dream boy

“Really?” Lian’s face lights up at that, and she’s glad to see Nate smiling too. It proves that this was a good day after all. “Lets go then!” Her hand reaches for his arm gently tugging as she was just that excited. “You’re the best, Nate!”

she’s always been an overprotective sister for all four of them really, though especially to nate and nora, when it came to them she always felt like she was the eldest meant to do anything she could to keep them safe. not that things always worked that way. “they’re tiny,” she spoke with a slight cringe remembering her own college, at least nate didn’t also have a wheelchair to contend with. “i’m certain,” she spoke. “just… nate it’s gonna be work okay, i know you ready, but just make sure you know it yeah?” so much for being the cryptic elder sibling. 

laughing brightly as nate laid him down, hugo’s hands came up to rest against his chest, holding on – not for fear of falling, but to keep the other as close as possible. it had been a long time since hugo had been so settled and so happy, and he couldn’t believe that someone so absolutely wonderful had come into his life. gasping in mock horror, hugo replied, “are you kicking me out?” it came out more of a giggle, just knowing that his place in nate’s life was far from over. “i can’t believe, after all this time–”

“there’s a place for me somewhere, and it’s not in the hall of fame,” rory laughs weakly, hands wrapping again around the water bottle as he finished. he nodded, only allowing a smile when he closed his eyes and wasn’t able to see the reaction. yes, he very much knew he could count on Nate for these things. if this is what family meant, Rory would happily accept it.

Amy laughs, grinning wickedly. “Exactly. I don’t even know. Someone just said they had ‘receipts’. Like if something was going to cause a scandal it wouldn’t have already.” Such was the life of a young socialite in an era of social media.

sometimes hugo couldn’t get over how happy he was. sure, things got bad for him sometimes, and he’d been feeling particularly hazy at the moment, but there was something so grounding and wonderful about nate that hugo couldn’t help but relax. leaning into nate’s hold, giggle shifting to an exaggerated – but genuinely interested – expression. “real adult business, huh? that sounds serious.” he said, eyebrows raised excitedly. “should we be sitting down?”

“I wouldn’t know her if she was standing right in front of me. I haven’t seen her since I was little, but you know I could have imagined it?” Lian was always afraid of Jade just popping back up. “If you escort me can we stop to get ice cream?”

“mm, you’re probably right. they don’t quite… fit.” at least, the topic didn’t fit the tone. or maybe the tone he was taking didn’t fit the topic. either way, nate was right: it was wrong. “i don’t know, probably not. it’s just a kick i’ve been on at the moment.” save the love song he’d written for tobias, but that maybe wasn’t so relevant. “what about you, any thoughts on some lyrics?”

A smile on one of his siblings faces is always going to make Roy happy, no matter what. As much as Nate might try to hide it behind his glass Roy can still see it - he’s not going to comment on it, not this time, not wanting to drag his brother into embarrassment today, but it makes him smile himself just to know that Nate seems to be in such a good mood.

“Hey, relax.” Roy says with a chuckle, dropping any kind of pretence that it might have gone badly. Hugo was a good kid by the look of things, and he definitely seems to care about Nate and want the best for him. What more could Roy ask for? “We got along like a house on fire. He seems like a pretty good kid.”

a steady breath leaves his lips, one he had no idea he was holding. hugo and his brother get along. they like each other. he has roy’s approval, which --- he knows, logically, that he doesn’t need, but it’s still amazing to have. the breath wipes the smile off his face, but he still looks contented at this information. 

as soon as nate had asked if he was in, hugo had jumped out of the shower. and now, emerging from the bathroom half dressed in his silky pyjama shorts ( the time off in between school and work had lead him to dressing in the midmorning ), hugo was pleasantly surprised to see his boyfriend so positively bubbly. giggling softly at the nickname, the dancer reached up on his toes to kiss nate in greeting. “you look– is everything okay?” he asked, his giggle rising.

leaving paragon after graduation hadn’t been a tough choice. it came with some tough sacrifices, but greta had been ready to get out of there the moment timid sunflowers got an offer to tour the us. the band getting bigger meant more things were falling to the wayside. it meant that she had to leave nate behind. her best friend, roommate, bandmate. she felt like she was leaving a part of her at paragon, because she never expected the band to move on without him, but they had to. years later, things were different. they hurt each other in the past, but there was still love. ❝ that’s my fucking shirt. ❞ she said, head snapping up when he walked in the room, recognizing the particular floral pattern like it was an old friend. ❝ i’ve been looking for it for like two years, give it back. ❞ [ @attitudeprcblems ]

haley has always had a soft spot for nate, she had a soft for all her siblings really. she had no clue where she would be without the four of them, it was just nate and her had been so close growing up and he had been through so much. no one could blame her for wanting to limit the damage. “alright,” she nodding, wandering if this was was the start of things getting easier for Nate. “oh yeah of course,” she replies “i mean you two have plenty of experience when it comes to living together already and getting out of the academy will be good for both of you,”

Roy will never give up the opportunity to spend time with his siblings. Especially his brother - he loves Hals and Nora of course, but sometimes it’s good to hang out with Nate for a little while, just the two of them catching up. Besides, it gives him a chance to catch up with his kid brother, something Roy will never say no to.

“I’m not trying to starve you, I just don’t eat like a speedster the way you do.” Roy says with a chuckle as he looks up at Nate. “Go on, I dare you. I can take her.” He grins and takes Nate’s hand, pulling himself up with ease and springing to his feet. “Oh man, top of the rock would be great. We should take a heap of photos and send them to Dick, he’ll be jealous as hell of the view.”

“hey, hey, i’m still a growin’ boy here.” he lands a hand on his stomach, rubbing it as if he wasn’t a twenty-five year old but a toddler asking for food. “and i’d love to see you take on arty. see your ass on the ground before you can say ‘come at me.’” his smile is more light and carefree than it’s been for so long now. this outing is exactly what he needed. and even though nate spent years on and off at roy’s house, he still feels like roy is, for the first time, really seeing nate for who he is.

“Yes laugh as loud as you can. I can somewhat laugh at the idea now but back then i was so embarrassed.” Ela shook her head. “Luckily no I wasn’t fired, my dad and his friend went to convince the boss to give me a second chance and they did.”

A spur of the moment trip to NYC seemed like a great idea as far as Roy was concerned. Not just for him but for Nate, too - not that he seems like he’s not doing perfectly fine at Paragon, but small towns can get a little boring after a while. They both needed a fun weekend away, and Roy was more than happy to oblige. [ @attitudeprcblems ]

“So, what’s next?” He asks his brother as he opens his eyes to shift his gaze over to Nate. As much as Roy might be happy to stay here in Central Park, sprawled out on the grass and letting the sun wash over him for the rest of the day, he’s sure Nate had other things in mind. “I mean, we’re in the city that never sleeps, there’s about a million and one things to do here. I’m sure you’ve got a list.”

being dragged out here by his brother was... one of the better things about having a brother, nate thinks. he’s grateful for this trip, grateful for the clear mind it’s providing him and even more so for the spontaneity of it. classes haven’t been so bad for him but a break now and then is needed, he thinks. 

at roy’s words, he gets up from his seat on the grass, shaking his head. “some food would be a good idea, i think. you trying to starve me or somethin’, roy? gonna have to tell arty on you.” nate holds out a hand to help his brother up. “food. then maybe top of the rock. i hear it’s great up there, none of that empire building shit.”

“….both,” he answers simply, snatching the waterbottle and groaning at the fast movement, “give me the pills and i’ll make it happen,” he resolves, clutching the waterbottle once he’s finished signing, curling on his side, “don’t tell my dad, he has enough to worry about with me. not a big deal or whatever.”