Closed Starter: @averydawson​ Where: Avery’s Apartment

annalisechambersx​:

Annie knew she could be a lot. that was just…who she was. She liked to speak to people and just mingle with society. It was fun. Plus, you never knew when you would make a great new friend just by meeting someone randomly in a bar. Sure, this in front of her seemed a little put off by the sudden appearance of her (which she understood), but she was going to try her best to make a friend tonight.

She smiled softly as the other spoke, nodding her head, “Most bar food is pretty subpar, you know? But there’s just something about this place. I don’t know what it is.” She giggled and shrugged, “Would you want some of the wings?” She asked, her eyes lighting up a bit, “I could never eat a full batch by myself.” She paused and waved her hand, “They’re on me, I promise. I don’t want a penny.”

Leaning over the bar, Annalise tapped the top a few times and soon enough, the bartender was wandering over and he was ordering an order of mild wings and a beer for the gentleman as well. Holding her drink tightly, she turned back towards him with a smile, “I’m Annalise, by the way. But you can call me Annie if you like. It’s a bit quicker.” She giggled, “I hope I’m not…interrupting you or anything. Or if you were waiting for a friend or something. Oh, I’m sorry I am!”

-

The dive bar on the ninth was arguably Leo’s current favorite place in the city. So she wasn’t wrong about there being an essence to it. But he kept see-sawing in his mind if wanted to keep up with this conversation. It wasn’t her at all. Her sunny disposition and energy is what he should be striving towards. He was just far too stubborn to. He’d put a damper to her night, if this interaction continued. He didn’t deem himself as a particularly nice person unless it was useful to him. Add alcohol to that equation, and you got a more than chaotic Leo. But the light in her eyes, and her continuous graciousness kept him responding. “I could have some wings.” He said, accepting the free food. He might as well eat something so he could drink even more without getting sick. Good plan. 

He stayed quiet as he watched her place in her order. When she ordered a beer, specifically for him, he couldn’t help but cringe. Even though it was a completely nice gesture. Leo detested beer like it’s whole existence offended him. Carbonated, fermented hops and yeast juice? That beer? Fuck, no. He wasn’t planning on pretending he was a fan of it either. “I’m Leo, and no, I’m alone.” He informed her and then he tilted his head at her. “Annie, did you know you’re so overtly happy?” He questioned with a lifted brow. 

The sound of a glass mug being placed in front of him, took his attention. It was the beer, ice cold, with fragrant foam head. He swallowed and pushed it towards her space on the bar top as he held his breath. “I can’t drink that. It’s gonna taste like beer and I hate that.” He said, not hiding his dismay one bit.

oliverbrowncnn​:

“Depends.” Oliver gave Leo a look. Weren’t he and his wife loaded? “I’ve seen people charge that for a hand job.” He smiled as a woman turned around to play the part of the offended dame . “I know ma'am. In this economy?” His eyes grew larger then, before he shook his head in dismissal. She could take her outrage else where.

“Anyway, you do whatever you want with this information,” sticking his hands in his pockets, he had a look over at the list for largest donors, expecting to find The Brown foundation somewhere in the top 5, and not exactly surprised to see they were in the top 3.

-

Leo’s brows behind the leather mask shot straight up at Oliver’s remark. Laughter from his belly left his lips which doubled when Oliver told off their eavesdropper. Leo’s laughter making the speed of her exit all the more hastily. “I don’t think I’ll ever stoop so low. But if I get there, you’ll know.”  He sniffed, shaking his head, before focusing back on the donation slip. “And I’m of course--kidding about a five dollar donation.” He said, writing down four digits. This amount was safe for him and his wife’s combined income, but all he could see were the amount of drinks that could be had at the dive bar on the ninth. So. Many. Drinks. “On the safe side, I better ask Alaska.” He said, folding up the slip, and placing it in his coat’s inner pocket. He was buying time with the money, and mourning the potential loss of an excessive amount of his vice.

He made way to see what had Oliver’s attention now. Leo clearly saw his friend’s last name, and he nearly snorted. “Besides, why do they need my money when they got yours, you ol’ fox?” Leo quipped with tilting his head to the side, his lion mask surely adding the playful taunting that Leo was delivering. 

closed starter: @hvny​ location: a bar in manhattan

 leo was in a bar with live music, of course, he was having the time of his life. music helped him ride his buzz out in such a good way. especially good music. he was surprised by the big bold energy that much too big for a dumpy bar. “hey, you were amazing up there!” Leo called after the frontwoman who just passed in front of him. 

devieiras​:

Ines understood that therapy could be a scary process. In fact, many of her clients had been too intimidated to truly be vulnerable with her at first. It was a normal occurrence. But this? This behaviour had been anything but that. No amount of patience and gentle encouragement seemed to resonate with the man sat before her. Perhaps somebody less willing would have simply referred he and his wife to another psychologist. But the farther he seemed to act out, the more it only made Ines want to see things through. Joke’s on him. 

“Mm,” the woman acknowledged his statement with a hum, lips pursed and eyes staring into his with the same intensity he had given her, “Surely there is. You’re here, aren’t you? Realistically, there’s nobody forcing you to show up to these appointments.” She leant back in her seat, much like he had. “So, tell me Leo. Why is it that you continue to?” 

-

He stroked his beard as his mind was beginning to picture the drink he was surely going to have later tonight. Of course, it’d be a drink he’d have after telling his wife a little white lie about how this session went. That was until he heard her speak again. He thought his intensity would keep her from speaking again, but he did throw her a bone. And with the way their gaze had met again, he could tell that she was about to launch it right back at him. Especially with the way she mimicked his posture, he tried not to smirk. “Realistically,” he stole her term, “I do have someone forcing me to show up.” His face pulling up at the word as he said it condescendingly. He brought his hand down from his chin, and he looked over at the empty spot on the couch. The same spot his wife would occupy in their coupled sessions. A part of him wished she was there with him, her image was warm in his head, until it was overthrown by one of her openly complaining about him. Then his expression hardened as he looked back at Ines once again. “She is why I continue these stupid meetings. She believes your psycho babble is helping.” He said, sitting up and gesturing to his own temple as he mocked psychology as a whole.

renfarber​:

“I don’t know,” she said honestly. There was no why. There was no reason. She’d had nine years to think of it (and many nights therein during which she thought of nothing else), and a couple of therapists thrown in, and all she’d learned was that she’d been scared. Of love, of being loved, of failure, of success… she’d just been terrified and overwhelmed by of all of it. 

“We were so young, Leo. And everyone was telling us that we couldn’t possibly be as sure about each other as we said we were. But I was sure. Even looking back now, I don’t see myself as some stupid kid who didn’t know what love was. I knew what it was, because we had it. It was real, and that was scary. I’ve never seen love work out well for anyone, so I guess I just… fucked it up. I wish I hadn’t.”

She winced slightly at his last words, as though physically struck by them, and was quiet for a moment. “I didn’t… decide to hurt you, that was never what I wanted. I know that I did, though, and I haven’t forgiven myself, so I can’t expect you to forgive me either. But… even if you hate me, we need to try to get along, right?”

-

He was completely enthralled by hearing the story of them from her perspective. Again an insight he never expected to have. She spoke of their love like some tangible and strong element. He had felt the same way. He was so sure of their love because he had been raised without it. Nothing had ever felt so potent or as sweet as his first taste of love with Serenity. He tried. Leo actively tried to fall in love like that again. He looked for the little things that made up Ren in other people. Vihana was actually someone he hadn’t expected. She was beautiful, kind, and took care of him. It was easy and simple because he never really was himself. Even now, she had no idea who he was. 

He groaned with a roll of his eyes. It wasn’t directed towards her. It was energy that he needed to push out. The whole situation they were in now compared to where they were years or even months ago was nothing like he had ever fantasized. He didn’t have the right to be tired of the ride that dipped and derailed from his choices. But he was. There was never a break unless he had numbed himself with his vices. He brought his elbows up on the table, he held his hands together and proceeded to tap his forehead on them. “Serenity,” he said, his eyes closed as he rested on his hands. “I don’t hate you. I can’t ever hate you. I just hate what you did. But I can’t exactly talk now, can I?” He questioned, lifting his head up to look at her once again. “I didn’t exactly get into the situation I am in now by being a good guy.” He said with the glint of calmed chaos in his dark eyes. He didn’t where his mood was going. The alcohol made his veins sting and his attention jump around. Though the weight of his problems just kept trying to follow behind him. He grabbed his glass again to get rid of it. “I’ll play nice if you will.” He said swirling the remaining contents in his glass.

If you could hook-up with anyone, with no strings attached, who would it be?

"Oh, there's always going to be strings..."

Definitely Leo.

@le0davis

renfarber​:

Ren was playing this Escape The Ex game on expert mode, and she had to say, she was killing it. She knew it wasn’t sustainable; both she and Leo would be in Blake and Mira’s lives forever if all went well - and forever was a very long time to avoid someone. But for now she was expertly avoiding seeing him, and thinking about him, and thinking about anything at all. So it was working.

She was on her way home from work now, and Max was at her mom’s, and she was looking forward to a rare bit of quiet alone time when she got back. She had her headphones on, and her favorite Strokes album playing, and all in all it was looking like a great day. Until she saw who was sitting on the steps of her building. Her stomach dropped and she stopped in her tracks, and even though he’d seen her now, she was still thinking about turning and running away.

But, she knew, this was hard on him too. He’d brought it on himself, and on her, and on Blake, but it wasn’t as though he’d been the only one. If Ren or Blake had just been honest with each other and mentioned Leo’s name once during their friendship, all of this could have been avoided. Secrets caused this mess. Maybe talking would fix it.

Still, there was a bit of nervous anger in her voice when she finally spoke, pulling her headphones down around her neck. “What do you want, Leo?”

-

Once he saw her, he got up from his seat, keeping himself in between her and her door. “Serenity, I-” Leo began to say but was cut off by her question. He brought his palms up for a second before settling his arms back down at his sides. It was his poor attempt at showing she had nothing to be afraid of, even though him showing up in front of her home uninvited wasn’t already unnerving. “I just want to see you, to talk to you... I feel like there’s much to be said between us.” He said, his gaze never leaving her face. He missed her so much already it was ridiculous how these past several days felt longer than their decade apart. “I-I understand if you don’t want to talk to me, but I had to try one more time Ren.” Leo stepped one step closer to her but then also to the side, giving her a choice to talk to him or just close the door on it forever.

starter for: @martinanselmo​ where: martin’s casa 

Leo was intrigued by this next client, mostly because of how the arrangement came to be. It wasn’t normal to receive a call from a manager that wasn’t tied to an actor. And the ink on his paycheck had stated otherwise. He remembered the call and how he tried to argue that a speech class would probably be best. But Leo’s argument fell short when the deal of multiple sessions were brought up. He could certainly use the money. 

That’s how he ended up in front of a tall door, in front of a townhouse on the northside of Manhattan. Though Leo would debate his townhouse looked a lot better on the outside than this one did. He adjusted his leather messenger bag on his shoulder before knocking. He was perfectly on time, Washington Heights was a reasonable twenty minutes from home today. He even had time to stop for a coffee. Evident by the greek blue cup in his other hand. He looked at the still unopened door before deciding to down the last of the cup’s contents. 

nate-jones​:

In a way, Nate expected to be punched, shoved, or have soemthing else done to him. It was New York, where people were always on a high alert, and being defensive was no surprise. After all, this was on him; he was a complete stranger following someone home, it was almost as if he was begging for something to happen. To his surprise, however, the man actually seemed worried, and at his request, he nodded along, taking a deep breath- and a step back, to give the other the privacy he had been depraved of.

“Oh yeah. I probably should have called you, right?” Funnily enough, the idea of calling the man never even came to Nate’s mind. It would have been so much smarter to do that, but then again, would he have gotten anything out of it? Would he had just ended the call once he had heard that Nate had no money to pay for the classes? “Sorry about that. I just assumed it’s easier this way, you know? But now that I really think about it, this is creepy. I mean, I kind of wanted to approach you after class, rather than follow you, but-” But he was ranting once more, and, smiling sheepishly, Nate shut up, instead taking another deep breath as he held onto his backpack.

“I’m sorry.” He repeated once more, knowing that he had to start all over again, and, most likely, be really, really quick about it. How long could he keep the man waiting like that before the other lost his patience? Not that Nate expected it from him, but he simply understood; he understood how frustrating it must have been to have a complete stranger follow you like that. “I know you’re an absolutely fantastic acting coach, and I’ve been  trying to branch myself out. I’m a dancer- I’m a ballet dancer at NYCB- and I know how limited that sounds, but I’ve done a lot when it comes to different styles of dancing, and just choreography in general. I also know how to fight. But I really, really want to learn how to act, or even get some tips on how to do it, how to start.” By no means was he anywhere close to being good at that. And right now, he was struggling to even attempt to sell himself. “The thing is, I only have enough money for what’s probably one lesson, at best. But I’m willing to do whatever you need- if you need anything!“ He probably had plenty of contacts  everywhere, but it didn’t hurt to try. Probably.

-

“Yeah you should have called me,” leo couldn’t help but repeat the kid’s words like he was making a joke. it would have saved leo the surprise. he hated surprises unless he was the one to cause them. he listened to the kid’s explanation and apology once more. though leo waved off the apology, he wanted him to get to the point. leo’s eyes squinted and his brows moved up and down as he took the guy’s verbal resume that was tumbling onto to leo’s ears. he blinked when the boy was finished and lips pursed wondering how he could even respond to all of that.

“A ballet dancer?” Leo sized him up, not hiding it in his eyes that he was surprised. “Look, kid, charity work is probably good and all, but I don’t have time for it.” He said, a reflex reaction to being asked to do something for free. Though Leo had been on the other side many of times. He still wasn’t completely sure if he should help the boy out. Leo continued to look at him, still evaluating everything he had learned from other’s ranting. But if he had the dedication to be a ballet dancer in New York and be able to make it into the NYCB... Leo could practically taste the potential. and passion was easy to see in the kid’s kind eyes. Plus having someone owing you a favor in the city was always a good thing to possess. 

“Tell you what, kid, you pay for the first lesson, and I’ll decide if you even have the chops to continue trying to act. If you do, then I’m sure we could figure out something out.” He said and with an open palm patted the kid on the back once. “Just do not ever follow me, again.” He glared down his nose as a warning, but in the same instance took out his wallet. Leo plucked a business card from one of the slits and offered it to the boy. “These are my contacts, use them.” He said, amused with himself. “Now do you have a name, sport?”

blakemadden​:

Blake couldn’t help but swallow hard again, little did the man in front of her know just how frightening the circumstances were for him but instead she’d chosen to lull him into a false sense of security just for the chance to fend off his anger a little longer. She knew Leo had a temper, he was fiery which was ironic since that was one of the things that made him so hot sometimes, but it was also genuinely scary in others. Like the one just moments ago she seemed to have conveniently forgotten with every passing second because the way he was looking at her made the girl feel like she was the most important person in the world. The power he had over her, was significant. “Well, i wasn’t stupid enough to think you’d want to carry on sleeping with me if i told you i was pregnant.” That was…a white lie because she had thought that, but it had been overpowered by the knowledge he was the father and the need to hide that from him. He had a wife for gods sake, the whole thing was madness.

Her eyes locked with his as he spoke about how she was the one who had ended things somehow managed to tug on her heartstrings, her thumb brushing gently across his shoulder. She’d pulled away from him this was true, but for a very valid reason. Not that Leo was about to find out. Still his mention of not trying anything made her knees feel weak because the implication was that he’d otherwise be willing to do so. Actively wanting to do so. And god she had missed the way he used to touch her. “You can try something…if you want…” The words came out in a small whisper, only loud enough for him to hear, eyes still trained on his lips.

“But don’t you want sex more when you’re pregnant?” He questioned, the first question his mind went to. Sex, another addiction that he clutched onto just like he did the bottle. But her decision was more than reasonable. He became stoic for a moment, giving it actual thought. Would he continue to sleep with Blake while she was growing another man’s baby? His eyes skimmed over her now, taking in the effects that pregnancy had on her body besides her showing belly. What he found was that Blake was still Blake, still mesmerizing, but most importantly her assets were fuller and rounder. He could only imagine just how her body looked like now. And something primal in him caused his nostrils to flare with his next breath.

“If I want?” he questioned, confirming the transfer of power she had handed to him so easily. His eyes had continually watched hers so it wasn’t at all hard to notice that her gaze was so prominently on his mouth. He parted his lips to not say a word but to let his tongue swipe his bottom lip as if to regain moisture to the flesh. But he knew what he was doing. It was always so simple to be a charming Casanova when he became sexually awakened like this. He moved carefully and closely to her to make sure only she heard his next words. “I’ll always want to… but I won’t until you beg me.”