Once again, Casey was lost among the stacks and Riley was left at a table in the quickly emptying library with Gen waiting for his sibling to get done doing whatever it was they were doing. Research, no doubt, but Riley couldn't be certain if it was for pleasure or for school. Where Case was concerned, it could easily be both.

He didn't know Gen that well, not well enough to have much of an opinion of her at least, but she made him curious and annoyed in equal measures. Especially now as she interrupted him once again.

The small office felt like a relic, as if plucked from a forgotten part of the city and pressed between two buildings. Shadows clung to the corners, despite the light filtering in through dusty blinds, casting a murky glow over the scuffed wooden floors and mismatched bookshelves. Two leather chairs faced each other in the centre of the room; one frayed at the edges, the other with a softened indentation where Álex had long been seated. The air carried a faint scent of old books and burnt coffee.

@mossofteeth sent -> [ sleepy kiss ] while raine is sleeping (or pretending to be asleep), genevieve approaches them and places a soft kiss on their forehead

It had been a busy week, and a successful one at that. Not a lot of people would celebrate getting a murdering slumlord off scot-free, but Aaron was one of them. The whole firm was, really. The guy had put them on a pretty hefty retainer after his success, and Aaron had used that to cement his standing in the firm. That partner offer was right around the corner; he could feel it.

So they'd gone out to celebrate at the first ridiculously expensive restaurant they could find. Some of the others had invited wives and girlfriends along, and the evening had taken on a life of its own. All the while, Aaron personally preferred to blend in seamlessly, more or less quietly watching the evening unfurl. He was engaged loosely in conversation with a few of the other senior associates and their wives when something unexpected drew his attention. It was an instinct more so than anything he actually saw at first, but it pulled him from the conversation and made him look around.

The glass of red wine he'd been nursing still in his hand paused on the way to his lips when his eyes finally found what they'd unknowingly been searching for. They widened a fraction - and then narrowed. She'd just walked in - on the arm of one of the juniors who'd been invited to join the celebrations after dinner, and Aaron's mind stretched like a rubber band before snapping, focused on one overwhelmingly simple word: mine.

It took him all of one second to put his pleasant mask back in place, and he lifted a hand slightly to invite Gen and her date over, a casual smile on his face, attention focused on the male at her side as though she was any other two-bit girlfriend on the arm of a random colleague.

Ze's sprinting down the pavement like a madman. The sound of a crowd of paparazzi trailing behind is slowly getting further away, but not far enough. Ze finds zemselves dodging and weaving down the nearest block, heart pounding as ze forces zemselves onward until...

Suddenly he collides with someone, their bodies smacking into each other a bit roughly and nearly knocking zem off zir feet. He stumbles, gives a soft "woah!!" and quickly reaches out to snag them by the arm to keep them upright as well. He pulls them against the wall of the building alongside them, a hand covering their mouth as he peers around the corner to see if the rather aggressive paparazzi passes. A cough, wheezing slightly as he tries to catch his breath. Once he's sure it's clear--for now--he turns to the other, hands on their shoulders with a very serious look in his sparkling golden eyes.

"If anyone asks, you didn't see me, all righ'?" Usually, Aura loved the attention of being famous, but these guys wouldn't let up. They'd chased him down the street after he'd had his lunch and now he was left huffing and puffing and hoping that the avocado toast he'd just had didn't come back up.

a starter from archie jackson. twenty eight. cis man. he / him. boxer / carpenter. bisexual. annie and gareth’s older brother. nathaniel’s younger brother. nathan’s son. atticus and xander’s nephew. — based on: both archie and genevieve practice their separate skills in the same club/hall/building - archie is currently outstaying his welcome.

Genevieve was the name he'd been spared. Thistle, was what he offered in turn. No need for aliases and fake names, here at least. They'd had their little conversation and had even taken it past the cash check-out.

Thistle wasn't one to question things if he felt he didn't need to, so he was more than happy to just live in the moment for the time being and carry on a conversation out front. He's polite enough to wait for her blessing before he lights up, takes the first drag while she's adding on with the fact she didn't smoke.

❝ They're right. Shit's bad for you. I'm tryin' to quiet. ❞ would it be better to try and quit during a hiatus of his and Breck's show or better to do it sometime now? Where he'd be too busy to focus on much of anything else?

Ever a patron of free will, he offers out the lit cigarette regardless. ❝ S'like booze. No one does it 'cuz it's nice. ❞ his only warning offered.