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When Lily brushed her sleeve, Hen hooked her arm around Lily's sliding down and intertwining their fingers. She smiled at her, and then PJ, a soft acknowledgment to him there, Lily being in the middle. "I love a good wedding," Henrietta replied. "Who would've thought we'd all be here together at one. Still here. It's like our thing, you know after we all confessed we liked each other after one."

Lily let out a soft laugh, the sound caught somewhere between fond and a little overwhelmed, and she leaned into them like it was instinct. Like home. “Okay, first of all,” she murmured, eyes flicking between them, “Hen is right. Weddings are literally our origin story now. That’s embarrassing. I love it.” Then she squeezed PJ’s hand, thumb brushing over his knuckles. “And you,” she added, quieter, “are never allowed to say ‘loss of income’ like you didn’t just trade it for… this.” Her gaze softened, shining again. “I don’t want a perfect fairytale. I just want you two. Exactly like this. Still here.” @mcnstercus & @immcrtalsx

Salomão blinked slowly, instinctively taking a small step back to give her more space. Maybe he'd picked the wrong moment to try being social. "Sol," he offered, tone friendly and light—a greeting, rather than a correction. "Friends call me Sol. I, uh, didn't mean to disturb. My son Josiah is in your dance class. I guess I thought I'd say hi."

Lily’s shoulders eased a fraction at the way he stepped back, like he was giving her air on purpose. She swallowed, blinking hard, then nodded once. “Sol,” she repeated softly, like she was filing it somewhere safe. “Okay. Hi.” At the mention of Josiah, her expression warmed in spite of herself, a small real smile flickering through the shaken edges. “Oh my god, yeah. He’s sweet. A menace, but sweet,” she added, voice a little steadier.

Hen froze, her entire body rigid with anger at the admission Lily told her. Her anger toward this man was insatiable, not unless she had his head on a stick. Hen tried to cover it up, in favor for care for her girlfriend. "Hey, hey," she said, forcing out the comforting words. She knew once PJ knew, they'd figure it out. "It's okay, you're safe now." She took a breath through her nose. "What do you want to do? Do you want to go to the hospital? The police? Do you want me to draw you a bath?"

Lily flinched a little at the word police, like it physically hurt. Her breath hitched again and she shook her head fast, messy, tears slipping down into her hair. “I don’t know,” she whispered, voice wrecked. “I don’t know what I want. I just… I can’t... think. I can’t be the one who decides right now.” Her hands gripped Hen’s shirt tighter, like she was anchoring herself to her. “I feel like I’m still there.” She swallowed hard, eyes squeezing shut. “I can’t, I don’t want to be alone today,” she choked out. “Can you… can you call PJ?” Lily’s voice cracked on his name, and she curled closer into Hen, trembling. “I just need… both of you. I can’t do this by myself. Do you have to go to work today?”

"But your stuff tastes better," she said in amusement. Hen had been so stressed out lately, with trying to be there for Adelina with Zeke being back, juggling that with her siblings now together, she was pushing her own feelings away. Being with her partners, she felt serene, like her feelings mattered, something she was still trying to figure out. "Lily, tell him that I'm right."

Lily glanced between them, deadpan for half a second like she was weighing a court case, then she leaned back in her chair with a slow, wicked little smile. “You’re both wrong,” she decided. “PJ, you’re literally dating two vampires. Sharing food is literally foreplay. And Hen, if you steal from his plate again, I’m stealing both of yours.” Then she reached over, took a bite off PJ’s plate anyway, and smiled sweetly. “See? Balance.” ( @immcrtalsx & @mcnstercus )

YURI BRUSHED HIS HAIR BACK WITH HIS WRIST, the towel now somewhere on the floor because he’d stopped pretending he was going to clean up anytime soon . he huffed a laugh at lily’s ❛ versatile ❜ comment and shook his head . ❝ yeah , okay , dangerous , maybe only to my ego , because , ❞ he said , half under his breath . ❝ . . . i thought i was hiding it pretty well , actually . ❞ he joked . ❝ so , remind me not to ever f i g h t you without proper stretching first . ❞ yuri tried to make his posture seem casual , but his whole body still buzzed with leftover adrenaline from teaching . he thought about her o f f e r before responding , ❝ caffeine , definitely . company , sure , but only if it's just you . and , as for chaos ?? maybe we save that for later . ❞ a small grin edged in . ❝ — did you bring coffee , or are you just here to tempt me out of the studio for a bit ?? because i'm in desperate need of an espresso , before i get too antsy and have a freak-out in here . and you’re my business partner , which legally makes it your problem too . ❞ yuri joked some more .

Lily’s smile softened at the ‘only if it’s just you’ like she heard the sincerity tucked under the joking and decided not to tease him for it. Not yet. “Yeah, yeah, drag me into your spiraling. I’ll put it on the studio’s tab,” she said, rolling her eyes like she wasn’t already reaching for her bag. “And for the record, you were hiding it… in the way a chandelier hides. Like technically it’s hanging up there, out of direct sight, but it’s still the brightest thing in the room.” She pushed off the mirror, stepping closer, and bumped her shoulder lightly against his. Grounding. Casual. On purpose. “I didn’t bring coffee,” she admitted, lips quirking. “I brought myself. Which, honestly, is a public service. But I will absolutely tempt you out of the studio before you start doing ‘post-class emotional collapse’ as a new acro sequence.” Her gaze flicked to the towel on the floor, then back to him, amused. “Come on, drama king. Espresso run. I’ll even let you pick the place, since you’re one minor inconvenience away from biting someone.”

THE STUDIO HALLWAY WAS STILL humming with music when lailah peeked inside , hoping to find lilith alone . she hadn't meant to s n o o p . she just wanted to hang out , and saw the door slightly cracked , heard the faint hum of music , and curiosity pulled her the rest of the way . she l e a n e d in , just a little , and the floor creaked traitorously . she offered a tentative smile , clutching a grocery bag full of various candy and snacks . ❝ hi . sorry . i know you probably don’t like . . . disruptions . ❞ she greeted the other . ❝ and , before you accuse me of being sneaky , i promise i wasn’t trying to be . not on purpose , at least . i just wanted to see if you wanted to hang out ?? ❞ lailah asked as her hands flailed vaguely . ( @lilithaine )

Lily startled at the creak, shoulders lifting for half a second before she forced them back down like she was physically shoving her nerves into a drawer. Then she turned, and the tension cracked into a small, real smile when she saw Lailah… and the candy. “Disruptions?” Lily echoed, brows lifting. “Babe, you’re holding a grocery bag of serotonin. You could’ve kicked the door in and I’d still be like, ‘omg hi’.” She crossed the room, wiping her palms on her leggings like she hadn’t been caught in a moment. “And you’re not sneaky, you’re just… aggressively curious. Which I respect.” Her gaze flicked to the snacks again, fond and amused. “Yes, I want to hang out. Please tell me that bag has something sour in it, because I’m having a day.”

Lily’s throat tightened at the question, because it was so simple. So Dylan. No games, no probing, no trying to turn her into a puzzle he could solve. Just… you okay? She opened her mouth like she was going to lie. The word yeah was already halfway up her tongue. Then she exhaled, slowly, and let her gaze drop to the floor between them like it might be easier to confess to the tile. “Not really,” she admitted, quiet. Honest in a way that felt like stepping barefoot onto glass. Her fingers curled tighter into her sleeves. She tried to make it sound casual, like it wasn’t eating her alive. Like she hadn’t been sleeping in jagged pieces for days. “A couple nights ago, I got cornered on my way home,” she said, and her voice wavered on the last word. “Nothing… happened happened, not really. But he touched me. And I froze.” Her jaw clenched, and for a second her eyes flashed with something sharp and embarrassed. “And now my brain is doing that fun thing where it drags up every worst memory it can find and plays it on loop like I asked for the deluxe trauma package.”

Lily’s breath hitched so hard it almost embarrassed her, like her body had been waiting for someone to say those exact words so it could finally stop pretending. For a second, she didn’t answer at all. She just stared at Josefina’s hand where it hovered at her wrist, and the warmth in the room felt… too kind. Too safe. Like it might undo her. Slowly, Lily let her fingers loosen around the mug. Her hand drifted, tentative, and she let her fingertips touch Josefina’s. Not gripping. Just… there. A small, trembling proof of life.

"Well when you're an eternal optimist, you find ways to twist even the worst situations into something good. Otherwise, I don't think even I would be able to live in a world where I couldn't find the bright side," she admitted honestly. She'd spent too long in a dark, unhappy place. Often, she found even the worst of what was out there wasn't even comparable to what she had been through, which made it easier to find the happy side. "Don't you find that rather brave? It's our natural instinct to survive. And in a way, you stopped fighting your own natural instinct because it left you alone and you were tired of that part of it." She knew how hard it was to let someone in, all the way in. It fought against all your natural instincts after you had been hurt so deeply by people. "Maybe I should write a book. Share my wisdom with the world."

Lily’s laugh came out soft, but it had that relieved, watery edge like Natalie had just loosened a knot she’d been carrying in her ribs for years. “Please,” she said, rolling her eyes as she leaned her head lightly against Natalie’s shoulder for a second. “The world is not ready. You’d have people falling in love in grocery store aisles and writing poetry on receipts.” She pulled back just enough to look at her, still smiling, but gentler now. More honest. “But… yeah.” Lily swallowed, her thumb still tracing over Natalie’s knuckles like it was grounding her. “You’re right. I think I did stop fighting it. I think I finally let myself want more than just… getting through the day.” Her gaze flicked down, then back up, a little shy despite herself. “And it’s scary, because now I have something to lose. But it’s also…” she exhaled, eyes bright. “It’s the first time it’s felt worth it.” Then Lily’s mouth quirked again, because she couldn’t stay too tender for too long without getting embarrassed. “So yes, you should write the book. But I’m gonna need you to title it something dramatic, like… How to Be an Ancient Vampire and Still Have Better Emotional Intelligence Than Everyone You Know.”

Lily’s smile tugged a little wider at that, real this time, even if it was still tired around the edges. “Yeah, well,” she said, sliding a glance at Ashlyn in the mirror, “if you start biting the choreography, I’m filing a complaint.” She stepped closer, the wood floor whispering under her feet, and tapped Ashlyn’s shoulder lightly to adjust her stance. Gentle. Careful. Like Lily was handling something fragile, even though Ashlyn was… decidedly not.

Lily didn’t flinch at the words. If anything, they slid into her bones like a handrail in the dark. Her fingers tightened in his shirt, and for a second her breathing hitched like she was about to spiral again… but instead she just pressed her face harder into his shoulder, letting out a broken, exhausted sound that was half sob, half laugh. “I know,” she whispered, voice wrecked. “I know you would.” She lifted her head just enough to look at him, eyes wet and furious in that quiet, scorched way. “And I hate that it makes me feel better,” she admitted, swallowing. “Because it shouldn’t. It shouldn’t take violence for me to feel safe.”

Lily’s smile turned soft, almost sheepish, as she tilted her head. “Mm… I don’t know,” she teased. “Keeping you slightly humbled feels like a civic duty.” Then her expression gentled, eyes warm. “But fine. I can be uncritical.” A beat. “As long as you promise not to start singing Grease at me in the middle of warm-ups.”

Lily’s smile softened, turning a little quieter at the edges. “Yeah,” she murmured, nodding like that landed somewhere tender. “Of course it is.” She let the silence sit for half a beat, then offered him a gentler look. “Then maybe your peace isn’t in the water right now. Maybe it’s in… choosing when you go back to it.” Her gaze flicked toward the pool, then back to him. “You don’t owe anyone access to you just because you share a tide.” A small, almost teasing exhale. “Besides… gyms are loud. Oceans are louder. If you ever need a place that’s just… neutral ground, let me know. I’m pretty good at finding it.”