p-finch

[p-finch]

The pink on his cheeks darkened at her words and he was sure he looked like one of those cartoons with hearts in his eyes. "Oh no if I'm doing it then you definitely have to look. I can't give a show to your walls," he teased as he pulled his shirt over his head before reaching down to untie his shoes. "I honestly can't even remember the last time I took a bath," he admitted, his self care routine having been a bit lacking since he started graduate school. It felt like he had no time in between using his brain so he was grateful for this slow down. He hummed and wiggled his eyebrows as he started to take off his jeans, unable to take himself too seriously before he carefully got into the tub and sat across from her, sliding his legs along side her before he sat back. "Oh this is nice," he said softly, closing his eyes for a moment.

Her face lit up at his admission, "I think about you too. A lot." Their ability to be so candid with one another wasn't something she'd taken for granted so far, even though it came naturally. "I'm sure. I'll even look the other way too," she teased and covered her eyes, spreading her fingers as if to peek for a second. Grinning as she dropped her hands, she moved over to make room for him.

#c: scarlet

[p-finch]

"Yeah well, I think about you a lot," he admitted, not ashamed despite the slight pink on his cheeks as he said it. "I promise I won't. Or else you'll turn into a human prune and no one needs dry skin." He laughed at the memory, knowing he'd never do it now but he had done plenty of questionable things back then. He raise an eyebrow as he looked her over in the tub. "You sure? This isn't just a way for me to give you a little show, is it? Cause I'm not complaining if it is."

“That’s really thoughtful,” she said sincerely, with a sweet smile in his direction. It almost made her feel bad that she hadn’t planned anything for him, but she knew he probably wasn’t expecting anything in return either. “You can’t let me fall asleep in here,” she told him playfully as she sank further into the water, just her head poking out. “Oh I don’t think any amount of bleach could make me do that, sorry.” Scarlet held her glass up then set aside after she’d taken a sip. “Do you…? It’s a tight fit but I can scoot over.”

#c: scarlet #//i know my activity has made this the never ending valentines day LMAO #happy to keep going but also happy to start something fresh if u want #!!!

[p-finch]

"I mean...I planned for whatever you were feeling up to," he admitted. He had told himself he wouldn't go overboard but he did have a few different options depending on her mood. Even if she had decided she had wanted to be on her own. "Right? I asked the lady at the store for the most relaxing thing she could find for me." He handed her a drink and pulled up one of her chairs to the doorway to take a seat with his own drink. "You should've seen the ordeal when I tried to actually take a bath in the frat house. My god, that was a great battle. And I don't just mean cleaning the tub," he said with a shiver. He held up his glass in a toast, "Happy Valentine's Day, beautiful."

"I'm trusting the process," she joked back, smiling. "Oh so you really prepped for this, okay." It seemed like he'd planned a lot that he was almost trying to pass off as spontaneous, something she found even more endearing than if he'd just went with one singular grand gesture. Scarlet chuckled as he kissed the tip of her nose, then went to her room to drop off her bag and shoes while he ran a bath. Once given the okay, she walked into her now candlelit bathroom. "I'm good without a snack, unless- you are coming back, aren't you?," she teased, turning on some music and undressing once he left the room. When he came back, she was submerged in the water and bubbles that'd formed, popping one with her finger. "It smells nice, the bath bomb you got. Like lavender."

#c: scarlet

[p-finch]

JEREMY ALLEN WHITE via Instagram

#percy

[p-finch]

"Oh? Very hot, I can totally do that," he teased back. "Yeah that was my grand plan all along. Gas station serenade was just part of the path there," he joked. "I may have also gotten a very cute bath bomb. Really bring in the relaxing vibes. The girls on tik tok swear by it." He leaned in to kiss her for a moment before pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose. "I'll go turn on the water." He held her a little longer before going to do just that. He laughed to himself as he pulled the bath bomb out from where he had stashed it early that week. "You got it bad, Finch," he joked with himself before he lit some candles and turned off the light so it wasn't so harsh. "Your spa awaits. I'm gonna get you something to stay hydrated with. A little snack too. And no, I'm not actually talking about myself right now."

"I'd rather you closed your eyes actually," she said back with a faux seriousness, cracking a smile after a second. Whether or not she'd outright written about him she wouldn't admit, but the influence of their relationship could definitely be seen in her writing, even in just the tonality sometimes. Scarlet relaxed into his touch as he wrapped his arms around her, content sigh escaping her when he kissed the side of her head. "I don't think I'm ready for bed but a bath doesn't sound so bad. Is that your plan, to get me in the bath?," she teased, spinning so she was facing him.

#c: scarlet

[p-finch]

"I absolutely will, yeah. Full eye contact," he joked. "Oh really? You're right, who's to say. Thank you for feeding my daydreams, I really appreciate it." The idea of anyone writing something about him made his chest feel warm. But Scarlet? Well it made him feel a lot more than that. "Yeah? Then yours it is. I didn't want you to see my laundry pile anyway," he said with a laugh as he followed her up to her apartment. "Apparently the weather is supposed to be ridiculously good tomorrow. We should go to brunch for sure. Or diner breakfast. God, I can picture it now." Once they were in her apartment and they had found some water for the flowers, he moved to stand behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist as he pressed a kiss to the side of her head. "Was this a 'i need a long bath' kind of shift or a 'i need to go straight to bed' kind of shift? Or none of the above?"

Scarlet had a tendency to move through relationships quickly, or at least, she used to. With Percy though she felt present in every moment she was with him- even if they did move fast in some ways, there was no pressure between them or reason to hurry. "Really, you'll let me play the guitar at you?," she laughed with him. "Who's to say there isn't already and I'm just not ready to share?" She raised her brows at him, small secretive smirk on her lips as he got back on the road. Songwriting was like keeping a diary to her: cathartic and often embarrassing. "I think... Zel and Rhiannon are out tonight, so we can do mine if you want. Either's fine with me."

#c: scarlet

[p-finch]

"Of course. With all the times you've worn the clothes I've made, it's the least I could do." Her confirmation that she felt the same put him at such ease. Despite his initial freak out to Molly when they had first kissed, so much about being around Scarlet felt easy. In a way that was comfortable and exciting. "It's not about me and I can't hear it immediately? Absolutely, yes, I'm in," he replied with a louder laugh. "I will listen to whatever you want to play. I love serenades." And he really was excited for her to get her music out there more. He believed in her talent and her passion. "But it's cool, there will be one about me eventually," he told her with a wink before he finally put the car drive and drove them back to the apartment. "So...your place or mine?"

"It is pretty lowkey. For your standards." Scarlet hoped she'd made it clear how much she liked the way he went above and beyond, in everything he did. And for as long as they'd known their feelings for one another were mutual he hadn't been shy about expressing those feelings. "Oh well thank you then, for the promo," she laughed again, chest swelling as he brought her hands to his lips. "I feel the same." Her eyes softened as she linked her pinky finger through his, bringing their intertwined hands towards her for a quick kiss. "I've been working on something new, and I thought, maybe you'd want to hear it? Not tonight, I don't think our neighbors would like that, and it's not about you either, so don't get too excited," she teased.

#c: scarlet

[p-finch]

"I did, I told myself I could be really lowkey but turns out this is about as lowkey as I can go," he admitted. He knew how important it was for him to just be himself in a relationship and he was hopeful it wasn't too much for her. Still, he was singing along to the words as he tapped his fingers against the hood of the car. "I mean I think you might have to come sign some autographs for sure. Guy behind the counter wasn't even hard to convince, I think you got a new subscriber." He pulled the nozzle out of the car once the tank as fully and got back into the car, taking her hands to bring them to his lips for a moment. "I just really wanted you to know how much fun it's been to just..live life with you. And get to experience moments of joy with you. It's been the best part of being back home."

"Basically," she laughed. "Really? Someone usually does it for me..," she joked, beaming as he kissed her cheek. His ominous intstructions about the glove box made her a little nervous, or maybe a curious anxiety was more like it, and she waited until he'd walked away to open it. Scarlet softened at the sight of the card, heart cartwheeling when she opened it and pictures from their first date fell out. She picked the polaroids off the floorboard, smiling as she looked them over in her hand. It took Percy pointing it out for her to even register the music playing, her face a bright red once she recognized her own voice. "You didn't," she chuckled, hands hiding her face. It wasn't like there was much of audience for it, at this hour of night, but it was the gesture itself, the thought of him going inside to ask the attendant if he'd play her song, that embarrassed her in that school girl crush sort of way she always got around him. "Are they big fans in there? Should I go say hello?," she teased, gesturing back at the gas station convenient store.

#c: scarlet

[p-finch]

"Oh so you love crying your eyes out to a movie, got it, got it," he teased but he could imagine them watching all of these movies and it brought him great joy to think about. As the gas station appeared ahead of them he signaled to get over and pulled his car up to a pump. "I'll be right back. I know they don't pump their own gas in jersey but here we do," he teased, leaning over to kiss her cheek before turning off the car. "Also there's something for you in the glove box," he told her before running inside to pay for the gas, purposefully leaving his window open. Inside the glove box was a Valentine's Day card that also held a few Polaroids from the baseball game they had gone to that summer. What Percy considered to be their first real date. When he came back and started the pump, he set it up to stand on it's own before going back to the window. "Hey, do you hear that?" And over the speakers of the gas station, the audio of one of the videos Scarlet had posted recently of her music was playing and Percy was grinning like an idiot. "They're playing my favorite artist."

When Scarlet thought of how she envisioned her life going, it wasn't as much about concrete goals as it was feelings- the little content sighs she'd let out when she looked back on it all. "I don't think I've seen Sabrina, but Legally Blonde, yes. That tracks for you too," she teased. "I think those are the main two for me, most of the movies I like are pretty romantic," she admitted, laughing. "Oh I love Singin' in the Rain, and Titanic, obviously."

#late af but valentines is forever! LMAO #c: scarlet

[p-finch]

"I would love to be besties with a librarian. It's totally in line with what I want out of life." One day when he was hopefully a truly famous designer he would look back on this time and deeply appreciate how much he got to just live his life. "Mm, Notting Hill is such a good one. I love me some Julia Roberts. These are all amazing options, I have to say. My favorite movie? That is a great question." He thought about it for a moment, a few popping to mind before he decided. "I think I'd have to say Sabrina. The original one with Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart. Either that or Legally Blonde. I will never turn down a chance to watch Legally Blonde. What about you? Any other general favorites?"

"Okay, fair. Working at the library wouldn't be so bad either, at least it's quiet. You could be besties with the librarian." Sometimes Scarlet could hardly imagine a future where she didn't have to work at the bar and could just live off her music. She liked to believe it'd happen someday, and now that she was actually recording herself, posting bits online, ''some day' felt just a little more attainable. "Yeah I mean, I didn't even think of it like that," she laughed, "Or Notting Hill, those are probably two of my favorites. Okay, okay. Do you have a favorite movie? Just in general, doesn't have to be romance."

#c: scarlet

[p-finch]

"I'd be your library crush? How romantic. Maybe someone has me randomly posted on their finsta or something. Do I have time> Great question. But I do have rent," he teased, "I could use some more money in the bank these days until I'm able to actually sell more clothing so I think I should have time especially between classes or after. I somehow have managed to have no Wednesday or Friday classes so Im going to see if they have openings then." Percy was pretty used to having to do multiple things at once, whether it be school and work or more than one job. Especially now that he was living completely on his own without a roommate. Rosewood didn't have New York City prices but it wasn't exactly cheap either. "Phantom Thread? Oh a woman after my own heart," he said with a laugh, the premise of the movie obviously one that he had related to. "Oh well then we have to watch it soon. It's a classic. The way Patrick Swayze stares at a woman," he let out a low whistle. "Automatic swoon, honestly."

"Something like that. I'm not sure if it's love though," she chuckled. "I think if I saw you sketching at the library it'd be one of those stranger crushes I think about every now and then, like an airport crush. I'd bet you're that for a lot of people. You have time for that, even part time?" Either he didn't have the same hours in the day as everyone else or he just really couldn't sit still, maybe a little of both. It impressed her, how much he managed to do at once, and she thought they had a bit of that in common as well, the need to always be doing more. "Sleepless in Seattle's a good one, ohh maybe Phantom Thread. I haven't seen Ghost."

#c: scarlet

[p-finch]

"You totally made a face. A very cute one too. So a good drunk? A love is in the air kind of drunk?" He slowed as they came to a red light and thought back on his day. "Early classes, still getting used to school starting back up. But I think I didn't totally fuck up picking my classes so we'll see but I spent most of the afternoon at the library. Sketching, researching, drinking the weirdly good coffee they sell in the vending machine there. I think I might apply for a part time gig at the library actually. Just help out, restock some shelves. I like it over there." He took off again, tapping his hands on the wheel for a few moments before he reached over to hold her hand, his thumb running gently against her knuckles. "If you could pick one romantic movie we could fall asleep to tonight what would it be? I'm kind of feeling either Sleepless in Seattle or something more emotional like..Ghost," he joked. "Wait, have you ever seen Ghost?"

She smiled against his lips. "What face, did I make a face?," she laughed as he kissed her again, then followed him to his car. Rhiannon had the same shift as her that night but she was sure as soon as she saw 'that man and his arms' show up she knew not to wait around. "Yeah but I kind of love it actually? It's not a sad Valentine's drunk, nobody goes here for that." The vibe was chaotic, but so was every other night. "I'm good, you do whatever you need to though." She was content just being together, so long as it was somewhere warm. "What'd you do today?"

#c: scarlet

[p-finch]

"Believe me, I weighed the embarrassment factor heavily. Just decided to say fuck it anyway," he joked then leaned in to kiss her. "Plus, seeing your face just now when you came out made it totally worth it." He kissed her again before taking her bag from her as they walked to his car. The middle of February was not a time for walking home in Rosewood unless they wanted to freeze their asses off. He opened her door for her before putting her bag in the back. "How was work? I imagine day before Valentine's Day people have to be getting pretty drunk, huh?" He was quick to get in the driver's seat, making sure the car was warm as he pulled away. "You need to stop for anything before we get home? I might need to stop for some gas real quick actually."

Scarlet's heart just about swelled every time she saw an old couple at the grocery store together- of course she liked Valentine's Day. As far as her and Percy were concerned though, it didn't need to be a big deal. Maybe some part of her wanted it to be but with or without a man, she loved just wearing tons of pink and watching the same romance movies she'd seen a hundred times before. She laughed when she saw Percy outside the bar, bouquet in hand, color rising in her cheeks as some of the other Coyotes made passing remarks and whistled. "They're classic," she agreed, beaming back at him as she tucked the bouquet under her arm. "You're going to get me in trouble, showing up like this."

#c: scarlet

[p-finch]

Percy had told himself that he would try to keep things lowkey. They had really been enjoying their time together and a holiday like Valentine's Day could either put them in an even better place or put unneeded pressure. But either way, Percy was a romantic, so he couldn't resist at least a little bit of corniness. Which is why he was standing outside of Coyote Ugly as the bar was closing with a bouquet of roses in his arms, absolutely risking humiliation from the rest of the Coyotes and probably Dion. But the minute Scarlet stepped out, he couldn't help the smile and the way his cheeks flushed. "I mean it's way past midnight so..Happy Valentine's Day," he told her with a laugh and took a few steps forward. "You have no idea how long I debated on a single rose vs. a bouquet. Or roses at all. But they really are so classic." @scarletvinson

#c: scarlet

[p-finch]

Jeremy Allen White as Carmen ‘Carmy’ Berzatto Fishes, The Bear

#percy

[p-finch]

"Oh yeah? Well then it looks like I'll be sticking around. For my safety at the very least, of course." And because Steph really didn't mind her company so she couldn't see herself not wanting to spend time with her. Steph was glad to hear she was on the same wavelength and more grateful that she didn't have to spend any more time talking about her ex. If she could get through the rest of the night without thinking about it, it would be an absolute success. "Perfect, sounds like a plan then. And mostly his confidence. He can trip himself up a lot. Eve and I have been trying to hype him up enough so he feels good taking his training wheels off, you know? And I do deliver, don't worry. I'll find you after this thing wraps up. Promise. In the meantime you have some other ass kissers to entertain. You got this."

"Oooh see that makes more sense. If you keep hanging around me though, sooner or later I'm going to have to teach you something or the other." Playfully, Sid looked to her left, her right, and then back at Steph, "If you ever want to make that happen then I know some people." Sid nodded, "I like that, I feel that. That's what I'm on too, I don't feel the need to invest." Part of it Sid thought was cap, maybe it was her recent proximity to hurt that made it so obvious, but she wasn't about to be obnoxious about it or anything. "Oh you're not wrong. If we're bored one of 2 things would happen - we'd bail or we'd turn up by any means necessary. Why does he have a problem getting a date? He's good looking enough and you don't strike me as the type who'd roll with the 'alpha male' type." Sid laughed, "Alright, you're talking this after party up, you better deliver."

#c: sid #2gen

[p-finch]

"I mean...I wouldn't say now if the opportunity presented itself okay. I am only a human lesbian," she said with a sigh before laughing. "Well we've got to throw him in some time. I think he'll at least be able to float. Swimming can come next. No if it was anything with tits he would have fucked a bunch of mannequins which actually we don't know he hasn't but I think his type is anyone who laughs at his jokes probably. And has big tits, I mean you really can't go wrong there. I get it."

"Yeah a friend you wanna fuck, but alright alright. Proud of you for expanding your circle. I didn't talk to her much, but yeah, she seems cool." Eve shrugged, catching the eye of one of the artists and waving in her direction before she turned her attention back to Steph. "I don't think he is but that's alright. It's kinda like throwing your kid in the pool so they learn to swim. You think he's got an actual type or is it just anything with tits?"

#c: eve #2gen