#is it obvious that I love weird smoke affects & dramatic lighting yet

[goldencuffs]

fake dating au part two

Whenever Laurent was overwhelmed, or feeling the kind of loneliness even a good cock couldn’t cure, he would sneak off into the library in the north wing of the Palace, where most of his mother’s official portraits were displayed.

Laurent loved all of them; Hennike was smiling in every single one, blonde hair curled perfectly, and teeth a stunning white. The colouring of her gowns and crowns were so bright, even painted, they seemed to shine in the dullest light. Laurent didn’t really know her; she had died three days after giving birth to him, but he had watched so many interviews and home videos of her, he felt like he had. She had been beautiful, well spoken, and everyone had been shocked when she had fallen for Al, because she had been betrothed to someone else.

Laurent liked coming down here to talk to her. It helped to have her listen to his dramatic tirades. He had started doing it when he was thirteen, when Auguste had enlisted in military training and left him alone, but had stopped a few months later, when Al caught him, his face ashen as he’d watched his youngest son babble to his dead wife.

After that, Laurent made sure to only come down in the dead of night, when he was absolutely desperate.

Which was clearly now; Laurent’s head had been spinning since the dinner at Heston’s. Even dessert hadn’t cheered him up — Heston, the absolute cretin, had served only four options of dessert and not a single one had chocolate in them. Not even one! It was like people intentionally went out of their way to put Laurent in a foul mood. Laurent had already drafted a wordy letter about Heston’s appalling lack of class and hosting abilities on the way home, and he was going to send it to the local tabloid first thing in the morning.

Laurent paced around the library, addressing his favourite portrait of his mother. It was her wedding portrait, and he loved all the detailing in it. The blush pink flowers in her bouquet matched her lipstick and her blush, and the tiara she was wearing had 588 diamonds in it. It was called The Laurent Tiara, and when Laurent had found out it had been Hennike’s favourite crown, he’d cried into his pillowcase for an embarrassingly long time.

“If I tell Al the truth now, he’ll kill me,” Laurent wailed at an appropriately low volume; he was very considerate of the sleeping guards when he threw his tantrums. “Or worse — get me married! Oh god, he’ll set me up with that idiot Torveld and I’ll have to spend the rest of my life hearing about his coin collection. Who even uses cash anymore? And what exactly is the point of having money if you can’t use it? And has Al even considered the aesthetics of our coupling? How are we supposed to wear matching outfits if Torveld looks rubbish in Egyptian blue and azure? Hello! Those are my signature colours!” Laurent sunk down on the lumpy sofa and buried his head in his hands. “Maybe death really is the better option.” He looked up at Hennike’s green eyes. “Is heaven overrated? Where would you personally place it on a scale of one to ten?”

She didn’t answer him, obviously. It was no use, anyway; Laurent was definitely not getting into heaven.

*

Laurent woke up irritated and unrested, and not for his usual, fun reasons. He hadn’t come up with any sort of solution to his dilemma and he had had a very strange dream where Damianos punched him while Al watched on. Then the scene had changed, and Laurent was on stage accepting his tenth Oscar for Best Actor, even though he had yet to star in any films.

“I’m thinking of becoming an actor,” Laurent told Al later that night during dinner.

Al’s eyes narrowed and his mouth became a sharp line. “What?”

“I mean, I have the looks, obviously. And really, how hard is acting anyway? Clearly you don’t even need to be very good at it to star in a movie — look at Channing Tatum. I’m sorry, but it’s very obvious his height was the only thing that got him into Hollywood, and even then it’s not that impressive.”

Al put down his knife and fork. “Can we —” He sounded very strained, “have a normal conversation for once.”

Laurent considered this. “I don’t think we’ve had enough conversations to statistically find out what constitutes a normal one,” he said. Al went red, so he continued, “So you don’t think acting is for me? Shall I try directing then? Or maybe —” He sat up excitedly in his chair. “I could write movies! I have so many ideas! Why, for instance, has no one considered a gay version of The Princess Bride? What would that even be called? The Prince Groom? Ugh, no, that’s terrible. Oh, who am I kidding — with my face and my body I have no choice but to be on camera. Otherwise, it’d be such a waste.”

The vein in Al’s forehead was throbbing. If he had been wearing his crown, it would have gone unnoticed, but like this, it was rather unflattering.

Al said, “Laurent,” in a sombre tone. “I really hope you’re joking.”

“About The Prince Groom? Kind of. But the acting thing — would it really be that bad?”

“You are a prince,” Al said, teeth clenched. “If it is the glam and glitz you want, you have more than enough here.”

Laurent, uncomfortably, thought of his room, the only place in the Palace that was truly his, devoid completely of personal artefacts. He swallowed. “Yes, well.” He tried a smile. “Maybe I should borrow another crown from the royal archives. I don’t think I’ve worn one with emeralds yet.”

Al resumed eating. “Speaking of crowns,” he said, completely glossing over Laurent’s last statement. “I’d like you to wear the Crown of Naos when King Damianos arrives.”

Laurent’s mouth dropped open. “As if! Al, the gold colouring on that completely washes me out! Not to mention the fact that that thing weighs like, five kilograms!”

Al’s nostrils flared at the word Al. He said, “The crown is a gift from Damianos’ great great grandfather to yours. It will be an appropriate and symbolic gesture if you wear it.”

“But why can’t you wear it? Or Auguste?”

“I am not the one having an affair with the King of Akielos,” said Al.

Oh, right. Laurent had forgotten about that. But what was the point? It wasn’t as though Damianos would recognise the gesture. If anything, he might think of it as inappropriate.

Instead he said, “Well, gee, Al, I didn’t peg you as a romantic.” Laurent fluttered his lashes a little.

Al pushed away his plate. “I’m done, thank you.” A servant immediately came to clear away his food.

Al left the dining hall, his shoulders tight. Laurent wished Auguste would hurry back home already.

*

In the morning, on the way back from the stables, Jord said, “Looks like your wish came true.”

Laurent stopped dead. “Oh my god — is Pierre-Alexis Dumas here? Is he finally going to collab with me?”

“Who’s Pierre-Alexis Dumas?” said Jord.

Laurent whirled on him. “Watch your fucking mouth.”

“Sorry.” Jord said, not sounding the slightest bit sorry. The audacity! “But look.” He pointed past Laurent, to the front of the Palace.

Laurent looked. There was a nondescript black limousine parked on the long, gravel pathway. Laurent would have dismissed it, if he didn’t spot sight of Jeurre, Auguste’s chauffeur, leant up against one of the doors, smoking.

Laurent gasped. He passed on his bridle to Jord, who fumbled to catch it, and ran inside.

Auguste and Al were in the plate room. Al was sitting on the large, velvet throne, a glass of whiskey in his hand. It wasn’t even noon! And he was baring his teeth in that weird way — smiling, as he called it.

Auguste was standing in front of him, hands behind his back. He had gotten very tan, and his hair was much darker, a strange golden colour that made the blue-green of his eyes more appealing.

They both turned when Laurent entered. Al’s mouth was already drooping at the sight of him, but Laurent only had eyes for his brother, whom he hadn’t seen in eight whole months.

Laurent wanted to hug him, which surprised even himself. Laurent was not a hugger. He wasn’t much of a toucher, either, unless it involved getting laid.

Auguste gave him a nod. He sometimes acted so much like Al, it disgusted Laurent; the only difference was that Auguste’s eyes were always kind.

Laurent peered at him closely, shocked. “What have you done to yourself? Are you having a mid-life crisis? Should we call Paschal for a yearly psych evaluation?”

Auguste laughed. “It’s a moustache, Laurent. It’s very fashionable in Kempt, you know.”

“It’s horrendous!” Laurent cried. He stared at the thick hair above Auguste’s top lip in horror. “Right. I’m officially ruling Kempt out as a holiday destination this summer if all the men are growing that.”

Al’s eyebrows furrowed. “I like it. It’s very refined.”

“Oh god, now we have to get rid of it,” said Laurent, which made Al frown and Auguste laugh. Auguste squeezed Laurent’s shoulder. He was always mindful of Laurent’s boundaries. “I think you’ve grown taller.”

“I haven’t,” Laurent said. He showed off his riding boots. “See? It’s three inches of heel.”

“Very impractical,” Al said under his breath, which was not a very Kingly thing to do.

Auguste was still smiling. “I like it. It matches the piping of your coat.”

“Yes, exactly!” Laurent was so happy in that moment, he leant forward and hugged Auguste. It was very short, but Auguste looked so pleased afterwards, Laurent wished he had prolonged it.

“Did you get me anything?” he asked, to cover the embarrassment following his sudden burst of affection.

Auguste raised an eyebrow. “I’m hurt, Laurent. You’re not going to ask me about my classes or my rather excellent Anthropology professor?”

Laurent scrunched up his face. “Are you stalling because you didn’t get me anything?”

Auguste smiled. “There’s about fifty boxes of Grand Cru chocolate in your bedroom.”

Laurent’s sound of ecstasy was too loud; Al spilled some of his whiskey onto his pants. Auguste clapped him on the back in commiseration.

As the servants laid out a small meal —  roses of smoked salmon on cucumber slices, macaroons, thin slices of cured meat and cheese, crunchy shrimp salad on crusty rolls, grapes and strawberries and mango and pineapple, individual strawberry shortcakes, that kind of thing — Auguste said, “Father tells me you’re having an affair with the King of Akielos.” He said it casually enough, but Laurent could see he wasn’t thrilled about the idea.

Laurent swallowed his last bite of sandwich and placed a hand on his heart. “Al! You should know better than to gossip, shame on you!”

Al just sighed, a long, suffering sound, and Auguste glared openly at him. “I thought you promised to stop disrespecting Father like that.”

Laurent’s stomach pooled with an uncomfortable tightness. Being told off by Auguste somehow was always worse than being told off by Al.

“Fine,” Laurent said shortly. He said to Al: “Oh dearest Father, Papa, Your Majesty, light of my life, the man who impregnated Queen Hennike, so I, your glorious creation, could be born to bring some joy to this bleak, bleak world: stop gossiping immediately.”

There was a very long pause. Then Auguste laughed. “You are such a shit.”

Al sighed again. “He’s becoming more and more insolent by the day.”

“Thank you so much,” Laurent said, wiping away an imaginary tear.

Auguste barked another laugh. Al sipped more whiskey; a very good sign. Laurent was going to take advantage of this; he wanted a new watch.

Auguste continued his questioning a few minutes later. “So. You and the King — it’s true?”

Laurent flapped a hand. “Oh, you know how it is. He saw those pictures of me from Aimeric’s birthday party where I wore those silk shorts that were just long enough to be tasteful and the poor darling had absolutely no choice but to slide into my DMs and woo me.”

“What’s a DM?” asked Al, and if the question had come from anyone else, Laurent would have found it adorable. He probably would have tweeted it as well.

“Texting,” Auguste said. He seemed contemplative. “Aimeric’s birthday — from last September? It’s been a bit more than a year.”

“Yes,” said Laurent. He tried to say it as wistfully as possible. “He bought me a Ferrarri.”

“Really?” Auguste sounded impressed. “The 1954?”

Laurent grinned. “Do you want to drive it?”

“Fuck yeah,” Auguste said, then quickly cleared his throat and looked at their father. “I mean, yes. Perhaps later in the afternoon.”

Al shook his head, but he didn’t say anything for the rest of the meal. Well, he didn’t say anything to Laurent. He really was in a good mood.

*

Having Auguste back had Laurent so distracted it wasn’t until a few days later that he realised how frantically the staff were cleaning the floors and walls and painting frames.

In fact, he became so relaxed doing less than nothing all day, since Al was too busy doing this and that, or fawning over Auguste, he didn’t comprehend why the chefs needed fifty boars delivered fresh on Friday morning, until Al told him before their weekly Council, “I want you to wear your red high neck blouse tomorrow.”

“Why?” Laurent asked, checking for any fine lines in the shine of the armour of one of the propped knights in the hallway.

“It is the colour of the Akielos banner. I am trying to seem as diplomatic as possible.”

Laurent went very, very still. With dawning horror, he said, “The — Damianos is coming tomorrow?”

Al’s expression turned thunderous. “Do not waste my time asking stupid questions, Laurent. You know how much I despise it.”

Laurent’s eyes widened. “Oh no,” he said quietly, real fear settling into his bones. Damianos was going to murder him tomorrow. He would need to get a facial tonight, to ensure he was the most beautiful corpse the human eye had seen. And then something much more horrific occurred to him. “Wait! I can’t wear the red high neck with the Crown of Naos! Those colours completely clash!”

Al seemed to age a few centuries in a blink of an eye. With a shake of his head, he walked into the Chambers, leaving Laurent alone in the hallway.

Laurent frowned. One of these days, he was going to be the one storming out. It was only fair.

*

Things only got worse.

Laurent’s last minute facial broke him out, so he threatened to sue and smashed one of their stupid reclining chairs.

Laurent had honestly thought that was going to be the worst of it; the pimple along his jawline was easy to cover up once he got the local dermatologist to inject something in it.

But on the morning of Damianos’ arrival, Laurent was in a terrible mood. He hadn’t slept at all, worried about his pimple, his horrible outfit, and the fact that a man who was the size of a small house — Google said Damianos was 6’6”, but he was definitely way more, no arguments — was going to viciously kill him.

“Hurry up,” Laurent snapped at the servant dressing him, who had been pulling too sharply at his laces for the last six minutes.

“Yes, Your Highness,” he answered meekly, and continued fumbling about.

When a few more minutes passed, Laurent looked down at him. “Okay, seriously, this is ridiculous. You usually get me dressed in ten minutes or less. What is the problem?”

“I —” The servant looked like he was on the verge of tears. “Your Highness, the laces — I can’t do them up. It’s uh — it’s too tight.”

“What do you mean?” Laurent asked, narrowing his eyes. “This fit perfectly a month ago.”

“Yes, well —” And his eyes slid over to the bed, where an empty, open box of chocolates was stacked against many other empty boxes of chocolate.

Laurent saw red.

It took three guards and then Jord and Lazar to keep Laurent restrained enough to not kill him. In the end, he yelled until his throat was hoarse and the servant broke down, running out the room with his face covered in tears.

Afterwards, Laurent attempted to do up the laces himself, because he was not fat, and he definitely had not gained weight; he was svelte and sexy and desirable.

In the end, he could only do his trousers up, and only just. If he let out a particularly deep exhale… well, breathing was overrated anyway, Laurent had always thought so.

“Oh, forget it!” Laurent howled, miserable and on the verge of tears himself. “I look ridiculous.”

“No, you don’t, Your Highness,” Jord assured quickly. Too quickly.

Laurent glanced at himself in the mirror. His ass was practically suffocated in these trousers — and that was his best feature! He ran a hand down it forlornly. “It’s too tight.”

Jord’s eyes followed his hand with avid interest. He was drooling.

“Could be tighter,” said Lazar, leaning against the bedpost.

Laurent flung himself on the bed. “No it couldn’t. I need to lose about three kilograms in the next —” He checked the clock, “half an hour. Oh god. Just tell Al I died. It’ll make his day, go on.”

“Orgasms help with weight loss,” said Lazar. “I could fuck your face.”

Laurent sniffed “Don’t be so stupid.” He looked at the clock again. “Obviously, riding you will help me lose more calories. Both of you get on the bed, quick.”

*

Laurent did not lose three kilograms in half an hour. As enjoyable as the sex had been, it had only made him tired and anxious.

Jord suggested that Laurent should just let the laces at the back trail, and cover it up with a coat, even though it was far too hot in the year to wear one. Laurent obliged anyway, knowing how difficult Al would be if he showed up wearing undiplomatic colours. He changed his trousers into a different pair, making sure it had an elastic waistband to stretch accommodatingly.

When the crown was placed on his head, he staggered a little. It really was unnecessarily heavy. His great great grandfather must have had a head the size of a watermelon.

Laurent walked unsteadily down the hall, towards the Palace steps where Auguste and Al were already waiting. His insides became so twisted with the thought of seeing Damianos, he had to make a detour and hide behind a tapestry to have a panic, but only a little one.

Outside, the sun was blazing. Auguste clapped him on the back in greeting, and Laurent winced, the material of his blouse sticking to his armpits. Al’s lips curled at his outfit, but Laurent couldn’t care. He hoped he looked beautiful enough — just enough — so Damianos would reconsider his murder. At the very least, Laurent hoped nothing happened to his face.

“Alright?” said Auguste. “You’re sweating.”

“Shut up,” said Laurent, mortified. He was a prince; he did not sweat.

Auguste’s response was cut off by the sound of the gates opening and rolling tires on gravel. Laurent’s heart was in his ears; he swallowed, but it made him feel more sick.

The sleek, black car was parked in the driveway. Several seconds later, Damianos stepped out, tall and handsome.

Laurent whimpered. It was one thing to see photos of Damianos on the internet, walking briskly down the street or shaking hands with Al, and it was another thing entirely to see him in the flesh as he walked down their driveway.

He was so tall. And he was built like a tree; all thick arms and chest and thighs. Laurent had such a weakness for thighs, they were really the best part of a man’s body, how they framed the groin and the cock and —

Laurent realised, suddenly, that he had not prepared at all for how he was going to greet Damianos.

Lovers kissed each other, yes? Laurent didn’t think he could do that without being punched but god, would Al think it was weird if he didn’t at least attempt to kiss Damianos? Maybe he could pretend to suddenly be shy, too coy to look into Damianos’ eyes in front of everyone — yes, yes that sounded perfect.

Damianos came up the stairs, smile wide and straight. His teeth were amazing. Were they fake? Laurent didn’t think so; he ran his tongue over his own, nervous, heart still thumping in his ears.

He greeted Al first. Laurent’s head was spinning. What if Al said something? What if Auguste did? What if Damianos said something that alluded to the fact that this was technically, the first time he and Laurent would be speaking to another?

And then Laurent couldn’t think of anything else, because Damianos was standing right in front of him.

He reached out, one large, dark hand to shake Laurent’s. Laurent staggered forward, into his chest, and closed his eyes.

*

When he opened his eyes again, Laurent saw the most beautiful angel.

“Wow, you’re hot.” Laurent poked a very hard, very strong bicep. “Heaven’s pretty cool.” He was dead, obviously,  because people this good looking didn’t exist in the mortal world.

“You’re not dead, Laurent. Can you sit up?”

Laurent thought about it. He wasn’t dead? That was good news. But he felt like he was dead because he couldn’t move his body at all.

“Here, can you follow my finger?”

“Hmm.” Laurent said and stared unblinkingly at what he assumed was a finger. It was quite blurry.

“I think he’s concussed.”

Laurent giggled. The stranger’s accent made it sound like he had said cock-cussed. It made Laurent want to suck cock.

He said, “If I’m not dead, I’d like to be. Jord, get me my blue Prada scarf. I want to be buried in it. Lazar, get your gun out.”

“He doesn’t seem concussed.” That was Al. The compulsion to die was suddenly much stronger.

“We should take him to the hospital,” the hot angel said. Laurent was in love.

He said as much: “I really love you,” he told the blurry figure. Then he rolled over onto his side and threw up.

[reyesstrand]

Tarlos 41 and 55 please... Love :3

so sorry this took me so long, i was really focused on lone star week for the last little while. thank you for the prompt! 

feel free to send me a number from this list if you’d like! also available on ao3! 

The solar storm ends up making things a living hell, for a little while. 

After the beauty of the lights strewn across the sky, an underlying sense of panic seemed to erupt all over Austin; everyone seemed to be wondering if another electrical event like that could happen again, and it takes several weeks for a sense of normalcy to enter their lives again. In that time, though, there’s an influx of calls at all hours, and TK feels bone-tired most days, dragging his feet when he’s finally off-shift and can go home to crash. 

He loves being a firefighter. Bursting his stitches so soon after getting them means he’s stuck at home longer than he would have wanted, so he’s antsy to get back into his uniform. But even he can admit that he’s been feeling drained, and he knows the rest of the team can feel it, too. He sometimes feels like that solar storm sort of helped jumpstart a new part of his life; there are still bad days, and he knows that there’s no chance of being magically cured of that. But he feels a sense of certainty, now, that he hasn’t really felt before; he’s got a proper family in the crew, and he goes with his dad to chemo appointments, which are wedged in between their shifts and his own therapy sessions. He feels good, but there’s only one issue: his relationship with Carlos. 

Not that there’s an actual issue with them — they’ve effectively started things over, secure in one another but taking things day by day. If there’s anything he’s the most certain about, it’s the promising road ahead that he sees with Carlos; he leaves TK feeling wanted and deserving of the love he showers him with, something he’s not really used to. They’re good. But the problem is that they’re both so busy with work that they’ve had to basically start their relationship over — can they even call it starting over, if they were never really officially together? — through text and phone calls and, if they’re lucky, when the 126 responds to the same calls as Carlos and his partner. It seems that the universe has thrown them the curveball of never actually having fully synched up schedules; TK has sort of begun to think that it’s a sign that they’ll never work out. 

They’d tried to plan out a good and honest and proper first date, but Carlos was suddenly slammed with a case and TK was healing and then he was back on the job, and it seems like with every passing day, their chance at actually sitting down together like normal people was becoming slimmer and slimmer. 

It’s a worry that TK voices to Carlos, when he strays away from the team who are bickering over something that has to do with lunch in the kitchen. He’s slumped down in one of the nice recliners his dad furnished the rec-room with, absently scratching behind Buttercup’s ears as he talks into his phone.

“I mean, I think the universe is telling us something,” TK half-jokes, and he hears Carlos sigh on the other line. 

“Well, maybe our luck just changed,” Carlos says, and TK perks up a little at that. 

When Carlos doesn’t immediately continue, dragging out his pause for dramatic effect, TK huffs and groans out his name, before adding: “You can’t leave me hanging like that.” 

Carlos chuckles, before he continues. 

“Thanks to Martinez, I’m now off for the rest of the night,” Carlos replies, and TK can’t help the grin that stretches out across his face, even though Carlos can’t see it. “I’ll have to stay late for her on the night of her cousin’s wedding, but it’s a good trade-off because now we can have our date.” 

“Are you asking me out, Reyes?” TK teases, even though they’ve been trying to find time for this dinner for almost three weeks. 

“Wasn’t it obvious?” Carlos throws back at him, and TK bites down on the inside of his cheek. 

"Well, I’d love to,” TK says, smiling a little as Buttercup’s head lolls toward him, tongue hanging out as he looks for more affection. “I’ll come to your place after my shift.” 

“I can’t wait,” Carlos’ voice sounds so bright and excited, that TK can’t tamper down the stupid acceleration of his heartbeat. 

He’s always so scared of running into things too fast, but he tries to tell himself that this is different. He knows it’s different, judging by the past eight months that they’ve danced around being something more. So TK lets himself feel excited. 

He lets himself admit, “me neither,” to a man he’s seriously falling for.

TK doesn’t try to hide his smile as he pockets his phone and pats his leg, whistling lowly for Buttercup to follow him as he goes off to see if his team’s actually figured out lunch yet. Glancing at his watch, 1:09 blinks back at him. He a little less than four hours left. He knows he’ll be counting down every second. 

* * * 

TK ends up running late. 

He’s cursing under his breath as they come back from a call almost half an hour after their shift ends; obviously, he’s thankful that it was nothing serious, but waiting for the all clear to be officially called so they can head out is almost painful. Marjan makes a face at him because she knows that he’s got a hot date waiting for him, and TK lovingly rolls his eyes at her. 

They get back to the firehouse and are sent off to the showers, the next crew having already started their shift, and TK doesn’t think he could move faster if he tried. He wants to make a good impression on Carlos, even if he’s seen the worst side of him — especially since he’s seen the worst side of him. And as he scrubs the scent of smoke and sweat from his skin, he figures that no matter what he does, he’ll be at least forty minutes late for their date, and he just feels defeated. 

TK shoots off a text to Carlos, apologizing and promising he’s on his way, not having time to check the reply that comes through moments later as he pulls on his jeans and a shirt he leaves unbuttoned near the collar, hopping around on one foot as he pulls on his shoes and tries to brush his teeth at the same time. 

“Christ, kid, you’ve gotta calm down,” Judd tells him, clamping a hand down on TK’s good shoulder. “You know, the guy’s heads-over-heels for you, he’s not going to blame you for being a little late.” 

“I just — I don’t wanna disappoint him,” TK says, throwing his things back into the compartment marked with his name on the shelving unit. 

“You won’t,” Judd levels with him, before he heads back toward the lockers. TK sighs, and runs a hand through slightly damp hair, and grabs his bag before shouting out a goodbye to those that are still lingering around, waving at his dad before he heads out to the Uber he’s ordered. 

He’s tapping his foot the whole ride over, he can’t help it. When Carlos’ place comes into view, his stomach clenches, and he thanks the driver and grips the bouquet of tulips he’d stopped to buy. It added five minutes to his journey, but he figures it’s worth it. As he steps up to the door, he knocks, and paces around until Carlos comes into view and he immediately feels calm wash over him. 

“Hey,” Carlos says, looking warm and welcoming and handsome, in a maroon shirt that brings out the gold in his eyes. TK’s immediately at ease in his presence, as he steps closer. 

“Hey,” TK steps into the house when Carlos makes a sweeping gesture, and he clears his throat when Carlos closes the door behind him. “These are for you.” 

“Oh,” Carlos looks pleasantly surprised by the flowers; he accepts the bouquet and smiles down at the pale pink blossoms. “They’re beautiful, thank you.” 

“Of course,” TK says, rubbing at the back of his neck as he steps further into the house. He spares a glance at the dining table and he sees a setup similar to the one he’d walked out on, so long ago. 

There’s a few moments where they sort of hover around one another, not sure what to say, until TK bites his bottom lip before huffing out a laugh. 

“This is awkward, isn’t it,” TK mutters, as he sits in the chair Carlos pulls out for him. He’s over in the kitchen, filling a vase with water, and looks over at him when he starts talking. 

“No, I mean, we haven’t really seen each other in a while,” Carlos shrugs a shoulder, coming over with the vase of tulips and sitting down across from TK. “I’m probably as nervous as you are, though, which I’m hoping is a good sign.” 

“It’s weird,” TK says, tapping his fingers against the table. “We know we work, and I feel like I’m hanging out with you for the first time and it’s—it’s throwing me off.” 

“I hear first dates are usually a little awkward,” Carlos studies his face carefully, before his easy smile falters a little and he leans closer, adding: “Ty, are you okay? Really.” 

“I’m just—I’m so sorry for being late,” TK says, feeling the words well up in his throat and having to be set free. “I don’t want to fuck this up because I—I really like you, Carlos. And even though I know I like you and want to do this right, I’m so fucking afraid of ruining everything again.”

“Hey, firstly, you don’t have to apologize. I know that shit happens. And secondly: please don’t be afraid. You don’t have to be with me, Ty,” Carlos whispers, reaching across the table and taking TK’s hands in his. TK stares down at their threaded fingers, which seem to fit perfectly, like everything else, before he slowly drags his eyes back up to meet Carlos’. “I know we’re still trying to get to know each other and do things properly but I really like you, too, TK. And I want you to know that I’m not going anywhere. Unless you don’t want me around.” 

“I don’t think that’ll ever happen,” TK admits, the corner of his mouth pulling upward in a smile. He runs his thumb along the back of Carlos’ hand. “I want you to know that I’m not going anywhere either, Carlos. I don’t want to run this time.” 

“Good,” Carlos smiles a little, “I want to keep you around.” 

“I’d like that.” TK says, feeling the tension drop from his shoulders.

He takes one last deep breath, and when Carlos looks at him with so much open love and acceptance in his eyes, TK starts to truly feel himself relax.

[igottoomuchwriting]

Speak Now (Klave)

Klaus stood in the mirror, staring at a man he almost didn’t recognize. 

He was wearing a black and white tux with his hair tamed with gel and a pair of sleek black heels that he knows makes him legs look great. He had simple make up on, just enough to hide the bags under his eyes. He has stayed up for days crying and thinking about this day, debating if he should actually go or if he should skip and save himself the pain.

But he couldn’t. He promised Peter that he would go with him, to suffer with him, because Peter wants to go just as little as Klaus. Dave usually went with Peter to events like this, but that made sense. They were roommates. Dave was already going to this before Peter decided to, but that made sense. 

It was his wedding after all.

Klaus never thought this day would come. He wishes he could think that sentence and have the day he would be getting married would come right after, but he can’t. He is going to a wedding to watch the love of his life to marry a woman. Why Dave was doing it made no sense to him, but Klaus also never cared about family. Family was all Dave had when he was growing up and he just wanted to have that back. The only way Klaus could understand was if Ben said he wouldn’t talk to him unless he was sober, but Ben would never do that. He would never abandon Klaus.

Dave said he didn’t want to leave Klaus. Dave said he loved Klaus, that he would die for Klaus, but in this moment, where Klaus is watching the clock tick down till he and Peter need to leave, he is wondering if those words were ever real.

Peter always reassured him that they were real, that Dave loves Klaus (not loved, Peter was convinced that Dave was still in love with Klaus, but Klaus knew he just wanted to make sure Klaus didn’t fall too far from the edge), that Dave knows he made a mistake. Klaus never listened. Peter may be telling Klaus this so that he would go back to be sober all the time, to fight for Dave, but Klaus had no fight. He never got as high as he used to, but he was nowhere as clean as he was when he and Dave were together. Everyone around him was disappointed, but Klaus couldn’t care. The only push he had to stay sober was so he could hug Ben as he cried over his love life, but he didn’t need to be sober all of the time to do that.

“Klaus?” he heard Peter behind him. He made eye contact with his friend through the mirror, taking in Peter’s outfit. 

He was wearing a simple blue suit with a white undershirt. His brown hair was brushed back in what Klaus and Dave had always referred to as his “fuck boy” haircut, much to the annoyance of Peter. He had simple light blue makeup with a blue shimmer in the middle, as well as a winged eyeliner that he could use to slay any God that crossed his path. 

Sometimes, Klaus wished that he could have Peter meet God and see if he could kill the bitch that has caused him so much pain in life.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked. There was pain in his voice, regret in his eyes. 

“Yeah,” Klaus smiled. He grabbed his phone and followed Peter out into his living room, turning off the lights in the bathroom.

It hurt to be in their apartment. It used to be his home, somewhere he could run and hide, somewhere he could relax with his boyfriend and best friend. It was actually happy, a good home, something he was never used to. Now it hurts, to walk down the halls when all he can think of are the times Dave chased him down the halls, the times he was pushed up against these walls, the paintings he’s hung on the walls that now just sit in boxes somewhere in Diego’s attic. Klaus had thought he had finally found a home. He should’ve known better than to become comfortable.

“Are you sure you want to go?” Peter asked as he grabbed his car keys. 

“And what, abandon you in your time of need?” Klaus jokes. Peter shot him a knowing look.

“He’s your ex. I can suffer through a wedding by myself if you’re going to be uncomfortable the whole time.”

“It’ll be fine,” Klaus assured. That’s what he has been telling himself, but he doesn’t know if it’s true. He hasn’t smoked anything in three days just so he wouldn’t embarrass Peter by being high at a wedding and he hasn’t had any bad feelings about it, but he couldn’t trust that. 

“Okay,” Peter sighed. “If you’re sure.”

The drive to the chapel was a quiet one. Neither man had anything to talk about, both deep in their thoughts. Peter had tried turning on the radio to fill the silence but every song on the radio was a love song. On the fifth love song that played, Klaus hit the mute button before going back to staring out the window. Peter didn’t comment on it.

When they get to the venue, the families were running around, still setting up for the wedding, with some mingling around and talking. Peter and Klaus stay towards the back, hoping to stay out of the way and avoid drawing attention to themselves. Klaus was especially anxious about this. He knew that Dave’s family probably thinks that Dave liking boys was a ‘phase’ and won’t know Klaus, but he is still afraid that they will see Klaus and think he is here to stop it.

Which he’s not. This was Dave’s choice to get married and he was only here for Peter.

“Why are we here so early?” Klaus asked Peter. “It seems the only people here are the families.”

“Well, one person wanted to talk—” Before Peter could finish talking, they heard a female voice call them. They both frantically turned their heads every which way, searching for the voice. 

“Are you both blind?” Klaus looked forward and saw Dave’s sister Dani approaching them. 

She was wearing a sleeveless dress with an A-cut white lace top, attached to a long, flowing dark green bottom. Her dirty blonde hair was curled, with a braided crown going around her head. She had neutral eyeshadow and lipstick on, though like Peter she had winged eyeliner as well. Klaus always loved seeing her in makeup, always seeing it as a treat. She never really like wearing makeup unless she was in a good mood or there was an event she deemed important.

“Dani!” Peter cheered. He pulled her into a hug, to which Klaus followed. No matter how upsetting this day was, it was nice to see her. She was one of the main things Klaus missed after he and Dave broke up.

“I haven’t seen you in forever, Klaus!” she laughed. Klaus flashed her a bright smile, hoping to hide the thoughts of whose fault is that deep in his mind.

“Well here I am, in the flesh!”

“And looking spiffy!” She dramatically looked Klaus up and down, whistling that familiar tune. Klaus let out a laugh.

“I’m here to impress!” 

“How is the wedding set up going?” Peter asked. Dani let out a groan.

“The set up itself is fine, but Elizabeth is going off on her bridesmaids and being a stereotypical bridezilla.” Both Klaus and Peter winced.

“That bad?” Peter asked. Dani nodded her head. In the back of his mind, Klaus wondered if he would have ever done that, but he shook his head. Right now was not the time to wonder how he would be if he got married. He doesn’t think he’ll ever get married anyway.

“She’s lucky Dave chose her to marry. He has better options lined up than someone who flips out on their friend for wearing a slightly different nude shade than everyone else,” Dani scoffed. “I mean, come on. It can be edited to the same fucking color.”

Pain shot through Klaus’ chest. He never even imagined that Dave would have other people to date. He probably had a list of woman he wanted to date before he broke up with Klaus. Hell, he probably only date Klaus because he couldn’t get with those women quite yet, or he wanted to fix Klaus before moving on. A good ol’ fashion charity case.

“Is she mad that you are Dave’s groom instead of her bridesmaid?” Dani let out a laugh.

“Oh yeah. She didn’t understand why Dave made me the best man, and I think it pisses her off even more for the fact that I’m wearing a dress instead of a suit like Dave’s other friends.”

“You still match the other groomsmen though.” Klaus had seen photos of the tuxes that Dave chose. Peter had left it open on his computer when Klaus was over and he couldn’t help but peak. “But I have to ask—why green?”

Dani and Peter glanced at each other. It was an almost happy look, a knowing look between the duo.

“It’s his favorite color,” Dani supplied, smug look on her face.

“He said it reminds him of happy times, when he felt the most like himself,” Peter continued. Klaus frowned, deep in thought. 

Klaus can’t think of time that green might have represented a happier time for himself. The best thing he can think of is when he and Dani would play in the woods when they were younger. Green was his favorite color when they were dating, that much Klaus can remember. Did Klaus ever ask why?

“Usually people like a color because of aesthetic, not memories,” Klaus laughed. “Unless this is another part of childhood that I missed out on.”

“I don’t think it’s from our childhood,” Dani assured. “It’s definitely something somewhat recent.” They were really keeping it vague, but Klaus understood. It probably had something to do with his bride. Even if Dani doesn’t know how upset Klaus is, she still wouldn’t make it obvious how much she has affected Dave’s life after Klaus left.

Dani’s phone went off, startling everyone in the group. She grumbled and grabbed her phone out of her pocket—how she was able to make a skirt that small hold a pocket, Klaus will never understand—and held it up to her ear.

“Hello?” Klaus watched as a look of worry and concern took over her face. There also seemed to be a hint of hope in her eyes, and when she glanced at Klaus, she seemed torn.

“Okay, I’ll be right over.” She hung the phone up and shoved it back into her pocket, sigh on her lips.

“Is everything alright?” Peter asked, concerned.

“Yeah, um, it’s just Dave being...weird,” she trailed off. “I have to go, but I’ll meet up with you later!” And then she was gone.

Klaus stared at the spot she was standing, deep in thought. Hearing Dave’s name over and over and over again is hurting him more than he thought it would. Just hearing Dave without hearing and Klaus afterwards brings him so much pain. It’s just a constant reminder that he and Dave are over, that he is here for Dave’s wedding, not their wedding.

“Klaus?” Klaus snapped his head up to see Peter staring at him with a concerned look. His brows were furrowed and he looked ready to take Klaus away from here. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah!” Klaus answered just a bit too quickly. “I’m great! I just got to see Dani, how could I not be happy?” 

Peter let out a half-hearted chuckle. He knew Klaus was deflecting, trying to not admit what he is feeling, so he’s not gonna push. Klaus is grateful for that. He doesn’t need to be having a breakdown at his ex’s wedding, especially since he shouldn’t even be here.

“What should we do?” Klaus asked, looking around. “Dani is obviously busy with the groom, so I doubt we’ll be seeing her anytime soon.” 

Peter looked up from his phone—when did he pull that out?—with a concerned look. Klaus wanted to ask what was wrong, if it was something on his phone or if it was something that Klaus said, but he decided against it. A part of him is telling him that he doesn’t want to know the answer.

“We could go watch speed paintings?” 

Klaus let out a laugh, but agreed.

---

The wedding started off without a hitch. Peter and Klaus sat in the very back, hoping to avoid the crowd. They knew that there was a possibility that they could become annoying, knowing they would make fun of every person that breathed.

The music started playing and all of the emotions that Klaus was able to push down hit him all at once. 

He was here, at his ex’s wedding. The only person he has ever loved, who Klaus thought loved him, someone who was there through every nightmare, through every relapse and weeks of being sober. He was through thick and thin, and Klaus had shared the same. Klaus made sure he was there for Da—his ex whenever he needed him. When he fought with his sister, or when his mom had decided to call. They had their moments, sure, but Klaus was sure they were fine, that everything was alright.

But he was wrong. And now he is at his wedding, and isn’t at the altar. 

“Klaus, are you okay?” Peter asked for the hundredth time, and it was starting to wear down on him. He didn’t think that he was going to snap at him, no, but he knew if he kept asking, he was going to have a breakdown. He was truly trying to hold it together for his friend, trying to hold it together for the small amount of public decency he had left, and a small, small part of him was holding it together for Dave. 

He knew it was ridiculous but he couldn’t get rid of the small part of him that still cared about Dave’s feelings. Dave obviously didn’t care about him anymore. He’s moved on, but Klaus didn’t want to be a painful reminder of his past. 

Klaus felt a gentle pull on his arm. He looks over and sees Peter giving him a concerned look. 

Oh. He hasn’t responded.

“No,” he answered honestly with a shrug. “Too late to turn back now though.”

“If we sneak out the doors, no one will bat an eye,” Peter offered, but Klaus shook his head. He has already decided that he was going to see this through till the end, even if it killed him. He told Ben that he would be strong enough to do this and he wasn’t going to let his favorite brother down.

Elizabeth passed Klaus as she walked down the aisle, dress falling beautifully on her body with a bright smile on her face as both her mom and Dave’s walked her down the aisle.. Dave was gorgeous as well but Klaus didn’t want to think about that too much or he would start crying. If he started crying, people around him would think it was because of the wedding and because he was so happy for the couple, but Peter would just start freaking out because he knows that the actual reason why. Peter freaking out would draw unnecessary attention to them and that’s exactly what Klaus was trying to avoid.

Klaus listened to the vows. Actually listened, as he was curious about what was going to be said for this short relationship. Elizabeth’s was actually very much generic, the normal “I love you and would die without you” or some bullshit like that. Klaus couldn’t care less. 

Dave’s was strange to Klaus though. Dave was also generic, the normal “I found the love of my life and you made my life better”, but there was something off. The first thing that tipped Klaus off was that Dave stuttered over the ‘love’ part, and he looked away from her as he said ‘made his life better’. He remembers Dave grabbing Klaus’ face and forcing him to look him in the eyes as he made his declaration of love and reminded Klaus that he was loved. He would only stutter when Klaus started complimenting him, the worst when Klaus kept pushing for Dave’s kinks. Dave also avoided generic things. If he was saying something that he knows is generic, especially during love declarations, he says so. He would never want Klaus to think that he didn’t truly care and that he had just looked something up on the internet. This, though…

It sounded like Dave copy and pasted this off of the internet.

Klaus must have been deep in his thoughts because the next thing he knew, the preacher—rabbi?—was speaking.

“Speak now or forever hold your peace,.”

Klaus looked around the room to see if anyone was going to speak, if anyone was going to speak out against this wedding.

He locked eyes with Dani. She glanced at Dave and his bride with a disappointed look. She seemed to be holding her breath as if she wanted to say something, as if she wanted to stop her brother’s wedding from happening. Klaus noticed that the rest of Dave’s groomsmen seemed to have the same look, glancing at each other with looks of resignation. Klaus could feel Peter’s eyes on him as well. 

Was this all in Klaus’s head? Was Klaus not the only one who didn’t want Dave getting married to this girl? They would care in the sense of knowing Dave, knowing who he is. Maybe, just maybe, Klaus was not as far off as he thought he was.

And then he was standing.

Eyes all turned towards the man, eyes wide and mouths agape. Dave’s dad was glaring in anger and the bride was shooting daggers at him with her eyes. But honestly?

Klaus couldn’t give any shits about them. He knew what he was here for. He has never cared about what people thought of him, and that wasn’t going to start at his ex’s wedding.

“David Katz,” Klaus started, voice much steadier than he thought it would be. “I know I am not the kind of person that should be standing up and crashing a beautiful wedding. Hell, I am the last fucking person that should even be here,” he let out a laugh, shaking his head. Dave said nothing and stared at Klaus. He didn’t look angry, so Klaus continued. “Truly, I was never the kind of person who would do anything but drugs.”

“But you changed that. You made me someone who could do more with their life. You had me continue art, had me get a job, helped me fight the ghosts that follow me on a daily basis.”

“That’s a bit dramati—”

“Let the man speak,” Peter snapped at the old lady who decided to interrupt Klaus’ monologue. He ignored them. If he got off track, he would lose his train of thought and would never be able to win Dave back.

“You helped me become a better man, helped me control the powers that I have been cursed with since the day I was born. So I am now here to help you become a better man, because you are not the kind of man who should be marrying a girl!” 

The bride’s face was glaring red now. Dave’s parents were standing and glaring at Klaus, looking ready to march over and stop him from speaking. Klaus took another glance at Dani and saw her beaming. She nodded her head and waved her hand, motioning for him to continue.

“Don’t say yes. Yes, she is a beautiful girl at a beautiful wedding, and I am sure she would make a lovely wife, but Dave! You are the gayest motherfucker I have met! Right after me and Peter! You have never liked a girl, even as a phase! You were never happy when people assumed you were straight—”

“That is enough!” Dave’s dad yelled.

“How could you crash a wedding?!” The bridesmaid yelled. “Why are you even here? To pull Dave back into a sad, lonely life?”

“Klaus—” Peter started, but Klaus shushed him. He directed his eye contact towards Dave, who was starting at Klaus with a mix of emotions. Klaus would usually think that they are bad, but the more he stared the more he realized… he might have a chance.

“Dave, I love you,” Klaus finished. He had so much more he wanted to say, so much he had on his mind, but it could wait. He had an angry mob of families wanting his head on a pitchfork and as far as he knew, he only had two people who were on his side right now.

“Dave, will you please kick that guy out?” Klaus heard the bride ask. When Dave didn’t look at her, “David?”

Dave didn’t move. Dave kept his eyes locked with Klaus’ and hands clenched at his side. Klaus didn’t move either. He was afraid that if he did, the trance that he and Dave found themselves in would shatter and all of Klaus’ hopes and dreams would shatter right before his eyes.

Movement caught his eyes. He watched as Dani leaned over to Dave and whispered something in his ear, her eyes finally leaving Klaus for the first time since he stood up. Dave’s shoulders seemed to relax at whatever she said, his mind being made up. 

Klaus thought this was it. His anxiety was whispering to him everything that Dani was convincing Dave that Klaus wasn’t the man he wanted, that he should marry the girl, even though logic points towards Dani not wanting Dave to get married to her either. He was about to leave it all, walk away from the fire he started like he has done so many times, call it quits and start his addiction again. After this he would really have nothing else to keep hanging on to.

Then Dave started moving. He ran down the aisle, making his way towards Klaus, and the gasps filled the room again. Dave grabbed Klaus’s arm and pulled him close, wild and sporadic look in his eyes.

“Run,” is all Dave said before he pulled on Klaus’ arm. Klaus laughed as he and Dave sprinted out of the chapel, leaving behind the chaos of a failed wedding.

Klaus had somehow convinced his ex to leave his wedding, leaving this almost perfect woman and go with Klaus, making him a runaway groom. Klaus has never been able to convince anyone at any point of his life to make a drastic life decision like this, but somehow he has completed the impossible today.

They didn’t stop running until they were at least 5 blocks away, where Dave pulled Klaus into an alley. They both hid around the corner and were breathing heavy, staring straight ahead. If they moved, they could get caught.

Once Klaus started catching his breath—his lungs were really fucked, weren’t they?—he glanced over at Dave and was surprised to find the man starting back at him. Klaus watched the man breathe heavily with his eyes never leaving Klaus’.

“What? Do I have something on my face?” He said this in a joking tone, but he was terrified. Dave didn’t say anything. After a few seconds of him catching his breath, a huge smile broke out on his face.

And then, he started laughing. Not just a light chuckle, but a full on loud, breath stealing, double-over-laughing kind of laugh. Klaus watched as the man leaned on his knees and laughed so hard, coughing as he tried to catch the little bit of breath that he had from their run in between laughs.

“What is so funny!” Klaus asked, but he was also laughing. He couldn’t help it, Dave’s laugh always made him happy. It was contagious.

Dave leaned back against the wall, locking eyes with Klaus. Before Klaus could ask for a third time what was wrong, Dave finally moved. He brought his hand forward, wrapping it around the back of his neck, and pulled Klaus in for a bruising kiss.

Klaus gasped in shock but very quickly leaned into the kiss. His arms wrapped around Dave’s neck and he grabbed a handful of Dave’s hair, pulling the man closer into him. Dave let out a moan of pleasure and Klaus was oh so please.

Dave pushed Klaus back against the wall as the kiss became deeper, his hands roaming all over Klaus’ body. Klaus leaned into every touch, every kiss, every move that Dave made. He was the happiest he has been, only dreaming of having Dave’s hands on him again, yet here he was, pressed up against the wall with Dave’s hands grasping his ass as if it was his only mission in life.

Dave finally pulled away, much to Klaus’ disappointment. He chased Dave’s lips with a whine, but Dave just pressed his forehead against Klaus’. Klaus held him close, arms still around his neck and clasped against each other, not giving Dave any room to escape. Now that he had Dave right where he wanted him, he would never let him leave.

“I love you,” Dave whispered. He pressed a kiss to Klaus’ nose, cheek, jaw, everywhere he could reach as he mumbled those same three words over and over again. “I love you, I love you, I love you.”

“Even after I crashed your wedding and ruined your big day by embarrassing you and kidnapping you?”

“Technically, I kidnapped you.” Dave laughed. “But no, you honestly made my day better. Seeing you reminded me of how much marrying a woman would be a horrible decision.”

“Then why did you do it?” Klaus asked. He knows he should be more upset at Dave. He had left Klaus and went for a girl, nullifying everything that he had ever told Peter and Dave in the years that he knew them. He hurt him more than Klaus ever thought he could be hurt, the only thing that hurt more was Ben’s death. So he should be pissed, should be yelling at Dave, cursing him out, not making out with him in an alley.

“I wanted my parents to accept me,” Dave mumered. “I saw them when I was visiting Dani and I just remembered how much I loved them, that when they introduced me to a girl trying to set me up, I didn’t know what to say. I tried saying no, Klaus.” Dave let out a shaky breath. Klaus could tell the man was close to tears. “I tried to tell them I was with you, but they were insistent, and then I was going on a date. Dani was pissed and I did listen to her, tried breaking up with the girl, but then—I don’t know. My mom said how happy she was that I was able to give her grandchildren, and my dad said how I would make a great husband—”

“I could have been a great spouse,” Klaus interrupted.

“I know,” Dave whined. He moved his hands away from Klaus’ butt and wrapped his arms around Klaus’ waist, pulling Klaus into a crushing hug. Klaus hugged him back with the same amount of force. “God, I fucking know Klaus. I wanted to marry you so bad—hell, I still wanna marry you. I don’t know what came over me, but I was thinking that if I got with this girl, I could finally have my family back.”

“Then why did you run?” Klaus asked. “You were at the altar, and instead of kicking me out, you ran off with me. Why?”

“Because in an attempt of going back to the past, I lost everyone that actually cared about me.” Klaus gave Dave a look of confusion. Without any prompting, Dave continued. “When I broke up with you, Peter was pissed. He and I didn’t stop talking but it wasn’t the same. He was mad that I hurt you after spending so long with you and the promises I made. I was convinced that he was going to kill me.”

“You always did say he basically adopted me,” Klaus laughed, tears filling his eyes. Dave smiled and nodded his head.

“Yeah. Dani wasn’t too happy either, and she was even more upset when I proposed to Elizabeth. She kept asking if this was the choice I wanted, if I was doing what made me happy. I always said that I loved Elizabeth, but I realized it was a platonic love yesterday. Even my buddies at work were put off by me dating a girl, which I have never ever experienced in my life.” Klaus couldn’t imagine it. With the environment being filled with men and occasionally some women, being with a girl seems like it would be the norm. I guess that they have been so used to Dave and Klaus being together that it wasn’t something they thought would ever happen.

“I should be mad at you,” Klaus sighed. “You left me for a woman, broke my heart and left me and all of our broken promises in the dust.”

“I know,” Dave mumbled. “Honestly, you should be mad at me. If you don’t want to be with me or give me a second chance, I understand. I wouldn’t want to be with someone who did what I did to you.”

“I shouldn’t be with you.” Klaus held Dave’s gaze for that flare of dramatics. He kissed Dave with a passion filled move, holding him close. “But I have never been known for doing things that are good for me.”

“Klaus,” Dave mumbled against his lips. He pushed Klaus back and held him at arms length. “I don’t want to be another bad habit for you to have to break. I want to be the person that helps you fight those bad habits.”

“David Katz,” Klaus snapped. Dave blinked in surprise. Klaus was a bit surprised that he spoke to Dave in that tone was well, but he wasn’t going to back down now. “You have never been a bad habit. You have treated me better than any relationship I have had. You have helped me through so much, from mending relationships with my family to becoming clean and controlling my powers.”

“But I left—”

“Yes, you left me,” Klaus interrupted. “And yeah, that hurt like a fucking bitch and it took Peter and Ben a while to actually help me get back on my feet. But I came to your wedding and spoke in front of everyone, telling you I love you, and you pulled me out of the church and made out with me instead of your fiancee. So unless this is a cruel joke, I am willingly to believe that whatever we have right now is real.”

“It is,” Dave assured. “I swear to everything that is holy that it is.”

“Good.” As he trailed a hand down his chest, he continued. “And if you aren’t, I’m sure Diego and Vanya have no problems with ending your life, and it won’t take a lot for Vanya to convince Five to hide the body.”

“If I hurt you again, I’ll let them.” Before Klaus could retort, Dave leaned in and caught Klaus in another deep kiss, ending their conversation.

Klaus was happy to oblige, but once Dave licked his lips, a thought crossed his mind.

“Mm, wait wait,” Klaus mumbled. Dave let out a hum but kept kissing Klaus’ jaw and neck, holding him close. “Dave!”

“Wha-at!” Dave whined, burying his head in Klaus’ neck.

“Why did you say to Dani on the phone earlier?” Klaus asked, ignoring the man’s whines. It reminded him of a dog who wanted a treat, and that thought just made Klaus’ heart flutter.

“The short of it is I was having a gay panic because I saw you at the wedding and Dani was telling me it wasn’t too late to call off the wedding.” Dave gentle mouthed at Klaus’ neck and gave Klaus’ ass a squeeze. “Now can I keep kissing you? I have a lot of time to make up for.”

“I see nothing wrong with that,” Klaus sighed, brining Dave back up and crashing their lips together.

For once, Klaus believed that it would get better.

~Bonus Scene~

“Where the hell is he?!” Peter watched as chaos erupted around him. Dave’s dad was the one who yelled at Dave’s sister, the person who stayed the closest with him over the years. Dave’s mom was comforting the bride who was crying her eyes out. Peter honestly felt a little bad for her.

Dani yelled something at her dad—probably telling him off and letting him know that Dave wasn’t coming back—before marching her way towards Peter, determination in her eyes.

“I don’t want to stay here any longer,” she sighed, ripping off her fake eyelashes that she had. “Let’s just fucking dip.”

“Can I stay at your place?” Peter asked as they walked out of the building, ignoring anyone who tried speaking to them. “I’m gonna stay on the hopeful side and give the lovebirds some space.”

“Be my guest,” Dani grumbled. “We should look at tinder or something together. I’m gonna need some sad white boys to make this day better.”

“You read my mind,” Peter agreed.

[ohscorbus]

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Saturday 27th May, 2017

This is long overdue and probably of little relevance now since this was their third show and we’re now three weeks into their run. They’ve dramatically improved since this! Or so I’ve heard, I’ll find out on Saturday : ) But anyway, this was my first time seeing the new cast so there was a lot running through my head which means this isn’t a great recap by any means. I’ll direct you over to @torestoreamends​ for that.

The first part of this is just me rambling and sorting my thoughts out. Feel free to skip it. The scene by scene bullet pointed recap you’re expecting from me is at the end. Oh and in true @ohscorbus style, I'm going to focus on Theo/Albus and Samuel/Scorpius. I guess that's what you're all here for anyway :p

I'll be the first to admit I was extremely nervous about seeing the new cast. I'm still so attached to the original cast and I'm not a theatre-goer so it's the first time I've had to even think about what exactly a cast change would mean, let alone experience it. I know I'm not alone in dreading it would lessen my connection with it. I think I feared that all the magic was in Jamie's tears or Anthony's flaily robe swishes, and that new people would never be able to capture that. Silly, right? The magic of this show is made up of a collection of things. The staging, the lighting, the costumes, the script, the theatre itself, the audience! (I love the fact that you can be stood in the queue for the toilet during the interval and it's totally normal to start a conversation with the complete strangers next to you because you both need to gush about HP.) But even though I knew all of this really, it did little to calm me down...

I can't tell you what my first impression was because I was so overwhelmed. I think @the-eighth-story​ and I just squealed at each other during that first interval. It should be noted that the people saying part one was noticeably less rehearsed than part two were correct. But then we had to remember we'd just seen the original cast at their best less than a week ago, to seeing this cast now who have had a grand total of four days on that stage in tech rehearsals. FOUR. As a fan who knows this show off by heart, it was frustrating to watch because I knew the mistakes weren’t their fault. I mean, things do go wrong. It's live theatre and these things happen. But usually if something goes wrong then nine times out of ten, the people who are watching the show for the first time don't realise. It was not like that today and my heart really went out to them. The lack of rehearsal time combined with their inexperience of dealing with these things when they do go wrong was glaringly obvious to everyone. A few wrong lines and the odd dropped prop (time turners and wands *smacks head*). The worst part was the pauses before they started whatever effect/prop they were about to do. E.g. Samuel stopped and readied himself for the smoke out of his ears effect, and Theo did the same before the very end of his wand dance scene. (What is that scene actually called?) Oh and the robe transformation as they go through the barrier at King’s Cross too. Those transitions need to be seamless otherwise you can see just how the ‘magic’ works!!! Again, it’s not their fault but still... The loss of momentum only highlighted how not ready they were. I have to say though, they still did the best they could do and that showed too. That’s the important bit here. I have to mention Samuel specifically here because he did so well at dealing with these little 'incidents'. The audience really did take to him very quickly.

Samuel Blenkin as Scorpius Malfoy

Samuel is simply mesmerising to watch. There's already so much going on and you can see he's already, completely and utterly, Scorpius Malfoy. I'd heard so many positive things about Samuel's Scorpius and I can promise you they are 1000% true and deserved. I'd hate to say someone was better than someone else but I'd definitely say his Scorpius is equally as perfect as Anthony's was. I was honestly astounded at how much Samuel has already formed his character. Where I couldn't totally feel one or two of the other characters yet, I recognised his straight away. It’s still the same old Scorpius we know and love, but Samuel has managed to bring a whole new level of awkwardness to him too. 

He perfectly captures what you'd expect from an ubergeek Malfoy. He has these big round eyes that when he's upset and crying, make him look so very small and vulnerable. Then when he's excited (or should I say, when his geekness is a-quivering), they bulge out like his teeny tiny body just can't contain all the energy coursing through it. It's actually adorable. I really loved watching what Samuel was doing with his face. I highly recommend sitting near the front to catch all of his expressions! My faaaavourite thing he does, and such an interesting new Scorpius thing, is the way his mouth is constantly moving. It looks like he's always just about to say something but he's not. I even thought he might have been mouthing everyone's lines (like Emma Watson in PS) but he wasn't. He just repeatedly open and closes his mouth. The only way to describe it is... well it's kinda like a goldfish. Sounds weird but I love it. It's like he's subconsciously and silently muttering away to himself. There was a few times I found myself forgetting the scene completely because I was so focused on lip reading but nope, he's really not saying anything! He's just got overactive jaw muscles. After five hours I swear mine hurt from just watching him :')

As for things this Scorpius has in common with the previous ones, he's just as flaily and is particularly fond of talking with his hands. Yay! He also stutters occasionally, mostly when he's overly emotional and/or nervous. Again, it's really quite endearing. I'm going to have to get James Howard to reconsider his stance on not letting us keep him.

Theo Ancient as Albus Potter

Then there's Theo. Oh Theo. Theo Theo Theo Theo. Before I start this, you should know Albus is my favourite character. He’s just… so incredibly important to me. I didn’t so much as connect with him but I saw myself as him. It was really weird to see that on stage for the first few times. Talk about home truths :’) But this isn’t a therapy session so I’ll hop, skip, and jump over my daddy issues and insecurities. But yeah, I’m so very protective of Albus in an almost selfish way because Sam’s Albus fits me perfectly. But Theo’s Albus? Not so much, and I think that’s what my initial hesitation to a new Albus boiled down to. That was unfair and not Theo’s fault. I’m over that now, phew! Especially since this Albus is all kinds of wonderful in his own right. I just think the fact that I’d seen both Anthony and James play Scorpius multiple times, yet only ever seen Sam play Albus, made the transition even harder for me. But anyway, less about me and more about Albus...

I honestly paid no attention to anyone else on stage in those first two scenes because I was so focused on Theo. Sorry, not sorry. I desperately wanted to see my Albus. It took me a while to realise I should have been looking for his Albus instead. Oh boy and his Albus ♥︎ He’s less aggressive and more awkwardly nerdy and it works perfectly alongside Samuel’s Scorpius. Jamie G’s Harry too. I’m protective of him in a whole different kind of way now. He’s also my Albus again. Mwahahaha.

Oh and I don't know if it's a nervous Theo thing (more on that in a second) or a conscious decision Theo’s made so it’s an Albus thing but omg. He's a heavy blinker. Anthony did the same with Scorpius and it's so distracting because then I started to think about blinking. Which means I started to notice when I was blinking and is there anything worse when you're trying to watch something?! Another thing, his Albus sounds a lot posher and sits so straight. Like, uncomfortably so. He’s also rather fond of pulling his sleeves down over his hands which was something Anthony’s Scorpius would do too so it’s interesting to watch Albus take that on. I noticed it most in Act Three, Scene Eleven during the conversation with his dad in his dorm. While Scorpius stutters when he’s upset, Albus seems to want to hide himself in his clothes.

*sigh* So the nervous thing. I hate to bring this up (especially since it’s all irrelevant now anyway) but it was something nearly everyone mentioned in their recaps from those first few shows so I can’t not mention. Theo’s nervousness in part one sadly did affect his performance. You could tell exactly which scenes they had rehearsed. But he wasn’t alone in this. Although on the flip side, in those scenes that they had rehearsed, it was like he forget he was on stage. He was comfortable and confident in what he was doing and it was in these scenes that he really shone. He was SO GOOD. Again, you don’t have to worry about this now as I’ve heard he’s doing oh so brilliantly these days which makes me beyond happy. But yeah... if my impressions of him aren’t fully formed yet it’s because I haven’t seen him at his best yet. YET. Albus is in very safe and very good hands with Theo. I have no doubt about that. He just needed to be less focused on the tech, the script, the audience, or whatever was making him so nervous (not that you can blame him!) and just be Albus. I know he’s more than capable because I’ve seen it. Act Three, Scene Eleven was a prime example of that. He just needed a little bit more time in Albus’s shoes on that stage. Time in which he’s now had and I hear it’s made a world of difference. *grumbles* Four days... *shakes head*

Anyway, on with the actual recap!

                                                     ACT ONE

Act One, Scene Three

Albus walked past several compartments and looked in each one before deciding to enter the one with Scorpius in it and my heart was beating right out of my chest with excitement. THIS WAS IT.

When Albus eventually walked in, Scorpius looked so taken aback and flustered. They shook hands and they introduced themselves and that handshake.... it went on forever and it was so enthusiastic on Scorpius's part. I thought he was going to shake Albus's arm off. He didn’t let go for longest time either. Not that Albus seemed to care.

The sweets song was delightful! Honestly, it was scary how quickly this boy captured my heart.

“You're Albus Potter” - I reeeally loved how Albus reacted to this line. He kinda stepped/leaned back and his smile disappeared from his face. You could tell from Scorpius's initial reaction that he knew who Albus was instantly. Yet when this was confirmed, Albus genuinely looked guarded for a second. That look didn't stay long as Scorpius soon put a smile back on his face, but that glimpse of Albus struggling tugged on my heartstrings.

When Albus announced he was staying, he sat down opposite Scorpius and looked so bloody proud of himself.

“I stayed for your sweets” - Albus sang this line back at Scorpius and it was a little more awkward than sweet but I guess that’s just these two all over :’)

“Do you prefer Albus or Al?” - Albus really sat and thought about this for a good few seconds. It was like he was deciding who exactly he was going to be. That's kind of how I'm going to sum Theo up. I feel like he knows Albus but hasn't had the chance to fully flesh him out yet. After all, Scorpius is right. Albus is pretty complicated :p

Act One, Scene Four

Rose was muttering 'Gryffindor' under her breath and that was sweet. I'm already so taken with her Rose.

Can we talk about how exciting it is to having Mackley in speaking roles please??? (Apologies to anyone watching the livestream at the stage door that night and had to watch me geek out over the fact to Mackley himself *dies*)

“Slythering Slytherin, stop with your dithering” - James grabbing Albus and pulling him down into a headlock still happened which I love!

J A M E S  H O W A R D

I had the pleasure of seeing his Draco a few weeks ago and seeing a familiar face felt so good. The second he opened his mouth I knew exactly who his character was. When I was still lost and overwhelmed by the rest of the cast, he was just what I needed. I wish I could properly describe his voice to you. It's so commanding and Malfoy like. I love it.

“Leave him and Voldemort's child to it, I say” - He did this hilarious Voldemort impression here where he pushed the end of his nose up as he said 'Voldemort's child'. Mackley is such a blessing. From here on out I was one 'Mackley Watch' because his background stuff is A+.

“It's got the worse it can possibly get” - This was actually my favourite version of the scene from any Scorpius I've seen ever. Anthony would always looked down and fiddled with the suitcase as he mumbled the lines. James would stare off into the distance, looking empty and at a loss. Samuel just looked utterly heartbroken. Like he was going to break and cry at any second. He looked as young, if not younger, than Scorpius is suppose to be. It kinda made me want to storm the stage and hold him. Luckily Albus felt the same as he reached out and put an arm round him as the two walked off stage together. Scorpius then put his arm round Albus too. It was a tiny moment but it showed that even when they don't have words, they can and do comfort each other. It was a really nice addition to the scene. One that I hope stays! I’ve only ever seen Sam and Anthony do something similar once.

“Potters don't belong in Slytherin” - Scorpius used his hands to form Harry Potter glasses on his face as he said 'Potters'. Except he kept his fingers splayed out so they resembled Luna’s spectrespecs more than anything. He really is such a nerd. Can I adopt him?

Act One, Scene Six

Annabel’s Delphi is AMAAAZIIING. Honestly, the only smile that rivalled Albus's was mine whenever she was on stage.

Act One, Scene Seven

Albus was sat cross legged and arms folded round himself on his bed. Seeing him looking so small, guarded, and upset really stabbed me in the chest with feels. Although this was the first time I'd watched this scene and not cried. But I think that's down to me still focusing on the cast/characters rather than losing myself in the scene though. My bad.

Act One, Scene Ten

I have to admit, I wasn't really watching Albus and Rose here because Mackley was on stage and he was sat all alone in his compartment and I was 'awww'-ing internally to myself. Oooops :’)

We've seen Albus react to Scorpius's bread line many different ways and Theo's decided to go with straight up laughing at him. Y E S.

The hug! All their hugs were 30% sweet, 70% awkward. But since these characters are awkward in their own right and they're hugging for the first time, it actually works for them. I did notice whenever Albus initiated a hug, Scorpius would automatically start to wrap his arms around him before he quickly stopped and flung his arms back out. You know that surprised kitten video? Like that. His hands held up in a sort of frozen jazz hand position. It's actually quite adorable.

(Also for your daily dose of daddy Draco feels, can you imagine him doing this with baby Scorpius??? Scorpius is all flaily arms and kicky legs and high pitched giggles. Draco is having the time of his life.)

"Do we hug?" - Once they had pulled back from each other, Scorpius gestured really quickly, pointing backwards and forwards between them as he said this. (Like how Alex’s Draco would do as he said the “take that back right now” line to Harry. I couldn’t help but laugh to myself.)

I really loved the oooh quiz bit! So on stage there's a stack of suitcases, Scorpius, and then Albus stood in a line. Well Albus was resting against the suitcases so it meant his arm round the back of Scorpius. Squeeeak! No but it was really sweet. Scorpius was rambling excitedly away and Albus was leaning into him with the biggest smile on his face. Bless Theo for having one of those faces that goes all scrunchy when he's really happy.

“Ya-huh” - I'm faaairly positive he didn't say this. It stood out because the whole cast were sticking to the script religiously. Instead I'm pretty sure he put on an even posher voice and said a very formal thank you? I’ve seen both Anthony and James do that too. It must be a Scorpius thing now?

Act One, Scene Thirteen

Albus and Scorpius really stuck together, always side by side, in this scene which I liked because it really is madness in St. Oswald’s.

But while that's sweet and sensible and all, the only thing I want to talk about in this scene is Martin Johnston in that glorious purple dress and wig. More tech things went wrong here (the book he's holding should have caught fire, it didn't, nor did the carer’s trousers fall down) but honestly I was so mesmerised by this new resident of St. Oswald that I didn't even care.

Act One, Scene Fourteen

Scorpius was slooowly creeping forward as Amos and Albus were talking, until the attention is put on him. He shrank back against the wall for the 'a Malfoy who may be a Voldemort' line. Samuel has really got that small childlike like vulnerability thing down. No wonder Albus keeps hugging him, I would too.

“I know what it is to be the spare” - I absolutely loved how Theo played this line. I really felt his Albus here. There was a tiny pause and then he quietly said the line. It was here that I finally pinpointed the difference between Sam's Albus and Theo's Albus, because while they are the same character, they are different. Sam would always say this line like his emotions were driving him. There was so much anger with it. Whereas Theo's line came from a place of honesty and hurt. I wouldn't say one is better than the other but for their interpretation of their character, their actions make sense.

Act One, Scene Sixteen

“If we're going this, we're doing it (he puts on a pair of familiar-looking glasses with a smile) together” - Oh Samuel. He'd just put the glasses on but this little flaily bean accidentally knocked them off and they went flying. Luckily he managed to catch him with his arm and he put them back on again and said, "we're doing this... together!" again. It got a good laugh out of the audience.

The Polyjuice transformation was a 1000% less dramatic and it meant I could watch it without dying of secondhand embarrassment. They didn't seem in pain or too freaked out by it. It was more like the seven Harry's transformation scene in DH. Although the script does state Albus is suppose to be ‘racked with pain’. But whatever. I actually prefer it this way and it still got a round of applause!

Act One, Scene Eighteen

I have to mention Albus/Ron's blocking actions here because they were hilarious. Towards the end when he was getting desperate, he just started batting her hand away from him whenever Hermione reached out for her office door. (Tom Aldridge is a bloody brilliant Ron by the way.)

Act One, Scene Nineteen

Scorpius standing on top of the bookcase/staircase and punched the air for his 'we beat the library' line. By this point I knew we'd been blessed with the dorkiest Scorpius yet.

So this scene ends with Delphi, Scorpius, and Albus stood together, holding up the book with the spinning time turner in. Except today Albus remained on the floor, tucked round the side of the staircase as he desperately peered round the corner at Delphi and Scorpius.... we're pretty sure he got stuck since that's where he emerges from the bookcase. Maybe his clothing got caught on something? Or his foot??? It would explain the failed attempt at standing : /

                                                    ACT TWO

Act Two, Scene Four

*whispers* This was where Theo kept dropping Delphi’s wand. He just couldn’t catch it after the ‘Expelliarmus’ at all. Bless him.

The 'wizzo' lines really brought out their dorky sides. Delphi struck a pose as she said it, Albus then mimicked it, followed by Scorpius who then walked on behind them and added even more jazz to it. Honestly, this boy. 

“You shouldn't come” - What I really love about Samuel's Scorpius is the fact you can see him working things out. His eyes get a little wider and his mouth moves a little bit quicker and it's... actually the most adorable thing.

I'm fairly sure they ran off together at the end of this scene. These two really do like to sling arms round each other.

Act Two, Scene Six

“Still get a tingle, don't you?” - Tingle? Scorpius, you were positively vibrating with excitement. You let out an actual squeal of delight. Bless you Samuel, bless you.

“You're my best friend too” - Albus held onto both of Scorpius's arms and turned him so they were facing each other as he said this #blessed

Oh boys... So Samuel dropped one of the wires that attaches him to the Time Turner so I was kind of just dangling for a good second while they panicked. They recovered alright. Samuel decided to hold it while he and Theo keep doing the usual hand gestures around it as if it was still floating in mid air. Eventually the light flickered back on and everything worked out just fine. Isn't it weird how something that in reality only took a couple of seconds, can feel like a lifetime when you're holding your breath? Honestly, my heart went out to them every single time something technical went wrong. *screams into the night* FOUR DAYS OF TECH REHEARSALS IS NOT ENOUGH.

Act Two, Scene Seven

Tom 'scene stealer' Mackley is to blame for my lack of notes in this scene. The beauty of sitting so close to the front is that you get to hear what everyone is saying during the task scenes. Mackley's "Fleur, do you like my dance moves?", complete with dance moves, was a highlight for me.

You know how Bagman says each school name and gets the students to cheer? Well Albus and Scorpius briefly started to cheer for Hogwarts until they realised their mistake. I like the idea of them being so caught up in the moment that they forgot the task in hand. History nerds :p

It's been mentioned before so I won't repeat it but the "go go crazy Krum" chant has indeed been changed. The new song suits this Albus and Scorpius perfectly. It's less aggressive and more nerdy. These two to a T.

Act Two, Scene Eight

This scene started with Harry stroking Albus's arm (his right, non-injured one) and that was a really nice little detail. Then when Albus started to wake in that slow, distressed kinda way he does, Harry was stroking Albus's hair and touching his shoulder to try and stop him from moving so much as he came out of his nightmare of sorts. Again, this is where the difference between Sam's Albus and Theo's Albus shone through for me. While Sam's Albus would be avoiding any and all physical contact with his dad at this point, Theo's Albus didn't seem too bothered by it. For me, it feels like Sam focused on Albus's pain and anger. He was driven by this resentment and it played a part in every action and reaction. He would channel those feelings and aim it specifically at his dad. Whereas with Theo, I'm still getting that same pain but it feels less directed at Harry. He’s more like a hurting and confused fourteen year old kid who doesn’t know quite what to do or feel. It’s not a bad thing. I like that they’re different, and this suits the awkwardness of this Albus perfectly.

On a lighter note, Albus looked fluffy as hell waking up. I'm glad that's still a thing. I don't know what I'd do without a fluffy haired Albus...

Act Two, Scene Eleven

This was another heart stopping scene for me. Theo, sweetheart, please watch where you kick your stool because you were THIS close to kicking it straight off the stage and into the audience. It was nerve wracking for me and I was in row C.

...I honestly don't remember anything else from this scene because I was fearing for the lives of those people in the front row. Aaaaand I was watching Mackley.

Act Two, Scene Twelve

They didn't do anything new with this. If anything, I thought it was almost too alike how I'd seen Sam and James do it last weekend. Like at one point where Albus was rubbing his eyes as he walked under the staircase that Scorpius is sat cross legged on top of, he looked down at Albus as he raised his arms out in a 'what's going on?' gesture. It’s one of my favourite bits from this scene so I’m not complaining but yeah... not much else to say!

I have to say that Samuel has mastered the sad, broken, watery Scorpius expression though. Where's his dad?! This boy needs a hug!

Act Two, Scene Thirteen

This isn't Albus or Scorpius related but I couldn't write this recap without mentioning the catastrophe that was the guys in black. I know we all know they're there but I've never ever heard of anyone ever seeing them. Yet today I could see them every single time they were on stage. Not only was it hilarious (the back end of Bane especially) but it completely ruined the 'magic' of the show. I don't know what went wrong, I can only presume they were new too and this was a result of lack of rehearsals on the stage? I've sat closer before and never seen them so it wasn't the fact that I was close either. I just feel bad for those who were seeing this show for the first and last time.

Act Two, Scene Fourteen

Ok so I want to talk about this stage direction: 'Delphi suddenly ducks from view as a student walks past. Scorpius tries to look casual until the student passes.' Delphi literally stood up from where she was sat on the opposite staircase to Scorpius and ran across to him and ducked between him and the bannister. Then Scorpius's ‘casual’ involved practically draping himself across her while he lightly patted her on her back. Like, he was just chilling, on the stairs, drumming out his own beat. It was the most ridiculous thing and I love it.

Act Two, Scene Sixteen

This was a good scene. I was really, really impressed. I even cried, yay! But then again, how could anyone not tear up over Scorpius yelling and stuttering at Albus with tears in his eyes

Omg wait until you hear about this... so instead of saying “I didn’t much like my life without you in it either”, Samuel accidentally missed a couple of words out and said (or rather shouted) “I don’t like you” at Albus instead. The awkward silent pause as he realised his mistake and the look on Theo’s face was A+. As I’m sure was the look on my face :’) He soon backtracked, calmed himself down (you could see him physically deflate) and he said the line correctly but just know I’ve seen Scorpius angrily shout ‘I don’t like you’ at Albus and I’m still laughing about it. Like he could ever not like Albus. Ha! But kudos to Samuel for quickly dispersing his anger before re-saying the line. It actually played out well. It was if he’d said something awful in anger that he obviously didn’t mean and it became a parallel to Harry and Albus’s argument, and I’m sure a flashback for Albus. So I know it wasn’t planned but excellent save, sir!

The hug was the same as the last one. Scorpius appeared to start to hug back but then suddenly stopped and flung his arms and hands out in an awkward jazz hand position. The Surprised Kitten Malfoy™.

I'm actually really happy about not having anymore notes on this scene because it means I was totally lost in it. My focus was 100% there instead of in my mental notepad. Yay!

Act Two, Scene Nineteen

*sings* The soap didn't explode, the soap didn't explode, the sooop did not exploooode! Honestly, with everything else that had gone wrong, I was genuinely surprised this worked.

“Consider me engorgimpressed” - There was no embarrassment from Scorpius with this line as this Albus and Scorpius completely embrace their dorkiness. (That, and I don't think this Scorpius and Albus would pick up on how else it could have possibly been interpreted :p)

April is brilliant as Myrtle by the way! I can't talk about this scene without mentioning her.

So I have this thing about synchronised Scorbus. It tickles me every time. Here they climbed up on and onto the sinks completely synchronised. Scarily so. It made my day.

...haven't you all missed my weird comments?!

Act Two, Scene Twenty

Poor Samuel's mic got knocked off when he emerged from the lake. As he surfaced, he pushed his hair back and threw his arms up in the air and his mic was just dangling on his forehead. Like, right in between his eyebrows. It was bouncing and swinging and he just could not catch it to put it back. It wasn't until he was out of the lake and Umbridge was talking (so our attention was on her) that he was able to put it back in place.

Although in all fairness to him, I've seen this happen to both Sam and Anthony so I doubt this will be the last time this happens. But I did notice the next time he was in the tank, he actually came up and out of the water holding onto it just in case :')

Oh and the theatre's splash zone just became real. I don't think he could have soaked the front row any more if he'd tried.

                                                   ACT THREE

Act Three, Scene Three

I was waiting for this scene and I was not disappointed.

The head slam on the desk was still quite possibly the most distressing one I've seen. Well for me, anyway. You can't usually see Scorpius's face once he's on the desk but you could today and it broke me. He was looking out at the audience and he had the most distressed and panicked look in his eyes. Samuel is really, REALLY good at that look. I was fortunate (or unfortunate?) enough to be sitting right in his eye line and it caused me a lot of pain.

Aaaaand... that’s it. I’M SO SORRY! *hides* I’ve been ridiculously busy the past couple of weeks and I never found time to sit down and write up notes for part two. If anything, you’re lucky I had a long flight so I had time to write up part one :p But in short, part two was a hundred times better than part one. By the time it had ended I still ‘oh theo’-ing but now it was because he had finally managed to climb inside of my heart and settle there. Also:

Scorbus pillow fights!!! Scorpius managed to hit Albus’s arm and the side of his head. A little mean as he had literally just woken Albus up.

Oh and when they wheeled them on stage in their beds for that scene, Albus is fast asleep but Scorpius is sat up and wiggling his fingers in a ‘I’m plotting how I can wake Albus up today’ kind of way. Dork.

“Turns out Malfoy the Unanxious is a pretty good liar” - I wish I could properly describe to you how he was lying on his bed for this line. He was all stretched out, toes wiggling, with one arm propping him up so he was facing Albus, and the other arm was wrapped round the back of his head as he wiggled his fingers too. It was so bizarre, so Scorpius, and so ‘draw me like one of your french girls’.

The Malfoy hug was everything and more!!! (I love that James Howard not only refers to Samuel as his son but he also loves him dearly. You can tell.)

Talking of father-son moments, I know I keep mentioning it but the conversation between Harry and Albus in his dorm (Act Three, Scene Eleven) was a highlight for me. It made me cry and everything. They were both so, so good in this scene. Honestly, the difference between part one and part two was unreal. But back to Scorbus...

Albus and Scorpius look for any excuse to touch each other. Especially later on in the Godric’s Hollow scenes. Actually, I don’t think they even look for ‘excuses’. They just do it because they want to. Again, the extra physical closeness between these two really suits this Scorpius and Albus.

Act Four, Scene Fourteen! Anthony and James would always fling themselves down the stairs towards Rose but Samuel stayed up close by Albus. He still got super flaily and twirled a bit but he ended up falling back onto Albus rather than forward towards Rose. Quite literally. It was only his hand on the bannister that was propping him up to stop him from fully sitting on Albus’s lap. Although his entire body was draped over him so you know, not much better :’) Albus found the whole thing funny and even though Scorpius was talking to Rose, he kept patting Albus at various points and looking at where his hand was touching Albus rather than at Rose. First it was his knee and then his... I think it was his shoulder? Each time Albus would laugh some more before halfheartedly knocking his hand away. It didn’t stop Scorpius though. 

One last thing which was super cool. I was sat in C16 in the stalls which is the seat on the end of the row. So when *spoiler alert* Voldemort walks through the audience, he walked right past me. I was geeking out :’) I think my smile might have been a little too big though as he hissed at me as he went past. Rude. But I’m sat in AA16 on Saturday so you best believe I’m hissing right back at him this time hahaha.

So to finish, I’m very happy with the new cast! There’s room for improvement of course but I’d expect that this early on. It hasn’t lessened my love for them or the play though. (If anything, I’m more invested because I want to see them excel like I know they will!) It’ll definitely be interesting to see where they’re at now that they’ve spent more time with their characters though. Theo especially. I just hope he knows I’m ready to catch (and keep) that stool... :’)