#but that's not related i just needed an outlet

[passionfruitchris]

THE PARADOX OF CHRIS STURNIOLO'S LOVE: a psychological deep dive into his heart and mind

If you know Chris Sturniolo, you probably see a whirlwind of humor, music, and chaotic energy. He’s quick to joke, quick to distract, and even quicker to avoid the heavy stuff. But beneath the surface, Chris’s emotional life is layered with contradictions — a tender heart fiercely protected by walls built over years of experience and wiring.

How does Chris love? How does his brain navigate vulnerability, affection, and fear? What psychological patterns shape the way he connects — or pushes away? Today, we unpack the fascinating, complex emotional landscape of Chris, through the lens of modern psychology and neuroscience.

1: ATTACHMENT STYLES IN CHRIS'S LOVE LIFE

What is attachment style?

Attachment theory, developed by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth, explains how early relationships with caregivers shape our adult relational patterns. The avoidant-ambivalent attachment style, a combination of fear of abandonment and discomfort with closeness — fits Chris’s love style perfectly.

Avoidant: Chris often acts like he doesn’t need emotional connection. He jokes, he deflects, and he runs from deep emotional conversations.

Ambivalent: Yet, he deeply craves affection and fears being left behind.

This push-pull creates internal tension. The brain’s amygdala — the emotional threat detector — becomes hypervigilant to signals of rejection, triggering avoidance behaviors to protect the heart from pain.

HOW THIS MANIFESTS FOR CHRIS

He’ll flirt or be openly affectionate physically but struggles to say “I love you” or commit verbally.

He might sabotage relationships preemptively to avoid the risk of abandonment.

Humor becomes a shield; if it’s a joke, it’s “safe” — if it’s serious, it’s vulnerable.

2: THE ROLE OF CREATIVITY AND EMOTIONAL PROCESSING

Chris’s creativity is not just a hobby — it’s a vital outlet for processing emotion. The brain areas involved in creativity, such as the prefrontal cortex and default mode network (DMN), overlap with those responsible for emotional regulation and introspection.

Creative expression helps bypass the cognitive control network that might otherwise inhibit vulnerable feelings.

Music and art provide symbolic language for feelings too intense or complex to articulate in conversation.

Psychological insight: For Chris, music isn’t just entertainment — it’s a means of encoding love, loss, and hope. This aligns with affect regulation theory, which suggests artistic creation helps manage intense emotions and restore internal balance.

3: THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF FEAR AND AFFECTION

Chris’s fear of commitment and abandonment can be traced to the brain’s survival mechanisms:

The amygdala triggers fight-or-flight responses when relationships feel unstable.

The insula, responsible for processing internal bodily sensations, heightens awareness of emotional pain.

Simultaneously, oxytocin release during physical affection (hugs, touches) promotes bonding and lowers anxiety.

This neurological tug of war explains why Chris is:

Fiercely affectionate in physical ways (safe and immediate oxytocin boost)

Yet emotionally guarded and hesitant to fully open verbally.

4: HUMOR AND DEFLECTION: THE SOCIAL CAMOUFLAGE

Humor isn’t just Chris’s personality — it’s a psychological defense mechanism:

According to Freud’s theory of humor, jokes allow release of repressed feelings.

Humor deflects uncomfortable emotions, allowing Chris to maintain social connection without risking vulnerability.

This dual function lets him connect while keeping emotional distance, an adaptive way to manage relational uncertainty.

5: THE PARADOX OF BEING THE "MOST AFFECTIONATE" YET GUARDED

Chris’s affectionate actions—hugs, teasing, physical play—act as a bridge between his internal world and others.

In psychology of touch, physical contact triggers oxytocin, reducing stress and building trust.

For someone with emotional guardrails, physical affection is a safer “language of love” because it doesn’t require explicit emotional disclosure.

This paradox highlights the differnce between behavioral expression of love and emotional vulnerability. Chris is willing to show care physically but struggles with deep verbal or emotional transparency.

6: CREATIVITY MEETS EMOTIONAL INTENSITY:

Chris’s intense creativity is a sign of an emotionally sensitive nervous system — sometimes called high sensory processing sensitivity (SPS). People with SPS:

Experience emotions more deeply

Are more attuned to subtle emotional cues

Can be overwhelmed by stimuli and emotional chaos

For Chris, this means his love experiences are vivid and intense — but they can also lead to emotional overwhelm and retreat.

7: MUSIC AS EMOTIONAL MEMORY

Chris’s brain likely links emotional memories with auditory stimuli, thanks to strong connections between the hippocampus (memory center) and the auditory cortex.

This means songs and sounds are triggers for feelings and relational recall.

He might attach meaning to songs as symbols of moments or relationships, using music as a non-verbal way to express attachment.

8: BOUNDARIES AND FAME

Growing up in the spotlight with brothers in a public career, Chris’s brain has had to negotiate boundaries between the public persona and private self.

The prefrontal cortex, which regulates impulse control and social cognition, is constantly balancing openness with self-protection.

Fame can amplify anxieties around rejection and abandonment — intensifying his avoidant tendencies.

His guarded heart and selective vulnerability likely evolved as a protective adaptation to the unique stresses of public life.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Chris's love style is a blend of creativity, guardedness, humor, and intense affection — all wired through complex brain processes shaped by early attachment, neurobiology, and life experiences.

Understanding these layers reveals why he acts the way he does: the jokes, the hesitation, the physical affection, and the deeply felt but rarely articulated emotions.

A/N: I’ve studied psychology for a while now, I had to dig through some of my old notes just to write this. This deep dive took me way longer than I expected — not just to research, but to put all the pieces together in a way that actually made sense. I don’t even know if anyone will fully read this, but if you did… thank you. I hope it gave you a different perspective on Chris, or at least made you think a little deeper. ♡

dividers: @cafekitsune

tags - @zenithsturniolo @sturnsblogs @sirensdollesque @adoremattsturns @espressqe @matts-wife @adorechris @seaouidbabyx @ilovemenwithlonghairr @chlosallow @tezzzzzzzz @h3arts4nat @whore4-chrissturniolo @mattybsgroupie @smutlover4life (let me know if you'd only like to be tagged in fics)

[telling-slants]

gonna say it tom koracick kinda slays he's a cunty lil guy and i'm here for it

[bruhstation]

*Breaks into your house to stare wistfully out the window* Do you ever think that CTHenry is, at least by some perceptions, a corpse being kept alive by gold dust and the whimsy of a goddess whose motives are unknown? I do. *Puffs on bubble pipe* Anyway. I'm still holding out hope for a happy ending for our Miserable Train Gays. Iram gentlemen. Have a good day 💗

out of sight, out of mind

[mohntilyet]

i’m having illario dellamorte thoughts. what if instead of knowingly betraying lucanis he did it like, unknowingly. idk how this would work but i’m intrigued by what it gives us. illario ‘i accidentally caused my cousin’s death & can never tell anyone’ dellamorte. genuinely grieving. blaming himself. does he take advantage of the year before lucanis comes back?? does caterina still ignore him the whole time?? how different is the canon plotline once rook shows up with lucanis post-rescue…..

anyways i would love your thoughts!!

95% of what i do with illario operates on the idea that he is frighteningly competent so you can see why the way the crows plotline plays out in the game might frustrate me. it’s also this reason why i don’t actually think too much about “illario got lucanis killed, but didn’t mean to do it”, because i like the idea that everything illario does in his life is planned to the second and that he’s too well trained to mess up this badly, if that makes sense. with that being said. 5% of my brain power does sometimes go towards “and what if he just sucked actually” and it was a theory i enjoyed before the game even released. so i have in fact been thinking about this anyway LOL . maybe he tries to honeypot zara, accidentally actually reveals lucanis’ next assassination job, and zara gets rid of him as a ‘gift’. illario is horrified and that gets even worse when lucanis’ body shows up, and he assumes this must be because he spurned zara by leaving her and not having the guts to seize power.

i think we could make his inferiority complex worse. illario’s worst fear confirmed: he is as worthless as his grandmother believes he is, botching something so badly that he accidentally sentences his cousin to death when what he wanted was lucanis just… out of the way for a bit (maybe while he kills caterina. LOL. i still think his resentment of caterina trumps his jealousy for lucanis though those two things are very intertwined its hard for him to differentiate them). so incapable that he got the only person who actually supports him killed, and now he’s dreading the idea of becoming first talon. he doesn’t want first talon without lucanis backing him, and now the only person left is caterina which is suffocating and makes him even unhappier. at least he hadn’t lived through her alone, and now through consequences of his own decisions, illario has no choice but to.

i think that would affect his plans for talon because of how horribly he’d fucked up, and tries to mask it because if he suddenly actually doesn’t want to be talon that would be a red flag for everyone. lucanis coming back would delight him (talon is within his sights again if lucanis comes back!) and freak him out. i think the plotline would actually be pretty similar because of this freak out, so he still shows up to zara’s fight to cover his tracks. lucanis can never know, caterina can never know, because what little faith they have in him will be lost. like he committed fratricide and didn’t even MEAN to😭 ...corpse whispering still happens, and zara is like “ohhh that coward. he can never finish what he started, can he?” + “elaborate.” + “i gave him what he most wanted in the world and instead of being grateful, he ran away.” so lucanis finds out about what happened but feels a mix of “illario, you idiot” + pity because turns out he didn’t even mean for it to happen, and keeps his secret for now, otherwise he’d probably have to kill him.

i also think not meaning to kill lucanis would sour his feelings towards the venatori, who are a reminder of how badly he failed, so the alliance wouldn’t happen. this does mean if the story goes on as it does in canon, he has to take desperate measures another way and kidnap caterina for some other reason but i can’t think of why….. maybe a thing where illario is like “ok. lucanis is distracted by the elven gods. this time i just have to kill nonna for real and then nothing is in my way” and recruits disgraced houses or houses that don’t like caterina to do so? not sure tbh but i don’t believe caterina made it so far without making enemies lol. this would happen post bloodbath + corpse whispering— lucanis leaves his cousin unchecked because while he knows illario didn’t mean for him to die, he has no idea how far he would go to have caterina dead. teia could find out about this and send word to foil the kidnapping and assassination attempt

so ‘murder of crows’ is still about saving caterina, the illario-lucanis fight still happens, but it’s a little more hesitant and lots of “why won’t you just let me kill her? i’m doing this for the both of us”. he’s had to live with being the un-favorite, but never would have thought lucanis would actually pick caterina if it came down to it. with all of his missteps here, i think the final decision (and i think it should be like this in canon anyway) would be to imprison illario or kill him. imprisoning him is just a lot of “i can’t kill illario as much as he couldn’t kill me”, vs killing him as is expected from him as talon, and what he knew he would have to do after finding out about illario's failures. unlike canon, where illario is actually meaning to kill him and can be seen as a 'good crow' despite the sloppiness, here he's like. just bad at everything. the allied traitor houses that went against caterina would also have to be imprisoned or killed. no happy ending at all here, and lucanis still becomes first talon. now that i’ve written it out this is actually probably the worst ending LOL

the above sticks a lot to what is canon to the game (plot points, choices, etc) and i didn’t go very far away from it so it's like canon 3 inches to the left. tho my thoughts on this are not fleshed out* because i think illario works better as an antagonist character that sets things in motion !! not necessarily the villain in a cain-abel story, but a character who opposes lucanis while still not wanting to hurt him. that kind of discipline where he finds a way to get what he wants (first talon) without compromising what he also cares for (family) is so much more fun for me than a man who apparently just loses it and decides to enact a bad plan to get rid of his cousin. if he waited 20+ years to become talon i think he’d be more careful when it came down to it. if i had my way illario would be playing insane 5d chess to rival solas (insert black sails “i once thought that to lead, to be liked was just as good as feared. and that may very well be true. but to be both liked and feared all at once, is an entirely different state of being.”)

[microwavetoaster-selfships]

Congratulations, Kane! You've successfully determined a grocery store was from the UK by looking at one small section of the shelf and only zooming in and looking for the currency symbol on the price tags after you figured it was from the UK.

[zipmode]

I honestly might be TOO into horror for this English class if this was a regular English class I could do a reasonable amount of caring but I care too much about horror to the point where sometimes this class feels like an active detriment to my mental health. LOL.

[serpulalacrymans]

I'm doing well. Thank you for asking,,

My elephant ear plant has sprouted 4 whole new stems of leaves. I'm very proud of how well it's growing. The ivy yours came from is gonna outgrow its pot soon, so I'll have to go get another. Dread going into the store though;;;

I've been getting nostalgic about the empty fish tank in my closet. Thinking of getting another fish... it's been a few years but I still have the tank. I know the question of how you feel about animals has been asked and answered a million times, but fish. Fish in particular. Opinions?

Four new stems of leaves? Congratulations. That is something to be proud of! Happy and healthy elephant ears.. Your ivy is growing up well. Time for bigger pants haha. Do not put your plants in pants.

Going out in public can be stressful. If you have earbuds it's beneficial to keep one in playing some kind of music as a distraction to the world around you. Also try going as late as you can. The chances for company are slimmer that way but the company you may have can be riskier as a result. I've heard deafening headphones can help too but I've never had a pair so I can't really speak on that..

If you're ready for the responsibility of a pet I would recommend looking at your options... Fish are feeble creatures. Very plant like. Unlike cats and dogs they are entirely at your mercy.. I like them. I think they're so pretty..

[television-overload]

One thing I've learned is that if you give fic authors a tumblr poll on which to complain about fic writing woes, you're gonna get hundreds of notes overnight 😂

[justpollux]

i SHOULD work on my nanowrimo novel or at least crocheting but I just wanna daydream about go nitro

[winterlleaves]

not sure how it'll correspond to the lore but im thinking of making ghostrunner partly songsorrow or jorvik wild horse? due to uhh telepathy :')

[clone-whore-99]

My imposter syndrome really be all "oh, you're just faking having your back broken for attention" as if I didnt have several x-rays and scans and several doctors looking it over and confirming it

[ebphonehome]

Are you ever accidentally really bitchy to someone for literally no reason whatsoever and right after you’re like “What the fuck was that? That was so unnecessary. You weren’t even angry generally.” and you just think about it randomly for the next few years days and feel bad about it even if the person you said it to is actually an absolute arse most of the time but they didn’t deserve the snark on that particular occasion?

[jaejoongs-nipple-piercing]

Me: decides it’s bedtime, because I’m tired

My body: haha nope. It’s panic attack time

[bamsara]

I think that one thing people fail to understand is that unsolicited literary criticism coming from an online stranger who is reading with no knowledge of what the authors intended goal is, is not going to be received the same as say: the authors beta reader or friends who know what the authors intended goal and has the sufficient knowledge and input to help the author reach that desired outcome.

"But I'm only trying to be helpful" How do I know you have the knowledge and literary skill for you to be able to actaully do that when we don't know each other and you are essentially a stranger to me? Are you applying this criticism based out of personal biased experience and desire to see the story or characterization be driven in another direction or tweaked, or do you know the author's intentions for the character? If the story is incomplete, are you basing your criticism of a character on the incomplete narration with only partial information available of them or are you building up a report until the story's completion? Did the author provide you with the information needed to make a fully informed criticism?

Have you discussed with the author what their plans are or are you assuming them based off the narration, especially if the narration is proven or implied to be unreliable or missing key points of the plot? Are you unbiased enough to help them reach their desired outcome for the characters and story regardless of your personal feelings towards the characters/antagonists and setting? Can you handle being told your specific input isn't wanted because you're a reader and/or have no written anything relating to their genre or topic? Do you understand and respect that the author's personal experiences might influence their writing and make it different than how you would have done it personally? Do you understand if an author only wants input from a specific demographic relating to their story?

If it's for fanfiction or other hobby media, are you holding a free hobby to a professional standard? Are you trying to give criticism because you feel like the author has produced 'subpar job performance' of their fic? Are you viewing their work as a personal intimate outlet or something that must conform with mass media? Are you applying rules and guidelines when the fic is shared for simple sharing sake? Is your criticism worded appropriately and focused on the parts where the author has requested input on rather than a general dismissal and or disapproval?

Have you put yourself in a place where you assumed you have the input needed for the story to evolve better, or have you asked what the author needs and what they're having trouble with? Can you handle having your criticism rejected if the author decides their story doesn't need the change and not take it as a personal offense against your character? Are you crossing that boundary because you think you are doing the author a favor? Are you trying to be helpful, or do you just want to be?

I think sometimes when people hear authors go 'please don't give me unsolicited writing advice or criticism' they automatically chalk it up to 'this author doesn't want ANY constructive feedback on their stuff at all' and not "i already have trusted individuals who will help me with my writing goals and- hey i don't know you like that, please stop acting so overly familiar with me'

[dravidious]

"Mono-red is best" "Mono-black is best" Foolish mutterings from foolish fools too foolish to understand their own foolishness. Don't you see? Can't you feel it in the air? This standard is the season...

... of black-red artifact sacrifice.

[brokenmenswhore]

release | jacaerys velaryon

pairing: jacaerys velaryon x fem!reader

summary: jace is on the brink of snapping and lashing out toward his mother and her council for their lack of action against the greens, so you give him another outlet for his frustration

warnings: smut (MDNI 18+), rough sex, jace is a lil rough & feral in this one, threats (reader consents but may appear as dubcon)

────── ☾ ──────

“And what of those who sent him?” Jacaerys snapped, questioning his mother as they buried yet another body.

He was angry. He couldn’t help but lose people. Everyone around him kept fleeing or dying, and he tried desperately to hold his tongue, but his patience was slipping. War was inevitable, and he was frustrated at his mother’s lack of action toward the opposing force. He wanted revenge, retaliation, and most of all, he wanted to be the one to give it.

As the eldest son, however, he tried not to cause a scene, knowing he played an important role in this war, and hoping that his silence and unwavering support of his mother’s decisions would breed the proper trust that was needed to allow him more involvement and access in the war.

He was evidently tense at council meetings. His tongue was becoming sharper with each sentence related to the war. He couldn’t help it. He pushed through the doors to your chambers, angry and frustrated from the events of the day.

He stopped short when he saw you turn in your chair to face him. Taking a deep breath, the tension in his body dropped. “I need a hug.”

You smiled, standing and approaching him, wrapping your arms around his waist. You remained a step lower than him in the entrance. He rested his chin on the top of your head.

“I just don’t understand why she won’t do anything,” he began, “I know she doesn’t want this war. I don’t want this war, but it’s happening. We have all lost so much, and it will not stop. Why won’t she do something?”

“Perhaps she believes it can still be avoided,” you responded.

“How much blood from my family must be split before she realizes it can’t?”

Your heart ached for him. You wanted to hold him in the hug forever, curing all his pain and never letting him out of the room.

“I’m sorry, Jacaerys.”

“It is not a fault of yours,” he replied, “it is just exhausting. I wish for a break from all of this, even if just momentary. I feel as if any moment, I may break, and I do not wish to take these frustrations out on my mother or her council. It would only cause the situation to worsen.”

You looked up at him, “then take it out on me.”

“What?”

“Take your frustrations out on me, Jace.”

“You do not deserve such treatment.”

You sighed, “but I am asking for it. Allow yourself to have an outlet. Why else am I here?”

Jacaerys was bewildered, “you are not here for me to take my anger out on. I would not do such a thing.”

“I wish for you to relax. I would not speak the offer if I did not mean it. Please, Jace.”

Jace leaned down to kiss you, initiating a sweet, intimate kiss before his frustrations took over and he deepened the kiss, gripping your thighs, causing you to jump and wrap your legs around his waist. He continued to kiss you as you clung to his shoulders, his steps towards the bed shaking you and causing you to nearly fall.

The Velaryon prince was usually quite nice to you, making sure to take things slow and constantly checking in on your comfort and pleasure. He would typically slowly drop your back onto the mattress, but tonight, he quite literally pushed you down, keeping your legs wrapped around his waist as he kissed you into the mattress.

You moaned at the eagerness of it all, Jace’s hands running up and down your side, gripping your waist and pushing your hips down, until your legs were no longer wrapped around his body. Never breaking the kiss, he lifted up your nightdress, his fingers finding their way under your small clothes, not giving you time to ease into it as he began roughly rubbing circles on your clit.

You squealed into the kiss. Jace moved to begin sucking bruises into your neck, his hair falling in front of his face, as he continued to rub you. You couldn’t help but moan, trying your hardest to remain as quiet as possible, since his little brother’s chambers were just a wall away.

“He’s not here,” Jace groaned.

You could barely speak. “What?”

“He’s not in his chambers. He’s out with Arrax. Stop holding back,” Jace demanded, “wanna hear what I’m doing to you.”

This controlling nature was a change, but you didn’t mind it at all. You stopped trying to quiet yourself, a moan of his name leaving your lips as he pushed a finger into you.

“That’s it,” he cooed, “you sound so pretty.”

“T-thank you,” you responded.

Jacaerys didn’t stop curling his finger inside of you, but giggled, “did you just thank me?”

“Mhm,” you moaned.

“You’re too cute,” he said, breaking his frustrated and controlling demeanor for a second, the compliment making your heart swell as he continued to fuck you with his fingers.

He felt you start to squeeze, and he immediately pulled his hand away from you. You sighed in disappointment.

He lifted you from under your arms, shifting you so you were sitting up, as he began to undo his breeches.

“I just wish I could go to King’s Landing,” he started, pushing his small clothes down and allowing his cock to be free, “I’d kill every last one of them.”

He gripped your hair, pushing your face down until it was level with his cock. “Open.”

You did as he told you, opening your mouth as he pushed his cock into your mouth, immediately hitting the back of your throat. He was big, too big to fit completely in your mouth, but you were getting better and better at breathing through your nose to avoid gagging around his cock.

“Not today,” he sighed, “stop holding back or I’ll fuck it out of your throat.”

You listened to him, forgetting everything you know about avoiding gagging, and allowing him to direct your head up and down, his cock hitting the back of your throat with every single thrust. You gagged and choked around him, but he didn’t let up.

“They think they’re so big and bad,” he said, breathy from the pleasure of your mouth around him, “if only they were around me. I could take all of them. I could end their whole fucking line.”

He began to thrust his hips at a vicious pace. You had no choice but to take it, trying your best to continue sucking and swirling your tongue around the head of his cock as he fucked your mouth mercilessly.

“I’d end their whole. fucking. line,” he said again, speaking through each thrust and throwing his head back in pleasure.

“Fuck, get up, I’m not done with you yet,” he commanded, pulling you off of him to stop himself from coming before he wanted to.

You didn’t dare adjust your position without his say so. You sat there waiting for him to put you where he wanted you. He flipped your body over, pressing your face into the pillow as he pulled your hips up to meet his. He took both of your wrists in one hand, locking them behind your back as his other hand guided his cock into your entrance and then moved to your waist as he started rocking into you, pushing you further and further into the mattress.

Your body folded and became weak, as much of you falling into the bed as was possible, the only thing keeping your hips upward was the rough grip Jacaerys had on them. You whined and moaned, your entire body rocking forward with each snap of his hips.

“Seven hells,” he breathed out, his pace never relenting, “are you still okay?”

“Mhm,” you moaned out, unable to form a coherent sentence.

“Shit, I hate not being able to hear you,” he said, pulling out of you and flipping your body so you were flat on the mattress, facing him. “That’s better,” he smiled, immediately fucking back into you with no warning.

You cried out, grabbing his face and kissing him through the intensity. He grunted into the kiss, having never fucked you, or anyone for that matter, this hard before. All of his pent up rage and frustration was being taken out on your cunt.

Your back arched off the mattress, Jace taking the opportunity to wrap an arm around your waist, holding you even closer to him.

He spoke with every thrust, “I. Want. Revenge.”

“I k-know,” you moaned out.

“I. Want. Fucking. Revenge.”

It was overwhelming, and the intensity with which he was fucking you started to make your head cloudy. “J- Jace, it’s too m-“

Jacaerys cut you off by kissing you, doing everything he can to stop your words. “You can take it, baby.”

“I c-“ the pressure was so intense. You could feel your walls start to squeeze around his cock, and his pace was relentless.

“You can,” he said, looking directly into your eyes, “and you will.”

You nodded and let him continue splitting you open on his cock, dropping your waist down to the mattress again as he fucked into you, hands rough on your waist as they pushed you down.

Your eyes filled with tears. Jacaerys had never seen you like this, crying from the intensity, sweat sticking your hair to your forehead as you writhed under him. He didn’t know he was capable of making you feel like this, and he didn’t know you would look so fucking pretty as a result.

“Fuck, baby,” he growled, “I’m close.”

You couldn’t even respond, you just continued to whine and moan under him, watching his face contort as he released inside of you. The final few thrusts of his hips were cruel, his large length hitting that spongy spot inside of you that made you see stars. Through his high, he could feel you close, and he forced himself to continue pushing in and out of you until you met your climax.

Your legs shook as a wave of pleasure washed over you, your entire body eventually melting into the bed with weakness. Jace waited a moment before pulling out of you, kissing you as he did so.

You tried hard to catch your breath, but it took you longer than you anticipated. Jace, ever so attentive, looked down at you and asked, “you okay?”

You couldn’t help but smile. “I should start making you mad.”