Nova Aurelia de León

38 | Siren | Mother | Defence Attorney "Develop enough courage so that you can stand up for yourself and then stand up for somebody else."

[nova-aurelia-deleon]

STARTER: Nova & Xiomara LOCATION: Thrift Store STATUS: CLOSED

Nova was a regular at Greywood’s local thrift store now, heading down there around once a month to drop off whatever clothes she was no longer enjoying wearing. She had a rather extensive wardrobe - back when she’d been growing up and then a young mother getting her degree, there hadn’t been any money spare to spend on things like clothes. But now? Now she had a surplus, and she enjoyed spending it on new items of clothing. Besides, she needed a whole separate wardrobe for work and for play, and so the result was a lot of clothes.

Heading in clutching a back stuffed to the brim of freshly laundered items, she strolled up towards the counter, resisting the urge to flick through the garments hung on the racks that surrounded her. “Hey… I’ve got these to drop off,” she hummed, heaving the bag up onto the counter, eyes meeting those of a woman’s she did not recognise.

@werewolf-xiomara​

[asher-spaulding]

“We grew up together,” he said simply as if that explained everything adequately enough. He wasn’t in the business of giving information about himself away with any sense of ease, and despite Nova seeming curious Asher didn’t feel the need to give in to it. “I guess the sense of community is good. I’ve only ever lived with other sirens though, so I’ve been lucky.” Lucky or maybe unlucky, he’d never quite figured out whether his connection to the siren that had drowned him had been a positive or a negative despite his statement suggesting he was clear on it.

“Oh, you did..?” she asked curiously, wondering how that had come about. Perhaps one of his parents was very close with their sibling, or perhaps his parents had been unable to care for him, or unwilling. Whatever it was, Nova couldn’t help but be curious, although she wouldn’t be offended if Asher decided not to share. She too liked to keep her personal life close to her chest - it was hers after all, and she liked to protect it, especially when so many details of her life were tied up with that of her son’s. She wanted to honour his privacy whenever she could. “Oh, really? I don’t know much about sirens still - you’d think I would given I’d been one for so long but- yeah. So- are you in a pod…?”

[ohfeliix]

her beginnings of an apology meant very little to him, felix immediately stepping on a few of the escaping papers to keep them from blowing down the street and losing more work. he was already frazzled, and this was perhaps the last thing he needed right now. the stranger soon changed her tune though in response to his own acrid tone, rationally pointing out they were both to blame.

felix was not in the mood for semantics, however, much easier to shift all the mornings annoyance onto this one moment and this one woman. his pale eyes held a quite fury, lips pursing as he tried hard to properly dampen his annoyance into a simmer or perhaps...nothing at all.

"i don't need your rationalization," was his snippy reply, immediately bending down to collect what he could. "either help me or leave,"

[nova-aurelia-deleon]

Nova looked at him in shock for a moment longer, eyes wide and brow furrowed as she examined him closely. It was as if there was this anger bubbling just beneath his surface, threatening to break free and unleash hell upon whoever was closest to him at the slightest inconvenience.

Her intuition told him that there was more to this man than just his angry front, and so slowly, quietly, she knelt, slender fingers beginning to reach for the various papers that were scattered about on the ground, threatening to blow away. There was no way they would be able to recover everything that he had dropped but she could only hope that he didn’t work exclusively from paper, and that his precious materials were saved on a computer somewhere. She didn’t speak, instead stacking the various papers she could grab and shuffling them into a neat pile, handing them delicately back to him as her brown eyes met his once more.

[naz-ozdemir]

for: @nova-aurelia-deleon location: the pools

After the fog had lifted, Naz had felt the urge to be in water growing stronger each day. It had been bad before but it felt worse recently, like she was going to go mad if she didn't soak in the bath or at the pools a few times a day. Before her shift at the country club started, she knew she had to go and get a proper swim in. She arrived around lunch time before diving into the water, letting her tail extend out and splash under the water.

It was funny to think that she never liked the ocean when she was younger. She was terrified of what was lurking under the surface. Now she had become the thing she should be afraid off. The siren got lost in her thoughts and didn't notice someone else nearby. She dived under the water and came up, almost face to face with a beautiful woman. A squeak escaped her parted lips, a hand coming to rest against her heart.

"Good lord, I'm so sorry I just screamed at you," Naz said, quickly apologising. "I didn't see you there."

[nova-aurelia-deleon]

Nova was glad that she was now just able to go to the pools to enjoy herself instead of having to basically be carried to them each day by Juan-Diego. It had been horrific to be so reliant on them, to feel so genuinely miserable and unwell without them - Nova did not like having a dependence on anything except for her cigarettes.

She’d dressed in a simple kaftan with no swimming costume underneath, hoping that the pools would be empty given that it was a working week day - that way she could just drop the kaftan and jump in without ruining yet another bikini. The coast seemed clear after a quick glance to either side, and so she dropped the thin cotton garment to the ground, diving into the cool water. Immediately her legs morphed into her glittering tail, the healing water soothing her siren soul as she swam beneath it.

She rose silently, head breaking the surface as silently as a killer whale’s would- and then just a moment later a woman she’d never seen before was right in front of her, clearly just as shocked by Nova’s presence as Nova was by hers. Nova jumped, hand splashing at the water slightly as her eyes widened and then softened as she saw the fellow siren was no threat. “Don’t be, don’t be,” she chuckled weakly. “Sorry - I don’t I’ve seen you round here before. I’m Nova.”

[world-of-celebs]

Ana de Armas

[asher-spaulding]

“I can imagine,” he said sympathetically. Although Asher couldn’t empathise - plenty of summer vacations and swimming teachers had made certain he was comfortable in the water long before he had hit puberty - he could certainly try to imagine what it had been like. After all, putting oneself in the shoes of others was an important exercise in learning how to be a decent person, and he felt immortality surely only gave him more time to work on himself.

“My cousins ended up here, I followed.” It was a short answer, giving little away, but it was about as much as he could offer without delving into personal feelings about the matter, and he wasn’t close with the woman, not nearly enough to give those away. “I guess. But it gets easier each year,” he offered. “I already feel like it’s easier now than it was two years ago. I guess everything’s just normal to you now?”

“Ah, you’ve got family here? I would ask their names to see if I know them but I’m so new that I almost definitely don’t,” she chuckled softly. “Are you quite close with them then? You must be, to have moved here,” she mused, tilting her head to the other side as she tried to shake a little trapped water from her ear. “Yeah. I know what you mean. I guess it must be easier being around other sirens here too…? Y’know, people who have that shared experience,” she mused, thinking back to those first few months when she had been turned. She hadn’t known what she was, had barely been able to believe it. A new, young mother, just trying to get through law school. It had been an intensely terrible first year. But then, much as Asher had reflected, things had gotten easier. Slowly but surely.

[asher-spaulding]

“I guess,” he shrugged as if offering that up as the end of the conversation. Of course, Nova was completely in the right, and Asher knew that - not to mention his own environmental guilt regarding the carbon footprint of such a habit. But he couldn’t quite get used to the strangeness of stripping anyway, so he supposed he’d just have to come to terms with a situation he didn’t currently enjoy one way or another. It wasn’t like he was able to plan an imminent return to being human. Although her idea was, to say the least, intriguing and he nodded, fascinated.

“I guess it would’ve been harder,” he acknowledged, “if you were scared of the ocean. I always liked swimming. Guess it wasn’t such a big change for me,” and Asher had always been the type to be out in nature anyway, always enjoying the wild, so it hadn’t really been such a shift for him to suddenly have the need to do so rather than just the desire. “Two years ago, now,” he responded politely, unbothered by the question. “You?”

"Yes. I actually didn't even know how to swim. My mother was a single parent so she really didn't have the money to send us to swimming lessons or anything like that... it was quite a shock, I have to say. Especially because it's not like you can really avoid it, especially at the moment..." she trailed off, trying not to dwell for too long on her current reliance on the pools. She had always been a very independent, capable person, and she didn't like to be reliant on anything or anyone. She supposed that's why she had always steered clear of drugs and alcohol - her only addiction was cigarettes, and even that was reasonably under control.

"So you must've grown up near the sea...? How'd you come to live here?" she asked, ducking her head quickly under the water of the pool and flicking her dark hair back over her shoulders, sending a sparkling spray of droplets flying over both of them. "Two years! You're a baby siren then," she teased gently. "Me? Let's see... my son was about two when I was turned so- I guess that makes it 11 years," she nodded slowly. How much had changed in that time. It was almost overwhelming to consider.

[ohfeliix]

oversleeping is a luxury he rarely affords himself, taking one tablet to make him sleep without dreams and another one to keep him awake enough to perform his daily tasks. felix has never missed one nor the other but, fate would have it last nights pill worked a little too well, causing such a late waking. class was due to start in little over 40 minutes, and he hasn’t had time to prepare - not even get logged on with the appropriate slides up, never mind any other materials he’s gathered for the beginning of the end of year oral exams. he’s striding down the sidewalk, appropriate papers gathered in the satchel that hangs loose over his shoulder, laptop back in his left hand, face unshaven and hair not as neatly combed as he prefers it. felix is doing an amazing job of dodging people on the sidewalk, reflexes of a cat as he swerves around the morning work rush, people eager to get out now those night-time restrictions have been lifted. there isn’t one thing he accounts for, however, and that is people leaving shops, so focused on one thing he neglects to notice a woman leaving, and immediately crashes into it. the force of such an action causes him to drop the laptop, bag swinging off his shoulder and spilling the contents out all over the floor. paper is immediately caught by the wind, fountain pens and their ink breaking upon contact with the concrete floor. there are a few moments where the teacher stares at the floor, silent in shock at how careful he’d been before this chaos occurred. In a quick second his neck snaps up, fixing the stranger with a glare sharp enough to cut as felix barely manages to keep his annoyance to a mere simmer. “look what you’ve done,”

@nova-aurelia-deleon

[nova-aurelia-deleon]

With the mist now lifted Nova felt better than she had in months, a spring in her step as she made her way to work. Everything felt light and fresh and new, and while she knew that the mist had taken a heavy toll on her and the other supernaturals, she hadn't realised just how bad it had been. She felt like a new person, back in control and now free from her endless desire to head to the pools. Sure she would still need to visit them every week or so, but no longer was she plagued with the endless nausea, dehydration and exhaustion that the mist had inflicted upon her.

It was this renewed zest for life which had prompted her out of bed early this morning. Lucas was staying at Roman's that night, and Nova had decided to cook Juan-Diego and romantic dinner to thank him for all he had done for her after the last few months. The mist had brought them closer together - Nova hadn't had the energy to put up any sort of fight when JD had wanted to help, and subsequently he had seen her in some pretty horrible states. But through it all, he had been patient and kind, and she loved him more than she had ever thought possible.

A paper bag filled with ingredients tucked under arm, she bustled out of the shop, colliding almost immediately with a red-headed man, causing his bag and papers to drop, ink from his pens puddling the few sheets that hadn't blown away. "Oh gosh I'm so-" she began, but her attempted apology was cut short by his biting words. "I'm sorry, but it was merely an accident," she responded slowly, eyes narrowing as she looked over at him coldly. "We are both equally to blame."

[asher-spaulding]

“I’m kind of used to ruining them, by now,” he offered with a shake of his head. “I guess it’s my own fault, not being comfortable to just…. strip.” He’d never quite reached the point of being able to do that, no matter how much he wished he could just not care anymore. “It’d probably be smarter if we all just went to the pools in robes with nothing underneath,” he added. Smarter, but difficult to get used to and difficult to remember. He doubted it would catch on.

“Thanks,” a flash of genuine gratitude was visible when she complimented his tail. “It took ages to get used to,” he admitted quietly. “At first, I kept just looking at it and thinking it was a monster mark….”

“That’s an expensive habit,” she chuckled softly, nodding along in agreement at his next words. She wasn’t particularly keen on stripping down either, but it really was the only option if you didn’t want to spend half your pay check on bathing suits. “I get that - I suppose you’re right, but it’s just a bit tricky… I was thinking that it’s crazy that the witches haven’t developed some kind of magic swimsuit material which doesn’t get destroyed when we turn - maybe I should try and look into that…” she chuckled, her words half a joke, although it was something she had actually considered.

“A monster shark? It’s much too beautiful for that,” she offered. “I know what you mean though - it’s kind of difficult to get used to be half-fish. Y’know, before I was turned, I was terrified of the ocean. Don’t have much choice now,” she joked, running a hand through wet strands of hair. “How long have you been a siren? If you don’t mind me asking,” she added, not wanting to push her new acquaintance for information he may not want to give. The circumstances of each siren’s change were usually quite grim, and sometimes too traumatic to share. 

[pcril]

status: open | location: deep dive seafood restaurant ( lunch timeish )

A cacophony of chimes sound from the the front door once someone steps through. Attention immediately shifts towards the newcomer, he finishes off his mouthful in a hurry. “Hey, how’s it..” Words stop abruptly as a gulp of water's taken. Sure, it was poorly timed, but he needed to wet the pipes after choking down the spiciest food experiment known to mankind. 

“..goin’? Come on over.” Grin bright on his face, Louis gestures towards the empty chairs at the bar. “Caught me at a bad time— thought I'd experiment with some sauces for the catch today. Thought I'd go for something hot, and y'know.. I got exactly what I asked for. Anyways, 'nough about that. What can I get you started on to drink?”

[nova-aurelia-deleon]

Having met the male siren just a few weeks back at the pools, Nova had made a promise that she would visit him in at his restaurant. What’s more, he had promise her an excellent selection of seafood, and while Nova liked seafood as it was, the mist was making her crave it even more than ever before. 

She’d decided to take a half-day at work after a particularly late night the previous night trying to figure out a case for one of her new clients, and so she had time to kill before she needed to collect Lucas from school. The perfect opportunity for a solo lunch. “Hey! Nice place you’ve got here,” she smiled, the soft click of her heels announcing her entrance as she made her way over to the bar, slipping into the seat he gestured at. “Oh I love spice, you can try it out on me if you want! I’ll eat just about anything, especially if I didn’t have to cook it,” she chuckled softly. “Ah- I’ll have a margarita please. Spicy if you can.”

[the--helen]

LOCATION: Soop neighborhood, close to the hospital STATUS: closed

Helen had been feeling both happy and sad the past few days. Every since finding herself in the new apartment she had been ecstatic to live in a place where light could come through in the rooms outside of the bedroom, having previously been enclosed in a basement apartment where all was one room and all windows were painted over. She could see woods from the small window of the bathroom at the back of the building and what seemed like a hospital’s sign at the front. She enjoyed being able to walk outside in the day and be trusted enough to do so, which was such a lovely change it made her heart swell with… love.

But she was also sad, because she was unsure as to where exactly she was, a phone not something she had access to in recent times, so she couldn’t log online or even try to call her mom. Being closer to nature she started missing her mother, but this was quickly forgotten as a key was placed in her hand close to dusk. Alexander gave her a kiss on the cheek and announced he will go outside, meeting old friends she was not presentable enough now to meet. She smiled without any protest. “I will go buy us coffee and walk for an hour… and come home” she promised, checking her watch, before walking in the opposite direction of him and letting her eyes wander around, enjoying the fresh air. The sun had gone down on queue as they had walked outside. 

Her gaze had frozen on a strange shop which looked as if it were selling various herbs and items. She wondered if she could name the plants but most seemed foreign and her muddled mined was only more confused. She hadn’t realized how long she had stood there until she felt a gaze on herself and her initial thought was that there was a person behind the glass on the inside that was judging her lingering. She felt some color filling her cheeks and erasing the pale complexion she had since meeting Alexander. 

She pushed hands to her sides, pulling her T-shirt, a few sizes too big, down and holding onto it with white knuckles as she wondered where to she could go. Looking down at her hand, still holding onto the fabric, she glanced at the wristwatch and saw she had wasted twenty minutes on this. A frown crept on her brow and she pursed her lips, walking faster. In fact, so fast and while looking around for a possible shop, that her shoulder hit with too strong a force someone else’s body as she was walking past them. A rain of sorrys poured out of her lips as she felt her heart slow to almost a dead crawl before speeding up and flying too fast. 

“I’m so sorry, sorry. I was looking to the side and didn’t see you.“, she said, afraid of the reaction, too used to a quick temper and the possibility of a bruise upon a mistake. 

[nova-aurelia-deleon]

As work was beginning to ramp up the moments Nova had to get herself to the pools were beginning to become few and far between. Juan Diego did his best to make sure she got there when she could, waking her up early and even driving her out so that she could take a dip before work, but she was increasingly having to be at the office earlier and earlier to get through her immense workload. A siren she’d met at the pools at suggested that perhaps there would be something at the local apothecary, apparently run by a rather eccentric witch, and so Nova had ducked out on her brief work break to try and track it down.

She was barely paying attention to where she was going, typing an email out as she walked, and it was because of this that she crashed into a rather forlorn looking young women, a stream of sorries falling from the stranger upon impact leaving Nova embarrassed and concerned. “No no, don’t be silly, you have nothing to be sorry for. It was my fault, I was trying to multi-task - emails and walking, not a good combination,” she chuckled softly, tucking her iPhone back into her bag as she spoke. Her eyes scanned the features of the woman before her, taking note of the way she seemed to avoid Nova’s gaze, the siren’s forehead creasing slightly with concern. “Are you- are you okay love?”

[balveermahajan]

"I hope I get to experience that, someday." he offered, not really having anything he could compare it to. Balveer looked out for himself. Everybody else was either a stepping stone or an obstacle. He had nobody to put before himself anymore and was far too afraid of experiencing such a loss again to even consider letting anybody in. "I'm sure you do an amazing job. You seem like an amazing woman." he smiled, not trying to flirt, more so trying to offer genuine compliment, but also not minding if it was misconstrued that way, either.

Her refusal to offer details of her work was somewhat of a blow to Balveer, feeling a metaphorical door of opportunity essentially being closed in his face. However, he took it in his stride and decided to work on it less obviously. He put his hands up to gesticulate his apology for overstepping the mark. "Yes, of course. Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. I just find it interesting. Love a good true crime doc, just. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable, that was really stupid of me."

Glad of the change in topic, he offered what he could by way of an explanatory story. "I grew up in institutions," he began, making no effort to expand on exactly where or why. "When I was a kid, we only got food at certain times and if you were hungry outside of those times, it was too bad. So, I used to hoard everything I could under my bed. When they found it, they called me a dirty raccoon." he sighed, clearly still bothered by this series of events. " I don't want any more kids to have to be raccoons." A touching story, though completely fabricated. His real affiliation with the animal having come from his ability to steal anything and everything, much like the banditry such rodents were infamous for. "When we got older, we were given little jobs and I helped out in the kitchen, so, it's all I know, really." Whilst technically true, this apprenticeship had taken place in prison, rather than the care system he'd initially been referring to. "So, the raccoon is the chef, so now nobody has to worry about scavenging food. He does it for them."

[nova-aurelia-deleon]

“I’m sure you will. If it’s something you want, then I’m sure you will find someone to have children with,” she smiled, nodding a few times as she scanned her eyes over his features briefly. The siren couldn’t help but think that perhaps Balveer was flirting with her just a little bit, but it wasn’t overt, and so she wasn’t too concerned. She was happy with Juan-Diego, but she wasn’t one of those women who had to jump the gun and announce as soon as she could that she was in a relationship. If he asked her to dinner then sure, but for now all she diid was smile and thank him softly. “I appreciate that, I really do,” she hummed. 

Nova wasn’t sure how sincere his apology was but he was quick to offer it, and so in return she was quick to accept it, shaking her head as she offered him a reassuring wave of her hand. “Don’t worry, it’s okay. Many people have similar questions. If it’s any consolation, I don’t even talk to my closest friends about it. I can understand the fascination though - I love a good true crime documentary myself,” she chuckled. 

Not wanting to press him for any information he wasn’t interested in sharing she simply creased her brow as she listened, nodding along slowly. Even though she didn’t had her normal power, unable to tell for sure whether her hunch was right, something about the story didn’t sit right with her. Perhaps it was the way he found it so easy to share, or the almost practiced way he perfectly punctuated the story with a sad little sigh. Whatever it was, Nova wasn’t about to start making accusations, and so she simply hummed along as he spoke to indicate she was listening. “That’s- that’s a very touching story,” she murmured, smiling a little, although her gaze was calculating as she continued to look over at him. 

[balveermahajan]

"Very noble, to put your son first like that." he offered, genuinely believing the stance in general but not really considering the other's situation enough to truly place the title upon her personally. He was still much more interested in her line of work than her personally, however, he was more than happy to listen about either, for now. "I've always thought about how I'd treat my own son if I ever had one. All the things I'd want to protect him from. He'd probably hate me for being so involved." he chuckled, smiling politely.

"So, local, simple work. That's what you're about now? What's that involve then, petty stuff? Vandalism, jaywalking, shoplifting?" he let the question linger as he finished talking, hoping she'd pick up before he'd fully finished. It was a reasonably quiet town from what he'd seen so far, and that usually just meant that any shady dealings were usually just kept under-wraps more so than in a big city. People knew each other's faces, but perhaps not their full stories.

"Yeah, it's a funny business to get into." he commented, knowing that opening a local business wasn't always the smartest idea when everyone's bills were rising or towns were flooding with mysterious fogs. "But, it's all I've ever done, so, I think I'd struggle to find success anywhere else." He smiled as she admired his menu, genuinely proud of his work and glad someone else was receiving it positively. "I mean it, bring the boy round sometime. I'll throw in a free dessert if he tries out some stuff I've been working on. Trying to make healthy dinners that kids actually like is a lot harder than it's given credit for. I've actually bought a cookie cutter to cook potatoes into shapes to help kids eat them, maybe make the little guy some kind of mascot." he tapped on the raccoon that adorned the menu. It was generic clip art, but, the idea behind it was sentimental.

[nova-aurelia-deleon]

“No, not noble. You- I don’t know. It’s hard to explain, being a parent. But it changes everything. You almost don’t feel you have a choice in whether you put your child first or not. Every cell in your body begs you to. It’s- it’s a crazy feeling actually. But I do love my son very much, and I’m happy to do whatever I can do that he has the best life possible,” she murmured, offering her new acquaintance a small smile. Everything she did was for her son, even this move across the country to Opulence. It was all for him - everything always would be. She chuckled softly at his musings, nodding knowingly. “Oh yes - it’s hard not to overstep, especially as they grow older.”

A slight sense of unease crept up in the back of brain as he continued to question her about what kind of cases she was involved with. Usually strangers didn’t ask such specific questions, and he rattled off the various crimes with such ease that she couldn’t help but narrow her eyes in suspicion for just a moment. Perhaps it was that she spent so much time around people who lied for a living that she was overly suspicious, sometimes to the point of paranoia. And yet she couldn’t shake the feeling, eyes scanning his face for a moment before she answered. “Ah. It’s best if I don’t discuss my work in that detail. For the sake of my clients,” she nodded slowly.

“How did you get started?” she asked, hoping to move the conversation away from her work and back onto his. “I will, I will. He loves going out for dinner. Although he might not be the best test audience, he’ll eat just about anything, good or bad. Though I’m sure nothing on your menu is bad of course,” she added quickly, hoping she hadn’t offended the man who had shown her such kindness, even if he did make her feel slightly uneasy. “Oh, that’s such a cute idea! I used to do that with Lucas’ sandwiches when he was little.” Her eyes dropped down to where his finger tapped the menu, taking in the little cartoon before looking back up at him. “Why a raccoon?”

[juandiego-flores]

First meeting

STARTER FOR: @nova-aurelia-deleon​ LOCATION: Coffee Shop STATUS: CLOSED

Juan Diego would lie if he said he wasn’t nervous, he wanted Lucas to like him, but also didn’t want to push things and make him feel like he was there to supersede his dad, because he knew that would create big rejection, especially when he was just meeting his dad and getting to spend time with him. The witch was very conflicted, because deep down he wished that Lucas would see him as his dad, he wanted to be a part of their family, yet he was very aware that it might never happened, that Lucas could just look at him as his mother’s boyfriend and that was it, and that was the reality of their dynamic, at least for now.

He looked at his watch knowing that he had arrived a bit too early but luckily, they were going to be arriving soon, he started to play with the napkin folding over and over until it transformed into some origami form. When he saw the coming, he got up and smile widely and content to see them, knowing just how big this was not just for him but for Nova too and how especial this moment was.

[nova-aurelia-deleon]

It had been a late night a week or so ago, Lucas over at Roman’s and therefore JD over at Nova’s place. She’d been cuddled up to the man, his strong arm around her waist, lips pressing kisses to her shoulder and neck, and she’d realised. She was in love with him. Never in her life had she felt more safe or protected than she did with JD, and being loved by him had changed her whole life. She had come to Opulence for Lucas to meet his dad and had never expected this, but it was a welcome addition to her life. After that night, she’d made the decision to have JD meet Lucas, which had lead to a conversation with her son about her new partner. He was a little confused at first, particularly because he had been so unaware that she had even been seeing someone. She could see that this was the first time he was realising that Nova was her own person, not just his mother, and that she had a life that went on even when he wasn’t around.

After a long conversation and lots of questions from her son, he seemed to understand. His mother was in love, and wanted her son to meet the man who had won her heart. They arrange to have brunch with JD at a local cafe, Nova wanting the first meeting to happen somewhere neutral outside their home so that Lucas didn’t feel like his space was being invaded. He seemed a little nervous but also excited - Nova had told him all about JD and had promised him that they would get along. With a hand on his back she lead him into the cafe, eyes finding JD’s immediately as she smiled over at him, heading in his direction. A quick kiss was pressed to his cheek before she looked down at her son. “Lucas, this is Juan-Diego,” she smiled a little nervously, watching as the young boy offered his hand to the older man. “Hi Juan-Diego. It’s nice to meet you,” he said politely, offering him a small, shy smile.

[balveermahajan]

"Maybe best not." he agreed, having already mopped the floors for the night, he didn't fancy having to get everything out again, especially now it was getting later into the evening. "Do help yourself though, as much as you need." A polite gesture that cost him little, given the simplicity of the ingredients. As she began to settle into telling her story, Balveer folded his arms to get comfortable, listening intently. "At least they keep it simple for you around here, then." he smiled, his thoughts racing with a million hypotheticals to ask, but, choosing to keep them to himself for now. "Is that what you're looking for? Or, are you after something more exciting?"

"Yeah, a couple weeks." he repeated, nodding his head. "I think we're still in the honeymoon period, people checking us out because we're new. But, I'm willing to put the work in and see where I end up." With questions about the menu, he felt it was best to show and tell. He lifted a menu from the table he was sat at and gently pushed it towards her with his index finger. "Times are hard. So, I focus on inexpensive, nutritious food. Not everybody needs fancy, but, everybody needs food." The menu was simplistic in nature, offering simple but filling ingredients. A small cartoon of a raccoon with a knife and fork decorated the lower portion of the menu.

"You've had a baby too?" he asked, his voice raising in enthusiastic surprise. "That's amazing. You should bring the little guy in sometime, I could use a taste tester for the kids menu." Balveer had a very sentimental spot for children, despite his lack of regard for almost everyone else. His own hardships reflected painfully back in them. "You sound like a modern day superhero, y'know. Should be very proud of yourself."

[nova-aurelia-deleon]

“Yes, best not,” she repeated, letting out a wry chuckle at the sentiment. She’d already made such a fool of herself bursting in to the restaurant in such a state - vomiting all over this man’s shiny new floors wouldn’t be a great note to end on. “Thank you - I really do appreciate it,” she nodded. “Ah- yes. Reasonably simple I suppose… it’s more emotionally tiring I’m finding. I worked in the private sector when I lived in New York - it was the way to make the most money, and to climb the ladder so to speak. I just wanted to make enough so that I knew my son would never have to worry,” she shrugged. “But… it was an empty job. You were just helping rich people get richer, or bad people get away with bad things… it didn’t feel good. I justified it all by saying I was doing it for my son, but… yeah. Moving here felt like a chance to change things up. And it’s much more rewarding now. I’d like to start my own firm some day. Hopefully soon,” she hummed, nodding a little as she spoke.

“Yeah, gosh, I guess you won’t really know where it all will land until you’ve been around a few months. But I don’t see how you could fail - people are always looking for somewhere relaxed and affordable to eat,” she hummed, sincerity in her words. She took the menu with delicate fingers, brown eyes scanning over the offerings. “Gosh - I’d have trouble choosing. It all looks good,” she smiled. 

“Yeah, yeah,” she chuckled. “He’s not a baby anymore, he just turned twelve which is crazy! Seeing him grow up, it’s kind of… I mean, I’m so proud of the person he keeps becoming. But I miss when he was little. Oh, that sounds fun! I will definitely do that,” she nodded, smiling at the suggestion. “Oh- no- no… don’t say that,” she chuckled. “Seriously, there are women in much harder situations than I was in. I got really lucky.”

Lucas’ little face crumpled slightly at the admission that there was no chance his parents would get back together, and Nova frowned slightly, wrapping an arm around him as she pulled him into her side. She sometimes wished he was a little baby again, wished that she could fix his worries easily by feeding him or changing him - she had thought it was so hard at the time, but this? Explaining the complexities of love and relationships? It was much more difficult.

Lucas nodded slowly at Roman’s words however, leaning up to peck Nova on the cheek. “I thought maybe - you would see each other again and fall in love…? But it’s okay if not. Some of friends at school, their parents don’t live together either and they’re okay,” he nodded. Nova smiled down at him, kissing his temple. “Even if your dad and I aren’t together, us three are still a family sweetheart. We’re gonna work really hard to make sure you don’t ever forget that, okay?”

[werewolfroman]

It broke Roman’s heart hearing his son speak about wanting the two of them to fall in love by seeing each other again.  Especially when his other four children got to see him madly in love with their mother.  Although, he was sure none of them remember those days.  Every part of him wished he could give that to his son, a father head over heels in love with his mom, but he couldn’t.  Not when he was still in love with Carina, a woman who had been deceased nearly twenty years.

“Exactly what your mother said, we are still a family and your mother and I do love each other very much.  “And we are so lucky to be your parents, because Ace…I gotta tell you.  You’re amazing.”  And he meant those words, everytime he was with Lucas he fell more and more in love with the kid.  He was so full of wonder and life and it just lifted his spirits every time.  “We probably should finish up, the curfew is still in place.  But I got your room almost done at my place,” he smiled.

[werewolfroman]

The question certainly put both parents on alert, it was hard because with his first four children he hoped they knew that he loved their mother with all his heart and soul, but with Nova it was different.  There was no doubt he loved her, she was there for him during a time where his life was a wreck and he was a rolling stone.  And he loved her more now, because she gave him a son and brought this amazing little kid into his life.

Roman nodded at her words, he hoped the twelve year old could wrap his head around it.  Because it was hard, the three of them were their own little family in many ways.  But the family was growing, soon Lucas would meet his other siblings and Nova was seeing someone that could potentially go somewhere.  “All that matters kiddo is that you know that your mother and I love you very much.  And we will always do what is right by you.”

Lucas’ little face crumpled slightly at the admission that there was no chance his parents would get back together, and Nova frowned slightly, wrapping an arm around him as she pulled him into her side. She sometimes wished he was a little baby again, wished that she could fix his worries easily by feeding him or changing him - she had thought it was so hard at the time, but this? Explaining the complexities of love and relationships? It was much more difficult.

Lucas nodded slowly at Roman’s words however, leaning up to peck Nova on the cheek. “I thought maybe - you would see each other again and fall in love…? But it’s okay if not. Some of friends at school, their parents don’t live together either and they’re okay,” he nodded. Nova smiled down at him, kissing his temple. “Even if your dad and I aren’t together, us three are still a family sweetheart. We’re gonna work really hard to make sure you don’t ever forget that, okay?”