#wtscstarter

[nothingbutfaithinher]

Caught Up In This Moment || Alina & Kaelin

It was New Years Eve, and he'd some how... some way... managed to ask Alina to spend it with him. And in some miracle of miracles.... she'd agreed. Their first fate had gone well, he thought... they'd had fun, bowling and talking. Joking, it was laid back and fun. Without the awkwardness of a movie leaving them without the ability to speak during it. Or without trying to eat between a formal dinner. Instead they were laughing at their own bowling skills and how horrible the shoes were they had to wear.

Now though- with the first date out of the way, he wanted to impress her. He wanted to treat her like a queen and at the very least leave a good impression. So he'd gone all out, he'd managed to find out her favorite meal and dessert rather inconspicuously and had been working on perfecting both over the last few hours. He'd even set up his dining room to reflect a quiet, romantic evening. 

When his doorbell rang he had most everything set and was pleased with his timing. Grabbing the bouquet of roses and tiger lilies he'd gotten he headed to the door. Taking a breath he opened it and instantly smiled. "You look... stunning..." He found himself fumbling for words, his heart in his throat. "I- come in... oh- these are for you..." He stepped back, opening the door so she could enter and simultaneously offering her the bouquet of orange flowers.

[paintspeckledcarson]

Can't Take My Eyes Off You || Nick & Bria

Bria watched the patrons walk about the gallery admiring her art. No one seemed particularly chatty and she was pleased to watch their reactions. There were so many people who seemed to enjoy the fantastical worlds she portrayed on the canvas. She ran her hand through her hair and made a slow walk around the gallery. She was pleased for the day off, since she'd spent yesterday staring at a canvas without inspiration before she'd given up and gone to bed to prepare for today.

As she made her rounds, a familiar face caught her eye. He was always here- nearly every gallery she held she saw him. She was unsure of his name so she never knew if he bought anything but she had a feeling who he was.... at least one painting sold every gallery. He was one of few constants. For some reason she was nervous to approach him and studied him a moment, judging his reaction to a painting before she slowly walked up.

"What do you think of it?" She smiled, watching the painting a moment as she stood next to him before looking to him. 

[graygisbourne]

Frosted Flakes || Piper and Gray

It was the perfect arrangement for him. Gray didn't want another relationship, not a romantic, emotional one, after Penelope left. Piper didn't want commitment, just some fun. So the booty call situation they'd had going on over the past months left them both satisfied. It had started with drunken hook ups, perfectly fine, though Gray couldn't remember the majority of them. But now he was trying to sober up, so he didn't become his father, so hooking up with her at the club, after her shift, wasn't an option. Phone calls or texts worked just as well, though it meant that they'd switched from back rooms to houses. Breakfast included, sometimes. But it didn't matter. Neither was looking for anything more than the strange friendship they had.

Their current relationship was the reason that Gray had woken up on a Sunday morning, to find Piper still asleep on the other half of his bed. Their legs were slightly tangled, but it wasn't as though there was any strange cuddling, or anything of the sort. Nothing that made Gray think twice about anything as he slipped out of bed, heading into his adjoining bathroom for a shower. If she woke up, she knew the way to the guest bedroom, which also had an en suite bathroom, or could leave, for all he cared. She was welcome to stay as long or as little as she'd like.

He didn't check his bed to see if Piper was still there, instead going down to the kitchen in a rush to crank up the thermostat. It was freezing in the house, despite his having left it on all night. He suffered terribly from the cold. Then he went to find some sort of breakfast, greeting Sheldon, who followed at his master's feet as he went about preparing food. The dog wasn't whining, so it didn't occur to Gray to take him outside. If he had been, maybe the man would have noticed that there were two feet, give or take, of snow piled up outside, and none of the road plowed. Maybe he would have noticed that, for the time being, the residenst of the house were stuck there. As was their guest.

[urchinwithnograce]

Sing Us A Song Tonight || Cedric & Annica

Annica was at the Rabbit Hole, she'd gotten bored sitting home and decided that, perhaps going out tonight would be a good idea. She'd danced with a few young men but they'd left, or not really been her cup of tea. So, she found herself sitting at the bar. Her first first drink of the night finally in her hand and watching the man play the piano. He played beautifully and the music occupied her mind, she loved music. And piano was one of her favorites. 

She was half zoned out, listening to the music that she didn't catch him look up at her and attempt to catch her attention. But the second time he called out to her, brown eyes refocused and darted to the man's face. She smiled to him before she realized he was calling her over. So, in curiosity she stood and walked over. "Sorry, I was so caught up... you play beautifully.." She laughed nervously, though her tone was polite, friendly even. She couldn't fathom why he'd call her over. She had barely noted him calling her over, never mind why.

[misterssamuels-blog]

Two Months After || Victoria and Adrian

Neither of them had given the girl who'd broken into the salon much thought over the past few months. Adrian just didn't want to, not sure what to think about the whole thing, his body having tied up the intruder before things got... heated. He wouldn't have done any of those things, were he in charge. 9-1-1. But it wasn't something he was proud of, even if it wasn't of his conviction. And since it hadn't technically him, not thinking about that night and trying to forget about it was probably best.

Caspian, however, was quite proud of that night, more than pleased to have not only bested a thief, but seduced her and made her forget her goal as well. There had been a few days of almost obnoxious smugness, but after that he hadn't lingered on the thought. Caspian preferred to live in the present, and there were other rushes than one night stands. Mastering his latest stunt had quickly replaced the girl in his mind, for months.

But that didn't mean that either had forgotten her, and when Adrian spotted her, walking home from work on one cold January night, he froze. The lighting wasn't very good, true, but he knew it was her. What made it worse was that he couldn't do what either of his personalities would have wanted and hidden, seeing as she didn't seem to have seen him, and was walking his way. Getting gone would have been smart, probably what he should have done, but something seemed... different about him. And curiosity had his feet planted to the sidewalk, to wait and see how she would react to bumping into him, two months after that night.

[thatcherwicket]

Tea-riffic || Cedric and Thatcher

Thatcher was manning CuriosiTea alone at the moment. It was halfway between the morning usuals and the lunch rush, which meant that it wouldn't take more than him to keep up with any orders that came by. And with Mira and Dorian both not even ten minutes away, it didn't matter if there suddenly was a boom of activity, he could call them in to come rescue him.

He hadn't even bothered going to the back of the shop when he decided to take the quiet time to blend new teas. He'd gone to get the components, true, but then he'd brought them out to the front, to sit at the counter. The front of the shop already smelled strongly of tea, but the scent only intensified as he began to blend, the sheer amount of flowers, leaves, and other things permeating the air. It put a smile on Thatcher's lips, and he began humming to himself, fully devoted to his work. Some people painted, others danced. Thatcher blended. 

He was almost done with a new blend, creating different mixtures with different proportions of this to that, when the door open, prompting him to look up. "Can I help you?" he asked the man, a regular at their shop, though the name escaped Thatcher, tea taking up the vast majority of his conscious mind. He needed to sample, to see which tasted best, before he could clean up and focus on anything else. But, alas, a customer!

[cyriltrinity]

Farther and Faster || Beck and Cyril

He usually tried to stay inside during the winter. It was better that way. Sweating and cold did not get along, and though he had a strong immune system, he also wasn't in a position where he was okay with risking illness. It wasn't that he'd be brutally murdered if he took a day or two off work, or that he had a horrible fear of germs. But the worst thing Cyril could imagine was his body failing, even temporarily. He went to such lengths to keep it in perfect condition, going to the gym every day, sometimes even more than once, eating healthy, everything one was supposed to do.

But he could only run in place for so long before he went stir crazy, and today he'd reached his breaking point. So instead of going to the gym, Cyril dressed in sweats and a t-shirt, pulling on a pair of running shoes, before he headed out the door in a sprint, making his way into the forest. It didn't take very long for him to get there, losing track of time and where he was going as he ran. Cyril wasn't lost, of course, having grown up and run these trails more times than he could count. That was the magic of running. He lost track of everything, except the beat of his heart and steady rhythm of his body, going faster and further than most anyone else could dream of without a break, years of conditioning getting him into the shape he needed to be.

He only stopped running when he saw girl coming his way, the path too narrow for both of them to fit. So he stopped, only for a moment, stepping off to the side and tugging off his shirt, taking a deep breath as he realized that not only was he hot and sweating, but also slightly sore. He hadn't had a good run in far too long.

[thatcherwicket]

If You Give a Hare a Carrot Cake || Christina and Thatcher

Thatcher had been on the way to his car, parked down the block from CuriosiTea, when a tempting smell led him to a shop. Oddly enough, he'd never been to this place in his little town. He'd never even noticed it, and he worked down the street. It said that it was called Sweet Italy Bakery. He'd never been to Italy before, but now seemed like a good time to get the Storybrooke equivalent. The aroma was too sweet for him to do otherwise.

He walked in, surprised to notice that the shop was nearly empty, but that let him walk right up to the counter, eyes immediately falling onto the window of sweets on display. Crouching down in front of it, Thatcher looked over each and every one, getting through about half of them, when a name caught his eyes, causing his jaw to drop and all of him to shake for a moment as a shiver of disgust ran through him.

"Coffee cake?" he suddenly looked up, catching the eyes of a woman working there, "Why would you ruin a perfectly good cake like that? Does it have actual coffee in it?" Tea biscuits, of course, that was a perfectly logical dessert to offer. But coffee cake? That was even worse than carrot cake, and that contained the vile, loathed vegetable. "Please say it's made to poison your enemies! Or that the name is a lie! A cruel, cruel lie! Coffee cake!" He'd stood, beginning to pace, voice falling into a murmur as he mumbled to himself, trying to make sense of such a dessert. Maybe he didn't like Italy, after all.