#what a chaotic mix of tags ahaha

[parameciam]

🌀❄️🌤️🌧️🌪️ for the wip asks!! (- this is J btw👻)

Hey J ! 🥰💜💛

🌀 -> From a HuaYin wip that i have no idea if i'll be able to finish (that has a playlist and a title and many words already but...)

"Break me in / Teach us to cheat / And to lie, and cover up / What shouldn't be shared"

or, Yin Yu's fascination with his Chengzhu slowly turns into the unstoppable desire of being someone else, someone he knows he's not ever going to be. He would give anything to be able to fill that space... and that's leading him to certain ruin.

❄️ -> Snippet from a HuaLian with different third meeting wip:

🌤️ -> From the first part of my perpetually unfinished ShuaAke post canon AU

🌧️ -> From the second part of the same ShuAke post canon AU

🌪️ -> From my SongYu wip, it can be summarized with....

Modern AU, Lots of hurt / Some comfort, Sun and Moon coded (in the most painful way), Slow burn, Teacher/Student relationship, Disability related discussions

Thank you for asking, J :3 This was really fun ehehe

[aventurineswife]

College AU part II

Ok but what if reader comes home one evening (alhaitham is away for a while) and finds kaveh on his maybe 4th glass of wine so they know he is stressed...again. And while they try coax him to get some rest, kaveh in his half drunk state blurts out he likes reader.

Reader is of course stunned, but thinks they can figure it out in the morning when kaveh is better and if he remembers saying it. Just after reader tucks kaveh in, he grabs them and pulls them down next to him and cuddles them, falling asleep right then and there. Unfortunately, reader has no way out of his iron grip and falls asleep there.

Kaveh might have a mini heart attack in the morning XD just two silly idiots who are pining for each other so hard, its too comical (yes, you can end it with a more proper fleshed out confession blurted out by both at the same time, we love silly idiots in love)

“The best thing to hold onto in life is each other” | Part 2

Summary: You come home one evening to find Kaveh on his fourth glass of wine, clearly stressed from his work. As you try to coax him to get some rest, he unexpectedly blurts out that he likes you. Stunned but uncertain, you decide to wait until morning to see if he remembers. After tucking Kaveh in, he unexpectedly pulls you down beside him, cuddling you tightly as he drifts off to sleep. Trapped in his embrace, you eventually fall asleep too.

Tags: Kaveh x Reader, Modern AU, College AU, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Lighthearted Romance, Confessions from both sides.

Warnings: Alcohol Consumption, Potential minor implications of intoxication.

A/N: AHAHA I KNEW IT YOU WERE GONNA COMMENT SOMETHING LIKE THIS ANON!! 🤭

Part 1

You stepped into the apartment, the familiar scent of Kaveh’s notes and scattered architectural plans filling the air. You called out a casual greeting, but the only response was the soft clink of glass against wood. Frowning, you moved toward the dining room and found Kaveh slouched at the table, a half-empty bottle of wine by his side, the remnants of his fourth glass pooling at the bottom.

“Kaveh?” you ventured cautiously, noting the slight flush to his cheeks. “Are you okay?”

He looked up, his sharp red eyes slightly glazed over. A lopsided smile spread across his face, the kind that hinted at a lighthearted spirit struggling against the weight of his stress. “I’m... splendid!” he declared, raising the glass like a trophy. “A true artist needs his inspiration, after all!”

You stepped closer, assessing the chaotic spread of sketches and blueprints littering the table. “It looks like you’ve been at this for hours. You need to get some rest.”

Kaveh waved his hand dismissively, though it was less of a confident gesture and more a sign of his unsteady state. “Rest is for the weak! I can’t stop now; I have to finish this project for the exhibition next week! It’s... it’s my masterpiece!” He emphasized this last word with a theatrical flourish that made you chuckle despite the concern gnawing at your heart.

“Your masterpiece can wait until tomorrow,” you insisted gently, moving to pull the bottle away from him. “You’re going to hurt yourself if you keep this up.”

He pouted, a mix of frustration and exhaustion in his eyes. “But you don’t understand! Everything I do has to be perfect! I can’t let anyone down!” His voice wavered, revealing a hint of the pressure that had been weighing on him. You sat beside him, feeling a swell of sympathy.

“You’re not letting anyone down by taking care of yourself,” you said softly, placing a hand on his back. “You’re more than your work, Kaveh.”

For a moment, he seemed to consider this, his expression softening. “I know, but—” He paused, taking another sip of wine. “But you’re the only one who sees that, you know?”

You felt your heart flutter. “I’m just trying to help you, that’s all.”

He leaned back in his chair, suddenly serious, the laughter fading from his eyes. “You really care, don’t you?”

“Of course I do!” You could feel your face heating up as you met his gaze, but then he startled you with his next words.

“I like you,” he blurted, words tumbling out in a rush. “Like, a lot. You make me feel... happy, and I—”

The weight of the moment struck you like lightning, leaving you utterly speechless. Your mind raced as you processed his confession. “Wait, you like me?”

“Yes, I—”

But before he could continue, you shook your head slightly, wanting to ground the conversation. “Kaveh, you’ve had a bit too much to drink right now. Maybe we should talk about this in the morning?”

He blinked at you, confusion swirling in his red eyes. “But I mean it,” he insisted, slightly slurring his words now. “I really do like you... a lot.”

Trying to keep a straight face amid the internal chaos, you nodded slowly. “Okay, let’s get you to bed, and we can figure it out when you’re sober.”

With some effort, you helped him to his feet, guiding him toward his room. He stumbled slightly, and you laughed softly, feeling a mixture of affection and exasperation. Once in his room, you helped him settle onto his bed, pulling the covers over him gently. “Get some sleep, Kaveh.”

He turned onto his side, looking up at you with a sleepy smile. “You’re not going to leave me alone, are you?”

You hesitated, glancing back at the door. “I—”

Before you could finish, Kaveh reached out and grabbed your wrist, tugging you down beside him with surprising strength. You landed beside him, flustered and caught off guard. “Kaveh, what—”

“Stay,” he murmured, already drifting off. “I like you... so much...”

And with that, he wrapped an arm around you, pulling you close against his side, his warmth enveloping you like a soft blanket. You felt your heart race, trapped in his iron grip, unable to escape. You’d never expected this turn of events, yet you couldn’t deny the comfort of being beside him.

With a resigned sigh, you nestled into his side, feeling your eyelids grow heavy as you tried to process everything that had just happened.

The sun filtered through the curtains the next morning, the warmth of daylight creeping into Kaveh’s room. You stirred awake, blinking at the unfamiliar surroundings and feeling the weight of Kaveh’s arm draped possessively over you.

Panic shot through you as you remembered the night before. You carefully extricated yourself from his grip, only to find his eyes fluttering open, blinking against the light.

“Good morning,” he mumbled, voice thick with sleep. Then his expression shifted from drowsy to horrified as realization washed over him. “Oh, no... Did I...?”

“Uh, yeah,” you admitted, trying to suppress a smile. “You might have confessed your feelings while drunk.”

Kaveh shot up, wide-eyed, his hair a wild mess. “I what?!”

You chuckled, leaning back on your hands. “You definitely did, Kaveh. But it’s okay. We can talk about it if you want.”

He put his head in his hands, mortified. “I can’t believe I did that! This is so embarrassing!”

“Relax,” you said, a teasing lilt to your voice. “You weren’t wrong in what you said.”

Kaveh looked up at you, confusion etched on his features. “What do you mean?”

Taking a deep breath, you smiled softly at him. “I like you too, Kaveh. A lot. But maybe we should both be sober when we talk about it more seriously.”

His eyes lit up, and he sat straighter, a spark of hope igniting in them. “Really? You—”

Before he could finish, you both blurted out at the same time, “I like you!”

You stared at each other, a mix of surprise and joy on your faces. Laughter erupted from both of you, the tension breaking like a wave.

“Okay, so we both like each other,” you said, feeling your heart race at the realization. “Now what?”

Kaveh grinned, the nervousness replaced by his usual exuberance. “I think we should start with a proper date. I’ll even design a place that’s beautiful enough to impress you!”

You laughed again, shaking your head at the endearing absurdity of it all. “I’m looking forward to it, Kaveh. Just try not to spill your feelings after too much wine next time.”

He smirked, leaning closer. “No promises!”

And with that, two silly idiots finally embraced their feelings, their hearts in sync as they began to carve out a new chapter together, full of beauty, laughter, and love.

[drdemonprince]

How do you use Tumblr? Other than answering questions... How often do you like posts? What about reblog? I'm coming from Twitter and I can't wrap my head around likes vs reblog. Only like two people follow me anyway, so I'm not really signal boosting differently with reblog. Idk I keep overthinking this website

my dog, welcome! dont think about any of this..just be chaotic with it.

post as often as you like. random thoughts, hyperfixated rants, photos of things youve been reading, hyper niche fetish content, whatever, and do it all mixed together. except for really high concept blogs where someone is playing a character or serving as a museum old posts, almost no one sticks to a narrow posting theme here. everybody mixes their most freakish niche or personal shit in with anything else they write or make or wanna share.

reblog hundreds of times a day if you want. thats normal. reblogs are the main way to interact and to show support. there is a post queue for anything you want to spread out.

use reblogs to add commentary too! reblogs with added comments / reactions is not rude on here the way quote tweets is. not understanding that last part got me in trouble on twitter ahaha. here we dont give a fuck. contribute to the ongoing conversation! people also write whatever the hell in the tags, for a kind of sotto voce commentary on the post

a like doesnt do anything but give the OP a notification. w replies, the OP will see the reply and so will anyone who chooses to check the notes but only a subset of people will do that. sometimes people have bizarre unrelated conversations and role plays in the notes. every feature gets used in a playful / annoying way on here on purpose so feel free to get creative with how you use it.

have fun out there!!!

[sunnywritesathing]

9 People You'd Like to Know Better

Tagged by @nerobuffoonery! Sorry for the late reply Nero ahaha.

Three Ships:

One) Hunter/Willow (Huntlow or Winter or Golden Garden) cause I mean of course. They are the core of my enjoyment of TOH and I love writing them together. Hunter's sweet but pained personality mixes well with Willow's chaotic but warm energy.

Two) Um this is going to be hard since I am not in Fandoms that much anymore. So um... Catra/Adora? The last fandom that I was short of involved in and still short of am? My partner is writing a rewrite of the entire show so... I just love the Friends to Enemies back to Friends then Lovers. Plus Catra is just baby girl.

Three) Sunset Shimmer/Twilight Sparkle (Princess version cause classic is best to me). I love Sunset Shimmer so much and her relationship with Twilight means the world to me. Even if it didn't amount to much in canon I do love it.

First Ship Ever:

Oh boy. It might be the ship from the first ever series of fanfics I ever tried to write (Shaman King) but I think Jack Spicer/Kimiko from XS was the first ship I ever thought about in a complete way so they go here. I always enjoyed writing ships where it takes time for them to get together and where their personalities bounce off one another in a fun way while writing. I liked imagining Jack becoming the Dragon of Lightning or Metal and joining the good side and having to work for it, and work for his relationship with Kimiko. Its the first ship I created a whole AU for so there is that.

Last Song:

Last Movie:

Uh... Godzilla 2000

Currently Reading:

What A Big Heart You Have, My Dear by FiaNightshade on a03.

Currently Watching:

Little Witch Academia Rewatch

Currently Consuming:

Popcorn!

Currently Craving:

Forbidden Cake...

I don't know who to tag so who ever wants too??

[kholran]

Tagged by @vishcount Thank you for being such a reliable tagger. Fun fact, I love tag games.

1. What is the color of your hairbrush? Blue and black.

2. Name a food you never eat. I am SO picky so there’s a lot. A lot is texture-based. I’m not a big fan of foods that mix textures, like things with crusts that have gooey insides, or crunchy things inside creamy things.

3. Are you typically too warm or too cold? Too cold. I have been known to wear hoodies inside my house in the middle of summer because the AC is too cold.

4. What were you doing 45 minutes ago? Getting ready to eat dinner.

5. What’s your favorite candy bar? We have a local company called Sarris that makes such good chocolate. Either plain milk, or caramel.

6. Have you ever been to a professional sports game? A few. Never football, but I have been to Penguins hockey games and Pirates baseball games. Not often though, I’m really not a sports person.

7. What is the last thing you said out loud? “Puppers what are you doing?” because my dog was getting into things.  

8. What is your favourite ice cream? Mint chocolate. You can pry it out of my cold dead hands.

9. What was the last thing you had to drink? Cherry Pepsi

10. Do you like your wallet? I don’t have a wallet anymore. I just cram my cards and a bit of cash into a small purse. Which I do like, because it’s cat shaped.

11. What is the last thing you ate? Just finished dinner. A steak gyro with cheese and onion, fries, and a mandarin orange.

12. Did you buy any new clothes last weekend? No. I haven’t bought new clothes in a while.

13. What’s the last sporting event you watched? Voluntarily? The Preakness Stakes, I think. My dad always has some sportsball or another on TV but I don’t pay much attention to it.

14. What is your favorite flavor of popcorn? Extra butter.

15. Who is the last person you sent a text message to? My boss, trying to figure out when her Covid quarantine was up so I could go back to work.

16. Ever been camping? Once. And never again. I like wi-fi and indoor plumbing too much. Also I got horribly sunburned on a canoe trip from hell, and a raccoon tried to break into the tent on the first night.

17. Do you take vitamins? Yes. Gummy ones.

18. Do you regularly attend a place of worship? No, not since I was a kid.

19. Do you have a tan? Ahaha no. I have two modes: Ghost and Lobster. There is no in between.

20. Do you prefer chinese or pizza? Chinese.

21. Do you drink your soda through a straw? Yes. I have a reusable one, and not having a straw feels weird now.

22. What color socks do you usually wear? All colours. My socks are all the fun kind. I have enough Halloween socks for the entire month of October. 

23. Do you ever drive above the speed limit? Are you a cop? You have to tell me if you’re a cop. But yes. Usually 5-10 over, unless flow of traffic is going a lot faster, and then I keep up with that so I don’t get rear-ended by a speeding truck on the highway.

24. What terrifies you? Abandonment. lol hi there childhood issues.

25. Look to your left, what do you see? My phone and a lamp.

26. What chore do you hate most? Dusting.

27. What do you think of when you hear an Australian accent? David Berry.

28. What’s your favorite soda? Cherry Pepsi/Coke.

29. Do you go in a fast food place or just hit the drive thru? Usually the drive-thru but it gives me anxiety that I’m going to hit something.

30. What’s your favorite number? 3?

31. Who’s the last person you talked to? My parents. Or @vishcount, if we’re counting online chatting.

32. Favorite meat? Steak, I guess.

33. Last song you listened to? Spotify says September by Daughtry. I almost always have music on in the background and I don’t always pay attention to it.

34. Last book you read? I’m in the process of reading Mo Du (Silent Reading) and I am SO INTO IT you guys. It’s so good. If anyone out there is into crime drama with a mlm protagonist, go read it.

35. Favorite day of the week? Monday, oddly enough. It’s the one day of the week I consistently have a day off.

36. Can you say the alphabet backwards? I have to think about it really hard.

37. How do you like your coffee? Black. No decaf, we die of caffeine overdoses like adults.

38. Favorite pair of shoes? I’m getting a pair of Doc Martens with rainbow laces for Christmas but since I don’t have those yet, I can’t say they’re my faves. I guess I’ll go with my...work boots? Because I don’t often wear shoes other than at work.

39. Time you normally get up? Ahaha...haha...ha. Like 1pm at the earliest. Look, I’m nocturnal, let me have my inhuman sleep schedule.

40. What do you prefer, sunrise or sunsets? Sunsets. Like all the photos on my phone that aren’t my horses or my cats or my dog or my fish are of sunsets.

41. How many blankets on your bed? I sleep under three (fleece blanket, quilt, comforter) but I have two other fuzzy soft blankets folded up for the cats.

42. Describe your kitchen plates. Fiesta-ware in multi colours.

43. Describe your kitchen at the moment. A bit chaotic but I can find stuff?

44. Do you have a favorite alcoholic drink? I can stomach Captain Morgan and Coke but I rarely drink. I’m extra sensitive to most alcohol and all of it tastes like paint thinner to me.

45. Do you play cards? Not regularly, but I know how.

46. What color is your car? Dark grey.

47. Can you change a tire? Maybe if I had a Youtube tutorial to follow.

48. Your favorite state or province? I like North Carolina a lot. I have family down there, in the mountains. And it has beaches too, so that’s cool. The conservative-leaning politics suck though.

49. Favorite job you’ve had? Probably the one I have now- working on a horse farm. Anything with animals is better than working in a cube though. Wow ok so that was pretty long. So I’ll just leave an open “Tag yourself” invitation. Please do it if you want!

[finn-nelson-for-the-win]

The Good Life: Chapter 17

Hello, my lovelies! I’ve been pretty absent on this blog/on social media/in life in general recently, but I hope y’all don’t mind me popping back in here to post the latest update to this story that I definitely am still working on and definitely have not given up on ahaha...anyhoo, here’s about 2300 words of absolute fluff. I hope you enjoy!

Need to get caught up? The Good Life: Ch1, Ch2, Ch3, Ch4 , Ch5, Ch6, Ch7, Ch8 , Ch9 , Ch10, Ch 11, Ch 12, Ch 13, Ch 14, Ch 15, Ch 16

If you want to be added (or  removed) from the tags list for this story, just feel free to let me know!

@pink-royaute @believethaticanandiwill @milllott @likeashootingstarfades @i-dream-of-emus @eveerez @saintsisterwriter @loolea

The Good Life: Chapter 17

Rae and Henry stepped out of the lift in Rae’s apartment building and walked together through the parking lot towards where Henry’s truck was parked.

“Thank you for coming over on such short notice today. I really appreciate it!”

“It’s no trouble, really. I had fun!”

Rae looked over her shoulder and noticed a familiar car driving up and parking a few spaces down from Henry’s truck.

Finn turned off his car and took the keys out of the ignition before stepping out of the car. When he looked up and saw Rae and Henry standing a short distance away, he smiled politely in response to Henry’s waved greeting.

“Well, I’m meeting my mum for tea later today and I have a long drive ahead of me, so I should probably get going now,” Henry replied as he gave Rae a quick kiss on the cheek and climbed into his truck.

“Say ‘hi’ to your mum for me. I’ll talk to ya later, yeah?” Rae replied just before waving goodbye to Henry as he drove out of the parking lot.

“Hiya, Finn!” Rae called out as she walked towards where he stood beside his car as he slung the strap of his bag across his shoulders.

“Hey, Rae. How are you?”

“Doing well, I suppose. How was work today?” Rae asked as the pair walked together towards the lift to get up to their shared apartment.

“Well, I got called in to work at five in the morning on a Saturday. I didn’t want to be a work today, obviously, but it was alright I suppose.” He added with a shrug as they stepped into the lift and pressed the shiny metal button to take them up to the fifth floor of the building.

“I have a surprise for you!” Rae said excitedly after a few silent moments passed between them.

“A what—A surprise? What for?” Finn guffawed.

“Yeah, a surprise! I don’t wanna spoil it for you, so you’ll just have to wait and see,” Rae replied with a smirk.

“Uh, alright…”

Rae sped up to walk slightly in front of Finn and as soon as they reached the door to their apartment, she stopped and turned on her heels to face Finn.

“Now before I let you inside, close your eyes and don’t open them until I ask you to. Please!”

“Alright,” Finn huffed quietly before doing as he was told.

Rae turned back around and unlocked the door, casting a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure that Finn’s eyes were still closed, before pushing the door open.

“I’m gonna lead you into the apartment now, but remember, no peeking!” Rae sing-songed as she grabbed one of Finn’s hands to guide him into the apartment.

After closing the door behind them, Rae continued to lead Finn by the hand into their living room before stopping and letting go of his hand.

“Okay! You can open your eyes now!” Rae said with poorly contained excitement clear in her voice.

Finn opened his eyes slowly and allowed them to adjust before actually noticing in the surprise Rae had for him.

“Surprise!” Rae cheered when Finn had not said anything or showed any reaction for a few seconds.

“Rae…Is this really a—” Finn gasped as he approached the tall tree positioned in one corner of the room.

“A massive Christmas tree?” Rae added, finishing Finn’s question for him, “Why, yes. Yes, it is.”

Finn stood in front of the Christmas tree that was lush and quite a bit taller than he was, admiring the tree while Rae continued talking.

“This why I asked Henry to come over earlier today. I needed his truck to drive the tree across town and to help me carry the tree into the apartment and get it all set up.”

“It was nice of him to help. But, why?” Finn asked as he gestured silently towards the tree.

“I know that Christmas time is always a bit tough for you because it was your Nan’s favorite time of year and this is your first Christmas living away from your Da, but I thought that we could at least make it feel a bit more like Christmas in here. If you want to of course.”

“Rae...I don’t even know what to say…” Finn muttered.

“Well, you could say that you love it and don’t think this was a shit surprise to come home to after a long day at work,” Rae replied with an uneasy chuckle.

“Rae, I love it. It’s perfect, really. Thank you,” Finn replied with a smile as he pulled Rae into a tight hug.

“I’m just glad that you like it.” Rae added with a smile, “What do you say we turn on some Christmas music, light the fireplace, and decorate the tree to start making this place feel a bit more festive, yeah?”

“Sounds good to me. I’ll put on the music if you wanna get the fire going,” Finn said as he went to his bedroom to get his collection of holiday music records.

When Finn walked back into the living room and turned on the record player they had set up on one side of the room, Rae had already got the fireplace started and was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the tree beginning to sort through the chaotic mess of Christmas decorations that she had saved from previous years in which she had decorated.

When Finn got the record started and a man’s voice began streaming from the speakers, he joined Rae on the floor and helped her sort through the various boxes.

“What record did you decide on?”

“Uh, it’s Bing Crosby.” Finn mumbled, “His Christmas record was my Nan’s favorite thing to listen to every year.”

Rae smiled at Finn and hummed gently as she kept sorting.

“It’s sort of crazy…”

“What is?”

“The smell of the Christmas tree...it reminds me so much of how my Nan’s house smelled every December when we’d spend Christmas together as a family. My Da always thought using real trees were too much hassle and too messy, so he just had an artificial tree that we’d decorate every year, but it’s not the same. This is the first time I’ve decorated a real Christmas tree since the year before Nan…” Finn trailed off with a sad smile. “It’s nice.”

“Well, I’m glad that you like it,” Rae replied as she passed Finn a knotted string of lights for him to untangle.

The pair continued to decorate the Christmas tree and scatter the various remaining decorations around their apartment to make it feel more festive until Rae set aside a nearly empty box of decorations that she had been working her way through.

“I bet you’re starving, huh?” Rae asked as she glanced down at and set aside her mug of tea had had grown cold while they decorated, “I can go ahead and start cooking something for us.”

“I think we’ve decorated enough for now. I’ll help you cook!”

“You don’t have to do that, Finn. Just relax and I’ll let you know when the food is ready.”

“Don’t worry about it. I want to help,” Finn replied as he reached forward and brushed his fingers through the hair covering Rae’s right ear.

Finn chuckled lightly at the look of surprise on Rae’s face before holding up something shiny.

“You had some tinsel stuck in your hair, but I got it for ya!”

Finn let Rae lead the way towards the kitchen and stood beside the counter as he waited for Rae to decide what she wanted to cook.

“How does pasta sound? I haven’t had Italian food in a while and it’s pretty quick and easy to make,” Rae asked as she looked through the fridge to find all the ingredients they may need.

“Sounds great! I’ll get a pot of water started for the pasta,” Finn replied as he stepped around Rae to get the large pot off the shelf.

When the pasta was boiling and Rae put the simple marinara sauce she made on the stove to simmer, the two got started on preparing a salad and garlic bread to eat along with their meal.

“So...you and Henry, huh?” Finn began awkwardly as he rinsed the greens for the salad before adding them to a large bowl, “How’s that, uh, going?”

“You’re really asking me about how my relationship with Henry is going?” Rae asked with a small laugh as she mixed together a basic vinaigrette for the salad.

Finn kept alternating between prepping the fresh vegetables and adding them to the salad bowl, waiting for Rae to speak.

“Uh, it’s going well. I think we get along well. I like spending time with him,” Rae shrugged.

“Do you love him?” Finn asked as he began to toss together the salad.

“I, uh--I dunno,” Rae paused briefly while grabbing two plates from the cabinet and turning to face the stove while serving each of them some pasta.

Finn pulled the garlic bread from the oven and followed shortly behind Rae as she put their plates on the table before Rae spoke again.

“No, I guess not. We’re just having fun together, for now at least. We like being around each other, but I wouldn’t call it love.”

“I see,” Finn replied, allowing the topic to be dropped.

“Go ahead and sit down, I’ll grab the salad and something to drink,” Rae said as she waved off his attempt to keep helping her.

When Rae walked back to the table carrying the large bowl of salad in one hand and a bottle of wine and two glasses in the other, Finn smiled and set aside his cell phone to help pour their glasses of wine.

“You seem quite interested in your phone tonight,” Rae commented before taking another bite of her pasta after Finn checked his phone for the umpteenth time.

“Oh, uh, yeah. I suppose,” Finn replied with a chuckle.

“Who are you texting? Or who’s texting you that has you all flustered like this?”

“I’m not flustered! I’m just—I’m texting a friend, well, an acquaintance really…”

“What’s her name?”

“I never said it was a girl!”

“Ya didn’t have to. You’re my best mate, Finnley, I can recognize that look you get when you’re flustered or talking to a girl you like pretty well by now. So who is she?”

“Uh, she’s a client. I was able to help her out last week and she said that she wanted to buy me coffee as thanks.”

“Oh? You really do take ‘good customer service’ to a new level at your job, huh?” Rae joked.

“Trust me, I tried to make sure she knew that she didn’t owe me coffee or anything and that I was just doing my job, but she was persistent. We got coffee a couple days later and have been texting off and on since then.”

“Huh, I see,” Rae said as she took a sip of her wine, “You should take her out on a proper date. If you like her and want to see her again, that is.”

“You think so? I guess it was kinda nice to go on a date, even if it was a bit of an informal date. Maybe I will ask her out for dinner or something…” Finn trailed off as he reached for his phone.

“So, do you have any plans for Christmas in a few weeks?” Rae asked when the conversation had lulled.

“Uh, my work gave us the whole week of Christmas off of work, so I’ll have a bit of a break to enjoy my holiday. I’m meeting my Da for dinner the weekend before Christmas to celebrate early, since he is going on a ‘lads ski trip’ with some of his old mates from Uni, but on Christmas Day I don’t have any plans that I know of. What about you?”

“My office gets really busy around the holidays so I’m back at work the day after Christmas, but they are throwing a massive company Christmas party the Friday prior to Christmas, so that should be fun. My mum and sister are going back to Tunisia with Karim for two weeks, so I’ll just spend Christmas here, most likely.” Rae added with a small smile.

“Maybe we could spend Christmas together?” Finn suggested, “We could just have a relaxed night in, or something, but at least we’d be keeping each other company and celebrating a little bit, right?”

“Yeah, that sounds really nice, actually. I’d like that!”

When they had both finished eating, Finn helped Rae wash and put away the dishes they used to make it faster.

When they were done, Rae grabbed the opened bottle of wine and divided the last of it between both of their glasses and handed Finn his glass before walking over to the couch.

The pair assumed their usual couch positions with Rae lightly resting her feet across Finn’s lap.

“This is nice,” Rae muttered as she sipped her wine, idly watching the fireplace burning while the old Christmas records continued playing in the background.

“It really is nice. I, uh, wasn’t sure what to expect from this Christmas because everything has changed, but this,” Finn said as he gestured around the room at the decorations they had spent hours putting up, “this makes things feel a bit more like how Christmas should feel.”

“I’m so glad. It was the least I could do, really. Plus I love the way that all these decorations bring new life to our apartment!”

“I agree. I also think that Nan would have loved it,” Finn mused with a gentle smile.

“I know that she would have,” Rae added as she settled further into the couch to get comfortable as she continued sipping her glass of wine.

A/N: Wow, it’s been a minute since I posted, or even wrote anything tbh. Life has been particularly difficult as of lately and just trying to make it from on day to the next and be a human being has proven difficult enough, so I just haven’t been able to write as much as I would have liked.

I can’t say for sure when things will get back on track or when the next chapter will be coming, but I mapped out where I want the next few chapter of this story to go in terms of the plot, so that’s a start at least, right? Until next time: Stay Awesome, my friends! :)