Star ☆

🌙⭐️🌙⭐️🌙⭐️🌙⭐️

[starlight--lover]

𝔽𝕚𝕔𝕤 ~ ☆

𝙼𝚎𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙳𝚛. 𝙷𝚊𝚢𝚠𝚒𝚛𝚎 - 𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘯 || 𝘍𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘯

(ᴅʀ. ʜᴀʏᴡɪʀᴇ, ʟᴏɴɴɪᴇ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴋᴀʟɪᴇᴅ ᴀʀᴇ ᴏᴡɴᴇᴅ ʙʏ ʟɪɢʜᴛʜᴏᴜꜱᴇ.ꜰᴏʀ.ᴛʜᴇ_ʟᴏꜱᴛ, ɢᴏ ᴄʜᴇᴄᴋ ᴏᴜᴛ ʜᴇʀ ꜱᴛᴜꜰꜰ!)

𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐨 𝐱 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐭 - 𝘋𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘵𝘦 || 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘋𝘢𝘵𝘦 || 𝘍𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 || 𝘕𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵 || 𝘋𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘋𝘢𝘵𝘦 (nsfw) || 𝘜𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘍𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 || 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘓𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 (𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘸) || 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘋𝘢𝘵𝘦 - 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦'𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮?

(𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘵_01 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢, 𝘨𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧!)

𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞 - 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘦 || 𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘴 || 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘋𝘢𝘵𝘦/𝘔𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨

[sundancedrifter]

“You two may be as different as the sun and the moon.”

•

•

•

[twnyart]

normal thing to ask somebody

orig

[starlight--lover]

CEO x Assistant (kill me now)

Some high company in the city of Nueva York, not exactly Alchemax but one that was just as high as it would be in any other world. The best of the best was in charge. A man that everyone feared. That people wanted to gain his respect and maybe even more! He was the kind of man that had many women by his side, the best workers, and everyone always fell to their knees around him. Many men envied him.

That man.

Was Gabriel O’Hara. (Alright bro)

He was the CEO of his own company, wearing the fanciest suit that could probably feed a family of four for the entirety of winter. He was tall, standing at a height of 7’4” that easily made him better than everyone else. He was always easy to spot in crowds and often hit his head against the doorways for being too tall. One time when he hit his head, he fired an entire floor of people out of anger. Was it too much? Absolutely. But boss got what boss wanted and no one could stop him. No one tried to stop him, no one wanted to, no one dared to. He was far too scary and rich to even try to fight.

Gabriel lived a life of riches, becoming a changed person once the money came in and the fame appeared. Abandoning people, excluding himself from his family, not letting anyone speak to him, nothing! All he needed was his ladies that lived to be by his side, purely because he had money and they hoped he would spoil them with more. He never really cared about these women, never learned their names, often mixed them up, or dismissed them like nothing. Why care when he had it all? But the next problem he had was not having anyone by his side to be…an assistant. Yeah, these women were always coddled up to him but no one actually worked under him. His previous assistants had been fired for not being good enough for him. Mainly because they didn’t fall to their knees when giving him one look.

It was painfully annoying for the big CEO and he did NOT tolerate such disrespect. The hunt for his assistant came quickly as many candidates came to his door. Left and right, they were quickly dismissed. Too much, not enough, trying too hard, too boring, too big, ugh who the shock were these people? Whoever brought them in was going to get fired immediately.

Leaving his office for a moment to go find someone to serve him coffee, someone bumped into him and papers went scattering around as they fell down with a squeak. Was it a mouse? A really tall mouse? He looked down as he loomed over the person and suddenly his breath hitched. Below him on the floor in such an innocent position was the newest higher, Scarlet Celeste. Looking at her, she was a petite woman, only standing at a height of 5’1”, much smaller than the CEO. She looked like he could step on her and not even realize it. But that’s what made her so interesting. She was stunning! Perfect long straight raven hair, two normal brown eyes, curves on her petite body, and an innocent gaze. She was clearly clumsy, likely from her heels. But Gabriel didn’t care.

He came down, still towering over her, and helped pick the papers up. Some report that he didn’t care about. He was too focused on the gorgeous angel in front of him. “Here…” His deep voice rumbled as he spoke and handed the papers to her.

“O-o-oh…thank y-you…” Scarlet whimpered shyly, taking the papers from him. Their hands brushed each other as she took the paper and there was a sudden spark between them. An electric spark that went through them, making her eyes sparkle and his smirk become softer. For a moment, it was just them, staring into each other’s eyes. Gabriel brushed a strand of her hair back behind her ear and his touch lingered there for a moment before pulling back. “How would you like to be my assistant?”

That was shocking fast.

Scarlet’s doe eye’s widened when he offered her to be his assistant. The CEO’s assistant? Her? Of all people! But she was just some girl new to the city who barely had any friends and was the odd one out from the group! She lived in a poor studio apartment in the infamous Nueva York and already had the most wealthiest man’s attention?! How!? She’s just from a small town where she grew up on a farm! (Okay wrap it up)

She batted her eyes innocently and nodded, sitting on her knees while holding the papers.

“I’d be honored.”

Gabriel smirked and stood tall, lifting Scarlet up in his arms and keeping her close as he took her to his office. There, she was sat down near him and was going to be his official assistant!

-

It quickly spread fast that Scarlet was going to be Gabriel’s assistant. Any normal person in the office would have seen how uncomfortable it was to even see them interact with one another. Scarlet was always by Gabriel’s side, holding his papers or making his coffee just the way he liked it. He called her his “peanut” jokingly but it eventually became a personal name. Eventually when he learned her nickname was “Star” oh god. No one was ever allowed to call her that.

He even told her that no one could say that name but him, making it very clear that he claimed that name as his own to call her. Mind you, it’s a nickname she’s had forever. But Scarlet didn’t care. She thought it was charming and felt like it was their special thing. She was his star, his peanut, his darling. His whatever!

Often times when someone needed to deliver something to his office, there she shocking was. Sitting on his lap while he did some paperwork. Gabriel would tighten his grip on her, sliding his big strong arm around her tiny waist whenever someone got too close or even looked at her for too long. It was clear. She was his. And no one could touch HIS peanut (Feel free to unfollow me).

But when they started to kiss and have “private meetings” in his office? God it sounded like wild animals in there. Like rhinos fighting or something. Anyone who had the unfortunate opportunity to enter the office after their “meeting” would see Gabriel’s desk ruined, Scarlet’s blouse and hair a mess along with her makeup, and Gabriel fixing his suit like nothing had happened.

But they knew. The workers always knew. Especially with the perfume filling the air as coverup. Why was no one stopping this?!

He’s CEO.

Oh for shock’s sake.

One day, Scarlet was cold in the office while she was at the printer and Gabriel was near her. The smart thing would be to offer his own jacket to her or simply request the air conditioner to be turned off until she was warm. Heck, just take her outside to warm up for a second in the sun. But when Gabriel saw her shiver, he tore off a jacket suit from a passing worker.

“What the shock?!!” The worker angrily gasped as he watched Gabriel give it to his tiny…girlfriend? Whatever the shock she was.

“Here you go my peanut.” Gabriel’s deep voice nearly sounded like he was trying to growl. Why?!

“O-oh…t-thank you cuddle bug” (dude)

“Anything for you, kitten.”

The worker looked disgusted by the two of them. Whatever they had was actually disgusting and not pleasant to look at. But then, Scarlet looked at the jacket and removed it, “A-actually moon pie, c-can we just g-go back to your o-office? I want to w-w-warm up there…”

Gabriel’s brown eyes widened and he nodded, tearing the jacket off of her and shoving it back to the worker, “of course my dear. Let’s go to my office.”

That could mean one thing. Please, hopefully it didn’t.

The employee that had his jacket torn off of him was now holding it, looking at the odd couple in offense for ruining his nice outfit. “Bunch of weirdos.”

-

The couple was odd more and more. It got to a point where no one could even look at Scarlet without Gabriel growling under his breath and squeezing the crap out of the 12th pen he’s snapped in his hand. He was always under the impression that someone was trying to take his peanut away from him and he did NOT like that. Yet, they were only talking to her because y’know, SHE WORKS THERE. But he still acted like a possessive freak around her.

Scarlet herself was annoying too. Always falling over air and acting like someone pushed her. If someone tried speaking to Gabriel, she was instantly pissed and would act even more pouty, even coming up with dumb excuses as to why she needed to be in his office. She was so small compared to him, it was basically unsettling. He always was picking her up to show how pretty she looked next to him. And although she was good looking (as a basic woman) everyone knew to stay away.

But about six months into their relationship, Gabriel proposed to her RIGHT IN THE OFFICE?!! He called for an “important group meeting” in the middle of the offices where he ended up getting on one knee in front of Scarlet. The ring looked expensive and shined bright under the lights. “Scarlet Celeste…my peanut butter to my jelly (alright-), will you marry me?” Gabriel had a smug smirk on his face, feeling like he was making everyone here jealous that he was proposing to her first, making it really clear that he wasn’t letting anyone have her.

Scarlet herself was shocked and gasped, sounding more like a squeak. (Think of that one ugly panel from “Komi can’t communicate”, you’ll know when you see it.) Her face was red and she put one hand on her cheek, acting all bashful and extending her hand out from the ring to be placed on her finger. “O-oh! Yes! I-I will marry y-you!” She bashfully agreed and Gabriel put the big ass ring on her. He scooped her up bridal style and pressed his lips over hers in a sloppy kiss. Everyone awkwardly applauded.

Meanwhile in the much normal world-

Scarlet, in our beloved canon timeline, was beginning to hate her powers of seeing different worlds and universes when finally seeing this hell spawn. She watched in horror as she saw an alternate version of herself and Gabriel have the worst trope known to man. She looked ugly too and Gabriel wasn’t attractive in the slightest. Why did he look like a brick wall?! Her Gabriel was next to her, watching the whole thing play out. All he could do was laugh loudly about how horrible that was.

“That cannot be real! Babe, tell me you just made them up!” He laughed hysterically

“I didn’t! I would never make something so…cringe!” Scarlet cringed so hard that she had to look away. “God, I can’t believe that’s a real world.

“Wait. That was real?!” Gabriel wasn’t laughing anymore.

“YES!”

He stared at the projection and blinked. Now that was worse knowing it wasn’t some cruel prank. “Oh. That’s um…” He watched their variants suck at each other’s faces in the middle of the office.

“Yeah, let’s forget about this.” He cringed.

“Agreed.” She dismissed the projection and laid back on their couch. “Yikes.”

“Yikes is correct,” Gabriel laid down with her, “I’d never propose to you in an office anyways. So tacky.”

“That’s your take away from that?!”

“Yep! And to make sure to stop calling you peanut. I gotta find a new name.” He laughed again.

“Aw man. Fineee” she giggled.

At least they were going to be able to joke about this for a while now. Whatever those variants were doing was none of their business. And they didn’t wanna know anyways.

[starlight--lover]

Stars and Goggles

Word count - 11,231

My longest fic posted in a while 🫠

Nueva York was a technologically advanced city and would considered to be futuristic to those that came here from a different timeline. The once bright and colorful city had turned into a more modernized civilization, one that had sleek and tall skyscrapers almost anywhere you looked. Nueva York unfortunately had the rich become even more superior to its citizens. Oscorp, the company that used to have control of the city, was now gone and had been taken over by Alchemax, a shady company that promised to look after its people and instead uses them for resources and corruption. Although this was the case, the city still had been a home for many and still would be a bust tourist spot for those that wanted a taste of the future. The famous hover cars that had yet to be in other states flew through the skies and had been the greatest invention to date with Alchemax pushing for more projects to gain public approval. The company of course did have its supporters who only saw the good things they would do for the citizens while others knew about the darker sides of it. It felt like no one would be able to stop them along with those that worked for them. But that wasn't the case at all. Not anymore once Cosmic Weaver came into light.

Cosmic Weaver first appeared in the city six years ago and many had caught onto how young she was when first coming out. Although no one knew who exactly she was, she had been the hero of the city that stopped crime and was fully against Alchemax and their corrupt system. Not everyone agreed with who she is as some viewed her as a threat due to her unique abilities and others questioned what her true motives may have been. But regardless, Cosmic Weaver knew who she was and knew who was the villain at the end of the day. Everyday there was always crime in the city, even if it was something small.

On a warm spring day in the city, Gabriel, the incredibly charming technician at Alchemax that only helped his brother because he doesn't actually work for the company, was on his way to the building. He was on his phone to text Miguel about his arrival and also asking if he wanted any food since he was feeling hungry himself. Wearing his orange coveralls with the chest part exposed just a little, he looked even more charming. (Yes I'm already saying he's sexy, fight me.) As he turned the corner towards Alchemax's building, an out of control hover car crashed around and was spinning out of control. The couple inside screamed in terror as it spun around and was heading right for him. "What the shock?!?" Gabriel gasped. He only had seconds to get away and was about to jump when someone suddenly grabbed him out the way and the vehicle stopped midair. Everything went fast for a moment before he felt himself getting placed back onto the floor. His heart nearly burst out of his chest from the experience but he quickly realized that he and the couple were safe. The couple was helped out of the car by none other than Cosmic Weaver as she pulled them both out. The woman cried while her partner held her close and Cosmic had been reassuring them while checking on the area. She then looked towards Gabriel and checked on him. Her star-shaped goggles shined in the sun and it was hard to really tell who she was because of them and the hood she wore. Her mask only went up to her nose to hide the rest of herself. Gabriel was speechless for a moment and could only stare. "I-I…uh. yeah. I'm okay." He finally managed to respond. Cosmic nodded, "Good just make sure to watch your surroundings." She shot a web and pulled herself away before saying, "You're also really cute!" Gabriel couldn't process what just happened for a moment. First he was walking down the sidewalk, nearly gets hit by a hover cat, gets saved by shocking Cosmic Weaver, and then she calls him cute?! Once that clicked in his head, his cheeks went red and he fixed the glasses that rested on top of his head. "What is happening today?" He muttered and continued his walk to Alchemax just as the police arrived to check on the couple.

Inside of the largest building in the city, Alchemax had multiple floors with each one belonging to a different department. The lower levels were the offices which would allow guests to do a quick walk through to see everyone hard at work. The second floor were the workshops where they tested out new equipment and technology such as the security drones they had been testing out. These were the floors that guests were allowed on and to see the good side of the company while everything above that was only for the workers. Gabriel had his own workshop on the sixth floor where Miguel worked and it was still technically Miguel's but he liked to use it instead. The only way he got up to that floor was by telling the front desk he was here for a maintenance check which gave him free access to the higher floors. Entering the elevator and pressing the sixth floor button, soft music played while Gabriel stayed on his phone to tell Miguel he was getting closer. In the labs itself, Miguel was working on his computer, looking at the different holograms and running diagnostics on a chip he tried to fix that programmed his ai, Lyla. She had been glitching out again and it was visibly annoying him and making him even more worried. He wouldn't admit it out loud yet but Lyla meant a lot to him. He was mumbling some swears under his breath when he heard the keypad being used and the doors slide open, "Gabriel…" He muttered once he walked in. "Don't sound too excited to see me." Gabriel sarcastically joked when entering inside. "Huh? Oh, sorry it's just…Lyla's chip isn't working properly and I haven't been able to power her back on since it went down."

"No duh, the chip is what activates her." Gabriel nudged him.

"I know that, idiot, I was just saying that—never mind." He was already too annoyed to try and argue with him.

"Let me take a look at it." He gently moved Miguel out of the way and started to inspect the chip to see what the issue was. While he started to work on everything and check what the source of the error could be, he told Miguel about what happened earlier, "So i almost got hit by a car."

"What?!" Miguel turned to look at him quickly, "When?! What the shock were you doing?!"

"I was just walking over here! I was in the area and was coming here when a hover-car nearly crashed into me! I think it lost control of itself and was heading straight towards me!"

"Are you okay at least? You look perfectly fine."

"That's what I'm getting at. I was saved! Cosmic Weaver was in the area I guess and she came in and saved me and those people in the car!"

"Wow, so you had a super hero moment? I mean I'm glad you're safe and all…"

"I did, Miguel! She was so quick too, I didn't even get a chance to see where she came from!" Gabriel looked away from the chip and a faint blush formed on his cheeks. "She uh…also said something else to me when she left."

"That you're heavy?" Miguel lightly joked and Gabriel punched him in the arm.

"I'm not that heavy!! And no she didn't comment on my weight! I think it would be so embarrassing if a hero came to save you and then afterwards say that you're really heavy." He muttered that last part, imagining how sad that would be. "Anyways! She actually said something very sweet!"

"Oh really? Please, entertain me." Miguel gave him his full, undivided attention to hear what exactly Cosmic Weaver said.

Gabriel's cheeks felt more warm now that Miguel was waiting to hear what she said. It somehow felt more embarrassing now. "She uh…she said I looked really cute.."

Miguel could only raise an eyebrow and feel like he was lying about that, "Really? She really said that? You sure she didn't say that to someone else?"

"Hey! She said it to me!! She looked right at me when saying it and swung away!"

"Uh huh. Trying to charm yourself?" Miguel was only teasing him.

"Oh you're a jerk. She really did say it and I heard it, believe me or not." Gabe scoffed, "Dunno why it's so surprising to hear that Cosmic Weaver might've found me to be cute."

"Okay okay, stop sulking. I'm sure she did say it but just don't let it get into your head. It's already big as it is." Gabriel punched him again and Miguel only chuckled this time before getting back into work. They both knew it had just been some playful banter.

On the same floor that Gabriel and Miguel were on, Cosmic Weaver entered a lab through the window and quickly rushed to the back room to change out of her suit. She grunted as she struggled to take off the spandex suit , falling over and almost crashing into some boxes as she yanked it off. Stuffing her star-shaped goggles into a bag along with the actual suit, she quickly changed into her lab clothes which included an oversized green sweater and some black jeans with a lab coat on since all lab employees were required to wear one. Coming out of the room and locking the door, she fixed her short black hair and sat at her desk to act like she had been working for hours.

"Webby…you awake?" She tapped on her pet tarantula's terrarium and watched her come out. Webby is a Brazilian jewel spider and also is the same one that bit her years ago. Scarlet decided to keep her as a pet because she is genetically advanced and was able to communicate with people via morse code. The tarantula crawled out and rested on her hand, "Hi there," Scarlet giggled and patted her fluffy back. "Have a good nap?" Webby tapped her hand twice as a way to say "yes". Webby meant a lot to her so taking care of her was very important.

It was feeding time for Webby as well which was Scarlet's least favorite part since that required her to get a bug for her. Roaches seem to be her favorite and Star just hated looking at it. That's why telekinesis came in handy so much since it meant she could feed her pet from afar. Just as she lifted the roach towards Webby, the door slid open and she jumped, dropping the live bug onto the floor and making it scatter around. She screamed and jumped on her chair (celestial btw). At the door was Todd Celeste, her father and the COO of Alchemax being under Tyler Stone. He stood at the doorway and stared at his daughter as she freaked out over a small cockroach. Rolling his eyes in annoyance, he stepped forward and squished the bug under his boot like it was nothing. Which to him, it was. "Stop acting a fool and get down." He sternly spoke, not finding any amusement in Scarlet's panic. She came down from the chair and fixed her coat while attempting to look normal about it. "Sorry…" She muttered. Todd scoffed, "You've been through worse things and yet you freak out over a tiny insect? I didn't raise a pathetic daughter." Scarlet looked at him bitterly, "A hello would've been nicer, father."

"I'm not here to coddle you, daughter. Where are the reports for the day?"

"Miguel has yet to turn them in to me. I have yet to—"

"I didn't ask about O'Hara, did I? I asked you where the reports are. Why aren't they on my desk?"

She bit her tongue in an attempt to hold back a snarky comment, "If you'd let me finish I'd tell you that they're not available to me yet. Reports on the security drones are still being processed too."

Todd pinched the bridge of his nose, slightly lifting his glasses off his face, "Scarlet, we had two drones explode today after the engineering team failed to get the right blueprints along with their coding. Did you even bother to check over them?"

"I'm not in the coding department am I father?"

"Watch your tone." He raised his voice, making her look away with a scoff. "We can't afford anymore mistakes like this! We have deadlines for these and right now, we only have three successful drones and Stone wants their features to be changed again! They look too dangerous to be released into the city!"

"And who's fault is that?! They look like drones that'll stalk every citizen in the city! Unless that was the real plan." She had seen the blueprints that did have hidden features to scan citizens and have facial recognition to keep data on them. "They're not safety drones. They're just tactics for you and Tyler to stalk everyone!"

"What did I shocking say about your tone, daughter?! You do not question what we are making and will listen to me when I tell you to fix the coding and get those reports!!"

"Let them explode! See if I shocking care!"

In a fit of anger, Todd suddenly backhanded Scarlet hard enough to the point Webby flinched. Her head snapped the other way when he did and her cheek was already getting red. She didn't say anything and just put her hand over the hit spot. Todd yelled at her, "Get me those shocking reports now!! Or else I will not hesitate to send you back to the labs!" He was talking about the underground labs. Scarlet was quiet for a moment, too shocked to even respond to what he said. When she looked at him and only saw the angry expression on his face, she only nodded. Todd stormed off to go deal with other things. Webby crawled onto her shoulder and nuzzled against her other cheek.

"It would be so easy, Webs…" She whispered, hinting at how easy it would be to kill him with her powers. It wasn't the first time she thought like that and it certainly wouldn't be the last. For now, she left her lab to go see Miguel.

Back with the O'Hara's, Gabriel was yapping about his previous time in cyberspace, something Miguel had been trying to get him away from. Gabriel was talking his ear off as he was running another test on Lyla to see if she would power back on again. He didn't understand how he could talk so damn much but also didn't have the heart to make him be quiet. It was better than sitting in complete silence and only hearing people walk up and down the halls. But just as he was about to say something, the doors opened and in came Scarlet. She wasn't looking so happy and her cheek was noticeable red. "Hey, whoa…what happened?" Miguel set his things down and approached her, checking out the redness. "My father is what shocking happened." She bitterly mumbled.

"Jammit, what did he want now?"

"Stuff about his stalker drones."

"Ugh, I haven't had a chance to work on that yet. I've been trying to get Lyla to work again, she's been offline since this morning."

"Oh no! Not Lyla." Scarlet loved Lyla like a best friend. Because they were basically besties.

"Oh, also, uh I don't think you've met my brother." Miguel turned around to introduce Scarlet to Gabriel. "This is Gabriel. My obnoxiously annoying younger brother."

"Hey!" Gabriel pouted.

Scarlet's eyes widened a bit as she quickly recognized him from earlier when she saved him from the out of control car. Of course, he wouldn't know that it was her that saved him but that was fine. He was very attractive to her and she was beginning to forget that her father just slapped her a few minutes ago. The small stars in her eyes sparkled more when looking at him. Gabriel looked at her and also was faintly blushing when getting a good look. Could this be love at first sight?

"Uh…hi. It's nice to meet you. I'm Gabriel…" Gabriel extended his hand out for a handshake. Scarlet took it and slowly shook it, "It's nice to meet you too. Uh, I'm Scarlet but uh…call me Star." She was already stumbling over her words. "Star? That's really…um…cute. Is it because of the freckles on your face? They look like tiny stars…" That cute complement was already making her blush more and she had to remember to be careful since her freckles could glow. "O-oh! No—I mean—kind of? It was a childhood nickname but yeah! The freckles apply too.." They hadn't release each other's hands and Miguel was staring at them with a raised eyebrow. He could already see what was happening between them and didn't know if he should roll his eyes or just be happy for them. Both of them were visibly flustered and were now just staring into each other's eyes until Miguel finally cleared his throat.

"Oh! Sorry I—"

"No no I'm sorry, I should've—"

They both stuttered over each other and released their hands, becoming even more flustered from their little slip up. Miguel rolled his eyes in response, "Oh boy." But after their little flustered mishap, Gabriel noticed her cheek now from the slap earlier, "Whoa wait, are you okay?" Scarlet raised an eyebrow from his question before remembering what happened, "Huh? Oh! Oh that…it's nothing. Just some uh…personal issues." She attempted to dodge the question so he wouldn't worry too much about it. But Gabriel frowned, not liking her avoidance. Although this was their first time meeting and he really shouldn't impose, he was still worried about the redness on her cheek since it had been obvious that someone hit her. But he chose not to dig into it and instead sighed, "Okay…I just hope you're okay. That redness looks bad." Scarlet rubbed her cheek in response, "It's nothing I can't handle." She wasn't about to tell this cute guy that her father is abusive. Totally not cute.

Miguel finally came between them, "Look, enough flirting. I'll get that report for you while Gabriel checks on Lyla."

"Huh? Oh yeah." Star nodded in response and stepped back.

Gabriel sat back at his desk while Scarlet sat nearby, attempting to be sneaky and watch him work. She wasn't exactly being discreet about it though and at one point was full on staring at him while he worked on the chip for Lyla. It wasn't staring in a creepy manner! She was just taking the time to get a better look at him. The orange outfit he wore with the zipper partially down…his red hair…the glasses that rested on top of his head…the freckles on his cheeks…she was staring at everything! But just before Gabriel could catch her staring, Miguel came up to her and smacked the reports onto her stomach, effectively snapping her out of her trance. "Huh?!" She sputtered and held the reports, looking down at the papers. "Oh. Right. Wait, did you seriously print these out? Aren't printers extremely outdated? And where the shock did you even get one?"

"Gabriel made one for me. Knew how to reconstruct one. Plus its new protocol to start printing out these papers. Tyler and Todd requested it."

"Wait, Gabriel made the printer?" She looked at Gabriel and he nodded, not thinking much of it. But the blush on her cheeks gave away more of how she was feeling and Miguel instantly caught that. Was everything that Gabriel did or said going to make her blush?!

"Scarlet, the reports. You gotta get them to Todd before he has your throat." Miguel nudged her with his shoulder but she wasn't focused at all.

"Yeah yeah…uh hey, why don't you take them to him?"

"You'll get in trouble you idiot!"

"Don't care." The files were shoved against his chest as she went to sit back down near Gabriel. "So you're an inventor or something?"

Miguel squeezed the papers out of frustration and annoyance but he knew that this was a lost cause. Just introducing them to each other seemed like something was going to happen. Gross but good for both of them. This would be the one time he let it slide and soon left to go deliver the reports.

Normally, Scarlet had to go work on more reports for the tech being made along with updates on city patrols while she was at Alchemax. But since meeting Gabriel, she stayed in Miguel's labs for hours to only talk to him and get to know him better. She found out that he was an artist who enjoyed doing VR commissions and mainly got more money making them for school projects. It hadn't been ideal to get money but hey, it brought him something so who was he to complain? The cute artist yapped on about his projects and how he enjoys to invent his own pieces of technology, working on smaller gadgets that would benefit someone one day. He even spoke about making some kind of plasma gun but it was something he got embarrassed about since it sounded impossible to make. But Scarlet didn't see it that way at all and instead had been more enamored by his passions to keep inventing certain things for himself and hopefully using it for others. Even as he talked her ear off, she listened to everything while admiring how charming he was. She's had crushes in the past, had flings and that relationship with Harry in high school but none of those moments made her feel like this. It was strange, really. Falling in love was easy for her. Maybe too shocking easy.

Someone gave her the right amount of attention or compliment and she was swooning. It had been dangerous, especially with the past interests she's had where people called her a freak when finding out she was…whatever she is. Not even she fully knew and it made it harder to accept that one day she would find her forever person. But with the way her powers have acted, giving her these visions since she was a child, something about Gabriel was pulling her to him. It was terrifying. They just met! There was no way she could already sense that this was her…what? Soulmate?! Did the stars align at the perfect moment and this was their destiny?

Regardless of what the cosmos had in store for them, all she knew was that this charming artist was stealing her heart and stealing it fast.

"I'm talking too much, what about you? What brought you here to Alchemax?" Gabriel quit talking about himself, asking about her life now. It made her snap out of her own mind and focus, "What? Oh! Me? I well…" She nervously rubbed the back of her neck and chuckled.

"I uh got into working her because of my father. I'm a Celeste unfortunately."

"Wait, seriously?! You're a shocking Celeste?!!" He gasped.

"Sadly. Father forced me into this job so I really don't have much of a choice. But besides that, I work here on the spiders and see how we can modify them to potentially be better house pets. A majority of the modified spiders aren't ready to be sent out to homes though so they just stay in my lab for the time being."

"And they don't freak you out? Most people deal with arachnophobia."

"Not me! I love my lil arachnids! That's why I have Webby!" She gestured to the tarantula on her shoulder to which the spider responded by waving one of her many fuzzy legs in his direction. It left him dumbfounded for a moment as he processed seeing a freaking spider wave at him.

"Huh…" He curiously waved back. "And what's going to benefit people with these things?"

"Home pets! There are some downsides to it. The city believes that people will use their spiders to sneak around and stalk people. Makes senses why they would be so scared considering they can understand us."

"Sounds like a bad idea if I'm being honest."

"Yeah saying it out loud now, I should probably talk to my team about that…" She summoned a holo-screen to take note of what she realized. "Thanks for that."

"I didn't mean for it to sound….dumb or something. It just sounds like another tactic for the company to stalk its buyers. This place reeks of shady businesses."

"Yeah you're not wrong about that." She muttered under her breath.

The pair continued to talk about her work with the company while Scarlet avoided any topics about her father. If she brought him up then they would be there for hours. Instead, she told him more about Webby and what the spider could do along with why she keeps her as a pet. Now it was her turn to yap his ear off, something that often isn't done. Gabriel was focused on what she was talking about, taking the chance to remember what she was saying and putting all his attention onto her rather than looking into the issue Lyla was dealing with.

Something that kept catching his attention was the uniqueness of her eyes. It wasn't common to find someone with such a thing yet it was so fascinating to see. Most commonly, heterochromia had involved more common eye colors such as hazel and blue, blue and green, hazel and green, anything to do with an eye color you'd see many others with. Yet, Scarlet had one hazel eye and a white one. The glow from the lights in the lab made that one eye shine like the moon itself and Gabriel could have sworn he saw a tiny star in her eyes. It was distracting yet alluring at the same time.

"You have beautiful eyes." Gabriel suddenly blurted out while she was talking about the labs.

The conversation abruptly came to a halt when he said that. Both of them went quiet and looked at each other as their faces became red and pink. That sparkle in Scarlet's eyes returned once more while Gabe looked ready for the ground to swallow him whole. Did he seriously say that out loud?!

"You…you mean it?" Star questioned him, almost not believing the sweet compliment.

"I…I do. I mean—what I really meant to say was that uhh…I've never seen such beau—I mean-!" He stumbled over his words while becoming increasingly flustered, "I've never seen anyone with heterochromia! I thought it was fake or something but here you are with them! And they look…" pausing for a moment to really look at her eyes, they were stunning. Her hazel eye was warm and bright enough to look like the setting sun. The other looked similar to the moon, glowing faintly from the lights. "…extraordinary."

Something sparked between them,

Scarlet's heart was beating faster.

Gabriel couldn't look away.

Were they getting closer to each other?

Before either of them could figure out if the other was getting closer, the doors slide open to welcome in Miguel who quickly caught them looking increasingly flustered. All he could do was stand there, raising an eyebrow with his hands resting on his hips. "Am I interrupting something?"

The flustered pair scooted away from one another as if they were just caught in the middle of something they weren't supposed to be doing. Both sputtered out a "nope!" so quickly that it only gave away the poor lie. The best way to describe the way they looked was as if two teenagers were about to have their first kiss before getting caught by some parents. It was almost hilarious if Miguel hadn't ignored it to just remind Scarlet that she needed to go see her father.

"Oh shock, right, uh-" she scooped up Webby to let her rest on her shoulder, "-I'll go see him. Um…Gabriel, I'll…I'll see you around." He spun in his chair towards her and nodded, "Yeah yeah! I hope we could talk some more." That made Scarlet smile and she quickly left, feeling a bit more giddy than normal.

Going to work since meeting Gabriel that day felt more exciting than it ever did. Although she tried to be subtle every time she came to Miguel's lab just to see if he was there, Miguel always knew the reasoning. On the days that Gabriel was there at the labs, he appeared to brighten up seeing Star and rushed to have a conversation for as long as possible. Miguel would see this often since they always stayed in his lab to the point he would start telling them to go meet at her lab just so one of them would actually work. But it was pointless. They just were too into each other!

The weeks went by with them seeing each other, often "accidently" bumping in the halls or bringing the other coffee. Gabriel learned her order quite fast from Miguel, a cup of coffee from the cafe down the street that had vanilla creamer in it to the point it nearly looked like milk. Who was he to judge her when it made her smile every time he brought it? Since they began to talk, a small rumor was starting to spread about them potentially dating. The only person to confidently spread this around was Xina, Miguel's girlfriend and friend of the cute couple. For the first time since visiting Alchemax, this was the most entertaining thing she had witnessed! To finally see Scarlet giving her feelings a chance and Gabriel finally falling for someone that wasn't going to break his heart like his previous relationships. Everyday when she came to the labs, she immediately would ask Miguel for an update on them to see if either of them asked the other out. Sadly for her, they were taking things slow even though it was obvious they were into the other. Xina also wasn't the only one who knew about this juicy gossip.

Harry, Scarlet's best friend, knew about the gossip as well from Xina, finding out that she had a crush on a guy from work. Of course he had to dig in deeper to this and find out from Star herself about this new guy. Although she didn't live with him anymore, she would still come to visit often so they could have deep talks or just life updates. Or y'know, just to have a place to sleep at.

A few weeks into knowing Gabriel and getting to know him, Harry finally came out to poke fun at Scarlet for hiding such a secret from him. One day while she was at his penthouse helping him clean, he finally started to talk about her new fascination with Gabriel.

"So, Xina tells me you've been eyeing someone at work." Harry blurted out while he swept his hardwood flooring.

Scarlet was flying around the home, picking up various items that were misplaced or trash that desperately needed to get thrown out. When Harry mentioned Gabriel, she froze, "Uhhhh I dunno what you're talking about!" She attempted to play dumb but that wasn't going to get past him.

"Uh huh. A certain redhead isn't getting your attention? I hear he's a tech kind of guy? An artist? Dare I even say a charming artist at that, huh?" It was fun to poke around with Scarlet and to see how flustered she was getting. She picked up more items while becoming red and holding back a dorky love-sick smile. "AH! I knew it! I see that smile!" Harry finally pointed at her.

"Uggh! Okay okay! Yes it's true! There's a guy at work I've been…talking to."

"Oh 'talking to', uh huh. Probably already hooked up and haven't told me."

"HEY!" She let out an embarrassed squeak. "We have NOT hooked up yet! Haven't even gone on a friendly date or something."

"Since when do friends go on dates? How many dates have we been on?" Harry smugly smiled.

"We don't count! Plus, we dated in high school so our friend dates are just…hangouts!"

"Rrrriight…"

"Shut up!" She smacked his head when flying past.

"Hahaha!" Rubbing his head and following the hero, he chuckled, "So no date yet, huh? Why haven't you asked him out? You know you want to."

"What?" Tossing the trash into a bag, she tied it up while looking more flustered, "Girls don't ask guys out."

"WOW! Didn't know we were that old school, Scarlet!"

"You know what I mean!"

"Do i?" Of course he was going to be smug about this. There weren't rules to how dating work and did it really matter who asked the other person out? It's 2099 for goodness sake, Star can handle asking a guy out for once. "What's holding you back from asking him out Star?"

"What if he rejects me and I'm just reading into this wrong!"

"Dude. You said you both have been talking for weeks now. He's had to show some interest by now! Here," He set his broom against the wall and grabbed her hand, pulling her with him like a kid holding a balloon. Bringing her back down to earth to sit in front of him on the couch, he became focused, "…tell me what he's done that makes you think he'd be interested in you."

"Well…he often comes to see me in the labs. Er, I do. I go rush to Miguel's lab to see him and Gabriel always looks-"

"-ah, so his name is Gabriel." Harry smirked.

"Silence!" She shut him up although her cheeks were going pink again, "Anyways, I go see him and he often looks brighter when I enter the room. Unless I'm just making that up. He uh also brings me coffee and knows my order by now."

"Oh so he's in love with you." The coffee story was all he needed to hear. "A friendly person wouldn't learn your order like that and say they only want to be friends! That's the most romantic thing a person could do!"

"And if he's really just being nice?"

"Then he's just dumb."

"Harry!!"

"I'm serious!"

The best friends kept talking about Gabriel along with the small things he does for Scarlet. Telling Harry that Gabe tends to look happier around her, brings her coffee, often tries to "accidently" bump into her in the hallways was enough for him to think that he was in love. Plus the way she was getting shy and nervous about these moments was showing that she also believed he could be in love with her. But the moment she mentioned the flirting? Oh it was over.

"I think he's flirting with me." She shyly admitted. Harry's jaw nearly dropped to the floor when she brought that up, being the last thing she had to mention rather than starting.

"You didn't start with that?! What does he say?! What does he do!!?" Harry almost looked giddy.

"Well I mean…he compliments me often. Says my eyes are beautiful and sometimes I catch him staring at me. But not in that creepy "I want you" kind of way. More in the kind where he…" She didn't finish her sentence when realizing that the way Gabriel looked at her wasn't something she had seen before. Gabriel always looked at her like she was the most stunning person in the world, looked at her like she was the brightest star in the galaxy. It was never a stare that looked like he was daydreaming or accidently locked eyes for a second, no. It was something deeper than that, something that made her heart skip a beat.

Harry was grinning like an idiot as he watched his best friend come to the realization that this guy may actually be in love with her. Just as much as she was in love with him! "You're going to ask him out when you see him."

"Wha-"

"Nope! You are asking that man out when you see him! Just be casual about it! Ask him out for coffee or a dinner date! It doesn't have to be a spontaneous date either. Just something cute that says "I wanna date you"."

"What if I mess it all up?!"

"You won't! Just don't act like an idiot."

"Wow. So helpful."

"I know, I'm the best." Harry smugly smiled.

Days after talking to Harry about Gabriel and gaining just enough confidence, Scarlet was ready to ask Gabriel out on a date. Was she scared? More like terrified. It had been easier to get asked out by a guy since she was allowed to say yes or no but being the one to ask?! Is this how all those people felt?! It feels different too when asking another girl out, it almost feels easier because she's more confident! But this is Gabriel. Gabriel O'Hara! The charming tech guy that loved to talk to her everyday and brought her coffee and even memorized her order!

Although she was giving herself a hard time with this and couldn't convince her mind that he was going to say yes, she was already on her way back to Alchemax. The elevator ride had her repeating what she would say to him and how this would go. The perfect place was already in mind for her. Not a dinner date or a cafe or an arcade, no. She had a special idea in mind! The elevator dinged and opened to the labs where she nearly ran to get to Miguel's lab. Her excitement was beginning to kick in now that she was getting closer to the moment.

In front of the door, it slid open and she was already smiling until it quickly dropped. The lab only had Miguel inside with Xina. No Gabriel. Xina saw her and smiled softly, "Hey Star! Don't look too excited to see us." She joked when noticing how quick her smile went away.

"Huh? Oh yeah, hey. Is uh…is Gabriel in today?" Star questioned while looking around, hoping maybe that Gabriel was hiding somewhere.

"He's not. You do realize that he doesn't officially work here, right? He just fixes my tech." Miguel had to remind her since she always came to his lab just to see him.

"Oh. Right. Yeah I knew that." She muttered under her breath. "Where is he?"

"Calm your horses, girl!" Xina laughed, "Maybe he'll come by for lunch."

"I can't wait that long!" Scarlet was never the patient type.

"Why?" Even Miguel was interested.

"I was going to ask him out on a date!" The truth was finally out and both Xina and Miguel were shocked. Miguel looked ready to stop her but Xina jumped for joy and punched Miguel's arm from eagerness. "We gotta find him! Now!!"

Miguel pinched his nose from the eagerness but was secretly glad Scarlet was making the choice to ask him out. The couple helped Star locate Gabriel by tracking his location, something Miguel always had on hand since he did care about him a lot. They found him at his apartment meaning this would be the perfect time to go! Xina shook Star, demanding that she go see him and finally get her man. She had their full support and luckily it was helping. With enough encouragement, Scarlet settled on going to see him.

Not knowing how to drive should have had its downsides since that was the fastest way of transportation. But being a mutant had its benefits with two choices, flight or web swinging. Both would ruin her hair but who cares?! She was going to see Gabriel and finally ask him out! Her trip there was quick, swinging through tall skyscrapers while dodging hover-cars and avoiding anyone getting a clear look at her face. Sometimes she becomes reckless by forgetting to put her mask on but at a time like this, she was far too excited.

Gabriel's apartment was located in the lower level of the city which was the side where housing was less advanced and fit more towards late technology. These were where the lower class was placed and sadly was considered to be more dangerous. It wasn't entirely the worst place to live now that she was around and there were changes being made but it wasn't perfect. To Scarlet, it seemed better than living on the surface where everyone was stalked often and security loved to harass its people. It almost felt quieter on this side, minus all the cars in the area and the people walking through the streets.

When she finally arrived to Gabriel's apartment, she landed in front of his door and quickly fixed her hair, feeling anxious now that she was standing in front of his door. "Okay…I got this. I can do this!" She spoke out loud to herself and pumped herself up. "C'mon Star…come on!"

"Scarlet?" Gabriel's voice called from inside. Her whole face went red when she realized she had been loud enough to make him hear her. "Shock." She quickly knocked on the door. It swung open and Gabriel had his goggles on, pushing them up once he confirmed it was her. He instantly smiled, "Oh hey! It is you! I thought I recognized your voice!"

"Haha! Yeah, it's me…" Why am I so flustered?! "Uh hey, listen, I'll make this quick before I chicken out." She gently tugged on her fingers out of nervousness. "Are you free anytime soon?"

"Uh I have some commissions to work on but I mean that depends on what you're asking for too."

"So that's the thing. I…" She hesitated. "We've…gotten to know each other these past couple of weeks and I have to be honest. You're very fun to talk to and I um…" While struggling to talk, Gabriel was beginning to catch on what she was attempting to ask, causing him to blush deeply.

"Yes!" He suddenly blurted out, startling her.

"Huh?"

"Er- were you-" Maybe he said that too quick. "You sounded like you were going to ask me out on a date."

"I…I was!" Welp, no point in hiding that now! "I was! I really do want you to go out on a date with me! Please? If you're free that is."

The blush on Gabriel's face spread as did his smile, "Yes! Yes! I mean—" Too eager O'Hara! "Yeah. I'd love to."

Oh she could jump for joy right now over this. She did it! Got a guy to say yes to a date! And a really cute guy at that! "Okay. Okay! Yeah! We have a date! Um…how about Sunday?"

"Sunday? Most places close early that day."

"No no no, I have a good spot! Trust me, okay?"

"Oh! Okay! Yeah yeah, I trust you. Text me the location then!"

"I will!"

They continued to briefly talk about their future date and how they would contact each other. Although they had each others numbers, they seemed to forget about that for a second. When Scarlet finally let, she flew a bit faster out of excitement and even spun in the air when realizing she had an official date! Everything had to be perfect and she didn't want anything to go wrong.

Days after Scarlet asked Gabriel out, the day finally arrived faster than expected. She woke up early that day to get a head start of getting ready and to be sure she had the best outfit possible! Being rich had it's benefits since that meant she had tons of outfits to pick from. It it also ended up being the issue at the same time since there were too many to pick from. This is why waking up early was extremely important! She needed to take the time to pick her outfits and see what fit her right and what didn't. But then brought the next issue. Her insecurities. Since she was young, Star always felt insecure about her weight, always feeling like she was too big at her age which would make her hide her body and wear baggy clothes to hide how round she appeared. But despite that, she wanted to look good for tonight! There was no other option unless she just wanted to look like a bum in a baggy hoodie and some sweats.

While rummaging through her closet with the crap ton of clothes she had, some dress were beginning to catch her eye as each one was pulled from the rack. There was a plain black dress, a lacy purple one, a yellow dress that she had been meaning to throw out, and a dark green dress that looked like it would match better in a gala. "Okay so…these actually suck." She muttered to herself, getting annoyed by the poor choices. There wasn't a rush yet to get to the date but at the same time, she didn't want to spend hours trying to find a dress. Calling Harry was an option but he might pick out something too plain or revealing and that wasn't her plan. Yet. In the meantime, taking a shower seemed like a better idea as maybe the hot water would help her think better about an outfit.

Back in the underground portion of the city, Gabriel already had an outfit planned for the date but was also anxiously waiting for a text or call from her. Although Star told him it would be later that night, he was becoming impatient, wanting to spend as much time with her as possible. A part of him was also eager about where she planned on taking them. Normally he'd expect them to agree on a spot but there was already one planned! But she wasn't sharing any sort of details. Great.

After Scarlet's shower, she was having a mini dress up party with herself, trying on various outfits and then complaining either on how an outfit fit on her or how it didn't match. Over time, shirts and dresses were getting scattered on the floor along with some shoes. This was starting to get even more frustrating until finally the perfect outfit appeared! Deep in her closet, there was a sweater and a skirt that paired perfectly together and the sweater looked like it was big enough for her comfort. It was a brown pairing outfit with a light brown sweater and a darker brown skirt that had a soft feel to it. Posing in front of a tall mirror that was in the closet, she tried a few different poses and angels first before slouching. "Jammit, this sweater looks too long." Glancing down at the sweater and the skirt, she attempted to tuck it in loosely enough to not hug her body before seeing how much better it looked that way. Finally finding the right outfit, a smile formed on her face and she squealed to herself, running back into the closet to find some boots or shoes to match. Heels wouldn't be good since she didn't want to be taller than him and plus heels hurt a lot to wear after a while. So the better choice was boots! She managed to find a pair of dark brown boots that went up to her knee, resting just below it. Posing one last time in the mirror, she smiled brightly and finally felt comfortable in her choice of outfit. Now to just add some makeup and final touches and everything would be done!

Gabriel was at home, pacing back and force in the living room while staring at his phone. There wasn't a message from Scarlet in hours minus the good morning text she sent followed by some messages saying how excited she was about the date. He didn't want to spam her and ask why she hasn't said anything but he still didn't know where the date was going to be at. He kept typing out a message to her only to delete it right before hitting the send button. Would that be nagging? Sound impatient? Accuse her of standing him up? He has a history of failed relationships so something like this was obviously going to make him anxious. She wouldn't cancel it, right? This wasn't a cruel prank, right? She's sweet and they've been bonding so well. Maybe she was busy finding a place and lied about having something in mind? But as more time passed and she didn't send a response, the more he became worried until he finally gave in and sent a text.

"Hey! Just checking in to see if we're still going to have that date! Not like I'm assuming anything, I just wanna be sure I didn't get the time and date wrong." Hitting send felt like he just sent an embarrassing message and she was going to make fun of him. He muttered quiet curses to himself as he tossed his phone on the couch and kept pacing around.

Meanwhile, Scarlet was at their date location. Further away from town had been an observatory that had been abandoned for years. It was a project funded by Oscorp when they were still around, using the building to study the stars and find new things. But when Alchemax suddenly took over and wanted to take all the research for themselves, the building was abandoned and all research was sent to the main tower. They never sent the plans to destroy the observatory so it was left here while the city and everything else was built as far away as possible. The only reason Scarlet found out about it was because of old files her father had on it which allowed her to find it herself. Although this was meant for research purposes, the inside of the building had sections for people to enter and learn about the stars and space, something she enjoyed more than anything. The whole building didn't have power due to the city shutting it down but that didn't stop her. She had been here for hours, setting up the place to have a nice date with Gabriel. Telling him would have spoiled the surprise and if he arrived any sooner then he would've seen her powers. That was the big surprise.

Scarlet was using her powers to make the building come back to life! She couldn't bring the power back on but she could alter things to make it look like electricity was making these things happen. In the main room where the large model of the solar system sat with the sun being the center light, the ceiling had a map of constellations and their placements which used to move depending on the time of day. The center pillar had some facts about the solar system along with each planet but that wasn't important. Although she hadn't had full control of her celestial abilities, she knew how to make most of it appear. She was able to project space into the room, making the stars appear and make the whole room feel like they were actually in space. Her eyes glowed white while she was doing this, focusing on making the whole room feel like they would have a date in outer space. Putting so much focus on the plans made her lose track of time, forgetting to text Gabriel like she was meant to earlier. By the time she was finishing up, her phone buzzed with a text from him which finally snapped her out of her trance. "Oh shock." She muttered to herself when seeing the message.

"Hi Gabe! Sorry, I was busy doing something but yeah! We're still on for the date today! Head to this address, I'm already here." The address of the observatory was sent to him. Hopefully all would go well for his travel here.

When Gabriel finally got her message, he nearly jumped onto the couch to grab his phone and see what she said. The fear off being stood up quickly disappeared when realizing she was just busy and she sent the location. He would have jumped for joy if it weren't for the location of their date. "What? This isn't even town. She's not trying to kidnap me, right?" Although it seemed odd to go out somewhere away from the town for a date he was still willing to give this a shot. Scarlet didn't seem like someone who would kidnap him or try and di anything bad so screw it! He grabbed his keys and rushed out his apartment, almost forgetting to lock his door before getting to his car. The trip wouldn't be too long for him since his car ran faster than most of the modern ones. Because of course he would modify his car to be better than the others.

Right as Scarlet was adding the finishing touches to the room and fixing her constellations, the door to the building opened. Gasping, she dived down to the ground and hid behind the pillar. It was obvious that it was Gabriel but she was hiding because of her powers. Her eyes were still glowing because of her powers projecting space into the room and since she used them, her skin was changing into the misty purple appearance.

"Whoa…" Gabriel gasped as he entered the large room, looking around to see the stars floating along with the planets in the center looking a little too realistic. Not that he was complaining. It felt a bit cold in the room and also felt like he was floating in space. What he couldn't understand was how any of this was happening since the building shouldn't have any active power. "How did she do this? This is incredible!" He knew she had a love of stars but this was on a whole new level!

Behind the pillar, Scarlet focused her energy to control how her powers created the room, allowing her eyes to stop glowing and instead send it into her body. Because she was still actively using her powers, her skin was showing off the effects by slowly revealing her true form. Luckily, the sleeves of her sweater was hiding most of it and she put on some gloves to hide the rest of it. Coming out from her hiding spot, she smiled when seeing Gabriel. "Do you like it? I've been working on it for a long time." That wasn't true, it only took her a few hours since she was a perfectionist but lying about it was safer. Gabriel looked at her with bright eyes and a big smile, nodding quickly to show how amazed he was at all of this. "This is something else, Scarlet! It looks so real! Are we in like…some sort of simulation?"

"Nah, I just managed to fix some projectors and the lighting." Please fall for it.

With Gabriel working in tech so often, it was hard for him to accept that what she had done was all just a projection. It looked so realistic like if he had on a VR headset. Not that he thought she was incapable of making something like this or anything but everything looked and felt too real. How hard did she work on this and only for a few hours? "It's almost unbelievable. I didn't even know there was one of these in the cities. Maybe when I was a kid, yeah, but it still being here with working parts?" Although he had some suspicions about it all, he wasn't about to ruin a good date. Turning his focus to her, he smiled and took her gloved hand, "You look beautiful by the way. The stars lighting this room really show off your eyes more." Scarlet's cheeks went pink, easily showing how it doesn't take much for her to start blushing. It was a nice compliment though. "Oh stop…" She bashfully giggled, only making Gabriel smile from seeing how he was making her. He took a moment to just admire her, taking in all her beauty and the way she smiled from his compliment. To think that she set up this whole place just for the two of them really meant something to him. He expected a normal dinner date or even a date at the park! But this? Oh, it was so much better than any date he'd been on. But it was still too early for him to fully say this was perfect even though he was already considering it.

"So what's the plan for today? Gonna teach me some things about our solar system?" He was joking at first but realized that could probably be why she brought him here.

"No but I can teach you a thing or two about the stars! Like did you know that stars are made up of gas?"

"C'mon Scarlet, I'm not five. Everyone knows that."

She rolled her eyes with a chuckle, "Okay fine, that was easy. Well then did you know the biggest stars often don't live long? Normally its the smaller ones that can last billions of years while the larger ones die faster."

"Hm. So if someone says you're the biggest star in the galaxy then is that sorta like saying you wish they were dead faster?" Dark much?

"Wow. Jeez."

"Too dark?" He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

"More like unexpected." She giggled. "But I mean it would be good to say that to your enemies. Then again that means they'd still be around for millions of years to us."

While they would talk and Scarlet would share more star related facts or teach him more about space itself, Gabriel would often look at her instead of the space projection. It's not that he was bored of listening to her, no, it was the opposite actually. There was a sort of gleam in her eyes when she was proudly talking about the different stars and constellations she knew about, even talking louder when she knew what she was describing. It was cute to see her be so passionate about this and even more cute to know that she brought him here to listen. He only managed to catch a few facts while she spoke since he was too busy admiring her. It's the first date but the possibility of having a second one was already in the air. Well, more like he knew for a fact he was going to ask her out again.

After rambling for so long, Star finally caught onto how much she was talking and quickly became embarrassed about it. "Ah, I've been talking for a while haven't I?" She lightly chuckled, I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Gabe finally snapped out of it and realized he had been quiet for so long that she thought he was getting tired. "No no no! Please keep talking! I like hearing you talk." There goes that blush again, only this time, it got to both of them.

"You do? I thought I would've been talking your ear off by now."

"What? No! You look so happy when talking about the stars and constellations and I don't want to ruin that." He smiled. "I uh actually had a question."

"Oh! Ask away!" Gabriel didn't know but it really meant a lot to her that he was engaged in the conversation instead of pretending just to be nice.

"What's your favorite constellation?"

"My favorite—oh, that's easy." Because she was so distracted while talking, she moved the projection around using her powers again. Gabriel was shocked to see everything move like nothing as it got closer to a specific constellation. It finally came to a small cluster of stars. That glow brightly near each other, outdoing the other stars around it. "Pleiades. Also known as the Seven Sisters. It's funny that they're called that when you can really only see about six of them."

"That super small constellation? How'd you even see it? It's pretty shocking hard to see anything in the sky now because of the pollution."

"Very true. I learned about them with my mother. She used to joke when I was a baby and say I was just as tiny as them. But you're right, it's very hard to see them anymore. Since they're so tiny, I can't see them anymore just from looking at the sky." It was very disappointing. Living in the future meant that the sky wasn't as clear as it used to be. And with the observatory shut down and abandoned, it was almost impossible to see them. Her powers are what allow her to see most of them now.

"I mean seeing them here now, they are pretty. Wish they were brighter in the sky though." Gabriel put his hand on his hip and shook his head.

"They normally can be seen better near the winter season. Maybe then we could try and see them together and I can point out more constellations for you." She smiled softly like she didn't just say the cutest thing, Gabriel was briefly surprised by that but quickly covered it up with a soft smile as well, "I'd love that."

Their date continued with them talking about the stars and pointing out different shapes of the constellations in an attempt to figure out what they were meant to be. At one point, the pair laid down on the ground to really get the true feeling that they were outside to star gaze. They laughed together but Scarlet laughed the loudest from Gabriel's poor interpretations of the stars and their shapes, making her snort sometimes from how hard she laughed. It only made Gabriel feel more giddy inside as he watched her.

When things became quiet between the two and continuing to look at the many stars that surrounded them along with the planets, Scarlet was more focused on keeping her changing skin hidden from Gabriel. But he was looking at her for a different reason. A part of him wanted to try a kiss but felt like it was way too early in the date to do that. He was too nervous to rush things and potentially mess everything up, he knew what they had was going well. There were too many times where he rushed a relationship from being the clingy and affectionate type which only led to him getting his heartbroken. With Scarlet, there was something about her that made him want to take things slow. Appreciate these moments more with her to not only hear her laugh and smile but to also earn her love and watch something between them click. So rather than a kiss, he shyly reached out and held her hand, feeling her glove instead of her skin. That was fine, no need to ask a thousand questions about a shocking glove.

Scarlet turned to look at him, blushing again when she felt him holding her hand. Now was the time that she wanted to tear it off so she could feel how warm he felt. But risking showing her powers and potentially scaring him was the only reason she kept it on. Instead, she gave his hand a gentle squeeze and smiled from how flustered he was making her. Something in her was making her feel like this was the start of something special. And she didn't want to ever lose that feeling.

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"Hey hey…it's okay….we're okay….we're okay…we're okay…" Scarlet whispered over and over again while holding Gabriel in her arms. She was stroking his cheek which was colder than ever now. Her hand wouldn't stop shaking as she rubbed his cheek to comfort him. "It's okay…you're just cold…where's your scarf…?" The knot in her throat hurt the more she tried to deny it. His scarf was nearby, dirty from rubble and with small stains of blood. Using her powers, she brought it to them and wrapped it around Gabriel as she held him closer to her body. "There….there we go…" She trembled as her vision began to blur looking down at him. His eyes were empty and didn't have that warmth to them anymore. They didn't look at her, just soulless like his body. Her vision was too blurry to make out her surroundings. Just that she was severely injured and Gabriel wasn't moving or breathing in her arms. His scarf draped over his body was hiding the main injury that she refused to look at. Her tears began to rapidly fall down just as she came to the horrifying realization that this—

She woke up in a cold sweat with tears rolling down her eyes the moment she sat up. Rubbing her eyes and hearing her heart pounding rapidly in her chest, she heard her phone buzz with a call. "What? Where…what?" She was dazed and confused for a second as she picked up her phone and saw it was from Gabriel. "H-hello?"

"Hey Star, sorry for the late call, I couldn't' sleep. Been thinking about you and the um…date." Gabriel's shy voice came through.

"Date? What…?" She was still trembling and looking around her room. The sweat on her body made her feel cold and she wiped her tears away,

"Uh yeah. Our date? The observatory? That was like two hours ago." He reminded her.

"Oh. OH! Yeah! The date. Ugh, I'm so sorry, I just woke up from a nightmare." It frightened her. Bad. "Are you okay?"

"Me? Yeah I'm okay. Are you okay? You sound spooked."

"Yeah yeah! I just….um…." She teared up again. "….can you come over? Please?"

"Scarlet, it's midnight." What are you doing Gabe?! Your date just had a nightmare and is asking you to come over!! "I…I mean uh…is that fine?"

"Please. That nightmare just really spooked me. Maybe we could um…resume the date? Maybe just watch a movie?" She suggested, hoping he would take it.

"A mo—" Shut up and say yes, "Yes! Yeah! I'll uh be there quick! Just send me your address. Please?" He stumbled out of bed and fell down for a moment before getting back up to run and find something to wear rather than stay in his pajamas.

"Yeah no worries. I'll send it. See ya soon." Scarlet smiled a little before hanging up. Putting her phone down, she anxiously fiddled with her hands. That nightmare was terrifying and felt too…real. Getting out of bed and heading to the bathroom with the vivid nightmare in her head, she was beginning to get more anxious about it until she looked in the mirror. Her eyes were glowing, making her gasp and step back. Once she gained control again, she looked back and was fine. But that fear didn't go away.

Was that a nightmare or a vision of the future?

[matchat001]

Broken Pasts and Artists

Things have been going well for Gabriel O’Hara over the past couple of months. He got a sweet girlfriend in Dana D’Angelo, his relationship with his brother, Miguel, is getting better from his recent squabble from their mother, his digital artist gig just gave him a sick promotion, and he’d picked off of Cyberspace a lil’ bit ago. Everything’s been looking up for him, doesn’t seem like anything will ruin his mood.

Gabriel was heading inside his building after coming back from a commission gig he took. He’s going to surprise Dana in their apartment with some tulips he got. His new blue lenses goggles with gold trims sit on his ginger hair, bouncing a bit from glee. The brown buttoned shirt, pants, and boots he wore matching perfectly with his burnt orange jacket. He knew he hadn’t given her any gifts in a hot minute and Dana once said tulips were her favorite flower, possibly. It was something they had in common along with others.

The building’s doorman, dressed in a sleek red and black outfit, smiled at him. “Hey! Present for the missus?” Gabriel smiled back as the doorman opened the door for him. “You know it.” He reports back as he walked in and went up the elevator. Those two have been getting friendly as him and his wonderful girlfriend had moved in not too long ago.

Him and Dana just started their relationship around six months ago. It was nice, Dana feels like one for him; sweet, attentive, plans to stay for a good while. He introduced her to his brother a few months ago. Given what happened with Kasey, Gabriel was reluctant to have those two meet. However, it was good and no bad signs yet.

They both agreed to move in too, it was Gabriel’s idea to. It may have been a bit fast but so what? Most couples get married in the span of like nine months. Maybe this was a good step to take, and a ring could be around the corner.

He walked right up to the apartment with the beautiful lavender colored flowers in hand. His key out as he turned the lock into the warm home him and his partner made. This should be perfect, a nice surprise for his darling Da-

…..what?

The tulips fall right in front of the open door on the welcome mat saying “Howdy!” Gabriel’s face shifts from a look of hope to a shocked, hurt one. Right in front of him was Miguel, the brother he had begun to let in, with his sweet partner, Dana on his couch. Miguel already shirtless yet still had pants while Dana only had half of her shirt unbuttoned. Lipstick stains were seen over Miguel’s lips from Dana’s usual dark cherry flavored. They all seemed so shocked at one another, Gabriel was suppose to still be out, visiting his mother.

Miguel was the first to speak up as he, firstly, got off the woman while trying to explain away how all of this is looking. “Gabe, please, this is…um...” Dana soon followed as she got up and tried to hurry towards Gabriel, her dark red shirt attempting to get re-buttoned. “My love, this was just-“

The door slammed closed in a quick fashion, Gabriel already has tears in his eyes and running down his cheeks. He quickly went down the elevator before either his brother or girlfriend….well, EX-girlfriend could follow. The doorman looking so confused as he watched the man who looked so happy had suddenly become a mess in the span of minutes.

He started running out of the apartment building and away from that god-awful place. This time was supposed to be different, he had to be happy. Not this again!

As he ran, his mind flew to him and his brother. Their parents weren’t exactly….good people. Who was he kidding? His mom is intense to say the least and his dad always lost his temper. He usually took it out on him and Miguel, mainly his brother. All those years of abuse were enough cause Miguel to run off to New Austin and fat way from their home in New York. Gabriel followed him soon after, not wanting to put up with their dad’s behavior anymore either.

They proceeded to have a rocky relationship despite their proximity. Miguel never listened to him while Gabriel constantly told him to do more and let him in. Just recently, his brother started to open up. Those two were getting along, FINALLY! It was regarded as enough cause for him to introduce the main woman in his life, Dana D’Angelo. Little did he know how much that decision would backfire on him. Stupid.

Gabriel kept running for at least a good hour before he’d got winded rough to stop. Multiple people looking confused but didn’t do anything. It’s New Austin, everyone is a bit indifferent to alot of things. He’d stop to catch his breath while tears still ran his freckled face. His sweet banana colored eyes started getting red from the tears he’s sprouting. It seemed to have already gotten late and he’s most likely in downtown from the looks of it.

Warm tones emitting from the vast amount of buildings surrounding Gabriel, each having a different slogan for a parallel company. He didn’t know what to think right now, just a distraction. Something to get his mind off of what he’d seen not too long ago. His eyes darting over to a little bar and hotel with a holographic bright orange title saying “A Fool’s Delight” over a crowd of people there.

Gabriel isn’t much of a drinker and honestly, doesn’t care for beer. However, this occasion would put that aside for now. Drinking isnt a good outlet for him, somehow sparking a few thoughts into his brain as a kid. His dad, George O’Hara, would drink one or two beers sometimes but not often. Yet, that would better explain why him and his mother, Conchata, would fight often. He still has a scar or two to prove the times that his parents fought when he was a kid.

The ginger walked into bar, taking a seat at one of the stool’s with no company nearby. It didn’t seem that busy but business wasn’t doing so bad at all. A handsome bartender with a thicker, rougher country accent came over, his plaid button up shirt open and gold accessories over his arms. “Hey sugar, whatca want?”

Gabriel looked at the bartender with a solemn expression, yet a few tears continue to roll down his cheeks. His voice already had a tiny crack to it as he spoke. “Just…I don’t know what’s good. Maybe a-“ He scanned the menu up above with a squinted expression, why the hell is everything so dang bright? “-Vana de Wiskey. Sounds interesting.” The bartender nodded with a sweet smile and a response before getting started on that drink. “On it, shug.”

After two drinks, the blue goggles guy had started to feel the alcohol kick in a bit. It wasn’t enough to feel drunk but the taste was settling. He’d have ordered something else but this place isn’t usually his scene. Usually, his order is a regular brandy, those always seemed more on the sweetener side and his type.

God, why did he have to run away from them? He could have stayed, talked it out, or maybe…no. This is the right choice, Gabriel would’ve probably just started yelling like he always does. Like usual, always making things worse.

He took another swing of his drink, still having about half of it left. The bartender came around with his nice smile. “Nother’ one?” Gabriel gave a thumbs up and had a refill of that second drink. The acidic drink rolling down his throat, not tasty but enough to get the job done for him.

All of a sudden, the bartender along with the other bar attendee’s saw a car roll out front. Big groups of people started to form outside to see a sleek white Rolls Royce hovering down from the sky towards right in the front of the bar. Some paparazzi soon appeared, flashing their cameras when a cluck indicated the doors unlocked. Suddenly, a beautiful man with curly brown hair and cowboy hat came out with a pearly white smirk on his face. His outfit composed of a tailored jean jacket and pants to match it with some expensive brown boots that make a clacking noise. Gabriel hadn’t noticed him at all, too engrossed in his own world.

The bar opening with a big shout before closed again and paparazzi shots. The bell ringing above the door to indicate the mysteriously dashing man sat down around two seats away. A few people around Gabriel started to whisper and giggle, this got his attention. His eyes roamed around at the people before just shaking his head and turning back to his drink. He heard a thick country accent, sounding as smooth as honey to his right. “Hey love, how yer doin’?”

The bartender gave a bigger smile than usual and straightened up a bit, his tone getting deeper for this cowboy. “Doin’ a-okay, what can I get ya, sugar?”

The cowboy looked up for a second before smiling back with a dignified expression. “Just an Amaretto, sweetheart. Thank ya kindly.” He gave a tip of his hand as an appreciation that made the bartender blush and go to work on that drink. His eyes were hidden under his hat yet his face turned to where Gabriel sat.

He looked the giggled man up and down, he seems cute, had a nice outfit, and looks a tad sad. Mayhaps he needs some cheering up that he could prove?

The stylish gentleman gets off his seat to lean against the counter, right next to Gabriel. His voice never loosing that charming touch. “Howdy.” Gabriel didn’t look at the man, just sighed and held his forehead. “Not really in the mood to talk.”

The brunette nodded and started to speak again. “Mhm, oka-“ Gabriel cut him off soon after with a burst of energy. “It’s just that there didn’t seem to be anything there! I’m not crazy!! When I introduced them, they shakes hands and nothing else.” He sighs and pinches his forehead. “I…don’t know. Was it-it me? Did I drive her away?? Why the hell out of all kinds of people did she choose my brother??? Does she know, at the very least, that his last girlfriend dumped him because he was quote unquote ‘mentally checked out’!?”

Gabriel sighs, looking down at his drink swirling in his hands. “I-I can’t believe I let this happen. Not again…” He felt a warm hand go below his back as his eyes follow it abruptly to his right.

He finally notices the bigger man who seemed to be at least 6’5” and built like he could lift him up with ease. His country accent followed suite in a calm tone following a soft, empathetic smile. “My dear and deepest apologies for ya, darlin’. It seems like ya got lots on your mind right now. If ya want, yer could tell me about it if ya want?”

Gabriel’s cheeks flushed by this kind gestures from this mysterious man. “Mind if I sit down?” The suave cowboy gestures to the seat next to the ginger. He nodded a yes, switching between embarrassed and flustered from this strange guy.

The brunette held out a hand with that gentle smile never wavering. “Mateo Orlin.” His words are what clicked for the artist, it’s HIM, that big country singer who has been going around and around. Usually he was stationed in New Austin as his hometown but he’s been seen everyone and always with someone new during those nights. All those heads turned, those paparazzi outside, the commotions was because of him!

He was speechless for a few moments before the ginger finally said something, shaking Mateo’s hand in a firm grip. “I’m Gabriel, Gabriel O’Hara. You’re that…singer?”

Mateo chuckles at a sweet little laugh from the small stutter the other man has. “Mhm, that’s me, sugar. My ‘reputation’ proceeds me I suppose.” Gabriel was a bit star struck from all this, he’s heard a few songs and seen the billboards but never in all his years of living did he think he’d meet a massive celebrity whom is sitting right beside him.

“I-I’m sorry, it’s taking me a minute to process for me right now. I mean, aren’t you suppose to be somewhere else? Like some show?” The artists explains with a quick stutter before recovering quickly.

“Yes, sir, I actually just got off of a show. Decided to grab a drink for the road but ya caught ma eye instead, sugar.” That flirty smirk never leaving Mateo’s striking face. It gave the ginger besides him a sudden blush.

Gabriel shook that off before speaking again, laughing that flirt off. “Haha, yeah, I’m sorry again. I didn’t mean to talk your ear off if I had known you were…well, you.”

Mateo put a hand up for a split second before putting it back down in a courtesy motion. “Please, it was me who came over. No need to apologize anymore, hun. In fact, let me buy yer some drinks. Yer could tell me all about this person who was with your brother, yes?”

The ginger was feeling more embarrassed now as he didn’t want this guy to have known about all that. He didn’t want to yap on but the two drinks kicked in and he does have alot on his chest. Maybe he should take up Mateo’s offer to talk, god knows he won’t get another opportunity like this again.

He gestures to the bar counter where the two empty drinks lie. “Okay then, I’ll take you up on that.”

Mateo smiles before getting the bartenders attention soon, who was eavesdropping throughout this convo by fake cleaning glasses. He orders some more drinks for them as they start to chat on.

After two hours and many more drinks later, the two were still at the bar and chatting up the room. It’s mostly late already and it appears that only them two are left besides the bartender along with an attendant trying to take a sneaky selfie of Mateo.

“…and so I ran away from all of that. I-I couldn’t stay there and listen to their damned excuses. Their lies, I just-…” Gabriel sighs, a bit drunk and angry while he recollects the day he had. He needed to get this all off his chest and it has helped him reconvene.

Mateo nods along, taking another sip of his amaretto. “Jesus, them two did have some gaul. I do apologize that you had to see that, darlin’. Nobody deserves that, especially someone like you.”

The ginger takes another big swing of his drink, feeling some effects kick in. “Yeah, it’s so goddamn stupid that-that they did it in OUR apartment too!!” He was stammering at this point, the alcohol settling in more over time.

The cowboy beside him put a hand on his shoulder, caressing softly in an understanding manner. “It was very uncalled for, given how yer said things were with Miguel n’ ya before.”

Gabriel thought back to how things were with his ex, Kasey. Things seemed okay, he made some changes to his life like any partner should. Change his outfits to match hers, wake up around the same time, take up a few new hobbies that he didn’t particularly like. What couple doesn’t do everything the same?

Everything changed when he introduced Miguel and her, it was more excuses to go over and have dinner. The talks at late nights, the coffee shop meetups, the suspicious times when Kasey knew Gabriel would be busy so she’d say she’d go check on stuff with Miguel. Of course, he wasn’t stupid so he’d confront her. She may have denied it at first but after some more pestering, she admitted that she found him attractive and more better for her than he could ever be. They were too different for her to like. That exclamation is what broke Gabriel inside farther than most things could have then, he broke up with her immediately after that and took some, if not most, of that frustration onto Miguel. He didn’t know any of this ok account of how bad he was at social cues but Gabriel didn’t care, they fought which ended pretty badly. The brothers stopped talking for a while but they just started up again. Their shared childhood, brotherhood, and distain for how their mother can act sometimes is what pulls them close.

Now for this to be broken again through this situation with Dana is a real dagger to the heart for the digital artist. Back to reality, Gabriel talked back with a continued loss of sense. “I really don’t wanna go back to that awful place again.”

Mateo gets closer to Gabriel, his tone getting deeper for an empathetic moment. “Relationships can be touchy. They could be more complicated than they shouldn’t have to be. But from how ya make it sound, it sounds much more than that.” He put a hand on the finger’ shoulder, caressing his shoulder softly. “Yer didn’t deserve any of what she put ya through.”

Gabriel looks over into where Mateo’s eyes should be. Freaky. “…probably, I don’t know.” Mateo’s empathetic look falters for a few seconds before going back again. His gaze follows to the drink nursed by the artists. “Yer one strong fella.” The other man raised an eyebrow in a suspicious manner. “How so?”

“Because yer drink is one of the strongest they give ere’.” The cowboy chuckles in that delightful smile and warm tone of his. Gabriel blushes more, both from how drunk he is and the realization told the reason for his tipsiness. He was stunned for a few seconds before suddenly laughing with Mateo.

Both of the men take a time to laugh this moment out. It was good for them to relax, that’s what all this is about anyway. Gabriel calmed down, taking another sip of his drink. His drunk mind starts to get worse, looking over to Mateo who’s chugging down his own sweeter drink.

His eyes start to check out the cowboy from a closer proximity, he was muscular for sure but more bulky than your average bodybuilder. Additionally, no matter how close he’s gotten nor the lighting, his eyes were never shown. Always seen out of sight for anyone. Yet, that never stopped from making him look so handsome and chiseled in a refined way. It pays that he’s a genuine sweetheart who is listening to Gabriel and all the baggage he bought.

Mateo picked up on this and returned the favor. He liked what he saw in the ginger. His reddish-brown hair curling in the middle of his head and a cute curl over his forehead. Those gold trimmed goggles tipped just a tiny bit, indicating how tipsy he is at the moment. His outfit did wonders for how Gabriel looked, that jacket and shirt showing off how toned he is. Not being tight but showing just some collarbone. The ginger mentioned how one of his girlfriends was a health nut and he picked up a few habits from her. The brunette absolutely adored how the other man looked, finding it absolutely precious how sober he’s attempting to act.

He was the first to speak up between those looks. His face looking right in Gabriel’s direction, holding his head in his hand. “Somethin’ on yer mind, hun?”

Gabriel was feeling bold at this point, screw it. He needed a pick me up after the hell today was. With this newfound confidence, most likely from his intoxication, he smirked in a flirt way towards Mateo. “Just thinking about how a handsome man like you can be so therapeutic.”

The cowboy’s eyebrows raise in surprise, not expecting that sudden tease from the other man. This unexpected conviction looks good on the ginger, and more attractive if he’s being honest.

Mateo smiles in a flirty way to match Gabriel’s style more. “Oh, aren’t yer just as sweet as a sweet apple pie.” He really likes this color on the other man, it’s fitting.

Gabriel laughs at that flirt from the cowboy, still feeling very drunk. Maybe what his brother said about being a lightweight was right. “Well, you…” He messes around with Mateo’s cowboy hat, tracing the edge of it. “…are just as tasty. Maybe I’d like a taste.”

The brunette’s smile falters for second, feeling flustered for once. This hasn’t happened in ages and suddenly it’s coming out now. Gabriel sure knew how to bring some old feelings back. He quickly comes back into reality, starting to scoot more closer so now both of their legs are touching and his hand grazes Gabriel’s hand suggestively. “Hun, I don’t thank yer in yer right mind to be sayin’ that.”

The other man only smirks wider, ignoring that cautiousness tone in the sharply dressed man’s voice. “I am doing a-okay, just feeling more…” His hand moves over to mess with Mateo’s hand over his and getting closer. “…loose.” Despite his closeness, he was still not able to see this cowboy’s eyes. It was almost like the light around him was shielding them in a way. How odd.

A few seconds pass before Mateo snickers from that in a way that the artist finds so adorable. “Yer trouble, aren’t ya?” Gabriel gets closer enough to be nearly whisper level with the other man. “Been known for it.”

The cowboy is enjoying this side of the ginger a lot. Enough that he gets bold to act extra suggestive in his accent. “Could take this upstairs. I’ll put the room on ma card, no worries for ya, darlin’. Up to you.” His hand caresses over Gabriel’s on the bar countertop, feeling how soft his callouses are.

His eyes widen slightly as Gabriel processes the cowboy’s implications. Tipsiness was still hitting his head really hard and his thinking as well. Though, he was willing to let this go all the way. Dana already broke his heart, what else could happen?

He lets out a brief chuckle and big smile before he shakes his head. “What the hell, sure.” Mateo smiles back, cheeks blushing due to the alcohol and how flustered this man has been making him this entire time. “Yessir. C’mon.” He motions over the bar’s exit into the deeper building. The warm hues following the two men walking away from the bar countertop to the old styled hotel lobby.

The sun shines bright over the horizon of the city and illuminates the cold tones into a dazzling warm hue. Sunshine hits right into Gabriel’s eyes, catching a groan out of the man. He adjusts himself inside the cozy bed he’s finding himself in. Muscular yet soft arms hold him close from behind in a comfortable embrace.

It took a few minutes of this coziness for the ginger to register where and who he’s with. His body moves up with a stretch, the arms rolling down to his hips. “Ughh…w-where?” He looks around his surroundings, surprised at the richness of it.

The hotel room is made up of the soft bed he’s found himself in, two nightstands accompanied by two lamps, some drawers and portraits. To the right, there are two doors: one possibly to the restroom, the other swung wide open to reveal the rest of the room. Around him, he notices his clothes seemingly thrown everywhere around the room along with others that aren’t his own.

Gabriel holds his head while he closes his eyes and groans again. Before he could think further of this, the ginger feels warm lips kiss his shoulder softly. Those muscular arms once again enveloping his chest and figure. That warm fuzzy feeling encapsulates him again when a familiar tone comes up. “Mornin’ baby, what yer doin’ up?”

He shifts his gaze to his right to see Mateo acting so wholesome for him. “Hm?..oh, marning..” Speechless was the right word to describe how he’s feeling right now. Gabriel tries to move but winces at a pain around his body. Geez, last night was THAT rough?

Mateo takes note of the other man’s behavior, stopping those kisses and just holding him closer. His hand gives soft caresses over Gabriel’s hips. He has dealt with stuff with this before, a normal thing for him to take care of. “My apologies, darlin’. Got lil’ too rough.”

Gabriel nods to that statement as he squirms around in bed. “You could say that again.” The cowboy keeps the warm smile plastered on his face while talking with a more groggy tone due to the time. “Ere’.” His hand massages over the artist’s hips and body, helping him get more comfortable. “This better?”

He nods with his eyes closed, feeling Mateo massage him in the best spots. “Yeah, that’s.…really good.” In his past relationship, physical affection hasn’t been the greatest factor. Regarding Kasey, she was touchy before he introduced her to Miguel. She never gave him the light of day after that. For Dana, she would only receive his touch, giving wasn’t exactly her style. But here, with Mateo? Gabriel is getting preciously what he’s missed out on.

To add onto the ongoing tenderness, the cowboy motions for Gabriel to move closer. “C’mere.” Still flustered, his body moves backwards to press his back up against Mateo’s plump chest. That soft accent is brought back from behind him, hands caressing his sore neck and kisses placed on the back of his head. “Yer need anythin’ at all? I could get us sum food. Ya must be starvin’.”

The ginger’s eyes remain shut but the idea of getting something to eat was compelling. After last night, food is all he is craving for now. “That does sound good but I don’t think I can really move.” A nervous chuckle is shown from Gabriel. His body had gone through so much from late night and recovery is very much necessary. Mateo smiles down at the artist, acting very understanding to that statement. “Don’t worry, love, yer keep relaxin’ ere’. I’ll be back with food.” The brunette gets up from bed to Gabriel’s dismay, putting on his torn off clothes. Eyes check out Mateo’s body moving in the room, Gabriel feeling very surprised at himself that he managed to get with someone so…indescribably gorgeous. Between this guy and his previous ex’s, he always assumed luck was on his side.

What snaps him out of the trance was the sharp man giving a small snicker at his admiration of him. “Good with pancakes? I know a dazzlin’ spot nearby.” He nods a yes while acting flustered by being caught staring. “Yeah, sorry.”

“Tis’ okay, yer allowed to look, sweetheart.” Mateo gives a quick kiss to the other man’s cheek before heading out. “Be back in lil’ pinch.” For the time being, only Gabriel is left in the outwardly humungous hotel room. The ginger didn’t wanna be lazy so he started to move outta bed, still sore while grabbing his parts clothes back on minus the jacket and shirt. Too hot to put that thing back on, it’s almost summer. Texas is one helluva place to live in the summer and especially if you’re not from here. May god spare anyone who wears a second layer at this time.

He strides over to the bathroom with a few more winces at his legs and body. At the mirror, Gabriel moves a hand across his neck and chest. The artist takes note of the various bite marks and hickeys all across his body. That cowboy definitely knew how to party.

After a long, hot shower, Gabriel comes back out of the bathroom refreshed and ready for the day. He comes out with his shirt back on, starting to check out the rest of the room. Yet instead of a room, it appeared to be more do a suite. The countertop was made up of a glossy brown wood with the vintage look pairing with some holographic menus and newest tech. What are the odds he’d sleep with someone so rich? This place looks so much bigger than his and Dana’s apartment-

Oh god. DANA! MIGUEL!! THE COUCH!?!?!?

All those memories from yesterday before the bar came flooding back. He remembered seeing Miguel and Dana together and how heartbroken he was. “Oh shit.”

Right then, Mateo comes back into the hotel room, one big bag in hand with containers and drinks too. “I’m back, hun!” His sunshine smile lights up the room as soon as he walks in. The other man looks over and attempts to reclaim his composure before.

Immediately, the cowboy can see that something has changed in Gabriel’s mood. He puts the bag and drinks down, heading over to the ginger. His hands intertwine with his whilst his tone took a caring tone. “Are yer okay? Did somethin’ happen?”

Gabriel looks upward to where Mateo’s eyes should be instead of that dark shadow. “Just thinking about stuff, don’t worry.” He lets out a nervous chuckle before going to the bag of food. While he inspects it, the ginger takes note of how delicious the meal looks. The two tan boxes that include: three delectable pancakes, a sweet syrup cup, a mini wrapped stick of butter, and plastic utensils. On the side, their drinks sit side by side in a cardboard cup holder. Both appear to be creamy smoothies, the drinks are labeled “Lemon Delight” with a blended yellow and orange hues.

The cowboy was still on the fence and not convinced about Gabriel’s thoughts. Nevertheless, he went over to help prepare their food separate on the rich mahogany table. “I didn’t know what yer like so I took a lil’ guess. Hope I was right.” Mateo chuckles with a small smile.

“I actually love lemon. It’s one of my favorite’s.” The ginger smiles back in delight as he’s sat right next to the singer. The drink tastes tangy but so tasty at the same time, sweets were always his favorite.

“Good, I figured yer needed some relief after last night.” His thick country accent continues its softness within the tone. “Speakin’ of, how ya feelin’, darlin’?”

Gabriel stops mid-chew on the scrumptious pancakes. “I’m doing okay, Mateo, seriously. You don’t have to worry. It’s not like you broke me or something.”

“I know I know. Can’t blame ma for worryin’ bout’ ya, Gabri.” He takes a few more bites of the food before adding some sugar set in the middle of the table.

The artist’s stops eating, giving the cowboy a surprise look. He’s never seen someone out that much sugar on an already sappy breakfast. “You always eat like that?”

While devouring the food, Mateo takes a moment to speak in between bites. “Mhm, yer could say I have a tad of a sweet tooth.” The other man is still in shock at the sugar amount on the breakfast. “Uh huh…”

Following their convo over breakfast including talking about their eating habits and weird interests, the cowboy finally takes on a compassionate voice. “Gabri, this has been a real nice time. I like ya.” Gabriel wipes his mouth free of food before stopping to look over at the singer. “…I-um.” He doesn’t know what to say. A lot is already on his mind as is.

He feels a pleasant hand on his own while contemplating his thoughts. “But I know yer goin’ through somethin’ and this...” Mateo gestures between the two of them, still retaining his sweetness. “…isn’t what ya need for now.”

Gabriel felt speechless, his once affable expression now looking ashamed. It was true, so much was happening. With Mateo, it felt like a breath of fresh air in a pollinated cloud he got thrust into. “Yeah yeah, you’re right.”

Mateo could see how worse Gabe’s expression suddenly turned. Therefore, he grabbed a nearby napkin and pen. After a few scribbles, his hand holds out the napkin with his name and a phone number. “Ere’, ma number. Call ma when yer got everythin’ sorted out with Dana n’ yer brother. I don’t wanna hear anythin’ else before then, okay?”

With the napkin in his hand, Gabe could only blush at the thought of seeing this cowboy again. “I understand. I’ll only call than I guess.” A gentle thumb raises his head up to Teo’s face. “Maybe we can go on a proper date, hm?”

Crimson deepens over Gabriel’s cheeks on that sentiment of going out with the other man. If being treated this good was for only one night together, he couldn’t imagine how a date’d be. “That sounds nice.” He nervously smirks at the other guy.

With that, Mateo gives Gabe a tender kiss on his cheek and caress as he gets up with their empty food boxes. He cleans up their clean mess before heading to the door, already putting his denim jacket back on. “I hope to see yer soon, hun.” A wave is held in the air before the door closes shut on the cowboy’s exit.

Gabriel gave a slight wave back before being left alone again in the room. He had so much to think about now. But no matter it all, first things first, he needed to go find Dana and his brother. They have lots to talk about.

[a-cure-for-writers-block]

Prompt #258

Submitted by: @smearedlights :PROMPT- the rain was rattling against my window like marbles on stone and all i wanted was a good night sleep. The particular thing about sleep is that no matter how badly i wanted it, it wouldn’t come. I remembered the nights trying to stay up with you, my eyes drooping, not even trying for a second to hold on to a moment that i would soon hold so dear. I rolled over and pushed the thought out of my head quickly. You were gone, and on nights like these i would never get to sleep.

// I LOVE THIS SO MUCH //

[blackfawn]

Family resemblance

[twnyart]

[x to doubt]

[turrondeluxe]

sketch page of my favorite O'Hara! 🥕

[turrondeluxe]

is he.....yknow.....

[turrondeluxe]

Gabriel's in charge of Boosting Morale Wednesday at HQ

Miguel is tired but can't say anything because he's the one that gave Gabriel that job

[turrondeluxe]

I love your version of Gabriel so much 🥺😭

thank you!!! he's always been my favorite and im glad more people get to know the character :']

[turrondeluxe]

Project Duende Verde

[turrondeluxe]

Gabriel's suit design from here! and some extra doodles about the au ʕ⁠·⁠ᴥ⁠·⁠ʔ

[turrondeluxe]

based on the fact that gabi falls in love easily

[starlight--lover]

Third time's a charm?

Corny title, I couldn't think of anything.

CW: Suggestive details

It hadn't been the first time someone had attempted to flirt with them. "Them" as in mainly Mateo since he was the more charming one in the relationship. Whenever they were in his world, more people would giggle and point at him but never make the effort to come up and actually get his number. In the very rare times that it would happen, he always politely denied people and would say that he was already a taken man. During the early days of their relationship, most people assumed he was only saying it because of his marriage with Gabriel, even though he had died years ago. That was before the public knew that he was with Scarlet. Regardless, no one tried to push him to sleep with them and he always denied everyone. Having a loyal man like that always did calm Star's nerves down and helped her feel more relaxed in knowing he was only hers. Although she had trusted Mateo to the fullest, things started to change a bit after their date on the beach when a familiar man came to flirt with both of them. It was the first time in a while that she began to question their relationship.

A few days ago on the beach, Mateo and Scarlet were approached by a very handsome man who they quickly realized looked a lot like Gabriel. His name was Gally, a charming man on the beach that instantly had their hearts the moment he winked at them. Not only had Gally spent time flirting and teasing the both of them, he left them with his number with the promise of seeing them again if they called him. The man wanted them and they were starting to question if they wanted him. By the time they got home, the question was still lingering in the air. Call him for a hookup or delete the number and act like they never met? But the issue here was that they both wanted this. I mean come on, the man reminded them so much of Gabriel and it wouldn't hurt just to feel something like him again, right? They trusted each other with this and Gally was greedy enough to want both of them at the same time. But the biggest issue was Scarlet's insecurities beginning to return to her mind and make her overthink the whole situation.

Two days after their beach date, they still hadn't contacted Gally. Scarlet had been lost in thought about the situation, feeling that they should delete the number and ignore what happened. But another part wanted to try this new experience, she just feared what would happen afterwards. But while she was lost in thought one night, Mateo came into the living room and sat down on the couch, wrapping his arm around her. "Everything okay, shiny? Yer awfully quite today." He kissed her head, hoping that everything was okay with her. Scarlet finally snapped out of her thoughts and looked at him, "Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine." She lied which he instantly caught onto. He frowned and took her hand in his, "Shiny, yer doing it again." He knew when she was trying to hide things from him. Frowning, she turned to fully face him, needing to finally bring up the topic. "Okay fine. I keep thinking about Gally and what he asked."

"Gally? I thought we were going to delete his number?"

"What made you think that?"

"Well ya haven't told me we should call him. This isn't just my choice here shiny."

"Yeah well…" Her cheeks briefly went red as she started to think about the main thing she needed to bring up, "…I've never exactly been in a threesome before."

"Oh. Right. It's not anythin' to be afraid of though."

"That's not.." Okay, it's true that having a third person did scare her but it was also something else. "We've never…let someone else come into our relationship like that. What if something happens? Like what if one of us…falls for him?"

"What do ya mean?" He slightly tilted his head.

"Gally looks a lot like Gabriel, sunshine. I mean come on, that's one of the main reasons we even started to get all flustered."

"Yeah but that doesn't mean anythin'."

"How? What if we do this and you like him better?"

"Star…?"

"I'm serious, Teo'. If he reminded you so much of Gabriel, you would leave me. He's from your universe too which would give you the higher advantage!"

He blinked, wondering where that assumption came from, "Scarlet, I would never do that to you!"

"Bullshit! You say that now but if we do sleep with him, how do I know that I won't be shoved away? That you won't remember Gabriel and just replace me with him! You got to marry your Gabriel so you still have that love for him!" She stood up from the couch and paced around.

"Scarlet, yer stressin' yerself out and makin' this worse than what it is." he spoke calmly, "Let's just talk about this…"

"This isn't stressing you out?"

"I…no, it's not stressin' me out that much."

"Then what is it?! Because for all I know, you could be thinking about letting more people come between us and you're just getting tired of me!" Her insecurities were beginning to slip out and only reveal how much the thought of a threesome was starting to scare her. Mateo was unable to respond for a second, catching onto how she was scared about him potentially allowing more people to sleep with them while hiding that he wanted someone else.

"Scarlet…do ya think I want to be with someone else? That having Gally come over will make me want more people over? That I want an open relationship?"

Scarlet didn't immediately respond but the way she looked at him with anger and hidden sadness gave her answer away. She faced the ground and sighed. Mateo wasn't done and he sat up straighter, leaning forward to try and see her eyes, "Star, I'd never want that. Having Gally sleep with us would just be…a quick hookup. And I told ya before, we don't have to do anythin'! I'll delete the number and this'll be behind us. If ya said no, I wouldn't be upset whatsoever."

"That's not just my only issue either, Mateo. It's how calm you are about this! Do you not understand what we're trying to do!? To sleep with another man?! You're not even getting mad about this!" She gestured to the both of them.

"Why would I get mad?"

"Because of this situation! Mateo, this is a serious thing and you're so calm about it that it's pissing me off!!" Then again getting angry had been pretty easy for her.

"Shiny, I told you, we could just delete the number!"

"But you want this!"

"I never said if I did or I didn't."

Scarlet became frustrated and nearly pulled at her hair before standing up, "You slept with multiple people in the past and had threesomes like it was the shocking thing to do! That's why this isn't scaring you or even making you see why I have an issue with it! This…this feels like some kind of break in loyalty!" Mateo slightly titled his head in response to that and she groaned louder, "Don't look at me like some innocent puppy!"

"I'm not!"

"You so are and you know it!"

Mateo sat up straighter, "Shiny, yer takin' this way out of proportion! Okay fine, I'm calm about this because yes, I've had a threesome but I'm not doing this just for myself! Yer the one who also was willing to do it!"

"Yeah but I thought about it more! What if you fall in love with Gally and realize he's a lot like Gabriel? What if I get kicked off the bed and you two forget I'm there? What if you realize you don't want me anymore?!" That made Mateo's eyes widen and he was almost speechless for a second. Here he was being calm as ever about this while she was worried about what could happen during the hookup. "Scarlet, I would never leave ya for Gally. We just met him!"

"That doesn't mean shock."

"Ya really think I'm gonna sleep with Gally once, fall in love, and then leave ya?" The way he said it made it sound like he thought that was stupid. And yes, she caught it.

"Fix your attitude, Orlin." Her calling him by his last name was a sore subject but not one to deal with at the moment. It was something she did when she was getting angry or annoyed and it's not like he was the first person she's doing it to. Whenever she was mad at Gabriel, she'd do the same thing.

Although he had been thrown back by her calling him by his last name, he continued, "I mean it, Scarlet. Ya can't just…" He paused for a second and sighed, "ya can't just assume that I'm gonna be the one to fall for Gally and leave ya. That's not who I am and ya know it."

"Well you never know!"

"Seriously Scarlet? I'm not going to go that low and cheat on ya. That's not what I do." He watched her pace around. "I love you, Scarlet. And…I'm sorry that this is scarin' ya so much. But Ya have to believe me when I say I'm not just willing to do this for myself either. I trust ya with this and even if we did sleep with Gally, who's to say we'd ever see him again? He's not ma boyfriend and he's not yers either."

"I'm just having second thoughts on this, Mateo. I mean do we need to call him right now?"

"What? No! No. Of course not. I wasn't trying to rush ya into doing this, Scarlet. We can take as long as we want, there's no deadline to this."

That finally made her relax and begin to realize that she was taking this farther than it needed to go. Maybe it was time for them to have a deeper conversation instead of diving head first into a hookup. After all, there were some unspoken things for Scarlet to bring up. "Can we just…call it a night please? The argument felt like it could only get worse if she didn't calm down more and she didn't feel like fighting anymore since he was being very reasonable. Mateo nodded and stood up, offering his hand to her so they could go to bed together. There was a moment of hesitation before she took it and followed him to the bedroom. In the room, Scarlet changed out of her clothes, putting on one of his shirts with nothing underneath. With both of them not saying a word, it felt like there was still unresolved tension between them and neither didn't know if it was time to apologize. But it wasn't Mateo's fault either since Scarlet was the one to get snappy first but that didn't mean he didn't feel bad and felt like he had some fault in causing her to get upset.

Even with the tension of the argument still in the air, Scarlet got into bed and laid down on her side as Mateo joined her on his side. For a second, neither of them moved or scooted over to the other, feeling like the tension still was too high for cuddling. Thankfully, Scarlet was the one to move first, wrapping her arms around him and holding him tighter than normal. Teo' didn't say a word and instead just held her close to his chest while gently stroking her hair. It was enough to make her tear up and quietly cry but not enough to hide it from him. He could feel her trembling, knowing it was because of her insecurities getting to her head. They should talk about it instead of going to bed so they could clear the air but right now this was all they could do.

Normally in the morning, Scarlet and Mateo would wake up together and take their sweet time in bed and eventually get up to have breakfast together or just laze around. They deserved that kind of peace together anyways. But this morning, Scarlet woke up first and looked at Mateo, making sure he was still fully asleep before attempting to slip out of bed. Only issue was that he always has a tight grip on her so she doesn't slip away. Any other day would have been fine but today she just needed to get away for a bit. She squirmed and tried to push him without waking him up but it felt like he held her tighter whenever she moved a few inches. "Jammit honey" She muttered and continued to squirm away. Barley using her telekinesis, she very carefully lifted his arms enough so she could escape and quickly shoved a pillow where she was at so he'd think he was still holding her. Standing up and staying completely still, she watched him mumble something in his sleep before settling into the pillow. Scarlet finally could breathe and make her escape. Guess there is some good things about being a thicker woman.

Throwing on a hoodie and sweats that she's left at his place before, she looked back at him for a second before leaving to get some fresh air. All she needed was a few hours to herself and maybe watch the sunset in a beautiful spot before the day officially started. She never had the heart to fully leave and it wasn't like her world was any more peaceful to roam around. Leaving his apartment was easy. Flying out into the sky and passing through the clouds as the sun was beginning to rise had been much more peaceful than staying in bed. Just for today though. The golden sun slowly began to rise and brighten the city, allowing Scarlet to feel its warmth and take a breath of the fresh air. It was much more different than what she experiences back in her world where the air feels too thick and often trapped. It was more a prison over in the universe than here. What a joy it must be to live in such a peaceful world where order is better controlled. Not run by a corrupt society where drones stalk every citizen and mutants would be deemed as monsters. It wasn't fair. But Scarlet was grateful to be able to experience it and see a universe where things aren't so bad. It wasn't perfect but it had been so much better than hers. As she continued to fly and feel the sun begin to wake the city up and warm the earth, she put on some wired headphones she brought with her and plugged it into her phone. Selecting her playlist, she pocketed her phone and continued to fly around, letting the music calm her down more. Random songs played while she flew past buildings and felt like she could fly without needing to run away from a group of people. She stayed outside for hours and let the whole playlist finish before she decided it was time to head home. On her way back, "Brooklyn Baby" by Lana Del Rey began to play which only made her chuckle to herself. "Kinda reminds me of a certain cowboy…" She couldn't stay mad at him forever. Although she was supposed to be heading back, she made a quick stop at a restaurant to pick up some breakfast.

The breakfast spot she went to was one they commonly went to when wanting something quick. It was called "Cozy Eats" and they would go so much that most of the workers recognize them. There weren't a ton of places where people would recognize Star so coming here actually made her feel good. Entering inside, the smell of fresh bread and sweet pastries made her stomach growl. The whole vibe of the restaurant was very calm and it was warm inside with the workers also being extremely friendly. Today for breakfast, Scarlet ordered them some breakfast bagels with some sweet coffee for herself and lavender matcha for Teo' with extra sweetener. Right before paying for it, there was a fresh batch of doughnuts being glazed in the back which instantly caught her attention. The cashier caught onto her gaze and smiled, "I'll add two to the order." Star's cheeks went red from slight embarrassment at being caught like that. "Could you actually make that two boxes?" The worker paused what they were doing and looked back at her with a surprised expression. "As in…2 dozen?" This poor worker. She nodded and the worker looked back at the baker that brought out the doughnuts. "I'll get that for you right now."At least they weren't judgmental about this because anywhere else they would have been concerned.

Getting everything which was a small bag that had the bagels, the two boxes of doughnuts, and a cup carrier with their drinks. Thankfully having telekinesis was helpful in times like these so she was able to carry everything back home where they would have a nice breakfast.

Back at the apartment, Mateo was barley starting to wake up once the sun was hitting the curtains and barley peeking inside. His arms instinctively tightened around what was supposed to be Scarlet but he caught onto how much softer "she" felt. When seeing the pillow in his arms, his heart stopped for a second when realizing she wasn't here and clearly had left in secret. The blankets flew off as he jumped out of bed, getting worried that she left him after the argument last night and only making him feel much worse. Did it go too far? Should he have apologized last night instead of waiting in the morning? Did she leave him for good? But even with these thoughts floating in his mind, he calmed himself down to process that she wouldn't do that. "She just…left real quick. She'll be back. He told himself while pacing around. It wasn't like her to just get up and leave without saying anything but this was their first argument in a while which did go the wrong way. His fear of abandonment was really beginning to kick in while he waited for her to hopefully come back. He was sort of like a dog that was waiting for their owner. Poor cowboy :(

Luckily it didn't take very long before the front door opened and in came Scarlet, carrying all the stuff she got from Cozy Eats and humming along to the song playing through her headphones. Mateo looked up quickly and rushed over to pull her into a tight hug. "Oof!" She squeaked when he unexpectedly hugged her. Didn't think he would already be awake but she did lose track of time and it wasn't going to take long before he caught onto the pillow trick. "Good morning, honey." She could feel him squeezing her tighter than normal, only giving away his worry. "Teo'?" When she said his name, he pulled back and really looked at her for a second before finally speaking, "I thought ya left and went home…"

Scarlet took off her headphones and saw how worried he looked, "Oh…oh no, I would never do that. I just needed some air and some time to myself."

"Ya could've told me, shiny."

"I didn't want to wake you up."

"Well do it next time. Please?"

A slight frown formed for a moment before she sighed and nodded, 'Yeah, I'll make sure to wake you up next time. I promise." She kissed his cheek and he hugged her tightly again. When they pulled away from each other, Scarlet brought the food into view and smiled softly. "I uh…brought some food for us." Mateo looked at the items and chuckled softly, "And you bought breakfast without me? I'm hurt, shiny."

"I won't do it again, I promise." She kissed him again, this time on the lips.

The couple went to the kitchen and Mateo carried most of the stuff now although Star had it. He just wanted to help her and she didn't argue since she already had him worried. Setting everything down, Mateo was already sipping at his drink and sat down next to Scarlet as they began to enjoy some breakfast. The breakfast bagels were sandwiches with egg and sausage, Scarlet's had bacon as extra, and then there were the doughnuts. Any normal person would have assumed the doughnuts had been for the both of them to split and eat over time but no. One whole box went to each of them because yes they could eat a whole box of a dozen doughnuts. But as they ate together in silence, there was still a slight tension in the air that lingered from the argument last night. They both were aware they had to address it eventually if not they would have lingering issues. For a while, no one ate until they finished their sandwiches. Mateo reached for his box of doughnuts and took one out while Star took a sip of her coffee that looked like it was a cup of milk. She finally spoke up, "Can we talk about what happened last night?" Mateo looked at her and nodded while still eating his doughnut.

"Look I'm…." The first rule of an argument is to admit that you were wrong. "…I'm sorry about what I said. I shouldn't have been making those assumptions and saying that you would leave me if we slept with Gally." She sighed and fiddled with her hands, rubbing her fingertips. "I should've been more honest about this whole thing and how it's been scaring me."

Mateo finished his doughnut and then closed the box, turning all his attention onto her, "It's okay shiny. That's ma fault too for not askin' ya how ya feel about Gally and this potential hookup. I was too calm about the whole thing and failed to see how it was effectin' ya."

"We messed up there. I mean, don't get me wrong, I really want to do this. You saw how I reacted when Gally came to flirt with us. I just got…scared thinking that if we do this that you'd leave me."

"Shiny, I would never do that to ya. I know he looks similar to Gabriel but he's not him and I could never do that to ya." He took her hands into his own, "I won't lie to ya about one thing though. My love for Gabriel is still there and….Gally does remind me of him. But I can't do that to ya and just abandon ya like that. We've built this relationship together."

"I know that you still love Gabriel and so do I. We lost him…" She frowned.

"I'm always going to regret that. I couldn't….save him."

"Hey…' Scarlet cupped his cheek and made him look at her. "It wasn't your fault. There was nothing you could do in that moment. Trust me, I always think about what I could have done to save him."

"The universe must hate us, huh?" Mateo lightly joked.

"When it comes to loving Gabriel, I guess so. That's something I can't control" She scoffed.

"That's just how the timelines work, I suppose"

"Stupid…" She scoffed again. Thinking for a second, she looked at him again, "You know I love you, Mateo. And I do trust you. I just got in on my own head.

"And I love ya too, Scarlet. I promise to talk to ya about somethin' like this if it ever happens again. Ya deserve that much." He kissed her head and she finally relaxed, now remembering that she had nothing to worry about. But the thought of a threesome still scared her only because she didn't know if she could handle two people at the same time. Butttt….she did still wanna try. "So um…did you…wanna try to call Gally? Or text him? Unless he somehow already got tired of waiting and deleted your number."

Mateo laughed at that and then grabbed his phone, "I could try. But yer positive that ya wanna do this? Don't agree just because ya wanna make me happy, shiny." She looked at him again and really thought about it for a moment. What could possibly go wrong about this? The most that could happen was just embarrassing herself. "I'm positive that I want this too. Besides, if I can't handle it then I'll just step out." "Well then I'm doin' the same thing if ya can't handle it."

"Teo'…"

"I'm serious, shiny. If ya get uncomfortable, we can always stop. I promise.:"

"…thank you."

"Of course." He pressed a kiss to her head. "We'll text him later today, okay? Why don't we just relax for now?"

She nodded, wanting to take the opportunity to take her time before they allowed Gally to come over. "Yeah that sounds good."

Later that day, Gally gets a message from an unknown number while he was eating some food alone at his home. Checking the message curiously and reading it over, he smirked when realizing who it was from. He sent a response back to say that he would be on his way in about thirty minutes which would allow him to get ready for this fun night. "Looks like that cowboy wanted me after all." He chuckled to himself and got up, forgetting about the food he was eating. Just as he entered his bedroom to grab some fresh clothes, he remembered the woman that was with the charming cowboy. He quickly sent another text to confirm how this night was potentially going to go. Either he would be sleeping with one person or two, which he wouldn't mind either or. But when he got the text back saying both of them were there, he grinned and felt more giddy, knowing he was about to have a very good night. Getting in the shower and freshening up, Gally put on his sunglasses and threw on a dark green plaid shirt over a white t-shirt followed by some jeans. He made sure to put on some cologne before leaving to really seal the deal. Not that he needed to since he remembered how flustered the two of them had gotten when he did simple flirting.

The drive to the apartment hadn't been a long one and he made sure that he still looked presentable by the time he arrived. Before Gally arrived however, Scarlet and Mateo had been making sure the place was clean and lets face it, that whole building doesn't have a spec of dust anywhere. Teo' rushed to change into something more presentable and Star went to go rush a quick shower. These two don't really need to get ready like that but when its a man that looks like their dead fiancé/husband, they basically forgot all their charm and flirting skills. By the time Gally managed to get up to the door, they had just finished and made sure nothing on them would give something away. None of Star's skin had been showing her true form for now and Teo'…well he doesn't need to worry about hiding much, everyone just sees him as the sexy country singer. They exchanged a quick kiss and smiled before answering the door. Seeing Gally there made both of them forget how to speak for a moment and blush. Gally himself smirked and place his sunglasses on his head, "Oh man, am I glad to see you two again." he winked and already knew he had them flustered. "Uh, it's good to see ya too. Come on in." Mateo let him inside. The moment Gally entered, he looked around and almost felt like he went back in time seeing the vintage looking theme inside. It was a two story penthouse and the entrance alone had a view to the stunning swirling staircase followed by a marble flooring. The lighting was warm and dim and it smelled faintly of cinnamon and vanilla. He let out a low whistle as he looked around, "Wow. Quite a place you've got here. The entrance alone feels bigger than my own room."

Mateo sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and had a faint blush on his cheek, "Ah, thank you. It is quite a ton of space." He chuckled. Gally nodded and wandered around but didn't get too far as he wanted to respect the space. "Soooo…" He started, "How are we doing this? Sit down and relax for a bit or just get straight into the good stuff?" Both Star and Teo' nearly stopped breathing when he said that and looked at each other. Scarlet managed to speak first, "Um! Why don't we just…relax for a bit?" "Alright, fine by me." He followed them to the living room where the couple sat next to each other and Gally sat across from the on the other couch. For about an hour or so, they all had a nice conversation together, mainly trying to learn more about Gally while also telling him things about them. He knew officially now that Star and Teo' had been dating for quite some time but were willing to have a third just for hookup purposes. Gally respected that, not wanting anything serious with them anyways, although the idea hadn't been a bad one. Although Star had been the one to try and stretch the conversation for as long as possible because she was becoming nervous, they started to discuss how the hookup was going to go. She let Mateo speak more which was mainly about consenting to certain things along with setting some boundaries such as Scarlet getting uncomfortable would mean they would fully stop. Once again though, Gally had been okay with that and wasn't one to push anyone out of their comfort zone.

"So, why don't you two go get comfortable and then I'll see you in the bedroom?" Gally suggested. The couple nodded, leaving to their bedroom. Mateo just went to take off his clothes while Scarlet went to the bathroom to fully change into something better. She had been more and more nervous as if this would be her first time sleeping with someone. "Why is this getting to me? It's one night and then we're done! It can't be so bad…jeez…" She mumbled to herself while getting undressed. Meanwhile, Mateo was perfectly fine while getting undressed until he was shirtless and looking charming as ever. By the time Star was done, she exited out the bathroom and came back to the bedroom while pacing around nervously. Mateo caught onto this quickly, "Shiny? What's wrong?"

"I dunno. I'm just…we're really doing this, huh? Sleeping with another person that looks a lot like Gabriel. I can't believe we're doing it." Although she had been stressing around and pacing back and forth, she failed to realize that she was wearing a new lingerie piece that was meant to be a surprise for Mateo but now was going to be a surprise for him and Gally. Mateo got distracted by the piece as it was a mix of a misty dark blue and purple to look like outer space that had white constellations patterned on it . The top piece had black lace trimming along the bra and waist whole the bottom piece had lacing so it could rest at the hips. It looked amazing on her which only made him flustered. While she was yapping away about how nervous and shy she was about this, Teo' had been staring at her and admiring how she looked. He eventually stepped forward and stopped her from pacing around. "Hey hey…listen to me." Putting his hands on her waist to stop her, she looked up at him curiously, "Everythin' is going to be okay, shiny. Just remember that if it gets too much to handle, we can stop immediately, okay? I'll be right there with ya."Scarlet took a deep breath and nodded, holding his hands to calm herself down more. "Right right…it's going to be fine. This is going to be fun." Her nerves began to calm down and she leaned against him. "Guh…this is so embarrassing. Feels like I'm having sex for the first time." Mateo chuckled at that, "There's just more work to put into it."

"Oh fun." She weakly chuckled.

"It's going to be fine. Just focus on me if ya need comfort. I'll guide ya." That was hot. He kissed her hand and then looked down at what she was wearing again. "How long have ya been hiding this from me?"

She blushed and chuckled, "Why Do you like it?"

"That's one way of putting it." He kissed her neck and she giggled softly, letting him kiss her more for a bit before Gally came into the room. "Aw, don't tell me that you two already started without me." He joked. The couple looked back at him and moved apart, getting flustered from getting caught for a second. They were different people when it came to Gally. But he chuckled some more and moved closer, "I never said stop." That definitely had them blushing more.

Scarlet and Mateo went to sit on the bed together while Gally began to take off his clothes. He stripped down slowly, giving them a mini show of his body as he knew how much he got them hot and bothered. First was his pants that he slid down and then his shirt which finally let them see his caramel skin that had some faint freckles on it. When he looked back at them, they were already staring and blushing more than before. He climbed onto to the bed to join them, not saying a word yet. Although Mateo was flustered, Scarlet was much more shy about this, more than normal. Often times, she gets flustered when Mateo takes the lead but this was on a different level and she didn't know what to do. She sat back in the bed and Gally noticed how tense she looked, "Hey, it's okay baby. I'll be gentle." He reassured her. Even though she knew that, it didn't calm her nerves down. But it wasn't enough for her to leave the room and Gally instead decided to focus on Mateo first.

It started off slow with them just kissing and their hands slowly beginning to explore each other. Gally laid him back and had his hand on his chest to feel his muscles while feeling how he twitched. He had to learn what made Teo' flinch and shudder first and that required him to take his time. His hands went to his waist while Teo' let him sit on his lap and continued to kiss him. Scarlet watched, her heart pounding rapidly in her chest as she saw Gally passionately kiss him. Gally wasn't silent as he let out quiet groans and soft whimpers when Mateo touched the right places. Their kissing led to Gally kissing down his neck and finding his sweet spots, occasionally nibbling certain areas enough to barley leave the smallest mark on him. Star didn't know how much time had passed while she was watching them get to explore each other better. But eventually, Gally pulled back from Teo' and gently pulled her closer to them to remind her that she was here too and was going to get the same treatment. Laying her back as well and next to Mateo, Gally came down to not kiss her on the lips bit on her neck. From how flustered she was from watching them and already feeling aroused, she was already whimpering and letting him know what spots felt good and what was making her twitch. Mateo joined in to make sure she felt as comfortable as possible in this moment and although it had been overwhelming at first, she was slowly beginning to melt into their embraces.

The first round together had Gally feeling both of them and getting to know their bodies. To figure out what made them twitch and what made them gasp. He never pushed it but learned that Mateo had been quicker with adjusting to him and certain spots he touched. Scarlet was a little longer as she was tense throughout most of it but started to feel more relaxed when remembering Mateo was close enough. Gally learned how both of them were into praise and Scarlet was into being guided through certain commands. It didn't take him very long to see how effected the two of them had been by him alone and it only made him feel much more confident in making them feel good. Every touch, every moan, every gasp, it allowed him to feel even better about himself.

The sheets were starting to get ruined and gripped, some of the pillows nearly fell off the bed and the creaking of the headboard surely had to make the neighbors notice that something could be happening. Overtime, Gally and Scarlet only became more vocal the more they went on, crying out in pleasure and moaning either names like it was a prayer. When they both focused on Mateo and praised him, whispering in his ear on how good he was doing, how good he felt for them, and begging him to keep going, it made him nearly melt right then and there, groaning louder and barley saying a curse under his breath that only gained him more praise. The room was beginning to feel hotter and much more tense with desire once the first round was done. Scarlet's stars were beginning to form in the room, something she wasn't able to fully control. She had to lie to Gally that it was just something he was seeing or was because of the lighting in the room. Thankfully, he believed it. But once they were done with the first two rounds, Gally assumed he had them finished for the night like most of his hookups were. However, when he sat up and looked at both of them, he quickly noticed how neither of them looked like they broke a sweat yet while he was already feeling tired. Scarlet's shyness had faded and Mateo was beginning to feel much more confident in what he was doing. Gally weakly smiled as they came in to handle him for the rest of the remaining rounds he could handle.

Scarlet focused on kissing Gally while Mateo did the majority of the work for the third round, occasionally switching positions and even attempting to try new ones that he could handle. Gally had been moaning much louder during these rounds, mainly because his body was becoming much more sensitive and he was slowly losing energy and becoming overstimulated. He hadn't complained once as he heard more praises while hearing the two of them either moan or grunt. Now he had been the one gripping the sheets, begging for more until he nearly lost his voice or couldn't handle much more. He barley was able to handle the fourth round when realizing neither of them were tired yet, only concerning him more about how his poor body was going to react overtime. But thankfully, the two of them finally stopped when they saw how tired he appeared along with how he was ready to pass out from exhaustion. "Okay, I think that's enough for tonight." Mateo pulled away from Gally and let him catch his breath while Scarlet helped him get comfortable in bed. "You two…are crazy." He was barley awake while forcing that out. The couple managed to lay him down in a better position and fix the bed so he was comfortable enough to get some rest. While they did this, he noticed the stars floating in the room and how it almost looked like they were in outer space. "Have those always been there?" He questioned while trying to clear his vision to get a better view. Scarlet noticed how much brighter her stars looked and knew this was something she needed to hide. But instead of trying to force them away or laugh it off, she lied, "You're just tired, honey. Think you're seeing stuff now." She giggled and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Gally nodded, too tired to figure out the lie, "Yeah…you're probably right." His eyes fluttered shut just as Mateo kissed his head, "Get some rest now, darlin'.

Once Gally was fully asleep, the couple looked at one another and chuckled, laying next to each other but close to Gally so he knew they were there. He was completely knocked out from their night of passion and had visible marks on him such as bites and a few scratches on his back. His hair was messy and lips were slightly swollen from how much they had been kissing him. But he was going to be treated well by the morning time and for now he would have a warm bed to sleep in with Scarlet and Mateo. They both decided to recover together since they weren't tired yet but were now relaxing in each others embrace.

"You doing okay?" Scarlet asked Teo' while resting her head on his chest and holding his hand.

"Perfectly fine, shiny." He kissed her head and rubbed her back. "What about ya? Feelin' better than before?"

"Much better. After that first round, I felt so much more comfortable. Didn't think we'd try some new things though." She giggled.

"Glad he was able to handle that much though." They both looked at Gally as he slept, taking in how gentle his expression was while sleeping. Mateo was holding his hand while Scarlet was resting hers on top and rubbing his knuckles.

"Did he remind you of Gabriel?" She quietly asked.

"Yes…just a bit."

"I almost said his name a few times. I hope he doesn't remember that."

"I nearly did. But I'm sure he was too distracted to have caught it."

While relaxing for a bit and enjoying the aftermath of everything, Mateo kissed her head again, "Shiny, how are ya feelin' now that it's all done? About what ya said before all this?"

"Oh…that?" Thinking back to how nervous she had been about the situation and how she felt like Mateo would leave her, she finally realized there was nothing to worry about. Everything had gone extremely well and there was so much trust between each of them. Gally was patient with both of them during the first round when he was feeling them and even took small breaks if anything had been too much. The same applies to Mateo as he had been reassuring throughout their time together and would check in on her to make sure she wasn't too overwhelmed. Even when it was him over her, he would whisper sweet things and even slip in how much he loved her.

"I shouldn't have been freaking out so much," She finally admitted, "I shouldn't have put so much blame onto you and assumed you would leave me. I was just so scared about….y'know."

"About being abandoned?"

She nodded.

"Oh shiny, I could never do that to ya. And I'm sorry again that I didn't talk to ya about this before we texted Gally. This was a huge choice and I should have made sure everything was okay between us."

"I'm sorry too. But hey, this was sorta new for both of us. And it was good. Well, besides the argument part."

Mateo chuckled, "yeah, besides that." He cupped her cheek and made him look at her, "I love you, shiny. I really do."

Melting every time he said, she smiled, "I love you too, sunshine." They shared a quick but loving kiss and stayed in each others embrace for a second before Scarlet caught glimpse of her stars again, "Geez. I didn't realize how bright these things were going to be." She laughed.

"After so many rounds, I'm not that surprised!" Mateo laughed with her.

"Poor Gally probably thinks he was hallucinating. That's definitely not a normal thing for him."

"He might question why we hadn't been so tired"

"That too!" As they laughed and joked about how much Gally might be confused about, Mateo eventually looked at the stars in his room now and chuckled again.

"Could've changed how they looked so he wouldn't have questioned it." he started to bend the shapes of the stars, making them appear much different than normal. Scarlet's eyes widened and she gasped softly, "Wait, you can do that? Ohhhh its light…" She watched him mess with the shapes of them and giggled at how silly they started to look. Just a bunch of different shapes floating in the room. Scarlet was able to change how bright they were and was also able to move them, pulling them closer and even grabbing a handful and sprinkling it onto Mateo's hair. It almost looked like glitter that was able to faintly glow on him. In their moment together, they laughed about the stars and made different shapes and forms with two being shaped like a heart just as they fell asleep.

The morning sun was fully up in the sky when Gally woke up, only to find himself between Scarlet and Mateo. This had to have been heaven as both of them were holding him close and he was warm in the spot. The bed felt like a cloud, they were both next to him, and he was warm enough that he could sleep here for another few hours if he really wanted to. Although staying in bed sounded like a much better idea since this was probably the best thing he had ever woken up to, his curiosity was beginning to take over. What was supposed to be an easy way to get out of bed had quickly become a huge challenge for him. Just attempting to sit up, the couple kept him down and tightened their grip on him. Being squished by both of them was another issue since any kind of movement immediately alerted them that he was trying to leave. It was really nice but he wanted leave! Squirming around while not trying to wake either of them up, Gally had to slide down and off the bed to finally get free from their embrace. Standing up at the foot of the bed, he saw that they didn't wake up and instead scooted closer to each other to cuddle. It was pretty cute to him and he sighed while running his hand through his hair.

Finally free, he threw on his pants and walked around shirtless through the penthouse, taking a moment to really see what he had gotten himself into. While walking however, he was very sore in certain spots that almost made it hard for him to walk. "Jeez…how much did they do to me?" He chuckled to himself while also thinking about how much stronger the two of them really were. The bedroom itself had been extremely nice with the large white bed in the middle of the room with the actual mattress feeling like you were sleeping on a cloud. The dim lights that had a warm tone to it allowed the whole place to feel comfortable and that same warm tone continued in each room. The more he explored and saw each part of the area, the more he realized who exactly he just slept with. But even as he explored, something faintly came to mind. How many people have stayed here? He noticed a photo in one of the rooms that had a photo of Mateo and someone else that wasn't Scarlet. The closer he looked, it almost looked like it was…him? But that's not possible? How—

He didn't get the chance to look into it further when he suddenly heard the two of them waking up and talking. Forgetting the image for now, he went back to the bedroom to greet the two of them. "Morning sleepyheads." He smirked, acting charming once again. Scarlet yawned and stretched while Mateo sat up looking stunning already. "Whoa. Does bedhead even exist for you?" Gally joked while rejoining them in bed to share some kisses. Scarlet kissed him and smiled softly, "Morning pumpkin." She sleepily spoke. Gally, although finding the nickname to be cute, had been confused about why she suddenly called him pumpkin. "Pumpkin? Where'd that come from?" Scarlet was confused for a second before catching her slip-up, calling him by the name she gave Gabriel, "Uhhhh it's because you uh….smelled like pumpkin last night." She came up with a poor lie. Mateo caught onto that and quickly agreed with her to really sell the lie, "She's right, ya did." Gally looked at both of them and felt like that had been an odd thing to say but he started to believe it, "Huh…I guess I did." The couple looked at each other nervously but also glad that he ended up believing it again.

Although Gally had been expecting to start the day quickly with him changing and thanking them for the passionate night together, he was pleasantly surprised when the couple pulled him down back into bed to give him more cuddles and more gentle kisses. They were taking care of him and planned to for the duration of the morning. They spent about an hour in bed to snuggle and talk before finally getting up to start having breakfast.

"So what's for breakfast?" He eagerly asked, expecting a nice home cooked meal. "i'm thinking maybe eggs and some bacon with some pancakes or maybe french toast…oooohhh I can help cook!"

"Whoa whoa whoa, easy there tiger. Teo' and I don't know how to cook." Star stopped him and chuckled.

Gally was rightfully shocked, "No freaking way. Neither of you know how to cook?! But you've got the largest kitchen I've seen! And it just goes to waste?!"

"It doesn't go to waste. Star knows how to bake." Mateo chipped in.

"Bake what?" Gally asked her.

"Like sweets and stuff. Cookies, muffins, cake, brownies-"

"None of that is breakfast stuff." He deadpanned.

"I never said it was."

"That's all just a bunch of junk food. And although I would kill for some brownies, I don't wanna eat anything fatty."

"Well listen here wise guy-" Scarlet almost flew to him but Mateo kept her grounded, "Or-! Why don't we just buy some breakfast, hm? I'll pay for it." Gally looked at him and thought about it for a second, "Fine, okay. That sounds good…"

Mateo ordered breakfast to be delivered while Gally and Star had argued over what they could cook. It wasn't a serious argument and had been a more playful one. But he insisted on teaching her on how to cook an egg even though she did know how to make that.

"An egg is easy to make! I can scramble one!" Scarlet defended herself.

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you try." Gally smirked.

"Fine!"

Grabbing a pan and snatching an egg from Gally, she turned on the stove and cracked the egg onto the pan once it was hot enough. Gally watched, already catching her mistake of not adding oil or butter to the pan. There weren't any shells in the yolk though so that had to be good. But not realizing how high she had the heat, the scrambled egg burnt pretty quickly and she was shocked to see how fast she managed to ruin it. Gally was laughing while she stared at her ruined creation from trying to prove a point.

"I—stop laughing! It's not that funny!" She yelled at him while he was holding his stomach and laughing more. Mateo was watching nearby and could see her ruin creation. It was pretty funny that she ruined it so quick. Gally snorted with laughter. "I can't believe you messed that up!"

Star was red in the face from embarrassment as she threw the egg away and scrapped off the burnt part with the spatula. "Whatever! I just got too cocky and put the heat up high! I can make an egg!" She still tried to defend herself.

"A crispy egg." Gally corrected and laughed more.

"Y'know what? I should've made you eat that shoc—" She realized she couldn't curse how she does at home and held the word for a second before correcting herself, "—fucking egg. Yeah. I should've made you eat the fucking egg!"

"No need to get hostile, honey" Gally chuckled and kissed her as a quick apology. She scoffed but wasn't too mad anymore. Mateo came up and chuckled, "It's weird hearin' ya say it like that." It was the first time he heard her actual curse instead of saying "shock". She nodded in response, "Yeah I know…" Gally didn't hear them but it was still a funny moment for them.

Their playful banter continued until breakfast finally came. Once again, Gally was questioning them because of the amount of food they got. While he got a protein shake, a bagel, and a doughnut since Star bought some, the other two looked like they were about to have a whole feast. Two boxes of a dozen doughnuts, one box for each of them, a drink that looked like it was more sugar than an actual drink, and a bagel breakfast sandwich. He had no idea what he had just gotten into but even with some previous slip ups and odd things happening like the stars in the room, he was definitely willing to see them again if they were willing to make it happen.

Who knows though? They'd likely call him back for more.