Slow Spinning Redemption

“Jussi get out of the kitchen!” Toni said for the fifth time that evening, glaring at the drummer as he tried to peek into the containers of food that were sitting on the counter.

“I’m just-”

“I don’t care what ‘you’re just’ doing,” Toni said, slapping his hand with the plastic spoon she had in her hand. “Get the hell away from the plates! We’ll eat when we eat.”

“But-”

“Jussi, sweetie,” Soya said, grabbing the two liters of soda that were on the counter as Vedrana handed her the bag of ice from the freezer. “Why don’t you take these outside with the guys?” she said, shoving them into Jussi’s arms. “And stay out there.”

“But won’t the ice melt if it-”

“Doesn’t matter,” Soya said, her smile kind and patient as she started ushering him towards the doorway. “We have more. Just go talk to the boys, huh?”

Jussi sighed as he turned, juggling the two liters and bag of ice as he went outside where Ville, Mige, Linde and Jyrki were sitting at the white plastic tables that Ville and Soya had set up. Soya and the girls had added their own feminine touches by covering the table with a red plastic table cloth and setting little tea light candles in glass holders on the table, even though Ville had turned on the outdoor lights when he’d gone to start up the radio that was making it way randomly through his iPod.

“Get kicked out?” Jyrki asked as Ville took the liters of soda out of Jussi’s arms as Jussi set the ice on the table.

“Yeah,” Jussi sighed, sitting between Jyrki and Mige at the table.

“Must be some girl that’s coming if you’re bothering the girls in the kitchen,” Mige teased.

“This isn’t about-”

“She’s pretty good looking,” Ville nodded, checking over his shoulder to see if Soya was behind him. When she wasn’t he grinned at Mige. “Much too pretty for Jussi though.”

Jyrki laughed. “I think most women are too pretty for Jussi.”

“You’re all dicks. And this isn’t about-”

“It’s been awhile since you’ve taken an interest in a woman,” Linde smirked. “We were all starting to talk about setting you up with some friends of ours.”

“Of the male persuasion,” Mige laughed, causing Ville and Jyrki to laugh as well as Jussi rolled his eyes.

“Yes, please have a laugh at my expense,” Jussi muttered, though he could see the guys getting ready to start another round of ribbing. The sound of two little girls’ laughs as they started to run past stopped them. Linde reached out to grab the hand of the small blonde girl who was running after her brunette friend.

“Daddy!” Olivia whined, trying to get out of her father’s grip.

“Hey, what have I told you about running?” Linde warned. “You and Aida both need to stop running around; you’re going to end up falling and hurting yourself.”

“I know!” Olivia said, getting her arm away from Linde’s hand. “We’re not running.”

“’Liv, your Uncle Ville and Aunt Soya have a lot of stuff lying about. We don’t want to see you or Aida hurt, so please don’t run in the house.”

“Okay,” Olivia said slowly as Linde let go of her hand. “We won’t.”

“All right,” Linde nodded, watching as Olivia walked back into the house slowly, only to run off the minute she went through the threshold. He sighed as he turned back to his grinning friends. “I don’t know why I bother.”

“Because she’s your kid and you care,” Mige said as Linde started to get up to go get Olivia, only to stop when the boys all turned when they heard something crash, causing Soya’s voice to ring out.

“Aida, I swear if I see you running again you’ll go to your room without supper! And Olivia, I’m sure your father feels the same way! Now both of you, move away from the glass and let us clean it up before you hurt yourselves. Go on! Go put on a movie!”

“Looks like the girls have it covered,” Linde laughed, sitting back down and turning back to Jussi. “Now back to your girlfriend.”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Jussi groaned as the guys laughed.

“Hey, boys.”

The guys turned, looking over at Vedrana as she smiled at them. “Food’s all set. Come and serve yourselves; we’re not your fucking maids.”

“But Isolde’s not here,” Jussi said with a frown.

Vedrana nodded as the rest of the guys got up and started to go inside to get some dinner. “I know, and if she comes, she’ll come on her own time Jussi. We’re not going to put dinner on hold for one person.”

“But-”

“The kids are starving and their bellies come first. Come on, it’s not like the food is going to disappear; we ordered enough for a small army, so when she comes, she’ll still be able to fix herself a plate.”

Jussi sighed, getting out of his chair and making his way inside to get a plate.

“Atta boy,” Vedrana laughed, patting his shoulder as she followed him in.

XxxxxxX

“How long are you staying in Helsinki?”

Isolde sighed as she moved her finger over the mouse pad of her laptop, answering her mother’s question again. “I’ve told you mum; I don’t know. It could be a couple more days, it could be a month. It’s where ever I’m needed, and at the moment I’m needed here.”

“Your father and I miss you, darling.”

“I know Mum,” Isolde said softly, knowing that her mother meant it. Isolde was an only child and had been very much doted on. When she had refused to live with her parents past eighteen, she could have sworn she’d seen her mother’s heart break in front of her. “The minute I find out when I’m headed to go back, you’ll be the first to know.”

“You promise, Izzy?”

Isolde laughed at the nickname she only allowed her parents -and on occasion Josef, to use, bringing her feet up to the lip of the chair and hugging her arm around her knees as she leaned forward. “I promise maminka. I will let you know the minute I’m due back in Prague.” Isolde frowned when she heard a slight beeping coming from the speaker of her phone. Pulling it away from her ear, she saw her manager’s name on the screen, waiting to be put through. “Mama, I have a call waiting. Can I call you back tomorrow morning?”

“Of course princezna! Miluju tĕ!”

“Love you too,” Isolde said as her mother hung up. She answered the call on the other end. “Ivan,” she said sweetly, only to be interrupted by Ivan’s gruff voice.

“Are you crazy?!”

Isolde nodded slowly. “Sometimes I think I am, but at the moment I’m completely sane.”

“Fine, I’m rephrasing the question: were you crazy when you wrote your newest blog post?”

Isolde blinked before smiling lightly. “You read it? Why Ivan, I’m flattered! You usually don’t give my whim of a website any thought.”

“That was before you gave yourself the reputation of a-”

“Watch what you say, Ivan.” Isolde warned quietly, the playfulness gone from her voice as she effectively cut him off. “Being called a whore is what made me write what I wrote in the first place.”

“Isolde, you don’t understand. Things like this, they don’t leave the best impression, especially on future clients.”

Isolde sighed. “Ivan, what I post on my personal website is different than what I have on my professional site, thus why I have two sites. If potential clients go to my personal website, then they go at their own risk. I’m not going to censor myself on a blog that I created so that I could vent out my frustrations, as well as inform women about things I found interesting. Which brings my attention as to why you’re so upset about this post, when just last month I talked about different vibrators, and the benefits of owning them all.” Isolde laughed at the joke she made in her head. “Like Pokémon, Ivan! Get it?! Got to own them all! Oh I crack myself up.”

“Isolde.”

Isolde rolled her eyes. “No sense of humor, Ivan?!” she said with a roll of her eyes. “I refuse to censor myself, and I refuse to deny the fact that I, as a woman, enjoy sex. I didn’t write my rant to parade the fact that I have lovers, and yes, Ivan, I do have more than one. I wrote it to let women know that it was okay to enjoy sex and to be proud of that fact. There’s a difference between someone enjoying the act of sex, and being a whore, so before you go accusing me of parading myself as a whore, make sure you know the difference.”

“Are you done?”

“Yes, I’m done.”

“Good. My turn to talk.”

Isolde sighed as she heard Ivan start on his lecture, one she knew to be long winded, as it wasn’t the first time the older man had lectured her on her private life. So, as she regularly did when Ivan got to talking, she set the phone down on the table next to her and ignored the chattering coming from the other end as she focused her attention back on her computer, only picking up the phone to inset the proper ‘uh-huh’s’ and ‘of course Ivan’s’.

It was a waste of breath in Isolde’s opinion. It wasn’t as if his lectures actually changed her opinion, or would make her take down the post, or apologize for something she’d done; which Ivan, at times expected her to do, but because she adored the man (at times), she let him lecture much as an older brother would to a younger sister, and she would pointedly ignore him.

So she edited the pictures she’d taken around town the last couple of days, smiling lightly when she ran her curser over a young child accepting a flower from her mother, a large grin on both their faces. She ordered her dinner, because her stomach rumbled and she probably wouldn’t have eaten had it not. Isolde also lost track of how many times Ivan reminded her of the image she was meant to uphold as a professional, and knew that lecture would last another hour.

It wasn’t until she was looking at the newer pictures she’d taken that afternoon before meeting with Soya and Ville that she looked at the clock in the corner of her laptop, only to curse.

“Of course,” she muttered, resisting the urge to wipe her greasy fingers from the fries she’d had for dinner on her pants. Instead, she reached for the linen napkin that lay forgotten on the table and wiped her fingers before picking up her phone.

Rolling her eyes at Ivan’s voice, she whispered a quick goodbye and hung up the phone. Knowing he’d be calling back once he figured out she’d hung up, she tossed the phone on the bed before getting up and slipping her feet back into her heeled booties.

“Can’t believe I’m late,” she muttered, making sure she actually had her room key in her camera bag, along with her camera and memory card before grabbing her cardigan and leaving the room, just as she heard her phone ring.

“Just in time Ivan,” she chuckled, letting the door close behind her as she walked to the elevator, the doors opening before her. She made her way to the lobby, finding a cab easily and repeating the address Soya had told her to the cab driver.

She was nearly an hour late to the get-together Soya and Ville had invited her too, not to mention adding another twenty minutes to her time due to the cab ride. She really needed to invest in a stupid watch, she thought with a mental eye roll.

XxxxxxX

The loud sounds of KISS drifted through the stone tower. The laughter of his friends echoed around the backyard, making Jussi smile as he laughed along with them. He leaned back into his chair as he listened to Jyrki talk with Soya, telling her about one of his more embarrassing moments on stage, which only caused Soya’s rich laughter to join that of her boyfriend’s (or fiancé’s, if that silver ring on her finger were any indication), as Ville laughed at something Mige had said.

The shrill but playful screams of the two young girls also mixed into the group, as they’d been given permission to run about outside when it’d been clear that they weren’t going to sit still to watch whatever movie Ville and Soya had tried to put on for them. He added his own two cents into the conversations when he saw fit, content in listening to his friends talk and joke. But for the most part he was uncharacteristically quiet, keeping an eye out for Isolde, who had yet to show up.

He nearly missed the buzzing of his phone, only catching it since he was reaching for his cigarettes after both Soya and Linde gave him permission to have one, since the girls weren’t near the table. Taking it out, he saw his older brother’s name on the caller ID and answered.

“Hei?”

“Hei!”

Jussi winced as Mige who was sitting at his side, laughed loudly, blocking his brother’s voice. “Give me a minute Janne,” Jussi said, scooting out of his chair, causing Jyrki to look up at him. Jussi pointed to his phone as he took his cigarettes and lighter out of his pocket and started to walk around the tower, slowing his gait as he balanced the phone between his ear and shoulder and took out his cigarettes.

“Sorry Janne,” he said, stopping to pull out a cigarette and sticking the box back in his pocket. “Lot of noise; what’d you need?”

“I was just talking to mum. She wants to have us for dinner tomorrow.”

“I can’t,” Jussi admitted with a sigh as he leaned against the stone wall of the tower. “We’ve got a gig tomorrow night here in town.” He frowned and looked up from his fingers when he heard a car door slam and someone trudging their way up the walk.

“You know you haven’t been by to visit in the month you’ve been home, and you’re leaving again next week.”

“I’ve called,” Jussi said slowly, smirking when he caught sight of the blonde curls of the woman making her way up.

“Can you at least stop by in the morning, Jussi?” Janne asked with a chuckle. “Mum wants to plump you up, as you’ve been losing weight again.”

Jussi snorted. “I’ll take that as a compliment,” he said, pushing off the wall and putting the cigarette in his mouth, performing his balancing act with his phone as he lit the tip of his cigarette and started towards Isolde, who had gone to the front door.

“Take it how you want, just come visit,” Janne laughed.

“Yes, I know. I’ll stop by tomorrow.” He laughed, talking around his cigarette as Isolde started rounding the corner, looking up when she spotted him. “Hey, let me call you back later. But I’ll be sure to stop by. Tell mum, yeah?” He took the cigarette out of his mouth, the smoke billowing out in a light haze. “You came.”

“I was invited,” Isolde said shortly.

“By me,” Jussi pointed out with a smirk, taking another puff of his cigarette.

Isolde rolled her eyes at his cockiness. “By Soya and Ville.”

“Were you going to knock?” Jussi asked, gesturing towards the door she’d headed towards first.

“I was planning on it,” Isolde admitted, still staring at him. “Who was on the phone?”

“One of my brothers,” Jussi shrugged, before bringing the cigarette back to his mouth. “Just got loud back there and I couldn’t hear what he was saying. Come on; Soya’s been wondering when you would get here.”

“I had some things I had to do before coming,” Isolde lied, not wanting to admit she’d gotten caught up in her own mind before remembering she’d had a commitment. She caught up with him and walked next to him, following him around the stone tower. She instantly heard the music playing and the loud chatter of friends at they neared.

“You’re lucky there’s food left,” Jussi smirked, looking over at her, though she seemed to have tuned him out as her eyes scanned the backyard. The photographer eye, Jussi thought, having seen a few of his friends get that far away look in their eye when they saw something worth capturing on film.

He looked over at his friends and tried to see the pictures that she saw. The back door to the tower was open, letting Led Zeppelin pour out into the backyard. His friends were sitting and moving around the table. Soya was settled on Ville’s lap, one of his arms wrapped around her waist, keeping her in place while the other kept his chin in place as he listened to whatever Jyrki was telling him, grinning all the while.

Soya talked with her hands, following Toni’s movements as the red head danced over to her fiancée, placing a plate of food in front of him and kissing his dreadlocked head before grinning at whatever Soya said. Vedrana, Mige and Linde were in the midst of a conversation, while Ville’s laugh echoed with Jyrki’s over something. In the midst of everything, the two little ones were still running around the yard, screaming and laughing as they played tag.

“Soya’s little sister, Aida,” Jussi told her, leaning towards her as Isolde’s eyes scanned the girls. “She’s the dark haired one. The little blonde is Linde’s daughter, Olivia.” He looked over at her, noticing the way her hand unclasped her camera and couldn’t help but chuckle. “Let’s introduce you to everyone before you start snapping pictures,” he told her, leading her towards the tables. “Look who I found wandering in the yard,” he said as he retook his seat next to Jyrki.

“Isolde!” Soya grinned, “We were starting to think you’d decided not to come.”

Isolde shook her head with a smile. “No, I just had some phone calls to make back at the hotel room. A five minute check-in with my manager turned into a two hour argument over something I can’t even remember,” Isolde said with a shrug. Since she hadn’t actually listened or partaken in Ivan’s rant, she couldn’t actually say what they had argued about.

“Everyone, this is Isolde,” Soya said, before turning to Isolde with a smile. “Isolde, everyone.”

Isolde laughed as she gave a wave. “Good to meet you all.”

“We’ve told them you’d have a camera with you,” Ville said, his arm wrapping tighter around Soya’s waist as she moved in her excitement to see the blonde.

“We’re all fine with you taking pictures,” Linde assured with a smile. “But uh…Olivia-” he started.

“Anything I take, I’ll send to you,” Isolde assured with a wave of dismissal. “These types of pictures are usually just meant for my own enjoyment of taking them, and very rarely do I publish them. If I take anything of Olivia, or Aida for that matter, I’ll send them to you or Soya.”

Linde nodded. “Thank you.”

“There’s still some food in the kitchen,” Vedrana, Mige’s wife, smiled at her. “Help yourself. We ordered way too much food.”

“Oh I’m-” Isolde was cut off as someone ran into her. Looking down she saw Soya’s little sister shake her head, as if startled she’d had to stop, before starting around her to run after the blonde again. Isolde couldn’t help but grin at the action. Aida was stopped, however, when Ville used his free arm to grab hold of her, bringing her to another stop.

“Hey, hey! You and Olivia both need to slow down,” Ville warned. From the tone of his voice, Isolde got the impression that it hadn’t been the first time the girls had been reprimanded that night. “You just ran into someone.”

“Sorry!” Aida said, looking up at Isolde before looking back at Ville. “There, I apologized. Can I go now?”

Ville shook his head before letting her go. “If you get hurt, don’t come crying to me.” Aida shrugged before taking off again.

“Sorry,” Soya laughed. “She hasn’t really spent much time with other children, so she’s really excited to have someone her age to play with.”

“It’s fine,” Isolde assured.

“So, want me to fix you a plate?” Soya asked, starting to get off of Ville.

“No, no. I ate at the hotel,” Isolde said quickly, not wanting Soya to bother getting up, only for everyone to turn when they heard a crash, followed by one of the girls’ crying.

Linde sighed. “I’ll get it.”

“No, no,” Soya said with a roll of her own eyes. “I’ll go.” She got up with Ville following her, only for her to frown at him. “I’m pretty sure it’s a one person job.”

Ville shrugged before smirking. “I just want to tell Aida I was right.”

“Horrible,” Soya said, shaking her head as they went inside.

“Take a seat,” Jyrki said, waving at the seat Ville and Soya had just vacated.

Isolde took the seat, setting her bag on the ground before turning to Linde. “Aren’t you worried Olivia got hurt?”

Linde shook his head with a grin. “It wasn’t her crying; it was Aida.”

“And we’ve been warning them all night that if they kept running around like, they’d get hurt,” Vedrana said. “Sounds like one of them did.”

“And if it was Aida,” Jyrki grinned, “Ville’s lecturing her now.”

“Sound’s very…paternal,” Isolde said with a small smile, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear, while trying to ignore Jussi’s piercing blue gaze. He really needed to get his staring under control.

“We tease him,” Mige grinned. “He’s really taken to Aida; treats her like his own little sister.”

“Aida’s just as taken with him,” Jussi pointed out. “That little girl adores Ville.”

“Soya was telling me that while she’s working at the studio, Ville will pick her up and he’ll take her to lunch and help her with her homework,” Toni said with a teasing smile. “I’m telling you, Ville is definitely ready to be a daddy.”

Linde shook his head before turning back to Isolde. “Ville was telling us about the pictures you took of them earlier, and about some of the questions you asked them about their relationship. Anything you want to ask us?”

And so she did. She listened to how Linde and Mige had met and taken to Soya instantly, how Jussi and Jyrki had met her as well, and how much love they all had for the newest member of their group. There were worries, of course; Linde seemed to think that the couple was moving too fast, taking the normality of their relationship and speeding up the dating process. But he mostly feared it would backfire on the couple.

Which wasn’t surprising for Isolde; every group of friends had their worries when two friends started dating. But usually the worries stemmed from the group being broken apart if the couple were to break up. This group’s worry obviously stemmed from Ville and Soya not taking their relationship slow enough, which only amused Isolde. They were like mother hens, wanting the relationship to work, but wanting to cluck after their chicks and make sure they did things right.

Isolde, on the other hand, could see the reasoning of wanting to speed up their relationship. From what she knew of Josef’s dance schedule, Soya only had two more months in Helsinki before she was due back in New York, and while Ville may have been able to follow, the question was for how long? By the sound of it, Soya and Ville had been waiting for a chance at their relationship for years, and now that they had it, it made sense that everything they did together was sped up.

When Ville and Soya finally came back to the table, apparently having taken a moment to themselves in the kitchen, the conversation picked up again and shifted away from the couple. Isolde took pictures as she saw them; Vedrana and her husband sharing a kiss, Toni whispering something in her fiancé’s ear, causing him to laugh loudly; Jyrki nodding along with Soya as she used her hands to tell a story, and Jussi…staring at her.

She put her camera down, unable to take the picture, when Ville focused his attention on her and asked her a question. “So, how’d you meet Josef?”

“Ah,” Isolde laughed, setting her camera in her lap. “When my family and I moved to Prague, his family lived about a mile up the road from us. He and his family were the first people I met. Unfortunately Josef stuck around and we became friends, but I’m also rather close to his siblings, though they rarely shut up about Soya.”

“You’re exaggerating,” Soya laughed with a blush.

“I’m not, they’re so proud of their adopted daughter,” Isolde laughed.

“Trust me, they never shut up about you either,” Soya assured. “So proud of their Princess Isolde.”

“Oh god! Did they actually call me that in front of you?!”

“They did,” Soya teased. “When was the last time you saw them?

“I was there a couple of months ago,” Isolde said, taking a sip of the water one of the guys had handed her earlier. “Babysat little Mika.”

“Mila and Aldous are going to be incapable of making ugly children with the way Mika turned out,” Soya teased.

Isolde snorted. “Please, all the Kolars are incapable of making ugly children, though Július and Sophia have yet to have kids, so that curse may fall upon them.”

Soya laughed, clapping her hands in amusement as she thought of the eldest Kolar sibling. “Oh! I can’t even imagine that, Július is gorgeous!”

Isolde sighed wistfully. “That he is.”

“And Sophia is just as; the Kolars lucked out.”

“Should I be worried that you find another man gorgeous?” Ville asked, causing Soya to turn to him.

“Oh, of course not!” Soya laughed, patting his cheek. “Though Jyrki has been looking amazing these past few days.”

“I thank you,” Jyrki chuckled. “But I’m sure Rosalind would kill you.”

Soya snorted. “Please, as if she and Josef haven’t talked about what would happen if you suddenly liked men for a day.”

Isolde laughed. “And here I thought Josef fancied Vuori.”

“Oh no! Jyrki holds his heart,” Soya teased, reaching over to pinch Jyrki’s cheek, causing the rest of the occupants at the table to laugh.

Isolde spent the rest of her night snapping pictures, especially of the two young girls who seemed to be eager to get in front of the camera. Though they’d finally settled after Aida had scrapped up her knee from falling on one of the stairs, Isolde took advantage of their calm state to take pictures of them sitting on the couch watching a movie and eating from a bag of candy. According to Aida, Olivia was a worthy person to share her bag of candy with.

“Do you want some?” Aida asked, holding out the bag to Isolde.

“I’m good. Thank you though, sweetie,” Isolde chuckled as Aida put the bag between her and Olivia. She put her camera back to her eye, focusing on the girls once more and snapping a picture just as Aida stuffed her face with a chocolate malt ball and Olivia gave up her fight with sleep and gave in, her head dropping to the arm of the couch.

Isolde turned on her heel as best she could, focusing her camera on the women that were in the kitchen as they helped Soya get the left-over food in the fridge, their teasing and quite laughter could be heard. She stood up and walked towards the back door, getting a few pictures of the guys as they stood around saying goodbye. She focused on Jyrki and Ville as they talked, and she caught snip bits of their conversation, obviously finalizing plans for the trip they would both be taking in a few days.

She ran her camera over the empting backyard, frowning slightly. She dropped her camera so that it hung around her neck as she counted the men that were talking. One was missing.

“Looking for me?”

Isolde jumped at the male voice that had whispered in her ear, only to turn and slam her palm against his arm. “Don’t do that!”

Jussi rubbed his arm, putting his hands up in surrender. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.”

“And for your information, I was not looking for you.”

“Of course you weren’t,” Jussi smirked.

“What are you even doing in here?”

Jussi chuckled lightly, “I was saying goodbye to the girls. Everyone is starting to head out; thought I’d say my goodbyes to you.”

“Okay, well bye,” Isolde said with a raised eyebrow.

“You know, I gave you my number for a reason.”

Isolde nodded slowly. “Yes, and I discarded it for a reason.”

Jussi nodded, his blasted smirk still on his face. “You took a cab here, didn’t you?”

“Yes, and I’ll take a cab back to my hotel. You can go say goodbye to your friends now, Vuori.”

Jussi stared at her for a minute before nodding, “You’re a hard one to figure out, Isolde. I think I’m going to have fun with you.”

Isolde rolled her eyes, before lifting her camera and clicking the shutter, the bright flash hitting his eyes, causing Jussi to groan as Isolde started towards the kitchen. “You’ll stop seeing black dots in about five minutes, asshole. Try not to walk into any walls.”

Shrugging off her encounter with Jussi, she walked into the kitchen just as the girls had finished stuffing the fridge and started their goodbye hugs with Soya.

“Taking off?” Isolde asked.

“Yeah, with Olivia passed out, it’s probably best if Linde and I started home,” Toni said, reaching over and hugging her. “And don’t think I don’t want a copy of those pictures! You must have gotten some amazing things tonight.”

“Only because she had amazing models, of course,” Vedrana interrupted with a tease, bumping Toni out of the way to hug Isolde. “It was good meeting you, and any friend of Soya’s is a friend of ours. And ignore Jussi; we have a feeling he wants to get into those pretty knickers of yours.”

Isolde snorted. “Trust me, I figured that one out for myself.”

“Smart one. I like you,” Vedrana said with a smile. “Soya, keep her around.”

Soya laughed. “I don’t think I have that power.”

“Oh, no one does,” Isolde assured. “I enjoy my gypsy ways.”

Toni laughed. “Well, we really do hope to see more of you, Isolde.”

Isolde gave a small wave goodbye as the girls left the kitchen, leaving her alone with Soya.

“I hope Jussi didn’t bother you too much.”

“Not at all, he’s harmless enough,” Isolde said with a wave of her hand. “I should probably start heading out though, but do you need any help clearing up?”

“Oh! No, not at all. We got all the food put away, and Ville and I will take care of outside once everyone leaves. I should probably get Aida to bed, but I saw her sneak that damn bag of chocolates out; she it’ll be up for a while yet.”

Isolde laughed as she followed Soya out of the kitchen, back towards the backyard where Ville was started to stack the paper plates off the table. “You just missed Jyrki and Jussi,” he said, catching sight of Isolde.

“Ah, its fine. I’m sure I’ll see them again,” Isolde said, waving it off, knowing the she would most likely see Jussi sooner rather than later. “Are you sure you don’t need my help clearing up? I feel bad running off like this.”

“Actually-” Ville started with a teasing grin, only for Soya to cut him off with a playful glare.

“Go,” Soya said. “It’s really not that bad.”

“If you’re sure, thank you so much for inviting me. It was fun.”

“I hope you got some good pictures,” Soya smiled, leaning her hip against the plastic table.

“I’m hoping so too,” Isolde laughed, taking her camera off around her neck and placing it carefully in her bag. “If I didn’t have my appointment in the morning, I’d spend the rest of my night going through them.”

“Another shoot?” Soya asked.

“Ah, the reason I’m in Hels,” Isolde admitted. “You guys were the fun part. Tomorrow I actually have to work.”

“How long are you staying?” Ville asked.

Isolde shrugged, clasping her bag. “A week to a month, it depends on what my manager lines up. If I heard correctly, I may be modeling somewhere in a couple of weeks. But when Ivan starts to talk, I tend to zone out.”

Soya laughed. “Well, Ville and I will be in town for the next couple of days. Just getting some loose ends together before our trip, so if you want some company, please, feel free to call.”

“God, it’s no wonder Josef loves you so much. You’re so nice!”

Soya laughed. “Apparently one of my downfalls.”

“No! No! It’s a good thing. I pride myself on being a bit of a bitch, so it’s refreshing to see someone so nice…especially when that person is also best friends with the prickly bastard; Josef and I tend to clash a lot because of our personality.”

“You’re the same,” Soya nodded, having noticed that Isolde and Josef did in fact have that, ‘no worries, life will work out,’ attitude.

“We are, which causes a lot of bickering. We love each other, but we can’t stand each other at the same time.” She laughed. “But you, I bet you two balance out just right.”

“We try,” Soya nodded.

“And you succeed,” Isolde pointed out. “Josef forgets his manners, and you’re there to remind him of them when his mother is not. You forget you have a backbone, Josef is there to remind you.”

Ville was about to comment on what he took as an offence on Soya, only for Soya to put her hand up to stop him. “Yes, Josef is there to remind me I have a voice of my own, though Ville’s taken over the job now.”

“Well good. Every woman should have her own voice, even if she needs reminding every once in a while.” Isolde laughed, and hugged Soya tightly. “Oh, we’re going to be good friends, especially now that you know who you are. Unfortunately, I don’t think we would have gotten along too well had you been your old self.”

Soya laughed.“No, I don’t think that would have worked out well at all.”

“I really don’t mean any harm by what I say, Ville,” Isolde assured, letting Soya go. “And I’m sure if it did cause any offence, Soya would have no issues telling me so. Now, I bid you good night, and I wish you luck on the sugar high nine year old. I do not envy you.”

“Thanks,” Ville laughed.

“Have a good night Isolde,” Soya called.

Isolde gave a wave, picking up her cardigan from one of the chairs. Starting her way around the tower, she only stopped out front to pull her cell phone out of her bag to call a cab. Setting her bag on the ground, she pulled on her coat, as the Finnish chill started making its way through her lightweight shirt. She looked through her contacts for the Helsinki cab company she usually used. She paused in her search as she pulled her cardigan the rest of the way up her shoulder, hearing a stick snap behind her. Deciding to take Johan Kolar’s defensive training to heart, she turned and hit the arm of whoever was behind her.

“What the hell!?”

“God dammit!” Isolde yelled as she caught sight of the spiky hair. As Jussi rubbed his arm, she clenched and unclenched her throbbing fist as she yelled at the idiot standing in front of her. “I should have punched you in the fucking balls, you jackass!”

“Why the fuck would you hit me in the first place?!”

“Excuse me for thinking you were some rapist lurking about! What the hell are you doing hiding in the bushes?!”

“I wasn’t hiding in the bushes! I was waiting for you, you psycho! Do you usually go around punching people? What if I had been Soya?”

“The reason I aimed for the arm,” Isolde said, shaking out her hand. What the hell was the man made out of? Steel!?

“You know, I have to use my fucking arm for work.”

“Oh yes, I’m sure you’ve become an ambidextrous masturbator. How much are your sperm worth at the sperm bank, anyway?”

“Har, har, har,” Jussi said with a roll of his eyes.

“I bet groupies just flock to have your spiky haired babies.”

“Does that tongue of yours ever get you in trouble?” Jussi asked, causing Isolde to smirk.

“Only in the good way,” she teased. “So, tell me, stalker, why were you waiting for me?”

“I’m not stalking you,” Jussi assured, thought he had been waiting quite a while for Isolde to leave the tower. “I was waiting for you.”

“Yes, you’ve said that. My question is, why? And I’m wearing heels, Vuori. Don’t make me kick you, because I have wonderful aim.”

Of that he had no doubt, Jussi thought as he moved closer to her. He could feel the body heat coming off of her, and the sheer annoyance at being scared by him. She wasn’t one that liked to be kept on her toes, Jussi decided. She came off as a woman who didn’t give a damn, but really needed to know everything about everything. “I saw you take a cab up here. I have my car. I’m offering you a ride back to your hotel.”

“Why? You think I’m going to look at this good deed and be so grateful for it, I’ll instantly spread my legs?”

“No…” Jussi said slowly. He frowned at her. “What kind of men have you been with?”

“None of your business.”

“It’s just a kind gesture, Isolde,” Jussi placated, not wanting her to think there was a sexual ulterior motive to him wanting to give her a ride back to her hotel. He really did just want to give her a ride and to talk to her a bit, away from his friends.

“And I’m not going to put you out by having to drive me to my hotel.”

“Where are you staying?” Jussi asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“What does it matter? You’re not driving me!”

“Where are you staying, Isolde?” he asked patiently, enjoying the glare the she gave him.

“I’m staying at Torni,” she nearly hissed.

“Great! That’s on my way home.” He grinned.

She was about to argue with him with a voice rung out. “Jus?” Ville called, causing Isolde and Jussi to pull away from each other and turn towards him, seeing Soya peek out from behind to take a look.

“Isolde?” Soya asked.

“I thought you guys had left,” Ville stated as they walked closer to them.

“I was about to leave,” Jussi said with a smirk, leaning away from Isolde, who was looking even more annoyed now that Ville and Soya were a part of the conversation. “I saw Isolde waiting out here. Turns out she took a cab out here. I offered her a ride, but she’s refusing me.”

“Where are you staying, Isolde?” Soya asked, causing Isolde to mentally groan. It wouldn’t matter where she was staying, Soya would insist that she take the ride from Jussi.

“I’m staying at Torni,” Isolde said slowly, quickly adding, “But really, it’s fine. I called the cab, and they said it would be here soon.” Okay, so a tiny white lie; she’d been about to call a cab, had the smug jackass standing next to her not distracted her.

Ville frowned. “Torni is close to Jussi’s apartment. And trust me, Jussi wouldn’t offer a ride if it were an inconvenience.”

“Told you,” Jussi muttered.

“Isolde,” Soya said slowly, causing Isolde to inwardly wince. Soya was using the voice that made it impossible to argue with. “I’d feel a lot better if you got the ride from Jussi. It’d be a lot cheaper too; taking a cab from here into town, it gets up there.”

“Trust me, I don’t mind the fare,” Isolde gritted out, glaring at Jussi. “I’m fine with a cab.”

“Why take a cab when I’m offering? I’ll even let you control the radio. How many cab drivers let you do that?” Jussi asked with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

“None,” Ville pointed out. “And I take a lot of cabs.”

“Isolde, really,” Soya smiled kindly, causing Isolde to deflate. “It’s no use fighting, we’ll stuff you into that car if we have to.”

“Fucking porcupine bastard,” Isolde muttered, glaring over at Jussi. “Fine, asshole. You got what you wanted.” She picked up her bag with and huff and started away from the tower, causing Jussi to grin after her.

“What did you do to her?” he heard Soya ask behind him.

Jussi smirked, looking over at Soya. “Don’t know what you’re talking about. Obviously that woman is half-way in love with me.”

Jussi didn’t wait for an answer from his friends. Instead, he turned with a grin and made his way to his car, where Isolde was waiting.

“How did you know which car was mine?” Jussi asked as he pulled the keys from his pocket and unlocked the car.

“It’s called deduction, Sherlock. Only car on the street close enough to Ville’s to be yours, plus The Misfits decal on the back window is a dead giveaway.”

She didn’t see the smirk on his lips as she pulled the door open and got in. She slammed the door behind her before placing her bag carefully at her feet.

“So I’m guessing,” Jussi started as he slid into the car and started it, “That I won’t be getting a ‘thank you’ for driving you.”

“Ah, so you do know how to deduce?”

“Are you always such a bitch?” he asked good-naturedly, and smiled when he heard her quiet laughter.

“Are you always such a pushy jackass?”

“Yes,” Jussi smirked causing her to smile at him.

“Then yes, I’m always this bitchy.”

“Good to know,” Jussi nodded.

“Well, allons-y,” She said, waving her hand in front of them. “I’d actually like to get to my hotel room.”(Let’s go)

Jussi snorted, shaking his head, before pulling away from the curb. “How long are you in Helsinki for?”

Isolde looked over at him, amused. “Not long enough for you to get into my pants.”

Jussi chuckled. “You’re beautiful Isolde. And you know it, so I’m not going to bother denying that I’m attracted to you, but that doesn’t mean I want to sleep with you.”

Isolde blinked before raising an eyebrow. “Don’t you?”

“Whether I do or not is beside the point.”

“How so?” Isolde asked. “I think the fact that you want to sleep with me is very much the point.”

“Do you want to sleep with me?” Jussi asked, turning his head as they stopped at a light.

Isolde shrugged. “I haven’t decided.”

“Then whether or not I want to sleep with you is beside the point,” Jussi shrugged back as the light turned green and he started forward again. “It’s not the reason I’m giving you a ride back to your hotel. It’s not to garner favor or to sway you.”

“Then why?” Isolde asked.

“Is it really that hard to believe that I just want to talk to you?”

“I think so, yes.”

“I really only want to talk…and possibly get your autograph on a certain magazine that I have in my back seat.”

“You ass!” Isolde laughed, before turning and scrounging through his mess of a backseat. A couple of take-out containers were in the corner, extra jackets, and a spare set of drum sticks, along with a couple of notebooks. Underneath the notebooks was the magazine. “Oh my god, you actually have it back here.”

“I told you I did.”

“Is it safe to touch?” Isolde teased, causing Jussi to laugh.

“Very.”

Isolde grabbed it from underneath the notebooks and turned back to sit in her seat normally, setting the magazine in her lap, only to blink at the Sharpie that appeared in her line of sight. “You were serious?”

“I never kid about getting an autograph. Go on,” he said, motioning her to take the pen.

Isolde took the pen with a roll of her eyes before settling in the seat and flipping the pages. “So, you want to talk right?”

“If you want to,” Jussi nodded.

“So truthfully, how did you recognize me?” Isolde asked, finding the page her photos were on. The lights from outside flashed along the pages of her tasteful nude photo shoot.

“Your face; you’ve got a pretty one.”

“Thanks,” Isolde laughed.

“And then I remembered when you talked about your tattoos in the interview.”

“You actually remembered the interview?” Isolde asked, taking the liberty of scooting down in her seat and setting her heeled feet on the dashboard in front of her, while the magazine rested in her knees. If the action bothered Jussi, he didn’t say.

“The tattoo bit stood out a lot more to me. I reread the interview when I dug the magazine out after rehearsals today.”

Isolde nodded, before frowning as she thought back to that morning in the coffee shop, and how he’d asked her to take off her shirt. “But I don’t have tattoos on my chest.”

Jussi blinked, confused by her statement. “Uh...all right?”

“You asked me to take off my shirt,” Isolde said bluntly, looking back at the magazine, before uncapping the pen with her teeth as Jussi laughed.

“It wasn’t your chest I was interested in looking at, which I told you this morning.”

“Then why’d you ask?” Isolde asked, signing the corner of the page by her pictured head.

“I wanted to see the finished product.”

“Of?”

“Your wings.”

Isolde blinked and looked up at him. “My wings?”

Jussi nodded. “They’re unfinished in the interview, just the outline?”

“Uh…” Isolde sat up, placing her feet back on the floor and sitting up. “Yeah, I’d just started them.”

“You’d just been in an accident, right?” Jussi asked, looking over at her briefly before turning back to the road.

“Wow, you really did read the interview,” Isolde muttered, closing the magazine and tossing it back into the backseat before placing his Sharpie in the cup holder between them.

“Sorry, did I overstep…?”

“No, not at all,” Isolde said quickly. “Yes, I’d been in a car accident about a month before. I got the wings for-”

“A life that had been lost in the accident,” Jussi finished. “You never stated who.”

“And I won’t now,” Isolde said quickly.

“I’m not asking who. Are they done?”

“The wings? Yes. They took me a while to finish. Actually, life got in the way and I wasn’t able to sit down and finish them all in one go. I just got the final shading done earlier this year,” she explained, which was partially true.

At first she’d been emotionally unready to have her wings finished. It meant letting go of a past that she wasn’t quite ready to lose her grip on, and admitting the mistakes she’d made in her young life and living with them. Though they weren’t horrible mistakes by any means, they were mistakes none the less.

When she’d finally learned to let go -a trying process that involved most of her nights wrapped up in a blanket watching Doctor Who reruns with a myriad of junk food within arm’s length, she’d gone to her tattoo artist and demanded to have the wings finished.

He’d agreed, as her tattoo artist also happened to be a school mate of hers and Josef’s, and rarely refused her anything. So they’d sat for four hours before both of them agreed they’d pick it up another day.

That was when life had got in the way. Her modeling had picked up, as had her interest in photography itself. She’d only been able to get bits of shading done here and there when she’d been in town, which had been rare, finally finishing it in February.

“The outline that I saw in the magazine was amazing,” Jussi said, his rough voice shaking her out of her own mind.

“Maybe one day you’ll see them finished,” Isolde said with a small smile.

“We have a gig tomorrow.”

“Good for you?” Isolde said slowly, looking over at him.

“You should come.”

Isolde laughed. “I’m seriously not a fan, Vuori.”

“Why not?”

“Too loud,” Isolde said simply with a small lift of her shoulders. “My mind’s chaotic enough; I don’t need loud, fast paced music to add to it.”

Jussi nodded as he found a prime spot in front of Torni and set the car in park, not bothering to shut it off, knowing he wouldn’t be long. He watched as Isolde grabbed her bag, settling it on her lap, before she turned, tucking the black strip of hair behind her ear.

“I guess this is the part where I say ‘thank you.’”

“You don’t have to,” Jussi chuckled.

“I would have been fine with a cab.”

“You’re welcome,” he teased, having a feeling that was as close to a ‘thank you’ he would get.

Isolde sighed. “Fine, kiss me.”

“I’m sorry?”

“You want a ‘thank you,’ don’t you?” Isolde asked. “Well then, kiss me.”

She watched him stare at her, as if waiting for her to back out of her offer, which she wouldn’t. The thing that Jussi didn’t know about her was that if she said something, she meant it. But the more he waited, the less likely she thought he’d do it.

“All right if you don-” she was cut off when Jussi nearly launched at her, his hand wrapping tight around the back of her neck, dragging her half over the center console while his lips covered hers.

Oh dear Christ he’s warm, she thought as she relaxed into his grip, her own fingers finding purchase around his neck. She was surprised to find that the hair that tickled her fingers was just as soft as the lips that were currently kissing her.

And by god, could the man kiss. His lips coaxed her into action with just the right amount of pressure that made the kiss gentle, with just enough roughness that made Isolde nearly swoon. It was when the man’s tongue came into play that she had to push him back and bite her bottom lip as she scooted back into her seat, while he rested his head back on his seat.

“So?” Jussi asked after a beat, turning his head lazily to look at her.

“You’re good, Vuori, I’ll give you that,” she said, running her fingers through her hair.

“Come to the concert.”

“No,” Isolde laughed as she opened the door and started out, only to bend down when Jussi called her name.

“We’re having an after party, at Bäkkäri. Come to that.”

“Are you requesting, or demanding?” Isolde asked with a grin.

Jussi stared at her for a minute before grinning back. “Requesting.”

Isolde clicked her tongue teasingly. “Too bad, I respond much better to demands.”

“Of course you do,” Jussi laughed. “You should still come.”

Isolde nodded slowly. “Maybe.”

“Really?” Jussi asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s a maybe Vuori, not a ‘yes,’” Isolde teased.

“Close enough for me,” Jussi shrugged.

“Good night Vuori, and…” she sighed. “Thank you for the ride.”

“Any time,” he smirked, causing her to laugh. “Sleep well, Isolde.”

“Dream of me?” Isolde teased.

Jussi laughed, “I don’t think I have much of a choice.”

“Good.” She gave him a little finger wave before closing the door and moving towards the doors of the hotel, feeling the heat of his gaze up until she disappeared from his line of sight.

She made her way up to her room, digging through her bag to get the key card, slipping inside and locking the door. Dumping her bag on the table, she made a note to go through her pictures when she had free time the next day and stripped herself of her clothes and shoes, leaving them on a pile on the ground.

Feeling the day’s events catch up with her, she grabbed her phone off of the bed, ignoring the voicemails that she was sure Ivan has sent her, and placed the phone on the table, going to the bathroom and washing her face. Scrubbing the light makeup she’d placed on her face that morning and drying her face with a hand towel, she smiled slightly as she looked in the mirror, seeing her lips were deeper in color and poutier.

“That man can kiss,” she muttered, before brushing her teeth and bundling her hair into a bun before going back into the room. Walking to her suitcase that sat near the table she’d set up as her desk, she found her ivory silk slip that she usually slept with and pulled it on before going to the bed.

Isolde was never able to sleep in hotel beds. As much as she traveled, she hated sleeping in a large bed alone, especially the Cal King that was currently mocking her. Even in her flat in Prague, she had a full size bed that she rarely used, as her couch was so much more comfortable. That, and her TV was in the living room of her flat, where she crashed when she was in her home country.

So, as she usually did when sleeping in a hotel, she stripped off the comforter, grabbed a pillow and went to the long black couch that sat in front of the TV and dumped her bedding there, turned it on. Shutting off the lights and grabbing her phone from the table, Isolde set her alarm with enough time to take a shower and dress for the day before heading out to her appointment. She set the phone on the table and settled on the couch, arranging the comforter around her body and flipped through the channels.

Smiling happily when she found a rerun of BBC’s Nevermind the Buzzcocks, a comedy panel show that she always got a kick out of, she settled in deeper into her makeshift bed as Noel Fielding appeared on the TV. Soon, she felt the pull of sleep and gave in easily, and with the lights of the TV flashing in front of her eyes, she fell into sleep with visions of a dark haired Finn with the softest lips she’d ever had the pleasure of kissing.