breathe.

GRA-8347 -- GRAHAM BENJAMIN. Rhapsody, Club Owner.

[aerokinetical-blog]

belevine‌:

Graham’s voice was one that Brett was happy to hear.  It felt like ages since he had seen his good friend.  At Graham’s appearance, Brett’s smile betrayed his immediate panic.  "Hey, man,“ he said, "Am I fucking glad to see you, man.”  Brett pulled Graham in for a quick hug.  They could catch up later.  As he released him, he said, “You got the people, right?  I’ll head straight into it.”  He didn’t have his usual Hyperion attire and there wasn’t time to put on a costume and fight it out.  A secret identity wasn’t too big of a price to pay when there were lives on the line.  Brett nodded at Graham before took a few steps back.  He aimed his trajectory and sped forward before he was lifted off the ground and sailed through the air.  Flight had to be one of his favorite abilities given through his alien heritage.  He turned his attention to the incoming opponent, pushing his speed directly at it.

There were many heroes in Ceres Centropolis.  Graham wasn’t a fan of many of them, with the exception of Hyperion.  Graham was aware that it was dangerous to think about how many of the heroes weren’t actual  heroes;  it toed the line with the mental state of the S.H.O.T.’s Deputy Director and that wasn’t a path that Graham wanted to follow.  “I’ll get the people out of here,” he confirmed and nodded, “Go do your hero thing, man.”  Graham watched as his friend sped off and into the air.  He went around and tried to get everyone in the parking lot to safety.  When debris or anything came headed toward them, Graham took a breath and blew it out - the air moved according to his desire, moving things out of the way and clearing a path for passerbys.  With the majority of them cleared out, Graham looked over to where Brett ran off to.  Graham never played the hero, but he couldn’t help but worry about his friend.  He followed after Brett.  Graham wasn’t a hero, but he could easily support his friend.

[belevine-blog]

It should have been common law that weekends were meant for absolutely no crimes whatsoever.  Unfortunately, even if that was a common law, Brett doubted that people follow it - criminals always found justice in their law-breaking ways.  He’d stepped out the grocery store, bags in hand when he heard the sound.  His eyes snapped up, moving over to where the noise was coming from.  At first, he couldn’t make it out but his eyes widened as he saw it approaching.  Brett dropped the grocery bags and started bolting towards the approaching forces.

“Hey, get out of the way.  Get as far away from here as you possibly can!” Brett shouted as he rushed straight to the sound.  He had a knack for running toward danger.  It was part of his job, after all.

[aerokinetical-blog]

Even though Graham had just parked his car, he heard Brett’s voice above the crowd.  For as long as Graham knew Brett, he’d never known the other man to be this distraught.  “Hey,” Graham shouted as he flagged down Brett.  He rushed over to his friend’s side and reached for his shoulder, “Brett, Brett.  I’ll help escort the people outta here.  Is there anything else you need help with?  Do you need a distraction so you can ...you know ...,” Graham didn’t bother to finish the rest of his sentence.  People had secret identities for a reason and he couldn’t compromise Brett’s.  Graham wasn’t the hero type.  He’d never been the hero type but that didn’t mean he would obstruct Brett’s calling card.  Graham took a look over to where the forces were coming in.  He took a sharp breath as the air around them shifted.

[aerokinetical-blog]

avgmcnt‌:

The cameras could be recording their words, but Conrad was more interested in the idea of meeting a potential superhero. It wasn’t like he hadn’t met them before, but they were usually too busy to talk to him when danger was so near. “Well, thanks whoever was being awesome today.” He chuckled and nodded. He wasn’t sure if it was Graham who was responsible, but he had a feeling that it was. 

“They do, but I’m shy.” Conrad let out a nervous little chuckle, which he hoped was convincing enough. “I don’t want people to stare at me… And I really don’t want to get in anyone’s way.” He explained. Some of the doctors and nurses had special abilities that required more room than his did so he tried not to frequent the places that they needed in order to do their work better. 

“There’s a lot of interesting things that happen in the city.  The weather is part of that bit,” Graham admitted.  Of all the things in that happened in Ceres Centropolis, he didn’t believe that a bout of strange weather was too far of a stretch.  He shrugged, “I’m sure they heard your gratitude.”  Out of habit, Graham did not like to admit that he had abilities.  As the sole surviving member of the Gravity Children, he wasn’t fond of sharing his abilities.  These abilities helped him survive but it didn’t help his friends.

“Stare at you?” Graham said as he rose an eyebrow at him.  Then he laughed and said, “I’m sure people stare at you regardless.  You look like a Greek statue carved out by the hands of tiny cherubs.”  Graham decided that he hung out with Brett a little too much.  He shook his head and said, “I don’t think they’ll complain.  I’m sure, if anything, you peers are a little more understanding than those guys were pushed away by the wind.”

[aerokinetical-blog]

amovrmort‌:

Her weaknesses were only as weak as she allowed them to be.  Graham was not a weakness.  If anything, Jeanne had finally resigned to the fact he was a strength.  Not only was he formidable, intelligent and a man who built himself up from nothing - the lust he had for Jeanne kept her satiated enough until they would feel that desperate desire for each other again.  Monogamy had never been Jeanne’s forte, but recently, that was what she started to favor.

“And people say that romance is dead, Graham,” Jeanne said lightly as she nuzzled against him.  Her fingers brushed against his bare chest, tracing small shapes before she set her hand down.  If only time was much kinder to those like herself.  Maybe, maybe she could change it.  She wasn’t certain but she did know that this was something she could let herself enjoy.  She closed her eyes, letting out soft breathes as she felt comfort envelope her entirety.  He didn’t question her reasons, just accepted them.  She hoped it would last much longer than she expected.  A soft chuckle came from her before she opened her eyes.

“Well, I suppose …,” Jeanne said looking up at him, “I could wear that dress you happen to like so much.  Possibly.”  She slowly got up, pulling the blanket against her chest before she smirked, “Just don’t wrinkle it when it take off again next time.”

“Romance is what you make it,” Graham said replied.  And right now?  This was the most romantic.  Jeanne’s fingers were warm and Graham could barely make out the figures she was making, but he didn’t mind.  Her touch was enough to keep him happy.  It was hard to believe that he would get the chance to have this intimacy with anyone, especially someone as amazing as Jeanne.  He would do anything to keep her with him.

Graham let out a soft groan as Jeanne’s warmth left his side.  He turned his head to get a better view of her as she stood up.  Everything about this woman drove him mad with lust.  Even if Jeanne hadn’t explained that she was the Sin of Lust, Graham was certain that he would feel the same.  The seduction that came with a strong, powerful woman was not one that Graham could win against.  His lips matched her smirk.

“Oh, please,” Graham teased.  He rolled his eyes and said, “It’s not my fault, Jeanne.  It just needed to come off.  Especially at that moment, if you recall.”  Nights with Jeanne started to become a habit that Graham couldn’t break out of.  Not that he wanted to.

[aerokinetical-blog]

amovrmort‌:

There were few men that Jeanne could enjoy and this moment, Graham was at the very top of that list.  Her reply didn’t come out quickly.  The woman took her time as her eyes took in the man in front of her and she nodded, “We’ll spend a long time working on it, Graham.  I don’t intend to stop.”  A flicker of surprise flashed in her eyes for a moment.  Lust should not be mistaken for that forbidden four letter word.  That was the reason for her imprisonment the first time.

His voice brought her away from the sullied thoughts and returned her attention to where they were.  There were unfortunate circumstances that came with being in a human vessel but moments like this, emotions that were attached to it, were things that she could forgive humanity for.  Jeanne sighed, letting her breathing relax as she took her place beside him.  She rest her head on his chest, shifting until she felt comfortable against his skin.

“You know, Graham,” she started quietly, “You’re going to spoil me with all of these promises.”  Though, she didn’t mind.  She would wait for him to come back to her.  When did she need this done?  She closed her eyes as she tried to think of the deadline.  Revenge never had a deadline, but this was something that would have been so pleasing to see as soon as possible.  "Not today,“ she decided, "Today, we’ll enjoy ourselves.  But before the new month starts, I would like his eye ripped out, Graham.”

“That’s the point,” Graham assured Jeanne.  He shifted where he lay so she could adjust into a comfortable position;  his bed had started to memorize the shape of her against him.  “Right, today we’ll as lovers do,” he smirked as he closed his eyes.  It wasn’t a coincidence that they met, he knew this but whatever was happening between them, he would gladly accept it.

As a member of the experimented children in Ceres Centropolis, Graham wasn’t a stranger to the violence that came upon unsuspecting people.  However, from what he knew, Jackson Knight was not an unsuspecting person.  He wasn’t ignorant enough to just blindly believe the words that Jeanne said - though, if he was honest, it was very difficult not to believe everything that came out of her mouth;  persuasion seemed to be one of her strongest abilities.  Jackson Knight was not the philanthropic person he pretended to be.  If everything that Jeanne shared about her imprisonment was true, Jackson Knight was a monster that needed to be stopped.  Especially for the woman beside him.  Revenge was a dish he needed to serve.

“Ripping his eye out seems like the most romantic gift for Valentine’s day,” Graham teased.  It was a tall order, a very tall one and one that really crossed into illegal, but ...it wasn’t one that he wanted fail at doing.  “You know, most girls ask for flowers or chocolates,” Graham joked and then sighed, “But you never fail to surpass expectations.”  He smiled, “Hey, let’s actually go out for today.  Like the bedroom.  Though, I’m not going to say no if we decide to stick to our routine and order in.”

[aerokinetical-blog]

amovrmort‌:

“First?” Jeanne said as she rose an eyebrow, “First is fine, but I preferred the Grand Slam.”  Her lips curled into a teasing smile as she looked at the man.  Gently, she bit her bottom lip as she rose her eyebrow with suggestion.  "We’ll what you pitch after we finish our discussion, Graham.“

The commitment he had to her was not something she could have calculated;  the effect his commitment had on her was definitely something that Jeanne could never have anticipated.  In her sordid history, the Sin of Lust had seen the wickedness of men and the darkness that came with their actions.  Yet, this was nothing like what she had experienced.  Jeanne tried to heed caution for all good things come to an end, but couldn’t it last just a moment longer?  Couldn’t it continue more?  Jeanne sat up in the bed, looking down at the man as he spoke.  She smiled at his promise.

"It’s a lot to ask, Graham,” Jeanne said as she brought her hand to his cheek.  Gently, she brushed her thumb against it, caressing it softly as she sigh.  "I need you to come back to me.  As much as I want you to finish the job, I would rather you come back to me,“ she said but realized her own feelings through her words.  "Just promise me, you’ll come back.”

This woman was going to be the death of him.

“You’re right,” he grinned, “I’m going to need to work on that wind-up before we get to a grand slam, Jeanne.”  The first time he met her, he hadn’t expected this.  All he knew was that he couldn’t take his eyes off of her and he didn’t want her attention on him to ever waver.  “We’ll work on it.”

This wasn’t a regular job.  Graham was accustomed to work that circumnavigated around the common ideas of work;  he was quick to shuffle through the challenges of work under the table.  He did, after all, run jobs on the side for Indigo Vale without ever being caught.  Discretion was something that Graham was a master at.  However, even he knew the difficulty of this request.  He turned back, laying his head on the pillow as he looked up.  With his eyes shut, he let out a sigh.  This was going to be a challenge.

“Hey,” he opened his eyes as he felt her touch, “Your requests are my pleasure to do, Jeanne.”  It never felt like a bother, especially when she would ask him.  He looked at her, with determination, “I will come back.  I will always come back to you.”  At least, he wanted to make sure that he did.  “How soon do you need this done?”

[aerokinetical-blog]

amovrmort‌:

Attachments were a weakness.  At least, that was her original thought to this situation but the longer she spent with Graham, the more she realized how much of a lie that was.  Most of the beliefs she held fast to in the past had started to give way to newer ones;  many of which she was starting to share with this man.  Surprisingly, enough.

“Fine,” she said, letting a momentary softness overtake her as her lips curled into a smile.  She watched him as he stretched, admiring the man she had chosen to lay with.  Her fingers brushed against her lips as she looked on at him with more adoration than she expected to show.  Her smile widened as he turned to face her.  “Yes, we should discuss, but first,” Jeanne said as she rest her hand against his cheek.  Gently, her thumb brushed against his cheek before she leaned in for a gentle kiss.  “That’s first,” she said as she drew away.  She took a breath, sighing as she closed her eyes.  

“I need your help,” she said, “The man known as Jackson Knight.  He has something that I need.  I know it’s a lot to ask, especially since it’s not your battle, but mine.”

This was a dangerous game and right now, they were the only two players on the board.  The caution that Graham normally applied in these situations had all but been thrown out. 

“I like first,” he said after she drew away.  The warmth of her taste still lingered on his lips as he once against said, “I really like first, Jeanne.  We should do first again.”  Despite that, he knew that time would permit him to have her again later.  Desires could be subdued when he knew the importance of what they were about to discuss.  Jeanne had always mentioned getting revenge against whoever had imprisoned her.  Recently, she’d trusted him enough to reveal her true nature and that trust was not something that Graham would let go away.

“I’ll do it,” Graham said.  He looked over to her, “You’re the Queen and I’ll be your Knight, Jeanne.”  The gravity of what she was asking him to do had slowly started to sink in.  He nodded, accepting this new goal.  “Let me work out some details before I jump in.  I need to make sure I can come back to you.”

[aerokinetical-blog]

avgmcnt‌:

The weather was crazy and he expected it to be in Ceres Centropolis. With so many people who could affect the weather and the elements all in one place, it wasn’t a surprise to him that things changed so quickly in Ceres. When the agents were quite literally blown away, Conrad looked over at Graham, his eyes were wide with awe. If his assumptions were right then this man was controlling the wind. 

“Y-yeah.” He spoke before quickly putting on his shirt. He was going to pretend that he was just changing, as he normally did right before his shift and after. He looked over at the agents who seemed to have retreated. “Did you… You’re the whooshing guy, right?” He gestured and swept the air in front of him. Some people had amazing powers so sometimes it took him some time to comprehend them. 

"Yeah, maybe I am,” Graham didn’t confirm the question.  He shrugged as he looked toward the exit.  His gaze quickly shifted from the man in front of him over to where the cameras pointed.  It was lucky for him that he had been blessed with a gift that couldn’t be caught on camera - the wind was too difficult to see on video.  He looked over to the doctor, “Lots of interesting coincidences happen in Ceres.  Lady Luck’s been leaving her trail around.”  

Graham wasn’t sure if the agents would have figured it out but for right now, he seemed to be in the clear.  He looked over to the doctor and curiously asked, “Don’t they have locker rooms for you to change in at the hospital?  Changing by your car is just inviting trouble to come right at you, you know?”

[amovrmort-blog]

Location: Graham’s Home Date: January 27th Time:  6:52 AM Character(s): Jeanne Fon, Graham Benjamin TW: Implied Sexual Context, Language, Conspiracy Rating: PG-13

@aerokinetical

When she first arrived in Ceres Centropolis, Jeanne had a place to stay and yet, she rarely stayed there.  The corners of her lips tugged into a quiet smile as she thought about how often she was at Graham’s place.  It seemed that her initial plans were also skewed in a way that was unpredictable to her but at the same time, she was pleased that they went astray.  Especially in these quiet, early morning hours where even the city fell into the quiet slumber.  With her cheek resting against her palm, she looked over to her partner, admiring him for a moment before she decided to wake him.

“Graham,” her voice was a quiet whisper as she moved her hand against his cheek.  The Sin of Lust was never supposed to feel this, it was never meant for her and unfortunately, her human vessel made her feel those emotions so strongly.  “Graham, I need to discuss something with you,” she said, “It’s something …it’s something that I need your help with.”

[aerokinetical-blog]

There was beauty among the chaos - that was the only way to explain it, honestly. 

Graham might have been awake, but he kept his eyes closed.  He could feel her voice as it wavered through the air - the air never was good at keeping secrets.  “Mhmm,” Graham groaned as he turned over in the bed to face his woman.  Slowly, opened his eyes, “I wanted to sleep more, but you always manage to drive a hard bargain, Jeanne.  You honestly do.”  He turned away from her as he yawned, stretching his arms upward and then shifting into a more comfortable position to speak to her.  He knew this must have been related to her unspoken plan - one he didn’t know of, but one that he was more than willing to help her with no matter what it was.  Blindly following her didn’t seem like a bad idea to him.

“Alright,” he grinned at her, “You’ve got my attention.  What is it that you want to discuss?  Seems very important.”

[lunarcrescens]

What planet was he on today?  Charlie rose an eyebrow as he stepped into the sunlight.  He lifted his sunglasses and peered around to see where he had landed before he took off completely.  Oh.  He was on Earth.

The teenager sighed.  He’d been working with Amber for a few weeks now and at this point, he was still struggling with getting accustomed to the interplanetary travel.  Though, Charlie would admit that he enjoyed it a little too much.  After confirming that he was in Ceres Centropolis, he put his sunglasses on.  He lifted the slushie in hand and took a sip as he started to walk.  

“Yo …,” Charlie called out to the person in front of him, “I think you might have dropped that.”

[aerokinetical-blog]

“Ah ...,” Graham turned around to see what he’d dropped.  “Oh, shit,” he muttered as he reached down to pick up those keys.  “You saved me, man,” Graham said as he pocketed those keys, “It would have been awful if I showed up at Rhapsody without them.”  There were spare keys around for sure, but he couldn’t have been bothered to go around and  make them later.  Time was money, after all.

The club owner looked over to the younger boy and then over to the slushie was he was drinking.  He let out a scoff, “You’re brave.  A slushie during this weather?”  The winter season didn’t seem to bother everyone, apparently.

[avgmcnt]

“Have you been stopping every shirtless man and accusing them of being Triage?!” He yelled out at the SHOT agent that had stopped him. While it was true that he was Triage and was working tonight, he wasn’t going to let them catch him. “I know it’s cold!” He grabbed his shirt from his car. “But changing my clothes in a parking garage while it’s cold does not mean that I am that masked…” He searched for the word while he shook his head, “Miscreant! I’m a Doctor for Pete’s sake and now you’re questioning me?! I have to get to my patients!” 

[aerokinetical-blog]

It was important to get regular check-ups.  Though, Graham had never been a fan of hospitals - he could never shake off that haunting feeling of the past - but he always made sure to go.  Fears were only as strong as he let them be.  Unfortunately, as he was exiting to the parking garage, he saw the tensions rise between a familiar doctor and SHOT agents.  Graham had never been in the business of being the hero, but he decided to do his good deed for the day.  

“Whoosh,” he whispered to himself as a gust of strong wind sped to the agents, pushing them out of the way.  “Whoosh,” he whispered again as the wind’s speed increased, pushing the agents completely out of the way.  Once the agents were shoved out of the way, Graham looked over to Conrad and said, “Crazy weather we’re having, huh?”

[aerokinetical-blog]

twicehunted‌:

“Not all of us graduated at the top of their classes, Graham,” Hunter retorted at his friend.  A grin was tacked on at the end to let Graham know that he didn’t mean anything except jest at this.  He shrugged, “I never had to write one.”  There was a silence in the air as Hunter tried to recall his first actual job - a gogo dancer at eighteen, he didn’t have to write a resume for that.  Not at all.  He laughed, “Personal Food Critic sounds so much better than just a yelper, Graham.  I really should ask you to write my resume for me.  I bet it’ll sound much better.”

“You don’t have to be at the top of your class to be able to write a resume,” Graham replied to Hunter with a nod.  Credentials were important but that wasn’t the only thing that could make or break a resume.  “You just gotta get creative, man,” Graham explained, “My first resume, with no experience, got me a job.  You just need to know how to write what people want.”  He looked over at Hunter, “I’ll help you out though but honestly, Hunter?  I don’t think you’ll need to be writing one in awhile.”  He rose an eyebrow, “I think you’re pretty set where you’re at, right?”

[twicehunted]

One of the many things that Hunter failed to realized upon embarking through a masked vigilante fight was how little information he was able to put on his resume.  It wasn’t that Hunter needed a job - despite what the population believed a few months back, he was never destitute.  However, as he sat down, quietly chewing on his straw as he blew bubbles in his drink, he realized, “Wow, shit.  I’ve never written a resume since I was …eighteen.  That’s like,” he looked up, counting the years in his mind, “That’s like, eighteen years ago.  Damn.”

[aerokinetical-blog]

“How have you never written a resume since you were eighteen?” Graham asked as he leaned against the leather backing of the booth.  Skepticism caused him to raise a single eyebrow as he slowly shook his head with disbelief.  “That’s impossible,” Graham decided out loud.  There was a silence that came to him as he stared at Hunter before he started to laugh, “Actually, I can believe it.  I mean, considering you’ve labeled yourself as a ‘Personal Food Critic’ despite being a yelper ...,” he let out a soft chuckle before he nodded, “Here, I can help you update your resume.  I’m pretty good at.”

[aerokinetical-blog]

lunarcrescens‌:

Charlie squinted at the man who came at him.  He narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out if he knew who it was.  Ceres Centropolis had a lot of people that played strong parts in the way the city’s future was shaped.  He looked over to the man - he knew who it was.  

“Sorry,” Charlie said, lessening the tension that had been obviously laced across his expression.  He pressed his lips together into an embarrassed smile before he looked at him.  “It’s hard not to be tense and overly cautious, you know?”  Charlie shrugged at him, “It’s one of those …things.  Especially with SHOT around.”  With his tension finally released, he introduced himself to the man, “My name’s Charlie.  It’s nice to meet you.”  He grinned, “I didn’t think Rhapsody’s owner would be walking around by himself so late at night.”

The air at night held a stillness that could not be felt during the day.  There were too many bodies, too many breaths, too much movement that the air could not meet its peace but when the sunset and people drew back, that tranquility returned.  Graham preferred the late hours that drew into the twilight;  the sun’s hours were meant to be curled into the bed, tangled in sheets and limbs.  There were dangers at night but the air would tell him if they were near.

“Yeah, I agree,” Graham nodded with a soft chuckle.  The city never got a break.  The tortured mutated experiments had only started to slow down before these agents started to embed themselves into the daily life of the city.  It didn’t sit well with Graham.  He gave the younger man a kind smile, “But if we know anything about Ceres, we know that it’ll fight back.  This city won’t take this sitting down.  Ceres has never know how to die quietly, so it’s going to fight back.”  One way or another, he could tell the city would reclaim its right against anyone and anything.

“This is late?” Graham’s eyebrows rose up as he turned to face the teen with surprise, “This is actually pretty early for me, if we’re being honest.  I decided to take a quick break from the usual routine.  It’s been a day.”  Too many thoughts without enough space in his head.  His brows furrowed as he looked over to Charlie, “Let’s throw that back over at you. I didn’t expect teenagers to be breaking curfew when SHOT is around.”  The air around this teen was different.  He didn’t have to confirm anything to Graham - the air would let him know.

[lunarcrescens]

Even with the happenings in Ceres Centropolis, there was a stillness at the midnight hour.  charlie knew that with SHOT and those mutated experiments out, he shouldn’t wander around by himself at night but the nineteen year old felt the most comfortable when the moon was out.  There was a calmness at the city’s central park, as if all of the troubles had finally settled down.  The momentary calmness was all that he needed, just enough so his mind could settle as he finally decided.  He sat himself on the bench nearest to the center of the park.  As the night’s chill fell upon him, he slid his hands into his jacket pockets.  Besides the infiltration of SHOT, it seemed that Winter had completely taken over the city.

As Charlie heard the movement close by, he called out, “Who’s there?”  The teenager stood from where he sat and took a more defensive stance - there were plenty of dangers in Ceres Centropolis already, but even more were the dangers at night.

[aerokinetical-blog]

Late nights were common for the night-club world.  Even so, Graham decided to call it an early night - midnight in this line of work was considerably early.  He was lucky enough to live walking distance from where he worked.  The path to the park was a good shortcut to his place.  He hummed a song from the past as he casually walked through the empty park.  The song from the past came to an end when he looked over to the younger man in a defensive position.

“Not someone you need to fight,” Graham laughed at the boy’s stance.  He sighed, “Not everyone’s a member of SHOT, you know?”  Rhapsody’s owner grinned, “I’m Graham.  I come in peace, I guess?”

[aerokinetical-blog]

arabcllax‌:

“You sure?” Arabella always liked to double checked with others, especially when they were doing her a favour by not being intrusive. It was the least she could do. Pointing at the group that just left, the supermodel scoffed and rolled her eyes, “A heart? More like they knew they could get what they want since most of the population fears them.” Of course with her circumstance, she was a different story. She had to give them what they wanted in order for it to work in her favour. 

Groaning as a group of agents approached her, Arabella sighed and muttered, “The grind doesn’t stop.” Before faking a smile and tending to their request. Once she was finished, she did the same spiel, pushing thoughts and commands by telling them to head home for the holidays and that they were really not needed here. However, she said it in the most nicest way as possible, something about how they deserve to get away for the time being. As soon as they left, Arabella huffed a breath as it moved some strands of hair away from her face. “Well on the bright side, at least we can get a break from them right? They’re distracted with the festivities. I just hope the City doesn’t ring in the New Year with their crap.” 

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Graham politely declined again.  He’d never been the type to fancy photos to begin with, let alone bother someone else for them.  His eyes washed over to the group, watching them carefully as they walked away.  “Well, they know how to take the opportunities when it comes into their favor,” he admitted and then looked over to the girl, “Hopefully, they didn’t bother you too much though.  Must be a hassle having to take that many pictures though.  I’m not sure how you’re able to put those smiles out with everyone.”

Graham stepped back, letting the new group of agents huddle around her for more photos.  It was entertaining to see the SHOT agents scramble for something they wanted.  However, he lingered a little bit longer.  He wasn’t close to the model, but he would rather be here, just in case.  The agents were unfortunately unpredictable.  “Yeah, at least we do get a break,” he agreed.  “Do you need a break from them?  There’s a cafe nearby.  Consider it my treat for saving the city a few moments from being harassed by them.”

[arabcllax]

Faking a smile, Arabella posed with a member of SHOT (who know’s what division they’re from at this point), but there were plenty of them who had approached her in such a positive fashion as they praised her with immense adoration. “—Aww Happy Holidays to you too! Don’t work too hard okay?” she mused while her irises darkened to the point where they were black. She’d been pushing thoughts and commands in their minds, even telling the most hostile to leave the City. She was fed up with their presence and so far, it worked, but that didn’t mean the government wasn’t going to send more. To hell if they did, she wouldn’t stop sending them back if she has to. 

Once the supermodel was done, she looked over at whoever was near her and returned her hues to its normal self. “Oh hey, did you need a photo as well?” However, her expression faltered as she noticed more SHOT members heading her way. “Ugh. There’s just so many of them and the fact that they’re using me as their next Christmas card is just so…capitalizing.” 

[aerokinetical-blog]

It was peculiar to see the SHOT agents acting human;  it was strange to see them have human tendencies when their actions made them appear less human than the villains that originally roamed Ceres.  It was so jarring that, Graham had to stop in his tracks to admire the fact that this was actually happening in front of him.  He shook his head as he smirked in admiration and surprise.  When the woman turned to ask if he wanted his photo, he shook his head at her.

“No, no,” he politely declined, “Don’t mind me, I was just impressed that these agents managed to have ... a heart for the holidays.”  For the lack of better phrasing.  He nodded gently at her, “Don’t worry, I would never stop someone from securing a bag from these people.”  Then he nodded toward the rest of the agents that came up, “I think they want your photo as well.”