Untitled.

A great city to run into your ex in as well. Emma swore internally, wondering what she’d done to deserve this run in. It wasn’t that she resented Nathaniel, she just preferred not to be reminded of the hurt she’d put behind her. “Yeah…well, that’s why I was here but some, uh, opportunities came up so I’ll be…you know, working here for a bit…” Her own indirect way of saying she was in the city for the foreseeable future. Did she think she’d stay here forever? Probably not but their families and friends probably intersected more than they realized, to the point of it being likely they’d run into each other again. “I miss London but I love New York too…and yourself? Are you…uh, here on business or….” living here now? 

"Oh.” Nathaniel wanted to say more. He definitely had a lot more he wanted to say, but the only word that seemed to come out of his mouth was an oh. So she was going to be in this city for a while, it seemed. Obviously there was no place like home for Nathaniel, but New York was growing on him quickly. “I’m here on business...” he started, and it was kind of true. He’d been checking out buildings around the city, trying to find suitable ones he could work with. “And also living here....I don’t plan on going home anytime soon. Bought a place on Staten Island.” another pause. “I’m thinking about opening up an office here in the city...”

Ollie nodded once to Nathaniel’s words, his eyes twitching for a moment. “Yeah, I do…. I don’t mind if people wanna call me Oliver but I like Ollie a little better.” Once he had his drink in hand, he took a small sip after blowing on it some. It was still a bit too hot for his liking, so he would wait a little longer. “I’m in Little Shop,” he told. “I play Seymour.” 

He was usually a lot more talkative, but he was still feeling on the shy side after being startled by the other. He would open up after he felt more comfortable again. When he saw the table Nathaniel suggested, he nodded and moved to sit down. He hung his backpack on the back of his chair and bounced his legs in his seat. He looked over the marble finish on the table top and ran a few of his fingers over it. It was a texture that made him feel secure, as it was very smooth and soft. He continued to rub his hand over it, and it was nice and cool to the touch. 

“Who is your sister?” Ollie asked. “I know them in SIX, they’re all my friends. The show is really good, I’ve seen it a couple times. Everybody in it is super good.” He scratched his cheek awkwardly before he took a drink of his cocoa, humming loudly to himself. 

"Ollie it is then.” Nathaniel nodded his head, as if he was making a mental note to call them Ollie from now on. Not that he thought he’d actually ever see this person again after today. If anything, Nate was pretty sure he’d scared them, and that was never a good first impression to have on anyone. “Little Shop? And what’s that about, if you don’t mind me asking?” Nathaniel felt like asking such a question meant that he’d been living under a rock all his life, but he genuinely didn’t know what the show was about. He didn’t go to shows often.

Letting his attention fall down to his take away coffee cup, Nate folded his arms and smiled faintly. “Mila Morgan. You’re friends with her?” he asked, even though Ollie had already stated that they were friends with the cast of that show. “You’ve seen it more than once?” the man couldn’t see himself seeing a show more than once. No matter how good it was. “My sister is a natural born star.” maybe his opinion was a little biased, but that didn’t matter. 

“Is this weird for you? I don’t wanna make you even more uncomfortable by like....making you sit here with me and talk. I just--- I don’t want you to think that I’m always like that...” he shrugged, referring to how he’d startled Ollie earlier on.

“Yeah, short for Oliver,” Ollie told. “But, everybody calls me Ollie.” He listened to the other apologize then, and then he shook his head. “I-it’s okay, it’s n-not a bad thing.” He wasn’t ashamed about having Autism, so he never wanted to give off that message that it was. It had its challenges, but that didn’t mean Ollie had a bad life. Far from it. He loved his life and he was proud to be the person he was.

“Mmmm,” he still hummed to himself. He nodded once to Nathaniel before speaking again. “N-nice to meet you too,” he was sincere, even if he still wasn’t looking directly at him. He would get there, with the more comfortable he became in that moment. “Y-yeah…. I have time for a little b-bit. Then I g-gotta go….. I have two shows t-today so I g-gotta be at the theater at n-noon.” 

After another moment or so, Ollie heard the barista call out his name and place his hot chocolate on the counter. He slowly walked past Nathaniel to grab it, also taking a cup holder so his hand wouldn’t get too hot. “Wh-where do you wanna sit?” he asked once he was back at the other’s side.

"Do you prefer being called Ollie over Oliver?” Nathaniel questioned curiously. With his own name, he’d gotten used to people calling him Nate over the years, and sure, he liked the nickname, but he preferred his full name. Sipping his coffee after introductions were made, Nate’s interest lifted slightly after Ollie had mentioned being in a show at the theater. Of course, the youngest Morgan couldn’t relate at all, but he had a sister in Broadway.

“What show are you in?” he paused as Ollie grabbed their hot drink and then proceeded in leading the other towards the tables. Usually, Nathaniel would have chosen the booth right at the back, away from anyone and everyone, but he decided to pick a table by the window at the front this time. Just in case sitting right at the back alone with a stranger was going to make Ollie a lot more uncomfortable. “Is this table okay for you?” he asked.

Once they were sitting down, Nate set his coffee cup down on the table and leaned back in his seat, continuing from his earlier question. “My sister is actually in a Broadway show. It’s called SIX. I haven’t seen it yet, but I’m going too.” he told the other conversationally.

Emma didn’t really know what to say. She cleared her throat, though, nodding as she tucked back unruly strands of blonde. “Right, that’s…that’s great, are you enjoying it?” Better to be casual about it, than to get stuck in past feelings that didn’t mean anything anymore, and maybe never had. “Same, actually –– Harry and Cece, they just got married so I was here for that and,” she chewed the inside of her cheek, “it’s been nice….different than London, isn’t it?” 

Her timing for moving to New York may have had something to do with the fact he’d abruptly broken up with her in December, and January looked like a good time to move and just get away from the grey city she loved and called home. “Good, just…art, family repeat….about the same as before.” Except he’d been part of that repeat before. At least he’d broken it off when he had, and not a year in. It was better to have the bandaid ripped off, than slowly peeled back. It hurt but it hurt for less time. At least, that’s what Emma told herself. 

"Yeah, it’s a....its a great city to be in.” Nathaniel wasn’t the type to ever get caught up with his words, but seeing his ex had definitely caught him off guard. He felt awkward, and it was his own fault because of the way he’d ended things. “Oh right. I heard about that wedding.” it was a royal wedding, after all. Who hadn’t heard about it, honestly? “It’s a lot different than London. I figured a change in scenery would be good though...” maybe part of him had been hoping to come to New York and end up changing his mind about expanding the family business over to this city, but so far...the man was actually loving this place.

Aside from running into a few people he thought he’d never see again. Not that he didn’t want to see Emma again. She’d been nothing but kind to him. “So do you ever get homesick living so far away, or has this place become your new home?” an indirect way of trying to ask Emma if she was living here permanently or if she was planning on returning to London one day.

Ollie sighed, still trying to catch his breath. He did the best he could to avoid getting too worked up and going into a full blown panic attack. Whenever he could keep himself from getting to that point, he knew he would be okay. He just had to make sure he was still managing his breathing, not letting them literally slip away from him. He glanced right past the stranger, not looking into his eyes. A trick he had learned from acting as long as he had, to make it look like he was making eye contact but he wasn’t. It came in handy in his every day life, because there were times it was hard for him to maintain a perfect eye contact. 

Ollie just hummed to himself for a few seconds, stimming always a good way to keep himself relaxed. He nibbled on his knuckles as he listened to the man and nodded once. He was glad that the other wasn’t raising his voice anymore, his heart rate becoming more normal as a result. “I-it’s okay,” he stuttered. “Mmmmm….. I-I’m Ollie. I’m….. ummmm, ‘m o-okay. I w-will. I h-have Autism so, s-sometimes I get sensory overload. Um, that’s why m-my music was s-so loud. I n-need it loud.” He knew a lot of people in his life would tell him he didn’t owe anyone an explanation for why he did the things he did, but Ollie wanted people to be educated on these sort of things rather than misconceptions being there. He realized that people were a lot less judgmental when they were aware of what other people went through.

Nathaniel was almost mad at himself for two different reasons. One, being that he was way too concerned about a stranger he’d upset, to walk out of the coffee shop right here, right now. And two, being that he was clearly the cause of this person’s current state. For someone who wasn’t exactly used to expressing his concerns for others, the man couldn’t seem to walk away from this situation. Had he really startled them that bad?

“Ollie. Well, Ollie. It’s nice to meet you despite the fact that I’ve just started you...” he trailed off with his words as the other spoke, explaining that he had Autism. “Fuck, I’m sorry.” at this point, he’d apologised more times today, than he probably had in the last month. “Look, how about we wait for your drink to be made and then we go sit down and talk?” he suggested, hoping he could spend a little more time with Ollie to make sure he was going to be okay.

Ollie trembled even more as the man kept a firmness in his voice, the idea of anyone upset with him always frightening. Especially when it was someone he didn’t know, Ollie became afraid when there was a clear dislike or detest toward him. He suddenly squeezed his eyes shut, his head down while his breaths grew heavier and more frequent as he pushed the air through his nostrils loudly. He wanted to explain to the stranger that he needed his music loud, because it kept him calm when he was out in public. The words didn’t come then, though. He just swallowed thickly, doing his best not to cry and have a meltdown in the middle of the coffee shop. 

It wasn’t until the other’s voice softened, and a question came from him that Ollie didn’t expect would be next but was very relieved it was. He slowly opened his eyes, still not making eye contact. It was too difficult right now, so Ollie just looked around. His eyes were glasses, one of them still twitching often while he stammered through his words.

“I-I’m…… I-I’m o-okay. S-sometimes I just…… I just- I g-get o-overwhelmed, s-sorry. Sorry.” He rubbed a hand over his chest then and exhaled shakily again. 

Nathaniel definitely wasn’t equip to handle the current situation he’d seemingly gotten himself into, but it was too late to turn back now. He needed to make sure this stranger he’d startled was okay before he left this coffee shop. “You don’t seem okay...” he started, shaking his head as they apologised to him. “You don’t need to keep apologising to me. It’s fine. You didn’t do anything wrong. I was just....” he paused for a moment. “I should have been nicer about you grabbing the coffee. I came across too harshly...” another pause as he admitted to being in the wrong. “What’s your name? Mine’s is Nathaniel.”

“Look asshole, I was occupied trying to find a seat, so you can take your shit attitude elsewhere,” she replied just as the barista placed her drink on the counter. What she should have really done was taken the guys drink and sip from it before handing it back to her. PJ was known for being a petty bitch at times, but this guy was asking for it. Surprisingly though, he responded to her comment with a hint of amusement behind his eyes. “The world shits on everybody at some point in time, doesn’t mean you have to be a jackass to those around you,” she said stepping out of his way with a quick roll of her eyes. From what it seemed like, he was one of those wall street guys. Entitled, snooty brats who had everything handed to them. Yet once the world didn’t feel like spoon feeding them any longer they had no clue who they were or what to do with themselves. 

"Oh, I’m the asshole? I’m not the one childishly calling names right now.” Nathaniel shot back quickly. He was never one to turn away from things like this. In fact, it was almost like the man thrived off petty little arguments. Which was kinda sad, but he sure did enjoy it. “Wait, so--- am I an asshole or a jackass? Make up your mind. Unless.....you’ve giving me the opportunity to pick one of the two. In which case, I think I’d rather be the asshole. It sounds much more insulting that being called a jackass...” he continued to tease, his usual resting bitch face not faltering in the slightest. “I didn’t know that stopping a person from taking my coffee was such a crime. And now I’m thinking that maybe someone shit in your cereal this morning as well.”

Yichen was tired. Not only did he have to endure a day of playing the diplomatic son, but he had gotten into an argument with his father. Such things always making him want to murder something. All he wanted right now was his caffeine. Taking up the cup, he was halted with confrontation. A fire in his eyes looked like that of a dangerous animal. “My order.” This nameless asshole had picked the wrong time to start anything with him. Bringing the cup up further, he took the power move to take a long sip. Taking the mild burning over the roof of his mouth cooly to keep that expression going. Eyes locked together as he furthermore licked the remaining contents off his lips after. “And it’s fucking delicious.”

Nathaniel watched in slight surprise when the other man took the coffee and sipped it. Part of him felt the urge to childishly knock the cup out of his hand so it would spill, but he held back his urges. “Wow. And I thought I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.” Nate started, eyeing the other man with a look of disgust. “You better hope it was your fucking order.” he scoffed lightly, taking a step away from the counter to wait for his coffee again.

Emma had been at the Spring Festival with Cecelia and the kids, along with their nanny and had only broken off to grab some food and look around some of the vendor stalls for a bit. Since the wedding, she felt like she was in a constant state of busyness and hadn’t slowed down for several weeks. She had several deadlines for her work to be submitted for gallery considerations and had been heads down. So getting out was something she’d been looking forward to for a few days now. However, she hadn’t expected to run into someone and she hadn’t expected that person to be Nate. 

Blinking, Emma stared for a second before dropping her gaze to her feet, shaking her head before plastering on a bright smile and meeting his gaze. “Nate –– yeah….I didn’t know – I mean, when ….you’re in New York?” The last time she’d seen him had been in London, which was also the last time she’d thought she’d see him at all. 

Aside from his brother and sister, Nate hadn’t actually thought he’d run into anyone he’d known from back home. So seeing Emma again after all this time was a bit of a shock to him. Still he wasn’t the type to show emotion so easily, which was why his expression remained pretty blank at first. “Yeah, I’m in New York now.” he started, wondering if there was any point in telling the woman that he was now living in the city. Odds were he probably wouldn’t see her again after today. It’s not like he’d ended their relationship on good terms with her.

“I have family living here so I thought I’d come see them...” it was only half true. He’d definitely been looking forward to seeing his sister Mila again, but the main reason why he’d come to the city was because he was thinking about expanding his business here. Opening up an office in the Big Apple. “How....um.” he paused. “How have things been for you?”

He didn’t like waiting, less alone coffee, but he needed a small kick to start and now this asshole was getting on his nerves about a stupid order. “Why you so sure it can’t be mine? You think you’re the special snowflake that orders that?” He challenged, something he actually liked doing, as he as well attempted to reach for the cup.

"Is it yours?” Nathaniel doubted it was his. He honestly didn’t think anyone else ordered coffee that strong. As soon as he saw the other reaching for the cup, Nathaniel made quick work of snatching it up. He’d already been waiting too long for his coffee, and even if this was the strangers, he wasn’t about to hand it over. “Too slow. Better luck next time.”

Ollie had decided to grab a hot chocolate on the way to the theater; it was a two show day and it happened to be very chilly so he thought a little warm beverage would help. He ordered it with soy milk before stepping off to the side to wait for it. He listened to his AirPods, so it was hard to hear what people around where saying. When he saw the cup with the lid placed on the counter, he thought maybe it was his and he just hadn’t heard it called out. So, he softened his music and he stepped forward to look over it. He went to pick it up, but when he heard a loud voice behind him, he jumped. He felt his body shudder, since he didn’t do well with loud all the time especially when it was unexpected.

“S-sorry!” Ollie gasped as he set it down. “I h-had my m-music on….. I c-couldn’t h-hear! I w-was just ch-checking….” He stammered, his eyes twitching while he glanced in the man’s direction.

Nathaniel furrowed his brows as soon as the stranger jumped. “Maybe turn down your music when you’re waiting for your drink in future.” Nate started, his grumpiness still clearly showing in his tone of voice. He took his coffee cup, but didn’t sip it. Instead, he kept his eyes on the person for a moment longer, realising he might have come off a little too rudely to someone who really didn’t deserve it. “Are you okay?” a rare questing for Nathaniel, of all people, to ask. Especially to a stranger, but it had slipped out. “Sorry if I startled you...”

James had long since put Nate out his mind, after everything had ended so suddenly he couldn’t say he immediately moved on but it had been a while now since then and he didn’t really tend to think about the other man anymore, at least not until someone walked into him and he looked up to see Nate staring down at him. At first his face was just that of complete surprise at seeing Nate again when he really hadn’t expected to again, quickly dropping into irritation as he tried to remember his name.

“James.” He corrected, “Like the apostles.” That wasn’t at all where he had personally gotten the name, and he wasn’t entirely certain why that was the thing he had decided to say.

"James. That’s the one.” Nathaniel nodded, as if the memory of his name had only come back to him the moment James had spoken it out loud. It wasn’t uncommon for Nathaniel to forget the names of past flings he’d had. And in his defense, it had been awhile ago. “Long time, no see. How are you?” of course, Nathaniel hadn’t expected to ever be in this situation, so his first instinct was to play nicely and hope for the best. The best being that James wouldn’t have a go at him for the way he’d unexpectedly left and then ghosted him all this time.

     She was about to accept his apology and be polite about the mix up when she hears his latter comment. There’s almost a smile that threatens to appear on her face at his words. Almost but not entirely though. Looks like she wasn’t the only one with an attitude today. Rolling her eyes instead, she gives the other a look. “Excuse you? You’re the one who was accusing me of coffee theft, like that’s an actual thing.” She says pointedly, letting out a short and humourless laugh.

"Coffee theft? That’s a new one.” he would have laughed, but Nathaniel didn’t often do that. He was more of a resting bitch face kinda guy. “I wasn’t accusing you of stealing my coffee. I was making sure you didn’t accidentally take my coffee. There’s a big difference there.”

“Oh.” That was her only initial reaction to Nathaniel news. She looked around the coffee shop, anything to avoid looking at him. How was she supposed to act around a person she had grown close to in a short period of time only to surprised by him ghosting and never hearing from him again? She did what she always did: smile. “Uh… well, welcome to New York! Or, welcome back works better, I guess.” He still hadn’t taken his drink from her and she was feeling awkward standing there with her arm extended waiting for him to take it, so she just pulled her arm back, holding his drink. “… Living here permanently or?” Or are you going to leave again all of a sudden? Of course she couldn’t point that out. “I hope it’s been going smoothly for you.” She needed to leave without seeming too rude.

"Thanks.” Nathaniel paused again, watching as she retracted her hand with his coffee still in it. It still hadn’t processed in his mind to take the drink from her. He had to mentally tell himself to stop being so ridiculous. To stop allowing one person to have this impact over him. Finally forcing a small smile onto his features, he was able to catch the question she’d asked him and shifted on the spot. “Depends on how this city warms up to me, I guess. I’m thinking about expanding the family business over to the city so....we’ll see how that turns out.” part of him wanted to apologise for the way he’d left things. It had been a coward move on his part, but he couldn’t. Because apologising would just bring up a time in his life that he’d been trying to forget about all this time. “It’s been going smoothly. What about for you?”

If Elias could go his entire life without seeing his brother again, he was pretty sure he would be fine with that. They had absolutely no relationship and he was not exactly interested on remedying that. The last time they spoke, his brother was far too much like their father for it to sit well with him, and he hadn’t really bothered to find out if anything had changed. He imagined that if he was helping run the company that the two were still at least on good terms. Since Elias didn’t care about the company, he didn’t care about the two who ran it, either.  So when his brother is next to him, he hides the glare he wants to send his way and settles his face into a hard line, standing at full height because it’s a defense mechanism.  

“You’ve never shown your face, I didn’t think to put you on the list, don’t worry though, I’ll fix that,” he replies, eyebrows raising. “How unfortunate that,” he adds, scoffing and taking a drink from the glass of whiskey in his hand.  Another thing that separated the two of them, Elias thrived in large crowds, the music and the drinks and the dancing bodies, the flashing lights, all of it fueled him. Whereas this was clearly not Nathaniel’s scene. Honestly, he’s glad for it.  He’s gladder that his brother confirms it, that he won’t be around at all after this little impromptu meeting.  But then Nathaniel says one thing that makes him swallow thickly and turn his glance towards the younger Morgan “Living here?” he asks, calm and nonchalant, like it means nothing. “How’d you get away with that?”

"You do that.” Nathaniel nodded gently, encouraging Elias it put him on the banned list for his nightclub. It wouldn’t matter either way. He wasn’t exactly having the time of his life here right now. As much as he initially wanted to come here to see his brother, the man was already regretting his choice to come to LUX of all places, for their reunion. “Well, if you must know, we’re thinking about expanding the business. Opening up an office right here in New York.” Nate explained, knowing that Elias wouldn’t be too keen on the idea of that happening. Nathaniel could have taken it a step further and brought their father into discussion, but even he knew now wasn’t the best time to be throwing that subject at Elias. “Y’know, I was actually eyeing off this nice building down the road from your club earlier. It’d work perfectly for an office. And its available too. We could be working so close to one another in the near future.”