Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There's a lot to do in Milk Town.

At noon, the shops flip their closed signs around, and people funnel into Madeline Street for lunch. By half past, there's a 20-minute wait for Nana's and a line out the door for Minty Z's. Families pull their kids out of school early on Fridays to spend time roaming the shops together. It's a place where couples propose in the middle of the street, the perfect blue sky in the back, the perfect audience surrounding them. And the action always starts at noon, every day of every week of every year.

Pom Pom's opens its doors at 10:30, though.

milk town

wednesday, march 27th

10:37am

Marmalade Darling was, really, terribly, fucking hungry.

She had spent the night tending to her best friend's boyfriend's clingy dog. Clover and Matty had went on vacation to Europe, but decided their two-month old puppy was too little to travel, so that left him in the hands of Marmalade. Buddy was great, but he woke her up at 8am, and a quick walk turned into a jog, which turned into a run, which turned into a chase-after-Buddy-because-she-dropped-the-leash. Needless to say, she had been up for way too long with way too little food in her stomach.

Now she walked down Madeline street, Buddy-less, in search of her first meal of the day. As she wandered past houses, she noticed each and every house in a different style of architecture. Some were short and cottage-like, others tall and cabin-ish, but all were colorful as could be. The suburbs eventually started dwindling as the Madeline came to intersect a larger road, blocked off to traffic. It was what Clover had raved to her about: Milk Town's world-famous Main Street.

Apparently, some of the best food Clover had ever tasted was made here. But as Marmalade passed shop after shop, she noticed each were closed. Nobody inside. Nobody on the street except her.

"Damn it..." she mumbled, looking down her side of the street to see if any doors were open.

None. It seemed the people in Milk Town valued their morning time. Clover had told her it was a close-knit community, but she didn't think it was this scheduled. It was weird. Way too quiet.

Suddenly, Marmalade's eyes caught sight of an open door. A few doors down, across the brick road, was a nice-looking shop with two picnic benches outside. A woman sat at one of the benches, reading a book. She looked up as Marmalade approached the door and smiled. Marmalade smiled back. She looked sweet.

"Welcome," a cheerful voice piped up, "first time here?"

Marmalade's head lifted to see a woman standing behind the counter. She smiled back at the woman, but just as she was about to respond, she noticed a man beside her. He was standing where a customer would, but he was leaned against the glass display above the counter, as though he had been speaking with the woman. And his eyes were looking all-too curiously at Marmalade.

He was somewhat smiling at her, but almost in an amused way. The corner of his smile was drawn up, to create a sort-of smirk--suddenly felt out-of-place in her Buddy-walking clothes. He was dressed as though he were on his way to work in an office: a white button up, dress pants, and dress shoes. His hair was done, but tousled; his face was shaved, but already in a five-o'clock shadow. She smiled weakly at him before looking back to the woman, nodding to her previous question. She felt her cheeks flush a bit in her fluster.

"Yes! Are you guys open?"

"Sure are. Where are you from?"

She had made her way to the counter. As she had walked closer, she caught scent of him. He smelled amazing. Like the counter of the Macy's Men's Department, or something.

"Across the bridge, 30 minutes south?" she explained, glancing between the two. "I'm house-sitting for my friend this month.

"Well, how lovely. I'm Pom, this is my sandwich shop. We also have tea..." she motioned to the chalkboard on the wall. "What'll you have?"

Marmalade ended up ordering a random panini. She couldn't focus on anything with that guy next to her. After she ordered, she stepped back to wait at a table against the wall, and with one glance back at her, he started talking to Pom again.

She watched his back shift under his white button-down. Jesus. Something was just so...interesting about him. His fingers tapped the counter, one going down after the other, almost putting her in a trance. She almost didn't realize he was approaching her until his hand suddenly had a cup in it. Her eyes rolled up his body from his chest.

"Hi," he spoke, clear and low. "I'm River."

She tucked some loose hair behind her ear, hiding her nerves. His eyes were fucking piercing.

"I'm Marmalade. Nice to meet'cha."

He smiled, a fully amused grin, but she wasn't sure why. Usually if people thought her name was funny, they would just say it. His name was pretty unique too. She couldn't imagine he would make fun of her name with a name like River.

"Marmalade," he repeated, his smile present in his tone.

She shrugged shyly. She didn't really have anything to say. He reached his hand out, offering her the one with the cup in it.

"The best drink here. Welcome to Milk Town."

He didn't give her a chance to decline it. He walked out the door, but not before grabbing a neatly wrapped to-go bag. Marmalade realized in that moment that he was probably with the lady outside. Maybe they were business associates? She wished she'd been smart enough to look for a ring. Oh well.

A few minutes later, food in her hands, she headed outside. She figured the two would be long-gone by then, but there they sat, at the same side of the picnic bench, facing her. They were chatting quietly, and sitting close enough that Marmalade began to suspect the lady wasn't his business associate.

She went to go sit at the other bench, but was stopped by the sound of the man's voice.

"Would you like to eat with me and my wife?"

Damn. Friend-zoned within a couple of minutes. Although she was disappointed, she didn't want to be rude, so she smiled and shrugged in genuine uncertainty.

"Are you sure?"

The man's wife nodded quickly in response, ushering her over with kind hands. The ring on her left hand glimmered, as if teasing Marmalade for ever entertaining the thought that a man like him could be hitting on her.

"Come here, sweetheart," she insisted. "River was telling me you're house-sitting?"

They had been talking about her. Hm. She slid into the bench opposite the couple and nodded.

"Dog-sitting, more like. I feel like nobody would break into a house here." she joked, unwrapping the panini. It was warm against her palms.

They both laughed. "You're quite right," the wife smiled, "it's safe here."

"What's your name?" Marmalade wondered, looking to his wife.

"Fern."

Fern was a lovely-sounding lady. Her hair was pinned up at the top of her head in this beautiful mess of layers. The main thing Marmalade couldn't keep her attention off of were Fern's eyes. Bright and green, they were just like River's--almost the same exact shade. Her gaze flickered between Marmalade and River in a soft, calming way, as though wanting make sure both of them were acknowledged in the conversation.

A grin made its way to Marmalade's cheeks. "River and Fern?"

They both smiled. River reached an arm across Fern's shoulders, and though Marmalade was sad her fantasy was over, they were so cute together she couldn't be that upset. Though, she did notice, River wasn't looking at Fern--he was looking directly at Marmalade, eyes running over the tattoos on her arms.

"You look young to have so many," he noted. "How old are you?"

"22," she nodded, "I just like art."

They both smiled at that.

"You should come over for dinner tonight, dear," Fern insisted, "please? We'd love to help you settle into our town."

"Oh...are you sure?" Marmalade questioned. "I don't wanna intrude."

"Of course," River reassured her. "You're very welcome in our home."

As they got up to leave, River took Marmalade's trash for her. She thanked him profusely. They were both so nice; Fern hugged her goodbye and River did the same. She found herself falling in love with Milk Town a little bit that morning.

"You're in for a treat tonight," Fern winked at her.

River chuckled, and with that, the two walked away, hand-in-hand.

That she was.

Chapter Text

milk town

wednesday, march 27th

8:11pm

Milk town was quite walkable.

Or so Marmalade had thought.

She wasn't late, yet, but she had been walking for about 20 minutes uphill, and her once upbeat pace was beginning to slow. It was cold outside, which was good for her hair and her outfit, but bad for her mental state. She hated being cold, and though her phone said she was only two minutes away, she was having to keep herself excited by the thought of actually hanging out with somebody tonight. Sure, they were at least 10 years older than her and married, but, oh well. They were nice, and a home-cooked meal was never something she would want to turn down.

As she approached the house her maps was telling her to go to, she became confused. She couldn't see the house from the road; there was a wooden gate covered in vines and greenery blocking the way. The mailbox at the edge of the sidewalk said "The Carter's", so at the very least, she knew a married couple lived there. There was a little box next to the gate, so covered in greenery she almost didn't see it.

A few seconds passed after she clicked the call button before a sweet, familiar voice came through the speaker.

"Marmalade! I'll buzz you in--follow the path up to the house, okay?"

"Okay!"

The gate opened itself and she started up the cobblestone path. Little lampposts lined the way. She felt like it was a secret little fairytale world; everything in Milk Town was so quaint.

The house came into view after half a minute or so of walking. The couple owned a lot of property, and every square foot was filled with plants and trees as far as the eye could see. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight of the house--three stories, from what she could see. It kinda looked like a farmhouse.

The door she approached after walking up the porch was painted bright red. No doubt Fern's doing. She knocked lightly, rocking back and forth on her heels in anticipation. It swung open a few moments later to reveal Fern's happy face.

"Oh, this is just lovely!" she squealed, stepping aside to let her in. "Come in, come in!"

The house was dimly lit, with lamps and fairy lights making everything a warm wooden color. It was clearly the house of people who were wealthy, but it was so tastefully decorated that Marmalade found herself loving it. It was so 70s. She figured she should've expected that from Fern.

A very-excited Fern showed her around the first floor. They passed by a living room with a plush conversation pit and a hallway filled with paintings before ending up in the kitchen. It was just as cute as the rest--no ugly, modern appliances. Even the toaster was a blush color, tucked away in the corner beside a fruit stand.

"I'm just about done with dinner, dear--can I get you anything while we wait? Water, wine?"

"I'm okay...thank you so much though." Marmalade smiled.

"Of course, dear. River will be down shortly--something came up at work, is all."

"Oh. What does he do to be working so late?" Marmalade asked. She was glad the topic had come up, because she was dying to know more about the two. How was their house so nice?

Fern pursed her lips, thinking. "Hmm...the best way to put it is that he runs a company."

"A company!" Marmalade exclaimed. "Would I know it?"

"Vanille?"

Marmalade's eyes widened. "He owns Vanille? Like, the electric cars?"

Fern laughed brightly. "He does--hence why he's caught up in work. He works so much, bless him."

"Wow..." Marmalade murmured, in awe. "What do you do?"

"I teach," Fern smiled, the brightest she ever had. "Elementary, in the town over."

"You get happy when you talk about your job," Marmalade giggled. "That's a good sign."

"Oh, I just love it. Children are so full of life, you know?"

Fern's eyes glimmered as though she were about to say something personal, but the oven beeped and her train of thought went elsewhere.

Five minutes later the two of them were sitting on the upstairs balcony. Dinner was staying warm in the oven as they waited for River. The view from upstairs was lovely, with the ocean visible over the treetops. Milk Town must've had a light ordinance, because Marmalade could've sworn this was the most stars she'd ever seen in the sky.

"Are you tired, dear?" Fern questioned gently, and Marmalade's train of thought was broken. She hadn't realized her head had lulled to the side, and was resting on Fern's shoulder. She darted up.

"I'm sorry--"

"No, no," Fern hushed her, and pulled her back onto her shoulder. "I just hope you're getting enough sleep?"

Marmalade felt her cheeks flush. "I am. It was a long walk, is all."

"Oh? Where's your friend's place?"

"Baker Street?"

Fern looked over at her. Marmalade's breath hitched in her throat--their faces were so close.

"Marmalade! That's easily a 20 minute DRIVE!" she exclaimed, eyes wide. "I'm so sorry, we should've asked."

"No, no, I love walking! It's just a big hill."

"We're definitely driving you home. No declining."

Fern then brought a hand up and placed it over Marmalade's forehead, smoothing her hair back. She leaned in, and before Marmalade could process anything, Fern's lips were on her forehead. Marmalade's skin was on fire in the best way.

"Don't be afraid to tell us things, okay?"

She nodded slowly, trying to keep her eyes from popping out of her head. Fern smiled, then softened her lips slightly as her eyes fully caught Marmalade's again. They were having a moment. Marmalade wondered what the fuck was going on. She wouldn't think a married woman would be making her feel such things, but it was almost as if Fern was doing it on purpose.

A voice from behind startled her out of her thoughts.

"What a view," River mumbled.

Marmalade's head turned and her eyes flickered to his. His eyes were only on them two. She kept staring at him, shocked.

He smiled back at her and motioned to the treetops. "Beautiful, right?"

It was then that she knew she was fucked.

Chapter Text

milk town

wednesday, march 27th

8:57pm

Her head was spinning. Why had River said that? He wasn't dumb. He didn't say that on accident. And Fern didn't kiss her forehead on accident.

Fern rubbed Marmalade's back as she stood, beckoning them all to the dining room. River followed behind them. Marmalade thought she might die if she had to look River in the eyes.

"Oh, honey, we'll need to drive Marmalade home tonight," Fern piped up. The poor thing walked all the way from Baker Street."

"Baker Street? Geez. Of course."

"Thank you," Marmalade managed to squeak out. "Can I help you with the food?"

"No, no, you two go sit," Fern insisted, fighting Marmalade's protests. "I'll bring it all out to you."

So, that was how Marmalade and River were sitting across the table from each other, River's green-as-fuck eyes burning holes into her face. He was still in his work clothes from earlier, but the white shirt now had a few buttons undone and his sleeves were rolled up. She noticed a silver bracelet on his left wrist, a locket dangling from it. She wanted to ask about it, but she didn't have time before River was speaking up.

"Tell me, where did you go to school, dear?"

The pet name made her blush, even though it just seemed to be the way they spoke in this house.

"UCF, for computer science."

His eyes lit up. "That's what I went for. What field?"

"Well, I'm still in school, but I wanna work in cybersecurity."

River raised an eyebrow. "We figured you'd graduated."

"Nooo, I have a summer birthday so I went to school a year later than most people. I graduate this summer, though."

It suddenly looked as though he were thinking something over. She let her eyes wander to his bracelet again. It was quite an odd bracelet for a man like him to be wearing. And who puts a locket on a bracelet?

"You should be very proud," he spoke up. "It must be hard getting through a major so lacking in women."

She nodded, slightly impressed he mentioned it. "Fern told me what you do. That's amazing. People really...uhm, they love your cars."

River thanked her with a chuckle. "You sound so shy. It's okay, I don't mind people knowing. It's not my whole life."

"What else do you like to do?"

He hummed, leaning back in his chair a bit. As he stretched his arms above his head, his shirt lifted slightly at his waistline. She spotted a tattoo. It took everything in her not to interrupt him to point it out. It was black and intricate, but she couldn't tell what it was from the very slight view she was getting. Him speaking broke her out of her thoughts once more.

"Fern and I enjoy reading together," he spoke thoughtfully, "and I quite enjoy painting."

"Painting?"

"Painting," he confirmed, nodding. "We have an art room upstairs. I'll show you after dinner."

Fern entered the room with a huge salad bowl. "Now, I don't know about you, Marmalade, but we quite enjoy vegetables here. Everything in this is from our garden."

River snapped his fingers. "Gardening. Forgot about that--we also like to garden."

Fern giggled and ruffled River's hair. "He's full of all sorts of surprises."

The table was soon full of all kinds of foods. Marmalade honestly wasn't quite sure how they would eat it all. There was fresh bread, homemade butter, sautéed vegetables (separate from the huge salad), and some beautiful-looking lentils. Though, as soon as she saw how much River put on his plate, the amount on the table made a lot more sense.

She sat opposite The Carters, listening to their stories. Hearing them laugh and talk so highly about each other made her heart ache; they really were a lovely couple. They fit together so well. River ate with his left hand, and Fern ate with her right, so their elbows didn't bump in the middle. She raved on and on about his paintings, and he spoke with such love when he talked about her cooking.

It was so lovely that Marmalade almost forgot the weird feelings from before. That is, until the conversation turned to her, and suddenly there was an attractive married couple watching her with their blazing green eyes. River's foot brushed against hers. But he was so tall, his legs so long that it probably an accident. Fern would reach across the table excitedly when she quite liked something Marmalade had said, and she would grab her hand and squeeze. But she was so nice, it was probably second nature for her. It just seemed so intimate for people Marmalade had met the same day.

"My roommate is sweet," Marmalade told them, "but she's obsessed with her boyfriend. Hence why she'll be in Europe with him for all of winter break."

"It's easy to be obsessed when it's your age," River nodded, "but we never really outgrew that stage. Right, Fern Fern?"

Fern beamed. Their love was so visible.

"Do you have a partner, Marmalade?" she asked.

Marmalade shook her head with a laugh. "Noooo."

River and Fern both tilted their heads at her, in sync. "Oh?"

"I would love to, don't get me wrong, but, everybody at college is so...college. Y'know?"

"Oh, dear, when me and River met in college I felt like I had won the lottery. I totally understand that. People just want to mess around, is that it?"

"Yeah, which I'm totally down for," Marmalade sighed. "But all the guys I meet are sexist computer nerds. Not exactly my type."

"What is?"

She looked over at River. He looked genuinely interested, so she answered.

"Mmm...just someone who has their shit together? Fun? Someone who has hobbies?"

"Someone who reads and gardens?" he joked, a grin going to his face.

He was so upfront. It made Marmalade's face burn red, and after blushed silently all night, she decided to flirt back. If he was flirting, that is.

"Exactly," she smiled back.

Her and Fern's eyes met, and Fern winked at her. Her body got that shocked feeling, as if she had jumped into freezing cold water. Did this mean...?

"Well that's good," River spoke calmly, "because we like someone who codes."

Chapter Text

milk town

wednesday, march 27th

9:02pm

Her face was definitely blood-red. River seemed to find the whole situation funny. He wouldn't stop smirking, and Fern was just smiling, shaking her head and serving herself more food. Neither of them seemed nervous whatsoever. Marmalade wondered if they did this type of thing all the time. Was she the first to get him on by them? Probably not.

"You're crazy," Fern laughed to River, hitting him on the shoulder. River winked at Marmalade.

"She started it."

"Are you guys...huh?" Marmalade finally stuttered out.

She figured she might as well be confused in the open. Why were they BOTH flirting with her? Why was Fern okay with it? Why had Fern kissed her earlier? Why was this all turning her on? WHAT WAS GOING ON?

River and Fern quieted down their amusement. Their hands slid to hold each other's on top of the table.

"We like you," Fern spoke softly. Gently. Like she knew Marmalade was spiraling, and she wanted to help her.

"You...both? Like me?"

"We both like you," River asserted.

"But like...why? And...like...how?"

Fern smiled kindly. "We both noticed it immediately when we met you, honey--you're very special. "

"As for the how," River continued, "we can figure that out together. If you want to. You don't have to agree. And you shouldn't, unless you're quite sure you want to pursue something with us."

Marmalade blinked.

"You don't need to decide tonight--"

"No, I...I want to, trust me," she interrupted.

"No pressure, honey."

She was quiet, but nodded. "It's just...you guys have such a perfect life. Why change it?"

Fern tutted, and reached across the table to grab her hand. She squeezed her tightly.

"We think you would make it even more perfect."

Dinner was definitely over by that point. Marmalade sat there processing, looking between the two. A hot, married couple wanted to hook up with her. Hmm.

"Okay," she nodded, eyes flickering up at them. "Yeah."

"Yeah?" River repeated, raising an eyebrow. "You're sure?"

"Oh, I'm sure. You two are like...the coolest people alive. I wouldn't pass that up."

They both smiled. Their hands squeezed a little tighter together on the table.

"Lovely," Fern smiled. "Oh dear, it's getting late. Let's show you Riv's art room and then get you home, hm?"

She went with them upstairs. River was behind her, following closely. She couldn't stop thinking about how he smelled so fucking good. Her legs and her hands felt shaky as they walked up steps together--she was perhaps, on a bit of an adrenaline high.

She should've expected it, but the upstairs amazed her just as much as the bottom floor had. There was room after room after room, some with the doors closed, and some with the doors opened. The art room was one of the open ones, presumably due to the dizzying acrylic smell that coated the air inside. As soon as she entered, she nearly took a step back from what she saw.

So many paintings. Paintings of trees, the beach, flowers, architecture, people. The most stunning one was perched on an easel by the window, unfinished.

"Is that you?" Marmalade asked Fern.

Their love for each other was just so unapologetic. Fern nodded with a nostalgic smile. Marmalade's heart throbbed.

"Sometimes he convinces me to model for him...just sometimes."

There were nude portraits of women and men stacked against one of the walls. None of them looked quite like Fern. As she looked them over, she felt a hand on the small of her back. She looked over her shoulder to find River, looking down at her. Her neck hurt from how far she had to lean back to look up at him.

"Could I paint you one day?" he asked, voice as soft and delicate as she had ever heard it.

She could've melted to the floor. "Of course."

He smiled happily. "Perfect. Come along--Fern wanted to give you something."

Marmalade hadn't even noticed she'd left. River walked her down the hall to another random room, again with the door opened, and had her walk in first. This room was HUGE. Clearly their bedroom, it was decorated a bit differently than the rest of the house. It was as if they had split up the decorating job for this room, with half of the decor looking quite dark and brooding, and half of the decor being, well, Fern-ish. Fern turned around from where she had been looking in the top drawer of the dresser.

She held up a small necklace, silver in color, with a heart locket in the middle. It looked the same as the bracelet River wore.

"To remind you we care, dear. This isn't something where we leave you stranded."

Marmalade pouted her lip out slightly. How kind. "It's beautiful."

River lifted her hair off of her neck. Marmalade shivered at the feeling of his hand against her skin for a moment. His hands were rough, which didn't really make sense given his office job. Fern reached her arms around her from behind and clipped the necklace on.

"Perfect," she spoke softly.

Her hand went to hold the locket, her palm to Marmalade's heart. She left a kiss against the side of her neck, just behind her ear, before backing up. River set her hair back down. He seemed quite pleased with the entire situation.

"Come now," he murmured. "I'll take you home."

With a goodbye hug to Fern, they were out the front door, walking further down the path that Marmalade had walked in on. He was humming under his breath, his shoes clicking against the bricks. She noticed the bracelet again. She wondered the significance. Had they been trying to find someone? How long have they had the necklace?

As they approached what Marmalade could only assume to call their driveway, she noticed there was, of course, an electric car from Vanille. But there were also older cars surrounding it. She wasn't really a car expert, but they were super cute. He opened the passenger door to a red, station wagon-y looking one and motioned her in. It looked kinda beat-up, but in a nice way. She wouldn't expect such rich people to have such a not-rich car, but hey, that's The Carters for you.

He clicked the stereo on as they pulled out of the driveway. The gate closed behind them.

"Can I ask you something?" Marmalade asked, keeping her eyes on the road.

"Sure."

"Did you guys decide to ask me together?"

He chuckled. "You're scared it was just me wanting this?"

She shrugged. "Kinda. And Fern is just so lovely--"

"It was her idea, actually," River chuckled. "She's dirtier than you'd think. Don't worry--we both want you."

Marmalade nodded and went quiet again. The music playing was old. It sounded something like the Bee Gees. His fingers tapped against the steering wheel in the same hypnotic way as before.

"Can I ask you another question?"

He laughed, a little harder this time. "Of course, darling. Ask me anything."

She felt her insides light up. Oh geez.

"How old are you?"

"33. Fern's 31."

She hummed. "You guys are so cool."

"You are too."

They sat in silence for most of the ride home. When he pulled up outside of the house, he put a hand on her leg to stop her from getting out of the car. Her skin burned, yet again. He walked around and opened the door for her. They walked together up to the door, and as Marmalade searched for her keys, he looked down at her in a calming way, just waiting. She pulled them out of her tote bag and looked up.

"Goodnight, Marmalade."

"Goodnight, River."

He leaned down and kissed the top of her head, his hand sliding to hold the back of her neck. She blushed all over, a slight tingle starting in her stomach.

"We'll call you tomorrow."

Chapter Text

milk town

thursday, march 28th

12:22pm

Marmalade was dying to tell someone.

But The Carters hadn't specified whether or not she could, and with River's high status and all, she didn't want to accidentally expose them. So when Clover called and asked what she did last night, she told her she went on a walk. A very long walk.

She was out grocery shopping with Buddy when somebody bumped into her. She turned around, about to say sorry for no reason, when the guy put a cold hand on her shoulder.

"So sorry," he apologized. He looked her over for a second before raising his eyebrow at her. "Are you from here? I don't recognize you."

She laughed and stepped back. "No. Geez, people really know everybody here?"

"We do, it's weird. What's your name?"

"Marmalade," she replied. She was trying to be nice, but she really just wanted to get back to shopping; Buddy was getting tired and her basket was getting too heavy.

"I'm Cooper. What brings you here?"

"Grocery shopping."

He laughed. "No, no, to Milk Town."

"Oh. Dog-sitting," she corrected herself, looking down at Buddy. "Speaking of which, we've gotta keep shopping before he gets too tired. Nice to meet you!"

Buddy never got too tired, but a little puppy was a great excuse for pretty much anything. Besides, what kind of person sees a dog and doesn't ask to pet it? Cooper looked disappointed, but he nodded and said goodbye. She sighed as she walked away. There was too much going on in her head to meet new people.

River called her around 3pm. She was sitting in the park with Buddy, throwing him a frisbee until her arm felt like it was gonna fall off. When she heard her phone go off, she snatched it up and slid to accept.

"Hello?"

"Marmalade. Are you, by chance, at the park by 5th right now?"

She looked around for him. "Yeah?"

"Turn around."

She spun around and found River, in a full business suit, leaned against a tree. He had black sunglasses on, and she'd be lying if she said he looked anything but extremely hot. She smiled big at him.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was driving past. Saw a certain somebody playing really hard with a certain little dog."

She laughed. What a coincidence.

"Do you and Buddy wanna go get lunch with me?"

And that's how she ended up in an electric car, with the guy who invented the car company, and a really excited dog getting the zoomies in the backseat.

"When do you get off?" she pondered. She had noticed his phone kept buzzing in the cupholder.

"I kinda decide that for myself. So, right now?"

He reached over and silenced his phone. She smiled.

They ended up at the beach, walking along the boardwalk. It was just as quaint as the shops of Milk Town, with buzzing neon signs and handmade menus in every window. She wasn't sure why they hadn't gone to Main Street, but this line of shops looked yummy too. He explained to her they weren't technically in Milk Town anymore--this side of town was called The Cove. Buddy happily pranced alongside them, not a care in the world. He didn't know they were walking alongside a rich, famous man. Buddy just liked the way the man's shoes clicked.

River led her into a smoothie shop on the corner. The workers gave them a happy "welcome!" as they stepped up to the counter. His hand found the small of her back. Her stomach flipped. God, did she love the feeling of them touching her.

"What would you like?" he asked.

"Uhm...whatever you're getting? But, let me pay for myself!"

He gave her a look. "Marmalade."

"I--what? I have money!"

He shook his head. "I know you do, but your money means a lot more to you than mine does to me. You aren't buying a thing when you're with me."

She pouted.

"I'll buy you something one day," she mumbled. "Thank you."

They drank their mango-passionfruit smoothies outside. River slid his sunglasses up onto his head, and her eyes met his green as fuck eyes for the first time that day. All of a sudden, all she could think of was him kissing her head last night. She may or may not have had some interesting dreams about The Carters last night. She squirmed slightly in her seat at the thought.

"What are you thinking about?" River asked, raising an eyebrow. "You're staring at me."

"Uhm...how you said goodbye last night," she answered honestly.

"Oh?" he smirked. This time it was a real, full-blown smirk. He knew what she was thinking about. "Did you like it?"

She nodded gently.

"Do you want me to do it again?"

She choked a little on her smoothie. "Oh--well--"

She started coughing her lungs out. He reached over and patted her back to help her catch her breath.

"Poor thing," he laughed, "is that a yes?"

Her coughs turned into laughs, and she eventually nodded an enthusiastic yes. His smile stayed on his lips as he leaned over. He tucked some loose hair behind her ear as he leaned in, lips brushing against her neck for a moment before he pulled back.

"Tell me," he murmured.

She swallowed. "Tell you what?"

"Tell me you want me to kiss you," he whispered. "If you really want me to, I will."

Her heart was pounding. His hand was pulling her closer, his eyes stuck to hers. They were still so far away. He was waiting for her permission.

"I--"

"Carter, that you?"

River was suddenly nowhere near her. His hand fell from her hair, and he stood, greeting whoever had just interrupted them. It was a man, who looked quite like River, businessman attire and all. Marmalade watched, a bit stunned. River motioned to her. She smiled, waved at the man, and tuned back in.

River motioned to Marmalade. "Joe, this is Fern's cousin, M--Maeve."