#khaleesiie

she was everywhere. there was no escaping her whether she was in the same room as him or otherwise and there was only so much a guy could take before it got too much — before the bickering and petty arguments turned into something a lot less childish and more adult. it wasn't like he didn't have girls he could call, he did ... he just knew it would be a complete waste of time so why bother? the only reasonable thing arlo could come up with was going cold turkey, no matter how badly he didn't want to. "i think we should just keep our distance, don't you think? i mean you stay in your lane and i stay in mine", announces with a firm nod, pushing himself away from the counter and approaching, always making sure he didn't leave too little space between them.

"i  wanted  to  come  see  you  before  i  head  to  the  airport."  —  and  with  that,  he  meant  the  slot  he  booked  to  depart  would  end  in  less  than  hour.  he's  supposed  to  be  on  his  way  already,  but  this  is  important.  "believe  it  or  not,  but  i  actually  have  somewhere  i  gotta  be."  a  dry  scoff  fills  the  loaded  air  between  them.  "i  don't  have  very  long,  but  i  wanted  to...  say  goodbye,  and  to...  see  if  you've  maybe  changed  your  mind  about  —  things."  his  features  hide  it  well.  still,  there's  a  sliver  of  hope  in  his  voice.

          “  what’s  this  i  hear  about  your  runnin’  off  to  some  office  job  in  the  city  ?  ” surely  his  hands  were  of  better  use  on  her  daddy’s  farm,  but  she  was  trying  not  to  take  it  personally. looking  to  her  left,  she  meets  the  nervous  gaze  of  her  informant,  who  was  busying  himself  with  cattle  rope.  “  and  before  you  go  throwin’  your  fists  around  —  i  threatened  to  brand  him  if  he  didn’t  spill.  ”  / @khaleesiie

" yeah, sunshine, you know the drill. you get an hour and then it's homework! " has to yell the final bit, their daughter already sprinting off to settle herself in front of the tv. collects backpack and sets it on the counter, laying out the books and notepads that were crammed amongst an alarming amount of erasers. " did you buy her these? " doesn't really expect an answer, now moving about the kitchen to grab a snack for the young girl. " teacher says we have conferences on tuesday, but i run a late shift that day. she's got a slot at like 6:30 i can probably make? what's your day looking like? "

the stack of paperwork on the desk before him is easily pushed aside when he still doesn't know what to do with all of it. it's frustrating, knowing he's not some kind of business man, but the soft knock at his office door pulls him from it. "yeah?" shouting loud enough that anyone would hear him over the music in the club, the door opens and he takes in a familiar figure that makes his features soften a little. "hey, beautiful. you need something?"

if you had asked enzo a few years ago what he thought his life would be like in the near future, he would never have guessed this. divorced, sharing custody of his sweet little five-year-old daughter, living in a condo that did not feel like a home. not like the one the three of them had shared before everything fell apart. but one of the worst parts? drop-offs. having to say goodbye to his favourite girl and having to see the woman he knew—deep down—he would never be over. the ache he felt each sunday afternoon saying goodbye to both of them... how could he ever feel normal again? standing at the front door, enzo crouches down so he's level with their daughter. "okay, my princess," he starts, reaching up to smooth her hair out of her face. "you be good this week for your mom, alright?" he presses a kiss to her forehead. he barely gets a hug and a love you, daddy before she's running off squealing into the house. shaking his head affectionately, enzo straightens up and looks at his ex-wife. he offers her a tight smile. "she had a bit of a tummy ache on saturday morning, but she was speeding around the park on her bike by two that afternoon, so..." he trails off with a chuckle. enzo finds himself looking her over, as if to check if everything is alright with her. he opens his mouth to ask, but instead asks, "her first soccer game is wednesday, right?"

he hadn’t meant to end up on her doorstep; his feet had carried him here the way a needle finds the vein. if she married that man, the version of himself he’d tried to grow, disciplined, detached, practically civilized — would die gasping, and the older, wilder dante would crawl from the grave with mud on its teeth. “you can be furious with me, but you can’t marry him. not when i know you love me.” he adds, watching the pulse at her throat. and still, even in this terror, a savage spark inside him whispered that if she did turn away, he’d follow.

( based on x ) dark eyes will go anywhere but to them — dancing around the kitchen like a magnet repelled away from a similar pole. "i knew this would never work," words fall from her lips with bitter amusement. adept hands continue their busywork with the dishes, cleaning up a dinner that had only been half finished before their arrival. this conversation had been an elephant in the room for weeks now. had never been equipped for love, romance, any of it. yet had deluded herself into trying with them. "i just—" scoffs, as if in disbelief with herself. "i told you i wasn't good at relationships." // @khaleesiie