𝖌𝖔𝖑𝖉 / 𝒷𝓁𝑒𝒹 .

arthur is lucky he didn’t come up with a swinging fist, because he was quite close to doing so. a heavy sigh of relief, however, escapes at the sight of the man and some of the weight on his shoulders lifts. no words can describe how grateful jim is to see a friendly face and the several accompanying shopping bags. “yeah, i can’t help it. it happens every time i leave the house.” he jests, popping the french fries in his mouth and chewing. as he eats, he eyes off the bags and gives a head nod to them. “you finally able to buy yourself some golf talent or you gonna have to keep looking?” he quips with a raise of his brow once he swallows his food. even when he’s on edge and feeling unlike himself, he stil manages to make banter.

florencia at being approached she then smiles widely, a mention of a drink earns a nod of her head. “ yes please, that’d be great. i seriously need one. “  how could she not ? having not that interesting conversations up until this point. “  a not so terrible night sounds great. take it you haven’t had that good of conversations, either ? because same. “

brody scans his surroundings in an effort to see what the other man may be referring to. “what’s wrong with it?” he asks, failing to come up with an answer, “i mean, we’ve got a pool table over there, a beer pong table outside? a bomb ass tv projector. the fridge is fully stocked. hot babes everywhere.” he could keep on listing things, but in his mind, he’s already sold the environment. “or are you a more of a tea and crumpets kind of guy?” brody tries to put on a realistic british accent, but instead sounds more like mrs. doubtfire after swallowing helium. 

The answer was a little harsher than she’d expected, though she couldn’t exactly fault the words. She was certain most people would agree, even if they didn’t go about handling the situation in the same manner. “Guess that makes sense. Though are you referencing the uselessness of throwing a temper tantrum over a misspelling or commenting on the staff?”

she nods, always proud of her dancing. it’s the only thing that is truly a reflection of all of her life. it’s all her hard work, all her sweat, tears, blood. all of her is in her ballet, and she hopes that it shows. “yeah, kinda.” she pulls her hair out of her bun as they walk, fingers combing the curls out. “just to boston university to do their dance program. then i’ll still dance at my studio as well, and pick up some more hours teaching there.” it sounds a little stressful just thinking about it, but she’s sure she can manage.

“I know that they’re both shit, I’m asking which one is worse.” That was the whole intention of going out on this shopping trip to get the worst thing that he could find. And the shop had been full of some horrible things, even some stuff that Eric wouldn’t have gone near it was far too ugly.’

“they just sorta worm their way in! they try to get into the pocket even if i’m just sitting on the couch.” his cats were weird, but he’d never make them do something they didn’t want to do. “they only go in my hoodie pocket sometimes, most of the time they get creative. Lennon likes to be on my shoulders and just meow at everyone who passes by.” not a surprise considering the cat did that even from the windows of the apartment.

Margo smiled in the half-hearted way she often did, it never seemed to reach her eyes before it dropped from her face completely. Like it had never been there at all. “I’d pay good money to watch you fight a raccoon.” She muttered, briefly shifting her gaze towards the bin. “Yeah, ‘course, just tired, I guess.” Margo shrugged, knowing that it was possibly a terrible understatement and not just in the moment. She brushed it off, never one to be lingered on. “You good? I can always purloin you some ice cream when the boss goes for a smoke, if you want.”

The piano was a bit out of tune, nothing too terrible, of course, but enough that he could hear it even in the random keys his nephew hit. It was a shame, really, that he had spent so much time zooming in and out of their lives until now. He sometimes thought about what it would have been like to settle down here, be a bit more like his brother and help with the family business but it always seemed like some distant, hazy someday and now that he was confronted with it he wasn’t sure if he had ever really wanted it at all. 

He needed a drink, and a cigarette, and for Leo to fix his hand posture. 

“I thought you all were supposed to get less demanding as you grew up,” he scoffed with a fond roll of his eyes, “I am giving you something. The gift of music, now sit up straight.” 

He hummed, shrugging noncommittally. He had danced around the topic with Jax and simply waved the kids questions off when he had first arrived but he supposed that he couldn’t continue to just say nothing about his seemingly random six month sabbatical. 

“Well, you know how Broadway is -watch your wrists, Leo- and I love New York but a change of scenery is just necessary sometimes,” he sighed, “It was an enlightening trip and maybe my next show will be on the West End but right now my focus is on your sister’s show.” He chuckled at that last bit though, Troy was a handful. 

“Your brother reminds me a lot of Jackson when he was that age. They’ve both got that look in their eyes, like they’re looking for trouble but only because they know they can talk their way out of it.” He shook his head. “Like father like son, I guess.” 

          ❛   𝐈  𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓  𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖  𝐖𝐇𝐎  𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐃  to  you ,  but  fuck  that , uncle  atti .  i  want  everything .   ❜   for  once ,  not  an  exaggeration  coming  from  the  dramatic  teenager ;  his  need  to  have  it  all  and  do  all  had  only  increased  as  he  got  older .  and ,  yes ,  christmas  presents  certainly  made  that  list .  as  did  his  uncle’s  attention .  the  boy  rolls  his  eyes  when  the  man’s  chided  his  posture .  of  course .   ❛   you  really  need  to  meet  my  boyfriend ,  you  two  get  on  so  well .   ❜   still ,  he  does  as  told .   ❛   yeah ,  yeah .  but  when  will  i  get  the  real  thing ?  i’m  a  materialist  guy ,  don’t  you  know  me  at  all ,  uncle  atti ?   ❜   and  he’s  back  to  the  dramatics .  truth  be  told ,  his  uncle  presence  there  is  enough .  he’s  missed  the  man  and  that  fear  of  abandonment  doesn’t  stop  at  his  father  and  siblings . 

          𝐇𝐄'𝐒  𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐋  𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆  𝐎𝐍𝐄  𝐎𝐅  the  many  songs  the  man’s  taught  him  through  the  years ,  but  his  attention  isn’t  on  the  piano .   ❛   an  enlightening  trip ?   ❜   he  stops  altogether  and  turns  completely  to  look  at  the  older  sinclair .   ❛   an  enlightening  trip ?  tell  me  there’s  a  good  story  behind  that .  actually ,  tell  me  there  are  plenty  of  stories  behind  that .   ❜   he  nods  at  the  mention  of  his  sister’s  show ,  though  he  isn’t  too  caught  up  with  that .

vanessa looks in awe at the project, which was truly something when it came to her. she seldom knew of anyone that liked tech as much her, but somehow she had found someone that did. which was a true delight to her. “  it looks amazing. how long did it take you ? and the technique, bravo. “  to show she gives that of a clap of her hands together. “  well, i recently fully restored a water damaged phone. fixed up a laptop, that had the blue screen of death and replaced the glass. you know, fixing and playing with tech as usual. you besides the project ? “

“yeah, i know,” he grumbles, “but i don’t want to be some guy in his fifties hitched up to someone half my age. i’d rather just skip the whole kids thing entirely.“ it’s not even a dig at his father, but rather something he’s never seen himself doing. shrugging, “each their own, though. i don’t really care.” he doesn’t think that either of his parents have given his romantic life much thought, but he still weighs in, “well, i don’t think my mom wants me to grow up to be a miserable old man. personally, i look forward to it. i’m sure my siblings will marry enough times.” the last part is said in jest, especially in regards to his sister, “shit,“ he stops himself, “i’m just messing around.” 

“I’m here for your dog more than you, let’s be real there,” She teased back, sighing as she leaned into her seat and put her phone off to the side. She would need to go back to her place eventually and paige knew that but things needed to die down first. and the would, eventually. “I cheated on a math test in the third grade. There, that’s all of my dirty little secrets out in the open.” Not entirely true, not even close but it would do. “You? No harem hanging around somewhere?”

“ you could have just asked me to take a break. i probably would have listened. “  florencia answers with that of a scrunch of her nose, had he truly been counting ? “  seems like a lifetime to me. not exactly no, but because i have bored you to death alcohol it is then. “  she jokingly elbows him. “  uh-huh, but after that i’m going to have to give a long thought about telling you that next time. “

her face glows as arthur declares the puppy was born to be with them and she’s reaching to ruffle with his fur. it’s something so small but to her it is a sign, a sign that things are looking up and good things are still to come. whether that is the case, she will have to wait and see. “he still needs a name! what do you think? i want your thoughts.” ava’s smile softens at the mention of school and she feels her stomach drop. “i know,” she murmurs, shaking her head in pure disbelief. there are days that go by where she feels like there’s a countdown to the start of a life she hasn’t even thought of yet. that if she doesn’t figure out what she wants by then then she’s done for. “i have no idea what the hell i want to do after i graduate. absolutely no idea. is that bad?” she questions with a hint of worry in her voice.