i know

right. vaughn had already forgotten the rants he had listened to some years ago. it took him a moment to decide how to respond. “ what ? really ? are you sure ? it just takes a while to break the ice with her. ” his palms felt sweaty. “ i was honestly just thinking about dinner. i can’t say i know layla too well and at this point it’s becoming a bit awkward. i feel like i should know barbie’s best friends. ” he knew omari and natasja... and he knew how little they liked him. with layla he had a chance !

“ i must sound like a broken record but nat, don’t you think you could just not go through with this. england is so divided. the situation is worse than it has ever been. is it really worth it ? ” maybe it would be this conversation. the one that would change everything. he had to at least try. [ ;; @nataliademarquis​ ]

“ hey how come you and layla had never had a double date with barbie and i ? wouldn’t that be fun ? ” he didn’t know much about layla... and he didn’t know much about layla’s husband --- which was evident from the way he had ran out of things to talk about as they waited for layla and barbie to return to the braganca-ashcroft apartment.  [ ;; @vslvano​ ]

“ i don’t know what to do with father. toni and the others are convinced that he needs to be taken out any means necessary. it’s seems rather extreme... ” [ ;; @barbiebraganca​ ]

vaughn’s brows shot up and for a long and silent moment he stared at his so called father. “ that’s--- you know what happened there. you can’t judge me for what happened with dani. ” considering how arthur had played in a role in the fallout, vaughn couldn’t believe he would bring it up so lightly.

“ you... you’ve met dani. he’s your grandchild too. ”

there was no way to describe the relief that washed over him when he saw the windows of the resort in front of him. he had lost the track of time walking through the forest. he had reached a road much earlier than he had found the resort — he must have ran too far in the west when he had made his escape. the moment he saw the crowd in the reception hall, he realized not too many people had made it back. “ excuse me, ” he stopped the first person he saw. “ is barbie somewhere ? where is she ? are toni and nat here ? where– who are not here ? ”  

“ that would be an understatement. toni is about to explode, i think, and the rest... i still haven’t quite figured out where they stand. ” he couldn’t help but to admire antonia’s conviction — she had never faltered when it came to despising their father. “ i’m hoping that when things get too bad, just talking to him will help us reach a solution. even he has to feel hopeless eventually. ”

“ you could come over for dinner some time. if you wanted. ” the offer came before he managed to greet the man. “ you haven’t seen the twins yet. ” [ ;; @arthurwindsorsr​  ]

“ have we really exhausted all the other options ? ” vaughn inquired awkwardly. “ we’re fighting nat and our father — and he’s dad whether you want to admit that or not. ” even though they had received some good news, there was always a possibility of things getting ugly and quickly. “ we could still try negotiating. ” [ ;; @vntcniv​ ]

“ sofia, isn’t it ? ” vaughn stopped the woman in the hallway, his finger pointed at the duchess. “ i’m vaughn, art’s brother. ” he extended his hand for a shake. “ you’re a bit of a mystery honestly. it’s hard to make art talk about you. ” [ ;; @sofiafagoaga​ ]

“ but they’ve been together for two years. ” it made no sense. his confusion was etched on his face. they had seemed so happy too and it wasn’t as if barbie had ever said anything to him that would have made him think that something was off with the couple. “ i’ll keep my eyes peeled, promise. ” controlling dani’s perception of the situation was pretty much impossible, what he wanted to make sure was that he knew that vaughn wasn’t about to up and disappear from his life. the afternoons and evenings he got to spend with the kids helped vaughn to feel less anxious about the situation. “ if sara doesn’t mind... i haven’t been outside all day, a walk wouldn’t hurt. ”

“ nat’s moved in ? ” vaughn asked, brows rising on his forehead. “ whoa. it’s like... i don’t know, you have a house full of stray cats now. ” it should have bothered him more perhaps, that omari and natasja were sharing the space with barbie but something about the equation made sense in a weird and quirky way. certain friendships were impossible to infiltrate. “ ah... i wouldn’t worry about tonight too much. it’s just his hotheadedness. ” or perhaps plain immaturity. he was still a boy. “ the only real way to solve a puzzle is to first separate the piece by colour and then– ” he looked at barbie, and cleared his throat. “ you know if it ever gets too busy or stuffy in your suite, you can come here for some space. i’d like it. very much. ”