| 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖋𝖊𝖒𝖒𝖊 𝖋𝖆𝖙𝖆𝖑𝖊,

so I had to go on an unexpected hiatus &. to be honest with you guys, there isn’t a lot of muse to keep old threads going just bc of how much time has passed? I hope this is okay. I am, on the other hand, pumped to get some new things going so please comment for a starter from this list! you can let me know if you have a preference or I’ll just pick one for us!

please let me know which of my muses you’d like & which of yours I should write the starter for!

vivian trons - 5 remaining

chris herrison - 5 remaining

andy herrison - 5 remaining

nikolai knows vivian enough to know that she’s probably kicking herself over not asking that question. he doesn’t look at her, gaze scanning the crowd around them, not really looking for anything in particular, but rather just something to do. the movie will be over soon, and with that comes their departure; him to following her, her to….wherever. maybe she’ll go back to the clubhouse immediately; maybe she’ll make contact with her target, once the kids are out of sight. 

kids don’t need to see this shit, even nikolai knows that. 

he has no advice to give vivian regarding her father. he doesn’t converse with him at that level, nor does he have the intelligence to go toe to toe with him. so he lets his gaze circle back to her, watching her profile in the fading light of the scenes. 

“Best of luck, then, with that conversation. If you need anything, princess, you know you can just ask. I’ll be here all day.” here meaning by her side, not in the movie theater. he can’t wait to leave here.

━━ fuck, fuck, fuck. had she really not thought to ask that? or was it something else entirely - was it that she didn’t want to know the answer? it wasn’t like she’d allowed herself to believe that blake would actually stop down anyway. she was still toying with the idea that this was some kind of plan - a way to get vivian to let her guard down enough that he could attack again?

she was too focused on her thoughts to notice nikolai’s eyes were on her again. his words on the other hand always seemed to work to get her to pay attention. even if this time the initial reaction had been to huff out loud. “like you have a choice.”

.... like either of them did. 

❛ WHAT CAN I SAY? i enjoy the colder weather better, ❜ she spoke and laughed gently as she looked over at vivian, who was her boss but also someone she felt grateful over. tilting her head a little to the side, the raven-haired female chuckled softly at what she said about halloween. ❛ i’m excited about halloween… do you think the town will do something fun? i honestly have absolutely no idea what i’m going to wear, though. ❜

she doesn’t speak to him, and he can’t say he’s surprised. perhaps they’ve both finally been stunned into silence; him by the truth, her by…well. who knows. nikolai hasn’t speculated all that well on the relationship between vivian and blake, though he knows it’s not a healthy one. he knows vivian still holds no small amount of resentment towards them both for the way things had been between he and her, though she can really only act on her distain for nikolai. 

he’s not dumb enough to believe that vivian is looking at ascension exclusively so she can torture him from an unreachable perch. she tried to leave, and she couldn’t - if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em - so why not stay, and make herself the one who makes the rules? maybe this is the ultimate jab at her father; if vivian wanted to, she could disband the entire mob with a snap of her fingers. 

but with that goes her money, her security, and her home, and nikolai doesn’t think she’d go that far. nor that naomi would let her, but naomi hadn’t even mentioned this the last couple of times that they’d spoken, so what does nikolai know? 

( simba defeats scar and walks up to take his rightful place as king, and nikolai has a small thought. ) 

“Where’s your father going to go?” 

blake could stay in treeville, or he could leave the town entirely. would he want to stay in treeville? would he stay and potentially tell vivian and naomi how to run their own mob? or is this another secret he’s being forced to keep between trons’? vivian said he knew, but blake had also said vivian knew the terms of nikolai’s post with her, and that had been a lie. 

━━ another flicker of her gaze has vivian looking back at the target, this time to find his eyes are fixed on nikolai. this alone is enough to infuriate her - the fact that her mark sees a bigger threat. at least at this very moment. if she reacted like any of the other mob members she’d be up to her feet and not giving a damn as she closed the space between the two. but she was smarter than to simply act on impulse - so she’d wait. pop in when her target had gone back to feeling safe. 

time passes in silence where vivian has no other choice but to look up at the screen. the focused gazes and hush of the audience let her know it’s important -- even the kids had taken to pay attention. 

is she simba in this visual? dethroning her father in the process?

nikoali’s question gives her a pause; one she tries not to show. showing weakness only helps the enemy. she should have thought to ask that. that should have been question number one on her list when the position had been offered -- fuck. did she really let herself believe that things would be different? that blake would just up and leave? leaving a position that had only been passed down by passing away, before?

foolish.

“I’ll be sure to ask him about his retirement plan when we get back to the clubhouse.” she didn’t know.

HARPER KNEW THAT IT PROBABLY looked a little weird, that she was enjoying a cup of hot chocolate in the middle of august, especially as it was still pretty warm outside, but she was excited about fall and winter coming up. it was her favorite time of the year. ❛ am i the only one who is excited about halloween coming up? and the fact that pumpkin latte will be back at starbucks? ❜ harper said and giggled softly, looking up at the person who stood in front of her from behind the hot chocolate cup she had bought earlier. ❛ as much as summer is pretty and all, i’m so excited about fall –- when you can wear jeans and big sweaters and beanies without sweating away, you know what i mean? ❜ she said and laughed softly. 

vivian’s words hurt. that much was evident by the way her features fell slightly. she shook her head a little at his words. “things were different then,” naomi reminded viv. “even then, though, everything he was calling me out on ended up being true, viv. every single thing.” he’d been right all the while, which was why it was so easy for naomi to justify the behavior. naomi leaned back into her seat even further at vivian’s words, momentarily at a loss for words. she just wanted all of this to be over. to not have to deal with it anymore. she shook her head for a moment, slowly moving to stand. “i gotta get home.”

━━ she should have just kept her mouth shut - that was a thought that passed through vivian’s head far too often. a thought she’d forget about almost as soon as it appeared. that was just one of those things she couldn’t correct an old habit on. but she didn’t regret her words, because part of her was still sure naomi needed to hear them - see things from an outside view for one. “nobody’s perfect, babe. he should be able to forgive you if you forgave him.” that was her two cents on the matter anyway. vivian’s head shook when naomi mentions she should head home; a clear indication that it was her cue to leave. “i’ll go.” she rose. giving naomi the space to stay and think if she wanted it. “I love you, babe. you know that right?”

dimitri shrugged a little at her words but decided to keep his mouth shut. viv deserved more. viv deserved the whole world. he hated that he couldn’t give that to her. dimitri took her hand as she extended her arm out to him, pulling her in closer to him. he frowned a little at his words, fearing that this would end up the way their conversation had the last time. he didn’t want a fight. not again. not with her. dimitri’s confusion was evident on his features when he heard her offer and he shook his head slightly. “like what?”

━━ there was no hesitation when it came to moving closer to dimitri. the outstretched hand worked to get him in front of her and her other one slide up to his shoulder and draped down. she felt determined now; to find a solution to their ongoing fight, to find a way where they could actually stand a chance. her eyes flickered from dimitri’s to the big and bold treeville police station sign behind them. “ .... not here.” it was probably smartest to get in the car before they started talking - who knew who was listening in.

he stares at her, trying to formulate a response. he knows she’s telling the truth; he’d learned how to read her quite well during the good days between them, and part of her reminds him of sophie a little bit. headstrong, independent, but also feeling a little lost and helpless because of her parents. sophie was much more public in her desire to be separated from the sokolov name - so much so, she had died in her attempts to get away from it.

vivian is telling the truth and it hurts. 

not because blake didn’t tell him ahead of time, he doesn’t care about that. this wasn’t instructions for a job or for a task, he didn’t necessarily need to know. but vivian and he have tension that’s palpable whenever either of them are so much as brought up in the other’s presence, and the fact that she’s now going to be his boss, in but a short time, makes him feel trapped. 

anything could happen to him, but the fact of the matter is that if vivian were to get rid of him, he’d either wind up dead somewhere or be chased out of treeville. as much as he doesn’t pay attention, he knows too much to be allowed to live not within the confines of the trons’ mob. 

and that means that, depending on vivian’s mercurial stance towards him, he could be without a job or a life if he doesn’t beg. 

he trusts naomi, though. she would be a good influence on vivian, and the two of them could be formidable together. keeping it within the family, though dividing the smarts and command between two people to not make the head as big of a target. if vivian is going to be the new leader, though, it stands to reason that she’ll need more than just one bodyguard. 

that, or she’ll disband them all. 

either way, nikolai will no longer have the privilege of singlehandedly following vivian, snarking with her, or treating her as anything less than his superior. it’s a door closed firmly in the face of everything that they had once had, and that makes him nauseous in a way that has nothing to do with the popcorn. 

he looks away from her, and knows that this isn’t the place to have this conversation. so he simply says, “Congratulations,” and leaves it at that. 

━━ vivian’s eyes found their focus ... and it wasn’t the target a few rows over. now her gaze seemed to zero in on nikolai. on his expression. all of them had a calculating look, it came with the job, and vivian was watching his work through the new information now. new. so he really hadn’t known? that was interesting.

the way she’d pictured nikolai’s relationship with blake was a sort of right-hand man sort of style. blake has in fact given nikolai the job of watching over his only child - there had to be some sort of trust there. so why not say this? and then before vivian could stop it another question chimed in - was there more he hadn’t known?

about their arrangement for one.

could it be possible that it had not just been vivian who was kept in the dark --- no. the fact that her mind even went there showed weakness, unresolved issues were dangerous, and she was well aware that she had to get it together. she had to stop viewing the past as if they would have had a chance -- she’d fallen for a game. 

that was the end of it. 

his congratulations were met with a nod of acceptance. no more words. vivian didn’t know exactly what to say if it wasn’t a snarky comment in response to one of his. they were either fighting, or she was silent, that was how their new arrangement worked ...

wasn’t i?

the words give nikolai pause. blake didn’t tell him much beyond his original pay grade, of course, meaning anything he knew about his daughter or whatever small task he has set aside for him in that moment. the trust only goes so far as boss and employee, if that. it’s trust in nikolai’s services, in his abilities; not in him as a person. 

it’s not uncommon for nikolai to not know things. that’s how much of his life has gone. 

yet the hesitance in vivian’s words makes him wonder just how much he actually is aware of in this great convoluted world in which he lives. brown eyes seek out vivian’s, dark and obscured by the theater no matter how light the current scene is. 

“…Has he really….not told me what?” 

━━ vivian’s eyes flickered back to the target. making sure he was still settled in his seat before turning her attention back to nikolai again. she didn’t explain her words immediately after he questioned her, no, her eyes were still searching his to try to find the truth in them. attempts that only worked to frustrate her when the past popped into her head. 

a shoulder rose and fell in a half-assed shrug, speaking in a tone that was almost bored a moment later. 

blake hadn’t been announcing as much, but it wasn’t as if naomi and viv had kept their mouths shut on the matter since the offers had been handed. then again, it wasn’t like vivian was calling nikolai now everything something came up. “he’s handing it over. naomi and I are taking over by this time next year,” 

hushed words kept the news between them, that and the fact that nikolai still hadn’t moved back to his seat entirely. vivian didn’t voice that the bodyguard decision would be no more -- but -- did she need to?

dimitri had every intention of climbing into the car to get her out of there quickly, but when she stopped he did too, naturally. he offered her a small smile at her response. “maybe i should have gotten you a bigger one, ‘cause that’s not stopping anyone.” he offered with a shake of his head. his features softened slightly at her question and he shrugged a little. “i — it could be worse, you know? i’m okay.”

━━ any mention of the ring had vivian’s gaze turning towards it. like clockwork. it was beautiful, sure. but that wasn’t why she found herself constantly looking back at it. she still couldn’t believe they’d gotten here. that after everything. they were here now. working on them, on happy. “It’s perfect.’ she shook her head at the suggestion and extended her arm out for him to take. “it could be worse doesn’t really imply the alternative is good.” words. words were always so important. “what if I found something else you could do? something that was still good.”

naomi shook her head again. “he says that,” naomi began slowly, “and i believe him. i do. i know he wouldn’t lie to me, never about that. how could i be with someone like that, though – someone as good as him knowing exactly what i did? if any of this comes back around i’m just going to drag him down with me.” naomi reasoned slowly. it wouldn’t be just chris, either. andy was attached to this, too. 

━━ “why do you think he’s so good?” vivian leaned forward in her seat, question naomi further with an arch of her brow. “a couple of years ago he was hanging around the same shady bars we were at. outdrinking everyone in that room and telling you off the first chance he got.” harsh. vivian knew the words might sting. but naomi needed to hear them - if only because vivian needed naomi to believe the words that would come next. “if you can forgive him ... babe.... you need to start being able to forgive you too.”

the coldness remains between them, no matter how he tries to calm it. the jaded part of him chastises himself, he should have known she wouldn’t take the softened words to heart. of course she believes he could tell nothing but lies. no matter how much work nikolai puts into proving himself trustworthy, there will always be the shadow of the trust that had been there before; trust he’s not sure she’s put in anyone else since then. 

he remains silent for a few more minutes. waits until the music picks up and the drama increases on screen, until the children lean forward with eager eyes and their parents echo their excitement. 

he and vivian remain reclined. distant. apart. 

nikolai breaks that trend and leans over, murmuring, “Unless Blake has another kid, I don’t think that’s going to happen. I know you have big plans, princess, but the fact remains that your father is the man in charge. That means I have to do as he says, and if that means tailing your ass on your honeymoon…” he shrugs, letting the image fade into the theatrics surrounding them. 

━━  vivian is shaken back and forth. from reality to what she wishes it was. a lot of things remained unsaid- thoughts she wasn’t sure she should be thinking. decisions to leave the mob and the desire to claim it. her mind never sat in one idea for too long. it was ever changing. maybe that was why sitting still for too long always made her anxious. why she could trust a person today and feel completely different about them the next day. 

until she felt betrayed.

... until she felt as if someone was choosing her father over her

she didn’t mind the way Nikolai leaned over. contact was contact, vivian had never been one of those people that mistook skin on skin as meaning more than contact. words. words on the other hand were different. she hated to hear words people didn’t mean. 

vivian blinks a few time. an attempt to better judge if nikolai is playing her or not. ( why she thinks she’d be good at reading him by now / and after everything , that was beyond her ). “... has he really not told you?”

Without missing a beat, Ellie replied, “What exactly are you saying by ‘make them feel welcomed’? If they’re making a beeline upstairs, I would think that anything with 2 breasts and a skimpy outfit would make them pretty comfortable.” Ellie knew that it would be another customer service type job; one where she’d have to ensure her customer was always right and happy. It was something she could manage if she had to. She’d be doing it all her life as a waitress, only in a different respect. 

━━ “I’m not telling you to sleep with them.” Vivian blurted out. Not wanting there to be any miscommunication there. She couldn’t tell Ellie who these people were or why they choose her club for their meeting - she definitely couldn’t tell her about the mob. But there was no way she wanted the job to be misunderstood into something else. “Sit them down. Offer them a drink. Keep them company until their meetings are ready.” She shrugged. It was easy enough without mixing the whys into it. 

dimitri didn’t pay too much attention to the stares as they’d made their way out of the station. the staring was something dimitri had quickly grown accustomed to. they were everywhere he went, work was no exception. there was nothing he could do about them, either, so he figured he’d might as well get used to them. “me?” dimitri questioned gently as he turned his head to look over at her. “it may seem like they pay me attention but i promise you, they don’t.”

━━ They closed the small distance needed to get to the car, an excuse vivian used to lean up against it. She wasn’t avoiding the conversation that was to come, no, she was leading up to it. much slower than her norm. “Are you saying the stares were for me then? hmm, someone should tell them I’m wearing a ring.” another joke. if dimitri wasn’t going to start them off vivian would. help him slide back into it. “has it gotten better? at work?”

vivian didn’t know how lucky she was, in naomi’s eyes. to have a fiance who knew her line of work, even all the small details of it that one couldn’t seem to utter aloud. with chris everything was different. they were on two complete ends of the spectrum. she was thankful for his understanding but at the end of the day, she couldn’t truly expect him to understand all of this. there was simply no way. “he’s not going to end it over something like this,” naomi let out gently since she knew that’s what viv was getting at. “there’s more to it than that, though.”

━━ “yeah, there always is.” Vivian couldn’t deny as much and there was no way she’d lie to naomi either. “But that’s a good thing isn’t it? if he says knows the bad and won’t walk away because of it?” was there something vivian was missing? she never fully understood why of all people Naomi went for chris in the first place but until now things seemed good. steady. “do you not believe him?”

nikolai accepts the flask with minimal complaint. what further is there for him to gain from this conversation? he’s not planning to continue the pain between the two of them, having lost his appetite a little, both for the popcorn and for the snarking between the two of them. the softened part of him, the part that still cares for her, allows the silence to reign. perhaps now she’ll understand that he, too, was just a pawn in this. 

blake told him to watch out for vivian, told him to keep her in line and keep her safe. he never told him that he’d lied to his own daughter to make her more accepting of the idea. he never told nikolai that he had to keep it a secret. what reason would nikolai have to suspect blake’s twisting involvement in this; what reason would nikolai have to understand vivian’s subsequent pain? 

he knows she’s going to just snap back at him, but he allows himself this small moment of vulnerability. there’s a lull in the movement on screen, and he takes a sip of his alcohol, letting it warm him as much as he can allow currently. “I am happy for you,” he murmurs, his voice painfully honest in the dark theater. “Really.” 

━━ Vivian’s eyes lingered back to work- no longer distracted by the witty back and forth that were her conversations with Nikolia. Her eyes focused on the man in the front row, how quick his head is to turn towards his children when they call out to him, how patient his expression is when he hands over the popcorn to their tiny waiting hands. She really couldn’t remember a time when she went somewhere like this with her father - especially alone- even less if it didn’t have something to do with work. 

Too real. 

 There’s more silence between her and Nikolai than there is normally. At least with their clothes still intact. That fact causes her to turn back, brows furrowed, shortly after. Her eyes are throwing the questions her lips have yet to voice. Why was he saying that now? and did he really expect her to fall for that again?

no. she wouldn’t. she’d learned her lesson the first time around. It was not happening again. “Yeah, you look it.” she quipped, raising her brown in taunt. Just because he seemed to be taking a step back didn’t mean she would. Vivian Trons was far from letting her guard down around Nikolai. “What is it- are you hoping to get promoted after the i dos?”