–*º✧♡𝔰𝔥𝔲𝔱 𝔲𝔭

.

it was like a real-time nature documentary, pinpoint pupils settled on her psychoanalytic bestie ( neutral ) battle a stroller. was she in a daze or was it really just that interesting ? it really depended on who you asked ! she contemplated a golf clap when he finally won the war, but ultimately decided to keep it at bay. but… what she soon discovered… when she finally turned back… was very sad: her ice cream had melted. a modern day tragedy. to order another… to eat the melted ice cream… to accept defeat ? before she had a chance to truly mull it over, he was addressing her. narrowing her eyes as she fully processed his request ( or entering a brief daze again – still depended on who you asked ), she shrugged her shoulders after a moment. odd that he was asking her, but… such was life ! “ sure. like… in the ice cream parlor, though ? ”

yes he had noticed alice watching him struggle with the stroller– but if he ignored it, it didn’t happen right ? mannequin challenge ? he was hoping she’d be the only person he ran into today, not that he wanted to run into her to begin with. nothing against her– but masters santos, and dad santos were kinda different. he wasn’t sure he wanted to blur those lines yet– it seemed like life wasn’t really giving him an option. “ i can tell she’s like 5 seconds away from dumping the cup– so right here is fine, thanks ! ” he handed her his phone and crouched down next to sutton who did in fact dump the ice cream. she pouted some– probably overwhelmed with the coldness of the pink, now liquid ice cream. “ well that was.. fun while it lasted– this is where i say something along the lines of don’t have kids until you’re ready but, man– i don’t think i’ll ever be ready. ”

Kim couldn’t lie, she was in her element when it came to Coney Island. She had taken more trips than she cared to share to the pier in her life, and loved every second of it. Was it crowded, overrun by tourists, and overpriced? Absolutely. But, as far as Kim understood it, that was the novelty of the whole experience. Of course, in her time, she had learned quite a few tricks to have the best experience which included getting Ice Cream early before everyone else overheated and tried to get some too. So, that was her first stop. Seated comfortably under an awning, cookie dough scoop in hand, she took a deep breath, letting herself really take in her surroundings. The moment was cut short by someone attempting to grab her attention. She glanced between the man who seem somewhat familiar, and the little girl covered in ice cream. She laughed, and nodded. “How can I say no to helping gather future blackmail material?” She teased, holding out her hand to take his phone. 

santos almost hesitated handing her his phone at her words– trust wasn’t his strong suit, and he found it almost comical that a joke of that matter would be made as he was on an outing with his daughter. her laugh soothed some of his worries– she was joking ? right ? nonetheless, he handed her his phone and crouched down next to sutton and her pink ice cream cheeks. “ we might have to talk out some conditions for said blackmail, friend. ” he said in between smiling for the picture. “ why do i get the vibe that you come here often ? ” he asked finally standing back up, his knees cracking– please no dad bod next please. 

Joey could have spent most of his money in ice cream, that much he knew - however, when it came to picking a flavor, it always took him forever to choose just one. There were just too many options to pick from and he apparently couldn’t make up his mind, as he looked over at the long list of flavors. His train of thought was interrupted when he heard someone asking to take a picture, only to be taken by surprise that it was Santos and his daughter - of course everyone knew about this, but it still took Joey by surprise to see that it was actually real. “Of course! You guys look adorable!” He said with a smile, as he got his phone out of his pocket and decided to point the camera towards Santos and Sutton, as he tried to get the kid’s attention. “Look at Uncle Joey, c’mon.” He said with a smile - he had to admit that he got along with kids pretty well - not taking care of them exactly, but mostly because he still thought like one, so it was easy for Joey to get along with them. “I love the rainbow sprinkles, they’re totally made out of real rainbows… That’s like, awesome.” He said with a chuckle, as he looked over at Santos. “I’ll send you the pictures. You could have told me earlier that you were bringing her, I’d come and find you sooner.” He said with a smile.

santos’ relationship with joey was weird, but it was the light-hearted weird, joey was great at inappropriately lightning a mood. in one hand joey made santos felt like he also had to be a dad around him– i mean he got his arm out of a vending machine the other day– but that only meant to santos that they had a comfortable connection with one another. he’d never say it to his face, but it was something he was proud of. “ look button– say cheese ” he poked his daughters cheek, ensuring there would be a picture of her smiling somewhere in the bunch. sutton continues digging her hand in her bowl of pinkness as she giggles at joey’s words– “ yeah so i’d have to watch you both ?  because you know somehow, it always happens ” santos laughed as he got the wipes out of his backpack– commence mission depinkify sutton.

            hanbin  was  enjoying  himself  a  little  too  much  ,  taking  his  chances  at  the  games  and  taking  himself  for  a  spin  on  one  of  the  rides  .  he  hasn’t  been  to  an  amusement  park  in  years  ,  so  his  inner  child  seems  to  have  come  out  for  the  better  part  of  the  last  hour  .  the  only  downside  was  the  heat  beating  down  on  him  ,  but  hanbin  knew  exactly  how  to  combat  that  .  if  it  were  up  to  hanbin  ,  he  would  have  gotten  ice  cream  from  morgenstern’s  (  or  made  his  own  )  ,  but  he’ll  work  with  what’s  available  .  with  a  hefty  scoop  of  butter  pecan  ,  hanbin  figures  he’ll  cool  off  for  a  minute  before  he  tries  to  find  his  next  adventure  .  before  he’s  able  to  dig  in  ,  though  ,  he’s  asked  to  take  a  picture  .  ‘  oh  ,  hey  man  .  ’  hanbin  gives  a  thoughtful  nod  and  sets  his  cup  of  ice  cream  onto  the  table  .  he  beams  gently  at  the  tiny  being  covered  in  pink  ice  cream  ,  careful  to  not  freak  her  out  .  ‘  yeah  !  pick  a  spot  and  let’s  snap  away  .  ’

he felt his palms go slightly sweaty as he realized it was someone from masters. he knew the world was small– but this fucking small ? he shook the thought, not wanting it to damper the mood. he had to come to the term that sutton needed to be immersed and surrounded by people– maybe not people he worked with– but still. “ hanbin ! ” he didn’t hide the surprise in his voice as he put a fist out towards him for a pound. he looked down at sutton– messes were cute when she executed them like this. “ right here is fine man– thanks again ! ” he crouched down next to the stroller, beaming at his little. sutton giggled at the closeness of him, her hand reaching to embrace his face– getting some pink on his cheek. “ yeah i don’t know if i’ll ever get used to that– ” he laughed at his newfound stickiness.

santos felt slightly out of his element as he held sutton in one arm, and finagled with her stroller in the other. it must’ve been a universal thing amongst all stroller companies to make these things as complicated as possible. sutton whined slightly in his arms– her eyes not knowing what festivity to focus on first. his sweet girl. after what felt like 3 embarrassing hours ( 15 long minutes too long in actuality ) sutton was strapped in and already pointing at things and waving at people. he felt like a cool dad– cool ass, complicated stroller, sleek black bookbag, but surprise it was a diaper bag filled to the brim with just about everything every single baby at the amusement park could need, his included. their first stop, the only correct stop if you asked santos, was the ice cream parlor. he place them under the shade of a “boo” umbrella as sutton said and they began their chowdown. five minutes in and his sweet girl was wearing her strawberry ice cream with rainbow sprinkles. “ do you mind– can you take a picture of us ? ” he asked the person closest to him.

for all of two seconds, she’d considered sending him a text first. or perhaps only a text. of course, instead, she got distracted and changed his contact name from ‘DO NOT TEXT’ to ‘DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO’ – the classic battle between sober enough alice and… whatever reverse pokémon evolution she was going through. now, there was some point to her being there, right ? not where she was, physically, in that moment. but if the cosmos had allowed sal to intervene when he did, to interrupt her, then there had to be a reason. it knew she’d never want to traumatize her best friend ! ( and, yes, it was likely just the little lozenge putting all its faith in the universe, but wasn’t that better than continuing to find life pointless ? maybe it was, who was she to say ? but, in that moment, there was a reason. ) furthermore, there was something that had possessed her to go to him, wasn’t there ? to go to public enemy number one – twice ? but, this time, it was not because she needed a ride ( walking around manhattan late at night may be dangerous, but she figured she was already doing one of the dangerous things they talked about when lecturing on safety ! to hell with ‘just say no’ ! ). she was on a mission this time around, having been cognizant enough to type out just what she was going there for in case she forgot ! ( but not cognizant enough… to text him ? ) with seemingly no regard for his privacy, she rapped three times on the door ( she’d gotten turned around a fair amount on the way there, had knocked on a few wrong doors – she wasn’t a gps – but the point remained ). when the door opened and a brief mental facial scan concluded that it was, indeed, phoenix, she didn’t need that note to remember what she was going to say. just seeing him was enough to make her recall with ease. “ so, do you… get it now ? ”

life went on as it did when someone was exposed at masters– yeah being interrogated by the police was a nice sprinkle of drama for what would’ve been a normal ass tuesday. the only thing he relatively felt, mushy , about was the fact that he decided to defend her in the work chat. obviously he knew nothing, and wasn’t interested in anything unless it was directly coming out of her mouth. what phoenix could understand was that it was something that did not need to be rehashed in a work group chat– he’ll die on that hill, as well as the hill that klondike bars are actually trash– and anyone who knew phoenix knew how he felt about motherfuckin’ klondike bars. he dug a spoon into pint of ben & jerry’s half baked, when he heard a knock at his door. his mind quickly traced back to anything he’d done in the last few days that would warrant a visit quarter to midnight– but his conscious was clear. “ jeannie– don’t you think it’s a little late for a cup of sugar ? ” he spoke as he opened the door, assuming it was his milf-ish neighbor– moms weren’t his thing, sorry nan. his eyebrows pulled down at the sight of alice, not that he wasn’t happy to see her– more so surprised, and then worry washed over him. “ tell me you didn’t walk here. ” did he get what ? “ get it ? i’m gonna need a little more than that– i’m practically geriatric after 11 so–”

After everything that happened with Soleil, Joey made sure to spend most of his time in the hospital with her - well, as long as he could either way. Besides going to work and going home to feed Pickle, he made sure to spend some of the time at the hospital. He felt bad about what had happened to her, mostly because he had gotten lost on his way to Soleil’s and if he had gotten there sooner, then he might have been able to stop whatever had happened. Looking down at his phone as he sat down on a chair next to Soleil’s bed, his attention was caught when the other started talking. “Uh, we can always talk about something that will try to cheer you up… I don’t want you to be sad, hospitals are sad enough.” He said with a sigh, as he thought about what the two could talk about. “There’s a new vending machine in the break room… I almost got my arm stuck in it but Santos stopped me before I could do anything. It was funny.” He said with a small chuckle.

she was appreciative of the time he was spending with her– especially with work. she thought about making him swear on everything he loved, and those yellow chairs of her that he wouldn’t tell people at work. her excuse was that she had gotten into a ‘accident’ and she needed some time to work from home, well, the hospital, before coming back full time. the event played in her head on repeat– soleil trying to figure out what she could’ve done different– who she should’ve kicked in the balls first. “ you are a literal ray of sunshine– ” she spoke almost sheepishly, as she picked at a loose thread in her gown. “ thank you, seriously... for being here and uh– dealing with all of this in a sense. ” she pointed to all the monitors beeping randomly around her. she winces slightly as she laughs, “  if you really loved me– you’d flirt with the nurse who has been here everyday since you’ve been coming and see if he can get you a copy of that footage, because i need to see it. ”

@masterspost​

all of her days were beginning to clump together– she tried to stay off of her phone as much as possible, unless it was to answer something work related. she felt, almost embarrassed ?, for herself which was a rare feeling. soleil was always in control– of herself at least– but that was the most important in her opinion. but this past week, soleil had cried more than she ever did in her life combined. she needed to do something about it all– but she didn’t even know where to begin. she clicked aimlessly through the channels of the hospital tv– small groans escape her lips, “ daytime television is a fucking crime– like what is this ? ”

" why are you asking me this question– and why is the answer joey ? "

" i don't have one, sorry to keep it short."

" i try to talk to her like she's a person, rather than talking to her like she's a child– we are very big on words of affirmation "

" huh? i have plenty of real bonds, wha- "

it  hurts  to  keep  doing  this.  to  keep  watching  you  pick  everyone  but  me,  and  to  keep  wondering  why.  griffin  stepped  away  from  soleil  then,  face  resembling  exactly  what  his  heart  felt  in  that  moment.  “  so  what,  ”  he  scoffed  dryly  in  mild  disbelief,  hurt,  “  it’s  not  enough  for  you  to  just  be  my  friend  ?  you’d  just  rather  not  have  me  in  your  life  at  all  than  just  as  a  friend  ?  ”  griffin  shook  his  head,  walking  away  from  her  to  seek  solace  against  the  railing  of  the  terrace,  where  he  rested  his  palms  on  the  stone  and  looked  out  at  the  cityscape  in  front  of  them.  he  couldn’t  look  at  her  right  now,  and  it  wasn’t  that  he  was  angry;  he  was  never  that  at  soleil.  griffin  was  just  confused,  and  lost,  and  worst  of  all,  hurt.  “  so  is  that  it,  sol  ?  ”  he  asked  after  a  long,  tense  silence.  he  was  trying  to  come  off  as  casual  and  finite,  but  the  strain  and  sadness  in  his  voice  snuck  through.  “  just  like  that,  we’re  done  being  friends  ?  ”

she knew to an extent that he would be upset with her– knowing didn’t stop the all over ache she felt when the dust was finally settling by their feet. she wanted nothing more than to mull it over, avoid him for a few days and be right back at it– but everytime she did that she lost a piece of herself somewhere along the way. “ griffin i’m just supposed to be hurt all the time ? i pray– god, griffin i pray every night to wake up not loving you like this, and every morning i wake up with you on my mind. ” the love she feels for him, like a giant bull in her little china shop– taunting and teasing her. her hands shook as she kneaded them together nervously, her mind playing speed racer with all her thoughts. again maybe she could say she was kidding and they could go back to normal– but what a fucked up joke that would be. she met his eyes, she wished she was closer so she could count the gold specs one last time. was this is really it soleil ? her own voice replaying the question in her head. her hand reaches into the discreet pocket of her dress, fiddling with the second half of a homemade friendship necklace they had made years ago. she blots her under eyes with the soft touch of her fingertips– “ i think so. ” she finally says as she walks over to him to take his hand in hers and place her necklace in his palm.

            sunnie’s  days  have  been  shit  if  she’s  being  honest  .  the  last  few  months  have  been  riddled  with  meetings  she  managed  to  escape  before  she  was  demoted  ,  and  there  was  never  a  day  that  went  by  where  she  had  a  million  resumés  and  a  thousand  documents  waiting  on  her  desk  .  working  in  human  resources  was  a  fucking  nightmare  ,  and  it  sometimes  makes  sunnie  wonder  if  she  chose  the  right  career  path  in  life  .  five  years  in  college  for  this  shit  ?  well  ,  she  can  only  guess  that  she  brought  the  mocking  and  hushed  jokes  about  her  onto  herself  ,  huh  ?  ‘  no  ,  not  all  .  ’  sunnie  shakes  her  head  and  moves  out  of  the  way  as  soleil  enters  the  elevator  ,  doors  sealing  closed  behind  them  .  sunnie  doesn’t  cover  her  ears  when  soleil  screams  ,  and  instead  she  finds  that  a  broad  grin  begins  to  take  over  her  features  .  ‘  whoa  ,  amazing  .  ’  she  says  then  ,  giving  soleil  two  thumbs  up  once  she’s  finished  .  sunnie  can’t  help  but  soften  a  bit  when  she  sees  how  red  soleil’s  eyes  are  .  ‘  hooky  ?  ’  well  ,  she  was  headed  to  lunch  and  she  was  in  desperate  need  of  a  break  from  masters  international  .  ‘  i  was  going  off  to  lunch  .  want  to  join  ?  we  could  go  anywhere  you  want  .  ’

soleil mentally cursed at herself as she continued to blot her under eye area. it had been a rough few days for her and honestly she needed to let it all out– what she also needed was a churro, and maybe 4 shots of tequila– and a cat. soleil nodded to the other– “ sunnie– i have an overwhelming urge, no urge isn’t the word. need, i need to get a cat today. and maybe a churro somewhere, but a cat definitely. ” soleil, although being allergic to a degree had spent hours the night before looking at local rescues online.

@𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲: