cruising

“Somehow, I think she manages to be okay with our relationship, as codependent as it is,”  and it is a bit, isn’t it? He relies on Arthur a lot and he knows Arthur, as his best friend, needs him in some ways too. He’s not going to allow himself to get sappy at this wedding right now, at least not more than he already is. He’s been weird about…everything all night. Everything is perfect, really, Casey is smiling and the twins were happy just before Karlie took them to the hotel,  and that’s the thing, he’s so happy right no and every time he looks at Casey he feels warm, a flicker of something in him that he can’t quite put his finger on and he’s not sure he wants to just yet.So instead, he raises his brows at his friend and then smirks “What are you doing out here, why aren’t you with your lovely date?” he asks, because well, Elias can tell by the look he’s seen on his friends face through the night that’s it’s torture. He’s glad he doesn’t have to suffer through it. But the teasing smirk on his face falters when his friend asks how he is, and he shrugs a shoulder “I’m perfect, just a bit overwhelmed” he admits, and he doesn’t say with what, instead just nods towards the building “do you want to head back inside? I need a drink. I promise you can stick by my side and hold my hand to hide from Sarah, if you need.” 

“Codependent my ass.” Whether he’d like to admit it or not, he honestly couldn’t think of a time he hadn’t gone more than 24 to 48 hours not hearing from Elias one way or another. Whether it was about the club, the boys, or just life in general, the two kept in touch frequently.  In a way the man was a saving grace for Arthur when he came back from war once and for all. He was thankful their friendship merely at the age of eighteen weathered throw the storm of life and curveballs being thrown their way. Loyalty and trust was everything to Arthur and Elias had been one of few individuals he could count on one hand who never broke that. “My lovely date? More like a fucking nightmare,” he groaned rubbing his hands across his face. The woman was like a broken faucet. No matter what you did to try and keep the water from flowing, it just keep bursting through the fucking pipes. “I have never been at my wits end with someone. I know way to much about her and quite frankly she needs to be checked in a mental institution as she is a threat to society with her endless banter.” Arthur was gonna be hearing her high-pitched tone in his sleep he was sure of it. He’d probably need to go see a therapist after tonight. There was not enough alcohol that could drown her out. “I can’t head back inside man,” he said shaking his head in complete disapproval of the idea. “I need like the rest of the night off from the woman.”

Amelia had just given the DJ the hour and a half notice for the send off and was finally enjoying a drink for herself, after an entire day consisting of water and granola bars, with some veggies an hour or two ago. She’d been waiting to get the bartender’s attention when a familiar voice sounded and she turned to face Arthur with a smile. “Well, thank you. Kinda just threw it together, you know?” She joked with an easy laugh, leaning against the bar as he spoke. “Almost –– an hour or so free before getting the happy couple out the door. Didn’t realize you’d be here but you look nice,” she nodded, just as the bartender came over to them, “I’ll have the gin and tonic,” Amelia said with a playful smile, not turning to face the bartender, as though Arthur were ordering for her along with his own drink. 

“Nothing like some glue sticks and paper-mache to get it all together, right?” It’s what he nieces had used the night before to make a card for the newlyweds since his sister was unable to attend due to conflicting events. It was impressive what Amelia had done and how smoothly everything ran. Arthur was sure it wasn’t something she got praised for besides from the people who hired her to plan their event. She certainly had a talent and a knack for what she did and he at least hoped she was proud of what she accomplished. “Let me get a gin and tonic as well as an old fashioned,” he said to the bartender before tossing a ten dollar bill into the tip jar. “An hour, huh? Do you event get to enjoy yourself at these types of things or you’re more like a fly on the wall until something is requested of you?” He wondered at what point did it conflict with being friends with someone she was managing an event for versus being professional until the clock ran out. “Ah, this is nothing” he said looking down at his get up with a chuckle. “You look pretty great yourself.”

Diana found it quite amusing that her and Arthur were friends. It didn’t always make sense but then again she was realising a lot of things didn’t make sense. Most of those things frustrated her, but their friendship was one thing that she was okay not understanding because it was there and that was really all that mattered. “I would probably kick you out if I did so I could get some work done.” Her words were said with a teasing people, no malice truly in them. “I’ve been going.” She gestured to her now brace free leg, “Out of my cage finally so that’s something.”

“And this is why I’ve never come knocking on your door,” he smirked. It was also because he didn’t feel like being intrusive with anyone who wasn’t immediate family. It wasn’t his place and he never truly felt inclined to do that with anyone who was outside the mob. “Going? Better than not moving at all I presume.” He could relate. It was all he knew how to during the first few months of life following his discharge from service. It was odd to see everyone else practically have their lives figured out and yet you somehow had to play catch up when these resources weren’t available to you for years. “Ahh, free bird at last. How’s the recovery going? You doing rehab for it, yeah?”

He’s dipped outside for a cigarette, leaning against a wall, watches as the smoke swirls into the night sky as the wind carries it away. The wedding is nice, he’s enjoying himself and it’s not just because of the open bar, although that does help.  He hasn’t had more than oen drink since the twins have been born, and since they’re currently with the nanny in a hotel room nearby, he can let loose just a bit.  He hears footsteps approaching though, and while this is a wedding, for some reason he straightens how he’s standing,  puts himself on guard, and as exhausting as that is, it’s how his life has always been.  When Arthur comes into view he lets out a soft sigh and takes a drag from the cigarette in his hand. flicks the ash off to the side.  He grins at his friend, raises an eyebrow “miss me already?” he asks, dropping the last of it to the ground and stomping it out with the toe of his shoe.

“Oh you know we can never be a part from each other too long. I hope Casey doesn’t get jealous,” he joked as he was happy for some fresh air. His date was driving him up the wall and he honestly would trade being in the comforts of his home watching some random sport or messing around on the piano at one of the bars he played at once a month. Anywhere was better than being with Sarah at the moment. However, he knew he only had a few more hours of her company and then he’d drop off the woman at her apartment and never have to see her again. This deal with Gio was supposed to help the mob move around a bit more freely with less cops involved, so it was the least he could do. He’d certainly been through worst. “You good man?” 

Arthur’s Apartment/Loft

1 Bedroom, 1 Bath

Size: 1650 square feet

Location: Manhattan, New York

“Well, that’s a good way to put it, and I’m starving. I’ve been in rehearsals all day.” The ballerina grinned. “Hey, if she’s passionate about it, it’s better to start them young! I started around six years old and now I dance for one of the best companies in the country. Not to be corny, but if she can dream it, she can be it.” Giannina laughed, wrinkling her nose at the comment she’d made. “Oh it’s great. What could be better than quality tequila and pretty girls dancing?”

“She’s totally going to freak out when I tell her I ran into you later tonight,” he chuckled. He was babysitting for his sister who had to attend a work event with her husband. It’d be him and the three devilish monsters he called Annamarie, Charlotte, and Finn. Arthur certainly loved his nieces and nephew, but they were all a piece of work. “I’m sure she’ll get me dancing around and showing me her newest moves.” As their food came out he thanked the owner, grabbed some condiments, and moved to the side. “If that’s your reason to come, glad we can provide those services.” Arthur didn’t really have much affinity for the whole nightclub scene, but he liked the structure and making it successful more than anything else. It’s why he had been there for a few years with his buddy. However, the woman certainly wasn’t wrong when it came to the festivities that took place on the regular, making it more enjoyable to work on more days than not. 

“He serves for some pretty great protection if I do say so myself! Just walking down the street, people tend to swerve a bit away.” Llwelyn snorted. Obsidian had a reputation for looking so mean and vicious, but if you looked past the appearance, all he was was just a big baby. He always wanted pets, snuggles, kisses on the top of the head, the whole deal. “Oh I know how that is. It took me a while to really figure out that Obsidian was the pup that I wanted. He’s currently almost a year! Still growing, so I think I may have to get a bigger house or something soon.”

“I’m sure he does, especially for people who are terrified of dogs,” he chuckled. All his friends were getting dogs left and right and it looked like it was just about time that Arthur get a friendly four-legged pal fr himself. “Oh yeah? Where you residing? My friend’s in real estate if you need some help or opinions.” 

                clear  hues  shine  with  humor,      a  slight  laugh  escaping  her  lips,          ❝  sadly,  i’m  more  of  a  west  coast  girl  but  it  would  have  been  a  pleasure,  i’m  sure,  ❞          lana  is  bright  smile,      laughter  at  the corner  of  her  lips  as  she  looks  up  at  the  stranger,      who  is  so  tall,      he  just  looks  like  trouble.      eye  rolls  with  humor,          ❝  bragging,  are  we  ?  ❞           but  there  are  curious  questions  on  the  tip  of  her  tongue  that  she  holds.      for  now.      eyebrows  shot  up,      giving  her  face  such  a  comical  face,      hand  against  her  heart  in  mock  shock,          ❝  how  dare  you  ?  a  bland  salad  ?  does  that  mean  you  think  i  should  be  on  a  diet  ?  my  !  that  is  not  something  nice  to  say  to  a  girl,  you  know  that  ?  ❞          eyes  glance  at  the  menu,      she  can  nearly  taste  french  fries      &&      cheeseburger  on  her  tongue.

“Okay. I sense it from your ability to walk up and keep talking with a stranger and not running away,” he chuckled. “What part you from?” Arthur had considered moving out the West Coast when he initially came back from his honorable discharge. Somewhere remote up towards Seattle or Portland. He certainly didn’t mind the wet-land and being around nothing but nature sound quite therapeutic to him. “No brag rights here. I’m lucky to get out alive and that’s all I can really say about the whole thing.” Not that he was sworn to secrecy or anything, but he never delved too much into details about his service. “Your words not mine. Nothing about you being on a diet, but you didn’t even let me finish. I was gonna say the side salad with a classic cheeseburger and fries.”

“I’ll take rotating shifts,” Amelia’s lip tugged at the corner, amusement crossing her face, “you’ll be nursemaid every other hour. Sounds fair to me.” She handed Elizabeth to him and began getting the bottles ready, already hearing Ophelia stirring with small noises from her bassinet. “Pfft, Uncle Art will only get you into messes Auntie Mia will have to get you out of,” she rolled her eyes good-naturedly, amused by his words. While she hadn’t ever really been close to Arthur per say, she’d known him through Elias and Casey for a while now and knew that their friends trusted him completely which meant he must’ve been a decent guy. And in the recent weeks spending more time with him had proved as much, especially when it came to the girls. “True warriors, though if we don’t have to make that sacrifice, I’d rather not. If it’s all the same to you,” she poured the hot water from the kettle into two mugs with bottles in each to warm them up. “I know it’ll work out –– but…I wish there was more I could do for her, you know?” Casey was one of Amelia’s best friends and the fact that she couldn’t help her more than she was ate at the woman. She’d always found that any barrier erected before her could get knocked down with enough force of will. But not this. She knew only time could help her friend and hoped that enough time had passed for her to come around soon. “Has Elias said anything about it?” She figured if he talked about it with anyone, it would be with Arthur.

“Oh I would never do such thing to Liz, otherwise Elias would have my head,” he chuckled as he moved Elizabeth over to the alternate side of his body. He had been on tour when his nieces were this small. There was just something so enjoyable at this time getting to see them grow and change month to month at this stage. Arthur was grateful that his relationship with Elias had extended so far that he was able to be apart of the man’s daughters lives. At the mention of Casey, his heart honestly broke for the woman. She was an incredibly strong woman and to witness her in such a lost and confused state, was hard to watch. “Nah, I don’t really bring it up with him. I’ve reached out to Casey though. Brought her a few treats and walked with her before working a late shift.” The last thing he needed was for Elias to dwell on the well-being of his partner while he was working. Plus, he was pretty sure the man was navigating it pretty fairly, but Arthur could at least check in to make sure he was truly doing alright. “My ex-wife went through something similar with her miscarriage, but I was away so I couldn’t really support her through it, you know?” 

“Makes sense.” David was usually very attentive as well – however, when he was focusing on work things slid by him easily and he easily slipped into a state that even his boss couldn’t get him out of sometimes. Not like he was interested in the people that came into the shop, more so their vehicles. “The latter. I’ve never been a big fan of cars or other means of transport so I didn’t think I’d ever be here but something about bikes gives you a feeling of freedom.”

“I hear that. I grew up stripping and rebuilding car engines with my dad. It’s relaxing as fuck that’s for sure.” He recalled when his grandfather had bought a classic and it was their summer project, Arthur and his brother Declan to repurpose the car and reconstruct the engine. Now that car is running smoothly and his grandfather is the coolest guy in town. “I have been thinking about buying a bike. You got any recommendations?” 

“We have but I’m ruining at the moment. Well, I’m ruining the present at least.” Once a lawyer always a lawyer, apparently she couldn’t let a subject run past without putting up her own little debate, having a go at contradicting, old habits die hard. Maybe it was a good sign that she was coming back to herself a little more than the last few weeks, or maybe it was just her pig headed stubbornness. “It’s far enough from the truth to make it frustrated, I don’t want to be this person.” Crossing her arms she leant against the kitchen counter, lips pursed as they moved from side to side, sign she was thinking even as she paid attention what Arthur was saying. God did she want to believe him, but something was getting in the way, maybe her negative thinking of late. “Of course I would do anything for him, that’s why it makes me so mad that I’m messing up both of our lives like this. We have two babies, it would be much more useful to actual have two pairs of hands to deal with them, instead of just his most of the time.” Swallowing she moved behind him to pick up the mug of coffee he’d poured her the smell something she knew so well it was certainly comforting, taking a tentative sip. “What would I like to do today? I’d like to become normal again.” Impossible, Casey knew that but it didn’t stop the sarcastic sentence from coming out of her mouth regardless, scratching her eyebrow with her empty hand. It wasn’t an easy question when she actually thought about it seriously. She didn’t want to do anything but that was part of the problem. “Can we just go out into Central Park for a little bit?” They lived so close to it there wouldn’t be much walking involved, and it might be good for the girls to get outside for half an hour. “I might call work and check in with them while we’re out too.”

“Case you’re not this person you may believe yourself to be right now. You know why, because you’re fighting for some normalcy and pleading for all of this to change.” There was power behind that. Whether she could see it not or yet, she was pushing herself to get to the light. He didn’t want to continue to bombard her with words, or similar sayings that she’d probably heard nonstop from those who cared for her. One way or another she’d figure it out, he was sure of it. So, he simply just listened because maybe more than anything she just needed to express these words to be able to process it all. “Yes, we can definitely go to Central Park and I think placing a few calls in wouldn’t be such a bad thing.” They were both reasonable and rational goals for the day and if she could at least mark off one it was better than sitting around doing nothing. He’d let her finish eating her breakfast as she pulled out his phone to reply to a few messages. “So, when are you supposed to be heading back to work?” 

Ollie wasn’t the type to be speechless very often, though when the other mentioned serial killers he felt himself sink in slightly. A bit of fear flashed in his eyes, which brought a hand up to his mouth to nibble on his knuckles. He also started to hum to himself for comfort as he gave a shy shrug. “N-no….” he stammered. “Sorry, I don’t know….” He kept chewing his skin until the other introduced himself, the name making him smile again. “I love that show,” he blurted out. “Y’know Arthur….. the aardvark! It’s on PBS!” He flapped his hands at his sides happily.

He took his food as well when it was up, still very appreciative of the other. “Thank you, thank you! You’re literally the nicest for this! I owe you! Next meal is on me!” he gushed as he opened his Pepsi as well for a few sips. He nearly choked then, laughing and snorting at what the other said. “I guess so! Except Audrey II isn’t a peach, she’s a plant! Kinda like a big venus fly trap! Except it’s blood she wants!” He laughed again as he grabbed a few ketchup and mayo packets from the truck, so he could mix them together to make a dipping sauce for his fries.

“Yes, I’m very familiar with the show.” The kids growing up used to bully him saying he looked like an aardvark because of the show and the main character having the same name as him. It was thanks to one of the neighborhood middle schoolers that was on the same travel team for baseball that got them all to shut up. “Oh, you want to do this again? In that case I’ve been in the mood for some premium steak.” Of course he was being sarcastic, but that would be a nice meal if it didn’t have to come out of his own pocket. “Doesn’t sound kid-friendly.” 

“Me.” The woman admitted with a short laugh. “I’d be the person to pay because I can hardly do any of that and there’s no shame in admitting our faults.” At least she had the means to pay for the services all the same. A few owlish blinks were casted the man’s way. “I don’t know what that means. For your sake, it better mean ‘a wise woman with excellent taste’.” A little gleam in her eyes. Even if she’d been here for several years, she was still a foreigner and some words (mainly ones that never came up in conversation) evaded that translation filter she always had to use. “No, no. My stomach agrees with me along with my wallet that you’re a savior. We’ve been looking forward to this salad since this morning.” She patted over her flat stomach for indication. “Arthur, I’m Sooyoung and– I already can’t remember if I did this, but– Thank you.”

“I think the underlying question is whether or not you have the time and patience to teach yourself. Otherwise its just convenience that makes it easier to pay someone to do the job for you.” There was certainly nothing wrong with that. It’s why his sister ended up paying him frequently to re-patch her home since her husband found it easier to spend thousands of dollars on repairs when Arthur could fix it for three-quarters of the price. “Ah, okay. For your sake is like saying something that benefits or is for the good of yourself or someone else,” he clarified. He’d often forget the beauty that was New York. All walks of life and the diversity of people, age, and life experiences. It’s something he’d often take for granted. “No problem. We can all be a bit kinder to one another right?”

“I’m not!” Emma insisted with a laugh, “they were good question and, believe me, not everyone knows where Van Gogh was from. Or that Starry Night is actually in New York. I promise,” she grinned broadly, encouraging him with a nod. She was an encyclopedia of knowledge when it came to art and she loved sharing that knowledge whenever someone was willing to listen. It was nice that he had. “Yeah, well, people with sticks stuck up their arses hardly ever realize it. And I think his has been stuck for quite some time.” She wrinkled her nose at the thought –– the man looked the type who thought he was God’s gift to earth and he’d talked like he was too, as though he could do no wrong and his questions were innocent. She hardly thought that practically propositioning someone was innocent but she also chose to put the entire conversation from her mind. “Oh, I don’t know…I don’t want to seem petty either. They were rather smug about it too.” Their order was up and Emma took hers along with several napkins because she was a hazard to herself, especially when it came to street food. “Wouldn’t going give them the satisfaction of knowing I want to know what they’re up to? I mean. I’m glad for their success, of course,” because it was a given that Emma would never truly resent someone’s success, “but….I don’t know,” she repeated, lips pursed together as they walked from the food truck, “I’ve been trying to be the bigger person. Besides, if I hadn’t lost the commission, I wouldn’t have had that final push to move here so…everything works out?”

“See I believe that’s all the more reason to go.” On the rare occasions when someone had won something over him, he didn’t let them feel so free to just parade around. He was in a sense an instigator at times, of course he never took the first shot, but more than anything just lingered around the corner enough that his enemy got very upset looking like more of the idiot at the end of the day than anything else. Arthur did all that without even rising a fist. Thanking the food truck employee, he gathered his meal and led them down on the path towards some empty tables. “Look I’ll be the last one to force you to do anything you’re not comfortable with. It’s not like you willingly conceded or anything. They just got lucky this time around is all.” Arthur could sense she was uneasy about the whole thing. He’d like to see her as rather pure, genuine, and compassionate in comparison to his dark, manipulative world with a splash of pessimism here and there. He didn’t have any plans on tainting that. “I see if this way when it comes to the other clubs in New York. I have to know what they’re up too so that I’m five thousand steps ahead of them beating them at their own game is all.”