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[myhousemyrules]

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@trustfundee

[myhousemyrules]

You're not too comfortable to get up?

omfg thank you

[trustfundee]

i am.
small price to pay to see drunk, truthful you.
just dont puke in my car ok?
send me your location.

you're welcome!!

[myhousemyrules]

I think I sent it. I just stay bright here?

[trustfundee]

yup. bright there. send me more on what you were thinking while im driving. i wanna read later :)

[ Twenty minutes later, he's pulling up to her, squinting at her from behind the headlights to make sure it's her. He even opens his door and gets out, because she doesn't look the most stable right now. ]

[myhousemyrules]

[ She does exactly that. She texts him all her thoughts. About how her shoes made her feet her but she's lost them somewhere. How Cameron is so obsessed with image. He'd wanted her to wear the blue dress tonight instead of the green she wanted. How the people at the party all thought they were such woke individuals but really never wanted any of that riff raff in their backyard. Mostly, she texts about how she misses him. She'd been looking forward to seeing him tonight, and when she hadn't, she'd thought all kinds of awful things that filled with a jealousy that could only quiet with liberal amounts of tequila.

She's perched on the curb when the lights shine on her. She blinks blearily as he walks towards her. ]

Ransom?

[trustfundee]

[ 12:45AM ]

hey do ginger shots help fevers? i’d ask webmd but it always just tells me i’m done for.

[myhousemyrules]

[ She almost considers not answering, but after five minutes, she can't help herself. ]

How high is your fever?

[trustfundee]

[ maybe this is a fever dream, if she's texting him back. ]

idk, dont have a thermostat handy. shold i give it a try?

[myhousemyrules]

[ She misses him. Unbearably so. She doesn't sleep as well, so she's been up reading. Now she's worried about him. ]

Please tell me you mean a thermometer. Either way, take some Advil or Tylenol. They're fever reducers.

alice & ransom

[myhousemyrules]

[ Alice knows she's not supposed to be here. This isn't her scene. This party is way too douchey and over the top, but damn if she isn't drawn in by a pretty face. She never would have known her had it not been for the inheritance her sister briefly had. It had opened up a whole new world for her. Granted, it's a world that she doesn't care for, but it's a world that has her.

Natalie Stockwell. Daughter of some sort of shipping magnate or whatever. Future student of the same school Alice will be attending in the fall. They'd met at a new student mixer then gone to a party after. Alice has been hooked ever since.

It's why she's here. She's drinking some shitty beer out of a red solo cup, trying to will herself to make a move. Unfortunately, there's a bunch of dude bros standing in her way and giving her a hard time. They think she's the help. How does Marta deal with this? ]

Look, I'm not interested.

[trustfundee]

[ Ransom forgets what the occasion is, but he always finds it ironic that once in a while, there will actually be a pretty decent house party. The place is a sprawling two-storey apartment with a beautiful view of the city. He doesn't like heights, but even his pretentiousness can't deny that there's something magical about the pulsing music combined with the glimmering lights of the city.

Standing at the floor-to-ceiling windows, he admires the buzz of energy. It's a good mixed crowd, which means it isn't his crowd, but he's been saying yes to most things these days. He's never been lonely in his house out in the woods until he started missing Marta's presence there. The kitchen island is too big without her, and his bed is too cold.

Someone's saying something to him as he takes a sip of his drink, but he's paying more attention to the reflection that appears behind him. He whips around to look--he thinks he sees Marta for a second. Couldn't be--this isn't her scene. ]

Alice? [ He says to himself, before a wry bark of laughter bubbles out of him and his companion gives him a look. There's a group standing in front of her and she doesn't look the most pleased. His hand finds his companion's shoulder with a dismissive pat before he stalks toward her, completely ignoring the group in front of her as he steps around them. ]

What are you doing here? [ There's curious disbelief in his voice. This isn't her scene. The crowd is barely his scene. ]

[myhousemyrules]

[ There's echos of Marta in her sister's features. Marta's are softer though where Alice has more sharpness to it. She doesn't hide her displeasure when Ransom approaches. A scowl overtakes her features while her glower intensifies.

The dude bros around her turn to greet Ransom with claps to his shoulder and fist bumps. They're welcoming one of their own. Setting her drink down, she stops paying attention to it while she stubbornly crosses her arms. ]

I'm enjoying the party. Can't you tell? [ Her words drip worn sarcasm. ]

[trustfundee]

[ Ransom's not a fan of these types of guys either, but he can get along with them. He can get along with anyone if he wants to, though Alice has been a bit of a challenge. He thinks it's because he hasn't gotten the opportunity before, so this is just perfect. He half-heartedly accepts the pats and fist bumps, paying very little attention to the group. ]

I can, actually. [ He matches her sarcasm and guides her away with a hand on her shoulder. They shrug the dude-bros off. He doesn't need to waste brain cells there. ] It's written all over the frown on your face. Look. [ He takes her back to the endless wall of glass. ] Isn't that way better than staring at those guys?

[myhousemyrules]

[ Marta had been at an event with Cameron. He's one of the guest speakers, so it's a big evening for him. She's dressed in a red dress that clings to her in all the best ways. She knows there's whispers about her and Cameron. There are even raised eyebrows at her when she passes by.

From one rich man to another. That's what they're thinking.

She's gotten good at keeping her head held high while she ignores them. She's there for Cameron. At least, she is until she gets the call about Alice. Marta is in a state of panic when she hears that her baby sister is in the hospital. She tells Cameron, but since he hasn't spoken yet, he can't go with her yet. He tells her to go. He'll be right behind her.

Marta practically flies through the hospital in search of her sister. They won't tell her much over the phone. Her eyes are wild as she looks for the right room number. But somehow, her eyes find Ransom instead. ]

Ransom?

[trustfundee]

[ Ransom’s leaning against the cold hospital wall, a foot propped up against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, looking both bored and pissed at the same time outside of Alice’s room. His buzz has been long killed through the drive to the hospital and the ridiculous scene at the ER had been even more sobering. He hates hospitals, so the fact that he chooses to stay here should speak volumes.

He looks up when he hears his name, brows lifting as he catches sight of Marta in a stunning red dress. Right. Cameron had some speech to give tonight. It catches him off-guard, though he figures he should’ve expected this. Worry is painted clear on Marta’s face. His hands float up, stopping short of her shoulders. ]

Hey—it’s okay, she’ll be ok.

[myhousemyrules]

[ Even with all the baggage and history between her and Ransom, seeing him helps take some of the weight off her shoulders. She doesn't think about how she should stay away and put distance between them. She just needs him.

It's not Cameron she needs in times of distress. It's him.

She throws her arms around him and cling a to Ransom tight. She doesn't understand why he's here or why Alice is in the hospital. She breathed him in and lets out a shuddering breath. ]

What happened? What's going on? She said she was going to a school mixer to get to know the other incoming freshmen.

[trustfundee]

[ He’s legitimately surprised when she runs right into his arms and clings to him. Like second nature, his arms wrap around her and he buries his face into her neck. She smells exactly like how he remembers, like the scent that lingered in his sweaters and bed after she left.

They’ve both been parched, and he can feel the tension bleed out of her body as she presses into his. A broad hand finds the small of her waist to comfort her. ]

She needs to sleep it off. [ He pulls back enough to look at her. Damn those green, expressive eyes. ] School mixer as in house party rager, maybe. [ He says flatly. ] Someone spiked her drink.

@noshavenomad

[myhousemyrules]

[ The world has progressed in some ways and stayed exactly the same in others. Marta tries to focus on the good in the world, so she doesn't get mired down with hopelessness. It's her hope to use her newfound wealth for good. She wants to give back to the community and help those who deserve opportunities they would never get otherwise. It's something she's actually discussed with Pepper to get in the works. ]

You do a lot of good, Steve. [ Maybe she can talk him into helping her with her foundation once she gets it up and running. For now, she pours them both a mug of tea and brings one to him. He looks good like this. Comfortable and relaxed. Perfectly at home. ]

Might need to impose on your some more in the future. I've been talking to Pepper about creating a foundation to help people.

[noshavenomad]

I try, it's what I'm here for. [ Why else survive the serum, the war, the ice, everything that came after? He might not know what to do with his free time but- missions like this, helping people? He knows how to do that. ] But I'll admit...I'm starting to like having downtime here.

[ Even if it's still a job- it's...close to normal. What he used to have. What he didn't think he had in him to enjoy anymore. ]

She's a great mind for that, and you're one of the few people I don't mind putting on the stars and stripes for if you need someone to do the dog and pony show to get attention on it.

[myhousemyrules]

I'll try not to use you too much. I'm already taking up a lot of your time as is. [ He's here, after all. In this big house that doesn't feel quite like home. She sips on her tea and enjoys the warmth is brings to her hands. There's a beat before she adds. ]

We can work on your art in the morning if you'd like? It's supposed to be a pretty day, so a lot of good natural light.

[noshavenomad]

I don't mind it. I was going to ask- we'll be working in the area for awhile, setting up new projects and initiatives, training. I was going to ask if you wouldn't mind if I kept on a little longer, after your mother got back.

[ It's the closest thing to peaceful he's felt in a long time- the closest he's felt to normal. For all that he is- Marta just treats him like someone that happens to be good at security, rather than a monolith. A hero. ]

That'd be great, actually. Maybe out on the back patio to start, see where the light takes us?

tell my love to wreck it all

[trustfundee]

[ Ransom sits in the plush armchair in the waiting room the same way he sits in any situation: reclined, an ankle popped on a knee, elbow resting completely laid-back just on this side of lazy, not a hair or a thread out of place as if he belongs in the luxury of the spotless, acoustically dampened space. There’s the quiet murmur of the receptionist’s conversation on the phone, full of yessirs and right-always, cloaked by the quiet click-clack of a typed reminder. He drums his fingers on the upholstered armrest, tapping index to pinky, the ring on his finger thudding dully against the cushioning.

He hasn’t spoken to her since the popsicles at the hospital, where Alice’s emergency had stripped away everything frivolous to the situation. It’s like Marta forgot to hate him for a second and he finally got a taste of what he knows could be between them. In the hallway outside Alice’s room, it had been just them, Marta and Ransom, without the bullshittery of the money, the family, the lies, the secrets, and the paralyzing inheritance and decisions they both made to get them here.

It’s the only thing he wants, the only thing he can’t have, the only thing she unrelentingly holds just out of his reach when everything she is surrounds everything around him. She shows up to the things he does. Alice and him regularly text. Cameron still gets drinks with him, seals excellent deals around him, as if the world keeps moving on and slipping through his fingers. He’ll catch her smile from the corner of his eye and recognize that it doesn’t reach her eyes. She doesn’t even let herself laugh like she can when she’s with him. She’d rather choose everything else but him.

The tips of his finger dig into the sewn piping of the chair when clear blue eyes lift to the door. It swings open to reveal Marta, stepping into the waiting room a few minutes ahead of the meeting. He wonders if she’s impressed that he’s early, for once, if she thinks he’s learned to respect the time of others, even if he’s paying for it and has every right to use it how he’d like. Isn’t that the news story everyone wants? ‘Reformed Playboy: Thrombey Family Heir and Finding Duty in an Inheritance.’ They’d like that, wouldn’t they? Finally peacefully parting ways, as if this was but a phase in a difficult family tragedy. ]

Hey. [ He greets, with a nod of his head and lift of a corner of his mouth. A ghost of a smile. ] Long time no see.

[ The lawyers and papers wedge between them, piling sky high to highlight the chasm. He’s signed more blank lines in the last few months as he has in his life, thumbed through sheets and sheets of legal papers, behaved, read so many lines of legalese. The letters making up THE ESTATE OF HARLAN THROMBEY brands his mind when he shuts his eyes, voiding away all charges of CABRERA VS DRYSDALE. Is this the peace she’s looking for? ]

Sit. [ He flicks his eyes down to the chair beside him. ] Relax. I’m not the one running late for once. [ Her lawyer’s not here yet. ]

i'm ready for you to take me hand, wreck my plans, that's my man

[myhousemyrules]

[ Life has never been easy when it comes to Ransom. That's never changed. Even with this whole business of the inheritance, things remain ever complicated. After Alice's hospital stay, her mind wanders to him more than ever though she tries valiantly to be present in the moment with Cameron. They're getting more serious. She's met his parents. His family adores her, welcoming her with open arms like she's one of their own. His mother is a scary kind of lady, but she's warm and kind. Her mother enjoys Cameron as well. She can't stop going on on and on about how her daughter has finally caught a good one.

Strangely, Alice is ambivalent. Where she's one staunchly been anti-Ransom Drysdale, she now has a kind word to say about him. It's not all the time. It's always off handed remarks about how Ransom would do this or say that for Marta. She's not sure what to make of it.

She thinks she can finally put him and the business of the inheritance all behind her once they sign the paperwork. She's running late because she's coming from work. It means she has to change out of her scrubs into something more presentable. She wears a demure dark green dress that brings out her eyes. The skirt flares out at her knees with an almost retro sort of look to it. She steps in, black kitten heels tapping softly, but the first thing she sees it Ransom.

He's the epitome of relaxed and unbothered. He lounges like he own everything. Now he does, she supposes. She misses him unbearably. Like she's missing a piece of her. He doesn't get up to greet her, so she doesn't go over to greet him with a hug or anything like that.

God, she misses being in his arms. He thinks she hates him, but it's the opposite. She loves him. She loves him so much it hurts, but she doesn't think he knows how to love her back like she needs.

Instead, she offers a smile as she sits down. ]

I hope I didn't keep you waiting. I just got off a shift.

[trustfundee]

[ He's never been the type to open up his arms in invitation for a greeting hug, as physical as he is with his affections. He thinks that's more like her to do, and he misses the way she tended to bury her face in his shoulder or chest, taking in the way he smells as if she were so subtle about it.

He wonders if he's the only one who feels the crackle between them as she smiles and sits, as his gaze drift from her toes to her eyes and blue meets green.

He doesn't smile. Can't smile. The deeply unsettled pit in his chest twists hard. She's so beautiful. He can't believe she's so far out of reach. Has he ever wanted anything so badly before? ]

Nope, [ He lifts a hand to wave away her apology. ] Your lawyer's not here yet, so. [ He shrugs. ] Is Cam coming?

[myhousemyrules]

[ This should be the end of it, isn't it? Once she signs on all the dotted lines, they're officially done. Ransom will have Harlan's estate, save for the promises he's made as far as Alice and her mother, and she'll be walking away with her dignity and her aching heart. She misses those mornings waking up in his arms. Lazing around in his living room with coffee. Dancing around and laughing. It feels like a dream now.

His mention of Cameron brings her solidly back to the present. She shakes her head. He'd offered to come, but this is something she wants to do on her own. Truthfully, he's been a little more hovery and present than usual. There's been more attention and gifts lavished upon her though she's insisted that he doesn't need to give her gifts. ]

No. It's just me and my lawyer. [ She's quiet a beat as she looks him over. ] How are you?