#enjoy the fruity berry

[iwantyoursexmp3]

so for pancake day i had a dream where i devised all of my oc’s sweet pancake topping choices and was like guys what topping do i pick????? and felix’s was peaches of course well versed felixheads may know his favourite fruit is peaches but then i got stressed out because i was searching for peach pancake topping recipes and all of them were ugly as shit one i vividly remember was just bland pancakes with dried peaches and nuts all over them but it looked so ugly and tasteless like squirrel food and i was like this is so humiliating everyone’s gonna know now that felixs choice of pancake topping is something with peaches but apparently it’s a universal law that peaches on pancakes is disgusting and ugly they’re gonna make fun of him forever now

[gurkandbannis]

How to Make a Cherry Slush!

Today we tried to make a cherry shlush 🍹 It is not there yet 😅 But it got loads of potential! 😍 If you like what you see, feel free to comment below. We upload a video every single day so be sure to follow so you can take a part in our journey🥰🥰  

[kazvha]

WHAT THE GENSHIN BOYS SMELL LIKE

Including: Albedo, Alhaitham, Ayato, Baizhu, Cyno, Dainsleif, Diluc, Freminet, Gaming, Gorou, Heizou, Itto, Kaeya, Kaveh, Kazuha, Lyney, Neuvillette, Tartaglia, Thoma, Tighnari, Venti, Wanderer, Wriothesley, Xiao, Zhongli

Notes: These are just personal headcanons, don't take these too seriously🥴 Enjoy!!💛

ALBEDO

• I think he smells like nothing most of the time

• You only feel cold air when you stand next to him because he's in Dragonspine a lot

• Subtle notes of charcoal which he uses as an art tool or of strong chemicals cling onto him on some days

ALHAITHAM

• I also don't think he smells like anything on most days, maybe only like the fresh clothes he's wearing

• Though he has a faint scent of coconut to him. It could be the shampoo or the skin care products he's using, but it's mostly because of his body lotion

AYATO

• His hair always smells like the shampoo he uses. So sugary and sweet, like vanilla cake or bubblegum

• But for his body and clothes he uses expensive clean and powdery fragrances

• Quite the combo, I must say💀 Strange, just like his taste in food

BAIZHU

• Smells like expensive bar soap. A mix of aloe vera and ginger

• Also smells kinda sour because of the herbs he works with

CYNO

• Smells like pure white musk which smells great

• But it can be quite intense on some days when he decides to go overboard with his sprays

• He's sweating at the end of the day but the smell is subtle

DAINSLEIF

• He smells like the environment he was in. Often it's nature. Every now and then he smells like the rain too

• Also smells kinda dusty, like that basement smell you know? People either love it or hate it.

DILUC

• He smells warm and homely. Notes of cedar, sandalwood, or cinnamon

• But you'd have to stand really close to him to smell anything, his coat kinda dulls the scent

• Of course, he always smells like the vineyard and grapes during the harvest

FREMINET

• Smells fresh like bar soap. It's almost unnoticeable. It has a light scent of baby powder

• His clothes smell like chamomile because of the fabric softener he uses

GAMING

• This fella smells like cocoa butter because he uses it as body lotion

• I can also imagine that he carries an aroma of caramel/burnt sugar

• Bro eats so much dim sum, he often smells like the food he ate

GOROU

• I don't think he has a particular scent

• But his home/room smells like cinnamon, cloves, and oranges. The scent kinda rubs off on him

HEIZOU

• He wears body mists with floral notes. His favorites are maybe roses, lavender, or honeysuckle

• He likes to keep a little lavender sachet in his closet, so his clothes also smell like flowers

ITTO

• Idk, he probably smells like someone who's outside a lot. He has that outside smell, you know what I mean?

• He probably wears a musky fragrance, but it usually mixes with his sweat

KAEYA

• My bro is using all sorts of Arabian oils and fragrances. He has some with the notes of oud, musk, amber, and much more. Kaeya has a whole collection

• He smells divine and he knows it because people compliment him every day

• But like Venti, he drinks a lot, so his scent mixes with the wine odor

KAVEH

• Kaveh likes to wear fruity, tropical fragrances because he's always craving chilled fruits, especially on days that are hotter than usual.

• They also remind him of the days on which he sat in front of his house with his parents and ate watermelons

• Also has an alcohol odor sometimes like his fellas in Mondstadt

KAZUHA

• He uses a fabric softener because he likes his clothes to be extra comfortable. That's why he often smells like fresh laundry

• Because he spends a lot of his free time in nature, he probably also smells like grass or firewood

LYNEY

• Berries. He always smells like berries.

• He won't tell you what his secret is

• You guess every product he uses has the scent of berries. His bodywash, his shampoo, his body lotion, his deodorant, his fabric softener, the candle in his room, his lip balm, etc. Even his toothpaste...

NEUVILLETTE

• This sir smells like the ocean. Like the sea breeze. Like water itself.

• Yeah, he likes expensive-smelling aquatic colognes. Though occasionally he also uses citrusy perfumes

TARTAGLIA

• Something tells me that he either smells like expensive aquatic fragrances

• Or he smells like an old lady mixed with the aroma of nature, grass, firewood, animals, etc.

THOMA

• He probably likes to wear sweet scents like tonka bean and honey

• Or even perfumes with fruity notes like peach or pear

TIGHNARI

• You can't tell me this guy doesn't smell like herbs, plants, flowers and stuff

• Idk, when I think of him I think of eucalyptus

VENTI

• He would smell quite fresh and idk, breezy?

• Like a fresh breath of air in spring if you know what I mean

• But since he's drunk most of the time the overbearing odor of wine sticks to him

WANDERER

• Nahida gifted him a citrus perfume and he has been using it ever since

• He likes bitter smells too, so he bought himself bitter perfumes with bergamot, bitter orange, and grapefruit notes

WRIOTHESLEY

• I think he wears a perfume which has woody, earthy notes. Sometimes he has a fresh minty smell to him too

• When he fights the scents obviously mix with his sweat

• I also think a light scent of motor oil sticks to him

XIAO

• Most of the days he smells literally like nothing, or sweat. It's not overbearing though

• But there are some days on which he smells super sweet, like vanilla, cotton candy, a baked treat or something

• It's either because he ate those things or because he has body sprays with these scents. He won't tell you

ZHONGLI

• If you're standing close to him, you'll smell his pleasant cologne scent

• It could be musky or woody, but he usually wears floral scents like osmanthus

• His scent mixes with the aroma of tea leaves or herbs which he gets from wandering in the market and drinking tea the whole day

[lowspoonsfood]

Low Budget, High Taste Milkshakes

Requires no ice cream! You’ll need: 

some kind of blender

1 cup any milk

1 frozen banana

(opt) 2-3 tbsp of peanut/nut butter of choice

(opt) 2-3 tbsp of cocoa powder

(opt) a few ice cubes for that extra cold and frosty texture. try also frozen berries if you’re feeling fruity! 

1. Slice up frozen banana. Keep the peel on if you want- it’ll get blended up either way and I promise you won’t even notice. If it’s a little too frozen hard, let it thaw for a few minutes. I usually use a full banana since the ones I buy are on the small side, so go with your heart on how much nanner you want. 

2. Gently slam dunk the banana slices into the blender. Pour in milk. Add other stuff. 

3. Close up the blender container tight and blend til smooth for about a minute. (I use a nutribullet, and I like to pulse the contents a few times first before going all the way through.) Do taste tests if needed, and adjust ingredients to your personal perfection. 

4. Pour the milkshake into a cup. Give your blender container a good strong water rinse and it’ll be clean in seconds. If your blender bottle is designed to be handheld, feel free to skip the cup.

5. Sit down and enjoy your drink! 

[cherry-pop-elf]

BAKING WITH THE WEASLEY SIBLINGS

William ‘Bill’

Since he is the eldest, he had to do a lot of cooking with his parents. He was a victim of ‘third parent’ syndrome. Doesn’t mean he doesn’t find comfort in baking. It still fills a void in his heart when cooking and baking. His favorite thing to make, with you, is something he learned in Egypt. Baklava. It’s super airy, and the right amount of sweet. Given being partially turned has made his senses heighten, it makes for a good treat to share with you and his siblings. It’s nice to do normal things, when your life is so abnormal. He also learned to make some mean meat pies. Just know not to ask a slice on the full moon. That shit is raw. Thats what you get for dating a curse breaking werewolf. Eh. More protein never hurts in a diet, most of the time

Charlie

As the second oldest, he also had to do a lot of baking as well. There is also the fact that being a Dragonologist has left him fending for himself in the wild. So he’s had to get pretty creative if he wants something sweet. Hey. He’s a Weasley. They are famous for being creative. A treat he enjoys is Romanian Dessert Salami. Though, often times he uses the term liberally and often makes a rather fruity bread roll instead. Gotta use what ya got! Also, hope you are prepared to see him using his wand a lot for cooking. Don’t have much when chasing dragons. It is rather fascinating to learn how to make desserts from so little. Your little adventure man

Percy

Being the third child, you would think he wouldn’t be as responsible as his older siblings. You are wrong. The moment the two older brothers were out the door, it was his turn. Desserts were never a passion of his, so he’s not the best at it. But he won’t deny the fact he can make a mean pie. It’s a secret talent he has. You can count on him to make any pie your heart desires. He won’t say it out loud, but making pies is very therapeutic to him. He has a pie for each sibling even. Bill is meat, Charlie is mixed berries, Fred is Chocolate while George is Peanut butter, Ron is Pumpkin, and Ginny is Peach. Him? …..What was your favorite type of pie again~?

Fred

Fred isn’t really much of a baker. He’s more of the cooking type. You are better off seeing him make breakfast, despite being a night owl, compared to making any desserts. Doesn’t mean he doesn’t find his loopholes. Like how Percy is great with pies, Fred is amazing with Bread. Fred Bread! As proxy, he has his siblings favorite bread types memorized. Bill likes dark chocolate types, Charlie likes anything with berries, Percy is rather boring with banana, he loves grape while George will like orange, Ron likes hers with some pumpkin, and Ginny is the cinnamon type. Expect plenty of fresh bread with him. He’s got you covered

George

He IS the baker in the family. Who do you think brought up the idea of selling bake goods at WWW? He can, and will, bake ANYTHING! He has everyone’s favorite treats memorized. He is constantly handing out free samples to kids. He WILL find an excuse to bake. You want cookies? Hot and fresh from the oven. It’s three am and you want a cake? It’s now four am and you got a cake. He IS the baker. He loves to bake so much, and is always making sure the shop has fresh supply. If you can’t ever find him anywhere, follow your nose to the kitchen. He’s got something in the works. For someone!

Ron

Like Fred, he’s not really a baker. He’s a cooker. Doesn’t mean he can’t make a dessert if he has to. He’s become pretty good at making tarts, custards, and puddings. Very much comfort food. Something he picked up again when going to school with Harry. Given, ya know, the Dursleys. He won’t lie, it was also a cheap way to flirt with Hermione without breaking his wallet. Funny thing is she was never one for such desserts. Now she can’t get enough. He makes those comfort foods with a lot of heart, and is willing to make them if you have a bad day. He does get a bit anxious when cooking around other people, but he warms up eventually.

Ginny

Like Fred and Ron, she doesn’t really bake either. She was the baby of the family, after all. She does, however, like to make cookies for her team. There is something so nice about having a warm cookie after a cold rainy day of Quidditch practice. Helps that you convinced her to pick up the habit again. She likes to make cookies with fruit in them. To try and have them on the healthier side, given she’s an athlete. So a tart cookie is a good cookie to her. It’s simple, basic, and quick, but nothing wrong with that. A quickly made cookie, with love, is better than a drawn out dessert of labor. It’s also easy to blame her love of fruity desserts on Charlie. She’s the baby girl in an army of boys. She picked up some habits

[coqxettee]

How to romanticise Spring:

Some ideas and things you can do to romanticise the Spring season 🫧˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒✧˚.🧚🏻‍♀️.

Spring Wardrobe - Spring is the perfect time to start integrating new pieces into your wardrobe. Long flowing dresses, maxi skirts, pretty blouses, milkmaid dresses/shirts, rompers, dungarees, mini skirts, cami’s and so much more. Make sure to add a pair of new Spring pumps (Mary janes are perfect) and some pretty floral hair bandanna’s and flower crowns in there too. Pastel pinks, yellows, blues, greens and white fit perfect for this time of year, along with patterns and materials like floral print and lace 🩰

Change your eating habits. Put away the comfort food from winter and indulge in the delicious delicacy’s of Spring. Fresh fruit and vegetables can make endless recipes for Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, sweet things like Oatmeal, Honey, gelato and any particularly sweet fruits are perfect for this time of year 🍒🥗🍵

Consume Spring media 💐 The media you consume affects your mood, consuming uplifting Spring content will not only make you feel happier in yourself, but will also make you look forward to and romanticise the season more. I have a list of Movies, TV shows & books you can consume in Spring that I will be uploading shortly ☀️

Read Spring books. There are SO many out there, classics are perfect for this time of year but any whimsical, forest-core, fantasy story’s like “The Hobbit” or “The legend of King Arthur” are perfect too 📖

Listen to classical music, movie soundtracks and pretty instrumentals whenever you are doing any of the following activities (I find it helps romanticising a lot! 🎶🌷)

Have a picnic outside - Bring a wicker picnic basket, beautiful picnic blanket, fancy plates and cutlery and have a picnic fit for a countryside princess outside, either at the park or in a field. Wear a big sun hat to keep shaded from the sun and be sure to bring the essentials (Princess picnic food can include miniature sandwiches, scones, cookies, cakes & cupcakes, fruits like strawberries, cherries and apples, any snacks you can think of, lemonade and sweet iced tea) 🌷

Host a Tea Party (either indoors or outside) Set a table with all your finest dinnerware pieces, wear a floaty dress and white gloves, and use your most precious Teapot to pour fruity and sweet flavoured teas into any delicate teacups you can find. You can even make this Bridgerton inspired and have a high-tea esque party. With cookies and strawberry shortcake, cupcakes and miniature sandwiches. Make sure to set the table with a pretty tablecloth, fresh flowers and napkins/fine cutlery for yourself or your guests. Play some classical music and enjoy 🫖

Go berry/fruit picking. This time of year is perfect for Strawberry, Cherry’s & fruit picking in general. Wear a big straw hat, a long dress and don’t forget to bring your basket with you to collect the fruit in 🍓

Visit a flower field 🌸 💐 this time of year, flowers are in full bloom. Wear the most beautiful dress and a flower crown, so you are ready to twirl in the flower fields to your hearts content 🌷

Bake new Spring recipes. There are SO many Spring/Easter baking ideas on Pinterest. Have a look at any and compile a list of Bakes you want to try this Spring season 🍰

Cook new Spring recipes, you can even incorporate any new foods you have tried into the recipes and be sure to write them down in your recipe book 🥧

Make flower crowns! You can use fresh flowers or fake flowers, some wire or plain headbands. Get creative with them, use flowers, gems, lace, ribbon (this is a lovely activity to do with friends outside) 🌸

Press flowers (Such a Spring fairy activity!) any wild flowers you find (preferably dying or damaged) take them home and press them in a heavy book

Go on Forest Fairy walks. Explore your local forests, parks, meadows in the most vibrant green and pink dresses, wear flower crowns and just be one with nature, listen to fairytale music and take in the wildlife and nature around you 🧚‍♀️

Decorate your bedroom/space for Spring. This can be as simple as changing the bedding or by going all out and re-decorating your room completely. Fresh flowers, fake plants, cottage-core illustrations of animals look lovely too 🌷

Celebrate Easter like a Spring princess (really get into it this year) enjoy a beautiful Spring breakfast, paint eggs, eat chocolate, do some Easter bakes in the kitchen, make Easter Sunday a special day for you 🐣

Journal/Sketch/Paint - Painting outside is one of my favourite things to do, and you could even set up your easel/painting supplies in a garden or local field and paint the scenery 💐 Journalling all about your pretty Spring days can be uplifting and I find that sketching illustrations of Flowers, woodland animals and just Nature in general makes me feel so at ease any time I do so 🦢

Visit historical places like castles, botanical gardens and garden centres. These places are always abloom in Spring. Most of these places offer café’s and afternoon tea’s too! 🌸

Visit a cute Café for afternoon tea 🫖 (Make sure to wear a pretty outfit!)

Go frolicking in meadows. Roll down hills and twirl in flower fields 🌼

Feed birds and take time out to Spend time with nature and wildlife 🐰

I hope this helped and gave you some ideas, made you feel happy or comforted whilst reading and most importantly, inspired you to live life to the fullest and most beautiful it can be this Springtime 💐📖🎀 All my love ~ Kellen

[antoniosvivaldi]

Assorted Christmas playlists vol. 2 - Here is a set of four new Christmas playlists for different emotions and atmosphere of the festive season. Comes with a Christmas themed Tag Yourself meme, just like the previous instalment from 2019! (Tag yourself collab with @violets)

Companion uquiz | Assorted Christmas playlists vol. 1

Gingerbread House - Christmas crackers, practical jokes, enjoys watching anime, has an eclectic taste in music, loves to brainstorm, arts & crafts, messy handwritings, mismatched socks, comic strips, colourful flashing lights

A selection of funky songs to dance to for Christmas

{Listen on Spotify}

Silent Night - Counting blessings, candlelights, quill & ink, vintage posters, staying awake at the middle of the night, feels everything deeply, coffeeshop jazz, solving puzzle games, slow and steady to the finish line, mindfulness, ancient library

A selection of introspective songs for the winter nights

{Listen on Spotify}

Cozy Fireplace - Quality time, lovestruck, cardigans, the smell of winter berries, heartfelt letters from loved ones, romance novels, a bowl of hot soup, the smell of fresh oranges, rewatching classic films, stuffing Christmas stockings

A selection of heartwarming songs to enjoy together

{Listen on Spotify}

Christmas at the Beach - Carefree, goes with the flow, life of the party, listens to punk rock at full volume, shirts with tropical prints, street smart, dancing like nobody's watching, fruity punch, loves to be surprised, loves to surf

A selection of pop / punk songs for the summer lovers

{Listen on Spotify}

[waokevale]

@the-valiant-valkyrie 's DST teas review (VERY LATE)

~~~~~~~~~~~

WX-78 Blend

By itself, it smells very herbal, the lemon aroma is very distinguishable and pleasant. I added about a teaspoon or so, and brewed it for the recommended time on the page. At first it tastes somewhat like chamomile, then, I added sugar and lemon juice and it started taking on a more homey vibe. The lemon certainly brought out the distinct black tea flavor + strengthened the natural lemon flavoring.

Update: made it a second time, this time added two and a half teaspoons of sugar, 2 slices of lemon and a touch of lemon zest (for about 3/4 of the 400ml mug filled.) It was AMAZING, very pleasant flavor, lightly sour and sweet, brings back memories, legit became one of my favorite teas, I'd definitely buy a bigger bag at some point in the future if it'd still be available.

All in all I would highly recommend it, If you're fond of relaxing teas such as this one.

First impression: 6/10

Current impression: 8.5/10

(forgive my shitty phone lighting)

Walani Blend

Upon first smelling it, it's very fruity and exotic, that smells only intensifies upon brewing.

Quite sour by itself, adding a tad of sugar (about 2 and a half teaspoons per half a 400ml mug for me, again) then it's just a right mix of sweet and sour, the flavor somewhat reminds me of raspberry. You can pick out the orange and mango if you feel for it, but they're not that intense. The coconut and apple are the most pronounced in the aftertaste.

(Overall, very enjoyable, especially on mornings and late nights 6.5/10)

Lunar Blend

The coconut gives it a very nutty feel, with the added scent of flowers.

When brewed, dull and slightly bitter without any add-ons, although the coconut and chocolate chips are especially prominent. When added some cream and sweetener, it becomes more light, it doesn't have an especially compelling flavor, but it's not bad either.

(Then again I'm not an expert on tea, 98% of the time I just drink black tea)

For me personally, it's a 5/10

Willow blend

When first smelling it, the dark chocolate and strawberry are the most distinguishable, cinnamon is only there if you really smell for it. After brewing, both of the formerly mentioned scents mixed further.

By itself it's very bitter obviously, but after adding some cream and sugar, it tastes more like coffee with a note of strawberry and cinnamon.

There's also a herbal after taste.

Overall pleasant , though people who like their tea with milk/cream would enjoy it the most.

First impression: 5.5/10

Second impression 6/10

Wormwood Blend

Straight out of the box it has a wild berry feel to it with a flowery scent.

After brewing it, momentarily the mint leaves make themselves known, but after tasting, they're only present in the after taste.

The chamomile becomes very distinct, with the flowers on the side. I can taste some hibiscus, orange and the apples, but they're not that present.

I added a bit of lemon and sugar and the taste immediately changed into a more comforting sweet tea.

Overall 7.5/10 for me

Woodie and Lucy Blend

When fiest opened, it smells very nutty and sweet. The apple and the safflower are barely noticable, you'd have to seriously smell it, in order to feel them.

Upon brewing, the fruity scent catches up to the nutty one, and it becomes sort of a mix of the two.

At first I added some almond milk and maple syrup, but it just didn't stick with me. It was alright, but there was just something missing.

The second time I added some UHT cream and condensed milk and JACKPOT, this was it (at least for me) the cream softened up the flavor and the condensed milk made it sweeter, more cozy, it adapted perfectly for my taste.

First impression: 5/10

Second impression 7.5/10

~~~~~~~~~

All in all, very nice teas! I recommend y'all try them!

[chubbycelebs]

Louis and Harry’s trip to the chocolate factory

Louis had always had a bit of a sweet tooth so when he got offered a free tour around Wonka’s famous chocolate factory he knew he couldn’t pass up the opportunity. And who better could he think to bring them his best friend Harry!

The morning of the two got ready and made their way to the factory front gates where they were greeted by Mr Wonka. He gave both the boys a firm hand shake and immediately invited them into the factory.

The first room they went to was the candy room. Everything in the room was edible and they could eat until their bellies couldn’t take it anymore. Even though both boys were on the thinner side, they both could eat A LOT. Both Louis and Harry sat on the grass but the coco caves stuffing their faces full of sweet treats. Harry looked over at Louis and saw his belly getting slightly distended and it made his heart flutter. Harry decided to grab a handful of soft chocolate from the cave and he threw it at Louis belly. Louis looked down at his chocolate covered belly and started to scrap the chocolate off, putting it straight into his mouth. In retaliation Louis grabbed a low hanging fruit from a tree above them and threw it at Harry’s face. A white creamy liquid burst all over him. Harry licked it all off enjoying the sweet cream. Wonka then approached the two, slightly fuller, boys.

“If you two greedy boys are done enjoying the sweetness of this room we can move on to the next” Wonka asked the boys looking down at their full guts.

Both the boys nodded and they walked on to the next room. Harry walked slightly behind Louis and Wonka and enjoyed the sight of Louis perky bottom. He always enjoyed his friends body but he’d never appreciated it until now.

They reached the next room which was the orchid. This room was filled with fruits and trees all busting with loads of different berries and other fruits. The boys both ran in looking around. Harry looked over at the apple trees whilst Louis resided by the berry bushes. “This is the Orchid room boys. This is where all our fruity flavour comes from. But i must say don’t eat too many fruits here they are very very juicy.” After the introduction Harry lept for an apple. He took a huge bite from it and his mouth was filled with flavour. It was the juiciest apple he’d ever had he could almost feel the juice filling his stomach. Louis started eating some berries. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and then he got to his favourite berry of all: the blueberry. Louis took one and chucked it into his mouth and it exploded with juice and flavour. It was the best blueberry he’d ever had in his life. He needed more so he took one more and ate it instantly. It was too good to stop. He took handful after handful of blueberries eating them in seconds. He could feel the juice trickle down his throat into his stomach. It was so good.

“Oi you greedy boy stop eating so many blueberries you are going…” but Wonka was cut off half way through when he noticed something on Louis face.

He saw a purple mark on the boys nose and Wonka already knew the boys fate. He leaned down to one of the oomper loompers next to him and said “i advise starting up the juicing machine now. That greedy pig has eaten enough blueberries to fill this whole room up”.

Harry looked over to see what Wonka was shouting at when he notice Louis face too. Louis however hadnt noticed and carried on stuffing his belly with blueberries. “Hey Louis! I think you should slow down there mate” Harry yelled from across the orchid. Louis looked over at Harry and saw Harry’s worried face. Louis looked down at his hands and noticed they had turned a blueish purple colour. “Erm Wonka what’s happening to him?!” Harry said worried for his friend.

“You see that greedy pig has eaten far too many blueberries. I told you these fruits are far too juicy to be filling your belly with them. Let’s just say my dear that your ‘friend’ here is going to be looking a lot more like a big juicy blueberry very soon”

Almost on queue after Wonka had finished speaking, Louis already chubby belly gurgled and Louis looked down and the fat on his belly was starting to expand outwards. He grab his belly and he felt it slosh around with juice and fat. It wasn’t hard it was a soft like he was endlessly gaining fat.

As he was looking at his belly he felt a tightness around other parts of his body. His legs arms and even ass were all filling up with blueberry juice. He was expanding from every direction. He could feel the juice sloshing around as he got bigger and bigger.

Whilst watching in shock, Harry also noticed how Louis bulge had started filling with juice making it very thick and obvious to see. As well as his bulge, Harry watched joyfully as Louis tried to look at his expanding ass. Harry got very excited seeing Louis already perky bum fill up with juice getting much bigger by the second. Harry became very turned on from the sight of his expanding ‘friend’.

Louis growth wasn’t slowing down he was filling up faster and faster becoming even darker shade of purple. His belly went out so far he could see his toes anymore. He ass was like a shelf and his limbs were being pushed apart due to so much juice filling them up. Louis also noticed that his nipples became sensitive and looked down to see that through his clothes they were oozing juice. He took his finger to it and swiped a bit of the juice as tasted it. It was the same amazing juice that was in the blueberries. As well as his nipples he notice how sensitive his cock has gotten and could feel juice leaking out of it onto the floor. He became very turned on by this

Louis kept getting bigger and bigger. His legs and arms now being forced into a star position as his belly and limps got too filled with juice. The pace in which he was expanding was getting faster. every second he was getting bigger and bigger. his belly taking up more of his view. His body was so heavy with juice that it was a relief when his crotch reached the floor and started to lift him up. He was starting to round out becoming more like a sphere and becoming less squishy and more firm. He was climbing higher and higher. Growing taller than Harry and taller and taller until he reached about 10 foot tall. The expansion slowed down to a halt. Louis was now a huge around fat juice filled blueberry boy. He flapped his arms around best he could as to get someone’s attention to help him out. His nipples now gushing juice that leaked all over the floor.

Wonka looked down at the oompa loompas next to him. “Do you mind rolling this berry boy to the juicing room. I’m afraid if he leave him any longer he will be stuck here. He’s much bigger than i would’ve thought” Harry snapped out of his trance, cum staining his trousers as he got far too excited watching Louis plump up.

“Mr Wonka! Mr Wonka! Where are they taking him?” Harry said running over to Wonka.

“To the juicing room. The boy needs to be juiced sooner rather than later as these doors are only so big. We don’t want him to keep growing crushing my lovely orchid now do we?”

“But why is he so big? Blueberries aren’t usually 10 foot tall”

“Ah well usually they get filled up with juice relative to their height however your friend here has grown much bigger than anyone before. I think it must have been all that eating he did in the last room. That greedy boy stretched his stomach leaving more room for juice to go”

Harry looked back at Louis as he clapped his hands around. He began to think of a plan

“Do you want me to roll him to the juicing room Wonka? i’m twice the size as your workers and can get him there much quicker then they can.”

Wonka looked over at Harry. He saw the cum stain on his trousers and saw the grin on his face. It was obvious what Harry really wanted to do but Wonka agreed anyway instructing Harry as to where the juicing room was and watched as he rolled his new sex toy away. It was long before reports got back of Mr Styles now filling with juice and Louis blocking the hallways due to his size. Wonka walked over to Harry as he also reached large heights just like Louis. “Oh you horny berry boy. Couldn’t resist tasting your boyfriends juice could you? Well look at you now. Two fat berries. You two are gonna have to stay here now. Guess you can keep each other company.” With this news Harry let out a moan that sounded very joyful whilst Louis was still wriggling what was visible of his hands and feet. “I guess we should get the two fat boys to the juicing room then before they fill this corridor with their juice. Then we all are screwed.”

Tried something a little different today. instead of editing celebs i thought i’d try out a story instead. If you like this pls let me know and i’ll do some more like it <3

[isdalinarhot]

copypasting my extensive wine headcanons here in case anyone out in the world wants to adopt them

Pink: this is just juice of a plant. Like some soft drinks, there is a small amount of caffeine, but for the most part, it’s basically the same as apple or grape juice. Feminine drink.

Orange: structurally this is identical to kombucha, in that it is a nonalcoholic (or at least so negligibly alcoholic that it doesn’t count) beverage that is made via fermentation. But its cultural place is akin to ginger ale in that it is just a soft drink people drink when not drinking alcohol and that it has a reputation of soothing stomachs. This is the go-to beverage of people of any gender looking to have a sober drink.

Yellow: the default masculine drink. Made from lavis grains, it’s beer. It’s essentially beer. About the same strength as beer, drank from pint glasses, steins, and once Roshar invents cans it will be drank from those as well. Customary beverage to enjoy during duels. Unlike beer from Earth, people very rarely drink this to get any more drunk than a pleasant buzz.

Auburn: traditionally made from fermented simberries, but can be made from any fruit that when fermented ends up with between 10% to 15% abv, this is the default feminine drink. It really functions almost identically to wine on Earth. It is drunk from glasses analogous to Earth wine glasses. There is a large culture of auburn wine snobbery. Though it is concretely a feminine drink, it is not unheard of for men who are a touch effeminate to sneak a glass or two of it.

Red: you’d have to be insane to drink red wine on its own. It is used near exclusively in mixed drinks as the alcohol base to a fun fruity beverage. Mixed often with pink wine, fruit juices of all kinds, and occasionally wild card picks like sow’s milk or Shin creations such as “coffee”, it is there to provide alcohol to women who cannot stand the taste of alcohol.

Sapphire: wines of red strength or stronger are considered liquors, and sapphire wine is the unequivocal Man’s Wine. It is quite strong, but there is still a veneer of drinking it for the flavor. It is made of the same grains as yellow wine, but distilled instead of fermented. Traditionally drunk on the rocks out of what an Earthling might call a whiskey tumbler.

Blue: this stuff is not as strong as violet wine, but still quite strong. Its closest Earth analogue is a strong rum, made out of a sugarcane-like plant that naturally carries fruity undertones. This is the usual alcohol base drunk in mixed drinks by men; a popular drink will have two types of blue wine mixed with a couple flavors of fruit juice for a Vorin-friendly Mai Tai. It can also be drunk out of shot glasses as a party beverage, but this is less common.

Violet: violet wine is a gender neutral beverage, allowed to be drunk by both men and women. This is because the creators of Vorinism understood the necessity of all humans to have a surefire way of getting drunk quickly. It is roughly analogous to 100 proof vodka in both taste and creation, although in rare cases some violets can reach the 130 proof heights of absinthe. It is made from blackthorn berries, which on Roshar can get distilled to death like potatoes can on earth but like i dunno how that's possible i dont know jack shit about plants. sorry. This makes them perfect for creating the strongest liquors out of. “Glasses” of violet wine, drunk at feasts as a power move, are a mixture of violet wine, blackthorn juice, and lots of water. It is traditionally drunk hot, and nobody likes it like that but everybody pretends to. Nine times out of ten, violet wine is drunk out of a shot glass. It is known for tasting bad. Occasionally, it can be found in mixed drinks in the place of red or blue wine.

[lou-struck]

Strawberry Candies

Hajime Iwaizumi x reader

Prompt🍬+ garden

WC: 1.2k

Warnings: Cursing, violence directed towards a slug.

~This is one of the requested prompts for My Emoticon Expression’s Event; check out the Masterlist on my welcome page.

Ever since you and your boyfriend Hajime Iwaizumi moved into your new home together, you have been waiting for the chance to take advantage of the cute garden outback.

Finally, after months of cold weather and busy schedules, the temperature is more than warm enough to sustain whatever crops the two of you wish to grow together.

He started the process of clearing out the beds weeks ago. Now all you really have to do is lay seeds and plant a few starters you bought at a local greenhouse, so hopefully, you will have an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables ready for you to eat all summer long.

Hajime busies himself planting some leafy greens for his morning smoothies, and you are weeding around the strawberry bushes that were in the yard before you moved in. The bushes are healthy and full of promising-looking blossoms. 

Something bright catches your eye. Just through the leaves, you see the beginnings of a large green strawberry; it is just beginning to start turning pink. Curiously you reach out and touch it, it seems much too early in the season to have a berry like this, but here it is in the fruity flesh.

"Babe, come look," you call over to your boyfriend. Pointing to the unripe berry. "The first strawberry is almost ready."

He gets up, a bit of dirt on his knees from being crouched in the dirt but neither of you mind. "Oh, That's gonna be a big one." he smiles softly, smearing a bit of dirt on your cheek.

"We should share it when it's ready." you grin, trying to step away from him and his dirty hands. 

He looks at the berry closely, looking between it and your eager expression. "Not a chance; that's all you."

"Why not?" you huff. "You said it yourself that the berry is gonna be big."

"Not big enough to share between two people, you dummy," he laughs, resting his hand on your shoulder, "You saw it, so when the time comes, you eat it."

~

Two weeks later, you are back, tending carefully to your garden; every day, you have checked that first strawberry like clockwork. Just waiting for the day; it is fully ripened.

You can only imagine how sweet it will taste once it's done. Things always seem to taste better when they come from the garden. There's a sense of pride that comes with the taste. 

Finally, after weeks of waiting, you have determined that the berry is ready for picking.

The front side of the strawberry is a brilliant shade of red; it calls to you as if begging you to take it. Carefully, can you pick it up and pull it off its vine with a little twist. Only to feel something slimy stuck to the back of it. And shock, you drop the fruit. It hits the ground with a Little splat, and you see what the thing was you actually touched.

A gardener's worst nightmare, a slug…

This little spotted fellow had Glade claim on your strawberry, chewing a large hole right through the middle of it. Its slimy shiny trail completely covers what is left of the berry. Leaving only a hollow husk.

"Nooo," you cry, watching as the little guy begins to move across its surface. 

From the corner of your eye, you see your boyfriend swing open the sliding glass door. "What are you yelling about now?" He asks, referring to your last minor inconvenience from this morning in which you had run out of your favorite cereal.

"A slug ate the berry," you say sullenly, glaring down at the little bugger. You hope he enjoyed it. Hajime's face takes on a murderous expression as he grits his teeth, "Where is it?"

"The berry?" you ask,

"No, the slug," he says, approaching the berry husk ominously. "We gotta get it out of here before it eats my spinach."

"Do you only care about your spinach?" Utes, crossing your arms. 

"Your berry may be gone forever, but we can still save the spinach." He replies, reaching down and picking up the berry by the stem. He glares coldly at the slug attached to it before he winds up and throws the whole thing up into the air, making sure to put his whole strength behind it.

You aren't sure where it ended up, but you know that slug will never make it back to your garden.

Hajime heads back inside to grab his gardening gloves, wanting to check to make sure there aren't any more slugs. With a sigh, you clean your hands with a bit of hose water. You were really looking forward to eating that strawberry.

"Hey, I know it's not the same, but I thought you might want this," he says from behind you. In his hand rests one of those strawberry-flavored hard candies, You know, the kind that old people typically have on hand.

"Where did you get this?" You ask with intrigue, taking the sweet from him. Eagerly, you unwrap the strawberry skin printed paper, feeling nostalgic as you listen to the crinkling.

"I helped an old lady across the street the other day, and she actually gave me one." he laughs, rubbing the back of his neck bashfully. As you pop the candy into your mouth.

The sweet flavor melts onto your tongue, giving you that sweetness you have been craving.

"Feeling better?" he asks. 

"A little bit," you say. "You're so sweet to me, Hajime, and to old ladies as well."

"Shut up; I just didn't want to hear you whining about it anymore," he barks, not meaning the words that come out of his mouth; he may say that kind of stuff to Oikawa, but he's too sweet on you, and he knows it.

"Whatever you say, ya big softie." Easy laughter falls from your lips as you imagine some little old lady pushing a handful of candies into his much larger hands. You wish you could've seen it.

Fueled by the sugar, you decide to pull a few weeds by your strawberry plant. Pushing past the leaves, you notice something you hadn't seen before.

It's another berry, even bigger and brighter than the one before. 

It's the best time to pick it. Gently you pull on the fruit; it snaps right off the stem and into your hand. You look at it with a tender smile, still tasting the candy from earlier on your tongue. Do you know what's the right thing to do?

Hiding it carefully in your palm, you make your way over to your boyfriend, who is at work weeding his spinach patch. "Hey Haji, open up." you humm, plopping the berry into his mouth, much to his shock.

"You found another one?" he mumbles, his speech a bit jumbled from the large berry in his mouth. 

You nod. "I did, and I wanted you to have it."

He takes his time savoring every morsel of the fruit, not letting even a drop of its juice go to waste, and swallowing with an almost nostalgic look on his face. "That was delicious, but why did you give me this one?"

"Because you're you." you smile, giving him a quick peck on his lips. Their taste far sweeter than any kind of strawberry you could've eaten.

[berryshipbasket]

🌈Welcome to the Ship basket!

Berry/Clo . She/they/he . 20 . Autistic

Welcome to my Self ship blog!! If you enjoy that kinda fruity stuff, then stick around!! I am a multifandom artist who tends to jump between fixations a lot and I take my self ships very seriously!

My current main F/O (as of writing this post) is Jim.iny Cric.ket!! He means the world to me <33 That being said him (and majority of my main F/O's) I am NOT comfy sharing!! If we share him, you may still interact! Just please do not gush about him to me, Thank you!!

My main blog is @berrycontrary ! I also have a Carrd which contains my BYI/DNI and my main F/O lists!

My massive F/O list!

Keeps getting bigger and bigger each day

Cheers for visiting! Have a great day! 🌈

If you love self shipping as much as I do, feel free to interact!! I love talking to others in the fandom!! And if you don't... still feel free to interact! Just don't be a dick.

This is a 16+ blog! I do post and reblog suggestive content but not NSFW. Anyone under 16 please do not follow.

[credit @sweetpeauserboxes & @burntoutuserboxes]

[lepra-art]

Art for the summer dtiys challenge by @dara-art

I really enjoyed drawing this art because of the colours!

The warm rays of the setting sun weren't warm enough, so Draco draped a blanket over Hermione's shoulders. She looked somewhere in front of her, to where, behind the green crowns of trees, the azure waters of Lake Garda sparkled. The golden light tangled in her hair, moved across her slightly tanned skin, and glittered in her eyes that seemed amber.

Malfoy froze for a second and then sat down beside her. In between them, there was a silence, as they watched the sky turn into burgundy and mauve colours. Barolo Canti with berry-fruity overtones warmed from inside out.

Draco kissed Hermione in the temple and closed his eyes, not noticing the smile that graced her lips.

For the first time, he had everything he so desperately wanted.

[quitealotofsodapop]

If all versions of Sun Luzhen love apples and hates peaches, what about the other Wukongverse kids? Any favourites? It'll be funny the peach loving Wukongs have half of their kids not liking peaches. The betrayal of genetics.

At least Heaven's Peach Gardens are safe from them... Or are they...?

Referencing this post about Luzhen loving apples and hating peaches.

LMK Xiaotian/MK has canonically expressed his love for stonefruit, so he probably loves peaches. I've seen hcs that he absolute fave though is apricots ("Not too big, not too mushy, just the right amount of cronch!"). This gets his Au counterpart the nickname Apricot.

Mei would love any fruit thats brightly coloured - kiwis being her fav for flavor alone, but dragonfruit is a close second.

Bai He is in the kid phase of "fruit is gross", but Macaque has managed to get her to enjoy frozen blueberries and strawberries.

The Eclipse Twins devour any fruit offered to them like little piranhas, but especially melons. Give them a red watermelon, and the end result looks like a crime scene.

Yuebei is a peach fiend like her baba. No stonefruit left unturned. Her twin brothers Jidu and Luohuo are a little different since they loudly prefer plums and mangos like Macaque.

Hib!Liuer is a peach-fiend like his adoptive dad/mentor. Fa Ming probably convinced the little monk to eat his fruits by telling him how much the Monkey King loved peaches.

Hib!MK/Xiaoyun has a predicament... he does like peaches and other stonefruit - but his fave fruit is pomegranate, a fruit that requires a lot of dexterity to enjoy. Dasheng only found out Xiaoyun had this issue when he caught the one-armed kiddo trying to peel a pomergranate with his feet. Pre-peeled pomegranate fruit/seeds are aa god-send for him.

Shui Lian (the white vixen in the HiB verse) loves most berries and tree fruits, but her favorite is cider apples (like irl foxes) which confuses anyone who eats one and gets a mouthful of super-sour rotten-tasting apple. More for her then :3

In the Reborn verse; Qi Energy/"Fruitie" is a little fruit glutton. As shown in the film; the little nature spirit noms on what appears to be breadfruit, longans, and apples while in the village market. He also eats to replenish his powers. In the reborn au; as Xiao Qi he's even worse. Ever since he's been introduced to stonefruit, he ravages peaches like they're going out of style. The parents still joke that he's a fruit cannibal.

The two wolf siblings (Zhu Yu and Ku Ai) that Reborn!SWK & LEM picks up are used to forest fruits like berries and the rare crabapple. Their favorites are blueberries, which they will literally jump into bushes for. They don't see what the big deal is with peaches.

And ofc you got the 5 Stone-Fruit Monkeys, who are all named for said fruits. More cases of "fruitie cannibalism" the pilgrims joke; as the five babies have declared the fruit they were named for to be "their fruit". Fights will break out if you attempt to feed anyone other than Xiaotao/Little Peach a peach. They all agree that dates are a neutrally-enjoyable fruit however.

Netflix!MK/Xiaoshi loves peaches, but Netflix!SWK actually doesn't care for them that much - bad experience with the poisoned one.

The twin pebbles love cherries, and again, crime scene occurs when left alone with a basket of them. They also love raw tomatoes.

The Heavenly Orchards may breathe a sigh of relief for now... until the different MKs get into the celestial realms and start getting hungry. Xiao Qi and Yuebei probably give a few immortals pstd flashbacks with their snack runs.

[bucci-cookies]

Jealousy - Bruno Bucciarati x Reader

This was a commission I did a couple months ago!

If you'd like to support me, please consider leaving a donation on Ko-Fi or commissioning me👉🏿👈🏿

Wc: 13,098

Ao3 version

Enjoy!

“You should be more considerate of the weather.”

You looked up at Bruno with a raised eyebrow. He simply sighed and pointed to your legs.

“Your skirt is too short, didn’t you hear the weather forecast today?” He shot you a disappointed look as he adjusted his deep red turtleneck. “You should have at least worn some tights.” He turned back to face the street ahead.

Yeah, he was right, maybe a short tennis skirt that cut quite high above your knees wasn’t the best option for such a windy day.

The wind blew harshly, causing the leaves of the large birch trees lining the pavement to shake and rustle against each other, adding a second layer to the bustling noises of the people around you. The working day was drawing to a close, cafe chairs were being folded and packed inside while various store owners locked up for the evening. Across the street you saw a flock of people, each holding the hand of a little kid, presumably coming from some sort of extracurricular club or birthday party.

In Bruno's hand was a white bag with several little tubs of ice cream, each with a unique flavour. Some were fruity mixes of various berries, while others were more classic, sweet flavours like toffee and caramel. They were for the rest of the team as the two of you had already had your fill at the dessert shop, indulging in dark chocolate cake and thick, soft pieces of cheesecake. Once a week, you would try to get together as a group to watch a movie, have dinner, or just sit and talk and both of you were usually on dessert duty.

The wind blew once more, pulling the hem of your skirt up slightly.

“Ah, but I have a sweater on at least!” You tugged on the pastel pink woollen sweater that shielded your upper body from the cold and shot him a wide grin, to which he shook his head and smirked.

“I guess it's better than nothing.” He pinched your cheek sharply with his free hand.

“But Brunooo,” You sang as you wrapped your hands around his arm, feeling his muscles flex under his thick clothing as you held onto his biceps. “I thought you said you liked my outfit.” You pressed up against his body as you looked up at him.

“I can like your outfit and also think it's very impractical for this weather.” He patted the back of your hands, not reacting to the way you hugged his arm and pushed yourself up against him.

But what did you expect?

For years you had been trying to get his attention, but every attempt just solidified the platonic relationship between the two of you. Even with all the hints, the advances, the not-so-subtle trip to the dessert shop where you sat so close to him that the scents of your perfume and his cologne mixed; he still didn’t so much as reciprocate an inkling of what you felt towards him. He was sweet to you, of course, you talked frequently, you knew each other like the back of your hands. But he seemed to treat you no different to how he treated everyone else. That busy schedule of his didn’t make it easier, he had cancelled more plans than fulfilled recently, but you couldn’t blame him. The higher his rank in this organisation, the more was expected of him and the tighter his free time became. Across the three years that you had been affiliated with the group, Bruno was always a hard and consistent worker, something that both impressed and infatuated you.

Any normal person would give up after the first few months of failed attempts, not wanting to still keep giving their time to someone who wouldn't see them as they wish to be seen.

But you liked Bucciarati so much, too much for your own good. He was just so beautiful, so sweet, so breathtaking, like the colours of the ocean that sparkled with a tempting allure that captivated everyone, but could never be physically touched. The first day you met him, he already caught your eye. The way he carried his lean body under the open-chested suit he wore, his perfectly trimmed hair that framed his jawline. His deep blue eyes were mesmerising, though not as hypnotic as that deep voice of his or that laugh that made your heart flutter. There was a perfect blend of playful youthfulness and maturity about him, he was 28, but the smoothness of his skin and the brightness of his eyes made him look no older than 23.

A sharp flick to your forehead snapped you out of your thoughts.

“Hey?!” You exclaimed, slapping Bruno’s fingers away.

He scoffed in response and opened up the passenger door to his car. “Would you rather walk all the way back?” You realised that you had been standing in front of his car absentmindedly for the past few minutes.

You smiled awkwardly and slid into the passenger seat, taking the bag from Bruno’s hand and placing it on your lap while Bruno closed the door behind you and made his way to the driver’s side. He placed a hand on the back of your seat and looked behind you as he backed out of the parking space. The car felt smaller as his arm brushed yours and the proximity made you nervous every time he reached to change gears.

You wanted to say something…anything…maybe just tell him that you have feelings for him, now was as good a time as any. Maybe invite him out again tomorrow?

"So I heard Mista saying that there's going to be a week-long fair next week." You said, fiddling with the hem of your skirt. "Something to do with donations for the Children's hospital I think." Bruno hummed in response as he kept his eyes focused on the road ahead. "You wanna go check it out on Monday? See if there's anything cool?" You said, as nonchalantly as you could while you stared out of the window by your side, watching the kids cycling down the street.

Bruno clicked his tongue and hummed. "Ah, I’d love to…” A ‘but’ was coming . “But,” bingo “Giorno wanted me to oversee something.”

“Oh, that’s fine.” You sighed. Bruno told you he would be free this week, so this must have been a recent development. However, a big part of you already knew he would be too busy. “Maybe I’ll ask one of the others to go with me.”

The rest of the journey continued in silence as Bruno remained focused on the road while you focused on him in the corner of your eye. His large hands gripped the steering wheel as he tapped on it lightly with his index fingers. He tucked a lock of his hair behind his ear and hummed to himself absentmindedly.

Red suits him. You thought to yourself.

The deep scarlet turtleneck contrasted his cerulean eyes perfectly and brought out the tan of his skin. The thick material clung to his broad chest, curving around his defined pecs and cinching at his small waist. He shifted slightly in his seat which made it twist around his torso and reveal a mere glimpse of his abdomen in a way that made your face go warm. You looked away shyly and cleared your throat, choosing to focus on the birds flying between the trees that lined the street of your home.

It almost annoyed you how flustered he made you, especially without knowing. You were confident, articulate, beautiful, someone who knew how to grab the attention of a room with a glowing aura and a charming outfit. You weren’t a stranger to flirting or receiving compliments from other people. In fact, with the playfulness of some members of your team, it wasn’t unusual to innocently flirt back and forth with the others. But to think that one man, one excessively handsome, generous man, could make your knees weak and cause your stomach to flip inside out with so much as a hand on your shoulder, was embarrassing to you.

He pulled into your driveway, parking right by your door. You both got out of the car and made your way into your home, stopping off at the kitchen to put the slightly melted ice cream away in the freezer.

Like almost perfect timing, there were several raps on the door, the rhythm instantly letting you know it was Abbacchio. Bruno walked over to the door, swinging it open to reveal none other than the man himself.

“I brought drinks.” He raised a white plastic bag, the clear outline of a wine bottle poking through.

“Awh no cakes?” You pouted. Abbacchio always made the most amazing baked goods, they were always so light and fluffy with such sweet icing and creamy filling. They would almost melt in your mouth, especially when he paired them with a serving of warm custard or chocolate sauce.

“You know I’m not your personal baker right?” He said as he placed his shoes on the rack. “You should at least pay me for my services.” His purple lips curved into a proud smirk. Abbacchio wore a tightly fitted white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbow, revealing the prominent veins on his forearms. The top few buttons were undone, exposing his muscular chest, while his long hair flowed just past his shoulders.

He made his way to your fridge, placing the drinks in his bag on the bottom shelf, before pouring himself a glass of whiskey from your cabinet.

“Oh sure, help yourself.” You rolled your eyes as he sat down on your kitchen island, facing you.

“You barely drink it anyways, at this point, it's just for me.” He sipped his drink and leaned back into the chair. He was technically right, the bottle (and others) had been a present from a civilian you helped a few weeks ago, as you weren’t an avid drinker of whiskey, it sat at the back of your cabinet gathering dust. Abbacchio, on the other hand, immediately jumped to open it the first time he saw it.

The room was suddenly filled with the sound of Bruno’s ringtone coming from his pocket. He looked down at the name and sighed loudly. “Please excuse me.” He walked out of the room, presumably sitting on your staircase, to answer the call.

“So…” Abbacchio turned to face you, leaning on his hand with a playful grin on his face, you groaned internally, already knowing what he was going to ask. “How was your little date with Bucciarati?” Abbacchio asked, rotating his glass in his hand, making the drink swirl around the edge.

You poured yourself a glass of water. “It wasn’t a date.”

“But you wore this?” He said, eyeing your tennis skirt as you moved to sit on the island opposite him. “In the wind? Were you hoping to seduce him with your legs?” Abbacchio teased before drinking the last of his beverage and placing the glass on a coaster.

“Shut up.” You rolled your eyes, clearly a little irritated by him bluntly pointing out your outfit, before taking a sip from your glass.

He placed both hands on the marble surface of the island and pushed himself to lean towards you. “Ooh, you did more make-up today.” He pointed at your eyes. “I like your eyeshadow, it compliments your outfit.” He laughed and sat back down on the stool. Your eyelids were a soft shade of pink that matched your sweater. Your eyes were lined neatly with bold black eyeliner and your lips were coated with a glossy layer. While it wasn’t unusual for you to have a light layer of make-up, this was a slightly flashier version of you, one that Abbacchio knew was reserved for Bucciarati’s attention.

You sighed heavily, not even bothering to play along and give an excuse or come back. Instead, you gave a brief smile and a slightly soured “thanks”.

Leone groaned and stood up, causing the stool to be pushed back with a scraping sound. “You should just tell him you like him, don’t beat around the bush.” He washed up his empty glass in the sink. “Bucciarati is too dense to know when someone’s interested in him.” He dried his hands and sat back down. “Don’t waste sex appeal on him.”

“And who are you to tell me how to deal with Bucciarati?” You snapped back, sharper than you expected, and placed a hand on your hip with a raised eyebrow.

“Okay sheesh.” He raised his hands in defence. “Didn’t mean to strike a chord.”

You let out a deep breath  “No, it's fine. Maybe I’m just not his type?” You leaned onto the island, a dejected expression on your face.

A large hand patted your head before ruffling your hair lightly. “Oh come on…everyone loves a good femme fatale. You're very attractive, you're smart, good at packing a punch." You snickered at the last comment. "I think Bucciarati is crazy for not reciprocating those feelings back."

"If you say so…" You exhaled again. "I asked him to go to the fair with me next week." 

"As a date?" Abbacchio’s voice perked up as he took his hand off your head.

You waved your hand. "He said no, he was too busy.”

“Ah, I’m sorry.” Abbacchio patted your head once more. “I would go with you, but Bucciarati asked me to help him out with some stuff tomorrow.”

You sat up properly again and smiled. “No worries, I’ll ask Mista.”

Bruno returned shortly from his call and the three of you conversed, with Bruno sitting by your side. Not long after, another set of knocks on your door was heard, this time, it was Mista.

“Hey!” Mista hugged you from the side, placing a kiss on your cheek while he held the side of your face. “We got snacks.” He lifted a large green bag stuffed to the brim with a bag of popcorn poking out of the top.

“Hey, guys.” You kissed Mista on the cheek back. “No Giorno or Fugo?” You looked around for the blondes, expecting them to come in after Mista and Narancia.

“They couldn’t make it.” Narancia took off his shoes and placed them next to Mista’s. “Giorno said something family related, came up. Fugo was helping him.”

“I see,” You locked the door behind them. “Oh, Narancia!” He turned to face you. “I got you that ice cream you like, bubblegum and mango right?” Your words were followed by a loud ‘thank you’ from the kitchen as Narancia rummaged through the fridge looking for the tub.

Once everyone was settled and the lights were dimmed, the CD was placed in the player and everyone gathered around the coffee table. Today’s pick was “Cujo”, as suggested by none other than Leone Abbacchio. The man was an avid Stephen King fan, of course, he wouldn’t waste the opportunity to show the cinematic rendition of one of his favourites.

The sounds of the family screaming as the dog barked violently outside the door flooded the room, sending chills down everyone’s spines, sucking up everyone’s attention.

“Hey, Mista?” You leaned in slightly towards the male and whispered.

His eyes remained locked on the screen as he tilted his head up slightly to listen to you. “Hm?” He asked, reaching his hand into the bowl of popcorn.

“You free tomorrow?”

His head snapped round to look at you, before pulling a puppy dog face. “Are you inviting me on a date?” He pouted, placing his hands on either side of his cheeks.

“No silly,” You scoffed and ruffled his loose brown curls. “The fair, I would rather go with someone than go alone.”

He furrowed his eyebrows and cocked his head to the side. “I thought you wanted to go with Bucciarati?” When you and Mista talked about the fair, it was under the impression that you and Bruno would go together, Mista was merely suggesting as he knew him better than you did.

“He can’t make it.” You said through gritted teeth, emphasising the “t” at the end.

“Oh…” He paused and frowned before giving you an empathetic smile and patting the back of your hand. “I’d love to go with you.” He grinned widely. “I’ll pick you up at noon?”

“Mhm!” You smiled back before leaning back into the sofa as you were before.

The movie ended but the lights remained dimmed as you talked to fill the time. The bottles of wine were exchanged between everyone as its volume quickly diminished. Jokes were shared with light giggles, playful teases, and the occasional flush of the cheeks. Narancia’s head found its way to your lap as he sat on the floor and hiccuped under the influence of what seemed to be his 100th glass. Ordinarily, the idea of your home being littered with wrappers and crumbs would drive you insane, but the relaxing aura of being with your friends, especially with the stress of your work, made you forget about the mess.

You turned to the side and noticed that Bruno’s hair was tied up in a small ponytail with two locks on either side of his face.

Ah…he’s just so cute.

His lips were pouted in a cute expression as he pressed the rim of his cup against them. He turned to face you with a wide smile, before wrapping an arm around your shoulder and pulling you in close. You steadied yourself against him with a hand on his chest. The scent of alcohol in his breath would have bothered you slightly, if not for how flustered you felt against him.

“Cara…” His deep voice hummed in your ear as he buried his face in your neck. Bruno was quite a touchy person when intoxicated, not just with you, but with everyone, but of course, you were the only one to get so worked up. “I’m very drunk, I don’t think I should drive home, can I stay here tonight?” He moved to cup your face and pressed his face against yours. “Pleaseee?” He asked with such a babyish voice.

“Of course, you can, Bruno.” You patted his back. He gave you a long kiss on the cheek before standing up and wobbling over to the sink for a glass of water.

Abbacchio left first, planning on taking the bus back home as he was the least drunk and able to make his way to the station. Narancia and Mista followed soon after, they lived together, just a couple of streets away from you and were able to walk back.

That left you and Bruno alone. Of course, he had been in your home before, and you in his, but something felt different. You stood up and began picking up the bags of snacks, throwing away the empty packets, while clipping and folding the ones that weren’t.

Bruno joined you later as he helped discard the empty bottles and cans, leaving the last full bottle on the coffee table.

“You don’t have to clean up Bruno!”

He smiled sweetly at you as he brought the glasses to the sink. “It’s the least I can do to say thanks.” He turned on the tap and began washing up the glasses while you packed up the rest of the leftover snacks.

The two of you worked quietly as whatever soap opera played in the background and filled in the gaps. Once your living room was back to being spotless, the two of you settled on either side of your L-shaped couch, light glasses of wine in hand as you cleaned up the rest of the bottle.

Bruno swirled the deep red liquid in his glass, occasionally taking a sip. His right leg lay across his form with his ankle on his left leg. His arm stretched out across the back of the couch, fingers stroking the material and occasionally rubbing it with his hand as his eyes focussed on the television screen.

For what felt like the millionth time this day, your focus lay with Bruno. His hair was still tied in the same small ponytail as before and you suspected he forgot to take it down. Just a slight change in hair made him look different, he looked cute, sweet even. It brought emphasis to his soft cheeks that had started to flush a soft shade of pink as he poured himself another glass.

“What did Giorno want you to oversee?” You said, trying to initiate a conversation before the butterflies in your stomach drove you insane.

He paused. “A couple of guys were caught selling to kids,” Bruno replied with a slight frown, his voice less chirpy than usual.

“Ah, I see.” You knew how much the drug abuse epidemic bothered Bruno, especially when it extended towards those most vulnerable, like children and people who were just scraping by. You didn’t mean to dampen his mood and you tried to turn the conversation around. “I think it's great that you care a lot about things like this, you’re a really good person.” You shot him a smile as you topped up your glass.

He let out a short breath. “You’re flattering me too much.” He looked up at you with a soft expression as his thumb grazed the rim of his glass. You released a mental sigh, thankful that you managed to pull up the conversation before it spiralled into an awkward moment.

“I’m just being honest.”

He placed his glass on the coffee table and leaned towards you. “Well, you’re a better person than I am.”

“What do you mean?” You tilted your head to the side.

He nodded with a wide smile. “You care a lot about other people, especially the people in our team. It’s nice that you also remember people’s interests a lot.” He remembered how you specifically chose flavours that everyone on the team liked. “I like that you have a big heart. It also means that you stand firm when people cross boundaries.” He looked down and played with his fingers. “You know how to make your presence take over a room and get others to listen to you.” He recalled how even the way you carried yourself, your walk, your expressions, could gather the attention of even the rowdiest people. “You’re confident in yourself and what you believe in, I think that’s very admirable.”

These words flowed out of Bruno’s mouth smoothly and naturally, as if it was nothing, but they had such an impact on you that you could feel them in the depths of your chest. 

Of course, you would expect him to say something nice, you had been friends for years, but the idea of Bruno analysing and pointing out these specific sides of you was on a whole different level. Receiving such a spread of praise from someone as wonderfully put-together and admired as Bruno Bucciarati felt like the highest honour.

But a tiny part of you was hurt, upset at the fact that Bruno saw you in such a way and didn’t have feelings for you. Almost like it proved that despite how much you tried, Bruno may never have a romantic interest in you. He wasn’t misinterpreting you, nor was he viewing you just from the surface, he knew how you wanted to be seen, but that wasn’t what he was attracted to. 

“And you say that I’m flattering you?” You scoffed as you felt your cheeks heat up and your stomach twist even more.

“I’m just being honest.” He gave a teasing smile as he mimicked your earlier phrase. He took a final swig from his glass and placed it back on the table. “Did Mista say he’ll take you to the fair?”

“Yeah, he did, though I’m sure the free doughnuts tomorrow are what’s making him go.”

The corners of his lips turned upward before flattening into a frown. “I felt bad about not going with you.” He exhaled.

“You shouldn’t, you’re just busy.”

“Well, I’m always busy…Does it not bother you sometimes that I have to cancel plans a lot?” Bruno leaned towards you.

“No.” You said earnestly. “You have duties to fulfil and those should come first.” You exchanged an understanding nod between the two of you.

Bruno looked up at the clock above your TV, realising it was already past 3 am.

“I should head to bed.” He stood up and stretched, making the bottom of his turtleneck ride up his body slightly. You nodded in agreement, before standing up and making your way to the kitchen to wash your glasses and dispose of the empty bottle. You switched off all the lights and made your way upstairs together before bidding each other goodnight.

*********************************************

You stirred your coffee idly, mixing in the two sugar cubes you added, as today’s weather report was read on the radio. Thankfully it was expected to be a relatively warm, sunny day, perfect for the summer dress you wore. It was a simple white dress with tiny black polka dots and puffed sleeves. The front was cut a little low, giving space for the pearl necklace you wore and you paired the dress with a pair of black platforms and a small purse.

“Good morning,” Bruno whispered as he walked into the kitchen, rubbing his head slightly.

“Morning!” You pointed to the coffee machine. “Care for a drink?”

He shook his head and sat by the island. “I’ll have one when I go home, thank you.” He looked up at you as you drank from your mug. “You look lovely by the way.”

You paused with the mug up to your mouth, slightly shocked by his sudden compliment. “Thank you.” You put your mug down and smoothed the sides of your dress.

“You have a very exquisite taste, your clothing and colour palettes always fit you so well.” He beamed, his eyes not leaving yours.

“Bruno…” You placed your hands on your cheeks. “You know, you can be a tease sometimes.” You waved a hand at him and resumed drinking your coffee.

“A tease?” Bruno tilted his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. “Is it teasing to compliment someone for being glamorous?” He chuckled, pushing the seat back and standing up. It was times like this that you felt like Bruno just gave you mixed feelings, his words dangerously trod the line between playful flirting/compliments and genuine attraction. 

“I need to head home now, so I’m not late.” You didn’t notice when he walked over to stand beside you. “Thank you for letting me stay,” He kissed the back of your hand and cupped the side of your face.

“It’s no problem, what are friends for?” You smiled back at him.

With a wave at the door, he was off.

A heavy sigh escaped your lips as you slumped onto one of the island chairs, the feeling of Bruno’s lips lingering on the back of your hand as you tried to finish your coffee. Once the white mug was empty, you walked over to the sink and washed it up.

The sudden loud honking of Mista’s car horn startled you slightly, making you jerk and drop the mug in the sink. You cursed out loud as the water splashed on your dress.

“Hey, beautiful!” Mista shot you a toothy grin as you walked towards his car.

You slid into the sleek black vehicle, taking in the overpowering scent of his cologne. “Beautiful?” You raised an eyebrow quizzically as you put on your seatbelt.  “Since when were you so polite?” You and Mista’s relationship was built on anything but pleasantries like that, while he had joked around and called you things like “hot” or “smoking”, something as innocent as the word “beautiful” felt suspicious.

“This is how I am to all the girls,” He said with a proud tone as he pulled out of the parking space. “You should have faith in me.”

You pouted and put on a fake sad voice. “Oh, so I’m just like one of your other girls Mista?” You placed a hand on your chest and looked at him with puppy eyes. “And here I thought I was special.” The dramatic tilt of your head with the back of your hand on your forehead made him smirk.

“No no bella, you’re very special.” He pinched your cheek harshly with no regard for your pain. “You’re one of my favourite people.” He patted your cheek before returning his hand to the steering wheel.

“So does that mean I get to see what Guido Mista is like on a fake date?” You tapped your bottom lip.

“Maybe,” He turned to face you as he stopped at the red traffic light. “But I don't want you to fall in love with me. It might make it hard to work together, my charisma is too strong.” He patted your thigh and gave you an apologetic look. In as much as you were playing around, Mista genuinely wanted you to enjoy today as much as you could as he knew how badly you wanted to go with Bucciarati.

“Ha!” You snickered. “We’ll see about that.” You leaned back into the seat and watched the street pass by as Mista drove towards the coast where the fair was set.

The wind blew a little as you stepped out of the car. Mista held your hand in his, clearly going through with the idea of a fake date, and led you towards the entrance.

The sound of kids running around, enjoying the first day of summer as they pushed and tugged each other and ran from one attraction to another. Behind each set of children was a group of adults, hands full with various snacks, drinks and toys for the kids.

Mista pulled you over to a massive ride that swung the riders in circles on swings. It was currently in motion, causing the sound of screaming kids to spread through the air as it began to tilt side to side. “We have to go on this!” Mista shook your shoulders violently, more energetic than the kids around you.

You laughed at his enthusiasm and nodded in agreement. Once the current cycle was over, you rushed to get seats next to each other, close to the edge. Your hair blew in the wind as you spun around, the height of the ride giving you a view of the entire fair. Mista, on the other hand, was screaming throughout with a massive grin on his face.

You went on that ride 3 more times before Mista had enough and pulled you towards another ride, and another, and another. Somewhere during the House of Mirrors, you grew tired of walking around and latched onto Mista’s arm.

“Let’s get something to eat.”

Hand in hand, you walked through the various food stalls before settling on a food truck selling takeaway kebabs. You took a seat on one of the benches overlooking the sea as you ate side by side.

“I think I should give up on Bruno.” You sighed, picking at the salad in the box.

“Why?”

“I don’t think he likes me, or that he will anytime soon.” You took a sip of your drink. “I can’t keep getting hung up on him. But it's so annoying because I really do like him, he’s amazing.”

You found yourself venting to Mista, explaining all your feelings towards Bruno and how he acts in response. Mista sat quietly and listened to everything you said, occasionally nodding or giving a short response to let you know he was paying attention. Before you knew it, you had gotten everything off your chest.

“Urgh I’m sorry, you didn’t need to hear all of that.” You groaned, embarrassed by what you said.

“Don’t be.” He patted your back and hugged you. “I’m not that good with things like this, but I know that anyone would be lucky to have you, and even IF Bucciarati isn’t interested, maybe it's for the better. There are so many people out there and you never know your options unless you look for them. You are one of my dearest friends, the last thing I would want is for you to beat yourself up over this.” He cupped your face. “You can hang out with me, call me, text me whenever, I’ll always be free for you.”

“Mista…” You hugged him tightly. “When did you get so mature with words?” You mumbled into his shoulder. Mista was known for being nonchalant and high-spirited, you rarely saw this calmer, more mature side of him.

“Hey hey, don’t tell me you’re already in love with me, I warned you!” He teased and poked your back.

“Shut up.” You rolled your eyes. You looked at your phone and saw that it was almost closing time for today. The brightness of the summer evening had masked how late it actually was. You looked around and saw that the area was almost empty and stalls had begun to close.

“We should get going.” Mista nudged you and stood up. “Actually, I have one thing I want to do.” He took you to a stall with bows and arrows and a row of targets along the back wall.

“ € 2.50 to play. Hit a target, pick a prize.” The owner stated, handing Mista a bow and arrow. “Three tries.”

To the shock of the owner, Mista not only hit the target three times, but one of his arrows managed to shoot right through the other. The owner’s jaw dropped as he watched Mista pick out three items from the stall, a stuffed octopus, a goldfish and a toy boat. He handed the octopus to you with a bow, to which you graciously accepted with a kiss on his cheek.

“Who’s the goldfish for?” You asked as you walked to the car.

“Been thinking about getting a pet.” He handed it to you as you got into the car. “Relax, I’ll take care of it, I’ll get it a nice tank and everything.”

“And the toy boat?”

“That’s just for the bath.”

You both laughed as Mista pulled out of the car park and drove you back home. You pressed your head against the window, reminiscing on today’s adventure. Excluding the talk with Mista, you hadn’t thought about Bruno all day…it felt… nice . Mista was a sweet person to you, you had been good friends for over a year, but something about today felt different, a good type of different. A feeling that you wanted to experience more of.

Mista took you to the market again the next day, and the next, each more fun-filled than the previous. Mista was good at getting you to relax and enjoy the day, washing your mind clean of stress and worry. The two of you had developed a routine. Thursday evenings were your trips to Rhode Island Coffee, a quaint cafe not far from Mista’s home, while Friday afternoons were for brunch at a large bed and breakfast with a surprisingly high-quality buffet for a very low price.

You and Mista had always been friends, he was the first person you met on the team, even before Bruno. He helped you loosen up, and you helped him calm down, perfectly complementing each other in the middle. But you felt like you were getting to know each other all over again, especially now that you found yourself with Bruno less and less.

Everyone had noticed that your time was slowly shifting from Bruno to Mista, but no one thought much of it.

Well,

Everyone but Bruno.

He laid on his back in bed, staring at his phone, the lack of activity making him frown.

She hasn’t said anything to me.

He thought to himself. Not just today, but in days . Usually, the two of you would talk every day, small talk at the minimum, but he hadn’t received as much as a “hi” from you. It left an uncomfortable taste in his mouth and a sort of discomfort he couldn’t pinpoint.

It wasn’t just the texting, it was everything. You would no longer hold onto his arm when you walked together, you stopped sitting next to him in Libeccio (now choosing to sit between Mista and Narancia). You never really seemed to want to hang around him, as much as you did with Mista. Of course, you weren’t Bruno’s pet, you had no obligation to be by his side 24/7, but the less you were around, the more Bruno realised how much of his routine consisted of you.

It felt like he was losing you and he didn’t know why.

Though it's normal to feel sad if two people drift apart isn’t it? He was getting worked up over nothing, this was natural.

She must be busy, she must be working on something.

He reassured himself, standing up from his bed and putting his phone aside. In fact, why was he waiting for you to message him, he should say something first. He was free today, all day, maybe you could visit that dessert place you liked again?

Hey, would you like to visit Brambilla’s today?

One minute passed, two, ten. No response.

His eyebrows furrowed, your profile said you were online. Maybe you left your phone online? 

Or maybe you were just ignoring him, too busy having fun with Mista.

No, no.

Bruno shook his head, confused as to why Mista came into his mind. You were friends, you wouldn’t ignore each other out of the blue, he would hope that you would feel comfortable talking to him if you were going through a stressful time.

He locked his phone and attempted to continue with his day, helping himself to a nice lunch downstairs. His phone rang, just as he put a forkful of carbonara in his mouth, immediately he scrambled for the device and checked the name.

Oh.

It was Mista.

“Hey, Bucciarati!” He chirped in a completely different mood compared to Bruno.

“Mista…” Bruno felt a weird twinge in his side while talking to him, he ignored it and swallowed his food. “Can I help you?”

“Just wondering if you’re coming out tonight.”

“Tonight?”

The sound of Mista’s bed creaking was heard in the background. “Mhm…that club that guy…what was his name again?” Mista rubbed his chin and hummed.

“Puddu?”

“Yes, Puddu!” Mista exclaimed. “He invited us to that club, the VIP section.”

Clubs weren’t Bruno’s scene, he didn’t like the eardrum-bursting, migraine-inducing music, or the waves of drunk people cutting off the air and humidifying it with sweat. He was about to decline the offer until Mista spoke up.

“Y/n is so excited, it's cute.” He laughed. “She’s been dying for an opportunity to enjoy a VIP lounge.”

Bruno paused when Mista called you cute…it felt weird, it rubbed him the wrong way.

“So she’s going?”

“Yep, planned an outfit a week ago.”

“I’ll come too, just text me the time and address.”

“Sweet, see you later!” Mista said in a cheery tone.

Bruno hung up without a response and scratched the back of his head. There was an unusual…almost burning feeling, just below his chest that made him squirm in his seat. Maybe it was the regret of agreeing to go to the club.

Why did he even agree? Maybe because they would be in a separate VIP section? Away from the large crowds and in an area more enjoyable?

He shrugged his shoulders and accepted his fate as he tucked back into his food.

*********************************************

Evening rolled by, as did the event Bruno dreaded. He could just say no, change his mind and stay inside. But something in his heart told him he had to go.

Mista had sent the address and Bruno was already on his way. As it was summer, the streets were more crowded than usual, even for a Friday night, as more people decided to indulge in more late-night…activities.

The building was quite large and modern looking, sticking out in the modest neighbourhood. By the entrance was a large crowd, filled with various people dressed in a range of clothes, from casual clothing to more seductive outfits. Among the crowd were a few people donning high-end designer items, stepping out of luxury cars. Bruno assumed they too were guests invited by Puddu, the man was trying to rub shoulders with as many influential and powerful people as he could after all.

“Ah Bucciarati, right this way.” A woman in a low cut, sparkling dress held his arm, guiding him towards a room on the second floor. He noticed that this floor had its own bar and mingling space, smaller than the general area downstairs. She opened it to reveal the rest of his teammates sitting around a round table, small plates scattered across it. This room had its own stereo system set up, at least he wouldn’t have to listen to the trashy music being played downstairs.

“Surprised you came.” Abbacchio nodded at him, pointing towards an empty chair next to him.

“Well, I might as well see what he has to offer.” Bruno accepted the seat and looked at the drinks menu in front of him.

He scanned the list of cocktails, thumb pressed against his lips as he pondered what to order. He didn’t even notice the presence next to him.

“Narancia…how many of those have you had already?” You said softly, your voice catching Bruno’s attention. He looked up and saw you standing right next to him, leaning on the table slightly with one hand.

You wore a silk dress that hugged your body tightly, cutting low on your chest and held up with thin straps. The hot pink paired perfectly with your skin tone and eyeshadow. Your neck was adorned with a gorgeous gold necklace, and your wrists with matching bracelets. There was a certain allure about you, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Maybe it had to do with how he hadn’t properly seen nor spoken to you in a while. Bruno’s face turned a warm shade of pink as he realised that your cleavage was clearly in his view from this angle.

Bruno didn’t know what it was, but you looked different, there was something new about you.

It wasn’t unusual for you to dress in a way that caught everyone’s attention, nor was this the first time you wore anything revealing, but something about what you wore today made his throat close slightly as he tugged on the collar of his shirt.

“I haven’t had that many!” Narancia slurred, waving his hands in the air.

“When you’re able to separate your words, I’ll believe you.” You shook your head. You sat down next to Bruno, the only other spare seat. Bruno was about to turn and say something to you before Mista cut him off.

“Where’s the guy you were talking to? Did you leave him at the bar to wallow?” Mista leaned into you. Your conversation was unheard by everyone else as the music covered up any dialogue.

Everyone except Bruno that is.

“He’s charming…but I don’t know…he’s rubbing me the wrong way.” You folded your arms over your chest as you recalled the man that came up to you while you sat at the bar. He appeared slightly older than you, long black hair tied back, dark eyes, muscular build. He bought you a drink and took a seat next to you, revealing that he too was part of the organisation. You were usually quite good at spotting another person’s intentions just by looking at them, you explained to Mista that the look in his eyes made you feel unsettled, like he was hiding something from you behind that charismatic presentation. “But anyway, he went to the bathroom.”

Bruno felt that burning sensation in his body again, this time it spread up into his chest and neck, making his leg bounce under the table.

“Oh well.” Mista draped an arm across your shoulders and pulled you close. “Plenty more fish in the sea, might as well enjoy yourself.” He stood up and held out a hand to you. “Let’s go dance!”

You took Mista’s hand without hesitation, letting him lead you out of the room.

Bruno didn’t notice how much he was staring as you left until Abbacchio slapped his back.

“Jealous much?” The older male scoffed before eating the piece of scallop on his fork.

“What do you mean?”

Abbacchio huffed and turned back to his plate. “No one stares at someone like that, with such an expression unless they’re jealous.” Bruno didn’t answer, instead, he poured himself a glass of water as Abbacchio kept talking. “Y/n this, y/n that.” The older male sighed. “Oh she hasn’t messaged me, she hasn’t spoken to me, she’s always with Mista, has she said anything about me to you?” Abbacchio mocked Bruno’s voice, much to his dislike. “Go tell her you like her.”

“I said I’m not jealous.” Bruno pushed back his seat loudly and stood up, an angered expression on his face as he exited the room.

“Bucciarati, I was only playing!” Abbacchio yelled back.

Well only partially playing. Abbacchio had known Bruno for 7 years, he could read Bruno’s expression like a book.

The private bar was busier now, more people gathered, ordering drinks and mingling. Bruno managed to squeeze himself onto a chair and ordered a drink from the bartender, trying to wash the sour taste Abbacchio’s words left in his mouth. 

“Mista don’t!” Your laugh caught Bruno’s attention, just down the table, blocked slightly by the crowd of people, you were sitting next to Mista, grinning at whatever he said to you. His arm was draped once more over your shoulders, while his free hand held a dry glass with ice cubes in it.

Something in Bruno’s mind wanted to know what you were talking about. What was so funny that you had to give Mista that starry-eyed look you usually gave Bruno?

You rest your head on Mista’s shoulder, ordering a drink while you hugged his waist.

Bruno looked away, clicking his tongue. It dawned on him that this was probably the first time in a long time you had been at an event like this and the two of you had been separated. Normally, you would be sitting next to Bruno, arm in arm while you talked, making even an unbearable situation feel more hospitable.

“I’ll be right back!” Bruno heard Mista’s voice and turned towards you, watching him leave down a hallway. Without thinking, Bruno walked over to you, taking Mista’s seat.

“Oh hey…” You smiled, a little confused as to when Bruno appeared by your side.

“Hey.” He beamed, an expression that would usually leave you flustered and embarrassed. But this time it didn’t, the lack of time you spent around Bruno made it better to deal with your feelings towards him. You simply turned back to your drink and took a sip.

“I sent you a message this morning….but um…no reply.” Bruno cringed heavily on the inside, mentally face-palming himself. It made him sound so petty and needy to bring it up.

“You did?” You checked your phone, he was right. There was an unopened message from him. “Ah, I’m sorry, Mista and I were-”

“I get it.” Bruno cut you off and cleared his throat. “No problem.” The burning came back again, this time he could feel it in the tips of his fingers as he stared down at you. Was he angry with you? Upset? He couldn’t tell, nor could he fathom why he felt that way.

It was probably something in his drink.

Yes, of course. The drink. Bruno had ordered something called a “Poison Dart”, not knowing the ingredients.

Well, at least the name was fitting.

You were taken aback slightly by Bruno’s sharp response, the tone rubbing you the wrong way even though he maintained his usual outward composure.

“So you and Mista…” Bruno swirled his drink in his glass. “You guys seem really close.”

Your eyes lit up, making Bruno grit his teeth. “Yep! I’ve known him for so long, but it's nice getting to know him better. I think I understand why Narancia likes living with him so much!” You snickered.

“That’s…nice,” Bruno mumbled behind his glass, setting it down rather loudly on the bar table. “Though it seems that we haven’t had a chance to hang out in a while.” He tried to play it off as a light-hearted comment, but he could feel an unintentional weight to his words.

He should probably get rid of this drink.

“Yeah, I guess we haven’t.” You sighed, running your index finger around the rim of your glass. You weren’t ignoring Bruno, not at all, but after your conversation with Mista at the fair a few weeks back, you felt like you couldn’t force yourself to catch his eye anymore. While your feelings towards Bruno were still strong, it wasn’t fair to continue this one-sided charade.

You hoped that if he did have feelings for you, he would make them a little more obvious.

“Maybe we should-”

“Oh hey, Bucciarati!” Bruno looked up to see Mista standing behind you, placing his hands on your shoulders.

“Hey.” Bruno’s eyes remained locked on Mista’s hands, how they stroked your bare skin and how you didn’t so much as flinch under his touch. “I’ll leave you two be.”

“You’re leaving? At least stay and have a couple more drinks.” Mista tugged the sleeve of Bruno’s shirt. He would have left if he didn’t notice you looking up at him.

Maybe he should stay, after all, he was complaining about not being able to see you.

He sat back down and ordered another drink, making sure to avoid the Poison Dart and anything that appeared similar.

“I got tickets to that horror movie by the way.” Mista resumed his seat next to you, gathering your attention once more. “Previews!”

You grabbed his shoulders enthusiastically, making Bruno squeeze his glass. “Mista, how did you get these?!” Bruno raised an eyebrow, he never knew you liked those types of movies, you had never once shown any interest in them around him.

But somehow Mista knew all about you, knew everything about what you liked all of a sudden.

Suddenly Mista’s the one you like to share things with.

“Had to pull some strings, but it was worth it!” Mista’s words snapped Bruno out of his thoughts. He looked up to see the proud expression spread across his face. “I got them for everyone.”

“Ah but…” You turned to look at Bruno briefly before looking back at Mista. “Bruno doesn’t like horror fi-”

“No, I do!” Once more without thinking, Bruno cut you off.  “I do like them!” He cleared his throat and sunk into his drink. He squirmed internally, realising he knew barely anything about the genre.

“Oh?” You looked back round at Bruno, tilting your head to the side. “You always told me you hated them, that they were all so unrealistic and had too much convenient plot armour.”

Ah shit.

Bruno nearly choked on his drink.

“That was before…I like them now!” He gave a wide smile, hoping, no, BEGGING for no further questions.

“Fair enough.” Mista shrugged before poking your cheek. “I’ve been making y/n watch all my favourites, I guess they’re rubbing off on her a little. You should come along then.” Mista returned the expression to him.

Though Bruno wasn’t looking at Mista…rather he was looking at how your fingers laced through Mista’s brown curls.

Bruno never liked people touching his hair, though, for some reason, it never bothered him when you did it.

The conversation faded into the back of Bruno’s mind as he watched the two of you engrossed in whatever movie you talked about. Mista said something to you that made you giggle and lightly slap his shoulder. He could tell from here that you were tipsy, not too much, but enough to make you more exuberant.

Ordinarily, this would be when Bruno would hold you up and take you home, letting you rest on his arm and lie in the back of his car as he drove you home. You would tug on his clothes and slur on every other word, in a way he thought was somewhat…endearing.

“Brunoooo.”

“Yes y/n.” Bruno smiled, moving you towards your bed.

You grabbed the collar of his shirt, almost pulling him on top of you. “Yourereallypretty.” Your words rolled as one, making Bruno laugh.

“Well thank you, you’re very pretty too.” He pulled your hands off his clothes and kissed your knuckles. “But you should get some sleep now, you’ve had way too much to drink.” He ruffled your hair and tucked you into bed before leaving.

The memory brought a warmth that spread across his chest, a familiar fondness that made his lips curve upwards.

Too bad that warmth was quickly replaced with a numbing cold that spread to his head as he looked once more at you and Mista.

He didn’t like how closely Mista sat next to you or how focused you were on him. In his gut, he wanted to join in the conversation, say something so you could finally pry your eyes away from Mista. But he had absolutely no idea what he could possibly say.

Abbacchio’s earlier words returned to his mind, this time with a bitter taste.

He wasn’t jealous, absolutely no way. He wasn’t a teenager anymore, he wouldn’t be so petty over jealousy.

To Mista of all people, absolutely not.

As he said, he just felt a little off because he hadn’t seen or spoken to you in a while. You were both adults, he was 28, you 26 (the same age as Mista - though that didn’t matter), you were allowed to live your own life, as was he.

Did he particularly like the fact that you hadn’t been around each other as much? No.

Did he like the fact that Mista seemed to be everywhere like a leech? No.

But did that mean that Bruno had suddenly become jealous and had romantic feelings towards you? Definitely not.

Bruno dropped his glass with a loud bang on the table, you didn’t notice, not that he was trying to make you. He left silently for the bathroom, swatting out the guys smoking there. He turned the tap to cold and splashed water on his face, trying to get his head together. His brain was causing him confusion over nothing.

He rubbed his cheek slowly, fingers digging into his skin as water dripped onto his shirt. After a long, heavy sigh, left the bathroom, making his way back to the bar.

“Mista…”

The music was loud, but Bruno could still make out your voice, though softer than usual, and of course, you were whispering Mista’s name. He clenched his fists, and walked into the bar, stopping in his tracks when he saw you and Mista.

Mista’s hands were on you, one on your thigh, the other cupping your face, while both of yours were on his chest. But that wasn’t what caught Bruno’s eye.

No, what caught Bruno’s eye was your lips, your plush lips were pressed against Mista’s. Somehow in the few minutes Bruno took to clear his head in the bathrooms, you and Mista had started making out.

Bruno didn’t know what he felt, or how he should. It was a sting to his chest, the kind of sensation one would get from a stinging nettle. He didn’t say anything, and neither did he watch the two of you anymore. He silently walked past you and made his way back to the private room, only Abbacchio was there now.

“Bucciarati!” Abbacchio waved him over as he slumped over the table. Bruno pulled up a seat next to him and immediately Abbacchio poured him a drink of whatever it was he had been drinking.

“No, I think I’ve had more than enough to drink today,” Bruno said with a bitter tone through gritted teeth.

The tone didn’t go unnoticed by Abbacchio. “Have you accepted that you were in fact jealous?”

“No, because there is nothing to accept.” Bruno contradicted his word and chugged the glass in front of him. “I don’t know where you get these silly ideas from, you’re 29, not 19.”

“Ouch, no need to bring up my age.” Abbacchio placed a hand on his chest in a dramatic display of hurt making Bruno roll his eyes. “Besides, this has nothing to do with age.” Abbacchio picked up a piece of garlic bread from the centre table. “It’s to do with you being all mopey because y/n spends all her time with Mista and not you and now you’re regretting not saying anything sooner.”

“That’s absurd.”

“But is it a lie?”

Bruno paused and clicked his tongue before scoffing. “Whatever happened to two people just appreciating each other platonically? Everything has to be labelled as romantic.”

“Oh, there’s nothing wrong with close platonic relationships.” The older male shrugged as he leaned into his seat. “But that isn’t really what’s happening though is it?”

“I think you’ve had too much to drink.” Bruno stood up, pulling Abbacchio’s arm simultaneously and dragging him out of the room. He made sure to not look towards the bar, in case you and Mista were still there.

“Hey look, y/n is a very beautiful woman, and the two of you are very close, there’s nothing wrong with having feelings here and there.”

Bruno completely ignored him as he waved down a taxi, neither of them was sober enough to drive all the way home.

The pair sat at the back, keeping the barrier between them and the driver up and the windows rolled down.

Abbacchio made it his personal goal to ensure Bruno accepted his jealousy towards you and Mista, hoping to play matchmaker and finally get the two of you together. He was well aware that you and Mista were platonic, but it was fun watching Bruno squirm and try to keep his cool.

He figured out Bruno’s true feelings just a week ago when Bruno complained yet again about you being with Mista. Everyone had gathered at a restaurant for dinner and when it was time to leave, you found out that your car had a fault and would need to be fixed the next day, meaning you couldn’t get home. When Bruno realised this, he jumped to your aid, offering to drive you home, but you told him that you were going to leave with Mista.

Now that was purely coincidental, Mista happened to approach you first. But Bruno didn’t know that, to him, you had chosen Mista over him.

He stared at you the whole time, watching you converse with Mista and get into his car, disappearing into the dark streets, with that pensive look on his face. From then, Abbacchio noticed more and more things about Bruno’s demeanour towards you and Mista.

Like how he had a scowl every time you hung out with Mista, and the irritated look on his face every time his name was brought up. Or the way Bruno’s eyes lit up when it was just the two of you together, his hands itching to hold yours and how he started copying Mista by giving you kisses on your forehead and cheek instead of the hand.

Bruno most definitely had feelings towards you, but Abbacchio couldn’t tell if he was being stubborn, or just plain dense.

Though the irritation on Bruno’s face from Abbacchio’s comments implied the former.

It would have been a lot easier if Abbacchio told Bruno that you had feelings for him and not Mista. But a. it wasn’t Abbacchio’s place to tell Bruno that and b. Bruno should be able to understand his own feelings by himself.

The taxi pulled up in front of Bruno’s home, but before he could leave, Abbacchio tugged on his arm. “If you want to keep lying to yourself, no sweat, but don’t complain if she and Mista get in a relationship.”

That ought to do it!

Bruno stood in his driveway, his back facing the taxi as it continued its route to Abbacchio’s home, and his fists clenched tightly. First, he sees you and Mista kiss and now Abbacchio plants the idea of you and Mista in a relationship in his head.

He sighed heavily, dragging his feet into his home and up to his bedroom. He lay defeated on the covers, too tired to take a shower or change. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out, the bright light blurred his eyes before focussing on the caller ID.

It was you.

Bruno answered without hesitation, putting his phone to his ear.

“Bruno!” You sounded relieved.

“Yes y/n?” He cleared his throat and answered.

“Ah I was worried, you left without saying anything, you’re okay right?”

He smiled to himself. You were worried about him? It made his lips curve into a wide smile. “I’m fine bella, Abbacchio and I took a taxi home.”

“Ah okay!” You exhaled loudly. “I’m glad you got home safe, sleep well Bruno.”

“You too.”

You hung up and he dropped his phone on his bed.

His head felt slightly clearer now as he pushed himself off his bed and changed his clothes. He found a cosy black sweater stuffed in the back of his wardrobe and tucked himself into his sheets.

Despite the comfortable sheets around him, Bruno lay awake in bed that night against his will. His mind was clouded by the conversation he had with Abbacchio.

He’s crazy

He thought to himself, turning over under the sheets.

He didn’t have feelings for you, you were his friend! You had known him for years, it was natural to want to be around each other.

You were friend material! You were nice to him, fun to talk to, adorable.

Adorable?

Well, that’s a harmless compliment, nothing wrong with being adorable. There are a lot of normal things that are adorable, animals, babies, clothes, it didn’t mean anything.

Bruno just thought you were cute, sweet, pretty, that’s all. Friends see the good in other friends, no?

You were stylish, confident, polite, all just admirable attributes. Nothing to do with feelings.

Yes, you had a lovely laugh that made Bruno smile, and there was a way you held his arm that made him feel calm and stable.

His mind drifted to the time he spent the night in your house, how generous you were for letting him stay with no sign of grudge or inconvenience, your generosity and hospitality towards the people you cared for was something Bruno noticed about you. It was then that he realised that it hurt him a little when you said you didn’t mind that he cancelled plans. It seemed that a part of him wanted you to care, wanted you to miss him, wanted you to enjoy his presence.

Ah, shit.

He pulled a pillow over his head in shame.

Abbacchio was right.

*********************************************

“Y/n this is amazing!” Narancia shouted, stuffing his mouth with a large forkful of cake.

“Really?” You smiled, a toothy grin lined with red lipstick. You gave a relieved sigh as you cut yourself a slice of cake. “I was so worried I added too much sugar.”

It was Giorno’s birthday, and while it was expected that the young Don of such a large organisation would throw a lavish party, he instead wanted something quiet, a day with friends having good food and pleasant conversation.

Part of your gift to Giorno, alongside a set of luxury, handwoven, silk neckties, was his birthday cake. He kept telling you not to make anything fancy, you of course ignored that and applied all the baking lessons Abbacchio had offered you to create an extravagant 3 tier cake covered in sky blue and lavender icing, decorated with edible gold balls and flowers. On the very top was the number “23” in large gold writing.

“No no, it's just perfect!” Giorno smiled, a pink blush on his cheeks as you pinched them. “But you really didn’t have to do this.”

You pouted and took your seat next to him. “Anything for you Giorno.”

Bruno sat opposite you that day, squirming in his seat because every time he looked at you he felt his cheeks flush.

Recognising his feelings for you should have made things easier, but instead, it just meant he got flustered anytime you were around him. He would trip over his tongue, his voice would crack, his palms would get sweaty and he would overthink any interaction with you. Having you sit directly opposite him, wedged between Giorno and Mista, wearing that fitted, long-sleeved black shirt and that short plaid skirt made him want to stare at you longer. Your jewellery was subtle, pulling more focus to your outfit itself and the way your hair was styled.

Bruno felt a nudge in his side, he looked over to see Abbacchio giving him a sly smirk.

“Don’t.” Bruno mumbled, bringing his glass to his lips.

Abbacchio snickered, stirring his glass of tea. “Well, I’m glad you’ve finally accepted it.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “So when are you telling her?”

“I…” Bruno hadn’t thought about that, telling you his feelings. “I don’t know.”

“Well do it soon, don’t let Mista steal your thunder.” He said in a sing-song voice.

“Guido, you got icing on your cheek.” You sighed as you wiped his face with a napkin.

“Guido?” Fugo raised an eyebrow, looking over at you. “When did Mista start going by ‘Guido’?”

Bruno didn’t even listen to your explanation.

You called him Guido ?

No no no, that was the only thing left that was special between you and Bruno. No one else called him by his first name, and you didn’t have a special name for anyone else.

Abbacchio was Abbacchio.

Narancia was Narancia.

Fugo was Fugo.

Bucciarati was Bruno to you.

And Mista was Mista not Guido.

Bruno ignored the conversation around him as he stood up and left the dining room, heading to the upstairs balcony of the Don’s home.

He sighed and pushed himself against the bar, groaning loudly at the knot in his stomach. Did this mean that you liked Mista? That the two of you were a couple?

He and Mista were complete opposites.

Mista was extroverted, Bruno was introverted.

Mista had curly hair, Bruno’s was straight.

Mista was hairier than Bruno was.

Mista was more nonchalant.

More playful.

Funnier.

Maybe that was just what you liked. He couldn’t fault you for having a type, after all, you can’t always control who you’re attracted to.

He rubbed his head, annoyed by just everything, embarrassed by how he overreacted over a simple word. He turned around and paused, surprised to see you behind him.

You smiled, waving at him. “Hey.” 

“Hey.” He swallowed, watching you move to stand next to him.

“Are you okay? You slipped away without saying anything.” You asked, your fingers brushing against his hand.

He pulled away sharply, already feeling tense from being so close to you. “I’m fine, just needed some air, I think I ate a bit too much.” He joked.

“Ah okay.” You laughed awkwardly. “Guido-”

“Are you and Mista dating?” Bruno cut you off as soon as Mista’s name left your lips.

You were taken aback, stunned by why Bruno would even ask such a thing. Lately, your friendship seemed to be unstable, somedays it would be like Bruno didn’t want anything to do with you, other days, it would be like all he wanted was to be around you. He had been giving you mixed signals and that only made you more confused with the feelings you had towards him.

“Bruno, why would you ask that?”

He didn’t face you, instead, he scoffed and pushed himself up on the balcony bars and looked at the view.

“Maybe because you can’t help putting your hands on him and letting him touch you as you please.” Bruno would never say something like this to you, but there was a pain in his abdomen that gave him the confidence to do so. “Or maybe because you had his tongue down your throat the other day.” Your eyes widened and your jaw dropped at the comment.

“You saw that?”

“Everyone probably saw that.”

A chill went down your spine as you lowered your head in humiliation at the condescending tone in his voice. Bruno saw you and Mista kiss…

Ah, now he would never want to be with you.

He thought less of you.

If any of the other guys said this to you, you’d shut them down in an instant.

But this was different…this was Bruno for goodness sake. The guy you were head over heels for, the guy you looked up to the most.

Yes, you and Mista had kissed, but it was a drunken mistake, something the two of you laughed at and brushed under the carpet. It didn’t mean anything other than give evidence of what happens after you pass your limit of drinking. Mista was chill about it, he knew you liked Bruno and that you wished it was Bruno you kissed instead of him. There was no confusion, nor any mixed feelings regarding that night.

Is this why he had been acting weird around you recently, why he had that scowl on his face at the nightclub? Why he would swing from one extreme to the other? Because of Mista?

“Bruno,” You furrowed your eyebrows and looked up at him. “It’s none of your business what happened that day and I see no reason for you to hold it over my head and look down on me!” You said through gritted teeth, not wanting the conversation to be heard downstairs. “We are adults Bruno! Shit like this doesn’t need to be a big deal and it isn’t, it meant nothing to either of us, there is nothing between us! I didn’t think my life would turn into petty gossip.”

Before he could answer, you left the balcony and went back downstairs. Bruno couldn’t hear anything from the dining room, but it didn’t take long for you to come out from the entrance and drive off.

Bruno cursed to himself, a hollow abyss forming in his gut as his ribs became heavy.

What is wrong with me?

*********************************************

Bruno had tried for 5 days in a row to contact you, phone calls, texts, hell, even emails!

But no response, nothing.

He didn’t blame you, not in the slightest, he would avoid himself too. But he would be lying if he said it didn’t hurt. Seeing someone he grew such feelings towards, completely cut him out like that, do everything in their power to not be around him.

But he deserved it, he had no right to speak to you that way and all he wanted to do was apologise. Today was his only chance to do so.

“Hey.” He waved at you as he stood by the booth. He noticed you sitting in at the back of a cafe as he ran errands. You were alone, which gave him an opening to talk to you.

You looked up at him briefly, not uttering a word.

Your heart was heavy, his words rang in your head and you felt a knot form in your stomach.

When you didn’t respond, Bruno decided to make the next move and sat opposite you, both hands on the table with tense shoulders.

She won’t even look at me.

The silence from your table managed to drown out the sound of the cafe as customers chatted away over cups of coffee and cakes.

“Y/n.” He mumbled, letting out a deep breath. “I’m so sorry.” His hands tightened into fists as he looked down with a dejected expression. “It wasn’t my place to act that way about you and Mista, it was none of my business, I apologise for how I acted and for hurting you.”

You poked your slice of cake with your fork, nodding at his words. “Well, I’m glad you realised that.” You looked up at him. “But that’s not all, is it Bruno? Why did it bother you so much that I was hanging around with Mista?”

Ah…he was hoping that you wouldn’t bring this up. Bruno was still ashamed of his jealousy and how it made him lash out. It made him feel childish.

Well, he was childish.

“I talk to everyone here, but you only got annoyed when I was spending time with Mista.” You stirred your cup of tea with a spoon, prodding the teabag. “You’re meant to be my friend Bruno…I would like to think that you would be the last person to judge me.” You looked deep into his eyes. “You know I would never judge you.”

Bruno swallowed the lump in his throat, dropping his hands to his lap.

“The least you could do is offer an explanation.” You bit your lip, almost regretting what you were about to say. “Is it because you…had feelings for me?”

“How did you know?”

So it was true. Bruno did develop feelings for you.

“Well, you always told me I was good at spotting people’s intentions.” You scoffed, taking a sip of your drink. In reality, Abbacchio was the one that exposed Bruno. The day after Giorno’s birthday, you told him about the argument with Bruno and he explained how Bruno felt towards you. You were…shocked…to say the least. “Why didn’t you ever say anything to me?” Your voice cracked a little.

“I didn’t know how I felt until recently.” Somehow his honesty just made you feel worse.

“But you know how that looks right? To me?” You dropped your mug on the table. “It makes it seem like you only started seeing me that way when I was around other people, like you just liked the attention I gave you.”

While all you wanted was for Bruno to see you as you saw him, if it was simply because he liked the attention from you, and not because of you as a person, you would rather you remained platonic.

“No no!” Bruno leaned forward, instinctively holding your hand in his. “That wasn’t my intention…I swear.” He squeezed them, trying to convince you that he wasn’t like that.

You could tell he was being sincere, there was a certain glint in his eyes. “Did you know how I felt about you?”

“How you felt?” His face morphed into a slightly bewildered expression.

“Jeez Bruno…” You rolled your eyes, slipping your hand out of his and covering your face. “I’ve liked you for years .”

“Oh.” Bruno’s jaw hung open, completely stunned by this news.

You liked him? For years?

Bruno’s mind drifted to times when it had just been the two of you. Times where you would hold his arm, play with his hair, and jump to sit next to him whenever the group met.

How could I be so stupid and not think there was anything there?

“Just ‘oh’?” 

Bruno was snapped out of his thoughts. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Two years and you didn’t know I liked you?” You gave a weak smile as you dropped your hands.

“I’m not that good at interpreting feelings like that.” Bruno returned the same look. “Everyone thinks I am…but I’m really not, I’m horrible without direct approaches. I didn’t intentionally ignore your feelings, I wouldn’t do that.”

That glint returned, the one that assured you that Bruno was being open and truthful.

You snickered to yourself. “Abbacchio was right.”

“Hm?” Bruno cocked his head to the side.

“That you’re too dense to notice things like this.” You gave a teasing smile as you ate a forkful of the strawberry cake in front of you.

So Abbacchio knew you liked me? Does that mean everyone else knew too?

It made more sense now, why Abbacchio kept trying to get Bruno to admit his feelings. The tips of his ears turned pink at the idea of him being the only one out of the loop about this.

“I’m sorry for making you feel strung along.” Bruno rubbed the back of his neck.

“It's okay.” You wrapped your hands around your mug, the two of you staring into each other's eyes. Bruno’s finger moved to stroke the back of your hand, watching you let go of the mug and let him hold your hand in his.

“I really am sorry, I can’t imagine how you felt all this while, especially when I-”

“Stop apologising.” You squeezed his hand reassuringly. “But Bruno…can you promise me that something like that won’t happen again? I would like to think that you’re the kind of person that can be upfront about things like this and won’t lash out...I will also uphold the same standard.”

“I won’t let it happen again, I promise.” He meant it, he didn’t like that side of him, he found it ugly. If he ever felt that jealous or that annoyed, he would make sure to talk to you about it before it got too bad.

You nodded with a grin as the two of you sat in silence, Bruno’s body edging closer to the table. Your eyes closed slowly as his lips pressed against yours softly.

Once.

Twice.

Before his hands moved to cup your face, pulling you forward slightly. It was a tender kiss, one that only touched the surface yet made your heart race.

He pulled away, not forgetting to kiss your hand before leaning back into his seat. His nose and cheeks were a light shade of red. He looked away shyly, an endearing expression on his face that you just wanted to see again and again.

“Bruno…” You sighed, knowing that this would be as good a time as any. You knew how you really felt for a while now and kept it secret from anyone, wanting Bruno to know first. “I love you, Bruno.”

His cerulean eyes widened, and the blush darkened and spread from his nose to his cheeks while his heart felt like it was on the brink of explosion.

“I love you too bella.”

[coqxettee]

Coquette morning routine:

My current Spring morning routine 🌤☕️🌸

I wake up every morning at either 6am or 7am. Usually it’s 7am, if I’ve had a particularly busy day the day before, but sometimes it’s 6am. I wake up to natural sunlight and birdsong. As soon as I wake up I like to think of how grateful I am to be here another day and for the things I have ♡

I have a drink of water that I keep beside my bed, turn my subliminal or rain sounds off if I’ve been listening to them and then go to the bathroom etc ♡

Reading ~ I get back in bed if it’s a bit cold, check my phone/socials and will then read for about half an hour. I like to either read for 30 minutes or read 30 pages ♡

Journal ~ I also like to journal in bed for 10 minutes. I have a dream log I keep up-to-date with my dreams and I like to reflect on them ♡

Make my bed ~ I make my bed every morning. It makes me feel productive and sets me up for the day. I also open both of my windows to get some fresh country air in my bedroom ♡

Yoga ~ Once I’m out of bed I get my yoga mat and lay it out in my room to do some gentle stretching. I either do a K-pop idol stretch (you can find them on YouTube!) or a gentle Pilates stretch routine, but nothing too extreme. Sometimes I meditate too ♡

Shower time ~ I like to use all fresh products, marshmallow scented things, I also love Vanilla scents in the middle of Spring ♡

Brush my teeth ~ I brush my teeth every morning. Usually about an hour before I eat or drink anything, so nothing tastes unpleasant ♡

Skincare ~ I get out and moisturize with a body lotion. I have a coconut one that smells divine at the moment, and I also wash my face and do my skincare routine whilst watching “Vogue beauty secrets” ♡

Makeup ~ I go back into my room and get dressed for the day, with the outfit I picked out the night before. I light a candle and do my hair/makeup at my vanity, whilst either listening to “Lana del rey” or some kind of classical music . This always makes me feel like a princess in the morning ♡

Breakfast ~ I go into the kitchen and make myself a light and healthy breakfast. Usually it’s fruit, a smoothie or oatmeal/yoghurt with berry’s. I sit at the kitchen table and eat this while looking out at my garden and the birds. Sometimes I read and listen to the radio too. It gives my morning’s a retro, old fashioned feel ♡

Tea time ~ I make myself a mug of warm, fruity tea to take back into my room and enjoy ♡

Morning Walk ~ I read in my room for about 20 more minutes to let my food digest and once I’ve drink my tea, I go on a morning walk. Usually for half an hour. It gets steps in, clears my head and is a nice way to wake up, naturally in the morning ♡

I come home and check the schedule for that day, and check my to-do-list to see what plans I have for the day, so I can begin ♡

Thank you for reading 🌷⛅️🍃