did you want the crown?

With a couple of hours between musical rehearsal and her shift at the restaurant, she’d decided it’d be easier to stay out opposed to going home to leave again - which is how she’d how she’d found herself stopping for lunch. Glancing up when she heard someone speak, she couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped at the others words. “Owning your bias? I respect the hell out of that.” She joked, before cycling back to the first question. “Yeah, reading is one of my favourite past times, and nothing beats a good fantasy story. Give me some amazing world to go visit for a while and I’m in love. I feel sorry for people who don’t have that. Why?”

"Yeah, why hide it? I have prejudice and I don’t care.” Being open and honest was the best way to go about things at least. Lena smiled at the words, that was exactly what she wanted to hear. “I’m hoping you also Netflix and would love the opportunity to see the first two episodes of this kinda great new show coming out?” She pulled into her page, plucking out a book and sliding it across, “The only thing is you do have to have read this to get those.”

the woman’s verbal understanding brings a grateful grin to his lips ; it’s slight, though it is there. the topic of the girl’s mother, however, has the huntzberger patriarch tearing his gaze from her to his rather lukewarm meal. “i had heard that.” he replies, picking fussily through the soft french fries in search for the hard and basically burnt ones. “and how’s that going for you? i’m assuming you’ve spoken to her?”

If it were anyone else Lena might not have mentioned it but James’ family had known hers, had known her mother and watched how her family had been destroyed when the woman had disappeared. Things had become very different for them. “Yeah I spoke to her. I’m not really sure what I think still though. I kind of don’t like thinking of her as my mother and then I feel like a bitch for that.”

“so i’ve heard,” evelyn sighs, “emily showed me.” setting her phone down beside her, “i miss my old phone, but it seemed appropriate to rid myself of things that remind me of him.” a harder task than previously thought. “oh, well. how are the days holding up for you, dear brother?” 

"I get it, you know? You can talk to me about these sorts of things. I get wanting to forget and rid reminders.” He’d wanted to do it at one stage, though he had the best reminder of someone that he could have ever asked for. On that he had no regrets. “Oh I’m great. Living the dream. Jack isn’t an asshole kid so doing my job right.”

“come on, don’t act like you’re a saint.” armando scoffs, “you’re making me sound like some untamed beast.” there’s a hitch of armando’s breath at his friend’s comment, slightly acknowledging that his assumption isn’t necessarily wrong. though his impulse is to slam his glass down on the counter, he carefully brings it down as to avoid waking up jack. “i don’t even know where to fucking begin,” he admits, “god, i really don’t.” armando pours himself another glass, closing his eyes as he swallows it down. “i think i’m fucking falling in love with someone, man,” a concept that has always seemed foreign to armando, “and she’s already married.”

"Out of the two of us I am a saint now. Just wasn’t a long time ago.” Eric laughed, “Your words, not mine. But if the shoe fits,” He teased. He threw back the drink, picking up the bottle and filling both glasses again quickly. This was clearly going to need a fair bit of alcohol in order to get through things. “You could start at the beginning. What is going on.” And then his friend opened up and Eric felt his jaw dropped, “Come again?”

Emily looked at her brother, desperate to believe him. She was always closer to him - had spent a lot of time as a young child hiding behind him and following him around like a lost puppy. She’d always looked up to him, wanted to make him proud. Their parents be damned. Emily could stand the idea of disappointing Eric. “You know I’ve always tried to make you proud… even after you left. I didn’t care if mom and dad got mad at me, I still don’t. But I don’t want you to be mad at me or disappointed in me.”

Something was going on and Eric needed to figure out what it was. The look in his sister’s eyes, she looked like she just wanted to talk but didn’t know how. He got that feeling, he hated that his sisters didn’t know the truth about Jack’s mother. They’d gotten the chance to judge him and didn’t even know the worst of it. But keeing them safe was everything, safe and happy. “There is nothing you could do that would make me look down on you. Look at what I’ve done, Em, and then tell me I can throw stones. What’s going on?”

“You’d be surprised how many animals don’t end up with a home just because they’re a bit older. Kittens and puppies are nice, but sometimes they might be too much to handle and the older ones need love.” If only he had the money to just buy a house and take in animals that needed a home who wouldn’t get one otherwise. “Other animals are fun too, but I will say I’m not a fan of goats. They’re evil.”

"It’s also really common for big dogs to be abandoned because people didn’t realise that they were going to get that big. Honestly I’d love to just have a big dog farm, that’s the dream.” Well the dream was acting but Gabi didn’t need to mention that. “I can’t say I’ve ever been around goats.”

her mouth turns up into a wide smile, laughter huffing out lightly. “yeah, i know that feeling way too well. working out i like, but running is a bit much. even on the treadmill it’s just no fun.” fitness was important to her, and for that it kept her working out at least for a little while every day, but running? definitely her least favourite.

Keeping fit was more out of necessity than want for Gabi, she knew her father would never like it if his children weren’t fit. But running was going to be the end of her. “The treadmill is the worst in my opinion. It gets you nowhere, at least outside you get to see things. It all sucks.” 

“i’m going to be fully stocked by the time i have kids. i’ll have heard every joke in the books.” though, of course, he doesn’t plan on having kids for ages. “well, he’s really chill. thank you.” after setting down the gifted owl, he turns to gabi once again, “i still feel terrible. there has to be a way for me to make it up to you? i mean, i could always buy you dinner? it’s not as original as the gift you got me, but it’s better than nothing? you can’t really say no to a free meal, right?”

"Oh god I’m so sure that time is at least ten years away for me. Lots of time to fill up a couple of books.” It was a hard thing for Gabi to think about, she’d always imagined her mum there when she did it. Now there was only the step to consider. “Of course. He will protect your papers well.” She smiled, nodding at him. “Yeah you’re right I’m never going to say no to free food.”

@ruinmylifc​

          ❛   𝐅𝐀𝐈𝐑 .  𝐈  𝐖𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃  𝐏𝐈𝐂𝐊  𝐀𝐋𝐅𝐈𝐄  too ,   ❜   he  concedes ,  head  tilted .  the  puppy  is  also  the  only  member  of  this  family  who  he  knows  won’t  keep  anything  from  him .   ❛   you  cheated ?  i  can’t  believe  this .  everything  i  thought  i  knew  is  a  lie .   ❜   not  because  of  what  his  sister’s  said ,  but  it’s  still  true .   ❛    no .  i  had  to  leave  all  of  them  in  morocco ,   ❜   he  jokes . 

"I’m glad you see it my way, makes things a hell of a lot easier.” She had wanted a dog for a while and when she went back to her apartment Paige was considering it being the right time. She wasn’t too sure how she would be back in that place alone. “I did. But at least it’s the okay kind of cheating  I have never cheated on a person.” paige froze, “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded and never tell Mum I said that.” She rolled her eyes, “Good to know. Warned them not to come out of the woodwork?”

the roll of her eyes comes automatically at paige’s response, her mouth curving into a smile at the way her daughter made light of the situation. “that’s true enough. you’ve had your father wrapped around your finger since the day you were born. you would have loved the way he doted over you when you were a baby.” mind you, gen really hadn’t been much better. there’d been a reason why they’d decided to have been only a couple of years later, after all. “yes, it’s probably best the pair of you talk it out rather than shout it out now that the shock’s worn off.” the disapproval in her voice is clear. then, her nose scrunches up and her face morphs into one of disgust. “don’t be lewd, paige. christ.” she wasn’t a prude normally, but with her kids? she didn’t want them to know anything, just as she wanted to know nothing about their sex lives.

There was a small smile that crossed Paige’s face at the thought of her father when she was little, that had definitely not gone away, “I know. Daddy’s Little Girl from the moment I was born. And I’m not ashamed of that either, it’s just a part of who I am.” She couldn’t imagine being a mother herself, but she had always known just how much hers had loved their family. The important thing to remember. “I don’t think the shock has worn off and I don’t think it will anytime soon. This is a lot for us to take in, Mum.” Paige rolled her eyes, leaning back in her seat, “i could have been a lot worse and you know it. I was conceived at Easter time, therefore it’s your fault I have a New Year’s birthday.”

Braylan makes note of the change in his eyes but he says nothing. Despite wanting to act on his intuition, he figured that if the other man wanted to talk about it, that he would’ve done so. “I’ll allow it to exist fondly in my mind, but only because it’s Julian.” He grins, exhaling the breath he didn’t know himself to be holding. The scientist had always wanted to adopt older children. He, himself, had been adopted a little later than your average child, but they had had a hard time adopting the two that they did; having three parents wasn’t necessarily a selling point. If he was being honest, having to disregard a partner’s presence in his life, simply to bring a child who needed a good home to live in into his home, made him want to throw something but it simply came from ignorance. Perhaps one day, polyamory would be more mainstream. 

“What have you been up to?” 

"Yeah Julian can get away with a lot. I’d say it’s because he’s such a good person but he’s the love of my life so that might make me a little bit biased.” Though anytime someone mentioned Julian Lucas knew that he was biased and it really would never change. They’d had a couple of problems over the years but what couple hadn’t? He really thought he was lucky in finding the man, especially around the time they’d postponed their wedding to adopt their first child. “Well I’m looking at going back to work.” He’d been off proper work for two years now and Lucas needed something more than just announcing a game once a week.

through he hears his dad clearly, part of him still refuses to listen. “i just think we need to be optimistic,” he points out, “it’s not as bad as it used to be.” it’s not enough to wash all of his fears away, but it calms his nerves enough to bring a smile to his face, “we’re always there for each other. i mean, this is probably the worst thing we’ve ever dealt with, but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to get through it. dad’s just, you know, going to have to let us take care of him for once.” never did he think that he would have to say that at his age, figuring that it would be something he wouldn’t have to deal with until years from now, but at least it’ll be practice for when that time officially comes. “now in ten years when you’re old as shit, i’ll be prepared.”

"I’m trying, I really am.” He was doing his best but there was always going to be a part of him that wondered if it might end up not going the way he wanted. What would he do without Julian in his life? The first person who truly made him feel like he deserved a family and they’d built a good one since. “I guess he is. And you know he is going to hate that, so we really have to make it clear that he gets to sit around whilst we wait on him hand and foot.” It had been reversed once and he was sure that his son remembered those days, dark times in their family. “In ten years I won’t even be fifty, that’s not old as shit. Watch it, kid.”

“I think we’ll be fine in the money department, but I’m glad you’re doing something. Even if it’s just to keep you a little busy.” Julian ran his hands over the dog’s fur as he leaned his head against Lucas’ shoulder. “You really should just become a model. You’ve got the looks for it and I can rub it in everyone’s face that you’re all mine.” Not that he hadn’t done that at one point when they were younger and Julian couldn’t help himself. There’d always been a bit of a jealous streak in him. “I also wanted to talk to you about something,” Julian sat up straight again, turning just enough to look at Lucas. “You can tell Arthur. Or Sam. Or both of them. I don’t want you to have to keep this all to yourself and I know there are times you might not want to talk to me about everything. Especially the bad parts. I know we try to talk to each other about everything, but sometimes it’s hard. I don’t want you to have to keep everything bottled up inside. You always want to be so strong for me.”

"There’s only so many times I can go to the gym.” Lucas honestly felt like he was running whenever he went there and that wasn’t great. Felt like people would think that he might not want to deal with this whole thing. And he didn’t but he was always going to be there for Julian. Because he loved the man more than anything. “I could do that but I’m pretty sure that our kids might have a problem with it. Which you know sounds like an incredibly good thing to me.” He pressed his lips to Julian’s again softly, “I am all yours. For the next fifty years at least.” His breath caught in his throat as he listened to the words, it was hard to think of the fact that he would have to start telling people. Would make this all the more real. “Jules... only if it’s absolutely okay with you. I know you don’t want people to know and I only want you to be comfortable and happy. You know that.”

@xreachfortheskylarx​