Love, Lust, and Jealousy.
It's a story Cora knows all too well - not because it's her own, but that of her character in Illicit Affairs, the murderous romance that's about to take Broadway by storm. It's her crowning achievement, her pride and joy...
Content, Dr. Pierce set her notebook aside and placed her pen on top of it. "Well, Rasmus, it makes me happy to say that you seem to have had a breakthrough of sorts. You budged out of your comfort zone to open up to someone you were really nervous about talking to. Even if you hadn't gotten the results you were looking for, which it sounds like you did, you should be proud of yourself."
"A breakthrough," he echoed. "That has a nice ring to it."
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Cora had felt like a zombie after doing four shows in two days for the holiday weekend, but after spending the majority of her Monday napping and Netflixing off the fatigue, she was reinvigorated and ready to jump back into another week of performances. She spent her morning lounging in the bath, breathing in the eucalyptus steam that rose off the water to soothe her voice, and then cocooned into the corner of the couch with a book until the time of afternoon when she needed to head to the theater rolled around.
Her feet carried her to Rasmus' door, where she announced herself with a quick knock and then waited. But when it swung open, she had to chew on her lip to stop herself from giggling—he had clearly been in the middle of brushing his teeth. Now the brush was sticking out of his mouth and she could barely understand him when he attempted to mumble around it. "Hi."
"You've got a little something right there," Cora grinned, lifting a pointer finger to the corner of her own lips. "A toothbrush-sized something. I wasn't sure if you noticed."
He rolled his eyes at her as he turned away, disappearing to the bathroom to go spit the toothpaste in the sink. She heard the tap turn on and off and then he was back a moment later, the toothbrush replaced by the house key that now dangled from his fingers.
Even though they had only started walking to work together recently, Cora had already become so accustomed to it that it would have felt odd to do it alone. By the time they headed to the theater on days where they only had an evening show, many of the people around them were already leaving work, and that sometimes made her feel a little too different, too set apart from the rest of the world. It was pleasant to have someone else join her on her unconventional commute, even if they barely talked to each other—it was best to save their voices for the show, after all.
They had to go their separate ways once they walked through the stage door, of course, but she'd see him in the wings before their first entrance. After transforming into Isla Rothschild over a cup of peppermint tea and a chat about Criminal Minds with Anais, Cora held her skirts and set off for the wings just as their stage manager came over the intercom system to announce their five-minute call.
Rasmus was already there and looking dashing as Theo, his hair neatly gelled into the place with much more precision than he ever would have had the patience for in his real life. Now that there was no longer silent resentment radiating off of both of them, this five-minute waiting period had become one of Cora's favorite moments backstage. They could already hear the hum of the audience, the excitement buzzing throughout the air, but no one was looking at them just yet. This was their peaceful moment of anonymity, the calm before the storm.
