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justagalwhowrites · 7 months

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Hi! Soooo I've read a lot of amazing Joel Miller fics, but Lavender is seriously my all time favorite. Doc and Joel's story just made me so emotional. Here's my request for a drabble/oneshot- a sneak peak into Doc and Joel's relationship when they first get together pre-outbreak. Specifically, Joel takes Doc out on a nice dinner date for the first time and she feels super special and they are starting to catch so many feels for each other. Thank you!!!

OMG Hi Bestie!

So you sent this ask in like... 1.5 million years ago and this isn't EXACTLY it but... I think it fits the vibe. I hope. So here's Joel and Doc's first Valentine's Day together. I hope you like it!

Cupid

You and Joel spend Valentine's Day together. A Lavender one shot. Can be read as a stand alone with the understanding that Joel and Reader have an established relationship.

^We're gonna pretend that's Joel for this, OK? OK.

Pairing: Joel Miller x Female Reader (From Lavender)

CW: Smut :) Just some fluffy, fun, p in v smut. They're in love and we love that for them. Pre-Outbreak. Age gap but not the focus of the fic (11 years, reader is 22 Joel is 33.) No use of Y/N. Minors DNI 18+ Only.

Length: 3.8k

Wednesday, February 14, 2001

You’d never had a boyfriend on Valentine’s Day before.

The thought made you oddly nervous. Not that Joel had given you anything to be nervous about, of course, but you were. Valentine’s Day had always just been another day for you. Sometimes Nan got you one of the little boxes of chocolates but, otherwise, it had never been something you had a reason to celebrate. You were just so used to ignoring it that, until Saturday, you hadn’t even thought about Valentine’s Day.

You’d been in bed with Joel. It was late and your bodies were pressed close together, his skin on yours, your nose nuzzled into his throat, your head still a bit fuzzy from the orgasms.

“How do you feel about goin’ to dinner Wednesday?” He asked softly, his fingers trailing over your side, lips in your hair.

You frowned against him.

“Doesn’t Sarah have practice?”

“Canceled,” he said. “Besides, I was gonna get Tommy to take her, anyway. He’s already taking her for the night so we can have some privacy.”

You frown deepened and you felt him chuckle against you.

“Did you forget?” He asked.

“No,” you said defensively. “I just… didn’t know there was something to forget.”

He laughed a little again.

“It’s Valentine’s Day baby,” he said. “Fully intend on takin’ full advantage of any holiday that lets me romance you.”

Joel seemed to mean it. By Wednesday night, you didn’t know the details of what he was planning - you didn’t get to see him on Tuesdays, Sarah had Girl Scouts across town and your classes ran too late to see him before her meeting - but he’d sent flowers to your apartment the day before your date, timed when you were home for lunch between classes with a card that said he loved you and told you to be ready to go at 5:30 Wednesday night.

You weren’t sure if you were doing your part in this right at all. You’d spent a good chunk of Sunday shopping and cursing yourself for not remembering freaking Valentine’s Day. It’s not like there weren’t heart shaped boxes of candy sitting out every time you went to the grocery store, it should have occurred to you. It just hadn’t even registered that it would apply to you now.

You at least had an idea of what you wanted to get him and weren’t going in completely blind. You’d been keeping an eye out at thrift stores for vintage shirts from his favorite bands, never exactly hunting for them but always checking the men’s section when you went in to find something for yourself. You also had a picture from a trip to a museum of you, Joel and Sarah had made that you’d been keeping to give him at some point, wanting to frame it for him.

It took a few hours - and stops at four different thrift stores - but you eventually found a Fleetwood Mac shirt that you thought was from the 70s and was wearing thin in a few places but you were sure he’d like it. You found the perfect frame, too, the wood cracking at the sides but you had a plan for that.

You fixed the frame, coloring the glue forest green so it was like vines were growing on a tree and put the picture of the three of you in it. It was off center, you’d been holding the camera away from yourselves and hoping that you were all in the frame. You were looking at Sarah, she was looking at you and Joel had his perfect, crooked smile that made his cheek dimple and his eyes shine.

You made brownies that afternoon, covering them in pink glaze and red heart sprinkles before piling them on a plate and sneaking a bite of one before getting ready. You took a curling iron to your hair and did your makeup and painted your nails red before slipping into a dress you’d found when shopping for Joel’s shirt, black and form fitting and you tried to not feel like an imposter as you tied the red ribbon around the half ponytail at the back of your head.

There was a knock at your door and you took a last look at yourself in your bedroom mirror, breathing deep and trying to calm your thudding heart before you answered it.

“Jesus, baby,” Joel said, a look of almost awe on his handsome face as you opened the door. “Should warn a man before you show up lookin’ like that…”

“Is it too much?” You asked, looking down at yourself. “I can change…”

“Don’t you dare,” he said, looping an arm around your waist and pulling you against him. “You look fuckin’ amazing.”

You put your arms around his neck and kissed him, smiling against his mouth, before stepping back from him. He’d dressed up, too, in black jeans with a white button down shirt that he’d tucked in and worn with a belt. He even had on a tan blazer, one that looked almost too small for his broad shoulders.

“You look so good!” You were practically giddy, hands going over your mouth to keep from sounding too excited. Joel laughed a little.

“Don’t know if it warrants that much of a reaction. But figured I’d at least try to look like I belonged out with someone as pretty as you,” he teased and you rolled your eyes. “C’mon, we don’t leave now we are in very real danger of not making it out of the house, you are too damn tempting.”

Joel led you to his truck - which was almost shockingly clean, water from the car wash still dripping from his bumper - and opened the door for you, offering you his hand as you climbed in.

“So,” you smiled as he started driving. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see,” he smiled back. “Believe it or not, had something cookin’ for a minute.”

His hand found the inside of your knee, the callus of his thumb stroking the skin there. You tried to figure out where you were going as he drove but you were still caught totally off guard when he parked in front of a French restaurant you’d been dying to try.

“Are you kidding me?” You gasped. “Joel!”

He laughed and took your hand, kissing your knuckles.

“Know you’ve been wanting to try it,” he said. “Turns out a guy on my crew’s sister works here so I could wrangle a reservation…”

“This is amazing!” You were practically giddy, going to open your door, but Joel stopped you.

“Gotta let me try to be a gentleman,” he kissed your hand again. “Sit tight.”

He got out and jogged around the front of the truck, opening your door and offering you his hand.

“Why thank you sir,” you said, trying to sound aloof and dignified. You didn’t think you pulled it off, too busy smiling to make it convincing. He pulled you in close and pressed a kiss to your temple before putting his hand on the small of your back and guiding you into the restaurant.

They sat you at a table in a secluded corner, a white tablecloth and the low glow of a candle setting the scene. The host handed you a menu in a leather book with a gold tassel on the end and you waited for him to leave the table before you mouthed “oh my god” at Joel, who smiled and laughed quietly across the table.

The menu had was full of French foods you’d only dreamed of trying at a restaurant: coq au vin, confit de canard, gigot d’agneau. There was even boeuf bourguignon. But the prices made your eyes go wide, your newly-painted nails digging into the leather of the menu.

“Don’t think I can get that beef you make,” Joel said absently, looking at the menu. “Not gonna measure up to yours, don’t care how good the restaurant is…”

“Joel,” you whispered over your menu. He looked up from his, brows raised. “We really don’t need to eat here…”

He frowned.

“Not seein’ something you want?” He asked. “We can go somewhere else, might be hard to get a table but…”

“No!” You shook your head quickly. “No, the food looks great but…”

You bit your lip and trailed off and he watched you, waiting for you to finish.

“But?” He asked eventually.

“But this place is…” you lowered your voice. “This is expensive. We really don’t have to eat here just because I’ve talked about it, we can go anywhere, we can just order a pizza if you want, I really don’t need all this, this is…”

“Baby,” he cut you off, a crooked smile on his face. “Don’t worry about the price. Been wanting to take you here since this place opened, set aside some money for it. Get whatever you want.”

“But…”

He set the menu down and crossed his arms over the table, leaning over it toward you.

“You gonna let me spoil my girl for Valentine’s Day or are you gonna give me trouble?” He asked. You frowned a little, thumb toying with the corner of the menu. Joel tilted his head until you met his gaze. “I mean it, baby. Really want to do this. Please let me?”

“OK,” you said, still uncertain and looking at the menu again, looking for the least expensive entree.

“Swear to god you order the cheapest thing, we’re comin’ back next week,” Joel said as though he read your mind. “You’d better get what you actually want.”

“You drive a hard bargain,” you said, trying your best to ignore the price column on the menu.

You settled on the duck and Joel got the steak frites and, once the numbers were out of your head, you were able to relax more, savoring the wine and running your heel-clad foot over the inside of Joel’s leg from across the table.

“You would’ve been makin’ fun of me last night, Baby,” he smiled, taking a sip of his wine. “Remember how I told you Sarah didn’t know what she wanted to bring to school for Valentine’s Day?”

“Yeah,” you frowned.

“Well,” he laughed. “She decided yesterday she wanted cupcakes. So we stopped by the store on the way home from scouts, got the themed cake mix, all that. But she really wanted to try and do it herself so I started out just supervisin’… ended up running the cake mix through the pasta strainer to get all the egg shells out of it, that girl was in rare form…”

“Oh no!” You laughed, loud enough that the table close to you shot you a glare and you tried not to laugh harder when you quieted down. “How’d they turn out?”

“Alright I think,” he said. “They were kinda lopsided but tasted fine. We split one this morning.”

“You send her off to school with a sugar high?” You teased.

“Not from half a cupcake,” he waved you off. “The little box of candy I caved and let her have this morning did that.”

You giggled.

“I’m sure her teacher appreciated that.”

“I’m just hopin’ with the sweets from school it carried through to when Tommy picked her up from school,” he smirked a little. “Think I owe ‘em for loading her up with candy after Halloween last year, as if she didn’t have enough already…”

The food was incredible, so good you had to set your fork down to focus on the flavor of the first bite, Joel smiling almost proudly from across the table. By the time you were done, you were two glasses of wine deep - Joel ordering a second for you before you could stop him - and he was holding your calf under the table, hand sliding over the muscle to cup your ankle, thumb massaging the tendon there.

“You’ve been playin’ a dangerous game over there, baby,” he said, voice low.

“You’re hot,” you said, almost shyly. “Can’t help it.”

“Thinkin’ I should get you home,” he said. “Get you outta that dress.”

“I’m thinking you’re right,” you said, heat settling low around your hips.

Joel’s mouth was on you before you even got your front door closed, your arms around his neck and his hands on your ass, holding you tight to the front of him.

“I,” you kissed him. “Got,” another kiss. “You.” Kiss. “Something.”

“Really?”

Another kiss as you nodded.

“Didn’t need to do that, baby…”

“Too bad,” you smiled, kissing him long and hard before pulling back from him. “I like doing stuff for you, too, you know.”

You took his hands and led him to your bedroom, sitting him on the bed before handing him the box with the shirt and frame inside. He opened it almost reverently, a little smile pulling up at the corners of his lips as he did.

“It’s not as good as what you did,” you said, sitting next to him, twisting your fingers around on themselves as he lifted the lid of the box.

“Oh, baby,” he said softly, picking up the frame, his thumb tracing the parts you’d repaired. “This is perfect… when was this?”

“Remember when Sarah and I were on Christmas break and we went to the natural history museum the day before New Year’s Eve?” You said.

“That was a good day,” he smiled down at the picture before setting it on your nightstand and he laughed as he got out the shirt. “Where the hell’d you find this?”

“I’ve been keeping an eye out,” you smiled. “It’s well loved but I did wash it already…”

He cut you off with a kiss before you could finish, dropping the box and the shirt to the floor as he pulled you against him, his lips insistent and needy on yours. He quickly shrugged out of his jacket as you fumbled with the buttons on his shirt and he unzipped your dress. You got each other undressed quickly, his mouth on yours as he lay you below him, his large hand cupping your pussy before he slipped two fingers between your swollen, slick lips, tracing over your entrance before sliding up to tease your clit as he settled between your thighs.

“Fuck, you’re wet,” he panted against you, pushing his fingers into your tight channel, just up to the first knuckle. “This all for me, baby?”

You nodded and tried to pull him closer, to bring his body fully against your own, but he stayed just far enough away that you could feel the warmth of his skin but not the softness of him itself. You groaned and he smiled as he trailed kisses over your jaw to your throat.

“Seems like you might want somethin’,” he teased a little. You just nodded. “Should say what you want, baby, so I know what to give you.”

“You,” your fingers scrambled over his back, desperate to find some kind of leverage. “Want you, please Joel…”

He kissed you gently but you could feel the hunger behind it. He needed you, too, you could feel it in him.

“OK baby,” he said softly, lining himself up at your entrance, the swell of his cock just close enough to start to part your walls without pushing in. “Give you what you want…”

He kissed you as he pressed into you, a moment of resistance before the thickness of his shaft entered you. You whimpered at the stretch of him, arching into his touch, your pussy already starting to tighten and flutter around him.

“Oh fuck,” he groaned. “You already close?”

You just nodded as he pushed deeper, his cock opening you to him until he was fully inside you, his head pressed firmly against the part of you that made you press your hips up against him and your fingers dig into his skin. You felt yourself pulse around him once before going even tighter as he moaned, his head dropping to your shoulder.

“Goddamn you feel good,” he panted. “Not gonna last once you come baby, tellin’ you that right now…”

“S’OK,” you clumsily rocked your hips up against his, desperate for that last little bit of friction you needed to push yourself over the edge. “Just… I need…”

“I got you,” he said, pressing somehow deeper and making you whimper below him. “Give you just what you need. Take such good care of you, baby, promise I will.”

He started slow but hard, the steady drag of his cock as he pulled back from you followed by the firm, heavy thrust of him as he fucked back into you. You matched his rhythm, moving your body in time with his, his skin warm on your own, his brown eyes warm and soft and deep on yours. You clung to him as his pace increased, your body getting tighter around him, orgasm building until your head was fuzzy and all you could feel was the desperate heat of pleasure deep inside you.

“Want you to come for me, baby,” Joel panted, one arm slipping below your arched back. He tilted your hips ever so slightly, the angle adjusted just enough that he could press deeper, his hips against your clit, all of him hitting you just right. You gasped at the change, your arms latching onto him tighter, your hips stuttering against him. “Oh fuck, there you go, just come for me, that’s it, c’mon, just give in to it baby, just…”

You cried out as you came, Joel holding you close and tight, his movements never slowing as he chased his own orgasm inside you, thrusting hard and deep until he pressed against the back wall of you as you throbbed over him, coming undone with a shaky groan. You felt him pulse inside of you, emptying himself deep until he went limp on top of you. He adjusted quickly as you caught your breath, rolling onto his back and taking you with him so you ended up sprawled on top of him, your nose nuzzled against his neck as he held you, his large palm gently tracing over your back.

He pressed a kiss to your forehead and you hummed happily, whole body feeling soft and hazy as you just focused on his skin against yours.

“You’re too good to me,” you sighed as you snuggled into him. You could feel him frown.

“Why’d you say that?”

“Because you are,” you kissed his neck. “You did way too much for me today, I can’t measure up.”

“Hey,” he said quietly, pulling back from you just enough that he could look into your eyes. “Don’t say that, that ain’t true…”

“Yes it is,” you said, running your fingers through his curls. “I loved it, I loved it so, so much. But it’s too much, I can’t do the same in return, I don’t deserve…”

“Yes you do,” he cut you off, giving you a little squeeze. “Baby, you do so much for me just by existing near me, you realize that?” You looked at him skeptically but he didn’t give you a chance to argue. “I mean it. My life is so much better because of you. Never thought I could love someone the way I love you, you made me understand this kind of thing existed at all. You make me laugh more than anyone else I’ve ever met and you are so damn sweet. Plus you’re so smart, I could just sit and watch how your mind works all damn day and never get bored and the fact that you’d just let me… Not to mention how you take care of me and Sarah. Never thought I’d find a woman who could love my little girl like you do. You’ve given me everything and you do it every damn day. I just wanted to try and give you some of that back.”

“Joel,” you said softly, tears burning at the corners of your eyes.

“Never had a ton goin’ for me,” he said, smiling a little. “Always kinda figured I’d fucked my life up at some point but… I wouldn’t have Sarah or you without everything I did leading up to it. Makes me feel like I did something right to get the two of you in the end, you know?”

“Yeah,” you nodded, kissing him softly. “I know.”

He smiled his gentle, crooked smile at you and you just looked into his chocolate brown eyes for a moment before you sat up quickly, remembering.

“I made you brownies!” You almost jumped out of bed and Joel laughed, catching your wrist as you untangled yourself from the sheets.

“Wasn’t done with you yet,” he tugged you closer, kissing up the inside of your arm.

“I’ll be right back,” you said. “Promise.”

You went to the kitchen and put two of the brownies onto a small plate and got a large glass of water before going back to your bedroom, Joel sitting with his back propped against your headboard. You handed him the water before you climbed in bed with him, holding the plate out to him. He laughed a little.

“These look amazing,” he said, picking up a brownie and taking a huge bite, groaning a little in pleasure as he did. “Taste amazing too,” he said, his mouth full. “You’d have been ashamed of those cupcakes…”

“Next time Sarah has a baking project, just call me,” you said, taking a bite of your own brownie. “I take sex in payment for culinary lessons for the right client. Namely you.”

He smiled, tugging you against him.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

You snuggled in closer.

“Think we should make these brownies a holiday tradition,” Joel said, finishing his and kissing your temple. “These are damn good.”

“Plenty more where that came from, Miller,” you teased a little, sucking some of the pink frosting off your thumb. “You know, this was my first real Valentine’s Day.”

“Yeah?” Joel asked, looking down at you as best he could as you stayed tucked against his side. “I do OK?”

“You did amazing,” you smiled. “Ruined me for all other men.”

“Good,” he said, settling back against the headboard. “Gonna need all other men to keep their hands off you, anyway.”

You smiled a little at that, the idea of being his and he being yours. He nuzzled down into your hair, his lips pressing against the crown of your head.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, baby,” he said quietly. “First of many.”

Your smile grew.

“Happy Valentine’s Day.”

#fanfic #joel miller x female reader #joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #lavender #joel miller x oc #smut fic #send asks #kit answers

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phoebeyates-archive · 8 months

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→ the natural history museum, feb 14th 2024. open (cap at 2)

Phoebe had never felt more confused on Valentine’s Day before. She had always enjoyed it, because she was a sucker for heart-shaped items and her love for candy was borderline pathological, and the day was the best combination of the two. However, she had never been in such a…complicated situation before. Previous Valentine’s, she was either completely and utterly single or in an actual defined relationship. But this arrangement with Foster, which had gone beyond ‘friends with benefits’ was hard to navigate. She hadn’t wished him a happy Valentine’s directly, just moreso general good luck of working in the kitchen because the restaurant would be absolutely heaving, to try and ignore the meaning of the date altogether in their conversations. But she wasn’t going to let these thoughts take up her mind, deciding to head down to the temporary exhibition celebrating the day of love. It was a pop-up made mainly for field trips, or for couples killing some time, but Phoebe had made a couple of laps around it already, thoroughly enjoying it, and decided there was no harm in one more trip down.

She had made her way to the main lobby where the entrance to the pop-up was, pausing when she saw someone staring at the open door as if debating whether or not to step foot in there. “It’s free to go in, y’know. I mean there’s a donation box you’re encouraged to use, but between you and me they’re not really needing it,” Phoebe shrugged, uncaring if it wasn’t supposed to be something a representative of the museum should say, considering the way her and Aslihan had been treated, “Unless you’re like…worried about any weird artefacts in there. I mean, there’s an uncanny portrait of Saint Valentine from a local artist, but it’s mostly just like, vintage cards and stuff. The really bizarre shit is all upstairs.”

☆ @providencepeakstarters

#providence.starter #//bby will be missing the event bc she is in utah but she loves valentines day so ta-da #//ignore the fact its a day early rp time doesnt exist and also i was excited lmao

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askingtroybarnes · 5 months

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the other day I was going to advanced candy tasting and and and they gave us vintage valentines boxes and and the packaging reminded me of you troy barnes because it was in a heart shape and and it was all pretty like you troy barnes and so I loved it because I love you troy barnes

Thanks anon, I’m super lovable

#community nbc #gimmick blog #troy barnes #ask troy barnes #did I spell that wrong

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carouselcometh · 1 year

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I love these fucking vintage Valentine’s Day heart shaped candy boxes so much. I need one to be tattooed on my body

#How many tattoos do I have? ZERO!!! But I have been thinking about having one of these for years #I’m too lazy to make an appointment or something though

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tumbleweed-palmer · 2 years

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“i thought you’d at least ask me to be your valentine…” “we’ve been together for three years, i thought that was a given.” for our boy jimmy??

A Valentine's Misunderstanding

If anyone asked her she would quickly exclaim that James “Jimmy” Palmer was the world’s best boyfriend. He was the sweetest, most empathetic, intelligent, and funniest man she’d ever had the privilege of meeting not to mention dating.

Perhaps it was because of these things that today had been so disappointing for Y/N.

She’d always seen her boyfriend as being a romantic. Jimmy was a hopeless romantic and Valentine’s Day was for hopeless romantics.

It wasn’t as though Jimmy had ignored her today. In fact he’d been nothing but sweet to her. He’d just not said the words, the words she’d been waiting for, the words that would acknowledge that today was a special day.

She’d been waiting expectantly for those special words since their alarms had gone off this morning.

When he hadn’t woken her up with a kiss as well as the acknowledgement that today was Valentine’s Day, she’d not put too much thought into it.

After all, they'd been woken up with individual chimes on their cell phones notifying them of a case and the desperate need to leave their apartment quickly.

She’d thought that they were just so caught up in getting out the door and to NCIS headquarters, that they hadn’t had the chance to really say the words.

As the day had gone on Jimmy had continued to fail to acknowledge that today was unlike any other day.

Yes, he’d clearly at least made some small effort. Flowers had arrived for her down in the lab. It had been a substantial flower arrangement in a nice vase. She’d searched excitedly through the pink roses and stark white baby breath searching for a card.

She’d felt her heart sink with disappointment. She’d felt an uneasy pit fill up her gut as she’d spotted that the card included with the bouquet was a plain white card. The words written on it had been simple: “I love you, Love Jimmy.”

Though the message was sweet, she’d still felt disappointed that there hadn’t been much effort beyond this.

She’d tried hard not to let the disappointment be so evident on her face instead trying to remain cheerful as Abby had admired the pretty bouquet that her lab assistant had received.

Y/N felt awful for being so disappointed. A little voice in the back of her head told her she was being immature. She was a grown woman. She didn’t need chocolates, candy hearts, teddy bears, and Valentine’s Day cards.

The voice insisted that Valentine’s Day was so commercialized. Jimmy did plenty of things to express his love for her the other 364 days of the year. She was childish for expecting some big huge fawning attention just because society said that today was the day of love.

A louder voice in her brain though pointed out that Jimmy had never failed to make Valentine’s Day special before.

Their first year dating he’d gone all out for her. He’d bought her the biggest white teddy bear she’d ever received from anyone and had included a bouquet of a dozen daisies to celebrate. She’d in turn baked him a heart shaped cake knowing Jimmy Palmer had a sweet tooth and he was a big fan of her baked goods.

The last second Valentine’s Day they’d had together he’d continued to put a ton of effort into it. He’d paid to have a vintage reproduction of a Valentine’s card from the 1920s made for her because he knew she loved vintage Valentines and vintage things in general. He’d also bought her roses and a box of chocolates. She’d in turn given him a warm scarf that she’d knitted knowing he’d love it in the winter months and had baked him handmade apple strudels knowing he had a soft spot for pastries.

This year she’d been expecting another romantic gesture. She’d prepped for his gift. She’d bought him an expensive pair of cordless headphones knowing he’d like them on the days she couldn’t be his gym buddy. She’d wanted to present to him tonight. She’d even gone to a specialty bakery because she’d planned on making him Creme Brulee and had wanted to use authentic high-dollar ingredients.

The day had worn on and on with no sign that Jimmy was going to do his usual attempt at making today special.

He’d not even acknowledged her today to be honest. She wanted to excuse his lack of presence. He usually visited her at least once a day in the lab. She’d tried to tell herself he was just busy with the case, but they’d been busy before and he still made time for her.

She’d even made her way to Autopsy to pay him a casual visit but had felt her heart sink when Dr. Mallard had told her that Jimmy had stepped out on an important errand for Dr. Mallard and wouldn’t be back for a few hours at the very least.

She’d gone back to the lab questioning why he hadn’t at least swung by the lab to alert her of his apparent errand. He usually seemed so desperate to find any reason or excuse to drop by the lab. Why did it feel like he was avoiding her?

The feeling she was being avoided increased during her lunch break when she'd stopped by Autopsy again only to find that according to Dr. Mallard Jimmy was still away taking care of some tasks for him.

A little insecure voice in the back of her brain told her that perhaps his lack of enthusiasm today and his obvious avoidance of her was a sign that he was possibly losing interest in her…perhaps the honeymoon phase of their relationship was over?

She began to search her brain for any signs he may have given that he was unhappy with their relationship.

She couldn’t think of any sign that he was unhappy or unsatisfied. They’d moved through their lives as usual. They shared lunches at work. They made dinner together. They made love multiple times a week. They spent their weekends doing fun things together. They even went to the gym together.

There had been zero indication that he was unhappy with their relationship.

If he was so happy though then why was he clearly avoiding doing anything for her for Valentine’s day other than a generic bouquet of roses? Why was he seemingly avoiding her today?

The sense that he was avoiding her only grew as the day had gone on. He’d not even come to the lab to deliver blood, urine, or tissue samples. Instead Abby had been called down to Autopsy by Dr. Mallard to retrieve any items for testing.

Y/N had tried not to let her heart sink and to ignore the look of confusion that washed over Abby’s face at the unusual request from Dr. Mallard.

Y/N tried not to allow her heart to sink any further every time she heard the tell-tale sound of the automatic doors opening in the lab and looked up to see it was not her absentee boyfriend.

Something wasn’t right, and she couldn’t quite get to the bottom of it.

This was totally out of character for Jimmy. His sudden change in character made Y/N feel uneasy.

As the day had progressed she’d gone from feeling anxious, to feeling disappointed, to feeling despair, to feeling frankly kind of pissed off.

Her emotions felt like a big jumbled mess. It was like they were wires all tangled up and twisted in her head.

By the time the end of the day had come Y/N was left once again trapped in a feeling of despair and disappointment.

Given Jimmy’s absence and odd behavior today Y/N had almost expected him not to show up at the lab when it was time to go home for the day.

She knew it was a silly thought, after all they drove in together to work this morning just as always. Still though, with how strange and out of character he’d been today she was almost sure he’d continue to avoid her.

She found herself having little desire to take her vase of roses home with her, but she decided against being petty and leaving them to die alone in the lab.

She kept her lips sealed ignoring Jimmy’s greeting and his goodbyes to Abby.

She’d not found herself leaning into him as he pressed a kiss to her cheek.

If Jimmy had taken notice of her sullen behavior he’d not said it busily chatting to her about his busy day.

She found the noise became white noise.

She chewed at the inside of her cheek resisting the urge to snap at him exactly why she was in such a mood.

It wasn’t that she expected to be showered with gifts…she wasn’t that materialistic. Yes, she was aware he’d gone over the top the past two years with the celebrations. She didn’t need anything fancy.

Really she just wanted some acknowledgement of what day it was.

She would have been perfectly happy with the flowers if the card that had come along with the flowers had at least some acknowledgement that it was Valentine’s Day. She would have been delighted with any sign of affection and any real acknowledgement that today wasn’t just another day of the week.

She was so disappointed with how the day had gone. It felt like her boyfriend had essentially avoided her on the most romantic day of the year.

She found she had two conflicting voices in her head. One voice told her to quit being so ungrateful and be happy her boyfriend had at least sent her roses. The other voice told her that the roses didn’t mean as much if it honestly felt like he avoided her all day long and didn’t actually acknowledge why today was special.

She wordlessly let Jimmy open her passenger’s door for her just as he always did. It was something she’d always found charming about him. He always insisted on opening doors for her.

She didn’t acknowledge him until they both sat in his car and he spoke seemingly clueless about what was clearly upsetting her. “Are you okay? You seem quiet.”

She bit the inside of her cheek wanting to snap at him. She was tempted to ask him if he really was acknowledging her being upset for the first time all day. He'd know she was upset far sooner had he not avoided her all day. She wanted to remark that he should know exactly what was going on.

She took a deep breath trying to at least approach the conversation with care. “What’s today?”

Jimmy furrowed his brow quick to reply. “February 14th.”

Y/N cringed hating to admit she’d almost been hopeful he’d perhaps forgotten just what today was. She could forgive him if he’d simply forgotten that today is Valentine’s Day.

Jimmy spoke again the words slipping from his lips before he could stop himself. “I sent roses.”

Y/N’s mood quickly shifted from the anger she felt bubbling up in her to a feeling of guilt mixed with utter sorrow. She felt the words escape her lips. “You’ve been avoiding me all day. I know you were running an errand for Ducky, but you haven’t stopped by the lab even once today. You at least could have come by real quick on your way to Dr. Mallard’s errand and acknowledged what today is.”

She spoke again sniffling, unable to stop the tears. She frantically wiped her eyes fast to speak ashamed that she was even crying. That mean voice in the back of her head told her she was being a brat. “I just…you always make a big deal out of Valentine’s Day. It feels like you forgot. I know you gave me roses, but it just wasn’t the same. I feel so stupid for being so upset. I feel like I’m being so high maintenance. I mean, you bought me roses which is more than some guys I’ve dated have done for me on Valentine’s Day. I just felt like something was up today and you seemed so out of character today. I got in my head and started worrying that maybe you are unhappy with our relationship. I…I worried that maybe the honeymoon is over. I mean, why else would you be so off today.”

Jimmy cringed, his stomach dropping. Today hadn’t gone how he’d planned. He’d made a huge mess. He’d got so caught up that he’d made his girlfriend feel like he didn’t value her and didn’t enjoy their relationship.

He took a deep breath reaching out and taking her hand in his, giving it a squeeze. “You aren’t stupid and you’re far from high maintenance. I may have done a lot of things to show you I adore you but you do the same amount for me. I promise you I’m not unhappy with the relationship. I swear I wasn’t avoiding you today”.

He paused, taking another deep breath before speaking. “Do you trust me?”

She furrowed her brow, unable to verbally express herself; she still so worked up from being so upset. She only managed to nod her head frantically

Jimmy gave her hand a gentle squeeze before releasing it. He started the car mentally beating himself for not going about this a different way. He’d made a huge mess and he had to hope she’d understand things soon enough.

—--------------

The drive hadn’t taken long and thankfully Y/N had felt her tears dry. The feeling of shame hadn’t dissipated though.

That mean little voice in the back of her head still insisted that she was behaving like an entitled brat.

She felt her stomach churn as they arrived at the last place she’d expected. She stared up at Dr. Mallard’s house feeling totally lost as to why they were here?

She remained confused as Jimmy hopped out of the car moving frantically to make it over to her side of the car.

She unfastened her seatbelt allowing Jimmy to take her hand. She followed along behind him, feeling a little ridiculous as she realized she was still holding the vase of roses. It felt too awkward to turn back to place the roses in the car now.

She frowned as they rounded the corner not heading for Dr. Mallard’s front door but instead heading to the gate leading to his fenced in backyard.

She stood aside as Jimmy released her hand digging through his coat pockets a little triumphant noise leaving him as he finally located a key.

He unlocked the gate taking her hand in his once again leading her into the backyard.

She could distinctly hear Dr. Mallard’s mother’s corgis barking somewhere within the house. She furrowed her brow hoping that Dr. Mallard’s mother wasn’t awake or around. The woman had memory issues and would most likely freak out if she saw two “strangers” in the backyard.

Y/N widened her eyes stunned as they entered the backyard she was not expecting to walk into this.

Dr. Mallard had built a patio the year before he wanting to have a place to sit and watch his mother as she gardened, a hobby she refused to give up despite her poor joints making it difficult.

The patio was nicely built. Dr. Mallard had invested money to have it close to the back door and had invested the money in placing wooden arches near the patio giving it a cozy feel without totally obscuring the backyard from view. The rose bushes that had been planted around the patio gave it a pleasant scent. The backyard was nicely shaded with plenty of oak and maple trees.

She’d always envied Dr. Mallard’s backyard given Jimmy’s and her lack of yard space given the apartment they were renting.

She could remember Dr. Mallard was proud enough of the patio to invite Jimmy and her over for dinner to see it.

The patio looked far different than it had when she’d seen it last.

Delicate looking christmas lights had been hung from the wooden archways giving the area a pleasant glow.

Paper lanterns had been hung, all in soft pinks and reds. A cozy little patio table had been decorated with a red tablecloth being placed over it to make it a little more fancy than she’d expected. On the patio table little battery powered LED candles had given the space a romantic glow. Farthing the romantic aesthetic, a bottle of wine had been placed on the table as well as nice looking dishware.

She stared up at Jimmy speechless as he spoke. “I wanted to surprise you. I was trying to be secretive. I couldn’t think of a better excuse than me running errands for Dr. Mallard…Dr. Mallard was in on my plan. His mother and he are due to drive out and visit a family friend tonight. I wanted to use his backyard despite the cold. I wanted to recreate our first date…the chinese food place we ate…I arranged for there to be a delivery tonight. Dr. Mallard was kind enough to offer me full use of his dining room so we could at least eat inside…I wanted to start the evening out here first. I thought we could start with some wine and then go in and eat before I gave you the other surprise I was planning. I wanted to draw this out, but now I’m realizing my lack of foresight to see you most likely would misinterpret how I was behaving today. I was trying to surprise you and made you think I didn’t want to make today special. I know you haven’t always had boyfriends make a big deal out of things that are important to you. You told me you’ve always been sentimental and it hurts your feelings when people that are supposed to care about you don’t acknowledge things that mean a lot to you.”

She felt her tears well up at a loss for words, guilt filling her to the brim.

She didn’t have much time to focus on the guilt as Jimmy did something else she had not been anticipating.

She stared down at him, her eyes growing wide as he dropped down to one knee reaching into his coat pocket pulling out the last thing she’d expected to see.

He stared up at her, the red velvet box in his hand not opening it as he spoke. “I planned on waiting until the end of the night to do this…I think that it’s important that I skip ahead a little though”.

He paused, clearing his throat, his cheeks flushing. “I hope I can remember everything I want to say. I’ve practiced this in my head a dozen times for months now…It’s hard to verbalize how I feel. I’ve always been expressive about my emotions, but I think with you the emotions are just too overpowering that sometimes I’m left unable to speak. That’s new for me…I think we both know how much I can talk.”

She felt the laugh leave her despite the astonishment she was still grappling with.

He spoke again fast to say it. “That’s something I love about you, your laugh. It was the first thing I noticed about you. I walked into the lab and you were laughing with Abby. When I found out Abby had hired an assistant I wasn’t sure what to expect. I didn’t expect to walk into Abby’s lab and fall in love at first sight though. I can still remember how stunned I was when you asked me on a date. I was usually brave enough to make a move on a pretty girl, but I was afraid you’d be turned off by an attempt at an office romance…plus I was kind of accustomed to some people being turned off from my job. I never expected you to ask me to dinner and a movie. I remember I was so speechless and you took it the wrong way. You apologized and were about to walk away when I snapped out of it and had to apologize and reassure you that I did want to go on a date. I’ll forever be grateful for Chinese food and that bad comedy movie we went to because it was the start of something beautiful.”

He swallowed a lump in his throat trying to sort out his racing thoughts and say what he needed to. “I love you. It’s been three beautiful years and I want more. I want more beautiful years. When I think about my perfect future, you’re the first thing I think about. So, I’m asking you to be a part of my future…our future. Will you marry me?”

Y/N only managed to frantically nod her head, the words becoming jumbled in her throat. She took a deep shaky breath, the tears falling from her eyes no longer evidence of sorrow. “Yes, I will. I’ll marry you.”

He released a breath he hadn’t been aware he was even holding as he opened the box, slipping the simple diamond ring on her finger delicately stopping her from dropping the bouquet of roses she was clutching.

He stood up, managing to press his lips to hers, his arms encircling her waist.

They kissed for a long while, her hand pressing to his cheek she awkwardly holding the vase of roses in her free hand.

They finally parted their kiss Y/N speaking, shaking her head. “I still feel so embarrassed…I just got caught up in my head.”

“You shouldn’t…trust me. You already know how bad my anxiety can be. I know what it’s like to have your brain feed you the worst possible scenarios.” Jimmy insisted.

He pressed a kiss to her cheek, unable to stop himself from asking. “Did I fix Valentine’s Day?”

She was unable to stop the response from leaving her. “I don’t know…”

She paused her words holding a teasing playful tone. “I thought you’d at least ask me to be your Valentine.”

Jimmy snorted at this playing along. “We’ve been together three years, I thought that was a given.”

She rolled her eyes, giving his shoulder a playful shove. “Do you want to get laid later or not?”

He felt his cheeks flush pressing a kiss to her temple. “I would hope so.”

He pressed a kiss to her lips, the teasing tone still in his voice. “Even if I don’t, you’re still my fiancee”.

She smiled at the words she finally placed the bouquet of roses on the patio table beside the bottle of wine.

She turned to embrace him, the words leaving her. “You know you’re going to have to really figure out how to top this, next Valentine’s Day.”

“I’m sure I can figure something out.” Jimmy insisted the comment putting a smile on both of their faces.

She allowed his lips to meet hers, not helping but to think that this was turning out to be the best Valentine’s Day ever. She had to wonder just how he would top this?

#Jimmy Palmer #Jimmy Palmer/Reader #NCIS #Jimmy Palmer Fanfiction #Jimmy Palmer fanfic #Reader insert #fanficiton #fanic #ncis fanfiction

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prismaluv · 2 years

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Here is a S/andman fanfic I wrote a few years back. It’s based on the comic.

I was really hoping S/andman would start feeding in the snz community so after some reservation I’m trying to do my part to get the ball rolling. Im also really confused by how Tumblr works despite being here for 3 or so years so really I just hope this inspires others to write more of the same content! Feedback is always appreciated!

Catch your death.

The family had not met in many years. How many is inconsequential. Suffice to say that I merely quantify the amount of years for the benefit of the reader, as to the Endless, the idea of "many years" would be beyond your comprehension. Sometimes these meetings were for family business and sometimes, albeit rarely, they were purely social. This was one of those unique times.

It was in fact Death who had called this gathering. The arrangements were made in the usual mundane way of standing in the gallery and holding a family member’s sigil The all too familiar incantation this time to act as an invitation for a future event. Before long the day had come! Death did all the important cleaning up and making sure her place looked suitable. She didn’t need any jokes about her lack of tidiness from Destruction like last time! Once she was satisfied all looked presentable she headed toward the dining area and waited.

The first to arrive was Dream. It was of no surprise as he was always precisely on time. Next followed Destiny and then Destruction, Despair next and Second last was Delirium. Last but not least was of course Desire who was never on time for anything they felt was beneath them.

Death relished her role as the hostess and made sure there were edible delights for everyone. She took time and care in choosing each and every single bit of cuisine, Making sure to match it to the personal tastes of each of her relations.

The menu was as follows:

Dream - Turkey Breast with an almond and walnut crust. A side of white rice. A tart cherry juice for a complimentary beverage. Dessert would be an intriguing combination of kiwi and banana. Chamomile tea to follow. These culinary sleep aids have been factual proven to give anyone a good nights rest

Destruction - Greek style Lamb roasted in palm oil. A side of soy beans and corn. For dessert a sugary confection including chocolate and coconut. The cumulative effect of so many of these ingredients was factually known for their insurmountable damage to the planet.

Destiny - A nondescript dish of fish and a simple salad of beans and onions sprinkled with cheese in a light olive oil dressing. To drink: wine. A fortune cookie for dessert with Tea. ( heavy on the leaves). Most of these foods were used as tools in the art of ancient Greek divination.

Despair - Hamburger with french fries lots of ketchup. A tall cold glass of soda. To finish of this meal a large bowl of your favourite ice cream which has been discontinued crowned with candy sprinkles, gummies and butterscotch sauce.

Desire - A generous portion of raw oysters. Served with a side of lemon, Tabasco sauce and chalet vinaigrette. To sip a glass of vintage Dom Pérignon. Dessert was a heart shaped box of chocolates.

Delirum - Shoelace spaghetti with rectangular sauce. Juice of tentacle and a peanut butter and jealous sandwich cake for dessert. Obviously fresh mango juice to drink served in a glass that looked like a pill container

Death - Fugu or Puffer fish. One of the most deadliest foods known in the universe! Après dinner was Hemlock tea.

They made pleasantries to fill in the awkward silences. And it was Destruction who first broke the ice. " How is my favourite lass?" He directed the question at Delirium. Desire's golden eyes narrowed.

Delirium, who was engrossed with using her spaghetti as a lasso looked up. " Ohh! Its so really. Great. And look did you see this. I can be one of those. Um....what do you call them ? again?"

"Cowgirls?" Destruction offered helpfully.

"no. Um....." Delirium seemed to be deep in thought. "Cowgirls!" She beamed proudly as if she had arrived to this conclusion on her own.

"Now why didn't I think of that?" Destruction said humouring her.

" Because? ... umm .....?" Delirium's thoughts trailed off fading as though remnants in the end of a song.

"Silly sister." Desire said with a sharp saccharine smile." Destruction was just humouring you much like the rest of us with your silly prattling." Desire was vexed at the thought that someone would have the gall to declare anyone was their favourite in their presence. Unless of course it was Desire themselves.

Destruction didn't miss a beat. "You mean the way we humour you, Desire?"

"Funny, I don't recall asking for anything of the sort." they looked at him with dark amusement. "But I'm delighted to see you care." The descriptor was used with deliberate incidence.

Destruction knew verbally sparing with Desire was a fools game. Instead he turned the conversation to Despair. Hesitantly she looked to Desire before answering any of his questions as though for permission. She confessed it was good to see him and soon they fell into familiar dialogue. All was going very well as the relations all talked amongst themselves. That is all but Desire. They were bored and idly swirled their drink around in the crystal flute.

"So Dream." Desire paused dramatically until they were sure they had his full attention. " Seeing anyone these days?"

" I am in fact, yes." Dream said a bit to stately for anyone but Desire to notice.

"Anyone I know?" They purred.

" It is no one of your acquaintance " Dream bristled

" I'd love to meet them. I'd be able to tell them ever so much about you. Ohh, all good things of course." They mocked,

"Don't you ever tire of meddling in the affairs of others? " He countered

"Why Dream" Desire pretended to look deeply offended, placing their hand over their heart. " I don't meddle. I merely help things arrive to their natural conclusion. May I offer you some advice? Perhaps you should pay attention to this one. Instead of ignoring her for days on end. Leaving her to question every last encounter the two of you had. Driving her to her quarters to cry pathetically into her pillow deep into the night. Maybe you should try not being an asshole for once." Desire looked around the room. All eyes focused on them as each one of the endless stopped what they had been doing. It seemed as though the room was dipped in inhospitable silence.

"What?" Laughed Desire. "Did I say too much?"

It was then that Death spoke out.

"Desire! Stop, just stop!. I invited everyone here to have a nice time and I am not going to have you ruin it!"

Dream spoke next

"Sister I feel I am perfectly capable of handling this myself"

" Is that a fact? Because from what I have seen our incompetent ninny of a brother is completely incapable of handling anything." Desire was smug.

It is known that Death is merciful and compassionate. let us say at this time she was neither one of those things.

" This is my place Desire and you can bet your bottom dollar I'm not going to stand here and let you insult me or the rest of our family. Now get your ass over here!" She commanded.

Desire had every intention of ignoring her demands until they saw the utterly scary look in Death's eyes. Languidly Desire began to rise from the table

And if words could roll their eyes. "Sigh, If I must"

"NOW!"

Despite themselves Desire jumped a little.

Death turned on her heel with the understanding that her brother/sister was to follow.

Now in the hallway Death turned to face her sibling.

"OK" Desire said hands on hips. "Have at it. But first let me just light my..." One look told them that might not be the best idea.

"After tonight, not to mention all these years, consider yourself lucky this is all you're going to get!"

" And prey tell what might that be? You can't kill me. We are bound by rules remember?"

" Trust me Desire after I'm done with you, you'll wish you were dead."

"And Just what is that supposed to mean? " Desire was as ever defiant.

And then it happened.

Desire sneezed.

Nothing to you or I of course but as an Endless that just wasn't a common occurrence. In fact it wasn't an occurrence at all. Desire was about to find out just exactly what Death meant.

It is a little known fact that while Death is barred from harming the rest of the Endless there are small liberties she might take. One of which is based off the phrase "To catch your death of cold."

It happened again. Desire sneezed for the second time in it's life. They stood there dazed, slack jawed.

"What did you do to me?"

Death smiled her cheery smile " Oh? Do you have a bit of a sniffle?"

Not wanting to give Death a modicum of satisfaction they looked her square in the face and said: "Nice try." It wasn't convincing.

Desire's head immediately began to throb. They pinched their eyes shut and took a deep breath and in a guise of nonchalance, they fished in their pocket for the cigarette they had attempted to light only minutes before. With their head held high Desire gathered every scrap of dignity they had and walked back into the dinning area to face the rest of The Endless.

Always wanting the last word, it was Desire's intention to save face and retreat to their realm before anyone was the wiser.

The grand entrance they aspired to was promptly ruined as they inhaled dramatically on their cigarette making a great show of it only to end up choking on the smoke. Tawny eyes now watering with the effort they feebly tried to compose themselves only for it to backfire. For now they were caught in a coughing spell and Desire was the centre of attention. At last the spell subsided and Despair approached her sibling with a glass of water. Tentatively they took a sip and set it down.

"Well!" Their words came out as a throaty rasp much to their chagrin." What are you all staring at?" Desire felt hot. And all at once the world was spinning. They grabbed the table for stability. Vainly Desire tried still hiding their vulnerability.

"This party is boring and I have better things to do than spend a night with beings as dull as you."

To Desire's absolute horror their nose began to run only just slightly. Sniffling back what they now recognized as a sneeze they continued with quivering breath.

"I refuse to waste another minute of my precious time." More sniffling ensued as a delicate hand was brought to their nose instinctively in hopes of quelling the urge to sneeze.

Unfortunately the fight was lost.

And as Desire exited the remaining Endless heard an echo of sneezes trailing behind them.

Retreating to the Threshold they made their way to the main place of residence: The heart. As they slowly trudged through they noticed the temperature surrounding them heighten. This was unusual because the climate needed no regulation, as it was consistently in tune with Desires preferences. The Threshold, being a gargantuan flesh and blood statue of Desire itself, it was intrinsically linked. There were some other odd internal irregularities such as small leaks and slight shaking and these weird looking purple blobs encased in a gelatinous membrane which scientifically were known as macrophage a type of phagocyte,responsible for destroying bacteria, fungi and parasites. Essentially the Threshold was acting as though it too was under the attack of a virus mimicking Desire's own body.

Finally when Desire reached its chambers they felt dreadful. Not only were they reeling from the embarrassing scene but physically they felt worse and worse by the minute. Usually they would shake off any sort of threats the family made to them and start plotting revenge but at this moment all they could focus on was the pounding in their head and increasing sore throat.

'what is happening to me?'

Desire had never been sick a day in their life. And while some people throw around that expression I doubt it seems as ostentatiously impressive as someone who has lived about four and half billion years or so years.

Feeling unpleasantly hot they changed from their suit into that of a loose flowing robe.

Of course they knew what being sick was. But it was something that happened to humans as they were pathetic.

Desire searched for solace in the left ventricle. A wave of exhaustion swept over them. They lay down feeling particularity sorry for themselves and thats when Despair appeared.

Before this moment it was almost impossible to find Desire in repose without them appearing glamorous and luxurious. They were usually draped upon some fainting couch or just sprawled out looking more alluring then any model could aspire.

Despair found them in a fetal position, their knees tucked in and arms hugging their legs in close. They were shaking.

She pondered the sight and reflected on the handful of times she had been called to her brother/sister's realm without being summoned at the gallery.

Desire felt the looming presence of someone and looked up to instantly regret it as their head starting swimming once more.

"You're here."

They said said simply, their voice mimicking that of the very twin that stood hovering over them, gravel personified. They sneezed again in spite of themselves feeling all the weaker at being watched. Rising from their position they winced at the pain they felt in their head. It felt heavy and clouded.

" I came to see how you are."

Desire looked at their twin with watery eyes. Their nose was rimmed with traces of pink,their cheeks were flushed,and their already pallor complexion was paler then Despair thought possible.

" You didn't call with your sigil. I must be worse off than I thought." Desire said ruefully " It has been an age since your duties brought you to me. I feel like shit if you must know."

"I talked to Death after you left." Despair was undeterred by her siblings brash attitude. Being twins they had an understanding and connection the other Endless did not.

"What the fuck did she do to me?"

"It's a cold."

"I know what it is sister, but I just want to know how?"

Despair had questioned Death on the same thing. She was not entirely detailed with her answer but mentioned that it had something to do with the power humans gave phrases and since The Endless existed by people's belief, by proxy death could harness that.

Death also had another message for Desire.

"The ball is in my court?" Desire was incredulous. "Whatever is that supposed to mean?!"

" I am only relaying the information that our sister gave." Despair was stoic as usual.

Frustration burned through them much like their ever present fever. They conjured a cigarette and and in an instant a silver heart shaped lighter appeared in their hand. It was lit and Desire proceeded to smoke just to retain some semblance of normalcy.

They got about two puffs in before they again started coughing.

"Ugh! I can't even smoke!" Desire was furious.

"Perhaps, my twin, it would be to your benefit to forget about your addiction for now."

"Fine!"

Arms crossed and folded they appeared as petulant child. The temperature in the atmosphere rose then, a clear indication that the virus was indeed circulating through Desires humble abode. And then the place seemed to be vibrating."

"Did you feel that? " Despair asked and it was almost warning as Desire themselves began to shiver violently.

"I'm s - s- suddenly so c - c - cold!" They began so rub their arms frantically in an attempt to generate heat.

"Go and lie down." Despair instructed. "I will bring a blanket for you."

Desire did as was told, and by the time Despair came back with a blanket for their sibling was trembling uncontrollably. Despair maternally placed it over them and tucked it into their sides. She also procured a pillow. Desire wanted to say 'thank you' but as they opened their mouth to speak they sneezed instead. Luckily it was caught in the comforter. An expensive silk handkerchief was produced out of thin air and handed to them and Desire would have taken the time to appreciate the fitting choice were it not for the desperate sneezing fit that took hold. One after the other the sneezes ricocheted through their being until they were left out of breath and dizzy. Their head fell back miserably on the pillow. Letting out a wretched moan they clutched fiercely at the duvet, an instinctively vulnerable act.

Desire's twin looked on approvingly.

"What does it feel like?" Despair asked darkly.

"It's as though someone is banging a drum in my brain. Like my veins are filled with ice one minute and molten lava the next. My nose is exploding beyond my control and leaking. My muscles are as sore as if I've spend a dozen consecutive nights in the throes of passion.And my throat feels as if it's engulfed in fire. Most of all it feels mortal."

Even speaking felt labours.

"It's not fun." Desire finished with a pout. And seeing her twin's eye widen in interest added. "Well maybe it would be for you. You would probably have a ball."

They snuggled down deeper into their makeshift bed atop cardiac muscle. " I don't like this." Desire complained pitifully.

" I am not sure what to do for you." Despair said. "It is odd, in all the years through my countless mirrors, I have observed many human customs and yet I have never had the opportunity to put them into practice."

"Mortals are boring." Desire said congested.

"Don't move." Despair ordered. " Rest. I will be back shortly."

Despair ventured out into the further reaches of the left ventricle in search of a mirror. Along the way there was more earthquake like shakes and at a one point convulsions that caused her to loose her footing. It was assumed that was Desire once more either sneezing or shivering. Despair didn't have to wonder far to find what she was looking for and when she come upon the mirror. Despair peered into it. She yanked her hook like ring across her naked bloated belly. The scene unfolded before her, A fancy restaurant : A women was there waiting. She was crying and trying hard not to. It was the place her and her husband always went to on their anniversary before he died.This was the first time she was there to celebrate alone. She felt her walls begin to dissolve and the sadness was overwhelming she knew any moment she would being wailing and make a scene. She needed to get out of there. Fast! She got up with grace and walked out, mere moments before she had her complete breakdown. Back at the restaurant the waiter returned to the table to bring the appetizer: Duck soup. For one. The waiter left and Despair went through the mirror and snatched it up and quickly returned to Desire's Threshold. Despair looked in cautiously and entered their siblings quarters..

"What took you so long?" Desire asked in a cranky tone.

Slowly and extra carefully whilst carrying the soup. Despair approached Desire's bedside. She saw the beads of perspiration on her twins face and their febrile dazed eyes and a small part of her just wanted to watch and observe. The misery that hung about Desire like a storm cloud made Despair feel closer to her sibling than she had felt in a long time.

"I have some soup for you Desire."

"It better not be chicken soup. I'm not taking any disgusting human medicine."

"It's not chicken soup. It's duck soup. It is from a gourmet restaurant."

Desire scoffed. "Now, this should be interesting." They said sarcastically.

Despair stood by their quasi patient's bedside and began to feed them spoonfuls of rich broth. To their credit Desire was obedient and devoured the liquid hungrily.

"Ok. I'm done." Desire pushed the empty bowl toward her. "Satisfied?"

"I am. I think I have done all that I can do here. Except..................." Despair paused. " Here." She handed her elder sibling a stuffed toy rat. " It is often customary for mortals to provide the ailing with tools to provide comfort."

"Ohh you shouldn't have." Desire was only slightly mocking. "Is it based off one of yours sweet sister?"

Despair with absolutely no humour and in total seriousness said. " Henry."

Desire was then left alone.

Feeling weak and exhausted they lay back down. It was maddening being ill. Desire was used to being in control. Not only of themselves but others. They pondered this set of circumstances. It was easy to blame Dream. Their feud had been long established but he never did anything about it. Sure there were threats. 'Empty as his head'. They chuckled at that out loud which resulted in some harsh coughs and they winced at the pain that seized their tender throat. But this horrible situation they were now in wasn't about Dream. Not really. It was their eldest sister who had the proverbial balls to actual enact some sort of attack. 'I didn't even do anything to her.' Desire mused to themselves defensively. And then it was back to 'This is all Dream's fault'. ' If he wasn't such a lawnmower. Yeah! Why was he always using his laser beam cats to comb the eels?' Desire began to perspire. The temperature in the Threshold was increasing at an alarming rate. Desire moaned and placed their hand to their temple. It was blistering hot. The beads of sweat began to glide. The room appeared to be melting around them.

And that's when Delirium appeared. Looking around the room curiously she tip toed in an exaggerated fashion up to where Desire lay and was now feverishly tossing about. Their cropped hair matted to their damp cheek in angry stands. She crept closer.

"Sistery - brothery?" Delirium intoned into their available ear.

Desire Immediately jolted forward to find their youngest sister preached on their bed staring at them. Desire's eyes squinted and narrowed at altering degrees. "Delirium?" They managed to croak out through parched lips.

"Yup! It's me!" Delirium cried happily " Were you expecting another something? Like a puddle. Because those things are never where you leave them. And this one time it actually was where I left it and I was very confused because it wouldn't say why."

"Oh great!" Just what I need. How many more of you are going to visit me without an invite?" Desire was not in the mood to cater to her littlest sister's whims.

"Go away! I don't feel good." Sneezing in triplicate served to prove their point. The threshold shook with the aftershocks.

"Weeee" Squealed Delirium. "It's like a rollercoster!" She then pointed at Desire and scrunched up her face. " You're dripping. Are you broken?"

Desire took out their pocket silk and dabbed gingerly at their nose.

"No, I'm not broken. I'm sick! I suppose, though, it's the same thing." They answered dejectedly.

"That's why I'm here I guess." Delirium looked at the floor sadly. "Poor Desire. You must feel pretty crumbly. I almost never get to come to your place. Especially not for busyness."

"Don't be a nuisance Del."

"But I love new scents. Have you ever smelt jamboree and tourniquet. Maybe I can make things more fun. Do you want to sneeze sparkles? I could do that?? If you want." She looked ever hopeful.

Desire shuddered at the thought. "No. I don't want that." They said dully. The absence of cheek was a clear indication that their fight had indeed been knocked out. The furnace inside them seemed to be working overtime. Blanket's kicked off they longed for even the unpleasant sensation of chills. Everything seemed too hot. They wanted nothing to touch their scorching skin. The pillow by their head only served to aggravate. The stuffed rat that had been gifted to them seemed blistering hot. Desire grabbed it with the intention of hurling across it the room when it came to life and bit them. Desire dropped it in shock.

"What the fuck?!"

"It's not really. Real, really." Delirium said. This wasn't her fault. " I'm sorry. I can't help it." Delirium said woefully. " I wanted to do the sparkles." This was the part of her job she hated. What made it worse was this was a member of her own family.

Desire thrashed against the bed. Confused and scared at the things they saw. They could no longer distinguish reality.

"Please go away." They begged and it wasn't clear if they meant Delirium or something else entirely.

And then weakened by exhaustion and fever Desire passed out.

Desire fell into a sea of blackness and in the space of the unconscious their fever dream began.

They found themselves walking. It was in a forest and it was day. The sun beat down and filtered through the foliage causing it to intermittently cast it's rays and forcing them to shield their golden eyes. They shivered with chill despite the warmth in the air.

'I'm dreaming' Desire ascertained and sneezed suddenly against their wrist. 'And I'm still ... sick' And even in their own head it was painful to admit. 'Well of course I am'. Desire continued narrating to themselves. 'I'm in my brother's realm after all, and when has he been in the habit of doing me a kindness?"

"When have you ever given me reason to."

Desire turned around and there stood Morpheus.

"This is indeed a rare event my brother." Desire said clearing their throat. "It isn't like you to intertwine yourself in family affairs. That's usually my job."

"If I am not mistaken, it is you who came to I."

" Believe me It wasn't a choice." Desire answered annoyance dipping from every syllable.

"So I am aware. I heard of your ailment." Dream was careful. "I must admit I was curious to see how you were affected."

As if on cure the familiar and feathery tickle returned to Desire's nose. If there was a more embarrassing time for sternutation Desire could not think of one. They gave their nose a vigorous rub, trying not to sniffle.

"I'b fide." Desire said, so obviously not 'fine'. The tell tale signs of fever displayed on their cheeks were a dead give away as was their cold converted speech. Their breath became hitched , mouth slack and eyes closed. It was evident that Desire was about to sneeze and was doing everything in their power not to. Their head reared back and with an audible gasp of air they let out a viciously loud sneeze that propelled them forward and almost in half with the force. They groaned wearily.

"God bless." Dream said " You do look rather awful." It was meant as an observation but the insult to his sibling suited him.

Dream handed them a square of cotton. Desire begrudgingly thanked him and turned around humiliated to quietly blow their nose.

"I'm sure this is entertaining for you." Desire retorted shrinking inside themselves with how horrid they still sounded.

"I will admit. It is very intriguing. Clinically speaking."

"I'm glad I amuse." Desire managed through a few coughs." So what am I even doing here Dream? Am I just here for you to gawk at like some animal in a zoo?!" Desire could feel their temper begin to flare.

The night king was infuriatingly calm. " It is your dream, you tell me."

The scene changed. They were transported to a room furnished and decorated in elaborate wealth. There was an impossibly large bed in the centre. Desire was so fatigued and fragile at this point they blunderingly made their way over to it and lay down.

Desire's eyes closed naturally. They felt a cool hand rest on their forehead. Desire sighed contented and leaned into the cool touch.

"You are very warm sister-brother." Dream sounded concerned.

Desire had almost forgot themselves, now fully remembering they feebly swatted Dream's hand away. Lacking in co - ordination and strength the attempt was futile.

They moaned in protest unable to do much else.

"Hush sibling." Morpheus admonished gently. He dipped a cloth in the water filled basin that sat beside him. He proceeded to gently stroke Desire's heated forehead and cheeks.

"Why are you doing this?" Desire asked huskily

"Is it not what big brothers would do for their siblings?"

"Not you. Not us."

"I suppose you're lucky it's a dream then. I have a cup of tea for you. Can you sit up?" Dream's voice was both soothing and encouraging in tone, the likes of which Desire had never heard.

Placing the weight of themselves on their arms and using their hands Desire was able to manoeuvre in an upright position.

They took the steaming mug from Dream and tried sniffing it but were too stuffed up to smell anything.

"It's rose hip and chocolate." Dream answered their siblings silent question.

Desire drank the tea and as much as they hated to admit, it was much better than they had anticipated. Dream being nice was something very similar. They weren't quite expecting to like it and they would never let on that they did. Their contradictory feelings caused Desire a feeling of underlying anxiety as they were forced to endure this perplexing scenario. Surfacing again the ubiquitous tickle made its presence known, only this time in their throat and their coughing interrupted this internal dialogue. Desire urgently put down the mug before the attack began. The coughs sounded deep and very painful. Desire tried to inhale as best they could in between each convulsion but it seemed as if they sincerely couldn't stop. Watching their sibling is such distress Dream began to rub their back in small circles. When Desire finally did stop they were left wheezing and short of breath, tears streaming down their face. Desire clasped their throat and winced in pain.

"Ow." They whined.

"Poor thing." Dream sighed.

It was the second time that night Desire had heard such similar phrasing but from her older brother it had the complete opposite effect.

"I don't need your pity." Pouted Desire.

"Excellent. I'll not waste any. Instead I might offer you my compassion." Dream was reasonable.

"I don't want that either. I don't need anyone feeling sorry for me, Dream!" Mustering all the bravado they could was difficult but Desire was acting in self defence. They wished they could just wake up. This dream was getting intensely too surreal for their liking.

Dream looked fondly at his sibling and said. "It is a true shame, as it is often the ones most in need of sympathy, that are loathe to accept it." Dream tenderly brushed away a stand of stray hair from Desires forehead and and as if making room placed an affectionate kiss in that exact spot. .

"Rest well, my sister - brother."

And before Desire could take much more they awoke.

Upon consciousness Desire's mind ventured over the events that had just transpired in their brothers realm. It left them confused and the more they thought about it, it made them furious. 'Why was Dream being so kind?', 'What has he to gain?', 'How am I to act the next time we meet?'. It was a never ending cycle of question after question. Their relationship was clear previously. They both understood the parts they would play and now Dream had ruined that! If he had been the cold and unfeeling dream king as was usual, then there would be no cause for concern. But he was NICE!

While Desire sat in bed still nursing their malady and pondering this new revelation both Dream and Death were conversing through their gallery's, much like old friends on the phone.

"I need full details!" Death squealed giddily to her brother.

Dream went over the events. He was sure to include how unsightly Desire looked, the handkerchief he provided, soothing their fever, the tea, aiding their fit of coughing and lastly, the one that had death in peels of laughter, the kiss on the forehead.

" I bet Desire loved that." She said sarcastically. "So they looked awful too, huh? Death prompted, hungry for all the details.

"They not only looked frightful, my sister, but they sounded almost as ghastly as well. If not more so."

" I wish I could have been there to witness everything!"

"It was very fascinating. I told them as much. As I stated before, It was was one of the main reasons why I agreed to this arrangement with you." Dream replied thoughtfully.

"Bullshit!" Death blurted out. "You just wanted to see Desire suffer. Admit it Dream." Death smiled broadly. She found this excuse as amusing as it was transparent.

"I do not deny that it was a motivating factor to see our sibling in dire straits however it became apparent to me that I rather liked doting on Desire and in truth this may have been an experience I had been otherwise lacking. Perhaps Desire was not the preferred candidate, yet were it not for them, I might not have arrived at this epiphany."

"Watch it there, lil brother or someone might accuse you of getting soft."

"That is unlikely as the only others who know about this are you and our aforementioned sibling and I am quite confident that Desire will not be so keen to boast as it appeared to make them quite uncomfortable." Retrospectively this was the source for most of his amusement and in reality, had more to do with Dream's enjoyment than he would have liked to admit.

"How so?" Death probed. She was so glad she had asked Dream to do this. It almost just as enjoyable hearing about it.

" It seemed as though the more kindly I behaved toward Desire the more I incurred their anger."

"That's perfect!!" Death said giggling picturing it.

"Well I think their lesson was learned. On multiple fronts." Dream said wisely.

"Lesson? Nah! " Death waved her hand in a dismissive fashion. "I think they learned a whole curriculum!"

They two said goodbyes through their galleries and parted ways on either side of their realms.

The next day in Desire's own realm they were consumed by yet another dreadful sneezing fit. This one seemed to be the worst yet. It was so bad, and caused such chaos and commotion within the Threshold, that Desire themselves was tossed off the bed and onto the floor due to all of the resulting turbulence.

They lay there like a rejected doll at first, and then when they tried to get up, they stumbled, as the area was still somewhat unstable.

The sneezing continued. The tremors due to the sneezing continued. And Desires intolerance due to both of those things continued.

"I can't take anymore of this!" Desire shrieked out loud.

Driven by pure frustration and fury they were determined to confront Death and end this misery once and for all. Feeling chilled they grabbed the blanket off the bed and draped it cape like over their shoulders and headed to their gallery.

Still sneezing along the way made for a treacherous path. After each the pericardium of the heart shook keeping desire almost perpetually off balance.

When they arrived at the gallery they were worse for wear. Nose running , eyes streaming, they were a mess.

They plucked their sisters sigil from the wall and held it.

"Sister, Ahatischoo! I sdand in your gallery ....Haitsshchoo! *sniff* I hold your sigil. Will you talk to be? Ahhtichoo!!" Desire could barely get the words out for all the sneezing.

Death appeared and took one look at Desire and had to swallow a laugh.

"I was wondering how long it would take you." Death said pleasantly " You look tired. Have you not been sleeping well?" She smirked.

Desire clutched the blanket tighter and honestly Death was almost beginning to feel sorry for their sister - brother. Dream had said they were in bad shape but she could have never expected this.

" I give ub! Ok?" Desire sneezed a double and groaned. "Jusd kill be." They pleaded miserably.

"You see! I told you I would have you begging for death!". This time Death did laugh. "Obviously I'm not going to kill you silly! And I'll reverse the effects, on one condition."

"Adything. Dame it."

"I think Dream deserves an apology. And I hope you will think long and hard before you try messing around with anyone in the family again." Death was stern but could see Desire had suffered enough.

Desire wiped their hand across their nose and then held it up. "I swear by the fist circle."

Immediately they could suddenly breathe. The pressure in their head and sinuses vanished. Their nose was left in peace and they felt like their body was no longer shaking with chills. They were well in a flash. They dropped their blanket dramatically to the floor. And struck a pose.

"I suppose I have a call to make." Desire said, honouring their promise.

" Well." Death said with finality "I suppose you will never forget what it's like."

"what, what is like?" Desire arched an elegant eyebrow

" A taste of your own medicine."

#sickfic #the sandman #sandman comics #snzblr #snz blog

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dejavusecondhandboutique · 2 months

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Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: “Peppermint Kiss” Valentine’s Day 1992 Mini Plate Pemberton & Oakes Donald Zolan.

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dawnettsemporium · 4 months

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HEART SHAPED CRYSTAL CANDY DISH LARGE 5.75" X 5" CHECKERBOARD DIAMOND CUT DESIGN. This vintage heart-shaped dish is a charming addition to any crystal and heart collections. The clear glass material has a glossy finish that catches the light beautifully.

THIS IS A CANDY OR CONDIMENT OR NUT DISH. THERE ARE SMALLER BOXES FOR SALE ON EBAY THAT HAVE A LID--THOSE ARE TRINKET DISHES. THIS IS A LARGER DISH: 5" X 5.75" X 2" DISH (DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU MEASURE FROM), WITH NO LID. I BELIEVE IT MAY BE A BLOCK, BUT NOT SIGNED (THEY MADE ONE THAT LOOKED LIKE THIS). VERY HEAVY LEAD CRYSTAL THOUGH, 22.01 OUNCES, ON MY SCALE. ALSO MAKES THAT WONDERFUL NOISE WHEN TAPPED, THAT ONLY FINE CRYSTAL CAN MAKE. EXCELLENT CONDITION, NO CHIPS OR SILVERWARE MARKS. MADE BY MOULD INITIALLY. DEEP DIAMOND, CHECKERBOARD, HARLEQUIN CUTS. ITEM IN PHOTOS IS EXACT ITEM YOU WILL RECEIVE.

#DAWNETTSEMPORIUM, #BEAUTIFULMERMAIDQUEEN, #SHAUNALYNNSFOOD.

FREE SHIPPING. VOLUME PRICING. THANK YOU

#beautifulmermaidqueen #dawnettsemporium #shaunalynnsfood

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jana-hallford · 6 years

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Valentine Memories: School Valentines, Heart-Shaped Candy Boxes, and a Special Cupcake

Valentine’s Day is by its very nature a sentimental time. I remember Valentines like the ones below, exchanged on Valentine’s Day all through elementary school. Some came in sheets with perforations for separating individual Valentines, while others were fully die-cut, ready to be signed. In both cases, packages of Valentines came in assorted designs.

As I mentioned in my inaugural post, Valentine and Christmas card designs are often reprinted for years, so the ones shown here could easily have been used before and after my era. We’re apparently allowed to get a little old-fashioned for these holidays,

Vintage bunny-theme Valentine.

Vintage telephone-theme Valentine. When I was growing up, images of young girls talking on the phone were very common, on greeting cards and even birthday cake decorations.

Pirate-theme vintage Valentine.

I like this cute kitten vintage Valentine. No play-on words, just a sweet cat with a simple message.

Vintage television-theme Valentine.

Vintage scuba-theme Valentine. The 1958 - 1961 television series “Sea Hunt” popularized scuba diving.

Vintage Valentine featuring a young witch resembling Elizabeth Montgomery of the "Bewitched" television series, 1964 - 1972.

Vintage Valentine for a teacher.

I enjoyed using printed Valentines, especially selecting pictures or themes that matched the interests of my friends. However, my favorite memories are of Valentines I made myself. I remember in kindergarten, my first chance to exchange Valentines, the set my mother bought me was about eight or ten short for the number of classmates I had. (Baby Boomer classes were large.) I drew pictures of ballerinas and made Valentines for the girls I knew best, and gave the printed Valentines to everyone else. My hand-drawn Valentines were much admired, and that made me, a five-year-old artist, very happy.

In the 5th grade, I was starting to get a bit self-conscious about giving out mushy Valentines to everyone. Inspired by a story from a “reader” (reading textbook) about an Eastern European immigrant girl who didn’t have the means to buy Valentines or the materials to make paper ones, I baked heart-shaped cookies for my whole class. Those also went over well.

Heart-shaped boxes of chocolate were very popular on Valentine’s Day, and still are, but back in the day many were highly embellished with ribbons and lace.

A collection of vintage heart-shaped candy boxes, including one from See’s Candy,

Vintage red heart-shaped candy box with ruffles and lace, topped with a red bow and an artificial rose.

Vintage heart-shaped candy box. This one stands out for me because it is a beautiful light blue, rather than red or pink.

Lovely pink vintage heart-shaped candy box, with lots of ruffles and lace, topped with delicate pink roses.

Yet more vintage heart-shaped candy boxes. I wonder about the women and girls who originally received these as Valentine’s Day gifts, and what their lives were like.

When I was about five, my parents gave me a Valentine’s Day heart-shaped box of chocolates with a doll on it. Candy box dolls were inexpensive dolls, typically with “frozen” (non-bendable) legs, but I loved that gift, and remember it fondly. Below are some similar candy box dolls.

Vintage red heart-shaped candy box topped with a doll with a pink dress trimmed in red. She has millinery flowers on her red hat (which appears to be heart-shaped) and for her bouquet.

Vintage heart-shaped candy box topped with a doll in a white dress with blue trim. Her face looks like she’s a little older, from the 1940s or 1950s, but I’m including her because I think she’s pretty.

Vintage pink heart-shaped candy box topped with a doll in a pink hat and a blue and white dress, carrying a little bouquet of millinery flowers.

Vintage Valentine candy box topped with a doll with a red dress and hat. She too has a bouquet of millinery flowers.

One of my all-time favorite Valentine’s Day memories is of my mother taking me, age six, and my brother, age two, to a bakery with a Swiss chalet-inspired façade, and buying us each a fancy cupcake. (My three older siblings were off doing something else.) The cupcakes were decorated with hearts and cute smiling faces made from round, spun balls of paper on toothpicks, and they wore little hats. The next year or so, I was given a small red heart-shaped box of chocolates. I still have the decoration from that, with a plastic head and pipe cleaner limbs.

Vintage Valentine decoration, from my personal collection. I’ve had this since I was about seven years old. The label on the back says MADE IN JAPAN.

#vintage valentne #valentine #baby boomer memories #vintage heart shaped candy box #vintage candy box #vintage candy box doll #valentine cupcake #valentine memories

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ughworstever · 5 years

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#valentine #vintage #valentine's day #lovecore #heartcore #heart shaped box #heart shaped #pink #candy box #bon bons #bonbons #pink aesthetic #valentine's #valentines #valentines day

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the-gloomth · 5 years

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Valentine Heart Box Fabric

Valentine’s Day is so over the top tacky it has become it’s own aesthetic. Case in point- the heart shaped vintage candy boxes, decked out in crumpled lace and faded fake flowers. They’re one of my favorite kitsch objects to find at flea markets. I also created a fabric filled with an array of these retro candy boxes!

You can grab this print on leggings, tights, t-shirts, skirts, and dresses on…

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#harajuku valentines #heart shaped box #outfit #street fashion #valentine fabric #valentine&039;s day outfit #valentines day #vintage candy box

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cityguylove · 8 years

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#valentines day #be my valentine #valentines day wallpapers #pink #vintage valentine #vintage heart shaped candy box

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lovebyvenus · 2 years

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🕯💌felt like writing about the venus signs today bbyss

Cancer Venus: religious love in the lana del rey type of way, cherries and that one wedding dress at the thrift store that someone loved intensely but you know it could only be worn once with the same meaning, keeping you from buying the it. You wonder why it ended up here, why it wasn’t passed from generation to generation. Cancer venus is about emotional devotion, falling in love with the divine. You’re my religion. Regret and lingering.

Virgo Venus : Physical servitude. Take my body, take my hands, it’s all yours. Wanting to climb mountains, wanting to materially do it all for them. The last plum hanging from the tree in October, the one that seems to be scared of hitting the ground and never feeling the same again. Lists and scratches, being obsessed by a mythical ideal you’ll never reach.

Scorpio Venus : Possession, wanting to kill the person you’re in love with. Limerence. Burning letters and burying affection deep within the folds of your chest. These old leather boots you find at the thrift store, only you know they won’t be as faithful to you as they were to the previous owner. I could never tell the difference between affection and hatred

Aquarius Venus : understanding the concepts of duality and completion better than others. Understanding that the loved one is not a prolongation of yourself. Running away together, faithfulness and ear kisses. Tattoos, escapism. Delayed affection and sudden boredom. How do I not lose my sense of identity in all this

Capricorn Venus : Leather, power play and temporal devotion. Vintage clothes at the thrift store that are perfectly preserved and still smell like cigarettes. Saturn making you go through hardships in love and you going through it all bravely, you’ve seen it all before anyways. The ability to foresee the better during stormy times. Every lover is a lesson i haven’t learned yet

Libra Venus : Angels. Love that sounds like an empty Opera. You wonder why Venus has gifted you with the ability to understand love as an absolute, in a deeper way than other placements yet, something is missing. Theoretical love. Vanity and jewelry boxes. Summer flings, having multiple suitors, misconducting each and every one of them. Love that feels like seasons passing, in love with Love and Venus. Mental stimulation, mind games, subtle flirt. Loving being loved. Would I fall for you if I didn’t see my reflection in your eyes ?

Gemini Venus : Hand kisses, rings, playlists. Writing the portrait of your lover, learning their mannerism. Boredom, bliss and ecstasy. That children book at the thrift store you had forgotten about. For a split second, you feel young again and hesitate purchasing it just for the reminiscence. Having multiple love interests, having a hard time keeping up with texting. Always being the one who leaves, people never understanding what kind of heartbreak it represents as well. It only takes an intonation, a subtle movement of the hand for me to become your lover.

Leo Venus : warmth, traveling west when the sun is setting down. Picture boxes, wearing your heart on your sleeve, spiritual devotion. Intention, impulse and high school crushes. Trust issues, insecurities. That one furry coat at the thrift store that seems to stand out, you wonder what kind of extra weirdo decided to stop wearing it. Cheerleaders and 60s heartthrobs. Rnb type of love, the one that is so sweet and warm, it almost a burns but you’re left delighted with the taste of candy. It’s harder to turn that love into self acceptance

Taurus Venus : Paul Anka, slow kisses and necklaces. Skin to skin contact, the same kind of devotion you would give to a growing plant in your room. Doe eyes, heart shaped boxes and slow burn love. Sunburns and freckles. Possessive thoughts, maturing together. Love ends with death or a heartbreak. Sometimes love is not a feeling but an action and you guys understand this a lot. Commitment, late supper in downtown restaurants. Feels like I was put on this earth to worship your body and you to adore mine.

Aries Venus : bites, blood and rage. Fist fighting all the rivals but in your head only. Freckles, sunrises when haven’t slept. A LOT of sexual drive, stamina, working their body on yours, short breaths. Possessiveness and being territorial. Shades of orange, pushing limits, ultraviolence. “Take a bow” from Muse. Rashes, blushing, frustration. Dating is like hunting, healthy competition and high school crushes. Love is the desire to experience everything together, to be witnesses of each other’s accomplishments.

Pisces Venus : Pain and pleasure kinkily mixing together. Satisfaction in being heartbroken, you really can feel that tiny sense of being alive during a heartbreak am i right ? BDSM. Churches, sleeping with your partner as an act of true love. Sharing dreams and nightmares. Connecting in other realms during sex. Pure devotion, melting in each other’s eyes. Prone to Illusions and Fantasies. Being in love with fictional characters. The complicated relationship between a knight and their queen/king. 60s dreamy music, makeup and interior design. Taking substances together, Sometimes I’m scared my affection towards your every move turns into an addiction.

Sagittarius Venus : open relationships, foreign partners, hookups, tinder. Walking barefoot in the parc with your lover. Mysticism, cults, frolic love. Date night at the library, I bet your first love was some kind of teacher. In love with higher education, freedom. Feeling overwhelmed or trapped all the time. Running away together, adrenaline, concerts, connecting through sharing theoretical ideas, conversing. Loving too much, being too generous, expansion.That Simone de Beauvoir and Sartre type of love. You can go anywhere, to anyone in this world and i will still know you’re mine in the end.

#astrology #venus #venus signs #scorpio venus #gemini venus #aries venus #zodiac #taurus venus #cancer venus #leo venus #virgo venus #libra venus #sagittarius venus #pisces venus #capricorn venus #aquarius venus #astronotes

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bluezey · 4 years

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I found something else Barley would do. While most people would buy cardboard valentine cards and candy, Barley would hunt down one of these old vintage valentine postcards for their loved one, and package them with a nice piece of jewelry if he really wants his loved one to be his future king or queen

(unless cupids and angels exist in the Onward world, they'd probably be pixies)

As for the Ian fans, I see Ian buying a flower, writing a poem, sheepishly offering them to his loved one, then quietly waiting for the worst response from them.

As for Laurel. Chocolate. You will win Laurel's heart with a big heart shaped box of chocolates.

#pixar onward #sir iandore of lightfoot #ian lightfoot #barley lightfoot #laurel lightfoot

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inkedstarlight · 4 years

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Living of Love

Summary: Sirius Black owns a punk rock flower shop. When Remus moves in across the street and opens up a bookstore, the two men meet and discover what it feels like to love once more. A Valentine's Day story. Lots of fluff.

Note: Just reposting a Wolfstar fic I published on AO3 a long time ago! For all who don’t know, I used to write a lot of Harry Potter fanfiction about three years ago. All of my HP fanfiction is posted on Archive of Our Own, and I’ve added it to my Masterlist. Nowadays, I’m writing a shit ton of ACOTAR and TOG fics (more to come very soon)! If you ever have prompts/requests, send them in my ask box! I will write: Nessian, Elriel, Feysand, Elorcan, Wolfstar, Jily, and Linny. Thank you to all those who read my fics, I can’t express how much it means to me!

“James!” Sirius cursed as he opened the door.

His best friend poked his head from behind the corner. “Yes, my lover?”

“Cut the crap. What the bloody hell have you done to my shop?”

“Happy Valentine’s Day!” He exclaimed with a sheepish grin.

Sirius stared wide eyed at his flower shop. Only it wasn’t. It was bedazzled in pink. Paper hearts linked their way across the walls. Red and pink stickers were plastered on the front windows. A jar of heart candies was placed on the counter. Every bouquet had a card with some absurd declaration of love resting in the flowers. Sirius sighed.

“What am I looking at, Prongs?”

“Well, my truly amazing friend, you’re looking at the new and improved Guns ’n Roses!” James raised his arms. “Lily helped me a bit last night. What do you think?”

“I think you’re crazy.”

“It’s a masterpiece.”

“It’s not punk rock at all. I asked you to help prep for the holiday – not to let Cupid come in and throw up on my flowers!”

“Embrace the holiday, Pads. It’s a wonderful thing – love.” James looked off with doe eyes.

Sirius snorted. “Still in your honeymoon phase, I see.”

“You’ll find someone too, you know.”

“Doubtful. The amount of eligible gay men in Hampshire is equivalent to the dignity I have left.” Sirius turned the sign on the front door that stated they were open before shutting it and walking into his shop.

Though it was a minimalist interior, it showcased his best floral arrangements. The black and white framed photographs of old bands rested on the rustic, brick walls. On the left and right walls were white shelves of flowers from peonies, to dahlias, to flower crowns. In the middle sat two maroon loveseats, angled toward each other. There was a round table in between them with Sirius’s favorite flowers in an intricate vase; cosmos atrosanguineus. And towards the back of the store was an L shaped counter with his bouquets of the month placed on it. He walked swiftly behind the counter to the registry, and placed his things on the floor. He surveyed his precious store with another look of disbelief.

“What about that guy you told me about a few weeks ago, the one who recently opened up a bookstore just across the street?” James waggled his eyebrows and followed him around the counter.

Sirius blushed as he remembered the man.

“Are you, Sirius Orion Black, the man who claims to have a ‘heart of steel’, blushing?”

Sirius sacked him in the shoulder in hopes of ending his utter embarrassment. “Sod off, Potter.”

But as James rubbed his shoulder and howled with laughter, Sirius allowed himself to remember the man whom he couldn’t stop thinking about…

Sirius flipped the ‘open’ sign as the first drops of rain began to come down. It was a cloudy day on Belmore Street, but beautiful just the same. The local shops’ lights glowed in the downcast morning. The cobbled road was glistening with the rainfall. The storm was welcoming as it was refreshing.

He looked out his window to see the no longer vacant store directly across the street from his. The sign above the door said, Secondhand Prose. He gave a small smile. There hadn’t been a bookstore here in a long time.

Just as he was about to walk away from the front window, a lean figure in the rain caught his eye. It looked as though the man was trying to carry tons of boxes from a truck into his store. In the rain. With only a t-shirt on. He shook his head incredulously. But he looked upward again at the now downpour. He shifted his gaze back to the struggling man carrying what seemed to be a heavy box. Sirius muttered hateful words to himself as he put up his hood and stepped out into the storm.

He walked quickly across the uneven street. As the man walked out of the store, Sirius approached the truck. The man looked up at him, and Sirius’s steps faltered.

With hair dark with dripping water, a soaked through shirt, and glasses that weren’t helping him at this point, the man was a handsome mess. His warm gaze penetrated Sirius’s.

With the realization that he was staring at the stranger, Sirius cleared his throat, a flush creeping up his neck.

“I couldn’t help but watch your helpless attempt at moving all this shit,” he pointed over his shoulder at the numerous boxes sitting in the back of the truck. “Do you need any help?”

Surprise overcame his face, but looked at his feet and smiled shyly. “That would be great.”

Sirius tore his gaze from him and moved to the truck. It was piled to the brim with cardboard boxes. As leaned over to pick one up, he looked inside to see worn books. He noticed one of his favorites and picked it up.

“The Fountainhead. A brilliant book.” Sirius turned around to see the man standing just a few feet away. His gaze quickly snapped up and his cheeks flushed. Sirius couldn’t help but smirk at the fact that the man had been checking him out.

He gulped. “It’s groundbreaking.”

Sirius was about to agree when another box caught his eye, this one filled to the brim with CD’s. A familiar album cover was at the top of the pile, and he picked it up.

“Emotionalism? This album is incredible. Do you listen to them?”

Remus’s eyes brightened with passion and he grinned. “Track 10.”

They launched into a discussion about the album and the other music they listen to, somehow ending up discussing where they came from and where they longed to go. At some point, Sirius sat on the edge of the truck, Remus joining him, legs swinging back and forth, all the while the rain continuing to beat down on them as they continued to talk for what felt like hours, never once hitting an uncomfortable silence or an awkward topic. A tether seemed to form between the two men as they connected through words.

“We should probably finish up with these boxes,” Sirius nodded to the books behind him, reluctant to end their conversation.

After that, the two men danced around each other as they efficiently moved all the books into the new store. The rain conveniently stopped just as Sirius brought in the last box. He walked back outside where the man was sitting on the rear of the truck, reading a book. Sirius used this moment to look at him. His hair was nearly dry, and had a glorious golden hue in the curls. He was beautiful.

He looked up as Sirius approached and stood up.

“Thank you so much… I really appreciate your help. It would have taken me twice the amount of time to do all of that,” he waved his hand toward his store and chuckled.

“A handsome man in need of a white knight? My pleasure,” he shamelessly flirted.

The stranger blushed all the way down to his toes. “Er…thanks. Have – have a good day.” He abruptly turned his heel and practically ran into his shop.

Sirius swore at himself. He was so damn forward. He groaned and began walking back to Guns ’n Roses, sans a cute guy’s number.

It wasn’t until Sirius was inside his shop that he realized he never got his name.

He came back to the present to find James shaking his head at him.

“What happened to the Sirius Black I knew, the one who went after anything he wanted?”

“You know what happened to him.”

James tsked at him. “You can’t let one man ruin any chance for others. He was a complete asshole who treated you like scum. You’re better than him, mate. You’re better than what your family believes you to be; better than what you see yourself as.”

Sirius spared a glance at James, who was looking down at him with love.

“Is this the part where we hug?”

James scrunched up his nose and shoved Sirius back on the shoulder. They laughed together and Sirius retreated back to the counter. He picked out a peony from the vase and let out a deep breath. James grinned at his unusually nervous friend.

“Now go get some, my man!” James spanked his butt on the way out.

Needless to say, Sirius bruised his shoulder. Again.

* * *

A bell jingled as Sirius opened the door to the bookstore. Before he opened the door, however, he noticed a few Valentine’s themed books in the front window. Laughter bubbled up at the sight of erotic romances, and he continued into the shop.

Peering inside, a vintage looking shop with what looked like hundreds upon hundreds of bound words resting on wooden shelves stretching across the majority of the room met his eyes. Toward the back, he could make out a few overstuffed armchairs. He stepped inside and inhaled the scent of old paperbacks and freshly brewed coffee. Not having noticed before, he realized the small bar to the right. It was a bookstore café.

He walked in further, finding no one in sight. He bit his lip in anxiousness.

Was he even here?

Sirius strolled past the bookshelves, glancing into each aisle, but the man from a few weeks ago was nowhere to be found.

Finally, he got to the last shelf of classic novels. He looked down the narrow aisle between the books.

There he was.

Standing on a stool librarians often use, he was leafing through a gently used book. His untidy curls stuck up every which way, and his thickly framed glasses were on the verge of falling off his nose. And they weren’t covered with raindrops this time. Angled toward him, Sirius noticed his sweater. It was pink with a few sewn hearts on it for the holiday, he presumed. He was even more adorable than Sirius remembered.

The man shelved the book with satisfaction. He then stepped down to the box beside the stepping stool to pick up another book. As he grabbed the book and straightened, his gaze caught Sirius standing in the middle of the aisle. His eyes widened with surprise.

“Oh, hullo,” he said, self consciously running his hand through his golden hair, making it stick up even more.

“Hi, I don’t know if you remember, but I helped you move in a few days ago. I’m –”

“Sirius.” As soon as the man said it, he blushed furiously. “Er, your friend came in the other day and mentioned you owned the floral shop across the street.” The only coherent thought in Sirius’s head was, James went into a bookstore? Remus continued. “I figured it was you, seeing as you came in and out of the shop when you helped me that day, so I asked for your name. Did I thank you, by the way? It was really kind…” Sirius watched him with intrigue as he stumbled over his words.

When he finished his rambling, he simply stood there with bright eyes and tousled hair.

“I’m Remus Lupin, by the way. A bit of a late introduction, but …er –”

“Better late than never, Remus,” Sirius finished for him, grinning. Remus loved the way his velvet voice wrapped along the two syllables of his name.

They stood there for a few moments, looking at each other with anticipation.

“This is for you,” Sirius blurted out, reaching out and handing him the flower. Remus’s eyes softened and gladly took the peony.

“It’s beautiful, thank you. I, erm… I was actually just going to bring you something once I finished shelving,” he waved his arm at the pile of books behind him.

“You’re in luck. I’m quite a fan of surprises.”

Remus led him down the aisle, past the dozens of bookshelves, and to the café. Sirius followed him like a lost puppy.

Once they reached the café, Remus picked up a lone mug on the countertop. He turned around and held it out to Sirius. He looked at the cappuccino to see a dog paw designed with milk on the top.

“I saw you walking your dog past my store on Saturday, and well, I thought you’d like it.”

Sirius’s heart squeezed.

“I love it, it’s amazing … I actually came over here to ask you out.”

Not believing his ears, Remus tripped over his own feet as he took a clumsy step forward to hand the coffee to Sirius. Although he steadied himself from falling forward, the contents flew out of the mug and onto Sirius. And as if it were happening in slow motion, the hot liquid splattered Sirius’s white shirt, staining it a muddy brown color.

Remus’s eyes widened in horror.

Sirius looked down at his wet shirt, and back up at Remus’s horrified expression.

“Shit on a fucking stick! Bloody hell, I’m such a fucking wanker.” A long list of expletives shot out of Remus’s mouth.

And Sirius began laughing.

To his chagrin, Remus decided it was a good idea to grab a towel and begin dabbing at Sirius’s shirt with it. He began wiping at his stomach, not-so-subtly feeling his impressively hard muscles, then got to his knees and cleaned the coffee off of Sirius’s shoes and the floor.

“As much as I like the sight of you kneeling before me, I don’t think it’s doing much.”

Remus tilted his head up. Sirius was looking down at him with amusement and heat in his eyes.

Sirius bent down and got eye level with Remus. He grabbed his chin gently with two fingers.

“You’re the clumsiest, most adorable man I’ve ever met,” he whispered, leaning in until their lips almost met.

Before Sirius could move an inch further, Remus shot up on his feet.

“Er, we should… I-I have customers.”

Sirius stood up and looked around at the vacant bookstore and to the lone worker at the coffee bar who was on her phone.

“I think you could manage a five minute break.”

And with that, Sirius grabbed Remus’s pale hand in his warm one and led him out the door to the floral shop across the street.

Sirius held open the front door, extending his hand out to let Remus walk in first. “Gentlemen first.”

Remus walked into the store with Sirius behind him, and before Sirius could open his mouth to welcome and give him a tour, a flash of light blinded their eyes.

“What the fuck?”

Sirius blinked a few times to regain his vision, only to find James standing in front of them, camera poised in front his grinning face. Remus was looking at him, confusion written all over his face as he too readjusted his eyes.

“Aw, look at your faces.” He bought down the camera to look at the picture he just shot. He keenly resembled a proud parent on the night of prom. “You guys are such a cute couple.”

Sirius’s mouth hung wide open, disbelief and embarrassment written over his face. He crossed an arm around himself and hid his head in his heads, face palming his forehead very audibly, shaking his head in defeat.

Remus, on the other hand was smiling, amusement in his eyes. He gave James a small wave. “Nice to see you again, James. But, er, we aren’t exactly dating. We’ve really just been properly introduced.”

James waved him off. “Not yet you aren’t,” he winked suggestively.

Sirius lifted his head abruptly. “James,” he seethed, trying to remain pleasant. “Don’t you have to go do that thing?”

He tapped his chin thoughtfully and frowned. “I don’t think so, mate –”

But one look from Sirius had him running to the back.

Sirius was furious. James was a wonderful friend, no doubt. But he knew what Sirius had gone through with his previous relationship – the pain he had experienced after the man he loved cheated on him. Coming home from the jewelers, a newly bought engagement ring in his pocket. Calling out his name, his heart pounding in anticipation. Hearing sounds from their bedroom, and opening the door to see him fucking another man. Screaming and screaming and screaming until his voice was hoarse and his tears were nearly drowning him. Throwing the ring in his face. The betrayal. The heartbreak.

James knew. He witnessed it all – the breaking, the burning, the healing. He knew that Sirius thought he would never let someone in like that again; that he would never know what intimacy and love would feel like.

Three years gone. He had never been in a relationship since – never found a person that he could open himself up to. And now, with Remus, he felt like he could have that chance of happiness and love.

If James didn’t fuck it all up.

He turned around to face Remus, a long winded apology already on the tip of his tongue, but before he could get out a word, Remus took a long stride forward, wrapped Sirius in his arms, and kissed him, his lips soft and plush and fumbling.

Sirius, completely taken aback, had only one thought running through his mind. Remus is gay. I owe James ten bucks.

But that instantly vanished when he realized, Remus is kissing me.

Once his brain properly functioned, his lips curled into a warm smile and he began to properly kiss Remus back. His slightly shaky hand tentatively slid up to wrap around Remus’s neck, deepening the kiss. The other went around the man’s narrow waist, fingers tightening around his soft and oversized jumper, curling around the material to pull Remus closer to him.

They continued to kiss for what felt like hours. With their bodies pressed tight against one another, they were in their own cocoon of blissful heat. When Sirius pulled back slightly, his stormy eyes met Remus’s, whose were bright and warm like melted chocolate. He brought his hand up to cup Remus’s cheek tenderly, drinking in the flushed face, shy smile, and tousled hair.

“Can I just say something?” Sirius asked, breathless. A nod. “I am a fucked up man. I haven’t had a relationship in three years.” He shook his head, laughing a little. “You make me feel, Remus. I don’t know what it is about you. And I know we’ve only just met, and fucking hell this is cliché, but I feel like I’ve known you forever. Maybe it’s your taste in literature or your adorably crooked glasses, or maybe it’s the fact we connect in this way that I’ve never experienced. But I want to take this chance with you and risk being completely destroyed instead of wondering what could have been. So please take that chance with me because you are like no one I have ever met.” He exhaled a breath and quickly added, “It’s also a bonus that you’re incredibly handsome and witty.”

Remus laughed incredulously and merely nodded, whispering, “Yes.”

Sirius held up a finger, and ran over to the display case, picking up a single rose, and rushed back to Remus, holding it out to him.

He smiled, accepting the flower and pulled Sirius into him, kissing the life out of him.

From a passerby’s view in the cobbled streets, they would simply see two men in a tight embrace, their gazes never wavering.

Two lovers on Valentine’s Day.

#harry potter #hp #wolfstar #fic #my writing #marauders #modern au

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