martyrs.

it’s hard for him to force his gaze away from her now, his smile growing – nodding his head as an immediate response to her question. “yeah.” he speaks with such conviction, he’d never been more certain of anything in his entire life. rigel had maintained the belief that absolutely nothing in life was certain, but how he felt about this, his sureness was difficult to ignore or to argue with. as the kiss reignites, he moves closer still, his frame facing hers completely. an arm loops beneath her, around her waist, pulling her even tighter to his chest. it’s almost an innate response, his urgency to be close to her, for this kiss to continue on and on, charges his boldness. he’s more affectionate now than he’s ever been before, fingers stroking against the small of her back. “…this is better than any thought ‘ve ever had about it…” he chuckles loosely as his gaze searches her own once their foreheads are connected. the confession gives quite a lot away. not only had he thought about it, but he’d thought about it a lot. though he doesn’t seem embarrassed by his revelation. if anything, the deep exhale that falls proves it’s more of a relief than anything else. he’d never liked to hide anything from her, he’d never felt particularly good about it. “you do?” it’s spoken teasingly, practically purred against her lips, his smile growing once it’s escaped her lips. rigel wants kaliah to like it, he wants her to more than like it. her approval of it, further inspires his enjoyment of it. his lips slipping to press against her jaw; heart hammering wildly against his ribs – if he was a cartoon character it’d be leaving a dent against his chest. “i want you to like it,” he’ll admit, breath soft against her skin. “…want you to more than like it.” he adds on quieter still, free hand resting on her knee once it’s slipped against his legs. 

“ I’ll always like performing. ” It was the circumstances under which she performed that were not favorable — but Jacinda kept those feelings to herself. She nodded at the hearsay it was good work and truthfully it was. The lounge itself was nice and attracted a more upscale clientele, plus there were men like Ren who made sure the girls were always safe. “ You should stop by one of these nights and see for yourself, they make a hell of a martini. ”

it alarmed him, shocked him, that she’d ever think she wasn’t his kind of girl. of course, it would be a lie to ever say he hadn’t considered the opposite a truth. that he wasn’t the type of guy she’d ever feel anything for. he was timid, not loud enough, not strong enough. not enough of something, of anything. it hadn’t even entered his mind that, that kaliah thinking she wasn’t his type of girl could have contributed to their situation, whatever that had been. her confidence had always inspired him, he’d always admired how sure of herself she seemed to be. he doesn’t expect her to finish off the remark she trails off from. too – too smart, too strong, too beautiful? those would all make sense from rigel’s perspective. the more he thinks about it, the more he convinces himself that they balance each other out…in one way or another. they said opposites attract, it wasn’t outlandish to say that could be them, too. even if it had always just been a mere fantasy, before. now though, there’s a stroke of confidence and hope that has hit him directly in the chest and stomach and the excitement he feels due to it is very hard for him to disguise. he’s ready to speak up again, then her lips are pressed to his own and his heart picks up pace, butterflies escape the boundaries of his stomach and flutter around his entire frame. it takes him a moment, a stunned moment to reciprocate it, but he does – deepens it even, in his haste; one hand resting upon her own that squeezes at his knee, the other carefully cupping her cheek. breathless as she pulls away from it, he’s speechless and can only shake his head at her apology right away. it’s something he’d dreamed of before, but for the first time in his life his fantasy world paled in comparison to the reality. “don’t…don’t be sorry,” he speaks with a firmness that he was often deprived of. he didn’t want her to apologise for it, to regret it. his skin still tingles because of it. “i liked it, like it…i’ve thought - thought about it before,” the confession leaves his lips, suddenly, but he wants her to know the truth, he doesn’t want to let this opportunity fall through his fingers. leaning in his nose brushes against her own before their lips collide again, his hand moving from kaliah’s own to cup her other cheek, lashes fluttering to a gentle close. 

“i’ll always be here for you, to listen – whatever you need, no matter what happens.” it’s not just a promise, it’s a fact. regardless of which path their friendship travelled, rigel knew that he wouldn’t be able to deal, wouldn’t be able to survive without kaliah, least of all not here. she’d been right there for as long as he could remember, he couldn’t even bring himself to ponder a scenario where they parted ways. even if feelings might have made it hard to breathe around her sometimes, he suspected it’d be even harder to…be away from her. eyes wander towards kaliah then, as he bites down into his bottom lip, securing the smile – not willing it to be all too blinding. “why are you surprised?” even if he was surprised she’d agreed, that wasn’t to say he suspected it to be overly shocking that he wanted to spend more time with her, like this. rigel had always hoped his admiration wasn’t all too apparent, but he’d never anticipated it actually being the case. he finishes off his own drink, like clockwork pouring another. “i’m glad, believe me.” his heart hammers wildly against his chest as her hand rests against his knee, swallowing thickly he rests his hand between them, looking over at her as she continues to compliment him, “…it had to be good, wanted it to be good – maybe the best time we’ve ever spent together,” the best time spent in general, but he chooses not to divulge that, not willing to get above himself. as her gaze wanders above them towards the stars, his own remains attached on her for a moment, before leaning back against the blankets. it feels good, knowing that he counted as one of her favourites, he hoped he never did something to cause that to change. “…the most vital star of all the stars…” he trails off as he looks up, searching out everything his mother had taught him, everything they had located since they’d first started stargazing when they were younger. wincing until he discovers something else he recognises, pointing up at it with pure delight, “orion! the best constellation if i do say so myself..” he cocks his collar playfully, laughter splutters from his lips once it’s been said.

her words immediately provoke a raise of the male’s brows, providing him with another shot of confidence he hadn’t realised he needed. feigned suspicion paints rigel’s features as she starts to ramble her reassurances, cocking one brow – though he was sure she was telling the truth. “are you sure about that? you’ve never just stared at me, then?” nodding his head, lips pout a little, “…alright alright, i’ll take your word for it.” he’ll murmur his own assurances, before adding a not so subtle, “just me then.” he’s not sure where he finds the confidence, but he hopes it remains, even if his heart is beating at a expeditious rate against his chest, he even starts to suspect it’s trying to escape. arms wrap around his legs as he watches her search the confines of the bag he’d so carefully prepared. he’d done his best to provide some variety, to prove that he knew what she liked and to stay away from what she didn’t. rigel snorts at her praise, “i’m glad you think so. all ‘ve ever wanted is somethin’ i’ve done to be the shit, y’know that about me.” laughter echoing now. he wraps his hand around the glass, mirroring kaliah’s raise of it before taking a healthy sip of his drink, never one to allow alcohol to go to waste. “are you surprised?” he’ll ask, his smile full of a natural endearment as he takes another swig of his drink, “you’re more than welcome. thank you for agreeing to come here with me, i – uh, put a lot of thought into it. you deserve a lot of thought.” 

“…it’s always one way or another with you, isn’t it?” it’s a offhand remark, a mere observation that had captivated his attention. richard always made sure to pay particular attention to those that surrounded him; to never be left off guard. samantha might have been beautiful, their time spent together might have been…out of this world, but that wasn’t to say he was comfortable around her. after all, the prettiest snakes always seemed to have the most venomous bite. “is that what they say? i guess it’s not wrong,” he trails off somewhat, pearly whites tugging at his lower lip. despite his wariness of those around him, richard couldn’t help but be intrigued by them too. he thought the town was a dangerous place, granted, but he also felt a buzz deep in his gut that he’d been deprived of for years, a craving for adventure and excitement finally being fulfilled. “i’m not unhappy to see you.” he murmurs quickly enough, gaze glazed over as it meets with her own. he wouldn’t crack so easily, he’d learnt how quickly one could completely shatter if they let that occur. “oh, c’mon. me hitting your car means it can go in for repairs, perhaps a nice spruce up – s’going to be better than ever and you’re not even paying for it. consider it a blessing, of sorts.” he knocks his head to the side for a beat. “i’m far from offended by your feelings, however, i can assure you of that.” 

a lot of thought had been placed into the idea that rigel eventually settled upon. some of his original ideas had been far-fetched, outlandish…he quickly decided that simplicity always won out in the end – especially when everything else was anything but. despite his belief in the idea, in knowing full well how she felt about the park and stargazing itself, he still felt uniquely nervous about actually presenting it all to her. maybe she’d changed her mind, maybe she no longer enjoyed what she once had. people changed, though he knew that was just his anxiety talking. it doesn’t take long to set everything out the way he wished for it to be. the male was still in the thinking that everything had to be perfect and he was doing his best to carry that out, to follow through. kaliah was more than just the person he had a massive crush on, she was his best friend too – losing her would be a catastrophe, regardless of how dramatic that might have sounded; it remained a poignant truth in rigel’s mind. a smile overwhelms his features, one he doesn’t have to think about. pearly whites display themselves, something they rarely did, really. “…good, i’m glad.” he’ll admit at her praise. heart still hammering against his rib cage as he sits himself next to her. “you deserve good surprises,” he’ll further remark, arms wrapping around his legs, before he’s leaning back against his elbows. “besides, my name is a star, so i’m technically one too – stargazing just sounds like a good time.” he snorts at his own little joke, cheeks flushed though he’s thankful for the darkness that surrounds them, but doesn’t overwhelm them. in fact, he always felt a lot calmer in the darkness. “oh – would you like a drink? or somethin’ to eat?” he realises then, sitting up suddenly. 

        His blue eyes were locked on his clothes in the washing machine, as they went around and around. He was completely in another world when he heard the door open, signalling that yet another poor sucker arrived, as if the laundromat wasn’t surprisingly full to begin with. But, when he looked up he noticed that it was none other than Wyatt. Before he was able to say anything he noticed how almost every single person had their watchful eyes on him. It took him a moment to notice the reason why and when he did he had to look down on the filthy floor to make sure he wouldn’t burst into laughter. “ Are you SURE it’s your blood? Or are you running a side business, cleaning up after serial killers? ”

her question is as heavily laced as the very BLOW they indulged in as he hovers above her. she speaks as a woman that recognized the name upon her tongue - as a woman with stories to tell and where they had come from. perhaps she knew she could tear down already unsteady ruins upon her knowledge, or perhaps she believed that if she spoke upon his name three times something TERRIBLE could happen. perhaps the terrible thing had already been done — he wasn’t certain.  ❛  what do i want?  ❜  he layers his questions with lips upon her skin, the taste of cocaine fueled flesh invigorating to the buzzing that swept upon his now sensitive mouth. he could die right then — heart pounding in his chest, a woman, beautiful in all things considered beneath him and perhaps he could meet his maker, the hell - fond deity his father used to tell him he was part of. perhaps not, instead he could enjoy the moment as his lips pressed upon her skin once again, sucking playfully to leave small ( and temporary ) red marks upon her,  ❛  right now, i want another bump of that and —-  ❜ lips draw downward once again, teeth pulling upon the chest-rim of her shirt as he playfully tugged it down.    ❛  you,  ❜ as if they very build up between them didn’t express that on it’s own,  ❛  now tell me, samantha, ❜ he rises up once more, catches her hand in his and thrusts it against the mattress with a coy grin before leaning down towards her once again,  ❛  what do you want, right now? ❜    not tomorrow, nor the day after — but that very moment was all he would care to think of.

SAM + NIKO

❛  is this some weird twisted version of you are what you eat? because in that case —–   i’ve seen you eat, bud. it’s not pretty. ❜ a finger raises, poking at the air as if to draw attention to her statement as the other rested upon her hip. it was until that very moment, however, when her features shifted to an uncertain level of offense, head shaking in her own form of disbelief,  ❛  what do you MEAN i haven’t won you? ❜ she questions him,  ❛  you’re here, aren’t you? you think i can keep a conversation like this going on for any longer than half of a breath? ❜    features change like mere moving pictures as she smiles again, the other hand dropping to nudge him in the shoulder,  ❛  and you can bet your ass i’m the only one too, damn. ❜

❛  it’s never about how you fall kali —- ❜  of this, she speaks from experience,  ❛  it’s all about how you make your return. those that have harmed you will get their comeuppance, they always do. ❜ the slightest tug of her lips in a sneer shows her own malicious intent. many forget that with petran in charge, she is still a woman of INFLUENCE among the citizens of valdez. they will be reminded — one day.  ❛  i’ve been …. busy. money is good, our fundraiser went well beyond how we had anticipated,  ❜ which she had to admit was a surprise, considering the current .. regime,  ❛  and their attempt at pushing us back seems to have fallen a little… stale like the cookies i hear they were serving. everything is coming up CAITO, what can i say? ❜