from what nate knows of love, it's a destructive and transformative force. nate jacobs has been in relationships, but he's not delusional enough to think he understands a concept as intangible as love. he's familiar with lust, with power. he supposes that's what happens when you assumed you'd grow up with parents that loved each other and were born not out of love, but obligation and resentment. it's not an experience unique to him, a tale as old as time, not anyone's fault nate turned out the way he did โ it's pathological when he fucks up a relationship that had the most semblance of unconditional love he's ever had. it's easier to choose what you've known, harder to be vulnerable and happy when your brain and nervous system won't allow it.
hara is a wisp of a thing, with a perfectly balanced face with strong yet soft features and an aura of mystique. nate towers over her in comparison and he bends his knees as he leans back against the porch railing, a futile attempt to seem unimposing, but he's trying. he meets her at a colleague's wedding, and nate's own fiancรฉ had bowed out as his plus one at the last minute, said she had less reason to attend than nate did. nate's not really sure what she does all day, but he'd wager that she's curating her own lavish dream wedding pinterest board right now. it's a modest backyard ceremony, with string lights adorning the arbors and a no cash bar. although, he's unsure if a backyard wedding can be considered modest when there's floating lanterns in a 16 by 32 foot pool. nate grins, cheeks dimpling as he shrugs. "vulgar? maybe you're right. but there's no accounting for taste," he murmurs, gaze flitting over hara's face.
nate's picked up on some tension between the groom and soon to be brother-in-law, but it's not his circus, not his monkeys. he's content to chat with hara for as long as she affords him her time, and retrieves a cigarette from the pocket of his slacks before lighting up, cherry blooming between his lips before he wedges it between his fingers after an inhale โ extending his hand in silent offering. "thoughts on the institution of marriage? curious if you're a romantic or a realist." nate's never been the best at small talk, he's a fixer-upper, not a poised gentleman.