[attr="class","serahtext"]



[break]
Seraphine had made up her mind.[break][break]
After weeks of waffling back and forth about what she wanted, of apologizing for things she later realized weren't actually her fault, fearing Zev's anger if she asked for any physical intimacy outside of sex (however small), and of feeling more alone in her relationship than when she had actually been single...Seraphine decided that she would break up with Zev.[break][break]
It had been excruciatingly difficult to extract fact from fiction, separate the man he was in her bed from the man he was...well, during any other time they were together. The part of her brain that remembered what it felt like to love herself knew that she was being gaslit...manipulated into feeling like the failures of their relationship were her fault (you're too needy, Sera - just give me some fucking space)...but it had often been overruled by the part of her that desperately wanted to be loved.[break][break]
For a while, the illusion of love had been enough. Her resolve had finally cracked, however: friends, collaborators, even her sisters (via letter) had started urging her to break up with "that asshole" when she'd vented about Zev to them. She was finally starting to listen, rather than just hear them. She started remembering who she was before Zev.[break][break]
She would do it. She would make him understand why. She would stand up for herself.[break][break]
She mustered her courage. It was a night he was supposed to come over. For sex, of course. They rarely did anything else these days. Instead of wait for him in her bedroom, dressed in revealing lingerie, she wore sweatpants and a t-shirt wrapped up in a designer bathrobe. He'd have seen her in this sort of clothing had he ever bothered to spend time with her outside of her bed. She sat on the couch in her living room, staring at the front door.[break][break]
As expected, he was confused when he finally arrived (late, she noted). Before giving him a chance to speak, Seraphine said in a calm, practiced tone, "It's over, Zev. I'm changing the locks tomorrow. You aren't welcome here." Her gaze was a piercing golden glare. "I'm breaking up with you. I deserve better. You have been treating me terribly for weeks...for months. I'm not some whore."[break][break]
It doesn't have to be like this, you could just care for me. That's all it would take.

[attr="class","serahooc"][break]

BY GUNSMILE

[attr="class","serahtext"]



[break][break]

It was late; they lay intertwined in one another's arms, tangled up in post-coital bliss. Seraphine had been busy lately with various projects and events; she had sorely needed a night with her lover to unwind, an escape from the daily grind. Things with Zev had been somewhat strained lately, but when they were wrapped up in one another's embrace, she could almost forget the various ways he'd been disappointing her lately.[break][break]
Almost.[break][break]
As soon as she began to fold in on him, cuddling up close, he extracted himself from her embrace, got up from the bed, and began to gather his clothing as if to leave. Seraphine propped herself up in bed, blinking concerned golden eyes at him.[break][break]
"You're leaving?" She asked, incredulous. Cleary, that was exactly what he was doing, but denial was a hell of a drug. She felt a pang of frustration, a familiar bitterness. This felt like the hundredth time he'd scorned her attempts to fall asleep in one another's arms, the sort of thing a couple who had just had sex might do. Instead, he looked like a man who was eager to move onto the next part of his night, as if she were just some whore he'd fucked rather than a girlfriend he cared about. She half expected him to throw a few dollars onto her nightstand.[break][break]
"Surely the bar does not need you right now?" She scoffed. It was nearing 1am. He was her boyfriend, why wouldn't he just sleep over at her apartment? They could have breakfast the next morning, and then he could be on his way. Such was the routine she had been trying to build for months now that he resisted like oil meeting water.[break][break]
Anger boiled to the surface. "Zev, seriously - where are you going?" The pleading had become a habit.

[attr="class","serahooc"][break]

BY GUNSMILE

[attr="class","seratest2text"]



Seraphine chuckled, imagining Aidan surfing - he didn't seem like the most athletic person, but he certainly had a lot of enthusiasm. "Walks on the beach sound nice," she said, meaning it. Not a big fan of swimming, that was about as close to the ocean as she liked to get herself. That, and sunbathing on the warm sand in a cute bikini.[break][break]
A sudden commotion caught Seraphine's attention. The older male half of the Daycare duo was blushing profusely and trying to pull up his pants? Why were his pants around his ankles? And then she heard Aidan's comment about a future reprimand, and noticed Rouge and Reaper scurrying away from the old man, both with very guilty expressions on their faces. Her mouth quirked up into an amused grin.[break][break]
"Perhaps we ought to slip away while we can," She said to Aidan. "Grab a drink at a nearby bar or restaurant?" She winked. "We can ditch the costumes, too." Though she knew she looked stunning even as a glittering Butterfree, she was growing tired of the wings on her back.[break][break]
Quietly - and yet, still with a measure of grace - she led her new acquaintance, and their little rascals (er, Pokémon) - out of the Day Care.

[attr="class","seratest2ooc"]
[break]

NOTES

+ Mission: Bond Bridge[break]
+ Satisfies Pumpkaboo Spooktacular Prompt 10[break]
+ Seraphine's Outfit + Butterfree Wings!

ORIGINAL TEMPLATE BY GUNSMILE

[attr="class","serahtext"]



Seraphine ground her teeth in frustration. She had barely touched her pasta. Zev's tone was dismissive, as if she should have expected this.[break][break]
"I know things have been busy, but you're with me right now," she insisted. "When we're on a date, I expect you to pay at least some attention to me."[break][break]
This wasn't the first time this had happened. In fact, work seemed to be getting in the way of nearly everything they tried to do lately - besides sex. Funny how that seemed to work. Golden eyes narrowed, the glare indicative of her souring mood.[break][break]
"Can't work wait until we're done dinner?" Seraphine pleaded, trying - and failing - to keep her tone even. Anger mixed with a growing anxiety; after all, the dam holding back the flood was starting to crack.

[attr="class","serahooc"][break]

BY GUNSMILE

[attr="class","serahtext"]



Seraphine began to inevitably think of Zev as her boyfriend. And why shouldn't she? They'd been sleeping together for a few weeks, been on a few dates. In public, he was friendly, talkative, even occasionally romantic. In private, he was an attentive lover, worshiping her body as a devotee might worship his goddess. Everything was wonderful.[break][break]
Until it wasn't.[break][break]
It didn't happen overnight. It was a subtle thing, like water eroding stone. As time passed, Seraphine began to notice that Zev preferred to go home after an evening of love-making rather than sleep over and spend the next morning with her. He claimed work was often too busy for him to stay, but that excuse grew stale the more times she heard it, crusting over with the false promise of "maybe next time."[break][break]
Unanswered invites to watch movies cuddled up on the couch, come over to the gallery just to hang out, or play dates between their Pokémon began to pile up. The absence of tender acts of romantic intimacy, expressed in private - a soft kiss, a hand running through her hair, hand-holding...he never seemed keen on any of it. She'd dated men who did not like public displays of affection, but Zev seemed to be the opposite: in public, he would indulge her with an affectionate gesture, but in private, he rarely touched her outside of carnal pleasure.[break][break]
It was almost as if he were an actor in a play, putting on a show for those who might see him with his "girlfriend", when in reality, she was nothing more than a convenient lay.[break][break]
It would have been easier had Seraphine allowed herself to accept this fact sooner.[break][break]
But of course, the human heart is a stubborn thing.[break][break]
[break][break]
"Zev, you've barely looked up from your phone," Seraphine sighed from across the dinner table. They were on their main course now, and her date had been glued to his text messages since the moment they'd entered the restaurant.

[attr="class","serahooc"][break]

BY GUNSMILE

[attr="class","serahtext"]



The bar was cozy and inviting. It lacked the high end sophistication of the restaurants she more often frequented, but there was something appealing about it all the same. She sidled up to the bar, immediately catching the attention of the proprietor: the man she had been hoping to see.[break][break]
Zev's demeanor could not have been more different than the last time she'd seen him. A week ago, he'd been all cold, blunt edges with an undercurrent of irritation; now, he was softer, more relaxed, even pleased to see her. The handsome smile he flashed her as she hopped up onto a bar stool made her stomach do a weird little flip. Arceus, he was attractive.[break][break]
"Surely you have a signature drink?" She inquired, sitting forward over the bar counter so that the low cut of her dress was clearly visible to him. Her golden eyes shone with a playful suggestion.[break][break]
Over the course of the next hour, she had several of Howling at the Moon's signature drinks...Zev was experimenting with different offerings, and she tried them all. Despite needing to attend to the occasional work task, Zev chatted with her, having a drink or two of his own, and as time passed, she became more and more acutely aware of the hungry expression on his face...the way his cobalt eyes ran over the curves of her body. His obvious physical attraction to her was intoxicating, and she wanted nothing more than for him to give into his desire.[break][break]
Luckily for her, Zev was the sort of man who took what he wanted, without hesitation. He was straightforward in that way, egged on, of course, by Seraphine's naturally flirtatious personality. It would surprise no one who happened to see them together at the bar, that Seraphine did, in fact, end up in Zev's bed later that evening. They all but ripped each other's clothes off, the build-up of lust since the moment they'd met a year ago clearly inspiring their passionate lovemaking.[break][break]
Seraphine had not been so thoroughly satisfied by a man in quite some time.[break][break]

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BY GUNSMILE

[attr="class","serahtext"]



His brother? Seraphine cocked her head, intrigued. Several questions immediately surfaced in her mind - why didn't Zev know where his brother was? Were they estranged? Was the brother a criminal too? The flash of disappointment she'd momentarily seen on his face made her think that he had expected her to have created a new identity for this man the same way she had for him...[break][break]
She did not ask any of these questions. If Zev had wanted to disclose anything more, he would have. His expression was hard, knife-edged, revealing little about his emotional landscape save for the tiniest sense of frustration she could intuitively feel from him.[break][break]
"I will let you know the moment I see him, if I do," she assured Zev. "I will look out for him - or any signs of him - amongst my various social circles."[break][break]
The reality was, Seraphine was not the only forger in Hoenn. Caleb could have used the services of another; therefore, the name Caleb Harcourt might be irrelevant when it came to finding him. Finding him would not necessarily be easy, if he'd even come to Hoenn at all. But she didn't need to rub that in.[break][break]
She took the slip of paper, pocketing it. Assuming he would leave as abruptly as he'd entered, she resumed packaging up the large painting before her.[break][break]

[attr="class","serahooc"][break]

BY GUNSMILE

[attr="class","serahtext"]



Seraphine's life was one of luxury, entertainment, and the constant hunt for a lasting creative muse. The past year had been full of jobs - both legal and illegal - as well as galas, gallery openings, charity events, and she'd even taught a few classes. Through it all, she'd begun to attract the attention of the criminal organization, Team Rocket. Though she'd had her flings here and there over the past year, contact with Rocket made her think of the man who had stopped by the previous summer - a professional hitman from Kanto looking for an innocuous, civilian identity behind which to hide from League scrutiny.[break][break]
As if the universe had heard her thoughts, deciding to grant her unspoken wish to see that man again, one day in April, he appeared. He walked right into her gallery like he owned the place.[break][break]
"Zev?" She looked up from where she had been packaging up a painting for a client, golden eyes widening in surprise. The intensity of his gaze was jarring, but just as handsome as she remembered it. "Good to see you again."[break][break]
The hope that he had appeared in her gallery simply because he'd wanted to see her again - after all, she'd been thinking about him as of late - died before it had even truly blossomed, as he held up a photograph for her to identify. Zev had an agenda, and it had nothing to do with missing her. Ignoring the small, irrational pang of disappointment, she gazed at the man in the photograph.[break][break]
"I have never seen this man before," she said, which was true. But her artist's eye did not miss the similarities between this man and the one standing before her. "He looks like he could be your brother," she observed.

[attr="class","serahooc"][break]

BY GUNSMILE

[attr="class","serahtext"]



Seraphine listened to the man's thought-process as he talked through the bullet points in his little notebook. She liked the way he gestured: the way his shoulders moved and his hands flexed. She could tell that he was muscular and dexterous. As she watched him, she couldn't help but imagine the body beneath the plain, utilitarian clothing.[break][break]
"I can work with this," she concluded. She turned and sauntered over to a filing cabinet, pulling out a form. Grabbing a pen, she began filling out several of the boxes. Then she slid the paper across the table for Zev to see. As she leaned over, she knew that a significant amount of cleavage would be exposed by the low dip of her dress - this was, of course, a purposeful suggestion, all part of the experience she offered her clients. And yet, it did thrill her when the client in question was actually someone she found attractive.[break][break]
"This is my contract. You must sign here, here, and here," a pointed, painted nail tapped the form in three places. "I take half the payment up front, then the rest once I deliver your documents: ID, birth certificate, diplomas, whatever you need. I think in your case, enough to open an unassuming business in Slateport's Lower District would be sufficient."[break][break]

[attr="class","serahooc"][break]

BY GUNSMILE

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The first thing Seraphine noticed about Zev Harcourt was that he was her type: tall, dark, and handsome. The second thing she noticed was the complete lack of emotion in his tone of voice when he greeted her, and how it contrasted with the look he gave her prior to speaking. She was his type too, it seemed. That deadpan, professional greeting (the sort of man who takes his job way too seriously), however, should have triggered an alarm bell, but for some reason, this man's gaze cut through her as easily as a knife through butter: a thrill that distracted her from that very first red flag.[break][break]
"Indeed you do," she drawled, painted lips curling into a suggestive smile. "Come with me."[break][break]
She led him to the spiral staircase that was the primary pathway to her private studio. As he walked behind her, she swore she could feel his eyes on her, following the graceful arch of her back down to the curve of her hip. That evening, she wore a sleek black gown, simple and elegant, and of course, quite form-fitting. She had not known what sort of man would be walking into her gallery, but she always tried to be prepared. Her smile grew more pleased.[break][break]
Inside her studio, she turned to face him again, leaning back against her main worktable. Her own eyes - a molten gold - watched him eagerly, a hint of mischief in her expression.[break][break]
"So tell me, Mr. Harcourt - who would you like to become?"

[attr="class","serahooc"][break]

BY GUNSMILE