Ben Holder:

ben holder​:

“No, No, you have nothing to be sorry for, Nor.” Ben insisted with a shake of his head, both his arm keeping their own hold around her, assuring he wasn’t going to go anywhere. “You haven’t done anything wrong.” The last thing he wanted was for her to have thought that she had. Even if they’d both were convinced they had screwed up the conversation, it was a good thing, with the joint, open realization the two of them were in sync, and had been the entire time when they were together. There wasn’t any better of a revelation than that.

As Nora agreed that their painful distance could disperse, a grin instantly appeared at the corner of his lips, glancing down into her fond gaze the most comforting solace. “Hey, Hey, don’t apologize.” Ben whispered, and hearing Nora’s following admittance, one of his hands gently lifted up her head from the sand both their feet were planted in once more to ensure there was nothing at all she had to be ashamed of. “That’s ok. It’s ok that you got freaked out. I mean, I did too. I thought..I guess I thought the worst, actually.” He knew how ridiculous it sounded to have thought that way at first in the moment, his words ended up twisting more than anything. But it was that way with her no matter what, she had only cared about who he was as a person, not for everything else that surrounding it.  “I’m sorry. Nora, I just. I only want to do this right. Relationships, they are scary, but I know there hasn’t been much in my life that I haven’t been more sure of.” Ben nodded to emphasize the upfront truth of those words, having held true throughout the many years they’d become closer and closer. Besides, he and Nora did have a way of figuring out what they needed to.

-

“So,” Nora began quietly, fully aware she was restating the obvious, “we’re good? Like, everything’s okay?” 

Just as the words rolled off her tongue, Nora’s last, lingering doubt reared its ugly head. There was still the matter of, well, Will is her best friend. And the relationship between the Holder brothers was... delicate, to put a fine point on the matter. There wasn’t anymore skating around the issue, they were seriously pursuing what was blossoming between them. It had to come up at some point, right? But was it best that she talk to Will first? The thing was, she knew the reaction of either party hinged on the day, and whether or not they were on good terms. 

But Ben was here, and in front of her, and he was smiling at her and things were good and it didn’t seem like something she wanted to squander. Maybe Will would be the easier party. Or maybe Nora was just grateful to be back on good terms with Ben because she’d just really freaking missed him. By now she was staring at him, she was sure, and he would take the extended eye contact (rightfully) as a sign that something was on her mind. So, just as he inhaled to speak, Nora shifted her weight onto the balls of her feet to attempt to close some of the height difference between them, in order to press her lips to his. Even if only for a moment.

When she stood back, the brunette wore an unmistakable grin, whilst perhaps searching for a way to get down to brass tacks. Just to be sure. “So... relationship, huh? As in, I can tell people Ben Holder’s my boyfriend?” 

ben holder​:

x

“Everything’s ok, and we’re good, more than good.” Ben assured, not wasting a beat reiterating in return to her questions. “And if anything isn’t, we’ll take care of it, I promise you.” He sure wasn’t going to let any obstacle stand in their way, for all that truly mattered to him was that he’d come upon Nora again face to face. It’d been exceptionally difficult being at a distance, when Ben was entirely used to making sure he could see her at least once a day, if not for being able to decide whether they could be at each other’s places or not. And just as his mind was attempting to think of what else could be said, unsure if he’d said anything right, he became easily distracted by Nora’s returned, lingering gaze up at him, silently saying more than enough. Proving they both shifted to thinking the same thing, her lips met his in the next instant, and Ben instantly welcomed, prolonged the kiss between them for as long as possible. 

Only pulling slightly back as their lips hesitantly broke for the time being, the grin on his own expression mirrored Nora’s, unable to contain the sheer contentment. He couldn’t help a light, laugh under his breath at her questions, someone as flawless as her was actually stating both of them. “Am I taking that as yes for the first? And a good thing for the other?” Being around and with Nora had always been nothing short of real, as if they’d already been serious together for a while, and in his world endlessly festered with facade, he was aware of how much that authentically meant to him. But of course, he was also asking to be entirely certain for them both this time around, as he’d significantly missed the mark before. 

-

The fact that the issue itself was so easily resolved just proved to Nora that she’d been stressing herself about all this for, truly, no reason. Of course, she supposed, everything seemed so easy from the other side. What mattered now was the look in Ben’s eyes when he looked at her, and the realization that they were ‘hold-hands-in-public’ and ‘go-on-dates’ official, and he was promising to talk things out with her, rather than just shutting her out. And sure, it was terrifying and new and fragile and breakable, but god, it felt good, too. It felt good to allow herself to give in to the happy feeling, and abandon the risks for a moment. 

“The answer is a definitive yes, boyfriend,” the petite brunette chimed, her grin softening into a smile as she leaned up to briefly reconnect their lips once more. Once she was back on her own two feet, she slid her arms around Ben’s middle, just to draw herself into his embrace and revel in the happiness of this moment, before her mind could get ahead of her, just as it had before, when they’d ended up in this situation. 

matty razo​:

Matty had never really understood how easy it was to make others smile until he became an actual artist, he could do something as small as giving away quick drawings that he finished in less than ten minutes and people would thank him as if he’d fixed their day with such a simple gesture. He could see that smile now on this stranger and it brought a wide smile to his face as well as he shook her hand gently. “I think your name sounds kinda familiar to me too, honestly.” He thought about it for a second and then shrugged. “I’m Matty. And if it helps, I usually keep to The 401 or she loves me, or my own shop, obviously. Wait, wait…aren’t you the owner of Sugar Daddy?”

-

Though Nora couldn’t remember the last time she was coherent enough to remember anything or anyone the last time she was in the 401, she spared a nod at the mention of Sugar Daddy, and her ownership of it. “Yup, that’s me. Your turn, what’s your shop? I’m hoping it isn’t somewhere I go pretty often, otherwise my asking will be rather embarrassing.” The brunette spared a glance down at the drawing now in her grasp, and smiled at it once more. Finding joy in such a small thing was rare for her these days, so Nora was leaning into it a little bit more. And, if nothing else, her new friend and his talents would make for a great memory to gaze back on later on.

ELIAS / ADELE

Lets play True or False. Leave me a message in my ask, and ill answer it with a true or false.

celestina garcia​:​​

+

It was Celestina’s day off and today she chose to do something productive in order to make the most of it. With her upcoming schedule looking booked and busy, she had to take advantage of her only me-time and chose to do so by running errands throughout the day. After speed running her to do list, she ended up with plenty of downtime and decided to go around town for a bit of shopping. Currently she was in Hailey’s Comet with a list of books that were recommended when she stumbled upon booktok while scrolling through her FYP on Tiktok. She may not be the fastest reader, but she does read and it was a nice way to escape reality and pass the time.

When she walked into the store, dark hues did a run down of her surroundings, figuring out which direction she wanted to go. In the midst of her stroll, the sound of a book falling onto the ground in front of her caught her attention as she immediately bent down to pick it up. “Sky Raiders.” she read out loud as she stood back up. “Cute.” she mused while handing it back Nora and assessing the scene in front of her. 

“No need to apologize, it happens. Do you need a basket or something?” Was there even a basket around here? Cel did a double take before returning her attention to Nora, “Are you alright? Do you need assistance…with figuring whatever that is out?” It didn’t hurt to ask sometimes, maybe it was book related and in that case, the dancer could try to flag an employee down for her. 

-

Nora almost immediately perked up when the other read the book’s title aloud with what seemed to be some sense of familiarity, extending her hand to accept the fallen artifact. But then, Nora’s face fell a little, when she realized they likely knew as little about it as she did. 

“Yeah, now if I could just get my kid to agree with you,” was the brunette’s muttered retort, as she accepted the novel from the other’s hands. Realizing how rude she must seem, Nora quickly recovered and regained her manners. “Oh god, I’m sorry. So sorry, um, thank you. I’m just a little distracted.” 

As the other offered assistance in the only way she presumed they knew how, without being an employee of the store, Nora shook her head, though a smile warmed her features at the thought of the kind offer. “Oh, I couldn’t possibly ask that of you, don’t sweat it,” she began, though... maybe she could backtrack a little. “You know, I do need assistance, but, like.. Well, not from someone whose job it is to sell me books. I really need a stranger’s opinion. Do you think you can help me out? I’ll completely understand if you tell me I’m a weirdo and don’t want to do it.” 

celestina flores​:

+

Celestina laughed at the other’s response before expressing a sympathetic gaze. She’d seen that type of response with Camila whenever things don’t go her way with Sage. Therefore, it was understandable if she was undergoing the growing pains of motherhood. “Please, don’t apologize. I totally get it. Children are just a whole other breed. It’s funny how we used to be like them.” Growth, puberty, the overall shebang of life—it came with the territory. She’s been seeing it with Sage and time certainly flew whenever each year passes by. 

“You sure?” She didn’t mind given that she had a clear schedule ahead. When she learned that she did needed assistance, Cel stood there and nodded, “I think you are far from it…And trust me, I’ve been up close and personal with weirdos.” Especially at The 401, but she wasn’t going to get into too much details about that to freak her out. With a soft chuckle, the dancer smiled and asked, “I can help you out. What’s on your mind?” 

x

                    The simplest mention of her own childhood had Nora thinking of her mother and smiling — for a moment. What she wouldn’t give to have her mother’s advice without bias; even though at least part of Nora could understand. 

                    How could she ever look at her grandson and not hear even the faintest ‘I-told-you-so’ at the back of her mind? Martina had never bothered to keep her disdain for her former son-in-law a secret, and even more so once the ink was dry on the divorce. She’d predicted, correctly, that their passionate love affair would burn out just as quickly as it had begun, but... still, Nora had held out hope that her mother would remember the difficulties of motherhood and sympathize with how hard it would be to do it alone, with less... negative comments. Martina was always happy to watch her grandson, but never without a subtle dig about how nice it would be if Michael were around to help bear the weight of raising a child. 

                    It was why the brunette hadn’t consulted her now. And, well, it stung. 

                                        “Well, I appreciate that. It is a relief to know I’ve still retained some of my charm.” The woman spared a laugh just then, turning over the novel in her hands impatiently, as if she was fed up with waiting on herself to get the words out. “I dunno, what sort of books did you like as a kid? I am quite literally grasping at straws, here.”