A Festival to Remember | Part II

word count: 4172

warnings: some swear words, kissing, probably some bad grammar and the occasional misspelled word.

pairings: chris x reader

This is my first ever fan fiction/imagine so it might be a little rough. I plan on writing a part 3, if you want to be added to my tag list just let me know. There will be smut in part 3, just so ya know.

Tag list:

@denisemarieangelina​

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It took everything Chris had in him not to sprint across to his compound. He wasn’t sure which room was her, all the rooms had balcony’s overlooking the court yard, he didn’t want her to step onto the balcony and see him running. He started thinking about the kiss, the way her lips seemed to perfectly fit into his. The sound of her moan, the feel of it against his mouth. The way her hair felt under her beanie. He was so deep in his thought he didn’t realize that he had picked up speed and was almost running, he slowed again to a walk thinking about finding that itinerary instead.

He entered his suite; which was rather roomy. The suite had a small kitchen which included a wine fridge in the island, it had a dining space, a fully furnished living room with a TV that hung over the fire place, the bedroom and bathroom were separated by a wall and a door. The bedroom contained a king size bed in the middle, there were two warn arm chairs near the door that let out to the balcony; the bathroom was extravagant. It had one of those showers that could hold 4 people length wise and maybe two people in width; it had detachable shower heads on the side, there was two rain shower heads, and some of those shower heads that stick out of the wall. It had one of those thermostats to set the exact temperature, the floors of the bathroom were heated, it had a double vanity and a bath tub big enough to fit 3 adults. When he first got there he had walked the place over, his manager had made sure that the fridge and cabinets were stocked with enough snacks and sweets to get him through. There was wine in the wine fridge; beer and some hard liquor was in the real fridge accompanying the snacks.

Chris swung the door open; had anyone seen him they would’ve thought he was mad. His eyes frantically searching the tables and counter for the itinerary he was given, he didn’t want to keep her waiting. He slammed the door behind him and began walking all over the kitchen, he had set it somewhere this morning not really caring much to look at it. His manager and publicist always kept him on track throughout the day that it didn’t ever matter much to him, he cursed himself now for being so careless. He felt like the Tasmanian devil, he was ripping through the kitchen and dining room looking at every paper he could. After the counter and kitchen table weren’t fruitful he turned his attention to the coffee table in the living room, once he reached it sighing in relief when it was the first paper he picked up.

He held it in front of him, turning the TV on for some background noise. He kept scanning the paper trying to find a time when he would be able to see her again. Tomorrow was his busiest day of his whole trip, it seemed every moment of his day was going to be taken up. Unless she wanted to wake up at 530 am to get breakfast and coffee, which he highly doubted because it was coming up on 1am. He was used to minimal sleep but wasn’t sure if she was. He had his first interview scheduled at 7am the interview was scheduled to last between 90 and 120 minutes, at 9 am one of his movies was premiering then he was scheduled to go to 3 back-to-back interviews, followed by another movie, and finally he was scheduled to make appearances at 2 or 3 after parties. He had no issue having her at the after parties with him but he wasn’t sure how she would feel considering they had just met and started spending time together. He knew she wouldn’t mind putting off spending time together for another day when he would have free time but he wanted to see her and spend as much time with her as he could. He texted his manager and publicist asking if it was possible to just have her tag along for the day; he was deep in thought, so deep he didn’t hear the first knock at the door. She had knocked softly so she wasn’t sure if he had heard it or not, she didn’t want to annoy him or wake him up but she just wanted to see him again just to make sure he was real; make sure their night was real.

She knocked harder on the door; it wasn’t so hard that she would wake anyone up but if he was awake in there he would hear it, and he did. He got up wondering if maybe his manager or publicist, who were staying just a few doors down, had just gotten up to talk to him. He opened the door and saw her standing in front of him; she no longer had her beanie or scarf on, she had her jacket unbuttoned a little so he could see some cleavage. He was sure she didn’t do it on purpose; he didn’t think that she was that type of girl.

She had been standing sideways, she was wringing her hands showing just how nervous she was. It took her a second to turn and look at him head on; she hadn’t thought she would make it this far, it took her about 5 minutes in her hotel room talking with her friends to realize that maybe she should’ve invited him up for a drink. She didn’t even realize she was walking to his place until she was half way there, she froze for a moment thinking that this was crazy and he would think she’s a stalker. Her friends had encouraged (more like pressured) her to take this leap and go to him. She had remembered his room number and looked at the map to see where the room was.

He was stunned to see her standing there looking at him with wide eyes. His mouth dropped open, she looked at him and gave him a big smile. She didn’t wait but a second to speak.

“I remembered you telling me what your room number is, I promise I’m not a stalker! I was telling my friends about our night and they asked me if I was crazy for letting you just walk away; I realized that I didn’t want the night to end so I found your building on the compound map and came here…”

Chris was still shell shocked that she was even there in front of him. He stood there just looking at her, he could feel the blush coming up his chest and onto his face. Her smile quickly faded when he wasn’t responding.

“Or I can turn around and leave, I am realizing now that not only do I look like a creep but I also look pathetic and weird because I am just rambling. Which the rambling is only making things worse. Oh god I shouldn’t have come…”

She lowered her head and turned around to leave, he gently grabbed her elbow turning her around. His hand swiftly moved from her elbow to cup her face; tilting her head up and placing his lips on hers in a sweet kiss. It took her a second but she relaxed into the kiss placing one had on his hip and the other wrapped around his fore arm. The way she gently placed her hand on his fore arm made all the hairs on his body stand on end, partly because her hands were freezing but mostly because she was soft and gentle with him. He placed his other hand on the dip in her low back; he gave a gently slight tug trying to pull her into his room. Once she felt the tug on her head and low back she stepped in; they cleared the path of the door and her hand left his hip and closed it. She quickly threaded her fingers into his hair.

The kiss started out slowly, just lips locked perfectly against each other. Once he heard the click of the door closing he gently tugged on her hair eliciting a moan from her at which point he slipped his tongue into her mouth. She didn’t seem to have an issue, her hand moved from his forearm to his side and she tugged him closer. Their tongues were in sync, almost like they were dancing a waltz or a tango. He felt like he bumped into everything in the kitchen trying to get them to the couch. They stood in between the coffee table and the couch, she barely pulled away letting their lips ghost over one another while her chest heaved. Their breath mixed in between them; they had eye contact locked just standing there both catching their breath.

Chris’ phone sounded; signaling that he had just received a text. He gently wrapped one arm around her waist and brought her with him when he plopped on the couch. She was sitting next to him; thighs touching while she tried to catch her breath, he could see she was still trying to piece together what had just happened.

He leaned forward grabbing his phone, he leaned back and she moved so her legs were resting on his, she leaned back so her head was against the cushioned arm rest. He sighed happy she was getting comfortable, he opened his phone. His manager had texted him letting him know that she was more then welcome to join, his manager let Chris know that he would have her pass at the first interview. She shouldn’t have any issues getting in as long as her and Chris show up together. Chris let out a sight sigh; this meant they could spend most of the day together. He would be in interviews but she would be there in the same room, in between events they could talk, and she’d be by his side during his movies. He felt like an 80 pound weight was off his shoulders, but was immediately replaced with a 150 pound weight on his chest. How was he going to ask her to join him?

He sent a quick text thanking his manager for getting back to him so quickly this late at night. His breathe caught in his throat when his mind was running through scenarios about how he was going to ask her. She could feel his breathe catch and saw his muscles tense.

“What’s on your mind?”

Her voice was calm; her breathing had steadied and she didn’t sound anxious. Her moved her hand to rest on his should trying to reassure him that she was there to listen. He let out a heavy sigh deciding the best way to ask her would just be to tell her the story and get it out.

“Well you said you wanted to spend time together tomorrow, which I want to spend as much time with you as possible. When I got back here I found my itinerary” He leaned forward grabbing the paper and handing it to her. “I looked it over and unless you want to wake up at 530 to get breakfast I wouldn’t have time to see you tomorrow. I don’t really know what was crossing my mind, but I texted my manager and my publicist asking if there was any way to get you a pass to join me all day long. Like I said my mind was swimming with thoughts and so I don’t even know why I asked him without talking to you first.” His let out a shaky breath, he could feel his hands sweating. He was worried she was about to get weirded out, or maybe even walk out.

“I would love to spend all day with you, I mean if you’re able to get those passes. If not I would gladly wake up in 4 hours to go to breakfast with you; but as a warning that’s early so I probably will look like a train wreck.” She smiled at him brightly and removed her hand from his shoulder making herself a little more comfortable. She let out a light laugh at the end, she saw the relief wash off his face and his muscles become less tense.

“Well lucky for us both my manger let me know he can get you passes you just have to show up with me to my first interview at 7.” He suddenly felt so light, all the weight was off his shoulders.

Being around her was intoxicating for him. She was calm, reassuring, light, funny, sweet, and so much more. She sat up for a second taking her jacket off and throwing it onto one of the other chairs in the living room. As she started laying back down he leaned into her; his head was going to be resting on junction of her humerus and her clavical. He moved his arm under her and they both moved their legs in unison so they were laying straight across the couch. His wrapped his other arm around the front of her midsection; she placed one hand behind her head and the other arm rest on his back lightly tickling it. They both turned their attention to the TV, it was playing the movie This is Where I Leave You.

“This is one of my favorite movies I’ve seen. I think the movie has such a beautiful message and the delivery of it just sets it even more. The way it shows you that life is complicated for everyone, everyone has demons that follow them. Demons from childhood, adolescents, and adult hood that we all battle with constantly. The idea that not everyone is the total sum of just what you see. It’s amazing.”

The way she spoke about movies was astonishing to him; sure everyone loved movies and talking about them but she sounded more like a director or a critic with her description of this one. He couldn’t wait to hear her talk about more movies.

“I have actually never seen this one, but the cast looks loaded. I will have to add this to my watch list.”

“We could always watch it together one of these days if you want to”

The way she said it so nonchalantly made him give a slight chuckle, there was no way she missed it but she chose not to ask about it instead letting a smile creep onto her face. Neither of them was in a hurry to go anywhere; both content just be in each others company. He felt her heart start beating so he looked at her. Their eyes locked for a moment then she made the move; her hand moved from behind her head to entwine in his hair. She lightly tugged and moved his lips to hers. He quickly moved so he was hovering over her; her hands roamed his body occasionally running through his hair. The kiss was extremely passionate; he felt like there were fireworks in his stomach, he felt the spark on their lips as they touched. Their tongues began to fight for dominance, Chris tongue quickly one setting the pace. After what felt like 10 minutes he pulled away, falling back to her side as they both catch their breath.

A different movie had started; he didn’t recognize it. He doesn’t know how long they were laying there when he felt her breath even out. He had been feeling sleep creep into his brain but wasn’t wanting to have her out of his arms. He peered up at her face and she looked so peaceful there, he decided that he would lay there with her a little longer then he would move her to the bed and he would stay sleeping on the couch.

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He jarred awake; his ringtone was one brutal to his ears this early in the morning. He quickly reached into his pocket and shut it off. His mind was now waking up; he felt her body in his arms, felt her warm against his chest. Sometime in the night they had shifted they were both laying on their sides; her face buried in his chest, both of her arms wrapped around his midsection, his arms were wrapped around her shoulders, and their legs entwined with each other. He looked again at the phone to check the time, it was 5am and he needed to get up and get ready. He was sure she would want to head over to her room and get ready for the long day that was ahead of them.

He made sure to be gentle, he softly shook her and her eyes fluttered open. He watched her face as she woke up; the many stages she went through were comical to him. She was beautiful even first thing in the morning; her makeup was slightly smudged and her hair was a mess but he still thought she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

“Holy shit I did not mean to fall asleep here. I am so sorry, you have a big day today and you totally should’ve slept in a bed!”

Her voice was sleepy and raspy and absolutely adorable. The biggest smile plasters onto his face and he just chuckles.

“I slept amazing last night, so I am not too worried. Today is going to be a long day though, you are more then welcome to shower here. We’ve got to be there by about 6:45 to make sure everything is set up, we can grab breakfast and a coffee on the way if you want?”

“While showering here does sound rather enticing, I need a change of clothes and to brush my teeth. I’ll meet you back here in an hour? Then we can go grab that bite to eat and a coffee?”

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Chris took his time in the shower; his thoughts just swimming with her. He liked that she was all he could think about, he just hoped that he was all she could think about. Things just felt so easy with her already; he was curious how things would go today, if the flow would continue. His shower was nice and warm, the cold air of park city made it hard to get out. He had fallen asleep last night before he could make sure the heater was on. After about 30 minutes in shower he was decently pruned and decided it was time to get out.

He dried his upper half off then tied the towel at his waist. He immediately walked over to the thermostat turning it up so it would be about 72 in the suite. He wasn’t sure how they had made it all night with only a small throw blanket on but then he remembered how their body heats mixed and created an amazing warmth that got into his bones.

He took time trying to pick out his outfit; it would need to be something that was warm, comfortable, casual yet professional, he had multiple interviews today which meant a lot of camera time and pictures. He scanned through the closet where his manager had hung most of his clothes so they wouldn’t get wrinkled. He grabbed a white T-shirt and a pair of underwear pulling both on while still looking and thinking of what to wear. His mind flashed to her and what she would wear, the day before she was dressed perfectly for a day like today. She had been wearing black legging, an emerald loose fitting V-neck that showed just the right amount of skin, her cute maroon carhart jacket, and a black scarf and beanie. All the clothes hung on her body perfectly; it seemed like no matter how she moved her clothes always laid on her body perfectly.

He decided to wear his white shirt, a brown suede hooded leather jacket, and khaki pants. He was giving himself a good once over in the bathroom mirror making sure that he looked presentable. The outfit was comfortable and the jacket would keep him plenty warm. He checked the clock and it was about five minutes to 6 and he heard a knock on his door. He grabbed a pair of shoes from the closet and headed for the door, he set the shoes down by a chair at the kitchen table. He opens the door to see her smiling face. She had her hair in a half up half down style, all of it was still in the loose flowing curls. She had some modest eye shadow on again, she had winged liner, and mascara. He could tell she had washed her face by the way her cheeks looked a little too pink for a blush and not red like wind burn. She had wasn’t wearing a beanie but did have a scarf and her carhart jacket draped over her arm; she was wearing dark jeans that hugged every curve perfectly, she was had on a long sleeve white shirt with a black vest, and knee high brown leather boots.

He stood there looking her over for a second, she wore a big smile. Again he thought of how well her skin tone accentuated her [e/c] eyes. He really liked that she wasn’t one to cover her face in makeup, he liked that he could see her skin.

“I am almost ready, I just need to slip on my shoes and I’ll be ready to go.” He moved so that he stood next to the door swinging his arm gesturing for her to step in. She didn’t seem to hesitate at all before stepping in.

“Any idea of where you’re wanting to grab breakfast at? I don’t know much up the restaurants up here, as much as I love being up here I don’t spend much time up here.” She spoke as she walked passed him.

He quickly closed the door and sat on a dining room chair, she walked around the kitchen actually taking the time to check the place over. She ran her fingers along the counter and her eyes scanned the kitchen, she noticed that Chris was a rather tidy person, there was a wine and beer bottles on the counter but they were full so she figured it was just because there wasn’t room in either of the fridges.

“Well to be honest I was thinking we would just head to Starbucks, they have decent food there and they have good coffee. If you prefer somewhere else that’s fine with me, all these interviews today will have food but it’s all snack food. We’ll have to sneak out sometime to get lunch. I heard about this amazing pizza place at the top of main that I was thinking we would try if you like pizza?”

“That sounds amazing! I love Starbucks, I get their breakfast at least like 4 times a week before work. Also pizza if one of my favorite foods, I’ve been to that place your talking about and it is delicious! It will make an amazing lunch.”

She looked at him and smiled, he stood from his seat with his shoes on. He smiled right back at her, he can see a little glint in her eyes. She wraps her scarf around her neck she then frees her hair from under it, she slides both arms into her jacket.

“Alright well then, shall we?”

She walked around the island and looped her arm into his, her hand gently rested on his elbow while she shoved the other hand into her jacket pocket.

“I was thinking that we could take the car service today? Not that you’re a bad driver but with everything going on today I thought it would be easier and quicker. The people who run the festival have cars that will pick us up and drop us off right on time and right at the door so there will be less paparazzi.”

She was a decent amount shorter then him so when she looked at him she had to tilt her head up. They had just walked out of the suite, he had his phone in his hand ready to text his manager letting him phone which way they had decided. He made sure the door locked then was by her side again.

“That works for me, I’m happy as long as I get to spend time with you.”

He sends the quick text to his manager stating they were going to use the car service to which his manager replied letting him know car is already outside waiting, his manager also let him know that he had the pass for this mystery guest. Chris let out a huge sigh of relief as he grabbed her hand and headed towards the elevator.

heeey there! how's your day so far? :D

god okay i had SUCH A DAY yesterday 

so like i got on a bus from my town to nyc at like 1 am bc i’m out visiting family for a month and its all cool and fine, i listened to some night vale, zoned out, wrote a vivid 250k slow burn self insert fanfic in my head, it was fun. i dont mind public transport all that much tbh it’s like, the pinnacle of shitty but there’s just something very. human about how uncomfortable it is. like. we really made Long Cars and stripped them completely of amenities and comfort. whack. so that was fine

and then i got like. into nyc. and i had to take like. a second bus to get to the right place in long island where i’d eventually be collected and all that. i, exhausted, sleepless, at 440 in the morning rolled up to the info desk w my second ticket like ‘HEY where do i go for this’ and the guy is just like ‘oh it’s terminal X’ and im just like ‘okay that says long island that seems legit, i’m not gonna fact check that.’ so i waited and read a little (started reading It Devours and let me tell u potato girl is my favourite and i have known her for roughly 9 pages. but thats a tangent) n checked my watch and was like ‘hey so it’s like. 540 and boarding was at 530.’ and walked up to the info desk to ask what was up, if the bus was late, etc. and he tells me that i need to be up three whole floors and across the building to be at the right terminal. so i’m just like ‘oh god, oh fuck’ and he just looks at me like ‘good luck’ and i just start like. Running towards the elevator

this nice lady with a stroller asked me if i was ok and i was like ‘no actually’ and we both took a moment in the elevator to do the stressful half-glance, half-sigh thing people do when they’re uncomfortable and in a bus station at 6am and life just sucks. it was a nice bit of solidarity, but far too shortlived. i got off the elevator and started running towards terminal Y with the last energy my legs have, because by this point i’d been awake for over 20 hours and i’m usually awake for like, 10. i arrive, and stop a guy who looked like he worked there like ‘hey uhhh is this bus still here’ and he said. something that sounded like a terminal number but i like. can’t hear. idk what it is about port authority but it has like. anti-hearing magic set up at every point in the station. and so i went out just like ‘oh. it’s. not here.’ and had a panic attack for like five minutes and angrily texted some people before just being like ‘yeah whatever this might as well be happening’ and figuring out what i’d do next. 

so then the guy i stopped earlier was just like ‘hey im the driver actually you’re like the only person going to LI this way so let’s head off’ and i’m probably looking at this guy with an expression between Deep Suspicion and Genuine Reverence, if you can imagine. he takes my ticket, i get on. we get sorted out where i’m being dropped off and everything and i’m just like ‘hey ykno this feels a little weird. this is surreal. this isn’t how things normally roll’ so my instinct was to like... bring up the route on gps, keep my keys between my fingers and made sure i wasn’t listening to anything just so i was like. 100% alert. i had my bags around me in such a way i could push out the emergency window and roll the fuck away if needed. i kept constant correspondence with some people in my discord just so if i stopped responding they’d know something potentially went awry. i was prepared. i was paranoid and exhausted and frankly in far too much post-public transport haze to be dealing with anything that was happening. the world was upsetting. new york city is just as full of pigeons as i remember, and long island is really nice this time of year, even if it went up to 111 F today. 

but i did not get murdered nor taken on some very strange route, in fact, the driver was very nice and understanding that i was frazzled as hell because that is the default state of Bus, and i was collected up by my family. we got a bagel and coffee and then i passed out for like five hours and it was fantastic 

and today was otherwise nice, like, post-nap we just kinda hung out w our parent in laws and ate pizza and got into arguments about politics and it went well. and now i’m supposed to be sleeping because these guys get up at like, the crack of dawn, but instead i’m watching anime kjsdfhgljkdhfjgksdf i think we’re going to the beach today 

so yeah! i went on An Adventure! too much of one. but, it just be like that sometimes. i hope your day has been far less befrazzling

Cakewalk (5/15)

WC: 1404

Rafael is just as sarcastic and witty over text as he is in person and on air. The fact that he’s not secretly an asshole like most celebrities are makes Sonny smile and does nothing to help the little crush he’s been developing on the man since he first started listening in to his shows. Most of his messages are intermittent until around five, when he gets off of work and starts answering Sonny back rather quickly. Every moment not spent on the customers goes toward texting Rafael, all the way up until he closes the shop at eight. Then, he’s free to fully invest between preparing cookie and bread dough for tomorrow.

Rafael: I hope you know I’m coming back

Rafael: Like every single day

Sonny: you say that like its a threat

Rafael: You’ll hate me after a while

Sonny: impossible

He smiles at his phone before setting it down and getting back to kneading the dough. Nonna always told him to take out all his negativity on it, punch it and beat it. He’s never had a problem with that before. But today, something is different. Sonny kneads it with as much strength as he always does, and yet the motion feels more fluid, more like rolling it than pounding it into the flour all over the countertop. By the time he’s done with it, he has this light feeling in his chest that he can’t even begin to describe. He drops the dough into a bowl and covers it with a towel to leave until the next morning, completing his work for the night. Tuesdays are cannolis and cinnamon bread, which means that Amanda will buy out his whole stock. She’ll be by before work, on her lunch break, and after she locks up. She closes at nine, but Sonny is usually still around when she locks up and she helps him sometimes. The sweetstop is a lot of work, much more than he thought it would be when he was younger.

On his way home, still texting Rafael, Sonny wonders if maybe he can finally allow himself to have something in his life other than work. He’s been talking to Rafael for less than a day, but he has a really good feeling that lingers all night, and remains when he wakes up the next morning for another day of work. For the first time, getting out of bed isn’t a seemingly insurmountable chore. He has something to look forward to, something to break up the monotony of his days.

When he gets into the store, he puts in the bread dough and starts on the cannolis as soon as possible. They’re time-consuming, but best fresh as opposed to a day or two old, which is why he comes into the store half an hour early to give the dough time to rest before being rolled out. These are his favorite to make, familiar from childhood summers spent piping filling into the fried shells and dusting powdered sugar over the top from a sieve bigger than his head. For a long time, they’ve held a special place in his heart. And they always will, he thinks to himself as he folds in the wine. The filling is going to be basic this week, plain and cherry, but good as always. Better simple and good than complex and bad, right?

Rafael: What time do you open?

Sonny: 530

Rafael: Gross. How are you awake at 4 am?

Sonny: you realize youre awake too

Rafael: Long night and I’m in the neighborhood.

Rafael: Thought I’d come by when you open.

Sonny: im already at work you can come now if you want

Rafael: Is the coffee on?

At Sonny’s affirmation, Rafael says he’ll arrive in a couple minutes. Maybe by the time he comes in, the bread will be done and he can give him a taste of it fresh out of the oven. There’s nothing as good as fresh bread. In the meanwhile, Sonny pulls out all of the sweeteners and creamers with the idea of getting Rafael to show him how to make better coffee as he said he would yesterday. Normally the very thought of being expected to change something around here is daunting, but for once he finds that he doesn’t mind. If something can be improved, and the person helping him is the Rafael Barba, why shouldn’t he change it? The world won’t end because he serves better coffee.

A few minutes later, Rafael walks in with a decidedly exhausted expression that gives Sonny the urge to pull him into a hug and tuck him into bed for a good night’s sleep. Instead of doing either of those things, he instead greets Rafael happily and beckons him back into the kitchen where the bread is just about ready to come out of the oven. The washed glaze on top for shine catches the light nicely when Sonny pulls it out to slowly cool on the counter.

“Did you have breakfast?” Sonny asks, already starting to slice the loaf for display.

“No, I…” Rafael interrupts himself with a yawn that’s actually kind of cute. “...sorry, no, I haven’t.”

Blasphemy. He has fond memories of Nonna taking care of him and his sisters, making meals for them and taking care of them when his father got too overwhelmed. Sometimes, when she thought no one was listening, she’d curse out Sonny’s mother for abandoning her entire family without so much as a trace left behind. He remembers vividly the day he sat at the bench in the park waiting for his mother to come back when she said that she was just going to go grab something to eat from one of the vendors. He sat there from the time she left him in the morning to not long after the sunset, when he finally got found by a beat cop in a starched uniform with kind eyes. The only thing he choked out between his sobs was that his mommy abandoned him.

It took a couple of hours in the police station before he managed to explain that he wanted to go see Nonna at the Carisi sweetstop, ever wary of giving out his name to strangers like his parents always told him not to. The door had clanged open with the entry bell, making Nonna call from the back that they were closed. When she heard Sonny’s small voice, however, she had come out and swept him into her arms. She told the police, told Sonny’s father, not to bother looking for his mother because she has a mind of her own when she decides to disappear on them all. The worst part is that she was right; no matter how hard Sonny’s father looked, they never heard from his mother again.

He shakes his head to clear away the negative thoughts. This is a happy moment, or at least a neutral one. “Grab a seat, I’ll get you some coffee and food.”

Rafael raises his eyebrows. “Where?”

Right. Sonny clears a space on the counter and gestures lazily for Rafael to sit. He can always wipe it down later. He turns away just long enough to pour coffee, and when he turns back around, his mouth dries up. Rafael has a comfortable perch on the counter, unbuttoning the crisp collar of his salmon shirt and loosening his tie. That’s not fair, he thinks, because he suddenly doesn’t know how to form sentences.

He hands Rafael the coffee and then a slice of his cinnamon bread. It’s nothing substantial, but this is a sweetstop after all. Sonny grabs a slice for himself and leans against the fridge opposite Rafael’s seat in an effort to seem calmer than he is. His heartbeat is pounding so loudly he thinks Rafael can hear it. There’s an urge to say or do something other than awkwardly stand there with his breakfast.

Finally, he blurts out, “Can I take you to dinner tonight? If you’re, you know, not busy, and um, no pressure, or anything, but if you want to, I’d love to take you out and-”

“Breathe, Sonny,” Rafael says with the slightest hint of a smile. “I’d love to.”

Sonny’s so excited and elated that it doesn’t even occur to him that Rafael is the first person to come to the kitchens at the sweetstop since his Nonna passed away.

Taglist: @rafaelscarisi @giraffe-puppy @biweatherman @scottishblend @obfuscateyummy @tiredbisexual @scanavino-esparza @welcomehomemysweet @bullet-prooflove @msamethyst1

Next Plan?

I didn't expect to receive my tax refund so quickly, I actually received it yesterday thinking I wasn't going to receive it within a week and a half or shortly after I get paid. I transferred 1/2 of the amount to my savings account. I'm still awaiting for my state refund to be deposited. I caught up on some bills such as my credit cards, school loan, parking ticket, and my internet. Now I have to figure out how to keep my money while I'm continuing to pay off my debt. Since overtime seems to be coming back into my work place, I can take advantage of my days of not having my baby with me to catch up on over time that I have been missing. I remember the good old days when I did 10-11 hours a day 6 days a week. When I started out my job, I was still living with my family, I was able to save so much money and I was able to pay off my dad within 2-3 months for the Honda Accord him and my sister helped me get. That's the same Honda that I will be getting rid of and selling it to my friend Brenda & her husband once I get my name registered to Wendy's dad's Toyota Prius. Wendy and her bf Jeff will be arriving to my family's home about 8 or 9pm tonite because she's gonna show the car to my sister before my sister pays her for the car. I'm really happy that things are going pretty well right now as far as trying to get my finances in order and getting a newer vehicle for reliable transportation. Once I can start working some over time I can slowly start saving without being short since my rent takes up most of my paycheck. I usually am use to getting help with rent when I was supporting Ricky & Brian when they were living in my apartment with me. Now I'm trying to get back into getting my shit together so that I no longer need to rely on anybody else for help with bills other than myself. It's so exhausting when I have the baby on the days I have to work. Lim is getting older so his sleeping habits are getting a bit more complicated as in trying to get him to sleep when he needs to without having to wake him up too soon. I was watching a couple of videos on YouTube and a pediatrician was saying that a change of routine is going to be in play in the way I put my son to sleep now. Putting babies to sleep was very simple, and now it's having to detach the baby from being carried and being fed then once he falls asleep, would have to separate him and put him in the bedroom to sleep. The older babies will be more aware of their surroundings so now any sounds or anything else around them can wake them up and keep them awake. I'm glad I got to learn what I have to change in terms of his sleeping habits. I notice my son's sleeping schedule has changed again. He probably hasn't been sleeping well with Ricky because the idiot could be still getting drunk around him and keeping him up. I wouldn't know that unless I have a witness or a security camera watching his every move around the baby and I see or hear about it. I do plan on getting a couple of security cameras soon to watch the staircase and my front door as well as the parking lot driveway. No matter what the outcome is after the court case is actually over, there's no telling what Ricky may plan to do if he ends up losing custody over Lim. I'm sure it will frustrate him & piss him off to know that he has lost custody over all his children, but that's his own fault. My credit scores are going back up and I am extremely happy about that because my credit scores had been bad for going on 3 years already. Once all my debt is gone, I can slowly build it back up and start buying the expensive things that I had been wanting through credit and making payments 1 thing @ a time.

Once Ricky takes his furniture out of my apartment, I will work on getting my own theatre, comfortable couch, a futon, maybe a futon bunk bed for the extra bedroom in case I have people spend the night, my own big screen tv and entertainment speaker. i have a brand new tv that's still unopened in a box that was given to me by Brian. Brian won the tv through a raffle at his old job at Morongo Casino. I want to get a credit card from Target & Amazon. I had an Amazon signature card from Chase, but that account ended up closing because that's when my credit score was already bad for awhile that it was starting to affect my other credit card accounts which sucked. My score at the lowest was the high 400s. I thought having 530 score was bad because that was my first bad credit score. Now it's going back up through the mid 500s close to the 600s. My Experian score being the lowest at 558 and my Transunion &  Equifax being about 571-597. From what I learned from Ricky about the credit stuff was he does have a good point about taking advantage of all the perks that certain credit cards offer and to take advantage of those rewards. He said that's one way of gaining profit or extra money and being able to still save your own, this was when he was still learning everything about the stock markets. I think it's a smart idea.

Snowbaz Swimming AU

i know its been literal months but i got a few requests to continue so ive decided to revive this fic

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12

ao3

Simon chapter again! (i think im going to alternate): simon’s first swim lesson with baz

Words: 1.1k 

Simon

I immediately regretted my decision to ask for for swim lessons when he started shaking me awake at 5:30 am.

“What the hell, Baz…” I moaned, rolling back over. He tugged all the blankets off my bed and the cold air hit me like a brick.

I sat up straight. Baz was smirking (again). He was already dressed and had a tattered gym bag slung over his shoulder. It smelled vaguely of chlorine.

“Let’s go, Snow. We don’t have all morning.” He threw a tiny piece of fabric at my face, and in my dazed state it took me a minute to realize it was a swimsuit. It looked ten sizes too small.

“What the hell?”

“Are those the only words in your vocabulary? Get a move on, will you?” Baz sneered and started for the door.

I rushed into the bathroom to change and when I came back out, Baz was gone. I rushed down the stairs and out of our dorm and was shocked to realize it was still dark out. I regretted not pulling on a jumper, but I was already too late to go back up and get one. It was freezing this time in the morning. I started running towards the pool, and found I kinda liked the way campus looked when it was dead. It was calm and the sun was just starting to turn the horizon the palest shades of pink and orange.

I had to walk halfway around the pool until I found the side door unlocked. Baz must have a key.

The smell of chlorine almost knocked me off my feet. Baz was already calmly taking the covers off the stand thingies at the ends of the lanes. Something was different about him. It took me a second to realize he had put his hair up. In the seven years I’d lived with Baz, never once had I seen him put his hair up like that. He looked up and caught me staring, and crossed his arms over his chest.

“What do you know about swimming?” Baz asked, raising an eyebrow.

I winced, “Michael Phelps?”

“Do you even know what his event is?” Baz asked before reconsidering, “no, don’t answer that. I already know the answer. He’s a flyer, Snow. His event is the 100 meter butterfly.”

Baz sighed again, “I guess I’ll start by teaching you the four different strokes. In IM order, there’s fly, back, breast, and free.”

In one seamless moment, Baz ditched his shorts and shirt and gestured for me to do the same. I was relieved to see that he was in a suit as small as mine and that he hadn’t been plotting to embarrass me this whole time (which is good, because I’m perfectly capable of humiliating myself). He pulled out two caps that were tucked into the edges of his swim shorts and popped the sleek black one on his head.

He tossed the pastel pink one to me. Git. “Do I have to wear this?”

“Not in practice, but I imagine you don’t want to choke on your own hair. Those curls are probably much longer when wet.” (He was right).

After four failed attempts to put the cap on my head and each time resulting bits of my hair being ripped from my skull by the silicone, Baz scoffed. “Crowley Snow, we only have an hour and a half left at this point. Just let me cap you.”

My unique ability to embarrass the hell out of myself quickly reared its ugly head as I attempted to imitate the butterfly that Baz showed me. He made it look fun and graceful and then had the audacity to say it was his worst stroke.

Well, it was not fun or graceful. By the time I came back up for air, Baz was laughing so hard that he was gripping the lane line and gasping for breath, “you look like a fish out of water!”

I only tried to swim fly down the length of the pool once and even that had my shoulders burning. Baz said I wasn’t kicking enough and then informed me that in a race, I would’ve had to swim up and down the pool four times (100 meters, I think).

We ran through the three other strokes and Baz explained lengths and events and heats and what an IM was (apparently there’s a race where you have to swim all the strokes together. It sounds like the definition of hell). All of the names and terms made my head spin.

By the time 7:30 rolled around, I was ready to climb back into bed. Instead, I followed Baz silently into the locker room and tried to find the shower farthest from him. I did my best to rinse all of the chlorine from my hair, but the Watford pool was more chlorine than water by my estimate and even after I was done my hair still felt gross and tacky.

After changing in silence (which was normal for us, anyways) I tried to return the cap, suit, and goggles to Baz. He shook his head, “aren’t you going to need them? I have a ton of spares. Just keep them for the season. Unless of course, you’ve decided to quit.” He taunted.

“No, no… I’m not quitting. Thanks for… yeah.”

By the time I finished changing, Baz had already disappeared. I was secretly proud of myself for making it through a morning alone with Baz and neither of us killing each other. If I’m honest, a certain, small intervals of time, it was almost fun. Almost.

Leaving the pool was blinding. Campus was all filled up with people again and the sky was cloudless and blue. The fog of calm from the morning was gone. I joined the crowd towards the dining hall and followed the scent of cherry scones to Penny.

“How was your first practice last night on the swim team?” Penny asked as soon as I sat down. She already had a plate of scones ready for me.

“Did you know Baz swam? Apparently he’s really good. The best on the team. You should see him do the freestyle, Penny.”

She raised an eyebrow, “you guys didn’t kill each other?” Penny sounded amazed. I felt myself blush a little.

“No, probably because he swims in the first lane by himself, and I’m in the last lane with all of the newbies.” I scanned across the cafeteria and noticed Agatha sitting with Baz. I felt anger burning at the back of my throat, before I remembered we broke up. She could sit wherever (but why Baz? My evil roommate, really?). The grin fell off my face.

***

“Get up, Snow.”

“What? This is going to be an every morning thing?”

“Until you can swim, yes.”

~

530 am practices are indeed a thing. 530 am practice on my birthday is indeed a thing. if anyone has any questions about swimming or the fic hmu

I have a migraine and I need to vent and I am not thinking clearly. so. Not sure I can tag like a decent human being. Have a “read more” cut so you can skip. 

tl;dr Whine whine ow my brain.

So, migraine. 

Usually 2 days. Day 1 was not too bad, for being a migraine. Tastes all too strong. Including coffee. Which is not great. But I drank one cup anyhow, and took aceta+caffeine pill, so I should be okay. Got Stuff To Do on Friday and cannot reschedule. 

Day 2, Thursday, sucks a bunch. Vomiting at midday sent me back to bed. If you take meds and then throw up, you get the fun of not being able to retake the meds even though they did not necessarily stay in the body. Bad system design, would rate Level 2 bug on test. 

Also that means I did not actually eat until like 6 something tonight. No calories all day because body rejected. And when I did eat, it was tomato soup only. 

Problem: I am now starving. Like. Literally. Not enough calories for function today. Makes it harder to end the migraine.

Problem: Tomorrow is a Friday during Lent. No meat tomorrow. I don’t eat seafood. 

Solution A: Send housemate to acquire a bucket at KFC :D

Problem: An hour before they close, KFC IS OUT OF CHICKEN. WILL NOT MAKE MORE. VEL’BOL L’VITHIN VITH?!? What kind of an axsa chicken place with “chicken” as their raison d’etre does NOT HAVE CHICKEN. For OVER AN HOUR. How????

Problem: Housemate hurried out door, no phone, can not call for further instructions. Such as “you are right in the parking lot with Publix, go to their deli and get FRIED CHICKEN”. 

Problem: Publix closes at 10 and deli probably closes at least half an hour before that. Likelihood of going back out and acquire chicken there low; he will need instructions again.

Problem: I am not thinking clearly. Because. 1. Migraine. 2. a total of 530 calories today (1 can soup + 1 snickerdoodle latte)

Problem: one husband is asleep, other husband is out at biweekly gaming night

Solution B: text awake husband to do my thinking and tell me what to tell housemate to do

Problem: no response from husband at all.

Shit.

Solution C: sip a V8 until it is gone, go to bed hungry. After recovery tomorrow, figure out a solution for future and write it down, leave it where I can quickly access next time. Which will probably be next year, as there’s only one Lenten Friday left this year, and I will probably not have another migraine for a few weeks. 

----

Update: Housemate just came upstairs and informed me that he is going to go to Walmart and find me some bake-and-serve chicken meals. Thank you housemate.