Basic Information
Physical Description
Personality & Traits
Backstory & Relationships
None—has spent his life working himself to the bone with little to show for it, least of all any real relationships.
He grew up in Las Vegas—but the glitz and glam never made it past the front door of his childhood home. After losing his biological father at an early age, Ellis spent his formative years as an inseparable team with his mother, Maggie. She spoke of his father like a hero, and to Ellis, he became just that. But when Maggie remarried, everything changed.
Ray, his stepfather, made it clear from the start that Ellis wasn’t wanted. What began as cold disapproval quickly morphed into verbal abuse—and, later, physical. Still, Ellis endured it all for the woman he loved most. When Maggie got sick, Ellis bore the brunt of Ray’s rage. And when she died, he bore the blame, too.
Ray never let him forget it. And Ellis, as a boy desperate for answers, believed every lie.
Orphaned in every way that mattered by age nine, Ellis clung to his childhood home—the only place that still felt like hers. But when Ray threatened to sell it after kicking Ellis out at twenty-one, Ellis made an impossible choice: he took on the mortgage himself. He’s spent every day since scraping together enough income to keep it. Even if that meant living in a green room behind a local theater as part of his “caretaker” job. Even if it meant taking out a second mortgage after Ray gambled away everything else.
Professionally, Ellis works as a rigger and tech—the unsung backbone of the city’s entertainment industry. He’s good at it. Meticulous. Quiet. Efficient. But no matter how hard he’s worked toward the career of his dreams as an audio engineer, Ellis has remained trapped behind the curtain, putting in long hours for minimal recognition.
Romantically, his path has been just as stunted. After realizing he was gay in his teens—but losing the one person he could have trusted with that truth—Ellis turned inward. His early experiences with intimacy were driven more by confusion than desire, and left more scars than satisfaction. He hasn’t let anyone close in years.
But despite the emotional weight he carries, Ellis has never stopped fighting to survive. To protect what little remains of his past. To hold onto hope, even in silence.
And when a man like Henry Cinderford—kind, patient, and quietly insistent—walks into his life, Ellis is forced to confront the terrifying idea that maybe… just maybe… he’s allowed to want more than survival.
Romantic Ties
Raised in Las Vegas with a stepfather in show business, celebrity never impressed him—but hard work did. So when Henry showed up with quiet charm, surprising vulnerability, and a voice that moved Ellis in ways he didn’t understand, it wasn’t star power that caught his attention. It was the music. The man. The connection.
What started as a cautious friendship quickly tangled into something more. Something deeper. But Ellis’s world was never simple, and neither was his heart. With a submissive streak shaped by past trauma, he’d long since chosen solitude over risking his emotional safety again. Henry, though, wasn’t like the men who had broken him before. He was gentle, patient, dominant without cruelty. The first man to ask for consent—not just physically, but emotionally. And Ellis began to believe he might finally be safe.
Even after discovering Henry’s true identity as world-famous pop star Cinder, Ellis chose to stay. Not because of the fame, but in spite of it. Henry gave him a reason to hope, to heal, to imagine a future he’d long since stopped believing he could have.
But loving someone like Cinder came with shadows—most notably, Ellis’s manipulative stepfather, whose threats and financial hold left Ellis feeling trapped. When those threats turned toward Henry’s career, Ellis made the gut-wrenching choice to end things, believing sacrifice was the only way to protect the man he loved.
Only later did Ellis realize that protecting Henry meant fighting for him, not walking away. With the help of friends, the clarity of self-worth, and an offer for the career opportunity of a lifetime—one he earned on his own—Ellis found the courage to reclaim his voice.
And then, in true fairytale fashion, he showed up for the man who’d changed his life—with a job offer in hand, an apology on his lips, and a promise of forever in his heart.
Cinder relaxed against Ellis’s firm warmth and sighed with a level of contentment he hadn’t experienced in a public setting in, quite possibly, ever. Everything with Ellis somehow felt both brand-new and as comfortable as a well-worn pair of sweats all at the same time. It was like magic. A magic he had no intention of giving up.
“There’s one more thing I want you to see before we grab dinner.” Ellis pulled away and took Cinder’s hand. He guided him through the heavy throng of tourists until they reached the end of the canopied area. Casting Cinder a sidelong glance, Ellis pointed at a gaudy-looking building made to appear like a slot machine and boasting SlotZilla on its front. “Do you know what that is?”
Scrunching his nose, Cinder shook his head. That attraction hadn’t been in his research. At least, not that he could remember. “Nope, doesn’t ring a bell.”
Nodding, Ellis turned to face Cinder. “There is absolutely no pressure to do anything—tonight or ever—but I thought I’d introduce it to you as an option. Something to consider.” He tilted his head, a serious mask replacing the easygoing countenance he’d rocked all evening. “You’ve seen all the people zip-lining under the canopy, right?”
Had he ever. Cinder had marveled more than once at the balls it must take for those daredevils to harness up and fly over the crowds like that. “Sure.”
“Well, SlotZilla over there is the origin point of the zip lines. I thought, if or when you might decide to face your fear of heights like we talked about last night, this might be a fun and unique way to do so. And I could fly down right at your side.”
Cinder blinked as, sure enough, four people emerged from the topmost level of SlotZilla, harnessed to a zip line in the Superman position—face down and soaring. His stomach did an immediate about-face turn before sinking to his toes.
Could he really do that? Did he have the cojones to attach himself to a flimsy wire and catapult toward the earth?
Glancing at Ellis, who offered a tentative half smile and squeezed Cinder’s hand in quiet encouragement, Cinder nodded to himself. He could do it. He’d meant what he’d said the night before. With Ellis at his side, he believed he could do anything. “Let’s do it.”
With a slight raise of his brow, Ellis licked his lips and swallowed. “Ah, I wasn’t suggesting we do it right now. I meant it when I said there was no pressure. I just wanted you to know this was here so you could file it away and think about it for future consideration.”
Insides settling with the jolt of confidence and certainty bolstering his resolve, Cinder shook his head. “Nope, I’m ready. I meant what I said too. If you come with me, I could face a mountain. This is nothing.”
Ellis ran a hand over the buttons of his shirt and rolled his shoulders back, as if giving himself time to process Cinder’s declaration. Eventually, he pressed his lips into a thin line and nodded. “Okay. I mean, I’m all aboard if you are, and we can always turn back if you change your mind.” He tipped his chin toward the towering slot machine. “There are two options. We can fly seated, which is a two-block line that only reaches seven stories high, or we can fly superhero style facing the ground, which is five blocks long and peaks at eleven stories.”
Scoffing, Cinder marched toward the building, hauling Ellis in his wake. “Go big or go home, my dude. Let’s Superman this bitch.”
Fun Extras
As the bridge between the final verse and the closing reprise of the chorus filtered through the room, Cinder trailed a line of whisper-soft kisses over Ellis’s jaw until his lips met Ellis’s ear. In time with the music playing overhead, he sang the last verse directly to the man he loved. “The tales they tell in storybooks are always so sublime. There’s a happily ever after for every once upon a time. But fairy tales never do come true, at least, not until I found you.”
Ellis crushed his lips over Cinder’s, and the crowd exploded in applause. Chuckling, Ellis nuzzled into Cinder’s neck. “In spite of everything, Cinderellis would go on to live happily ever after, after all.”
