#017.

Not Melissa - not the secretary; even if her body ached in a way she had never experienced before and a dull, continuous pain irradiated from her lower back. The brunette remained kneeling on the floor, facing her captor attentively - he looked different without the wig used to pretend to be someone else. With sunglasses and fake hair gone, there was a sincerity in his eyes that had been growing more and more intense over their shared hours.

"About prison, I mean. Do you think we will make it?" the question went out before she could process it properly, gaze lingering at his mouth - only to realize what she had been doing and to tilt her head back up, staring back into his eyes, "All of us?"

— from @stingslikeabee, unprompted.

Gavin's voice was soft, but not any less incredulous as he looked down at Melissa's face. "'All of us'?"

He couldn't lie-- the question made his heart flutter. He'd already told her the plan his sibling cooked up, that they were hoping to take all their hostages, including the "corpse" that Melissa had become, but the story always ended with goodbye.

Do you think all of us will make it? implied Melissa would stay even beyond their hypothetically successful escape. The thought of having her for longer thrilled him like nothing else, so much so that he had to swallow the joyous noise bubbling up his throat.

What a world it'd be if she chose him, in the end.

"The plan makes sense," he said then, which wasn't much of an answer, but was all he could give. "The only thing missing now is whether the cops'll hold up their end of the bargain.

magnolia castillo edits (  mutuals may reblog  )

     It had been weeks and countless flowers had joined them -- breathtaking reds and golds and oranges, vibrant colors of the sun, all of them cared for so dearly that their previously dreary lobby had come to be so alive. Though it was only natural for them to flourish under Karna’s giving hand. There were times when in passing and alone Arjuna’d wanted to reach out and tear through each soft and budding flower to justify the stillness in his heart. But he wouldn’t.

     ( He couldn’t forget no matter how much he tried, just how tender the petals smiled as the sun flitted through the curtains. )

     No, he’d gradually learned that the silence he’d desired more than anything between them had become unbearable. The emptiness mocked him, as if it were only waiting for one of them to cross a line, to speak through stuttering breath and disgrace.

    When he finally couldn’t take another day, however; Arjuna stood and watched the back that faced him as it caressed and tended to new saplings like sons. Karna.

Usually Lyla's happier to see him when he gets home. Standing there, his mask in hand, Miguel raises a brow at her.

"You know I need a terminal to read your mind."

wes: baby AHHH

wes: i'm so happy

wes: have u seen all the tweets and stuff about hallelujah??

Now Unicorn really did breathe a sigh of relief, but this was short-lived since he was intent upon following the cat, keeping that shock of silver in his gaze. There were far too many questions racing through his mind, like why those rooms downstairs made him feel so uneasy, why this cat was… the way it was, and why he was even there in the first place. But he knew he could voice them aloud and not be given an answer.