#noooo cut his cute lil curl

[lemonandlime22]

I LOVE your bitey child series!!!

Please I NEED bitey child yuu calling Malleus, Jack, Rook, and Sebek big brother💖😭💖

Malleus, Jack, Rook, and Sebek's reaction to bitey child!Yuu's calling them big brother

Warning(s):

A/N: Omg!!! this is so cute!!! tysm for requesting I hope you like it!

[Bitey child!Yuu Masterlist]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Malleus

Mal and Lilia were having a nice conversation in the Diasomnia lounge abt whatever they talk abt

then you just waltzed in, tugged at Malleus's coat, and said,

"Come with me big brother, i needa' show you somethin'..."

He was in shock but followed you anyway

leaving Lilia behind to almost have a heart attack from how cute that was

You two ended up in the backyard of Ramshackle where there was a small patch of dirt lined with many rocks that all very in size

you had shown him your very own garden that Ruggie and Deuce helped you start

nothing had grown yet but you were still quite proud and puffed your chest as you awaited Mal's response.

Malleus chuckled in amusement,

you had come all the way to Diasomnia just to show him your garden

it warmed his heart, especially since he knew how much you hated going through the mirror gates alone

yet you still did just to come to get him

you must truly see him as your big brother then...

He patted your head and said,

"This is very impressive, little sibling. Please do tell me about all of what you are growing."

Jack

Jack was just minding his own business, happily eating his lunch

when you came out of nowhere and clung onto his tail with no warning

this was far from the first time though

so he just sighed and continued eating

and you, still with your arms locked around his tail, plopped onto the empty bench area next to him

"*sigh* what are you doing Yuu?"

you just inaudibly mumbled into his tail with a yawn and curled onto yourself, using his fluff as a makeshift pillow

"Really Yuu? Common, you shouldn't be taking naps in the middle of-"

he was cut off by more of your mumbling, but this time he caught on to a certain sentence

"Noooo, big brotheerrrr, lemmee sleeep"

Jack instantly stopped in his tracks

he got hit with a massive wave of nostalgia from when his little sibling called him that for the first time while they were learning to talk.

He didn't have the heart because it was now a pile of mush to stop you and ended up being late for his next class

its rly hard to carry a child thats clinging onto your tail.

Rook

You were once again trying to steal Rook's hat

he was hunting a certain eel when you just popped out of nowhere a took his hat

he found it quite amusing

and was very proud that you had managed to sneak up on him.

He playfully chased you all throughout the campus

which lead to you climbing up a rather tall tree

and Rook knew almost instantly something bad was going to happen

and just as he was going to warn you, you slipped and ended up falling

Rook was quick to catch you

and you clung onto him while crying with your face shoved into his shoulder

he was sat under the tree while rubbing you back and reassuring you everything was ok now

when you had mostly calmed down you looked up at him and said,

"*sniff* Thank you, big brother..."

"Hehe, it was my pleasure, dear little trickster!"

Rook stood up, picked up his hat that landed a little ways away, placed it on your little head,

and took you to Pomefiore to get you cleaned up.

He's quite pleased with the nickname you gave him, though he is interested to see who else you refer to that as, there must be many.

Sebek

Sebek had been dragged to yet another sleepover at Ramshackle by the rest of the first years

they do this at least once a month.

Rn, he was pouting on the couch while everyone was just talking and hanging out a lil ways away

you had gotten board so you grabbed a chair to prop up behind the couch

Sebek was already well aware of your plan, you had done this hundreds of times and were never able to stay too quiet abt it

you quickly wrapped your arms around his neck and yelled,

"Sneak attack!"

ok- its not rly yelling but its loud for you.

and Sebek stood up, with you still hanging on, and took your little arms to propel you forward as he shot down

you were thrown onto the couch with Sebek still holding your arms waiting for you to tap out.

You loved trying to wrestle with him when you were hyper, it's where you learned this cool barrel roll trick.

When you didn't tap out just kept trying to do said barrel roll, so Sebek opted to tickle you

which worked, after a minute you just started trying to tap out while saying

"Ok-Ok-Ok!! You win big brother! You win!!"

He just huffed and sat back down with a victory smile

It wasn't until 3 days later that he realized what you had called him while he was recounting the incident to Lilia

and he had no clue what to feel.

And Lilia had another heart attack

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[moonjxsung]

hi angel🫶🏻 how are you doing?

i missed you too!! this week has been super dense for everyone istg😪

onew!!! i’m so excited! i wish i could go to the fanmeet too😭😭😭 oh to live in or close to korea😩 but fr i need to save up for shinee tour bc i have a feeling that they’re coming to the US in like a year. and i can’t wait! shinee, my angels💜 the little whale!! that’s so cute😭💜 pls send me a haul of what you get him once you send it to him!! i just know it’ll be the cutest and he’ll love everything sm! i love how they’re handling his comeback fr!! im so excited for this era!

fr! i’ve had such a tough week too. i treated myself to some iced coffee on thursday bc ive been trying to cut down on expenses too (but at least once a week iced coffee is a must). i came back to my mom’s and saw my kitty (tofu’s brother) had blood on his toe literally rn and we’re waiting for some tranquilizers to make effect to see how we can handle de situation and if it’s necessary to have an emergency vet visit. on a better note, i have a friend who’s a tattoo apprentice and im speaking with them to get some small tattoos done soon!

and ateez!!!! i wanted to go see them at coachella soooooo badly! but i was so set on seeing skz (my ults, my darlings) and i love love love ateez but im glad that i waited for lolla instead of coachella😂 im sorry san/yeosang my beloveds💔 im so pumped to see their performance too! (also ur watchparty outfit is so cute!!! ).

yaaaaas dragging ateez pcs in cute little pc holders, we love to see it!! 🥹

i also had to skip on txt this year!! my only kpop friend irl invited me right after i spent the whooping lolla amount😂 but i got an album which hasn’t arrived yet but im so excited to see the pulls! and want the cereal soooo badly for my shrine😭

alsooooooo did you see that apparently lee know and eunwoo went to see jk near his base??? like hello, visual trio wtfff. this was literally me:

i love you bb!! i hope the weekend treats you better!!💜

(the pc from my nephew’s story btwww!)

HELWLELEPRDPELEKKEKE THIS ASK COMPLETELY FROZE SO IT WAS JUST THE FIRE PIC AND I THOUGHT YOU SENT ME THAT W NO CONTEXT LMAOOOO 😭😭😭😭

Hi my baby!!!!!! Ahhh it’s so good to chat again!!!! This week has been so hellish for so many of us GOSH I just want to curl up and sleep and not wake up for like 2 weeks straight

AHHHHH MANIFESTING SHINEE TOUR SOOO HARDDDD I am getting ready as we speak to go to the kpop store bc they got some new shinee pcs in stock and I fully intend on buying every Onew one that exists 🫶🫶🫶🫶 Onew my beloved 🐋 ALSO YESSSS I will make sure to post a haul before I send him my care package!!!! I’m so excited 😭😭

Oh my god noooo I feel like you can’t get a break with all these cat incidents lately!! I’m so sad 😢 keep me posted with what happens!! My cat has been having some itching and we took her to the vet but they didn’t find anything wrong so they just prescribed some ointment and told us to make sure she doesn’t go outside (she’s indoor-only so she def didn’t contract anything!) but she’s just been super itchy lately and it’s super weird. I think it’s possibly just the change in weather and overall pollen or dust? So odd :/

ATEEZ’S COACHELLA SET OHHHH MY GODDDDD IT WAS FUCKING INSAENENEDNMDSMSME I CANT BELIEVE THEY JUST CASUALLY GOT 9TH SYMPHONY WONDERLANDDDD JONGHO’S HIGH NOTE AND SEONGHWA SWORD…. Also San’s abs??? Mingi’s fix on body paint??? CANT SPELL ATEEZ WITHOUT ATE 😋😋😋😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

I’m debating going to see txt because I’ve seen a lot of people local to me selling their tickets but I can’t decide yet! ANDDDD Ateez did allude to US tour so I have more money I need to be saving 😵‍💫 Will keep u posted!

ALSO YESSSSS LEE KNOW X JUNGKOOK X EUNWOO IS A CRAZYYYY COMBINATION HWLEPDLWKWKDKDN I WOULDVE DIEDDDDD

I love you bby have the bestttt weekend!!!! Have a lil treat and some coffee and relax so much. Ily ily 🫶💕💖💘💝💞

[lovelyparkers]

birthday boy

peter x female reader

summary: it's peter's bday and ur his fav gift

warnings: fluff, a lil suggestive😳

august 10

peter parker's birthday. a day that you would never forget. you and peter had been together for almost two years and you loved that boy so so much. but it was possible he loved you more. that being, when you showed up to his apartment early in the morning to surprise him for his birthday, he was awestruck.

"y/n what are you doing here!?" he cheerfully helped rubbing his tired eyes. may had just woke him up to get the door.

"it's your birthday pretty boy! i came to surprise you," you said pulling him into a hug.

you took up the habit of calling peter pretty boy around one and a half years ago by accident. but that's a story for another time. it always made him blush like no tomorrow.

so when you continued hugging peter, he buried his face into the crook of your neck, hiding his intense blush. he wanted to get you back for that, even though he secretly loved it. he tilted his head to kiss your neck just under your ear which always got you going.

you gasped, "peter stop!"

he chuckled which made you chuckle, "noooo, i love you y/n."

"i love you too."

——————

and that's how you two ended up sitting on peter's messy bed making out. you kept trying to pull away to give him your present you put lots of thought into, but peter kept his hands firmly placed on you cheek and neck. luckily when he pulled away for a millisecond to get some air you had your chance.

"no y/n get back here!"

"wait i have a present for you! you're gonna a love it. i hope."

"i thought you were my present," he wiggles his eyebrows very dorkily, "if ya know what i mean."

you rolled your eyes at the pretty boy, "just open it petey."

you handed him the gift bag and he opened very quickly. it was a photo album comprised of many, many, photos of the two of you, as well as photos with his friends and may. on the cover page was a picture of you kissing his cheek while he scrunched up his cute little freckled face before junior prom. may had taken it and thought it was the cutest thing on planet earth. peter smiled so big, he loved it, he loved you.

"i know it's kinda cliché but i really love you and it took a while and i thought you would like it because you love photography and photos in general, and i also got you some other stuff so—"

"y/n," he cut you off, "i love it. so so much. you're amazing." he smiled at you, his dimples evident and the morning sunshine glowing on his face from the window. you smiled back, happy he liked it.

"oh and there's a surprise picture at the end that i debates but knowing you, you would want it."

he smirked at you, excited to see this surprise picture. he flipped to the end of the book to see a huge 9x11 picture of you sitting on peter's lap facing him with you two just looking at each other all in love.

he smiled even bigger, "how did you get this? this is so cute, you're so cute."

you laughed, "ned took it that one time during our 'study' group which was just him third wheeling."

"ah i remember. i love when you sit on my lap," he smirked again. this cheeky boy...

you laughed and covered your face with your hands, all embarrassed.

"c'mere cutie, don't be shyyyyy," peter whispered.

you walked over to your boyfriend, placing your hands on his shoulders before straddling his waist and sitting on his lap.

"mmm i love you so much y/n. thank you."

"i love you more, you're welcome!"

he kissed you very softly now and smiled into the kiss, you smiled too.

this seemingly soft kissed quickly turned heated. your hands played with the small curls on the back of peter's neck while his roamed around your back and waist. you pulled away from his lips and started kissing all of his freckles on his cheek. though he pouted because he loved your lips, it gave him the opportunity to whisper in your ear,

"...you're my favourite present."

and then he pulled your face back to his to kiss you, this time more deeply and lovingly. eventually this again cheeky boy decided to slip in some tongue, nothing you hadn't done before of course.

"mm happy birthday pretty boy," you tried to mutter in the kiss.

and peter was determined to finish what you two had started earlier. let's just say he had a great birthday.

[thedegenerateasexual]

the last of let’s talk about love under the cut, chapters 27-34 + the epilogue:

chapter 27:

v v short, just a visit to the therapist again where she tells him about coming out

chapter 28: 

alice went to her parents wioth the law school thing and told them she wanted to change majors and they...cut her off financially

that was not what i was expecting and not what she was expecting either god damn

she went to takumi’s to be sad and

“What about a weekend away? Forget about everything for a few days and relax. How do you feel about camping?”

“I feel like I’m not going to like it.” She rested her head on his shoulder.

He traced the bridge of her nose. “In a cabin, not a tent.”

“I feel like I might like it.”

lmao mood

“I’m not going to sleep with people to make them happy anymore. It’s kind of my thing, but I don’t want it to be.”

“Wait, he asked to have sex with you?”

“No, but if things went well, he would have. Eventually.”

“He might not,” he said. “You don’t really know what someone will say until you tell them.”

That … was not what she expected him to say. Her admission should have gotten her a solemn nod, meaningful condolences, and a promise that she’d find someone someday.

Did he really care that she was self-rejecting? Or …

Or …

Or …

OR!!!! i’m dying

“It seems easier to just not date,” she began, watching for any change in his demeanor. “Sex is too much a part of everything, and I don’t think it’s reasonable to tell my partner I don’t ever want to sleep with them and expect them to stick around. I’m not saying they wouldn’t agree. I personally am not okay with asking. And I’m not saying I wouldn’t want to try again someday, but I don’t want them to have the expectation that I will. It has to be my choice and a lot of people don’t respect that.”

She stared at his profile so hard she thought her eyes would cross. She prayed he would say the Perfect Thing.

please i’m losing it

He said nothing. Alice waited and waited, watched the way his fingers gripped the steering wheel, the way his thumb tapped to the soft music. He looked in the rearview mirror at the sleeping twins in their car seats, out his side mirrors when he changed lanes, but never at her. Not even a glance.

Maybe she shouldn’t have told him that.

She always told him everything, but she should not have told him that.

Not yet.

NOOOO what that’s the end of the chapter???

i guess in all fairness he can’t say “i’ll date you and we can never ever have sex if you want and i’ll always be OK with that” in like full honesty without, you know, really thinking about what that would be like, and it’s not a good idea to promise something if you don’t know if you can make good on it, and sex is super important to some people (??? i know but it is) so

chapter 29:

all takmui/alice hangouts at their camping cabin. alice decided to get drunk and He, A Gentleman, refused to also get drunk, just to make sure nothing untoward would happen. i lvoe him

chapter 30:

They stared at each other. Alice blinked first, but her eyes didn’t make it back to his. She focused on his smile, his lips, not wanting to kiss them; rather she wanted to touch them to see if they were as soft as they looked. The dangers of drunk-thinking could end in disaster. Her hand was halfway to his mouth when he asked, “Do you want to watch a movie?”

HE’S A GENTLEMAN i’m cryin

He gave her a funny look. “You like romance? In real life?”

“Of course I do. How do you not know this about me?”

Takumi laughed, turning away to look out the window for a moment. “I’m trying to figure something out and it’s not making sense to me.”

“Okay.” She willed herself not to be nervous.

“Before, you said ‘bisexual minus the sexual’ but didn’t add in a substitute. So if you don’t care about sex, what do you care about?”

“Ah,” she said, pleased by the question.

be still my beating heart i can’t believe he’s ASKING QUESTIONS where do people like this COME from

semi-related note i like that the book didn’t end with her coming out and them dating and it’s all rainbows, they still have a little poking to do, some understandings to come to, it’s Nice

“And for the record, I don’t believe in true love either, but I think it’s possible to feel like it could be real. That it’s possible to share something that feels that way with someone.”

The skeptical look on his face made her laugh without humor.

“And I think it’s possible to feel that way more than once. Sometimes even with more than one person at a time. Feelings are messy and confusing. It takes me a god-awful long time to sort through mine and I don’t always completely trust myself.”

i’m telling you dude. aces overthink shit. this is almost universally true i’m sure

about prom:

She didn’t know how to explain that, yes, her friends had been great, but going alone wasn’t in the plan. Every movie and show she had seen portrayed it as this big romantic event and she’d missed out on that because nobody asked her and she had been too afraid to ask anyone else. She wanted to wear her dress, get a corsage, and slow dance. It was stupid and archaic, but that didn’t stop her from wanting it like burning. If she thought about it too much, she could still feel that crushing hope that grew each day while she waited to be asked and that pervasive fear stopping her from asking anyone.

what a mood! i could type a thousand-word essay on my baggage re: school dances ALONE. at least alice got to GO to prom

OH my god alice is like still a lil tipsy and her brother called to yell at her about changing her major and he clocked that she was both drunk and hanging with “a grown-ass man” because “you have 2 friends and if you were with them you would have said their names and was immediately furious and demanded to speak to takumi

and alice, in a total power move, just HANDED HIM THE PHONE

“Yes—I’ll keep that in mind. Not that you could stop me if I wanted to, but I hear you.”

Her eyebrows slapped her hairline. She grabbed his hand, pulling it to her chest. “Wanted to what?”

Takumi squeezed her hand. Smiling, he looked at Alice and said to her brother, “No. You really couldn’t.” He hung up the phone. “That was fun.”

I BET I CAN GUESS WHAT THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT

listen. /I/ have a crush on takumi. he’s literally the perfect man

chapter 31:

FEENIE AND ALICE FINALLY MADE UP THANK FUCK

tbh feenie had some legit beef that is too long to copypasta - that alice was just using her for self defense - and admitted she had some bs going on too - it was a good make-up, actually. i’m so relieved

yk what’s cute?

“I really want us to grow old together, you know? Go through all the typical life stuff together even if that means we can only e-mail each other once a week because you moved to the middle of nowhere in Nebraska with your ten kids and I’m still in California because it’s amazing. Just like in that one movie—we’ll never lose touch with each other, ever. Is that weird?”

“No,” Feenie said. “It’s perfectly fucking normal.”

god bless

now that they’re back together feenie is ready to murder alice’s entire family for ditching her and helps her get a gameplan together about her future with no financial aid from her folks & god bless that too

chapter 32:

He watched the road.

She watched him.

God, did Alice want to kiss him. She had always liked kisses, small ones here and there. She wanted to kiss his cheeks and temples and the tip of his nose and his jaw and below his ear and every other place he would let her. She wanted to kiss him like he was the darkest night sky and her lips had the power to make stars.

AWWW she does like kissing well more power 2 u honey kissing is disgusting but live ur best life

omg it’s CONFESSION TIME

“So now would be a good time to say something,” she said when he continued to be silent.

“I’m trying. I’m just”—he paused—“I’m a little floored here.”

“I guess that means no.” She bit her lip.

“No. I mean, I’m not saying no.” More pausing. “I think I’m trying to say I need some time to think about this.”

“About me?”

“Yeah. And about us being an us. How that would work.”

Oh No ):

i was so sure he would be good!!!

“It’s just you’ve made your stance, I guess, pretty clear on things.”

A nervous quiver began to build in the pit of Alice’s stomach. “Oh. That.” She lowered her head. Her fingers toyed with the collar of her shirt when really they wanted to curl into a fist and press against the pain in her chest. But she didn’t want him to see.

“I remember what you said,” he said softly. “I don’t know if it’s something I could give up.” He closed his eyes, hands out in front of him as if he were reaching for the perfect combination of words to break her heart. Alice waited—wanting to hear it, wanting to run, wanting, wanting, always waiting and wanting.

IF HE FUCKS THIS UP I AM GONNA ZAP MYSELF INTO THIS BOOK AND KILL HIM fuck obviously he’s not obligated but C’MON!!!

“i’ve been reading everything that i could“ bye that is so thoughtful

An eerie calm settled over Alice. Every time this happened, she felt her pain with bone-shattering clarity, but this time—nothing. There was nothing. A numbness, surreal but true, made her heart keep beating at a steady rhythm, kept her breathing even, and allowed her to look at him. She watched him fidget and struggle, unsure where to look, what to do with his hands. Was he shaking from nerves or from worry?

Neither of them believed in forever, but for now wasn’t nearly long enough. Until he grew tired, until he moved on, until he left her because of something she had no control over. The thought of pretending, of faking her way through whatever kind of relationship he wanted, made her sick to her stomach. She had to be the one to leave him.

NO!!!!! goddammit!!

“It’s fine. It’s fine.” She inhaled, nodding and staring out the windshield at nothing. “It was my mistake. I should’ve asked and not assumed that you’d be okay with me as is.” She turned to him. “Let’s just forget the whole thing, okay? Everything.”

i’m gonna lose all my shit what the absolute FUCK how are they gonna fix this in 2 chapters

chapter 33, which had better be BETTER:

AWWWW it’s actually a phone call between alice and her dad!! he had a change of heart & agreed to pay for rent and groceries as long as she was in school doing SOMETHING bc he loves her and wants her to be happy ;_;

chapter 34, i’m dying, how will they fix it in one chapter:

“I wish it felt like this stupid, small thing I could crush in my hand, but it doesn’t. I wish it were some line in the sand that I could hop, skip, and jump over, but it’s not. It matters to him enough that the only thing he could say to me was that he cares, which you know, comparatively, wasn’t even that bad, but I can’t stop crying, because I’m pretty sure my heart’s breaking in there.

“A year ago, I would have said whatever. Sure. Yeah. Okay. But not now. Because I really, really like him, he knows everything, and he couldn’t answer me, because it matters enough to make him pause. Just that one stupid, small thing.”

she’s talking about her “breakup” with takumi and she’s miserable but yk what? it’s so good that she’s still not willing to budge and sleep with him just because she wants to be with him. it’s not like an admission fee. she likes him a lot but she’s done compromising herself w/ that line and i’m so proud of her for that

“I’m sorry about what I said the other night. I’m not perfect, but sometimes it really feels like you’re expecting me to be. I know I messed up, but refusing to talk to me isn’t fair. I’d never even heard of asexuality before I met you.”

Alice turned so fast she got a crick in her neck. “Will you hush?” She clamped a hand over his mouth,

sdfksghdkfgj fuck

altho fair point even i have called him perfect like 800 times. he’s trying hard & that’s what matters

oh my god so alice is like look im sorry but i like you too much we cannot be friends and he’s like yeah i think that’s true we can’t be and so she, tearfully, is like: that’s that then! and then he, wonderful man that he is:

“Except it’s not.” He grasped her wrist, rubbing his thumb gently over her pulse point. “I could say that I knew as soon as I saw you that I was doomed. I could say that I fell in love with you the morning after you fell asleep in my guest room and we got into a pillow fight when I tried to wake you up. I could say that when I was sick and you took care of me, almost asking you to marry me sounded like the greatest idea I’d ever had. I could say that every day I don’t talk to you, I feel like I’m dying a slow, melodramatic death.”

Alice stared at him, eyes wide, mouth agape. That kind of declaration was the bread and butter of romance movies, and it was for her.

IS HTIS SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE SHE TOLD HIM SHE LIKED ROMANCE MOVIES oh my god

OH MY GOD

I

JUST 

SCREAMED

ok ok so he kisses her and then starts to kiss her again and then FREEZES

Inches away, eyes locked onto hers, he stopped moving. Alice pressed her lips together, anxious to get out of that frozen stance, but unsure of what to do. Didn’t he want to kiss her again? She wanted him too. What was he waiting for?

Takumi subtly raised his eyebrows.

(A question for her?)

(Oh. Oh.)

Now was probably the wrong time to tease him, but … “You didn’t ask first.”

“I realized that. I’m sorry,” he whispered back, words tickling her skin. “I’d like to kiss you again.”

“I’d like that, too. Yeah.”

I AM WAILING HE ASKED IF HE COULD KISS HER ARE YOU KIDDING ME

i take it back, he’s still perfect

i love this. romance novels for aces. make this a thing! straight women’s wish fulfillment is all that bodice-ripping ravishment BS and aces just want to be asked if it’s A-OK to smooch

She kissed him with everything she had and borrowed what she didn’t.

what a wonderful sentence

On the list of things Alice loved about Takumi, touching him was definitely in the top five. Resolutely she added kissing him to that list. Kisses were not supposed to be like this. They were nice and soft and made her feel warm inside, special, when done right, but were overly wet and vomit inducing when they weren’t. Kisses had never left her with her chest heaving and desperate for more moments like this. She never wanted to stop. She never wanted this kiss to end.

THIS IS REAL...alice understands the struggle.......literally i did gag once during a kiss they are patently Awful

“I already apologized, but I want to do it again, because I truly am sorry that I said what I did. I was too flustered to think properly and instead of taking the time to think like I knew I should have, I tried to answer you right away. I know what I want to say now.”

oh boy

“The reason why I hesitated wasn’t because of sex itself. You were spot on before. Sex is like jogging. Either you enjoy doing it or you don’t. To me, and this is just me, it’s the feeling that I care about—what sex is supposed to represent.”

“And that’s what to you?”

“If you felt the same way as I feel about you, you would want to have sex with me. You would think of me as someone worthy of your passion and desire, and you would show me how you feel physically. Not just with words but with action and urgency,” he continued, “but you don’t and for the most part, I understand. That’s not a part of who you are and I know that doesn’t mean that you don’t have other feelings for me. The thing is, that feeling that you can’t give me? It’s important to me. And I can’t apologize for feeling that way or for wanting it.”

TAKUMI....

oh my god

“This morning it finally clicked. I was thinking of sex, actually having sex, as the Holy Grail, and when I got frustrated, I tried to look at it from a different point of view and I realized something else.

“No one has ever complimented me as much as you do. Every day. All day. I could show up wearing a burlap sack and a tinfoil hat and you’d probably tell me how avant-garde and handsome I looked. You genuinely listen to what I have to say and value my opinion. You tell me I’m wonderful and talented and amazing—”

Alice didn’t mean to laugh—it bubbled out of her before she could stop it. She tilted her head to the side, looked at him, and said, “Because you are.”

“When you thought I didn’t want you, you started to cry,” he said. Alice tried to memorize the gentle look in his eyes as he spoke. “I watched you lower your head, clutch the front of your shirt, and try to smile because you didn’t want me to see how much what I was saying hurt you, because you do desire me. You wanted me so much that me saying no caused you actual pain. The thought of me only caring about not being able to have sex with you hurt because you thought I knew how much you wanted me.”

“For the record, I didn’t cry in the car. I cried in the shower.”

“It was still because of me.” He raised their joined hands and kissed the backs of hers. “It’s the same thing. Whether you’re so overwhelmed you can’t keep your hands off me or you’re crying because you think I don’t want you, it’s the same thing. It comes from the same place. That’s desire. That’s passion. You’ve never held back how you feel about me.”

AREY OU KIDDING ME...lmao i am crying again fully i can’t believe this

i have literally...never once in my entire 12ish years of struggling with this...thought of it that way

not one single solitary time. wow. i love this book. this is the best book ever, dumb fandom references and all

“Thank you,” she whispered, wiping away a rogue tear. She hadn’t realized she’d been waiting for someone, anyone, to say that to her. She knew it was true, of course, but sometimes hearing it out loud made all the difference in the world. “For saying that. Thank you.”

“It’s the truth.” He wiped away another of her traitorous tears with his thumb. “If we take away everything—there’s just you and me, nothing else, I see us together. Stripped down to the core, being with you is what I want because I’m in love with you. If we never had sex, I would still want to be with you because you’re in my heart, too. Just laughing, dancing, and twirling in circles, and I know that sounds weird as hell, but you are. And it’s important to me that you know that.”

STOPPP i’m like boo-hooing i can’t believe this

“So it would make you happy if we had sex?”

“I’m happy now.”

“Fine. You’d be happier, then?”

“Alice, we’ve been dating for five minutes. We have plenty of time to figure out what’s best for us.”

(DATING.)

bless her and bless him too

“Being in a relationship takes actual effort to be successful,” he said. “Not just talking, but listening, being honest, respecting each other, and compromise, you know, those kinds of things. That’s why people say make sure to marry your best friend because once the honeymoon is over? Nothing will save you if the foundation is shitty. But us? Me and you? We don’t have anything to worry about. We got this.”

“Okay.” She breathed. “Okay. I think that’s it.”

“It?”

“Yes. Yeah.” She kissed him.

It wasn’t the Perfect Thing, but it was real and honest and damn it, she’d take that any day.

THAT’S IT!!!!!

HTIS BOOK IS SO GOOD EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW THIS ABOUT ROMANCE

okay and also there is an EPILOGUE:

SHE’S SURPRISING HIM FOR THEIR ANNIVERSARY sdfkljs

“We’re still doing this every month? I thought six was the big one for you?”

“Yes, until we hit one year, and then I’ll stop being quite so extra. Not a lot though. Just a little. No promises.”

It had been seven glorious months.

(SEVEN.)

SIX IS THE BIG ONE FOR HER AND THEY MADE IT SEVEN!!!!

Getting Feenie and Takumi in the same room had taken weeks of machinations and failed attempts. Everything had finally come together on Thanksgiving. Takumi had volunteered to cook, Feenie refused to acknowledge his presence, but right before grabbing a third helping of his macaroni and cheese, she had looked at him, and said, “You hurt Alice, I hurt you. Are we clear? And pass the cranberry sauce. Please.”

(Alice had nearly fainted when she got her wedding invitation. It had been addressed to her and Takumi.)

i’ll allow feenie to be the good egg again

awww and her mom called and things are getting back to normal with them too, takumi’s even gonna meet them!

and then the v last lines:

“I know you make me happy,” he said, seconds away from falling asleep. “I know you love me.”

“I know you love me, too.”

and that’s that

overall review: i fuckin...love this book...it cuts you right to the core and doesn't mess around and the characters are so real and layered and imperfect and messy, and i can’t believe this is this author’s debut novel, like Damn. it is so good, and she is so brave for putting it all out there like that. best book ever 9.5/10 (half a point off for making me think about supernatural, but otherwise: perfect.)