The Harris' are dead! Long live the Harris'!

I've been particularly slack when updating the Harris' mostly because the latest saves have all become corrupted for whatever reason.  That, along with life, have sapped my motivation to continue on with this legacy.  I have, however, started a brand new legacy with the grandchildren of Harlan and Dafne.  Starting fresh seemed like the easiest option and I have to admit, the new founder really grew on me - much more-so than poor Daf and Harlan.

Anyways, the link for my new legacy can be found below.  I hope to see everyone over yonder - whether you make it over there or not, thanks for reading and sticking with my past legacies for so long.  Trust me, it was and is much appreciated. <3

The Shiny New Dean Legacy: http://deanlegacy.blogspot.com/

5.5--Brokendate

It's been three weeks since Henri left for Bridgeport.  Harlan and Daf rarely hear from her, except when she calls to make sure that bills are paid and the house is still standing.  Her last phone call revealed that it is likely she'll be coming home the following week.

Dafne has had plenty of time to reevaluate the relationship that she had with Henri and prepare for the new one that is awaiting her once she returns from her business trip - she's also had plenty of time to realize that the man sitting next to her at this very moment is attractive, and caring, and intelligent, and ... quite possibly someone that she'd be interested in, if she didn't feel guilty for having these thoughts so soon after a break-up.

If only she knew that Harlan can sympathize.  He's been feeling the same for far longer.

Harlan swoops in and leads his team to victory while Dafne is distracted.  He laughs when she dramatically throws her controller on the couch in mock distaste.  "Is this what winning feels like? I might do this more often."

"Don't count on it." Dafne pouts. "I wasn't paying attention."

"It looked more like you were lost in thought. Are you okay?"

Dafne blushes slightly, feeling like she's been caught. "Don't you have a meeting with Shalonda?" She blurts, changing the subject.

Harlan looks at her skeptically for a moment before glancing at the clock. "Yeah, I'd better go."

Harlan meets up with the recently returned Shalonda at the park - because apparently being cooped up in a small room for the last three weeks analyzing samples and attending endless meetings has made her temporarily claustrophobic.

She's also incredibly pregnant, much to Harlan's surprise.

"Looks like you had fun in Bridgeport."  Harlan says, glancing at her protruding belly.

Shalonda smiles briefly, before shaking her head.  "A former colleague and I... it was an accident, but a happy one.  That's not why I asked to meet up with you though."

Harlan listens patiently as Shalonda rants about the mismanagement at the Conference in Bridgeport and how everyone is scrambling to make sense of what little evidence they have.

"We're stretched thin; - " she concludes with a frown, " - the Conference did nothing but to showcase that to the public."

"So what now?"

"They have a new plan." She says warily.  "Each city is to assemble a small team of experts to analyze any new evidence, if we get any.  Redwood and Bridgeport are going to be the hubs for Forensics."

Harlan quirks a brow in confusion.  "Redwood?"

"I've been chosen to lead the Forensics branch of the investigation.  Apparently, I'm the best they have and since I refuse to relocate, well... their hands were tied."

"You would make a good addition to my team."  She continues.  "This is will be your chance to take a look at those samples that I've been promising and you would have steady pay..."

The last admission isn't necessary.  Harlan's been waiting for this since he arrived, but the money is a definite plus as far as he's concerned. "Count me in."

Shalonda nods with a satisfied smile.  "Good.  I'll expect you at the Facility early tomorrow morning."

Harlan returns later that night to find Dafne sitting outside in their front yard.  As soon as she sees him, she scoots over  and pats the grass next to her.

"What are you doing out here?" Harlan asks.

Dafne shrugs.  "It's a nice night out and I wanted to look at the stars."  Harlan looks at her skeptically, earning a laugh.  "Fine.  It was a boring day without you at the house, so I've been sitting outside waiting for you to come home."

"So you missed me."  The statement was meant to be a joke, but the way Dafne immediately turns her head toward the night sky to mask her blushing tells Harlan that he's on to something.

Harlan isn't usually the bold type.  In fact, both of his previous relationships were started by his ex-girlfriends; but with Dafne, it's different.  He's different.  And she brings something out in him that he never thought he possessed, confidence.

So he reaches for her hand, hoping that the attention will be reciprocated...

... and it is.  There's no words as they both scoot together, wrapping their arms around each other as they gaze at the night sky.  There's also no words when they both start to realize what they're getting themselves in to.

"Henri returns in a couple of days." Dafne says, breaking the silence.  She doesn't need to say anymore for Harlan to understand; she's worried what Henri will think when or if they tell her about... whatever it is they are now.

It would be a lie if Harlan said he wasn't worried either.  Maybe scared is a better word.  He's seen Henri's wrath and would much rather not be the cause of it.  And there's also the matter of their friendship...

Harlan doesn't answer immediately, instead extricating himself reluctantly from Dafne's grasp and standing up.  He offers his hand to help her up from the ground, seeing the disappointment etched across her face as he does so.  "Maybe... maybe we should slow down.  I mean, it's not just Henri... it's... I don't want to fuck this up and if my past relationships are any indication - "

Before Harlan can finish his sentence, Dafne's lips are on his.  She pulls back after a few seconds, grabbing his hands in hers. "I don't want to take things slowly with you Harlan, but I don't want to pressure you either.  If this is too fast..." Dafne smiles reassuringly, leaving the rest of the sentence unsaid. "... I just want you to know that I care about you and for the first time in a long time, I feel happy."

It's Harlan's turn to surprise Dafne.  If she's willing to move things forward, then so is he.

They barely make it to his room before both are completely disrobed* and in each other's arms.  Their first time is hurried, passionate... and nowhere near the bed.  When Harlan pins Dafne to the wall, there's no turning back for either of them.  And when he finally enters her, their lack of a bed is completely forgotten.

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Title is a song by Com Truise.

Sorry this chapter ends so abruptly.  The next portions of the story don't transition well from here, so I leave you with nekkid Harlan/Dafne.

*I used the word disrobe guys.  I feel classy.

Harlan's everyday outfit randomly changed.  I had this weird glitch where the game was assigning two everyday outfits in the panel and switching between them intermittently (even though only one showed in CAS) - I managed to fix it by resetting the town a couple of times, so hopefully that stays fixed.  We shall see.

The "father" of Shalonda's baby is actually a female that I made a long time ago and whose genetics I really wanted to experiment with.  Since Shalonda isn't fond of staying in relationships for more than a few sim-days and never gets pregnant, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

Me trying to write smut.

5.4--Goin' Against Your Mind

The following week, Harlan finally gets some work from the lab.  Shalonda informs him that a large emergency conference is being held in Bridgeport for any and all high level medical, law, and scientific specialists aiding in the missing persons cases.  She, along with half of the lab officials, will be leaving the following morning meaning Harlan may be out of work until they return.  Until then, he takes any job that the remaining scientists are willing to throw at him.

Even the ones that he doesn't particularly care for.

Dafne finally gathers the courage to talk to Henri while Harlan is out.  She finds Henri frantically packing clothes into a suitcase.

"Where are you going?"  Dafne asks, throwing a few shirts near Henri's suitcase when she gestures for them.

"One of the director's assistants got sick and he's asked me to go with him to Bridgeport.  Apparently there's this big meet-up going on and I get to help him represent our medical community.  This is a huge deal, whatever this is, and he's chosen me to go with him."

"Oh.  Well that's great, babe."

Henri stops packing, turning her full attention toward a withering Dafne.  "What's wrong Daf?  You've been acting strange all week."

Dafne slumps her shoulders.  If she doesn't just get it all out now, she never will.  "We need to talk..."

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Harlan returns home later than expected.  He's fully ready to just fall into his bed and pass out, but he can't.  Not when he sees Dafne looking so morose in the living room.  "You told her."  He says, sitting down gingerly on the couch.

Dafne nods. "Yeah." She sighs.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"We... broke up.  Henri had some conference thing she had to go to and will be gone for a while, so we still have some things to settle once she gets back.  At least it won't be awkward while we both get our stuff sorted."  She shrugs, smiling sadly.

"I'm sorry."  Harlan isn't sure what else to say.  Why does he have to be so shitty at this sort of thing?

"I'm not.  I said what I need to say and maybe this is for the best.  I still love her and I know she loves me, but..." Dafne hunches her shoulders in defeat. "... what she wants and what I want are two different things apparently."

"And what about, you know, your living situation?"

"You mean am I moving out?"  Harlan nods. "Maybe.  I don't know.  For right now though, no.  We parted as friends and she's offered to let me stay here until I find a place of my own.  Besides, she needs the extra cash from my portion of rent."  Dafne laughs humorlessly, flipping through the channels on the TV.

Harlan frowns at her when she goes silent, hoping that she'll somehow transform back into the Dafne he knows and... likes. 

"That's it." He says, rising from the couch and grabbing Daf's hand.

Dafne laughs, pulling her hand away at first - but Harlan is persistent and grabs her hand again.  "What are you doing?"

"I'm taking you out."  Harlan tugs a few more times on her arm, earning another small laugh from Dafne, before she finally relents and follows him out of the house.

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Dafne swings the door wide, signalling their return from a night out.  She laughs gently when a not-so-sober Harlan trips slightly when the door clips him as it closes.  "Who knew you were so bad at Power Hour." She teases.

"Who knew you were so good."

"I did." Dafne laughs, pointing to herself in triumph.

Harlan grimaces as his stomach lurches slightly.  For being so small, Dafne can sure keep her alcohol down.  The same couldn't be said for Harlan who managed to throw not once, but twice at the bar.

Dafne smiles again, sending Harlan's stomach flipping for an entirely different reason.  "Thanks, Harlan... for taking me out.  It was fun."

"Even while I was throwing up?" Harlan smirks.

"Well that part I could have done without, but in all seriousness - it really helped."

Harlan smiles back at her.  "I'm glad.  Though, next time you need cheering up can we do something that doesn't involve my stomach contents coming back up?"

Dafne slaps him on the shoulder with a toothy grin.  "Sure thing, lightweight."

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Filler, filler, filler! I cut this one short mainly because I'm writing this in between work breaks (and because I didn't save all my pictures to my flash drive, hence the short time skips.  Oops.)  Next chapter, things actually happen... for reals this time.  I swear, these last two chapters have been utter hell to write simply because THERE'S NOTHING GOING ON! But I need to start establishing relationships - you know? /rant.


I haven't done this in a while, so here are the character updates:
-Harlan's logic skill is at level 7.
-Harlan's gardening skill is at level 4 (you probably won't see much of this until much, much later in the story).
-Harlan's handiness skill is at level 7.

On a random note: I switched the genders for a pose and got a nice booty shot of Harlan.

Work it.

The title of this chapter is named after a song by Built to Spill.  

A Short Hiatus

In case people don't see this over at the MTS thread, the Harris' will be on a short hiatus until mid-September - early October.

I have quite a bit of stuff going on in my personal life, so spare time is unfortunately at a minimum.

No worries though.  Harlan Harris shall return in due time! *cue inspirational music*

As always, thanks everyone for reading/commenting/being awesome.  I'll catch you all on the flip-side. :)

5.3--Unsurprisingly Unconventional

Just like his mother, Harlan doesn't particularly care for crowds.  Unlike his mother, he does enjoy observing crowds, being the quasi-sociologist/scientist that he is.  The more he watches this group though, the more he just wants to leave.  Although different from his own methods, their way of coping with loneliness still hits far too close to home.


Not wanting to spoil Henri and Dafne's night with his morbid company, he tells them to go do whatever.  "I'll be fine once I get a few drinks in my system."  He assures them - and eventually they reluctantly do just and leave Harlan alone at the bar.

Harlan feels a light touch on his arm, bringing him out of his mild stupor.  "You look awfully sullen."  The woman says, tracing her fingers across his forearm and moving closer so her face is visible in the dank light.  "A man like you shouldn't be here alone."

Harlan places his hand gently over hers in an attempt to remove her hand politely, but she takes this gesture as something else entirely.  "We can go somewhere private."  She whispers seductively.  "I don't live too far from here."

Harlan tenses at her brazen proposition.  It would be so easy to go to her place, fuck, and pretend like he's forgetting about Cadence and finally moving on, but that isn't him.  No. He'll just let it fester until he can ignore the hurt completely, as usual.  "I'm not good company.  Trust me."

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?"  Her fingers continue to circle gently on his forearm.

"No."  This time Harlan grabs her hand and removes it from his arm.  He doesn't mean to appear so callous, but the actions does what he wants.  The woman finally walks away, throwing him a dirty look before pawing at some other man on the opposite side of the bar.

Following his own advice, Harlan orders a few drinks in the hopes of blurring out everything (for at least a little while).  He downs his last drink quickly, muttering how pathetic he is, before going to find the girls.  Hanging out alone is only making things worse.  And getting drunk is quickly becoming a bad idea.  He can already feel his stomach lurching slightly in protest to the alcohol entering his system.

He finds Dafne first.  She's on a couch by the dance floor watching her girlfriend seemingly flirt and dance with another woman.  Harlan can feel Dafne tense up a bit when Henri and this mysterious woman get touchy - but she isn't saying anything, and Harlan doesn't want to be the first to start the conversation.  So they sit in uncomfortable silence...

... that is until Henri approaches them a few minutes later.

"Babe, I'm leaving with Heather."  She says, throwing a backward glance toward her dance partner.

Dafne shrugs, trying to look unconcerned by the development.  "Be safe."

"I will.  See you both tomorrow."

Dafne doesn't respond beyond a nod, but Henri is clearly waiting for some sort of verbal goodbye.  Harlan glances between the two, uncomfortable in their silence, and decides to take one for the team. "Uh... yeah."  He smiles awkwardly. "See ya', Henri."

Henri appears to be as confused as Harlan for a moment.  "Dafne..."

"I'm fine.  Have fun."  Dafne interrupts with a placating smile.  She watches as Henri nods confusedly and then walks out of the club with other woman hand-in-hand.

Once they're gone, Dafne visibly relaxes.  "This place blows."  She smirks.  "Wanna leave?"


Her smile is hollow.  Harlan knows that look all too well.  He had the same one when he attempted to assure his family that he was moving to Redwood for job opportunities, not because he's a coward.   "Are you okay?"  He asks, his voice laced with concern.


"I just want to leave."  Dafne sounds defeated.


"All right."  Harlan frowns as he gingerly helps a slightly drunk Dafne up from the couch.  "Let's go."

Dafne heads straight for her room as soon as they step through the door.  Harlan figures she doesn't wish to talk, but just as he's getting into bed, he hears her fiddling around in the kitchen.


"Dafne?"  He asks confusedly.  "I'm not sure a drunk person should be messing around with a stove.  I would much rather not be killed via house explosion."


"I'm sober.  Believe me, I wish I was drunk."  She frowns.  "I'm making some macaroni and cheese. Are you hungry?"


"It's four in the morning."  Dafne shrugs in response and continues cooking.  Harlan sighs - it's clear she's still bothered by whatever happened at the club.  It would be really shitty of him to leave her alone like this.  "I can eat."  He amends.

She fills two bowls and heads toward the dining table without a word.  Dafne catches Harlan watching her warily out of the corner of his eye.  He's going to ask eventually about what the hell is going on, so why not spill it all at once?  "Me and Henri are in an open relationship."  She blurts.

Harlan stops everything and turns toward Daf, who's obviously waiting for some type of reaction.  "Okay?" He says, urging her on.

Dafne takes the bait all too willingly.  "Henri and I... we've had this arrangement since we first started dating."  She starts. "She has commitment issues and I thought that I would rather have her this way, than not at all.  And I figured I could deal with it.  I mean, I get to sleep with other people and be with the person I love - the perfect settlement, right?"

Harlan offers a sympathetic smile in response when she looks at him briefly.  "I don't think I can do this anymore.  I still love Henri, but this relationship we have... it's getting toxic.  I get jealous, she confronts me about it, we fight, we make-up - over and over."

"You haven't talked to Henri about this."  Harlan feels like he's stating the obvious when Dafne smiles wryly and shakes her head.

"Not yet.  I'm just... not ready, I guess.  Henri is the longest relationship I've ever had and I care about her.  I don't think I'm completely prepared for what might happen when I tell her all of this."

Harlan rubs the back of his neck, feeling completely out of his element.  "You think she'll break up with you?"

Dafne shakes her head again, turning back to face Harlan. "I don't know."  She sighs. "But enough about me; what about you?"

"What about me?"  Harlan averts his gaze.

"I just spilled my guts - it's your turn.  You've been a sad-sack since you arrived here, so Harlan Harris... what are you hiding?"

Harlan contemplates just getting up and leaving the conversation, he knows Dafne won't push him again for answers if he does, but maybe it will help to talk about it for once.  Maybe.  "I had a bad break-up recently."  He admits. "My ex-fiancee cheated on me with a co-worker and I caught her in the act. Instead of dealing with it head on, I ran to Redwood."

"That's... rough.  Do you know what happened to her?"

"No and I don't care to know."  His statement is aggressive, much more than he anticipated, and Dafne throws her hands up dramatically in feigned offense.

Harlan stutters an apology, but she stops him.  "Don't worry about it.  I've been in the same situation as you before and I can tell you with complete confidence that you will get over it eventually. If it makes you feel any better, I am glad that you moved here."  She grins as she punches him lightly on the shoulder.

Harlan laughs.  "Yeah.  Me too."

They both head to their respective beds when the sun begins to shine through the kitchen window.  Before Harlan knows what's happening, Dafne pulls him into a light hug.  "Thanks for talking to me."

"Same."  Harlan mutters.  His cheeks flush at the sudden and unexpected intimate contact.  It's a friendly hug, of course, but the fact that she's in her underwear turns Harlan's thoughts to other things that he would much rather not be thinking after the conversation they just had.

Dafne pulls away and Harlan turns to leave, but Dafne pulls him back again.  "Before you go - I just want to give you some advice.  You know, from someone who has been through this.  Don't let whatever happened in the past hold you back from moving forward.  You'll find someone else when you're ready.  And she'll know your worth."

Harlan can feel the blood rushing to his cheeks again and coughs to hide his embarrassment that this will be the umpteenth time since moving here that she's managed to make him blush.  "Thanks... for the advice.  Can I return the favor?"

She nods, looking mildly uncomfortable.  "If things aren't working, then you need to say so."

"I know."  She relents.  "Easier said than done, right?"

Harlan smirks.  "I'm with you on that."

Harlan isn't sure when or if he'll ever be ready to put himself out there again, but Dafne's words resonate with him when he climbs into bed.

Maybe Dafne is right.  Perhaps he will find someone else someday.

He sighs in frustration when his mind decides that, that someone is the woman with impossibly pink hair... and a girlfriend.

"Or maybe I'm just destined to be alone." He mutters.

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The download link for Henrietta has been added to the RL uploads blog (she's in the side characters section) and I also linked to the creator of Dafne Muller.  I highly suggest checking out strawberrysims'/simsiverse's tumblr - she has some wonderful sims available.


In other news - I'm not happy with this chapter.  Like at all.  I had to replay a large portion of it and didn't feel like recreating some of the club scenes I had planned.  Oh well.  The point is it's finished and the story can move on from here (because I'm all caught up now - yuuuusssss).


:)