achilles come down

&&. is that ( colin morgan )?? no, it’s just ( michael eoin uí briúin ai). he is a ( king ) of ( ireland ). he is ( 35 ) years old and his birthday is the ( third ) of ( december ) which makes him a ( sagittarius ).  he is ( resilient and driven ) and ( protective and fair ) but, unfortunately, also ( gulible and unaffectionate ). those traits just make him a ( gryffindor ) and in scientific terms an ( intj ). he is ( bisexual ) and the plaza’s ( polymath ).  his theme song is ( karma ) by ( years & years ). his interests include ( video games and engineering ). he practices ( irish catholicism ) and is a supporter of ( labour party ). his quirk is ( picking at the sleeves of his sweater ) and favourite quote is ( ever tried. ever failed. no matter. try again. fail again. fail better. ) by ( samuel beckett ) because ( it reminds him to keep going ). last but not least he ( does ) believe in true love.

“you ready?” michael asked, though they had plenty of time and ronan didn’t even have his jacket on yet. but, he wasn’t really talking about the clothes. he turned to his cousin, his friend, his brother. “you did good, ronan.” @rxnancromwell

"yeah but they'll only be one tetris." he was probably dating himself, but didn't everyone love tetris? michael chuckled, looking down at his shoes, a little chagrined. "yes, i think i might be. don't tell my advisors, they'll find me work. i suppose something mindless and low-stakes sounds nice." that shouldn't make him smile. "a unilateral dog park construction?" his voice was warm with humor but it wasn't a bad idea. "i'll have my people call your people."

“It’s a life of many, often conflicting, demands,” Ana María mused. Least of which to say was the politics. She’d attempted to dedicate the last 10 years trying to navigate these demands, the narrow room of acceptability. “Is there anything you think would’ve made this easier for you?” She’d done what she could for her son, she’d asked her family, but at this point, she wasn’t sure they fully understand what she and her son were going through. Michael might not either, but they shared a trauma now, at least. “I’ll do the same for you.” Or at least, she’d share the confirmed information she uncovered. She didn’t need to share all of her theories and personal investigations at this point. “You know, we’ve been a little lighter on the walks recently.” Since Alejandro started sleeping in her bed again, it had been hard to sneak out for her late night runs when she couldn’t sleep. “I think Caraota is getting a little lazy, maybe,” she joked, chuckling, though as she glanced over, Alejandro was out of earshot still. So, it was doubtful the teasing would make much sense to Michael.

Ana nodded, though truthfully she wasn’t quite sure. She’d told herself it was for the chance at more connections, more experiences. How better could she set her son up for leadership than have him grow up amongst the current leaders and their children? But maybe she was lying to herself. Maybe he was only here because she couldn’t bear to be apart. Maybe it would’ve been better for him to stay at home, with his grandmother and uncle, or to go to some boarding school. Maybe she was putting him in harms way because of her own inability to be apart. It had been one of the many questions keeping her up at night. But she couldn’t fall into it right now, not in public.

“Among others. It seemed like the best opportunity for him. To travel, to meet so many new and important people, to experience the world.” She had her doubts now, though. Could she have provided those opportunities in a better way without the program? “Will the findings be circulated in the program? I don’t think anyone is going to be at ease until we get at least some answers.”  Ana María couldn’t be certain a report would put her at ease per se, but it could help. “Ahh. So that’s the secret. Don’t worry, I’ll keep it hush-hush,” she said with a wink and knowing smile, as if half the program wasn’t probably taking something similar, whether for sleep or other purposes.

michael recognized that thoughtful look, the way her forehead creased as she considered something. he didn’t say anything. he just hoped he hadn’t said anything that would keep her up at night. keep her up any more than usual. michael fiddled with his house keeps for a moment, like he was making sure they were all there. 

“It’s not natural,” he started with a pensive sigh. “We’re not supposed to make these decisions but sometimes they’re ones that need to be made.” Ronan never thought he could act so carelessly about another life, a man shaped in the vision of their maker. Cain wasn’t praised for his actions against his brother but he wasn’t doomed to damnation. Michael chose to do the lesser evil by taking out a man who would continue to work against good. “I don’t have any encouraging wisdom about the road you have to walk to reconcile with yourself. I’m sorry that you were put in this position in the first place.”  

Ronan held for a pregnant pause to mull over the question. “No but as it was happening I had to believe that I could finish what I started. I atone like any man of God and I’ll wear this moment as a reminder of the allure of darkness to remain on a better path. Plus, you’ve met my father, he’d be awfully proud. It’s enough to make me sick.” 

ronan seemed to take so easily to this situation. he was confident in the mortality of their choice. michael wondered ronan understood why he’d done this. if he knew that michael had done it out of fear, with vengeance in his heart. he killed his father out of self-defense. and under it all, a need for power. michael liked control. he liked security. a crown was a solid gold security blanket.

She didn’t quite know what to say. It wasn’t appropriate to mention that Alejandro hadn’t been very happy since coming back. It was expected, sure. He was processing a very traumatizing event, but it nevertheless had her even more concerned than she normally was. So instead, she just nodded. “I never wanted him to have to deal with any of this.” She’d done as much as she could to keep him out of the press, out of gossip, out of any sort of unnecessary trouble. But she couldn’t save him from these kinds of things. And she hated it. “That’s probably better than most can say around here.” She’d be surprised if anyone was sleeping normally unassisted. She certainly wasn’t. “What’s the secret?” she asked, teasing slightly.

“no, course not. that’s why you brought him here, isn’t it?” once again, he had questions about the program. about security and who was protecting them. “if it helps, we’re looking into how this happened. i know people have questions. i’ve got questions. i’m hoping we’ll have better procedures put into place.” he wasn’t going to name names or place because he didn’t know. he wasn’t one for rumors. michael couldn’t help but smile a little, like he got to the punchline of a good joke though it wasn’t very funny. “ambien. i’ll text you my psychiatrist’s number.” it wasn’t funny at all except that one had to laugh or else cry.