the empress

[thirtecnth]

"She's classy, I should've known better," he replied, pulling a glass from one of the cabinets. Now, in her lap, Art couldn't help but smile at the feeling of her fingers in his hair, closing his eyes to have just a moment of peace. "Great fucking point. You're right, I wouldn't have been there," he replied softly, keeping his eyes shut for now. "Well, the little blonde running it slapped me for fucking it up so bad, so that should explain it..." Still, he nodded slowly. "Very questionable choices."

[sagemarlowe]

sage continued the repetitive motion of running her fingers through his hair, noticing that it was bringing some peace to him. "i don't have the patience for those kind of things. i tried it before after my friend bugged me about it and i refuse to try it again. one time was enough of a bizarre experience" single is what sage would have to be because she was not going to put herself through a speed dating experience again. she raised an eyebrow "come on, tell me the questionable choices...they must've really been something if you got a whack for it"

[ryueunji]

"You'd have eventually gotten it. I have full faith," he smiled and then held out his hand. "I'm Arthur by the way."

[sagemarlowe]

"i doubt that but i appreciate the confidence" she replied, a brief smile on her face. "i'm sage" she answered, reaching out her hand to shake his.

[ghostsbrokenbyfairytales]

~they did the hanky panky and now they're done look at that~

laying back down next to her now out of breath, zeke looked over at her with a smirk on his face. "so, did i finally earn that A+ for effort? because if i didn't i'm gonna have to do some homework before attempting again." he had to keep the joke going because that was what started it all in the first place.

[sagemarlowe]

~ time skip ~

her chest rose and fell as she caught her breath. sage turned her head to look over to see his smug face and she playfully shoved his face away, laughing herself. "you get an a+ for effort this time, but you know what they say practice makes perfect" she didn't know what it was about him that kept her circling back to him. she had never been someone to do that, and yet with zeke, she found herself in his bed time and time again.

[ghostsbrokenbyfairytales]

“is it that i want you to freeze or is it my way of making you have to come closer to me?” zeke said still smirking, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. he couldn’t help how she made him feel, he wanted to be soft with her, nice, a way he wasn’t usually with, with people. “i could make a joke to that but considering you’re under me right now i could also make it a reality,” he paused to kiss her gently, cupping her cheek in the process, “only if you want of course.”

[sagemarlowe]

with a smirk on her face, she rolled her eyes "you're sneaky and i should know better at this point." in all their fun and games, there were moments of tenderness. delicate touches and soft gestures, gentle words between them when they found themselves alone. as much as sage could deny, there was a reason they circled back to one another "i would much prefer the reality right now, wouldn't you?" she spoke into his lips "...i want"

[ryueunji]

Arthur shook his head, grin still in place. "Pretty sure my Makuahine would show up out of nowhere and whoop my ass if I didn't help a lady in need." Having two military parents growing up really was something else.

[sagemarlowe]

"well you can consider yourself safe from a beating. you've helped me out. i don't know how long i would've been trying to scale the shelves if you didn't come over to help"

[ofxlilac]

"I do." she stated as she handed the other the item. "I didn't realize I picked out two of the same one. I saw you have the same issue I did earlier." she nodded her head. "here."

[sagemarlowe]

"oh yeah, trust me to decide to go shopping the one day i don't wear heels and now i can't reach the top shelf" she shrugged and thanked her for the box. "i'll need to remember in future to just wear heels all the time"

[thirtecnth]

@sagemarlowe / closed starter / sage marlowe setting: the park

Grabbing a beer from the fridge, Art tilted his head in search of something for Sage. "Do you want a beer or wine or something?" He called, setting his beer aside for a moment to continue his search. When he got his answer, he grabbed both and passed it off to her before he fell onto the couch, leaving his head in her lap. "I'm fucking exhausted... That whole speed date was a damn disaster, Sage." He shook his head. "I'm actually glad you weren't there. You may have disowned me as a fake boyfriend."

[sagemarlowe]

"a wine is good for me thanks" she answered while she lounged on the couch. sage thanked him for the glass when he returned to her and ran the fingertips of her free hand through his hair while he lay his head in her lap. "oh art, sweet naive art. if i was around, you wouldn't have been there. how much of a disaster did it turn out to be? did you make some questionable choices?"

[wanderinglcst-deactivated202412]

Christian got to his feet and took her arm just in time, it wasn't a tight grip, just a touch to bring her back to face him. "You should hear me out." He gestured to her chair.

[sagemarlowe]

sage rolled her eyes when christian has managed to catch her arm "and why should i hear you out when you make it your life's mission to be an irritating presence in my life?"

[ghostsbrokenbyfairytales]

"oh i get it now, you're not here for the sex you're here to use me for my bed and not my body, clever girl." zeke teased while glancing down at her. "my bed is pretty comfortable huh?" he chuckled and let out a soft sigh, looking back up at the ceiling. "only an A? well i need to get onto changing that to an A+." he untucked his arm from under her and rolled over to hover on top of her.

[sagemarlowe]

"you got me, i'm just here for the comfy mattress. the body is a bonus" she smirked over at him. "it is, especially when you don't hog all the covers. i think you might want to see me freeze the way you steal them." she laughed when they had rolled, staring up at him from being pinned below "i'm tough to please, you'll need to work hard and fast"

[darkestxdreams]

"O' course. No problem." Etienne smiled and easily reached up to grab one of the boxes on the top shelf, then held it out to her. "What'chu makin', if you don' mind me askin'? I was lookin' 'round for some fresh ingredients myself. Even though I cook for work, I like t' do it for fun too."

[sagemarlowe]

she took the box and placed it in her basket "nothing overly exciting. i promised my sister that i'd make her these cookies. it's our moms recipe" she admitted "you're a chef? what do you like cooking, any recommendations?"

[ryueunji]

His grin only managed to widen as he gave a sweeping bow. "Well then, allow me to be your chauffeur and human step stool during this shopping excursion madam."

[sagemarlowe]

he'd managed to earn a small and brief smile on her face, an impressive feat that not many could do "whoever said that chivalry is dead clearly hasn't met you yet. any assistance in reaching top shelves is appreciated."

[wanderinglcst-deactivated202412]

@sagemarlowe

Christian waited in her office, having given a fake name so she had no choice but to see him, to hear him out and when she walked in through the door, he simply smiled. "Hello Sage."

[sagemarlowe]

she picked up the paperwork from the front desk and made her way into her office to see her next appointment. stopping when she saw him "nope" she answered and u-turned to attempt to make a break for it.

[ghostsbrokenbyfairytales]

"you mean where we say we're going to finally stop sleeping with each other and then suddenly one of us is in the others bed?" he chuckled and turned his head to look at her as she got comfortable against him, pulling her closer in the process. zeke didn't mind the fact this kept happening though, after all there was no feelings attached. . . right? "i for one am not complaining that we can't follow it."

[sagemarlowe]

"it speaks for itself but yes that's what i meant" she laughed as she curled up to him. "your bed is comfy though, i'll give you that" sage looked over wondering how they got here. it was supposed to be no strings attached, some harmless fun, but they shouldn't gravitate towards one another this much, right? "i didn't think you would. you always do get an A for effort and enthusiasm"

[sagemarlowe]

where: zeke's place who: zeke ( @ghostsbrokenbyfairytales )

they'd been doing this dance for a while, saying they're never doing it again and then they find themselves back to square one. today was no different. sage turned in his arms to get comfortable.

"are we ever going to listen to our own advice?"

[darkestxdreams]

One thing Etienne had been impressed with about the town was how being cut off made people more reliant on home-grown produce and home-made foods, which was much better in the long run than having tons of junk food anyway. And he loved how it meant there was always a fresh supply of ingredients whenever he wanted to try to cook something new. He had been perusing the shelves when he saw the lady trying to reach for the box on the top shelf. That was something he never had trouble doing, being as tall as he was, so naturally he sauntered over to offer his help. "Need a hand dere, cherie? As you can see, I'm pretty good at reachin' de top shelf."

[sagemarlowe]

sage turned when she heard someone approaching and offering to help. one thing she could count on was someone offering to help. the town thankfully was filled with more good people than not "that would be great, thanks. top shelf is the only shelf left with the boxes i'm looking for."

[ofxlilac]

Talia made her way back to the aisle, realizing she had accidentally grabbed two of the same item. Just as she reached for a replacement, she bumped into someone else reaching for the same thing. She paused, offering a soft smile. "Excuse me," she said gently. "I have an extra one, if you'd like."

[sagemarlowe]

sage almost had the box in hand when someone had bumped into her and ultimately nudged the box too far out of reach. great. now she'd never reach the damn thing. "you do? that would be great. i've been trying to reach that for ages and i'm not having any luck"

[ryueunji]

Grin still in place, Arthur gestured to his back. "Well, feel free to hop on if you ever need a taste of the tall life."

[sagemarlowe]

"shit, i just might if it means i can reach all the top shelves. i swear the staff in here put all the good stuff on the top shelves out of spite"