half moonshine full eclipse

"yeah, but i wasn't too much of a help." sofia teased back as she continued to empty out her bag. she might have went a bit overboard on lunch, but she wanted this date to be as perfect as she imagined it. she had food, drinks, and even dessert for later. hearing sanem talk about her work brought a smile to her face.

seeing how passionate she was about everything that she did was something that sofia wasn't used to. usually people said she spoke too much about her passion and didn't have anyone to really listen but that seemed to change the more they talked to one another. "painted anthuriums? i might have to stop by to take a look myself." she said with a smile as she finally finished setting everything up. after sitting down, she sighed happily and reached to take her hand across the picnic table.

"thanks again for coming with me." sofia said with a smile and leaned forward a bit. it had been a bit since she had even been out on a date, let alone felt like this toward someone. sanem wasn't scared of her, she wasn't giving her dirty looks or avoiding her eyes. she got to know the real her, and she felt like she could pull back all of her layers and open up to her.

sanem reached out and touched sofia's arm, roping her attention away for a moment. "i am overwhelmed in the best way with the thought are care you've put in sofia," she hummed softly, "but you did help last time, and that's one of my favorite parts, it counts." she scrunched her nose and moved back out of sofia's orbit, letting her finish setting the beautiful scene she'd planned.

"we source them from a local artist, she paints them all from a studio here." she fought the urge to pull her phone out and spend ten minutes looking at the plethora of pictures that sanem had been taking of their stock over the last two days.

she gave sofia's hand a light squeeze and felt it ripple though her, adoration and intrigue filling her whole being. it was an unfamiliar collection of emotions, but she was mostly struggling to remain calm about how sofia made her feel. "please, i have to thank you for asking."

"well, consider this the first of many." sofia said with a grin as they headed over to her motorcycle. there were so many places that sofia could take her to but she had a feeling that the garden near the park would be the best. she'd be around flowers and more importantly, they would be able to spend more time together. as she handed her the extra helmet, she hopped on and relaxed against her touch before driving off. "i think you're becoming a natural." she teased as she kept her speed slow, but every now and then, sped up just a bit. there was a thrill of having her this close to her again and she would give just about anything to not lose this feeling. it didn't take too long for them to arrive at the park, and after parking her bike, she helped her off and went to take her hand.

"you probably come here all the time, huh?" sofia said with a chuckle as she started to head towards the picnic tables. "shockingly i've only been here once. i know there are a ton of different kind of flowers here. i was thinking we can eat a little bit, take a walk, enjoy the day you know?" she felt her cheeks go a bit red sicne she knew how nervous she was. while the dinner was still a date, this was their first 'official' date. they were starting to put labels on things and she didn't mind at all.

sofia's motorcycle still scared sanem, some things were rooted deeper than she had expected, but she was able to find joy in it, in sofia, even through her fear. sofia would throttle the gas just a little and sanem felt like she was flying, tightening her grip around sofia as she held tighter while laughter trailed behind them. sofia could sense sanem's apprehension but she teased comfort and excitement in a way sanem had never expected from anyone before. easing her in.

"i walk a lot, i think technically it can be listed as like, a hobby i guess?" sanem absentmindedly squeezed sofia's hand, grounded even though she still felt the rush of their ride over to the park. "i do love coming here. butterfly gardens are fantastic ways to encourage the pollinators, which you can imagine is important for my job." she let herself slip into the pride and adoration of her work for a moment. "it's one of my favorite places, it's perfect sofia." sanem grinned, nose crinkling slightly.

sanem didn't date a terrible amount, but the effort already displayed was more than anyone had ever done for her before, crimson bloomed across her cheeks. "you helped cook our last date, sofia." sanem chuckled, soft roll of her eyes as she moved to help sofia set up.

It hurt, Thomas wouldn't even look in his direction but again this was the mess he had made for himself, he deserved it.

" I got scared." Henry admitted." It won't ease the pain you are feeling, I take responsibility for it but it is the truth." It felt good to say what had been on his mind ever since running away like a coward, often so worried that showing his feelings were a weakness, something made up in his mind, a burden not only to himself but to others as well. " We jumped all the steps, that frightened me, the realization that someday, maybe-" It had all been so sudden the admission of their feelings for each other, waking up married, a blissfulness that never seemed do fade, they were happy Henry knew that but in the back of his mind he couldn't let it go, the past that had hurt him so.

tomas was patient with henry, patient in a way he'd never been before. their relationship started off so strong. fury and frustration and this intense yearning that neither had much of a hold on until they couldn't deny it anymore. when they fell into bed, it was one thing, but falling into marriage, tomas knew he was a goner for henry. he couldn't lose him. he couldn't imagine a life without him. and he never got there too.

"that's such fucking bullshit, henry." he grumbled, pushing himself back from the piano, the piece shifting at his swift movements with a soft echo. "what do you think it was when we fought? what do you think it meant when i showed up on your doorstep? i didn't get stuck, i sought you out."

he turned to face henry proper, standing up but not daring to move closer. "and so what if i had? i'm a grown adult, henry. i can stand up for myself, i can walk away. i can file for a divorce and run as fast and as far away as i can but i never did. not for a fucking second." tears welled in his eyes, betraying the strength he was trying so desperately to muster.

usually sofia wasn't this nervous about setting something up, but she wanted everything to go perfectly. sanem deserved a great proper first date, and hopefully, she was able to pull through. after their dinner, sofia was drawn to her even more like a mouth to a flame. she found herself popping more and more into the flower shop just to talk or after dropping her off at home found herself lingering at her place once again.

today as she pulled up, her bag was filled to the brim with everything they would need for a nice picnic. while she didn't mind the cliche dinner and a movie, she wanted to go above and beyond for her and doing something a bit out of her comfort zone. she wouldn't just head out by herself to do something like this, but with sanem she wouldn't think twice.

she stood at the door, hands pressed nervously together as she waited for the knock, pulling the door open as soon as sofia finished knocking, a bright smile in place. her stomach whirled and her heart almost certainly skipped at the sight of the other woman.

"thank you, sofia." a soft blush bloomed across her cheeks. "you look good yourself." she beamed, a bounce in her step as she stepped out to meet sofia, locking the door behind her quickly and taking sofia's arm. the electricity left a small tremor in her hands, but the moment they touched, it eased, still there but grounded. like she'd been drawn to the other.

she'd gone out for a walk, not really sure where to until she was there. she felt like she hadn't done it in a while, just sat outside and soaked in everything around her, captured things that sang to her. with the way life had picked up lately, finding moments was much harder. not that she begrudged it at all, not in the slightest.

she ran her hand absentmindedly over lila's strong neck, flicking through her camera as it hung around her own. amethyst couldn't help but think that she needed to go back to film. some things just didn't feel right to her digital... but where would she find the space for a dark room?? it seemed more trouble than it was worth the longer she thought about it.

as soon as the thought passed she could hear the sound of swishing through the grass, familiar in it's tempo, frantic in a way, and her ears perked up. amethyst turned and smiled wide at the sight of susanna rushing towards her, her gaze flickering up at tyler fondly for a moment before crouching down to intercept the little girl in both arms.

"you were gone." susanna sputtered out, a worried look etched into her brow, eyes wide but no longer brimmed with tears as she took amethyst in. tyler's chest swelled, a lump forming in his throat temporarily that he swallowed. susanna's frown gave way to gigles when ame soothed her, little kisses to susanna's flushed cheek.

tyler gave a soft wave of his hand, he never needed to worry about amethyst here. he had been so worried about their arrival to golden, he'd never dreamed of how quickly she seemed to slip right into the painting, the picture perfect mess of love and hard work and trouble that living at golden seemed to be. she not only seemed at peace and a home, but she brought peace and made the ranch the home it had never been before.

"no need for that. someone wanted you when she woke from her nap, got worried but we knew we'd find you out here, didn't we suse?" he asked, crinkling his nose at the little girl with a cheeky grin in place. "oh she promised to keep an eye on the place while we searched for you. likely sipping a coke and ordering the boys around."

" You were a teacher?" That catches Henry by surprise, a reminder of how little he knew about Lucien, he had considered asking Holly about him after all she was the one that was a fan of the band but in the end he decided against it, she would know that he was curious about the bassist. Henry wants to ask him what he thought but waits couldn't let him know that he was in fact interested.

Henry makes a sound at that." As if." Even if true he wouldn't let on, Lucien was better at this game that they were playing, the professor felt rusty, caught of guards of sorts, not he was ever any good at this any way.

"please, i gave you my number henry, and you never called. you wanted to call, you want to know me more. you like me, and you hate it. it terrifies you. you're used to hiding, but you aren't used to being sought out." lucien said, accent slipping out along with a slow laugh.

his smile widened at the simple admission, a win was a win and lucien couldn't pretend there wasn't a rush at the idea of henry waxing poetically about art history to him. warmth and light and words of intention and disgustingly romantic in a way only those who appreciated art could tolerate.

Of course he still remembered where the liquor cabinet was, he had mapped this place in his mind, carried it with him. " Thomas." Henry insists again, he knew that it was his own fault that they got to this point, as most things were in his life, he was at the center of it making it worse.

It had started out so small, a mere thought, insecurities that he had hidden away showing their ugly side again, the weight of his past relationship making itself known, old wounds that he carried with him and instead of talking, sharing what was wrong, he ran because it was the easiest route for himself.

Avoiding Thomas had been his decision, hiding at his sisters place like a coward and , as usual, Holly had some choice words for him calling Henry to his senses, even Harry shared his own opinion, but when he finally decided to stop his childish behavior he found the damage he had done.

tomas stood with a grumble, grabbing the bottle of wine on the lid of the piano before he stumbled away from henry, as if he might actually go away if tomas simply removed himself from the situation. he knew that wasn't true. he cross the room, not quite running, but taking up a perch near the build in faux fireplace.

"what could there possibly be to explain that would ease the hurt you are committing, henry?" he asked, still refusing to turn and look at his ex lover. tomas imagined a whole world from them a perfect home and some pets but more plants, some routine filled with music and beauty and the passion and pursuit of knowledge.

" I see. " Henry was definitely interested in his research, he wondered what could be so fascinating that Lucien would find himself writing about, something he was passionate about the professor could deduce. " Isn't that how all papers start? A mess, that with care and patience turns into something readable."

His gaze lingered on Lucien's hand as it reached out to take his lapel." Well-" Henry clears his throat." I think we both know I'm far too smart to fall into the trap you so carefully have set up for me. So I'll let you wonder, we have to keep some mystery between us." He could do this, pretend that everything was fine, he was calm and collected and that the bassist wasn't managing to get under his skin so easily.

lucien's cheeks warmed and his smile grew as he nodded alone with henry's words. "yes, but i haven't written anything, or at least not published anything since i was teaching." lucien admitted, languishing the memory for the sake of baiting henry. he wanted to know lucien just as badly as the bassist wanted to know him.

he tugged slightly, not enough to unsteady henry, but enough to remind him that lucien was standing right in front of him. "i don't think you're doing it for the sake of mystery. i think i scare the ever living shit out of you." he shrugged softly, as if his words weren't half attack, playful or not.