses. The candlelight bathes Ryan’s face in hot, flickering gold. And he’s smiling, broadly, artfully, like he knows something you don’t. Like maybe he always will.

You’re trying to follow what he’s talking about, but you can’t. It’s some meandering summation of your last two years together: meeting at your mutual friend Sarah’s New Year’s Eve party, numbers tapped into each other’s iPhones, sushi and green tea, browsing through book stores, murky movie theaters and hands entwining on shared armrests, Fourth of July picnics where you socialized gamely with one another’s extended families, kisses that started out light and fleeting in the chilly lobbies of restaurants like this one and turned into hours spent in the rustling shadows of your bedroom. And although the details sometimes evade you, the arc of Ryan’s story is clear: that the journey was perfectly linear, every piece in place, every want and ritual accounted for. That the time has come for the inevitable conclusion.

He reaches across the table to take your hands in his. The last of your beef bourguignon lays unclaimed and forgotten in its bowl. Your appetite has vanished entirely.

“Pierre,” Ryan tells the moustached waiter, grinning triumphantly. “Could you bring out dessert now, please?”

You hear your chair squeal as you bolt to your feet. Your ankles wobble as you balance on your strappy, rather painful silver heels, the ones Ryan likes so much. “I’ll be right back,” you announce. You flash him a reassuring, innocent smile. You gesture apologetically to the wine and water glasses, like it’s all their fault. The perfect fall guys. How dare they interrupt this magical evening.

Ryan suspects nothing. Or—worse, far far worse—he doesn’t care. “Sure, baby. Take your time.”

You zigzag, rather unsteadily, around the restaurant tables—all those other nameless candle-lit couples reminiscing and giggling and feeding each other spoonfuls of quivering chocolate mousse—and crash through the restroom door. There are two college-aged girls touching up their makeup, stark and bone-white under the florescent lights, and they peer quizzically over at you. You take shelter in the nearest stall and lock the door.

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.” You stare at the wall, waiting for a sign. There’s an artsy black-and-white picture of the Eiffel Tower hanging there. Another trivial detail to one day tell your grandchildren about. “Oh my god,” you moan again.

You root through your purse, pull out your iPhone, and find Joe Mazzello in your contacts. You’ve never called him before; you have his number solely in case of work-related emergencies. But your fingers are moving swiftly, almost autonomically; and time is rolling irrevocably forward like a freight train.

“This is clearly a pocket dial,” Joe says as soon as he answers. “There’s no way you’re thinking about me and my subpar sandwich-making abilities on Valentine’s Day.” He’s right about his sandwich skills; they’re honestly abysmal. He’s the worst employee at Quiznos. He always spills the honey mustard everywhere. You, on the other hand, take great pride in your consistently neat, uniform application of condiments. But, nevertheless, Joe is your favorite coworker. Your favorite coworker by a margin that ships could sail through like a drawbridge.

“Help,” you croak.

“Uh...?” Joe’s voice changes. He’s not exactly serious yet—you’re not really sure what a serious Joe Mazzello would even sound like—but he’s definitely apprehensive. “Are you locked in a trunk somewhere...?”

“Wait, no, sorry. I’m not being kidnapped. I’m at L’amour Vrai.”

“Oh, nice!” But he doesn’t sound that thrilled about it. “With Ryan, I’m assuming.”

“Yeah, therein lies the problem.”

Joe is confounded. “...Did he forget to bring you a massive teddy bear and a heart-shaped box of Ferrero Rocher, or...?”

“I think he’s going to ask me to marry him,” you say in a rush, breathlessly. “He’s been rambling about our relationship and being weird and sentimental all through dinner and I think dessert is going to be, like, a giant bowl of chocolate mousse with a ring hidden in the bottom or something and now I’m hiding in the bathroom.”

“And you don’t even like chocolate mousse,” Joe notes.

“That’s not really the point, but yeah, true.”

“So what are you going to do?”

You don’t have an answer. You don’t even have threads of thoughts that could be woven into words. Because no matter how seamless and fated Ryan’s story of your relationship sounds, you feel that something is missing. You’ve always felt that way. And you’ve waited—patiently, undemandingly, faithfully—for that one last piece of surety to drop out of the sky and click into place for the past seven-hundred and forty-four days. You’ve waited for indelible magnetism, for that sensation of free-falling, for love; you’ve waited until you started to suspect those things didn’t exist at all except in fiction. But sometimes, just recently, you think you might be catching glimpses of them: in how Joe sends you a clandestine smirk when a customer is agonizing over whether they want cheddar or swiss, in how he invents new combinations of fountain drinks for you to taste and rank on a highly scientific ten-point scale (Cherry Coke-Dr. Pepper is the current champion at 8.5/10), in how he complains incessantly about having to close but will wipe down the same counter fifteen times while you count the money in the register so you don’t have to lock up alone. And those transitory glimpses are enough to show you exactly what a lifetime with Ryan would mean living without.

“You don’t want to say yes,” Joe realizes quietly. “You wouldn’t be freaking out and hyperventilating in the bathroom if you did.”

“I don’t think I can say no.”

Joe snorts. “Lady, this isn’t the sixteenth century. You’re not being traded to this guy for some cows or a military alliance or a duchy in Germany. You can always say no.”

“But we’re in the middle of this fancy restaurant and he’s got the staff in on it, and everyone is going to stare when he asks me, they’ll probably start clapping and making TikToks and I’m going to look like a total bitch if I don’t say yes.”

“Well, yeah,” Joe says, a little darkly. “That was probably the plan. To put you in a position where you felt like you didn’t have a choice.” And you recall that Joe doesn’t seem to like Ryan very much, hasn’t said a single nice thing about him in the six months that have passed since Joe joined the illustrious Quiznos team.

“Maybe I should say yes and then after tonight never speak to him again.”

“You’re...gonna ghost your fiancé? You legitimately think that’s a better plan?”

“Maybe.”

“It’s only going to get harder to back out as this thing picks up momentum. The families will get involved. There will be dress fittings, venue shopping, cake tasting...oh, wait, actually, don’t back out until after the cake tasting. And invite me.”

“I could fake my own death. Or enlist in the Peace Corps. I’ve always wanted to see Mongolia.”

“But then you’d have to give up your promising career in sandwich making.”

“They might have Quiznos in Mongolia.” You sigh, defeated. “I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t be bothering you with this. I’m definitely ruining your Valentine’s Day.”

“There’s not much to ruin, honestly. I’m re-watching Tiger King and eating my weight in Skittles.”

Oh, right; Joe and his girlfriend Julie broke up last week. And come to think of it, despite the fact that you don’t have any identifiable reason to feel this way, you’ve never really liked Julie either. “I’ll gladly trade you.”

“I mean, sure, I fucking love chocolate mousse. My apartment is only three blocks away. I can hurry over there and put on your dress and heels and earrings or whatever you’re wearing, but I feel like Ryan might catch on.”

You laugh, your first real, involuntary, jolting laugh of the day. “Genius. Let’s do it.”

“You can say no,” Joe tells you, seriously now. This, as it turns out, is what a serious Joe Mazzello sounds like: warm, concerned, measured, his typically frenetic energy temporarily wrangled. “If he asks you to marry him and you want to say no, you can say no.”

“Okay,” you reply, taking a deep breath, resolved.

“Okay?”

“Yeah. Okay. I’ll say no.”

“Cool.” Joe sounds pleased; proud, even.

“Alright. I’m gonna go. Thanks, Joe. Seriously. Thank you so much.”

“No problem. You can mop up my next honey mustard spill as a show of gratitude.”

“Deal,” you say with a smile, and then you hang up.

Waiting for you back at the table is the moustached waiter cheerfully playing a violin, Ryan’s luminous grin, and a glass chalice full of chocolate mousse. Jesus christ. Chocolate fucking mousse.

Ryan motions for you to take a bite. You obediently sit down, pick up your spoon with a quaking hand, dip it into the center of the chocolate mousse...and lift out a diamond ring. You unleash a gasp of horror that Ryan mistakes for—or, perhaps, is determined to believe is—elation.

Ryan plucks the ring off your spoon, wipes it clean with a red cloth napkin, and slips out of his chair to kneel at your feet. Blood is pounding frantically in your ears. Your courage has evaporated. Your legs feel numb, jellylike, boneless. How the hell are you going to walk out of here after you say no? How the hell are you going to say no at all?

Ryan is reciting some generic, Hallmark-card speech. The other restaurant patrons are beaming, clapping, already assuming your answer. Ryan asks you the question. Your trembling hand is now resting at the base of your flushed throat like a noose. Your words are ghosts.

“I...” you sputter. “I...um...”

“Go ahead,” Ryan says, nodding, smooth and undaunted. And suddenly you know that Joe was right; every single part of this was planned. Ryan turns to the crowd. “Aw, folks, give her a hand, she’s shy!”

And as they cheer and whistle encouragingly, as Ryan waits for your acquiescence, as your hope for those things you’ve only caught glimpses of begins to wither like autumn leaves, someone steps between you and Ryan and fills up the hollow, hungry space left by your silence. It’s Joe.

“No no no,” he tells Ryan. His voice is ostensibly matter-of-fact and yet formidable. “She’s not shy. She’s just trying to figure out her answer. And she doesn’t need some random strangers in a French restaurant to help her out with that.” Joe looks at you and raises his eyebrows. “Go ahead. Whenever you’re ready.”

“What the...?!” Ryan exclaims, his eyes shifting from you to Joe. The other patrons are extremely bewildered. The waiter’s violin playing screeches to a halt.

“No,” you say, your courage flooding back in, a slow smile igniting across your face.

Ryan doesn’t understand. “No...?”

“No. My answer is no. The past two years have been nice, but this is over now. I’m not right for you, Ryan. You’re not right for me either. And I think you know that. So goodbye.”

You stand, sling your purse over your shoulder, and follow Joe out of L’amour Vrai; but not before you yank off your silver high heels and leave them there on the restaurant floor. The other guests are in scandalized uproar now. Ryan is still kneeling, furious and in shock. Outside it is bitingly cold and your breath turns to fog in the night air; the chilly concrete sidewalk soothes the aching soles of your feet.

Joe is ecstatic, his eyes gleaming under the streetlights as you walk together. “That was incredible! Did you see his face?! He totally thought he was going to be able to bully you into saying yes and you were not having it, you are a beast my dear, I hope some of those people put you on TikTok, I hope you get TikTok famous for being freaking awesome, then you can get rich and buy a mansion and let me live in the pool house and I’ll never have to work or suffer another honey-mustard-related catastrophe again—”

“Joe.” You stop him abruptly, resting a palm against his chest, gazing up at him beneath the cold stars. And after a moment he understands, and he kisses you. You catch more than a glimpse of those beautiful things you’d feared might not exist. They light up like the goddamn Eiffel Tower.

“I’ve wanted that for six months,” Joe says as he pulls away, softly, shakily, smiling almost shyly.

“Yeah,” you reply. “I think I have too.”

Joe takes your face in his hands and kisses you again. He tastes like heat and harmony and laughter and Skittles; but more than all of that, he tastes like love.

[utterlyinevitable]

hc about what happened in the time jump for the bryce and raf routes to fix this mess? Make the lack of progression make sense! please and thank you

Sorry it’s taken a while to get these two done, i’ve been too busy living in my carefully curated Ethan timeline 😅 You can find Ethan x MC During the Time Jump here. (raf will be another post) 

Bryce x MC During the Time Jump

After the gala, things weren’t that much different between them. 

The most notable difference was the intimacy. It seemed stronger, deeper. Effortless. 

They weren’t casual anymore that much was certain. They weren’t just fucking for fun. They were making love to last a life time. Their bodies knew one another in a tale as old as time.

But they’re both too timid to admit it. They won’t say the weighted phrase until they’re certain life and residency won’t tear them apart.

MC spent any free time she could having dinners with Keiki and Bryce. MC did most of the cooking but Bryce was the best sous chef learning how to adventure past pasta. The two doctor’s helping the teen out with her homework however they could. As smart as they are, they don’t understand Common Core...

But then Ethan turning the hospital into a greater version of the clinic meant MC was constantly busy. She barely even had 30 minutes to grab lunch. And sometimes she was even much too tired for drinks at Donahue’s.

Bryce had to lean on his surgical acquaintances a lot more now that his internal medicine buddies weren’t around. The clinic hadn’t trickled down to the surgical department; mostly because there were only so many ORs and you couldn’t rush procedures.

The week before Thanksgiving Bryce and Keiki were invited to MC’s apartment to celebrate with her roommates on their only day off together in weeks. 

Despite the exhaustion everyone felt, they were up early and super cheery. 

Sienna did most of the cooking with MC and Aurora lending a hand. Bryce and Jackie were on drinks duty and Elijah was in charge of entertainment. 

They all crowded around the dining table on the matching chairs and ones from their bedroom desks in order to accommodate. It was a mismatch but it was perfect. 

Conversation flowed freely and everyone said what they’re thankful for and what they think the upcoming year will hold.  

Then out of seemingly nowhere Keiki brought up boarding school.

Bryce looked at her with utter shock. The other’s asked questions about it. 

Keiki shrugged saying, “it’s just an idea. I can’t live with Bryce forever”. 

It was true, but doesn’t mean Bryce felt a little sad at his sister leaving all too soon.  

Christmas came sooner than anyone realized. 

MC saw her family the weekend before the holiday as became her tradition since med school. 

Since Bryce’s call to his mother about the funds to send Keiki to boarding school, she was sending him more messages and asking Keiki to come home for the holiday. She offered to pay for first class flights for her two darling children to come home. 

Both Lahela’s were against it.

Bryce took off as much time as he could to spend with the kid before she goes to school. But there’s only a handful of days he could take off at the busiest time of the year.

He managed to get Christmas and the day after off, and a half day on Christmas Eve.

Eve evening, Bryce came home to half priced decorations unceremoniously scattered about his living room, and Keiki and Mc standing on the couch trying to hang a daisy chain banner that looked like kindergarteners made it.

He couldn’t help but smile and pull MC into the biggest hug. She made everything 1000x better. 

The small family spent the evening eating and laughing and decorating the table top tree MC and Keiki picked up at the Walgreens down the street.

Cuddled up on the sofa in each other’s arms and Keiki on the makeshift bed she’d been sleeping on since her arrival, they watched classic Christmas movies and ate chocolate. It was perfect. 

Except MC had to work the next evening.

The amount of patients coming through Edenbrook’s doors tripled in the upcoming days and kept everyone busy.

Luckily the group of friends were able to spend New Years together. 

There wasn’t a single question as to if they were kissing at midnight. 

Bryce started kissing MC during the countdown; from her neck, up her jaw to her ear, cheeks, to the tip of her nose and then her lips at midnight. 

Shortly after the brief celebrations with the others, the two retired to her bedroom and kept ringing in the new year the right way.  

Keiki leaves for boarding school a few days after New Years. It was a very emotional journey down to Connecticut. 

Bryce was endlessly thankful MC accompanied him. Without her he’s pretty sure if would have cried a lot more on the drive home. And he probably would have stopped off at some sketchy gas station for a pick-me-up snack. Thankfully, MC suggested they hit Buffalo Wild Wings before entering the city instead. 

The couple thought Keiki being gone would give them more time together.

They were so wrong.

Mc got busier and busier and her time off didn’t coincide with his schedule, and everything got so damn complicated.

They hadn’t seen one another properly outside the hospital that wasn’t in passing in weeks.

So Bryce carved out some time around Valentine’s Day. 

MC was too busy to even realize the significance of the day. Every single day melded together to the point she didn’t know what was up or down, the month and barely clocked the time. 

She was leaning against the nurse’s station rapidly filling out charts when Bryce made a move. 

He slid up next to her, rubbed her shoulders and told her to take break with him. 

“Bryce I can’t I have patients. You see that line don’t you?”

“You haven’t taken lunch yet,” he said simply. He dropped his hands and turned around and called, “Hey Inès, MC is going on lunch!”

“Enjoy!” the senior resident called back. 

Bryce folded up the charts, handed them to Sarah behind the desk and dragged MC by both the wrists down the hall to the elevator. 

“Where are we going?” MC asked. 

Bryce may have set up a little rendezvous spot in a shut down inpatient wing. He had some take out he picked up from the café around the corner set up by the window and two clinical chairs. On the still-made bed was a stuffed bear holding a “Be Mine” heart and chocolate that he certainly did not steal from the gift shop. 

“The last time we were in one of these something really magical happened,” he said as he closed the door behind them. 

“The only thing magic was your hands.” MC wrapped her arms around his neck and pecked his lips. 

The evening of the group’s night on the town started off rough and stressful.

Bryce admitted he applied for a transfer to MK. He needs to be in Boston or really any hospital within driving distance of his sister’s school. She didn’t fly all the way out here just to be abandoned by him again.

MC understood - of course she understood his reason for staying here. She just didn’t know what to do for herself. They hadn’t talked about the long term, if they were going to try and be close. They hadn’t talked about their future at all, actually. The only times they did Keiki was the main subject. 

And she guessed she just had to apply to places and hope for the best. She knew where he’d be and now she needs to figure out if she fits into that.  

When applications got sad and boring the group got all dolled up and went out for a drink. Or six. Enough alcohol to forget the awkwardness that was earlier in their apartment. To forget the looming uncertainty of their unofficial relationship. 

Bryce was committed. MC was committed. They just weren’t vocal about their devout commitment. 

They got so drunk and ended up at the helipad on top of Edenbrook.

Cracking beers in hand, dancing and singing and enjoying the evening to it’s fullest. Bryce held her close and they lamented on the view as they sat against the wall, anticipating the sunrise over the horizon. 

The nightly breeze picked up. He rubbed patterns up and down her arms and she drew circles at his inner thigh. 

MC looked at him, their eyes locking.

Bryce’s lips turned upwards in a weighted smile. MC leaned her forehead against his and let out the sigh she didn’t know she was holding in. 

He kissed the corner of her mouth. Then her cheek. Then her nose. Then her neck. Her hands gripping to the lapels of his sports coat. 

They went back to his place and they didn’t talk about the future at all. Both of them clinging to the here and now. 

That evening they didn’t have sex. They held one other the entire night. They fell asleep to the sound of the other’s heartbeat.  

Small pleasantries were exchanged in the morning along with light kisses. 

For another time that year, they both felt the change. 

Edenbrook’s last day came and they were both in their feelings. Bryce was set to start at MK in a few weeks time and MC still didn’t know where she was going. Not a single application response on the east coast had come back yet. 

Bryce was standing outside with his best friends when the lights of Edenbrook finally went off that fateful day. 

Minutes later MC walked out. He noticed how her features, mood and hopes simultaneously fell lower than he’d seen in a while.

Her eyes found him right away, his arms waiting for her. She melted into his hug. Deep in his embrace with all her friends chattering around them, a part of her hoped they could compromise. There was so much more to explore between them. This couldn’t be the end. 

The entire Boston Bucket List event was bittersweet. As much as they enjoyed the escapades and these memories with their friends Bryce and MC just wanted some time alone. They needed time together to combat the unknown. 

By the time it was MC’s turn she chose a total cop-out. A kiss with Bryce. 

A kiss she hoped encompassed every feeling she was too scared to say. A kiss that told him just how much the uncertainty of their future was eating her up inside. A kiss he desperately needed as well. 

________________________________________

Masterlist

Perma:

@rookiemarsswiftie​ @lucy-268​ @binny1985​ @thegreentwin​ @queencarb​ @danijimenezv​ @starrystarrytrouble​ @terrm9​ @interobanginyourmom​ @adrex04 @maurine07​ @mercury84choices @schnitzelbutterfingers​ @theeccentricbibliophile @wingedhairstylemusicweasel​ @whimsicallywayward15​​ @mvalentine​ @rookie-ramsey​ @drariellevalentine​ @lifeaskim @otherworldlypresents​​ @therookie​​ @aylaramseycarrera​​ @angela8754​ @fireycookie @stateofgracious​ @missmiimiie​​ @uneravine​​  @homeformyheart​ @choicesaddict5​​ @iemcpbchoices

Bryce

@eleanorbloom @weaving-in-words

Bryce HCs

@aworldoffandoms

[carrottuan93]

Haven’t met you yet | Mark

Masterlist (1/4) | part2 - part3 - part4

Starring: MK x You

Tags: Mark Tuan, Fluff, Destiny, Waiting, Christmas, Bookworm, Nerd, Love, Fate

Total WC: 2631

Foreword: You promise yourself you’re going to wait for the perfect love even if it takes forever but you’re already barging on it’s doorstep without even realizing that love has met you already in the first place.

It’s all about timing and seeking reassurance in all the right places.

It’s a chance you never want to miss and an opportunity that you wouldn’t trade for anything.

Learn to take risks and learn to fall in love along the way. Cause true love is patient and it’ll come when you least expect it.

Have you been good all year round? You never know what Santa has in stored for you this Christmas.

[Feel free to listen on the playlist that I made for this one shot :)))]

"Eunhee, I should probably take a break from your endless blind date setups. Nothing is working out for me, seriously." You heaved a sigh, slouching on the couch as you gave your best friend an exasperated look the moment you entered her humble bookshop. She's too excited for your love life ever since she and her long-time university crush Jackson became an official couple on your birthday when you celebrated it on Jeju last year. It was a really cold New Year’s Eve when you chose to reserve this romantic restaurant by the beach as the venue for your special day. Eunhee doesn't have any idea about Jackson's plan when you booked a flight to Jeju Island for a week despite the busy season. Since you wanted to play the fairy godmother role for the both of them, you saved Jackson from worrying and suggested that he'd do it on your birthday instead. And just like that, they spent the New Year countdown melting into each other’s puddle while greeting you a happy birthday. The things you do for your friend, if that ain’t salty for your part (it is, for being the third wheel), automatically elected you as the sole Queen of singles club after Neun’s grand exit.

 Since their anniversary is just around the corner, they are planning to spend it once again on Jeju and Eunhee, for being the supportive sister from another mother that she is, will surely drag you with them at all costs since it has been your tradition to celebrate New Year’s Eve with your best friend. She is dying to set you up with someone so you won't be celebrating your birthday alone anymore.

 "I'm sorry, Y/N. I thought you and my friend Hae In will work out. What happened by the way? tell me about your date." She sat beside your spot after closing the shop and did the honor of pouring you a glass of your favorite merlot. This girl knows how to calm you down for sure. I mean she isn't your best friend if she have no idea that wine is your comfort drink. For whatever reason it is, you don't know why it helps to lessen your loneliness by drinking the night away. Maybe knocking you down into a deep slumber and finding yourself completely clueless the next day, alongside the horrible hangover can patch up the painful truth that you are still single up to this point of your life. In addition to the earthly and God-sent smell of neatly piled books crowding the interior of her paradise, Eunhee's bookshop is your go-to place at all times. You used to frequent this a lot during your childhood days where you first met her and together you shared the same passion and love for books and wine through all these years.

 "He's too overrated for my type. Like I don't know why we need to talk about all of his exes and why his relationship with them didn't work out when we can sit and be comfortable with just talking about our interests, 'us' the present and not his past. He's a perfectionist per se and I don't like it when a guy shows disinterest whenever I told them about myself as some nerdy bookish girl who craves for a netflix kind of night compared to his ideal dream girl-next-door whom you can freely bring to a club the minute next." You look down on the red liquid in your glass, appreciating its refined and classic smell that is clouding your nostrils. You're way too excited to go home so you can finally sink on your newly changed bed sheets and savor the enticing smell of fabric conditioner which you cannot live without. You glanced outside the window, observing the couples walking together under the falling snow, as if Valentines day has come all of a sudden in the middle of December. Red roses are a popular gift for the ladies as you've observed and you cannot help yourself from wondering if someone will ever give you flowers on Christmas, particularly pink roses, which you really admire. You always dreamt of tending a bed of pink roses only for yourself because the sight of it makes you really happy. It's just unfortunate that they aren't in full bloom during this season that's why you can only wait for February to come so you could save the trouble of finding a lame date and just buy yourself a bouquet for Valentines. You can give yourself flowers and still feel like in a relationship with all the fictional characters on your novels. No one is stopping you from dating them in your mind, you thought.

 “Ugh I can’t believe that guy. I thought he’s a good catch but actually a bummer for real. Don’t worry, I’ll choose better next time." She gave you a warm hug, patting your head as you lay your cheek on her shoulder. She released you and you gave her an 'I'm-okay-don't-worry' kind of smile. And you sat there for almost an hour talking about your other failed blind dates in the past week that all belongs in either Jackson or Eunhee's circle. You have no idea why none of them matched your personality. Either they are too wild or too boring for them to function as your potential boyfriend. No one could really captivate your specific taste in a guy. It's not that you are too picky and have a high standard when it comes to scouting a lover. You just have your own preferences when it comes to choosing someone whom you'll devote your precious time into. No relationship is perfect because everything is built out of flaws, misunderstandings, heartaches and drama but if you'll enter in a commitment at least choose someone who's worthy of that pain. You aren’t getting any younger and all you need right now is someone reliable, honest and trustworthy enough to not waste your feelings and emotion. You need a serious guy who will not take you for granted and who welcomes the idea of settling in the near future. At least someone with a nice job? Or a bearable attitude, outlook and philosophy in life? He doesn't need to be the most handsome or richest guy in the planet. After all, you always talk to God about giving you with someone who will really love all your imperfections and flawed nature. You always pray to the heavens above that maybe he'll cross the mountains and bring you the moon and the stars like they always did on the movies and in stories but you're fed with too much fantasy and began to think that maybe the guy for you was rather inexistent or an alien inhabiting a distant galaxy located in a million light years away.

 "A break is all I need after all. I will be fine tomorrow at Christmas eve. Don't worry about me having a date on our dinner. I'll bring some macarons as an antidote for all things bitter for you and Jackson's couple party." It's your best friend’s first Christmas with her boyfriend that's why they are throwing a mini gathering for their family and close friends. You had this feeling that you will be the only one attending the party without a date so might as well go straight to the kitchen and grab a bottle of whatever wine you can get and spend the evening dancing on tipsy toes and the floor would be very much pleased to accommodate your drunken needs. But you will not gonna end up wasted on a party especially Eunhee will not be there beside you to take you home since you do not want to rob Jackson of his time with her. Their happiness always matters before you and that's what makes you happy, to see your best friend happy with the man that he really deserves.

 "All right sweetcheeks. We'll not let you feel gloomy on Christmas eve. Good girls get a reward from Santa so you have nothing to worry about." She gave you a wink and clanked your glasses in unison as you both emptied the bottle of wine to your heart's content. You both agreed to watch a romantic holiday movie over a shared furry blanket and hear out your friend as she talked to you mostly of his boyfriend, as if you’ve read a book about the guide to 101 ways on how to fall for Jackson. Maybe the love bug bit too hard on your friend now that she really has the man of her dreams right on her fingertips, she can’t ask for anything else. Their love story is too underrated and you’re one of the living witnesses that a coin is never wasted on a wishing well. If you only joined Eunhee on her wishing spree every time you both pass by your University’s fountain of love, your coin bank would have gone empty by now. But you didn’t do it and saved all of your coins for yourself cause you really enjoy playing basketball in the arcades for fun. For all you can remember way back in college days, your friend is just one of the many timid girls who are cheering and admiring the ever-famous fencing athlete, business student and heartthrob, Jackson. You have classes together with him and that is how your job as a love guru began. You really deserve a raise because you did succeed on making them a couple. You could set up a dating agency and earn better than your current job for all you care. But amidst all the love advice that you gave to them, you’re the complete opposite of a matchmaker. Because love never finds your way despite making love work for the others. Love is sweet but a bitch most of the time.

 If love finally came to Eunhee and Jackson, hopefully yours would come in a whirlpool, sweeping you off of your feet and rendering all the other love stories made in the history irrelevant. You love spontaneity and you’re up for the extraordinary. In fact, you already made a dozen of playlists on spotify and counting, awaiting to be dedicated to him. You may have weird habits, like using ketchup as a dip for your honey glazed donuts, and still act straight and sit the whole day finishing a book with your favorite espresso at coffee shops. You love taking midnight trips to the art museum and you wonder if he can appreciate the abstract the way it makes your soul come alive. You love travelling back to time and studying history and it would be a bonus if he’ll join you on the 3% mint choco enthusiasts in the whole world. And your list goes on and on and it’ll take a lifetime to introduce yourself to someone but you want to meet him soon. You can’t wait for that time to annoy the hell out of him and if he still chooses to come back after your endless nagging, that’s the time when you’re not gonna let go of him anymore. You know for yourself, you’re looking for an almost perfect individual but you’re ready to tear up your never ending list of your ideal guy if someone could really surprise you and made you want to look at the world in a different dimension. After all, an ideal can never be achieved in real life. You cannot make someone ‘the one’ but you can only search for someone and make them ‘your one’. Things may not come out the way you want them to be but things will work out if he’s your destiny. It might be hard to find the rarest form of love, which is true love, but you’re willing to go on a train trip bound to a destination you’ve never been to given that he’ll meet you at the end of the tunnel. Love isn’t hard. Love is supposed to be easy. You just need patience and it’ll come to you when you least expect it.

 It's nearing 11 pm already when you feel lightheaded because of your wine intake and maybe due to the fact that your early sleeping schedule has been breached by tonight's unfortunate event. You bid goodbye to your friend despite her invitation that you should just sleep on her place and decided to call for an uber to save yourself from zoning out like a zombie because you can no longer walk straight with your clouded vision. Eunhee lives upstairs her bookstore because she manages her family's business when her father passed away that's why she isn't living with you anymore. You've grown to be independent now that you're living on your own after sharing the same apartment with your friend during your university days.

 "Tomorrow night at 8. I'll text you the address. Don't be late, Y/n. Have a goodnight!” Eunhee tucked you up nicely on your seat and soon the taxi sped up passing underneath the city lights in the mood for the radio's yuletide playlist. You're a bit drunk to see clearly but you can recognize the faint Christmas lights flickering throughout the busy streets. In just half an hour, the uber came to a stop and you hopped off the cab as you made your way towards the entrance of the condo that you’re residing in. You walked past the concierge and romantic music is donning the halls screaming love is in the air but not for you cause it makes you suffocated. Inside the elevator you noticed that you'll join a couple on your way to a 5-minute trip to the 12th floor. You silently wished that nobody would enter in between floors so as not to slow down your fast lane to your unit or else it'll be another episode of 'You-are-single-fgds' slapping your face. Geez, you badly want a damn break but the couple is too absorbed in their own selves, doing whatever cringey couple thing it is behind you, so you chose to ignore their reflection on the elevator walls.

 God spared you for that ride and luckily you reached the 12th floor in the fastest speed possible. You walked in a crazy zigzag pattern when you reached the front step of your door and you held on the handle to prevent yourself from falling directly on the ground. Your eyes are zooming in for the door lock as you punch in your keycode multiple times and still wonder why the door isn't granting you any access at all.

 "The fudge why aren't you opening?" You tried all possible combinations already but to no luck, you are still denied. For the 10th time, the lock gave up on you and is now urging for a password reset when all of a sudden the heavens finally heard your prayer and the door automatically opened. You fell towards a pair of arms, as if on cue you are saved once again from falling directly on the floor. You grabbed on a pair of shoulders, and you felt like you've reached your bed already as your senses are welcomed with a lovely scent of fabcon, which for you is the sweetest scent in the world.

 "Hmm. I can finally sleep now." You smiled the moment you felt safe and secured within the parameters of what you think of as your bed.

"Wait, you cannot sleep on my arms." It's too late for you to wake up because you're already dozing off to dreamland.

"Oh shoot. What am I gonna do with you?" You barged into someone's room and you haven't had the slightest idea of what you'll gonna do the next morning when you wake up.

[yoon-kooks]

Song Request

Pairing: Yoongi x Reader

Genre: Fluff, FuckBoy!AU, Roommate!AU, RadioHost!Yoongi

Summary: Your roommate seems to have a lot of one-night stands, but you're starting to think that isn’t the case...

Word Count: 1.5k

A/N: heres a short and sweet valentine’s drabble~! it’s inspired by Lee Sora’s Song Request that yoongi’s featured in 💖 

The only good thing about Valentine’s Day is that it’s a peaceful evening at work. While everyone else is out having a fancy dinner with their significant other, you’re left to watch over an empty coffee shop until closing.

With only the occasional customer coming and going, you opt to keep busy by studying for your upcoming midterms—not because you’re a diligent student, but because you want to take your mind off the fact that, rather than a lover, it’s a 46-page biology study-guide keeping you company on this rainy Valentine’s Day. Because the last thing you’d want is to be reminded of your nonexistent love life.

“Happy Single’s Awareness Day, Little One.” As soon as you hear that smooth honeyed voice enter the coffee shop, your body knows to avoid the counter.

“Thank you, Yoongi, for reminding me of my nonexistent love life,” you say to your bully of a roommate with your back turned to him. His chuckle can be heard as you feel his eyes watching you make his usual cup of coffee. Americano, to-go. Securing a cap onto the rim of his coffee cup, you spin around and finally face the boy. “But I guess at least I’m not the only one who’s single this year.”

Yoongi tilts his head like a puppy before taking the Americano into his hands. “What are you talking about? I’m on my way to see a girl-”

“One-night stands don’t count, by the way.” You eye his tasteful fashion decisions and shake your head. “But good job on cleaning up well for a girl you’ll never see again.”

“What makes you say it’ll be a one-night stand?” he challenges you as he takes a sip of his coffee.

“Because it’s always a one-night stand with you. And for some reason, you’re so proud of it that you feel the need to share the news with me every time you go out at night.”

“Well I don’t want you worrying about my whereabouts at ass o’clock, you know. Just trying to be a considerate roommate,” he shrugs.

“How considerate of you. It means a lot to me when I’m made aware that my roommate is off fucking someone new each night.” You can only laugh at the situation as you close up the shop and head to Yoongi’s car.

“Well if it bothers you so much, I won’t do it anymore,” he speaks in pout as if it’ll give him his way.

“I’m not going to tell you what to do, Yoongi. All I’m saying is that you seem to sleep around a lot and that kinda makes you a fuck boy,” you say with a teasing giggle.

After a thoughtful pause, Yoongi nods along to your comment and hops into the driver’s seat. As he starts up the engine, you play the role of DJ to find a suitable radio station for two hopeless singles. But after flipping through twenty different stations and hearing the same old love song each time, you admit defeat and slump back in your seat.

“Don’t you think DJs ought to be at least a tiny bit sensitive to the folks out there who don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day? Maybe I don’t want to hear another love song.” A yawn escapes your mouth.

“Then what kind of song would you suggest they play?” Yoongi turns down the radio, smirking at your cynicism.

“Something to help me focus on studying for my bio midterm? I don’t fucking know.”

“Oh, like that song DNA by those… uh… Bangtan Boys, I think?” Yoongi laughs at his own joke like he’s so funny.

“Either that or something to keep me awake.” You close your eyes and the rest of the car ride becomes silent. To be honest, it’s not that you despise Valentine’s Day. You’re simply just frustrated with a certain boy you may or may not have developed feelings for.

“Anyway, I’ll see you when I get back?” Yoongi pulls over into an empty spot in front of your apartment.

You nod as you get out of the car and wave bye, sending him off to his other obligations.

As soon as you get inside, you cozy up to your 46-page biology study-guide under a blanket. The sound of rain against your window goes from calm pitter-patters to a raging storm, but it’s the first boom of thunder that makes you uneasy.

Normally if your roommate were around, he’d sit there and tease you about being a scaredy-cat. And despite all the teasing, his presence and calming voice would be enough to put you at ease. Because although he’s a bit of a fuck boy, you can’t help but find comfort in Yoongi. And maybe that’s why you’re so bothered every time he informs you of his nighttime shenanigans.

In an attempt to overshadow the thunder and remedy the loneliness, you decide to give the radio a second chance at redemption. With a flick of a switch, you’re tuned in to whatever station Yoongi had listened to last: Honey FM.

The first surprise is that it’s not another love song playing. It’s a talkshow of some sort.

The second surprise is the smooth honeyed voice of the host. So you decide to listen on.

“Okay, next caller…”

“Umm, hi Suga! I was wondering if you have any advice on getting a boy’s attention without being too obvious?? I’m a little hesitant because I don’t know what he thinks about me.”

“Hmm… Without being too obvious? Well, I think to some degree, you should be patient at first and pay close attention to how he responds to you. Does he smile and joke around a lot around you? Does he seem comfortable around you? I think if you both are comfortable enough around each other, you can confidently make a bold move without worrying about it being too obvious. If not, work on establishing a stable friendship first before rushing into a relationship that you’re still iffy about.” You aren’t sure if it’s good advice or if you’re just entranced by his mellow voice, but you find yourself nodding along to everything this Suga guy is saying.

“Ah! You’re right, maybe a friendship first is best!”

“Good luck and thanks for tuning in to Suga Sweet Suggestions~”

“Thank you Suga!”

“Okay, I think we have time for… two more callers? Next caller, please say hello and state your question or concern.”

“Hello! Happy Valentine’s Day! I just wanted to know if Suga has any Valentine’s plans tonight with someone special?”

“A question about me?” he laughs. “I’m spending my night right here with you, aren’t I?”

The caller responds with giggles and a squeal. “I love you, Min Suga~”

“I’m flattered… Good night and thanks for tuning in~” The host hums along to the song playing in the background as he waits for the final caller of the night. “And last but not least, here’s our final caller.”

“Hi, I have this roommate who goes off sleeping with someone new each night, but the problem is,,, I’m kind of in love with him… so yeah.”

There’s a long pause on the radio’s end. “Sounds like a f**k boy to me, haha… But tell me, what do you even like about this person?”

“He’s comforting to be around, and he has a soothing voice like yours. Plus, I don’t think he’s as big of a fuck boy as he makes himself out to be.”

“Oh? Interesting… But, um, please don’t say f**k on the radio without it being censored or I’ll be fined…”

“Oh fuck, my bad…”

“…”

“…”

“At any rate, because you’re the last caller of the night, you get one song request as I sign off. So please pick your favorite song.”

“How about DNA by those Bangtan Boys?”

“…Right… Thanks for calling in, and good night. Tune in again tomorrow for another hour of Suga Sweet Suggestions~”

After the requested song ends, you turn off the radio, write something down on a sticky note, toss your 46-page study-guide aside, and fall asleep on the couch to the sound of soft rain drops.

-

“Y/N, wake up.” The honeyed voice has returned.

“Why did you wake me up?” you whine into a pillow and throw another one at Yoongi.

“Because there was a sticky note on your forehead that said to wake you up when I got home??” The boy leans in close and rips the yellow note off your face.

“Oh yeah lol,” you swipe the sticky note out of his hand and start folding it. “So how was your one-night stand?”

“It was good. We had an enlightening conversation.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you’re a radio DJ?” You finally address the elephant in the room.

“Because I thought fuck boy sounded a lot better than someone who gives love advice,” he shrugs. “By the way, you’re in love with me?”

“Nah, I just thought it would be funny to say that on the radio.”

“Of course you did.”

“But I did mean what I said about your soothing voice. It’s comforting… especially on this rainy Valentine’s Day,” you drop a folded origami heart into the palm of his hand. “Being a radio host suits you, and you should never feel ashamed of that.”

“I appreciate the advice, Little One,” he pats your head with a smile, “And thanks for tuning in.”

[andydona-chan]

I was looking through my files because I need to delete some to get more space when I found the start of a fanfic that I started but didn’t quite remember it was there until now... I know for a fact it had to do with flowers and Sherlock trying to do a very elaborate delivery to provide Molly with some deadly but otherwise beautiful flowers, that actually got out of his hands at some point, I was even making a research to complete this, I guess too much life got in the way that I totally forgot.

Anyways, I feel like the least I can do is let you have this piece of a story that maybe someday I’ll finish (no dates promised yet), so enjoy...

There it was again, the sweet, sweet smell of flowers in the air.

Honestly, it was February’s first week and she worked at a hospital, she was sure there was a small shop in the lobby that had them for the patients, but the fact that there were also roses and tulips (etcetera, etcetera…) over the nurses and doctors desks was a sign that they were also receiving them, and in this time of the year it was most definitely not only from grateful patients but for Valentine’s day… Show-offs!

It was as if the universe plotted against her, happy couples here and there, flowers and chocolates, dramatic proposals (like that doctor who had been called to the ICU when she heard her boyfriend had had an accident, telling her that there had been blood, broken bones and little chance to survive, only to enter the corridor and find him safe and sound, but obviously on one knee and a shiny ring for her – he had bought flowers and brought music, but he wasn’t allowed to enter with them, it was the ICU!) and some ridiculous flirting and awful pick-up lines (honestly, she had made a note to knock before entering any supply closet these days).

To make it worse, the world outside wasn’t helping either, with all the candies, flowers, balloons, and all the shows in TV broadcasting romantic movies, it was almost impossible to see an end to this… nightmare!

However Molly Hooper knew she had the only thing in this world that could somehow make her forget about all the ‘silly stuff’ - as Sherlock would call it - going around, she worked at the morgue; nothing better than a good handful of corpses to keep Cupid and his stupid celebration away… and she also had Sherlock’s visits just to be safe.

Molly sighed, letting her shoulders drop at that thought, she didn’t really hate the festivities, it had been one of her favorites with Christmas and Halloween, but what was the point now, really? She had been single for some time now, no invitations from possible candidates, no real time to spend with friends (most of them were married, engaged or had children already), no sex… Really, celebrating Valentine’s day would make her feel like a hypocrite, not really having ‘the spirit’ or in the mood but pretending to be happy and joyful, it was just a waste of time.

Still she looked at the flowers, they were all beautiful of course, and the meaning behind each of them gave them magic somehow. She had bought flowers, she had also grown some in a flower pot, but she had never received them as a gift; well she had, from her father maybe, to celebrate her graduation and one time for her birthday, but never from a man. None of her boyfriends had ever invested on a single rose for her, not even Tom the day he had proposed, and that made her think that maybe she didn’t deserve them, that somehow she didn’t have the look of a flowers-kind-of-person. She could have told them, but it wouldn’t feel the right, it would feel as if she were asking for them instead of waiting to be surprised with them (it was actually a funny feeling, maybe not many would understand).

So, she had made a deal with herself to go straight to her lab and morgue every time she entered the building, no stopping to chat, greeting friends and colleges with a wave of her hand, not her usual ways but she could always pretend that she was hurrying up because of Sherlock.

Luckily he had been coming regularly, when he needed help with a case or just to check samples of whatever he was currently experimenting on, so she could use the excuse. There were still a few days until the dreaded date appeared on her calendar, so she tried to keep herself busy.

She was in the middle of finishing a report of an autopsy she had done a little ago when Mike entered the room and went towards her, with an apologetic look on his face that told her that certain Consulting Detective needed a favor and she had just been pulled into it. He had the worsts habits about this, always asking for things to be done or ready the moment he arrived, it was making her angry.

“Oh, God! What is it now?” she asked before Mike could say anything.

“I’m not really sure Molly, you know him better than me, all I know is that he had requested that we received some kind of samples and now a highly specialized botanic center had just called to inform me that the only way one can get those is by going there…” he lifted his hands in a calm way “I know what you’re going to say. I called him back and told him that, I was going to suggest another person to do the job, but he said that if someone had to go there then it had to be you and nobody else.” Mike sighed, obviously feeling sorry and a little guilty “Let’s be honest Molly if I refuse he would just call you, and if you refuse he’ll call his brother and eventually there’ll be a car outside waiting for you want it or not, here’s the data of the place”, he said placing a piece of paper on the table.

Molly smiled, knowing how true that was, they had gone through this countless times, and they knew how it was. So, resigning herself to the idea, she tried to see the bright side of it.

“A botanic center… Sounds good, I guess, I don’t go to places like that very often” she pictured herself walking through a big garden or a greenhouse, surrounded by nature, the lively green and the smell of a place like that. Mike seemed relieved to hear her say that. “Thank you, Mike, I’m going to call him and ask him to send a car anyway, don’t worry, at least I’ll be saving on transport today.”

Mike laughed at that, leaving the room when she started gathering her things to get ready, so once she left her work station in order and then picked up her things Molly made her way up to the entrance.

She had sent Mycroft a message, instead of Sherlock and she felt really pleased by that. It was time that he understood that things with her were not going to be that easy from now on.

Mycroft. Would it be much trouble if I ask you to send me a car to go to a botanical center? – Molly

It’s no trouble at all, Miss Hooper but I don’t work as a taxi service, so don’t expect me to this for you every time- M.H.

I know, sorry, Sherlock asked me to go but didn’t even say please. Molly

My brother tends to forget his manners when he’s in a hurry, have you contacted him? M.H.

Not yet, I was planning to tell him that I’m not actually going. I’m sure you know the routine. Molly

So then why are you requesting a car? Is it for practical reasons?  M.H.

Well, I’m not really that happy to be ordered around all the time by him with things like this. So when he calls you, please tell him that things are not always going to be done the moment he asks for them, he’ll have to wait. I’ll contact him later anyway; just don’t tell him about any of this. Molly

Come on Mycroft, let him suffer a bit with frustration, she thought after sending that last one

You’re aware that this might be important (if he’s in a hurry for a case). However if my memory serves me well you are right, it might serve him as a lesson, I’ll play along with you Miss Hooper. A car will be waiting for you at the entrance; it’s at your service for the next 3 hours. M.H.

Thank you, Mycroft. J. Molly

She climbed onto the car that arrived a few seconds later and gave the driver the address of the place. She had never gone there and it was possible that it wasn’t open for the public, but she expected that her work ID would suffice.

It didn’t take long for the driver to stop in front of a building, and when she stepped outside she perceived again the smell of flowers, only this time in a completely different scenario. She made her way towards the entrance and entered the reception, smiling to a young woman that was behind a counter.

“Hello, I’m Doctor Hooper from Saint Bartholomew’s Hospital, I’m here to get some samples for Sherlock Holmes” she said, the woman who had been smiling welcoming at her finally sighed.

“Thank God you already arrived” the woman said, she was shorter than her by a few inches, her black hair was combed back in a low ponytail and she was a bit chubby, Molly thought she looked adorable. However, what she had said caught her attention as the woman actually told her to wait and picked up the phone on the counter. “Sam? A doctor from Saint Bart’s is here… Yes, she came for those samples. I knew it would make you happy to get rid of them… yeah, just be sure to give her everything she needs to avoid any problem she or anyone else could have. Aha, sure…” the woman ended the call and smiled at her. “My friend Sam will be here in a moment”

“Thank you” said Molly, slightly relieved by the quick service but a bit worried by how that short conversation had gone.

[lamptracker]

Updated Updated Masterlist

I should just link this in my bio or something and then update as needed. But that would be smart or something. Anyway.

Tom Holland

Sick Day- The reader is sick; Tom takes care of her. Fluff.

Officially Untitled, Unofficially titled I Almost Posted This On My Main Blog - Reader has a terrible day at work; Tom cheers her up. Fluff.

Tom Holland Hair Watch 2017 - When Tom makes a concerning tweet about his hair, the reader visits him on set to see what's up. FLUFF.

Waiting - The reader is waiting on her doctor's office to call with some test results. Fluff again.

Chilly Nights - Reader and Tom are hanging out on the couch; the reader is cold.

Tonight, I'll Need You to Stay (Part 1) - Tom helps the reader escape an abusive relationship. Domestic abuse, swearing, angst.

Tonight, I'll Need You to Stay (part 2) - Tom helps the reader move on from her abusive relationship. Smut

Love Will Come to You - The reader is Tom's new co-star; she keeps falling in love with the wrong guys and Tom can't stand to watch it.

If I Take My Heart's Advice - The reader is torn between her current boyfriend Aiden and her ex, Tom.

I give you peace when peace is fragile - Tom catches the reader self-harming herself. Warnings: self-harm, blood, angst.

Drunken Confession Night - Movie Night with Harrison and the three eldest Hollands always devolves into Drunken Confession Night. This time, though, Tom drops a bomb.

Things That Go Bump - Tom and the reader are in bed talking about ghosts; they hear strange noises and go investigate.

Tom After Dentist - Tom gets his wisdom tooth pulled and has some interesting things to say, especially to his girlfriend of a couple of months.

Third Time's a Charm - After Tom (allegedly) breaks his nose a third time, the reader makes another trailer visit.

You Should Be Here - The reader passes away; Tom tries to figure out how to go on. Angst.

Tom Dating an Older Woman - A headcanon about Tom dating an older woman.

Love in the Apocalypse - The reader is on meds for a cough that make her have crazy dreams...about Tom and the zombie apocalypse.

Can't Not Be With You - The reader tries to seduce Tom while drunk; he refuses to take advantage of her.

Holland Family Ski Trip - Tom teaches the reader how to ski while the family visits Sam in France.

Small bump - Tom wants kids. You don't. Now what?

Sod Off, Valentine's Day - You have a cold. And your period. On Valentine's Day.

Golden Dreams - AU in which you and your ice dancing partner Tom go to the Olympics. You'd never considered falling in love with him...or have you?

battered fighters - You and Tom have a nasty argument. He tries to make it up to you

‘close your eyes before the sleep’ - Tom’s girlfriend is working on her thesis for her masters’ degree; Tom wants nothing more than to give her a break.

This blurb I wrote that doesn’t have an official title - Tom wants to celebrate your anniversary by playing a song for you - but the only instrument he has handy? A kazoo.

Share a Coke - Soulmate!Au. When you turn 18, you get the chance to meet your soulmate. You’ll know when the day a Coke can with their name on it shows up in your fridge. Tom wonders if he’ll ever find his... until a can with your name on it appears.

Harrison Osterfield

Harrison Potter - Harrison comes home from Milan with a baseball cap and a secret.

"I could stay here all day" - Blurb based on a tweet from Harrison about wanting to stay in bed all day.

"Can it stop snowing plz" - Blurb about staying at Harrison's during a snowstorm

take a chance - Movie night with roommate Haz turns into something both of you have dreamed about. Smut.

Don't Move - Harrison wants the reader to be more assertive during sex. SMUT.

“y tho” - Harrison is sick with a terrible cold; fortunately, you’re a really good nurse.

‘loving can hurt sometimes’ - The reader and Harrison fight over comments made about her on his Instagram.

Golfing with Harrison - a blurb about Harrison teaching you how to golf, and Third Wheel Tom insisting on keeping score.

The First Time - the reader loses her virginity to Harrison. Smut.

Marry Me - Harrison is invited to his best friend’s wedding; she has no idea he’s in love with her. Based on the song “Marry Me” by Thomas Rhett; written for a writing challenge @upsidedownparker hosted.

Be Alright - Based on the song “Be Alright” by Dean Lewis. Tom and (eventually) the reader help Harrison put the pieces of his broken heart back together.

Your Guide to the Afterlife - The reader dies. Harrison is her guide to the next step in her eternal journey.

The Hand Fic - Harrison knows how to use his hands. SMUT

Roommate AU

Roomies - AU in which the reader goes on a bad date, watches Cheers, and realizes she may be falling for her roommate Tom.

'I need a favor' - Tom asks the reader, his roommate, for a (pretty big) favor.

The Cure for a Broken Heart - After getting dumped, your roommates Tom and Harrison help console you. But who knew that the cure for a broken heart was already under your own roof?

Headcanons/General AU

Road Trips with Tom - A headcanon about what a road trip with Tom would be like.

Tom Dating a Famous Writer - Headcanon about Tom dating a famous writer.

Tom Caring for Your Baby Daughter - Headcanon about Tom taking care of your baby daughter.

Headcanon about an ER trip - A headcanon inspired by my recent trip to the ER.

Headcanon about Nurse Tom - in which the patient, under sedation, tells him to "fight me"

Four Days - Four days in the life of a keyholder at a small-town store, who flirts with a cute fireman named Tom.

- 'I think i wanna marry you' - Five boys (Tom, Harrison, Harry, Sam, and Jacob) and the moment they knew they wanted to marry you.

'Baby, just say yes' - Five boys, five proposals. A companion piece to 'I think i wanna marry you'.

‘marry me, today and every day’ - Five boys, five weddings.

Royal!AU

Royal Minder - a headcanon about the reader being the royal minder for bratty Prince Tom.

The Princess of Starbucks (Royal!Reader/Barista!Tom) - Bored with palace life, the reader - princess of a small country - sneaks into town for a day of anonymity. While at the coffee shop, she meets the most beautiful boy she's ever seen working the counter.

Peter Parker

Personal Space - You're trying to study, but keep getting distracted by one Peter Parker.

Stop Staring at Me! - The reader has a crush on Peter. Ned knows something she doesn't.

Prom Night - The reader is up for prom queen. She's dating Flash Thompson but has a crush on Peter Parker; both boys are running for Prom King.

Dive - The reader asks Peter to pose as her boyfriend to make Flash, her ex, jealous.

First Kiss with Peter - a headcanon about your first kiss with Peter.

You need a blue sky holiday - You had a bad day. Peter vows to turn it around.

First Time Peter Says He Loves You - a headcanon about the first time Peter says those three little words.

Jacket - “Take my jacket, it’s cold.” Written for a writing challenge.

Someone Else’s Star - All the reader wants is to be in love. But is she wishing on someone else’s star? Inspired by Bryan White’s song “Someone Else’s Star.”

This blurb I wrote about a rainy day - It’s a blurb about a rainy day. 

Candygram - The reader hates Valentine’s Day. But will Peter give her a reason not to?

Annabelle’s Homework -  Peter is so in love with Annabelle Stephens, he thinks nothing of doing her homework for her. The reader is upset by this. Mostly because Annabelle isn’t in love with Peter… she is. Inspired by Alec Benjamin’s song “Annabelle’s Homework.”

Boyband!AU

The Boys in the Band - The four Holland brothers and Harrison are in a boy band. All of them (minus Paddy) are fighting for the reader's affections.

Too Much to Ask - Sam Holland meets the girl of his dreams, has his heart broken, and deals with the aftermath. Inspired by Niall Horan's "Too Much to Ask."

Miscellaneous

Trois - Tom, Haz, threesome. That’s all you really need to know.

Hazza - The infamous Harry/Harrison threesome fic. Smut.

Harry Holland

Harry's New Glasses - Harry is self-conscious about his new glasses; his girlfriend, the reader, thinks they're hot.

3:30something - It's 3:30 am and the reader can't sleep; Harry does his best to help.

Here For You - Harry is there after the reader’s grandfather dies.

Finals Week - Harry helps the reader de-stress while preparing for finals.

The Bench - you seek solace in the bench at your favorite pond when you and Harry have your worst fight yet.

Sam Holland (note: I do not write for Sam anymore)

Steady Rain - Sam comforts the reader during a thunderstorm.

Jacob Batalon

I Hate Christmas Parties - Jacob plans to tell Laura he's in love with her at Zendaya's Christmas party. When she arrives with another man, he's devastated - until he finds someone who's as miserable as he is.

Love is Christmas - Jacob and the reader, who met at Zendaya's Christmas party, have a cookie-baking and holiday movie date. (This one got approximately zero notes but I liked it so read it, ok?

A still-untitled prompt request - Jacob and the reader make love in front of the fireplace on Christmas Eve. NSFW.

Baseball!AU

No-Hitter - Pitcher Sam Holland goes for his first career no-hitter.

Heart and Hustle - Tom, standout high school third baseman, plays in the championship game.

After Practice - After a tough practice, minor league first baseman Harrison needs a release. Smut.

Ned Leeds

Actual Mom Friend Ned Leeds - A headcanon about everyone's favorite Guy in the Chair.

Salamander - Ned befriends the new girl in school. But she has a secret.

Single Dad!AU

The Recital - Single Dad and CEO Tom Holland tries desperately to make it to his five-year-old daughter Lily’s first dance recital on time.

Guilt Trips and Sundaes - Tom feels bad about yelling at Lily, so he takes her out for ice cream. They run into a friend of Lily’s from school... and her single mom.

Sweet Pea - Single dad Harry Holland gets upset at his daughter Eleanor.

Past Curfew - Architect Harrison Osterfield is worried when his teenage son Evan misses curfew.

Double Trouble - Music professor Sam Holland, under lots of stress, snaps at his twin daughters Rose and Iris.

Spiderling - Peter Parker gets upset at his daughter Julia. 

Stray Kids

Just a Tiny Fire - Pairing: Han Jisung/Reader

The reader has been stressed out at work, so their best friend Jisung tries to help...but causes a minor calamity instead.

Untitled Han Jisung Fic - Han Jisung/Female Reader

Jisung and the reader celebrate their one-year anniversary. Smut, fluff, the other 7 are total doofuses (and Changbin may or may not be channeling a frat boy, I haven’t decided yet).

This Seat Taken? - Seo Changbin/Female Reader

The reader finds herself falling in love with her best friend, Changbin.

Series

The Tea Shop Girl - Pairing: Harrison Osterfield/Reader

Harrison Osterfield falls for the girl that runs the tea shop down the street.

In Charge - Pairing: Accountant!Tom Holland/CEO!Female Reader

The reader, CEO of her own company, has an “arrangement” with Tom, one of her new accountants.

Spy vs. Spy - Pairing: Spy!Harrison Osterfield/Spy!Female Reader

Harrison Osterfield, one of Britain’s top spies, keeps getting thrown into missions with rival spy (y/n). Can they work together without killing each other? Or will something more develop?

Win-Win - Pairing: Female Reader/Tom Holland

Temporarily homeless, the reader needs a place to stay. Her friend Tom, who has a reputation for being a womanizer, has an extra room… and an idea.

Blood in the Water - Pairing: Female Reader/Mob!Harrison Osterfield

Harrison Osterfield is the most feared man in Kingston and leader of one of Britain’s most notorious mobs. How far will he go to protect the ones he loves?

As always, I accept requests! I mostly write Tom Holland, as you can tell. But I will write Harrison or any of the Hollands (not Paddy - I’ll include him in a fic but I won’t write one about him). I’ll write Peter Parker too. 

[undeservedfavor]

Update Varies

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The Bucketlist

Mini-Series of Short Stories

St. Valentines Day [EN]: Chapter 4

Two months has passed as they continued to work together until they finish the movie and gained so much awards and credit.

"Woohoo!!! Guys! Let's party! We all deserve it for all the hard work!" Director said.

"I think you guys need to talk about something. I don't know but while working with the both of you, we all feel sexual tension in the air." The celebrity Catherine said to Gisela when she noticed that Dorian is eyeing her from afar.

"H-he thinks he's so hot that he can get everyone. Though he told me he had indecent proposals in the past, 3 SMS, 4 Calls, 6 DMs, and 2 missed calls... He's not that hot." Gisela told the actress.

"Woah, so updated, are we?" Catherine gave Gisela a knowing look and a knowing smile.

"Can we talk?" After the Dorian's invitation, he and Gisela went to the nearest park.

"Whenever, I see that sand box, I remember Plage Solitaire. The most peaceful beach on the planet." Gisela just nodded to what Dorian said.

"I-im sorry." They both said in unison.

Then, they laughed a bit with embarrassment.

"L-listen-..." They said again in chorus.

"You go first." Dorian said.

"No. You should go first." Gisela said.

"Uhm, here you go... C-can we be together?" Dorian asked Gisela who shed tears immediately with the question.

"You don't understand. You don't wanna be with someone so-called 'Damaged Good'. I don't want you to regret it. You don't wanna be with me. You don't need to due to pity. You don't-..." Gisela's anxiety is overwhelmingly obvious.

"We do not know those things yet. Those are 'What ifs', you're far from a 'Damaged Good'. For me, you're a beautiful 'Work-in-progress' and hell, despite the controversies I had, I'm still in good condition, whatever you're going through, I will go through it with you. Whatever you're thinking, I'll help you overcome it. If there's someone who can try and understand you, that's me. For me, this isn't the time to waste time and fool around, this is not like the roles I play, this is real. You are real. I don't care how hard it is but no matter what, I wanna be a part of something so beautiful... A part of your plans in the future. Please. For old times' sake, let me be with you all the way." Gisela, lost for words nodded crying as Dorian also shed tears.

"Gisela, thank you. I love you..." Dorian whispered to Gisela as he caress the woman's hair, embracing her long and tight enough to make her feel safe.

"Let me drive you home." Dorian told Gisela.

They both started living under one roof at Dorian's condominium unit.

One morning, as they're lying on the bed, Dorian hesitantly asked about Gisela's list...

"Dear Piggy... A-are you still gonna continue with that list?" She showed him the list seeing number '6' crossed out.

"Back in the beach, I haven't really finished the list yet. Now, it's done. I actually skipped on number '6' and went straight to number 7, 8, 9 and 10. 'Cause you're not just any random guy... Technically you're my little Dino, but... You're the one." Dorian checked the list out due to his curiosity.

1. Earn a lot for the future. ✓

2. Quit the medical industry. ✓

3. Spend more time with the only family - Merian. ✓

4. Finish writing my novels and posting it to my writing/social platforms. ✓

5. Buy a house in Plage Solitaire at a chosen paradise to 'live and die' for. ✓

6. Have virginity taken by a random guy and leave him clueless afterwards. *Skip this part.* ✗✗

7. Get a writing job. ✔

8. Take care and fully pay insurance. ✅

9. Have the one closest to my heart, help me choose a casket and designs for the tomb.

Plus, choose a church for the blessing and perfect spot in the graveyard/cemetery.

10. Chose a great necrological service speaker. I want a great Eulogy.

Dorian just looked carefully at Gisela's face and embraced her tightly.

Then, she spoke...

"I know. I'm a weirdo." Gisela told Dorian.

"Piggy... You're kinda like scaring me with these things but if this is the way I can be with you, I'll understand, process and digest every single bit of it. I'm not even gonna ask you why you made this list in the first place but if you're ready to not give up on life, I'm gonna go with you if you decided to get yourself checked." Dorian said.

"I'll tell you when the time comes..." Gisela said.

The couple decided to go shopping.

No ordinary shopping but he's only doing it for Gisela even if he doesn't wanna consider the thought.

"You know what? I think this one will be okay. Ah! I know! Maybe I can also have a reservation my own. Same color as I've chosen for you. So when the time comes... We're still gonna go as a couple. Even if it's the after-life." Dorian joked a bit.

"Don't. Even though, couple shirts, couple rings and other couple stuff might be cute, I don't want you to think about a couple casket. You're a born villain. And villains don't die unless it's passed hundreds of years already. Plus, they don't even age. Time flies for them gracefully like a bloodline of a vampire." Gisela joked him back.

The next stop is to the cemetery.

They're choosing tomb designs.

"This is perfect, 'In loving memories of...-" Gisela was cut of.

"We can choose the designs Piggy but it's good to personalize those messages." Dorian said as he wrote things down on a paper.

You have lived a life full of love.

Soon, we'll meet and love again up above.

To the place where there is never-ending peace.

Love,

Your Dorian

Gisela smiled at Dorian and they went to the cemetery.

Gisela insisted to choose a spot.

"This spot is nice. The one near the tree." She said.

"I would already reserve those two spots next to each other. So that I can lie down with you forever when the time comes..." Dorian said Gisela shed tears and hugged Dorian.

"I don't wanna take you in this journey with me. You're not welcome this early to where I'm heading. Sorry for being so difficult but thank you for having number 9 checked off my list." Gisela said as she embraces her boyfriend.

A day after Dorian's shoot, he went home to Gisela and the house was empty.

Their things are scattered all over the floor.

The entire house was messy.

But...

There are no traces of Gisela everywhere.

She's missing.

"My dearest, why end up dodging the bullet once more? Running away and hiding again on me like that." Dorian whispered.

He searched everywhere for her and in a place he thought Gisela would go to.

"She's not here. She went through a deep trauma after she saw her parents died in the car accident. I know my cousin can be a handful, but please, don't give up on her." Merian said.

Dorian just nodded and headed off.

Dorian did not bring his car along to find Gisela in the hardest and most hidden places in the city.

As he was walking along the subway...

He found a cying woman.

With hands on her head and her hair covering her face.

Her hairs are tangled and all over the place.

Her skin's full of dirt.

When Dorian tried to look at the woman's face, he was shocked.

It was Gisela.

He brought the woman home and cleaned her up.

She fell asleep crying.

As soon as the woman woke up, she said she's gonna use the toilet.

"You sure you can stand?" Dorian asked. The woman just mindlessly nodded.

Dorian thought to check on Gisela when she's taking too long.

He did not lose hope until this sight.

He found Gisela lying unconsciously on the bathroom floor.

"Gisela!!!" He lifted the woman and brought her to the nearest hospital.

Dorian waited for hours for a doctor to come up to him and say that Gisela's okay.

"A-are you with her?" Dorian nodded as the doctor approached him.

"I'm doctor Ariel James Devant, Psychologist." The doctor introduced himself.

"We did not ask for a Psychologist, we need a Physician to have Gisela checked!!!" Dorian almost lost it.

"She's not physically sick. Not until now. We have pulled up a few counselling records of Gisela. In fact, I was her batchmate in Med-school, she quit and did not finish Med-school. So she just continued being a nurse. Because of her parent's car crash, her parents died in front of her in a car accident. She then became my first patient. I have checked on Gisela a few times and she never went back to the clinic afterwards. She's so indenial that something's physically wrong with her and insistent that she's nearing death, that she shuts down people who wanna have her checked by a professional or by any doctor. She has been diagnosed with constant fear of death that it lead to a severe case of anxiety." Doctor James said.

Dorian was not able to process what's happening and could not speak.

"People who has Thanatophobia, would not like to talk about death for it has caused them depression. On her case, it's different. For that's the only thing she wanna focus and talk about out of fear. Like her whole entire world revolves on the thought that she might, oh sorry, that she 'WILL' die. She already decided that for herself. Anxiety took a toll on her that her brain was mentally pausing because of too much stress, overwhelming worry, overthinking and unshown worry, sometimes this can cause nausea and problems with balancing." The same doctor continued talking.

"Maybe this is the reason why she 'slipped' in the bathroom. She lost consciouness in the bathroom because she might have hit her head on the floor. Now, there's internal bleeding, we need to have an operation ASAP to prevent brain mass. You have to prepare because the operation is risky, after that, she may go under a few days, weeks or even months in coma. Worst case is never to wake up." Another doctor spoke.

"My apologies, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is doctor Jessie Ulysis Voltaire. Neurologist and Physicist." He introduced.

After that, they all worked on Gisela's operation.

They spent hours to finish it and what they said was true...

Gisela fell into a coma for weeks now and counting.

Dorian held the woman's hand in his...

He got a Pig and a Dinosaur stuffed-toy that he put on the hospital bed beside her.

"Do you remember this Dear Piggy? You're Dinosaur's here to wake you up. You're my nurse. You shouldn't be lying there for a long time, at that bed. You're supposed to be the one who's taking care of me." Dorian said.

The woman was just unresponsive.

She was still deep asleep.

"You should have told me what you're going through. I should have understand. A-are you punishing me for loving you so much?" He said, sheding tears as he kissed the back of Gisela's hand.

[pardonjimin]

enough : part 2

credit to original owner for gif

words: 2,272

genre: angst + smudge of fluff

warnings: you might cry 

A/N: the long awaited continuation :))

PART 1 

 “Let’s break up.” You proposed, hands shaking as tears fell from your eyes.

“P-Please don’t say that.” Jimin croaked, voice breaking in the process.

But what else could you say in situation? You loved him with all you had to offer and at one point, you knew he did too, but what’s going on with him? Jimin used to carry you to bed and sing you lullabies until you fell asleep, tracing circles on your back while your legs were sprawled around his body. He would wake up early in the morning and cook you breakfast, wishing you luck on your big exam. At times, he would even prepare a feast for dinner when he knew that you were stressed out and on the verge of breaking down. He was there for you at all times, maybe it’s not him. Maybe it’s you. 

“Why have you been neglecting me lately? Do you even know how much that hurts?” You began. “Is there someone else?”

Jimin’s eyes widened as he rushed to your side, embracing you in a hug as he sobbed loudly, “How could there ever have been someone else when the only person I’ve ever loved was you?” 

Falling to your knees, you cupped your face in your hands as you cried. The person you’ve spent the majority of your life with was leaving tear stains on your clothing and yet here you are, unsure of what to do. Jimin was the one you wanted to spend your life with, but did he feel the same way? There was no way to be sure: if you asked him, he could just lie. But Jimin wouldn’t do that, right? You knew him better than you knew yourself and that is a fact that can’t be denied no matter what. You love him, but does he love you?

“I’m home!” you shouted, walking through the door with bags of groceries dangling on your weak arms.

Footsteps came running down the hallway and your eyes met with a half-naked Jimin who clearly just came out from a steamy shower, the only thing covering his body being a white towel.

“I told you to call me before you came up so I could help with the groceries!” Jimin scolded, rushing to your aid.

“I’m a big girl!” You huffed and did the infamous empowering stance.

“Yeah, yeah.” Jimin chuckled, taking the bags from your arms and placing them on the counter. “How was school today?”

You groaned in response.

“Same. I’m getting tired of doing all these dumb essays about irrelevant things that don’t pertain to my major in any way possible.”

Laughing slightly, you did the flower pose as you leaned against the marbled counter. You loved hearing Jimin rant about how much he despised school, despite doing so well. He was smart and everything you weren’t, yet he motivated you to do better. To become a better person than he was and in all honestly, that was the most important part of being in a relationship. You set goals together and accomplish them one by one. To you, a relationship isn’t about coming home to expensive gifts or being taken out on luxurious dates. It was all about being successful together and this is exactly why Jimin was head over heels with you.

He loved the fact that you didn’t care about his wealth, but more about who he was as an individual. You judged him based off the content of his character, not what others had to say. The way you openly spoke your disagreements is definitely one of the things Jimin loved about you. If he were doing something wrong, you would let him know. Whenever he pissed you off, you would tell him on the spot. You weren’t the type to keep your mouth shut when it came to him and that was truly something he adored. 

Placing a kiss on your lips, Jimin connected your forehead against his before saying, “What are you thinking so hard about?”

“I’m so lucky to have someone like you by my side.” You smiled. “I must have saved China in my past life.” 

“I must’ve saved the entire Earth if that were the case.”

After putting the groceries away, Jimin carried you to bed knowing that you were very exhausted. Gently taking off your shoes, he rubbed the sore spots in you foot before massaging your tense shoulders. He was always one to put you at ease, despite always being on edge. Wrapping his arms around your waist, you smiled as he laid a soft kiss upon your cheek, lips lingering as he spoke.

“Let’s get some sleep, baby.” 

And with that, you were out cold faster than a blink of an eye.

You let out a shaky breath, holding his hands as you cried.

“I’m sorry.” Were the only words that escaped past your lips before you got up and walked away, leaving a heartbroken Jimin lying in an abandoned park in the dead of the night. 

It’s been years since the day you left Jimin. To this day, you still don’t know what really happened with him. You took all your belongings from the apartment you had shared and moved to Seoul. As of now, you were employed at a cafe while you worked for your masters degree to pursue your dream career in the medical field. After you left him, you cried for months on end. Everything reminded you of him, but you knew things would be better off this way. With you out of the way, he could be able to focus on whatever he was always so damn stressed about. Now that he’s gone, he’s all that you can think about. You thought that you would do this for yourself, to protect yourself from harm, but turns out, you were only trying to protect him from himself. Neither of you knew any better. All you knew was that Jimin would always be your one and only until the end of time. 

Upon hearing the ringing that echoed throughout the shop, indicating a new customer had arrived, you sighed and retraced your steps to the cash register, awaiting the customer’s order.

“Good morning, how may I take your order?” you asked in a monotone voice.

“What a way to greet your customers.” 

You chuckled upon hearing this familiar voice. Looking up, you smiled as you looked up.

“Long time no see, Jungkook.” 

“How have you been?” he asked, leaning over the counter.

Jungkook was one of your colleagues, in fact, he was your first friend in Seoul. He knew all about your past relationship with Jimin and has been by your side ever since. Your relationship with Jungkook was strictly platonic. He knew that your heart belonged to Jimin, so he never even bothered to really get into anything serious with you. You two were bestfriends and that was that. Of course, Jungkook was extremely attractive and all, but you just had this gut feeling that it wasn’t meant to be. Nonetheless, Jungkook still used you as an excuse to not go out with all the other girls at your prestige college

Walking down the popular streets crowded with hard working citizens, you couldn’t help but let out a laugh as Jungkook yelped when he burnt his tongue after taking a swig from his hot coffee.

“I told you to be careful!” you scolded the older one.

“I couldn’t help it!” he whined, stomping his feet on the pavements. 

It was Valentine’s day, one of the busiest days of the year. Avoiding traffic on the way to school, you both maneuvered your way through the crowd as your rushed to make it to class on time. Today was like any other day, being the reason that you and Jungkook are antisocial and too awkward to go on a real date which works out perfectly fine since you have each other. In fact, rumors around school say that you two are together: some even say that you have slept together in the janitor’s closet. But you two knew better than to listen what others had to saying, so you disregarded the rumors and continued on with your daily life. 

Upon entering the school, girls were lined up at the entrance, patiently waiting for Jungkook’s arrival. He was the most popular boy and you? You were the most popular girl. You both had brains and looks, who wouldn’t like you? The only thing you two didn’t have was a desire for a relationship which only caused people to become more intrigued by your sole existence

“Jungkook!” a girl with glasses came running up to him “T-These are for you! I made them myself.”

Jungkook looked at you, smiling nervously as his eye twitched. He hated when girls did this, absolutely despised it. He was very grateful that they were so kind to, but they consistently invaded his privacy and crossed the border line. These gifts were given to him every single day and Jungkook would kindly decline each and every one of them. He got sick of it, but still plastered a smile on his face nonetheless.

“Sorry, but I’m taken.” Jungkook, intertwining his hands with yours as he walked away from the crowd.

“I’m going to kill you.” you said in a low voice, glancing over your shoulder to see his fan group throwing daggers at your back.

“Don’t worry. I’m probably going to die anyways.” Jungkook laughed, nodding his head towards your very own fan group. 

Snapping back into reality once more, you rolled your eyes before saying, “I’m doing fine, I guess.”

“Still miss him?” Jungkook teased.

“Never forgot about him. Now move aside, I have more important customers to get to.” 

You already knew what Jungkook would have ordered. He came to the front just to bother you and tease you about your nonexistent love life. You didn’t mind him doing so because you did the same to him all the time. Visa versa. 

Punching in your ID number to sign in, you smiled as you spoke, “How may I take your or-”

“Hey.” 

This warm, soothing voice sent chills down your spine. You knew this voice, but refused to believe it. Looking up, you felt your insides melt as you locked gazes. 

Park Jimin

The man that made your legs as weak as jelly, the reason for your pearly white smiles and snorts at three in the god forbidden morning; your sun and stars. He was the one you would love until the day you die. Jimin was truly irreplaceable, no matter what. There is no one in this would that could ever compare with him and you knew this. All those blind dates were never bound to work out. Jungkook would always purposely set you up with the most boring and hideous men he could find, so it was only fair that you repaid the favor. But with Jimin... with him, you felt as though you could conquer the world, but the moment your relationship had ended. Your entire sky came crashing down. All the colors that once surrounded you were now replaced with shades of white and black. 

A smile unknowingly found it’s way home on your face as you spoke, “Jimin.”

“I missed you.” Jimin bluntly stated, looking for any signs of your undying love for him.

“I missed you too.” You shamefully admitted. 

Luckily, the cafe was empty at the moment, so you could talk to Jimin as long as you wanted. 

“How have you been?” You asked, curious as to what he’s been up to.

“After you left, everything was hell.” Jimin averted his gaze. “I couldn’t eat or sleep. I refused to go to my classes and stayed in the apartment. I even tried calling you at one point, but you changed your number...”

You nodded your head, unsure of what to say.

“I still love you, Y/N. I’ve never stopped.” Jimin reached for your hand in which you allowed him to grasp as he continued. “I know that I don’t deserve your love, but please just know that even if you are happy with some other man, I will always be besides you. I will never stop loving you.”

Eyes welling up with tears, you blinked rapidly as you placed your other hand on top of his.

“I really don’t know what to say.” You looked around until your eyes landed on Jungkook who was giving you a thumbs up, bunny tooth smile sprawled over his adorable face. 

“Let’s start over.”

You took a moment to respond before a grin etched upon your face. “I would like that.”

Jimin’s face lit up in response as he released your hand, causing you to look at him, but before you could vocalize your confusion, he put his hand in front of you and said, “ I’m Park Jimin, nice to meet you.” 

You chuckled, shaking his hands before you replied, “I’m Y/N, nice to meet you as well.”

“I hope to see you around more often, I think you’re quite attractive.”

“You took the words right out of my mouth.”

This was the start of a new beginning. When a door closes, a new one opens. Now, it’s time to fall in love with Park Jimin all over again. 

[fitnesshealthyoga-blog]

New Post has been published on https://fitnesshealthyoga.com/a-beginners-guide-to-dating-yourself/

A Beginner’s Guide to Dating Yourself

Who is Valentine’s Day still fun for, really? If you’ve got a partner, the pressure to plan a flawlessly documented night of perfect romance can be crushing. And if you’re single? By omission, you’re pretty much told the best you can hope for is getting through the holiday without wanting to die. (Well, that, and a February 15 trip to Rite Aid to buy a big chocolate shark that says “You’re Jawsome” for 75 percent off sticker price.)

At this point, The Love Holiday just feels like a dog-pile of brands trying to convince you they’ve got the key to the perfect life—and that key is A Perfect and Hot Relationship Where You Inexplicably Spend Half of Every Day Scootering Around Manhattan (or whatever). Movies, commercials and those fucking Instagram ads for customizable engagement rings that keep coming for me—they’re all hell-bent on assuring us the only worthwhile way to go through life is with someone within smooching distance at all times. We’re barraged with the message that being alone is a shadowy half-life, spent deprived of all the fulfillment, adventure and inexplicably clearer skin that being in a relationship offers.

I’d like to take a moment to reflect: Why is being alone such an awful fate? Aside from the distant potential for choking to death on a chicken bone in your apartment (and there’s a nonzero chance this is the exact reason I only eat soft, non-threatening foods), what makes spending time by yourself so horrendous that a menagerie of companies make billions a year just helping you avoid it?

“

What makes spending time by yourself so horrendous that a menagerie of companies make billions a year just helping you avoid it?

”

One of my favorite brain wranglers, a clinical psychiatrist named Dr. David D. Burns, M.D., drew a pretty good bead on the psychology of wretched loneliness in his book Feeling Good—a work that I have shoved down the throats of several of my beloved pals over the years. Dr. Burns has seen his fair share of miserable singles, and he found one thing they all had in common: They hated being alone, because they never did anything fun when they were alone.

It’s a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy, Burns says. If you expect to be bored and sad when you’re alone, then that’s exactly how you’re going to be. He started suggesting that one of his divorced patients go to museums, take dance classes and cook meals by herself—and she soon realized that being happy and being by herself weren’t mutually exclusive concepts. There’s a science behind investing in your own self-life.

“

She soon realized that being happy and being by herself weren’t mutually exclusive concepts. There’s a science behind investing in your own self-life.

”

Even though I’m in a relationship, I find it absolutely vital to take time to remind myself I’m fun to be with. I owe it to myself to keep doing things with and for me to demonstrate that I’m still a complete person and that my boyfriend doesn’t have to be my sole source of happiness. How depressing would that be?

Also, it’s worth acknowledging that there are some activities that are infinitely better when done alone. Have you ever taken yourself to the formal section of a department store just to try things on that you can’t afford, or gone to a bar just so you can leave the absolute second you want to without getting caught in 20 minutes of goodbyes?

Just last weekend, I went to the zoo by myself, because I had a free pass and none of the people I texted were free. You might think that sounds sad, but guess what? It rocked so much I’m considering exclusively going alone from now on. I got to get straight to the lemurs and snow leopards, zooming right past all the animals that nobody will admit actually kind of suck despite their popularity.

As someone who has struggled for years with admitting that I’m a full person who deserves as much love and care as anyone else, taking myself out on dates has become an important part of my self-care. The practice serves as a reminder that I’m worth doing nice things for, and that my experiences matter even when I go through them alone. 

“

As someone who has struggled for years with admitting that I’m a full person who deserves as much love and care as anyone else, taking myself out on dates has become an important part of my self-care.

”

Sergey Causelove/Shutterstock.

I asked a few people about their relationships with alone time, and they agree that self-dates are where it’s at. 

Shelby, 24

Shelby works as the associate director of multiple after-school programs and says self-dates are vital for her work/life balance. “Being an introvert doing an extroverted job, I have to take a lot of time to myself after work to recharge,” she explains. Sometimes, Shelby can’t manage to put more effort into her alone time than a little TV therapy after work, so when she’s got time and energy for herself, her strategy is to really make it count. “As much as I love my job and the kids,” she says, it’s important for her to remember all her other loves.

Shelby spends her alone time on interests that nobody else in her life necessarily shares, including some pretty eclectic stuff, like learning Russian and watercolor painting. “With the time I do make for myself, I try to be intentional about my interests—crafting and reading and history and languages—because the things I enjoy take a lot of brain power I don’t always have,” she says. Shelby loves that she can disappear into these interests without having to get anyone else caught up in them, or without having to worry that other people aren’t enjoying themselves.

Some of Shelby’s favorite self-dates:

Getting dressed up and going to a coffee shop downtown, where she can read and eavesdrop on other patrons

Traipsing around used bookstores to “gift shop,” i.e. pick up a copy of a Jane Austen novel she already has

Picking up ingredients for a solo make-your-own pizza and margarita night, while screening her current favorite movie

MRProduction/Shutterstock.

Stephen, 25

Stephen makes time at least once a month to take a little retreat from work, school and general stress. “I tend to get stuck in my own headspace, and I have such massive anxiety issues that it’s nice to take at least an afternoon—if not a whole day—to treat myself to something I normally wouldn’t do,” he explains. A few weeks ago, when the weather was nice, Stephen went to the zoo and then post-gamed with a nice lunch—just to give himself a break from the horrors of apartment hunting.

A big element of Stephen’s self-date routine? Intentionally making himself “inaccessible to others,” putting his phone on Do Not Disturb and taking some time to go completely off the radar. “I literally talk to no one, other than the barista or server,” he says. Stephen finds that taking some time to hang out with himself while cutting out everyday stressors gives his mental health a boost.

Stephen says his self-date routine got something of an upgrade recently, when he moved to D.C. “I [go out] more now that I have access to public transportation,” he says. “[Something I’m trying to do more] is to pick a metro stop, go to it and just see what weird stuff I can find.” Stephen uses self-dates as a way to treat himself to breaks from the challenges he faces, and the joy of spontaneity really appeals to him. “The first time it snowed while I was [in D.C.], I literally just walked around in the snow until I found a nice coffee shop to get some hot chocolate,” he says.

Some of Stephen’s favorite self-dates:

Finding a new hiking spot or visiting a familiar one he loves

Turning his phone off and finding a new BBC Earth or 30 for 30 documentary on Netflix

Heading to the driving range to blow off some steam

Mimage Photography/Shutterstock.

Maggie, 25

Maggie takes herself on dates all the time. She says it’s often about letting herself have what she wants without waiting for someone else to want to do the exact same thing at the same time. “I think it’s important to ask yourself why you need someone with you to do the things you want to do. Of course having a friend or partner along is fun and can add to an experience,” she says, “But if you’ve been wanting to go check out the new collection at your favorite store or see that indie movie your favorite actress is in, why wait?”

Maggie says investing in spending time alone has helped her learn to pay attention to herself. “Going on dates with myself has become a really important part of my mental health,” she says. Investing in a relationship with herself has enhanced her ability to love and take care of herself.

Some of Maggie’s favorite self-dates: 

Going to Target to try on clothes she doesn’t need

Buying herself earrings “just because”

Going to a movie nobody else wants to see as much as her

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SasuSaku Festival 2017 . Day 01- Valentine’s Day . Title: He loves me. He loves me not . Summary: She’s working at the Yamanaka Shop when he suddenly goes in claiming to be looking for a flower. Will the petals reveal her lovely destiny on that Valentine’s Day? . A/N: Happy SasuSaku Festival, everyone!!! Oh boy, I’m so excited with the themes!!! Some are quite hard, but a challenge is always fun every now and then, right?! Well, you guys know me, and I’m clearly late with the themes, so be patient and enjoy the festival, even if it's already over! I would like to thank the organizers of this AMAZING event, and say that, even if I'm not submitting my stories, and even if I'm terribly late, it was one hell of an event! Thank you, @sasusakufestival ! Thank you for a new tradition!  About the story... It turned out quite amusing to write, and I hope you can enjoy it! I hope you have fun and participate, and please, tell me your opinion about the story (aka leave me a Review XD)! . . . It was the 3rd Valentine’s Day in Konoha after the war.

Heart-shaped decorations were spread all around the village, with chocolate promotions being announced everywhere. Balloons were tied to stuffed animals, and there wasn’t a single restaurant that wasn’t already fully booked for dinner. Gifts were being bought and exchanged, and it was easy to spot the smiling faces and the blushing cheeks that decorated the lovers’ lives on such a peaceful and red day.

Love was in the air, indeed.

But thanks to the pollen inside her nostrils, Haruno Sakura could barely smell anything at all.

“ Thank you for choosing us! Happy Valentine’s Day!” She bowed her head down respectfully for the nth time that morning, as a pretty smile decorated her lips. By that time, she had certainly grown accustomed to the whole sales thing, as she already seemed to be a professional in selling flowers. She had been there for less than a day and was already showing confidence in her bouquets and kindness when treating one of the clients.

As expected from the Godaime’s perfectionist apprentice, people thought, as soon as they exited the Yamanaka Flower Shop after unexpectedly meeting pink hair behind the counter.

Yes, even if seeing her there was a surprise to everyone who entered the shop, it was impossible to deny her professional competence. The girl who was named after a flower seemed to be doing an excellent job at her friend’s family business, and even if she was smiling from one ear to another, deep inside, the pinkette was struggling to control her blood-thirst towards the one girl she calls her best friend.

Ino-Pig was definitely going to pay her when she came back.

No matter how many times she thought that over, there was nothing inside Sakura that could simply understand what the Yamanaka girl had just done. Valentine’s Day is certainly the busiest day of the year for the flower industry, and the shop just couldn’t afford to give up on someone like Ino during such times. More than anyone, the blonde knew how messed up things would get at the store, or else she wouldn’t have asked the pinkette for help. Ino had basically begged Sakura, and for she was a good, single friend, who had been given a day off from the hospital and whose only love interest seemed to find the whole celebration a complete waste of his time; the Haruno girl just couldn’t say no to those pearly, sapphire eyes that belonged to her best friend. She would try her best, but when the matter was flowers, there was just no way she could ever compare to the mind tricker.

Ino’s the heart and soul of that place, and even if Sakura will never admit it, there is just no way to beat Yamanaka when it comes to those beautiful plants.

The blonde understands the flowers, she knows the clients and more than anyone in that store, she can prepare the prettiest bouquets for each, specific demand. She’s always been really good at this, and that was pretty much why the Haruno girl had accepted her request of giving a hand on the shop. Sakura was ready to help carrying heavy pots and separating the flowers for the costumers, but she was absolutely not ready to replace the flower expert for a couple of minutes that turned into hours as she not-so-discreetly went out to meet the socially inapt artist.

Sakura was definitely going to murder Ino as soon as she came back.

That is, if she survived until the end of that day.

A tired sigh escaped her lips as another costumer walked out through the door. She turned her green eyes to face the Yamanaka mother, and at that moment, she could tell that she couldn’t wait to scold her child for the rest of the day. They were both pissed at the girl, and at that moment, the one thing Sakura wanted the most was to create a shadow clone so she could drag the blonde back by the hair. Her fingers could even feel those platinum locks messily intertwined in her knuckles, and a smirk crossed her face at the thought.

Perhaps that wasn’t a terrible idea at all, she thought.

Unfortunately, she wouldn’t even have time to make the hand signs, for the bell attached to the door was once again announcing another costumer.

Here we go again, she thought, preparing another kind smile to decorate her facade.

Another kind, regular smile, to another kind and regular costumer.

Or that was what she thought.

“ Welcome to the Yamanaka Flower Shop! How can I-“

Her heart skipped a beat, the words got stuck in her throat and all she could bring herself to do was stare in awe at the person standing at the entrance. He was tall, handsome and had the one pair of dark orbs that would always send shivers down her spine. She had been seeing him around the village for the past couple of months, and yet, meeting him always felt like the first time. He had a hand shoved into his pocket, with his dark locks covering the left side of his face and his stoic expression gave him an uninterested aura as he looked deep into her eyes.

Uchiha Sasuke was as intense as ever.

And not even when surrounded by all kinds of flowers his mysterious and dark charm abandoned him.

“ Sakura.” His voice brought her back from her fantastic world, and she almost jumped in pure reflex. He kept staring at her, with his usual, stoic face, barely moving from the entrance at all. “ Shouldn’t you be at the hospital?”

“ Uhm… Actually, Tsunade-sama made me take the day off. She kinda forbade me to go to the hospital today.” She placed her right hand on the back of her head, right behind her messy pony tail, and shyly offered him a chuckle in response. Whenever he was home, the Uchiha would constantly scold her about the amount of time she spent working, and seeing her behind that counter during her break was definitely not pleasing him at all. His thoughts were written on his face, and at that moment, Sakura just didn’t know how to escape from the condemning glare he was sending her.

“ Tch, Shouldn’t you be resting, then?”

“ Yeah, but… Ino asked me to help and so I came. And by the way, what are you doing here, Sasuke-kun? ”

His dark orbs widened for a moment, and suddenly, it was as if she could see an interrogation mark spread all over his face.” H-Hn.. I’m just… Looking around.” He shifted his position uncomfortably, looking away from her and focusing on a random flower he found by his right. Sasuke was glancing down, averting eye-contact, and for a moment, Sakura even thought he seemed to be nervous.

But that was not possible, right?

He is Uchiha Sasuke, after all, and he doesn’t know how it feels to be nervous. She has never seen him expressing such emotion, and at that moment, while he was at a flower shop on Valentine’s Day, things would be no different.

Right?

The scene happening in front of her suddenly made the pinkette get a bad feeling taking over her senses, as she could feel her heart beating faster. She swallowed dry, as her hand tightened the grip she had around the edge of the counter, and soon, the Haruno girl found herself wanting to know more about why he chose the flower shop to simply skip some time.

Why was he there?

Why wasn’t he hanging around with Naruto?

And why the hell was she suddenly feeling so irritated?

The pinkette certainly didn’t know the answer to any of those questions. However, it was not like Haruno Sakura to simply let go of something that’s bothering her heart. Especially when that something was related to Uchiha Sasuke.

It didn’t take long before she found herself gathering up some courage to face him. She took a deep breath, and with determination spread all over her viridian orbs, the medic nin found herself ready to ask the one question she was afraid to ask. “ A- Are you… Looking for- Uh… A gift?”

Her foot was nervously tapping the ground and her fingers wouldn’t stop playing with each other. Her eyes were trapped in a cruel decision of wether or not to look at him, and an embarrassed blush was spread around her cheeks. The Uchiha, she knew, was fully aware of what she meant behind those words, and at that simple thought, Sakura felt her heart almost jumping off of her chest.

What on earth was that feeling?

She didn’t know, for sure.

But his words would probably help her figure out why it hurt so much.

“ Hn, you can say so.”

“ Oh… I see.” She faked a smile, shifting to that kind, shopper Sakura. “ And can I help you with anything?”

“ I don’t need your help, Sakura. Actually, I was looking for Ino. Is she here?”

Listening to his words without looking deep into his eyes made her chest clench even tighter. She felt her world falling apart in a sea of colorful petals, as her broken heart stained them with the most passionate red. It was hard to breath, it was hard to think and it was definitely hard not to cry at that very moment when she had just found out the bittersweet conclusion of her first love.

“ Sorry… She’s out right now, but she will be back shortly.”

“ Hn, I see…”

So he loved someone else, she thought.

Someone who had equally fought for him during their innocent days, and someone who was worth being called her rival. Apparently, he was in love with a girl whose attributes overpowered hers in so many ways she couldn’t even imagine. Yamanaka Ino belonged to a respected clan and its mark was sealed in her ninja skills. She is funny, smart and a lot more feminine than Sakura will ever be. She would be the perfect girl for him and for his clan, and there was just no way Sakura could alter that cold reality.

Ino was the girl he loved, and she could never compete against her best friend for his heart. Not anymore, when their feelings could never be changed again.

She had won, indeed. And now, Sakura knew that he would do anything to win her heart. Sai would definitely be no match for him, and it would just be a matter of time before Sakura could see both of them happily walking around the nostalgic streets of the village.

They would be happy with each other. And at that moment, the pinkette could only hang on that thought not to break down into tears. If two of the most important people of her life would be happy together, then who was she not to cheer for their happiness?

Pain filled the smile that crossed her lips, as she watched the love of her life from behind the counter. Her fingers were now tightly gripping the lime-green apron she wore over her clothes, and her teeth were clenched in pure agony.

God, didn’t that silly boy know Ino liked Cosmos?

A sudden, soft touch on her shoulder was the one thing that brought the pinkette back to reality. She slowly turned to face the source of such gesture and was suddenly calmed down by the view of a pair of light brown eyes staring at her. Apart from the age lines spread around her face, Ino’s mother was still a beautiful and strong woman, just like when Sakura and her daughter were just kids. Back then, she would always be smiling at them, while they would play with the flowers spread around the Yamanakas’ large and colorful garden, but now, after the war took her husband away from her, she simply preserved her emotions under her calm demeanor.

Ino’s mother is a really strong woman, and Sakura could learn a lot from her. She had absolutely no right to be sad around a woman like that.

“ Sakura… I think you could give him a hand, don’t you think?”

“ Eh? I’ve offered already an-“

“ It doesn’t matter, sweetheart.” She smiled softly, noticing something Sakura was obviously oblivious about. “ Just go and offer him your help. Do it before he breaks any of the flowers.”

The Haruno girl’s orbs widened at the serenity she could see stamped on the Yamanaka matriarch. She was at peace, and soon Sakura wondered if she would ever be like her. She wondered if she would ever be able to grow used to that whole situation, and suddenly, the words of that woman started to make sense to her.

Offer him her help.

Don’t let him break the flowers.

Realization hit her hard, and an overwhelming feeling took over her aching chest. Ino's mother was right. She couldn’t let the Uchiha and her forever unrequited love break both her and Ino apart. Not again. She had to offer him her help as the friends and teammates they are and will always be. Sakura needed to do that in order not to lose either of them, and in order to move on.

She needed to help him pick the flowers for her best friend.

She needed to find peace in her defeat.

“Hai.” A shy smile was spread over her lips as the Haruno made her way towards the Uchiha, who was now kneeled near the blue hydrangeas. Silently, she kneeled next to his left side, adjusting her position and her apron as soon as she didn’t feel any kind of rejection coming from his eyes. He was carefully watching her, as her nostrils were filled with his manly scent, and suddenly she could feel his warmth radiating towards her. Standing next to him has always felt good, and even if she was still feeling broken, she knew time would eventually mend her heart.

Sakura knew that, on a Valentine’s Day years ahead, she would be okay.

But at that moment, she just needed to save the flowers.

“ You have no idea of what you’re doing, right?”

“ Hn, is it that obvious?” He smirked defeatedly, making her heart flutter in a comfortable sensation.

Oh, that boy…

“ Yeah.” She chuckled. “ Let me help you, okay? How… How’s the girl you’re planning to give the flowers to?”

“ Eh? G-Girl?” His face grew a bit uncomfortable again, as he quickly returned his attention towards the flowers. “ She’s… She’s okay, I guess.”

“ Oh, come on… How am I supposed to help you with the bouquet if you won’t tell me a thing or two about her?”

“ Hn, why don’t you… Why don’t you choose what you like, then?” He looked at her with his deep, dark pearls, trapping her emeralds in his own, warm darkness. “ I was thinking about the hydrangeas… You like them, right?”

An almost invisible blush took over her cheeks as she turned her attention to the pure blue of the hydrangeas’ petals. As always, Sasuke was, indeed, right about her flower preference. Hydrangeas are the flowers she is most fond of, and she was impressed- content, to say the least- to know he had retained such information about her from their genin days. Sakura just loved how attentive he could be when people least expected him to, and that was certainly one of the reasons why she had long ago fallen for him.

Sasuke was just… Her Sasuke-kun, she thought.

Moving on from him would be the hardest mission of her life, she knew.

“ Yeah… I like them. A lot.”

“ I guess that’s it, then… I’ll take them.”

“ A-Are you sure you don’t prefer the Cosmos?”

“Aah. I’m sure about the Hydrangeas.”

For a moment, their eyes were completely lost in each other’s reflections. She could feel her heart beating faster with every passing second, and even if her head was still a mess of broken illusions, Sakura just couldn’t bring herself not to react at his presence next to her. Their gazing was still as intense as it’s always been, sending shivers down her spine and the musky scent coming from him was enough to dissipate any floral aroma that could've been ruling her nostrils ever since that morning.

His scent was addictive, his warm breath fawning over her lips was probably the best sensation she had felt for the entire day, and the flowers on the background just made her feel like it was all just a dream from which she would soon wake up. A dangerous, lovely dream that would soon come to an end.

At that moment, Haruno Sakura was fully aware that she was probably experiencing her last opportunity to stay so close to him with her feelings still dancing freely through her senses. She knew that, as soon as he gave those flowers to her best friend, things would never be able to return to what they’ve always considered normal. Everything would be different, and the pinkette herself would be no exception.

She was going to change. She had to, wether she wanted or not.

And as soon as the door bell rang again, Sakura knew the blonde Yamanaka would make sure to remind her of such thing.

“ I’m back, everyone!” Ino announced, as her voice echoed around the entire shop.

The end of her love was, indeed, loud.

“ Well… “ Feeling a bittersweet taste taking over her tongue, Sakura broke them away from that flowery trance, making their eyes blink at the awakening call from the blonde’s voice. Slowly, she rose from the ground, followed almost immediately by him, as she was now holding the plants in her hands. The pinkette, then, took a deep breath, tightening her grip around the flowers they had just separated. The flowers they had chosen together. “ I-I will… I will ask Ino to prepare a beautiful arrangement for you, then…”

“ Hn.” He gave her a small nod, averting eye-contact as he aimed his gaze at the petals that had fallen on the cold, floor. His expression seemed, somehow, troubled, and such sight only helped confirm medic nin's suspicious regarding the one who was about to receive such affectionate gesture from Uchiha Sasuke on Valentine’s Day.

Ino was a really lucky girl, Sakura thought. And indeed, she was.

But probably not because of the same reason Sakura had been hammering over her pink head ever since the raven haired boy had entered the store earlier that day.

“ Oi, Pig!” Sakura glared at her best friend, as she walked towards the counter with the flowers in her hands. The pinkette wasn’t happy at all, and judging by the embarrassed smile on the blonde’s face, she could tell Ino was fully aware of the reason why. “ Couldn’t you be a little more responsible -Shannarou?”

“ Eh… My bad, forehead… I was… Busy.”

“ Tch, yeah, right…” Sakura stopped, sighing, as she faced the girl’s sapphire eyes from across the mahogany counter. “ Stop procrastinating. You have a visitor.”

“ A visitor?” Ino lifted a confused eyebrow at the Haruno, before her eyes finally wandered around the store to find the said visitor. It took her some good seconds before she spotted the Uchiha, but when she did, Sakura noticed, a bright smile flashed on her lips. “ Sasuke! You came!”

“ Tch, of course I did.” The Uchiha grunted, as he sent the blonde an annoyed glare. Apparently, for what Sakura could tell, the future couple had already agreed to meet at the shop, leaving things even more awkward considering her position.

Sakura was definitely feeling like the third wheel at that exact moment.

However, she was not going to be discarded from his bicycle.

“ I’m sorry for the delay, but-“ Ino stopped for a moment, as her eyes suddenly drifted towards the flowers wrapped in her best friend’s arms.

Her sapphires widened in pure shock, and for a moment, her rosy lips even parted in pure awe before a malicious grin took over them. She was definitely up to something, and even if she tried, Sakura just couldn’t figure out what. Whenever Ino has that took on her face, the medic knows that something bad is about to happen. And at that moment, as a terrible feeling took over her senses, she just knew there was no escaping anymore.

“ OH MY GOD! Did you already do it?! And you didn’t even wait for me!? That was so not cool!”

“ Eh? Did what, Pig?” The Haruno’s eyebrows were lifted in pure confusion, as she started at her best friend.

“ Hn, thanks to you, I couldn’t really pick up the right ones, so, no… I still didn’t do it.”

“ What are you talking about, Sasuke-kun?” Sakura insisted, now looking for an answer on his perfect featured.

“ You men are really useless sometimes…” Ino sighed, taking her fingers to rest over her forehead in defeat. “ But I’ve seen you at least picked the right ones.”

“ Oi, you two!” Sakura was getting mad, as her hands were now balled into fists. If they ignored her one more time… “The right ones for what?”

“ Aah… It was not that hard. I just had to remember her-“

“ Shut up, you two!” A loud, powerful scream echoed around the shop, creating a deadly silence around the entire place. The costumers that were at the store stopped to look at the tiny girl who had made the entire building tremble, as both of the responsible ones slowly turned their heads to face her.

She was glaring, her brows converging together in a thin line and they could feel her chakra levels rising incredibly fast as she simply stood there with the Hydrangeas still in hands.

Her best friend looked adorable, Ino thought.

But she certainly knew better than to piss the girl with the wide forehead.

“ Good…” Sakura adjusted her position, running a hand through her hair. “Now, Ino… Do you mind telling me what the hell is going on here?”

“ Eh? You still haven’t told her either?” She looked at the Uchiha, with her brows arched.

The blonde seemed confused, to say the least. It was written all over her face, and Sakura was satisfied to see that kind of emotion ruling her best friend’s expression. It seemed natural, and for the first time, it was also full of doubts regarding something she seemed to be pretty confident about some moments earlier.

Ino was confused, therefore, Sakura decided to find questions on the only one who would never get caught unarmed. Sasuke would giver her the answers she was looking for, she knew. She just needed to look at him to know the exact meaning hidden behind that mess.

Or at least that was what she thought before her eyes widened in shock after what she found spread over his face. Her hearts skipped a beat, her throat went dry and suddenly, she had no idea of what to do any more at such rare sight.

Was that…. A blush?

“ Sasuke-kun…” She blushed back, feeling her heartbeat speeding up involuntarily. W-What’s happening here?”

“Hn.” He looked away, trying to hide his burning cheeks.

“ Tch, you have got to be kidding me!” The blonde exclaimed, sending a straight glare at the Uchiha. “ Are you telling me that you’ve made her help you choose flowers for Valentine’s Day for a girl and you didn't tell her who the girl was?”

“ I… I thought she would’ve realized it.”

“ Damn it, Uchiha Sasuke! You guys are unbelievable! Of course she did not realize that, you dumbass! By the puzzled look on her face, I would even say Forehead here misunderstood something.”

“ Uh? No… It’s impossible… Right, Sakura? Y-You…” He swallowed dry. “ You know who these flowers are for, right?”

The blank face the pinkette offered him was annoying enough to tell him what he didn’t want to believe. Apparently, the medic nin was blinder than he was when the matter is demonstrating affection, and now the frustration that had built up inside him was begging him to walk out of that store.

The moment was truly ruined, he thought.

But Ino would make sure to fix it.

“ Well, I guess you’ll have to tell her, then.” The blonde smirked, taking the flowers from the counter and offering them to him. His dark eyes glared at her for some seconds, as he kept switching stares in between the flowers and the annoying girl who- he knew- had probably made up an entire story in her head regarding the destination of those flowers.

Sakura was, for sure, annoying.

And as he took the flowers from the Yamanaka girl, he knew she was the one to be blamed for what he was about to do.

Hn, never again will he celebrate Valentine’s Day.

“ Sakura…”

“ Yes, Sasuke-kun?”

He looked into her innocent eyes, feeling the back of his neck heating up slowly. She was looking at him with all the expectations of the world shining inside her emeralds, and for a moment, the oh-so-amazing Uchiha Sasuke felt his natural confidence slipping through his fingers. Still, he wouldn’t let any of that stop him from saying those words.

“ These flowers… These flowers are…”

“ They are…” He could see her lips slowly curling up in a smile, as her cheeks were turning redder with the seconds.

“ They are…. Hn. They are for you” He shoved the plants to her arms, hiding his hand inside his pocket. “ We’re going out for lunch. I’ll take you back as soon as we’re done.”

After witnessing such scene, the blonde girl couldn’t help but allow a defeated sigh escape her lips.

As expected from Uchiha Sasuke, Ino thought. He was able to turn a romantic lunch invitation into an imperial command, leaving the girl no room to decline it. He seemed nervous, and the Yamanaka girl just wanted to hit him really hard on the face so he could fix what he had just done.

No girl would ever find that romantic, she thought,

But that was before she looked at Haruno Sakura.

Even if confusion was still spread around her face, it was impossible no to see the kindness and the purity hidden behind her emerald eyes. She was holding tight onto the flowers she had just received from the Uchiha, and even if her mind was still not completely sure about what had just happened, there was something in her heart telling her not to let go of those plants.

A bubbly smile took over her lips, vanishing that sorrow expression that had taken over her face ever since he had first declined her help. Sakura looked lively now, and Ino could see how happy she was to finally be going out with the love of her life. They were going to be together, and the Yamanaka couldn't be any happier to see her best friend’s childish love finally coming true.

Sakura deserved the Uchiha. She deserved to be happy, and since it had been long since her crush had dissipated from her heart, Ino knew that she could give them a little help.

They needed that kicking start, after all, it was still Haruno Sakura she was talking about.

And that girl can be really blind sometimes.

A chuckle escaped the pinkette’s lips, breaking Ino’s monologue of how she was an amazing friend. Sakura seemed happy, indeed. However, there was still something missing. Something to make that girl even more annoying.

“ When I hear you talking like that, Sasuke-kun, it even feels as if you were asking me out on a date!”

Two blanked faces kept staring at her for some long minutes until the Yamanaka girl nodded her head as if to confirm her suspicious. Her cheeks flushed immediately in the deepest shade of red, as she didn't know where to look anymore. She was trying to spill out some words, but her despair just didn’t allow her to form any meaningful phrase on her mind. Her love was coming true right in front of her, and suddenly, all the chemistry involved in her body’s ecstatic reaction started to cross her mind.

Sakura was really a dork, and that was certainly the one thing that had been missing before.

But now that they were both complete, Ino knew her job was done.

“ A-A-A date?”

“ Hn, don’t you want to com-“

“ Of course I do!” She raised her voice for a moment, earning a hidden smirk from the Uchiha. “ I do… It’s just that… I’m kinda busy right now.”

“ Tch, are you an idiot?! Damn it, you two do deserve each other.” Ino stepped in, walking towards her friend and quickly ripping out the apron from her body. Sakura almost fell in the process, and as soon as the pinkette was back on her feet, she felt a rough touch on her back pushing her and the Uchiha towards the exit. “ I’ll take care of everything! Just enjoy your date, will you!?”

“ Are you sure, Ino?”

“ Positively! You two have fun, and you better not get home until your lips are swollen, Forehead!”

“ Pig!”

“ Hehe… Happy Valentine’s Day.”

[sasusakufestival]

No Substitute

February 14

Day 1: Valentine’s Day

Title: No Substitute

User: manika-on-a-whim

Summary: Every year, during the Valentine’s Day, Sasuke and Sakura try to move on. But they realise that their feelings for each-other won’t ever fade.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

No matter who I choose…

They don’t compare to you…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was another one of those boring days spent amidst the piles of Patients’ reports and thick medical texts in her small office room. She yawned for the umpteenth time that hour and turned her head to stare out of the window in hopes of distracting herself with something interesting happening out there on the streets. Unfortunately, her eyes fell upon a couple who looked not more than 14-year-olds. The sight was enough to make her lower her lashes and bite her bottom lip in anxiety. The surprisingly young pair reminded her of how ‘not-boring’ today’s day is as today is none other than the day famed and celebrated with enthusiasm amongst loving couples— The Valentine’s Day. It is a day that people spend with the ones that they hold dear to their hearts.

Sakura passed her fingers to untangle her messy pink locks and huffed in annoyance for she has not even a single companion to spend the day. Naruto is going to be busy with his new found love interest Hinata Hyuga (finally!) whereas Ino is busy getting ready for her first date with the emotionally impaired Sai. Her parents are going out for dinner tonight and even Kakashi-sensei is going to spend the day with Kurenai-sensei and her little daughter Mirai. She sighed in irritation. If only she had someone…

Thoughts of a dark haired young man with mismatched irises crossed her mind. She pouted wearily and placed her head to rest it atop her folded arms. With her eyelids closed, she tried to picture the man she has come to love despite of the long distances separating them. A smile crept upon her soft pink lips when she imagined him wandering around the world with his squared-shoulders and aloof demeanour.

But now that she thinks about it, the distance between them has never made her feelings waver. Even when Sasuke had left the village or tried to kill her twice, she didn’t feel dejected. All she felt was the insufferable pain that he was going through. His agony is what made him express his loneliness in angry rejections and hate-filled words. Ofcourse he used to lash out a lot in the past but he has changed. Ever since he has apologised to her, things between them have changed. The times that she healed him and took care of him at the hospital were their best moments spent together. He barely ever spoke but whenever he did, it was always about his family and how he regretted about spoiling the name of his parents. After a while, he left again..although this time on a journey in search of redemption. He didn’t say any cliché, heart-warming words but poked her on the forehead— an expression that she doesn’t know much about but is still happy. That poke actually made her blush and feel things she never knew she could and her love for him grew stronger than before…

The young teens were still walking around and Sakura took notice of their hesitant hands that were getting closer by every passing second. Their fingers finally entwined together and they blushed. The scenario was way too cute to be ignored and Sakura desperately hoped that they stay together for the rest of their moments of life. Unconsciously her palm passed over the huge bouquet of roses in her lap. She remembered how her colleague Takeru had gifted these flowers to her just an hour ago. Ino personally requested Sakura to give the guy a chance but sadly..it doesn’t work that way. It’s not like she is against men or something..or that she is interested in women…She has dated many guys in the past, even when she was only fifteen, merely in hopes of getting over Sasuke. And she tried her hardest to love guys that possess all the qualities of a gentleman but..it just..it just didn’t work…

No matter how hard she tries, her heart is unable to replace Sasuke Uchiha. There’s just no substitute for him…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As he fed his onigiri to three more cats and thought about his journey to repent for his sins, he just felt worthless. Feeding little stray cats surely won’t bring any sense of justice to his soul but it will undoubtedly make him kind. A small, black kitten continued to rub Sasuke’s leg in affection and he smiled gently at the tiny feline. How he hopes to return to a place he can call home…

A week has already passed since his clash with Fushin and Chino of the Chinoke clan. He successfully stopped them from accomplishing their dreadful act of revenge. Vengeance is not good..it never was…

He recalled his former, father-like, masked sensei’s words, Believe me, Sasuke…Revenge will not bring you any joy…

Even if you get revenge though…it won’t bring anyone happiness..Not even you..nor me… And the words of a young, hopelessly in love, pink-haired, bright kunoichi.

If only he would’ve listened to them at the right time because now, it is too late..too late…He cannot go back in time to erase the sins he committed in the past…

A woman with a basket in her hand crossed the forest and to his dismay, she noticed him sitting underneath the cherry blossom tree. A big, dreamy smile carved upon her lips and she looked at him promiscuously. This is what he hates about women. Regardless of their age difference, they keep throwing themselves at him like cheap whores. No woman can ever come to love him for all they care about, are his physical features. No one…

Silhouettes of a certain pink-haired kunoichi began clouding his mind. He recalled the emotions conveyed in those beryl shade of emeralds of that stubborn yet compassionate medical kunoichi. A small smirk played upon his lips and he stood-up to leave the place. The woman took his action as a sign of rejection and dejectedly left. Seriously, women don’t interest him the slightest. The only one who has ever managed to catch his eye, is his sweet pink-haired teammate. Even after making her suffer to this extent, she forgave him and let him back into her heart.

He closed his eyes to reminisce the times he had spent rehabilitating at the hospital in her presence. Whenever she healed his wounds or muscles or simply massaged his limbs, he felt an inexplicable urge to tug her and pull her into a tight embrace. But he never did…He didn’t want her to freak-out and faint. And so, he simply used to stare at her as she tried to soothe him in every possible way she could. Occasionally, he even used to sniffle at her relaxing scent which is a weird yet fragrant mix of lavender, cherries and jonquil. She really is one of a kind…

As he passed the village, he came across numerous couples strolling around the streets. Then his eyes fell upon the stalls and shops in that small village and he reached a conclusion. Today is one of the most dreaded days of his life— The Valentine’s Day! Every year, during this particular day of February, he locks himself up inside his lodgings to avoid every possible contacts with the beings of his opposite sex. They provide him attention that he doesn’t want.

But many people whom he came across told him that this blissful ignorance is not good for him as an Uchiha and as a man. Thus, during all those years that he was considered a rogue Shinobi, he tried to spend this particular day with different women. He tried getting along with the ladies at Orochimaru’s lair, the women he came across during his years spent with team Taka and many others but none appealed to him. And although he met a variety of attractive females, he paid them no mind. Heck! He even gave a chance to the prospect of a future with Karin. But it didn’t work. It never does…The idea of contact with any woman disgusts him and so, he never even thought about kissing, let alone touching one. No woman has ever intrigued him as much as the hypnotic, beryl shade of emeralds of an exotic kunoichi from Konoha.

He can’t say much about his redemption but this journey surely has helped him to realise one thing— he has feelings for Sakura. To be honest, he has always had feelings for her. All those years ago when he was only 13 and leaving the village, he was already partially in love with her. Yet emotions like love could’ve jeopardised a lot and so he suppressed all of his emotions to focus solely on his revenge and the betterment of his clan’s name. Thanks to that battle with Naruto at the Valley of the End. It has helped his perception become better… Now he can clearly see everything that he should’ve in the past…

When he returns to Konoha, he will make sure to keep his promise to Sakura and see her before anyone else and..he will properly express his feelings to her…

No matter how hard he tries, no woman will ever interest him but Sakura Haruno. There’s just no substitute for her…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following year, Team 7 decided to get together for one of their homely, team dinners at Kakashi’s house. It was the night of the 13th of February and Sasuke had everything planned out. He has already bought a bouquet of Red roses to gift Sakura while asking her to be his girlfriend exactly when the clock strikes 12, that is the 14th of February. He also gained a lot of mental boost from his ex-mentor aka the current Hokage of Konohagakure, Kakashi Hatake. Naruto, Sai and Yamato added their own advices to his plate of ideas. Thus, he sat patiently, waiting for the right time to arrive.

.

.

When both the hour and minute hand of the clock struck 12, all the men of team 7 gulped the last bit of their green tea, thanked Sakura for the dinner and left in different directions to give Sasuke a private moment with the only female in their team. But that wasn’t enough for the young Uchiha. He knows that if by any chance he messes-up, then Naruto will enjoy teasing him till his last breath. So he decided to take the matter into a more secure place.

“Sakura”, he called her, “join me on the porch.”

It wasn’t a command like usual, she noticed. This time, his words sounded more like an earnest request and so, the pinkette shifted all of the used utensils in the dishwasher and scurried out of her ex-sensei’s house to give Sasuke company at the porch. She saw him sitting silently on the wooden stairs and did the same. Since she is well-aware of the fact that Sasuke is not much of a conversationalist, she immediately craned her head-up to enjoy the sight of the night sky illuminated by the shimmering stars.

“Isn’t this beautiful?” She asked dazedly.

“Hn..you can enjoy this view every single day…” He muttered.

His words didn’t really make much sense to her and she glanced at him questioningly.

“I’ll be leaving again..”, He spoke, having turned to face her and after a moment of thought, added, “..soon…”

She simply lowered her gaze on hearing that. If she had something on her mind at the moment, then she didn’t express it because of the fear of him negating. To be honest, he had half expected her to request him to let her accompany him this time. To his utter disappointment, she didn’t…

“Come with me this time.” He commanded gently.

“Wh-wha-whaat?!” She shrieked.

He smirked when he noticed the slight tinge of red in her cheeks. She surely hadn’t expected him to ever ask such a thing of her.

“Sakura..I…” He tried to get straight to the point with this conversation.

She looked-up at him then and his mismatched pair of onyx and amethyst clashed with her emeralds. He gulped and inwardly bit on his cheek. It really isn’t as easy as it seems, especially when she is staring directly at him like that. Yet he cannot back out now. He had made-up his mind during his journey and now that he is back, with a better perception about the few precious people in his life, he isn’t going to chicken-out like some idiot.

“Sakura..I want you to be a part of my life.” He stated much more confidently.

She giggled at him, “Sasuke-kun, what are you saying? I already am a part of your life.”

“Yes..and a very important one..” He nodded more to himself, to which she stared confusedly at him.

He passed a hand through his unruly hair and spoke, “Please Sakura,” he gazed straight into her eyes and continued, “be mine..”

The colouration in her skin drained out completely and her complexion turned as pale as that of Sai’s. She wanted to joke about his words and giggle again but the intensity of his eyes expressed a conviction that she has never before seen in this man’s gaze. It’s as if he is doing it again— the language of the eyes. Most of the times that they have spent in each-other’s company, they don’t really talk much. Their eyes do the speaking…Atleast, this is what she thinks…

“I-uh…” She turned her face away from him, “What do you mean? Do you-Do you want me to be your Valentine?” She asked hesitantly, her eyes shut tight. Yes! Maybe this is what he meant by his words.

He quirked a brow at that. Valentine? What? Is something wrong with her? Why is it so hard for her to understand him and accept his feelings the only time he properly tries to express them? All he wants is for them to stop playing around with each-other’s emotions and officially commit in a sincere relationship. And all she thinks of his confessions is this— a simple valentine’s day date?! He sighed. Fine if this is how she wants him to say it…

“Sakura,” he grabbed her hand, making her yelp at the sudden contact. Huffing in annoyance, he pulled out the bouquet of roses that he had bought from the Yamanaka Flower Shop and placed it in her palm. She gasped in amazement and blinked her eyes in confusion.

“Sakura, please..be my Valentine..for the rest of your life…” He requested, his head bowed down at her.

She gasped yet again. She had never expected the almighty Sasuke Uchiha to call her out on the porch just to privately make a love confession. Truth be told, she had never even expected him to begin a conversation. This is the first time and this also might be the last time that she hears something like this from him. It must be really hard for him to say things like these. But still..she couldn’t help herself from doubting his motives. What if he is only looking for a baby-maker and she appears to be the most suitable candidate? She doesn’t want to get into a loveless marriage.. But then again..this isn’t a marriage proposal. It is more like a proposal to be his girlfriend..There’s no harm in giving him a chance, right?

She nudged him so that he could stare back at her and it was then that she noticed the shreds of fear in his irises. Has he already mentally prepared himself for a rejection? Also, along with the fear are mixed tiny hints of hope. She can see the innocent, lonely boy behind that cold façade of his. She always has…Therefore, she pushed aside all her doubts and smiled that genuine smile that she keeps only for him and answered his request.

“Okay, Sasuke-kun..I will be your Valentine..for the rest of my life…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[mullersturtleneck]

Sticking With the Schuylers (18C)

1  2  3  4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   I   13  14   15   16   17   18A  18B

Hey, hey, hey! Here it is! It’s 18C!

(You guys are lucky I love you, you’ve been very spoiled lately. It’s also the combination of your responses to the parts, I get so excited over them I can’t even deal.)

In the conclusion of 18, we finally get to see things with Alex and Eliza come together.

               Alexander’s voice is smooth and gentle, shaking only from the pounding of his feet on concrete. The phone is pressed so hard to Eliza’s ear that it begins to ache, but she makes no move to loosen her grip on it. His words, his counting…she follows along and although her head is still spinning, her fingers tingling and her body frozen in place, she can feel her heart rate slowing down enough to call the elevator. It’s perfect timing; when she gets to the ground floor he’s on his way in, arguing with raised hands to the manager that won’t let him up.

               He’s a frenzy of a person, long hair pulled up in a ponytail that lets tendrils of flyaways fall in front of his eyes. He’s wearing jeans and a hoodie-which she thinks must be the issue by the way the manager is eyeing his street-worn converse. But Alexander, in all of his disarray, is an immediate relief. When he notices her he rushes forward, letting her fall gratefully into his arms. Suddenly, she’s grounded. Her problems haven’t gone away-they’re far from subsiding-but having him here has dulled them to a minor ache. Elizabeth barely notices the manager’s awkward glance between them, her in her lacy aqua mid-thigh dress and Alexander in his old Columbia hoodie. She doesn’t even care. Alexander keeps one arm wrapped tight around her as he leads her from the hotel and onto the busy city streets, listening to the clicking of her heels as the ragged tempo of her breathing courses through his arm. He does the talking, calming her with stories of his latest run-in with ‘that asshole Jefferson’ between bouts of reassuring words.

               They’re something like four blocks away from the Waldorf when Eliza grabs tighter hold on his arm, pulling him through a doorway and up a creaking wooden staircase. Alexander lets her lead, though his eyebrows are creased with worry as he trips over his own feet through the unfamiliar location. At the top is a door, painted a bright and welcoming orange, that’s swung ajar to let in the crisp air. The smell of warm, fresh bread wafts through the doorway, wrapping itself around them instantly. A bell rings to note their arrival and a tall, bow-kneed man peeks his head around the corner. His strong cheekbones glow with the brightness of his wide smile and he waves wildly at Eliza, who grins immediately back.

               “Piccola! My dear Elizabeth! To what do I owe this pleasure on a Sunday afternoon?”

               “Benny!” The man, all bow-kneed and wrinkled, wraps her in a hug as if they’ve been friends forever. When she pulls away she tugs Alex toward him, nodding her head. “This is Alexander.”

               There’s a flash of light within the olive-skinned man’s eyes and suddenly he’s hugging Alex too, clapping him on the back and greeting him with a jovial string of Italian words he doesn’t understand. But he accepts this man’s affection, as strange as it may be, for Eliza’s sudden change of mood upon being greeted by him.

               “Long story short Alexander kind of rescued me from brunch-not a good time. So we need to hide out for a bit. Can we use the upper room?”

               Benny puts a hand on Eliza’s shoulder before running over to the counter, grabbing an antique-looking key. Eliza takes it, grateful, before Alex trails her up another staircase. The man’s voice echoes through the bakery, promising ‘the usual and a very dark espresso for the nice young gentleman.’ When she unlocks the door they enter into a tiny room, painted a bright mustard yellow. Floor pillows and a large braided rope rug cover the old, beat-up hardwood. There’s a swinging chair in one corner, and a little square table with folding chairs pressed up against the only set of windows. It’s cozy; quaint.

               “My sisters and I have been friends with Benny since we were little. We used to come here after brunch to get the fresh bread that was about to go stale. He always used to sneak us these little candies, too. Elenora-his wife-would spend all day making them over the little wood stove in the corner of the shop. They were filled with nuts and honey but she snuck in all kinds of extra little treats for us. And then when we got older, and his wife died, we started to hang around here more often to keep him company. This room used to be her craft room-she’d make all of their cards and wrap all of the gift boxes they’d make up here. A year after Elenora died, once we started getting into the spotlight, he sort of gave us this room-a sanctuary, he called it. Somewhere for us to go.

               “A sanctuary.” Alexander walks slowly around the room, letting his fingers trace old artifacts as he breathes in the life that had once existed in this room. Listening to Eliza, he can almost feel the story come to life. He stops at the swinging chair, sitting before pushing over to make her some room. She understands the gesture, but doesn’t move. Instead, Elizabeth Schuyler trails over to the window, pressing a hand to the glass as she watches the hectic life of the city below.

               “I used to date a guy….we got together last August-we dated for eight months.” Her expression is blank, her stare still concentrated out the window as her voice barely peaks above a slight murmur. “He was older, more mature. My father always said that’s what I needed; someone polished. Someone experienced. We met on vacation in the Hamptons and he won me over with fancy dinners and escorting me to all of those high society parties my sisters and I used to go to because our father made us. He made me feel important.

               And then things started to go wrong.

               I didn’t really notice how bad things were until after I left him. Like one day, around Thanksgiving, he made me go with him to his parents instead of staying with my sisters. And it’s not until looking back on it that I realized that he’d called my driver and cancelled on him. He called my dad and said Paul was sick with the flu and that we were stuck upstate. I missed Thanksgiving because he wanted me to. But I had no idea.

               And then he started doing this thing where he’d run into me while I was out with my friends-every time, without fail. And if one friend wasn’t there, or if another joined us without his knowing, he’d act really offended and put out. So I stopped meeting up with friends. And then, things got really bad.”

               She stops for a minute, finally turning to meet Alexander’s eyes. She lets herself stare at him for a moment, letting the security and warmth he’s emitting hit her, wrapping itself around her until she draws in another shaking breath. Courage-he’s giving her courage. His eyes are understanding, receptive. He’s listening. She makes her way across the room with careful steps; slow, calculated, until she sits on the edge of a rickety coffee table in front of his hanging chair. She won’t look at him now.

               “James started arguing with me; every day, multiple times a day. He’d shout so loud it’d wake his neighbors. He bought a new apartment on the Upper East Side. We argued for a week about moving in together. I moved in in January. I’ve never regretted a single decision more than I regretted that one, from the moment I made it. It still didn’t shut him up.

               And then that still wasn’t enough. He fought about everything-nothing I did was good enough for him. We vacationed with my family in Florida for a week…he was the perfect prince to everyone we saw. His public image was really just remarkable. But then, there were comments on pictures he’d post on Instagram-pretty vulgar comments-and he’d blame them on me, on my body. And he’d claim I was cheating, or asking for it…and I just let it happen. He’d tell me I’d be nothing without him, and I believed him. I was young. I didn’t know who I was without him. I didn’t know who I could be.

               And then Valentine’s Day rolls around. We go to this really big gala; take a ton of pictures. He gets me this beautiful necklace and makes a big deal of my wearing it to the event. He spends the entire night talking about it. And then, at the end of the night, he starts making a move for my dress. And he…I never…I never wanted it. I said no. But he kept saying things to me, about not having a serious boyfriend before, and being inexperienced…he was making fun of me. And he used his power to….I said no. But he made it seem like a usual occurrence. He made it feel like my responsibility.”

               Alexander is choking back tears now, moving forward to wipe her own from her cheek before holding her hand. His hands are warm. They’re work-blistered; they’re gentle. It makes her tears flow even faster.

               “It got even worse from there. He was physical. His fights turned physical. And his sweetness was gone, too. He had more bad days than good days and I was always the cause; the solution was taking his anger out on me. He was a different person. When he fought-when he…” She has to stop then; the words won’t come out. She’s stuck with her lip trembling, eyes shut against the onslaught of memories that won’t stop coming now. But Elizabeth is sure; when she opens her eyes, sees him waiting patiently for her to continue, she knows. Telling Alexander is what she has to do; for herself, and for their relationship.

“When James hit me, I never blamed it on him. His words became my truth. I believed that I was the cause of the injuries he inflicted on me. I bought a lot of cover-up,”

               “-Eliza,”

               “-Wait…” She looks up at him through tired eyes-as if telling the story has made her live the eight-month span of the relationship once more. But she has to finish; he deserves to know. “The day I decided to leave him was the scariest day of my life. At that point, it was March. He had trackers on me. He had an in with one of our drivers. My father loved him-my father still loves him. Because how do you tell your father all of the things someone’s done to you? How could I look my father in the eyes and retell these stories to him? I didn’t want a legal battle. I didn’t want the press. I just wanted out.

               I tried to leave but he came home. He found the letter I was going to leave him. He was so angry. By the time Angelica came I just wanted to die; he left me in our bedroom, just lying there. I couldn’t see anything. I couldn’t hear. I was in so much pain that my body went into shock. Angelica took me to the hospital. She used the savings she and John were going to use to visit his family in England to pay off four nurses and a doctor so they wouldn’t say anything. She found my way out. She’s spent every second of her life since that day trying to protect Peggy and I, even harder than she had when we were little. And I just,” She can barely breathe again, the next sentence holding itself in her mind. She wants to keep it there, harbor it like a fugitive. If she doesn’t speak the words, maybe they won’t come true.

               Alexander sees her struggle and guides her from the rickety coffee table, pulling her into the swinging chair beside him and drawing her into his chest.

               “James has been getting interviews-telling people how much he wants me back. He’s starting the war again, and I don’t know if I can go through it much longer.”

               Alexander tightens his grip around her, a hand moving through her hair while his lips graze the top of her head. He doesn’t want to let her go-doesn’t want to move from this spot. The story she’s told him plays back in his mind, over and over as he feels her soft breathing against his chest. And every time it gets to the more difficult parts-each time he remembers her sweet voice tightening as she whispers the steps back in her journey-he lets himself feel her presence, tucked safe beside him.

               “Thank you for telling me,” He feels like it isn’t enough; there are one million words he wants to say to her, novels worth of words that spill into his mind in a jumbled-up mess. But Elizabeth is thankful. She turns her body toward him, draping an arm around his waist and letting her leg rest between his. For now, his thanks is enough. His listening, his acceptance, his security…for once, she lets herself drown in it. For once, she lets herself feel completely. This moment; Elizabeth tucked up against Alexander, the scent of old books and dark coffee enveloping her, his warmth a blanket of security-it’s the safest she’s felt since James entered her life. And it’s more than enough.

[topinforma]

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5 Mental Biases That Are Keeping You Poor

Our brains are not naturally wired to make the kinds of decisions that lead to long-term financial stability and wealth. That’s because most of us fall victim to systematic errors in logical thinking known as cognitive biases. Our brains have trouble recognizing when we are about to make a logical error, and it’s only in hindsight that we realize we have screwed up.

See Also on Kiplinger: 10 Financial Decisions You Will Regret in Retirement

Fortunately, once you are aware of your cognitive biases, it is easier to combat their influence. Here are five cognitive biases that are working to keep you poor, and ways you can bypass their effect on your behavior.

1. Anchoring

Determining an appropriate price for a purchase could be exhausting, if you were to do research on how much every single vendor is charging for the same item. To save ourselves from such effort, our brains take a shortcut known as anchoring. The anchor is a price point that gives you an idea of how much something should cost.

For instance, let’s say you are interested in hiring a personal trainer. The first trainer you call charges $60 for 30-minute sessions. The second trainer you call charges $70 for 30-minute sessions. Clearly the first trainer is the better financial choice, right?

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Actually, based on the information you have, you have to ask yourself if that is really the case. With further research, you might find that both of the trainers you called are overcharging since the majority of trainers in your area charge $30 per 30-minute session. Since you do not have an anchor point in your mind when you start researching personal trainers, you assume that $60 is a reasonable price — making $70 too high a price to pay — even if neither of those amounts have anything to do with what most customers are paying.

Anchor points are very difficult to ignore, because it can be tough for you to remember that the anchor price you are thinking of does not necessarily reflect how much something should cost.

How to Combat Anchoring

One way to circumvent the problem of anchoring is to create your own anchor to redefine the amount of money you would otherwise spend. Take the time to start looking at financial transactions in terms of the hours you spend to get them, rather than the dollars.

This suggestion comes from the book Your Money or Your Life. In this book, Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez point out that time is literally money, since you trade your time away in order to earn money. And while money is fungible (that is, replaceable), your time is finite, precious, and gone once it’s spent.

We may feel like we deserve the latest gadget — but remembering just how much of our lives we would have to give up for it can help us remember to only spend on the things that truly reflect our goals.

2. The Availability Heuristic

The availability heuristic is a kind of memory shortcut that helps you determine how likely something is. Your brain assumes that things you can easily recall are more probable than things that are hazier.

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For instance, you are probably much more nervous when you board an airplane than you are when you get in the car, despite the fact that there are 100-plus car fatalities daily in America, while air travel is one of the safest modes of transportation. But since every plane crash makes both national and international news, and there is generally nothing more than local coverage of car crashes, it seems to our brains that plane crashes are more likely.

When it comes to our finances, the availability heuristic leads us to believe that winning the lottery, winning big in Vegas, or making a killing on the stock market are all more likely than they are. Since we can remember the names and stories of individuals who have gotten rich in these ways — and we don’t remember the stories of people quietly amassing a small fortune through savings and frugal living — we think our own chances are better in risky financial situations.

How to Combat the Availability Heuristic

To combat this cognitive bias, you need to recognize when there is an emotional component to your decision. Does your choice reflect any kind of statistical probability, or does it simply feel as if the outcome you are hoping for (or alternatively, trying to avoid) is the likeliest one?

It is also helpful to spend time educating yourself on financial statistics to help you understand when your reaction is irrational.

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3. Hedonic Adaptation

Hedonic adaptation describes the phenomenon wherein we get used to the things we have. Think of the pleasure and pride you felt upon first purchasing your car. I’m guessing your delight in your new vehicle faded before the new car smell had completely dissipated. This happens because our brains are wired to get used to things fairly quickly.

This means that no purchase will permanently satisfy us, and if we’re not careful, we’re likely to keep reaching for another thing to buy that will offer momentary pleasure or satisfaction. But it is only a matter of time before the new purchase also becomes old news, spurring another purchase to keep the pleasure going.

This cognitive bias also helps explain why it is so easy for you to become just as financially stressed after a major pay raise or other financial increase as you were at the lower level. When the things that were rare treats when you were earning less become a standard part of your life, you enjoy them less, but you are also less willing to give them up.

How to Combat Hedonic Adaptation

Regularly expressing gratitude for the things in your life can help you feel both more optimistic and happier, according to Robert A. Emmons, professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis. That increased happiness can help end the constant search for pleasure through purchasing.

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According to Emmons, a gratitude journal, wherein you regularly record things for which you are grateful, can help you improve your mood, as well as your physical and social well-being, and help you recognize the abundance that is already in your life.

See Also on Kiplinger: 10 Reasons You Will Never Be a Millionaire

4. Hyperbolic Discounting

Let’s say I offered you $100 right now, or $110 in 10 days. Which would you prefer? If you’re like most people, you’ll take the Benjamin today, even though a relatively short wait would earn you 10% more. It is human nature to prefer something to happen immediately, rather than wait patiently for a larger reward later.

This preference for instant gratification is a cognitive bias known as hyperbolic discounting. Our brains “discount” something that will happen in the future as less important than something that is happening in the here-and-now. It’s the reason why you can decide on January 1 that you want to pay off your credit card debt in the new year, and find yourself charging $200 worth of new video games less than a month later. The debt payoff is so far away, and the video games are tempting you right now.

Hyperbolic discounting causes us to push today’s consequences into the future. We decide that avoiding the consequence today means that the consequence is not our problem, even though it will be when the time comes. This is actually the very basis of credit card business practices.

How to Combat Hyperbolic Discounting

The effect of hyperbolic discounting diminishes as you place decisions in the future. For instance, if I were to ask you if you wanted $100 on February 4, 2018 or $110 on Valentine’s Day of that year, you’d probably be happy to wait. Since you are waiting until the following year anyway, it’s easier to decide to wait the additional 10 days for the extra 10%.

To combat the effects of hyperbolic discounting, imagine your current dilemma as if it will happen in the future. Doing this can help you to see the issue more rationally and help you come to the decision that your future self will be glad you made.

5. The Restraint Bias

Most people tend to overestimate their own impulse control. This is why your decision to stop getting takeout instead of cooking at home is derailed when you drive past your favorite burger joint. You have overestimated your ability to be virtuous in the face of temptation. The restraint bias is often the culprit when you can’t maintain your New Year’s resolutions.

When you were making the resolution, you were certain that you could restrain yourself around temptations. You forgot that you will be just as flawed and human in the future as you have been in the past.

How to Combat the Restraint Bias

This may sound overly simplistic, but the easiest way to combat restraint bias is to avoid tempting situations. Instead of believing that you should be able to drive past In-N-Out without stopping for a Double Double Animal Style burger, you can simply take a different route home that won’t lead you past the temptation. This takes the issue of restraint out of your hands when you are most tempted.

See Also on Kiplinger: 10 Reasons Your Nest Egg Will Never Be Enough in Retirement

Don’t Let Your Brain Destroy Your Finances

Cognitive biases are a fact of life, but they don’t have to destroy your financial security. Understanding the ways that your brain leads you astray is the first step in avoiding your most money-wasting errors in logic.

This article is from Emily Guy Birken of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website.

More From Wise Bread

6 Signs You’re Not Frugal — You’re Cheap!

Flashback Friday: 23 Mental Tricks That’ll Help You Save Money

6 Ways Sloth Is Keeping You Poor

6 Ways Gluttony Is Keeping You Poor

How to Shop With Purpose — And Save More Money

This article is from Wise Bread, not the Kiplinger editorial staff.

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