#i mean liam made it incredibly clear that he was very uncomfortable for the entire thing

[neonredglow]

i find it rather interesting that, outside of liam’s interviews and the fandom, the fact that neither liam nor stella were informed they were going to be nude for the hugo bodywear shoot and that liam was given alcohol to make him more willing has not been talked about at all

[dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram]

Hi Ralph. I’ve been catching up on your blog this morning (as one does, I highly suggest a quick perusal of the New York Times, Washington Post, New Yorker, The Guardian and … Dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram for a snapshot of what’s happening the world) and your response re: the stories we tell, and the story of intra-band relationships caught my eye. Reading your thoughts on the relationships all of the boys have with each other was really interesting and brought a lot of joy to my morning, and I agree with your thoughts in large part. Your version of Harry/Liam dynamic especially both made me laugh and struck me as incredibly true. It is exactly how I imagine their relationship, and the description of the two of them as magnets chasing each other around the table made me actually honest to god laugh out loud.

But your thoughts about Harry being someone who finds directness and messiness quite stressful and responds by withdrawing resonated with me on a personal level, and made me think back to another question you answered (at least I’m fairly certain it was you) about mental health in the boys. You said something to the effect of you personally didn’t see much anxiety in Harry/the way Harry presents himself but you know others might. I actually see a fair bit of anxiety in Harry, in ways I recognize from my own experience with anxiety. In particular I see a lot of myself in the various ways Harry responds and reacts to other people, and your thoughts about how Harry and Liam interacts is a good example of that. I’m not sure I’m going to be very successful in my attempt to put this into words, but I will try. Other people, as a general rule, make me incredibly uncomfortable and bring me a lot of stress and always have. To be clear, I am not saying this is the same for Harry, in fact I believe it probably isn’t (he seems to be someone who really enjoys interacting and connecting with a lot of people, at least on a surface level). But one of the things that most freaks me out is that other people all want or need something from me. While I have a therapist who has been indescribably wonderful in helping me understand that most of that is actually my perception of other people and not always reality, the fact still remains that in every interaction I have with other people there’s always part of me that is wondering “what do they need from me, what do they want from me, how do I give it to them, how have I already failed to give it to them, how do I fix it, can I even fix it” and on and on and on. Once again, I am not trying to say that this exact experience of mine has also been an experience of Harry’s. That would be hugely presumptuous and pretty self centered and also based on no real identifiable facts. I’m saying this mostly as background, to explain that I am a person who struggles a great deal with anxiety, and a great deal of that anxiety is fueled by my perception that other people are always wanting/needing things from me that I may or may not be able to give them. On its ugliest days, this anxiety results in me just withdrawing entirely. This is especially true when I am dealing with someone who feels emotionally volatile or unpredictable (I.e. … messy) and/or someone who I don’t feel safe making mistakes around (often these are people who tend to communicate in ways that are especially direct, but that read to me as abrupt, cold, or callous). In these situations, I feel like I am set up for failure from the jump - these people want something I am absolutely unable to give, my inability to give it will piss them off, they’ll turn all those messy emotions on me or get angry with or be cruel to me, and so it’s best if I don’t bother. I get short of breath, my heart rate increases, I become nauseous and fidgety and my response is to just leave. Just bail on the person and the situation and hide myself away. There are certainly situations where this is my brain being a bully, and there are situations where this is a valid read on the particular person or situation. But in general, for me, personally, this is a manifestation of my anxiety that I deal with almost every day. I see it pretty clearly in Harry, too. I realize I may be projecting, my perception ≠ the only possible reality, and I am not arrogant or foolish enough to believe it does. I may be totally wrong. But those are my experiences and my observations, and I was reminded of them in the context of your old ask this morning.

Thanks so much for this anon - it's really lovely and interesting and I'm sorry it took me so long to reply. I really love telling stories about the different relationships within 1D and I love hearing that they resonate. So thanks so much.

I find your thoughts about Harry really interesting. And they resonate with an anon I answered yesterday. And one of their assumptions was that Harry had never felt unloved a day in their life. I can see where they're coming from, but I don't think it's true.

That is I think, one of the interesting things about Harry is that so much confidence radiates out of him. Even just the way Dermot used to talk about him on X-factor as the most confident person he'd ever met, and it's not like anything has changed. But at the same time you get these moments and these glimpses where you realise that there is an anxiety - not necessarily underneath, but somewhere in the middle of all that confidence.

What you say about your experiences I think is really useful for Harry. I think one of the differences is that Harry has always been confident that he can give people what they want or need from him. And it's something that's got easier as he's gotten older. If you're Harry Styles it's actually very easy to make people happy. I do think he's very much figured out that being kind from a position of power is a very powerful mood (that doesn't require that much work).

But I suspect what all means that when his anxiety comes up - when he can't make people happy and give them what they want - then he's not very good at dealing with it (and he does withdraw). There is a little bit of compulsion to me in the idea that everyone must think good things about him. I think there is more in common with him and Lima than you'd think in some ways (makes sense that's why they're magnets). But Harry is much better at masking what's going on, and he's much more intuitive at making people happy than Lima is (who is always a little too literal).

Anyway I hope your life has been very good since you wrote me this anon. You seem super aware and perceptive and I really enjoy it.

[ellewritesathing]

So Close  -  S.S. XLIV

Summary: The universe has a funny way of putting the things you want right in front of you, but just out of reach. Stiles and Y/N have been best friends ever since Scott brought him home, but when Stiles realizes that he might want to be something other than best friends, she leaves to go to some fancy private school up North. Now that she’s back though … maybe he’s got a shot? A Teen Wolf AU in which the reader has always been so close to Stiles and yet so far.

Masterlist   Prev. | Part 44

Word-count: 3.7k+

A/N: guys it’s super crazy to me that we’re almost at so close’s one year anniversary and i just wanted to take a second to say thank you for going on this journey with me 💕 here’s to two more seasons (maybe? i’ve heard 6b is trash so i might just skip it lmao)

Every time you and your friends defeated some evil force of nature, there was an eerie quiet that followed. This time that lull was spent cramming for finals and destressing with pack movie nights that almost always turned into sleepovers - at that point, you were spending more time at Lydia’s and Stiles’ houses than you were at your own house. As weird as it was, life felt good. 

At least, it was good until Lydia dragged you and Malia to Macy’s to find dresses for the winter formal. 

“Do I have to wear heels?” Malia asked. She was looking at herself in the mirror, paying special attention to the red heels Lydia picked out. “These are severely uncomfortable.” 

“No,” you said, at the same time that Lydia said: “Yes.”

You rolled your eyes as Lydia launched into her signature ‘it’s senior year’ speech. The first few times, it was endearing and convinced you to do it her way, but by now the effect had worn off. You zoned back in when Lydia hit the ‘it’s our last winter formal of our entire school career. Doesn’t that mean anything’ point. 

“But this is my first winter formal,” Malia said, turning away from the mirror with a frown. 

“And I’ve still got another one next year,” you said. 

“Semantics,” Lydia said with a shrug. When neither of you responded, she sighed and pulled you to your feet as she reached for Malia’s hand. “I didn’t want to play this card but I almost died this year, multiple times.” She squeezed your hand. “You did die.” She turned to Malia. “And your mom tried to kill you.” 

“What does that have to do with us wearing heels?” you asked. 

“Everything! We should be making the most of the life we have left,” Lydia said. Neither you nor Malia looked very convinced. “Okay, fine. It has nothing to do with wearing heels. I thought I could guilt you into doing things my way, but clearly, you two are made of stone, so forget it.” 

She started storming away when you laughed and grabbed her hand again. “Come on, Lyd,” you said, stifling a laugh at how annoyed she still seemed at you and Malia’s indifference to shoes. “You know that if it meant that much to you, we’d wear stilts to the formal.” 

Lydia’s pout faded slightly. She flicked her eyes over to Malia. “Really?” 

“Really,” Malia repeated. After a touching second of comradery, she added, “But, to be clear, these shoes are as far as I’m willing to go.” 

Lydia had an evil look in her eye. The kind of evil that she only got when she received free reign over everyone’s outfits. You’d bet she’d already picked out suits for the guys, judging by the look in her eye when she said, “Deal!” 

---

You loved Lydia, more than almost anyone else in the entire world, but if she patted you with blush one more time then you were going to snap. She was your best friend, you reminded yourself. She knew what she was doing. She taught you how to walk in heels so, of course, you wouldn’t fall. You loved Lydia. 

Lydia patted your nose with a dash of highlight and smiled. “There. You were gorgeous before but now-” 

“Now they can see me from space?” you asked. 

Malia stifled a laugh from the bed while Lydia tried to bite her tongue. “If that’s how you want to look at it,” Lydia said as she packed up her brushes. Malia had managed to escape. “What time are the guys supposed to be here?” 

“I changed the time on Stiles’ phone forward an hour to make sure he wouldn’t be late,” Malia said. 

You frowned and twisted around in your seat to look at her. “Wait, but I put an alarm on all Scott’s clocks to go off at every fifteen-minute interval.”

“So you’re saying they don’t know what time it is, they're wasting more time by arguing over whose time is right, and delayed by constant alarm bells?” Lydia asked. You and Malia looked at one another awkwardly for a moment. Lydia let out a sigh and grabbed her keys off the vanity. “Let’s go pick them up.” 

“I call shotgun!” Malia said as she got to her feet. 

“No way!” You caught her arm, partly for stability and partly to stop her from barreling into the passenger’s seat. “You’re in a suit. I’m in a dress.” 

“So?” 

“So, you can slide into the back,” you said. 

“Ladies-” Lydia cut in before Malia could call your argument stupid, but you knew she was thinking it. “Neither of you are riding shotgun if I leave without you.” 

With a final look at one another, you and Malia followed behind Lydia and piled into the car. You’d already found something new and equally dumb to talk about within a few minutes as Lydia drove. 

She was surprisingly calm, considering what happened at the last dance she went to, and it clicked that maybe that’s why she planned out every last detail of this night. Your heart ached for her but you spotted a broken down Jeep on the side of the road and your attention drifted. 

Malia turned the radio before rolling down her window as Lydia pulled over. Scott and Stiles didn’t even notice you guys at first because they were too busy arguing over the alarm that wouldn’t shut up. 

“I’ve heard if you show some skin then you’re more likely to get a ride,” Malia called out to them when she got bored of their bickering. Honestly, you wanted to hear more about the fourteenth way that Stiles was going to dispose of the alarm, but you got why she cut to the chase. 

Stiles’s heart didn’t skip a beat; not even a second later and he was rolling up his pant leg. “This enough or should I ditch the tie and a couple of buttons?” 

None of you bothered to hide your laughs or rolling eyes as he broke into a very clumsy dance. You pushed open your door as Stiles started shimmying off his jacket. 

“Hey, do you want to get it before you lose your pants, or have we changed our minds about the formal?” you asked, a silly smile still plastered on your face. 

Stiles froze when he saw you, jacket around his elbows and mouth slightly open. His hair was slightly messed up in the wind, face lit up by the light of the passing cars and setting sun. You wished you could have frozen this moment, this version of him where he was so carefree and happy. 

Lydia was the one who snapped you out of it. “Oh, my god. Are you two going to stare at each other like that the whole night?” she asked. 

You gave a nervous laugh and slid into the middle. “Come on. We can call Noah to pick up the Jeep.”

Scott hit Stiles’ arm and then they packed into the seats next to you. It was awkwardly quiet but then Malia turned the music back up and Lydia asked about Liam, and everything was back to normal. Not quite the frozen moment you replayed in your head, but happy. The happiest any of you had been in a while. 

Stiles was unusually quiet on the way to the school, though he did bounce his leg and bite at his nails. In a winning move to make you feel nervous, he stared out the window the entire time and only snapped out of it to open his door after Lydia parked. He held the door open for you after he got out. 

You mumbled a thank you, feeling awkward as you teetered out of the car in Lydia’s heels. Now that you were at school and looking at all the cheesy decorations, you felt a little sick. And then Stiles touched your hand. 

“Hey, look, I wanna apologize for being so weird,” he said. “You just, uh- you look good. Like really good. And I’m so bad at these things. So, uh, I’m sorry for being weird.” Stiles took a deep breath and rolled his wrists to motion toward you. “Okay, you talk now.” 

You laughed and took his hands in yours. This night felt like when you’d first come back and you were both annoying everyone by hiding your feelings from one another. “You had me worried there for a second. I thought the dress might have scared you off.” 

“Oh, no. The dress definitely did not scare me off,” Stiles said with a nervous laugh. “Did I mention you look really good yet?” 

“No, I don’t think you did,” you hummed. You lifted his hand to your mouth and kissed it. He stared at your hand as you let it fall to your side again. “Why are you looking at me like that again?” 

Stiles had that look in his eyes from the moment frozen in time on the side of the road. He was happy, if a little disbelieving and preoccupied. “You’re wearing the ring. Did something happen to the chain? Did it break?” 

“No, the necklace is perfect,” you said quickly. He put your hand over his to get a better look at his mom’s old ring. You could still remember the day the two of you stole it; Claudia was so mad but Noah thought it was hilarious. Your voice softened at the memory. “I didn’t think it would fit but it was so big on me back then. Lydia was the one who pointed out that if it was your mom’s then it should fit now that I’m not eight years old.” 

“Always full of ideas, that one,” Stiles mumbled as he looked at the ring. He ran his thumb over it carefully.  

You smiled, looking at him instead of the ring. This would be another moment you’d keep forever if you could. Instead of saying something so incredibly cheesy, you said, “Yeah, and Malia was the one that pointed out that if it got stuck, she could cut my finger off and Deaton could stitch it back up.”

Stiles laughed. “Yeah, that sounds like her.” In a quick move, he turned your hand over in his and interlaced your fingers. He shot a glance at the school. “Alright, let’s get this over and done with.” 

“That’s the spirit, babe.”

You held onto Stiles a little tighter than usual, partly due to the heels and icy ground and partly just because you could. Once you got inside, he tightened his grip as yours loosened. You guessed it was partly due to the people and the noise and partly just because he could. 

It took a minute before you found your friends scattered around the gym. Liam and Hayden were awkwardly dancing under the disco ball. Corey was counting how many pixie stix Mason could fit in his mouth at once. Lydia was talking to (or rejecting, hard to tell at that distance) one of the guys from the lacrosse team. Lastly, Scott and Malia were against a wall, drinking punch, and talking softly.

Actually, the last thing you noticed was the photo-booth in the corner. You gave Stiles a mischievous smile and tugged on his arm.

“No way.”

“We’re already here! And you look so nice in your suit.” 

“A photo-booth is where I draw the line. I’ll do dances. I’ll let Lydia do my eyebrows again. I’ll crawl over broken glass for you. I’d even eat cilantro for you. But there is no way we’re doing the photobooth.” 

“Well, I don’t see any broken glass or cilantro, so photo-booth it is.” 

Stiles groaned but followed after you anyway. As a result, he was pouting and pretending to be grumpy in the first set of photos and you were lovingly harassing him. It was only in the second last photo that he broke his composure and started laughing. In the very last one, he kissed you. 

The next set of photos were just of the two of you kissing. The third set was the best; both of you were laughing and playing around. And then Lydia tracked you down, bringing Scott and Malia with her. Those photos with all of you crammed in the booth were hilarious, but not nearly as funny as when Liam, Mason, Hayden, and Corey tried to shove their way in and Coach banned you all from using the photo-booth. 

You turned to the dancefloor in a laughing heap. Malia was by far the best dancer (Stiles was arguably the worst, though Liam gave him a run for his money), and she took turns dancing and jumping around with each of you. Liam twirled you around a few times until you tripped over your heels, he caught you, and Stiles told him to keep his dirty little werewolf hands to himself. Liam pressed an impulsive kiss to your cheek before disappearing into the crowd with Hayden before Stiles punched him. It was nothing but dumb, teenage fun. 

And then a slow song started playing. 

Bits of your group broke off to get punch or find a dance partner, and soon it was just you and Stiles. He dropped his eyes for a second before taking a step closer and holding out a hand to you. You tilted your head at him. 

“Typically, when one goes to a winter formal one dances with their date,” Stiles said. 

“Does one?” 

Stiles had a barely contained smile on his face. “One does. How the dance is initiated varies on formal to formal basis, but generally once initiated, the invitee and the inviter dance.” 

“Wait. Aren’t the invitee and inviter the same person?” you asked, tilting your head to the side. “Should I go so you can pull a Billy Idol and dance with yourself?”

“Oh my god, would you just shut up and dance with me?” Stiles asked, shaking around the hand he offered you. 

You grinned and took his hand in yours, placing your other hand on his shoulder. “I thought you’d never ask.” 

Stiles rolled his eyes but it faded away to a reluctant smile after a few seconds. Neither of you knew exactly how to dance, so you just swayed together. Fairly far apart at first, but you moved closer and closer together as the song went on. Eventually, the song ended and your head was tucked into the crook of Stiles’ neck, with your hands on his shoulder blades and under his jacket to keep warm. 

The songs were cheesy and the decorations were cliche. This night was everything you and Stiles liked to make fun of, and yet … there the two of you were, slow dancing to fast songs and smiling like idiots. 

You kissed the spot on his neck just below his jaw and rested your chin on his shoulder to whisper in his ear. “Hey, thank you for this.” 

“Of course,” Stiles said. “Besides, it’s not like there was any broken glass or cilantro around.” 

“Shut up.” You laughed and pulled away slightly. He was amused when you looked at him, and you fell a little bit more in love with him when you saw his smile under the purple LED lights. “Do you wanna get out of here?”

Stiles tilted his head. “And go where?” 

“Anywhere you want,” you said with a shrug. 

“You just want to take advantage of me in my post-dance haze,” Stiles teased. 

“Of course. Have you seen you in that suit?” 

Stiles got flustered and started sputtering a response as you laughed and untangled yourself from him. You promised to meet him outside as soon as you told Scott you were leaving. He wasn’t too surprised by the fact that you guys were ducking out early, but Malia made a joke that wiped the teasing smile straight off his face. You left them bickering with one another and left to find Stiles. 

Though the music was still loud enough for you to hear once you were outside, it faded as the gym doors closed behind you. You didn’t realize how much you’d needed the quiet until you were out in the cold, with the fresh air stinging your lungs and waking you up. 

Stiles was waiting just outside the gym for you, talking to his dad on the phone. Apparently, he’d replaced the Jeep’s flat tire and gotten Parrish to drop it off at the school. Noah had just stopped talking about the formal and started talking about proper driving safety when you wrapped your arms around Stiles' waist. 

Noah started berating him not paying attention when Stiles burst out laughing. He sputtered out an apology while you did everything in your power to keep him laughing and awkward. When Noah got grumpy and hung up, you laughed and he turned to glare at you … which only made you laugh harder. 

“You’re a real pain in my ass, you know that?” Stiles asked. He was trying very valiantly to pretend to be mad at you, but his mouth was turned up at the corner, giving him away. 

“Oh yeah?” You leaned in closer and whispered, “Then stop holding my hand.”

“No way in hell,” Stiles said, managing to pull you in even closer. You laughed and stumbled into him. The two of you shuffled to the Jeep without letting go of each other, laughing and stubbornly refusing to let go of each other. 

Even as Stiles drove, you held his hand and harassed him from the passenger seat. You were feeling something you hadn’t felt in a long time; the feeling was light and airy. Happiness, you thought. 

Looking at Stiles in the light of the diner’s parking lot, you didn’t just think it was happiness - you knew it was. A sneaky little dark feeling in your heart told you that you’d never feel as happy as you did again. It didn’t matter though, you were so used to being sad that you could tune it out. 

Or at least, you thought you could. 

It was more difficult to tune out the sadness once you were inside. Stiles was rambling on about everyone at the formal and how glad he was that he never had to go to another high school dance. He meant well, but all it did was remind you that he would be leaving in a few months. 

“Hey, what’s with the look?” Stiles asked, pushing his empty plate to the side. 

“I don’t have a look,” you said defensively. 

“You totally have a look and you’re looking at me with your look right now,” Stiles said. He paused and tilted his head, but tried again. “Okay, now you look confused but still. What’s wrong?” 

You sighed and shook your head, moving your glass out of the way so you could lean your elbows on the table. With your head resting in your hands, you sighed. “This is your last high school dance.” 

“Yeah, so?” Stiles asked. He reached his hands across the table but they were still too far away to hold yours unless you moved. 

“I’ve still got a year of them,” you said, looking up from his hands to meet his eyes and shrugging. “That’s all.” 

“Oh, God,” Stiles groaned. He pulled his hand back to cover his face with them. “I’ve been a total ass this whole night. I’m so sorry.” 

“Hey, that’s not what I meant,” you said, reaching across the table to grab his hands. “I know you’re just excited to graduate, and I know you didn’t mean to hurt me. I’m just a little bummed that you’re all moving on and I’m still staying here.” 

“You shouldn’t have to be bummed,” Stiles said. He moved his hands around to hold yours and gave you an encouraging smile. “How long have you felt this way?” 

“Since you and Scott started elementary school and I was in kindergarten.” You laughed at your own joke but Stiles was still looking at you with a concerned look on his face. It was sweet. You ran your thumb across the outside of his hand. “I don’t know … since you started working on the big plan post-graduation and I realized I wasn’t graduating.” 

“Seriously? That was months ago,” Stiles said, moving closer. “Why didn’t you say anything?” 

You shrugged. “You were excited. I didn’t want to ruin it.” 

“You could never ruin anything,” Stiles said. He squeezed your hands and leaned over to kiss you. 

You smiled at him, lifting a hand to his cheek. Without thinking, you blurted out, “You promise you won’t go to college and forget about me? Trade me in for some weirdly flexible dance major?”

“I will never, ever forget about you,” Stiles promised. “Alright? No matter what. No matter how many dance majors come my way.” 

“I love you.” 

“I love you, too. Hand me your purse?” 

Despite your confusion at the sudden change of pace, you put your purse on the table as Stiles slumped into his seat and dug his wallet out of his pocket. He started looking through your purse without explaining what he was looking for. Eventually, Stiles took out the strip of photos with the two of you, tore it in half, and shushed your protests. He tucked one half in front of his driver’s license. 

“There. Now I’ll look at you whenever I open my wallet or get pulled over. Which, uh, you should know I get pulled over a lot.” Stiles laughed under his breath and tucked away his wallet again. 

“Thank you,” you said quietly. 

You were going to lean across the table to kiss him when Liam barrelled into you as he scooted into your booth. Stiles was in the process of biting his head off when Scott slid in. And then Lydia. And Malia. And then Mason, Corey, and Hayden stole some chairs from nearby tables and huddled around the table. 

“What? You guys didn’t think you were eating without us?” Liam asked. 

You rolled your eyes and messed up his hair. “Of course not, biscuit. I could never get rid of you.” 

“Yeah, you’re like gum under my shoe,” Stiles mumbled. 

He and Liam started bickering and you laughed. There was that light, airy feeling again. As long as you had your friends, it didn’t matter where you all ended up. 

You’d love each other all the same, even from a phone call away. 

Tagged: @ietss​  @used-avocado​

[ongaku-ato-kakikomi]

Could we get a continuation on the proposal head cannon with wedding head cannon

(A/N): Here you go, hun. I hope you’ll like these headcanons

Miranda Vanderbilt:

○ If you think you’re not getting the most expensive wedding in the entire universe, you’re wrong.

○ Miranda is a princess who wants everything to be perfect and traditional, so she’s gonna get what she wants.

○ That means classic cake, classic white dress, ‘90s dance hits, and abundance of food and a pretty venue… but all of it upgraded to an even higher level.

○ And you know some of her servants have died because of minor mistakes

○ The wedding is obviously going to happen back into her palace, with her royal family and subjects.

○ Of course, your own family and friends are invited, because she wants you to be happy too.

○ You and Miranda spend the whole morning separated because she takes this very seriously and doesn’t want to bring your wedding any bad luck.

○ “We can’t see each other yet! Or else the universe will doomed us!”

○ You find it rather cute, and so despite wanting to see her and hold her close, you do what she says and prepare in another room than hers.

○ Her serfs are the one doing your hair and makeup, and they’re doing an amazing job at it.

○ It doesn’t take long for you to start stressing about everything, because it’s the happiest day of your life and anything could go wrong.

○ But every worry disappears when you see her in her white dress, her eyes sparkling brighter than the sun.

○ You’re not even scared by her father accompanying her beside her, because all you can see is her.

○ And when you both say “I do”, you couldn’t be happier.

○ She cries when you say your vows, and she barely manages to say hers.

○ It’s a very traditional wedding, but it’s the most beautiful one that had ever existed.

○ And thanks to Miranda, you have ten photo albums to remember it together.

Damien LaVey:

○ You already know that this wedding is gonna happen in Hell, so it’s not gonna be a normal one.

○ Damien loves dark and creepy things, and maybe you do too, so the wedding’s theme is gonna be dark and absolutely amazing.

○ No torturing happening around as to not disturb anything, because Damien might love torturing souls, but he loves you more.

○ Although… torturing souls might be part of one of the reception’s activities… but shhh

○ The classic wedding song where you march towards your future spouse is definitely played in a metal genre, because why the hell not?

○ Also your wedding dress is a dark black that matches perfectly with Damien’s tuxedo (if you’re wearing a dress, that is).

○ It’s a dress (or tuxedo) that he helped you picked out because he has a great sense of style and there’s no way he’s gonna let his other half walk around wearing garbage.

○ So yeah, he doesn’t care about the bad and good luck myths of weddings.

○ “I’m the Prince of Hell, babe. Our wedding is gonna go exactly like we planned it or I’ll lose it.”

○ He’s the one who did your hair and makeup, which almost took forever because he wanted it to be perfect in both his and your eyes, but you’re really glad you got to spend most of the morning with him.

○ One of his dads happily marched with you, and the other one took care of binding your souls together.

○ Yes. Binding your souls. This is a hardcore version of marriage, you have to deal with it.

○ You’re more than glad though, because you couldn’t imagine binding your soul to anyone else and neither does he.

○ It’s a wedding that everyone will remember, not only because of how different and edgy it is, but also because of how much love you two showed each other.

Scott Howl:

○ Your wedding would be big and somewhere in the outdoors, preferably in the woods, because Scott’s family is absolutely gigantic and every single one of the members is a werewolf.

○ It’s something that you had anticipated in the preparation of the wedding, along with the menu that you knew would need to be very meaty because of them, and so your wedding was perfectly arranged to welcome a hundred of hungry werewolves.

○ Scott was very grateful that you didn’t complain about the things you had to do because of his family, and you could see that he was very happy with everything you had done.

○ Because let’s face it, Scott wouldn’t be able to help you prepare the wedding properly.

○ Why? Probably because he would lose his concentration after five seconds and go play with a random butterfly he spotted earlier.

○ But you love him and you know he wants to help, so you include him in every little thing you have to do without actually expecting him to do any work.

○ And despite all the struggle to get it done…

○ … everything was worth it in the end.

○ You felt so happy when you finally marched towards your one true love, the forest welcoming you with bright colors and an amazing smell while the sun felt warm against your skin.

○ But the best part was seeing Scott looking right back at you, a wide smile on his lips while his eyes watered in happiness.

○ Everything was absolutely perfect, even with his cousins whistling and screaming at you two to just kiss already (even though you haven’t even started the ceremony yet), and the whole crowd erupted in huge acclamations when you did kiss.

○ Then the whole wedding turned to this huge family party with lots of wine and upbeat music, the children chasing after each other in a wild game of tag.

○ But you didn’t care, because those people were now your family too.

○ And you couldn’t be happier to be part of Scott’s future.

Liam de Lioncourt:

○ You were already so happy that Liam wanted to marry you despite how cliché it was, you didn’t want to give him something that would make him feel uncomfortable.

○ So you crossed the ‘big princess wedding’ off of your list and instead prepared a small one with him, with only a few members of your families and friends.

○ You didn’t mind that at all, because you’ve proved each other multiple times that your love is your own, and you have absolutely nothing to prove to anyone.

○ And big or a small wedding isn’t gonna change the fact that you’re promising to love each other for eternity.

○ But Liam knows you always wanted a beautiful wedding, and so he rents a small venue and actually invests time with you into picking flowers and colors.

○ It’s a beautiful compromise between the two of you so that you can both be happy with it.

○ The fact that it’s a small wedding makes it all so much more intimate and special to the two of you.

○ You were so beautiful to his eyes that Liam felt compelled to compliment you the whole day, without caring about how lovey-dovey he might have sound.

○ It’s his wedding day, it’s the one day he gets to be as romantic and cliché as he wants without getting judged.

○ Also, Liam is lowkey the best dancer in the entire universe and you have difficulties to follow him sometimes

○ While your friends are getting drunk at the reception, you would probably sneak out without getting noticed to have some alone time, and go to a secret spot where you had one of your first dates.

○ It’s just a cute and adorable wedding that warms both of your heart, no matter how hard you might cringe in a couple of hundred years.

Polly Geist:

○ You didn’t get a chance to say one word about the type of wedding you wanted that Polly already screamed something:

○ “Let’s have a beach wedding!”

○ She then went on to all the good things that come with a beach wedding: first off, a beach, then the ocean, also the bright and warm sun, and finally, the huge possibility to make the most amazing beach party of all the time.

○ It didn’t take long for you to agree with her (mostly because you knew she wouldn’t stop talking about it if you didn’t agree), and the two of you went on to prepare the wedding.

○ Somehow Polly’s the one who takes care of almost everything.

○ She’s very passionate about your upcoming wedding and she wants it to be absolutely perfect for both you and her.

○ Though, she hides it with well-played jokes, but you always manage to see right through her.

○ You think it’s sweet that she cares so much, and you trust her with all of your heart, so you let her manage everything.

○ Turns out she prepared the most beautiful beach wedding you could ever ask for, both of you holding hands the whole time the judge was marrying you.

○ You loved feeling the breeze in your hair and smelling the salty water, but what you loved the most was the passion in Polly’s eyes.

○ She actually becomes a blushy mess when she says her vows, scared that she’s gonna mess it up.

○ It’s so adorable, you can’t help but give her lips a small kiss.

○ “Wait, you’re not married yet!”

○ That outburst from the judge made everyone laugh.

○ But it cheers you hear when you finally share a passionate kiss.

○ Then music had blaster all around and people with trays full of drinks arrived.

○ “Hell yeah! Now let’s get this party started!”

Vera Oberlin:

○ Let’s be clear, she’s the one who took charge of everything.

○ This is her wedding, it’s gonna be as perfect as she wants it to be.

○ Of course you reminded her that it’s your wedding too, and so she included you in some of the wedding stuff.

○ But you know she loves you and wants your happiness, so you were a hundred percent sure you would love the wedding she’s planning.

○ And you were right.

○ Much like Damien, the wedding’s theme is very dark.

○ The decoration is a Victorian-style exploiting somber colors, and sinister music is played during the ceremony.

○ She can tell you really like it and she’s so glad.

○ Also, very much like Liam, it’s a rather small wedding, which doesn’t surprise you.

○ Because Vera made a lot of enemies in the past and doesn’t want any of them to ruin her day.

○ But also because she doesn’t know a lot of people she would want to share this incredible moment with.

○ Aside from you, her family and a couple of friends, there’s no need for anyone else.

○ She says her vows first, like she told you when she proposed, and you can’t help but cry at them.

○ It makes her feel proud because she worked really hard on her vows, but also, she’s happy that she managed to make you feel all of her love for you.

○ She also almost cries when you say yours.

○ Almost.

○ It might be her wedding day, but she’s still Vera Oberlin and she will not cry in front of people.

○ The wedding ends up being sinisterly beautiful, and you wouldn’t trade it for any other wedding in the world.

○ Because it’s a wedding where you get to have Vera as your wife, and that’s the only thing you could ever ask for.

[aion-rsa]

Shameless Season 11 Episode 7 Review: Two at a Biker Bar, One in the Lake

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This Shameless review contains spoilers.

Shameless Season 11 Episode 7

“Why do you still all live together? You obviously hate each other.”

A tenet of Shameless that’s defined the series even more than its Chicago setting or lower class social strata is that the dysfunctional Gallagher family all live together in one crowded house. There are nearly ten people living in the Gallagher household at any given time and these close quarters are metonymic of the love-hate relationship between the Gallaghers that’s at the core of the series. 

This cramped lifestyle is uncomfortable and limiting in many ways, but it’s allowed them to become stronger and closer in the process. Shameless has previously handled this living situation as an enduring badge of honor for the Gallaghers, but “Two at a Biker Bar, One in the Lake” is the first episode that wonders if it’s actually codependent behavior and questions if the Gallaghers should still be living together after these eleven seasons. This important question causes different reactions in the entire family, which results in one of Shameless’ strongest episodes of its final season.

The biggest conflict that drives nearly all of the activity in “Two at a Biker Bar, One in the Lake” is Lip’s selfish proposal to sell the Gallagher home and the resistance that he faces from everyone else. It makes sense that this idea would have extremely limited appeal to anyone, so it’s reassuring to see the various Gallaghers come back at Lip with unenthusiastic responses, because why wouldn’t they! 

It’s actually kind of sickening to see Lip try to buy out his family’s votes with meager favors like preparing their favorite food. This is a major decision that’s going to change the rest of their lives, not a vote over what’s being watched for movie night. Digestible favors aren’t the solution here and Lip should really just listen to his family instead of focusing on the right way to flip them.

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Lip’s unscrupulous tactics become cruelly manipulative when he tries to sway the younger members of the family, like Carl, with the potential in their $20,000 buyout. That’s hardly enough for Carl to upgrade from the life that he currently has, especially after he just decked out the basement and made his living quarters more comfortable than they’ve ever been. It’s rough to watch Lip aggressively bully his family into immediately voting on the matter and then being resentful when the consensus doesn’t side in his favor. The fact that nobody else votes to sell the house should give Lip enough of an indication that this is something that his family isn’t interested in and that he should find another way to solve his housing and financial problem.

I was concerned over Liam’s future if the Gallagher house disappears and so it’s satisfying to see this episode explore Liam’s fear over this exact situation. Surely some family member would step up and allow him to live with them, but the fact that he doesn’t consider that and thinks that he’s on his own speaks volumes for how he currently views his family. He’s more comfortable with Kevin and Vee than any Gallagher. Honestly, Lip should volunteer to house Liam until he finds something else, considering that this is all his fault, but Liam could do better than them at this point.

No Gallagher is more opposed to Lip’s suggestion to sell the house than Frank. He sequesters himself and grapples with the possibility of losing this symbol that’s been with the Gallaghers for generations in a much more philosophical manner than everyone else. Frank has been possessive over his territory and this very home in the past, but it’s always been for selfish reasons whereas his motivation here is surprisingly tender and poetic. Now, that’s not necessarily the reason to keep a house, but it’s a much purer motivation than Lip’s reasons for wanting to sell it. 

Frank’s continued to watch his family grow up and move beyond him and this house is the one constant that’s been present in the majority of his life. This means even more to Frank now after his dementia diagnosis and he finds more of his world slipping away from him. In many ways, Frank needs to keep this house and this episode highlights that in a manner that’s graceful and natural.

The rest of Frank’s material in this episode is quite haunting even if he does playfully manipulate others with his fresh diagnosis as a new tool in his arsenal of cons. “Two at a Biker Bar, One in the Lake” finds another clever way to juxtapose Shameless’ final season with some of its earliest exploits. There are several installments where Frank has gone on a massive bender and spends the episode in a stupor as he attempts to find his way back home. 

There’s never been an element of fear in those past excursions, but it’s now genuinely frightening to see Frank out of his element in some foreign place as he struggles to remain composure and figure out where he belongs. Shameless is already getting a lot of mileage out of this and it’s making its limited time with Frank’s diagnosis work as opposed to a whole season where he’s lost and mentally in bad shape.

Frank barely manages to get home in one piece due to his failing memory, but new drama with Sandy makes Debbie learn something that she wishes that she could forget. More of Sandy’s guarded past comes home to roost and now there’s a child that’s also in the equation. Debbie actually manages to create a modicum of empathy for her character as she emphasizes the importance of not shirking the responsibility of parenthood. 

It’s helpful for Debbie to display some humanizing qualities in an episode where the rest of the Gallaghers explicitly shout, “We just hate Debbie,” but she quickly turns the situation around on herself by how she handles her feelings. It’s incredibly inappropriate for Debbie to get involved in Sandy’s custody battle and consciously ignore what both parents and the child are requesting in this situation. Debbie’s erratic behavior is all the response of her intense abandonment issues from Monica and even Fiona, to some extent. Debbie seems resistant in the area even if it’s something that the audience has been aware of for some time.

The other major relationship that this episode deconstructs is the recent encounter between Carl and Tish, which begins as DOA on account of the sexual assault component of it all, but takes a surprising turn by the end of everything. Carl lets Tish down in a gentle and caring manner that’s actually mature and seems like it will be premature, albeit responsible, conclusion to their time together. This is Shameless, so “mature” is a word that’s typically out of the show’s vocabulary. Initially, Carl’s stress over this scenario explodes in a humorous and inappropriate display at work, but then matters take a more realistic approach to this relationship. 

There’s a very sitcom-like aesthetic to a lot of “Two at a Biker Bar, One in the Lake’s” storylines and like in most sitcoms, Carl and Tish’s problem is a case where clear communication would have solved everything. I actually love how this plot plays out where Tish is a decent, accomplished person who has valid excuses for all of her behavior. Similarly, Carl never initially accuses her of rape because he’s equally trying to act like a gentleman and minimize any unnecessary conflict in their goodbye. It’s a simple, yet surprising, resolution where Carl is actually the wild one and Tish is completely normal. It’s a welcome change of pace and it provides a nice taste of Carl’s awkward transition into adult relationships now that he’s growing up and entered this seemingly more responsible stage of his life.

Ironically, consistency has been good for Carl, but it’s something that’s been sporadic in this season of Shameless. The group dynamic in episodes has occasionally been unbalanced or felt unnatural, but there’s a very comfortable energy around the Gallaghers in this episode. Characters like Lip and Debbie become antagonistic and cause ripples throughout the rest of the family, but these moments of tension are explored in larger group scenes that benefit from the complete family’s dynamic. Mickey not even say something in a scene, but the fact that he’s there and offers an exasperated eye roll to Ian or Carl accomplishes so much. The beginning of this season struggled in this area, but it’s been a triumph across the past few installments and will hopefully continue until the season’s end.

This is a natural and effortless Shameless episode not just in terms of its character dynamics, but also its sense of humor. This installment is easily one of the funnier entries of the season and lands some legitimately hilarious gags. It’s always appreciated when Shameless can accentuate its strong comedic skills, especially since lately it’s embraced melodrama and quirky scenarios over direct jokes. 

“Two at a Biker Bar, One in the Lake” is an effective reminder that this show can still be quite humorous and the moment where Frank is a bar that’s not the Alibi and gets tripped up over a Vee doppelganger made me laugh out loud. It also might be the last joke that’s made which stems from Frank’s dementia if the subject matter grows more intense on that front.  

Shameless embraces this lighter comedic energy the most with Ian and Mickey’s storyline, where they try to acquire some gay friends for themselves. This is fantastic right from the jump and it’s such a pleasant and affable storyline that it almost feels out of place in Shameless, especially eleven seasons in. Mickey struggles to make something as simple as a smile seem natural and it only gets more ridiculous as these two put themselves out there. 

Mickey and Ian both generate an awkward energy and it’s a major wakeup call to just how atypical the Gallaghers and Milkoviches are in contrast to the rest of Chicago. The craziest detail here is that Mickey becomes the more popular of the duo in the end and it’s a highlight to see him trading barbs and doing pile-ons as Ian tries to collect himself. Ian and Mickey’s behavior in their post-married life has been a bright spot in this season and this is the easily most enjoyable of their storylines so far. The two have been in such heightened scenarios that there’s a real charm to them doing something this normal and mundane. 

Once everything comes to a head in “Two at a Biker Bar, One in the Lake,” Lip reaches a very dangerous place and he practically has a mental breakdown over the avalanche of selfish and misguided decisions that he’s made this season. Lip has been responsible for some seriously awful things, but “Two at a Biker Bar, One in the Lake” concludes with behavior that is so out of line and on par with any of Fiona and Frank’s worst behavior. A reckoning is coming and it might be too late for Lip to get a happy ending by the time that all of this is over. 

All of Lip’s foolishness crashes together in such a disastrous manner that you practically expect the Curb Your Enthusiasm theme to kick in. The most important thing that Lip needs to do is just face reality and know when to tap out rather than continue to dig himself deeper. This behavior was problematic when Lip was a single self-destructive alcoholic, but now he has a child and life partner and it’s not tenable any longer. Just live with her family, dude!

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“Two at a Biker Bar, One in the Lake” is a satisfying episode that greatly benefits from a smart script that’s heavy in humor. This season of Shameless has gotten a little away from itself, but this episode turns to more grounded scenarios that are rooted in the characters’ backstories. It’s exactly what the series needs right now and as Frank loses track of who he is in a mental capacity and Lip loses sight of himself based on how far he’s fallen, it’s reassuring that Shameless has found itself and remembers what makes it work as it heads into the Chicago sunset.

The post Shameless Season 11 Episode 7 Review: Two at a Biker Bar, One in the Lake appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[axwalker]

The Trade 6

Synopsis :  Liam is running for Cordonia’s presidency. To assure his victory, Constantine makes an arraignment behind his back for him to marry the rich ambassador’s daughter: Alexis O’Brien. Due to her father’s threats she has no other option that seduce Liam and make him fall in love with her. But what does she really feel? (AU)

Pairings: DrakexMC LiamxMC 

Warnings: I love drama and chaos so this will probably get a bit dark. Non for  this chapter though

Please note that this is my first series and English is not my first language. I really love ALL kinds of feedback.  Don’t hesitate to comment!

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Pixelberry except for Alexis O’Brien and her evil father George O’Brien JR.

To catch up: Masterlist

One thousand thanks to @of-course-i-went-to-hartfeld​ for being my amazing beta reader , having infinite patience and creating THIS INCREDIBLE moodboard ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

I'm tagging those who asked, if you want to be added to the list just ask, I'll very be happy to do it :)  

@pug-bitch​ @mskaneko​ @burnsoslow​ @of-course-i-went-to-hartfeld​ @msjr0119​ @pedudley​ @texaskitten30​ @desiree-0816​ @kingliam2019​ @yukinagato2012​

Drake stood next to the window staring at Alexis who was visibly uncomfortable. After a few seconds of deafening silence, Drake moved to the desk and started looking angrily for some papers.

“Well, it looks like I’m stuck working with you.” He growled, “we might as well start.”

Alexis arched her eyebrows “Yes, we are both stuck. It’s not like I am jumping of joy to work with you either” She took a deep breath, after all, everything was her fault. “In any case, I would like to apologize, I kn-“

Drake shook his head interrupting her “There’s no need. You were just telling the truth last night. You have absolutely no feelings for me, isn’t that right Alexis?” He looked at her pointedly.

At the sight of those penetrating brown eyes directed at her, she felt her resolve to crumble. His manly presence had the amazing power of making her feel nervous and feverish.

“Yes, no. I mean ...”  She ran her hand through her hair “I don’t know what I meant. I just know that I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“Don’t worry you didn’t.” He smirked at her wishing internally that it was true “Concerning Liam though, I can’t decide if you really like him or you’re just playing with him because of his position “

She looked away without saying a word.

“What? You’re not even going to defend yourself?” He asked angrily taking a step towards her.

“What for?” She answered her eyes lit with fury “No matter what I say, you won’t believe it” She added sadly, “you already decided what you think of me.” She couldn’t face him anymore, so she turned to the window.

“And whose fault is that Alexis?” He took another step closer, now standing only a few inches away from her. He could almost touch her and there it was, that electric tension between them again. His fingers ached to reach hers. Strangely enough, for a few seconds, he had the impression that she was feeling the same. He could’ve sworn that her fingers moved too, almost touching his hand. Suddenly, she moved to hug herself.  

He watched her for a moment, trying to decipher her expression. She had a deeply sad look on her face, but he couldn’t stop himself from admiring her. She was breathtaking with the light of the sunset reflecting on her eyes and auburn hair. There was some sort of vulnerability in her that made him want to take her into his arms more than anything.

“It’s mine,” she finally answered regretfully. “I shouldn’t have lied that night” Or last night, she wanted to add but couldn’t.

Drake finally reached the spot where she was standing next to the window. He leaned against the wall crossing his arms on his chest without taking his eyes off of her. He spoke with a soft voice, trying not to sound as angry as before.

“No, you shouldn’t have. But it’s done. Let’s try to forget about it and work together.” He took a deep breath trying to hide the disappointment on his raspy voice. “For Liam’s sake.”

She answered with a sad smile of her own. “Yes, you’re right. Maybe you can brief me before the meeting in Lythikos tomorrow.”

Pointing to the seat next to the desk so she could sit, he started to tell her everything about Liam’s plans for Cordonia.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Olivia Nevrakis was ready to host the first meeting of Liam’s cabinet at her Lythiko’s estate. She wanted to make sure everything would be perfect for his first encounter with the team, so she and Drake had spent hours planning everything until the last detail. They didn’t always see eye to eye, and she loved to tease him, but he was one of the most capable people she had ever met, and God knows that was not a compliment she gave easily, definitely not to men. However, his most important quality at Olivia’s eyes was his loyalty, she was sure they were the only ones that actually had Liam’s best interests in mind. Not only because they had both grew up with him and loved him, but because they both believed in him.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neville Vancoeur was the first to arrive at his suite at Lythikos. He hated to recognize that the rude redhead hadn’t spared in any luxurious detail and had even thought of buying his special brand of champagne. He was hoping he could convince the woman he loved to spend one more night with him but since the beginning of Liam’s campaign, she wasn’t being herself. His mind suddenly drifted to the money he had invested. At first, he had been torn between Liam and Godfrey but had finally decided that Rhys was a more secure investment than the old Fydelia’s governor. Today was the first cabinet meeting, he would be able to see if his money was being put to good use.

The ride to Lythikos gave Hana Lee an opportunity to improve her education proposal for the meeting. She was sure that amongst all the members of the cabinet she was the happiest to work with Liam in the construction of a new Cordonia. They shared the same ideals, the identic conviction that the only path to success was a good education and that the one imparted at Cordonia needed a desperate reform. Still, she was anxious to present her project to the rest of the cabinet. After all, she knew Rashad, Bertrand, and Neville only thought about rentability and a new educational program was costly. She only hoped Liam believe in her enough to fight for the budget that would fund the program. She was so lost on her thoughts that she didn’t see Kiara talking to her.

“Hey, Hana” Kiara grinned “Are you there?”

“Sorry, Kiara. Were you talking to me?”

“Yes, I was asking if you were ready for the meeting”

“Yes, I am. I’m a little nervous, but I have faith in the program”

“You do?” Kiara cocked an eyebrow “For what I heard is costly and you don’t have all the cabinet’s support, I know Rashad will vote against it and Bertrand too. You will need some friendly votes to get it through.”

Hana looked at her colleague inquisitively. “Like yours, Kiara?”  

The brunette nodded “It would be a good start, we’re both women in a sea full of men and we should support each other.” Kiara didn’t add that she knew that helping Hana now could be fruitful in the future.

Hana was pondering Kiara’s words and was about to answer when she saw the young diplomat face lit up. Her entire demeanor changed, and she plastered a flirty smile in her face. Hana turned expecting to see Kiara’s fiancé Rashad coming their way. She was surprised to discover that the man capable of such a transformation on Kiara’s behavior was no other than Liam’s assistant, Drake Walker.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rashad Domvallier had been conflicted for months. The stress of having to keep so many secrets was slowly killing him. The campaign wasn’t easy either.  Kiara had been very clear of what she was expecting of him, and he knew it was best to play by the rules she had set for both of them. Rashad trusted her and was sure she wouldn’t stop before anything to get them to the top. He’d have to continue living a lie. Rashad didn’t like it but the truth would cost him everything, so he had to be careful that no one would never find out.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Drake thought about everything that had to be ready for the cabinet’s meeting in Lythikos. Everyone was supposed to sit down and discuss Liam’s program, but Drake knew some of them had their own agendas. They still didn’t know what Neville Vancoeur was going to ask them in return for his investment. Rashad Domvallier had a lot of ambitions and Drake knew he was going to try and take any possible advantage for his company. Bertrand’s well-known priority was to restore his family’s old glory. And Kiara Theron cared about her career more than anything. And now her. It was bad enough that he couldn’t shake her off his mind, now Alexis would be physically present during the whole campaign. They had spent the morning before together, and even if they both managed to stay professional after their discussion, a sort of tension that Drake couldn’t describe stayed with them. Drake sighed; it was going to be a long afternoon.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Constantine entered the office Olivia had set for Liam at her house.

“Good morning son. I came because I wanted to discuss some of the positions, you’re going to confirm this afternoon regarding the cabinet.”

Liam looked up from the papers he was reading. “My decisions are already taken, father. You know who I chose for every position.”

Constantine smiled at his son. “I do, Liam. I just don’t want any surprises.”

“If this is about Olivia, don’t worry. She’ll understand. She’s too young to be in charge of the Department of Defense. And she’s always been supportive of my decisions.” He stared at him. “I won’t change my mind concerning Drake though. He will be my chief of staff, father”.

“Oh, I know son. And I actually think he’s a good choice. He has a master’s degree in political studies, he’s intelligent, loyal as a dog, and lacks the ambition that would make him a threat to you.” He added the last part contemptuously.

Liam answered angrily. “He doesn’t lack ambition, he’s just not as passionate by politics as we are. You know Drake wanted to do something else with his life.”

Constantine raised his voice. “I wasn’t going to pay an expensive career so he could spend his life taking care of fucking animals when he could be useful to us. To you.”

Liam knew there was absolutely no point in discussing Drake with his father. “We agree then. Coronel Richards for the Ministry of Defense and Drake for Chief of staff.

Constantine looked pointedly at his younger son “And your brother as vice-president”.

The young candidate sighed “Right. My brother” the same one that didn’t even bother to show up at Lythikos to be at the meeting.

Constantine grinned at his youngest son. “You didn’t tell me what you thought of your new speechwriter”

“I was wondering when you were going to bring that up father. Subtlety has never been your strong suit. I know what you’re doing”

“I told you there were going to be some perfectly good suitors at the masquerade. I’m just happy that you found one, Liam.”

“To be honest, I didn’t think I would like anyone at that party. But Alexis is …” He paused pensively “so different, so beautiful and passionate. I actually think you could be right father; she could be it for me.”

“Well, the timing couldn’t be better, Liam.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The cabinet meeting started at 4:00 p.m. Everyone gathered around the table at the business center of the Lythikos estate.

Liam started with a short speech trying to inspire them with the ideas and projects he had for his country. Then he proceeded to announce that they had a new addition to the campaign team. A trail of murmurs was heard across the room when Alexis entered.

“Good afternoon, everyone” She was standing before them. “I’m Alexis O’Brien. I’m very happy to be part of this campaign. I can’t wait to start working with you.”

Kiara saw Drake looking at her the same way he did at the masquerade ball. It made her dislike Alexis instantly. “Aren’t you the ambassador’s daughter?”

“Yes, I am” Alexis stated simply.

“Wow, easy way to get a job.” She smirked.

“I’m sorry, aren’t you Judge’s Theron daughter?” Alexis asked raising her eyebrows

“As a matter of fact, yes I am. I’m also fluent in six languages and have been preparing for this position for a long time” She turned her computer showing a Google page “You, on the other hand, have not. I mean after your degree, you just banished. You haven’t work in any campaign or written anything worthy of being mentioned anywhere”

Liam rose to speak on Alexis' behalf, but she beat him to it.

“I sure hope you’ll run the Department of Foreign Affairs better than you google. I don’t have anything to prove to you, but for transparency’s sake, let’s get this over with.” She stood in front of Kiara. “Lookup Elena Ortiz”

Drake’s heart skipped a beat when she said the name she had given him the day they met. Alexis avoided his gaze.

“As you can see,” she continued when Kiara typed and multiple results showed on the google main page, “I’ve worked in two different campaigns, one for the New York mayor’s office and one for the democrat primaries, both candidates won.” She paused and looked the brunette right into her eyes.  “I’ve also written for the NY Times and the Washington Post, but I don’t know if that’s good enough for you.” She saw Kiara was about to speak, she lifted her hand to stop her “before you ask, I changed my name because I didn’t want my father’s name to influence anyone, I wanted to be hired for myself, miss Theron.” She emphasized Kiara’s last name.

Liam smiled proudly at her. “Well, if that’s all concerning Alexis, I have other announcements to make.” He saw his father nod at him from the other end of the table. “If I win, I’m naming General Richards as the Secretary of Defense.”

Olivia rose from her seat. “What? What are you talking about Liam? You promised me that position.”

Liam shook his head. “No, Liv, I said I would consider it.”

“Bullshit! It was done until you let yourself get influenced by him.” She pointed at Constantine “Is that how this is going to be if you win? You on the stage but he always behind you actually running everything?”

“Olivia, sit down.” Drake took her arm. “You’ll speak about this later, privately.” Drake was angry at Liam too, he knew how much Olivia wanted to be part of the cabinet, how hard she had worked for it.

Olivia sat visibly furious; Liam continued. “Everybody here saw this coming, but I’ll make it official. Drake, I’m naming you Chief of staff.”

Drake nodded.

It was Neville’s turn to get upset. “Him? Can’t you name someone who has more political power?”

“It will be Drake, and that’s final. Now the position everyone is wondering about: VP” He sighed knowing that his father wouldn’t be happy at his decision “It is true that I considered Leo for it, but he doesn’t care enough to even show up today.”

Constantine shot an angry look at him, but Liam ignored him.

“I decided to name someone that has always stood by my side, she’s an excellent tactician and I know she’ll defend this campaign with the same fire she just showed us. Olivia, do you want to be my vice-president?”

Olivia Nevrakis never cried, but if she did, she would’ve cried then. She answered visibly touched. “Of course, Liam. I’ll be honored.”

After discussing the rest of the cabinets’ positions and reviewing Hana’s educational proposal, Liam dismissed everyone for the rest of the afternoon. He was aware he would have to face his father’s rage, but he didn’t care. Liam knew he had taken the right decision.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alexis decided to take a walk around Lythikos to think about everything that had happened at the meeting with the cabinet. Lost on her thoughts, she didn’t see the smiling man running towards her.

“Lexie, hi!” Maxwell was out of breath trying to catch up with her.

“Max!” She was genuinely happy to see him; he was one of the friendliest people she had met in Cordonia. Or anywhere else.

“What are you doing here?”

“Well, Beaumont events are in charge of tomorrow’s fundraising. There will be another ball here in Lythikos, at Olivia’s mansion tomorrow night.”

“Olivia …” She paused thinking about her next question “She seems very close to Drake… and Liam. What’s the deal there?”

“Oh, they grew up together. Olivia’s parents died when she was 4 years old.” Alexis gasped, Max nodded and continued, “her father was Constantine’s chief of staff, so he adopted her. Drake’s mother moved to Texas and let him and Savanah, Drake’s sister, with Constantine and Regina.”

“Oh, why?”

“I don’t know much about the details. Maybe you could ask him.”

“Hum … so the four of them are like siblings” She seemed relieved.

“Uh, five. There’s Leo too. That’s Liam actual brother”

“Oh, yes. My father mentioned to him. He’s a senator too, isn’t he?”

“Yes, Valtoria’s. But he’s not like Liam. He doesn’t care about the people he represents or about anything really. Well, that’s not true. He cares about women. Like a lot. And I’m not talking about fighting for their rights” He winked at her

“Ha! Yeah, Max, I got that” She bites her lip unsure of how Max would interpret her next question “So, Olivia doesn’t have a relationship with Drake or any of them?”

Max snickered. “That’s hilarious. Drake and Olivia, he! If one day you get suicidal, I suggest you ask Liv that; you’ll be dead in less than 5 seconds.” 

“Why? Do they hate each other?” It certainly hadn’t seemed so earlier. During the meeting, Drake had been the only one capable of calming her.

“The contrary, I think Drake is the only real friend she has. He’s like a true brother to her. I mean Leo is always away. My magnificent self, as unbelievable as it sounds, annoys the hell out of her and she’s in love with Li …” Max put his hand on his mouth realizing that he had talked too much. “Damn! I’m sorry!”

Olivia was in love with him. That explained, partly at least, her outburst at the meeting and then the tenderness on her eyes when she had accepted to be his VP.

“Don’t worry Max. It’s ok”

“But you and Liam are dating, right?”

She ran her hand through her hair, something she did when she was nervous. “Liam and I are getting to know each other. I don’t know what will happen”

“Well, Li is a great guy, really amazing. I grew up around politicians and I can tell you this, not a lot of them care about their country as much as Li does.” He looked at her carefully. “But, just so you know Drake is a pretty great guy too.”  

“I don’t see what that has to do with anything, Max. I just told you I’m seeing Liam.”

“Yes, I know is just … Ok, I don’t know you that much, but I really like you Lexie, so I’m gonna give you a dose of my legendary honesty.” They both laughed. “I was there the night you two met, and as clueless as everyone thinks I am, I saw. I saw how he was looking at you, how he was smiling, how he was almost shy around you, believe me I know Drake since we were kids, I’ve seen him coming on to a lot, and I do mean a lot of women, but I’ve never seen him like that. And you seemed as smitten as he. What happened little blossom? “

Alexis smiled arching her eyebrows “Little blossom?”

Max shrugged “You smell like a cherry blossom.” He put his arm around Alexis’.

“To answer your question, nothing happened. It was a good date, but then I met Liam. That’s it.”

Maxwell shook his head. “It’s ok if you don’t want to tell me, Blossom. I know there’s something more, but I’ll leave you alone.”

She decided to change the subject “And you Max?” She smiled mischievously “Anyone special in your life?”

He blushed “Actually, yes. There’s someone special. I just don’t know where I stand. Is nothing official yet”

“Well, well, well look who’s being secretive now. Tell me more!”

“He! I will, just not here in the middle of the street. I know Cosmopolitans are completely out of fashion but I’m feeling vintage. Let’s hit a bar, Lexie”

Alexis snickered “I’d love to, but I have a diner with the whole cabinet. Raincheck for tomorrow?”

“It’s a date”

---------------------------------------

The diner had been better than Alexis had imagined. The Mediterranean food was delicious.  Olivia had placed her next to Bertrand, and even if he had seemed a little rigid at first, they soon found a shared passion for art and literature and ended up having a nice conversation.

Liam was chatting with General Richards but he couldn’t take his eyes off of Alexis. He was in awe at the way she had of being comfortable in any situation. She would be a perfect first lady. The idea of Alexis on his arm, sharing everything with him, being his wife, made him smile. People would say it was too soon, but he was truly excited for the first time since he could remember. He wasn’t naïve, but he’d always believed in love at first sight. Something he definitely would never share with Drake or Leo, both being far too cynical to understand. His eyes drifted to Alexis again. She was poised and elegant but had the sweetest smile and he had loved every second he had spent with her. He couldn’t wait to take her out again.

After one hour of painful chat with Kiara, Drake had finally found a valid excuse and went to the bar. He needed something strong to help him through the night. He couldn’t help but think back at the last argument he had with his sister. He missed her deeply.

Suddenly, his gaze stopped at Alexis. She was wearing a loose white sweater that made her tanned skin glow. He was surprised to see that not only she was talking to Bertrand, but she was doing it happily, and the old Beaumont was actually grinning back at her. She had the power of making anyone feel important, and it wasn’t fake charm, it was genuine interest. Drake smiled to himself. He knew he could watch her for hours. Her hands moved rhythmically while she spoke, emphasizing everything she said. Her smile lit up her entire face and reached her eyes. Eyes that were as expressive as the rest of her and had a twinkle of life that he was starting to like way more than he should.

“Watching something you like, Walker?”

Neville startled him. “What do you want, Neville?”

The shorter man snorted “It’s Mr. Vancoeur for you Walker”

Drake laughed “Please Vancoeur, you know I’d rather stop drinking whiskey forever that call you Mister.”  

“It is amazing how you managed to grow up with the Rhys and, still did not care to learn any manners or respect for your superiors.”

Drake smiled cockily, put his whiskey glass on the bar, and took a step towards Neville. “Care to tell me who my ‘superiors’ are, Neville?”

Suddenly the room went silent, everyone now staring at the scene at the bar.

“I was just joking Walker, you should not take everything so seriously,” Neville thought that with the whole room watching, Drake wouldn’t dare to touch him, so he added, “your sister was definitely much more fun than you are.”

Drake grabbed Neville by his jacket, ready to punch him.

Liam stood up to diffuse the tension. “That’s enough both of you. Neville, let me invite you to a drink.” He gave his friend an apologetic smile, Liam loathed Neville but he couldn’t ignore the fact that his family money was funding half of his campaign.

Drake stormed out the door without saying a word.

Alexis couldn’t believe the scene. Neville was clearly provoking Drake and Liam, instead of defending his best friend preferred to buy him a drink. She looked through the window, a storm was clearly coming, and there he was, alone and upset. She had to do something about it.

Taking her coat, she decided to follow him.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Drake was fuming, he had let Neville get the best of him. He knew that Neville was doing it on purpose, that he was trying to place one of his rich friends as Chief of Staff and that he wouldn’t stop until he discredited him. And even knowing all of that, Drake had fallen for it. Liam’s reaction pissed him as hell too. He understood that Neville was crucial for his campaign, but it would be great to feel that for once someone was on his corner.

Suddenly, he heard a noise. He turned and he froze on place when he saw Alexis staring at him.

“Hi!” She said with a soft voice

“What are you doing here?” He growled the question.

Her face fell. “Oh, I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

He didn’t understand. “Why?”

“Well, you were obviously upset after what that jerk told you. And I think there’s a storm coming.”

Drake couldn’t help it, he felt his heart swell at her words.“You shouldn’t be worrying about me, O’Brien”

“O’Brien?” She looked perplexed.

“That is your name, isn’t it?” He asked teasing her.

She smiled rolling her eyes “Yes, it is. So, what are you doing here?”

He sighed; he really wanted to share the moment with her but he also knew that doing it would only deepen whatever feeling he was starting to develop for her. Either way, he couldn’t stop himself.

“If you really want to know you’ll have to trust me.” He took a step towards her without breaking eye contact.

She stared back. “I trust you with my life.”

“Your choice O’Brien.” He gave her a crooked smile and shove her onto the soft snow.

“Hey!!” She snickered. “I suppose that one was my fault for trusting you!” She punched him playfully in the arm when he laid next to her.

“Stop complaining O’Brien, you’re missing it” He pointed at the most star-filled sky she had ever seen.

“Oh God, Drake, that’s…”

“Yes, milady?” He asked jokingly

“Gorgeous. I don’t think I ever have seen anything so beautiful before”

He turned to look at her eyes sparkling from the light of the shooting stars and at the expression of pure joy on her face. And he knew that it was the same for him. He had never seen anything so beautiful before either.

He blushed and turned back to look at the sky. “Nothing beats a clear view during a meteor shower.”

“Well, I’m glad I didn’t miss this,” she said softly.

“Really? I imagined you’d prefer to stay at the house discussing political tactics with Rashad or budget cuts with Hana.”

“Ha! Not really my scene.”

“Well, you clearly like politics, you worked on those campaigns and wrote in political journals”

She frowned “Yes, I love writing more than anything so I enjoy being a journalist, but I only participated in those campaigns because I believed the candidates could actually make a difference in the country, not because I love politics. Believe me, I know how despicable and disgusting they can be.” She said the last words fiercely, she had grown up seeing her father’s unethical tactics.

Some clouds started to creep across the stars “We really got here on time, looks like the storm will start any minute now”.

“Yeah, I didn’t want to miss it.” He smiled nostalgically. “I used to do this with my sister Savanah every year. We grew up around the Rhys’. My dad was Constantine’s bodyguard, and my sister and I were allowed to hang out with Li and Leo. Then shortly after he passed, we moved with them for good. So, we came here often. And then Sav left too”

“Where did she go?” She noticed the sad look in his eyes and would’ve given anything to comfort him, but she didn’t want to get any closer to him. They were already too close for their own good.

“She left to reconnect with my mother.” He sighed “It’s a long story, one that I won’t be boring you with.”

She spoke in a soft but firm voice, trying to convey how much it mattered to her. “Your story could never be boring to me Drake. If one day you want to talk, I’ll be here to listen.”

He turned to her, the desire to pull her body close to his and hold her was overwhelming. Alexis was there, laying at a few inches of him, her smell all around him. It was torture having her so close and being unable to touch her. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore, so he stood up.

“Is time to go, O’Brien.”

He gave her his hand so she could steady herself, but he pulled too strong causing her to lose her balance. She almost slipped, but he was quicker and took her into his arms to avoid her from falling. They stood like that for a few seconds, her head in his chest, his hand caressing her hair.

She didn’t seem to have the strength to pull apart from him and blamed his woody scent, it was addictive. 

Reluctantly, she separated from him and took his hand desperate to keep some form of contact with him.

Drake looked at her questioningly.

Alexis blushed. “You know for safety.”

He nodded and walked her back to Olivia’s state.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back in his room, Drake poured himself a glass of whiskey to calm himself. His heart was still racing after a moment with her. He would have to get whatever this was out of his system for his own sake. He knew that she would never choose him over Liam.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He had called her as soon as he saw the latest poll results. He couldn’t afford to lose and the way everything was going he was sure he would have to face a defeat. After his years in politics, he knew enough people in the right places, people that would be more than happy to help him in exchange for a favor or two. However, his most genius idea had been to recruit her. She was young and ambitious, and she wouldn’t stop at nothing to achieve her goal.

He was aware of how much he had changed. After all, he had been one of the first people to believe in democracy, to fight for it, but he had to admit that giving the power to the people hadn’t been a good idea. They weren’t always smart, and their vote often contradicted their bests interests. That’s why he had to step up one last time for the sake of his country and change the curse of elections.  

[fallforcs]

Stay

Art by: @sailingcaptainswan

Author: @singingisfun

Summary: Emma never thought the drunk she found passed out in The Rabbit Hole would change her life.

Rating: T

Trigger warnings: None

Thanks so much to @hookedmom for her patience with me.  You’re an incredible beta, sweetie!  I loved getting to know you!

Part 1

Pausing on the threshold of The Rabbit Hole, Emma gave her eyes a moment to adjust to the dim light.  As soon as they had, she made a cursory glance around the room and her brow furrowed in irritation.

“So? Where is he?” she called to the man behind the bar.

“Over there,” Leroy replied, waving his hand toward the back booth and coming around the bar to meet her at the table.

“Yeah, he looks like a real menace to society,” Emma commented once the man in question was in view.  He was passed out cold, his head lying on the table and one arm drooping limply off the side.

“He’s taking up space in my bar,” Leroy grouched, “I need to make room for paying customers.”

Emma looked around the nearly empty room and turned back with one eyebrow raised.

“So what? I still don’t want him using my bar as a hotel.”

She had to admit he had a point. “Have you even tried to wake him?”

“Of course, I have.”

“And?”

“And he didn’t even flicker an eye.”

Resigned, Emma turned back to the unconscious heap.  “What’s his name?”

“I didn’t ask and he didn’t say.”

“You mean to tell me you served him enough to pass out cold and you didn’t even check his ID?”

“I didn’t serve him a drop,” Leroy huffed.

Emma turned, surprised.  “You mean he came in like this?”

“No, he seemed fine when he came in.”

“So how did he get this way?”

“Got me, sister,” he replied, shrugging and turning to go back to the bar.

Emma stared a hole into his back as he walked away, irritated but not surprised at his brusqueness.

Releasing a sigh, she turned back to the man in the booth.  He didn’t look homeless.  His scruff was neatly trimmed and his hair was clean.  The clothes looked worn but not ragged and there was a black leather jacket flung carelessly in the seat next to him.  Tilting her head to the side, she noted long eyelashes that fell on his cheeks and a strong jaw under that scruff.  Handsome, she idly thought, and oddly vulnerable.  There was a wisp of hair falling across his forehead and she had an overwhelming urge to brush it away.  Annoyed by the impulse, she lifted her arm and snapped her fingers right next to his ear instead.

No response.

“Hey.” She poked his shoulder.

Still nothing.

Dammit.

How the hell was she supposed to get him out of here?  There was no way she’d be able to lug him out to the car alone.

After a glance around the room to ensure no one was watching, she gave him a hearty shove.  “Wake up!”

There was a low groan but that was the only response she got.

Fuck.

Resigned, she pulled out her phone and called David.

*****

Something was poking Killian in the back and his neck ached.  He tried to reposition himself and heard the low grind of squeaky bedsprings.  Confused, he opened his eyes and immediately squinted at the bright florescent lights above him.  Foggy realization started to penetrate.  He wasn’t in his bed.  He wasn’t on his couch.  And considering how scratchy and rough the blanket covering him was, there was only one logical explanation.

Bloody hell.

Stifling a groan, he cautiously sat up.  The air smelled strongly of coffee and his stomach clenched.

“Morning,” a female voice said from a few feet away.

“Morning,” he grumbled in return.

“You want some coffee?”

Trying to swallow the cotton in his mouth, he cautiously opened his eyes again.  “No, but water would be greatly appreciated.”

He had a quick glimpse of blond hair and a red covered shoulder shrugging before he clamped his eyes shut again.  Did have to be so bloody bright in this cell?

A metallic tapping on the bars made him open his eyes once more, relieved when he saw the cool bottle of water.  He took it immediately and pressed it to his aching head.

“Thank you, lass.”

The woman gave no response but stayed next to the cell door while he opened the bottle and drank deep.

“How’s the head?”

“Still on my shoulders.  Although, considering how it’s pounding, I might be better off if it weren’t.”

“I figured.  Here.” Her arm came through the bars again to reveal two small pills in her hand. “Ibuprofen.”

He downed them with the rest of the water and when he opened his eyes, there was a fresh water bottle in front of him.

“You need to hydrate.”

“Thanks,” he replied, taking the second bottle.

He heard shuffling and the scrape of a chair against the floor, looking up only long enough to see a vague figure sit down just on the other side of the bars before shading his eyes again.

“So, where did you come from Mr…?”

“New York,” he replied, intentionally not giving his name.

“Doesn’t sound like New York.”

“What?”

“Your accent.”

“I was born in London.”

“Where are you staying?”

“I… I’m not sure yet.”

“How did you get here?”

“I drove.”

Killian expected another rapid-fire question but she paused instead.

“Huh,” was her response.

“Huh, what?” he asked, finally feeling well enough to raise his head and look at her.

“You just cost me 20 bucks.”

It took him a moment, her solemn green eyes catching his attention and nearly mesmerizing him – even though those same green eyes were watching him with incredulity and a touch of derision.

“How’s that?” he finally managed.

“Well, you see, there’s a slick new Maserati parked on Main Street and my partner, David, and I had a bet on whether it was yours. I thought Doc had finally broken down and bought his dream car.  But, since it’s the only car around here I don’t recognize, it must be yours?”

“It is.”

“Which means you just cost me 20 bucks.”

Her irritated tone had his lips curving.  He wasn’t really sure why.  She was making it clear she’d thought he was some wandering vagabond who wouldn’t be able to afford such a car – or any car at all for that matter – but he couldn’t stop them.  “Sorry?” he ventured.

Her look was anything but amused, in fact, she looked even more annoyed. “So, what brings you to Storybrooke, Mr…?”

“Family business,” he replied, stubbornly ignoring again the implied question of his name.  The woman was getting under his skin with her sneering looks and rapid-fire questions.  And it was none of her bloody business what he was doing here.  All she could possibly charge him with was public intoxication and that had nothing to do with his reason for being in this one-stoplight town.  This town he’d sworn never to return to.  This town that held so many unhappy memories.

But she still wasn’t done.  “What sort of family business?”

“The private kind,” he returned, matching her tone.

That got her hackles up enough that she stood.  “Look, Mr. Whoever-the-fuck-you-are, this is my town.  And it’s my job to keep it safe.  And if you’re going to be drinking yourself into more stupors like the one last night and getting behind the wheel of that death machine, I want to know now.”

They were both frozen in place, caught at an impasse of sorts.  So they both stared, him sitting up straight on the rickety cot and her standing tall with her arms folded in front of her.  He was thankful for it.  Even though her eyes shot daggers at him, he was thankful for the few heartbeats of silence if only so that he could take time to study her.

His system spiked at the flash in her eyes – and he was honest enough with himself to admit that it wasn’t all temper.  In fact, very little of it was temper.  Most of it was want.  Pure, keen and intense want.  She was magnificent.  All that fire and verve exuding out of a delectable package of blond hair and green eyes.  It caught him by surprise with its intensity, enough so that his breath caught in his chest.  But it was an even bigger surprise when that want softened into something else, something that filled his chest with warmth.

Suddenly, he wanted to tell her the truth.  To tell her everything.  Somehow knowing that the proud beauty in the red leather jacket would understand.

*******

Emma saw the change in his features.  The anger faded – Emma Swan knew the look of anger – but the emotion it was replaced by wasn’t as easily read.  What she did know was that the change made her uneasy.  Not in a weird way, but more in a why-the-hell-am-I-harrassing-a-guy-for-a-single-night-of-getting-plastered way.  Because, honestly, he seemed harmless.  And the longer she watched him, the more uncomfortable she became with how she’d interrogated him.

His eyes were blue, an intense blue that held her frozen as he considered her, and for some reason, her breath wanted to hitch.  There was something deeply personal about his stare, like he was unlocking every secret she had without her having to say a word.  It was unnerving but not entirely uncomfortable.  She got caught in those eyes for several heartbeats, so much so that when he spoke it nearly made her jolt.

“It’s a funeral,” he said softly.  “I’m in town for a funeral.”

Emma’s stomach dropped.  If she’d felt guilty before, it was nothing compared to how she felt now.

“I’m sorry, I – ”

“It’s alright, lass.  It’s just that it’s a… difficult situation.”

It clicked then, and she didn’t know why it hadn’t clicked before.  She should have put it together the moment she’d heard his accent.

“You’re Liam’s brother.  Brennan’s son.”

“Ah, so you’ve heard of me.”

She ignored the swagger in his voice and cleared her throat.  “Uh, yeah.  Liam’s a friend of mine.  He… talks about you sometimes.”

That had the cockiness fading and he looked away.  “All bad, I imagine.”

Recalling the few times Liam had mentioned his brother, Emma was a little surprised Killian would think that.  Liam always spoke of him with pride.  Yes, there had been some frustration when Killian had refused to put out the effort to reunite with their father, but Liam was always quick to point out that Brennan was just as stubborn.  Liam had tried unsuccessfully to reunite them several times over the years but he didn’t lay blame at either of their feet.  Or, more accurately, he laid equal blame to both of them.

But more often than not, Liam would tell her of Killian’s successes.  Like Liam, Killian loved to sail, but while it was a hobby for Liam, Killian did it professionally.  He’d won several yacht races, including leading his team to victory in last year’s America’s Cup (which had had Liam smiling for weeks).  In addition, he’d designed and patented a new lift system for boats a while back and then worked a deal with some boat manufacturer.  Emma didn’t know all the details, but from what little she did know it must have been a hefty settlement.

Shortly after Killian had won the America’s Cup, a shiny new sailboat had showed up in Storybrooke harbor and Liam had confided in her that it had been a gift from his brother.  Then, just last week, right after she’d heard the news of Brennan’s death, she’d made a visit to Liam to check on him.  During the course of the visit she’d gone to the kitchen to make him some tea and there, right next to the stove was a check written by one Killian Jones to Liam Jones, a check large enough to cover all Brennan’s medical and funeral expenses.  Liam had caught her looking at it and quietly told her that Killian had been sending money home for years.  Liam had tried to refuse at first, but Killian wouldn’t hear of it.  To Killian’s mind, Liam had gotten stuck with taking care of their father and the least Killian could do was help with the financial side of it.

Bringing herself back to the present, she noted the way Killian’s eyes were downcast with his shoulders slumped.  It softened her even more, so her voice was quiet when she replied, “He’s never said a word against you.”

His eyes snapped back to hers, a wrinkle of confusion and incredulity appearing on his forehead.  After a moment though, the confusion was eclipsed by a much stronger emotion, relief maybe, but he turned his face away again before she could be sure.

To give him a moment, she walked over to the desk and grabbed the keys, then crossed back and unlocked the cell.

“You’re free to go.  I won’t file any charges as long as you promise not to pass out at The Rabbit Hole again.  Leroy isn’t the easiest to deal with.”

He only nodded in response, obviously still struggling with his emotions as he slowly stood.  To give him more time, she walked back over to the desk and picked up his flask.

“We found this in the seat next to you when we picked you up.”

“Thank you,” he said, taking the flask without meeting her eyes.

“You didn’t have a phone or any identification on you but your jacket is over there on the coat stand.”

He glanced over to the stand next to the door but didn’t make a move to leave.

“Look, Ms…?”

“Swan. Emma Swan.”

“I just want you to know I don’t make a habit out of passing out in bars.  It’s just…”

“I understand.  You don’t have to say anything else.”

“You understand?”

“Yeah.  Like I said, Liam’s a friend of mine and, well, this is a small town.  People talk.”

“Yes, they certainly do.” There was a touch of bitterness in his voice.  “And I’m sure my return will be grist for the gossip mill.  The prodigal son and all that.”

“Yeah, I’m sure it will be,” she replied, then added, “but they won’t hear it from me.”

He nodded and gave her a small smile of appreciation, shuffling nervously.

“Do you want to use the phone?  Call Liam?  I’m sure he’s worried about you.”

“No, mine is in the car.  And Liam doesn’t know I’m here yet.  I wasn’t supposed to get in ‘til today but I was… restless so I drove in last night.  Once I got here… Well, it was a bit late and I wasn’t sure…” He trailed off and shuffled on his feet again.  “Anyway, I stopped for a drink and the rest you already know.”

“Well, if you need anything while you’re here, don’t hesitate to ask.”

He opened his mouth to reply, then stopped and simply nodded.  But when he turned to go, she couldn’t stop herself from adding:

“Mr. Jones?”

He turned back to her.

“Welcome home.”

He hesitated for a half-second as though struggling with something then, making the decision, took a step in her direction.  “There is something you could do for me.”

“What’s that?”

“Have dinner with me tonight?”

The question caught her off guard, but the look he gave her was even more surprising.  His eyes were a mix of hope and apprehension, making her heart stumble in her chest.  “I…  I don’t think that’s a good idea.”  The hope drained from his eyes and she hurried on.  “It’s not that I don’t want to.  It’s just…”

How to explain it? she wondered.  How could she tell him, this man she’d just met, (that she’d lugged out of a bar last night, for Christ’s sakes) that she was already falling for him?  It didn’t make any sense.  It wasn’t rational.  But she felt it anyway.  She knew it in her bones.  How could she tell him she was already dreading the moment he would leave?  Because she was.  She was dreading it with a ferocity that had her gut clenching even now.

It would never work.  He was only here for his father’s funeral.  He wasn’t going to stay.  And why would he?  He was a jet-setting millionaire who could go wherever he pleased.  She, on the other hand, was a small-town sheriff and her roots were deep in Storybrooke.  She’d be the one left with a broken heart while he jetted off to who knows where.

Mortifyingly, that had tears stinging her eyes. “I…”

She was saved from utter humiliation when the front door of the station flew open and Emma’s son, Henry, came barreling through, followed by his father, Neal.

“Hey Mom, I left my history book here yester…” He skidded to a stop. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

The atmosphere in the room changed abruptly, the spell broken.  Killian’s eyes widened for an instant, his gaze flicking between Henry and Neal as Emma stepped over to her son.

“It’s okay,” Emma said, propping her arm on Henry’s shoulders.  “This is Killian Jones.  Liam’s brother.” She turned to Killian, “Killian, this is my son Henry.”

Their eyes met over Henry’s head and she saw him swallow hard even as Henry perked up excitedly. “You’re Liam’s brother?  Wow, this is so cool! You won the America’s Cup last year!  Liam told me all about it.  He’s been teaching me to sail.  He’s got a 33-foot sloop and we take it out every Saturday as long as the weather’s good.  Hey, while you’re in town, maybe you could come out with us!  We’re going on Sunday this week because Saturday he’s got to go to his father’s – ”  His eyes widened and his mouth snapped shut. “Sorry, I…”

“Don’t apologize,” Killian cut in, “It’s fine.  And, yes, I’d be happy to come out with you, if Liam agrees.”

“Uh, great.”

There was a moment of awkward silence after that and Emma noticed Killian’s eyes roam back to Neal.  Before she could make the introduction, though, Killian stepped toward him with his hand extended.  “Killian Jones,” he said with formality and, surprisingly, a touch of reluctance.

“Neal Cassidy,” Neal replied, shaking his hand.

She may have imagined it, but Emma thought she saw relief flicker across Killian’s face when he heard Neal’s last name.  “Pleasure to meet you.”

“You, too.  I was sorry to hear about your dad.”

“Thank you.”

More silence.

“Well, we should go or I’ll be late for school,” Henry piped up.  “It was nice to meet you Mr. Jones.”

“Killian,” Killian replied.

Henry’s face split into a delighted grin.  “Killian,” he agreed with a nod, then turned to his father. “Come on, Dad.”

Neal gave a short wave as he followed Henry out.

“Your son is a little spitfire,” Killian commented as soon as the door shut behind the pair.

“Yes, he is.  You know you don’t have to go sailing with them.  It was nice of you but – ”

“If I didn’t want to, I would have said so, but the fact of the matter is it’s been too many years since Liam and I went sailing together.  I’ve missed it.  I was actually hoping he’d have time while I’m here.”

He wasn’t lying, Emma was sure of it, his eyes clear and direct on hers before they flicked to the closed door and back.  “So, Neal…?”

She could hear uncertainty and, if she wasn’t imagining it, even a bit of envy in the question.  And, for an instant, she was tempted to let him believe that she and Neal were more than what they really were – but she couldn’t.  One, this was a small town, so there was every chance he’d find out from someone else, but more than that she didn’t want to lie to him.  “He’s, uh,” she cleared her suddenly dry throat, “I mean we…  We’re not… together.  He’s engaged to another woman.  He’s a good father.  And we’ve got a good relationship.  But it hasn’t been romantic in a long time.  We were very young when Henry was born.  And we thought we were in love but, well…” How much should she tell him?  “…things happened,” she finished and left it at that.

Clear relief washed over his face as she spoke, enough that she had to concentrate not to shift nervously.  Once again annoyed by her reaction to him, she straightened her back and crossed her arms.

“About dinner…  Like I said, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

He seemed undeterred by her determined stance and, if anything, it bolstered his confidence.  His eyebrow winged up knowingly, and her belly swooped as she realized he saw right through her act.  She had to give him points for perception.   Her breath nearly caught when a slow smile formed on his lips and he took two steps in her direction.  He stopped just shy of invading her personal space and hooked a thumb in his belt loop.

She wanted to step back but didn’t.

His voice dropped to a purr and he cocked his head to the side.  “Why is that, love?”

Rather than answer, she squared her shoulders.  “How long are you going to be in town?”

“A couple of weeks, give or take.”

“That’s why,” she replied.  “I’m not in the market for a quick fling.”

Something flickered in his eyes but he didn’t move.  “It’s just dinner, Swan.”

She didn’t respond, letting silence answer for her.  They both knew it wouldn’t be just dinner.

“Perhaps you’re right,” he conceded after a time and Emma drew in a deep breath of relief.  But the relief was short-lived as he took the last step between them, his eyes focused on her mouth.  “But fair warning, darling, I intend to do whatever it takes to change your mind.”

In self-defense (and self-preservation), she crossed her arms over her chest.  “It would take longer than two weeks to change my mind.”

His eyes rose back to hers, and in them she saw the flair of determination at the challenge.

“We’ll have to see about that, won’t we, love?” 

[fluffy-marshmallow-heart]

TRR New Beginnings Ch.6-Confessions, part 1

This is a 2 part chapter because it got a little long!

Words: 1950

After Drake changed into dry clothes he waited for Emma to return from the lake. When she walked in she was shivering, her once dry clothes clinging to her wet body and her wet hair plastered around her face. Drake knew she had brought some clothes with her, but he had already grabbed her a spare shirt and pair of boxes from his closet. He walked over to her and held them out

“Here, Rose. “

She frowned and said “Drake, I brought my own clothes.”

He smiled softly at her. “I know but…now you don’t have to dig through your suitcase.”

Slowly she reached out and took the clothes from him, their fingers brushing. Drake felt it immediately, that lightning bolt of pure connection. Judging by the way she yanked her hand back he knew she felt it too. She quickly shut herself into the bathroom. When she came back out Drake had trouble breathing. She looked so beautiful and so damn sexy wearing his clothes. He immediately wanted to tear them off and claim her as he had done over a year ago. But no. He needs to do this right. She’s obviously still a bit uncomfortable here. As she walked towards him brushing her hair she finally returned his smile.

"Thanks Drake. These are quite comfortable. I might have to steal these and never give them back” she joked.

Drake laughed “We’ll see.”

But on the inside he was screaming HELL YES, take everything I have and stay with me.

As the couch was still turned into a bed Drake decided he could make some food instead and they could sit in the kitchen. He was having trouble concentrating seeing her in his clothes with a bed so close by. For about the 10th time that day alone he tells himself he needs to do this right.

“Are you hungry, Rose?” She nodded. “OK, well I don’t have much but….” Drake trailed off as he eyed his fridge for the first time. Then looked in his cabinets. They were all full. Liam. He heard a chuckle behind him. He turned, surprised.

"Drake did you really just now realize that Liam shopped for you? He really wasn’t kidding when he said you barely ate, huh?”

Drake frowned. He was starting to wonder what Liam had told her about him. He had barely seen Liam throughout the whole past year, how much could he possibly know? His thoughts were interrupted again by another chuckle. Shaking her head and smiling Emma walked to the fridge and peeked inside herself, then checked the cabinets. She smirked.

"He told me he had groceries brought here but didn’t tell me what. He really went all out. With all this food we probably don’t have to leave the cabin for at least a month.”

She froze as she realized what she just said, and Drake’s breath hitched. A month?? Liam really wants us to stay here alone for a month?? Drake’s heart soared at the thought, but Emma had a look of shock on her face. Clearly, she wasn’t as happy about it. She cleared her throat.

“Well, don’t feel bad. I didn’t exactly eat a lot either. Minimum wage is no joke.” She gave him a half smile then turned back around. “So. What are we in the mood for? We could do breakfast, lunch, brunch, dinner, dessert…snacks. Umm. Basically anything we can think of” Her laugh was genuine this time.

Drake smiled and said “well since it’s lunchtime we should have lunch. I’ll cook. You have a seat.” She turned towards him and raised an eyebrow.

“The great Drake Walker can cook? Now this I have to see.” She glanced at him as she took a seat at the island in the middle of the kitchen.

"Oh please, Rose. I’ve got moves you’ve never seen.”

He meant it as a joke but both her eyebrows shot up at the comment. He quickly he backtracked

“I mean, erm, in the kitchen, I have moves in the kitchen.”

He started mumbling to himself as he took out ingredients. Way to go Walker. Real smooth. I’m sure she was just so impressed. He rolled his eyes at himself. Such an idiot. He took out a slab of roast beef and started slicing. Next he took out the bell peppers and sliced those. He took out bread, butter, garlic, and swiss cheese. They were both quiet as he cooked but he could feel her eyes watching his every move. Drake plated the food and turned back to Emma with flourish.

“Tada!” he sang out as he placed her plate in front of her. She bit her lip to try to contain her laughter.

“Is this…Philly Cheesesteak?” Emma laughed.

“No. It’s Cordonia cheesesteak. Remember when I tried to explain the difference to you before? The meat is more succulent, the peppers sweeter. It’s grilled on garlic bread” He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck and spilled the rest out in a rush. “Plus you don’t like onions and swiss cheese is your favorite.” He met her eyes.

“You remembered” she said softly. He smiled sadly at her.

“Of course I do. I remember everything, Emma.”

A look of surprise crossed her face. It was very rare that he called her by her first name. The only times he did was when he was shocked by something or he was being dead serious. She was fully aware of it. She swallowed, hard, then turned her attention to her food.

"Well it smells delicious.”

Drake watched as she took a big bite of the sandwich. She closed her eyes and moaned in pleasure as the flavors melted together in her mouth.

"This is the most perfect Cordonian Cheesesteak I have ever had Drake Walker. Thank you.” She held her sandwich up and they toasted with them. They finished their meal in comfortable silence, stealing glances at each the entire time.

When they were done Drake cleared the table. He moved to her bed and folded it up back into a couch. “We need to talk, Rose.” He said, sitting down. She got up from the table and slowly went to sit next to him on the couch. She looked at him, expectantly. It was clear she was not going to initiate the conversation, so he started.

“I went to New York to find you and bring you back. I was devastated when you left, but I really thought I was doing the right thing. When you left the country…well, everyone asked me why. When I told everyone what I had said to you…obviously everyone was incredibly angry with me. Savannah actually slapped me. Liam stopped speaking to me. He was both pissed and hurt. I really thought I lost him as a friend. I had no idea that my actions would cause everyone I cared about so much pain. I hated myself for it, for all of it. So I got on a plane and looked for you for weeks. But I couldn’t find you. I came back and built this cabin, hoping beyond hope that you would come back on your own, or reach out to someone here but…there was nothing.” Drake closed his eyes as they started to water.

“I’m so sorry, Rose. Letting you go was the worst thing I have ever done…I knew it as soon as I said it but you were already gone” He whispered. He felt her hand on his leg and his eyes shot open. He saw his own pain reflecting in her eyes.

“I knew you were looking for me” she confessed.  “Daniel told me. He didn’t tell me you were actually in the city, just that he had talked to you.” She paused, thinking. “I actually never thought I would come back. I’m still a bit surprised that I’m here myself.”

“What made you come back with Liam?” Drake couldn’t stop himself from asking. He had to know. She blushed.

“Honestly, I think a lot of it was shock factor.” She laughed. “When he showed up at my door it was like all the oxygen left the room. My past had finally caught up to me. And so much had changed, so much had happened…I realized I had nothing left to lose. And I thought of you, alone, drinking yourself to death and I decided if I could change that fate then I would…” She trailed off, eyes faraway. Drake put his hand on top of hers, which was still on his leg. She jumped a little and Drake squeezed her hand reassuringly. She looked down at their hands but didn’t move as she continued.

“When I left Cordonia I was still carrying you with me. A big part of you, in fact.” Drake held his breath as she looked him in the eye. “I saw the nursery upstairs, Drake. I’m assuming Maxwell told you.” Drake nodded.

“Honestly, Drake, I never told him, he just…figured it out. Cuz ya know….he was around Savannah when it happened to her. And I wasn’t going to lie to him.”

Drake closed his eyes as he remembered his last conversation with Maxwell

“Drake, you idiot!! Why did you let her go?? Why did you say that to her?? She had already chosen you, you dummy! And why the hell would you say that to her after she told you she was pregnant??”

Drake’s mouth fell open and he stared hard at Maxwell.

“What the fuck are you saying, Beaumont?”

Maxwell got in his face.

“She was fucking pregnant you moron! She literally went to your room that night to tell you. And then what. You slammed the door in her face?? Who are you right now? The Drake I know wouldn’t do that. First your sister ran away without telling you, and now Emma? You’re a piece of work.”

Drake pulled his fist back and slammed it into Maxwell’s jaw. As his friend stumbled onto the floor Drake could barely comprehend what he was saying.

“She didn’t tell me! She didn’t get a chance to say anything. Where is she Maxwell, I know you know.”

“I swear I don’t” Maxwell spat out.

“I don’t believe you! Drake roared “You knew about Savannah, you surely know about Emma. Where. Is. She.” Drake was trembling with anger.

Maxwell stood up. “I have no idea Drake. She’s just gone. I came here as soon as I heard. I should have known you wouldn’t believe me!”

He walked to the door and flung it open. “Maybe you should ask yourself why the two most important women in your life were both afraid to tell you they were pregnant and would rather leave the country. That’s not on them, Drake. It’s on you.”

Drake started towards him again, fury in his eyes when Maxwell left and slammed the door behind him. And that was the last time he spoke to Maxwell Beaumont.

Drake opened his eyes again and looked at Emma, who was studying him.

“Liam told me you had a fight with him” she said softly. “You thought he knew where I was didn’t you? And you didn’t believe him when he said he didn’t.”

Drake nodded sadly. He was such an idiot. Of course, Maxwell wouldn’t hide that from him, not again. Not after Savannah. He should have known better, Maxwell had proven himself as a friend over and over. Just like Emma had proven her love over and over. He felt like he was the world’s worst friend. Drake drew in a deep breath and grasped both of Emma’s hands with his, afraid to let go, afraid of the answer to his next question.

“Rose…what happened to our baby?”

     @blackwidow2721

@sleepwalkingelite

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@carabeth

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[livingthroughchoices-blog]

The Marshmallow Chronicles (Ch. 7: Fire and Ice)

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Author’s notes: This is another long one. It’s also pretty harsh to Olivia. I actually love her but this is Drake’s PoV so /: it will definitely soften over time, though! As always, thanks for reading and special thanks to @starstruckzonkoperatorbat and @notoriouscs for asking me to tag them! Please don’t feel any obligation to read though!

Rating: T

Pairing: Drake x MC

Words: 5931

Drake got in the limo with Liam and Bastien and immediately crossed his arms, directing his brooding stare out the window.

“Drake? What’s wrong?” Liam’s voice was laced with real concern, which only further irritated Drake.

“Oh, I don’t know, I had to wake up at an ungodly hour to go to Olivia’s estate, so everything’s just peachy, Liam.”

“Come on, Drake, she’s not that–”

“Do not say bad. Just don’t. You know what she’s like with me.”

“... Fair enough. I still think it’s a mistake to be acting like this, though.”

“Why?” Drake finally turned to look at Liam, his eyes sparkling with misplaced anger. “You scared I’ll ‘embarrass’ you in front of your suitors?”

“That’s enough.” Liam’s voice was not angry, but firm. “Stop being a child.”

Drake’s mouth dropped indignantly.

“I understand why you don’t like Olivia, but you will make an effort to be civil, because I know you can be the bigger person. As for earlier, I merely meant that you shouldn’t let someone you dislike ruin your day. Try to have fun, at least.”

Drake recovered his composure. “Fine. I–I will.”

“That’s what I like to hear. Besides, there is just one Olivia. You can choose to spend time with Maxwell, Hana and Riley instead.”

“Lady Kiara will be there too,” jumped in Bastien with a knowing twinkle in his eyes.

“Shut up, Bastien. But yeah, I guess it could be fun,” said Drake with a grudging smile. He returned to looking at the window with a more relaxed posture.

“A child...” he grumbled, “I’m not a child.”

“Sure you’re not,” sniggered Bastien. “And before you ask, no, we’re not there yet.”

Drake – very maturely, in his opinion – resisted the urge to mimic Bastien mockingly and contented himself with pulling a face at him.

One long car ride later, Drake and Liam were woken up by Bastien, who had barely blinked the entire journey. 

“Bastien,” said Liam, “now that we’re here, you should get some rest.”

“Your Highness, I can’t–”

“Assign one of your men to me and go rest. I am serious.”

Bastien sighed in defeat. “I will, Your Highness.”

Drake clapped him on the shoulder sympathetically. “Quit worrying, old man, he’ll be fine. I’ll be there.”

Bastien looked severely unimpressed.

Drake’s hand went to his chest, feigning outrage. “Your skepticism wounds me, but your man will be there too, anyway. So go rest.” He made a shooing motion and Bastien finally walked away, talking into his earpiece.

“I must go greet Olivia and thank her for her hospitality. I take it you’d rather stay and wait for the others?”

“You take it right,” replied Drake grumpily. “Say hi to annoying-ass Ronald McDonald for me.”

Liam shot him a look and shook his head with a reluctant smile.

As Liam walked away, Drake took in his surroundings. He was standing at the foot of an imposing mountain range. Their pristine white surfaces interrupted by snow-covered pine trees standing in small clusters. There was a frozen lake in the distance and the sounds of laughter and shouts of joy reached him through the crisp air. He breathed in deeply.

Despite his temper, he couldn’t deny it was beautiful here. The type of place he wouldn’t mind spending some time in with friends... or a girl. 

Whoa, where did that come from? 

He did not often think that way. In fact, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d wished to have a relationship. He was by no means inexperienced, but he preferred to keep things casual. At court, with so much gossip going around and reputations to maintain, this didn’t exactly make him popular with the ladies. 

Is it because I’m not a noble? Huh. 

Or maybe it’s all those walls you put up, asshole... 

Yep, that sounds more likely.  

He let his thoughts wander freely, curious about where they’d take him. He found himself daydreaming of skiing with this mystery girl and then cuddling next to a fire. He shook his head in surprise. 

Do I really want that? Something so... domestic? Or am I just being weird ‘cause Liam’s getting married?

His brain wasn’t done, though; he and the girl had started making out. 

Wait, why haven’t I thought of her face? 

He turned his attention to the girl, trying to picture what she looked like...

“Here we are...” said a loud, excited voice behind him. “Welcome to Lythikos! Land of ice, snow, and mountains.”

Drake wheeled around to find Maxwell, Riley and Hana approaching. He felt his face grow warm for no apparent reason and smiled sheepishly at them, feeling like a kid caught red-handed. 

What the hell, dude? Chill.

Fortunately, all three of them were too busy taking in the magnificent landscape to pay much attention to him. 

“This is where Olivia lives?” Riley said, her mouth open in awe.

“Some of the time, yeah,” replied Maxwell. “She’s primarily at Lythikos Hall, which is further south, but she’ll host us up here for the social season, so we can take advantage of the snowy festivities...” 

He mimicked skating, skiing and a snowball fight. Hana let out her tinkling laugh while Riley smiled and made eye contact with Drake, her eyes saying something like, “This guy.” Drake smiled back and rolled his eyes at Maxwell. 

Riley’s face suddenly became serious,“And so she can take advantage of the Prince?”

Drake resisted the urge to say something harsh. Of course she’ll take the advantage of being in her home turf! She’d be a fool not to; and Olivia was a lot of nasty things, in Drake’s opinion, but a fool was not one of them. 

Why does she even care? Liam is clearly gonna choose her... God, how naive can you get?!

“She does have the edge here, but that’s no reason to admit defeat!” Hana said, chipper. She put a hand on Riley’s shoulder.

“That’s the spirit,” Maxwell put his hand on Riley’s other shoulder.

Drake looked around and realized something was missing. “What happened to your brother, Maxwell? I notice he’s not around lecturing Addams.” Riley nodded thoughtfully. Drake continued, “I thought he hated to miss out on the chance to eat fancy food and rub elbows with the royals...”

Maxwell fidgeted uncomfortably, then passed it off as a shiver. “Bertrand was called away for some business having to do with our estate.”

Drake narrowed his eyes at Maxwell suspiciously, while the latter pretended not to notice, bending down to form a snowball.

“Bertrand is gone?” 

Drake could swear Riley’s smile took up half her face; it would’ve been funny if it wasn’t so... endearing? 

Huh. At least I didn’t think cute first. 

“This is starting to sound like a real vacation after all.” Riley had a mischievous glint in her eyes as she said this.

“That’s one way to put it,” Maxwell conceded. “Now we can really enjoy ourselves.”

“Well, it is beautiful out here...” Hana said, still looking around admiringly. “Even if it is so very cold!” She shivered violently in her thin dress.

He turned to look at Riley and noticed she too was wearing inadequate clothing. 

This is crazy! Addams is gonna get hypothermia! Er, they both will! 

He looked at them disapprovingly. 

“Didn’t you pack anything warmer?” he directed his question at Hana, who seemed to be shaking more than Riley.

She grimaced. She even did that prettily. “...Not exactly. I didn’t realize it’d be snowing quite this much... but I’ll survive.” Drake privately doubted that, but it didn’t seem like saying it out loud would be any help. “What say we check out the inside of the chateau?” Hana pointed in the direction of the chateau, whose roof poked out among the trees.

Maxwell, who had been building an indiscernible snow creature, came back to them. “Good idea. Riley, let’s go! I can show you where your room is...”

They walked towards the imposing chateau. The enormous double doors were opened for them by guards and they entered. The chateau was opulent and intimidating, all marble with purple details here and there. He noticed most of the decor had sharp points. 

Very Nevrakis. 

“All right, I’m taking Riley to her room. Should we meet at the frozen lake for skating in 20 minutes?”

Drake snorted. “I won’t be skating, but sure.”

Maxwell shrugged and started towards the stairs.

“Why, Drake? You scared?” teased Riley.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he snapped. “I could skate circles around you.”

“Oh? How about that triple or nothing, then?”

“Well, uh, I’d rather ski, actually.”

“Fine. I can beat you at anything, Drake, no worries,” she gave him a cheerful smile and winked before catching up to Maxwell.

Drake turned to go and caught a glimpse of Hana looking curiously at him. It made him uneasy but he decided not to dwell on it.

After a quick nap, Drake put on a scarf and went out to meet the others. He really didn’t plan on skating and he was, in fact, scared. He’d never skated before and it seemed like the kind of activity that required the kind of grace he lacked. 

He was sure Maxwell would be decent at it, being a noble, or at least would have the enthusiasm to make up for any clumsiness. Hana would be incredible at it, obviously. And Riley... Riley would approach it as she had done everything else, so far: fearlessly. He smiled involuntarily. He had to hand it to her, she was so much more than he’d thought.

After a few minutes of walking, he came to the clearing where the lake was. Like everywhere else around here, the ground sparkled with blue-white snow where it hadn’t been disturbed; around the shores of the lake, however, the snow was muddy and messy.

Everyone else was already there. He spotted Liam skating with Olivia and Maxwell skating with Riley, who had changed into something warmer. A weight he hadn’t realized had been on his chest this whole time, lifted. 

Okay, so I’m glad she’s not getting hypothermia, that doesn’t mean anything. I wouldn’t even want Olivia to get hypothermia... I don’t think.

Quite apart from being a better outfit for this weather, her new ensemble really suited her. She looked cozy and cute. 

Damn it, I thought it that time. 

He searched for a distraction and saw Hana sitting by the shore. She looked melancholy.

Here we go again.

He sat next to her, this time not waiting for her invitation. Hana didn’t even seem to notice, her eyes were so far away. Drake followed her gaze and found himself looking directly at Riley, who was now happily skating with Liam. They looked perfect together.

His staring in the same direction as Hana seemed to shake her from her trance and she turned to look at Drake, but her eyes still looked wistful. A moment of understanding passed between them. Drake just nodded and she shrugged as if to say, “What can you do?” She then surprised him by resting her head on his shoulder. Drake froze up for a second, then relaxed into it.

He noticed Liam skating off to join Olivia again and nudged Hana’s head with his shoulder. “Liam’s gone. You should go skate.”

“Oh! He is... but I’m not sure I–”

“Hana, go.”

“...You’re right. Thank you, Drake!”

Drake watched Hana skate perfectly – I knew it – towards Riley, who received her with a huge smile. Drake smiled slightly. 

So, Hana has a crush on Addams, huh? Can’t say I blame her. I mean, not that I see it, but whatever.

Just then, he heard Lady Kiara cry out after falling on her butt. Drake restrained his laughter as best as he could and waved her over. She slowly got up and made her uncharacteristically inelegant way off the ice towards him.

“Hello, Drake.”

“Hi, Lady Kiara. I hope you’re well.”

“Well, aside from a few bruises, I’m doing great. Et toi?”

“Yeah, you should be more careful. You’ll definitely be sore tomorrow.”

“Peut-être. But I plan on taking a bubble bath tonight, so that might help...”

She looked him directly in the eyes as she said this, a small, coy smile on her lips. Drake gulped. 

“Uh, y-yeah, that should, um, do the trick. I’m gonna go on the lift now but enjoy your bath!” He practically yelled that last part. 

Goddamn, I’m out of practice. 

He shuddered at his ineptitude. Why was he acting like this? Sure, he’d never exactly been Don Juan, but he used to be able to talk to girls, damn it!

I don’t know. I guess I’m not sure about Lady Kiara.

He quickly got fitted for his boots and skis, then went on the lift by himself, not feeling up for company. Once at the top of the mountain, he reveled in the deep silence; a silence so complete it was almost palpable, like a heavy blanket. He sensed all his negative thoughts tip toeing out of his mind while he breathed in deeply, sitting down sideways with his skis already on.

A few minutes later, he heard voices slowly coming up the mountain. He looked up and say the whole party approaching the top on the lift. Two by two, they skied off their chairs. He got up with difficulty and got out of their way. Suddenly, his vision was obscured by snow and his clothes splattered with it; he heard a loud, clear laugh. 

Of course she had to spray me. 

He scowled at Riley jokingly. She laughed harder, undeterred by his glare. He couldn’t help but laugh, too.

“So, Addams, you finally made it to the slopes.”

“What’s wrong, Drake?” She put her hand on her hip. “Were you starting to miss me?”

Drake rolled her eyes at her. 

Someone thinks highly of herself. 

“Hardly. I was just getting bored.”

“You didn’t go skating?” Riley asked.

Cool, so she didn’t even notice I wasn’t there. Yeah, that’s fine. 

“Figure skating isn’t really my thing,” he grumbled.

“Really? I think you’d look good in a tutu,” she poked him playfully and giggled.

“Some mental images aren’t worth the effort,” replied Drake, mock horrified.

“I suppose skiing is manly enough for you,” Riley said, gesturing toward the slope nearest them – a blue one – with her pole.

“I’d hardly call what’s going on here skiing,” Drake said scathingly, nodding towards Penelope, who was trying – and failing – to put on her second ski and looked to be seconds away from losing her balance. “But I’m looking to change that. How about a race?”

“What makes you think I can ski?” Riley smirked.

I’ve been so hard on her, how is she even talking to me? She’s actually doing better than any other suitor. 

He decided to go for honesty, “Maybe I’m starting to have faith in you, Addams.”

Riley looked shocked for a second, then a delighted smile spread across her face. “Drake, you’re scaring me with your... niceness.” She eyed him suspiciously.

Drake gave a short laugh. “I’m scaring myself. Anyway, I’m going to start skiing down this slope in a minute, and if I get to the bottom before you... Well, let’s just say I’m calling that a win, and I might never let you hear the end of it.” He turned his back on her and faced the somewhat steep slope in front of them.

He turned his head to look at Riley, who was still struggling with her poles’ straps, which had gotten tangled and winked. “Ready... set... Don’t wipe out!”

He took off with a push of his poles. Faintly, he heard Riley yell, “Hey!” indignantly. He laughed to himself and savored the cool air whipping at his face and the speed he was picking up by the second. 

He heard Riley getting closer behind him and he bent his knees and leaned forward more, trying to gain on her.

“I’m gonna catch you, Drake! You’re gonna eat my dust... er, snow!” she squealed gleefully.

“You talk a lot of game for someone who’s losing, Addams!” he called back to her. When he turned his head back, he barely had time to swerve over a fallen log. He regained control and shouted, ”Watch yourself, Addams!”

He pivoted completely so he could watch her, worried. 

Shit, if something happens to her... Liam’s gonna be pissed.

He needn’t have worried. Riley swerved the log more gracefully than he did, thanks to his heads up, and continued skiing down seamlessly.

“Uh oh,” Drake muttered. Having lost his momentum, he pushed himself off with his poles again, but his speed was nowhere near hers; it was all he could do to keep up with her. They got to the bottom at roughly the same time.

“Not bad, Addams, we’ll call that a draw,” he offered his hand.

“A draw?” Riley slapped his hand away. “You had a head start.”

Drake gave her a smug smile, “I think you meant to say that you had a late start.”

“You just don’t want to admit you lost.” Riley crossed her arms.

“I’m being generous. I had at least a nose or two on you.”

Riley laughed and pushed him playfully. Drake grabbed her arms so she couldn’t push him anymore. They smiled goofily.

“Are you gonna attack me?”

“Depends.”

“On what?”

“On you recognizing that I was the clear winner.”

“Never gonna happen.”

“Then yeah, I’m gonna attack you.”

“Okay, how about this, I will admit your skiing skills took me by surprise.”

“In how superior they are to yours?”

“Don’t push it, Addams.”

“Fine, I’ll take it.”

Drake let go of her hands and breathed in the clean mountain air. “This trip hasn’t been half bad so far. Shame that tomorrow it’s back to waltzing and bowing and all that,” he grimaced.

Riley nodded in agreement, “At least I can ski better than I can waltz... which is barely at all.”

Drake’s eyes widened, “Wait... You can’t waltz? I thought you danced with Liam...”

“Yeah, but he did a lot of the work... Why? Is it important?” she looked like a deer caught in the headlights, her eyes huge and worried. It took everything Drake had not to laugh.

“Oh, Addams, Addams, Addams...” he shook his head with each “Addams”. “What would you do without me? There’s a ball tomorrow. All of the ladies are expected to dance the Cordonian Waltz in front of everyone.”

“Oh...” she tried to shrug nonchalantly; it came off as a nervous tic. “It’s fine. I’ll figure it out.”

Drake finally broke down and sniggered. “It’s very complicated.”

Riley glared at him and then shrugged again, more successfully. “No biggie. I’ve survived this far.”

Drake smiled and raised his eyebrows at her. “Whatever you say, Addams.”

“But let’s say I’m curious... How does one dance the Cordonian Waltz?”

She looked so helpless that Drake wished he could learn the dance then and there just so he could teach her. 

Who knew years of ignoring everything the nobles do would bite me in the ass one day? 

“Sadly, I can’t help you there. I don’t know the steps.” He had an idea that would harvest two apples in one go, “You should ask Hana. If anyone knows everything forwards and backwards, it’s that one.”

“Yeah... maybe,” Riley said dubiously. She probably didn’t want to inconvenience Hana... 

Little does she know.

At that moment, the shrill voice Drake had successfully avoided all day broke through the stillness of the mountain. “It’s time to head over to the lodge. I’ve had enough snow for today.” Olivia didn’t seem too thrilled with how her day was going, which only further cheered Drake up. 

He turned to look at Riley and gave her an open smile. “Thanks for the race. I actually had fun.”

“Maybe you’re not as bad as you seem,” she replied teasingly.

Drake rolled his eyes, privately pleased. “You’re going soft on me, Addams.”

“So where does this race leave us? With our bet, I mean,” she asked.

“I guess we’re still on triple or nothing. That is, if you’re up for it.”

“That’s not even a question. I’m not that soft,” she smirked.

They all returned their boots and skis and walked back to the chateau, exhausted.

Olivia directed them into a plush drawing room, where tea and hot chocolate were being served. Drake slumped gratefully on one of the fancy sofas and his friends all followed suit. They were each handed a mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows floating in it. Drake sipped it happily. Today had been a good day.

As if echoing his thoughts, Maxwell asked, “Did you have fun today, Riley?”

Drake turned to look at her, trying no to be too conspicuous.

Riley smiled widely, “Today was super fun!” Drake couldn’t be sure but he thought she’d glanced at him when she said that. She probably means with Liam. “And now we have hot chocolate,” she said, drinking some.

“This is wonderful. Look, little marshmallows shaped like hearts!” Hana said excitedly.

Drake was momentarily distracted by Riley, who was licking off her chocolate mustache. He said the first thing that came into his head, “Just... just adorable.”

Before Drake had time to puzzle over what he’d just said, they heard footsteps and Maxwell said, “Watch yourself... We’ve got incoming.”

Olivia came into the room, wearing her signature arrogant smile. “Well, hello, my dear guests. I hope you’re enjoying my spectacular hosting.”

“I always enjoy my time here with you, Olivia...” Maxwell replied diplomatically.

“It’s...” Drake was about to end his sentence with “slightly better than being dead” when he remembered he’d promised Liam he’d be polite, “something.”

Olivia’s smile grew, “Did you see that we have eclairs, Drake? They always remind me of dear, darling little Savannah. She’d gobble them down like a sow at the trough.”

Drake felt the back of his neck grow hot, “Don’t talk about my sister.”

“Why ever not?” said Olivia, a shocked look on her face. “She was such a fixture at court, and then she just up and disappeared. You never told us what happened, and usually gossip is quick to spread.”

Drake balled up his fists, “She left because of people like you.”

Olivia tsk-ed. “She always was the sensitive sort. Ladies like that don’t last long here.”

She kept smiling at him gloatingly and he clenched his jaw. He needed to do something or he would absolutely explode and then Liam would be upset. 

Why did she have to talk about– Wait, that’s it! 

He looked at his phone and, sure enough, he was right on time. He relaxed and got up. 

“You know what? I just remembered, I’ve got somewhere I need to be. If you’ll excuse me...” he bowed at everyone in the room and turned to leave.

“Wait, Drake, dear! Come back! I wasn’t finished with you!” Olivia yelled at his back.

To his utter bewilderment, he heard Riley say angrily – angrier than he’d ever heard her sound, “Olivia, leave Drake alone before I slap that smile off your face.”

She’s... she’s defending me? 

Nobody had ever stood up to Olivia for Drake, at least not to her face. Sure, Liam acknowledged the way she treated him was shitty, but he never really said much to her. He hesitated at the doorway, wanting to say something. But what, thanks? It felt like too much and too little at the same time. He left.

He walked the darkening grounds on his own, thinking about Riley and Savannah. Two women in a similar situation and yet such different approaches. Where Savannah had been sweet and trusting, Riley was... still sweet, but shrewd at the same time. He couldn’t picture her falling for fake friendships or relationships. She knew where she stood.

And here he’d been acting like an asshole, thinking she couldn’t protect herself. He almost laughed out loud at the thought. Oh, he’d still keep an eye out for her – these nobles were not to be underestimated – but he figured he could be less of a dick to her now. Maybe even be friends...

His feet had been taking him almost automatically to a clearing he’d noticed earlier while everyone skated. The wind was picking up more and more, but the storm was still some time away. He stood there, waiting for the sky to clear, when he heard footsteps behind him, followed by a decidedly unspooky, “Oooooooo...”

“Who’s there?” Drake asked, although he had a suspicion he knew who it might be.

Riley jumped out from behind a tree with her arms up and yelled, “A GHOST!”

“Riley?” He wasn’t surprised it was her, as he’d recognized her voice, but he was dumbfounded she was there at all. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Riley put her arms down disappointedly. “You don’t scare easily, huh?”

Drake smirked at her. “You’ll have to do better than that. Now answer the question.”

Riley twiddled her thumbs and looked down at her feet. “I saw you going off on your own, close to dark with a storm coming, and... I wanted to make sure you were okay.” She looked up from her feet and made eye contact with Drake. The look in her eyes was so sincere. “After what Olivia said to you... I could see that it struck something inside you.” She stepped forward with an arm outstretched, as if to comfort Drake.

He couldn’t believe his ears. She was looking out for him now? No. She needed to concentrate, to think about the competition and be on her guard with the other suitors. 

Shit, I’m distracting her. She needs to stop wasting her time on me.

“No offense, but you’re the last person I need looking out for me.” 

So much for being less of a dick. 

As per usual, what he said was a lot harsher than he intended.

Riley seemed to agree. She said, “Thanks,” then turned to leave, her face red with embarrassment and anger.

It was Drake’s turn to stretch out his arm, to stop her. He let it fall loosely to his side. “That’s not what I... Oh hell.” He rubbed his face, trying to come up with the words. She didn’t deserve this. “I’m not trying to be a jerk, Addams,” He looked at her earnestly. “I only meant that you shouldn’t have to worry about me. You should only be looking out for yourself.”

Riley’s face returned to its natural expression, though she didn’t seem too happy yet. “What did you come out here to do, exactly?”

Drake thought about explaining and unexpectedly found that he was too tired. It had been a long day for him, emotionally. “If you really want to know... you’ll have to trust me,” he gave her a small smile.

Riley arched an eyebrow. “Trust you? I’d trust you about as far as I can throw you. And you look pretty heavy to me.” She was smiling now, and Drake’s smile mirrored hers.

“Heh. Well, you’re out here alone with me at night, so you must think I’m at least not some kind of murderer.”

She replied, “The thought crossed my mind.”

“Here, I’ll make this easy for you...” Drake walked towards her and gave her a gentle yet firm push. Riley fought valiantly to keep her footing, but she did end up falling on her butt. She looked so offended as he looked up at him and said, “Hey!” that he could barely restrain his laughter.

Without a word he laid down beside her and looked up towards the sky. She noticed and did the same. Drake then decided he’d rather see her face when she saw it; it did not disappoint. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped, she looked absolutely amazed. Her reaction was everything he could have hoped for. She whispered, “Drake...” and turned to look at him.

“Yes, my lady?”

The look of awe on her face was replaced with a radiant smile, “This is absolutely gorgeous.”

Drake looked back up at the luminescent sky, shooting stars streaking past every few seconds. “Nothing beats a clear view of the sky during a meteor shower.”

Riley turned towards him. “I’m glad I didn’t miss this.”

“Really?” said Drake, still looking up. He gathered his courage to ask the next question, “Would’ve figured you’d rather eat bon-bons and dress up tiny dogs, or whatever Olivia had planned for the night.” It was a mocking question, true, but underneath it was real doubt.

Riley shook her head easily. “Not exactly my scene.” He turned to look at her and it seemed like she was being honest. She really would rather be out here with him, than inside playing princess. “Looks like we were just in time to see this before the storm comes.”

“Yeah. I didn’t want to miss it.” Before he knew it, the words were spilling out of his mouth, “I used to do this with my younger sister, Savannah, every year.” He looked up with a sad smile. “We grew up around the royals. My dad used to do security for Liam and his brother, and my sister and I were allowed to hang out with them. Liam and I ended up getting close, even though I didn’t have the lineage to merit it.” Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Riley shake her head, but he couldn’t be certain. 

He continued, “Savannah, on the other hand, got along with everyone, and they were all friendly with her. She loved living at the palace when we were kids, being around all the pretty dresses and jewelry...” He smiled fondly, remembering the girl she’d been. He swallowed against the knot in his throat. “But it got harder when she was older.”

Riley was still turned towards him, giving him her full attention, “What happened?”

“She... It was hard on her. She couldn’t take it, I guess.” He struggled to find the words to encompass what Savannah meant to him, how painful it was that she didn’t trust him, how guilty he felt that he hadn’t been there for her... 

“After what happened with...” He didn’t even know what had happened to his own sister, nor who was responsible either! “I... I failed her. I couldn’t protect her. I couldn’t protect her from this place... or these people.” That about sums it up. 

He dragged his hand across his face, trying to erase everything, feeling shocked at his outburst. Even more shocking was that he didn’t feel embarrassed about it. She was a good listener.

“Sorry, it’s... I guess I’m still not ready to talk about it. This is more than I’ve talked about it with anyone in the last year, actually.”

“Really?” Riley touched his arm. He finally turned sideways to look at her and found her eyes filled with worry. He smiled at her, letting her know he was okay. She smiled back hesitantly. “Does this mean we’re friends now?”

Friends? He didn’t know what to say. Like before, the word seemed to involve too much and too little at the same time. He barely knew her, for one. For another, however, he’d just opened up to her in a way he rarely did to anyone else; maybe Liam sometimes, but not lately.

“Friends... I wouldn’t go that far, Addams,” he kept smiling while he said this, hoping to transmit a bit of what he was thinking.

She seemed to understand. “Should we just call it not-enemies, then?”

“I guess I can’t really stop you, can I?”

“Nope,” she replied and pushed him onto his back.

“Hey!”

“Are you kidding? After the way you pushed me before, you owed me!” she said between giggles.

“...Okay, true.”

Their laughs subsided and Riley spoke softly, “You know, I get it.”

“Get what?”

“What it’s like to lose somebody, and feel like you could’ve done more...” She sat up and hugged her knees to her chest. 

Drake sat up next to her and waited to hear more. When she didn’t speak for a minute or two, Drake cleared his throat. “Do you want to, uh, talk about it?”

She seemed to come back from far away and then turned to look at him. “Not now, but it’s enough that you’re here, listening.” 

She leaned her head on his shoulder just like Hana had done earlier. For some reason this felt... different. Although he was just as – if not more – surprised as when Hana did it, Drake’s body never froze, as if it expected her to do that; hell, as if she belonged there. 

Okay, stop, the cold is definitely getting to you.

He nudged her gently. “We better get back. It’d be quite the scandal if I let one of the Prince’s suitors freeze to death out here on my watch.”

Her playfulness was back in a second and it felt like it was somebody else who had been thinking that she belonged there, sitting with him. 

This is Addams we’re talking about. Annoying a good 90% of the time. 

“I’d hate for my untimely demise to cause you any difficulty,” she said with horror.

“Not to mention that Maxwell would never let me hear the end of it,” he chuckled.

“I’m sure even Bertrand would be upset, in his own way.”

“Bertrand? He’d only be upset if he couldn’t turn it into some kind of press event.” 

She laughed loudly; it was incredibly contagious. He joined her and found that he didn’t feel as cold anymore. She grabbed his arm for support, still laughing. She finally stopped and took a step back. They shared an amused look that went on for too long. Drake cleared his throat. “Now, let’s go.”

He started walking, leading the way. He’d only taken a few steps when he felt a small, startlingly warm hand in his. He almost ran into a tree. Riley must have noticed his momentary clumsiness because she blushed and said, “For... y’know, safety.”

Drake gulped and nodded. “It’s really slippery out here.”

“Yeah.”

They shared another long look. “We should both be careful,” Drake said, not breaking eye contact. 

In more ways than one.

The smile she gave him didn’t make it clear whether she understood what he meant. “Exactly.”

The journey back seemed to Drake too short altogether. 

I enjoy her company, so what? 

He didn’t know why he was suddenly mad at himself. 

They reached the chateau, still hand in hand.

“Well...” Riley said when they reached the main hall. “This was...”

“Yeah. Addams, I–”

“There you are!” Hana had come in from an adjacent room, looking relieved. They immediately dropped each other’s hand. Drake’s hand felt cold as soon as they did.

Riley turned towards Hana, delighted to see her. “You’re up late.”

“I couldn’t sleep.” Her forehead creased with worry. “With you and Drake out there in the storm...”

“I’m sorry we kept you up.” Riley went towards her and hugged her.

Hana patted her back, looking stricken, but pleased. “Oh, I’m just glad you got back before it really started coming down out there!” She turned to look at Drake and he thought there was a question in that gaze, which he decided to ignore. “But you must be freezing, Drake, dressed in just that.”

Drake realized he was, indeed, very cold. He waved goodbye reluctantly. “Yeah. I’m going to go get changed. G’night, ladies.”

It could have been his imagination, but he thought he saw Riley’s face fall a little before they both bid him good night.