bakerstreet | Painfully pining

The Painful Secret Pining Meme

You've been with them for a long time - years, perhaps, maybe even their whole life. More than that, you served as a true friend and supporter. No one could be as dedicated as you are, and you're content to stay in the shadows and let them shine if it just means you can stay by their side a little longer.

But you're not a perfect saint or a martyr of friendship. There are somewhat selfish undertones to your loyalty. You love them.

You feel like you’ve loved them forever, yet while it’s a great affection - no, “great” is probably not enough - in your heart, these feelings are your secret, kept away from everyone…possibly from the object of your desire themself! After all, you couldn’t burden them with anything like that. So, you’ll allow your own emotions to come in second place.

Of course, you haven’t allowed yourself to figure out how this could come back to haunt you in the end, could you? What about when your love moves on to someone who’s “more than a friend?” They won’t need you as much any more. Can you take into account the moment when you snap and can’t hold back the truth any more? And even if you’re really “together,” others won’t know if you keep your relationship under lock and key, and you’ll have to endure others approaching your lover.

Then again, the shoe could be on the other foot. You could be the side being pined after. Will you ever realize your friend’s feelings; if you do, can you return them? After you are certain that you do, will it be too late? Can one burst of passion lead you both to something that changes your relationship forever?

Basically, it’s a meme about (one-sided) love one friend has for another over a long time. Devotion, angst, all that.
Thread out withheld desires, stoic facades, attempts at leaving this all behind, anger, awkwardness, breaking down, confessions, and all that.
Comment with your character and preferences. You might want to include your smut/no smut status.
Mention if you’d like your character to be the pining or the pined for.

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(almost certainly the pining party here, unless you're an unfortunate soul who is sweet on him but falls outside the intensity of his singular focus--in which case, he's great at neglecting things he doesn't want to talk about, so RIP. expect any pining content on his part to be 95% unmitigated introspective repression with a 5% chance of humiliating spaghetti. this calls for agony over fluff.)

[Can go either way, being the pining party or the one on the receiving end. Before or after the time skip is good, though in the latter case obviously it'd be post-chapter 18!]

[ hm, no smut but kissing is allowed if your character wants it. Axel has been pining since his creation as a nobody. Its Au because I haven't played the kh3 sorries. ]

[ ah, this book was annoyingly long and he did have the attention span for at the moment. He tossed the book on the bed, and stood, twenty minutes later he had on his coat and shoes. Taking a walk down the street, he put his hands in hi ssf pockets, feeling around for his wallet. He wanted coffee and a pineapple smoothie, there was a McDonald's down the block. Within a few minutes he was there and sitting down with hashbrowns and his drinks. He gave up smoking two months ago but his coffee seemed pleasurable still. He took a brochure out of his pocket and leaned over the table. It was religious in nature. About Christ, he couldn't observe, he had to travel. ]

ah, seems strange I'll be in California in a few short weeks. Huh... never actually visited, but I'll roll out to the sea and chill in the waves. What a dream. [ he looked out the window as it started to snow. Wasn't it spring? ]

wow, come on big kahuna, let the sun shine for awhile. Alright, father? [ he didnt have to look up, big kahuna knew he was talking to him. ]

Edited 2020-04-03 14:04 (UTC)

[ At New Years, as part of his committment to being a 'nicer' person, Ienzo had resolved to be a little less judgemental.

Still, when it came to passing the storefronts of international burger chains, watching people from the corner of his eye as they zealously tore into their greasy McMuffins and 99 Cent coffees (which probably tasted like scalding mud) he couldn't help but click his tongue to the back of his teeth and roll his eyes. Who could stand eating that garbage?

He carried his own double-walled thermos, filled with his favorite steeped tea, a satchel bag on his shoulder, heavy with library books he was en route to return. Aeleus had offered to carry them, and on some days he might have felt weary enough to go along with that, but it was a brisk morning, nice for trudging along. Some of the crocuses and daffodils had popped up along the walkways, despite the snowflurries. He didn't mind going it alone.

But nothing filled him with such instant regret about that decision than catching glimpse of a familiar face behind the glass, a lanky fire-haired fellow he'd never gotten along with particularly well-

They were colleagues of a sort, he supposed. Something about Axel just rubbed him the wrong way, made his blood race- not really rivalry, or outright hostility, but things had always felt a bit grudging between them, even when they shared similar work. It was irritating that he couldn't confront it head-on.

Well, there he was munching on a breakfast of wax paper wrapped hashbrowns, looking lost in a daydream over low-brow fast food instead of doing anything particularly productive, by the looks of it, and that filled Ienzo's sensibilities with a haughty sort of smug self-justification. ]

[ call him a nationalist or whatever, but he liked McDonald's, he would have stopped at a ma and pop cafe but there wasn't one near by and he needed coffee now. Ah, it still tasted better than the crap his mom left at the house.

Why was he saying eww to his coffee? Hm, he looked aronud and his eyes caught sight of a silverish blue haired someone that he worked with at the organization. He frowned a little, heart speeding up and put a hashbrown in his mouth, chewing and pretending he wasn't bothered. Why did this guy hate him again? Oh yeah, he stole his stapler, by accident.

Inezo looked smug, reminding him of someone. With a half brown in his mouth, pressed up against his cheek, he waved.] Hey inz. How's it going? Long time no see. Sorry talking with my mouth full but gotta have these delicious browns. [he chewed and swallowed, strangely getting no food spittle on the table.]

[He was nervous suddenly, he knew Izn hated McDonald's, so he had no idea that that he'd showed up around here. Great, he wasn't prepared to be smooth and try to get his attention. He usually went to places where Inz wouldn't be. Why? He was avoidant to the max when in love. His heart tended to ache and he usually wanted to curl into a ball, he never felt...ahh... so yeah, how about them dodgers?] So, want coffee and some breakfast? My Treat! [ his mouth was less full, and he smiled, teeth white, but to Inz, it would look like he had food in his teeth. ah, fuck, need a toothbrush.]

[A wave. A bizzarely friendly one, at that, albeit offered while a hashbrown is chipmunk-pouched to one side of his cheek. Disgusting. Ienzo fought the urge to grimace and double his pace, instead stopping frozen in his tracks by sheer incredulity. For a long moment, his jaw hung slightly ajar, staring...

He wasn't a terrible lip reader by any means, but Ienzo still pointed at his earbuds with an unnecessarily aggressive shrug, indicating that he couldn't hear a goddamned thing you're saying even if you weren't on the other side of the glass, idiot.

The scholarship boy tosses his bangs in disgust, pitches his eyes into a big roll, and folds his arms, watching Aexel check and swallow and leer at him by way of open invitation.]

No, please and thank you, I think I'll pass.

[ He mouthed clearly, making a dismissive motion as he turned to resume his trip to the library. ]