#especially matt like how disgusting do you gotta be

[ricky-olson]

being an old cyndago fan and learning of matt’s comments of daniel is fucking disgusting

[toristurn]

eyes don’t lie ..

~ enemies to lovers ~

WARNING ⚠️

this story has explicit sexual scenes and strong wording.

——————————————————————

*ding* I pick up my phone to see a message.

message

Nick

hey what are u doing tn?

You

nothing, why?

he better not ask me to go to a party..

Nick

oh well there was this thing..

shit.

You

nick if ur inviting me to a party you already what the answer is. 😒

Nick

okay y/n hear me out. Its not really a party but more like a friendly gathering 😁😁

I shake my head, laughing in annoyance.

You

nick you know I don’t have time for this. remember my finals?

Nick

ughh FUCK UR FINALSS Y/N!! you’ve studied all week and your giving off hibernating bear vibes. don’t make me come to your door now.

there was no way I was going to this “friendly gathering” especially since nick is related to.. matt. matt and I have a very unique per-say friendship since I can’t go to nick’s house without getting a down to heart insult.

him and I have been going back and forth since me and nick have been friends and he’s honestly one of the last people I would trust. he’s annoying first of all, has the worst attitude with me, and disagrees with my opinions just for the fun of it. how cute.

I grow an annoying face scrunch and start beginning to type.

You

alr then, I’ll go. but if that little matty bernard boy bothers me im stepping out of that door.

Nick

oh my god finally i got you out of ur hibernation. and don’t worry about matt he’s out with his friends rn 😁😁

huh wonder where he is.

-

“do I look okay?” I say while fixing my tight red dress “you look so gorgeous omg, anyway can u please hurry over here and help us finish setting up? chris is being a snob and he’s just laying on the couch.” nick says over the phone “yeah, yeah I’ll be there.” I say chuckling.

I hung up and got in my car and.. it felt odd. maybe it has been a long time since I went out. I arrive at the house and knock on the door and nick swings it open “party starts in five and I need you like now” he says dragging me upstairs.

We rushed upstairs and obviously I felt proud of myself since I was wearing four-inch heels. I wave at chris then got straight to helping nick with the party.

-

the house was pact with people and I was to busy dancing and taking shots to even realize how crowded it got. I drunkenly pushed my way through the crowd to head to the bathroom since well.. you know.

I kept thrusting myself through the crowd until I ran into a hard chest. I stumbled back a little and slowly looked up. as I was looking I felt a force push me to the ground and I landed on my head. everything went black.

-

I woke up rubbing my eyes and ended up in a black silky bed. I look down at myself and ended up in a big blue hoodie that said ‘fresh love’. I got conscious and shot up from the bed. what the fuck? did I have a one night stand? who’s bed was this?

questions rumble through my head until it got interrupted with a door opening. I look up to see who it was…. you gotta be serious. It was matt sturniolo.

“um what are you doing in here?” “came to check up on ur ugly ass” “well I’m fine so i don’t know why you care so much.” I said with annoyance “aren’t you on my bed?” he says, getting back at me.

I look around in realization. “did you fucking put your hands on me last night??” I yell in disgust “what the fuck, absolutely not!” he yells “so why am I on your fucking bed.” I said in confusion. “do you not remember?” obviously I don’t, can he get any dumber?

“If I remembered I would’ve not asked at all.” “you got knocked over by one of our friends and nick and chris ended up putting you on my bed since it was the closest, and don’t think I just allowed them to put you in my bed without consent because it took a hell of a convincing.” he snapped back.

I processed what he said until a storm of a migraine overtook my head. I put my hand on my head and start rubbing to ease the pain. “do you need advil?” he said “no it’s fine but can u at least give me a glass of water or something?” I said.

he left until I couldn’t see his frame anymore leaving me enough time to wander around his room. I look at his gaming setup and then his closet and then his nightstand stopping myself to look at a photo frame. It was Nick, Matt, and Chris as babies and they were all on Santa’s lap. I chuckle looking at the picture and held it up.

“do you still need water or are u just gonna keep wandering” I jumped to the sound of his voice and swiftly put the photo frame down. “yes I still need water, and I’m not even wandering” I said with attitude. “whatever you say princess.” he says, smirking. god I fucking hate him.

-

we all ended up getting brunch together at some Italian restaurant and ordered our food. nick was sitting next to me while matt was in front and chris was next to him. “y/n you got any car ideas for us today? we gotta post by tomorrow.” chris said, breaking the awkward silence.

“you guys should do a what would you do video.” I said “a.. what?” matt said staring at me in confusion “a what would you do video.” I said staring back at him “still not getting it.” “how do you not get it?” “well care for an explanation then?” he snaps back. he really know’s how to ruin my day doesn’t he.

“you guys would give each other a ‘what would you do’ scenario and work it out from there.” I said glaring at matt “that seems fun” nick says trying to uplift the mood. We finished our food and headed to the car and for the first time in my life I didn’t want shotgun.

But chris and nick had other plans and already ended up taking the space in the back leaving me with the front. great. I got in the car and immediately shifted my body to the right not making any contact with matt.

-

it was night time and I was in the living room waiting for them to finish their vlog. I got tired and went to matt’s bedroom since I was to lazy to go downstairs nor upstairs. I was on my phone on the bed until I dozed off slowly putting my phone down and closing my eyes. couple minutes later I woke up to the front door opening.

I realized I was still in matt’s bed and just as I step foot to reach the door knob it swings open revealing matt in an all black fit and a strong scent of cologne. we make eye contact frozen as stone, our lips inches apart from each other until he broke the silence. “missed me much?” he says smirking and closing the door behind him, not breaking contact.

“oh please, who would miss a bitch like you?” I said snapping back. he chuckles looking down. “obviously you since you can’t just ever leave me alone can you?” stepping closer making me stumble back. he steps closer and closer until I felt the cold wall press up against my back.

“do you know how mad you make me y/n?” he says staring and towering over me. my body builds up tension and I feel my stomach whirling like I’m on some type of rollercoaster. “if I made you so mad, why are you still here?” I said, standing my ground.

His breath rumbles and at this point I can hear my heartbeat pounding my chest. “the reason I’m still standing here is to show you how much you drive me crazy.” he said still making contact with me. “is that why you hate me so much? because you want me?” I said in a teasing tone. he shifts his head whispering to my ear “would you like me to show you?” he said teasingly.

shivers covered my whole body and I felt my heartbeat growing faster. he shifts his face in front of mine until I feel a warm soft hand gliding up my thigh.

he landed on the cover of my clit and started gently rubbing. I closed my eyes and let out a soft moan until I couldn’t take it anymore and crashed his lips onto mine. we explored each other’s mouth fighting for dominance while still playing with me.

he slips a finger under my undergarment and slides it in feeling how wet I was to him. he smirked. I let out a muffled moan until he slips another one still exploring each other’s mouth. god he tastes so good.

he takes out his hand lifting me up and gently placing me on his bed. both rushing to take our clothes off we smash each other’s lip again making him grab a condom from his nightstand.

he slides it on and looks at me for reassurance “you still want me to show you how much I want you baby?” I nodded and a smirk landed on his face. he thrusts it in making me squeal and feeling how hard he was for me.

he picks up the pace still exploring each other’s mouth letting out a muffled moan from both of us. I could tell he was gonna reach there and he knew I was too. he picked up the pace. I felt the arousal coming until he picked it up even faster.

I arch my back and my body went in shock yelling out his name and him letting out a moan. he collapses on me feeling each other’s every breath and heart beat. heavy breathing until it got back to a normal pace. we both changed into more comfortable clothes but since I didn’t pack anything he lended over a t-shirt.

“thank you” I said “yeah, yeah. I still hate you though.” he says. we both chuckle and move to the bed shifting myself to lay on his chest, smelling his cologne. we both laid there watching his phone until it went quiet and my eyes closed.

[just-some-random-blogger]

Have you ever imagined Daemon as a female instead? Like a pure vixen on the inside but outwardly repressed because duh! The world is harsh on women who over express themselves.

Could you write one with female Daemon? say Daena? Or Daenerys? Like she's Viserys' second wife and just hates it? Like Daemon, she would love him very much but hate his 'weakness' and prolly not the biggest fan of their sex life?

So she and Rhaenyra start having an affair? Like Daemon, she would also love Rhaenyra as an extension of Viserys but like prettier and wilder? AHHH idk, sorry if it's too weird but I'd love to read one! Female Daemon!! Its just too exciting!! All of his chaotic wild war criminal ways but instead of Matt Smith, its packaged into a delicate Victoria Secret Model beauty! Rhaenyra could be replaced with a reader niece character too! I just wanna see how female Daemon would have a married life with Viserys given how deeply Daemon loves his brother but is constantly left out by Viserys. As his wife, I imagine she'd get to be close to him but will she struggle to love him with his weaknesses? Could you try it? Plz? You can ignore this if it's too strange! But I like your analysis and writings both and I feel like it could be both! Thank you!!

fem!Daemon hot take ig lol

This was a really interesting ask and i'm just going to answer this like an analysis because 💀💀 the level of incest it would have 💀💀💀💀💀💀 BUT i gotta say gender bending Daemon was something I have never thought of and is a really interesting and genuinely exciting idea. i'm calling her daena cos fem!daemon is too long to type

[...] Like a pure vixen on the inside but outwardly repressed because duh! The world is harsh on women who over express themselves.

honestly, i get your point about the repression. daena would definitely not have been presented the same opportunities as daemon, i mean rhaenys didn't get the throne though she shudda, but also taking into account how unhinged daemon is, i would say there might have been a shot at her being the jovial murderer in the dark still.

i think viserys and daena would still have been thick as thieves, thus allowing her to experience the world of men, and in fact, perhaps daena would have ended up more unhinged because her brother, and people in general, would have kept telling her what not to do. daena would've ended up more defiant than daemon mayhap.

at the same time, she would have been more thorough about her actions, like for example, daemon's whole rhea royce thing where her uncle came to court talking about it. daena couldn't relate to that sloppiness. if she was forced into a marriage of convenience, she's genuinely make it look like an accident and burn an entire village if she had to. i mean sure, yeah, how convenient for it to happen, but honestly i think even if people thought it was her, it would take years for people to say it out loud cos she's that scary.

[...] Like she's Viserys' second wife and just hates it? Like Daemon, she would love him very much but hate his 'weakness' and prolly not the biggest fan of their sex life?

Ok well, hot take, i don't think daena would marry viserys unless she #1 felt like she had to do it to save their family or #2 because it's the only way to save viserys (especially if she learned he was slowly dying yeah i see that happening). other than that, #3 i think maybe if she really wanted to have a taste of power, maybe she'd go for it ???

i think depending on the circumstance, she's be too disgusted by viserys' weakness, as you too also go to say, and would grill him for all he's got, purposefully doing shit to annoy him further (which would be very on brand for daemon)

and the almighty please do not make me visualize those siblings getting freaky. i did not watch them have a slow burn on screen therefore do not ship them 💀💀💀💀💀 im in the trenches for daemrya already

So she and Rhaenyra start having an affair? Like Daemon, she would also love Rhaenyra as an extension of Viserys but like prettier and wilder? AHHH idk, sorry if it's too weird but I'd love to read one!

💀💀💀💀 yeah so this was what made me decide not to write it 💀💀💀 you want me to write about super-ultra-mega-incestous lesbians 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀 daena basically alr married her bro then gets with her daughter/niece

I MEAN HONESTLY, CONSIDERING ITS FICTION AND TARGARYEN DO TARGARYENS its honestly not that weird 💀💀💀 but i also think that says something about the two of us bestie HAHAHHAH

i do agree tho about loving rhaenyra as viserys extension. daena and rhaenyra would have been so so so so close growing up and rhaenyra would want to be her and want her wayyyyyyyyyyyy more than daemon tbfh

Female Daemon!! Its just too exciting!! All of his chaotic wild war criminal ways but instead of Matt Smith, its packaged into a delicate Victoria Secret Model beauty!

i tell you matt smith is the only reason i even watched hotd and why im making fics for daemon AHHAHAHAHA. he's the reason i made it through my finals and you want me to replace him 💀 HAHAHAH nah but i think daena wouldn't be too delicate, although damn the shit victoria secret models go through T_T FR SLAY THEY DESERVE PEACE LORD. anyway daena i think would be one of those really wild and lean blondes that you would love to step on your throat (much like how i feel about gwendoline cristie) maybe she'd look like one of those characters from vikings that i found on pinterest (i mean idk her but she can step on me)

Rhaenyra could be replaced with a reader niece character too! I just wanna see how female Daemon would have a married life with Viserys given how deeply Daemon loves his brother but is constantly left out by Viserys. As his wife, I imagine she'd get to be close to him but will she struggle to love him with his weaknesses?

Yeah, if daena is anything like daemon, she would 10000% love and cherish rhaenyra so much. also considering the whole rhaenyra and alicent theory, i would say both of them would follow daena like puppies and have massive love for her in more ways than one.

ACTUALLY YOU KNOW WHAT the whole "im right here [aunt], the object of your ire" would be 10000000000x more intense along with all their other pining scenes CAUSE THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE AFFECTIONATE TOWARDS EACH OTHER CAUSE DAENA WOULD NOT BE SO EMOTIONALLY CONSTIPATED AND TOUCH STARVED LIKE DAEMON, SINCE AS A WOMAN SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE OPEN ABOUT HER AFFECTIONS. THEN HAVING DAENA DO A TOTAL 180 WOULD HAVE HURRRRTTT T_T GASLIGHT GATEKEEP GIRLBOSS AMIRITE

ok ok ok but that being said, i also doubt she would ever publicly pursue rheanyra, considering their society and how they treated laenor's whole thing. but they would definitely keep each others company behind closed doors and im pretty sure everyone would know about it like how they know rhaenyra's kids are actually strongs 💀💀💀

Could you try it? Plz? You can ignore this if it's too strange! But I like your analysis and writings both and I feel like it could be both! Thank you!!

again to be fully honest with you i dont think its strange💀💀💀 it's very targaryen 💀💀💀💀 but yeah i still dont wanna write this AHAHHAHAH

i gotta end by saying these are my opinions, im not the law on this war criminal and i only watched the show so yeah. i hope you enjoyed this nonnie lolololol

[sarah-dipitous]

Hellsite Nostalgia Tour 2023 Day 42

Hollywood Babylon/The Idiot's Lantern

"Hollywood Babylon"

Would I Survive the First Five Minutes??: These people are definitely actors...and I mean that the characters are actors, and bad ones at that. Well, I'm not on a film crew, so I guess??

Dean. ARen't you waNTed bY The FBI??? Why are we on a studio lot tour???? Though the "maybe we'll see one of the stars of Gilmore Girls" from the studio tour guide was well placed.

What if this was the genesis of Matt Damon getting bit roles as a surprise? Like, not that he's actually IN this episode but he gets mentioned...he could still be in this episode, honestly. There's like 35 minutes left

You know, maybe the Dean from Sam's memories in Tall Tales wasn't completely inaccurate. He's quite literally stuffing his face with the sandwiches at craft services...which, I can't blame him for, but it's still funny

OMG Dean geeking out about bit actors in movies is adorable

Ugh, is this the kind of thing my brother has to put up with?? Like, when Dick Wolf actually goes to Chicago to check up on things, is he that controlling and...what's the word, genre ignorant?

Dean is SO into this. He's fully embraced life on set, and I couldn't be happier for him. Wish he could always be this happy...

Man, I bet the director is next...he's not makin it out alive or he's the one that the boys actually save.

...I don't like being wrong, guys, especially so soon after making the prediction. The other writer was the one they end up saving from the original writer

OH GOD. THE WAY THEY OF COURSE ADDED WHAT JUST HAPPENED INTO THE MOVIE.

"Been On My Mind...": (Prediction: nothing. Bet Sam's still reeling from having to kill the last girl he slept with) 0 for 2 today. Look at you, Dean. This has gotta be one of the best stretches of days he's had.

"The Idiot's Lantern"

And now we move from movies to TV. It's weird how they keep doing this...

Should I have started with this one? Because after watching spn, it does feel weird to watch them mock me for having watched TV whereas I could have watched spn in defiance of them mocking me

Omg...I love tenrose. They're so cute.

What a year to be doing this rewatch, what with this episode focusing on Elizabeth's coronation. Would have been mildly funnier last year, but I wouldn't have KNOWN at this point last year.

Oh fuck. I forgot how terrible this guy is.

The angles they sometimes shoot from are...baffling. They're all off kilter, and for what purpose??

This family is about to learn Baby's First Feminism.

Okay but what do these aliens have on this guy? Because right now it feels like some trolley problem shit. If the...if the alien in the television is hungry and needs whatever it's getting from humans to live, but then those humans get rounded up and put in pens after their faces disappear. No, it's NOT like the trolley problem because the person the trolley would hit if you flip the switch isn't actively harming the other five. So the must have SOMETHING on Mr Magpie because otherwise he's just some guy.

Going FERAL over Ten saying there's not a power on this earth that can stop him [from saving Rose and everyone else but mostly Rose].

I hope Rita gets a fucking divorce and keeps the house or sells it, whatever she wants. This man is...fucking disgusting. HELL YEAH RITA!!!! GET THAT DIVORCE, GIRL!!!

Is it really so boring as "she let me keep my face" that Mr Magpie betrayed every single person on earth?? And then to die for all that...not heroically, begging.

Oh, Rita. Good for you. Standing up for yourself, your son, and your mother.

[tangowatchesjj]

Jessica Jones S1E6

I DID THE BULLETPOINTS AGAIN! I impress even myself.

Bastard bastarding all over the place.

If he's been Kilgrave'd you can't fight him. Yeah like Jess said.

What happened to Luke? Is it in his series??

"Conversation" so that's what happened.

Jess come on, you're the one that broke up with him. You can't ask that.

Sissy Garcia. What a name.

I like Sissy Garcia, let it be known!

Oh FUck.

Kilgrave is the antithesis of subtle, how has he never been investigated or caught before this?

Oof he's salty. And it's deserved I suppose.

She's a great PI, love her.

Her terrible high-pitched phone voice is so funny.

Voice of Reason Luke Cage! It is gonna be so damn funny to see him, Jess and Matt in Defenders. He's gonna have an aneurysm.

Aw Malcolm trying to help Jess. I love him so much.

That was a little passive-aggressive, Jeri. I want to believe she genuinely likes Pam but also she's a bitch.

"First, the divorce." Words to live by.

Ooh Malcolm spilled. Probably shouldn't have done that but hey, Jessica definitely wasn't gonna start the conversation.

Luke is correct in saying it's not her fault, but I wonder if he'll stick by it when he finds out.

DON'T KISS HIM HE DOESN'T KNOW.

Love that running from intimacy - OH SHIT SHE GOT BACK IN BED? STEPS.

Oh god. Jess, you gotta tell him.

Oh nooooooo.

Okay so Kilgrave wanted whatever Reva hid and then killed her. Fuck. Jess you have to tell him!!

Malcolm is on the "Jessica needs therapy" train and he is right. Choo choo motherfuckers.

Are his powers still fucked? How long do the drugs last?

Oh buddy. Lying does not work in the long-term. Jess and Matt both have this problem and I Haaate it.

That's a lot of pot(s).

Convenient dogs to distract Luke are convenient.

"I pray my dick get big as the Eiffel Tower." POETRY.

That poor plant! The collateral damage is so heartbreaking :( Glad the dogs are good tho.

This fight feels. Chill?

JESS DO NOT LEAVE HIM??? WHAT THE FUCK.

Bad decisions, being made right in front of my eyes. Honestly, at this point Luke, the red flags are sirens. Why are you still here.

Also, for clarification: I like Jess! I don't think Reva's death was her fault. But this is no basis for a relationship, especially when he DOESN'T KNOW.

DA TRUTH. IT IS HERE. Oh no it's not. It SHOULD be but you keyed its car tires and now it's stuck on the side of the road, lonely and cold.

Honey do NOT kill that man. How many times must I say that to people on this show.

Hoe don't do it!

Unstoppable force vs immovable object.

THE TRUTH HITCHHIKED! IT HAS ARRIVED FASHIONABLY LATE.

YEAH. YEAH SHE DID SLEEP WITH YOU. IT WAS A BAD IDEA.

"It just happened." You just fell on his dick??

The fallout. It is devastating.

See this probably wouldn't have hurt half as much if you'd just. Told him.

This is excruciating, ow. My tearducts.

Ohhh the cut to Malcolm. Perfect.

DNA samples? But for the case or for the powers? Why do you trust Jeri, Jess, she is so sketch.

Why does Kilgrave want a house?? Is it for his sick domestic fantasies or something?

Oh fuck. Yeah ok it's her childhood home. Of course it is, fuck.

He is so damn CREEPY. I'm disgusted.

[saturatedsinset]

if you get a chance to see the elite segment from dynamite this week: i gotta know your thoughts on the hangmatt confrontation. like kenny and hangman has been Too Much for me already, but truly matt's audacity to want to get at hangman by himself is off the charts

i'm putting this under a readmore because it got away from me a little bit but! tldr: matt sucks so much because kenny sucks and it's about the cycle of toxicity in friendships

so i woke up to this before i got up for the day proper and it sure was A Way to start my day. anyway i've kind of said a little of this in tags already but i think it's very. funny? something. that matt conceives of friendship in the same terms kenny does, ie as a game of domination over another person. kenny has to feel like he can control the people closest to him and because matt's been in that insular toxic environment for so long (and also because he's the worst) he's internalised that as like. How Friendships Are. we're good wrestlers and we win and we give you purpose, hangman, how could you leave us? for people who don't do those things? like matt's very. kenny being controlling is fine (to him) because it gives him purpose, he knows what he's doing, etc, and he can mostly ignore the Bad Parts of that because he can mostly ameliorate them by just doing what kenny wants - which is why it's so interesting to see when and why the bucks choose to dig their heels in/say no/push back and how they eventually capitulate to what kenny wants, because they always do - and he's a deeply selfish person so he can't conceive of adam. Not seeing things that way. of adam seeking validation/friendship as not dependent on wrestling success. even as adam has difficulty accepting that from the dark order because he's so used to that being The Way Relationships Are.

it's also very funny(?) that matt is very clearly trying to use the same manipulation tactics on hangman that kenny uses on him - @cuil-meleth made that gifset of the parallels in how kenny talks to matt and how matt talks to hangman - but hangman, like, has friends now who don't manipulate him constantly so he can see that it's. maybe bad, actually. to be treated like that. also matt is just much worse at manipulation than kenny is like i think matt's a very straightforward character in that the things that are important to him are 1. his brother 2. kenny 3. winning at the wrestling and that's, like. that's him. where kenny is a better manipulator not because he's necessarily more complex but because he's better at using the things your brain tells you against you. because his brain is always telling him things that aren't, like. true. so matt's trying to replicate the kind of manipulation that works on him - because he'll always choose kenny over almost anything else. maybe even over nick, one day. (i can only hope) - but hangman isn't falling for it because matt's worse at it and also because hangman isn't the same kind of invested.

i think matt's promo voice is also really interesting because like obviously we have the layers of promo as performance, promo not as conversation but as dramatic monologue, but the intonation used is always really interesting to me? so when hangman talks it's very, like. he's performing to a crowd, he's exaggerating his gesture, he's speaking very loudly, there's a Drama to his tone, but he's more. it's more believable to me that he would also say something like this at normal volume in normal conversation. part of that is that hangman's the babyface, he gets to be the voice of reason, the straightforward hard-working man, but part of it is also that matt's promo style is, uh, different. by which i mean. just insanely annoying. on purpose, obviously, but god does he suck. so he's Performing Disgust at hangman for leaving them, for drinking, for hanging out with the dark order, but he's doing it in a way that's even more exaggerated than is strictly necessary to play as a promo. it's heel work to be sure but it's really interesting to look at the contrast there. i'm not sure i had a point. uhh i hate matt jackson

matt approaching hangman alone is fun especially because of that bte ending bit a couple [weeks/months] back where he's like Sadly Watching Hangman Have Fun With The Dark Order and on his way to make amends and clearly now he's abandoned that to just fully commit to being theeeeee worst. the worst. like it's fun that matt feels entitled to approach hangman alone because he clearly thinks he, matt, has some hold over hangman that hangman is doing a very good job of ignoring. obviously it's also fun given the whole hangman/bucks feud around revolution 2020 and the fact that matt very obviously still feels slighted by that (i mean, fair, it's not like hangman wasn't being shitty)

uhhhhhhhh so i sure did have some thoughts. didn't expect to write an essay but here you go

[hornsbeforehalos]

Waste Love: Part Five

Pairing: Colson Baker|Machine Gun Kelly x OFC Warnings: Alcohol and Drug Use, Language, Violence, Future Smut, Slow Burn, ANGST OUT THE ASS.

“Colson! I swear to fucking God you get on my fuckin’ nerves!” Tiffany screeched from the kitchen. The sound of her footsteps stomping down the hall brought a guilty smile to Colson’s face until suddenly the back of his head was stinging and a loud crack was heard through the room.

“Ah! What the fuck, bitch!?” He barked back with a hiss, jumping up and rubbing the spot of impact to sooth the sting, “The fuck is your problem?”

“Did you eat my last avocado?!” She questioned, gesturing to him with a rather large kitchen knife, “I swear to god I’m going to fucking stab you.” 

Slim snickered from his spot on the loveseat, his hand covering his mouth, “You done fucked up, boyyy.”

“Man I don’t even like avocado!” Colson argued as he backed away, his hands up in surrender, “It was fucking Rook, babe, I swear!” 

Seething, Tiffany spun around on her heels and headed back down the hallway to her brother’s room. “I’m going to fucking kill you, John!” 

Colson couldn’t help the snorting giggle that shot out of him as he busted out laughing. He and Slim followed behind her as she burst through JP’s bedroom door, the knife still clutched tightly in her hand.

“I can’t have anything in this fuckin’ house my own!” She bitched as she jerked the covers off of Rook’s sleeping form and lunged at him, the man instantly jumping up and defending himself.

“The fuck is wrong with you, you crazy bitch!?” Her brother shouted, holding Tiffany off of him with the knife dangerously close to his chest.

“You ate my avocado!” She repeated, grunting as the hand not holding the knife tangled in his hair with a sharp tug, “Piece of shit!” 

“Kels fucking ate it, bitch, get the fuck off me!” He yelled as he finally got his feet up to her stomach, kicking her off of him with so much force the she stumbled back into the wall. 

Colson had about a three second head start while she got her bearings to run for his life. 

“I’m going to fucking gut you!” She shrieked, picking up the fallen weapon and exiting the room. Slim attempted to stand in her way, but with just one look from the pissed off woman, he held his hands up in surrender and stepped away. He’d seen her fight the guys before, and it never worked out to their advantage. 

She flung the knife towards Colson’s head just as he’d ducked down on the other side of the sofa, the pointed tip of the blade whizzing past his shoulder and landing in the drywall behind him.

“You almost fucking stabbed me, you psycho!” Colson yelled, shocked but still laughing as he raised his head up, only to be tackled by the woman. He fell back onto the floor as she straddled him, her tiny hands wrapping around his neck and squeezing.

“That was my last avocado, you prick,” She snarled as she cut off his oxygen level. Colson obviously wasn’t going to let himself get choked out, especially by her, and he quickly wrapped his own hand around her throat, a smirk playing on his face as he licked his lips.

“You wanna play like that, huh?” He asked sadistically, effortlessly pushing her off of him before choke-slamming her into the tile beneath them. Her fingers released his throat immediately, but only to ball up into fists and fall onto the back of his head. She moved to knee him in the stomach, but her leg slipped as her vision started darkening. 

“Say your sorry.” Colson demanded, bright smile flashing at her as he watched her face turn red.

“Fuck you.” She hissed back, her nails still attempting to dig into his shoulders and push him off of her. 

“Later, princess. Now tell Daddy you’re sorry.” 

The smugness in his voice was enough to give her the strength to pull her knee up just so, the quick contact with his groin making Colson recoil away from her instantly with a pain filled groan.

“Awh, bitch, what the fuck,” Colson choked, rolling on to his side as he curled into the fetal position. She kicked him again in the back, huffing as she stood up. 

“That’s what you get when you eat my fuckin’ food!” 

“Gahhhhd damn, Tuff Ass Tiff strikes again, huh?” Andre asked as he entered the house through the garage, grocery bags loaded up his arms. He chuckled at the sight of Colson curled up on the ground, “What he do this time?”

“He ate my fuckin’ avacado! Please tell me you got more!” She begged, her breathing labored.

Andre’s laugh intensified as he entered the kitchen, setting the bags down on the counter before wiping his face with his hands, “Ohh, girl. You’re gonna kill that man one day.” 

She sat down on one of the bar stools near the counter and began going through the bags of assorted snacks, digging through everything until she found what she was looking for. She spun around to go looking for another knife, only to be met with the one she’d thrown at Colson being pointed at her by the man himself. 

Tiffany snatched it from his hand and turned back around to begin cutting up the fruit. Colson draped his arms around her shoulders lazily, bending down to kiss her cheek, “Feel better now, bitch?”

“Fuck you.” She retorted before popping a piece in her mouth, happiness and contentment spreading across her face. 

“Like I said, later.” Colson teased, stealing a large piece from the plate while leaning against the counter next to her with a wink. Tiffany jabbed the knife towards him again, her eyes narrowing at him with the threat as she continued to chew.

“Is the coast clear?” Rook questioned cautiously as he ducked his head into the kitchen, eyes scanning the room to make sure there were no flying objects, “I’m not gonna get stabbed for something I didn’t do, am I?”

“Can’t believe you fucking ratted on me, bro. She almost fucking killed me,” Colson exclaimed, eyes wide as he pointed towards the living room, “She put a fucking hole in the wall.” 

“You know better than to eat that girl’s food, Kels,” Andre replied, shaking his head in amusement, “I seen her put Slim in a chokehold over a Klondike bar.” 

“Facts,” Slim confirmed, shooting finger guns at Dre as he found his way in the room and sat on the other side of Colson, “I still say she fucked something up in my throat.”

“Yeah, well, I’mma be fuckin’ up her throat later if she don’t say she’s sorry.” Colson snarked, cocking an eyebrow at Tiffany, who flipped him off with a snort.

“Dude.” Rook barked, throwing his arms up in disgust, “Really?”

“Sorry, dog.” Colson chuckled as he looked back down to Tiff, scrunching his nose at her playfully as she rolled her eyes at him. 

“So who all supposed to be there tonight?” Rook asked, wanting to change the subject to avoid hearing anything perverted about his sister, “Is it gonna be lit?”

“Litty like a titty,” Colson replied, turning to look at him as he drummed his fingers against the counter, “I was about to go on the run for all the party favors, y'all wanna ride or just meet me there?”

“I’ll ride,” Slim and Rook said in unison. 

“I’ll meet you there later, babe. I still gotta take a shower and get ready.” Tiffany answered when Colson's questioning eyes met hers. He nodded his head and pushed himself from the counter, bending down to slip his fingers into her hair and kiss her. His tongue snaked into her mouth as the guys left the room, swirling with hers for a minute before he pulled away. 

“Wear something sexy for Daddy.” He winked before kissing her forehead, skipping away from her hand that popped out to smack his ass as he exited the room. 

Tiffany giggled before finishing her precious avocado and getting up to start getting ready. 

She took a shower and curled her hair, making sure every piece was in the perfect spot after applying her makeup. She made sure to do it up a little, her honey colored eyes shining bright with the smokey eyeshadow and long false lashes. She painted her favorite matte black lipstick across her lips, smiling at herself in the mirror. 

“God damn, Tiff,” Andre barked when she finally appeared from her room when she was finished, eyeing her outfit “You tryna make the nigga marry you or somethin’?”

“Shut the fuck up,” She snorted, taking the blunt he was holding out to her as she adjusted the high waisted leather skirt so she could sit down on the couch to slip her heels on. She hit the Dutch and let the smoke fill her lungs before standing back up, passing it back to him before pulling on the sleeve of the off the shoulder cropped Metallica shirt she was wearing. “I’m ready if you’re ready.” 

Colson’s house was already filled with people when they arrived, loud music pounding as they walked through the door. They found Colson in the living room with Rook and some others that she’d recognized, two girls sitting on either side of him with their arms wrapped around him. 

His eyes were only on her though as she approached him, giant beaming smile plastered on his face as he stood up, pulling himself out of the groupies’ embrace, “Fuckin’ finally. Holy shit, look how fuckin’ fine my bitch is.” 

Colson snatched her hand and pulled her to the other side of the coffee table, squeezing her ass tightly before dragging her into his lap as he sat back down. The girls who had been occupying the space with him scooted over barely, and Colson couldn’t stop himself from snapping at them, “Move, hoe, damn. The fuck?”

Huffing, they both got up and left, mumbling under their breath about how they didn’t see how She was so special. She cocked an eyebrow at Colson who just shrugged in response before attaching his lips to hers. They made out for a moment, ignoring the catcalls and wolf whistles from everyone around them. Tiffany pulled away first, smirking at him while wiping around her mouth, making sure her lipstick was still intact. 

“I'm thirsty.” She pouted, watching Colson lift a plastic cup to his lips for a drink. 

He chuckled at her baby voice, scrunching his nose before shifting her so he could reach between his legs, pulling out a bottle of Crown and another of Ciroc, “What would you like, my love?”

“Whiskey, please,” She smiled, clapping her hands before reaching for it. She cracked the bottle and brought it to her mouth, the amber liquid flowing down her throat with a comforting burn. 

“Mmm, that’s hot,” He mumbled, slipping the shoulder of her shirt down to graze his lips against her skin, “Do it again.” 

She snorted at him before raising the bottle, taking another drink from it before putting it down. 

“So fuckin’ sexy.” He praised, his fingers kneading into the flesh of her thighs while bucking up into her, “Can’t wait to fuck the shit out of you later.” 

“Dude! I’m right here,” Rook piped in, throwing an empty cup at the side of Colson’s head. The group all laughed, Tiffany and Colson both sticking their tongues out at the drummer. 

“You want summa that?” Colson asked, nodding his head to the coffee table, where a plate filled with white powder rested, “We got tabs and shit too somewhere.” 

“I’ll take a bump, but I don’t wanna go full scarface just yet. How many tabs have you taken?” She replied, reaching for the plate as Slim handed it to her.

“I took two about an hour ago.” Colson smiled, licking his lips as he watched her cut herself a small amount of cocaine from the pile. 

“That explains a lot,” She chuckled, handing him the plate so he could hold it for her while she brought the rolled hundred to one nostril. Closing the other with her finger, she took a deep inhale, the drug instantly shooting to the back of her throat. 

“Gah, that shits so fucking nasty.” She hissed, shaking her head as she exhaled. Rubbing the residue from the bottom of her nose, she took the plate from Colson so he could do a line, his way bigger than hers. 

He passed the plate back to Slim as JP tossed a joint to Tiffany, the woman humming in satisfaction as she brought it to her lips to light. Colson flicked the lighter for her and brought it to the tip, the cherry burning bright as she took a deep toke.

“Who got them X-O’s, Dubb?” Colson hollered, leaning back and cocking his head to see where his friend was. 

“They right here,” the man replied, handing the baggie filled with candy shaped pills to Colson as he walked up behind the couch. Tiff handed Dubb the blunt as she held her hand out for the bag, examining the contents to pick out which ones she wanted. 

“How many you gonna take?” Colson asked, wrapping his arms around her stomach to give her a squeeze, “I’m tryna get you fucked up.” 

Rolling her eyes, she pulled two pink pills out and popped them into her mouth, her face displaying disgust as she let them sizzle on her tongue, “Let’s see what these do and go from there, yeah?”

At some point in the night, once their highs had taken hold and had them feeling euphoric, the two ended up separated. Tiffany had changed into her bathing suit and was lounging by the pool, enjoying the fresh air and the feeling of the cool water dancing over her toes. She was smoking a blunt with her brother when a group of girls walked outside, their voices instantly hushing when they saw her. 

“Uh, hey, Kels is looking for you,” One of them said, an impish grin tugging on her lips, “He looks pretty fucked up.” 

“Yeah, well, so am I,” Tiffany returned, giggling as she passed the blunt back to Rook. 

“He’s a big boy, ladies. He can handle himself” Rook snickered, bringing the blunt to his lips. 

“I dunno, Rook,” another girl said, her lips twisting in uncertainty, “Someone should probably check on him.”

Sighing with annoyance, Rook rolled his head towards Tiffany as he stubbed out the roache. “You gonna go or you want me to?” 

“He was asking for her specifically.” The first girl interrupted, her eyes bouncing between faces before she looked back to Tiffany, “wanted to show you something or somethin’.”

“God damn it.” Tiffany complained, hanging her head back towards the sky as she grimaced, “Why does he do this shit to me.”

“I think it’s sweet.” The other girl squeaked out, covering her grin with her hand. 

Tiffany shrugged but stood up, adjusting her swimsuit bottoms before slipping on her flip flops and heading inside. 

She followed the sound of hollering and cheers into the kitchen, where she found Colson leaned over the island counter, snorting a giant line off the very naked girl who was currently laying on it. Another girl was behind him, her arms wrapped around him and her hand half way down his pants. 

When the line was successfully in his brain cavity, he twisted around with a goofy smile on his face as everyone yelled for him. His face brightened even more when he saw Tiffany standing there, eyebrow cocked and she laughed at him. “Havin’ fun there, Kels?”

The woman behind him with her hand below Colson’s belt threw a devious smirk in Tiffany’s direction, not even attempting to conceal what she was doing. Colson’s gaze trailed to where Tiffany’s eyes were locked into, the man finally registering what was happening. He shoved her away from him, hard, snarling at the little bitch, “The fuck is wrong with you?”

Tiffany chuckled as the girl took off after shooting daggers in her direction. Colson’s smile returned as his eyes raked over Tiffany’s frame. The tight little black bikini was a favorite of his and left very little to the imagination. He bit his lip as he approached her, his huge hands immediately finding purchase on her ass and giving it a squeeze. He pulled her into his bare chest, shoving his tongue into her mouth while one hand wrapped around her throat. She laughed into the kiss and wrapped her arms around him, stepping up onto her tiptoes to get closer. Another round of cat calls was heard behind them, and they broke apart to flip everybody off. 

“So is that one mine?” Tiffany asked innocently, gesturing with her hand to a line still resting on the naked woman in front of them, “I like cocaine and titties too.”

“God damn I love this bitch” Colson laughed, rutting his face into her hair as he handed her the straw. He watched in amazement as she snorted the four inch rail by herself.

She rolled her eyes at him as she sniffled the remnants up her nose, her fingernail poking him in the gut playfully. He winked at her before someone handed them both shots, the two downing them with their arms wrapped around each other. Colsons hands snaked down to her ass again as he lead her out of the kitchen, hoisting her up his body as they walked. She wrapped her thighs around his narrow waist as he carried her through the backyard. 

“Where are we going?” Tiffany asked, curious expression on her face as she met his eyes.

“I’m ‘bout to piss everyone off and fuck you in this hot tub.” Colson explained, wiggling his eyebrows mischievously at her before dropping her in the water.

Masterlist

Tags: @coffee-obsessed-writer @through-thesilver-lining@daryldixonandfrogs @buckyscrystalqueen @mgkobsessed@iamdorka @creatureofthen1ght-v3 @xxencagedxx@xxkellsvixen19xx @mrsambroserollinsacklesmgk

[vagrantblvrd]

Communication Breakdown (1/1)

Summary: Matt fucked up.

He really, really fucked up.

Gavin is staring at him in shock and the rest of the crew is in various states of panic and alarm and Matt’s really fucked up now.

Notes: For @queen-bitchiest​  who asked for something based on this post that kind of sort of got away from me and is somewhat similar. /o\

(Read on AO3)

Matt fucked up.

He really, really fucked up.

Gavin is staring at him in shock and the rest of the crew is in various states of panic and alarm and Matt’s really fucked up now.

(To be fair, Gavin’s been pissing Matt off for the last forever, doing the stupidest shit and thinking it’s just fine and dandy and all of that and Matt has had fucking enough, okay? So much enough he doesn’t have the words for how much enough.)

“...What?”

Matt clears his throat, glancing at the others – still confused as hell and trying to make sense of the scene in front of them - and Matt’s bad knee is not enjoying any of this, okay.

So not.

“I said,” Matt says, clearing his throat again because that goddamn cough is acting up again. “Will you marry me, you piece of shit.”

There’s -

“Wow,” Jack says, first to recover. “Just. Wow, Matt.”

Michael has this look on his face like he’s been sucking lemons, hand clamped on Jeremy’s shoulder tight enough that even he’s wincing. Hissing at Michael to ease up a bit, Jesus Christ, Michael.

Matt has no fucking clue what that’s about, but hey whatever. He’s busy staring Gavin down like the idiot has a gun on him and fuck him anyway.

Idiot looks like he’s been through a meat-grinder, all bloody and beat up. Those fucking gold-framed sunglasses of his hooked into the collar of his shirt, lenses cracked and broken and goddamn him anyway.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not what you said before,” Ryan points out, quibbling just to quibble.

Geoff looks like he wishes these assholes he recruited could stop with their bullshit for like, five goddamn minutes for once.

Lindsay snaps a picture of Matt down on one knee in front of Gavin on her phone and sends it to someone. (Odds are good it’s Trevor who took Alfredo and Fiona out of town for a job because they have an agreement.)

And, okay, yes.

The first time Matt didn’t call Gavin a piece of shit – out loud, at any rate – but they all know he was thinking it. Especially after Gavin’s little adventure today.

“Matt,” Gavin says, strained note to his voice. “Could I have a word with you in private?”

Matt opens his mouth to tell him no, no he can not because he knows what Gavin’s about to say, but this being Gavin, eh doesn’t give him the chance.

No, Gavin pulls Matt to his feet and drags him along behind him as they head for the conference room, catcalls and Geoff’s despairing, “Don’t fuck in my conference room, you assholes!” following them.

========

The décor in the conference room is very...bland.

No-nonsense hardwood laminate and this odd off-white paint for the walls. Glass-topped conference table with brushed-steel legs.

The view’s nice, looks out over the city. You can see the mountains in the distance, and if it’s a clear day you can almost see Chiliad.

“Matt,” Gavin says, a little shaky. “What. What was that?”

Matt staring out the windows, but it’s the opposite of a clear day. Fat, heavy rain clouds with lightning and thunder out over Vinewood and moving towards the penthouse.

Supposed to be one hell of a storm rolling in, at least a couple of inches of rain before night rolls around.

Matt looks over at Gavin, who still looks like shit, by the way, and crosses his arms. (Gavin almost got himself killed today, and Matt is not okay with  that in any way, as though that will change things. Make the reckless idiot think twice before pulling those stunts of his.)

“What?” Matt asks, frown on his face and just enough confusion thrown in there that for a moment Gavin looks like he’s doubting himself, what he thinks he heard in the penthouse’s living room. “I didn't say anything.”

And, alright.

That's pushing things a little too far because Gavin’s eyes narrow, all the stupid, reckless decision making abilities he has shoved aside to make way for the sharp-eyed bastard that enjoys playing dumb too damn much.

“There was a plan,” Gavin says, although which one he’s talking about is up for debate. “We had a plan, Matt.”

They did, didn’t they.

“Oh?” Matt says. “Which one might that be, Gavin? The one where you were supposed to stick with Ryan, and not go off on your own? Or maybe you mean the one where you avoid the pack of guards with itchy trigger fingers? Ooh, or maybe - “

God, there are so many plans Gavin could be talking about. And true, they’re all smaller components to the master plan for the heist, but still.

“Uh,” Gavin says, like he realizes he’s stepped into a mine-field here. “None of the above?”

Matt stares at Gavin.

Look, he knows, okay. Matt knows this...thing they’ve been doing the past few weeks is a farce. Knows none of it was real, was just Gavin being Gavin, trying to get the others off his back about his dating dry spell. (And it’s not like there’s a dating site for criminals or anything, so Matt doesn’t know what they were thinking, but whatever.)

Matt drew the short straw and he was fine, just fine with pretending to be Gavin’s plus one because hey, why not?

It was funny at first, watching the others react to the news Gavin was dating him. That he and Matt were a Thing. The expressions of horror and disgust as he and Gavin tried to out-do one another with pet names at every available opportunity, Matt trying to hold his shit together while Gavin simpered at him over the comms and just.

He kind of forgot for a while it wasn’t – look, he knows it will never happen, just.

Matt forgot, let himself get swept along in Gavin’s chaos and had fun. Enjoyed himself a little too much and -

Point is, point is, for the last few weeks Matt’s life has been a super crappy romcom, and he just made things worse.

There was supposed to be this dramatic breakup after the heist, just enough to have everyone else fall for it hook, line, and sinker. Get them to buy it the way they thought someone like Gavin would be interested in someone like Matt – great joke, right? - but Matt fucked that up.

Saw Gavin standing there after everything that happened giving him this look, all well? Get on with it then, we don’t have all day like he hadn’t come so damn close to dying, and Matt snapped.

Just.

Fucking snapped the way the betting pool Jack’s got going Matt’s not supposed to know about says he’s bound to one day with all the shit the crew gives him.

Matt snapped and instead of breaking up with Gavin he proposed to him.

Gavin’s still watching him.

Head tipped to the side and this little frown on his face, puzzling out what the hell’s gotten into Matt.

“Matt,” Gavin says, oddly formal about it. “While I know it can be confusing, breaking up rarely involves a marriage proposal.”

They kind of do? (Or maybe Matt’s lived a very different life from Gavin, because yeah. He's seen shit go down like this before.)

“Shows what you know,” Matt mutters.

Gavin sighs, and shuffles over to one of the conference room chairs. Makes this pained little noise as he sits down, winces just the tiniest bit.

“Matt,” he says, and gently pats the table. “Sit the hell down and talk to to me.”

Oh, such sweet nothings.

“I’m good where I am, thanks,” Matt says, always too stubborn for his own good.

Several minutes go by while Gavin studies him, wheels turning in that head of his.

Alright then, love,” Gavin says, and Matt’s fingers dig into his arm at how the term of endearment just slips off his tongue so easily.

Light and soft and not Matt’s alone because Gavin’s just as likely to call one of the others that or someone he bumps into on the street than Matt, so.

Yeah.

Not his, and he’s fine with that, but the past few weeks have fucked with Matt’s head a little too much. Gotten everything he used to keep (somewhat) neat and orderly in and locked down tight in his head all jumbled together and he’s just.

He’s tired.

“Matt,” Gavin says, concern creeping into his voice. “Are you okay?”

Matt kind of wants to laugh, or is it cry?

“I’m fine, Gavin,” he says, because he always is, right? Good old Matt Bragg, always there when the others need him, even if it’s to play fake boyfriend for some dumbshit. “Just fine.”

Gavin sighs, and when Matt looks over he realizes Gavin looks tired too.

Gotta be hurting like a son of a bitch too, after the day he’s had. Too many close calls and an unhealthy amount of explosions in his vicinity and all that.

“You should have someone look you over,” Matt says, done with this conversation. “You look like shit.”

Gavin’s mouth twists, but Matt’s not in the mood for his bullshit anymore.

“I’ve got...stuff to do,” he says. He trusts B-Team to have things in hand, all the post-heist work they have to do to keep the authorities off their backs, but he needs to be doing something. Cant’ just stand around with his thumb up his ass reliving one of the worst days of his life in his head while Gavin sits there staring at him like he doesn’t get it. “I’ll talk to you later.”

He leaves before Gavin can say anything else, pushes past the cluster of idiots outside the conference room doors and ignores the looks they give him as he does.

========

Matt hides out as much as he can for the next week, makes up excuses and flat-out lies to avoid facing the others in any capacity. (Thank God for B-Team running interference or he might have had to talk about his feelings.)

But then, you know.

The food poisoning hits, and he’s vulnerable like a turtle turtle turned on its back. Or is that tortoises?

Whichever one it is, he’s too sick to run when Trevor finally catches him.

“There you are.”

Matt doesn’t cringe, no.

That would just tip Trevor off as to Matt’s horrible life choices even more. No, Matt just feel his stomach clench up on him. (Could be the food poisoning, but he doesn’t get the accompanying nausea, just this all-over dread, so. Probably the feelings thing.)

“Matt?” Trevor asks, and then when Matt pretends he can’t hear him what with his headphones in, sternly, “Matt Bragg”

Matt would keep pretending he can’t hear Trevor, but then the asshole yanks the cord of his headphone out of Matt’s computer and he has to slap at the keyboard to mute the volume before it’s too late and Trevor hears what he’s listening to.

“Is that...Matt. Is that Sarah McLachlan ?”

Matt winces, and doesn’t deny it. (But oh, would he love to.)

“It’s a scientific fact,” Matt says, trying to hold on to whatever dignity he has left. “It's a scientific fact that listening to sad music after a breakup is beneficial.”

He’s pretty sure he just pulled that out of his ass, but whatever. The saddest song he can think of is from that one damned humane society commercial, God knows he feels like shit just thinking about it.

And...you know, the thing where he and Gavin weren’t actually dating, but. Uh. Details?

Trevor stares at him for a moment before shaking his head.

“Okay, whatever the hell that’s all about aside, I came to check on you.”

Well, obviously, what with Trevor picking the locks on Matt’s front door, yes.

“And!” Trevor continues, “I brought you a gift.”

That’s...concerning.

Deeply, deeply concerning.

Trevor’s smiling.

“Uh - “

Trevor’s smiling and Matt’s known him too long not to recognize the warning signs, and yet he’s still caught by surprise when Trevor reveals said “gift”.

“Bring him in!” Trevor calls out, like a demented game show host ushering in a contestant.

Behind Trevor Matt’s front door swings open to show Jeremy and a reluctant looking Gavin. Jeremy all but dragging Gavin inside, this manic grin on his face as he gives Gavin a little shove towards Matt and then blocks the door.

“Hey, Matt!” Jeremy says, and bright and cheerful and not a little terrifying. “Look who we found!”

Would you look at that? The nausea’s back, because Gavin’s not looking at him.

Is, in fact, looking at Trevor and Jeremy, everything thing about him screaming that he doesn’t want to be here, dear God you two, please let him leave,.

Trevor’s smiles kicks up another notch as he leans around Gavin and pins Matt with a look.

“You two kids play nice now,” he says with a wink. “We’ll be right outside.”

What.

“What?”

But Trevor borrows Matt’s earlier trick of selective hearing because he just waltzes right on out of Matt’s apartment with Jeremy and shuts the door behind them.

“Uh,” Matt says again, because what the hell? “Hey, Gavin.”

Gavin flinches, which is never a good sign.

He flinches, and turns to look at Matt.

Still looks like shit, but like. Less so.

The bruises are fading, no longer that dark, ugly purple Matt remembers from the penthouse. The cuts on his face and neck have scabbed over, should heal without scarring.

But there are dark marks under his eyes that weren’t there the last time Matt saw him, and he looks. Tired. Not the way he normally looks, burning the candle at both ends and thriving off it, no, he looks exhausted.

“You look like shit in a completely different way,” Matt says, because he’s never had a whole brain-to-mouth filter, and boy has that gotten him into trouble in the past. “No offense.”

Gavin makes a face at that, mouth quirking into the tiniest of smiles.

“Oh, no offense taken then since you said that, Matt,” he says, dumb little in-joke with them.

And then you know, an awkward pause.

Neither of them want to be here having the discussion they’re about to have because Trevor and Jeremy are assholes.

“I have a fire escape?” Matt offers, waves a hand more or less in the right direction. “But I have a feeling they roped Alfredo into this mess, and you know Alfredo.”

No doubt set up in a sniper’s nest in case they try to sneak out the back.

“Oh, they did,” Gavin says, eyes darting to Matt’s living room windows. “Fiona’s out there too.”

Jesus.

That’s something Matt didn’t need to know considering she has to be itching to take him down for all the shit he gives her.

“Awesome,” Matt says, because really.

Awesome.

Gavin’s watching Matt, this little frown between his eyes. All concerned and shit.

“You look terrible,” Gavin says, takes a step towards Matt before he stops himself, pulls the hand that was reaching towards him back with a jerky little motion. “Are you alright?”

Matt is super not alright, because the food poisoning. (And also his terrible life choices, but mainly the food poisoning at this point.)

“Well, you know,” Matt says. “Food poisoning will do that to you.”

Interestingly enough, Gavin winces. Opens and closes his mouth a few times like he’s got something to say and just doesn’t know how.

Like maybe he knows something Matt doesn’t, or just. Who even knows.

“Gavin?”

Gavin does the thing he does when he’s trying to translate from Gavin to English and failing, so he settles for vague hand gestures and words that are kind of sort of almost right with random noises thrown in.

It sounds like gibberish, and Matt can never tell if it’s some kind of British slang or Gavin’s brain shorting out.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that?”

Gavin sighs, looking at Matt like he’s the idiot here.

“I said,” Gavin says. “You should be nicer to Sarah.”

Matt’s positive that isn’t what Gavin said, but sure.

Also.

“Wait.”

Gavin raises his eyebrows, corner of his mouth ticking up like he thinks something is hilarious but he doesn’t want to look like an asshole. (Too late, but Matt appreciates the attempt.)

“Wait.”

Matt likes Sarah, he does. Gives her a lot of grief because he likes her, because like everyone else in the crew it’s how he shows affection or some shit. (They’re all a fucked up.)

Problem is, Sarah is a monster of a human being.

Plays all sweet and nice, but Matt knows she’s plotting behind his back, waiting for the right moment to   lay him low so she can take his place and rule with an iron fist or some shit.

Or, you know. Just lay him low because he gives her shit and she’s not someone who takes kindly to that, whichever.

“She brought me my lunch,” Matt says, feeling like a detective in some shitty Vinewood movie putting the pieces together.

Sarah brought Matt his lunch, and the  the food poisoning happened and he was too busy trying to puke up his guts to ponder overmuch how the food poisoning happened, or question if it was intentional.

“Oh my God,” Matt says, impressed despite of himself because she was so smooth about it, all happy smiles and kind and generous to get lunch for B-Team, just doing a good deed and dear God she’s far more devious than he gave her credit for. “Oh my God.”

Gavin bites his lip, looks away. Doesn’t laugh at Matt while struggles to come to terms with this most heinous of betrayals, no.

God no, Gavin would never.

“If it helps,” Gavin says, shoulders shaking just the tiniest bit. “I’m certain Trevor put her up to it.”

That...yeah. That doesn’t surprise Matt as much. Trevor would thinking giving Matt food poisoning would give him the perfect opening to instigate this...whatever this is.

(Oh, everyone thinks Trevor’s the nice one. All polite and shit, but no. Trevor is the worst one in the entire crew, including Sarah.)

“Of course he did,” Matt mutters. “It’s Trevor.”

Gavin clears his throat, shuffles his feet.

Catches Matt eye for a moment, this smile on his face before he looks away again just as fast.

Looks awkward as hell and Matt can’t figure out if that little flicker of guilt he saw on his face before he did was real or just a figment of his imagination.

And then -

“I bollocksed everything up between us, didn't I?” Gavin asks, staring at the ugly little garden garden gnome statue Jeremy stole for Matt on a dare with a frown on his face. “Did everything all wrong.”

Matt says nothing. He’s not sure what he can say, so he lets Gavin talk it out since that seems to be what he needs right now.

Something about the crew giving him grief over his non-existent romantic life and Gavin having enough. Wanting just a little bit of peace and quiet on that front as he wrestled with crew business and gearing up for the heist and a million and one other things.

Matt makes noises in the appropriate places because knows all about that, remembers Gavin explaining it to him when he made that indecent proposal of his. (Should have been a warning sign he did it over dinner, took Matt out to one of his favorite places to sweeten the deal. Butter him up, all that stuff.)

“It just...” Gavin sighs, gives Matt this wry smile. “It all got out of hand.”

That’s one way to put it.

“I thought,” Gavin sighs again, frustrated. “I thought I had it under control. Figured it was just for a little while, that I wouldn’t...wouldn’t lose sight of things.”

Matt’s stomach does this little flip, a dip and roll and the nausea is...doing something. Has him sinking down on his couch and giving Gavin a wordless shrug as he mimes food poisoning kind of sucks at him, or something close enough that Gavin seems to get it.

Matt watches as Gavin takes a seat in the crappy arm chair on the other side of Matt’s coffee table. Sees him fiddle with the strings on his hoodie, worrying the knot between his fingers.

“Michael told me it was a bad idea,” Gavin says, mumbles almost. “Said I was playing with fire, going to get burned and all that, but I didn’t listen to him. Told him he couldn’t say anything, and you know how he is.”

Oh, Matt knows.

Asshole would have either gone to Matt the moment he figured everything out to fuck with Gavin or he’d have Gavin’s back the whole way. (Or a little bit of both, give Matt more shit than usual and drop little comments here and there that were confusing as hell at the time, but now? Yeah. That whole hindsight thing is a bitch.)

Gavin makes a face, waves his hand in even more vague gestures.

“Can’t keep a secret from Michael to save my life,” he says. “Bastard’s good at sniffing ‘em out.”

Or maybe he just knows Gavin that well. (Also, Matt’s will pass on the nose jokes because the mood in the room is all wrong. Noble sacrifice on his part right there.)

Gavin shrugs, like he knows what Matt’s thinking.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to go the way it did,” Gavin says, fingers moving on to picking the hoodie string apart, undoing the knot and unraveling the string. “But it was just too much bloody fun messing with the others, but then it...”

Gavin trails off, frowning at the bits of fabric stuck under his nails like he doesn’t know where they came from. Scowls as he sets to pulling them free, making a messy pile of shredded fluff on Matt’s coffee table like an asshole.

“It got complicated,” Matt finishes for him. Because it did. He knows what Gavin means, because it really was fun at first.

The two of them fucking with the others, and just enjoying the ride. Getting the chance to know one another better, which was the main problem. Kicked that crush Matt had on Gavin into overdrive. Made him realize that hey, wow, that little crush he’d had on Gavin since he joined the crew wasn’t middle school infatuation with the guy. That he had feelings for Gavin even though he damn well knew better than that.

Knew perfectly well what a piece of shit Gavin was and he still liked him. (Liked-liked, even.)

But by then it was too late to keep himself from getting hurt and he knew that, he did, he just didn’t give a damn.

Gavin plucks the last bit of cloth out from under his nails and sighs.

“Yeah,” he says, sounding tired and defeated and guilty as Matt’s ever heard him. “That.”

Which, okay, great. Nice to know and everything, but -

“I like you,” Gavin blurts out, still staring at his hands, his nails. “A lot, Matt. I like you a lot.”

Matt doesn’t know what that means in this context.

“Well,” he says. Stops. Thinks, or tries to, but he’s kind of an idiot. “That’s great to hear, Gavin. I like you too.”

God, they sound like toddlers.

No, worse, because toddlers can express their emotions. What the two of them are doing is just sad.

Gavin looks up at him, like Matt’s not understanding him.

“No,” he says, insistent. “I like you, Matt.”

...Okay?

Gavin stares at Matt, who looks back feeling like he’s missing something but no clue what it could be and oh, Jesus, he hates moments like these, okay. Really, really hates them because they end with Matt being used as bait or conned into doing something he super doesn’t want to be part of. (See: Pretending to Date Gavin-fucking-Free as just one example.)

“Oh my God,” Gavin says, laughter a little hysterical at the edges. “Oh my God, Matt.”

Matt freezes when Gavin shoves himself to his feet and climbs over Matt’s coffee table - “Hey, my coffee table!” - to stand in front of him.

Looks down at Matt with that frown on his face again, the puzzle-solving one and sighs as he gives Matt this smile.

Soft and warm and too...too much.

Has Matt trying to move, back away from him because no>, but there’s nowhere for him to go. Can’t climb over the back of the couch because his balance is shit at the moment, and also he’s not the athletic sort.

Also, he might puke if he tries it.

“Matt Bragg,” Gavin says, and gets down on his knees in front of Matt to put them on even ground.

...Even-ish.

“You’re kind of an idiot, Matt Bragg,” Gavin says, and the way his voice sounds is all kinds of unfair, just as soft and affectionate as that damned smile of his. “And I’m not sure why, but I like that about you.”

That’s. Wow. Flattering?

“Um, thanks?”

Gavin rolls his eyes, because Matt isn’t a hundred percent on board with whatever it is he’s doing here – giving Matt backhanded compliments while confusing the hell out of him maybe? - and shakes his head.

“I’d like to date you,” Gavin says in one big rush. Breathes. “Properly, I mean. Take you out to all your favorite...restaurants and to movies and all that.”

Matt squints at Gavin.

He knows that that hesitation regarding Matt’s “restaurants” was all about. Knows everyone in the crew cannot fathom how he hasn’t died of scurvy or malnutrition yet with the way he eats. Knows what Gavin thinks about all of it, and yet here he is being mildly insulting about it.

That’s Gavin making an effort, really trying. More than Matt ever hoped for, and it’s -

Matt likes it.

Likes that Gavin’s making an effort here, letting Matt see him like this when he’s always so guarded about things. (Laughs and jokes, sure, and always, always deflecting.)

He’s still having a hard time buying someone as brilliant, as vibrant as Gavin would be interested in someone as – well. Someone like Matt, but there’s this part of him that wants to because Matt knows Gavin’s a piece of shit, sure, but he’s not someone who’d knowingly set out to fuck with Matt’s feelings.

Leap of faith, trust fall. Something like that.

“Wow,” Matt says, and he doesn’t know if the way his heart kicks him in the chest is related to the food poisoning or something else, or if it’s anything to do with how nervous Gavin looks right now. “That really hurt you to say didn’t it.”

Gavin’s eyes widen, and Matt can see him jumping to all the wrong conclusions, so he just.

“Okay,” Matt says, and laughs at the way Gavin chokes a little bit between trying to apologize harder and the confusion at Matt’s easy agreement. “Yeah, okay. We can do that. The dating thing. I’m super on board with that.”

Gavin’s not wrong about Matt being an idiot, because talk about smooth, but hey. Gavin’s the idiot who wants to date Matt, so what does that say about him?

And yes, for the record Matt knows he’s insulting himself there, but seriously.

Gavin could have anyone he wanted and he’s choosing Matt.

And sure, there’s every chance this won’t work out between them, but that’s the risk anyone takes when they date someone, isn’t it?

Give him a little hope and he goes all optimistic, doesn’t he? Because it’s possible this can still blow up in their faces, but Matt’s trying to ignore that for the moment. Wants to believe it can (it can) work between them if they’re both willing to put in some effort, be a little more honest with one another.

“...I feel like you’re laughing at me, Matt Bragg.”

Matt pastes on an innocent expression, because good lord no, Gavin. He would never dare do such a thing.

“Perish the thought,” he says, and laughs at the look Gavin gives him because they’re both idiots and this is such a bad idea, but that’s kind of what they do, so there’s that.

Gavin sighs again, but there’s a smile playing on his lips and he looks. He looks happy, like he can’t believe Matt’s giving him a chance, second one or whatever this is, and that can’t be a bad thing.

“Hey,” Matt says, leans forward and waits until Gavin does the same. “I kind of like you too, Gavin.”

[rezdogsyonder]

Not Like You Think

Pairing: The Powered!Reader is married to an OC the marvel characters come in later.

Summary: You and your family are in trouble. What lengths will you go to keep them safe? Go against the Avengers? A gang infamous among CIA?

Warnings: Robbery, breaking the law, lying, murder, cheating

A/N: the reader is like early 20’s, married young to high school sweetheart. With a 3 year old. The reader has super strength, is bulletproof, and is influential. Like kilgrave but can turn it off. Also: didn’t expect it to be so long.. sorry! Couldn’t get back to present day in this chapter

**********

**********

You don’t know how it got to this.

That’s a lie. You do, but you didn’t mean for it to get this messy.

They’re almost here. You need to leave. They’re not close to being done though. The car is waiting. It’s running. They’re probably gonna see you leaving if they’re here quick enough.

We could hide. Blend in. Yeah, that could work.

**********

2 weeks before.

“Honey? What time you gonna be home tonight?” You yelled from the kitchen. Your preparing your babies diaper bag for daycare.

“Right around 8:30 ish? Maybe 9. They pretty much don’t let you take more overtime after 9.” He peaked out the door while doing his tie. He walked over to the counter and began eating the food you prepared for him.

“I’ll keep some food in the fridge for you.” You walked by kidding him on the cheek.

You walk over to the bedroom and to the bed, “Come on baby, time to wake up.” She just rolls over and shoved her face in the covers. “Come on sleepy buns, it’s early enough that you can have cereal.”

That got her sitting up, she reaches out to you and you oblige, bringing her to the kitchen.

“How’s my nakey baby?” Christopher smiles poking her belly. She giggles a little bit but she’s still trying to fight it, still wanting to go to sleep.

You put her in her chair and pour some cereal in the tray. You grabbed her soft little brush and put her hair in two little pigtails.

“See you tonight. Love ya. Love you too my little bean.”

“Love you. See you.” You say halfheartedly, grabbing Leia’s clothes for today.

You hear the door slam. Getting her dressed quickly and grabbing her diaper bag and an extra outfit, you’re soon following.

**********

“Leia is at daycare, they close at 4:30, so I’ll need to leave at 4:15, drop her off with Joey, and head back to work.” You say to yourself in your car. You park in the one employee parking spot that is left and walk inside. 

It’s not much, but this restaurant has been the only place that would hire you. It’s kinda like a subway, but for burritos and tacos, and the place tips well. Especially in the Summer, which is approaching right now. Pretty soon you’ll have to find a different place for Leia to stay. The daycare you go to only works during the school year. 

You have your apron on and hat to cover your hairnet, but you see your day going down the drain when you see your least favorite person. The store owner. The one person you hate because, for some reason, he sees you as a threat. Maybe because the franchise owner almost gave this place to you. Yeah, gave. Guessing he found out from another manager in another store, he went to the franchise owner and laid down daddy’s money. 

Why was he even working here if he was rich? Honestly you think he just has a personal vendetta against you. He has hated you since junior year. 

“Ugh what are you doing here?” He said in disgust.

“How professional, Jamie.”

“I don’t need to be professional, I’m the boss Y/N.” He smirked smugly. “Just in case you’ve forgotten.”

A customer walks in, saving you from having to speak to him. You try to serve them fast, but slowly too because once they’re sitting at their table, Jamie is just gonna berate you for nothing. Like always.

“Who is the one that worked shifts last night? Hmm?”

“That was me and Matt.”

“What is this?”he holds his hand up.

“A bill?” It was 100. We catered a small party yesterday, probably about 20 people but that 20 brought guests.

“A counterfeit.”

“Well we used the pen thingy on every big bill that we get.”

“No you don’t. Cause then you would have realized it was counterfeit.” The door swings open and you expect a customer but Matt walks in.

“Matt tell him we always use pens on big bills”

“We use the pen on big bills. Every time, a habit we’ve gotten from you docking our pay a billion dollars.” Matt said immediately jumping on your side. A bit monotonous and you suspect it’s because of the bags under his eyes.

“If you used the pen then you would have known it was COUNTERFEIT.” He’s starting to lose his shit. Unprofessional as always. “I will dock you both 50 from your paychecks.”

“You’re so... ugh. You know that $50 is nearly a full shift.” You pinch the bridge of your nose. “Give me the bill.” Holding out your hand. He looks at you suspiciously before handing it over. You grab the pen from the register and write over it.

You hold the bill out in front of you mockingly. “Did you use an actual marker?” Showing the yellow marks.

His face goes beet red and Matt is about to laugh, trying to hold it back. Jamie just took out his own marker and marks the bill, the color turning a dark blue.

“See?”

“Well then this is on you. Maybe you should quit being cheep and get us more detector pens.”

You cross your arms, and Matt can’t can’t hold it back and he’s giggling quietly. You know Jamie is trying to find a way to pin it on you.

Jamie opened his mouth to say something, but he sighed and walked away. Matt fist bumps you.

“You know one of these days he’s gonna get what’s coming to him.”

“That would be the dream. But right now he is our boss so we gotta dream while we work, come on. We gotta prep the pico and quac.”

The two of you continued your days work in peace, getting a couple regulars. It was a bit busier today than usual, you don’t know what caused it though. You even had to ask Christopher to pick up Leia.

Pretty soon the last group of people left their table and were leaving the restaurant. These guys were really polite, cleaning up after themselves too.

“You get front, I’ll get kitchen and food?” Matt offered.

“Yep, I’ll get the ice ready for you.” You grab an empty bean bin and a plastic knife from your station and walk around to the fountain machine. You jam the knife in the ice dispenser and go to get the mop bucket from the back.

Once back there you hear arguing, they’re shouting and it sounds like they’re through the back door. The door to drop off garbage. You try to hear better by pressing your ear against the door. One of the voices is Jamie.

“Excuse m—”

“JESUS!” It was just Matt. He has a bag of garbage.

“Huho sorry Y/N. ‘Xcuse.” You put your hand on his chest stopping him.

“Here I can take it.” You hold your hand out, he shrugs and gives you the bag. It was warm from the unused meat from today. You scrunched your nose for a second before heading outside.

The arguing stopped as soon as you opened the door. You saw Jamie and a man you recognized as a regular. He’s kinda too attractive to forget. Long brown hair, but it suited him, especially in the man bun he has right now. He was actually apart of the group that just left.

“Hey.” You wave to the customer, “what are you still doing here Jamie?” You said in a less enthusiastic tone. You walk over to the garbage can. Quickly before the meat burned through the heavy duty bag. It wasn’t fun to clean up.

“Just dealing with business Y/N, just head back in.” He snapped. You heave the heavy bag over the edge and into the garbage.

“Whatever you say,” you put your hands up in mock surrender. “Have a good night.” You say to the man with him.

“You too, ma’am.” He took his hand out of his pocket to wave, his shiny glove glinting in the moonlight. ‘It’s nearly summer.’ You thought, but he was still in a long sleeved jacket and gloves apparently.

You went back inside to continue your work, but that weird altercation stayed in your mind. Consuming your thoughts. Matt has the beans cooled back down, good thing because you had forgotten about the ice, he caught it before it started overflowing.

You’re done with the food heaters, the steamer, the tips, and the till. You’re pulling out the garbage from by the front door when you hear a loud bang outside. You go in the kitchen to see Matt.

“What was that?” You keep walking towards the back.

“Y/N I don’t think you should go out there, they’ll probably hit you in the face with a fircracker... Shitkids.”

“Well, yeah but the garbage.” You open the door, or try at least. Something was blocking it.

“Matt? Can you open this?” You push on the door to emphasize your need, even though he can’t see from where he is. Whoever it was probably stacked stuff on the other side. Garbage most likely.

“Yeah, coming.” He walked around you and tried pushing on the door. Even he struggles with the door, which kind of surprised you with him being kinda buff.

The door is open just enough for you to get out and the two of you hear a groan. You and Matt exchange a glance before you squeeze through the door, him trying to pull you back in.

It’s too dark to see anything, the moon had moved higher and maybe behind some clouds, you can’t make out many shapes. You’re holding the heavy bag with two hands so you swing it into the garbage can and grabbed your phone.

“Turn on your flash, cause holy fuck I can’t see anything.” Matt asks, he’s just getting through. The door closing behind him, making it even darker than before.

“K just a second.” You get it on but the phone is having trouble reading your fingers. Whatever liquid was on your hand preventing it. You wipe your phone on your boob and your hand on your hip, it finally reads.

Once you see, the sight has you and Matt standing in shock. It was a body, face down and covered in blood. A good ten seconds has passed before Matt reacts and jumps to the other side of the person.

“Y/N call 911!”

“Yeah.... right.” You dial the number while keeping the light on the two of them. Your slow with your actions, this situation feeling as if it weren’t real. Not paying attention to the monotone voice at the other end, “Get to TacoTacos on main please hurry, send an ambulance.” You keep them on the line, answering the woman’s questions absentmindedly.

“Does he have a pulse?”

Matt’s hands were already on his throat feeling for one. After a couple seconds he shakes his head.

“No, he doesn’t.”

Matt tucks the man’s arm and rolls him over. It was Jamie. He begins cpr.

“It’s my boss. His name is Jamie Ness. I.. I think he was shot.”

“Don’t worry ma’am help is on the way. They should be there in a couple minutes.”

Yep, this wasn’t real. You look away. At the far corner of the shop is a man standing there. He was the man that Jamie was arguing with. He brought one finger to his lips, smiled, and disappeared behind the corner.

**********

“Do you know anybody that would want to do harm to Mr.Ness?” The police officer asks.

“Who wouldn’t?” You look at the paramedic then at the officer, “Sorry, I know it isn’t good to say, but I haven’t seen one person that got along with Jamie.” You pull the blanket tighter around you.

“Do you know what Jamie was doing back there?”

You look the the corner where you saw the man. The paramedic straps that tightening thing around your arm. “No, he might’ve been coming back, but after yelling at us I wouldn’t think he would.... he’s not the kind of person to apologize or say he was wrong. Yenno?” You feel a stethescope being pressed to your chest.

“Mmhmm” he hums, writing in his notepad before slapping it shut, “I should let you go for now, here’s my card. If you remember anything, call me.”

His card said Carl Cohen, and had his number. You nod and tuck it into your apron.

“You’re good to go. I thought you had shock, and you’re blood pressure was a little low and your heart rate was a little high, but nothing too bad.”

The paramedic takes his cuff off of you and you hand him back the blanket. You walk over to Matt who was sitting on the curb. He was looking at the blood on his hands.

“Come ‘ere.” You pull at his elbow. He looks up, you see the tears looking in his eyes. He stands up reluctantly.

You lead him back into the shop. Through the front this time. Bringing him to the sink. You wash his hands for him. It seems he’s the way you were earlier. The blood stained his skin. You do what you can for now.

You lead him back out the front and tell him to get in the car. He usually hitched a ride with you anyways. You run back and switch off all the lights, also writing a note for the opening crew that said call you and you’d explain why the closing didn’t close all the way.

Running back to the car you’re heart breaks when you see him. He’s just looking out the window as tear roll down his cheeks. You shut your door and his attention switches to you, before switching back to the window.

“Do you want to come over to my place?” You offer, thinking he shouldn’t be alone right now.

He nods back to you.

The ride was quiet.

You get to your driveway and notice that an unfamiliar car is parked in front. You park beside Chris’s car.

You open the door for Matt and usher him to the closest bathroom. Grabbing hydrogen peroxide from the mirror, you spray his hands with it. The stains washing away with it. You could tell he feels a little bit better now that he can’t see it, but it’s still bad.

“Hold on.” You rush to your room, upstairs, as quietly as you can so you don’t wake up Leia. You burst into your room, only to find Christopher and a woman in bed.

You stop for a second and you’re shocked, honestly, but Matt is downstairs. You glare and point at your stammering husband “You’re fucking lucky that I can’t deal with this right now.” You grab the shirt you stole from Matt when you were roommates a couple years ago and a pair of your pajama pants from when you were pregnant and huge.

You run back down to Matt. He’s still in the same spot you left him. You place the clothes in his lap and step past him to turn on the shower.

“Clean up. Take as long as you need. I’ll just be outside. ‘Kay?” You kiss him on the forehead.

You leave and softly close the door. Upstairs, the first door on the left is Leia’s room. She’s still in her crib, sleeping face down. You grab another blanket and place it on top of her. She’s practically in a coma if she’s warm.

You close the door softly before going back to your room.

“Well good to see you clothed!” You gesture to the other woman. You know it’s not really her fault, but you’re angry. You pull her closer. “Did you know he was married? Tell the truth.” Using your powers on her.

“No, and I’m really so sorry. He just told me he was a single dad.” She rushed past you, seemingly embarrassed.

“Are you serious?” You’re trying to stay calm. Not wanting to get to angry. “In our house. In our bed. With our baby in the next room?” Each sentence accentuated with one step closer to him.

“You said you couldn’t get out of work, that you were gonna have a late close.”

“So this is justified?” You gesture to the bed.

“I—ugh, I—“ he steps back for every step you take closer.

“Spit it out.” venom lacing your words. He’s backed into the corner.

“We—ugh—we haven’t been together in a while. Um and just, I—”

“Get out.” Not wanting to hear more. You’re backing away now, knowing what happens when you get too angry. Not even he knows, but now you guess he never will.

“What?”

“Get out. It’s that simple. Leave”

“Where will I go? What about Leia?”

“I don’t care, and if you cared about Leia so much then you wouldn’t have done this.” You said matter of factly.

“But—“

“Nope!” You cut him off. “Get out, and don’t you dare think of waking her.”

Knowing him, he’ll stomp throughout the house just to make things hard for you. He seems to always do that when he loses the argument. You watch him step past you and out the bedroom door. You follow, making sure he actually leaves.

Once downstairs you can see he heard the shower going. He grabs his keys and turns to you.

He points to the door then back to you, “Youre such a fucking hypocrite.”

“No, I am not.” You whisper yelled. You began pushing him out the door.

Once he’s fully out you close the door behind him, trying not to slam it, and lock it. You turn around and lean against the door, you hear his car start up and leave. You feel tears welling up in your eyes, you shut them tightly.

This isn’t going to be easy.

[braincoins]

Saltine for Lance's incessant attempts at flirting with everyone lady-shaped, and especially Allura after she made it clear she wasn't interested, and for being weirdly possessive of her when Matt showed up.

HOOOOOOOOOOOO you gotta start with one of my “faves.” (Lance - and especially A//urance - stans, look away now.)

I can deal with Lance’s constant flirting with everything he could even vaguely maybe see as female - he’s a teenage boy, likely lacking in self-confidence and trying to find it in others, seeking validation in the form of (A) beating Keith in something, (B) getting a girlfriend or at least a kiss from a hot chick, or © both. It’s annoying, but if he’d grown out of it over time through the series - or if they’d taken some time to make it CLEAR that that’s what he’s doing, because the target demographic for this likely wouldn’t understand it otherwise - then I’d have been okay.

OMG Lance’s ultimate would have been if Keith were obviously crushing on a chick but then she kissed Lance instead. I think our poor blue boy would have died of sheer happiness right then. 

BUT LANCE AND ALLURA.

The constant hitting on her (badly) even when she showed clear disgust just… UGH. I couldn’t stand Lance for the longest time exactly because of that. 

And then, for a while, he stopped. He was just a really good support for her, and I was starting to get hopeful that maybe he’d realized what a complete and utter assjackal he was being and he was going to be her friend now. What a great development, right? What a great thing for young boys in the audience to see and take in! You can be friends with hot girls that you wanted to date! It can happen! You can just accept that she’s not into you that way and actually be her friend.

But what did we get instead? 

WE GOT VALIDATION OF THE FUCKING NICE GUY ™ BULLSHIT. 

What we got instead was, “Hey, guys, if you hit on a chick and she’s not interested, keep working her! If she’s still not responding, stop obviously hitting on her and instead pretend to be her friend and just wait because eventually she’ll come around and be your girlfriend just like you wanted!”

It makes me so… I can’t… there just aren’t words for how angry this makes me. It’s an insult to Lance and Allura. It’s an insult to A//urance fans - in my opinion. Given that I’m not one, maybe I’m biased. I know that if my ship became canon in this way, I’d be crying in disappointment. Just thinking about it is making me tear up a little.

It’s part of the reason I started getting into Plance, because the way it is in VLD canon? Lance can be friends with Pidge because he’s not attracted to her. But he can’t really be friends with Allura because he’s really just supporting her and being nice to her in the hopes of eventually getting in her pants. AND THAT BULLSHIT IS HORRIFYING. Hell, it even insults Pidge, and supposedly she was LM’s “favorite.” I’m not sure LM or JDS actually know anything about “favorites” because they were like, “Nah, man, no one’s going to like our 6 foot walking beefcake with the anime hair, metal arm, and cool scar. He’s compassionate, brave, strong without being a bully, and a great leader, but all of our fans will be SUPER GLAD to see him go.” So I’m pretty sure when LM said Pidge was her favorite, she just meant, “She’s the only one I can identify with because she’s the only white female in the group, so I’ll just choose her.”

And Lance being possessive of Allura… like, that level of possessiveness is already creepy af if they were in a relationship. You should trust your partner enough that, when some random guy (Matt) flirts with her, she’ll reject his advances. But when you add in the fact that they’re (supposedly) only friends at that point, it’s a whole new level of “WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU PEOPLE WRITING HERE AND WHY ARE YOU PRESENTING IT AS OKAY?!” Hell, that scene was played for comedy. Matt’s over-the-top reaction to Allura as comedy, yeah, sure, okay. (Honestly, I don’t know why more people in the series don’t react that way to Allura. Or Shiro, for that matter.) But Lance’s reaction is the comedy counterpoint there and that is in NO WAY something to laugh at. 

LM and JDS made Lance a fucking sleazeball nice guy. Just fucking give him a trilby that he calls a fedora and have him refer to Allura as “m’lady” all the time. If you’d done that from the outset, no one would have wasted their time liking him, loving him, growing attached to him and wanting the best for him only to find out that his own creators fucking hate him AND all his fans.

[imagining-sio]

Escapism IV

Escapism IV 

Rising Tides

 “You’re a vet?” I asked as I took off my helmet. We had just arrived in his driveway from the trip back to the auto-shop, which I was beginning to suspect was merely a ploy to get me to interact with him more. 

“Yeah, 107th, where I met Wilson.” He hooked the bottom of his helmet on the handlebar of the Matt black cafe racer. 

“And Steve?” I asked again. 

“Nah, that pain in ass has stuck with me since we were kids,” he chuckled run his hand through his hair. 

“What position were you?” I inquired whilst we strolled down to my inhabitance. His grip tighten on the small box, and he moved his other hand into his pocket. 

“I was a scout sniper,” I watched as his chiseled jaw clenched tightly. 

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, you know?” I told him, setting my hand upon his arm. He stopped as I walked up to the bronco, propping up the hood again. I looked back at him, and he had an odd expression on his face. He looked as if he was contemplating on actually telling me. He stood unmoving, unflinching, yet his expression travel as if it were a million miles a minute. And just like that, the walls went up; and the charming smile came back. 

“Yeah, but I don’t wanna dampen your sunny mood.” He nudged me. 

“Yes, because I have such a bright disposition around you.” I deadpanned, eyebrows raised. I crossed my arms over my chest, rubbing my arms.

As I did, a weight fell upon my shoulders. I peered over to find Barnes had placed his jacket on me. It would seem it wasn’t up for a debate let alone a conversation as he went right to work, as if it was completely normal.

“Uh, Bucky?” I asked. 

“You looked cold, so hang on to it while I get this in.” He took on a serious more mature tone. He was headfirst into the engine, his tattooed limb about halfway down in the machine. He was in his work mode, and I knew that he wasn’t coming out of it until he was done. 

Doesn’t mean I couldn’t have fun with it. 

“So Barnes? Who was she?” 

“Rumlow’s ex-girlfriend.” He answered, pulling the malfunctioning device out. 

“Are you telling me all this fighting between you two has been over a girl?” I scoffed, pulling the jacket on through the sleeves. 

“Ha! He wished, then it would make me look like the asshole of the community,” he laughed, unscrewing the wires where it was connected; “They broke up six months ago and she’s been trying to get back at him by flirting with me. Though she keeps saying that he’s had some new interest in someone new in town. Care to guess who that is?” He looked straight me, clearly aware of the game I was playing. I paled, making a disgusted face. 

“If he has interest in me, I’m afraid it’s not your concern,” I gave him an expectant expression. I watched with satisfaction as he clenched his jaw and continued working. 

“Well, if he tries anything; lemme know.” 

“And what qualifies and ‘trying’.” 

“You know, anything that makes you uncomfortable.” 

“What if you make me uncomfortable.” I smiled as I asked. To which my neighbor promptly shot up, banging his head upon the underside of the hood. I started cackling so hard I doubled over. 

“That’s not funny.” He rubbed the top of his head. 

“You’re right; it hilarious!” I held my stomach with one arm, pointing at him and laughing even more. 

“You’ve been spending too much time with Wilson,” he grumbled, turning back to the project at hand. i had to force myself to stifle the copius amount of giggling from my lips, opting to merely hold my hand in front of my mouth. 

“You haven’t been spending enough time with Wilson,” I raised a brow. he glared at me, before his expression changed again. It softened as he held my gaze. 

“You’re smiling.” he stated blankly. 

“Yeah, I can do that Barnes,” I chuckled, a slight tin of pink oainting my cheeks. 

“It nice.” he responded; “I haven’t really been able to see it until now.”

“T-thank you.” 

“The jacket makes you look lke a scrawny kid,” he gestured to all of me. Finally completing the operation, he slammed the hood shut. 

“Gee thanks,” I deadpanned, though the smile upon my face had a different view. 

“No really its cute,” he chuckled, ducking nhis head down and shaking his head. We both started laughing together, trying to get each other to stop before bursting into giggles as soon as we looked at each other. 

My phone going off broke us out of the endless cycle. I dug the rectangle out of my pocket, seeing the contact on my screen, paling at the name. 

“One second, I gotta take this.” I said solemly, clearing my throat as I walked to the end of my own driveway. I took a deep breath before my thumb hit the green button on the right side. 

“Hello,” I said into the device. 

“Hey, this is Detective Danvers, not sure if you remember me but I gave you my number before you left town.” The voice explained. 

“No I do, I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon.”

“It’s been almost a whole year,” she stated; “We’ve made progress. We have enough to indite him on charges.”

“Why do I hear a ‘but’ at the end of that sentence,” I sighed, looking down at my feet. 

“You will have to testify for us if we want to go ahead on the charges.” she sighed as well, I could hear the faint sound of bustling noise in the background of the audio. 

“Look I’m not here for a direct answer right now, we havent brought the case to the DA yet. but I just wanted to let you know before we offically come across the country to ask you. I want to give you time to think about it, you can call me when you made your decision anytime, I know how hard it is for you.” 

“Thank you detective.” I said; “I appreciate it.” 

“So hows life in the middle of nowhere.” she asked. I snorted through my nose, a fond smile appearing on my lips. 

“Not terrible.” 

“That’s great! OH- I gotta jet kid, take care,” she ended the call before I could say a word. I placed the phone back in my pocket. I inhaled a deep breath, the weight I commonly felt somehow appeared back upon my shoulders. I could never escape it, I honestly don’t know why I would bother to try sometimes. 

“Who was it?” my neighbor strode into my peripheral vision. 

“No one important,” I started shrugging the jacket off, folding it over my arm. 

“Lemme buy you lunch,” he stated, declining my extended offering of his jacket. 

“Wait, I should be paying you for what you just did,” I protested. 

“How many times do we have to go over this, it’s on the house,” He laughed, returning to his driveway. 

“I’m buying then!” I yelled across the street. 

“Like hell you are!” he shouted from his garage, although I could not see him. 

“Really? Got a problem with a woman paying for you?” I tried inciting him, only to have the hum of the motorcycle echoing through the street. I watched as Steve, Thor, and Clint pulled up on their respective motorcycles. Steve barely kicked the stand out before he hopped off and ran toward the garage where Bucky was pullign out the bike. 

I trotted across the street, my cocern amplifying with each step. 

“What’s wrong?” I asked the large bearded man. 

“WHAT!” Bucky shouted from the garage. 

“There’s a problem at the Witch’s Covent,” Clint said simply, a tight expression on his face. 

“What happened?” I pressed them, but they didn’t have time to answer as my neighbor was storming out of the garage with his motorcycle in tow. 

“What’s going on!” I asked, my tone sounde slightly frantic. Steve approached his bike, starpping his helmet on. 

“No time to explain,” was all the blonde said as he sat on his bike, making me back away a few steps. I locked eyes with my neighbor as he revved the engine of his vehicle. I could only back into his driveway as they all drove out of sight in mere seconds. The cold breeze a stark reminder of the loneliness that becme oh so present. The only thing I had to cling to was his leather jacket.

In the coming days, they became more and more solemn in nature. No one came into work to order coffee. I was too busy to try and see what was going on at the shop. Enda and Thomas only said that something had happened at the Witch’s Covent. No one was saying anything, it was getting aggravating at this point. 

It was either I had to accept I would’nt find out or I had to start finding out for myself. 

I stared out the window, gazing at the sunset of my backyard, the lake was still as the sun glistened over its surface. Everything was still, secure, stable. I couldn’t take it anymore. 

I missed my neighbor. I missed him greatly. 

I chuckled at the thought of how he would respond to me admitting it. He’d probably make it his ringtone, constantly replaying it over and over at my expence. To my own dismay, I wouldn;t be objected if he did. Annoyed maybe, but in a sentimental way. 

I couldnt take it anymore, I had to find out if he was ok. I grabbed his jacket, to which I had been wearing a lot more often than one should; especially when they accidentally stole the item that doesn’t belong to them. I snatched my keys off of the counter, making sure I had a few twenties in cash before I hopped into the newly revived Oliver. 

The turning of his engine had never sounded better. It was refreshing to not have to worry about his health since Bucky had fixed his temporary illness. I backed out of the driveway, shifting the gear to drive down the road. 

It wasn’t hard to find the place, Edna was right in that I drove by it coming home from work. The place looked like every biker bar would, given the fact that a line of motorcycles were placed out in the parking lot alongside the byway. I pulled into the dirt lot, careful to give enough room from the line of motorcycles. The last thing I wanted to do as anger anyone of the owners, even if I knew them or not. There were some cars strewn in the lot, but not many. 

I took the jacket off, setting it in the passenger seat before I hopped out of the driver’s side. I adjusted the grey sweatshirt over my ripped black pants. I strode toward the entrave with a purpose, the dirt chrunching beneath my bright red sneakers. the wooden board creaked as I ascended the steps, the distorted music growing louder. I could easily recognise the sound of glasses slamming to a wooden surface. The rattle of balls breaking over a felt surface. The melodic sounds of laughter and light. A classic dive bar full of locals who had gone there for years. 

Upon entering, it only confirmed my suspicions. They were all there, everyone from the auto-shop, wether they were seated at the one large booth in the corner, or playing pool, even throwing darts. They hadn’t noticed me by the looks of it, though the woman behind the bar had looked up from the mug she was cleaning. 

“Welcome to the Witch’s Covent, I don’t think I’ve seen you before,” her accent was eastern European from the soudns of it; although not as thick as most. I’ve heard Natasha talking to her mother over the phone and that woman’s words are indecipherable even when she is speaking english. 

“I new around here; even though its been quite a while since I’ve been here.” I shrugged. 

“So you’re the one I’ve been hearing so much about.” she lit up like a light bulb. Her long brown hair bouncing slightly at the movement. 

“Whose been talking about me?” I could chuckle awkwardly in response. 

“Oh please, the whole town has been a buzz. Ever since you stood up to Rumlow, no one has been able to get enough.”

“Are you sure it’s not from those idiots,” I gestured to Sam and Scott trying to play pool while giggling like drunken school kids. 

“Actually it’s you neighbor who won’t shut up about you.” She slid out glass, preparing to pour a dark liquid in its contents. 

“I’ll have whiskey if you don’t mind,” I said before a drop cold pour out. She tilted her head back, eyeing me with a smile. 

“I see why he likes you,” she said with a sly smile as she went to grab a bottle of whiskey. 

“Wait, he likes me?” I snorted. 

“Given from what his friends tell me; yes he does. I heard he let you ride with him last week.” she poured the desired drink. I gratefully took in in my hands, tracing my thumb over the rim. 

“I did, though he didn’t really give me much choice.” I nodded my head to the side; “When we got there Steve looked paler than a ghost.”

“That’s because Bucky never lets anyone on his bike.” she said, returning to her taks of cleaning the glasses. My head shot up, eyes wide. 

“Really, cause he doesn’t have a car.”

“No he does. He never uses it though.” she chided. 

“It’s not in his garage.”

“No, he keeps it in his backyard. One of his continous projects.”

“You know him?”

“Everyone here pretty much grew up together. We’ve all known each ohter since we were kids. The only acceptions are Sam, Scott, and Thor. Sam was in Bucky’s squad. Scott moved here to be closer to his daughter, and Thor? Well, no one really knows with him.” She shrugged. 

“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but did anything happen last week?” 

“Its a roadside bar, you will have to be more specific,” Wanda gave me a mischevious look. 

“Look, after Bucky fixed my truck; Steve and the others pulled up. All I got out of them was that there was a problem over here.” I gaged her reaction, watching as she stopped cleaning the glass in her hand. 

“There was a fight,” she shrugged, “One of Brock’s buddies sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong.” she set the glass back with its companions. 

“Is that all you’re going to tell me,” I sighed, knowing she was still hiding quite a bit. 

“It’s best if they tell you yourself,” she smiled, going back to some other customers who sat at the bar. I recognized one of them from when Brock tried to intimidate me back at the coffee shop. I gave him a hard glare before sipping on my whiskey. 

“Well, well, if it isn’t the mysterious new girl,” Speak of the devil. Mr. Local pulled up a stool on the other side of me, effectively blocking me from moving away from his croney. 

“Rumlow,” I heard Wanda ground her teeth, “You know the rules. This is neutral territory.” she said sternly. 

“I know, Salem, calm down. I’m here to have some fun.” he slung his arm over the back of my stool, causing to move awkwardly in order to avoid it. 

“That remains to be seen,” she poured a low grade beer for the man and slammed it down on the counter infront of him. 

“How’s your brother? Do you still use a oiuja board to talk to him?” He arched a brow as he brought the mug up to his lips. I exchanging glances between the two, watching as Wanda’s nostrils flared up before she walked away, muttering something in her native tongue under her breathe.

I could only hunch my shoulders, keeping a firm grip on my glass of whiskey, carefully eying either man beside me. 

“So, not so defiant out in public are you. What’s on your mind sweetheart,” Rumlow asked, his voicemaking my skin crawl. 

“Wether or not I should punch you into next week.” I sipped my whiskey, my gaze burning into the shelves of alcohol before me. 

I heard the door open, well, slam was more like it. The light casting my shadow over the numerous bottles. I looked over my shoulder, finding my neighbor heaving for air as his hand was upon the door. 

“So, you got the message I take it,” Rumlow swivled around in his chair, a smug expression on his features. I looked over my shoulder again, utterly terrified at the murderous glare my neighbor sent him. 

“You got some fucking nerve Brock. If you wanted your ass kicked you sure got one,” Barnes began marching toward him. The burly man on my left, the croney, stood up ubruptly, his chair falling to the floor with a loud thud. As a couter, everyone from the shop stood up, their chairs schreeching loudly. 

“Ah, ah- this is neutral territory, Barnes.” Rumlow scolded the man mockingly. The arm across the back of my stool suddenly pulled hard. Yanking me around to face my neighbor. 

“Wouldn’t wanna ruin the neighborhood now would we?” Rumlow asked. I could only stare wide eyed at my neighbor as his nostrils flared. 

“She has no part in this Rumlow, leave her alone.” Steve said from behind his friend. 

“Oh, really? Last I checked Rogers, your hand ain’t up his ass so stop speaking for him.”

I watched as the two men glared at each other. The tension was like gasoline, itching for a match. Any reason to fight was a good reason, no matter how stupid it was in concept. I was not about to be that cause. 

I smacked Rumlow’s hand off my shoulder, standing up from my chair. I paid Wanda for the drink, even though she said it was on the house. 

“You won’t mind if I do something stupid would you?” I whispered to her.

“Please do,” She smiled, as if she already knew what I was about to do. I smiled, with my hand still on the glass. I looked to the side, seeing that Rumlow was still glaring at Barnes. 

“Hey Rumlow,” I called him, making the man turn around. I threw the whiskey directly at his face, watching in satisfaction as fell out of his chair in pain. 

“You fucking bitch!” He writhed on the floor, flailing as he tried to get the alcohol out of his eyes. 

“I’ve had enough of this,” I muttered, brushing past my neighbor, delibrately ignoring the look he was giving me. I walked out the door, grumbling as I went toward my vehicle. 

“Hey, Y/N! Wait up!” I heard my neighbor call after me. 

“Oh, so now you wanna talk to me!” I said, not bothering to turn around as I continued toward Oliver. 

“Hey, hey, hey,” His footsteps grew louder and I felt his hand grasp my arm. I yanked myself out of my grip, finally turning to face him. 

Why the hell did this man have to be so good looking. 

“What!” I said, the anger boiling throuhgh my veins. 

“What do you want, Bucky! One minute you are being all nice and neighborly, and the next you don’t even give me the time of day. I don’t care how you and Rumlow started fighting, I really don’t. But don’t drag me into your bullshit!” I ferociously poked my finger into his chest to annunciate my point. 

I was snapped out of my reverie when his iron clad grip encomassed my wrist. The dull pain from loss of circulation was growing, sure to leave a bruise tomorrow morning. His expression was turning dark, and he had yet to say a word. 

“Barnes, let me go.” I said, desperately trying to keep all of the memories from flooding through my head. 

“No,” he said; “You need to listen to me.” 

“Let. Me. Go.” I tried to pry out of his grip, but to no avail. He trudged through the heavy wind back toward the bar. I dug my heels into the earth, creating evident drag marks in the gravel lot. 

“Bucky,” my tone turned desperate as he slung me around him. My back hitting the wall of the building that was cast in shadow. 

“No! You listen to me.” His palms slammed on either side of my head; “Brock is dangerous, I don’t like his interest in you, and you need to stay away from him. I know you don’t like being told what to do, but for once in your stubborn life; just do this one thing.”

“What happened last week.” It was more of a statement than a question. 

“He was here when I got there; bragging about how he had you wrapped around his finger. He was very explicit on what he wanted to do to you.” he ducked his head down, the light showcasing the faint yellow and greens of his bruised chin. 

“I don’t care, you were with me the whole day practically. Why the hell were you marching off to war with him that day.”

“He was rubbing salt on an open wound.” 

“Bucky,” my hands cupped his chin, guiding his line of sight back to me; “You don’t have to talk about it.”

His bright blue eyes locked with my own. They glistening in the fading sunlight. He released a sigh through his nostrils, his gaze still turned downwards to his feet. 

“Well aren’t you two sweet.” Sam’s voice made both of us jolt. Bucky clamored away from me, his chest heaving. 

“We tossed Rumlow out, by the way. Not sure if you saw it while you were lost in each other.” He crossed his arms over his chest. 

“Any reason why you wanted to tell us?” Bucky grumbled, hands upon his hips. Sam shrugged in response. 

“Not at all, just nice to get the jump on you for a change.” 

“You’re a dick.” 

“So are you.” 

“I’m gonna head home,” I decided to make my exit. I walked toward Oliver, pulling out Bucky’s jacket. Even a few feet away I could still here the two bickering.

“Shut up Samuel!” 

“You first James!” 

Thankfully, my footsteps caused the two to cease as I walked toward them. As soon as Wilson saw what I had in my hand, he smirked at Bucky. 

“I hadn’t had the chance to give this back to you.” I handed the leather item to Barnes, who only gazed at me earnestly. 

“T-thanks,” was all he could muster. 

“I’ll see you round,” I hugged Sam goodbye. I turned back to my neighbor, giving him a small peck on his bruise. I pulled back to find him wide eyed and turning red as a tomato. 

I smiled as I walked backwards, “See you around, neighbor.” I waved, getting into my vehicle.       

[eponymous-rose]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E25 (July 10, 2018)

First show in the new studio! Ashley wasn’t nervous until Sam started talking about how nervous he was. There’s a lot of nervousness. Now with Dani Cam!

Tonight’s guests are Ashley Johnson and Sam Riegel!

Announcements: TM is headed to San Diego Comic Con again this year! On Tuesday, July 24 (the Tuesday after their Saturday panel), the panel will be broadcast in TM’s usual time slot. Wyrmwood giveaways are back starting this week, but will be hosted in the Critical Role Twitch chat moving forward. New shirt in the store (featuring Nott and Jester’s detective agency!).

@critrolestats​ for this episode:

Yasha is practically tied with Fjord for highest average damage dealt per episode (35.875 for Yasha, 36.040 for Fjord).

Nott maintains her lead for the most natural ones (23). Sam points out that he’s using the same dice as last campaign and suspects the proximity to the baby may have been a curse on his luck. Ashley: “I feel like he couldn’t possibly be a curse on anyone.” Sam: “No, he’s a demon child. Have you held up a mirror to the child to see if it has a reflection? That’s all I’m saying.”

It’s been 34 days since the Mighty Nein met in Trostenwald. Ashley points out that it’s starting to be a substantial number of days for everyone to have been spending all their time together.

Kiri was with the Mighty Nein for 11 days.

Nott’s new crossbow is a +1 hand crossbow. If Sam rolls a 20, it magically resets and fires another bolt immediately. If Sam rolls a 1, it tries to do that, fails, and shoots Nott instead. Because it’s a magical weapon, it will deal magic damage even if non-magical bolts are fired from it. Sam’s holding out for a cupholder.

“Beau is-- I think more of Beau and Yasha’s relationship, whatever that turns out to be, I like exploring that in the game.” Yasha “got a kick out of” Beau playing up her injuries and didn’t mind carrying her around. “She’ll help a girl out.”

The official name for Nott’s flask is The Flask of Perpetual Booze.

Heroism for the sake of being nice is definitely new from Nott’s perspective---she and Caleb have mainly just been fighting for survival until now. Money is not what drives Yasha, so getting into a fight is more motivating for her than any sort of reward. She was very affected by getting the couple out of prison, and especially by what followed with Kiri. “She’s trying to not let things affect her, but they do.” She’s averse to getting emotional, because then people are likely to see the cracks; it’s easier for her not to engage, but Kiri leaving affected her more than she was ready for. (Part of it was bleedthrough from Ashley and Marisha trying not to lose their composure during that scene.)

Nott was surprised that the Schusters accepted a good deed from her even knowing she was a goblin. “It maybe changed her impression of how ready or willing people are out there to accept a little gobby into their world.” Traveling with the Nein for so long and having their respect has “definitely expanded her opinion of the world and the people who live in it.” She’s never had that experience before. “So far, mainly people throw rocks at her.”

Gif of the Week: the many faces of Sam-as-Burt-Reynolds.

Sam’s eyes were watering and stinging all night because of the fake mustache. “By the end of the night, I was struggling to keep my eyes open.”

Brian: “I have good news. The fly that was buzzing around everywhere and bugging us is dead. It’s in my drink.”

It was a big relief to everyone that Kiri made it through her time with the Nein alive and okay, but it was still really sad to give her up. “As Sam Riegel, I’m really sad to see the character go, but in the game I kept looking for a way to find her a safe place.” They both feel pretty good about leaving her with the Schuster family. Sam points out that they know where she is, so they can come back and visit. Brian gives Matt well-deserved kudos for how lovable Kiri was right from her first appearance.

Because of Ashley’s schedule, she knew Matt had to plan something for Yasha’s disappearance, but he hinted to her that something would happen at the end of the night and that she’d know what to do. “He makes it feel organic and part of the story. I like that it’s the three of us going together on this journey.” She didn’t know beforehand what was going to happen (and still doesn’t know more than we do) so it was a very exciting scene to play out.

Sam and Ashley realize anyone could have volunteered for that last watch---they’re so impressed with how Matt set that up as their choice, even knowing he might’ve had to scramble to get the right combinations of players ready to go.

Sam points out that they’re left with no obvious leader, there’s a lot of underconfidence with Caleb and Nott and a lot of overconfidence with the other two (”all misplaced”). No healer, one person with substantial magic, no tank. The clues basically consist of a bit of blood on the ground. “I don’t know how we’re going to find these people, and even if we found them, if the baddies were powerful enough to apprehend all three of them, I don’t know if we’d be strong enough to rescue them.”

Fanart of the Week: a gorgeous scene of Beau training.

Both Scanlan and Nott have “a visceral hate of goblinkind for different reasons.” Scanlan would kill one on sight. “Nott might ask them a few questions first, and then kill them.” She hasn’t come into contact with any goblins from outside her clan. “Maybe she’d have an open mind if she met a really cool goblin.”

“Yasha’s relationship with the Stormlord is still fairly new, so I think her connection with him and figuring out how to connect with him-- she’s still figuring that out, but I also think he probably knew she could take care of herself. She’s still figuring out what she’s supposed to do to reach in and connect with him.” It’s tied in with her backstory. “There’s a lot that she doesn’t understand about it.”

On Nott losing her detective partner: “They’re bad cop/bad cop. Without one of them, they’re just bad cop! How would that work?” Beau might be her first attempt at a new detective duo.

Ashley’s okay with the speed at which Yasha’s backstory is being revealed---in that basically none of her backstory has been revealed. “I would love to have revealed more while I was home, but her backstory is very sensitive and it’s not something she would be comfortable talking about.”

At one point, Sam was writing a pilot pitch for a CW-type show about “sexy minotaurs and centaurs in a high school.”

Stealing the gun wasn’t about messing with Taliesin; Sam has specific plans for the gun. “Let’s just say that Nott has a fascination with things and enjoys shiny things, but also enjoys chemical things, and it’s an interesting item to her and she has ideas of what she could try with it. It also helps that it bothers Taliesin. I’m not going to lie.”

The Stormlord is more of a protector figure than a distant, abstract figure to Yasha. “He definitely saved her from something. Before the Stormlord, she didn’t serve any gods. That was a foreign thing to her. I don’t think she knows what servitude means, yet, but she’s getting there.”

Nott felt like a protector and a keeper of Kiri. “Innocent little kid who needs to be protected and is also adorable!” She’s also very pleased to see Caleb coming out of his shell.

Ashley has confidence in the remaining four members of the Nein. “I think they’re going to be fine.” Sam: “Let’s be frank, Ashley’s been carrying us as a show for some time now, and losing her might sink the ship.”

There’s some speculation about why Matt keeps putting manacles into the narrative. Sam: “They might have some sort of a payoff later? Otherwise, he’s just kinky.”

Matt has said that he’ll figure out a way to bring Ashley in on Skype even if she’s the only one of the three available, but she also just wants let the narrative unfold naturally. They’ll see how it goes moving forward.

Unexpected Matt Key!

Talks Machina In The Dark:

Weirdest stuff found during the move? Sam found a bunch of rejected things he was going to paste to the side of his flask. “Some of them were clever. Some of them were not.” Brian: “Taliesin’s coffin that he sleeps in.” They all found a lot of dice lying around. Ashley’s Gil dice is still missing!

Sam does some squats. Brian: “Totally normal. It’s totally normal.”

Everyone’s really sad that Laura couldn’t be there for Jester’s goodbye with Kiri.

Yasha “100%” did not feel qualified to give Caleb advice. “Just anybody coming to her for advice about anything. Why are you asking me? What advice could I possibly give you?” Sam demands to know if she’s ever had a friend. “Yes, of course. She comes from a very rural area, and raised in a certain way that she was-- You gotta wait. It’ll make sense. There’s a lot of life that she hasn’t lived yet. She doesn’t have a lot of life experience.” She’s around Ashley’s age (or the equivalent for an aasimar).

Both Sam and Ashley think Kiri would be good as a rogue. Possibly a bard? Ashley: “Matt’ll come up with something great if we ever see her again.” Brian points out the potential for a kenku using mimicry for Vicious Mockery.

Votes go to Marisha’s Fjord voice over Taliesin’s Jester voice.

We delve into the disgusting depths of how gross Sam’s flask gets. “We need to get you a little brush.” “We do. I might get tetanus from this thing.”

[katecarteir]

my heart beats out of time.

Pairing: Richie Tozier/Ben Hanscom 

Part Two of the Bed Posts story line | Explicit | 

“No….” Stan whined, flopping backwards so that he rested almost entirely in against Eddie’s torso. Eddie let out an evil little laugh and wrapped his arms around Stan. “Bev… Tell me it’s not true.”

“I can’t do that,” Bev said with a sigh. “And I don’t really want to. It’s actually pretty great.”

Beverly slide off of Richie and moved to grab one of his band T-shirts off the floor. She pulled it up over herself, jumping into her jeans as Richie watched her. His arms were propped up behind his head cockily and he was grinning at her. This was a thing they did now, Bev supposed. It had been two weeks since Richie had more than surprised her with his ability to actually bring her to orgasm. She was a little loath to admit it, but they’d been hooking up regularly since. She didn’t think she’d gone more than two days without some part of Richie inside her since.

It didn’t mean much, Bev knew. She knew Richie knew it, too. He was still Richie Tozier, her stupid, clumsy, best friend. He just happened to be remarkably good at getting her off, and like hell she wasn’t going to capitalize on that shit. Especially not when Richie was so willingly to play along.

“You coming?” Beverly asked, turning around and avoiding looking at Richie’s still-hard cock. “We’re supposed to meet the others at Bill’s to do that big Business project.”

Richie raised his brow. “Did you forget that I’m not part of that? Because I didn’t take a Business class, unlike you fucking nerds. I’m meeting Ben and Stanley later to help them with their Calc midterm.”

Beverly rolled her eyes, tossing an extra pair of sweats at Richie’s bare torso. “And you’re calling us nerds, you fucking math genius. Cover yourself up, nobody wants to see your naked ass.”

Richie cackled. “That’s not what you saying literally an hour ago. Try for some consistency in your life, Marshmallow.”

Beverly rolled her eyes, trying to pretend that the nickname didn’t make her heart jump a little bit, and left without saying anything else while Richie laughed behind her.

xxx

Thanks to Richie, Beverly was the last person to show up to Bill’s, meaning every eye turned to look at her when she entered the room. She knew her face was likely in a matching tone with the hair on her head as she pushed her way in and dropped quickly down beside Bill. “Sorry I’m late,” she said in a rush, rubbing her cheek mindlessly. “Did you decide anything without me?”

“Is that Richie’s shirt?” Eddie asked, smirking at her. Because yeah… of fucking course Eddie Kaspbrak would recognize Richie Tozier’s wardrobe. They’d only lived together for the entire semester, adding onto the whole inseparable best friends for some unexplainable reasons of the last fifteen years. Truthfully, Eddie probably knew all too much about what was going on between Richie and Bev lately, and thrived on chaos too much to just confront her about it.

“Yeah, I…” Beverly cleared her throat, already glaring at Eddie. “I spent the night at his place last night. Didn’t have a clean shirt to change into.”

Eddie let out a disbelieving scoff. “If you say so, Bev.”

Suddenly somebody was poking at her neck, Beverly jerking away quickly with a squawk. “Did you having no cluh-clean shirts have something to do with tha-th-at?” Bill stuttered through his sentence but his grin didn’t dim. Beverly scowled and slapped a hand over the mark that she hadn’t had the chance to see, but knew exactly where it must be starting to bruise. “Luh-looks pretty frush-fresh there, Bev.”

Beverly exhaled hard, and found Eddie’s eyes again. Eddie raised his eyebrows, eyes widening slightly. Challenging her. The little fucking gremlin. “Yeah. It is.” She said this shortly, with finality that only made Eddie grin at her harder.

“How fresh is it, Bev?” Eddie said, leaning forward on the ground to rest his chin in his hands. And yeah, Beverly was going to kill him. Kill him fucking dead. He grinned back at her as though he knew it, and was choosing to enjoy his final moments on this Earth.

Stan suddenly let out a horrified squeak, looking at Beverly with what could only be described as utter betrayal. “No…”

“I’m sorry.” Beverly said quickly.

“No….” Stan whined, flopping backwards so that he rested almost entirely in against Eddie’s torso. Eddie let out an evil little laugh and wrapped his arms around Stan. “Bev… Tell me it’s not true.”

“I can’t do that,” Bev said with a sigh. “And I don’t really want to. It’s actually pretty great.”

“I bet,” Eddie said with whistle. “I’ve seen Richie’s dick enough times, and if he’s anything in real like the way he is my dreams, then I can see why you haven’t gotten off him in two weeks.”

Stan let out a rather loud scream, rolling away from Eddie with his hands over his ears. Eddie and Bev both found themselves laughing, although Beverly was more than a little embarrassed, as they watched Stan loose every inch of his composure.

Mike had already gone back to scrolling through his phone, while Ben and Bill were much more interested in the growing bruises on Bev’s neck and collar bone than they were Stan’s apparently mental snap. “You know…” Beverly said, allowing herself to poked and prodded at. “If you just asked Richie to fuck you, he probably would. I just said that nobody I’d ever slept with had given me a orgasm before he just offered himself up.”

“What?” Bill asked, leaning away from Bev and giving her a distressed look. “What do you mean nobody you’ve slept with has ever given you an orgasm?”

Beverly sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, and glanced side ways at an Eddie Kaspbrak would looked like his birthday had come early. Stan had leaned up onto his elbows, never one to miss out on making fun of Bill, and even Mike had looked up from his phone and pressed a hand over his mouth.

“Never mind that,” Beverly said, waving Bill off while he slumped onto the bed with a deep pout. “I’m just saying that Richie would be down to fuck if you asked.”

“That is where you and I differ, Bev.” Eddie replied, gesturing at her with a frown. “You might be willing to risk your friendship with Richie for some thoughtful dick, but I’m not.”

Beverly frowned back at him, but only found herself stumbling for a response. Stan cleared his throat and rolled his eyes. “Why did you guys have to tell me this shit right before I have to go listen to Richie explain math to me?”

Ben groaned and closed his eyes.

xxx

Ben was staring at him.

Not in any I’m listening to you explain math way… not even in a you have something on your face and i’m trying to decide if I should tell you way, either. No, no, Ben- Ben Hanscom- was staring at him like drunk girls sometimes stared at him at parties. And it was fucking weird.

“WHAT!” Richie finally hissed, dropping the highlighter and glaring at Ben. “Why are you staring at me?”

Ben’s face turned bright red but Stan let out a scoff. “He’s weirded out because we all just found out that you’ve been hooking up with Bev and didn’t tell anybody.”

“I told Eddie,” Richie shot back on a reflex before it all seemed to sink in. Ben was staring at him like a drunk girl at a party. He grinned and leaned forward on his elbow, resting his chin in his hands. “Benny… Benny boy… What are you staring at?”

Ben’s face burned a deeper red and Richie waggling his eyebrows. “Bev and I don’t have anything exclusive, you know? We’re just playing around. Anybody can take a spin, with either of us, if we wanted them to. They just gotta ask.”

Stan let out a loud, disgusted noise while Richie and Ben didn’t break eye contact. “This is not helping me pass this math class. Thanks for nothing, assholes.” Stan gathered up all his belongings, stomping out of the room while Richie and Ben continued their unwavering eye contact.

Richie scooted closer with his chair, not breaking eye contact, and Ben swayed forward as though being pulled by some invisible string that was attached to Richie’s mouth. “Come on, Ben,” Richie said, dropping his voice in the way that always worked for him. The way he did when he wanted Beverly to agree with him, or wanted to see Eddie blush all the way up to the roots of his hair. Richie Tozier knew that most things about him weren’t sexy in the slightest, but he’d certainly learned to use what he did have.

If the audible way Ben swallowed just then meant anything, it worked. “I….” Ben said slowly, his eyes now stuck on Richie’s lips. “I’m not, I don’t….”

“Is this about your reputation as a romantic who would never do it if he wasn’t in love?” Richie chuckled. “Because you might have the others fooled, but I know about Betty in high school… and Cassie during Frosh week… and Matt at the Hallowe’en party… and Jess at the…”

Ben clapped his hand over Richie’s mouth, eyes flaring. The sound of the slap rumbled through the empty library around them, and Richie’s pupils immediately blew out. Ben clenched his jaw and inhaled deeply through his nose. “You’re going at talking, Rich. I’ve known that forever.” Richie waggled his eyebrows and Ben felt Richie’s tongue run along the hand that was covering his mouth. Ben exhaled hard and yanked Richie to his feet.

Since high school, Ben had shot up a good amount. He was taller than Richie now, though Richie had lost his status of tallest losers long ago, and he had more defined muscles than Richie remembered. He stumbled back, looking at Ben with blown-out eyes and found himself being the one swallowing hard.

Ben took steps towards him, backing him up against the library shelves. “Yeah, real good at talking,” Ben said, voice lower than Richie could ever try to force his own to sound. “But can you do anything else?”

Richie donned his persona and smirked. “Only if you’re real fucking good at keeping quiet.”

Richie dropped to his knees so fast that Ben’s head spun out and had to reached out to grab at the bookshelf in front of him to keep from passing out from the sheer surprise alone. Richie was taking his belt apart like a pro, pulling the zipper down and slowly and yeah- Ben was already half hard in his pants.

“Shit…” Richie let out a soft whine as he wrapped his hand around the outline of Ben’s cock in boxers. “You know I’m not much of a size guy, but fuck… does Eddie know about this?”

“Shut up,” Ben said almost harshly, pushing his free hand into Richie’s curls and tugging. Richie let out a soft oh before he was pulling Ben’s cock free. When he pressed the kiss to the head, Ben had to choose between covering his mouth, holding Richie’s hair and gripping the bookshelf like a life line.

If somebody had told him this morning that he’d been standing in the fucking library with Richie Tozier on his knees in front him, Ben Hanscom would have laughed you right off campus. But when Richie takes nearly the whole of his length into his mouth in one go, Ben couldn’t bring himself to regret a single decision he’d made that day.

Ben pressed his knuckles against his mouth as Richie began bobbing along his length enthusiastically, tangling his fingers tighter into Richie’s curls and near-on yanking on them. It brought out a rough moan from the back of Richie’s throat, and Richie choked down to take Ben’s cock all the way down.

An groan bubbled up from deep Ben’s gut as Richie reached up and palmed lightly at his balls. He glanced down at Richie; a mess of black curls, lips bright red and swollen, spit trailing down Ben’s cock whenever Richie pulled his mouth up.

Ben’s eyes rolled back in his head, and he founded himself thrusting forward into Richie’s mouth almost without noticing. It prompted another muffled moan from the man in front of him, a trembling come up to squeeze at Ben’s thigh.

“Fuck…” Ben hissed out, lowering the fist from his mouth for just a moment. Thrusting a little faster into Richie’s mouth, he released his death grip on Richie’s curls and instead gently pushed Richie’s sweaty fringe. Richie pressed a gentle kiss to the side of Ben’s cock in response.

“I’m close,” Ben told Richie softly, reaching down to where he could feel his cock pressing against Richie’s cheek inside his mouth. Richie looked up at Ben through his lashes, and swirled his tongue along Ben’s length.

Ben gasped, slapping his hand back over his mouth to muffle the moans he couldn’t stop from coming free. Richie’s nails dug into Ben’s thighs as Ben came in his mouth.

Then Richie’s mouth was gone as quickly as it had started. Ben swayed forward in surprise as Richie stood up. Richie caught him and chuckled, tucking Ben back inside and zipping him up. He grinned cheekily, giving Ben a little mock-salute.

“Pleasure doing business with you, Benny boy.”

Then he was walking away.

[willykappymarnsmatts]

Kiss and Make it Better

-Mitch is broken and Auston’s the only person who can fix him-

-Angst and fluff-

-Auston x Mitch-

•••

They lost. Really badly. It was game 70 and they were fighting hard for a spot in the playoffs. They almost beat Edmonton, too. It was tied at two in the last minutes of the third period. Auston got the puck on a breakaway, but was tripped by McDavid, earning no call. Mitch chased him all the way up the ice and was two feet away from him, the net to his back. Conner took the shot and it was going wide, but Marner got his stick on it, long enough to just tip it into his own net.

The Scotiabank arena went silent, 20,000 Leafs fans’ hopes of a trip to the playoffs dwindling with each loss.

All the guys went into the locker room hanging their heads after the third loss in a row. Mitch’s eyes were especially bloodshot. When he got into the locker room he went straight to his stall, sat on the bench, and put his head in his hands after throwing his helmet on the shelf, knocking down a glove.

It broke Auston’s heart to see his best friend in so much agony. Willy kept looking between the two boys, knowing Auston’s fondness for Mitch, in an act the opposite of subtle. Auston sat down next to Mitch, their knees bumping through their pads, and put an arm around him. “Hey, Mitchy,” he whispered, “nobody blames you.”

Auston’s touch allows Mitch to pick his head up and run his hands through his sweat-soaked hair. The pain in his eyes makes Auston want to cry. “Get changed and we’ll go home.” He tells the broken boy in his arms.

He keeps an eye on Mitch while he changes. It looks like the slightest blow would shatter him. Hockey is Mitch’s life, so he knows how much it’s killing him, blaming himself for the loss.

Once Auston’s changed he sits at his stall, with a mix of yearning and protectiveness over Mitch. Ever since he’s laid eyes on him, he’s wanted him. Willy and Patty know, but at this point so does everyone else. He doesn’t know that Mitch feels the exact same way, and has for just as long as Matts.

Mitch walks out of the arena with his hoodie over his head, Auston keeping his pace. They climb into the car in silence. Mitch looks between his feet and Auston’s hands on the wheel. He so badly want a kiss from him to make him better. His crush doesn’t move his eyes from the road until he hears a sniffle from next to him. Auston’s the only person Mitch has ever cried infront of, and only when he was in drastic amounts of pain.

“Hey, hey, Mitchy,” Auston says frantically, looking between his friend and the road. He wants to pull over and hold him, but they’re down the street from Mitch’s building, so he decides against it.

“I lost the fucking game! I’m the worst hockey player ever! I’ve gone seven games without a stupid goal-wait, no, I scored the game winner for fucking Edmonton!” Mitch explodes once they’ve parked outside his building, tears streaming down his face. The sight breaks Auston’s heart.

“You are such a goddamn liar, Marns,” Auston says softly. “You’re the best player in the NHL, even if nobody else can see it I can. And, hey, look at me,” Mitch looks into his eyes, Auston meeting his piercing blue eyes bloodshot and his face soaked with tears. “We did not lose because of you. Our games a team sport, no win or loss in one guys fault. Now, stop, it’s hurting me to see you like this.”

At those words Mitch’s heart does a little flip, somehow through all the pain. Auston looks past Mitch, at his building. “You gonna be okay alone tonight?” He asks, his voice laced with concern.

“I, umm, yeah, I’m just gonna go to sleep,” Mitch replies flustered.

The guys say goodnight and Auston drives away once Mitch steps into his building. His friend’s words relieved a bit of the weight off his shoulders, but he’s still kind of upset. When he gets up to his apartment he crawls under his bed covers once he’s changed and scrolls through Instagram. His heart skips a beat when he sees Auston’s latest post, a picture oh Mitch getting a piggy-back from him, both boys in a fit of laughter, neither looking at the camera. ‘@marner93 , my #MCM’.

He likes the photo and leaves a comment, then continues to scroll. The Leafs latest post is the final score, which lessens Mitch’s good mood. He scrolls through the comment, aware of the fact that it’s probably a mistake. Some read ‘great effort’ and ‘tough loss’, but most are targeting the heartbroken athlete.

He’s supposed to be used to it, but he’s allowing the words to get to him. With a no-goal stint and a mistake so drastic, he begins to believe the hateful comments. His heart hurts as he sees how disappointed the fans are in him. He’s letting Toronto down.

Maybe Auston was wrong. If there’s a shit player on the ice, he’s gonna mess it up for the rest of the guys. He starts to silently cry again, thinking he’ll never get out of his dry-stint. He throws his phone at the wall as it begins to ring, not knowing its Auston, pretending he doesn’t hope it is.

•••

When Auston got home there was a weight on his chest. Mitch is a really sensitive guy, but nobody really knows it except him. The way they are around each other, they’re kind of blind to not see the amount of feelings between the two.

He walked inside his apartment, locking the door and throwing the keys on the kitchen counter. Matts grabbed an apple and threw himself onto the couch.

There’s nothing good on tv, so he scrolls through Instagram. He sees his recent post and smiles at the joy on their faces. Then he reads all the disgusting comments about his best friend, wiping the grin off. He runs a frustrated hand through his hair and calls Mitch. He doesn’t pick up. Still no response a second, third time.

A voice inside his head reasons he might be asleep. He doubts it, but he needs the rest too. They have the second game of a back-to-back tomorrow. Auston yawns, throws the apple core in the garbage, and heads to the bathroom.

•••

He next morning, there’s no call or text from Mitch. They have practice this morning, so he’ll see what’s up when he goes to pick him up. While he’s brushing his teeth, he gets a FaceTime from Willy.

When he picks up he sees him and Kappy lying side-by-side on Willy’s bed.

“Hey, lovebirds,” Auston chirps, earning the finger from Willy. Kappys never really cared, too in love with Willy.

“Has your boyfriend talked to you? He was really upset last night and we saw the comments on the final score.” Asks Kappy.

“Oh really? I hadn’t noticed. He hasn’t spoken a word to me since I dropped him off. Oh, and, he’s not my boyfriend!” Austin points his toothbrush towards the camera and mumbles around a mouthful of toothpaste.

“Maybe not, but you wish,” Willy chirps.

Auston doesn’t argue. The guys continue talking, Matts nodding or shaking his head for the most part while he washes his face and shaves. “Alright, gotta go pick the kid up. See you on the ice,” Auston says and hangs up.

•••

Austin drives as fast as he can without getting pulled over to Mitch’s house. He knows he isn’t gonna get buzzed up, so when he gets there he uses his own copy of Mitch’s keys to get into the building and then his silent apartment.

Auston makes a beeline to his friend’s bedroom, not bothering to knock before stepping in.

Mitch has the covers pulled up over his head, but Auston recognizes the lump under the blankets. “Marns,” Auston says gently, fondness dripping from his words. Mitch whimpers under the covers as Auston sits on the edge of the bed. “What’s going on, man? We’ve got a game tonight, and practice in 15.”

Mitch’s blue eyes and messy hair peek up at Auston from under the covers. “I’m not going,” he says defiantly.

Auston restrains himself from running his hand through Mitch’s hair. “Marns, I saw the comments last night. People really suck, but people are also li-“

“No!” Mitch shoots up, revealing his bare chest and strong arms to Matts. “Everyone’s right! I fucking suck! Aus, I don’t wanna- I cant go.”

“Mitchell Marner. Every hockey player goes through this shit. But you’re so much better than every hockey player. You’re fucking fantastic. You make plays that shouldn’t even be possible. You’re also the best goddamn friend in the world!” Auston’s yelling, but he either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care. Mitch’s eyes aren’t as sad as they were a second ago, so he continues. “Mitchy, you’re the best thing to ever happen to me. You make garbage games fun. Just being around you puts me in a good mood. You have that dumbass smile on your face all the time. And-“ he cuts himself off, almost accidentally confessing his feelings to an awestruck Mitch.

“And what?” Mitch asks so quietly it’s almost a whisper.

“No, it’s, don’t worry,” he stands up, glancing at Marner’s eyes. The tears are gone. “Just get up and put some clothes on. If we don’t leave now Babs is gonna have our asses.

Mitch doesn’t move. “Aus, what were you gonna say?”

“Nothing! Don’t worry about it.”

“Auston Matthews,”

“Marns, get-“

“Aus, fucking tel-“

“I like you!”

Mitch goes silent. “I like you Marns. I like you a lot.”

Mitch gets pissed. “Who the fuck told you?! Look, Matts, it’s not funny to play with someone’s feelings like that. It’s just a stupid crush,”

“You think I’m joking? You actually think I’m kidding. Mitch, you’re clueless.”

“You’re an asshole. You’re-“

Auston lunges at Mitch and kisses him, hard. One hand is on Mitch’s shoulder, the other on the wall behind him. Mitch freezes for just a second, then his arms reach around Auston’s waist, pulling him close. Auston’s hands come up into Mitch’s hair and he kisses him and kisses him and kisses him. He’s wanted to do this for three damn years.

Auston pulls away. “Do you believe me now? You’re fucking incredible.”

“You fucking suck,” Mitch giggles and kisses him again. Auston kisses him back and pulls away to stand up.

“We have to go now,” he starts, but Mitch pulls him by the wrist back onto the bed. Auston laughs. “You’re adorable.” He runs his hand through Mitch’s hair and licks his own lips, then stands up and throws a shirt at Mitch. “If we don’t leave right now we’re dead meat.”

Mitch groans but pulls the shirt on over his head, not bothering to change out of his sweatpants or even brush his hair. As the boys walk towards the door, Mitch grabs Auston’s hand, looking pleased with himself. Auston licks his lips, glancing at their intertwined fingers. “You’re coming over after practice for fuckinh sure.”

[hitandrunduorp-a]

mun, apart from your main 4, you seem to have a lot of other characters! Could you share them with us a lil?

awe man, you flatter me with wantin to know about the others!

Yes, I do have a LOT of side characters, mostly all on Matt’s side, but I think I’ll talk about the main ones; the ones who work under Matt, and the 3/4 members of his ‘family’ that he has. It’ll be under cut cause there’s a lotta people still, and I have pics of basically all of them!

Lets start this off with one of Matt’s oldest allies; Conrad. Bit of a dick and insensitive asshole, he was Matt’s father’s best friend, and promised the late frenchman that he’d do his best to keep an eye on the boy. He’s one of Matt’s main engeneers, usually working on Matt’s cars and weapons, improving and adapting them for various jobs and situations (Think ‘Q’ from the Bond movies). Despite being the eldest of the work group, he acts more like a child than anything, but is still a good shoulder if anyone, especially Matt, needs one.

next up; the Richmond twins! Richard works under Conrad as an apprentice, though on the side he works with one of the other members, his main focus on bioengineering and such (he’s made one of their other member’s missing parts, and made the arm that Matt gifted @fakeashenwings​ a long time ago after the arm was broken).

His sister, Rebecca is a velumtuous woman. Even before Matt hired her, she worked as a small hitwoman on her own, using her looks an, ahem, assets, to gain favours and intell. She’s not one to shy away from her sexuality, much to her brother’s displeasure.

Richard’s software programmer, and Matt’s programmer and hacker; Jason. Out of everyone, he’s the newest member of the group, Matt hiring him after he had managed to hack into Matt’s systems. Jason was already wanted by various governments for doing the same thing, so Matt offered him a job and protection...course, Jason didn’t have much of a choice back then, but having met Richard and working on side projects with him, and knowing he’s safe, he has no problems with being partly forced to work for the blonde.

Second oldest of the group, and hired not long after Mattie joined Matt, and before the whole team had been formed. An ex-solder who was framed for desertion, treason, and various other crimes he had been blamed for. He lost his eye and hand in an explosion, and for a long time, he was without both, all while trying to flee from those who wanted to arrest him...or probably worse. He met Matt when he was trying to get revenge on an official who had a hand in framing him, who also happened to be Matt’s mark. Instead of fighting, Matt offered to help him, so long as the other didn’t mind being a field agent for him, and the other accepted quickly. A while later, Richard would join, and make a new hand for Blake, and eventually a new eye once Jason joined. While life’s been hard to adjust to, he’s still grateful for Matt’s generosity and kindness, and plans on repaying his debt to him, no matter how long it takes.

Whew, that’s a lotta info, and that’s not even going into each of their bio in depth! For, for the next 4, only 2 of them are really going to have any real info to them, so imma just do the 2 quick ones first!

i really gotta make clearer pics-

Here they are; Jason and Violette! Jason’s an absolute disaster of a man, anger issues galore, and Matt hate’s his guts. If it weren’t for his aunt Mary, he would have already shot the bastard between the eyes, though he has no idea why she would even want to keep him around.

Violette is Dominique’s twin in a set of triplets. Commonly known as ‘The Black Widow’, she lives a high life, charming men far older than her, and once they set the will to her name, or (if they have no family or anything), marries them, they seem to all befall such...terrible fates! She didn’t know one was allergic to stone fruits so badly that he went into asphixiation. She only nibbled on a peach just before-hand! (that’s one of the more milder cases...some of the deaths are quite interesting to hear about). She tries to show off Matt after her brother’s death, to show what a kind, and caring aunt she is...though before he died, she couldn’t care less about her brother’s adopted little brat.

Last 2! Here’s the uncle Matt hates so much; Dominique LeBlanc! The head of, basically, the French Mafia, he’s an old man who cares about little, aside from his wife Marianne. In actuality, he does care about Matt, but years of resentment of his late brother and taking it out on Matt though neglect and belittlement has left it’s mark on their relationship, and now if he tries doing anything nice, Matt becomes paranoid that the old man’s planning something.

The better half of Dominique; Marianne. A sweet old English woman, she’s got quite the sense of humour and sense of duty. She’s regarded as a kind, yet firm leader, though she’s also infamous for being merciless to those who cross her or her family.

This, of course, granted her the nickname ‘Bloody Mary’, one she’s held proudly. While she and Dominique aren’t a fan of the lives they lead, they know that anyone else would either run it all to the ground, or let the corruption and temptation destroy whoever was in power, and who knows what sort of disgusting practices they’d allow, like trafficking and only lord knows what.

And done! I hoped you liked learning about the main side characters I bring up on this blog! As always, if you wanna know more about anyone, just send in an ask!

[rambling-at-midnight]

Rising Stars

A/N: Tom is 21 in this fic, you’re 19. All movies you’ve featured in are purely fictional and if they’re the names of real movies, ignore that.

Not in any way connected to ‘Protection’ but this was in my drafts so... Enjoy!

Tom sighs and rests his chin on his hand, staring boredly at the movie screen. He’s watching some movie with Haz and his brothers and frankly, he’s enjoyed some quite more than this one. However, Harrison seems to be enjoying the movie, so he’s at least pretending to be invested. It rather seems to be the same sort of story—girl meets boy, they fall in love, they have a fight, they kiss and make up. Along with some murder and guns, which is what Harrison is chuckling at.

Then the main character’s best friend comes onto the screen. Tom’s eyes widen. The girl is… absolutely gorgeous. She should’ve had the starring movie role instead of the supporting character, even if the main role is being played by a much bigger name than yours.

He can’t help but marvel at how well you play your character, who’s name is Maria. You never even think about breaking character, he can tell, or maybe you’re just acting like yourself. Either way, Tom’s in awe. How could someone this gorgeous be so talented? There’s gotta be something you can’t do, but at one point you have to sing karaoke with the main character and your voice is stunning. Nope, you’re perfect.

All too soon, the movie is over, ending with the two main characters getting together and being happy. Tom grunts unhappily. He’d have liked to see you one more time.

“Dude!” Harrison laughs. “You were drooling over Maria!”

Tom immediately blushes. “I was not!”

“You so were!” Sam chimes in, his nose crinkling with disgust. “I saw you when she was singing!”

“You guys are so annoying,” Tom grumbles and tries to discreetly wipe off his chin just in case there is something on there. Harrison snorts.“Maybe you’ll end up in a movie with her,” he suggests optimistically. Tom shakes his head. That could never happen—he’s a good enough actor, sure, but you’re fantastic.

“Her name’s Y/N Y/L/N. She’s nineteen years old, only recently started acting,” Harry says, reading off his phone screen. “She was in a movie called ‘Evanescence’, which is supposed to be really good.”

Tom makes a mental note of that before saying loudly, “You guys are being ridiculous. I thought she was pretty, but I’m not about to watch every movie she’s ever been in.”

Which is exactly what he does. You’ve only been in five: ‘Evanescence’; in which you were the main character and it’s about a girl who is unable to be remembered by anyone she doesn’t see after more than a few days ‘cuz at the end it’s revealed that you’re a ghost, ‘Idols’; which was your first movie, in which you played a more or less important supporting character in a society that entirely lives underground but you were only in that one for about twenty minutes, ‘Jade Necklaces’; a movie in which you played the sidekick again in a story about a girl who sells jade necklaces on the black market, ‘Stormy’; a film about a girl with anxiety, and the one that Tom had watched with Harrison, which is called ‘Scars’.

Tom doesn’t want to call himself a stalker, exactly, but he does watch all your movies, and looks at your Instagram daily (he wants to watch your story but he doesn’t want the off chance of you seeing that he saw it), and he finds out that you have two brothers; one younger named Noah and one older named Caleb.

Harrison, however, repeatedly calls Tom a stalker, especially when he sees Tom’s wallpaper: a picture from ‘Jade Necklaces’ in which you’re wearing a sundress and laughing on a beach.

Tom nearly freaks out when he sees your most recent Instagram post: a small Spider-man plushie with a head as big as your hand next to your cat with the caption ‘Peter Parker isn’t dead because I say so fight me, I cried during Loki’s (faked) death and That Scene’. He hadn’t realized you like Marvel, let alone the character he plays!

Harry walks in on Tom on his bed, staring at the picture as he debates whether or not to like it. It’s a post about him, right, so it wouldn’t be super weird to like it, like liking a regular post of someone you don’t even know that has nothing to do with him. Of course, you’re also a movie star, so lots of people like every single thing you post, but still.

“You’ve been staring at that same picture for the last two hours,” Harry says matter-of-factly. “Just thought you should know.”

“Should I like it?” Tom groans with desperation. “Harry, help me!”

Harry shrugs and leaves the room.

“Thanks for your help!” Tom shouts after him, patting Tessa when she moves.

“I know you,” you say excitedly when you meet your co-star, Zendaya Coleman, before one of the readings for your upcoming movie. “You were in Spider-man: Homecoming! I loved that movie!” You then blush, flustered when you realize you hadn’t introduced yourself. “I mean, hi, I’m Y/N Y/L/N and I’m going to be your co-star.”

Zendaya smiles at you brightly, shaking your hand firmly. “I’m Zendaya and it’s fine, I’ve seen some of your movies too! You’re so talented. I can’t wait to work with you. My friend is going to freak out when he hears about this; he absolutely loves you.”

You blush a deep scarlet, letting out an awkward chuckle. “I’m really not that good. You’ve definitely had more experience than me.”

Zendaya shrugs and smiles. “Agree to disagree?” After your nod, she says, “I’ve actually not read the books for this, but I read the script. Have you, yet?”

Your eyes light up. “Oh, yeah! Actually, it’s a trilogy, so we’ll probably be called back if it’s a good enough success. And I’ve actually read the books. I loved them, but I nearly refused to act in the movies—too many series are ruined by film adaptations, you know?” You fake-shudder. “Don’t get me started on the Percy Jackson movies.”

“I know, right?” Zendaya bursts out. “They made me so angry!”

“Exactly!” You point at her. “It would have been amazing if they had actually had at least a moderately good grip on the gist of the books, but they didn’t even deserve to be called Percy Jackson. Actually, they would have been good as standalone films about the Greek gods, ‘cuz the screenwriters literally took the names of the main characters and that was it.” You blush again. “I’m sorry, that was off-topic.”

Zendaya waves a hand nonchalantly.

“The scripts for this are actually pretty on point, except in the book, your character, Alit,… dies,” you say apologetically. “From the Killer. In the second book, the base is bombed so it’s mostly about my character, Jag, who’s working in our makeshift base in the forest, and Matthew as he tries to break into the facility to get the virus. It ends on a cliffhanger of him being caught. In the third book, he makes it out but without the virus, but during the middle it turns out that he was exposed to it in the lab and didn’t die, so he’s immune, and Catherine manages to make an antidote out of it but… Jag dies too.” You laugh. “The author was pretty ruthless. Anyways, Matthew takes out President 67 and figures out that it was actually his mom all along—she’d faked her death to leave him and his dad. I don’t know what they’re going to do with your character, but your character and Matt will most likely get together at the end—it was implied during the first book that they liked each other and would have gotten together if Alit hadn’t died.”

Zendaya nods thoughtfully. “That sounds sweet.”

“Hopefully the next two movies stick to the books as much as this one did,” you say, smiling. Then you wiggle your eyebrows. “I’m actually disappointed you’re not playing Catherine, because she and Jag get together before Jag dies. Not many people get to say they’ve kissed Zendaya Coleman.”

Zendaya laughs loudly and just then, the director walks in. “Okay, guys, today we’re going to be reading through scenes one to ten. Let me know if you guys need a break!” Everyone shuffles to their seats. Your eyes skim over the people you’re going to be knowing very well, taking in the wide age ranges sitting at the table.

“Opening scene: Family sitting at a dinner table eating mush,” someone reads outloud. You have to smirk at that.

“Papa, have you heard from Uncle Mick lately?” a small child asks.

“He said he would be gone still until Monday,” a man reads.

And so it begins.

You and your friends are all watching ‘Spider-man: Homecoming’, which includes Zendaya and Ashley, the girl who plays Catherine in your upcoming movie. Your friends are all sufficiently awed by Z, who willingly takes photos with them, before you all settle down to watch the movie. You and your closest friend from school, Vivien, exchange excited glances. You two are humongous Marvel fans. She loves to make edits out of clips from Marvel movies, mainly about Bucky, but one edit that had been about Spider-man had gotten commented on by the actual Tom Holland.

He’d only commented ‘This is sick!’ but still, the two of you had squealed excitedly when she’d gotten the notification. You swear you’d nearly had a heart attack. Tom Holland is literally the sweetest thing ever, and so nice and talented, and yes, extremely hot. You’ve got a picture of him shirtless from the scene in his room during ‘Homecoming’ and it’s probably a bit creepy but he’s honestly gorgeous.

Your other friend, Athena, who is just as obsessed with Tom Holland as you, squeals with you when you see him on the screen for the first time without the suit on. Zendaya just smirks at the two of you and grins when MJ appears on-screen.

“That’s you,” you sing, drawing out the word ‘you’ and hugging a pillow to your chest.

“I know,” she says, grinning, and starts texting Harrison. The basement is filled with giggles and squeals the rest of the night, along with Z occasionally interjecting to tell funny stories about filming the movie.

About halfway through ‘Homecoming’ you stop and stare at her.

“Yes?” she asks, suppressing a laugh at the dumbfounded look on your face.

“You know Tom Holland,” you whisper and then put your face in your hands. “Oh my gosh, you’re so telling him about how ridiculous I am!”

“Ooh, thanks for the idea,” she teases.

“Z!” you squeal, lunging for her phone. She holds it out of your reach, shushing you.

“The movie’s playing!”

You cross your arms and pout but turn back to the movie just in time for Peter to be buried under rubble by the vulture. You scowl.

“Remember when this was the worst thing that happened to Peter Parker?” Athena asks.

“‘Infinity War’ is not to be mentioned in this household,” you command.

“She’s been like this for a while,” Vivien whispers loudly to Zendaya.

“That’s because he deserved better!” you say heatedly.

Athena holds up her hands. “Does it look like anyone else is arguing with you?”

Zendaya: Haz, you WOULD NOT BELIEVE who’s my costar and obsessed with tom

Harrison: Storm Reid?

Zendaya: What? No

Harrison: Rowan Blanchard?

Zendaya: NO

Zendaya: Y/N Y/L/N

Zendaya: She’s like in love with tom

Harrison: …

Harrison: How does that even happen

Zendaya: Can you believe how lucky they both are

Harrison: So we gotta set them up right

Zendaya: What kinda friends would we be if we didn’t? Meghan markle’s friends set her up with harry

Harrison: Who?

Zendaya: nvm

Zendaya: We just have to think of something

Zendaya: Hey Y/N, wanna go hiking?

Y/N: Sure, Z! When? How’re ur scenes doing?

Zendaya: its fun but a lot of work! I might invite some of my other friends too, is that cool? And i was thinking next saturday

Y/N: Yep, that’s fine.

Zendaya: bring noah too, all right?

Y/N: I’ll see if i can take him

Haz: Hey tom wanna go hiking with z and some of her friends?

Tom: sure, when

Haz: idk maybe next saturday?

Tom: that works, i’ll see u guys then

Haz: bring harry, sam, and paddy too, one of her friends is bringing their younger sibling

Tom: got it

Zendaya: Did he say yes?

Haz: Yeah, did she?

Zendaya: Yep! Jeez, i can’t wait to see her face. She is literally so smitten with him

Haz: I bet Tom’s worse.

You and Ashley have hardly been able to look each other in the eyes recently without bursting into fits of giggles. Having to kiss one of your friends is definitely a lot more awkward than you thought it would be, and trying to do it while pretending to be injured is another thing entirely.

“Scene thirty-nine, take five!” the director yells.

Ashley fixes you with a serious look. You can’t stop yourself from laughing at the sheer awkwardness of the situation.

“Y/N, please!” the director shouts, rubbing his face with his hands.

“Sorry, sir,” you say, trying and failing to mask your features into one of indifference. “Note to self: ask to film the kissing scenes before I see my ‘partner’ streaking across the set.”

Ashley colors and laughs as well, both of you glancing over at the actor who plays Matthew, who rubs the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Please!” the director asks again and you two both quickly school your expressions back into that of seriousness. “Scene thirty-nine, take six!”

Ashley stares at you seriously, putting down the unused bandages. “Jag… you don’t have to be last in line to be helped. You can be selfish every once in a while.”

“Soldiers aren’t selfish,” you say stiffly, remembering that Jag has a nasty graze on her left side, so you lean a bit to the left. You keep your eyes on the wall but sneak a glance at her when she turns away.

“Are you a soldier 24/7?” Ashley asks, putting her hand on your cheek under the guise of checking the fake gash on your forehead. You blink slowly, staring up at her with an expression akin to the one you’d use if you ever saw Tom Holland. “Is that all you are?”

“Isn’t it?” you whisper and then Ashley puts her other hand on your cheek and presses her lips to yours. You stiffen, eyes wide, before slowly letting them flutter shut. Your hands rise to her waist.

“And cut!” the director shouts, not a moment too late. You can’t help yourself from breaking into loud guffaws and Ashley does the same. “Come on guys, be mature…” he sighs. You wave a hand at him, your eyes watering.

Noah is bouncing off the doors of the car, excited that you’re letting him sit in the front seat for the first time in his life.

“These are my friends, so behave,” you say sternly after you pull up to the start of the trail. “We’ll eat later, so make sure you have snacks, and don’t forget your stick.”

He nods impatiently, holding his lacrosse stick tightly in his fist, and shoulders his Avengers drawstring bag. “Can we go?”

“We’re going to wait for my friends,” you remind him. “Wanna throw?”

You two throw with your sticks for twenty minutes before he gets bored and pulls a small Nerf football out of his bag. You’ve only just started throwing with that before Zendaya pulls up, waving wildly. You wave back, giving Noah a perfect opportunity to hit you in the face with the football.

He gulps when you glare at him and points to your friend. “Don’t you need to behave?” He throws your words back at you.

You wag a finger at him. “Not cool, mister.”

“Okay, so I think my friends already started hiking, so we can head up,” Z calls once she’s close enough, checking her watch. “We’re going to meet them at the top and then hike along the top for a while before coming back. That cool?”

Noah nods at her and scampers ahead, instantly forgetting about his bag, stick, and football. Rolling your eyes, you scoop up his stuff and trail after him, chatting with Z about how weird it is to kiss your friends.

The hike isn’t long, and before long you can see the opening of the trees to the top. You’d dumped Noah’s stuff on him a while back, and he’s still bursting with energy despite having to lug it up the trail and quite a bit ahead of you and your friend. You’re a little out of breath but not too badly.

A small boy runs to greet you three, accompanied by a grey dog. You immediately coo at the sight of it, crouching down to let it barrel into your legs. Zendaya rolls her eyes and leaves you there, scratching at the dog’s belly.

“Hey, Tom!” she greets her friend but not too loudly so you don’t hear. “Hey Haz!”

They both greet her.

“Where’s Tessa?” Tom asks awkwardly, running a hand through his hair. Normally she doesn’t run off, and if she gets lost it’ll ruin the whole trip.

Zendaya rolls her eyes. “Oh, my friend’s petting her. She loves dogs.”

“I bet Tessa’s bothering her, I’ll go get her,” the boy mutters and jogs down the path. A girl with Y/H/C is crouching down to pet Tessa, cooing at her. A lacrosse stick is at her side.

You look up when you hear the footsteps approaching, and nearly have a heart attack.