#trr beaumont brothers

[jax-winchester]

I have a vision for a Royal Romance movie and the intro is Welcome to New York by Taylor Swift. Liam, Maxwell, Tariq, and Drake are getting off their plane and the MC is waiting tables with shots of New York flashing.

[cordonianroyalairlines]

All I Want for Christmas Part 1

Series: Cordonian Royal Airlines

Fandom: The Royal Romance

Pairings for series: Various

Pairing for this chapter: Riley x Drake, Liam x Max

Word Count: 2,475

Rating: General

Warnings for this chapter: None

A/N: Listen. I had an idea for the @choicesprompts #rewritechallenge holiday edition. I had the whole scene in my head, but then I decided it needed a little lead-up. Then I decided the lead-up needed a lead-up and then these characters completely just took over, threw my script out the window, and took a whole detour to examine a little budding romance between Liam and Max when this story was supposed to be focused on Drake and Riley (and it still is, mostly).

Long story short, it got a little out of hand so I have split it into two chapters. I'm tagging all of the following:

@choicesprompts rewrite challenge, holiday edition TRR x Untamed Heart (one of my all-time favorite movies). @choicesficwriterscreations holiday prompt: Stuck together in the snow; @choicesdecember2023 Christmas and @choicesholidays: This is the worst Christmas ever.

“Goodbye, Mrs. Lassiter, have a pleasant stay!” Riley waved with a smile painted on her face as the last passenger debarked. The smile faded from her face as the guests disappeared down the jet bridge and her eyes took in the heavy snowfall blanketing the runway.

Max noticed her despondent expression. “You okay, Ri?”

She turned toward her best friend and coworker with a sigh. “Remind me again why I volunteered to work this flight?”

“Uh…because your sister is getting married in less than two months, and you needed the overtime to pay for the ridiculous over-the-top bachelorette party she wants.”

“Right. Amelia,” Riley nodded to herself, “I’m doing this for her.”

“I think you do too much for her, Ri,” Max clucked at her like a mother hen, “She takes advantage of your generous nature.”

“Oh, Max, it’s fine. You only get married once!”

He arched an eyebrow at her.

“Okay,” a giggle burst out of her, “Hopefully, she only gets married once!”

“Frankly, I’m surprised she found anyone willing to marry her. Is there something wrong with him?”

“Max!” Riley laughed as she thumped him playfully on the shoulder before turning serious. “I just hope we’re able to take off tomorrow as planned.” Tomorrow was Christmas Eve, and she had promised her mother she’d be home so she could spend Christmas day with her parents and siblings.

“I wouldn’t count on it.”

Riley turned toward the voice to find the pilot striding toward them. Captain Liam Rys stopped in front of the flight attendants to announce, “There’s a blizzard headed straight for us.”

“Maybe we could just fly out right now—” Riley started hopefully.

“That’s a negative,” Liam cut her off, “that would put me over my flight limit for the day. We’ll proceed to the hotel as planned and hope for the best but be prepared to spend Christmas here.”

“Remind me why you agreed to fly into Estonia, the blizzard capital of the world, two days before Christmas?” Max grumbled.

Liam’s eyes flicked to him in annoyance. “Because of the obscene amount of money Mr. Lassiter was willing to pay for me to do so. You’ll thank me when you get your next paycheck and there’s a substantial bonus on it, on top of the holiday bonus you just received.”

“It’s okay,” Max shrugged with a tinge of disappointment in his tone, “My brother is in Japan anyway.”

Liam’s expression softened a little. “I’m sure he wishes he could spend Christmas with you.”

“Well, he’s flying with Leo, which he loves. I’m just disappointed that we’re almost never assigned to the same flight.”

Liam averted his eyes, unwilling to tell Max that was on purpose. Bertrand had requested that Max not be on the same flight as himself after the younger Beaumont’s enthusiasm became embarrassing for him. Max had gushed to a passenger about his pride in his older sibling, proudly articulating that, “My brother’s the co-pilot. He’s really good at it. He’s almost good enough to be the pilot!”

Liam shuffled his feet awkwardly, then nodded at Max, “Yes, well…. See you at the hotel.”

“You will?” Max’s head whipped around in surprise. Liam had never expressed an interest in seeing him outside of work before.

“Well, he was a little snippy,” Riley observed as Liam disappeared down the sky bridge.

“But did he seem….I don’t know…interested in-“ a flush crawled up his neck and then flared across his face, “Never mind. Of course not.”

Riley’s brow furrowed. “Interested in what?”

“Nothing. Let’s just get this cabin cleaned up so we can go.”

***

Riley awoke the next morning to sheets of snow pouring from the sky, blanketing the city in white as far as she could see from her hotel window. Which wasn’t that far. The snow was coming down too fast and too thick for her to see past the parking lot.

“Shit!” She aggressively pulled the curtains closed and dove back under the covers.

***

“So, what have you two been up to all day?” Liam asked as the four-member flight crew sat down for dinner in the hotel restaurant.

“Well, I slept in, then I called my mom to let her know I wouldn’t be making it home today and probably not tomorrow either. Then I drown my sorrows in a steaming hot bubble bath.” Riley responded as she pulled the menu over to her.

“Yeah, but then we saw a movie,” Max reminded her. Turning to Liam, he rambled excitedly, “This hotel has a theater in it. There was popcorn and everything! And then we took a cooking class! Can you believe that? The hotel chef hosts a class here once a week, but they did an extra class today because it snowed everyone in.”

Liam smiled at Max’s enthusiasm. “That sounds like fun. Now I feel boring. I read all day. Drake, what about you?”

“What about me?” Drake was busy shoveling a complimentary roll into his mouth.

Riley laughed. “Have you not been listening to the conversation? He wants to know what you did to keep busy today, you dork.”

Drake grabbed his water glass and chugged the cold liquid down to cover the fact that he had not heard a word of the conversation since Riley stopped talking. He was still picturing her in that bubble bath. When he sat the glass down, he responded, “I did my usual morning workout. The gym here is excellent. Since I couldn’t go for a run, I hit the heavy bags and then swam a few laps.”

“How many is a few?” Max asked.

“Twenty.” Drake’s eyes flicked to Max as he answered before landing quickly back on Riley’s face searching for any clue that she was impressed, or at least interested in him.

Not that he cared. She was a coworker, and he didn’t date coworkers.

“All before lunch?” She raised an eyebrow.

He wasn’t sure if she found his morning activities impressive or stupid. Her expression gave away nothing. “I find it hard to sit still,” he answered.

Liam scoffed, “You sit in the cockpit for hours at a time.”

“First of all, that’s different. I’m doing plenty as you well know and second of all, that’s why I need more physical movement when I’m on the ground.”

“Makes sense to me!” Max nodded emphatically as the waitress arrived with the menus.

They ordered their food and ate while making companionable chit chat. After dinner, Max suggested they continue the night across the lobby.

The hotel bar was crowded. The four coworkers quickly parted in the crowd. Drake and Liam navigated to a small table in the back and ordered drinks.

“You don’t want to ask her to dance?” Liam nodded across the room to the dance floor where Max and Riley were laughing and twirling to the music.

Drake followed Liam’s eyes and froze as he watched her sway and shimmy to the thump of heavy base. “I don’t dance.”

“I’ve seen you dance.”

“Not well.”

“So, you’re worried about embarrassing yourself in front of her?”

“What? No!” Drake reached for the tumbler of single malt scotch as the server placed it on the table in front of him and took a long pull as his mind spun with ways to shift the conversation away from his nonexistent love life. “What’s going on with you and Max?”

Liam startled so hard that bourbon sloshed over the rim of his glass. He stared at Drake in a blind panic. “What do you mean?”

“I mean….you usually pay no attention to what the flight attendants are doing when we have layovers. Yet you invited everyone to dinner tonight and you’re the one that was watching them dance. I’m pretty sure you’re not into Riley because if you were, you wouldn’t be pushing me toward her. So that leaves Max. Tell me I’m wrong.”

He lowered his glass to the table with a sigh. “It’s that obvious?”

“To me, but I’ve known you for a long time, Li.”

Liam blew out a long breath. “Shit.”

“Why don’t you just tell him you’re interested?”

“No,” Liam shook his head vigorously, “I can’t do that!”

“Why not?”

“So many reasons! Starting with the fact that I’m his boss and that’s a sexual harassment suit waiting to happen.”

“Not if he likes you back,” Drake countered.

“That’s not likely.”

Again, Drake asked, “Why not?”

Liam scoffed as he gestured toward the dance floor. “I mean, look at him! He’s fun and popular and hilariously funny. And look at those dance moves! He’s interesting and cool. What could he possibly see in me?”

“Hey, don’t sell yourself short, man.”

“I’m a stick in the mud and you know it. I was the president of my debate team. He was the lead in his school’s production of Beetle Juice.”

“How do you know- “

“Bertrand told me.”

“So, you’ve been pumping his brother for information?”

“Not the point. He’s amazing and fun and talented and I’m….me.”

“Liam, come on, man, you-“

“When I was twelve, I read law books for fun.”

“Geez, okay. Never mind. You’re definitely going to die alone.”

“Shut up,” Liam laughed, “I know you think I’m being dramatic.“

“You fly planes for a living,” Drake reminded him. “In my experience, a lot of people find that sexy.”

“Yes, well, I know your experience is quite extensive in that area but-“

“Are you calling me a man whore?”

“If the shoe fits….” Liam muttered into his drink.

“Insult me all you want, but it isn’t going to change the fact that you’ve got it bad. You should just tell him.”

“Oh, okay, Mr. I don’t like Riley.”

Fuck. Drake took another long drink. The conversation had come full circle. His eyes drifted across the room to find her again. She was still with Max.

***

Riley led Max off the dance floor and to a table as she flagged down a server for some water. “What’s up with you tonight?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’ve been acting squirely all night and you keep looking around like you’re searching for somebody. What’s that about?”

Max flushed, “Ah….I think I might have a thing for Liam.”

“Wait…what?” Riley shrieked, then clapped her hands over her mouth.

“I don’t know….” Max dropped his eyes to the table. “I mean, you know, he’s hot or whatever.”

“Max!” She slapped his shoulder. “Since when? And why didn’t you tell me?”

He shrugged. “Just recently I’ve started to notice him more, that’s all. He’s always being nice to me and- “

“He’s nice to everyone.”

“I know, but it’s more than that! I can’t explain it, okay? It’s just…the way he looks at me sometimes….”

“I have never seen you act shy before! You hit on that model last week!”

“Oh, him? Yeah, but that was just--”

“That man is an international star, and you had zero qualms asking for his snap.”

“I know, but- “

“And he gave it to you!”

“Sure, but Liam isn’t just a pretty face, Riley! He’s so fucking smart and serious. He’s sophisticated, and there’s just no way he’d be into a goofball like me.”

“Ah, Maxey, anyone with half a brain would be into you.”

“You’re just saying that because you’re my best friend.”

“Yes. But also because it’s true.”

“No, it’s not. I’m the general fuckup in my family. Just ask Bertrand. Or my father.”

“Max, you’re not a fuckup!” Riley admonished. “You’re just different from your brother and father, thank God! I’m sorry, I know you love him, but Bertrand is the most boring man alive, and your father is a dick, so please don’t judge yourself by his opinion of you.”

“Bert’s not boring. He just had to grow up fast. My father put a lot of pressure on him and he, unlike me, rose to the challenge. I mean, look at us. He’s a pilot and I’m a flight attendant. Do you remember what my father said when I told him I wanted to be a flight attendant?”

“Yes, but on the bright side, it was the first time he acknowledged your sexual orientation.”

Max snorted, “That’s not funny, Riley.”

“You laughed.”

He bumped her shoulder with his own with an amused shake of his head, “If your point is that my father is a homophobic, controlling, abusive asshole whose opinion should mean nothing to me or anyone else with a lick of self-respect, then point taken.” He lifted his glass to her.

She lifted hers and tapped it into his with a grin. “My work here is done. Now go over there and ask him to shoot darts or something.”

***

“All right, well, this has been fun, but I’m going up to bed now.” Liam pushed away from the table and stood up, stretching as he did so.

“You really are a stick in the mud,” Drake laughed as the server cleared their table and asked if he could get them anything else. “Yeah, an unopened bottle of what we’ve been drinking tonight.”

Liam turned to go but froze as a voice that sent heat shocking through him spoke, “Hey…Liam….you wanna…go play darts or something?”

He turned to find Max smiling at him. Trying to push down the rising panic in his throat, his eyes flicked to Drake, who just gave him an amused smile, then back to Max, who looked uncharacteristically nervous. “Uh…. sure.”

“Great!” Relief washed across Max’s features. Then he remembered himself and begrudgingly turned to include Drake in the invitation. “Would you like to join us?”

“Nah, I’m good. You two go ahead. I’ve got a bottle of top-shelf whiskey, and this hotel has steak on their room service menu. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay then, goodnight and Merry Christmas,” Liam didn’t meet Drake’s eyes as he waved bye and then followed Max to the dart boards lined up against the far wall.

Drake chuckled to himself as he took the bottle from the server and thrust a handful of bills at him. He started for the door, then thought better of it and backtracked to the bar, reaching across and grabbing a clean tumbler to take to his room with him.

He had to dodge a bunch of drunk people on his way back, causing him to veer off course until he was damn near on the other side of the room.

It wasn’t so much that he saw her as he felt her presence. His head lifted and his eyes somehow went straight to her despite the dozen or so people between him and the table she was seated at. Without making a conscious decision, his body angled in her direction, and he made his way over to her, reminding himself the whole way that he didn’t get involved with coworkers.

[peonierose]

Round Robin: Chapter 5 - Don’t call me Angel

Book: OH & TRR crossover

Characters mentioned: Luna Auclair (F!OC - OH), Bryce Lahela (M!MC - OH), Tobias Carrick (M!MC - OH, Maxwell Beaumont (M!MC - TRR) and Bertrand Beaumont (M!MC - TRR)

Words in total: 3,373k

A/N: Masterlist for Round Robin @choicesprompts I’m participating for Round Robin for the 1st time and I really hope I could do the characters justice 🥰

Side note: Thank you so much for helping me with this story and helping me get inspired @aallotarenunelma & @annieruok94 🩷🩷🩷🩷

A few weeks ago…

Luna

The phone rang somewhere in the house while I was in the middle of an art project.

A few seconds later I heard footsteps and when I turned around I saw Bryce appear in the doorway, handing me my phone.

”Who is it?“ I asked and turned to my canvas again.

”No idea some fancy talking guy said he wanted to talk to you.“

”Is he sure he got the right person?“ ”Beats me.“

I furrowed my brow and pushed my dark blonde hair out of my face and accidentally got some teal paint in my hair. Good thing it’ll wash out.

”Hello?“ I wiped my paint covered fingers on a cloth I kept handy when I painted.

”Am I speaking to Ms. Luna Auclair?“ A deep voice with a slight accent can be heard from the other end.

”Yes. And who is this?“ I put the phone on speaker and got up slowly as I took my brushes to the sink to wash them.

”My name is Bertrand Beaumont from House Beaumont in Cordonia. I’m sure you’ve heard of me.“

”Hmm. Sorry doesn’t ring a bell.“ I say not able to resist teasing him. Bryce snickered next to me.

”You’re so mean.“ He mouthed, and I kissed his stubbled cheek, making him smile.

I turned back to the conversation, putting Bertrand out of his misery. Poor guy must’ve thought the worst of me.

”I’m just kidding Mr. Beaumont I know who you are. So what can I do for you?“ I turned off the faucet and put my paint brushes upside down so they could dry.

”I could use your help.“ He sounded hesitant, which made me instantly curious.

”Help with what?“

”We have our PR firm that we founded, and we’re trying to give some people a better public image.“ I took my phone into my hand.

”What does that have to do with me? I’m not a PR person. I have a bachelor's degree in fine arts, and I’m currently teaching art at the University of Hawaii.“

I took a look at my half-finished painting sitting on the easel, and decided to let the painting dry for now. I’ll keep working on it later.

When I closed the door Bryce and I walked towards the backyard, where we sat down in our beach chairs, while Bertrand’s voice kept coming out of the speaker.

”I’m very well aware. But I know you’re someone who’s skilled as an artist. And I know you think outside the box, and that’s exactly what we need.“

”I will need more information than that if you want my help.“ I could hear some commotion before another voice replaced Bertrand's.

”Luna right? Hi I’m Maxwell, Bertrand’s brother. Look, my brother's social skills suck sometimes. I have the cliff notes version if you want it?“

”Um…sure fire away.“

”Alright. A few weeks ago there was a bit of an…let’s call it an incident. Tobias Carrick was caught making out with the daughter of one of the hospital directors of Mass Kenmore. Someone apparently posted it online. Of course, it’s gone viral. The damage is done and he could get fired. Because apparently it’s unethical.“

”Poor Tobias. He’s a good friend of me and my fiancé Bryce so he has our sympathies especially since this a massive violation of their privacy to put the video online. I’m really sorry he’s going through that.“

I looked at Bryce who was as surprised as me to hear about this.

”Both Bertrand and I feel terrible, because Tobias seems like such a great guy and then for someone to swoop in and destroy his image like that. This is actually where you come into play. Let’s just say we’ve tried other people to fix his image, but it didn’t work.“

”Like I told your brother, I’m not a PR person. I have zero experience.“

”That’s not what we’re looking for. I’m talking about your other accolades. You’re not only one of the youngest people to finish your bachelor degree, but one where all your professors had only glowing compliments for you. You also published your own book, called Kala Kala - Overcoming anxiety with the help of art. Very nice read. I loved it, it’s also super colorful by the way. Not only do you teach art at the senior center, you’re an active member at arts on the fence, a non-profit organization in Honolulu, Hawaii. You love malasdas and are allergic to ginger. Should I continue? I’ve got more.“

”I…no…that’s fine. But how did you find out that much about me? Not everything is available online.“ I was wondering how the hell they got my phone number, and all the things in my bio Maxwell just mentioned. Why would they even be interested in seeking out my help?

”Let’s say a mutual, redhead found out about it. She bought some of your art, and she said you could be a good fit. I think the phrase »ovaries of steel« was mentioned.“

I gasped in awe.

”You don’t mean Olivia Nevrakis do you? Because then I’m so in. I’d love to meet her. And of course help out in any way I can.“

I heard a whoop and a sigh.

”Is that a yes?“ Maxwell asked unsure.

”Hold on a sec.“ I muted the conversation.

”What do you think B?“ I asked Bryce and I could see his beautiful face, that I could sketch every single day and not get tired of looking at.

”I mean I’m sorry Tobias is going through this. He’s our friend, but are you sure you’re up for it?“ His brown eyes were filled with worry as he gently caressed my stomach.

”I’ll be fine. Women have gotten pregnant before and have worked until they’ve given birth.“ I said with more conviction than I felt right now.

”I know you’re trying to be strong but okay. If you’re really sure, then I’m okay with it, but the smallest hitch, and we’re going back home. And don’t think of going alone. I don’t care who they are. You’re my fiancé and the mother of my kids. So they better believe I’ll be going with you.“

”I love your protective mode.“

”Out of all the things I’ve said, that’s what you focused on?“

I grinned and then I unmuted the conversation.

”Maxwell? I’m in.“

”Thanks Luna. I promise you won’t regret it.“

”I better don’t. Otherwise, you’ll hear me yell at you.“

Maxwell chuckled.

”You got it. There’ll be a private jet to pick you up. I’ll send you the arrival date. Can’t wait to meet you. From the pictures I’ve seen, you're really beautiful.“

”Careful there Casanova.“ Bryce chimed in, and I grinned as I pushed my hand through his soft brown hair, making him relax.

”No worries, I know she’s taken. We’ll see you soon in Cordonia, bye.“

Before I could say anything else the phone call ended. Bryce and I just stared at the phone and then laughed at how surreal the situation was.

Who would’ve thought I’d meet members of House Beaumont?

Though it looked as if a new adventure was coming our way.

5 days later

So here I was on day five not making any kind of improvement whatsoever.

I’ve tried talking to Tobias, but nothing worked to get through to him.

He acted as if nothing was wrong and there’s no part where he could lose his job. He’s been painted as the bad guy but doesn’t seem to care.

I got up this morning, let Bryce sleep in a little, as I went down to the pool to figure out a new strategy for how to fix this mess.

That’s when I saw Tobias flirting with a woman by the pool.

You’ve got to be kidding me. I’m trying to repair his image, and he’s out here flirting? Oh, hell no!

”Having fun?“ I asked when I stood next to him. Tobias turned his light green eyes to me, focusing on me rather than the woman he was just talking to a minute ago.

As if he wasn’t already good-looking enough, the smile he threw my way made his face even more beautiful.

”Good morning to you too, gorgeous.“

”Sorry buddy but that charm is wasted on me. I’m engaged and I’m expecting.“

”Does that mean I can’t flirt with you?“ Tobias smirked.

”You can. But it won’t have any effect.“ I said and took a towel from the rack and threw it at him.

”Get dressed.“ I said, and he took the towel, but didn't move. He threw an apologetic smile at the woman who was sitting next to him. She slipped him a small piece of paper and left. He watched her walk away and nodded his head in appreciation.

I cleared my throat, and he turned his gaze on me.

”Let me guess you have another glorious idea how to restore my image?“

”You can call it that. You have 10 minutes to get dressed and be back.“

”Let’s make it 15 alright?“ Tobias laughed.

”Now it’s 10 minutes.“

”Does that tone ever work on Bryce?“

”I’m not going to repeat myself.“

”Now you sound like a school teacher.“ He replied but got up. That’s progress I guess.

”Look, I was assigned to give you some sort of glowing makeover for your reputation. If you don’t want it? Fine. I have better things to do.“

Tobias stared back at me, his charm gone.

”Like what? Be all sunshiny? No offense, but don’t you ever have a bad day or get angry? In all the time you’ve been here you’re always smiling and never losing your cool. You’re more like a robot.“

His comment hit me more than I thought it would, so I got up in his face. Which is hard since he’s taller than me, but I made it work.

”Don’t mistake my bubbly personality for being just that. There’s a lot more to my character and my personality than being happy and positive. You don’t know me that well if your words are any indication.“

His eyes widened for a fraction.

”My bad.“

”And that was lesson number 12.“

Tobias rolled his eyes.

”What I don’t get is why they even assigned you to me? We’re polar opposites.“

”You know what’s interesting? In our whole convos, you’ve avoided talking about this whole incident that led up to this moment right now. You keep acting as if you don’t care, and it’s no concern of yours. But you avoid talking about the core problem.“

Tobias crossed his arm.

”Please enlighten me.“

”You’re not a bad guy. But you’d rather have people believe you’re a dick then let them think you have a heart. That’s interesting.“

”Are you done psychoanalyzing me?“ His voice sounded more and more irritated.

”If you think that we’re done? Then you don’t know me at all. We’re just getting started. Get dressed. And don’t be late. If you’re not down in 5 minutes I’m leaving. So dealers choice.“

”Fine, I'll go get dressed. Doesn’t mean this conversation is over.“

”Now it’s 9 minutes.“ I said and watched him quicken his steps while I sat down and enjoyed the nice view of the ocean.

10 minutes later…

”What is this place?“ He asked without really seeming to pay attention.

”It’s called a room. With walls and windows. And sometimes there’s even a door.“

He snickered.

”I know what a room is. I meant what are we doing in this room?“ He looked at all the cans of paint I had people assemble for this exercise.

”That’s the fun part. Team building exercise. It’s also pregnancy safe, which is a plus.“ I grinned, but he just looked at me and didn't reply.

”The point of this exercise is to let go of past hurts. Look at it this way, you can just let all your anger out. I like to call it angry painting.“

I take a can of paint, open it and see the color coral crush. I took it and threw some at the wall.

Tobias regarded me and I handed him another can, he took but stared at it as if it’s been touched by Medusa herself.

”Do you even know how to get angry?“ He looked at me skeptically as he kept holding the pint can in his hands.

”Excuse me?“

He opened the can of paint and a soft canary yellow joined the coral crush tone on the wall.

”Look, all you’ve said is how I have a heart and I don’t let others see it. But you don’t even know me. How do you expect me to trust you?“

”Is this finally the heart-to-heart you’re giving me? One that the others failed to get?“

”Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to partner up.“ He set the can down and was about to walk away.

”Giving up so soon? That’s a shame.“

”What?“ He stopped and slowly turned my way.

”I know you’re the type of guy who likes to do things rather than sit around and talk.“

”You’ve been paying attention? I’m shocked. Everybody knows I’m competitive, that's not a secret.“

”Of course I’ve been paying attention. You know I have bad days and angry moments too. I’m not just some blonde bimbo, who can’t count to three. I notice a lot more than people think.“

”Such as?“ He raised his eyebrows daringly as he leaned against the door frame.

”When you get nervous you bite your lip and clench your left fist. Which would lead me to believe you are left-handed.“

I kept going.

”Whenever I ask you a personal question or try to tackle the issue, you laugh it off, meaning you’re not ready to talk to me or improve your image. You think it’s fine and it doesn't need any polishing. If people don’t like you or think you’re a dick that’s on them.“

Tobias doesn’t say anything.

”I’d wager you’re someone who likes to do things his way or the highway. You don’t play well with others because you like to be in control. It’s hard for you to give anyone even an ounce of your trust because you believe trust is earned. You said it yourself I don’t know much about you, so why should you trust me? So did I get any of that right?“

Tobias didn’t say anything. He didn’t even move a muscle.

”Your silence indicates I got something right.“

”Even if you did get it right, it doesn’t mean I need your help.“

”So what you’d let your image get destroyed and let others decide on the narrative rather than trying to fix it? That doesn’t sound like the Tobias I got to know.“

”I can’t control what people think.“

”Maybe not. But you can let them see that there’s more to you. Do you know what I see right now?“

”What?“

”Someone who’s been hurt in the past, and now you’re hurt again. But you’re trying so hard to bury those feelings that you’re drowning in them.“

”Sounds like a therapy session.“ He mumbled.

”Art is therapy. Did you know I basically got bullied out of the art gallery I worked at in Boston?“

He shook his head. By the look in his eyes I could tell I got his attention.

”I had no idea, but I’m sorry to hear that. Why did you get fired?“

”I quit. I’ve been struggling with anxiety for years. And they’ve seen me as someone they can demean and push around. My voice was snuffed out. I’ve always seen art as freedom, choosing to make art work for you. Art has helped me find an outlet, find my voice. Let me be creative and put paint on a canvas when I can’t name my own feelings.“

He rubbed his neck as if uncomfortable by my word vomit.

”I had no idea. And I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be a dick. I just…“

”You needed to vent so you let it out on me. I get it. We all lash out when we’re angry. Usually at the people we’re close to.“

”But you seem so calm and composed. You and Bryce never even fight. You’re so perfect.“

I threw my head back and let out a laugh. Making it echo from the walls.

I turned back to Tobias who was looking at me as if I grew another head.

”Do you really believe that? Of course Bryce and I fight. We have disagreements all the time. But we’ve learned how to handle them. Even if we don’t speak to each other for days, it doesn't mean we hate each other. But it means hey I need space I’ll talk when I’ve cooled off. We found our rhythm. We love and understand each other.“

He sighed and sat down, leaning on the wall that was just covered with paint, he winced when he realized it, but he didn’t sit down somewhere else.

”What a mess I’ve created, but maybe you’re right.“

”I must have a fever, or did you just say I’m right?“ I grinned and he smiled back.

”No you heard me correctly. You’re right. I’m scared to end up alone. So that’s why I pushed Chloe away. The woman from the video. We’ve gotten pretty close, and I don't know I panicked. I mean whoever took the video had no right to do that, but I guess people judge me and say how I’m sleeping with her because I’d like to get to the top. But that’s not true. I like the job I have. I have no desire to work in an office. I love working with patients. Hearing them tell me what’s wrong and finding a way to make things better for them.“

”Could it be that you’re scared you won’t measure up? Wanting to prove others wrong? You’d rather be the one who ends a relationship rather than the one who gets his heart broken?“

”Yes to all of the above.“ He nodded.

”Alright. That’s something we can work on.“ I said with renewed energy.

”How? We can’t just fix this mess in a matter of days.“

I smiled softly at him.

”No. But we can slowly build towards improving. You know there is a Hawaiian proverb my grandma always uses: A’ Ohe Pu’u Ki’eki’e Ke Ho’a’o ‘Ia e Pi’i.“

”Uhh…meaning?“ He asked.

”No cliff is so tall it cannot be climbed.“

”I kinda like that phrase.“ He said thoughtfully.

”Yeah it’s beautiful. You know what else? You’re not broken. It just means you haven’t figured out the right formula. I don’t want to turn you into someone you’re not. I just want you to realize that if you keep pushing people away who’d like to be in your life you’ll end up all alone. And that’s not what I want for you. You’re smart, funny and good-looking. Don’t let it go to waste.“

Tobias shook his head as grinned at me.

”You know? Now I understand why Bryce fell for you.“

I grinned at him.

”I told you so. There’s more to me than you might think.“

”I can see that. Also, please tell me I’m not the only one you boss around. At least tell me you do that to Bryce too.“

”Oh trust me I do.“ I laughed again because it felt as if we reached a good point. And I’m glad I could get him to open up.

I can see a big grin forming on Tobias face and I already knew there’s something snarky coming.

”Also I did get something right on the first try.“ He grinned.

”Let me guess how to do sex right.“ I sighed.

”No. It was actually how to pick friends. Maybe after we solve this mess I can try and restore some of my friendships.“

”You got this Carrick.“ I slapped his arm.

”Now you sound like Lahela.“

I winked at him.

”Now what?“ He asked after getting up.

”Now we slowly improve your image. With me by your side things can only get better.“ He laughed out loud and we continued to throw paint at the wall. We might’ve not solved everything, but we’re getting there.

[angelasscribbles]

Isle of Misfits Chapter 11: The Final Cut

Fandom: Mostly TRR but a bit of others sprinkled in, as well as some OC's from the first few chapters.

Series: Isle of Misfits, Round Robin 2024, hosted by @choicesprompts

Word Count: 1,981

Drake turned his head to take in Liam standing in the doorway, but he didn’t release Bertrand’s collar. “Not now, Li. I need answers first!”

“I…that…” Bertrand fumbled with the remote control, rewinding then pausing on a close-up of him with the redhead wrapped in his arms. “Look!”

Drake glared at the TV screen for a moment, and then the frown lines on his face eased. He released Bertrand and took a step back. “Oh, that’s not Liv.” Even from behind, he could tell it wasn’t her. He knew every line and curve of her body. If he had paused it sooner, he would have realized his mistake.

“Wait.” Olivia pointed to the date in the upper corner of the screen. “It couldn’t have been me. That was the night I was at that ribbon-cutting ceremony with Raleigh.”

Raleigh Carrera had gotten his shit together in record time. A thorough cleansing of alcohol from his room and a handful of public appearances had put him back on top of his career. He was off on a world tour with firm dinner plans with Olivia and Drake the next time he was in the country.  

Drake whirled on the elder Beaumont. “Are you cheating on my sister?”

“No…ah…” Bertrand turned ten shades of red as he stammered and stuttered. “She…that is…. I mean…”

“What is it, man? Spit it out already!”

Bertrand wanted to fall through the floor, but he managed to grit out, “The redhead is Savannah! She…. ah…”

Drake looked like he wanted to commit murder. “Did you make my sister dress up like that?”

“What? Heavens no! It was her idea!”

“Her idea?”

“Yes! This time, she wanted to be a redhead. Last month it was blond…she…ah…sometimes she likes to…um…. role play and…. well…”

All the blood drained from Drake’s face. “Shut up! That’s enough! No one needs to hear anything else!”

Olivia’s delighted laughter cut through the air. “I didn’t know little Savs had it in her. Good for her! Get it, girl!”

Drake shook his head. “Liv, no.”

Bertrand’s face had gone purple as he fought the ignominy. Clearing his throat, he changed the subject. “I think we should address Madeleine’s poor judgment.”

Madeleine gaped at him. “My poor judgment? How about asking why there are reporters on a private island? What about that?”

Bertrand gave his lapels a sharp tug as he regained his composure. “Oh, there will be a thorough investigation into that! Which still doesn’t answer the question as to why you would take one of our clients out in public outside of a prearranged appearance when our policy clearly states—”

“Pfft!” Madeleine flicked her fingers at him. “I didn’t read your employee handbook as I am not your employee! I am here at the behest of the king!”

“Yes, well, about that.” Bertrand straightened his shoulders as he turned to face Liam. “I allowed her to come here to help as a courtesy to you, Your Majesty. However, I’m afraid that I must inform you that the countesses’ services are no longer needed.”

“Of course,” Liam inclined his head slightly. “The Leviathan Group is your business. I’m sorry if I overstepped. I simply wanted to help my brother—”

“Which you did, by sending him here, to me. No other client has been allowed to have friends or family visit during their time with us. Please, Liam. Let me do my job.”

The king looked like he wanted to argue for a moment and then his shoulders slumped. “Yes, of course. I am sorry. I should also apologize for agreeing to help Trystan and then not being able to follow through.”

“It is of no consequence.” Bertrand waved him off. “Liv was able to step in. You have an entire country to run. I shouldn’t have asked.”

“Seriously?” Madeleine fumed. “You know what? That’s fine. Get someone else to help Mr. never met a responsibility he couldn’t ignore or run away from. I’ll be on the next boat back to the mainland.” She spun on her heel and was gone.

“Thank god!” Leo commanded everyone’s attention as he slapped the newspaper again. “But what are we going to do about this?”

“Don’t worry, I’m going to take you under my wing personally,” Bertrand assured him. “And since your wife is here, we’re going to enlist her help.”

Bertrand didn’t say it out loud, but he was fairly certain Katie was the security leak. Reporters had most likely followed her to the island. Though Liam was also a possibility. This was why friends and family weren’t supposed to visit.

Leo rubbed his eyes. “I’m not sure she’s even speaking to me right now.”

“Well, have you tried explaining to her why you were in that bush throwing up outside a Beverly Hills mansion at three a.m. while she was at home with two infants?”

“How the hell was I supposed to know there’d be a reporter there?”

“But why were you there in the first place? With that woman?”

Leo shook his head vehemently from side to side. “That woman just helped me back into the house because I was too drunk to stand on my own!”

“I believe you.” Bertrand clasped a hand on his shoulder. “But you still need to answer why you were there in the first place. For your wife and yourself, honestly. Katie shouldn’t be here, but since she is, I’ve arranged some couples’ counseling for you, and I don’t want to hear any arguments about it.”

Leo opened his mouth, then shut it again. He nodded. Couples’ counseling sounded good. He didn’t want to lose the family he was in the process of building. They meant too much to him.

“Okay, good!” Bertrand squeezed his shoulder tighter, then released it and slapped him on the back. “Why don’t you go talk to her right now?”

Leo nodded again. “Thanks.” He stopped in front of Liam on his way out. “I’m sorry I was such an ass about coming here. You might have saved my marriage, so…thank you for that.”

“I love you, man,” Liam told him as he pulled him into a hug.

“I love you too, little bro.”

After Leo had left the room, Liam shifted from foot to foot awkwardly before blurting out, “So, what’s this about Riley and Max?”

Drake’s jaw clenched. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Li, but I saw them together this morning. Max was coming out of her room this morning. Early this morning!”

Liam stared at him in wide-eyed panic as his mind whirled with ways to mitigate this breach of decorum. He knew he could tell Drake anything, but his eyes flicked to Bertrand and Olivia as he scrambled for a cover story. “Ah… he was there to deliver an update about Leo. I was in an early meeting, so I asked him to deliver it to Lady Riley instead.”

Liam held his breath as he waited to see if they bought the story.

Drake’s eyes narrowed. It had been really early. But if Liam didn’t want everyone in the room to know his business, then Drake would respect that, so he simply replied with, “Okay. That makes sense.”

Liam’s body sagged with relief. He wasn’t ready for the world to know about him and Max or Max and Riley, much less him, Max and Riley as a throuple. “I appreciate you looking out for me, Drake. But next time please come to me with any concerns instead of blurting them out in front of others. It’s how rumors get started and I can ill afford those at the very start of my reign.”

Drake gave him a curt nod. “Of course. Sorry.”

Liam waved dismissively in his direction. “Your heart was in the right place. We’ll talk later.” He turned from Drake to Bertrand. “I’m going to say goodbye to my brother and then I promise not to come back unless you invite me. I should have trusted you from the beginning and stayed out of it.”

“I appreciate the trust you’re placing in me, Your Majesty.”

Drake watched Liam leave, then turned to Olivia. “Are you ready? I thought we could grab some—”

The redhead sauntered closer to her boyfriend and ran a hand down his chest, “I would love to do whatever the end of that sentence is but first….” She glanced back at her business partner. “I need to talk to Bert about something real quick. You go on. I’ll meet you in my room in ten.”

He gave her a salacious grin as he pulled her in for a kiss. She started to melt into him before remembering they weren’t alone. Mostly because Bertrand cleared his throat to remind them. She pushed him away with a teasing grin. “Go on. I’ll be along soon enough.”

When Drake was out of the room, she turned to Bertrand with a steely glare. “Would you like to tell me why the west wing has been closed off since our first night here?”

Bertrand’s body jerked. His eyes widened. “Oh… ah… we just aren’t using—”

“Cut the shit, Bert!” Olivia crossed the room to stand defiantly in front of him. “When I can’t sleep, I walk. I saw the ambulance that night. There were no lights, no sirens but I know what I saw.”

Bertrand let out a long sigh as his shoulders slumped. “It will be a relief to tell someone. One of our guests, an aging actor looking to make a comeback, was… done away with that night.”

Olivia blinked. “You mean murdered?”

Bertrand nodded. He had told Max it was a bad dream…. and it had been. But it had also happened.

“And you swept it under the rug because a murder the first night of your new business venture would be bad publicity?”

He nodded again.

“Any clues who it was?”

“Well, the young lady that found the body disappeared later that night.” It had been a miracle that no one other than him had heard her scream. Mostly because he had been the only guest in that wing, having insisted on complete privacy.

“Do we know who she was?”

“She was Natalia Karanova, here under the pretense of being the personal assistant to another guest, Krista Rodriguez. But upon further investigation, it turns out she is also the granddaughter of an actress murdered on the set of the 1980 movie The Deepest Cut.”

Olivia tilted her head to one side in contemplation. “Was she even alive in 1980?”

Bertrand shook his head. “No. But her mother was and by all accounts, she was never right again after losing her mother at such a young age. She struggled with lifelong depression and eventually took her own life. She named our esteemed guest in her suicide note.”

Olivia sucked in a breath. “That would be motive.”

“Indeed.”

“So did you tell the police?”

“No.”

“No?”

He shook his head again.

“Why not?”

“Because I read the news article about what happened to that young, aspiring actress. She didn’t deserve what happened to her, but perhaps her murderer did. The evidence was clear, but fame and money made it all just go away.”

“Wow, Bert. I didn’t know you had it in you!” She gave him an approving smile. “Good for you!”

“So, you won’t tell anyone?”

“My lips are sealed.”

******

Three weeks later, Leo discovered in therapy that he had been self-sabotaging his whole life because of deep-seated insecurities stemming from a childhood of neglect, abandonment, and mental abuse at the hands of his father.  

He cooperated with the rest of the program, repaired his public image, and, more importantly, his relationship with his wife.

He returned home to California with her and their two children and they all lived happily ever after.

The End.

[harleybeaumont]

Never Have I Ever

Chapter 18 - Let Me Take You Dancing - Part 2

Book- TRR

Series- Never Have I Ever

Pairings- Bertrand x MC 

Chapter Synopsis- Things heat up at the club.

Chapter Warnings- language, drinking, mentions of drug use, sensuality, lemons

Rating - Explicit

Word Count- 2,920

A/N- let me know if you would like to be added/removed from the taglist

__________________________________________

Chapter 17 - Let Me Take You Dancing - Part 2

Bertrand tried to calm the frisson of butterflies that were bombarding his stomach as he and Riley stepped out of the car together. His brow furrowed as he eyed the endless line of people waiting in the cool night air to enter the club. It would surely take hours to get inside. Riley looked undeterred, taking his hand with a smile as she confidently made her way straight to the burly bouncer at the front of the line. She stood on her toes and whispered in the man's ear, and his jaw dropped. He squinted his eyes, peering at Bertrand, who attempted to remain calm under the penetrating gaze of this goliath of a man. The bouncer chuckled a deep laugh and then stepped aside, allowing them entrance into the dark hallway where Bertrand’s senses were instantly bombarded. The deep bass was thrumming in his chest, strobe and flashing neon lights flickered on the dance floor, and the sheer volume of people in the room topped that of any Beaumont Bash he had ever hosted. The air in the club was thick and laced with sweat and pheromones while scantily clothed people danced together suggestively.

It was 100% Maxwell's scene. No wonder he goes out all the time.

Bertrand’s logical mind was insisting that he should be terrified, but the adrenaline had won out, and he simply watched in awe of this completely new experience. Riley grinned at him and squeezed his hand tightly, leading him across the room to a crowded bar. 

Bertrand leaned toward Riley to be heard over the music, “What did you say to the bouncer?”

“I told him that I was here with Maxwell Beaumont’s brother.” She chuckled, “I just knew he would know Max!!”

“What?! I thought I was supposed to be undercover! What if someone else realizes who I am?!”

“They won't! And even if the bouncer tells someone, do you think they’d believe that the Duke of Ramsford would be slumming it in a club?”

She had a point. Maxwell was known around the club scene, but the owners tended to protect his privacy so that he would be more likely to return.

Riley leaned in and spoke over the music, “What do you want to drink?”

“Do you suppose they have a decent bottle of cabernet sauvignon?”

Riley snickered and shook her head, leaning across the bar to a young woman and shouting their order. “Five shots of tequila, please!”

Bertrand reeled back, “Five shots of tequila?”

The bartender sat the shots on the bar and Riley slid three towards Bertrand with a grin. “We’re gonna have fun tonight Bert, but first you gotta loosen up!”

“But.. Wasn’t that the point of the..” He leaned in and whispered, “drugs?”

“Half a gummy was clearly not enough for you because I can still see the fear in your eyes. Bless your anxiety ridden heart.. Now drink up!”

“Must I?” He watched as Riley knocked back her shots simultaneously, and he brought his up to his nose, shuddering when he inhaled. A decent bottle of tequila was tolerable, but this was about twenty steps below decent. “How can you drink this swill with a straight face?”

“I grew up poor,” she chuckled. “Cheap liquor is my jam!” She took his first shot and placed it against his lips with a smirk. “Now open up.” Immediately his lips parted and the tequila slid down his throat, burning all the way while warming his body inside out. He sputtered a bit, but Riley already had the second in hand, ready to go. “You can't stop yet. Don’t think about it, just surrender to the burn!”

He wanted to laugh at how ridiculous she was, but the third dose of the offending liquid had once again hit his stomach like a lead brick, and he fought the urge to gag. He couldn’t stop the grimace on his face and Riley chuckled. “Ok, we’re done for now. Let’s get out on the dance floor and put those moves to the test.”

Bertrand swallowed hard, watching the dozens of thrashing, groping bodies move together confidently under the neon lights. He couldn’t go out there, they would surely laugh at him! His heart was pounding and he stepped back.

“I.. I’m sorry, Riley. I don’t think I can.”

“But you did so well at home! And don’t worry, I promise no one will be watching you..” She grinned suggestively, “other than to check you out for looking so smoking hot.”

As nervous as he was about dancing, his heart did a little leap when she called their estate ‘home’. Wait, did she say smoking hot? 

Just then, a group of women walked past, pausing to look Bertrand up and down suggestively while giggling amongst themselves. One winked at him and took hold of his arm, writing her phone number on the inside of his wrist.

Riley licked her thumb and smeared the writing on his skin until it became illegible. She turned and smiled saccharinely at the woman. “He won’t be needing that.”

“Crazy bitch,” the woman rolled her eyes and walked off and Bertrand blushed deeply with his mouth agape.

“Did she just call you a-”

Riley waved him off, “Don’t worry about it, happens all the time. Besides, didn’t I tell you the ladies would be checking you out? Even if it was a nasty skank.” Riley glared at the woman’s back who had moved on to flirting with the bartender.

That whole encounter had Bertrand more nervous than before. “Could I just sit and watch for a while before I attempt to dance? Just to get my bearings?” Just to stall as long as possible was more like it.

She turned to the dance floor, then back to him with a sly smile. “Sure. But do you mind if I go out there and dance?”

“Oh.. no, not at all. I certainly don’t want to spoil your fun.” He chastised himself for the way his heart dropped. What was he expecting, for her to babysit him all night? And he hadn’t missed the way several peoples eyes shamelessly raked over Riley’s body from the minute she walked in the club. “Just be careful. I know you’re a grown woman, I just don’t want anyone to take advantage of you.”

She smiled, “Don’t worry, I will be.”

Just then the song changed and Riley sashayed onto the dance floor. Bertrand was mesmerized by the way she rolled her hips, letting her body relax perfectly to the beat. His mind flashed back to the way she rolled her hips when she rode him in her bed. His throat went dry and he crossed his legs to prevent his growing erection from becoming visible. Her eyes met his and she ran her hands along the sumptuous curves of her body. His face flushed with heat and he had to look away.

Suddenly he realized what was being said in the lyrics of the song. “Bring a bucket and a mop for this wet ass pussy. Give me everything you got for this wet ass pussy.” He nearly choked on his own saliva and his face flushed even deeper. Those lyrics were downright scandalous!

He risked another glance at Riley and found her in the arms of a tall, muscular man wearing a tank top and backwards hat. Bertrand’s hands twitched in his lap, and he fought the urge to jump out of his seat. He took a deep breath.

Don’t make an ass of yourself, Bertrand. She’s just dancing. And besides, you don’t own her! She can dance with whoever she wants.

Despite the intense urge to look away, he simply couldn’t. His stomach twisted when she moved closer to him, letting her hands wrap around his neck. The man’s hands moved to her waist, slowly heading down before resting against her hips.

The man leaned forward and said something in her ear, and Riley laughed. Bertrand’s heart was beating double time, and he continued to scold himself for the way he was feeling. Although he no longer attempted to look away, convincing himself that it was for her own safety in case this scoundrel took advantage of her. Yes, he was just watching Riley to protect her.

Riley felt a little guilty for the way Bertrand was looking at her, but she couldn’t deny that the prospect of potentially making him jealous sent a thrill through her. She made eye contact with Bertrand for a charged moment while she and this random dude danced closely. Suddenly the man pulled her tightly against the front of his body, cupping her ass. 

Whoa boy! Riley took the man's hands to return them to her lower back, but someone else already had hold of his arm.

“Absolutely not.” Riley turned to see Bertrand glaring at this guy, while he physically removed his hands from her body. Bertrand was a tall guy, but still stood half a foot shorter than this giant frat bro. 

The drunk himbo was clearly confused. “Dude, what is your problem? We’re just dancing!”

“Not anymore, you aren’t.” Bertrand spoke to the man in a challenging tone that Riley had never heard from him before, but his voice held that air of confidence he always emitted outside of the bedroom. 

The guy looked between Riley and Bertrand a couple times, before shaking his head and stalking away. “Fuck this, I’m going to get another drink.” The guy mumbled something about “not fighting another jealous boyfriend” as he walked off.

They watched him leave and Bertrand turned to Riley ruefully. “I apologize.. My behavior was way out of line. I just saw him put his hands on you and-”

Riley pulled Bertrand toward her, wrapping her arms around his neck “Dance with me.”

His heart was hammering in his chest from the encounter with that buffoon, but with Riley’s body pressed against his, it was soon forgotten. She ran her fingernails up the back of his neck and into his hair, before pulling his face toward her. “Just relax and feel my body. Then move with me.” 

Bertrand spoke breathlessly, “With your body in such close proximity, relaxing is the furthest thing from my mind.” He blushed immediately when he realized what he had said. Before he could apologize, Riley took his hands and wrapped them around her waist with a smirk.

“Hold me like this. Just like we practiced. Relax your hips.”

He looked around, but no one was paying them any mind. He nodded slightly and tentatively began to move his body with hers. What started out as awkward, stiff movements, soon relaxed into a rhythm. Riley spun around and pressed her back to his front and Bertrand gasped. She took his hands and wrapped them around her waist so that he was holding her against him. She lay her head back against his chest and pressed her ass into him, and he couldn’t stop the blood rushing straight to his cock. Bertrand blushed as his traitorous dick twitched of its own accord. He was humiliated. There was no way she didn’t feel that.

“I apologize, Ri-”

Before he could continue, she had spun back around, pulling his mouth down to hers with a moan. Bertrand’s eyes widened, before falling closed as he returned her kiss with fervor. Her hand found its way down his abs and ghosted over the growing bulge in his jeans.

“Let’s go home.” She whispered against his mouth, before taking hold of his bottom lip with her teeth.

_______________________________________________

Riley threw her bedroom door open with a bang, pulling Bertrand inside behind her. Heads spinning from alcohol and adrenaline, the two met in hot, messy kisses that only grew hungrier by the minute. Riley grabbed Bertrand’s ass and pressed him flush against her, feeling his arousal firmly against her body. 

“Oh my god..” she ground her hips against him with a groan. Her center was throbbing and all she could think about was the delicious stretch of his cock pulsing inside her that she hadn’t been able to stop fantasizing about since the last time it happened. 

Bertrands hands were all over her as he explored her body, more sure and certain than he had ever been before. He wanted her. And for the first time in his life, he knew what to do, and he was going to go for it.

Reacting on pure carnal instinct, Bertrand boldly lifted her off of the ground, and without hesitation she wrapped her legs around him. He pressed her up against the wall, leaving warm, hungry kisses along her jaw and down her neck. Riley let her head fall back and she moaned while his lips made their way down her exposed cleavage. She had never been more turned on in her entire life. 

“Bert.. I want you so bad.”

He practically growled as he carried her to the bed, placing her down onto the soft mattress. Any ounce of proprietary left in him had vanished at her words. Their mouths met over and over, only breaking so they could remove an article of clothing at a time. Bertrand pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it across the room in one swift motion and Riley bit her lip as she watched his muscles work. “God damn, Bertrand.”

She sat up on her elbows, watching as Bertrand slid her dress and panties down, his eyes landing between her thighs. He grasped her knees as his eyes flitted up to meet her own. “May I taste you?”

“God yes.”

He spread her legs apart and immediately dove in, indulging in her sweet taste that he had yearned for night and day since the moment he first tasted her. How he had craved her, even in his dreams. He groaned as he worked her with his mouth until she began to tremble. Riley grasped a handful of his messy, sweat slicked hair for purchase as he licked and kissed her, completely drunk off of her. Suddenly her eyes flew shut as a rush of euphoria overtook her senses and she cried out. “Oh yes.. Fuck, fuck!” 

Bertrand didn’t want to stop, ever, but the throbbing of his cock reminded him that there was something else he could do for her.

Riley lay back against the pillows gasping as she caught her breath and Bertrand slipped off his boxers, before reaching into the bedside table and grabbing a condom from the stash Riley had stored there. He held one up, arching his eyebrow in question and she nodded.

“Look at you..” She breathed out in sheer amazement as her eyes raked over his lean, muscular body. “Baby, you are so fucking hot, and the fact that you have no idea is criminal.”

Bertrand smirked, brimming with a newfound confidence. He rolled the condom onto himself the way she had taught him while she watched with a mixture of pride and lust. He tried to steady his breathing as he gazed at the woman in front of him- This gorgeous, sexy, experienced woman who actually wanted to have sex with him. 

Riley bit her lip and beckoned him forward. “I need you inside me. Right now.”

He crawled forward, positioning himself over her. Sweat dripped down his brow and he lined himself up with her entrance. His eyes fell shut and he groaned as he slowly pushed inside her, this time with more certitude than ever before. Riley gasped, immediately bringing her legs up and wrapping them around his waist, sheathing him deeper into her delicious warmth. 

The sensation had him already teetering at the edge, but he held it back. He murmured in her ear while he slowly pushed himself inside her again, “Riley.. Riley, you feel so good.”

“Oh my god, Bert..” She ran her fingernails across his broad shoulders and he shuddered.

Moans of pleasure fell from their lips and Bertrand pressed his chest flush against hers while his hips thrust in and out, slowly at first, but gaining more speed with each cry of ecstasy she released. 

He was not going to cum early this time. He just had to hold on a little bit longer.

Bertrand propped himself up on his forearms and Riley took hold of his face, pressing her mouth against his. She raised her hips, allowing him to go deeper. “I’m so close,” she panted against his lips. “So, so fucking close.. Oh don’t stop.. Bertrand don’t stop!”

He continued his deep, measured thrusts and she came undone, crying out louder than he had ever heard her before. But this time she cried out his name as she came.

That immediately sent him over the edge. His heart pounded in his chest as the feeling overtook him, sending him spiraling into an endless, Earth shattering orgasm. His dick pulsed over and over inside of her as his hips stuttered sporadically. 

Once the blinding pleasure had tapered out, he released the death grip he had on the sheets and reluctantly pulled out, climbing off of his companion.

Riley and Bertrand lay beside one another, attempting to catch their breath as they stared at the ceiling. Their bodies were sated, but their minds were reeling from a startling realization..

This was no lesson. They just had very real sex.

[liaromancewriter]

The Start of Forever

Premise: The Prince always knew his duty would require sacrifice, but no one told his heart that.

Book: The Royal Romance Pairing: Liam x MC (Phoebe Summers) Rating/Category: General. Angsty Fluff. Words: 810

A/N: Some of you know, Liam is my favorite Choices LI [I changed the default name to Aiden]. I don't typically write for TRR, but the @kingliamappreciationweek inspired me to write this fic. This is for Day 5. Enjoy! I'm using @choicesflashfics week 29, prompt 2 (in bold) and @creativepromptsforwriting prompt 362. Tagging for reblog to @creativepromptfills. Also submitting to @aprilchallenge prompt "wish"

Prince Aiden Rys had not grown up believing love was a possibility in his future. He might have wished for it -- in the darkest part of the night when his thoughts were too loud for him to sleep — and secretly hoped he could fall in love with the woman he would marry.

But believe? No. That required more than he had to give. And he had already given up so much. And yet. For a few hours last night, he fell in love and believed in the possibility of forever.

Aiden glanced at the digital clock on the bedside table, ubiquitous to hotel rooms everywhere, and locked his hands behind his head on the pillow. He should get up and get dressed. But he did none of those things. Wanting to prolong these fleeting moments of freedom for as long as he could.

Bastien would knock on his door in a couple of hours, reverential but unyielding, as he shepherded Aiden to the airport. The bodyguard’s presence would mark the end of this interlude and the beginning of the next: Cordonia’s social season and selecting his future queen.

But the Masquerade Ball was still hours away, and Aiden was not ready for reality to intrude just yet.

Earlier tonight, he arrived at the address Maxwell had texted him. Aiden hadn’t known what to expect from what appeared to be a dive bar. But knowing his exuberant friend, he’d had trepidations. At the same time, he hoped Drake would keep the younger Beaumont brother in check.

Okay, somewhat in check, Aiden laughed silently. Very few people in this world had the power to control Maxwell.

All his reservations went out the door the moment he saw her. The ugly uniform couldn’t detract from the beauty of her heart-shaped face and soulful blue eyes framed by long black hair, the front of which was arranged in a complicated braid.

One could argue there were more beautiful and sophisticated women at Court. But at that moment, Aiden was hard-pressed to name a single one of them, let alone remember what they looked like.

All he could think was, finally. There you are. Quickly followed by not her, not now.

He couldn’t fall in love just when he had accepted what he must do for the good of his kingdom. The people of Cordonia deserved a monarch who placed duty, the honor of sacrifice and love for one’s country ahead of everything else.

Aiden hoped he would one day be worthy of Cordonia’s storied legacy.

But tonight, just for a few hours more, he wasn’t a king or a prince. He was just Aiden. A man that craved freedom even as he embraced his responsibilities.

During dinner, he’d tried to hide his feelings, but his eyes followed Phoebe every chance they got. He hoped he’d been surreptitious in his admiration, but he’d never been in love.

Drake had given him a look that told Aiden he wasn’t being his usual stoic self. After that, he’d turned his attention to the deluxe burgers, listening absently to Maxwell’s tall tales and ignoring Tariq’s snide remarks about the food and the establishment.

Later, Aiden walked up to Phoebe, apologized for his friends’ boorish behaviors and racked his brain for an excuse to stay in her orbit a while longer.

Luckily he remembered Maxwell’s earlier comment about wanting to try a New York City nightclub, and things progressed from there. The flashing lights held no appeal for him, but sharing a drink with Phoebe and telling her his secret had felt freeing.

The whole night had been a lesson in spontaneity, from Phoebe arranging a private boat tour of the Statue of Liberty to that unexpected kiss just as the cloud cover broke and the stars sparkled above them like so much fairy dust.

They only realized they were holding hands the entire time, the moment they had to let go as the boat docked at the pier. They disembarked, turning to face each other, the Manhattan skyline rising behind them, both uncertain about what came next. But knowing instinctively this was it. There was no next.

That’s all they were now. A memory. A faded picture. A failed potential. Two people, right for each other, who’d met at the wrong time.

If only, thought Aiden, shoving the covers aside, swinging his legs off the bed and forcing himself to let go.

He might be a prince, but he’d always known his life was not a fairy tale.

When the knock came on his door, as he’d known it would, he glanced at the man in the mirror one last time. One who’d been free to kiss the woman he loved on a starry night under the watchful eye of the ultimate symbol of freedom.

And he said goodbye to what could never be.

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

@choicesficwriterscreations @lizzybeth1986 @sazanes

[karahalloway]

A Leviathan Surprise

Fandom: TRR

Series: None - this is a one-shot

Pairings: Maxwell Beamont x Bertrand Beaumont (nothing sexual - just brotherly love)

Synopsis: Maxwell unveils a larger than life surprise for Bertrand's birthday

Word count: 1,200

Warnings: Posh British swearing, using the Lord's name in vain, oversized squid

A/N1: This is my off-the-cuff submission for Day 4: Friends and Family of the inaugural Maxwell Beaumont Appreciation Week, hosted by @maxwell-beaumont-appreciation.

A/N2: The idea for this one-shot was actually born back in December when @maxwell-beaumont-appreciation reblogged this post by @fictionangyl featuring the cover photo and the question 'Think Bertrand would approve of a little redecorating at Ramsford? 🤔' and the general consensus was 'no' 🤣 But I got inspired by the pic and the comments and decided that I had to immortalise this visual in a fic, because it was too perfect to pass up!

A/N3: I know I normally write in first person POV, but this drabble came to me in third person, so here we are 😇

A/N4: Since Bertrand is 33 at the start of (Un)Common Attraction, I guess that means that this fic takes place 3 years before the start of the social season.

A Leviathan Surprise

Maxwell was giddy with excitement.

Scratch that.

He was positively bursting with anticipation!

Bertrand was going to be home any minute now, and the young Beaumont could not wait to surprise his older brother with his... Well, surprise.

It was Bertrand's birthday, after all...

And even though Bertrand hadn't wanted a fuss made, much less a party thrown — because, let's face it, they were broke — when one of his thousands of Insta followers had tagged him in a post featuring this jewel of divine inspiration, Maxwell had known: THIS was it... the perfect birthday present for his brother.

The fact that it had cost the better part of an arm and a leg and had required several hundred dedicated man-hours to accomplish was besides the point.

Bertrand was going to love it!

And that's all that mattered.

Because this year — of all years — Bertrand deserved to be treated. And a bit of financial bother was not going to stop Lord Breakdance from properly commemorating his brother's epic milestone.

The big 3-0.

Bertrand was now officially (and irreconcilably) a grown-up.

So what better way to celebrate (or commiserate?) than by killing two birds with one stone?

The painting gallery had always held a special place in the Beaumont brothers' hearts. In large part because it was where their mother's portrait hung — young, beautiful, full of life, she beamed out at the viewer even though it was against the conventions of formal portraiture.

But then, their mother had never been a stickler for the rules...

...probably why everyone said Maxwell took after her.

But a dreadful summer thunderstorm last year had sent a 100-year old oak tree crashing through the roof of the wing of the House that the gallery sat in, leaving an unsightly hole in the ceiling. Which — even though it had been patched — had never been completely made new.

We have more important things to allocate our meagre funds on, Bertrand kept reminding him every time the subject was raised.

Well, no longer!

Maxwell had taken matters into his own hands — raising a chunk of the money through livestreamed charity breakdance-offs with prominent YouTubers, and receiving the shortfall via a last-minute cheque made out by a well-heeled benefactor — to not only bring the painting gallery back to its former glory, but to improve it!

Bertrand was going to love it.

He was sure of it.

In fact, he had never been more sure of anything in his life!

...apart from the time he had bought an entire ostentation of peacocks so he could perform a peacock wedding.

Because what better way to celebrate the fact that these beautiful birds mated for life?

...or was the swans...?

It didn't matter. The point was that Maxwell had become ordained so he could perform the ceremony of the two fowl becoming one with the necessary sanctity and gravitas.

And his brother deserved the same level of commitment and dedication to detail as those beautiful birds had gotten through the course of the two-and-a-half hour long marriage affair.

Just with a lot less poop.

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Maxwell!" cried Bertrand, storming into the picture gallery. "What in the blazes is so urgent that it couldn't—? Oh, good God...!"

The elder Beaumont froze as he laud eyes on the centre-piece of the newly renovated space — the gargantuan papermaché kraken that sat suspended upside-down from the ceiling like some nefarious, overgrown bat, waiting to pounce (or fall?) on its unsuspecting victims.

The ominous creaking of the wires that held in in place didn't help matters either.

"Happy birthday, Bertrand!" exclaimed Maxwell, rushing up to crush his big brother in a celebratory hug. "May your—"

Bertrand deftly sidestepped the ill-timed PDA to thrust his finger accusingly at the ceiling. "What... in the name of all that is holy... is THAT?!"

"Your birthday present!" grinned Maxwell, completely unfazed by his brother's rapidly twitching eyelid. "Do you like it?"

Bertrand was visibly trembling. "It's... it’s..."

"Gorgeous?" prompted Maxwell. "Glorious? Utterly res—?"

"IT'S AN ABOMINATION!"

Maxwell's face fell. "Oh."

"What in the devil possessed you to conceive of, let alone spend money — money which we do not have, might I add! — on such a massive piece of macabre monstrousness!"

"I thought you'd like it..." Maxwell muttered sheepishly.

"Like it?" Bertrand spluttered incredulously. "I’d like to clobber you over the head with it! I'd—!"

A lone sniffle escaped the younger Beaumont...

...and Bertrand's shoulders fell.

"Oh, bugger..." he muttered under his breath.

Stepping up to what was left of his family, he laid a consolatory hand on his sibling's shoulder. "My apologies, brother. That was crass of me. I shouldn't have—"

"You hate it," lamented Maxwell, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"No, no!" objected Bertrand quickly. "I... I was simply caught off guard. It's not everyday that you see a giant cephalopod dangling from the ceiling."

"It's okay if you hate it..." whispered Max. "I... I'll just get it taken down and—"

"You will do no such thing!" admonished the elder Beaumont. "You've already frittered away God-knows how many hundreds of guilders on—"

"Thousands," corrected Maxwell.

"Thousands?" squeaked Bertrand, going deathly pale. "Oh, dear Lord in Heaven...!"

"2,375.97 to be exact," clarified Maxwell. "And that was just the materials."

Bertrand wheezed asthmatically.

"But it was all funded by charitable donations."

Bertrand snapped his head up. "Charitable? Donations? Who in their right mind would—?"

"Fund the creation of a one-of-a-kind avant-garde art installation?" asked Leo, stepping out from behind a neo-Greek pillar.

"And spend hundreds of man-hours elbows-deep in papermaché and glue?" added Chris, emerging from behind a curtain.

"Not to mention risk life and limb trying to attach the damn thing to the ceiling..." grumbled Drake.

"You?!" demanded Bertrand with wide eyes. "You were behind this?"

"We... may have contributed our respective skills-sets," admitted Leo with a sly smile.

"If by 'contribute' you mean 'got press ganged'..." muttered Drake.

"But it was all Maxwell's idea," added Chris. "He organised the fundraising, the equipment, the workmen, even the tea and biscuits."

"Those were good biscuits..." agreed Leo with a far-away look.

Bertrand turned back to his brother. "You... you project managed this shambles? By yourself?"

Maxwell shrugged. "I had to keep it a surprise."

"Oh, you silly muppet," sighed Bertrand as he wrapped his brother into an uncommon embrace. "There's hope for you after all..."

"So... does that mean you like it?" asked Maxwell, hope sparking in his baby-blue eyes.

"I... I think it may be a somewhat of an acquired taste..." admitted Bertrand with a shudder. "But I'm proud of you, brother. You finally showed me that you have what it takes to be a true Beaumont."

"A hereditary obsession with squid?"

"Pluck," smiled Bertrand, clapping his younger sibling on the shoulder affectionately. "And that is the best birthday present a brother can ask for."

Permas:

@twinkleallnight @lovingchoices14 @kingliam2019 @petiteboheme @aussiegurl1234 @queen-arabella-of-cordonia @tessa-liam @alyshak92 @secretaryunpaid @princessleac1 @walkerdrakewalker @angelasscribbles @nestledonthaveone @tinkie1973 @twinkle-320 @knaussal @nikkis1983 @lunaseasblog @ficloverevie @indiana-jr @differenttyphoonwerewolf @xpandass420x @eversoaringqueen12 @peonierose @3pawandme @alexabeta @veebug8 @fangirling12566 @queenmiarys @lancelotsimp​ @coco-lina-s @lolablackwrites @ivyflowers13 @persephone13 @hollygirl1269 @adri-ja-96 @harleybeaumont @katedrakeohd @uneravine @choicesficwriterscreations

[alj4890]

Can't Take My Eyes Off of You

(Maxwell Beaumont x Olivia Nevrakis) in a Choices The Royal Romance Crackship AU

Masterlist

A/N Sorry this took so long. I'm the girl who gets the flu each year in the dead of summer, instead of the winter like a normal person 🤦🏻‍♀️ Anyway, on to more enjoyable things! The Court is at Lythikos. After replaying TRR, I forgot how the things Maxwell says and his reactions could be interpreted into him actually liking Olivia in the two Lythikos chapters. Naturally, for this storyline, I ran hard with it 😂 This chapter focuses on that first day there.

Chapter 2

The Royal Palace, the Duke of Ramsford's chambers...

"Maxwell?" Bertrand snapped. "Are you paying attention?"

Maxwell remained silent as he stared out the window. His thoughts were focused on a wild variety of revelations. After the previous day's time observing Liam and Riley play croquet and then last night's sneaking out for cronuts, he could see that Liam had a definite favorite amongst his many suitors.

It continued to give him hope, not just for himself, but also for Liam. He'd never seen the prince react the way he was with any of the ladies they'd grown up with. Maxwell could tell that Riley seemed just as crazy about him. If things continued to move along like he thought, he would be lifting a glass of champagne with the rest of the nobles in honor of their engagement in a few months.

The rest of Maxwell's thoughts, as usual, were filled with Olivia.

The conversation he had with her outside her room the night of the Masquerade Ball revealed that she preferred it when he acted like himself. He couldn't help but be pleased to hear that. Perhaps his idea to be more casual and aloof was going to pay off in the end.

It has to, he argued with himself. This has to make her finally see me.

He also couldn't help but notice her looking at him curiously the day before at the derby. When he didn't go up to her to even say hello, her eyes narrowed. Usually, he'd have remained by her side, making outrageous bets in the hopes of seeing her smile. It'd been hard to merely nod her way then turn his back on her. He wondered what she was thinking at that moment.

He'd then done the same at the Queen's tea later on. Olivia's frown followed him over to where Riley was sitting after the croquet match. He hadn't even bothered to look for her, at least not obviously. He'd instead watched her from the corner of his eye.

If his actions kept him on her mind in trying to figure out this new version of himself, then it would all be worth going against his very nature.

His worry now was how to behave at Lythikos.

Should I change it up or--

"MAXWELL!"

He jumped, turning quickly towards his brother.

"Sorry!" He automatically replied. "I um, well..."

Bertrand groaned.

"Maxwell, I have to return to Ramsford." He began again.

"Why?" Maxwell asked.

"Why?! I just went into a detailed explanation on why I'm not journeying to Lythikos with you and Lady Riley!"

"Oh." Maxwell said a touch sheepishly. "Right. Sorry."

Bertrand sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Can I trust you to make certain Lady Riley behaves herself appropriately at Lythikos?"

"Of course you can!" Maxwell replied, slapping a reassuring hand upon his brother's shoulder. "You know I'll make sure she has a great time snow skiing and all."

"That's not what I'm worried about!" Bertrand grumbled. "I'm worried about her bringing attention, the wrong kind of attention, upon our House!"

He narrowed his eyes at Maxwell.

"Don't think I've forgotten what I'd hoped was a joke of yours about finding an indecent woman to represent us."

"Come on, Bertrand." Maxwell folded his arms. "You've seen for yourself that Riley has been a perfect lady since she arrived."

"She does appear to be all you've promised." Bertrand said. "I suppose I have little choice now."

"You can't send her home, even if you wanted to." Maxwell pointed out. "Liam is crazy about her. Now, the public wants to see more of her with him."

"True."

Maxwell held his right hand up while placing his left over his heart. "On my honor as a Beaumont, I swear only the best of both me and Riley will be shown at Lythikos."

"I can't very well argue against that type of reassurance." Bertrand's lips curved into a slight grin.

"You and I made sure no one could ever doubt the word of a Beaumont." Maxwell added, grinning even more.

"That we did." Bertrand patted Maxwell's back. "Let's go awaken our chosen lady and give her the details about this next event."

*****************

Lythikos...

Olivia watched from a window in her library as Maxwell's limo pulled into the drive. She knew she should already be outside to greet them, but she wanted just a few more seconds behind the curtains to see how Maxwell acted with Riley.

She didn't know why her curiosity was notched to an eleven over his odd behavior, but she was determined to see if Liam's new suitor was possibly stringing both men along.

Her eyes narrowed even more so to see Drake and Hana getting out of the same limo.

Well that's odd, she thought.

She ducked down when Maxwell glanced over towards her way. Cursing herself for that ridiculous reaction, she crawled out of view and hurried to greet them.

"Welcome to Lythikos." She announced from the front steps. "I hope you will take advantage of all the beauty my duchy has to offer."

Before anyone could properly respond, she waved towards her butler standing at the ready. "Harris will show you to your rooms. Please let him know of any needs you might have."

Olivia cast her typical smirk and took off towards a frozen pond that already had a gathering of nobles.

"Join us when you're ready." She added.

She glanced back to see Maxwell help Riley with her luggage. A slight frown formed on her lips when she noticed the two laughing over some joke.

Her temper simmered as she faced forward. No matter how distracting Maxwell was at this moment, she was determined to focus all her attention on Liam. After all, the prince was the whole point of this social season.

I despise the mystery that is Maxwell Beaumont. He can act weird all he wants with that barely attractive American. If he wants her, then he can have her. See if I care.

***************

"C'mon Riley!" Maxwell urged. "We need to get down to the pond."

"Okay, okay." Riley struggled with a sweater she was pulling on. "Geez, Max. It isn't like the ice will melt before we get there."

"I know." He mumbled. "I see that Liam is already out there."

"He is?" She hurried over to the window. "Looks like most of his suitors are out there too."

"Yeah." Maxwell's brow furrowed the longer he watched the group skate.

Riley gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "You okay?"

"Hmm? Oh. Yeah! I'm great!" Maxwell held her coat up for her. "I'm only anxious to get our future queen out there for some fun!"

Riley laughed as she slipped her arms in the sleeves. "I'd love some fun."

"Then you shall have all the wintery fun you could possibly want!" He slung his arm along her shoulders. "On the suitor front though, you'll have to work hard to catch Liam alone here."

"I figured." She gestured about the mansion. "It's what happens when you have a home field advantage."

"Yep." His smile dimmed. "Olivia isn't going to waste this opportunity to win Liam."

"Max?" Riley stopped him once they were outside. "Do you think this is right?"

"What?"

"Me trying so hard to win Liam?" She turned towards the pond, eyes narrowing in thought. "I mean, if he wants someone like Olivia or Hana or anyone else out there; should I be breaking that up?"

"But he doesn't!" Maxwell exclaimed. "He has to humor them because that's who Liam is. He's too polite and thoughtful to tell them he's already made his choice, i.e. you."

Riley shook her head, a smile forming. "You really believe strongly in your candidate."

He smiled once more as they walked to the pond. "I can't help it that the Beaumont's are backing the right lady."

He took her hand and squeezed it.

"Liam really is crazy about you." He whispered.

"You think so?" She asked.

"Not only do I know, I'll prove it." Maxwell helped her lace up her skates before he did his own.

The pair stepped out on the ice.

****************

That was a close one.

Maxwell ran his hands over his face as he thought back to his rash action on the ice. He tried to excuse his impulsive behavior as a means of helping Liam and Riley find a moment alone together, but he knew the truth.

I didn't want Olivia with him.

He stared into the flames of the crackling fire. What had he been thinking? Yelling out for Olivia to watch him spin. He'd nearly blown the whole cool, aloof noble persona he was cultivating by acting like he was twelve years old again, trying to get her to notice him.

Thank God for Penelope.

If she hadn't clapped and begged him to teach her how to spin like a professional figure skater, he might still be acting out in front of Olivia. Penelope's attention gave him a chance to once again ignore the one he wanted most. Olivia's frown formed the moment he turned away from her. Her perplexed expression when she rejoined Liam and Riley helped him keep as far away from her as he could.

When everyone decided to go snow skiing, he knew he couldn't join them. He'd probably break his neck in trying to impress Olivia. So, while his friends headed towards the ski lift, he escaped back into the manor.

Unable to sit still and dwell on how badly he could screw this up, he pushed himself off the couch and looked about. He needed something to distract him from his worries. His attention landed on a pair of crossed swords over the mantle.

I'll go check out Olivia's armory, he decided. That'll take my mind off things.

He lost track of time as he toured the impressive display of weapons and torture devices the Nevrakis had been fond of for centuries. As he got near a wall covered with war hammers and flails, he heard voices coming from a nearby vent. There was one in particular he recognized.

That's Olivia!

He leaned closer to hear what she was saying.

******************

Olivia's Ballroom...

"Harris?" Olivia called out. "Were you able to find the items I asked about earlier?"

"I was, your grace." Her butler answered. "I took the liberty of placing them in Lord Beaumont's chambers as you requested."

"Good." She eyed her ballroom and the work done to have it ready for the next evening's special event.

So far, it was exactly as she pictured it. Her lips curved as she imagined dancing with Liam. Her ballroom always sparked romance with the soft lights of the chandeliers combined with the wide expanse of windows showcasing the wintery beauty of Lythikos. Once everyone saw her in Liam's arms against that perfect backdrop, there would be no doubt that she was meant for him.

The other ladies will be forced to give up, she thought with glee. My history with Liam alone puts me in the top spot. Add in everything else I possess and it will be proven to be a lost cause for those poor, pitiful suitors.

"Your grace?" Harris cleared his throat once more to get her attention.

"Hmm?" Olivia refocused.

"Is there anything else I should put in Lord Beaumont's room?"

"Not at the moment." She checked the time. "Everyone should be returning shortly. Have the footmen prepare the refreshments in the main drawing room."

Harris bowed on his way to do as she commanded.

Olivia left and began to mentally prepare to steal Liam away from everyone. Along the way, she noticed Maxwell running down a hall towards her right.

She almost called out, then stopped herself. She still wasn't certain what was going on with him. The one thing she did know was that she was tired of how often this mystery that was the new Maxwell Beaumont was getting on her nerves. She detested anything she couldn't figure out quickly.

Her hope was simply this: that the old Maxwell would return once he saw the surprise in his room. When that happened, she'd interrogate him over who made him change.

She still suspected it was Riley. He was perfectly normal before she stuck her big nose in Cordonian affairs. Now this woman was trying to befriend everyone. Olivia wasn't buying her sweet, butter wouldn't melt in her mouth act. Everyone had ulterior motives for doing what they did.

She would find out the American's and then make her regret ever coming to Cordonia.

*****************

Maxwell took the main stairs two at a time. He nearly tripped twice as he made a mad dash for his chambers.

I gotta know what she had put in my room!

His door bounced against the wall once he burst inside. Breathless, he quickly scanned the guest room for anything out of the ordinary.

Is it a cool weapon? Maybe a letter finally telling me she's been crushing on me too?!

He shook his head

No. It wouldn't be that.

He noticed a silver covered tray sitting on an end table near a wingback chair.

He lifted the lid and gasped.

"SHE GOT ME CHEETAH CAKES!"

Maxwell slapped his hand over his mouth for that outburst. He rushed to his open door and peeped out to make sure the hallway was empty. He blew out a relieved breath to see that no one heard his undignified excitement over a sugary treat. He hadn't reacted like that since he was eight years old and first tried the perfection that was simply Cheetah Cakes.

He couldn't believe she remembered something so insignificant like his favorite snack cake.

But why did Olivia go to the trouble to find these for me? Does this mean she like likes me? Or am I just wishful thinking again?

He didn't know. He only knew that this made the trip here that much sweeter, literally and figuratively.

"I'll see you in a few hours." He said to his cakes. "Together, we'll celebrate the awesome duchess who sent you to me."

Feeling a lot happier than he had mere minutes ago, he went downstairs to wait on Riley.

*****************

The Main Drawing Room...

Olivia eyed Maxwell from across the room.

He's doing it again!

Maxwell was sitting next to Riley, grinning that dimpled grin of his and listening.

Since when did he ever just listen? He's always got some story or joke or anything that makes him the center of attention! Why is Riley able to be at the center? Why is he not mingling with everyone else? He hasn't even come to me like he normally does to brag about his skiing or whatever he did when he disappeared earlier.

And what in the hell is Drake and Hana doing hanging out with her??? I get why Liam has to be nice to her. That's just how he would be with anyone. But Drake?! There is nothing more unnatural on this earth than Drake Walker going out of his way to be nice! Come on! And is Hana that stupid to think Riley is a friend? She's in competition with you, you idiot! You can trust no one here.

Maxwell, can't you see it's all an act? As soon as she loses to me, Riley will reveal her true self. Then you'll be hurt because she isn't as sweet as you think she is. Are you falling for her? Is she actually playing both you and Liam?

Olivia couldn't take another second of their happy little group.

"Is everyone enjoying all I've provided?" She asked.

The group stilled. Drake and Hana eyed her warily. Riley nodded while Maxwell spoke.

"I've always enjoyed my time with you, Olivia." He said in a soft, unassuming tone.

Olivia blinked over that. She wasn't certain how to take that statement. Normally she'd chalk it up to his crush on her. But that damn tone! How was she supposed to interpret that now?!

She did not like him pushing her off balance like this. Searching for anything to make her world seem normal again, she zeroed in on the half eaten eclair on Hana's plate.

"Drake, did you notice the treats I had the staff set out?" Olivia smiled at him.

She knew he wouldn't like where she was going with this. A little verbal sparring with some carefully executed jabs would be just what she needed to recover from Maxwell's mysterious ways.

"What about it?" Drake asked.

"I remember how Savannah loved eclairs. She plowed through them as if they were the last on earth." Olivia laughed. "I guess we should all be grateful she isn't here or else no one would have a chance at the buffet."

"Don't," he hissed, "talk about my sister."

Drake glanced at his watch and stormed out.

"Wait Drake!" Olivia shouted with a giggle. "I'm not done--"

"Shut your damn mouth!" Riley snapped.

Olivia whirled back towards her. "Well, well. Look who has a soft spot for Cordonia's most popular commoner."

"Leave him alone." Riley commanded, getting to her feet.

Olivia's smirk faltered when she noticed the sad, disappointed look in Maxwell's eyes. A slight pinprick of guilt washed over her.

"As fun as that was," Olivia straightened her shoulders, "I should be on my way. I promised Liam a personal tour of my duchy."

She left the small group, doing her best to avoid Maxwell's unwavering gaze.

[thecapturedafrique]

TRR MC: Ally Romiere

Hello tri-state area Tumblr! In preparing to finally create a masterlist, I decide to first release the character page I made for my The Royal Romance character, Ally Romiere. A while back, I also did the Choices MC ask game for Ally and another MC which you can read here!

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Full Name: Alejandra Carmen Romero de Torres

Legal Name: Ally Romiere

In Greek: Αλεξάνδρα Κάρμεν Ρωμαίος από Πύργους (Alexándra Kármen Romaíos apó Pýrgous)

Nicknames: Ale (María), Cinderella (Olivia), ma moitié (Maxwell)

Noble Title: HM The Queen Consort Ally of Houses Romiere and Beaumont, Duchess of Valtoria, Champion of the Realm and Saviour of Cordonia, DCOS, RC

Charge and Colors: phoenix; gules and or (w/ blue celeste)

Epithet: the Undefeated

Age: 25

Date of Birth: August 18th, 1993

Place of Birth: Queens, NYC

Zodiac: Leo ♌️

Gender: Cis woman

Sexual Orientation: Bisexual

Pronouns: She/her

Enneagram: 2.3 (w1; Companion)

Encouraging and appreciative, able to see the good in others. Service is important, but takes care of self too: they are nurturing, generous, and giving—a truly loving person.

Height: 5'8"

Race/Ethnicity: Latina (Nahua) and Afro-Caribbean

Nationality: American (renounced) and Cordonian

Face Claim: Lindsey Morgan

Education: GED

Languages: Spanish, English, Greek (novice)

Favorite Color: red

Piercings: single lobe; often wears ear cuff on upper right

Tattoos: five-point crown behind left ear; familia quote with dragonflies on left side of rib cage

Partner: Liam Reese (husband)

Best Friend(s): Hana Lee and Maxwell

Family: María del Pilar† (abuelita), Leo Reese (brother-in-law), Regina and Constantine Reese (in-laws), Bartie Beaumont and Luca Karvelas (nephews), Bertrand Beaumont and Maxwell Beaumont (House members)

Character Notes

There is a reason why Ally legally changed her name, which will hopefully one day be explained within Silver Spoons

Maxwell’s nickname for Ally is French for “my [better] half” and is used platonically in the same sense as the English phrase “my partner in crime.” He starts using this for Ally during the investigation in TRR2 and it sticks

As the Champion of the Realm, Ally is a member of the Order of the Seven, which confers upon her the title of Dame Commander (DCOS); the other post-nominal letters (RC) refer to her position on the Royal Council

Ally’s enneagram is type Two, also known as “The Helper”: the caring, interpersonal type described as demonstrative, generous, people-pleasing, and possessive. She is a One-wing, who are generally more ambitious and outspoken than other type Twos, and her level 3 is the level of social value

Her parents were both Mexican immigrants with primarily Native ancestry aside for her father, whose mother María was an Afro-Dominican who moved to Mexico following the civil war in 1965

As part of becoming queen of another country, Ally had to renounce her American citizenship

The dragonflies on her tattoo represent the three family members she’s lost (both her parents and her grandmother María), and the quote translates to, “Where life begins and love never ends.”

[moodmusicmonday]

Whew! This playlist has a little bit of EVERYTHING! You're gonna get hyped to party, lost in your own heart-eyes, and then finally tripped up in your angsty-crying feels. It's pretty amazing, and we are so thankful to our writers for sharing their music inspo! So, go ahead! Check it out! Turn it on while you do your day! And don't forget to check out these fics when they come out! Like, comment and reblog these writers! Mention that you love their music inspo!

Dying to read a fic NOW? You're in luck! We have a newly released fic listed below! Look for the 📖, and click on the link!

We love y'all! We will see y'all in June! 🌞

🎵🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶

@ao719

“Dusk Till Dawn” - Zayn ft. Sia; Vancross, Chapter 15: I’ll Be With You (multiple crossover; Liam Rys x f!OC)

“In My Veins” - Andrew Belle; Best Kept Secrets, Chapter 14, Everything Will Change (TRR; Liam Rys x f!OC)

@bebepac

📖 “When You Believe” - Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey; The Life of Riley Book 2, Chapter 8: Garden Party Photo Op [TRR; Liam x Riley]

@cariantha

Back to the Starting Line [OPH; Ethan Ramsey x f!MC (Sawyer Brooks)]

”Hard to Say Goodbye” - Ekali, Illenium “Crash” - Usher

@peonierose

Once, Part 4 & 5 [TNA/OH; m!Sam Dalton, m!Robin Flores, Ethan Ramsey]

“Once” - Maren Morris “Long, Long Time” - Linda Ronstadt “Already Gone” - Sleeping at Last “Just Breathe” - Pearl Jam “Blue” - Sigrid

@socalwriterbee

“Dive” - Ed Sheeran;  TBD, Part 3 [OPH; Ethan Ramsey x f!MC (Tessa Martinez)]

@tessa-liam

Marabelle, Chapter 5: Lights Out, Beaumont Bash 2 [TRR; Liam Rys x f!OC (Sophie Taylor)]

“Unchained Melody” - the Righteous Brothers “I Gotta Feeling” - Black Eyed Peas

@txemrn

“Pearls” - Samantha Gongol; TBD, a Royal Roulette (TRR; Liam Rys x Riley Brooks-Rys)

“8 Letters” - Why Don’t We; TBD, one-shot [TNA crossover; m!Sam Dalton x f!OC (Caroline Austin); m!LI x f!OC (Caroline Austin)] 

🎵🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶

[lizzybeth1986]

Quick Thoughts on TRR Book 2, Chapter 9

• So this chapter is basically filler, with one important piece of information (that pretty much all of us saw coming really) towards the end. I’m actually pretty okay with that considering there’s been so much going on in the last so many chapters? Something monumental has been happening every week since the book released and we’re almost midway through, so I consider this a breather.

• I’m…not going to be very kind to Drake today, I’m afraid. I understand where he’s coming from and I know he’s immensely hurt, but I still take issue with at least one thing he’s said.

• “Brotherhood of Man”? With Drake claiming he’s lost faith in everyone and Liam contemplating leaving Cordonia altogether if it will keep the MC safe, that has the be the irony of the century.

•

Lol I love Maxwell’s middle name because the first thing that came to mind when I heard it was Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. 😂

• Dammit Maxwell, I could have lived the rest of my life happily not knowing about your underwear 😣

•

Dammit Pixelberry, I wanted to hear more. Now I have to wait another week 😭 Couldn’t you have had Drake ask him what he meant by this THEN fly off the handle?

My take on this is that Bertrand probably wasn’t trying to break it off with Savannah at all. We don’t know exactly what their financial situation was like when this happened (like did the money troubles start way before or only after Savannah’s pregnancy?) and whether the age gap had a part to play in how Bertrand felt about the relationship. It looked more like he was implying she wait until things looked better than completely deny a relationship. And…given that I know how crazy first trimester hormones can make you, I wouldn’t be surprised if Savannah heard something and understood something else entirely.

• It also makes me feel extremely sorry for Bertrand. He’s literally had no say in anything concerning this situation. We’re not entirely sure what he said to Savannah but we know now that it definitely wasn’t for her to leave (esp since he kept searching for her afterwards, which means he was pretty damn invested in her). Then she leaves, without complete knowledge of what he was trying to say and without letting him know that she’s pregnant. Then Maxwell uses MOST of his resources to support her with zero consent from him, and he’s left with a broken house and little to no idea how it got there. Now he finds out that Savannah is in Paris, that he has a son he didn’t know about, and that all the money that seemed to mysteriously disappear in extravagant purchases was actually being used for her upkeep. Basically EVERYONE has been keeping something from him, and then Drake spills it all out in one go while being a minute away from a fistfight. That’s a LOT of news to spill on one person and I don’t envy Bertrand his current position at all.

• Liam almost went to get a tattoo? I wonder if that’s one more thing the MC might encourage him to get lol. Or maybe not. Wouldn’t be very kingly of him haha.

• So this definitely was a pretty rough night for Drake too. He already has a bone (or several) to pick with the court, he’s just found out that his sister didn’t want him to know where she was, that his friend kept that information from him for this long and the same friends brother seemed to be the one responsible. That sense of betrayal’s been laid on him thicker than frosting on a birthday cake. It’s that sense of hurt that contributes to this statement:

…but here? Drake couldn’t be more wrong. Bastien literally has no agency. Bertrand was trying to do what he thought was best for both him and Savannah (granted, Drake and Bertrand ended up in a scuffle before Bertrand can even expand on this). Maxwell, irresponsible thought he was, literally put the well-being and reputation of his house on the line for Drake’s sister. At this point I’m feeling more like he’s saying this because that’s what he prefers believing than because it actually rings true.

I agree with him on the court being a poisonous place, and that it can push otherwise decent people to do horrible things, but to assume their motives for them when evidence shows that he couldn’t be any farther from the truth just doesn’t sit well with me.

•

You know Cordonia has gone really bonkers when its own goddamn king is the one telling you it’s time to get the hell outta there.

• In keeping with the rest of the chapter, both diamond scenes have been kept quite light as well.

• In the last book, around this time, the Regatta took place and we got our first plot twist - that Liam would be crowned king in a matter of weeks. I guess it’s fitting that by this halfway point, we learn that the royal family was involved in the scheme. We don’t know how involved they are, or if they’re the only ones, but having them be suspected this early in the story leads me to believe that it goes deeper than “meh, we just didn’t want these two ladies to marry you”.

• Ever since the Italian restaurant sequence I’ve been afraid that Liam’s going to have another assassination attempt coming his way 😭

That’s it for the week, folks! It’s tea and interrogations with Queen Mother Regina this week! Something tells me she’s either not involved, or that it will be proven she wasn’t only for it to be established that she was working with someone somewhere towards the end.

Is MurderKing possible? ‘Course it is. But I still have my doubts.

Will we ever find out why he resigned? I surely hope so.

Will we ever find out about Liam’s mum’s death, the Nevrakis subplot, what happened earlier? We’d better.

Will we get a decent Hana scene next week? One that’s not a freaking group scene or packed with stuff that isn’t even about her? I’ll throw an epic tantrum if there isn’t 😠

[royalromanceramblings]

I've been thinking it for awhile and I'm just going to go ahead and say it...

The Beaumonts should be making brandy not sparkling wine.

For one thing the alliteration of Beaumont Brandy is very on brand.

And furthermore the Beaumonts are known for their wild parties. A liquor makes more sense than a sparkling wine.

And both are made from grapes anyway. Brandy is just a better option.

No one asked. Probably no one really cares. But there you go.

[cordonianroyalairlines]

Cordonian Royal Airlines

…where we treat every passenger like royalty. The ultimate in air travel. Luxurious private jets for booking to exclusive locales. Small, private, elite.

Welcome to Cordonian Royal Airlines (CRA), a TRR AU in the spirit of Wings and LA to Vegas.  

Leo and Liam Rys, two brothers, both pilots, decide to go into business together, operating a small, private, elite airline that flies exclusive clientele to exotic locales in the lap of luxury. A non-chronological series of loosely related one-shots and drabbles around the exploits of the crew of CRA.

This collaborative project is a joint effort of six creators: angelasscribbles, karahalloway, harleybeaumont, aussiegurl1234, nestledonthaveone and alj4890. Updates might not be frequent or often, but we hope they’re hilarious.

Pilots/Owners: Leo Rys, Liam Rys

First Officers: Drake Walker, Bertrand Beaumont

Flight Attendants: Riley Brooks, Maxwell Beaumont, Hana Lee, Kiara Theron

Office Manager: Madeleine Amaranth

World Renown In-Flight Chef: Olivia Nevrakis

Receptionist/Booking: Penelope Ebrim

Security: Bastien Lykel

Masterlist

Turbulence: Riley confronts Drake with unexpected results.

All I Want for Christmas Part 1: The crew is grounded by a blizzard.

All I Want for Christmas Part 2: Drake does something unexpected.

Ball Drop: Drake and Riley end up in the same place on NYE.

Staking a Claim: Riley's ex shows up on a flight. Drake is less than pleased about it.

[wakaashamee]

I would die for Maxwell he is my BABY

[angelasscribbles]

In Your Room Chapter 12: Happily Ever After

Series: In Your Room

Fandom: TRR                    

Pairings: Leo x Drake

Rating: G

Warnings for this chapter: None, this is fluff

Song Inspiration for the series: In Your Room by The Bangles

Word Count: 1,331

A/N: Well, here we are at the end. I'm going to miss these two, but they deserve the happily ever after. Tagging @choicespride for marriage and found family. Tagging @choicesjunechallenge for weddings. Tagging @choicesficwriterscreations Pride Bingo for family.

My other stuff: Master List.

Drake and Leo, with Helena in tow, made their way back outside to where their friends and family were waiting for them.

“I made some adjustments, your mom is sitting with me,” Bianca told her future son-in-law.

“Thanks,” Leo pulled her into a hug as he whispered, “I still want to call you mom too.”

Bianca nodded as she hugged him back, “I’d love that, son.”

Leo felt a sense of wonder in his chest. This morning he’d had no moms, now he had two.

When he released Bianca, he turned to his best man, “Thank you for coming all the way from Cordonia, Your Majesty.”

Liam shook his head with a grin as he embraced his brother, “Shut up, man. Riley and I wouldn’t have missed this for the world. Besides, I had to return the favor, didn’t I?”

“Wow, I’m impressed. This is more my style than yours, little bro.” Leo let out a low whistle as he took in the moonlit clearing, bonfire roaring on the beach, and lanterns swaying lazily from carefully placed posts. Riley wore a simple floor-length white dress with spaghetti straps while Liam was dressed in slacks and a button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, no suit jacket, no tie. Leo himself had on cargo shorts and a polo shirt, perfect for a casual, and secret, beach wedding.

“Yes, well, after what Dad did to you, I just don’t want to give him the chance to torpedo us the same way.”

“You always were smarter than me. Well, the best man is here, let’s do this thing!”

“I still can’t believe you got married without me!” Drake said with mock indignation.

Liam pulled his best friend into a hug next, “You know I wanted you there, but we had to get married before Leo abdicated and Constantine turned his attention to my love life! It was the only way to ensure he couldn’t interfere in any way. Besides, this guy,” he released Drake and jerked his thumb toward Leo, “was in a hot fucking hurry to get to you, so we were in a time crunch.”

Drake flushed as a sappy grin spread across his face, “Yeah, I know. You’re forgiven.”

Drake Walker was happier than he ever thought he could be. Leo Rys loved him and was about to fucking marry him! The idea that he was about to be someone’s husband was almost surreal, but after everything the two of them had been through together, everything Leo’s father had put them through, it was the happy ending they both deserved. He slapped Liam on the shoulder, “At least you made it to mine, even if your brother did steal you right out from under me to be his best man!”

“Good thing you had a backup best friend I suppose,” Liam teased him good-naturedly.

“Yeah,” Drake laughed, “Where the hell is Beaumont, anyway?”

“I’m here, I’m here!” Max jogged up to the group, a little out of breath.

“What’s got you all out of- oh, no, no, man, you better not have just been making out with my sister!”

Max lifted an eyebrow and threw his hands up in the air, “Ask me no questions and I’ll tell you no lies!”

“Come on, man! That’s just-“

“She is my fiancée you know.” Max reminded him.

“Yeah,” Liam took Max’s side, “and I put up with you making out with my brother all the damn time!”

“Holy crap, we’re all brothers now!” Max blurted out.

“Heh,” Drake laughed, “Who saw that coming?”

“No one!” Leo scoffed.

“But it’s pretty awesome!” Max grinned from ear to ear. When he married Savannah, Drake would be his brother for real and as soon as Drake and Leo said I do, Drake and Liam would be brothers…which made Max and Liam brother-in-laws once removed or something.

“The girls are all here, so we can get this show on the road now!” Savannah called out as she approached the group of men. Olivia, Hana, and Riley trailed behind her.

Olivia made a beeline for Leo, “Is it true? Your mom is here?”

“Yeah, it’s true, Liv, she’s really here!”

Olivia cocked her head to one side as she regarded him, “You seem pretty okay with it.”

“I am!” He affirmed, “She never wanted to abandon me, my father kept her away!”

“I’d like to say I’m surprised, but that’s right in character for him. I’m sorry, Leo.”

“It’s fine. She’s here now and I’m about to marry the love of my life. I’m good!”

“There’s that dimpled smile we all love!” Olivia patted him on the cheek.

“If the wedding party is ready…” the officiant interrupted, “it’s time.”

“Time to get hitched!” Leo yelled.

“Hitched?” Olivia stared at him with wide eyes as everyone else laughed. Turning to Drake she shook her head, “I’m blaming you for this.”

Drake laughed, his chest filled with happiness, “I will take all the blame! Now let’s go get hitched!”

Liam stood beside Leo as his best man with Olivia and Hana as the maids of honor, because why not have both? Maxwell stood beside Drake flanked by Riley and Savannah.

Their mothers were in the audience, and their best friends and siblings were standing by their side but as they stood in front of friends and family, the rest of the world faded away and there was just Leo and Drake.

Leo and Drake running through the palace gardens as children, Leo and Drake channeling their burgeoning feelings into competition and aggression on the soccer field, the polo field, and the fencing piste. Leo and Drake each struggling to make their own place in the world, all the while holding the other in the back of their minds, and the back of their hearts. Leo and Drake standing in the game room at the palace, both eager to give in to Liv’s dare and both denying that eagerness. Leo and Drake slowly giving in to their feelings as the physical attraction between them exploded and grew. Leo and Drake pushing each other away in a futile attempt to protect their hearts. Leo and Drake falling completely in love over the course of one magical year. Leo and Drake fighting to be together, Leo and Drake finally finding peace, love, and acceptance in the heart of the Walker family on a cattle ranch in the middle of west Texas.

And finally, Leo and Drake standing at the altar, ready to entwine their lives with each other permanently, completely, and irrevocably.

By the time they said “I do,” both men were in tears.

In almost no time at all, the ceremony was over, and the officiant was announcing, “Allow me to introduce, for the first time, Mr. and Mr. Drake and Leo Walker!”

Leo had decided to take Drake’s last name. Partly out of practicality. The Rys name was too recognizable. It was also too reminiscent of the years spent in a repressive environment. But mostly because, with the exception of Liam, he already felt more a part of Drake’s family, more loved, more accepted, than he had ever felt at home. Home. Cordonia was no longer that for him. Texas was home. The ranch was home. Drake was home.

Drake had promised not to smear cake on Leo’s face, but he did it anyway amidst cheers from the guests, the camera snaps from the photographer, and Leo’s laughter ringing out across the clearing. Leo returned the favor as Drake tried to dodge him, his own laughter shaking his whole body. He was happy. Happier than he had ever believed he could be.

Both men had overcome their own insecurities to be together. Both men had made sacrifices for love. Both men had allowed their walls to crumble. Both men had reached for happiness and found it, with each other. Nothing would ever come between them again. They had each other, and that was all that mattered. Happily ever after was theirs.

[mercyparkgirl]

Of course they have 😂