.

[ yara shahidi, cis woman, she/her, brown] hey have you seen FINLEY AZIZ ? SHE let me borrow HER BRAIDED BRACELET. oh, you know them! they’re TWENTY-ONE and they’ve been at Roy G. for TWO YEARS. They are known to be a total CANCER. i’m surprised you haven’t heard them blaring BORED BY BEA MILLER all night. they remind me of PAINT SPLATTERED JEANS, IVY COVERED WALLS, BLASTED MUSIC. anyway, let me know if you see them !

“i’ll take it.” he says with a soft grin, leaning on the countertop. “do you have coffee? I should probably get my roommates something too, you got any reccomendations?” adrian appeared casual. as if he was there genuinely there for baked goods. which, in part he was. but maybe he just wanted to flirt with the cute baker behind the counter. 

finley packed up the cinnamon roll and set it on the counter in front of him. “you’re asking for a lot here, sir. i am out of coffee but i could be convinced to brew a new pot.” she leaned in closer to him, speaking softly. “i’ll tell you a little secret about the baker here. everything she makes is delicious.”

maybe one day they could talk about it with understanding,  maybe one day there wouldn’t be so much miscommunication.  but imogen truly did just believe that they were too busy for each other,  not realising  ( yet !! ) that she was in fact not as good at love as she once thought.  not that finley deserved to be her lesson,  imogen just needed the reality check that not everything was a business.

her family were posh and lavish and christmas was more a show than a holiday,  she spent most of the christmas season in expensive and uncomfortable clothing -in her highest heels impressing family and friends.  she didn’t exactly celebrate.   “ oh !? “ it almost came out like a question,  “ oh ! for sure totally, “ she couldn’t say it hurt because why should it ?  her logical brain couldn’t find an answer that wasn’t rooted in disappointment.   “ i hope they had fun, “ she decides on a nod.  honestly she wanted this conversation to end,  she had never realised it was going to feel like this.  “ god i know i was starting to think it was broken, “ she half-laughed,  imogen pulling out her phone to check the time.  how had it not been more than 3 minutes ?  that was the longest hour of her life.   the brunette stepped into the elevator pressing their respective floors,  turning to give the other woman a smile.   “ you got any plans tonight then ? “ she wasn’t sure why the question fell out or why she felt the need to keep the conversation going but she wasn’t sure she could stand in silence with her either.

she genuinely still loved the girl and hoped that one day, they could be more friendly, maybe even actual friends. it would be a while until they could get there but that didn’t stop her from wishing for it. 

as chaotic as they could be, finley was glad to be around her family for christmas. she really needed that this year, especially her brother. she knew imogen wouldn’t love the idea of their trip going to someone else but she couldn’t bring herself to go and gen wouldn’t take it back. “sorry, i just couldn’t... she loved it.” finley gave her a small smile. “like was it on it’s lunch break?” she hoped the joke would lighten the mood a little until they got out of the elevator. she followed the other into the elevator and leaned against the wall. “not really, i think i’m just going to relax for the night. bakery’s closed tomorrow too so i have a day off . are you up to anything?” 

a relieved sigh came from lola’s mouth as she was presented with both coffee and Advil, “you’re a life saver, you know that?” a smile met her lips as she gratefully accepted both and took a sip of the coffee. “You’re Finley right? I think we live on the same floor or something  — not that I was stalking you or something, you just have a face that’s hard to forget” 

“it’s no problem, it seemed like you could use it.” she chuckled. “um, thank you.” fin’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink. she was never good at taking compliments. “i definitely think i’ve seen you around as well but i don’t think i caught your name, sorry.”

𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 : the lobby 𝙖𝙫𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 : open starter

she was more than ecstatic to come back to her apartment after her shift at the hospital - even if it was completely empty. she adjusted the sleeves of her scrubs just as she walked into the lobby. the girl smiled at the other who walked in with her. she sucked in a deep breath, knowing any other day she would just go on with her day and not try any small talk. something about her new independence got something in her to be bold. ‘ hi. ’, she called out. ‘ do you live in the building ? oh wait of course you do. i mean. why else would you be h-. ugh yeah hi. i take back my question. yup, hi. ’ 

hunter had spent all day on a project, when she finally looked up from her computer she realized it was nearly dark. she needed a caffeine fix if she was going to work on this any longer. she ran to the store to grab some energy drinks and fully expected not to run into anyone on her way in or out. surprisingly there was a girl who she didn’t recognize coming in at the same time. “hey.” she smiled at the other. “i could be visiting, you never know.” she teased.

maybe that was their underlying issue,  imogen could truly love someone and show it ways that didn’t really scream  ‘i’m in love with you’   to most people.  she was a gift giver,  a spoiler,  someone who loved to shower the ones she loved in lavish gifts.  now the things she wasn’t great at was quality time,  and she thought she could make it up with all the trips and presents,  but she couldn’t.                        “ yeah thanks, “ she hums shifting the weight on her feet,  “ i’m glad works keeping you busy,  good to have business, “ she said sincerely.  because,  to imogen,  work was one of the most important things in the world.   “ oh good, “ the words are warmer and genuine because despite it all she had hoped finley was doing well.   “ yeah it was typical spektor christmas, “ she muses with a light laugh.   “ oh, “ she beams a smile as the doors ding open.   “ guess they decided to work. “

maybe they just had different love languages and never learned how to be that for each other. fin loved the little, thoughtful things. hey babe, i left work early so we could go see that movie you’ve been wanting to see, i picked up your favourite dinner on the way home. or even just subtle gestures like covering her in a blanket when you can tell she’s cold. sure, she had loved the gifts that imogen had given her but all she really wanted, all she really needed was her. 

“definitely, definitely.” she nodded. “typical spektor christmas.” finley chuckled along with her, knowing how her family could be. “i gave them to a friend, um, if you were wondering.” while she appreciated that imogen still wanted her to go, it didn’t feel right. it was supposed to be their vacation and without both of them, it would have just felt like something was missing. fin breathed a nearly unrecognizable sigh of relief as the elevator doors opened. “insane how long that took, right?” in reality it was likely only a couple of minutes but it felt like an hour. “after you.”

the truth was,  no matter how cold or distant she ever came across imogen took love seriously.  she had always dreamed of a family and being madly in love a woman she could make her wife and imogen always got what she wanted,  imogen always succeeded.  except for when she didn’t, and that was a hard pill to swallow for the brunette.                                                                    and standing right in front of her was another failed idea.  she had wanted finley to be the one just as she had hoped every girl she’d fallen for.  she tucks a stray curl behind her ear and twirls the barrel in her fingers before letting out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding on to.   “ yeah crazy busy, “ she chuckled widening her eyes,  “ the amount of events we’re hosting is insane, “ nodded imogen before casting her gaze back on the elevators.  how long was this going to take ??  it was painful,  it was awkward and she couldn’t tell if they were suppose to be trying to get on good terms with each other or just give it all up entirely.   “ oh good, “ she hums,  “ how was…”  she swallows the lump in her throat mid sentence,  “ how was your christmas ?”

to fin, one of the most important things in a relationship was time and affection. it was something her parents never had with each other and she vowed never to let that be her. somehow she lost that a little bit while opening her shop, she didn’t make enough time for imogen. they were too similar that way, both throwing themselves into work. 

“that’s amazing, glad business is doing well.” did she miss the girl? absolutely. sometimes she would give anything to go back to when they were happy, before she opened the shop when she could go hangout at the club for the day or make herself available when imogen had time. but none of that changed the state they were in now. she wanted them to be on good terms, at least enough to it wasn’t this tense when they ran into each other but she didn’t know how to get there. “it was good. all the sibs came home so it was a bit chaotic but fun nonetheless. how was yours?”

the air was thick as she stood there with tense shoulders,  she didn’t like facing things that didn’t work out.  she’d rather sweep her failures under the rug,  the issue was when it came to people and relationships you couldn’t exactly just sweep them under the rug.  she swallows thickly but maintains a poised appearance and her straight posture.                                                                  “i’m good, i’m good, i’m good,” she says nodding turning to take another glimpse at the elevator doors.  why were they taking this long today ?? this was agonising.   “busy with work …you know how that goes,”  in imogens mind it was their commitments that had pushed them apart,  but she was meant to be an expert time manager and here she was looking directly at what she couldn’t balance and achieve.   “what about you ?” she asked quickly.

there was an awkward tension between them, something she had hoped never to experience. she was still tempted to take the stairs but at this point, figured it would be rude despite the fact it would put an end to this interaction which is something they both wanted.

“yeah, of course. we’re all always busy with work. christmas and new years were especially busy.” she nodded. the timing was perfect because she was able to just throw herself into work for a while. “i’m pretty good.” finley did her best to sound and appear happy and confident as she spoke. she couldn’t tell how well that worked. 

her favorite things at finn’s bake shop were the bagels. all of them were good, even the cinnamon raisin that she rarely ever ordered elsewhere. clara made it a point of stopping in at least once a week to grab a bag. however, this morning she was late getting out the door. class and work had finally wrapped up and she made it just in time. “hi,” clara said with an apologetic smile. “I’m so sorry, I know you’re about to close for the day, but can I just get a random half dozen of bagels?”

clara had become something of a regular at the bakery, coming in often for bagels.  she usually came in in the morning so finley was a bit surprised to see here here this late in the day. “oh hey, it’s no problem at all. let me see what i have left.” she took a look at her inventory and found a enough bagels for the other. “i have a couple multigrain, poppy seed and everything.” do those work?”

closed starter / finley ( @strcwberrywine​ ) 

      unplanned freetime? well, adrian couldn’t have that. he had to remain busy at all times. naturally, he found something to do with his time rather quickly. besides, fin’s bakery wasn’t far away.  “do you have anything with blueberries?” he says to her, as if he was just some random customer. 

today had been a pretty busy day at the shop. there was finally a lull in customers so she took this opportunity to clean up around the shop. when kinsey heard the bell on the front door ring, she put a smile on her face and turned to face the person. when she saw who it was, her customer service smile turned into a genuine one. “you might be in luck. i have one blueberry cinnamon roll left.”

“please! i cannot bake to save my life. too many rules to follow.” she could add a dash too much salt or a little less oregano and a recipe would turn out just fine. a cake? never seemed to work out for her. “that’s great! just so you know, i have put your card in every bag at the truck. it’s good to hear business is booming.” she grins. 

“don’t worry, i got you, girl. baking is definitely more of a science.” she chuckled. she had messed up her fair share of recipes before getting the hang of it. even still, accidentally add a little too much baking powder and she’d have to scrap the whole thing and start over. “you’re an angel. i appreciate that so much. get me a stack of yours, i’ll put them on our front counter.”

[ chloe bennet, cis woman, she/her, cyan] hey have you seen HUNTER REIGN ? SHE let me borrow HER LEATHER JACKET. oh, you know them! they’re TWENTY-SEVEN and they’ve been at Roy G. for TWO YEARS. They are known to be a total LEO. i’m surprised you haven’t heard them blaring OKAY OKAY BY ALESSIA CARA all night. they remind me of DARK COFFEE STAINS ON A WOODEN DESK, WANDERLUST TATTOO, BLASTING MUSIC LATE AT NIGHT anyway, let me know if you see them ! 

tw; eating disorder

so truthfully imogen hadn’t let herself experience the emotions of the breakup with finley,  she just put herself deeper into work and commitments.  there was no better cure for a breakup that a busy schedule,  she didn’t have time for feelings because it was easier that way.   and other than awkwardly avoiding each other in the lobby or quiet passings in the hallway.                                but this time there was no easy escape as the brunette strolled upon the tiled floors towards the elevator her eyes strictly attached to her phone as she came to a halt to wait for the elevator.  her eyes flashing from the phone briefly to notice who was waiting beside her,  her breath leaving her body as she chewed on her lip.    “…..hey,” it was a quiet and awkward tone as she shifted her weight to her other foot.

@strcwberrywine​

finley could be a very emotional person but when it came to the big things like family and love, that was the stuff she couldn’t handle. she was afraid that if she let herself break, she wouldn’t be able to put the pieces back together so she pushed it down, distracting herself with work or sex. as long as she wasn’t alone for too long, her system seemed to be working.

she had managed to avoid the other for the most part aside from occasionally passing each other in the hall, but even that was rare. that was until this very moment when she found none other than imogen standing next to her, waiting for the elevator. as she contemplated taking the stairs, her favourite voice broke the silence. “hey... how are you?”

“I didn’t mean to come in last minute..” Ryan spoke, a sense of regret in her voice as she refused to take another step towards the counter. “I called in a to go order this morning, but I got super tied up at work and wasn’t able to make it in before now..” she sighed. “I can come back tomorrow though, it’s it’s going to be too much trouble.”

“oh no, it’s no problem at all. i have it all packed up here already. come on in.” she gestured for the other to step closer. finley turned to check the display where they kept the pickup orders. sitting on the shelf was a single white box with their logo on the top and a teal ribbon tied around it. “under ryan?”

“i insist.” she said with a little nudge. “oh yeah, big day. we’ve been open for about two weeks now and we’re growing every second.” she says we like their were more people helping her. in reality, it was just vi and her busy mind.  

“fine, but i’m bringing you dessert when i come.” she gave in with a small chuckle. “that’s great! stressful for sure, my bakery just opened a few months ago, but amazing.”

“whew, thank you!” she chirped, finally. “if you stop by tomorrow, i’ll give you a free meal. on the house.”    

“that’s sweet but you really don’t need to. it’s not a problem at all.” finley shrugged before taking a stack of the containers from her. “did you have a busy night?”