Realistic or Modern Family Ties: 1980s Gangs - IC (Ended)

[Misty Gray]

Lorelei Costello's House
~ Dublin ~

Benjamin Reznik​

Benjamin was relieved when Lorelei greeted him with a smile. Whilst he was sure they had serious things to discuss, he was at least glad she was willing to give him the chance to. When she told him she was worried about him, his face turned more serious and he lightly nodded when she asked if he was okay. Compared to a week ago, things had improved, even if he was still feeling the grief and anxiety. "Thank you..." he said when she invited him into the house. They both made their way into the living room and Benjamin sat on the sofa beside her, turning so he could look to her.

"I thought about bringing flowers or chocolates, but I decided against it. Gifts are aren't something I want to be associated with me apologising for stuff," he explained. "I am sorry, Lorelei," he assured her, letting out a sigh. "I know I shouldn't have shut you out, especially after you had to go through the same horror I did that night. I wish I had an explanation for why I acted the way I did. All I know is that Aidan was the second person in my life I'd found dead - the second parent or parent-figure. I've been thinking all kinds of things, like I must be cursed or that everyone I love is destined to end up like my mum and Aidan. I know that's not the case now, but last week I just... I couldn't get out of my own head. I'm sorry I wasn't here for you, Lorelei," he said. Although his eyes were filling with tears, he managed to fight them off this time.

Clasping his hands together on his lap, he took a moment to close his eyes and compose himself before he opened them again to continue speaking. "Right now, it feels like I'm stuck in limbo. The cops won't release Aidan's body yet and so we can't arrange the funeral. But... my dad came home a few days again," he said, now managing a smile as the positivity of Kurt's return was hard to supress. "Dad returning has been a big help and I guess has reminded me that not everything has to turn out bad, does it? I still have good things in my life and reasons to keep smiling," he said, sending Lorelei a warm smile now. "I should never have shut you out, not when you're the brightest light in my life."

Benjamin reached out to take Lorelei's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I'm here now, if you still want me to be. What happened to Aidan and Conor was horrible, and you had to see that too. So, really, I should be asking are you okay? You can talk to me about it. We both understand what it was like and how it felt that night."

Bellz (Lorelei)

 

[Pyroclast]

Syd Porter's House
~ Fuck off, Dublin ~

Syd Porter & Danny Vaughan​

Ever since Danny had entered Savannah’s life again he was aware that his feelings for her were returning. However, given the circumstances that they now lived in, he knew better than to act on them. She had a kid, for one thing, which meant that she wasn’t free to pursue relationships without considering the impact it would have on the boy. But beyond that, Savannah was also under tremendous stress from being tied to both sides of the war that her family was engaged in, as well as being pulled into a custody battle with Alex King.

Callum was too young to really understand what was going on and Savannah had done well to protect him from it, but even Danny could see that it was only a matter of time before the boy got hurt. He had been working for the Irish Mob since he was in his early twenties and even though he wasn’t a violent man himself, he knew how bloody things could get in their line of work. So when Savannah confessed that she wanted to take her son away from the war, Danny was fully ready to support the decision.

Always having loved an adventure, it didn’t faze him when Savannah suggested taking him abroad - he loved diving into other cultures and learning new ways to communicate with people - and he didn’t hesitate to assure her that he would go with her to help her set up a new life and protect her and Callum from any of the Kings who may try to track them down. Yet, since making that promise to her, a niggling sense of doubt had crept up on him. Of course he would do anything for her…but when he stopped to think about why that was, he felt conflicted. Because the truth was, he was falling for her again…and he didn’t want that to further complicate an already difficult situation.

Overall, he was far less concerned about what Syd would think of him asking to leave his responsibilities in Dublin to move abroad with Savannah than he was about what the huge change would mean for his relationship with Savannah. So even as they were driving to Syd’s house to tell him their plan, it was her that he was thinking about. Once they had parked the car in the driveway, Savannah turned to him and reminded him that he should speak out if he was having any doubts. He knew he should have brought it up already, but there never seemed to be a convenient or respectful time to confess his feelings to her - and with Syd and Roxie having taken time out of their busy lives to have this meeting with them, now seemed like the worst time to bring it up. So, he just smiled and said, “I’m fine. Let’s go tell them the plan, alright?”

He felt a pang of guilt in his heart as he hugged her back, but in spite of his feelings, he wasn’t going to leave her on her own. If it was going to complicate things and she decided she didn’t feel comfortable with him going with her, he would at least help her figure out another way to keep her and Callum safe.



It was a restless Sunday in the Porter house. Syd was pleased he had managed to get the kids out of the house for the time being as it was always easier hosting meetings when they weren’t there to pull his attention away - but at the same time, he would have liked the distraction in the hours leading up to it. Since taking over from Conor while the man recovered from his injuries, Syd had had his work cut out for him. Only a few days into the job he had had to organise an attack on the Kings in London, and had ended up sending an eclectic mix of his workforce to London to carry out the job, including Reina, Emery and Tom. While he didn’t exactly doubt their fighting ability, he did wonder if he had made a mistake recruiting Tom into the mob rather than keeping him out of the war. He had come with recommendations from his father, however, and since Adam was there to lead the team, he was able to tell himself that things would turn out okay.

Of course, that didn’t take all the anxiety away. Syd had always hated sitting out, or being where the action wasn’t, because his mind would be constantly trying to imagine what was happening and left him feeling guilty for not being there. However, since Savannah had asked for Roxie to be in the meeting too, he was doing his best to stave off the anxiety and not just chain-smoke his way through it. After pacing by the window for a few minutes, Syd turned to Roxie. “Thanks for making it,” he told her after what was probably the tenth time. “Whatever’s on Sav’s mind, your being here will make everything better, I’m sure…”

Just then, the doorbell rang and Syd practically leapt off his feet to go and answer it. Once he came face to face with Savannah and Danny, he showed the pair a smile and stepped aside so they could come in. “Hi, you two,” he greeted them, briefly glancing over their shoulders to see if anyone else was arriving with news of the London mission. Of course, all was still, so he set his attention back on his guests. “Roxie’s in the lounge. Let me take your coats and then…we can talk. Would either of you like a drink? Coffee, tea, something stronger?”

In contrast to Syd’s slightly manic appearance, Danny offered him a lopsided grin and let Savannah step inside before taking off his jacket and passing it to Syd. “Hey, man, how’s it goin’?” he casually greeted him. “A coffee sounds great, actually.”

Once the door was shut and locked, Syd paused to briefly embrace his cousin and kiss her on the cheek. “You okay?” he uttered under his breath, somewhat relieved to see her after everything she had been going through. “I’ll go sort the drinks. Go say hi to Rox, she can’t wait to see you.”

Interactions
Misty Gray Savannah
Bellz Roxie

 

[Melanin-Gxdess]

Chinatown
~ West End, London ~
Erik Snowden & Reina Richards

​

It'd been a while since Reina had to be out on a job as important as this. Ever since she started working for Roxie, a lot of her duties involved sticking close to her and making sure her security team was up to snuff. When Roxie informed her of the assignment she was going on, Reina had nearly protested. Leaving her for as long as she'd have to meant leaving her and her children's safety in the hands of others. And if she were being quite honest, she didn't trust anyone to make sure of it. Perhaps it was the anxiety of everything that happened in the past few months - Malcolm's death and the kidnappings - but it too everything within Reina not to say no. Stakeout jobs and interrogations hadn't exactly been her favorite, but she didn't mind going on them. Once over the fact that she was leaving her employer for a while, she was able to see the mission in a new light. She'd finally be able to get back at the people who had set her, James, and Edwards up just a week prior and thank them for the bullet wound she walked away with.

Sitting in the back of the van Reina awaited orders from Adam as to when they were to make a move. This was her first time working closely with him, Emery, Tom, and Dermot and she was a bit nervous. However, if a skeptic like Syd trusted they were the best people for the job, that meant something. And it was enough for Reina to trust that the team was more than capable of a job like this. She'd already seen Edwards in action and had no doubt he would be able to fend for himself. Therefore, she was able to relax and not stress herself too much. The crackle of the radio followed by Dermot's voice grabbed her attention. Her eyes opened and she turned her attention to the device. He informed them that everything was good to go, leading Adam to go over the plan once more. As he did, Reina checked her gun one more time, along with the extra magazines strapped to her vest. Though she didn't think she'd need it, she also strapped a knife to her thigh.

Reina and Tom had been tasked with taking care of Christian and Billy themselves. With the information she had about the former, she was sure she'd be able to work her magic and have him cracking in no time. Reina followed suit the moment Adam pulled a ski mask over his face. She then looked at Tom. Adam made it clear the two of them were to work together to get information out of Billy and Christian. Though she wasn't normally a team player, she figured this time around she would have to be. She just nodded her head in understanding and followed as they all exited the van. With her head on a swivel in case of trouble, Reina made sure to take note of her surroundings. It had been a quiet night thus far and perhaps they would be able to keep it that way.

---

Erik hadn't hidden the cheesy grin that'd grown on his face at Billy's comment. Had he known he was going to respond with such a jealous response he would've done so earlier. "Sorry darling," he said, making it clear he was teasing to the others, "Best female friend. Better?" It wasn't until now that Erik realized that for a long time, Billy had really been his only friend in London. It'd been recently that May was in the picture. Therefore, it made sense for Billy to be getting jealous; he didn't get Erik all the time! He made a note to ask him about it later, which really meant to tease him in private. Billy went on to comment and agree with both Jeremy and Christian. He seemed to be coming around to the idea, which Erik figured was good enough.

It wasn't that Erik wanted to vouch for May just because they were friends. He'd understood the whole family thing- about not being accepted for who you are. It wasn't something he would wish upon people like May; people who had been dealt a shitty hand in life. Therefore, if his words would cause Billy to think a bit then he would speak up on her behalf. The kick from underneath the table had brought him back down to Earth. He'd only heard the last bit of Billy's comment and it took him a minute to figure out what he was saying. "You're welcome."

The sound of a gunshot had Erik quickly wiping the smile off his face. Before he had a chance to react, Reina was already at their table pointing her gun at him. "Don't," she warned, watching as Erik lowered his hand from his hip. Reina then shifted her attention to the rest of the table, scanning the other members. Christian was amongst them, along with Billy. Jeremy had been a bit of an anomaly, but one that had been accounted for. Reina then looked at Billy, aiming her gun at him. Erik could only helplessly watch, unsure of what to do without causing chaos and therefore he just gritted his teeth.

It wasn't too much longer before all the witnesses were finally out of the restaurant. Following Emery and Adam's revelation, Reina did the same. Erik narrowed his eyes as if trying to figure out where he'd seen her before, but his attention was taken away by Edward's voice. Erik got up from his seat, obeying Adam's commands to the best of his abilities. Edwards then stepped in and pressed the barrel of his gun against his back. As much as Erik wanted to take out his weapon - which Reina was currently taking from his belt - he knew it would be stupid. A million thoughts about how they would be able to get out of this ran through his mind, but all of them ended with someone getting hurt or dying. "Considering my family lives in New York, I don't think that applies here," he said, following Edwards asking if he were ready to die for his family. Before Reina walked away, she could hear her whispering to Edwards. "Snowden's a Moretti. And that means you don't lay a finger on 'im. The other one, however, isn't so have fun."

Erik gave Billy one last look before he and Jeremy were forced into the back with Adam and Edwards. Jeremy asked if he were worried and after hearing what Reina said to Edwards, he definitely wasn't. "Only thing I'm worried 'bout is my noodles. Meaning I'd like to get back them if the two 'o youse don't mind, so let's get this over with. The fuck do you want?"

---

With just Emery, Billy, Christian, Tom, and herself now remaining in the main room, Reina holstered Erik's gun. She then picked up a bowl of noodles, leaned over the back of one of the chairs, and started eating. "Right, what do we want? Oh yeah. Answers. You big boys made a little 'o trip down to Dublin- a place you definitely don't belong. Not only did you try an' take out old man Sullivan and blow his warehouse to shit, but ya killed Aidan." She sucked in air through her teeth and grimaced. "The missus and his sisters and even his niece," she said, pointing to Emery, "Aren't exactly happy about it all. Left a kid an orphan," she lied. "What we want to know is which one of you did it?"

Adam, Emery ( Misty Gray ) Billy ( Pyroclast ) Tom, Jeremy ( BasDorcha ) Edwards ( BloodLightning27 )

Sullivan Family Home
~Dublin, Ireland~

Aliana Sullivan, Rhiannon, & Sydney

Hearing Conor joke made Aliana smile as she let out a playful scoff. The fact that he was able to do so was good news to her. It meant he was getting better and that was always a good sign. "Well, I'm happy to report that Rhi decided we should have all your favorite things tonight. And, of course, Syd is in charge of music so expect AC/DC and Guns N' Roses tonight, yeah?" Playfully rolling her eyes Ali managed to zip up her skirt before going back to his side of the bed once more. She watched as he stood up, only to immediately close his eyes. "Take your time, speed racer. I promise it's not going anywhere." Her words were teasing but her tone was deathly serious. Ali had been taking the doctor's orders seriously- following every instruction to a T. She wasn't leaving anything up to chance even if it did get on her husband's nerve. Once whatever was bothering him had subsided, she turned off the TV and lead him out of their bedroom and down the stairs. "Great question. I, unfortunately, don't have an answer for you, but if they're not I'm sure they will be soon."

Rhiannon had just closed the door behind Lucas and was about to respond to his comment when she heard Conor's voice. She turned her attention to both of her parents, a smile on her face. It was rare to see the two of them together sometimes but as of late, that was all she ever saw. Sometimes she wondered if it were because both of them had nearly died- something she still hadn't talked to anyone about - or because of something else. Either way, she was happy to see them together. Aliana had even let out a laugh, placing her hand gently on Conor's shoulder at Lucas' comment. "Well, he's definitely a Sullivan." Rhiannon nodded her head in agreement. "That's for sure. He only cares about the free food," she teased, playfully pushing his shoulder.

Before the four of them could make any more remarks, the door was pushed open. For a moment Ali tensed before Laura and Michael were in view. She was relaxed and at ease knowing it wasn't someone who had managed to sneak past the guards. However. Knowing it meant Michelle was close behind didn't necessarily put her mind at ease either. But for the sake of tonight, she was willing to put things behind them and be on her best behavior. Ali responded to Michelle in kind, not at all bothered with not receiving a hug. Rhiannon, on the other hand, found it weird and raised an eyebrow at her mother. Thanks to Michelle wanting to chastise her children, Ali used it as an escape for her not to explain anything. "I'm going to go bring everything to the dining room- Rhi. Did you set the table?" Rhiannon nodded her head, but Ali had already gone into the kitchen.

Rhiannon greeted both of her cousins with a smile before taking Laura's hand. "Let's go to the dining room. I know Lucas is dying to eat," she joked, leading the group. Ali was already busy putting the different plates of food on the table - steaks, mashed potatoes, peas, and various other sides. Michelle asked if she needed help and, distracted by making sure everything fits on the table and was easily accessible, Ali flatly said, "Nope. All good." Unintended, of course, but isn't that how all miscommunications start? The final thing was placing the lemonade pitcher and the margarita pitcher on the table- the latter being closer to her. She glanced at Conor and shook her head. "And don't even think about asking, because the doc said you're not allowed to while on medication," she warned. Just as she was about to sit down, she could hear music softly playing from the other room before Sydney ran inside. "Dada's fav'rite record!" Ali gave Sydney a high five before sitting next to her to make sure she didn't make any messes. Once everyone had settled and was piling their plates full of food, she decided to try and make some sort of small talk. "Uh, so Lucas. How's schooling with George going?" She asked, before turning to Michelle. "George is a teacher so Lucas gets to learn all sorts of fun stuff from him."

​

Michelle + kids ( BasDorcha ) Conor, Lucas ( Misty Gray )

The Clover Casino
~Dublin City Centre, Dublin~
Leo Sullivan

​

The moment Natasha answered the door, Leo very obviously scanned her head to toe with his eyes. Not to say that he didn't do it regularly because let's face it he's a horn-dog. She just had a different vibe to her that he wasn't used to. Little did he know that vibe was because she was annoyed with him. When he finally composed himself and looked into her eyes and nodded. "You like very... I feel like 'nice' isn't the right word. Dangerous? I think that works a lot better just saying you look nice," he complimented, smirking at her. She then asked him a question - a rather ominous once, if you ask him - and for a moment he faltered. Did she know already what he was about to tell her? And if so, how'd she find out? Suddenly he was nervous. Anxious. And was about to trip over his words. Luckily, Natasha suddenly saying goodbye to her mother saved him from having to say anything in response. Blake responded in kind, only she told him, "Good luck." He furrowed his eyebrows and raised his hand. "Wha-," he started, only to cut himself off the moment Natasha grabbed his arm.

Leo opened the door for Natasha before getting in, scratching the back of his head in thought. What exactly did Blake mean by good luck? She definitely knew something he didn't. Or, did she know they were going to the casino and it was more of a, "I hope you guys win big!" sort of good luck. It made his mind race and instead of driving off, he sat there for a moment holding on to the steering wheel. Natasha then spoke up, Leo turning his head to look at her. Did he feel bad for trying to butter her up before confessing? Sure, but he was trying to minimize the blow-up. He hated when she was mad at him and he figured this would help lessen the, "I'm angry at you," period. "Well, there's a lot you don't know about me, blondie, I happen to be a very lucky guy," he joked before shrugging his shoulders. "I just thought the casino would be a nice change of scenery instead of a restaurant or the pubs." While she continued to put on her lipstick, Leo started up the car. He waited for her to finish before taking off, but stopped when she mentioned missing him.

He smiled at her, dropping his hands from the wheel momentarily to softly caress her cheek to not mess up her makeup. "I missed you too," he replied, kissing her forehead. "Had you not just applied your little lip crayon I'd have given you a proper kiss. But I know how you are about it so I'll wait until later," he teased, alluding to something more risque. His eyes drifting down once more had basically confirmed where his mind was beginning to go before he managed to pull himself away. He chuckled to himself, shaking his head. "Dangerous was the right word to use." He said in reference to how well she looked. Before he took off, he kept one hand on the steering wheel and held the other out for her to hold on to. "It's gonna be a fun night. I promise."

Maybe he shouldn't've promised that he thought as he drove towards the casino. The thought didn't hit him until he pulled up to the actual building. Seeing as it was far too late for him to take it back he just had to roll with it. Leo got out of the car first before walking over to Natasha's side and opening her door. Once she got out of the car, he offered his arm to her before walking inside the building. "Do you see Thomas yet?" He asked her, looking around.

Natasha, Thomas ( Bellz ) Elena ( Pyroclast )

Aqua Shard
~Southwark, London~
Alexander King

​

The moment he'd heard Kerry's voice he stopped pacing and turned to her. Maybe because of what he knew was going to be the topic of conversation, but Alex felt nervous. And not nervous because he didn't know how to go on dates. He was more so nervous because he didn't want to mess anything up. What if he admitted his feelings and it turned out he was just reading too deeply into things? Then he'd mess up a friendship - one he found himself needing these days - and that was something that was difficult to come back from. But at the same time, he knew he couldn't just run away from the feelings. He had done enough running away in his lifetime that it was time to face it. Shaking himself from his thoughts, he smiled at her. "Ms. Patrick. You look beautiful," he said in a genuine tone. For a moment he just stood there taking her in, but that's also because he wasn't sure if he could be... Physical. Did he hug her? Grab her hand? Instead, he scratched the back of his neck before nodding his head. "Let's."

Alex opened the door for Kerry before walking in behind her. Informing the waitress of their reservation, she then lead them to a table in the corner of the restaurant. Alex opted for the corner table as it was a bit more private. The table had been situated further away from other people and had a better view of the Thames and Ferris wheel. Seeing as the sun was about to set, he had gotten a better seat for them to see it. Once the two of them were seated and given their respective menus, Alex took a moment to look over the wine section. "What is the lady in the mood for tonight," he asked, "Red, pink, or white?" After she told him what wine she preferred to drink, he nodded and moved on to the food section. By the time the waitress had returned, Alex was able to put in their orders - along with whatever else Kerry wanted - in one go so they would only be interrupted once.

With the waitress now gone, Alex thought about what to say next. While he wanted to just be out with it, he wasn't sure that was an okay way to do so. "And how was your day, Ms. Patrick? My brother isn't working you too hard I hope?" Alex did worry about Kerry working in one of his family's pubs. He'd promised to stay away from the girls that worked for them because of his previous nature, yet here he was with possibly one of the best ones! But then again, while old Alex would have every intention of sleeping with them and moving on to the next, things were different with Kerry. He wasn't looking for a quick lay with her unless they were together and enjoying a quickie. With her, he wanted to take his time and do things properly. "I hope this makes us even," he joked, "Especially since you're seeing a side no one has before."

Kerry ( Misty Gray )

Spencer and Shona's
~Bethanl Green, Bethanl~
Darcey Hargraves

​

The past three days had Darcey feeling more anxious than she ever had before. With the vote being done there was now the issue of which option May would choose. Darcey felt with the amount of time the two of them spent together that she knew her pretty well. Meaning she just knew May wasn't going to choose getting to know Trevor. Was he her father? Sure, but that didn't mean she needed to get to know him. He hadn't stuck around for the four children he had before her, what made her think he would this time? At least, that's how Darcey saw it. If she were in the girl's shoes she'd choose to turn her back on the man in a heartbeat, but that was based on what she knew about him. May knew practically nothing, but perhaps after tonight, she would know enough to make the right decision.

After wrapping up business at work, Darcey gave the driver directions to May's place. She'd given her the day off, saying she earned it, when in reality it was because Darcey was about to break. Her cool, calm, collected demeanor was starting to waver the longer she had to keep it in and she was worried she'd spill before tonight. The best way she knew how to avoid it was to just not see her at all. As the driver turned onto her block, Darcey's heart started pounding and she put her hand over it as if muffling the noise. Logically she knew no one would be able to hear it but that wasn't the point. The moment he arrived, she asked him to honk the horn and let down the window. "May, hurry it up or we'll be late!" She said with urgency. Honestly speaking, Darcey just wanted to get all of this over with. She hated feeling this way and it was putting not only a strain on herself but her relationship with Bruce. The two of them still hadn't properly discussed what happened and she was more than ready to. Once this thing was over.

The moment May got into the car, Darcey then gave the driver directions to Shona and Spencer's. He started driving them there and Darcey turned to May to make small talk. "D'you enjoy your day off? You better relish in those- I don't give 'em often," she joked, trying to keep the edginess from her voice. The sooner she got to the house, the better. She was going to need a strong drink. "Did you ever find out anything interesting about our poor Christian? What juicy, gossip can you share? Or are you more of a kiss and don't tell sort of girl?" Knowing that things were soon to be heavy, Darcey at least wanted May to feel comfortable and positive. It was better than going in like she was a ball of nerves.

When they arrived, Darcey quickly got out and urged May to follow suit, stating, "I don't want to be late," as an excuse. Without knocking she entered the home. In the middle of announcing herself, she saw Harper on the ground and immediately knelt to help her. "Harper, what are you doing on the," while trying to help pick up the items from the floor, Darcey picked up a pill bottle, read the contents, and looked at Harper. The look of concern was clearly shown on her face. For a slight moment, it took her back to when Laura was alive and Darcey would try and help get her together before anyone saw. She thought she'd buried such feelings but seeing Harper - the one King child that looked so much like her mother - in the same position felt like something sharp jabbing her in her heart. She didn't know what to say then and was sure the girl didn't want Spencer or Bruce to say anything to her about it so she kept the pill bottle in her hand for now, out of sight.

May ( BasDorcha ) Spencer ( Misty Gray ) Harper ( Bellz ) Shona, Bruce ( Pyroclast )

 

[Pyroclast]

The Clover Casino
~ Dublin City Centre, Dublin ~

Elena Velazco​

After their last date had ended so badly, Elena was nervous to go out into town with Thomas again. It wasn’t that she was afraid of him - but rather, afraid that he wasn’t ready. She had put the blame on herself for making him feel like he had to entertain her with a fun outing, and had therefore done her best to assure him that she didn’t need anything from him. It was true that she was craving sex and intimacy and excitement, but she wasn’t going to admit that to him. He already gave her so much, and not just a roof over her head. He was sweet and kind to her and from the moment they had first met she felt a connection to him, like she could trust him. Even if they would have to stay indoors and take things slow, there was nobody whose company she wanted more.

Yet, she couldn’t help but worry that Thomas was trying to push himself for her sake again. It had surprised her when he announced that Leo and Natasha had invited them on a double date so soon after his freak-out and consequential arrest - and at a casino, no less. At least, she supposed, if it happened again, his best friend Leo might know how to bring him out of it before he caused any damage or got himself in trouble. Either way, she was going to try and keep him relaxed and having a good time for the evening. After all, if this turned out well, it might boost the man’s confidence enough to go out more often.

At a table towards the side of the room, Elena sat close to Thomas, brushing her leg against his. When she caught his eye, she smiled deeply at him. “Are you happy here?” she asked him, still concerned that his mood might turn. “I’m so excited to meet your friends…get to know important people in your life and in Adam’s life!” Feeling herself getting excited by the thought of further integrating herself, she consciously dialled her enthusiasm back a notch. “Are you nervous to present me to them?” she asked in a teasing tone, poking him in the arm. “Maybe Leo has fun stories of you that he tells me!” She scanned the room again, though she wasn’t expecting to recognise them in the crowd. Instead she turned her attention back to Thomas, gently caressing his knee beneath the table. “You say when they are here, yes?” she uttered softly. “I am patient.” There was a slight pause before she realised she couldn’t kid herself, and she started giggling with excitement again.

Interactions
Bellz Thomas, Natasha
Melanin-Gxdess Leo

 

[Misty Gray]

Chinatown
~ West End, London ~

Emery Callahan
Christian Brooks​

The gunshot had snapped Christian out of his thoughts and he instinctively rushed to his feet before realising the unwanted guests had their guns aimed in his group's direction. He was quick to sit down so as not to aggravate the situation. Although the man to first address them had a New York accent, Christian knew enough about the Kings' current world to figure this was the Sullivans' doing. Feeling the weight that rested on his knee, he briefly glanced to Jeremy before discreetly moving his hand down to feel the gun that had been left on his lap by the man. Not drawing any attention to it, Christian remained sitting up straight and moved his hand to rest on his pint glass, using that to replace his urge to grab the gun in that moment.

When Billy assured them it would be okay and that it was him the attackers were after, Christian glanced to him, not feeling at all convinced it would be okay. People storming into a restaurant, guns blazing, didn't give off signs of hope, especially not considering what had happened to the Mercury Nightclub a few weeks back. It was only when the civilians and staff had been led away that Adam proceeded to remove his mask, confirming to Christian that it was indeed the Sullivans threatening them. That, along with Emery then making her presence known and making a sarcastic comment about past dinners to Billy.

Christian watched on as Erik and Jeremy were threatened by Adam and Edwards, before being forced to leave the table to go to the back office. It was clear the Irish intended to split up the group, perhaps a tactic to chip away at the confidence that would otherwise be felt in a larger group. As Adam and Edwards ushered the two away with guns pointed at them, the weapon on Christian's lap began to weigh heavy, but he knew it would be foolish and dangerous to attempt anything in that moment, especially given how easily Edwards could pull the trigger on Erik. Christian held his tongue as he listened to Billy reassure their two friends it would be okay and he'd get them out of the mess.

Once it was just him and Billy with Reina, Tom and Emery, the youngest of the King brothers spoke up to ask what their unwelcome guests wanted. Tom was quick to press the barrel of his gun against Billy's head, causing Christian to sit up straight and quickly shake his head. "How about you put the gun away and tell us what you want without the theatrics?" Christian asked in his prominent Scottish accent. If nothing else, something had sounded familiar in the masked man's voice and Christian wanted to hear Tom speak again so he could pinpoint why.

"Ahh, a Cockney and a Scotsman walk into a Chinese restaurant... There's gotta be a punchline to this," Emery mockingly remarked before hopping up to sit on the edge of a nearby table some diners had been forced to abandon. Reaching out to the nearby bowl, she plucked out a prawn cracker and began to eat it as she sent Billy a playful smile. "Shame it's you, mate. I was hoping we'd get to fuck with Alex tonight, considering he likes to fuck anything that walks, am I right?" she asked with a playful laugh.

Emery sat and smiled as she listened to Reina speak up. Despite being a Sullivan by blood and more a part of the Irish Mob than the other woman was, Emery was fully aware that Reina had been put in charge of her and Tom, so she had to follow the older woman's lead on this mission. When Reina spoke of how the Londoners had made a trip to Dublin, Emery's face turned serious, perhaps overdramatically so. "Nearly killed my dear uncle, you lot did. And what one of you did to Aidan, that wasn't right. That lad whose dad got killed is never going to recover from seeing that and losing all the family he ever had."

When Reina asked who killed Aidan, Christian sat back and shook his head. Whilst he was aware of the trip to London the King brothers and Jeremy had, he hadn't had confirmed which of them had killed Aidan. "What if none of us know the answer to that? I'm afraid it's not something we can tell you," he firmly informed Reina. "Somewhere where I was, however, was in the Mercury Nightclub the night it was blown up. How about we all address that matter first? The fact dozens of civilians were killed that night and members of the King family were injured. Does old man Sullivan know the meaning of hypocrisy? There's no moral ground for your lot to take on this."

Emery rolled her eyes at Christian, but remained in her spot on the table and hadn't once brought her own gun into sight. "Billy. Answer the fucking question. I doubt Inspector Haggis here dared step foot in Dublin, so he doesn't have a clue. You were there, Billy. Tell us who killed Aidan and your friend here won't get his head kicked in," she commanded him.

Pyroclast (Billy)
BasDorcha (Tom)
Melanin-Gxdess (Reina)

 

[BasDorcha]

Spencer and Shona's
~Bethanl Green, Bethanl~
May Thatcher

​

Everyone had been acting strange around her for the last few days. Darcey, she was convinced, was actively avoiding her. Erik hadn’t called once. Kerry was carefully keeping a pleasant distance but not enough to meet up for lunch. If everyone thought they could keep a secret from her without her knowing, they were doing a bad job at it, but no one had peeped on what the secret was, so she had to give them that. As she walked home from Kerry’s place – she’d left a note asking if she wanted to have a lunch date some time soon, maybe with Harper and Darcey. That consisted of all the women she really knew. She’d give Darcey hers today when she came by, and Harper she’d call and ask. She had called before her walk, but no one had answered.

Once home, she showered, changed, and dressed in some comfy clothes, and waited for Darcey to come and get her. Darcey had told her about the meeting, and she needed to come, so May had assumed it had something to do with the Galleria. She had just gotten settled for a snack when she realized that it was already time for Darcey to be showing up, so carrying a handful of biscuits down the stairs to the front of her apartment, she waited for the tale tell honk outside to head on out. Darcey’s voice greeted her ears the moment she pressed the door open and smiled – as on the ball as ever. She ran to the car and crawled in, offering Darcey some of the cookies in her hand as the car pulled off.

Handing the older woman a hand scrawled invitation to a girls night out, May nodded. “It was a nice relaxing day, I decided I wanted to invite you out with Kerry and Harper to have a girls night, hopefully without all the drama of the last time we were all in the same place together.” May tried to make light of the trauma in her head, a large part of why she hadn’t been out and about in bars and clubs much lately. “Thank you for the day off though, it was nice. As for Christian… I may or may not have told him I’d like to kiss him.” May blushed lightly, waving her hand dismissively. “Guess I get chatty when I’ve been drinking. Turns out our PI didn’t always want to be a detective – he wanted to be an archeologist when he was younger. He doesn’t like liars, or people using him to get information – which I think is a bit ironic considering that’s literally his job. I guess he means just outside of his job, trying to be his friend to find out what he knows about others and stuff. Oh, and he’s totally oblivious to innuendos.”

A light laugh followed her last comment, but she did not clarify why. For a moment she got dreamy, eyes cast out the windows, and her voice softened, unbeknownst to herself, “He did walk me home though, like a right proper gentleman.” As they pulled up to the house, Darcey rushed her out and she followed suit, a few steps behind her all way inside. When they got inside Harper was on the ground picking up things and May was quick to see the pill bottle, even as Darcey tried to help her hide it. She helped Harper finish picking up her stuff, and then helped her to her feet, standing awkwardly beside her. Wasn’t it ok for Harper to have the bottle? She was after all recovering from a bad injury – but maybe there were things she wasn’t familiar with, so she stayed quiet on the matter.

“Hey Harper, how are you feeling? Looks like you’re up and about more! I was trying to call you earlier to see if you wanted to join me and Darcey and Kerry for a girls night.” Now it was May’s turn to make polite conversation – especially since she wasn’t sure what in the world she was doing in Spencer’s private family home (the pictures on the walls gave it away) for what she assumed was a business meeting.

Mentions Misty Gray - Spencer
Melanin-Gxdess - Darcey
Pyroclast - Shona/bruce
Bellz - Harper

 

[Bellz]

Roxie Carriveau
Syd Porter's House
~ That's what she said, Dublin ~​

The last few days had been rather uneventful for Roxie since she managed to successfully bail Thomas out of jail without word getting out to the rest of his family. She was just focusing on stress management at this time, which she was failing at for the most part. Roxie was currently keeping tabs on Ricky from a distance, able to employ those who still were loyal to her to keep watch while still being under the guise that they answered to him, things were awfully quiet on that front and Roxie wasn't so sure what to think. Guilt was eating her alive after the way she'd left things with him but she rationalized to herself that she wasn't guilty of anything in order to at least stay semi-sane.

The constant moral battle was becoming tiresome and while she wanted to do something about it, she knew that she wasn't going to be successful in doing anything while still pregnant. Currently, Roxie was seated in Syd's lounge watching as her ex, paced back and forth throughout the room, her head turning to follow him lazily as she sat back on the sofa. Things were quiet, they hadn't said much since she arrived which was actually unusual for them considering every other time they'd been in the same room together. Roxie was used to watching Syd pace, it was something that she had come accustomed to long ago and while pacing made her nervous back then, she learned that she had to be the balancing calm energy within the room in order to offset him from spiraling into a pit of anxiety and despair.

Part of the silence had to do with her, while she had been irrationally emotional over the last few months, Roxie wasn't sure what to make of her actions towards Syd. Matthew had been such a huge part of her life for 3 years and Roxie wasn't able to keep up with the bounceback she had with Syd. She certainly didn't think of him as a rebound in any sense of the word but she was beginning to wonder if it was in his best interest as well as their children's for her to continue to act so foolishly on those feelings she was having. Roxie hoped Syd wasn't perceiving her as being cold compared to the last times they interacted but Roxie needed to work out her head. Pregnancy brain was fogging her judgment, that much was for sure. That paired with the guilt of not being honest with Syd about Thomas's arrest was throwing her through a perpetual loop of shame.

On top of it all, Savvy had requested that she speak with Syd and her about something that she wouldn't say. Roxie was just as anxious about it as Syd was and something was telling her that the conversation wasn't going to be a light one. Her knee bounced up and down nervously as she continued to silently watch him pace, when he finally stopped and turned to her, the woman straightened up. He'd already said it a million times, but Roxie nodded her head and offered him a kind, reassuring smile when he thanked her for making it. "It's not like I had much to do...weirdly starting to miss working on a Sunday." She tried to joke. He put a lot of faith into her, which made her smile fade ever so slightly. Roxie wasn't so sure that her presence would make this conversation go smoother...sure she could offer support for both Syd and Savvy as she always had but making it better? She could only hope.

Before she could say much on the subject, the doorbell rang and Syd took off faster than she could blink. She sat silently in the room, the familiar tick of the clock on the fireplace mantle was the only sound near her as she listened to Syd greet Savvy and Danny at the door. Roxie sat quietly until the couple walked into the room before hoisting herself off the sofa with an easy-going smile on her face. "Hey strangers, how are you?" She asked, looking from Danny and then to Savvy, trying to read both of their faces.
with: Syd + Danny Pyroclast ; Savvy Misty Gray

 

[Misty Gray]

Chinatown
~ West End, London ~

Adam Harper & Dermot Murphy
​

With the civilians out of the way, Adam had been happy to remove his mask. He didn't have to hide his identity from the Kings and as part of his reason for being in London was to determine the identity of Aidan's killer, then it was only fair he set an example to the Londoners by unmasking himself. Adam had stared in Erik's direction for a time before Billy had spoken up to put a name to the face. Adam was aware of the Morettis sniffing around London and that Erik worked with the Kings. As much as he'd like to kill a Moretti tonight, he knew better than to tear up the peace deal the Sullivans had with the Italians, at least not without Conor's consent to do so. Despite Erik being off-limits as far as torturing or killing went, it didn't do any harm to keep him out of the way and have Edwards make sure the man was kept in his place.

As Edwards accompanied Erik into the office, Adam kept his gun aimed at Jeremy whilst the Londoner walked with in his cocky, casual manner. Once the four of them were in the office and Edwards closed the door, Adam nudged Jeremy forward and looked to Edwards, motioning for the man to train his gun on Jeremy. "Any funny business from either of these two and I want you to shoot this one in the kneecaps," he said, pointing to Jeremy. With Edwards' gun trained on Jeremy, Adam set about frisk searching each of the two other men for weapons. He let out an amused chuckle as he found the knife tucked into the back of Jeremy's waistband. "I'll look after this for ya." Confiscating the weapon from the Londoner, Adam pocketed it for himself. He then watched on as Edwards commanded Jeremy and Erik to sit down in the wooden office chairs.

Walking around to his teammate's side, Adam looked their two enemies over for a time before gesturing to Erik. "We've got Moretti company with us tonight," Adam told Edwards. Not only would Edwards know about the Morettis from his time in Rikers Island and the power Gabriel had in there, but he would also be aware of the peace deal the Sullivans how had and that meant messing Erik up was out of the question.

With Edwards keeping his gun trained on the two men, Adam was content enough to kept his own firearms tucked away, free to use his hands and the extra knife he'd come into the possession of. "Let's all just save everyone's time and minimise the casualties for the night, by getting to the point. Jeremy, we know you and the three King lads were all involved in the attack on Conor. We know that one of you four was responsible for killing Aidan, so make things easier on yourselves and on those two back out there," he said, referring to Billy and Christian, "and just tell us who it was. Billy seems like a nice enough bloke, for someone from the same bloodline as Bruce and Spencer, so it'll be a shame for him to end up all messed up tonight, if he's still breathing at all by the end.


Meanwhile, one man who wasn't taking off his mask, on account of being tasked with keeping the civilians alive and out of the way, was Dermot. The man placed his gun into his back pocket, with nobody around him to need it for. He toyed with the dials on the outside of the walk-in freezer before eventually shutting it off completely. Whilst it would remain unpleasant for those inside, he wasn't about to leave them to freeze to death.

BasDorcha (Jeremy)
BloodLightning27 (Edwards)
Melanin-Gxdess (Erik)

 

[Pyroclast]

Chinatown
~ West End, London ~

Billy King​

Feeling the cold metal ring of Tom's pistol jab into the back of his head drew a grunt of annoyance from Billy, but he knew he was powerless to move and so did as he was told. In an almost invasive way, the masked man holding the gun leaned down to his ear and quietly warned him not to confess anything too soon so that the attackers could have their fun. Christian was quick to suggest they put their weapons away, but his accent only prompted teasing from Emery. The woman Billy knew to be Conor’s niece perched on a neighbouring table and began to pick at the food left there, before making a derogatory comment about Alex to Billy. He screwed his face up in response. “What’s that got to do with anythin’?” he spat.

Reina pulled his focus away from Emery then by explaining the reason for their visit - but even though Billy knew why they were there, hearing Aidan’s name still sent a rush of anxiety through him. She even mentioned that his death had left a kid orphaned, prompting him to briefly close his eyes. Through a combination of reasoning, time and distractions, Billy had so far done well to stop dwelling on the fact that he had killed someone - yet thanks to Reina, he was once again picturing the young man left crying over Aidan’s dead body, who, it sounded like, could have been his son.

When Emery hammered home the grief that Benjie would suffer for the rest of his life, it became clear that she was trying to break the culprit down so that they would confess. Once Billy realised that, it encouraged him not to give her the satisfaction of overpowering him, and so was determined not to give into the pressure and instead do things on his own terms. Considering all the lives currently at stake, he decided that he was ready to own up to what he had done, to give them what they wanted in hopes that it prevented the others from taking the hit. Billy wanted to answer Reina when she asked who Aidan’s killer was, but he was still processing the fact he had orphaned a kid and so missed his chance to speak up before Christian suggested the possibility that nobody knew who had done it. For some reason, Christian defending him without even realising made the guilt in his chest only grow stronger. Not just for the pain he had caused but because Christian was completely innocent in the matter and didn’t deserve to be caught up in the mess Billy, Jeremy and his brothers had left behind.

While the man went on to point out all the pain and suffering and death that the Irish Mob had caused by bombing the Mercury Nightclub, Billy was trying to control his breathing. Of course, Emery wasn’t interested in letting Christian turn the blame onto the Sullivans and only rolled her eyes at him before focusing once again on Billy. When she threatened to kill Christian if he didn’t give her an answer, he became suddenly more conscious of the cold metal pressed to the base of his skull.

“Fine,” he said through heavy breaths, expecting the gun to fire and end his life at any second. “It was me. I’m the one that killed Aidan.” He glanced between the two women, struggling to maintain eye contact with either of them for too long. “He was gonna kill my brothers and I had to stop him, so I stabbed him in the chest.” He reeled off his words like he was ripping off a plaster, still not quite having come to terms with what had happened. It crossed his mind to tell them he had only meant to disarm the man rather than kill him, but decided it would likely only make things worse for them to know Aidan had been killed by mistake. His heart was hammering in his chest and he wished he could sit down, but it felt risky to make any movements considering his current position.

“You can kill me if you want,” he offered. “But if you do, you’ll only have another visit just like this from my family, and they’ll take another one of yours. That’s how this works, innit? You’ve been ‘ere before, Emery, you know what happens.” Billy shot a nervous glance at Christian before looking back to Reina and Emery. “I can get you a meetin’ with Bruce and Spencer,” he tried to barter. “If you let everyone go free right now and don’t lay a finger on ‘em, I’ll bring ‘em ‘ere for ya’. But only if you let my mates go, and everyone in the kitchen. You can do what you want to me, but let ‘em go unharmed.”

Interactions
Misty Gray Emery, Christian
BasDorcha Tom
Melanin-Gxdess Reina

 

[BasDorcha]

Chinese Restaurant - WWIII
~West End, London~
Tommy Thatcher​

The metal in his hand was feeling warm, his blood was thumping, and through the slit visors you could see a blood lust forming in Tom’s eyes. Those who knew a little about him – though no one here really did – would see a change from the pleasant chatty boy they knew. While everything around his was happening, people exiting, people talking, and the silence that fell between each outburst, the world slowed down just a millisecond. His eyes swept the room, really taking in the place. Door to the front. Chairs in groups of four or five around ten tables. Low lights. Typical theme decorations for a Chinese restaurant.

His eyes took in the table before them – discarded food and drinks, half eaten, like some catastrophe had befallen it and everyone left in a hurry. Then his eyes hit the man who also sat at the table, and realization dawned on him as he remembered the man and where he’d met him. Christian, the private investigator that was working with May. What the fuck is he doing here, and how the fuck does he know my sister? Is she involved in all this? The thoughts flashed through his mind as he retightened his hand on the trigger. He needed to know more but now was a bad time to try and figure it out. Sitting back a little bit from the man in front of him, he held his cool externally, but internally he felt a conflict rising – hurt someone important to his sister or complete the job he was assigned. The two things that made him who he was – on different sides of an opposing chess board, and it wasn’t going to be an easy fight.

If there was any doubt, the moment the man started talking it disappeared. It was definitely the same man. Deciding that he’d let the senior member of the part be the one to make the decision, he stepped back, lowering the gun but not putting it away. Reina would tell him to shoot if he needed to shoot, or the situation would, for now though, they needed answers and shooting a man was not going to make that happen. Most people just needed the incentive of the gun to the head to start spilling, not the actual bullet.

Though he listened, most of the things they spoke of meant nothing to Tom. He didn’t know these people before today, much less the Londoners – Christian not included. He was silent muscle, not the leader of this party. Whoever Alex was as a person was had nothing to do with him, and he only asked for the basics needed for the job when he agreed to it. He didn’t need life stories, just the facts that was required for success. He did know that the ‘orphan’ was a full-grown adult as far as he was concerned, and that there was a lot of history between the groups – he still couldn’t figure out how May fit in though.

When Christian confirmed that he likely didn’t know who did it, the look on his face was enough, though Tom’s eyes were trained on the thumping vein in his neck – and when it did not pump quicker he knew he was telling the truth. Didn’t matter though because the other one – Billy – soon spoke up to claim responsibility. He looked the man over and weighed him mentally. If this man killed the soldier Aidan, he certainly didn’t do it on purpose, he didn’t have the constitution for it. In fact, based on how quickly he folded, he didn’t have the backbone for this life at all, and likely never would have been in it if not for it being a family business. He looked up at Reina, silently shaking his head as if to say he didn’t think either of them did it. Intentionally, Tom forced a deeper, gravely sound into his voice, changing it before speaking. He didn’t need his sister to know about this until he knew what was going on.

“They’re both too feckin’ soft to have dun it.” He sat back, watching them both carefully, waiting on instructions. Without thinking, he lifted the gun and bonked Billy on the head with it, almost as if he thought he were chiding a kid sibling. “ ‘Sides, must be a setup, no way he’s gon and offered to turn up his kin that easily.”

Mentions Melanin-Gxdess - Reina
Misty Gray - Christian and Emery
Pyroclast - Billy

 

[Bellz]

Lorelei Costello
Lorelei Costello's House
~ Dublin ~​

Lorelei gave Benjie a small smile as he stated that he didn't want to associate gifts with him apologizing for things. Men tended to think that buying women's affections and forgiveness was enough -- but Benjamin Reznik wasn't like other men, that much was clear to the redhead. She stayed silent as he went on to apologize to her, making it clear that he realized that he shouldn't have shut her out. When he spoke of her experiencing the same horror that he did, Lorelei had to fight the images that still threatened to haunt her from escaping the prison she had locked in inside of her head. Shifting uncomfortably slightly, she refocused her attention on Benjie as he stated that he wished he had an explanation for why he acted the way he did and Lorelei nodded her head in understanding.

She'd seen grief all too often in her family, many tended to act in anger while others collapsed in on themselves in order to save the ones they loved from any more heartache. No one thought they deserved the comfort that people around them were desperately trying to extend...that was the funny thing about grief. While everyone reacted so differently, it still made them all collectively feel lonely. Lorelei stayed awake many nights since Aidan died, wondering if Benjie felt alone and dreading it. It was all she could focus on so much so that she wasn't attending to her own feelings about what happened.

Lorelei didn't need any apologies from the man sitting before her, he didn't need to worry about hurting her feelings, although they had been hurt in the beginning. She was just glad he was okay and here, willing to see her again. Her brown eyes searched his as they watered, reaching a hand out gently for him to hold if needed. He didn't take it, seeming by force of habit to clasp his own together in his lap and take deep breaths. Lorelei hurt to see him fighting this on his own and while it hurt her that he isolated himself from her, she knew that all she could do now was accept it and try to help him in the only way she knew how. While her parents bickered endlessly sometimes, they loved harder than anyone she'd ever known and they taught her to do the same -- no matter how hard it got.

When Benjie finally opened his eyes, he informed her that it felt like he was stuck in limbo. The cops still hadn't released Aidan's body so a funeral wasn't going to happen anytime soon. When he mentioned his father coming home, a smile immediately graced his face and it was so contagious that Lorelei couldn't help but smile back at him. It brought some relief to know that there was someone else in his life who was helping her boyfriend see the bright light at the end of this long tunnel he was currently stuck in. When he smiled so warmly at her, mentioning he had reasons to keep smiling, Lorelei blushed.

He mentioned not shutting her out and before Lorelei could speak, he reached out and grabbed her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze which she returned. It was sweet that he was asking if she was okay, but Lorelei was far more worried about him than herself at that moment. "Of course, I still want you here, Luv." Lorelei murmured gently, shifting closer to him on the sofa so that their legs touched with their hands sitting in the middle of them. "But you don't have to worry about me, I promise. I'm a tough girl." Lorelei said, giving him a teasing smile before it fell slightly. "You don't have to apologize to me for anything, Benjie. I hope you know that. You owe me nothing in that regard. I've seen far too much grief in my life to know that it's absolutely normal what you did...even if it didn't feel that way to you." She said with certainty before placing her free hand on top of their already conjoined ones. "I knew you needed time and I am more than willing to give it to you, whenever you need it. Aidan was an amazing parental figure in your life and that loss will be felt for years...but hearing your Dad is back is relieving, because you can focus that grief on something positive. You have this whole life with your old man now and hey, look at this way, you can cash in on all of those Christmas presents!" She joked lightly.

"I just need to know that you're going to let me in from now on? Willingly at least. I'm mad about you, you know. I've just been having some doubts...which is silly but I just want to know where we stand." Biting her lip, Lorelei hoped she wasn't overestimating the strength of their relationship and where it was headed.
with: Benjie Misty Gray

 

[Bellz]

Thomas Porter
The Clover Casino
~ Dublin City Center, Dublin ~​

Thomas hadn't been himself since his arrest and despite Roxie managing to keep it a secret from his family, he was paranoid that Adam would certainly tell one of them. That moment never arrived, or at least, no one had said anything to him so he was doing his best to live life again. He felt guilty as all hell for doing what he'd done and scaring Elena.

He'd remember how Syd had been for so many years when he was younger, Thomas had more than on one occasion had to be the bigger brother despite there being such a huge age difference between them. It made such a lasting impression on him that he swore he wouldn't end up that way, that he would seek help when he needed it and accept it openly. But perhaps he was now starting to see what his brother struggled with for years, the uncomfortable intimacy with actually having to deal with your issues. The constant struggle of feeling completely normal one day and then feeling like you are losing your mind the next. It was exhausting.

Thomas had done his best to redeem himself with Elena, though for a few days he wasn't ready to step out and go anywhere. They had made the most of it their time and Thomas was forcing himself to be social with her. It wasn't that it was hard to talk to her, Thomas actually enjoyed her company and closeness, but he was just afraid of himself at this point. When Leo had asked him to come on a double date, Thomas was hesitant but ultimately, seeing how much Elena wanted to socialize, he knew that he needed to make it up to her.

Casino's were normally not their scene so Thomas was confused as to why Leo had picked this place as a spot for a date but he figured maybe he was trying something new. They had been seated for a minute and Thomas had been scanning the area for any sort of danger when Elena brushed her leg against his, causing his cheeks to redden as he looked at her. Her smile caused him to smile as well and when she asked if she was happy, all he could do was smile as her beauty had rendered him speechless.

Thomas let out a small laugh as Elena asked if he was nervous to present her to his friends, "Present you huh? Are you my trophy girlfriend now?" He asked lightly in a teasing tone. His heart was racing and he was nervous as hell, but more about being in a crowded room than anything else. He kept a smile on his face, however, not wanting to dampen the mood as Elena suggested that Leo could tell her funny stories about him. "Oh I'm sure he's got a load of...truly embarrassing stories to tell." Thomas said as he rolled his eyes, his knee beginning to bounce nervously under the table as his eyes scanned the room in search of them.

"I'll let you know, Lena...they should be here any minute." He murmured softly, reaching to take her hand next to him, giving it a gentle squeeze to call both his and her nerves.

***

Natasha McCarthy
The Clover Casino
~ Dublin City Center, Dublin ~​

Natasha rolled her eyes and scoffed at Leo's words, "Lip crayon, Leo? Really? Childish." She murmured before catching him looking at her with a smirk. "Yea yea, real dangerous, just don't get us into an accident, okay? I can't die looking this good." She teased lightly, swatting him on the bicep before he pulled out of the driveway. He offered her his hand and Natasha took it gently. He promised her that tonight would be fun and she could only hope that he would be willing to tell her what it was that he was hiding before she had to pull it out of him so that the night would end on a fun note.

The ride to the casino was quiet and Leo didn't seem to take the opportunity to tell her anything as they pulled into the parking lot. Nat looked up at all the flashing lights on the building with a bit of disdain before he got out of the car and hurried to open her door. Nat forced herself to smile sweetly despite her annoyance and when he offered his arm, she took it, rolling her eyes when he wasn't looking. He was desperately trying to butter her up with his gentleman acts and Natasha wasn't going to fall for it so easily, however, as they inched closer to the door, she knew they were losing time for him to say anything.

Thomas Porter
Natasha McCarthy ​

"You're taller than I am, I can hardly see anything." Natasha said with a bit of attitude in her voice as she stretched on the balls of her feet to try and get a visual of Thomas and Elena. Thomas had just looked away from Elena and towards the front doors when he saw Leo with Natasha on his arm. "They're here, Lena." Thomas told Elena gently before standing up and waving his arm to which Natasha pointed towards him, grabbing Leo's attention with the tug of her arm. "There they are!" She said.

She let Leo lead her over to the table and put on her most dazzling smile for Thomas and Elena. "Late as always, you two." Thomas managed to tease and Natasha rolled her eyes. "Only by a minute! Leo was too busy making eyes at me in my driveway to pay attention to the time." She teased her boyfriend. Thomas motioned for Elena to stand and smile at her encouragingly as he introduced her to them. "This is Elena, my girlfriend, Leo and Nat have been my best friends since we were kids, and Leo and I are cousins. Leo and Nat are now dating which I find a little gross but you know, more power to you guys I guess." Nat raised a brow at Thomas, "Wow, a man of many jokes tonight huh?" The blonde looked at Elena and reached out her hand, "It's very nice to meet you, Elena. I'm also Blake's daughter...." She added to which Thomas snickered, "Oh yea, I totally forgot that Adam and your mom are banging!"
with: Leo Melanin-Gxdess ; Elena Pyroclast

 

[Misty Gray]

Spencer and Shona Kings Home
~ Bethnal Green, London ~

Spencer King​

Spencer listened on and nodded in understanding when Bruce said he was glad Alex wasn't there to cause a scene. Like himself, Alex was known to have a hot temper and hold a grudge. Considering his brother was clearly still carrying hostility towards May it was for the best that he wasn't going to be present at the meeting today. There were already enough issues and emotions to contend with where May and Harper would be concerned tonight. "It's no trouble. You were kind enough to lend your house to us for a good twenty years, Bruce," Spencer referred to his uncle taking him and his siblings in when they were kids. Letting Bruce host a meeting in his home was nothing in comparison.

Spencer sat back and put his arm around Shona's waist when Bruce spoke of how he felt Harper was turning away from him. Growing up, Spencer had looked out for his siblings and often his bossy way of doing so created some resentment or annoyance from them. Harper in particular hadn't always appreciated Spencer's ways. Now, though, he felt he understood what Bruce meant. Despite still doing everything he could to try protect his sister, Spencer felt a distance between them that he hadn't before. Spencer had a lot to say on the matter of Trevor and he wanted to confront Harper about it, but with Bruce stating he wanted to save such a conversation for later, he chose not go too deep into his own thoughts for now. "Whether from you or me, it needs sorting. Trevor knows how to manipulate people, no matter how independent they may be," he pointed out, but stopped as he became aware of Harper's presence outside the living room. He wasn't worried whether she'd heard him or not as anything he was saying was a greatly toned down version of what he would tell her directly if Bruce wasn't ready to do so instead.

There was some kind of commotion as Harper had dropped her purse, but his awareness of Darcey and May arriving in time to help her stopped Spencer from rushing up to his sister's aid. Kissing Shona's cheek, he slowly stood up and stepped forward from the sofa, but remained standing in the centre of the room as he waited for the three women to come inside. Listening as May spoke to Harper, Spencer ran his fingertips along his bottom lip whilst sending Bruce a knowing glance. May was on friendly terms with Harper, even speaking of a girls night out with Darcey and Kerry. He could only hope things stayed so amicable as the evening went on and May found out that Harper was her sister.

Spencer folded his arms as he waited and the thoughts finally caught up to him. It wasn't just Harper who had gained a sister, but Billy and Alex had. It was only just hitting Spencer himself that the young woman who he'd once only known as an employee at his nightclub was his sister too. When he found out three days ago, he hadn't properly processed what it all meant, not when at the time he'd been minutes away from a bust-up with Bruce whilst still reeling from his own failure to kill Conor. Now he did have time to think about it, with his issues with Bruce resolved and the whole purpose of the evening being to tell May the truth. He was still struggling to process that she was his sister on account of the fact he didn't know what she would do with the information. If she decided she wanted to get to know Trevor, then Spencer would have no choice but to cut her off along with her father. He couldn't open himself up to getting close enough to her if she had the desire to meet Trevor. If she had any sense, she would listen to his warnings and keep well away from her father.

"Welcome, ladies," Spencer greeted them. He gave Darcey a quick hug before he sent May a warm, welcoming smile. He then moved to Harper and placed his hand lightly on her shoulder. "Need any help?" he asked her, instinctively looking to her injured leg. "Can't have you falling over and making a mess of my house now, can I?" he playfully teased.

Giving Bruce chance to officially welcome everyone to the meeting, Spencer sat down alongside Shona. Before Bruce could move on to starting the meeting. Spencer made sure to offer everyone food and snacks, ensuring they knew the hospitality was all down to Shona's hard work.

Pyroclast (Shona, Bruce)
Bellz (Harper)
Melanin-Gxdess (Darcey)
BasDorcha (May)

 

[Melanin-Gxdess]

The Clover Casino
~Dublin City Centre, Dublin~
Leo Sullivan

​

Being honest was probably a lot easier than the overly gentleman role Leo was playing; but considering he hadn't seen much of Nat the past few days it didn't seem right. Really all he wanted was to spend time with her and make up for how busy he'd been as of late. If he could live with not telling her anything until later, he would. Unfortunately, Leo knew his girlfriend pretty well and knew that waiting until later would only piss her off more than what he was doing now. Or at least, that's what he figured. But the more he thought about Blake's comment and felt the energy in the car shift the more he thought he may have been wrong.

He'd heard the tone of her voice but didn't think too much of it. Her annoyance was clear but he was going to keep acting oblivious. Instead, he focused on looking around him, trying to spot Thomas or Elena. Natasha was the one who'd seen Thomas first and the moment she pointed him out he let out a soft sigh. Maybe his cousin would be able to help ease some of the tension that was going on between him and his girlfriend. Surely, he thought, she couldn't be annoyed when meeting their best friend's girlfriend for the first time? Hearing Thomas state they were late made Leo chuckle, shaking his head. "And here I was thinking I was on time, for once." Natasha then blamed him and his flirting for them being late. "I'm sorry, weren't you putting on lipstick in the car? Which means you weren't even ready, to begin with," he said matter-of-factly.

Elena then stood next to Thomas, the latter introducing her. Leo had seen the girl at the pub but the two of them had never actually spoken. Thomas mentioned Leo and Natasha dating, followed by a comment about it being gross and he laughed. "Ha ha. You're just upset because it takes me away from you," he joked before turning to Elena. "It's nice to finally meet the girl who can put up with Thomas. I'm Conor's kid. And Aliana's." He added. Natasha explained she was Blake's daughter which Thomas wasted no time joking about. Though he knew he probably shouldn't be, Leo couldn't help but snicker. Considering they had known both Blake and Adam when they were single and for their whole lives, it was sort of strange to see them together now. "...It is kinda weird to think about though, right?" He said, looking down at Natasha. "I mean, cool for Blake, but still weird?"

Once they were done with introductions and teasing Natasha, Leo suggested he and Thomas leave Natasha and Elena to get to know each other while the two of them went to get a drink. However, he couldn't lie and say that there weren't ulterior motives for the suggestion. He wanted to get the man's opinion and advice on how to break the news to Natasha, as well as take a moment for the two of them to catch up on their own. After finding out what Natasha wanted, he gave her hand a squeeze and ushered Thomas towards the bar. Once the waitress took their order, his fingers tapped along the bar as he smiled at his cousin. "Look at you. Finally secured a girlfriend, huh? And she's cute." Leo turned to his side so he was able to look at his cousin, but also keep his eye on the girls. Though he felt comfortable enough being out in such a public place, he was still cautious about their well-being. "How've things been?"

Natasha, Thomas ( Bellz ) Elena ( Pyroclast )

​

 

[Misty Gray]

Sullivan Family Home
~ Sutton, Dublin ~

Conor Sullivan and Lucas Sullivan​

Conor couldn't help but chuckle as Rhiannon said Lucas only cared about the free food. "Ain't nothing wrong with that. Us Sullivans have big appetites!" the man reasoned.

Not long after Michelle, Michael and Laura also arrived. Lucas grinned at Rhiannon as the other two kids came rushing in. Although he was outgoing and confident, Lucas had grown up in a much quieter house being the only kid near his age living with Finn and George. Lucas was still getting used to being around such a big family and having loads of kids his age around outside of school. Of course, he saw it as a good thing, but it was still one he had to get used to. Michael was about three years younger than Lucas, so he was sure he could get along with him, but Laura seemed to be more Sydney's age. Michelle soon followed and Lucas gave her a wave. "Hey, I'm Lucas. The brat belonging to Finn and George," he cheekily introduced himself to Michelle and her two kids.

Conor hugged Michelle in return, lightly rubbing her back before pulling away. He noticed his daughter and his wife didn't hug but he wasn't in the mood to dwell on it at the present. He watched on as Michelle then took a moment to berate Laura and Michael for bursting into the house. "Listen to your mother, kids. Next one of you to burst through any of my doors has to give their dessert to me," he warned them. "In fact, neither of you have given their Grandad a hug yet. I ain't having that," he feigned offence.

Lucas watched on, noticing Laura gravitate towards Rhiannon. Lucas looked to Michael, noticing the kid looking more out of place than himself. "Hey! George told me you were living in Australia, yeah? He then told me a lot about Australia after that, but what I really want to know about is if it's true there's huge spiders and God knows what else out to get you over there. What the scariest creature you've seen there?" he curiously asked.

Once in the dining room, Conor took his seat across from Aliana, with Michelle and Lucas sitting at either side of him. He watched his wife place the drinks down, raising a mischievous eyebrow at the margarita pitcher. He didn't even like the drink, but at this rate, he'd take it over the lemonade. "Wow, you're no fun!" he grumbled when Aliana reminded him he wasn't allowed to drink with his medication.

"Looks like you're part of the kids' table," Lucas teased his uncle and proceeded to pour Conor a glass of lemonade.

"You're too lippy for your own good, kid. Wait until I speak to your dads. I hear Finn and George can be real ruthless when they want to be," Conor joked. The room soon brightened as Sydney made her entrance. "Ahh, I wondered where my sunshine was. Out causing trouble, no doubt," he fondly greeted her. "Good choice of song, kiddo. You've got good taste," he made sure to add. Soon enough, everyone began tucking into their food, Conor particularly excited to finally be having steak. "Don't worry if you're all not that hungry. I'm sure I can manage what's left," he remarked. Despite his comments, his usually large appetite wasn't yet fully restored, so he was sure he wouldn't be having seconds as he often would.

Aliana turned the conversation to Lucas, asking how home-schooling with George was going. "It's going well. He is really smart and knows a lot about a lot. Bit too enthusiastic about literature, if you ask me, but we all have our interests, right?" Lucas explained. "But I'm really enjoying it and Dad's fun to learn with. Still, I am looking forward to starting school in September and being able to hang out with kids my age." Lucas had had to be very persuasive to have George agree for him to go to the same school as Liam and the others, his dad not keen on Catholic schools after his own experiences growing up in an uptight religious household. In the end, he knew Lucas wasn't about to be sucked in by any of it. "How about you, Michael? Are you starting school after the summer?" He looked to Michelle. "It's a Jesus School, but nothing's perfect."

BasDorcha (Michelle, Kids)
Melanin-Gxdess (Aliana, Rhiannon, Sydney)

 

[Misty Gray]

Aqua Shard
~ Southwark, London ~

Kerry Patrick​

Kerry couldn't help but smile and blush when Alex called her beautiful. Granted, it was likely he'd said that to very many women before her. Being that she was putting a lot of faith in Alex and buying that he was changing for the better, she decided to accept the compliment and not try reading between any lines that might not even exist. It seemed like Alex had the same awkwardness, unsure whether or not to hug her, which she took as another sign he was being genuine. Anyone putting on an act would likely not be hesitant to lay on the charm.

Kerry walked with him into the restaurant, thanking him when he held the door open for her. The waitress led them to a table in the corner, which Kerry appreciated for its privacy and the ability for them to be able to see what was going on around them. Once in a while, she felt vulnerable in large places where she couldn't see what was going on around her - no amount of counselling could completely remove the residual trauma of what she had been through in New York. Sitting with Alex, Kerry briefly gazed out of the window, admiring the view of the Thames and wondering if the sunset would look as pretty as she was anticipating. She turned back to Alex when he asked her what she wanted to drink. "Oh, definitely red," she told him without hesitation. "What about you, Sir? What will you be drinking?" she asked him. She then looked over the food menu and opted for a salad just in time to give her order to the returning waitress.

With the order taken, Kerry was able to focus her attention on Alex, for a short moment looking to his face as she couldn't help but acknowledge his handsome features. When he proceeded to ask how Spencer was treating her, she let out a small laugh. "He's been surprisingly relaxed since whatever went down last week. I didn't even need to go into any details when I asked for tonight off as he just agreed without making it hard for me," she explained. "Admittedly, I was surprised when he let me come back to work for him in the first place. Maybe Eddie is softening him," he remarked.

When Alex said he hoped their evening out made them even, Kerry toyed with the idea of making him still work for that, but in the end she nodded her head and sent a reassuring smile his way. "Oh, you're certainly on the right path. I guess we'll have to see how the rest of the evening goes," she suggested. "And I feel honoured to be seeing your special side," she added. After a brief pause, she looked back to Alex. "So, how are you doing?" she asked. Aware of some kind of tensions around his family, along with Harper's struggle and Trevor's presence, she was hoping Alex was managing well through it all. She knew how such kinds of stress could lead him to reverting back to his old ways even if he wasn't intending to.

Melanin-Gxdess (Alex)

 

[Pyroclast]

Spencer and Shona's House
~ Bethnal Green, London ~

Bruce and Shona King​

Bruce caught the knowing glance that Spencer threw his way when they heard May speak to Harper about a girls night out. The way she treated her, it was as if she already knew they were sisters. Knowing that Harper hadn't had much feminine influence from the family, with Darcey being the only female figure in their immediate circle, part of Bruce regretted that the circumstances would likely complicate any chance the two had at a smooth relationship. Another more selfish part of him hoped that if the two were already friends, it wouldn't mean they would team up and exit the family to pursue their respective relationships with Trevor.

When the three women entered the room, he and Shona simultaneously got to their feet. While Bruce greeted May and Darcey, Shona went to Harper first. "Hey, hon'," she said with a smile, placing a loving hand on her arm as she guided her to sit down. "How're you feelin' today? If you need anythin', just let me know, yeah? And if you ain't in a rush to leave after this is all over, you're welcome to go spend some time with little Eddie. He'd love a cuddle with his favourite auntie!"

"May, Darcey, lovely to see ya' both," she then greeted the pair. "Sit anywhere you like. I'll go fix us all some tea." With Shona having moved on to help May and Darcey settle in, Bruce made his way over to his niece and kissed her on the cheek. "Hello, my love," he softly spoke, reaching out to gently rub her arm. "Glad you could make it. How's the pain today? If you need a lift home later, I've love a chat just the two of us."

Once the centre table was filled with teas, coffees and cake, the meeting could commence. Shona had finally settled back into her seat beside Spencer with a cup of coffee in her hand, and with her job done for the moment, she let Bruce take the floor.

"Thanks to Spencer and Shona for letting us have this meeting in their house," Bruce began. "I wanted to do this somewhere homely, as what we're about to discuss is a personal family matter. I'm not sure whether you already have some idea of why you might be here, May, as you ain't typically included in our family or business meetings." He glanced around the room of people before letting his eyes settle on the young woman in question. "As you'll remember, you asked Christian some time ago to see if he could track down your father for you. Well, we've found out who he is. Turns out, it's someone we already know." Bruce let a somewhat uncomfortable silence hang in the air, wanting to give May a moment to prepare herself.

"His name is Trevor Stewart," he said simply, a heaviness in his voice. "My former brother-in-law, and the biological father of Spencer, Alex, Billy and Harper." With another glance to his present niece and nephew, he allowed another silence. "You have four half-siblings, May. That makes you technically a member of our family.

"Unfortunately, much as I hate to dampen the news, it ain't so straightforward," he went on, letting out a sigh. "The thing is, Trevor ain't exactly welcome in this family. He's caused us a great deal of grief and havin' him around is causin' problems. Now, we know where he is, if you'd like to meet him and get to know him- but if you choose to live a life with him, you're goin' to have to do it somewhere far away from 'ere. The alternative I'm proposin' is that you stay 'ere and get to know us as somethin' more than friends or employers. Either way, Trevor will be on his way out of this city very soon. So, it's your choice, May - you don't have to decide right away, of course, but I hope you'll give it some good thought."

Interactions
Misty Gray Spencer
BasDorcha May
Bellz Harper
Melanin-Gxdess Darcey

 

[Pyroclast]

The Clover Casino
~ Dublin City Centre, Dublin ~

Elena Velazco​

Having spent so much time with Thomas over the past few months, it had become easy for her to tell when he was feeling nervous. The way his eyes darted around the room and that he wasn't saying much, not to mention his leg bouncing up and down beneath the table - it was clear he was struggling to relax. Still, Elena didn't want to draw attention to it in case it made it even harder for him to settle down. It only made her happier to hear him laugh at her misuse of the word 'present'. She didn't understand what a trophy girlfriend was, but his teasing tone always made her laugh along with him. "Yes!" she answered brightly, and leaned forward to plant a kiss on his cheek.

With Thomas on the lookout for Leo and Natasha, Elena went back to absorbing the casino's atmosphere and wondering what sort of people her boyfriend would be close friends with. She expected them to be kind like him, and figured they must be quite adventurous given that it was their idea to go to a casino for their double date. Her hand rested in his while they waited and she couldn't stop smiling, finally being out on a date with the man she felt so strongly for. He had started calling her Lena, which she found cute. Only one or two of her close friends back in Havana used to call her that, so it was special to hear Thomas use that name for her, too.

Finally, he informed her that they had arrived and Elena jumped up in her seat, trying to follow his gaze. She caught sight of a pretty blonde girl pointing at them, with a man on her arm around Thomas' age. Elena wore a beaming smile as the two made their way over to their table. Thomas began by teasing them for being late, prompting the couple to lightly bicker. Elena giggled, too excited to find it awkward at all, and she stood to greet them as Thomas formally introduced her to them. He joked about his two best friends dating as being gross, but she thought they looked very handsome together.

Elena smiled sweetly at Leo when he introduced himself as the son of Conor and Aliana. "Oh, your father is a good man, he give me a job when I arrive here from Cuba!" she told him. Conor's decision to hire her may not have seemed like a big deal to him, but to Elena it had meant everything, so through that act of kindness she already felt fond of Leo by extension. "It's nice to meet you too - Tomás talks all the time about you!" She sent Thomas a teasing smile, wrapping her arm around his waist and sidling closer to him.

"It's nice to meet you too!" she smiled at Natasha, blushing a little as she shook the young woman's hand. "I hear a lot about you!" Thomas laughed at the reminder that Elena's dad and Natasha's mum were seeing each other, but Elena still held her eyes on Natasha, struck by how beautiful she was and how much she looked like her mother. Leo agreed that it was weird to see Blake and Adam together, but without the context of the couple's relationship history, she couldn't see it as weird herself. "Bueno...Adam is happy," she weighed in, a dreamy look in her eyes. "I think it is romantic!"

Soon enough, Thomas and Leo left to go to the bar, leaving the two women to get to know each other. Elena looked across the table at Natasha, still taking in how beautiful she was. "It's really nice to meet you," she softly repeated. "I think Adam wants us to meet for a long time - he talks to me about you and your mom...you are very important for him." She glanced to Thomas briefly, hoping he wouldn't think she was being too forward with his friend if she asked her about their parents being together. But he had been the one to bring it up in the first place, and it did mean a lot to Elena to know Natasha's opinion - in her eyes, it would be a big factor in whether or not the two girls could become friends...or even sisters. "What do you think about our parents?" she dared to ask, leaning forward with her elbows on the table. "Do you think it's nice or weird?"

Interactions
Bellz Tomás, Natasha
Melanin-Gxdess Leo

 

[BasDorcha]

Sullivan Family Home
~Sutton, Dublin~
Michelle Romano
Michael Anderson and Laura Anderson​

With a gentle reminder from grandad, the kids ran over and gave everyone, cousins included, hugs. Michelle smiled and waved back to Lucas when he introduced himself. “Nice to meet you, Lucas.” When they’d returned to their previous spots next to their cousins, Laura happily took her cousins hand and smiled, following her with admiration in her eyes. She laughed at Rhiannon’s joke about Lucas. “Rhi, did you know that we just came back from Australia, and that we were staying with my daddy? Daddy and mommy are not friends anymore, but we still get to see him.” She was rambling on like it was the most normal thing in the world, and for a moment, Michelle’s exterior cracked. The light in her eyes dimmed, and her smile dropped as she watched her daughter walking away.

Gulping, she fixed herself when Aliana’s answer reached her ears. The flat tone came at the wrong time, and in a flash, like a grain of sand that was starting a pearl, frustration entered her brain. Reaching for the margarita pitcher, Michelle poured herself one and handed it back to Aliana though normally she would have at least teased her dad. Michelle had decided before coming she wasn’t going to do anything that could be read as going against Ali, she wanted it to be a good evening and to apologize and succeed this time.

Meanwhile, Michael was talking off Lucas’s ear, regardless of whether he was listening or not. “Yes, there really are giant spiders – the huntsman spiders are giant, and so are whistling spiders. It flooded one time, and the next morning, everything was covered in a sheet of while. Turns out it was spider webs. The news said that it was ground spiders that sent up balloons, and every strand was a different spider.” While he talked, he moved his hands, emphasizing the size of the spiders he had learned about. Michael had almost loved science and math; it lit him up like a Christmas tree light. “I think the scariest thing I seen though was a salt water crocodile, its whole head could have swallowed my dad.”

Michelle watched her kids, happy to have them home, but a darkness hung around her heart as she worried, they would regret coming to live here with her instead of staying with their dad. Only time would tell if she would mess them up because she couldn’t make her marriage work. When Lucas asked if he would be attending school, he looked at his mom curiously. “Yes, Michael and Laura will both be going to school here. I’d like them to be close to their cousins so they’re not alone in a new place, so I’ll be enrolling them with the rest of the family.”

Looking up, she smiled at her father and patted his hand, passing him various things he needed and eating her own at the same time. The kids had calmed down and were eating as well. Michelle tried to remain light hearted, but she was stressed over feeling the tension between her and Ali, unsure how to approach it – why was personal conflicts so much harder then a political conflict – and ready to get the apology over with. Unfortunately, this was not the time for it so she said nothing. “You all will need to come see the new house now that Daddy’s home. Its not far from here, and the movers will have the remains of our things here in a few days.” Everyone had been so busy the day she signed the lease, no one had even seen it yet but her and the kids. The kids had arrived a few days prior, and she got the keys to the place on the way to the airport.

Michelle looked up at Ali, unintentionally giving her a more solemn and unfriendly look then intended as her mind was thinking again about the giant change she had put her kids through. She wanted to say something more important, or start a conversation, but she couldn’t seem to find any words to speak. Instead, she poked at her food uncomfortably. Michelle could face a million strangers and talk facts all day to them, sell snow to an Eskimo, but when it came to feeling guilty or emotional, she wasn’t great with it at all.

Mentions Misty Gray - Conor/Lucas
Melanin-Gxdess - Aliana/Rhiannon/Sydney

 

[Melanin-Gxdess]

Chinatown
~ West End, London ~
Reina Richards

​

Reina continued to eat the noodles left behind, her eyes watching Tom and Billy closely. She didn't want Tom getting too trigger-happy and shooting Billy before they had their information. Yet she hadn't done nor said anything to get him to lower his weapon. She figured Tom knew what was at stake and trusted he wasn't a complete idiot... For now at least. Christian then demanded the gun be put away commenting on its theatrics. Reina debated on asking Tom to put it away, placing the bowl back on the table. "Theatrics is more your guy's thing, isn't it? Distractions. One on four fights. Sounds very dramatic to me." Emery then commented about there being a punchline somewhere, causing Reina to set out a brief chuckle. She stood from her seat and placed a hand on Tom's shoulder. "Enough," she simply said, patting him. Emery spoke about Alex, eliciting a strong response from Billy. "I don't think he'd be as fun," Reina said to Emery before turning her attention back to Billy, "This one has less of a spine, I heard."

Watching the reaction on Billy's face was priceless. Though Aidan had been the most prominent father figure in Benjie's life he technically wasn't his father. And while she and Emery knew that, Christian and Billy did not. It didn't take long for the guilt to show through on Billy- a sign that it may have been him. Before she could comment on it in any sort of way, Chrisitan spoke up again. This time he went about reminding them of the bombing of the nightclub. Though she had no direct hand in it and her boss wasn't technically involved by that point, she couldn't say that; at least, not in front of him. "Oh, but intimidating a poor girl and her child is okay?" Reina raised an eyebrow and walked over to Christian, bending over to his eye level. "Don't talk to us about morals when you lot have none either, kettle." She then flicked his forehead and stepped back, letting Emery demand Billy just tell them the truth; which, surprisingly, he immediately did.

Reina's shock was as clear as day as she listened to Billy explain what happened. Not because it'd been him who did it but because he admitted it so quickly! Usually, in the movies or even in her real-life experience, it took a bit more... Convincing, but here Billy was just giving it up. All it'd taken was a few lies and waving a gun in his face. She had to admit she was a bit relieved that things didn't need to get too messy. They were only there for a limited amount of time and having to torture the information out of the culprits would take too long. "When they said you'd probably be the easy one I thought they'd be exaggeratin'." Reina shook her head, crossing her arms. Billy went on to offer himself and his brothers and uncle in exchange for letting everyone else go. For a brief moment she considered the idea, however, it felt a little too easy. Tom seemed to agree with how sketchy it all seemed, expressing his own thoughts.

In the end, Reina decided to wait and see what sort of information Adam and Dermot were able to drag out of Erik and Jeremy. "That's enough, boy scout," she said to Tom, looking straight into Billy's eyes. "I'ont think he's lyin'. At least, about killin' Aidan. Too fidgety an' the guilts all over his face." She paused, trying to figure out if calling the others to the restaurant would be a good idea. "However, how do we know you callin' your brothers and uncle won't end up with us lookin' like swiss cheese? Could have some sort of code to where they bring in the cavalry. I'd really rather not leave the place a mess," she then looked to Christian before switching to a more sarcastic tone. "Morality and all that."

Christian, Emery ( Misty Gray ) Billy ( Pyroclast ) Tom ( BasDorcha )

Sullivan Family Home
~Dublin, Ireland~

Aliana Sullivan, Rhiannon, & Sydney

Though Rhiannon had already been informed that Michelle was getting a divorce, she still pretended to be shocked when Laura told her. "Oh my gosh, really," she asked, subtly glancing at the adults in the room. She wasn't exactly sure how to respond to such a thing, so she just smiled at her. "Um. You get to have two of everything now, at least. That must be really cool..." She trailed off, awkwardly scratching the back of her head. When the younger girl decided to walk into the dining room, Rhiannon let out a heavy sigh. Some days she couldn't believe how dramatic some of their lives were. Michelle included now. She could only hope that when she got older her own life wouldn't be as hectic or even crazy, but she was sure that would never happen. "Better get used to it now," she mumbled to herself.

With everyone now sitting at the table, Ali was able to relax a little. Things still felt tense with Michelle but she was hoping the peaceful atmosphere would stay that way. Conor protested her denial of alcohol and she could only smile and shook her head. "Oh, I'm plenty of fun. Don't you remember?" She winked at him, Rhiannon emitting a groan at the sight. "We're eating and we have guests - quit being disgusting." Ali just laughed at her discomfort before helping Sydney to a small section of mashed potatoes. Lucas updated her on his current schooling situation. She raised both of her eyebrows in shock when he mentioned George letting him go to Catholic school. "Oh, really? Your dad George is letting you go to Catholic school?" Her question was then followed by Rhiannon asking how he'd managed to talk him into it. If Ali had her way she wouldn't let Rhi or Syd attend Catholic schools either, but that's just because she preferred letting them choose their own religion.

Hearing that Michael and Laura would also be attending the same schools, Ali chuckled. "God, the Head of that school is going to have a heart attack when they see more Sullivans have been enrolled," she joked. "At this point, we should just start our own school. Then I wouldn't I have to attend those god-awful PTO meetings with the other moms." Ali rolled her eyes at the thought, turning to Michelle. "You'll see what I mean in August." Ali was trying her best to be cordial and with having something in common to talk about - their kids and school - she found it doable. "You just don't like the other moms because they don't drink," Rhiannon said, shaking her head. Ali raised a finger, taking a sip of her margarita before setting her glass back down. "Wrong. They suck and have too many damn bake sales."

Michelle mentioned having found a house and that soon enough they'd finally be moved into it. "Oh cool! You gonna have a housewarming party? You have to! It's totally, like, a Sullivan rite-of-passage to throw a big party when you first move here." Rhiannon's eyes had gone wide with excitement. Parties were probably her favorite thing, especially seeing as it was the summer. Had so many bad things not happened lately she would probably be figuring out how to attend them with Lucas, the twins, and JJ. "I can even help you plan it! Dad always tricks Mom into doing all the work and Mom tricks Aunt Lucy, so don't even bother asking them for help." Ali just smiled, looked at Conor, and raised her glass to him. "Great minds think alike."

Meanwhile, Sydney had been sitting next to Michelle. She'd just so happened to look over at her and noticed she was playing around with her food. She let out a slightly dramatic gasp and tapped her arm. "Be nice!" Hearing this, Ali glanced over at her youngest. "What, Syd?" Sydney looked at her, pointing to Michelle's plate. "You said to be nice to your fwood and not pway with it becwose it's mean." At this moment Aliana regretted saying such things, but it did bring attention to Michelle's strange behavior. Ali hesitated to ask her if she were okay until Rhiannon beat her to the punch. "Is it the mashed potatoes? I told mom it needed more milk."

Michelle + kids ( BasDorcha ) Conor, Lucas ( Misty Gray )

​

 

[Misty Gray]

Syd Porter's House
~ Dublin ~

Savannah Callahan​

Savannah felt an odd sense of relief when Syd opened the door to her and Danny. Perhaps it was that just having her cousin able to speak with them was another step closer to her being able to leave Dublin and take Callum somewhere safe from all of the dangers that surrounded them. "Hi Syd," she responded to him. Noticing the way he looked past her as if checking for someone else, she chose to ignore it. It was nothing new for members of her family to be vigilant or expecting something, so any thoughts soon left her head. Syd told them that Roxie was in the lounge, causing Savannah to softly to smile knowing her friend was going to be a part of the conversation too. With the offer of a drink, she nodded her head. "Something stronger would be good, though not too strong. Do you have any wine, please?" she asked.

Savannah hugged Syd back and returned a kiss on his cheek. When he asked if se was okay, she lightly shook her head but quickly turned it into a nod when he told her to go and greet Roxie. She sent Danny an encouraging smile before walking with him into the lounge. They were soon greeted by Roxie and Savannah moved in closer to give her friend a tight embrace. "Hey, Rox. I'm okay. How are you?" she asked. She wasn't sure why she'd said she was okay when she knew she would soon be saying the opposite, though she figured she was saving it for once both Syd and Roxie were seated for what she had to say.

Savannah took a seat next to Danny, gazing at him from a short time before Syd joined them with the drinks. Savannah took a delicate sip from her glass before placing it down on the coffee table. Looking up to Syd and Roxie, she let out a soft sigh. "The reason I arranged for us all to talk is because I've been doing a lot of thinking lately - perhaps too much, at times. I left London because I felt alone and needed to be around the people I love. I thought it would be a good thing for Callum to live here and get to know our side of the family. I love that he's been able to spend so much time with everyone and that I've been able to enjoy having my family and friends around again, but..." Savannah paused, reaching out to having another drink from her glass. "It's dangerous here. It's dangerous in London. This business our family and the Kings are in, it's just an endless cycle of violence and death. Callum is already at the age where he notices things; bruises on his uncles' faces or bits of overheard conversations he tries piece together in his sweet little head."

The blonde glanced down to her lap for a moment before looking back to Syd and Roxie. "Last week, I received a letter telling me that Alex had started court proceedings for custody of Callum. I can't go through all of that. So much would get dragged up if that were to happen and it wouldn't be just me dragged through the mud, but most of our family, Syd. With our family's criminal records and everything else that's gone on, what court would let me keep my son?" she asked, making eye-contact with Roxie. "Callum should grow up with me. I'm the one who has done everything for him since he was born. Alex screwed around and chose himself over Callum. Now all of a sudden he's decided he wants he be a dad and has started calling the shots through the courts."

Reaching down, she unconsciously sought out Danny's hand to hold as she continued to speak. "I want to leave and take Callum far away from all of this violence. Me, Danny, and Callum... we're going to go to Greece. Danny knows of a place we could stay where the Kings wouldn't be able to tie us to. I know I'll miss my family and friends more than anything, but I have to do this. I have to get Callum away from our family's lifestyle to break the cycle... But we need help to get away and to make sure the Kings can't find us." Savannah looked between Syd and Roxie, her large eyes searching to find how the two of them felt about what she had said.

Pyroclast (Syd, Danny)
Bellz (Roxie)

 

[Misty Gray]

Sullivan Family Home
~ Sutton, Dublin ~

Conor Sullivan and Lucas Sullivan​

Lucas raised a curious eyebrow as Michael spoke about the spiders in Australia, along with commenting on a crocodile being the scariest thing he'd seen. "Wow, that sounds crazy. Spiders webs are enough to creep me out. I once stepped into the garden shed and got a face full of web. It was not pleasant, at all!" Lucas took a mouthful of mashed potato and when he eventually swallowed his food, he used his fork to emphasise his next words. "You're safe here in Dublin, though. The spiders aren't extreme and there's no crocodiles that I've heard of in this climate. No, scariest thing you'll find here is our fellow humans. Especially those pesky Italians," Lucas remarked, referring to the Morettis who he'd heard a lot about over the years. He hadn't realised Michelle herself was half Italian.

"Only the Italians of the Moretti breed, let me point out," Conor was quick to interject. The Romanos had stopped being a threat to Sullivan life around the time James and the Russians slaughtered most of them in Chicago. "Best eat some more potato before it's your foot you've gotta put in your mouth, mate," Conor drily joked. He found himself having to consciously stay light-hearted, despite being aware of the ongoing tension between Aliana and Michelle. Apparently, he was meant to stay calm, so he wasn't going to actively bring up his observations in that moment. "You should get some of the lads to help with moving the furniture. It'll keep the lazy buggers out of trouble if they're busy."

From the corner of his eye, Conor noticed Michelle poking at her food, but he diverted his attention to instead begin cutting into his steak so he could devour it. Thankfully, Lucas answering Aliana about the school was enough to distract him. "You've met my dad, ain't ya?" Lucas rhetorically as Aliana. "He's too relaxed to say no to me for too long. And I did lay it on a bit thick about how I'd feel left out if I have to go to a different school to Liam, Rhi, and the others. "Way I see it, they have us reading Frankenstein and they also teach us about the Bible, but neither's real to me." Whilst part of his opinion was his own, Lucas couldn't deny some influence and confirmation for his thoughts also came from those of George.

Conor let out an amused chuckle when Aliana spoke of how the Head of the school would react to more Sullivan kids attending. "You're not a trouble-maker are you, Michael? We don't have another little bruiser in the family, do we?" he teased his grandson. "Listen here, kiddo. You don't go around starting fights at school," he warned him. "But... If a fight happens to find its way to you, make damn sure you're the one who finishes it..." he trailed off.

Lucas quirked his eyebrow, hiding his amusement and keeping in any wise crack responses that came to mind in response to what Conor was saying.

Conor's attention was soon drawn to Sydney when the child spoke to Michelle, telling her to be nice, for some reason. The man listened as Aliana asked what she was talking about and then their youngest daughter pointed out that Michelle was playing with her food. "The mash is just right," Conor quickly assured Rhiannon. Still, his eyes landed on Michelle in that moment as he wondered what her issue with the meal was...

BasDorcha (Michelle, Kids)
Melanin-Gxdess (Aliana, Rhiannon, Sydney)

 

[BloodLightning27]

~James Edwards~

---

~Chinatown | West End, London~

While taking Jeremy and Erik to the backroom to have a chat with Adam, Reina, at the last second, informed him that Erik was a Moretti. The former Sailor's demeanor completely changed as hearing the name 'Moretti' brought his memories of Riker's Island back. While he felt the guilt of leaving Bradley behind, it soon transitioned into a silent, seething anger as soon as he remembered how he was treated due to fellow inmate Nicholas Ramsey, who worked for Moretti and how numerous Corrections Officers were on the payroll, especially after he became associated with James Porter. At this point, he wanted to kill Erik out of revenge, but stopped himself and put any thought of it to rest as it was overridden by his mindset and respecting the chain of command. In the Military aspect, Adam would be his Commanding Officer, while Reina also had seniority over him as she had been working with the Sullivans longer then he has. Other then that, Erik didn't seem too phased when asked if he was ready to die for his family, especially after he mentioned his family was in New York. Nonetheless, Reina said that he was not to be harmed, but for Jeremy, all bets were off. Regardless, he likely already crossed the line pressing his revolver into Erik's back.

Now that they were in the backroom though, Edwards had allowed Adam to take over the reins, but still kept his gun at the ready. He then realized that he made a small mistake when taking the other two men into the backroom, which was not searching them for weapons. While guns were good for ranged combat, they weren't always the best in Close-Quarters. Remembering this only had Edwards scolding himself even more when Adam frisked the two men prior to them having seat and finding a knife on Jeremy. While he did have fast reaction time due to the reflexes embedded into him from the rigorous training, would it have been faster then the London Native pulling that knife and attacking him in a likely attempt to take his life?

Unfortunately, Edwards' anger became a little more apparent when Adam reminded him that Snowden was a Moretti. Despite his focus, the memories of his time on Riker's Island crept into the back of his mind as a result, like it had when Reina first informed him like a few seconds ago, before they had entered the room. Edwards just bit the bullet on this one, since Snowden was not to be harmed. And he wasn't about to be the reason why the Sullivans and Moretti Crime Families go back to war. He hated it, but he knew better. "That's unfortunate. Of course Moretti would have his nose stuck in London. Fucking hell." He replied, frustrated.

Soon, Adams skipped the formalities and cut straight to the point. The Sullivans didn't even want to be here in London, but the Kings threw the first punch, so naturally they'd fight back. Sure, there were probably other underlying issues that were ongoing before this night, but that was to be addressed at a later time...assuming that Edwards was gonna get swept up in it. Which was likely.

"Let's all just save everyone's time and minimize the casualties for the night, by getting to the point. Jeremy, we know you and the three King lads were all involved in the attack on Conor. We know that one of you four was responsible for killing Aidan, so make things easier on yourselves and on those two back out there. And just tell us who it was."

Edwards soon gripped the revolver with both hands. The hammer was already thumbed back, so it was ready to fire at a moment's notice. "Please. We don't have all night. And neither do you." He peered towards Erik out of the corner of his eye. "You said you wanted to get back to your noodles, right? The sooner you tell us who attacked our boss, the sooner you can go back to your dinner. I'd like to think that sounds fair."

---

Interactions: Adam Harper Misty Gray | Jeremy Gray BasDorcha | Erik Snowden Melanin-Gxdess

 

[Misty Gray]

Lorelei Costello's House
~ Dublin ~

Benjamin Reznik​

Benjamin couldn't help the smile that remained firmly etched on his face when Lorelei assured him she still wanted him there with here. He'd spent the last week or so wondering if he'd blown it with her completely. He let out a content sigh as she shifted to sit closer to him. "I know you're a tough girl, but that doesn't mean you can't feel scared or upset too. I'm here for you," he assured her.

Lorelei seemed to understand some of what Benjamin was going through and she reasoned the way he'd tried to deal with losing Aidan was normal. "I did need time, you're right. I just wish I'd been in a frame of mind where I could have included you, or at lest not just shut you out. Thank you for being so patient with me.." She then explained how having Kurt back was a positive thing, he quickly nodded along in agreement. He then laughed along at her joke about him cashing in on years of Christmas presents. "Hey, you're right about that. Dad owes me an Etch A Sketch, for starters!"

Benjamin gently stroked Lorelei's hand and looked her in the eyes. He was about to say more about Kurt but was stopped when Lorelei asked for assurance he was going to let her in from now on and that she wanted to know where they stood. "Yeah, of course--"

Hearing Lorelei say she was mad about him and wanted to know where they stood had caused him to lose the ability to speak, it seemed. As he thought about her saying she was mad about him, his heart began to race in his chest and he struggled to find the words he needed to say to her. In the absence of anything to trip over or a vase to accidentally knock down, the usual clumsiness that accompanied his anxiety was absent. The only things left for him to stumble over were his own words. "I-I will let you in. There's nothing to... You, you don't need any doubts... You know, my dad would like to meet you," he told her, now meeting her gaze. "And I would really, really like you both to meet, because... Well, you're really important to me," he said, his cheeks now reddening deeper and giving Benjamin's face a deep warmth. "Because I love you. Like, if that's not too soon, I feel like... I've fallen for you so quickly and I've never felt this close to anyone else before, but I know love is the right word for how I feel about you. I love you, Lorelei."

Bellz (Lorelei)

 

[BasDorcha]

Chinatown
~West End, London~
Jeremy Gray​

Jeremy watched the two men in the room with an annoyed look. Mentally, he was calculating his next move. They were here to figure out who killed Aidan? He began running scenarios in his head. With the group separated, Billy would be panicking, plus they were likely to be playing on his guilt which Billy was still struggling with. He’d want to save everyone, throw himself on the alter and confess, which was going to end up with him dead if he did that. Christian on the other hand, having been a cop previously, was not one to snub your nose at by means of fastidiousness. The private investigator and friend of the King’s would likely hold his own, and the Irish already knew he wasn’t involved, just like with Erik.

Looking about, Jeremy landed eyes on Erik, remembering that no one would be touching him today due to the tentative truce between the two families, that meant he was off limits as well. That left Jeremy and Billy as the ones who were going to receive a beating, if not more. Not that he was scared of it, Jeremy could handle it, and he’d sworn years ago he’d give his life for his friends, their family, and their business. In his mind, he could see the group with a trigger-happy mystery man holding a hot barrel to the back of Billy’s head and a flash of anger raged through him internally, while externally all it brought was a twitch of his lips.

“You want to know who killed Aidan? What difference is it going to make? You came and killed dozens of people when you exploded the Mercury, you can’t honestly expect that we’d sit back and not take blood for blood.” The look in his eyes remained confident and sure, unwavering. “You’re just lucky we didn’t attempt to take blood on a one dead to one dead ratio. You’d have a lot more crying to do.” The cockiness dripped from his tone though his expression remained flat. He leaned forward, towards the gun that was trained on him, looking up at Edwards with a dull bored look on his face. “I did it, I killed him. He got in the way, tried to jump in and surprise us, in the tussle that followed he fell on the knife while trying to attack me.” He shrugged, sitting back again, knowing he may well have just sealed his death there in that room.

“Accidents happen in this line of business; he wasn’t our target he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Not that I feel bad about it, Aidan wasn’t innocent, he deserved what he got after blowing up the club and killing so many innocent bystanders.” Jeremy’s eyes left Edwards face and bore into Adam’s, daring him to contradict him. There had been talk amongst the King’s higher circles of who was mostly likely involved in the bombing and Jeremy was taking a wild stab at narrowing down one name in this argument – a likely name as a high-ranking soldier in the Sullivan world.

For a brief moment, Jeremy realized he may never see Harper’s face again and it made him swallow hard. He wasn’t used to considering someone else in his choices, and at this point it was too late to back track what he said. He could only hope that if something did happen to him that Harper would understand how he felt and why he did what he did – it was better him then Billy, the family didn’t need that kind of trouble right now. Spencer’s kiddo needed his uncle, Erik and he had just finally become a couple, and Harper was going to need her best friend with the coming fight she had with the medications, and Alex was going to need the support of all of his family if he was going to go after Savanna and bring home his son. If Jeremy could take the blame and save them, leaving no family or kids behind, then he would – that’s what it meant to love someone like a brother, to adopt them as your family – you’d do anything for them.

Mentions Melanin-Gxdess - Alex/Erik
Misty Gray - Spencer/Adam/Christian
BloodLightning27 - Edwards
Bellz - Harper
Pyroclast - Billy