#dandelionwritexs

It’s looking to actually be a lovely London morning, if the soft light streaming in from narrow windows is any indication. Setting intention and mood for any day is paramount, even one in which she has an unexpected guest. So she has her usual morning ritual going-- a little Blossom Dearie vinyl spinning at low volume and a few candles lit and crackling in her makeshift faux fireplace-- all for ambiance-- and the scent of steeped coffee wafting through the tiny flat.

You have to set the stage for a good day, and it starts as soon as you wake up. Really.

She’s curled into a chair at her kitchen table, dressed in an old white tank and a pair of dark blue boyshorts, one bare leg pulled up to her chest while she surveys the sheet music spread in front of her. The first stirrings from the bedroom perk Ches’ attention. Glancing up at the sound of movement, she sets her pencil down and scoots around her chair to the French press.

“I’ll make coffee,” she calls out into the bedroom. “Don’t go anywhere.”

She can’t help but laugh softly to herself at the specified order coming from the other room. Somehow it doesn’t surprise her. It’s not even that demanding or anything at all, but it’s something specific beyond the offered, simple coffee, and that checks out if her first impressions last night are anything to go by.

Ches uses one hand to carefully stir a teaspoon of sugar into the still warm coffee cup while she hoists herself up on her toes on one foot to pitch herself to the right, reaching with her other hand into the freezer to grab a few ice cubes. She’s nothing if not accommodating.

Once the first cup is ready, bare feet pad into the bedroom ( she has to smile, instantly, at the sight of the golden-haired girl all wrapped up in her bed ) and she offers her hookup the coffee. 

             margot had the patience of a child. ( a lack of which made her poor for ever creating art, better off sticking with being a curator. she always had faith that she succeeded better down that path, and she had. )  she hadn’t even been hungry. the craving for the blueberry scone she had picked apart came from the growing boredom.  “ how long is it going to take you to finish that sudoku puzzle ? ”  the woman tried all of her might not to string a whine through the vowels as she spoke. it was hard not to, she had planned to get up early and fill her day off with mini-adventures. - adventures that would be decent enough for her Louboutin heels to walk through, that was.  “ any longer, and i’ll have to put on some aging cream...”  there was a slight huff at the tail end. 

              circling around the ballet instructor, margot’s index finger traced the side of the ceramic mug of dark coffee. it felt hot.. and that disappointed her. hot meant freshly poured, and that seemed to come with time to spend drinking it.. time the woman was stretching thin with.  “ i need to age gracefully, and wrinkles aren’t in my near future, darling.”  fingers leaving the mug found a new resting spot onto olivia’s shoulder.  hovering was a tactic, if margot could just make olivia feel suffocated a little bit, perhaps it would get them leaving sooner.  “ numbers make my brain ache.”  she sighed giving the curve of the woman’s shoulder a squeeze. 

    jian stared at his phone for what seemed to be the thousandth of time, and he doesn’t know what to do. you’d think with how confident he is most of the time: he’d know what to do right ? wrong. it felt like it’s been forever since he’s talked to rowan and suddenly: he doesn’t like it. work has always been a cause of debate in their home, and he feels like a mess. he’s exhausted, overworked. trying to think of a way to be able to make more sales. the people want something new, something to differentiate from the usual boba. his desserts need an upgrade too, and he simply cannot find any inspiration. is there something wrong in his head ?

     he lives with his boyfriend, yet he feels like only a few spoken words are between them. the petit male looks at his laptop and out to the shop and in his savings. how much can he afford to close. just to close shop for vacation. a month ? two weeks ? he needs to find a way to cover for his employees paychecks too. once he closed for the night, he posted up a sign, closed until further notice. his employees even noticed how different he’s been lately. he took a deep breath before fishing his keys from his bag, heading towards his car. the ride home: was suddenly some of the weight lifting up from his shoulders. he was in his thoughts most of the ride, even as he parked and went up the steps. unlocking the front door and stepping inside.  

          “ ro ? “

a bottle of red wine splattered in dozen of pieces was all it took for cherie’s mask to break. the charade she managed to hold up for days, weeks, came to an end within an instant. the time she spent flying over to europe, kept the federal bureau of investigation’s name up to the status it lived up to. traveled by train throughout the countries, visiting many as equally professional. england was her final destination, the heart of london she silently oh so adored. but there was no time for adoration, nor appreciation for the beauty of the city. she had to keep focused, play her part and tighten up that rope around her neck just tight enough to not feel a thing.

but when that bottle met the white marble tiles, cherie’s train of thought made way for a repressed trauma memory that made its way back to the surface faster than the blonde was ready for. a darker hue blurred her vision, one that felt warm and sticky on her skin, her hands dipped in them, in the blood that pooled around the locals’ bodies. around the ones she loved and adored so much ... her parents that became a distant memory as she witnessed the life fading away from their eyes — a second it took for cherie to get on her feet and run. run like hell.

and get out of the crowded room, she did. how she made it onto the quiet balcony, was purely based on her survival skills. survival instinct. whatever she needed, her body knew what to do. but her brain ... that was were the flaws started to show, the entire reason why she got pulled back from the field. and put on idle, for sanity reasons. sanity she knew she’d never find.

@dandelionwritexs