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nothing really happens in this chapter, just them getting to know each other a bit more...its sweet and endearing (:
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the thing was, cillian never spoke to marge or his agent. not really. he never accepted the money, hoping that emma would come around. after he left beverly hills, he flew out to new jersey early and then he went back to ireland. he visited with his children, and reconnected with scout his lab. after cillian left, emma needed space. she needed to be alone. alone. she texted tom that she needed a break and he didn't budge. emma spent the night with her mom, cradling her fragile mother for 9 hours. through crying, light sleeping, and anger. she did it all, allowing her sisters to go back to their respective apartments. it had been a month since then, her and her mom slowly going through the house, getting rid of anything that was or resembled him. emma was due to leave to new york for the premiere of love and death in a few days and she was nervous. she did not know if she could leave her mom or leave the house for that in fact. as she was finishing packing for the weekend, she got an email from her agent and cillians that had his email attached as well to it. it read, "please plan to meet around 2 pm for photo calls on saturday at the premiere of "love and death" at the rooftop cinema club midtown. she sighed, realizing that cillian had said jack shit to them. she pressed call to marge who picked up quickly. "did cillian not tell you?" she questioned and marge chuckled. "he did and said that you were going to try to break the contact. he even said that you paid him already. listen...em, he committed to this, he said he is willing to finish it. but he said if you really did not want to, he would accept it, for good." marge said cooly and emma closed her eyes. "alright, ill speak to him in new york." she said before handing up. she growled laying down on her bed, and cursing cillian. and as she thought about new york, she remembered that cillian avoided new york like it was the plague and was intrigued and moved, that he had decided to meet there.
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she walked into her suite at the ritz in new york and quickly changed, she was meeting cillian for dinner in the hotel restaurant. cillian knocked as soon as she had finished changing, and she scurried over to see whoever was at the door. it was him. she smiled, and she opened the door further for him. "ready to get going?" he questioned walking in, then turned around to look at her. she looked different. she had bags under her eyes, she was paler, and looked like she had lost some weight. "um, yeah give me a few." she said nervously, and went to go grab her bag and phone. cillian watched as she collected her phone and wallet, and did a double-check in the mirror before nodding to him so they could leave. they walked out of the hotel room, towards the elevator to go downstairs. they got in and things were awkward. they both typed away to different people. the elevator dinger letting them know that they had made it to the lobby. they walked out, putting their phones away and cillian took ahold of emma's hand. she looked down briefly before looking up at him and smiling softly at him. they walked into the restaurant, confirming their reservations. cillian continued to hold onto her hand as he helped direct her through the smallish restaurant. they thanked the staff remembers, and cillian pulled out the chair for emma. she thanked him, and then he sat down. the decided on the charcuterie board for starters, a water for him and a martini for her. they looked at one another, after the waitress had left. "how was you trip home?" she questioned and he smiled. "it was good, y'know i got to see my kids, parents and ofcourse spend lots of time with my dog scout." he said smiling as he thought about them. he then made eye contact with emma, "how was ah, how was it after i left?" he questioned and she shrugged. "my mom went through the whole house getting rid of things that were his or resembled him. so its been exhausting going over there every day with my sisters to help." she said sipping her martini that had just been put down. "other than that, just been getting my house up for sale so-" he cut her off in confusion, "you're moving?" he asked and she nodded. "I'm uh, I'm heading here. I've signed onto a broadway show here, but I've decided to live here even afterward." and he nodded, "yeah I'm actually working with an old friend of mine sebastian stan." she said sipping more of drink. he nodded drinking his water, "well that's exciting. i wish you all the best, i lived in new york in the 90's and i thoroughly enjoyed it until i met my wife and we decided to move to london." he explained and she nodded. realizing that this was the first time he had mentioned her. "how long were you two together?" she questioned sitting back in her chair. engrossed with whatever he was going to say. "21 years, almost 22 but yeah." he said sipping more water. she smiled, "that's a hell of a long time." she said, and he nodded. "yeah especially when you start putting up with a lot of shit that you technically didn't sign up for." he said laughing to himself. she cocked her head ever so slightly, softly smiling at him. "whats that supposed to mean?" she asked drinking a bit more. "uh..christ. right before i got oppenheimer in 2020 she was fed up with me being away for long periods of time. she was upset that peaky blinders had taken 10 years, but that's what she agreed to. i uh i even asked her the night before our wedding, to make sure that she was alright with everything. because, I couldn't live with myself if she ever became resentful or angry and then i don't know, she accused me of having an affair with a costar and that was the first straw. since she very well knew that i was committed to her, and that betrayed my trust and my self-confidence interestingly went down." he explained. emma nodded, taking all of it in. "that's the life of an actor..one that i knew all too very well growing up. but with my mom being an actress, it helped with understanding. but i definitely saw my mom get annoyed when i was around 16 when my dad started to take on more projects on and she took less and less to take care of us. i grew up a little too early, taking care of my sisters. especially when my dad was checked out at home. he was always concerned with his next project and did not care always to live in the moment." emma confessed and cillian was shocked. "he really made it seem like everything was cool at home but i guess that just means he is good at his job." he said and she saluted him with her martini before finishing it. "fuck, i could go for a beer right now." she giggled alerting the waitress. "beer?" he said cocking an eyebrow. "once in a blue moon, i like beer. and this moment it sounds absolutely delightful." she smiled, and then turned towards the waitress ordering a samuel adams. "not a guinness?" he smirked and she shook her head. "nah not right now, i usually reserve that for st pattys day." she giggled. "st pattys dad, jesus." he laughed at the American nick name. "do yall say the full name?" she questioned and he nodded, "no wonder why Americans call it pattys." she snorted. the starter came out and they put their main course in at the same time. she looked at him again, "what are your kids name?" she questioned. "jasper is 16 and maya is 14." he said and she saw a twinkle in his eyes as he said their names. she smiled, "what do they like to do?" she asked picking up a cracker. "jasper loves to act, he has done stage productions in the past. he also enjoys cooking, on the down time that he is able to get. while maya is a prima ballerina. she's been dancing since she was 2 and now is trying to win a spot at the dublin ballet school or the royal ballet in london." he answered. "they sound like sweethearts and very down to earth." she said and he nodded smiling. "yeah, i just wish they'd stop growing. i want them to be young forever." he laughed and she smiled, understanding in her own way for her sisters. she loved watching them forge their own path in life but wished they could have stayed young forever. "do you want kids?" he questioned and she was taken back a bit. she shrugged, "i mean that's a dream right? i uh, i have never come close to having the opportunity to explore that path but i always say, if its mean to happen it will. " she responded. they ate more of the board before their main entrees came. emma finished her samuel adams and ordered another. they ate in silence for a few minutes.
