but it's me who's been making the bed

He captured every momentary detail that he thought best encapsulated the young man. That little smirk that quirked up at the corner of her lips after her cheeky little remark was detailed. She had a slightly mischievous demeanor. She spoke to him like few dared do. He wouldn’t have everyone speak to him with such candor. He knew that his position demanded a certain level of respectful conduct. But she would never fear reprimand. “I’m sure she did. Yours is perhaps the quickest one has gone from a servant to such a pretentious position in the Kingdom’s history.” Which was why it would be so valuable to show that she was deserving of it.

“I have no doubt.” He mused with a smile. Having sketched the frame work of the portrait and the details of her features to his liking. His pencil was discarded and the brushes came out. Colors truly bringing the work to life. “I know only that she is to be a Princess. If a similar age to yourself.” Another reason why he’d picked Isolde. She should be just as much s companion to his bride as one who serves her. “Beyond that she is s mystery. I know more of yourself than I do of her.” That was simply how it must be. It was a union that would ensure peace and prosperity for years to come. While he might not love the Princess, he did love his country and its people.

“The piece of coming together nicely. I must say I doubt this will be the last portrait of yours I take. You’re a natural. Though I’m sure you’ve heard others make such comments before.” He wasn’t blind to the fact that she was perhaps the most beautiful woman he’d ever had the pleasure of meeting.

maybe that's why she asked about the future queen. yes, isolde would be tasked to care after the woman's needs and she was curious, but she also had an unusual desire for her to be fitting for him too. his response, obviously, did not fully satiate her curiosity and she hoped her form didn't look too deflated. "who must we write to find out things about her?" she asked, knowing the proposition to be wholly inappropriate but she could always feign naiveté to the whole royal situation. "i think you should know more about her than her royal status and the fact that she's young." if she were honest, isolde had imagined the future queen to be older, more around horatious' age. she pushed down any feelings about how close in age they might be. "like what is her favorite color? or her favorite flower? these are all very important things i think." she was rambling at this point and when she met his eyes, she smiled timidly. "i must admit i might be a tad bit meddlesome," she said.

"but it's a hard thing to not be meddlesome about. i'm going to spend every day thinking about her until we meet. i hope i don't build her up too much in my mind and she ultimately disappoints me in real life." there was so much she wanted to know but the most important was whether or not she'd be good to him. in the short time that they knew one another, she had already grown rather protective of him, no doubt guided by the years of loyalty her father had for the man. isolde would hate it if his mate would be anything but just. "a natural?" she laughed. "your highness, i'm merely just standing here. a rat could do just as well, and i'm sure with your talent you'd also make them look incredible." it felt like there was a compliment somewhere hidden in his words and just the possibility of it made her cheeks darken. "i've heard no such thing." and it was the truth. maybe it was her fathers' protectiveness but isolde hadn't received the same attention from the opposite sex as her counterparts. she hadn't really thought too much of it before, but now she wished she had some of that experience. maybe then she'd be able to take compliments with a little more tact.

@moondustlings

He heard it as soon as he said it, though, and if he was currently giving him a massage, he'd likely feel the way he tensed up over being so suddenly inappropriate with his assistant. It's not that he didn't want to be "inappropriate" with Lila (he wasn't blind, and his back wasn't so tight that it was numb to the sensation of her admittedly-very-tempting breasts pressed against it), but he was trying, for once in his life, to be, well... appropriate. To be a professional. To be a gentleman. Yes, he was all of those things most of the time, but his first instinct was always to lead with his penis.

When he first met Lila, he had to constantly remind himself she was there to help him do his job, and no matter how convincing porn may have made it look (which, let's be honest, was never very convincing), fucking was not helping. So he got into a rhythm of boss and assistant that, despite the glances he stole at her body, despite the mild flirtation (it was mild for him, okay?!), they were appropriate. She was helping, and he just had to remind himself: fucking was not helping.

But wasn't it, though?

Now his brain was getting tied up in knots as bad as the ones in his shoulders.

"You already do more than I could ask for," he quickly added in his normal voice. "In fact, I doubt you thought you'd be giving me a massage when you first took the job, right?" He hated himself for steering back into appropriate territory, which probably meant he was doing the right thing. But he could keep getting a massage, right? If she offered and he accepted, that wasn't crossing a line, right?

shaking her head, she resumed her motions, believing that it was wholly normal for an assistant to massage her boss when he was stressed. when he continued with a normal tone to his normal voice, she felt like she had imagined it and maybe needed to go on a date or something. "i had no clue what i'd be doing when i first took this job," she admitted honestly, a small chuckle falling from her lips. "i prepared myself for anything and everything.

coffee runs, dry cleaning, printing out scripts. i had zero presumptions so if you told me giving you a massage in your trailer once a day was part of the routine, i would have nodded and maybe invested in some oil." she gave his shoulders a small — and what she hoped was comforting — squeeze. "you could have rewritten the job description," she teased. "have me do anything you wanted and i never would have been the wiser."

her eyes narrowed in a playful manner, sizing him up. the two were challenging one another, almost as if to see who would flinch first; neither seemed interested in losing. "maybe," she replied earnestly, "but i guess we have to find out, don't we?" a small part of her thought he'd turn her down, if only to keep the interest high. kaia didn't doubt for a second that he was interested, but he might be the type of man to keep a person on their toes, waiting. and if he did, she could wait, but only for so long. luckily, she didn't have to think about any of that any further when she saw that smile. it was a smile that held so much — mischief, promise, fun. it let her know before he even said a word that he was game. with a nod, she got up and tossed her empty cup, motioning for him to follow.

delia was almost too good to be true, and sebastian was starting to wonder if that was the case. she knew everything about him, was the perfect girl he could ever imagine, was always ready and willing, and dressed like all of his celebrity crushes. she was so perfect it was almost...odd. though who was sebastian to question the universe? they gave him the perfect girl, it would be a shame to waste it. it's not like she was his girlfriend, but that didn't matter much to him.

at least, that's what she told herself the first time she had bumped into him at the mall. it had been a random thursday, and if he wasn't so gorgeous, she would have forgotten all about the encounter. but in that moment, delia believed that love at first sight really did exist, and she had fallen hard for him. so, she did what she always did: she researched. it had taken a few weeks but she managed to find him again at the mall, luckily this time with a group of friends. she had covertly snapped his pic and heard one of his friends say his name, which allowed her to find him on instagram. and it had all snowballed from there.

they weren't dating, but they were seeing each other, which really meant delia was casually bumping into him when out. it's a small world, she'd say, completely omitting the fact that they lived in a well populated city and coincidence had long flown out the window. tonight was no different as she figured out the bar he was in thanks to a friend of his that loved to snap locations when they were hanging out. she waited about thirty minutes before showing up, pretending she didn't even notice him as she went to talk to a friend of friend she had spotted in the window, pretending she was the reason she had came in tonight. when sebastian slid behind her, questioning her motives, she turned to face him, surprise written all over her features.

His infiltration of Earth was subtle, silent, and flawlessly executed------------- not quite the thunderous and dramatic arrival that the Sailor Guardians might have been anticipating. In fact, Jinrai looked too humanoid to raise any sudden alarms, sporting casual, fashionable attire that was more boy from Tokyo than dark prince, much of his malevolent energy suppressed by his own power. Afterwards, finding the Moon Princess had been underwhelming at best, as the Silver Crystal being entrusted to a literal clueless child pissed Jinrai the hell off. Yet, upon looking at her more closely? Her face triggered a rush of old memories scratching through the fog, where she had once been highly powerful and respected, not just the spoiled little thing standing before him now. Whilst he and the Princess of Saturn had fought off the real monsters that the inner planets never would've been able to handle, they'd still been forced to bend the knee to the fucking pathetic and self-righteous Moon Kingdom.

Well, that old hierarchy was over with now.

"Ohhh, Noaaaaaa~!! Meet Riku, he's a University student just like you!" In front of one of the local arcades, Usagi practically bounced on her toes, nearly smacking Jinrai with the end of her pink-and-white bunny umbrella. She kept trying to tug him under it, but he didn't seem to mind the downpour, how Earth appeared to be crying over his undesired presence. He'd already drawn the dark hood of his jacket up, a few tendrils of amber hair dripping into his face. "What school did you say you went to again, Riku?"

"I didn't," he answered unflinchingly, regardless of how something explosive and devastating set off inside his chest at the sight of this Noa--------------- this... goddess of Death and Destruction cloaked in the facade of a human girl. There were many enemies of the scouts that would've gone straight for the Moon Princess by now, plucking her off her feet and taking her off planet just for the Silver Crystal... but Jinrai knew better. Any direct contact of him with the Princess? Would cause Sailor Saturn to rise instantaneously, creating another universal collapse. And, though he did not fear the eternal darkness of oblivion, he knew the Crystal's power could not be fully realized within his possession without Sailor Saturn being removed first. To think that his former Princess would rather see entire galaxies burn before submitting to him... it fucking enraged him in a way unlike any other. How dare she oppose him after all he had done to keep her alive?

Sensing a quiet moment, Usagi let out a string of giggles, her cheeks tinging pink. "I can't wait to go to University and meet all the hot older guys! Oooh, but… then I'd actually have to study… nooo thanks!" She clutched her bunny umbrella, twirling it in excitement. "Noa, come with us! We're hitting the arcade! Mako and Mina are inside grabbing snacks, and we're definitely not letting this nasty weather spoil our fun!" She couldn't say in front of Noa or 'Riku' that the girls were actually more so on the alert since Luna and Artemis had said how all this rain wasn't natural------------ it was a warning that they each needed to remain on the lookout for possible invaders. But, Usagi wasn't about to let that stop her from having fun; sometimes, life didn't need to be so serious.

when she's spotted, sayo stops in her tracks. as much as it's instinct to flee at the saccharine sweet voice of usagi, she can't help but be drawn to her. maybe it's her ever-present tone of hope and joy, or the way she makes sayo feel almost normal despite her less-than-sunny disposition. no matter the reason, she can't deny such a simple request. besides, if she tried, she wholeheartedly believes she'd be dragged in against her will anyway. "hi usagi," she greets as she folds her umbrella, shaking the water off before storing it near the entrance. when her eyes lock with the guy she's being introduced to, it feels like the entire world goes quiet.

the rain doesn't sound so loud as it pounds against the pavement, and the lingering sounds from the arcade behind them is almost muted. even the brightness that always seems to emanate from the childish girl is a little dimmer, as if his mere existence is to suck the life from anything that surrounds him. there's a familiarity in his face but sayo can't quite put her finger on it. maybe she's bumped into him before, or they had unknowingly crossed paths at university. yet deep down, she knows it's not that simple and her stomach knots at the unknown.

and just as quickly, life comes roaring, causing sayo to falter in her step. "oh. silly me," she mumbles, more to herself than anything. like always, usagi is oblivious to the world around her as she continues her rambling, the corner of sayo's lip twitching. "university is definitely more than just hot guys," she agrees. sayo needed to get to that aforementioned studying and took a step back but riku was opening the door and gesturing them in and for some odd reason, she couldn't say no. her feet felt like they were moving of their own accord as they crossed the threshold, entering the ever-busy arcade. usagi practically hopped over to her friends, who waved sayo's way when she was spotted. it was always some combination of the same five or six girls, and sometimes even mamoru joined them. and more often than not motoki tended to linger, giving tips to those playing the ever popular sailor v game.

truth be told, hanging out here was a lot. all too often, sayo found herself alone and she liked it that way. there were no expectations when being alone, no one to disappoint. yet a chance encounter bumping into usagi one afternoon led her here. being spotted, being asked to hang out, having something close to friends. it was still a strange feeling, but it wasn't horrible.