he has no idea what he's doing, or how to navigate his own feelings and intentions. he's used to chaos and acting impulsively, he fights with his consciousness almost every day. of course dante doesn't know this, and minjae doesn't want him to know either. he doesn't want to be seen as vulnerable or weak for having these thoughts or to even be feeling such a disdain for exploring love for the first time. 

his pulse steadied as he decided to put the food in his mouth finally, the taste of the pasta interrupting his thoughts momentarily. his face changed into a neutral expression instead of that of someone who's anxiety-ridden. before he knew it, he scarfed down the plate and that's when he realized his eating habits have been terrible lately as well.

he wiped his lips with a napkin, his gaze returning to dante who seemed worried about him. “i'm trying to be here.” he explained, another sigh leaving his mouth. “i'm not used to this, i'm not used to having such strong feelings for another person.” he let the words come out almost as an ambush, not realizing he said too much too soon. at this point, there was really no coming back from this. he drank the rest of his wine, letting the silence fill the air. 

dante’s smile faded, the playful theatricality entirely evaporating from his posture. he didn't miss the way minjae's jaw locked, or the desperate, mechanical way he forced that pasta down just to have an excuse not to speak. it was astute observation mixed with raw intuition; dante recognized an attempt at emotional containment when he saw one. he knew what it looked like when a person was fighting a war inside their own ribs. he didn't touch his food. instead, he reclined slightly, swirling his wine, tracking the trajectory of minjae’s sudden, unfiltered confession. i'm not used to having such strong feelings for another person. the words hung in the space between them like a sudden drop in a patient's vitals. dante set his glass down with a soft but poignant click. the silence that followed wasn't heavy to him, it was an opening.

"sunshine, believe me when i say, i've survived a hell of a lot worse than a moment of brutal honesty," dante revealed, he leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table, entirely dismantling the distance minjae was trying to maintain. "you think you're exposing a weakness. you think letting yourself actually care makes you fragile. it doesn't." he locked his gaze onto minjae’s, his eyes intense, stripped of all the usual glitter and bravado. this was the resident who made split second decisions in trauma bays, the man who had looked his own mortality in the face and refused to blink.

"i know a thing or two about fighting your own mind, minjae. i spent a long time in the dark before i decided to become the brightest thing in the room," dante murmured, his expression softening just a fraction, though his focus remained lethal. "let it scare you. but don't you dare sit across from me and act like an attraction to me is a diagnosis you can't cure." he reached across the table again, not to stop a glass this time, but offering his open palm, an invitation. "you said you're trying to be here. so be here. messy, panicked, whatever version of you is currently spiraling. i can handle the chaos, sunshine. i practically live in it. so," his head tilted. "do you want me or not?"

he nodded his head to everything he said, not only because it's true, but because he needs to come to his own terms to it. this is real, what they have and he isn't doing anyone any good with the self sabotage. if only his parents were a little doting on him growing up, maybe things would be different. 

minjae's not used to having "feelings", or even having an outlet stable enough to express them. he has been through so much to get to where he is now, the trauma left behind by his parents something he needs to heal from. he'd be making the first step in his healing process by opening himself up to dante at the very least. 

"yes, i do want you. i want you more than anything, and not having you plagues my mind every waking day. you make me feel warm and that i'm not too much." he took a deep breath, his gaze lingering on dante before he continued. 

"i value your patience and that you're actually willing to make an effort to see this through. i know i haven't been the best lately; but i want to make a change. i want to make myself worthy to be in your presence." he trailed off, his arm stretching across the table to hold dante's hand. his expression was filled with anguish with a tiny bit of hope, he wanted to stop the sadness from ruining the rest of their night. 

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dorian was a hard nut to crack, most people who've dealt with him would say. using every friday of his tumultuous work week to unwind at a “pub”, which was where most of pinehaven's locals would be. he used this time to mingle with folks he'd only ever see during this time, which he preferred. he kept to himself and his life was very private, the only person who knew about his life to an extent was his younger sister, sloane. yet here he was, sat on a counter by himself, letting the whiskey in his glass sit untouched for 10 minutes. people-watching was undoubtedly his favorite pastime, his eyes scanning the room where guests were changing the song on the jukebox, drunkily dancing amongst each other, and ordering food at their booths. he lives a very quiet mundane life, the pub the complete opposite of that, however he found it calming in an odd way. the noise was something he longed for, but he would only take it in small amounts.

someone slid into the seat next to him, immediately attempting to grab his attention. dorian wasn't a rude person, although being introverted, he would never shy anyone away. “if you're looking for small talk, i suggest you find someone else,” he started, his gaze sharp but also warm enough to signal that he wasn't bothered. “but if you're into something more interesting, i'm open to an even exchange.” he leaned back in his seat, his drink finally making its way to his lips. 

as they neared her apartment, zaire was hit with a wave of emotions and reminiscence. he tried and tried to ignore the elephant in the room and pretend that they were just catching up, but the reality is, he never seemed to get over her. he smiled while losing himself in the thoughts of their shared moments throughout high school and how she was truly his everything. he promised himself this time if he had the chance, to never let go of her. “you're funny if you think i'd let us both die right now. i can stay focused, there's so many hours left in the night where i can lose myself in your beautiful brown eyes.” 

“we're here, and you're back in one piece, all thanks to me. i'll take my tax later.” he parked outside her apartment building in the temporary parking space, hopping out of the car to open the door on the other side for ginger. he took her hand, “which one of these is your apartment?” he intertwined their fingers together, holding tight onto her hand as if she was going to escape out of his grasp at any moment.

he could feel his face heat up, the intimacy of their hands being interlocked was enough to make him boil over. he realized how much he missed this, missed her, and how stupid they were in the past. they definitely could've worked despite their differing schedules, but there was no point in dwelling in the past. “hey ginger?,” he paused in his steps, taking the sight of her in. “why did we ever break up? we worked so well together.” he realized this was a better conversation while they were inside, but he was impatient and he let his thoughts come out of his mouth before being mentally prepared for a response.

a tiny, breathy laugh slipped out before she could stop it, her fingers twitching slightly within his grasp as the truck finally rolled to a stop, his smooth talk was making her brain short circuit. it was terrifying, honestly, how effortlessly he could strip away her layers with just a few choice words, leaving her feeling utterly exposed in the passenger seat of the car they used to practically live in, back when everything was simpler and they had nothing but time to waste. she allowed him to guide her out into the damp, cool evening air, the transition from the cab's warmth to the chill of the night making her skin prickle, especially as his long fingers slipped between hers, locking them together with a firm, unyielding pressure that felt both entirely familiar and entirely dangerous. a heavy shiver ran down her spine that had absolutely nothing to do with the washington weather or the mist clinging to the evergreen trees; he was holding on so tightly, with a sort of desperate intensity, like she might dissolve into the fog if he let go, and honestly? she didn't want to test the theory either. she just gripped him back, letting the cold silver of her rings press hard into his skin, a grounding, sharp weight in the middle of the dark parking lot that kept her from floating away entirely.

"third floor, the corner unit with the dying ivy hanging off the balcony," she murmured, pointing a ringed finger toward the brick exterior of the building, her voice sounding a little breathier than she intended. they made it exactly three paces toward the entrance before he stopped dead in his tracks, pulling her momentum to a sudden halt. the question hit the quiet night air like a physical weight. ginger froze, the casual remarks melting away instantly. she turned her body to face him fully, eyes reflecting the amber glow of the courtyard streetlamps. hearing him voice the exact same question that had been haunting her mind just minutes ago felt incredibly surreal, stripping away the last remaining layers of her performative armor. the cool air shifted around them, but the space between them felt like it was simmering.

she looked down at their joined hands, noting how perfectly his larger palm still fit against hers; a mismatched puzzle piece that had never quite found a proper replacement in all the time they'd been apart, before looking back up to meet his intense gaze. her tongue flicked nervously over her lip, the metal of her piercing clicking softly against her teeth as she swallowed the sudden lump forming in her throat. "honestly, zee?" she whispered, her voice cracking slightly under the immense vulnerability of the moment. "standing out here right now…looking at you…i don't have a single valid answer for you," she had an answer, of course, but nothing that made sense all these years later, nothing that didn't sound silly in the retro glance of time. "i guess i was…kind of afraid of holding you back? you know, you got accepted to that study abroad program, and suddenly it felt like you had this massive, incredible world waiting for you, full of things i couldn't give you. and i…"

she swallowed hard, her fingers tightening around his until her knuckles turned white. "i knew i was never leaving pinehaven." a sad, incredibly tender smile touched her lips as she shook her head, the realization of their past foolishness settling heavily in her chest. she took a half step closer to him, the space between them evaporating as she squeezed his hand back, linking herself to him. the smell of the damp earth, the lingering scent of his cologne, and the sweet warmth of the coffee still on her breath all swirled together, making her dizzy with nostalgia. "we were pretty stupid, i think," she admitted softly, a tender, completely genuine smile replacing her usual smirk as she looked up at him through her lashes, waiting for whatever came next.

he unlocked the door to her unit, carrying the both of them inside while she continued to speak and he listened quietly. he kept his other hand in hers still, placing their keys on the kitchen counter. he was an understanding person, his emotional maturity growing within the years they've been apart. he wasn't the same immature kid who didn't know what was good for him until it was gone. there wasn't a day that went by where he didn't think of ginger, her face etched into his memory like it was painted in his brain.

there was a deep loneliness he felt, a void that nothing could fill, not even his job that he loves so much. he didn't think he'd have the confidence to get to this point with her, the moon shining through the curtains of her apartment, casting a radiating glow on her face. the same face he couldn't forget, no matter how hard he tried. 

without a thought, his hand made its way to cup her face as he stared into her eyes longingly before speaking, “it doesn't matter what happened in the past or why we stopped being us. i understand why you thought you'd set me back, i never wanted you to feel that way at all.” he paused for a second, caressing her face before speaking again. “i could've made smarter decisions too. i could've brought you along with me, or planned to meet with you afterwards if i knew i was going to stay in pinehaven. but, let's not focus on the past and focus on us now.” he gave her a small smile, attempting to ease her nerves and worries. 

Kitty was physically incapable of passing by someone she knew without saying hi. And considering she'd lived in Pinehaven her entire life, and was a notorious people person, she was always passing by someone she knew. There was no such thing as a "quick trip out" for Kitty. She had to work in time to chat into her schedule because it was simply inevitable. It didn't even matter how well she knew someone. Even if they'd only spoken one other time, if Kitty knew their name, she would stop to say hi. When she found herself in highly populated situations, the farmers market for instance, she limited herself to only saying hi and did her best to avoid striking up a conversation with every other person she saw. On the way home from the market, though, was fair game. So, of course, she was calling out to someone she knew as she walked through the park towards home.

"Jett!" Kitty called out, putting a little pep in her step to catch up with him. When she reached him she resecured her shopping bags onto her shoulders and smiled. Always an oversharer, Kitty launched right into why she had so much from the farmers market, even though JJ hadn't asked. "Happy first day of summer! And Father's Day, but I'm pretty sure you're not secretly a father..." She teased. "I just got all this stuff to make a big brunch for my dad... including a bottle of his favorite wine from Crystal Cove, obvi." Kitty checked the time on her watch, making sure she had enough time to chat before she was expected back home. Good news, she did! "What are you up to today? Are you going to the summer solstice event later?"

he was stopped in his tracks when he noticed his friend kitty approaching him. he listened to the reasons why she carried so many bags, nodding his head to each sentence. he let her finish speaking before he raised his eyebrows and spoke, “i'm pretty sure if i was a father, the entire town of pinehaven would know by now,” he joked. without her asking or denying help, he lifted some of the bags out of her hands. “it's the longest day of the year, you know i couldn't miss out on this. also, that's very kind of you to make a brunch for your father. i'm sure he'll enjoy it!” he began walking because he felt he'd make better conversation if they were moving. “i don't have much planned today, i was probably going to go home and cook dinner for myself. or bother hanne even though it's both of our days off. what else do you have planned other than the brunch?” he led them to the parking lot, insisiting on helping her load her items into her car. 

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he nodded his head as he listened intently to ginger talking about her band, stealing glances to look at how her eyes light up whenever she talks about something she's passionate about. that was a quality of hers he always enjoyed, and it made him feel warm. he felt a weird sense of nostalgia, as if they were in his car and still in a relationship.

“i'll settle for you not spilling coffee on my leather seats as a ”rescue" tax, thank you." he responded sassily. his free hand grazing her hand. “remind me of your address again, or if you were going to your new fling's place. i don't mind dropping you off there either.” he wasn't worried if there was someone else, they're both single and are allowed to talk to anyone they want. his point was for her to confirm she wasn't seeing anyone else, which would gauge what he'd do next.

ginger took the napkins with a soft snort, dabbing at the corner of her mouth even though she knew damn well the shade was practically bulletproof. the graze of his hand against her skin sent a electric spike of heat shot straight up her arm. she didn't pull away. instead, her fingers twitched, automatically wanting to close the distance, but his next words made her jaw drop in a look of absolute, exaggerated offense. "zee, please," she scoffed, rolling her eyes so hard it almost stung the back of her sockets, but the corner of her mouth pulled upward anyway. "who has the time? my romantic life is currently a barren wasteland. the only committed relationship i’m in right now is with a forty pound hunk of nineteen seventies wood and metal, and honestly, my bass is a much better listener. besides, nobody else in pinehaven has the stomach for my existential crises, and you know it. so no. you're taking me back to my overgrown greenhouse of an apartment. el solo."

she watched him from under her lashes, her heart doing a stupid, erratic flip against her ribs as he slid his hand down to cling onto her finger. why did we even end things again? the thought hit her suddenly, a quiet, disarming ache right in the center of her chest. beneath the pace of her everyday life, she sometimes forgot the specifics of how they had drifted apart. it had been amicable, a mutual agreement born of timing, of fear, and the messy transition of growing up. but sitting here in the familiar warmth of his cab, feeling the exact weight of his touch, she couldn't for the life of her remember a single good reason why they weren't still together. it felt ridiculous, almost tragic, that they had ever let this orbit break.

the car slowed, and when he turned to her she completely forgot how to breathe. it wasn't just a flirty text anymore. it was right there, thick and undeniable in the warm space between their seats, pulling at every single lingering feeling she had been trying to laugh off since she got into the car. she watched, utterly transfixed, as his thumb brushed the smudged red lipstick off the tumbler and pressed it against his own lip.

"you are an absolute menace," she murmured, her voice turning soft and entirely real. she didn't pull her finger from his grip. instead, she squeezed back, her gaze dropping to his mouth before lifting back to his eyes, dark and intense in the glow of the dashboard. "playing the long game, huh? fine. but you better watch the road, because if you keep looking at me like that, we’re both going to end up stranded on the highway."

as they neared her apartment, zaire was hit with a wave of emotions and reminiscence. he tried and tried to ignore the elephant in the room and pretend that they were just catching up, but the reality is, he never seemed to get over her. he smiled while losing himself in the thoughts of their shared moments throughout high school and how she was truly his everything. he promised himself this time if he had the chance, to never let go of her. “you're funny if you think i'd let us both die right now. i can stay focused, there's so many hours left in the night where i can lose myself in your beautiful brown eyes.” 

“we're here, and you're back in one piece, all thanks to me. i'll take my tax later.” he parked outside her apartment building in the temporary parking space, hopping out of the car to open the door on the other side for ginger. he took her hand, “which one of these is your apartment?” he intertwined their fingers together, holding tight onto her hand as if she was going to escape out of his grasp at any moment.

he could feel his face heat up, the intimacy of their hands being interlocked was enough to make him boil over. he realized how much he missed this, missed her, and how stupid they were in the past. they definitely could've worked despite their differing schedules, but there was no point in dwelling in the past. “hey ginger?,” he paused in his steps, taking the sight of her in. “why did we ever break up? we worked so well together.” he realized this was a better conversation while they were inside, but he was impatient and he let his thoughts come out of his mouth before being mentally prepared for a response.

Kitty loved a carnival! She loved the overly fried food, the rides, and the games. Whenever the carnival rolled into town, she went at least three or four separate times. Today she'd come with her family, but had quickly lost track of them among the crowd. She'd gone looking for them but had gotten distracted by a bright pink cat plushy hanging from one of the game booths. She had to have it. Unfortunately for Kitty, she was terrible at basketball and she needed to make 5 shots in order to win the cat. After two attempts (and only making 3 of the 12 shots), Kitty decided she needed backup. The great thing about knowing basically everyone in town was that she didn't have to look very hard for someone to help. "Matthias!" Kitty shouted, waving at him with both hands. "Come help me win that cat! I need it! But I suck at basketball!"