PSA: If you're also following Loving the Alien, I'M SO SORRY. That one kind of went on an unintentional hiatus due to my not knowing where to go with the story. Do I go full-on space opera (which I'm not ready for)? Or do I keep it smaller and more grounded (like I've already done with A Day At The Races)? I honestly don't know. So... That's an update on that.

In better news, though, I've planned out the bulk of the upcoming arc of Crazy Millennial Love Story! It's gonna be great practice writing more dramatic and nuanced stories with an ensemble cast and so many moving parts, so please be patient with me!

Anonymous

Hello Keith! I recently came across your account,
and I was wondering if I could hire you for a
shoot in the financial district some time this week.
I can pay you an hourly rate of 50 dollars, and an
additional 500 for the photos. When would you be
available?

(Received 9.53 AM)

Oops! Sorry for the late reply ^^" think if
we'd have to hurry too much if we go now.
Limited daylight and all. How about tomorrow
at noon? Where would you like to meet up?

(Sent 2.12 PM)

Tomorrow at noon sounds great! You've done a
shoot for Allura before, right? Shall we meet in front
of the Altea Infrastructure building?

(received 2.13 PM)

Yeah, that's good for me. See you there!

(Sent 2.34 PM)

(Read 2.35 PM)

Keith tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for his new client to show up, watching the hustle and bustle of men and women in suits rushing from their office buildings to quickly get lunch and return to their cubicle as fast as humanly possible. He'd made sure to show up half an hour early, in case they showed up early, but that was forty-five minutes ago! He let out a deep sigh. He didn't even know their name… nor their gender… nor what they look like. Even their phone number was listed as anonymous!

His heart sank into his shoes. He had no idea who he was supposed to meet up with! What if it was some creep?! Come to think of it, Shiro had insisted he tag along to his very first job as a model, maybe Keith should have insisted his roommate return the favor, but you know, hindsight is always 20/20. He'd just have to deal with whomever the fuck showed up.

The buzzing of his phone snapped him out of his train of thought. He fumbled it out of his pocket with nervous, trembling fingers.

Allura

Look up.

(Received 12.13)

And so he did. Up five floors was Allura waving at him from the window. He chuckled and waved back.

"What are you doing here?!" She called down to him.

"Waiting for a new client! They're probably gonna be here soon!" He shouted back up.

"Good luck! I have to go now, my board meeting is about to start, but I've got my fingers crossed for you!" She said, showing off her crossed fingers from the open window.

"Thanks!" Keith laughed out loud, looking back in front of him as Allura closed up the window she had just leaned out of.

"Sorry I'm late!"

Keith's eyes darted to the source of the sound. Approaching him was a man, tall, tanned skin with his platinum blond hair tied in a messy, yet effortlessly beautiful bun. He was gorgeous in much the same way Allura was. Not Keith's type, but conventionally very attractive.

"Friend of yours?" The stranger asked, pointing up at the widow of the board room.

Keith gazed up, barely processing what was going on. "Uh… Oh, yeah! Allura has pretty much kickstarted my career as a photographer. She's pretty great."

"If you say so." The man shrugged. "Ah, I'm afraid I haven't properly introduced myself yet." He said, holding his hand out for Keith to shake. "I'm Lotor. I do much of the same thing Allura does as a social influencer, but I tend to lean more towards modeling."

Lotor… The name rang a bell to Keith, but he wasn't sure where to place it. Keith looked at his hand, tilting his head slightly as he pushed his doubts to the back of his mind, shaking the man's hand. "Keith. Nice meeting you. So, where did you wanna get your pictures taken?"

"I was hoping to do something a little grittier than your last shoot. I know a nice abandoned warehouse near the harbor that hasn't been turned into a trendy office building yet, so I was hoping we could take the pictures there?"

Abandoned warehouse? That didn't sound suspicious at all. "I, uh, I'm not sure… I didn't bring my lighting rig for that, and I don't have a car to haul it all the way to the harbor… I don't know if it's gonna work." Keith stammered, scratching his face as he pulled this weak excuse out of his ass.

"Oh, don't worry! The roof has more holes than a wheel of swiss cheese. You should be good with the lighting." Lotor reassured happily in a sing-song kind of tone.

Shit. "Okay, sure. If you wanna, why not." Keith gave in, laughing nervously.

As it turned out, Lotor's intent wasn't nearly as malicious as Keith was afraid it would be. He would even go as far as to say that working with the was actually quite pleasant. He clearly had a vision of what he wanted the pictures to look like, and had no problems with being posed and directed.

"You know, I actually used to date Allura." Lotor spoke up as he sat down on a wooden pallet he had just used to pose on.

Keith lowered his camera, allowing it to hang around his neck. "Really? How'd that go?" He asked curiously.

Lotor bit his lip, glancing away. "You know… Dating someone like her isn't all everyone makes it out to be… Her way of life can be demanding. Hell, she can be demanding. Pushy, even. And that's keeping her work as a social influencer out of it! She'd take me on dates, and only afterwards I would find out she only took me out because she was getting paid to advertise the place! I've… I've done a lot of things that I'm not proud of… That I'm uncomfortable with… Just because she wanted those likes."

"Yeah… That sounds pretty shitty." Keith sighed as he sat down next to him. "But if you hated that lifestyle so much when she did it, why are you still doing it now?" He asked, maybe a little harshly. Sure, he felt for Lotor. Nothing is worse than a partner who pushes you too far. Keith knew that from his own experience. But why keep doing it after breaking up with them? Besides, Keith had seen the way Allura works. She didn't seem to be anything like the way Lotor described her.

"Because I'm doing it on my own terms now. It's different…" Lotor mumbled, hollow eyes staring at the dusty concrete floor, tracing one of the cracks with the point of his shoe in boredom. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't use the following I gained during my time with Allura to earn the money I needed get my own place, but those are the only ties to her I have left."

"I'm sorry, man… I didn't know." Keith said, placing a hand on the man's shoulder in an attempt to cheer him up.

"I can't blame you. A lot of people don't know." He sighed. "The new guy that seems to be romancing her. This 'Shiro'... You know him, right?" Lotor asked, turning to Keith.

"Yeah. He's, uh, he's my roommate. And, like, my best friend." Keith admitted, feeling his shoulders slump.

"Oh… I'm so sorry you had to find out this way…" Lotor whispered, carefully wrapping his arm around Keith's shoulders. "Just, you know, do me a favor and look after him, okay? I mean, it's been years since I dated her, so it's perfectly possible that she's a changed woman, but there's no way for me to know for sure. I'd hate for your friend to get hurt."

"I will. I promise."

It was 5 PM by the time Keith returned to his and Shiro's studio apartment. "I'm home!" He called, tossing his keys to the kitchen table, only to be greeted by the sound of a running shower. Pouting, he walked up to the bathroom door and pounded on it with all his might. chuckling at the shrill shriek it earned him from Shiro. "I said I'm home!"

"I heard you the first time!" Shiro called back.

"Then answer me." Keith told him sternly, even though there was nothing stern about the look on his face as he smiled fondly. "What are you washing your ass for anyway?"

"Allura got a press screener for a movie you and I have been stoked about for like half a year, so she invited me to come watch it tonight." Shiro said through the door, shutting off the shower.

"Wait, hold on, Allura got a press screener for Revengers: Infinite Altercation?! You have to tell me all about it when you come back! Or could you, you know, borrow it from her?"

"Can't. Technically, I'm not even supposed to be watching it with her, so I gotta be all hush-hush about it."

"Okay, fine…" Keith said, rolling his eyes. "But you're still coming to see it with me when it comes out in theaters."

"That's a promise I can keep." Shiro said, smiling as he stepped out of the bathroom, towel around his waist.

There was no way Shiro would have just stepped out like this mere months ago, Keith thought to himself. Allura had done good things for both of them, but Shiro's newfound confidence had to be at the very top of the list. It was hard to imagine that the Allura he knew could ever be like the Allura Lotor had apparently dated, but that didn't stop Keith's heart from sinking at the thought that the very same could happen to Shiro. It could be mirrors and smoke. It could be a slow descent that neither of them could see coming. He swallowed thickly around the lump in his throat, pushing the thought to the back of his mind and forced a smile. "You better."

"What are you doing tonight?" Shiro asked curiously, disappearing into his bedroom to get dressed.

"Just editing the photos, I guess. Probably pigging out on potato chips and getting drunk when I'm done."

"Sounds like a solid night." Shiro chuckled as he emerged from his room, fully dressed. He gave Keith a firm pat on the back. "Don't wait up for me, okay?"

"I won't." Keith smiled, but it wasn't genuine. He watched Shiro like a hawk as he made a move to leave the apartment, panic creeping up on him. Finally, he snapped, taking hold of Shiro's wrist. "Be… Be careful, okay? Call me if there's anything wrong… Hell, if you're uncomfortable, call me. Okay? Be safe."

Shiro smiled and pulled the smaller man into a hug. "I will, I promise." He whispered before pulling back. "I know it's hard to see your little man grow up, but I'm not leaving the nest just yet." Shiro joked, wearing the broadest, brightest smile on his face. A rare treat, even for Keith, even though it was becoming more and more common.

"Come on, man, can't a bro be worried about a bro?" Keith asked, laughing nervously as he went along with the joke. Had he been that obvious?

"It's okay, enough joking for now." Shiro said before taking a deep breath, keeping himself from laughing any more. "I'll be safe, I promise. I'll be back in the morning, so seriously, don't wait up for me, okay?" He said, squeezing Keith's shoulder reassuringly.

"Okay…" Keith mumbled, breath hitching as he watched Shiro leave.

What if Allura really wasn't who they thought she was?

When Lotor returned home, his apartment was completely shrouded in darkness. Nobody had apparently bothered to turn any of the lights on. He sighed as he turned on the lights in the hallway and made his way to his living room, which was completely dark as well, the only light in the room coming from his television and Ezor's cell phone.

All three of his friends were sprawled over the couch, tangled up in each other, half watching whatever trashy tv show was on. They hissed, squinting when he turned on the light fixture that hung right above them. "Ladies." Lotor greeted, a fond smile gracing his features.

They hummed in acknowledgement, boredom evident in every last bit of their being.

"So, how'd it go?" Ezor asked as she threw her phone to the salon table.

"It went well, thank you very much. The seeds of doubt are planted, and I got some very pretty pictures out of it, too. Double win for me." Lotor smiled proudly, showing the already edited photos that had arrived in his inbox mere minutes ago. "If all goes according to plan, all we have to do is wait."

"Man, I hate this. You could've just let me beat up the new guy and tell him to stay the fuck away from her. Much quicker, that way." The largest of his friends, Zethrid, asked as she sat up, knocking the two other girls off of her with a yelp.

"Yes, it would be quicker, but I doubt it would be more effective. Besides, beating up a nerdy, gay photographer isn't a good look for you. It would prompt immediate retaliation and I can't risk that." He said sternly, prompting the large woman to groan in frustration.

"Sorry to rain on your parade, Lotor, but the same plan didn't work for the last three of Allura's friends. What makes you think it will work this time?" Axca asked, leaning over the back of the couch.

"Because he has trust issues, and we have leverage." Lotor smirked as he sat down on the couch between Ezor and Axca. "I didn't tell him Allura would turn on him, I told him Allura would turn on his best friend. If I can get him to mistrust Allura and break their friendship from the inside, he might be able to convince his friend to no longer pursue Allura. Either that, or his relationship with his best friend will crumble along with his relationship with Allura, leaving him all alone. Whatever happens, the fallout will be interesting to watch."

"That… Actually sounds like it might work." Axca admitted.

He nodded in agreement. "Now all we have to do is sit back and relax."