carryon-countdown

[carryon-countdown]

❄️COC 2023 Wrap Up🍂

Hello everyone!  

The Carry On Countdown of 2023 has sadly come to an end. We hope that everyone who participated had a wonderful time. The admins sure had a blast feasting on all of the fabulous content from this year's countdown.

We hope everyone will remain inspired to create even more fantastic Carry On related content into the new year.

But before we say goodbye to you all, it’s time to welcome new people onto the Page of Honour!

What you need to do to get your place on the Page of Honour:

You need to have completed all 30 COC 2023 prompts on their set days (If you posted a prompt within a day or so of its set posting date that’s perfectly fine, but, for example, if you posted a prompt for Day 8 on Day 11, that’s a bit too late)

You need to DM @carryonmylovelies ​with an explanation/link of where to find all of the work you posted for this year’s countdown (Can be simply saying what tag everything is under on your blog, or a link to your ao3, etc.)

You’ll also need to let @carryonmylovelies​ know whether you want your blog or another platform where you posted your content (such as ao3 or instagram) linked on the Page of Honour. You can only choose one.

We hope we made this clear, and please remember our ask box is always open for any questions you may have :)

We wish everyone who celebrates a very happy holidays, and we hope everyone will have a terrific 2024.

With lots and lots of love,

The admins of the 2023 Carry On Countdown ❄💘

#let us know friends!!! #carry on countdown #coc 2023 #simon snow trilogy #simon snow series #rainbow rowell

[carryon-countdown]

❄️COC 2023 Wrap Up🍂

Hello everyone!  

The Carry On Countdown of 2023 has sadly come to an end. We hope that everyone who participated had a wonderful time. The admins sure had a blast feasting on all of the fabulous content from this year's countdown.

We hope everyone will remain inspired to create even more fantastic Carry On related content into the new year.

But before we say goodbye to you all, it’s time to welcome new people onto the Page of Honour!

What you need to do to get your place on the Page of Honour:

You need to have completed all 30 COC 2023 prompts on their set days (If you posted a prompt within a day or so of its set posting date that’s perfectly fine, but, for example, if you posted a prompt for Day 8 on Day 11, that’s a bit too late)

You need to DM @carryonmylovelies ​with an explanation/link of where to find all of the work you posted for this year’s countdown (Can be simply saying what tag everything is under on your blog, or a link to your ao3, etc.)

You’ll also need to let @carryonmylovelies​ know whether you want your blog or another platform where you posted your content (such as ao3 or instagram) linked on the Page of Honour. You can only choose one.

We hope we made this clear, and please remember our ask box is always open for any questions you may have :)

We wish everyone who celebrates a very happy holidays, and we hope everyone will have a terrific 2024.

With lots and lots of love,

The admins of the 2023 Carry On Countdown ❄💘

#carry on countdown #coc 2023 #simon snow trilogy #simon snow series #rainbow rowell #i cant believe im posting the wrap up post rn 😭😭😭😭 it went by so so fast #its been such an utter delight getting to read and enjoy everyones submissions this year!!! #thank you all for letting me write my manic essays in the tags of all of your posts < #💗💕💖 #have a lovely holiday and a happy new year friends! looking forward to DM's from you incredible people who slayed every day #admin raegan

[carryon-countdown]

COC 30 - Crack

Happy Snowbaz Day!

Here’s some 1970s shoujo manga-style Snowbaz for you all.

That’s a wrap on this year’s Carry On Countdown - my fifth one! 😱 It was a very fun experiment to draw everything with my non-dominant hand, but I’m relieved to go back to my dominant one now, haha~ Thank you for joining me on this wild ride!

#SOOOOOOOO MF SLAY AHHHHHH IM SUFFERING FROM SLAYAGE OVERLOAD #this is exquisite kris!! i love seeing snowbaz specifically in your anime style bc you add such a signature flare #they always look gorgeous asf 💗💗💗 fabulous choice for the crack prompt today my friend #thank you for sharing your magnificent art and talent with this event year after year. we're so happy you spent a 5th year with us ❣️❣️ #your interpretations the prompts and illustrations of beloved scenes are truly cherished. happy snowbaz day 🔥🌲❤️‍🔥 #carry on countdown #simon snow #baz pitch #snowbaz #coc 2023 #krisrix #admin raegan

[carryon-countdown]

COC 30: Crack

Okay so it's just pencil BUT omg I read Fifty Names for a Cat (which I somehow didn't see before today) and I had to. No time to re-read for fact checking cause I want the last day on time, so hopefully nothing too wrong... (what time period is What Remains After the Storm??)

does this count as crack? maybe. anyway. some love to the changeling

#awwwwww this is so charming and cute!! #i love the changeling!!! what a cutie pie #baz's hair is looking fine as hell 😍 hey babe 🫶 #this is wonderful thank you so much op!! i've treasured each and every one of your submissions throughout the coc this year #your work is so creative and you presented such beautiful and well thought out pieces. we're so grateful to have you in the coc! #happy snowbaz day my friend! #carry on countdown #simon snow #baz pitch #snowbaz #coc 2023 #pumpkin-wants-a-cherry-scone #admin raegan

[carryon-countdown]

★— ⋆｡˚ [Blood]

For Day 30 of Carry on Countdown 23, Crack. @carryon-countdown

In which Simon is an actual half-dragon and he's found himself in a bit of a situation with a certain human mage. His mage is... worrying.

This is rated T, mostly just for the language.

Prior Parts: 9, 15, 18, & 24

⋆｡˚

Baz’s head hit the ground with a sickening crack.

It had happened so fast that Simon couldn’t react in time, couldn’t move his little body quickly enough to catch Baz’s head. He’d tried to shift back to his human shape but in the moment, he lost the capacity for it, apparently, too distracted by the whole… falling human in his vicinity suddenly bleeding from his face to focus on that orb of energy he’d been grasping just moments before.

Simon couldn’t stop himself from circling Baz’s head in his smaller shape, headbutting him lightly in an effort to bring the mage around… and then he headbutted again, not so lightly. He did manage to stop himself from biting Baz back awake. He sort of figured that even if Baz should be awake he probably wouldn’t appreciate that method, and if he wasn’t going to appreciate fangs, he probably wasn’t going to appreciate fire either.

Simon leaned back on his haunches, huffing out his annoyance. He checked Basil’s breath (again) and, well, at least he was breathing, and there didn’t appear to be a growing pool of blood under Baz’s head, but he couldn’t exactly check like they were. Fuck, he hated needing hands and not having them when he needed them most.

He made a sort of shrill shout in the back of his throat, swatting Baz in the face with his tail, but that didn’t do it either, and then apparently the stress had caught up with him enough that he was human again.

“Shit.”

Well, at least he had hands again.

⋆｡˚

It took Simon almost two whole hours to carry Baz’s unconscious body back to his tiny house in the middle of nowhere. It might’ve been faster if he could’ve been a bigger dragon, but no, he was tiny, human, or somewhere between the two, and between the two didn’t particularly add much inhuman strength or weirdness to him that might help carrying someone a good few inches taller than he was home.

If he’d had a cell phone, he’d’ve called emergency, but he didn’t. Simon was flat fucking broke. Basil might’ve had one, but if he did, it wasn’t on his person when he’d passed out (stupid, Simon thinks, he’s a sodding numpty and he’s going to bring it up as soon as Baz wakes his concussed arse back up). Or, if not emergency, whoever Baz’s go to contact was for situations like this.

Did Baz have a go to contact for this kind of thing? If he doesn’t, he’s that much more a numpty. At least Simon was even able to get Baz back in his house, safe on his couch, and check out his head properly. Did Simon know anything about how to deal with head injuries? No. Did he have much choice about how to go about it. He still can’t find a phone to contact anyone, landline or cell either, and the nearest neighbors aren’t exactly near.

Fortunately for Basil, he was still bloody breathing and his nose stopped bleeding and the knot on the back of his head seemed… well, mostly mild. Simon kept checking his eyes. He wasn’t really sure why he kept doing it or what he was looking for when he did, but he’d seen nurses do it in medical dramas and so he was doing it too.

All he could really do was hope. Well, hope and wait.

⋆｡˚

At some point, apparently Simon had fallen asleep while waiting for Baz to wake up. He’d curled himself up at the end of the couch he’d laid Baz out on and his head was resting on the armrest and then just passed out like that.

So Simon woke up to Baz poking him in the cheek.

“Bwuh,” Simon announced, mostly still fully asleep.

“Eloquent,” Baz answered, as if he had any room to judge.

Simon shot him a scowl that rivaled the size of Australia, and also any Baz had ever delivered. Impressive, should the man say so himself. “You literally almost died, you have no room to judge me waking up.”

“I did not,” Baz protested, “And if I had, I’d say nearly dying gives me extra leeway in the judgment department.”

“Okay, well, you started spewing blood and hit your head on the way out,” Simon said with a small flick to Baz’s nose, “I’d say that full well counts towards near death experiences.”

“Or,” Baz hummed, “It was just another day in the life of an experimental, exponentially gifted mage.”

“Excuse you?!” Simon nearly shouted, loud enough that Baz sat himself up properly and winced, “Just a day in the life? This is your normal?”

“Quiet,” Baz muttered, his hands going to his temples immediately, “That bump did a number on my head.”

“Deserved.” Simon crossed his arms and scowled harder at the mage he’d unwittingly contracted with.

“Okay, well, bloody rude. But no, I admit, today wasn’t my normal experience. I thought I was banishing a specific demon causing a problem for another mage I know, but when I drew from you, this one showed up instead. It was more… well, just more than I was expecting, so yes, I did end up overworking myself. The smaller would’ve been fine though.”

“How…” Simon looked entirely unconvinced, “Just bloody how do you know that?”

“Because I’ve done it before, for this person, but they seem to have a bit of a thing with accidentally bringing it back. Anyway, it’s neither here nor there. We can do it again, now that I know what working with you feels like,” Basil answered, already thinking about the possibilities.

“Did you… just bloody say we’d do it a-bloody-gain?”

“Well, of course,” Baz said it as if it were obvious, “We can’t just let demons go about unchecked.”

“I mean we bloody well could,” Simon scoffed, “Most people aren’t even aware of demons. I bloody wasn’t.”

“Simon Snow, you are literally a dragon.”

“Half of one,” he corrected, “And that doesn’t matter, dragons don’t just cavort with demons. I think.”

“Just bloody how do you know that?” Baz echoed his phrasing, making Simon scowl harder.

“Well, because I don’t.”

Basil outright laughed at him. “You know you’re not all dragons, right?”

“Of course I know that!” Simon snarled, just a little, his nose curling, “Anyway we’re off course, we’re not doing that again. You nearly died.”

“We’re doing it again,” Baz reaffirmed, “I have to. I can’t reneg on an agreement I already made. And I didn’t nearly die.”

“You passed out for hours. You were bleeding, you’re probably still concussed. How–” Simon nearly shouted it again, making Baz wince slightly, and Simon immediately lowered his voice to a hush at the realization, “–is that not nearly dying, you prick?”

“Oh, well, you were fine, weren’t you?” Baz asked, again, as if it were obvious.

Simon gestured down his unscathed body, waving Baz off in the same gesture. “Well, yes, clearly.”

“Are you sure you read the contract?” It was asked like half a tease, that annoying little smirk back yet again.

“Of bloody course I read the contract,” Simon huffed out, his hands falling to the side and picking instinctively at the stray bits of the couch, “I said that already.”

“Well,” Baz said with that all too superior air about him, “Then you should know that if I had nearly died you’d have been aware immediately. And besides, you being fine kept me alive. It’s like… a blood bond, you could say. You being fine keeps me fine. Now, you won’t die if I do or vice versa, that’d be… a bit much, I think, though some people do make those kinds of contracts, but you would just know if I was about to die or in the process of dying to dead.”

“Does that somehow exclude brain damage, because you’re sounding incredibly brain damaged right now.”

“I don’t think I sound particularly outside of my norm…” Baz’s hand ran over his chin, gaze wandering off and away to some unknown corner of the room, or more likely some memory Simon wouldn’t be able to follow him to.

Simon’s hands twisted up in the couch, the poor furniture taking the brunt of his inability to stay still and also his inability not to be utterly incessed by Baz. “Oh, so you’re always insane then?”

Baz shrugged, hands coming away from his temples at last, “I suppose I might be. They say I’m rather like my mother. They say she was revolutionary. The revolutionary are often misken for mentally unsound.”

“You are infuriating,” Simon declared simply, standing with a huff. He wasn’t exactly sure where he was going or why he’d stood, but he was standing now, so that was what he was doing.

“You can leave the contract if you like,” Baz offered, “It was an accident for you to end up here in the first place.”

If Baz wasn’t so sincere about it, Simon might have been more offended. “Why would you jump to that conclusion?”

“I’m notoriously hard to work with, and I seem to have worried you,” Baz smirked, but it wasn’t a confident sort of smirk, rather a sort of self-depricative one, a sort of knowing the parts of you that others were uncomfortable with all too well. That feeling? That was one Simon could relate to all too well.

“I’m not going to bloody leave because you worried me. That is the opposite of what you should do if you’re worried about someone,” Simon turned to point accusatorily at Basil, “You’re stuck with me now. I’m getting you water. Also I’m glad you’re not dead. You seem… alright.”

Baz huffed a small laugh, not quite his normal, but still a laugh. That much was relieving as Simon left to fetch that glass of water. When he came back, it seemed Baz was already thinking thoughts that Simon couldn’t comprehend. A notebook had appeared on the coffee table from… well, only Crowley knew where, and Baz was scribbling rapidly inside of it, formulae and languages well beyond Simon’s grasp.

Simon plopped the glass of water down loudly just next to Baz’s notebook. “Drink.”

Baz did with no protest, nearly finishing it and returning to his insane scribbling. Simon shrugged and went to get his own glass of water. When he returned again, Basil had shifted yet again, leaning back into the couch.

“You said you didn’t know your father?” Baz asked with a sort of look about him that Simon could just tell meant trouble. Trouble capitalized, even.

“Yes…” Simon answered hesitantly.

“And he was a dragon, yes?”

“Yes,” came the same reluctant answer.

Basil asked just one more question, “What would you say if I said that I think I could find him?”

“Oh,” Simon answered simply. That would… open a lot of opportunities, he supposed, maybe even answer some questions he’d never been able to ask… or even conceptualize properly. He didn’t say that though. He just stared. He blinked. He hadn’t really considered it ever. He nodded. He then shook his head. His head wobbled a little as he thought about it. He quirked his lips and reinforced his initial answer. “Oh,” he said again. “‘Oh’ is what I would say, apparently.”

“Apparently,” Baz repeated.

“Yes,” Simon chewed over his own lip, “Apparently.”

“So,” Baz tried again, leaning forward onto his elbows, “Should we?”

“I don’t know,” Simon answered, all too honestly. “I really don’t know.”

#yessssss i'm so glad we got one last submission with these guys!!! half-dragon simon in a magickal contract with baz for the WIN #the concerned bickering from simon was very in character. and of course baz brushed it off and insisted he was okay 🥺 #the hurt/comfort was delightful and i LOVE getting more lore from this au. thank you so much for update op #i love the note u left us on......leaving it with simon being unsure abt wanting to track down davy #that was really great #thank you so very much op for sharing a months worth of fabulous works every single day. i adore reading what you have to write #thank you for sharing your art with us this countdown 🫶🫶💗 happy snowbaz day #carry on countdown #simon snow #baz pitch #snowbaz #coc 2023 #carry on fanfiction #sucrosette #admin raegan

[carryon-countdown]

@carryon-countdown

Day 30 - crack

#oh noo😭😭😭 #op you're ripping my heart out w this one😭😭 #god the emotion you put in to these drawing is just amazing #thank you sm for participating this year💛💛💛 #carry on countdown #coc 2023 #stardustasincocaine #admin cora

[carryon-countdown]

CARRY ON COUNTDOWN DAY 30 - CRACK 🤭

Rating: Teen and Up

Summary: All their pottery is cracked! How could this happen?

The final day!!! 🥺🥺😭😭

#omggggg a pottery studio.....thats a great idea for the crack prompt froggy i really enjoyed the domestic bickering 🫶🫶 #its been such a treat getting to read your lovely words every day for this whole countdown your style is so fun to read #and your prose is absolutely beautiful. thank you for sharing your fantastic stories with the fandom my dear i appreciate u so much #thank u for supporting me as one of my admins and of course as a dear friend. happy snowbaz day lovey!!! 💗💗💕✨️🫶 #carry on countdown #simon snow #baz pitch #snowbaz #coc 2023 #carry on fanfiction #jasonfunderburkerthefrogexists #admin raegan

[carryon-countdown]

@carryon-countdown day 30: crack

Christmas crackers with the snow for Christmas colors ^^

Than you all for the support and encouragement through this entire countdown! It’s been fun playing with different techniques and styles. Also? The carry on community and fandom is the best one I’ve ever been part of. Y’all are truly the real ones

#carry on countdown #coc 2023 #crankybeetle #Admin Froggy #oh my god #truly ending it off with a banger ❤️❤️ #God this really is the end isn’t it #Thank you for your lovely note ❤️ #It’s been absolutely amazing to see you guys and all of your works!! #Everything was fucking amazing this year #As always #thank you so much for submitting everything #You guys are the real ones #❤️❤️❤️ #until next year everyone 😭

[carryon-countdown]

@carryon-countdown day 29: cherry

Not me grabbing a cherry scone stock image lol

#good for him #he's in simon snow heaven #he's so fucking cute 😭🫶 this is adorable id be afraid someone would eat him #carry on countdown #simon snow #coc 2023 #cranky-beetle #admin raegan

[carryon-countdown]

who among us wouldn’t crack under the weight of that stare

#and a death note meme to close it down. im obessed with you yoey #its true tho id be staring at like that if i had class with baz pitch ngl #thank you so fucking much for your continued service to the meme community during this countdown season 🫡 #wouldnt be the same countdown without you bestie. you cooked up some true masterpieces this year. so grateful for you yoey 🙏🫶💗 #happy snowbaz day friend #carry on countdown #simon snow #baz pitch #snowbaz #coc 2023 #pacey-bunce-loves-joey #admin raegan

[carryon-countdown]

@carryon-countdown day 28: gently

The Kiss by Klimt is just so tender and gentle

I don’t know if someone has already done snowbaz as Klimt so I’m sorry if this is a repeat

#gorgeous!!! oh this is stunning . what a fitting idea for the gentle prompt #im really happy you included simons wings they honestly fit in really well #ugh the way they're holding onto each other 🥺🥺 this is making my heart ache its so so pretty #ugh. absolutely beautiful thank u so much op! #carry on countdown #simon snow #baz pitch #snowbaz #coc 2023 #crankybeetle #admin raegan

[carryon-countdown]

COC day 30 | Crack

"...Baz chews gum, and he loves to listen to disco..." -- Rainbow Rowell, taken supremely out of context

happy snowbaz day everyone!

#PERFECT line to take from that interview im honestly obsessed. why shouldnt he chew gum and love disco 😆💗💗 #SIMONS MUSTACHE!!! BAZ'S GLASSES!!!! THEIR STYLISH LITTLE DISCO FITS!!! ITS HERE ITS ALL HERE!!! #op u KNOW i love the ones where they're moving. in this they're moving AND grooving 🤩🤩🪩🕺🕺 #op i could rant for hours about how insane and fantastic your animal crossing abilities are. #i genuinely cant even fathom how long it takes u to nail down every single detail in every single post you make. you are unstoppable #its brings me so much joy to see our little guys and honestly the whole carry on gang in some delightful virtual littlw world #where they can just hang out and wear cute outfits and accessorize and be gay forever. thats honestly the dream and you brought it to life #day after day!! slayage all around. thank you dearly for bringing us along to your animal crossing carry on universe #genuinely a highlight of the countdown. thank you so very much op. happy snowbaz day!! 💗💗 #carry on countdown #simon snow #baz pitch #snowbaz #coc 2023 #onepintobean #admin raegan

[carryon-countdown]

Day 30 - Crack

Baz drags Simon to a concert.

This is about as cracky as I can get. Enjoy!

#ahhhhhhh some eras tour goodness!!! what a fabulous way to wrap this fic up. simon and bas deserve a million friendship bracelets #the matching lyric bracelets were a brilliant idea. giving simon the nightmare lyric and baz the daydream one was truly inspired #also ofc he was bragging abt getting merch shipped LMAOOO #im having fun imagining baz in the brendon urie suit as well 💗💗💗 #a fabulous conclusion to a an insanely incredible fic. thank you so very much for sharing op and taking me along for this 30 day ride #i had such a wonderful time getting to devour your fic updates every day. im seriously gonna be so deprived now that its over 😭😭😭 #i love your writing so much!! happy snowbaz day my dear 💕💕 #carry on countdown #simon snow #baz pitch #snowbaz #coc 2023 #carry on fanfiction #prettygoododds #admin raegan

[carryon-countdown]

COC Day 30 - Crack

This has been in my mind this entire month.

AND THATS THE END FOLKS! I hope you all have happy holidays and a great future year ahead!!!

Thank you to @carryon-countdown for running this event once again!!! I had a ton of fun participating AND experiencing this event for the first time :,)

#YESSSSSSSS SIMON TIDDY GOODNESS FOR THE WINNNNNN EVERYONE SAY THANK YOU OP !!!!!! #i love the lighting i love the freckles & most of all i love the boobs 🫶 u got the expression spot on too this just all around incredible #wow op. i cant believe my eyes have witnessed 30 straight days of your phenomenal art posts i feel genuinely so lucky #you have killed every single prompt and have served us utter slayage day after day how do you do it. #thank you so so SO much for participating op!!! we're so happy you enjoyed your first year with us 💗💗 PLEASE COME BACK NEXT YEAR!! #happy snowbaz day ❣️❣️ #carry on countdown #simon snow #coc 2023 #alexalexinii #admin raegan

[carryon-countdown]

Carry on Countdown - Day 30 - Crack

I didn't have time to make a few prompts I wanted to do, but this one slipped through the cracks because it was fun and quick!

Last week, my partner showed me one of her favorite childhood books and we came across a page that made us go "it's Baz!" so enjoy the result (and the inspiration)!

The book is Les amis de Marguerite by Annette Tamarkin Hatwell.

Happy holidays everyone!

#ahhhhhh this is marvelous!!!! you and your partner are brilliant op that IS baz oh my god. its literally him i cant believe it. #THEY EVEN HAVE THE SAME HAIR !!!!! #this is so creative and i LOVE your rendition of bazou le zèbre that sunflower print is beautiful 🩵💛🌻🌻 #thank you so much for sharing this with us op. my life is so much better now that i know i can find a zebra baz serving looks in a book #thank you for all the submissions you've shared op ive had such a lovely time enjoying your writing and your art 🫶🫶 #happy snowbaz day!! #carry on countdown #baz pitch #snowbaz #coc 2023 #dohrnaira #admin raegan

[carryon-countdown]

Carry On Countdown, Day Thirty: Crack

What was Daphne Grimm doing on that flash laptop on Christmas Eve? Updating her faithful Grimmlin Girlies with a year-end blog post roundup, of course! (486 words)

PS: thirty days felt like so many at the beginning (and in the middle), but of course now that it's over, I'm not ready. I'm planning an epilogue to post tomorrow to ease into the post-COC world so please keep an eye out!

@carryon-countdown

#you had me at the first dating tip #'Find Your Own Shell of a Man To Wash Up On Your Shore Today!' #PLEASE op. you are so effortlessly creative and funny and ingenius ive genuinely had such a fucking blast reading your updates every day #you used your texting medium to its absolute fullest and you incorporated so much story and character into every submission #grimmlim girlies? all of the tips and hacks?!?! pure gold. the ones about baz made me smile so hard i love daphne 😭 #a wrap up mommy blog post for the last day of the coc is honestly genius thank you so much for serving us all this incredible content! #looking forward to your epilogue tmr 😭😭 im not ready for it to be over either 💔💔 #happy snowbaz day op! #carry on countdown #daphne grimm #baz pitch #simon snow #coc 2023 #carry on fanfiction #thewholelemon #admin raegan

[carryon-countdown]

★— ⋆｡˚ [Simple Things]

For Day 29 of Carry on Countdown 23, Cherry @carryon-countdown

Basil and Simon share a picnic in the park

Rated T for language & vague reference to shit childhoods.

This is the final of the Nurse/Lawyer AU. Enjoy~ 🖤 [Part 1][Part 2][Part 3][Part 4]

⋆｡˚

“Why cherry scones?” Basil asks, his head on my lap, my spare hand running through his long, dark hair while the other reaches into our picnic basket and cracks off another bit of scone to feed him, and then myself.

I hum and press a kiss to the point of his widow’s peak. “It’s not that complicated, they’re just good.”

He reaches up to stroke a hand soft over the side of my neck and I lean into the touch instinctively. “No nostalgia?”

He doesn’t say it, but I suppose it shouldn’t surprise me that he’s noticed a bit how I’ll get just a tad bit weepy when I’m making them. I suppose it shouldn’t surprise me that he’s noticed how much it means to me that he always gets ingredients for more of them whenever he does the grocery shopping. “I suppose,” I admit, tugging at a stray strand of his hair, “There’s a little nostalgia.”

Baz’s hands are so soft against my neck, so gentle and soothing, he looks so soft like this. We don’t do this sort of thing often. I work too much, he works too much. Days spent in local parks having picnics and lingering just aren’t exactly in the cards for us, but we’ve been making more time for them. He’s taken me on a beach day recently too, but this one was my idea.

“Tell me about it?” Baz asks as I tug on that stray strand of hair again, soothing over it immediately after. “If you want to.”

I nod, still thinking about the sentiment of the park a little bit. It’s a park I used to frequent with Penny, back when she’d been living in the UK too. Baz knows that part, I’d told him that much when I’d planned our little date. When we’d first gotten here, we’d even snapped a couple of selfies that I could send over her way. Or well, really I’d done the snapping of selfies. Baz just sort of quirked his lips for them. He looked nice though. Baz always looked nice in our photos.

Baz also doesn’t send texts like “our old haunting grounds!! I miss you!!” to anyone, really.

He texts a bit like an old man. No emoji, proper punctuation, very little by way of abbreviations or shorthand. I think he mostly uses voice-to-text, which makes sense. His hands are always busy. I kind of think it’s cute.

“Simon?”

Right, we were talking.

“You know how Pen and I used to come here?” I start, and he nods, not really needing the reminder from just this morning. “We used to come here with stolen scones from the boarding school kitchens. I just used to shovel armfulls into my back and ditch and end up all over with them. It was sort of all I ate back then, but honestly… it was the first food I really liked in my childhood.”

Baz knows about my childhood, about how I bounced from foster to foster, from group home to group home. My non-existent concept of family, my struggle with deep relationships and trustworthy adults. Somehow I kept running into the problematic sort in my childhood. But Baz knows all that already. I don’t need to get into it.

He pokes at my chin gently before leaning up slightly to get his own bit of scone, feeding me another bite back. “Who taught you to make them?”

“Ahh…” I think I can feel myself flushing, “I sort of… shilled together the recipe a little bit at a time. I made a lot of mistakes. I may have destroyed at least three baking sheets in the process.”

“Simon,” Baz sounds utterly disbelieving. He looks it too. I have to laugh about it. He should know by know what a danger I can be to common household objects. “Simon Snow, you did not bullshit together a recipe when google exists.”

“I did,” I nod down at him, as disappointed as he is about it. “I did and I had access to google in the school library and I ignored it in favour of ruining Cook Pritchard’s life.”

“You’re terrible,” Baz snorts out. He also leans up to kiss me again, cupping my cheek soft. He’s so full of affection for me. He doesn’t have to say it when he kisses me like that. He says it anyway. “I love you, menace to society that you are.”

I love how he can say something like that, call me something like that, and sound so impossibly fond. “I know you do,” I answer, grinning back at him and leaning back on my elbows. He chases me down for another soft kiss and I lean back again, avoiding him, making him chase me more, making him chase me all the way down until I’m lying fully on the grass and he’s leaning above me and holding my hands and kissing me silly.

I’m laughing through all of it, twisting our hands together and squeezing my fingers over his. I lean up and chase him down for more kisses before he can pull back, before he can get us water or more sour cherry scones or anything else. I love catching him in fits of kissing like this, dragging him back for more and more until we both forget anything else.

I could live off his smile, I think, when he’s kissing me silly like this. He still makes me so bloody giddy and it’s been well over a year and I spend all my free time with him. Everyone says that’ll change, that I’ll get tired of him around all the time. Coworkers, old classmates, old foster siblings and people I knew from therapy and group homes, basically everyone but Pen, but I think they’re sodding insane. They probably think I’m insane for thinking it’s not going to change, but I know myself. I know all I need is that silly bloody smile, that gorgeous bloody laugh, those sweet, bloody tender kisses…

“Tell me more of your favourite foods,” Baz asks between my laughter and his kisses.

I’m a little caught off guard. I’d forgotten we were talking still again, but I just grin up at him. “Anything you make me is my favourite food.”

“That’s cheating, love,” Baz snorts out another laugh, “You have to give a real answer, or else I’m just going to cook for me forever.”

“I like whatever you cook for you,” I shrug under him, chasing down another soft, silly little kiss, a little giddy-drunk-stupid on his affections, “That’s plenty real enough, I think.”

He hums back at me, nipping soft over my lips. “You’ll have to give a real answer sooner or later, Simon, or else we’ll be serving basilla and fattah at our wedding.”

“Okay but I actually do love your fattah.” And I do. I love all his home cooking, but the casual wedding talk is new. Distracing. I can’t help but drift back to it. “You want to marry me?”

He laughs. Of course he bloody laughs. As if it were obvious.

“More than anything.”

He says it so bloody confidently, and I know one day he’s going to ask, and one day I’m going to say yes. I’m not even going to have time to figure out my own plan. He’s already got it all figured out, but I don’t mind. I like that he’s got our lives planned out like this, I like that I can trust him with me like this.

No, more than like it, I love it. “We’re going to have to have cherries in the cake then. That’s my only demand.”

“As if I wasn’t already planning on it.” Baz’s so bloody smug about it, smirking down at me.

I shove a scone in his mouth and shove him over just to wipe that look off his face. “You’re such a bloody prick.”

Unfortunately, he’s still just as smug. “You love this bloody prick.”

“Unfortunately,” I groan back. I can’t commit though. I’m already kissing him bloody stupid all over again. “Unfortunately, I’m going to marry this bloody prick.”

#oh wow 🫶🥺 a glorious ending to such a lovely au. this made me smile so much i love how content and passionate they are with each other #a picnic in the park would never be complete without sour cherry scones ❤️🍒 i love simon explaining his nostalgia for them #and of COURSE he recreated them thru trial and error instead of looking it up 😆 i love you simon #op!!! thank you so so much for sharing and coming back to this au throughout the countdown. ive really enjoyed following this 💕💕 #carry on countdown #simon snow #baz pitch #snowbaz #carry on fanfiction #coc 2023 #sucrosette #admin raegan