"Okay snacks are out, decorations are done, the place looks like a freaking palace, babe, you have outdone yourself again.” Declan’s smile was wide as he walked back into the house from the back patio, the set up for Gracie’s 13th birthday party finished and Declan knew  he had to steal a moment before the party got into full swing. “Have you taken a moment to breath today,” he teased, pressing his lips to the back of her shoulders before he wrapped his arm around his wife’s waist. “She’s gonna lose her mind when she walks in, you know that, right?” @museswari​

museswari·:

The decision had not come lightly and she hoped Devon knew that. She had been feeling nervous through out the whole process and although she knew that Devon could hardly be compared to Jared, she couldn’t help but think about how the last time she had done this, she was 18 and it had been with him. For so long having her own space was a meaning of all she had left behind, and she was excited, overly excited to stop having to go back home or to say goodbye to Devon when morning came and go back to her own place— this was their place now. She had taken the week off from the bakery to get things ready at their home. It sounded weird when it rolled off her tongue, but the good kind of weird. She was silent for a few seconds after he posed his question and sighed, putting her hands on top of his as she stared at the wall they would fill with pictures of their family, there were some Reagan had printed and given to them that were scattered around the house, so many moments that were forever framed. “I’m good—” she finally said, looking at him with a small smile on her lips, “I’m really good. We have a great home, and I have a feeling that we’re gonna be really happy here,” her nose wrinkled as she stood up, settling on her place between her legs. “Reagan told me not to touch her room, because she wants to do it on her own, but I promise to take her furniture shopping as soon as she has a plan for it,” it was more of a guest room, but Anna had a feeling they would be seeing a lot of Reagan. “And food sounds good— you did a great job with the house, you know? I feel like you should probably bring people over when you want to show them some of your work.”

“Yeah, I have that feeling too,” he admitted, a warmth that had become famliar with her entering his chest. It had seemed impossible for so long that he would get here. All of those years spent behind the same concrete walls, yearning for a different life and now he had it. He had a woman who loved him, not because of what he could give her but because of who he was, because of what he cared about. And she was willing to put in the time to build a partnership. It hadn’t been fast, they both needed to have patience, let the healing begin and take it easy on one another. And they had, to come out a little better on the other side and he couldn’t have felt more confident about this decision. And he couldn’t ever remember being so in love. “She’s probably gonna repaint the whole thing but it’ll look amazing, I’m sure.” He felt himself blush at the compliment, feeling pretty pretty proud of what he had been able to build for them, a real home, a place to keep her safe, a place she could know she’d always be loved. “Thanks, baby. I’m pretty proud of it but oh it looks so much better with you in it,” he told her with a wink. “I think a housewarming party is due, right? Your sisters, mine, Hector, Jess, everyone we love. I didn’t get that grill out there for nothing, you know? I am..fully ready to achieve dad mod and talk about nothing but grilling and the work I did on the house,” he teased, lying back on the bed for a second and lightly pulling her with them. He put her hand on his chest and brushed his thumb over the back of her hand. “I promise I’ll always work to make this a happy home with you. Every day of my life.”

"Well the fridge is all stocked, figure we can make a nice meal tonight, celebrate.” Devon’s expression softened as he stood in the doorway of their bedroom, the smile on his face growing as he realized it would be their bedroom now. They had of course been spending the night together for months but now they had a home together, two signatures on a piece of paper making this place theirs and a lot of dollars out of their bank account. But it was perfect, especially after settling the little one in his room after such a long day of decorating and moving. “You know I think we did a great job with the bed, so good we may never want to leave it.” He took a few steps inside and leaned down to kiss her softly, taking a seat next to her at the edge of the bed. “How you feeling?” @rossmuses​

rossmuses‌:

— beatrice & MILES.

The routine Beatrice had fallen in the last few weeks had turned out to be a good one for her. Between work and getting her apartment ready the way she and Noel wanted to, she managed to always find time for Miles. Work had easily picked up as soon as she was introduced to the new staff and of course one of the many bosses she had, her own brother, but susprisingly she didn’t cross paths all that much with Declan throughout the day. She always felt slightly spent after her longer shifts, as if her body was still growing used to working under certain conditions, but overall, she was being the good student and resident as she had always been. When seven in the morning rolled down the clock and she had put the resident that was going to stay in her place up to speed on the cases, she changed clothes, grabbed the white coat she needed to put in for laundry and walked out, she didn’t need to text Miles, because she was one hundred percent away he was going to be there and she greeted him with a smile and a small peck on the lips. “I really don’t think it’s possible that anyone is more exhausted or hungry than I am— can you please take me to get some delicious bagels before I die? Or kill you for your meat— I don’t know which is going to happen first.” ( @lindasgreatisthits​ )

Miles was over the moon about how things seemed to be slowly falling back into place with Beatrice. Since the holidays they had been spending more time together and he had to admit it felt good to have her name popping up on his phone again, to have her thinking about him as much as he was thinking about her. He had made some changes to his schedule as of late so he could be able to spend time with her when she was actually off of her shifts and he had managed to get a few hours of sleep, shower and change before he pulled up to the hospital, his smile already growing the moment he saw her. “Hello to you too,” he teased and kissed her again before leading her back to his car. “Bagels we can definitely do. I would hate for you to..kill me for my meat? God that actually terrifies me.” Miles wasted no time in pulling out of the parking lot once they were settled in the car, one hand finding its way to rest in her lap. “How was your shift? Are you in need of any day drinking?” He laughed as he pulled into the parking lot of his favorite place and as soon as they were out of the car his hand was back in hers, fingers threading together. “What kind of bagel you want? Will you still kiss me if I get an everything bagel?”

rossmuses·:

“Please,” Coop blew a raspberry, “it’s always more fun when I start breaking shit,” she winked at him, fingers gripping the steering wheel as they reached a certain velocity. Her father had always told her she had a bit of a heavy foot when it came to the gas— but even having a conversation with Zeke she managed to drive properly, which was probably why when he mentioned going back to New York she was so caught off guard the car slightly swerved and she cursed under her breath. “Sorry—” she glanced over at him pressing her lips together. “I don’t think I can make it,” she shook her head, shifting on her seat, ever since losing her father to cancer she didn’t really feel as though she belonged in the city anymore, the move to California was anything but rash. “I mean, I miss your mom too— and I would have enough money to pay for a roundtrip, but I don’t think I can be in New York again, which of course, doesn’t mean you can’t go, I mean, I’ll be fine— I’ll miss you but I’ll be fine.”

Zeke had figured it was a big ask but he was still hoping she would go with him despite it. He couldn’t even describe how hard it had been for her after her father passed and it had been one of the main reasons why he suggested they moved. For himself he had wanted to get away from the heartbreak over losing Lily and he was happy for the fresh start. “I won’t push it and I’ll encourage Rose not to call and push you either. I mean I’ll miss you too but I guess I’ll manage on my own.” He reached for her hand to give it a quick kiss as they pulled up to IN N Out. “We can facetime too? So Gracie can say hi, apparently she’s been demanding our presence for a while. The kickass attitude that kid has is amazing.”

"You know I think your family was placing bets about whether you’d make it. Apparently you’re a hard woman to track down.” Holly raised an eyebrow as she looked at her fiancee’s sister, having finally found a time to talk to her at the bar. She had to admit she was different than she expected and she felt kind of guilty for even looking at her as long as she was. In all her years dating Phil she hadn’t really spent a substantial amount of time with his sister and she figured the wedding weekend was the best time to put a mystery to rest. “I’m Holly by the way, the bride, in case you didn’t know that.” @rossmuses​

“Alright now would be the time to hide anything you don’t want me to see.” Declan laughed to himself as he knocked on the door of what used to be his own apartment. He couldn’t have been happier about living with Rose but he had to admit there was still some nostalgia and a bit of control when he came to see the place. But he had released all power to Beatrice and Noel and was just trusting they would take good care of it. “Oh and I have bagels, I forgot to mention I come bearing gifts in the form of food.” @rossmuses​

rossmuses‌:

She smiled at him and winked, if she only had enough balls to tell him exactly what was going on inside of her mind and what she really wanted to do with him, maybe he would forget all about her request to eat. “Racing makes me so fucking ravenous, it would be funny if my stomach wasn’t complaining,” she made a face before making the engine roar and checking her phone— looking at him with a wide smile and nodding, the payment was there and that night she had also raced for the loser’s car— it would be in the garage tomorrow, she was sure of it. “Oh please, it’s always fun when I start threatening to break shit,” she gave him a lopsided grin, “what do you think about some In-and-Out? I really could use burgers right now.”

“It’s funny until you start actually breaking shit,” he teased before nodding. “Burgers it is, I could totally go in on some fries right now too.” He sat back in his chair a bit, his hand reaching out to give her thigh a squeeze, damn did he find her incredibly hot in that drivers seat. “So before I forget, Rose called me this morning. She wants to know when we’re coming to visit. Even offered to pay for our tickets which honestly isn’t surprising. She put Gracie on the phone, I think to guilt me,” he joked. “What do you think about making a little trip back home? Rose is gonna be super shook when she finds out we’re together. Plus you know my mom misses us a lot.”

rossmuses‌:

“Just some legal shit, okay? Lemme handle it and you’ll be fine,” he wouldn’t go through the terminologies with Miles, last time they had done it, Daniel had to explain everything all over again and it was a drag. This is what Miles had him on his team for and he was thankful that his friend trusted him enough to know he would never make him look bad, or do something that would harm his chances of more success. “Holidays had you inspired? What happened? Did your mother make you some good yams? Or was it her delicious pumpkin pie?” He raised one eyebrow before laughing, “don’t remind me. My little sisters were all up in my case about wearing a onesie and a sweater and that’s what we did, there were a lot of pictures.”

“That’s why I pay you the big bucks, bro, so I don’t have to pretend to be smarter than I am,” he teased. But he was grateful to have Daniel with him as he went on this journey, knowing he couldn’t trust many people as much as he trusted Daniel and Nora. Honestly he didn’t know how he would ever stay afloat without them, professionally and all around. “I mean she fucking threw down in the kitchen so definitely but that mostly put me to sleep. Did spend some time with my cousins and we kicked around a bunch of ideas. And uh, spend a little bit of time with Beatrice,” he told him with a slow growing smile. “So that was definitely a plus. Oh but you looked so cute, I’m gonna text your sisters to send me a picture, make it my phone background,” he joked and looked back at his menu. “And the baker? How’s she doing?”

rossmuses‌:

She didn’t know when during his speech she started crying, but tears surely seemed to be free-flowing even if she didn’t want them to. This was not how she imagined the night to go— but she was a mess. She had gotten back to New York and she wasn’t even sure if it was the right decision for her, or if she should have stayed somewhere familiar like Boston, where she didn’t have the shadow of her brother to occupy. There were a million and one things going through Beatrice’s brain and none of those were good. She wanted to tell him that she didn’t believe in the things she had said all those years ago— she believed in the boy she left then, she believed he could become the man he was now. She wanted to tell him that he made her believe in herself too, to become the doctor she wanted to, despite the odds of succumbing to the pressure, but she was tired, so damn tired of trying to reach everyone else’s expectations. “Please don’t go— fuck— just don’t go,” she sniffed and swallowed the lump, blinked back the rest of the tears trying desperately to pull herself together. “I don’t believe in all those things I said, I just— I didn’t want you to wait for me when I didn’t know whether or not I would be back. I would have been a mess in a distance relationship with you and my mom…” she allowed her voice to drift not really sure if she wanted to taint their conversation with the mention of her mother and her expectations over who she should date or not. “My feelings didn’t just disappear, too, but I’m sorry, I’m sorry for all those years ago, I’m sorry for what I said and how I treated you, God— I’m so sorry, Miles.” 

His expression softened the moment she started crying and as she told him not to go he took a few steps closer. He could see now just how hard this had been and it was as he suspected. He had been angry mostly that she had listened so much to her mother but he had tried to understand the pressure, no matter how much it broke his heart. And he was tired of being angry, he didn’t want to be angry with her or at her any longer. “I know you are,” he told her softly, “And B I forgave you a long time ago,” he admitted. Forgiven but definitely not forgotten. He looked at her for a moment before he moved to stand in front of her, wrapping his arms around her to hold her tightly. He pulled back after a short moment to bring his hands up to rest on her cheeks, the pads of his thumbs brushing her tears away before he pressed his lips to her forehead. “Just take a breath,” he told her softly, the way he would when she used to stress over school work, usually telling him she didn’t have any time to hang out. And he’d give her that cheesy grin and tell her she had plenty of time left to save the world. He held her like that for a little while longer before he pulled back to meet her eyes, his hands still cupping her face. “Do you want to get out of here?” 

rossmuses‌:

“Maybe it’s the way I call you on your bullshit, have you ever considered that?” Nora grinned widely before winking at her best friend. Although knowing quite well what he was saying, she still rolled her eyes at him— ever since her brother’s death something inside of her stifled. She went through university and was doing basically nothing with her diploma— she was an artist and afraid to say it out loud, albeit being completely uninspired for ages now. “Shut up— I know all of that, I just—” she sighed and groaned and took a sip of her coffee, “it’s fuckin’ hard okay? She is this crazy beautiful woman and I’m me— I’m just Nora. I’m hot I know, you don’t have to butter me up or anything, but it’s not like I have so much to offer,” she frowned before snorting. “There is nothing I can tell you that will make you quit the bitch, is there?” 

“Oh that’s total bullshit. You’re just Nora? You’re Nora fucking Fuller to start and you’re a crazy talented artist. Plus didn’t she legit tell you that you were her high school crush? She’s definitely more than interested. You have so much to offer. In addition to your hotness.” He poked her side, hating to see her being down on herself. She was one of his favorite people and he would remind her every chance he got that she was the best. “Quit the bitch?” He let out a laugh and finished off his water. “Nope, doesn’t look like it. And she wasn’t exactly mad when I showed up so who knows, something could be..happening soon. I know you’re not her number one fan but I don’t know, she’s..grown up. That has to count for something, right? Plus wouldn’t double dates be sooo fun?!”

rossmuses·:

“Oh really? So does it mean I get to boss you around all the time now?” Rose chuckled while shaking her head. “Your mom? Happy with me?” The blonde frowned. It was never really hard to get someone to like her, Rose was generous and kind and sometimes she even liked to think she was partially funny and told nice jokes — although she did leave most of the joke-telling to Declan who had been perfecting the dad jokes since Gracie had come into his life — but Mrs. Carrington seemed to set the bar pretty low when it came to her and it always made Rose kind of nervous when the woman was around, at least they never exchanged anything other than pleasantries and Gracie seemed to have warmed her heart a bit when it came to her son’s girlfriend. “Anyway, you can tell Matt that I think you have a pretty good style, and it’s my opinion that counts anyway, so—” she would never absolutely never mind having her words cut by one of his kisses, she also did love it when he smiled against her lips, made her feel giddy inside, one hell of a teenager. “Never apologise for that, please,” she grinned and grabbed her drink raising it and melting inside— could the man be any cuter? She took a sip of her white wine and settled it down, leaning back on her chair. “I never wanted to be unstuck from you—” Rose smiled, “besides, it’s you the stuckee now— I’m pretty sure my daughter loves you more than she loves me, which is stupid since I spent what? 20 hours giving birth to that child?”

“Baby you can boss me around whenever you want,” he told her with a wiggle of his eyebrows which was followed by a snort of a laugh as she shook his head. Declan was anything but the coolest guy in the world but he felt his most comfortable whenever her was with Rose, even when they were kids. Declan hadn’t really been the most popular, usually with his head in a book or working on a science fair project and that hardly earned him a reputation as a cool guy. But when Rose Parker looked his way for the first time he knew he was a goner and he was still surprised to this day that she loved him, had wanted him and still did. Calling her the girl of his dreams was an understatement. “Yes, I know it seems out there but is it really? You’re amazing and I don’t see how she could think I could do better when I’ve got the best so really there’s no other option but for her to absolutely love you. Plus Bea blowing off her residency in Boston is easily going to overshadow anything we ever do,” he teased, making a joke he’d never make in front of his sister. “I will tell him, he values your opinion. Which also reminds me that he and Rowan want to have us over for dinner this weekend if we can swing it. Apparently Rowan is trying out some recipes for an article he’s writing. I think he secretly wants your help but that’s just a gut feeling. Stuckee? Is that a word now? And we both know that’s impossible, she loves you to the moon and back, I hear her say so every night. Just wait til she’s a teenager and we’re the most uncool people she’s ever met. If only she knew all the things we got up to in high school. Okay maybe not..crazy but still kind of fun. That was all you, you’re a terrible influence,” he teased and gave her hand a squeeze. “Anyway I mean I hope it’s not overstepping but I do...think of Gracie as a daughter, I mean, what and honor it’d be you know? To be her dad that’s...that’s the best. I mean I know I’m not her dad dad but,” he cleared his throat, hoping he was making sense, “But I hope to be a father figure to her. If that’s alright with you.”

rossmuses·:

“It looks okay–  I mean, could be better, but since we’re nearing opening day, I should just stop being a bitchy boss and accept that everyone else is telling me it’s good enough,” she sighed and smiled, knowing the perfectionist in her would never win in the end, and sometimes it made her really mad. “Bribe her with ice cream once and she will never again wake up while you’re there,” Rose shook her head slightly, “I really don’t miss your apartment either and I think they’re doing well, better than expected, no fires so far, right?” The blonde frowned at the mention of Declan’s mother but quickly shook it off, it still bothered her that she couldn’t quite be the person she wanted for her son, but she was happy that Declan seemed to think that she was enough on her own. “Hm— I was actually thinking that we could go take a look at the restaurant? I could really use your opinion, besides, your mother has Gracie and I could use all the Gracie points I can get with her.”

“You? A bitch boss? That’s just not possible for you. It’s okay for you to want to be the best all the time. I mean I would argue you already are the best but demanding more doesn’t have to be a bad thing. I think it’s pretty sexy,” he told her with a wink, always taking an opportunity to encourage her. “Damn, you’re right. She’s pretty genius like that but then again, my money could be spent on worse things.” His smile widened at her request and he nodded without hesitation. “I’d love to. I like that I get a sneak peek, makes me feel cool. And I mean Matt would say I have zero style so I appreciate you wanting my opinion.  Please, Gracie is so charming not even my mom stands a chance, believe me. She’s been dying for grandkids anyway and lord knows Beatrice isn’t giving her any anytime soon or ever so, believe me, she’s happy.” He moved his seat closer to her and leaned over to kiss her softly, smiling against her lips for a moment. “Forgive the PDA but you’re really the best remedy to a long morning,” he told her in a soft voice, kissing her cheek before pulling away as their drinks came and he held up his glass. “A toast, to making it through the holiday and for you officially not being able to kick me out of the bed. Stuck with me now,” he told her with a wink before taking a sip of his drink.