miles above you

hi this is just where i come to rp stuff // multimuse degrassi ish penned by shane

[johnclaytonmayer]

just jake™ things.

Degrassi : Season 11, Episode 3

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

[delta-breezes]

[janinegregory]

High School Musical (2006) dir. Kenny Ortega

[gt-gfx]

[cptnplaidsman]

starletwrites​:

the melodic strumming starts and she sits still as a statue, not wanting to give their daughter any ideas. only the corners of her mouth move. in fact, she’d be smiling if it weren’t caught between her teeth. tori bites her lip when she reads, sometimes when she listens too, always when she focuses. and right now, she’s particularly preoccupied with the way veronica pauses, if only for a moment, from all her pulling up and plopping down and using her fine tuned pincher grasp to marvel at him while plays. she knows the feeling. could sit here and listen to him all night, changing positons in between beatles songs and contemplating how different things were this time last year, occasionally gripping fistfuls of carpet to remind herself that all this exists. his silvery inflection, his lightly furrowed brow demands a kiss. apparently the baby agrees, because after being sedentary a song and a half she crawls her way over and reaches for him–or the guitar. from her vantage point,  (flat on her back, atop the alphabet playmat, with curls sprawled out on every side of her), it’s hard to tell. “veronicaaa–” tori half groans, half pleads as it becomes evident that she’s not going down so easy. parenting could really put your creative problem solving to the test. “okay, plan b” she announces, hopping up with a sudden resolve. it also didn’t leave a lot of time to wallow in your failures. she rummages her drawers, overflowing with onesies, tights, and dresses she might not ever get around to wearing and emerges with the winter white puffer jacket that makes her look like a marshmallow, or a cloud, or something equally as fluffly and adorable, hands it off to her unsuspecting father to manuever her into.  “we’re going for a drive, the backseat never fails–” tori mentions on her way out of the room, a guaranteed knockout in thirty minutes or less. she returns with a sweatshirt pulled over her nightly ensemble and a pair of keys dangling from her grasp. “if we go now we might be able to hit a drive thru–unless you’re good with peach puffs for your midnight snack–”

at first, it sounds like it’s a hit! or at least doing what it’s supposed to anyway. sure, jake can play for hours about nothing, trying to fine tune famous songs from old bands just to fill the atmosphere with nothing but relaxation and well, ‘groovy-ness’ in his words. he’s so sure he’ll have her asleep in no time, that he’ll text jenna how awesome she is for introducing him to the world of guitar and music again. the friend-union is cut short however, when she tries her best to crawl over to him, either to grab his face or guitar, whatever looks better to her he’s sure. “woah security, we got a runner..sorta!” he exclaims with a tired smile, realizing that this little girl has more energy than he thought. as he wraps her up in his arms, he ponders just where she got all this energy from. even during his late night hangouts, he always packed it in around 2, but this kid was up all hours all the night. but watching her mother stir to her feet with that same energy and resolve, it all comes together pretty quickly. “ok, first off, we gotta get rid of some of that stuff in that drawer, there’s no way she’ll get to wear it all before she outgrows it. and second..man this is fluffy, this come in adult sizes?” he says as he grabs the jacket and carefully puts it on veronica, left leg first, buttons fastened, and fishing a small white hat that his mother knitted for her. it doesn’t take too much time for him to get her ready, but that’s partly because his stomach is growling for that sandwich he never got to eat, and with a quick grab of his blue plaid jacket, he’s ready for sleep and food, in whichever order they get to do it. “sounds like a plan. gimme some burritos and guac and i’ll sleep like a baby, but too bad for you, i don’t share.” he sing songs playfully as he buckles veronica in her car seat. once he’s sure she’s in along with tori, he’s off in his truck, driving down the street at a steady speed. he looks over at tori, smiling slightly, but glad she’s along for the ride. "have i ever mentioned how much i love your ideas by the way? cause i would have just been up with her the whole night. did you do stuff like this in italy, like, night drives to get her to go to sleep?” it’s an honest question, but he’s always been curious how she picked these things up on her own.

[swallowedabug]

[cptnplaidsman]

life gone from zero to 100 real quick

[cptnplaidsman]

starletwrites​:

the corners of her lips lift into a smile that’s barely there, “my mom’s already been dropping hints about what we should do for her first birthday–she hired a girl at the nail salon to play moana” she mentions, rolling her eyes playfully. sort of whispers the very last part, like she’s afraid of somehow ruining the magic for a baby that can barely understand. it’ll be a day long event, and tori can’t wait to decorate. and while part of her gets sparsely annoyed at her mother and father’s overbearing approach to grandparenting, a much larger, more prominent part is delighted–touched, that they love veronica enough to be so hands on. “time is flying..” she laments with a wistful sigh, for a moment her eyes flicker with absence, like she goes somewhere else in her head. because what’s even more surreal, is the fact that their baby is getting so close to being an entire year old. it’ll be an accomplishment, one that seemed nearly impossible when they were staring back at each other all wrapped up in crisp hospital bed linen with tears gathered in both their eyes, to have kept her safe and healthy for an entire year. and while she’s aware that they still have a long way to go–it feels good to know she’s raising a little girl who’s energetic, and happy, fascinated by everything around her, funnier by the day, and loves her dad…”you sharing with your da-da?” she grins fondly as veronica glances at her to make sure she too sees the show jake makes of devouring her peach puffs,  clapping and babbling a few exuberant syllables, stringing all new ones together (no “ma-ma”s yet, the ‘m’ is harder to pronounce, or so says google) and tori tilts the container her way as she goes to feed him another.  she glances at him and shakes her head, shrugging one t-shirt clad shoulder. “just don’t let me snooze my alarm more than twice, no matter how much i beg” she’s no stranger to a sleepless night, post-baby or otherwise, and the tone she takes says that she doesn’t mind, not really. because she loves when it’s just the three of them, even at two in the morning sprawled across a daisy printed area rug.  “you know what might work? if you play her something on the guitar, a little lullaby or something she loves that…” she suggests, slides her entire torso onto the floor, using an arm for support with four fingers splayed in her messy head of curls. 

he mouths a ‘wow’ and whistles slightly as she goes on about what her mom wants to do for their daughter’s birthday, and he’s already prepared to report to his mom about it in a ‘please don’t fight with her about this’ sort of way. not that it doesn’t all sound fun and something veronica would enjoy (he’s really into the movie now, and it’s not just the rock as a short muscled up dude with great hair), but he knows just how his mom can be about tori’s mom, and about ronnie, and it went the same way for tori’s mom. so for everyone’s sakes he hopes they can play nice for the sake of their granddaughter’s very first birthday. and when he thinks about..first birthday sounds pretty crazy. “yeah, we made it to one year..well, you made it through most of it..but no worries. i’m gonna make sure she has the best birthday ever. ok?” he smiles, opening his mouth to veronica to show that he’s not only eaten what she’s offered him, but he’s keen on taking any future birthday cake she wants to throw his way. and he hopes tori doesn’t take his comment to mean anything, but the fact that he’s missed so much already? it just makes him more determined to make his daughter’s special day even more special. he catches another peach puff in his mouth, turning on his back to look up at both of them as he ponders his future as an alarm clock. “no worries. i usually wake up early to water my garden so i don’t forget during the day. plus, i got ways to wake you up if you don’t wanna wake up.” he smirks not so innocently, playing coy before she strikes an idea that sounds even better. “ooh! wanna hear daddy’s song?” he rolls over on his stomach, nodding his head and getting excited enough to make her squirm and giggle enough that he’ll take it as a yes. jake gets to his feet, opening the closet that’s littered with a mix of baby things they don’t need and jake’s things he can’t bare to throw away. but there’s something in here that he’d never part with. he puts the strap around his neck, showing off a little as he strums a few chords. “we’ll start with twinkle twinkle little star, but if that doesn’t work? i’m playing let it be by the beatles, you know, work the classics in there.” he chuckles as he strums before taking a seat in his chair and singing softly. and while it’s not quite a college coffee shop or some party in santa clara populated by c-list celebrities and their relatives..it’s still the best venue and crowd he’s ever played.

[cptnplaidsman]

starletwrites​:​

her middle of the night bathroom break evokes a quick detour when she recognizes the traces of light from down the hall sneaking underneath the door. the closer she gets she can hear the giggles, the hushed whispers of a girl dad doing his darndest, even the pacific waves from her sleepy-time sound system that was apparently a waste of 34.99. still, she stands in the doorframe, equal parts drowsy and endeared until her presence is detected. 

“what are you doing awake?” she half-yawns, pads onto the plush carpet rubbing red-rimmed eyes and wearing a college t-shirt two sizes too big. her bedhead speaks for itself, and at this point it practically begs veronica to let her make her 8 a.m. blowout with ashtyn blake who does not do walk-ins, refunds, or rescheduling. still, she plucks miss wide awake from her crib, unable to resist when she always looks so happy to see her. “heard you two partying without me, and i hope you told daddy that we don’t have a bad side” she announces with a matter of fact smile, a familiar chime in her voice like islander sing song a generation removed. her eyes turn on the ‘daddy’ in question as she plunks down into a rocking chair, running all five fingers through her baby’s matching curly q’s. “how long you been at this for? we can go in shifts if you want…” veronica’s been an independent sleeper for a little while now, but the pediatrician did warn that the shift from her sleeping at her parent’s to jake’s might cause a little upset in her sleeping schedule. “it can’t be too long now…” as if on cue, the baby squirms out of her hands. and tori thinks for a moment that she’s not sure just which one of them she inherits her stubbornness from. she’s left with no choice but to set her free onto the playmat, too tired to fight her on it. instead she just sits indian style on the floor with her, watching as she crawls in the opposite direction, hoping she’ll tire herself out eventually. “she’s getting fast y’know…and strong–i give it another two months tops until she’s trying to walk” tori mentions grabbing the box of peach puff chews they keep handy for times like these and popping one into her own mouth. the rattle of the container catches baby v’s attention. from which parent her appetite derives is no question.

“oh yeah, for sure. mama is the second coolest parent, that’s gotta count for something.” he’s been trying his best to no avail, but it looks like some unexpected help has to his rescue. “only at it for like..45 minutes maybe? i was on my way to grab a snack when i heard her moving around. looking like a baby prison inmate too the way she’s clings to the bars.” he teases, still a little surprised that what was supposed to be a five minute ordeal to the fridge and back, ended up being a bonus round of him and her racing to see who could fall asleep first. and from the small yawn and stretch he managed to belt out as tori takes their daughter in her arms, he might be the winner of that competition. he’s still taken back at times just watching the two of them, mostly at tori, going from someone who can care about hair and makeup like it’s life (he’s sure she’d think he was blasphemous for thinking anything less), to being this soothing, calming mother figure. in a way, he’s still playing catch up, but he feels like he’s not too far behind her now at least. “she’s gonna be one fast, strong, and super squirmy runner. i dunno where she gets the energy from.” he says as he crawls onto the floor with them, grabbing one of veronica’s small toy balls and rolling it around the floor near him. he watches her excitedly react to her treat, a smile plastered across his face. “i was literally on my way to make a sandwich when this one popped up awake. we’re matching wave lengths.”

getting an idea, he scoots over closer to them, putting his face in front of veronica’s and opening his mouth. “aaahh..” he watches her smile excitedly, taking the snack she was going to eat and putting it in jake’s mouth. he chews, rubbing his stomach happily for her sake. “it’s no corned beef sandwich, but i can imagine.” he chuckles, running his hand through little v’s hair. “hope you were sleeping alright, i know you have errands and appointments tomorrow, figured you’d wanna rest up.”

[cptnplaidsman]

“ok so, two guys walk into a bar and..no, you’re young for that one. alright, two teletubbies go into their, i dunno, house in a hill with their baby sun god. so the purple one goes ‘who’s nuu nuu do you have to steal to get some tubby custard?’. see? it’s so funny that you’ll laugh yourself to sleep any se-”

apparently, his jokes don’t go over well with anyone these days, but who knew that 8 month olds could launch a rattle that far? and right at his head, extra harsh. jake was usually a patient person, but this had to be his toughest test to date. there was no reason for his daughter to be up at 2 am when she’s usually such a sound sleeper. the past few months of getting to know her, really spend time and connect with her (and her mom of course), had been amazing. even the nursery, for as much back and forth with the grandmothers over the ins and outs and every detail of the crib, turned out amazing, with enough toys and books to keep her busy for a while. but he bends down and picks up her favorite toy, sighing as he gives it to her. “you’re just asking for me to embarrass you and your date at prom, young lady.” he laughs softly, taking seat on the small couch next to her crib (his dad’s idea which was very handy). he watches her stand up, holding on the the bars on the side to watch him, smiling in his face before she starts to babble general nothings that at least sound pretty cute. “shh, you’re gonna wake your mom. she’s got a hair appointment, and let me tell you right now, you really don’t wanna be on her bad side when she ge-oh hey.” he stops himself, waving casually at the mother in question who’s walking by the door and who’s hoping she couldn’t hear everything. “2 am warrior over here doesn’t wanna go to sleep, and i was just..educating her on jokes and why mom is always right.”, he smirks, watching a clearly fighting sleep veronica still be excited at the sight of her mother.

@starletwrites​

[michonnegrimes]

If it weren’t for Gabriel, I would be making my move.

[cptnplaidsman]

@starletwrites

[cptnplaidsman]

starletwrites​:

there’s an adamant shake of her head, as if he can see her, and she holds the phone a little closer and whispers, “i do”. because she does want him, to be with him, more than he or anyone has ever really been able to wrap their heads around. but she hears him sigh and it sounds like defeat, and suddenly there are tears forming in her eyes that she desperately does not want to shed. “i know that…don’t you think i know that?” for all the childlike wonder she exhibits she knows what life is about. It’s be strong or else, and cash is king, and boyfriends don’t follow girlfriends to the other side of the world because they ask. it’s a byproduct of the fact that some parts of her grew up entirely too fast, while others are still naïve enough to believe in things like ‘happily ever after’ and ‘you truly can have it all’.  “so stop acting like you’re so much more grown up than me, and like what i want isn’t real. because it is. it’s real to me—“

 her roommates call her name from the other room, ironically inviting her to add to their symphony of girlish giggles and clubby pop music dialed too high. she sniffs and dabs at her eyes, “coming!”, tries for her usual silvery inflection but her throat feels like she swallowed something white hot. voice an octave lower, she refocuses on the task at hand, “and if you’re ready to settle into one routine for the rest of forever that’s great for you i guess, but i’m not ready to be somebody’s little wife again” a more rational part of her, the part that was hinting at bold art deco engagement rings just two months ago, would’ve told her she wasn’t being fair, or that she at least could’ve worded it a little better. she was fine, more than fine, with their little life together in toronto. but this was slowly devolving into heartbreak warfare. be strong or else. and it’s like something in her had lain dormant and untouched, awakened only by this brand new adventure, this new beginning. it feels like that very part of her might die if she sends it back to sleep so soon. and for a moment she can’t decide which is the worse resolve–losing it or her other half. 

“i never said it wasn’t real! i just..ugh, geez..” he grumbles, for the first time in a long time, actually at a lost for words right now. usually jake is the type of guy with some advice or some simple words to fix a problem, like he’s got life down to a simple science that can easily be solved. but with what she’s saying, how she’s feeling, it’s all things he can’t quite wrap his head around. he was always different from her, from his classmates, who sought out a life of exploring the globe for years on end. her words twist at him, hurting more ways than one as he recalls back to other times in his life. “settling? you think i’m working hard just to settle?” he furrows his brows, trying not to raise his voice at her, but he can’t help but get a little hot at the thought of her thinking that of him. “you know you sound like katie right now.” and he knows it’s a petty little blow, considering the rivalry and history between the two that he somehow got mixed up in. but this felt like a sense of deja vu. another woman who has these big, lofty, worldly dreams that they think his simple ‘bumpkin’ brain either can’t handle or can’t keep up with them. and when he made the choice to end things with her, he’d swore he’d never fall for a girl who didn’t want the same things out of life that he did.

and maybe tori did..someday. but maybe, like with katie, that wasn’t right now. taking a deep breath, and preparing to get yelled at, he braces himself for his next words. “look..i don’t wanna hold you back. so if you wanna be in italy right now, i won’t stop you. but maybe we need to just..cool it right now if that’s the case..cause this only gonna get harder trying to make this work..”

[cptnplaidsman]

starletwrites​:

the reluctance at the other end of the line makes her stomach dip. “you could…try and expand?” she quiets at the end of that thought, like even she knows it’s a stupid idea. the more reasonable part of her can understand how crucial it is that he’s there right where they need him, how unfair it would be to pull him away from everything he worked his whole life for. but the smaller part says ‘ run away with me ‘ and doesn’t shut up. “well that’s the thing j, i don’t know if i’m talking about just a trip..where we leave for a week and stay in some hotel and just come back to the same old same old” pink lips part to sigh a sigh that feels like it comes from the burrows of her soul. for the first time in such a long time she feels the weight of their differences. “i think i want to live here for a little while…” it’s the first time she’s admitted it aloud, to anyone, including herself. so the sentiment almost shocks her, nearly burns her throat when it comes up and out. because it’s so far off from what they originally talked about. just a semester abroad, four short months, and then she’ll be back with gifts and a fresh tuscan tan, ready to embark on the next phase of their lives–together. 

and maybe it’s simply a coincidence, that she finally got a taste of purpose 3,000 miles away. maybe she could find some of it back home. but right now it felt too new, too fragile, one wrong move and it’d all be off-kilter. “maybe you could do one week there, one week here? i mean, that wouldn’t be so bad for business would it? they can manage without you every other week?” one last feeble attempt, grasping for a solution that seems futile. she has the sudden urge to get on her knees so she does, fold her legs up underneath her and stares out at the trellis that adorns the apartment across the street, “all i want is for you to come and live my dream with me for a summer and then we can live in yours for forever”

”tooor..” he grumbles as she finishes her plea. at this point in his morning, he usually goes for a walk, or at least some breakfast to fill his stomach before finding something to do later on with a friend. but right now, he simply feels stuck. and not just to his bed as he takes a seat near the edge, but on this entire conversation. “i just..i can’t do that. in a year, maybe? but not right now. i’ve worked really hard for this..” and as much as he loves her and wants to go on the adventure of a lifetime with her to who knows where else her mind decides to take them, he has real obligations. he can’t be that kid who just does what he wants without thinking of the consequences anymore. if he left, he wasn’t sure who would be in charge now, or even what would be left of martin construction by the time he got back. and he knew his father worked too hard to see his life’s work to go up in smoke just because of him.

her last little bit confuses him though. he always assumed she was up for living in toronto, maybe moving to the states someday, but at least staying on the mainland always seemed like their ideal life. but ‘your dream’ simply rings like something only he really wants, not her. “i thought you wanted to be here with me..” he replies simply, a heavy sigh as he feels this is taking a turn he doesn’t want to. “..i don’t wanna force you to do anything you don’t wanna do..or be anywhere you don’t wanna be. tori, if you have a dream..maybe you just need to chase it. but right now, i can’t chase you around the world. we’re..not kids anymore..”

[cptnplaidsman]

starletwrites​:

she balances the phone between her ear and her shoulder and stares out at the setting sun, imagining him going through his morning ritual and her stealing a little extra time under the covers, eyes open just enough to secretly adore each gesture. “think less arizona, more mediterranean. but i got these exotic jams for your mom, and a cookbook for clare, and these really cool imported bamboo earrings that marielle says make me look like i’m going on a safari” she giggles, finds that the older she gets beauty is less her religion, the way it was taught to her, she sometimes favors the bold, the unique, tastes resting comfortably between bohemian and glamorous. “one more thing too…but it’s a surprise” his personal souvenir pile is ever growing, overtaking the old wicker chair in the corner of the room. she sees things all over and can’t help but think that he’ll like them, that he should see them too. 

he vents and her lips quirk momentarily at the nickname he’s acquired. unlike her, his ambitions have been clear cut since high school (and god isn’t that something? enough time has passed between the two of them that they have seen each other into a completely separate era. she gets nostalgic more often than she’s ever said out loud), but it’s nice to have been around long enough to see things begin to come to fruition, at whatever pace. “they’ll get used to you as their boss, maybe start small and ease them into your big ideas. today energy efficient lightbulbs, tomorrow entire stadiums with advanced recycling systems and re-purposed water” she’s listened to him talk enough to pick up on some save the earth lingo. but as he anticipates her return her smile absently devolves into something less so. “yeah–about that…” there’s a sigh, a moment of complete stillness as she tries to find the exact words. “i was thinking at the end of the program i might just…stay through the summer” she tries not to wince, explaining before he can respond. “it’s just i’ve never felt like this before..so free and purposeful, and like for once i’m really living not…lost, floundering through. i don’t want it to end.” it’s a euphoria she’s been chasing for what feels like forever. “..but i think you should come too, babe. you’d love it here. and you wouldn’t have to worry about a place to stay or anything. it’ll be the experience of our lives. …fly out next weekend, stay for my birthday and then we can make a plan from there”

he smiles as she lists off the things she’s gotten for everyone, and he’s glad that she hasn’t forgotten them during her trip overseas. sure, sometimes she could get a little ahead of herself at times, but he’d come to understand that tori absolutely did anything for the people she cared about the most. and overtime, that included his family (which at times, was closer to her than her own). “can’t wait to see it all, and i promise, the next time i do a little trip out of town to build something super big, you’ll get first dibs on whatever i bring back.” he can’t be sure just what kind of work he’ll be doing, or even where it’ll take him. he doesn’t have a distance limit right now, so the entire world feels like his for the taking whenever the chance comes up. but he figures he’ll always have her as a tether that keeps coming back home.

and speaking of coming back home, before he can tell her how impressed he was that she still remembered his ideas for eco-friendly stadiums, she dropped something on him that he wasn’t expecting. it even made him out down the button up he planned on wearing for the day. “stay the summer? in italy?” he asks again, trying to process the idea. “that sounds amazing..but i can’t just up and leave..” if this was even a year ago, he’d jump at the chance to spend a summer or more with her in a foreign country. but he has more responsibilities now that he owes his job. and he knows that skipping off to another country when you’re trying to prove yourself..isn’t gonna help you prove anything beyond that you’re still a kid who bails at the first sign of hard work or pressure. he can’t afford to let anyone down, not right now. “tori..i’m happy that you’re having fun and you feel good being there. but..i just can’t. i have a job, something i need to stay here for right now. look, maybe when you come back we can talk about planning our own trip, just the two of us. when the timing’s not so..off, you know?”

[starletwrites]

cptnplaidsman​:

usually he’s keen to spend his weekends asleep, dead to the world before 7 am. but the insistent buzzing of his ringtone is alerting him that this isn’t an alarm going off, telling him to hop in the shower and get ready for a day of learning how to use his ‘serious’ voice when it comes to disciplining tardy foremen on the job. jake thought the first year after graduating college would be a lot smoother, with the life of tests and assignments far behind him now, that he could simply live his relax, carefree life. but when his dad up and retired out of nowhere, his freedom year turned into a crash course of on the job construction business etiquette.

but he’s at least hasn’t been totally on his own in this little journey, running his fingers through his bedhead as he hears the voice on the other line. he leans his head against the headboard, laughing slightly at his better half who’s half way across the world right now. “obviously, i was getting a headstart on my cookbook.” he is keen to know all about italy, and since he’s up now, he hopes she can give him some fun stories. “how’s italy? you crushing grapes for wine and eating chicken parm?”

she can almost hear the smile through the sleep in his voice and it only makes hers stretch a little further. “well, we don’t get to go out to vineyards til’ next week, but the food is everything they said it’d be.  i swear my appetite has like doubled from all the bruschetta and linguine and tiramasu–me and some of the girls are looking into spin classes so i can still fit my cut offs by the summer…” she laughs through her nose, lazily twisting a piece of unraveling thread that springs up from the upholstery. she can hear her roommates pop the corkscrew on a bottle of cabernet over the music that blares from the bathroom. “but other than thaat i got my first internship assignment today, and it’s…drumroll please… redecorating my boss’ daughter’s bedroom.” completely unglamorous, and an attempt on her manager’s part to keep her busy and out of the way no doubt, but her tone shows no real discontentment with the hand she’s been dealt. a chance to explore the city, make friends with the locals, brush up on her italiano, she’ll take it over manning the reception desk any day  “and for a six year old she’s a very demanding client. it’s like her daddy’s rich and she knows it. so i spent most of my day running around picking out art for her, and then of course one or two things for me…” she glances at her impulse buys, scattered around, keeping her company as sunlight gives way to the moon. “what about you? how’re things with everyone at work?”  life in toronto goes on without her, and his has all but turned on it’s head with him taking on a host of brand new responsibilities. she tries sometimes, throughout her day these past few weeks, to send him snapshots from the other side of the world–little things that he can wake up and smile at. but she wonders if they make him happy or just serve as a reminder that she’s not there. 

[cptnplaidsman]

he stirs a bit more as he listens to her, taking this chance to get up and at least brush his teeth as he does so. her toothbrush his still next to his, so he can’t help but smile just a little bit. he finishes up, rinsing out his mouth before congratulating her. “holy crap, that’s amazing! trust me, everybody’s gotta start somewhere.” he feels like he’s not one to really talk at times, but it wasn’t like he got handed his job or was born with a sliver spoon in his mouth. he had been working hard since he was 12 to prove himself, doing every little thing someone asked of him, even small tasks like getting water or sweeping up. never once did he want people to just see him as a spoiled daddy’s boy, he wanted to earn everyone’s respect and trust.

but she had a leg up in the fact that his little internships never took him across the ocean to another country. it sounded like there was so much to do, so much to explore. and of course the food sounded absolutely to die for. “i’m hoping one of those things you bought was a snowglobe or something. does italy even have snowglobes? does it even snow over there or is it like arizona?” he has a million and one questions for her, but as he slips his shirt on, he tries to keep things quick. “it’s going good. a lot more paperwork than i thought goes into being a project manager..way more people to answer to that always start off the phone calls by calling me ‘little glen’..it’s werid, but i think i’m really getting my groove, just sucks i won’t get to do all the ideas i want to do like eco friendly stuff right off the bat.”  it’s the law of business, unless it’s your own company from the ground up or you’re the absolute top dog, you’re only allowed to do so much. and while he had a grander vision in mind, this wasn’t a bad place to start per say.. “i do miss my wingwoman, but i know she’s busy learning a bunch. i just know you’re gonna bring all the stuff you learned, and some souvenirs, back home.”

[starletwrites]

@cptnplaidsman​

flashback para ~

the tiny italian apartment right above the pastry shop buzzes with life as her two roommates race back and forth between the ten feet of space that separates their bedroom from the bathroom, evoking her opinions on makeup, and earrings, holding their ponytails at the top of their head to allow her the full visual. they’re supposed to be going to see the fireworks to celebrate the kickoff of the carnavale season (and the fact that her birthday is just six days away), but she’s been dressed for an hour now thanks to the pale green dress she tried on earlier at a secondhand shoppe and decided then and there was too perfect to take off. so she sneaks away, while they’re arguing over the curling iron, to make better use of her time. because no matter if she’s busy doing homework, or comparing paint swatches, or on the way to see fireworks that she’ll pretend are just for her–she drops everything for one scheduled long distance call, when the sun is setting on her side of the earth but rising on his. 

“hi baby” she giggles, as soon as she can hear breathing on the other end of the receiver, plunks herself down on the mustard yellow daybed that decorates their windowsill and stares out at the muted traces of pink in the sky. “you up?” 

[cptnplaidsman]

usually he’s keen to spend his weekends asleep, dead to the world before 7 am. but the insistent buzzing of his ringtone is alerting him that this isn’t an alarm going off, telling him to hop in the shower and get ready for a day of learning how to use his ‘serious’ voice when it comes to disciplining tardy foremen on the job. jake thought the first year after graduating college would be a lot smoother, with the life of tests and assignments far behind him now, that he could simply live his relax, carefree life. but when his dad up and retired out of nowhere, his freedom year turned into a crash course of on the job construction business etiquette.

but he’s at least hasn’t been totally on his own in this little journey, running his fingers through his bedhead as he hears the voice on the other line. he leans his head against the headboard, laughing slightly at his better half who’s half way across the world right now. “obviously, i was getting a headstart on my cookbook.” he is keen to know all about italy, and since he’s up now, he hopes she can give him some fun stories. “how’s italy? you crushing grapes for wine and eating chicken parm?”