The Lucky One [CD]
Nov 28, 2019 1:04:26 GMT -5
Post by Admin on Nov 28, 2019 1:04:26 GMT -5
LOCATION: Las Vegas, Nevada
DATE/TIME: November 20, 2019
CAMERA STATUS: ON/OFF
While the girls were on the patio, Hunter Donimari and Bruce McLeod were in the living room, each with a bottle of beer in hand. The television was on and the two were catching up. It had been awhile since Hunter had seen his sister and his brother-in-law. Kitty signing with a company in Vegas had come at a good time since there was something that Hunter had been wanting to talk to Bruce about. Now that the time had come, he was nervous. Hunter sat on the couch opposite from Bruce, his hand resting on his leg. His fingers drummed against it as his other hand brought the beer to his lips. He took a long swig, trying to find the right words for what he wanted to say.
"Can I talk to you about something, brother?" Hunter asked as he set his bottle down on the end table next to the couch. He glanced towards the windows that looked out on the patio to make sure that Kitty was still out there. She was, apparently deep in conversation with Charity.
McLeod's gaze followed his, nodding slowly. He'd already hinted that he had something on his mind that he might need advice on before the couple had arrived on their doorstep. "Of course. We're family. Never need tae ask— out with it."
Hunter nodded as he looked back at Bruce. "So, y'know Kitty and I have known each other for awhile." He didn't know why he was so nervous talking to Bruce. It was probably because he was about to ask for something he wanted more than anything. "I love her."
"Riiiight." The word dragged out, an attempt to encourage further discussion getting lost in the Scot's familiar sarcasm. "Anyone with eyes knows that, son. Gonna tell me water's wet an' the sky's blue next? Jesus."
Chuckling, he sounded sheepish, "yeah, I guess that's true enough." He knew how he looked at her and how head over heels he was. His hand came up and rubbed the back of his neck. "I want to ask her to marry me, but I don't feel right about doing it without talking to you… I'm asking for your blessing."
Bruce blinked, surprised at the request. He'd seen how many idiots his cousin had been involved with over the years— varying shades of asshole from Brad Jackson to Mike Best. He'd seen her be faithful and loyal only to have it thrown back in her face. She didn't even talk about what had happened with Petrov— the one whose last name she was still using. Bruce knew the man had died, but the circumstances had never been discussed. "She…" shaking his head, the Scot met the younger man's gaze. "She's nae the easiest tae get on with. Sure yeh know that already, though." He hesitated, studying Hunter's earnest expression. "Can't even begin tae unpack all this," he gestured vaguely before glancing at the window. "All I know is she seems a lot more at peace with yeh here. So, thanks. For that."
"Yeah, things are better since I got there." He thought back to when he'd just showed up out of the blue and surprised her. She'd been in a bad place and he hadn't known it. Hunter had had a feeling though. When he locked eyes on her, he knew she needed him. "There's nothing I wouldn't do for her." He picked up his beer, but didn't take a drink. "I've been with plenty of women, but it's always been her. Her face is the one I've always seen."
"You ever tell her any of this?" Bruce was giving him a hard time now, the novelty of this moment not lost on him for a second. He remembered asking for Victor's blessing before he'd asked Charity. He remembered it being far more painful than this. "Seem tae recall her castin' those looks across a crowded bar. Yeh were up on stage, cock of the walk— she never looked away— always wondered if ol' Jackie-Boy was gonna clue in, come burstin' out of your closet one night like the boogedyman, tear yeh tae pieces. Never happened."
Hunter hadn't told her all of that. Of course, he'd told her simpler iterations of what he'd just told Bruce. He had a hard time getting the words out to her. He could tell her he loved her with ease, but to really go to that deep part of himself, in a way it scared him. "She knows most of it…" He would tell her, he had to. "I'm gonna tell her all of it. I've just gotta find the words."
"Took me twenty-three years," Bruce replied with a chuckle, "so good luck with it, aye?" He leaned forward and clinked the neck of his bottle against Hunter's. "Cheers. Here's tae bright futures for us both." Winking, he took a gulp of his beer, urging the other man to do the same. "An' blessings… of course. Guess with Maureen gone now, makes me her eldest relative left this side of the pond." He nodded, "got my approval. For what it's worth."
"Thanks, brother." Now that he had what he wanted, he took a swig of his beer, polishing it off. Smiling at his brother-in-law, he set the empty down. "You think you could keep her occupied tomorrow? I want to take Charity to go look at rings… I wanna propose before we leave Vegas."
"I'll just offer tae let her throw fists in me face. That'll keep her busy for a few hours at least." He laughed, knowing that it was mostly true. She had always been like that, able to lose herself for hours on end just going through the motions. Training. Sparring. It was one of the biggest reasons she was such a threat inside the ring. She was always learning, always adapting and evolving her style based on the people she interacted with. "If she's gonna stay in that company, mebbe should start lookin' for a place here, too. Unless yer gonna just commute every time she's got a match."
"We've talked about it," Hunter said, nodding. "I know she doesn't want to leave the horses."
"Or mebbe she's not ready tae part with the past? Petrov gave her that ranch-"
"I know," Hunter cut him off and brought a hand up to rub his face. "I dunno, maybe we should try to look for something local with room for the horses."
"Am sure there's something fitting." He looked around at the huge room they were in. "Wasn't really lookin' for this place. It found us. If it's meant tae be, it'll be."
"Maybe we'll get a touch your guys' luck." The house his sister and Bruce found was impressive, after all. "I'll talk to Kitty more about it."
"She's lucky tae have ya, Hunter."
"Naw, man," Hunter said as he shook his head. "I'm the lucky one." He had the woman of his dreams and within a few days he would ask her to be his wife. Life couldn't be better.
DATE/TIME: November 20, 2019
CAMERA STATUS: ON/OFF
While the girls were on the patio, Hunter Donimari and Bruce McLeod were in the living room, each with a bottle of beer in hand. The television was on and the two were catching up. It had been awhile since Hunter had seen his sister and his brother-in-law. Kitty signing with a company in Vegas had come at a good time since there was something that Hunter had been wanting to talk to Bruce about. Now that the time had come, he was nervous. Hunter sat on the couch opposite from Bruce, his hand resting on his leg. His fingers drummed against it as his other hand brought the beer to his lips. He took a long swig, trying to find the right words for what he wanted to say.
"Can I talk to you about something, brother?" Hunter asked as he set his bottle down on the end table next to the couch. He glanced towards the windows that looked out on the patio to make sure that Kitty was still out there. She was, apparently deep in conversation with Charity.
McLeod's gaze followed his, nodding slowly. He'd already hinted that he had something on his mind that he might need advice on before the couple had arrived on their doorstep. "Of course. We're family. Never need tae ask— out with it."
Hunter nodded as he looked back at Bruce. "So, y'know Kitty and I have known each other for awhile." He didn't know why he was so nervous talking to Bruce. It was probably because he was about to ask for something he wanted more than anything. "I love her."
"Riiiight." The word dragged out, an attempt to encourage further discussion getting lost in the Scot's familiar sarcasm. "Anyone with eyes knows that, son. Gonna tell me water's wet an' the sky's blue next? Jesus."
Chuckling, he sounded sheepish, "yeah, I guess that's true enough." He knew how he looked at her and how head over heels he was. His hand came up and rubbed the back of his neck. "I want to ask her to marry me, but I don't feel right about doing it without talking to you… I'm asking for your blessing."
Bruce blinked, surprised at the request. He'd seen how many idiots his cousin had been involved with over the years— varying shades of asshole from Brad Jackson to Mike Best. He'd seen her be faithful and loyal only to have it thrown back in her face. She didn't even talk about what had happened with Petrov— the one whose last name she was still using. Bruce knew the man had died, but the circumstances had never been discussed. "She…" shaking his head, the Scot met the younger man's gaze. "She's nae the easiest tae get on with. Sure yeh know that already, though." He hesitated, studying Hunter's earnest expression. "Can't even begin tae unpack all this," he gestured vaguely before glancing at the window. "All I know is she seems a lot more at peace with yeh here. So, thanks. For that."
"Yeah, things are better since I got there." He thought back to when he'd just showed up out of the blue and surprised her. She'd been in a bad place and he hadn't known it. Hunter had had a feeling though. When he locked eyes on her, he knew she needed him. "There's nothing I wouldn't do for her." He picked up his beer, but didn't take a drink. "I've been with plenty of women, but it's always been her. Her face is the one I've always seen."
"You ever tell her any of this?" Bruce was giving him a hard time now, the novelty of this moment not lost on him for a second. He remembered asking for Victor's blessing before he'd asked Charity. He remembered it being far more painful than this. "Seem tae recall her castin' those looks across a crowded bar. Yeh were up on stage, cock of the walk— she never looked away— always wondered if ol' Jackie-Boy was gonna clue in, come burstin' out of your closet one night like the boogedyman, tear yeh tae pieces. Never happened."
Hunter hadn't told her all of that. Of course, he'd told her simpler iterations of what he'd just told Bruce. He had a hard time getting the words out to her. He could tell her he loved her with ease, but to really go to that deep part of himself, in a way it scared him. "She knows most of it…" He would tell her, he had to. "I'm gonna tell her all of it. I've just gotta find the words."
"Took me twenty-three years," Bruce replied with a chuckle, "so good luck with it, aye?" He leaned forward and clinked the neck of his bottle against Hunter's. "Cheers. Here's tae bright futures for us both." Winking, he took a gulp of his beer, urging the other man to do the same. "An' blessings… of course. Guess with Maureen gone now, makes me her eldest relative left this side of the pond." He nodded, "got my approval. For what it's worth."
"Thanks, brother." Now that he had what he wanted, he took a swig of his beer, polishing it off. Smiling at his brother-in-law, he set the empty down. "You think you could keep her occupied tomorrow? I want to take Charity to go look at rings… I wanna propose before we leave Vegas."
"I'll just offer tae let her throw fists in me face. That'll keep her busy for a few hours at least." He laughed, knowing that it was mostly true. She had always been like that, able to lose herself for hours on end just going through the motions. Training. Sparring. It was one of the biggest reasons she was such a threat inside the ring. She was always learning, always adapting and evolving her style based on the people she interacted with. "If she's gonna stay in that company, mebbe should start lookin' for a place here, too. Unless yer gonna just commute every time she's got a match."
"We've talked about it," Hunter said, nodding. "I know she doesn't want to leave the horses."
"Or mebbe she's not ready tae part with the past? Petrov gave her that ranch-"
"I know," Hunter cut him off and brought a hand up to rub his face. "I dunno, maybe we should try to look for something local with room for the horses."
"Am sure there's something fitting." He looked around at the huge room they were in. "Wasn't really lookin' for this place. It found us. If it's meant tae be, it'll be."
"Maybe we'll get a touch your guys' luck." The house his sister and Bruce found was impressive, after all. "I'll talk to Kitty more about it."
"She's lucky tae have ya, Hunter."
"Naw, man," Hunter said as he shook his head. "I'm the lucky one." He had the woman of his dreams and within a few days he would ask her to be his wife. Life couldn't be better.
