#threads; with rhett; alan's dreamhouse

[letsbenditlikebennett]

TIMING: Back when Alex&Cass were still living their mushroom ring high. PARTIES: @alan-duarte @magmahearts @ironcladrhett & @letsbenditlikebennett SUMMARY: After seeing the Barbie movie, Cass and Alex are feeling especially chaotic and decide to steal some dye and pool noodles to turn Alan's pool into a Barbie dream. They don't realize they're interrupting an Alan and Rhett spending an evening together.

Movie theaters weren’t really an experience that Alex had thought much about missing out on. Sure, she’d heard classmates talk about hitting up the movies on weekends, but the invitations rarely extended to her and she hadn’t really minded. She liked her books and her garden and her long walks through the forest anyway. However, experiencing it with Cass turned it into something else. They’d both worn pink in honor of the Barbie movie and the whole experience had an air of magic to it. From getting photos in the giant Barbie box to playing a couple of the arcade games and holding Cass’s hand in the dark theater as the movie played, it had all felt electric. It had her buzzing long after the credits stopped rolling and maybe that was part of how they’d found themselves with an assortment of pink pool noodles, pink pool dye, and pink pool floaties jumping the fence to Alan’s pool. 

Alex listened carefully as they crossed his property line. She knew if he was home, they’d have to be especially quiet. Sure, she probably could have asked Alan, but then she risked hearing the answer no and trespassing was more fun anyway. She knew Cass would agree on that one. She set the bags down on the ground and offered her hand to Cass to help her down into the yard. “I don’t hear him in there,” she whispered, “So I think we’re good, but should still be quiet anyway.”

Sneaking was part of the fun. They picked up the bags and Alex led them to the pool hand in hand. It was a nice set up, not that she expected anything less from Alan. She wondered if he ever really had people over back here. She knew the wet dog wasn’t exactly the best for a pool party and she had warned Cass about it, but it seemed to be just another thing that the oread was readily able to accept about her. “You wanna get the dye in and I’ll get a couple of these floaties blown up,” she asked, “And then… pool party if you’re still sure the wet dog smell isn’t gonna ruin the mood.” 

—

There was something about seeing a good movie that always made Cass feel like she’d caught fire. It was part of what had drawn her to humanity to begin with, part of what made her reject the notion that humans were bad or scary or inherently wrong. No one who was all bad could make media that captured her so thoroughly. She’d thought, for a long time, that there was no better feeling than sitting in the theater as those credits began to roll and experiencing the euphoria of existing in a space where all you were supposed to do was be. 

And then she’d experienced doing all of it with a pretty girl holding her hand and, well, she figured out she’d been wrong. There was something that could make it better. Who knew, right?

This, too, added to the excitement. The mischief of it, the quiet thrill. When they’d seen the pink pool dye on the shelf at the supermarket, the answer as to what they were going to do next had been obvious. Alex knew a guy with a pool, Cass could carry a whole lot of noodles, and some plans formed themselves without much prompting. 

“No worries,” she whispered, “I can be quiet. And the wet dog thing won’t bother me at all. I can make the water a little warmer for us, too, if you want.” She wasn’t gonna, like, dump magma in Alex’s friend’s pool or anything, but what if the water was cold at night? Cass didn’t like the cold, didn’t do particularly well in it. “But we should prooobably stay in the shallow end. I sink.” She grinned, shooting her friend a wink as they approached the pool. 

Standing on the side, she pulled open the first pack of pool dye. They’d “bought” a few, unsure how many it would take to actually do the deed. “Do you think I just…?” Rather than finishing the thought, she turned the package upside down over the water and began slowly walking around the pool, letting the dye spill out. “Oh, wow, it works fast.”

—

There was a certain music to the whispered words. Maybe it was just that Alex enjoyed them more than any song she’d ever heard. The quiet laughter, the soft hum of the nighttime breeze, their hearts both pounding with excitement— it was all a perfect soundtrack for a perfect night. Somehow Cass had a way of making everything feel like an adventure. Given their outings usually involved some degree of crime, not that breaking into Alan’s backyard was that crazy of a shenanigan. She doubted the elder werewolf would call the cops on her. Werewolf in jail was simply not the vibe. Plus, even if she hadn’t found Alan’s annoyed face funny, the gleeful look on Cass’s face would have been more than enough to make the minor infarction worth it. 

“Good,” she laughed quietly, “Really living up to your role as the hot one here. That’d be awesome though. It’s a little chilly out.” There was a small smirk that she directed at Cass as she got to work on the two coolest floaties– the unicorn and the pink corvette. They had to keep with the Barbie theme and keep some of that movie magic alive and all. “Without the boots, the shallow end is the deep end for me, so sounds like a plan,” she blushed. Something about the wink made it hard to fight the flush from making her cheeks as pink as Alan’s pool was quickly turning. 

“Damn,” she mused, “Couldn’t even answer, but I think you got it more than covered.” She got the remaining floatie blown up and tossed it in the pool alongside some of the pool noodles. She began to kick off her boots and made her way towards the steps, holding her hand out to take Cass’s in her own. “Come on, Barbie,” she whispered playfully, “Let’s go party.” 

—

The blush that flooded her face at Alex’s compliment was more of the orangish glow of magma than the pinkish flush that humans tended to grapple with, but Cass didn’t bother forcing her glamour to work overtime to hide it. She had no reason to. Alex was one of the few people who’d seen her in both her forms and liked them both. She didn’t scoff at her use of a glamour the way some fae did, didn’t flinch at the fiery nature of her true form the way humans tended to do. Alex liked her for her. Both ways. 

So she let her cheeks grow orange, let her smile widen. Here was someone, she thought, who wouldn’t leave her. Here was someone who didn’t even want to. “I can definitely fix that,” she said quietly, returning Alex’s smirk with one of her own. And then Alex was blushing, too, and there was a thrill of excitement at the fact that Cass had made it happen. The idea that she could make someone happy, make them feel good… It was all kinds of exciting.

Alex made quick work of the floaties, and Cass made quick work of the dye. She might have used… a little too much, given the way it seemed to be staining the edge of the liner, but it was fine. The pool was better pink, anyway; why would whoever lived here ever want it to be anything else. Kicking off her shoes, she took Alex’s hand with a grin. “Ready, Barbie?”

—

The pool was bright, Barbie pink and the stars reflecting in it gave it an almost sparkling appearance. Paired with the feeling of a warm and now familiar hand in her own, Alex noted that somehow again they gave their adventures an air of movie magic. Even something like a silly prank could feel bigger when she was with Cass and she found she never wanted to lose that feeling. The happiness and hopefulness of it all didn’t scare her like it normally would. Cass already knew she was a monster and wanted to be here with her anyway. It was hard to feel anything but lucky as she led Cass into the pink pool that the oread was quick to warm. 

“Ready, Barbie,” she joked as they submerged themselves in the water, “The water’s perfect.” It was probably staining her skin as she spoke, but it was hard to care when it was yet another opportunity to be close to Cass. The rockiness in Cass’s true form was apparent as the hand in hers grounded her. She was able to pull herself closer to Cass while floating just above the floor of the shallow end and she placed her other hand on Cass’s cheek. Even with her glamour, Cass had a certain glow that was hard to look away from, hard to pull away from. It was warm in a way that Alex felt like she could wrap herself in it and shield them both from all the cold in the world. Maybe that was a little unnerving, but Cass liked her too and she did say she’d do something about it. 

“You’re the most amazing person I know,” Alex whispered, “You make everything feel like an adventure and I feel really lucky that I get to know you.” She watched Cass’s face, her eyes lingering on the oread’s lips and how they seemed to have a magnetic pull on her. Even if kissing Cass wasn’t the plan, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to convince herself of doing anything else. She felt so warm, so seen, and there was no putting that into words. So she leaned in, prepared to take the metaphorical leap, and her lips were barely a breath away from Cass’s when the backdoor opened. “Damn it,” she breathed, certain that Cass would be able to feel the words before Alex stood taller to look over the edge of the pool. “It’s just me, Al,” she called out. 

—

“Anyhow, if you’re interested, I could probably-” He cut himself off. Why was he hearing noise coming from the garden? That was something that made him want to leave to the countryside. His ears picked up on every single little noise, and while that made for certainly embarrassing discoveries regarding his neighbors, Alan frankly could have done without it. “Excuse me, just going to check on…” His voice trailed off as he walked down the corridor that led to the back of the house and into the garden. 

Through the large bay windows, he first caught sight of the atrocities that had been committed against his carefully curated garden. “What the fuck,” the words, above a breath, were spoken as quietly as they were coated with disgust. He repeated them once again, this time lacing each word with disbelief. What happened? Why was his pool such a fucking mess? 

Exiting through the back door in a pale pink linen suit, the werewolf walked barefoot onto his wooden deck, locking his angered gaze onto Alex. “What the,” don’t swear in front of kids. Pause. Breathe. It’s just a child. “What did you do to my pool?” His jaw clenched as he caught sight of the tainted liner. Motherfucker. “We’re going to have to fix this.” 

—

The water rushed up to meet her, pink and sparkling and perfect, and Cass let out a squeal of delight as she was submerged. All the while, she gripped Alex’s hand in hers. Unable to float, she balanced on the tips of her toes to keep her head fully above water and give Alex something to grip as an anchor as she bobbed. The water was warm and everything felt perfect. More so when Alex’s hand brushed her cheek, making her feel warm and safe and wanted. 

Alex was speaking softly, saying things Cass had wanted to hear all her life. Their faces drew closer and closer together, until she could feel the warmth of Alex’s skin being drawn in by her own fire. Were her skin more sensitive, less rocky, she thought she probably would have been able to feel Alex’s breath against it but for once, she couldn’t bring herself to yearn for things she couldn’t have. What she did have was pretty great, in this moment. There was nothing but air between them not, and Cass smiled as Alex moved to close the rest of that distance, her eyes fluttering shut in anticipation…

…Only to snap open again when the door slammed open.

Cass squeaked comically, pulling away from Alex with a deep blush washing over her features. She turned towards the house to see some old guy standing there, looking… Well, not thrilled. Which was stupid, because they’d made his pool, like, a billion times better. He should really be reimbursing them for all the money they would have spent on that pool dye if they hadn’t stolen it. It was, like, thirty bucks a box!

Having recovered from the initial shock of unexpected company at the worst moment, Cass offered the stranger — Al? — her best smile. She’d perfected it, really. When you were a pickpocket who couldn’t lie your way out of situations, you kind of had to make due with what you had. “We turned your pool pink,” she told him, “in honor of our Lord and Savior, Margot Robbie. Um, I don’t really want you to swim with us right now, but you can keep the floats when we leave. Right, Alex?”

—

The sudden distance between her and Cass made the werewolf pout. Could Alan have not waited like two more minutes to walk out and have a freak out over his swimming pool being pink? He just had to choose the moment that Alex finally mustered the courage to finally kiss the girl she was decidedly crazy about. There was something in his frustration and Cass’s joke that made her giggle despite herself which she was sure would only piss the older werewolf off more. 

“The pink will fade, Olaplex,” Alex joked as she rested her elbows over the edge of the pool, “Chlorine in the pool water is supposed to kill it within a few hours, so embrace your Barbie dreams for the next… however many hours?” She feigned innocence with a tilted head even though she could tell it was starting to stain a little, but surely Alan had a pool person who he paid to keep his pool looking spick and span. 

If she wasn’t running on a little bit of a high and inclined to do whatever Cass wanted, Alex probably would have been a little bit more apologetic. Alan had been good to her and well, she cared about the guy more than she cared to admit. But right now was about fulfilling their Barbie dreams. “We’ll be out soon so you can enjoy it before it’s back to being… the just Ken of pools.” 

—

The pie was good. Not that Rhett had had doubts, not exactly—Alan didn’t really strike him as the baking type, but he also didn’t strike him as a liar, so… he knew there would be a pie, he just didn’t know how fuckin’ delicious it was gonna turn out. And it had been a while since the warden had had a good, proper dessert, so he made sure to sing the realtor’s praises.

Post-pie came the tour (didn’t want to leave a trail of crust crumbs, after all), and the showing-off of the dioramas the man so affectionately curated. What a bizarre hobby, Rhett thought. There were stranger ones, sure—like that warden that collected fae wings—and this one was harmless in the grand scheme of things, but it was… unexpected. Curious how Alan continued to be full of surprises. 

They were good, though. Extremely charming, which was not an emotion the hunter felt often. So he was enjoying it, exploring the miniaturized scenes with his eyes, until something drew Alan’s attention away from what he was explaining. With a raised brow, Rhett straightened up and watched him go, following after a beat, hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans. As he came upon the bay windows that revealed the scene outside, he laughed. 

“Oi, mate, why’s yer pool look like pepto bismol?” he questioned, deeply amused. There were two girls in the water that Alan was talking to now, and Rhett sidled up beside him, looking pleased with the situation. “No, no, I think he oughtta keep it pink. Matches yer suit!”

—

"You get out of there. Hurry up." Alan didn't care if they came to take a midnight bath in his swimming pool. If he had known, he would have pretended not to see anything, and he would probably have deserted the house for a while. He liked to go for a walk on the waterfront. Admittedly, the smells coming from the mines didn't make you want to stay outside forever, but he had always enjoyed being outside, even if it didn't seem like it. He loved camping. Proper camping, not that glamping bullshit.

Maybe it was being raised the hard way. Although his parents were much kinder these days, indulgence had not been their forte when he was young, and since he was the eldest and the example to follow for his brothers and sisters, one could not say that he had ever been given time to rest during his childhood. Up until highschool, they had kept him on a tight leash. Good luck doing that to the monster that rested within him now, he bitterly thought. 

Either way, those camping trips with his parents had been one of those few times when he could relax and sit back a little, and he felt a true connection to the activity. “Now,” his voice quivered, hesitant. He didn’t mind them being here, but he didn’t want them here either. They didn’t ask, they didn’t say they’d be here, and the intrusion was too much. “Alex, please, can you and your -” He cut himself off. Rhett had joined them outside and was having a great time. That made him the sour minority. “It matches my suit,” he rubbed his face. “Rhett, that’s not helpful.”

—

Alex’s ‘guy who owned a pool’ seemed pretty mad about the whole ‘pink’ thing. Which was stupid, because the pool was better now. Blue was boring and ordinary and stupid, but pink was hot. Literally. That was why they called it ‘hot pink.’ Another guy joined the first, looking like a punk rock Santa Claus with the beard and the outfit, and Cass’s eyebrows shot up. She looked over to Alex, tilting her head with a smirk as if to ask do you think we interrupted an old man date? 

In any case, Punk Rock Santa seemed like a lot more fun than Al. While Al was yelling at them to get out of the pool, the other guy — Rhett, apparently? — seemed like he was in on the joke. Cass smiled brightly, wading over to the edge of the pool. Rather than climb out, she cupped her hands together and shoved some of the pink water out, in Al’s direction, laughing as she did so. 

“Come on, mate,” she said, glancing over to Rhett with another bright grin as if they were both in on the same great joke now. “Don’t ruin the party! We’re not gonna mess up your boring pool!”

—

Somehow, the night just kept getting better. At first, Alex had been a little bit disappointed when Alan had come out of the house, even if he was perfectly on theme in his pink linen. He was all concerned about his pool which seemed kind of dramatic. Even if the dye wasn’t temporary, the guy was like crazy rich. It wasn’t like it’d be a problem to fix either way. 

But then there was another old guy walking out and Alex felt practically giddy. Was Alan on a date, too? If so, this guy seemed cool and totally liked their joke. Even pointed out how Alan matched his pool now, which was totally a fashion choice, she was sure of it. Still, if this was a date, she could at least listen and get out of the pool. She was pretty sure the moment with Cass was ruined anyway. “Fine,” she said with a dramatic eye roll, “But he is right, you know, it goes perfectly with your outfit. You could be in here with us living your best Barbie life.” 

As she moved to get out, Cass was splashing Alan and despite the fact she tried to stifle her laughter, a few giggles still escaped as she stepped out of the pool. Alex tried to direct them at the ground to be a little less blatantly a menace in front of Alan’s date, but she knew Alan would still hear them loud and clear. “You don’t have to worry about the pool though. Will be gone in a few hours,” she assured, “So enjoy your being on theme while you can.” 

Well, it was a weak attempt at assuring Alan, but she knew Cass would be amused which seemed like priority one as of late. “She’s my date,” she smirked, “You can say date. Because clearly we all have the same idea about what night of the week is date night.” She stood near the edge of the pool and extended a hand toward Cass. “Come on, Cass,” she motioned hoping the oread would take her hand, “I know his pool’s nice, but the guy’s not Jeff Bezos. And I actually kind of like him or something, so we can let him enjoy his Barbie moment before the magic fades.” 

—

“It’s so helpful!” Rhett argued with a grin, giving Alan a pat on the back before approaching the poolside. That was when he actually noticed it—it’d been quiet to start, probably on account of him being distracted by… well, by the situation, but it was clear as day now. 

He looked to the one called Cass and his eyes narrowed imperceptibly. That frantic, uncomfortable energy that buzzed through his head and chest like table saws peaked as his gaze fell on her, and a fist clenched at his side. The urge to grab her and drag her from the pool was instinctual, and he had to fight back against it hard. Not here. Not now. 

Their eyes met as she splashed some water toward Alan and plucked a word from what he’d said a moment ago, the grin on her face doing little to make him reconsider the knowledge of what needed to be done. Still, he could fake amiability. It was a practiced talent, even if a bit rusty. 

The suggestion that this, Rhett being at the realtor’s house to look at his dioramas and eat pie, was a date, didn’t seem to faze him in the slightest. He at least let his attention pull away from the nymph to jump to the one speaking, Alex, and then back to Alan. He gave a shrug as if to say Well, she’s kinda right and even managed to put on a smirk in spite of the hornet’s nest that sat behind those big, brown eyes. 

—

“Unbelievable. Look at the state of the liner. Do you know how much it’ll cost to replace?” Shooting a glare at Rhett who decidedly was proving to be unhelpful, Alan approached the pool’s side, which really was his mistake, considering how irresponsible the two young ladies were. Who, in their right mind, would break into someone’s property, vandalize it, and then have the nerve to complain when the owner called them out on it ? Well, apparently, the same people who were willing to stain his suit too. 

Eyes round like saucers, Alan’s attention went from Alex, to her annoying date, then back to Rhett, looking at him as if to apologize for this nonsense. But he seemed to be having a great time, and that left the werewolf with no other choice than to take a step back and contemplate his loneliness. A crestfallen air on his face, he sat on the end of one of his deck lounging chairs. He wouldn’t argue with teenagers. Come morning, he’d have a conversation with Alex’s cousins. Crossing his arms to hug himself, he looked blankly at the menacingly pink tint of the pool water, jarring and not looking any bit temporary to his eyes. 

“You could have asked,” he wouldn’t have said yes to this disaster, obviously, but the benign, very temporary (he tried to remind himself) loss of control left him with a bitter taste in his mouth. Alan didn’t seem like it, perhaps because he always seemed like he had everything in order, but specks of dust in the machine was all it took for him to lose his footing. And that was why he made sure to get rid of any chance of dust, any source of it, anything. He didn’t expect Alex would take such a liking in his company, or grow to trust him like that. Maybe that was what really unsettled him : not the intrusion, but the realization that he was still capable of drawing connections with people. 

—

Cass took no notice of Rhett’s reaction to her. His outward reaction was so minimal, and the events unfolding around it were so much more distracting. Alex was calling her her date, and her heart picked up a tick as it soared in her chest, excitement swirling around it. Alan was talking about his pool liner, and it shouldn’t have been funny but it was anyway. It was hard for anything to harsh her vibe when, even as she climbed out of the pool, she felt as if she was floating. 

At least, until Alan seemed to deflate. Guilt gnawed at her, the expression flickering briefly across her face. She shouldn’t have splashed him, she realized; it was clear that he wasn’t having fun, and when someone wasn’t having fun and you laughed anyway, it was less ‘laughing with’ and more ‘laughing at.’ And Cass had never wanted to be the sort of person who laughed at someone. She never really had been before, either. Things had been so… strangely muddled lately, like murky water rising in her chest. It had her doing things she wouldn’t normally do and saying things she wouldn’t normally say.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, looking down at her feet. “We thought you’d like it.” Her stomach clenched at the lie, and she grit her teeth around the pain of it. It wasn’t a huge lie, so the pain wasn’t overwhelming; they hadn’t thought he’d like it, but they hadn’t really thought he’d hate it, either. Cass couldn’t speak for Alex, of course, but for her… she hadn’t really thought of the owner of the pool at all. Her mind hadn’t gone any farther than the girl whose hand was in hers. “Maybe you and your boyfriend can still enjoy it, though? It really is nice once you’re in there. It’s cool. Do you have goggles? I bet it’d look cool to look around underwater with goggles.” 

—

There was something in the way that Alan seemed to grow a bit smaller that made her almost wish for the sharp anger she was used to from her own father. At least then, it was Alex who was chipped away at and that was how it was supposed to be. It seemed Cass picked up on the shift in his mood too and her apology only further made Alex want to help brighten the older werewolf’s mood. She walked toward him and hesitantly patted his arm with an apologetic look. “You don’t have to pay someone,” she offered quietly, “I can come by tomorrow and clean it if it leaves a stain.” 

Not that the guy didn’t have the money to get it cleaned professionally if it was needed, but Alex felt bad. The anger seemed to dissipate into something more… crestfallen. Which wasn’t fun. It was fun when Alan was annoyed, but this wasn’t that and it never really occurred to her that the man could have such a blank look in his eyes. He was always so put together like a camera could pop out any moment to get a new business card photo or something, but this? It felt all too familiar to expressions she tried to hide and they didn’t fit Alan. “I’m sorry, too,” she said, “I thought it’d be more annoying haha than… Well, I don’t know. I don’t think I was thinking that much.” 

The goggles idea was fun and Alex wondered why they hadn’t stolen those from the store, too. It probably looked super cool in the pink water and at least if she had that to offer, maybe Alan could at least try to enjoy it. Or not. If his date didn’t know about the werewolf thing, the wet dog smell could be off-putting. She’d really lucked out with Cass in that department and instinctively, her hand found Cass’s again. “Goggles are a good idea,” she agreed, “But enjoy your date, I’m sorry. Chlorine should kill off the pink before the morning. I’ll come by and clean anything remaining? I can bring breakfast, too. Don’t worry, it won’t be cooked by me– my cousin or A Latte to Love do all my cooked breakfast items.” 

—

It was a little sad, seeing the normally cocky (or surprisingly helpful) man look so defeated. Though Rhett’s thoughts wanted to turn to one thing and one thing alone, he knew that there was no way he’d be getting to that fae kid tonight. But he knew people who knew it, and could follow up at a less conspicuous time. So, the warden put a padlock on that particular door for now, letting the shitstorm brew somewhere where it couldn’t be seen. 

Boyfriend. Hah. “Ah… c’mon, Al. It ain’t that bad,” Rhett offered, already kicking off his boots and rolling up the legs of his jeans. “They’re sorry, aye? Won’t happen again. Coulda picked a worse color, anyway… imagine green. Or brown.” Pulling a face at the two young women, focusing his gaze on Alex rather than Cass, he did his best to be agreeable. “N’ look, they was in it, n’ they ain’t pink. Yer liner’s gonna be fine.” He parked his butt poolside, dipping his shins into the brightly colored water and smirking down at the sight of it. Leaning back on his hands, he motioned for Alan to come over where he was with a jerk of his head. “Don’t fret ‘bout the shit ya can’t control, mate. Ain’t nothin’ to do ‘bout it but enjoy it.”

—

Rubbing at his face, the older werewolf’s gaze fell to a point in the distance. He knew that whatever he would say wouldn’t be kind and that’s why he chose silence. For better or worse, his days of being bound to kindness had made him reassess his preferred ways of dealing with others. There would still be folks that would prefer his old fashioned way of making conversation, defensive and aggressive at once, but no one, who wasn’t asking for it, deserved his rage pouring out on them. 

And now he sat on the edge of the pool alongside Rhett, who tried his best, just like Alex and her friend, to assure him that it would be okay, or tried to have him see the silverlining in the upsetting situation.

He took a breath. Maybe he just had to accept that not everything in his life could be under his control. Considering all the shit he had gone through, he should have realized by now that all you could ever do was just that : go with the flow and accept things the way they came your way. He'd probably have been a lot less exhausted if he just let things happen, yes.

With a sigh, the werewolf looked over at the two girls, offering them with a reassuring smile. All in all, this was hardly the worst thing they would have done. "You two enjoy the rest of your night, and try to stay safe," with a knowing look, he crossed his legs against the tiles, leaning onto his hands. "Breakfast sounds good Alex. I'll see you tomorrow morning," if you could tell from his tone that he hadn't fully recovered from the bad surprise, at least, for now, most of his distress seemed to have quieted down and he allowed himself to glance over at Rhett, who hadn't say much on the date or boyfriend comments, and who probably was gloating about the realtor's embarrassment. "Don't. Not a damn word."

—

For a moment, Cass was afraid that they’d really messed up. Alex’s friend was mad, and what if that made Alex mad at her? What if the whole ordeal turned Alex off of whatever it was that was building between the two of them? Cass’s heart picked up pace at the idea, fear taking her by the throat in a strangling grip. But the combination of Alex and Alan’s bearded friend seemed to work wonders in calming him down, and after a moment, he relaxed a little. Cass offered him an apologetic smile, trying to push down the leftover anxiety.

“We will,” she replied, looking over to Alex with a small smile. It was kind of hard not to enjoy a night she got to spend with Alex. “You guys have a nice night, too. Um, have fun doing… whatever you were doing?” Better not to think about what the details of that had probably been. “And we’ll clean up when we go!”

—

There was something in Alan's voice that still didn't sound quite right to her. It seemed to be a lot deeper than a pink swimming pool. Alex knew it had to be bigger than a pink swimming pool. As much as he kept both his home and office looking almost coldly pristine, it was still just a pool and couldbe fixed. There was this underlying feeling that ther ewas something bigger that she couldn't quite understand, but she found the older werewolf surprised her in a lot of ways.

”See you tomorrow,“ Alex murmured, ”And please try to enjoy the rest of your night. That pink linen suit is way too slay to have anything but fun in.” 

She offered Alan and Rhett an awkward wave before turning back to Cass to grab the oread's hand. Her gaze fell to the pink pool that she had thought looked so amazing at first and found herself hoping the color faded quickly. They could at least gather all the pool noodles for now so that it looked less like soup. “Come on,” she reassured, “We'll collect the noodles for now and I'll come back in the morning to make sure all the pink gets out... what do say we go try to find some lava cakes or something?” 

#wr alan #wr rhett #wr cass #wickedswriting #threads; with cass #threads; with alan #threads; with rhett #threads; with cass; alan's dreamhouse #threads; with alan; alan's dreamhouse #threads; with rhett; alan's dreamhouse #(never been a natural all i do is try try try) ;; writing #(the moonlight's blinding) ;; season 1 writing