♕ ( n/a / 33 / female / she/her ) — did you see MILLIE MONRETTI wandering around the island today? they kind of look like LILY COLLINS from certain angles? i heard around town that the SERVER AT NONNA’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT is OPTIMISTIC and COMPASSIONATE, but also HOPELESS and INSECURE. people say that they remind them of PASTEL PINK, THE GLOW AND WARMTH OF A LIT CANDLE, and RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS, and GOOD LEGS by JENSEN MCRAE is definitely their theme song. they seem like a nice enough person, but we all know how hard it is to keep a pristine reputation in a small town. ( sie / 29 / cst / she/her )

tw: car accident mention

With no desire to cook dinner himself, Danny had opted to order out at Nonna’s for the night. It was pricier than it was ideal but Danny didn’t really care about the cost of it all if it meant he could just go home and eat. As he opened the door to the restaurant, Danny sighed when his call to Syd went to voicemail. With a small chuckle, Danny began to leave a voicemail. “You know, when I get home I don’t wanna hear you bitchin about what I got for dinner.” He teased his husband, making his way to where the food was picked up from. “If you picked up when I call –” 

His sentence paused as his blue eyes raised to the hostess and shock riddled his body. “Millie?” Danny asked in complete disbelief, only then disconnecting the call as a wide grin grew on his face. It was disorienting seeing her here in Kingshaven given that he had said his goodbyes back in Nashville. Danny had been certain that was probably the last he’d ever see of his first love and best friend. Danny wasn’t known for making personal connections - that emotional level of understanding and commitment a foreign and uncomfortable concept to him. There were three people in his life that he had ever truly made a connection with. Syd and Oliver being the most recent ones and Millie being his first and longest lasting. 

Despite not seeing other for fifteen years - was it more? - other than their brief encounter back home a couple years back, it still never felt like there was a beat missing between them. A small laugh escaped him and he shook his head, approaching her and bringing her into a hug. It went against his better judgement - but in that moment, he didn’t care. As they pulled away, Danny grinned at her. “Damn right it’s me! The better question is what the hell are you doing in Kingshaven?” He asked her, completely surprised to see her so far away from Nashville. 

xxx

Honestly, Millie was prone to daydreaming, especially when she wasn’t very busy as a hostess, so she wouldn’t be surprised if Danny was some sort of mind mirage. However, she didn’t think her mind could conjure up such a vivid hug and that was Danny’s voice plan as day. She couldn’t believe how happy she was to see her best friend again. It made her realize just how much she missed him, but she wasn’t going to confess that and put that weight on his shoulders.

She was slightly surprised when he pulled her in for a hug though as she knew he didn’t really initiate physical contact, but she accepted the embrace and hugged him back. “Good to know you’re real and you know I could ask you the same thing,” she chuckled. What are the chances that the both of them would wind up in the same small town, after all? It wasn’t the short of place she imagined that Danny and Syd would be staying at, as she pictured them settling into more of a bigger city like NYC maybe.

Once the shock wore off a little bit the second half of his question caught up to her brain and she found herself nervously biting her lower lip. Danny was probably the only person she would feel comfortable talking to about it, but not while she was working or in a public place at all. “It’s a long story to tell you now and I wouldn’t want your food to get cold,” she grinned as she nodded towards the pick-up station, which was just a shelf that staff placed the bags on and Danny’s was the only one there. “You know it’s funny because I was actually supposed to be off today but now I’m glad I said yes to coming in.”

Three months later, she was finally settling into the town and forming a routine with her new life. She had a nice, consistent work schedule at the local Italian restaurant and she had just moved into a small apartment nearly a month ago. It felt nice to have a space to call home and thankfully, apartments were too much of a commitment compared to buying a house at least. 

There were two abnormal things about today though. One is that Millie was supposed to be off but she was too kind to say no when another employee had an emergency and she got asked if she could come in and two is she was normally a server and not the hostess. It was her job as hostess to handle the pickup orders too, which were all numbered. 

She didn’t see the name at first but the moment her brown eyes saw him walk through the door, her jaw dropped. Of course she would recognize her best friend immediately but she was shocked to see him here. After he said goodbye, they had kept up here and there and she might get a photo or postcard occasionally but she never quite knew where he and Syd were going. 

Millie refrained herself from literally running up and hugging him since she was at work, but she couldn’t contain her squeal and smile that spread from ear to ear. “Danny! I can’t believe it’s you — here, right in front of me. I’m not daydreaming right? This is real?”