#fallenmuses

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There was a small appreciation Aja had for her morning routines being slower and less chaotic. Her bed was empty, save herself. Her memory was intact. Her blood alcohol content was....adequate. But baby steps--no one ever turned their lives over in an instant. She went around her apartment, tidying up before showering and getting ready for her day off. The first in a while. She put on shoes and enough clothes so that she could go to her building lobby for coffee without being judged. Grabbing her keys and slipping her feet into comfortable slippers, Aja opened the door...and there he was. Standing in her hallway. With everything that happened between them weeks ago, she was amused that he even remembered the exact building, floor number, and unit. She stared for a moment and chuckled--it was a fun evening.

...No one ever turned their lives over in an instant. "You know, New York is big enough that I shouldn't bump into you on my doorstep of all places." Aja closed the door behind her and walked past. "What brings you all the way from Brooklyn? Did you leave something here? Car keys? Wallet? Your dignity?"

Dottie pretended not to see him. She knew he knew she still worked here, and she couldn't very well turn him away from a bookshop. She'd worked here for years; it was her first job, and she kept in through high school and her undergrad; she now juggled it, working on her dissertation and her TA/research responsibilities at the University. She would probably always work here, no matter the low pay, because she did love the job and loved that this was an independent bookshop keeping its own.

Noel knew all this. So of course, he was there on one of the plush couches, and she pretended desperately not to see him as she put the books away. Her eyes were straight ahead, but she was seething. How dare he come here like he hadn't spent the past 5 years pretending she didn't even exist?

Plot based in source

The airport was barely more than a hallway with a roof. It was two sad gates, one flickering departures screen, and a vending machine that had eaten Kiara’s last dollar without even pretending to vend. She stood near Gate 3, her phone held loosely in her hand, the "No Signal" message taunting her just beneath the cracked screen. Her flight was overbooked, her name not on the final manifest, and the next plane out wouldn’t be arriving until sometime tomorrow...maybe. She’d already paced the length of the terminal twice, muttering under her breath, before her eyes landed on the only other poor soul who looked just as stranded and irritated. Kiara paused, hesitated, then walked over, her expression somewhere between amused and resigned. “Tell me you also got kicked off your flight for someone’s emotional support iguana.” She said, deadpan.

"We’re not supposed to do this,” the words came out her mouth on a breath that very much could have been a little moan had she not bit her bottom lip. This wasn't the first time they'd done something like this, events and networking opportunities always ended up with them tangled together, this time it just happened to be in the coat check room. 

"Since when has that ever stopped us?”

The response Noel spoke against her skin wasn't a lie, it just amazed her every time his mind went to the same places hers did. Raven shifted against the wall, the coats obstructing most everyone’s view if they came to the window to check or retrieve their own coats. Her mouth found his lips as she moved her legs a little wider to accommodate him against her better, her leg brushing against his hip as her dress slid up her thigh a little. 

“Whiskey on the rocks.” Asher said, albeit far too dismissively, as he slid onto the barstool. He’d had quite the day and he was stressed beyond belief. He didn’t have time for niceties. 

Okay, maybe he had time for one.

[[Closed Starter: @fallenmuses​ You can choose whoever!]]