fletcher-bailey - Tumblr blog

[fletcher-bailey]

“What was the cut off — macaroni and cheese?” Baked and crispy, he would like to add. “You can’t judge the buffalo chicken part. That’s a common pizza topping in the northeast. And Philadelphia liked its weird food combos for visitors.”

Fletcher will spare her of the Fat Cat sandwich at Cheezers. One of his favorites after a hockey game where the Flyers could’ve won or lost, but either way, Fletch was leaving the arena several beers deep with a case of the late night munchies.

“Yeah, sure, but ranch is a sin, just so you know.” The order is sent, and he gathers various spices and a bottle of tabasco to place on the table for when it arrives. "As per usual, help yourself to anything in the fridge."

Fletcher opens the door down the hall a bit, within view of the kitchen, that leads to the garage and pauses to ask, "Do you like lager? I have Longboard Island. I'm not sure if you've ever tried anything with the Kona brand, but I can grab you a bottle if you want to give it a go?"

@shilohsharma

With every ingredient that Fletcher lists that was on his alleged pizza, Shiloh's face contorts into more and more horror.

While she didn't particularly count herself a picky eater, she wasn't too adventerous either. (A shock to no one who knew her.)

"That isn't even pizza anymore -- Jesus Christ, what's wrong with you?" she scolds with a shake of her head, like the combination of toppings had given her the shudders before adding.

"Just cheese. Extra cheese, extra sauce. Side cup of ranch dressing."

She leans down on her elbows on the counter and shrugs.

"I'm good to hang if you wanna share?"

@fletcher-bailey

[fletcher-bailey]

Fletcher smiles softly from where he is standing, leaned against the wall behind Leo and Oliver’s table. It isn’t over the gift, even if the idea is sweet and has prompted a flare of excitement within him. It’s all the adoration he feels when Leo takes over helping Oliver. It’s a reminder of sometime in the last three years, when Fletch almost tucked his tail between his legs and headed back to Philadelphia, the universe presented him with a steady and firm foundation.

For him and Ollie, who adores Leo just as much.

Between him and Reggie, even Cynthia and Shiloh, at least there is satisfaction in knowing his son won’t be growing up without the amount of love he deserves.

“I thought I wasn’t allowed to come over there. I might end up seeing the surprise.” 

The first and easiest excuse to make, Fletcher remains standing behind Leo, unbudging. “Besides, I don’t need to give you any other excuses to make fun of my artistic talent.”

@leomlarson

"Something for you," Leo nodded, a smug smile on his face as he turned his eyes back to the bowl as he traced the edges of Gritty's head. "I think this might be my masterpiece, honestly." Leo was certifiably not a hockey fan — not a sports fan at all, really — but he at least knew Gritty, and there was a Bobby Clarke jersey at the back of his closet on the off chance that Fletcher ever did successfully drag him out to a Flyers game.

If there was one thing that would always be true about Leo, it was that he would always be dressed correctly for the function (even if he didn't know the rules or how to keep his eye on the puck).

He did look up when Oliver arrived at the table, careful to keep the design away from Fletcher's eye line but more than happy to show Oli. "It's pretty good, right? It'll be a gift for you guys, as long as your dad can be patient and not peek."

"Here, big man, sit," he said, putting the bowl down so he could take the colors Oliver had picked out and put them neatly onto his palette.

He looked back at Fletcher, still carefully squeezing out just the right amount to get Oliver started. "You sure you don't want to join us, dad? I'll buy you one of those pre-made pots right now, grab you some paints, you can make your own masterpiece. Oli, he should totally do it, yeah?"

@fletcher-bailey

[fletcher-bailey]

Fletch makes a popping noise with his mouth and lightly taps the counter. “In the good country of the United States, it in fact is. California does require I get a thirty minute lunch break, but as for my shift ending?” It’s not been a bother in the diner. However… 

“I worked a high end roof-top bar back in Philadelphia, before I had Ollie. Last call was one in the morning, but sometimes I didn’t punch my card until three, and one time, four in the morning. It’s just the service industry. But Gideon takes care of me. If I couldn’t stay because of any reason, then he’d get me out of here.”

As for the idea presented, it’s enticing, but Fletch counters, “Then what use is the Mixology app? I guess it’s less personable to read a recipe than it is to be taught it. I don’t know. You have the personality for it, I don’t really.” It’s said more as a fact than it is as a bout of self pity.

"I'm jealous, by the way. The kid doesn't want anything to do with the comics I read or show him, but oh. Well, when Warner comes by, Oliver is all over them. Guess I'm just not as cool. Or he just doesn't like Batman." Which could really be the possibility there. "Either way. Jealous."

@warnerstjames

“Is that even legal?” He wraps his knuckle idly on the counter as he ponders his own question. Sometimes he thought his job was hard, but Fletcher definitely had it worse than him. It took a special type of person to be able to withstand the horrors of hospitality.

Warner could never.

He was fortunate with his job. Remote working allowed him to work from wherever he wanted and meant he never had to worry somebody else's lateness effecting what time he clocked off work.

"You could create content showing people how to make cocktails." Warner said with a casual shrug. "You could literally host cocktail classes online and charge a premium." Warner wasn't thinking like himself, he was thinking like a St. James. His mother might have actually been proud of his fast thinking business savvy ideas for once—she might have been. Had it been Elijah's or Talon's idea.

"Yes!" Warner had to restrain from physically fist pumping the air. "I've been dying to show him more of The Last Airbender comics."

[fletcher-bailey]

“Yeah, I mean, I like all of that too. All the affectionate stuff. But I love her, I’ll wait as long as I need because the last thing I’d ever want to do is be limiting to her life outside of us.” 

He shrugs, as though it’s so easy. It would be a lie to say they didn’t have their rough patches, the short break-up or two, but it’d happened long enough ago it’s not something to bring up. Fletch had never been one the air that stuff anyway. “But it’s all worth it. Especially when I get to see Ollie light up, and then Reggie’s there too, and the house feels full.” Even if it’s only temporary, there’s chatter and laughter and all the things he could’ve ever wanted. 

If he was ever asked when he was nineteen when Reggie came floating through Philadelphia, Fletcher definitely wouldn’t have guessed it would have led his life to where it is now.

“It seems impossible, but when you find your person, you almost do it without question.”

@sterlingxlevin

It was always evident that Fletcher adored Cynthia and it made her heart swell every time she heard him talk about her. And it may or may not have been a reason she asked about her every now and then. The older Sterling got, the more she desperately wanted that happy ending that so many of her friends were receiving with their significant others, and she really hoped that maybe Arkin would be her Cynthia. Well, minus the long distance part. “Kudos to you two for making that work so well. I need the hand holding and cuddles and all that warm fuzzy stuff. It is kind of romantic, though, isn’t it? It sounds so hard but I bet that makes seeing her even more special and exciting.” Sterling smiled at her friend, genuinely happy for him.

@fletcher-bailey

[fletcher-bailey]

If Mei is to take anything from this conversation, Fletcher is happy it’s that. It had been one of the hardest things for him to figure out. He pulls his legs up to sit criss-cross while continuing to munch on the Gushers provided and watches Luna and Oliver in a content silence.

“Bluey’s great, so I get it. I end up quoting it more than Ollie does sometimes.” His favorite being ‘I don’t want a life lesson, I just want an ice cream’. He practices enough self control to not say it out loud then. Fletch instead pulls his phone from his pocket and holds it out to her, unlocked. “Here. Text yourself with my phone, then send me the details later.”

@themeixhuang

Mei looked to him as he spoke, humming softly, "That's definitely a good thing to teach. I might just steal that to say it to the new batch of parents I get this year since dropping off their babies isn't always the easiest thing." She herself technically never had to since she enrolled Luna in when she was younger, so Mei never actually had to see Luna go off until now that she'd be starting kindergarten. It was definitely going to be a learning curve for herself.

"It's from noon to five on Saturday! There will be plenty of food so feel free to drop by whenever. And there's absolutely no gift requirement but she's very into Bluey right now. And Moana. So," Mei laughed, shaking her head as she looked over to her daughter. "I'm just glad she'll have friends and people there to celebrate her and love her, because it's all I really wanted for her when I came here with her."

[fletcher-bailey]

✿ + fletch

"You know all them cheesy love songs about instant soul connections? Lana Del Rey crooning about how when you know, you know and that sort of shit. They're all about me and Fletch. Sorry to all the lovebirds out there who are 'that's so us'n the classics, you're wrong. Baby Can I Hold You by Tracy Chapman? She wrote that because she even back in 1988 she knew there would be no greater showing of love than Fletcher with two arms locked around me while I was on a bad mushroom trip and trying to stop me from jumping in a pool. Every Breath You Take by The Police is just how we're overly invested in each others lives. We Belong Together by Mariah Carey, speaks for itself and more important it speaks for us. Sunday cleaning in the Llewellyn-Bailey residence is mostly just Fletcher cleaning while I play him a new torturous song I've reclaimed while Ollie helps. My favorite animal is that kid when Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls plays."

"If I have to be real about it then I suppose I will be. Fletcher's the best, you can be your whole self around him and he'll never hold that against you. There's not many people who could come tell me they're dating my sister and my reaction to that not being I'm going to beat you to death with a bat, but not with him. Makes my heart happy to know her heart is in good hands. Both of theirs is."

SEND “ ✿ ” FOR 2 HEADCANONS FOR OUR MUSES’ RELATIONSHIP. // @fletcher-bailey

[fletcher-bailey]

@reggiellewellyn

Couple + Sibling/relative third wheel is honestly an S-tier trio dynamic and I wish we saw more of this in media.

"You are my soulmate. We are forged together by battle and tears and love. Also my brother's coming along."

"Yo."

[fletcher-bailey]

CLOSED STARTER for @tabithaxking

"Our UBEReats should be here in approximately-"

Fletcher holds his wrist up, no sign of a watch anywhere as he pretends to check the time, and then drops his arm lazily to his side. "I don't know. Maybe thirty minutes. My phone's in the back." It's a slow mid-morning shift. After breakfast came and went, the patronage to the diner considerably dropped to the point of having zero customers under their roof.

"It's only rain. A little water falls from the sky, and Californians act like they're made of sugar." It doesn't bode well for tips, but at least he and Tabitha can kill time polishing silverware.

How fun.

"Maybe we can see if Gideon wants to cut the floor. After we eat, if we don't pick up. I can handle our lack of diners until the afternoon shift comes in. I'll probably make another whopping five dollars at this rate."

[fletcher-bailey]

"The money's here, if I'm being honest." It always would be. It's why he made bartending his living in Philadelphia, and it's why he gave it a go here. Not to mention the fact he lacked a college degree, and his high school transcripts were very telling of his lack of academic prowess.

There is still no complaint to be had about All Nighter other than his preference being the one mixing cocktails and pouring beers rather than jotting down food orders. It's within the same realm.

"I make enough there, I'm not starving or worried about losing my house or anything, but my face? Behind a bar? You should've seen me in Philadelphia. I pulled off a bowtie-vest combo surprisingly well."

Fletch settles in, taking the open invitation to pick at a fry. "I don't miss that, though. It was too uppity for my tastes." The Four Leaf was and always will be held in high regard, not just for the atmosphere that is much more suiting to him, but for the people. "I'm pretty sure Séamus has too high of standards. Nora can." Can't she? Has she? Instead of filing through his memories, he also insists,

"And what, he doesn't think you can pour one right?"

@santiagodeleons

"Hate to be the one to have to tell you but it doesn't go by any slower the older you get. Those days turn into weeks real fast."

If he let himself think on that too much he would find himself with more wasted time on his hands and there was already too little of it to spare. He stands from his chair to take the food from Fletcher, his stomach already rumbling in anticipation in a way that reminded him that he hadn't eaten since breakfast.

( One of those days. )

He removes the fries and places them in the middle of his desk for his former employee to pick at if he wanted to, the grilled taking most of his attention as he lifted up one slice of bed to check out the contents. Generous with the bacon -- he would have been one of those good tippers if he was being served at the diner.

"You got to go where the money is, can't fault you for it." Santiago reminds him, it was a roll of the dice with drunks whether they would be tightfisted or not. Taking one half of the sandwich in hand, he takes a bite of it as he makes an unsure gesture with his head while he chews, summer a little up in the air though he wouldn't rule it out entirely.

"You know you're always my first call for that," Santiago says behind his fist before he swallows, leaning back against his desk chair. "I haven't settled on anything either way, it's been pretty busy so far just with tourists and footfall. Séamus has been asking about you, he's still complaining no one else pours his Guinness right."

@fletcher-bailey

[fletcher-bailey]

Fletch: Suuurree I guess I can share 🙄  Fletch: I will not be an accomplice Fletch: Are you sure? Because I'm feeling very used right now Fletch: Pick a date, a place, we can meet up. Fletch: Have you done any galleries recently? @cherryxkoch

Cherry: i'm so good! how are you?? Cherry: hmm i will definitely be stealing her away for a night when she's back in town. Cherry: whats her alcohol of choice? i feel like tequila might unlock that vault Cherry: also we should catch up too!! im not just using you for your reality tv connections, i swear!! ( @fletcher-bailey )

[fletcher-bailey]

[ 🎵 ] is there a specific song or songs you associate with your muse? why is that?

All of These Things That I've Done by The Killers

Another head aches, another heart breaks I'm so much older than I can take And my affection, well, it comes and goes I need direction to perfection, no, no, no, no

Aside from the fact that Fletcher is a fan of the Killers (a band I listened to alongside The 1975 when writing him), the meaning behind this song suits his story well. Growing up and moving on from the past, with a lot of feeling and nowhere to put it. Paired with guilt and pain and a whole lot of uncertainty, then finally the protagonist in the song finds it in them to make those zealous requests for help and guidance.

Fletch couldn't find his place in Blooming Glenn, nor Philadelphia. But he did find himself little by little, and it was through his relationships with people. He also shouldered a lot, trying to handle it on his own, but where he stands now, he has people an either side of him, and he feels at home in many ways. He feels like he is finding his place, even if he still battles with his own lack of self confidence.

[fletcher-bailey]

@reggiellewellyn

[fletcher-bailey]

🌻 + estie

Fletch: You sorta left in a hurry, and I caught a vibe. Fletch: Is everything okay? Fletch: Do you need anything? Fletch: I'm here if you do, just let me know. @estherclements

[fletcher-bailey]

Sterling mentions Cynthia, and the moment her name falls from her mouth, Fletcher is already smiling. It's a silly little thing how just thinking about her can do that. The timezones, her work, and scarce time spent together as of late, it's all something he is more than happy to be patient with. "She, uh... she does live with me. Technically. But her current work location got shifted to New York, and it's easier to just find a temporary place to stay."

A lease for the duration of the show's contract is much more feasible than a hotel and weekend return to California. That would be wild and unfair to expect. "When she has a job in L.A. she mostly commutes back and forth, that's easier to do." Even so, during the week, a constant six hour roundtrip commute would be off the table, but the weekend trips and him visiting would be more frequent.

"She has her life, and I wouldn't ever dream of coming in between that. Besides, it makes everything all the more special when she can make it back out here. Ollie loves to see her, and she can see Reggie. Killing three birds with one stone." Fletcher smiles down to his coffee, then back up to Sterling. "FaceTime works in the meantime. And voice notes."

@sterlingxlevin

“Yeah, of course! I think Wes would get dragged along with Liza anyway.” Sterling told him with a laugh, she knew her sister was pretty obsessed with him. “How’re things with Cynthia? I feel like we haven’t talked about her in a bit. Has she ever thought about moving here?”

@fletcher-bailey

[fletcher-bailey]

“Everyone here is. But sometimes things that you can’t help come up.” A flat tire, babysitter falling through, or just not being able to find one’s apron or check pad. All of which Fletch has had to tackle. “Still disappointing when your lunch shift bleeds into early bird hour.”

That would have more to do with the slower rate of turning tables than the breakfast rush offers. 

Fletcher smiles sweetly at Warner knowing full well he’s just as much a part of that village as Santi and Nora and Shiloh are. “I need to get on that remote work train, but all my experience is behind the bar. You can’t make virtual cocktails.” He thinks he might just lose his mind too.

“Tonight? We don’t have plans for the afternoon, and I’m sure he’d be more than excited to see you.”

@warnerstjames

Warner slides up to the register inside of the diner, resting his forearms to lean against the edge of the counter as Fletcher checks on his table of regulars. "Are they reliable?" By Fletcher's words, his shift was due to end in forty five minutes. Warner could wait around. "There's nothing worse than being ready to clock off only for somebody not to show up for their shift."

Not that Warner knows from experience. He's never worked a day in hospitality in his life, but so he's heard.

"It takes a village, right?" Or something like that. "Well, that's why I'm here. The perk of working remotely is that I can work from wherever I want. Figured I would see if you and Oli wanted to take a trip to the comic book store and the ice cream parlour."

[fletcher-bailey]

[fletcher-bailey]

Fletcher helps himself to another Gusher, his eyes wandering over to the two in the sandbox. "Independent is good. Just gotta let her know being independent doesn't mean doing things alone." It had been his own hurdle with Oliver so sometimes gets too big for his britches, but the trick is making sure to not diminish his confidence.

"Oh yeah? He did draw a lot of those. Everything's dinosaurs. Not dragons, but dinosaurs."

He'd been very sternly reminded that when a sweatshirt that has wings on it and spikes like Spyro's down the back was presented one birthday. "What time? I work mornings Saturday, if it's then, but I can swing by with Ollie after two?" If Cynthia was in town, he'd drag her along. "It'd just be me and him."

@themeixhuang

"Oh she is. She's treating it like she's going off to college though with how she's insisting on being independent and needing to do things on her own since she won't have me around anymore." Mei rolled her eyes playfully at her daughter's words, but at the same time she did feel a little pang at the truth of it and how this would be the first time since she was born that Luna would be apart from her most of the day, every day. It would definitely be an adjustment, that's for sure.

"It's wonderful to have a village. I don't think I could've raised Luna alone without my friends here. I definitely remember your not-so-little Ollie though! I might even still have a dinosaur drawing or two of his somewhere in my house with all my mementos of my past kids. I'm glad to see he's doing well! You know, Luna's birthday party is actually this weekend- if you and your family don't have any plans of course."