#i don't even LIKE lemon cake but it's her favorite so i was going to make it from scratch!!!

[explodingcrayon]

nothing quite like planning your mom's 60th birthday with her (because if you tried to plan a surprise, she'd hate every aspect of it and then blame you for ruining her day) and when you tell her what you think will be the linchpin part of it - you making her favorite type of cake from scratch, special for her - she instead excitedly suggests you go buy an alternative from a store 🙃 sure. ok. whatever you want! i guess!

[kissitbttr]

cake testing with miguel for the wedding!

a/n: featuring a very possessive miguel

continuation from this!

—

it has been one of your favorite wedding plans that you always look forward to. When your best friend got married, she took you with her to help her choose which one was the best. The caterer brought six classic flavors and both of your eyes twinkled with excitement. The same goes for your best friend. You and her almost demolished that one special raspberry lemon cake with her, since both of you have a sweet spot for fresh fruits.

You could guess which one ended up at the wedding reception.

And now, getting to do it with your soon to be husband, Miguel, just seems like a dream come true.

"So, Darla isn't gonna be with us since she's got errands to run, her assistant is going to replace her today." You inform your fiancee as he drives.

He squeezes your thigh with his hand as an answer, focusing his eyes on the road. You look up from your phone to watch him drive. A smile graces upon your lips as you think how good he looks while doing it. Furrowed eyebrows in concentration, a small pout on his lips with one hand on the wheel.

Fuck, he looks absolutely delicious.

Miguel senses your gaze on him, causing him to glance at you for a second before a grin spreads across his handsome face.

"What?"

You shrug. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Look sexy while driving"

He snorts out a laugh before making a turn. "I don't"

it's your turn to snort as you shake your head. "Humbleness is good. But God you're a liar."

"Ah, si? But you do love me, no?"

"Unfortunately" You answer, causing him to pinch the inside of your thigh making you giggle. "If we're not on our way to the boutique, I would hop on that dick right now"

He groans at that, eyes shutting briefly as the thoughts of you riding him in the car fill his mind. And seeing the seductive smirk on your face and how divine you look in that white sundress, it's already hard enough.

''Just say the word and I'll pull over mami." He's dead serious. You could see his hand gripping tightly around the wheel.

"And be late? No can do. Plus, I dressed really nicely for today and I do not want to ruin that."

"We can be quick" He tries again, smirking at you. "20 minutes top."

"Knowing you, it could never be 20 minutes. An hour and a half maybe." You point out, re-applying the gloss on your lips before smacking it. "And that's why I'm always late to work"

"You're killing me here, Y/N." He sighs loudly, pulling over to where the boutique is. "I never hear you complain about you being late when my cock is buried deep in your pussy, anyway."

You feign an offensive look as you slowly turn your head at him, shooting a soft glare. "Excuse me? What happened to getting rid of the first-name basis?!"

Yes. You made it clear from the start of the relationship that you refuse to be called by your first name anymore. It simply just won't cut it. You made sure to give him hell every time he called you that, even if he had done it by accident. Miguel was silently pulling his hair because you can be quite mean about that. Though he won't admit how you driving him insane is sexy. Like, really, fucking sexy.

it's a turn-on for him at this point.

"Shit, my bad" He parks the car as you both get ready to walk out. "Sorry baby." He leans over to peck your lips with his hand still on your thigh. The action makes you smile.

“That’s better”

Miguel gets out first, not allowing you both to walk out at the same time because he wants to be the one who opens the car door for you. Despite you telling him that you're perfectly capable of doing that by yourself, he argues with the fact that gentlemen always open doors for their women. Your heart does a somersault every time. It never goes away.

"Got everything, mi amor?" He asks as he extends his hand which you take, before shutting the door. You nod at him, and the two of you walk into the boutique hand in hand. "Dios... You look so good right now, I might just have to fuck you out here"

You gasp at that, slapping him in the chest, earning a low chuckle from him. "Easy there, tiger. I'm not going anywhere" You scold him but secretly love it when his filter's off

“How can i take it easy when your… Girls look so inviting?” His eyes glances at your breasts being pushed up by the cups of your dress, gulping at the sight. “They want me to play with them” A pout on his lips making your heart melt.

“Ugh, Miggy! please do not call them girls” You whine, shaking your head. “I thought we agreed on ‘tits’? Just tits.”

“Alright, alright fine… You’re no fun sometimes” He jokes, kissing your cheek. “Now, is this it?”

You nod, pushing your sunglasses up to the top of your head. “Darla said we can just walk right in.”

Miguel opens the door before allowing you to walk in first as he follows from behind. Red orbs scanning over the interior of the shop. It’s pretty. Lots of flowers in each corner, the paint is mostly pink and white.

“So is this where you and Darla had done the cake testing?” He asks, hand snaking around your waist.

“Yes! It’s so beautiful isn’t it? It’s like something coming out of fairytale or that ‘Enchanted’ movie we watched the other day. Darla really did amazing with this one. Though i did advice her to fix up the ceilings a bit and enhance the structure on that specific corner there.” You point with your manicured finger. “I offered to redesign and oversee the construction more. Just to help her a bit.”

He hums, squeezing your waist before planting a kiss on top of your head. “Look at you go… My little architect” He mumbles softly.

There’s no doubt on his mind that he’s proud of you. He loves seeing you work and help your friends who are in need. And that smart little brain of your is one of the things that made him fall in love with you in the first time. Jess had introduced you to him one time when he was scouting for a new architect to remodel the Spider Society’s HQ.

He was definitely entranced by your beauty when he saw you walked into his office with Jess by your side. You looked so sophisticated and elegant with glasses and the dress you had on that time. Long hair fixed into a messy bun as you shot him a smile before saying your name.

From that moment on, he was hooked. And made it his mission to make you his.

“Ms. Y/L/N and Mr. O’Hara?” Both of your ears perk at the sound of someone calling your names. You see a man, who’s probably in his late 20s emerging from the back with a smile. No doubt about it that he is quite handsome.

“Hi there! How are you? My name is Cameron, i’m Darla’s assistant. And my my, Darla didn’t say anything about her client being beautiful.” He chuckles as he lets out the joke. “She said you are stopping by for the cakes?” He flashes his toothy smile at you, and only at you.

Miguel frowns, at that. That doesn’t seem professional now, does it?

You choose to ignore that comment before smiling. “Yes, we are actually! I mean, I’ve done it with Darla about two weeks ago but my fiancé haven’t. So I’m bringing him, so he can taste it for himself.” Your hand squeezing your lover’s arm that is still settled around your waist.

The man nods, smiling as his eyes aren’t leaving yours which makes Miguel even more uneasy. And the way he looks at you from head to toe makes his blood boil.

He knows how men think, and he thinks. No, he knows that this asshole is basically undressing you with his eyes.

But Miguel is not the type create a confrontation. At least not anymore now that he’s with you. So he might’ve to push those feelings aside because he knows how much this means to you.

“Well step right here, I’ve prepared it all just for you, Ms. Y/L/N” He winks, gesturing you to follow him to where the cakes have been displayed.

Is he fucking serious?! Miguel thinks.

“So 6 different flavors, yes? Chocolate Lava, Lemon Raspberry, Strawberry Champagne, Red Velvet, Hazelnut Praline, aaand Hawaiian. That one is vegan” He checks off the last one on the list. “Customer’s favorite always been the Praline or Lemon Raspberry. You look like you deserve the latter. The best reserved only for the prettiest”

Again, you ignore his comment. “Oh well i tasted the Strawberry Champagne and it was amazing. But I’m leaving it to my fiancé here, so he can choose” You look up to him and notice there’s a slight frown on his face. “Baby?”

Miguel regains his composure when you call him, snapping him out of the thoughts of him killing Cameron in his mind. “Oh. Yeah yeah. Sure. You know my taste buds don’t matter just as long my woman is happy”

He makes sure to emphasize the words ‘my woman’ just so the guy can get the picture but he doesn’t seem too bothered by it.

“Well, we’re in this together so your taste does matter, as well.” You’re completely oblivious with the soft glare that Miguel throws at Cameron’s direction. Hands softly picking the forks from the table to cut a piece,

“Here. Let’s try the Chocolate—“

“Why don’t you feed it to me, mi amor?” He asks, looking at you with a smile. “One fork for two.”

If he can’t be violent then he’s got to find a way to make sure that this Cameron fellow understands that you’re fucking off limits.

You raise an eyebrow at the suggestion. “Sure, papi” You mirror his expression before cutting the cake, lifting it to feed him,

He takes a bite. Eyes dead set on the man who stands awkwardly from across, gaze looking anywhere but him.

“Hm” He nods. “That one’s good. Dark chocolate is it?”

“Right?” You ask cheerily. “Darla is amazing, i swear i need them all 6.” As you turn to fees yourself with the chocolate cake.

He shrugs, wiping a bit of the frosting from the corner of his mouth. “You’re the bride baby, you can have all 6 for the wedding, i don’t mind. I got the money for it anyway.”

You smile at him, kissing his jaw. “I love you, but we can’t be too greedy now can we?” A giggle escape your lips.

Oh he knows. He just wanted to make sure that son of a bitch gets it through his thick fucking skull that you’re his.

The two of you continue to feed each other’s cakes— more like you feeding it to him to be honest— rating each and every single one. Making sure to put a mental note on whichever you prefer before coming back next week and pick one.

Miguel glances at Cameron every now and then and watches how he stays quiet for the rest of it, letting you and Miguel do your thing. Probably too scared after seeing the intimidating look on his face.

“Gotta say, Strawberry Champagne and Chocolate one are amazing.” Miguel points, rolling the sleeves of his shirt to his elbows. “You sure have a great taste, cariño. Confío en ti con todo.”

“Gracias, mi corazón” you put down the fork back on the table, smiling up at Cameron. “That’d be all i guess, yeah? But i think we’ll be back next week to pick one for sure. Will Darla be here?”

“She hasn’t said anything about it but uh, i-i’ll make sure” He stutters a bit, smiling nervously and trying to avoid Miguel’s death stare.

“Okay then. Well, thank you, Cameron for assisting us today. We have to get going now, still have a lot to work on” You offer a polite smile to his direction. “Shall we get going?”

Miguel nods, eyes still fixated on Cameron. “Yeah sure. But uh.. Can you wait for me by the car? I just need a few words regarding with the cakes with Cameron”

He’s not letting this off easy.

You watch how his eyes trained to the young employee, scrunching your brows as Miguel turns to look at you with a soft gaze. “It’ll be just a minute, baby.” He presses a reassuring kiss on your temple,

“Okay” You nod, smiling softly. waving a hand at Cameron before walking towards the exit. Soon as you’re out of their sight, Miguel turns his gaze back on Cameron. The young man looks like he’s about to piss in his pants.

The two stands in silence for a while as Miguel looks at him up and down.

“You ever gotten your ass kicked, Cameron?”

The question throws him off guard. Eyes widening while his mouth hangs open.

“S-sir?”

“It’s a question. Yes or no.”

“Well uhm, n-no sir” Cameron shakes his head. “Wha-“

“You do know that me and my girl came as a couple, yes? Or are you fucking blind?” Miguel’s eyebrow raises at him, arms crossed over his chest.

“I see that, Mr. O’Hara. I-i didn’t— I’m sorr-“

“You flirt with every customers? With their soon to be bride? Or is it just my woman you’re after?” He clicks his tongue against his teeth.

“N-no, Mr. O’Hara.”

“No as in what?”

“J-just her, i-i mean your woman.” He nervously confesses,

Miguel lets out a dry chuckle. “Let’s get one fucking thing straight, kid.” He leans forward, balling his fists before resting them on the table

“If you ever flirt with her, look at her or hell, if you even think about her when we come back next week, i will make sure no one remember how you look. And trust me when i say that this is not a threat but it’s a promise. Understood?” His voice laced with venom as he points his finger at Cameron’s chest who gulps,

Nodding quickly, he answers. “Understood.”

“Very well” Miguel retreats, taking a bottle of water from the table. “Stay away from my wife”

With that he walks out of the boutique, breathing out a heavy sigh, unscrewing the bottle cap before taking a gulp.

“How’s the interrogation goes?” You speak up with a playful smirk. “Did you manage to make him piss?”

He looks at you as he walks towards the car, shrugging. “I don’t know what you’re talking about” He replies.

Rolling your eyes, you cross your arms. “I saw you, papi. You almost kill the kid.”

“Again, i don’t know what you’re talking about.” He smiles innocently, both arms snaking around your waist to pull you close. Seems like a good kid. So i didn’t say anything”

A laugh escapes from your lips, one that he loves most—besides your perfect moans— “I know you, O’Hara. Like i said, a bad liar.”

“Alright fine, you caught me” He holds his hands up in defense. “He’s lucky i didn’t punch him.”

“That would be a sight for sore eyes.” You tease. “You know there’s nothing to be afraid of, right? Ain’t any other man could possibly steal my heart like you did three years ago.”

“Yeah well maybe if you stopped looking so fucking beautiful with your big pretty eyes and soft pouty mouth, then maybe men wouldn’t try to chase you off and i wouldn’t have 50+ competitions” He complains. But in reality he doesn’t mind.

“Oh excuse me, Mr? You don’t think i got one too?” You ask him through your lashes since his physique is towering you. “I had to put your ex back in her place at the Gala we attended three months ago, you remember? Slimy bitch.”

He laughs hard at that, head shaking at the memory of you confronting Dana was truly one of the unforgettable moments he has of you. “So, what’s next on the agenda?”

You look back at your phone before replying, “Seating arrangements on 112th street. Now this, we can use that 20 minutes up for something else since they’re running late.”

Miguel’s eyes harden as your finger running up and down his chest. “You mean—“

“Offer still stands. Want me to ride you while we wait?” You chew on your lower lip, gazing up at him and giving him your best doe eyes.

“Baby, if i ever said no to that question… Please feel free to grab my gun under my desk and shoot me in the head” He states, making you laugh as you throw your head back.

-

This feels like shit :/ I’m sorry but i need to clear out a few WIPs in my drafts

Though i still hope you all like it!

[cerezzzita]

Hi, i saw you have your request open so here i go, requesting some hcs for Dante, Vergil and Trish having a short sweet-toothed s/o who also loves to bake.

notes: heeey there, anon! In advance sorry for the waiting, it took long enough but at least here we are! I hope you like it, because I surely did loved writing these headcanons, and with Trish being included? Better than ever!

Enjoy the reading and thanks for requesting! <3

⠀🍓 ˖ . ᵎᵎ Dante, Vergil & Trish with a short sweet-toothed S/O

♡ tags: gender-neutral reader, no use of pronouns (you/yours only), no description of reader's appearance, short!reader, use of petnames, three devils being soft af, Vergil and Trish might have been sorta ooc pardon in advance.

ⓘ gif's not mine!!

Dante

Perfect match, to be honest.

Calls you "shortcake" or "shortie" most of the time and if you're annoyed by that… he'll keep doing it, sorry. He loves you enough to annoy you as well. 

Being as sweet-toothed as he is, no wonder he'll ask you constantly to make some desserts with strawberries or red fruits in general such as raspberries or cherries. 

And please don't let Dante get one inch near the kitchen, this man will eat as many of the berries plus he's catastrophic at cooking.

At least let him add some of the ingredients and mix them together here and there, he'll be satisfied and happy enough. 

He'll eat the batter when you're not looking, by the way. 

Still on the ingredients topic, doesn't this bitch (affectionately) loves when you ask him for help to reach something you can't? He's all smugly smirks, towering you with that huge figure of his and in the best of the cases, lifting you so you can reach it by yourself. 

Dante's personal favorite dessert made by you became The Devil's Cake, but instead of being fulfilled of chocolate only, there's lots and lots of strawberry jam and fresh strawberries on top of it. 

Late night munchies are a must! You two can and will be watching whatever series or movies while cuddling and devouring almost all of a whole damn bakery because Dante has a black hole instead of a regular stomach. 

Saw a recipe for dessert pizza once, got obsessed with it, asked you to make it, you made it, he's even more in love with you. 

"Babe, you're a sweetheartie. A candy angel, I love you so much," said Dante, mouth full of sweet pizza and eyes full of tears of joy and passion. 

ⓘ gif's not mine!!

Vergil

Vergil strikes me as a cinnamon roll enjoyer. That's it, that's the post. 

But really, I don't think he has a sweet-tooth or enjoys sugary foods that much. He likes it, sure, but at moderate bits. 

Unlike Dante, he does not make fun of your height… Yet he finds it quite endearing. 

Calls you "little bird". Let me have him be affectionate and lovely for a sec, okay? 

Vergil also gets worried by the amount of sugar you consume. 

"You'll get plenty of cavities if you keep eating desserts at that level." 

He helps you with your recipes too. I'm kinda sure that Vergil knows a thing or two in the cooking field, correct me if I'm wrong (I am wrong). 

As previously said, he likes more, hm, refined flavors, such as cinnamon and vanilla and if you're baking cinnamon rolls, count him on it! 

Don't ask Vergil to chop the ingredients unless you want him to put on a show about it. 

If you like drinking tea, you better prepare a bunch of sweet treats because you're having regular, calm silent tea evenings ft. Vergil and his poetry book. 

ⓘ gif's not mine!!

Trish

Oh my, what can I say about Trish?

She's not a sugary-sweet person. Instead, she's mostly on sour candies and neutral fruits field. 

With that being said, I hope you're ready to constantly bake lemon pies and banana cakes. 

Trish does not know how to cook for her dear life, she prefers watching you instead and maybe teasing you along with it.

"Trish, I could use a little hand." "Pardon me if I can't help but think you're all cute on your own, sugar."

Speaking of teasing, this devil surely knows how to make you fluster with her little comments about your height, but of course, always keeping it comfortable enough to not get you mad or sad. 

"Need some help there, honeypie?" "My, if you ever get trouble reaching that shelf, you need to wear some of my heels."

And although Trish is not your sous chef, she is certainly your personal tasting critic, which is an advantage mostly to her. 

"So, what do you think?" "Hm, I liked the caramel on top of the fruit, and it's sour just in the way I love. It's a ten out of ten, honey." 

Brought you some silly clothes like sweaters and shirts with some candy motif and oh, sure, fruity flavored lip gloss. 

Anything for her honeybun~

cerezzzita©, 2023 · all rights reserved ⓘ do not edit, copy, steal or claim as yours | reblogs and comments are appreciated!

[topaz-witch-tea]

hello hello hello hello

Hi I would like to know some happy birthday headcanons for Yanqing thank you :)

Hello!!!!

Always so happy to hear from you!!!!

I am answering this the day before my birthday so this is very fun for me!!!😁

Yanqing's birthday is the day Jing Yuan found him and brought him home. They don't know who is parents are nor are there any records of him so his birthday is the day he came into their lives.

Back when Yanqing was in school, before he joined the Cloud Knights, he would have a birthday party with friends on the closest weekend and celebrate only with his family on the day of his actual birthday.

A typical birthday for Yanqing involves him getting the day off from his duties spending the day in the market. Yingxing will sometimes join him and it's usually when he will buy whatever sword Yanqing wants. Meanwhile, Jingliu and Baiheng take the reins in planning and decorating. Back during the days of the HCQ, Baiheng planned birthday parties for everyone and now that war is not an issue, she really goes all out.

During the evening, Yanqing will celebrate dinner with his family, Bailu, Yukong, Qingni, Tingyun, and Fu Xuan. The kitchen staff go all out when it comes to preparing dinner and the flavor of the cake changes every year so it's a surprise for Yanqing as well. Bailu also looks forward to the surprise cake flavor and blocks her calendar out months in advance.

His favorite cakes so far is his 8th birthday cake which was a strawberry and lemon cake and his 13th birthday cake which was chocolate and coffee. He loves all his cakes and he always looks forward to the surprise flavors.

Gifts come last and are usually the most anticipated affair for the younger children. A lot of Yanqing's gifts are swords, sheaths, and other sword related items.

The people who don't give Yanqing swords are Fu Xuan, who usually gives Yanqing books and scrolls for his flute playing; Baiheng, who gets him the latest toys and gadgets (one year he got a cycrane that was able to fly downstairs, get him snacks, and bring them back up); and Tingyun, who gets him trashy wuxia romance novels so they can laugh about it together.

Grandpa Huaiyan usually can't attend but he does send his finest sword to Yanqing every year.

The kids will play together until they completely knock. Yukong will have to carry Qingni and Tingyun home while Bailu sleeps over. The adults can usually tell when it's time to go home since the living room will get mysteriously quiet and the kids are either sleeping on the floor or couch.

For the adults, it's a time for them to get together and drink as much as they want. Half the time they are complaining about work and the other half is them talking about how their children are, except for Fu Xuan, who is enjoying her single, childfree life. :)

For Yanqing's dads, they are always bittersweet about his birthdays. They love that he's growing up and they are always more than happy to celebrate him but him growing up means they can't keep arounds and protect him like they used to.

Thank you for sending me the ask and feel free to send in more!!!

[bed-chemist]

❝on my cloud, i got some space for you.❞

Chapter Summary: the sweetest baker is surrounded by love on the anniversary of her parent's passing.

Chapter Warnings: language, alcohol, slight age gap (F!MC and Joel are 6 years apart), symptoms of anxiety and depression, panic attacks, grief, fluff, comfort, lmk if i forgot something.

Series Tags: chef! Joel, single! father Joel, no outbreak! Joel Miller, slow burn, dual-pov, fluff, flirting, friendship, eventually established relationship, eventual smut, original character, black!fem!MC, no y/n.

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ series masterlist ⋆ spotify playlist ˖ ݁ 𖥔.

My throat croaks out a couple of notes as I hum along to the song in my ears on Wednesday. The calming smell of lemons wafts through the room reminding me of my mother. She always used to bake lemon cookies and cakes. Now the smell of sugary citrus envelopes me like a hug. 

I take a break, reaching for my water bottle when I feel a tap on my shoulder. Abandoning my attempts to take a sip, I take out my earbuds.

When I turn around I see Chloe standing behind me, looking past my body at what I’m making. “I'm not trying to be rude but are we rebranding or something? Everything's lemon-flavored,” she points out with her thumb towards the front of the store.

Perspiration instantly begins collecting on top of my skin. “Oh, shit. No, I’m sorry,” I apologize, wiping my hands on my apron. “I don't know why I did that,” I murmur and my eyes drift behind her.

I’ve been in an odd daze all week, unable to focus and even Joel has noticed. I’m pretty sure he told Ellie to take it easy on me this week since she hasn’t been around much. Then again, she has been hanging at the Austin a lot more since the whole Thanksgiving fiasco. I can’t put my finger on it, but he promised he was going to take off and help support me all day today. I wonder if he likes lemon cakes. 

Chloe waves her hand in front of my face, snapping me out of my thoughts. Her brows knit and concern washes over her face. “Are you okay?” she questions.

I nod, stepping past her to wrap up in the kitchen. “Yeah. I don't know what's up with me today. I just feel weird,” I remain vulnerable with her.

Chloe approaches the island I’m standing at, putting her hands on the table and leaning forward. “Ginny, love,” she looks at me as though I should already know what’s going on.

I pick up a sanitization rag and wring it out to begin cleaning the tabletop. “What?” I snip. I hate suspense.

She bites the inside of her cheek, hollowing out her mouth. An awkward silence fills the room and I curse myself for sending the others home so early. “You usually don't work today,” she points out.

I work every day, that’s the perks of owning your own bakery. “What are you talking about? it's just Friday,” I point out when the double doors to the kitchen smack open, letting in a cold gust of air.

Leo stomps in with his arms crossed, wearing black shoes and a matching tie wrapped around his neck. “Why are you working?” he chastizes, as he gets closer.

My once slow movements of cleaning pick up in frustration. I begin furiously scrubbing a stain in the metal that will realistically be there forever. “Why do people keep asking me that?” I groan.

My eyes return to focus on the stain. The fucking stain has to come out. Right now, right now, right now. “Imogen,” Leo sighs kindly. He puts his hands on my waist, pulling me backward from the procrastination. “Let’s go chat, hmm?”

I sigh, passing the cleaning products to Chloe and following Leo into the front of the bakery. He heads straight for my favorite booth, secluded in the back of the bakery towards the widows. 

“You're scaring me,” I divulge, sliding into the Tiffany blue pleather seat. 

Leo’s eyebrow raises before he seemingly realizes his facial expressions, reeling it back in. Men. “Relax. Have you talked to Joel today?” he questions.

“Yeah, this morning. He said to call him if I needed anything today.”

Leo leans forward across the acrylic table. “Ginny, it's December 18th,” he rasps and his words hit me like a truck.

December 18th. The day that my parents were crushed between two trucks on Interstate 290. It was unexpected and their business ties to Europe left me suddenly alone and having to clean up their shit for myself.

It took months to secure an end to it all. Although I wasn’t as close with my dad as I was with my mom, I still miss him just as much.

They say after traumatic events there’s an increase in marriages, divorces, and disappearances. As soon as I got the call, I quit and became fully invested in doing only the shit I wanted to. One of which included opening my bakery. I divorced nursing, disappeared further from the north side, and married baking.

You knew. Of course, you knew. That’s why you’ve been feeling weird all day. My head innately tilts as I stare off into space. 

My spiral of cataloging my every movement to assign guilt to them begins. I should’ve known and now half the day is gone without me honoring my parents. “I’m calling Joel,” Leo’s crip voice snaps me out of my thoughts. 

My head begins to shake. I don’t want to worry him for no reason. I just need to take some time away from the bakery, that is all. “No. It's not that big of a deal. I don't want to bother him,” I plead with Leo to spare the poor single father.

Leo ignores it and pulls out his phone, unlocking the device with the face sensor. “You're not bothering. Poor guy is probably just giving you space and waiting by the phone,” he explains.

Leo’s fingers tap on the tempered glass before he puts the device on the table. I look down, seeing it’s already on speaker and the ringing fills my ears.

Joel answers after two trills, per usual. “Hey. Ginny need me?” he suggests, voice dripping with honey.

I open my mouth to decline but before I do, Leo speaks up, “Yes.” If I weren’t so short I’d reach over the table and smack his head. So instead, I scold him, “Leo!” Why the fuck would he speak for me?

“My bad, Joel. She didn’t know we spoke before I came in. Yes, she does need you. I have a meeting at 1 and I need you to come by. Maybe cook her something,” he requests and the corners of my mouth quirk up in a smile. Despite what I said on the first day of our meeting, I love everything that Joel specifically cooks. 

Leo pauses and her eyes look me up and down judgingly. “She doesn’t look like she’s eaten today,” he adds and I scowl at them both.

This time, I’ve had enough of Leo’s bullshit and I kick him beneath the table. He lets out a groan, shooting daggers in my direction with his eyes. But, skipping breakfast due to anxiety isn’t a cause for concern.

Joel doesn’t skip a beat, immediately answering, “Be there in 10.”

“Thanks, man,” Leo exhales, probably glad to be relieved of his suicide watch duties for the day. Maddie and Leo stayed with me during the emotional rollercoaster of this day last year, and although they’re my best friends, I don’t expect Leo to want more. Especially when I have a partner now.

He clicks the red circle on the screen and I practically collapse on the table between us. “God, Leo. I'm going to kill you,” I groan into the hard material.

“He's your boyfriend. He's supposed to be the one comforting you and not me, right?” he questions and I can’t say I disagree.

“You’re right,” I complain one last time before lifting my head and fixing the mess of curls around my head. “Okay, you can go. I’m just going to change my clothes.”

“Are you sure? I can cancel this meeting,” he placates. No, he shouldn’t. And that’s okay. I don’t want his life to stop just because mine is currently.

I try my hardest to plaster on a fake smile, but it causes me mental anguish. “Positive. I’m going to get comfy so Joel can snuggle the shit out of me,” I tell him my plans. 

He grimaces, probably from my gushy words. His dark brown eyes search my face for any sign of discomfort. Once he’s satisfied, he nods. “Alright, I’ll call later. I’d stop by but you’ll be getting fucked as a distraction,” he smirks, before standing from the table and darting out of the bakery.

My jaw drops in shock. I most certainly won't be screwing my boyfriend on the anniversary of my parent's death. But maybe tomorrow, like early tomorrow. As soon as the clock hits midnight. 

How can I even be horny at a time like this? There’s gotta be some unnatural demon inside of me. I drag my hands down my face, trying to pull myself back into reality before standing from the booth. Walking over to the counter, I lean over to talk to Chloe. There are still patrons in the bakery and I don’t need them hearing about my personal life. “I’m going to retire upstairs. Let me know if you need anything. Joel should be here soon and you can send him up,” I list, quietly.

Chloe nods before taking my hands in hers. “Don’t worry, I got it. This is why I’m your manager,” she eases my anxiety.

I nod, bidding her goodbye before walking towards the back of the bakery. Tears start to collect in my eyes again and I repeat my favorite mantra. No crying in public, Ginny. You just have to get upstairs then you can let it out.

But it doesn’t work.

By the time I’m climbing up the staircase, the tears are already streaming down my face causing an uncomfortable burn on my cheeks. When I reach the top, I slide the barn door open to my living quarters at an alarming rate.

The wood smacks into the door frame and I rush into the space, careful not to let the mewling kittens out behind me. I softly shut the door, watching out for their tails with strained vision.

Okay, you’re alone Ginny. Let it out.

I don’t know what I expected to happen. I couldn’t foresee myself ever falling to my knees and sobbing on the living room floor, but that’s exactly what occurs. My chest becomes tight as I choke on my own spit, babbling niceties about my mother and father.

I don’t know how long I’m crouched on the floor when I hear my living room door slide open. My knees feel sore from the hardened floor beneath me but my tears don’t stop, creating a wet stain on my grey top. “Damn, sugar,” I hear Joel say before he slides the door shut behind him. 

I look up to find him rushing towards me, joining me on the floor. His typically messy hair looks freshly washed and I can tell he's used the start of the day to tame it’s unruliness. His green flannel shirt is opened nice and low, hugging his biceps deliciously. “Deep breaths. Know it’s hard but you can do it,” he encourages, rubbing warm circles onto my back. 

His words barely register and as I try to get my breathing under control, hiccuping in between breaths. With each uneven breath, I attempt to keep a hold on my digestive system and not let out a sad fart. Or worse, vomit in his lap.

“After Sarah died, I had panic attacks too. Still get ‘em sometimes,” he divulges. 

His hands trail up my spine to the back of my neck. His thumb traces soothing designs into my skin, effectively grounding me. My rocketing heartbeat slowly starts to steady and I allow myself to close my eyes knowing that Joel is here to catch me if I fall. His arms envelop me from behind, pulling my body so I’m sitting in his lap.

He softly caresses my hair and I tune him out as he begins whispering affirmations in my ear. I stare off into space and I jerk slightly in his hold when Joel presses a soft kiss to my neck.

I know where I am, but the last 30 minutes feel like a blur. Disassociation is a bitch.

When I finally feel aware again, Joel is still murmuring into my neck, but this time he’s talking about our future. “We’ll always be here. Me 'n Ellie through whatever,” he promises, pausing to take a breath.

I nod to let him know that I’m actually back this time. He rubs my back and I hear a soft meow coming from the floor. Toph is looking up at me with her green eyes, seemingly afraid. “We’ll have to get a bigger place for the 5 of us,” Joel adds, and I chuckle, scooping the orange kitten into my arms.

“Thank you for coming and just,” I start before gesturing to his body with one hand. “Being you,” I finish before a hiccup roars through my chest.

Joel positions himself more comfortable on the floor so he’s sitting in front of me. “I mean it. Every word,” he emphasizes, pressing a quick kiss to my wet cheeks. I smile at him, grateful for his presence.

Toph paws at my chest, snuggling into my body. Like always, Katara becomes jealous of her sister's attention, and she comes slinking behind the couch up to Joel. She struts up his leg, plopping down in the middle of his lap and shutting her eyes. 

“They’re fuckin’ somethin’ else,” Joel sneers, stroking Katar’s grey fur. I snicker in agreeance, setting Toph down in the sunlight on the floor in demonstration. Joel accepts the permission to remove my cat from his personal space, following suit carefully.

I glance at Joel’s face, admiring the constellation of freckles beneath a layer of dark circles. His hair is pushed back neatly with pomade and god, he looks edible. My heart quickens when I realize, I probably look a mess with makeup running down my face. 

He catches me staring and he licks his lips before asking, “What do you want for lunch?”

My brain mentally catalogs all the groceries Joe’s bought and stocked in my fridge. He figured if he’s going to make every meal, he might as well have what he needs. He insists he’s content with us staying in our respective lanes. After all, he’s just as excited for the dessert surprise at the end of the meal as Ellie is. 

Figuring I can’t be picky since I’m not cooking, I decide to let him choose. “Whatever you want. I’m going to go clean myself up and get changed,” I inform him, frowning at my appearance.

Joel seemingly notices my self-judgment and sits up, pulling my face closer with my hands. “I think you’re gorgeous, sugar,” he compliments before pressing a chaste kiss on my forehead.

My skin tingles from the warmth and I can't help but smile into the sign of affection. However, my insecurity doesn't drown, grabbing my hair and pulling me back from the gorgeous man I call mine. “You’re a liar, but it’s fine,” I murmur, using his shoulders to stabilize myself as I stand.

His strong arms wrap around my body holding me close. “I wudn’t lie to you,” he promises, and I nearly become weak in the knees from that accent.

I hum in reply, deciding it’s my turn to steal a kiss from him. I haven't tasted him in a couple days when I visited him and Ellie, and I’m starting to feel like I'm forgetting a piece of him. My body lowers until we’re at eye level, and the air between us zaps. 

He never fails to make me feel this way. Thunder rumbles in my stomach and lightning strikes low in my abdomen. It’s confusing, but I welcome every second of it.

Joel becomes impatient with my hovering and he brushes our lips together. The kiss is sweet and I smile into it before parting my lips. He swirls his tongue around mine while cradling my body into his. 

We continue for a few moments before I need to come up for air, and I disconnect immediately looking down at his reddened lips. I press one final peck to them before getting up, for real this time.

Joel pats me on the behind as I walk out of the room before he stands himself with a grunt. Toph trails behind me into my bathroom, brushing up against my leg with a purr as I look in the mirror.

My reflection makes me want to start crying again. My throat fills with ache as I try to stuff the oncoming tears out. Sometimes I feel like I’m the only unattractive person I know. 

I push the thought out of my head and for my headband, securing my hair away from my face. After pumping face wash into my hand, I hum while massaging my face. The sticky layer of tear stains rinse down the drain and I feel a sense of relief.

Once my face is clean, I reach for my towel to dry it off when I feel something particularly fuzzy. I open my right eye, peering at the counter to see Toph's tail underneath my hand. “Fuck off, cat. No counters,” I scold my shadow, lifting and setting her on the floor with wet hands.

She wines as her paws hit the floor, and I grab a clean towel from the drawer. Why did I get two cats?

After patting my face dry and discarding the towels in the hamper, I walk out towards the kitchen. As I tip-toe down the hall, I can hear Joel shuffling about. When I round the corner, I lean against the wall with my arms crossed. It’s nice to admire him in moments like this, although he’s bound to look up towards my bathroom any minute.

As if the universe hit the play button on my vision, his eyes snap to mine. “Come,” he waves me over with a welcoming grin.

I stroll over behind him before I snake my arms around his waist. My front presses into his back and I catalog every flex of muscle in his body. His arm begins sliding with precision, perfectly cutting the potato in front of him into thin slices. “Fries?” I question out of curiosity. 

“And a burger your way,” he glances over his shoulder at me before returning to his chopping.

I press myself up on my tiptoes, placing a kiss on his shoulder blade. This man is perfect for me in every way. Caring for me, cooking for me, and giving me countless orgasms. My relationship with Ellie is just the cherry on top. Even if Joel and I ended things, I’d still want to be in her life.

The realization hits me like a truck and without thinking I stammer, “God, I lo���”  before cutting myself out.

My body chills to ice and the oxygen is sucked from my lungs in an instant. Joel pauses his movements and stands frozen in place. I take a step back from him, turning away from him.

I need to do something to distract him from the fact that I almost just said I love you.

I reach for the kettle to set some water on for tea, fumbling about with the top of the lid. “What’d’ya say, sugar?” Joel asks from behind me.

I shake my head, feeling the hole he’s staring in my head. If I confess right now, he might leave me like everyone does. He’ll call me a crazy person and forbid me to see Ellie.

Joel’s warm hand covers mine and I jerk, before peering down. I blink rapidly at the water spilling over the top of the filled pot. “Fuck,” I swear, turning off the water and dumping a bit out of the metal container.

I shake my hand dry before my eyes meet Joel. “You sure you okay?” Joel questions with furrowed brows.

I nod, putting the lid back on the kettle. It’s a mistake, him seeing me like this. All overwhelmed and in disarray. I obviously can’t even string together a cohesive thought.

My hands fiddle around with the stove, pressing buttons until the electric burners turn red. I set the kettle down on top, turning back to face Joel. 

My face turns scarlet when I see he hasn’t moved. He has instead settled into a position with one hand resting on top of the counter and the other on his hip. “I won’t call you a liar. But whatever it is, ’m here when you’re ready,” he offers lowly. 

And as if nothing happens, he moves back to preparing the potatoes. I finally exhale the breath I didn’t know I was holding. Thank god he’s not hell-bent on embarrassing me today.

Deciding to take the glorious out he’s presented me, I slide into the bar seat across from him, ready to watch my favorite pass time: Chef Joel Miller cooking in my kitchen. His brows furrow and his tongue sticks out of the side of his mouth when he’s intensely focused.

A lightbulb goes off in my head and I realize, I haven’t checked up on his Michelin Star journey. “Have 3 stars to your name yet?” I ask as he turns to fill a pot with water.

“Not quite. Heard rumors we’ve already got 2 visits though,” he explains and his voice bounces off the large window in front of him.

I nod and the corners of my mouth turn up. All I want is for those around me to succeed and he’s one step closer to his goal. “That’s great, that’s only one more left. It can’t be long now,” I chirp.

Joel leans on his left leg impatiently and I focus on his back. He inhales a long deep breath and I can tell he’s not as confident. “Yeah,” he grunts.

I brush a stray curl out of my face before observing, “You don’t sound so sure.”

He sighs before turning off the water. “I am. Thought about what you said that day and ’m worried my employee's customer service is being affected by my words, Gin.”

Fuck, he’s never called me Gin before. What I said must’ve been weighing on him. Shit, shit. Code red, Ginny. “Joel, it's fine. You’ve made the changes and the reviewers will see that,” I blabber out.

Joel carries the pot over to the stove. “I know, ’m just stressed and all,” he says while fiddling with the same buttons I was moments ago.

My body begins involuntary twisting and turning in the bar stool. Joel takes notice of the fact that I've used the tea water as a diversion, switching off the kettle as he goes. I snort and shake my head at how well he knows me.

“Wait until you actually get the stars,” I emphasize the horror of his future.

Joel picks out a pink towel from the drawer beneath his waist, quickly whipping his hands off.  “Yeah, I’ll be busy as hell."

“And it’ll be nice to have Ellie back in the bakery more,” I add excitedly.

Joel sighs and shakes his head. “I’ll have to get her into an afterschool program of some kind,” he responds.

My brows knit on my forehead watching him begin to prep the burger patties. “Why?” I ask.

He sets a bottle of seasoning down with a thunk and I know he means business. His deep chestnut eyes connect with my hazel ones and I know I’m no longer talking to my sweet, timid, Joel. I’m interacting with Chef Miller. “Cause you shouldn’t have to be responsible for her,” he grits through his teeth.

My lips purse and I cross my arms, slightly offended that he’d suggest I can’t handle hanging out with Ellie. “I think I can manage,” I theorize.

“I’m serious, Gin,” he argues.

“So am I. Ellie is the closest thing I have to a daughter. We already–” lied to the principal and staff at her school about our relationship. “Erm, she’s already here until close. What’s a few extra hours?” I finish as smoothly as possible, but I’m not sure Joel is buying it by the look on his face.

He raises a brow and his head tilts ever so slightly. “Are you sure?” he asks and I roll my eyes. If he asks again, my answer may be different.

There’s no reason for Ellie to join an afterschool program when she’s already comfortable here. “Positive. You are my boyfriend, Miller,” I conclude, quite finished with this conversation when the aftertaste from my words hit. “Partner,” I correct myself, looking down shyly.

“I love it when you call me that” I hear him say, causing a chuckle to slip from my throat.

We sit in comfortable silence for the remainder of the time Joel spends cooking. He occasionally glances up at me while bustling around the kitchen. Every time we make eye contact, my skin sets ablaze and I have to look away.

It seems childish to look away when your partner catches you staring. But he’s so goddamn sexy, I can’t help it. If I don’t look away, my carnal desires will replace my grief, and I’m not ready for that.

I wonder if Joel ever felt extremely horny and inappropriately happy in his grief. There’s only one way to find out.

I clear my throat, rapidly blinking away the fuzz of my thoughts. “Joel,” I murmur to get his attention.

He looks up from the set of plates, giving me a half smile. “Hmm. You ready to eat, sugar?” he asks, probably assuming I’m rushing him for food.

I don’t move from my spot to not give him the wrong idea. “Yeah but uh,” I start, pausing to pick at my nail polish.  “Can I ask you something?” I question softly.

Joel pops a French fry he dropped on the counter into his mouth. “Anythin',” he utters.

He slides my favorite meal over to me and I just about see stars. It takes everything I have in me to focus on the task at hand and not swallow the burger whole.

“How long did it take you to stop feeling guilty about being happy? You know, after…” I trail off, not wanting to bring up Sarah’s passing so bluntly.

His eyebrows raise and he leans back as if he was physically impacted by my words. Shock etches over his tan face and I immediately pick up a couple of french fries, awkwardly stuffing my mouth full. “Two years and Ellie was the first person I let in. Then you came along shortly after,” he confesses.

I quickly chew my food before gulping harshly. “Oh,” I murmur.

“Oh?” Joel counters with a tilt of his head.

I nod, picking up another fry. “Yeah, it’s not bad. It’s just that I don’t think I have two years,” I think out loud.

My eyes scan the counter for Joel’s signature barbeque sauce, anxious to dip try it with the crispy potatoes. “Be patient, sugar,” he scolds.

Joel seemingly notices my attention is elsewhere and suddenly, a tiny bowl of the brown condiment is set in front of me. I blush and give him a silent thank you with a half smile. “Never been too good at that,” I admit.

Picking up the burger, I examine it to see which side is the best for the first bite. “Oh I know,” I hear Joel say before our eyes connect. He tilts his head with a mischievous smirk on his face that sends fire into my cheeks. 

I shake my head at him before taking a huge bite of the juicy burger. The flavors dance on my taste buds reminding me of summer barbeques. “Mmmm, this is orgasmic,” I compliment my sexy chef.

He swallows his bite before asking, “Changed the seasoning. Taste alright?”

I nod, already ready to inhale the entire meal. “Joel, I didn’t know your burgers could get better. This is amazing,” I express.

“Well, if my toughest critic says it’s good, I’ll trust it,” he jokes and I chuckle.

Delicious food, passionate sex, and god's gift to humanity. I am the luckiest woman on earth.

The door flies open sending my eyes flying open and me jerking into Joel’s stomach. He groans before smoothing my curls with his palm. “It’s just Ellie,” he informs me she’s back from school.

I sigh, cuddling further into his body now that my anxiety has eased. “Hey,” his teenage daughter grunts when she comes into view.  

Ellie begrudgingly kicks her shoes off and drops her backpack to the side. If her body could talk, it would scream. “Bad day at school?” I observe.

She nods, picking up Toph who’s sitting in her spot on the couch. “Mmhm,” she grunts out just like her dad as she takes a seat.

“Well,” I start, tossing her the remote. “I’ll let you pick,” I offer her the once-in-a-lifetime chance.

She snickers, “No, you won’t.” She gives me a pointed look and asks, “What are my options?”

I purse my lips. She’s right, I’m just shitty she knows me so well. “Grey’s or SVU,” I answer.

Ellie nods, extending the remote in her hand to click through the app. Joel begins practically petting me again. “Sugar, you sure? Don’t wanna see you cryin’ no more,” Joel growls lowly as if seeing me cry and him not being able to control it pissed him off.

I can understand if he needs control over something, but today isn’t that day. “Positive,” I reassure him.

He nods, before placing his hand under my head and gently lifting it. “Sorry, sugar,” he grunts as he stands.

He turns towards the L-shaped couch with his hand on his hip, accentuating his slender waist and I practically start drooling. “What do you two want for dinner?” he questions, looking back and forth between us.

I prop my head up in my hand and look at Ellie who looks particularly glum. She’s curled into the couch, holding Toph like the animal is her lifeline. I sigh, feeling the urge to punch someone for hurting my baby creep into my veins again. “El, you can pick. I already had my favorite for lunch,” I urge her.

“Grilled cheese and tomato soup,” she requests, not even looking up at her father.

Joel clears his throat and raises his eyebrow. Ellie looks up and her eyes dart back and forth between me and Joel. I raise my eyebrow at her because she should know what he’s looking for.

It only takes Elle a few seconds when she gets it. “Please?” she adds, looking at Joel for confirmation.

He nods and walks off to the kitchen, away from earshot. I look over at Ellie whos depressed body language hasn’t changed. My hand pats the couch next to me. “Why are you so far away? We both know this is the best TV-watching spot,” I invite her over.

When she comes over, she’s usually right next to me giving me all the school gossip. But maybe it’s because Joel is here. She slides over, sinking into the cushion. “What’s up, El? You look all…” my voice trails off and I mimic her body language.

She huffs and rolls her eyes. “Dina,” she answers.

“Okay, what about Dina?” I ask. Fuck, teenagers are hard. I wish they’d just tell you the problem the easy way.

Ellie’s head snaps in my direction. “She has a crush,” she snips.

My eyebrows raise and I tilt my head. “And I’m guessing by your body language and your fucking tone,  you’re not her crush,” I lightly correct her.

She looks behind me and I assume she’s checking to see if Joel is still making us food. “No,” she states and her entire body shrivels. The rejection washes over her face and I want nothing more than to hug her.

My respect for her boundaries overrides my need for comfort. “Who does she have a crush on?” I counter.

Ellie gnaws on her lip for a moment like she’s reluctant to tell me. I understand, after all, Dina is working downstairs for me right now. “Jesse,” she tells me.

I rapidly blink, stunned by the news. “Jesse, delivery boy, Jesse?”

Ellie nods and my mouth forms an ‘o’ in response. I nod, understanding the gravity of this queer love triangle. Her shoulder hunch over even more and I decide it’s time to cheer her up with some words of encouragement.

“You know when I was a teenager, I had a crush on a girl who was dating our guy friend,” I divulge some of my past. Although she doesn’t know it involves Madi and Leo, she doesn’t need to know that to get the point.

“Really?” Ellie asks dumbfounded.

 I answer tight-lipped with a nod, “Mmmhm.”

“What happened?”

“I let it play out between the two of them. If it’s meant to be, it’ll be,” I tell her.

Ellie’s face scrunches and she looks weary of taking my advice. “Look, you don’t know if Dina likes you back right?”

Ellie shakes her head no. “Right, so don’t mess with the universe. If you’re meant to be, you’ll be. You never know, maybe a girl will come into the high school and shock the shit out of you,” I theorize.

Ellie rolls her eyes and scoffs, “I doubt that.”

“Keep your options open, El. Until you put a ring on someone’s finger,” I advise her. She’s a hot commodity and I’m going to tell her that every time she needs reminding. 

Joel’s head comes into view as he bends down to press a kiss on top of Ellie’s head. She lets out a blech noise, shrugging as far away from him as possible.

I laugh at the interaction while Joel simply shakes his head. “Dinner’s ready,” he alerts us.

When I peer over my shoulder, I see a delicious spread laid out. As always, Joel has beautifully plated 2 servings of grilled cheese and tomato soup. “Ooh, that looks good,” Ellie compliments her dad, setting Toph down and shooting up from the couch.

She darts into the breakfast nook, diving for the sandwich first. Her head tips back and she groans with satisfaction. “Good?” I slightly shout from the couch.

She nods her head, already moving on to try the soup. Joel chuckles and extends his hand to me. He knows I typically climb over the back of the couch and ever since my foot got caught on the couch that one time, he’s insistent on helping me over.

“Thank you,” I purr lowly, leaning in to press a quick kiss on his lips. 

When I lick my lips, I taste savory remnants of tomato from him tasting the soup. I blink rapidly at him stunned, feeling a similar wave of emotion as earlier. My butterflies erupt in my chest and my heart skips a beat, stumbling over the current.

Yup, that's definitely love.

I love Joel Miller and everything that comes with him. I love his deep raspy morning voice and the way his nostrils flare when he can’t quite get a recipe right. I love his southern twang and the furrow in his brows when he’s angry. 

The type of love I feel for him possesses every fiber in my body and takes over my brain. It wraps around my nervous system, acting on its own. It takes away all control I have and I don’t mind at all.

I adore Ellie and consider her to be one of my daughters. We’ve become so close these past few months and I can’t imagine a day without them in my routine. They’re the only two people I can stand around me all the time.

Joel clears his throat, bringing me back to the present. Reality smacks me like a truck and I blush. “You alright there, sugar?” Joel questions, voice laced with concern.

The corners of my mouth curve into a smile. “Yeah, I genuinely don’t know what just happened. I look at you and my mind goes blank. I think I'm going nuts,” I chuckle, slightly lying. 

When I look at him, my eyes turn into hearts and pop out of my head with my tongue rolled out like the red carpet. When our eyes connect, he makes me feel like I’m the only person he’s ever been interested in romantically. Which can’t be possible considering Sarah came from somewhere.

We join Ellie and the kittens playing by her feet at the breakfast nook and a comfortable silence falls over the table. My mother always said you know the food is good when it’s silent, and we’re not much for dinner conversations around here.

Joel reaches forward and pours me a glass of wine before pouring himself some. “Guess you two are staying the night?” I ask, pointing out that whenever Joel drinks with me, they usually end up crashing.

Joel raises his eyebrows as if he’s daring me to contest, taking a sip of his wine. “If that’s okay with you?” he questions, probably trying to hide the fact that he’s not going to leave me alone tonight.

I pick up my spoon, dipping it into the soup. “It is, but I was thinking I’d come to yours tonight. El has school in the morning,” I attempt to compromise.

Ellie rolls her eyes and groans, “That sucks, my bed here is more comfortable.”

Joel begins prepping to eat and I’ve never seen someone be so meticulous about such a thing. He lays a cloth napkin into his nap and I raise my eyebrow, wondering what hell of a closet he dug those out of. 

“It’s not your bed, Ellie. We don’t live here,” Joel corrects her and I shovel the soup in my mouth. It’s the perfect amount of savory and sweet. 

Joel picks up the sandwich and takes a bite, nodding at the taste. While his mouth is full, I decide to insert a suggestion, “No, but El, next time you’re here, you should bring some clothes just in case. That way you don’t have to wear my clothes whenever you want to stay over.”

Ellie responds without skipping a beat, “Sounds good.” 

I turn my attention back to my meal and my mind mentally drifts off. Christmas is soon so maybe I can tell him then. I don’t want to trauma bond with him right now and Christmas is a happy time. “I cleared a drawer out for you already,” Joel announces and I nearly choke on my sandwich.

“You what?” I blurt, my mind swirling with information.

In my peripheral, I see Ellie’s head going back and forth between me and Joel. “That too much? I’ll fill it back up. ‘s just some of my long sleeves,” he stammers.

“No!” I shout a bit too loudly, my body becoming hot when I realize the gravity of my tone. “I mean no, the drawer isn’t too much. I think it’d be too much if I moved in right now,” I add.

Joel nods, content with my answer, returning to his meal. “When you two move in together, can we move here?” Ellie asks, refusing to read the weight of awkwardness in the room.

Joel clears his throat and he straightens his posture a bit. Sensing his uncomfortability, I step in to talk for the both of us, “We haven’t talked about that yet, El. But when it comes to it, I’d be happy to have you here.”

“Yay!” Ellie celebrates and I take a bite of my grilled cheese. It has the perfect amount of pull and my eyes are probably sparkling with admiration for Joel at the moment.

I chew and swallow before adding, “We’ll have to move eventually though. We need a house that we’ve all picked.” I would never sign a dotted line on a new place without Ellie and Joel’s approval at this stage in our relationship. I think we’ll be together for a long time, so I want to be considerate.

Ellie perks up again, “Really?”

I nod, glancing at Joel who has completely stopped eating at this point. “Mmhm, by then you’ll be 18 and you can have this place,” I continue my conversation with Ellie, knowing he’ll holler at any time he feels I’m overstepping.

Joel’s jaw clenches as I fight a snort, assuming he’s started stewing. “The bakery?” she asks, voice laced with confusion.

I set my spoon down and give her a knowing look. “No, El. Do you like baking?” I quip.

She shrugs, dipping her sandwich into her bowl. “Eh, it’s not my calling,” she admits before taking a bite.

“Exactly. I was talking about the apartment. You can have it when we eventually move out,” I foretell, motioning between me and her father with my hand.

“Gin,” Joel pulls my attention to him. When I glance down, his hands are balled tight into a fist, one wrapped tightly around a stainless stem spoon.

If he squeezes any more, he’ll bend my cuterly. And it’s completely unnecessary. “Joel, I’m not letting your child pay $1,000 in rent when we’ll have at least one empty apartment that’s completely paid off. Try again,” I dare him to argue.

Joel sighs but his body stays wound up. “She’s gonna be spoiled.”

I whip my head in Ellie's direction. “I don’t think you’re spoiled, are you, El?”

“Not in the slightest,” Ellie says through a shit-eating grin.

My head whips back toward Joel who isn’t the slightest bit amused by our display. “See, she gets the apartment, we get a new house,” I pause waiting for his face to change. When it remains stone cold, I add my secret tactic by purring, “alone,” into his ear. 

When I straighten my back, his eyes look like they’re about to pop out of his head. Anticipation flickers in his eyes and I know I’ve hooked him to the idea.

Joel’s body slowly starts to relax, but Ellie puts the cherry on top. “And everyone’s happy. Maybe Dina would move in with me. Holy shit this is gonna be awesome,” she practically bounces, and the wood beneath her creaks.

“Slow your roll, kiddo. You’ve still got 4 years,” Joel warns and I kick him lightly under the table for taking the excitement out of everything. I want her to keep a hopeful possibility of romance with Dina and he’s ruining it.

Ellie opens her mouth but I step in before the pair can start arguing. “Speaking of totally awesome, what do you want for Christmas, El?” 

“I’m getting something for Christmas?” asks dumbfoundedly. 

“Umm, yeah. Why wouldn’t you be?”

Ellie shrugs and a rain cloud of trauma drifts in over her head. I watch as the sorrow rain falls on top of her head and my heart drops to my ass.  “I don’t know. Guess I’m just not used to it.”

I bite my lip, trying to keep it together for her. No child should have to go a December without a gift. I try my best to plaster on a fake smile to perk her up. “Well, I already have most of your gifts but I thought I’d ask you,” I tell her.

As if on command, the cloud of depressing memories is swapped for a blazing sun. “Really?” she gleans.

“Really. I love Christmas. It’s the busiest holiday for the bakery though.” I mentally curse the upcoming bustle, taking a sip of my wine.

Ellie chomps the last of her sandwich down, chewing slowly like she’s in deep thought. A sparkle comes over her eyes when it looks like she’s finally got it. “Well, some new paintbrush sets would be nice. I saw some watercolors on Instagram that are cool,” she hints.

“Send them to me,” I request.

“Okay,” she smiles, reaching into her back pocket to pull out her phone.

I smile at my hunky boyfriend, ready to point out the receipts of Ellie’s personality traits. “See, Joel. That is not a spoiled child. Madi would’ve asked for a Gucci bag and a stamp on her passport when we were younger.”

Ellie’s head perks up from her phone. “Wait, that’s an option?” she clarifies sarcastically. 

“No,” Joel barks at the same time as I offer, “Ask Madi.” 

Joel frowns in my direction and I quickly add, “We don’t have that type of money but Madi does and she’s always ready to spend it on someone. If you want something really expensive, she’s the one to ask.”

Joel's elbows come down on the table quite hard and he puts his head in his hands. “Gin,” he groans.

“What? Madi’s like her aunt or whatever now. She’s obligated by girl code to help her out,” I inform him, picking up my spoon. At this point, the utensil is useless. The food’s so good, I’m ready to drink the rest of the bowl down.

“Spoilin’ her ain’t helpin’,” he scolds me.

I blow the steaming liquid in front of my face. “No, but Ellie knows the value of money to know the difference between dinner at the estate versus dinner at the breakfast nook,” I say before taking a bite.

“Yeah, this sucks,” Ellie sarcastically grumbles, before picking up the soup and slurping the last bit of it.

I snicker, dipping the last of my sandwich into the soup. I never thought I could be this content after my parents passed but here I am, enjoying the anniversary of their death with my two favorite people.

I peer under the table at the sleeping cats and smile. I need to focus on the two people that I have a future with and a life with, not the two who are long gone. It’s what my mother would want for me, anyway. The girl that hooked me onto the man that I love. Fuck. I’ve got to find a better time to tell him.

[lostfirefly]

one more sketch to feel myself better. if you are sad too, i hope this will help you too) continuation of the morning story

Catherine was lying in bed reading a book when Buggy walked into the bedroom.

"You're back! Hi!" She closed the book and put it away. "You've been out for a long time."

"Yeah, I used your pacing trick." Buggy put his hands in his jeans pocket and shrugged.

"Did it help?"

"A little."

Catherine held out her hand. "Do you wanna join? Or do you want to be alone a little longer?"

Buggy sighed, trudged over to the bed, and collapsed onto the mattress.

"Oh, my Buggy Bear. You haven't been yourself since that show." Catherine began to stroke his back. "Are you still upset? But.. My love.. Try to hear me, okay? Do you understand that different men will still sit next to me during your shows or cafes?"

Buggy nodded.

"Do you understand that I will always choose you?" Smack. "Even if someone close my eyes or gouge them out, I will choose you." Smack. Smack. "Even if someone offer me a lot of money, I will still choose you." Smack. Smack. Smack.

"And if someone offer you a cake?" Buggy chuckled.

"What kind of cake?" Catherine started stroking his arm.

"I don't know. The chocolate one."

"No, I will choose you." Catherine gently poked Buggy in his shoulder.

"And the lemon one?"

"I will still choose you."

"And the lavender one?"

"In that case.. I will think about that."

"Little shit. Can you trade me for cake?" Buggy turned his head towards her. "You should be ashamed, Cathie-pie."

"But it's so delicious. Sweet sponge cakes, nuts, lavender cream." Smack. Smack. "So.. Want to tell me where you were?" Catherine asked softly.

"Meh. Sat at the bar." Buggy continued to mumble into the mattress. "Drank beer and ate hot dogs."

"Sounds great. I bet some girls were flirting with my handsome clown." Catherine giggled.

"Yeah, there was one girl, she was ve-e-e-ery pretty. But as you can see, I had to come back to you." Buggy exhaled. "Because I thought you haven't completely ruined my life yet."

"Yay!! I'm so happy for you! You chose suffering!" Catherine laughed and kissed him in the head.

"Yeah. By the way, I brought you a chocolate bar. It's in my back pocket."

"You're so cute!" Catherine moved her hand down his back. "Wait! Isn't this like last time? When instead of a chocolate bar there were your fingers?"

"Hah!" Buggy laughed. "I remember you screamed like a baby that day!"

"You freaked me out! How did you even come up with that?!! For a second I thought you put your little Buggy in your pocket."

"Hey! He's not little!! And hey! Are you going to take the chocolate or not?" Buggy moved his butt slightly.

"God forbid you deceive me, fucking clown!" Catherine pulled a chocolate bar out of his pocket and slapped him on the butt.

"Baby, I'm not in the mood now! Maybe later?" Buggy giggled idiotically.

"Go to hell, pervert! This is for that time." She slapped his butt again. "And this is for now! Oh, my favorite! The nougat and nuts! Thank you, my love!" Catherine leaned back against the headboard, and Buggy curled up next to her.

"I don't deserve you, Catherine Elizabeth Mitchell." He exhaled, "You're perfect."

"Who? Me?" Catherine hugged him with one arm and broke off a chocolate bar with the other. "I'm not perfect, Buggy. Sometimes I get mad at you and I nag. Sometimes I get mad at myself, sometimes I cry, sometimes I boss you around too much. You see, even now I'm eating chocolate and hugging you with just one arm. Is this what perfect girls do? I don't think so. The perfect girl would be crying with you right now."

"Okay, fine, you're disgusting. The most disgusting girl I've ever met." Buggy broke off a piece of chocolate.

"Hey! That's mine!" Catherine slapped his hand playfully.

"Well, you're definitely disgusting girl. You even begrudge me the chocolate bar. Horrible, horrible woman. And I don't love you. And that's why I brought you this." Buggy took another chocolate bar from his other pocket and gave it to her. "Here."

"Another chocolate?! Thank you!!" Smack. "And I don't love you either, by the way."

"So we both think you're disgusting, and we don't love each other?" Buggy kissed her in the shoulder.

"Yes!" Catherine laughed, biting chocolate.

"But we'll still stay together and continue annoying each other?"

"Yes!"

"Not bad." Buggy chuckled. "Cathie-pie."

"What my Buggy Bear?" She started stroking his neck.

"Can you make me pancakes?"

[bunbeeplays]

The Lemon Legacy: Generation 1, Chapter 146 - Adulting

Xander wakes up early and starts making breakfast for the family. It's his birthday today, but he doesn't really like making a fuss over his own birthday, so they're going to celebrate later just as a family.

Ophelia comes downstairs only to see her husband beat her to breakfast.

Ophelia: Aww, no fair. I wanted to make you breakfast in bed.

Xander: I'm gonna be an old man, babe, I gotta get used to waking up on time to get the Early Bird Special now.

Ophelia: Stop it! You're going to be an adult, not an elder.

She leans in close to whisper something.

Ophelia: And your back better not start hurting after you age up, because my gift for you tonight involves a lot of… physical activity.

Maybe aging up isn't so bad…

Gemma is working hard on her gift to her dad. She was going to use her tooth fairy money to buy him a gift, but he insisted she save that for herself. He never said she couldn't make him anything, though!

The kids eventually come down for breakfast.

Jaden: Happy birthday, Dad! My first scout meeting is today, but it's okay if I can't go. I don't wanna miss anything

Xander: Don't worry, short-stack, the meeting's only two hours. I don't think I'll wither away to dust, I can wait.

After breakfast, Xander works on crawling with Wren, who doesn't seem to be enjoying it nearly as much as he is.

Jaden checks on his Llama Scout board and realizes he's done enough to earn his first badge, the Scholarly Aptitude badge, and his first promotion to Griffon Scout!

Jaden's off to his first Scout meeting!

Ophelia finishes up Xander's birthday cake shortly after, and gets a bit sentimental looking at old pictures of them together. She's grateful he's stuck by her side all these years and can't wait to spend many more with her soulmate.

Jaden will be back from his meeting soon, so Ophelia goes upstairs to tell everyone they can start celebrating soon.

Gemma: We'll be right down, Mom, I wanna give Dad his gift!

Ophelia: You've got plenty of time, I'll leave you to it!

Xander: You didn't have to get me anything, Gemma.

Gemma: I made it myself!

Xander opens the gift and sees a drawing of an elephant. That's his favorite animal! Gemma must have asked Ophelia, because he doesn't remember telling her.

Xander: You're the best, Muffin. Thank you.

Jaden runs in once he's dropped off, excited to tell his mom about his first meeting.

Jaden: I made so many friends, Mom!

Ophelia: You, a lovable angel, making friends? Color me surprised.

Jaden: Haha, Mooooom!

Ophelia: Okay, okay. Tell me about these new friends.

Jaden babbles off a few names, but one sticks out in particular.

Jaden: -And I even made friends with the bigger kids! There's Tommy, he's really nice, and…

Tommy? Hector and Tiff Laurent's son is named Tommy… Well, she supposes it's a common name. Might not be that Tommy.

Before candle time, Xander chats with his wife.

Xander: This is it. Take a good look. My old man started going bald as an adult.

Ophelia: Probably because he was dealing with you!

The two share a kiss, and Xander knows he's ready for this next chapter of his life.

Happy birthday to our Generation One spouse!

The whole family celebrates as Xander becomes a full-fledged adult.

New life stage, new haircut (finally)!

Xander's very close to achieving his life goal of becoming a master mixologist, now will be a good time for him to finish that goal before Gemma's generation takes over!

Speaking of mixology, after the kids filled up on cake and sugar-crashed straight into bed, Xander makes some juice for him and his wife. He loves being a mixologist and creating new drinks that Sims can make memories with, but these quiet nights with Ophelia are the best.

Ophelia: This tastes amazing, sweetie. And you look amazing too. You just keep getting better with age, like a fine nectar.

Xander: Well it'd be pretty bad if I got worse at my life aspiration AND got uglier.

Ophelia: For a self-assured Sim, you sure can't take a compliment.

The two talk into the night, reminiscing about the past ten or so years of their lives together. Ophelia's kleptomaniac trait of the past is something she's glad she left behind, but it led to their woohoo partnership, which lead to all this. Ophelia doesn't regret a second.

Don't think Ophelia forgot about her own gift. She leads Xander upstairs and tells him not to look as she wraps… or rather, unwraps… his present.

Xander's getting himself hyped. Don't break a hip, old man!

Ophelia: Okay, I'm ready.

Xander turns around, and he certainly can't say he's disappointed.

Ophelia sometimes feels insecure about her stretchmarks, but even she knows she looks damn good tonight.

Xander: What a pretty little package… You did such a good job wrapping my gift, I almost hate to tear it off.

Ophelia: No you don't. No get over here, tiger.

The two fall onto the bed between hungry kisses, hardly taking a breath.

Ophelia: Nice to see your libido hasn't slowed down.

Xander: With you looking like that, how could it?

Ophelia: Happy birthday, Xander. You're the best thing to ever happen to me.

Xander: Well, you're the best thing to ever happen to me, so I guess we're even. Now let me get a slice of that lemon cake.

Fresh!

What a way to end a birthday!

Looks like in his old age, Xander needed to grab a pillow for support. Hey, whatever works!

[rayslittlekitten]

Heart Eyes

“Dad Will” Masterlist

A/N: Quickly whipped this up while having writer's block for all my other WIPs. Funny that this was inspired by this BTS pic I saw of Guy Ritchie sitting on Charlie Hunnam's lap and Charlie was just looking at Guy like 😍. Not beta'd.

Rating: T

Word Count: 651

Pairing: Dad!Will "Ironhead" Miller & Teenage Daughter OC (Lucy)

Plot: Will learns how he's left an imprint on Lucy while comforting her.

Contains: banter, fluff, hurt/comfort

"So how was your day?" Will asks Lucy as he drives them home from picking her up from school.

"Ugh!" Lucy growls and tosses her phone into the cup holder in the console.

Will glances over at his daughter as he's driving.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

"I told Jax not to talk to me anymore but he keeps sliiiiiding into my DMs because I blocked his number," she huffs, crossing her arms.

While he is internally jumping for joy that his daughter is distancing herself from the boy he doesn't like, this isn't about his feelings. This is about Lucy's and he's genuinely curious as to why she doesn't want to talk to him anymore.

"Why do you not want to talk to him anymore?" His attention shifts between her and the road.

"Why does it matter?" she narrows her eyes at him. "You don't want me to talk to him anyways, right?"

"True, but I'm also curious what changed."

"You mean you're nosy." She rolls her eyes.

"Excuse me for taking interest in my daughter's life," he playfully jabs.

"That's exactly it! Jax doesn't really care about me or what's going on in my life. He just wants to make out and put his hands all over--"

"You've made out with Jax?" He turns to her with wide eyes.

"No! I said that's all he cares about! Are you even listening, dad? That's also what he doesn’t do. He doesn't listen," she goes on.

"Okay, sorry I assumed." He relaxes himself and chooses to believe his daughter isn't lying about having any sort of intimacy with Jax. The thought of them just holding hands makes his blood pressure rise. "Go on."

"He says he wants to hang out, which means find a place to be alone and mess around," she explains. 

Will restrains himself and bites his tongue. 

"I mean, I shoulda known he wasn't the one when I saw the way he looked at me."

"What do you mean?"

"He doesn't look at me the way you look at mom," she answers.

"I don’t understand,” he says.

"You are like, the real life heart eyes emoji whenever you look at mom."

"I am?" he asks, confused.

"And you don't care who's looking. Jax always picks on me or ignores me whenever his friends are around and only shows interest when we’re alone."

"Wait, how often are you and Jax alone?"

"I mean, I'm not expecting to marry my first boyfriend, but there's gotta be something there. Not just physical attraction," she says, ignoring Will's question.

"Since when did Jax become your boyfriend?" he looks over at Lucy with furrowed brows. "I thought he's just this boy you have a crush on."

"Dad, stay on topic!" Lucy huffs. "The point is, Jax is not boyfriend material, okay?"

"Okay," he agrees. He reminds himself again that this is about her, not him. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Now I'm glad I kicked him in the balls," she states.

A chuckle slips from Will. 

"You know what would cheer you up? How about some chocolate chip cookies from Astrid's?" he suggests. "Your mom's also been craving their lemon poppyseed cake."

"See, you're so considerate and thoughtful. Jax can't even be bothered to remember my favorite band," she looks over at her father.

Will smiles to himself, taking pride that he's set an example of how she should be treated. He's always worried about her getting involved with the wrong person and probably will continue to all throughout her life, but after learning all this, he feels a bit more reassured.

”You will find the right person one day. I promise,” he reassures her as he pulls up to a red light. “And they would be so lucky to have you.” 

He reaches over to pinch her chin and she smiles at him.

“Thanks, dad.”

He shoots back an affectionate wink.

[supernovaodessa]

You can go out for an evening with any character from Bridgerton, not romantically just for fun 😇 who would you choose??

Dearest Gentle Reader,

Please don't make me choose! I love them all 🥰

I have such a soft spot for Kate. I feel like she's the girlfriend who would come over with a bottle of wine and be ready to have a girls night. Sitting in front of the fireplace with cozy blankets whilst devouring lemon cake and mangoes (I found out that a Bridgerton cookbook has come out filled with recipes from the show and I cannot tell you how much I want it!) I also think Kate's incredibly caring and protective of her loved ones. She'd know how to listen/ give great advice.

However, I'd also pick Francesca. I was a classical musician and played in various symphonies/ broadway shows. Seeing her love for music made me nostalgic for the life I once lived. So going out for an evening with her and taking in a show like Phantom of the Opera would be magical. Sitting with someone you don't have to talk to whilst still enjoying their company? That's something special. Plus, we could geek out over the musicality of it after and talk about our favorite songs.

What about you?! Do you watch Bridgerton? Or did my plethora of posts about the show give my love for it away? 😅🙈

[whumpy-writings]

Helpless

Febuwhump 2024 Day 1

The Dhampir Files Masterlist

CW: Non-con drugging, abusive parents (whumpees are adults), carewhumpers, reference to murder of parents

"You're an old man now, ya know that?" Cal leaned against the doorframe, smirking. Renn rolled his eyes.

"You're older than me."

"Exactly. Welcome to the old man club, where our favorite activity is napping and complaining loudly about the weather." Cal crossed the room and ruffled Renn's hair. Renn slapped his hand away playfully.

"But seriously, Renn. Happy Birthday."

"Thanks," Renn said. "I honestly can't believe I'm twenty. Part of me didn't think we'd live this long."

Cal sighed. "Wow, way to bring down the mood." He wrapped Renn in a hug. Renn closed his eyes and squeezed his brother back. They were dhampirs, half human and half vampire. They weren't supposed to exist. If the authorities ever discovered them, they would be executed. There had been several close calls over the years, but they had so far evaded detection.

"Boys! Dinner is ready," Silvie called from downstairs. She was the human housekeeper who had taken care of them for the past few years. Ever since things with their vampire parents had gone sour.

The two boys tromped downstairs. Renn breathed in the scent of rosemary roasted chicken. It was his favorite meal.

"It's smells delicious in here." Renn pulled out his chair and settled in, Cal in the chair across from him.

"I would hope so. I've been slaving away at the stove all day. There's mushroom soup, rosemary chicken, mashed potatoes, and a lemon cake for dessert." Silvie put a dish of butter on the table, removed her apron, and sat down.

Renn's mouth watered at the feast. He started to fill his plate. "Thank you, Silvie. Everything looks amazing."

"Anything for you, Renn. Happy birthday."

They talked and laughed as they ate. Renn drank the cup of blood Silvie had provided for him to wash down his dinner.

Silvie brought out the cake and she and Cal fussed over how best to arrange the twenty candles on top.

"Well make a wish," Cal said.

Renn stared at the flickering flames, contemplating. Then he blew out the candles. I wish for twenty more years just like this.

The cake was, of course, heavenly. Renn leaned back in his chair. "I pronounce this birthday feast a success." He got to his feet and started to gather the dirty dishes.

"Hey, I got those," Cal said as he swatted Renn's hand away. Renn let his brother have the dishes. Cal was at the sink when Renn noticed Silvie crying.

"What's wrong?" Renn pulled out a chair next to her, his brow pinched in concern. She looked at her lap and sniffled into a handkerchief.

"Oh, nothing. You boys are just both so grown up." Sylvie looked at him with a sad expression. "It feels like it went by so fast." She stroked his cheek. "I'll miss you."

"What do you mean?" Renn asked. "I'm not going anywhere."

Sylvie's eyes widened. "I mean . . . I'll miss the little boy you used to be."

Renn couldn't suppress his snort. "Really? I think I single-handedly gave you at least three-quarters of your grays."

Sylvie laughed. "You weren't that bad. I only got half from you, the other half came from your brother."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Cal called from the sink. "I'm an angel."

"What about that time you brought an entire bucket of frogs into the house?" Renn asked.

Cal spun around. "It was freezing outside! I was trying to save them."

Sylvie chuckled. "I swear my heart almost gave out when I woke up to a frog on my pillow."

The rest of the evening passed quietly. Renn changed into his nightclothes and climbed into bed. It was early spring and he left the window cracked open to get the cool night breeze. The only sounds were the chirping of the crickets and the wind whooshing through the leaves. Renn, Cal, and Sylvie lived in a little house out in the country, far away from prying eyes. It hadn't always been that way. Renn shook off the memory. They were here now, that's what mattered. He was just about to put his candle out when there was a knock at his door.

"Come in."

Sylvie came in, a candle in one hand and a cup in the other.

"I brought you some tea," she said as she set the candle on the table. "I know how much you like the chamomile."

Renn sat up in bed and took the teacup. "Thanks. Does it have-"

"Yes, I put in two dollops of honey."

Renn grinned. "You're the best, Sylvie."

Renn took a sip of the tea. He sighed at the sweetness. Sylvie sat down on the edge of his bed.

"I love you, Renn. Please always remember that."

Renn's forehead creased. "I love you too. Are you alright? You've seemed sad today." He took another sip of his tea. He could feel a headache coming on.

"You've always been such a sweet boy. I asked them for more time, but they said it had to be now."

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Renn asked. His vision blurred and his head pounded. He suddenly was so, so tired. Sylvie took the cup from him as he fell back against the pillows.

"I'm sorry," Sylvie said. Renn's eyes widened. She had drugged him. But why? He tried to move away from her but his limbs were as heavy as lead. Sylvie shifted his head into her lap. "Don't fight it. It's no use. Just relax, Renn." Renn's eyes drifted shut. He forced them open. He had to get away. He had to warn Cal. He attempted to yell but all that came out was a strangled sob. He was going to die. He had always thought he would burn to death. That someday the authorities would discover him and Cal and have them burned at the stake for being monstrosities. He had never thought it would be like this. Drugged by the woman who he loved as if she was his own mother.

"It's okay honey, it's okay," Sylvie soothed as she ran a hand through his hair. "You're just going to sleep for a little bit." Renn wanted to pull away from her, but he was completely helpless. The last thing he saw before the darkness claimed him was the tear sliding down Sylvie's face.

Renn floated in the darkness for what felt like eternity.

"He's more sensitive than Callum," a voice said. "She should have given him a smaller dose."

"She had no way of knowing that," another voice said. "He'll be fine. It'll just take a little longer to get through his system."

Renn whimpered. His head pounded and he had never felt so sore in his life. He blinked his eyes open. The light burned and he snapped them shut again with a groan.

"Ah, you're awake!"

"W-" Renn coughed. His tongue felt thick and a bout of dizziness washed over him. He tried again. "W-where am I?"

"You're home, my beautiful boy. You're finally home." That voice. Renn knew that voice. With enormous effort, he opened his eyes.

"Mother?"

"Yes baby, I'm here." She looked just like he remembered. Long black hair pulled back into a sensible bun, a no-nonsense gray dress, eyes that sparkled with what he had once thought was love. He knew better now.

"You had Sylvie drug me," he said.

His father spoke up. "I'm sorry about that, it must have been unpleasant. But you never would have come home otherwise."

"Of course not!" Renn yelled. His heart pounded and he was hit by the instinct to flee. He had never wanted to see them again. Not after he had seen them murder his human mother and Cal's human father in cold blood. "You killed them. You killed our parents right in front of us."

Father sighed. "For what it's worth, we didn't intend for you and Callum to see that. The only reason we eliminated them was to protect you two."

Renn let out a deep breath. "Why am I here? Where's Cal?" He tested his limbs and found he could barely move a finger.

"Callum's downstairs. We've already spoken with him," Mother said. "As for why you're here, you'll be helping us to push the boundaries of modern science. You and Callum are the first dhampirs to make it to maturity in generations. We know next to nothing on dhampir anatomy and physiology, so we'll be studying you two."

Renn's throat went dry. "You're going to dissect us?"

Father had the audacity to laugh. "Oh no, of course not. We're much more interested in how your bodies work than what they look like on the inside." That wasn't very reassuring.

"You're too special to waste on something as unrefined as dissection," Mother pitched in. Renn closed his eyes as tears burned. "You must be exhausted. Let's take you downstairs."

Renn couldn't fight back as his father picked him up and carried him to his fate.

Taglist: @dragonqueenslayer6 @whumpsday

[cevansbrat0007]

Brit I absolutely love love love the detail you put into the food & cooking in your fics! I was wondering if Baby Girl and Bird have favorite dishes to cook, and/or if Andy and Ari have favorites as well? xx

Hi friend! It makes me so happy to know that you enjoy those little details. Both Baby Girl and Bird have a passion for cooking and baking, just like I do. And I often research different recipes when writing about the meals they create to help people visualize. So thank you for that lovely compliment!

And as for your question about their favorite dishes, here you go:

Baby Girl: Favorite Dessert: This girl will happily whip up a glazed lemon pound cake from scratch any day of the week. It's her specialty. The secret is adding fresh squeezed lemon juice as well as a package of instant lemon pudding to the batter. And if she's feeling frisky, she might even throw together a blueberry compote to go with it.

Favorite Meal: Smothered pork chops, with garlic red skin mashed potatoes and southern style green beans. Now this is a Barber Family Favorite that actually takes a bit of time to prepare. Which means that this is more of a Sunday dinner type of occasion.

She typically puts the beans on simmer around noon. In case people are curious, Baby Girl prefers using smoked turkey over ham hocks, simply because that's how she grew up.

Bird: Favorite Dessert: As many of you know, our sweet Bird does not play when it comes to baking. Ari almost got hurt when he insulted her legendary Peach Cobbler. That splash of bourbon really takes the recipe to the next level. She also loves making her award-winning Brambleberry Pie. Lately she's been busy perfecting her Brown Butter Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies. And her Beast is more than happy to be her guinea pig anytime.

Favorite Meal: Bird is not quite as accomplished a cook as BG, but she is pretty darn good when she sets her mind to it. Her favorite thing to make for both herself and Ari is probably a slow simmered Pot Roast, complete with potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms. Our girl also likes to add a healthy glass of red wine to the mix as well. Which truly makes for a delicious meal.

As for Andy and Ari, they will happily devour anything their girls set in front of them. They always appreciate the effort, even if things don't quite turn out like they hoped. Neither man likes seeing their lady upset when a dish doesn't work out.

So in the event that occurs, they're quick to order takeout of some sort and then go straight for the snuggles. Because those men are usually pretty attention-starved on a good day. It works for both couples and that's all that matters.

Thanks for the ask!

[philosophiums]

hi sam!

do you like to cook/bake and if so, what are your favorite things to make?

is there an author whose writing style you particularly adore?

is there a piece of writing you love, whether for its dialogue or description or it just makes you feel 🌟 on the inside? could literally be like a few lines from a book/fic

is there somewhere you've always wanted to travel?

how would you describe your music taste?

3 favorite characters in no particular order?

if you could travel back in time as an invisible observer, where and when would you travel to?

hope you're feeling better ❣️

hi mariam!!!!!! <3 <3 <3

i love to bake! i don't have much time to do so anymore (nor do i have a workplace or Other People to give servings to), but when i do bake, i love to do cakes/muffins/cookies/brownies/etc - anything i can bake from scratch that is not and does not involve pastry KJSDBVJKSDBV. i have a couple go-tos (there's a chocolate zucchini cake recipe that i make whenever i need a rich chocolate pick-me-up), but i love to try new things as often as possible. within the last year, i found a vanilla cake recipe that called for whipping the eggs/sugar/butter, and made for a very interesting texture in the result. i put a lemon whipped cream topping on it, but i think it would hold its own against something thicker/more flavorful as well if i make it again

oh MAN time to plug @ravenvsfox right here <3 i ADORE the way meghan structures not only her stories but also specifically her prose. it's absolutely riddled with metaphor and just the type of emotion that is so tangible you feel like you might be able to touch it. she has such a way of digging into a character's ribcage and pulling out the essence of them, and then she just masterfully dangles it through her works like puppet strings, and by the end you realize you were the marionette on stage with the characters and it's just OUGH cannot compliment her enough truly. writing alongside her at the height of the aftg fandom was a formative experience for me as a writer <3

HMMM okay i thought about this one a lot because there are a lot of little pieces of writing that have stuck with me over the years, but i'm gonna say the short story "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor. i read it in college, and i remember being bored out of my mind right away and then just getting sucker punched at the end. immediately had to reread. twice. not to look for foreshadowing, but to figure out why the ending was just a punch to the face. it's genuinely still a story i go back and reread from time to time. i love the idea of a bunch of people stuck in a small space together and then, well. i shan't spoil the end for anyone who hasn't read it

oughhhh i would kill to go back to scotland. for forever, preferably, but i would love to even spend another summer there. i miss it so fucking bad. walkable cities my beloved. the weather was perfect.... just.... take me backkkkkk

my music taste is very like.... i mean i have genre preferences (i like rock in all forms more than anything else), but i'm a Song Enjoyer. if the song slaps, i really don't care if it's not a genre that i usually listen to. and though there are bands that i like, i'm not going to listen to a song of theirs if i don't like it just because it's theirs. i can't claim to listen to anything, but any genre is up for grabs. songs i like usually just grab me by throat and then i must listen constantly until i'm sick of it KJSDBVJKDBV

favorite characters!!!! andrew minyard number one (ik you said no particular order but he is and probably will always be my number one i just. relate to him. cannot describe how life-changing it was to see him get a happy ending. he's in my heart forever). xie lian from heaven official's blessing is top three for sureeee ! such a deeply complex tragic character OUGH god i love him. also i hate to say it but bakugo katsuki i think edges out fushiguro megumi for top three (gomen megu). i just love bitchy blonde characters (tsukishima haikyuu honorable mention also), and his arc is just so beautifully written. i love characters who seem simple on the surface but are just oceans of contradictions underneath. good stuff

oh HMMMM i have never actually. pondered going back in time. UH. honestly i think i would like to go back and see the library of alexandria. even if i couldn't read anything, just to see it, walk inside....

thank you so much!!!!! <3 <3 <3 i am feeling better now :D

[monty-glasses-roxy]

Cassie and her dad in the Meteors AU letting Roxy try different kinds of cake to find out what her favorite is so they can make that for her birthday, because sure she'd been PROGRAMMED to say she likes certain kinds (usually just agreeing with the birthday child probably), but she never actually got to have any for herself (or even if she did, maybe her tastes are different once she's real).

Yeeeeeeessss

Roxy was never allowed to eat in Meteors. Meteors works on the animatronics being as physically accurate to canon as possible, so they're clunky, have hands that can't close properly, limited expressions, and no ability to eat or taste. They're pretty uniform in base design across the board so there's no exceptions to that even for Chica, thus, Roxy has never had cake or anything else before. I don't think she'd programmed to say she likes whatever the birthday kid likes, I think she'd be programmed to like her own Fazbear Brand flavours, which are the grape Fizzy Faz and stuff. There's no way she's supposed to like carrot cake, that's probably a Bonnie flavour cake. Roxy (and the others of course) are beyond their programming though so they can say whatever they want within reason so long as they're not caught. Anyway.

Literally every food and drink is brand new to Roxy and sometimes it's really fun to give her things just to see her reaction. Cassie felt particularly funny one day and gave her a lemon slice. She laughed so damn hard at her face she literally ate the whole slice in one bite and the regret... she said she wouldn't fall for it again but she absolutely did when Cassie's dad gave her a lime lmao

Anyway, Cassie and her dad have made a few cakes before, so they get Roxy in on baking cupcakes with them so she can try a bunch of flavours without them having a huge cake to get through by themselves if she doesn't like it. It's fun and Roxy learns a lot about baking through this! I bet she'd be so damn excited to try carrot cake. She could like it a lot, but it maybe not be her favourite. It was probably one of the first ones they made after a regular sponge or something. They have to start simple, right? Basic flavour first and she can judge the others against it!

I like to think chocolate would be her favourite, followed by carrot. I looked it up and apparently you can get chocolate carrot cake so maybe they try that and either think it's great or it's the worst thing they've ever had lmao but yeah, they were always trying to get more foods for Roxy to try so it was really easy to start this cake baking thing with her without her suspecting it was also research for her upcoming birthday. They give her the chocolatiest cake they could possibly make for her birthday and while it's at the edge of Cassie's sugar tolerance and way out of her dad's sugar tolerance, it's perfect for Roxy and she loves it! When they said they were going to pull out all of the stops for Roxy's first ever birthday, they meant it with the cake too, if sugar rushes were a real thing, Roxy would have the zooms for days with this lmao

Yeah every food they have on Roxy's birthday are her favourites. They've played the long game here, Cassie has a notebook to help her and Roxy keep track of what she's tried and what she's rated it out of ten. It's an invaluable resource for making sure she has all the best stuff on her birthday. The only thing on there they struggle to get is a slushie that she tried in a Fazbear Arcade but they find a way!

[kandisheek]

FIC REC WEEK 8 - OT6

SERIES: When Something Goes Wrong, it's Usually Clint Barton's Fault by Ambrosia

Pairing: Steve/Tony/Clint/Natasha/Bruce/Thor Rating: T Words: 8,867 Tags: Humor, Everybody Lives, Fluff

Reasons why I love it: This whole series is so light-hearted and fun! I love the glimpses into what life in this version of the Avengers is like, and how they all come together to joke around and be so darned cute. If you like fluff and general team feels, then definitely check this one out, you'll love it!

This series consists of:

That One time Clint Barton got addicted to Flappy Bird

Pairing: Steve/Tony/Clint/Natasha/Bruce/Thor Rating: T Words: 2,288 Tags: Humor, Fluff, Team Bonding

Summary: But it's probably for the best, because eventually Clint is making their nightly hot chocolate at three pm in the afternoon in a balmy April because he fucking can when Thor's personal Starkphone zips past his ear and hits the fridge, shattering in a beautiful firework of twenty-thousand dollar custom phone parts. "I have become enraged with this game of flying birds," Thor grumbles, clenching his hands and releasing them. Clint uses a spatula to guard his face. "You know Tony is gonna shit himself, right, that was a custom model."

Reasons why I love it: As someone who was very much involved in the Flappy Bird hype back in the day, this feels like home to me. It's so funny, and their voices read very true to character, every single one. If the Avengers ever got hooked on Flappy Bird, this is exactly what would happen. I love this fic so much!

That one time Clint Barton showed up Fifteen Minutes Late with Lemon Cakes

Pairing: Steve/Tony/Clint/Natasha/Bruce/Thor Rating: T Words: 1,067 Tags: CA:TWS, Humor, Fluff

Summary: “Really,” Barton says. “Cause, Cap, you know I’m always up for double-crossing a massive secret agency, but what I don’t like is hopping off my evac and getting seventy four, I repeat, seventy four new messages from everybody from Fury to goddamn Tony Stark. Nat, I expected better from you. After all the shit in Gibraltar, and you do this to me? I'm a saint. I'm a good person. I don't deserve this.” Natasha shrugs, picking at the crumbling pieces of Lymonnyk he’d tossed her earlier.

Reasons why I love it: UGH they're so cute, I wish this was canon! No, it IS canon now, I've decided. Clint is one of my absolute favorite characters, and damn it if this series isn't driving that point home. Seriously, you HAVE to read it, it's amazing!

That One Time Clint Barton maybe turned Tony Stark into a Five-Year-Old

Pairing: Steve/Tony/Clint/Natasha/Bruce/Thor Rating: T Words: 2,338 Tags: Humor, Fluff, De-Aging

Summary: “Get Cap,” Natasha said, face unusually blank. Which, on a scale of ‘it’s cool she’s about to murder you with just her thighs’ to ‘wow I think we might actually be in trouble’, it was about ‘oh holy god everything’s on fire somebody do something’. Clint was already leaning low and sprinting down the hallway before she had even finished speaking.

Reasons why I love it: Yeees, give me all the magic shenanigans! This series just keeps getting funnier with every fic. Also, I love how Sam fits into the team, like he's always been there. Also also, the Stony stuff is the cutest. I love this one!

That One Time Clint Barton Totally Didn't See It Coming

Pairing: Steve/Tony/Clint/Natasha/Bruce/Thor Rating: T Words: 930 Tags: Pietro Lives, Age of Ultron, Canon Divergence

Summary: “Healing, as ever,” Steve says. “I was thinking about going out on patrol, actually.” “Oh, ow,” Clint says automatically. “You know I think my forearm is still pretty banged up.” “Good thing you were only in the circus, man,” Sam says as he passes the doorway. Clint flings a pencil at the back of his head.

Reasons why I love it: The Age of Ultron fluff piece fix-it we all needed. Funny and sweet all at once, with a healthy dose of Clint being equal parts caring and a little shit. We love to see it!

That One Time Clint Barton Got Busted Out of a High-Security Prison (Again)

Pairing: Steve/Tony/Clint/Natasha/Bruce/Thor Rating: T Words: 2,244 Tags: Civil War, Banter, Humor

Summary: The point is, he knows from the moment they’re wheeled in handcuffed to metal slabs that he’s gonna do better than everybody else. He lasts exactly twenty seven minutes and thirty-four seconds. “Is that,” Clint says, reaching through the metal bars as far as he can to try and leverage himself outward so he could see. The room they are in is octagonal, so it kinda works. “Are you— are you singing Uptown Funk?”

Reasons why I love it: I never knew I needed a whole fic of Sam, Clint and Scott snarking at each other, but oh boy, am I glad I found this one. It's so goddamn funny, and I am now forever convinced that this is exactly what happened while they were locked up in the raft. Check it out, it's amazing!

[sincerelyjxyy]

Gold Rush - Two

Invisible String - Gold Rush

Chapter Two - People Are Meant To Be Burdens

Song For This Chapter - Style by Taylor Swift

✧ deep, abiding friendships are the place where many women know lasting love. — bell hooks, communion: the search for female love ✧

Summary: After Josie's late-night adventures, she now how to face the consequences of splitting her time between kook life and pogue life, and lying to her mother.

Word Count: 9.7k

Gold Rush Masterlist

HURRICANE SEASON WAS EASILY THE BIGGEST DOWNSIDE TO LIVING IN THE OUTER BANKS. There was almost nothing to love about a tropical storm coming in and raining terror on the people of Kildare Island. It would leave behind all types of destruction and take weeks away from people's lives spent repairing the damage.

So when it was announced that Hurricane Agatha had slowly made her way toward the Banks, Josie was less than pleased. It'd been bad enough when Josie sought recovery from her experience at the airport, but to then wake up to her paranoid mother already doomsday preparing was not at all enjoyable.

It was all Max could talk about at the couple's lunch date: what he and his parents were going to do about the hurricane. The pool renovation had just been installed, the statues hadn't been properly cemented into the ground yet, and they were still painting the sides of the house—all jobs that were going to be delayed for weeks following the hurricane.

The pair sat outside on the back deck of Joanie's Seafood, despite the cloud-covered sky that hung overhead. The forecast for that day and the next was not promising, and yet they'd decided to take advantage of the lack of rain and enjoy their beautiful lunch by the ocean. Joanie's had always been a favorite of Josie's, so it was nice to get the full enjoyment before disaster struck.

The couple spent around an hour slowly eating their lunch and conversing, before they agreed to indulge themselves with dessert. That was when Max began talking about what he'd have to do about his new boat during the storm.

Josie could feel her headache as it slowly sank in. "Max, babe, I really don't think your boat is the biggest concern right now. It's a literal hurricane."

Josie stabbed into her lemon cake and took a bite, softly humming at the zesty taste. She did a little dance in her seat as the flavors coated her mouth, but stilled once she met the narrowed gaze Max shot in her direction.

"A hurricane that is going to tear up my brand-new, forty-thousand-dollar boat if I don't take the right precautions, Josephine." He reached over with his own fork to scrape a piece from her plate and shoveled it into his mouth. Josie gaped at the act, but it was replaced with a laugh when he sent her a goofy grin.

He was lucky he was cute; otherwise, she wouldn't have thought twice about poking his hand with the fork. She smiled, despite her boyfriend's smug expression, and rested her chin on the propped-up hand that held her fork.

"Did you know that the first time someone safely flew through the eye of a hurricane was in 1943, in the middle of World War II? The guy's name was Colonel Joe Duckworth, and he apparently did so on a dare." Josie's joy significantly dimmed due to the blank stare Max gave her.

"What does that have to do with anything? We were talking about my boat."

Shrugging, Josie cast her eyes downward as she played with a crumb on the plate. "Just thought it was interesting," she mumbled.

She figured, since they were talking about hurricanes, it would've been a cool thing to discuss. Many people of the present day still chased hurricanes. She'd even surfed some; it was interesting to think about.

Besides, who really cares if they were talking about his boat? Josie had heard plenty about the boat in the week that he'd had it. It felt like that was all they'd talked about as of late.

His new boat, his new truck, and the fact that he wanted them to make their relationship official.

"Well, honestly, I think there are more important things to think about than your boat. I understand that it's a lot of money on the line, but it's all material. There are people who may lose their homes or get stranded on the island. There's gonna be animals with nowhere to go. People could die, Max." She knew she was being harsh and a bit morbid, but it was true.

Most of her time spent on Figure Eight was around people who Josie had difficulty speaking up to, and, up until recently, Max had never been one of those people. But as he slowly integrated himself into Kildare, she found it harder to defend herself. Still, when the time presented itself for her to put that familiar kook-entitlement in its place, Josie couldn't resist.

He hadn't always been so snobby. When Max had first arrived to Kildare, he'd been a shy and reserved seventeen-year-old who was just trying to make friends, much like Josie herself. She'd met him at a housewarming party, and the two of them had spent the entire afternoon talking about their favorite franchises and why Pirates of the Caribbean was better than Harry Potter.

After that, things blossomed into more, and their feelings were quick to go from friendly to romantic. Josie had assumed that he was the near-perfect guy for her, and he was.

Until he began hanging out with the Terrible Trio.

Ironically enough, Max saw that as a good time to criticize her friends. "You've been hanging out with Kiara way too much; you're starting to sound like her." He chuckled as he pointed at her with his fork.

Josie rolled her eyes and gave him a duh look. "I wonder why. It's not like she's my best friend or anything." She shrugged sarcastically.

Max leaned back in his chair, messing with the fork on his plate. "I thought Maybank was your best friend." The venom in the way he'd said JJ's name was plain, and Josie had to bite her tongue to keep from scolding him.

Max had never been fond of any of the boys or their friendships with Josie, but he had a particular disliking for JJ. Understandably so, given that the first time they'd met, JJ had threatened to break Max's nose if he, quote, put his disgusting kook mouth anywhere near Jose's perfect face.

"You can have more than one best friend, Max." He stared, unconvinced, as she corrected him. "All of the pogues are my best friends, just in different ways." She took another bite of her cake, before she smirked at her boyfriend teasingly.

"You'd know that if you had any friends."

Her smirk was jokingly smug as he narrowed his eyes at her, but it was halted by the playful gasp that left her mouth when she felt a gentle kick to her shin. Laughing, she returned the action and watched her boyfriend pretend to lean down and rub his shin.

"I do have friends; thank you very much," Max defied. He leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed, and Josie satirically nodded in fake agreement.

It was true, though. Max rarely hung out with anyone who wasn't Topper, Kelce, or Rafe. And if he did, at least one of those three was also there. There was no doubt he was quickly becoming the textbook definition of a kook—only friends with people to lift whatever image they needed to project. None of those people were really friends.

She chuckled when he reached over to playfully snatch her fork from her hand and point it at her. "Speaking of Maybank..." The tone of his voice remained playful, but it bore new a sense of passive aggression that had Josie questioning what he was going to ask her.

He placed her fork back down on the table and carelessly waved down a waiter, no longer meeting her gaze. "Why did you sneak out with him to the airport last night?"

Josie froze, staring at the side of Max's face in shock. He continued to look toward the approaching waiter, not allowing her the courtesy of meeting his gaze.

What was she supposed to say?

It wasn't like they were doing anything wrong, because they weren't. But Max was her boyfriend, and of course he'd feel uncomfortable about her sneaking out with another guy late at night. Especially the one who regularly publicized his disdain for the kook.

Not to mention the fact that Max could absolutely decide to inform her mother of her activities; she didn't put it past him to be that petty. But she and JJ hadn't done anything. They were hanging out. That's all.

Two best friends hanging out after one had a traumatic encounter with her estranged father. Nothing to it.

Josie searched for a way to defend herself, when it dawned on her that she hadn't told anyone about what happened the night prior.

So, how the hell did Max know she was out?

"What? How do you know about that?" Josie stuttered helplessly as she watched Max ask the waiter for the check and some to-go boxes.

He turned back to her and crossed his arms on her table, leaning toward her. He cocked his head questioningly, and Josie fidgeted with the fabric at the bottom of her skirt to avoid his intense eye contact. "Is that as relevant as to why, Josephine?"

Josie scoffed as her eyes snapped to his, obviously annoyed. The way he'd said her name made Josie feel like she was gum on the bottom of his shoe. He'd said it like he had some sort of authoritative power over her.

The conversation took a sharp left into the tension that quickly filled the space between them.

As much as she felt no desire or need to talk about her and JJ's experience, she would not let Max address her in a tone that insinuated her queries were not relevant. She was not a child that he could scold for sneaking out without his permission.

She'd be damned if he thought he could speak to her like he was her father.

"Actually, yes, Maximus, I believe it is relevant. Especially since I don't remember discussing that, and I know JJ didn't say anything." Crossing her arms, she sharply stared at her boyfriend.

He shook his head, letting out a bitter chuckle and raising his brows at her. "You sure about that?"

Habitually, Josie went to defend JJ, but realized that she couldn't be a hundred percent certain. With the tone Max used, he sounded incredibly confident in what he was saying. As if he knew his claim was pristinely accurate.

Max was a lot of things, but he wasn't a liar.

He cleared his throat to continue. "What if I told you that I got stopped at the Club by Sam Paterson; you remember her from the party last Saturday?" Josie nodded to confirm his question; her fleeting memory recalled the bonfire from the week prior.

Samantha Paterson was a touron from the Midwest who was visiting Kildare with her dad and stepmom for the summer. Tall, blonde, tan, white teeth, kind, and incredibly fit—she was the textbook definition of attractive.

She also happened to take a quick liking to a certain blond best friend of Josie's.

Realization sank in once Josie remembered that Sam was the touron JJ was supposed to have spent his night with. The awareness must've been written all over the redhead's face, because Max let out a knowing hum as her thoughts sank in.

A less-than-pleased, tight-lipped smile crossed his face, and he nodded his head as if her reaction confirmed any suspicions he'd had. "According to her, she and JJ were supposed to hang out yesterday, but he canceled at the last minute. Apparently, his explanation was that he'd been at the airport, with you." He nodded toward her for emphasis.

To say the least, Josie was taken aback and quite shocked. Why the hell would JJ tell someone what they were doing?

Of course Sam deserved some sort of explanation for why he would ditch her; it would've been cruel of him to not provide that. But, a simple claim of an emergency would've sufficed. Did he have to explicitly tell her that he was doing something both parties knew was illegal?

Had he been texting Sam the entire time? Had he only agreed to hang out with Josie to be nice? Did he not actually want to go at all?

Was Sam the one who made the anonymous call to the police?

Josie immediately scolded herself for pinning such blame on the girl; she had no real evidence to support that claim. Sam had been nothing but nice to her when they'd met at the party, and they'd even had a quick chat about colleges.

But then a brief flash of a guilty-looking JJ mumbling shit came to Josie's mind. How uncharacteristically cooperative he'd been when they'd gotten caught. How gentle he'd been with her the whole night. All of the puzzle pieces fell into place. It had been Sam.

How else would Max know about the cops? Unless JJ told her about that, too.

Josie had to hold back the tears that threatened to spill from behind her eyes.

As much as it stung, her upset didn't even stem from the fact that JJ had been texting Sam during their time together. He was JJ, and Samantha was a very pretty girl; it was simple math. Josie would never try to change any part of JJ, including that one. She loved him for who he was.

It was the fact that he'd made it seem like it was absolutely okay that she'd all but dragged him out with her. She really thought that they'd both enjoyed the shared time. Was the reality that he'd been texting someone else about how bored he was and how much he'd rather be getting his dick wet?

The pang in her chest struck hard. He could've just said no. Was there a reason he thought he couldn't say no to her?

"So, I just have one question." Max paused, plastering a fake smile on once the waiter arrived with the check. He sent the both of them parting smiles, but Josie couldn't be bothered to reciprocate the gesture.

She continued to try to wrap her head around the new information given to her. Realistically, she should probably talk to JJ, but that sounded like the last thing she wanted to do.

"Did you sleep with him?"

The unexpected inquisition caught Josie so off guard that she choked on her own spit, coughing into her hand and staring up at him with wide eyes. For a split second, she'd thought that he might've been joking. But when her green eyes met his brown ones, she was made acutely aware that he was fiercely serious.

Scoffing, she slammed her napkin down on the table and leaned forward to whisper-yell at him. "Absolutely not! First off, I would never, ever cheat on anyone. Second, JJ is a pogue, my best friend. That is an uncrossable boundary. Third, I told you I'm a virgin and waiting for the right time—so why the hell would I go do it in the middle of some field? And fourth-" She interrupted herself to stand from her chair and shove it under the table.

She grabbed her bag from the back of the chair and slung it over her shoulder. "You're my boyfriend, not JJ. I like you. So why the hell would I sleep with someone else?"

Without so much as a second glance spared, the teen marched off of the deck and desperately avoided eye contact with any of the surrounding patrons. She made her way around the building to the parking lot, clenching her fists as she wiped them across the stray tears falling from her eyes.

When she made her way out front, she abruptly remembered that Max had been her ride. Her Jeep sat unmanned in her driveway at home. She immediately contemplated lying in the middle of the asphalt right then and there.

Was she really going to walk all the way back home?

Josie groaned, allowing herself to childishly stomp her foot in and hiss out a few curses under her breath to appease her growing frustration. She begrudgingly pulled her phone from her bag and scrolled through her contacts until she found Kiara.

She placed the phone against her ear, biting her lip, and pretended to look around as if she'd expected someone to pick her up—just in case anyone saw her predicament. She waited three rings and huffed as she got the voicemail.

She hung up and pursed her lips, weighing her remaining options. John B was working on the Druthers until three. Pope was a no-go because the last time he'd used his dad's truck to help her, he'd crushed the front bumper.

She, obviously, couldn't call her mother. Josie dreaded what the woman might say if she admitted that she and Max were not a perfect couple. The appraisal she'd received from her mother those last few months while dating Max was too beneficial for Josie to throw it away. It wasn't worth admitting the faults in their relationship.

There was only one person Josie could logistically call—the same person who she did not want to talk to at that very moment. But what was worse—walking all the way across town and Figure Eight to get home, or asking JJ for something with the new knowledge that he probably found her asking annoying?

To Josephine Grey, the answer was clear and concise.

So, with a sigh and a mental boost, Josie began the long, treacherous trek she'd have to take across half of the island. She was grateful that the sun had ducked into the cover of the clouds that day, which meant that the summer heat wasn't entirely unbearable.

She'd walked for almost an hour and a half and had only made it past the Sheriff's Department, not even halfway across town, when she'd heard the familiar sound of a roaring engine approach. She turned to watch the bike cruise down the road in her direction, the driver carefree as he rode through town sans helmet.

The red of the bike was prominent and familiar, which caused Josie to duck her head and stare at the ground as she walked. She hoped that she would blend in with the people who littered the sidewalks as they ran their own errands. Luckily, she'd decided to wear a baseball cap that day, and it would help conceal her face enough to not draw attention.

She watched the bike pass from the corner of her eye, and a long sigh of relief left her once he'd fully passed. Guilt built in her stomach at the notion that she so desperately didn't want to talk to her best friend—an incredibly unfamiliar feeling.

But what would she even say to him? I'm never gonna ask you to do anything ever again because I'm now constantly worried you'll think I'm annoying. Why the hell couldn't you be honest with me about not wanting to hang out with me last night?

She couldn't explain why it'd gotten under her skin so much. She knew that, ultimately, JJ was her best friend, and they both would drop everything to help each other. She knew that. She was secure in her friendships and loved them all, and she was confident they loved her equally as much.

So why the hell had this in particular gotten to her so much? She shouldn't have been so bothered by it; it was her own insecurities controlling her.

Maybe it was just because she was more vulnerable to the manipulation of her own emotions as of late. She wondered if, after seeing her dad and reminiscing on those buried feelings, her inner turmoil was trying to find any and every reason to mess with her brain. She just wished her inner demons would shut up already.

As if her inner thoughts were being spied on, the roar of an engine presented itself again and pushed away every one of Josie's complex thoughts. The only difference from before was that the sound of the engine was newly accompanied by the loud call of her name.

She glanced over her shoulder to see the exact boy that compelled her thoughts—the same one who she dreaded having to eventually speak to.

He rode to a slow stop beside where she stood and smiled at her, his sunglasses hiding the brilliant blue of his eyes. "Hey baby, thought you were goin' on a date."

Josie pulled the leather backpack further up her shoulder, eyes purposely avoiding his face. "I was," she offered. Her jaw clenched in an effort to imply that she was apprehensive and not in the mood to talk.

But either he chose to ignore her body language or was just completely oblivious, because he simply cocked his head to the side in jest.

"So, where is Mr. Wonderful, then? Don't tell me he's making you guys walk all the way home." JJ playfully looked around for Max, his hand teasingly placed over his eyes as if to shield them from the non-existent sun.

Josie rolled her eyes and, without thinking, walked towards him to jokingly shove his hand away from his face. When his hand had been removed and she'd realized how close they were, she took a step back onto the curb.

She crossed her arms protectively over her stomach. "We had a fight at Joanie's." She swiped her tongue over her chapped lips and watched her shoe scuff the ground. "I left, and I'm walking myself home."

"What? From Joanie's?"

Josie nodded, and JJ scoffed as he shook his head in irritation. He motioned his head toward the back of the bike. "Freakin' punk, leavin' you to walk home by yourself. C'mon, it's gonna take you hours to get back. You know you're as fast as a turtle."

"No, JJ, I left by myself. We were eating lemon cake and laughing, and the next thing I knew, we were fighting. And yeah, I know it's immature to walk away from someone while you're talking to them, but I just got so upset, so I left. Even though I really wanted to finish that slice of lemon cake. Now, I'm walking home because I rode with Max to Joanie's, considering I didn't think this was how our date was going to end because he's supposed to kiss me silly and breathless at my front door. But he didn't because we're fighting. So I'm walking home alone, and my feet are probably gonna have blisters. And my mom's gonna see that I walked home, so she's gonna have to ask a bunch of questions that I really don't want to give her the answers to. On top of all that, I'm supposed to be upset with you, but you're here and-"

Her rambling immediately stopped once she'd realized what she said, quickly slapping her hand over her mouth.

JJ's dubious tone was supported by the crease in his forehead. "Upset with me? Why?"

Josie kept her eyes to the ground, wrestling with the decision to say something or let him remain unaware. She figured she'd have to talk to him eventually, but not right there in the middle of Kildare. Certainly not before she'd had enough time to gather her thoughts and practice what she would say.

Either way, she figured fate was trying to tell her to pull on her big girl pants and get it over with, so she did.

"Did you ditch Sam Paterson last night and then tell her that we snuck out to the airport?"

The silence that fell over them was enough to vindicate Josie's suspicions, and she bitterly, yet knowingly, scoffed. She sniffled to suck back the tears that threatened to fall at the confirmation that her friend had been communicating his displeasure to someone else, instead of being honest with her.

"You know you didn't have to come with me, right? You could've just said no, and I would've figured something else out. I don't ever want you to feel like I forced you to do something."

"Jose." JJ sighed and fully shut off the bike to climb off of it. He walked towards her and removed his sunglasses, placing them on the collar of his shirt.

But she paid him no mind, too lost in her own head. "No, JJ, honestly. I don't want you to ever do something with me out of pity. I know you'd hate it if it were the other way around."

He placed his hands on her shoulders and bent down to meet her eyeline—a classic JJ move to grab someone's attention. "Jose, I'm a big boy, alright? If I didn't wanna go, I would've told you. But I did, 'cause I always wanna hang with you."

Relief washed over the teen girl; the gentle reminder that she was being paranoid was appreciated. She softly gazed up at him, and he returned the stare tenfold. "I just don't want to get in between you and your, y'know, extracurriculars. I especially don't wanna make them mad enough to call the freaking cops on us."

JJ laughed as his arms wrapped around Josie's shoulders to pull her into a hug. She huffed but, nonetheless, folded her arms around his waist and smiled at the sound of his boyish mirth.

Maybe Pope had been right when, days prior, he'd so certainly stated that Josie had adopted a tendency to be a worrywart once the summer had started. But she couldn't help it. Her anxiety had sky-rocketed in the month they'd been out of school, and she wasn't entirely sure why. There was an overwhelming sense of dread and anticipation that pooled in her stomach, just waiting for the wrong moment to strike.

JJ, as always, dragged her out of her head. "Don't worry about that; I took care of it already." Josie pulled back to look up at him, and he sent her a wink. "'S crazy how much you can apologize by saying nothing."

Cringing at his statement, Josie pushed herself from JJ's embrace and pretended to shiver in disgust. "Eugh, Jay. I don't need to know that much about you. Ever."

He shrugged candidly through his laugh and turned to climb back on his bike, before offering his hand to Josie. "Alright, enough with the sappy shit and hop on. Your boy-toy might let you walk home, but I sure as hell won't."

Josie rolled her eyes, but she still took the extended hand to climb over the back of the bike. She shoved her hat into her backpack and adjusted the straps over both of her shoulders. She made sure to tuck her skirt under her legs to save herself the embarrassment of flashing everyone on Kildare.

The routine was not unusual for the duo; Josie's Jeep was not the most reliable of vehicles. Meaning that oftentimes, if the Twinkie wasn't available, Josie found herself on the back of JJ's dirt bike when she needed a quick lift. She'd gotten quite used to wrapping her arms around his waist and letting the wind whip her hair into tangles as they crossed the island.

It was, of course, no different as he took her home. JJ wildly drove the bike as if neither of them could die at any moment, and Josie kept close watch for any cops.

Josie's walk would've, most likely, taken her a few hours and then some to get home. Whereas the short bike ride only lasted about ten minutes, with JJ flying through the neighborhoods of Figure Eight.

They passed Kie's house, and Josie noted that her friend's car wasn't in the driveway, indicating that Kiara was probably busy busting her ass at work. Josie wouldn't be able to rant about her day until later.

They slowed to a stop a few houses down from hers, and Josie demounted the bike. Once she'd made her way onto the sidewalk, she smiled at her companion and offered him a two-finger salute. "I guess I owe you for this one."

He nodded pointedly at her. "I'm gonna hold you to that." His smirk was unwavering even as she rolled her eyes.

She let out a breath of laughter. "I don't doubt that." She turned to walk toward her house but spun around to smile at him.

"Be careful driving, okay? The Assyrians may have only made helmets to protect themselves from swords and arrows, but I'm pretty sure they're still around and enforced for a reason. Especially when you ride that thing. If you crash and die, I'll bring you back just to kill you myself."

JJ smiled genuinely at her, the dimple on his right cheek noticeable as he revved the bike loudly. "Look at you, always looking out f'me."

Josie humorously flipped him off, before she fully turned and began her short walk to her house.

"See ya later, Jose!" The sound of the engine passed her as he waved goodbye and made his way back to the other side of the island.

She walked down the sidewalk, smile fixed on her face as she thought about her drastic mood change within the past hour and a half. She was certain that the noticeable change would give her whiplash at some point, but that wasn't important. What was important was that her friendship remained intact.

She scolded herself as she entered her front gate and shut it behind her. She'd let anxiety cloud her judgment and made an unfair assumption about JJ. He was her friend, her best friend to be exact, and he wanted to be around her—end of story.

It was not her fault if someone else was upset with JJ's decision. He was right—he was a big boy who made his own choices.

With a bit more pep in her step, Josie bounded up the front steps and through the front door. Once she entered, she was immediately greeted with the sight of men carrying boxes and installing wires around the house.

She sent a tight-lipped smile to some of them as she passed. Quickly, she shuffled through the left threshold of the foyer and into the open living room.

In the main room, men on ladders drilled and pulled wires along the wall, the tall ceilings doing them no favors for how high up they were. Josie shuddered at the thought of being on one of those things and mentally reminded herself to never become an electrician.

She caught sight of her mother as the woman casually sat on the couch, a glass of wine in hand. Josie bee-lined her way toward her. "What the heck is going on?" As Josie moved further into the room, she became aware of the other person occupying the love seat adjacent to the sofa.

Rose Cameron's bright blonde hair was glowing, despite the lack of sunlight streaming through the large glass windows behind her. Her lips were as full and as pink as ever, and she observed with humor as Petunia Shoupe turned to Josie with a fraudulent smile and an intense gaze.

"Watch who you're speaking to like that, Josephine." Petunia shot Rose a glance, before she turned back to her daughter. "What in the world happened to your hair? And where is Max? Surely, he wouldn't drop you off without coming in."

Without an answer, Petunia turned back to her confidante. "Max is a sweetheart, Rose. They've only been together for a couple of months, but he's such a good boy that I might have to marry her off to him. Cory likes him too, a plus for sure."

Petunia raised the wine glass at Josie in good fashion, and Josie had to keep herself from scoffing in disinterest. She couldn't have cared less about what her mother's boyfriend thought about any guy she dated.

Petunia often liked to act like Cory Schmidt was the stepfather of her children's dreams, a man who had filled the shoes of fatherhood when no one else could. A man who took the Grey girls in and gave them the fatherly love they'd craved.

In reality, he was the younger brother of some guy her mother had crushed on growing up. When they'd moved back to Kildare, Petunia had reconnected with the family and began a relationship with Cory after he'd been a client at her law firm.

A bit unethical, in Josie's opinion.

He'd moved in almost exactly four months after her parents' divorce was finalized, and he'd been a thorn in Josie's side ever since.

He liked to act as if he was Josie's father. Punishments for anything, groundings whenever she disagreed with him even remotely, and refusing to continue any of the Grey children's therapy for a few years. He'd been on a power trip since he'd begun dating Petunia, so much so that he often liked to introduce himself as Josie and Naomi's father.

The truth was, Josie had never had a father-daughter relationship with anyone. The closest thing she had to a father was Bobby Heyward.

The teen looked down to meet her mother's expectant gaze. She noticed the way her mother's green eyes lingered on her hair—no doubt messy from the bike ride home. Josie self-consciously reached up to try and flatten the knots as she avoided her mother's consuming stare.

"No, we-uhm, we had an argument. I thought it would be best if he just dropped me off." She continued to run her hand through her tangles. "The hair is from the windows being rolled down."

She removed her hands from her hair to pick at the skin around her nails, but her actions were stopped by the faint slap laid on skin. Her eyes immediately snapped up to meet her mother's stern gaze.

"Josephine, please speak up and stop picking at your fingers. You're going to give yourself wrinkly and cracked skin."

Petunia leaned back into the sofa and patted the spot beside her—a command for Josie to sit. The teen followed, tucking her legs under her and to the side, and tried to make herself comfortable. She observed her mother and Rose share a silent conversation with a look, and the blonde excused herself for more wine in the kitchen.

"You've heard about the hurricane coming through, Hurricane Agatha, is it?" Petunia looked toward one of the electricians impatiently, and he nodded once he'd noticed.

The woman barely acknowledged his answer and scoffed at his delayed response. Josie grimaced, and she sent him an apologetic look as he went back to work.

"Hurricane Agatha is coming through, and we need to be exceedingly prepared this time, given how harsh Hurricane Evan was on us. So, these lovely people are replacing the old generators and installing some solar paneling that we're hoping keeps the house running smoothly, should anything happen to the generators."

Turning to face her daughter, she tucked her legs to mimic Josie's. "Now, tell me what happened between you and Max. You said you had a fight?"

Josie knew she couldn't tell her mother the truth for a multitude of reasons. She could not let her know she was not, in fact, with Kiara last night, but was instead trespassing with the one person her mother disliked more than almost anyone on the island.

She also couldn't tell her the truth because she knew Petunia would go straight to Victor Shoupe, who would then explain why he'd let the duo go in the first place.

Josie wasn't sure if her mother knew about her father's return yet, and she didn't want to take any chances if she didn't. Josie undoubtedly could not ask her about it either.

It'd always been a sore spot—her parents' burning hatred for each other. Her father resented her mother for getting pregnant and essentially taking his life away from him, and her mother resented him for getting her pregnant at eighteen and being an asshole. Anytime he, or even the name Peter was mentioned, she turned into something similar to the other mother from Coraline.

So that was a no-go.

Josie also just wasn't keen on hearing the same lecture over and over again about how nothing good could come from hanging out with pogues. That they were all the same and were going to lead her and Kiara down a path of nothing but jail and struggling to make ends meet. An opinion that also stemmed from Petunia's hatred of Peter and his life as a pogue.

"Uh, well. He kind of..." Josie messed with the top of the couch, fiddling with her fingers in an attempt that she hoped looked apprehensive, but was really just her trying to come up with a lie. It must've worked, because her mother set the wine glass down atop a coaster on the coffee table and laid a hand on Josie's left arm to rub it comfortingly.

It was a manipulative tactic commonly used by Petunia to get her daughter relaxed enough to talk, and it always worked.

"M'ange, you know you can tell me anything. You have nothing to be embarrassed about. You're young, and you're a woman. Things are going to happen, and you have to be willing to speak up and be confident in your words."

Josie wished she could laugh at how ironic that statement was.

She couldn't tell her mother anything, as much as she loved her and wanted to. Josie would never be able to leave the house, much less be seen with the pogues.

Petunia already assumed that, because of Max, Josie had not spent any time with the pogues. In turn, she was less inclined to hover and question everything her daughter did. And Josie wished to keep it that way.

As Josie searched for any type of explanation, she figured her best cover would be to use another one of her predicaments. "Max asked me about sex the other day." Her mother's shoulders tensed, but Petunia nodded at the teen to continue.

"He told me that he thought we were getting pretty serious and that he wanted me to come over to his house and see how we feel. He asked me about it again today, and we just got into it."

If there was one thing Josie could be grateful to her mother for, it was her openness about sexuality and what she expected from her children. While Josie wasn't outwardly confident about the subject with just anyone, it was never seen as a taboo subject in their predominately female household.

So, the fact that Josie could use it as her out was the perfect solution to avoiding her real dilemma.

Petunia nodded and played with a strand of Josie's hair absentmindedly. "And why did you get into it? Do you not want that with him, or are you scared that Cory and I would disapprove? Because sweetheart-" Her mother gently grabbed at the back of Josie's knee and scooted the teen closer to her.

"The age of consent is seventeen, which you are. I know that it is unreasonable to ask any teen, especially one in a serious relationship, not to have sex. It's illogical. But I always want you to come to me with these things."

Josie pretended to be hesitant as she rubbed her arm. "I'm just nervous, you know? I don't want to end up seventeen and pregnant, and we know how non-effective condoms can be."

Josie knew that it was a bitchy move to so plainly use her older sister's high school mistake to shift her mother's attention somewhere else. She was kissing up at that point, but why not? Make her mom think that she was actively worried about not getting pregnant, unlike her estranged older sister. It'd steer the conversation away from any thought about the pogues or why she and Max were actually fighting.

She was using her mother's own manipulative tactics to ease them away from the previous topic.

"Well, there's an easy fix for that, sweetheart. I'll get you an appointment with Dr. Lorraine tomorrow for an IUD insertion. Problem solved." Petunia slightly raised her hand from its rest on the sofa to emphasize her point and squeezed Josie's knee.

"It was about time we put you on birth control anyway. I did it. Daisy did it. It's just unfortunate that it skipped one of you, but not to worry." She booped Josie's noses, smiling as if the solution to all of Josie's problems really was that easy. "I'll call her as soon as Rose and I finish overseeing the generators."

Petunia picked up her glass of wine from the table and laid a kiss on Josie's forehead, before she smoothed a finger in between her eyebrows. "Stop scrunching, m'ange. You'll get wrinkles." Her scold was accompanied by a sing-song voice as she walked away from the couch.

Once Petunia was fulfilled by Rose's company again, Josie shot up from the couch and made her way up the stairs and to her room.

As soon as Josie slammed the bedroom door behind her, she let out a long and loud groan. She pressed a hand to her chest to calm her racing heart. She knew that the day would eventually come when her mother caught on to every lie she'd been planting.

Secretly switching schools, hanging out with the pogues, seeing her father back in town, and her complex relationship with Max. She wasn't sure how much more she could spin the web without getting tangled in it.

She threw her backpack on her desk chair, before she plopped face first onto the rouge-colored comforter. She pulled a pillow under her face and let out a loud scream, overwhelmed by the events that had occurred that day.

And it wasn't even two p.m.

☼

"An IUD?" Kiara asked for clarification as she, Josie, and Pope sat on a blanket they'd laid out atop the sand.

Josie sat crisscrossed and found her solace in the sound of the waves rushing ashore. She'd texted Kie hours after arriving home, when she'd figured her best friend's shift had ended. She'd sent her a simple message: need to talk

Within twenty minutes, Kiara had been outside her front door with Pope in tow. They'd brought a blanket, a picnic basket, and a cup of coffee with Josie's name on it. She was just glad that her friends were able to be there.

There was no one else Josie wanted to confide in more than those two. There were some things only her level-headed friends could sympathize with and give their advice on.

"Yeah. And I mean, to be fair, it's not completely unexpected. We've always talked about what birth controls are most effective and what we'd prefer. Both my mom and Daisy got IUDs. I figured it's better than her knowing about what actually happened."

She happily munched on the PB&J Kie had packed for her, uncaring about any dining manners her mother had instilled in her. She wiped the crumbs on her shirt off with her hand, and she crumpled the plastic wrap once she'd finished half.

"Your family is so weird sometimes. I mean, your mom is a scary jackass who tries to control your every whim, no offense." Josie shook her head in assurance as Pope spoke, aware of her mother's ruthlessness. "But at the same time, she's chill about you having sex and is just like, yeah, sure, no problem?"

"I think, from a lawyer's perspective, the main difference in her mind is logistics. She's aware that I'm of consenting age and a teen who's probably gonna have sex, so she takes it in stride and openly talks about it. But with the pogues..." Josie shot a matter-of-fact look towards Kie.

"She's never liked them, ever. Even growing up, she was taught that they were scummy low-lifers. She thinks that the only thing I can gain from being one is a criminal record. In her own twisted brain, she has this bias toward the pogues that no one, especially not me, will be able to change. She thinks it's what's best for me."

Josie solemnly looked down at the other half of her sandwich. "Not to mention the fact that her least favorite people in the world are all pogues."

Josie shrugged off her complicated feelings to insist that it wasn't a big deal. She finished the sandwich and placed the plastic back in the basket, silently hoping for someone to change the topic.

She glanced over at Kiara again, who knowingly gazed back at her.

It kind of gave Josie the creeps—how much Kie could read her with just a few simple looks. Kiara could easily tell how much Petunia's dislike of The Cut residents actually got to her, and her expression made that understanding clear.

"I just...I don't know. I just know that not being with you guys is not what's best for me at all, y'know?"

Laughing, Pope reached over to ruffle her hair. Josie swatted at his hand in return. "Yeah, without us, you'd be a boring old kook who'd probably spit in our food before serving us."

Josie nodded; the reputation of the pogues was never lost on her. She would've been completely brainwashed had she not met JJ and John B.

"Exactly, but my mom doesn't see it that way. She'd never accept how happy I am with you guys or how much you mean to me. Like, sometimes I don't think I could think properly without you guys. Every emotion or thing that happens to me, you're the people I go to. But I can't tell her that because she wouldn't listen to any of it. She already thinks she knows everything about everything; she'd never be able to admit that the preconceived ideas she had about pogues can be wrong."

Kiara chuckled once Josie finished, and she reached out to throw her left arm over the girl's shoulders. "Glad you got that off your chest?"

The auburn-haired girl huffed out in relief and nodded, pulling her knees up to her chest. She intertwined her hand with Kiara's, which hung from her shoulder, and squeezed it in comfort.

"I just wish I could unwrap her hand from around my neck, as morbid as it sounds."

"Do you think that's why you're so adamant about not going to Yale? Because you want to be able to show her that she can't control you?" Kiara's question caused Josie to gently push her arm off and fall back into the blanket.

She covered her eyes with her forearm and groaned out in annoyance, rubbing her forehead in an attempt to calm herself. "Don't even get me started on college. I haven't even told JJ I'm applying to colleges, much less told my mom I don't want to go to law school."

"You'd think your mom would've already realized that you're not cut out to be a lawyer," Pope teased as he joined his red-haired best friend's flat position on the blanket. Kie followed, so that they both settled on either side of Josie.

"Apparently not. She's already told so many people that Yale is my top school and that she's planning on buying a house in Connecticut so we can all be close to each other. She's so desperate to leave Kildare." Josie scrunched her face to show her distaste for her mother's beloved plan.

"Imagine how mad she's gonna be when she finds out I want to go to Chapel Hill and that I want to study archeology or history. She's actually gonna murder me."

Kiara blew out a breath through her pursed lips. "You have two vastly different predicaments here, JoJo. Your mom, who wants you to move ten hours away to Yale, and JJ, who will probably blow a gasket when you tell him you're planning to move three hours away."

Josie gently slapped Kiara's arm that was placed between them, before she smacked her hand over the younger girl's mouth. Despite Josie's hand, Kiara continued to speak. "Do you even qualify for Yale?"

"Her ACT score was a thirty-four first try, and I'm pretty sure your GPA is solid." Pope sat up to address Kiara, eyes flickering back to Josie for confirmation of her over-achieving statistics. "Not to mention the fact that she was VP last year and president this year." He shot a playful glare Josie's way when he mentioned her win against him for student government.

Josie rolled her eyes and pushed him back down, removing the hand she'd held over Kie's mouth. "That ACT was a fluke at best. I'm just a good test taker, you know that. If I were to take it again, I'd probably get, like, a twenty-five at most."

Pope gaped at the girl to his right, astonished that she could be admonishing her achievements that easily. But she was visibly uncomfortable with the conversation's route as she shrugged.

"Fluke or not, Jose, it doesn't matter. You already got the thirty-four; it's logged. With your mom's internship last summer, your grades, extracurriculars, and the recommendation letter you're gonna get, you're pretty much set. Being accepted isn't your problem; it's telling your mom you're not going that is." He paused, raising his brows at her.

"You're not going, right?"

Kie scoffed and sat up completely, glaring down at Pope from across Josie. "Of course she's not going, right, Jose? She wants to be an archeologist, or a historian, not a lawyer. Plus, there's absolutely no way I'm letting you move almost six hundred miles away."

Josie nodded in agreement and grabbed both of her friend's hands. "Duh, I'm not going. Even if I get accepted; do you think I could deal with only coming home on holidays and breaks?" She nudged Pope's shoulder with her own. "I'd miss you way too much. We're gonna be Tar Heels together whether you like it or not."

"Yep, and when you're done with college, you and I are starting our travels to Scotland and Morocco." Kie grinned.

Josie rose from her position to wrap her arms around her friend and playfully shake her. "You bet! You're gonna help me find Libertalia. We're gonna be so rich that we can go build houses, schools, and wells, and then travel to wherever the hell we want."

It was Josie's historical pipe dream to find Libertalia. Ever since the stories of her childhood that claimed the clues to find Libertalia were buried with Captain Henry Avery's heist treasure in Scotland, Josie had set her mind on continuing what many before her couldn't. Her friends were well aware of how much it was Josie's only-from-a-miracle dream to one day find the supposed pirate paradise while dressed in the riches of Captain Avery.

She'd been obsessed with treasure hunting since before she could remember. It came with the whole, loving history thing, in addition to the stories her father had told her when she couldn't sleep. On the rare occasions he could stand to be around her, Josie had found that he was the most incredible storyteller she'd ever met.

Stories of lost cities and pirates that had faked their deaths, Peter Grey filled his middle daughter's head with dreams of swashbuckling and finding gold.

The dreams to find Libertalia and Avery's riches of paradise weren't necessarily because she wanted the money as much as it was that she wanted the experience. She wanted to learn about the ways legendary pirates thought and what they did in their moments of desperation. She wanted to learn about the unknown.

She wanted to be a part of what could be one of the biggest archeological finds of this century.

"Well, send me a postcard." Pope laughed from behind Josie, and she turned to hit his knee. Her brow quirked at him as he rose into a sitting position.

"You're telling me you don't want to be there when I find the legendary utopian pirate colony. When I find the treasure of the biggest, most successful pirate heist in all of history?" She placed a hand to her chest in faux offense, laughing when he shoved her shoulder.

"Okay, but in all seriousness, I love you guys. With everything piling up in my life, I'm so lucky to know that I have you guys, and the last thing I'd ever do is leave that behind. Through every shit thing life throws at me, I got my pogues. And John B." Josie's nose crinkled at the mention of their other best friend, causing Kie and Pope to burst into loud laughter.

"Okay, okay, now that that's out of my system." Josie turned to pull her camera out of her backpack, grinning at Pope as he rolled his eyes and lightheartedly groaned.

"Oh, please, you didn't really think I was gonna let us go on a picnic without getting some pics of us, did you?" She teasingly smirked. "Besides, how else am I supposed to remember you guys when I'm in Connecticut?"

A handful of sand hit her torso, and she turned to her right to meet Kiara's playful glare as she wiped her hand off on the blanket. Josie narrowed her eyes and lifted the camera with one hand, reaching out to squish her friend's cheeks in the other.

After she snapped the photo, she let go of Kie's face and turned the camera to show her the photo. She couldn't help the belly laugh that erupted when Kiara made a face like she'd just eaten a lemon.

"Delete that, now."

Josie giggled as she shook her head and snapped another picture of Kiara's annoyed face. When Kiara tried to reach for the camera, Josie held it away from her grasp and jumped to her feet. She took another two photos of her best friends on the blanket, smiling to herself as she inspected them on the screen.

"C'mon, losers! It looks like the clouds are gonna be gone just enough for us to see the sunset, and I'll be damned if we don't get any good pictures!"

The trio stayed on the beach for another hour, gossiping about their own family drama and posing for Josie's photos, when their phones all buzzed at the same time. In the WhatsApp group chat, they'd received a selfie of JJ and John B angrily pouting. It was a response to a photo the trio had sent them of the sunset.

Below the picture was a text from each boy. John B's text read as such: u guys are assholes and meanies and no longer allowed HMS access unless u come to the Chat right now and fill us in on why u're hanging w/out us. u have twenty minutes

JJ's text followed right after:cant believe u guys wuld do this to me. jombie i get, but me? i will be having very strong worbs with corporate

"Oh, so his dyslexic ass knows how to spell corporate, but not would?" Pope laughed as he shoved his phone into his pocket. The trio began to make their way back up the beach toward their previous setup.

Josie shrugged as she placed her own phone in her back pocket. "He has spell check on his phone, so I have no clue why it wouldn't auto-correct. I refuse to believe he knew how to spell corporate without help."

They approached the picnic they'd left and speedily threw all of their trash and leftovers into the basket. Kie laughed, before motioning toward Josie as if she'd just remembered something. "Wait, aren't you technically corporate?"

"I think an exception can be made for us." Josie wrapped the camera strap around her neck as Kie and Pope picked up their bags and the basket. She picked up the blanket and folded it around her arms, before they headed back to the Jeep.

"After all, I do it all the time when JJ and I hang out without you guys."

Gasping, Kie narrowed her eyes and pointed at the grinning girl. "I knew you were playing favorites that last time I complained about being left out from lunch!"

"What was I supposed to do? He promised me a whole bag of blue sour patch kids!" Josie laughed at the pout Kie wore at Josie's defense.

They shoved everything into the trunk, and Josie overheard Kie mumble something to herself about going to a museum without Josie. The redhead cackled as she shut the trunk, and she rounded the Jeep with the other two.

Josie slid into the driver's seat, Kie in the passenger seat, and Pope behind her. "Alright, let's go before John B actually revokes Pogue privileges."

As Josie cranked the car, Kiara, the designated DJ, grabbed the aux cord and connected her phone. As if the girls had the same brain, Kie immediately navigated to their shared playlist of car jams and scrolled until she found the exact sound she was looking for.

Josie couldn't hide the smile on her face as the first notes of the familiar guitar riff began to play.

Midnight. You come and pick me up, no headlights.

⋄ ⋟⋆ june 16, 2020

I woke up this morning light and full of air, walking on the sunshine that was the feeling of contentment that consumed my being. only to have that sunshine ripped from under my feet midday, the splashing of freezing ocean water once again consuming me into its depths. I then spent my time fearing the worst. that I was unlovable. that I was the burden of my friends' lives as they lived to fly, and I was on the ground begging to be picked up and placed in their pockets. I spent the day worrying that the people, the person, that I care for more than anything saw me as a burden. but I've come to realize now, as I sway on a hammock in the comfort of those very same people, that it is not a bad thing. people are meant to be burdens. we as humans rely on and support one another. it is not a bother at all; it is our purpose. as I would do absolutely anything to make the ones I love happy, they would do the exact same. because to love and be loved in return is all any of us can really ask for. we were made to love.

- josephine grey ⋄ ⋟⋆

[gayszlen]

Oh hey I got tagged for a thing ty @warioigottawin:+)

OK

Fav colour: I think foresty green, but my like lifetime favorite colour is royal purple, however I've been real into pale pinks lately too...

Currently reading: OOOH ok so I was rereading Harrow along with my friend who I'm doing the cosplay with BUT I was also at her behest reading the Final Empire, book one of Mistborn (she's super into Brandon Sanderson's stuff) and now I'm onto the second book, the Well of Ascension. They've been really good so far, it's a really cool and unique fantasy world with an awesome magic system (eating different metals lets you do crazy shit) and I loooove the main characters, they start out a bit basic but especially coming into book two they gain a lot of depth and are just generally really likeable, I have had a bit of trouble keeping track of the side characters though lol, there's a couple that all melt together in my brain. Also ostensibly working on starting discworld, I'm a little bit of the way through Guards! Guards! But TLT and Mistborn have been keeping me busy (STILL need to read nona lol, I'll probably get to it before Alecto comes out lol) also I've been doing all of this with audiobooks which I still have some trouble paying attention to sometimes but it's massively easier for me these days than physical books OK LONG BIT OVER

Last song: last song I actually listened to was DUI by Estelle Allen, I unironically love it so much even though I can't drive and therefore follow through (I DID SCHEDULE A PERMIT TEST THOUGH WHOO LOOK AT ME BEING AN ADULT) anyways if you haven't heard it PLEASE please listen to it immediately (and also the whole album it's on, it's actually real good)

Last series: UHHH haven't been watching a ton of "tv" shows recently, but I just finished season 5 of game changer on dropout which was fun, and I'm now binging all three seasons of SoupRS's Gielenor Games OSRS competition gameshow, I haven't actually played old school in a bit and never very seriously but I do love those funny little guys fighting funny little monsters and flicking their funny little prayers :+)

Last movie: UHH I think the DnD movie? I personally loved it, it's not as cringe as I expected and is very accessible to anyone who's not into dnd the game or the internet dnd "fandom"

Sweet, spicy, or savoury: GOD that's hard I mean I am a pleasure seeking creature so like I do love sweet sugary stuff, but I also loooove sweet/spicy stuff, or really just all of those stuck together, although I think I'd actually go for umami over savoury. I've been practicing this scallion oil noodle recipe that is soooo good and the sauce especially is a really great blend of sweet from sugar, spicy from various stuff, and savory from the scallions (plus a lot of umami from the sesame oil and soy sauce lol) my rendition of the recipe is just a simplified/easier version of some I've seen on the internet, but I can post it if anyone's interested :3

Craving: SPONGE CAKE AND TOO SWEET ICING god I just love the texture its such a good sensory experience for me, and the flavor is just. Sugar lol so yeah. However seeing char's answer reminds me that I loooove the samosas from this one Indian place we used to order from that shut down BUT they JUST reopened under a new name and slightly different model so I need to get my mitts on some yummy yummy samosas and tamarind sauce

Tea vs coffee: TEA ez, I mostly just drink water and the occasional sodie (although I really should get an electric kettle for my room id drink way more tea) I think I've literally never had coffee and tbh I don't have much desire too, doesn't smell a way I like and I can get caffeine from sodies, someday I may grow up and get into coffee but I wanna get back to more tea first, I made this syrup with lemon balm that I really wanna try as a sweetener in a tea

Currently working on: well not a ton, got a callback from a job I was really excited about and they seemed into me but also I need a driver's license for that so. I'm starting work on a permit lol. Theoretically working on that cosplay but most of it is just gonna be ordering stuff, I might make the sword out of foam and wood though so I can bring it to cons. Also been drawing a sword for the same friend's fantasy series she's been working on, and just generally helping her brainstorm that stuff which is really fun :)

OK uhhhhhhhhhhhhh do I have to tag people? Idk, if anyone wants to do this you can just say I tagged you, and I'll give uhhh @the-gay-prometheus @potorch @bark-eater @zoentropy a ping for it lol, absolutely no pressure to do it, entirely just if you're interested ok bye :)