Text; Leo ⇄ Danny

annalisechambersx​:

She sat there, waiting for the screaming to begin. It wouldn’t be the first time someone had embarrassed her in public because of a mistake she had made. It certainly wasn’t going to the last. It was fine. She just wouldn’t come back to this bar. She would find a new one that Leo didn’t come to and they would never have to cross paths again. It would be fine. Everything was always fine. Annie was really good at avoiding people.

But much to her surprise, it never came. Her brows furrowed in confusion. In fact, he seemed to…open up a bit more. She blinked a few times, trying to process everything. She shook her head, her curls shaking with it, “No, no. It’s not your fault. Really. I-It’s mine. I should have checked. It was really stupid of me not to. I’m sorry.” She swallowed a lump that grown in her throat before she stopped rubbing her hands nervously together. Devin hated it when she do that.

Annie shook her hands out and turned a bit more towards Leo, “You don’t?” She asked, “I only really like football.” Annie paused for a moment before she spoke again and giggled, “American football, I mean. Soccer is boring.” She had always thought that. But American football was pretty interesting, surprisingly. She just never really went out of her way to watch it. She was more drama TV show kind of gal.

“Can I get you another drink?” Annie asked suddenly, sitting up a bit, looking towards the bartender, “What is it that you’re drinking? Just whiskey?” She asked, looking at the glass. She wasn’t great at picking out drinks, to be quite honest, “I should have put two and two together.” She shook her head, still thinking about her mistake, “If you wanted a beer, you would have had one.” Yeah, that was stupid.

-

She had giggled and he took that as a win. Though it seemed to be this fear that kind of blanket over her, that he still couldn’t take off. He thought all things involving a ball and men were boring. Women’s sports, however... “Whiskey,” he answered, the amount in left in his cup lightening in amber as it began to water down further. He was about to finish it off, but he couldn’t let this conversation continue like this. He couldn’t stand to just watch someone with a sweet disposition and face tear herself down. 

“Yes, I’ll take that whiskey but, only if you could stop doing that?” He asked, again so blunt, and never in a rightful place. “I’m not the nicest, but I’m being a lot nicer to you than you are being to yourself.” He said, making the observation out loud. A little cruel in the name of being honest, but he kept his voice even and gentle as he could. His eyes became a little wide as he said a little punchline to hopefully make his words not sound so serious, “Like, geez, Annie who hurt you?”

xbhandri​:

@le0davis​

“Okay but listen. Hear me out. The stage lights pop on. We’re standing in a line. The piano starts playing. Everyone immediately gets emotional. Suddenly everyone knows how many minutes are in a year. Is it stable? No. It’s New York City in the 1980′s during the AIDs epidemic. We’re here. We’re queer. We’re dying and Regan isn’t doing shit about it. You know what will fix approximately none of our problems? Love.” Xavier had found out they were reviving RENT again and he would throw Wicked down the drain if he could land a roll. He was nearing the end of his contract anyway. He could just switch from one to another, right? He had only been on the stage for a handful of years, and while Fiyero have him everything he could ever want, the roll while main wasn’t big. He wanted more. He wanted more meaning. 

A scarecrow was all find and dandy, but it wasn’t the love of his life, the dream role. Angel Dumott Schunard. He still didn’t know if she was a trans woman, a drag queen, or genderfluid, but to dress up as Mrs Claus and prance around a stage, only to die in the most emotional Broadway death known to man? He could still remember the first time he saw the musical and how it had changed his whole damn life. 

“Leo, it’s not stable, but nothing in life is. Do you want your baby thinking her dad is lame? Those who can’t act teach. Audition with me.”

-

Leo’s mouth opened in the middle of Xavier’s spiel. He so clearly saw the cast in a line singing ... Seasons of Love straight out into the audtence. The two friends had confinded in each other that their dream roles were in RENT. A show that was in the pre-production of returing back to broadway. He understood that to Xav that it was an oppurtunity that must be taken. But Leo wasn’t as starry eyed. 

“Don’t bring Mira into this.” He said, becoming slightly defensive at the mention of his daughter. Though that was chord that needed to be struck. Leo actually heard what Xavier meant. Being an acting coach was always supposed to be temporary. Something to do until he had gotten a break. But it took over, he began auditioning less to not at all. He fell into his own hell of repeating the same day over and over. So much so that he became a regular at a bar, and developed a dependency on alcohol and sex just to get through a Monday. This wasn’t how life was supposed to be. This isn’t the spotlight he was meant for. He sat there unaware of the spark that was growing in his chest.

His eyes still looking at his best friend incredulously. “I - Xav - you can’t really truly think that I’d ever be good enough to get Roger.” He was scared.  It was a huge leap into auditioning. Maybe he could start off small in non-speaking roles. He didn’t want to take that risk of auditioning for a role he had always coveted. He wasn’t as brave as Xavier. “You are no doubt in my mind are going to get Angel. Just gotta practice the drums. I, on the other hand, am gonna get laughed out at the door with no credits to my name.”

renfarber​:

She’d thought she’d be prepared for this. She’d thought that enough time had passed (what was it, almost a decade now?), and that she’d moved on, and she was over what had happened… but she wasn’t. She was smiling, looking at him now, because he looked so much like the boy she’d loved. She was smiling, but her heart had sunk, and her brain was so focused on his face that it forgot to remind her to breathe.

“No,” she said - too loudly for the quiet, echoing theatre, “no, please don’t go. It’s a good movie… I’ve heard. I haven’t seen it, but… that’s kind of the appeal.” Of course, she didn’t need to explain that to Leo. Anyone else on Earth, maybe, but this familiar-but-distant man, standing in shock ten feet from her, giving her almost the same expression he had the last time she’d seen him… he already knew. He knew her love of new things, new experiences, new places, new people. He’d loved that about her once. And it had hurt him in the end.

When she finally remembered how to move, she made her way toward him. Slowly, gingerly, like he were a wild animal or a broken bird, and might either attack or flee if she moved too suddenly. She would deserve both, she knew, even if it had been ten years. But selfishly, she just wanted to see him.

The lights went down, and the projector came on, and they were still standing, staring, closer now but still unsure of each other. “Will you stay?” Ren whispered.

-

Her loud protest to him leaving echoed tremendously. It stopped him in his slow attempt to leave. And quite honestly it warmed him up a bit. It was a good surprise to know that she wanted him to stay and enjoy the film. He hadn’t seen it either, but he couldn’t find himself to speak up as he was grew overwhelmed and overstimulated by everything. He was at a crossroads of what to do. He knew had this meeting been less than the decade that passed he’d already be out the door. Hell, maybe even popcorn in her hair.

Leo’s feet stepped back once she began her approach towards him. He had only stopped when he remembered his drink on the ground. He was stuck between making a mess or allowing her closer. He went with the latter. It did offer him a chance to look at her better. Her hair was in braids, he’d never seen it styled like that before. He also noticed her tattoo collection had grown. When his own collection had diminished.

But it was different now. He was different. He had love coming at him from multiple hearts. Love that he had desperately wanted from just one heart, years ago. Hers. Did he still feel that way now? With his heart strings being pull down by someone on his phone and with broken vows he pretended to keep with his wife? The lights turning down and glow of the hazy film lit the room. It shown upon her face in such a familiar way. He would usually stare at her in this light to watch her reaction when they shared this pastime. He blinked and answered her wordlessly, by sitting back down in his seat. His eyes never moved off of her. He just kept looking at her with an air of anticipation. It took him a bit too long to let it go and turn his head to the screen. He began to become too aware of his own breathing as he felt the side of body she was at heat up. He parted his lips to say something but quickly closed it to focus on the film. But just a moment later, he did once again.

giselesilvas​:

Gisele was bad at dates. Not at being at dates, she often excelled at being the part of herself the other person wanted her to be, the perks of being a textbook gemini, but what she was very bad at was sticking with them. She more often than not got bored, and if it wasn’t a dinner and off you go kind of deal, she’d mostly try to find a way to bail. Mattias was a wonderful guy, she’d enjoyed their little flirting moments, the comings and goings in his restaurant, he was really fantastic company to keep. But in a place where he apparently knew everyone and she knew nobody, it felt like walking into a pit of bears with a honey pot. Grabbing a hold of Matti’s bicep, she whispered in his ear “I’ll go walk around, be back in a while”. He graciously smiled back and off she went. 

The Brazilian walked around the room, saying hi to a few friends, grabbing one too many glasses of champagne and flirting her way around the room. She was beautiful, and the red dress she was wearing cut her chest open in the most perfect manner, so it was no wonder how she was drawing the eyes of some men and women. After parading herself for a bit, her eyes found her date again. He was still conversing, with a new person now, and Gisele sighed. Fuck that, I’m going to the bathroom, maybe there’s someone there.

The ball room bathroom had the size of most New Yorker’s apartments. She chatted with a few friends, drank the last of her gin tonic and just as her friends were leaving the bathroom, Gi got the need to pee “I’ll meet you outside in a bit” She waved them off as she went into a stall. Sitting down, she heard the bathroom go quiet, and she went into her phone, scrolling aimlessly on Instagram as she peed. All of a sudden, she heard a door lock. Fuck. What the hell? She listened out for the person. They weren’t… Those weren’t heels. Every woman here was wearing heels, nobody would be caught dead with flat shoes in a ball. It had to be a man. And then she heard the lighter, and her smirk pulled up one side of her face, the smoke coming from the stall next to her cementing her suspicions. Getting ready to catch the bastard by surprise, Gisele flushed and once the noise was done, she opened the door and looked around “You know, you really should’ve gone to the stall closer to the extractor fan, you’re gonna smoke to room out, buddy”

-

Shit. Shit. Shit! Leo thought when he heard the whirlpool of a flushed toilet. He wasn’t as alone as he wished. He should checked the stalls, but of course was too sure of his instincts.  He had half a mind, already moving too slow from his first couple of hits crossed with the tingly buzz of champagne. He looked at the lit joint wondering if he should ash it and try to play it off. But the resounding clicks of heels were quickly coming his way. He was caught red handed, frozen into a straighten posture as she caught him in feeble attempt to hide the joint that was so obviously throwing wisps of sticky sweet smoke in the air. “I-,” he stuttered in response. He came to realization that he wasn’t being scolded for getting high, but because he wasn’t being smart about. This made him truly take in her appearance. She was dressed in a hotter tone of red than he. Bright and eye catching, especially her chest. His wits suddenly came back to him. “It’s comfortable here.” He started with a complaint. “But since you’re an expert,” Leo said, standing up from the couch, fingers still pinched around the joint. “Where do you want me?” He asked, with the rise of his brows. The double entendre of his words wasn’t lost to him at all. His eye contact on her brown eyes unwavering since the second he met them. “And do you want some?” He offered. Might as well. He couldn’t be the only blamed if they both smelt like it.

being intuitive is just like... i don’t like this and no i will not elaborate

annalisechambersx​:​

Annie really felt like she was living her best life in New York. Sure, she missed home and she missed her family, but New York just felt like the place for her. She loved her job, she loved her friends, she loved the day life and she really loved the night life. There was just something about walking around New York at night and seeing all the lights mixed with the hustle and bustle. It was exactly what she wanted.

A couple nights a week, after work, she would head out to a bar, just wanting to unwind a little and maybe meet some new people. She had no fear when it came to speaking to people. Which, really, was a dangerous thing considering she could very well get hurt doing that…but it hadn’t happened yet. So she was feeling confident it wouldn’t. Probably. When Annie approached the bar, the barmaid smiled warmly at her and got to work on her favorite drink, the Cosmopolitan. After a minute or so, she was passed the drink and a straw, and she was moving through the bar, her chocolate hues dancing around.

She just hung around for a bit, sipping idly on her drink when she spotted a man that appeared to be alone. That was sad. Annie didn’t like seeing that. She didn’t mind being alone. She believed that she was meant to be. But that wasn’t the case for everyone else. With her signature smile on her face, she crossed the room and the approached the man, her curls bouncing as she did so, “Have you ever had their wings here?” She asked, a little randomly, “I’m not much for chicken wings. But there’s something about them here.” She giggled quietly and shrugged, “Actually most of their food is pretty good now that I think about it…”

-

Fucking-tourist-implant, a sputter of thoughts left his head as he passed by some dude in a spankin new I Heart NY t-shirt. He didn’t know why that had bothered him too much on this particular evening. But as he got older, he grew to see just how crowded this edge of the east coast was. Yeah, that’s what it was, the city was becoming too saturated. his mood wasn’t sour because his mouth was dry, he told himself. he always downplayed how much he needed his vice even lying to himself. but he couldn’t lie that the world became a bit nicer when he sat in that stool with the cold sweat of his drink at his fingertips. 

it sipped slowly now, savoring how the taste had rose the hairs on neck and gave him the feeling of goosebumps. he was at his usual bar, truly in his own element tonight. he liked the people watching, the food for a bar was decent, and the bartender was great company when available. he was fine just as he was, just another typical night. 

“Uh—erm,” leo cleared his throat of his initial surprise. people didn’t usually approach him because he was always scowling. he could have sworn he had the same look he always did. but now he was surprised, meeting brown eyes far warmer than his own could ever be. he paused, wondering if he should even reply to this stranger’s sudden presence. he could easily let out a big gruff and walk off. but this was his spot. his brow quirked when she spoke about the other food items as if she had them. he, of course, had sampled the whole menu once. 

“Order what you want.” He shrugged then pinched his glass in his dominant hand. his gaze on the stranger was still cautious. his expression was not friendly nor rude. “But yeah, the food’s pretty good.”

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?”

bcllet​:

       camila nearly started to cough out of sheer surprise when she heard leo’s question. the two of them always had the tendency to bicker a little, even if they generally got along quite well. the ballerina cherished the man, and the acting lessons he had taught her  ―  though whenever she tried to motivate him to properly go back into acting himself, the two of them just started to argue.

      she didn’t even mind that he was just giving five dollars. the woman strongly believed that everyone should give as much as they could, and as much as they wanted  to  ―  but just giving to look good, she wasn’t a fan of that.  ❝ do you think five dollars is enough if you already have to ask ?  ❞, she replied back as she stored away her wallet after she had just been giving a rather generous sum, before looking at leo. 

      ❝ ‘cause, uh, you know, you don’t have to give anything if you are already worried about five fuckin’…  ❞ she took a deep breath, trying to remind herself she was in public. for a second, camila closed her eyes, before giving him once more her attention.  ❝ i just mean that it should be your decision and your decision alone. you shouldn’t ask others if it’s enough. only give as much as you can, and as much as you want to, leo.  ❞

-

in short, Leo adored Camila, she was one of the good things to come from his teaching career. It didn’t hurt that the more her star continued to rise, his ego began to climb as well. Like a parasite latching onto her successes as if they were his own. It was all he had as he refused to step back into the ring of rejection. He had been there before for years. And fighting against Cami’s words of encouragement was easier than going back.

Leo was beyond amused seeing cami’s reaction to initial question. For a moment he was so smug that he had the skill of being so deadpanned that people believed him so easily when he said left field things. Though he would lie and say that it wasn’t for some short of shock value. He couldn’t help but laugh at her genuine disgruntlement and the way she smoothed over her face to hide it. “Oh Cami,” he cooed, his concern seemingly geninue until he spoke again. “You seem tense.” He squinted at her through the holes behind his lion’s mask. “I didn’t realize there was such a decorum to donating.” He lied and lifted his shoulders up once. “I was only joking but you’re absolutely right. People should donate what they can to fund things like this, like the open bar,—I mean things for the children.” He pressed a hand across his chest feigning sympathy again, batting his lashes at her. The nature of his playfulness was melodic and rude as always. But at his core, he just wanted to have fun.

renfarber​:

The pangs of missing Max were hitting her again. She knew it was normal - this child had been a part of her for so long, of course it felt unnatural being away from him now - but her fierce independence had been part of her for much longer. She needed to find a balance between being a mother and being who she’d always been.

Her eyes turned to Leo’s when he said Max’s name, and she noticed then how close their faces were. This seemed so familiar, being alone in the dark with Leo, that for a second she forgot that any time had passed at all. Like he’d always been here, and she’d always been his, and everything that had happened between then and now had just been a dream. Like maybe this was who she’d always been.

Of course, then he said the word married, which did the trick of snapping her out of that. She sat back, clearing her throat, and put her phone back in her pocket. She hated her own heart for beating so quickly, and tried to turn her attention to the film. Which worked… for about thirty seconds.

“I’m sorry,” she blurted out, “…for what I did to you. Did I ever tell you that?”

-

Leo had read her body language as an offense of what he had said. He pulled away and sat back in his seat, his jaw visibly flexing as he tried to figure out what he said wrong. It made him realize that perhaps complimenting her appearance was too forward. But even after all these years, she was far more beautiful than the first time he laid eyes on her. Leo bit his bottom lip, chewing once before speaking, “Uh… I mean you tried to.” He looked down at his lap as he tried to collect his thoughts on the past. Plenty of images of him shutting her out in anger and sadness flashed in his mind. “I wasn’t really receptive to your apology while I was thinking about how you could possibly wanna fuck anyone else than me.” Leo said looking back up at her with a mischievous grin. Then he winked to look as attractive as he could in that moment as if to prove his point.

After a beat, he brought his hands up in lighthearted defense as he laughed at his stupid and blunt way of bringing up their past. “It was a long time ago. I get it now. It’s silly to expect that kind of commitment, especially at that age.” His shoulders lifted once and he popped a kernel or two of popcorn into his mouth. “I mean, change is inevitable, I can’t expect anyone or anything to stay stagnant.” He swallowed before looking at her pointedly. “I mean especially you. You don’t need anyone.” His voice deepened at the end of his thought with darkened eyes.