wendydxrling

[wendydxrling]

it wasn't a question she was expecting to hear, but it was one that she was more than happy to. around him, gone were the days of anxiety and uncertainty. wendy smiled as he moved closer "i don't think i'll ever tire of you at all" the compliments were something she'd need to get used to but there wasn't a moment she wouldn't want to share with him.

wendy felt the butterflies in her chest again, feeling the excitement in the anticipation. her eyes fluttered closed in their kiss, it felt like a dream.

Now that the question had finally gotten out there, Kronk felt like he could relax. It had been weighing on him all day, worrying about whether or not Wendy would say yes. He had felt as though their relationship was progressing that way, but hadn’t wanted to risk losing their friendship if he’d been mistaken. “What a relief,” he smiled, scooting closer to her. “Hopefully you never tire of me telling you how wonderful you are.”

Reaching a hand up to caress her cheek, Kronk hesitated only slightly, trying to assess the situation before leaning in to kiss her.

[wendydxrling]

nothing is as tender as annotating your favourite books. it’s like leaving a piece of your heart on the pages for somebody else to find.

[wendydxrling]

"you can assume, you'd be right" she smiled over at him.

she wasn't sure how long they sat staring at one another but the time had passed her by like it was nothing. absentmindedly swooning over him had become a key part of her daily schedule. "oh, okay" she smiled, the touch of his hand bringing her back to earth. she instantly felt the tension leaving her shoulders. her heart skipped a beat at being asked to be his girlfriend. kronk had been a lifeline when she needed one. he had shown up for her when no one else ever had "kronk, i'd love to be your girlfriend" she grinned "you've been a saving grace in my life. i want to hear about everything and anything you want to tell me."

"No, no, of course not... I mean, I hoped, but you know... I didn't want to assume." Kronk instantly remembered his siblings and parents all saying that infamous phrase, growing up. when you assume, you make an ass out of you and me. "Good," he smiled, feeling reassured.

There was a brief pause in the air as the two of them sat, looking fondly at one another. Kronk reached for her hand, and gave it a gentle, and reassuring squeeze. "Nothing, I just have a question to ask you, that's all," he insisted. "Wendy... getting to know you has been my favorite thing, and I want to continue to do so for as long as you'll let me. But I was hoping, that you might let me do so, as your boyfriend?"

[wendydxrling]

conversation flowed easily for them both but today it felt like they were tripping over themselves at every turn. it was nervous. unsaid words making them pause for thought instead of their usual openness. wendy had thought a million times over of what to say to him, the possibility of ruining their friendship and losing him was a high risk. the one question that played over in her head was is the high risk worth the possible high reward? and for kronk she was sure it was. the problem was how would she tell him?

wendy laughed along with him, finding his nervous energy as endearing as the rest of him was. “of course, you’re incredibly important to me. did you think you weren’t? that’s just not true” she reassured him. at the news of another reason to ask her to meet him her stomach flipped over the stress “oh? there was? what can i help you with?”

It wasn't like Kronk had a fear of talking to people. He was pretty good at it, honestly, and it was normally very easy to talk to Wendy. However, he was finding it a bit difficult to try and put into words what he wanted to ask her. He was more of a let actions speak for you kind of person, and always tried to express himself to the best of his ability.

So why did this seem almost impossible? He was overthinking, he was sure of it, but he wanted everything to come out just right, and didn't want to accidentally embarrass himself. "Really? That's a relief," he chuckled, a bit nervously. Okay... you can do this buddy... just... be yourself. "Wendy... I uh, I have to confess... There's um... well, there's another reason I asked you to meet me here..."

[wendydxrling]

she's never had someone cook for her before, not like this. sure her parents had made meals for their children, but wendy couldn't recall a time she was ever invited on a picnic. "your best is leagues ahead of the rest of us. you're so talented, kronk"

feeling his gaze on her had her cheeks burning pink. any subtlety she was trying to have was blown thanks to the rosy tint on her skin. "t-thank you" she tripped her words. kronk had everything going for him, kind, caring, talented, incredibly handsome...it was no surprise that wendy swooned. "you mean a lot to me too. i can't tell you how much i value you"

Cooking was one of Kronk's love languages, and though he did like to share his talents with the masses, he liked to believe he'd out done himself this time. Of course, he wanted it all to be impressive, which it seemed like he was pulling off, thankfully. "I try my best. Ya know... years of work," he humbly bragged.

Kronk couldn't help but find the tint in her cheeks endearing. It made him only slightly nervous, but at the same time, confident, oddly enough. "Well, you deserve it," he replied, smoothly. "Someone as special as you? I wanted you to know that you mean a lot. Especially to me..." That last line was slipped in there, hoping that he wasn't about to make a fool of himself.

[wendydxrling]

"i'm glad you invited me" wendy smiled at his answer and happily accepted his hand to help her down onto the blanket to sit next to him "well they have good taste to show up to try and sneak some of your food"

her eyes scanned the stunning spread of food that kronk had gone out of his way to make, it all looked incredible. "you're such a talented cook, kronk." she complimented. she admired his passion for his craft and his love for something that he so clearly enjoyed. her cheeks blushed red at his compliment, shy that she had be gifted kinds words. the years of peter, tina and the drama involving it all had taken its toll, she was appreciative to have someone like kronk around. "you're much too kind in words and actions. this is lovely of you to go to the effort to arrange"

When he noticed Wendy approaching, he stopped abruptly, giving her a cheery smile and wave back. "I'm glad you could make it. Oh," he laughed at the question, "Two so far, but I'm sure we'll see more. Especially if they're hungry." He patted the ground next to him for her to sit, offering her a hand so she could do so safely.

"Speaking of hungry, I hope you are, because I've made quite a few things." Kronk absolutely loved to cook. It was one of his passions, and he was very good at it. Or at least, he'd been told. He'd brought a variety of things; fresh fruit, bread, sparkling juice, and a few things he'd made himself, like stuffed peppers, and of course, spinach puffs, as that was always a classic. "You look beautiful," he told her, unable to hide his smile.

[wendydxrling]

Alien: Romulus (2024) dir. Fede Álvarez

[wendydxrling]

CAILEE SPAENY Behind the scenes on the set of Alien: Romulus via pedroluque on Instagram Stories

[wendydxrling]

the lack of sleep had been taking it's toll on her. the hours of studying, reading, running after her brothers and avoiding peter was really getting the better of her. one minute she had been reading in a booth and the next her coffee had fallen to the floor and jolted her awake.

"i'm so sorry, jim. please let me clean this up, this shouldn't be something for you to do" she offered, climbing out from her seat. "i'm sorry, let me fix this"

@happieststarters

Jim looked up at the the person sitting in the booth from where he knelt on the floor. Below him were thick pieces of glass from what had formerly been a cafe mug. The floor was now covered with something sticky as well- coffee, tea, hot cocoa, it was all the same. He carefully worked at cleaning up the scene.

"Don't worry about it, people break these things all the time." Jim said, his voice chill. "....actually it doesn't really happen that often, but this isn't the first time and it won't be the last."

[wendydxrling]

"kronk, you're an incredible cook and this is another recipe you'll add into the mix. practice makes perfect. don't worry, you'll figure it out." she reassured him, placing her other hand over his hand that he placed over hers. "why don't we break it down step by step. i'm not overly knowledgeable about cooking but maybe someone to bounce your ideas off of might be some assistance"

Kronk took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure. "You're probably right. It's just so frustrating when you're supposed to be good at something, and all of a sudden you're just... not." Noticing her hand there, he reached over and gave it a comforting squeeze. "Thanks. It's a recipe. I'm not sure if there's a step I missed, or did wrong, but it's just not coming out right."

[wendydxrling]

nothing is as tender as annotating your favourite books. it’s like leaving a piece of your heart on the pages for somebody else to find.

[wendydxrling]

[wendydxrling]

wendy smiled over to adam, he was always kind and helpful whenever she was visiting the cafe. "that's alright, take all the time you need. i'm happy to wait" she answered. she didn't want adam stopping in the middle of a task if it was something important to him.

Adam was filled with joy and excitement as he stepped into the café again. He couldn't wait to see how much his assistance to James planning his wedding had helped him. To his surprise, James had sent him a basket filled with delicious goodies for him and his staff. Adam was overwhelmed with gratitude and couldn't help but smile. However, as he looked at the basket, he realized they didn't have enough space to store all of it. Just as he pondered what to do, a customer walked into the café. Adam quickly composed himself, "Sorry for the delay", and asked the customer how he could be of assistance.

@happieststarters

[wendydxrling]

she was happy to sit and read her book while kronk worked on his recipe for the squirrel scouts. flicking through the pages while he worked away, her head lifted when she heard his frustration. wendy placed her bookmark in between the paged and closed her book. she got up from her seat and made her way over to him. resting her hand on his arm, she gave him an encouraging smile "don't worry, you'll get it. is there a recipe you're working from or is it your own?"

Kronk had never felt this much pressure before in his life. The career he once knew was now a thing of the past, there was just a new group of Squirrel Scouts created that he was in charge of, and now he couldn't get this darn recipe right! This was what he was supposed to be good at! He'd hoped that he might be able to get a new job in the restaurant business, but he really needed to come up with something that would paint a clear picture of his capabilities. How was he supposed to convince anyone he had what it took to be a wizard in the kitchen when he was failing so miserably at this stupid Flambé?!

"Oh come on... that was my third try..." Kronk sighed. He took his oven mitts off and let out a sigh, one hand on his hip and the other scratching his head. "Am I missing something? An ingredient? A temperature change? Anything! I just don't know..."

@happieststarters

[wendydxrling]

CAILEE SPAENY Hair styled by Kiley Fitzgerald ahead of the New York premiere of Priscilla at the 61st New York Film Festival on October 6th 2023

[wendydxrling]

[wendydxrling]

"perfect, see you soon. i won't be long" she reassured him before hanging up the phone. changing her clothes quickly and making sure she was presentable, wendy picked up her bag and left the darling family home to head towards the park.

she walked through the town, admiring the weather for the day, thrilled to see some sun. everyone seemed happier when the sun was out, herself included. wendy turned into the park and followed the pathway until she spotted kronk in the distance. she gave him a wave and made her way over to see him "hi, thank you for inviting me" she greeted him "how many birds have you spotted?" she asked, knowing he took to bird bingo when he had a chance.

It was quite the relief that Wendy was not busy and agreed to meet him. That was the most daunting part of planning this little picnic, and now that the plan was in motion, he couldn't help but smile effortlessly. "Great! I'll see you there." Once they'd gotten off the phone, Kronk set off to the park to created his set up. He wanted to make everything look perfect, which would require him to take his time. But, it seemed that he would have enough, seeing as how Wendy still needed to get ready.

Once there, he got to work laying down the blanket, making sure to pick the spot that was most flat and comfortable. He grabbed a few small rocks to put on the corners to ensure that the blanket would stay flat and not roll up on them. After that was done, he took out the glasses, and plates, organizing them neatly but also purposefully. When everything looked up to par, he sat down and waited for her to show. To ease his mind a bit, he pulled out his phone, and decided to play a bit of bird bingo, a game he quite enjoyed when bored.