ℕ𝕠𝕒𝕙 ℂ𝕠𝕙𝕖𝕟

Surrounded by people was definitely not the way to have a conversation like this, so Copper was glad that Noah was okay with taking this elsewhere. And they’d definitely have privacy at the lake. “Sounds good,” Copper replied, smiling at Noah. A few minutes later, he was driving back to his cabin, occasionally glancing in his rearview mirror to make sure Noah was still close behind. It reminded him a bit of that dark time in Seattle when he was constantly doing that, only it wasn’t a friend he was watching for. Thinking about that caused him to shudder, and Copper took a moment to lament everything that had been taken from him, the way his life had unraveled. It made him sad obviously, but it also made him furious. Copper tried to push those feelings away by the time they reached his cabin. He pulled into the drive a few moments before Noah, and Copper climbed out of the car, looking toward the lake. “Yeah, it might be isolated out here, but you can’t beat this view,” he said, smiling at Noah.

Noah had no way of knowing the details of what had happened to Copper, but he saw the understanding in the other's eyes in a way that made him feel heard. It was a relief when so often he had to make up stupid excuses as to why he wouldn't go out after a certain time, or skate to certain places by himself without taking a hit to his pride. He hated admitting he was scared, especially now that he'd been involved in two attacks. He was curious, though. Copper hadn't been in Shrike for too long, and as far as he knew he hadn't been targeted by the killers. He was more than curious.

When the two agreed to head out, Noah bid his farewells to the friends he'd come with, grabbed his things, and got into his car. The drive to Copper's was easy as he blasted his music and followed the other, and when they finally got there, he pulled into the driveway and got out of his car, too. "Wow! This is gorgeous," he said, taking a look around. "I'm so used to living with so many people around that it would definitely take me some getting used to," he mused, running his fingers through his brown curls. "I'd at least need a roommate," he chuckled, ready to follow Copper wherever he wanted to lead them.

admittedly , noah's promise of ' anything for you ' hit different , striking a chord in jupiter's heart in the very best way , and doing so for a reason that jupiter couldn't quite make sense of initially . despite the lack of explanation at first , he quickly found himself able to figure that the feelings earned from such words were only so intense because he knew noah was genuine in his intent . noah meant what he said ; noah always did . “ if i wasn’t already excited to see myself as an old man , to see where my life ends up , i certainly am now , ” jupiter told his companion , words filled with affection . he knew that anything could happen to throw his life off course before he reached an age where his teeth and hair were missing , particularly with the presence of the killers in their town , but no matter what would end up transpiring , jupiter found great happiness in allowing himself to imagine the future . 

jupiter loved making noah blush , he truly did , almost as much as he loved making noah’s heart melt ; the comfort shared between them was mutual , and it played a big part in the ease that jupiter felt speaking up or acting out in order to evoke such a charming and endearing response from the other man . the comfort felt was also displayed in jupiter’s physical affection ; to reach out and lay an arm around his shoulder , or to take his hand , or to sit so close that their thighs touched , it all came so naturally and happened so comfortably for jupiter with noah . he had always been an affectionate person , but with noah the comfort made it a no brainer to share his affection with the other , and noah’s endearing personality made the affection something that jupiter not only enjoyed and did without thought , but something that jupiter desired , too . he felt the peace and the comfort as noah did , and at the same time , he also felt the excitement and the pride - though he made no effort in analysing exactly why he might have felt those feelings in the presence of noah and noah exclusively . 

“ you flatter me , you absolutely flatter me , ” jupiter shook his head , the grin on his face as large as life . “ thank you , ” he was sure to add ; while jupiter had received positive attention before , he wasn’t the most familiar or experienced with it , and even if he had been , he was still a polite enough person to have wanted to thank noah for his sweetness no matter what . “ it really is a dream of mine , it would be incredible to see it come true one day , ” he felt a little silly for feeling so vulnerable to be sharing his aspirations with noah , but with noah he felt that he could really open up about those sorts of things . his laughter filled the quiet night air around them as noah suggested he go by one simple name , much like prince or madonna . “ as much as i love the fact that you think i’m special enough to join them in their one name club , i’m afraid the names jupiter and january - ” his middle name “ - are already spoken for up there in space , ” he countered . “ an alias isn’t a bad idea , though , ” he settled , before then settling into silence for a moment as he thought about all of the possibilities - not only for his name , but for the things waiting out there for him to discover . “ making contact with aliens would really be something , huh ? ” he proposed .

The night hadn't been filled with sparks as much as it had been filled with the gentle warmth of a flame that grew to a blaze as the pieces fell into place. It had been obvious to Noah for a long time now that the two had undeniable chemistry. But for the first time in his life, he took his time and didn't rush into anything just for the sake of having a bed warmed by someone else at night. It paid off better than he could've imagined. Maybe they were getting ahead of themselves by thinking of a far away future in which they'd both don gray hair and still remained in one another's lives in some capacity... but they were both indulging in the same kinds of thoughts together. That was the best birthday gift he could possibly dream of asking for that year. Well, that and a kiss. Noah's heart swelled with joy when they finally did.

He let himself get completely lost in the way Jupiter held his face and deepened their kiss. Jupiter was warm and gentle, and kissed Noah back with such sweet reassurance that made Noah feel like their feelings were in fact very mutual. After years of short flings and failed attempts at anything more, he'd finally found someone he clicked with in every way imaginable to him, and then some. Noah didn't want it to fall through his fingers. The hand that still held Jupiter's gave it a gentle squeeze, as if to make sure he really was there and wasn't just a dream, and he continued indulging in the way Jupiter tasted on his lips. It was a few moments before he finally drew back, not wanting to get too heated in such a perfect moment. Not without making sure that was something Jupiter wanted, too.

Noah smiled and tilted his head a little, pressing his cheek into Jupiter's hand, not wanting him to let go just yet. He felt special. Wanted. Loved. And he felt all of those things towards Jupiter as well, even if he didn't dare call it that yet out of that fear of having the rug pulled from under his feet. "Best birthday ever," he teased, his voice quiet and low, just barely above a whisper. "It doesn't surprise me you're the best kisser," he mused, all smiles. But for all the nervous racing his mind had done earlier, he was completely at peace in that moment. Calm and so goddamned happy.

ozzy  smiled,  able  to  understand  where  noah  was  coming  from. “totally,”  the  time  she  had  taken  off  due  to  her  own  attack  was  far  away  from  being  ideal,  but  even  so,  there  were  moments  where  ozzy  felt  grateful  for  the  lack  of  responsibilities  and  the  lack  of  pressure  to  perform  while  he  mind  was  so  deeply  preoccupied  by  thoughts  of  the  attack  she  had  experienced. even  despite  that,  the  time  away  had  to  come  to  an  end,  and  while  ozzy  still  struggled,  she  did  also  find  relief  and  a  strange,  foreign  sort  of  peace  in  returning  to  normality. if  noah’s  experience  was  anything  like  her  own,  ozzy  wasn’t  expecting  the  transition  back  to  work  for  noah  to  be  easy,  but  she  did  hope  that  it  would  eventually  lead  to  the  nicer  feelings  that  ozzy  had  found  once  again  -  even  if  they  existed  alongside  the  deep  pain  that  ozzy  wasn’t  sure  would  ever  leave  them. “who  doesn’t  love  gossiping  with  louis?”  she  asked  rhetorically,  laughing.

she  wanted  noah  to  take  his  time  in  his  recovery,  but  it  was  also  nice  to  hear  that  he  had  goals  in  mind,  such  as  getting  back  to  donna’s  after  dark. “i  think  they’ve  got  a  bunch  of  fun  events  happening  soon;  otto  was  talking  about  asking  the  managers  if  they’d  ever  hire  a  live  band  to  perform  some  nights  there-  i  don’t  know  if  she  made  any  progress  or  got  any  answers,  but  still;  with  something  fun  happening,  maybe  you’ll  find  yourself  there,  and  with  all  of  your  friends,  too,”  with  support  to  help  him  through  the  return,  she  mostly  meant  in  saying  that. ozzy  wasn’t  much  of  a  skater,  but  she  could  already  see  herself  taking  the  time  to  accompany  noah  and  his  friends  out  one  night  -  particularly  if  her  sister  was  playing. while  ozzy  wasn’t  the  type  of  person  to  stay  out  very  long,  she’d  still  vow  her  support,  having  such  a  deep  understanding  of  what  noah  went  through  -  despite  also  recognising  and  respecting  the  differences  of  their  circumstances  and  trauma  responses.

"Oh, man!" Noah's eyes lit up with the idea of live music at Donna's. "That would be so cool! I mean, I don't know any local bands that would play disco or anything, but I mean... I think it would be really cool. Maybe a cover night or something. Can you imagine some of the town's local acts covering fucking... Stayin' Alive or something? That'd be surreal," he said with a laugh, unable to actually imagine it. "Please, if you hear any news on that, let me know. I'd love to see what Otto's got up her sleeve," he said.

It was nice to let his mind go somewhere else entirely. He'd been so cooped up in his own head, overthinking everything and analyzing just how he'd handle coming back to work that talking about anything but that felt like a breath of fresh air. Still, nobody ever really escaped the horrors of the town fully. Noah understood that as he listened to Ozzy talk about how she was doing.

Sometimes it felt like people didn't want to talk about the future here anymore seeing as though it was more uncertain than before, so it was nice to have a conversation about it now like it was a guaranteed thing. "You'll have to keep all of us posted on how it all goes. I'd be willing to bet a number of people at Snapshot and some of our regular customers would buy a magazine subscription just because you were working or interning for them." She told him with a smile. That was one of the nice things about Shrikes, even through all the pain, the people here, for the most part, liked to look out for each other even outside of events where lives were at stake.

"I think so too. It's easier to forget the smaller things we can still enjoy with everything that's happened." And continued to happen. "So it's nice to be able to give people small reminders through photos now." It was something that helped her when she felt trapped under the weight of everything too, to look through some old photos she took of her and her friends spending time together when everything felt so much simpler. "And it's nice to have those reminders for myself too."

Noah couldn't help the quiet chuckle that came out when Ryanne gassed him up about his potential success with a magazine. He knew that dreams were a dangerous thing to have in Shrike, where the future certainly was anything but certain. But he really did appreciate the support. His shoulders relaxed a little from all the tension he'd been holding ever since he'd first stepped foot into the mall that day.

"Thank you," he began. "I don't know if it'll happen or not. But knowing someone's got my back the way you do makes a difference." And the fact that they agreed and shared similar views on what photography meant to them made him feel seen and heard. "It's hard explaining it to people who don't see the point of it all, or think it's just about taking pretty pictures. I mean. Yes, most pictures are gonna be pretty. That's what people want to see. But I've decided to take photos of the more unpleasant things, too. Probably a stupid, maybe even dangerous thing, but..." he said, trailing off and lowering his voice a little. He knew the killers weren't next to them, but he didn't want to tempt fate. Not there.

"I'll let you know," Mac promised. At some point they'd be willing to sacrifice some of their time to teach Noah a new skill even though they didn't feel like it right now. "I guess that's another way we're different. I was already on a softball team at ten," Mac explained with a smile. They'd always enjoyed sports. It was only ever on a team that they ever really felt a part of something and that was likely why they'd tried out for so many different ones throughout school.

Noah didn't actually forget. In fact, it was one of the few things he'd remembered: how shitty his dad was about the fact that Noah would drop his bat and run away when the ball was thrown in his direction. Noah liked to call it early onset survival instincts. He laughed about it now though, and smiled when Mac said they'd actually been on a team. "Okay, first of all, I'm good at like... only two things. Rollerskating, and photography. Everything else unfortunately falls flat and I suck at maintenance. But maybe this is the cosmic reminder I need to actually take care of that car before it leaves me stranded on the side of the road in a bad way," he chuckled. He definitely wasn't a car man, but it's not like he didn't want to be. It just wasn't really on the forefront of his mind most of the time. But that's what he enjoyed about his friendship with Mac. He liked thinking of things outside of his two very specific interests and thinking about other things that were important, too.

Sighing, Copper said, "It sounds kind of like I'm bragging, doesn't it?" He had no idea what Noah's family situation was like, though he had suspicions, and he didn't want to make the man feel badly if his family wasn't like Copper's. "I'm glad you get what I mean though. It's not just about blood." Sometimes Copper didn't mind talking about the fact that he was married, at least the superficial details without going too deeply into it. He nodded, telling Noah, "Yeah, married. Is that so surprising?" But Copper was smiling, knowing that the other man's shock was just being surprised given his relatively young age. "I met him in college in Seattle, and we were together ever since then until - " Abruptly Copper stopped, looking down again and picking at his fingers nervously. "He died, so I came back to be with my family and my closest friends," Copper answered solemnly. "It was too hard to stay there without him." There were a lot of things Copper wasn't telling Noah, wasn't ready to, things like how Deacon had been murdered by Copper's stalker and Copper himself had been stabbed and the killer was still at large. But he thought his answer would suffice. Suddenly laughing, Copper forced a smile, saying, "Look at me bringing the mood down. I mean, we're at a roller disco. It's impossible to be depressing here." He looked toward the rink, asking, "Do you want to get back out there?" His ankles hurt, not to mention his knee from when he'd fallen earlier (hopefully Noah hadn't seen that), but he would go back out if that's what the other wanted. Then he had another idea, suggesting, "Or I could show you the lake, if you are sufficiently satisfied that I'm not a serial killer."

"It's not always about blood," Copper replied. "Family is what you make it. I'm adopted, so that's literally true. My dads adopted my siblings and me and made a family, like literally. I know that's not exactly the same thing as a 'found family,' but my point is that family doesn't have to be blood." The longer he talked to Noah, the more comfortable he became, and maybe that was why when the other asked him about life in Seattle, Copper decided to just tell him. "Well I was married, for one thing," he answered in a solemn tone. "So that was different." Was he still married? Copper didn't know what the technicality of that was. Deacon was dead; he hadn't left, they hadn't broken up, nothing like that. Did being a widower mean he couldn't say he was married anymore? That was a train of thought that threatened to cause Copper to go down a rabbit hole of emotion, which he definitely didn't want. So he continued, "And I lived in the city, so I had to sort of look for nature. Plus there was a lot of rain and coffee." Copper laughed, feeling like he was on surer footing now. "And I had a large group of friends I was with all the time. I...have less here, though still have some good ones."

"Mystical, hm?" Noah mused. "That's actually a pretty good word to describe it. I'd love to do some photography at the lake sometime before the summer's over. Maybe just at the crux where summer becomes fall, I bet it'd look really pretty out there," he said, mostly to himself as he thought about maybe taking some moody landscape photographs. When Copper admitted he was living in a cabin by the lake, Noah raised his brows. "Really? I'm not sure I could do it. Live alone out there, I mean. Assuming you're alone, I have no idea if you have roommates or family here actually, do you?" he asked, scratching his temple momentarily. But before Copper had a real chance to answer, Noah smiled and nodded at his comment. "It's a start!"

Noah smiled as Rory reassured him that it was okay to feel fear sometimes, and to let it momentarily pause his life, as long as Noah kept going. He looked down for a moment when the other said he was brave, unsure of how to respond. Maybe they were right. He looked up again when they laughed, and Noah grinned softly. "Thank you. That means a lot. It hasn't been easy, and it definitely took me a while to get back in here. I had planned on applying here for a summer job but I'm not sure if it's too late to," he admitted, shrugging lightly. Now that he'd graduated, he'd been a little slow to get the ball rolling on all the plans he'd made for himself. "But I'm glad I can just be in here having fun," he said, shrugging lightly.

“ a disgustingly unfathomable amount , really , ” he told noah , a large and mischievous grin on his face as he did so . he truthfully had missed noah , he always missed noah , as jupiter was an overly attached person in his own way , and he had learnt in noah’s absence from shrike heights that there was a deep connection between them , one that felt better when they were together ; while he spoke with such a teasingly cheeky tone , he was speaking that way to bring some entertainment and enjoyment to noah’s shift - not in order to mask the truth of his words . “ i’ll hold you to those words , ” he joked , laughing , and feeling good to know that his company was wanted .

jupiter could relate to feeling worried , and to having a lot on his mind - particularly due to the recent events , and especially as they had taken place outside one of two of his work places . it was deeply concerning , for all in town , and the mysterious circumstances surrounding what happened kept him tossing and turning at night . in all of his years of solving mysteries , jupiter had never been at such a loss , nor had he been so committed in solving the case . “ yeah , absolutely , ” he said after sipping his tea , understanding what noah meant . his heart skipped a beat at the mention of capturing the bloody scene . “ you did ? ” his posture straightened in eager surprise . “ i would love to see what you took , if you’d be willing to share , ” he felt it silly to admit that he wanted to look for clues , but that was essentially what he wished to do . 

Jupiter was one of the few people Noah would drop whatever he was doing for. Especially if it was tedious price tagging or dusting shelves, or just watching dust particles float while his brain turned to TV static in the slow hours of business. When Jupiter was around, Noah felt like his world was full of warmth and color. He couldn't hide his big, toothy smile, and the happiness he felt as he laughed and nodded at the other. "Good, I'm glad! You can hold me to anything, if you just hold me at all," he teased back.

He held the tea in his hands and nodded when Jupiter mentioned wanting to see the photos he'd taken outside of the Town Hall the last time Noah rode over on his bike. "I did. I figured... I may as well, in case they clean it up and try to tell everyone it didn't happen. I was kind of shooed away and I'm surprised I kinda got away with it, but... I wanted to record it somehow," he said. "I wanna record everything. I started after I got out of the hospital, with me. I haven't had the guts to go back to that rooftop, but. I want to, eventually," he said, feeling his heart racing with anxiety just thinking about going back up to where he'd been attacked. Thankfully, he was in no rush to do so at that moment.

eilonwy was strong , noah was right to think so , and that was a big part of why she was so afraid of getting into a conversation about what had happened between herself and seth . when it came to loss , something she had been unfortunate enough to experience far too many times in her life already , in multiple different and jarring ways , eilonwy couldn’t be as strong as she’d have liked . she never blamed herself for feeling those human emotions , but she did hate being made to feel so weak and powerless . there was nothing that she could have done to change the events that had transpired over the last few months , nothing she could have done to save herself and others the heartbreak and pain experienced , and so weak and powerless were two feelings that were felt an awful lot . to dive into the honest struggles she had been facing would only intensify those symptoms of what she was going through . she would become more able , and noah would be the first person to hear of her troubles , but it wasn’t something that would come out in a hurry . 

Noah was in a strange place in his life. He'd just experienced some of the worst things a person could go through, and yet he'd also experienced some pretty magical things, too. He was in a weird place where the dread of Shrike lived at the edges of his mind, but his mind was focused on the people in front of him who pushed that dread away with their presence and the light they brought into his life. Noah was, if anything, incredibly grateful for them. Eilonwy was one such person, and he could sense something was off, even if he hoped he was wrong about that, and even if he did sense that she was alright in spite of it. This required patience and gentleness, like peeling back a band-aid that had been stuck on for too long.

"Overdue? Miss Finch, that is... actually completely partially my fault, too. I think I still have one of the books you checked out for me in my room. Actually, now that I think about it, I should go get that for you..." he trailed off, wrinkling his nose a little and smiling. He wasn't making any motion to get up right that second, though, they'd get around to it later. Maybe. If neither forgot! "It's a start, though! Overdue library books, maybe something implying going over the speed limit, maybe I'll get Hector to lean out of his car window a little and have a fan in his face to blow his hair back a little or something. Maybe get Jupiter to look sneaky breaking and entering into an abandoned house or something," he mused, trailing off as he thought up of whole thematic photo shoots in his mind. He had a big imagination when it came to photography, and he was grateful for her continued support.

open starter for @shrikestart from pj dawson. takes place in showtime, shrike mall. please use beta editor!