#thickskll

🧩 what tiny habit of the other do they find unbearably adorable?

okay, sage loves making him flustered. she genuinely thinks it's one of the cutest things about him. the way he gets all red and wide-eyed when she says something outrageous, or how he'll occasionally stumble over his own words when she catches him off guard. i think part of the reason she enjoys it so much is because she still can't quite believe it works. she'll look at this handsome, quiet, grounded man and think to herself, there's no way this guy actually gets nervous. and then he does every single time. so naturally she keeps pushing and pushing…usually with the dumbest questions imaginable.

"are you cheating on me with a flight attendant? i heard pilots always hook up with flight attendants.""how come you're so patient with me?" "be honest...how long were you just looking at me before i noticed?"

or she'll be standing in front of her mirror getting ready, turning around to look at herself in a dress before casually asking,"when you see me in this dress do you think, 'hmm, i want to make love to her all night', or more of a 'bend her over and slut her out kinda thing going on?' "

and then she'll just stand there waiting for his answer like she didn't just throw a grenade into the conversation. other times it's something completely different. "what do you think my most toxic trait is?" "do you wanna do ecstasy together and see how many rounds you can last?"

the funny part honestly is that half the time she doesn't even care what the answer actually is. she just likes watching him try to answer. she likes watching that brief moment where he loses his footing and has to figure out whether she's being serious, joking, flirting, or all three at once. and if she manages to get him a little flustered? she's thrilled. because honestly, sage thinks it's kind of sexy when he's accidentally honest. when something slips out before he has time to really think about it. when she catches a glimpse of whatever he's trying so hard to keep tucked away. the irony is that after she's spent ten minutes making him blush, she's usually the first one feeling bad about it. suddenly she's kissing all over him, climbing into his lap, hugging onto him, and telling him she's sorry while looking very pleased with herself. she's probably smoothing her hands through his hair, calling him cute, telling him he's perfect, and acting completely smitten because, in her opinion, flustering sebastian is one of the most adorable things in the world.

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💔 what’s the one fight that almost ended them?

omggg, i think sebastian is so quiet and reserved and sage is kind of chaotic and has trust issues. i think him disappearing for a little while makes sage immediately think there's somebody else. so when he finally comes back around, she's already closed herself off. it probably starts with an easy-going text from sebastian and sage just leaves him on read. a little time passes and maybe he tries calling her instead, only to be met with an attitude the second she picks up.

"have you eaten yet today?""no.""why don't we go get dinner somewhere? aren't you hungry by now?""not really.""really, you don't want anything at all? not even something sweet." which, is quite literally her weakness. "don't you have anyone better to ask?"

and i think that throws him off immediately. it probably hurts his feelings a little too because he already gives off the vibe of somebody who's terrified of being a burden.

"sage, what do you mean by that?""i said... don't you have anyone better to ask?""like who?""like your other girlfriend...your real girlfriend""what? what are you talking about? i don't..."

and before he can even finish, sage is already crying. her voice cracking, everything she'd been bottling up spilling out at once.

"you're such a liar. that's why you always leave. you have someone else... just leave me alone."

and then she hangs up.

one of sage's worst traits is that she'll decide how something ends before there's enough information to actually know what's happening. she convinces herself she's the other woman. convinces herself she's being stupid. convinces herself she isn't important enough to be chosen. and that's really where all of it comes from. deep down, sage just wants to be somebody's favorite person, so it hits a nerve every single time. the worst part is that there isn't even any real proof. it's just old trust issues mixed with the distance between them. sebastian keeps people at arm's length naturally, and sage fills in the blanks herself. her mind starts wandering. maybe he has somebody else. maybe he already gives that emotional intimacy to another woman. maybe somebody else gets the version of him she's been waiting for. somebody more important than her. so now sage thinks she's the other woman. sebastian thinks he's bothering sage, and the whole thing becomes a complete mess. and even though she was being snarky and defensive on the phone, i think sebastian still hears how sad she sounded underneath it. really hears it.

so they both go quiet. no social media games. no passive-aggressive stories. no lurking. neither of them really seem like those people anyway. just silence. and honestly, it's probably killing sage. she's thinking about him constantly. stuffing whatever hoodie he left at her place to the bottom of her laundry basket because even catching a hint of his cologne sends her spiraling. she's probably out drinking with friends when they finally ask her for an update.

"i think we're done." and everyone's immediately confused. "wait, what happened?""i think he has a girlfriend."

everyone sits there listening to her rant, letting her connect all these invisible dots until she's finally finished.

"didn't you say he was a pilot or something?""yeah...""alright, sage. where exactly do you expect him to be? it's not like he can text you while he's working.""are you sure? it seemed like you both were pretty into each other.""i mean..." and suddenly she sounds a lot less certain. "i think he has a girlfriend?"

and everybody knows exactly what that means. sage got into her own head and started spiraling. they're all staring at her because they know her. they know she's fully capable of sabotaging a good thing before it has the chance to become something real.

"do you always get like this when he's working?""uh... kinda, i guess."

she paused, "either way, not like he reached out. i guess we're over." and they're all looking at her like she's lost her mind. "sage, he's probably terrified of you."

and the second they point out how harsh she's been, how quickly she jumped to conclusions and shut him out, the guilt settles into her stomach like a stone. suddenly she feels sick. so in the middle of the night she calls him. her voice is soft. small. worn out from crying.

"were you sleeping?""not really.""can i see you? please?"

and next thing she knows, sebastian is picking her up so she can sleep in his bed. the entire car ride is quiet. neither one of them really knows what to say. sage sits in the passenger seat stealing little glances at him every few minutes while he keeps his eyes on the road. when they finally get back to his place, he's leaning against the counter watching her because he can tell she's trying to work up the courage to say something. eventually she breaks.

"you really promise you don't have anyone else?"

and sebastian just looks at her. looks around the apartment. then tosses his hands in the air like the answer couldn't possibly be more obvious. he picked her up at two in the morning on a friday night so she could sleep in his bed. clearly there wasn't anyone else.

"i'm sorry i was so mean to you."

and suddenly she's sinking into one of his chairs, burying her face in her hands because she's trying not to cry again. probably just overwhelmed more than anything. all those emotions she's been carrying around finally catching up to her. and i think that's the moment sebastian realizes how sensitive she actually is. how closely she's been paying attention. how she's studying every little mannerism and trying to understand him piece by piece. so she starts rambling. telling him how insecure she gets when he disappears. how she's not used to having feelings for somebody with so much distance between them. how she didn't mean it when she told him to leave her alone. how exhausted she is. how she can't sleep.

yasira was tucked away in her own little world. one of those quiet nights she desperately needed, where she curled up along the couch with some addictive reality show humming in the background until her eyelids started feeling impossibly heavy. she’d rolled a joint specifically for this. dim lights, smoke curling lazily through the apartment while she let herself disappear into silence for a few hours. eventually sleep took her easily, chest rising and falling slow against the cushions, neck crooked awkwardly along the back of the sofa while the television painted blue light across her face like moonlight trapped indoors.hours slipped by unnoticed before the violent sound dragged her out of a deep sleep.

knock. knock. knock.

yasira startled awake, still half tangled in dreams while she pushed herself lazily upright. for a second she couldn’t even register what was happening, eyes glassy and unfocused until the knocking came again. louder this time. more impatient.

what the hell?

she grabbed her phone first, squinting at the brightness long enough to realize it was nearly two in the morning. her entire body still felt heavy with sleep, limbs weighed down like wet velvet. she barely even noticed the missed calls and texts lighting up her screen from rafael before another sharp round of knocking echoed through the apartment. yasira groaned under her breath, dragging herself toward the door and peeking through the peephole. and there he was. that dark hair she loved threading her fingers through. those stupid brown eyes she could lose hours inside if she wasn’t careful. rafael. she sighed instantly, somewhere between exhausted and already defeated. what on earth possessed him to show up here this late? and then came the knocking again. relentless. repetitive. enough to scrape against her last nerve while she yanked the door open wide, rafael nearly stumbling forward in the process.

“alright, alright. damn, do you always knock this much? it’s two in the morning.”

her voice came out rough with sleep while she rubbed at her eyes, trying to force them into focus. and the second they did, something softened anyway. nothing new there. god, rafael had a talent for driving her absolutely insane while somehow remaining the person she folded for most. beneath the irritation, the exhaustion, all that cloudy resentment left over from the breakup, there was still something painfully fond buried underneath it all. like despite every terrible thing between them, he was secretly still her favorite person.yasira leaned against the doorway quietly, taking him in piece by piece. and then he opened his mouth. it hit her immediately.

“jesus, rafael. are you drunk?”

no.

“well, you smell like a bottle of tequila,” she grimaced. “you look drunk too. how the hell did you even get here?”

her eyes flicked past him instinctively, checking the street like she was making sure he hadn’t driven himself here in this condition.

i just wanted to see you.

he said it so casually too. like they weren’t broken up. like he hadn’t shattered her nerves and patience and trust all in one breath months ago. like he hadn’t picked meaningless bodies and temporary attention over the girl standing right in front of him now in tiny little pajamas and sleep-heavy eyes. and still, even drunk, rafael noticed the way the soft fabric hugged every curve of her body perfectly. worse, he looked almost innocent saying it. like he genuinely didn’t understand the weight behind showing up at her door at two in the morning sounding like that. and yeah, yasira still carried bitterness from the breakup around inside her like a blade tucked beneath silk. part of her wanted to slam the door shut right there. crawl back onto the couch and pretend he wasn’t slowly picking apart her sanity one interaction at a time. but that other side of her? the part of her he cracked wide open by the ribcage and fed off of, teeth sunk deep into something soft and living inside her chest, like he survived off the ache of her. well, she couldn’t turn him away. couldn’t tell him no.

“come on,” she huffed reluctantly, stepping outside before moving behind him and physically guiding him through the doorway. “you need some water.” and she was giggling too. quietly enough that rafael probably couldn’t hear it, but she couldn’t help herself. there was something stupidly adorable about seeing him show up here drunk like this, looking at her like she was the only girl left in the world. his cologne lingered faintly beneath the sharp scent of alcohol soaked into the fabric of his shirt. “did you spill liquor on yourself or something?” yasira grimaced, wrinkling her nose slightly. “jesus.” the smell reminded her too much of the nightclub. those moments when a bartender dropped a bottle and alcohol exploded across the floor in glittering shards while everyone groaned and laughed around it. rafael smelled exactly like that right now. tequila and expensive cologne and bad decisions.

yasira flicked on lights one by one as she led him toward the kitchen, the apartment slowly waking around them in soft gold hues. she nudged him gently into one of the chairs but the second he sat down, rafael reached for her automatically like it was instinct. muscle memory.

come here.

his hands wrapped around her waist before sliding lower, locking around the backs of her thighs while he rested his head against the soft curve of her hip.

i missed you.

yasira immediately tried pushing him off with a laugh, but damn, he was strong. worse when he was buzzed like this. all stubborn weight and wandering hands.

“hey,” she snorted softly, “you don't feel like keeping your hands to yourself, huh?” her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “where were you tonight anyway?” the jealousy slipped into her voice too easily. smooth as silk pulled over a knife. rafael barely answered the question. he seemed far more occupied with dragging his hands slowly up and down her thighs while mumbling about how soft she felt beneath his palms. yasira rolled her eyes hard enough to deserve an award for it, those long lashes fluttering while she tried peeling his fingers away from her. which was difficult for multiple reasons. because secretly? the feeling of his hands gripping the backs of her thighs with that mix of yearning and possession made her want to melt straight into his lap. kiss him until her lips were numb and swollen and neither of them remembered why they broke up in the first place. but she couldn’t let herself fold that easily. not again.

rafael reached for her once more before stopping halfway when he caught the glare she was giving him. not that there was much bite behind it. yasira was mostly just trying to get him to tighten up a little before they both ended up doing something they’d regret tomorrow morning. he sat there with his long legs stretched out beneath the table, posture loose, eyes fixed on her like he had nowhere else in the world to be. it made heat crawl straight into her face. yasira ignored it the best she could, trailing around the kitchen gathering water and painkillers while quietly trying to help him sober up. she knew him too well. could tell exactly how gone he was already. and now he was her problem. all drunken smiles and sleepy eyes and emotional honesty.

“so,” she finally broke the silence, leaning back against the counter. “you have fun tonight?” her lips twitched upward again. “you smell like you did.” yasira laughed softly under her breath, still thinking about how the alcohol hit her senses the second she opened the door. then her expression shifted slightly. quieter now. more careful.

“did you dance with anyone?”

there it was. the question landed differently than everything else. obvious in the way she asked it slowly, like she was already bracing herself for whatever answer came next. and sure, maybe it was stupid. juvenile even. caring who your ex danced with after a night out. but yasira couldn’t help it. dancing had always been their thing. the very thing that made her fall for him in the first place. the late nights drinking together, moving against each other until last call blurred into sunrise. the way she’d drag him home afterward already tugging at his clothes before they even made it to the bedroom.

yeah, i did.

yasira stopped completely, eyes narrowing as she looked over at him. something twisted sharply in her chest.

“you did?”

her voice softened around the edges despite herself, something glossy flickering in her eyes before she could hide it.

her hair was curly... kind of like yours.

yasira nodded slowly, trying to act unaffected while her chest tightened anyway. she could already tell the alcohol had made him too honest for his own good tonight. but technically, she didn’t have a right to care. didn’t have a right to feel hurt by it anymore either.

“that was totally the wrong answer,” yasira laughed softly, because honestly, what else could she do? besides, he was drunk. there was no point spiraling over whatever came out of his mouth right now. rafael blinked at her in confusion for a second before realization finally settled across his face. she was jealous.

you don’t go dancing with me anymore.

his gaze stayed heavy on hers.

too busy with your new boyfriend with the fake chain.

yasira was giggling now, the sound full and effortless as it spilled straight from her chest. “really?” she laughed, shaking her head at him. “this again?” she buried her face in her hands for a second, already flustered in the prettiest way possible despite herself. even drunk, rafael still had a way of getting underneath her skin like it belonged to him. “just drink your water, okay?” her voice stayed playful through the laughter. yasira pushed herself back to her feet, but before she could even react properly, rafael grabbed her again and pulled her directly into his lap this time. she let out a surprised laugh, slouching there between his legs like she’d already lost the argument before it fully started. his hands moved slowly along her thighs, warm and possessive, while he leaned closer to breathe in the scent of her shampoo like it was something addictive. then his hands slipped beneath the hem of her shirt, palms brushing against the small of her back. soft skin. warmth. enough to make her feel like she might melt straight between his fingertips if she stayed there too long.

“alright,” yasira huffed, the word dripping in sarcasm as she abruptly sprang back to her feet in an attempt to escape him. but rafael followed immediately, stumbling slightly as he stood, still reaching for her like some drunk magnet pulled permanently in her direction. and then he was kissing on her again. messy, warm kisses pressed against her cheek, her jaw, the side of her neck while he mumbled half coherent confessions about missing her. about knowing she missed him too.

“seriously, you’re being insane right now,” yasira laughed breathlessly, though the kisses trailing against her neck made her squirm from how ticklish they felt. they stumbled together toward the couch in a crooked line of tangled limbs and sleepy affection.

“you are so drunk right now.”

yasira finally slipped from his grasp, grabbing onto his arms before he could pull her against him again. “i think you need sleep right now more than you need me.” he disagreed instantly, of course. stubborn even half unconscious. but yasira nudged him backward into the couch before he could protest much more, and he was far too drunk to keep his balance anyway. he collapsed into the cushions dramatically while she laughed and dropped down beside him a second later.

“take that shirt off,” she demanded suddenly, wrinkling her nose again at the lingering scent of alcohol.

rafael looked entirely too thrilled by the request, immediately tugging the shirt over his head while leaning toward her like he thought this was going somewhere very different. yasira burst out laughing and shoved at his shoulder.

“not like that. your shirt reeks like alcohol.”

he huffed quietly after that, slumping back into the couch with sleepy annoyance while yasira shifted between his legs and curled herself comfortably against him like it was the most natural thing in the world. partially because it was. it’s not like she was ever really going to push him away. she never did. couldn’t. yasira turned her attention back toward the television while rafael’s fingers slowly drifted through her curls, gentle and absentminded. the silence stretched warm between them before he broke it drunkenly, mumbling about how pretty she was. how much he liked laying here like this withher. yasira rolled her eyes toward the ceiling, letting him ramble anyway. get it all out of his system, his messy little drunken confession he probably wouldn’t even remember by morning.