#jatp sweet tarts

[invisibleraven]

Keeping Spirits Bright

Day 12: Alone + Sweet Tarts <=AO3

When Carrie was young, one of her favourite movies was Home Alone. For one, Kevin was cute to her at that age, so it wasn’t a hardship to watch him and his antics over and over again. The other reason is that she wants the events of the movie to happen to her. Not her house being invaded by burglars-they have a crack security team for a reason, and she doesn’t think she has what it takes to toss paint cans at someone’s head. No, she wants the ending, where the family comes home, appreciates the lonely child and they have an amazing holiday together. 

Carrie wanted that more than anything. 

She loved her life-the lavish house, the top of the line toys and clothes, anything she could ever want, all she had to do is ask. But it all comes at a cost-her dad’s fame means he’s away a lot; on tour, on writing retreats, networking, recording, there never seems to be any end to it. Thus, Trevor Wilson doesn’t really have time for his kid. Though Carrie knows that he didn’t have much choice in her even being here, as her mother literally abandoned her at the doorstep and disappeared. 

Now she knows her dad loves her-he’s given her a great life, and always is nice to her, giving her lots of affection whenever he’s around. It’s just…he’s barely ever around. And Carrie misses him-especially around the holidays when it seems all the parties and appearances take precedence over her. She doesn’t really remember the last time her dad was there to decorate the tree, put up the parol , or watch her open gifts. There’s lots of staff around, and they’re all nice, but they’re not, you know, her dad . 

She gets used to it though-there’s nothing else to do. But soon the holidays don’t mean much any more, just another day where she feels alone, abandone, and overlooked. She barely glances at the perfectly trimmed tree or pile of immaculately wrapped gifts underneath it. To her they are nothing but apologies and bribes instead of heartfelt reminders of her value. 

She puts on her best smile for her friends though-going out caroling, doing Secret Santa (she got Luke and gifts him some Rush memorabilia that almost makes him faint. Alex got her and gifted her a really nice basket from Lush, along with a gift card so she can get any products he might have missed). But it still hurts knowing that at the end of the day, they’re going home to loving families and she’s going home to a big empty mansion. 

So Carrie volunteers to stay behind and clean up-and so does Reggie. 

“Not in a hurry to go home for Christmas?” she asked. 

“Oh, we did Channukah last week,” Reggie replied. “Plus my folks are better in-smaller servings. What about you? I bet you and your dad have amazing plans.” 

“My dad’s in Tibet. Or maybe Maui? He never really lets me know,” Carrie replied. “He’s there with half the Grammy nominees from last year, and I probably won’t see him again until January.” 

“What?’ Reggie asked, clearly shaken. “You mean you’re spending Christmas alone?” 

Carrie shrugged. “I’m used to it.” 

“Unacceptable!” Reggie declared. “Look, Julie invited me to spend the holidays with her family, I’m sure one more wouldn’t be an imposition. God, you know she would have invited you herself if she’d known.” 

“I don’t want pity.” 

Reggie hummed. “That’s fair. Well then, how about you and me spend the time together? No pity, because I am going to take advantage of your mansion and you get company-quid pro quo.” 

Carrie giggled at that. “Fine, but just so you know, all the snacks in my house are vegan.” 

Reggie screwed up his face at that. “Okay well that means we’re going to the grocery store first., I’m cool if you don’t wanna eat meat-Willie has shown me the good impossible branded stuff. But you can’t have Christmas without eggs, butter, and milk.” 

“What, are we going to make cookies?” Carrie asked. “Because I’m not much of a baker.” 

“Neither am I, but I have a few of MeeMaw’s easier recipes we could try,” Reggie replied. “And I am positive none of them call for flaxseed oil or aquafaba.” 

So, later that day, laden down with supplies, snacks, and a bag full of surprises, Reggie came over. He whistled at the house-though to Carrie, it was just where she lived, it had never really felt like a home. But at least the staff had done well with the holiday decor this year. 

“Okay, plan of attack; cookies, crafts, movies, then gifts,” Reggie declared. 

“Crafts?” 

Reggie pulled out a pile of stuff. “Well I figure we can go real old school and make some stupid ornaments for your very expensive tree. Maybe a popcorn string, though we’ll probably eat that during the movie.” 

Carrie laughed. “What, are we six?” 

Reggie shrugged. “Sounds like you never got to be six. So sure, let’s get into our jammies, make cookies, scribble a bunch and watch your favourite holiday movie. Unless it’s Gremlins because that shit still gives me nightmares.” 

“I like Home Alone,” Carrie admitted. 

“Oh yeah!” Reggie exclaimed. “I haven’t seen that movie in years! Let’s do this! Maybe if we have time we can even do Home Alone 2, but none of the rest-they all suck.” 

Carrie shook her head, but before she knew it, she was in her ridiculous reindeer onesie, making simple sugar cookies next to Reggie who was wearing a full set of Grinch pyjamas, grinning madly as they tried to figure out the high tech mixer and what in the world folding in ingredients meant. 

But later, as she and Reggie snuggled watching Kevin run away from his basement, she knew that this was how the holidays were supposed to feel. Full of sugar and warmth, feeling loved by the people with you. A clumsily wrapped gift bearing her name under the tree-even though Carrie protested, saying Reggie doing this was present enough. 

“Well that’s nice but you can’t unwrap me!” he stated, then gave her an eyebrow waggle. “Well… maybe you can.” 

She hit him with a pillow at that-and maybe they missed most of the movie due to the pillow fight, but Carrie didn’t mind-this year she wasn’t Kevin. And if Reggie had anything to say about, she never would be again.

[daintyduck99]

Rarrie and boots

“How on earth do you walk in these?”

No one can break Carrie's composure like Reggie; she takes one look and dies laughing.

When she can breathe again, she says, “Very carefully. Don't break your neck.”

He shrugs. “It'd have been worth it.”

And she suspects she knows what he means, it'd have been worth it because I made you laugh, but before she can call him out, he's sheepishly asking,

“But—could you help me take them off?”

[zerolostwalks]

"I want to show you off." for Sweet Tarts?

Backlight

“Hey, Peach Blossom.”

Carrie just barely managed to hold back her near-involuntary giddy laugh at Reggie’s greeting. She would have greeted him with a hug closer to the door but she was already in the middle of prepping for dinner. 

“So, I had to deal with some interesting drama today.” Reggie said, hooking his chin over her shoulder as he hugged her from behind.

“Oh? What’s that?” Carrie asked, keeping her attention on her veggie chopping. Though she could just catch the disbelieving scowl Reggie shot her way. His wry chuckle and shake of his hard were more difficult to ignore given the movement somehow brought his face closer to hers.

“Well, apparently,” Reggie began, using that playfully clueless voice usually reserved for when he was trying to pretend he wasn’t aware of what was going on, but Carrie knew better to fall for it by now. “One Carrie Wilson personally reached out to see if our band would be interested in helping her out with some new secret project.”

“That does sound interesting.”

“Mhmm.” Reggie’s voice lost some of the playfulness. “Flynn’s almost certain you’re up to something.”

Carrie only hummed in response as she finally finished all her prep and went to break away from Reggie’s grip to move to actually start cooking, only he wouldn’t let her go.

“Are you?”

Carrie huffed before spinning around in Reggie’s arms, wrapping her own around his waist. “Maybe, I just want to show you off.” She was aiming for teasing but his lost, almost worried expression paired with his question made her think of something else. With an annoyed sigh she added, “You didn’t listen to the demo did you?”

His confusion furrowed deeper into her brow. 

With another sigh she broke free of Reggie, successfully this time. Though she only went far enough to get her phone from where she’d put it on the counter to switch it the demo in question. 

It was a rough idea of the song she had in mind, paired with the limitations of the program she had to use in order to even begin to get a vague idea down of the sound she was going for. Definitely stepping away from her usually pop genre and closer. More of a rock sound, with the bass standing out as a lead sound. 

“I’m no bassist so it definitely can do with improving.” She said, pocketing her phone and trying to not grimace at the poor quality of the demo. “And as I told Julie, Luke, and Flynn earlier I am looking for a band that I trust to help me get the right sound.” 

Neither her demo nor her explanation did anything to get the confused scowl off of Reggie’s face. Almost worryingly so. Maybe it sounded a lot worse than she thought and that was part of why Julie and Luke had seemed hesitant about it. 

“It’s okay if you actually aren’t interested, I'm sure I can hire someone.”

“No, that’s not it.” Reggie said, quickly closing the space to pick up one of her hands. “It’s not bad, just a little rough around the edges but, it’s just the instrumentation. I’m not sure where.”

“Where I fit in?” She quickly cut in, biting back a mildly bitter laugh when Reggie nodded. She definitely should have talked to him about this part before now. “I do have lyrics, two versions actually, and I figured you should probably help me decide which ones to use before anyone else heard them.”

She didn’t even wait for him to ask before she went to one of the demo’s with her singing. This was definitely angrier than most of her songs. An old venting song channeling her frustration and bitterness at trying to force himself into a mold, and definitely full of more growls and yells she’d ever had to record before. She switched over to the second version so quickly she’s not sure if Reggie even noticed at first, probably thought the song had looped. 

At least until she started singing. While this version was similar in tone, the lyrics were definitely more focused on her wanting to make her own place in the world. Though the second verse not so subtly was talking about how Reggie helped inspire that. Or maybe it was only obvious to her, his eyebrow barely quirked up.

His silence didn’t once the song ended didn’t help either. Nor the way he wasn’t even really looking at her anymore. 

“So when you said show me off.” He eventually said after clearing his throat. Though he left the statement to hang between them. 

“I meant as maybe more than just a bass player.” She finished the thought for him, smiling in spite of herself, at the awe written across his face. 

“But I thought.”

“I think I’m ready to let other people know about us.” Carrie cut him off, smiling brighter with his smile, sunshine bright as always. “And yes I’m sure.” She added when she saw that furrow start to form between his brows again.

He pulled her closer, kissing her before she even fully realized that’s what he was going to do. Catching her by surprise seemed to be something he was uniquely adept at. Almost as good as he was at distracting her. 

But she managed to pull herself away long enough this time to finish dinner and for them to flesh out her idea a little better. As well as to get a good second draft of the lyrics sort of combining the two versions. 

In the end she knows even if Julie and everyone else don’t agree to help with the song she’s got Reggie’s support.

[onlygenxhere]

Hey there! Happy Friday!!

If you're still accepting prompts Sorry to text so late, can your dog come over? + Reggie/Carrie, please?

Dancing Queen

Sorry to text so late

Can your dog come over?

My dad is out of town and I’d feel safer with him here.

Reggie stared blearily at his phone. He’d already been asleep over an hour when the chirp had woken him. He could pretend he hadn’t seen the message. He’d just pulled down his notifications and not actually clicked on the text so she wouldn’t know if he didn’t respond.

But… it was Carrie and she wouldn’t text if she didn’t need something.

Han had been over enough in the past year to be comfortable there. Carrie had actually been the entire bands go to for keeping their animals when they were out on tour since she’d had to take a hiatus from her own rising fame after a scary incident with a stalker last year.

In fact her being alone in that house didn’t set will with him at all.

Reggie was nothing if not a good friend and he was too tired to wonder why she hadn’t texted Alex and Willie to see if Fosse wanted to come over or Julie and Luke to see if Fender or Gibson were available or even Flynn who had no pets but would surely come over if she asked.

He reached over and gave his best bud a pat on the head, “You up for a visit to Carrie’s?”

The golden’s tail thumped on the bed and he gave Reggie’s hand a deceive lick.

Ok then.

The man in black

Be there in thirty

He only added a black t-shirt to his attire of Star Wars pajama pants before grabbing Han’s leash and one of Luke’s energy drinks to wake him up on the way. Driving this sleepy wasn’t a good idea. Drinking the Monster probably wasn’t either but at least he’d be awake for the trip… and maybe the next three hours after.

Well, he had to get back home too. She’d only asked for his dog, not him.

He was practically vibrating by the time he punched in the code at the gate to let himself in, pulling up to the front door and sending Carrie a quick message to let her know they were here.

The front door opened and she was coming down the steps dressed in baggy pink pajama pants and a matching t-shirt before he was even all the way out of his truck.

Han bounded out after him, racing over to Carrie and jumping up trying to give her kisses.

“Han! That is no way to greet a lady!”

Carrie was laughing and trying to push the big dog down so she could pet him. “It’s ok. It’s nice that anyone is this excited to see me.”

Reggie frowned as he shut the door of his truck. “Are you kidding? Who wouldn’t be excited to see you?”

She waved her hand attempting to dismiss the comment as she finally got Han to sit and she knelt in front of him scratching behind his ears. “Who’s a good boy?” she cooed.

“Carrie?” Reggie stopped in front of her. “What’s going on? Where’s your dad? Hell where’s the staff you usually have here?”

She wrapped her arms around Han’s neck and looked up at him. “Dad is in New York for the weekend on business and we haven’t had live-in staff in almost six months.”

How did he not know this? He talked to Carrie pretty regularly he thought but apparently there were things she’d been leaving out. He nodded toward the house. “Want me to come in?”

Carrie ducked her head rubbing her check against Han’s soft fur. “You don’t have to. I have Han now… thank you.” She looked up at him and those big brown eyes looked so sad and lost.

“That wasn’t the question Care.” He reached a hand out to her and she took it standing up and looking him in the eyes as he asked again. “Do YOU want me to come in?” He wasn’t trying to imply more than the words he was saying but they both knew he was offering to stay the night too.

She nodded and took a step toward him. Han scooted out from between them and darted into the house, no doubt headed toward her room. Reggie took her other hand, holding them both.

“What’s going on darlin’?”

She closed her eyes and bit her lip shaking her head. “I just feel so stupid for being afraid of an empty house.”

“Carrie,” he squeezed her hands and waited for her to open her eyes. “There is nothing stupid about you,” he said softly shaking his head. “You have every right to be nervous about being alone after what happened.”

“It’s been almost a year Reg and nothing new has happened. Derek is still in jail.” She looked away from him. “I need to get on with my life.”

He didn’t know what to say, she wasn’t wrong but everyone got over trauma at different speeds. He pulled her into a hug, sliding his arms around her thin frame and holding her tight. “Just tell me what I can do?” They’d been friends for years and he cared about the woman in his arms more than he’d ever admit.

“You’re already doing it Reg.” she hugged him back just as tight. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”

He felt his heart drop just a little at the word friend but that’s what they were and that’s what she needed. “Better not let Flynn or Julie hear you say that,” he said trying to lighten the mood.

“I didn’t message them.” Carrie pulled away from him and he saw the tears in her eyes. “I messaged you.”

He nodded, “And I’m here.”

She nodded again and let her hand slid down his arm till she could lace their fingers together. “Would you mind staying?”

He shook his head feeling like his voice might have left him.

Carrie took a step toward the front stairs pulling him with her. “Will you stay with me and Han?”

They both knew Han slept in her bed.

He licked his lips and nodded finding his voice. “Are you sure?”

She nodded, “Just to sleep.” A ghost of her usual smile found its way onto her lips. “For now...”

“Ok,” he followed her up the stairs and into her house shutting the front door behind them.

They got in bed that night, the dog between them, and they stroked his fur as they talked well into the morning. Reggie found out about all the fears and anxiety she’d been hiding from everyone and he confessed to her just how lonely he’d been feeling about living in a house with two couples. No matter how much you loved them.

They finally drifted off to sleep sometime around three with Han snuggled up between them but when the sun streaming in her windows finally woke him the dog was gone and Carrie was asleep in his arms.

It was the first morning of many they woke up together and the last time Reggie went to bed thinking he was only ever Carrie’s friend.

[1mnobodywhoareyou]

birthday week prompt: "i hope to celebrate many more with you like this." taking a bit of icing off the cake and putting it on their cheek .

For Reggie and Carrie but in specific mean girlfriend and her hopelessly in love boyfriend who likes when shes mean to him.

god. you really do like to challenge me, don't you? i imagine this is going to be too tame for you and too much for others 😅 but hope it's at least halfway satisfactory

Reggie scoops a finger full of icing off of the cake. He’s just about to put it in his mouth when he’s interrupted by Carrie clearing her throat from the doorway. 

“Seriously?! You couldn’t at least wait until after everyone else had seen it.”

“But… yummy,” Reggie explains needlessly. 

Carrie rolls her eyes, “Would have still been yummy in the half hour you could have waited.”

Reggie offers his finger to her as a peace offering. Carrie eyes him warily before accepting it, opening her mouth slightly so that she can lick it off. 

When she’s finished, he takes a clean finger and scoops off another bit of the frosting for himself. 

“You can’t possibly be serious.”

“When am I ever?” he replies cheekily. He looks at his finger and back at Carrie, a mischievous glint in his eye. 

She sees through him immediately. “Don’t even think about it,” she warns. 

“Think about what?” he asks innocently, looking back at his hand.

“You know exactly what.”

“What are you gonna do about it?”

“Reginald Peters, I will break your fingers.”

“Promise?”

Carrie huffs out a frustrated breath. When Reggie gets into these moods, there is very little she can do to deter him. There’s a lot about him that she’s managed to hack but when he’s into her threats… Well, they’re less effective than she’d sometimes like them to be. “I’d have to redo my makeup.”

“Pity.”

“You have guests waiting.”

“So? It’s my birthday. They can wait.”

“Reggie,” she warns again.

“But I could lick it off of you,” Reggie murmurs. 

Carrie feels her knees weaken and tries to nonchalantly lean back against the counter. “You don’t like the taste of my makeup.”

“I’m happy to suffer for you.”

Reggie can sense her resolve softening. He reaches out with his (mostly) clean hand and rubs a thumb over her cheek. 

Carrie glares at him

He decides to tempt fate and smears the finger full of frosting down the other side of her face.

She grabs him by the wrist, harder than is probably entirely necessary, and makes a show of licking his finger clean. He watches intently, mouth gaping.

“I believe you said you’d do something about this?” Carrie challenges, turning her iced cheek toward him.

Reggie snaps his jaw closed and nods. He leans forward and runs his tongue up her cheek, cleaning the frosting off of her face. He fights back a grimace at the taste of her foundation and tries to focus instead on the sugary sweetness and the poorly muffled sounds she’s making. 

Satisfied that he’s gotten all of the icing from her face, he trails his tongue down to her jaw and sucks lightly until she pushes him away. “That’s enough. You have people waiting for you.”

“For us,” he corrects. “And fuck ‘em.” 

He tries to lean in for a kiss and Carrie presses a hand to his mouth, pushing him back. “No, not ‘fuck ‘em.’ I have a reputation to uphold. You can wait.”

Reggie whimpers at the thought. 

“And if you can’t be good…” she trails off, letting experience speak for her.

“I’ll be good, I promise.”

“You’d better be.” She pinches the underside of his arm. “And you’d better hope that fixing this doesn’t take very long,” she adds, gesturing to her face. “Go greet your guests, I’ll be right down. And for god’s sake, don’t touch that cake again.”

“Yes’m,” Reggie readily agrees, stopping just short of offering her a mock salute when she glares at him. 

It turns out that Reggie had caused barely any damage to Carrie’s makeup and she joins the party in no time, hosting and mingling like the seasoned professional she is. 

When the party’s over and the house is finally cleared out, they work to clean up what they can of the mess. Yes, there will be cleaners coming in tomorrow but Carrie’s not one to leave a disaster in her wake. 

Reggie walks up behind her and wraps his arms around her waist. “I hope to celebrate many more with you like this,” Reggie murmurs into the back of her neck.

“You’d better,” Carrie snarks back. 

“Nobody understands why we’re together, you know.”

“Yeah, well. It’s none of their business. Are you happy?” Carrie brings a free hand up to his head and runs it through Reggie’s hair, giving a light tug to accentuate her question.

“Of course. Perfectly. Are you?”

“As happy as I can be.”

“I guess that’s what matters, then.”

“Exactly. And if they give you any grief over it, they can answer to me.”

Reggie coughs out a dry laugh, “Yeah, okay.”

She turns in his arms and drapes her own over his shoulders. “If they love you like they say they do then they can keep their thoughts to themselves. They don’t have to understand me. Or us. But they do have to respect you.”

“Respecting you is part of respecting me.”

“Yeah, I don’t really care what they think of me to be completely honest.”

“Okay. Well, I care, Care.”

“That’s great for you.” She retracts her arms and turns back to what she’d been previously occupied with. “We have stuff to do. Now get to it if you want the rest of your birthday gift while it’s still technically your birthday.”

Reggie doesn’t need to be told twice, quickly finishing his task and helping Carrie with hers so he can see what she has planned for the rest of their night.

[daintyduck99]

You like me because I'm a scoundrel for the Reggie pairing of your choice because I honestly couldn't choose between Sweet Tarts and Rulie.

Also tagging @jmrothwell, who requested this prompt for Sweet Tarts!

He isn't nearly as subtle as he thinks he is.

Carrie bites down on a smile. She continues to ice her latest batch of cookies without even glancing over her shoulder.

“Put it back.”

The rustling stops. She huffs a laugh.

“Scoundrel.”

Reggie wraps his arms around her waist. He presses a kiss to the nape of her neck.

“You like me because I'm a scoundrel.”

She hums. “True, but I doubt that line will work on Julie when we show up at her party with only half our share of cookies.”

He smears his pout into the crook of her neck, mumbling, “I'd help you make more.”

Carrie shivers. She dabs a little bit of icing on his nose in retaliation. “Liar. Scoundrel.”

He laughs a little, releasing her, presumably to rub the icing off of his face.

A gentle tug tells her that he's playing with the hair that's escaped from her bun.

“You say the sweetest things, blossom.”

She shrugs. “I do when you deserve it.”

He drops to his knees, hugging her legs.

“Dearest, you wound me—”

She picks the least perfect cookie of all those that she's just iced and holds it out.

Reggie’s up in an instant. He kisses her cheek, plucking the cookie from her hand.

“You're welcome,” she says. “Now shoo.”

He hums. “I guess I can make myself scarce. But if you need anything—”

“I'll let you lick the icing bowl, don't worry.”

“Yes!” he cheers. “You know me so well.”

Carrie shakes her head as she laughs.

“Of course I do. Scoundrel fiance of mine.”

And she'll admit it. She isn't subtle, either.

In the end, as usual, she makes extras.

[daintyduck99]

zipping or buttoning their jacket for them

Sweet tarts

Carrie's lounging on the couch, enjoying some well-deserved time off, when Reggie pokes his head into the room.

“Hey blossom, have you seen my scarf?”

She hums. “The one I got you for Christmas? It should be on the coat rack.”

A small frown tugs at his lips, and a little wrinkle appears between his eyes. “But—”

“Did you look under any of the coats?”

She rolls her eyes good-naturedly as a sheepish grin replaces his frown, unable to suppress a smile of her own. She glides out of the room, pressing a swift yet firm kiss to his cheek before she passes by.

She makes a sound of triumph once she unearths the scarf, which had been buried under some jackets and the black pea coat that she'd gotten Reggie the Christmas before last. They'll go together nicely; the scarf provides his signature pop of red.

It's why she bought it, after all. That, and he's always refusing to wear a hat, which is what she'd said when he unwrapped it.

But he'd known, going by the shine in his eyes and his bright grin, that she'd mainly bought it because it reminded her of him.

He's looking at her similarly, now, and it still makes her want to pull him close.

So she does.

“What would you do without me?” she teases, looping the scarf around his neck.

His grin widens. “Dress worse, I guess.”

She huffs a laugh, gently tugging him closer to kiss him, and he's still grinning against her mouth. She's smiling too, so it's not much of a kiss, really. But it's soft.

And she thinks that that's what matters.

“So where are you going?” she asks as he slips his arms into the pea coat, automatically straightening his collar and tucking the scarf flat before deftly finding and starting to do up the buttons.

He doesn't respond for a while, simply watching her with bright eyes, and she ducks her head as her cheeks warm, pretending to focus on the top button.

He brushes another soft, smiling kiss over her hairline, gracing her lips with one too when she looks up. Her hands find the curve of his jaw, the thump of his pulse.

“Well,” he breathes, “now I'd rather not go. But you know how Luke is. Band meeting.”

She hums, pressing one last kiss to his lips. “You'll just have to come back soon.”

“Wild horses couldn't keep me away,” he promises, laughing a little when she narrows her eyes playfully at him.

“I don't think that's quite the right saying.”

He shrugs. “I changed it for you.”

There's that tug again, but she can't give in this time, or he really will never leave.

“Alright,” she says, just a little too warm to feel truly stern, “get out of here.”

He sends her a salute. “Yes, ma'am.”

She shakes her head, laughing a little to herself as he finally goes. He's ridiculous.

And she loves him for it, oh so much.

[zerolostwalks]

Oooh Josie moodboard prompts??

royalty sounds fun, peterpatterlina or sweet tarts, your choice

[zerolostwalks]

"hold my hand" "absolutely not" "they'll think somethings wrong if you don't" *grabs hand and kisses cheek* / sweet tarts

“Do you need a job?” 

Reggie startled ever so slightly, trying his best to hide it by sitting up from the lounging position he was in while reading his book. Once up he found an aggravated Carrie standing in the doorway of the studio. 

“Are you talking to me?” He asked, looking around knowing full well he was the only one here. Everyone else had gotten pulled into various family holiday events. Even Luke and his mom had managed to reach a sort of compromise for the season. 

“Is there anyone else here?” She said again before releasing a long exhale disguised as a groan, “Anyway, did you need a job or not?”

“A job” He couldn’t help repeating the question, one of his eyebrows rising against his better judgment. 

“Ok, so it’s barely a job.” She said weight shifting as she adjusted her feet with her eye roll. Her gaze shifted away from him, examining the room around them, eyes lingering on the many photos Flynn and Julie had plastered across the wall. “I really just need someone to come with me when I go to my mom’s for Christmas.”

“I’m sorry what?” He really didn’t mean to blurt out the question as fast as he did. Still blinking away the shock of the words he was hearing. Couldn’t recall her ever mentioning her mom before, or anyone for that matter. Though if he had to judge based on the way Carrie’s face scrunched up and how she shifted her feet again she wasn’t very comfortable with the topic. 

“My mom’s been trying to reconnect and make up for lost time.” She said, voice bordering on her peppy show tone. 

“I don’t know.”

“It would be just for a week and she lives incredibly close to some decent skiing. So you could think of it more like a little winter vacation if you’d like.” Carrie said, her voice never straying far from that peppy ‘sales pitch’ tone which did not ease any unease he had at the idea. 

“What’s the catch?”

“There’s no catch.” She quickly said, disbelief written all over her face in the short seconds before managing to school her expression again. “Look, me and my family are even paying for everything. All you have to do is show up.”

He chewed over the idea, also chewing the inside of his bottom lip not really buying this perfect vacation she was trying to sell him on. There definitely had to be something she wasn’t telling him. Why him? Why not any of her other friends? 

On the other hand, it would be nice to have something to keep him out of his parents house that wouldn’t also have all his friends playing their usual ‘let’s help Reggie without him knowing it’ tactics. It might take them all a while to believe Carrie had randomly offered him what basically amounted to an all expenses paid ski trip out of nowhere. But weirder things had happened. 

“All right, when’s this trip?” He asked, trying not to be floored by Carrie’s unexpectedly bright, if short lived, smile. 

“We leave tomorrow.” She said digging her phone out of her purse and settling on the couch so close to him she‘d barely need to move to be in his lap. “Quick, give me your number so I can send you the details.”

“Oh yeah, sure.” He said fumbling for his phone, caught a little off guard by both her sudden proximity and the amount of shit he suddenly had to do before tomorrow. 

He barely registered everything she said about texting her his address to coordinate with her driver. Far too focused on mentally making his packing list, hoping he had enough clean clothes. Didn’t even question her when she suddenly pulled him in for a series of selfies, the first half dozen inadequate because he didn’t look happy enough. He doubted he ever looked happy enough, certain she just gave up, and resorted to using whatever filter for whatever app she was sure to be posting it to.

The next day didn’t fare much better for his nerves. Pleasantly surprised when she did in fact show up at his place several hours before the sun would even dare to be up so they could get to the airport on time. Too tired to enjoy the fact he got to sit in the slightly roomier business class, falling asleep before the even finished taking off. It was a rare direct flight too, so he wouldn’t get another chance until the flight home. 

Just as they passed security and into the throng of all the friends and family waiting, Carrie’s hand gripped his bicep tight pulling his attention to her as they walked. 

“Ok so, before we get too far there is something you need to know.” She said in a sort of half whisper, trying to not be overheard but still trying to be heard over the noise all around them. “I may have lied about there not being a catch.”

His heart clenched, he knew it was too good to be true, but more than that he felt more than a little betrayed. Did she seriously wait til he couldn’t escape to tell him what basically amounted to his side of the deal? He didn’t get the chance to call her out though, as soon a woman Reggie could describe as overly sparkly was rushing toward them with a big smile. 

“Carrie?” The woman said, throwing her arms around Carrie who had never looked so tense before.

“Aunt Debbie.” Carrie said through a forced grin, “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“What nonsense.” Aunt Debbie said as she playfully slapped Carrie’s shoulder. “Of course we were going to pick you up, Richard’s keeping the car warm. Your mom would have come but she’s a little preoccupied.”

Aunt Debbie tried to do a little hand wave through the air, her vibrant nails looking more like talons than Reggie expected them to, clearly trying to dismiss or wave something away. The movement only seemed to make Carrie tense up more than she already was. Reggie didn’t get long to focus on that though as Aunt Debbie’s attention fell on him.

“Oh sorry, you must be..?”

“Oh, right, sorry. Aunt Debbie, this is Reggie.” Carrie said as Reggie extended his hand out to shake Debbie’s, all of the syllables he was going to use to greet her with however froze up in his throat as Carrie continued on. “My boyfriend I was telling you all about.”

“Ooooh well aren’t you handsome.” Debbie said, patting his, the sensation all he needed to know he wasn’t dreaming. “Well, we better hurry up before Rich gets too bored and does something foolish. Did you check anything?”

Debbie walked off after Carrie’s reassurances they only had carry-on’s. Reggie did not follow, forcing Carrie to double back for him, if she felt any guilt over the situation she had it hidden well under all the resigned exhaustion she wore.

“Your boyfriend?” 

“It’s only for the week.” 

“Carrie we’ve barely ever spoken to each other.” He said in lieu of saying how they could barely be called friends. 

“Please,” she said, surprising them both, though she recovered faster than he did. “Like I said it’s only for the week. We don’t even have to get all lovey-dovey with the pet names or overt PDA.”

“But why do they need to think I”m your boyfriend?”

Carrie quickly looked over her shoulder to where Aunt Debbie was impatiently looking like she was waiting patiently.  “I promise I’ll tell you later.”

He sighed, slowly resigning himself to the idea. His only other real options being telling everyone the truth and spending the next week uncomfortably awkward around strangers or trying to find some way to pay for a flight back home and leaving Carrie alone, by herself. “You owe me.”

She nodded as she painted on that winning showmanship smile of hers, “Of course, now hold my hand.”

“Absolutely not.” The words were out of his mouth faster than he intended, still too caught up in his own blindsided irritation. Her smile barely faltered, the slightest furrow of her brow.

“They’ll think somethings wrong if you don’t.”

He glanced toward Debbie who had definitely stopped trying to not look confused. He didn’t exactly trust his mouth at the moment, so he merely held out his hand towards Carrie. She grasped it in hers and pulled him down so she could quickly press a quick kiss to his cheek and whispering a quick “thank you” into his ear. 

He swallowed hard, an attempt to both unclog his throat of all the wrong words and to clear his head of the memory of her lips ghosting across the shell of his ear. This was going to be a more complicated week than if he had just stayed home.

[daintyduck99]

Blushing when they compliment you and your friends tease you and you're like adhsfhjgdfkh

Sweet tarts?

Also tagging @invisibleraven, who asked for this prompt for Reggie/Anyone <3

Reggie knows by now that he really shouldn't stand next to Luke during warm-ups, but, well—

He hates to abandon his friends. 

Even when they're being incredibly distracting.

And Alex, who's both amazing and anxious about his grade, has already done so. He moves through the forms with a fluidity that Reggie is almost—almost—envious of. It's obvious even from across the room that he's pretty much mastered the basics. 

Luke, though—

Luke grumbles continuously under his breath as he stumbles through the forms, banging into the barre more often than not. 

"Stupid," he mutters, rubbing his hip before hurriedly fumbling into a half-assed version of the next form as Carrie glares at him from the row over. "Stupid France inventing ballet. Stupid university bullshit—I knew I'd hate it, fuck it all—" 

Carrie—who very much isn't their friend in this room, but their TA, an intimidatingly skilled and beautiful up-and-coming ballerina that everyone calls Ms. Wilson—clears her throat. She'd glided into their row, right behind them, silently. 

Although her eyes are a striking shade of brown, they're frosty as she looks at Luke. 

"Cursing and complaining won't improve your form. Either actually quit or actually attempt the forms, Patterson." 

He huffs, but his next attempt is slightly less half-assed. Carrie rolls her eyes. 

Reggie expects her to glide by, then—she's usually always moving about like the instructor, making comments and corrections as she goes—but she doesn't.

Her eyes, no longer frosty but by no means as warm as he's used to seeing them, rake over him, revealing nothing.

But the ghost of a smile graces her lips.

"You, though? Your earnest attempts are paying off. You just need to…" 

Her hands skate up his arms, over his wrists, gently pulling them a bit higher. 

"There," she whispers. "Perfect." 

He's frozen in that pose for far too long after she leaves—

But his face is absolutely on fire. 

It's not until Luke snickers that he even registers that the instructor is sending him an odd look, now, and Reggie stumbles a little as he tries to find the right form next.

Honestly—it's still better than Luke’s. 

Not that Luke cares. He's still snickering.

"I take it back. I'm glad I got to see that." 

Reggie huffs. "Oh—see if I try to help you anymore. Alex had the right idea." 

Luke bangs into the barre with a hiss.

"You know what? Still worth it." 

And Luke scrapes through the class, even without Reggie standing by him, but Reggie definitely gains the most, even it Alex comes out with the best grade—

Because Reggie gets the best girlfriend. 

[daintyduck99]

carefully trying to turn the lamp on the nightstand off without letting go of their partner in their arms + Sweet Tarts?

Reggie waited up for her. 

Carrie stops short. She takes in her boyfriend, propped up on her pillows as he leans against the headboard. He hasn't noticed her yet, despite her huffy arrival. 

He's flipping through the book she'd left half-finished on her nightstand with a little crease between his eyebrows, bathed in soft lamplight, and all of the nasty thoughts that've punctuated her awful day die away. 

She swallows around a lump in her throat.

"How's the book?" 

Reggie brightens, casting the book aside. 

"You're back!" 

He springs out of bed and sweeps her into a hug, squeezing her tight. He can probably feel the curve of her lips on his collarbone as she hugs him back, but that's alright. 

She likes that he makes her smile like this.

He presses a kiss to the top of her head.

"How was your day, doll?" 

"I asked you something first," she teases, only deflecting a little bit. 

He hums like he knows, but he lets her do it, anyway, and gives her one last squeeze before they start to unravel. He shrugs. 

"It's kinda strange, but not bad. I dunno. Couldn't focus since you weren't here." 

She blinks some stubborn tears out of her eyes. It takes some effort, and once the words would've simply lodged in her throat, but eventually, she manages to say,

"I missed you, too." 

And it doesn't quite have that same teasing tone from before. It doesn't even come out soft, just stilted and awkward, but Reggie softens, anyway. 

She doesn't even pretend to resist when he wraps her in another hug, and he hums with understanding again. 

"Bad day?" 

Carrie merely nods, burrowing closer. 

"Okay. Well, why don't you get ready for bed, and then maybe you can use that big brain of yours to explain this book to me?"

A giggle bubbles, unbidden, out of her throat. Honestly? That sounds pretty good.

So that's what they do. 

She does her nightly routine, with Reggie trailing after her all the while, asking questions about the book. She's out of explanations by the time they collapse into a little cuddle pile in the middle of the bed, so he rambles about his favorite kitten from work until she can't stop yawning. 

He kisses the top of her head again, and that's usually her cue to move so one of them can turn off the lamp, but when she tries, he keeps her anchored to his chest.

She makes a puzzled noise as he starts shifting them closer to the edge of the bed in little lurches, wearing a face of intense concentration that she normally only sees when he's working on a song. 

"Sugar, what—?" 

"Gotta get the lamp," he grunts, leaning for it and missing a few more times before lurching them closer, still. 

Carrie huffs a laugh. "You could just let go of me. It'd make your life much easier." 

He stops lurching for the lamp and cups her face, searching her eyes. 

"Sweetheart, I'll never let you go without a warning. Never. If anything, you only make my life more interesting. Okay?" 

She blinks, a bit stunned. "O-okay." 

He kisses her sweetly, and she settles more firmly into his side after, tucking her face into the crook of his neck. She smothers some giggles there as he continues to lurch for the lamp. 

"I still think you're being ridiculous about this specifically, though." 

"You love it," he says smugly, and she just laughs some more, because she does. 

"And!" he adds, "You had a bad day. Can't let a little thing like a lamp get in the way when you need cuddles." 

She presses her smile to a spot below his jaw. "Alright, well, good luck with that." 

It takes him a few more tries to get the lamp, but he's ecstatic when he does, and then they have to scoot all the way back over, but she's still smiling as she drifts off to sleep, her bad day long forgotten. 

[zerolostwalks]

YES your moodboards are so good!

⚡️ storms, sweet tarts

[zerolostwalks]

Prompts??? "I want you to kiss me right now" sweet tarts

The evening so far had been long and draining. Filled with endless attempts from his mother to set him up with another young noble. Amicable smiles and pleasantries exchanged as Reggie danced around, constantly in search of one face in particular. 

Carrie had warned that she might not be able to make it, that things were even more complicated now than they were before. An understatement, at best, given her newly acquired curse. Yet, he still hoped to hear her presence announced, to see her smile and hear her under the breath witty comments. 

A hope that progressively waned the longer the night wore on. 

Midnight was fast approaching when like a breath of fresh air, she floated in amongst the chaos of his mother attempting to introduce him to yet another potential match. A breathtaking vision, her golden hair standing out against her dress as dark and glittery as the sky outside. 

“Carrie.” He couldn’t hold back his bright smile as he all but ran to greet her. Only being met with a small smile in return. The relief in his chest briefly soured at the almost shy gesture. 

A persistent underlying unease that refused to let up as his mother came over to express her surprise at seeing Carrie alive and well. More so when Carrie continued to remain silent throughout the dance she pulled him onto the floor for. 

“Are you all right?” He leaned in and whispered, unable to keep the worried suspicion off his face when she attempted to respond with a hum. “Care, seriously, you don’t seem like yourself.”

“I’m fine.” She said in a rushed harsh whisper, looking around the room almost in a panic. 

Before he fully realized it himself he was leading her away from the dance floor. Wondering if maybe being around so many people for the first time in months was overwhelming. He had just assumed she wouldn’t have an issue with it since she never had before. 

Once they found themselves in a relatively secluded corner he returned his focus back on her. Though she was staring distantly out of the nearby window, towards the lake that had doubled as her prison for so long. 

“Care–” He started, fully intent on asking her again if she was ok. Ready to reassure or comfort or joke with her. Whatever she may need to help her feel like herself again. 

“I want you to kiss me.” She suddenly whispered, just loud enough so he could barely hear her. Her eyes snapped to meet his again. “Right now.”

His eyes began to drift towards the same window she had just been looking through. Her hand on his face guided his eyes back to hers. 

Something was off, that earlier unease flaring up uncomfortably, even as she pulled him closer. 

Then she bit her lip, an anxious little gesture he’d never seen her use before. One he might have missed if he hadn’t been focusing on her so much. As he thought about it the more he realized all evening had been filled with them. Even down to her whispering, much much quieter than normal, almost like she was avoiding being heard. 

It dawned on him then, and his unease melted into a vibrant anger. “Where’s Carrie?”

[daintyduck99]

"Did you really think I was gonna let you leave without a hug?" + Sweet Tarts?

He didn't show. He didn't fucking show. 

And isn't that just typical? 

If only reminding herself helped at all. 

But Carrie's had years of practice, and she's a born performer; she struts across the stage with her head held high. 

A genuine smile finds its way onto her lips as Reggie's wolf whistle rises out of the crowd, but it dies after she drops Principal Lessa's hand, clutching her diploma and blankly making her way back to her seat. It doesn't take long; she's in the very front.

Funnily enough, she placed fifth in the class, right behind Julie. It doesn't sting like it once would've, so. There is that. 

Julie frowns. She clutches Carrie's arm and leans in to whisper, "Are you okay?" 

Carrie dips her head back, hoping it's enough to get her point across. She can't say it out loud; it's much too early to cry. 

Julie hisses through her teeth. 

"Seriously? He didn't even send Dante?" 

Carrie shrugs sharply. She didn't see her father's personal assistant, but he's difficult to miss, as he's flamboyant and imposing. 

Honestly. She can't wait to see what sort of excuse he comes up with for this one. 

But the real question is what sort of bribe he's going to smooth it over with, isn't it? 

Sometimes it's more like he's trying to smooth her over, like she's just a wrinkle in his glamorous, blitzed out rockstar life. 

Well. This is her life, and she's going to keep making her own name, at the college she chose and not whichever one he's probably going to offer to throw money at.

Julie refuses to let Carrie stalk off as soon as graduation officially ends, though, quashing her burst of motivation before she can go start her summer assignment.

So what if she hasn't read the book yet? 

She's scarcely shucked off her heels before Julie's dragging her to their friends, who dogpile them despite Carrie's shriek. 

Reggie rescues her from the fray, shielding her in a singular embrace as he wraps his arms around her, and he laughs into her hair as she proceeds to huff about it all. 

"Come on, Care. Did you really think we were going to let you leave without a hug?" 

"That wasn't a hug," she mutters. "It felt like I was in a cartoon fight with everyone's fists flying around, it was just. Barbaric!" 

Reggie snorts. "What about this, then?" 

It's a good thing she's tucked under his chin; he has no way of noticing as blood rushes into her cheeks. She bites her lip.

"Are you fishing for compliments, Peters?" 

"Yeah! We deserve it. Congrats, Wilson." 

Another genuine smile spreads over her face. She buries it in his chest, hugging him harder as she mumbles, "You, too."

No one pays them much mind as they unravel, preoccupied by the Molina's. Carrie's about to glide over to Julie when Reggie catches the sleeve of her gown. 

He clears his throat, cheeks pinkening. 

"Hey, I know everyone's going out for pizza, and you probably have other plans already anyway, but I was wondering—" 

"I don’t," Carrie says awkwardly, cursing inwardly as he sends her a sideways look. "Have other plans. Any other plans. I—I don't care what everyone else is doing. I want to do whatever you're doing. Yes." 

A sunny grin slowly blooms on his lips.

"Really? You don't even know what I was going to ask you to do. Could be bowling with aliens. Or an assassination plot. And I know it's a bit last minute to be asking." 

Laughter bubbles out of her. "Really." 

He holds his arm out, eyes sparkling. 

"Then I guess it's a date. You can tell me all about your big aspirations while we're out killing aliens. It'll be fun, I promise." 

And it is fun; the time practically flies. 

So maybe her dad didn't show, but maybe it was for the best, because she doesn't have to explain why she was out all night.

Or why there's erased security footage. 

[zerolostwalks]

Moodboard Prompt: Sweet Tarts & Call It What You Want by Taylor Swift

[zerolostwalks]