#just like ugh I love my coworker she was very cool about me casually mentioning I'm nonbinary

[sandpapersnowman]

anyway though I saw my coworker and met her new adopted kid today and when my coworker hugged me she said "heyyy, girlfriend!" and the new kid was immediately like ? she doesn't look like a girl?

and instead of being weird about it my coworker went "no, she doesn't, does she!" and he proceeded to spend their whole appointment hanging out with me to let me know I'm pretty and "your face looks like a girl but your hair looks like a boy"

like 😭💖💖💖💖

[dollslayer]

Sweeter Endings

Sugar Daddy!Steve Rogers x Reader

Summary: Still reeling from the financial realities of losing your mother you turn to a lucrative website for help and get more than you could have bargained for.

W/C: 5,325

Warnings: Smut (no minors 18+ only), light D/S dynamics, brief mentions of alcohol consumption, unprotected sex, swearing

A/N: NO MINORS, I wrote this for @donutloverxo 's Sugary 4k Challenge (Congrats!!) I love sugar daddy AUs so I was really excited to write this!! If you like it then please like/reblog/comment I'm all ears! Also maybe check out my other stuff if you want! Cheers!

Main Masterlist

____

The saying ‘desperate times call for desperate measures’ was truer than you’d ever imagined and you found out the hard way. Life had hit you hard last year. You had watched your mother succumb very quickly to cancer. A cold that just wouldn’t go away turned into a doctor’s visit turned into three months left to live. Having no one else in her life, the cost of her funeral and medical bills fell to you. The bills outweighing the inheritance you had no choice but to drop out of school.

One year later you were hanging on by threads to keep yourself off the streets without turning to a loan shark or selling yourself. Stocking shelves at a bougie grocery store in Soho by day and bartending in Tribeca by night had you working six days a week. What free time you had you were too exhausted to do anything with. Something had to give or you were going to collapse from the stress, you just didn’t know what.

A couple weeks ago you had been casually venting about how broke you were with a coworker when she jokingly suggested signing up for one of those Sugar Daddy sites. You laughed along with her but it sounded better than getting a third job. You had quietly asked one of your roommates to borrow their laptop saying you needed to look at job postings only half a lie, really and locked yourself in your room.

You were just gonna check out the website, maybe sign up and poke around, it didn’t mean you were committing to anything, just looking. You remembered first looking at the website once your shitty wifi loaded it, promising ‘beautiful and successful people making mutually beneficial connections’. You balked after reading that but you couldn’t look at any profiles without making one yourself so you had set to work.

After making your profile you hadn’t gotten any hits in about a week so you shrugged it off. You couldn’t keep hogging your roommate’s computer anyways so you set off back to work. Your days at the store wore on into endless nights at the bar and you wondered what other options you really had when you had no degree and no experience in any relevant field.

___

6 o’clock on a Thursday night, the typical after work crowd begins to roll in. The bar you work in is upscale, classy. Definitely trying to lure in the businessmen that worked in the area and their wallets. It annoyed you to deal with the same type of customers you did at the store all over again but with the high end crowd came good tips so you couldn't complain too much.

It was busier than usual when a group of men in suits walked in together asking for a booth. You saw a lot of business meetings take place over whiskey sours in this place so you didn’t think much of it. You tried your best to keep tending to your regulars when a pair from the group came over.

One of the men had deep brown eyes and a sly grin that when split gave you the perfect view of the gap between his teeth. He was confident but he had a kind look to him. His friend had dirty blond hair and a beard that clung to his perfect jawline and you’d be lying if you said you hadn’t snuck a second look. You turned your back and continued filling orders to distract yourself when one of them cleared their throat behind you.

As you turned to face them you found it was the blond calling after you. His face held a hint of surprise but it was quickly replaced by a look of amusement as he smirked and one brow lifted, like he knew something you didn’t. He was like any other typical customer for you, professional and handsome, probably over-confident in himself. You returned his smirk and prepared your best charming banter. Time to earn those tips.

“Something to drink for you, gentleman?” You offered.

“We’d like a round of scotch for the table over there. You don’t mind bringing it over, do you sweetheart?” the brown-eyed man asked.

“Of course not” you answered. Pricks.

“Good girl” the blond said with a wink. Creep. A hot creep but still. Before you could ask he took his card out of his wallet and put it on the counter for the tab.

____

A round had come and passed, soon they’d asked for another but this time it was just the blond that approached you. You lifted your eyebrows in anticipation of an order.

“You here often?” he asked. Ugh, not even a good pick up line.

“Am I here at my job often?” You retorted with a playful smile.

The man’s shoulders shook as he chuckled. “Sorry you just uh, you look familiar that’s all. What’s your name?”

You supplied him with it and asked him if he wanted another round of scotch. He nodded.

“Smart girl, I’m Steve by the way.” He laid down his business card which you picked up with a look of challenging curiosity. Steve Rogers, CEO of Shield inc.

Oh. You didn’t recognize the name but you definitely knew the company. It felt like a quarter of their employees stopped in for a drink throughout the week and it was prominent enough of a company that you read about it weekly. Play it cool, these types want to feel like an every-man at the bar but still wanna feel important.

You raised your eyebrows again in recognition. “Nice to meet you, Steve, I’ll have your round right out.”

“Good Girl” he winked again at you. Okay so it’s hot, but he’s a total stranger and you don’t even know him. Stay on your game.

___

10 o’clock came around and things were thinning out slightly, regulars made their way out, awkward Tinder dates and rowdy young 20-somethings made their way in. The party of businessmen was still around but they were hopefully wrapping up after the 2 more rounds they’d had. Steve approached the bar once more and you preemptively picked up the bottle of scotch.

“Whoa, easy, girl! I’m here to pick up the tab” He said, taking out his wallet.

“What’s the name on the tab?” You decided to play dumb but based off the grin on his face he knew you were playing with him.

“Steve. Rogers.” He replied, his tone was stern but his eyes told you he was in on the joke.

You cashed him out and left him to sign his receipt so you could make more drinks. You saw him move in your peripheral and turned your head to see his face.

“Have a good night, sweetheart. I’ll be seein’ ya” he promised.

“Take care!” You smiled back.

A few minutes later you circled back to collect his receipt and found three $100 bills staring back at you. You blinked dumbly in disbelief, who the hell leaves a 200% tip? Looking around to see if Steve was still here he was nowhere to be found. You had no choice but to pocket the money.

____

Another week went by and left you wondering how much energy and concentration it would take for you to just evaporate, since that seemed easier than going to work today. Sadly still in solid form, you punched in at the store and stowed your things in your locker.

Your upscale customer base was a mostly pretentious and successful group of yuppies so even though you were grateful to not be on the streets you were constantly reminded of the professional success you couldn’t help but feel that you were missing out on. Stuck instead to listen to incessant whining ‘is this organic? I won’t eat it unless it’s organic’.

The upside of this job was that the time went by quickly because you always had so much to do. Plus with how monotonous the work was it was easy enough to zone out. So much so that you hadn’t heard someone calling your name and approaching you. A hand softly touching your shoulder snapped you into the present.

You looked up, startled to find a pair of blue eyes staring back into yours. You took a step back and processed who it was. “CEO guy?” Steve?

“‘CEO guy?’ I thought I recognized you, ‘barmaid’ or should I say… ‘stock girl?’” He joked using his fingers to make quotations.

Now that you thought about it, the store isn’t that far at all from the bar, it would make sense if he’s in the area. You smiled and tapped your nametag in response.

“I just came in on my lunch to grab a few groceries” looking down at his basket it held some protein powder, some eggs, and one lonely banana. “Clearly, I’m single. But you’d know that already, wouldn’t you?”

Your brows twinged together in confusion. What is that supposed to mean?

“Excuse me?”

He edged a little closer to you and lowered his voice “SeekingConnection.com?”

Your eyes widened in shock. The fucking Sugar Daddy site! I forgot about that! Surprise was quickly replaced with humiliation. You looked down and away as you felt your cheeks heat up.

“I don’t mean to embarrass you” Steve placated, “But I gotta say, I’m pretty hurt you never responded to me. I sent that message weeks ago and let’s just say I’m not used to rejection.” He kept his tone light, letting you know he wasn’t mad.

“I-I um, I’m sorry, I don’t have a computer and they don’t have an app, I was using my roommates’ computer and I guess I forgot about it…” You admitted.

Steve nodded in acknowledgement. Please say something to salvage this conversation. Please.

“Well,” Steve rummaged in his pocket for another business card. “You got a pen on you?”

You dug around in your apron and came up with one. Handing it to him you watched as he wrote on the back of the card. He held the card and the pen out to you.

“That’s my number, I’d ask for yours but I don’t wanna make you uncomfortable, you already look like you wanna sink through the floor” Not helping, but I do. You took them from him and tucked them away in the pocket of your apron.

“You do have a phone right?” You only glared at him in response. “Well, if you check your profile, you would’ve seen I asked you out to lunch, offer still stands. Just text me when you’re free”

Should I even say yes? I mean, the winking the other night was weird but he’s good looking and at least somewhat considerate. I mean, it’s not like I had any other intention when I signed up for that site. What the hell. right?

“I… usually work mid shifts so I don’t know if lunch is doable, they only give me half an hour but, maybe we could do coffee? I’ve got tomorrow off from the bar I could meet you” you suggested.

If Steve felt pity for you he hid it well behind the wide smile he made when you offered coffee instead.

“There’s a place around the corner from here, just up a block, you know it? I’m off tomorrow at 6, why don’t you meet me there?”

“Sounds like a plan.” He winked at you again and started walking away. What the hell just happened?

____

You did end up borrowing your roommate’s computer once again when you got home to look up Steve’s DM. Sure enough, there he had been in all his internet glory. ‘Steve, 33, CEO. likes: art, conversation, whiskey. Digging around further on his profile you found that he owned several houses here and in Europe, he had a dog that was cuter than he was, and that he was ‘Seeking deeper connection’. All of these things piqued your interest.

‘Hey, Doll. Saw your profile and I had to ask, what’s a girl like you doing in a place like this? Kidding, of course. But maybe you’d care to tell me your story over lunch? Your profile says we’re both in New York. - Steve’ Sent three weeks ago. Fuck.

You had texted him earlier to confirm, which is how you found yourself walking up the sidewalk towards the shop with a mind running rampant with nervous thoughts. What if he just wants to feel big about himself in comparison to me? What would I even really have to offer the relationship? A college dropout working two dead-end jobs with no social life. You needed to snap yourself out of it. You were just meeting for coffee doesn’t mean anything.

Pushing open the door you found Steve waving at you from a quiet corner. He was still in a suit, presumably coming from work himself. Even the buttons on his shirt looked expensive. You were wearing dirty jeans and a worn pair of work boots paired with a flannel. You couldn’t have looked more different if you tried.

“I waited for you to order,” He said. You smiled up at him, only now realizing how tall he was in comparison to you. He ushered you both towards the counter where you both placed your orders. You moved to take your wallet from your purse but he had already beat you there.

“Really? As if I’d let the lady pay, and on the first date no less?” He said playfully.

“Oh, so this is a date now, is it?” You kidded.

Steve shoved his hands in his pockets and gave you that boyish grin and a shrug. The pair of you made your way back to the table and waited for your drinks to be brought over.

“How was work?” You asked, “What exactly is it that your company does?”

“We offer security and surveillance software domestically as well as international. Stadiums, airports, other government buildings. Things of that nature. And work was fine, thank you for asking” Steve said with a genuine smile. “How was your day, doll?”

“Oh, my day was fine, more of the same but y’know,” You answered half-heartedly.

“You know, you never answered me, what’s a funny, pretty gal like you doing on a site like that?”

Embarrassment hit you again, this time maybe accompanied with a hint of shame. You were saved momentarily by your drinks being delivered. He seemed truly interested and since he was paying you supposed you owed him an answer.

“I was going to Columbia and I had a pretty good internship when my mom got diagnosed with cancer. She died three months later and since it was only always just the two of us I ended up footing the bill. I was on partial scholarship but between the hospital and the funeral I can’t really afford the rest of tuition on top of working for free so here I am” you explained, “Oh my god, I’m sorry I’m totally oversharing aren’t I? You probably don’t wanna hear about a bummer like this, sorry”

You tried to laugh to ease the tension you thought you’d created. Braving a look at Steve, he looked thoughtful and only a little bit like he pitied you. You could live with that.

“I’m really sorry about your mom, mine also got really sick before she died, I know it must’ve been hard. What were you in school for?”

___

You and Steve talked for hours, trading anecdotes of childhood and talking about each other’s interests. You had a similar sense in humour so you got on swimmingly. The evening seemed to be coming to a close as the night sky sent in through the window.

Being with Steve was probably the most relaxed you’d felt since before your mom was diagnosed. It became difficult to focus on anything but your financial situation and even though that’s what brought you here in the first place you had managed to forget all about it.

“So look, us getting together wasn’t exactly the most conventional on meet-cutes but to put it bluntly,” He said, “The CEO life makes it hard to meet real people and it gets kinda lonely, I mean, you saw my grocery basket” You both laughed at that. “You need money and I need company, I feel like we could help each other out. Whad’ya say? Think you could put up with me?”

You knew what this was but hearing it put so plainly was a little surprising. At least he was to the point.

“So if I said yes what does that mean, exactly?” you inquired.

“Well,” he started, “We take care of each other. Let me cover some of your bills at the very least, make it so you’d be comfortable quitting at least one of your jobs. And you’d keep me company, we go on dates, maybe you could come over, there’s the occasional work event or charity gala I’d need you on my arm for. Thoughts?”

God I can’t even imagine what it’s like to work only one job anymore. Maybe I could even save up and go back to school. He’s cute and he seems sensible, why not?

“Could we maybe take things slow? What you describe is something I’m down for but I don’t want to make myself completely dependent on you. But I’d love to be there for you, and I have to admit, the thought of only working one full time job is pretty crazy to me” You laughed.

Steve swallowed and placed one of his large, warm hands over yours.

“I can do things the old fashioned way, if that’s what you’d feel good with. I gotta say though, with looks like that it’s not gonna be easy” he jested.

You smiled shyly and looked away. You both stood to leave and he held the door open for you.

“I’ve already got your number from when you texted me earlier but I’ll talk to my assistant about my schedule and maybe I could take you out to dinner this weekend?”

“I um, I’d really like that. It’s a date” You stated.

“Oh, so you think this is a date now?” He jested.

You lightly punched him in the arm and he took the opportunity to pull you closer to him. You looked up to find his face inches from yours. You could smell his aftershave and his deep voice gave you goosebumps when he spoke next.

“I kinda want to kiss you goodnight, would that be okay?”

You could only nod as he shut his eyes and closed in. Your lips met in one perfect, chaste kiss. You sighed and leaned into his hand as it briefly cupped your face.

You broke apart and made promises to see each other soon. You felt like you could’ve floated home as you boarded the subway, caught up in the swarm of newly forming feelings.

_____

You sat in the break room when your phone buzzed to life, ‘Saturday at 7?’

You were about to type out a yes when you forgot you worked closing at the bar. Your thumbs moved quickly to tap out the reply ‘Working, sorry :/ the pitfalls of bartending. Sunday at 7?’

You were nervous telling him no and asking to change plans. You hated not being able to make things work but you only just met the man and the weekend tips were killer, it’s not like you could turn the shift down.

‘Ah yes, almost forgot. Sunday works too, I’ll text you the details. What’s your address? I’ll pick you up’

Oh, God. Steve can’t see my building! His cufflinks probably cost more than my rent!

‘I’ll just meet you there, don’t worry about it’

‘Not a chance, doll. Just tell me where and I’ll come get you’

You let out a worried sigh but knew you had to let it go. You sent him your address and went back to work.

____

Saturday was maybe the longest day in your entire week, in fact you loathed it. Mornings at the store followed by running immediately to the bar. Last call in New York was 4am so it’s a good thing you didn’t try to make brunch plans with Steve for Sunday. But ultimately both your shifts passed without major incident and now it was Sunday and you tried to ready yourself the best you could.

The place Steve mentioned was fancy, you knew that much from a quick search. Panicking instantly upon realizing you don’t really have any nice clothes you turned to your most fashionable roommate for help. She loaned you a cocktail dress that was revealing enough to draw interest without giving everything away. You just hoped Steve would like it.

‘Downstairs, doll. Silver BMW’ you exhaled. Hoo boy, here we go.

____

Steve handed his keys to the valet and rushed around to open your door for you. You held his hand and you clambered onto the sidewalk in your heels. His warm hand on the small of your back as he steered you towards the doors was a comforting weight.

Dinner has been lovely so far, he chose a place that wasn’t completely white-glove but was upscale enough to make you feel only a little underdressed.

You joked back and forth with him over the course of the meal, talked about your lives, and even found out you both have a guilty pleasure for cheesy rom-coms. It wasn’t until dessert and your third glass of wine came that you realized how much time had passed. You frowned slightly thinking of the early morning ahead of you followed by a long night at the bar.

“What’s wrong, doll?”

“Oh, nothing I just didn’t realize how late it was, I’ve got both jobs tomorrow it’ll just be a long day that’s all” you tried to wave it off but Steve frowned in response.

“Quit the bar” he stated.

“What?”

“Quit the bar. This is your card, I’ve already loaded $3000 on there. Put me in touch with your landlord and I’ll get you taken care of.” He slid the card across the table to you. Your name printed on the front. This got real very quickly.

“Steve, that’s.” You were in shock, a loss for words almost “that’s too much, I don’t know what to say.” You felt embarrassed taking the money. You knew that was the essence of your arrangement but actually taking his money had you feeling uneasy.

“Honey, this is what I’m here for. Let me take care of you. Give up your late nights. I wanna take you out on the weekends and you’ll need to be available for events. You can stay at the store if you want but quit the bar, you don’t need it.”

You took a deep sigh. He did say he wanted you to be comfortable quitting one of your jobs; it's just making the change that scares you. But something about Steve felt safe so you nodded and looked up to him.

“I’ll put in my two weeks”

“Good girl” he patted your knee and you involuntarily clenched your thighs. He smirked at that but let it go.

____

A few months had come and gone since that night and your time with Steve had been great. Only working the one job gave you so much more free time. You'd spent a good chunk of it just trying to form a normal sleep schedule but all the time you spent with Steve made it difficult. Not that you minded especially since your allowance was monthly but he’d showered you with gifts here and there.

They started off small, perfume, chocolates and flowers, or a simple pair of white gold hoops that reminded him of you. They gradually became pricier and more elaborate. You’d felt guilty accepting it all at first but he was insistent you deserve the best. He had even mentioned you moving out maybe finding a better place but you reminded him you needed to go slow.

He’d also been nothing short of a gentleman. Out in public at least, you’d learned the hard way that he was an absolute animal in bed. It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep your hands off of him.

Something you had appreciated about Steve is that he never made you feel bad or less than for being broke. Never held his money over your head like leverage. You’d felt equal to him in all aspects, understanding you had just as much say as he did.

Still, there was a small nagging voice in the back of your head that reminded you Steve is not your boyfriend. This isn't a relationship and he's looking to get something out of just like you are. But if you were being honest you were catching feelings, it was hard not to when the man was giving you the fantasy. You decided to push that voice aside whenever it came up and let yourself be swept away. Maybe that would bite you in the ass but for now you were happy.

____

You were buzzed into Steve’s building and on the elevator ride up to his penthouse your phone buzzed. ‘I have to make a quick call- I’ve got a present waiting for you in the living room.’ You couldn’t help but feel giddy.

The doors opened and Steve was nowhere in sight but as you entered the living room a bag from Chanel and the Apple Store sat on the table. Oh god, what this time? I swear this man is too much.

You opened the smaller bag from Chanel first and found a beautiful black and white evening bag. It was sleek and simple, very much to your tastes. You were nervous to open the Apple bag, Steve always went overboard. Shakily removing the paper you pulled out the slim case in disbelief. A MacBook Air and a pair of AirPod Pros. The man well and truly spoiled you.

“You said you didn’t have a computer.” His voice came from behind you and startled you.

“Steve, this is too much. You’re too much.” You swung your arms around his neck and kissed him.

“Nothin’s too much for you, doll.” He kissed the top of your head.

“Think you could take a couple days off of work? I just got off the phone and confirmed plans for my house in Nice.”

A trip? France?? Oh my god. How is this my life? You felt so overwhelmed that you grabbed Steve by the collar and brought his face down to meet you in a kiss. His tongue swiped your lips and you granted him entrance. Moaning into his mouth your hands traveled up into his hair, pulling softly and coaxing a groan out of him.

He guided you to sit on the couch and brought you down into his lap. You ground down onto him and felt his hard-on through his slacks. Your hand moved slowly to undo the buttons of his shirt as he kissed down your jaw towards your neck. You sighed softly when he found your sweet spot and started sucking.

He helped you take off his shirt while you got started on his belt and undid his pants. He lifted himself off the couch slightly to move them down to his knees, taking his briefs with them. His cock stood proud and an angry red, leaking at the tip.

“I wanna ride you, I can’t wait.” You pouted as you writhed against him in need.

Steve tutted at you “that’s no way to get what you want. Ask me nicely, baby. Beg to ride my cock,”

You ground down even harder and whined. “Please, sir, please let me ride your cock. I need to feel you, I can’t wait any longer please.”

“Good Girl” Steve's hands flipped up your skirt and found your panties, ripping them to shreds. They were La Perla and had cost a pretty penny but he didn’t care.

He lined himself up and brought you down harshly gripping your hips. You moaned loudly in surprise and satisfaction and wasted no time moving back and forth. Steve made you feel so close and connected to him whenever he fucked you but he still made you feel sordid and dirty. You couldn’t get enough of the feeling, you’d gladly chase it.

His eyes were hooded as watched you chase your own pleasure and giving him some in return. His hands kneaded your ass and smacked it just to get a gasp out of you. He grabbed the back of your head and brought you in for a searing kiss that was all teeth and tongue. He’d nip at you and lick the pain away.

His hips met yours, finding your rhythm and speeding you both up when he gripped your hips.

“Can’t wait to have me, you had to fuck me on the couch huh?” Steve panted, “my dirty girl. So fuckin’ gorgeous.”

You put your forehead against his and went harder, pushing your clit to grind against the muscles of his abs.

“Only yours, sir.” Your orgasm was building. Steve was a pretty relaxed dom but you still needed permission.

“Sir, please let me cum I can’t wait any longer” you tried your best to slow your movements a bit.

“I think you can hold it baby, I wanna enjoy you a little longer”.

You could only whine in response and tried to slow your pace but his grip on your hips and his own movements pushed you further and further towards the edge. You tried to squirm out of his grasp but his hands only tightened. It felt like forever until Steve finally gave you permission.

“Go on baby, cum for me you earned it. Fuck your self on my cock and cum all over me”

Your movements were frantic, desperate to chase your orgasm when finally the perfect angle of his cock inside you and your clit against him set you free. You cried out above him and dug your nails in deep.

Steve held you firmly in place and started slamming into you from below, finally letting himself think about cumming. All you could do was hold on for mercy. Moments later he brought you down onto him one final slam as he came inside of you with a cry.

The only sound in the room was both of you trying to catch your breath. You sighed again and collapsed against him, nuzzling your face into his neck. He kissed the side of your face and let you make yourself at home while he caressed your back.

____

One shower and two more orgasms later you were both clean and made your way to the kitchen. Steve was gathering the ingredients for dinner when you hugged him from behind. Your head resting against his back. Steve twisted around and hugged you in full. You both stayed like that for a moment until you looked up at him.

You were so content. Moments like this where you were just domestic were some of the best between you. It wasn’t about money or material, it was just the two of you making dinner and enjoying each other, no barriers.

“Are you really going to take me to France?” Your voice came out muffled against his chest.

“Of course, doll. After dinner I want you to use your new laptop to buy some outfits for the trip. I left my card in your new purse.”

You lifted onto your tiptoes and kissed his nose.

“You really do think of everything, don’t you?”

“What can I say? I’m a planner” he retorted.

You didn’t know it yet but Steve was going to ask you to become official while you were there. He wasn’t worried in the slightest. In fact he’d never been so sure about something in his life.

[lovelyirony]

y’all didn’t think i would did you 

Winnie wakes up around seven, groaning as Bucky’s alarm goes off. Why that boy can wake up for a shift at work but not for anything else is beyond her. Today is her day off, which means a lot has to happen.

Bucky stumbles into the kitchen, grabbing a bagel and stuffing it in the toaster. “Hey honey,” Winnie says with a smile, coffee cup in one hand and the other wrapping around her son. “Have a good night’s sleep?”

“Yeah,” Bucky mutters. He shuffles over to the coffeemaker, pouring himself a cup and adding some creamer in. “No weird dreams last night, except that Steve was secretly Leonardo da Vinci.” Winnie laughs, taking a bite of her toast.

“You have crazy dreams, sweetheart. What’s on the agenda for today?”

“Go to work, try not to die. Take Steve home from his art club so he doesn’t walk in rainy weather.” She nods, making a mental note to remind Sarah so she doesn’t stress out. Steve used to have a medley of maladies, yet still thought he could kick God’s own ass. It was a problem. Now his immune system is kicking into high gear, but he still does a lot of stupid things. (Not that Winnie will mention it, he’s like a better-behaved son, but she Knows.)

“What about you, Ma? What’s your plan for today?”

“Eh, not much,” Winnie responds. “Get some work emails out of the way, go grocery shopping with Maria. I’m letting her use some of my bags.”

“Cool.”

That’s the end of conversation for a bit, until Bucky glances at the clock, grabs his keys, and drops a kiss on his mom’s cheek. “Love you, Ma. I’ll see you later today, okay?” Winnie waves goodbye, cleans up a bit of breakfast, and shoots off a text to Maria. When do you want to go grocery shopping?

How about 11?

Sounds great! Meet you outside your door.

Admittedly, Maria can’t wait until eleven rolls around. No matter what she does, time seems to tick slowly on by. She cleans the kitchen floor, tidies up Tony’s desk (it’s a nightmare), and also reorganizes her closet for the upcoming fall.

When it is 10:55, Maria gets out of the door, double-checks to make sure she has everything in her wallet and purse, and sees Winnie. She smiles brightly. “Hello Win!” She says. “Ready to go?”

“Of course!”

As they walk, they talk about everything in between. Weather, their sons, flowers, and groceries. Winnie says that general brand is as good as name brand, don’t let anything about it fool you. “Some people can taste the difference, but I doubt Tony will care,” she says. “Okay, we’re gonna get a cart and go.”

Maria picks up a lot of things. She picks up a jar of blackberry preserves for breakfast, some sauces, spices, fruits, and vegetables. Other basics, but that’s about it. She and Winnie at some products, Winnie reminisces over packing Bucky’s lunch for him every day with a little bag of chips, sandwich, and pudding. Maria picks up a box of goldfish, smiling as she remembers when Tony was young. He loved the fruit that Jarvis would cut up, the sticky juice running down his fingers. It would take him forever to be cleaned up—that boy avoided baths like it was his personal job.

After they finish up grocery shopping, Winnie offers to have Maria over for coffee and lunch. “I just got this nice arrangement of sandwiches from a coworker and as good as they are, I can’t finish them myself,” she says with a smile. “Would you like to have some?”

“Of course,” Maria says. “I’m always ready to eat with you.” Winnie grins, nearly blushing. “Let me just put my groceries away, and then I’ll be over to yours, if you’ll have me.”

“Always,” Winnie replies. Maria smiles, ducking into her apartment for a moment. She’s quite glad that Winnie can’t see her, because Maria is currently shoving groceries wherever they can fit, and rushing to get the bags back to an orderly fashion for her. Tony might text her about the state of the kitchen later, but for now she is going over to Winnie’s house to have coffee and lunch.

The other woman is currently trying to throw a cheese plate together and failing—she forgot to get the damned Colby Jack, best of all—and there’s a polite knock on her door. Winnie feels a bit like a mess. “Mother of shit,” she curses. “Shit, shit, shit—” The door opens to Maria looking very much so put together, Winnie probably looks like garbage, and there’s the smell of coffee wafting between the two of them.

“Uh, hello Maria. I tried my best to prepare lunch before you came, but there’s only so much time you have before a lady comes back from putting away her groceries.”

“Very right,” she says softly with a laugh. “Lead the way, Winnie.”

Winnie’s house is decorated very nicely. Portraits of the family, those dorky old outfits on full display. Maria remembers the shirts that were popular at the time, remembered that she owned a fair amount of them when it was around that time. Winnie smiles as she looks at them.

“James’ father hates these,” she says. “So I keep them around whenever he visits with his wife.” Maria nods. They head to the kitchen, some sunlight streaming in. She has coordinating cloths, sponges, and the whole scene is perfectly domestic. The black coffeemaker in the back completes it. Maria offers to help set the table, and Winnie lets her. They move comfortably in the kitchen as Maria navigates it, slowly moving around Winnie. She gets the plates and glasses, setting the latter down on the counter to get water. They bump into each other, and Maria tries not to let Winnie see her cheeks heat up, but that’s probably impossible at this point.

“So,” Maria says. “What kind of coffee do we have, Win?” The casual nickname shouldn’t make Winnie smile as much as she’s going to, but she gets out the selection.

“We have some breakfast blend, sugar cookie, and…oh god, I don’t even remember getting this one. Amaretto?” Maria’s eyes brighten at the last one, Winnie laughing. “Guess we’ll go with that one. Get me some coffee cups?” Maria chooses one with flowers all over it, the other one an old-fashioned diner cup. Winnie turns suddenly, coming closer into Maria’s space.

“Oh!” Maria exclaims. “I’m sorry Winnie!”

“It’s fine, this is a close kitchen,” she says. Also, given that Maria smelled like flowers and good things, being in close quarters was literally the best thing ever.

They get their coffee, sandwiches, and talk a little bit. Maria is talking about maybe starting working at a bookstore—the owner seriously needs some reorganization in the book department as well as some design work. While Maria doesn’t exactly have the best qualifications, she knows that she can prove herself. Winnie encourages it.

“You always look so cute, I wouldn’t even question it,” Winnie comments. Maria’s cheeks turn pink as she looks down at her coffee.

“Aw, thanks Win. You look beautiful too.” Winnie grins, taking another sip of her coffee. It was a good idea to be friends with Maria. She just hoped she didn’t muck it up by having actual feelings for her.

Tony wasn’t exactly the best morning person. Sure, he took coffee in the morning and practically gulped the whole thing down in five minutes, but that didn’t mean much. He still looked like he was a walking dead man.

Steve knew this, and still thought that Tony was one of the cutest guys he’d ever met. Steve would grin as Tony swayed out the door, smiling dopily at Steve.

“Hey,” he’d mutter, readjusting his backpack. “Ready to go?”

“Yup!” Steve would reply. “Did you do the English assignment?”

“About the…was it the Middle English?”

“Middle Ages,” Steve corrected. “We were supposed to be reading more lines from Beowulf.” Tony curses.

“No, I didn’t.” Then Steve gives him a basic summary, Tony commits to memory, probably gets a better test score than he should—damn that eidetic memory—and all is well. Their lockers are a couple away from each other, so Tony leaves Steve to go put his things away.

Tony really thinks that having a cute neighbor that goes to the same school is just unfair. Especially since Steve is a morning person, goes on a two-mile run every single day of his life, and is very, very attractive. Tony looks roughly like a mess in the morning, which is only worsened by the death sentence that is school. Just because he can do it doesn’t always mean he wants to. Especially this early in the morning, because who the hell even wants to get up early, save for Steve, Bucky, and probably all of Steve’s stupidly-attractive friends. Ugh, Tony needed more people who couldn’t deal with the morning.

The day goes on, Tony making faces at Steve in the hallway, asking him how his day was going.

“Going good. Hey, you eating with us in the cafeteria?” Steve asks, shoving his math book into his locker. “Natasha wants to verify that you’re a criminal when it comes to hydration.”

“All she has to do is wait a week, then see me fall in the middle of AP Chem,” Tony says.

Steve rolls his eyes and shoves a water bottle at Tony. “Drink, because I have a bet going that you’ll pass out next week and I really don’t want to lose five bucks to Nat.”

“Done,” Tony says, chugging the water bottle and handing it back. “Thanks, Stevie.”

Natasha scowls at Tony as he sits down at the table. “You’re soft, Carbonell.”

“Comes with drinking water and all that fun jazz,” Tony says. “Which, by the way, I believe you owe Steve five bucks.”

“Schemer,” Natasha mutters, sliding crumpled ones over the table. Steve takes out his wallet, putting them in. Tony snickers as he sees the picture of young Steve and his mom in a photo booth.

“You’re a goofball,” Tony says.  “Look at that stupid shirt you have on.”

“What, saying you haven’t done a photo booth thing before, Tony?”

“Nope,” Tony says. “I was busy doing other, cooler things.”

“What, like singing along to Rosemary Clooney records with your mom?” Steve teases. “We can hear the music, and a screeching voice…” Tony lightly pushes Steve on the arm, making a noise of protest.

“I’m sorry that you don’t know how amazing Rosemary is, but we have a lot of fun. Maybe this means you won’t be getting any orange chicken tonight.”

Natasha looks between the two of them; Steve liked to say that he didn’t fall easily, but here he was. Staring at Tony like he hung up the stars just-so, and Tony was smiling softly as he stole some of Steve’s blueberries when he wasn’t looking. They were in love. Steve was a liar. She’d have to collect on his statement of not falling easily. Maybe after they got together.

The rest of the day passes without incident for Tony and Steve. Natasha has a class with Bruce, and they have a substitute teacher, which basically means they’re doing nothing. She turns to Bruce, who sits to the right.

“You’ve noticed Steve and Tony too, right?”

“Repeat that?” Bruce asks, taking an earbud out. “Listening to loud music.” She repeats her statement, and he nods as soon as she finishes the sentence. “Oh yeah, definitely. Tony’s head over heels, and always talks about what Steve is going to do at home with him. I think this Friday he doesn’t have a football game, so maybe going to the roller rink. I know Steve’s skipping the party. And I think Tony mentioned having a puzzle night on Saturday.”

“I’d skip the party to do a puzzle if I knew it was hosted at Rumlow’s house,” Natasha mutters. “God knows how crazy people get over there.” Bruce nods.

“Yeah, real asshole guy. Tried to copy my physics work, and got caught because in Mr. Rainey’s words, ‘you haven’t been paying enough attention to do this much complex work.’” Natasha snorts, eyeing the clock. They got out of class in ten minutes. Enough time to get started on the actual bookwork, but not enough time to actually put any real work into it. Besides, she wants to tell Bruce about some gossip she heard from the cheer squad involving one of the teachers’ past.

Tony waits for Steve to finish football practice, and walks up to him after all the guys exit the locker room.

“It’s your lover boy,” Sam teases Steve. “Waiting for his sweetheart to get out of practice, and all.”

“Aw shut up,” Steve says, shoving Sam a little bit. “Makes sense to walk home together. We live in the apartment complex. I think you’re just jealous because you don’t have actual friends. Me and Bucky don’t count, you’re our charity case.” Sam flips Steve off as he pulls out his car keys.

“That was cold man, straight-up cold. Think I might actually report you to Coach Phillips, see what he does.”

“Probably congratulate me,” Steve says. “Finally affected you, dumbass.” Sam grins, bids him goodbye, and Steve looks over to Tony with a soft smile.

“Hey Stevie,” Tony says. “How was practice?”

“Same as always. We went over some plays, yelled at some of the second-strings, and listened to Phillips tell us that just because Ridgemont has a shit team doesn’t mean we can jack around next Friday. You and your mom are still coming, right?”

“Sitting with Sarah and everything,” Tony says with a grin. “You still on for a puzzle night?”

“Of course,” Steve says. “I haven’t done a puzzle in ages.”

“Me either,” Tony says. “Mama picked up a new one, it looks fun. Shows a picture of vintage candy tins.”

“Nice,” Steve responds, adjusting his backpack. “You excited for the roller rink?”

“Yeah, I’ve never gone to one before,” Tony says. “I don’t even really know if I can skate.”

“If you can’t, I’ll make sure you don’t fall,” Steve teases. “After all, you can’t cling to the wall the whole time.”

“My knight in shining armor,” Tony declares, hand over his heart. “Whatever do I owe you?” Steve pretends to think for a moment.

“A skate dance when we go, I think.”

“I was going to do that anyway,” Tony says, rolling his eyes. “Come on, I bet that Winnie or mom is cooking food.”

“I’m not gonna bet, I got a text from your mom that said she’s making garlic bread.”

“Yes!”

The boys arrive at Maria’s apartment in a heap of backpacks and jackets and laughs. Maria smiles, greeting Steve with a hug and Tony with a kiss on the cheek and a reminder to get his laundry folded and put away.

“Yes, Mama!” Tony calls, slumping to the family room. “Ugh, I’m so tired. I had to listen to Professor Reed drone on and on about physics and practicality. Worst class ever.”

“Then why do you take it?” Steve asks, slipping in the Mario Kart disc. “I say ditch it and find a more interesting class.”

“Nah, I like his reaction when I write my papers dissing his personal theories, it’s therapeutic.” Steve laughs, tossing him a controller. “You prepared to have your ass kicked in Mushroom Gorge?”

“Only when you admit defeat when I get first place.”

“Oh, that’s a challenge.”

They continue playing, occasionally trash-talking each other. In between, Sarah comes in, bearing the ground beef for the spaghetti and some more dishware that she doesn’t use anymore that Maria likes.

“Ready to get that waffle-maker dream out of your head?” Sarah asks.

“No, definitely not,” Maria replies, winking. “Pass me the oregano, will you? This needs a little bit more for the meatballs.” Sarah tosses her the bottle, and they work with relative ease, Sarah humming along to Bob Seger on the radio.

“I’m glad you’re here, our last neighbor was boring,” Sarah says. “Real old lady who borrowed my good cheese grater and never gave it back.”

“I’m glad I’m here, then,” Maria says. “Can you get the boys, it’s nearly dinner time. They need to wash up.”

Sarah enters the room to hear Steve and Tony arguing about whether or not Mario is actually good.

“As educational as this is, I’m going to have to have you guys save it for later,” Sarah says, smiling. “Steve, Tony, wash up. We’re having spaghetti. Tony, could you cut up some fruit for us?”

“Always,” Tony says, giving Sarah a kiss on the cheek. “Your day go okay, Ms. Rogers?”

“Of course,” Sarah answers. “Just a couple of medical hiccups on paperwork at the hospital. I’m just glad I have tomorrow off.”

“Break time,” Steve comments, making his way to the bathroom.

They’re all seated at the table, laughing together as Maria tells them about her grocery store experience. They share knowing looks when she talks about her and Winnie getting coffee.

“Your mom has a crush,” Steve mutters to Tony.

“No duh,” Tony murmurs back, smiling and putting another bite of blueberries into his mouth before his mother catches him.

[odysseywritings]

2 Friends go to a Halloween Party for Possible Dates

A woman in her mid-20s with chin-length dark brown hair and adorning a white collar shirt sped-walk her way to her apartment with a mixture of glee and anxiety. She sped up her way up the stairs as she called out someone’s name excitedly.

“Izzy, Izzy, Izzy!” she whooped. “I got some great news!”

She banged on the door a few times. Happiness giving way to irritation as she knocked some more.

“It is open, Rose” a slow feminine voice from the other side chimed. 

Rose opened the door to find Izzy, a woman with long curly black hair and wearing a purple robe, sitting down in the middle of the room with her eyes closed. The room was blackened except for several candles lighting various areas.

“I was close to contacting a spirit named Jeremiah,” Izzy said without turning her head. “I hope you understand that.”

“The occult stuff can wait,” Rose waved her hand. “Right now, I got something to tell you!”

Rose turned on the light as Izzy sighed and looked at her with a serious look.

“So I overheard some coworkers, I wasn’t eavesdropping about one’s DUI situation by the way, and one of them brought up a Halloween party downtown.”

“I hate parties. And since when have you ever enjoyed scary things?”

“Hey, I’ve seen plenty of scary people at work. I just need a breather from horror movies.” She sighed and composed herself. “Anyway,” She continued with a smile and twirled her hair. “There’s a certain coworker that I’m really liking… And he said he’d be there!”

“Ah. Well, hope you have a good time.” Izzy said as she closed her eyes again.

“And he mentioned having a sister who’s also single~”

Izzy turned her head. “Go on.”

Rose grinned as she was relaxing and ditching her work clothes for casual wear.

“If she’s like her brother, then I feel she’d be laid-back,” Rose added. “Which thank God, I get so tired of assholes every day. Only I’m allowed to be high-maintenance!” 

“Don’t I know it,” Izzy quipped. “What’s their names?”

“Cosmo and Maddie Peters,” she continued. “He’s kinda stoic and sluggish, so I thought he was going to be cold and lazy. But he’s very reliable, covers the other guys when they can’t make it, and lightens up the mood if I’m feeling especially pissy.”

“Yin-Yang, huh?”

 “His sister’s the same I think,” she sat down on the couch wearing a red t-shirt and maroon shorts and turned on the TV. “He says she’s really upbeat and into a lot of alternative junk. Not bad things, just out-there things. So you and her can talk about counter-culture stuff.”

“I already love her energy. Carefree and unchained by social constraints.”

“That’s the spirit! I want this to be a natural, authentic experience.” She whipped out a list with an eager grin. “So I made a list of things we should do before, during, and after the party!”

Izzy stared in utter befuddlement. Any snark coming to her were failing as Rose was about to commence talking her ear off.

“Why not,” Izzy began, “we just start with costumes to where and go from there?”

Rose blinked. “You are so right. Oh, I need to write down what I’d look good as.”

Izzy sighed and slumped back, content with something morbid and gruesome in her head.

The women exited their building with their costumes completed. Rose went with a classic black cat costume complete with black marker whiskers and fake fangs. Izzy conversely went with a zombie look with make-up used to have her skin appear rotting and her eyes discolored through gray contact lenses. Sunset’s orange and violet coloring closed in on them as they headed out, Rose having a purposeful stride as Izzy followed with a calm gait.

“So how do you think we should break the ice,” Izzy inquired. 

“First thing’s first,” Rose said. “We compliment their costumes no matter how weird they look to us.” She looked at Izzy’s zombie get-up. “Or just to me.”

“Maybe ask what they like, too.”

“Yes! Then we just have to be our normal selves. Mostly. In acceptable doses.”

“You are really overthinking this. I’d just be glad if the sister is even looking for someone like me.”

“I met a lot of picky guys, alright? But you’re right, he doesn’t seem like the type to be judgy.”

They approached a sign attached to a street light that welcomed guests to a ‘frighteningly fun time’ with cutesy skulls and pumpkins decorated on it with a 21+ disclaimer underneath. 

“This is it, Izzy,” Rose affirmed. “Rember. Acceptably weird.”

Izzy looked at her and shrugged.

“While we look for them let’s enjoy ourselves with some games,” Izzy maintained. “Wait. How am I going to know what they look like if they’re wearing costumes.”

“Oh, Cosmo will probably wear something strange.”

“Wow, you’re right. That really does help narrow it down.”

“Just trust me! We’ll find them soon enough.”

Without looking, Rose bumped into a man considerably taller than her wearing a dark green cloak. The man gave her a wretched look with his intense blue eyes.

“Oh my god!” Rose gasped. “I’m so sorry, I wasn’t looking.”

The cloaked man glared at her and raised a finger.

“Watch your step, you idiot.”

“Watch your mouth, micro-nuts,” Rose chided. 

The man was too perplexed to make a comeback and only looked at her again before the two girls headed off.

“The nerve of that guy!” Rose went on. “Grr! Let’s just find them and get it over with.”

“You’re not going to get on the boy’s good side with that attitude,” Izzy retorted. “Let out some steam and play a game.”

“Right, yeah,” Rose grumbled and sighed. 

One of the stands had a pumpkin carving contest and Rose took up the chance to use her frustration on a vegetable. She sat on a free chair and readied herself as Izzy went elsewhere. As time went on, the pirate-dressed judge was impressed by the contestants but was frightened by Rose’s intense carving and her creation of a screaming face. The clock rang, and the judge gave the winning prize of a candy basket to a person with a witch carving. Rose slumped, but at least the energy was out of her.

“Well,” she started. “That was a good game anyway.”

“I’ll say,” a baritone voice said from her right side.

The sound made her eyes widen and she turned to see a light heaired man wearing a wizard robe and hat smiling with a glazed look as he slowly waved.

“H-Hi, Cosmo!”

“Hi, Rose. Didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Me neither.” She paused. “I mean- It’s a nice surprise to find you here!”

He nodded. “I liked your technique of stabbing the hell out of the pumpkin. It’s a dying art I feel.”

“Oh, that. Yeah, I got a bad mood from a jerk earlier. But I’m much better now.” 

She looked at his carving with a raised brow.

“I like the… carrot?”

“Spaceship.”

“That was my second guess.”

They both laughed, though Rose’s loud cackle dominated his mild chuckle.

“By the way,” Cosmo continued. “My sister’s here too. I think she’d get a kick out of you.”

“Oh, what a coincidence! My friend is here, too. We’re like sisters in a very loose way.”

“You could say that,” Izzy interrupted from behind.

“Jesus!” Rose jumped and clutched her chest. She breathed heavily until she cooled down. “Uh, Cosmo. This is Izzy Watson. Izzy, Cosmo Peters.”

The two strangers looked at each other with mild expressions.

“Hey.”

“Hi.”

“Excellent,” Rose mumbled. She looked at Izzy who gave her an expectant reaction. “Oh! You said your sister was here? We’d like to meet her if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.”

He stayed in his chair for a good while as Rose tapped her foot anxiously.

“Cosmo?”

“Oh, I don’t know where she is. But we can find her.”

“Ngk. Sure, that’d be fine.”

The trio searched around until they saw a redheaded woman excitedly bobbing for apples in vampire attire. 

“Found her,” Cosmo said.

“How can you tell,” Izzy replied.

“Because redhead vampires are really rare.”

Izzy was stunned by his nonchalance and decided to just accept the answer. The woman waved to Cosmo with the apple still in her mouth as she jogged to them. 

“He~y!” she bubbled. “Cosmo, who are these lovely ladies?”

“Mattie, this is my coworker Rose Nakano.”

“Hey, how are ya!” Mattie burst.

“And her friend Izzy Watson.“

“Hi, there,” she cooed. “That zombie make-up looks really cool.”

Izzy’s frown lifted slightly and thanked her as she pushed her hair back. Rose in turn was smiling at the two getting along.

“Hmm,” Rose pondered. How about we travel together for a bit? We never get much chance to talk outside of work, Cosmo. And Izzy actually wants to talk to someone.”

Cosmo tapped his chin. “Yeah, all right.”

The 4 traveled around, with Rose initiating conversations with Cosmo about music tastes.

“Get out!,” Rose exclaimed and playfully shoved Cosmo. “You like Thunder Star, too?! I love their riffs and goofy music videos!” 

“Same,” Cosmo softly said with a small smile. “Johnny Fingers is the best rock bassist. I love how you can hear him. It’s really melodic and cool.” He smiled more as his face reddened to Rose’s delight.

On the other end, Mattie talked with Izzy about horror movies they saw recently including a folk horror movie about 17th century New Englanders.

“And there’s a lot of historical accuracies and everything,” Mattie blurted. “I think the focus on paganism being evil is really cliche, but the movie is so tense that I completely let it slide!”

“If you like horror,” Izzy smirked. “You’ll really like ‘Grid’. It’s about a serial killer in a town that loses all its electricity in one night.”

“Ugh, I hate that image, but I want to see it!”

“I can rent it for us to watch sometime.”

“Count me in,” Mattie replied as she twirled her hair.

Eventually the pairs split off to do various games as fog was covering the outdoor party, having a blue coloring that was mostly ignored by the 4 in their joyous moments.

[beaversatemygrandma]

Being back in the hometown this week is so far pretty nice. I didn’t realize just how much i missed this town. Sure. Sure. It’s been humid, hot and gross, but everything else makes it just that much better.

....I can feel the air dude. It’s wet.

Tomorrow my sister is finally graduating high school. She did great, even if she’s working today before it and most of the week so a lot of plans don’t even include her. We had dinner the other night and I got food poisoning from the same damn wing place i got food poisoning at when i was like 15. Nothing’s changed there. My partner ate my leftovers tho and I’m jealous of their damn iron stomach bc those wings were Good.

To be fair, most plans don’t even include me bc I’ve been staying with the partner of sorts and I have to say, i fucking love it here with them. Even if they’re going through a search for a new roommate and I’m a bit jealous it isn’t me, but it’s not like there isn’t space for me here if i come back to town. I’d likely go back to staying with my mom and spending like 90% of the nights here. Even if there’s 5 cats around now bc of said new roommate. We had to drive to the next town over last night to pick up her cats and some stuff bc her place got a week’s notice eviction and that turned into her moving in within the week as I’m here which is just a pain in the ass. Not to mention how we’re trying to accustom her cats to this house. There’s a very mean and hissy cat in the bathroom rn and it scares the shit out of me. There’s also a little black one who’s an absolute sweetheart. Either way. There’s two cats locked in the bathroom rn and I’m scared to shower bc the big guy hiding behind the door keeps growling and hissing at me lmao For valid reasons tho, the cat just got randomly uprooted by strangers but the little one is already being friendly. Idk. But allergies are quite something today. Why can’t more people have white cats or sphynxes? Black cats and fluffy grey ones are making my eyes itch. Such cuties tho And there’s a slightly awkward thing about the new roommate. She’s an ex-coworker of mine and I Hated Her. She was the one who would literally hit on any slightly attractive 20-something guy who came in leaving me to deal with serving in a lunch rush alone as she disappeared to hit on him. AND back then, when my partner was still very much not out yet, one of my friends caught them making out in the parking lot before work and that was the one time I’ve ever gotten mad about their other endeavors. Like yeah, they’re poly, that’s cool. I wouldn’t mind figuring out poly relationships, they seem neat and i might be into that. But HER. Luckily, it seems like that was just some casual thing and they’re nothing more than just friends now. (I Was told I’m the only one who didn’t break off after they came out.) Either way, Super Fuckin Awkward just being there to pick up her cats. We never really got along well and it was just weird. Apparently i wasn’t the only one who was awkward as all hell though, so they were there just randomly joking and flirting with me between each thing going on. Staying here while they’re at work and she might not be when she lives here later on might be awkward too tho.

Alright, might get a bit tmi now lol

And I have to say, just being with the partner of sorts for the first time without having to struggle with timing and alternative plans and the ex-roommate who wouldn’t let anyone even look at their apartment, it’s great. They’re stuck with me all week and we’re both loving it and already trying to make plans to do it again. It’s been my first time sleeping with them, actually having a bed to have sex instead of the back seat of the car during an adventure across town, and ugh, i love them. I ended up waking up at 3am during that whole food poisoning bout and even though they had work in the morning, they still got up and tried their best to help me out through that bc it was causing me such extreme back pain along with the nausea and i couldn’t do anything without crying in pain. Everything just felt better once i was finally able to not deal with that damn nausea and just cuddle up to them and sleep. They’re just so damn comforting. Bonus points on the recent top growth they’ve had from the past year of HRT. Let me tell you just how SOFT it is. Its a whole new level of comfort being buried into their chest. <3 Also gave them their first titty hickey and that was a whole event lmao

But now, with the addition of a new roommate who won’t be the excessively controlling one they had previously, there’s advantages of having somebody who can take care of the cats if they decide to come up north for the weekend to spend time with me and then take me back here with them for a week and do it all over again the next weekend to drop me off. I’m hoping I’m going to be able to see them more often than i have the past few years. Like, since i’ve been here i’ve already gotten to know so much more about them that I’m surprised i didn’t before. It feels so much more romantic than it ever has. Before it was more casual, this genuinely feels serious. There’s more affection here than there was with my ex and I’ve only been here since saturday night. Tbf, that night was almost nothing but passion bc we haven’t actually hooked up for like three years or so and now it doesn’t feel like a series of hook ups. It’s a strange feeling possibly having a potential real relationship with the person I’ve had a crush on for nearly five years now. It’s amazing, but very odd bc I’ve convinced myself multiple times that this would never happen and i should get over having a crush, but here i am, sitting on their couch in my underwear after having them come home for their lunch break with no time other than to bring me a matcha latte and a kiss before leaving.

Ugh. I can’t wait until tonight after my sister’s graduation and they’re off work and it’s just us here again. They’re so damn sweet, i already miss them.

And it turns out we have the same goals when it comes to gender. Just that ‘when you walk into a room, everybody questions their sexuality’ kinda vibes. And apparently i give them gender envy already bc of that. Then again, they’re leaning far more fem than i am. Apparently, i already have the chapstick lesbian look that their going for while I’m wanting to be more masculine later on. Either way, they’re still cute as shit right now. And after dinner with my family, my mom called me the next day and was like “Huh. So, are you with him again or is he finally gay? Because that was far more feminine than i remember.” and i just had to tell her that they’ve always been vaguely queer. Even before the beard got shaved off never to return. Tho, i will say it’s hilarious how my parents think this is a safe choice (like idk, i won’t be having sex or smth) bc all they see them as is a very fruity guy. When in reality I’m spending time with a they/them chapstick lesbian who very much has some strong chemistry with me. I also finally figured out the whole deal with the name I overheard somebody else calling them a few years back. Apparently, that coworker was just somebody they came out relatively early to and she immediately was like “OH SHIT I GOTTA CALL YOU SOMETHING” and started up with calling them Bree. Which was cute as shit, but not actually the chosen name which cleared up SO MUCH for me after reeling over that for so long. Literally, they’re not even changing their name. If anything, further on, they’re just dropping the first letter of their first name, so going with Ames instead. Also cute as shit btw. Or the same initials based nickname they’ve had for years already. Also, they’re calling me Taks and it’s so Nice. I’ve never had that before and it’s great. <3

Damn. Let it be tonight already.