#baker!oc

[bottlesofrouge]

on one condition.

harry styles x original character

part seven.

word count: 13.3K

warnings: none!

26 AUGUST 2018

lynn sits at the breakfast bar while kathleen hovers over the stove, a cup of coffee set next to each of them. it’s quiet between the two, and the only thing that can be heard is the occasional faint scraping of the spatula against the metal pan every time her mother reaches over to flip a pancake.

it’s a rare sight to see the woman cooking breakfast instead of having her nose buried deep in her macbook screen, but according to her sisters, there hasn’t been a morning since they returned from the beach that kathleen hasn’t woken them up with breakfast on the table. she was trying to be a better mother. lynn could see it in the way she randomly called to check in and the way she rarely asked for favors anymore.

lynn would be lying if she said she wasn’t at least a little sad that she never got this version of her mother, but as long as her sisters did, she could never complain. plus, all of her meetings with dr. agard made lynn come to the realization that their relationship is a two way street. if she ever wanted it to get better, she’d have to put in an effort, too.

however, her effort isn’t the same. of course lynn answers the quick phone calls and attends the new family dinners, but what she really needs to work on is forgiving peter and getting rid of the resentment she holds for her mother that came when the woman took him back. she always thought her father’s absence never bothered her, but it did and she hated the fact that he was able to waltz into her life like it was just another tuesday. like the decade he spent pretending she didn’t exist meant absolutely nothing at all.

after this week’s wednesday family dinner, the two women sat on the back porch until the early hours of morning, each consuming enough red wine to probably fill a kiddie pool. lynn didn’t really mean to stay up that late nor did she mean to drink that much, but once her mother started to cry into her glass with long apologies about how she’s treated her, she decided that a few extra glasses wouldn’t hurt. 

the dinner took place after a three hour long impromptu session with dr. agard. harry had made a comment about her crows feet and smile lines earlier in the week, and it kind of sent her whole world tumbling.

really, lynn had mentioned them first. she caught her reflection in the door of harry’s freshly scrubbed microwave (courtesy of her), and thumbed at the obvious indentations permanently etched into her skin before mumbling something under her breath about needing to invest in botox.

“don’t,” harry had replied with his face buried deep in his refrigerator, a soapy rag in hand. “means you’ve been happy.”

and then he turned around and started talking about finally finding that lime he had been missing all week. lynn wasn’t really paying attention after he had her facing a gut-wrenching reality literally seconds prior, but apparently the finding called for tequila shots, and she wasn’t going to be one to disagree.

lynn spent so much time being miserable and hating her family life, but she never really stopped to think about the good parts of it. sure, she hated the fact that her dad came back, but without him, she wouldn’t have her little sisters that she loves so so so much.  

the chocolate bars she buys for jane after every recital were the exact same ones that kathleen used to leave out on the counter for her when she had a chorus concert, and sometimes when she wakes up in her bed surrounded by jane and amelia, a piece of her is transported back to being four years old, tucked under kathleen’s arm with a vcr tape of casper playing on the television.

her mom would take her out at least once a month and buy her whatever she needed. whatever she wanted, really. they’d go on expensive vacations every year, and when younger lynn came home crying because she loved the beach so much, kathleen bought the condo they stayed in. it wasn’t even for sale.

so after talking with dr. agard until her throat felt raw, lynn realized that her mom spent her entire life trying to give her the financial security that she didn’t have when she was growing up. her parents didn’t come into money until later in life (after all of their kids were grown), and lynn was left with every cent of it anyways.

so, after a few glasses of wine, lynn told her mother that all she wanted growing up was for her to just be present, and kathleen has been trying to fix that ever since. 

she hosts weekly family dinners and invites lynn to morning coffee. she drops jane off at school instead of making her take the bus and spends hours after work in an abandoned shopping mall’s parking lot teaching amelia how to drive. she helps the girls get ready in the mornings and she’s there tucking them into bed every night, and even if it’s too late for lynn and maybe amelia, at least jane gets all of her.

it was such an odd situation to be in. she sometimes finds herself feeling jealous of jane as she’s getting a children’s book read to her at bedtime. lynn wishes that she could remember those kinds of parts of her childhood. the soft moments with kathleen were rare growing up, but they existed in faint memories and nostalgic feelings and… well, that would just have to be enough.

she felt so many different things every time she dissected her childhood with her therapist. there used to be so much grief and disappointment and anger, but now, she found herself looking back on it in a positive light. little lynn didn’t get all of kathleen, but she did get all of elena and that was something she’ll be eternally grateful for.

her family life wasn’t the only topic of discussion when she met with dr. agard. recently, lynn’s found that she was bringing up harry more and more, especially now that he was seeing oliver.

she thought their night together would be awkward, but harry simply changed into a pair of her shorts and got under the covers. his eyes were closed, and lynn could tell he was sleeping again by his long, deep breaths. she had never seen him so tired.

once lynn climbed into her side, harry rolled over and pulled her into his chest like it was a reflex. his lips pressed against her shoulders a few times, and then she felt his hand sink under the fabric of her old tshirt, his fingers roaming over the bare skin of her stomach. for a split second, part of her wished they would dip down under the waistband of her underwear just like they had a month ago. a bigger, more sane part of her told her to close her eyes, so she did, falling asleep in what felt like seconds.

the next morning, she woke up to his fingers sliding down her arm until they reached the inside of her wrist, thumb gently pressing into her pulse point. it’s something she’s only caught him doing once before, but lynn suspects it’s something he does every time they wake up next to one another. a content sigh fell from his lips after a few moments, and then he tried to wake her up with soft shoulder kisses and promises of fruity pancakes covered in sugary, sweet syrup. 

remembering that time had her stupidly standing outside of his apartment with their usual chinese orders a few days later, but just as she turned back to get the forgotten wine bottle in her car, the elevator arrived with a very pretty boy inside. he was smothering his lips in some kind of menthol chapstick that lynn could smell as soon as the doors had opened.

the boy offered her a smile before stepping out, and lynn watched with a heavy chest as he made his way to harry’s front door. he didn't even knock. instead, he used the key on his keyring, and lynn’s stomach twisted at the sight. 

oliver. 

“honey, i’m home,” he sung into the apartment with a laugh.

honey. home. oh, she was going to be sick.

and she was, not even five minutes later. lynn lost whatever was left of her lunch in the communal trashcan right in front of the complex. the guilt scorching her skin like a bad sunburn.

the suffocating feeling found her again a few days later when harry stood in front of the glass door of the bakery. when lynn saw him, he was beaming. the grin on his lips looked like it was making his cheeks ache. he had two to-go cups from the café in one hand, and when lynn unlocked the door for him, his free hand was thrown around her neck to pull her into him. 

“evy,” he sighs into her hair. “i’m so, so happy to see you.”

“hmm, and why’s that?” she pulls away to look at him, and harry offers her a cup with a messy e.a. written on the lid. the handwriting matches the one she often found on post it notes and grocery lists stuck to harry’s refrigerator, and when she looks down at his, she can’t help but notice the way the ‘h.s.’ is written in nora’s neat handwriting. “wait, let me guess. you want another chocolate cupcake.”

“ha ha,” he deadpans. “no, that’s not—actually, if you’re offering i wouldn’t say no.”

“depends. what’s the occasion?”

“my paintings sold,” his cheek caves in like he was biting it to stop his growing smile and something inside of lynn makes her itch to press her lips into the indentation. “someone in raleigh bought them for like… an insane amount.”

“harry,” a matching small smile’s fighting to make its way on her face. “that’s so exciting.”

“i know,” his fingers are holding her elbow, and he takes a step back, eyes raking over her frame like he’s taking her in. she’s only wearing her lousy baking clothes and an apron, but his face becomes unreadable for a moment and she feels incredibly self conscious. “shit. i’m sorry. you’re busy. i shouldn’t have come.”

“why did you?” it’s only meant to be a thought, but it slips out of her mouth, and lynn shamefully watches as he pulls himself away from her. 

“i don’t know. i got the email this morning, and i felt so relieved. it’s going to help so much, and i just… i wanted to share it with you.”

the two of them stand in front of each other so closely. the toes of their shoes are bumping into one another’s. his eyes are a shining green that reminds her of the fresh, spring time grass she and elena used to spend long afternoons sitting on. the woman would hold a notebook on her lap, writing down lynn’s critiques in glitter pen as they ate the cakes and pastries they spent all morning making.

there’s no reason for her brain to be comparing the feeling of being this close to harry to her happiest childhood memories. 

but it does.

“well, why don’t we get you that cupcake, sunshine?” her palms press against this chest. “i’d say you deserve one. maybe even two.”

the two of them spent the rest of the morning locked away in the bakery, before moving over to the cafe for another coffee (or two) which only made one thing incredibly clear to her. this needed to end, just like dr. agard suggested the last several times lynn has been sat on her couch.

it was easy to let herself indulge in harry and whatever he gave her when oliver only existed in her mind, but now he had a face with a sweet smile and kind eyes. everytime lynn thinks about having harry in her bed that night or letting him feed her his unwanted strawberries from his fork at breakfast the next morning, she sees him, too. what they were doing was far more than just friendly, and it was so incredibly wrong.

so, she invited harry and oliver to her family’s cookout, and to create as much space as possible, she told him to invite his new art school friends, too. lynn also invited silas (and an additional text was sent to ren when the boy casually mentioned that they were seeing one another again), all of which accepted her text message invitation. that meant there was absolutely no reason for the two of them to be alone at all today, and lynn planned on keeping it that way.

lynn leaves her head at the sound of amelia and jane arguing their way down the stairs. there’s a stack of chocolate chip pancakes on both sides of her, and when lynn looks up, kathleen is sliding a plate of blueberry ones in front of her. 

it’s simple, but her heart still swells at the gesture as she thanks her mom. blueberry pancakes were her favorite when she was a child (only they were usually made by elena), and lynn can’t help but wonder how her mother even knew that about her. the woman gives her a smile, and lynn thinks that the tiniest (really, the absolute tiniest) piece of her inner child heals with it. 

“don’t thank me,” kathleen’s moving the dirty dishes to the sink. “it’s something i should have been doing from the very start.”

✮✮✮

harry shows up a little earlier than everyone else with the catering peter had asked him to pick up while lynn and kathleen are back in the kitchen. the older woman has been chopping up vegetables for the last hour while lynn arranges them neatly on a tray.

“hi, honey,” harry presses his lips against hers, and she tries not to let the way her stomach churns reflect on her face. she watches as he carefully opens the oven door and slides in the trays he’s carrying to keep them warm, desperately wanting to get her mind off of the fact that harry lips tasted faintly of menthol chapstick.

“thank you for doing that, harry,” her mother says. “i really appreciate it.”

harry waves her off, a boyish grin taking over his face. “it was nothing, really.”

“harry!!!” jane’s shriek cuts through the quietness of the room. the little girl runs up to him, arms stretched out wide for a hug. harry crouches down to pick her up, and she sits on his hip with her arms tightly wrapped around his neck.

“sunflower,” harry coos. “‘ve missed you so much.”

“duh,” jane says with a frown on her lips. “i haven’t seen you since my birthday. you must hate me.”

“hey, don’t say that,” harry’s fingers pinch at her sides causing her to erupt in little giggles as she pushes his hand away. “i’ve been busy with school, just like you.”

“you’re too old for school,” a skeptical pout takes over her sister’s face, and it’s harry’s turn to laugh. he does so with shiny eyes and big dimples, and the sight of the two of them makes lynn swoon. 

“i’ve got a few more things to get from my car,” harry says. “do you want to come, janey? i have a friend you can meet.” 

“i didn’t know you had friends,” the way she says it so seriously makes lynn muffle a laugh with the palm of her hand, and when she looks over, even kathleen has an amused look growing on her face as she watches the pair, too.

“oh whatever,” harry rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling as he walks with her to the front door. “you’re carrying the biggest box all by yourself for saying that.”

“oh man,” she catches jane’s sad sigh, and then they’re gone.

lynn watches through the window as harry and jane walk up to the same boy from the elevator. he’s trying to balance the remaining trays on top of each other, and by the way harry’s head is tilted back with laughter, she can tell that he’s failing miserably. 

oliver crouches down to jane’s level when harry sets her down to help and holds out his hand for a high five. her sister shyly moves away, hiding behind harry’s legs. she’d never tell dr. agard, but sometimes, when she’s lying in bed waiting for her sleeping meds to kick in, her tired brain likes to imagine what her life would be like with harry. for some reason, every made-up scenario always leads back to white picket fences and sticky handprints on glass doors. saturdays spent at the playground and princess themed birthday parties. puppy kisses and—

“he’s good with her,” kathleen says from behind her. “with amelia, too.”

lynn only hums at her mother’s words. she knows he’s good with them, and every time she thinks about what’s going to happen when everything’s over, a lump starts to form in her throat. 

“i’m sorry i wasn’t there for you the way i should have been, lynn,” she turns around to find kathleen with weepy eyes. “i hate that you were hurting for so long and i had no idea.”

the girl offers her a smile, “no one did, mom. at least not until after. i shouldn’t have kept it from you anyway. i’m sorry, too.”

“you did what you felt was right. don’t ever apologize for that,” the older woman wipes under her eyes with one of the dish rags on the counter. “i just… i want to make sure he’s good to you.”

“he’s the best,” lynn can’t hide the grin on her lips as she says it because it’s true, he is. she can only hope to find someone who’s a fraction of him to love her for real. 

her mother nods, and it falls quiet between the two again. when lynn looks back out the window, silas, ren, harry, and oliver are all following jane in a line with trays in their hands. the two couples nearly mirror each other, oliver and harry looking like a younger version of the other two. the sight is so cute, lynn can’t resist the urge to snap a photo.

kathleen takes the cold food (along with jane) out to the garage refrigerator, and harry takes the time to properly introduce oliver and lynn. the boy was just as sweet as his smile, apologizing profusely for not recognizing her in the hallway the other night (apparently harry talks about her. a lot. sometimes he even brings out pictures). harry’s brows furrow at his words, and before lynn can even make up some lie, ren is wrapping her in their arms, going on about how much they missed her. 

✮✮✮

“that doesn’t bother you?”

“not anymore,” ren shakes their head. “why? does it bother you?”

“no,” harry feels his face warm at the other’s accusation. “why would it?”

the two are sitting on the back porch, each nursing a cherry cider that silas had graciously supplied while they watch their friends act like complete idiots in the yard. after jane complained about abigail thompson making fun of her lack of jump rope skills in her kindergarten gym class, harry asked tommy and niall to buy a jump rope on their way over. the old, ratty one lynn dug up in the garage definitely wasn’t going to cut it.

it started out as nothing more than a little lesson. oliver and niall swung the rope around while harry and lynn took turns teaching the little girl. honestly, there wasn’t really much to teach. lynn sat on the ground, urging her sister to jump when it was time, and harry only stepped in when he heard frustrated huffs fall past lynn’s lips. after successfully getting two hops in a row with harry’s more gentle coaching approach, jane lost interest and wandered away to her group of school friends that just arrived. the plot was lost not long after. 

as soon as silas and ren joined, harry watched as something inside of lynn sparked. she challenged her friends to the old game they used to play on the playground, and then she invited in harry’s friends, too, claiming she needed some younger competition. he doesn’t think he’s ever seen a group of adults become so competitive over a simple game of jump rope.

ren left the group just as things started getting a little too crazy. they muttered something about having bad knees, and harry slid away with them when no one else offered to. 

ren shrugs, a smirk already sitting on their lips when he looks over. “dunno. seems like it does though.” 

harry rolls his eyes, attention turning back to the more pressing matter. silas and lynn slow dancing in the backyard between their turns. the man twirls her around, warm, bubbly laughter spilling from her mouth. her hands are around his neck and his sit on her waist. he can’t help but wonder how it wasn’t bothering ren, because despite what harry just said, it was certainly bothering him. 

“hello?” niall calls. “it’s your turn, lynn. i just got forty six.”

harry doesn’t think he’s ever been more thankful for niall in his entire life. if they weren’t in front of lynn’s entire family, he could’ve kissed him right on the mouth.

the two had met during their freshman year of college, both ending up in the same fraternity. they were acquaintances at most, often showing up to the same events and parties. they chatted here and there, but harry always got the vibe that niall couldn’t stand him. looking back, the distaste was completely warranted. even now harry would’ve found the teenage version of himself to be completely obnoxious.

niall dropped out after their second year, and harry didn’t see him again until he was sitting in front of him during an entry level photography class that he had signed up for. niall recognized him as soon as they all stood up to leave. he was a bit nervous when he gained the other’s attention, but niall simply smiled, introduced him to his friend tommy, and they’ve been hanging out ever since.

“thirty five,” tommy corrects with a sigh. “no one likes a liar, niall.”

he watches as lynn practically tears herself away from silas, blowing him a kiss as she saunters back over to the group. the whole thing has harry realizing that maybe the burn on his skin was from something more than the sun outside.

“their relationship is the reason we broke up the night silas asked me to marry him,” ren randomly admits. their voice is quieter than before, but it has a new serious edge to it. “it’s strictly platonic between them, but he’s protective of her, just like she is of him, and if you want to be with her, it’s something you just have to learn to live with.”

“oh, we’re not—“

“i know,” ren says. “but i can see how you look at them. from the outside, they’re concerningly close to one another. it’s why i asked silas to move to north carolina. i thought it would keep him out of her bed when she called in the middle of the night or stop him from spending hours in that bakery every sunday, but it only had him spending hundreds on plane tickets every month.”

“so, what made you suddenly be okay with it?”

“i met someone who i thought would love me in all the ways silas didn’t, and then i realized that a few nights away and a couple hours on sundays were a fair trade for the way he did love me,” ren takes a sip from their can before clearing their throat. “they both went through some things where they only had each other to get through it. they’re not my stories to share, but once you know, the way they are with each other makes perfect sense.”

before harry can reply, ren’s eyes flick up to silas who’s dragging his feet up the steps with heavy stomps and then dropping himself right on the other’s lap. “tired of jump roping already? you’re such an old man.”

“these knees are not what they used to be.”

“you’re telling me,” ren reaches down to rub their palm over their knee, a small hum of discomfort falling past their lips. “twenty years of soccer and they’ve given up on me.”

“you should talk to oliver,” harry says. “the same thing happened to him. lost his scholarship and everything. i think it’s something that still really bothers him.”

ren nods. “yeah, i will. i haven’t been around in a while. he’s your friend or lynn’s?”

“harry’s boyfriend,” silas teases harry, fingers pinching his reddening cheeks before pointing the boy out. “isn’t he pretty? reminds me of you.”

“oh? boyfriend?” ren replies, eyebrows raised. “i wouldn’t have guessed.”

 “yeah, yeah,” harry waves the two off. “whatever.”

silas laughs, falling back against his partner. or ex-turned-friend. harry wasn’t really sure what they were, but when silas peppers kisses to ren’s face, he guesses they’re maybe a little more.

“harry,” lynn grabs his attention, waving him over to where she was sitting alone on the grass. he’s a little embarrassed by how fast he gets up and moves her way and it only worsens when he hears what silas mutters under his breath.

like a moth to a flame.

 “sit with me,” she pulls on his hand when he’s closer, and when he does finally sit on the grass next to lynn, she leans so her head rests on his shoulder. ��i love your friends.”

“me too,” he hums. “they’re nice, aren’t they?”

“obviously. i mean, they’re your friends,” her fingers pinch at his elbow. “oliver’s cute, too.”

“yeah?” harry laughs, jerking his arm from underneath her. “you guys and all your pinching. i’m an easy bruiser.”

“sure you are,” lynn leans back into the grass. her hair’s fanned around her, and she’s giving him one of her bright, white smiles. it reminds him of when they first met nearly three months ago. she’d look across the table at him with a huge smile on her face. it never really reached her eyes though. at least not the way it does now. she looks happy, and harry thinks he’d do pretty much anything to keep it that way. “are you having fun?”

“so much fun,” harry murmurs. he lets his hand reach out to smooth her hair away from her face. she’s practically beaming, and the sight of her makes his insides feel all gooey. there’s so many words he could use to describe how she looks in this exact moment, but he thinks radiant fits best. he can’t seem to tear his eyes away from her. “what about you, honey? are you having fun?”

harry expects her to nod with soft pink cheeks and a shy smile on her lips, like admitting she was enjoying herself is the most humiliating thing she could possibly do. she’d probably bury her face in the crook of her arm if he teased her about her growing blush, telling him to knock it off. the more time they spent together, the better harry got at reading her and predicting how she was feeling, so he doesn’t understand how he got this situation entirely wrong.

lynn’s expression steels for a second when the question leaves his mouth. her eyebrows gently draw together as she sits up, and when she looks over at him, harry can see her usual shiny, blue eyes soaked with worry. they look glazed over and a little red like she had been rubbing at them.

“i could taste oliver’s minty chapstick when you kissed me,” the softness of her voice makes harry’s stomach twist. she leans her head on her knees, but she keeps her focus on a patch of flowers growing near their feet. “forgot he was here for a minute if i’m being honest. i’m sorry.”

“ev–”

before he can even get the words out, lynn is pressing her fingertips against his lips, shaking her head like she couldn’t possibly bear hearing him finish. “i feel so guilty, harry. every time we’re together, i can’t stop thinking about what it’s doing to him. he doesn’t deserve this.”

“we’re just friends, evy. there’s nothing–”

“i know we are,” she says, eyes boring into his. “i mean, obviously. as if we’d ever be something real.”

“what’s that supposed to mean?” his head tilts to the side, and he was sure that lynn could see the confusion written all over his face. maybe he lets himself think about it too often, but that night at the beach felt incredibly real. at least, it did to him, and a large part of him hoped that it did to her, too.

“i think it’s crazy that anyone even believes we’re together in the first place,” she says. her hand moves to the side, palm motioning to their group of friends that were scattered around them. “i mean, i bet half of the people in this yard have seen all those girls you go home with.”

out of everything he expected lynn to say, he never thought something like that would come from her mouth. the words ring through his mind like a bell, bouncing against his skull with a deafening echo. and really, he knows that he should be offended or hurt, but the only thing flowing through his mind right now is the idea that she thinks he’s dirty, and every moment they spent close to one another made her feel dirty, too.

her admission wraps around them like a weighted blanket. her big, round eyes are peering over at him expectantly, like she’s waiting for him to say something, but the heaviness of it all is suffocating, trapping anything he wants to say in his throat. 

“you shouldn’t be over here,” lynn finally breaks the silence. she gives him that sad smile that usually finds its way onto her face right before she lets herself fall apart, and part of him wants to pull her into him and press his lips against her skin.

“this isn’t something you should be letting eat at you like this,” harry breathes. “oliver does-”

“harry, please,” and the way she sounds so broken when she says it makes harry want to cry which is so unfair because if anyone should be upset right now, it should be him. why is he feeling bad for simply existing around her?

“okay,” it’s quiet, and it’s all he trusts himself to say before getting up and brushing the stuck blades of grass off of his jeans and wandering over to his friends.

harry decides on spending the rest of the night away from lynn which doesn’t end up being too hard because she disappears inside soon after and never returns. if anyone notices her absence, they don’t mention it. instead, both of their friend groups join together to drink and swap stories. it’s nice, harry thinks, to be surrounded by a group of so many different people and feel accepted by every single one of them.

when the sun sets, the group moves to sit around a fire built by peter, and only a few minutes pass when jane suddenly appears at harry’s side with a bag of marshmallows and big puppy dog eyes staring back at him. he reveals that her own friends had just left, and niall and tommy decide they were going to follow behind.

so, he sits at the fire with jane on his knees, in between oliver and silas with ren across from him. it’s so easy being around them, and for a while, harry lets himself forget that it’s all pretend. that once he sees lynn again, they’ll probably decide to end things and he’ll keep pretending that the burning in his chest that coincidentally appears every time he’s around her is nothing more than a little acid reflux. it makes him kind of sad to know that this will probably be the last time he’s sitting in the adams’ backyard with tiny marshmallow fingerprints stuck to the knees of his jeans and aching cheeks from smiling so hard.

it’s something he won’t have to face until later though, because when the night ends and oliver’s ready to go, he goes inside to see if kathleen needs help with anything before they do. he expects to find her in the kitchen, but he’s surprised to find her in the living room, watching a movie on the tv. he’s even more surprised when he gets closer, and realizes that she’s sitting with lynn’s head in her lap, fingers running through her hair. 

the older woman jumps a little when harry makes his presence known, laughing lightly when she realizes it’s just him. 

“sorry ms. kathy,” harry whispers. “i just wanted to make sure that you didn’t need help with anything before oliver and i head out.”

she waves him off, “don’t worry about it. it was just a small back to school thing for the girls and their friends. nothing i can’t handle cleaning up myself.”

“are you sure? i really don’t mind.”

“i’m positive,” her voice is firm, but not in the offputting way it used to be. harry thinks she just doesn’t want him to worry about helping. “you already ran some errands for us earlier. thank you for the offer though.”

harry nods and is about to leave when a white light flashes across the tv. the room becomes just bright enough for him to see the tear tracks dried on lynn’s face, and the sight makes his feet freeze in place. how could he have possibly upset lynn enough to feel the need to crawl into kathleen’s lap?

“don’t worry about her,” her mom offers him a warm smile when she sees the worried look that’s probably etched into his face. “just had a bad reaction to something and said she didn’t want to ruin your night. i’m sure she’ll call tomorrow.”

he wonders if kathleen would be just as nice to him if she were to find out that her bad reaction was being near him?

3 SEPTEMBER 2018

“fuck,” lynn slams her hands against the steering wheel, lips curling inwards at the sight of the long line of traffic that didn’t even seem to be budging. she’s exhausted, both physically and mentally, after spending two long hours sitting in dr. agard’s office. there was nothing she wanted more than to be curled up underneath the weight of all of her covers with her curtains drawn, and instead, she was on her way to meet jackie for dinner, the traffic making her forfeit her usual post therapy shower.

today was her scheduled biweekly appointment at the woman’s lower manhattan office (thank god her office still opened on labor day), and yet she still managed to wake up late. the bright light of the fully risen sun poured through her windows, making her head throb with an excruciating headache as she ran to get ready. lynn wasn’t sure how, but she made it to the parking garage with five minutes to spare. she was running on four extra strength ibuprofen tablets, a pair of sunglasses she stole from amelia, and a dream.

the pair had quite a lot to go over during their short one hundred and twenty minutes together; however, on the drive over, lynn decided that the first order of business was going to be the text she received from jackie at exactly 11:37pm the night prior.

Can we talk tomorrow?

it was straightforward and to the point, but lynn had a bit of trouble responding to it. she was already working so hard on her relationship with her parents, and she wasn’t entirely sure if she would have the time or energy to mend their broken friendship right now.

(and if she were to be brutally honest, she didn’t know if it was something she even wanted to fix.)

she knew that jackie wanted to talk about harry and what sleeping with him really meant for their friendship. they weren’t really together, and lynn was the one that brought up the idea of labeling it as an open relationship, so was she even allowed to be mad at jackie?

when she asked the woman sitting in front of her, she simply pursed her lips and turned the question around, asking lynn if she thinks she should be mad at jackie.

“i don’t know,” lynn had said. “i don’t know a lot of things. that’s why i’m here, isn’t it?”

“why don’t you tell me what’s really bothering you, evelyn?”

and that was all it took for her to cave and finally spill what’s been eating at her for the last week. 

harry’s radio silence.

lynn really couldn’t blame him for being distant because she was the one who implied that he should be spending time with oliver instead of her; however, she could blame him for the demise of four perfectly good chocolate cupcakes filled with raspberry jam and topped with a mountain of cream cheese frosting. 

lynn had spent a good two hours on sunday making a half dozen of the cupcakes as a congratulations for his new job (that she gave him!), but he never showed up for his paperwork that he said he was stopping by to complete. it wouldn’t have been that big of a deal if he would’ve just called or texted, but he didn’t.

she felt a little sad as she broke the congratulations sticker seal on the box to move two of the cupcakes to their own individual boxes to take to nora and whoever else agreed to work the late sunday shift, and she felt even worse when she heard the remaining four hit the bottom of the trash can with a thud.

honestly, she could’ve kept them to sell in the morning, but lynn wasn’t sure if they’d be well liked because of their tooth-rotting sweetness. it most definitely didn’t have anything to do with the gut-twisting feeling she got whenever she thought of someone else enjoying the sweet treats that were only ever made for harry.

lynn sat in the bakery surrounded by empty coffee cups and granola bar wrappers for nearly twelve hours just waiting for him to show up. at the ten hour mark, she contemplated on calling to make sure he was still coming, but then she opened up instagram to see that oliver posted a story of a beautiful bouquet of flowers with a little sliver of what was unmistakably harry’s hand in the top right hand corner.

it was stupid, and she was stupid for letting herself cry on the way home. at least that’s what she told dr. agard right before she helped lynn really understand why every single one of her doctors told her to stop pretending with harry. while he was buying flowers for his boyfriend (or whatever oliver was to him), she was sitting alone, desperately wishing that it was her instead. 

she felt so embarrassed when she realized just how deep her feelings for him ran. dr. agard passed her a tissue, but lynn felt like an offer of never being perceived by the older woman again would have done the trick. she walked out of that office with her head hanging low, and didn’t pick it up again until she made it to the driver’s door of her car in the parking garage. 

whatever. it’s fine. she’s going to be fine. 

✮✮✮

“it was never about him,” lynn’s finger circles the stem of her glass as she stares at her reflection in the dark red wine sitting in front of her. meeting the other’s eyes felt nearly impossible. “it was the fact that you would do that to me, jackie. i felt so betrayed.”

“i know. i know,” the girl offers her a sympathetic look and a squeeze of her hand. “i’m sorry, lynn. i should’ve never done that. i just assumed it was something you two had discussed.”

the corners of her mouth turn downwards as she tries to mask the grimace that’s growing on her face. she did not want to be here. lynn tried to get out of the meeting by sending jackie a text to let her know that she probably wouldn’t make it to dinner due to how bad traffic was, but then the girl responded with a “Drinks at mine?”, and how was lynn supposed to argue with that.

it feels… weird being in jackie’s apartment. lynn thinks there’s no other way to describe it. the two were so close in high school. lynn found herself at the girl’s house nearly every day. it was like an escape from her own family, and there was nothing lynn loved more than watching outdated rom coms in jackie’s too-small bed.

her apartment practically embodied the feeling lynn used to get when she walked through her bedroom door. the first time she stayed over, she found the familiarity so warm and comforting. jackie was always so kind to her. it’s so hard to understand how they ended up here.

the girl’s sitting at the other end of the couch, legs tucked up underneath her. her hair’s pulled away from her face, slicked back into a neat bun. there’s a natural blush to her cheeks, probably from the sun’s unforgiving rays, and her nose and under her eyes are dotted with soft freckles. jackie was effortlessly beautiful in all the ways lynn wished she could be. no wonder harry was attracted to her.

“why didn’t it cross your mind to run it by me?”

jackie shrugs around a sip of her jack and coke (the first time lynn saw her drinking one was when she was with harry) (not that it matters), “he’s your boyfriend, lynn. shouldn’t you two talk about that kind of stuff?”

“yeah, well,” lynn clears her throat. her fingers grip the stem just a little bit tighter as she realizes what’s about to fall out of her mouth. “i wouldn’t know. we were never really together.”

“what?” jackie’s brows draw together at her confession. she sits up a little straighter, and angles her body to face lynn just a little bit more. “what do you mean?”

“our moms tried to set us up, and we just went along with it. i don’t know, jackie.”

it’s quiet after her confession, and lynn watches as jackie processes it, her emotions evident on her face as the gears turn in her head. 

“so,” the word is so slow falling out of her mouth, you would think that it was made of molasses. “you’re mad at me for sleeping with someone who you weren’t even with? someone who wanted to be with me?”

lynn chokes on her wine at the last part of jackie’s question, staining her shirt with maroon splotches. out of everything she was expecting the other girl to say, that was not one of them. her heart sinks, but she’s not sure if it’s because that is all jackie got out of the conversation, or because she knows if her and harry were speaking, he’d definitely have a little giggle over it.

she knows he would be so polite about it, too. apologetic that she had gotten the wrong impression, but the corners of his mouth would’ve been upturned and his cheeks would be a warm pink. he’d shake his head before widening his eyes and letting out a breath that’d turn into a quiet laugh. he’d look at her from across the room with those soft, green eyes, and…oh, she misses him so much.

lynn uses the back of her hand to wipe away any remnants of wine that were left pooling at the corners of her lips, “i’m upset with you for sleeping with someone that you thought i was with. don’t you get that, jackie? you thought i was with him.”

“but you weren’t,” she frowns. “how can you be so upset with me when he was practically a stranger to you?”

“because you thought i was with him when you did it. you thought that he brought me chocolates when he upset me, and that we spent every weekend at his parents’ dining table. you thought that we spent the night in each other’s beds, and that he kissed me goodnight. you slept with him thinking that he’d come back to me smelling like you. what aren’t you getting about this?”

the younger girl frowns, eyes falling to the space in between them, “i guess i wasn’t really thinking. i’m sorry, lynn.”

“you’ve always been such a wonderful friend to me, jackie. i don’t want to lose that.”

“me, too,” jackie looks at her with big, guilty eyes, and lynn feels her throat start to burn. “i hate that we let a stupid boy in between us, especially one that went after two friends.”

she wants to scream and cry because none of this is harry’s fault. he’s young and stupid and was probably going through a really tough time with his parents and she just…harry didn’t owe her any loyalty, but jackie did, and the way that he was so much more apologetic when he found out that jackie didn’t know makes lynn wonder if their friendship was ever anything real.

“oh my god,” jackie sets her glass on the table. “you like him.”

nothing is confirmed nor denied. instead, lynn looks at her watch before stating that she needs to go and offering to continue this conversation another time. really, she had no intentions of coming back anytime soon.

she’s wanted to cry ever since jackie invited her into the living room. lynn doesn’t think she’s ever felt so hurt by someone in her entire life, and she grew up with the old kathleen as a mother. the older woman was proof that people could change, and perhaps jackie’s just changed for the worse.

still, she hugged her friend goodbye, and shut the door to the apartment with a heavy sigh. she just ached to be home, and something inside of her was starting to realize that home was no longer synonymous with her apartment. it was better described as a feeling. one that she got when she was surrounded by her sisters, or when silas was spending the weekend at her apartment, or in florida, when her and-

“hey blondie," harry’s inside of the elevator when it comes up with a warm smile on his lips. "everything alright?"

“yeah," she forces a smile to match his, hoping the way that she was feeling inside wasn’t showing on her face. god, she was so mad at him, but she doesn’t think she’s ever been happier to see him. "rough day."

"m’sorry, evy,” his lips pull downwards in a frown, and lynn can’t help but wonder if it’s real. does knowing she’s hurting make him hurt, too? because the opposite is true for her. lynn’s chest aches every time he looks over with watery eyes. “were you waiting long for me?"

"i was with jackie," the admission slips from her mouth so easily. like saying it wouldn’t let him know that he was the topic of their conversation. "she wanted to talk."

harry hums as he fumbles with his keys. she’s not really sure how they got here, but they were standing in front of his apartment door. he’s got dark red stained lips that probably match hers and a bag of restaurant leftovers in his hand. she tries to ignore the fact that he probably just came back from dinner with oliver, "how'd it go?"

lynn thinks she’s left with more questions than answers. she appreciates the apology, but if she were to see the girl again, lynn thinks that she could really punch her in the face. maybe it would be because she was hurt. or maybe it would be because she’s filled with ugly, suffocating jealousy every time jackie mentions harry’s name.

that’d be a question for dr. agard.

“if i have to talk about my feelings for another second, i think i’ll explode.”

harry cracks a grin. one of those real, genuine ones that have the dimple popping out near the corner of his mouth. "we can't have that now can we? come on, let's get you some dinner and a sweet treat."

she's standing nearly on top of him as he toes his shoes off once the door’s shut. fuck, she really shouldn’t be here, “that’s okay. you seem busy.”

“nah," he waves her off, locking the front door and leaving her in the foyer as he moves to the kitchen. "never too busy for you. do you want a shower while i cook?"

but you were, lynn wants to say. you were too busy to sign the paperwork for the job i’m giving you. you let me sit there for hours and never texted. never called. and i made you your favorite cupcakes because i know this isn’t a job you’d ever want for yourself. and i just wanted to make sure that you felt welcomed there. that you knew you were wanted.

that i wanted you there.

"your stomach’s practically barking, evy. let me at least feed you.”

“okay,” and when she looks down at her wine stained clothes, “a shower would be great, too.”

lynn sits at the kitchen table with wet hair and a plate of steaming food in front of her. she’s dressed in a pair of her shorts that she found in one of harry’s drawers. they were put next to one of her sweatshirts, too, but she opted for one of his instead. it was larger, and she felt like she was drowning in it when she put it on. it was perfect.

despite how upset she was with him right now, lynn really just wanted to be around him. she’s in his apartment and in his clothes and eating a dinner he made for her, yet he feels so far as he sits on the couch, tapping away on his phone.

there’s no conversation. no small talk. harry occasionally laughs under his breath at something that’s on this screen in front of him, and lynn hates the way that she wishes he was laughing at something she said instead.

“thank you,” she tries. it’s quiet, and she’s not sure if he’s even heard it.

"just leftovers,” his eyes stay glued to his screen. “nothing special.”

“it's special to me," it’s barely a whisper. barely even a breath. there's tears filling her eyes, and she just feels so…much.

you're special to me, she thinks, shoveling a bite of lasagna into her mouth. he had made it once for one of their dinners with his parents, and she wonders if he’s speaking to them again or if he’s made it for someone new. perhaps it was for oliver. maybe he made it for the boy the night that she had picked them up chinese.

the idea makes her not so hungry anymore.

when lynn’s finished, she rinses off her plate and places it in the dishwasher. harry’s still on the couch, and when lynn decides to sit on the other end, she can see him moving even farther away from her in her peripheral vision.

"did i do something, harry?" the words surprise her a bit. normally, lynn was never that forward, but today’s two hours spent with dr. agard made her realize that there’s no point in beating around the bush. all it did was waste time, just like the last twenty years she’s wasted with her mother.

harry stills for a second, eyes looking past his phone before falling onto her. it’s quiet and he’s just staring at her with this look in his eyes that lets her know he’s fighting with himself before he sighs and gives in, "you don't remember what happened at your parents’?"

"of course i do," she says. "i've been racking my brain trying to think of everything i did or said, and i don’t know. i slept a lot that day. we barely saw each other."

“i was hurt when i realized how you felt about me," harry can’t even meet her eyes, and it makes her feel so incredibly guilty. it wasn’t even a month ago when he was pulling her so tight against him like she was the only thing keeping him upright. "i mean, i know everyone has their own opinions when it comes to casual sex, i just... i don't know. i didn't expect it from you."

“what are you talking about?”

"whatever you said about everyone knowing about all of the people i’ve been with," what? "and not that i owe it to you, but i've only-"

"i was high," lynn cuts him off. “i was feeling so stressed and guilty, and i used to get high all the time in college, especially after jaxon. it helped so much, but that day i felt so paranoid and so fucking self conscious after i ate that stupid gummy. i know exactly what conversation you’re talking about. i meant that it was crazy that people thought we were together when they've seen the people you've been with. they're all young and fun and outgoing and so incredibly gorgeous and i'm... im not any of those things. it was a moment of self hatred that i never should've shared with you. i’m sorry, harry.”

his eyes are locked on what she guesses is her knee, and he’s not saying anything. she’s not sure if he’s even listening to her. if he’s even comprehending what she’s trying to say.

"i think so highly of you, you know? and fuck," lynn gasps. when did she start crying? "you're being so incredibly kind to me right now. why didn’t you tell me to fuck right off, harry?”

“lynn,” the use of that name makes her want to cry even harder because harry only seemed to use it when he was upset with her. he reaches for her, but lynn pulls away, standing up to put her shoes back on. “c’mon, stay. talk to me.”

and she wants to. lynn really, really wants to sit on harry’s couch, curled up against his side with trashy reality tv show reruns playing on the tv. he’d pour them each a glass of wine, and as the time passed, he’d make them a snack. she’d probably fall asleep with her mouth open, drool pooling on his tee. he’d wake her up with soft dances of his fingertips against the skin of her arm before offering her a place in his bed or an uber home. of course she’d choose his bed, and lynn would fall back asleep pressed against him.

but she can’t, and she’ll probably never be able to again. if she were being honest with herself, none of it was real to begin with. harry was only ever being kind. plus, he had oliver now, and lynn thinks that any chance at a real friendship has already been ruined by her stupid feelings that keep growing and growing to the point where she feels like they’re suffocating her.

“i really should go,” she says. “i’m sorry.”

and harry doesn’t try to stop her.

4 SEPTEMBER 2018

lynn’s sleeping on her couch when her phone rings for the first time. it was late. the sun had set a long time ago, around the time she had gotten back from harry’s. she showered (again) as soon as she walked inside, and then sat on facetime with silas for what felt like hours. when the boy had to go, she put on modern family for some background noise, and lynn guesses she fell asleep around the fourth episode.

the room has a dim glow supplied by the ‘Still Watching?’ screen when she silences the call, deciding that she’ll call whoever it was back in the morning. honestly, it was probably silas wanting to discuss his date with ren, and that would be easier to stomach when she’s had a breakfast pastry and a soy latte. 

her phone rings again, and she silences it again. it’s quiet for a moment, and she rubs her eyes enough to see the time on her phone through the sleepiness that clouded them. 

2:47

and underneath it:

harry

missed call

harry

missed call

harry

missed call

lynn frowns, immediately regretting ignoring his calls. he probably really needed something if he was calling her so late, especially with how she left things earlier. before she can call him back, her phone lights up with another incoming call from him.

"harry? are you alright?”

“hi honey," his voice is like syrup when it comes through the speaker, thick and sweet, and lynn guesses that he’s had a drink or two. "i'm fine. i'm outside if you want to let me in.”

"outside of my apartment?"

"i’m sorry it’s late. i would’ve knocked, but i didn't want to scare you," he says. there’s a quiet knock at her door. “hear that? s’me.”

“hold on,” she kicks her blanket off of her. “i’ll be there in a second.”

lynn moves to the kitchen, using dish soap and a paper towel to scrub any remnants of runny mascara off of her cheeks. she ties her hair into a ponytail using her reflection in the refrigerator, and then tosses the crumpled up tissues that were sitting in her pocket from an earlier cry sesh into the trash can before finally moving to the door.

"hey," her voice is scratchy, still a bit of sleep lingering in her throat. "fun night?”

“no,” his eyes are glassy, but not enough to make her think that he’s anywhere near drunk. “how could i have a fun night after the way you left?”

"do you want an apology for killing what was supposed to be a good night with your friends?" she's leaning on the door frame, arms crossed in front of her. "is that why you’re here?"

"what? no, of course not," his face pulls together, but his eyes are soft. "i came here because i owe you an apology. can i come in? please, i miss you, ev.”

lynn purses her lips to stop her growing smile from showing on her face. he was just so cute. how could she say no?

"i’ll let you in if you stop acting like a kicked puppy,” she watches as his hand comes up to his chest, faking offense at her words. he replies with a “am not”, or at least she thinks he does. she can’t really make it out as she’s already moving towards her kitchen to make them each a cup of tea.

she finishes her mug with a splash of cream and his with a spoonful of lavender honey she had picked up at the farmers’s market. when the two spent an afternoon in nora’s coffee shop, he had ordered a lavender latte and an earl gray with lavender syrup, so she knew she had to buy it for him when she passed it sitting on one of the vendor’s tables.

harry takes the mug from her as she sits next to him on one of the couch cushions. he’s already turned off the tv and turned on a lamp for some better lighting. the blanket’s tossed over their legs, and she leans back against the arm of the couch, getting comfortable for what she knew was going to be an uncomfortable conversation.

“why didn't you come?" lynn speaks first, and harry tilts his head to the side. confusion written all over his face at her words. "to the bakery for your onboarding paperwork? i waited all day and you didn't show."

"oh my god,” the boy in front of her seemed to freeze, mug stopping mid-way to his lips. “it totally slipped my mind. why didn't you text me?"

"you were with oliver, and i thought it was intentional." lynn takes a breath, unsure if it’s the tiredness or the glass of wine she had before bed that made her want to be so honest. "i guess i didn't want to know if it was intentional because that would've hurt my feelings more than they already were."

"oh honey," harry murmurs. his thumb brushes over her knee as he cranes his neck to look at her eyes. "i'm sorry. i wish you would've called, but i honestly forgot. i’m such a fucking idiot.”

“it just hurt because i felt like you didn’t want to see me,” she says, lip quivering with her own confession. “which is stupid because i was the one who said we shouldn’t hang out as much.”

“honestly, evy, i didn’t want to see you,” oh, she was so going to cry. “but not because of what you said, or how it made me feel. i was scared that you thought i was dirty, and maybe like…i don’t know. being around me made you feel dirty, too.”

“harry,” her voice is airy, like what he said knocked the wind out of her. “you’ve never made me feel like that.”

“yeah?” he says it like he doesn’t quite believe her, and lynn’s heart aches at the fact that he still invited her into his home even though being around her probably made him violently uncomfortable.

“of course not,” her hand finds his on top of her knee, squeezing once, and he looks at her with one of those soft close-lipped smiles that she adores on his lips.

“i’m not doing that kind of stuff anymore,” his throat clears as his cheeks start to glow pink. “sleeping around or whatever. in case it matters.”

“well, i would hope not,” a faint laugh escapes as she brings her mug to her lips. “you’re seeing oliver, now.”

she tips the drink back, feeling the warm liquid trickle down her throat, and it’s in this moment that lynn realizes harry doesn’t remember the night she walked in on him and one of the many girls from the bar.

she had kicked the girl out before dressing harry in a pair of boxers and a t-shirt that she had found on the floor, and then lynn laid with him in those sheets for what felt like hours. not once did the fact that he had just fucked another girl in between them make her feel dirty. harry was crying so hard, and lynn wasn’t sure if he was even breathing at some points. tending to that was far more important than a sheet change. 

eventually, he threw up all over the both of them (even that didn’t gross lynn out). she simply showered and changed his sheets before waiting for him in his bed. looking back, she probably should’ve found the situation at least a little icky. honestly, she barely knew him at that point, but she thinks she’d do it a hundred times over if it meant he wasn’t left to put the pieces of himself back together all on his own.

the idea of reminding him of the night dances around in her head, not for too long though. because now-lynn knew harry, and hearing what happened would just make him feel guilty. even if she was only trying to convey just how crazy the idea of thinking he was dirty was. 

she wipes the corner of her mouth with the fabric of her shirt that’s sat on her shoulder. it’s probably a little unflattering, and she bets harry’s going to say something about the box of tissues sitting mere feet from her. 

just get a fucking napkin. 

she can practically envision the words leaving his lips. instead, he reaches out to wipe her lips with the sleeve of the hoodie he’s wearing. her hoodie, and then, “oliver and i aren’t together. his boyfriend dropped me off, actually.” 

“oh, i’m sorry,” lynn apologizes, but harry’s quick to shake his head.

“don’t be,” he looks awfully happy for someone who just lost the boy he’s been yearning for for years. “it’s what i was trying to tell you at your parents’ house. we’re just friends, oliver and i.”

“oh,” she feels so stupid as the word leaves her mouth, but she’s not really sure what else she can say. if he weren’t sitting in front of her, lynn thinks she’d be on her hands and knees thanking whatever god made that happen. she’d promise all of her sunday mornings for the rest of her life if it meant that his relationship with oliver were to stay just that. friends.

“i hate that you were feeling that way,” he says. “i always think you’re the prettiest girl in the room, evelyn. y’practically light up every space you walk into.”

her cheeks burn, the warmth traveling from her neck all the way to the tips of her ears. lynn keeps her eyes focused on their hands that are sat on top of each other in her lap, too embarrassed to look up and meet the other’s eyes. 

her teeth dig into her bottom lip as she miserably fails to suppress the grin that’s spreading on her face. harry catches it though, and pinches at her reddening cheeks with a laugh. 

“oooh,” harry sings like he’s a middle school aged boy. “someone’s blushing.”

“would you knock it off?” lynn pushes his hand away, laughter overflowing from both of their mouths. it’s the kind that pinches her side and makes her cheeks ache. the kind that she used to envy.

and it’s definitely stupid for her brain to compare this moment to jaxson, but it does anyway. not once did one of their arguments or fights ever end up like this. 

not that it mattered, though. because the more sane part of lynn knew that harry was best compared to silas. 

the two were so much alike, especially when it came to their friendships and how they treated her. she felt like she mattered to them. like they really did care about her, and lynn knew that feeling wasn’t something that she made up in her head. it was evident in the way harry’s sitting in front of her right now. 

when the laughter dies, harry’s looking at her like he knows exactly what’s going on in her head. his free hand reaches for her shoulder while hers are wrapped around the mug in her lap. his fingers squeeze once and then he runs the back of his hand all the way up the side of her throat to her face. his knuckles drag painstakingly slow across her skin, like he’s trying to memorize every curve and every line. 

and he’s just… looking. lynn’s not really sure if he’s blinking with how intensely his eyes are boring into hers. it feels so soft and intimate. honestly, she’s never felt anything like it before. maybe it was what love is supposed to feel like, or maybe it was just the lack of sleep. 

lynn tilts her face, letting the weight of her head rest against harry’s palm. his thumb brushes against the highest point of her cheek, and she thinks that she’d rather have this for a little bit longer, even if it meant she’d get nothing out of it besides a broken heart. 

they’d only ever be friends, and lynn was okay with that. she’d take whatever he’d offer her now, before they got to the yearly dinner stage. they’d sit across from one another to chat and catch up. harry would insist on picking up the bill, and then he’d go home to his partner and kids while lynn spent the night wondering what they could’ve been.

or maybe she’d find someone else, too. a little optimism couldn’t hurt.

“do you want to stay the night?” lynn sits up a little straighter, pretending like whatever just happened between the two didn’t have her melting into a puddle. “i’ve missed you, too, y’know?”

harry nods, a small grin taking over his features, “can i grab a shower?”

“as if i’d ever let you into my bed with your outside clothes on. you know better than that, harry styles.”

harry only laughs, and takes their empty mugs to the sink. he places them in the dishwasher, and lynn watches from the couch as he digs through her drawers looking for a change of clothes before helping himself to her stack of freshly washed towels in the closet. 

it feels like she’s betraying herself by letting him get so close. after jaxson, lynn swore she would never let anyone have the chance to get so close to her again, but here harry was, knowing exactly what each drawer in her dresser held and where she kept her bath towels.

there’s a toothbrush labeled ‘HARRY’ that sits in a jar on her bathroom counter. there’s box of sleepy time camomile tea that is only ever touched when he’s in her kitchen. his preferred shampoo sits next to hers on a shelf in her shower, and his side of the bed now has its own phone charger.  

perhaps lynn should feel worried, but when she hears the shower start, all she can feel is content. she was going to be okay, even if they were only ever meant to be friends.

✮✮✮

harry wakes up to the sound of lynn humming in her kitchen. it's quiet and soft, and she skips over melodies here and there. like it's something she's doing absentmindedly as she tiptoes around the small space.

her hair's pulled up off of her neck just like it was the first day that they met, and she's wearing the glasses that he hasn't seen since they were in florida. he wonders if the reason behind their disappearance had anything to do with the comment he made comparing her to a soccer mom.

it was such a stupid thing to do. he had said it after one too many mick jagger cosplay jokes influenced his decision to chop off all of his hair, and it’s honestly probably the second biggest regret of his life, only falling behind the way he treated oliver when they were kids.

when lynn had said whatever she did about not being someone harry would ever be into yesterday, he was caught off guard. lynn’s incredibly gorgeous inside and out, and harry doesn’t think he’s ever met someone as kind as she is. he thought his massive crush on her was painfully obvious.

(especially after oliver picked up on it not even thirty minutes into what was supposed to be their first date.)

“you��re awake,” lynn’s looking at him with a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “i made breakfast. it’s just oatmeal. i haven’t been to the grocery store in a minute.”

honestly, harry hates oatmeal, but that doesn’t stop him from sitting with lynn in her breakfast nook and eating every single bite, including the second helping that she so graciously offered him. it wasn’t enjoyable by any means, but he thinks he’d do it ten times over just because it was something she made for him. 

the two decide on going to the bakery so harry can fill out the paperwork for his new job. the relief that came with the money he got from his paintings was something he wasn’t really expecting, but it felt incredible to not have to be financially reliant on his parents for once. he’d be forever grateful that even lynn offered him the position, and even more so because she held it for him even though she thought harry was blowing her off. 

when they walk in, harry’s greeted with the sweet smell of vanilla and cinnamon. the same scent that lynn often comes home smelling like on sundays, and completely unrelated, the same scent of wax melts harry ordered off of amazon when he noticed lynn wasn’t coming around anymore.

it was borderline creepy, but he missed her.

there’s a few unfamiliar faces standing behind the counter, tending to the very long line of people patiently waiting to be served. they all smile brightly when they see lynn coming in, pausing what they’re doing to greet her.

the small bakery that harry’s only ever seen when it was closed is nearly packed to the brim, bustling with chaos as people come and go. nearly every single seat is occupied, and he notices that even more people opt to take their pastries to go.

he knew lynn was successful by the way she’s been so generous with him, but he could’ve never imagined it to be to this extent. 

harry watches in awe as lynn greets different people sitting at the tables. she knows all of them by their names, and they seem absolutely delighted to see her which makes him guess they’ve been regulars for a while. he follows her path all the way to the front of the bakery and behind the counter, standing to the side while lynn goes up to the older woman behind the register to give her a squeeze.

“hi delores,” he hears lynn say. “i’m just stopping in to help complete harry’s paperwork so charlotte doesn’t have to worry about it.”

lynn gestures over to him, and harry waves awkwardly at the woman, “ah, the cute boy you’ve got pictures of back there.”

his cheeks warm with embarrassment as he catches lynn’s eye roll before she says something about staying out of her office. he’s knows one of the pictures she’s talking about. it was from their trip to the beach, and honestly, harry nearly cried when he saw it. she had pictures of her and silas and her and another woman that he’s never met, but this photo was just him. lynn probably put it up to make their relationship more believable, but seeing it made him feel…he’s not really sure how to describe it.

harry sat in that back room forever trying to wipe the stupid grin off of his mouth. god, it was like he couldn’t stop it, so when lynn started asking about oliver, he lied. they were most definitely not seeing one another, but it was easier than having to explain why a photo made him so giddy.

lynn leads him back to the office, gesturing for him to sit in the office chair while she leaned over and pulled something up on the computer. 

“sorry about delores,” she has her eyes fixed on the screen. “her daughter is the manager, and i guess she’s started a little gossip. i can take them down if you’d like.”

his eyes follow her hand as it reaches for a photo that he’s never seen before. it was of him and jane from the night he spent with their friends at her parents house. the little girl was sat on his knees while he roasted a marshmallow for her. she had the kind of happiness on her face that only exists when you’re a child, and the angle of the photo had silas as the number one culprit. 

“i don’t mind,” harry says instead of what he really wants to. he thinks saying i think i am going to die when you decide you’re done with me might be a little too heavy for their current environment.

the girl hums the same song from this morning, and harry recognizes the melody this time, to be alone by hozier. he wonders if she’s always been a listener, or if the night he spent in the bakery influenced her music taste. before he can ask, a white screen on the computer gains his attention, and lynn pushes the mouse towards him.

“fill this out and hit submit whenever you’re done,” she says. “if you need help, i’ll be out there, helping on the register or something.”

harry nods and thanks her before turning to fill in all of the blanks. it was easy. the only part he really had to pay attention to was the taxpayer section, triple checking that he didn’t accidentally select the option that said he had six dependents. 

the paperwork was finished in a little over ten minutes which had him wanting to repeatedly punch himself in the face. the thought of lynn waiting around for him all day when she was only asking him for ten minutes of his time made him feel even worse about the whole situation.

lynn walks in when he’s inserting his fourth event into his new google calendar app that was downloaded after making a mental promise of never disappointing the girl again. she already has her bag on her shoulder and two to-go cups from their coffee shop in her hand when she asks if he’s ready.

harry offers her his sunglasses when she complains of a lingering headache on the walk back to her car and she accepts, pushing them onto her face. once they’re inside, lynn pulls out a small white box, congratulations written on the top.

“to celebrate your new job,” she says, handing it over to him. it’s one of the cupcakes he loves. with the cream cheese icing and raspberry filling. if he could eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, he would.

“evy,” his throat feels scratchy. “i didn’t do anything. you gave me the job.”

she shrugs, putting the car in reverse, “i wouldn’t have offered it if i didn’t think it was something you deserved.”

harry can’t find it in himself to respond. in high school, he was awarded solos in chorus, he got the lead in a few plays, and he even made the winning play for his football team. not once did his parents congratulate him. there were no celebratory dinners, or even a “proud of you”. there was nothing. 

and now, the girl he practically worshiped was making him his favorite cupcake to congratulate him for getting a job that he didn’t even work for.

“you’re doing an awful lot of thinking right now, harry. it’s freaking me out,” lynn tries again. “life’s too short to not want to celebrate the small things. eat your cupcake.”

“thank you, evy,” harry says. there’s force behind it. like his words aren’t just being said because they’re supposed to be when someone does something for you. “all of this means so much to me. i feel like i can’t find the words to say what i’m feeling.”

her hand reaches for his, squeezing once. she doesn’t say anything and harry realizes that maybe words aren’t needed at all.

kathleen calls when they’re in her complex’s apartment. jane was sick and needed to be picked up from school, and both her and peter were far out at work.

“i’ve got her,” harry says. “you don’t feel well, and you’ve done so much for me. rest, and i’ll do this.”

lynn hesitates for a minute, but eventually agrees, telling kathy to leave harry’s name with the receptionist. she thanks him with a kiss on his cheek and the keys to her car which jane’s carseat in the back.

maybe all of this meant their relationship was turned out to be more than the fake one they both had agreed to. of course they were friends, but harry had always thought that they were friends out of convenience. the two had to spend a lot of time together, so it’d make sense if they hung out as friends, too. 

but, maybe being there at each others’ worst and helping one another out in such big ways meant that they were destined to be friends way after their arrangement ends. a small part of him hoped that would be true, and the larger part of him hoped that they’d end up being even more.

✮✮✮

A/N: waaaaa sorry it took so literal months to post this :( never will i disappear for so long again... anyways! this is almost finished! the rest is written so i'll have it out so soon i swear

[naomifranq]

Iron and Sugar: No Going Back

Yesterday was my good friend Kat's birthday, and to celebrate I turned our OCs into a movie poster.

[harrywritingsbyme]

The Sweetest Case

a/n: hey y’all, long time no see, lol. I caught the writing bug that included follow-through with writing, editing, and posting. I just had this random idea pop into my head at 3am one night and figured I’d give it a stab. This one is so cute and will be a two-parter and potentially a mini-series. Also, the characters are down horrendous for each other. The second part is going to have my world-famous smut lol, so don’t worry lol. I’ve just been in a fluffy, very cutesy vibe for a long time, and idk if y’all were into that, given my normally smut-heavy writing. Anyway, I hope u like it…enjoy 🫶🏾😗

a baker!Harry au

pinterest mood board ♡

summary: an attorney’s structured life is turned upside down when a charming café owner shows her that love might just be the sweetest case she’ll ever take on.

word count ~ 6.2k words

Not even in your wildest dreams would you have thought that your late commute into the office on a random Tuesday morning would bring you and the man of your dreams together. You knew that casually stumbling across the love of your life wasn’t completely farfetched. But since it’d been confined solely to the pages of the books you’d read on the train to and from work, you were a bit weary of its potential.

But you were in for a rude awakening when you stumbled into the café a block from your office. You were already running late due to your choice of snoozing your alarm three times that morning, so you couldn’t stop at your regular coffee shop on your way to the train. However, no matter how late you were, you would never skip your morning latte. Maybe you’re a creature of habit, or perhaps you have a serious caffeine addiction; regardless, you were going to stop for your morning fix.

You’d seen the quaint shop on the corner on your walks to work, never stopping in, merely eyeing the pastries and deserts through the window as you walked by. You hated the coffee in your office, so there was no other option but to grab a coffee from the charming shop. You stepped underneath the pale green and white awning, pulling open the surprisingly heavy door with curly letters spelling out Sugar Bowl Bakery & Café. When you step inside, you’re immediately enveloped by the warm air and delicious smell of freshly baked goods circulating through the room.

Upon stepping up to the counter, you’re face to face with a pretty handsome barista in what you assumed to be the standard issue pale green apron for the shop and a name tag with Harry scrawled across it clipped to the top.

“What can I get for you this morning?” Harry rasps from behind the counter, a smile forming on his lips as you break from your thoughts at the sound of his voice.

“Oh- um…” You stammer, breaking away from your inner thoughts. “Could I get a vanilla latte, please?” You rush out, a little flustered at your noticed staring. “And a croissant, please!” You quickly add.

“Of course.” Harry chuckles softly, adding the haphazard croissant to your order. “Can I get a name for the order?” He adds, despite you being the only order at the moment.

“Y/n”

“Thanks, that’ll be $8.34.” ‘Pretty,’ Harry thinks as he replies, biting his lip to stop himself from beaming down at you. It only worsens for him as he watches you maneuver into your purse through your jacket, fishing through your things to find your wallet. At that moment, Harry’s wracking his brain to know if he’s seen anyone as beautiful and adorable as you were at this moment. And he comes up short.

“Here ya go.” You smile, handing over the $10 bill you’d pulled from your wallet. He quickly pulls your change from the register along with your receipt.

“Your order will be ready in a couple of minutes.” Harry carefully hands you the receipt and change, his fingers lightly brushing against your palm.

“Thanks.” You whisper back with a small smile, dropping the change in the tip jar and stepping away from the counter. You weren’t sure if you were just imagining things or if you felt a shock of electricity run through your hand when he touched yours. And you weren’t imagining things; Harry could feel it too, not that either of you could confirm or deny at that moment anyway. You were so caught up in the whirlwind that was Harry that you weren’t even stressed about being late for work.

After waiting a couple moments, Harry calls your name with your order in hand.

“Have a good one.” He says, his eyes locking on yours as a bright smile spreads across his lips.

“Thanks, you too.” You reply with a smile, taking the items from his hands. Again, your hands brush against him, and you feel a jolt of electricity flow through your hands. So no, you weren’t just imagining it the first time. You quickly turn and walk out of the shop, desperately trying to shake off the butterflies starting to attack your stomach.

As you walked away, Harry’s eyes never left you, following your every move until you were out of his sight. It was as if you and he were sharing one feeling. A feeling of excitement and hope to see each other again and simply be in one another’s presence. It was overwhelming but in a good way. A feeling that both of you wanted to feel again and neither of you wanted to forget.

While you walked toward your office, you finally took a sip of the hot drink in your hand. You didn’t know if you were biased towards the man making it, but this had to be the best latte you’d ever had. Either way, you were planning on becoming a regular at the establishment.

❃❃❃❃❃

And a regular you were. For a month or so straight, you came in every morning on your way to work, stopping in for your regular vanilla latte and croissant and your daily chats with Harry. You both secretly wished you could sit down and become properly acquainted, but the morning rush in the shop had other plans. Either way, you two appreciated the small interactions. In fact, they stayed on your minds all day long and kept you both afloat until the next morning when you got to do it all over again.

There was one morning, though, where there was absolutely no way you two could even say good morning to each other, as the place was just about packed to the brim. Even though the place was already popular, the muffins randomly went viral, and everyone flooded into the bakery to get their hands on them. In your head, you were patting yourself on the back for being ahead of the muffin curve. The shop was so packed that the only interaction you two had was a glance and smile when he turned at the sound of your voice as you placed your order. Yes, he remembered your voice. It’d be kind of hard to not remember your voice as he replayed it in his head nearly every chance he got. Not only did he remember your voice, he remembered your smile, your laugh, your presumably unorganized purse, given the way you always had to fish around for your wallet, and your bright yet soft aura that undoubtedly flooded the room and his being whenever you walked in.

Because of this incessant need for Harry to be around you, he decided to take the leap and unofficially ask you out. When your name was called to pick up your order, you grabbed the cup and bag and shuffled through the crowd and out the door. Only when you stepped onto the elevator of your office building did you see the note Harry had written on the bag. ‘Sorry, we couldn’t have our usual chat this morning. Stop by around lunchtime, I’ve heard our lunch menu is the best around. H.’ If there weren’t three other people in the elevator, you would’ve squealed from excitement. For the rest of the morning, you couldn’t stop yourself from glancing at the clock, hoping it’d strike noon already so you could dash out of the office and back to the café. 

When the time was finally on your side, you shot up from your desk, grabbing your jacket and purse before dashing out of the office. You stopped in the bathroom to straighten out your clothes and hair before taking the elevator down to the lobby. On your short walk to the shop, you tried your hardest to slow your breathing and heart rate, which was extremely elevated from excitement and nerves. It’s not like it was an official date. Right? Either way, your efforts were in vain because the moment you stepped into the warm establishment, your eyes met Harry’s, and your heart was ready to explode out of your chest all over again.

He’s leaning against the ledge behind the counter, waiting for your arrival. For the past 15 minutes before you came in, he kept an eye on the door, his head tilting up every time he heard the small bell on the door ring. Harry was doing his best to keep cool, trying his best to avoid thoughts of you not showing up or not being into him the way he was into you. Harry and yourself would’ve thought that at your age, you’d be calmer and less anxious about someone you were romantically interested in. But even though you could’ve kicked yourselves for being so infatuated with the other, neither of you cared to fight it much because, deep down, you both had a feeling that it’d be worth it.

“I was told that this place has an excellent lunch menu.” You hum, unwrapping your scarf that was bundled up around your neck.

“I’d have to agree with that.” He chuckles, beaming down at you from across the counter. “What can I get you, love?” He adds with a smile, making your heart flutter a bit.

“I’ll have whatever you recommend.” You reply, putting the choice for lunch in his hands.

“Alright, any allergies I should know about?” He continues.

“Nope.” You pop back, reaching into your purse for your wallet to pay. When he sees you going to pay, he quickly stops you in your tracks.

“No need, it’s on the house.” Harry quickly rushes out. He hadn’t even put the order into the system.

“You sure?” You shoot a questioning pout in his direction, weary of him picking up your tab.

“Yes. Now, how about you go and pick a seat, and I’ll bring the food to you? " he lightheartedly instructs, sending you on your way while he heads towards the kitchen in the back.

When you’re out of his sight, you drop the cash you would’ve spent in the tip jar and turn to find a seat in the tranquil café. You pick an able that’s in a corner by the window and make yourself comfortable while you wait.

In what seemed like no time at all, in the corner of your eye, you see Harry coming in your direction with a tray of food in hand.

“Alright, I picked some of my favorites off the menu.” He says, strategically placing everything down so it could fit onto the small café table before sitting in front of you.

“Everything looks amazing.”You whisper, taking in everything he’d placed before you. You were a little curious, though, as to how he could have possibly known that you were the type to have two beverages, with a cup of tea and a glass of ice water on the table for you. You were even more curious about why he hung around with you. “Why are you sitting? I’m not gonna be the one to get you in trouble with your boss, Harry.” You pointedly add.

“Love, it’s kind of hard to get in trouble with the boss when you own the place,” Harry smirks, sending a slight wink your way before making up his tea.

“You’ve been the owner this entire time?!” You whisper-shout across the table, a little shocked at the revelation.

Harry then goes on to explain that he’d opened this second location for his bakery almost two years ago, a little while before you started at your firm, and often frequented to help out a bit. He also explained how he wasn’t even supposed to be there the morning you first came in and that he was only in to help a bit since some of the staff were sick. Maybe it was meant to be, after all. Especially since you were running late for work and needed a quick coffee in the area that morning. 

For the next half hour or so, you two talked and ate, discussing almost everything from your families to your jobs and hobbies. He told you about how he’d recently become an uncle (which he was beaming about from across the table) and how he’s a shop owner professionally, but his passion is baking. He developed just about every recipe for every item sold in the café. Harry also brought up how he was working on a cookbook and creating new recipes, which led him to his favorite show, ironically enough, The Great British Bakeoff. Which also explained the accent.

Conversely, you told him that you were an attorney, which he was thoroughly impressed by, but not so impressed that he asked you everything you could possibly imagine about your job, which was refreshing, believe it or not. You went on about how you related to him about being close with your mom and how you enjoyed cooking from time to time. You were also similar in the way your favorite shows matched your profession in some way, your show being tied between Suits and Law & Order.

The two of you could’ve kept talking all afternoon long had it not been time for you to return to the office.

“Thanks for lunch, Harry. I think it may just be the best lunch around.” You smile, biting the inside of your lip as you stand from the table. “And I’m serious about being a taste tester for your cookbook. I’m never going to turn down a sweet treat.” You remind him, bundling yourself up again to brave the cool air outside.

“Well, since you’re going to be my taste tester, I think that warrants getting your phone number. So that I can keep you up to date on recipe developments.” He rations, standing up from the table as well.

“Yeah, I wanna be developed on all things recipes.” You counter, fighting back the giggle that was bubbling in your throat. You pull your phone out from your jacket pocket and hand it over for him to put his number in. “The Handsome Baker? That’s what you’re going with?” You laugh, staring down at the new contact.

“Well I mean, do you disagree?” He cocks his head to the side with a wide smirk spread across his face.

“I plead the fifth.” This time, fully biting your lip to conceal your dopey smile. You quickly shrug on your coat and slide your purse onto your shoulder before stopping directly in front of Harry. “I‘ll text you later…” You softly hum up to him, lightly tapping his chest. “About the recipes.” You add with a closed smile before making your way out of the door and back to work.

His eyes follow you as you walk toward your office until you’re out of sight. As he cleans up the table, his mind is solely on you. He replays the entire conversation with you repeatedly for the rest of the day and the next morning when he sees you again. You decided to toy with him a bit and text him until the next morning, getting the sense that he was waiting for your message. You were completely correct about it because he texted you back less than 5 minutes after you’d sent the initial message. 

For the next week or so, the two of you kept up the same morning coffee and light lunches routine. The conversation flowed continuously; if you two had it your way, you’d never leave your designated table in the corner by the window. Of the 6 lunches you two had, he only let you pay for two. In between, you two would be texting back and forth almost nonstop. And there was only one mention of the recipes you signed up to taste test for.

❃❃❃❃❃

One day, though, you were unable to make your regularly scheduled lunch “date.” Your firm had just brought on a new client, and you were tasked with writing up a legal brief. This meant you’d be glued to your desk until at least 3 p.m. and unable to take your standard hour lunch.

You: hey, i won’t be able to make it for lunch today…boss dropped a project on my desk :(

The Handsome Baker : No worries :)

Now get back to work! Don’t wanting you getting in trouble with the boss. ;)

You couldn’t stop a smile from forming on your lips before turning your phone over and getting back to work. Believe it or not, you could completely lock in and focus on your work for the next hour. That is, until your desk phone rang, breaking you out of your work-related daze.

“Hey Emma.” You greet the receptionist through the phone, cradling it between your ear and shoulder as you went back to typing on your desktop.

“Hey, Y/n. Sorry to interrupt, but security just called up saying that you had a delivery in the lobby.” The receptionist replied in her usual chipper voice.

“Thanks, I’m heading down now.” You had a history of forgetting what you ordered online but wouldn’t have anything delivered to your job. But you figured stretching your legs couldn’t hurt, so you slipped your heels back on and made your way to the elevator and down to the lobby.

When you stepped off the elevator and rounded the corner, any confusion you had completely melted away. You were greeted with a smiling Harry standing at the security desk with a brown paper bag and what you presumed to be your go-to latte order in his hands.

On the flip side, Harry could feel his entire body warm when he saw you walking in his direction. He’d seen you dressed in your usual office attire (minus the glasses), but seeing you walking towards him as Y/n, the attorney, was an entirely different sight. It was like every other noise around him faded into nothing; only your heels clicking against the ground and your cheery voice as you closed in on him met his ears.

“Thanks, Andrew.” You greet the security guard as you push past the turnstiles, standing fully before Harry. “I could get used to the personal delivery.” You smirk, trying to conceal the millions of butterflies swarming around your stomach and chest at the sweet gesture.

“Well, you have to eat, and your favorite restaurant closes at 6pm. Plus I figured you could use a caffeinated pick me up.” He slightly tilts his head to the side, giving you a little smile.

“Who sad it was my favorite?” You poke back, mirroring his head tilt.

“Judging by the way I’ve seen you every morning and afternoon for almost two months, it’s safe to say you’re a big fan.” He grins, knowing he got you there.

“I guess so. But it’s only because I’ve heard the owner is kinda cute, can bake a great pastry, and makes a mean vanilla latte.” You whisper back, fully beaming up at Harry now.

Harry’s mind scrambles at your comment, his heart threatening to explode out of his chest and onto the glimmering floor. His mind only races further when your hands brush against his to take the cup and bag from him.

“Thanks for lunch. I’ll text you later.” You reach up to leave a small peck on his cheek before returning to the elevators. As you turn the corner, you sneak a glance back in Harry’s direction to find him still standing there with his eyes solely on you. He hated to admit it, but as good it was to see you coming, it was even better to see you going.

As if you were telepathically linked, as soon as you were out of each other's sight, you both took a deep breath, your brains completely wracked from your interaction. The both of you were stunned at the gall on both of your parts in that small timeframe. For the rest of the day, it's all either of you could think about; thankfully, you were in the final stretch of your brief. Harry had brought you your favorite sandwich on the menu, a pastry he knew you loved, and a cupcake from a recipe he was testing out. You were his designated taste tester, after all. And you made sure to let him know, declaring it the best thing he's ever baked in his entire life over text.

That night, after all those unofficial lunch dates and secretly (quite obviously actually) pining for one another, especially after that afternoon, Harry finally made an official move.

The Handsome Baker: What’s your favorite dish?

You: spaghetti carbonara??

 are you going to make a carbonara flavored cupcake for the cookbook??

  i’ll try it but i'm not sure about that one…

The Handsome Baker: Not quite.

I thought we could make it together in the café kitchen this Friday around 8pm?

You: sounds like a date!

And just like that, you and Harry had your first official date scheduled for Friday night. Let’s just say you both were giggling and kicking your feet as you went to bed that night.

❃❃❃❃❃

Friday night couldn’t have come sooner; you two only had to wait two days, by the way. But to be fair, you hadn’t seen each other since Harry brought you lunch earlier in the week. The universe decided it’d be great to completely inundate you both with work the week of your first official date. Harry was busy at his other café location on the completely opposite side of town, and you were in meeting after meeting with clients and dissecting contracts page after page. But again, the only thing keeping Harry and yourself going was your date.

The day finally arrives, and a cocktail of nerves and excitement runs through your veins. While you’ve dated and done the first date thing plenty of times, you’d never had as good of a feeling about them as you did about the upcoming date with Harry. You couldn’t articulate it yet, but something was different this time.

Before you even pick out what you're wearing to work in the morning, you plan your outfit for that night. Up until now, Harry had only ever seen you in a suit or suit adjacent. You always felt confident, strong, and smart in your suits and workwear. But now you just wanted to feel soft and pretty. So, for almost an hour, you flipped through just about your entire closet, eventually settling on the perfect dress. It's not too dressy or too casual, but just right. After finally nailing down what you were going to wear, all the way through to the accessories and how you would do your hair, you finally got yourself dressed and out of the door to work. 

While you were playing dress up and running late for work, Harry was flying around town picking up items for that evening. He picked up all the ingredients for dinner, stopping at three different grocery stores to get the best ingredients. He also grabbed your favorite bottle of wine, which he only knew to get since you’d sent a picture of the label a couple weeks ago after he mentioned wanting to try it. Along with the groceries and wine, Harry hauled his stand mixer and its fifty million attachments from his home kitchen to the café, stashing everything away into its proper places until he needed them later.

For the rest of the day, you two were locked into your work. You were almost certain you were typing and reading faster than normal, intent on walking out of the office at 5pm on the dot. Harry started the next day's prep work earlier than normal, making sure that he could send everyone home earlier to have the kitchen to himself. And right on schedule, you were heading home to get ready, and Harry had done the last bit of cleaning before sending his staff home early for the evening.

At that point, the countdown had begun. You were taking your precious time getting ready and refusing to account for Friday night traffic. Harry was practically in an episode of the amazing race, trying to get home to shower and change, stop by the florist before they closed to pick up a small flower arrangement, and set up the kitchen all before you arrived. While he may have appeared to be going mad and doing the absolute most, he wouldn’t have had it any other way. Because similarly to how you felt, Harry had this gut feeling about you. While there was still so much more for you two to learn about each other, he thought that you already knew him so well. You two just clicked. The last thing he wanted to do was scare you off, but Harry was in love. And he was ready to say it whenever you were. He was just praying you felt the same way. 

❃❃❃❃❃

The Beautiful Attorney: i’m outside :)

As soon as he saw your message, Harry rushed up from his table in the seating area of the café to the door to let you in, on the way, drying his sweaty palms on his pants. He could see your shoes tapping on the ground outside the door window, and a smile instantly made all his nerves disappear. When the door swings open, your eyes immediately meet, and your arms pull each other into a tight and long-awaited embrace. His arms snake around your waist while yours glide around his neck. You two whisper small ‘hi’s’ into each other’s ears. Upon pulling away from the embrace, Harry closes and locks the shop door, shutting out the cold air. He then helps you out of your coat, draping it over the table he once sat at, and leads you into the kitchen.

“So this is where the magic happens.” You hum, taking in the well lit kitchen. Your heart swelled at the sight of the full bouquet of flowers sitting on the counter.

“Indeed it is…” Harry chuckles. “Now put this on,” He continues, handing you a green and white striped apron to put on. Once you slip the apron around your neck, Harry reaches around you to tightly wind the ties around your waist to tie them together in the front. “Don’t your pretty dress getting dirty,” He mutters, intently tying them into a bow. When he’s done, Harry absentmindedly cups your hips, giving them a small pat before rounding the counter.

At that moment, all you wanted him to do was pull you against his chest and give you one of the best kisses of your life. Knock the air out of your lungs and officially claim you as his. You thought good things come to those who wait as you moved next to him.

“So I figured we could make everything from scratch.” Harry grins, starting to set up the stand mixer.

“I thought so…I hope that doesn’t include the wine though. I’m not a crushing grapes with my feet kind of girl.” You joke.

“Your favorite bottle is in the fridge, " he chuckles, watching you giddily skip over to the fridge in response. And could you grab the shopping bag in there, too?” You follow his orders. You sit the heavy bag of groceries on the counter before abandoning it to focus on opening the chilled bottle. Harry watches in amusement as you concentrate on maneuvering the cork out of the bottle.

“I had a long week okay.” You justify, eventually prying the cork out.

“Why don’t you tell me about it.” He offers, placing two wine glasses in front of you to fill.

You then go on to tell him about your week, every once in a whileawhile he’ll interject to know if the person you’re talking about is the same one you mentioned in previous conversations. You were impressed at how he remembered the little things you’d mentioned previously.

For the next hour the two of you cook, laugh and dance around the kitchen. Harry shows you how to make the absolute perfect pasta from scratch, somehow managing to make you want to cook more instead of just ordering out. After dropping the flour covered pasta into the boiling water, instead of prepping for the next step, Harry grabs you by your waist and spins you around the kitchen to the beat of the music playing out of his phone.

You two wouldn't have stopped if it hadn’t been for the stupid timer. While you were mixing the eggs and cheese for the pasta sauce, Harry was telling you about a potential new recipe for his cookbook. However, all you could think about was how he still hadn’t kissed you despite there being at least two open windows this night alone. You’re only broken out of your thoughts when you see Harry turn away from the stove towards you for your thoughts. You brush off your thoughts, telling him that the recipe sounded good.

Not long after, you two finish cooking dinner. Harry let you sit at the stainless island while he plated the food before taking a seat as well. Your aprons were removed, and you two were finally digging into your creation. It had to have been the best meal you’d ever had, and you weren’t saying that just because you were hungry or because it was Harry who helped make it. You two continued chatting over dinner about your families, shows you were watching, and everything else under the sun.

“I really hope we don’t have to make dessert too. I’m in a bit of a food coma.” You huff, pushing your cleaned plate towards the middle of the island.

“Don’t worry, I already took care of that for you.” Harry chuckles, standing up from the island. He places your dishes into the sink before opening the fridge to grab a small brown box filled with your favorite sweet treat. “I know it’s your favorite.” He grins, sliding the box towards you. When you look into the box, your eyes immediately light up at what’s inside. The cupcakes Harry had you try two weeks ago were sitting in the box just for you. And you waste no time flipping the clear lid off and popping one of the cakes out. You’re so engrossed in the delicious cupcake that you don’t even notice Harry intently watching you as he leaned against the counter next to you. That is, until you set the cupcake down on the counter to take a breath and pace yourself.

“Want a bite?” You motion down to the half eaten cupcake.

“I’m good love.” Harry smiles.

“You sure, it’s a really good cupcake.” You ask again, now looking up at him.

“Positive” He snickers, noticing you had a little frosting on the tip of your nose. But before he could even swipe it away, you were already standing in front of him with the other side of the cupcake waiting for him to take a bite.

“You have to taste your work.” You insist, your smirk becoming a grin when he takes a bite. “Good, right?” You add, to which Harry nods in response.

“But you already knew that since you have frosting all over your face.” He jokes, finally wiping away the frosting from your nose with his thumb. You could feel the heat rising to your cheeks, from the gesture.

At that moment, Harry couldn’t take his eyes off of you, and you couldn’t take your eyes off of him. His hand still rests against your face, shifting slightly to fully cup your cheek. Both of your hearts were racing, your stomach inundated with butterflies, and your chests rising and falling quicker than before. You shift slightly towards him, with your hands coming up to rest softly against his chest, nonverbally giving him the green light. The millionth one of you were being completely honest. However, this time, he got the memo loud and clear.

His free hand goes to your hip, gliding around to the small of your back to press you further into him. And without any further delay, Harry finally and firmly plants his lips on yours. It’s as if your entire body takes a big sigh of relief, instantly relaxing into his touch. In that moment, you two are perfectly in sync, his lips slotted with yours as he guided your movements. After a few more seconds, his lips separate from yours, allowing you both to come up for air. The both of you were panting messes, your warm breaths fanning across your faces.

“Took you long enough.” You lightly laugh as you nudge your nose against his, reaching up to wind your fingers around the short hairs at the nape of his neck.

“Well, allow me to make up for lost time.” Harry hums, smashing his lips back onto yours. He was now standing completely straight, holding you firmly against him. While his grip on you was firm, his hold was still gentle. Despite his fervent kisses, like your lips were the oxygen he needed to survive, his touch was delicate. His passion for you wasn’t overpowering; it was perfect. When you parted your lips, granting his tongue access to your mouth, he didn’t rush to cram it practically down your throat (like others in the past had). He took his time and was gentle. And all you could do was contently sigh against his lips from how absolutely perfect the moment was.

Eventually, you two flipped places with your back being now against the island. Only this time, you were being lifted up to sit on the cool steel counter. You slowly pull away from his lips, playfully snagging his bottom lip between your teeth a little as you pulled back.

“I wouldn’t want to defile your kitchen any further.” You whisper to Harry, your hands coming around from his neck back to their original spot on his chest. “Plus, I don’t intend on breaking any more of my dating rules with you tonight.” You assert. You weren’t a kiss on the first date, girl, let alone an entire make-out session like the one you enjoyed not even a minute ago.

“I’ll have you know that I’m a proper gentleman.” Harry pokes back proudly, moving back further to get a better look at you while planting his palms firmly onto the counter on either side of where you’re sitting.

“I’ll be the judge of that.” You smirk, lightly poking a finger at his chest.

“And I intend to prove it to you.” He smiles, pecking your cheek.

“Are you asking me out on another date.” Because if he was, you were definitely saying yes.

“I’m asking you out on as many as you’ll have me.” He counters, a dopey smile falling onto his face as he took your features in. Yeah, it was official…Harry was in love.

You couldn’t stop yourself from pulling your bottom lip between your teeth, giddy with the prospect of going on more dates with him in the future. Hopefully forever.

After begging Harry to let you help him with the dishes and him standing firmly in his answer of absolutely not, you were finally heading back home. And, of course, he called you an Uber back home and made sure you arrived home safely. For the rest of the night, while you were getting ready for bed and while Harry was closing the kitchen, there was a permanent smile etched onto your faces as you replayed the night's events over and over again. You both wanted to relive it in your heads as many times as possible until the next time when you two got to do it all over again.

You: i had a great time with you tonight. can’t wait to do it again soon. <3

And almost instantly you got a response back.

The Handsome Baker: I had a wonderful time as well.

Just got in.

Sleep well, and I can’t wait to see you again. <3

Seeing him mirror your little heart made it nearly impossible for you to go to bed, but you managed to eventually fall asleep. And you indeed slept well. The both of you did. And you were pleasantly greeted the next morning with a text from Harry.

The Handsome Baker: Good morning beautiful.

You should stop by the café so I can kiss you again, and again.

After rereading the text at least 100 times, you fall back into your plush pillows, staring up at the ceiling in pure bliss. Yeah, this was shaping up to be the sweetest case you’d ever take on.

❃❃❃❃❃

i hope y'all liked it ♡

[bajingo]

Happy Global Rat day.

Patreon (for the "celebration")

Credit to my co-author @suzie-guru

[jadequarze]

Girlies on a date

Disclaimer: They've known each other for a decade now.

They're the epitome of enemies - acquaintance - friends -best friends - lovers pipeline

[coffee-and-tea-time]

Hey, I know the vote isn't done yet but I was wondering what our first interactions would be like with them all?

We can certainly arrange that!! Ask related to this post!

*Internally kicking his feet like a little girl seeing so many interactions with our post* ( • ᴗ • )

although maybe it’s a little short since we would rather leave more context for the actual posts - Tea

I read wrong a comment and thought they were requesting a shop owner when in truth they were talking about the seller, now the shop has an extra character *look into the abyss in poor reading comprehension*

In my defense, google said 'shopkeeper' was an equivalent to shop owner *disappointed of herself in non-native english speaker* but oh well, the more the merrier (ʃƪ＾3＾）～♡- coffee

ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗᕕ( ᐕ )ᕗ ↔ ♪⁽⁽٩( ᐖ )۶⁾⁾ ₍₍٩( ᐛ )۶₎₎♪ ⬅ representation of the twins receiving incentives to post

Word count: 2k

tw: yandere behavior, nonhuman yanderes, human yanderes, delusional, RIP self-preservation, written in you/yours, willing reader

-`♡´- Dizie -`♡´-

You walk into your house, still submerged in your own thoughts as you walk through the door.

"Uh, maybe I should arrange something to welcome Dizie when he arrives? I hope I don't come off as awkward..."

But... Why is your place so dark?

 You hear the door being slammed shut and as you attempt to turn towards it, a hand snakes over your mouth with a delicate yet firm touch as another coils around your waist from behind. 

"You were worried about my first impression of you? That's… really cute"

The voice of a man purrs near your ear and then you feel his face gently nuzzling with the top of your head like an affectionate cat, a rather deadly one.

"I took the liberty of checking around your home, you know, to make sure everything is like it's supposed to be, to make sure nobody else is lurking around… I'm so glad that isn't the case, you're all mine to cherish… only mine"

You feel his nuzzling being replaced by a soft kiss on the top of your head, as the slender hand covering your mouth moves to gently hold your face while his thumb gently rubs your cheek. 

[Clarification: Dizie is NOT stuck in his past or still in love with the last “darling” he was bought by. He doesn't see the reader as a replacement of any sort. We want to get that out of the way from the get go, he's just traumatized (as he probably should be ngl) - the twins]

-`♡´- Gabriel -`♡´-

Tossing your keys onto your couch cushion you let out a soft sigh, the walk back home was rather awkward, well, as awkward as can be with a man following behind like a lost puppy, his eyes practically piercing the back of your head. You wondered why he kept walking behind you but brushed the thought out quickly as you felt him let out a veery faint sigh of awe while glancing around your home.

“it smells just like you-”

The man whispered to himself, his words quiet yet the silence of you both being alone allowed you to hear him very clearly. flattering, but also a little unnerving. 

How did he manage to smell you when he was walking like a meter away from you?

His hands fidgeted as you glanced back at him, his eyes landing on your form still basking in the sight like you were some sort of divine entity before him.

 “This must be Gabriel then” 

you thought, connecting your choice with the man that just randomly started following you which you didn't have the heart to scare away.

 When the seller said he was a worshiper… he wasn't exaggerating.

Shakily, he reaches for one of your hands, clasping it tenderly with both his hands, completely engulfing yours with the warmth of his nervous fidgeting. His cheeks blaze red by the mere idea of touching your skin.

He leans down, pressing his forehead to the back of your hand, taking a shaky breath, then looking up to meet your gaze with pure adoration.

“I'm so incredibly thankful to be in your presence, darling. I'm so glad you chose me…”

(A person called him and Grier 'pathetic little mew mews' and now that lives rent free on my head; if you read this, I love your energy - coffee)

-`♡´- Oliver -`♡´-

This man is eager, that's for sure. There's no denying it as he practically drags you with him to his bakery as soon as your finger grazed his name on that paper.

You couldn't say a thing though, that wide smile on his face was just as sweet as the scent that wafted through the air as you entered the shop with the jingle of the welcome bell.

You were ordered to sit back and enjoy a cup of coffee with some butter cookies for the wait. He wanted to make something special, he said, quickly diving into the kitchen without saying another word.

You took a small bite of the cookie thinking perhaps there was something in it, but if you were his darling now then it shouldn't be anything harmful, should it? The cookie was… just any normal cookie, it was delicious even, buttery and crumbly, mixing perfectly with the rich flavor of the coffee. 

Your mind drifted to the man’s appearance as he gave you constant glances, peeking from the kitchen a little too often, it was adorable in a way, like he was checking if you were still there. There was no need to check though, he had locked the entrance as soon as you walked in and you had totally noticed. You weren't going anywhere. 

A few minutes later he peeked again, though this time with a tray in his hands, he approached and placed it in front of you, a delicious slice of cheesecake greeting you. He smiled proudly as he saw your mouth water and as you eyes scanned the delicious treat you couldn't help but notice the fresh cut on his finger already bandaged up yet still bleeding a bit through the gauze… how deep was the cut? The blood was so red it didn't look like a superficial wound.

“I'm just a bit nervous, Dear, i wanted to cut it perfectly for you… my hand must have slipped”

He reassured you, dismissing the severity of it but quickly hiding the cut from you. His sheepish smile though made you forget about it for a hot minute- how was this bulky man such a sweetheart? 

Your fork soon dug into the creamy goodness of the cheesecake, the raspberry sauce that sat on top dripping a bit, its rich red color almost resembling that of his blood. What a passionate baker…

(...I love him, okay? -Tea)

-`♡´- singer  -`♡´-

The door of the car is opened before you get the chance to even lift a finger and you are greeted by the angelic face of a man, worthy of praise and worship, smiling down at you and offering his hand as to help you get out of the car

"Hi~, welcome welcome, how are you feeling on such a joyful day as today? I hope that you are as thrilled as I am"

He says with a charming smile, holding your hand delicately for you to exit the car then  guides you into his house, his eyes ogling you like a three course meal.

"Would you like something to drink? A water perhaps? I don't really have much sugary drinks since i take care of my vocal cords, but if that's what you'd like then I'll absolutely find a way to get it for you"

"Oh, I'm really fine, don't wor-"

His step falters before stopping dead in his tracks, his smile softening in… awe? He shuffles closer as your voice trails off by the sudden action.

"Oh, Honey, I'm so sorry to interrupt your words, I just couldn't help but get closer… you speak so softly, I'd wish to hear you more clearly"

He puts his hand on your shoulder reassuringly, though it quickly moves up to your neck, his thumb caressing your throat.

"You shouldn't overthink too much, your duty here is being happy with me, and when I'm not around, feel free to enjoy your free time as you wish; my only condition here is you take care of yourself and… to not look at anyone else in the eye for too long… but well, you should’ve already expected that, you signed for it, honey"

-`♡´- Myotis -`♡´-

You feel your heart on your throat as the butler opens the door for you, as you make your way inside, you feel like you walked straight into a historical movie of some sort, if the outside looked already out of a gothic fairytale, you can't find the words to describe how impressive the inside is.

"I'm glad you seem to like the place, Amore, that makes things easier for both of us. I hope you can forgive my eagerness to meet you"

You can't help but get surprised when you notice him right beside you, speaking to you dearly as he grabs your hand as if it was made of glass to softly kiss the back before giving you a smile.

"Fear not, you can always indulge yourself and wander around to enjoy the mansion, but I rather that the precious focus of your gaze be on me, I’d be delighted to spend as much time with you as possible, don't you think so?" 

-`♡´- Lior -`♡´

You enter your home excited, wondering if you should get some fairy lights and stuff for the yandere you chose when a rustling in the distance disturbs your thoughts, grounding you back to reality.

You make your way in the direction of the noise and find yourself standing in front of your bedroom window where the poor moth boy flutters his wings trying to squeeze past the small gap, half of his body still hanging outside the window. This must be Lior.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't want to disturb you, I just thought I would be able to fit in the open gap"

You truly can't help but giggle at the situation, okay, he is really cute for a yandere, the seller sure speaks the truth.

He grumbles uncomfortably, wiggling his way inside your home. His satchel almost falling out the window, but he manages to grab it mid air. Fast reflexes, that's a plus.

"I brought a present with me!"

He sighed out in relief while holding his satchel. With some effort due to his limited movement, he is quick to lift his bag and rummage through it, proudly lifting in the air a big cinnamon scented candle.

“Some light for my daylight! I-I thought you'd like it, though I'm not allowed to use candles… I always burn myself with the wax”

(he's my baby and i love him, thank you very much. -tea)

-`♡´- Tarak -`♡´

"Huh, what a gorgeous being…for a human… I will accept your proposal"

The dragon says in a low husky voice, gazing at you with a smirk, his hand gently lifting your chin so that your eyes meet his.

"You were the one that got chosen, not the other way around"

The seller quickly remarks, the humanoid dragon clicking his tongue in response.

“Same difference... the order of the factors does not alter the product after all, we are united either way”

Even if the humanoid acts roughly with the seller, Tarak gently puts your hand on his arm and holds it there as he walks outside of the store with you. What a gentleman.

"You are going to love the forest, of course, my cave is most enchanting, but I did in fact go out of my way and make a cabin next to it, everything is already taken cared of, I know not every species has the resilience to prosper in my environment, but, well, your ancestors used to live in caves... so maybe you can manage"

“Is my home not an option from the beginning?”

You say a little nervous, not sure if you can actually survive in a forest without being eaten alive by the wildlife, although you must admit that is kind of a silly thought if you think of the power of a dragon like him.

He looked like he was about to protest your request, but just your scent in the air was all he needed to sense your feelings and give you a look as he relaxed his shoulder in defeat.

"... alright, I'll indulge you, we have a lot of time in our hands to adjust to the changes around us anyways, I'll stay at your home until you are comfortable enough to come to mine, I will make sure to adorn it in any way you please for when that time comes"

He gently messes with your hair as a way to reassure you before he resumes walking, following you to your home.

-`♡´- Grier -`♡´ 

The seller goes down the wooden ladder after taking the tape off the camera lense and signs for you to come closer to it.

"The cameras here don't have sound but showing you to him should be enough of a clue all by itself"

You freeze as the security camera focuses on you, standing there, you wave awkwardly and the camera starts moving side to side abruptly before freezing,  like the person behind it moved away from it.

"Well, either he fainted or he is coming right away!"

The seller says in a cheerful voice as he goes to cover the camera lense again with a strip of tape. A couple of minutes pass before you hear the screeching stop of a car parking in front of the shop hurriedly, soon followed by a panting man who barges inside like his life depended on it.

“I’m here! I'm here!!” 

He says almost tripping on his own feet as he shoves in your face a bouquet of your favorite flowers.

"Oh, those are my favorites! Thank you"

"I-I know, don't worry, I made sure to do a quick background check on your medical history so I don't trigger any allergies, I promise I will gather more information tonight! Don't worry"

-`♡´- The seller -`♡´

"I already told you, I'm not a yandere"

"How did you know I don't go out?"

"You're practically chronically online! It's just a lucky guess"

"My screen time is something even weirder for you to know!"

"..."

"..."

"... don't tell management"

[Clarification: yes, the seller’s is shorter, that's because as far as we can tell, he's most likely to win first place in the survey so we are saving up most of his character and interactions for his main post (⁠｡⁠•̀⁠ᴗ⁠-⁠)⁠✧ - the twins] 

-`♡´- …owner? -`♡´

…???

"Oh, that's an interesting turn of events, so many options yet the button you press is not even part of the survey..? How experimental”

The owner let out a rich laugh as he spoke his usual nonsense to catch your attention through the speakers of the shop.

"Ah yes, 'nonsense'. What a disappointing excuse.."

The owner argued with himself under his breath before he sights.

"Want something to drink?"

*Ejem* little clarification (it's the third one now in this post, get a grip. - tea to himself), characters that aren't in this survey have already been requested in asks or comments or, well, won the first survey. we haven't forgotten about them, we are already working on their posts 💚 - tea

Don't forget! If you like something specific, you can ask freely! As I said before, we love interactions! (Attentions seekers? More like validation seekers lol) - coffee

sorry for any misspellings or weird sentence structure ❣

Divider by tea ✌️ (i know I'm amazing/j)

[demelly]

babys first oc insert

4th sewergator unpaid intern cuz their parents were like get a job bum and she dies almost instantly i think LOL

[ziorre]

old horror movies night 📺

[channydraws]

Finally finished my pumpkin people! Got creative and used lots of pumpkin shapes for them, guts and vines included. u u

Also I will never give them real names.

[vellichorom]

did you know i ALSO dabble in spooky monthifying all KINDS of characters? at the PEAK of last october, i spedrun through drawing canons, fancharacters, & OC references in the spooky month artstyle for a thing between friends & DAMMIT I'm STILL PROUD of them!

so here's me flexing a little;

FEATURING! @thedoodlecorner's OCs as WELL as @tomiechu's !!!!

[r0ttkins]

Critter Al and Lu as halloween critters!

[penbwl]

Some Christmas critter vibes🎄⭐️

Al and Lu critters belong to myself and @r0ttkins 💚

[meff25]

NEFFEX - Take me Away

I forgot about him :/

He looks more tired every time. perfect

[janahanooo]

Professor Trein: What is the meaning of this?

Yuu: *is on a date with the baker boy*

Yuu: oh shit-

Baker boy: Grandpa! Good to see you!

Yuu: oh no...

Professor Trein: Hello little one, can you tell your gran what you're doing here?

Baker boy: I'm on a date gran- Right! Gran, this is my partner, Yuu!

Yuu: H- Hi... wh- what a coincident to see you professor...

Baker boy: oh right! You said you attend NRC! Then gran must know you, hehe. I forgot, sorry Yuu

Yuu: aw come on, I could never be mad at you.

Professor Trein: Laddie... can you tell me how did you meet my student? Especialy this one...

Laddie, the baker boy: Sure!

<3

Laddie: and then we started seeing each other more often ^-^

Yuu: hehe... suprise professor

Professor Trein: ...is your father around?

Laddie: Pops? He's at the bakery right now and mom is back at home with the others. Why?

Professor Trein: I wanted to try out his newest goods, and I have somethings to talk about with him

Laddie: oh, okay! Then I'll see you at the bakery!

Professor Trein: *leaves them*

Laddie: Gran is one of the nicest people I know

Yuu: Yeah, he's really nice. Now I know that it runs in your family to be so nice

Laddie: ///^///

Laddie: sthaaph you're making me blush!! *hides his face*

Professor Trein: Did you know about it?

His son: I mean, Laddie can't stop talking about them, so yes.

Professor Trein: ...

His son: come on father. He seems so happy with them. You don't want ro break your grandson's heard, do you?

Professor Trein: no...

His son: alright then. His mother is already planning their wedding, so no matter what you say, my wife and I still aprove of them

Professor Trein: ...

[edzidolka]

New TGMD doodles I made on Magma!

1 and 2 are based on my fantasy/steampunk story about adult Olivia who's looking for her mother. She met Ratigan. He's somekind of magical creature. All this concept is inspired by The Boy and the Heron trailer. I still havent't watched that movie, but yeah...it inspired me. Not only this, cuz other Ghibli movies too. Especially Princess Mononoke and Howl's Moving Castle.

I love these two characters so I wanted to make a story about them being besties xD ah...still working on Ratty's design.

On 3rd canvas you can see my TGMD OC. I called her Lilith. She's...my broken baby. She's one of the greatest inventors in Mousedom. And...she hates Basil and wants to k*ll him. It's a long story. She got that golden armor and golden claws. It's her weapon! She's got pet raven. Oh! There in one doodle of Lilith and Irene. Irene is @mintsuwu 's OC! ❤️ Also in other doodle Lilith is holding Ratigan's hand. This hand (full character tbh) was made by @wisen-widdyarts ❤️

4 and 5 are random TGMD doodles. There are sketches or Ratigan ofc, new human Ratigan sketches, some random doodles, first ever doodle of Fidget! Also doodles of Olivia, Basil, Dawson and Ballerina!!! Even my sona xD

Enjoy!!!

[kabishkat19]

I hope you know how much joy your next gen art of Anastasia and the baker brought me. As someone who’s lived through abuse her mini story with him always gave me hope that one day I could also find happiness, and seeing you draw her happy and happily married and with a kid genuinely brought a tear to my eye. (in a good way!) Thank you ❤️

This actually had me tearing up at work today so thank you🥺😭

Anastasia and the baker was one of the couples I was most excited for because of their daughter.

Anastasia’s New Life :

- Once Anastasia and the Baker got married she finally escaped her mother and started her life with her true love.

- granted she struggled a little bit due to Anastasia never having a job (many buns were burnt) but she started getting the hang of things and became excellent as decorator for cakes.

- Once Piper was born Anastasia did everything to keep her away from her mother.

- Lady Tremaine passed, Anastasia tried getting in contact with her sister but Drizella already left to who knows where for her own life.

- In the beginning Anastasia was worried she wouldn’t be a good mother (Having no good experience of her own to fall upon) but luckily Cinderella had Allison around the same time so she had plenty of help.

- Anastasia goes out of her way to make sure Piper never feels less then or forced to change herself.

- The two enjoy decorating cakes and dressing up together with Anastasia still enjoying some finer things

Overall very happy life Anastasia has with her new family and loved ones💕