run baby run

[check-yesjuliet]

moody-mason‌:

Mason hugged her back, still smiling at her chipper greeting. He’d missed that, hell he’d missed her. The visits and phone calls just hadn’t seemed like enough when they were used to spending so much more time together. He made a sound of disbelief and looked around the room when she commented on his furniture. “There’s nothin’ wrong with this stuff. All the basics are here, that’s what matters, right?” So maybe the couch looked distinctly second hand and it didn’t match the chair or the coffee table but the TV was a decent size and worked and the furniture was at least comfortable. That seemed to be the most important part. 

Letting her go, he headed over to the couch, tapping his cigarette off in the ashtray on the coffee table. “Thought I taught you better manners than comin’ into someone’s place and startin’ to criticize right away.” He was mostly teasing and leaned back, assuming she’d make herself at home without him having to invite her. “We gotta talk about somethin’, though. I heard you’re workin’ at the Roma? As an escort?” He took a drag from his cigarette but watched her, a bit of a harder look in his eyes. It was clear already that he disapproved. 

She turned on her heel to level her brother with a look. “No, it’s really not. You’ve seen my place. What makes you think this is anywhere near how a human is supposed to live?” Since he’d spent the last few years in prison, Jules was going to let that slide. Maybe Mason was just used to the sparse nature found in his cell. Well, no more. Not for her brother. Not as long as she could afford to help him. Even if they didn’t share the same style, there was no way he was going to look like he lived in a half-way house. “Just let me help. If you’re worried about the money, don’t be.” She didn’t particularly want to go into detail as to where her money came from but there was no doubt in her mind that he already knew exactly where it did. 

Her lips pursed as she made herself comfortable on the couch next to the man who raised her. Even though he was her brother, he was the closest thing to a father besides the one who used to beat her. Jules tucked her feet under herself and threw a look at him. “You act like I said your baby was ugly. You can’t deny this place is a mess.” And then her heart dropped as soon as she heard him say the words. It was one thing for him to know and another altogether for him to bring it up. “Y-yeah.” Shit. She hated that old stutter that made itself known whenever she let her nerves get the better of her. “Mason, please don’t look at me like that. I make good money. We really don’t have to talk about this.” 

[check-yesjuliet]

aaron-murphy-green‌:

Aaron, who was constantly in need of distractions and especially now that the funeral made him feel vaguely like he should be doing something, gladly accepted the task/dare Juliet had thrown down. “Done!” He stood up and made a big gesture of scooping Juliet up like she weighed a ton, lifting her over his head as if she was a sword in an old 80′s Conan movie. “I have the power!” Since the clerk at the Starbucks was now probably calling the cops, Aaron awkwardly maneuvered out of the door before setting Juliet on the pavement. “Oh shit, I think I see him.” It was hard to tell, all of the Costello goons kind of looked like Mason. Grabbing Juliet’s hand, Aaron broke into a run.

Done? Brows furrowed as she took a beat to try to figure out what exactly he thought was done. That lasted a whole ten seconds before he had her picked up, feet off the ground dangling as Aaron held her up. She could feel the way her face flushed but couldn’t help but to laugh. “Aaron!” The only good thing about the funeral was that she’d opened for a long black dress  so that the patrons weren’t getting a free show. He took them outside and set her back down, Jules letting her hand rest on his arm for just a minute. There was no time to look to see if it was her brother. No, right now it was too much fun to follow Aaron’s lead and run along in her heels. Two things floated into her mind while they ran along. The first, there would never be a dull moment while he was around. The second, his hand felt so good wrapped in hers. “Where are we going?” Juliet asked breathlessly. 

[check-yesjuliet]

holden-deals‌:

Work was never good for Holden, though he’d sort of accepted that it was his life. Still, he had to be a different person when he was dealing and he didn’t really like that person. He had to be tough, on his guard, show people he didn’t take shit. Luckily, this deal at Roma was the last of the night and he got out of that room as quickly as he could, heading down to the lobby and stepping into the bar. He could use a drink or several. It was uncomfortable to be carrying cash, though, so he really should just take it back to the drop for the Costellos and then do whatever with his night. He was mulling that over when someone poked him in the back. He turned sharply, reaching for the gun in the back of his pants that he hated to use but needed to carry for safety reasons. Luckily he hadn’t drawn it, though, because it was just Juliet and put his hand back at his side, expression softening. “Shit, sorry. You startled me. But actually no, not that much. I’ll buy you a drink anyway, though?” Maybe hanging out with Juliet could get him out of this mood that always clung to him when he’d been working. 

Even though it hadn’t been a completely awful night, seeing Holden had instantly made her energized. He turned quickly, reaching behind his back and for a split second she worried that he might do something. It wasn’t that she thought he ever could, but so much of her childhood was spent bracing for the hit that it came naturally. Juliet tried to cover it by holding up her hands and flashing him a nervous smile. “I’ll get a drink with you if you promise not to shoot me. Or stab me. Whatever you’ve got going on there.” Her hands dropped back to her sides as she let herself relax again. “Does this mean you’re done for the night?” Juliet still had a few hours but taking a reprieve with Holden sounded so much better than anything else she could have done with her break. She reached out to grab his hand and walked him over to the bar where she leaned on the bar to smile at the bartender. “Hey. Can I get a rum and coke please?” She looked over her shoulder to ask Holden. “What are you having?” 

[sersh]

[check-yesjuliet]

There were nights when the work wasn’t half bad. The people who paid for her time wanted nothing more than to sit and chat about their lives or nothing at all. Tonight was one of those nights. For the last hour she’d sat and had the most interesting conversation about what investment bankers actually did and she had to say, it was not anything she had any interest in pursuing. Her soul was far too filled with flowery words and barbed wire to be able to sit behind a desk all day worrying about numbers. Now she was taking a breather with a glass of chilled water, getting herself back together before she went back out onto the floor. That was when she spotted a familiar face milling around the floor and she knew she had to catch him before he split. Jules placed her glass down on the bar and rushed over to poke him in the back playfully. “Come here often?” She teased with an easy smile on her lips. 

@holden-deals​

[check-yesjuliet]

aaron-murphy-green‌:

He was pleased to see Jules, who looked great in black, though that wasn’t surprising since she looked great in everything, and dropped down to sit next to her. “That definitely does not sound like my scene. I mean, you know, family respect and all that, but I don’t really do well around grief. Never really figured out how to handle it if I’m being honest.” If he’d thought that Luca would need him, he’d still have gone, because Luca was both his friend and his best customer, but the place was packed as it was. “Hey, you know me, I live to serve. Your brother’s not gonna kick the door in and carry you out if you’re seen with me, is he?”

Aaron joined her and she smiled, leaning back in her chair a bit. It was nice to relax after such a tense morning of forcing emotion onto her face. “Oh, of course respect but I’m not really the mourning kind of girl, you know?” Her own parents deaths had barely been a blip on her radar. Her head dipped and before she could think about her words before saying them, Jules spoke. “Not if you carry me out of here first. Then he’d never have to know.” It was inappropriate maybe with the tone of the day but she couldn’t help it. She never had been good at shutting her mouth when it mattered. Mason would find out no matter what but she was a big girl and could handle herself. 

[check-yesjuliet]

moody-mason‌:

@check-yesjuliet​

It was about time he and Jules had a particular chat involving her line of work. Now that they’d gotten Marcel’s funeral out of the way, there was no better time. Not to mention, now that things were probably going to go south real fast with the Sinclairs, Mason wanted his baby sister in a safer profession than seeing a whole lot of strange men. Anyone could get to her that way and he wasn’t about to let her stay in such a position. He intended to tell her all of this and that she could get a job doing something different (much different) at one of the other Costello owned business and he could probably talk to Cassandra and make that happen for her. It wasn’t like he didn’t want her to work, though he did want her to focus on school more. Mason had never been overly interested in education for himself but he sure as hell thought it was important for his sister. 

To that end, he’d invited her over to his place so they could talk about things. It was kind of strange not living together considering they’d done it since he’d gotten her out of their childhood home until the time he’d gone to jail. They were both adults, though, and she already had her own place so Mason had had to get his own apartment. He’d just buzzed her up and was waiting for her to come to the door, smoking because he usually was now. It wasn’t allowed in his building but fuck them. He opened a window and that was about the only concession he was willing to make on that point. The door opened and he smiled as he saw her, walking over. 

“Hey, Jules. How’s it goin’?” 

Mason could have wanted any number of things when he called and asked her to come over. To her, it hardly mattered because after so many years away from each other, there was that need to be around her big brother that never went away. She suspected that it would be that way no matter how old she got because of the way they grew up. He had always been there for her no matter how broken she got. Only one person would accept her for who she was and that was the her brother whose apartment she was about to take over for a bit. The buzzer went off to allow her into the building and she made her way upstairs, taking the stairs instead of the elevator. 

The door opened almost as soon as she showed up and it made her smile at the way her brother greeted her. “Hey Mas!” She chirpped back at him as she wrapped her arms around his middle. “We really have to get you some new furniture. And by we I mean me because you are awful at decorating.” One quick look around the room told her that it would be a quick flash of her card and she could figure out the decor in here.

[check-yesjuliet]

Wrong Number

Elijah: It's the story we can tell our kids some day

Elijah: No no no it's fine, Uber eats will totally send over new ones, Nachos are never off the menu

Juliet: We have kids now, huh? How many?

Juliet: God that is even better. Neither of us have to go anywhere for that. Except now I really want some food so thanks for that.

[check-yesjuliet]

Wrong Number

Elijah: I think I might be called Prince Charming, but maybe sometimes just Debonair is good enough

Elijah: Nachos contain: Tortillas, Ground Beef, Three different types of meltetd cheeses, Some type of green stuff, Sour Cream, Guacamole, maybe tomatoes idk i've already eaten half of it

Juliet: Officially in my phon as Prince Charming. That'll be a fun story.

Juliet: You had me at green stuff but it sounds like you don't need any help polishing them off. Now I'm just sad. Look what you've done.

[check-yesjuliet]

Wrong Number

Elijah: Hey, wanna come over. Place to myself and I've got nachos ;) ;) ;)

Juliet: Guess that depends on two things.

Juliet: Who this is, and what's on the nachos?

[ginnygcrdner]

[check-yesjuliet]

@moody-mason

[check-yesjuliet]

nataliacardoza‌:

where: aurea when: november, post-blackout & funeral with: open.

Natalia sat at a booth in the back of the bar, a deck of cards in front of her and a glass of wine in her hand. Logistics behind her new venture needed to be sorted out. She spent the day ordering movers around, organizing the apartment that took months to find. Following Marcel’s death, being a guest under Luca’s roof seemed more of a burden for him than anything else. 

He’s too nice to tell her to leave, too. 

At her booth, she watched the bar’s clientele and took notes on her phone. She took business seriously and Leon was taking a chance on her. She needed to prove her worth.

As Nat took a sip of her Cabernet, a body approached and she smiled sweetly. 

“Want to play a game?” she asked with an eyebrow raised, motioning to the deck on the table.

Instead of doing edits on her latest paper like she should have been doing, Juliet had decided that she would take her night off from work and enjoy a nice drink somewhere that she could disappear into the crowd. There was so much going on lately, Luca losing his father, Mason being home, school work piling up. 

As she moved through the bar with her drink in hand she spotted a familiar face at one of the tables. Natalia. Maybe if she hurried she could get away without being seen by another one of Luca’s conquests. To be fair, she didn’t really know that they were having sex. More or less it was a pang of jealousy that was lingering from a long-over relationship. 

“Oh! Uh, sure. What game are we playing?”

[check-yesjuliet]

aaron-murphy-green‌:

Post-Blackout

Now that the dust had settled, and the lights were back on, Aaron was hoping things would return to some level of normalcy, even as he suspected normal was a thing of the past. The funeral for his boss was today and he had opted not to attend, since he was barely above street-level and was fairly certain no one would care whether he was there or not. The thought of going to the reception for what would no doubt be an amazing spread did occur to him, but it seemed likely that shit might pop off too, so he decided to skip it too. 

Instead, he ran down leads for a new apartment. He’d meant it when he’d told Corinna that, and was even debating getting a three-bedroom so Holden could move in too, since it had become clear that his friend lacked any and all self-preservation skills, and needed to be kept closer. 

So far, three apartments had been disappointments, though he’d managed to do some deliveries in between, and the need for a credit check on the one he’d liked left him suspecting that one was a dud. People were so untrusting. 

He drank coffee at Starbucks instead of Brew St., and noted that he’d ended up outside the church where the funeral was being held. Well, fuck. 

“Shit. At least I’m wearing black.”

Funerals sucked. Juliet had been to far too many for her liking in her short life. Hell, she hadn’t even made it all the way through her parents funeral, sad affair that it was. And yet Mason had pressed her to put on a nice black dress and show up to her ex’s father’s funeral. It would be different if she could be of any use to anyone in the room but what was she more than just an escort who was busy playing dress up? 

As soon as she could, Jules had escaped across the street to grab a sugary sweet coffee to add a little zip to her day. A familiar voice made her look over her shoulder and smile slowly. It wasn’t a day to be happy. “You really wanna go over there? I’ll save you a trip. It’s a bunch of people who are full of anger and vengeance. My brother is leading the charge along with the sons.” She rose her coffee cup to Aaron. “Now how about you keep me company instead?” 

[check-yesjuliet]

moody-mason‌:

Mason had rather recently become aware of Juliet’s job and they were going to have a very serious conversation about that soon. It would have to wait until after this blackout shit was over and done with, possibly even after Marcel’s funeral, but definitely soon. There’s no way he was gonna let his baby sister keep whoring herself out, no matter how good the money was, now that he was out of jail. “I’m gonna worry about it. Think you could gimme a description? Can’t have people thinkin’ they can go after you without paying for it.” Mason wasn’t joking in the least. Anyone who thought they could take a crack at Juliet would face his wrath sooner or later and Mason definitely had a lot of that. He’d be more than happy to vent it on some asshole who decided Juliet was easy pickings. 

“Sure, that sounds super fuckin’ annoying, but these are pretty extreme circumstances. Also, if he’s bothering you so much, maybe I’ll have to go have a talk with him.” That was slightly tricky considering Luca was a Costello but Juliet came first above all things, even his loyalty to the Costellos. If the guy was bugging his sister, Mason was going to do something about it, he might just have to do something a little less extreme than he normally would. Mason made a face and nearly gagged when she mentioned the applesauce. “Do I ever. Wish I didn’t. Fuck, that was so awful.” They’d both been violently ill, obviously, but they’d also been so damn hungry that the taste of mold hadn’t made itself known until it was too late. “I’ve got a car. We’re headin’ back to Roma whether your ex is there or not.” Now that he’d found her, he kind of just wanted to collapse on one of the beds and sleep for a day or two. It’s not like there was much else to do in a blackout unless he wanted to look for trouble and he was just too tired for that right now. 

At this point, Juliet had practically blocked the guy’s mug out of her memory and it wasn’t exactly on her to-do list to conjure it back up. Besides, she ended up having too good of a night after that to ruin it with the fear-stained bit. “No. I don’t remember his face. If you want a description of his hands I could help you out though.” Developing a selective memory had helped her get through her job at Roma. At first it had been difficult, the revolving door of men through the club. She had to smile and play the game but at least in the end there was always payment. That she could look forward to. “And no. I don’t need you to talk to my ex for me. It’s fine. If anything, I need to learn to let shit go.” It was her own fault that she was still so hung up on Luca. There was no one to blame but herself. 

Mason was always going to be the only one who got the real Juliet, nothing held back, but that didn’t mean she wanted him going after everyone who made her cry. Then she would never learn her own lessons. She giggled at the way he instantly reacted to the gross memory. “I still can’t eat applesauce.” She said with a shrug. Before she could argue, Juliet took a good look at her big brother. The bags under his eyes, the frown lines around his mouth, it all screamed of how exhausted he was. Had he spent the last day looking for her nonstop? Now she just felt bad. “Fine. Let’s go. It’s my turn to take watch. You look so old when you’re tired.” She grabbed a bag of gummy worms off the shelf and headed back toward the door. “I assume the car is out front?”

[check-yesjuliet]

holden-deals‌:

The cape comment made him chuckle slightly. “I kinda think it would get in the way more than it would help.” He teased back a little, knowing what she was referring to, but it wasn’t like he was a superhero for trying to be a decent human being. Her genuine thanks got more of a smile from Holden. “Let’s not wonder about it. It didn’t happen and that’s the important thing.” He shook his head at the question, knowing what that could be like. He took long walks sometimes too, just not usually in the middle of a city wide blackout. “No, I don’t mind. I might be headed towards more trouble, though. I’m trying to distribute supplies and stuff so I might have to get into the thick of it.” 

There was nothing wrong with seeing Holden in the getup again. Juliet would be lying if she said his arms hadn’t looked oh so tempting that night. “It might just earn you style points though.” Her heart rate was still up from the run in with the idiot who had her cornered but it was slowly creeping back down now that she felt safe with Holden so near. Her whole life had been a walk along a dangerous line. Back when she was a kid it was poverty and getting kicked around by her parents. Sure, Mason had taken the brunt of it but he hadn’t always been around to redirect their attention. And she had the scars and healed fractures to prove it. “Let’s get to it, then. I don’t know how to shoot or anything but I’m sure I could work a mean bat or something.” Hanging out with sounded like a much better use of her night than sitting around her cold apartment all by herself. “I promise I won’t be any trouble. From what I hear, I’m actually really great company.” 

[wowstyleeee]

[museinspo]

“‘He loved you.’ She nodded, “Yes, he did. But, he didn’t love himself. He saw himself as a bad guy, a guy who destroyed the good and ruined everything in his path. So, he forced himself to do just that. To ruin us, destroy what we had.’ ‘Would you go back?’ ‘Yes.’ Because as sick as it was, even if he chose to break her again, she would do anything to have him one more time.”

— g.m. ‡ tales that weren’t meant to be told #14 (via intrusicn)

[check-yesjuliet]

@lucacostello