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16. Didn't Do This

Author: Eden Moon
last update Last Updated: 2024-11-02 21:42:49

Hawk and Quill followed Lilly through the main floor to her office. She stepped inside, motioning for them to enter.

The desk was scattered with a spread of photos from the previous night. At first glance, they appeared harmless enough until Hawk realized what they were.

"Wait," he muttered as he bit back a growl. "You were taking photos? What the hell, Lilly. We didn't agree to that."

Lilly glanced at him. "Calm down. No photos of either of you were taken. I'm careful with these things. Some guests paid extra to be photographed for custom art pieces or to take the images home. Commissioned works, you know? You're not in any of them. Promise."

Quill frowned, eyeing the photos before looking back at her. "Then why bring us here? If we weren't in any of them, what's the point? I don't want to see others... moments."

"Well…" she began, glancing between them. "I sign NDAs with all my clients, so I can't show most of these images openly. But Quill, as an artist interested in commission w
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  • Fluid   17. A Mirror

    "You know…" Quill said, his voice edged with frustration as he sketched rough outlines on the notepad in front of him. "I'm happy your dad's eyes don't glow the same color as yours when he's shifted. His wolf is an ugly piece of shit, I remember that much. It should be easy to capture it even though it's been years since I saw him as a wolf. Unfortunately, your wolves are similar enough to jog my memory."A soft throat-clear cut through the air. Quill's hand froze mid-sketch, and Hawk whipped his head toward the door.Lily was leaning against the doorframe, her arms crossed and an unimpressed expression painted on her face. "Don't stop on my account," she said dryly. "I'm dying to hear what else you have to say about these wolves of yours."Quill carefully set the pencil down. "How long have you been standing there?""Long enough," Lily replied, stepping further into the room. "Long enough to hear about the wolves you're so keen on working into this little commission. And definitely l

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  • Fluid   18. Not That Simple

    Hawk stepped out of the shop and headed straight for Fluid. He didn't hesitate. The door was locked, but his key solved that problem quickly enough. Being Lilly's landlord came with a few perks, and he wasn't shy about using them when necessary. Quietly, he slipped inside. Lilly sat behind her desk, papers fanned out in front of her. Her pen clattered to the desk as her head snapped to the door. She stood abruptly. "You broke in? Are you kidding me right now?" "Don't be so dramatic. I didn't break in. I used my key. I'm your landlord. Remember?" She snorted and crossed her arms. "That doesn't mean you can just walk in whenever you feel like it. Boundaries, Hawk. Heard of those?" He shifted slightly. "Boundaries? Funny. You didn't seem to care much about those when Quill let himself in not too long ago." She rolled her eyes. "That was different. Back then, I didn't know you two were lying to me." "We weren't lying." He pushed off the doorframe and took a step forward. "And Quill

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  • Fluid   19. Always You

    Ding. Hawk glanced down at his phone, grinning as another email popped up. Another RSVP for the art show. He hadn't expected the responses to flood in so quickly, but they had. Nearly twenty confirmations arrived within hours of sending the invitation, and they hadn't slowed since. Each one felt like a small victory. Setting the phone aside, Hawk leaned back against the gym counter, scanning the space that would soon host the event. It wasn't exactly the kind of venue most would expect for an art show, and Quill had made sure to voice that opinion. Several times. "It's a gym," Quill had muttered the night before, standing in the middle of the floor with his arms crossed. "It smells like sweat and stale body oil. You're really telling me this is where you want people admiring my work?" "It won't smell like this on the night," Hawk had assured him, hands raised in defense. "I'll clean it. Deep clean it. You won't even recognize it. Trust me." Quill hadn't looked convinced. "Trus

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  • Fluid   20. Without Letting Him Go

    The scent of paint and sawdust lingered in the air, mingling with the faint aroma of fresh coffee that Quill had brewed earlier. The apartment above the building wasn't much yet. Just bare walls, a few mismatched pieces of furniture, and an air mattress shoved against one corner that was doubling as Hawk's bed. A pile of unopened boxes sat near the door, evidence of how chaotic the move had been. Hawk leaned against the small counter in the kitchen, his gaze trailing to where Quill was sprawled out on the mattress, sketchbook in hand. The sun filtered through the large, uncovered windows, highlighting the younger man's furrowed brow as he worked on tattoo designs he planned to offer."You know that sketchbook's going to fall apart, right?" Hawk teased. "Pretty sure you've redrawn the same design ten times now."Quill glanced up, his longer brown hair falling into his face. "It's called refining, genius. You wouldn't get it. Bench-pressing and sketching don't exactly overlap in skill

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  • Fluid   21. Complicated

    Quill woke before dawn. He stared up at the ceiling, willing himself to shake off the remnants of sleep. He'd slept better than he'd had in years. Hawk had only shifted closer throughout the night. He was now pressed against his back with his arm covering his eyes. Quill loved waking up like this. He always had. He rubbed his face, forcing himself upright. His legs swung over the side of the bed, and he stretched until his shoulders cracked. He looked back to Hawk and smiled. Hawk sighed faintly from under his arm but didn't wake up. They had been inching closer again, closing a gap that had stretched far too wide for far too long. Quill had missed this... Missed him.Their rekindled connection was both thrilling and unsettling. They were building something again, piece by piece, but the foundation still felt shaky. It always did when their Dads were involved. Quill couldn't decide if the prospect of losing it again scared him more than the effort it took to hold on to it.He pulled

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  • Fluid   22. Got A Problem

    Lilly perched on the edge of the bed, leaning slightly against Hawk's side, while Quill lingered by the door awkwardly. She glanced between them, ready to tease them solely because of how uncomfortable they both suddenly were. "Are you seriously planning to host Quill's first big art show in a gym?" she asked.Hawk shifted and rubbed his face. "I didn't have many other options."Lilly smiled as she tilted her head. "You didn't have many other options, or you didn't want to think about other options? Big difference."Quill stepped into the room. "I told him it was a bad idea. It's not exactly a flattering venue."Hawk exhaled sharply. "I know. But I did what I had to do."Lilly folded her arms, clearly considering it. "It's clever, I'll give you that. But it still feels... off. I'm sorry I kicked you out and made you even have to think about using the gym."Quill shrugged, though the tension in his shoulders betrayed his discomfort. "You don't need to apologize. It's not like it ruine

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  • Fluid   23. Together

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  • Fluid   24. Right Now

    Over the next ten days, Hawk and Quill worked tirelessly to break down the wall that had once separated Hawk's apartment from Lilly's old one. The rhythmic pounding of hammers and the sharp groans of pried beams filled the space, each sound echoing the transformation of the apartment and their lives. Dust clung to their clothes, the gritty residue sticking to sweat-slicked skin as they worked side by side, turning two spaces into one."This is surreal," Quill muttered as he braced the crowbar against a stubborn beam. His muscles flexed as he leaned into the motion, the wood creaking under the force. "Feels like déjà vu, except this time we're not scavenging for parts."Hawk wiped the dust from his face with the back of his hand, glancing toward the pile of debris growing in the corner. "We were broke back then. Every wall we built was funded by tattoos you finished hours before. Now we can actually do it right." Quill frowned at him. "And here I thought I was such a big help then. Is

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Latest chapter

  • Fluid   52. Be Your Alpha

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  • Fluid   51. I Want More

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  • Fluid   49. Inevitable

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  • Fluid   48. He Knew

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  • Fluid   47. Claim

    Quill sat stiffly on the edge of the bed, his fingers intertwined with Lily’s. He didn’t look at her. His focus locked on the metal rails that seemed to mock him. They were his own cage.Hawk had been gone for eighteen hours, and the agony bleeding through their bond had intensified. The pain wasn’t his own, but it was close enough to feel like it. He squeezed Lily’s hand once as he felt a new type taking over his body."I don’t think this is random," he muttered. "He left upset. You saw it. There’s only one place he goes when he’s like that. He never learns that lesson."Lily frowned. "What are you saying?"Quill stood abruptly, letting go of her hand even as he swayed. "It’s his dad. It has to be. He runs to his family's land when he’s pissed. It's an instinct he cannot deny, and his dad knows it. If I’m feeling this kind of pain through the bond, there’s no way it’s anything good." Every fiber of him screamed to run, to find Hawk and tear apart whatever threat stood in the way, but

  • Fluid   46. Endurance

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  • Fluid   44. Slip Back

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