regret

atlas just grinned at her words, cheekily replying. “i’m glad, also a bit surprised you thought you wouldn’t like me. that’d be a first.” most people loved them but then again, adoration wasn’t the same as genuine love. “i like you too, a lot more than anyone else.” the words were truthful, bare. it wasn’t something atlas did often, simple words often times came hard to them. pressing another kiss to her head, they kept one arm wrapped around her small frame. “i’m sure our food is ready and we wouldn’t want your brownie getting cold, would we?” hopefully the mention of her sweet treat that was tempting enough to be the catalyst for all of this would be enough for her to want to return to the dining room with them. “or would like you to power your face, princess?”

atlas sighed at her words, heart breaking a little bit more for her. they only pulled back far enough to peer into her eyes again, brown eyes warm with endearment. “i’m kind because the world was not to me, i’m kind to you because i like you, your energy. it’s that simple.” a small smile curled their lips as they leaned in to kiss her gently, softly this time. “you deserve all the care and genuine compassion.” this time the words were said as they pulled away once more, soft palms with rough fingertips cradling her face as plush lips pressed a featherlight kiss to her forehead. “you’re one of a kind, george.” rubbing her cheek with their thumb, atlas smiled again. “a work of art, inside and out.”

a small smile slid onto their lips as her brow crinkled in disbelief at the idea they they weren’t mad at her. she was so sweet. and so sad. they weren’t expecting the fresh flood of tears but didn’t say a word besides sweet humming sounds as they brushed her hair softly with their fingers and rocked her gently. she fit perfectly against their chest and atlas simply lifted her off and counter again. “it’s okay, little one. your heart is safe with me.” their voice was light as they sang to her and swaddled her slowly and in a simple rhythm. “i’m right here , no need to be sorry. for you i’d sail across the sea.”

by the end of it all, atlas felt like they’d crushed their own dreams and broken a beautiful bright girl’s heart. or at the very least hurt her feelings in a way they didn’t understand just yet but they could see this was something more than just dessert. “hey, hey, baby.” their voice was level, trying to be comforting but also break through her cycle of anxiety. but it didn’t work. she was crying and shaking and atlas couldn’t handle that they’d caused this for one more second. standing quickly, the lanky human scooped georgie out of her seat with soft hands and strong arms. one hand was resting under her butt while the other held her close and supported her back. by the time they reached the bathroom, atlas was in full daddy mode while sitting her on the gold speckled marble counters. “honeybear, i’m not upset with you.” thin fingers brushed tears off her cheeks as big brown eyes watched the scene they caused with a heavy heart. “you were never bad, you were never bad. daddy just wants to make sure you have enough room for dinner.” giving her a soft smile, they stepped in between her legs and gently lifted her chin again so they could lock eyes. “we’ll try it your way this time but next time dessert after dinner. i want to go on a lot of dates with you, this changes nothing, okay?”

          Chiara’s nose crinkled as soon as she head the infamous fanfiction line. “Shit, that’s still a thing?” she wondered, her head shaking at the mere thought. Poor kids, indeed. While the brunette had never applied the rule, she’d been at the receiving end of it. She couldn’t erase the memories from her mind fast enough. “Alright, if we’re gonna show’em how to do it, we better get to it.” After eating the last bite, she took a napkin out of her bag and wiped her fingers clean. As she offered Dionne one as well, she asked “Where do you want to film?”

          Christopher’s hues scanned the side of her face, taking in what he could of her expression. He could feel the tension ease from her body, at least enough so that she no longer struggled to get out of his grasp. “Okay,” he murmured before releasing her. “Sorry for the restrains.” He wanted to ensure the student knew he wasn’t trying to use violence on her or anything like that. What he’d meant to do, was prevent a fight that’d end badly for both parties. “You okay? Is there anything you want to talk about?”

atlas could have just about screamed when she said the words second date, instead they just squeezed her hand and uttered a cheerful response. “that sounds amazing, babes. i’d love to, i think cooking together is romantic, getting to dance around you in the kitchen with all those pretty smells.” brown eyes gazed at her lovingly while her dainty fingers twriled fine strands of hair. atlas was drooling in their mind of her in cozy clothes and with blushy cheeks as they kissed her endlessly. "movies and treats sound amazing, you might have to deal with subtitles for me if we end up watching foreign movies.” they joked with a large smile raising an eyebrow at her boldness to circumvent his rules with the waiter. “i’m a music performance student, minoring in religious studies. i have a degree in social work from the tribal college back home as well. this is my own kind of passion project.” taking their hand away from hers, atlas dropped a stern look onto their face for a second. “honey, you know that eating dessert first might ruin your appetite. daddy only wants you to take care of yourself and i am very disappointed, you’ve been so good so far.” their voice was the deepest it have ever dropped yet in her presence which was only meant to show they meant business.

atlas blinked for a second at her question, pursing their lips in thought for a second before speaking with great certainty. “smoked salmon, salmon burgers, berry & caribou soup, sunflower cookies, wild rice and maple syrup for a sweet treat sometimes!” their voice was light with excitement by the end of it all, thought swirling of home as brown eyes twinkled at her. “i can totally make you frybread, it’s a family recipe after all.” their chest puffed out a bit taking pride in their indigenous heritage. giggling at her goofy grin over fried chocolate chip cookies, atlas just laughed a bit harder at her pout. “only if you’re really good.” the words were slipped out in between snickers as they tried to calm down. truthfully atlas had never thought of food as art but it didn’t surprise them that she did, just when they were beginning to think they had her pinned down, she surprised them again. i wonder if that’s how she felt before? the fact that seafood was most of her list made atlas very happy and even more sure of the fact that she was perfect for them. nodding their head at her list of disliked foods, atlas chimed in. “all of those are gross so i fully agree with your tastebuds. though i don’t mind raw carrot or pickles, i quite like vegetables as snacks.” flagging down the waiter again, atlas ordered the seafood platter for the both of them with an order their baked mac and cheese and a sweet skillet brownie. “you never answered my question about what you’re at ulysses for.” it was statement more so than a question while being a gentle reminder at heart.

‘  do you think magic is real ? i know this girl, she grew up with a voodoo lady and a snake in a bayou. some crazy shit. ’ atlas was in the courtyard, joint in one hand and guitar in the other. brown eyes sparkled as they took a slow drag making the point to exhale o’s with wild abandon. ‘ i used to think music was magic as a kid ’

“Zero fear, actually.” Sam corrected. “If I have zero shame, I’m more or less ignorant of my own dignity. A man has to have his dignity still intact, really. Touching me isn’t really shameless. I’m just offering. You can say no.” It was true; he could have been a man-whore and a slut, but he was more or less a subtle case of lothario-isms and a little more hidden in form of hedonistic tendencies. He was still a shameless flirt, however, and if there were signs that it led to that, Sam was more than happy to take a swing. Consent was always key. He grinned at her when she declined the offer politely. “Oh?” He said, raising his eyebrows at her when she said that. “You’re keeping a list? Of what, exactly…?”

          Chiara felt a grin twitch the corners of her mouth and pull them upwards into an affectionate grin. “Babe, relax. I’m not gonna change my mind. A good kissing lesson can only do good for the poor souls out there who wanna go for it,” she stated with a slight tilt of her head. Then, her grin grew into a bemused smile. “If you insist,” she settled before reaching for a brownie, the teasing tone doing a poor job at covering the fact she was excited to take a bite off of it. The brunette brought the cake to her lips and took a generous bite. “—Mfmy god,” she hummed with the sweet in her mouth. The female held her hand up, quietly asking for Dionne to hold on, and after she chewed and swallowed, she shook her head. “Best brownies I’ve ever eaten. Bravo!”

          Mira expected Orion to suggest they met within the week or so but instead, just like that, she suddenly had plans with him for the night. “It’s a—” date “—deal,” she nodded while clutching the strap of her bag on her side. She could imagine where he planned on taking her, at least a little bit. Was it supposed to be a date? Probably not, but the mere thought of spending more time with him in a place he liked, made her feel giddy with excitement. “Is 7 o’clock okay? I have class until six.”

          Instead of entering a debate with her on whether the campus had seen enough of her argument with the other student, Christopher kept his firm grip around her arms; being mindful of not hurting her in the process. “Believe it or not, I’m taking yours.” His voice brushed over her ear: Composed, collected, calm, demanding. “You need to calm down. Using physical violence on another student in front of a crowd won’t end well for you. Just…breathe, okay? Let it go.” His tone quietened as he tried to calm her down. “She’s not worth it.”

sacrifice :   my  muse  jumps  in  front  of  your  muse,  sacrificing  their  life  for  your  muses  life.

SHE’D BEEN DRINKING every day since they died. every time she closed her eyes she could see it all happening over again. atlas and georgie were coming home from dinner when they were stopped by a man with a gun. he demanded their money and when they produced all they had then wanted more, it all escalated so quickly. one minute they were talking the next atlas was laying on the ground in a pool of their own blood. while georgie was screaming for someone to help them the guy took off running. she sat there holding their hand explaining that everything would be okay, that an ambulance would be there soon but by the time one arrived they’d long stopped responding or squeezing their hand. the only way she could bring herself to stop feeling the loss of them at every waking moment was to drink. 

One look and already Sam could guess what the situation was with the young woman, as he walked up to her and caught her by surprise. She spoke, of course, although her trail of conversation petered off and meandered away somewhere as he literally could feel her eyes dragging down along his half-naked chest and abs. Not that he wanted to let her feast her eyes on him that easily, but it was funny to watch her. Her cheeks flared up before she got back on track. “Don’t worry.” Sam replied. “You’re free to ogle at me all you want. You just caught me at a time when I am shirtless.” He said to her. At her question, Sam shook his head. “You can say I work for the school in a different capacity. It’s just that I’m cleaning up the front of the window where I live, so there’s that.” Sam answered. “You sure you don’t need help, or you’re more than happy ogling at my body? You can touch, if you like.” He teased.

atlas raised an eyebrow back at her over her words, “we’ll see how you feel at the end of the night, hon.” their words were equal parts light and stern, brown eyes locked on hers in a dare to challenge them again. humming at her words and taking a swig of their drink, atlas thought quietly to themself. being french sounds great. bread is great. “those all sound amazing and i’m kind of jealous that those aren’t my favorite foods.” little know the most people, atlas could bake their ass off and would most definitely surprise her with baked good as soon as humanly possible. “my brothers usually make sweetbread, we also make frybread sometimes. we usually eat fish as well.” her question made them perk up instantly, they absolutely adored their home. squeezing her hand lightly at the thought of her dealing with her parents split, atlas replied.“it’s beautiful, wild. very picturesque but rugged. though we also don’t have sun six months out of the year so there’s that too.” downing a bit more of their drink, they leaned in closer to speak again. “i’ve got three brothers, i’m the baby. i’m also adopted so it’s an interesting situation but they love me a lot and i love them so it all works out.” clearing their throat, atlas realized how long they’d been talking and their brain switched tracks back to taking care of her. “what’re you at ulysses for? also what other kinds of food do you like sweetheart, you can’t eat sweets for every meal.”