𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐞.

two crystal glass tumblers are filled with honeyed gold – the kind that’s brought out after a no good fucking shit day. jack slides one across the table to cain and takes one for himself. his luck must not have yet run out if he’s still able to enjoy the man’s company. after a heavy sigh, jack sinks into his seat. “ these fucking kids... they’ll be the death of me. ”

@pistolbreaks·

– SHE DOESN’T LIKE IT, BUT HE HAS A POINT. she takes a moment to pout, folding her arms over her chest and huffing like a child. “ you’ll help ? ” she arches her brow in disbelief, like it’s the last thing she expects from an authority figure – benevolence. “ yeah, right. i get why i have to clean it up, but you don’t have to fucking MOCK me too. it’s been a banner week already, alright ? ”

           for a sharp, unmistakeable second, his eyes narrow at cain. before he realizes who he’s looking at, an alum, a superior - so he swallows down the huff that threatens to leave his lips and nods his head instead. he slips through the crack in the door, gliding past cain with an ease that had been gifted since small. the ability to make himself barely there, being background fodder allowed his entire childhood to be completely devised to his liking, to his own imaginings. ‘   you get much bigger rooms than us.   ’ he comments offhandedly. this is the second time he’s been in cain’s room, the first time he was too frazzled, entirely consumed by cain’s forgery of his mother to appreciate the design. the space, the way he can walk several steps without his shin knocking against a bedpost. ‘   it’s a bit plain though.   ’

                TRAINING WITH CAIN brings her back to the days with istvan, but maybe it’s just because she hasn’t had one-on-one interactions with a scary-looking man since then.  cain isn’t ACTUALLY frightening though – not in the hungarian assassin handler sense – but training with him is a lot more challenging than she’s used to.  so when she calls for a break she’s sweating and panting, quickly reaching for her water bottle.  TRYING this hard is not delilah’s specialty, that’s for sure.   “ can i ask you something ? “  she asks him, looking up at him with respect she doesn’t give many people at gallagher.   “ did you see the email that went around today ? “   there’s only one email everyone’s been talking about today, so she doesn’t feel the need to elaborate.    //  @pistolbreaks

sometimes,   gallagher  academy  feels  alarmingly  large .    like  there  isn’t  enough  time  in  the  world  to  acquaint  yourself  with  every  tucked  away  corner  and  worn  path  through  the  grounds .    frankly,   even  two  lifetimes  wasn’t  long  enough  to  truly  understand  all  of  gillian’s  secrets    —    and  maybe  that  was  the  point .    but  tonight ?    alisa  can’t  help  but  feel  like  this  room,   set  aside  from  all  but  faculty  and  the  other  visiting  alumni,   is  suffocatingly  small .    the  floor  to  ceiling  windows  and  the  dappled  moonlight  filtering  through  isn’t  enough  to  ease  the  soldier’s  tension  that’s  pulled  her  shoulders  back  and  wound  along  her  spine .    no  matter  how  many  times  she  reads  through  her  mother’s  scrawl  and  cross - references  with  her  uncle’s  precise  handwriting,   she  can’t  find  the  deeper  information  she’s  so  desperate  for .    more  secrets  that  she  can’t  unravel .    she’s  moments  from  giving  up  entirely  for  the  night  and  moving  onto  gallagher - related  paperwork  when  one  of  the  heavy  wooden  doors  opens,   and  deliberate  footsteps  disturb  the  silence .    and  at  once,   she’s  all  too  aware  that  she’s  not  alone .    “   late  night,   milano ?   ”

@pistolbreaks·

       it was cain’s mistake, a recognition of his last name and acknowledgement of how his features were reminiscent of someone he used to know. soren had just as easily brushed it off, because he’s certain of his mother’s whereabouts. her departure did not land her in a grave, covered in soil and festering with the worms, no, she was somewhere much higher, wading within distances unimaginable. yet, cain stays rooted in his mind, like a parasite that winds it’s way around his every thought, and he’s trying, really trying not to get obsessive about it. when his knuckles rap against the door, he’s holding his breath to keep from fidgeting. it opens, partially, so he knows that what follows won’t be an invitation. ‘   right.   ’ though unfortunately, neither an apology or a goodnight rest in the back of his throat. ‘   i was just, thinking about what you said and …    ’ he makes eye contact, his stare unwavering. ‘   well sir, i think you’re mistaken. i’m not, it’s just, there’s no possible way you could’ve known my mother.    ’ he wets his lips, feels the scratch of dry skin peeling upwards. he resists the urge to pinch it with his teeth and tear. ‘   so, yeah. you’re wrong.   ’ the only thing that mars the silence thereafter is a short gulp. he just needs the confirmation from him, the acknowledgement that he’d been mistaken. a stamp that says case closed and then, then he’ll go to sleep content. 

          posture  relaxes  just  a  bit  as  her  eyes  recognized  exactly  who  it  is  .   it’s  weird  ,   how  adults  are  more  likely  to  help  her  out  socially  than  kids  her  own  age  .   except  it’s  not  weird  with  cain  ,   because  he’s  been  in  her  life  for  as  long  as  she  could  remember  .     ‘  heya  ,   unca  cain   !  ’    and  that’s  not  even  her  sucking  up  to  him  ,   just  a  force  of  habit  .   besides  ,   it’s  not  like  anyone  was  around  ,   right ?    ‘  oh  ,   no !  just  couldn’t  sleep  .   yanno  ,   the  usual  .  ’    waves  her  hand  just  a  bit  ,   adrenaline  from  staying  up  for  so  long  still  running  through  her  veins  .   val’s  not  exactly  …  self  aware  enough  to  realize  why  she’s  acting  like  this  ,   though  she  promises  she’s  self  aware  in  other  areas !  baby  blues  blink  up  at  him  .    ‘  don’t  think  i  could  sleep  if  i  wanted  to  .   the  sentiment  is  nice  ,   though  .  ’  

– OH FUCK. probably should’ve checked who was around before she decided to destroy public property, and now she’s turning around to face one of the alumni. she braces herself for a lecture that never comes, nails digging into her palms with the pressure of her fists. “ yeah, well, it’s a stubborn thing, ” claire notes, looking up at him guiltily. “ you’re gonna make me clean this up, aren’t you ?  ” she sulks. 

     WHAT IS AND ISN'T HIS JOB is something that cain’s become well versed in since coming to gallagher. he tries, and lately fails, to keep all students at an arm’s length. it’s his own personal safety precaution after the realization that death tended to follow him around like a shadow. what made it so difficult was the fact that, for some inexplicable reason, many of his old colleagues decided to have children. and these children were making it impossible to act heartless, even for a professional. he supposes it’s his own fault for not turning soren away the first time he showed up at his door, and now, well, it’s become something. and while he can’t put his finger on what this something is, he knows it’s out of his job description. soren is looking for information about his mother and seeking it in the wrong place, yet he can’t shake off the feeling that he owes it to the kid to hear him out. he’s just settled down onto his favorite chair when there’s a knock at the door and he swears he knows who it is before he even opens the door. “it’s late.” he doesn’t given the other a chance to get a word in. weariness? maybe. he was just too tired to deal with this bullshit right now. ( okay, bullshit might be too harsh a word. ) “you should go to your room.” and leave me alone. 

cain milano  |  playlist link  |  template credit  |  @gallaghertasks​  |  

@gallagherstart·  :    ‘  no  mom  ,   i  definitely  went  to  bed  at  a  recent  time  last  night  -  ’    the  lie  easily  escapes  her  lips  as  she  sits  in  front  of  her  laptop  ,   it  being  8AM  and  she’s  sitting  in  the  dining  hall  with  an  untouched  pile  of  pancakes  and  milk  to  her  left  side  .   perhaps  her  insomnia  is  getting  worse  …  because  most  certainly  did  not  sleep  last  night  .    ‘  gotta  go  ,   love  you !  ’   she’ll  see  the  other  approach  her  table  ,   hangs  up  .   her  screen ?  shows  all  of  her  playlists  as  renamed  and  in  folders  .   next ?  fancy  letters  .    ‘  morning !  ’   valeria  chirps  ,   uncharacteristically  cherry  as  the  sun  is  rising  .     ‘  don’t  think  i’ve  ever  seen  you  so  early  in  the  day  .  ’   yeah  val  ,   because  you’re  never  up  this  early  .  

open starter @gallagherstart​

– “ UGH, FUCK THIS .” maybe on your birthday you’re supposed to what ? treat yourself ? but of course the vending machine is stuck ! claire kicks it lightly and the candy bar hardly budges so she kicks it again a little harder, and AGAIN, until a tiny crack in the glass splinters and spiderwebs across the entirety of the vending machine. claire raises her eyebrows and shrugs before jamming her elbow and intentionally shattering the glass completely.

fuck, that felt GOOD. 

“ hungry ? ” she remarks, turning to the person behind her.