"You're leaving??"
Leo shared a look with Selene before he responded, "We want to settle down and maybe...start a family."
That news didn't so much hit you like a ton of bricks, if you were honest with yourself. Which you rarely were. But anyway. It still smacked you in the face, the reality of it. Leo and Selene started secretly dating only about a year after they got put into the band and they just became inseparable after that. But, with this level of fame, came sacrifices. They're private people at heart and even though it's been years and people might suspect something, they've never confirmed or given validity in any form when it came to their relationship – so much so that they've asked you and those around to throw in that at least one of them is perpetually single. They weren't the marriage type, but it didn't surprise you that they might want to pop out some little dudes soon.
"Well, I'm happy for you," You told them genuine before you let yourself get upset, "But how could you leave me?? And the band!"
"It won't be until after these last few shows when we're all on break," Selene tried to soothe and Leo took her hand in his, "But we didn't want to start another tour again when I might be...pregnant. Which I'm not. Yet."
You took a deep breath before Leo spoke up quietly, "It's not too late, you know."
You furrowed your eyebrows with a deeper frown, "What?"
He shared another look with her, but you couldn't tell what they were thinking before he smiled at you softer, "To give it all up and go live your dream."
For a second you almost called him crazy but then realization washed over you.
Ah, the dream.
When you first started getting more famous than you ever thought possible – the Stark name carried a bit of weight in any industry, but that was bioengineering technology, not entertainment, so if you really and truly had little to no talent, this all would've fizzled out within a year or two, and you kept thinking back to what that would've been like. You usually shared with Atlas, and then the band once you all got close, that you dreamed of dropping everything just to travel and perform at small, unannounced and unpaid venues. You were raking in millions of dollars between sales, sponsors, and campaigns by year three and the deeper you got into this – the more famous you became, you had this itch in the back of your head that told you it was getting further and further out of reach.
You wanted to buy a home, maybe in Argentina or Spain or expand your property in Italy, that nobody knew about and settle down. You wanted a massive family – growing up with a much older brother had you wishing for siblings and seeing it in movies, especially Christmas ones, always made you a bit sad, like you lost out on a loud household filled with laughter, fighting, and love – and you wanted to spend your days, preferably before little rugrats were running around, travelling the world. To see all the more secluded, tucked away towns and cities you missed out on, and perform anything new you had written inside a pub or a small concert hall kind of spur of the moment. Tickets, if in a hall, would be first come first serve and no charge, you'd pay to play without complaint, and you would be out of town before too many people caught on. Then you'd continue to release albums, on your own terms, but tours would either not happen or you'd have small ones that you gave your tickets away to local fans for.
But with the media sticking cameras down your throat, headlines calling for your head because you're too illusive or a bitch for not accepting more interview offers, it seemed damn near impossible, and you didn't know how the fans would react. You didn't want to let anyone down.
So, it became a pipe dream that you stored away in an attic. One that you hadn't thought about until you met someone on an elevator who had you thinking about love and a future beyond everything with just a quirk of her lips and a spark in her impossibly green eyes. Speaking of.
