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River sucks in a heavy breath, feeling the elevator vibrate around him with a gentle, but nauseating rumble. It resonates through his body, shackling him to a shallow feeling of inhibition manifested by his nerves. He closes his eyes for a second, then opens them and straightens his tie. His eyes settle on the numbers dialling up, barely able to contain himself because of his growing angst.
Finally, the elevator rumbles to a stop, dinging once before opening to a pristine hubbub. Before him, a large, spacey podium hovers above a bullpen of sorts. Sixteen cubicles open up, with professionally dressed people, all within their own charm. River steps from the elevator, poised, dressed to impress with a woeful glance and a brain overwrought with tremulous thoughts.
-The second River steps into Le Jardin, he knew his eyes would bulge at the bill after having had lunch. Consequently, he'd begun making enough money to afford it, but he still wanted to favour his budget and all the other things that made him himself. Splurging was not his style, but he figured one day couldn't hurt."Good afternoon, sir. Do you have a reservation or are you with a group?" The burly, much older male host asks as he walks through the restaurant's entrance."Group. The name would be under Grace Keller?" He smiles, then fixes his jacket.
- - One Week Later - "There he is," Marcus pushes into River's apartment, and swaying two bags on each hand. "Here I am." River says, lacking enthusiasm, but Marcus notices and pouts immediately. "Sumu Chos?" River gestures to the familiar logo, the chimes words for fast food printed on it. "Chinese Food and beer," Marcus grins proudly. "You are heaven sent. I really do need some comfort food." "Someone doesn't seem too happy with being the most famous charity chairman around town." Marcus raises an eyebrow and River sighs. "I'm sorry," he excuses, taking the bag of beer by the bottom
-- One Day Later -"He was named a hero after saving the entire village, from the wretched hands of the evil nyxian queen. A rebel amongst his friends," Sebastian's voice trails off he he looks over the edge of the storybook to see Cairo dozing off, along with Caleb having already fallen asleep earlier. "... by a true prince that made his father proud." He whispers, reaching down to kiss the boy atop his head of golden curls.Sebastian smiles, stroking the boy's face once before gently and silently rising to stand. He goes over to the other side of the room, to kiss Caleb as well, then slinks from the room quietly. He soon enters the living room of his penthouse, where Blanca Reeves, a young, caucasian girl, who buries herself into homework."Thanks for coming tonight. I know you had to study for your f
-River enters the apartment, hearing the city continuing its noises below. He presses his back against the door, his face contorting with emotions as tears stream from his eyes. With a quiet cry, River sinks to the floor, and lets his tears loose. Deciding it was best to let it all out, purge his system of whatever inhibitions he withheld.Seeing James's face and clearing things up was all he needed. He hadn't realized until leaving the venue, but it was a revelation that caused hurt and reminded him of the trauma. River wanted to hate James, but he'd been left with hating the situation, the cause behind their split. Closure was paramount in moving on, but he had no clue it would leave him in anguish as much as it did in the moment. He could only hope that things would get better, that he would recover after mulling over it long enough. So he lets himself go, and lets it hurt him just like it
-A knock at River's office door pulls his attention to it. Beyond stands Anthony, who offers a small smile and wave, but River doesn't hesitate to beckon him inside the office. The man then opens the door, and steps inside, carrying with him a familiar air of confidence. Though, it was doused in guilt and shame that River couldn't notice with the naked eye."Don't throw me out before I can apologize." Anthony pleads, silently waving the white flag. River smiles then nods. "How are you, Anthony?""G-good." The man expresses, then awkwardly grins. "How about yourself?""Taking it a day at a time," River shrugs flippantly, as he stacks files on top of files. "Will you be attending the lau
-- A Month Later -"Take it from me, they'll be eating out of Charles' hands." River raises his glass at Sebastian.They sit before the view of Manhattan on colorful pillows, legs crossed, enjoying a game of chess with wine involved. They'd met many nights like this in the past few weeks. Stealing whatever time they could, to be alone before other responsibilities needed their attention, which was quite frequent."He already pitched the proposal to the board. Now he just has to do that with shareholders, investors, everybody involved in the Merit Global operations." Sebastian makes his move, though absentmindedly."Wasn't the merge final a couple months ago?" River chances a look in Sebastian's direction.
-From the air, a black helicopter descends, lowering to the landing spot behind a vast villa, designed like a modern mansion. Twenty or more small towers form a protective barrier all around the villa, connected by enormous, thick walls made of brick and concrete."It's even big in the sky," Cairo beams scanning the place's entirety and ornate windows scattered around the walls in a symmetric way."Still looks like a good way to get lost," ever the skeptic, Caleb adds with a bored voice.Like the two boys with their heads pressed up to the window, River watches in awe. He shakes out of it when the landing gear hits the pad, and Sebastian steadies his shoulders."It has a pool," Cairo shrugs and Caleb's face perks up. "We've never had a pool." 
-"Any calls, Ansen?" Sebastian asks as the eccentric man approaches him at the entrance of his office."A lot, sir," Ansen announces nervously and Sebastian nods, but follows up with a flippant shrug. "There was a call from Patrick Salazar from Akel Media." Ansen informs Sebastian who shakes his head in aggravation. "I told him if he wanted a story, he should either get his ass down here, or publish some slander on his blog like he usually does." Ansen finishes and Sebastian's eyes narrow making him fidget in agitation."Get me a list of the contacts for the Merit Global Board." Sebastian demands and Ansen nods compliantly."I'm on it.""Good Job, Ansen," Sebastian pats Ansen, who jumps
- "I've been lying to you this whole time, and you don't deserve this, you deserve better than me-," he stops when Sebastian closes the distance. "You don't get to tell me what I deserve, because I want you, and you sure as hell don't deserve a mess like me, but I'm not willing to throw away something like this because of my insecurities." He finishes with a firm shake of his head. "But-, but you're-," River sighs, shaking his head in vehemence. "I wasn't sure I was pregnant until last week, the day we went to that restaurant with the boys." He admits. "They said it could be a mis-fire, but Dr. Abrams confirmed it when he called." "Well, I couldn't be happier." Sebastian grins, gently shaking River's shoulders with his rough, but calming hands.
-As River awakes, the sounds of a new day invites him into a feeling of solace and warmth, but it doesn't last long. The sudden feeling of sadness washes over him, yet he manages to get out of bed and to the coffee machine. Though, as he goes to pour a cup, the doorbell rings.River clutches the coffee pot with a frown, considering pouring it out and taking a sip before answering the door. His face then falls as he remembers his predicament."Oh, yeah." He shakes his head. "I can't have coffee."He places the pot down and walks out of the kitchen, then into the living room from the hallway. Learning his lesson from too many unexpected pop-ups, River pauses before opening the door."Who
-Minutes into the discussion end of the meeting, River has everyone eating out of his hands. Many were still skeptic, but all he could do was designate his point of view and give them a clear and concise view into a possible future."Merit Global's revenue is at an all time high, Mr. Kennedi, so we're hoping to see triple that if and when we agree." Julian Marx chimes in, and River faces him. "We however believe, that this merge is a tactic to remove the competition, by taking it over." He narrows his gaze at River."I respect that as your take on this, but I must inform you that Merit Global is a complementary corporation to Black Co.," River begins and Jason scoffs loudly, but Julian stops him with a hand on his shoulder. "However, I reviewed the balance sheets, and I've discovered a few discrepancies that could harm this
-River's eyes fly open, startled awake by the loud ringing of his cellphone. He quickly shuffles to sit upright, grabbing the gadget from the bedside table to answer."Yes, h-hello?" His voice cracks,"Mr. Kennedi, thank heavens you're awake! I've been trying to call Sebastian all morning, but he won't answer." Grace informs River, who is still half asleep and groggy.After his confrontation with Sebastian, River retired to his room to avoid the face-to-face with the man. He had busied himself with the Merit Global merger files, in hopes of distracting himself. Fortunately it had worked, and River fell asleep after preparing his own presentation since Charles didn't show up, nor did he hear anything else about the man returning. He didn't see nor hear a peep from Sebastian since their last conversation.
-- Earlier -The second River enters the bathroom, he crouches over the toilet, spewing out the bitter, acrid liquid from his mouth. He wretches, coughing and sputtering, whilst trying to remain quiet. More vomit comes up, burning his throat as it comes up to fill his mouth. River opens his mouth, choking as his gag reflexes react to the acid in his throat.He could hear Sebastian on the phone, but the man's voice grows louder minutes later. Luckily, River had dealt with his vomiting and was seated beside the toilet- gathering his strength."River?" Sebastian's voice startles him from the other side of the door. "Are you ok?"River straightens up and wipes at his lips desperately. "I'm
-As tensions rise in the room, Sebastian steps forward. "Hold on, Charles. That is completely absurd." He assures the man."I don't know what you're talking about, but if this was in any way my fault I apologize and I assure you, it wasn't intentional." River interjects, staring at Charles who scoffs and turns to face Sebastian."Oh, cut the horseshit, you've been out for me since that day in Chicago! The media team created the tutorial based on your design, and Merit Global is eating it up." Charles complains."Are you sure it's not eating you up?" Jaeger interjects, smiling feebly at Charles."Stay out of this, village biscuit." Charles points at Jaeger."My, my.
-Sebastian straightens his composure, and walks around his desk as Camila enters. He'd set himself straight, deciding that whatever she had to say wouldn't deter him from apologizing to her. He wanted to be honest, even when it was the hardest thing to do. Hard to make up his mind and come to the realization that she didn't deserve being left in the dark."You look troubled. Should I be worried?" Camila's voice floats across the office and Sebastian looks up then smiles weakly."Camila. What brings you by?" He asks, walking up to greet her."I came to apologize." She cuts to the chase, ignoring his offer for her to have a seat. "I just don't like wasting my time, Sebastian, and it felt like I was.""I agree I'm not very forthcoming wh
-As Sebastian pulls into the large driveway behind the villa, he thinks of the moment he'd met River. The feisty, confident young man who put him right in his place. He didn't know that love at first sight existed, but Sebastian could tell that the second he met River in person he felt a connection. The thought of it all distracts him until he's bumping into River as he steps into the living room."River?" Sebastian frowns, but solely out of surprise and embarrassment for his clumsiness."Hi." River smiles, but he notices Caleb and Cairo clutching on to River's hands. "Me and the boys were just going to walk to the stables, maybe pet a few horses." He begins, but he dresses back suddenly aware that Sebastian was home early."Come with us, papa." Caleb ple
-- Two Weeks Earlier -The nearly inaudible ding of the no-smoking and seatbelt signs sound, pulling River's attention from the file he reads while seated in the first class cabin. The lights above each seat becomes illuminated, causing a certain unrest in River as he sits up and closes the file. Seconds later the light in the first-class cabin dims, and River fastens his seatbelt. His hands fidget as he fiddles with the strap around his waist, feeling a sense of confinement. He failed to decipher why he felt trapped, but he knew all too well that his fear of flying had already begun to weigh down on him.It was mere hours after takeoff, and the lit signs above the passengers heads clicking on meant they would soon arrive. River remains calm, as his stomach feels stirred and bothered by the shaking of the aircraft. No Flight Attendants could be seen, but he could hear them in the lower cabins speaking to unaware passeng