𝐂𝐎𝐄𝐗𝐈𝐒𝐓

Nazli popped a piece of popcorn into her mouth, eyes glinting as she studied him, a soft smile tugging at her lips. How is he still managing to make me feel this calm in the middle of an actual circus? she thought, shaking her head with a tiny smirk. “You know,” she murmured, nudging him with her knee, “if being soft is your secret weapon, congratulations. It’s working. But don’t let it go to your head.” She grabbed the lemonade, taking a sip, pretending to ponder seriously. “This moment? Way better than any crazy trip I’ve had. Morocco, Europe… none of it compares.” And truly now that she was thinking about it Nazli knew that the next crazy trip she went on--she wanted this very man by her side.

Desmond smiled back at Nazli once she mentioned his softness, there’s no denying it especially when it’s shown to her out of all people. “The proof is in the pudding baby,” he said with a grin. “I mean without you I wouldn’t be like this and you know me…I give credit where it’s due.” He then squeezed her side for validation before reaching in to grab a bit of popcorn to munch on and watching the spectacle before them. Despite the simplicity of their date, he had to agree with her that these moments where they get to spend time together were not only worth their time, but valuable as well. He continues to fall in love with her each day and her presence was what offsets the chaos that they experience in the junction. 

"Ready as I'll ever be, Mrs. Valois," Cedric said with a laugh, catching her when she jumped into his arms and spinning her around once before setting her back down. "We actually did it, can you believe that?" He was still holding the marriage certificate in one hand, this official piece of paper that made everything real, made them husband and wife after thirty years of friendship and dancing around each other like idiots. Her suggestion about burgers and the haunted spot made him grin because of course she remembered every detail of his ridiculous date idea, down to that old plaid blanket he'd been meaning to wash for months but never got around to it now it was going to be part of their first official date as a married couple which made it seem special instead of just lazy. "Hell yes, let's do it, but I'm driving because I know you're going to want to call Rhea on the way and tell her we eloped without her elaborate wedding planning committee," he said, already grabbing her hand and heading toward the courthouse exit because he wanted to get out of this stuffy building and celebrate properly. "I need to stop by the house and grab the blanket anyway." This was perfect, this was exactly what he wanted their first day as husband and wife to be like, just them being themselves without any pressure or expectations.

“It might take a few days for me to even believe it…It just feels so surreal!” she admitted with a laugh before showering him with kisses. Once she pulled away, she took a look at their official marriage certificate and could practically feel her heart beating straight out of her chest from the excitement and happiness that she felt overall. “Tatiana Valois.” she said out loud. “I love this and I love you.” When he agreed to their date idea, she nodded and took his hand as they began to walk out of the courthouse. “At first I wanted to text her, but now that I think about it, I prefer to let her know in person. It’s meaningful and big news that I want her to hear me out about what happened.” Her gaze softened as she squeezed his hand gently, “I want this day to just start and end with us. Besides, we might as well revisit the topic of our actual wedding ceremony and decide on a couple of things. What do you think?"

CLOSED STARTER FOR @c0exiist FT. SAMMY & CATRIONA

For every time she had to deal with the cats going up their god damn tree, Catriona was sure she would be able to retire by now. Taking a couple of steps forward, she glanced up and squinted to see how far up they were. "You know, I hate to be that person...But moving forward we're taking them in and they're being leashed. They're becoming a liability claim at this point." She then stepped back to return to Sammy's side and met his gaze with a cheeky smile, "Now what kind of boss would I be to do such a thing?" She paused before chuckling softly and saying, "I will definitely call the fire department, hell even the news outlet to showcase your heroic act of kindness. I feel like it's time that we take them in, there must be a reason why they tend to gravitate towards here."

Alina let out a low laugh, smoke curling from her lips as she passed the joint back. “See, that’s the kind of logic I respect. Quality control in the middle of a circus—honestly, feels on brand for me.” She tilted her head, eyes narrowing in mock suspicion. “Though now I’m a little concerned you’re secretly recruiting me as a test subject. If I start juggling flaming batons, I’ll know who to blame.” She gave Marisol a playful side–eye at the last bit, her smile softening. “Alone and pretty, huh? You do know how to make a girl feel looked after. Guess I should be grateful I had you around—don’t think I’d last long in a ring full of clowns without backup.”

“Def on brand, if anyone can give a brutally honest review—it would be you.” replied Marisol with a playful grin. Taking another toke, the youngest Solis gave Alina a bewildered expression as if she was crazy for accusing her of such a thing. “Hey, the way I see it…You’re using your free will. No blame game here.” She then shrugged and took a look around as she assessed their surroundings, “All I’m saying is that you never know what might happen. On top of that, I don’t hang out with ugly people, so if anything this is a good sign. Now what were you thinking of doing without your sleazy date?” 

Zayaan chuckled under his breath, shaking his head at her grin. “Comparisons are just how I make sense of things, Marisol. Some people drink, some fight, some gamble—I talk in metaphors.” He leaned back a little, his expression shifting to something more measured. “And you’re not wrong. We all adapt. Some of us learn to move with the blade, others brace against it. Either way, the cut always leaves its mark.” At the mention of her father, his smirk returned, a little sharper this time. “I don’t scare easy. Your old man might be a different beast, but I’ve wrestled with worse.” Still, the glint in his eye softened when she whined about never catching a break. His tone dipped, almost as though he was confessing something. “Truth is, breaks are rare around here. You learn to take them in stolen moments—in a laugh, in a drink, in knowing you’ve got someone watching your back. That’s as close as we get to breathing room.” When she circled back to business, Zayaan tilted his head, studying her. “No guns blazing. Not this time. My client needs to be reminded, not threatened—there’s a difference. Keep it sharp but professional. You’re not there to start a fire, you’re there to make them sweat just enough to remember who holds the leash. Think you can handle that?”

“And suddenly you’re a wiseman in all of Devil’s Junction.” Marisol sarcastically replied before crossing her arms and leaning against the pillar. He had a point, whatever decision or action being made would always leave a mark. When he spoke about her father, she gave him a look that translated to how she was finding it hard to believe he could deal with him. However, who knows?  She wasn’t involved in the Six Families’ dynamics and she would rather keep it this way, everyone at the top needed a backbone anyway and to her that was not only too troublesome, but a lot of unnecessary work for an ego off. “Yeah…Yeah…” she muttered under her breath. “I mean, I do gravitate towards a good time. So I feel like I got that down.”

Demir leaned against the hood of his car, watching the scene play out like it was some poorly written street play—Adem yelling, merchants scattering, counterfeit trinkets left behind like confetti after a parade. He didn’t even flinch when the gun came out. That was the Solis way: quick to anger, quicker to brandish power. He knew this of course since he'd been trying to get an in with the family from the start. It was how he and Adem knew each other as well. “Tripling the amount, huh?” he said finally, voice low but edged with a wry amusement. “Bold strategy. Shame they chose flight over fight—you might’ve actually made enough for coffee money.” He nodded at the pile of knockoff Labubus—Lafufus, whatever nonsense branding they were trying to pass it off as—and shook his head. “Only you would nearly start an international incident over stuffed animals.” His mouth twitched like he was fighting a smile. “But hey, maybe you’re onto something. These fakes might actually sell better than the real thing. People love an illusion, costs less to believe in it.”

Noticing Demir approaching him, Adem rolled his eyes and muttered, “Oh, fuck off.” As if he was an inconvenience at that very moment. It was unfortunate that he lucked out on revenue, but that’s the way of the game sometimes. “If it brings in money, then I do what I need to do. Otherwise I wouldn’t go to great lengths for it. Besides, it’s a very niche market and technically I’m giving back to the broke ass community who can’t afford it.” 

"With you as my teacher? I'd probably still burn water," Ezra said with a laugh, his hands settling on her waist as she wrapped her arms around him. "But I'm willing to learn if you're patient enough to deal with kitchen disasters." Her touch felt perfect, like coming home after weeks apart. When she mentioned not planning to leave, relief flooded through him even though he'd been trying to play it cool about the whole staying over thing. Yeah, he'd kept her toothbrush and pillow exactly where she'd left them, but hearing her say she wanted to stay made everything feel solid again. Her promise about tiring him out sent heat straight through him, and he couldn't help but grin as she kissed him. "You know, I was planning to be all smooth about this," he murmured against her lips, his voice dropping lower as his thumbs traced along her sides. "Maybe ease back into things, take it slow." But slow was the last thing on his mind right now with her pressed against him like this—the month apart had been torture, and having her back felt like he could finally breathe again. "Screw taking it slow though," he said, pulling back just enough to meet her eyes before capturing her mouth again, deeper this time.

Akash lingered by the doorway, his posture a little more rigid than usual, the weight of the past few days pressing on him. “She’s still asleep, thankfully,” he said, voice soft but edged with something heavier—guilt, frustration, and a stubborn sort of longing all tangled together. “I didn’t do much, just kept an eye on her—and made sure she didn’t wake up early and discover any of your… fairy princess magic before you were ready.” He ran a hand through his hair, letting out a low breath. “Honestly, seeing you handle all this… how effortlessly you make it look, even with all the details and the pressure—you make me feel like I’m always two steps behind. I should probably take notes—or just resign myself to being forever outclassed in the party planning department.”

It was a blessing and a curse whenever Lizeth’s exhaustion was a driving force on how she’d take on the day. Today it worked out in their favour as she was sound asleep and she was able to do the last finishing touches to her party without any distractions. Nodding to her boyfriend’s response, she was just about to continue trimming the floral arrangements, but stopped to meet Akash’s gaze. She held a blank expression, taking in what he said and to be fair, all this preparation didn’t give her the time to process her feelings about what happened.

It hurt him to see the way she was reacting to him. He knew she was wrong but he had perhaps reacted poorly as well. Akash Bedi was normally a more level-headed person but clearly the feelings he had for Catriona were overpowering that side of him. Still he watched as she kissed his cheek, his Adam's apple bopping for a second before he nodded at those words. He wanted to follow her up. He wanted to hold her close and go to bed, forgetting today even happened. But that wasn't as easy as it sounded.

Akash let out a slow, quiet breath, his shoulders tensing as he struggled to put the storm inside him into words. He ran a hand through his hair, then met her gaze, his eyes raw with both hurt and longing. “Cat… it’s not about walking away. It’s about feeling like I was left out of something that mattered—to both of us,” he said, his voice low but steady. “I get it, I do. You thought you were protecting me, and maybe you were trying to do the right thing, but it didn’t feel like that to me. It felt like I was standing on the outside of my own life, and that… that cuts deeper than you can imagine.” He stepped closer, though still keeping a careful distance, as if the space between them mirrored the weight of their words. “I’m not mad at you for trying to shield me. I’m hurt because I wasn’t trusted enough to be let in. Love isn’t just about intentions, Cat. It’s about being in it together, even when it’s messy. Even when it’s hard.”