#but I couldn't stay mad for long 😍🎉

[storiesbyjes2g]

3.119 Sparkly eyes

After enduring so much pain and heartache, adrenaline coursed through our veins, and our hearts pounded with excitement. We had to get out and celebrate our new chapter and returned to that fancy restaurant in Tartosa. Sophia glowed with joy over her pregnancy, and the sizzling hot leather dress she put on only made her even more stunning. Her radiant smile illuminated the entire place, and her eyes sparkled with a mix of joy and contentment. The way that dress clung to her curves accentuated her little baby bump, making her even more captivating. She had a gentle sway in her step and moved with a newfound grace. As for me, the weight of our struggles lifted, and I felt a surge of confidence I hadn't experienced in a very long time. I stood taller and squared my shoulders, dripping triumph and pride and newfound purpose. Other diners glanced at us as we strolled by, swagged out in all black. If they thought we were celebrities, I wouldn't blame them. We certainly felt like millionaires.

The hosted placed us in what I felt was the best seat in the house. We were inside, but right on the edge of the patio that had a great view of the ocean. As if on cue, as soon as I opened the menu, my phone rang; it was my sister. A lingering unease from last night made me hesitant to answer, especially knowing whatever she had to say might sour my mood. It wasn't just her unexpected pregnancy that unsettled me; it was the persistent apathy and weirdness I dealt with my entire life. I was at a place in my life where I wanted peace, and more often than not, she disrupted my peace. But despite my reservations, I answered the call. She was my sister, after all, and I loved her. As soon as I picked up, she dove straight into gossiping about Mama and Dwayne without so much as a greeting, causing my eyes to roll. She said something about an argument and him storming out of the house but didn't overhear any details.

Women were funny creatures and did weird stuff of whom Mama and Alessia were chief. I didn't think I would ever understand them and had to learn to be okay with that. So many questions came to mind, particularly why Mama wouldn't marry Dwayne, but frankly, I didn't care. That subject always disrupted my peace, and my wife's sparkling eyes beckoned for my attention. I told Less I was out with Sophia and would see her tomorrow at the party.

The ambiance in the restaurant seemed to match our high spirits. Soft music floated in the background, mixing with the clinking of glasses and low hum of conversation. The setting sun cast a warm glow on the patio that mirrored the warmth in our hearts. We finally broke free from the emotional prison that had trapped us. Everything felt brand new and wonderful as we rejoiced in the moment. We savored every bite of our meals, cherished each other's company, and laughed louder than ever before. The life we dreamed of was finally within our grasp, and every touch, every taste was a celebration of that victory we fought so hard to reach. We were invincible. Nothing could dampen our spirits or dim the sparkle in our eyes.

The sun had completed its descent by the time we finished dinner. I still had so much excitement brewing inside and wasn't ready to go home yet, so I asked Sophia to dance. The restaurant wasn't designed for dancing, but she didn't let that bother her like they do in the movies. She got up immediately, grabbed my hand, and pressed her body against mine. Her baby bump was so small, but I loved feeling it pressed into my stomach as we danced. It was odd, but I really felt like there were three of us present in that moment.

"How do you feel?" I asked.

"I'm good," she purred. "I'm better than good."

She turned around and gazed at the ocean, caressing her belly so tenderly. Knowing the baby couldn't feel what she was doing, could it feel the loving energy emanating from her hands? Did it know how much we loved it despite not being fully developed yet?

"I'm glad to hear it... Are you scared at all?"

"About which part?"

"I guess... The part where we're in charge of this little sim for the next 63 days and making sure they turn out decent."

"Hmmm...that does sound daunting. I'm not scared, though."

"Yeah?"

She turned around to face me, assaulting me with those sparkly eyes, and my readiness to return home increased exponentially.

"You're a good sim...I'm a good sim. We make a great team, and between us both, we have enough examples of what not to do, so I think the odds are in our favor," she said.

"That's a good way to put it."

She reached for my hands and held them gently.

"Let's promise that we'll always make time for this," she said.

"Date nights?"

"Maybe. I mean, let's make sure we always have time for us, no matter what that looks like."

I knew exactly what she meant because I saw it play out despite my parents' estrangement. Mama was always so wrapped up in making sure we felt loved and comfortable. She didn't really start taking time for herself until we were well into our teens, and Dad started much later. Raising children took a lot of effort and energy, and I watched my parents get sucked into our atmosphere time after time. My child wasn't even born yet, and it still consumed many of my thoughts. And knowing how mesmerized we'd be after its born, we definitely needed to make that promise. My love for Sophia will never die, but I could see us sacrificing our togetherness for the sake of our child's well-being, especially after working so hard to bring it into the world.

"I promise I will always make time to celebrate us."

[bitter-sweet-coffee]

Infinadow 👄 for the ask meme! Cuz the world needs more infinadow content

*bangs fist on floor and cries* DAMN RIGHT IT DOES, AND I'M DOING MY BEST TO SUPPLY IT

❤️ this definitely depends on which canon we're dealing with because i have a bunch of infinadow concepts, but chances are it's going to be infinite. he wouldn't call it a date, moreso "shadow you're taking me somewhere because i said so"

✨ probably also infinite! shadow would have to transport them either via bike or car (infinite hates teleporting) and infinite would suggest ideas, but shadow would have to be the one actually organizing things

👗 oh god, they're both bad. shadow is very meticulous with his eyeliner, quills, cologne, etc... and infinite is a total fashionista who needs like 3 hours just to style his hair (mixing dreads, braids, hair pieces, loose parts that have to be straightened and recurled for relaxed natural waves, etc...) so it's a miracle they even fucking leave. shadow doesn't take as long but infinite complains and rushes them so it's a hilarious dynamic

🌸 infinite does not pay for anything EVER. it's all shadow, and if infinite buys anything it's with shadow's money so uh, the answer is technically shadow. however, infinite will sing for shadow a lot because he prefers non material gifts, and loves the jackal's voice! either that or he reads shadow's fave books to him every night before bed and that counts as a date gift (even if it's after the date)

🎉 the one i have in mind right now is dinner and a musical! i feel like they'd go see jersey boys because shadow is a big frankie valli and the four seasons fan, and infinite likes theatre so it's a hit. they'd also definitely go to club rouge after just to chat and bother whoever the poor bartender is

🍰 shadow. it's not even a question, infinite will actually take shadow's card and hand it over to the waiter/ticket person on his behalf and tip 400% because shadow is fucking LOADED and doesn't care about his money. rouge does though, but she isn't even mad because she does the same thing as infinite 😎

👄 JSDKDKDKSK OK. FUNNY STORY. in my fic, it takes about seven attempts across multiple chapters for shadow and infinite to successfully kiss without an injury because they're so godawful at intimacy and just downright awkward. they're also anti PDA to the point where no one suspects they're together, so it's a total joke. if they're alone though, Shadow is known for awkward forehead/top of head kisses (awkward because infinite is much taller) and infinite does the dog thing where he doesn't kiss, but will rub his face against shadow's, and then shove his snout in the hedgehog's neck and stay there.

🌙 shadow is like, responsible for infinite ig? he isn't allowed to be on his own really because y'know, war criminal, and since shadow is the only one willing to deal with him (knowing that GUN is horrible at containment and the rest of the resistance couldn't be bothered) it just means infinite is stuck with shadow all the time! they live together, but post-date they'd probably pass out on the couch after reading together with the tv on in the background

😍 hmm, 3 is a good number, right? OKAY!

1. because wearing his mask will identify him as infinite, he can't wear it. however, the jackal is still really insecure about his face so he wears those ridiculous designer sunglasses all the time regardless of the occasion. at first shadow would get annoyed that infinite looked like an elton john kinnie wherever they went because he likes the jackal's face, but eventually it grew on him!

2. if they're in a theatre or a busy/concealed public place they'll be a little less distant from each other (shadow will use infinite's hair for stimming, infinite will play with shadow's fingers, etc...) so sometimes other characters or people will catch a glimpse of them being sus. no one says anything and pretends they didn't notice so it's never addressed

3. they frequently triple date with knouge and espave but it's usually just clubbing (wave rouge and infinite get wasted and act all loud and fruity, knuckles gets stoned and rambles about stuff at their table while espio either gets dragged to dance with wave or has suspicious romantic tension with shadow, who is either so high he's in another dimension, also experiencing the suspicious romantic tension, or watching infinite admirably— they'll dance together if the club is almost empty and they can sneak on some oldies like earth angel or heaven!). they're the ship trio of "no one can tell who is dating who" so it works out and they all just seem kinds fruity