#and her falling in love w little toby at first sight genuinely makes me want to perish. that's her boy :c

[esmes]

begging for you to take my hand

wreck my plans

that’s my man

[bonetrousled]

can you talk about why you disliked undertale yellow? never played it or watched a playthrough but i’m very curious!

PREFACING THIS WITH A DISCLAIMER i know it is a passion project and it makes me Feel Bad that my feelings on it r this negative. i do not mean to discredit the years of work anybody put into it and i am So Happy that the general consensus is that people really liked it! i'm glad the team's work paid off. i am also going to be SUPER opinionated. undertale is my biggest interest of all time it has been my special interest for going on Nine Years . i am Wired to have very strong feelings on it . please do NOT take my opinion as a message to Not enjoy it if you do! play it and form an opinion on ur own time

also SPOILERS for the game!

that being said

i will first state the things i Enjoyed

music was phenomenal! it was very fun and atmospheric

artwork was very good! it makes me a little sad that the canon characters we see didn't really get the tlc/polish that all of the original content did, but that's ok!

i like how smarmy flowey was in the no mercy run. it was a little ooc at times but i had a blast (which will sadly become a negative) partly bc of his attitude

i love mo as a character. im going to rescue him from this game i just know it

ok. things that frustrate me from least to most (i will try to keep this brief bc i WILL go on a tangent if left unrestrained)

i wish the main cast had more variety in monster types. body shape, proportions, colors, etc! with how wide the array of the cast is in ut, it's just a little sad that the main cast here all roughly have the same build, height, and aren't really "monstery". lots of the non-main characters (i am including the feisty five in here) have more diverse and visually interesting designs to me and i wish there was just a bit more variety

add-on to the previous point: something abt the fact that dalv just kind of looks like a human Guy who is Purple with Horns makes me irrationally irritated. they could have put a little more of a bat motif in there or Something because the first time i saw him i genuinely didn't think he was supposed to be a monster

some of the fights are NONSENSE BULLSHIT HARD for no reason. some of these have been fixed since release but there were multiple segments that weren't even like. main story character fights that made me want to rip my hair out. additionally the shops are FEW and FAR between. it was a STRUGGLE to get enough healing items 90% of the time and i had to ration them out constantly

i know most were patched out and this is kind of a nitpick but the complete ABUNDANCE of grammatical and spelling errors on release took me out of the flow of things SO much. places that desperately needed a comma that had none, words completely misspelled (outside of punchlines for jokes), things like that. it wouldn't have been such a problem but it happened SO much and really got into the way of making sure dialogue progressed as normal. speaking of

i'm so sorry. half of the dialogue and jokes make me want to shriek and scream in agony. maybe it's just not my cup of tea and nobody is forcing you to have completely toby-fox-accurate jokes in your game but the majority of the jokes made in the pacifist/neutral runs fall completely flat for me. the general dialogue is very fanfic-esque to me in a way ? i do Not know how to describe it. it's not Good. along w that i'm sorry but in my opinion the way they wrote asgore in there is COMPLETELY out of character. i'm going to be so so honest mr king "fuzzy pushover" fluffybuns isn't going to go GET OUT OF MY SIGHT AND NEVER RETURN!!!!! the man got beat up by a child and took her in to train her. like yeah his garden is sentimental or whatever but like. he is such a Nice Guy. he would Not do that

the timeline does not make Any sense. if frisk is the first human to fall in YEARS to the point where everyone is losing hope of ever getting another soul for the barrier and most monsters don't recognize you as a human and let you interact w them freely why in the Fuck are undyne and alphys just like. alive and kicking here. why is alphys doing amalgamate shit already. what is going ON

and finally. the part that makes me the Most Irritated

i cannot fucking stand the story. I AM SORRY

i physically cannot expound on this as much as i want to bc the post is long enough as it is and i'll go on forever but generally speaking

i Do Not Like ceroba. i didn't really feel any connection or anything to any of the other characters in General but her entire deal and everything that surrounds it just makes me So Mad. like ok. i tried to get past the "oh my husband is a super important scientist (but not the royal scientist because that's alphys teehee but still REALLY important) and he's also secretly a boss monster (even though the only boss monsters we see are the Actual Fucking King and Queen of monsters and are the same monster subtype)" shit but like. THEN it's like. oh he's actually making a super secret magic serum that uses essence from a boss monster soul and a human soul (where did he get that. he made this after he was fired from his job. where did he get a human soul from) to give EVERY monster the power of a boss monster so that when we EVENTUALLY get enough souls to get to the surface (could literally be hundreds of years from now) we'll be strong enough to beat the humans (that's why asgore is collecting the souls in the first place. to shatter the barrier and become a god strong enough to beat the humans. that's the Point)

but WUH OH!!!! the serum is actually KILLING him!!!! and he never told his wife! so he leaves a series of tapes behind to tell her abt it after he dies and IN THESE TAPES he's like listen. here's this awesome potion im making. you need a BOSS MONSTER SOUL and a HUMAN SOUL to make it work. our daughter IS a boss monster. BUT. do NOT FUCKING use it on her. ok. DON'T. do that. ok love you (dies) AND FUCKING. her like 6 year old daughter walks in and speaks in a perfect eloquent sentence and says some shit like "we have to carry on daddy's legacy :(" and asks to be injected w the shit that we saw kill her dad SECONDS PRIOR and ceroba is virtually IMMEDIATELY like well ok if the kindergartner says it's fine. AND OF COURSE HER DAUGHTER IMMEDIATELY FALLS DOWN????

and when i tell u the like. WHOLE second half of the game is dedicated to this bullshit nonsense. ceroba has this whole thing where she's trying to kill you because you're pure of heart or whatever and it'll work for the serum or something and after a LONG ASS (stupid incredibly hard for no reason considering SHE IS NOT a boss monster) battle w her she's like ok i'm not gonna do that anymore i give up kill me etc. and in pacifist you're like nah i won't kill u i forgive you Hooray!

and so. right. youve been fighting the ENTIRE TIME. to find the missing kids. to get home. to leave the underground after figuring out what happened. there are only FIVE human souls at this point. having one more will NOT break the barrier. you've been fighting to LIVE this Entire Time. the story must end in clover's death SOMEHOW but literally the driving force here has been survival

clover is literally like ummmm ok well im gonna give up my soul right here right now to add it to the pile. *dies on rooftop ALONE* . the shriek i screamed when this happened was. Astronomical. like. oh yeah everybody let the 9 year old give their life for a civilization that has been trying to kill them this Entire Time. never mind the fact it makes all of the fighting and striving and grueling we did Worthless because clover decides to sacrifice themselves completely out of the player's control. this wouldn't make me AS mad if we had like. a choice like the forgive him/do not asriel thing where we could face asgore and be forced to lose OR sacrifice ourselves but even then it's just. SO silly to me.

i think i get the like. doomed parents sad child dreemurr parallels they were TRYING to go for but it is all so clunky and wonky and. just DOES not work narratively if you think about ANY aspect of it for too long

all of these factors combined made the game a complete and total Slog to get through . it is Not just me i streamed it to a few friends the whole time and the opinion was the Same

HOWEVER.

the no mercy run, completely against what it is MADE to do, was fucking awesome

the passive aggressive comments from flowey the entire time were hilarious. the power trip i got chasing axis was splendid. i didn't have to sit through pages of dialogue that made my eye twitch. i just got to Kill People.

i do Not like the fact that they seemed to think no mercy = Hard Bosses which. isn't really true for undertale ? out of the normal bosses only two are ramped up in difficulty and it thematically makes sense Why. in uty martlet gets multiple fights (including a Bullshit Insane Hard Final Fight), ceroba gets a Bullshit Insane Hard fight w a new mechanic that is introduced out of Nowhere and took me like 6 times to notice that it was even Implemented, and axis gets a tough fight. which is Fine but i do not think it really understood the message of like. the no mercy run is not supposed to be Fun. you are eviscerating this world and everything it has to offer. you're literally Killing the game. it's a tricky thing to balance but all in all No part of it made me feel bad. this could be due to me Already not really caring abt any of the characters but. sigh

also martlet gets really strong at the end bc she injects herself w dt but like. why does she know about that. she does guard stuff Near the Lab but why does she Know about the experiments. the whole point is that nobody Else Knows. where did she get that from. what the fuck

anyway. says that i won't go on for too long. proceeds to go on for too long like some kind of Liar

[cakesunflower]

Sentimental Love [Roommate!Calum AU] Part 4

Previous Parts: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Part 4

OCTOBER FELL INTO November, which soon enough swung into December. Before they knew it, Grace, Calum, and the rest of the boys were packing up their stuff to go to their respective family homes to spend Christmas. But before everyone took off, Michael and his girlfriend had invited all of them, of course, to their annual Christmas party that took place on the twenty-first. Which is how Grace found herself standing in front of her vanity, clad in black skinny jeans with a fitted red sweater tucked in, applying the finishing touches of her makeup.

It had been a progress, even the trivial act of putting on makeup. For a while after Toby’s death, all Grace was was a shell of a girl, looking as hollow as she felt. Taking care of her appearance had been the last thing on her mind, and besides taking showers and putting on deodorant, Grace for a long time didn’t care for even putting on mascara. If she was lucky, or remembered, chapstick was as far as she’d go. Makeup seemed so mundane, so nonsensical, after losing one of the most important people in her life.

But about a year later, and she had just finished doing her face up. Maybe the change had come too quickly. Had she recovered in some way too soon after Toby’s death? Everyone around her would say no, but Grace wasn’t too sure. Sometimes she wished there was a handbook or something, a guide that assisted her on the road to feeling at least a little bit okay after a loved one’s death, so she didn’t feel so lost. Life was a bitch that way.

“You ready, sweetheart?”

Grace felt her heart skip a beat at the sound of Calum’s voice, glancing to her left to see his curly head pop in from her halfway open door. When he saw that she was dressed and mostly ready, Calum stepped more into the room, leaning against the door frame, clad in black pants, sweater, and a deep red bomber jacket. The color of it matched Grace’s sweater.

She found herself smiling at his presence, something Grace realized she was able to do a bit more freely than before, particularly around Calum. Things felt easier with him, more relaxed, like she didn’t feel the need to put up a front around him like she’d been doing with everyone else in her life for the past year. And Grace knew it was because of Halloween night a few months ago, how Calum had taken care of her after she got completely wasted, how he comforted her and listened to her when she drunkenly moaned about missing Toby. She was well aware she had relayed some of her secrets, her fears, to Calum and would have been embarrassed when she remembered about it the morning after, but Calum didn’t give her any reason to be.

Instead, he told her it was okay, that she was going through a kind of pain he couldn’t understand but was willing to lend an ear if she wanted to talk or be the shoulder she needed to cry on. He would do anything, as long as she didn’t bottle it up inside anymore.

When he said that, Grace felt her lungs beginning to expand. And when she remembered what he had said, how he was more than willing to accept the responsibility of being the one to make her smile, make her laugh—she felt like she could breathe again.

People were understanding and sweet to Grace ever since Toby’s death. But the type of kindness Calum was showing her, was offering her, only Toby had gone to that level of it. And it was dizzying and overwhelming that receiving it from Calum just. . . Felt right.

“Yeah,” Grace answered, capping her red lipstick and dropping it in her purse. Grabbing her coat, she smiled at Calum while approaching him, gesturing to her sweater and his jacket and softly commenting, “Twins.”

Calum’s gaze dropped to his jacket and then to her sweater, a fond chuckle escaping him as he grinned. “We’re just so in sync, huh?” he teased, opening the door wider to let Grace walk out first before he followed her, the two of them making their way down the stairs and towards the front door. He side stepped Grace to get to it before her, hand on the door knob but right before he opened it, he faced his pretty roommate, his smile genuine and admiring as his dark eyes drank her in. Grace felt her stomach churn pleasantly, especially when he commented, “You look. . . So pretty, Grace.”

Heat gathered in her cheeks at his compliment, pressing her lips together slightly as the corners curled upwards in a shy smile. His words made her heart flutter in a way it hadn’t in a long time, the feeling familiar yet had grown distant until now. Grace had never been one to take compliments well, always getting flustered even when Toby threw them her way. And now with Calum so easily offering them so freely, when they were in this pleasant state of limbo where they were more than good friends but less than anything more, Grace found herself already feeling as though she was free falling.

The fact that she didn’t feel as downright terrified as she would’ve was, in itself, for a lack of a better word—freaky.

“Thanks, Cal,” she murmured quietly, shyly, which only widened the tattooed man’s grin as he opened the door behind him and stepped against it, ticking his head towards the hallway.

“Let’s go, doll.”

It wasn’t the first time his ring clad hand swept hers up, fingers threading together in a gentle hold that Grace hadn’t thought she’d feel in a while but was so incredibly welcomed. The first time it happened, the first time they held hands, was a few days after that Halloween night. She’d joined him to take Duke for a walk, the weather appropriately cold for the first week of November, and the two of them walked closely together along the path. Practically pressed up against one another, her right hand brushing with his left with every step they made.

The first touch was a brush of knuckles, barely felt and could’ve been mistaken for an accident, but with a hammering heart and, for the first time, throwing caution in the wind, Grace surprisingly found herself quirking her fingers out, ever so gently letting them slide along Calum’s. She wondered if he had felt just as nervous as her, if his heart jumped and squeezed and soared like hers did, when he finally moved is own fingers to intertwine with hers. The coldness of his rings was just as welcomed as the warmth his hand provided.

The party at Michael’s house was already in full swing by the time they got there, and Grace’s eyebrows shot up when she saw that practically everyone was adorning a red and white Christmas hat. She grinned when Michael, who had made it his mission to greet everyone who came through, popped up just as she and Calum stepped through the threshold and shoved a hat in both of their hands. “Merry Christmas—put those on!”

“You’ve got to be kiddin’ me,” Calum chuckled lowly with a shake of his head, shooting Grace an amused look before settling the hat on top of his head, dark curls sticking out from the side.

Grace smiled and put the hat on as well, letting a thin locks of her light brown hair out from under it near her temples to frame her heart shaped face. “Hey, you two!” She looked over, smile widening when she caught sight of her cousin making his way over, his arm falling heavily around Grace’s shoulders as he cheered, “Come on—let’s get some eggnog in you.”

Ashton dragged them into the kitchen, through the several people that were already gathered in there, and led them right to where the big bowl of eggnog resided. He poured some in a cup for Grace, who took it before going to pour one for Calum, only to be interrupted by his dark haired friend. “Oh, no thanks, man. ’M driving.”

Ashton handed Calum a can of Coke instead, which the latter appreciated as he popped open the can with a hiss. Grace smiled into her cup as Calum took a sip of his own drink, remembering how he had told her, just a few days ago, of his dislike for eggnog. He’d rather spend the night sober than chance one of his friends shoving the unwanted drink down his throat.

As the party went on, Grace found herself mingling with Michael’s girlfriend and her friends, while Calum stuck to sipping his nonalcoholic drinks and chatting up his own friends. He’d glance over where Grace was every now and again, though, unable to help the desire he felt to check in on her, even if it was just visually. Each time he did, he was relieved to see the small smile toying at lips, always surrounded by people, glad that she didn’t feel overwhelmed or suffocated in any way. She looked relaxed, enjoying her time.

Eventually, Calum found himself ducking out onto Michael’s balcony, the wind a bit picked up because of how high up they were, but as soon as he lit his desired cigarette, Calum was warming up. He leaned forward on the railing, arms resting on top as he looked out at the busy city alive in colorful lights and the spirit of the holidays.

He was outside only for a few minutes until he heard the glass door behind him sliding open, glancing over his shoulder to see Ashton stepping outside. Calum gave him a nod of acknowledgement as he shut the door behind him, coming up to stand next to Calum. They were silent, the hum of the party going on behind them and the buzz of the city below, the two of them leaning side by side as Ashton nursed a beer and Calum stuck with his cigarette.

Then, Ashton broke the silence. “Don’t know what you did, man, but thank you.”

His unexpected words prompted Calum to look his way, blowing out the smoke the other way as the wind carried it. Ashton stared ahead, and Calum’s brows knitted together as he asked, “For what?”

Ashton’s lips curled upwards a bit, his smile kind and grateful. “For Grace. She. . . She seems better. Relaxed.” His hazel eyed gaze met Calum’s dark one. “She smiles more, and I’m thinking you’ve got something to do with that.”

Calum took in a breath, the taste of nicotine still on his tongue, feeling his chest tighten at Ashton’s words. He wasn’t wrong, to an extent; Grace did seem more easy going, like she didn’t walk around with someone constantly dragging her down. She was still quiet, still soft spoken, but the smile on her face wasn’t forced and it appeared more often than it had in a while. However, Calum liked to think it was because of her alone, trying to be the version of herself that was loved by everyone, by Toby—not because of him. He just wanted to be there for her. “Why, uh, would you say that?”

This time Ashton’s smile transformed into a knowing smirk, making Calum wait as he took a sip of his beer before speaking up once more. “Don’t think I didn’t see you two holding hands when you walked in earlier. And don’t say it was nothing, because you and I both know it’s not,” he added quickly when he saw Calum part his lips to protest.

Truthfully, Calum hadn’t even realized he and Grace had been holding hands upon arriving to Michael’s apartment. It was a small gesture they’d only started doing recently, and it was only ever holding hands or, well, cuddling on the couch when they watched something. Nothing more, nothing less; just tender gestures that brought not just her, but Calum, comfort.  But he never took it anything further than that, never tried for anything more because that was all up to Grace. He wasn’t going to push her, not after everything she had been through. Not unless she did it herself.

He really liked her. His feelings for her came quick and fast and nearly blind sided him, but he was ready to accept them. The rest was up to her, if she wanted anything more. Calum wouldn’t press, wouldn’t push. He wanted to  be with her, of course he did, but he was willing to just be friends if that’s what Grace wanted. Truthfully, being in her life was enough. And Calum had no idea when and how he so unexpectedly fell for his roommate, fell so hard, but he didn’t find himself questioning it.

“’M honestly not sure if it even is anything, Ash,” Calum told his friend truthfully after taking another drag of his cigarette, blowing the smoke out after a moment of it teasing his lungs. At the light raise of Ashton’s eyebrows, Calum shrugged. “But I like spendin’ time with her. I like her. Whatever she wants, I’m okay with that.”

Ashton was silent for a moment, regarding Calum for a moment too long because he was making the dark haired man bristle under his stare. But then Ashton’s gaze softened, dimpled smile appearing as he reached out and patted Calum’s shoulder. “That’s all I need to know,” Ashton grinned, shifting to lean against the railing on his left elbow to face Calum. “After everything that’s happened. . . Even if you’re just there to literally hold her hand, I’m glad it’s you, man.”

Calum’s throat suddenly dried, and not from the cigarette, and he found himself clearing his throat as he stood straight, brows twitching into a brief frown as he couldn’t keep the incredulity off his face. Ashton’s words had more of an impact on Calum than either of them were expecting. “Really?” was all Calum could mutter out, still in a bit of disbelief, still a bit wary. He knew how protective Ashton was of Grace, knew that things with her were sensitive and should be broached cautiously, and Calum would never do anything she wasn’t comfortable with. But to know that Ashton thought Calum was a good fit, in any capacity, for Grace brought the dark haired man more relief than he thought.

“Yeah,” Ashton confirmed with a widened grin, dimples deepening. “I can already see the difference in her. And, with all the shit she’s been through, just holding hands with someone that isn’t Toby. . . That’s pretty big. It may not seem like it—”

“It does,” Calum interrupted with a nod. He wanted Ashton to know that he understood Grace’s situation, how sensitive her emotions and everything else have been ever since Toby’s passing. And Calum knew he could never replace him, never quite completely fill the void in Grace’s heart Toby left, but if given the chance, he would try his damn hardest to try. Holding hands with her? It was already so much more than he expected. “I get it, Ash. Trust me, I was just as surprised when she did it the first time.”

“She made the first move?” Ashton asked, eyes widening to show the bafflement his voice displayed. Calum nodded, and Ashton let out a scoff of a laugh. “Shit,” he smiled, looking out at the city below them. “That’s actually—wasn’t expecting that. She must really have a soft spot for you, huh?”

Calum felt his cheeks warm, this time not at all from the cigarette as he half heartedly shoved his buddy. Still, Ashton’s words prompted a fluttery feeling Calum wasn’t too used to. “Yeah, yeah.”

They returned to the party once Calum finished his cigarette, Christmas music playing throughout the apartment. Glancing around, Calum furrowed his eyebrows when he didn’t catch sight of Grace. Grasping Luke’s arm, who was chatting to some of their friends, Calum rugged the blonde over and asked, “Have you seen Grace?”

Luke nodded. “She went to lie down in Mike’s room a little while ago. Said she had a headache.”

Thanking Luke with a pat on the shoulder, Calum made his way past the kitchen towards Michael’s room. But before he could even knock on the door, it swung open, and Grace blinked up at him in surprise before relaxing. “Hey,” she greeted, leaning against the door frame.

Calum mirrored her position, leaning his back against the door frame opposite of her, not too much space between them as Grace also shifted to lean against her back. “Hi,” Calum returned with a small smile of his own. “Your head feeling okay?”

“Mhm,” Grace hummed with a nod, fingers running through her hair to push it back before she put her hands on her lower back and leaned against them. The Christmas hat she wore was gone. Her eyes were on Calum, warm and inviting and content, smiling as she commented, “You’ve still got your hat on.”

Calum touched the red hat he wore before chuckling. “I see you’ve lost yours.”

Grace laughed, the sound musical and joyous and wonderful. “It was messing up my hair.”

Calum shrugged, arms crossed over his chest. “I thought you looked cute,” he replied honestly.

Her smile widened, biting her lower lip as the heat pooled in her cheeks at Calum’s effortless compliment. It suddenly seemed so easy for him to make her smile, and Grace was so happy about that. She had missed smiling and meaning it. The fact that they were mostly caused by Calum was a bonus.

Often times Grace found herself wondering if she was moving on too fast whenever she considered her feelings for her roommate. No doubt there was something there; Calum made her smile and her stomach twist excitedly and heart beat quickly. He was giving her the kinds of sensations she hadn’t experienced in so long, was convinced she wasn’t going to feel them again, ever. But one look at Calum and he was proving her wrong, as well as making any guilt she may have felt for supposedly moving on too quickly disappear.

She gazed at him, at the soft look in his dark eyes and the small yet fond smile playing at his full lips as he looked at her. Some of his hair was curling from under his santa hat and he looked so adorable that she felt those butterflies coming alive in her stomach once again. “Guess I’ll go steal another one.”

Calum’s grin widened, enough to hint at the crinkles by his eyes as he pushed himself away a bit from the door frame. “No need,” he said, reaching up and pulling off his hat. He ran ring clad fingers through his hair to tame it a bit before grasping the hat and pulling it on Grace’s head.

Her gaze was on him, watching the fond softness never leave his eyes as he properly settled the hat on top of her head, his fingers fixing it before moving down to bring some of her wavy locks over her shoulders. Calum was smiling, unaware that this proximity was sending Grace’s heart into overdrive, her fingers itching to run through his dark curls. She could even smell him, distinct and familiar and earthy. Kind of like the scent that was carried after rain. Peaceful and delirious.

But it was when her eyes flickered just a little bit above his head, at the little green and red thing dangling over both of them, and Grace’s eyes widened. Her smile diminished a bit, air rushing out of her lungs despite her trying to suck in a breath as Calum fixed the rim of the hat so it wasn’t covering her eyes.

Her heart was pounding, especially when Calum caught her gaze and saw her looking above, his eyebrows furrowing into a confused frown as he tilted his own head back to see what she was looking at with an expression of surprised awe. Calum’s lips parted in mild startlement, an airy and barely audible scoff escaping him. Of course Michael had hung mistletoe above every doorway in his apartment.

When he looked back down at Grace, Calum noticed how her dark eyes were widened a bit, still looking at the mistletoe in shocked bewilderment, as if she wasn’t entirely sure that it was there. And then he saw some pink color her cheeks, chest rising with a sharp inhale and Calum instantly kicked into soothing her. “We don’t have to, doll,” he spoke quickly, standing straight so there was some distance between them, so she didn’t feel like he was crowding her. “It’s not—”

God, she didn’t even have to think about it.

Before Calum could continue, assure her that she didn’t have to do anything she wasn’t comfortable with, Grace’s hands found his cheeks, cupping his face and pulling him towards her as she stood on her toes to meet him halfway, finally connecting their lips. And it was at the first touch that Calum was melting into her, suddenly only ever thinking of Grace as his arms slid around her waist to pull her close, lips responding to hers in a kiss that was a delirious combination of soft and heated and passionate altogether.

The Christmas music that was playing throughout the apartment was nothing but background noise, mixed with the chattering buzz of the partygoers, as Grace’s hands went from Calum’s face to the back of his head, fingers tangling into his curls. He wasn’t going to deepen the kiss, hadn’t planned on it, until Grace took the initiative to do it and all Calum could hear was his heart hammering in his ears and stomach tickling wonderfully as he leaned into her. Calum pressed Grace against the door frame, arms still around her, as his tongue easily took over hers and she let it happen, reveled in it, wondered how come she hadn’t done this sooner and let herself enjoy every second of this, of him.

And, shit, it felt so right. Grace never thought she’d feel something like this again; feel the eruption of flutters in her stomach and her heart light and soaring and head becoming dizzy and skin setting on fire from this kind of intimacy from someone else. Honest to God, Grace thought any chance of her feeling like this again was gone with Toby, but it wasn’t. It was still here, still attainable, and it felt better than she could possibly remember with Calum.

She didn’t want to let go of him, didn’t want to stop kissing him. Calum held her to him and moved his lips with hers like he shared the exact sentiments. Grace could taste the hint of cigarettes on his tongue, but she didn’t mind. It was Calum. And she wanted to keep kissing him.

But eventually, they both needed air, needed to quell the burning in their lungs. So they pulled away, reluctantly and slowly, but never separated. Calum’s forehead pressed against Grace’s, the tips of their noses just brushing as they quietly tried to regain their lost breaths, tried to pull themselves back to the ground after being launched into the clouds by the other’s lips.

And when Grace finally opened her eyes, after being so used to seeing blue eyes looking back at her after something as wonderful as that, she felt her heart happily resume its quickening pace when Calum’s warm and inviting brown eyes stared back at her.

The hurt was slipping away and Grace was falling, and by the soft look on Calum’s face, she had no doubt he’d catch her.

She was more than willing to land right in his arms.

tags: @angelbbycal @wrappedaroundcal @gigglyirwin @crownedbyluke @gotta-try-something-new @hemmomfg @babygirlcashton @dxmncalum @ghstofcalum @biggestslutforcalum @irwinkitten @calumspeachy @calumthoodsyonce @grreatgooglymoogly @therainydays4 @booklove-2 @calumamongmen @stfujace @softboycal @invisiblexcth @lipstickstainfading @gettingjillywithit @dannisos @justalittleofmyworld @xhaileyreneex @calumh-excess @cosmixcalum @crystalisinfinite @sadbreakfast-club @cxddlyash @lovelettercalum @calteahood @asht0ns-world @egyptiangoldhood @mermaid-merrick @cal-pal-cuddles @cliffordcntrl @bbyhoneyharru @calistheloml @rip-lukes-balsamic @captain-what-is-going-on @complete-trash-101 @babyloniancal @inlovehoodx @hearts-to-the-sky @early-thoughts @slimthicccal @nostalgia-luke @visualm3nte @babyloncalm @clum-thomas @poppedpins @akacalciumhood @cals-babylons @mysteriouslycali @ngandtea @youngblood199456 @reallycalum @flannelpunkcalum @antisocialbandmate @sunnysidesblog @escap0-with-me @rosa-aurum @rosecoloredash @roselukes @it-was-a-lie @jadesbabylon @agirlruinedbybands @cathartichaoss @becihadshawn @naivelystan @let-us-eatcake @curlious @belle-ofthe-sea @fucking5sos @kinglycalum @calumhampton @ohhmuke @ghostofch @shower-me-with-roses @jetblackyoungblood