†⋅ . extinguished

          “ hmm? ” gaze averted down to the shade of the clothing in question. “ no this is pink. ” or so he’d come to argue. 

          “ i’m going to that one, am i? ” he was. confirmation from dianna wasn’t needed to know he’d be there simply because she said so, never mind that she might have been correct about the political conversations taking a toll on whatever shred of a personality was left at the end of the day when diplomacy took precedence. “ you might be right. ” the words were muffled by a sip taken of the apparently highly reputable spanish wine. he’d judge it with scrutiny, regardless of how high the praises were. something about things needing to be knocked down a peg when they were too good to be true. “ you haven’t been talking politics all the time, what’s kept you busy? ” he glanced to his present company. “ probably more now that you’re out of the suburban life. housewife doesn’t suit you, ” francisco admitted. 

          “ you said red, didn’t you? ” francisco inspected his own glass of wine before he handed dianna the one in his opposite grip. despite the outcome, he’d already made up his mind before even a single drop had touched his lips. “ we’re going to cheers to, ” he glanced around with attention falling to the few royals nearest: aurel, anastazya, one of the scottish princess, euphemia or catherine, they looked the same half the time to him, and finally back to his present company.  “ no more raccoons? ”

          “ mostly everyone, who all asked about you and alejandro. ” speaking of his nephew, to which he simply offered a smile and nod of acknowledgment to the movie marathon promise he’d given the boys weeks back. “ if i don’t keep my word with him, who can i keep it with? ” certainly not brazil. “ eventually, it might be a possibility. ” though given how quick everyone had been back in venezuela to question ana maría’s return home, it was doubtful he’d even be able to get away with going back without her and alejandro next time. he’d just begun to part that topic of conversation when another thought occurred. “ oh, tía loredana, she was asking about you, with some theories of her own, i think you should give her a call before she starts another rumor. ”

          “ thank you for holding things down here. ” francisco glanced up to his youngest sister with a smile, faint but visible. the time spent back in venezuela clearly was beneficial to the king whose demeanor and posture both had been put at ease. the programme was wearing on him, it had been since his arrival, yet it was a necessary evil. “ i almost considered just having you take care of everything here, to represent us. ” but, she didn’t know enough to do the job, not yet. “ i wanted to talk to you about that. ”

          “ i’m sure she knows, ” francisco interrupted. the king’s gaze narrowed only enough to become noticeable if someone was looking for such a reaction. a faux smile crossed his lips, the sort that never reached his eyes, as he looked to maitê, then to his younger sister; polite antics and nothing more. “ but i think you’d prefer miguel’s time, wouldn’t you? ” he held out his hand palm up, to who? it wasn’t clear, but what was obvious was that this dance of politics wasn’t going to continue between them if francisco had his way. ( @anamariaabolivar​ & @maitedobrasil​​ )

        “ charming, inna. ” it didn’t have to make sense, the wave of existential dread had already taken hold in the presence of a soletskaya sister. his default reaction to karyna’s closest look-a-like, defiance. “ we should take this as a warning sign. ”

“ you rival the raccoons here. ” he finally stated as if that would somehow be a comfort and ventured forward towards the floodlight that had caused him to squint in response to the stark contrast of the night. “ maybe it’s karma, or God. ” he thought it necessary to answer the rhetorical question. 

    “ not friends, admirers, ” francisco corrected with the intent for the three of them, yes alejandro was included in this, to get on a call with him later; maybe rosa too if she was even in the same city let alone house at that moment. “ i wouldn’t bother with the other neighbors. ” the nonchalant comment came as he continued to sift through the box until it was empty and on the ground. “ no. ” yes. he gave a slight raise of his shoulders that lowered into a shrug as if to further convince her, and maybe himself, that he didn’t hold anything against the people who lived nearby. “ i don’t think the french are known to be friendly. ”

    “ what? ” francisco’s brow creased at the comment. he held up the whiskey and took a swig straight from the bottle as if to showcase his intentions. “ this is for drinking, which you and i were supposed to enjoy together but the minute i walked in you were too excited and started taking your clothes off, ” he noted (maybe exaggerated) with a smile he had no desire to hide. “ i wasn’t about to stop that. ” the build-up to her apple toss had ended not with a bang but a laugh from francisco as he witnessed the apple land on the rooftop but away from her target. “ i think our national baseball team is looking for a new pitcher. ” but dahye had fixed the problem. unlike earlier, francisco’s hand only went as far as the ribbon on her robe almost daring to pull on the knot as he held the end of the silk tie between his thumb and index finger. his other hand grasped around the neck of the whiskey bottle at his side. “ hmm, can we go to bed, ” the venezuelan repeated her question as if he needed to think over her request. “ no we’re going to do something else. ” he wasn’t about to sleep now. 

    francisco stood in the doorway with his arms crossed against his bare chest and body leaning against the doorframe while he watched her walk out into the cold to investigate. “ what’d i say baby, el cucuy. ” or the equivalent to it in canada at least. he turned his head to glance back at the kitchen for anything he could easily spot to reach for; when nothing stuck out right away he pushed away from the doorframe to wander the kitchen in search of something. “ take the water hose to it. ” the venezuelan called out to dahye as he swiped the unopened whiskey bottle from the counter he’d brought over earlier and an apple as he came around the kitchen island. both items had been presented when he walked outside, explicitly what she had asked him not to do, but only the apple was handed to her. “ you have one shot. ” he took a few steps further out onto the grass for a better vantage point and unscrewed the bottle cap. “ make it count. ”

    “ if we don’t take them i don’t know who else will want to see his face on the cover of a gardening magazine. we’ll just regift them, back to him. ” with his free hand, francisco reached for the edge of the box and tilted it towards himself to peer into; all ana maria’s clothing. still, his demeanor had changed somewhat from the text that caused him wave off the mistake he’d made over which box belonged to which sibling. more importantly, it kept his mind from wandering to the same thoughts that had plagued him over the past few weeks, for a moment, a brief one. “ it’s fine, ” he insisted and reached to grab another article of clothing he simply handed off to her at that point. “ did alejandro meet the neighbors yet? ” he was making small talk and with ana maría that always meant there was something he was holding back on talking to her about.

    “ morning, ” the venezuelan repeated and made no effort to hide the obvious smile from the blonde’s mistake. “ mmh, okay i see. about, ” francisco raised his hand to about the height alejandro came up to on him. “ yay high. dark hair, caterpillars for eyebrows? ” he made sure the last few words were said hopefully loud enough for his nephew to hear from inside with the back door wide open. “ i’ve seen him around. ” and the ‘ tio ’ that sounded from the house indicated alejandro had heard the eyebrow comment and was getting better at his english, maybe too good. francisco took a glance back towards the door and back to the blonde. " la dama del cachorro, ” he repeated alejandro’s description of mimi as if it all finally clicked what his nephew had been going on about for the past few days. 

    otaviano wasn’t someone francisco worried about, they were friends? supporters of one another and with that came an understanding but maitê distrusted both — something of little concern to anya, for now. “ not otaviano, but others. ” the details of mercosur he’d spare her of, but to focus on his priority also meant to prevent any cause that would increase debt. “ it’s funny, i never thought i’d be one to call you optimistic. ” she just never fit the profile from his limited point of view on the woman, anya just wasn’t known for a sunny disposition. then again, their interactions were limited to foreign debt discussions disguised as friendly chats.

    “ right. ” not the answer he wanted. then again, there was little leon could actually do and was far from being the sibling he actually needed to speak with. “ and getting her to answer me, since she is your sister, how would you suggest going about that? ” calling only worked if she answered and the more he called well, all the more reason not to answer the various missed calls in a single day. 

    it was so effortless how maitê broke the friendly facade shared between them and in turn it caused the venezuelan to arch a brow at the change of tone. “ and i gave you time. ” his statement was unfinished yet brief in delivery and he waited. “ before i shouted it to the world as you like to put it, i waited for you to correct the mistake. you didn’t. ” another pause. this time francisco’s gaze narrowed just enough to have been noticeable. “ did you expect me not to respond to allegations against venezuela? you may not be your father or your uncle but you’re not new to how this all works. ” he only allowed the indifference to hold on his features a moment longer before the temporary facade returned even with her need to stress brazil would find who was responsible. he knew they would, it was just a matter of time. “ saying it twice sounds like you have something to prove. ” he gave a nod to her wine glass. “ you’re going to need another one soon. ”

    the confusion on francisco's face when she left his side only lated the duration of time it took for dahye to reach for her robe. she knew how to be a worthwhile distraction to the point where he had almost forgotten about the sound entirely and his voice, lazy in delivery, murmured, “ i prefer the view from here. ” but the scratching that had become nails on a chalkboard for the venezuelan had him reaching for the first item of clothing of his he could find, pants. necessary. francisco caught up to her after he had gotten somewhat dressed, half-dressed “ and what happens when you run into the bogeyman outside? ” once he was close enough behind dahye, he slipped his arms around her waist to pull her back towards him after the pair had reached the kitchen. “ huh? ” he pressed a kiss to her cheek. “ you really want to risk that . . . ” another kiss to her jaw, neck — but again the scratching noise. he exhaled out of nothing more than frustration and moved around dianna to reach for the assumed backyard light switch.