ethansutter

[ethansutter]

location: griffin's grocery status: open (0/2)

Ethan wasn't proud of how long he'd been standing in the frozen food aisle. He'd told himself this grocery run was going to be different— real food, actual ingredients, something that didn't come prepackaged with microwave instructions— but here he was, arms crossed, staring down a wall of frozen dinners like they owed him money. It wasn't even indecision at this point. It was principle.

He sighed, exhaling through his nose as he grabbed one at random, turning it over to inspect the back like he actually cared about the sodium content. The label boasted homestyle flavor, which felt borderline offensive.

That's when he noticed someone beside him— a fellow victim of grocery store existentialism— and without really thinking, he nodded vaguely toward the selection in front of them. "You ever actually read these labels? They slap homestyle on anything and expect us to believe it." A pause, then he lifted the box slightly, deadpan but distinctly unimpressed.

"This one's apparently 'slow-roasted to perfection.' Which is impressive, considering it's been sitting a freezer for six months." Another beat, then— lighter, easier, just the faintest flicker of amusement at his own expense— "Think I should just give up and order takeout?"

[ethansutter]

Ethan had only come in for the coffee. That was it. A quick stop, nothing complicated. Instead, he found himself standing witness to a public execution— or at least, what looked like the flour-covered remains of a relationship imploding in real time.

The woman didn't hesitate. One second, she was holding a pastry. The next, it was in the guy's face, powdered sugar dusting his collar as the entire bakery went dead silent. Ethan exhaled sharply, eyes tracking the couple as they stormed out, shoving past the door like it had personally offended them. A few people shuffled awkwardly. The cashier blinked, wide-eyed, like she was mentally composing a resignation letter.

Then, beside him— soft, casual, almost conspiratorial— "Thank god that's all loafer." His head turned. She looked half-serious, half-pleased with herself, a woman he was pretty sure he'd seen before. Neighborhood, probably. Familiar enough that he didn't have to pretend not to hear her. Then came the second pun, just as dryly delivered.

His lips pressed together like he was debating a response, but his amusement gave him away. "You've been waiting your whole life for this moment, haven't you?" A pause, a slow sip of coffee, like he needed the caffeine to process what was happening. Then, quieter, like they were in on something together. "Definitely toast. Burnt beyond repair. Should've taken it out of the over ten minutes ago."

His gaze flicked toward the door, tracking the remnants of the disaster, before he added, "Though if I had to guess? He's gonna pretend it's fine for a while. Let it sit out on the counter, stale as hell, before finally tossing it in the trash." His mouth twisted, just slightly, before he nodded toward the counter. "So, do you actually come here often, or just for the entertainment? Because I gotta say, if this is a regular thing, I might start showing up more."

Flour Power Bakery with Ethan Sutter @ethansutter

There'd been a time in her life that routines had felt jarring. Too unfamiliar in a household where she could never predict what would happen from one day to the next. But from the moment the twins had been born she'd tried to craft some semblance of normality, a steadiness she'd never had. And now that she had Inez, the habit had continued. There was no denying that the certainty of it all brought her comfort, reassurance that she did have her grasp firmly on life.

She went to the same places on the same day and it suited her perfect, her daughter looked forward to specific things on guaranteed days of the week and today it was her favourite baked goods. Her trips to Flour Power were usually smooth, the staff now knowing her order for the most part. Except a couple further ahead in line had no intention of keeping it uneventful. Their argument echoed within the baker and she could do nothing but watch them. Eyes were glued to them as the woman angrily shoved her freshly purchased pastry into the man's face. At that point Bea's mouth fell open as she watched them both storm out, a hush having fallen over the whole store.

Lips were pressed together in an attempt not to laugh. People fighting shouldn't have been so amusing but they'd been so much larger than life with it that it'd felt like something out of a movie. As she glanced around her eyes locked with an almost familiar face, feeling like she'd seen him around before she took a gamble on a quietly spoken pun. "Thank god that's all loafer." Brow arched as she posed her next question, voice filled with faux seriousness despite the deeply unserious words that came from her next. "Do you think their relationship is toast or just crumbling?" As she worked to keep her poker face her eyes betrayed her, crinkling slightly as she tried to make light of the situation.

[ethansutter]

"I had a plan. And then life happened." Name: Ethan Sutter Age: Thirty Location: Kerry Town

Ethan Sutter was Ann Arbor's golden boy once— the kid with a full-ride swimming scholarship, a future paved in Olympic gold, and a last name people actually remembered. He spent years in the water, years becoming someone, only to have it all slip away thanks to a shoulder injury that didn't care about his dreams. After a long, bitter stretch of pretending he could still be that guy, Ethan finally did what his mother had been telling him to do for years— he came home.

Now, he's a high school coach, standing on the pool deck instead of in the lanes, trying to figure out if he still loves the sport of if he just doesn't know how to walk away from it. He tells himself it's fine. That this is fine. But there's a difference between settling in and settling, and he still can't quite tell which one he's doing.

possible connections: friends he grew up with in ann arbor, his younger sister, parents of the kids he coaches, former romantic connections (serious or otherwise), current romantic connections (serious or otherwise)-- im open to almost anything for him!

[ethansutter]

Grant Gustin as Campbell Ogburn in Krystal (12/12)