Status: --- Hiatus ---

It's Just Our Fate

O Fortuna

Jackson stood in front of the mirror fixing his tux as he waited for Lily to get out of the bathroom. “Lily, com’on, we have to get going before they lock everyone out.” He said. Lily opened up the door and walked out heading for the closet. “Alright, just let me grab a jacket and we’ll go.” She said.

Jackson turned around as he watched her fumble through the various amounts of clothes she had compiled on hangers. He crossed his arms, smiling, as he looked her up and down. Lily’s dress was green and form fitting, cutting off at the knee, with a black belt tying around her waist. Her hair was in a half-do held up by a golden clip, letting her natural waves flow down to the mid of her back.

Lily pulled out a black formal jacket with green lining and slipped on some black pumps. She turned around as she put the jacket on, pulling her hair out from under it, “Okay, I’m ready.” Jackson smiled wider, “Seems like I’ll have to fight off the guys tonight.”

Lily tilted her head and laughed as she went over to the bed, picking up the purse she had already laid out, and then walked over to him. “Let’s try and not fight with anyone while my father’s around, kay?” She said, adjusting his suit a little. Jackson let out a breath and nodded, “Yeah, wouldn’t want dad to hate me.”

She kissed him quickly, “He’s gonna love you, Jack.” Jackson smiled and pulled a strand of hair that had fallen, back behind her ear, “Com’on, let’s go. Wouldn’t want to keep everyone waiting.”

-The Opera-

After giving the key to the valet, Jackson and Lily walked into the huge theater, looking around to admire their surroundings. “It’s gorgeous!”, Lily squealed, squeezing Jackson’s arm. He turned his head leaning down to her ear, “No, you’re gorgeous.” She turned to him and smiled as they headed over to a booth, handing over their coats.

“Well, look what the cat brought in!” a voice yelled. Jackson and Lily turned around, waving as they did. “Rudy!” Lily yelped as she walked over to him, pulling him into a hug. Rudy laughed and hugged her back, squeezing her a little, “Hello there, beautiful!”

Lily stepped back after they were done, holding onto Rudy’s hands, “Thank you so much for inviting us. This place is beautiful.” Rudy smiled, picking up her hand and kissed it, “Only the best for my favorite flower.” Lily smiled as she let go of his hands and stood beside Jackson again.

“Rudy.” Jackson said, holding out his hand. Rudy smiled and took it, shaking it, “Nice to see you Jackson.” Jackson nodded to him and put an arm around Lily, “So no strange women tonight?” Rudy huffed for a moment then turned and pointed to a blonde in the corner, surrounded by other people. She had to be at least twenty years old, way too young for old Rudy.

Lily let out a giggle as Jackson rose an eyebrow, looking back to Rudy, “You enjoy cradles?” Rudy laughed and shook his head, “Trust me, any bed that little minx has been in with me, was far from a cradle.” Jackson let out a laugh as Lily tried to contain hers.
“Lily?”

Jackson and Lily turned as Rudy watched behind them. “Daddy!” Lily yelled out. She ran over to him, hugging him tightly, “Oh, you made it!” The man was much taller up close, and quite broad, as he wrapped his arms around Lily nearly picking her off the floor. “Of course I would, I would never stand up my little girl.” He said between laughs.

They broke their embrace as two security guards came up next to them. “Conner, Maxwell.” Lily said as she smiled to them. They both gave quick nods as they looked about the room, maintaining focus. Jackson straightened up as he glanced at Rudy then back to Lily and her father.

Lily took a hold of her father’s hand, pulling him closer to where Jackson was, “Daddy, this is Jackson. Jackson, this is my father, Arnold Baxter.” Jackson smiled slightly and held out his hand, “A pleasure to finally meet you sir.” Mr. Baxter took a hold of his hand and shook it firmly, “Same to you. It’s great to finally meet the man my daughter talks of nonstop.” They all laughed for a moment as an announcement came on saying they needed to take their seats.

Rudy’s date came over to him as the announcement sounded off. “Oh, daddy, and this is Rudy. He’s the one who gave tickets to Jackson and I.” Lily said. Mr. Baxter outstretched his hand to him, “Pleasure. A man with a love of the arts, I like that.” Rudy took his hand and laughed a bit, “Adore it.” They both let go as they all stood somewhat awkwardly.

“We all should all try to get inside.”, Jackson said. Rudy nodded, taking hold of his date’s hand, “Yes, we have a nice balcony set up, looking over the entire stage.” They smiled and followed Rudy as they headed up to the balcony.

Lily held onto Jackson’s hand as she looked behind her every now and then, whispering how glad she was that her father was here. The security guards followed behind Mr. Baxter as they walked up the stairs.

“Here we are”, Rudy laughed a bit as they entered the room. There were three other rooms that looked just like it down the row, but only theirs was reserved. “Sit, ladies, sit.” Rudy cooed as he held out a seat for his date, Jackson pulling out another for Lily. The girls sat down, Lily leaning to look over the balcony.

Jackson sat beside Lily, her father sat next to him as the guards stood behind them all closing the curtains, “Enjoying the view dear?” Mr. Baxter asked. Lily sat back and smiled to him, “It’s wonderful.” Rudy sat by his date as the lights began to dim, the center light coming up.
Jackson took a hold of Lily’s hand, squeezing it slightly as the show began. She squeezed back gently as she watched in awe as the performers came out onto the stage.

It was about an hour into the performance, another half hour remaining. Mr. Baxter leaned in slightly to Jackson, as everyone had their attention to the woman and man conveying their love in song form, “Lily tells me you travel a lot.”

Jackson glanced over at him and nodded, “Yes, sir. I go to conferences to promote products for the company I work for.” Mr. Baxter nodded, smiling a bit, “What company is that?” he whispered. Jackson straightened up a bit, whispering back, “This computer place, trust me, it’s no Apple.” They both laughed a little, catching the attention of the others for a brief moment.

“Well how does your family feel about that?”, Mr. Baxter asked as he stared out at the performers. Jackson kept a straight face, “They died a long time ago, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind my occupation even if they were still walking around.” Mr. Baxter glanced at him for a moment and then back to the performers, “My apologies.”

Jackson nodded, “It’s alright.” A crescendo began as the singers began to wave their arms. “Lily is quite fond of you.”, Mr. Baxter whispered lowly. Jackson nodded, “We’ve been together for a while now.” Mr. Baxter nodded, his face blank, “So she tells me.”

Lily sat up a little as she admired the performers. They both looked in her direction, thinking she heard and then relaxed once more. “She is my only daughter… I wouldn’t want her getting hurt or receiving false intentions from you.”, Mr. Baxter whispered as he leaned in closely to Jackson.

Jackson nodded, turning to him, and whispered, “I would never hurt your daughter, she means a great deal to me, sir.” They both looked at one another for a few moments, then turned their attention back to the performance. Mr. Baxter nodded sternly, “Always good to know.” Jackson nodded in return, “Her desires and well being mean the most to me. She’s in good hands.”

Mr. Baxter nodded once more, tightening his jaw for a moment as he watched a few dancers come out onto the stage, “They mean a great deal to me as well.” He glanced over to Jackson again, then back to the dancers, “She isn’t just some girl, she’s very smart and ungodly kind.” He whispered. Jackson nodded slowly, “I know.”

Mr. Baxter smiled a little, “I’m glad that you can see that. Wouldn’t want to have to hunt you down if you hurt my little girl now.” He said laughing quietly. Jackson smirked a little, turning to him, “I wouldn’t hurt her, but if it’s a hunt you want, you most definitely can try.”
Mr. Baxter looked over to Jackson and nodded laughing a little, “We’ll see.” They both looked back onto the stage as the curtains slowly closed, creating a great applause.

After the performance, they all gathered their coats from the booth and headed outside. “That was such a great performance, thank you so much for inviting us Rudy.” Lily smiled. Rudy nodded, winking at her as he held onto his date, “Wouldn’t of had it any other way.”

They all stayed under the shade built by the overhead glass in front of the door, being that it was raining. “I better head off now, honey.” Mr. Baxter said. Lily wrapped her arms around him, “Alright daddy, I’ll talk to you soon.” Jackson waited patiently for Lily to release her father as he extended a hand, “It was a pleasure meeting you, sir.”

Mr. Baxter nodded, “You as well. Hopefully you both can swing by at the old home for some dinner, what do you think?” Lily and Jackson looked at one another, “Of course, It’d be wonderful.” Jackson finally replied.

A limo pulled up as the guards went, one in the front seat, the other at the rear holding open the door, “Wonderful. G’bye for now.” Mr. Baxter said as he walked to the car, taking his seat as the guard shut it. He ran around to the other side and got in, and off they went.
Lily held her coat closer to her as Jackson put an arm around her, “Cold?” She nodded a bit as she let out a shiver, “A bit.”

Rudy and Jackson’s car then pulled up. They both said their goodbye’s quickly and raced into the cars to beat the rain that was already falling overhead.

Jackson drove off towards the apartment as he stared out, trying to focus through all the rain. “So did you like the performance?” Lily asked as she tinkered with the heat to warm her up. Jackson nodded, shaking his head a little to get the water off, “Yeah, it was nice.” Lily smiled as she watched him, “It was nice?”

Jackson slowly stopped at a red light, glancing over to her as a smile played on his face, “What?” Lily laughed a little, “You hated it.” Jackson sucked his teeth for a moment, then laughed, “It wasn’t my cup of tea.”

She smacked his arm playfully as he began to drive again, turning as he went, “Oh shut up.” He smiled as he kept his eyes back on the road.

They stayed silent for a while as Jackson pulled into the parking garage, swiftly parking the car. He turned the engine off holding the keys in his hand and looked at her, “Alright, let us retire to our palace, Madame.”

Lily bit her lip for a moment as she looked at him, “Are you sure you really want to have dinner with my father?” Jackson’s face softened as he studied her face, “Of course… Why do you ask?”

Lily sighed, trying to find the right words, “I don’t know… I mean do you think you’ll actually make it there this time because you know your track record for this isn’t really high.” Jackson leaned back in the seat as he looked ahead at the other cars, then turned his head to look at her again, “I promise you, I’ll be there. You set the date and then I’ll make the appearance.”
She smiled softly at him, “You sure?” Jackson leaned over to her quickly, kissing her on the cheek, “I’m sure.” He got out of the car and hurried over to her side opening her door, “C’mon. I’m tired.”

He helped her out as they headed to the entrance to the elevator, “Any day I want?” Lily asked as they entered it. Jackson nodded as he held onto her hand, “Any day that ends with ‘y’.” he said winking. She smiled as the doors opened on their floor, “Next Wednesday then.” They stepped out of the elevator and headed for the door.

Jackson put the key in, unlocking it, and opened it up for her, “Then it seems we have a date with your father next Wednesday.”
♠ ♠ ♠
Sorry this took so long to get out, busy with college stuff.
Hope you like though :D