#and if nothing else I have a few dresses and my SHORTALLS

[wewontbesleeping]

I’m sooo scared to try on my clothes from last summer bc ummmm I don’t know how many will still fit

[yamithediaperdork]

Happy Fathers Day (Mortal instruments..because..of course XD)

It was the annual father day picnic in central park, and while something semi scandalous seemed to happen every year, this year would be the one to take the proverbial cake. If nothing else one group of boys, close knit friends since they were in pre school together, would have a whole new world opened up to them. they were Alex and Jacob Wolfe, 12 year old twins with dirty blond hair that Jacob had in a mushroom cut while Alex kept his buzzed, Keith Ryan who had shoulder length brown hair and finally Kevin west, who kept his black hair buzzed down. Today while their four man band (At least that's what their dad's liked to call them, the boys all just rolled their eyes at that) where playing a game of football, waiting on their dad's to call them over for food, they got treated to a sight one may not of expected at a public park, at least not during the day. It was Jacob who noticed the sight first, stopping and starring and his jaw dropped which let the ball deck him in the face, but the pre-teen didn't seem to notice. "Dude, what's with you?" Keith asked, running up, annoyed since they were on the same team. "Jacob, you ok?" Alex asked, worried about his brother. "Oh man, he's gone comatose..tell me you didn't eat any of my dad's chilli. I warned you guys about that!" Kevin groaned. All Jacob could do was point, and the other three followed the finger, and joined him in drop jaw reactions. After all, it wasn't every day you saw a adult baby being lead into the park.

going back to a few days earlier, and Jace had been snuggling in his daddies arms. the shadow hunter had just finished a coming out party involving all of his closet friends and while not everyone was happy, they had been understanding and gushed about how cute he'd been in his barbie diaper and teddy bear top. Simon, the vampire daddy of the littlest monster killer had been semi glad about how well the party had gone, though he was also disappointed. "and then when Alec gave me head pats and said he knew it, had knew it fer years..ehehehehe your right daddy! Coming clean was the best thing to do!" Jace coo'ed, and nuzzled into Simon's chest. "Well to be fair, I guess I shouldn't of been shocked so many of them knew, since you've been wearing them to bed every night." Simon admitted and patted the boys soggy diaper. Barbie had long since faded away from the front but the diaper could take a bit more punishment, and with how often Jace went well, they had to make every diaper count. "And pull up's during the day, just like you told me to cuz I'm SUCH a good boy!" Jace beamed, all proud of himself for letting himself be sent back into 24/7 diaper wearing. "It's just..I dunno..I was mayybbeee..." Simon started and Jace giggled and smirked. "You wanted them to tease and torment me and make me a red faced big baby so I'd be super squirmy and cry baby~" Jace giggled. "Well tough! They were loving and understanding and I'm just all happy and want cuddles, not filled with massive humiliation and going into a whiny big baby mode!" Jace finished and blew a raspberry. "..You know. since you're gonna be my widdle guy 24/7.. I think we need to let even more people know and see the real you." Simon said, as he wiped the spittle from the raspberry off of his face. the fact he had a evil grin on his face made Jace gulp and lose his, and a muffled fart sounded from his rear. "...I don't like it when you get that look on your face daddy."

In the following days some steps were taken to help Jace be the little boy he wanted to be 24/7, even though Jace started regretting his decision to ask for it soon after. Step one was to gather up every adult piece of clothing that Jace wore, and have a nice big yard sale with them. the money was tucked away nice and next, and would be used not on booze or toy's, or anything like that. It went just right into Jace's diaper budget, with him going poopies at least 3 times a day, and diapers not being cheap. "This sucks! I should at least be able to get some toys!" Jace had argued. "well you can get a lot of toys, if we get you cloth diapers and plastic pants instead. but I'm not gonna be the one washing them or hanging them out to dry." Simon said as they sold the last of Jace's pants. the teenagers buying it had been laughing seeing Jace sitting there in a chair in just his diapers (with the weather being so nice and all) and laughed even more when they heard the argument. "But..but.I'm a baby! I don't do washing!" "and you don't get a say in what money is spent on. maybe if we'd been able to sell your undies we could of gotten you some action figures, but their just too skid marked and no one wants them, even at a nickle a pair." Jace huffed at that and in the end they did get rid of all 10 of Jace's undies, for 10 cents and they were sold to a blushing young man who couldn't stop looking at Jace. "Bet you he's gonna wear them all as like, a form of toddler pants." Simon said as the guy dashed off. "Pffft that's silly, who would do that?" Jace asked,. "oh, you'd be surprised."

The next part of Jace's permanent transformation was taking him out to load up his closet in Simon's home. that meant dozens of cute outfit and loads of diapers. Jace didn't mind the overalls or the shortalls, but the onsies were kinda squirmy to try on at the mall,m double so with the sales lady claiming that she needed 'extra help' and calling over all of the other clerks so Jace was basically putting on a little fashion show. Which only got worst when Kelly, the clerk they had started with, after hearing Simon jokingly complain about how often Jace needed a diaper change suggested that they try some dresses and skirts, They had already seen the poor big babies barbie diapers but Jace was NOT a happy camper as he then spent half a hour shaking his butt, and twirling in his short party dressed, mini skirts, and basically girl clothes that didn't do anything to fully hide his diapers. The fashion show thankfully ended when Jace in the middle of showing off a jean skirt with a fake plastic diamond heart on it off and popped a squat and destroyed the back of his diaper. Kelly hadn't let them get changed in there, though she had to hold a nose while ringing them though.

After a diaper change in the parking lot Jace and daddy had been on their way home when they heard a announcement on the radio about the father's day picnic in the park, opened to anyone and everyone. Jace despite having just gone poopie got a badddddd feeling in his tummy as he looked at daddy in the rear view mirror from his car seat. "Havvvve I ever mention how much I HATE the park?" Jace asked, gulping and squirming. "Oh Really? Maybe that's just because you haven't gone to the park with daddy, and been able to show everyone your cute widdle outfits." Simon said. "..You just want me blushy!" Jace whined and pouted, folding his arms and sulking. "Mmmhmmm, and DADDY gets what DADDY wants." Simon said. "Now who wants McDonald's?" "...I do but i'm not wearing a dress to the park!" Jace said. "We'll see~"

In the end Jace did win his campaign to not wear a dress or skirt to the park, mostly by pointing out that he'd just cry rape and beg for a adult if Simon tried. With Simon knowing the big baby well enough to know that wasn't a bluff, Jace was instead dressed in triple his normal thick bulky diapers, and in a light blue onesie with a teddy bear print all over it. (though to be fair, he'd given Jace a choice between the teddy bear themed Onesie or a white one, just the pink barbie diapers semi showed with the white one) a pair of white socks and Paw patrol light up sneakers were on his feet and a blue paci was in his mouth with a ribbon on it that was clipped to his shirt and his hair had been neatly brushed. One hand was in daddies as they walked into the park, getting stares and a few comments, and the other was hugging a Chase from paw patrol stuffie to his chest. With Jace being tripled diapered Daddy only brought along one change for the little guy, and it was in the picnic basket he carried in his free hand as they looked for a good spot to sit down. "See anywhere that looks nice little guy? or cat got your tongue?" Simon teased. Jace was sucking fast on his paci, quickly going crimson faced as the taunts came at them. "Awww that's so cute!" One girl said, pointing Jace out to her father. "What the hell.." Anther dad said. "Fucking fags. keep it indoors!" Called a big bearded biker dad. "Er..is this against the law?" A mother asked. "I KNEW YOU WERE LYING! THEY DO MAKE BIG KID DIAPERS!" one 5 year old huffed, yelling at his parents.

The 4 man band stared in shock and as Jace and Simon walked/waddled by them a strong smell of baby powder was in the air. two of the boys were fixated on how powerful and cool Simon looked, totally in control of the dumb big baby and wanted to experience a power rush like that,. The other two were biting their lips and squirming as they both focused on different parts of Jace's humiliation. "Whoa..L-Look at how massive those diapers are..t-they are diapers right?" Alex said, gulping. "No dork, he just has a massive butt. of course he's in diapers." Kevin chuckled. "T-That outfit.. oh man.." Jacob  chipped in. "Could you even picture wearing something like that? that would get a 3 year old teased!" "heh, your got that right. only a total bitch would let himself be dressed like that. or his daddy is just THAT freaking awesome he's making that blond bitch come out like that." Keith said with a grin, turning and noting the look on the twins faces. "heh, Jealous?" "NO!" both twins yelled out, their own faces going bright red and Kevin and Keith just exchanged grins.

Of course with his Vampire senses Simon knew what was happening and chuckled softly. 'I suppose I should feel bad corrupting the young and all that..buttt fuck it. I'm already a soulless blood drinker.' the vampire thought. "Don't look now but I think we just inspired two new big babies." Simon said in a low voice, then paused and waved a hair in front of his face, acting as if Jace had just let out a stink bomb though the blond baby was holding his poopies in. "Jace! did you go uh-oh already?" Simon asked loudly. Jace's blush couldn't get any worse, but the big baby shook his head no,but kept his paci in. "Mhmmm. likely story. I know you like to sit in it it." Simon said, again in a loud voice and drawing more attention to them as he rolled his eyes. "turn around for a bum check little man." Jace squirmed like crazy but knew better then to argue with daddy, and when he was this humiliated, he went into a whole new level of subby. turning around Jace looked at the group of boys who half of which were watching with grins, the other half with semi envy as Simon dropped down to one knee and patted Jace's butt a few time. "Hmmm I guess it was just gas. sorry for not believing you little guy." Simon said. he looked around and then opened up the basket and pulled out a checkered red and white blanket and spread it on the gas. "I know you wanted to sit at a table buddy, but with the extra diapies you begged to wear daddies worried you'll fall and go boom." Simon said, and ruffled Jace's hair even as the blond baby glared at him, then nodded and plopped on his massive rear. Simon was pulling out their lunches, some fried chicken with mashed potatoes for him, with a bottle of what he would tell anyone who asked was fruit punch but was some of Jace's blood, while pulling out 4 large jars of prune flavored baby food and a bottle of formula for Jace. "Is daddies little man hungry now, or wanna let daddy eat first then spoon him him?" Simon asked, and reached forward, lightly tugging on the paci and pulling it from the big babies mouth. "I um..I.." "Use your big boy words." Simon said, smirking. Jace, who had been about to anyways squirmed and just nodded his head. "I um.. Daddy can eat first." he said,using his baby voice anyways. "ok buddy. I know you wanna eat big kid food like daddy but we BOTH know it doesn't agree with you an-" Simon was cut off as the boys from before strolled over. "Hey Mister um.. if you don't mind, I can feed him" the brunette with the buzz cut said. "Oh, have you ever spoon fed a baby before?" Simon asked. "It's not as easy as it sounds, they can be little fuss buckets." Simon added, reaching forward and tickling Jace's chin making him giggle a little. "well no, But Me and Keith." and the brunette jerked a thumb to the long haired kid. "Figure we'll need the practice." he said, giving a toothy grin as the blond twin blushed and squirmed. "heh Oh?" "Kevin! Don't tell him that!" one of the blonds squeaked out. "W-we're not babies!" the other one added. "Alex, Jacob, Hush. big kids are talking." the one named Keith said and Simon chuckled. 'oh yeah, they're gonna be little naturals.' he thought.

Jace whined and mentally begged Simon not to let the kids spoon feed him, but if anything the chance to pass on his knowledge made Simon even MORE teasing, which was something Jace didn't think was possible. Simon showed the boys how to tie a bib around the babies neck, explaining how important it was to use a good enough knot it wouldn't come off, but not so good you had to cut it loose after. "If I had brought some of his extra bibs, you could of practiced with your little guys." Simon smirked. Jace's heart went out for the blonds as they paled a little at that, and they seem to be trying to decide whether to run or stick around. "It's ok. I think their dad would be mad if they came back wearing a teddy bear bib anyways." Keith said. "they again maybe not. you know he's always saying what messy eaters they are." Kevin added. "Guysssss!" the twins whined in unison and pouted. "ok, that was cute. Now if Jace isn't a total little piggy like he normally is." Simon said and Jace whined at that, and pouted much like the twins were. "And there's any baby food left, you can split whats left between your little guys there, and they can take turns with the bib." "What!?" Alex yelped. "No way!" Jacob added. "Sounds good." Kevin and Alex said in unison. As Jace locked eyes with the twins, they gave him a pleading look and despite knowing just how bloated and gassy he'd get, Jace knew he had to take a bullet for them. 'god I'm gonna be farting like crazy!' Jace groaned. it didn't help he already had 5 pieces of high fiber toast that had been coated in apples and banana flavored baby food for breakfast and a big bottle on top of that. No two was about it, before they left the park Jace was gonna be filling his diapers. "Now you wanna get a fair amount, but not too much on the spoon." Simon was saying, snapping Jace out of his thoughts about his impending boom butt. "Jace here is a bigger boy so he can take more, but every baby really has a different amount." Jace looked at the heaping piled Kevin had on the spoon, and looked over to Simon, silently pleading with daddy to at least get the amount cut down, but Simon just winked and took a bite out of a chicken leg. "I know what to do next. Seen this enough on TV." Kevin said and then switching to a baby talk voice voice added. "Here comes the airplane~ Open widddde!"

Simon almost choked on his chicken as Kevin talked, he knew how much Jace HATED that bit and was nice enough to spare him that much. He flashed the big baby a look that said 'play nice' and Jace like a good big baby opened his mouth as big as he could. Sadly (or was that amusingly?) with the heap of mush on the spoon, there was no way it was going to fit all in Jace's mouth and purple mush dribbled down his chin. "oh crud uh.." Kevin looked over his shoulder to Simon, as Jace closed his mouth and swallowed what had made it in, and made a little face. "use the spoon and get what you can off of his chin and into his mouth." Simon instructed, taking a sip  of his drink. "Oh ok!" Kevin said. It took awhile for the boy to get his rhythm down but soon he was stuffing Jace's face like a pro even as Jace started to burp now and then, which made Kevin make a face. "you think that's bad, wait till it comes out the other end." Simon commented. "why don't you boys switch so Keith can get a turn in. and Alex, Jacob..My little guys looking awfully full already, hope your hungry." The twins shared a whimper and were holding each others hands, though Simon noted they didn't try and run for their dad. either they didn't think they could outrun their daddies to be, or while they were scared and nervous, they on some level wanted to be Jace and were rooted to the spot. Either way, Simon had a hunch next time he saw them they'd be sporting diapers. Keith took a different approach to feeding Jace and it didn't take long to figure it out. The Brown haired boy was a tormentor, plain and simple and it showed as he kept missing Jace's mouth on purpose and smudging the food on Jace's cheeks, and would scold him for it. "No no no you silly big baby! Stay still! it's like you wanna wear your din din!" Keith teased and Jace whined loudly and looked to Simon for help. Simon pretended to be interested in a game of soccer that was going on near by instead. "I think your baby is full mister. he just doesn't wanna eat anymore." Keith said, looking at Simon then over at the blonds. "N-No! I hungee!" Jace cried out, and Kieth pouted a little. "I think he's just fussy because he wants daddy to feed him. you boys have been a big help but I better take over." Simon said, he was finished eating anyways. "besides, any second now the fart factory is gonna-" Simon was cut off as a massively long and loud despite the padding fart filled the air and the boys went from laughing to holding their noses. "Yeahhh that." Simon chuckled. "Side effect of the baby food." "Oh god, it's like ten million farts in one!" Keith gagged. "Or worse!" Kevin added. Adorably the twin's only commented on it by saying stinky, though there eyes were watering too. "Is that what they'll smell like if they eat that?" Kevin asked, waving a hand in front of his face but jerking a thumb at the twins. "Pretty much. I'd go with oatmeal if you want them not as rotten." Simon suggested. "Should I take that to mean you don't want one of the remaining jars?" "Uh..I mean..it's a really generous offer..But..we all drove over here together and.." Kevin started "We'll all die in the car if the twins are ripping out back door bombs like that!" Keith finished. "W-we wouldn't be that bad!" Alex huffed and crossed his arms, Jacob following suite and adding "Yeah!" "...Wait..do you dorks WANNA eat baby food?" Keith asked, seemingly forgetting about the stink in the air as he grinned. The twin's seemed to realized that had just tried to argue in favor of it and Alex covered his mouth while Jacob shook his head. "NO!" "looks like you boys have some things to figure out. Thanks for feeding the baby." Simon said and took a couple of 20's out of his wallet and handed one to each boy. they went to say thank you but anther back door bomb ripped out of Jace's backside and they took off running instead. "Cute kids. gonna have to get used to stinkers though if they wanna be be daddies." Simon commented, then turned his attention back to Jace who let out a burp. "then again..subjecting them to your funk when they're just starting is like teaching someone to swim by tossing them in shark infested waters." "DADDY!"

With the rest of the baby food in Jace and his ba-ba, the poor baby had a bloated tummy and was pooting up a storm. Simon had been forced to take the onise off of him with his big Jace's tummy tum had gotten and had tickled his sides till Jace wet himself. In just his socks and shoes and Barbie diapers, Jace was getting lots of attention though no one came too close, his poots were like a fog horn warning people to keep their distance. "you know, I was hoping to help you make some friends today but your butt is scaring them all away stinker." Simon teased. "I sowwy." Jace whined, rubbing a eye. After a month of training Jace was conditioned to get sleepy after a big meal. "well we'll go play in the sandbox for a little bit, then go home ok buddy?" "But sweepy daddy." Jace whined, eyes drooping and nuzzling into Simon. "Already? are you sure you don't wanna play on the slide or the swings or something like a big kid?" Simon asked, smirking. "No Big -yawn- kid. Just Jace. sweepy." The blond baby said, almost stumbling now and so Simon stopped and picked him up, setting his head on his shoulder and a arm under his butt, carrying the basket and Chase was tucked inside. "I guess we can go home. I hope you had fun today buddy." Simon said and kissed the big babies cheek, then whispered. "Because we'll be coming here a lot more often." "Ngggh.. yesh..daddy." Jace mumbled, and then drifted off to sleep, even as a series of wet farts erupted from his back side and the back of the babies diapers bloomed out. "oh I see. go sleepies and leave me stuck with changing you. really nice." Simon teased but as he headed for the car he had to admit, he didn't really mind. He was tempted to stop and change Jace on a table, but then spotted a older looking couple talking to a police officer and pointing over at them, and decided that could wait for anther day and not to give the cop a reason to hassle them.. as long as Jace's diapers stayed on he wasn't naked in public. Thankfully the cop seemed to agree as they weren't hassled on their way to the car, though before he went to put Jace in his car seat, Simon was treated to one last cute site. Kevin and Keith chasing the twins, holding onto a couple of towels each and having safety pins. 'Damn. now I really wish I could stay.' Simon thought and chuckled. there was always next weekend.

The end, fer now

[thatesqcrush]

Transparency

CW: angst/language. For @madpanda75 who wanted jealous baby Rafi. Related story: Study Buddies

Tags: @southern-magnolia @madpanda75 @ottosuricato @delia26 @dreila03 @sass-and-suspenders @glimmerglittergirl @melsquared79 @mommakat32 - anyone else just ask.

A knock on the door interrupted your studies. Your study partner looked at you and you shrugged as you jogged towards the door and opened it. To your surprise, your boyfriend, Rafael was on the other side. Rafael was clad in his typical uniform: a maroon Harvard hoodie and jeans. His hair was mussed, a tell tale sign that he had been stressed.

“Rafi? What are you doing here? I thought you had that big international relations paper?” You cocked your head in confusion.

“I finished my first draft,” Rafael replied with a shrug. “I figured we could go to the hall and grab some dinner.” He looked past you and saw you weren’t alone. “Am I interrupting something?” he asked nervously.

You looked at your study partner and excused yourself, stepping out into the hall and shutting the door almost completely, leaving just a small opening.

You looked at Rafael quizzically, before bursting into laughter. “Mike? Oh, we’re just studying for our property final next week.”

“Again? That’s like the third time this week. Can’t anyone else help him?” Rafael questioned, shifting his weight. He shoved his hands into his back pockets and rocked on his heels.

“Babe, it’s finals,” you reasoned.

“So, no on dinner?” Rafael ignored your reply.

You frowned, shaking your head. “No babe. I’m sorry. We’re probably going to be at it for a couple of more hours. Rain check? Tomorrow?”

Rafael swallowed hard and looked back at your study partner once more, who was going through some flash cards. “Uh, yeah, sure.”

You smiled brightly. “Thanks for understanding. I’ll see you tomorrow. Love you.” You pressed a kiss to his lips, but Rafael didn’t return the kiss. You could sense something was bothering him. “Babe, is everything okay?”

Rafael looked at you, his initial expression was stoic but then his face relaxed, as if all the tension just magically disappeared. “Yeah; just stressed and tired. Hungry.”

You ran your hands through his hair, down his cheeks and then to hood of his sweatshirt and tugged on the collar. “Go eat and get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Rafael nodded and kissed your cheek. “Tomorrow then.”

You smiled, before turning and ducking back into your room.

****

The following day, you and Rafael spent almost every waking moment together. You walked along the quad towards the student center, hand in hand. Whatever tension was there yesterday, was gone. Rafael seemed to be in a better mood.

As you approached the student center, Mike came into focus. “Hey y/n! Thanks for your help last night.”

“Sure thing. Oh, by the way, this is my boyfriend Rafael. Rafael, this is Mike Reddick. You sort of met him last night.”

“Hey. Nice to meet you.” Rafael greeted.

Mike nodded. “You’ve got yourself a great gal,” he acknowledged. “Really knows her stuff. Saved my ass.”

Rafael wrapped his arm around you and pulled you close. “She really is. I’m a lucky guy.” His comment was clipped and you could sense the return of that awkward tension. You looked at Rafael quizzically, before returning to Mike.

“So let me know if you need anymore help, but I think you’ll be okay. I feel like you understood the materials.”

“Thanks. Oh, hey! By the way, my roommates and I are throwing a huge kegger tomorrow night. You should come. I live on 285 Third Street. Nine o’clock.”

“Awesome, we’ll be there, right Rafi?” You looked up at your boyfriend. He forced a grin. “Wouldn’t want to miss it.”

You said your goodbyes and continued on your way to the student center so you could check on your mail and grab some coffee.

***

“Jump Around” blasted on the stereo so loudly you could feel the room vibrate. You wore ripped denim shortalls with a black crop top underneath. Your hair was pulled back in a Dutch braid. Rafael wore his standard, except this time he wore a New York Yankees hoodie. You teased Rafael that he had a target on his back in the heart of Red Sox Nation.

You and Rafael made your way through the crowded house, filled with party-goers. You recognized some classmates and said hi, as you led Rafael through the sea of people. The two of you made your way to the kitchen where Mike was chugging back a beer with some other guys.

Mike’s eyes lit up as he saw you. “Hey guys! Glad you could make it. Want a beer? Just tapped this beaut,” he shouted over the loud music. He banged on the barrel, the metal clanging.

Two red solo cups made their way to you and you skimmed off the foam, flicking your hand towards the floor. “Thanks,” you half-shouted in response.

Rafael was miserable. He knew he had no reason to be jealous of Mike but something about seeing you with him unnerved him.

A few hours later, Rafael found you talking to Mike, your head thrown back in laughter. He couldn’t make out what you were talking about, but it was clear you were interested in whatever was being discussed. The two of you were oblivious to Rafael’s presence. Deep down Rafael truly believed you wouldn’t do anything to hurt him, whether on purpose or not. But still, watching you with Mike brought up his insecurities and unresolved anger with Yelina.

Rafael turned around and headed outside to breathe. Outside a young couple was making out while another group played beer pong along the porch. Rafael bummed a smoke off another student and he let out a long puff of smoke, trying to get out of his own head.

“Rafi? You out here?”

Rafael turned at the sound of your voice. “Yeah, I am here.”

Seeing the cigarette bud in Rafael’s hand, you frowned. Rafael only smoked when he was upset. You had two new red solo cups in your hands.

“Whatcha doing out here? I’ve been looking all over for you?” you replied as you handed him a beer. “I missed you.”

“Missed me? O-kay,” Rafael replied, the “o” was drawn out, and the “kay” was clipped. “You seemed to be having tons of fun with Mike,” Rafael sneered. “Why don’t you be with him since you like spending so much time with him? Shouldn’t you be studying?”

You felt as if all of the air was sucked out and your cheeks felt hot. If Rafael was honest with himself, he would have seen a flash of hurt in your eyes.

You reacted without thinking and you threw your beer in Rafael’s face. Rafael appeared momentarily stunned. The beer pong crowd murmured and whistled at your actions. Even the couple that had been making out stopped to stare.

Rafael reached out for you but you shirked back. “No. Nothing is going on between him and I. Mike is just a friend. What? You can’t trust me?” You replied angrily.

Rafael opened his mouth but found himself at a loss for words. Instead he averted his eyes, and looked at the ground. He took a long drag of his cigarette.

Your eyes narrowed. “So that’s how it is? Fine. Do NOT follow me home. I can get on all by myself,” you hissed.

As you walked back to your dorm, your mind reeled from Rafael’s comments. You didn’t turn around but you knew Rafael followed you back to campus.

Rafael watched as you swiped your keycard back to your dorm. He then made his way back to his dorm. Once in his room, he removed his soiled sweatshirt and t-shirt and tossed them into the hamper before changing into his pajama bottoms and a clean t-shirt. He ran his hands through his hair before rubbing his face. “What did I do?” he groaned, trying to sleep. Sleep was futile and he tossed and turned the whole night. He couldn’t get the hurt look on your face out of his mind.

***

The next morning, you sat in your common room, on the crappy futon your roommate, Sheila had found secondhand. You spooned and stirred your cereal, willing yourself to eat but you didn’t have much of an appetite.

“That’s so unlike him. What gives?” Sheila asked as she poured herself a bowl of cereal. You shrugged in response. “Maybe finals are getting to him.”

“That still doesn’t justify a cheating accusation. Has he ever been jealous before?” Sheila asked, taking a place next to you.

“No,” you sighed. “He had one other girlfriend in high school but that was it. He’s never really talked about her though. To be fair, I’ve never asked. I’ve never had reason to...”

“Until now,” Sheila finished for you.

You nodded. You stood and put your bowl back on the table in front of you. “Not hungry. I still smell like a frat house - I am going to go shower.”

You made your way back into your room and changed into a wrap-around towel. Grabbing your caddy and shipping into flip-flops, you headed to the door to shower. When you opened the door, Rafael was there - his fist raised to knock on your door.

“Hey,” you greeted coolly.

“Y/N - can we talk?” Rafael asked softly. “Please?” He added for good measure.

You shook your head. “Now isn’t a good time. I’m going to shower. Can we meet in 30 minutes at the coffee shop?”

Rafael nodded. “Sure. Love you.”

You sucked in a breath. “Do you now?” You shook your head sadly and headed to the communal showers, leaving Rafael once again.

***

Rafael sat at the coffee shop, two coffees - a drip for him and a soy latte for you, accompanied him. Glancing out the window, he spotted you bounding up the stairs, wearing a flower print babydoll dress with a black t-shirt underneath.

His leg twitched nervously and he took out the photo he had brought with him from his pocket. It was a picture of him, Alex, and Eddie on graduation day - the three Musketeers of Jerome Avenue. Yelina was in front of him, his arm was wrapped around her and she held onto the arm that was wrapped around him. Yelina was beautiful and she knew it from early on. She had all the boys of Jerome Avenue wrapped around her finger and Rafael couldn’t believe that she she chose him - the scrawny kid that was always getting picked on. In hindsight, Rafael knew she was just trying to get to Alex, the more popular one of their little trio. But still, Rafael was not immune to the naïveté that accompanies first love.

So when Rafael left for Harvard, they tried to make it work. Yelina broke things off, during winter break his second year at Harvard telling him she couldn’t handle long distance and that all she needed was in New York anyway. And then, at Eddie’s family’s Nochebuena party, he caught Alex and Yelina hooking up on the fire escape. Eddie eventually confessed that the pair had been hooking up the entire time Rafael had been away.

After getting his heart all twisted with Yelina back at home, he threw himself into his studies - he was ready to prove everyone wrong. That he too, could accomplish great things and give back to the community. Then, by happenstance that spring semester, in Economic Analysis, he saw you. You were the prettiest girl in the whole class. So when your professor said that you needed help with finals, he jumped at the chance to help.

To his delight, you had a crush on him too - you made it known when you kissed him in the library. You were the complete opposite of Yelina. Unlike Yelina, you were unbelievingly kind and didn’t seem to have a mean bone at all in your body - not that you were a pushover; you held your own. Rafael knew that from the times you and him did argue. But you both always talked out; things never lasted long. But there was something about this - he wasn’t sure if the two of you would recover from. He hoped he was wrong.

Your heart pounded as you approached the table. Rafael looked remorseful and he stood up, as you got closer.

“You look nice,” Rafael replied softly.

You cocked your brow at him. “That’s what you’re opening with?” You sighed in frustration and sat down. “Thanks for the coffee.”

You wrapped your hands around the still hot mug and lifted it to your lips.

“I'm sorry,” Rafael apologized. “I'm sorry that I acted like a prick. I'm sorry that I lost my cool. And I am sorry for accusing you of something and not talking to you about it.”

“I’m sorry for throwing my beer at you,” you apologized in return. “So, what do we do now?” you asked softly. “You hurt me.”

“I don't want you to leave. I wanna make things different,” Rafael replied.

“What the hell was that by the way?” you asked.

Rafael reached for the picture and with his index and middle finger, pushed it your way.

“That’s Yelina. We broke up last semester. She cheated on me. I thought I was over it. Really, I did. But then I saw you with Mike. I don’t know. It brought up a lot of unresolved issues. He kept going on about how what a great person you are-.”

“He’s not wrong you know,” you replied, with a wink.

“I was afraid I’d lose you,” Rafael exhaled.

“I need transparency. You need to tell me about these things, so we can talk to them like adults,” you replied staring hard at the picture. “Besides, I was only helping Mike with finals. You can trust me. He has a girlfriend at Bowdoin, by the way.”

Rafael nodded. “I’m sorry. I know I can trust you.” He took a sip of his coffee. “Are we going to be okay?”

He reached for your hand and you let him take it. He squeezed your hand and you squeezed it back. You looked at him, and then back at the picture. “You know what they say right?”

Rafael furrowed his brows. “No, what?”

You spun the picture back at him and tapped on Yelina’s face. “The bigger the hoop earring, the bigger the hoe,” you winked as you took a large gulp of coffee. Rafael coughed, and sputtered coffee all over the table. He wiped himself and and looked at you incredulously.

You sighed and ran your hands through your hair. “Look, we’ll be okay.”

Rafael squeezed your hand once more. “I love you.”

“I know you do. I love you too,” you replied with a small smile. “Want to get out of here?”

Rafael nodded and gave you a lopsided grin. Standing, you reached for his hand and Rafael took it. Standing, he pulled you into a hug. Rafael breathed in your scent and pressed a kissed to the top of your head.

You pulled away to return the coffee cups. You nodded your head towards the exit. “Come on, let’s go.”

Rafael followed you and quickly caught up with you in just a few strides. The two of you interlocked hands. Rafael pressed a kiss to your fingers. Rafael and you were both happy to have your relationship moving forward and that this was all behind you. You both knew with each others love and continued open communication, you could get through anything.

FIN